field Scott
was in command of the Union army. Under him, in command of the troops
about Washington, was General Irwin McDowell. Further to the west, near
Harpers Ferry, was a Union force under General Patterson. In western
Virginia, with an army raised largely in Ohio, was General George B.
McClellan. In Missouri was General Lyon, aided by all the Union people
in the state, who were engaged in a desperate struggle to keep her in
the Union.

In northern Virginia and opposed to the Union forces under General
McDowell, was a Confederate army under General Beauregard, and these
troops the people of the North demanded should be attacked. "The
Confederate Congress must not meet at Richmond!" "On to Richmond! On to
Richmond!" became the cries of the hour. General McDowell, with 30,000
men, was therefore ordered to attack Beauregard. McDowell found him near
Manassas, some thirty miles southwest of Washington, and there, on the
field of "Bull Run," on Sunday, July 21, 1861, was fought a famous
battle which ended with the defeat and flight of the Union army[1].

[Footnote 1: _Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_, Vol. I., pp.
229-239.]

General George B. McClellan, who had defeated the Confederate forces in
western Virginia in several battles, was now placed in command of the
troops near Washington, and spent the rest of 1861 and part of 1862 in
drilling and organizing his army. Bull Run had taught the people two
things: 1. That the war was not to end in three months; 2. That an army
without discipline is not much better than a mob.

%432. Fort Donelson and Fort Henry%.--While McClellan was drilling
his men along the Potomac, the Union forces drove back the Confederates
in the West. The Confederate line at first extended as shown by the
heavy line on the map on p. 390. In order to break it, General Buell
sent a small force under General Thomas, in January, 1862, to drive back
the Confederates near Mill Springs. Next, in February, General Halleck
authorized General U. S. Grant and Flag Officer Foote to make a joint
expedition against Fort Henry on the Tennessee. But Foote arrived first
and captured the fort, whereupon Grant marched to Fort Donelson on the
Cumberland, eleven miles away, and after three days of sharp fighting
was asked by General Buckner what terms he would offer. Grant
promptly answered,

[Illustration: Handwritten note of Grant]

No terms excepting unconditional and
immediate surrender can be accepted.
I