[center][b][u]Retaliations[/u][/b][/center]

The CSA looked in bad shape at the end of 1862. They had lost one of their most powerful states, Virginia, their control of the Mississippi was threatened, and the North taken huge swathes of land. Morale was low, and as they settled into their third year of war and blockade, food was rationed and the mood was grim. In Charleston, however, the war was not yet lost. Generals and tactitians gathered together, planning for a way to turn the fate of the war. General George Thomas, the man who so very nearly sided with the Union, hit upon an ambitious plan to try and save the Confederacy. Thomas had been responsible for the defence of Virginia, and he blamed himself for his defeat at the hands of McClellan. He hoped he would avenge this defeat.

In the early hours of the morning, new years day 1863, Thomas' force, now bolstered by 40 000 new recruits, crossed over the border from North Carolina into Virginia. It was here that the lack of infrastructure in the south came in use; it was many hours before Grant, newly arrived in the eastern theatre, heard the news. It was more hours after that when he realised that Thomas has avoided the trap of heading for Richmond. Thomas' army was still called the Army of Northern Virginia, and it was Northern Virginia that he was determined to fight in. Thomas led his army north-west into Virginia, heading for the town of Roanoke. There was a large Union force in his path; the Army of Roanoke, 60 000 strong, commanded by Joseph Hooker. When planning the Union's push deeper into the south, Hooker had been instructed by Grant to not engage the enemy until the Army of the Potomac had engaged first, so Hooker was initially unsure what he was supposed to do. This moment of confusion gave Thomas time to skirt around south of Smith Mountain Lake and prepare his men for the coming engagement.

Hooker, who was known for his brash, cavalier attitude, disregarded his previous orders and moved to attack Thomas. Hooker had heard how Thomas had been pushed out of Virginia by McClellan, how he had made a strategic withdrawal once his casualties got too high, and assumed that if he struck Thomas hard enough with his superior numbers, he would do so again. It was a grave error in judgement. Although Thomas did have a large number of raw recruits with him, the core of his force was the ones who had fought in the Peninsula Campaign and had been with him since the start of the war. On the Union side, Hooker's subordinates disliked and distrusted him, and as Hooker ordered a frontal attack, Thomas' lines held firm, and wave after wave of Union soldiers were cut down. The Union formation began to break down as commanders disregarded their orders and moved in the wrong direction. Finally, when he gauged the moment to be correct, Thomas sent Longstreet and the reserves in a loop around the Union position to strike at their flanks. The result was a bloodshed; Hooker seemed frozen, unable to make a clear decision, and Union soldiers lost their cohesion and attempted to flee the field. With a thick smoke covering the battle, it was tricky to escape, and the Confederate soldiers continued to cut the Union force down like rabbits. Eventually, at the pressure of his subordinates, ordered a retreat from the field. What ws left of his forces retreated back to Roanoke and then further, abandoning the town and fleeing back into the north. Thomas, having inflicted his first crushing defeat on the Union, took the town unopposed. 
(-2,700 regulars, - 21, 500 conscripts to the USA, -600 regulars, -4,700 conscripts to the CSA)

[center][img]http://www.sonofthesouth.net/Homer_Letter/Homer_Bayonet_Charge.jpg[/img]
[i]Bayonet charge during the battle[/i][/center]

When he heard of Hooker's defeat, Grant was furious at him. However, he did see an advantage; Thomas' move north had left the way to Charleston seemingly clear. If Grant could make it to Charleston before Thomas made it to Washington, the Union might win the war. However, that was a big if. Grant ordered the Army of the Potomac to march south. In a bold move, General Jackson abandoned his position training the Confederate army and took the men tasked with defending Charleston north to meet Grant. Upon learning of this force, Grant believed it to be a new army, and decided he couldn't defeat it and take Charleston before Thomas made it to Washington. Grant turned the Army of the Potomac around and headed north for the town of Charlottesville, hoping to cut Thomas off before he could make it into the north. Jackson, relieved that his gambit had paid off, and also a little disappointed that he hadn't fought a battle yet in this war, turned back for Charleston, not before entertaining thoughts of retaking Richmond, as there was now few Union troops between him and the city.

In the west, Lee faced much tougher odds. He had Sherman bottled up inside Chattanooga, but he was outnumbered and feared that northern reinforcements would soon be upon him. The recruits he had hoped would be sent to him, were instead assembled into the Army of Arkansas and, under the command of General Johnston, marched for Little Rock. Lee was left to try and take Chattanooga with just his remaining force. Union commanders drew up their plans to rescue Sherman, using their superior numbers against Lee. As Lee lay siege to Chattanooga, Sherman, not used to being on the defensive, attempted to force his way out. Lee gathered his army and attacked back. Shermans army, smaller in numbers and weakened after the siege, initially had the worst of the fighting. However, as Lee pushed Sherman further and further back into Chattanooga, another Union force appeared on the horizon. General John Pope and the 42 000 men of the newly formed Army of East Tennessee arrived to break the siege, and he immediately entered the battle. Lee, now heavily outnumbered, withdrew south back to Atlanta. A strong push by Pope in an attempt to encircle Lee nearly won the battle for the Union when, like a miracle from God, a Confederate army appeared as if from nowhere. Johnston, fearing what would happen, ignored his orders and had marched the Army of Arkansas back to help Lee. Union forces fell back at the arrival of this new force and Lee gave chase, but once again he was unwilling to risk his exhausted men in an assault of Chattanooga, leaving the result of the battle in much the same way as before, with Lee sitting on the borders defending Georgia. The main difference was that there were a lot more dead and wounded lying on the battlefield.
(-1,000 regulars, -7000 conscripts to the USA, -800 regulars, -3,900 conscripts to the CSA)

It was only on the Mississippi that the Union had any success during the early months of 1863. With the Army of Arkansas now on the border of Georgia, only the few remaining forces available to General Bragg was left to hold Vicksburg. Sheridan with the Army of the Mississippi, over 60 000 strong and now supported by a flotilla of warships, launched a second attempt at cracking open the town. Bragg bravely withstood the first assault, but his men were outnumbered more than four to one, and he knew he couldn't hold Vicksburg forever. As night fell, Bragg's men broke out of the siege and withdrew to the south. As Sheridan took Vicksburg, he ordered part of his army to give chase. Bragg and his men were harried all the way to Natchez, where the Union forces gave up, allowing Bragg to escape further to the only town before New Orleans; Baton Rouge. There was now only a very thin line connecting the western half of the CSA to the east, a line barely 70 miles long.
(-500 regulars, -1000 conscripts to the USA, -100 regulars, -500 conscripts to the CSA)

[center][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Battle_of_Vicksburg%2C_Kurz_and_Allison.png/640px-Battle_of_Vicksburg%2C_Kurz_and_Allison.png[/img]
[i]Second Battle of Vicksburg 1863[/i][/center]