The large numbers of Union troops landing on Virginia's eastern peninsula was not taken lightly. By April 14, 1862, the Confederates planned on reinforcing the Southern forces defending Richmond with troops called up from Georgia and South Carolina. It was hoped that this new army combined with Southern troops at Yorktown would slow down Union operations moving west towards Richmond.
The Peninsula campaign was the work of the Union's General in Chief, George B. McClellan. As general in chief, McClellan submitted a brilliant plan to catch the Confederates off guard and instead of attacking Richmond with a march due south from Washington DC, he convinced President Lincoln that time and distance could be saved by launching the attack against Richmond from the peninsula that lay east of Richmond. Lincoln finally agreed with the plan but as McClellan was proceeding, Lincoln thought it best to remove McClellan as general in chief so that he could focus all his attention on Richmond and not be distracted with other military operations.
peninsula campaign (left column, p. 454; American pageant 12e)
The Confederates, under General Robert E. Lee won the US Civil War Battle of Gaines's Mill. This was a Peninsula campaign battle and the beginning of a push back against the Union's attempt to place Richmond under siege and eventually capture the South's capital.
The Union's objective in the Peninsular Campaign was to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond and end the war. General McClellan had convinced President Lincoln that the plan Lincoln favored would take too long. Using the York and James River peninsula would be a shorter march to Richmond. Unfortunately, for the Union it was a failure. However looking at it from the Confederate point of view, the repulse of the Union army saved Richmond and at the same time brought in Confederate General Robert E. Lee to defend Virginia and Richmond.
This campaign is called the Peninsular (peninsula) Campaign because the action was fought on the peninsula of land bounded on the north by the York River, the south by the James River and extending out to Chesapeake Bay. The Battles of Yorktown (which was not a battle but a siege that produced next to no results for McClellan) Williamsburg, Hanover Court House, Seven Pines, and the battles of The Seven Days were all fought during this expedition. The thrust of the campaign was the capture of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia but it ended in failure.
5 miles
On April 4, 1862, General McClellan decided that the best way to force the Confederates out of Yorktown, was to lay it to siege. This caused a serious delay in McClellan's advance westward towards Richmond.
The Peninsula campaign was the work of the Union's General in Chief, George B. McClellan. As general in chief, McClellan submitted a brilliant plan to catch the Confederates off guard and instead of attacking Richmond with a march due south from Washington DC, he convinced President Lincoln that time and distance could be saved by launching the attack against Richmond from the peninsula that lay east of Richmond. Lincoln finally agreed with the plan but as McClellan was proceeding, Lincoln thought it best to remove McClellan as general in chief so that he could focus all his attention on Richmond and not be distracted with other military operations.
General George B. McClellan was positive that he needed an additional 20,000 troops to continue the Peninsula Campaign and informed generals Halleck and Meigs that the Confederates had at least 200,000 troops guarding Richmond. He did however, believe that his requested army of 110,000 troops would enable him to advance towards Richmond. At best, Halleck and Meigs believed the Confederate forces numbered 105,000, however the Confederates had much less than that. After returning to Washington DC, both Halleck and Meigs recommended that McClellan and the Army of the Potomac leave the peninsula and head for northern Virginia.
The Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
peninsula campaign (left column, p. 454; American pageant 12e)
Union General George Meade still believed that a "peninsula campaign" was the best way to assault Richmond. Meade did not press his ideas because of the 1862 failed Peninsula campaign of General George B. McClellan.
During the Peninsula campaign the fighting for Richmond began at Fair Oaks. General Johnston was wounded during his attack on Union forces and was replaced by General Robert E. Lee.
The Union began the Peninsular Campaign in March 1862. General-in-Chief McClellan moved his Army of the Potomac from Washington down the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay to the peninsula south of the Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia, before advancing toward Richmond. McClellan planned a giant amphibious operation to capture Yorktown before moving on Richmond from the south. However, the Confederate Merrimack blocked the water route up the James River to Richmond, so McClellan decided to advance up the peninsula between the York and James rivers. By early April 1862 McClellan's forces had been transported by sea to the south end of the peninsula and were ready to take Yorktown. The Confederates had fewer troops than the North so they needed a diversion to keep the Union soldiers from taking Richmond. to capture Richmond, Virgina
This was battle (actually Seven Pines or Fair Oaks) in the Peninsula campaign of '62, near Richmond, where Joe Jiohnston was badly wounded and out of the war for many months. His replacement by Robert E. Lee was a decisive moment, bringing the Confederates closer to victory than they would ever get.
Huon Peninsula campaign happened in 1944.