ARMY OPERATIONS. 



ARMY OPERATIONS. At the commence- 

 ment of the year 1862, the position of the 

 Federal forces was as follows : At Fortress 

 Monroe and Newport News under the com- 

 mand of General Wool, there were estimated to 

 be 15,000 men in a good state of organization 

 and discipline. Thence proceeding up the Po- 

 tomac, Gen. Hooker's division, including Gen. 

 Sickles's brigade, was south of Washington, and 

 partly on the Maryland side of the Potomac. 

 They numbered about 10,000 men. South- 

 west of Washington, and in the neighborhood 

 of that city, was the mass of Gen. McClellan's 

 army, consisting of a large portion of the men 

 who had volunteered from the middle 'and east- 

 ern States, for the war. They were organized 

 into eight divisions, and becoming disciplined 

 for future operations. The divisions of Gens. 

 Keyes and Casey were in and around Washing- 

 ton, that of Gen. Stone was at and near Pooles- 

 ville, and that of Gen. Banks near Darnestown, 

 with detachments on the Potomac to Williams- 

 port. The entire force thus organized, was not 

 far from 160,000 men, which, in connection 

 with other troops on the line of railroad to 

 Baltimore, at that city, and in the vicinity, 

 was something less than 200,000 men. This 

 force before Washington was subsequently de- 

 signated as the Army of the Potomac. It was 

 organized into divisions, each commanded by a 

 major-general, or by a brigadier-general acting 

 as a major-general; and each division consist- 

 ed of three brigades, each brigade of four, a 

 few of five, regiments of infantry, making 

 twelve infantry regiments in a division, one 

 regiment of cavalry, and three and sometimes 

 four batteries of artillery, or about twenty 

 pieces. To each division generally one regi- 

 ment of cavalry was assigned, and one or two 

 of them had four instead of three batteries. 



Further up the Potomac, was Gen. Kelly's 

 force, of which Gen. Lander soon took com- 

 mand, looking up the valley of the Shenandoah, 

 toward Winchester. Gen. Rosecrans was in 

 western Virginia, with a force somewhat less 

 than 20,000 men. 



At Louisville, in Kentucky, Gen. Buell had 

 collected and combined the scattered Federal 

 forces, and was now organizing and preparing 

 for future operations, an army of more than 

 100,000 men. At St. Louis and Cairo, Gen. 

 Halleck was performing a similar service, and 

 at the same time holding in check the Confed- 

 erate forces in Missouri, and preparing to drive 

 them entirely over its southern border. The 

 force he was thus organizing, was nearly equal 

 to that under Gen. Buell in Kentucky. 



On the western frontier preparations were 

 also making for an expedition, which was de- 

 signed to be more than 20,000 strong, for the 

 purpose of penetrating from Kansas to the Gulf 

 of Mexico. A naval force was also collected 

 at Cairo and St. Louis, to cooperate, by gun- 

 boats, with the military force, at important 

 points on the western rivers. The entire Fed- 

 eral force, including the troops under Gen. 



Sherman in South Carolina, and those under 

 Gen. Burnside on their way to North Caro- 

 lina, and the regiments designed for the expe- 

 dition under Gen. Butler, made not more than 

 450,000 to 475,000 in the field. 



The position and force of the Cpnfederate 

 army at the commencement of the year, were 

 nearly as follows : At Norfolk and Yorktown 

 there was a considerable force, probably over 

 30,000 men. The larger portion of this force 

 was at Yorktown. A small force also manned 

 batteries on the James and York rivers. The 

 army before Washington was fortified on a very 

 extended line. Its right wing rested upon the 

 Potomac, beyond Fredericksburg, and at Staf- 

 ford Court House, Dumfries, &c., and thus 

 formed a support to the batteries which block- 

 aded the Potomac river, and endangered the 

 navigation between Washington and the lower 

 Potomac into Chesapeake Bay. The main body 

 was at Centreville and Manassas. The former 

 place was strongly fortified, and held not less 

 than 75,000 troops. The left wing occupied 

 Aldie and Leesburg, and considerable forces 

 were stationed at Winchester and Martinsburg. 

 This entire force has been estimated to have 

 reached 175,000 men, under Gen. Joseph John- 

 ston. A small force was in western Virginia. 



In Kentucky, the Confederate forces were 

 stationed at Prestonburg, Hazel Green, Bowl- 

 ing Green, Columbus, Hickman, Donelson and 

 Fort Henry, and amounted to 30,000 men. 



The points occupied by the Confederate 

 forces in Tennessee, were Cumberland Gap, 

 Nashville, Waverly, Humboldt, Chattanooga, 

 Jonesboro, Memphis, and forts Osceola, Wright, 

 Randolph, Rector and Harris. These troop's 

 amounted to 20,000 men. 



There were also Confederate troops stationed 

 at Vicksburg, Natchez, New Orleans, Mobile, 

 Savannah, Charleston, and at various points in 

 Missouri. The total force under arms, was not 

 far from 350,000 men. 



The Confederate forces at this time occupied 

 half of Missouri, nearly half of Kentucky, in- 

 cluding the strong positions of Columbus and 

 Bowling Green, western Virginia, nearly as 

 far north as the Kanawha river, the whole of 

 eastern Virginia, except a few miles around 

 Washington and-Fortress Monroe and Newport 

 News, the whole of North Carolina, except 

 Hatteras Inlet, the whole of Florida except 

 Key West, and Santa Rosa Island, and all the 

 rest of the Southern States. 



The results of the previous year when com- 

 pared with the purposes entertained by the cit- 

 izens of the North, appear most insignificant. 

 But this is not a true view of the case. It was 

 too soon to expect results, and nothing was 

 done which had any influence upon the termi- 

 nation of the war. These gigantic combatants 

 were yet unprepared for the conflict. Armies 

 had been collected and hastily equipped, and 

 the work of organization and discipline to 

 change raw militia into men of war was pro- 

 gressing on both sides. So unused, however, 



