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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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In July, eighteen-sixty-one, Union soldiers of the north andConfederate soldiers of the south fought the first major battle inAmerica's Civil War. They clashed at Manassas, or Bull Run,Virginia...less than fifty kilometers from Washington.

The Union soldiers fought furiously. But two large Confederateforces broke the Union attack.

I'm Kay Gallant. Today, Harry Monroe and I will tell about someof the other early battles of the Civil War.

VOICE TWO:

Northerners had expected to win the battle of Bull Run. Theybelieved the Confederacy would fall if the Union won a big militaryvictory early in the war. Now, however, there was great fear thatsouthern soldiers would seize Washington. The Union needed to buildand train an army quickly.

President Abraham Lincoln namedGeneral George McClellan to do this. McClellan was thirty-four yearsold.

The young general had two important tasks. He must defendWashington from attack. And he must build an army to strike at enemyforces in Virginia. McClellan wasted no time. He put thousands oftroops into position around the city. And he built forty-eightforts.

After this rush of activity, however, little more happened for along time. McClellan told his wife: "I shall take my own time tomake an army that will be sure of success. As soon as I feel my armyis well-organized and well-trained and strong enough, I will forcethe rebels to a battle."

McClellan kept making excuses for why he would not move againstthe enemy. His excuses became a continuing source of trouble forPresident Lincoln. The public, the press, and politicians alldemanded that McClellan do something. They wanted to win thewar...and win it right away.

VOICE ONE:

McClellan commanded the biggest army in the Union, the Army ofthe Potomac. But it was not the only army. Others were battlingConfederate forces in the west.

The Confederates had moved up through Tennessee into the borderstate of Kentucky. They built forts and other defensive positionsacross the southern part of the state. They also blocked as manyrailroads and rivers as they could.

Their job was to keep Union forcesfrom invading the south through Kentucky. One of the Union Generalsin the area was Ulysses Grant.

Grant had served in the army for twenty years. He had fought inAmerica's war against Mexico and had won honors for his bravery.When that war ended, he was sent to an army base far from his wifeand children. He did not like being without them. And he did notlike being an officer in peace time.

Grant began to drink too much alcohol. He began to be a problem.In eighteen-fifty-four, he was asked to leave the army. When theCivil War started, Grant organized a group of unpaid soldiers inIllinois. With the help of a member of Congress, he was named aGeneral.

All of the other Union Generals knew Ulysses Grant. Few had anyfaith in his abilities. They were sure he would always fail.

VOICE TWO:

Grant, however, had faith in himself and his men. He believed hecould force Confederate soldiers to withdraw from both Kentucky andTennessee. Then he would be free to march directly into the deepsouth -- Mississippi.

Two Confederate forts stood in Grant's way. They were inTennessee, close to the Kentucky border.

United States navy gunboats captured the first, Fort Henry, onthe Tennessee River. That fort was easy to attack and notwell-defended. The fighting was over by the time Grant and his mengot there.

The second, Fort Donelson, was nearby on the Cumberland River. Itwas stronger and defended by twenty thousand soldiers. Grantsurrounded the fort and let the navy gunboats shell it. The fightingthere lasted several days.

VOICE ONE:

At one point, the Confederates tried to break out of the fort andescape. They opened a hole in the Union line and began to retreat.Suddenly, however, their commanding officer decided it would bewrong to retreat. He ordered them back to the fort.

After that, there was no choice. The Confederates would have tosurrender.

The commanding officer sent a message to General Grant. "Whatwere the terms of surrender?" Grant's answer was simple. "No termsexcept unconditional and immediate surrender."

The Confederates gave up Fort Donelson. Grant tookfourteen-thousand prisoners.

It was the greatest Union victory since the start of the war.Ulysses Grant was a hero. Newspapers called him "UnconditionalSurrender" Grant.

VOICE TWO:

After the Union victory at Fort Donelson, Confederate forceswithdrew from Tennessee. They moved farther south and began tore-group at Corinth, Mississippi.

Confederate Generals hoped to build one big army to stop UlyssesGrant. They would have to move fast. Grant was marching towardCorinth with forty thousand men. Another thirty-five thousand, underthe command of Don Buell, were to meet him on the way.

Grant arrived in the area first. He waited for Buell thirtykilometers from Corinth, near a small country meeting hall calledShiloh Church.

Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston was waiting, too. Hehad more than forty thousand men, about the same as Grant. And hewas expecting another twenty thousand. But when he learned thatgrant was nearby, he decided not to wait. He would attackimmediately.

VOICE ONE:

Johnston did not know it, but his attack came as a surprise tothe Union army. Union officers had refused to believe reports thatJohnston was on the move. They said his army was not strong enoughto attack.

Union troops did not prepare defensive positions. They had noprotection when the battle began.

The fighting at Shiloh was the bitterest of the war. It was notone battle, but many. Groups of men fought each other all across thewide battlefield. From a distance, they shot at each other. Closeup, they cut each other with knives. The earth became red withblood. The dead and wounded soon lay everywhere.

At first, the Confederates pushed Grant's army back. They hadonly to break through one more line...and victory would be theirs.But in the thick of the struggle, General Johnston was shot in theleg. The bullet cut through an artery. Johnston bled to death beforehelp arrived. Any hope for a southern victory at Shiloh died withhim.

By the time the fighting began again the next day, General Buellhad arrived to help Grant. The Confederate army retreated. The Unionarmy let it go.

VOICE TWO:

Shiloh. The word itself came to mean death and destruction.

The battle of Shiloh had brought home to the American people --both of the north and south -- the horror of war. It was the firsttime so many men -- one hundred thousand -- had fought against eachother in the western world. It was the American people's first realtaste of the bloodiness of modern warfare.

As one soldier who fought there said: "It was too shocking, toohorrible. I hope to God that I may never see such things again."

The north won the battle of Shiloh. But it paid a very high pricefor victory. More than thirteen thousand union soldiers were killed,wounded, or missing. On the Confederate side, more than ten thousandsoldiers were killed or wounded.

The north celebrated the news of its victory. But joy quicklyturned to anger when the public learned of the heavy losses. Peopleblamed General Grant. They demanded that President Lincoln dismisshim.

Lincoln thought of the two men who were now his top militarycommanders: McClellan and Grant. They were so different. McClellanorganized an army....and then did nothing. Grant organized anarmy...and moved.

Lincoln said of Grant: "I cannot do without this man. He fights."

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We will continue our story of the Civil War next week.

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THEMAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Kay Gallant and HarryMonroe. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.