during the summer of 1862, the hopes of the north that the rebellion could be easily crushed were quickly fading. in july, major general george b. mcclellan's defeated attempt to capture the southern capital at richmond, virginia failed. near the end of august, the second battle of bull run was another confederate victory. the union armies retreated back to washington, d.c. only a few miles away. in the west, confederate offensives were proving to be successful. this was causing poor morale among the union army soldiers.