ployed the autumn and winter in collecting and organizing the vast forces placed under his command, still remained inactive in its front. In January, a small body of Confederate troops was defeated at Mill Springs, in Kentucky. In February, the Federal General Burnside, with the aid of gunboats, captured the Island of Roanoke, held by a Confederate garrison, on the coast of North Carolina, and a few weeks afterwards he took possession of Newbern. In the same month, the Federal General Grant captured Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River, and almost immediately afterwards, Fort Donnelson, on the River Cumberland. This was followed by the success of the Federal General Pope on the Mississippi, when, after an obstinate bombardment, he took a strongly-fortified port of the Confederates, known by the name of Island No. 10, but was baffled in his attempt to reduce Vicksburg, on the same r.ver, which, throughout the year, defied all the efforts of the Federals, both by land and water, and has hitherto proved to be impregnable A far more important conquest, however, was the capture of New Orleans, on the 24th of Apri, by Commander Farragut. This was the most brilliant exploit of the year, and a severe blow to the Confederates. New Orleans was defended by two forts, Fort Jackson and Fort Philip, on opposite sides of the river below the city, and by a bar thrown across the iver, consisting of chains, booms, and sunken vessels. The forts were also supported by about a dozen gunboats. The Federalfleet consisted of 46 steam sloops and gunboats, carrying 286 guns and 25 mor

tars. After a cannonade between the forts and the fleet had been going on for four or five days, the Federal gunboats forced their way, on the 24th of April, past Fort Jackson, and came opposite to the city, which lay open to the river, and was entirely undefended, as the Confederate army retreated from it when it saw that the place was no longer tenable. It therefore surrendered at discretion, and during the rest of the year, was held by the Federal General Butler, whose arbitrary and tyrannical conduct as Governor excited the deepest feelings of disgust and abhorrence.

On the 6th of April, the Confederate General Johnston attacked General Grant at Pittsburg Landing, on the west side of the Tennessee River, nearly opposite to Savannah. He drove him back upon the river, and would have destroyed his forces or compelled them to surrender, if General Buell had not come up with reinforcements, while, at the same time, two Federal gunboats in the river checked the Confederates by their galling and destructive fire. As it was, part of General Grant's camp was captured, and at nightfall the fate of the battle was still unde. cided. Next day, the whole of General Buell's force having crossed the river, and joined the Federals, the combat was renewed with unabated fury, and in the result the Confederates were driven or retired back to their lines at Corinth, with the loss of their Commander, General Johnston, who was killed by a cannonball. He was succeeded by General Beauregard, who maintained his position at Corinth for several weeks, while the Federal

General Halleck confronted him, with an army estimated at not less than 150,000 men. No engagement took place, and at last, General Beauregard quietly withdrew his whole force from the position he had occupied, and was already at a considerable distance before the Federals discovered that the lines which they imagined to be in possession of the enemy, were abandoned. An attempt was made to follow the retiring army, but in vain. It vanished so completely out of sight that for several months the Federals were in utter ignorance where General Beauregard and his troops were. General Pope, indeed, who acted under General Halleck, pretended that he had come up with the enemy during their retreat, and taken 10,000 prisoners, but this turned out to be simply an impudent falsehood. A series of obscure contests, with varying results, characterized the struggle throughout the year in the West. Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, were traversed by contending forces, large enough to be called armies, but no action of much importance was fought. In October the Confederates sustained a defeat at Corinth, and also at Perrysville, but in December, a body of 4000 Federals surrendered at Hartville, in Ten

nessee.

A naval engagement took place in the month of March, in Hampton Roads, James River, which was remarkable, not only for the success of the Confederates, who were supposed to have no means of contending with the Federals on the sea, but as being the first occasion on which an iron-clad ship was brought into collision

with wooden vessels, and encountered also an opponent of a a similar construction to herself. A ship belonging to the United States navy, called the Merrimac, which was at Norfolk when the war broke out, had been seized by the Confederates, and having been plated strongly with layers of railway iron, was christened the Virginia. On the 8th of March, she steamed suddenly out of port to attack the Federal squadron at Hampton Roads. She crossed to Newport News, and engaged the batteries on shore and two large steam frigates, together with a sailing frigate and some small steamers. She sank one of the wooden men-of-war, burnt another, drove a third ashore, and was only prevented by shoal water from reaching the rest of the squadron, and destroying it. In the report of the Confederate Secretary of the Navy, he said :

"The engagement commenced at half-past 3 P.M., and at 4 P.M. Captain Buchanan had sunk the Cumberland, captured and burnt. the Congress, disabled and driven the Minnesota ashore, and defeated the St. Lawrence and Roanoke, which sought shelter under the guns of Fortress Monroe. Two of the enemy's small steamers were blown up, and the two transport steamers were captured.

short contest without any decisive result, and went into port to repair their damages.

We now turn to the army of the Potomac, under the immediate command of General McClellan, which was destined to operate in Virginia, and on which the Federals chiefly relied for what they called crushing the rebellion.

The following description of that part of Virginia, in which the great conflicts between the hostile armies took place, will enable the reader to understand the nature of the ground, which was the theatre of such important

events.

West Virginia lies west and south-west of the Alleghany Mountains, which traverse the State from north-east to south-west in an unbroken chain, rising from 2000 to 4000 ft. above the ocean level, and the roads which cross them are narrow and bad, two or three great turnpikes excepted. This part of Virginia is free soil, and adhered to the Union-the Confederates occupying only the extreme south-west portion of it.

The valley of Virginia is deep, fertile, and from 40 to 80 miles wide, lying between the crests of the Alleghanies and the Blue Ridge, which runs parallel to them on the south-east. This valley is traversed by the Shenandoah River, which rises south and west of the centre of the State, and pursues a north-east course to its junction with the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, 40 miles north-west of Washington City. Winchester, Strasburg, Woodstock, Harrisonburg, and Staunton, are the principal places in the valley. The Blue Ridge is lower and smaller than the

Alleghanies (holding much the same relation to them as the Jura to the Alps), and is broken by repeated "gaps," through one of which the Manassas Gap Railway makes its way into the valley (which it connects with Alexandria) at Front Royal, which is near the junction of the two principal branches of the Shenandoah, some 25 miles above Winchester and 50 from Harper's Ferry.

Eastern Virginia consists of the residue of the State (all southeast of the Blue Ridge), being about half the area, and probably containing a little more than half the entire population. Its railways mainly centre upon Richmond, though one from Leesburg (a few miles north of Washington), and another from the south-west reach the Potomac at Alexandria. The Manassas Gap Railway diverges from the latter at Manassas Junction (80 miles south-west of Washington City), runs westwardly through the Gap in the valley, and so to Strasburg, whence it follows up the north fork of the Shenandoah, and stops at Mount Jackson, half way between Woodstock and Harrisonburg.

The Rappahannock River rises in the Blue Ridge a few miles from the south fork of the Shenandoah, and pursues an easterly course to Fredericksburg, some 60 miles south-south-west of Washington City, where it is within 10 miles of the Potomac. It has here become a broad, navigable stream, though its extreme sources are hardly 80 miles distant. From Fredericksburg it has a general south-east course till it is lost in Chesapeake Bay,