May 5, 1862---The Battle of Williamsburg

MAY 5, 1862:              

 The Battle of Williamsburg (The Battle of Fort Magruder) was the first large battle of the Peninsular Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged. Williamsburg was an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their planned withdrawal toward Richmond. It was a Confederate delaying action, albeit a costly one on a large scale. McClellan intentionally miscategorized it as a "brilliant victory" over superior forces. Union casualties were 2,283. Confederate casualties were 1,682. 

May 4, 1862---The occupation of Yorktown

MAY 4, 1862:              

 General George B. McClellan’s forces occupy Yorktown essentially without firing a shot. McClellan exults over his unearned victory: "There was great cheering in all the camps as they received the news, the bands, silent for a month, played patriotic airs like mad, and as though they would never have another chance to play."

May 3, 1862---He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day...

MAY 3, 1862:               

The Confederate heavy guns at Yorktown, Virginia, fire at the Union lines throughout the day. While Major General George McClellan fears that the bombardment is a prelude to an enemy assault, the random fire is actually intended to mask the sounds of the complete evacuation of the Warwick and Yorktown defenses. Little of military value is left behind by the Confederates except the heavy guns that are too difficult to remove silently. By dawn on May 4th, the withdrawal is completed. General McClellan, whose grand bombardment and assault are not scheduled to begin until May 6th, is caught without plans for the pursuit of the enemy.  

May 2, 1862---McClellan is stuck in the mud

MAY 2, 1862:              

General McClellan remains stalled before Yorktown.  Heavy rains have turned the roads on the Peninsula into streams of mud.  As the army moves westward it is discovered that General John Magruder C.S.A. has used the time of McClellan’s dithering well---he has fortified the entire line of the Warwick River, creating a defensive bulwark across the entire Peninsula. McClellan, if he wants to advance, will have to fight his way through the line. For the moment, McClellan calls yet another halt.

May 1, 1862---"Oh say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave...?"

MAY 1, 1862:               

Union Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler assumes command of New Orleans.  Five thousand Army troops garrison the city, singing "The Star Spangled Banner" as they march in.