The year is 1863. Losses in 1862 at Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, and Murpfreesboro have left the Union Army in disarray. Twenty-five thousand enlistees are about to reach the end of their service and will have to be released on the first of May The Confederacy has gained in experience and confidence. Cavalry forays by audacious commanders like General J.E.B. Stuart and Mosby's Rangers are dazzlingly successful. Now, General Hooker is named commander of the Federal forces and changes are coming.

This first winter would see naval maneuvers on the Mississippi River and tighter blockades on the Atlantic coast. A new weapon, the ironclad, would make its debut in the Battle of Hampton Roads, near Norfolk, Virginia. Both armies would be moving through the Alleghenies. The Confederate forces would continue their tactical success. The Battle of Shiloh loomed ahead, and both sides would come to the realization that this war would not be easy or short-lived.

Captain Farragut is determined to secure the city of New Orleans for the Union. The Richmond government considered the city unconquerable and stripped it of its defensive resources. Audacity was the order of the day and New Orleans would fall. Sailing ships and steam powered vessels, wooden hulls and ironclads, gunboats and forty-eight gun frigates sailed against Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip for mastery of the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River. The Union fleet would sail farther north to assist in the battles being fought in Tennessee, at Corinth and Memphis, and succeed in restricting the Confederate fleet to the river between Memphis and Baton Rouge. The cities of Vicksburg, Charleston, and Pulaski would all see naval action significant to the outcome of the war.

The South is emboldened by their victory at Bull Run. McClellan is hesitant, either unable or unwilling to confront Lee head on, fearing another defeat for the inexperienced Union troops. The North begins to move on Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. The Battle of Fair Oaks temporarily checks the South but incorrect maps, poor information, swampy terrain and bad roads leave the Union unable to solidify their advantage. Infighting between the Army and the federal government allows the Confederacy to escape a devastating blow once again. The South's ability to move rapidly is impressive, but lack of direction by the government lets the opportunity for decisive gains slip away.

The first volume of this series gives a brief history of the evolution of the army in America. In the interest of maintaining their independence, the individual states put up fierce and successful resistance to the establishment of a standing army under the command of a central government. As a result, each armed threat meant appealing to Congress to fund troops for a defined amount of time. The end of any conflict meant the dissolution of the army until the need arose again. A true standing army would not be established until 1815, after the War of 1812.

The South has seceded and Fort Sumter has fallen. Armies have been raised on both sides. Lincoln is in the White House and determined to preserve the Republic. European powers have hastily declared neutrality. Washington D.C. is being threatened by confederate armies and needs to be guarded by federal troops. Modern warfare is being born. The importance of railways and waterways for the transport of men and supplies through a sparsely populated countryside where no food crops are planted will largely influence military decisions. The first conflict will take place at Manassas Junction in the first Battle of Bull Run.

Virginia becomes the battleground after Antietam. As the Confederates retreat, Union forces miss an opportunity to follow and inflict a mortal blow. Lee is able to retreat and re-arm. McClellan, being given incorrect information as to the numbers of confederates under arms, takes too much time to re-equip. Due to this strategic blunder, he is relieved of command by President Lincoln in mid-campaign and replaced by General Burnside. The Battle of Fredericksburg will be his initiation, and the immense Union losses on the slopes of Marye's Heights his legacy.

The long established political power of the South was no longer invincible. The northern politicians were beginning to push back. Some southern leaders foresaw the economic dangers of secession and instead planned to overtake the Republic. They sought to preserve slavery and their way of life in the face of increased immigration from Europe which created a larger pool of "free" labor. The industrial North was no longer willing to cede to every demand by the southern oligarchy "in order to preserve the Union." The South was prepared for war, and the North could not, and would not, back down this time. Fort Sumter would be the opening salvo...