conflict willie johnston 
The Peninsula Campaign ( also known as the Peninsular Campaign ) of the ___MASK95___ was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862 , the first large - scale offensive in the Eastern Theater . The operation , commanded by Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , was an amphibious turning movement against the Confederate States Army in Northern Virginia , intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond . McClellan was initially successful against the equally cautious General Joseph E . Johnston , but the emergence of the aggressive General Robert E . Lee turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a humiliating Union defeat . The Confederate States Army ( CSA ) was the military ground force of the Confederate States ( C . S .), also known as the " Confederacy ", while the Confederacy existed during the ___MASK95___ . On February 28 , 1861 , the Provisional Confederate Congress established a provisional volunteer army and gave control over military operations and authority for mustering state forces and volunteers to the Confederate president , Jefferson Davis , a graduate of the U . S . Military Academy and colonel of a volunteer regiment during the Mexican War . In March 1861 , the Provisional Confederate Congress established a more permanent Confederate States Army . The ___MASK95___ was a civil war in the United States fought from 1861 to 1865 . The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America . The Union won the war , which remains the bloodiest in U . S . history . The 3rd Regiment , Vermont Volunteer Infantry ( or 3rd VVI ) was a three - years infantry regiment in the Union Army during the ___MASK95___ . It served in the eastern theater , predominantly in the VI Corps , Army of the Potomac , from July 1861 to July 1865 . It was a member of the Vermont Brigade . The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the ___MASK95___ , 1861 to 1865 . It included the permanent regular army of the United States , which was augmented by massive numbers of temporary units consisting of volunteers as well as conscripts . The Union Army fought and eventually defeated the Confederate Army during the war . At least two and a half million men served in the Union Army ; almost all were volunteers . About 360 , 000 Union soldiers died from all causes ; 280 , 000 were wounded and 200 , 000 deserted . The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the ___MASK95___ . It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April . The ___MASK24___ were a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1 , 1862 , near Richmond , Virginia , during the ___MASK95___ . Confederate General Robert E . Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac , commanded by Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula . The series of battles is sometimes known erroneously as the Seven Days Campaign , but it was actually the culmination of the Peninsula Campaign , not a separate campaign in its own right . Robert Edward Lee ( January 19 , 1807  October 12 , 1870 ) was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the ___MASK95___ from 1862 until his surrender in 1865 . The son of Revolutionary War officer Henry " Light Horse Harry " Lee III , Lee was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years . During this time , he served throughout the United States , distinguished himself during the Mexican  American War , and served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy . George Brinton McClellan ( December 3 , 1826October 29 , 1885 ) was an American soldier , civil engineer , railroad executive , and politician . A graduate of West Point , McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican - American War , and later left the Army to work in railroads until the outbreak of the ___MASK95___ . Early in the war , McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising a well - trained and organized army , which would become the Army of the Potomac ; he served a brief period ( November 1861 to March 1862 ) as general - in - chief of the Union Army . Although McClellan was meticulous in his planning and preparations , these very characteristics hampered his ability to challenge aggressive opponents in a fast - moving battlefield environment . He chronically overestimated the strength of enemy units and was reluctant to apply principles of mass , frequently leaving large portions of his army unengaged at decisive points . William H . `` Willie '' Johnston ( born July 1850 ) , from St . Johnsbury , Vermont , was a drummer boy in Company D of the 3rd Vermont Infantry . His service during the Seven Days retreat in the Peninsula Campaign was exemplary . He was the only drummer in his division to come away with his instrument , during a general rout . His superiors considered this a meritorious feat , when fellow soldiers had thrown away their guns . As a result , he received the Medal of Honor on the recommendation of his division commander , thereby becoming the youngest recipient of the highest decoration at 13 years of age . Joseph Eggleston Johnston ( February 3 , 1807  March 21 , 1891 ) was a career U . S . Army officer , serving with distinction in the Mexican - American War and ___MASK41___ , and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the ___MASK95___ . He was unrelated to Albert Sidney Johnston , another high - ranking Confederate general during the Civil war .