June 10. 1861---A Bloodless War

JUNE 10, 1861:   

 The Battle of Big Bethel, Virginia. Though small by later standards, Big Bethel is the largest land battle of the Civil War to date.

General Benjamin Butler decides to reinforce Union-held Fortress Monroe, near Hampton Roads, Virginia, with the ultimate goal of seizing or rendering impotent the Gosport Navy Yard, now in Confederate hands. Union troops extend their beachhead around Fortress Monroe, and attempt to take first the hamlet of Little Bethel and then Big Bethel. Unfortunately, in the fog of war, one Union unit fires on another, causing a panic, and Confederate forces led by Colonel John Magruder, attack, driving the Union forces back toward Fort Monroe.  

Of the 3,500 Union troops in the battle, 18 are killed, 53 wounded and five are MIA. Of the 1,400 Confederate forces, one man is killed and seven wounded. After a series of inconclusive minor engagements, the Confederates become convinced after Big Bethel that the war is essentially over and that C.S.A. independence is assured. The Press on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line refer to the Virginia Campaign as “The Bloodless War” or “The Sitting War.”