1861 Union Spring Offensive

The 1861 Union Spring Offensive, or sometimes better known as the Union Offensive of 1861 was a Union push into Virginia during 1861.

Joseph Hooker, commander of the Army of the Cumberland, began planning for this on March 21, 1861, but the offensive didn't begin until March 30.

Battle of Mill's Road
In the most lopsided battle (so far), the Confederate's came out with a large victory.

Robert E. Lee told James Longstreet to block Mill's Road, thus preventing the Union to get to Lee's HQ and deeper into Virginia. Longstreet at the time had 25,000 men, while Stonewall Jackson had 4,900. Combined, the two made a rough, but not exactly strong defense line. They had 4 divisions stretching across Mill's Road with 1 division in reserve.

The Union, meanwhile had 3 divisions attacking with 2 in reserve.

The Union attacked at 1:30pm ET, and they continued to bring in more brigades. Within 35 minutes, there were 63 Confederate and 277 Union casualties.

Despite coming on fast and strong, the Confederate's had nearly 9 brigades of Artillery with over 20 Infantry brigades, outnumbering and outmanuevering the Union, forcing the Union to make a quick retreat. By the end of the fighting only, 6 (or about 10%) of the regiments were still organized, with the rest fleeing. About 1,900 Union and 2,500 Confederate's were engaged.

For about every 10 Union dead, about 1-3 Confederate's died.

At about 4:15pm, the Union retreated for good, and the battle ended. This marked the first battle for the 1861 Union Spring Offensive, but this battle ended in a draw: less Confederate casualties, but Union gained about 100 yards of ground.