389 The Army of Northern Virginia

389. The Army of Northern Virginia

Meantime the government of the Confederacy had gathered great masses of soldiers . There were not nearly as many white men of fighting age in the South as there were in the North . But what men there were could be placed in the fighting line , because the negro slaves could produce the food needed by the armies and do the hard labor of making forts . The capital of the Confederacy was now established at Rich - mond , on the James River , in Virginia . The army defending this capital was called the Army of Northern Virginia . It was commanded by Joseph E . Johnston ; but its ablest officers were Robert E . Lee and Thomas J . Jackson ( Stonewal Jack - son ).