John G. Nicolay, The Outbreak of Rebellion

[210] army, called by President Lincoln in advance of strict authority of law at the beginning of May, had so far progressed that garrisons and camps suffered no serious diminution. Congress, being convened in special session, now legalized their enlistment, perfected their organization, and made liberal provision for their equipment and supply. It authorized an army of five hundred thousand men, and a national loan of two hundred and fifty millions of dollars; it provided an increase of the navy to render the blockade vigilant and rigorous; and enforcement, revenue, confiscation, and piracy laws were enacted or amended to meet the exigencies of active rebellion.

Pending the change and transformation of the volunteer forces from the three months to the three years service, military operations necessarily came to a general cessation. Washington City, especially, and the fortified strip of territory held by the Union armies on the Virginia side of the Potomac, once more became a great military camp. Here, under McClellan's personal supervision, grew up that famous Army of the Potomac, about which future volumes of this series will have much to say. But in its formation, organization, complete equipment, and thorough drill the second half of the year 1861 passed away. A few intensely exciting incidents occurred, of which the Ball's Bluff disaster was, perhaps, the chief; but their consideration in detail does not fall within the scope of the present volume.

In the rebel camps, also, inaction was both a policy and a necessity during the remainder of the year. The trophies of Bull Run having been gathered up, and its glory vaunted in Southern newspapers and stump speeches, the rebel commander once more advanced his outposts to the positions held before the battle, while the bulk of his army turned Manassas into a fortified camp. Some of the earliest reasons