After the disastrous Union defeat at Bull Run on 21 July, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln desire that the Army of the Potomac strike against the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. On November 1, 1861, Lincoln turned to a new general, George Brinton McClellan, to take command of the army. The federal commander thought he could trap Major General John Bankhead Magruder's Army of the Peninsula at Yorktown at George Washington had cornered Lord Cornwallis during the American Revolution in 1781. The conflicts in Southeast Virginia during the first six months of 1862 comprise the Civil War's greatest amphibious operations-the Peninsula Campaign.

The Peninsula campaign introduction -- Lincoln selects a new general -- Davis chooses his general -- The plan and the battle of Hampton Roads -- McClellan moves toward Yorktown -- Magruder holds off Union troops -- The battle at Dam No. 1 -- Johnston arrives on the peninsula -- Johnston retreats from Yorktown -- The Battle of Williamsburg -- Union assault to access the James River -- Norfolk surrenders and the CSS Virginia is destroyed -- The battle of Drewry's Bluff -- Union Army approaches Richmond -- Seven Days Battles, Union retreats -- Epilogue.