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diff --git a/6961.txt b/6961.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e7e177 --- /dev/null +++ b/6961.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18346 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V1 +by Jacob Dolson Cox + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V1 + +Author: Jacob Dolson Cox + +Release Date: May 5, 2007 [EBook #6961] +[This file was first posted in etext 04 as 7mcw110.txt on February 17, 2003 +and updated in November, 2004 ] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MILITARY REMINISCENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR V1 *** + + + + +Produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. This file was produced from images generously +made available by the CWRU Preservation Department Digital Library. + + + + + + + + + +MILITARY REMINISCENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR + +BY JACOB DOLSON COX, A.M., LL.D. + +_Formerly Major-General commanding Twenty-Third Army Corps_ + +VOLUME I. + +APRIL 1861--NOVEMBER 1863 + + + +PREFACE + +My aim in this book has been to reproduce my own experience in our +Civil War in such a way as to help the reader understand just how +the duties and the problems of that great conflict presented +themselves successively to one man who had an active part in it from +the beginning to the end. In my military service I was so conscious +of the benefit it was to me to get the personal view of men who had +served in our own or other wars, as distinguished from the general +or formal history, that I formed the purpose, soon after peace was +restored, to write such a narrative of my own army life. My +relations to many prominent officers and civilians were such as to +give opportunities for intimate knowledge of their personal +qualities as well as their public conduct. It has seemed to me that +it might be useful to share with others what I thus learned, and to +throw what light I could upon the events and the men of that time. + +As I have written historical accounts of some campaigns separately, +it may be proper to say that I have in this book avoided repetition, +and have tried to make the personal narrative supplement and lend +new interest to the more formal story. Some of the earlier chapters +appeared in an abridged form in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil +War," and the closing chapter was read before the Ohio Commandery of +the Loyal Legion. By arrangements courteously made by the Century +Company and the Commandery, these chapters, partly re-written, are +here found in their proper connection. + +Though my private memoranda are full enough to give me reasonable +confidence in the accuracy of these reminiscences, I have made it a +duty to test my memory by constant reference to the original +contemporaneous material so abundantly preserved in the government +publication of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate +Armies. Where the series of these records is not given, my +references are to the First Series, with the abbreviation O. R., and +I have preferred to adhere to the official designation of the +volumes in parts, as each volume then includes the documents of a +single campaign. + +J. D. C. + + + + +NOTE.--The manuscript of this work had been completed by General +Cox, and placed in the hands of the publishers several weeks before +his untimely death at Magnolia, Mass., August 4, 1900. He himself +had read and revised some four hundred pages of the press-work. The +work of reading and revising the remaining proofs and of preparing a +general index for the work was undertaken by the undersigned from a +deep sense of obligation to and loving regard for the author, which +could not find a more fitting expression at this time. No material +changes have been made in text or notes. Citations have been looked +up and references verified with care, yet errors may have crept in, +which his well-known accuracy would have excluded. For all such and +for the imperfections of the index, the undersigned must accept +responsibility, and beg the indulgence of the reader, who will find +in the text itself enough of interest and profit to excuse many +shortcomings. + +WILLIAM C. COCHRAN. CINCINNATI, October 1, 1900. + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER I + +THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR + +Ohio Senate, April 12--Sumter bombarded--"Glory to God!"--The +surrender--Effect on public sentiment--Call for troops--Politicians +changing front--David Tod--Stephen A. Douglas--The insurrection must +be crushed--Garfield on personal duty--Troops organized by the +States--The militia--Unpreparedness--McClellan at Columbus--Meets +Governor Dennison--Put in command--Our stock of munitions--Making +estimates--McClellan's plan--Camp Jackson--Camp Dennison--Gathering +of the volunteers--Garibaldi uniforms--Officering the troops--Off +for Washington--Scenes in the State Capitol--Governor Dennison's +labors--Young regulars--Scott's policy--Alex. McCook--Orlando +Poe--Not allowed to take state commissions. + + +CHAPTER II + +CAMP DENNISON + +Laying out the camp--Rosecrans as engineer--A comfortless +night--Waking to new duties--Floors or no floors for the +huts--Hardee's Tactics--The watersupply--Colonel Tom +Worthington--Joshua Sill--Brigades organized--Bates's +brigade--Schleich's--My own--McClellan's purpose--Division +organization--Garfield disappointed--Camp routine--Instruction and +drill--Camp cookery--Measles--Hospital barn--Sisters of +Charity--Ferment over re-enlistment--Musters by Gordon +Granger--"Food for powder"--Brigade staff--De Villiers--"A Captain +of Calvary"--The "Bloody Tinth"--Almost a row--Summoned to the +field. + + +CHAPTER III + +McCLELLAN IN WEST VIRGINIA + +Political attitude of West Virginia--Rebels take the +initiative--McClellan ordered to act--Ohio militia cross the +river--The Philippi affair--Significant dates--The vote on +secession--Virginia in the Confederacy--Lee in +command--Topography--The mountain passes--Garnett's army--Rich +Mountain position--McClellan in the field--His forces--Advances +against Garnett--Rosecrans's proposal--His fight on the +mountain--McClellan's inaction--Garnett's retreat--Affair at +Carrick's Ford--Garnett killed--Hill's efforts to intercept--Pegram +in the wilderness--He surrenders--Indirect results +important--McClellan's military and personal traits. + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE KANAWHA VALLEY + +Orders for the Kanawha expedition--The troops and their +quality--Lack of artillery and cavalry--Assembling at +Gallipolis--District of the Kanawha--Numbers of the opposing +forces--Method of advance--Use of steamboats--Advance guards on +river banks--Camp at Thirteen-mile Creek--Night alarm--The river +chutes--Sunken obstructions--Pocotaligo--Affair at +Barboursville--Affair at Scary Creek--Wise's position at Tyler +Mountain--His precipitate retreat--Occupation of +Charleston--Rosecrans succeeds McClellan--Advance toward Gauley +Bridge--Insubordination--The Newspaper Correspondent--Occupation of +Gauley Bridge. + + +CHAPTER V + +GAULEY BRIDGE + +The gate of the Kanawha valley--The wilderness beyond--West Virginia +defences--A romantic post--Chaplain Brown--An adventurous +mission--Chaplain Dubois--"The river path"--Gauley Mount--Colonel +Tompkins's home--Bowie-knives--Truculent resolutions--The +Engineers--Whittlesey, Benham, Wagner--Fortifications--Distant +reconnoissances--Comparison of forces--Dangers to steamboat +communications--Allotment of duties--The Summersville post--Seventh +Ohio at Cross Lanes--Scares and rumors--Robert E. Lee at Valley +Mountain--Floyd and Wise advance--Rosecrans's orders--The Cross +Lanes affair--Major Casement's creditable retreat--Colonel Tyler's +reports--Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton--Quarrels of Wise and +Floyd--Ambushing rebel cavalry--Affair at Boone Court House--New +attack at Gauley Bridge--An incipient mutiny--Sad result--A notable +court-martial--Rosecrans marching toward us--Communications +renewed--Advance toward Lewisburg--Camp Lookout--A private sorrow. + + +CHAPTER VI + +CARNIFEX FERRY--TO SEWELL MOUNTAIN AND BACK + +Rosecrans's march to join me--Reaches Cross Lanes--Advance against +Floyd--Engagement at Carnifex Ferry--My advance to Sunday +Road--Conference with Rosecrans--McCook's brigade joins me--Advance +to Camp Lookout--Brigade commanders--Rosecrans's personal +characteristics--Hartsuff--Floyd and Wise again--"Battle of +Bontecou"--Sewell Mountain--The equinoctial--General Schenck +arrives--Rough lodgings--Withdrawal from the mountain--Rear-guard +duties--Major Slemmer of Fort Pickens fame--New positions covering +Gauley Bridge--Floyd at Cotton Mountain--Rosecrans's methods with +private soldiers--Progress in discipline. + + +CHAPTER VII + +COTTON MOUNTAIN + +Floyd cannonades Gauley Bridge--Effect on Rosecrans--Topography of +Gauley Mount--De Villiers runs the gantlet--Movements of our +forces--Explaining orders--A hard climb on the mountain--In the post +at Gauley Bridge--Moving magazine and telegraph--A balky +mule-team--Ammunition train under fire--Captain Fitch a model +quartermaster--Plans to entrap Floyd--Moving supply trains at +night--Method of working the ferry--Of making flatboats--The Cotton +Mountain affair--Rosecrans dissatisfied with Benham--Vain plans to +reach East Tennessee. + + +CHAPTER VIII + +WINTER-QUARTERS + +An impracticable country--Movements suspended--Experienced troops +ordered away--My orders from Washington--Rosecrans objects--A +disappointment--Winter organization of the Department--Sifting our +material--Courts-martial--Regimental schools--Drill and picket +duty--A military execution--Effect upon the army--Political +sentiments of the people--Rules of conduct toward them--Case of Mr. +Parks--Mr. Summers--Mr. Patrick--Mr. Lewis Ruffner--Mr. +Doddridge--Mr. B. F. Smith--A house divided against itself--Major +Smith's journal--The contrabands--A fugitive-slave +case--Embarrassments as to military jurisdiction. + + +CHAPTER IX + +VOLUNTEERS AND REGULARS + +High quality of first volunteers--Discipline milder than that of the +regulars--Reasons for the difference--Practical efficiency of the +men--Necessity for sifting the officers--Analysis of their +defects--What is military aptitude?--Diminution of number in +ascending scale--Effect of age--Of former life and +occupation--Embarrassments of a new business--Quick progress of the +right class of young men--Political appointments--Professional +men--Political leaders naturally prominent in a civil war--"Cutting +and trying"--Dishonest methods--An excellent army at the end of a +year--The regulars in 1861--Entrance examinations for West +Point--The curriculum there--Drill and experience--Its +limitations--Problems peculiar to the vast increase of the +army--Ultra-conservatism--Attitude toward the Lincoln +administration--"Point de zele"--Lack of initiative--Civil work of +army engineers--What is military art?--Opinions of experts--Military +history--European armies in the Crimean War--True +generalship--Anomaly of a double army organization. + + +CHAPTER X + +THE MOUNTAIN DEPARTMENT--SPRING CAMPAIGN + +Rosecrans's plan of campaign--Approved by McClellan with +modifications--Wagons or pack-mules--Final form of plan--Changes in +commands--McClellan limited to Army of the Potomac--Halleck's +Department of the Mississippi--Fremont's Mountain +Department--Rosecrans superseded--Preparations in the Kanawha +District--Batteaux to supplement steamboats--Light wagons for +mountain work--Fremont's plan--East Tennessee as an objective--The +supply question--Banks in the Shenandoah valley--Milroy's +advance--Combat at McDowell--Banks defeated--Fremont's plans +deranged--Operations in the Kanawha valley--Organization of +brigades--Brigade commanders--Advance to Narrows of New River--The +field telegraph--Concentration of the enemy--Affair at +Princeton--Position at Flat-top Mountain. + + +CHAPTER XI + +POPE IN COMMAND--TRANSFER TO WASHINGTON + +A key position--Crook's engagement at Lewisburg--Watching and +scouting--Mountain work--Pope in command--Consolidation of +Departments--Suggestions of our transfer to the East--Pope's Order +No. 11 and Address to the Army--Orders to march across the +mountains--Discussion of them--Changed to route by water and +rail--Ninety-mile march--Logistics--Arriving in Washington--Two +regiments reach Pope--Two sent to Manassas--Jackson captures +Manassas--Railway broken--McClellan at Alexandria--Engagement at +Bull Run Bridge--Ordered to Upton's Hill--Covering +Washington--Listening to the Bull Run battle--Ill news travels fast. + + +CHAPTER XII + +RETREAT WITHIN THE LINES--REORGANIZATION--HALLECK AND HIS +SUBORDINATES + +McClellan's visits to my position--Riding the lines--Discussing the +past campaign--The withdrawal from the James--Prophecy--McClellan +and the soldiers--He is in command of the defences--Intricacy of +official relations--Reorganization begun--Pope's army marches +through our works--Meeting of McClellan and Pope--Pope's +characteristics--Undue depreciation of him--The situation when +Halleck was made General-in-Chief--Pope's part in it--Reasons for +dislike on the part of the Potomac Army--McClellan's secret +service--Deceptive information of the enemy's force--Information +from prisoners and citizens--Effects of McClellan's illusion as to +Lee's strength--Halleck's previous career--Did he intend to take +command in the field?--His abdication of the field command--The +necessity for a union of forces in Virginia--McClellan's inaction +was Lee's opportunity--Slow transfer of the Army of the +Potomac--Halleck burdened with subordinate's work--Burnside twice +declines the command--It is given to McClellan--Pope relieved--Other +changes in organization--Consolidation--New campaign begun. + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SOUTH MOUNTAIN + +March through Washington--Reporting to Burnside--The Ninth +Corps--Burnside's personal qualities--To Leesboro--Straggling--Lee's +army at Frederick--Our deliberate advance--Reno at New Market--The +march past--Reno and Hayes--Camp gossip--Occupation of +Frederick--Affair with Hampton's cavalry--Crossing Catoctin +Mountain--The valley and South Mountain--Lee's order found--Division +of his army--Jackson at Harper's Ferry--Supporting Pleasonton's +reconnoissance--Meeting Colonel Moor--An involuntary +warning--Kanawha Division's advance--Opening of the battle--Carrying +the mountain crest--The morning fight--Lull at noon--Arrival of +supports--Battle renewed--Final success--Death of Reno--Hooker's +battle on the right--His report--Burnside's comments--Franklin's +engagement at Crampton's Gap. + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ANTIETAM: PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS + +Lee's plan of invasion--Changed by McClellan's advance--The position +at Sharpsburg--Our routes of march--At the Antietam--McClellan +reconnoitring--Lee striving to concentrate--Our delays--Tuesday's +quiet--Hooker's evening march--The Ninth Corps command--Changing our +positions--McClellan's plan of battle--Hooker's evening +skirmish--Mansfield goes to support Hooker--Confederate +positions--Jackson arrives--McLaws and Walker reach the field--Their +places. + + +CHAPTER XV + +ANTIETAM: THE FIGHT ON THE RIGHT + +Hooker astir early--The field near the Dunker Church--Artillery +combat--Positions of Hooker's divisions--Rocky ledges in the +woods--Advance of Doubleday through Miller's orchard and +garden--Enemy's fire from West Wood--They rush for Gibbon's +battery--Repulse--Advance of Patrick's brigade--Fierce fighting +along the turnpike--Ricketts's division in the East Wood--Fresh +effort of Meade's division in the centre--A lull in the +battle--Mansfield's corps reaches the field--Conflicting opinions as +to the hour--Mansfield killed--Command devolves on Williams--Advance +through East Wood--Hooker wounded--Meade in command of the corps--It +withdraws--Greene's division reaches the Dunker Church--Crawford's +in the East Wood--Terrible effects on the Confederates--Sumner's +corps coming up--Its formation--It moves on the Dunker Church from +the east--Divergence of the divisions--Sedgwick's passes to right of +Greene--Attacked in flank and broken--Rallying at the Poffenberger +hill--Twelfth Corps hanging on near the church--Advance of French's +division--Richardson follows later--Bloody Lane reached--The Piper +house--Franklin's corps arrives--Charge of Irwin's brigade. + + +CHAPTER XVI + +ANTIETAM: THE FIGHT ON THE LEFT + +Ninth Corps positions near Antietam Creek--Rodman's division at +lower ford--Sturgis's at the bridge--Burnside's headquarters on the +field--View from his place of the battle on the right--French's +fight--An exploding caisson--Our orders to attack--The hour--Crisis +of the battle--Discussion of the sequence of events--The Burnside +bridge--Exposed approach--Enfiladed by enemy's +artillery--Disposition of enemy's troops--His position very +strong--Importance of Rodman's movement by the ford--The fight at +the bridge--Repulse--Fresh efforts--Tactics of the +assault--Success--Formation on further bank--Bringing up +ammunition--Willcox relieves Sturgis--The latter now in +support--Advance against Sharpsburg--Fierce combat--Edge of the town +reached--Rodman's advance on the left--A. P. Hill's Confederate +division arrives from Harper's Ferry--Attacks Rodman's flank--A raw +regiment breaks--The line retires--Sturgis comes into the +gap--Defensive position taken and held--Enemy's assaults +repulsed--Troops sleeping on their arms--McClellan's reserve--Other +troops not used--McClellan's idea of Lee's force and plans--Lee's +retreat--The terrible casualty lists. + + +CHAPTER XVII + +McCLELLAN AND POLITICS--HIS REMOVAL AND ITS CAUSE + +Meeting Colonel Key--His changes of opinion--His relations to +McClellan--Governor Dennison's influence--McClellan's attitude +toward Lincoln--Burnside's position--The Harrison Landing +letter--Compared with Lincoln's views--Probable intent of the +letter--Incident at McClellan's headquarters--John W. +Garrett--Emancipation Proclamation--An after-dinner discussion of +it--Contrary influences--Frank advice--Burnside and John +Cochrane--General Order 163--Lincoln's visit to camp--Riding the +field--A review--Lincoln's desire for continuing the +campaign--McClellan's hesitation--His tactics of discussion--His +exaggeration of difficulties--Effect on his army--Disillusion a slow +process--Lee's army not better than Johnston's--Work done by our +Western army--Difference in morale--An army rarely bolder than its +leader--Correspondence between Halleck and McClellan--Lincoln's +remarkable letter on the campaign--The army moves on November 2--Lee +regains the line covering Richmond--McClellan relieved--Burnside in +command. + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +PERSONAL RELATIONS OF McCLELLAN, BURNSIDE, AND PORTER + +Intimacy of McClellan and Burnside--Private letters in the official +files--Burnside's mediation--His self-forgetful devotion--The +movement to join Pope--Burnside forwards Porter's dispatches--His +double refusal of the command--McClellan suspends the organization +of wings--His relations to Porter--Lincoln's letter on the +subject--Fault-finding with Burnside--Whose work?--Burnside's +appearance and bearing in the field. + + +CHAPTER XIX + +RETURN TO WEST VIRGINIA + +Ordered to the Kanawha valley again--An unwelcome surprise--Reasons +for the order--Reporting to Halleck at Washington--Affairs in the +Kanawha in September--Lightburn's positions--Enemy under Loring +advances--Affair at Fayette C. H.--Lightburn retreats--Gauley Bridge +abandoned--Charleston evacuated--Disorderly flight to the +Ohio--Enemy's cavalry raid under Jenkins--General retreat in +Tennessee and Kentucky--West Virginia not in any Department--Now +annexed to that of Ohio--Morgan's retreat from Cumberland +Gap--Ordered to join the Kanawha forces--Milroy's brigade also--My +interviews with Halleck and Stanton--Promotion--My task--My division +sent with me--District of West Virginia--Colonel Crook +promoted--Journey westward--Governor Peirpoint--Governor +Tod--General Wright--Destitution of Morgan's column--Refitting at +Portland, Ohio--Night drive to Gallipolis--An amusing +accident--Inspection at Point Pleasant--Milroy ordered to +Parkersburg--Milroy's qualities--Interruptions to movement of +troops--No wagons--Supplies delayed--Confederate retreat--Loring +relieved--Echols in command--Our march up the valley--Echols +retreats--We occupy Charleston and Gauley Bridge--Further advance +stopped--Our forces reduced--Distribution of remaining +troops--Alarms and minor movements--Case of Mr. Summers--His +treatment by the Confederates. + + +CHAPTER XX + +WINTER QUARTERS, 1862-63--PROMOTIONS AND POLITICS + +Central position of Marietta, Ohio--Connection with all parts of +West Virginia--Drill and instruction of troops--Guerilla +warfare--Partisan Rangers--Confederate laws--Disposal of +plunder--Mosby's Rangers as a type--Opinions of Lee, Stuart, and +Rosser--Effect on other troops--Rangers finally abolished--Rival +home-guards and militia--Horrors of neighborhood war--Staff and +staff duties--Reduction of forces--General Cluseret--Later +connection with the Paris Commune--His relations with Milroy--He +resigns--Political situation--Congressmen distrust Lincoln--Cutler's +diary--Resolutions regarding appointments of general officers--The +number authorized by law--Stanton's report--Effect of Act of July, +1862--An excess of nine major-generals--The legal questions +involved--Congressional patronage and local distribution--Ready for +a "deal"--Bill to increase the number of generals--A "slate" made up +to exhaust the number--Senate and House +disagree--Conference--Agreement in last hours of the session--The +new list--A few vacancies by resignation, etc.--List of those +dropped--My own case--Faults of the method--Lincoln's humorous +comments--Curious case of General Turchin--Congestion in the highest +grades--Effects--Confederate grades of general and +lieutenant-general--Superiority of our system--Cotemporaneous +reports and criticisms--New regiments instead of recruiting old +ones--Sherman's trenchant opinion. + + +CHAPTER XXI + +FAREWELL TO WEST VIRGINIA--BURNSIDE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO + +Desire for field service--Changes in the Army of the +Potomac--Judgment of McClellan at that time--Our defective +knowledge--Changes in West Virginia--Errors in new +organization--Embarrassments resulting--Visit to General +Schenck--New orders from Washington--Sent to Ohio to administer the +draft--Burnside at head of the department--District of +Ohio--Headquarters at Cincinnati--Cordial relations of Governor Tod +with the military authorities--System of enrolment and +draft--Administration by Colonel Fry--Decay of the veteran +regiments--Bounty-jumping--Effects on political parties--Soldiers +voting--Burnside's military plans--East Tennessee--Rosecrans aiming +at Chattanooga--Burnside's business habits--His frankness--Stories +about him--His personal characteristics--Cincinnati as a border +city--Rebel sympathizers--Order No. 38--Challenged by +Vallandigham--The order not a new departure--Lincoln's +proclamation--General Wright's circular. + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE VALLANDIGHAM CASE--THE HOLMES COUNTY WAR + +Clement L. Vallandigham--His opposition to the war--His theory of +reconstruction--His Mount Vernon speech--His arrest--Sent before the +military commission--General Potter its president--Counsel for the +prisoner--The line of defence--The judgment--Habeas Corpus +proceedings--Circuit Court of the United States--Judge Leavitt +denies the release--Commutation by the President--Sent beyond the +lines--Conduct of Confederate authorities--Vallandigham in +Canada--Candidate for Governor--Political results--Martial +law--Principles underlying it--Practical application--The intent to +aid the public enemy--The intent to defeat the draft--Armed +resistance to arrest of deserters, Noble County--To the enrolment in +Holmes County--A real insurrection--Connection of these with +Vallandigham's speeches--The Supreme Court refuses to +interfere--Action in the Milligan case after the war--Judge Davis's +personal views--Knights of the Golden Circle--The Holmes County +outbreak--Its suppression--Letter to Judge Welker. + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +BURNSIDE AND ROSECRANS--THE SUMMER'S DELAYS + +Condition of Kentucky and Tennessee--Halleck's instructions to +Burnside--Blockhouses at bridges--Relief of East +Tennessee--Conditions of the problem--Vast wagon-train +required--Scheme of a railroad--Surveys begun--Burnside's efforts to +arrange co-operation with Rosecrans--Bragg sending troops to +Johnston--Halleck urges Rosecrans to activity--Continued +inactivity--Burnside ordered to send troops to Grant--Rosecrans's +correspondence with Halleck--Lincoln's dispatch--Rosecrans collects +his subordinates' opinions--Councils of war--The situation +considered--Sheridan and Thomas--Computation of +effectives--Garfield's summing up--Review of the situation when +Rosecrans succeeded Buell--After Stone's River--Relative +forces--Disastrous detached expeditions--Appeal to ambition--The +major-generalship in regular army--Views of the President +justified--Burnside's forces--Confederate forces in East +Tennessee--Reasons for the double organization of the Union armies. + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE MORGAN RAID + +Departure of the staff for the field--An amusingly quick +return--Changes in my own duties--Expeditions to occupy the +enemy--Sanders' raid into East Tennessee--His route--His success and +return--The Confederate Morgan's raid--His instructions--His +reputation as a soldier--Compared with Forrest--Morgan's start +delayed--His appearance at Green River, Ky.--Foiled by Colonel +Moore--Captures Lebanon--Reaches the Ohio at Brandenburg--General +Hobson in pursuit--Morgan crosses into Indiana--Was this his +original purpose?--His route out of Indiana into Ohio--He approaches +Cincinnati--Hot chase by Hobson--Gunboats co-operating on the +river--Efforts to block his way--He avoids garrisoned posts and +cities--Our troops moved in transports by water--Condition of +Morgan's jaded column--Approaching the Ohio at +Buffington's--Gunboats near the ford--Hobson attacks--Part captured, +the rest fly northward--Another capture--A long chase--Surrender of +Morgan with the remnant--Summary of results--A burlesque +capitulation. + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE LIBERATION OF EAST TENNESSEE + +News of Grant's victory at Vicksburg--A thrilling scene at the +opera--Burnside's Ninth Corps to return--Stanton urges Rosecrans to +advance--The Tullahoma manoeuvres--Testy correspondence--Its real +meaning--Urgency with Burnside--Ignorance concerning his +situation--His disappointment as to Ninth Corps--Rapid concentration +of other troops--Burnside's march into East Tennessee--Occupation of +Knoxville--Invests Cumberland Gap--The garrison surrenders--Good +news from Rosecrans--Distances between armies--Divergent lines--No +railway communication--Burnside concentrates toward the Virginia +line--Joy of the people--Their intense loyalty--Their faith in the +future. + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +BURNSIDE IN EAST TENNESSEE + +Organizing and arming the loyalists--Burnside concentrates near +Greeneville--His general plan--Rumors of Confederate +reinforcements--Lack of accurate information--The Ninth Corps in +Kentucky--Its depletion by malarial disease--Death of General Welsh +from this cause--Preparing for further work--Situation on 16th +September--Dispatch from Halleck--Its apparent purpose--Necessity to +dispose of the enemy near Virginia border--Burnside personally at +the front--His great activity--Ignorance of Rosecrans's +peril--Impossibility of joining him by the 20th--Ruinous effects of +abandoning East Tennessee--Efforts to aid Rosecrans without such +abandonment--Enemy duped into burning Watauga bridge +themselves--Ninth Corps arriving--Willcox's division garrisons +Cumberland Gap--Reinforcements sent Rosecrans from all +quarters--Chattanooga made safe from attack--The supply +question--Meigs's description of the roads--Burnside halted near +Loudon--Halleck's misconception of the geography--The people +imploring the President not to remove the troops--How Longstreet got +away from Virginia--Burnside's alternate plans--Minor operations in +upper Holston valley--Wolford's affair on the lower Holston. + + +APPENDIX A + + +APPENDIX B + + + + +MILITARY REMINISCENCES OF + +THE CIVIL WAR + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR + + +Ohio Senate April 12--Sumter bombarded--"Glory to God!"--The +surrender--Effect on public sentiment--Call for troops--Politicians +changing front--David Tod--Stephen A. Douglas--The insurrection must +be crushed--Garfield on personal duty--Troops organized by the +States--The militia--Unpreparedness--McClellan at Columbus--Meets +Governor Dennison--Put in command--Our stock of munitions--Making +estimates--McClellan's plan--Camp Jackson--Camp Dennison--Gathering +of the volunteers--Garibaldi uniforms--Officering the troops--Off +for Washington--Scenes in the State Capitol--Governor Dennison's +labors--Young regulars--Scott's policy--Alex. McCook--Orlando +Poe--Not allowed to take state commissions. + + +On Friday the twelfth day of April, 1861, the Senate of Ohio was in +session, trying to go on in the ordinary routine of business, but +with a sense of anxiety and strain which was caused by the troubled +condition of national affairs. The passage of Ordinances of +Secession by one after another of the Southern States, and even the +assembling of a provisional Confederate government at Montgomery, +had not wholly destroyed the hope that some peaceful way out of our +troubles would be found; yet the gathering of an army on the sands +opposite Fort Sumter was really war, and if a hostile gun were +fired, we knew it would mean the end of all effort at arrangement. +Hoping almost against hope that blood would not be shed, and that +the pageant of military array and of a rebel government would pass +by and soon be reckoned among the disused scenes and properties of a +political drama that never pretended to be more than acting, we +tried to give our thoughts to business; but there was no heart in +it, and the morning hour lagged, for we could not work in earnest +and we were unwilling to adjourn. + +Suddenly a senator came in from the lobby in an excited way, and +catching the chairman's eye, exclaimed, "Mr. President, the +telegraph announces that the secessionists are bombarding Fort +Sumter!" There was a solemn and painful hush, but it was broken in a +moment by a woman's shrill voice from the spectators' seats, crying, +"Glory to God!" It startled every one, almost as if the enemy were +in the midst. But it was the voice of a radical friend of the slave, +who after a lifetime of public agitation believed that only through +blood could freedom be won. Abby Kelly Foster had been attending the +session of the Assembly, urging the passage of some measures +enlarging the legal rights of married women, and, sitting beyond the +railing when the news came in, shouted a fierce cry of joy that +oppression had submitted its cause to the decision of the sword. +With most of us, the gloomy thought that civil war had begun in our +own land overshadowed everything, and seemed too great a price to +pay for any good; a scourge to be borne only in preference to +yielding the very groundwork of our republicanism,--the right to +enforce a fair interpretation of the Constitution through the +election of President and Congress. + +The next day we learned that Major Anderson had surrendered, and the +telegraphic news from all the Northern States showed plain evidence +of a popular outburst of loyalty to the Union, following a brief +moment of dismay. Judge Thomas M. Key of Cincinnati, chairman of the +Judiciary Committee, was the recognized leader of the Democratic +party in the Senate, [Footnote: Afterward aide-de-camp and acting +judge-advocate on McClellan's staff.] and at an early hour moved an +adjournment to the following Tuesday, in order, as he said, that the +senators might have the opportunity to go home and consult their +constituents in the perilous crisis of public affairs. No objection +was made to the adjournment, and the representatives took a similar +recess. All were in a state of most anxious suspense,--the +Republicans to know what initiative the Administration at Washington +would take, and the Democrats to determine what course they should +follow if the President should call for troops to put down the +insurrection. + +Before we meet again, Mr. Lincoln's proclamation and call for +seventy-five thousand militia for three months' service were out, +and the great mass of the people of the North, forgetting all party +distinctions, answered with an enthusiastic patriotism that swept +politicians off their feet. When we met again on Tuesday morning, +Judge Key, taking my arm and pacing the floor outside the railing in +the Senate chamber, broke out impetuously, "Mr. Cox, the people have +gone stark mad!" "I knew they would if a blow was struck against the +flag," said I, reminding him of some previous conversations we had +had on the subject. He, with most of the politicians of the day, +partly by sympathy with the overwhelming current of public opinion, +and partly by reaction of their own hearts against the false +theories which had encouraged the secessionists, determined to +support the war measures of the government, and to make no factious +opposition to such state legislation as might be necessary to +sustain the federal administration. + +The attitude of Mr. Key is only a type of many others, and makers +one of the most striking features of the time. On the 8th of January +the usual Democratic convention and celebration of the Battle of New +Orleans had taken place, and a series of resolutions had been +passed, which were drafted, as was understood, by Judge Thurman. In +these, professing to speak in the name of "two hundred thousand +Democrats of Ohio," the convention had very significantly intimated +that this vast organization of men would be found in the way of any +attempt to put down secession until the demands of the South in +respect to slavery were complied with. A few days afterward I was +returning to Columbus from my home in Trumbull County, and meeting +upon the railway train with David Tod, then an active Democratic +politician, but afterward one of our loyal "war governors," the +conversation turned on the action of the convention which had just +adjourned. Mr. Tod and I were personal friends and neighbors, and I +freely expressed my surprise that the convention should have +committed itself to what must be interpreted as a threat of +insurrection in the North if the administration should, in opposing +secession by force, follow the example of Andrew Jackson, in whose +honor they had assembled. He rather vehemently reasserted the +substance of the resolution, saying that we Republicans would find +the two hundred thousand Ohio Democrats in front of us, if we +attempted to cross the Ohio River. My answer was, "We will give up +the contest if we cannot carry your two hundred thousand over the +heads of your leaders." + +The result proved how hollow the party professions had been; or +perhaps I should say how superficial was the hold of such party +doctrines upon the mass of men in a great political organization. In +the excitement of political campaigns they had cheered the +extravagant language of party platforms with very little reflection, +and the leaders had imagined that the people were really and +earnestly indoctrinated into the political creed of Calhoun; but at +the first shot from Beauregard's guns in Charleston harbor their +latent patriotism sprang into vigorous life, and they crowded to the +recruiting stations to enlist for the defence of the national flag +and the national Union. It was a popular torrent which no leaders +could resist; but many of these should be credited with the same +patriotic impulse, and it made them nobly oblivious of party +consistency. Stephen A. Douglas passed through Columbus on his way +to Washington a few days after the surrender of Sumter, and in +response to the calls of a spontaneous gathering of people, spoke to +them from his bedroom window in the American House. There had been +no thought for any of the common surroundings of a public meeting. +There were no torches, no music. A dark crowd of men filled full the +dim-lit street, and called for Douglas with an earnestness of tone +wholly different from the enthusiasm of common political gatherings. +He came half-dressed to his window, and without any light near him, +spoke solemnly to the people upon the terrible crisis which had come +upon the nation. Men of all parties were there: his own followers to +get some light as to their duty; the Breckinridge Democrats ready, +most of them, repentantly to follow a Northern leader, now that +their recent candidate was in the rebellion; [Footnote: Breckinridge +did not formally join the Confederacy till September, but his accord +with the secessionists was well known.] the Republicans eagerly +anxious to know whether so potent an influence was to be +unreservedly on the side of the country. I remember well the serious +solicitude with which I listened to his opening sentences as I +leaned against the railing of the State House park, trying in vain +to get more than a dim outline of the man as he stood at the +unlighted window. His deep sonorous voice rolled down through the +darkness from above us,--an earnest, measured voice, the more +solemn, the more impressive, because we could not see the speaker, +and it came to us literally as "a voice in the night,"--the night of +our country's unspeakable trial. There was no uncertainty in his +tone: the Union must be preserved and the insurrection must be +crushed,--he pledged his hearty support to Mr. Lincoln's +administration in doing this. Other questions must stand aside till +the national authority should be everywhere recognized. I do not +think we greatly cheered him,--it was rather a deep Amen that went +up from the crowd. We went home breathing freer in the assurance we +now felt that, for a time at least, no organized opposition to the +federal government and its policy of coercion would be formidable in +the North. We did not look for unanimity. Bitter and narrow men +there were whose sympathies were with their country's enemies. +Others equally narrow were still in the chains of the secession +logic they had learned from the Calhounists; but the broader-minded +men found themselves happy in being free from disloyal theories, and +threw themselves sincerely and earnestly into the popular movement. +There was no more doubt where Douglas or Tod or Key would be found, +or any of the great class they represented. + +Yet the situation hung upon us like a nightmare. Garfield and I were +lodging together at the time, our wives being kept at home by family +cares, and when we reached our sitting-room, after an evening +session of the Senate, we often found ourselves involuntarily +groaning, "Civil war in _our_ land!" The shame, the outrage, the +folly, seemed too great to believe, and we half hoped to wake from +it as from a dream. Among the painful remembrances of those days is +the ever-present weight at the heart which never left me till I +found relief in the active duties of camp life at the close of the +month. I went about my duties (and I am sure most of those I +associated with did the same) with the half-choking sense of a grief +I dared not think of: like one who is dragging himself to the +ordinary labors of life from some terrible and recent bereavement. + +We talked of our personal duty, and though both Garfield and myself +had young families, we were agreed that our activity in the +organization and support of the Republican party made the duty of +supporting the government by military service come peculiarly home +to us. He was, for the moment, somewhat trammelled by his +half-clerical position, but he very soon cut the knot. My own path +seemed unmistakably clear. He, more careful for his friend than for +himself, urged upon me his doubts whether my physical strength was +equal to the strain that would be put upon it. "I," said he, "am big +and strong, and if my relations to the church and the college can be +broken, I shall have no excuse for not enlisting; but you are +slender and will break down." It was true that I looked slender for +a man six feet high (though it would hardly be suspected now that it +was so), yet I had assured confidence in the elasticity of my +constitution; and the result justified me, whilst it also showed how +liable to mistake one is in such things. Garfield found that he had +a tendency to weakness of the alimentary system which broke him down +on every campaign in which he served and led to his retiring from +the army much earlier than he had intended. My own health, on the +other hand, was strengthened by out-door life and exposure, and I +served to the end with growing physical vigor. + +When Mr. Lincoln issued his first call for troops, the existing laws +made it necessary that these should be fully organized and officered +by the several States. Then, the treasury was in no condition to +bear the burden of war expenditures, and till Congress could +assemble, the President was forced to rely on the States to furnish +the means necessary for the equipment and transportation of their +own troops. This threw upon the governors and legislatures of the +loyal States responsibilities of a kind wholly unprecedented. A long +period of profound peace had made every military organization seem +almost farcical. A few independent military companies formed the +merest shadow of an army; the state militia proper was only a +nominal thing. It happened, however, that I held a commission as +Brigadier in this state militia, and my intimacy with Governor +Dennison led him to call upon me for such assistance as I could +render in the first enrolment and organization of the Ohio quota. +Arranging to be called to the Senate chamber when my vote might be +needed upon important legislation, I gave my time chiefly to such +military matters as the governor appointed. Although, as I have +said, my military commission had been a nominal thing, and in fact I +had never worn a uniform, I had not wholly neglected theoretic +preparation for such work. For some years the possibility of a war +of secession had been one of the things which would force itself +upon the thoughts of reflecting people, and I had been led to give +some careful study to such books of tactics and of strategy as were +within easy reach. I had especially been led to read military +history with critical care, and had carried away many valuable ideas +from this most useful means of military education. I had therefore +some notion of the work before us, and could approach its problems +with less loss of time, at least, than if I had been wholly +ignorant. [Footnote: I have treated this subject somewhat more fully +in a paper in the "Atlantic Monthly" for March, 1892, "Why the Men +of '61 fought for the Union."] + +My commission as Brigadier-General in the Ohio quota in national +service was dated on the 23d of April, though it had been understood +for several days that my tender of service in the field would be +accepted. Just about the same time Captain George B. McClellan was +requested by Governor Dennison to come to Columbus for consultation, +and by the governor's request I met him at the railway station and +took him to the State House. I think Mr. Larz Anderson (brother of +Major Robert Anderson) and Mr. L'Hommedieu of Cincinnati were with +him. The intimation had been given me that he would probably be made +major-general and commandant of our Ohio contingent, and this, +naturally, made me scan him closely. He was rather under the medium +height, but muscularly formed, with broad shoulders and a +well-poised head, active and graceful in motion. His whole +appearance was quiet and modest, but when drawn out he showed no +lack of confidence in himself. He was dressed in a plain travelling +suit, with a narrow-rimmed soft felt hat. In short, he seemed what +he was, a railway superintendent in his business clothes. At the +time his name was a good deal associated with that of Beauregard; +they were spoken of as young men of similar standing in the Engineer +Corps of the Army, and great things were expected of them both +because of their scientific knowledge of their profession, though +McClellan had been in civil life for some years. His report on the +Crimean War was one of the few important memoirs our old army had +produced, and was valuable enough to give a just reputation for +comprehensive understanding of military organization, and the +promise of ability to conduct the operations of an army. + +I was present at the interview which the governor had with him. The +destitution of the State of everything like military material and +equipment was very plainly put, and the magnitude of the task of +building up a small army out of nothing was not blinked. The +governor spoke of the embarrassment he felt at every step from the +lack of practical military experience in his staff, and of his +desire to have some one on whom he could properly throw the details +of military work. McClellan showed that he fully understood the +difficulties there would be before him, and said that no man could +wholly master them at once, although he had confidence that if a few +weeks' time for preparation were given, he would be able to put the +Ohio division into reasonable form for taking the field. The command +was then formally tendered and accepted. All of us who were present +felt that the selection was one full of promise and hope, and that +the governor had done the wisest thing practicable at the time. + +The next morning McClellan requested me to accompany him to the +State Arsenal, to see what arms and material might be there. We +found a few boxes of smooth-bore muskets which had once been issued +to militia companies and had been returned rusted and damaged. No +belts, cartridge-boxes, or other accoutrements were with them. There +were two or three smooth-bore brass fieldpieces, six-pounders, which +had been honeycombed by firing salutes, and of which the vents had +been worn out, bushed, and worn out again. In a heap in one corner +lay a confused pile of mildewed harness, which had probably been +once used for artillery horses, but was now not worth carrying away. +There had for many years been no money appropriated to buy military +material or even to protect the little the State had. The federal +government had occasionally distributed some arms which were in the +hands of the independent uniformed militia, and the arsenal was +simply an empty storehouse. It did not take long to complete our +inspection. At the door, as we were leaving the building, McClellan +turned, and looking back into its emptiness, remarked, half +humorously and half sadly, "A fine stock of munitions on which to +begin a great war!" We went back to the State House, where a room in +the Secretary of State's department was assigned us, and we sat down +to work. The first task was to make out detailed schedules and +estimates of what would be needed to equip ten thousand men for the +field. This was a unit which could be used by the governor and +legislature in estimating the appropriations needed then or +subsequently. Intervals in this labor were used in discussing the +general situation and plans of campaign. Before the close of the +week McClellan drew up a paper embodying his own views, and +forwarded it to Lieutenant-General Scott. He read it to me, and my +recollection of it is that he suggested two principal lines of +movement in the West,--one, to move eastward by the Kanawha valley +with a heavy column to co-operate with an army in front of +Washington; the other, to march directly southward and to open the +valley of the Mississippi. Scott's answer was appreciative and +flattering, without distinctly approving his plan; and I have never +doubted that the paper prepared the way for his appointment in the +regular army which followed at so early a day. [Footnote: I am not +aware that McClellan's plan of campaign has been published. Scott's +answer to it is given in General Townsend's "Anecdotes of the Civil +War," p. 260. It was, with other communications from Governor +Dennison, carried to Washington by Hon. A. F. Perry of Cincinnati, +an intimate friend of the governor, who volunteered as special +messenger, the mail service being unsafe. See a paper by Mr. Perry +in "Sketches of War History" (Ohio Loyal Legion), _vol. iii._ p. +345.] + +During this week McClellan was invited to take the command of the +troops to be raised in Pennsylvania, his native State. Some things +beside his natural attachment to Pennsylvania made the proposal an +attractive one to him. It was already evident that the army which +might be organized near Washington would be peculiarly in the public +eye, and would give to its leading officers greater opportunities of +prompt recognition and promotion than would be likely to occur in +the West. The close association with the government would also be a +source of power if he were successful, and the way to a chief +command would be more open there than elsewhere. McClellan told me +frankly that if the offer had come before he had assumed the Ohio +command, he would have accepted it; but he promptly decided that he +was honorably bound to serve under the commission he had already +received and which, like my own, was dated April 23. + +My own first assignment to a military command was during the same +week, on the completion of our estimates, when I was for a few days +put in charge of Camp Jackson, the depot of recruits which Governor +Dennison had established in the northern suburb of Columbus and had +named in honor of the first squelcher of secessionism. McClellan +soon determined, however, that a separate camp of instruction should +be formed for the troops mustered into the United States service, +and should be so placed as to be free from the temptations and +inconveniences of too close neighborhood to a large city, whilst it +should also be reasonably well placed for speedy defence of the +southern frontier of the State. Other camps could be under state +control and used only for the organization of regiments which could +afterward be sent to the camp of instruction or elsewhere. Railway +lines and connections indicated some point in the Little Miami +valley as the proper place for such a camp; and Mr. Woodward, the +chief engineer of the Little Miami Railroad, being taken into +consultation, suggested a spot on the line of that railway about +thirteen miles from Cincinnati, where a considerable bend of the +Little Miami River encloses wide and level fields, backed on the +west by gently rising hills. I was invited to accompany the general +in making the inspection of the site, and I think we were +accompanied by Captain Rosecrans, an officer who had resigned from +the regular army to seek a career as civil engineer, and had lately +been in charge of some coal mines in the Kanawha valley. Mr. +Woodward was also of the party, and furnished a special train to +enable us to stop at as many eligible points as it might be thought +desirable to examine. There was no doubt that the point suggested +was best adapted for our work, and although the owners of the land +made rather hard terms, McClellan was authorized to close a contract +for the use of the military camp, which, in honor of the governor, +he named Camp Dennison. + +But in trying to give a connected idea of the first military +organization of the State, I have outrun some incidents of those +days which are worth recollection. From the hour the call for troops +was published, enlistments began, and recruits were parading the +streets continually. At the Capitol the restless impulse to be doing +something military seized even upon the members of the legislature, +and a large number of them assembled every evening upon the east +terrace of the State House to be drilled in marching and facing, by +one or two of their own number who had some knowledge of company +tactics. Most of the uniformed independent companies in the cities +of the State immediately tendered their services, and began to +recruit their numbers to the hundred men required for acceptance. +There was no time to procure uniform, nor was it desirable; for +these independent companies had chosen their own, and would have to +change it for that of the United States as soon as this could be +furnished. For some days companies could be seen marching and +drilling, of which part would be uniformed in some gaudy style, such +as is apt to prevail in holiday parades in time of peace, whilst +another part would be dressed in the ordinary working garb of +citizens of all degrees. The uniformed files would also be armed and +accoutred; the others would be without arms or equipments, and as +awkward a squad as could well be imagined. The material, however, +was magnificent, and soon began to take shape. The fancy uniforms +were left at home, and some approximation to a simple and useful +costume was made. The recent popular outburst in Italy furnished a +useful idea, and the "Garibaldi uniform" of a red flannel shirt with +broad falling collar, with blue trousers held by a leathern +waist-belt, and a soft felt hat for the head, was extensively +copied, and served an excellent purpose. It could be made by the +wives and sisters at home, and was all the more acceptable for that. +The spring was opening, and a heavy coat would not be much needed, +so that with some sort of overcoat and a good blanket in an +improvised knapsack, the new company was not badly provided. The +warm scarlet color, reflected from their enthusiastic faces as they +stood in line, made a picture that never failed to impress the +mustering officers with the splendid character of the men. + +The officering of these new troops was a difficult and delicate +task, and so far as company officers were concerned, there seemed no +better way at the beginning than to let the enlisted men elect their +own, as was in fact done. In most cases where entirely new companies +were raised, it had been by the enthusiastic efforts of some +energetic volunteers who were naturally made the commissioned +officers. But not always. There were numerous examples of +self-denying patriotism which stayed in the ranks after expending +much labor and money in recruiting, modestly refusing the honors, +and giving way to some one supposed to have military knowledge or +experience. The war in Mexico in 1847 was the latest conflict with a +civilized people, and to have served in it was a sure passport to +confidence. It had often been a service more in name than in fact; +but the young volunteers felt so deeply their own ignorance that +they were ready to yield to any pretence of superior knowledge, and +generously to trust themselves to any one who would offer to lead +them. Hosts of charlatans and incompetents were thus put into +responsible places at the beginning, but the sifting work went on +fast after the troops were once in the field. The election of field +officers, however, ought not to have been allowed. Companies were +necessarily regimented together, of which each could have but little +personal knowledge of the officers of the others; intrigue and +demagogy soon came into play, and almost fatal mistakes were made in +selection. After a time the evil worked its own cure, but the ill +effects of it were long visible. + +The immediate need of troops to protect Washington caused most of +the uniformed companies to be united into the first two regiments, +which were quickly despatched to the East. It was a curious study to +watch the indications of character as the officers commanding +companies reported to the governor, and were told that the pressing +demand from Washington made it necessary to organize a regiment or +two and forward them at once, without waiting to arm or equip the +recruits. Some promptly recognized the necessity and took the +undesirable features as part of the duty they had assumed. Others +were querulous, wishing some one else to stand first in the breach, +leaving them time for drill, equipment, and preparation. One figure +impressed itself very strongly on my memory. A sturdy form, a head +with more than ordinary marks of intelligence, but a bearing with +more of swagger than of self-poised courage, yet evidently a man of +some importance in his own community, stood before the seat of the +governor, the bright lights of the chandelier over the table +lighting strongly both their figures. The officer was wrapped in a +heavy blanket or carriage lap-robe, spotted like a leopard skin, +which gave him a brigandish air. He was disposed to protest. "If my +men were hellions," said he, with strong emphasis on the word (a new +one to me), "I wouldn't mind; but to send off the best young fellows +of the county in such a way looks like murder." The governor, +sitting with pale, delicate features, but resolute air, answered +that the way to Washington was not supposed to be dangerous, and the +men could be armed and equipped, he was assured, as soon as they +reached there. It would be done at Harrisburg, if possible, and +certainly if any hostility should be shown in Maryland. The +President wanted the regiments at once, and Ohio's volunteers were +quite as ready to go as any. He had no choice, therefore, but to +order them off. The order was obeyed; but the obedience was with bad +grace, and I felt misgivings as to the officer's fitness to +command,--misgivings which about a year afterward were vividly +recalled with the scene I have described. + +No sooner were these regiments off than companies began to stream in +from all parts of the State. On their first arrival they were +quartered wherever shelter could be had, as there were no tents or +sheds to make a camp for them. Going to my evening work at the State +House, as I crossed the rotunda, I saw a company marching in by the +south door, and another disposing itself for the night upon the +marble pavement near the east entrance; as I passed on to the north +hall, I saw another, that had come a little earlier, holding a +prayer-meeting, the stone arches echoing with the excited +supplications of some one who was borne out of himself by the +terrible pressure of events around him, whilst, mingling with his +pathetic, beseeching tones as he prayed for his country, came the +shrill notes of the fife, and the thundering din of the inevitable +bass drum from the company marching in on the other side. In the +Senate chamber a company was quartered, and the senators were there +supplying them with paper and pens, with which the boys were writing +their farewells to mothers and sweethearts whom they hardly dared +hope they should see again. A similar scene was going on in the +Representatives' hall, another in the Supreme Court room. In the +executive office sat the governor, the unwonted noises, when the +door was opened, breaking in on the quiet business-like air of the +room,--he meanwhile dictating despatches, indicating answers to +others, receiving committees of citizens, giving directions to +officers of companies and regiments, accommodating himself to the +wilful democracy of our institutions which insists upon seeing the +man in chief command and will not take its answer from a +subordinate, until in the small hours of the night the noises were +hushed, and after a brief hour of effective, undisturbed work upon +the matters of chief importance, he could leave the glare of his +gas-lighted office, and seek a few hours' rest, only to renew the +same wearing labors on the morrow. + +On the streets the excitement was of a rougher if not more intense +character. A minority of unthinking partisans could not understand +the strength and sweep of the great popular movement, and would +sometimes venture to speak out their sympathy with the rebellion or +their sneers at some party friend who had enlisted. In the boiling +temper of the time the quick answer was a blow; and it was one of +the common incidents of the day for those who came into the State +House to tell of a knockdown that had occurred here or there, when +this popular punishment had been administered to some indiscreet +"rebel sympathizer." + +Various duties brought young army officers of the regular service to +the state capital, and others sought a brief leave of absence to +come and offer their services to the governor of their native State. +General Scott, too much bound up in his experience of the Mexican +War, and not foreseeing the totally different proportions which this +must assume, planted himself firmly on the theory that the regular +army must be the principal reliance for severe work, and that the +volunteers could only be auxiliaries around this solid nucleus which +would show them the way to perform their duty and take the brunt of +every encounter. The young regulars who asked leave to accept +commissions in state regiments were therefore refused, and were +ordered to their own subaltern positions and posts. There can be no +doubt that the true policy would have been to encourage the whole of +this younger class to enter at once the volunteer service. They +would have been the field officers of the new regiments, and would +have impressed discipline and system upon the organization from the +beginning. The Confederacy really profited by having no regular +army. They gave to the officers who left our service, it is true, +commissions in their so-called "provisional army," to encourage them +in the assurance that they would have permanent military positions +if the war should end in the independence of the South; but this was +only a nominal organization, and their real army was made up (as +ours turned out practically to be) from the regiments of state +volunteers. Less than a year afterward we changed our policy, but it +was then too late to induce many of the regular officers to take +regimental positions in the volunteer troops. I hesitate to declare +that this did not turn out for the best; for although the +organization of our army would have been more rapidly perfected, +there are other considerations which have much weight. The army +would not have been the popular thing it was, its close +identification with the people's movement would have been weakened, +and it perhaps would not so readily have melted again into the mass +of the nation at the close of the war. + +Among the first of the young regular officers who came to Columbus +was Alexander McCook. He was ordered there as inspection and +mustering officer, and one of my earliest duties was to accompany +him to Camp Jackson to inspect the cooked rations which the +contractors were furnishing the new troops. I warmed to his earnest, +breezy way, and his business-like activity in performing his duty. +As a makeshift, before camp equipage and cooking utensils could be +issued to the troops, the contractors placed long trestle tables +under an improvised shed, and the soldiers came to these and ate, as +at a country picnic. It was not a bad arrangement to bridge over the +interval between home life and regular soldiers' fare, and the +outcry about it at the time was senseless, as all of us know who saw +real service afterward. McCook bustled along from table to table, +sticking a long skewer into a boiled ham, smelling of it to see if +the interior of the meat was tainted; breaking open a loaf of bread +and smelling of it to see if it was sour; examining the coffee +before it was put into the kettles, and after it was made; passing +his judgment on each, in prompt, peremptory manner as we went on. +The food was, in the main, excellent, though, as a way of supporting +an army, it was quite too costly to last long. + +While mustering in the recruits, McCook was elected colonel of the +First Regiment Ohio Volunteers, which had, I believe, already gone +to Washington. He was eager to accept, and telegraphed to Washington +for permission. Adjutant-General Thomas replied that it was not the +policy of the War Department to permit it. McCook cut the knot in +gallant style. He immediately tendered his resignation in the +regular army, taking care to say that he did so, not to avoid his +country's service or to aid her enemies, but because he believed he +could serve her much more effectively by drilling and leading a +regiment of Union volunteers. He notified the governor of his +acceptance of the colonelcy, and his _coup-de-main_ was a success; +for the department did not like to accept a resignation under such +circumstances, and he had the exceptional luck to keep his regular +commission and gain prestige as well, by his bold energy in the +matter. + +Orlando Poe came about the same time, for all this was occurring in +the last ten days of April. He was a lieutenant of topographical +engineers, and was stationed with General (then Captain) Meade at +Detroit, doing duty upon the coast survey of the lakes. He was in +person the model for a young athlete, tall, dark, and strong, with +frank, open countenance, looking fit to repeat his ancestor Adam +Poe's adventurous conflicts with the Indians as told in the frontier +traditions of Ohio. He too was eager for service; but the same rule +was applied to him, and the argument that the engineers would be +especially necessary to the army organization kept him for a time +from insisting upon taking volunteer service, as McCook had done. He +was indefatigable in his labors, assisting the governor in +organizing the regiments, smoothing the difficulties constantly +arising from lack of familiarity with the details of the +administrative service of the army, and giving wise advice to the +volunteer officers who made his acquaintance. I asked him, one day, +in my pursuit of practical ideas from all who I thought could help +me, what he would advise as the most useful means of becoming +familiar with my duties. Study the Army Regulations, said he, as if +it were your Bible! There was a world of wisdom in this: much more +than I appreciated at the time, though it set me earnestly to work +in a right direction. An officer in a responsible command, who had +already a fair knowledge of tactics, might trust his common sense +for guidance in an action on the field; but the administrative +duties of the army as a machine must be thoroughly learned, if he +would hope to make the management of its complicated organization an +easy thing to him. + +Major Sidney Burbank came to take McCook's place as mustering +officer: a grave, earnest man, of more age and more varied +experience than the men I have named. Captain John Pope also visited +the governor for consultation, and possibly others came also, though +I saw them only in passing, and did not then get far in making their +acquaintance. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +CAMP DENNISON + + +Laying out the camp--Rosecrans as engineer--A comfortless +night--Waking to new duties--Floors or no floors for the +huts--Hardee's Tactics--The water-supply--Colonel Tom. +Worthington--Joshua Sill--Brigades organized--Bates's +brigade--Schleich's--My own--McClellan's purpose--Division +organization--Garfield disappointed--Camp routine--Instruction and +drill--Camp cookery--Measles--Hospital barn--Sisters of +Charity--Ferment over re-enlistment--Musters by Gordon +Granger--"Food for powder"--Brigade staff--De Villiers--"A Captain +of Calvary"--The "Bloody Tinth"--Almost a row--Summoned to the +field. + + +On the 29th of April I was ordered by McClellan to proceed next +morning to Camp Dennison, with the Eleventh and half of the Third +Ohio regiments. The day was a fair one, and when about noon our +railway train reached the camping ground, it seemed an excellent +place for our work. The drawback was that very little of the land +was in meadow or pasture, part being in wheat and part in Indian +corn, which was just coming up. Captain Rosecrans met us, as +McClellan's engineer (later the well-known general), coming from +Cincinnati with a train-load of lumber. He had with him his compass +and chain, and by the help of a small detail of men soon laid off +the ground for the two regimental camps, and the general lines of +the whole encampment for a dozen regiments. It was McClellan's +purpose to put in two brigades on the west side of the railway, and +one on the east. My own brigade camp was assigned to the west side, +and nearest to Cincinnati. The men of the two regiments shouldered +their pine boards and carried them up to the line of the company +streets, which were close to the hills skirting the valley, and +which opened into the parade and drill ground along the railway. + +A general plan was given to the company officers by which the huts +should be made uniform in size and shape. The huts of each company +faced each other, three or four on each side, making the street +between, in which the company assembled before marching to its place +on the regimental color line. At the head of each street were the +quarters of the company officers, and those of the "field and staff" +still further in rear. The Regulations were followed in this plan as +closely as the style of barracks and nature of the ground would +permit. Vigorous work housed all the men before night, and it was +well that it did so, for the weather changed in the evening, a cold +rain came on, and the next morning was a chill and dreary one. My +own headquarters were in a little brick schoolhouse of one story, +which stood (and I think still stands) on the east side of the track +close to the railway. My improvised camp equipage consisted of a +common trestle cot and a pair of blankets, and I made my bed in the +open space in front of the teacher's desk or pulpit. My only staff +officer was an aide-de-camp, Captain Bascom (afterward of the +regular army), who had graduated at an Eastern military school, and +proved himself a faithful and efficient assistant. He slept on the +floor in one of the little aisles between the pupils' seats. One +lesson learned that night remained permanently fixed in my memory, +and I had no need of a repetition of it. I found that, having no +mattress on my cot, the cold was much more annoying below than above +me, and that if one can't keep the under side warm, it doesn't +matter how many blankets he may have atop. I procured later an army +cot with low legs, the whole of which could be taken apart and +packed in a very small parcel, and with this I carried a small +quilted mattress of cotton batting. It would have been warmer to +have made my bed on the ground with a heap of straw or leaves under +me; but as my tent had to be used for office work whenever a tent +could be pitched, I preferred the neater and more orderly interior +which this arrangement permitted. This, however, is anticipating. +The comfortless night passed without much refreshing sleep, the +strange situation doing perhaps as much as the limbs aching from +cold to keep me awake. The storm beat through broken window-panes, +and the gale howled about us, but day at last began to break, and +with its dawning light came our first reveille in camp. I shall +never forget the peculiar plaintive sound of the fifes as they +shrilled out on the damp air. The melody was destined to become very +familiar, but to this day I can't help wondering how it happened +that so melancholy a strain was chosen for the waking tune of the +soldiers' camp. The bugle reveille is quite different; it is even +cheery and inspiriting; but the regulation music for the drums and +fifes is better fitted to waken longings for home and all the sadder +emotions than to stir the host from sleep to the active duties of +the day. I lay for a while listening to it, finding its notes +suggesting many things and becoming a thread to string my reveries +upon, as I thought of the past which was separated from me by a +great gulf, the present with its serious duties, and the future +likely to come to a sudden end in the shock of battle. We roused +ourselves; a dash of cold water put an end to dreaming; we ate a +breakfast from a box of cooked provisions we had brought with us, +and resumed the duty of organizing and instructing the camp. The +depression which had weighed upon me since the news of the opening +guns at Sumter passed away, never to return. The consciousness of +having important work to do, and the absorption in the work itself, +proved the best of all mental tonics. The Rubicon was crossed, and +from this time out, vigorous bodily action, our wild outdoor life, +and the strenuous use of all the faculties, mental and physical, in +meeting the daily exigencies, made up an existence which, in spite +of all its hardships and all its discouragements, still seems a most +exhilarating one as I look back on it across a long vista of years. + +The first of May proved, instead, a true April day, of the most +fickle and changeable type. Gusts of rain and wind alternated with +flashes of bright sunshine. The second battalion of the Third +Regiment arrived, and the work of completing the cantonments went +on. The huts which were half finished yesterday were now put in good +order, and in building the new ones the men profited by the +experience of their comrades. We were however suddenly thrown into +one of those small tempests which it is so easy to get up in a new +camp, and which for the moment always seems to have an importance +out of all proportion to its real consequence. Captain Rosecrans, as +engineer, was superintending the work of building, and finding that +the companies were putting floors and bunks in their huts, he +peremptorily ordered that these should be taken out, insisting that +the huts were only intended to take the place of tents and give such +shelter as tents could give. The company and regimental officers +loudly protested, and the men were swelling with indignation and +wrath. Soon both parties were before me; Rosecrans hot and +impetuous, holding a high tone, and making use of General +McClellan's name in demanding, as an officer of his staff, that the +floors should be torn out, and the officers of the regiments held +responsible for obedience to the order that no more should be made. +He fairly bubbled with anger at the presumption of those who +questioned his authority. As soon as a little quiet could be got, I +asked Rosecrans if he had specific orders from the general that the +huts should have no floors. No, he had not, but his staff position +as engineer gave him sufficient control of the subject. I said I +would examine the matter and submit it to General McClellan, and +meanwhile the floors already built might remain, though no new ones +should be made till the question was decided. I reported to the +general that, in my judgment, the huts should have floors and bunks, +because the ground was wet when they were built,--they could not be +struck like tents to dry and air the earth, and they were meant to +be permanent quarters for the rendezvous of troops for an indefinite +time. The decision of McClellan was in accordance with the report. +Rosecrans acquiesced, and indeed seemed rather to like me the better +on finding that I was not carried away by the assumption of +indefinite power by a staff officer. + +This little flurry over, the quarters were soon got in as +comfortable shape as rough lumber could make them, and the work of +drill and instruction was systematized. The men were not yet armed, +so there was no temptation to begin too soon with the manual of the +musket, and they were kept industriously employed in marching in +single line, by file, in changing direction, in forming columns of +fours from double line, etc., before their guns were put in their +hands. Each regiment was treated as a separate camp, with its own +chain of sentinels, and the officers of the guard were constantly +busy teaching guard and picket duty theoretically to the reliefs off +duty, and inspecting the sentinels on post. Schools were established +in each regiment for field and staff and for the company officers, +and Hardee's Tactics was in the hands of everybody who could procure +a copy. It was one of our great inconveniences that the supply of +the authorized Tactics was soon exhausted, and it was difficult to +get the means of instruction in the company schools. An abridgment +was made and published in a very few days by Thomas Worthington, a +graduate of West Point in one of the earliest classes,--of 1827, I +think,--a son of one of the first governors of Ohio. This eccentric +officer had served in the regular army and in the Mexican War, and +was full of ideas, but was of so irascible and impetuous a temper +that he was always in collision with the powers that be, and spoiled +his own usefulness. He was employed to furnish water to the camp by +contract, and whilst he ruined himself in his efforts to do it well, +he was in perpetual conflict with the troops, who capsized his +carts, emptied his barrels, and made life a burden to him. The +quarrel was based on his taking the water from the river just +opposite the camp, though there was a slaughter-house some distance +above. Worthington argued that the distance was such that the +running water purified itself; but the men wouldn't listen to his +science, vigorously enforced as it was by idiomatic expletives, and +there was no safety for his water-carts till he yielded. He then +made a reservoir on one of the hills, filled it by a steam-pump, and +carried the water by pipes to the regimental camps at an expense +beyond his means, and which, as it was claimed that the scheme was +unauthorized, was never half paid for. His subsequent career as +colonel of a regiment was no more happy, and talents that seemed fit +for highest responsibilities were wasted in chafing against +circumstances which made him and fate seem to be perpetually playing +at cross purposes. [Footnote: He was later colonel of the +Forty-sixth Ohio, and became involved in a famous controversy with +Halleck and Sherman over his conduct in the Shiloh campaign and the +question of fieldworks there. He left the service toward the close +of 1862.] + +A very different character was Joshua W. Sill, who was sent to us as +ordnance officer. He too had been a regular army officer, but of the +younger class. Rather small and delicate in person, gentle and +refined in manner, he had about him little that answered to the +popular notion of a soldier. He had resigned from the army some +years before, and was a professor in an important educational +institution in Brooklyn, N. Y., when at the first act of hostility +he offered his services to the governor of Ohio, his native State. +After our day's work, we walked together along the railway, +discussing the political and military situation, and especially the +means of making most quickly an army out of the splendid but +untutored material that was collecting about us. Under his modest +and scholarly exterior I quickly discerned a fine temper in the +metal, that made his after career no enigma to me, and his heroic +death at the head of his division in the thickest of the strife at +Stone's River no surprise. + +The two regiments which began the encampment were quickly followed +by others, and the arriving regiments sometimes had their first +taste of camp life under circumstances well calculated to dampen +their ardor. The Fourth Ohio, under Colonel Lorin Andrews, President +of Kenyon College, came just before a thunderstorm one evening, and +the bivouac that night was as rough a one as his men were likely to +experience for many a day. They made shelter by placing boards from +the fence tops to the ground, but the fields were level and soon +became a mire, so that they were a queer-looking lot when they +crawled out next morning. The sun was then shining bright, however, +and they had better cover for their heads by the next night. The +Seventh Ohio, which was recruited in Cleveland and on the Western +Reserve, sent a party in advance to build some of their huts, and +though they too came in a rain-storm, they were less uncomfortable +than some of the others. Three brigades were organized from the +regiments of the Ohio contingent, exclusive of the two which had +been hurried to Washington. The brigadiers, beside myself, were +Generals Joshua H. Bates and Newton Schleich. General Bates, who was +the senior, was a graduate of West Point, who had served some years +in the regular army, but had resigned and adopted the profession of +the law. He lived at Cincinnati, and organized his brigade in that +city. They marched to Camp Dennison on the 20th of May, when, by +virtue of his seniority, General Bates assumed command of the camp +in McClellan's absence. His brigade consisted of the Fifth, Sixth, +Ninth, and Tenth regiments, and encamped on the east side of the +railroad in the bend of the river. General Schleich was a Democratic +senator, who had been in the state militia, and was also one of the +drill-masters of the legislative squad which had drilled upon the +Capitol terrace. His brigade included the Third, Twelfth, and +Thirteenth regiments, and, with mine, occupied the fields on the +west side of the railroad close to the slopes of the hills. My own +brigade was made up of the Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh +regiments, and our position was the southernmost in the general +camp. McClellan had intended to make his own headquarters in the +camp; but the convenience of attending to official business in +Cincinnati kept him in the city. His purpose was to make the brigade +organizations permanent, and to take them as a division to the field +when they were a little prepared for the work. Like many other good +plans, it failed to be carried out. I was the only one of the +brigadiers who remained in the service after the first enlistment +for ninety days, and it was my fate to take the field with new +regiments, only one of which had been in my brigade in camp. +Schleich did not show adaptation to field work, and though taken +into West Virginia with McClellan in June, he was relieved of active +service in a few weeks. He afterward sought and obtained the +colonelcy of the Sixty-first Ohio; but his service with it did not +prove a success, and he resigned in September, 1862, under charges. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. pp. 308-310.] General +Bates had some reason to expect an assignment to staff duty with +McClellan, and therefore declined a colonelcy in the line at the end +of the three months' service. He was disappointed in this +expectation after waiting some time for it, and returned to civil +life with the regrets of his comrades. There were some +disappointments, also, in the choice of regimental officers who were +elected in the regiments first organized, but were afterward +appointed by the governor. The companies were organized and assigned +to regiments before they came to camp, but the regimental elections +were held after the companies were assembled. Garfield was a +candidate for the colonelcy of the Seventh Regiment, but as he was +still engaged in important public duties and was not connected with +any company, he was at a disadvantage in the sort of competition +which was then rife. He was defeated,--a greater disappointment to +me than to him, for I had hoped that our close friendship would be +made still closer by comradeship in the field. In a few weeks he was +made colonel of the Forty-second Ohio, in the second levy. + +Up to the time that General Bates relieved me of the command of the +camp, and indeed for two or three days longer, the little +schoolhouse was my quarters as well as telegraph and express office. +We had cleared out most of the desks and benches, but were still +crowded together, day and night, in a way which was anything but +comfortable or desirable. Sheds for quartermaster's and subsistence +stores were of first necessity, and the building of a hut for myself +and staff had to be postponed till these were up. On the arrival of +General Bates with two or three staff officers, the necessity for +more room could not be longer ignored, and my own hut was built on +the slope of the hillside behind my brigade, close under the wooded +ridge, and here for the next six weeks was my home. The morning +brought its hour of business correspondence relating to the command; +then came the drill, when the parade ground was full of marching +companies and squads. Officers' drill followed, with sword exercise +and pistol practice. The day closed with the inspection of the +regiments in turn at dress parade, and the evening was allotted to +schools of theoretic tactics, outpost duty, and the like. Besides +their copies of the regulation tactics, officers supplied themselves +with such manuals as Mahan's books on Field Fortifications and on +Outpost Duty. I adopted at the beginning a rule to have some +military work in course of reading, and kept it up even in the +field, sending home one volume and getting another by mail. In this +way I gradually went through all the leading books I could find both +in English and in French, including the whole of Jomini's works, his +histories as well as his "Napoleon" and his "Grandes Operations +Militaires." I know of no intellectual stimulus so valuable to the +soldier as the reading of military history narrated by an +acknowledged master in the art of war. To see what others have done +in important junctures, and to have both their merits and their +mistakes analyzed by a competent critic, rouses one's mind to +grapple with the problem before it, and begets a generous +determination to try to rival in one's own sphere of action the +brilliant deeds of soldiers who have made a name in other times. +Then the example of the vigorous way in which history will at last +deal with those who fail when the pinch comes, tends to keep a man +up to his work and to make him avoid the rock on which so many have +split, the disposition to take refuge in doing nothing when he finds +it difficult to decide what should be done. + +The first fortnight in camp was the hardest for the troops. The +ploughed fields became deep with mud, which nothing could remove but +the good weather which should allow them to pack hard under the +continued tramp of thousands of men. The organization of the camp +kitchens had to be learned by the hardest also, and the men in each +company who had some aptitude for cooking had to be found by a slow +process of natural selection, during which many an unpalatable meal +had to be eaten. A disagreeable bit of information came to us in the +proof that more than half the men had never had the contagious +diseases of infancy. The measles broke out, and we had to organize a +camp hospital at once. A large barn near by was taken for this +purpose, and the surgeons had their hands full of cases which, +however trivial they might seem at home, were here aggravated into +dangerous illness by the unwonted surroundings and the impossibility +of securing the needed protection from exposure. As soon as the +increase of sickness in the camp was known in Cincinnati, the good +women of that city took promptly in hand the task of providing +nurses for the sick, and proper diet and delicacies for hospital +uses. The Sisters of Charity, under the lead of Sister Anthony, a +noble woman, came out in force, and their black and white robes +harmonized picturesquely with the military surroundings, as they +flitted about under the rough timber framing of the old barn, +carrying comfort and hope from one rude couch to another. As to +supplies, hardly a man in a regiment knew how to make out a +requisition for rations or for clothing, and easy as it is to rail +at "red tape," the necessity of keeping a check upon embezzlement +and wastefulness justified the staff bureaus at Washington in +insisting upon regular vouchers to support the quartermaster's and +commissary's accounts. But here, too, men were gradually found who +had special talent for the work. + +The infallible newspapers had no lack of material for criticism. +There were plenty of real blunders to invite it, but the severest +blame was quite as likely to be visited upon men and things which +did not deserve it. The governor was violently attacked for things +which he had no responsibility for, or others in which he had done +all that forethought and intelligence could do. When everybody had +to learn a new business, it would have been miraculous if grave +errors had not frequently occurred. Looking back at it, the wonder +is that the blunders and mishaps had not been tenfold more numerous +than they were. By the middle of May the confusion had given place +to reasonable system, but we were now obliged to meet the +embarrassments of reorganization for three years, under the +President's second call for troops. We had more than ten thousand +men who had begun to know something of their duties, and it was +worth a serious effort to transfer them into the permanent service; +but no one who did not go through the ordeal can imagine how trying +it was. In every company some discontented spirits wanted to go +home, shrinking from the perils to which they had committed +themselves in a moment of enthusiasm. For a few to go back, however, +would be a disgrace; and every dissatisfied man, to avoid the odium +of going alone, became a mischief-maker, seeking to prevent the +whole company from re-enlisting. The recruiting of a majority was +naturally made the condition of allowing the company organization to +be preserved, and a similar rule applied to the regiment. The +growing discipline was relaxed or lost in the solicitations, the +electioneering, the speech-making, and the other common arts of +persuasion. After a majority had re-enlisted and an organization was +secure, it would have been better to have discharged the remaining +three months' men and to have sent them home at once; but authority +for this could not be got, for the civil officers could not see, and +did not know what a nuisance these men were. Dissatisfied with +themselves for not going with their comrades, they became sulky, +disobedient, complaining, trying to make the others as unhappy as +themselves by arguing that faith was not kept with them, and doing +all the mischief it was possible to do. + +In spite of all these discouragements, however, the daily drills and +instruction went on with some approach to regularity, and our raw +volunteers began to look more like soldiers. Captain Gordon Granger +of the regular army came to muster the re-enlisted regiments into +the three years' service, and as he stood at the right of the Fourth +Ohio, looking down the line of a thousand stalwart men, all in their +Garibaldi shirts (for we had not yet received our uniforms), he +turned to me and exclaimed: "My God! that such men should be food +for powder!" It certainly was a display of manliness and +intelligence such as had hardly ever been seen in the ranks of an +army. There were in camp at that time three if not four companies, +in different regiments, that were wholly made up of undergraduates +of colleges who had enlisted together, their officers being their +tutors and professors; and where there was not so striking evidence +as this of the enlistment of the best of our youth, every company +could still show that it was largely recruited from the +best-nurtured and most promising young men of the community. + +Granger had been in the Southwest when the secession movement began, +had seen the formation of military companies everywhere, and the +incessant drilling which had been going on all winter, whilst we, in +a strange condition of political paralysis, had been doing nothing. +His information was eagerly sought by us all, and he lost no +opportunity of impressing upon us the fact that the South was nearly +six months ahead of us in organization and preparation. He did not +conceal his belief that we were likely to find the war a much longer +and more serious piece of business than was commonly expected, and +that unless we pushed hard our drilling and instruction we should +find ourselves at a disadvantage in our earlier encounters. What he +said had a good effect in making officers and men take more +willingly to the laborious routine of the parade ground and the +regimental school; for such opinions as his soon ran through the +camp, and they were commented upon by the enlisted men quite as +earnestly as among the officers. Still, hope kept the upper hand, +and if the question had been put to vote, I believe that +three-fourths of us still cherished the belief that a single +campaign would end the war. + +In the organization of my own brigade I had the assistance of +Captain McElroy, a young man who had nearly completed the course at +West Point, and who was subsequently made major of the Twentieth +Ohio. He was sent to the camp by the governor as a drill officer, +and I assigned him to staff duty. For commissary, I detailed +Lieutenant Gibbs, who accompanied one of the regiments from +Cincinnati, and who had seen a good deal of service as clerk in one +of the staff departments of the regular army. I had also for a time +the services of one of the picturesque adventurers who turn up in +such crises. In the Seventh Ohio was a company recruited in +Cleveland, of which the nucleus was an organization of Zouaves, +existing for some time before the war. It was made up of young men +who had been stimulated by the popularity of Ellsworth's Zouaves in +Chicago to form a similar body. They had had as their drill master a +Frenchman named De Villiers. His profession was that of a teacher of +fencing; but he had been an officer in Ellsworth's company, and was +familiar with fancy manoeuvres for street parade, and with a special +skirmish drill and bayonet exercise. Small, swarthy, with angular +features, and a brusque, military manner, in a showy uniform and +jaunty _kepi_ of scarlet cloth, covered with gold lace, he created +quite a sensation among us. His assumption of knowledge and +experience was accepted as true. He claimed to have been a surgeon +in the French army in Algiers, though we afterward learned to doubt +if his rank had been higher than that of a barber-surgeon of a +cavalry troop. From the testimonials he brought with him, I thought +I was doing a good thing in making him my brigade-major, as the +officer was then called whom we afterward knew as inspector-general. +He certainly was a most indefatigable fellow, and went at his work +with an enthusiasm that made him very useful for a time. It was +worth something to see a man who worked with a kind of dash,--with a +prompt, staccato movement that infused spirit and energy into all +around him. He would drill all day, and then spend half the night +trying to catch sentinels and officers of the guard at fault in +their duty. My first impression was that I had got hold of a most +valuable man, and others were so much of the same mind that in the +reorganization of regiments he was successively elected major of the +Eighth, and then colonel of the Eleventh. We shall see more of him +as we go on; but it turned out that his sharp discipline was not +steady or just; his knowledge was only skin-deep, and he had neither +the education nor the character for so responsible a situation as he +was placed in. He nearly plagued the life out of the officers of his +regiment before they got rid of him, and was a most brilliant +example of the way we were imposed upon by military charlatans at +the beginning. He was, however, good proof also of the speed with +which real service weeds out the undesirable material which seemed +so splendid in the days of common inexperience and at a distance +from danger. We had visits from clerical adventurers, too, for the +"pay and emoluments of a captain of cavalry" which the law gave to a +chaplain induced some to seek the office who were not the best +representatives of their profession. One young man who had spent a +morning soliciting the appointment in one of the regiments, came to +me in a shamefaced sort of way before leaving camp and said, +"General, before I decide this matter, I wish you would tell me just +what are the pay and emoluments of a _Captain of Calvary!_" Though +most of our men were native Ohioans, General Bates's brigade had in +it two regiments made up of quite contrasted nationalities. The +Ninth Ohio was recruited from the Germans of Cincinnati, and was +commanded by Colonel "Bob" McCook. In camp, the drilling of the +regiment fell almost completely into the hands of the adjutant, +Lieutenant Willich (afterward a general of division), and McCook, +who humorously exaggerated his own lack of military knowledge, used +to say that he was only "clerk for a thousand Dutchmen," so +completely did the care of equipping and providing for his regiment +engross his time and labor. The Tenth was an Irish regiment, and its +men used to be proud of calling themselves the "Bloody Tinth." The +brilliant Lytle was its commander, and his control over them, even +in the beginning of their service and near the city of their home, +showed that they had fallen into competent hands. It happened, of +course, that the guard-house pretty frequently contained +representatives of the Tenth who, on the short furloughs that were +allowed them, took a parting glass too much with their friends in +the city, and came to camp boisterously drunk. But the men of the +regiment got it into their heads that the Thirteenth, which lay just +opposite them across the railroad, took a malicious pleasure in +filling the guard-house with the Irishmen. Some threats had been +made that they would go over and "clean out" the Thirteenth, and one +fine evening these came to a head. I suddenly got orders from +General Bates to form my brigade, and march them at once between the +Tenth and Thirteenth to prevent a collision which seemed imminent. +My brigade was selected because it was the one to which neither of +the angry regiments belonged, the others being ordered into their +quarters. My little Frenchman, De Villiers, covered himself with +glory. His horse flew, under the spur, to the regimental +headquarters, the long roll was beaten as if the drummers realized +the full importance of the first opportunity to sound that warlike +signal, and the brigade-major's somewhat theatrical energy was so +contagious that many of the companies were assembled and ready to +file out of the company streets before the order reached them. We +marched by the moonlight into the space between the belligerent +regiments; but Lytle had already got his own men under control, and +the less mercurial Thirteenth were not disposed to be aggressive, so +that we were soon dismissed with a compliment for our promptness. I +ordered the colonels to march the regiments back to the camps +separately, and with my staff rode through that of the Thirteenth, +to see how matters were there. All was quiet, the men being in their +quarters; so, turning, I passed along near the railway, in rear of +the quartermaster's sheds. In the shadow of the buildings I had +nearly ridden over some one on foot, when he addressed me, and I +recognized an officer of high rank in that brigade. He was in great +agitation, and exclaimed, "Oh, General, what a horrible thing that +brothers should be killing each other!" I assured him the danger of +that was all over, and rode on, wondering a little at his presence +in that place under the circumstances. + +The six weeks of our stay in Camp Dennison seem like months in the +retrospect, so full were they crowded with new experiences. The +change came in an unexpected way. The initiative taken by the +Confederates in West Virginia had to be met by prompt action, and +McClellan was forced to drop his own plans to meet the emergency. +The organization and equipment of the regiments for the three years' +service were still incomplete, and the brigades were broken up, to +take across the Ohio the regiments best prepared to go. One by one +my regiments were ordered away, till finally, when on the 3d of July +I received orders to proceed to the Kanawha valley, I had but one of +the four regiments to which I had been trying to give something of +unity and brigade feeling, and that regiment (the Eleventh Ohio) was +still incomplete. General Bates fared even worse; for he saw all his +regiments ordered away, whilst he was left to organize new ones from +freshly recruited companies that were sent to the camp. This was +discouraging to a brigade commander, for even with veteran troops +mutual acquaintance between the officer and his command is a +necessary condition of confidence and a most important element of +strength. My own assignment to the Great Kanawha district was one I +had every reason to be content with, except that for several months +I felt the disadvantage I suffered from assuming command of troops +which I had never seen till we met in the field. + +The period of organization, brief as it was, had been valuable to +the regiments, and it had been of the utmost importance to secure +the re-enlistment of those which had received some instruction. It +had been, in the condition of the statute law, from necessity and +not from choice that the Administration had called out the state +militia for ninety days. The new term of enrolment was for "three +years or the war," and the forces were now designated as United +States Volunteers. It would have been well if the period of +apprenticeship could have been prolonged; but events would not wait. +All recognized the necessity, and thankful as we should have been +for a longer preparation and more thorough instruction, we were +eager to be ordered away. + +McClellan had been made a major-general in the regular army, and a +department had been placed under his command which included the +States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to which was added a little +later West Virginia north of the Great Kanawha. [Footnote: +McClellan's Report and Campaigns (New York, 1864), p. 8. McClellan's +Own Story, p. 44. Official Records, vol. ii. p. 633.] Rosecrans was +also appointed a brigadier-general in the regulars, and there was +much debate at the time whether the Administration had intended +this. Many insisted that he was nominated for the volunteer service, +and that the regular appointment was a clerical mistake in the +bureaus at Washington. There was no solid foundation for this +gossip. A considerable increase of the regular army was authorized +by law, and corresponding appointments were made, from major-general +downward. It was at this time that Sherman was made colonel of one +of the new regiments of regulars. It would perhaps have been wiser +to treat the regular commissions as prizes to be won only by +conspicuous and successful service in the field, as was done later; +but this policy was not then adopted, and the newly created offices +were filled in all grades. They were, of course, given to men from +whom great services could reasonably be expected; but when none had +been tested in the great operations of war, every appointment was at +the risk that the officer might not show the special talent for +command which makes a general. It was something of a lottery, at +best; but the system would have been improved if a method of +retiring inefficient officers had been adopted at once. The +ostensible reason for the different organization of volunteers and +regulars was that the former, as a temporary force to meet an +exigency, might be wholly disbanded when the war should end, without +affecting the permanent army, which was measured in size by the +needs of the country in its normal condition. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +MCCLELLAN IN WEST VIRGINIA. + + +Political attitude of West Virginia--Rebels take the +initiative--McClellan ordered to act--Ohio militia cross the +river--The Philippi affair--Significant dates--The vote on +secession--Virginia in the Confederacy--Lee in +command--Topography--The mountain passes--Garnett's army--Rich +mountain position--McClellan in the field--His forces--Advances +against Garnett--Rosecrans's proposal--His fight on the +mountain--McClellan's inaction--Garnett's retreat--Affair at +Carrick's Ford--Garnett killed--Hill's efforts to intercept--Pegram +in the wilderness--He surrenders--Indirect results +important--McClellan's military and personal traits. + + +The reasons which made it important to occupy West Virginia were +twofold, political and military. The people were strongly attached +to the Union, and had generally voted against the Ordinance of +Secession which by the action of the Richmond Convention had been +submitted to a popular vote on May 23d. Comparatively few slaves +were owned by them, and their interests bound them more to Ohio and +Pennsylvania than to eastern Virginia. Under the influence of Mr. +Lincoln's administration, strongly backed and chiefly represented by +Governor Dennison of Ohio, a movement was on foot to organize a +loyal Virginia government, repudiating that of Governor Letcher and +the state convention as self-destroyed by the act of secession. +Governor Dennison, in close correspondence with the leading +loyalists, had been urging McClellan to cross the Ohio to protect +and encourage the loyal men, when on the 26th of May news came that +the Secessionists had taken the initiative, and that some bridges +had been burned on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad a little west of +Grafton, the crossing of the Monongahela River where the two western +branches of the road unite as they come from Wheeling and +Parkersburg. The great line of communication between Washington and +the West had thus been cut, and action on our part was necessary. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. p. 44.] + +[Illustration: CAMPAIGNS IN WEST VIRGINIA 1861.] + +Governor Dennison had anticipated the need of more troops than the +thirteen regiments which had been organized as Ohio's quota under +the President's first call, and had enrolled nine other regiments, +numbering them consecutively with the others. These last he had put +in camps near the Ohio River, where at a moment's notice they could +occupy Wheeling, Parkersburg, and the mouth of the Great Kanawha. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 46, 47.] Two Union regiments were also +organizing in West Virginia itself, of which the first was commanded +by Colonel B. F. Kelley of Wheeling. The left bank of the Ohio was +in McClellan's department, and on the 24th General Scott, having +heard that two Virginia companies had occupied Grafton, telegraphed +the fact to McClellan, directing him to act promptly in +counteracting the effect of this movement. [Footnote: _Id_., p. +648.] + +On the 27th Colonel Kelley was sent by rail from Wheeling to drive +off the enemy, who withdrew at his approach, and the bridges were +quickly rebuilt. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 46, 49, 655.] Several of the +Ohio regiments were ordered across the river at the same time, and +an Indiana brigade under General Thomas A. Morris of that State was +hurried forward from Indianapolis. As the Ohio troops at Camp +Dennison which had been mustered into national service were in +process of reorganizing for the three years' term, McClellan +preferred not to move them till this was completed. He also adhered +to his plan of making his own principal movement in the Great +Kanawha valley, and desired to use there the Ohio division at our +camp. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 50, 656, 674.] The Ohio regiments first +sent into West Virginia were not mustered in, and were known as +State troops. General Morris reached Grafton on the 1st of June, and +was intrusted with the command of all the troops in West Virginia. +He found that Colonel Kelley had already planned an expedition +against the enemy, who had retired southward to Philippi, about +fifteen miles in a straight line, but some twenty-five by the +crooked country roads. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. p. 66.] +Morris approved the plan, but enlarged it by sending another column, +under Colonel E. Dumont of the Seventh Indiana, to co-operate with +Kelley. Both columns were directed to make a night march, starting +from points on the railroad about twelve miles apart and converging +on Philippi, which they were to attack at daybreak on June 3d. Each +column consisted of about fifteen hundred men, and Dumont had also +two smooth six-pounder cannon. The Confederate force was commanded +by Colonel G. A. Porterfield, and was something less than a thousand +strong, one-fourth cavalry. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 70, 72.] + +The night was dark and stormy, and Porterfield's raw troops had not +learned picket duty. The concerted movement against them was more +successful than such marches commonly are, and Porterfield's first +notice of danger was the opening of the artillery upon his sleeping +troops. It had been expected that the two columns would enclose the +enemy's camp and capture the whole; but, though in disorderly rout, +Porterfield succeeded, by personal coolness and courage, in getting +them off with but few casualties and the loss of a few arms. The +camp equipage and supplies were, of course, captured. Colonel Kelley +was wounded in the breast by a pistol-shot which was at first +supposed to be fatal, though it did not turn out so, and this was +the only casualty reported on the National side. [Footnote: Colonel +Kelley was a man already of middle age, and a leading citizen of +northwestern Virginia. His whole military career was in that region, +where his services were very valuable throughout the war. He was +promoted to brigadier-general among the first, and was +brevet-major-general when mustered out in 1865.] No prisoners were +taken, nor did any dead or wounded fall into our hands. Porterfield +retreated to Beverly, some thirty miles further to the southeast, +and the National forces occupied Philippi. The telegraphic reports +had put the Confederate force at 2000, and their loss at 15 killed. +This implied a considerable list of wounded and prisoners, and the +newspapers gave it the air of a considerable victory. The campaign +thus opened with apparent _eclat_ for McClellan (who was personally +at Cincinnati), and the "Philippi races," as they were locally +called, greatly encouraged the Union men of West Virginia and +correspondingly depressed the Secessionists. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. ii. pp. 64-74.] + +Nearly a month elapsed, when, having received reports that large +forces of the enemy were gathered at Beverly, McClellan determined +to proceed in person to that region with his best prepared troops, +postponing his Kanawha campaign till northwestern Virginia should be +cleared of the enemy. + +Military affairs in West Virginia had been complicated by the +political situation, and it is necessary to recollect the dates of +the swift following steps in Virginia's progress into the +Confederacy. Sumter surrendered on Saturday, the 13th of April, and +on Monday the 15th President Lincoln issued his first call for +troops. On Wednesday the 17th the Virginia Convention passed the +Ordinance of Secession in secret session. On Friday the 19th it was +known in Washington, and on Saturday Lee and Johnston resigned their +commissions in the United States Army, sorrowfully "going with their +State." [Footnote: Johnston's Narrative, p. 10. Townsend's Anecdotes +of the Civil War, p. 31. Long's Memoirs of Lee, pp. 94, 96.] On the +following Tuesday (23d) the chairman of the Virginia Convention +presented to Lee his commission as Major-General and Commander of +the Virginia Forces. On the same day Governor Dennison handed to +McClellan his commission to command the Ohio forces in the service +of the Union. Although the Confederate Congress at Montgomery +admitted Virginia to the Confederacy early in May, this was not +formally accepted in Virginia till after the popular vote on +secession (May 23d) and the canvassing of the returns of that +election. Governor Letcher issued on June 8th his proclamation +announcing the result, and transferring the command of the Virginia +troops to the Confederate Government. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. ii. p. 911.] During the whole of May, therefore, Virginia's +position was unsettled. Her governor, by the authority of the +convention, regarded her as independent of the United States, but by +an inchoate act of secession which would not become final till +ratified by the popular vote. The Virginia troops were arrayed near +the Potomac to resist the advance of national forces; but +Confederate troops had been welcomed in eastern Virginia as early as +the 10th of May, and President Davis had authorized Lee, as +Commander of the Virginia forces, to assume control of them. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 827.] + +It was well known that the prevailing sentiment in West Virginia was +loyal to the Union, and each party avoided conflict there for fear +of prejudicing its cause in the election. Hence it was that as soon +as the vote was cast, the aggressive was taken by the Virginia +government in the burning of the bridges near Grafton. The fire of +war was thus lighted. The crossing of the Ohio was with a full +understanding with Colonel Kelley, who recognized McClellan at once +as his military commander. [Footnote: I treated the relations of Lee +and Virginia to the Confederacy in a paper in "The Nation," Dec. 23, +1897, entitled "Lee, Johnston, and Davis."] The affair at Philippi +was, in form, the last appearance of Virginia in the role of an +independent nation, for in a very few days Lee announced by a +published order that the absorption of the Virginia troops into the +Confederate Army was complete. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. +p. 912.] It will be well to understand the topography of the +Virginia mountains and their western slope, if we would reach the +reasons which determined the lines of advance chosen by the +Confederates and the counter moves of McClellan. The Alleghany range +passing out of Pennsylvania and running southwest through the whole +length of Virginia, consists of several parallel lines of mountains +enclosing narrow valleys. The Potomac River breaks through at the +common boundary of Virginia and Maryland, and along its valley runs +the National Road as well as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The +Baltimore and Ohio Railroad also follows this natural highway, which +is thus indicated as the most important line of communication +between Washington and the Ohio valley, though a high mountain +summit must be passed, even by this route, before the tributaries of +the Ohio can be reached. Half-way across the State to the southward, +is a high watershed connecting the mountain ridges and separating +the streams tributary to the Potomac on the north from those falling +into the James and New rivers on the south. The Staunton and +Parkersburg turnpike follows the line of this high "divide" looking +down from among the clouds into the long and nearly straight defiles +on either hand, which separate the Alleghany Mountains proper from +the Blue Ridge on the east and from Cheat Mountain and other ranges +on the west. Still further to the southwest the James River and the +New River interlace their headwaters among the mountains, and break +out on east and west, making the third natural pass through which +the James River and Kanawha turnpike and canal find their way. These +three routes across the mountains were the only ones on which +military operations were at all feasible. The northern one was +usually in the hands of the National forces, and the other two were +those by which the Confederates attempted the invasion of West +Virginia. Beverly, a hundred miles from Staunton, was near the gate +through which the Staunton road passes on its way northwestward to +Parkersburg and Wheeling, whilst Gauley Bridge was the key-point of +the Kanawha route on the westerly slope of the mountains. + +General Lee determined to send columns upon both these lines. +General Henry A. Wise (formerly Governor of Virginia) took the +Kanawha route, and General Robert S. Garnett (lately Lee's own +adjutant-general) marched to Beverly. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. ii. pp. 908, 915.] Upon Porterfield's retreat to Beverly, +Garnett, who had also been an officer in the United States Army, was +ordered to assume command there and to stimulate the recruiting and +organization of regiments from the secession element of the +population. Some Virginia regiments raised on the eastern slope of +the mountains were sent with him, and to these was soon added the +First Georgia. On the 1st of July he reported his force as 4500 men, +but declared that his efforts to recruit had proven a complete +failure, only 23 having joined. The West Virginians, he says, "are +thoroughly imbued with an ignorant and bigoted Union sentiment." +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 239.] Other reinforcements were promised +Garnett, but none reached him except the Forty-fourth Virginia +Regiment, which arrived at Beverly the very day of his engagement +with McClellan's troops, but did not take part in the fighting. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 240, 274.] + +Tygart's valley, in which Beverly lies, is between Cheat Mountain on +the east, and Rich Mountain on the west. The river, of the same name +as the valley, flows northward about fifteen miles, then turns +westward, breaking through the ridge, and by junction with the +Buckhannon River forms the Monongahela, which passes by Philippi and +afterward crosses the railroad at Grafton. The Staunton and +Parkersburg turnpike divides at Beverly, the Parkersburg route +passing over a saddle in Rich Mountain, and the Wheeling route +following the river to Philippi. The ridge north of the river at the +gap is known as Laurel Mountain, and the road passes over a spur of +it. Garnett regarded the two positions at Rich Mountain and Laurel +Mountain as the gates to all the region beyond and to the West. A +rough mountain road, barely passable, connected the Laurel Mountain +position with Cheat River on the east, and it was possible to go by +this way northward through St. George to the Northwestern turnpike, +turning the mountain ranges. + +[Illustration: COMBAT AT RICH MOUNTAIN.] + +Garnett thought the pass over Rich Mountain much the stronger and +more easily held, and he therefore intrenched there about 1300 of +his men and four cannon, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Pegram. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. p. 268.] The position chosen +was on a spur of the mountain near its western base, and it was +rudely fortified with breastworks of logs covered with an abatis of +slashed timber along its front. The remainder of his force he placed +in a similar fortified position on the road at Laurel Mountain, +where he also had four guns, of which one was rifled. Here he +commanded in person. His depot of supplies was at Beverly, which was +sixteen miles from the Laurel Mountain position and five from that +at Rich Mountain. He was pretty accurately informed of McClellan's +forces and movements, and his preparations had barely been completed +by the 9th of July, when the Union general appeared in his front. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 241, 248.] + +McClellan entered West Virginia in person on the 21st of June, and +on the 23d issued from Grafton a proclamation to the inhabitants. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 194, 196.] He had gradually collected his +forces along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and these, at the time +of the affair at Rich Mountain, consisted of sixteen Ohio regiments, +nine from Indiana, and two from West Virginia; in all, twenty-seven +regiments with four batteries of artillery of six guns each, two +troops of cavalry, and an independent company of riflemen. Of his +batteries, one was of the regular army, and another, a company of +regulars (Company I, Fourth U. S. Artillery), was with him awaiting +mountain howitzers, which arrived a little later. [Footnote: As part +of the troops were State troops not mustered into the United States +service, no report of them is found in the War Department; but the +following are the numbers of the regiments found named as present in +the correspondence and reports,--viz., 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, +9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 22d +Ohio; 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th Indiana, and +1st and 2nd Virginia; also Howe's United States Battery, Barnett's +Ohio Battery, Loomis's Michigan Battery, and Daum's Virginia +Battery; the cavalry were Burdsal's Ohio Dragoons and Barker's +Illinois Cavalry. VOL. I.--4] The regiments varied somewhat in +strength, but all were recently organized, and must have averaged at +least 700 men each, making the whole force about 20,000. Of these, +about 5000 were guarding the railroad and its bridges for some two +hundred miles, under the command of Brigadier-General C. W. Hill, of +the Ohio Militia; a strong brigade under Brigadier-General Morris of +Indiana, was at Philippi, and the rest were in three brigades +forming the immediate command of McClellan, the brigadiers being +General W. S. Rosecrans, U. S. A., General Newton Schleich of Ohio, +and Colonel Robert L. McCook of Ohio. On the date of his +proclamation McClellan intended, as he informed General Scott, to +move his principal column to Buckhannon on June 25th, and thence at +once upon Beverly; [Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. p. 195.] +but delays occurred, and it was not till July 2nd that he reached +Buckhannon, which is twenty-four miles west of Beverly, on the +Parkersburg branch of the turnpike. Before leaving Grafton the +rumors he heard had made him estimate Garnett's force at 6000 or +7000 men, of which the larger part were at Laurel Mountain in front +of General Morris. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 205.] On the 7th of July he +moved McCook with two regiments to Middle Fork bridge, about +half-way to Beverly, and on the same day ordered Morris to march +with his brigade from Philippi to a position one and a half miles in +front of Garnett's principal camp, which was promptly done. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 200.] Three days later, McClellan concentrated +the three brigades of his own column at Roaring Creek, about two +miles from Colonel Pegram's position at the base of Rich Mountain. +The advance on both lines had been made with only a skirmishing +resistance, the Confederates being aware of McClellan's great +superiority in numbers, and choosing to await his attack in their +fortified positions. The National commander was now convinced that +his opponent was 10,000 strong, of which about 2000 were before him +at Rich Mountain. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 203, 204.] A reconnoissance +made on the 10th showed that Pegram's position would be difficult to +assail in front, but preparations were made to attack the next day, +while Morris was directed to hold firmly his position before +Garnett, watching for the effect of the attack at Rich Mountain. In +the evening Rosecrans took to McClellan a young man named Hart, +whose father lived on the top of the mountain two miles in rear of +Pegram, and who thought he could guide a column of infantry to his +father's farm by a circuit around Pegram's left flank south of the +turnpike. The paths were so difficult that cannon could not go by +them, but Rosecrans offered to lead a column of infantry and seize +the road at the Hart farm. After some discussion McClellan adopted +the suggestion, and it was arranged that Rosecrans should march at +daybreak of the 11th with about 2000 men, including a troop of +horse, and that upon the sound of his engagement in the rear of +Pegram McClellan would attack in force in front. By a blunder in one +of the regimental camps, the reveille and assembly were sounded at +midnight, and Pegram was put on the _qui vive_. He, however, +believed that the attempt to turn his position would be by a path or +country road passing round his right, between him and Garnett (of +which the latter had warned him), and his attention was diverted +from Rosecrans's actual route, which he thought impracticable. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. pp. 215, 256, 260. Conduct of +the War, vol. vi. (Rosecrans), pp. 2,3.] The alert which had +occurred at midnight made Rosecrans think it best to make a longer +circuit than he at first intended, and it took ten hours of severe +marching and mountain climbing to reach the Hart farm. The turning +movement was made, but he found an enemy opposing him. Pegram had +detached about 350 men from the 1300 which he had, and had ordered +them to guard the road at the mountain summit. He sent with them a +single cannon from the four which constituted his only battery, and +they threw together a breastwork of logs. The turnpike at Hart's +runs in a depression of the summit, and as Rosecrans, early in the +afternoon, came out upon the road, he was warmly received by both +musketry and cannon. The ground was rough, the men were for the +first time under fire, and the skirmishing combat varied through two +or three hours, when a charge by part of Rosecrans's line, aided by +a few heavy volleys from another portion of his forces which had +secured a good position, broke the enemy's line. Reinforcements from +Pegram were nearly at hand, with another cannon; but they did not +come into action, and the runaway team of the caisson on the +hill-top, dashing into the gun that was coming up, capsized it down +the mountain-side where the descending road was scarped diagonally +along it. Both guns fell into Rosecrans's hands, and he was in +possession of the field. The march and the assault had been made in +rain and storm. Nothing was heard from McClellan; and the enemy, +rallying on their reinforcements, made such show of resistance on +the crest a little further on, that Rosecrans directed his men to +rest upon their arms till next morning. When day broke on the 12th, +the enemy had disappeared from the mountain-top, and Rosecrans, +feeling his way down to the rear of Pegram's position, found it also +abandoned, the two remaining cannon being spiked, and a few sick and +wounded being left in charge of a surgeon. Still nothing was seen of +McClellan, and Rosecrans sent word to him, in his camp beyond +Roaring Creek, that he was in possession of the enemy's position. +Rosecrans's loss had been 12 killed and 49 wounded. The Confederates +left 20 wounded on the field, and 63 were surrendered at the lower +camp, including the sick. No trustworthy report of their dead was +made. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii pp. 215, 260, 265. C. W., +vol. vi. (Rosecrans) pp. 3-5.] + +The noise of the engagement had been heard in McClellan's camp, and +he formed his troops for attack, but the long continuance of the +cannonade and some signs of exultation in Pegram's camp seem to have +made him think Rosecrans had been repulsed. The failure to attack in +accordance with the plan has never been explained. [Footnote: C. W., +vol. vi. p. 6. McClellan seems to have expected Rosecrans to reach +the rear of Pegram's advanced work before his own attack should be +made; but the reconnoissance of Lieutenant Poe, his engineer, shows +that this work could be turned by a much shorter route than the long +and difficult one by which Rosecrans went to the mountain ridge. See +Poe's Report, Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 14.] Rosecrans's +messengers had failed to reach McClellan during the 11th, but the +sound of the battle was sufficient notice that he had gained the +summit and was engaged; and he was, in fact, left to win his own +battle or to get out of his embarrassment as he could. Toward +evening McClellan began to cut a road for artillery to a neighboring +height, from which he hoped his twelve guns would make Pegram's +position untenable; but his lines were withdrawn again beyond +Roaring Creek at nightfall, and all further action postponed to the +next day. + +About half of Pegram's men had succeeded in passing around +Rosecrans's right flank during the night and had gained Beverly. +These, with the newly arrived Confederate regiment, fled southward +on the Staunton road. Garnett had learned in the evening, by +messenger from Beverly, that Rich Mountain summit was carried, and +evacuated his camp in front of Morris about midnight. He first +marched toward Beverly, and was within five miles of that place when +he received information (false at the time) that the National forces +already occupied it. He then retraced his steps nearly to his camp, +and, leaving the turnpike at Leadsville, he turned off upon a +country road over Cheat Mountain into Cheat River valley, following +the stream northward toward St. George and West Union, in the +forlorn hope of turning the mountains at the north end of the +ridges, and regaining his communications by a very long detour. He +might have continued southward through Beverly almost at leisure, +for McClellan did not enter the town till past noon on the 12th. + +Morris learned of Garnett's retreat at dawn, and started in pursuit +as soon as rations could be issued. He marched first to Leadsville, +where he halted to communicate with McClellan at Beverly and get +further orders. These reached him in the night, and at daybreak of +the 13th he resumed the pursuit. His advance-guard of three +regiments, accompanied by Captain H. W. Benham of the Engineers, +overtook the rear of the Confederate column about noon and continued +a skirmishing pursuit for some two hours. Garnett himself handled +his rear-guard with skill, and at Carrick's Ford a lively encounter +was had. A mile or two further, at another ford and when the +skirmishing was very slight, he was killed while withdrawing his +skirmishers from behind a pile of driftwood which he had used as a +barricade. One of his cannon had become stalled in the ford, and +with about forty wagons fell into Morris's hands. The direct pursuit +was here discontinued, but McClellan had sent a dispatch to General +Hill at Grafton, to collect the garrisons along the railroad and +block the way of the Confederates where they must pass around the +northern spurs of the mountains. [Footnote: Reports of Morris and +Benham, Official Records, vol. ii. pp. 220, 222.] + +His military telegraph terminated at the Roaring Creek camp, and the +dispatch written in the evening of the 12th was not forwarded to +Hill till near noon of the 13th. This officer immediately ordered +the collection of the greater part of his detachments at Oakland, +and called upon the railway officials for special trains to hurry +them to the rendezvous. About 1000 men under Colonel James Irvine of +the Sixteenth Ohio were at West Union, where the St. George road +reaches the Northwestern Turnpike, and Hill's information was that a +detachment of these held Red House, a crossing several miles in +advance, by which the retreating enemy might go. Irvine was directed +to hold his positions at all hazards till he could be reinforced. +Hill himself hastened with the first train from Grafton to Oakland +with about 500 men and three cannon, reached his destination at +nightfall, and hurried his detachment forward by a night march to +Irvine, ten or twelve miles over rough roads. It turned out that +Irvine did not occupy Red House, and the prevalent belief that the +enemy was about 8000 in number, with the uncertainty of the road he +would take, made it proper to keep the little force concentrated +till reinforcements should come. The first of these reached Irvine +about six o'clock on the morning of the 14th, raising his command to +1500; but a few moments after their arrival he learned that the +enemy had passed Red House soon after daylight. He gave chase, but +did not overtake them. + +Meanwhile General Hill had spent the night in trying to hasten +forward the railway trains, but none were able to reach Oakland till +morning, and Garnett's forces had now more than twenty miles the +start, and were on fairly good roads, moving southward on the +eastern side of the mountains. McClellan still telegraphed that Hill +had the one opportunity of a lifetime to capture the fleeing army, +and that officer hastened in pursuit, though unprovided with wagons +or extra rations. When however the Union commander learned that the +enemy had fairly turned the mountains, he ordered the pursuit +stopped. Hill had used both intelligence and energy in his attempt +to concentrate his troops, but it proved simply impossible for the +railroad to carry them to Oakland before the enemy had passed the +turning-point, twenty miles to the southward. [Footnote: Report of +Hill, Official Records, vol. ii. p. 224.] + +During the 12th Pegram's situation and movements were unknown. He +had intended, when he evacuated his camp, to follow the line of +retreat taken by the detachment already near the mountain-top, but, +in the darkness of the night and in the tangled woods and thickets +of the mountain-side, his column got divided, and, with the rear +portion of it, he wandered all day of the 12th, seeking to make his +way to Garnett. He halted at evening at the Tygart Valley River, six +miles north of Beverly, and learned from some country people of +Garnett's retreat. It was still possible to reach the mountains east +of the valley, but beyond lay a hundred miles of wilderness and half +a dozen mountain ridges on which little, if any, food could be found +for his men. He called a council of war, and, by advice of his +officers, sent to McClellan, at Beverly, an offer of surrender. This +was received on the 13th, and Pegram brought in 30 officers and 525 +men. [Footnote: Report of Pegram, Official Records, vol. ii. pp. +265, 266.] McClellan then moved southward himself, following the +Staunton road, by which the remnant of Pegram's little force had +escaped, and on the 14th occupied Huttonsville. Two regiments of +Confederate troops were hastening from Staunton to reinforce +Garnett. These were halted at Monterey, east of the principal ridge +of the Alleghanies, and upon them the retreating forces rallied. +Brigadier-General H. R. Jackson was assigned to command in Garnett's +place, and both Governor Letcher and General Lee made strenuous +efforts to increase this army to a force sufficient to resume +aggressive operations. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 247, 254.] On +McClellan's part nothing further was attempted till on the 22d he +was summoned to Washington to assume command of the army which had +retreated to the capital after the panic of the first Bull Run +battle. + +The affair at Rich Mountain and the subsequent movements were among +the minor events of a great war, and would not warrant a detailed +description, were it not for the momentous effect they had upon the +conduct of the war, by being the occasion of McClellan's promotion +to the command of the Potomac army. The narrative which has been +given contains the "unvarnished tale," as nearly as official records +of both sides can give it, and it is a curious task to compare it +with the picture of the campaign and its results which was then +given to the world in the series of proclamations and dispatches of +the young general, beginning with his first occupation of the +country and ending with his congratulations to his troops, in which +he announced that they had "annihilated two armies, commanded by +educated and experienced soldiers, intrenched in mountain fastnesses +fortified at their leisure." The country was eager for good news, +and took it as literally true. McClellan was the hero of the moment, +and when, but a week later, his success was followed by the disaster +to McDowell at Bull Run, he seemed pointed out by Providence as the +ideal chieftain who could repair the misfortune and lead our armies +to certain victory. His personal intercourse with those about him +was so kindly, and his bearing so modest, that his dispatches, +proclamations, and correspondence are a psychological study, more +puzzling to those who knew him well than to strangers. Their turgid +rhetoric and exaggerated pretence did not seem natural to him. In +them he seemed to be composing for stage effect something to be +spoken in character by a quite different person from the sensible +and genial man we knew in daily life and conversation. The career of +the great Napoleon had been the study and the absorbing admiration +of young American soldiers, and it was perhaps not strange that when +real war came they should copy his bulletins and even his personal +bearing. It was, for the moment, the bent of the people to be +pleased with McClellan's rendering of the role; they dubbed him the +young Napoleon, and the photographers got him to stand with folded +arms, in the historic pose. For two or three weeks his dispatches +and letters were all on fire with enthusiastic energy. He appeared +to be in a morbid condition of mental exaltation. When he came out +of it, he was as genial as ever. The assumed dash and energy of his +first campaign made the disappointment and the reaction more painful +when the excessive caution of his conduct in command of the Army of +the Potomac was seen. But the Rich Mountain affair, when analyzed, +shows the same characteristics which became well known later. There +was the same over-estimate of the enemy, the same tendency to +interpret unfavorably the sights and sounds in front, the same +hesitancy to throw in his whole force when he knew that his +subordinate was engaged. If Garnett had been as strong as McClellan +believed him, he had abundant time and means to overwhelm Morris, +who lay four days in easy striking distance, while the National +commander delayed attacking Pegram; and had Morris been beaten, +Garnett would have been as near Clarksburg as his opponent, and +there would have been a race for the railroad. But, happily, Garnett +was less strong and less enterprising than he was credited with +being. Pegram was dislodged, and the Confederates made a precipitate +retreat. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE KANAWHA VALLEY + + +Orders for the Kanawha expedition--The troops and their +quality--Lack of artillery and cavalry--Assembling at +Gallipolis--District of the Kanawha--Numbers of the opposing +forces--Method of advance--Use of steamboats--Advance guards on +river banks--Camp at Thirteen-mile Creek--Night alarm--The river +chutes--Sunken obstructions--Pocotaligo--Affair at +Barboursville--Affair at Scary Creek--Wise's position at Tyler +Mountain--His precipitate retreat--Occupation of +Charleston--Rosecrans succeeds McClellan--Advance toward Gauley +Bridge--Insubordination--The Newspaper Correspondent--Occupation of +Gauley Bridge. + + +When McClellan reached Buckhannon, on the 2d of July, the rumors he +heard of Garnett's strength, and the news of the presence of General +Wise with a considerable force in the Great Kanawha valley, made him +conclude to order a brigade to that region for the purpose of +holding the lower part of the valley defensively till he might try +to cut off Wise's army after Garnett should be disposed of. This +duty was assigned to me. On the 22d of June I had received my +appointment as Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers, superseding my +state commission. I had seen the regiments of my brigade going one +by one, as fast as they were reorganized for the three years' +service, and I had hoped to be ordered to follow them to McClellan's +own column. The only one left in camp was the Eleventh Ohio, of +which only five companies were present, though two more companies +were soon added. + +McClellan's letter directed me to assume command of the First and +Second Kentucky regiments with the Twelfth Ohio, and to call upon +the governor for a troop of cavalry and a six-gun battery: to +expedite the equipment of the whole and move them to Gallipolis +_via_ Hampden and Portland, stations on the Marietta Railroad, from +which a march of twenty-five miles by country roads would take us to +our destination. At Gallipolis was the Twenty-first Ohio, which I +should add to my command and proceed at once with two regiments to +Point Pleasant at the mouth of the Kanawha, five miles above. When +all were assembled, one regiment was to be left at Point Pleasant, +two were to be advanced up the valley to Ten-mile Creek, and the +other placed at an intermediate position. "Until further orders," +the letter continued, "remain on the defensive and endeavor to +induce the rebels to remain at Charleston until I can cut off their +retreat by a movement from Beverly." Captain W. J. Kountz, an +experienced steamboat captain, was in charge of +water-transportation, and would furnish light-draught steamboats for +my use. [Footnote: What purports to be McClellan's letter to me is +found in the Records (Official Records, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 197), but +it seems to be only an abstract of it, made to accompany his +dispatch to Washington (_Id_., p. 198), and by a clerical error +given the form of the complete letter. It does not contain the +quotation given above, which was reiterated before the letter was +closed, in these words: "Remember that my present plan is to cut +them off by a rapid march from Beverly after driving those in front +of me across the mountains, and do all you can to favor that by +avoiding offensive movements." + +After the printing of the earlier volumes of the Records, covering +the years 1861-1862, I learned that the books and papers of the +Department of the Ohio had not been sent to Washington at the close +of the war, but were still in Cincinnati. I brought this fact to the +attention of the Adjutant-General, and at the request of that +officer obtained and forwarded them to the Archives office. With +them were my letter books and the original files of my +correspondence with McClellan and Rosecrans in 1861 and 1862. +Colonel Robert N. Scott, who was then in charge of the publication, +informed me that the whole would be prepared for printing and would +appear in the supplemental volumes, after the completion of the rest +of the First Series. Owing to changes in the Board of Publication in +the course of twenty years, there were errors in the arrangement of +the matter for the printer, and a considerable part of the +correspondence between the generals named and myself was +accidentally omitted from the supplemental volume (Official Records, +vol. li. pt. i.) in which it should have appeared. The originals are +no doubt in the files of the Archives office, and for the benefit of +investigators I give in Appendix A a list of the numbers missing +from the printed volume, as shown by comparison with my retained +copies.] + +Governor Dennison seconded our wishes with his usual earnestness, +and ordered the battery of artillery and company of cavalry to meet +me at Gallipolis; but the guns for the battery were not to be had, +and a section of two bronze guns (six-pounder smooth-bores rifled) +was the only artillery, whilst the cavalry was less than half a +troop of raw recruits, useful only as messengers. I succeeded in +getting the Eleventh Ohio sent with me, the lacking companies to be +recruited and sent later. The Twelfth Ohio was an excellent regiment +which had been somewhat delayed in its reorganization and had not +gone with the rest of its brigade to McClellan. The Twenty-first was +one of the regiments enlisted for the State in excess of the first +quota, and was now brought into the national service under the +President's second call. The two Kentucky regiments had been +organized in Cincinnati, and were made up chiefly of steamboat crews +and "longshoremen" thrown out of employment by the stoppage of +commerce on the river. There were in them some companies of other +material, but these gave the distinctive character to the regiments. +The colonels and part of the field officers were Kentuckians, but +the organizations were Ohio regiments in nearly everything but the +name. The men were mostly of a rough and reckless class, and gave a +good deal of trouble by insubordination; but they did not lack +courage, and after they had been under discipline for a while, +became good fighting regiments. The difficulty of getting +transportation from the railway company delayed our departure. It +was not till the 6th of July that a regiment could be sent, and +another followed in two or three days. The two Kentucky regiments +were not yet armed and equipped, but after a day or two were ready +and were ordered up the river by steamboats. I myself left Camp +Dennison on the evening of Sunday the 7th with the Eleventh Ohio +(seven companies) and reached Gallipolis in the evening of the 9th. +The three Ohio regiments were united on the 10th and carried by +steamers to Point Pleasant, and we entered the theatre of war. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 416: my report to +McClellan.] + +My movement had been made upon a telegram from General McClellan, +and I found at Gallipolis his letter of instructions of the 2d, and +another of the 6th which enlarged the scope of my command. A +territorial district was assigned to me, including the southwestern +part of Virginia below Parkersburg on the Ohio, and north of the +Great Kanawha, reaching back into the country as I should occupy it. +[Footnote: The territorial boundary of McClellan's Department had +been placed at the Great Kanawha and the Ohio rivers, probably with +some political idea of avoiding the appearance of aggression upon +regions of doubtful loyalty.] The directions to restrict myself to a +defensive occupation of the Lower Kanawha valley were changed to +instructions to march on Charleston and Gauley Bridge, and, with a +view to his resumption of the plan to make this his main line of +advance, to "obtain all possible information in regard to the roads +leading toward Wytheville and the adjacent region." I was also +ordered to place a regiment at Ripley, on the road from Parkersburg +to Charleston, and advised "to beat up Barbonsville, Guyandotte, +etc, so that the entire course of the Ohio may be secured to us." +Communication with Ripley was by Letart's Falls on the Ohio, some +thirty miles above Gallipolis, or by Ravenswood, twenty miles +further. Guyandotte was a longer distance below Gallipolis, and +Barboursville was inland some miles up the Gurandotte River. As to +General Wise, McClellan wrote: "Drive Wise out and catch him if you +can. If you do catch him, send him to Colombus penitentiary." A +regiment at Parkersburg and another at Roane Court House on the +northern border of my district were ordered to report to me, but I +was not authorized to move them from the stations assigned them, and +they were soon united to McClellan's own column. + +At Gallipolis I heard that a steamboat on the Ohio had been boarded +by a rebel party near Guyandotte, and the news giving point to +McClellan's suggestion to "beat up" that region, I dispatched a +small steamboat down the river to meet the Kentucky regiments with +orders for the leading one to land at Guyandotte and suppress any +insurgents in that neighborhood. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +Ii. pt. i. p. 417.] It was hazardous to divide my little army into +three columns on a base of a hundred miles, but it was thought wise +to show some Union troops at various points on the border, and I +purposed to unite my detachments by early convergent movements +forward to the Kanawha valley as soon as I should reach Red House, +thirty-two miles up the river, with my principal column. + +Before I reached Charleston I added to my artillery one iron and one +brass cannon, smooth six-pounders, borrowed from the civil +authorities at Gallipolis; but they were without caissons or any +proper equipment, and were manned by volunteers from the infantry. +[Footnote: Ibid.] My total force, when assembled, would be a little +over 3000 men, the regiments having the same average strength as +those with McClellan. The opposing force under General Wise was 4000 +by the time the campaign was fully opened, though somewhat less at +the beginning. [Footnote: Wise reported his force on the 17th of +July as 3500 "effective" men and ten cannon, and says he received +"perhaps 300" in reinforcements on the 18th. When he abandoned the +valley ten days later, he reported his force 4000 in round numbers. +Official Records, vol. ii. pp. 290, 292; 1011.] + +The Great Kanawha River was navigable for small steamboats about +seventy miles, to a point ten or twelve miles above Charleston, the +only important town of the region, which was at the confluence of +the Kanawha and Elk rivers. Steamboats were plenty, owing to the +interruption of trade, and wagons were wholly lacking; so that my +column was accompanied and partly carried by a fleet of stern-wheel +steamers. + +On Thursday the 11th of July the movement from Point Pleasant began. +An advance-guard was sent out on each side of the river, marching +upon the roads which were near its banks. The few horsemen were +divided and sent with them to carry messages, and the boats +followed, steaming slowly along in rear of the marching men. Most of +two regiments were carried on the steamers, to save fatigue to the +men, who were as yet unused to their work, and many of whom were +footsore from their first long march of twenty-five miles to +Gallipolis from Hampden station, where they had been obliged to +leave the railway. The arrangement was also a good one in a military +point of view, for if an enemy were met on either bank of the +stream, the boats could land in a moment and the troops disembark +without delay. + +Our first day's sail was thirteen miles up the river, and it was the +very romance of campaigning. I took my station on top of the +pilot-house of the leading boat, so that I might see over the banks +of the stream and across the bottom lands to the high hills which +bounded the valley. The afternoon was a lovely one. Summer clouds +lazily drifted across the sky, the boats were dressed in their +colors and swarmed with the men like bees. The bands played national +tunes, and as we passed the houses of Union citizens, the inmates +would wave their handkerchiefs to us, and were answered by cheers +from the troops. The scenery was picturesque, the gently winding +river making beautiful reaches that opened new scenes upon us at +every turn. On either side the advance-guard could be seen in the +distance, the main body in the road, with skirmishers exploring the +way in front, and flankers on the sides. Now and then a horseman +would bring some message to the bank from the front, and a small +boat would be sent to receive it, giving us the rumors with which +the country was rife, and which gave just enough of excitement and +of the spice of possible danger to make this our first day in an +enemy's country key everybody to just such a pitch as apparently to +double the vividness of every sensation. The landscape seemed more +beautiful, the sunshine more bright, and the exhilaration of +out-door life more joyous than any we had ever known. + +The halt for the night had been assigned at a little village on the +right (northern) bank of the stream, which was nestled beneath a +ridge which ran down from the hills toward the river, making an +excellent position for defence against any force which might come +against it from the upper valley. The sun was getting low behind us +in the west, as we approached it, and the advance-guard had already +halted. Captain Cotter's two bronze guns gleamed bright on the top +of the ridge beyond the pretty little town, and before the sun went +down, the new white tents had been carried up to the slope and +pitched there. The steamers were moored to the shore, and the low +slanting rays of the sunset fell upon as charming a picture as was +ever painted. An outpost with pickets was set on the southern side +of the river, both grand and camp guards were put out also on the +side we occupied, and the men soon had their supper and went to +rest. Late in the evening a panic-stricken countryman came in with +the news that General Wise was moving down upon us with 4000 men. +The man was evidently in earnest, and was a loyal one. He believed +every word he said, but he had in fact seen only a few of the +enemy's horsemen who were scouting toward us, and believed their +statement that an army was at their back. It was our initiation into +an experience of rumors that was to continue as long as the war. We +were to get them daily and almost hourly; sometimes with a little +foundation of fact, sometimes with none; rarely purposely deceptive, +but always grossly exaggerated, making chimeras with which a +commanding officer had to wage a more incessant warfare than with +the substantial enemy in his front. I reasoned that Wise's troops +were, like my own, too raw to venture a night attack with, and +contented myself with sending a strong reconnoitring party out +beyond my pickets, putting in command of it Major Hines of the +Twelfth Ohio, an officer who subsequently became noted for his +enterprise and activity in charge of scouting parties. The camp +rested quietly, and toward morning Hines returned, reporting that a +troop of the enemy's horse had come within a couple of miles of our +position in search of information about us and our movement. They +had indulged in loud bragging as to what Wise and his army would do +with us, but this and nothing more was the basis of our honest +friend's fright. The morning dawned bright and peaceful, the +steamers were sent back for a regiment which was still at Point +Pleasant, and the day was used in concentrating the little army and +preparing for another advance. + +On July 13th we moved again, making about ten miles, and finding the +navigation becoming difficult by reason of the low water. At several +shoals in the stream rough wing-dams had been built from the sides +to concentrate the water in the channel, and at Knob Shoals, in one +of these "chutes" as they were called, a coal barge had sometime +before been sunk. In trying to pass it our leading boat grounded, +and, the current being swift, it was for a time doubtful if we +should get her off. We finally succeeded, however, and the +procession of boats slowly steamed up the rapids. We had hardly got +beyond them when we heard a distant cannon-shot from our +advance-guard which had opened a long distance between them and us +during our delay. We steamed rapidly ahead. Soon we saw a man +pulling off from the south bank in a skiff. Nearing the steamer, he +stood up and excitedly shouted that a general engagement had begun. +We laughingly told him it couldn't be very general till we got in, +and we moved on, keeping a sharp outlook for our parties on either +bank. When we came up to them, we learned that a party of horsemen +had appeared on the southern side of the river and had opened a +skirmishing fire, but had scampered off as if the Old Nick were +after them when a shell from the rifled gun was sent over their +heads. The shell, like a good many that were made in those days, did +not explode, and the simple people of the vicinity who had heard its +long-continued scream told our men some days after that they thought +it was "going yet." + +From this time some show of resistance was made by the enemy, and +the skirmishing somewhat retarded the movement. Still, about ten +miles was made each day till the evening of the 16th, when we +encamped at the mouth of the Pocotaligo, a large creek which enters +the Kanawha from the north. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. +pt. i. p. 418.] The evening before, we had had one of those +incidents, not unusual with new troops, which prove that nothing but +habit can make men cool and confident in their duties. We had, as +usual, moored our boats to the northern bank and made our camp +there, placing an outpost on the left bank opposite us supporting a +chain of sentinels, to prevent a surprise from that direction. A +report of some force of the enemy in their front made me order +another detachment to their support after nightfall. The detachment +had been told off and ferried across in small boats. They were dimly +seen marching in the starlight up the river after landing, when +suddenly a shot was heard, and then an irregular volley was both +seen and heard as the muskets flashed out in the darkness. A +supporting force was quickly sent over, and, no further disturbance +occurring, a search was made for an enemy, but none was found. A gun +had accidentally gone off in the squad, and the rest of the men, +surprised and bewildered, had fired, they neither knew why nor at +what. Two men were killed, and several others were hurt. This and +the chaffing the men got from their comrades was a lesson to the +whole command. The soldiers were brave enough, and were thoroughly +ashamed of themselves, but they were raw; that was all that could be +said of it. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 421.] + +We were here overtaken by the Second Kentucky, which had stopped at +Guyandotte on its way up the river, and had marched across the +country to join us after our progress had sufficiently covered that +lower region. From Guyandotte a portion of the regiment, under +command of Lieutenant-Colonel Neff, had gone to Barboursville and +had attacked and dispersed an encampment of Confederates which was +organizing there. It was a very creditable little action, in which +officers and men conducted themselves well, and which made them for +the time the envy of the rest of the command. + +The situation at "Poca," as it was called in the neighborhood, was +one which made the further advance of the army require some +consideration. Information which came to us from loyal men showed +that some force of the enemy was in position above the mouth of +Scary Creek on the south side of the Kanawha, and about three miles +from us. We had for two days had constant light skirmishing with the +advance-guard of Wise's forces on the north bank of the river, and +supposed that the principal part of his command was on our side, and +not far in front of us. It turned out in fact that this was so, and +that Wise had placed his principal camp at Tyler Mountain, a bold +spur which reaches the river on the northern side (on which is also +the turnpike road), about twelve miles above my position, while he +occupied the south side with a detachment. The Pocotaligo, which +entered the river from the north at our camp, covered us against an +attack on that side; but we could not take our steam-boats further +unless both banks of the river were cleared. We had scarcely any +wagons, for those which had been promised us could not yet be +forwarded, and we must either continue to keep the steamboats with +us, or organize wagon transportation and cut loose from the boats. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 420; dispatch of +17th also.] My urgent dispatches were hurrying the wagons toward us, +but meanwhile I hoped the opposition on the south bank of the river +would prove trifling, for artillery in position at any point on the +narrow river would at once stop navigation of our light and unarmed +transports. On the morning of the 17th a reconnoitering party sent +forward on the south side of the river under command of +Lieutenant-Colonel White of the Twelfth Ohio, reported the enemy +about five hundred strong intrenched on the further side of Scary +Creek, which was not fordable at its mouth, but could be crossed a +little way up the stream. Colonel Lowe of the Twelfth requested the +privilege of driving off this party with his regiment accompanied by +our two cannon. He was ordered to do so, whilst the enemy's +skirmishers should be pushed back from the front of the main column, +and it should be held ready to advance rapidly up the north bank of +the river as soon as the hostile force at Scary Creek should be +dislodged. + +The Twelfth and two companies of the Twenty-first Ohio were ferried +over and moved out soon after noon. The first reports from them were +encouraging and full of confidence, the enemy were retreating and +they had dismounted one of his guns; but just before evening they +returned, bringing the account of their repulse in the effort to +cross at the mouth of the creek, and their failure to find the ford +a little higher up. Their ammunition had run short, some casualties +had occurred, and they had become discouraged and given it up. Their +loss was 10 men killed and 35 wounded. If they had held on and asked +for assistance, it would have been well enough; but, as was common +with new troops, they passed from confidence to discouragement as +soon as they were checked, and they retreated. + +The affair was accompanied by another humiliating incident which +gave me no little chagrin. During the progress of the engagement +Colonel Woodruff and Lieutenant-Colonel Neff of the Second Kentucky, +with Colonel De Villiers of the Eleventh Ohio, rode out in front, on +the north bank of the river, till they came opposite the enemy's +position, the hostile party on our side of the stream having fallen +back beyond this point. They were told by a negro that the rebels +were in retreat, and they got the black man to ferry them over in a +skiff, that they might be the first to congratulate their friends. +To their amazement they were welcomed as prisoners by the +Confederates, who greatly enjoyed their discomfiture. The negro had +told the truth in saying that the enemy had been in retreat; for the +fact was that both sides retreated, but the Confederates, being +first informed of this, resumed their position and claimed a +victory. The officers who were captured had gone out without +permission, and, led on by the hare-brained De Villiers, had done +what they knew was foolish and unmilitary, resulting for them in a +severe experience in Libby Prison at Richmond, and for us in the +momentary appearance of lack of discipline and order which could not +fairly be charged upon the command. I reported the facts without +disguise or apology, trusting to the future to remove the bad +impression the affair must naturally make upon McClellan. + +The report of the strength of the position attacked and our +knowledge of the increasing difficulty of the ground before us, led +me to conclude that the wisest course would be to await the arrival +of the wagons, now daily expected, and then, with supplies for +several days in hand, move independent of the steamers, which became +only an embarrassment when it was advisable to leave the river road +for the purpose of turning a fortified position like that we had +found before us. We therefore rested quietly in our strong camp for +several days, holding both banks of the river and preparing to move +the main column by a country road leading away from the stream on +the north side, and returning to it at Tyler Mountain, where Wise's +camp was reported to be. I ordered up the First Kentucky from +Ravenswood and Ripley, but its colonel found obstacles in his way, +and did not join us till we reached Charleston the following week. + +On the 23d of July I had succeeded in getting wagons and teams +enough to supply the most necessary uses, and renewed the advance. +We marched rapidly on the 24th by the circuitous route I have +mentioned, leaving a regiment to protect the steamboats. The country +was very broken and the roads very rough, but the enemy had no +knowledge of our movement, and toward evening we again approached +the river immediately in rear of their camp at Tyler Mountain. When +we drove in their pickets, the force was panic-stricken and ran off, +leaving their camp in confusion, and their supper which they were +cooking but did not stop to eat. A little below the point where we +reached the river, and on the other side, was the steamboat "Maffet" +with a party of soldiers gathering the wheat which had been cut in +the neighboring fields and was in the sheaf. I was for a moment +doubtful whether it might not be one of our own boats which had +ventured up the river under protection of the regiment left behind, +and directed our skirmishers who were deployed along the edge of the +water to hail the other side. "Who are you?" was shouted from both +banks simultaneously. "United States troops," our men answered. +"Hurrah for Jeff Davis!" shouted the others, and a rattling fire +opened on both sides. A shell was sent from our cannon into the +steamer, and the party upon her were immediately seen jumping +ashore, having first set fire to her to prevent her falling into our +hands. The enemy then moved away on that side, under cover of the +trees which lined the river bank. Night was now falling, and, +sending forward an advance-guard to follow up the force whose camp +we had surprised, we bivouacked on the mountain side. + +In the morning, as we were moving out at an early hour, we were met +by the mayor and two or three prominent citizens of Charleston who +came to surrender the town to us, Wise having hurriedly retreated +during the night. He had done a very unnecessary piece of mischief +before leaving, in partly cutting off the cables of a fine +suspension bridge which spans the Elk River at Charleston. As this +stream enters the Kanawha from the north and below the city, it may +have seemed to him that it would delay our progress; but as a large +number of empty coal barges were lying at the town, it took our +company of mechanics, under Captain Lane of the Eleventh Ohio, but a +little while to improvise a good floating bridge, and part of the +command passed through the town and camped beyond it. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 425.] One day was now given to +the establishment of a depot of supplies at Charleston and to the +organization of regular communication by water with Gallipolis, and +by wagons with such positions as we might occupy further up the +river. Deputations of the townspeople were informed that it was not +our policy to meddle with private persons who remained quietly at +home, nor would we make any inquisition as to the personal opinions +of those who attended strictly to their own business; but they were +warned that any communication with the enemy would be remorselessly +punished. + +We were now able to get more accurate information about Wise's +forces than we could obtain before, and this accorded pretty well +with the strength which he reported officially. [Footnote: _Ante_, +p. 63 note.] His infantry was therefore more than equal to the +column under my command in the valley, whilst in artillery and in +cavalry he was greatly superior. Our continued advance in the face +of such opposition is sufficient evidence that the Confederate force +was not well handled, for as the valley contracted and the hills +crowded in closer to the river, nearly every mile offered positions +in which small numbers could hold at bay an army. Our success in +reaching Charleston was therefore good ground for being content with +our progress, though I had to blame myself for errors in the +management of my part of the campaign at Pocataligo. I ought not to +have assumed as confidently as I did that the enemy was only five +hundred strong at Scary Creek and that a detachment could dispose of +that obstacle whilst the rest of the column prepared to advance on +our principal line. Wise's force at that point was in fact double +the number supposed. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. p. 1011.] +It is true it was very inconvenient to ferry any considerable body +of troops back and forth across the river; but I should nevertheless +have taken the bulk of my command to the left bank, and by occupying +the enemy's attention at the mouth of Scary Creek, covered the +movement of a sufficient force upon his flank by means of the fords +farther up that stream. This would have resulted in the complete +routing of the detachment, and it is nearly certain that I could +have pushed on to Charleston at once, and could have waited there +for the organization of my wagon train with the prestige of victory, +instead of doing so at 'Poca' with the appearance of a check. + +McClellan recognized the fact that he was asking me to face the +enemy with no odds in my favor, and as soon as he heard that Wise +was disposed to make a stand he directed me not to risk attacking +him in front, but rather to await the result of his own movement +toward the Upper Kanawha. [Footnote: Dispatches of July 16 and 20.] +Rosecrans did the same when he assumed command; but I knew the hope +had been that I would reach Gauley Bridge, and I was vexed that my +movement should have the appearance of failing when I was conscious +that we had not fairly measured our strength with my opponent. As +soon, therefore, as the needful preparations could be made, I +decided upon the turning movement which I have already described, +and our resolute advance seems to have thrown Wise into a panic from +which he did not recover till he got far beyond Gauley Bridge. + +At Charleston I learned of the Bull Run disaster, and that McClellan +had been ordered to Washington, leaving Rosecrans in command of our +department. The latter sent me orders which implied that to reach +Charleston was the most he could expect of me, and directing me to +remain on the defensive if I should succeed in getting so far, +whilst he should take up anew McClellan's plan of reaching the rear +of Wise's army. [Footnote: Dispatches of July 26 and 29.] His +dispatches, fortunately, did not reach me till I was close to Gauley +Bridge and was sure of my ability to take possession of that defile, +some forty miles above Charleston. An additional reason for my +prompt advance was that the Twenty-first Ohio was not yet +re-enlisted for the war, was only a "three months" regiment whose +time was about to expire, and Governor Dennison had telegraphed me +to send it back to Ohio. I left this regiment as a post-garrison at +Charleston till it could be relieved by another, or till my success +in reaching Gauley Bridge should enable me to send back a detachment +for that post, and, on the 26th July, pushed forward with the rest +of my column, which, now that the First Kentucky had joined me, +consisted of four regiments. Our first night's encampment was about +eleven miles above Charleston in a lovely nook between spurs of the +hills. Here I was treated to a little surprise on the part of three +of my subordinates which was an unexpected enlargement of my +military experience. The camp had got nicely arranged for the night +and supper was over, when these gentlemen waited upon me at my tent. +The one who had shown the least capacity as commander of a regiment +was spokesman, and informed me that after consultation they had +concluded that it was foolhardy to follow the Confederates into the +gorge we were travelling, and that unless I could show them +satisfactory reasons for changing their opinion they would not lead +their commands further into it. I dryly asked if he was quite sure +he understood the nature of his communication. There was something +probably in the tone of my question which was not altogether +expected, and his companions began to look a little uneasy. He then +protested that none of them meant any disrespect, but that as their +military experience was about as extensive as my own, they thought I +ought to make no movements but on consultation with them and by +their consent. The others seemed to be better pleased with this way +of putting it, and signified assent. My answer was that their +conduct very plainly showed their own lack both of military +experience and elementary military knowledge, and that this +ignorance was the only thing which could palliate their action. +Whether they meant it or not, their action was mutinous. The +responsibility for the movement of the army was with me, and whilst +I should be inclined to confer very freely with my principal +subordinates and explain my purposes, I should call no councils of +war, and submit nothing to vote till I felt incompetent to decide +for myself. If they apologized for their conduct and showed +earnestness in military obedience to orders, what they had now said +would be overlooked, but on any recurrence of cause for complaint I +should enforce my power by the arrest of the offender at once. I +dismissed them with this, and immediately sent out the formal orders +through my adjutant-general to march early next morning. Before they +slept one of the three had come to me with earnest apology for his +part in the matter, and a short time made them all as subordinate as +I could wish. The incident could not have occurred in the brigade +which had been under my command at Camp Dennison, and was a not +unnatural result of the sudden assembling of inexperienced men under +a brigade commander of whom they knew nothing except that at the +beginning of the war he was a civilian like themselves. These very +men afterward became devoted followers, and some of them life-long +friends. It was part of their military education as well as mine. If +I had been noisy and blustering in my intercourse with them at the +beginning, and had done what seemed to be regarded as the +"regulation" amount of cursing and swearing, they would probably +have given me credit for military aptitude at least; but a +systematic adherence to a quiet and undemonstrative manner evidently +told against me, at first, in their opinion. Through my army life I +met more or less of the same conduct when assigned to a new command; +but when men learned that discipline would be inevitably enforced, +and that it was as necessary to obey a quiet order as one emphasized +by expletives, and especially when they had been a little under +fire, there was no more trouble. Indeed, I was impressed with the +fact that after this acquaintance was once made, my chief +embarrassment in discipline was that an intimation of +dissatisfaction on my part would cause deeper chagrin and more +evident pain than I intended or wished. + +The same march enabled me to make the acquaintance of another army +"institution,"--the newspaper correspondent. We were joined at +Charleston by two men representing influential Eastern journals, who +wished to know on what terms they could accompany the column. The +answer was that the quartermaster would furnish them with a tent and +transportation, and that their letters should be submitted to one of +the staff, to protect us from the publication of facts which might +aid the enemy. This seemed unsatisfactory, and they intimated that +they expected to be taken into my mess and to be announced as +volunteer aides with military rank. They were told that military +position or rank could only be given by authority much higher than +mine, and that they could be more honestly independent if free from +personal obligation and from temptation to repay favors with +flattery. My only purpose was to put the matter upon the foundation +of public right and of mutual self-respect. The day before we +reached Gauley Bridge they opened the subject again to Captain +McElroy, my adjutant-general, but were informed that I had decided +it upon a principle by which I meant to abide. Their reply was, +"Very well; General Cox thinks he can get along without us, and we +will show him. We will write him down." + +They left the camp the same evening, and wrote letters to their +papers describing the army as demoralized, drunken, and without +discipline, in a state of insubordination, and the commander as +totally incompetent. As to the troops, more baseless slander was +never uttered. Their march had been orderly. No wilful injury had +been done to private property, and no case of personal violence to +any non-combatant, man or woman, had been even charged. Yet the +printing of such communications in widely read journals was likely +to be as damaging as if it all were true. My nomination as +Brigadier-General of U. S. Volunteers was then before the Senate for +confirmation, and "the pen" would probably have proved "mightier +than the sword" but for McClellan's knowledge of the nature of the +task we had accomplished, as he was then in the flood-tide of power +at Washington, and expressed his satisfaction at the performance of +our part of the campaign which he had planned. By good fortune also, +the injurious letters were printed at the same time with the +telegraphic news of our occupation of Gauley Bridge and the retreat +of the enemy out of the valley. [Footnote: As one of these +correspondents became a writer of history, it is made proper to say +that he was Mr. William Swinton, of whom General Grant has occasion +to speak in his "Personal Memoirs" (vol. ii. p. 144), and whose +facility in changing his point of view in historical writing was +shown in his "McClellan's Military Career Reviewed and Exposed," +which was published in 1864 by the Union Congressional Committee +(first appearing in the "New York Times" of February, March, and +April of that year), when compared with his "History of the Army of +the Potomac" which appeared two years later. Burnside accused him of +repeated instances of malicious libel of his command in June, 1864. +Official Records, vol. xxxvi. pt. iii. p. 751.] I was, however, +deeply convinced that my position was the right one, and never +changed my rule of conduct in the matter. The relations of newspaper +correspondents to general officers of the army became one of the +crying scandals and notorious causes of intrigue and demoralization. +It was a subject almost impossible to settle satisfactorily; but +whoever gained or lost by cultivating this means of reputation, it +is a satisfaction to have adhered throughout the war to the rule I +first adopted and announced. + +Wise made no resolute effort to oppose my march after I left +Charleston, and contented himself with delaying us by his +rear-guard, which obstructed the road by felling trees into it and +by skirmishing with my head of column. We however advanced at the +rate of twelve or fifteen miles a day, reaching Gauley Bridge on the +morning of the 29th of July. Here we captured some fifteen hundred +stands of arms and a considerable store of munitions which the +Confederate general had not been able to carry away or destroy. It +is safe to say that in the wild defile which we had threaded for the +last twenty miles there were as many positions as there were miles +in which he could easily have delayed my advance a day or two, +forcing me to turn his flank by the most difficult mountain +climbing, and where indeed, with forces so nearly equal, my progress +should have been permanently barred. At Gauley Bridge he burned the +structure which gave name to the place, and which had been a series +of substantial wooden trusses resting upon heavy stone piers. My +orders definitively limited me to the point we had now reached in my +advance, and I therefore sent forward only a detachment to follow +the enemy and keep up his precipitate retreat. Wise did not stop +till he reached Greenbrier and the White Sulphur Springs, and there +was abundant evidence that he regarded his movement as a final +abandonment of this part of West Virginia. [Footnote: Floyd's +Dispatches, Official Records, vol. li. pt. ii. pp. 208, 213.] A few +weeks later General Lee came in person with reinforcements over the +mountains and began a new campaign; but until the 20th of August we +were undisturbed except by a petty guerilla warfare. + +McClellan telegraphed from Washington his congratulations, +[Footnote: Dispatch of August 1.] and Rosecrans expressed his +satisfaction also in terms which assured me that we had done more +than had been expected of us. [Footnote: Dispatch of July 31.] The +good effect upon the command was also very apparent; for our success +not only justified the policy of a determined advance, but the +officers who had been timid as to results were now glad to get their +share of the credit, and to make amends for their insubordination by +a hearty change in bearing and conduct. My term of service as a +brigadier of the Ohio forces in the three months' enrolment had now +ended, and until the Senate should confirm my appointment as a +United States officer there was some doubt as to my right to +continue in command. My embarrassment in this regard was very +pleasantly removed by a dispatch from General Rosecrans in which he +conveyed the request of Lieutenant-General Scott and of himself that +I should remain in charge of the Kanawha column. It was only a week, +however, before notice of the confirmation was received, and +dropping all thoughts of returning home, I prepared my mind for +continuous active duty till the war should end. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +GAULEY BRIDGE + + +The gate of the Kanawha valley--The wilderness beyond--West Virginia +defences--A romantic post--Chaplain Brown--An adventurous +mission--Chaplain Dubois--"The River Path"--Gauley Mount--Colonel +Tompkins's home--Bowie-knives--Truculent resolutions--The +Engineers--Whittlesey, Benham, Wagner--Fortifications--Distant +reconnoissances--Comparison of forces--Dangers to steamboat +communications--Allotment of duties--The Summersville post--Seventh +Ohio at Cross Lanes--Scares and rumors--Robert E. Lee at Valley +Mountain--Floyd and Wise advance--Rosecrans's orders--The Cross +Lanes affair--Major Casement's creditable retreat--Colonel Tyler's +reports--Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton--Quarrels of Wise and +Floyd--Ambushing rebel cavalry--Affair at Boone Court House--New +attack at Gauley Bridge--An incipient mutiny--Sad result--A notable +court-martial--Rosecrans marching toward us--Communications +renewed--Advance toward Lewisburg--Camp Lookout--A private sorrow. + + +The position at Gauley Bridge was an important one from a military +point of view. It was where the James River and Kanawha turnpike, +after following the highlands along the course of New River as it +comes from the east, drops into a defile with cliffs on one side and +a swift and unfordable torrent upon the other, and then crosses the +Gauley River, which is a stream of very similar character. The two +rivers, meeting at a right angle, there unite to form the Great +Kanawha, which plunges over a ledge of rocks a mile below and winds +its way among the hills, some thirty miles, before it becomes a +navigable stream even for the lightest class of steamboats. From +Gauley Bridge a road runs up the Gauley River to Cross Lanes and +Carnifex Ferry, something over twenty miles, and continuing +northward reaches Summersville, Sutton, and Weston, making almost +the only line of communication between the posts then occupied by +our troops in northwestern Virginia and the head of the Kanawha +valley. Southwestward the country was extremely wild and broken, +with few and small settlements and no roads worthy the name. The +crossing of the Gauley was therefore the gate through which all +important movements from eastern into southwestern Virginia must +necessarily come, and it formed an important link in any chain of +posts designed to cover the Ohio valley from invasion. It was also +the most advanced single post which could protect the Kanawha +valley. Further to the southeast, on Flat-top Mountain, was another +very strong position, where the principal road on the left bank of +New River crosses a high and broad ridge; but a post could not be +safely maintained there without still holding Gauley Bridge in +considerable force, or establishing another post on the right bank +of New River twenty miles further up. All these streams flow in +rocky beds seamed and fissured to so great a degree that they had no +practicable fords. You might go forty miles up New River and at +least twenty up the Gauley before you could find a place where +either could be passed by infantry or wagons. The little ferries +which had been made in a few eddies of the rivers were destroyed in +the first campaign, and the post at the Gauley became nearly +impregnable in front, and could only be turned by long and difficult +detours. + +An interval of about a hundred miles separated this mountain +fastness from the similar passes which guarded eastern Virginia +along the line of the Blue Ridge. This debatable ground was sparsely +settled and very poor in agricultural resources, so that it could +furnish nothing for subsistence of man or beast. The necessity of +transporting forage as well as subsistence and ammunition through +this mountainous belt forbade any extended or continuous operations +there; for actual computation showed that the wagon trains could +carry no more than the food for the mule teams on the double trip, +going and returning, from Gauley Bridge to the narrows of New River +where the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad crossed upon an important +bridge which was several times made the objective point of an +expedition. This alone proved the impracticability of the plan +McClellan first conceived, of making the Kanawha valley the line of +an important movement into eastern Virginia. It pointed very +plainly, also, to the true theory of operations in that country. +Gauley Bridge should have been held with a good brigade which could +have had outposts several miles forward in three directions, and, +assisted by a small body of horse to scour the country fifty miles +or more to the front, the garrison could have protected all the +country which we ever occupied permanently. A similar post at +Huttonsville with detachments at the Cheat Mountain pass and +Elkwater pass north of Huntersville would have covered the only +other practicable routes through the mountains south of the line of +the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. These would have been small +intrenched camps, defensive in character, but keeping detachments +constantly active in patrolling the front, going as far as could be +done without wagons. All that ever was accomplished in that region +of any value would thus have been attained at the smallest expense, +and the resources that were for three years wasted in those +mountains might have been applied to the legitimate lines of great +operations from the valley of the Potomac southward. + +[Illustration: GAULEY BRIDGE & VICINITY.] + +Nothing could be more romantically beautiful than the situation of +the post at Gauley Bridge. The hamlet had, before our arrival there, +consisted of a cluster of two or three dwellings, a country store, a +little tavern, and a church, irregularly scattered along the base of +the mountain and facing the road which turns from the Gauley valley +into that of the Kanawha. The lower slope of the hillside behind the +houses was cultivated, and a hedgerow separated the lower fields +from the upper pasturage. Above this gentler slope the wooded steeps +rose more precipitately, the sandstone rock jutting out into crags +and walls, the sharp ridge above having scarcely soil enough to +nourish the chestnut-trees, here, like Mrs. Browning's woods of +Vallombrosa, literally "clinging by their spurs to the precipices." +In the angle between the Gauley and New rivers rose Gauley Mount, +the base a perpendicular wall of rocks of varying height, with high +wooded slopes above. There was barely room for the road between the +wall of rocks and the water on the New River side, but after going +some distance up the valley, the highway gradually ascended the +hillside, reaching some rolling uplands at a distance of a couple of +miles. Here was Gauley Mount, the country-house of Colonel C. Q. +Tompkins, formerly of the Army of the United States, but now the +commandant of a Confederate regiment raised in the Kanawha valley. +Across New River the heavy masses of Cotton Mountain rose rough and +almost inaccessible from the very water's edge. The western side of +Cotton Mountain was less steep, and buttresses formed a bench about +its base, so that in looking across the Kanawha a mile below the +junction of the rivers, one saw some rounded foothills which had +been cleared on the top and tilled, and a gap in the mountainous +wall made room on that side for a small creek which descended to the +Kanawha, and whose bed served for a rude country road leading to +Fayette C. H. At the base of Cotton Mountain the Kanawha equals the +united width of the two tributaries, and flows foaming over broken +rocks with treacherous channels between, till it dashes over the +horseshoe ledge below, known far and wide as the Kanawha Falls. On +either bank near the falls a small mill had been built, that on the +right bank a saw-mill and the one on the left for grinding grain. + +Our encampment necessarily included the saw-mill below the falls, +where the First Kentucky Regiment was placed to guard the road +coming from Fayette C. H. Two regiments were encamped at the bridge +upon the hillside above the hedgerow, having an advanced post of +half a regiment on the Lewisburg road beyond the Tompkins farm, and +scouting the country to Sewell Mountain. Smaller outposts were +stationed some distance up the valley of the Gauley. My headquarters +tents were pitched in the door-yard of a dwelling-house facing the +Gauley River, and I occupied an unfurnished room in the house for +office purposes. A week was spent, without molestation, exploring +the country in all directions and studying its topography. A ferry +guided by a cable stretching along the piers of the burnt bridge +communicated with the outposts up the New River, and a smaller ferry +below the Kanawha Falls connected with the Fayette road. Systematic +discipline and instruction in outpost duty were enforced, and the +regiments rapidly became expert mountaineers and scouts. The +population was nearly all loyal below Gauley Bridge, but above they +were mostly Secessionists, a small minority of the wealthier +slaveholders being the nucleus of all aggressive secession +movements. These, by their wealth and social leadership, overawed or +controlled a great many who did not at heart sympathize with them, +and between parties thus formed a guerilla warfare became chronic. +In our scouting expeditions we found little farms in secluded nooks +among the mountains, where grown men assured us that they had never +before seen the American flag, and whole families had never been +further from home than a church and country store a few miles away. +From these mountain people several regiments of Union troops were +recruited in West Virginia, two of them being organized in rear of +my own lines, and becoming part of the garrison of the district in +the following season. + +I had been joined before reaching Gauley Bridge by Chaplain Brown of +the Seventh Ohio, who had obtained permission to make an adventurous +journey across the country from Sutton to bring me information as to +the position and character of the outposts that were stretching from +the railway southward toward our line of operations. Disguised as a +mountaineer in homespun clothing, his fine features shaded by a +slouched felt hat, he reported himself to me in anything but a +clerical garb. Full of enterprise as a partisan leader of scouts +could be, he was yet a man of high attainments in his profession, of +noble character and real learning. When he reached me, I had as my +guest another chaplain who had accepted a commission at my +suggestion, the Rev. Mr. Dubois, son-in-law of Bishop McIlvaine of +Ohio, who had been leader of the good people at Chillicothe in +providing a supper for the Eleventh Ohio as we were on our way from +Camp Dennison to Gallipolis. He had burned to have some part in the +country's struggle, and became a model chaplain till his labors and +exposure broke his health and forced him to resign. The presence of +two such men gave some hours of refined social life in the intervals +of rough work. One evening walk along the Kanawha has ever since +remained in my memory associated with Whittier's poem "The River +Path," as a wilder and more brilliant type of the scene he pictured. +We had walked out beyond the camp, leaving its noise and its warlike +associations behind us, for a turn of the road around a jutting +cliff shut it all out as completely as if we had been transported to +another land, except that the distant figure of a sentinel on post +reminded us of the limit of safe sauntering for pleasure. My +Presbyterian and Episcopalian friends forgot their differences of +dogma, and as the sun dropped behind the mountain tops, making an +early twilight in the valley, we talked of home, of patriotism, of +the relation of our struggle to the world's progress, and other high +themes, when + + "Sudden our pathway turned from night, + The hills swung open to the light; + Through their green gates the sunshine showed, + A long, slant splendor downward flowed. + Down glade and glen and bank it rolled; + It bridged the shaded stream with gold; + And borne on piers of mist, allied + The shadowy with the sunlit side!" + +The surroundings, the things of which we talked, our own sentiments, +all combined to make the scene stir deep emotions for which the +poet's succeeding lines seem the only fit expression, and to link +the poem indissolubly with the scene as if it had its birth there. + +When Wise had retreated from the valley, Colonel Tompkins had been +unable to remove his family, and had left a letter commending them +to our courteous treatment. Mrs. Tompkins was a lady of refinement, +and her position within our outposts was far from being a +comfortable one. She, however, put a cheerful face upon her +situation, showed great tact in avoiding controversy with the +soldiers and in conciliating the good-will of the officers, and +remained with her children and servants in her picturesque home on +the mountain. So long as there was no fighting in the near vicinity, +it was comparatively easy to save her from annoyance; but when a +little later in the autumn Floyd occupied Cotton Mountain, and +General Rosecrans was with us with larger forces, such a household +became an object of suspicion and ill-will, which made it necessary +to send her through the lines to her husband. The men fancied they +saw signals conveyed from the house to the enemy, and believed that +secret messages were sent, giving information of our numbers and +movements. All this was highly improbable, for the lady knew that +her safety depended upon her good faith and prudence; but such camp +rumor becomes a power, and Rosecrans found himself compelled to end +it by sending her away. He could no longer be answerable for her +complete protection. This, however, was not till November, and in +August it was only a pleasant variation, in going the rounds, to +call at the pretty house on Gauley Mount, inquire after the welfare +of the family, and have a moment's polite chat with the mistress of +the mansion. + +For ten days after we occupied Gauley Bridge, all our information +showed that General Wise was not likely to attempt the reconquest of +the Kanawha valley voluntarily. His rapid retrograde march ended at +White Sulphur Springs and he went into camp there. His destruction +of bridges and abandonment of stores and munitions of war showed +that he intended to take final leave of our region. [Footnote: My +report to Rosecrans, Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 40. Wise +to Lee, _Id_., vol. ii. p. 1012; vol. v. p. 769.] The contrast +between promise and performance in his case had been ludicrous. When +we entered the valley, we heard of his proclamations and orders, +which breathed the spirit of desperate hand-to-hand conflict. His +soldiers had been told to despise long-range fire-arms, and to trust +to bowie-knives, which our invading hordes would never dare to face. +We found some of these knives among the arms we captured at the +Gauley,--ferocious-looking weapons, made of broad files ground to a +double edge, fitted with rough handles, and still bearing the +cross-marking of the file on the flat sides. Such arms pointed many +a sarcasm among our soldiers, who had found it hard in the latter +part of our advance to get within even the longest musket-range of +the enemy's column. It was not strange that ignorant men should +think they might find use for weapons less serviceable than the +ancient Roman short-sword; but that, in the existing condition of +military science, officers could be found to share and to encourage +the delusion was amusing enough! With the muskets we captured, we +armed a regiment of loyal Virginians, and turned over the rest to +Governor Peirpoint for similar use. [Footnote: In some documents +which fell into our hands we found a series of resolutions passed at +a meeting in the spring at which one of the companies now with Wise +was organized. It shows the melodramatic truculence which was echoed +in the exhortations of the general and of other men who should have +had more judgment. The resolutions were these:-- + +"_Resolved:_ 1. That this company was formed for the defence of this +Commonwealth against her enemies of the North, and for no other +purpose. + +_Resolved:_ 2. That the so-called President of the United States by +his war policy has deliberately insulted the people of this +Commonwealth, and if blood he wants, blood he can have. + +_Resolved:_ 3. That we are ready to respond to the call of the +Governor of this Commonwealth for resisting Abraham Lincoln and the +New York stock-jobbers, and all who sympathize with them. + +_Resolved:_ 4. That we have not forgotten Harper's Ferry and John +Brown."] + +On the 5th of August Lieutenant Wagner of the Engineers arrived at +Gauley Bridge with instructions from General Rosecrans to +superintend the construction of such fortifications as might be +proper for a post of three regiments. I had already with me Colonel +Whittlesey, Governor Dennison's chief engineer, an old West Point +graduate, who had for some years been devoting himself to scientific +pursuits, especially to geology. In a few days these were joined by +Captain Benham, who was authorized to determine definitely the plans +of our defences. I was thus stronger in engineering skill than in +any other department of staff assistants, though in truth there was +little fortifying to be done beyond what the contour of the ground +indicated to the most ordinary comprehension. [Footnote: The cause +of this visit of the Engineers is found in a dispatch sent by +McClellan to Rosecrans, warning him that Lee and Johnston were both +actually in march to crush our forces in West Virginia, and +directing that Huttonsville and Gauley Bridge be strongly fortified. +Official Records, vol. v. p. 555; _Id_., vol. ii. pt.. 445, 446.] + +Benham stayed but two or three days, modified Wagner's plans enough +to feel that he had made them his own, and then went back to +Rosecrans's headquarters, where he was met with an appointment as +brigadier-general, and was relieved of staff duty. He was a stout +red-faced man, with a blustering air, dictatorial and assuming, an +army engineer of twenty-five years' standing. He was no doubt well +skilled in the routine of his profession, but broke down when +burdened with the responsibility of conducting the movement of +troops in the field. Wagner was a recent graduate of the Military +Academy, a genial, modest, intelligent young man of great promise. +He fell at the siege of Yorktown in the next year. Whittlesey was a +veteran whose varied experience in and out of the army had all been +turned to good account. He was already growing old, but was +indefatigable, pushing about in a rather prim, precise way, advising +wisely, criticising dryly but in a kindly spirit, and helping bring +every department into better form. I soon lost both him and McElroy, +my adjutant-general, for their three months' service was up, and +they were made, the one colonel, and the other major of the +Twentieth Ohio Regiment, of which my friend General Force was the +lieutenant-colonel. + +We fortified the post by an epaulement or two for cannon, high up on +the hillside covering the ferry and the road up New River. An +infantry trench, with parapet of barrels filled with earth, was run +along the margin of Gauley River till it reached a creek coming down +from the hills on the left. There a redoubt for a gun or two was +made, commanding a stretch of road above, and the infantry trench +followed the line of the creek up to a gorge in the hill. On the +side of Gauley Mount facing our post, we slashed the timber from the +edge of the precipice nearly to the top of the mountain, making an +entanglement through which it was impossible that any body of troops +should move. Down the Kanawha, below the falls, we strengthened the +saw-mill with logs, till it became a block-house loopholed for +musketry, commanding the road to Charleston, the ferry, and the +opening of the road to Fayette C. H. A single cannon was here put in +position also. + +All this took time, for so small a force as ours could not make very +heavy details of working parties, especially as our outpost and +reconnoitring duty was also very laborious. This duty was done by +infantry, for cavalry I had none, except the squad of mounted +messengers, who kept carefully out of harm's way, more to save their +horses than themselves, for they had been enlisted under an old law +which paid them for the risk of their own horses, which risk they +naturally tried to make as small as possible. My reconnoitring +parties reached Big Sewell Mountain, thirty-five miles up New River, +Summersville, twenty miles up the Gauley, and made excursions into +the counties on the left bank of the Kanawha, thirty or forty miles +away. These were not exceptional marches, but were kept up with an +industry that gave the enemy an exaggerated idea of our strength as +well as of our activity. + +About the 10th of August we began to get rumors from the country +that General Robert E. Lee had arrived at Lewisburg to assume +direction of the Confederate movements into West Virginia. We heard +also that Floyd with a strong brigade had joined that of Wise, whose +"legion" had been reinforced, and that this division, reported to be +10,000 or 12,000 strong, would immediately operate against me at +Gauley Bridge. We learned also of a general stir among the +Secessionists in Fayette, Mercer, and Raleigh counties, and of the +militia being ordered out under General Chapman to support the +Confederate movement by operating upon my line of communications, +whilst Floyd and Wise should attack in front. + +The reported aggregate of the enemy's troops was, as usual, +exaggerated, but we now know that it amounted to about 8000 men, a +force so greatly superior to anything I could assemble to oppose it, +that the situation became at once a very grave one for me. +[Footnote: On the 14th of August Wise reported to General Lee that +he had 2000 men ready to move, and could have 2500 ready in five +days; that 550 of his cavalry were with Floyd, besides a detachment +of 50 artillerists. This makes his total force 3100. At that time he +gives Floyd's force at 1200 with two strong regiments coming up, +besides 2000 militia under General Chapman. The aggregate force +operating on the Kanawha line he gives as 7800. (Official Records +vol. v. p. 787.)] To resist this advance, I could keep but two +regiments at Gauley Bridge, an advance-guard of eight companies +vigorously skirmishing toward Sewell Mountain, a regiment +distributed on the Kanawha to cover steamboat communications, and +some companies of West Virginia recruits organizing at the mouth of +the Kanawha. By extreme activity these were able to baffle the +enemy, and impose upon him the belief that our numbers were more +than double our actual force. + +Small hostile parties began to creep in toward the navigable part of +the Kanawha, and to fire upon the steamboats, which were our sole +dependence for supplying our depots at Charleston and at the head of +navigation. General Rosecrans informed me of his purpose to march a +sufficiently strong column to meet that under Lee as soon as the +purpose of the latter should be developed, and encouraged me to hold +fast to my position. I resolved, therefore, to stand a siege if need +be, and pushed my means of transportation to the utmost, to +accumulate a store of supplies at Gauley Bridge. I succeeded in +getting up rations sufficient to last a fortnight, but found it much +harder to get ammunition, especially for my ill-assorted little +battery of cannon. + +The Twenty-sixth Ohio came into the Kanawha valley on the 8th +through a mistake in their orders, and their arrival supplied for a +few days the loss of the Twenty-first, which had gone home to be +mustered out and reorganized. Some companies of the newly forming +Fourth Virginia were those who protected the village of Point +Pleasant at the mouth of the river, and part of the Twelfth and +Twenty-sixth Ohio were in detachments from Charleston toward Gauley +Bridge, furnishing guards for the steamboats and assisting in the +landing and forwarding of supplies. The Eleventh Ohio, under +Lieutenant-Colonel Frizell, which still had only eight companies, +had the task of covering and reconnoitring our immediate front, and +was the advance-guard already mentioned. Part of the Twelfth under +Major Hines did similar work on the road to Summersville, where +Rosecrans had an advanced post, consisting of the Seventh Ohio +(Colonel E. B. Tyler), the Thirteenth (Colonel Wm. Sooy Smith), and +the Twenty-third (Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley Matthews). On the 13th +of August the Seventh Ohio, by orders from Rosecrans, marched to +Cross Lanes, the intersection of the read from Summersville to +Gauley Bridge, with one from Carnifex Ferry, which is on the Gauley +near the mouth of Meadow River. A road called the Sunday Road is in +the Meadow River valley, and joins the Lewisburg turnpike about +fifteen miles in front of Gauley Bridge. [Footnote: See Official +Atlas, Plate IX. 3, and map, p. 106, _post_] To give warning against +any movement of the enemy to turn my position by this route or to +intervene between me and Rosecrans's posts at Summersville and +beyond, was Tyler's task. He was ordered to picket all crossings of +the river near his position, and to join my command if he were +driven away. I was authorized to call him to me in an emergency. + +On the 15th Tyler was joined at Cross Lanes by the Thirteenth and +Twenty-third Ohio, in consequence of rumors that the enemy was +advancing upon Summersville in force from Lewisburg. I would have +been glad of such an addition to my forces, but knowing that +Rosecrans had stationed them as his own outpost covering the Sutton +and Weston road, I ordered Tyler to maintain his own position, and +urged the others to return at once to Summersville. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. pp. 449, 453, 454.] The road by +which they had expected the enemy was the Wilderness road, which +crossed the Gauley at Hughes' Ferry, six miles above Carnifex. If +attacked from that direction, they should retire northward toward +Rosecrans, if possible. + +Rosecrans gave orders to the same effect as soon as he heard of the +movement, saying that his intention had been to station Smith and +Matthews at Sutton, where their retreat toward him in case of +necessity would be assured. [Footnote: Dispatch of August 16.] His +orders for Tyler were that he should scout far toward the enemy, +"striking him wherever he can," and "hold his position at the +ferries as long as he can safely do it, and then fall back, as +directed," toward Gauley Bridge. [Footnote: Dispatch of August 17.] +The incident throws important light upon the situation a week later, +when Tyler was attacked by Floyd. + +Floyd and Wise were now really in motion, though General Lee +remained at Valley Mountain near Huntersville, whence he directed +their movements. On the 17th they had passed Sewell Mountain, but +made slow progress in the face of the opposition of the Eleventh +Ohio, which kept up a constant skirmish with them. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. v. pp. 792, 799; _Id_., vol. li. pt. i. pp. +450-453.] On the 19th Floyd's advance-guard passed the mouth of the +Sunday Road on the turnpike, and on the 20th made so determined a +push at my advance-guard that I believed it a serious effort of the +whole Confederate column. I strengthened my own advance-guard by +part of the Twelfth Ohio, which was at hand, and placed them at Pig +Creek, a mile beyond the Tompkins place, where the turnpike crossed +a gorge making a strongly defensible position. The advance-guard was +able to withstand the enemy alone, and drove back those who +assaulted them with considerable loss. It has since appeared that +this movement of the enemy was by Wise's command making a direct +attack upon my position, whilst Floyd was moving by the diagonal +road to Dogwood Gap on the Sunday Road where it crosses the old +State Road. There he encamped for the night, and next day continued +his march to the mouth of Meadow River near Carnifex Ferry. +[Footnote: _Id_., vol. v. p.800.] It was an affair of advance-guards +in which Wise was satisfied as soon as he found serious resistance, +and he retired during the night. On the first evidence of the +enemy's presence in force, I called Tyler from Cross Lanes to +Twenty-mile Creek, about six miles from Gauley Bridge, where it was +important to guard a road passing to my rear, and to meet any +attempt to turn my flank if the attack should be determinedly made +by the whole force of the enemy. [Footnote: Dispatch of August 20.] +As soon as the attack was repulsed, Tyler was ordered to return to +Cross Lanes and resume his watch of the roads and river crossings +there. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. li. pt. i. p. 454.] He was delayed by +the issue of shoes and clothing to his men, and when he approached +his former position on the 24th, he found that Floyd was reported to +have crossed the Gauley at Carnifex Ferry. Without waiting to +reconnoitre the enemy at all, Tyler retreated to Peters Creek, +several miles. Floyd had in fact succeeded in raising two small +flatboats which Tyler had sunk but had not entirely destroyed. With +these for a ferry, he had crossed and was intrenching himself where +he was afterward attacked by Rosecrans. + +In the hope that only a small force had made the crossing, I ordered +Tyler to "make a dash at them, taking care to keep your force well +in hand so as to keep your retreat safe." [Footnote: Dispatch of +August 24.] I added: "It is important to give them such a check as +to stop their crossing." Meanwhile my advance-guard up New River was +ordered to demonstrate actively in front and upon the Sunday Road, +so as to disquiet any force which had gone towards Tyler, and I also +sent forward half a regiment to Peters Creek (six miles from Cross +Lanes) to hold the pass there and secure his retreat in case of +need. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 457.] + +But Tyler was new to responsibility, and seemed paralyzed into +complete inefficiency. He took nearly the whole of the 25th to move +slowly to Cross Lanes, though he met no opposition. He did nothing +that evening or night, and his disposal of his troops was so +improper and outpost duty so completely neglected that on the +morning of the 26th, whilst his regiment was at breakfast, it was +attacked by Floyd on both flanks at once, and was routed before it +could be formed for action. Some companies managed to make a show of +fighting, but it was wholly in vain, and they broke in confusion. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 458, 459, 461.] About 15 were killed and 50 +wounded, the latter with some 30 others falling into the enemy's +hands. Tyler, with his lieutenant-colonel, Creighton, came into +Gauley Bridge with a few stragglers from the regiment. Others +followed until about 200 were present. His train had reached the +detachment I had sent to Peters Creek, and this covered its retreat +to camp, so that all his wagons came in safely. He reported all his +command cut to pieces and captured except the few that were with +him, and wrote an official report of the engagement, giving that +result. + +On the 28th, however, we heard that Major Casement had carried 400 +of the regiment safely into Charleston. He had rallied them on the +hills immediately after the rout, and finding the direct road to +Gauley Bridge intercepted, had led them by mountain paths over the +ridges to the valley of Elk River, and had then followed that stream +down to Charleston without being pursued. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 462.] This put a new face on the +business, and Tyler in much confusion asked the return of his report +that he might re-write it. I looked upon his situation as the not +unnatural result of inexperience, and contented myself with +informing General Rosecrans of the truth as to the affair. Tyler was +allowed to substitute a new report, and his unfortunate affair was +treated as a lesson from which it was expected he would profit. +[Footnote: Rosecrans's dispatch, _Id_., p. 460.] It made trouble in +the regiment, however, where the line officers did not conceal their +opinion that he had failed in his duty as a commander, and he was +never afterward quite comfortable among them. + +The lieutenant-colonel, Creighton, was for a time in the abyss of +self-reproach. The very day they reached Gauley Bridge in their +unceremonious retreat, he came to me, crying with shame, and said, +"General, I have behaved like a miserable coward, I ought to be +cashiered," and repeated many such expressions of remorse. I +comforted him by saying that the intensity of his own feeling was +the best proof that he had only yielded to a surprise and that it +was clear he was no coward. He died afterward at the head of his +regiment in the desperate charge up the hills at Ringgold, Georgia, +in the campaign following that of Chickamauga in the autumn of 1863, +having had the command for two years after Tyler became a brigadier. +During those two years the Seventh had been in numberless +engagements, and its list of casualties in battle, made good by +recruiting, was said to have reached a thousand. Better soldiers +there were none, and Creighton proved himself a lion in every fight. + +Casement, who rallied and led the most of the regiment from Cross +Lanes over the mountains to Charleston, became afterward colonel of +the One Hundred and Third Ohio. He came again under my command in +East Tennessee in the winter of 1863, and continued one of my +brigade commanders to the close of the war. He was a railway builder +by profession, had a natural aptitude for controlling bodies of men, +was rough of speech but generous of heart, running over with fun +which no dolefulness of circumstance could repress, as jolly a +comrade and as loyal a subordinate as the army could show. + +After the Cross Lanes affair I fully expected that the Confederate +forces would follow the route which Casement had taken to +Charleston. Floyd's inactivity puzzled me, for he did no more than +make an intrenched camp at Carnifex Ferry, with outposts at Peters +Mountain and toward Summersville. The publication of the Confederate +Archives has partly solved the mystery. Floyd called on Wise to +reinforce him; but the latter demurred, insistent that the duty +assigned him of attacking my position in front needed all the men he +had. Both appealed to Lee, and Lee decided that Floyd was the senior +and entitled to command the joint forces. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. v. pp. 155-165, 800, 802-813.] The letters of Wise +show a capacity for keeping a command in hot water which was unique. +If he had been half as troublesome to me as he was to Floyd, I +should indeed have had a hot time of it. But he did me royal service +by preventing anything approaching to co-operation between the two +Confederate columns. I kept my advance-guards constantly feeling of +both, and got through the period till Rosecrans joined me with +nothing more serious than some sharp affairs of detachments. + +I was not without anxiety, however, and was constantly kept on the +alert. Rosecrans withdrew the Twelfth Ohio from my command, +excepting two companies under Major Hines, on the 19th of August, +[Footnote: My dispatch to Rosecrans of August 19; also Official +Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 454.] and the imperative need of +detachments to protect the river below me was such that from this +time till the middle of September my garrison at Gauley Bridge, +including advance-guards and outposts, was never more than two and a +half regiments or 1800 men. My artillerists were also ordered back +to Ohio to reorganize, leaving the guns in the hands of such +infantry details as I could improvise. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 462.] I +was lucky enough, however, to get a very good troop of horse under +command of Captain Pfau in place of the irregular squad I had +before. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 464.] + +On the 25th my advance-guard under Lieutenant-Colonel Frizell very +cleverly succeeded in drawing into an ambuscade a body of Floyd's +cavalry under Colonel A. G. Jenkins. The principal body of our men +lined a defile near the Hawk's Nest, and the skirmishers, retreating +before the enemy, led them into the trap. Our men began firing +before the enemy was quite surrounded, and putting their horses upon +the run, they dashed back, running the gantlet of the fire. Wise +reported that he met men with their subordinate officers flying at +four miles' distance from the place of the action, and so +panic-stricken that they could not be rallied or led back. +[Footnote: _Id_., vol. v. p. 816; _Id_., vol. li. pt. i. p. 457.] +Jenkins was hurt by the fall of his horse, but he succeeded in +getting away; for, as we had no horsemen to pursue with, even the +wounded, except one, could not be overtaken. Hats, clothing, arms, +and saddles were left scattered along the road in as complete a +breakneck race for life as was ever seen. The result, if not great +in the list of casualties, which were only reported at 10 or 15 by +the enemy, was so demoralizing in its influence upon the hostile +cavalry that they never again showed any enterprise in harassing our +outposts, whilst our men gained proportionally in confidence. + +About the 30th of August we heard of an encampment of Confederate +militia at Boone C. H. which was so situated, southwest of the +Kanawha River, as to menace our communications with the Ohio. I sent +Lieutenant-Colonel Enyart with half of the First Kentucky Regiment +to beat up this encampment, and he did so on the 2d of September, +completely routing the enemy, who left 25 dead upon the field. +Enyart's march and attack had been rapid and vigorous, and the +terror of the blow kept that part of the district quiet for some +time afterward. [Footnote: C. R., vol. li. pt. i. pp. 465, 468, +472.] + +We had heard for some days the news of the assembling of a +considerable force of Confederate militia at Fayette C. H. under +General Chapman and Colonel Beckley. They were reported at 2500, +which was a fair estimate of the numbers which answered to the call. +On the 3d of September a pretty well combined attack was made by +Wise and this force; Wise pushing in sharply upon the turnpike, +whilst Chapman, assisted by part of Wise's cavalry, drove back our +small outpost on the Fayette road. Wise was met at Pig Creek as in +his former attack, the eight companies of the Eleventh Ohio being +strengthened by half of the Twenty-sixth Ohio, which was brought +from below for this purpose. The effort was somewhat more persistent +than before, and Wise indulged in considerable noisy cannonading; +but the pickets retreated to the creek without loss, and the whole +advance-guard, keeping under good cover there, repelled the attack +with less than half a dozen casualties on our side, none being +fatal. Wise retreated again beyond Hawk's Nest. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. li. pt. i. pp. 468, 470. Wise's Report, _Id_., vol. v. +p. 124.] The irregular troops on the Fayette road were more boldly +led, and as there was no defensible position near the river for our +outposts, these fell slowly back after a very warm skirmish, +inflicting a loss, as reported by prisoners, of 6 killed among the +enemy. I expected Floyd to move at the same time, and was obliged to +continue upon the defensive by reason of his threatening position up +the Gauley River; I, however, sent Major Hines with his two +companies in that direction, and Floyd appeared to be impressed with +the idea that my whole force was moving to attack him and attempted +nothing aggressive. As at this time Wise, in his letters to General +Lee, puts Floyd's force at 5600, and his own at 2200, [Footnote: +_Id_., vol. v. p. 840.] I had good reason, therefore, to feel +satisfied with being able to keep them all at bay. + +In the midst of the alarms from every side, my camp itself was +greatly excited by an incident which would have been occasion for +regret at any time, but which at such a juncture threatened for a +moment quite serious consequences. The work of intrenching the +position was going on under the direction of Lieutenant Wagner as +rapidly as the small working parties available could perform it. All +were overworked, but it was the rule that men should not be detailed +for fatigue duty who had been on picket the preceding night. On +August 28th, a detail had been called for from the Second Kentucky, +which lay above the hedge behind my headquarters, and they had +reported without arms under a sergeant named Joyce. A supply of +intrenching tools was stacked by the gate leading into the yard +where my staff tents were pitched, and my aide, Lieutenant Conine, +directed the sergeant to have his men take the tools and report to +Mr. Wagner, the engineer, on the line. The men began to demur in a +half-mutinous way, saying they had been on picket the night before. +Conine, who was a soldierly man, informed them that that should be +immediately looked into, and if so, they would be soon relieved, but +that they could not argue the matter there, as their company +commander was responsible for the detail. He therefore repeated his +order. The sergeant then became excited and said his men should not +obey. Lieutenant Gibbs, the district commissary, was standing by, +and drawing his pistol, said to Joyce, "That's mutiny; order your +men to take the tools or I'll shoot you." The man retorted with a +curse, "Shoot!" Gibbs fired, and Joyce fell dead. When the sergeant +first refused to obey, Conine coolly called out, "Corporal of the +guard, turn out the guard!" intending very properly to put the man +in arrest, but the shot followed too quick for the guard to arrive. +I was sitting within the house at my camp desk, busy, when the first +thing which attracted my attention was the call for the guard and +the shot. I ran out, not stopping for arms, and saw some of the men +running off shouting, "Go for your guns, kill him, kill him!" I +stopped part of the men, ordered them to take the sergeant quickly +to the hospital, thinking he might not be dead. I then ordered Gibbs +in arrest till an investigation should be made, and ran at speed to +a gap in the hedge which opened into the regimental camp. It was not +a moment too soon. The men with their muskets were already +clustering in the path, threatening vengeance on Mr. Gibbs. I +ordered them to halt and return to their quarters. Carried away by +excitement, they levelled their muskets at me and bade me get out of +their way or they would shoot me. I managed to keep cool, said the +affair would be investigated, that Gibbs was already under arrest, +but they must go back to their quarters. The parley lasted long +enough to bring some of their officers near. I ordered them to come +to my side, and then to take command of the men and march them away. +The real danger was over as soon as the first impulse was checked. +[Footnote: Dispatch to Rosecrans, August 29.] The men then began to +feel some of their natural respect for their commander, and yielded +probably the more readily because they noticed that I was unarmed. I +thought it wise to be content with quelling the disturbance, and did +not seek out for punishment the men who had met me at the gap. Their +excitement had been natural under the circumstances, which were +reported with exaggeration as a wilful murder. If I had been in +command of a larger force, it would have been easy to turn out +another regiment to enforce order and arrest any mutineers; but the +Second Kentucky was itself the only regiment on the spot. The First +Kentucky was a mile below, and the Eleventh Ohio was the +advance-guard up New River. Surrounded as we were by so superior a +force of the enemy with which we were constantly skirmishing, I +could not do otherwise than meet the difficulty instantly without +regard to personal risk. + +The sequel of the affair was not reached till some weeks later when +General Rosecrans assembled a court-martial at my request. +Lieutenant Gibbs was tried and acquitted on the plain evidence that +the man killed was in the act of mutiny at the time. The court was a +notable one, as its judge advocate was Major R. B. Hayes of the +Twenty-third Ohio, afterwards President of the United States, and +one of its members was Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley Matthews of the +same regiment, afterwards one of the Justices of the Supreme Court. +[Footnote: Some twenty years later a bill passed the House of +Representatives pensioning the mother of the man killed, under the +law giving pensions to dependent relatives of those who died in the +line of duty! It could only have been smuggled through by +concealment and falsification of facts, and was stopped in the +Senate.] + +The constant skirmishing with the enemy on all sides continued till +the 10th of September, when General Rosecrans with his column +reached Cross Lanes and had the action at Carnifex Ferry which I +shall describe in the next chapter. I had sent forward half a +regiment from my little command to open communication with him as +soon as possible. On September 9th a party from this detachment had +reached Cross Lanes and learned that Floyd was keeping close within +his lines on the cliffs of Gauley above Carnifex Ferry. They, +however, heard nothing of Rosecrans, and the principal body of their +troops heard no sound of the engagement on the 10th, though within a +very few miles. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. +478.] On the 12th communication was opened, and I learned of Floyd's +retreat across the Gauley. I immediately moved forward the Eleventh +and Twenty-sixth Ohio to attack Wise, who retreated from Hawk's Nest +to the mouth of the Sunday Road, and upon my closer approach retired +to Sewell Mountain. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 479, 481.] At the Sunday +Road I was stopped by orders from Rosecrans, who thought it unwise +to advance further till he had made a ferry at the Gauley and +succeeded in getting his command over; for Floyd had again sunk the +flatboats within reach, and these had to be a second time raised and +repaired. At his request I visited the General at Carnifex Ferry, +and then got permission to move my column forward a few miles to +Alderson's, or Camp Lookout as we dubbed it, where a commanding +position controlled the country to the base of Sewell Mountain. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 482.] I was now able to concentrate the Seventh +Ohio at Gauley Bridge, and ordered forward the Second Kentucky to +join me in the new camp. + +The period of my separate responsibility and of struggle against +great odds was not to close without a private grief which was the +more poignant because the condition of the campaign forbade my +leaving the post of duty. On the day I visited General Rosecrans at +Carnifex Ferry I got news of the critical illness of my youngest +child, a babe of eight months old, whom I had seen but a single day +after his birth, for I had been ordered into camp from the +legislature without time to make another visit to my family. The +warning dispatch was quickly followed by another announcing the end, +and I had to swallow my sorrows as well as I could and face the +public enemy before us, leaving my wife uncomforted in her +bereavement and all the more burdened with care because she knew we +were resuming active operations in the field. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CARNIFEX FERRY--TO SEWELL MOUNTAIN AND BACK + + +Rosecrans's march to join me--Reaches Cross Lanes--Advance against +Floyd--Engagement at Carnifex Ferry--My advance to Sunday +Road--Conference with Rosecrans--McCook's brigade joins me--Advance +to Camp Lookout--Brigade commanders--Rosecrans's personal +characteristics--Hartsuff--Floyd and Wise again--"Battle of +Bontecou"--Sewell Mountain--The equinoctial--General Schenck +arrives--Rough lodgings--Withdrawal from the mountain--Rear-guard +duties--Major Slemmer of Fort Pickens fame--New positions covering +Gauley Bridge--Floyd at Cotton Mountain--Rosecrans's methods with +private soldiers--Progress in discipline. + + +General Rosecrans had succeeded McClellan as ranking officer in West +Virginia, but it was not until the latter part of September that the +region was made a department and he was regularly assigned to +command. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. pp. 604, 616, 647.] +Meanwhile the three months' enlistments were expiring, many +regiments were sent home, new ones were received, and a complete +reorganization of his forces took place. Besides holding the +railroad, he fortified the Cheat Mountain pass looking toward +Staunton, and the pass at Elkwater on the mountain summit between +Huttonsville and Huntersville. My own fortifications at Gauley +Bridge were part of the system of defensive works he had ordered. By +the middle of August he had established a chain of posts, with a +regiment or two at each, on a line upon which he afterwards marched, +from Weston by way of Bulltown, Sutton, and Summersville to Gauley +Bridge. + +[Illustration Map--Affair At Carnifex Ferry] + +As soon as he received the news of Floyd's attack upon Tyler at +Cross Lanes, he hastened his preparations and began his march +southward from Clarksburg with three brigades, having left the Upper +Potomac line in command of General Kelley, and the Cheat Mountain +region in command of General J. J. Reynolds. His route (already +indicated) was a rough one, and the portion of it between Sutton and +Summersville, over Birch Mountain, was very wild and difficult. He +crossed the mountain on the 9th, and left his bivouac on the morning +of the 10th of September, before daybreak. Marching through +Summersville, he reached Cross Lanes about two o'clock in the +afternoon. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. 129.] Floyd's +position was now about two miles distant, and, waiting only for his +column to close up, he again pressed forward. General Benham's +brigade was in front, and soon met the enemy's pickets. Getting the +impression that Floyd was in retreat, Benham pressed forward rather +rashly, deploying to the left and coming under a sharp fire from the +right of the enemy's works. Floyd had intrenched a line across a +bend of the Gauley River, where the road from Cross Lanes to +Lewisburg finds its way down the cliffs to Carnifex Ferry. His +flanks rested upon precipices rising abruptly from the water's edge, +and he also intrenched some rising ground in front of his principal +line. Benham's line advanced through dense and tangled woods, +ignorant of the enemy's position till it was checked by the fire +from his breastworks. It was too late for a proper reconnoissance, +and Rosecrans could only hasten the advance and deployment of the +other brigades under Colonels McCook and Scammon. [Footnote: For +organization of Rosecrans's forces, see Id., vol. li. pt. i. p. +471.] Benham had sent a howitzer battery and two rifled cannon with +his head of column at the left, and these soon got a position from +which, in fact, they enfiladed part of Floyd's line, though it was +impossible to see much of the situation. Charges were made by +portions of Benham's and McCook's brigades as they came up, but they +lacked unity, and Rosecrans was dissatisfied that his head of column +should be engaged before he had time to plan an attack. Colonel Lowe +of the Twelfth Ohio had been killed at the head of his regiment, and +Colonel Lytle of the Tenth had been wounded; darkness was rapidly +coming on, and Rosecrans ordered the troops withdrawn from fire till +positions could be rectified, and the attack renewed in the morning. +Seventeen had been killed, and 141 had been wounded in the sharp but +irregular combat. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. 146.] +Floyd, however, had learned that his position could be subjected to +destructive cannonade; he was himself slightly wounded, and his +officers and men were discouraged. He therefore retreated across the +Gauley in the night, having great difficulty in carrying his +artillery down the cliffs by a wretched road in the darkness. He had +built a slight foot-bridge for infantry in the bit of smooth water +known as the Ferry, though both above and below the stream is an +impassable mountain torrent. The artillery crossed in the flatboats. +Once over, the bridge was broken up and the ferry-boats were sunk. +He reported but twenty casualties, and threw much of the +responsibility upon Wise, who had not obeyed orders to reinforce +him. His hospital, containing the wounded prisoners taken from +Tyler, fell into Rosecrans's hands. [Footnote: A very graphic +description of this engagement and of Floyd's retreat fell into my +hands soon afterward. It was a journal of the campaign written by +Major Isaac Smith of the Twenty-second Virginia Regiment, which he +tried to send through our lines to his family in Charleston, W. Va., +but which was intercepted. A copy is on file in the War Archives. +See also Floyd's report, _Id._, vol. v. pp. 146-148.] + +General Rosecrans found the country so difficult a one that he was +in no little doubt as to the plan of campaign it was now best to +follow. It was out of the question to supply his column by wagon +trains over the mountainous roads from Clarksburg, and the Kanawha +River must therefore be made the line of communication with his +base, which had to be transferred to Gallipolis. In anticipation of +this, I had accumulated supplies and ordnance stores at Gauley +Bridge as much as possible with my small wagon trains, and had +arranged for a larger depot at the head of steamboat navigation. I +was ready therefore to turn over the control of my supply lines to +Rosecrans's officers of the quartermaster and commissary departments +as soon as his wagon trains could be transferred. It was to consult +in regard to these matters, as was as in regard to the future +conduct of the campaign, that the general directed me to visit his +headquarters at Carnifex Ferry. I rode over from my camp at the +Sunday Road junction on the morning of the 15th, found that one of +the little flatboats had been again raised and repaired at Carnifex, +and passing through the field of the recent combat, reached the +general's headquarters near Cross Lanes. I was able from personal +observation to assure him that it was easy for his command to follow +the line of the march on which Floyd had retreated, if better means +of crossing the Gauley were provided; but when they should join me +on the Lewisburg turnpike, that highway would be the proper line of +supply, making Gauley Bridge his depot. He hesitated to commit +himself to either line for decisive operations until the Gauley +should be bridged, but on my description of the commodious ferry I +had made at Gauley Bridge by means of a very large flatboat running +along a hawser stretched from bank to bank, he determined to +advance, and to have a bridge of boats made in place of my ferry. +McCook's brigade was ordered to report to me as soon as it could be +put over the river, and I was authorized to advance some six miles +toward the enemy, to Alberson's or Spy Rock, already mentioned +beyond which Big Sewell Mountain is fourteen miles further to the +southwest. [Footnote: Official Records vol. v. p. 602.] + +At Cross Lanes I met the commanders of the other brigades who were +called in by General Rosecrans of an informal consultation based +upon my knowledge of the country and the enemy. I naturally scanned +them with some interest, and tried to make the most of the +opportunity to become acquainted with them. General Benham I knew +already, from his visit to me at Gauley Bridge in his capacity of +engineer officer. I had met Colonel Robert McCook at Camp Dennison, +and now that it was intimated that he would be for some days under +my command, I recalled a scene I had witnessed there which left many +doubts in my mind whether he would prove an agreeable subordinate. I +had gone, one morning, to General Bates's office, and as I entered +found McCook expressing himself with more vigor than elegance in +regard to some order which had been issued respecting his regiment. +My presence did not seem to interfere with the fluency of his +remarks or the force of his expletives, but after a moment or two he +seemed to notice a look of surprise in my face, and his own +broadened humorously as his manner changed from vehemence to +geniality. General Bates and he were familiar acquaintances at the +bar in Cincinnati, and McCook had evidently presumed upon this as a +warrant for speaking his mind as he pleased. When he reported to me +at this later period, I found a hearty and loyal character under his +bluff exterior and rough speech, with real courage, a quick eye for +topography, and no lack of earnest subordination when work was to be +done. Although our service together was short, I learned to have +real respect for him, and sincerely mourned his loss when, later in +the war, he met his tragic death. The other brigade commander was +_Colonel E. P. Scammon_ of the Twenty-third Ohio. He had graduated +from West Point in 1837, and had served in the Topographical +Engineers of the regular army and as instructor in the Military +Academy. In the Mexican War he had been aide-de-camp to General +Scott. He had been out of the army for some years before the +rebellion, and was acting as professor of mathematics in St. +Xavier's College, Cincinnati, when he was appointed to the colonelcy +of the Twenty-third Ohio upon Rosecrans's promotion. Like Rosecrans, +he was a Roman Catholic, though himself of Puritan descent. It seems +that at the time of the Puseyite movement in England and in this +country there had been a good many conversions to Romanism among the +students and teachers at West Point, under the influence of the +chaplain of the post, and Scammon, among a number of young men who +subsequently became distinguished officers, was in this number. It +need hardly be said that Scammon was well instructed in his +profession. He was perhaps too much wedded to the routine of the +service, and was looked upon by his subordinates as a martinet who +had not patience enough with the inexperience of volunteer soldiers. +He was one of the older men of our army, somewhat under the average +height and weight, with a precise politeness of manner which +reminded one of a Frenchman, and the resemblance was increased by +his free use of his snuff-box. His nervous irritability was the +cause of considerable chafing in his command, but this left him +under fire, and those who had been with him in action learned to +admire his courage and conduct. He was with me subsequently at South +Mountain and Antietam, and still later had the misfortune to be one +of those prisoners in the Confederates' hands who were exposed to +the fire of our batteries in front of Charleston, S. C. + +But being a subordinate, I was most interested in the +characteristics of our commander. Our Camp Dennison acquaintance had +been a pleasant one, and he greeted me with a cordiality that was +reassuring. His general appearance was attractive. He was tall but +not heavy, with the rather long head and countenance that is +sometimes called Norman. His aquiline nose and bright eyes gave him +an incisive expression, increased by rapid utterance in his speech, +which was apt to grow hurried, almost to stammering, when he was +excited. His impulsiveness was plain to all who approached him; his +irritation quickly flashed out in words when he was crossed, and his +social geniality would show itself in smiles and in almost caressing +gestures when he was pleased. In discussing military questions he +made free use of his theoretic knowledge, often quoted authorities +and cited maxims of war, and compared the problem before him to +analogous cases in military history. This did not go far enough to +be pedantic, and was full of a lively intelligence; yet it did not +impress me as that highest form of military insight and knowledge +which solves the question before it upon its own merits and without +conscious comparison with historical examples, through a power of +judgment and perception ripened and broadened by the mastery of +principles which have ruled the great campaigns of the world. He was +fond of conviviality, loved to banter good-humoredly his staff +officers and intimates, and was altogether an attractive and +companionable man, with intellectual activity enough to make his +society stimulating and full of lively discussion. I could easily +understand Garfield's saying, in his letter to Secretary Chase which +afterward became the subject of much debate, that he "loved every +bone in his body." [Footnote: An anecdote told at my table in 1890 +by the Rev. Dr. Morris, long Professor in Lane Theological Seminary, +Cincinnati, is so characteristic of Rosecrans that it is worth +repeating. After the battle of Stone's River (January, 1863) Dr. +Morris, who was then minister of a Presbyterian church in Columbus, +was made by Governor Tod a member of a commission sent to look after +the wounded soldiers. He called on General Rosecrans at his +headquarters in Murfreesboro, and among others met there Father +Tracy, the general's chaplain, a Roman Catholic priest. During the +visit Rosecrans was called aside (but in the same room) by a staff +officer to receive information about a spy who had been caught +within the lines. The general got quite excited over the +information, talked loudly and hurriedly in giving directions +concerning the matter, using some profane language. It seemed +suddenly to occur to him that the clergymen were present, and from +the opposite side of the room he turned toward them, exclaiming +apologetically, "Gentlemen, I sometimes _swear_, but I never +_blaspheme!_"] + +Rosecrans's adjutant-general was Captain George L. Hartsuff, an +officer of the regular army, who was well qualified to supplement in +many ways the abilities and deficiencies of his chief. [Footnote: +Hartsuff was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers in the next +year and was severely wounded at Antietam, after which he was made +major-general and commanded the Twenty-third Army Corps in +Burnside's campaign of East Tennessee.] He was a large man, of heavy +frame; his face was broad, and his bald head, tapering high, gave a +peculiar pyramidal appearance to his figure. He was systematic and +accurate in administrative work, patient and insistent in bringing +the young volunteer officers in his department into habits of order +and good military form. His coolness tempered the impulsiveness of +his chief, and as they were of similar age and had about the same +standing in the army before the war, the familiarity between them +was that of comrades and equals more than of commander and +subordinate. + +My intercourse with these officers on the occasion of my visit to +Cross Lanes was only the beginning of the acquaintance on which I +based the estimate of them which I have given; but it was a good +beginning, for the cordial freedom of thought and speech in the +conference was such as to bring out the characteristics of the men. +I rode back to my camp in the evening, feeling a sense of relief at +the transfer of responsibility to other shoulders. The command of my +brigade under the orders of Rosecrans seemed an easy task compared +with the anxieties and the difficulties of the preceding three +months. And so it was. The difference between chief responsibility +in military movements and the leadership even of the largest +subordinate organizations of an army is heaven-wide; and I believe +that no one who has tried both will hesitate to say that the +subordinate knows little or nothing of the strain upon the will and +the moral faculties which the chief has to bear. + +McCook's brigade joined me on the 16th, and we immediately marched +to Alderson's, where we made a camp afterward known as Camp Lookout. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 481.] I was able to +bring up the Second Kentucky Regiment from Gauley Bridge, giving me +in hand three regiments of my own brigade. I sent forward Major +Hines with five companies as an advance-guard, and with these he +scouted the country as far as the top of Big Sewell Mountain, and +was able to give us definite information that Floyd had retreated as +far as Meadow Bluff, where the Wilderness road joins the turnpike. +Wise halted at Big Sewell Mountain and persisted in keeping his +command separate from Floyd, who ordered him to join the rest of the +column at Meadow Bluff. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. pp. +854,855,862.] On the 20th September my advance-guard occupied the +crest of the mountain, whilst Wise withdrew to a parallel ridge a +mile beyond, and loudly insisted that Floyd should join him there +instead of concentrating the Confederate force at Meadow Bluff. +General Lee reached the latter place in person on the 21st, but +found Wise's headstrong and captious spirit hardly more amenable to +his discipline than to Floyd's. He shared Floyd's opinion that it +was better to await Rosecrans's advance at Meadow Bluff, throwing +upon the National forces the burden of transportation over the +extended line, whilst guarding against a possible turning movement +by the Wilderness road. But Wise was so noisy in his assertions that +his was the only position in which to fight, that Lee hesitated to +order him back peremptorily, and finally yielded to his clamor and +directed Floyd to advance to Wise's position. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. +868,874,878,879.] The scandal of the quarrel between the two +officers had, however, become so notorious that the Richmond +government had authorized Lee to send Wise elsewhere, and, probably +on his advice, the Confederate War Department ordered Wise to report +at Richmond in person. The last scene in the comedy was decidedly +amusing. Wise appealed passionately to Lee to say whether his +military honor did not require that he should disobey the order till +the expected battle should be fought, and Lee, no doubt in dismay +lest he should still fail to get rid of so intractable a +subordinate, gravely advised him that both honor and duty would be +safe in obeying promptly the order. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. v. p. 879.] + +Whilst waiting at Camp Lookout for authority to move forward, an +incident occurred which gave us a little excitement and amusement, +and which shows, better than much explanation could do, the +difficult and intricate character of the country in which we were +operating. A wagon-master from our camp had gone out hunting for +forage, which was very scarce. He soon came back in excitement, +reporting that he had come upon an encampment of a regiment of the +enemy between our camp and New River and somewhat in our rear. His +report was very circumstantial, but was so improbable that I was +confident there was some mistake about it. He was, however, so +earnest in his assertions that he could not be mistaken, that +McCook, in whose brigade he was, sent out an officer with some men, +guided by the wagon-master, to verify the report. The story was +confirmed, and the matter was brought to me for action. Puzzled but +not convinced, and thinking that as McCook's command was new to the +country, it would be better to send some one who was used to +scouting in the mountains, I ordered a lieutenant named Bontecou, of +the Second Kentucky Regiment, to take a small party and examine the +case anew. Bontecou had done a good deal of successful work in this +line, and was regarded as a good woodsman and an enterprising scout. +He too came back at nightfall, saying that there could be no mistake +about it. He had crept close to the sentinels of the camp, had +counted the tents, and being challenged by the guard, had made a run +for it through the thicket, losing his hat. The position of the +enemy was, by all the reports, about three miles from us, diagonally +in rear of our right flank. It now seemed that it must be true that +some detachment had been delayed in joining the retreating column, +and had found itself thus partly cut off by our advance. I therefore +ordered McCook to start at earliest peep of day, upon the +Chestnutburg road (on which the wagon-master had been foraging), and +passing beyond the hostile detachment, attack from the other side, +it being agreed by all the scouting parties that this would drive +the enemy toward our camp. My own brigade would be disposed of to +intercept the enemy and prevent escape. McCook moved out as ordered, +and following his guides came by many devious turns to a fork in the +road, following which, they told him, a few minutes would bring him +upon the enemy. He halted the column, and with a small skirmishing +party went carefully forward. The guides pointed to a thicket from +which the Confederates could be seen. His instinct for topography +had made him suspect the truth, as he had noted the courses in +advancing, and crawling through the thicket, he looked out from the +other side upon what he at once recognized as the rear of his own +camp, and the tents of the very regiment from which he had sent an +officer to test the wagon-master's report. All the scouts had been +so deceived by the tangle of wooded hills and circling roads that +they fully believed they were still miles from our position; and, +bewildered in the labyrinth, they were sure the tents they saw were +the enemy's and not ours. The march had been through rain and mist, +through dripping thickets and on muddy roads, and the first impulse +was wrath at the erring scouts; but the ludicrous side soon +prevailed, and officers and men joined in hearty laughter over their +wild-goose chase. They dubbed the expedition the "Battle of +Bontecou," and it was long before the lieutenant heard the last of +the chaffing at his talents as a scout. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. li. pt. i. pp. 484, 485.] + +Major Hines's reports of the strength of the position on Sewell +Mountain which the enemy had occupied, and my own reconnoissance of +the intervening country, satisfied me that if we meant to advance on +this line, we ought not to give the enemy time to reconsider and to +reoccupy the mountain top from which he had retreated. On +representing this to General Rosecrans, he authorized me to advance +twelve miles to the Confederate camp on Big Sewell, directing me, +however, to remain upon the defensive when there, and to avoid +bringing on any engagement till he could bring up the rest of the +column. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. pp. 484, 486.] +His means of crossing at Carnifex Ferry were so poor that what he +had thought would be done in two or three days from the time McCook +joined me, took a full fortnight to accomplish. + +I marched with my own and McCook's brigades on the 23d September, +but when I reached the Confederate camp where Hines with the +advance-guard awaited me, it was evident at a glance that we must go +further. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 487.] The position was a very strong +one for resisting an approach from our direction, but was commanded +by higher ground beyond. The true crest of the mountain was two +miles further on, and there alone could we successfully bar the way +against a superior force coming from the east. I therefore marched +rapidly forward and occupied the crest in force. It was impossible +to hide the whole of our camp from view and properly hold the +position, but we made use of such cover as we could find, and +prepared to defend the pass against all comers, since it was vain to +attempt to mystify the enemy as to our advance in force. + +On the 24th we had a lively skirmish with Wise's legion in front, +and forced it to retire to a ridge out of range of our artillery. We +dismounted one of his howitzers in the engagement, but contented +ourselves with making him yield the ground which would interfere +with our easy holding of our own position and the spurs of the +mountain directly connected with it. Wise had learned that Rosecrans +was not with my column, and on the supposition that the advance was +made by my brigade only, Lee concluded to order Floyd to Wise's +camp, being now satisfied that no movement of our troops had been +made by way of the Wilderness road. It was at this time that Wise +was relieved of command and ordered to Richmond, and Lee found it +advisable to unite his forces and take command in person. + +The relations of these three distinguished Virginians had not begun +with this campaign, but dated back to the capture of John Brown at +Harper's Ferry. Wise was then the governor of his State, and +received from Lee the prisoner whose execution at Charlestown was to +become an historical event. Floyd, who himself had once been +governor of Virginia, was then Buchanan's Secretary of War, and +ordered Lee with the detachment of marines to Harper's Ferry, where +they stormed the engine-house which Brown had made his fort. Dealing +with such men as his subordinates, and with such a history behind +them, it can easily be understood that Lee would feel no ordinary +delicacy in asserting his authority, and no common embarrassment at +their quarrels. + +Rosecrans was at first disturbed at my going further than had been +expected; [Footnote: Rosecrans's Dispatches, Official Records, vol. +li. pt. i. pp. 486, 487.] but he was soon satisfied that nothing +better could have been done. It is true that I was thirty-five miles +from the supports in the rear, whether at Carnifex Ferry or Gauley +Bridge; but the position was almost impregnable in front, and by +watchfulness I should know of any attempt to turn it in time to make +safe my retreat to Camp Lookout. On the 26th Scammon's brigade came +within easy supporting distance, and General Rosecrans came in +person to my camp. He had not been able to bring up his headquarters +train, and was my guest for two or three days, sharing my tent with +me. Cold autumnal rains set in on the very day the general came to +the front, and continued almost without intermission. In the hope of +still having some favorable weather for campaigning, the other +brigades were brought forward, and the whole force was concentrated +at the mountain except the necessary garrisons for the posts in the +rear. Brigadier-General Robert C, Schenck reported for duty in the +evening of a fearfully stormy day whilst Rosecrans was still my +tent-mate. He had heard rumors of fighting at the front, and had +hurried forward with a couple of staff officers, but without +baggage. My staff officers were sharing their shelter with the +gentlemen who had accompanied Rosecrans, but the new-comers were +made heartily welcome to what we had. In my own tent General +Rosecrans occupied my camp cot; I had improvised a rough bunk for +myself on the other side of the tent, but as General Schenck got in +too late for the construction of any better resting-place, he was +obliged to content himself with a bed made of three or four +camp-stools set in a row. Anything was better than lying on the damp +ground in such a storm; but Schenck long remembered the aching +weariness of that night, as he balanced upon the narrow and unstable +supports which threatened to tumble him upon the ground at the least +effort to change the position of stiffened body and limbs. One could +not desire better companionship than we had during our waking hours, +for both my guests had had varied and interesting experience and +knew how to make it the means of delightful social intercourse and +discussion. The chilly temperature of the tent was pleasantly +modified by a furnace which was the successful invention of the +private soldiers. A square trench was dug from the middle of the +tent leading out behind it; this was capped with flat stones three +or four inches thick, which were abundant on the mountain. At the +end of it, on the outside, a chimney of stones plastered with mud +was built up, and the whole topped out by an empty cracker-barrel by +way of chimney-pot. The fire built in the furnace had good draught, +and the thick stones held the heat well, making, on the whole, the +best means of warming a tent which I ever tried. The objection to +the little sheet-iron stoves furnished with the Sibley tent is that +they are cold in a minute if the fire dies out. + +The rains, when once they began, continued with such violence that +the streams were soon up, the common fords became impassable, and +the roads became so muddy and slippery that it was with the utmost +difficulty our little army was supplied. The four brigades were so +reduced by sickness and by detachments that Rosecrans reported the +whole as making only 5200 effective men. Every wagon was put to work +hauling supplies and ammunition, even the headquarters baggage +wagons and the regimental wagons of the troops, as well those +stationed in the rear as those in front. We were sixty miles from +the head of steamboat navigation, the wagon trains were too small +for a condition of things where the teams could hardly haul half +loads, and by the 1st of October we had demonstrated the fact that +it was impossible to sustain our army any further from its base +unless we could rely upon settled weather and good roads. + +Lee had directed an effort to be made by General Loring, his +subordinate, on the Staunton line, to test the strength of the posts +under Reynolds at Cheat Mountain and Elkwater, and lively combats +had resulted on the 12th, and 14th of September. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. v. pp. 185-193.] Reynolds held firm, and as Rosecrans +was not diverted from his plans and was pushing forward on the +Lewisburg line, Lee ordered Loring to report to him with most of his +command. Reynolds, in return, made a forced reconnoissance upon the +Confederate position at Greenbrier River on October 2d, but found it +too strong to be carried. The reinforcement by Loring gave Lee a +very positive advantage in numbers, but the storms and foundering +roads paralyzed both armies, which lay opposite each other upon the +crests of Big Sewell separated by a deep gorge. On the 5th of +October the condition of the Kanawha valley had become such that +Rosecrans felt compelled to withdraw his forces to the vicinity of +Gauley Bridge. The freshet had been an extraordinary one. At +Charleston the Kanawha River usually flows in a bed forty or fifty +feet below the plateau on which the town is built; but the waters +now rose above these high banks and flooded the town itself, being +four or five feet deep in the first story of dwelling-houses built +in what was considered a neighborhood safe from floods. The +inundation almost stopped communication, though our quartermasters +tried to remedy part of the mischief by forcing light steamers up as +near to the Kanawha Falls as possible. But it was very difficult to +protect the supplies landed upon a muddy bank where were no +warehouses, and no protection but canvas covers stretched over the +piles of barrels and boxes of bread and sacks of grain. There was +enormous waste and loss, but we managed to keep our men in rations, +and were better off than the Confederates, in regard to whom Floyd +afterward reported to his government that the eleven days of cold +storms at Sewell Mountain had "cost more men, sick and dead, than +the battle of Manassas Plains." + +It has been asserted by Confederate writers that Lee was executing a +movement to turn Rosecrans's left flank when the latter marched back +from Sewell Mountain. If so, it certainly had not gone far enough to +attract our attention, and from my own knowledge of the situation, I +do not believe it had passed beyond the form of discussion of a +possible movement when the weather should become settled. Such plans +were discussed on both sides, but the physical condition of the +country was an imperative veto upon aggressive action. + +During the 5th of October our sick and spare baggage were sent back +to Camp Lookout. Tents were struck at ten o'clock in the evening, +and the trains sent on their way under escort at eleven. The column +moved as soon as the trains were out of the way, except my own +brigade, to which was assigned the duty of rear-guard. We remained +upon the crest of the hill till half-past one, the men being formed +in line of battle and directed to lie down till the time for them to +march. Our sentinels had been posted with extra precaution, so that +they might be withdrawn an hour or two after the brigade should +move. Extra reserves were assigned to them, and Major Hines put in +command of the whole detachment, with orders to keep in +communication with me at the extreme rear of the marching column. It +was interesting to observe the effect of this night movement upon +the men. Their imagination was excited by the novelty of the +situation, and they furnished abundant evidence that the unknown is +always, in such cases, the wonderful. The night had cleared off and +the stars were out. The Confederate position was eastward from us, +and as a bright star rose above the ridge on which the enemy was, we +could hear soldiers saying in a low tone to each other, "There goes +a fire balloon--it must be a signal--they must have discovered what +we are doing!" The exaggerated parallax at the horizon made the +rising star seem to move rapidly for the first few minutes, and men, +ignorant of this, naturally mistook its character. In a similar way +an occasional shot on the picket line would be the cause of a +subdued excitement. I doubt if soldiers ever make a night movement +in an enemy's presence without being under a nervous strain which +exaggerates the importance of everything they see and hear, and this +gives uncertainty and increases the difficulty of such duty. It is +no small part of the duty of officers, in such cases, to allay this +tendency to excitement, to explain the situation, and by a wise +mixture of information and discipline to keep the men intelligently +cool and in full command of their faculties. + +General Rosecrans had gone with the head of the column, and had left +with me Major Slemmer, his inspector-general, to bring him word when +the rear of the column should be in march. Slemmer was the officer +who, as a lieutenant, had distinguished himself by holding Fort +Pickens in Pensacola harbor at the outbreak of the rebellion. He was +a man of marked character, and in view of his experience it may +easily be understood that we had no lack of interesting matter for +conversation as we paced in rear of the reclining men during the +midnight hours. His failing health prevented his taking the +prominent part in the war that his abilities warranted, but I have +retained, from that evening's work together, a pleasing impression +of his character and a respect for his military knowledge and +talents. In impressing on me the fact that my position was the one +of special honor in this movement, he expressed the wish that +Rosecrans had himself remained there; but the result showed that +hardly less than the commanding general's own authority and energy +could have got the column forward in the mud and darkness. The +troops had marched but a mile or two when they overtook part of the +wagon train toiling slowly over the steep and slippery hills. Here +and there a team would be "stalled" in the mud, and it looked as if +daylight would overtake us before even a tolerably defensive +position would be reached. Rosecrans now gave his personal +supervision to the moving of the wagons and +artillery,--wagon-master's work, it maybe said, but it was work +which had to be done if the little army was not to be found in the +morning strung out and exposed to the blows of the enemy if he +should prove enterprising. + +We who were at the rear did not know of the difficulty the column +was having, and when my messenger reported the rear of the preceding +brigade a mile or more from the camp, I gave the order to march, and +my men filed into the road. Slemmer went forward to inform the +general that we were in movement, and I remained with Major Hines +till all was quiet, when he was directed to call in his pickets and +sentinels and follow. I had gone hardly a mile when we were brought +to a halt by the head of the brigade overtaking those who had +preceded us. Word was brought back that the artillery was finding +great difficulty in getting over the first considerable hill west of +the mountain. We ourselves were upon the downward road from the +mountain crest, but our way led along the side of a spur of the +mountain which towered above us on our left. We were in a dense wood +that shut out the stars, and in darkness that could almost be felt. +I rode back a little to meet Hines and to keep some distance between +the column and his little rear-guard. We sent a chain of sentinels +over the hill commanding the road, and waited, listening for any +evidence that the enemy had discovered our movement and followed. An +hour passed in this way, and the column moved on a short distance. +Again there was a halt, and again a deployment of our sentries. When +at last day broke, we were only three or four miles from our camp of +the evening before; but we had reached a position which was easily +defensible, and where I could halt the brigade and wait for the +others to get entirely out of our way. The men boiled their coffee, +cooked their breakfast, and rested. Early in the forenoon a small +body of the enemy's cavalry followed us, but were contented with +very slight skirmishing, and we marched leisurely to Camp Lookout +before evening. Such night marches from the presence of an enemy are +among the most wearing and trying in the soldier's experience, yet, +in spite of the temptation to invest them with extraordinary peril, +they are rarely interfered with. It is the uncertainty, the +darkness, and the effect of these upon men and officers that make +the duty a delicate one. The risk is more from panic than from the +foe, and the loss is more likely to be in baggage and in wagons than +in men. I have several times been in command of rear-guards on such +occasions, and I believe that I would generally prefer an open +withdrawal by day. It is not hard to hold even a bold enemy at bay +by a determined brigade or division, and a whole army may be saved +from the exhaustion and exposure which rapidly fill the hospitals, +and may cost more than several combats between rear and advance +guards. + +My brigade remained two or three days at Camp Lookout, where we were +put upon the alert on the 7th by a reported advance of the enemy, +but it amounted to nothing more than a lively skirmish of some +cavalry with our outposts. Lee was glad to move back to Meadow Bluff +to be nearer his supplies, and Rosecrans encamped his troops between +Hawk's Nest and the Tompkins farm, all of them being now within a +few miles of Gauley Bridge. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. +253. See also Official Atlas, pl. ix.] Part of my brigade garrisoned +the post at the bridge, but by Rosecrans's direction my own +headquarters tents were pitched near his own upon the Tompkins farm. +Both parties now remained in observation till near the end of +October. Floyd, more enterprising in plans than resolute or skilful +in carrying them out, had obtained Lee's consent to make an attempt +to render our position untenable by operations on the opposite side +of New River. Lee had intended to co-operate by moving against us +with the rest of his force, but on the 20th of October the reports +from the Staunton region were so threatening that he determined to +send Loring back there, [Footnote: _Id_., p. 908.] and this, of +course, settled it that Lewisburg would be covered in front only by +Wise's Legion, commanded by Colonel Davis. Although Floyd complained +of this change of plan, he did not abandon his purpose, but ordering +the militia on that side of the river to reassemble, he marched to +Fayette C. H. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. 286.] + +Rosecrans had distributed his brigades in _echelon_ along the +turnpike,--Schenck's, the most advanced, being ten miles from Gauley +Bridge; McCook's eight miles, where the road from Fayette C. H. by +way of Miller's Ferry comes in across New River; Benham's six miles, +whilst of my own one regiment at the Tompkins farm guarded +headquarters, and the rest were at Gauley Bridge and lower posts +where they could protect the navigation of the Kanawha. [Footnote: +_Id_., p. 253.] McCook by Rosecrans's direction marched to Fayette +C. H. about the 20th of October, and on his return reported that +only guerilla parties were abroad in that vicinity. Rosecrans seems +to have expected that at least a foothold would be kept on the other +side of New River at Miller's Ferry, but McCook left nothing there, +and when he tried to place a detachment on that side about the 25th, +the shore and cliffs were found to be held by a force of +sharpshooters. This marked the advance of Floyd, who established his +camp in front of Fayette C. H. at the forking of the roads to +Miller's Ferry and to Gauley Bridge. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 285.] For +a few days he made no serious demonstration, and Rosecrans hastened +forward the work of clothing and paying his men, recruiting his +teams and bringing back to the ranks the soldiers whom exposure had +sent to the hospital. He had heard in a trustworthy way of Lee's +intention to move against us by the turnpike whilst Floyd advanced +on the other side of the river, but Tie had not yet learned of the +withdrawal of Lee with Loring's troops. He therefore remained quiet +and expectant, awaiting the definite development of events. + +As this had been my first service in the field as part of a larger +command, I was keenly alive to the opportunity of comparing the +progress we had made in discipline and instruction with that of +other brigades, so that I might cure defects in my own methods and +improve the soldierly character as well as the administration of my +own command. I was gratified to see in my troops evidence of a pride +in their own organization and a wholesome emulation, which made them +take kindly to the drill and discipline which were necessary to +improvement. I was particularly interested in observing Rosecrans's +methods with the men. His standard of soldierly excellence was high, +and he was earnest in insisting that his brigadiers and his staff +officers should co-operate vigorously in trying to attain it. His +impulsiveness, however, led him sometimes into personal efforts at +discipline where the results were at least doubtful. He would +sometimes go out through the camps in the evening, and if he saw a +tent lighted after "taps," or heard men singing or talking, he would +strike loudly on the canvas with the flat of his sword and command +silence or the extinguishment of the light. The men, in good-humored +mischief, would try different ways of "getting even" with him. One +that gave much amusement to the camp was this: the men in a tent +thus attacked pretended to believe that their regimental +wagon-master was playing a practical joke on them, and shouted back +to him all sorts of rough camp chaff. When the exasperated general +appeared at the door of the tent, they were, of course, overwhelmed +with the most innocent astonishment, and explained that that +wagon-master was in the habit of annoying them, and that they really +had not heard the "taps." I have been with the general in +approaching a picket, when he would hotly lecture a sentinel who +showed ignorance of some of his duties or inattention to them. I +thought I could see in all such cases that it would have been wiser +to avoid any unnecessary collision with the privates, but to take +the responsible officer aside and make him privately understand that +he must answer for such lack of instruction or of discipline among +his men. An impulsive man is too apt to meddle with details, and so +to weaken the sense of responsibility in the intermediate officers, +who hate to be ignored or belittled before the soldiers. But if +Rosecrans's method was not an ideal one, it was at least vigorous, +and every week showed that the little army was improving in +discipline and in knowledge of duty. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +COTTON MOUNTAIN + + +Floyd cannonades Gauley Bridge--Effect on Rosecrans--Topography of +Gauley Mount--De Villiers runs the gantlet--Movements of our +forces--Explaining orders--A hard climb on the mountain--In the post +at Gauley Bridge--Moving magazine and telegraph--A balky +mule-team--Ammunition train under fire--Captain Fitch a model +quartermaster--Plans to entrap Floyd--Moving supply trains at +night--Method of working the ferry--of making flatboats--The Cotton +Mountain affair--Rosecrans dissatisfied with Benham--Vain plans to +reach East Tennessee. + + +On the 1st of November the early morning was fair but misty, and a +fog lay in the gorge of New River nearly a thousand feet below the +little plateau at the Tompkins farm, on which the headquarters tents +were pitched. General Rosecrans's tents were not more than a hundred +yards above mine, between the turnpike and the steep descent to the +river, though both our little camps were secluded by thickets of +young trees and laurel bushes. Breakfast was over, the fog was +lifting out of the valley, and I was attending to the usual morning +routine of clerical work, when the report and echo of a cannon-shot, +down the gorge in the direction of Gauley Bridge, was heard. It was +unusual, enough so to set me thinking what it could mean, but the +natural explanation suggested itself that it was one of our own +guns, perhaps fired at a target. In a few moments an orderly came in +some haste, saying the general desired to see me at his tent. As I +walked over to his quarters, another shot was heard. As I +approached, I saw him standing in front of his tent door, evidently +much excited, and when I came up to him, he said in the rapid, +half-stammering way peculiar to him at such times: "The enemy has +got a battery on Cotton Mountain opposite our post, and is shelling +it! What d' ye think of that?" The post at the bridge and his +headquarters were connected by telegraph, and the operator below had +reported the fact of the opening of the cannonade from the mountain +side above him, and added that his office was so directly under fire +that he must move out of it. Indeed he was gone and communication +broken before orders could be sent to him or to the post. The fact +of the cannonade did not disturb me so much as the way in which it +affected Rosecrans. He had been expecting to be attacked by Lee in +front, and knew that McCook was exchanging shots across the river +with some force of the enemy at Miller's Ferry; but that the attack +should come two miles or more in our rear, from a point where +artillery had a plunging fire directly into our depot of supplies +and commanded our only road for a half-mile where it ran on a narrow +bench along New River under Gauley Mountain cliffs, had been so +startling as to throw him decidedly off his balance. The error in +not occupying Cotton Mountain himself was now not only made plain, +but the consequences were not pleasant to contemplate. I saw that +the best service I could render him for the moment was to help him +back into a frame of mind in which cool reasoning on the situation +would be possible. I have already stated the contrast between my own +sense of care when in sole command and the comparative freedom from +it when a senior officer came upon the field; and I now realized how +much easier it was for a subordinate to take things coolly. I +therefore purposely entered into a discussion of the probabilities +of the situation, and drew it out at length enough to assist the +general in recovering full control of himself and of his own +faculties. We could not, from where we stood, see the post at Gauley +Bridge nor even the place on Cotton Mountain where the enemy's +battery was placed, and we walked a little way apart from our staff +officers to a position from which we could see the occasional puffs +of white smoke from the hostile guns. From our camp the road +descended sharply along the shoulders of steep hills covered with +wood for a mile and a half, till it reached the bottom of the New +River gorge, and then it followed the open bench I have mentioned +till it reached the crossing of the Gauley. On the opposite side of +New River there was no road, the mass of Cotton Mountain crowding +close upon the stream with its picturesque face of steep inclines +and perpendicular walls of rock. The bridge of boats which Rosecrans +had planned at Gauley Bridge had not been built, because it had been +found impossible to collect or to construct boats enough to make it. +We were therefore still dependent on the ferry. Whilst the general +and I were talking, Colonel De Villiers galloped up, having crossed +at the ferry and run the gantlet of skirmishers whom he reported as +lining the other side of New River opposite the unsheltered part of +our road. He had recently reported for duty, having, as he asserted, +escaped in a wonderful way from captivity in Libby Prison at +Richmond. [Footnote: The Confederates claimed that he had been +allowed to act as hospital attendant on parole, and that he violated +his obligation in escaping. We had no means of verifying the facts +in the case.] His regiment was at the bridge and he was the senior +officer there; but, in his characteristic light-headed way, instead +of taking steps to protect his post and re-establish the telegraph +communications, he had dashed off to report in person at +headquarters. As he was willing to take the risks of the race back +again, he was allowed to go, after being fully instructed to set up +a new telegraph office in a ravine out of range of fire, to put the +ferry-boat out of danger as soon as he should be over, and prepare +the ordnance stores to be moved into the valley of Scrabble Creek at +night. I begged the general to be allowed to go back with De +Villiers, as the thing I most feared was some panic at the post +which might result in the destruction of our stores in depot there. +He, however, insisted on my staying at headquarters for a time at +least. + +Information of the attack was sent to the brigades up the river, and +Schenck, who was farthest up, was directed to push out scouting +parties and learn if there was any advance of the enemy from Sewell +Mountain. Benham, who was nearest, was ordered to send down part of +his brigade to meet the efforts of the enemy to stop our +communication with Gauley Bridge. The battery of mountain howitzers +under Captain Mack of the regular army was also ordered to report at +headquarters, with the intention of placing it high up on Gauley +cliffs, where it could drop shells among the enemy's skirmishers on +the opposite bank of the river. An hour or two passed and the +detachment from Benham's brigade approached. It was the Thirteenth +Ohio, led by one of its field officers, who halted the column and +rode up to General Rosecrans for orders. The general's manner was +still an excited one, and in the rapidity with which his directions +were given the officer did not seem to get a clear idea of what was +required of him. He made some effort to get the orders explained, +but his failure to comprehend seemed to irritate Rosecrans, and he +therefore bowed and rode back to his men with a blank look which did +not promise well for intelligent action. Noticing this, I quietly +walked aside among the bushes, and when out of sight hurried a +little in advance and waited at the roadside for the column. I +beckoned the officer to me, and said to him, "Colonel, I thought you +looked as if you did not fully understand the general's wishes." He +replied that he did not, but was unwilling to question him as it +seemed to irritate him. I said that was a wrong principle to act on, +as a commanding officer has the greatest possible interest in being +clearly understood. I then explained at large what I knew to be +Rosecrans's purposes. The officer thanked me cordially and rode +away. I have ventured to give this incident with such fulness, +because subsequent events in Rosecrans's career strengthened the +impression I formed at the time, that the excitability of his +temperament was such that an unexpected occurrence might upset his +judgment so that it would be uncertain how he would act,--whether it +would rouse him to a heroism of which he was quite capable, or make +him for the time unfit for real leadership by suspending his +self-command. [Footnote: See Crittenden's testimony in Buell Court +of Inquiry, Official Records, vol. xvi. pt. i. p. 578. Cist's +account of Chickamauga, Army of the Cumberland, p. 226, and chap, +xxvii., _post_.] + +Soon after noon I obtained permission to go to Gauley Bridge and +assume command there; but as the road along New River was now +impracticable by reason of the increased fire of the enemy upon it, +I took the route over the top of Gauley Mountain, intending to reach +the Gauley River as near the post as practicable. I took with me +only my aide, Captain Christie, and an orderly. We rode a little +beyond the top of the mountain, and sending the orderly back with +the horses, proceeded on foot down the northern slope. We soon came +to the slashing which I had made in August to prevent the enemy's +easy approach to the river near the post. The mist of the morning +had changed to a drizzling rain. We had on our heavy horsemen's +overcoats with large capes, cavalry boots and spurs, swords and +pistols. This made it toilsome work for us. The trees had been +felled so that they crossed each other in utmost confusion on the +steep declivity. Many of them were very large, and we slid over the +great wet trunks, climbed through and under branches, let ourselves +down walls of natural rock, tripped and hampered by our +accoutrements, till we came to the end of the entanglement at what +we supposed was the edge of the river. To our dismay we found that +we had not kept up stream far enough, and that at this point was a +sheer precipice some thirty feet high. We could find no crevices to +help us climb down it. We tried to work along the edge till we +should reach a lower place, but this utterly failed. We were obliged +to retrace our steps to the open wood above the slashing. But if the +downward climbing had been hard, this attempt to pull ourselves up +again,-- + +"... superasque evadere ad auras,"-- + +was labor indeed. We stopped several times from sheer exhaustion, so +blown that it seemed almost impossible to get breath again. Our +clothes were heavy from the rain on the outside and wet with +perspiration on the inside. At last, however, we accomplished it, +and resting for a while at the foot of a great tree till we gained a +little strength, we followed the upper line of the slashing till we +passed beyond it, and then turned toward the river, choosing to +reach its banks high up above the camp rather than attempt again to +climb through the fallen timber. Once at the water's edge we +followed the stream down till we were opposite the guard post above +the camp, when we hailed for a skiff and were ferried over. + +It was now almost dark, but the arrangements were soon made to have +wagons ready at the building on the Kanawha front used as a +magazine, and to move all our ammunition during the night to the +place I had indicated in the ravine of Scrabble Creek, which runs +into the Gauley. The telegraph station was moved there and +connection of wires made. We also prepared to run the ferry +industriously during the night and to put over the necessary +trainloads of supplies for the troops above. A place was selected +high up on the hill behind us, where I hoped to get up a couple of +Parrott guns which might silence the cannon of the enemy on Cotton +Mountain. I was naturally gratified at the expressions of relief and +satisfaction of the officers of the post to have me in person among +them. They had already found that the plunging fire from the heights +across the river was not a formidable thing, and that little +mischief would happen if the men were kept from assembling in bodies +or large groups within range of the enemy's cannon. + +The fatigues of the day made sleep welcome as soon as the most +pressing duties had been done, and I went early to rest, giving +orders to the guard at my quarters to call me at peep of day. The +weather cleared during the night, and when I went out in the morning +to see what progress had been made in transferring the ammunition to +a safe place, I was surprised to find the train of wagons stopped in +the road along the Gauley in front of the camp. General Rosecrans's +ordnance officer was of the regular army, but unfortunately was +intemperate. He had neglected his duty during the night, leaving his +sergeant to get on without guidance or direction. The result was +that the ordnance stores had not been loaded upon the waiting wagons +till nearly daylight, and soon after turning out of the Kanawha road +into that of the Gauley, the mules of a team near the head of the +train balked, and the whole had been brought to a standstill. There +was a little rise in the road on the hither side of Scrabble Creek, +where the track, cutting through the crest of a hillock, was only +wide enough for a single team, and this rise was of course the place +where the balky animals stopped. The line of the road was enfiladed +by the enemy's cannon, the morning fog in the valley was beginning +to lift under the influence of the rising sun, and as soon as the +situation was discovered we might reckon upon receiving the fire of +the Cotton Mountain battery. The wagon-drivers realized the danger +of handling an ammunition train under such circumstances and began +to be nervous, whilst the onlookers not connected with the duty made +haste to get out of harm's way. My presence strengthened the +authority of the quartermaster in charge, Captain E. P. Fitch, +helped in steadying the men, and enabled him to enforce promptly his +orders. He stopped the noisy efforts to make the refractory mules +move, and sent in haste for a fresh team. As soon as it came, this +was put in place of the balky animals, and at the word of command +the train started quickly forward. The fog had thinned enough, +however, to give the enemy an inkling of what was going on, and the +rattling of the wagons on the road completed the exposure. Without +warning, a ball struck in the road near us and bounded over the rear +of the train, the report of the cannon following instantly. The +drivers involuntarily crouched over their mules and cracked their +whips. Another shot followed, but it was also short, and the last +wagon turned the shoulder of the hill into the gorge of the creek as +the ball bounded along up the Gauley valley. It was perhaps +fortunate for us that solid shot instead of shrapnel were used, but +it is not improbable that the need of haste in firing made the +battery officer feel that he had no time to cut and adjust fuses to +the estimated distance to our train; or it is possible that shells +were used but did not explode. It was my first acquaintance with +Captain Fitch, who had accompanied Rosecrans's column, and his cool +efficiency was so marked that I applied for him as quartermaster +upon my staff. He remained with me till I finally left West Virginia +in 1863, and I never saw his superior in handling trains in the +field. He was a West Virginian, volunteering from civil life, whose +outfit was a good business education and an indomitable rough energy +that nothing could tire. + +During the evening of the 1st of November General Benham's brigade +came to the post at Gauley Bridge to strengthen the garrison, and +was encamped on the Kanawha side near the falls, where the widening +of the valley put them out of range of the enemy's fire. The ferry +below the falls was called Montgomery's and was at the mouth of Big +Falls Creek, up which ran the road to Fayette C. H. A detachment of +the enemy had pushed back our outposts on this road, and had fired +upon our lower camp with cannon, but the position was not a +favorable one for them and they did not try to stay long. After a +day or two we were able to keep pickets on that side with a flatboat +and hawser to bring them back, covered by artillery on our side of +the Kanawha. + +During November 2d Rosecrans matured a plan of operations against +Floyd, who was now definitely found to be in command of the hostile +force on Cotton Mountain. It was also learned through scouting +parties and the country people that Lee had left the region, with +most of the force that had been at Sewell Mountain. It seemed +possible therefore to entrap Floyd, and this was what Rosecrans +determined to attempt. Benham was ordered to take his brigade down +the Kanawha and cross to the other side at the mouth of Loup Creek, +five miles below. Schenck was ordered to prepare wagon bodies as +temporary boats, to make such flatboats as he could, and get ready +to cross the New River at Townsend's Ferry, about fifteen miles +above Gauley Bridge. McCook was ordered to watch Miller's Ferry near +his camp, and be prepared to make a dash on the short road to +Fayette C. H. I was ordered to hold the post at Gauley Bridge, +forward supplies by night, keep down the enemy's fire as far as +possible, and watch for an opportunity to co-operate with Benham by +way of Montgomery's Ferry. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. +254.] Benham's brigade was temporarily increased by 1500 picked men +from the posts between Kanawha Falls and Charleston. He was expected +to march up Loup Creek and cut off Floyd's retreat by way of Raleigh +C. H., whilst Schenck should co-operate from Townsend's Ferry. On +the 5th the preparations had been made, and Benham was ordered to +cross the Kanawha. He did so on the night of the 6th, but except +sending scouting parties up Loup Creek, he did nothing, as a sudden +rise in New River made Rosecrans suspend the concerted movement, and +matters remained as they were, awaiting the fall of the river, till +the 10th. + +For a week after the 1st, Floyd's battery on Cotton Mountain fired +on very slight provocation, and caution was necessary in riding or +moving about the camp. The houses of the hamlet were not purposely +injured, for Floyd would naturally be unwilling to destroy the +property of West Virginians, and it was a safe presumption that we +had removed the government property from buildings within range of +fire, as we had in fact done. Our method of forwarding supplies was +to assemble the wagon trains near my lower camp during the day, and +push them forward to Gauley Mount and Tompkins farm during the +night. The ferry-boat at Gauley Bridge was kept out of harm's way in +the Gauley, behind the projection of Gauley Mount, but the hawser on +which it ran was not removed. At nightfall the boat would be manned, +dropped down to its place, made fast to the hawser by a +snatch-block, and commence its regular trips, passing over the +wagons. The ferries, both at the bridge and at Montgomery's, were +under the management of Captain Lane of the Eleventh Ohio and his +company of mechanics. [Footnote: Captain P. P. Lane of Cincinnati, +later colonel of the regiment.] We had found at points along the +Kanawha the gunwales of flatboats, gotten out by lumbermen in the +woods and brought to the river bank ready to be put into boats for +the coal trade, which had already much importance in the valley. +These gunwales were single sticks of timber, sixty or eighty feet +long, two or three feet wide, and say six inches thick. Each formed +the side of a boat, which was built by tying two gunwales together +with cross timbers, the whole being then planked. Such boats were +three or four times as large as those used for the country ferries +upon the Gauley and New rivers, and enabled us to make these larger +ferries very commodious. Of course the enemy knew that we used them +at night, and would fire an occasional random shot at them, but did +us no harm. + +The enemy's guns on the mountain were so masked by the forest that +we did not waste ammunition in firing at them, except as they +opened, when our guns so quickly returned their fire that they never +ventured upon continuous action, and after the first week we had +only occasional shots from them. We had planted our sharpshooters +also in protected spots along the narrower part of New River near +the post, and made the enemy abandon the other margin of the stream, +except with scattered sentinels. In a short time matters thus +assumed a shape in which our work went on regularly, and the only +advantage Floyd had attained was to make us move our supply trains +at night. His presence on the mountain overlooking our post was an +irritation under which we chafed, and from Rosecrans down, everybody +was disgusted with the enforced delay of Benham at Loup Creek. Floyd +kept his principal camp behind Cotton Mountain, in the position I +have already indicated, in an inaction which seemed to invite +enterprise on our part. His courage had oozed out when he had +carried his little army into an exposed position, and here as at +Carnifex Ferry he seemed to be waiting for his adversary to take the +initiative. + +To prepare for my own part in the contemplated movement, I had +ordered Captain Lane to build a couple of flatboats of a smaller +size than our large ferry-boats, and to rig these with sweeps or +large oars, so that they could be used to throw detachments across +the New River to the base of Cotton Mountain, at a point selected a +little way up the river, where the stream was not so swift and +broken as in most places. Many of our men had become expert in +managing such boats, and a careful computation showed that we could +put over 500 men an hour with these small scows. + +From the 5th to the both Rosecrans had been waiting for the waters +to subside, and pressing Benham to examine the roads up Loup Creek +so thoroughly that he could plant himself in Floyd's rear as soon as +orders should be given. Schenck would make the simultaneous movement +when Benham was known to be in march, and McCook's and my own +brigade would at least make demonstrations from our several +positions. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. pp. 255, 261-265.] +From my picket post at Montgomery's Ferry I had sent scouts up the +Fayette road, and by the 9th had discovered such symptoms of +weakness in the enemy that I thought the time had come to make an +effort to dislodge the battery and get command of the crest of +Cotton Mountain overlooking my camp. On the both I made a combined +movement from both my upper and lower camps. Colonel De Villiers was +ordered to take all of the Eleventh Ohio fit for duty (being only +200 men), and crossing by the small boats, make a vigorous +reconnoissance over the New River face of Cotton Mountain, reaching +the crest if possible. Lieutenant-Colonel Enyart of the First +Kentucky was directed to cross below the falls with a similar force, +and push a reconnoissance out on the Fayette road, whilst he also +should try to co-operate with De Villiers in clearing the enemy from +the heights opposite Gauley Bridge. The place at which De Villiers +crossed was out of sight and range from the enemy's battery. His +first boat-load of forty men reached the opposite shore safely, and +dividing into two parties, one pushed up the New River to a ravine +making a somewhat easy ascent toward the crest, whilst the others +skirmished up the almost perpendicular face of the rocks where they +landed. The remainder of the men of the Eleventh were put over as +fast as possible, and joined their colonel in the ravine mentioned, +up which they marched to a little clearing high up the hill, known +as Blake's farm, where the advanced party had found the enemy. The +battery was withdrawn as soon as De Villiers' approach at the Blake +farm was known, supports being sent to the outpost there to check +our advance. The men of the Eleventh, led by Major Coleman, attacked +sharply, drove back the enemy, and succeeded in extending their +right to the crest above the recent position of the battery. They +were of course stretched out into a mere skirmish line, and I +directed them to hold the crest without advancing further till +Enyart should be heard from. He also found the enemy indisposed to +be stubborn, and skirmished up the opposite side of the mountain +till he joined hands with De Villiers on the top. The enemy seemed +to be increasing before them, and our men held their position as +directed, having relieved us from the hostile occupation of ground +commanding our camps. Enyart's reconnoitring party sent toward +Fayette advanced a mile on that road and remained in observation, +finding no enemy. I reported our success to Rosecrans, and doubtful +whether he wished to press the enemy in front till Benham and +Schenck should be in his rear, I asked for further instructions. +General Rosecrans authorized me to take over the rest of my +available force and press the enemy next day, as he was very +confident that Benham would by that time be in position to attack +him in rear. Accordingly I passed the Second Kentucky regiment over +the river during the night and joined them in person on the crest at +daybreak. The remainder of the First Kentucky, under Major Lieper, +was ordered to cross at Montgomery's Ferry later in the day, and +advance upon the Fayette road as far as possible. My climb to the +crest of Cotton Mountain was a repetition of the exhausting sort of +work I had tried on Gauley Mount on the 1st. I took the short route +straight up the face of the hill, clambering over rocks, pulling +myself up by clinging to the laurel bushes, and often literally +lifting myself from one great rocky step to another. This work was +harder upon officers who were usually mounted than upon the men in +the line, as we were not used to it, and the labor of the whole day +was thus increased, for of course we could take no horses. Resuming +the advance along the mountain crest, the enemy made no serious +resistance, but fell back skirmishing briskly, till we came to more +open ground where the mountain breaks down toward some open farms +where detachments of Floyd's forces had been encamped. Their baggage +train was seen in the distance, moving off upon the Fayette +turnpike. As we were now in the close neighborhood of the whole +force of the enemy, and those in our presence were quite as numerous +as we, I halted the command on the wooded heights commanding the +open ground below, till we should hear some sound from Benham's +column. Toward evening Major Lieper came up on our right to the +place where the Fayette road passes over a long spur of the mountain +which is known in the neighborhood as Cotton Hill. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. v. pp. 272-275, and map, p. 82, _ante_. The +greater mass in the angle of the rivers was not uniformly called +Cotton Mountain then, and in my report I spoke of passing along +those crests toward Cotton Hill, meaning this elevation on the +Fayette road.] Here he was halted, and nothing being heard from +co-operating columns, the troops bivouacked for the night. + +Rosecrans had informed Benham of my advance and ordered him to push +forward; but he spent the day in discussing the topography which he +was supposed to have learned before, and did not move. [Footnote: +_Id_., pp. 266-268.] Schenck had not been put across New River at +Townsend's Ferry, because Rosecrans thought it hazardous to do this +whilst Floyd was near that point in force, and he intended that when +Floyd should be forced to attack Benham (whose command was now equal +to two brigades), it would withdraw the enemy so far that Schenck +would have room to operate after crossing. But as Benham had not +advanced, toward evening of the 11th Rosecrans sent him orders to +march immediately up the Kanawha to my position and follow Major +Lieper on the road that officer had opened to the top of Cotton +Hill, and as much further toward Fayette C. H. as possible, taking +Lieper's detachment with him; meanwhile I was ordered to keep the +remainder of my troops on the mountain in the position already +occupied. Benham was expected to reach Lieper's position by ten +o'clock that evening, but he did not reach there in fact till three +o'clock in the following afternoon (12th). [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. v. pp. 256, 273.] After some skirmishing with an +outpost of the enemy at Laurel Creek behind which Major Lieper had +been posted, nothing more was done till the evening of the 13th. +Floyd's report shows that he retired beyond Fayette C. H. on the +12th, having conceived the mistaken idea that Benham's column was a +new reinforcement of 5000 men from Ohio. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 287.] +Abandoning the hope of using Schenck's brigade in a movement from +Townsend's Ferry, Rosecrans now ordered him to march to Gauley +Bridge on the 13th, and joining Benham by a night march, assume +command of the moving column. Schenck did so, but Floyd was now +retreating upon Raleigh C. H. and a slight affair with his +rear-guard was the only result. Fayette C. H. was occupied and the +campaign ended. It would appear from official documents that Floyd +did not learn of Benham's presence at the mouth of Loup Creek till +the 12th, when he began his retreat, and that at any time during the +preceding week a single rapid march would have placed Benham's +brigade without resistance upon the line of the enemy's +communications. Rosecrans was indignant at the balking of his +elaborate plans, and ordered Benham before a court-martial for +misconduct; [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. 669.] but I +believe that McClellan caused the proceedings to be quashed to avoid +scandal, and Benham was transferred to another department. It is +very improbable that Schenck's contemplated movement across New +River at Townsend's Ferry could have been made successfully; for his +boats were few and small, and the ferrying would have been slow and +tedious. Floyd would pretty surely learn of it soon after it began, +and would hasten his retreat instead of waiting to be surrounded. It +would have been better to join Schenck to Benham by a forced march +as soon as the latter was at the mouth of Loup Creek, and then to +push the whole to the Fayette and Raleigh road, Rosecrans leading +the column in person. As Floyd seems to have been ignorant of what +was going on in Loup Creek valley, decisive results might have +followed from anticipating him on his line of retreat. Capturing +such a force, or, as the phrase then went, "bagging it," is easier +talked of than done; but it is quite probable that it might have +been so scattered and demoralized as to be of little further value +as an army, and considerable parts of it might have been taken +prisoners. + +Rosecrans had begun the campaign in August with the announced +purpose of marching to Wytheville and Abingdon in the Holston +valley, and thence into East Tennessee. McClellan had cherished the +idea of making the Kanawha line the base of operations into the same +region; still later Fremont, and after him Halleck did the same. +Looking only at the map, it seemed an easy thing to do; but the +almost wilderness character of the intervening country with its poor +and sparsely scattered people, the weary miles of steep +mountain-roads becoming impassable in rainy weather, and the total +absence of forage for animals, were elements of the problem which +they all ignored or greatly underestimated. It was easy, sitting at +one's office table, to sweep the hand over a few inches of chart +showing next to nothing of the topography, and to say, "We will +march from here to here;" but when the march was undertaken, the +natural obstacles began to assert themselves, and one general after +another had to find apologies for failing to accomplish what ought +never to have been undertaken. After a year or two, the military +advisers of the War Department began to realize how closely the +movements of great bodies of soldiers were tied to rivers and +railways; but they seemed to learn it only as the merest civilian +could learn it, by the experience of repeated failures of plans +based on long lines of communication over forest-clad mountains, +dependent upon wagons to carry everything for man and beast. + +Instead of reaching Wytheville or Abingdon, Rosecrans found that he +could not supply his little army even at Big Sewell Mountain; and +except for a few days, he occupied no part of the country in advance +of my positions in August, then held by a single brigade in the +presence of the same enemy. It was not Floyd's army, but the +physical obstacles presented by the country that chained him to +Gauley Bridge. I shall have occasion hereafter to note how the same +ignoring of nature's laws came near starving Burnside's command in +East Tennessee, where the attempt to supply it by wagon trains from +Lexington in Kentucky or from Nashville failed so utterly as to +disappear from the calculation of our problem of existence through +the winter of 1863-64. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +WINTER-QUARTERS + + +An impracticable country--Movements suspended--Experienced troops +ordered away--My orders from Washington--Rosecrans objects--A +disappointment--Winter organization of the Department--Sifting our +material--Courts-martial--Regimental schools--Drill and picket +duty--A military execution--Effect upon the army--Political +sentiments of the people--Rules of conduct toward them--Case of Mr. +Parks--Mr. Summers--Mr. Patrick--Mr. Lewis Ruffner--Mr. +Doddridge--Mr. B. F. Smith--A house divided against itself--Major +Smith's journal--The contrabands--A fugitive-slave +case--Embarrassments as to military jurisdiction. + + +Floyd's retreat was continued to the vicinity of Newberne and Dublin +Depot, where the Virginia and East Tennessee Railway crosses the +upper waters of New River. He reported the country absolutely +destitute of everything and the roads so broken up that he could not +supply his troops at any distance from the railroad. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. v. pp. 287,288.] Rosecrans was of a similar +opinion, and on the 19th of November signified to General McClellan +[Footnote: _id_., p. 657.] his purpose to hold Gauley Bridge, Cheat +Mountain, and Romney as the frontier of his department, and to +devote the winter to the instruction and discipline of his troops, +and the sifting out of incompetent officers. About the 1st of +December he fixed his headquarters at Wheeling, [Footnote: _Id_., +pp. 669, 685. On January 21 I called attention to the anomaly of +bounding the department by the Kanawha River on the south, and +correction was at once made by General McClellan. _Id_., p. 706.] +assigning the District of the Kanawha to my command, with +headquarters at Charleston. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 670, 691.] This +gave me substantially the same territorial jurisdiction I had in the +summer, but with a larger body of troops. + +Before we left Gauley Bridge, however, I received orders direct from +army headquarters at Washington to take my three oldest Ohio +regiments and report to General Buell in Kentucky. This was exactly +in accordance with my own strong desire to join a large army on one +of the principal lines of operation. I therefore went joyfully to +Rosecrans, supposing, of course, that he also had received orders to +send me away. To my intense chagrin I found that he not only was +without such orders, but that he was, naturally enough, disposed to +take umbrage at the sending of orders direct to me. He protested +against the irregularity, and insisted that if his forces were to be +reduced, he should himself indicate those which were to go. He +carried his point on the matter, and was directed to send eight +regiments to Buell. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. 671.] He +insisted that I should stay, and whilst the reasons he gave were +sufficiently complimentary, it was none the less a great +disappointment to have to abandon the hope of service in a more +important field. [Footnote: _Id._ pp. 259, 657.] There was nothing +to be done but to summon philosophy to my aid, and to hope that all +would turn out for the best. Before Rosecrans left Gauley Bridge +four more regiments were added to the eight already ordered away, +together with four batteries of artillery. Some new regiments had +joined us, and the aggregate of troops remaining was perhaps not +much below the number present when Rosecrans reached Carnifex Ferry +in September; but most of them were freshly organized regiments, +with whom the work of drill and discipline had to begin at first +lessons. Three of the batteries taken away were regulars, and the +other was Loomis's Michigan battery, one of the oldest and best +instructed of our volunteer batteries. The places of these were not +supplied. The good policy of these reductions is not to be +questioned; for it was agreed that nothing aggressive could be done +in the mountains during the winter, and it was wise to use part of +the forces elsewhere.--Yet for those of us who had hoped to go with +the troops, and now found ourselves condemned to the apparently +insignificant duty of garrisoning West Virginia, the effect was, for +the time, a very depressing one. + +General Schenck had left us on account of sickness, and did not +return. His brigade was again commanded by Colonel Scammon, as it +had been at Carnifex Ferry, and was stationed at Fayette C. H. One +regiment was at Tompkins farm, another at Gauley Bridge, two others +at intervals between that post and Charleston, where were three +regiments out of what had been my own brigade. Three partially +organized West Virginia regiments of infantry and one of cavalry +were placed at recruiting stations in the rear, and one Ohio +regiment was posted at Barboursville. The chain of posts which had +been established in the summer between Weston and Cross Lanes was +not kept up; but the Thirty-sixth Ohio, Colonel George Crook, was +stationed at Cross Lanes, reporting to me, as did all the other +troops enumerated above. + +The Cheat Mountain district continued in command of General Milroy, +his principal posts being at Beverly and Huttonsville, with small +garrisons holding the mountain passes. General Kelley remained also +in command of the railroad district covering the communication with +Washington by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. General J. J. +Reynolds was assigned to command a new division organizing at +Romney, but was soon transferred to another department. + +Such was the general organization of the department for the winter, +and we soon settled down to regular work in fitting the troops for +the next campaign. Courtsmartial were organized to try offenders of +all grades, and under charges of conduct prejudicial to good order +and military discipline, worthless officers were driven from the +service and negligent ones disciplined. Regimental schools were +opened, and strenuous efforts were made to increase the military +knowledge and skill of the whole command. Careful drill was +enforced, and picket and outpost duty systematically taught. Each +post became a busy camp of instruction, and the regiments repeated +under more favorable circumstances the work of the original camp in +Ohio. + +The work of the military courts gave me one very unpleasant duty to +perform, which, happily, was of rare occurrence and never again fell +to my lot except on a single occasion in North Carolina near the +close of the war. A soldier of the First Kentucky Volunteers was +condemned to death for desertion, mutiny, and a murderous assault +upon another soldier. The circumstances were a little peculiar, and +gave rise to fears that his regiment might resist the execution. I +have already mentioned the affair of Captain Gibbs [Footnote: +Appointed Captain and Assistant Commissary of Subsistence, U. S. +Vols., October 1.] who had shot down a mutinous man of the Second +Kentucky at Gauley Bridge in the summer, and who had been acquitted +by a court-martial. The camp is very like a city in which popular +impressions and rumors have quick circulation and large influence. +The two Kentucky regiments were so closely related as to be almost +one, and were subject to the same influences. A bitter feeling +toward Captain Gibbs prevailed in them both, and camp demagogues +busied themselves in trying to make mischief by commenting on the +fact that the officer was acquitted whilst the private was +condemned. There was not a particle of justice in this, for the one +had simply suppressed a mutiny, whereas the other was inciting one. +But it is not necessary for complaints to be just among those who +are very imperfectly informed in regard to the facts, and very +unpleasant reports were received as to the condition of things in +the regiment to which the condemned man belonged. + +It is the military custom, in executions by shooting, to select the +firing party from the regiment to which the condemned man belongs. +To have changed the rule would have looked like timidity, and I +determined that it must not be done, but resolved upon an order of +procedure which would provide, as far as possible, against the +chances of interference. On such occasions the troops are usually +paraded upon three sides of a hollow square, without arms, the place +of execution being in the middle of the open side, where the +prisoner kneels upon his coffin. The place chosen was in the meadows +on the lower side of the Elk River, opposite Charleston, a short +distance from the regimental camp. The camps of two other regiments +at the post were half a mile from the place of execution. These +regiments were, therefore, marched to the field with their arms. +That to which the prisoner belonged was marched without arms to its +position as the centre of the parade, and the others were formed on +their right and left at right angles, thus forming the three sides +of the enclosure. The arms of these last regiments were stacked +immediately behind them where they could be seized in a moment, but +the parade was formed without muskets. Captain Gibbs was on duty as +commissary at my headquarters, and his appearance with the staff +would have been unpleasant to himself as well as a possible cause of +excitement in the Kentucky regiment. To solve the difficulty without +making a significant exception, I ordered only the personal staff +and the adjutant-general with the chief surgeon to accompany me, +leaving out the administrative officers of both quartermaster's and +commissary's departments. + +When the parade was formed, I took my place with my staff at the +right of the line, and, as upon a review, rode slowly down the whole +line, on the inside of the square. In going along the front of the +First Kentucky, I took especial pains to meet the eyes of the men as +they were turned to me in passing, desirous of impressing them with +my own feeling that it was a solemn but inevitable duty. Immediately +after we returned to our places, the music of the dead-march was +heard, and an ambulance was seen approaching from the camp, escorted +by the provost-marshal and the execution party with the music. The +solemn strains, the slow funereal step of the soldiers, the closed +ambulance, the statue-like stillness of the paraded troops made an +impression deeper and more awful than a battle scene, because the +excitement was hushed and repressed. The ambulance stopped, the man +was helped out at the back, and led by the provost-marshal to his +place upon the coffin, where he was blindfolded. The firing party +silently took its place. The muskets were cocked and aimed, while +the noise of the retiring ambulance covered the sound. The +provost-marshal, with a merciful deception, told the prisoner he +must wait a moment and he would return to him before the final +order, but stepping quickly out of the range of the muskets, he gave +the signal with his handkerchief, and the man fell dead at the +volley, which sounded like a single discharge. The detail of +soldiers for the firing had been carefully instructed that +steadiness and accuracy made the most merciful way of doing their +unwelcome duty. The surgeon made his official inspection of the +body, which was placed in the coffin and removed in the ambulance. +The drums and fifes broke the spell with quick marching music, the +regiments took their arms, sharp words of command rattled along the +lines, which broke by platoons into column and moved rapidly off the +field. + +I confess it was a relief to have the painful task ended, and +especially to have it ended in the most perfect order and +discipline. The moral effect was very great, for our men were so +intelligent that they fully appreciated the judicial character of +the act, and the imposing solemnity of the parade and execution made +the impression all the more profound. As it was accompanied and +followed by a searching test of the capacity and character of their +officers, of which they daily saw the effects in the retirement of +some from the service and in the increased industry and studious +devotion to duty of all, it gave a new tone to the whole command. I +spared no effort to make the feeling pervade every regiment and +company, that the cause of the country, their own success and honor, +and even their own personal safety depended upon their entering the +next campaign with such improved discipline and instruction as +should make them always superior to an equal number of the enemy. +Leaves of absence and furloughs were limited as closely as possible, +and I set the example of remaining without interruption on duty, +though there were many reasons why a visit home was very desirable. +My wife made me a visit at Charleston in mid-winter, and this +naturally brought me into more frequent social relations to the +people, and led me to observe more closely their attitude to the +government and its cause. + +Before the secession of Virginia a very large majority of the +inhabitants of the Kanawha valley were Unionists; but the attachment +to the state organization had become so exaggerated in all +slave-holding communities, that most of the well-to-do people +yielded to the plea that they must "go with their State." The same +state pride led this class of people to oppose the division of +Virginia and the forming of the new State on the west of the +mountains. The better class of society in Charleston, therefore, as +in other towns, was found to be disloyal, and in sympathy with the +rebellion. The young men were very generally in the Confederate +army; the young women were full of the most romantic devotion to +their absent brothers and friends, and made it a point of honor to +avow their sentiments. The older people were less demonstrative, and +the men who had a stake in the country generally professed +acquiescence in the position of West Virginia within the Union, and +a desire to bring back their sons from the Confederate service. The +necessity of strict watch upon the communications sent through the +lines brought to my notice a great deal of family history full of +suffering and anxiety, and showed that that was indeed a fearful +situation for a family when its young men were not only separated +from them by military service in the field, but could only be heard +from by the infrequent chances of communication under flags of +truce, and with all the restrictions and reserves necessary to the +method. The rule I adopted in dealing personally with non-combatants +of either sex was to avoid all controversy or discussion, to state +with perfect frankness but courteously my own attitude and sense of +duty, and to apply all such stringent rules as a state of war +compels with an evenness of temper and tone of dispassionate +government which should make as little chafing as possible. Most +intelligent people, when they are not excited, are disposed to +recognize the obligations imposed upon a military officer in such +circumstances, and it was rarely the case that any unpleasant +collisions occurred. + +The following incident will illustrate some of the embarrassments +likely to occur. When I reached Charleston in July previous, I was +visited by the wife of a gentleman named Parks, who told me that her +husband had left the valley with General Wise, but not in any +military capacity, being fearful that he might suffer arrest at our +hands on account of his sympathy with the Confederates. I told her, +what I had told to a formal deputation of citizens, that I did not +propose to meddle with non-combatants if they in good faith remained +at home, minding their own business, and carefully abstaining from +giving aid or information to the enemy. I had, on general +principles, a dislike for test oaths, and preferred to make conduct +the test, and to base my treatment of people on that, rather than on +oaths which the most unscrupulous would be first to take. Had her +husband known this, she said, he would not have left home, and +begged that she might be allowed to send an open letter through the +lines to him to bring him back. I allowed her to do so at the first +proper opportunity, and Mr. Parks at once returned. In the latter +part of September, however, Governor Peirpoint of West Virginia +thought it necessary to arrest some prominent citizens, known as +Secessionists, and hold them as hostages for Union men that the +Confederate troops had seized and sent to Richmond. It happened that +Mr. Parks was arrested as one of these hostages, without any +knowledge on the part of the civil authorities of the circumstances +under which he had returned home. I was ignorant of his arrest till +I received a letter from the lady, complaining bitterly of what +seemed to her a breach of faith. I was at Sewell Mountain at the +time, but lost no time in writing her a careful explanation of the +complete disconnection between his arrest by the civil authorities +as a hostage, and a promise of non-interference with him on my part +as an officer of the United States army. I also showed her that the +arrest of non-combatant Union men by the Confederate forces was the +real cause of her husband's unpleasant predicament. In view of the +circumstances, however, I thought it right to request the Governor +to substitute some other hostage for Mr. Parks, so that there might +not be the least question whether the letter or the spirit of my +military safeguard had been broken, and the result was that the +gentleman was very soon at home again. + +The most prominent citizen of the valley was the Hon. George +Summers, who had represented it in the Congress of the United +States, and had opposed secession in the Virginia Convention with a +vigor that had brought him into personal peril. When, however, +secession was an accomplished fact, his ideas of allegiance to his +State so far influenced him that he was unwilling to take active +part in public affairs, and sought absolute retirement at his +pleasant home a little below Charleston on the Kanawha. His house +was on a hill overlooking the beautiful valley, broad enough at this +point to give room for ample fields in the rich bottom lands. I had +called upon him, as I passed with my troops when I went up the +valley. He was a dignified and able man, just past middle life, but +in full physical and mental force, and capable of exerting a very +great influence if he could have thrown himself heartily into public +activity. But he was utterly saddened and depressed by the outbreak +of civil war, and deliberately chose the part of suffering in +seclusion whatever it might bring, unable to rouse himself to a +combative part. As a slave-holder, he was bitter against the +anti-slavery movement, and as a Unionist he condemned the +Secessionists. He was very glad to have the Kanawha valley in the +possession of the National troops, now that Wise had made the effort +to occupy it for the Confederacy; though he had tried to procure the +adoption of a policy which should leave it neutral ground,--a policy +as impossible here as in Kentucky. The result was that he was +distrusted by both sides, for in civil war each acts upon the maxim +that "he that is not for us is against us." I renewed my +acquaintance with him in the winter, making his house the limit of +an occasional ride for exercise. I appreciated his feelings, and +respected his desire to set an example of obedient private +citizenship with renunciation of all other or more active influence. + +There were other men of social prominence who had less hesitation in +throwing themselves actively upon the National side. Mr. Patrick was +an elderly man, of considerable wealth, whose home was a very +similar one to Mr. Summers', a little nearer to Charleston upon the +same road. His wife was of old Virginia stock, a relative of Chief +Justice Marshall, and a pronounced Southern woman, though too good a +wife to make her sympathies give annoyance to her husband or his +guests. Lewis Ruffner was also a prominent Union man, and among the +leaders of the movement to make West Virginia a separate State. Mr. +Doddridge, long the cashier and manager of the Bank at Charleston, +whose family was an old and well-known one, was an outspoken +Unionist, and in the next year, when the war put an end for the time +to banking in the valley, he became a paymaster in the National +army. Colonel Benjamin F. Smith was a noteworthy character also. He +was a leading lawyer, a man of vigorous and aggressive character, +and of tough fibre both physically and mentally. He shared the wish +of Summers to keep West Virginia out of the conflict if possible, +but when we had driven Wise out of the valley, he took a pronounced +position in favor of the new state movement. A little afterward he +was appointed District Attorney for the United States. Although the +loyal people had such competent leaders, the majority of the men of +wealth and of the families recognized as socially eminent were +avowed Secessionists. They were a small minority of the whole +people, but in all slave-holding communities social rank is so +powerful that their influence was out of proportion to their +numbers. Even the leaders of the Unionists found their own "house +divided against itself," for scarce one of them but had a son in +Wise's legion, and the Twenty-second Virginia Regiment was largely +composed of the young men of Charleston and the vicinity. I have +already referred to the journal of Major Smith which fell into my +hands as "captured rebel mail," and its pages are full of pathetic +evidence of the conflicting emotions which such a situation excited. +He was the son of B. F. Smith, whom I have just mentioned, and +whilst in Floyd's camp in front of us at Sewell Mountain he wrote: +"My source of constant trouble is that my father will be in danger. +Wicked and unscrupulous men, with whom he has lived in friendship +for years, absolutely thirst for his blood, as I truly believe. He +and Summers, as one of their friends remarked to me to-day, are +especial objects of hatred and aversion to men here. I am actually +leading a set of men one of whose avowed objects is the arrest and +the judicial or lynch murder of my father!" In the next month he +heard "the startling news" that his father had fully identified +himself with the new state movement, and writes: "Those with whom I +was connected, call and curse him as a traitor,--and he knew it +would be so! Why my dear father has chosen to place me in this +terrible situation is beyond my comprehension. I have been shocked +beyond description in contemplating the awful consequences to the +peace, safety, and happiness of both of us!" The family distress and +grief revealed by accident in this case is only an example of what +was common in all the families of prominent Union men. In some +cases, as in that of Major Smith, the young men resigned their +commissions and made their way home, finding the mental and moral +strain too great to bear; but in many more, pride and the influence +of comrades kept them in the Confederate service with the enlisted +men who could not resign, and with hearts sorely torn by conflicting +duties, they fought it out to the end. + +The slavery question was the vexed one which troubled the relations +of the army and the people in all the border States. My own position +was that of the party which had elected Mr. Lincoln. We disclaimed +any purpose of meddling with the institution in the States which +remained loyal to the Union, whilst we held it to be within the war +powers of the government to abolish it in the rebellious States. We +also took satisfaction in enforcing the law which freed the +"contrabands" who were employed by their masters in any service +within the Confederate armies. These principles were generally +understood and acquiesced in by the West Virginians; but it was +impossible to come to any agreement in regard to fugitive slaves who +took refuge in our camps. The soldiers and many of the officers +would encourage the negroes to assert their freedom, and would +resist attempts to recapture them. The owners, if Union men, would +insist that the fugitives should be apprehended and restored to them +by military authority. This was simply impossible, for the public +sentiment of the army as a whole was so completely with the slaves +that any such order would have been evaded and made a farcical dead +letter. The commanders who made such orders uniformly suffered from +doing it; for the temper of the volunteer army was such that the +orders were looked upon as evidence of sympathy with the rebellion, +and destroyed the usefulness of the general by creating an incurable +distrust of him among his own men. Yet nearly all the department +commanders felt obliged at first, by what they regarded as the +letter of the law, to order that fugitive slaves claimed by loyal +citizens should be arrested, if within the camps, and delivered up. + +Within the district of the Kanawha I tried to avoid the difficulty +by stringent orders that slaves should be kept out of the camps; but +I declined to order the troops to arrest and return them. I had two +little controversies on the subject, and in both of them I had to +come in collision with Colonel Benjamin Smith. After they were over +we became good friends, but the facts are too important an +illustration of the war-time and its troubles to be omitted. + +The first raised the question of "contraband." A negro man was +brought into my camp by my advance-guard as we were following Floyd +to Sewell Mountain in September. He was the body-servant of Major +Smith, and had deserted the major, with the intention of getting +back to his family at Charleston. In our camp he soon learned that +he was free, under the Act of Congress, and he remained with us, the +servants about headquarters giving him food. When I returned to +Gauley Bridge, Mr. Smith appeared and demanded the return of the man +to him, claiming him as his slave. He, however, admitted that he had +been servant to Major Smith in the rebel army with his consent. The +man refused to go with him, and I refused to use compulsion, +informing Mr. Smith that the Act of Congress made him free. The +claimant then went to General Rosecrans, and I was surprised by the +receipt, shortly after, of a note from headquarters directing the +giving up of the man. [Footnote: Letter of Major Darr, acting A. A. +G., November 18.] On my stating the facts the matter was dropped, +and I heard no more of it for a month, the man meanwhile +disappearing. Soon after my headquarters were moved to Charleston, +in December, I received another note from headquarters, again +directing the delivery of the fugitive. [Footnote: Letter of Captain +Hartsuff, A. A. G., December 13.] Again I gave a temperate and clear +statement of the facts, adding that I had reason to believe the man +had now taken advantage of his liberty to go to Ohio. Mr. Smith's +case thus ended, but it left him with a good deal of irritation at +what he thought a wrong done to him as well as insubordination on my +part. + +In March following, another case arose, and I received a paper from +headquarters containing an alleged statement of the facts, and +referred to me in usual course for report. I had been absent from +Charleston when the incidents occurred, but made careful inquiry +satisfying myself of the truth, and perhaps cannot give an +intelligent explanation better than by quoting the report itself, +for its tone shows the sort of annoyance I felt, and it exhibits +some of the conditions of an army command involving administrative +duties that were far from pleasant. + +I said: "The document is in the handwriting of B. F. Smith, Esq., U. +S. District Attorney, residing here, though signed only by John +Slack, Jr., and William Kelly; the former an acting deputy U. S. +marshal, the latter the jailer at the county jail. Its composition +is so peculiar that it is difficult to tell what part of the +statement is Slack's or Kelly's and what is Colonel Smith's, and +therefore I do not know whom to hold responsible for the +misstatements contained in it. + +"Mr. Slack is a respectable young man, who I believe would do his +duty as far as he understands it, but who has not energy enough to +keep him from being the tool of others. Mr. Kelly, the jailer, is +sufficiently described when I state the fact that he has attempted +to add to his profits as turnkey by selling bad whisky to soldiers +put in his calaboose, at the rate of five dollars per pint bottle. +Mr. Smith, the District Attorney, has lost no opportunity of being +annoying to the military officers here, since the controversy about +the negro man captured from his son, Major Isaac Smith of the rebel +army. This reference to the parties concerned is necessary to enable +the commanding general to understand the _animus_ of their +complaints. + +"The facts are substantially as follows: Henry H. Hopkins is a +notorious Secessionist living near Coal River, and a man of +considerable property. Some time before his arrest he sent the negro +man mentioned in the complaint _South_, in charge of some Logan +County 'bushwhackers.' On his way and in McDowell County the man +managed to escape and returned into Hopkins's neighborhood, near +Boone C. H., where he took his wife and three children alleged to +have been the property of a woman named Smoot, and brought them to +this post. Upon his representation that he had escaped from armed +rebels in McDowell County, and without further knowledge of the +facts, the Post Quartermaster set him at work. About the 19th of +February Hopkins came to town with Mrs. Smoot, and without notice to +the quartermaster or any color of authority by any civil process, +procured the aid of Kelly, the jailer, seized the negro and took him +to Wright's hotel. The provost-marshal, knowing that Hopkins was an +active Secessionist and that he had been personally engaged in the +combat at Boone C. H. last fall, ordered his arrest. Shortly after, +he was waited upon by B. F. Smith, Esq., U. S. District Attorney, +who stated that he had known Mr. Hopkins for a good many years and +was confident he was a good Union man, although in fact the +deputy-marshal at the very time held a warrant for the arrest of +Hopkins for treason and conspiracy, under an indictment found in the +U. S. Court, of which, to say the least of it, it is very strange +Mr. Smith should have been ignorant. At the request of the +provost-marshal, the warrant was served on Hopkins, who was admitted +to bail in the sum of $2000, which is most inadequate security for +the appearance of a man of Hopkins's wealth and influence, accused +of such a crime. After the arrest of Hopkins, the negro being left +to himself returned to his quarters, but sometime during the night +stole a skiff and attempted to escape with his family down the +Kanawha River. The circumstances of his accident in the river, the +drowning of his family and his subsequent capture, I have not been +able to investigate fully. + +"The only matter of controversy now is in regard to the horse. The +bar-keeper at the tavern denies that he has said it was taken by +Wagon-master West (a man who has since been discharged by the Post +Quartermaster), and I have been unable to trace it, although every +effort has been made in perfect good faith to do so. The man West +was put under arrest, to see if that would make him admit anything +with regard to it, but without effect. I advised Slack to procure +some one who knew the horse to pass through the government stables +and teams, and if he recognized the animal to let me know at once, +and I would give an order to him to obtain it. The statement that +'Slack says he told Cox he could not find him, that a soldier or +employee in his command got him, and if proper measures were taken +he could be had,' is both impudent and false, and I respectfully +submit that it is not, in matter or manner, such a complaint as the +Commanding General should call upon me to reply to. + +"The statement of these civil officials at once gives me the +opportunity and makes it my duty to state to the Commanding General +that the only occasions on which these gentlemen show any vitality, +is when some Secessionist's runaway negroes are to be caught. For +any purpose of ordinary municipal magistracy they seem utterly +incompetent. I have urged the organization of the county and of the +town, but to no effect. Every street that is mended, every bridge +that is repaired, or wharf that is put in order, must be done by the +army at the expense of the U. S. government. They will not elect +officers to look after the poor, but leave us to feed the starving +near our camps. They will establish no police, and by force of +public opinion keep suitors out of the courts ordered to be held by +Governor Peirpoint. Yet a U. S. Commissioner, without any warrant or +even pretended jurisdiction, will stop any vagrant negro, drive him +through the streets in person, and say that he does it as a U. S. +officer! Of course we simply look on and have had no controversy +with them, unless driven to it by direct efforts on their part to +interfere with our necessary regulations. + +"The simple fact is that a few men of property who are avowed +Secessionists control the town and make its public sentiment. By +this means they practically control these officers also. Many of the +negroes employed at the salt-works, and under hire in other +capacities in the vicinity, are the slaves of rebels who are either +in the rebel army or fled with it from the valley. The great problem +upon which the Secessionists remaining here are exercising their +ingenuity is to find the means of using the U. S. Commissioner and +Marshal to secure to them the services of these persons without cost +or legitimate contract of hiring, for the present profit of these +gentlemen here, and the future advantage of their compatriots across +the lines. + +"Colonel Smith and Mr. Slack say that they made the statement at the +express request of Major Darr of the Commanding General's staff. A +simple inquiry by the Major would have saved me the necessity of +writing this long letter." + +It is due to General Rosecrans to say that although he had been +anything but an anti-slavery man before the war, he made no pressure +upon me to violate my own sense of right in these or similar cases, +and they ended with my reports of the facts and of my reasons for +the course I pursued. The side lights thrown upon the situation by +the letter last quoted will be more instructive than any analysis I +could now give, and the spice of flavor which my evident annoyance +gave it only helps to revive more perfectly the local color of the +time. In the case of Mr. Smith's "negro boy Mike," I had the +satisfaction of finding in the intercepted correspondence of his son +the major, the express recognition of the man's right to liberty by +reason of his use in the enemy's service, and could not deny myself +the pleasure of calling attention to it in my letters to +headquarters. + +My experience during the winter begot in me a rooted dislike for the +military administration of the border districts, and strengthened my +wish to be in the most active work at the front, where the problems +were the strictly military ones of attack and defence in the +presence of the armed enemy. [Footnote: I did not lack evidence that +a steady rule, based on principles frankly avowed and easily +understood, was rapidly bringing the people to be content to be in +the Union, even those most inclined to secession. This result I am +gratified to find attested by General Lee and General Floyd, who in +dispatches very lately printed confessed the effect my +administration had in quieting the valley during the first months of +my occupation. Official Records, vol. li. pt. ii. pp. 220, 225.] Not +that the winter was without compensating pleasures, for we were +recipients of much social attention of a very kindly and agreeable +sort, and carried away cherished memories of refined family circles +in which the collision of opinions and the chafing of official +relations were forgotten in hearty efforts to please. With the +unconditionally loyal people our sympathies were very deep, for we +found them greatly torn and disturbed in the conflict of duties and +divided affections, where scarce a single household stood as a unit +in devotion to the cause, and where the triumph of either side must +necessarily bring affliction to some of them. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +VOLUNTEERS AND REGULARS + + +High quality of first volunteers--Discipline milder than that of the +regulars--Reasons for the difference--Practical efficiency of the +men--Necessity for sifting the officers--Analysis of their +defects--What is military aptitude?--Diminution of number in +ascending scale--Effect of age--Of former life and +occupation--Embarrassments of a new business--Quick progress of the +right class of young men--Political appointments--Professional +men--Political leaders naturally prominent in a civil war--"Cutting +and trying"--Dishonest methods--An excellent army at the end of a +year--The regulars in 1861--Entrance examinations for West +Point--The curriculum there--Drill and experience--Its +limitations--Problems peculiar to the vast increase of the +army--Ultra-conservatism--Attitude toward the Lincoln +administration--"Point de zele"--Lack of initiative--Civil work of +army engineers--What is military art?--Opinions of experts--Military +history--European armies in the Crimean War--True +generalship--Anomaly of a double army organization. + + +The work of sifting the material for an army which went on through +the winter of 1861-62, naturally suggests an analysis of the classes +of men who composed both parts of the military force of the +nation,--the volunteers and the regulars. I need add nothing to what +I have already said of the unexampled excellence of the rank and +file in the regiments raised by the first volunteering. Later in the +war, when "bounty jumping" and substitution for conscripts came into +play, the character of the material, especially that recruited in +the great cities and seaports, was much lower. I think, however, +that the volunteers were always better men, man for man, than the +average of those recruited for the regular army. The rigidity of +discipline did not differ so much between good volunteer regiments +and regulars, as the mode of enforcing it. There were plenty of +volunteer regiments that could not be excelled in drill, in the +performance of camp duty, or in the finish and exactness of all the +forms of parades and of routine. But it was generally brought about +by much milder methods of discipline. A captain of volunteers was +usually followed by his neighbors and relatives. The patriotic zeal +of the men of the company as well as their self-respect made them +easily amenable to military rule so far as it tended to fit them +better to do the noble work they had volunteered for, and on which +their hearts were as fully set as the hearts of their colonels or +generals. In the regular army, officers and men belonged to +different castes, and a practically impassable barrier was between +them. Most of the men who had enlisted in the long years of domestic +peace were, for one cause or another, outcasts, to whom life had +been a failure and who followed the recruiting sergeant as a last +desperate resource when every other door to a livelihood was shut. +[Footnote: Since inducements to enlist have been increased by +offering the chance to win a commission, I believe the quality of +the rank and file of the regulars has been much improved, and as a +natural consequence the officers have found it easy to enforce +discipline by less arbitrary methods.] The war made some change in +this, but the habits and methods of the officers had been formed +before that time and under the old surroundings. The rule was +arbitrary, despotic, often tyrannical, and it was notorious that the +official bearing and the language used toward the regular soldiers +was out of the question in a volunteer organization. Exceptions +could be found in both parts of the service, but there could be no +doubt as to the custom and the rule. To know how to command +volunteers was explicitly recognized by our leading generals as a +quality not found in many regular officers, and worth noting when +found. A volunteer regiment might have a "free and easy" look to the +eye of a regular drill sergeant, but in every essential for good +conduct and ready manoeuvre on the field of battle, or for heroic +efforts in the crisis of a desperate engagement, it could not be +excelled if its officers had been reasonably competent and faithful. +There was inevitable loss of time in the organization and +instruction of a new army of volunteers; but after the first year in +the field, in every quality which tends to give victory in battle to +a popular cause, the volunteer regiment was, in my judgment, +unquestionably superior. It is necessary to say this, because there +has been a fashion of speaking of regular regiments or brigades in +the civil war as though they were capable of accomplishing more in +proportion to their numbers or on some occasion of peculiar peril +than the volunteers. I did not find it so. + +The material in the line, then, was as good as could be; the +weakness was in the officers, and it was here that the sifting was +necessary. Most of these officers had themselves enlisted as +privates, and their patriotic zeal was not to be questioned. They +had been chosen to be lieutenants, captains, and even colonels by +their men because of faith in their ability to lead, or to recognize +their influence in raising the troops. Yet a considerable part of +them proved incompetent to command. The disqualifications were +various. Some lacked physical strength and stamina. Some had or +quickly developed intemperate habits. Some lacked the education and +intelligence needful for official responsibility. Some were too +indolent to apply themselves to the work of disciplining themselves +or their men. Fitness for command is a very general term, yet it +implies a set of qualities which intelligent people easily +understand and attach to the phrase. Self-command is proverbially +one of the chief. Courage and presence of mind are indispensable. +Ability to decide and firmness to stick to a decision are necessary. +Intelligence enough to understand the duties demanded of him and to +instruct his subordinates in theirs is another requisite. But beside +all these, there is a constitution of body and mind for which we can +find no better name than military aptitude. For lack of it many +estimable, intelligent, and brave men failed as officers. Again, not +every good captain made a good colonel, and not every good brigade +commander was fit for a division or a larger command. There was a +constantly widening test of capacity, and a rapid thinning of the +numbers found fit for great responsibilities until the command of +great armies was reached, when two or three names are all that we +can enumerate as having been proven during the four years of our +civil strife to be fully equal to the task. + +Besides the indications of unfitness for the subordinate commands +which I have mentioned, another classification may be made. In an +agricultural community (and the greater part of our population was +and is agricultural), a middle-aged farmer who had been thrifty in +business and had been a country magistrate or a representative in +the legislature, would be the natural leader in his town or county, +and if his patriotism prompted him to set the example of enlisting, +he would probably be chosen to a company office, and perhaps to a +field office in the regiment. Absolutely ignorant of tactics, he +would find that his habits of mind and body were too fixed, and that +he could not learn the new business into which he had plunged. He +would be abashed at the very thought of standing before a company +and shouting the word of command. The tactical lessons conned in his +tent would vanish in a sort of stage-fright when he tried to +practise them in public. Some would overcome the difficulty by +perseverance, others would give it up in despair and resign, still +others would hold on from pride or shame, until some pressure from +above or below would force them to retire. Some men of this stamp +had personal fighting qualities which kept them in the service in +spite of their tactical ignorance, like brave old Wolford of +Kentucky, of whom it used to be jocosely said, that the command by +which he rallied his cavalry regiment was "Huddle on the Hill, +boys!" + +A man wholly without business training would always be in +embarrassment, though his other qualifications for military life +were good. Even a company has a good deal of administrative business +to do. Accounts are to be kept, rations, clothing, arms, +accoutrements, and ammunition are to be receipted and accounted for. +Returns of various kinds are to be made, applications for furlough, +musters, rolls, and the like make a good deal of clerical work, and +though most of it may fall on the first sergeant, the captain and +commissioned officers must know how it should be done and when it is +well done, or they are sure to get into trouble. It was a very rare +thing for a man of middle age to make a good company officer. A good +many who tried it at the beginning had to be eliminated from the +service in one way or another. In a less degree the same was found +to hold true of the regimental field officers. Some men retain +flexibility of mind and body longer than others, and could more +easily adapt themselves to new circumstances and a new occupation. +Of course such would succeed best. But it is also true that in the +larger and broader commands solidity of judgment and weight of +character were more essential than in the company, and the +experience of older men was a more valuable quality. Such reasons +will account for the fact that youth seemed to be an almost +essential requisite for a company officer, whilst it was not so in +the same degree in the higher positions. + +It was astonishing to see the rapidity with which well-educated and +earnest young men progressed as officers. They were alert in both +mind and body. They quickly grasped the principles of their new +profession, and with very little instruction made themselves masters +of tactics and of administrative routine. Add to this, bravery of +the highest type and a burning zeal in the cause they were fighting +for, and a campaign or two made them the peers of any officers of +their grade in our own or any other army. + +Another class which cannot be omitted and which is yet very hard to +define accurately, is that of the "political appointments." + +Of the learned professions, the lawyers were of course most strongly +represented among officers of the line. The medical men were so +greatly needed in their own professional department that it was hard +to find a sufficient number of suitable age and proper skill to +supply the regiments with surgeons and the hospitals with a proper +staff. The clergy were non-combatants by profession, and a few only +were found in other than chaplain's duty. Civil engineers, railroad +contractors, architects, and manufacturers were well represented and +were valuable men. Scarce any single qualification was more useful +in organizing the army than that of using and handling considerable +bodies of men such as mechanics and railway employees. + +The profession of the law is in our country so closely allied to +political activity that the lawyers who put on the uniform were most +likely to be classed among political appointments. The term was +first applied to men like Banks, Butler, Baker, Logan, and Blair, +most of whom left seats in Congress to serve in the army. If they +had not done so, it would have been easy for critics to say that the +prominent politicians took care to keep their own bodies out of +harm's way. Most of them won hard-earned and well-deserved fame as +able soldiers before the war was over. In an armed struggle which +grew out of a great political contest, it was inevitable that eager +political partisans should be among the most active in the new +volunteer organizations. They called meetings, addressed the people +to rouse their enthusiasm, urged enlistments, and often set the +example by enrolling their own names first. It must be kept +constantly in mind that we had no militia organization that bore any +appreciable proportion to the greatness of the country's need, and +that at any rate the policy of relying upon volunteering at the +beginning was adopted by the government. It was a foregone +conclusion that popular leaders of all grades must largely officer +the new troops. Such men might be national leaders or leaders of +country neighborhoods; but big or little, they were the necessity of +the time. It was the application of the old Yankee story, "If the +Lord _will_ have a church in Paxton, he must take _sech as ther' be_ +for deacons." + +I have, in a former chapter, given my opinion that the government +made a mistake in following General Scott's advice to keep its +regular army intact and forbid its officers from joining volunteer +regiments; but good or bad, that advice was followed at the +beginning, and the only possible thing to do next was to let popular +selection and natural leadership of any sort determine the company +organizations. The governors of States generally followed a similar +rule in the choice of field officers, and selected the general +officers from those in the state militia, or from former officers of +the army retired to civil life. In one sense, therefore, the whole +organization of the volunteer force might be said to be political, +though we heard more of "political generals" than we did of +political captains or lieutenants. When the organization of the +United States Volunteers took the place of the state contingents +which formed the "three months' service," the appointments by the +President were usually selections from those acting already under +state appointment. The National Government was more conservative +than the Confederacy in this respect. Our service was always full of +colonels doing duty as brigadiers and brigadiers doing duty as +major-generals, whilst the Southern army usually had a brigadier for +every brigade and a major-general for every division, with +lieutenant-generals and generals for the highest commands. If some +rigid method had been adopted for mustering out all officers whom +the government, after a fair trial, was unwilling to trust with the +command appropriate to their grade, there would have been little to +complain of; but an evil which grew very great was that men in high +rank were kept upon the roster after it was proven that they were +incompetent, and when no army commander would willingly receive them +as his subordinates. Nominal commands at the rear or of a merely +administrative kind were multiplied, and still many passed no small +part of the war "waiting orders." As the total number of general +officers was limited by law, it followed, of course, that promotion +had to be withheld from many who had won it by service in the field. +This evil, however, was not peculiar to the class of appointments +from civil life. The faults in the first appointments were such as +were almost necessarily connected with the sudden creation of a vast +army. The failure to provide for a thorough test and sifting of the +material was a governmental error. It was palliated by the necessity +of conciliating influential men, and of avoiding antagonisms when +the fate of the nation trembled in the balance; but this was a +political motive, and the evil was probably endured in spite of its +well-known tendency to weaken the military service. + +A few months' campaigning in the field got us rid of most of the +"town-meeting style" of conducting military affairs in the army +itself, though nothing could cure the practice on the part of +unscrupulous men of seeking reputation with the general public by +dishonest means. The newspapers were used to give fictitious credit +to some and to injure others. If the regular correspondents of the +press had been excluded from the camps, there would no doubt have +been surreptitious correspondence which would have found its way +into print through private and roundabout channels. But this again +was not a vice peculiar to officers appointed from civil life. It +should be always remembered that honorable conduct and devoted +patriotism was the rule, and self-seeking vanity and ambition the +exception; yet a few exceptions would be enough to disturb the +comfort of a large command. To sum up, the only fair way to estimate +the volunteer army is by its work and its fitness for work after the +formative period was passed, and when the inevitable mistakes and +the necessary faults of its first organization had been measurably +cured. My settled judgment is that it took the field in the spring +of 1862 as well fitted for its work as any army in the world, its +superior excellences in the most essential points fully balancing +the defects which were incident to its composition. + +This opinion is not the offspring of partiality toward the volunteer +army on the part of one himself a volunteer. It was shared by the +most active officers in the field who came from the regular service. +In their testimony given in various ways during the war, in their +Official Records, and in their practical conduct in the field which +showed best of all where their reliance was placed, these officers +showed their full faith in and admiration for the volunteer +regiments. Such an opinion was called out by the Committee on the +Conduct of the War in its examination of General Gibbon in regard to +the Gettysburg campaign, and his judgment may fairly be taken as +that of the better class of the regular officers. He declared of +some of these regiments in his division, that they were as well +disciplined as any men he ever wished to see; that their officers +had shown practical military talent; that a young captain from civil +life, whom he instanced, was worthy to be made a general. He named +regiments of volunteers which he said were among the finest +regiments that ever fought on any field, and in which every officer +was appointed from civil life. [Footnote: Report of Committee on +Conduct of the War, vol. iv. pp. 444-446.] He added the criticism +which I have above made, that no proper method of getting rid of +incompetent officers and of securing the promotion of the +meritorious had been adopted; but this in no way diminishes the +force of his testimony that every kind of military ability was +abundantly found in our volunteer forces and needed only recognition +and encouragement. It would be easy to multiply evidence on this +subject. General Grant is a witness whose opinion alone may be +treated as conclusive. In his Personal Memoirs [Footnote: Personal +Memoirs of U. S. Grant, vol. i. p. 573.] he explicitly and +unqualifiedly says that at the close of the Vicksburg campaign his +troops fulfilled every requirement of an army, and his volunteer +officers were equal to any duty, some of them being in his judgment +competent to command an independent army in the field. Sherman fully +shared this opinion. [Footnote: Letter to Halleck, Official Records, +vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 413.] + +In trying to form a just estimate of the officers of the regular +army in 1861, we have to consider not only their education, but the +character of their military life and experience up to that time. It +is, on the whole, a salutary popular notion that "professionals" in +any department of work are more likely to succeed than amateurs. At +the beginning of the Civil War our only professional soldiers were +the officers of our little regular army, nearly all of whom were +graduates of the West Point Military Academy. Since the Mexican War +of 1848, petty conflicts with Indians on the frontier had been their +only warlike experience. The army was hardly larger than a single +division, and its posts along the front of the advancing wave of +civilization from the mouth of the Rio Grande to the Canada border +were so numerous that it was a rare thing to see more than two or +three companies of soldiers together. To most of the officers their +parade of the battalion of cadets at West Point was the largest +military assemblage they had ever seen. Promotion had been so slow +that the field officers were generally superannuated, and very few +who had a rank higher than that of captain at the close of 1860 did +any active field work on either side during the Civil War. The total +number of captains and lieutenants of the line would hardly have +furnished colonels for the volunteer regiments of the single State +of New York as they were finally mustered into the National service +during the war; and they would have fallen far short of it when +their own numbers were divided by the rebellion itself. + +Our available professional soldiers, then, were captains and +subalterns whose experience was confined to company duty at frontier +posts hundreds of miles from civilization, except in the case of the +engineers, the staff corps, and some of the artillery in sea-coast +forts. With the same exceptions, the opportunities for enlarging +their theoretic knowledge had been small. It was before the days of +post libraries, and books of any sort were a rarity at the +garrisons. In the first year of the war, I expressed to General +Gordon Granger my surprise at finding how little most line officers +had added to the theoretic reading they got at the academy. "What +could you expect," he said in his sweeping way, "of men who have had +to spend their lives at a two-company post, where there was nothing +to do when off duty but play draw-poker and drink whiskey at the +sutler's shop?" This was, of course, meant to be picturesquely +extravagant, but it hit the nail on the head, after all. Some of the +officers of the old regime did not conceal their contempt for books. +It was a stock story in the army that when the Utah expedition was +fitting out in 1856, General Henry Hunt, chief of artillery of the +army of the Potomac, then a young artillery officer, applied to +General Twiggs, from whose command part of the expedition was making +up, for leave to take a little box of military books. "No, sir," was +the peremptory response; "no room in the train for such nonsense." +Hunt retired chop-fallen; but soon after another officer came in, +with "General, our mess has a keg of very nice whiskey we don't want +to lose; won't you direct the quartermaster to let it go in the +wagons?" "Oh yes, sir. Oh yes, anything in reason!" If not true, the +story is good enough to be true, as its currency attests; but +whether true or no, the "fable teaches" that post-graduate study in +the old army was done under difficulties. + +The course of study at West Point had narrower limitations than most +people think, and it would be easy to be unfair by demanding too +much of the graduates of that military college. The course of study +was of four years, but the law forbade any entrance examinations on +subjects outside of the usual work done in the rural common schools. +The biographies of Grant, of Sherman, of Sheridan, of Ormsby +Mitchell, and of others show that they in fact had little or no +other preparatory education than that of the common country school. +[Footnote: Grant, in his Personal Memoirs (vol. i. p. 24), says of +the school in his early Ohio home, that the highest branches taught +there were "the three R's,--Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic. I +never saw," he says, "an algebra or other mathematical work higher +than the arithmetic, in Georgetown, until after I was appointed to +West Point. I then bought a work on algebra in Cincinnati, but +having no teacher it was Greek to me."] The course of study and +amount of education given must necessarily be limited, therefore, to +what boys of average ability and such preparation could accomplish +in the four years. They were no further advanced, on entering, than +they would have to be to enter any ordinary fitting school for one +of our first-class colleges, or the high schools in the graded +systems of public schools in our cities. Three years of study would +put them abreast of students entering college elsewhere, and four +years would carry them about as far as the end of the Freshman year +in Yale, Harvard, or Princeton. The corps of professors and teachers +at West Point has always deservedly ranked high as instructors, but +there is no "royal road" to knowledge, and it cannot be claimed that +three or four years at the Military Academy would count for more, as +general education, than the same period spent in any other good +school. A very few men of high standing in the classes supplemented +their education by obtaining appointments as temporary instructors +in the academy after graduating, but most of them left their books +behind them and began at once the subaltern's life at the distant +frontier post. + +If we analyze the course of study they pursued, we find that it +covered two years' work in mathematics, one in physics and +chemistry, and one in construction of fortifications. This was the +scientific part, and was the heaviest part of the curriculum. Then, +besides a little English, mental philosophy, moral philosophy, and +elementary law, there were two years' study of the French and one of +Spanish. This was the only linguistic study, and began with the +simplest elements. At the close of the war there was no instruction +in strategy or grand tactics, in military history, or in what is +called the Art of War. The little book by Mahan on Out-post Duty was +the only text-book in Theory, outside the engineering proper. At an +earlier day they had used Jomini's introduction to his "Grandes +Operations Militaires," and I am unable to say when its use was +dropped. It is not my wish to criticise the course of study; on the +other hand, I doubt if it could be much improved for boys who had +only the preparation required by the law. But since we are trying to +estimate its completeness as professional education fitting men to +command armies in the field, it is absolutely necessary to note the +fact that it did not pretend to include the military art in that +sense. Its scientific side was in the line of engineering and that +only. Its prize-men became engineers, and success at the academy was +gauged by the student's approach to that coveted result. + +That the French which was learned was not enough to open easily to +the young lieutenant the military literature which was then found +most abundantly in that language, would seem to be indicated by the +following incident. In my first campaign I was talking with a +regular officer doing staff duty though belonging in the line, and +the conversation turned on his West Point studies. The little work +of Jomini's mentioned above being casually referred to as having +been in his course, I asked him if he had continued his reading into +the History of the Seven Years' War of Frederick the Great, to which +it was the introduction. He said no, and added frankly that he had +not read even the Introduction in the French, which he had found +unpleasantly hard reading, but in the English translation published +under the title of the Art of War. This officer was a thoroughly +estimable, modest, and intelligent man, and seemed in no way +inferior to other line officers of his age and grade. It would of +course be true that some men would build industriously upon the +foundation laid at the academy, and perfect themselves in those +things of which they had only acquired the elements; but the +surroundings of frontier life at a post were so unfavorable that I +believe few in fact did so. The officers of the engineer corps and +the ordnance were specifically devoted to scientific careers, and +could go steadily forward to expertness in their specialties. Those +who were permanently attached to the staff corps or to bureaus at +Washington had also opportunity to enlarge their professional +knowledge by study if they were so inclined. But all these were +exceptionally situated, and do not help us answer the question What +kind and amount of military education was implied in the fact that a +man had graduated at West Point and been sent to serve in the line? +I have purposely omitted for the present to consider the physical +training and the practical instruction in tactics by means of drill, +because the question is in terms one of science, not of practice; +that will come later. The conclusion is that the intellectual +education at the Military Academy was essentially the same, as far +as it went, as that of any polytechnic school, the peculiarly +military part of it being in the line of engineering. In actual +warfare, the laying out and construction of regular forts or the +conduct of a regular siege is committed to professional engineers. +For field work with an army, therefore, the mental furnishing of the +West Point man was not superior to that of any other liberally +educated man. In some of our volunteer regiments we had whole +companies of private soldiers who would not have shunned a +competitive examination with West Point classes on the studies of +the Military Academy, excepting the technical engineering of +fortifications. [Footnote: It must not be forgotten that my +criticisms are strictly confined to the condition of military +education in our Civil War period. Since that time some excellent +work has been done in post-graduate schools for the different arms +of the service, and field manoeuvres have been practised on a scale +never known in our army prior to 1861. A good beginning has also +been made, both here and in England, toward giving the young soldier +a military library of English books.] + +Let us look now at the physical and practical training of the cadet. +The whole period of his student life at West Point had more or less +of this. He was taken as a raw recruit would be, taught the school +of the soldier in marching, in the manual of arms, and in personal +carriage. He passed on to the drill of the squad, the platoon, the +company. The tactics of the battalion came last, and the cadet might +become a corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, or captain in the corps if +he showed aptitude for drill and tactics. It is noticeable, however, +that Grant and Sheridan remained privates during their whole +cadetship, and Sherman, though once he became sergeant, was put back +in the ranks. The fair conclusion is that this part of the cadet +discipline is not very closely connected with generalship, though it +is important as preparation for the ready handling of a company or a +battalion. Sherman tells us, in his Memoirs, that he studied +evolutions of the line out of the books, as a new subject, when he +was in camp in front of Washington, after the first battle of Bull +Run. [Footnote: Memoirs, vol. i. p. 220.] The tactical education of +the cadet stopped at the evolutions of the battalion, and for nearly +all of them it was, even in that respect, the education of the +soldier in the ranks and not of the officer, since a very small +proportion became officers in the cadet corps. + +This practical drill was, of course, the same as that which was used +in organized militia regiments, and the famous Ellsworth Zouaves of +Chicago, the New York Seventh Regiment, with a number of other +militia regiments in different States, were sufficient proof that +this training could be made as exact outside of the cadet corps as +in it. It certainly was enough for the practical handling of the +company and the regiment under the simplified tactics which not only +prevailed during the war itself, but, with Upton's Manual as a +basis, has been authoritatively adopted as an improvement upon the +older and more complicated methods. It must not be forgotten that +although our militia system had fallen into scandalous neglect, the +voluntary efforts of citizen soldiers had kept many good independent +companies organized everywhere, as well as full regiments in most of +the older States; so that there were in fact more well-drilled +regiments in the militia than there were in the little regular army. +It was the small ratio all these, of both classes, bore to the +demands of the gigantic war that was upon us, which made the problem +so troublesome. The officers of the organized militia regiments, +before the end of the three months' service, did what I have said it +was desirable that those of the regular regiments should have +done,--they scattered from their original commands and were active +in organizing the new volunteer regiments. General De Trobriand, who +went out as Colonel of the Fifty-fifth New York, says that the New +York Seventh Regiment furnished three hundred officers to volunteer +regiments. [Footnote: De Trobriand, Four Years with Potomac Army, p. +64.] In a similar way, though not to the same extent, the other +organized and disciplined militia, in both Eastern and Western +States, furnished the skeletons of numerous new regiments. + +The really distinguishing feature in the experience of the regular +officers of the line was their life in garrison at their posts, and +their active work in guarding the frontier. Here they had become +familiar with duty of the limited kind which such posts would +afford. This in time became a second nature to them, and to the +extent it reached, was, as other men's employments are, their +business. They necessarily had to learn pretty thoroughly the army +regulations, with the methods and forms of making returns and +conducting business with the adjutant-general's office, with the +ordnance office, the quartermaster's and subsistence departments, +etc. In this ready knowledge of the army organization and its +methods their advantage over the new volunteer officers was more +marked, as it seemed to me, than in any and all other things. The +routine of army business and the routine of drill had to be learned +by every army officer. The regular officer of some years' standing +already knew, as a matter of course, what a new volunteer officer +must spend some time in learning. There is something of value also +in the habit of mind formed in actual service, even if the service +is in subaltern grades and on a petty scale. Familiarity with danger +and with the expectation of danger is acquired, both by the Indian +wars of the frontier and by the hunting and field sports which fill +more or less of the leisure of garrison life. + +But there were some drawbacks upon the value of the preparation for +war which these officers possessed. There was a marked conservatism +as to military methods and arms, and an almost slavish reverence for +things which were sanctioned by European authority, especially that +of the second French Empire. American invention was never more +fruitful than when applied to military weapons. Repeating and +magazine small arms, breach-loading cannon, and Gatling guns with +other repeating artillery, were brought out or improved with +wonderful variety of form and of demonstrable excellence. The +regular army influence was generally against such innovations. Not +once, but frequently, regular army officers argued to me that the +old smooth-bore musket with "buck and ball" cartridge was the best +weapon our troops could desire. We went through the war with a +muzzle-loading musket, the utmost that any commander could do being +to secure repeating rifles for two or three infantry regiments in a +whole army. Even to the end the "regular" chiefs of artillery +insisted that the Napoleon gun, a light smooth-bore twelve-pounder +cannon, was our best field-piece, and at a time when a great +campaign had reduced our forces so that a reduction of artillery was +advisable, I received an order to send to the rear my three-inch +rifled ordnance guns and retain my Napoleons. The order was issued +by a regular officer of much experience, but I procured its +suspension in my own command by a direct appeal to the army +commander. There was no more doubt then than there is to-day of the +superiority of rifled guns, either for long-range practice with +shells or in close work with canister. They were so much lighter +that we could jump them across a rough country where the teams could +hardly move a Napoleon. We could subdue our adversaries' fire with +them, when their smooth-bores could not reach us. Yet we were +ordered to throw away our advantages and reduce ourselves to our +enemy's condition upon the obstinate prejudice of a worthy man who +had had all flexibility drilled out of him by routine. Models of +automatic rapid-fire and repeating field-pieces were familiar +objects "at the rear," but I saw none of them in action in any army +in which I served. The conservatism of the old army must be held +responsible for this. + +The question of zeal and devotion to the cause for which we fought +cannot be ignored in such a war as ours was. It is notorious that +comparatively few of the regular officers were political friends of +Mr. Lincoln's administration at the beginning. Of those who did not +"go with the South" but remained true to the National flag, some +were full of earnest patriotism, like the young officers whom I have +mentioned as volunteering to assist the governors of States in +organizing their contingents and as seeking places in volunteer +regiments. There were others who meant to do their duty, but began +with little hopefulness or zeal. There were still others who did not +hesitate to predict defeat and to avow that it was only for +professional honor or advancement that they continued to serve under +the National flag. These last were confessedly soldiers of fortune. +The war was an education for all who were in it, and many a man +began with reluctance and half-heartedness who was abundantly +radical before the conflict was over. There was, however, a +considerable class who practised on Talleyrand's diplomatic motto, +"point de zele," and limited their efforts to the strict requirement +of duty. Such men would see disaster occur for lack of a little +spontaneity on their part, and yet be able to show that they +literally obeyed every order received. I was once ordered to support +with my command a movement to be made by another. It was an +important juncture in a campaign. Wondering at delay, I rode forward +and found the general officer I was to support. I told him I was +ordered to support him in doing what we both saw was needing to be +done; but he had no explicit orders to begin the movement. I said +that my orders to support him were sufficient to authorize his +action, and it was plain that it would be unfortunate if the thing +were not done at once. He answered cynically, "If you had been in +the army as long as I have, you would be content to do the things +that are ordered, without hunting up others." The English regulars, +also, have a saying, "Volunteering brings bad luck." + +There was altogether too much of this spirit in the army, and one +who can read between the lines will see it in the history of many a +campaign. It did not necessarily mean wavering loyalty. It was +sometimes the mental indecision or timidity which shrinks from +responsibility. It was sometimes also the result of education in an +army on the peace establishment, where any spontaneity was snubbed +as an impertinence or tyrannically crushed as a breach of +discipline. I would not be understood to make more of these things +than is necessary to a just estimate of the situation, but it seems +to me an entirely fair conclusion that with us in 1861 as with the +first French republic, the infusion of the patriotic enthusiasm of a +volunteer organization was a necessity, and that this fully made up +for lack of instruction at the start. This hasty analysis of what +the actual preparation for war was in the case of the average line +officer of the regular army will show, to some extent, the basis of +my judgment that there was nothing in it which a new volunteer +officer, having what I have called military aptitude, should not +learn in his first campaign. + +How far the officers of the engineers and of the staff corps applied +themselves to general military study, would depend upon their taste +and their leisure. Their opportunities for doing so were much better +than those of line officers, but there was also a tendency to +immerse themselves in the studies of their special department of +work. Very eminent officers of engineers have told me since the war +that the pressure of their special professional work was such that +they had found no time to read even the more noteworthy publications +concerning the history of our own great struggle. The surveys of the +great lakes and the coast, the engineering problems of our great +rivers, etc., have both formerly and in recent years absorbed their +time and their strength. The ordnance and the staff corps, also, had +abundant special duties. Still it may reasonably be assumed that +officers of the classes mentioned have usually made themselves +somewhat familiar with the best writings on military art. If we had +in the country in 1861 a class of men who could be called educated +soldiers in the scientific sense, we certainly should find them in +the several corps just referred to. + +Here, however, we have to meet the question What is military art as +applied to the problem of winning battles or campaigns? We are +obliged to answer that outside of the business administration and +supply of an army, and apart from the technical knowledge of +engineering and the construction of fire-arms and ammunition, it +consists in the tactical handling of bodies of men in accordance +with very few and very simple principles of strategy. The literature +of the subject is found in the history of wars analyzed by competent +men like Napoleon, Jomini, the Archduke Charles, Sir William Napier, +Clausewitz, Moltke, Hamley, and others; but it may be broadly said +that the principles of this criticism and analysis may be so briefly +stated as to be printed on the back of a visiting-card. [Footnote: +Prince Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, in his admirable "Letters on +Strategy," states them in five brief primary axioms. Letters on +Strategy, vol. i. pp. 9, 10.] To trace the campaigns of great +soldiers under the guidance of such a critic as Jomini is full of +interest to any intelligent person, and there is nothing in the +subject of the slightest difficulty of comprehension if full and +authentic topographical maps are before the reader. To make much +instructive use of military history in this way demands a good deal +of voluminous reading and the command of charts and maps extensive +enough to allow the presentation of the face of a country on a large +scale. With these advantages all wars, both ancient and modern, are +full of instructive examples of the application of the simple +principles of strategy under innumerable varying circumstances and +situations; and this union of simple theory in ever-changing +practical application is what constitutes the theoretic knowledge of +the general as distinguished from the tactical and administrative +duties of the subordinate. [Footnote: Jomini expresses it thus: +"J'en couclus que l'histoire militaire raisonnee de plusieurs +campagnes, seront la meilleure Ecole pour apprendre et par +consequent pour enseigner la grande guerre: _la science des +generaux._" Grandes Operations Militaires, vol. i. p. 7.] It was the +very simplicity of the principles that made many successful generals +question whether there was any art in the matter, except to use +courage and natural sagacity in the actual situation in which the +commander found himself and the enemy. Marshal Saxe asserted in his +"Reveries" that down to his time there had been no formulation of +principles, and that if any had been recognized as such in the minds +of commanders of armies, they had not made it known. [Footnote: +Jomini, in the work already cited, quotes Marshal Saxe thus: "Que +toutes les sciences avaient des principes, mais que la guerre seule +n'en avait point encore; si ces principes ont existe dans la tete de +quelques generaux, nulle part ils n'ont ete indiques ou developpes." +The same idea has been put quite as trenchantly by one of the most +recent writers of the English Army, Colonel J. F. Maurice, R. A. +Professor in the Farnborough Staff College. In the able article on +"War" in the last edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, he says, +"it must be emphatically asserted that there does not exist, and +never except by pedants of whom the most careful students of war are +more impatient than other soldiers, has there ever been supposed to +exist, an 'art of war' which was something other than the methodic +study of military history."] + +It was precisely in this department of military history "raisonnee" +that frontier garrison life shut the young army officer out from the +opportunities of profiting by his leisure. The valuable books were +all foreign publications in costly form with folio atlases, and were +neither easy to procure nor easily carried about with the limited +means and the rigid economy of transportation which marked army life +in the far West. That this was true even in the artillery is +indicated by General Gibbon before the Committee on the Conduct of +the War when questioned in reference to the relative amount of +artillery used at Gettysburg as compared with great European +battles; that distinguished officer having himself been in the +artillery when the Civil War began. [Footnote: "Question. You have +studied the history of battles a great deal: Now, in the battles of +Napoleon, had they at any time half as many artillery engaged as +there were at Gettysburg? Answer. I am not sufficiently conversant +with military history to tell you that. I think it very doubtful +whether more guns were ever used in any one battle before. I do not +believe Napoleon ever had a worse artillery fire." Testimony of +General John Gibbon, Committee on Conduct of the War, vol. iv. p. +444. At Gettysburg the whole number of cannon employed was about two +hundred. Compare this with Leipzig, for instance, the "battle of the +giants," where _two thousand_ were employed! Thiers says, "de +Leipzig a Schoenfeld au nord, de Schoenfeld a Probstheyda a l'est, de +Probstheyda a Connewitz au sud, une cannonade de deux mille bouches +a feu termina cette bataille dit des geants, et jusqu'ici la plus +grande, certainement, de tous les siecles." Thiers, Consulat et +l'Empire, vol. xvi. p. 607.] + +If then the officers of the regular army, as a body, were not in +fact deeply read in what, as we have seen, Jomini calls "the science +of generals," their advantage over equally well-educated civilians +is reduced to a practical knowledge of the duties of the company and +the petty post, and in comparison with the officers of well-drilled +militia companies it amounted to little more than a better knowledge +of the army regulations and the administrative processes. It is no +reproach to them that this was so, for it resulted from the +operation of law in the course of education at the Military Academy +and the insignificant size of our army in times of peace. It had +been the peculiar blessing of our country that a great standing army +was unnecessary, and it would be foolish to regret that our little +army could not have the experience with great bodies of troops and +the advantages of theoretical instruction which are part of the life +of officers in the immense establishments of Continental Europe. My +only purpose is to make an approximately true balance sheet of the +actual advantages of the two parts of our National army in 1861. +Whilst on the subject, however, I will go a little further and say +that prior to our Civil War, the history of European conflicts +proves that there also the theoretic preparation of military men had +not, up to that time, saved them from the necessity of learning both +generalship and army administration in the terrible school of +experience, during their first year in the field when a new war +broke out after a long interval of peace. + +The first volume of Kinglake's "Crimean War" appeared in 1863, and I +immediately and eagerly devoured it for the purpose of learning the +lesson it could teach. It was one of the memorable sensations of a +lifetime, to find that the regular armies of England, of France, and +of Russia had had to learn their lesson anew when they faced each +other on the shore of the Euxine, and that, whether in matters of +transportation, of subsistence, of the hospital, of grand tactics, +or of generalship, they had no advantage over our army of volunteers +fresh from their peaceful pursuits. The photographic fidelity to +detail on the part of the historian, and his apparent +unconsciousness of the sweeping conclusions to be drawn from his +pictures, made the lesson all the more telling. I drew a long breath +of relief, and nothing which happened to me in the whole war so +encouraged me to hopeful confidence in the outcome of it, as the +evidence I saw that our blunders at the beginning had been no +greater than those of old standing armies, and that our capacity to +learn was at least as quick as theirs. Their experience, like ours, +showed that the personal qualities of a commanding officer counted +for much more than his theoretic equipment, and that a bold heart, a +cool head, and practical common-sense were of much more importance +than anything taught at school. With these, a brief experience would +enable an intelligent man to fill nearly any subordinate position +with fair success; without them any responsibility of a warlike kind +would prove too heavy for him. The supreme qualification of a +general-in-chief is the power to estimate truly and grasp clearly +the situation on a field of operations too large to be seen by the +physical eye at once, [Footnote: Wellington said the great task of +his military life was "trying to make out what was behind the +hill."] and the undaunted temper of will which enables him to +execute with persistent vigor the plan which his intellect approves. +To act upon uncertainties as if they were sure, and to do it in the +midst of carnage and death when immeasurable results hang upon +it,--this is the supreme presence of mind which marks a great +commander, and which is among the rarest gifts even of men who are +physically brave. The problem itself is usually simple. It is the +confusing and overwhelming situation under which it must be solved +that causes timidity or dismay. It is the thought of the fearful +consequences of the action that begets a nervous state of hesitation +and mental timidity in most men, and paralyzes the will. No +education will ensure this greatest and most essential quality. It +is born in a man, not communicated. With it his acquired knowledge +will be doubly useful, but without it an illiterate slave-trader +like Forrest may far outshine him as a soldier. Nor does success as +a subordinate give any certain assurance of fitness for supreme +command. Napoleon's marshals generally failed when trusted with an +independent command, as Hooker did with us; and I do not doubt that +many men, like McClellan, who failed as generals-in-chief, would +have made brave and good subordinates. The test of quality is +different in kind, and, as I have said, the only proof of its +possession is in the actual trial. It is safe to say that a timid +subordinate will not be a good commander, but it cannot be affirmed +that a bold one will, though there are more chances in his favor. + +The education of peril is so powerful in bringing out the qualities +that can master it, and for any one who has true military courage +the acquirement of skill in the more mechanical part of his duty in +war is so rapid, that my experience has led me to reckon low, in the +comparison, the value of the knowledge a soldier gains in times of +peace. I say "in the comparison." Tactics are essential to the +handling of large bodies of men, and must be learned. But the +zealous young soldier with aptitude for his work will learn this +part of his duty so fast that a single campaign will find him +abreast of any. At the beginning of a great war and in the +organization of a great army, the knowledge of routine and of +details undoubtedly saves time and saves cost both of treasure and +of life. I am therefore far from arguing that the knowledge which +was found in the regular army should not be made the most of. I have +already said that it should have been scattered through the whole +volunteer organization. So I also say that it was quite right to +look for the higher qualities for command in those who had the +technical information and skill. But I reckon patriotic zeal and +devotion so high that I have no hesitation in adding, that our army +as a whole would have been improved if the distinction between +regular and volunteer had been abolished, and, after the first +beginnings, a freer competition for even the highest commands had +been open to all. To keep up the regular army organization was +practically to say that a captaincy in it was equivalent to a +brigade command in the volunteers, and to be a brigadier in it was a +reward which regular officers looked forward to as a result of the +successful conduct of a great campaign as general-in-chief of an +army. The actual command in war was thus ridiculously belittled in +the official scale in comparison with grades of a petty peace +establishment, and the climax of absurdity was reached when, at the +close of hostilities, men who had worthily commanded divisions and +corps found themselves reduced to subordinate places in regiments, +whilst others who had vegetated without important activity in the +great struggle were outranking them by virtue of seniority in the +little army which had existed before the Rebellion! + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE MOUNTAIN DEPARTMENT--SPRING CAMPAIGN + + +Rosecrans's plan of campaign--Approved by McClellan with +modification--Wagons or pack-mules--Final form of plan--Changes in +commands--McClellan limited to Army of the Potomac--Halleck's +Department of the Mississippi--Fremont's Mountain +Department--Rosecrans superseded--Preparations in the Kanawha +District--Batteaux to supplement steamboats--Light wagons for +mountain work--Fremont's plan--East Tennessee as an objective--The +supply question--Banks in the Shenandoah valley--Milroy's +advance--Combat at McDowell--Banks defeated--Fremont's plans +deranged--Operations in the Kanawha valley--Organization of +brigades--Brigade commanders--Advance to Narrows of New River--The +field telegraph--Concentration of the enemy--Affair at +Princeton--Position at Flat-top Mountain. + + +As the spring of 1862 approached, the discussion of plans for the +opening of a new campaign was resumed. Rosecrans had suggested, +early in February, that he would prefer to attempt reaching the +Virginia and East Tennessee Railroad by two columns moving +simultaneously upon Abingdon in the Holston valley. One of these +would start from Gauley Bridge and go by way of Fayette, Raleigh, +and Princeton; the other would leave some point in the Big-Sandy +valley on the common boundary of Kentucky and Virginia, and march by +most direct route to Abingdon. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. +p. 721.] If this plan were approved, he asked that the west side of +the Big-Sandy valley be added to his department. He proposed to +depend largely upon pack-mule trains in place of wagons, to +substitute the French shelter tent for the larger tents still in +use, and to carry hand-mills by which the soldiers might grind into +meal the Indian corn to be found in the country. McClellan, as +general-in-chief, gave his approval, suggesting a modification in +regard to the column to move from the Big-Sandy valley. His +information led him to believe that the Big-Sandy River could be +relied upon as navigable to Prestonburg, which was seventy miles +from Abingdon by what was supposed to be a good road. He thought, +therefore, that it would be easier to make Prestonburg the base and +to use wagons. [Footnote: O, R., vol. v. p. 722.] On investigation +Rosecrans reported that the most feasible route in that region was +by steamboat transportation to Pikeville, twenty-five miles above +Prestonburg, in the Big-Sandy valley, and thence up the Louisa Fork +of the Big-Sandy by way of Pound Gap to the Holston valley; but +there would still be eighty-eight miles of marching after leaving +the steamboats, and navigation on the Big-Sandy was limited to brief +and infrequent periods of high water. + +On the 12th of March he submitted his modified plan to the +adjutant-general of the army. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 744.] It had +grown more complex with the passage of time. The eastern line of the +department had been moved forward so as to bring the South Branch of +the Potomac and the Cow-pasture branch of the James River under +Rosecrans's command. He now planned four separate columns. The first +was to move up the south branch of the Potomac with a view to turn +and to capture the enemy's position at Alleghany Summit or Monterey +on the Staunton turnpike. The second and third were to be in my +district, and to move toward the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad on +the two sides of New River. The fourth should march from the +Big-Sandy valley on the line indicated above. Rosecrans seems to +have limited his plan to the occupation of the mountain valleys as +far east as the Blue Ridge, and did not submit any scheme for +uniting his columns for further work. He asked for reinforcements to +the extent of six regiments of infantry, one of cavalry, and two +field batteries to enable him to perform his task. The use of pack +trains was given up, as they required a greater number of animals +than could be procured. In fact, it was never found to be an +economical use of mule power, and important movements were always +confined to lines upon which wheel vehicles could be used. A rapid +cavalry raid could be thus supplied, but heavy columns of infantry +and artillery demanded wagon trains. + +The weakness of Rosecrans's scheme is found in the wide separation +of parallel columns, which could never have co-operated with +success, and which had no common object had success been possible. +To be sure, it was presumed that McClellan with the Army of the +Potomac, and Banks in the Shenandoah valley, would be operating in +eastern Virginia; but as McClellan was already bent on making +Chesapeake Bay his base, and keeping as far as possible from the +mountains, there was no real connection or correlation between his +purposed campaign and that of the others. Indeed, had he succeeded +in driving Lee from Richmond toward the west, as Grant did three +years later, the feeble columns of National troops coming from West +Virginia would necessarily have fallen back again before the enemy. +If the general scheme had been planned by Lee himself, it could not +have secured for him more perfectly the advantage of interior lines. +Yet it was in substance that which was tried when the spring opened. + +When Rosecrans's letter, enclosing his final plan, reached +Washington, McClellan had taken the field, and President Lincoln had +made use of the occasion to relieve him from the direction of all +other forces, so that he might give undivided attention to his +campaign with the Potomac army. This was done by an executive order +on March 11, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. v. p. 54.] which +assigned General Halleck to the command of everything west of a line +drawn north and south through Knoxville, Tennessee, and formed the +Mountain Department from the territory between Halleck and +McClellan. This last department was put under the command of +Major-General John C. Fremont. General Banks was commanding in the +Shenandoah valley, but he was at this time subordinate to McClellan. +These changes were unexpected to both McClellan and Rosecrans. The +change in McClellan's relations to the whole army was the natural +result of his inactivity during the autumn of 1861, and the +consequent loss of confidence in him. The union of Buell's and +Halleck's commands in the west was the natural counterpart to the +concentration of Confederate armies under A. S. Johnston at Corinth, +Miss., and was a step in the right direction. There was, however, a +little too much sentiment and too little practical war in the +construction of the Mountain Department out of five hundred miles of +mountain ranges, and the appointment of the "path-finder" to command +it was consistent with the romantic character of the whole. The +mountains formed a natural and admirable barrier, at which +comparatively small bodies of troops could cover and protect the +Ohio valley behind them; but, for reasons which I have already +pointed out, extensive military operations across and beyond the +Alleghanies from west or east were impracticable, because a +wilderness a hundred miles wide, crossed by few and most difficult +roads, rendered it impossible to supply troops from depots on either +side. + +Such assurances of other satisfactory employment seem to have been +given Rosecrans that he acquiesced without open complaint, and +prepared to turn over his command to Fremont when the latter should +arrive in West Virginia. Political motives had, no doubt, much to do +with Fremont's appointment. The President had lost faith in his +military capacity as well as in his administrative ability, but the +party which elected Mr. Lincoln had not. The Republicans of the +Northern States had a warm side for the man they had nominated for +the Presidency in 1856, and there was a general feeling among them +that Fremont should have at least another opportunity to show what +he could do in the field. I myself shared that feeling, and reported +to him as my immediate superior with earnest cordiality. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 35.] + +In my own district, preparations had been made during the winter for +the expected advance in the spring. I had visited Rosecrans at +Wheeling, and he had conversed freely upon his plans for the new +campaign. Under his directions the old piers of the turnpike bridge +across the Gauley had been used for a new superstructure. This was a +wire suspension bridge, hung from framed towers of timber built upon +the piers. Instead of suspending the roadway from the wire cables by +the ordinary connecting rods, and giving stiffness to it by a +trussed railing, a latticed framing of wood hung directly from the +cables, and the timbers of the roadway being fastened to this by +stirrups, the wooden lattice served both to suspend and to stiffen +the road. It was a serviceable and cheap structure, built in two +weeks, and answered our purposes well till it was burned in the next +autumn, when Colonel Lightburn retreated before a Confederate +invasion. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 99.] + +The variable position of the head of steamboat navigation on the +Kanawha made it impossible to fix a permanent depot as a terminus +for our wagon trains in the upper valley. My own judgment was in +favor of placing it at Kanawha Falls, a mile below Gauley Bridge, +and within the limits of that post. To connect this with the +steamboats wherever the shoaling water might force them to stop, I +recommended the use of batteaux or keelboats, a craft which a +natural evolution had brought into use in the changeable mountain +rivers. They were a canoe-shaped open boat, sixty feet long by eight +wide, and were pushed up the stream by quants or poles. They +required a crew of five men,--four to do the poling, and a +steersman. In the swiftest "chutes" they carried a line ashore and +made fast to a tree, then warped the boat up to quieter water and +resumed the poling. Each boat would carry eight tons, and, compared +with teaming over roads of which the "bottom had dropped out," it +proved a most economical mode of transport. The batteaux dropped +alongside the steamer wherever she had to stop, the freight was +transferred to them directly, covered with tarpaulins, and the boats +pushed off. The number of hands was no greater than for teaming, and +the whole cost of the teams and their forage was saved. I had built +two of these early in the winter and they were in successful +operation. Two more were partly done when Fremont assumed command, +and I urgently recommended a fleet of fifteen or twenty as an +auxiliary to our transportation when active operations should be +resumed. By their use Gauley Bridge could be made the practical +depot of supply, and from ten to twenty miles of wretched and costly +wagoning be saved. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. +pp. 45-48.] + +I became satisfied, also, that the regulation army wagon was too +heavy for the difficult mountain roads, and recommended a strong but +much lighter farm wagon, in which four mules could draw nearly or +quite as much as six usually drew in the heavier wagon. This became +a matter of great consequence in a country where forage could not be +found, and where the wagon had to be loaded with the food for the +team as well as the rations and ordnance stores for the men. + +It had already been determined to substitute the shelter tent for +other forms in the principal armies, and the change soon became +general. We, however, had to wait our turn after more important +columns were supplied, and our turn did not come till the campaign +was over. Even our requisitions for ammunition were not filled, our +artillery was not reduced to uniformity, and we could not secure +muskets enough of any one calibre for a single regiment. We made the +best of the situation, and whilst keeping "headquarters" informed of +our lack, were ready to do our best with the means we had. No +attention was paid, perhaps none could be paid, to our +recommendations for any special supplies or means adapted to the +peculiar character of our work. We received, in driblets, small +supplies of the regulation wagons, some droves of unbroken mules, +some ordnance stores, and a fair amount of clothing. Subsistence +stores had never been lacking, and the energy of the district +quartermaster and commissary kept our little army always well fed. + +The formal change in department commanders took place on the 29th of +March, Fremont having reached Wheeling the day before. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. i. p. 4.] Mr. Lincoln's desire by +some means to free the loyal people of East Tennessee from the +oppressive sway of the Confederates showed itself in the +instructions given to all the military officers in the West. He had +been pressing the point from the beginning. It had entered into +McClellan's and Rosecrans's plans of the last campaign. It had been +the object of General George H. Thomas's organization of troops at +Camp Dick Robinson in Kentucky. For it General Ormsby Mitchell had +labored to prepare a column at Cincinnati. It was not accomplished +till the autumn of 1863, when Rosecrans occupied Chattanooga and +Burnside reached Knoxville; but there had never been a day's +cessation of the President's urgency to have it accomplished. It was +prominent in his mind when he organized the Mountain Department, and +Fremont was called upon to suggest a plan to this end as soon as he +was appointed. His choice was to assemble the forces of his +department in Kentucky at the southern terminus of the Central +Kentucky Railroad, at Nicholasville, and to march southward directly +to Knoxville, upon what was substantially the line taken by Burnside +a year and a half later. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. +i. p. 7.] Fremont was mistaken, however, in saying that from +Nicholasville to Knoxville supplies could be "transported over level +and good roads." General Buell had, on the 1st of February, +[Footnote: _Id_., vol. vii. p. 931.] reported that line to be some +two hundred miles long from the end of the railway to Knoxville, the +whole of it mountainous, and the roads bad. He estimated a train of +a thousand wagons, constantly going and returning, as needful to +supply ten thousand men at Knoxville after allowance was made for +what could be gathered from the country. General Buell was +unquestionably correct in his view of the matter, but the strong +political reasons for liberating East Tennessee made the President +unwilling to be convinced that it was then impracticable. He, +however, could not furnish the transportation required for the +movement proposed by Fremont, and hesitated to interfere further +with the conduct of military affairs within Buell's territorial +limits. Besides this, Rosecrans's plan had found such favor with the +Secretary of War that it was laid before Fremont with official +approval. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xii. pt, iii. p. 8.] The stripping +of West Virginia of troops to make a column in Kentucky seemed too +hazardous to the government, and Fremont changed his plan so as to +adopt that of Rosecrans with some modifications. + +He proposed to leave General Kelley with sufficient troops to +protect the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and with +Blenker's division (which was taken from the Army of the Potomac and +given to him) to advance from Romney in the valley of the South +Branch of the Potomac, ascending this valley toward the south, +picking up Schenck's and Milroy's brigades in turn, the latter +joining the column at Monterey on the great watershed by way of the +Cheat Mountain pass. From Monterey Fremont purposed to move upon +Staunton, and thence, following the southwestern trend of the +valleys, to the New River near Christiansburg. Here he would come +into communication with me, whose task it would have been to advance +from Gauley Bridge on two lines, the principal one by Fayette and +Raleigh C. H. over Flat-top Mountain to Princeton and the Narrows of +New River, and a subordinate one on the turnpike to Lewisburg. His +plan looked to continuing the march with the whole column to the +southwest, down the Holston valley, till Knoxville should be +reached, the last additions to the force to be from the troops in +the Big-Sandy valley. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. i. +p. 7.] + +General Garfield (then colonel of the Forty-second Ohio) had already +been sent by General Buell with a brigade into the Big-Sandy valley, +and General George W. Morgan was soon to be sent with a division to +Cumberland Gap. Although these were in Fremont's department, the War +Department issued an order that they should continue under General +Buell's command at least until Fremont should by his operations come +into their vicinity and field of work. [Footnote: _Id_, vol. xii. +pt. iii. pp. 14, 119.] They would, of course, co-operate with him +actively if he should reach the Holston valley. When he should form +his junction with me, he expected to supply the whole column from my +depots in the Kanawha valley, and when he reached Knoxville he would +make his base on the Ohio River, using the line of supply he first +suggested, by way of central Kentucky. + +The plan was an improvement upon Rosecrans's in arranging for a +progressive concentration of his forces into one column led by +himself; but it would probably have failed, first, from the +impossibility of supplying the army on the route, and second, +because the railroads east of the mountains ran on routes specially +well adapted to enable the enemy quickly to concentrate any needed +force at Staunton, at Lynchburg, at Christiansburg, or at +Wytheville, to overpower the column. The Union army would be +committed to a whole season of marching in the mountains, while the +Confederates could concentrate the needed force and quickly return +it to Richmond when its work was done, making but a brief episode in +a larger campaign. But the plan was not destined to be thoroughly +tried. Stonewall Jackson, after his defeat by Kimball at Kernstown, +March 23d, had retired to the Upper Shenandoah valley with his +division, numbering about 10,000 men; Ewell, with his division, was +waiting to co-operate with him at the gaps of the Blue Ridge on the +east, and Edward Johnson was near Staunton with a similar force +facing Milroy. In April General N. P. Banks, commanding the National +forces in the Shenandoah valley, had ascended it as far as +Harrisonburg, and Jackson observed him from Swift-Run Gap in the +Blue Ridge, on the road from Harrisonburg to Gordonsville. Milroy +also pushed eastward from Cheat Mountain summit, in which high +region winter still lingered, and had made his way through snows and +rains to McDowell, ten miles east of Monterey, at the crossing of +Bull-Pasture River, where he threatened Staunton. But Banks was +thought to be in too exposed a position, and was directed by the War +Department to fall back to Strasburg. On the 5th of May he had +retired in that direction as far as New-Market. Blenker's division +had not yet reached Fremont, who was waiting for it in Hardy County +at Petersburg. Jackson saw his opportunity and determined to join +General Johnson by a rapid march to Staunton, to overwhelm Milroy +first, and then return to his own operations in the Shenandoah. +Moving with great celerity, he attacked Milroy at McDowell on the +8th, the latter calling upon Fremont for help. Schenck was sent +forward to support him, and reached McDowell after marching +thirty-four miles in twenty-four hours. Jackson had not fully +concentrated his forces, and the Union generals held their ground +and delivered a sharp combat in which their casualties of all kinds +numbered 256, while the Confederate loss was 498, General Johnson +being among the wounded. Schenck, as senior, assumed the command, +and on the 9th began his retreat to Franklin, abandoning the Cheat +Mountain road. Franklin was reached on the 11th, but Jackson +approached cautiously, and did not reach there till the 12th, when, +finding that Fremont had united his forces, he did not attack, but +returned to McDowell, whence he took the direct road to +Harrisonburg, and then marched to attack Banks at Strasburg, Ewell +meeting and joining him in this movement. + +Fremont resumed preparations for his original campaign, but Banks's +defeat deranged all plans, and those of the Mountain Department were +abandoned. A month passed in efforts to destroy Jackson by +concentration of McDowell's, Banks's, and Fremont's troops; but it +was too late to remedy the ill effects of the division of commands +at the beginning of the campaign. On the 26th of June General John +Pope was assigned to command all the troops in northern Virginia, +Fremont was relieved at his own request, and the Mountain Department +ceased to exist. + +My own operations in the Kanawha valley had kept pace with those in +the northern portion of the department. The early days of April were +spent by Fremont in obtaining reports of the condition of the +several parts of his command. My report of the condition of affairs +in the Kanawha valley was made on the 5th of April. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 45.] In it I called +attention to the necessities of my troops and to the equipment +necessary for any extended campaigning. Requisitions for supplies +and transportation had been sent to the proper staff departments +during the winter, but had not yet been filled. My forces consisted +of eleven regiments of Ohio infantry, three new and incomplete +regiments of West Virginia infantry, one regiment of cavalry (the +Second West Virginia) with three separate cavalry troops from other +commands, and, nominally, three batteries of artillery. One of the +batteries was of mountain howitzers, and the other two of mixed +smooth-bore and rifled guns of different calibres. My force at the +opening of the campaign numbered 8500 present for duty. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 121. The regiments of the +command were the 11th, 12th, 23d, 28th, 30th, 34th, 36th, 37th, +44th, 47th Ohio, the 4th, 8th, 9th West Virginia, the 2d West +Virginia Cavalry. Of these the 11th Ohio had only nine companies and +did not get the tenth till the autumn following. The 8th West +Virginia passed from the command before active operations. The +batteries were McMullin's Ohio battery, Simmonds's Kentucky battery, +and a battery of mountain howitzers at Gauley Mount, manned by a +detachment of the 47th Ohio Infantry. Simmonds's company was +originally of the 1st Kentucky Infantry assigned by me to man the +guns I first took into the Kanawha valley, and subsequently +transferred to the artillery service by the Secretary of War. The +guns were two 20-pounder Parrott rifles, five 10-pounder Parrotts, +two bronze 10-pounder rifles altered from 6-pounder smooth-bores, +three bronze and one iron 6-pounder smooth-bores, and ten mountain +howitzers to be packed on mules. Some of these guns were left in +position at posts, and three small field batteries were organized +for the marching columns. Besides the regiment of freshly recruited +West Virginia cavalry, there were Schambeck's Independent troop of +Illinois cavalry, and Smith's (originally Pfau's) Independent troop +of Ohio cavalry, both German troops.] Detachments were at the mouth +of the Big-Sandy River, at Guyandotte, at the mouth of the Kanawha +on the Ohio River, at several points in the Kanawha valley below +Gauley Bridge, at Summersville on the upper Gauley, at Gauley +Bridge, at Gauley Mount or Tompkins farm on New River, and at +Fayette C. H. The last-named post had the only brigade organization +which had been retained in winter quarters, and was commanded by +Colonel Scammon of the Twenty-third Ohio. The post at Summersville +had been brought into my command for the winter, and was garrisoned +by the Thirty-sixth Ohio under Colonel George Crook. At Gauley +Bridge was the Twenty-eighth Ohio (a German regiment), under Colonel +August Moor. + +When the decision of General Fremont to have my command advance on +both sides of the New River was received, I immediately submitted my +plan of organization to that end. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xii. pt. iii. p. 127.] I proposed to leave the West Virginia +Infantry regiments with half the Second West Virginia Cavalry to +guard the Kanawha valley and our depots of supply, with Colonel J. +A. J. Lightburn of the Fourth West Virginia in command. The Ohio +regiments were to be moved forward so that the Eleventh, +Forty-fourth, and Forty-seventh could be quickly concentrated on the +Lewisburg turnpike in front of Gauley Bridge, where Colonel Crook +could join them with the Thirty-sixth by a diagonal road and take +command of this column. I assigned to him a mixed battery of +field-pieces and mountain howitzers. Colonel Scammon's brigade was +to advance from Fayette C. H. to Flat-top Mountain as soon as the +weather would permit, and thus secure the barrier covering our +further movement southward. The brigade consisted of the Twelfth, +Twenty-third, arid Thirtieth Ohio, with McMullin's battery, and one +half the Second Virginia Cavalry. When Scammon advanced, the +remaining Ohio regiments (Twenty-eighth, Thirty-fourth, and +Thirty-seventh), with Simmonds's battery should concentrate at +Fayette C. H. and form a new brigade under Colonel Moor. This +organization was approved by Fremont, and the preliminary steps were +quietly taken. By the 20th of April Scammon's brigade was at +Raleigh, only awaiting the settling of the roads to advance to +Flat-top. A week later he held the passes of the mountain, with a +detachment on the New River at the mouth of the Blue-stone, where he +communicated with the right of Crook's brigade. The front was thus +covered from Summersville to Flat-top Mountain, and the regiments in +rear were moving into their assigned positions. + +My brigade commanders were all men of marked character. Colonel Moor +was a German of portly presence and grave demeanor, a gentleman of +dignity of character as well as of bearing, and a brave, resolute +man. He had been long a citizen of the United States, and had, as a +young man, seen some military service, as was reported, in the +Seminole War in Florida. He was a rigid disciplinarian, and his own +regiment was a model of accuracy in drill and neatness in the +performance of all camp duties. He was greatly respected by his +brother officers, and his square head, with dark, smooth-shaven +face, and rather stern expression, inspired his troops with +something very like awe, insuring prompt obedience to his commands. +At home, in Cincinnati, he was a man of influence among the German +residents, and his daughter was the wife of General Godfrey Weitzel +of the regular army. My association with him was every way agreeable +and satisfactory. + +Colonel Crook was an officer of the regular army who had taken early +advantage of the relaxation of the rule preventing such from +accepting a volunteer appointment. A man of medium size, with light +hair and sandy beard, his manner was rather diffident and shy, and +his whole style quiet and reticent. His voice was light rather than +heavy, and he was so laconic of speech that this, with his other +characteristics, caused it to be commonly said of him that he had +been so long fighting Indians on the frontier that he had acquired +some of their traits and habits. His system of discipline was based +on these peculiarities. He aimed at a stoical command of himself as +the means of commanding others, and avoided noisy bluster of every +sort, going, perhaps, to an excess in brevity of speech and in +enforcing his orders by the consequences of any disobedience. His +subordinates recognized his purpose to be just, and soon learned to +have the greatest confidence in him as a military officer. Unless +common fame did him injustice, he was one of those officers who had, +at the beginning, no deep sympathy with the National cause, and had +no personal objection to the success of the Rebellion. But he was a +Northern man, and an ambitious professional soldier who did not mean +to let political opinions stand in the way of military success. +[Footnote: A romantic story is told of his experience a little +later. He was in command on the Upper Potomac with headquarters at +Cumberland, where he fell in love with the daughter of the +proprietor of the hotel at which he had his headquarters, and whom +he subsequently made his wife. The family was of secession +proclivities, and the son of the house was in the Confederate army. +This young man led a party of the enemy who were able, by his +knowledge of the surroundings of his home, to capture General Crook +in the night, and to carry him away a prisoner without any serious +collision with the troops encamped about. Crook was soon exchanged, +and in the latter part of the war served with distinction as +division commander under Sheridan.] In his case, as in many others, +I believe this attitude was modified by his service under the flag, +and that in 1864 he voted for Mr. Lincoln's re-election; he, with +General Sheridan, casting at the improvised army ballot-box, what +was understood to be their first vote ever cast in a civil election. + +Colonel Lightburn was one of the loyal West Virginians whose +standing and intelligence made him naturally prominent among his +people. He was a worthy man and an honorable officer, whose +knowledge of the country and of the people made him a fit selection +to preserve the peace and protect our communications in the valley +during our forward movement. As his duties thus separated him from +the principal columns, I saw less of him than of the other brigade +commanders. The two West Virginia regiments which remained in the +district were freshly organized, and were distributed in camps where +they could practise company drill and instruction whilst they kept +the country in order. Of Colonel Scammon, my senior brigade +commander, I have already spoken in a former chapter. [Footnote: +_Ante_, pp. 110, 111.] + +Fremont limited our advance to the line of Flat-top Mountain until +he should himself be ready to open the campaign in the north. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 89, 108.] +Blenker's division had been given to him from the Potomac army when +McClellan began his movement to the peninsula, but on the 12th of +April it had only reached Salem, a station on the Manassas Gap +Railway between the Bull-Run Mountains and the Blue Ridge. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 71.] The War Department now sent General +Rosecrans to conduct the division with speed to Fremont, but +extraordinary delays still occurred, and the command did not reach +Fremont at Petersburg till the 11th of May, when he immediately +moved forward with it to the support of Schenck and Milroy at +Franklin. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 168, 177, pt. i. pp. 8, 9.] This +delay was one of a series of misfortunes; for could Fremont have +been at McDowell with this strong reinforcement added to Schenck's +and Milroy's brigades, there can be no reasonable doubt that +Jackson's attack, if delivered at all, would have proven a disaster +for the Confederates. This, however, would not have ensured success +for the general campaign, for Banks might still have been driven +back in the Shenandoah valley, and Fremont's position would have +been compromised. Nothing but a union of the two columns would have +met the situation. + +At the beginning of May, the additional transportation necessary for +my advance beyond Flat-top had not arrived, but we did not wait for +it. [Footnote: ._Id_., pt. iii. pp. 108, 112, 114, 127.] The +regiments were ordered to leave tents behind, and to bivouac without +shelter except such as they could make with "brush," for the +expected shelter tents also were lacking. The whole distance from +the head of navigation to the railroad at Newberne was one hundred +and forty miles. Flat-top Mountain and Lewisburg were, respectively, +about halfway on the two routes assigned to us. Some two thousand of +the enemy's militia were holding the mountain passes in front of us, +and a concentration of the regular Confederate troops was going on +behind them. These last consisted of two brigades under General +Henry Heth, as well as J. S. Williams's and Marshall's brigades, +under General Humphrey Marshall, with the Eighth Virginia Cavalry. +General Marshall appears to have been senior when the commands were +united. Looking south from Flat-top Mountain we see the basin of the +Blue-stone River, which flows northeastward into New River. This +basin, with that of the Greenbrier on the other side of New River, +forms the broadest stretch of cultivated land found between the +mountain ranges, though the whole country is rough and broken even +here. The crest of Flat-top Mountain curves southward around the +headwaters of the Blue-stone, and joins the more regular ranges in +Tazewell County. The straight ridge of East-River Mountain forms a +barrier on the southern side of the basin, more than thirty miles +away from the summit of Flat-top where Scammon's camp was placed on +the road from Raleigh C. H. to Princeton, the county-seat of Mercer. +The Narrows of New River were where that stream breaks through the +mountain barrier I have described, and the road from Princeton to +Giles C. H. passes through the defile. Only one other outlet from +the basin goes southward, and that is where the road from Princeton +to Wytheville passes through Rocky Gap, a gorge of the wildest +character, some thirty miles south-westward from the Narrows. These +passes were held by Confederate forces, whilst their cavalry, under +Colonel W. H. Jenifer, occupied Princeton and presented a +skirmishing resistance to our advance-guard. + +On the 1st of May a small party of the Twenty-third Ohio met the +enemy's horse at Camp Creek, a branch of the Blue-stone, six miles +from the crest of Flat-top, and had a lively engagement, repulsing +greatly superior numbers. On hearing of this, Lieutenant-Colonel R. +B. Hayes marched with part of the Twenty-third Ohio and part of the +West Virginia cavalry, and followed up the enemy with such vigor +that Jenifer was driven through Princeton too rapidly to permit him +to remove the stores collected there. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xii. pt. i. pp. 449, 450.] To avoid their falling into our +hands, Jenifer set fire to the town. Hayes succeeded in saving six +or eight houses, but the rest were destroyed. Jenifer retreated on +the Wytheville road, expecting us to follow by that route; but +Hayes, learning that the Narrows were not strongly held, and being +now reinforced by the rest of his regiment (the Twenty-third), +marched on the 6th to the Narrows which he held, [Footnote: _Id_., +pt. iii. p. 140.] whilst he sent Major Comly with a detachment into +Pearisburg, the county-seat of Giles. [Footnote: James M. Comly, +later Brevet Brigadier-General, and since the war at one time United +States minister to the Sandwich Islands.] The affair at Camp Creek +had cost Jenifer some twenty in killed and wounded, and an equal +number were captured in the advance on Giles C. H. Our casualties +were 1 killed and 20 wounded. Our line, however, was getting too +extended, and the utmost exertions were needed to supply the troops +in their present positions. Princeton, being at the forking of the +roads to Pearisburg and Wytheville, was too important a point to be +left unguarded, and I at once sent forward Colonel Scammon with the +Thirtieth Ohio to hold it. [Footnote: _Id_., p 148.] On the 9th of +May the Twelfth Ohio was put in march from Raleigh to join him, and +Moor's brigade was approaching the last-named place where my +headquarters were, that being the terminus, for the time, of the +telegraph line which kept me in communication with Fremont. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p 157.] The same day +the department commander informed me of the attack by Jackson on +Milroy on the 7th, and ordered me to suspend movements in advance +until my forces should be concentrated. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 158.] +The weather was rainy, and the roads suffered badly from cutting up +by the wagons, but I had hoped to push forward a strong advanced +guard to the great railway bridge near Newberne, and destroy it +before the enemy had time to concentrate there. This made it +necessary to take some risk, for it was not possible to move the +whole command till some supplies could be accumulated at Raleigh and +at Flat-top Mountain. + +As fast as the supplies would permit, Moor went forward, taking no +tents beyond Raleigh, and all of the troops on this line now faced +the continuing rains without shelter. Guerilla parties were set +actively at work by the Confederates in the region of the Guyandotte +and at other points in our rear. Colonel Lightburn was directed to +keep his forces actively moving to suppress these outbreaks, and the +forward movement was pressed. On the 10th of May Heth's two brigades +of the enemy attacked our advance-guard at Pearisburg, and these, +after destroying the enemy's stores, which they had captured there, +retired skirmishing, till they joined Scammon, who had advanced from +Princeton to their support. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 176.] Scammon's +brigade was now together, a mile below the Narrows of New River, +with the East River in front of him, making a strong, defensible +position. The telegraph reached Flat-top Mountain on the 13th, +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 184.] even this being delayed because wagons to +carry the wire could not be spared from the task of supplying the +troops with food. I moved my headquarters to Princeton on this day, +and pressed forward Moor's brigade in the hope of being able to push +again beyond the barrier at the Narrows of New River, where Heth's +brigades had now taken position. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xii. pt. iii. p. 188.] Neither Scammon nor Moor was able to take +with him ammunition enough for more than a slight engagement, nor +was any accumulation of food possible. We were living "from hand to +mouth," no additional transportation had reached us, and every wagon +and pack-mule was doing its best. As fast as Moor's regiments +reached Princeton they were hurried forward to French's Mill, five +miles in rear of Scammon, on the road running up East River, and +intersecting the Wytheville road so as to form a triangle with the +two going from Princeton. During the 14th and 15th Moor's regiments +arrived, and were pushed on to their position, except one half +regiment (detachments of the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-seventh Ohio), +under Major F. E. Franklin, and one troop of cavalry, which were +kept at Princeton as a guard against any effort on the enemy's part +to interrupt our communications. Moor was ordered to send a +detachment up the East River to the crossing of the Wytheville road, +so as to give early warning of any attempt of the enemy to come in +upon our flank from that direction. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. +505.] My purpose was to attack Heth with Scammon's and Moor's +brigades, drive him away from the Narrows of New River, and prevent +him, if possible, from uniting with Marshall's command, which was +understood to be somewhere between Jeffersonville (Tazewell C. H.) +and Wytheville. If we succeeded in beating Heth, we could then turn +upon Marshall. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. pp. 197-199.] + +On the afternoon of the 15th Moor threw a detachment of two +companies over East River Mountain as a reconnoissance to learn +whether the roads in that direction were practicable for a movement +to turn the left of Heth. It attacked and handsomely routed a post +of the enemy on Wolf Creek. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. +pt. ii. p. 505.] The few wagons and pack-mules were hurrying forward +some rations and ammunition; but the 17th would be the earliest +possible moment at which I could lead a general advance. The +telegraph wire would reach Princeton by the evening of that day, and +I waited there for the purpose of exchanging messages with Fremont +before pushing toward Newberne, the expected rendezvous with the +other troops of the department. But all our efforts could not give +us the needed time to anticipate the enemy. They had railway +communication behind a mountain wall which had few and difficult +passes. Marshall and Williams were already marching from Tazewell C. +H. to strike our line of communications at Princeton, and were far +on the way. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p. 199.] + +About noon of the 16th Colonel Moor reported that his detachment on +the Wytheville road was attacked by a force of the enemy estimated +at 1500. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. pp. 505, 509.] This seems to have +been the command of Colonel Wharton, marching to join Marshall, who +was coming from the west by a road down the head-waters of East +River. Of this, however, we were ignorant. I ordered Moor to take +the remainder of his command (leaving half a regiment only at +French's) to drive off the force at the cross-roads, and if he were +overpowered to retreat directly upon Princeton by the western side +of the triangle of roads, of which each side was twelve or fifteen +miles long. Colonel Scammon reported no change in Heth's positions +or force in front of him. Patrols were sent out on all the roads +west and south of Princeton, our little force of horsemen being +limited to Smith's troop of Ohio cavalry which was acting as +headquarters escort. About two o'clock the patrol on the Wyoming +road, five miles out of Princeton, was fired upon by the enemy's +cavalry, and came rapidly in with the report. The four companies of +infantry under Majors Franklin and Ankele were moved out on that +road, and soon developed the infantry of Marshall's command. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 506.] He and +Williams had marched across from the Tazewell to the Wyoming road, +and were coming in upon our flank and rear. I reconnoitred them +personally with care, and satisfied myself of their overwhelming +superiority to the little detachment I had in hand. Franklin and +Ankele were ordered to deploy their whole force as skirmishers and +to hold the enemy back as long as possible. Some of our troopers +were shown on the flanks, and so imposing a show was made that +Marshall advanced cautiously. Our men behaved beautifully, holding +every tree and rock, delaying the enemy for more than three hours +from reaching the crests of the hills looking down upon the town. I +had sent orderlies to stop and turn back our wagon trains on the way +from Flat-top, and had directed headquarters baggage and the few +stores in Princeton to be loaded and sent on the road toward Moor +and Scammon. Our only tents were three or four wall tents for +headquarters (the adjutant-general's, quartermaster's, and +commissary's offices), and these I ordered to be left standing to +impose upon the enemy the idea that we did not mean to retire. As +evening approached, the hostile force occupied the summits of +surrounding hills, and directing the infantry slowly to fall back +and follow me, I galloped with my staff to bring back Scammon and +restore our broken communications. At French's, twelve miles from +Princeton, I found that Moor had not had time to execute the orders +of the afternoon, and that ten companies from the Twenty-eighth and +Thirty-seventh Ohio were all that he had been able to send to +Wytheville road crossing. These, we learned later in the night, had +succeeded in re-occupying the cross-roads. They were ordered to hold +fast till morning, and if the enemy still appeared to be mainly at +Princeton, to march in that direction and attack them from the rear. +Scammon was ordered to send half a regiment to occupy Moor's +position at French's during the night, and to march his whole +command at daybreak toward Princeton. There was but one and a half +regiments now with Moor, and these were roused and ordered to +accompany me at once on our return to Princeton. It was a dark and +muddy march, and as we approached the town we deployed skirmishers +in front, though they were obliged to move slowly in the darkness. +Day was just breaking as we came out of the forest upon the +clearing, line of battle was formed, and the troops went forward +cheering. The enemy made no stubborn resistance, but retired +gradually to a strong position on rough wooded hills about a mile +from the village, where they covered both the Wytheville and the +Wyoming road. They had artillery on both flanks, and could only be +reached over open and exposed ground. We recovered our headquarters +tents, standing as we had left them. We had captured a few prisoners +and learned that Marshall and Williams were both before us. Whilst +pushing them back, Lieutenant-Colonel Von Blessingh with the ten +companies of Moor's brigade approached on the Wytheville road and +attacked; but the enemy was aware of their approach and repulsed +them, having placed a detachment in a very strong position to meet +them. Von Blessingh withdrew his men, and later joined the command +by a considerable detour. With less than two regiments in hand, and +with the certainty of the enemy's great superiority, there was +nothing for it but to take the best position we could and await +Scammon's arrival. We made as strong a show of force as possible, +and by skirmishing advances tempted the enemy to come down to +attack; but he also was expecting reinforcements, and a little +artillery firing was the only response we provoked. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. pp. 506, 507.] As some evidence +of the physical exhaustion from the continuous exertions of the +preceding day and night, I may mention the fact that during the +artillery firing I threw myself for a little rest on the ground, +close beside the guns; and though these were firing at frequent +intervals, I fell asleep and had a short but refreshing nap almost +within arm's length of the wheels of a gun-carriage. + +Toward evening Scammon arrived with his brigade, reporting that +Heth's force had followed his retiring movement as far as French's, +and confirming the information that four brigades of the enemy were +before us. Shortly after dark the officer of the day, on the right, +reported the noise of artillery marching around that flank. Our last +day's rations had been issued, and our animals were without forage. +Small parties of the enemy had gone far to our rear and cut the +telegraph, so that we had had no news from the Kanawha valley for +two days. The interruption was likely to create disturbance there +and derange all our plans for supply. It was plain that we should +have to be content with having foiled the enemy's plan to inflict a +severe blow upon us, and that we might congratulate ourselves that +with two brigades against four we had regained our line without +serious loss. I therefore ordered that the troops be allowed to rest +till three o'clock in the morning of the 18th, and that the column +then retire behind the Blue-stone River. The movement was made +without interruption, and a camp on Flat-top Mountain was selected, +from which the roads on every side were well guarded, and which was +almost impregnable in itself. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p. 209.] +Our casualties of all kinds in the affairs about Princeton had been +only 113, as the enemy had not delivered any serious attack, and the +contest on our side had been one of manoeuvre in which our only +chance of important results was in attacking either Heth or Marshall +when they were so far separated that they could not unite against us +on the field of battle. After the 15th this chance did not exist, +and wisdom dictated that we should retire to a safe point from which +we could watch for contingencies which might give us a better +opportunity. Our experience proved what I have before stated, that +the facility for railway concentration of the enemy in our front +made this line a useless one for aggressive movements, as they could +always concentrate a superior force after they received the news of +our being in motion. It also showed the error of dividing my forces +on two lines, for had Crook's brigade been with me, or my two +brigades with him, we should have felt strong enough to cope with +the force which was actually in our front, and would at least have +made it necessary for the enemy to detach still more troops from +other movements to meet us. Our campaign, though a little one, very +well illustrates the character of the subordinate movements so often +attempted during the war, and shows that the same principles of +strategy are found operating as in great movements. The scale is a +reduced one, but cause and effect are linked by the same necessity +as on a broader theatre of warfare. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +POPE IN COMMAND--TRANSFER TO WASHINGTON + + +A key position--Crook's engagement at Lewisburg--Watching and +scouting--Mountain work--Pope in command--Consolidation of +Departments--Suggestions of our transfer to the East--Pope's Order +No. II and Address to the Army--Orders to march across the +mountains--Discussion of them--Changed to route by water and +rail--Ninety-mile march--Logistics--Arriving in Washington--Two +regiments reach Pope--Two sent to Manassas--Jackson captures +Manassas--Railway broken--McClellan at Alexandria--Engagement at +Bull Run Bridge--Ordered to Upton's Hill--Covering +Washington--Listening to the Bull Run battle--Ill news travels fast. + + +Our retreat to Flat-top Mountain had been made without loss of +material, except one baggage-wagon, which broke down irreparably, +and was burned by my order. At the crossing of Blue-stone River we +were beyond the junction of roads by which our flank could be +turned, and we halted there as the end of the first march. As the +men forded the stream, the sun broke through the clouds, which had +been pretty steadily raining upon us, the brass band with the +leading brigade struck up the popular tune, "Aren't you glad to get +out of the wilderness?" and the soldiers, quick to see the humorous +application of any such incident, greeted it with cheers and +laughter. All felt that we were again masters of the situation. Next +day we moved leisurely to the mountain summit, a broad undulating +table-land with some cultivated farms, where our camp was perfectly +hidden from sight, whilst we commanded a most extensive view of the +country in front. Outposts at the crossing of the Blue-stone and at +Pack's Ferry on New River, with active scouting-parties and patrols +scouring the country far and wide, kept me fully informed of +everything occurring near us. We had time to organize the new +wagon-trains which were beginning to reach us, and, while waiting +till Fremont could plan new co-operative movements, to prepare for +our part in such work. + +The camp on Flat-top Mountain deserved the name of a "key point" to +the country in front as well, perhaps, as that much abused phrase +ever is deserved. [Footnote: Clausewitz says of the phrases +"covering position," "key of the country," etc., that they are for +the most part mere words without sense when they indicate only the +material advantage which is given by the elevation of the land. "On +War," part ii. chap. xvii.] The name of the mountain indicates its +character. The northern slope is gentle, so that the approach from +Raleigh C. H. is not difficult, whilst the southern declivity falls +off rapidly to the Blue-stone valley. The broad ridge at the summit +is broken into rounded hills which covered the camp from view, +whilst they still permitted manoeuvre to meet any hostile approach. +The mountain abutted on the gorge of the New River on the northeast, +and stretched also southwestward into the impracticable wilderness +about the headwaters of the Guyandotte and the Tug Fork of Sandy. +The position was practically unassailable in front by any force less +than double our own, and whilst we occupied it the enemy never +ventured in force beyond the passes of East River Mountain. We built +a flying-bridge ferry at Pack's, on New River, near the mouth of the +Blue-stone, where a passable road up the valley of the Greenbrier +connected us with Colonel Crook's position at Lewisburg. The post at +Pack's Ferry was held by a detachment from Scammon's brigade in +command of Major Comly of the Twenty-third Ohio. On the 6th of +August a detachment of the enemy consisting of three regiments and a +section of artillery under Colonel Wharton made an effort to break +up the ferry by an attack from the east side, but they accomplished +nothing. Major Comly was quickly supported by reinforcements from +Scammon's brigade, and drove off his assailants. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 127; pt. iii. pp. 541, 542.] + +I have not yet spoken of the movements of Colonel Crook's brigade on +the Lewisburg route, because circumstances so delayed his advance +that it had no immediate relation to our movements upon Pearisburg +and Princeton. As the march of my own column was beginning, General +Fremont, upon information of guerilla raids north of Summersville, +directed that Crook be sent into Webster County to co-operate with +troops sent southward from Weston to destroy the lawless parties. +This involved a march of more than seventy miles each way, and +unforeseen delays of various kinds. Two of the guerillas captured +were tried and convicted of murder, and Colonel Crook was obliged to +remain in that region to protect the administration of justice till +the execution of the murderers and the dispersion of the guerilla +bands. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 127, 159.] The organization and +movement of his brigade upon Lewisburg was by this means put back so +far that his column could not get within supporting distance of +mine. He reached Lewisburg on the day of our affair at Princeton. He +had been energetic in all his movements, but the diversion of parts +of his command to so distant an enterprise as that into Webster +County had been fatal to co-operation. The Confederate General Heth +had been able to neglect the Lewisburg route and to carry his +brigade to the assistance of Marshall in his opposition to my +advance. As it turned out, I should have done better to have waited +at Flat-top Mountain till I knew that Crook was at Lewisburg, and +then to have made a fresh combination of movements. Our experience +only added another to the numerous proofs the whole campaign +furnished, of the futility of such combined operations from distant +bases, + +Major-General Loring took command of all the Confederate forces in +southwestern Virginia on the 19th or 20th of May, and Heth was +already in march to oppose Crook's forward movement. On the 23d +Heth, with some 3000 men, including three batteries of artillery, +attacked Crook at Lewisburg, soon after daybreak in the morning. +Crook met him in front of the town, and after a sharp engagement +routed him, capturing four cannon, some 200 stand of arms and 100 +prisoners. His own loss was 13 killed and 53 wounded, with 7 +missing. He did not think it wise to follow up the retreating enemy, +but held a strong position near Lewisburg, where his communications +were well covered, and where he was upon the same range of highlands +on which we were at Flat-top, though fifty miles of broken country +intervened. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. pp. +804-813.] Meanwhile Fremont had been ordered to Banks's relief, and +had been obliged to telegraph me that we must be left to ourselves +till the results of the Shenandoah campaign were tested. [Footnote: +_Id_., pt. iii. p. 264.] Rumors were rife that after Jackson retired +from Fremont's front at Franklin, Johnson's division was ordered to +march into our part of West Virginia. We were thus thrown, +necessarily, into an expectant attitude, awaiting the outcome of +Fremont's eastward movement and the resumption of his plans. Our men +were kept busy in marching and scouting by detachments, putting down +guerilla bands and punishing disorders. They thus acquired a power +of sustained exertion on foot which proved afterward of great value. + +There was, in a way, a resemblance in our situation and in our work +to that of feudal chiefs in the middle ages. We held a lofty and +almost impregnable position, overlooking the country in every +direction. The distant ridges of the Alleghanies rose before us, the +higher peaks standing out in the blue distance, so that we seemed to +watch the mountain passes fifty miles away without stirring from our +post. The loyal people about us formed relations to us not unlike +those of the feudal retainers of old. They worked their farms, but +every man had his rifle hung upon his chimney-piece, and by day or +by night was ready to shoulder it and thread his way by paths known +only to the natives, to bring us news of open movement or of secret +plots among the Secessionists. They were organized, also, in their +own fashion, and every neighborhood could muster its company or its +squad of home-guards to join in quelling seditious outbreaks or in +strengthening a little column sent against any of the enemy's +outposts. No considerable hostile movement was possible within a +range of thirty miles without our having timely notice of it. The +smoke from the camp-fires of a single troop of horse could be seen +rising from the ravines, and detachments of our regiments guided by +the native scouts would be on the way to reconnoitre within an hour. +Officers as well as men went on foot, for they followed ridges where +there was not even a bridle-path, and depended for safety, in no +small degree, on their ability to take to the thickets of the +forest-clad hillside if they found themselves in the presence of a +body of the Confederate cavalry. Thirty miles a day was an easy +march for them after they had become hardened to their work, and +taking several days together they could outmarch any cavalry, +especially when they could take "short cuts" over hills and away +from travelled roads. They knew at what farms they could find +"rations," and where were the hostile neighborhoods from which +equally enterprising scouts would glide away to carry news of their +movements to the enemy. At headquarters there was a constant going +and coming. Groups of home-guards were nearly always about, as +picturesque in their homely costume as Leather-stocking himself, and +many of our officers and men were hardly less expert as woodsmen. +Constant activity was the order of the day, and the whole command +grew hardy and self-reliant with great rapidity. + +General Pope was, on the 26th of June, assigned to command the Army +of Virginia, including the forces under McDowell and Banks as well +as those in the Mountain Department. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 435.] Fremont was relieved from command at his +own request, and the Mountain Department ceased to exist. [Footnote: +_Id_., p. 437.] Pope very wisely determined to unite in one army +under his own command as many as possible of the troops reporting to +him, and meanwhile directed us to remain on the defensive. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 471.] I ventured on the 3d of July to suggest +by telegraph that my division would make a useful reinforcement to +his active army in the field, and reiterated it on the 5th, with +some explanation of my views. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 451, 457.] I +indicated Fayetteville and Hawk's Nest as points in front of Gauley +Bridge where moderate garrisons could cover the valley defensively, +as I had done in the preceding year. Getting no answer, I returned +to the subject on the 13th. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 471.] Pope, +however, did not issue his address upon assuming active command till +the 14th, when his much ridiculed manifesto to the army appeared. +[Footnote: He had announced his assignment and his headquarters at +Washington on June 27 (_Id_., p. 436), but he now issued the address +as he was about to take the field (_Id_., p. 473).] Since the war +General Pope has himself told me that this, as well as the other +orders issued at that time and which were much criticised, were +drafted under the dictation, in substance, of Mr. Stanton, the +Secretary of War. He admitted that some things in them were not +quite in good taste; but the feeling was that it was desirable to +infuse vigor into the army by stirring words, which would by +implication condemn McClellan's policy of over-caution in military +matters, and over-tenderness toward rebel sympathizers and their +property. The Secretary, as he said, urged such public declarations +so strongly that he did not feel at liberty to resist. They were +unfairly criticised, and were made the occasion of a bitter and +lasting enmity toward Pope on the part of most of the officers and +men of the Potomac Army. It seems that Mr. Lincoln hesitated to +approve the one relating to the arrest of disloyal persons within +the lines of the army, and it was not till Pope repeated his sense +of the need of it that the President yielded, on condition that it +should be applied in exceptional cases only. It was probably +intended more to terrify citizens from playing the part of spies +than to be literally enforced, which would, indeed, have been hardly +possible. No real severity was used under it, but the Confederate +government made it the occasion of a sort of outlawry against Pope +and his army. [Footnote: It is only fair to recollect that in the +following year Halleck found it necessary to repeat in substance +Pope's much abused orders, and Meade, who then commanded the Potomac +Army, issued a proclamation in accordance with them. (Official +Records, vol. xxvii. pt. i. p. 102; pt. iii. p. 786.) For Pope's +submission of Order No. 11 to Mr. Lincoln and the limitation placed +on it, see _Id_., vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 500, 540. For general +military law on the subject, see Birkhimer's "Military Government +and Martial Law," chap. viii. For the practice of the Confederates, +see the treatment of the Hon. George Summers, chap. xix. _post_.] +Only two days later he issued an order against pillaging or +molestation of persons and dwellings, as stringent as any one could +wish. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 573.] + +On the 5th of August Pope suggested to Halleck that I should be +ordered to leave about 2500 men intrenched near Gauley Bridge, and +march with the remainder of my command (say nine regiments) by way +of Lewisburg, Covington, Staunton, and Harrisonburg to join him. +Halleck replied that it was too much exposed, and directed him to +select one more in the rear. Pope very rightly answered that there +was no other route which would not make a great circuit to the rear. +Halleck saw that Jackson's army near Charlottesville with a probable +purpose of turning Pope's right flank might make a junction +impossible for me, and stated the objection, but concluded with +authority to Pope to order as he deemed best, "but with caution." +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 534, 540, 543.] + +On the 8th of August Pope telegraphed me, accordingly, to march by +way of Lewisburg, Covington, Warm Springs, and Augusta Springs to +Harrisonburg, and there join him by shortest route. He indicated +Winchester or Romney as my secondary aim if I should find the +junction with him barred. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 460, 462, 551.] This +route avoided Staunton, but by so short a distance that it was +scarcely safer, and the roads to be travelled were much harder and +longer. At this time several detachments of considerable size were +out, chasing guerilla parties and small bodies of Confederate +troops, and assisting in the organization or enlistment of Union +men. The movement ordered could not begin for several days, and I +took advantage of the interval to lay before General Pope, by +telegraph, the proof that the march would take fifteen days of +uninterrupted travel through a mountainous region, most of it a +wilderness destitute of supplies, and with the enemy upon the flank. +Besides this there was the very serious question whether the Army of +Virginia would be at Charlottesville when I should approach that +place. On the other hand, my calculation was that we could reach +Washington in ten days or less, by way of the Kanawha and Ohio +rivers to Parkersburg, and thence by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad +to the capital. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xiii. pt. iii. pp. 555, 559.] +My dispatches were submitted to General Halleck, and on the 11th of +August General Pope telegraphed a modified assent to my suggestions. +He directed that 5000 men should remain in West Virginia under my +command, and the remainder proceed to Washington by river and rail. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xiii. pt. iii. p. 560.] An +incursion of the enemy's cavalry into Logan County on my right and +rear was at the moment in progress, and we used great activity in +disposing of it, so that the change in our dispositions might not be +too quickly known to our adversaries nor have the appearance of +retreat. [Footnote: I at one time supposed that the orders to march +across the country originated with General Halleck, but the Official +Records of the War fix the history of the matter as is above +stated.] + +It is a natural wish of every soldier to serve with the largest army +in the most important campaign. The order to remain with a +diminished command in West Virginia was a great disappointment to +me, against which I made haste to protest. On the 13th I was +rejoiced by permission to accompany my command to the East. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 567, 570.] Preliminary orders had already been +given for making Fayetteville and Hawk's Nest the principal advanced +posts in the contracted operations of the district, with Gauley +Bridge for their common depot of supply and point of concentration +in case of an advance of the enemy in force. I organized two small +brigades and two batteries of artillery for the movement to +Washington. Colonels Scammon and Moor, who were my senior colonels, +were already in command of brigades, and Colonel Lightburn was in +command of the lower valley. The arrangement already existing +practically controlled. Scammon's brigade was unchanged, and in +Moor's the Thirty-sixth Ohio under Crook and the Eleventh were +substituted for the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-fourth. The +organization therefore was as follows; namely, First Brigade, +Colonel Scammon commanding, consisted of the Twelfth, Twenty-third, +and Thirtieth Ohio and McMullin's Ohio Battery; Second Brigade, +Colonel Moor commanding, consisted of the Eleventh, Twenty-eighth, +and Thirty-sixth Ohio and Simmonds's Kentucky Battery. One troop of +horse for orderlies and headquarters escort, and another for similar +service, with the brigades, also accompanied us. The regiments left +in the Kanawha district were the Thirty-fourth, Thirty-seventh, +Forty-fourth, and Forty-seventh Ohio, the Fourth and Ninth West +Virginia Infantry, the Second West Virginia Cavalry, a battery, and +some incomplete local organizations. Colonel J. A. J. Lightburn of +the Fourth West Virginia was in command as senior officer within the +district. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 567, +570; vol. li. pt. i. pp. 738, 742, 754.] + +Portions of the troops were put in motion on the 14th of August, and +a systematic itinerary was prepared for them in advance. [Footnote: +_Id_., vol. li. pt. i. p. 738.] They marched fifty minutes, and then +rested the remaining ten minutes of each hour. The day's work was +divided into two stages of fifteen miles each, with a long rest at +noon, and with a half day's interval between the brigades. The +weather was warm, but by starting at three o'clock in the morning +the heat of the day was reserved for rest, and they made their +prescribed distance without distress and without straggling. They +went by Raleigh C. H. and Fayetteville to Gauley Bridge, thence down +the right bank of the Kanawha to Camp Piatt, thirteen miles above +Charleston. The whole distance was ninety miles, and was covered +easily in the three days and a half allotted to it. [Footnote: +_Id_., vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 629.] The fleet of light-draft +steamboats which supplied the district with military stores was at +my command, and I gave them rendezvous at Camp Piatt, where they +were in readiness to meet the troops when the detachments began to +arrive on the 17th. In the evening of the 14th I left the camp at +Flat-top with my staff and rode to Raleigh C. H. On the 15th we +completed the rest of the sixty miles to Gauley Bridge. From that +point I was able to telegraph General Meigs, the +Quartermaster-General at Washington, that I should reach +Parkersburg, the Ohio River terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio +Railroad, on the evening of the 20th, and should need railway +transportation for 5000 men, two batteries of six guns each, 1100 +horses, 270 wagons, with camp equipage and regimental trains +complete, according to the army regulations then in force. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 577, 619, 629; +vol. li. p. 754.] + +At Gauley Bridge I met Colonel Lightburn, to whom I turned over the +command of the district, and spent the time, whilst the troops were +on the march, in completing the arrangements both for our +transportation and for the best disposition of the troops which were +to remain. The movement of the division was the first in which there +had been a carefully prepared effort to move a considerable body of +troops with wagons and animals over a long distance within a +definitely fixed time, and it was made the basis of the calculations +for the movement of General Hooker and his two corps from Washington +to Tennessee in the next year. It thus obtained some importance in +the logistics of the war. The president of the railway put the +matter unreservedly into the hands of W. P. Smith, the master of +transportation; Mr. P. H. Watson, Assistant Secretary of War, +represented the army in the management of the transfer, and by thus +concentrating responsibility and power, the business was simplified, +and what was then regarded as a noteworthy success was secured. The +command could have moved more rapidly, perhaps, without its wagons +and animals, but a constant supply of these was needed for the +eastern army, and it was wise to take them, for they were organized +into trains with drivers used to their teams and feeling a personal +interest in them. It turned out that our having them was a most +fortunate thing, for not only were the troops of the Army of the +Potomac greatly crippled for lack of transportation on their return +from the peninsula, but we were able to give rations to the Ninth +Army Corps after the battle of Antietam, when the transportation of +the other divisions proved entirely insufficient to keep up the +supply of food. + +From the head of navigation on the Kanawha to Parkersburg on the +Ohio was about one hundred and fifty miles; but the rivers were so +low that the steamboats proceeded slowly, delayed by various +obstacles and impediments, At Letart's Falls, on the Ohio, the water +was a broken rapid, up which the boats had to be warped one at a +time, by means of a heavy warp-line made fast to the bank and +carried to the steam-capstan on the steamer. At the foot of +Blennerhassett's Island there was only two feet of water in the +channel, and the boats dragged themselves over the bottom by +"sparring," a process somewhat like an invalid's pushing his +wheel-chair along by a pair of crutches. But everybody worked with a +will, and on the 21st the advanced regiments were transferred to the +railway cars at Parkersburg, according to programme, and pulled out +for Washington. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. +619, 629.] These were the Thirty-sixth Ohio, Colonel Crook, and the +Thirtieth Ohio, Colonel Ewing. They passed through Washington to +Alexandria, and thence, without stopping, to Warrenton, Virginia, +where they reported at General Pope's headquarters. [Footnote: +_Id_., pp. 636, 637, 668, 676.] The Eleventh Ohio +(Lieutenant-Colonel Coleman) and Twelfth (Colonel White), with +Colonel Scammon commanding brigade, left Parkersburg on the 22d, +reaching Washington on the 24th. One of them passed on to +Alexandria, but the other (Eleventh Ohio) was stopped in Washington +by reason of a break in Long Bridge across the Potomac, and marched +to Alexandria the next day. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. +pt. iii. pp. 650, 677.] The last of the regiments (Twenty-eighth +Ohio, Colonel Moor, and Twenty-third, Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes), +with the artillery and cavalry followed, and on the 26th all the men +had reached Washington, though the wagons and animals were a day or +two later in arriving. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 698.] + +In Washington I reported to the Secretary of War, and was received +with a cordiality that went far to remove from my mind the +impression I had got from others, that Mr. Stanton was abrupt and +unpleasant to approach. Both on this occasion and later, he was as +affable as could be expected of a man driven with incessant and +importunate duties of state. In the intervals of my constant visits +to the railway offices (for getting my troops and my wagons together +was the absorbing duty) I found time for a hurried visit to +Secretary Chase, and found also my friend Governor Dennison in the +city, mediating between the President and General McClellan with the +good-will and diplomatic wisdom which peculiarly marked his +character. I had expected to go forward with three regiments to join +General Pope on the evening of the 26th; but Colonel Haupt, the +military superintendent of railways at Alexandria, was unable to +furnish the transportation by reason of the detention of trains at +the front. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 625, 677.] Lee's flank movement +against Pope's army had begun, and as the latter retreated all the +railway cars which could be procured were needed to move his stores +back toward Washington. On the afternoon of the 26th, however, +arrangements had been made for moving the regiments at Alexandria +early next morning. [Footnote: _Ibid_, and pp. 678, 679.] The wagons +and animals were near at hand, and I ordered Colonel Moor with the +Twenty-eighth Ohio to march with them to Manassas as soon as they +should be unloaded from the railway trains. But during the night +occurred a startling change in the character of the campaign which +upset all our plans and gave a wholly unexpected turn to my own part +in it. + +About nine o'clock in the evening Colonel Haupt received at +Alexandria the information that the enemy's cavalry had attacked our +great depot of supplies at Manassas Junction. The telegrapher had +barely time to send a message, break the connection of the wires, +and hurry away to escape capture. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xii. pt. iii. p. 680.] It was naturally supposed to be only a +cavalry raid, but the interruption of communication with Pope in +that crisis was in itself a serious mishap. The first thing to be +done was to push forward any troops at hand to protect the railway +bridge over Bull Run, and by authority of the War Department Colonel +Haupt was authorized to send forward, under Colonel Scammon, the +Eleventh and Twelfth Ohio without waiting to communicate with me. +They were started very early in the morning of the 27th, going to +support a New Jersey brigade under General George W. Taylor which +had been ordered to protect the Bull Run bridge. [Footnote: C. W., +vol. i. pp. 379, 381.] Ignorant of all this, I was busy on Wednesday +morning (27th), trying to learn the whereabouts of the trains with +my wagon teams, which had not yet reached Washington, and reported +the situation as to my command to the Assistant Secretary of War, +Mr. Watson. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 698.] +I then learned of Scammon's sudden movement to the front, and of the +serious character of the enemy's movement upon Manassas. I marched +at once with the two regiments still in Washington, expecting to +follow the rest of the command by rail as soon as we should reach +Alexandria. Arriving there, I hastened to the telegraph office at +the railway station, where I found not only Colonel Haupt, but +General McClellan, who had come from Fortress Monroe the night +before. Of the Army of the Potomac, Heintzelman's and Porter's corps +were already with Pope, Franklin's was at Alexandria, and Sumner's +was beginning to arrive. As soon as it was known at the War +Department that McClellan was present, General Halleck's +correspondence was of course with him, and we passed under his +orders. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 688, +689, 691.] It had already been learned that 'Stonewall' Jackson was +with infantry as well as cavalry at Manassas, and that the Bull Run +bridge had been burned, our troops being driven back three or four +miles from it. McClellan thought it necessary to organize the two +corps at Alexandria and such other troops as were there, including +mine, first to cover that place and Washington in the possible +contingency that Lee's whole army had interposed between General +Pope and the capital, and, second, to open communication with Pope +as soon as the situation of the latter could be learned. Couch's +division was still at Yorktown, and orders had been issued by +Halleck to ship 5000 new troops there to relieve Couch and allow his +veteran division to join the Potomac Army. [Footnote: _Id_., p. +689.] + +McClellan directed me to take the two regiments with me into camp +with Franklin's corps at Annandale, three miles in front of +Alexandria, and to obey Franklin's orders if any emergency should +occur. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 692.] I found, at the +post-quartermaster's office, an officer who had served in West +Virginia a year before, and by his hearty and efficient good-will +secured some supplies for the regiments with me during the days that +were yet to pass before we got our own trains and could feel that we +had an assured means of living and moving in an independent way. We +bivouacked by the roadside without shelter of any sort, enveloped in +dense clouds of dust from the marching columns of the Army of the +Potomac, their artillery and wagons, as they passed and went into +camp just in front of us. About noon, on Thursday (28th), Colonel +Scammon joined me with the two regiments he had taken toward +Manassas, and we learned the particulars of the sharp engagement he +had at the railway bridge. + +The train carrying the troops approached the bridge over Bull Run +about eight o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, and Colonel Scammon +immediately pushed forward the Twelfth Ohio (Colonel White) to the +bridge itself and the bank of the stream. He met the New Jersey +brigade of four regiments coming back in confusion and panic. The +commander, General Taylor, had taken position on the west side of +the creek, covering the bridge; but he had no artillery, and though +his advance was made with great spirit (as Jackson recognized in his +report [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 644.] ), +his lines had been subjected to a heavy artillery fire from the +batteries of A. P. Hill's and Jackson's own divisions, and broke, +retreating in disorder to the eastern side of the stream. General +Taylor himself fell severely wounded whilst trying to rally them. It +was at this moment that Scammon reached the field with the Twelfth +Ohio. He had heard the artillery fire, but little or no musketry, +and was astonished at seeing the retreat. He sent his +adjutant-general, Lieutenant Robert P. Kennedy, [Footnote: Member of +Congress (1890), and recently Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio.] to +communicate with General Taylor and to try to rally the fugitives. +Meanwhile he ordered Colonel White to line the bank of the creek +with his men and try to protect the bridge structure. Kennedy found +General Taylor in a litter being carried to the rear, and the +general, though in anguish from his wound, was in great mental +distress at the rout of his men. He begged every one to rally the +flying troops if possible, and sent his own adjutant-general, +Captain Dunham, to turn over the general command to Scammon. All +efforts to rally the panic-stricken brigade were fruitless, and +Scammon resisted the advance of Hill's division through nearly a +whole day with the two regiments alone. A Lieutenant Wright of the +Fourth New Jersey, with ten men, reported to Colonel Scammon and +begged assignment in the line. Their names are honorably enrolled in +Scammon's report, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. p. +407.] and these, with Captain Dunham, did heroic service, but were +all of the brigade that took any further part in the fight. Dunham +succeeded in rallying a portion of the brigade later in the day, but +too late to enter the engagement. + +Taking advantage of the bridges near the stream, Scammon kept his +men covered from the artillery fire as well as possible, driving +back with his volleys every effort to pass by the bridge or to ford +the stream in his front. Hill moved brigades considerably to right +and left, and attempted to surround White and the Twelfth Ohio. But +Coleman, with the Eleventh, had come up in support, and Scammon +ordered him to charge on the enemy's right, which was passing +White's left flank. Coleman did so in splendid style, driving his +foe before him, and crossing the bridge to the west side. The odds, +however, were far too great where a brigade could attack each +regiment of ours and others pass beyond them, so that Scammon, +having fully developed the enemy's force, had to limit himself to +delaying their advance, retiring his little command in echelon from +one ridge to another, as his wings were threatened. This he did with +perfect coolness and order, maintaining the unequal struggle without +assistance till about half-past three in the afternoon. The enemy's +efforts now relaxed, and Scammon withdrew at leisure to a position +some three miles from the bridge. Hill still showed a disposition to +surround the detachment by manoeuvres, and Scammon retired toward +Annandale in the night. He himself underestimated the enemy's force +in infantry, which Jackson's report puts at "several brigades." +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 644.] His loss in +the two Ohio regiments was 106 in killed, wounded, and missing. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 262.] Those of the New Jersey brigade are not +reported. The combat was a most instructive military lesson, +teaching what audacity and skill may do with a very small force in +delaying and mystifying a much larger one, which was imposed upon by +its firm front and its able handling. + +Some of Scammon's wounded being too badly hurt to be removed, he +detailed a surgeon to remain with them and care for them till they +should be exchanged or otherwise brought within our lines. This +surgeon was taken to Jackson's headquarters, where he was questioned +as to the troops which had held the Confederates at bay. General J. +E. B. Stuart was with Jackson, and on the surgeon's stating that the +fighting during most of the day had been by the two Ohio regiments +alone, Stuart's racy expressions of admiration were doubly +complimentary as coming from such an adversary, and, when repeated, +were more prized by the officers and men than any praise from their +own people. [Footnote: The history of this engagement was currently +published with curious inaccuracies. Even Mr. Ropes in his "Campaign +under Pope" does not seem to have seen the Official Records on our +side, and supposed that Taylor's brigade was all that was engaged. +See Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. pp. 405-411; also pt. iii. +pp. 698, 699; also C. W., vol. i. pp. 379-382.] + +Toward evening on Thursday, a thunderstorm and gale of wind came up, +adding greatly to the wretched discomfort of the troops for the +moment, but making the air clearer and laying the dust for a day or +two. I found partial shelter with my staff, on the veranda of a +small house which was occupied by ladies of the families of some +general officers of the Potomac Army, who had seized the passing +opportunity to see their husbands in the interval of the campaign. +We thought ourselves fortunate in getting even the shelter of the +veranda roof for the night. On Friday morning (29th), Captain Fitch, +my quartermaster, was able to report his train and baggage safe at +Alexandria, and we were ready for any service. Orders came from +General McClellan during the forenoon to move the four regiments now +with me into Forts Ramsey and Buffalo, on Upton's and Munson's +hills, covering Washington on the direct road to Centreville by +Aqueduct Bridge, Ball's Cross-Roads, and Fairfax C. H. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 712, 726. For this he had +Halleck's authority, in view of the danger of cavalry raids into the +city. _Id_., p. 722.] General McClellan had established his +headquarters on Seminary Ridge beyond the northern outskirts of +Alexandria, and after putting my command in motion I rode there to +get fuller instructions from him as to the duty assigned me. His +tents were pitched in a high airy situation looking toward the +Potomac on the east; indeed he had found them a little too airy in +the thunder-squall of the previous evening which had demolished part +of the canvas village. It must have been about noon when I +dismounted at his tent. The distant pounding of artillery had been +in our ears as we rode. It was Pope's battle with Jackson along the +turnpike between Bull Run and Gainesville and on the heights above +Groveton, thirty miles away. + +[Illustration: Map] + +General Franklin had ridden over from Annandale and was with +McClellan receiving his parting directions under the imperative +orders which Halleck had sent to push that corps out to Pope. +McClellan's words I was not likely to forget. "Go," he said, "and +whatever may happen, don't allow it to be said that the Army of the +Potomac failed to do its utmost for the country." McClellan then +explained to me the importance of the position to which I was +ordered. The heights were the outer line of defence of Washington on +the west, which had been held at one time, a year before, by the +Confederates, who had an earthwork there, notorious for a while +under the camp name of "Fort Skedaddle." From them the unfinished +dome of the Capitol was to be seen, and the rebel flag had flaunted +there, easily distinguishable by the telescopes which were daily +pointed at it from the city. McClellan had little expectation that +Pope would escape defeat, and impressed upon me the necessity of +being prepared to cover a perhaps disorderly retreat within the +lines. Some heavy artillery troops (Fourth New York Heavy Artillery) +were in garrison at one of the forts, and these with the forces at +Falls Church were ordered to report to me. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 726.] Assuring me that he would soon +visit me in my new quarters, McClellan dismissed me, and I galloped +forward to overtake my troops. + +I found the position of the forts a most commanding one, overlooking +the country in every direction. Westward the ground sloped away from +us toward Fairfax Court House and Centreville. Northward, in a +pretty valley, lay the village of Falls Church, and beyond it a +wooded ridge over which a turnpike road ran to Vienna and on to +Leesburg. Behind us was the rolling country skirting the Potomac, +and from Ball's Cross-Roads, a mile or two in rear, a northward road +led to the chain bridge above Georgetown, whilst the principal way +went directly to the city by the Aqueduct Bridge. Three knolls +grouped so as to command these different directions had been crowned +with forts of strong profile. The largest of these, Fort Ramsey, on +Upton's Hill was armed with twenty-pounder Parrott rifles, and the +heavy-artillery troops occupied this work. I had a pair of guns of +the same kind and calibre in my mixed battery, and these with my +other field artillery were put in the other forts. Lines of infantry +trench connected the works and extended right and left, and my four +regiments occupied these. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. li. pt. +i. pp. 777, 779; vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 176.] A regiment of cavalry +(Eighth Illinois, joined later by the Eighth Pennsylvania) was +ordered to report to me, and this, with Schambeck's squadron which +had come with me, made a cavalry camp in front of Falls Church and +picketed and patrolled the front. [Footnote: See my order assigning +garrisons to the forts. Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 771.] + +We pitched our headquarters tents on Upton's Hill, just in rear of +Fort Ramsey, and had a sense of luxury in "setting our house in +order" after the uncomfortable experience of our long journey from +West Virginia. The hurry of startling events in the past few days +made our late campaign in the mountains seem as far away in time as +it was in space. We were now in the very centre of excitement, and +had become a very small part of a great army. The isolation and the +separate responsibility of the past few months seemed like another +existence indefinitely far away. I lost no time in making a rapid +ride about my position, studying its approaches in the gathering +twilight and trying to fix in mind the leading features of the +topography with their relation to the possible retreat of our army +and advance of the enemy. And all the while the rapid though muffled +thumping of the distant cannon was in our ears, coming from the +field in front of Groveton, where Lee, having now united his whole +army against Pope, was sending part of Longstreet's divisions +against McDowell's corps along the Warrenton turnpike. + +On Saturday the 30th ambulances began coming through our lines with +wounded men, and some on foot with an arm in a sling or bandages +upon the head were wearily finding their way into the city. All such +were systematically questioned, their information was collated and +corrected, and reports were made to General Halleck and General +McClellan. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 405; +pt. iii. pp. 748, 789; vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 170; vol. li. pt. i. p. +777.] The general impression of all undoubtedly was that the +engagement of Friday had been victorious for our army, and that the +enemy was probably retreating at dark. During the day the cannonade +continued with occasional lulls. It seemed more distant and fainter, +requiring attentive listening to hear it. This was no doubt due to +some change in the condition of the atmosphere; but we naturally +interpreted it according to our wishes, and believed that the +success of Friday was followed by the pursuit of the enemy. About +four o'clock in the afternoon the distant firing became much more +rapid; at times the separate shots could not be counted. I +telegraphed to McClellan the fact which indicated a crisis in the +battle. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 748.] It +was the fierce artillery duel which preceded the decisive advance of +Longstreet against Pope's left wing. This was the decisive +turning-point in the engagement, and Pope was forced to retreat upon +Centreville. + +Early in the evening all doubt was removed about the result of the +battle. Ill news travels fast, and the retreat toward us shortened +the distance to be travelled. But as Sumner's and Franklin's corps +had gone forward and would report to Pope at Centreville, we were +assured that Pope was "out of his scrape" (to use the words of +McClellan's too famous dispatch to the President [Footnote: _Id_., +vol. xi. pt. i. p. 98.] ), and that the worst that could now happen +would be the continuance of the retreat within our lines. The combat +at Chantilly on the evening of September 1st was the last of Pope's +long series of bloody engagements, and though the enemy was +repulsed, the loss of Generals Kearny and Stevens made it seem to us +like another disaster. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +RETREAT WITHIN THE LINES--REORGANIZATION--HALLECK AND HIS +SUBORDINATES + + +McClellan's visits to my position--Riding the lines--Discussing the +past campaign--The withdrawal from the James--Prophecy--McClellan +and the soldiers--He is in command of the defences--Intricacy of +official relations--Reorganization begun--Pope's army marches +through our works--Meeting of McClellan and Pope--Pope's +characteristics--Undue depreciation of him--The situation when +Halleck was made General-in-Chief--Pope's part in it--Reasons for +dislike on the part of the Potomac Army--McClellan's secret +service--Deceptive information of the enemy's force--Information +from prisoners and citizens--Effects of McClellan's illusion as to +Lee's strength--Halleck's previous career--Did he intend to take +command in the field?--His abdication of the field command--The +necessity for a union of forces in Virginia--McClellan's inaction +was Lee's opportunity--Slow transfer of the Army of the +Potomac--Halleck burdened with subordinate's work--Burnside twice +declines the command--It is given to McClellan--Pope relieved--Other +changes in organization--Consolidation--New campaign begun. + + +On Sunday, the 31st, McClellan rode over to Upton's Hill and spent +most of the day with me. He brought me a copy of the McDowell map of +the country about Washington, the compilation of which had been that +officer's first work at the beginning of hostilities. It covered the +region to and beyond the Bull Run battlefield, and although not +wholly accurate, it was approximately so, and was the only authority +relied upon for topographical details of the region. McClellan's +primary purpose was to instruct me as to the responsibilities that +might fall upon me if the army should be driven in. A day or two +later I received formal orders to prepare to destroy buildings in +front within my lines of artillery fire, and to be ready to cover +the retreat of our army should any part be driven back near my +position. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 802, +805.] All this, however, had been discussed with McClellan himself. +We rode together over all the principal points in the neighborhood, +and he pointed out their relation to each other and to positions on +the map which we did not visit. The discussion of the topography led +to reminiscences of the preceding year,--of the manner in which the +enemy had originally occupied these hills, and of their withdrawal +from them,--of the subsequent construction of the forts and +connecting lines, who occupied them all, and the system of mutual +support, of telegraphic communication, and of plans for defence in +case of attack. + +McClellan had received me at Alexandria on the 27th with all his old +cordiality, and had put me at once upon our accustomed footing of +personal friendship. On my part, there was naturally a little +watchfulness not to overstep the proper line of subordination or to +be inquisitive about things he did not choose to confide to me; but, +this being assumed, I found myself in a circle where he seemed to +unbosom himself with freedom. I saw no interruption in this while I +remained in the Potomac Army. He was, at this time, a little +depressed in manner, feeling keenly his loss of power and command, +but maintaining a quiet dignity that became him better than any show +of carelessness would have done. He used no bitter or harsh language +in criticising others. Pope and McDowell he plainly disliked, and +rated them low as to capacity for command; but he spoke of them +without discourtesy or vilification. I think it necessary to say +this because of the curious sidelight thrown on his character by the +private letters to his wife which have since been published in his +"Own Story," and of which I shall have more to say. Their +inconsistency with his expressions and manner in conversation, or at +least their great exaggeration of what he conveyed in familiar talk, +has struck me very forcibly and unpleasantly. + +He discussed his campaign of the peninsula with apparent unreserve. +He condemned the decision to recall him from Harrison's Landing, +arguing that the one thing to do in that emergency was to reinforce +his army there and make it strong enough to go on with its work and +capture Richmond. He said that if the government had lost confidence +in his ability to conduct the campaign to a successful end, still it +was unwise to think of anything else except to strengthen that army +and give it to some one they could trust. He added explicitly, "If +Pope was the man they had faith in then Pope should have been sent +to Harrison's Landing to take command, and however bitter it would +have been, I should have had no just reason to complain." He +predicted that they would yet be put to the cost of much life and +treasure to get back to the position left by him. + +On Monday, September 1st, he visited me again, and we renewed our +riding and our conversation. The road from his headquarters +encampment near Alexandria to Upton's Hill was a pleasant one for +his "constitutional" ride, and my position was nearest the army in +front where news from it would most likely be first found. The Army +of the Potomac had all passed to the front from Alexandria, and +according to the letter of the orders issued, he was wholly without +command; though Halleck personally directed him to exercise +supervision over all detachments about the works and lines. He came +almost alone on these visits, an aide and an orderly or two being +his only escort. Colonel Colburn of his staff was usually his +companion. He wore a blue flannel hunting-shirt quite different from +the common army blouse. It was made with a broad yoke at the neck, +and belt at the waist, the body in plaits. He was without sash or +side arms, or any insignia of rank except inconspicuous +shoulder-straps. On this day he was going into Washington, and I +rode down with him to the bridge. Bodies of troops of the new levies +were encamped at different points near the river. In these there +seemed to be always some veterans or officers who knew the general, +and the men quickly gathered in groups and cheered him. He had a +taking way of returning such salutations. He went beyond the formal +military salute, and gave his cap a little twirl, which with his bow +and smile seemed to carry a little of personal good fellowship even +to the humblest private soldier. If the cheer was repeated, he would +turn in his saddle and repeat the salute. It was very plain that +these little attentions to the troops took well, and had no doubt +some influence in establishing a sort of comradeship between him and +them. They were part of an attractive and winning deportment which +adapted itself to all sorts and ranks of men. + +On Tuesday he came a little later in the day, and I noticed at once +a change in his appearance. He wore his yellow sash with sword and +belt buckled over it, and his face was animated as he greeted me +with "Well, General, I am in command again!" I congratulated him +with hearty earnestness, for I was personally rejoiced at it. I was +really attached to him, believed him to be, on the whole, the most +accomplished officer I knew, and was warmly disposed to give him +loyal friendship and service. He told me of his cordial interview +with President Lincoln, and that the latter had said he believed him +to be the only man who could bring organized shape out of the chaos +in which everything seemed then to be. The form of his new +assignment to duty was that he was to "have command of the +fortifications of Washington, and of all the troops for the defence +of the capital." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. +807.] The order was made by the personal direction of the President, +and McClellan knew that Secretary Stanton did not approve of it. +General Halleck seemed glad to be rid of a great responsibility, and +accepted the President's action with entire cordiality. Still, he +was no doubt accurate in writing to Pope later that the action was +that of the President alone without any advice from him. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 820.] McClellan was +evidently and entirely happy in his personal relation to things. He +had not been relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac, +though the troops had passed temporarily to Pope's army. As +commandant of all within the defences, his own army reported to him +directly when they came within our lines. Pope's army of northern +Virginia would, of course, report through its commander, and +Burnside's in a similar way. The first thing to be done was to get +the army in good condition, to strengthen its corps by the new +regiments which were swarming toward the capital, and to prepare it +for a new campaign. McClellan seemed quite willing to postpone the +question who would command when it took the field. Of the present he +was sure. It was in his own hands, and the work of reorganization +was that in which his prestige was almost sure to increase. This +attitude was plainly shown in all he said and in all he hinted at +without fully saying it. + +Halleck had already directed Pope to bring the army within the +fortifications, though the latter had vainly tried to induce him to +ride out toward Centreville, to see the troops and have a +consultation there before determining what to do. [Footnote: _Id_., +p. 796.] We were therefore expecting the head of column to approach +my lines, and I arranged that we should be notified when they came +near. McClellan had already determined to put the corps and +divisions of the Army of the Potomac in the works, at positions +substantially the same as they had occupied a year before,--Porter +near Chain Bridge, Sumner next, Franklin near Alexandria, etc. I was +directed to continue in the position I already occupied, to be +supported by part of McDowell's corps. + +About four o'clock McClellan rode forward, and I accompanied him. We +halted at the brow of the hill looking down the Fairfax road. The +head of the column was in sight, and rising dust showed its position +far beyond. Pope and McDowell, with the staff, rode at the head. +Their uniform and that of all the party was covered with dust, their +beards were powdered with it; they looked worn and serious, but +alert and self-possessed. When we met, after brief salutations, +McClellan announced that he had been ordered to assume command +within the fortifications, and named to General Pope the positions +the several corps would occupy. This done, both parties bowed, and +the cavalcade moved on. King's division of McDowell's corps was the +leading one, General Hatch, the senior brigadier, being in command +by reason of King's illness. Hatch was present, near Pope, when +McClellan assumed command, and instantly turning rode a few paces to +the head of his column and shouted, "Boys, McClellan is in command +again; three cheers!" The cheers were given with wild delight, and +were taken up and passed toward the rear of the column. Warm friend +of McClellan as I was, I felt my flesh cringe at the unnecessary +affront to the unfortunate commander of that army. But no word was +spoken. Pope lifted his hat in a parting salute to McClellan and +rode quietly on with his escort. [Footnote: General Hatch had been +in command of the cavalry of Banks's corps up to the battle of Cedar +Mountain, when he was relieved by Pope's order by reason of +dissatisfaction with his handling of that arm of the service. His +assignment to a brigade of infantry in King's division was such a +reduction of his prominence as an officer that it would not be +strange if it chafed him.] + +McClellan remained for a time, warmly greeted by the passing troops. +He then left me, and rode off toward Vienna, northward. According to +my recollection, Colonel Colburn was the only member of his staff +with him; they had a small cavalry escort. My understanding also was +that they proposed to return by Chain Bridge, avoiding the crowding +of the road on which they had come out, and on which McDowell's +corps was now moving. In his "Own Story" McClellan speaks of going +in that direction to see the situation of Sumner's troops, supposed +to be attacked, and intimates a neglect on Pope's part of a duty in +that direction. I am confident he is mistaken as to this, and that I +have given the whole interview between him and Pope. The telegraphic +connection with my headquarters was such that he could learn the +situation in front of any part of the line much more promptly there +than by riding in person. Lee did not pursue, in fact, beyond +Fairfax C. H. and Centreville, and nothing more than small bodies of +cavalry were in our vicinity. I had kept scouting-parties of our own +cavalry active in our front, and had also collected news from other +sources. On the 1st of September I had been able to send to army +headquarters authentic information of the expectation of the +Confederate army to move into Maryland, and every day thereafter +added to the evidence of that purpose, until they actually crossed +the Potomac on the 5th. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. +ii. pp. 404, 405; vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 170; vol. li. pt. i. p. 777.] + +Hatch's division was put into the lines on my left with orders to +report to me in case of attack. Patrick's brigade of that division +was next day placed near Falls Church in support of my cavalry, +reporting directly to me. My two regiments which had been with Pope +rejoined the division, and made it complete again. The night of the +2d was one in which I was on the alert all night, as it was probable +the enemy would disturb us then if ever; but it passed quietly. A +skirmish in our front on the Vienna road on the 4th was the only +enlivening event till we began the campaign of South Mountain and +Antietam on the 6th. + +Pope's proposed reorganization of his army, [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 810.] which would have put me with +most of Sigel's corps under Hooker, was prevented by a larger change +which relieved him of command and consolidated his army with that of +the Potomac on September 5th. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 813.] I had a +very slight acquaintance with Pope at the beginning of the war, but +no opportunity of increasing it till he assumed command in Virginia +and I reported to him as a subordinate. The events just sketched had +once more interfered with my expected association with him, and I +did not meet him again till long afterward. Then I came to know him +well. His wife and the wife of my intimate friend General Force were +sisters, and in Force's house we often met. He was then broken in +health and softened by personal afflictions. [Footnote: Mrs. Pope +and Mrs. Force were daughters of the Hon. V. B. Horton, of Pomeroy, +Ohio, a public man of solid influence and character, and prominent +in the development of the coal and salt industries of the Ohio +valley. I leave the text as I wrote it some years before General +Pope's death. Since he died, the friendship of our families has +culminated in a marriage between our children.] His reputation in +1861 was that of an able and energetic man, vehement and positive in +character, apt to be choleric and even violent toward those who +displeased him. I remember well that I shrunk a little from coming +under his immediate orders through fear of some chafing, though I +learned in the army that choleric commanders, if they have ability, +are often warmly appreciative of those who serve them with soldierly +spirit and faithfulness. No one who had any right to judge +questioned Pope's ability or his zeal in the National cause. His +military career in the West had been a brilliant one. The necessity +for uniting the columns in northern Virginia into one army was +palpable; but it was a delicate question to decide who should +command them. It seems to have been assumed by Mr. Lincoln that the +commander must be a new man,--neither Fremont, McDowell, nor Banks. +The reasons were probably much the same as those which later brought +Grant and Sheridan from the West. + +Pope's introduction to the Eastern army, which I have already +mentioned, was an unfortunate one; but neither he nor any one else +could have imagined the heat of partisan spirit or the lengths it +would run. No personal vilification was too absurd to be credited, +and no characterization was too ridiculous to be received as true to +the life. It was assumed that he had pledged himself to take +Richmond with an army of 40,000 men when McClellan had failed to do +so with 100,000. His defeat by Lee was taken to prove him +contemptible as a commander, by the very men who lauded McClellan +for having escaped destruction from the same army. There was neither +intelligence nor consistency in the vituperation with which he was +covered; but there was abundant proof that the wounded _amour +propre_ of the officers and men of the Potomac Army made them +practically a unit in intense dislike and distrust of him. It may be +that this condition of things destroyed his possibility of +usefulness at the East; but it would be asking too much of human +nature (certainly too much of Pope's impetuous nature) to ask him to +take meekly the office of scapegoat for the disastrous result of the +whole campaign. His demand on Halleck that he should publish the +approval he had personally given to the several steps of the +movements and combats from Cedar Mountain to Chantilly was just, but +it was imprudent. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. +pp. 812, 821.] Halleck was irritated, and made more ready to +sacrifice his subordinate. Mr. Lincoln was saddened and embarrassed; +but being persuaded that Pope's usefulness was spoiled, he swallowed +his own pride and sense of justice, and turned again to McClellan as +the resource in the emergency of the moment. + +Pope seems to me entirely right in claiming that Jackson's raid to +Manassas was a thing which should have resulted in the destruction +of that column. He seems to have kept his head, and to have prepared +his combinations skilfully for making Jackson pay the penalty of his +audacity. There were a few hours of apparent hesitation on August +28th, but champions of McClellan should be the last to urge that +against him. His plans were deranged on that day by the accident of +McDowell's absence from his own command. This happened through an +excess of zeal on McDowell's part to find his commander and give him +the benefit of his knowledge of the topography of the country; yet +it proved a serious misfortune, and shows how perilous it is for any +officer to be away from his troops, no matter for what reason. Many +still think Porter's inaction on the 29th prevented the advantage +over Jackson from becoming a victory. [Footnote: I have treated this +subject at large in "The Second Battle of Bull Run as connected with +the Fitz-John Porter Case."] But after all, when the army was united +within our lines, the injuries it had inflicted on the enemy so +nearly balanced those it had received that if Grant or Sherman had +been in Halleck's place, Lee would never have crossed the Potomac +into Maryland. McClellan, Pope, and Burnside would have commanded +the centre and wings of the united and reinforced army, and under a +competent head it would have marched back to the Rappahannock with +scarcely a halt. + +That Halleck was in command was, in no small measure, Pope's own +work. He reminded Halleck of this in his letter of September 30th, +written when he was chafing under the first effects of his removal. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. pp. 816, etc.] "If +you desire," said he, "to know the personal obligation to which I +refer, I commend you to the President, the Secretary of War, or any +other member of the administration. Any of these can satisfy your +inquiries." This means that he had, before the President and the +cabinet, advocated putting Halleck in supreme command over himself +and McClellan to give unity to a campaign that would else be +hopelessly broken down. McClellan was then at Harrison's Landing, +believing Lee's army to be 200,000 strong, and refusing to listen to +any suggestion except that enormous reinforcements should be sent to +him there. He had taught the Army of the Potomac to believe +implicitly that the Confederate army was more than twice as numerous +as it was in fact. With this conviction it was natural that they +should admire the generalship which had saved them from +annihilation. They accepted with equal faith the lessons which came +to them from headquarters teaching that the "radicals" at Washington +were trying for political ends to destroy their general and them. In +regard to the facts there were varying degrees of intelligence among +officers and men; but there was a common opinion that they and he +were willingly sacrificed, and that Pope, the radical, was to +succeed him. This made them hate Pope, for the time, with holy +hatred. If the army could at that time have compared authentic +tables of strength of Lee's army and their own, the whole theory +would have collapsed at once, and McClellan's reputation and +popularity with it. They did not have the authentic tables, and +fought for a year under the awful cloud created by a blundering +spy-system. + +The fiction as to Lee's forces is the most remarkable in the history +of modern wars. Whether McClellan was the victim or the accomplice +of the inventions of his "secret service," we cannot tell. It is +almost incredible that he should be deceived, except willingly. I +confess to a contempt for all organizations of spies and detectives, +which is the result of my military experience. The only spies who +long escape are those who work for both sides. They sell to each +what it wants, and suit their wares to the demand. Pinkerton's man +in the rebel commissariat at Yorktown who reported 119,000 rations +issued daily, laughed well in his sleeve as he pocketed the secret +service money. [Footnote: For Pinkerton's reports, see Official +Records, vol. xi. pt. i. pp. 264-272.] + +A great deal of valuable information may be got from a hostile +population, for few men or women know how to hold their tongues, +though they try never so honestly. A friendly population overdoes +its information, as a rule. I had an excellent example of this in +the Kanawha valley. After I had first advanced to Gauley Bridge, the +Secessionists behind me were busy sending to the enemy all they +could learn of my force. We intercepted, among others, a letter from +an intelligent woman who had tried hard to keep her attention upon +the organization of my command as it passed her house. In counting +my cannon, she had evidently taken the teams as the easiest units to +count, and had set down every caisson as a gun, with the +battery-forge thrown in for an extra one. In a similar way, every +accidental break in the marching column was counted as the head of a +new regiment. She thus, in perfect good faith, doubled my force, and +taught me that such information to the enemy did them more harm than +good. + +As to the enemy's organization and numbers, the only information I +ever found trustworthy is that got by contact with him. No day +should pass without having some prisoners got by "feeling the +lines." These, to secure treatment as regular prisoners of war, must +always tell the company and regiment to which they belong. Rightly +questioned, they rarely stop there, and it is not difficult to get +the brigade, division, etc. The reaction from the dangers with which +the imagination had invested capture, to the commonly good-humored +hospitality of the captors, makes men garrulous of whom one would +not expect it. General Pope's chief quartermaster, of the rank of +colonel, was captured by Stuart's cavalry in this very campaign; and +since the war I have read with amazement General Lee's letters to +President Davis, to the Secretary of War at Richmond, and to General +Loring in West Virginia, dated August 23d, in which he says: +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. pp. 940-941.] +"General Stuart reports that General Pope's chief quartermaster, who +was captured last night, positively asserts that Cox's troops are +being withdrawn by the way of Wheeling." Of course Lee suggests the +importance of "pushing things" in the Kanawha valley. Stuart thus +knew my movement on the day I left Parkersburg. + +Even when the captured person tells nothing he is bound to conceal, +enough is necessarily known to enable a diligent provost-marshal to +construct a reasonably complete roster of the enemy in a short time. +In the Atlanta campaign I always carried a memorandum book in which +I noted and corrected all the information of this sort which came to +me, and by comparing this with others and with the lists at General +Sherman's headquarters, there was no difficulty in keeping well up +in the enemy's organization. It may therefore be said that every +commanding officer ought to know the divisions and brigades of his +enemy. The strength of a brigade is fairly estimated from the +average of our own, for in people of similar race and education, the +models of organization are essentially the same, and subject to the +same causes of diminution during a campaign. Such considerations as +these leave no escape from the conclusion that McClellan's estimates +of Lee's army were absolutely destructive of all chances of success, +and made it impossible for the President or for General Halleck to +deal with the military problem before them. That he had continued +this erroneous counting for more than a year, and through an active +campaign in the field, destroyed every hope of correcting it. The +reports of the peninsular campaign reveal, at times, the difficulty +there was in keeping up the illusion. The known divisions in the +Confederate army would not account for the numbers attributed to +them, and so these divisions occasionally figure in our reports as +"grand divisions." [Footnote: In his dispatch to Halleck on the +morning after South Mountain (September 15), D. H. Hill's division +is called a corps. Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 294.] That +the false estimate was unnecessary is proven by the fact that +General Meigs, in Washington, on July 28th, made up an estimate from +the regiments, brigades, etc., mentioned in the newspapers that got +through the lines, which was reasonably accurate. But McClellan held +Meigs for an enemy. [Footnote: General Meigs found ninety regiments +of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, and five batteries of +artillery designated by name in the "Confederate" newspaper reports +of the seven days' battles. Comparing this with other information +from similar sources, he concluded that Lee had about one hundred +and fifty regiments. These, at 700 men each, would make 105,000, or +at 400 (which he found a full average) the gross of the infantry +would be 60,000. General Webb, with official documents before him, +puts it at 70,000 to 80,000. Does one need better evidence how much +worse than useless was McClellan's secret service? See Official +Records, vol. xi. pt. iii. p. 340.] When I joined McClellan at +Washington, I had no personal knowledge of either army except as I +had learned it from the newspapers. My predilections in favor of +McClellan made me assume that his facts were well based, as they +ought to have been. I therefore accepted the general judgment of +himself and his intimate friends as to his late campaign and Pope's, +and believed that his restoration to command was an act of justice +to him and of advantage to the country. I did not stay long enough +with that army to apply any test of my own to the question of +relative numbers, and have had to correct my opinions of the men and +the campaigns by knowledge gained long afterward. I however used +whatever influence I had to combat the ideas in McClellan's mind +that the administration meant to do him any wrong, or had any end +but the restoration of National unity in view. + +Whether Halleck was appointed on Pope's urgent recommendation or no, +his campaign in the West was the ground of his promotion. The +advance from the Ohio to Fort Donelson, to Nashville, to Shiloh, and +to Corinth had been under his command, and he deservedly had credit +for movements which had brought Kentucky and Tennessee within the +Union lines. He had gone in person to the front after the battle of +Shiloh, and though much just criticism had been made of his slow +digging the way to Corinth by a species of siege operations, he had +at any rate got there. Mr. Lincoln was willing to compromise upon a +slow advance upon Richmond, provided it were sure and steady. +Halleck's age and standing in the army were such that McClellan +himself could find no fault with his appointment, if any one were to +be put over him. + +Everything points to the expectation, at the time of his +appointment, that Halleck would assume the personal command in the +field. He visited McClellan at Harrison's Landing on July 25th, +however, and promised him that if the armies should be promptly +reunited, he (McClellan) should command the whole, with Burnside and +Pope as his subordinates. [Footnote: McC. Own Story, p. 474; +Official Records, vol. xi. pt. iii. p. 360.] That he did not inform +Pope of this abdication of his generalship in the field is plain +from Pope's correspondence during the campaign. It is made +indisputably clear by Pope's letter to him of the 25th of August. +[Footnote: _Id_., vol. xii. pt. ii. pp. 65, 66.] He probably did not +tell the President or Mr. Stanton of it. He seems to have waited for +the union of the parts of the army, and when that came his prestige +was forever gone, and he had become, what he remained to the close +of the war, a bureau officer in Washington. He had ordered the +transfer of the Potomac Army from the James to Acquia Creek, +intending to unite it with Burnside's at Falmouth, opposite +Fredericksburg, and thus begin a fresh advance from the line of the +Rappahannock. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. p. 5; +vol. xi. pt. i. pp. 80-84; _Id_., pt. iii. p. 337.] He believed, and +apparently with reason, that ten days was sufficient to complete +this transfer with the means at McClellan's disposal, but at the end +of ten days the movement had not yet begun. [Footnote: The order was +given August 3; the movement began August 14. _Id_., pt. i. pp. 80, +89.] He was right in thinking that the whole army should be united. +McClellan thought the same. The question was where and how. +McClellan said, "Send Pope's men to me." Halleck replied that it +would not do to thus uncover Washington. McClellan had said that +vigorous advance upon the enemy by his army and a victory would best +protect the capital. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xii. pt. ii. pp. 9, 10.] +Again he was right, but he seemed incapable of a vigorous advance. +Had he made it when he knew (on July 30) that Jackson had gone +northward with thirty thousand men to resist Pope's advance, his +army would not have been withdrawn. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xi. pt. +iii. p. 342.] He was then nearly twice as strong as Lee, but he did +not venture even upon a forced reconnoissance. The situation of the +previous year was repeated. He was allowing himself to be besieged +by a fraction of his own force. Grant would have put himself into +the relation to McClellan which he sustained to Meade in 1864, and +would have infused his own energy into the army. Halleck did not do +this. It would seem that he had become conscious of his own lack of +nerve in the actual presence of an enemy, and looked back upon his +work at St. Louis in administering his department, whilst Grant and +Buell took the field, with more satisfaction than upon his own +advance from Shiloh to Corinth. He seemed already determined to +manage the armies from his office in Washington and assume no +responsibility for their actual leadership. + +When the Army of the Potomac was arriving at Alexandria, another +crisis occurred in which a single responsible head in the field was +a necessity. McClellan had been giving a continuous demonstration, +since August 4th, how easy it is to thwart and hinder any movement +whilst professing to be accomplishing everything that is possible. +No maxim in war is better founded in experience than that a man who +believes that a plan is sure to fail should never be set to conduct +it. McClellan had written that Pope would be beaten before the Army +of the Potomac could be transferred to him, and Pope was beaten. +[Footnote: Halleck to McClellan, August 10 and 12, and McClellan's +reply: Official Records, vol. xi. pt. i. pp. 86-88. See also O. S., +p. 466.] The only chance for any other result was for Halleck +himself to conduct the transfer. If Halleck meant that Franklin +should have pushed out to Manassas on the 27th of August, he should +have taken the field and gone with the corps. He did not know and +could not know how good or bad McClellan's excuses were, and nothing +but his own presence, with supreme power, could certainly remove the +causes for delay. He wrote to Pope that he could not leave +Washington, when he ought not to have been in Washington. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xii. pt. iii. p. 797.] He worked and worried +himself ill trying to make McClellan do what he should have done +himself, and then, overwhelmed with details he should never have +burdened himself with, besought his subordinate to relieve him of +the strain by practically taking command. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 691; +vol. xi. pt. i. p. 103.] + +As soon as McClellan began the movement down the James, Lee took +Longstreet's corps to Jackson, leaving only D. H. Hill's at +Richmond. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. pp. 177, 552.] From that moment +McClellan could have marched anywhere. He could have marched to +Fredericksburg and joined Pope, and Halleck could have met them with +Burnside's troops. But the vast imaginary army of the Confederacy +paralyzed everything, and the ponderous task of moving the Army of +the Potomac and its enormous material by water to Washington went +on. The lifeless and deliberate way in which it went on made it the +1st of September when Sumner and Franklin reached Centreville, and +the second battle of Bull Run had ended in defeat on the evening +before. + +But the army was at last reunited, within the fortifications of +Washington, it is true, and not on the James or on the line of the +Rappahannock. There was another opportunity given to Halleck to put +himself at its head, with McClellan, Pope, and Burnside for his +three lieutenants. Again he was unequal to his responsibility. Mr. +Lincoln saw his feebleness, and does not seem to have urged him. +Halleck was definitely judged in the President's mind, though the +latter seems to have clung to the idea that he might be useful by +allowing him to assume the role he chose, and confine himself to +mere suggestions and to purely routine work. Pope's unpopularity +with the army was adopted by popular clamor, which always finds a +defeated general in the wrong. The President, in real perplexity, +compromised by assigning McClellan to command for the purpose of +organizing, a work in which he was admitted by all to be able. The +command in the field was a second time offered to Burnside, who +declined it, warmly advocating McClellan's claims and proving his +most efficient friend. [Footnote: C. W., vol. i. p. 650.] Within +three days from the time I had ridden with McClellan to meet the +retreating army, the enemy had crossed the Potomac, and decision +could not be postponed. The President met McClellan, and told him in +person that he was assigned to command in the field. [Footnote: +_Id_., p. 453; Official Records, vol. xi. pt. i. p. 103.] + +On the 5th of September Halleck had sent to McClellan a confidential +note, telling of the President's action relieving Pope, and +anticipating the issue of formal orders: [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 182.] "The President has directed that +General Pope be relieved and report to the War Department; that +Hooker be assigned to command of Porter's corps, and that Franklin's +corps be temporarily attached to Heintzelman's. The orders will be +issued this afternoon. Generals Porter and Franklin are to be +relieved from duty till the charges against them are examined. I +give you this memorandum in advance of orders, so that you may act +accordingly in putting forces in the field." Later in the same day +Halleck sent to McClellan the opinion that the enemy was without +doubt crossing the Potomac, and said, "If you agree with me, let our +troops move immediately." The formal order to Pope was: "The armies +of the Potomac and Virginia being consolidated, you will report for +orders to the Secretary of War." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 183.] Pope had +caused charges to be preferred against Porter and Franklin, and had +accused McClellan of wilfully delaying reinforcements and so causing +his defeat. His indignation that the interpretation of affairs given +by McClellan and his friends should be made into public opinion by +the apparent acquiescence of Halleck and the administration overcame +his prudence. Had he controlled his feelings and schooled himself +into patience, he would hardly have been relieved from active +service, and his turn would probably have come again. As it stood, +the President saw that McClellan and Pope could not work together, +and the natural outcome was that he retired Pope, so that McClellan +should not have it to say that he was thwarted by a hostile +subordinate. McClellan himself was so manifestly responsible for +Franklin's movements from the 27th to the 30th of August, that it +was a matter of course that when the chief was assigned to command +the condonation should cover the subordinate, and at McClellan's +request Franklin was allowed to take the field at once. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 190, 197.] A few days later +he urged the same action in Porter's case, and it was done. Porter +joined the army at South Mountain on the 14th of September. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 190, 254, 289.] The same principle demanded +that McDowell, who was obnoxious to McClellan, should be relieved, +and this was also done. As an ostensible reason for the public, +McDowell's request for a Court of Inquiry upon his own conduct was +assumed to imply a desire to be relieved from the command of his +corps. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 188, 189, 197.] But the court was not +assembled till the next winter. McDowell had been maligned almost as +unscrupulously as Pope. A total abstainer from intoxicating drinks, +he was persistently described as a drunkard, drunken upon the field +of battle. One of the most loyal and self-forgetting of +subordinates, he was treated as if a persistent intriguer for +command. A brave and competent soldier, he was believed to be +worthless and untrustworthy. As between Halleck, McClellan, and +Pope, the only one who had fought like a soldier and manoeuvred like +a general was sent to the northwestern frontier to watch the petty +Indian tribes, carrying the burden of others' sins into the +wilderness. Mr. Lincoln's sacrifice of his sense of justice to what +seemed the only expedient in the terrible crisis, was sublime. +McClellan commanded the army, and Porter and Franklin each commanded +a corps. If the country was to be saved, confidence and power could +not be bestowed by halves. + +In his "Own Story" McClellan speaks of the campaign in Maryland as +made "with a halter round his neck," [Footnote: O. S., p. 551.] +meaning that he had no real command except of the defences of +Washington, and that he marched after Lee without authority, so +that, if unsuccessful, he might have been condemned for usurpation +of command. It would be incredible that he adopted such a mere +illusion, if he had not himself said it. It proves that some at +least of the strange additions to history which he thus published +had their birth in his own imagination brooding over the past, and +are completely contradicted by the official records. [Footnote: This +illusion, at least, is shown to be of later origin by his telegram +to his wife of September 7. "I leave here this afternoon," he says, +"to take command of the troops in the field. The feeling of the +government towards me, I am sure, is kind and trusting. I hope, with +God's blessing, to justify the great confidence they now repose in +me, and will bury the past in oblivion." O. S., p. 567.] The +consolidation of the armies under him was, in fact, a promotion, +since it enlarged his authority and committed to him the task that +properly belonged to Halleck as general-in-chief. For a few days, +beginning September 1st, McClellan's orders and correspondence were +dated "Headquarters, Washington," because no formal designation had +been given to the assembled forces at the capital. When he took the +field at Rockville on the 8th of September, he assumed, as he had +the right to do in the absence of other direction from the War +Department, that Burnside's and Pope's smaller armies were lost in +the larger Army of the Potomac by the consolidation, and resumed the +custom of dating his orders and dispatches from "Headquarters, Army +of the Potomac," from the command of which he had never been +removed, even when its divisions were temporarily separated from +him. [Footnote: On August 31st Halleck had written to him, "You will +retain the command of everything in this vicinity not temporarily +belonging to Pope's army in the field;" and in the general order +issued August 30, McClellan's command of the Army of the Potomac is +affirmed. Official Records, vol. xi. pt. i. p. 103; _Id_., vol. li. +pt. i. p. 775.] The defences of Washington were now entrusted to +Major-General Banks, strictly in subordination, however, to himself. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 202, 214.] The +official record of authority and command is consistent and perfect, +and his notion in his later years, that there was anything informal +about it, is proven to be imaginary. [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 257.] +Halleck's direction, which I have quoted, to "let our troops move +immediately," would be absurd as addressed to the commandant of the +Army of the Potomac into which the Army of Virginia was +consolidated, unless that commandant was to take the field, or a +formal order relieved him of command as Pope was relieved. Certainly +no other commander was designated, and I saw enough of him in those +days to say with confidence that he betrayed no doubt that the order +to "move immediately" included himself. McClellan's popularity with +the Army of the Potomac had seemed to Mr. Lincoln the only power +sufficient to ensure its prompt and earnest action against the +Confederate invasion. His leadership of it, to be successful, had to +be accompanied with plenary powers, even if the stultification of +the government itself were the consequence. When the patriotism of +the President yielded to this, the suggestion of McClellan twenty +years afterward, that it had all been a pitfall prepared for him, +would be revolting if, in view of the records, the absurdity of it +did not prove that its origin was in a morbid imagination. It is far +more difficult to deal leniently with the exhibition of character in +his private letters, which were injudiciously added to his "Own +Story" by his literary executor. In them his vanity and his ill-will +toward rivals and superiors are shockingly naked; and since no +historian can doubt that at every moment from September, 1861, to +September, 1862, his army greatly outnumbered his enemy, whilst in +equipment and supply there was no comparison, his persistent outcry +that he was sacrificed by his government destroys even that +character for dignity and that reputation for military intelligence +which we fondly attributed to him. + +The general arrangement of the campaign seems to have been settled +between Halleck and McClellan on the 5th of September. General +Sumner with the Second and Twelfth corps moved up the Potomac by way +of Tenallytown, Burnside with the First and Ninth corps moved to +Leesboro with a view to covering Baltimore, the front was explored +by the cavalry under Pleasonton, and the Sixth Corps, under +Franklin, constituted a reserve. [Footnote: Confusion in the numbers +of the First and Twelfth corps is found in the records and +dispatches, owing to the fact that in the Army of Virginia the corps +numbers were not those given them by the War Department. Sigel's, +properly the Eleventh Corps, had been called First of that army. +Banks's, properly Twelfth, had been called Second, and McDowell's, +properly First, had been called Third. In the Maryland campaign +Hooker was assigned to McDowell's, and it sometimes figures as +First, sometimes as Third; Mansfield was assigned to Banks's. The +proper designations after the consolidation were First and Twelfth. +Reno had been assigned to the First, but McClellan got authority to +change it, and gave it to Hooker, sending Reno back to the Ninth. +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 197, 198, 279, 349.] The +preliminary movements occupied the 5th and 6th, but on the 7th the +positions were as I have stated them. The principal bodies were +designated, respectively, as right and left wings instead of armies. +The two corps from the Army of Virginia were separated, one being +assigned to the right wing under Burnside, and the other to the left +under Sumner. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SOUTH MOUNTAIN + + +March through Washington--Reporting to Burnside--The Ninth +Corps--Burnside's personal qualities--To Leesboro--Straggling--Lee's +army at Frederick--Our deliberate advance--Reno at New Market--The +march past--Reno and Hayes--Camp gossip--Occupation of +Frederick--Affair with Hampton's cavalry--Crossing Catoctin +Mountain--The valley and South Mountain--Lee's order found--Division +of his army--Jackson at Harper's Ferry--Supporting Pleasonton's +reconnoissance--Meeting Colonel Moor--An involuntary +warning--Kanawha Division's advance--Opening of the battle--Carrying +the mountain crest--The morning fight--Lull at noon--Arrival of +supports--Battle renewed--Final success--Death of Reno--Hooker's +battle on the right--His report--Burnside's comments--Franklin's +engagement at Crampton's Gap. + + +Late in the night of the 5th I received orders from McClellan's +headquarters to march from my position on Upton's Hill through +Washington toward Leesboro, [Footnote: Leesboro, a village of +Maryland eight or ten miles north of Washington, must be +distinguished from Leesburg in Virginia.] as soon as my pickets +could be relieved by troops of McDowell's corps. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 183; vol. li. pt. i. p. 789.] My route +was designated as by the road which was a continuation northward of +Seventh Street, and I was directed to report to General Ambrose E. +Burnside, commanding right wing, whose headquarters were in the +suburbs of the city on that road. This was in accordance with my +wish, expressed to McClellan that I might have active field work. +For two or three days we were not attached to a corps, but as the +organization of the army became settled we were temporarily assigned +to the Ninth, which had been Burnside's, and had been with him in +North Carolina. During this campaign it was commanded by +Major-General Jesse L. Reno, who had long had a division in it, and +had led the corps in the recent battle. We marched from Upton's Hill +at daybreak of the 6th, taking the road to Georgetown by Ball's +Cross-Roads. In Georgetown we turned eastward through Washington to +Seventh Street, and thence northward to the Leesboro road. As we +passed General Burnside's quarters, I sent a staff officer to report +our progress. It was about ten o'clock, and Burnside had gone to the +White House to meet the President and cabinet by invitation. His +chief of staff, General J. G. Parke, sent a polite note, saying we +had not been expected so soon, and directed us to halt and bivouac +for the present in some fields by the roadside, near where the +Howard University now is. In the afternoon I met Burnside for the +first time, and was warmly attracted by him, as everybody was. He +was pre-eminently a manly man, as I expressed it in writing home. +His large, fine eyes, his winning smile and cordial manners, bespoke +a frank, sincere, and honorable character, and these indications +were never belied by more intimate acquaintance. The friendship then +begun lasted as long as he lived. I learned to understand the +limitations of his powers and the points in which he fell short of +being a great commander; but as I knew him better I estimated more +and more highly his sincerity and truthfulness, his unselfish +generosity, and his devoted patriotism. In everything which makes up +an honorable and lovable personal character he had no superior. I +shall have occasion to speak frequently of his peculiarities and his +special traits, but shall never have need to say a word in +derogation of the solid virtues I have attributed to him. His +chief-of-staff, General Parke, was an officer of the Engineers, and +one of the best instructed of that corps. He had served with +distinction under Burnside in North Carolina, in command of a +brigade and division. I always thought that he preferred staff duty, +especially with Burnside, whose confidence in him was complete, and +who would leave to him almost untrammelled control of the +administrative work of the command. + +On September 7th I was ordered to take the advance of the Ninth +Corps in the march to Leesboro, following Hooker's corps. It was my +first march with troops of this army, and I was shocked at the +straggling I witnessed. The "roadside brigade," as we called it, was +often as numerous, by careful estimate, as our own column moving in +the middle of the road. I could say of the men of the Kanawha +division, as Richard Taylor said of his Louisiana brigade with +Stonewall Jackson, that they had not yet _learned_ to straggle. +[Footnote: See Taylor's "Destruction and Reconstruction," p. 50, for +a curious interview with Jackson.] I tried to prevent their learning +it. We had a roll-call immediately upon halting after the march, and +another half an hour later, with prompt reports of the result. I +also assigned a field officer and medical officer to duty at the +rear of the column, with ambulances for those who became ill and +with punishments for the rest. The result was that, in spite of the +example of others, the division had no stragglers, the first +roll-call rarely showing more than twenty or thirty not answering to +their names, and the second often proving every man to be present. +[Footnote: See letters of General R. B. Hayes and General George +Crook, Appendix B.] In both the Army of the Potomac and the Army of +Northern Virginia the evil had become a most serious one. After the +battle of Antietam, for the express purpose of remedying it, +McClellan appointed General Patrick Provost-Marshal with a strong +provost-guard, giving him very extended powers, and permitting +nobody, of whatever rank, to interfere with him. Patrick was a man +of vigor, of conscience, and of system, and though he was greatly +desirous of keeping a field command, proved so useful, indeed so +necessary a part of the organization, that he was retained in it +against his wishes, to the end of the war, each commander of the +Army of the Potomac in turn finding that he was indispensable. +[Footnote: I have discussed this subject also in a review of +Henderson's Stonewall Jackson, "The Nation," Nov. 24, 1898, p. 396.] + +The Confederate army suffered from straggling quite as much, +perhaps, as ours, but in a somewhat different way. At the close of +the Antietam campaign General Lee made bitter complaints in regard +to it, and asked the Confederate government for legislation which +would authorize him to apply the severest punishments. As the +Confederate stragglers were generally in the midst of friends, where +they could sleep under shelter and get food of better quality than +the army ration, this grew to be the regular mode of life with many +even of those who would join their comrades in an engagement. They +were not reported in the return of "effectives" made by their +officers, but that they often made part of the killed, wounded, and +captured I have little doubt. In this way a rational explanation may +be found of the larger discrepancies between the Confederate reports +of casualties and ours of their dead buried and prisoners taken. + +The weather during this brief campaign was as lovely as possible, +and the contrast between the rich farming country in which we now +were, and the forest-covered mountains of West Virginia to which we +had been accustomed, was very striking. An evening march, under a +brilliant moon, over a park-like landscape with alternations of +groves and meadows which could not have been more beautifully +composed by a master artist, remains in my memory as a page out of a +lovely romance. On the day that we marched to Leesboro, Lee's army +was concentrated near Frederick, behind the Monocacy River, having +begun the crossing of the Potomac on the 4th. There was a singular +dearth of trustworthy information on the subject at our army +headquarters. We moved forward by very short marches of six or eight +miles, feeling our way so cautiously that Lee's reports speak of it +as an unexpectedly slow approach. The Comte de Paris excuses it on +the ground of the disorganized condition of McClellan's army after +the recent battle. It must be remembered, however, that Sumner's +corps and Franklin's had not been at the second Bull Run, and were +veterans of the Potomac Army. The Twelfth Corps had been Banks's, +and it too had not been engaged at the second Bull Run, its work +having been to cover the trains of Pope's army on the retrograde +movement from Warrenton Junction. Although new regiments had been +added to these corps, it is hardly proper to say that the army as a +whole was not one which could be rapidly manoeuvred. I see no good +reason why it might not have advanced at once to the left bank of +the Monocacy, covering thus both Washington and Baltimore, and +hastening by some days Lee's movement across the Blue Ridge. We +should at least have known where the enemy was by being in contact +with him, instead of being the sport of all sorts of vague rumors +and wild reports. [Footnote: McClellan was not wholly responsible +for this tardiness, for Halleck was very timid about uncovering +Washington, and his dispatches tended to increase McClellan's +natural indecision. Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 280.] + +The Kanawha division took the advance of the right wing when we left +Leesboro on the 8th, and marched to Brookville. On the 9th it +reached Goshen, where it lay on the 10th, and on the 11th reached +Ridgeville on the railroad. The rest of the Ninth Corps was an easy +march behind us. Hooker had been ordered further to the right on the +strength of rumors that Lee was making a circuit towards Baltimore, +and his corps reached Cooksville and the railroad some ten miles +east of my position. The extreme left of the army was at +Poolesville, near the Potomac, making a spread of thirty miles +across the whole front. The cavalry did not succeed in getting far +in advance of the infantry, and very little valuable information was +obtained. At Ridgeville, however, we got reliable evidence that Lee +had evacuated Frederick the day before, and that only cavalry was +east of the Catoctin Mountains. Hooker got similar information at +about the same time. It was now determined to move more rapidly, and +early in the morning of the 12th I was ordered to march to New +Market and thence to Frederick. At New Market I was overtaken by +General Reno, with several officers of rank from the other divisions +of the corps, and they dismounted at a little tavern by the roadside +to see the Kanawha division go by. Up to this time they had seen +nothing of us whatever. The men had been so long in the West +Virginia mountains at hard service, involving long and rapid +marches, that they had much the same strength of legs and ease in +marching which was afterward so much talked of when seen in +Sherman's army at the review in Washington at the close of the war. +I stood a little behind Reno and the rest, and had the pleasure of +hearing their involuntary exclamations of admiration at the marching +of the men. The easy swinging step, the graceful poise of the musket +on the shoulder, as if it were a toy and not a burden, and the +compactness of the column were all noticed and praised with a +heartiness which was very grateful to my ears. I no longer felt any +doubt that the division stood well in the opinion of my associates. + +I enjoyed this the more because, the evening before, a little +incident had occurred which had threatened to result in some +ill-feeling. It had been thought that we were likely to be attacked +at Ridgeville, and on reaching the village I disposed the division +so as to cover the place and to be ready for an engagement. I +ordered the brigades to bivouac in line of battle, covering the +front with outposts and with cavalry vedettes from the Sixth New +York Cavalry (Colonel Devin), which had been attached to the +division during the advance. The men were without tents, and to make +beds had helped themselves to some straw from stacks in the +vicinity. Toward evening General Reno rode up, and happening first +to meet Lieutenant-Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, commanding the +Twenty third Ohio, he rather sharply inquired why the troops were +not bivouacking "closed in mass," and also blamed the taking of the +straw. Colonel Hayes referred him to me as the proper person to +account for the disposition of the troops, and quietly said he +thought the quartermaster's department could settle for the straw if +the owner was loyal. A few minutes later the general came to my own +position, but was now quite over his irritation. I, of course, knew +nothing of his interview with Hayes, and when he said that it was +the policy in Maryland to make the troops bivouac in compact mass, +so as to do as little damage to property as possible, I cordially +assented, but urged that such a rule would not apply to the +advance-guard when supposed to be in presence of the enemy; we +needed to have the men already in line if an alarm should be given +in the night. To this he agreed, and a pleasant conversation +followed. Nothing was said to me about the straw taken for bedding, +and when I heard of the little passage-at-arms with Colonel Hayes, I +saw that it was a momentary disturbance which had no real +significance. Camp gossip, however, is as bad as village gossip, and +in a fine volume of the "History of the Twenty-first Massachusetts +Regiment," I find it stated that the Kanawha division coming fresh +from the West was disposed to plunder and pillage, giving an +exaggerated version of the foregoing story as evidence of it. This +makes it a duty to tell what was the small foundation for the +charge, and to say that I believe no regiments in the army were less +obnoxious to any just accusation of such a sort. The gossip would +never have survived the war at all but for the fact that Colonel +Hayes became President of the United States, and the supposed +incident of his army life thus acquired a new interest. [Footnote: +This incident gives me the opportunity to say that after reading a +good many regimental histories, I am struck with the fact that with +the really invaluable material they contain when giving the actual +experiences of the regiments themselves, they also embody a great +deal of mere gossip. As a rule, their value is confined to what +strictly belongs to the regiment; and the criticisms, whether of +other organizations or of commanders, are likely to be the +expression of the local and temporary prejudices and misconceptions +which are notoriously current in time of war. They need to be read +with due allowance for this. The volume referred to is a favorable +example of its class, but its references to the Kanawha division +(which was in the Ninth Corps only a month) illustrate the tendency +I have mentioned. It should be borne in mind that the Kanawha men +had the position of advance-guard, and I believe did not camp in the +neighborhood of the other divisions in a single instance from the +time we left Leesboro till the battle of South Mountain. What is +said of them, therefore, is not from observation. The incident +between Reno and Hayes occurred in the camp of the latter, and could +not possibly be known to the author of the regimental history but by +hearsay. Yet he affirms as a fact that the Kanawha division +"plundered the country unmercifully," for which Reno "took +Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes severely though justly to task." He also +asserts that the division set a "very bad example" in straggling. As +to this, the truth is as I have circumstantially stated it above. He +has still further indulged in a "slant" at the "Ohioans" in a story +of dead Confederates being put in a well at South Mountain,--a story +as apocryphal as the others. Wise's house and well were within the +camp of the division to which the Twenty-first Massachusetts +belonged, and the burial party there would have been from that +division. Lastly, the writer says that General Cox, the temporary +corps commander, "robs us [the Twenty-first Massachusetts] of our +dearly bought fame" by naming the Fifty-first New York and +Fifty-first Pennsylvania as the regiments which stormed the bridge +at Antietam. He acquits Burnside and McClellan of the alleged +injustice, saying they "follow the corps report in this respect." +Yet mention is not made of the fact that my report literally copies +that of the division commander, who himself selected the regiments +for the charge! The "Ohioan" had soon gone west again with his +division, and was probably fair game. There is something akin to +provincialism in regimental _esprit de corps_, and such instances as +the above, which are all found within a few pages of the book +referred to, show that, like Leech's famous Staffordshire rough in +the Punch cartoon, to be a "stranger" is a sufficient reason to +"'eave 'arf a brick at un." See letters of President Hayes and +General Crook on the subject, Appendix B.] + +From New Market we sent the regiment of cavalry off to the right to +cover our flank, and to investigate reports that heavy bodies of the +enemy's cavalry were north of us. The infantry pushed rapidly toward +Frederick. The opposition was very slight till we reached the +Monocacy River, which is perhaps half a mile from the town. Here +General Wade Hampton, with his brigade as rear-guard of Lee's army, +attempted to resist the crossing. The highway crosses the river by a +substantial stone bridge, and the ground upon our bank was +considerably higher than that on the other side. We engaged the +artillery of the enemy with a battery of our own, which had the +advantage of position, whilst the infantry forced the crossing both +by the bridge and by a ford a quarter of a mile to the right. As +soon as Moor's brigade was over, it was deployed on the right and +left of the turnpike, which was bordered on either side by a high +and strong post-and-rail fence. Scammon's was soon over, and +similarly deployed as a second line, with the Eleventh Ohio in +column in the road. Moor had with him a troop of horse and a single +cannon, and went forward with the first line, allowing it to keep +abreast of him on right and left. I also rode on the turnpike +between the two lines, and only a few rods behind Moor, having with +me my staff and a few orderlies. Reno was upon the other bank of the +river, overlooking the movement, which made a fine military display +as the lines advanced at quick-step toward the city. Hampton's +horsemen had passed out of our sight, for the straight causeway +turned sharply to the left just as it entered the town, and we could +not see beyond the turn. We were perhaps a quarter of a mile from +the city, when a young staff officer from corps headquarters rode up +beside me and exclaimed in a boisterous way, "Why don't they go in +faster? There's nothing there!" I said to the young man, "Did +General Reno send you with any order to me?" "No," he replied. +"Then," said I, "when I want your advice I will ask it." He moved +off abashed, and I did not notice what had become of him, but, in +fact, he rode up to Colonel Moor, and repeated a similar speech. +Moor was stung by the impertinence which he assumed to be a +criticism upon him from corps headquarters, and, to my amazement, I +saw him suddenly dash ahead at a gallop with his escort and the gun. +He soon came to the turn of the road where it loses itself among the +houses; there was a quick, sharp rattling of carbines, and Hampton's +cavalry was atop of the little party. There was one discharge of the +cannon, and some of the brigade staff and escort came back in +disorder. I ordered up at "double quick" the Eleventh Ohio, which, +as I have said, was in column in the road, and these, with bayonets +fixed, dashed into the town. The enemy had not waited for them, but +retreated out of the place by the Hagerstown road. Moor had been +ridden down, unhorsed, and captured. The artillery-men had +unlimbered the gun, pointed it, and the gunner stood with the +lanyard in his hand, when he was struck by a charging horse; the gun +was fired by the concussion, but at the same moment it was capsized +into the ditch by the impact of the cavalry column. The enemy had no +time to right the gun or carry it off, nor to stop for prisoners. +They forced Moor on another horse, and turned tail as the charging +lines of infantry came up on right and left as well as the column in +the road, for there had not been a moment's pause in the advance. It +had all happened, and the gun with a few dead and wounded of both +sides were in our hands, in less time than it has taken to describe +it. Those who may have a fancy for learning how Munchausen would +tell this story, may find it in the narrative of Major Heros von +Borke of J. E. B. Stuart's staff. [Footnote: Von Borke's account is +so good an example of the way in which romance may be built up out +of a little fact that I give it in full. The burning of the stone +bridge half a mile in rear of the little affair was a peculiarly +brilliant idea; but he has evidently confused our advance with that +on the Urbana road. He says: "Toward evening the enemy arrived in +the immediate neighborhood of Monocacy bridge, and observing only a +small force at this point, advanced very carelessly. A six-pounder +gun had been placed in position by them at a very short distance +from the bridge, which fired from time to time a shot at our +horsemen, while the foremost regiment marched along at their ease, +as if they believed this small body of cavalry would soon wheel in +flight. This favorable moment for an attack was seized in splendid +style by Major Butler, who commanded the two squadrons of the Second +South Carolina Cavalry, stationed at this point as our rear-guard. +Like lightning he darted across the bridge, taking the piece of +artillery, which had scarcely an opportunity of firing a shot, and +falling upon the regiment of infantry, which was dispersed in a few +seconds, many of them being shot down, and many others, among whom +was the colonel in command, captured. The colors of the regiment +also fell into Major Butler's hands. The piece of artillery, in the +hurry of the moment, could not be brought over to our side of the +river, as the enemy instantly sent forward a large body of cavalry +at a gallop, and our dashing men had only time to spike it and trot +with their prisoners across the bridge, which, having been already +fully prepared for burning, was in a blaze when the infuriated +Yankees arrived at the water's edge. The conflagration of the bridge +of course checked their onward movement, and we quietly continued +the retreat." Von Borke, vol. i. p. 203. Stuart's report is very +nearly accurate: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 816.] Moor's +capture, however, had consequences, as we shall see. The command of +his brigade passed to Colonel George Crook of the Thirty-sixth Ohio. + +Frederick was a loyal city, and as Hampton's cavalry went out at one +end of the street and our infantry came in at the other, and whilst +the carbine smoke and the smell of powder still lingered, the closed +window-shutters of the houses flew open, the sashes went up, the +windows were filled with ladies waving their handkerchiefs and +national flags, whilst the men came to the column with fruits and +refreshments for the marching soldiers as they went by in the hot +sunshine of the September afternoon. [Footnote: Although at the head +of the column, the "truth of history" compels me to say that I saw +nothing of Barbara Frietchie, and heard nothing of her till I read +Whittier's poem in later years. When, however, I visited Frederick +with General Grant in 1869, we were both presented with +walking-sticks made from timbers of Barbara's house which had been +torn down, and, of course, I cannot dispute the story of which I +have the stick as evidence; for Grant thought the stick shut me up +from any denial and established the legend.] Pleasonton's cavalry +came in soon after by the Urbana road, and during the evening a +large part of the army drew near the place. Next morning (13th) the +cavalry went forward to reconnoitre the passes of Catoctin Mountain, +Rodman's division of our corps being ordered to support them and to +proceed toward Middletown in the Catoctin valley. Through some +misunderstanding Rodman took the road to Jefferson, leading to the +left, where Franklin's corps was moving, and did not get upon the +Hagerstown road. About noon I was ordered to march upon the latter +road to Middletown. McClellan himself met me as my column moved out +of town, and told me of the misunderstanding in Rodman's orders, +adding that if I found him on the march I should take his division +also along with me. [Footnote: As is usual in such cases, the +direction was later put in writing by his chief of staff. Official +Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 827.] I did not meet him, but the other +two divisions of the corps crossed Catoctin Mountain that night, +whilst Rodman returned to Frederick. The Kanawha division made an +easy march, and as the cavalry was now ahead of us, met no +opposition in crossing Catoctin Mountain or in the valley beyond. On +the way we passed a house belonging to a branch of the Washington +family, and a few officers of the division accompanied me, at the +invitation of the occupant, to look at some relics of the Father of +his Country which were preserved there. We stood for some minutes +with uncovered heads before a case containing a uniform he had worn, +and other articles of personal use hallowed by their association +with him, and went on our way with our zeal strengthened by closer +contact with souvenirs of the great patriot. Willcox's division +followed us, and encamped a mile and a half east of Middletown. +Sturgis's halted not far from the western foot of the mountain, with +corps headquarters near by. My own camp for the night was pitched in +front (west) of the village of Middletown along Catoctin Creek. +Pleasonton's cavalry was a little in advance of us, at the forks of +the road where the old Sharpsburg road turns off to the left from +the turnpike. The rest of the army was camped about Frederick, +except Franklin's corps (Sixth), which was near Jefferson, ten miles +further south but also east of Catoctin Mountain. + +The Catoctin or Middletown valley is beautifully included between +Catoctin Mountain and South Mountain, two ranges of the Blue Ridge, +running northeast and southwest. It is six or eight miles wide, +watered by Catoctin Creek, which winds southward among rich farms +and enters the Potomac near Point of Rocks. The National road +leaving Frederick passes through Middletown and crosses South +Mountain, as it goes northwestward, at a depression called Turner's +Gap. The old Sharpsburg road crosses the summit at another gap, +known as Fox's, about a mile south of Turner's. Still another, the +old Hagerstown road, finds a passage over the ridge at about an +equal distance north. The National road, being of easier grades and +better engineering, was now the principal route, the others having +degenerated to rough country roads. The mountain crests are from ten +to thirteen hundred feet above the Catoctin valley, and the "gaps" +are from two to three hundred feet lower than the summits near them. +[Footnote: These elevations are from the official map of the U.S. +Engineers.] These summits are like scattered and irregular hills +upon the high rounded surface of the mountain top. They are wooded, +but along the southeasterly slopes, quite near the top of the +mountain, are small farms, with meadows and cultivated fields. + +The military situation had been cleared up by the knowledge of Lee's +movements which McClellan got from a copy of Lee's order of the day +for the both. This had been found at Frederick on the 13th, and it +tallied so well with what was otherwise known that no doubt was left +as to its authenticity. It showed that Jackson's corps with Walker's +division were besieging Harper's Ferry on the Virginia side of the +Potomac, whilst McLaws's division supported by Anderson's was +co-operating on Maryland Heights. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. ii. pp. 281, 603.] Longstreet, with the remainder of his +corps, was at Boonsboro or near Hagerstown. D. H. Hill's division +was the rear-guard, and the cavalry under Stuart covered the whole, +a detached squadron being with Longstreet, Jackson, and McLaws each. +The order did not name the three separate divisions in Jackson's +command proper (exclusive of Walker), nor those remaining with +Longstreet except D. H. Hill's; but it is hardly conceivable that +these were not known to McClellan after his own and Pope's contact +with them during the campaigns of the spring and summer. At any +rate, the order showed that Lee's army was in two parts, separated +by the Potomac and thirty or forty miles of road. As soon as Jackson +should reduce Harper's Ferry they would reunite. Friday the 12th was +the day fixed for the concentration of Jackson's force for his +attack, and it was Saturday when the order fell into McClellan's +hands. Three days had already been lost in the slow advance since +Lee had crossed Catoctin Mountain, and Jackson's artillery was now +heard pounding at the camp and earthworks of Harper's Ferry. McLaws +had already driven our forces from Maryland Heights, and had opened +upon the ferry with his guns in commanding position on the north of +the Potomac. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 607.] McClellan telegraphed to the +President that he would catch the rebels "in their own trap if my +men are equal to the emergency." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. ii. p. 281.] There was certainly no time to lose. The +information was in his hands before noon, for he refers to it in a +dispatch to Mr. Lincoln at twelve. If his men had been ordered to be +at the top of South Mountain before dark, they could have been +there; but less than one full corps passed Catoctin Mountain that +day or night, and when the leisurely movement of the 14th began, he +himself, instead of being with the advance, was in Frederick till +after 2 P.M., at which hour he sent a dispatch to Washington, and +then rode to the front ten or twelve miles away. The failure to be +"equal to the emergency" was not in his men. Twenty-four hours, as +it turned out, was the whole difference between saving and losing +Harper's Ferry with its ten or twelve thousand men and its +unestimated munitions and stores. It may be that the commanders of +the garrison were in fault, and that a more stubborn resistance +should have been made. It may be that Halleck ought to have ordered +the place to be evacuated earlier, as McClellan suggested. +Nevertheless, at noon of the 13th McClellan had it in his power to +save the place and interpose his army between the two wings, of the +Confederates with decisive effect on the campaign. He saw that it +was an "emergency," but did not call upon his men for any +extraordinary exertion. Harper's. Ferry surrendered, and Lee united +the wings of his army beyond the Antietam before the final and +general engagement was forced upon him. + +At my camp in front of Middletown, I received no orders looking to a +general advance on the 14th; but only to support, by a detachment, +Pleasonton's cavalry in a reconnoissance toward Turner's Gap. +Pleasonton himself came to my tent in the evening, and asked that +one brigade might report to him in the morning for the purpose. Six +o'clock was the hour at which he wished them to march. He said +further that he and Colonel Crook were old army acquaintances and +that he would like Crook to have the detail. I wished to please him, +and not thinking that it would make any difference to my brigade +commanders, intimated that I would do so. But Colonel Scammon, +learning what was intended, protested that under our custom his +brigade was entitled to the advance next day, as the brigades had +taken it in turn. I explained that it was only as a courtesy to +Pleasonton and at his request that the change was proposed. This did +not better the matter in Scammon's opinion. He had been himself a +regular officer, and the point of professional honor touched him. I +recognized the justice of his demand, and said he should have the +duty if he insisted upon it. Pleasonton was still in the camp +visiting with Colonel Crook, and I explained to him the reasons why +I could not yield to his wish, but must assign Scammon's brigade to +the duty in conformity with the usual course. There was in fact no +reason except the personal one for choosing one brigade more than +the other, for they were equally good. Crook took the decision in +good part, though it was natural that he should wish for an +opportunity of distinguished service, as he had not been the regular +commandant of the brigade. Pleasonton was a little chafed, and even +intimated that he claimed some right to name the officer and command +to be detailed. This, of course, I could not admit, and issued the +formal orders at once. The little controversy had put Scammon and +his whole brigade upon their mettle, and was a case in which a +generous emulation did no harm. What happened in the morning only +increased their spirit and prepared them the better to perform what +I have always regarded as a very brilliant exploit. + +[Illustration: Map: South Mountain ] + +The morning of Sunday the 14th of September was a bright one. I had +my breakfast very early and was in the saddle before it was time for +Scammon to move. He was prompt, and I rode on with him to see in +what way his support was likely to be used. Two of the Ninth Corps +batteries (Gibson's and Benjamin's) had accompanied the cavalry, and +one of these was a heavy one of twenty-pounder Parrotts. They were +placed upon a knoll a little in front of the cavalry camp, about +half a mile beyond the forks of the old Sharpsburg road with the +turnpike. They were exchanging shots with a battery of the enemy +well up in the gap. Just as Scammon and I crossed Catoctin Creek I +was surprised to see Colonel Moor standing at the roadside. With +astonishment I rode to him and asked how he came there. He said that +he had been taken beyond the mountain after his capture, but had +been paroled the evening before, and was now finding his way back to +us on foot. "But where are _you_ going?" said he. I answered that +Scammon was going to support Pleasonton in a reconnoissance into the +gap. Moor made an involuntary start, saying, "My God! be careful!" +then checking himself, added, "But I am paroled!" and turned away. I +galloped to Scammon and told him that I should follow him in close +support with Crook's brigade, and as I went back along the column I +spoke to each regimental commander, warning them to be prepared for +anything, big or little,--it might be a skirmish, it might be a +battle. Hurrying to camp, I ordered Crook to turn out his brigade +and march at once. I then wrote a dispatch to General Reno, saying I +suspected we should find the enemy in force on the mountain top, and +should go forward with both brigades instead of sending one. +Starting a courier with this, I rode forward again and found +Pleasonton. Scammon had given him an inkling of our suspicions, and +in the personal interview they had reached a mutual good +understanding. I found that he was convinced that it would be unwise +to make an attack in front, and had determined that his horsemen +should merely demonstrate upon the main road and support the +batteries, whilst Scammon should march by the old Sharpsburg road +and try to reach the flank of the force on the summit. I told him +that in view of my fear that the force of the enemy might be too +great for Scammon, I had determined to bring forward Crook's brigade +in support. If it became necessary to fight with the whole division, +I should do so, and in that case I should assume the responsibility +myself as his senior officer. To this he cordially assented. + +One section of McMullin's six-gun battery was all that went forward +with Scammon (and even these not till the infantry reached the +summit), four guns being left behind, as the road was rough and +steep. There were in Simmonds's battery two twenty-pounder Parrott +guns, and I ordered these also to remain on the turnpike and to go +into action with Benjamin's battery of the same calibre. It was +about half-past seven when Crook's head of column filed off from the +turnpike upon the old Sharpsburg road, and Scammon had perhaps half +an hour's start. We had fully two miles to go before we should reach +the place where our attack was actually made, and as it was a pretty +sharp ascent the men marched slowly with frequent rests. On our way +up we were overtaken by my courier who had returned from General +Reno with approval of my action and the assurance that the rest of +the Ninth Corps would come forward to my support. + +When Scammon had got within half a mile of Fox's Gap (the summit of +the old Sharpsburg road), [Footnote: The Sharpsburg road is also +called the Braddock road, as it was the way by which Braddock and +Washington had marched to Fort Duquesne (Pittsburg) in the old +French war. For the same reason the gap is called Braddock's Gap. I +have adopted that which seems to be in most common local use.] the +enemy opened upon him with case-shot from the edge of the timber +above the open fields, and he had judiciously turned off upon a +country road leading still further to the left, and nearly parallel +to the ridge above. His movement had been made under cover of the +forest, and he had reached the extreme southern limit of the open +fields south of the gap on this face of the mountain. Here I +overtook him, his brigade being formed in line under cover of the +timber, facing open pasture fields having a stone wall along the +upper side, with the forest again beyond this. On his left was the +Twenty-third Ohio under Lieutenant-Colonel R. B. Hayes, who had been +directed to keep in the woods beyond the open, and to strike if +possible the flank of the enemy. His centre was the Twelfth Ohio +under Colonel Carr B. White, whose duty was to attack the stone wall +in front, charging over the broad open fields. On the right was the +Thirtieth Ohio, Colonel Hugh Ewing, who was ordered to advance +against a battery on the crest which kept up a rapid and annoying +fire. It was now about nine o'clock, and Crook's column had come +into close support. Bayonets were fixed, and at the word the line +rushed forward with loud hurrahs. Hayes, being in the woods, was not +seen till he had passed over the crest and turned upon the enemy's +flank and rear. Here was a sharp combat, but our men established +themselves upon the summit and drove the enemy before them. White +and Ewing charged over the open under a destructive fire of musketry +and shrapnel. As Ewing approached the enemy's battery (Bondurant's), +it gave him a parting salvo, and limbered rapidly toward the right +along a road in the edge of the woods which follows the summit to +the turnpike near the Mountain House at Turner's Gap. White's men +never flinched, and the North Carolinians of Garland's brigade (for +it was they who held the ridge at this point) poured in their fire +till the advancing line of bayonets was in their faces when they +broke away from the wall. Our men fell fast, but they kept up their +pace, and the enemy's centre was broken by a heroic charge. Garland +strove hard to rally his men, but his brigade was hopelessly broken +in two. He rallied his right wing on the second ridge a little in +rear of that part of his line, but Hayes's regiment was here pushing +forward from our left. Colonel Ruffin of the Thirteenth North +Carolina held on to the ridge road beyond our right, near Fox's Gap. +The fighting was now wholly in the woods, and though the enemy's +centre was routed there was stubborn resistance on both flanks. His +cavalry dismounted (said to be under Colonel Rosser [Footnote: +Stuart's Report, Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 817.] ) was +found to extend beyond Hayes's line, and supported the Stuart +artillery, which poured canister into our advancing troops. I now +ordered Crook to send the Eleventh Ohio (under Lieutenant-Colonel +Coleman) beyond Hayes's left to extend our line in that direction, +and to direct the Thirty-sixth Ohio (Lieutenant-Colonel Clark) to +fill a gap between the Twelfth and Thirtieth caused by diverging +lines of advance. The only remaining regiment (the Twenty-eighth, +Lieutenant-Colonel Becker) was held in reserve on the right. The +Thirty-sixth aided by the Twelfth repulsed a stout effort of the +enemy to re-establish their centre. The whole line again sprung +forward. A high knoll on our left was carried. The dismounted +cavalry was forced to retreat with their battery across the ravine +in which the Sharpsburg road descends on the west of the mountain, +and took a new position on a separate hill in rear of the heights at +the Mountain House. There was considerable open ground at this new +position, from which their battery had full play at a range of about +twelve hundred yards upon the ridge held by us. But the Eleventh and +Twenty-third stuck stoutly to the hill which Hayes had first +carried, and their line was nearly parallel to the Sharpsburg road, +facing north. Garland had rushed to the right of his brigade to +rally them when they had broken before the onset of the Twenty-third +Ohio upon the flank, and in the desperate contest there he had been +killed and the disaster to his command made irreparable. On our side +Colonel Hayes had also been disabled by a severe wound as he +gallantly led the Ohio regiment. + +I now directed the centre and right to push forward toward Fox's +Gap. Lieutenant Croome with a section of McMullin's battery had come +up, and he put his guns in action in the most gallant manner in the +open ground near Wise's house. The Thirtieth and Thirty-sixth +changed front to the right and attacked the remnant of Garland's +brigade, now commanded by Colonel McRae, and drove it and two +regiments from G. B. Anderson's brigade back upon the wooded hill +beyond Wise's farm at Fox's Gap. The whole of Anderson's brigade +retreated further along the crest toward the Mountain House. +Meanwhile the Twelfth Ohio, also changing front, had thridded its +way in the same direction through laurel thickets on the reverse +slope of the mountain, and attacking suddenly the force at Wise's as +the other two regiments charged it in front, completed the rout and +brought off two hundred prisoners. Bondurant's battery was again +driven hurriedly off to the north. But the hollow at the gap about +Wise's was no place to stay. It was open ground and was swept by the +batteries of the cavalry on the open hill to the northwest, and by +those of Hill's division about the Mountain House and upon the +highlands north of the National road; for those hills run forward +like a bastion and give a perfect flanking fire along our part of +the mountain. The gallant Croome with a number of his gunners had +been killed, and his guns were brought back into the shelter of the +woods, on the hither side of Wise's fields. The infantry of the +right wing was brought to the same position, and our lines were +reformed along the curving crests from that point which looks down +into the gap and the Sharpsburg road, toward the left. The extreme +right with Croome's two guns was held by the Thirtieth, with the +Twenty-eighth in second line. Next came the Twelfth, with the +Thirty-sixth in second line, the front curving toward the west with +the form of the mountain summit. The left of the Twelfth dipped a +little into a hollow, beyond which the Twenty-third and Eleventh +occupied the next hill facing toward the Sharpsburg road. Our front +was hollow, for the two wings were nearly at right angles to each +other; but the flanks were strongly placed, the right, which was +most exposed, having open ground in front which it could sweep with +its fire and having the reserve regiments closely supporting it. +Part of Simmonds's battery which had also come up had done good +service in the last combats, and was now disposed so as to check the +fire of the enemy. + +It was time to rest. Three hours of up-hill marching and climbing +had been followed by as long a period of bloody battle, and it was +almost noon. The troops began to feel the exhaustion of such labor +and struggle. We had several hundred prisoners in our hands, and the +field was thickly strewn with dead, in gray and in blue, while our +field hospital a little down the mountain side was encumbered with +hundreds of wounded. We learned from our prisoners that the summit +was held by D. H. Hill's division of five brigades with Stuart's +cavalry, and that Longstreet's corps was in close support. I was +momentarily expecting to hear from the supporting divisions of the +Ninth Corps, and thought it the part of wisdom to hold fast to our +strong position astride of the mountain top commanding the +Sharpsburg road till our force should be increased. The two Kanawha +brigades had certainly won a glorious victory, and had made so +assured a success of the day's work that it would be folly to +imperil it. [Footnote: For Official Records, see Official Records, +vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 458-474.] + +General Hill has since argued that only part of his division could +oppose us; [Footnote: Century War Book, vol. ii. pp. 559, etc.] but +his brigades were all on the mountain summit within easy support of +each other, and they had the day before them. It was five hours from +the time of our first charge to the arrival of our first supports, +and it was not till three o'clock in the afternoon that Hooker's +corps reached the eastern base of the mountain and began its +deployment north of the National road. Our effort was to attack the +weak end of his line, and we succeeded in putting a stronger force +there than that which opposed us. It is for our opponent to explain +how we were permitted to do it. The two brigades of the Kanawha +division numbered less than 3000 men. Hill's division was 5000 +strong, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 1025.] even +by the Confederate method of counting their effectives, which should +be increased nearly one-fifth to compare properly with our reports. +In addition to these Stuart had the principal part of the +Confederate cavalry on this line, and they were not idle spectators. +Parts of Lee's and Hampton's brigades were certainly there, and +probably the whole of Lee's. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 819.] With less +than half the numerical strength which was opposed to it, therefore, +the Kanawha division had carried the summit, advancing to the charge +for the most part over open ground in the storm of musketry and +artillery fire, and held the crests they had gained through the +livelong day, in spite of all efforts to retake them. + +In our mountain camps of West Virginia I had felt discontented that +our native Ohio regiments did not take as kindly to the labors of +drill and camp police as some of German birth, and I had warned them +that they would feel the need of accuracy and mechanical precision +when the day of battle came. They had done reasonably well, but +suffered in comparison with some of the others on dress parade and +in the form and neatness of the camp. When, however, on the slopes +of South Mountain I saw the lines go forward steadier and more even +under fire than they ever had done at drill, their intelligence +making them perfectly comprehend the advantage of unity in their +effort and in the shock when they met the foe--when their bodies +seemed to dilate, their step to have better cadence and a tread as +of giants as they went cheering up the hill,--I took back all my +criticisms and felt a pride and glory in them as soldiers and +comrades that words cannot express. + +It was about noon that the lull in the battle occurred, and it +lasted a couple of hours, while reinforcements were approaching the +mountain top from both sides. The enemy's artillery kept up a pretty +steady fire, answered occasionally by our few cannon; but the +infantry rested on their arms, the front covered by a watchful line +of skirmishers, every man at his tree. The Confederate guns had so +perfectly the range of the sloping fields about and behind us, that +their canister shot made long furrows in the sod with a noise like +the cutting of a melon rind, and the shells which skimmed the crest +and burst in the tree-tops at the lower side of the fields made a +sound like the crashing and falling of some brittle substance, +instead of the tough fibre of oak and pine. We had time to notice +these things as we paced the lines waiting for the renewal of the +battle. + +Willcox's division reported to me about two o'clock, and would have +been up earlier, but for a mistake in the delivery of a message to +him. He had sent from Middletown to ask me where I desired him to +come, and finding that the messenger had no clear idea of the roads +by which he had travelled, I directed him to say that General +Pleasonton would point out the road I had followed, if inquired of. +Willcox understood the messenger that I wished him to inquire of +Pleasonton where he had better put his division in, and on doing so, +the latter suggested that he move against the crests on the north of +the National road. He was preparing to do this when Burnside and +Reno came up and corrected the movement, recalling him from the +north and sending him by the old Sharpsburg road to my position. As +his head of column came up, Longstreet's corps was already forming +with its right outflanking my left. I sent two regiments [Footnote: +In my official report I said one regiment, but General Willcox +reported that he sent two, and he is doubtless right. For his +official report, see Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 428.] to +extend my left, and requested Willcox to form the rest of the +division on my right facing the summit. He was doing this when he +received an order from General Reno to take position overlooking the +National road facing northward. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] I can hardly +think the order could have been intended to effect this, as the +turnpike is deep between the hills there, and the enemy quite +distant on the other side of the gorge. But Willcox, obeying the +order as he received it, formed along the Sharpsburg road, his left +next to my right, but his line drawn back nearly at right angles to +it. He placed Cook's battery in the angle, and this opened a rapid +fire on one of the enemy's which was on the bastion-like hill north +of the gorge already mentioned. Longstreet's men were now pretty +well up, and pushed a battery forward to the edge of the timber +beyond Wise's farm, and opened upon Willcox's line, enfilading it +badly. There was a momentary break there, but Willcox was able to +check the confusion, and to reform his lines facing westward as I +had originally directed; Welch's brigade was on my right, closely +supporting Cook's battery and Christ's beyond it. The general line +of Willcox's division was at the eastern edge of the wood looking +into the open ground at Fox's Gap, on the north side of the +Sharpsburg road. A warm skirmishing fight was continued along the +whole of our line, our purpose being to hold fast my extreme left +which was well advanced upon and over the mountain crest, and to +swing the right up to the continuation of the same line of hills +near the Mountain House. + +At nearly four o'clock the head of Sturgis's column approached. +[Footnote: Sturgis's Report, _Id_., pt. i. p. 443.] McClellan had +arrived on the field, and he with Burnside and Reno was at +Pleasonton's position at the knoll in the valley, and from that +point, a central one in the midst of the curving hills, they issued +their orders. They could see the firing of the enemy's battery from +the woods beyond the open ground in front of Willcox, and sent +orders to him to take or silence those guns at all hazards. He was +preparing to advance, when the Confederates anticipated him (for +their formation had now been completed) and came charging out of the +woods across the open fields. It was part of their general advance +and their most determined effort to drive us from the summit we had +gained in the morning. The brigades of Hood, Whiting, Drayton, and +D. R. Jones in addition to Hill's division (eight brigades in all) +joined in the attack on our side of the National road, batteries +being put in every available position. [Footnote: Longstreet's +Report, Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 839.] The fight raged +fiercely along the whole front, but the bloodiest struggle was +around Wise's house, where Drayton's brigade assaulted my right and +Willcox's left, coming across the open ground. Here the Sharpsburg +road curves around the hill held by us so that for a little way it +was parallel to our position. As the enemy came down the hill +forming the other side of the gap, across the road and up again to +our line, they were met by so withering a fire that they were +checked quickly, and even drifted more to the right where their +descent was continuous. Here Willcox's line volleyed into them a +destructive fire, followed by a charge that swept them in confusion +back along the road, where the men of the Kanawha division took up +the attack and completed their rout. Willcox succeeded in getting a +foothold on the further side of the open ground and driving off the +artillery which was there. Along our centre and left where the +forest was thick, the enemy was equally repulsed, but the cover of +the timber enabled them to keep a footing near by, whilst they +continually tried to extend so as to outflank us, moving their +troops along a road which goes diagonally down that side of the +mountain from Turner's Gap to Rohrersville. The batteries on the +north of the National road had been annoying to Willcox's men as +they advanced, but Sturgis sent forward Durell's battery from his +division as soon as he came up, and this gave special attention to +these hostile guns, diverting their fire from the infantry. Hooker's +men, of the First Corps, were also by this time pushing up the +mountain on that side of the turnpike, and we were not again +troubled by artillery on our right flank. + +It was nearly five o'clock when the enemy had disappeared in the +woods beyond Fox's Gap and Willcox could reform his shattered lines. +As the easiest mode of getting Sturgis's fresh men into position, +Willcox made room on his left for Ferrero's brigade supported by +Nagle's, doubling also his lines at the extreme right. Rodman's +division, the last of the corps, now began to reach the summit, and +as the report came from the extreme left that the enemy was +stretching beyond our flank, I sent Fairchild's brigade to assist +our men there, whilst Rodman took Harland's to the support of +Willcox. A staff officer now brought word that McClellan directed +the whole line to advance. At the left this could only mean to clear +our front decisively of the enemy there, for the slopes went +steadily down to the Rohrersville road. At the centre and right, +whilst we held Fox's Gap, the high and rocky summit at the Mountain +House was still in the enemy's possession. The order came to me as +senior officer upon the line, and the signal was given. On the left +Longstreet's men were pushed down the mountain side beyond the +Rohrersville and Sharpsburg roads, and the contest there was ended. +The two hills between the latter road and the turnpike were still +held by the enemy, and the further one could not be reached till the +Mountain House should be in our hands. Sturgis and Willcox, +supported by Rodman, again pushed forward, but whilst they made +progress they were baffled by a stubborn and concentrated +resistance. + +Reno had followed Rodman's division up the mountain, and came to me +a little before sunset, anxious to know why the right could not get +forward quite to the summit. I explained that the ground there was +very rough and rocky, a fortress in itself and evidently very +strongly held. He passed on to Sturgis, and it seemed to me he was +hardly gone before he was brought back upon a stretcher, dead. He +had gone to the skirmish line to examine for himself the situation, +and had been shot down by the enemy posted among the rocks and +trees. There was more or less firing on that part of the field till +late in the evening, but when morning dawned the Confederates had +abandoned the last foothold above Turner's Gap and retreated by way +of Boonsboro to Sharpsburg. The casualties in the Ninth Corps had +been 889, of which 356 were in the Kanawha division. Some 600 of the +enemy were captured by my division and sent to the rear under guard. + +On the north of the National road the First Corps under Hooker had +been opposed by one of Hill's brigades and four of Longstreet's, and +had gradually worked its way along the old Hagerstown road, crowning +the heights in that direction after dark in the evening. Gibbon's +brigade had also advanced in the National road, crowding up quite +close to Turner's Gap and engaging the enemy in a lively combat. It +is not my purpose to give a detailed history of events which did not +come under my own eye. It is due to General Burnside, however, to +note Hooker's conduct toward his immediate superior and his +characteristic efforts to grasp all the glory of the battle at the +expense of truth and of honorable dealing with his commander and his +comrades. Hooker's official report for the battle of South Mountain +was dated at Washington, November 17th, when Burnside was in command +of the Army of the Potomac, and when the intrigues of the former to +obtain the command for himself were notorious and near their final +success. In it he studiously avoided any recognition of orders or +directions received from Burnside, and ignores his staff, whilst he +assumes that his orders came directly from McClellan and compliments +the staff officers of the latter, as if they had been the only means +of communication. This was not only insolent but a military offence, +had Burnside chosen to prosecute it. He also asserts that the troops +on our part of the line had been defeated and were at the turnpike +at the base of the mountain in retreat when he went forward. At the +close of his report, after declaring that "the forcing of the +passage of South Mountain will be classed among the most brilliant +and satisfactory achievements of this army," he adds, "its principal +glory will be awarded to the First Corps." [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 214-215.] + +Nothing is more justly odious in military conduct than embodying +slanders against other commands in an official report. It puts into +the official records misrepresentations which cannot be met because +they are unknown, and it is a mere accident if those who know the +truth are able to neutralize their effect. In most cases it will be +too late to counteract the mischief when those most interested learn +of the slanders. All this is well illustrated in the present case. +Hooker's report got on file months after the battle, and it was not +till the January following that Burnside gave it his attention. I +believe that none of the division commanders of the Ninth Corps +learned of it till long afterward. I certainly did not till 1887, a +quarter of a century after the battle, when the volume of the +official records containing it was published. Burnside had asked to +be relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac after the +battle of Fredericksburg unless Hooker among others was punished for +insubordination. As in the preceding August, the popular sentiment +of that army as an organization was again, in Mr. Lincoln's +estimation, too potent a factor to be opposed, and the result was +the superseding of Burnside by Hooker himself, though the President +declared in the letter accompanying the appointment that the +latter's conduct had been blameworthy. It was under these +circumstances that Burnside learned of the false statements in +Hooker's report of South Mountain, and put upon file his stinging +response to it. His explicit statement of the facts will settle that +question among all who know the reputation of the men, and though +unprincipled ambition was for a time successful, that time was so +short and things were "set even" so soon that the ultimate result is +one that lovers of justice may find comfort in. +[Footnote: The text of Burnside's supplemental report is as +follows:-- + +"When I sent in my report of the part taken by my command in the +battle of South Mountain, General Hooker, who commanded one of the +corps of my command (the right wing), had not sent in his report, +but it has since been sent to me. I at first determined to pass over +its inaccuracies as harmless, or rather as harming only their +author; but upon reflection I have felt it my duty to notice two +gross misstatements made with reference to the commands of Generals +Reno and Cox, the former officer having been killed on that day, and +the latter now removed with his command to the West. + +"General Hooker says that as he came up to the front, Cox's corps +was retiring from the contest. This is untrue. General Cox did not +command a corps, but a division; and that division was in action, +fighting most gallantly, long before General Hooker came up, and +remained in the action all day, never leaving the field for one +moment. He also says that he discovered that the attack by General +Reno's corps was without sequence. This is also untrue, and when +said of an officer who so nobly fought and died on that same field, +it partakes of something worse than untruthfulness. Every officer +present who knew anything of the battle knows that Reno performed a +most important part in the battle, his corps driving the enemy from +the heights on one side of the main pike, whilst that of General +Hooker drove them from the heights on the other side. + +"General Hooker should remember that I had to order him four +separate times to move his command into action, and that I had to +myself order his leading division (Meade's) to start before he would +go." Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 422.] +The men of the First Corps and its officers did their duty nobly on +that as on many another field, and the only spot on the honor of the +day is made by the personal unscrupulousness and vainglory of its +commander. + +Franklin's corps had attacked and carried the ridge about five miles +further south, at Crampton's Gap, where the pass had been so +stubbornly defended by Mahone's and Cobb's brigades with artillery +and a detachment of Hampton's cavalry as to cause considerable loss +to our troops. The principal fighting was at a stone wall near the +eastern base of the mountain, and when the enemy was routed from +this position, he made no successful rally and the summit was gained +without much more fighting. The attack at the stone wall not far +from Burkettsville was made at about three o'clock in the afternoon. +The Sixth Corps rested upon the summit at night. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ANTIETAM: PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS + + +Lee's plan of invasion--Changed by McClellan's advance--The position +at Sharpsburg--Our routes of march--At the Antietam--McClellan +reconnoitring--Lee striving to concentrate--Our delays--Tuesday's +quiet--Hooker's evening march--The Ninth Corps command--Changing our +positions--McClellan's plan of battle--Hooker's evening +skirmish--Mansfield goes to support Hooker--Confederate +positions--Jackson arrives--McLaws and Walker reach the field--Their +places. + + +Before morning on the 15th of September it became evident that Lee +had used the night in withdrawing his army. An advance of the +pickets at daybreak confirmed this, and Pleasonton's cavalry was +pushed forward to Boonsboro, where they had a brisk skirmish with +the enemy's rear-guard. At Boonsboro a turnpike to Sharpsburg leaves +the National road, and the retreat of the Confederate cavalry, as +well as other indications, pointed out the Sharpsburg road as the +line of Lee's retreat. He had abandoned his plan of moving further +northward, and had chosen a line bringing him into surer +communication with Jackson. His movements before the battle of South +Mountain revealed a purpose of invasion identical with that which he +tried to carry out in 1863 in the Gettysburg campaign. Longstreet, +with two divisions and a brigade (D. R. Jones, Hood, and Evans), had +advanced to Hagerstown, and it seems that a large part of the +Confederate trains reached there also. D. H. Hill's division held +Boonsboro and the passes of South Mountain at Turner's and Fox's +Gaps. McLaws invested our fortifications on Maryland Heights, +supported by R. H. Anderson's division. Jackson, with four divisions +(A. P. Hill, Ewell, and Starke of his own corps, with Walker +temporarily reporting to him), was besieging Harper's Ferry. + +On Saturday, the 13th, Lee determined to draw back Longstreet from +his advanced position, in view of the fact that Jackson had not yet +reduced Harper's Ferry and that McClellan was marching to its +relief. Longstreet's divisions therefore approached Boonsboro so as +to support D. H. Hill, and thus it happened that they took part in +the battle of South Mountain. Hill again occupied the summit where +we found him on the 14th. From all this it is very plain that if +McClellan had hastened his advance on the 13th, the passes of South +Mountain at Turner's and Fox's gaps would not have been occupied in +force by the enemy, and the condition of things would have been what +he believed it was on the morning of the 14th, when a single brigade +had been thought enough to support Pleasonton's reconnoissance. +Twenty-four hours had changed all that. + +The turnpike from Boonsboro to Sharpsburg continues southward a +couple of miles, crossing the Potomac to Shepherdstown, which lies +on the Virginia side of the river. A bridge which formerly carried +the road over the stream had been burned; but not far below the +ruined piers was a ford, which was a pretty good one in the present +stage of water. Shepherdstown was the natural place of junction for +Lee and Jackson; but for Lee to have marched there at once would +have exposed Jackson to attack from the northern side of the +Potomac. The precious stores and supplies captured at Harper's Ferry +must be got to a place of safety, and this was likely to delay +Jackson a day or two. Lee therefore ordered McLaws to obstruct +Franklin's movement as much as he could, whilst he himself +concentrated the rest of Longstreet's corps at Sharpsburg, behind +the Antietam. If McClellan's force should prove overwhelming, the +past experience of the Confederate general encouraged him to believe +that our advance would not be so enterprising that he could not make +a safe retreat into Virginia. He resolved therefore to halt at +Sharpsburg, which offered an excellent field for a defensive battle, +leaving himself free to resume his aggressive campaign or to retreat +into Virginia according to the result. + +McClellan had ordered Richardson's division of the Second Corps to +support the cavalry in the advance, and Hooker's corps followed +Richardson. [Footnote: Hooker's Report, Official Records, vol. xix. +pt. i. p. 216.] It would seem most natural that the whole of +Sumner's wing should take the advance on the 15th, though the +breaking up of organizations was so much a habit with McClellan that +perhaps it should not be surprising that one of Sumner's divisions +was thus separated from the rest, and that Burnside's right wing was +also divided. [Footnote: We must not forget the fact, however, that +the order dividing the army into wings was suspended on that +morning, and that this gives to the incident the air of an +intentional reduction of the wing commanders to the control of a +single corps. Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 297.] The Ninth +Corps was ordered to follow the old Sharpsburg road through Fox's +Gap, our line of march being thus parallel to the others till we +should reach the road from Boonsboro to Sharpsburg. + +But we were not put in motion early in the day. We were ordered +first to bury the dead, and to send the wounded and prisoners to +Middletown It was nearly noon when we got orders to march, and when +the head of column filed into the road, the way was blocked by +Porter's corps, which was moving to the front by the same road. As +soon as the way was clear, we followed, leaving a small detachment +to complete the other tasks which had been assigned us. In the +wooded slope of the mountain west of the gap, a good many of the +Confederate dead still lay where they had fallen in the fierce +combats for the possession of the crest near Wise's house. Our road +led through a little hamlet called Springvale, and thence to +another, Porterstown, near the left bank of the Antietam, where it +runs into the Boonsboro and Sharpsburg turnpike. Sumner's two corps +had taken temporary position on either side of the turnpike, behind +the line of hills which there borders the stream. Porter's corps was +massed in rear of Sumner, and Hooker's had been moved off to the +right, around Keedysville. I was with the Kanawha division, assuming +that my temporary command of the corps ended with the battle on the +mountain. As we came up in rear of the troops already assembled, we +received orders to turn off the road to the left, and halted our +battalions closed in mass. It was now about three o'clock in the +afternoon. McClellan, as it seemed, had just reached the field, and +was surrounded by a group of his principal officers, most of whom I +had never seen before. I rode up with General Burnside, dismounted, +and was very cordially greeted by General McClellan. He and Burnside +were evidently on terms of most intimate friendship and familiarity. +He introduced me to the officers I had not known before, referring +pleasantly to my service with him in Ohio and West Virginia, putting +me upon an easy footing with them in a very agreeable and genial +way. + +We walked up the slope of the ridge before us, and looking westward +from its crest, the whole field of the coming battle was before us. +Immediately in front the Antietam wound through the hollow, the +hills rising gently on both sides. In the background, on our left, +was the village of Sharpsburg, with fields enclosed by stone fences +in front of it. At its right was a bit of wood (since known as the +West Wood), with the little Dunker Church standing out white and +sharp against it. Farther to the right and left, the scene was +closed in by wooded ridges with open farm lands between, the whole +making as pleasing and prosperous a landscape as can easily be +imagined. + +[Illustration: Map] + +We made a large group as we stood upon the hill, and it was not long +before we attracted the enemy's attention. A puff of white smoke +from a knoll on the right of the Sharpsburg road was followed by the +screaming of a shell over our heads. McClellan directed that all but +one or two should retire behind the ridge, while he continued the +reconnoissance, walking slowly to the right. I think Fitz-John +Porter was the only general officer who was retained as a companion +in this walk. I noted with satisfaction the cool and business-like +air with which McClellan made his examination under fire. The +Confederate artillery was answered by a battery of ours, and a +lively cannonade ensued on both sides, though without any noticeable +effect. The enemy's position was revealed, and he was evidently in +force on both sides of the turnpike in front of Sharpsburg, covered +by the undulations of the rolling ground which hid his infantry from +our sight. + +The examination of the enemy's position and the discussion of it +continued till near the close of the day. Orders were then given for +the Ninth Corps to move to the left, keeping off the road, which was +occupied by other troops. We moved through fields and farm lands, an +hour's march in the dusk of evening, going into bivouac about a mile +south of the Sharpsburg bridge, and in rear of the hills bordering +the Antietam. + +The village of Sharpsburg is in the midst of a plateau which is +almost enclosed by the Potomac River and the Antietam. The Potomac +bounds it on the south and west, and the Antietam on the east. The +plateau in general outline may be considered a parallelogram, four +miles in length from north to south, and two and a half miles in +width inside the bends of the river. The northern side of this +terrain appears the narrowest, for here the river curves sharply +away to the west, nearly doubling the width of the field above and +below the bend. From the village the ground descends in all +directions, though a continuous ridge runs northward, on which is +the Hagerstown turnpike. The Boonsboro turnpike enters the village +from the northeast, crossing the Antietam on a stone bridge, and +continuing through Sharpsburg to the southwest, reaches +Shepherdstown by the ford of the Potomac already mentioned. The +Hagerstown turnpike enters the town from the north, passing the +Dunker Church a mile out, and goes nearly due south, crossing the +Antietam at its mouth, and continuing down the Potomac toward +Harper's Ferry. + +The Antietam is a deep creek, with few fords at an ordinary stage of +water, and the principal roads cross it upon stone bridges. Of these +there were three within the field of battle; the upper one in front +of Keedysville, the middle one upon the Boonsboro turnpike, and the +lower one on the Sharpsburg and Rohrersville road, since known as +Burnside's bridge. McClellan's staff was better supplied with +officers of engineers than the staff of most of our separate armies, +and Captain Duane, his chief engineer, systematized the work of +gathering topographical information. This was communicated to the +general officers in connection with the orders which were given +them. In this way we were instructed that the only fords of the +Antietam passable at that time were one between the two upper +bridges named, and another about half a mile below Burnside's +bridge, in a deep bend of the stream. We found, however, during the +engagement of the 17th, another practicable crossing for infantry a +short distance above the bridge. This was not a ford in common use, +but in the low stage of water at the time it was made available for +a small force. + +It was about noon of the 15th of September that Lee placed the +forces which he had in hand across the turnpike in front of +Sharpsburg. D. H. Hill's division was on the north of the road, and +on the south of it Longstreet's own old division (now under General +D. R. Jones), Hood's division, and Evans's independent brigade. +Stuart's cavalry and the reserve artillery were also present. The +rest of the army was with Jackson at Harper's Ferry, or co-operating +with him in the neighborhood of Maryland Heights. Out of forty-four +brigades, Lee could put but fourteen or fifteen in line that day to +oppose McClellan. He was very strong in artillery, however, and his +cannon looked grimly over the hill-crests behind which his infantry +were lying. Cutts's and Jones's battalions of the reserve artillery +were ordered to report to Hill for the protection of the left of the +Confederate line, and gave him in all the sixty or seventy guns +which he speaks of in his report, and which have puzzled several +writers who have described the battle. Whenever our troops showed +themselves as they marched into position, they were saluted from +shotted cannon, and the numerous batteries that were developed on +the long line of hills before us no doubt did much to impress +McClellan with the belief that he had the great bulk of Lee's army +before him. + +The value of time was one of the things McClellan never understood. +He should have been among the first in the saddle at every step in +the campaign after he was in possession of Lee's order of the 9th, +and should have infused energy into every unit in his army. Instead +of making his reconnoissance at three in the afternoon of Monday, it +might have been made at ten in the morning, and the battle could +have been fought before night, if, indeed, Lee had not promptly +retreated when support from Jackson would thus have become +impossible. Or if McClellan had pushed boldly for the bridge at the +mouth of the Antietam, nothing but a precipitate retreat by Lee +could have prevented the interposition of the whole National army +between the separated wings of the Confederates. The opportunity was +still supremely favorable for McClellan, but prompt decision was not +easy for him. Nothing but reconnoitring was done on Monday afternoon +or on Tuesday, whilst Lee was straining every nerve to concentrate +his forces and to correct what would have proven a fatal blunder in +scattering them, had his opponent acted with vigor. The strongest +defence the eulogists of the Confederate general have made for him +is that he perfectly understood McClellan's caution and calculated +with confidence upon it; that he would have been at liberty to +perfect his combinations still more at leisure, but for the accident +by which the copy of his plan had fallen into our hands at Frederick +City. + +During the 16th we confidently expected a battle, and I kept with my +division. In the afternoon I saw General Burnside, and learned from +him that McClellan had determined to let Hooker make a movement on +our extreme right to turn Lee's position. Burnside's manner in +speaking of this implied that he thought it was done at Hooker's +solicitation, and through his desire, openly evinced, to be +independent in command. I urged Burnside to assume the immediate +command of the corps and allow me to lead my own division. He +objected that as he had been announced as commander of the right +wing of the army, composed of the two corps, he was unwilling to +waive his precedence or to assume that Hooker was detached for +anything more than a temporary purpose. I pointed out that Reno's +staff had been granted leave of absence to take the body of their +chief to Washington, and that my division staff was too small for +corps duty; but he met this by saying that he would use his staff +for this purpose, and help me in every way he could till the crisis +of the campaign should be over. Sympathizing with his very natural +feeling, I ceased objecting, and accepted with as good grace as I +could the unsatisfactory position of nominal commander of the corps +to which I was a comparative stranger, and which, under the +circumstances, naturally looked to him as its accustomed and real +commander. Burnside's intentions in respect to myself were +thoroughly friendly, as he afterward proved, and I had no ground for +complaint on this score; but the position of second in command is +always an awkward and anomalous one, and such I felt it. + +The 16th passed without serious fighting, though we had desultory +cannonading and picket firing. It was hard to restrain our men from +showing themselves on the crest of the long ridge in front of us, +and whenever they did so they drew the fire from some of the enemy's +batteries, to which ours would respond. McClellan reconnoitred the +line of the Antietam near us, and the country immediately on our +left, down the valley. As the result of this we were ordered to +change our positions at nightfall, staff officers being sent to +guide each division to its new camp. The selected positions were +marked by McClellan's engineers, who then took members of Burnside's +staff to identify the locations, and these in turn conducted our +divisions. There was far more routine of this sort in that army than +I ever saw elsewhere. Corps and division commanders should have the +responsibility of protecting their own flanks and in choosing +ordinary camps. To depend upon the general staff for this is to take +away the vigor and spontaneity of the subordinate and make him +perform his duty in a mechanical way. He should be told what is +known of the enemy and his movements so as to be put upon his guard, +and should then have freedom of judgment as to details. The changes +made were as follows: Rodman's division went half a mile further to +the left, where a country road led to the Antietam ford, half a mile +below the Burnside bridge. Sturgis's division was placed on the +sides of the road leading to the stone bridge just mentioned. +Willcox's was put in reserve in rear of Sturgis. My own was divided, +Scammon's brigade going with Rodman, and Crook's going with Sturgis. +Crook was ordered to take the advance in crossing the bridge in case +we should be ordered to attack. This selection was made by Burnside +himself as a compliment to the division for the vigor of its assault +at South Mountain. While we were moving we heard Hooker's guns far +off on the right and front, and the cannonade continued an hour or +more after it became dark. + +What, then, was the plan of battle of which the first step was this +movement of Hooker's? McClellan's dispositions on the 15th were made +whilst Franklin's corps was still absent, and, under the orders he +received, was likely to be so for a day at least. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 29.] Sumner's two corps had +been treated as the centre of the army in hand, Burnside's had been +divided by putting Hooker on the extreme right and the Ninth Corps +on the extreme left, and Porter's corps was in reserve. This looked +as if a general attack in front with this organization of the army +were intended. But the more McClellan examined the enemy's position +the less inclined he was to attack the centre. He could cross the +bridge there and on the right, and deploy; but the gentle slopes +rising toward Sharpsburg were swept by formidable batteries and +offered no cover to advancing troops. The enemy's infantry was +behind stone fences and in sunken roads, whilst ours must advance +over the open. Lee's right rested upon the wooded bluffs above the +Burnside bridge, where it could only be approached by a small head +of column charging along the narrow roadway under a concentrated +fire of cannon and small arms. No point of attack on the whole field +was so unpromising as this. Then, as Jackson was still at Harper's +Ferry, there was the contingency of an attack in rear if anything +less than the mass of our army were pushed beyond Lee's right. + +On our right, in front of Hooker, it was easy to turn the +Confederate line. The road from Keedysville through Smoketown to the +Hagerstown turnpike crossed the Antietam in a hollow, out of the +line of fire, and a march around Lee's left flank could be made +almost wholly under cover. The topography of the field therefore +suggested a flank attack from our right, if the National commander +rejected the better strategy of interposing his army between Lee and +Jackson as too daring a movement. This flank attack McClellan +determined to make, and some time after noon of the 16th issued his +orders accordingly. In his preliminary report of the battle, made +before he was relieved from command, McClellan says:-- + +"The design was to make the main attack upon the enemy's left,--at +least to create a diversion in favor of the main attack, with the +hope of something more, by assailing the enemy's right,--and as soon +as one or both of the flank movements were fully successful, to +attack their centre with any reserve I might then have in hand." +[Footnote: O R., vol. xix. pt. i. p. 30.] + +His report covering his whole career in the war, dated August 4, +1863 (and published February, 1864, after warm controversies had +arisen, and he had become a political character), modifies the above +statement in some important particulars. It says:-- + +"My plan for the impending general engagement was to attack the +enemy's left with the corps of Hooker and Mansfield supported by +Sumner's and if necessary by Franklin's, and as soon as matters +looked favorably there, to move the corps of Burnside against the +enemy's extreme right upon the ridge running to the south and rear +of Sharpsburg, and having carried their position to press along the +crest toward our right, and whenever either of these flank movements +should be successful, to advance our centre with all the forces then +disposable." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix, pt. i, p. 55.] + +The opinion I got from Burnside at the time, as to the part the +Ninth Corps was to take, was fairly consistent with the design first +quoted, namely, that when the attack by Sumner, Hooker, and Franklin +should be progressing favorably, we were "to create a diversion in +favor of the main attack, with the hope of something more." It is +also probable that Hooker's movement was at first intended to be +made by his corps alone, the attack to be taken up by Sumner's two +corps as soon as Hooker began, and to be shared in by Franklin if he +reached the field in time, thus making a simultaneous oblique attack +from our right by the whole army except Porter's corps, which was in +reserve, and the Ninth Corps, which was to create the "diversion" on +our left and prevent the enemy from stripping his right to reinforce +his left. It is hardly disputable that this would have been a better +plan than the one actually carried out. Certainly the assumption +that the Ninth Corps could cross the Antietam alone at the only +place on the field where the Confederates had their line immediately +upon the stream which must be crossed under fire by two narrow heads +of column, and could then turn to the right along the high ground +occupied by the hostile army before that army had been broken or +seriously shaken elsewhere, is one which would hardly be made till +time had dimmed the remembrance of the actual position of Lee's +divisions upon the field. It is also noticeable that the plan as +given in the final report leaves no "centre" with which to "advance" +when either of the flank movements should be successful, Porter's +corps in reserve being the only one not included in the movement as +described. + +Further evidence that the plan did not originally include the wide +separation of two corps to the right to make the extended turning +movement is found in Hooker's incomplete report, and in the wide +interval in time between the marching of his corps and that of +Mansfield. Hooker was ordered to cross the Antietam at about two +o'clock in the afternoon of the 16th by the bridge in front of +Keedysville and the ford below it. He says that after his troops +were over and in march, he rode back to McClellan, who told him that +he might call for reinforcements, and that when they came they +should be under his command. Somewhat later McClellan rode forward +with his staff to observe the progress making, and Hooker again +urged the necessity of reinforcements. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xix. pt. i. p. 217.] Yet Sumner did not receive orders to send +Mansfield's corps to his support till evening, and it marched only +half an hour before midnight, [Footnote: _Id_., p. 275.] reaching +its bivouac, about a mile and a half in rear of that of Hooker, at 2 +A.M. of the 17th. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 475.] + +After crossing the Antietam, Hooker had shaped his course to the +westward, aiming to reach the ridge on which the Hagerstown turnpike +runs, and which is the dominant feature in the landscape. This ridge +is about two miles distant from the Antietam, and for the first mile +of the way no resistance was met. However, his progress had been +observed by the enemy, and Hood's two brigades were taken from the +centre and passed to the left of D. H. Hill. Here they occupied an +open wood (since known as the East Wood) northeast of the Dunker +Church. Hooker was now trying to approach the Confederate positions, +Meade's division of the Pennsylvania Reserves being in the advance. +A sharp skirmishing combat ensued, and artillery was brought into +action on both sides. I have mentioned our hearing the noise of this +engagement from the other extremity of the field in the fading light +of evening. On our side Seymour's brigade had been chiefly engaged, +and had felt the enemy so vigorously that Hood supposed he had +repulsed a serious effort to take the wood. Hooker was, however, +aiming to pass quite beyond the flank, and kept his other divisions +north of the hollow beyond the wood, and upon the ridge which +reaches the turnpike near the largest re-entrant bend of the +Potomac, which is only half a mile distant. Here he bivouacked upon +the slopes of the ridge, Doubleday's division resting with its right +upon the turnpike, Ricketts's division upon the left of Doubleday, +and Meade covering the front of both with the skirmishers of +Seymour's brigade. Between Meade's skirmishers and the ridge were +the farmhouse and barn of J. Poffenberger, on the east side of the +road, where Hooker made his own quarters for the night. Half a mile +further in front was the farm of D. R. Miller, the dwelling on the +east, and the barn surrounded by stacks on the west of the road. +[Footnote: Hooker's unfinished report says he slept in the barn of +D. R. Miller, but he places it on the east of the road, and the spot +is fully identified as Poffenberger's by General Gibbon, who +commanded the right brigade, and by Lieutenant-Colonel Rufus R. +Dawes, Sixth Wisconsin (afterward Brevet Brigadier-General), both of +whom subsequently visited the field and determined the positions.] +Mansfield's corps (the Twelfth), marching as it did late in the +night, kept further to the right than Hooker's, but moved on a +nearly parallel course, and bivouacked on the farm of another J. +Poffenberger, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 275, +475.] near the road which, branching from the Hagerstown turnpike at +the Dunker Church, intersects the one running from Keedysville +through Smoketown to the same turnpike about a mile north of +Hooker's position. [Footnote: See map, p. 299.] + +On the Confederate side, Hood's division had been so roughly handled +that it was replaced by two brigades of Ewell's division (commanded +by Lawton), which with Jackson's own (commanded by J. R. Jones) had +been led to the field from Harper's Ferry by Jackson, reaching +Sharpsburg in the afternoon of the 16th. These divisions were formed +on the left of D. H. Hill, and in continuation of his line along the +turnpike, but with a brigade advanced to the East Wood, which was +held as a salient. Hood's division, on being relieved, was placed in +reserve near the Dunker Church, and spent part of the night in +cooking rations, of which its supply had been short for a day or +two. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 923.] The +combatants on both sides slept upon their arms, well knowing that +the dawn would bring bloody work. + +During the evening McClellan issued orders looking toward the +joining of a general engagement at daybreak. McLaws's Confederate +division, which had been opposing Franklin, crossed the Potomac at +Maryland Heights, and marched by way of Shepherdstown, reaching +Sharpsburg on the morning of the 17th. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 855, +856.] Walker's division, which had come from Harper's Ferry on the +16th, extended Lee's right down the Antietam, covering the ford at +which Rodman, on our side, was expected to cross. [Footnote: _Id_., +p. 914.] A. P. Hill's division was the only force of the enemy +completing the work at Harper's Ferry, and Franklin was ordered to +leave Couch's division to observe Hill's movements from our side of +the Potomac, and to bring the remainder of his corps on the field +early in the morning. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 376.] In the respite +given him since Sunday, Lee had therefore concentrated all his army +but one division, and was better ready for the battle than +McClellan, for Franklin's corps could come upon the field only after +a considerable march, and he did not, in fact, reach it till ten +o'clock or later. Sumner was ordered to have the Second Corps ready +to march an hour before day, but he had no authority to move till +explicit orders to that effect should reach him. I have said that +Hooker claims in his report that the promise was made him that +Mansfield's corps, when it came to reinforce him, should be under +his orders. If this were so, it would unite all the troops now +present which had fought in Pope's Army of Virginia. I find no +trace, however, in the reports of the battle, that Hooker exercised +any such command. He seems to have confined his work to the +independent action of his own corps until Mansfield's death, and was +himself disabled almost immediately afterward. As there were +commanders of wings of the army duly designated, and two corps were +now separated by a long interval from the rest in an independent +turning movement, it can hardly be debated that that was the place +of all others where one of them should have been, unless McClellan +were there in person. Had Burnside's two corps been kept together as +the right wing, the right attack could have been made a unit. If +Sumner had then been directed to keep in communication with +Burnside, and to advance when the latter did, nobody will doubt that +Sumner would have been prompt in sustaining his comrades. But both +Sumner and Burnside were made to feel that they were reduced from +their proper rank, and however conscientious they might be in +carrying out such orders as reached them, it was not in human nature +that they should volunteer suggestions or anticipate commands. +McClellan had thus thrown away the advantages, if there were any, in +holding only two or three men directly responsible for the +co-ordination of his movements, and had assumed the full personal +responsibility of watching each phase of the battle and suiting the +proper orders to each conjuncture as it should arise. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +ANTIETAM: THE FIGHT ON THE RIGHT + + +Hooker astir early--The field near the Dunker Church--Artillery +combat--Positions of Hooker's divisions--Rocky ledges in the +woods--Advance of Doubleday through Miller's orchard and +garden--Enemy's fire from West Wood--They rush for Gibbon's +battery--Repulse--Advance of Patrick's brigade--Fierce fighting +along the turnpike--Ricketts's division in the East Wood--Fresh +effort of Meade's division in the centre--A lull in the +battle--Mansfield's corps reaches the field--Conflicting opinions as +to the hour--Mansfield killed--Command devolves on Williams--Advance +through East Wood--Hooker wounded--Meade in command of the corps--It +withdraws--Greene's division reaches the Dunker Church--Crawford's +in the East Wood--Terrible effects on the Confederates--Sumner's +corps coming up--Its formation--It moves on the Dunker Church from +the east--Divergence of the divisions--Sedgwick's passes to right of +Greene--Attacked in flank and broken--Rallying at the Poffenberger +hill--Twelfth Corps hanging on near the church--Advance of French's +division--Richardson follows later--Bloody Lane reached--The Piper +house--Franklin's corps arrives--Charge of Irwin's brigade. + + +Before the break of day on Wednesday the 17th, it was discovered +that Doubleday's division of Hooker's corps lay exposed to artillery +fire from batteries of the enemy supposed to be in position on their +front and right. In rousing the men and changing their place, the +stillness of the night was so far broken that the Confederates +believed they were advancing to attack, and a lively cannonade and +picket firing anticipated the dawn. [Footnote: R. R. Dawes, Service +with the Sixth Wisconsin, p. 87.] The chance for getting their +breakfast was thus destroyed, and Hooker prepared his whole command +for action as soon as it should be light enough to move. Looking +south from the Poffenberger farm along the turnpike, he then saw a +gently rolling landscape of which the commanding point was the +Dunker Church, whose white brick walls appeared on the right of the +road, backed by the foliage of the West Wood, which came toward him +filling a hollow that ran parallel to the turnpike, with a single +row of fields between. On the east side of the turnpike was the +Miller house, with its barn and stack-yard across the road to the +right, and beyond these the ground dipped into a little depression. +Still further on was seen a large cornfield between the East Wood +and the turnpike, rising again to the higher level, and Hooker +noticed the glint from a long line of bayonets beyond the corn, +struck by the first rays of the rising sun. There was, however, +another little hollow at the further side of the cornfield, which +could not be seen from Hooker's position; and on the farthest ridge, +near the church and extending across the turnpike toward the East +Wood, were the Confederate lines, partly sheltered by piles of rails +taken from the fences. They looked to Hooker as if they were +deployed along the edge of the corn, but an open sloping field lay +between the corn and them, after passing the second hollow. It was +plain that the high ground about the little white church was the key +of the enemy's position, and if that could be carried, Hooker's task +would be well done. + +The enemy's artillery had opened early from a high hill nearly east +of the Miller house in a position to strike our forces in flank and +rear as they should go forward, and Hooker placed batteries on the +equally commanding height above Poffenberger's and detached +Hofmann's brigade from Doubleday's division to support it and to +prevent the enemy from turning our extreme right. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 224.] This force maintained +its position during the day, and was the nucleus about which both +Hooker's and Sedgwick's men rallied after their fight. The enemy's +artillery referred to were several batteries under Stuart's command +supported by his cavalry and by Early's brigade of infantry which +Jackson detached for that purpose. [Footnote: Official Records vol. +xix. pt. i. p. 819.] + +Doubleday's division (except Hofmann), was in two lines, Gibbon's +and Phelps's in front, supported by Patrick's. Of Meade's division +Seymour's brigade, which had sustained the combat of the evening +before, had continued to cover the front with skirmishers during the +night, and remained on the northeast side of the East Wood. The +other brigades (Anderson and Magilton) were placed in reserve behind +Doubleday. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 269.] The Tenth Regiment +Pennsylvania Reserves was sent from Anderson's to a strong position +west of the turnpike near the extremity of the strip of wood +northwest of the Miller house. It was among ledges of rock looking +into the ravine beyond which were Stuart and Early. The ravine was +the continuation northward to the Potomac of a little watercourse +which headed near the Dunker Church and along one side of which the +West Wood lay, the outcrop of rock making broken ledges along its +whole length. Indeed, all the pieces of wood in the neighborhood +seemed to be full of such rocks, and for that reason had been +allowed to remain in forest. The regiment was ordered to cover its +front with skirmishers and to hold its position at all hazards. +Ricketts's division had bivouacked in a wood east of Doubleday's. +Its three brigades (Duryea's, Hartsuff's, and Christian's) were +deployed on the left of Doubleday, and were to march toward the +Dunker Church through the East Wood, passing the line of Seymour's +brigade, which was then to become its support. + +The Confederates opened a rapid artillery fire from the open ground +in front of the Dunker Church as well as from Stuart's position, and +Hooker answered the challenge by an immediate order for his line to +advance. Doubleday directed Gibbon, who was on the right, to guide +upon the turnpike. Patrick remained for a time in the wood north of +the Miller house, till he should be needed at the front. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 224.] Doubleday and his +brigade commanders seem to have supposed that Meade's men occupied +part at least of the West Wood, and that they would cover Gibbon's +flank as he advanced. This belief was based on the stationing of the +Tenth Pennsylvania Reserves; but that regiment was fifteen or twenty +rods north of the northern end of the West Wood, and Gibbon's right +flank, as he advanced, was soon exposed to attack from Ewell's +division (Lawton in command), which held the wood, hidden from view +and perfectly protected by the slope of the ground and the forest, +as they looked over the rim into the undulating open fields in +front. Part of Battery B, Fourth United States Artillery (Gibbon's +own battery), was run forward to Miller's barn and stack-yard on the +right of the road, and fired over the heads of the advancing +regiments. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 229, 248.] Other batteries were +similarly placed, more to the left, and our cannon roared from all +the hill crests encircling the field. The line moved swiftly forward +through Miller's orchard and kitchen garden, breaking through a +stout picket fence on the near side, down into the moist ground of +the hollow, and up through the corn which was higher than their +heads and shut out everything from view. [Footnote: Dawes, Sixth +Wisconsin, p. 88.] At the southern side of the field they came to a +low fence, beyond which was the open field already mentioned, and +the enemy's line at the further side of it. But the cornfield only +covered part of the line, and Gibbon's right had outmarched the +left, which had been exposed to a terrible fire. The direction taken +had been a little oblique, so that the right wing of the Sixth +Wisconsin (the flanking regiment) had crossed the turnpike and was +suddenly assailed by a sharp fire from the West Wood on its flank. +They swung back into the road, lying down along the high, stout +post-and-rail fence, keeping up their fire by shooting between the +rails. [Footnote: Dawes, Sixth Wisconsin, p. 89.] + +Leaving this little band to protect their right, the main line, +which had come up on the left, leaped the fence at the south edge of +the cornfield, and charged up hill across the open at the enemy in +front. But the concentrated fire of artillery and musketry was more +than they could bear. Men fell by scores and hundreds, and the +thinned lines gave way and ran for the shelter of the corn. They +were rallied in the hollow on the north side of the field. The enemy +had rapidly extended his left under cover of the West Wood, and now +made a dash at the right flank and at Gibbon's exposed guns. His men +on the right faced by that flank and followed him bravely, though +with little order, in a dash at the Confederates who were swarming +out of the wood. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 91.] The gunners +double-charged the cannon with canister, and under a terrible fire +of artillery and rifles Lawton's division broke and sought shelter. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 248.] + +Patrick's brigade had now come up in support of Gibbon, and was sent +across the turnpike into the West Wood to cover that flank, two +regiments of Gibbon's going with him. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 243.] His +men pushed forward, the enemy retiring, until they were in advance +of the principal line in the cornfield upon which the Confederates +of Jackson's division were now marching to attack. Patrick faced his +brigade to the left, parallel to the edge of the wood and to the +turnpike, and poured his fire into the flank of the enemy, following +it by a charge through the field and up to the fence along the road. +Again the Confederates were driven back, but their left came forward +in the wood again, attacking Patrick's right, forcing him to resume +his original direction of front and to retire to the cover of a +rocky ledge in the open at right angles to the turnpike not far from +the northern end of the timber. Phelps's brigade had gone forward +with Gibbon's, pushing nearly to the Confederate lines, and being +driven back with great loss when they charged over open ground +against the enemy. + +Ricketts's division advanced from the wood in which it had spent the +night, passed through Seymour's skirmishers and entered the East +Wood, swinging his left forward as he went. This grove was open, but +the rocks made perfect cover for Jackson's men, and every stone and +tree blazed with deadly fire. Hartsuff endeavored to reconnoitre the +ground, but was wounded and disabled immediately. Ricketts pushed +on, suffering fearfully from an enemy which in open order could fall +back from rock to rock and from tree to tree with little comparative +loss. He succeeded at last in reaching the west edge of this wood, +forming along the road and fences that were just within its margin. +Here he kept up a rapid fire till his ammunition was exhausted. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 258.] + +When Doubleday's men had been finally repulsed, our line on the +right curved from the ledge where Patrick took refuge, forward in +front of Miller's orchard and garden, part of Gibbon's men lying +down along the turnpike fence facing to the west. Meade's two +brigades in reserve were sent forward, but when they reached Gibbon +and Phelps, Ricketts was calling for assistance in the East Wood and +Magilton's brigade was sent to him, leaving a gap on the left of +Anderson. Another gallant effort was now made, Seymour's depleted +brigade striving to cover the opening, but the enemy dashed at it as +Anderson came up the slope, and the left being taken in flank, the +whole broke again to the rear. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 269, 270.] +Ricketts's right was also imperilled, and he withdrew his exhausted +lines to reorganize and to fill their empty cartridge-boxes. There +was a lull in the battle, and the combatants on both sides were +making desperate efforts to reform their broken regiments. + +Mansfield had called the Twelfth Corps to arms at the first sound of +Hooker's battle and marched to his aid. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xix. pt. i. p. 475.] It consisted of two divisions, Williams's +and Greene's, the first of two and the other of three brigades. +There were a number of new and undrilled regiments in the command, +and in hastening to the front in columns of battalions in mass, +proper intervals for deployment had not been preserved, and time was +necessarily lost before the troops could be put in line. Indeed, +some of them were not regularly deployed at all. They had left their +bivouac at sunrise which, as it was about the equinox, was not far +from six o'clock. They had marched across the country without +reference to roads, always a very slow mode of advancing, and doubly +so with undrilled men. The untrained regiments must, in the nature +of things, have been very much like a mob when their so-called +columns-in-mass approached the field of battle. It is impossible to +reconcile the statements of the reports as to the time they became +engaged. General Williams says they were engaged before seven +o'clock. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 476.] General Meade says they relieved +his men not earlier than ten or eleven. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 270.] +It seems to be guesswork in both cases, and we are forced to judge +from circumstantial evidence. Ricketts thinks he had been fighting +four hours when he retired for lack of ammunition, and the Twelfth +Corps men had not yet reached him. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 259.] +Patrick, on the extreme right, says that his men had made their +coffee in the lull after his retreat to the sheltering ledge of +rocks, and had completed their breakfast before the first of +Mansfield's men joined him there. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 244.] The +circumstantial details given by several officers make the interval +between the attack by the Twelfth Corps and the arrival of Sumner a +very short one. It may be regarded as probable, therefore, that +Hooker's battle covered the larger part of the time between six +o'clock and the arrival of Sumner at about ten. + +On reaching the field, Mansfield had a brief consultation with +Hooker, resulting in his ordering Williams to form his division +nearly as Doubleday's had been, and to advance with his right upon +the turnpike. He himself led forward the left of Crawford's brigade, +which was the first to arrive, and pushed toward the East Wood. The +regiments were still in columns of companies, and though Williams +had ordered them deployed, the corps commander himself, as Crawford +says, countermanded this order and led them under fire in column. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 484.] He evidently +believed Ricketts's men to be still holding the East Wood, and tried +to keep his own from opening fire upon the troops that were seen +there. At this moment he was mortally wounded, before the deployment +was made. + +General Alpheus S. Williams, on whom the command devolved, was a +cool and experienced officer. He hastened the deployment of +Crawford's and Gordon's brigades of his own division, sending one of +the new and large regiments to assist the Pennsylvania regiment in +holding the important position covering the right beyond the +turnpike. As Greene's division came up, he ordered him to form +beyond Gordon's left, and when deployed to move on the Dunker Church +through the East Wood, guiding his left by the cloud of smoke from +the Mumma house, which had been set on fire by D. H. Hill's men. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 475, 1033.] At Doubleday's request, he +detached Goodrich's brigade from Greene, and sent it to Patrick on +the right with orders to advance into the West Wood from its +northern extremity. Patrick says the regiments came separately and +at considerable intervals, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. +pt. i. p. 244.] and it is not unlikely that the older regiments were +sent in to relieve Hooker's men as fast as they were ready, and the +more disorganized ones were obliged to delay till they could be got +into some sort of shape. Williams made his first disposition of his +troops according to Hooker's suggestion, but the latter received a +serious wound in the foot, as it would seem, before the attack by +the Twelfth Corps had begun. Hooker turned over the command to +Meade, and a formal order confirming this was issued from +McClellan's head-quarters later in the day. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. +ii. p. 315.] + +So many of the regiments were carried under fire while still in +column that not only was the formation of the line an irregular one, +but the deployment when made was more diagonal to the turnpike than +Hooker's had been, and the whole line faced more to the westward. +But they advanced with a courage equal to the heroism already shown +on that field. The Confederates who now held the open space at the +Dunker Church were Hood's two brigades, and the rest of Jackson's +corps extended into the West Wood. Stuart had found his artillery +position on the hill too far from Jackson's line, and the fighting +was so near the church that he could not fire upon our men without +hurting his own. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 820.] He therefore +moved further to the south and west, and Early carried his brigade +(except the Thirteenth Virginia) back toward Ewell's division, which +now came under his command by the disabling of General Lawton in the +fight. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 968, 969.] + +Williams's first line was a good deal shortened, and the divisions, +guiding as well as they could upon Greene, crowded so far to the +south that even Crawford's brigade, which was on the right of all, +went partly through the East Wood advancing on a line nearly at +right angles to the turnpike. The enemy had followed Ricketts's +retiring battalions and were again in occupation of the East Wood. +His work was to be done over again, though the stubborn courage of +Hood's depleted brigades could not make up for the numbers which the +National officers now led against him. But the rocks, the ledges, +and the trees still gave him such cover that it was at a fearful +cost that the Twelfth Corps men pushed him steadily back and then by +a final rush drove him from the roads which skirted the grove on +west and south. What was left of Jackson's corps except Early's +brigade had come out of the West Wood to meet Crawford's division, +and the stout high fences along the turnpike were the scene of +frightful slaughter. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. +pp. 485, 487.] The Confederates tried to climb them, but the level +fire of our troops swept over the field so that the top of the fence +seemed in the most deadly line of the leaden storm, and the men in +gray fell in windrows along its panels. Our own men were checked by +the same obstacle, and lay along the ground shooting between the +rails and over the fallen bodies of the Confederate soldiers which +made a sort of rampart. + +In obedience to his original orders, Greene took ground a little +more to his left, occupying a line along a fence from the burning +Mumma house to the road leading from the East Wood directly to the +Dunker Church. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 505.] The two brigades with +thinned ranks barely filled this space, and Crawford's division +connected with them as well as it could. Batteries came forward on +Greene's left and right, and helped to sweep the grove around the +church. Hill attempted to hold him back, and a bold dash was made at +Greene, probably by Hill's left brigades which were ordered forward +to support Hood. Greene's men lay on the ground just under the ridge +above the burning house till the enemy were within a few rods of +them, then rose and delivered a volley which an eyewitness (Major +Crane, Seventh Ohio) says cut them down "like grass before the +mower." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 506.] Those +who escaped sought refuge in the wood behind the church, where the +crowning ridge is some distance back from the road. Greene now +dashed forward and gained the grove immediately about the church, +where he held on for an hour or two. Crawford's division, after +several ebbs and flows in the tide of battle, was holding the +western skirt of the East wood with one or two of its regiments +still close to the turnpike fence on his right. + +Meanwhile Goodrich had been trying to advance from the north end of +the West Wood to attack the flank of the enemy there; but Early with +his own brigade held the ledges along the ravine so stubbornly that +he was making little progress. + +Greene was calling for support about the Dunker Church, for he was +close under the ridge on which Hill and Jackson were forming such +line as they could, and he was considerably in advance of our other +troops. Williams withdrew one regiment from Goodrich's brigade and +sent it to Greene, and directed Crawford to send also to him the +Thirteenth New Jersey, a new and strong regiment which had been left +in reserve, as we have seen, in a bit of wood northeast of the field +of battle. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 476, 505.] Gordon's brigade was +withdrawn by Crawford to enable it to reorganize in rear of the East +Wood, and Crawford's own brigade held the further margin of it. It +will thus be seen that the Twelfth Corps was now divided into three +portions,--Greene's division at the church, Crawford's in the East +Wood, and Goodrich's brigade near the north end of the West Wood. + +Meade had withdrawn the First Corps to the ridge at Poffenberger's, +where it had bivouacked the night before, except that Patrick's +brigade remained in support of Goodrich. The corps had suffered +severely, having lost 2470 in killed and wounded, but it was still +further depleted by straggling, so that Meade reported less than +7000 men with the colors that evening. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 349.] Its organization had been preserved, +however, and the story that it was utterly dispersed was a mistake. +The Twelfth Corps also had its large list of casualties, increased a +little later by its efforts to support Sumner, and aggregating, +before the day was over, 1746. + +But the fighting of Hooker's and Mansfield's men, though lacking +unity of force and of purpose, had also cost the enemy dear. J. R. +Jones, who commanded Jackson's division, had been wounded; Starke, +who succeeded Jones, was killed; Lawton, who commanded Ewell's +division, was wounded. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 956.] Lawton's +and Trimble's brigades had been fearfully crippled in the first +fight against Hooker on the plateau between the Dunker Church and +the East Wood, and Hood was sent back to relieve them. [Footnote: +_Id_., p. 923.] He, in turn, had been reinforced by the brigades of +Ripley, Colquitt, and McRae (Garland's) from D. H. Hill's division. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 1022.] When Greene reached the Dunker Church, +therefore, the Confederates on that wing were more nearly +disorganized than our own troops. Nearly half their numbers were +killed and wounded, and Jackson's famous "Stonewall" division was so +completely broken up that only a handful of men under Colonels +Grigsby and Stafford remained, and attached themselves to Early's +command. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 969.] Of the division now under Early, +his own brigade was all that retained much strength, and this, +posted among the rocks in the West Wood and vigorously supported by +Stuart and the artillery on that flank, was all that covered the +left of Lee's army. Could Hooker and Mansfield have attacked +together, or, still better, could Sumner's Second Corps have marched +before day and united with the first onset, Lee's left must +inevitably have been crushed long before the Confederate divisions +of McLaws, Walker, and A. P. Hill could have reached the field. It +is this failure to carry out any intelligible plan which the +historian must regard as the unpardonable military fault on the +National side. To account for the hours between daybreak and eight +o'clock on that morning, is the most serious responsibility of the +National commander. [Footnote: A distinguished officer (understood +to be Gen. R. R. Dawes) who visited the field in 1866 has published +the statement that at the Pry house, where McClellan had his +headquarters, he was informed that on the morning of the 17th the +general rose at about seven o'clock and breakfasted leisurely after +that hour. (Marietta, Ohio, Sentinel.)] + +Sumner's Second Corps was now approaching the scene of action, or +rather two divisions of it, Sedgwick's and French's, for +Richardson's was still delayed till his place could be filled by +Porter's troops. Although ordered to be ready to move at daybreak, +Sumner emphasizes in his report the fact that whilst his command was +prepared to move at the time ordered, he "did not receive from +headquarters the order to march till 7.20 A. M." [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 275.] By the time he could reach the +field, Hooker had fought his battle and had been repulsed. The same +strange tardiness in sending orders is noticeable in regard to every +part of the army, and Richardson was not relieved so that he could +follow French till an hour or two later. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] + +Sumner advanced, after crossing the Antietam, in a triple column, +Sedgwick's division in front, the three brigades marching by the +right flank and parallel to each other. French followed in the same +formation. They crossed the Antietam by Hooker's route, but did not +march so far to the northwest as Hooker had done. On the way Sumner +met Hooker, who was being carried from the field, and the few words +he could exchange with the wounded general were enough to make him +feel the need of haste, but not enough to give him any clear idea of +the situation. When the centre of the corps was opposite the Dunker +Church, and nearly east of it, the change of direction was given; +the troops faced to their proper front, and advanced in line of +battle in three lines, fully deployed and sixty or seventy yards +apart, Sumner himself being in rear of Sedgwick's first line and +near its left. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. +305.] As they approached the position held by Greene's division at +the church, French kept on so as to form on Greene's left, +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 323.] but Sedgwick, under Sumner's immediate +leading, diverged somewhat to the right, passing through the East +Wood, crossing the turnpike on the right of Greene and of the Dunker +Church, and plunged into the West Wood. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 305.] +The fences there had been destroyed by the Confederates before the +battle began, for the purpose of making room for their own +manoeuvres as well as to make barricades in front of the cornfield. +Sedgwick's right did not extend far enough north to be obstructed by +the fences where the Twelfth Corps men had lain along them in +repulsing Jackson. When he entered the wood, there were absolutely +no Confederate troops in front of him. The remnants of Jackson's +men, except Early's brigade, were clustered at the top of the ridge +immediately in front of Greene, and Early was further to the right, +opposing Goodrich and Patrick; Early, however, made haste under +cover of the woods to pass around Sedgwick's right and to get in +front of him to oppose his progress. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 970.] This +led to a lively skirmishing fight in which Early was making as great +a demonstration as possible, but with no chance of solid success. +Sedgwick pushed him back, and his left was coming obliquely into the +open at the bottom of the hollow beyond the wood, when, at the very +moment, McLaws's and Walker's Confederate divisions came upon the +field. The former had only just arrived by rapid marching from +Shepherdstown beyond the Potomac; the latter had been hastily called +away by Lee from his position on the lower Antietam opposite the +left wing of Burnside's Ninth Corps. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 857, 914.] + +Walker charged headlong upon the left flank of Sedgwick's lines, and +McLaws, passing by Walker's left, also threw his division diagonally +upon the already broken and retreating brigades. Taken at such a +disadvantage, these had never a chance; and in spite of the heroic +bravery of Sumner and Sedgwick with most of their officers (Sedgwick +being severely wounded), the division was driven off to the north +with terrible losses, carrying along in their rout Goodrich's +brigade of the Twelfth Corps which had been holding Early at bay. +Goodrich was killed, and his brigade suffered hardly less than the +others. Patrick's brigade of Hooker's corps was in good order at the +rocky ledges north of the West Wood which are at right angles to the +turnpike, and he held on stubbornly till the disorganized troops +drifted past his left, and then made an orderly retreat in line +toward the Poffenberger hill. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 245.] Meade was +already there with the remnants of Hooker's men. Here some thirty +cannon of both corps were quickly concentrated, and, supported by +everything which retained organization, easily checked the pursuers +and repulsed all efforts of Jackson and Stuart to resume the +offensive or to pass between them and the Potomac. [Footnote: _Id_., +p. 306.] + +Sumner did not accompany the routed troops to this position, but as +soon as it was plain that the division could not be rallied, he +galloped off to put himself in communication with French and with +headquarters of the army and to try to retrieve the situation. From +the flag station east of the East Wood he signalled to McClellan, +"Reinforcements are badly wanted; our troops are giving way." +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 134.] Williams was in that part of the field, +and Sumner sent a staff officer to him ordering that he should push +forward to Sedgwick's support anything he could. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 477.] Williams in person ordered +Gordon's brigade to advance, for this, as we have seen, had been +reorganized behind the East Wood. He sent the same order to Crawford +for the rest of that division. Crawford had withdrawn his men in the +East Wood to let Sedgwick pass diagonally along his front, and now +advanced again to the west margin of the grove. [Footnote: _Id_., p. +485.] Gordon was ahead of him in time and further to the right, and +again charged up to the turnpike fences. But the routed troops were +already swarming from the wood across his front, and their pursuers +were charging after them. Again the turnpike was made the scene of a +bloody conflict, and the bodies of many more of the slain of both +armies were added to those which already lined those fences. +Gordon's men were overpowered and fell back in the direction they +had come. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 495.] The enemy's attack spread out +toward Greene and toward Crawford, who was now at the edge of the +East Wood again; but both of these held firm, and a couple of +batteries on the rise of ground in front poured canister into the +enemy till he took refuge again in the wood beyond the church. It +was between nine and ten o'clock, probably about ten, [Footnote: The +reports on the Confederate side fix ten o'clock as the time McLaws +and Walker reached the field, and corroborate the conclusion I draw +from all other available evidence.] when Sumner entered the West +Wood, and in fifteen minutes or a little more the one-sided combat +was over. + +Sumner's principal attack was made, as I have already indicated, at +right angles to that of Hooker. He had thus crossed the line of +Hooker's movement in both the advance and the retreat of the latter. +This led to some misconceptions on Sumner's part. Crawford's +division had retired to the right and rear to make way for Sedgwick +as he came up. It thus happened that Greene's division was the only +part of the Twelfth Corps troops Sumner saw, and he led Sedgwick's +men to the right of these. Ignorant as he necessarily was of what +had occurred before, he assumed that he formed on the extreme right +of the Twelfth Corps, and that he fronted in the same direction as +Hooker had done. This misconception of the situation led him into +another error. He had seen only stragglers and wounded men on the +line of his own advance, and hence concluded that Hooker's Corps was +completely dispersed and its division and brigade organizations +broken up. He not only gave this report to McClellan at the time, +but reiterated it later in his statement before the Committee on the +Conduct of the War. [Footnote: C. W., vol. i. p. 368.] The truth was +that he had marched westward more than a mile south of the +Poffenberger hill where Meade was with the sadly diminished but +still organized First Corps, and half that distance south of the +Miller farm buildings, near which Goodrich's brigade had entered the +north end of the West Wood, and in front of which part of Williams's +men had held the ground along the turnpike till they were relieved +by Sedgwick's advance. Sedgwick had gone in, therefore, between +Greene and Crawford, and the four divisions of the two corps +alternated in their order from left to right, thus: French, Greene, +Sedgwick, Crawford, the last being Williams's, of which Crawford was +in command. + +It was not Sumner's fault that he was so ill-informed of the actual +situation on our right; but it is plain that in the absence of +McClellan from that part of the field he should have left the +personal leadership of the men to the division commanders, and +should himself have found out by rapid examination the positions of +all the troops operating there. It was his part to combine and give +intelligent direction to the whole, instead of charging forward at +haphazard with Sedgwick's division. Both Meade and Williams had men +enough in hand to have joined in a concerted movement with him; and +had he found either of those officers before plunging into the West +Wood, he would not have taken a direction which left his flank +wholly exposed, with the terrible but natural results which +followed. The original cause of the mischief, however, was +McClellan's failure to send Sumner to his position before daybreak, +so that the three corps could have acted together from the beginning +of Hooker's attack. + +But we must return to Sumner's divisions, which were advancing +nearer the centre. The battle on the extreme right was ended by ten +o'clock in the morning, and there was no more serious fighting north +of the Dunker Church. The batteries on the Poffenberger hill and +those about the East Wood swept the open ground and the cornfield +over which Hooker and Mansfield had fought, and for some time Greene +was able to make good his position at the church. The Confederates +were content to hold the line of the West Wood and the high ground +back of the church, and French's attack upon D. H. Hill was now +attracting their attention. French advanced toward Greene's left, +over the open farm lands, and after a fierce combat about the +Rullett and Clipp farm buildings, drove Hill's division from them. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 323.] At what time +the Confederates made a rush at Greene and drove him back to the +edge of the East Wood is uncertain; but it must have been soon after +the disaster to Sedgwick. It seems to have been an incident of the +aggressive movement against Sedgwick, though not coincident with it. +It must certainly have been before French's advance reached the +Rullett and Clipp houses, for the enemy's men holding them would +have been far in rear of Greene at the church, and he must by that +time have been back near the burnt house of Mumma and the angle of +the East Wood. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 505. +Greene says that he held the ground at the church for two hours, and +that his men were in action from 6.30 A. M. to 1.30 P. M. The length +of time and hours of the day are so irreconcilable as given in +different reports that we are forced to trust more to the general +current of events than to the time stated.] + +Richardson's division followed French after an hour or two, +[Footnote: Hancock says the division crossed the Antietam about +9.30. Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 277.] and then, foot by +foot, field by field, from fence to fence, and from hill to hill, +the enemy was pressed back, till the sunken road, since known as +"Bloody Lane," was in our hands, piled full of the Confederate dead +who had defended it with their lives. Richardson had been mortally +wounded, and Hancock had been sent from Franklin's corps to command +the division. Colonel Barlow had been conspicuous in the thickest of +the fight, and after a series of brilliant actions had been carried +off desperately wounded. On the Confederate side equal courage and a +magnificent tenacity had been exhibited. Men who had fought +heroically in one position no sooner found themselves free from the +struggle of an assault than they were hurried away to repeat their +exertions, without even a breathing-spell, on another part of the +field. They exhausted their ammunition, and still grimly held +crests, as Longstreet tells us, with their bayonets, but without a +single cartridge in their boxes. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 840.] The +story of the fight at this part of the field is simpler than that of +the early morning, for there was no such variety in the character of +the ground or in the tactics of the opposing forces. It was a +sustained advance with continuous struggle, sometimes ebbing a +moment, then gaining, but with the organization pretty well +preserved and the lines kept fairly continuous on both sides. Our +men fought their way up to the Piper house, near the turnpike, and +that position marks the advance made by our centre. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 279.] The crest of the ridge +on which the Hagerstown turnpike runs had been secured from Piper's +north to Miller's, and it was held until the Confederate retreat on +the 19th. + +The head of Franklin's Corps (the Sixth) had arrived about ten +o'clock, and had taken the position near the Sharpsburg bridge, +which Sumner had occupied in the night. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 376.] +Before noon Smith's and Slocum's divisions were both ordered to +Sumner's assistance. As they passed by the farm buildings in front +of the East Wood, the enemy made a dash at Greene and French. Smith +ordered forward Irwin's brigade to their support, and Irwin charged +gallantly, driving the assailants back to the cover of the woods +about the church. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 402, 409.] Franklin's men +then formed under the crest already mentioned, from "Bloody Lane" by +the Clipp, Rullett, and Mumma houses to the East Wood and the ridge +in front. The aggressive energy of both sides seemed exhausted. +French and Richardson's battle may be considered as ended at one or +two o'clock. There was no fighting later but that on the extreme +left, where Burnside's Ninth Corps was engaged, and we must turn our +attention to that part of the field. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +ANTIETAM: THE FIGHT ON THE LEFT + + +Ninth Corps positions near Antietam Creek--Rodman's division at +lower ford--Sturgis's at the bridge--Burnside's headquarters on the +field--View from his place of the battle on the right--French's +fight--An exploding caisson--Our orders to attack--The hour--Crisis +of the battle--Discussion of the sequence of events--The Burnside +bridge--Exposed approach--Enfiladed by enemy's +artillery--Disposition of enemy's troops--His position very +strong--Importance of Rodman's movement by the ford--The fight at +the bridge--Repulse--Fresh efforts--Tactics of the +assault--Success--Formation on further bank--Bringing up +ammunition--Willcox relieves Sturgis--The latter now in +support--Advance against Sharpsburg--Fierce combat--Edge of the town +reached--Rodman's advance on the left--A. P. Hill's Confederate +division arrives from Harper's Ferry--Attacks Rodman's flank--A raw +regiment breaks--The line retires--Sturgis comes into the +gap--Defensive position taken and held--Enemy's assaults +repulsed--Troops sleeping on their arms--McClellan's reserve--Other +troops not used--McClellan's idea of Lee's force and plans--Lee's +retreat--The terrible casualty lists. + + +We have seen that the divisions of the Ninth Corps were conducted by +staff officers of Burnside's staff to positions that had been +indicated by McClellan and marked by members of his staff. The +morning of Wednesday the 17th broke fresh and fair. The men were +astir at dawn, getting breakfast and preparing for a day of battle. +The artillery fire which opened Hooker's battle on the right spread +along the whole line, and the positions which had been assigned us +in the dusk of evening were found to be exposed, in some places, to +the direct fire of the Confederate guns. Rodman's division suffered +more than the others, Fairchild's brigade alone reporting thirty-six +casualties before they could find cover. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 451.] My own tents had been pitched at +the edge of a little grove of forest trees, and the headquarters +mess was at breakfast at sunrise when the cannonade began. The rapid +explosion of shrapnel about us hastened our morning meal; the tents +were struck and loaded upon the wagons, horses were saddled, and +everything made ready for the contingencies of the day. It was not +till seven o'clock that orders came to advance toward the creek as +far as could be done without exposing the men to unnecessary loss. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 424.] Rodman was +directed to acquaint himself with the situation of the ford in front +of him, and Sturgis to seek the best means of approach to the stone +bridge. All were then to remain in readiness to obey further orders. + +When these arrangements had been made, I rode to the position +Burnside had selected for himself, which was upon a high knoll +northeast of the Burnside bridge, near a haystack which was a +prominent landmark. Near by was Benjamin's battery of twenty-pounder +Parrotts, and a little further still to the right, on the same +ridge, General Sturgis had sent in Durell's battery. [Footnote: +_Ibid_.] These were exchanging shots with the enemy's guns opposite, +and had the advantage in range and weight of metal. At this point I +remained until the order for our attack came, later in the day. We +anxiously watched what we could see at the right, and noted the +effect of the fire of the heavy guns of Benjamin's battery. We could +see nothing distinctly that occurred beyond the Dunker Church, for +the East and West Woods with farm-houses and orchards between made +an impenetrable screen. A column of smoke stood over the burning +Mumma house, marking plainly its situation. + +As the morning wore on, we saw lines of troops advancing from our +right upon the other side of the Antietam, and engaging the enemy +between us and the East Wood. The Confederate lines facing them now +also rose into view. From our position we looked, as it were, down +between the opposing lines as if they had been the sides of a +street, and as the fire opened we saw wounded men carried to the +rear and stragglers making off. Our lines halted, and we were +tortured with anxiety as we speculated whether our men would charge +or retreat. The enemy occupied lines of fences and stone walls, and +their batteries made gaps in the National ranks. Our long-range guns +were immediately turned in that direction, and we cheered every +well-aimed shot. One of our shells blew up a caisson close to the +Confederate line. This contest was going on, and it was yet +uncertain which would succeed, when one of McClellan's staff rode up +with an order to Burnside. The latter turned to me, saying we were +ordered to make our attack. I left the hill-top at once to give +personal supervision to the movement ordered, and did not return to +it. My knowledge by actual vision of what occurred on the right +ceased. + +The question at what hour Burnside received this order, has been +warmly disputed. The manner in which we had waited, the free +discussion of what was occurring under our eyes and of our relation +to it, the public receipt of the order by Burnside in the usual and +business-like form, all forbid the supposition that this was any +reiteration of a former order. +[Footnote: I leave this as originally written, although the order +itself has since come to light; for the discussion of the +circumstantial evidence may be useful in determining the value of +McClellan's report of 1863 where it differs in other respects from +his original report of 1862 and from other contemporaneous +documents. + +"HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, +September 17, 1862,--9.10 A. M. + + +MAJOR-GENERAL BURNSIDE: +GENERAL,--General Franklin's command is within one mile and a half +of here. General McClellan desires you to open your attack. As soon +as you shall have uncovered the upper stone bridge you will be +supported, and, if necessary, on your own line of attack. So far all +is going well. + +Respectfully, GEO. D. RUGGLES, Colonel, etc." + +This order appears in the supplementary volume of the Official +Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 844. From Pry's house, where McClellan's +headquarters were that day, to Burnside's, was over two miles as the +crow flies. This establishes the accuracy of the original reports of +both, which stated the hour of receipt at ten o'clock. It +corroborates also the time of Franklin's arrival on the field, and +the connection of this with Burnside's advance.] +If then we can determine whose troops we saw engaged, we shall know +something of the time of day; for there has been a general agreement +reached as to the hours of movement of Sumner's divisions during the +forenoon on the right and right centre. The official map settles +this. No lines of our troops were engaged in the direction of Bloody +Lane and the Rullett farm-house, and between the latter and our +station on the hill, till French's division made its attack. We saw +them distinctly on the hither side of the farm buildings, upon the +open ground, considerably nearer to us than the Dunker Church or the +East Wood. In number we took them to be a corps. The place, the +circumstances, all fix it beyond controversy that they were French's +men or French's and Richardson's. No others fought on that part of +the field until Franklin went to their assistance at noon or later. +The incident of their advance and the explosion of the caisson was +illustrated by the pencil of Mr. Forbes on the spot, and was placed +by him at the time Franklin's head of column was approaching from +the direction of Rohrersville, which was about ten o'clock. +[Footnote: Forbes's sketch is reproduced in "Battles and Leaders of +the Civil War," vol. ii. p. 647, and is of historical importance in +connection with the facts stated above.] + +It seems now very clear that about ten o'clock in the morning was +the great crisis in this battle. The sudden and complete rout of +Sedgwick's division was not easily accounted for, and, with +McClellan's theory of the enormous superiority of Lee's numbers, it +looked as if the Confederate general had massed overwhelming forces +on our right. Sumner's notion that Hooker's corps was utterly +dispersed was naturally accepted, and McClellan limited his hopes to +holding on at the East Wood and the Poffenberger hill, where +Hooker's batteries were massed and supported by the troops that had +been rallied there. Franklin's corps, as it came on the field, was +detained to support the threatened right centre, and McClellan +determined to help it further by a demonstration upon the extreme +left by the Ninth Corps. At this time, therefore, he gave his order +to Burnside to cross the Antietam and attack the enemy, thus +creating a diversion in favor of our hard-pressed right. His +preliminary report of the battle (dated October 16, 1862) explicitly +states that the order to Burnside to attack was "communicated to him +at ten o'clock A.M." This exactly agrees with the time stated by +Burnside in his official report, and would ordinarily be quite +conclusive. [Footnote: See note, p. 334, _ante_. C. W., pt. i. p. +41; Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 31, 416.] + +In the book published in 1864 as his official report of his whole +military career, McClellan says he ordered Burnside to make this +attack at eight o'clock. The circumstances under which his final +published statements were made take away from them the character of +a calm and judicial correction of his first report. He was then a +general set aside from active service and a political aspirant to +the Presidency. His book was a controversial one, issued as an +argument to the public, and the earlier report must be regarded in a +military point of view as the more authoritative unless good grounds +are given for the changes. When he wrote his preliminary report he +certainly knew the hour and the condition of affairs on the field +when he gave the order to Burnside. To do so at eight o'clock would +not accord with his plan of battle. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 30, 55.] +His purpose had been to move the Ninth Corps against the enemy "when +matters looked favorably" on our right, after an attack by Hooker, +Mansfield, and Sumner, supported, if necessary, by Franklin. But +Sumner's attack was not made till after nine, and Franklin's head of +column did not reach the field till ten. McClellan's book, indeed, +erroneously postpones Franklin's arrival till past noon, which, if +true, would tend to explain why the day wore away without any +further activity on the right; but the preliminary report better +agrees with Franklin's when it says that officer reached the field +about an hour after Sedgwick's disaster. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 30, 61, 376.] + +Still further, matters had at no time "looked favorably" on the +right up to ten o'clock. The condition, therefore, which was assumed +as precedent to Burnside's movement, never existed; and this was +better known to McClellan than to any one else, for he received the +first discouraging reports after Mansfield fell, and the subsequent +alarming ones when Sedgwick was routed. Burnside's report was dated +on the 30th of September, within two weeks of the battle, and at a +time when public discussion of the incomplete results of the battle +was animated. It was made after he had in his hands my own report as +his immediate subordinate, in which I had given about nine o'clock +as my remembrance of the time. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 424.] As I +directed the details of the action at the bridge in obedience to +this order, it would have been easy for him to have accepted the +hour named by me, for I should have been answerable for any delay in +execution after that time. But he then had in his possession the +order which came to him upon the hill-top overlooking the field, and +no officer in the whole army has a better established reputation for +candor and freedom from any wish to avoid full personal +responsibility for his acts. It was not till his report was +published in the Official Records (1887) [Footnote: _Id_., p. 416.] +that I saw it or learned its contents, although I enjoyed his +personal friendship down to his death. He was content to have stated +the fact as he knew it, and did not feel the need of debating it. +The circumstances have satisfied me that his accuracy in giving the +hour was greater than my own. [Footnote: Upon reflection, I think it +probable that the order from McClellan was read to me, and that I +thus got the hour of its date connected in my mind with the +beginning of our attack.] + +It will not be wondered at, therefore, if to my mind the story of +the eight o'clock order is an instance of the way in which an +erroneous recollection is based upon the desire to make the facts +accord with a theory. The actual time must have been as much later +than nine o'clock as the period during which, with absorbed +attention, we had been watching the battle on the right,--a period, +it is safe to say, much longer than it seemed to us. The judgment of +the hour which I gave in my report was merely my impression from +passing events, for I hastened at once to my own duties without +thinking to look at my watch; whilst the cumulative evidence seems +to prove, conclusively, that the time stated by Burnside, and by +McClellan himself in his original report, is correct. The order, +then, to Burnside to attack was not sent at eight o'clock, but +reached him at ten; it was not sent to follow up an advantage gained +by Hooker and Sumner, but to create, if possible, a strong diversion +in favor of the imperilled right wing when the general outlook was +far from reassuring. + +McClellan truly said, in his original report, that the task of +carrying the bridge in front of Burnside was a difficult one. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 31.] The hill on +which I have placed the station of General Burnside was the bolder +and more prominent crest of the line of hills which skirted the +Antietam on the east, and was broken by depressions here and there, +through which the country roads ran down to the stream. Such a +hollow was just at the south of Burnside's position at the haystack +on the Rohrback farm. In rear of him and a little lower down were +the farm buildings, and from these a road ran down the winding +hollow to the Antietam, but reached the stream several hundred yards +below the bridge. Following the road, therefore, it was necessary to +turn up stream upon the narrow space between the hills and the +water, without any cover from the fire of the enemy on the opposite +side. The bluffs on that side were wooded to the water's edge, and +were so steep that the road from the bridge could not go up at right +angles to the bank, but forked both ways and sought the upper land +by a more gradual ascent to right and left. The fork to the right +ran around a shoulder of the hill into a ravine which there reaches +the Antietam, and thence ascends by an easy grade toward Sharpsburg. +The left branch of the road rises by a similar but less marked +depression. + +These roads were faced by stone fences, and the depth of the valley +and its course made it impossible to reach the enemy's position at +the bridge by artillery fire from the hill-tops on our side. Not so +from the enemy's position, for the curve of the valley was such that +it was perfectly enfiladed near the bridge by the Confederate +batteries at the position now occupied by the National Cemetery. The +bridge itself was a stone structure of three arches with stone +parapets on the sides. These curved outward at the end of the bridge +to allow for the turn of the roadway. On the enemy's side, the stone +fences came down close to the bridge. + +The Confederate defence of the passage was intrusted to D. R. +Jones's division of six brigades, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. i. p. 804.] which was the one Longstreet himself had +disciplined and led till he was assigned to a larger command. +Toombs's brigade was placed in advance, occupying the defences of +the bridge itself and the wooded slopes above, while the other +brigades supported him, covered by the ridges which looked down upon +the valley. The division batteries were supplemented by others from +the enemy's reserve, and the valley, the bridge, and the ford below +were under the direct and powerful fire of shot and shell from the +Confederate cannon. Toombs's force, thus strongly supported, was as +large as could be disposed of at the head of the bridge, and +abundantly large for resistance to any that could be brought against +it. Our advance upon the bridge could only be made by a narrow +column, showing a front of eight men at most; but the front which +Toombs deployed behind his defences was three or four hundred yards +both above and below the bridge. He himself says in his report: +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 890.] "From the +nature of the ground on the other side, the enemy were compelled to +approach mainly by the road which led up the river near three +hundred paces parallel with my line of battle and distant therefrom +from fifty to a hundred and fifty feet, thus exposing his flank to a +destructive fire the most of that distance." Under such +circumstances the Confederate position was nearly impregnable +against a direct attack over the bridge; for the column approaching +it was not only exposed at almost pistol-range to the perfectly +covered infantry of the enemy and to two batteries which were +assigned to the special duty of supporting Toombs, having the exact +range of the little valley with their shrapnel; but, if it should +succeed in reaching the bridge, its charge across it must be made +under a fire ploughing through its length, the head of the column +melting away as it advanced, so that, as every soldier knows, it +could show no front strong enough to make an impression upon the +enemy's breastworks, even if it should reach the other side. As a +desperate sort of diversion in favor of the right wing, it might be +justifiable; but I believe that no officer or man who knew the +actual situation at that bridge thinks that a serious attack upon it +was any part of McClellan's original plan. Yet, in his detailed +report of 1863, instead of speaking of it as the difficult task the +original report had called it, he treats it as little different from +a parade or march across which might have been done in half an hour. + +Burnside's view of the matter was that the front attack at the +bridge was so difficult that the passage by the ford below must be +an important factor in the task; for if Rodman's division should +succeed in getting across there, at the bend of the Antietam, he +would come up in rear of Toombs, and either the whole of D. R. +Jones's division would have to advance to meet Rodman, or Toombs +must abandon the bridge. In this I certainly concurred, and Rodman +was ordered to push rapidly for the ford. It is important to +remember, however, that Walker's Confederate division had been +posted during the earlier morning to hold that part of the Antietam +line, supporting Toombs as well, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. i. p. 914.] and it was probably from him that Rodman +suffered the first casualties that occurred in his ranks. But, as we +have seen, Walker had been called away by Lee only an hour before, +and had made the hasty march by the rear of Sharpsburg to fall upon +Sedgwick. If therefore Rodman had been sent to cross at eight +o'clock, it is safe to say that his column, fording the stream in +the face of Walker's deployed division, would never have reached the +further bank,--a contingency that McClellan did not consider when +arguing, long afterward, the favorable results that might have +followed an earlier attack. As Rodman died upon the field, no full +report for his division was made, and we only know that he met with +some resistance from both infantry and artillery; that the winding +of the stream made his march longer than he anticipated, and that, +in fact, he only approached the rear of Toombs's position from that +direction about the time when our last and successful charge upon +the bridge was made, between noon and one o'clock. + +The attacks at the Burnside bridge were made under my own eye. +Sturgis's division occupied the centre of our line, with Crook's +brigade of the Kanawha division on his right front, and Willcox's +division in reserve, as I have already stated. Crook's position was +somewhat above the bridge, but it was thought that by advancing part +of Sturgis's men to the brow of the hill, they could cover the +advance of Crook, and that the latter could make a straight dash +down the hill to our end of the bridge. The orders were accordingly +given, and Crook advanced, covered by the Eleventh Connecticut (of +Rodman's) under Colonel Kingsbury, deployed as skirmishers. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 419, 424.] In +passing over the spurs of the hills, Crook came out on the bank of +the stream above the bridge and found himself under a heavy fire at +short range. He faced the enemy and returned the fire, getting such +cover for his men as he could and trying to drive off or silence his +opponents. The engagement was one in which the Antietam prevented +the combatants from coming to close quarters, but it was none the +less vigorously continued with musketry fire. Crook reported that +his hands were full and that he could not approach closer to the +bridge. Later in the contest, his men, lining the stream, made +experiments in trying to get over, and found a fordable place a +little way above, by which he got over five companies of the +Twenty-eighth Ohio at about the same time as the final and +successful charge. But on the failure of Crook's first effort, +Sturgis ordered forward an attacking column from Nagle's brigade, +supported and covered by Ferrero's brigade, which took position in a +field of corn on one of the lower slopes of the hill opposite the +head of the bridge. The whole front was carefully covered with +skirmishers, and our batteries on the heights overhead were ordered +to keep down the fire of the enemy's artillery. Nagle's effort was +gallantly made, but it failed, and his men were forced to seek cover +behind the spur of the hill from which they had advanced. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 444.] We were constantly +hoping to hear something from Rodman's advance by the ford, and +would gladly have waited for some more certain knowledge of his +progress, but at this time McClellan's sense of the necessity of +relieving the right was such that he was sending reiterated orders +to push the assault. Not only were these forwarded to me, but to +give added weight to my instructions, Burnside sent direct to +Sturgis urgent messages to carry the bridge at all hazards. + +I directed Sturgis to take two regiments from Ferrero's brigade, +which had not been engaged, and make a column by moving them +together by the flank, the one left in front and the other right in +front, side by side, so that when they passed the bridge they could +turn to left and right, forming line as they advanced on the run. He +chose the Fifty-first New York, Colonel Robert B. Potter, and the +Fifty-first Pennsylvania, Colonel John F. Hartranft (both names +afterward greatly distinguished), and both officers and men were +made to feel the necessity of success. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] At the +same time Crook succeeded in bringing a light howitzer of Simmonds's +mixed battery down from the hill-tops, and placed it where it had a +point-blank fire on the further end of the bridge. The howitzer was +one we had captured in West Virginia, and had been added to the +battery, which was partly made up of heavy rifled Parrott guns. When +everything was ready, a heavy skirmishing fire was opened all along +the bank, the howitzer threw in double charges of canister, and in +scarcely more time than it takes to tell it, the bridge was passed +and Toombs's brigade fled through the woods and over the top of the +hill. The charging regiments were advanced in line to the crest +above the bridge as soon as they were deployed, and the rest of +Sturgis's division, with Crook's brigade, were immediately brought +over to strengthen the line. These were soon joined by Rodman's +division, with Scammon's brigade, which had crossed at the ford, and +whose presence on that side of the stream had no doubt made the +final struggle of Toombs's men less obstinate than it would +otherwise have been, the fear of being taken in rear having always a +strong moral effect upon even the best of troops. + +It was now about one o'clock, and nearly three hours had been spent +in a bitter and bloody contest across the narrow stream. The +successive efforts to carry the bridge had been as closely following +each other as possible. Each had been a fierce combat, in which the +men with wonderful courage had not easily accepted defeat, and even, +when not able to cross the bridge, had made use of the walls at the +end, the fences, and every tree and stone as cover, while they +strove to reach with their fire their well-protected and nearly +concealed opponents. The lulls in the fighting had been short, and +only to prepare new efforts. The severity of the work was attested +by our losses, which, before the crossing was won, exceeded 500 men, +and included some of our best officers, such as Colonel Kingsbury of +the Eleventh Connecticut, Lieutenant-Colonel Bell of the Fifty-first +Pennsylvania, and Lieutenant-Colonel Coleman of the Eleventh Ohio, +two of them commanding regiments. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. i. p. 427.] The proportion of casualties to the number +engaged was much greater than common; for the nature of the combat +required that comparatively few troops should be exposed at once, +the others remaining under cover. + +Our next task was to prepare to hold the heights we had gained +against the return assault of the enemy which we expected, and to +reply to the destructive fire from the enemy's abundant artillery. +Light batteries were brought over and distributed in the line. The +men were made to lie down behind the crest to save them from the +concentrated cannonade which the enemy opened upon us as soon as +Toombs's regiments succeeded in reaching their main line. But +McClellan's anticipation of an overwhelming attack upon his right +was so strong that he determined still to press our advance, and +sent orders accordingly. The ammunition of Sturgis's and Crook's men +had been nearly exhausted, and it was imperative that they should be +freshly supplied before entering into another engagement. Sturgis +also reported his men so exhausted by their efforts as to be unfit +for an immediate advance. On this I sent to Burnside the request +that Willcox's division be sent over, with an ammunition train, and +that Sturgis's division be replaced by the fresh troops, remaining, +however, on the west side of the stream as support to the others. +This was done as rapidly as was practicable, where everything had to +pass down the steep hill-road and through so narrow a defile as the +bridge. [Footnote: As a mode of ready reckoning, it is usual to +assume that a division requires an hour to march past a given point +by the flank. With the crossing of an ammunition train, the interval +of time is more than accounted for.] Still, it was three o'clock +before these changes and preparations could be made. Burnside had +personally striven to hasten them, and had come over to the west +bank to consult and to hurry matters, and took his share of personal +peril, for he came at a time when the ammunition wagons were +delivering cartridges, and the road at the end of the bridge where +they were was in the range of the enemy's constant and accurate +fire. It is proper to mention this because it has been said that he +did not cross the stream. The criticisms made by McClellan as to the +time occupied in these changes and movements will not seem forcible +if one will compare them with any similar movements on the field; +such as Mansfield's to support Hooker, or Sumner's or Franklin's to +reach the scene of action. About this, however, there is fair room +for difference of opinion: what I personally know is that it would +have been folly to advance again before Willcox had relieved +Sturgis, and that as soon as the fresh troops reported and could be +put in line, the order to advance was given. McClellan is in accord +with all other witnesses in declaring that when the movement began, +the conduct of the troops was gallant beyond criticism. + +Willcox's division formed the right, Christ's brigade being north, +and Welsh's brigade south of the road leading from the bridge to +Sharpsburg. Crook's brigade of the Kanawha division supported +Willcox. Rodman's division formed on the left, Harland's brigade +having the position on the flank, and Fairchild's uniting with +Willcox at the centre. Scammon's brigade was the reserve for Rodman +at the extreme left. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. +pp. 425, 430.] Sturgis's division remained and held the crest of the +hill above the bridge. About half of the batteries of the divisions +accompanied the movement, the rest being in position on the +hill-tops east of the Antietam. The advance necessarily followed the +high ground toward Sharpsburg, and as the enemy made strongest +resistance toward our right, the movement curved in that direction, +the six brigades of Jones's Confederate division being deployed +diagonally across our front, holding the stone fences and crests of +the cross-ridges and aided by abundant artillery, in which arm the +enemy was particularly strong. + +The battle was a fierce one from the moment Willcox's men showed +themselves on the open ground. Christ's brigade, taking advantage of +all the cover the trees and inequalities of surface gave them, +pushed on along the depression in which the road ran, a section of +artillery keeping pace with them in the road. The direction of +movement brought all the brigades of the first line in echelon, but +Welsh soon fought his way up beside Christ, and they together drove +the enemy successively from the fields and farm-yards till they +reached the edge of the village. Upon the elevation on the right of +the road was an orchard in which the shattered and diminished force +of Jones made a final stand, but Willcox concentrated his artillery +fire upon it, and his infantry was able to push forward and occupy +it. They now partly occupied the town of Sharpsburg, and held the +high ground commanding it on the southeast, where the National +Cemetery now is. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. +431.] The struggle had been long and bloody. It was half-past four +in the afternoon, and ammunition had again run low, for the wagons +had not been able to accompany the movement. Willcox paused for his +men to take breath again and to fetch up some cartridges; but +meanwhile affairs were taking a serious turn on the left. + +As Rodman's division went forward, he found the enemy before him +seemingly detached from Willcox's opponents, and occupying ridges on +his left front, so that he was not able to keep his own connection +with Willcox in the swinging movement to the right. Still, he made +good progress in the face of stubborn resistance, though finding the +enemy constantly developing more to his left, and the interval +between him and Willcox widening. The view of the field to the south +was now obstructed by fields of tall Indian corn, and under this +cover Confederate troops approached the flank in line of battle. +Scammon's officers in the reserve saw them as soon as Rodman's +brigades echeloned, as these were toward the front and right. This +hostile force proved to be A. P. Hill's division of six brigades, +the last of Jackson's force to leave Harper's Ferry, and which had +reached Sharpsburg since noon. Those first seen by Scammon's men +were dressed in the National blue uniforms which they had captured +at Harper's Ferry, and it was assumed that they were part of our own +forces till they began to fire. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. i. p. 468.] Scammon quickly changed front to the left, +drove back the enemy before him, and occupied a line of stone +fences, which he held until he was afterward withdrawn from it. +[Footnote: _Id._, p. 466.] Harland's brigade was partly moving in +the corn-fields. One of his regiments was new, having been organized +only three weeks, and the brigade had somewhat lost its order and +connection when the sudden attack came. Rodman directed Colonel +Harland to lead the right of the brigade, while he himself attempted +to bring the left into position. In performing this duty he fell, +mortally wounded. Harland's horse was shot under him, and the +brigade broke in confusion after a brief effort of its right wing to +hold on. Fairchild also now received the fire on his left, and was +forced to fall back and change front. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 451, +453.] + +Being at the centre when this break occurred on the left, I saw that +it would be impossible to continue the movement to the right, and +sent instant orders to Willcox and Crook to retire the left of their +line, and to Sturgis to come forward into the gap made in Rodman's. +The troops on the right swung back in perfect order; Scammon's +brigade hung on at its stone wall at the extreme left with +unflinching tenacity till Sturgis had formed on the curving hill in +rear of them, and Rodman's had found refuge behind. Willcox's left +then united with Sturgis, and Scammon was withdrawn to a new +position on the left flank of the whole line. That these manoeuvres +on the field were really performed in good order is demonstrated by +the fact that although the break in Rodman's line was a bad one, the +enemy was not able to capture many prisoners, the whole number of +missing, out of the 2349 casualties which the Ninth Corps suffered +in the battle, being 115, which includes wounded men unable to leave +the field. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 200, +427.] + +The enemy were not lacking in bold efforts to take advantage of the +check we had received, but were repulsed with severe punishment, and +as the day declined were content to entrench themselves along the +line of the road leading from Sharpsburg to the Potomac at the mouth +of the Antietam, half a mile in our front. The men of the Ninth +Corps lay that night upon their arms, the line being one which +rested with both flanks near the Antietam and curved outward upon +the rolling hill-tops which covered the bridge and commanded the +plateau between us and the enemy. With my staff, I lay upon the +ground behind the troops, holding our horses by the bridles as we +rested, for our orderlies were so exhausted that we could not deny +them the same chance for a little broken slumber. + +The Ninth Corps occupied its position on the heights west of the +Antietam without further molestation, except an irritating picket +firing, till the Confederate army retreated on the 19th of +September. But the position was one in which no shelter from the +weather could be had, nor could any cooking be done; and the troops +were short of rations. My division wagon-train, which I had brought +from the West, here stood us in good stead, for the corps as a whole +was very short of transportation. The energy of Captain Fitch, my +quartermaster, forced the train back and forth between us and the +nearest depot of supplies, and for several days the whole corps had +the benefit of the provisions thus brought forward. Late in the +afternoon of Thursday the 18th, Morell's division of Porter's corps +was ordered to report to Burnside to relieve the picket line and +some of the regiments in the most exposed position. One brigade was +sent over the Antietam for this purpose, and a few of the Ninth +Corps regiments were enabled to withdraw far enough to cook some +rations, of which they had been in need for twenty-four hours. +[Footnote: General Porter in his report says Morell took the place +of the whole Ninth Corps. In this he is entirely mistaken, as the +reports from Morell's division, as well as those of the Ninth Corps, +show.] Harland's brigade of Rodman's division had been taken to the +east side of the stream to be reorganized, on the evening of +Wednesday the 17th. The sounds heard within the enemy's lines by our +pickets gave an inkling of their retrograde movement in the night of +Thursday, and at break of day on Friday morning the retreat of Lee's +whole army was discovered by advancing the picket line. +Reconnoissances sent to the front discovered that the whole +Confederate army had crossed the Potomac. + +The conduct of the battle on the left has given rise to several +criticisms, among which the most prominent has been that Porter's +corps, which lay in reserve, was not put in at the same time with +the Ninth Corps. It has been said that some of them were engaged or +in support of the cavalry and artillery at the centre. This does not +appear to have been so to any important extent, for no active +fighting was going on elsewhere after Franklin's corps relieved +Sumner's about noon. McClellan's reports do not urge this. He +answered the criticism by saying that he did not think it prudent to +divest the centre of all reserve troops. No doubt a single strong +division, marching beyond the left flank of the Ninth Corps, would +have so occupied A. P. Hill's division that our movement into +Sharpsburg could not have been checked, and, assisted by the advance +of Sumner and Franklin on the right, would apparently have made +certain the complete rout of Lee. As troops are put in reserve, not +to diminish the army, but to be used in a pinch, I am convinced that +McClellan's refusal to use them on the left was the result of his +rooted belief, through all the day after Sedgwick's defeat, that Lee +was overwhelmingly superior in force, and was preparing to return a +crushing blow upon our right flank. He was keeping something in hand +to fill a gap or cover a retreat, if that wing should be driven +back. Except in this way, also, I am at a loss to account for the +inaction of the right during the whole of our engagement on the +left. Looking at our part of the battle as only a strong diversion +to prevent or delay Lee's following up his success against Hooker +and the rest, it is intelligible. I certainly so understood it at +the time, as my report witnesses, and McClellan's original report +sustains this view. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. +pp. 31, 426.] If he had been impatient to have our attack delivered +earlier, he had reason for double impatience that Franklin's fresh +troops should assail Lee's left simultaneously with our assault of +his other wing, unless he regarded action there as hopeless, and +looked upon our movement as a sort of forlorn hope to keep Lee from +following up his advantages. + +But even these are not all the troublesome questions requiring an +answer. It will be remembered that Franklin's corps, after forcing +Crampton's Gap, had remained in Pleasant Valley between Rohrersville +and Boonsboro until Tuesday night (16th September). McClellan then +ordered Couch's division to be sent to occupy Maryland Heights and +observe the enemy in Harper's Ferry, whilst Franklin with Smith's +and Slocum's divisions should march to the battle-field at daybreak +of Wednesday. Why could not Couch be called up and come on our left +as well as A. P. Hill's division, which was the last of the +Confederate troops to leave the ferry, there being nothing to +observe after it was gone? Couch's division, coming with equal pace +with Hill's on the other side of the river would have answered our +needs as well as one from Porter's corps. Hill came, but Couch did +not. Yet even then, a regiment of horse, watching that flank and +scouring the country as we swung forward, would have developed +Hill's presence and enabled the commanding general either to stop +our movement or to take the available means to support it. The +cavalry was put to no such use. It occupied the centre of the whole +line, only its artillery being engaged during the day. It would have +been invaluable to Hooker in the morning, as it would have been to +us in the afternoon. + +McClellan had marched from Frederick City with the information that +Lee's army was divided, Jackson being detached with a large force to +take Harper's Ferry. He had put Lee's strength at 120,000 men. +Assuming that there was still danger that Jackson might come upon +our left with his large force, and that Lee had proven strong enough +without Jackson to repulse three corps on our right and right +centre, McClellan might have regarded his own army as divided also +for the purpose of meeting both opponents, and his cavalry would +have been upon the flank of the part with which he was attacking +Lee; Porter would have been in position to help either part in an +extremity or to cover a retreat; and Burnside would have been the +only subordinate available to check Lee's apparent success. Will any +other hypothesis intelligibly account for McClellan's dispositions +and orders? The error in the above assumption would be that +McClellan estimated Lee's troops at nearly double their actual +numbers, and that what was taken for proof of Lee's superiority in +force on the field was a series of partial reverses which resulted +directly from the piecemeal and disjointed way in which McClellan's +morning attacks had been made. + +The same explanation is the most satisfactory one that I can give +for the inaction of Thursday, the 18th of September. Could McClellan +have known the desperate condition of most of Lee's brigades, he +would also have known that his own were in much better case, badly +as they had suffered. I do not doubt that most of his subordinates +discouraged the resumption of the attack, for the belief in Lee's +great preponderance in numbers had been chronic in the army during +the whole year. That belief was based upon the inconceivably +mistaken reports of the secret-service organization, accepted at +headquarters, given to the War Department at Washington as a reason +for incessant demands of reinforcements, and permeating downward +through the whole organization till the error was accepted as truth +by officers and men, and became a factor in their morale which can +hardly be overestimated. The result was that Lee retreated +unmolested on the night of the 18th of September, and that what +might have been a real and decisive success was a drawn battle in +which our chief claim to victory was the possession of the field. + +The numbers engaged and the losses on each side have been the +subject of unending dispute. If we take the returns of Lee at the +beginning of his campaign against Pope, and deduct his acknowledged +losses, he crossed the Potomac with over 72,000 men. [Footnote: See +my review of Henderson's Stonewall Jackson, "The Nation," Nov. 24, +1898, p.396.] If we take his returns of September 22, and add the +acknowledged losses of the month, he had over 57,000. [Footnote: See +my review of Allan's Army of Northern Virginia, "The Nation," Feb. +2, 1893, p.86. Also reply to General Fitzhugh Lee, _Id_., Dec. 20, +1894, p.462; Confederate Statistics, _Id_., Jan. 24, 1895, p.71; +Review of Ropes's Story of the Civil War, _Id_., March 9, 1899, +p.185.] McClellan's 87,000 present for duty is accepted by all, +though various causes considerably reduced the number he brought +into action. The best collation of reports of casualties at Antietam +gives 12,410 as those on the National side, and 11,172 on the +Confederate. [Footnote: Century War Book, vol. ii. p.603.] +Longstreet, comparing the fighting in the fiercest battles of the +war, says "on no single day in any one of them was there such +carnage as in this fierce struggle." [Footnote: From Manassas to +Appomattox, p.239.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +MCCLELLAN AND POLITICS--HIS REMOVAL AND ITS CAUSE + + +Meeting Colonel Key--His changes of opinion--His relations to +McClellan--Governor Dennison's influence--McClellan's attitude +toward Lincoln--Burnside's position--The Harrison Landing +letter--Compared with Lincoln's views--Probable intent of the +letter--Incident at McClellan's headquarters--John W. +Garrett--Emancipation Proclamation--An after-dinner discussion of +it--Contrary influences--Frank advice--Burnside and John +Cochrane--General Order 163--Lincoln's visit to camp--Riding the +field--A review--Lincoln's desire for continuing the +campaign--McClellan's hesitation--His tactics of discussion--His +exaggeration of difficulties--Effect on his army--Disillusion a slow +process--Lee's army not better than Johnston's--Work done by our +Western army--Difference in morale--An army rarely bolder than its +leader--Correspondence between Halleck and McClellan--Lincoln's +remarkable letter on the campaign--The army moves on November 2--Lee +regains the line covering Richmond--McClellan relieved--Burnside in +command. + + +When I rode up with Burnside on the afternoon of the 15th September, +in the group around McClellan I met Judge Key, whom I had not seen +since we parted in the Ohio Senate in April of the preceding year. +He was now aide-de-camp on the headquarters staff with the rank of +colonel, and doing duty also as judge-advocate. When McClellan +directed us to leave the ridge because the display of numbers +attracted the enemy's fire, Colonel Key took my arm and we walked a +little way down the slope till we found a fallen tree, on which we +sat down, whilst he plunged eagerly into the history of his own +opinions since we had discussed the causes of the war in the +legislature of our State. He told me with earnestness that he had +greatly modified his views on the subject of slavery, and he was now +satisfied that the war must end in its abolition. The system was so +plainly the soul of the rebellion and the tie which bound the +seceded States together, that its existence must necessarily depend +upon the success of the revolutionary movement, and it would be a +fair object of attack, if doing so would help our cause. I was +struck by the zeal with which he dashed into the discussion, +forgetful of his actual surroundings in his wish to make me quickly +understand the change that had come over his views since we parted +at Columbus. He was so absorbed that even when a shell burst near +us, he only half gave it attention, saying in a parenthetical way +that he would change his position, as he would "rather not be hit in +the back by one of those confounded things." We had been so sitting +that in facing me his back was toward the front and the line of +fire. + +Colonel Key has been regarded by many as McClellan's evil genius, +whose influence had been dominant in the general's political conduct +and who was therefore the cause of his downfall. His influence on +McClellan was unquestionably great,--and what he said to me is an +important help in understanding the general's conduct and opinions. +It accords with other statements of his which have been made public +by Judge William M. Dickson of Cincinnati, who at one time was +Colonel Key's partner in the practice of the law. [Footnote: I have +failed in my efforts to find a communication on the subject in a +newspaper, written by Judge Dickson, which he showed to me, +reiterating his statements in it.] + +General McClellan urged me to come to his headquarters without +ceremony, and after the battle of Antietam I had several +opportunities of unrestrained discussion of affairs in which he +seemed entirely frank in giving me his opinions. It was plainly +evident that he was subjected to a good deal of pressure by +opponents of the administration to make him commit himself to them. +On the other hand, Governor Dennison of Ohio, who was his sincere +friend, took every opportunity to counteract such influences and to +promote a good understanding between him and Mr. Lincoln. McClellan +perfectly knew my own position as an outspoken Republican who from +the first had regarded the system of slavery as the stake ventured +by the Secessionists on their success in the war, and who held to +John Quincy Adams's doctrine that the war powers were adequate to +destroy the institution which we could not constitutionally abolish +otherwise. With me, the only question was when the ripe time had +come for action, and I had looked forward to Mr. Lincoln's +proclamation with some impatience at the delay. + +The total impression left upon me by the general's conversation was +that he agreed with Colonel Key in believing that the war ought to +end in abolition of slavery; but he feared the effects of haste, and +thought the steps toward the end should be conservatively careful +and not brusquely radical. I thought, and still think, that he +regarded the President as nearly right in his general views and +political purposes, but overcrowded by more radical men around him +into steps which as yet were imprudent and extreme. Such an attitude +on his part made Governor Dennison and myself feel that there was no +need of any political quarrel between him and the administration, +and that if he would only rebuff all political intriguers and put +more aggressive energy into his military operations, his career +might be a success for the country as well as for himself. The +portions of his correspondence with Burnside which have become +public show that the latter also had, as a true friend, constantly +urged him to keep out of political controversy. Burnside himself, +like Grant and Sherman, began with a dislike of the antislavery +movement; but, also like them, his patriotism being the dominant +quality, the natural effect of fighting the Secessionists was to +beget in him a hearty acceptance of the policy of emancipation to +which Mr. Lincoln had been led by the same educational process. + +At the time I am speaking of, I knew nothing of McClellan's famous +letter to the President from Harrison's Landing, of July 7, but +since it has come to light, I have interpreted it much less harshly +than many have done. Reading it in the light of his talk during +those Antietam days, I think it fair to regard it as an effort to +show Mr. Lincoln that they were not far apart in opinion, and to +influence the President to take the more conservative course to +which he thought him inclined when taking counsel only of his own +judgment. McClellan knew that his "change of base" to the James +River in June was not accepted as the successful strategy he +declared it to be, and that strong influences were at work to remove +him. Under the guise of giving advice to the President, he was in +fact assuring him that he did not look to the acknowledgment of the +Confederacy as a conceivable outcome of the war; that the +"contraband" doctrine applied to slaves was consistent with +compensated emancipation; that he favored the application of the +principle to the border States so as to make them free States; that +concentration of military force as opposed to dispersion of effort +was the true policy; that he opposed the rules of warfare which he +assumed were announced in General Pope's much criticised orders; and +lastly, that he would cordially serve under such general-in-chief as +Mr. Lincoln should select. + +Compare all this with Mr. Lincoln's known views. It was notorious +that he was thought to be too conservative by many of his own party. +He had urged a system of compensated emancipation for the border +States. He had said that he held the slavery question to be only a +part, and an absolutely subordinate part, of the greater question of +saving the Union. He had disapproved of a portion of Pope's order +regarding the treatment of non-combatants. However ill-advised +McClellan's letter was, it may be read between the lines as an +attempt to strengthen himself with the President as against Stanton +and others, and to make his military seat firmer in the saddle by +showing that he was not in political antagonism to Mr. Lincoln, but +held, in substance, the conservative views that were supposed to be +his. Its purpose seems to me to have been of this personal sort. He +did not publish it at the time, and it was not till he was removed +from his command that it became a kind of political manifesto. This +view is supported by what occurred after the publication of the +Emancipation Proclamation, which I shall tell presently; but, to +preserve the proper sequence, I must first give another incident. + +A few days after the battle of Antietam a prominent clergyman of +Hagerstown spent the Sunday in camp, and McClellan invited a number +of officers to attend religious services in the parlors of the house +where headquarters were. The rooms were well filled, several +civilians being also present. I was standing by myself as we were +waiting for the clergyman to appear, when a stout man in civilian's +dress entered into conversation with me. He stood at my side as we +faced the upper part of the suite of rooms, and taking it to be a +casual talk merely to pass the time, I paid rather languid attention +to it and to him as he began with some complimentary remarks about +the army and its recent work. He spoke quite enthusiastically of +McClellan, and my loyalty to my commander as well as my personal +attachment to him made me assent cordially to what he said. He then +spoke of the politicians in Washington as wickedly trying to +sacrifice the general, and added, whispering the words emphatically +in my ear, "But you military men have that matter in your own hands, +you have but to tell the administration what they must do, and they +will not dare to disregard it!" This roused me, and I turned upon +him with a sharp "What do you mean, sir!" As I faced him, I saw at +once by his look that he had mistaken me for another; he mumbled +something about having taken me for an acquaintance of his, and +moved away among the company. + +I was a good deal agitated, for though there was more or less of +current talk about disloyal influences at work, I had been sceptical +as to the fact, and to be brought face to face with that sort of +thing was a surprise. I was a stranger to most of those who were +there, and walked a little aside, watching the man who had left me. +I soon saw him talking with General Fitz-John Porter, on the +opposite side of the room, evidently calling attention to me as if +asking who I was. I made inquiries as to who the civilian was, and +later came to know him by sight very well. He was John W. Garrett, +President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. + +Mr. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was published on the 24th of +September, and within a very few days I was invited to meet General +Burnside and General John Cochrane of New York at a camp dinner in +McClellan's tent. General Cochrane was a "War Democrat" in politics, +and had been active as a politician in his State. He was also the +son-in-law of Gerrit Smith, the well-known abolitionist, and had +advocated arming the slaves as early as November, 1861. McClellan +told us frankly that he had brought us there for the purpose of +asking our opinions and advice with regard to the course he should +pursue respecting the Proclamation. He said that he was urged to put +himself in open opposition to it by politicians not only, but by +army officers who were near to him. He named no names, but intimated +that they were of rank and influence which gave weight to their +advice. He knew that we were all friends of the administration, and +his object seemed to be to learn whether we thought he should say +anything or should maintain silence on the subject; for he assumed +that we would oppose any hostile demonstration on his part. + +This naturally led to inquiries as to his actual attitude to the +slavery question, and he expressed himself in substance as I have +before indicated; repeating with even stronger emphasis his belief +that the war would work out the manumission of the slaves gradually +and ultimately, and that as to those who came within our lines as we +advanced the liberation would be complete and immediate. He thought, +however, that the Proclamation was premature, and that it indicated +a change in the President's attitude which he attributed to radical +influences at Washington. + +There had been no previous understanding between us who were his +guests. For my part, I then met General Cochrane for the first time, +and had conversed with McClellan himself more freely on political +subjects than I had with Burnside. We found ourselves, however, in +entire accord in advising him that any declaration on his part +against the Proclamation would be a fatal error. We could easily +understand that he should differ from us in his way of viewing the +question of public policy, but we pointed out very clearly that any +public utterance by him in his official character criticising the +civil policy of the administration would be properly regarded as a +usurpation. He intimated that this was his own opinion, but, by way +of showing how the matter was thrust at him by others, said that +people had assured him that the army was so devoted to him that they +would as one man enforce any decision he should make as to any part +of the war policy. + +I had so recently gone through the little experience on this subject +which I have narrated above, that I here spoke out with some +emphasis. I said that those who made such assurances were his worst +enemies, and in my judgment knew much less of the army than they +pretended; that our volunteer soldiers were citizens as well as +soldiers, and were citizens more than soldiers; and that greatly as +I knew them to be attached to him, I believed not a corporal's guard +would stand by his side if he were to depart from the strict +subordination of the military to the civil authority. Burnside and +Cochrane both emphatically assented to this, and McClellan added +that he heartily believed both that it was true and that it ought to +be so. But this still left the question open whether the very fact +that there was an agitation in camp on the subject, and intrigues of +the sort I have mentioned, did not make it wise for him to say +something which would show, at least, that he gave no countenance to +any would-be revolutionists. We debated this at some length, with +the general conclusion that it might be well for him to remind the +army in general orders that whatever might be their rights as +citizens, they must as soldiers beware of any organized effort to +meddle with the functions of the civil government. + +I left the Army of the Potomac before McClellan's general order on +this subject, dated October 7, was published, but when I read it in +the light of the conference in his tent, I regarded it as an honest +effort on his part to break through the toils which intriguers had +spread for him, and regretted that what seemed to me one of his most +laudable actions should have been one of the most misrepresented and +misunderstood. + +[Footnote: The order is found in Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. +p. 395, and is as follows:-- + +General Orders. No. 163. +HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, CAMP NEAR SHARPSBURG, MD., +October 7, 1862. + +The attention of the officers and soldiers of the army of the +Potomac is called to General Orders No, 139, War Department, +September 24, 1862, publishing to the army the President's +proclamation of September 22. + +A proclamation of such grave moment to the nation, officially +communicated to the army, affords to the general commanding an +opportunity of defining specifically to the officers and soldiers +under his command the relation borne by all persons in the military +service of the United States toward the civil authorities of the +Government. The Constitution confides to the civil +authorities--legislative, judicial, and executive--the power and +duty of making, expounding, and executing the Federal laws. Armed +forces are raised and supported simply to sustain the civil +authorities, and are to be held in strict subordination thereto in +all respects. This fundamental rule of our political system is +essential to the security of our republican institutions, and should +be thoroughly understood and observed by every soldier. The +principle upon which and the object for which armies shall be +employed in suppressing rebellion, must be determined and declared +by the civil authorities, and the Chief Executive, who is charged +with the administration of the national affairs, is the proper and +only source through which the needs and orders of the Government can +be made known to the armies of the nation. + +Discussions by officers and soldiers concerning public measures +determined upon and declared by the Government, when carried at all +beyond temperate and respectful expressions of opinion, tend greatly +to impair and destroy the discipline and efficiency of troops, by +substituting the spirit of political faction for that firm, steady, +and earnest support of the authorities of the Government, which is +the highest duty of the American soldier. The remedy for political +errors, if any are committed, is to be found only in the action of +the people at the polls. + +In thus calling the attention of this army to the true relation +between the soldier and the government, the general commanding +merely adverts to an evil against which it has been thought +advisable during our whole history to guard the armies of the +Republic, and in so doing he will not be considered by any +right-minded person as casting any reflection upon that loyalty and +good conduct which has been so fully illustrated upon so many +battle-fields. + +In carrying out all measures of public policy, this army will of +course be guided by the same rules of mercy and Christianity that +have ever controlled its conduct toward the defenceless. + +By Command of Major-General McClellan, +JAS. A. HARDIE, +Lieutenant-Colonel, Aide-de-camp, and Act'g Ass't Adj't Gen'l."] + +I have always understood that the order was drafted by Colonel Key, +who afterward expressed in very strong terms his confidence in the +high motives and progressive tendencies of McClellan at the time he +issued it. + +General Cochrane, some time after the close of the war, in a +pamphlet outlining his own military history, made reference to the +visit to McClellan which I have narrated, and states that he was so +greatly impressed by the anti-slavery sentiments avowed by the +general, that he made use of them in a subsequent effort to bring +him and Secretary Chase into more cordial relations. [Footnote: The +War for the Union, Memoir by General John Cochrane, pp. 29-31.] It +is possible that, in a friendly comparison of views in which we were +trying to find how nearly we could come together, the general may +have put his opinions with a liberality which outran his ordinary +statements of belief; but I am very sure that he gave every evidence +of sincerity, and that none of us entertained a doubt of his being +entirely transparent with us. He has since, in his "Own Story," +referred to his taking counsel of Mr. Aspinwall of New York at about +the same time, and there is evidence that General W. F. Smith also +threw his influence against any opposition by McClellan to the +Emancipation Proclamation. [Footnote: Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, +vol. vi. p. 180.] McClellan's letters show that his first impulse +was to antagonism; but there is no fair reason to doubt that his +action at last was prompted by the reasons which he avowed in our +conversation, and by the honorable motives he professed. He +immediately sent a copy of his order to Mr. Lincoln personally, and +this indicates that he believed the President would be pleased with +it. + +The reference which he made to suggestions that the army would +follow him in a _coup d'e'tat_ is supported by what he formally +declared in his memoirs. He there tells us that in 1861 he was often +approached in regard to a "dictatorship," and that when he was +finally removed many in the army were in favor of his marching upon +Washington to take possession of the government. [Footnote: Own +Story, pp. 85, 652.] It would seem that treasonable notions were +rife about him to an extent that was never suspected, unless he was +made the dupe of pretenders who saw some profit in what might be +regarded as a gross form of adulation. He must be condemned for the +weakness which made such approaches to him possible; but we are +obliged to take the fact as he gives it, and to accept as one of the +strange elements of the situation a constant stream of treasonable +suggestions from professed friends in the army and out of it. An +anecdote which came to me in a way to make it more than ordinarily +trustworthy was that in the summer of 1861 McClellan was riding with +an older officer of the regular army, [Footnote: General McCall.] +and said to him, "I understand there is a good deal of talk of +making a dictatorship." "Ah!" said the other, "Mr. Lincoln, I +suppose." "Oh, no," replied McClellan, "it's me they're talking of." +Bits of evidence from many sources prove that there had been from +the first too much such talk about Washington, and whilst McClellan +cannot be held responsible for it, there is no proof that he rebuked +it as he should have done. It was part of the fermenting political +and military intrigue which is found at the seat of government in +such a time, if anywhere, and I take satisfaction in testifying that +away from that neighborhood I never even heard the thing mentioned +or referred to, that I can recollect. Washington would be spoken of +in a general way as a place of intrigues, but I never knew this to +have a wider meaning given to it than the ordinary one of political +schemes within lawful limits and personal ambitions of no criminal +character. + +Mr. Lincoln visited our camp on the 1st of October, and remained two +or three days. I was with the party of officers invited by McClellan +to accompany the President in a ride over the route which Sumner had +followed in the battle. We crossed the Antietam in front of +Keedysville, followed the hollows and byways to the East Wood, and +passed through this and the cornfields which had been the scene of +Hooker's and Mansfield's fierce fighting. We visited the Dunker +Church and then returned to camp by Bloody Lane and the central +stone bridge. The President was observant and keenly interested in +the field of battle, but made no display of sentiment. On another +day he reviewed the troops which were most accessible from +headquarters. As my own corps was among the first on the list, I did +not join the escort of the President at the general's quarters, but +was with the troops attending to the details of the parade. We were +ordered to be under arms at eight o'clock, but it was more than two +hours after that when the reviewing cortege came on the ground. The +officers were very hilarious over some grotesque story with which +Mr. Lincoln had seasoned the conversation, and which seemed to have +caused some forgetfulness of the appointment with the troops. We +were reviewed by divisions, and I met the party with my staff, +riding down the lines with them, and answering the inquiries of the +President and the general as to the history and the experience of +the different organizations as we passed them. The usual march in +review was omitted for lack of time, the President contenting +himself with riding along the lines formed in parade. I had missed +seeing the President in Washington when I paid my respects at the +White House, and this was my first meeting with him after his +inauguration. His unpretending cordiality was what first impressed +one, but you soon saw with what sharp intelligence and keen humor he +dealt with every subject which came up. He referred very pleasantly +to his knowledge of me through Secretary Chase, showing the kindly +instinct to find some compliment or evidence of recognition for all +who approached him. + +This geniality in Mr. Lincoln made him avoid personal criticism of +the campaign, and gave an air of earnest satisfaction to what he +said of the work done by McClellan. There was enough to praise, and +he praised it heartily. He was also thankful that the threatened +invasion of the North had been defeated, and showed his sense of +great relief. He had adopted the rule for himself to limit his +direct influence upon his generals to the presentation of his ideas +of what was desirable, often taking pains even in his written +communications to say that he made no order, and left the definite +direction to General Halleck. McClellan gave the most favorable +interpretation to all that the President said, but could not ignore +the anxiety Mr. Lincoln showed that an energetic campaign should be +continued. He wrote home: "I incline to think that the real purpose +of his visit is to push me into a premature advance into Virginia." +[Footnote: O. S., p. 654.] + +The President had coupled his earliest telegraphic congratulations +with the question, "Can't you beat them some more before they get +off?" and McClellan's private correspondence shows that he, on his +part, chafed at every suggestion of haste. As early as the 22d of +September, the general had written that he looked upon the campaign +as substantially ended, and intended to give some time to the +reorganization of the army before beginning a new one. The vicinity +of Harper's Ferry or Frederick seemed to him the proper place for +the camp meanwhile, and he wished for a rise in the Potomac River +which should make it impracticable for Lee to ford it again. He +delayed in the neighborhood of Sharpsburg, waiting for this. To +those of us with whom he talked freely, he spoke of the necessity of +incorporating into the Army of the Potomac at least a hundred +thousand of the new levies to make it really fit for an aggressive +campaign, and argued that it would save time in the end to use some +of it now in the work of reorganizing. + +Mr. Lincoln was plainly troubled with the apprehension that the +delays of 1861 were to be repeated, and that the fine October +weather of that region would be again wasted and nothing done till +the next spring. There were men enough about him at Washington to +remind him of this in irritating ways, and to make him realize that +as he had personally restored McClellan to the command he would be +personally responsible for keeping him moving. McClellan rightly +understood Mr. Lincoln's visit as meaning this. He did not refuse to +move; on the other hand, he professed to be anxious to do so at the +earliest moment when it should be really practicable. His obstinacy +was of a feminine sort. He avoided open antagonism which would have +been a challenge of strength, but found constantly fresh obstacles +in the way of doing what he was determined from the first not to do. +The need of clothing for the men and of horses for the cavalry was a +fruitful subject for debate, and the debate, if sufficiently +prolonged, would itself accomplish the delay that was desired. + +The official correspondence shows that the President went back to +Washington determined to cut the knot in a peremptory way, if he was +forced to do so. McClellan could not have been blind to this. His +private letters show that he thought it not improbable that he would +be relieved from command. His desire for military success was a +ruling one with him on both public and private grounds. We are +forced, therefore, to conclude that he actually lacked faith in +success, and regarded the crossing of the Potomac as too perilous +until he should reorganize the army with the additional hundred +thousand recruits. In this we see the ever-recurring effect of his +exaggeration of the enemy's force. We now know that this +over-estimate was inexcusable, but we cannot deny that he made it, +nor, altogether, that he believed in it. It constituted a +disqualification for such a command, and led to what must be +regarded as the inevitable result,--his removal. The political +questions connected with the matter cut no important figure in it. +If he had had faith in his ability to conquer Lee's army, we should +never have heard of them. + +Whilst I mean what I say in speaking of McClellan's exaggeration of +his enemy as constituting incompetence for such a command, it has +reference to the necessity in which we were that our army should be +aggressively handled. Few men could excel him in strictly defensive +operations. He did not lack personal courage, nor did his +intellectual powers become obscured in the excitement of actual war. +He showed the ordinary evidences of presence of mind and coolness of +judgment under fire. His tendency to see his enemy doubled in force +was, however, a constitutional one, and no amount of experience +seemed to cure it. Had it not been so he would have devised checks +upon the reports of his secret-service agents, and corrected their +estimates by those more reliable methods which I have already spoken +of. McClellan was, even in those days, often compared to Marshal +Daun, whose fair ability but studiously defensive policy was so in +contrast with the daring strategy of the great Frederick. The +comparison was a fair one. The trouble was that we had need of a +Frederick. + +It may seem strange that his subordinates so generally accepted his +view and supported him in his conduct; but it was a natural result +of forces always at work in an army. The old maxim that "Councils of +war never fight" is only another way of saying that an army is never +bolder than its leader. It is the same as the old Greek proverb, +"Better an army of deer with a lion for leader, than an army of +lions with a deer for leader." The body of men thus organized relies +upon its chief for the knowledge of the enemy and for the plan by +which the enemy is to be taken at a disadvantage. It will +courageously carry out his plans so long as he has faith in them +himself and has good fortune in their execution. Let doubt arise as +to either of these things and his troops raise the cry "We are +sacrificed," "We are slaughtered uselessly." McClellan's arts of +military popularity were such that his army accepted his estimate of +the enemy, and believed (in the main) that he had shown great +ability in saving them from destruction in a contest at such odds. +They were inclined, therefore, to hold the government at Washington +responsible for sacrificing them by demanding the impossible. Under +such circumstances nothing but a cautious defensive policy could be +popular with officers or men. If McClellan's data were true, he and +they were right. It would have been folly to cross the Potomac and, +with their backs to the river, fight a greatly superior enemy. +Because the data were not true there was no solution for the problem +but to give the army another commander, and painfully to undo the +military education it had for a year been receiving. The process of +disillusion was a slow one. The disasters to Burnside and Hooker +strengthened the error. Meade's standstill after Gettysburg was very +like McClellan's after Antietam, and Mr. Lincoln had to deal with it +in a very similar way. When Grant took command the army expected him +to have a similar fate, and his reputation was treated as of little +worth because he had not yet "met Bobby Lee." His terrible method of +"attrition" was a fearfully costly one, and the flower of that army +was transferred from the active roster to the casualty lists before +the prestige of its enemy was broken. But it was broken, and +Appomattox came at last. + +It will not do to say that the Confederate army in Virginia was in +any sense superior to their army in the West. When the superior +force of the National army was systematically applied, General Lee +was reduced to as cautious a defensive in Virginia as was General +Johnston in Georgia. Longstreet and Hood had no better success when +transferred to the West than the men who had never belonged to the +Army of Virginia. In fact, it was with Joseph E. Johnston as his +opponent that McClellan's career was chiefly run. Yet the +Confederate army in the West was broken at Donelson and at +Vicksburg. It was driven from Stone's River to Chattanooga, and from +Missionary Ridge to Atlanta. Its remnant was destroyed at Franklin +and Nashville, and Sherman's March to the Sea nearly completed the +traverse of the whole Confederacy. His victorious army was close in +rear of Petersburg when Richmond was finally won. Now that we have +got rid of the fiction that the Confederate government gave to Lee +an enormously larger army than it gave to Bragg or to Joseph +Johnston, we have to account for the fact that with much less odds +in their favor our Western army accomplished so much more. As a +military objective Richmond was in easier reach from the Potomac +than Nashville from the Ohio. From Nashville to Chattanooga was +fully as difficult a task. The vulnerable lines of communication +multiplied in length as we went southward, and made the campaign of +Atlanta more difficult still. Vicksburg was a harder nut to crack +than Richmond. We must put away our _esprit de corps_, and squarely +face the problem as one of military art with the Official Records +and returns before us. Our Western army was of essentially the same +material as the Eastern. Regiments from nearly all the States were +mingled in both. Wisconsin men fought beside those from Maine in the +Army of the Potomac, as men who had fought at Antietam and at +Gettysburg followed Sherman through the Carolinas. The difference +was not in the rank and file, it was not in the subordinates. It was +the difference in leadership and in the education of the armies +under their leaders during their first campaigns. That mysterious +thing, the morale of an army, grows out of its belief as to what it +can do. If it is systematically taught that it is hopelessly +inferior to its adversary, it will be held in check by a fraction of +its own force. The general who indoctrinates his army with the +belief that it is required by its government to do the impossible, +may preserve his popularity with the troops and be received with +cheers as he rides down the line, but he has put any great military +success far beyond his reach. In this study of military morale, its +causes and its effects, the history of the Army of the Potomac is +one of the most important and one of the gravest lessons the world +has ever seen. + +I have to confess that at Antietam I shared, more or less fully, the +opinions of those among whom I was. I accepted McClellan as the best +authority in regard to the enemy's numbers, and, assuming that he +was approximately right in that, the reasonable prudence of waiting +for reinforcements could not be denied. I saw that he had lost +valuable time in the movements of the campaign, but the general +result seemed successful enough to hide this for the time at least. +My own experience, therefore, supports the conclusion I have already +stated, that an army's enterprise is measured by its commander's, +and, by a necessary law, the army reflects his judgment as to what +it can or cannot accomplish. + +Mr. Lincoln had told McClellan during his visit to the army that his +great fault was "overcautiousness." He had intimated plainly enough +that he must insist upon the continuance of the campaign. He had +discussed the plans of advance, and urged McClellan to operate upon +Lee's communications by marching south on the east side of the Blue +Ridge. He had disclaimed any purpose of forcing a movement before +the army was ready, but saw no reason why it should take longer to +get ready after Antietam than after Pope's last battle. Soon after +his return to Washington, Halleck sent a peremptory order to +McClellan to cross the Potomac. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. i. p. 10.] It was dated October 6th, and said: "The +President directs that you cross the Potomac and give battle to the +enemy or drive him South. Your army must move now while the roads +are good. If you cross the river between the enemy and Washington, +and cover the latter by your line of operations, you can be +reinforced with 30,000 men. If you move up the valley of the +Shenandoah, not more than 12,000 or 15,000 can be sent to you. The +President advises the interior line between Washington and the +enemy, but does not order it." It also required him to report +immediately which line he adopted. Halleck, as General-in-chief, +ought to have given his own decision as to the line of operations, +but his characteristic indecision was shown in failing to do so. He +did not even express an opinion as to the relative merits of the two +lines, and limited himself to his concurrence in the order to move +in one way or the other. + +McClellan replied on the 7th, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. +pt. i. p. 11.] saying that he had determined to adopt the Shenandoah +line, though he wished to "state distinctly" that he should only use +that line till the enemy should retire beyond Winchester, as he did +not expect to be able to supply his army more than twenty or +twenty-five miles beyond a railway or canal depot. If the enemy +retreated, he would adopt some new and decisive line of operations. +He objected to the interior line because it did not cover Maryland +and Pennsylvania from a return of Lee's army, and because (as he +said) the army could not be supplied by it. He indicated three days +as the time within which he could move. At the end of that time he +complained of still lacking clothing. On the 12th he found it +"absolutely necessary" that the cavalry should have more horses. The +discussion over these things ran on till the 21st. + +Mr. Lincoln made a strong effort to save McClellan from the effects +of his mental deficiencies. He exhausted advice and exhortation. He +even ventured upon mild raillery on the idleness of the army. On the +13th he had written a remarkable letter to McClellan, in which he +reminded him of what had occurred between them at the Antietam and +argued in favor of the interior line of movement. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 13.] He showed that Lee at +Winchester supplied his army twice as far from his railway depot as +McClellan thought possible for the Army of the Potomac. He urged the +recognized advantage of operating by a line which attacked the +enemy's communications. He pointed out that if Lee should try to +cross the Potomac, our army could be in his rear and should destroy +him. He showed that McClellan at Harper's Ferry was nearer to +Richmond than Lee: "His route is the arc of a circle of which yours +is the chord." He analyzed the map and showed that the interior line +was the easier for supplying the army: "The chord line, as you see, +carries you by Aldie, Haymarket and Fredericksburg, and you see how +turnpikes, railroads, and finally the Potomac by Acquia Creek, meet +you at all points from Washington." He even gave the figures in +miles from gap to gap in the mountains, which would enable McClellan +to strike the enemy in flank or rear; and this was of course to be +done if Lee made a stand. "It is all easy," his letter concluded, +"if our troops march as well as the enemy; and it is unmanly to say +they cannot do it." Yet he expressly disclaimed making his letter an +order. [Footnote: Since writing this, I have had occasion to treat +this subject more fully, as bearing upon Mr. Lincoln's military +judgment and intelligence, in a review of Henderson's Stonewall +Jackson, "The Nation," Nov. 24, Dec. 1, 1898.] + +As a mere matter of military comprehension and judgment of the +strategic situation, the letter puts Mr. Lincoln head and shoulders +above both his military subordinates. Halleck saw its force, but +would not order it to be carried out. McClellan shrank from the +decisive vigor of the plan, though he finally accepted it as the +means of getting the larger reinforcements. On the 21st of October +the discussion of cavalry horses was pretty well exhausted, and +McClellan telegraphed Halleck [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. +pt. i. p. 81.] that in other respects he was nearly ready to move, +and inquires whether the President desired him to march on the enemy +at once or to wait the arrival of the new horses. Halleck answered +that the order of the 6th October remained unchanged. "If you have +not been and are not now in condition to obey it, you will be able +to show such want of ability. The President does not expect +impossibilities, but he is very anxious that all this good weather +should not be wasted in inactivity. Telegraph when you will move and +on what lines you propose to march." This dispatch was plainly a +notice to McClellan that he would be held responsible for the +failure to obey the order of the 6th unless he could exonerate +himself by showing that he could not obey it. In his final report, +however, he says that he treated it as authority to decide for +himself whether or not it was possible to move with safety to the +army; [Footnote: _Ibid_.] "and this responsibility," he says, "I +exercised with the more confidence in view of the strong assurance +of his trust in me, as commander of that army, with which the +President had seen fit to honor me during his last visit." Argument +is superfluous, in view of the correspondence, to show that orders +and exhortations were alike wasted. + +The movement began in the last days of October, the Sixth Corps, +which was in the rear, crossing the Potomac on the 2d of November. +McClellan had accepted Mr. Lincoln's plan, but lack of vigor in its +execution broke down the President's patience, and on the 5th of +November, upon Lee's recrossing the Blue Ridge without a battle, he +ordered the general to turn over the command to Burnside, as he had +declared he would do if Lee's was allowed to regain the interior +line. The order was presented and obeyed on the 7th, and McClellan +left the army. The fallen general brooded morbidly over it all for +twenty years, and then wrote his "Own Story," a most curious piece +of self-exposure, in which he unconsciously showed that the +illusions which had misguided him in his campaigns were still +realities to him, and that he had made no use of the authentic facts +which Confederate as well as National records had brought within his +reach. He had forgotten much, but he had learned nothing. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +PERSONAL RELATIONS OF McCLELLAN, BURNSIDE, AND PORTER + + +Intimacy of McClellan and Burnside--Private letters in the official +files--Burnside's mediation--His self-forgetful devotion--The +movement to join Pope--Burnside forwards Porter's dispatches--His +double refusal of the command--McClellan suspends the organization +of wings--His relations to Porter--Lincoln's letter on the +subject--Fault-finding with Burnside--Whose work?--Burnside's +appearance and bearing in the field. + + +McClellan and Burnside had been classmates at West Point, and had +been associated in railway employment after they had left the army, +in the years immediately before the war. The intimacy which began at +the Academy had not only continued, but they had kept up the +demonstrative boyish friendship which made their intercourse like +that of brothers. They were "Mac" and "Burn" to each other when I +knew them, and although Fitz-John Porter, Hancock, Parker, Reno, and +Pleasonton had all been members of the same class, the two seemed to +be bosom friends in a way totally different from their intimacy with +the others. Probably there was no one outside of his own family to +whom McClellan spoke his secret thoughts in his letters, as he did +to Burnside. The characteristic lack of system in business which was +very noticeable in Burnside, made him negligent, apparently, in +discriminating between official letters and private ones, and so it +happens that there are a number in the official records which were +never meant to reach the public. They show, however, as nothing else +could, the relations which the two men sustained to each other, and +reveal strong traits in the characters of both. + +After Burnside had secured his first success in the Roanoke +expedition, he had written to McClellan, then in the midst of his +campaign of the peninsula, and this was McClellan's reply on the +21st of May, 1862:--[Footnote: Official Records, vol ix. p. 392.] + +"MY DEAR BURN,--Your dispatch and kind letter received. I have +instructed Seth [Williams] to reply to the official letter, and now +acknowledge the kind private note. It always does me good, in the +midst of my cares and perplexities, to see your wretched old +scrawling. I have terrible troubles to contend with, but have met +them with a good heart, like your good old self, and have thus far +struggled through successfully.... I feel very proud of Yorktown: it +and Manassas will be my brightest chaplets in history, for I know +that I accomplished everything in both places by pure military +skill. I am very proud, and very grateful to God that he allowed me +to purchase such great success at so trifling a loss of life.... The +crisis cannot long be deferred. I pray for God's blessing on our +arms, and rely far more on his goodness than I do on my own poor +intellect. I sometimes think, now, that I can almost realize that +Mahomet was sincere. When I see the hand of God guarding one so weak +as myself, I can almost think myself a chosen instrument to carry +out his schemes. Would that a better man had been selected.... +Good-bye and God bless you, Burn. With the sincere hope that we may +soon shake hands, I am, as ever, + +Your sincere friend, MCCLELLAN." + +When McClellan reached the James River after the seven days' +battles, the first suggestion as to reinforcing him was that +Burnside should bring to his aid the bulk of his little army in +North Carolina. This was determined upon, and the Ninth Corps was +carried by sea to Fortress Monroe. As soon as the movement was +started, Burnside hastened in advance to Washington, and on +returning to the fortress wrote McClellan as follows:--[Footnote: +O. S., p. 472.] + +"OLD POINT, July 15, 1862. + +MY DEAR MAC,--I have just arrived from Washington, and have not time +to get ready to go up this morning, but will to-morrow. I've much to +say to you and am very anxious to see you.... The President has +ordered me to remain here for the present, and when I asked him how +long, he said five or six days. I don't know what it means; but I do +know, my dear Mac, that you have lots of enemies. But you must keep +cool; don't allow them to provoke you into a quarrel. You must come +out all right; I'll tell you all to-morrow. + +Your old friend, BURN." + +He went up the river to Harrison's Landing and stayed a couple of +days, consulting with McClellan as to the situation. He returned to +Old Point Comfort on the 18th, and immediately telegraphed to the +War Department for leave to go to Washington and present the results +of his conference with McClellan. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xi. pt. iii. p. 326.] This was granted, and he again presented +himself before the President and Secretary Stanton as the friend of +McClellan. He urged the increase of McClellan's army to an extent +which would make the general resume the aggressive with confidence. +Halleck visited McClellan at once after assuming command as +general-in-chief, but satisfied himself that the government could +not furnish the thirty thousand additional troops which McClellan +then demanded. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 337.] This led to the decision +to bring the Army of the Potomac back by water, and to unite it with +Pope's army on the Rappahannock. + +On this visit to Washington the President and Secretary of War had +offered to Burnside himself the command of the Army of the Potomac. +He had refused it, earnestly asserting his faith that McClellan was +much fitter for the command than he, and trying hard to restore +confidence and a mutual good understanding between his friend and +the government. He was discouraged at the result, and after he +returned to his command wrote a letter, every line of which shows +his sadness and his disinterested friendship, for he does not +mention, much less take credit to himself for, the refusal to +supersede his friend. [Footnote: O. S., 472.] + +"FORT MONROE, Aug. 2, 1862. + +MY DEAR MAC,--I'm laid up with a lame leg, and besides am much +worried at the decision they have chosen to make in regard to your +army. From the moment I reached Washington I feared it would be so, +and I am of the opinion that your engineers [Footnote: This hints at +General Barnard's unfavorable criticisms of McClellan's management, +which led to a request by the latter to have another officer +assigned as chief engineer. See Halleck to McClellan, Aug. 7, 1862. +Official Records, vol. xi. pt. iii. p. 359.] had much to do with +bringing about the determination. When the conclusion was arrived +at, I was the only one who advocated your forward movement. I speak +now as if a positive decision had been arrived at, which I do not +know, and you of course do; my present orders indicate it. But you +know what they are and all about it, so I will accept it as +something that is ordered for the best. Let us continue to give our +undivided support to the cause and all will be well. It looks dark +sometimes, but a just God will order everything for the best. We +can't expect to have it all as we wish. I'm off for my destination, +and will write you a long letter from there. The troops are nearly +all embarked. Good-bye. God bless you! + +Your old friend, A. E. BURNSIDE." + +Burnside was sent with the Ninth Corps to Falmouth on the +Rappahannock. Porter's corps joined him there, and both the corps +were sent forward to Warrenton to join Pope. When Pope's +communication with Washington was cut, it was only through Burnside +that the government could hear of him for several days, and in +response to the calls for news he telegraphed copies of Porter's +dispatches to him. Like McClellan's private letters, these +dispatches told more of the writer's mind and heart than would +willingly have been made public. Burnside's careless outspoken +frankness as to his own opinions was such that he probably did not +reflect what reticences others might wish to have made. Perhaps he +also thought that Porter's sarcasms on Pope, coming from one who had +gained much reputation in the peninsula, would be powerful in +helping to reinstate McClellan. At any rate, the dispatches were the +only news from the battle-field he could send the President in +answer to his anxious inquiries, and he sent them. They were the +cause of Mr. Lincoln's request to McClellan, on September 1st, that +he would write Porter and other friends begging them to give Pope +loyal support. They were also the most damaging evidence against +Porter in his subsequent court-martial. + +Before the Maryland campaign began, Mr. Lincoln again urged upon +Burnside the command of the army, and he again declined, warmly +advocating McClellan's retention as before. [Footnote: C. W., vol. +i. p. 650.] His advocacy was successful, as I have already stated. +[Footnote: _Ante_, p. 257.] The arrangement that Burnside and Sumner +were to command wings of the army of at least two corps each, was +made before we left Washington, and Burnside's subordinates, Hooker +and Reno, were, by direction of the President, assigned to corps +commands through orders from army headquarters. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 188, 197.] McClellan did not publish +to the Army of the Potomac this assignment of Burnside and Sumner +till the 14th of September, though it had been acted upon from the +beginning of the campaign. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 290.] On the evening +of the same day Porter's corps joined the army at South Mountain, +and before the advance was resumed on the following morning, the +order was again suspended and Burnside reduced to the command of a +single corps. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 297.] I have already suggested +Hooker's relation to this, and only note at this point the +coincidence, if it was nothing more, that the first evidence of any +change in McClellan's friendship toward Burnside occurs within a few +hours from Porter's arrival, and in connection with a complaint made +by the latter. + +McClellan and Burnside had slept in the same house the night after +the battle of South Mountain. Porter seems to have joined them +there. During the evening McClellan dictated his orders for the +movements of the 15th which were communicated to the army in the +morning. That Porter should be unfriendly to Burnside was not +strange, for it had by this time become known that the dispatches of +August 27th to 30th were relied upon by General Pope's friends to +show Porter's hostile and insubordinate spirit in that campaign. The +court-martial was still impending over Porter, and he had been +allowed to take the field only at McClellan's special request. +Although Burnside had not dreamed of doing Porter an ill service, +his transmittal of the dispatches to the President had made them +available as evidence, and Porter, not unnaturally, held him +responsible for part of his peril. The sort of favoritism which +McClellan showed to Porter was notorious in the army. Had the +position of chief of staff been given him, it would have sanctioned +his personal influence without offending the self-respect of other +general officers; but that position was held by General Marcy, the +father-in-law of McClellan, and Porter's manifest power at +headquarters consequently wore the air of discourtesy toward others. +The incident I have narrated of the examination of Lee's position at +Sharpsburg from the ridge near Pry's house was an example of this. +It was Porter who in the presence of the commandants of the wings of +the army was invited by McClellan to continue the examination when +the others were sent below the crest of the hill. Governor Sprague +testified before the Committee on the Conduct of the War to the +notoriety of this from the beginning of the peninsular campaign and +to the bad feeling it caused. [Footnote: C. W., vol. i. p. 566.] +General Rosecrans testified that in the winter of 1861-62, on his +visit to Washington, he found that Porter was regarded as the +confidential adviser of McClellan. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. vi. +(Rosecrans) p. 14.] It was matter of common fame, too well known to +be questioned by anybody who served in that army. Mr. Lincoln had +discussed it to some extent in his correspondence with McClellan in +the month of May, and had warned the general of the mischiefs likely +to ensue, even whilst authorizing provisional corps to be organized +for Porter and Franklin. He had used such exceptional plainness as +to say to the general [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xi. pt. iii. +p. 154.] that "it is looked upon as merely an effort to pamper one +or two pets and to persecute and degrade their supposed rivals. The +commanders of these corps are of course the three highest officers +with you, but I am constantly told that you have no consultation or +communication with them; that you consult and communicate with +nobody but General Fitz-John Porter and perhaps General Franklin. I +do not say these complaints are true or just, but at all events it +is proper you should know of their existence." + +McClellan's dealing with the division of the army into wings was +part of the same persistent method of thwarting the purpose of the +administration while ostensibly keeping the letter. It was perfectly +easy to advance from South Mountain upon Sharpsburg, keeping +Sumner's and Burnside's commands intact. The intermingling of them +was unnecessary at the beginning, and was mischievous during the +battle of Antietam. No military reason can be given for it, and the +history of the whole year makes it plain that the reasons were +personal. + +The offer of the command of the army to Burnside, though refused, +was a sufficiently plain designation of McClellan's successor in +case he should be relieved or be disabled. It needed a more +magnanimous nature than McClellan's proved to be, to bear the +obligation of Burnside's powerful friendship in securing for him +again the field command of the army. When he was in personal contact +with Burnside, the transparent sincerity of the latter's friendship +always brought McClellan to his better self, and to the eye of an +observer they were as cordially intimate as they had ever been. Yet +unfriendly things which had been done officially could not easily be +undone, and the friendship was maintained by the subordinate +condoning the sins against it. Hooker was allowed to separate +himself from Burnside's command on the morning of the 15th, against +the protest of his commander; the order announcing the assignment of +the wing command was suspended and was never renewed, though +McClellan afterward gave Burnside temporary command of several corps +when detached from the rest of the army. + +Burnside spent several hours with his chief on Monday morning +(15th), and was disturbed and grieved at the course things had +taken. It is possible that his pre-occupation of mind made him +neglect the prompt issue of orders for moving the Ninth Corps, +though I know nothing definite as to this. [Footnote: My own +recollection is that part of the corps had marched without rations +on the preceding day, and had sent back during the night for them. +Burnside took the responsibility of allowing the corps to wait until +these supplies came and the men could be fed before marching again. +It will be remembered that McClellan made no effort to bring on an +engagement that day, nor during the whole of the next day.] Porter's +corps was to follow us through Fox's Gap, and when his head of +column came up the mountain at noon, we certainly were not in +motion. My own division was the rear one of the column that day, by +way of change, as I had had the advance all the way from Washington. +General Porter reported at McClellan's headquarters that the +movement of his troops was obstructed by Burnside's, and got at his +own special request an order to push by them. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 296.] The written order Porter +preserved, and put upon it an endorsement adding to what it contains +the accusation that "Burnside's corps was not moving three hours +after the hour designated for him." [Footnote: _Ibid._] No doubt +there was many a delay in that campaign in divers corps. The +significant thing in this one was the pains taken to "make a record" +of it against Burnside, and the inclusion in this of unofficial +matter by means of the endorsement. + +On the 16th another vexatious incident of a similar character +occurred. After McClellan's reconnoitring on our left, he orally +directed that the divisions of the Ninth Corps should be moved to +positions designated by members of his staff. When Burnside had +taken his position on a hill-top from which the positions could be +seen and the movement accurately directed, another staff officer +from McClellan came and requested that the movement be delayed for +further consideration by the commanding general. It was this that +occasioned a halt and our subsequent march in the dusk of evening, +as has been narrated in its place. That evening the following note +was written at McClellan's headquarters, but it was not delivered to +Burnside till the next day, the day of the battle: [Footnote: _Id._, +p. 308.]-- + +"HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, +September 16, 1862. + + +MAJOR-GENERAL BURNSIDE, Commanding Ninth Corps, etc. + + +GENERAL,--The General commanding has learned that although your +corps was ordered to be in a designated position at 12 M. to-day, at +or near sunset only one division and four batteries had reached the +ground intended for your troops. The general has also been advised +that there was a delay of some four hours in the movement of your +command yesterday. I am instructed to call upon you for explanations +of these failures on your part to comply with the orders given you, +and to add, in view of the important military operations now at +hand, the commanding general cannot lightly regard such marked +departure from the tenor of his instructions. + +I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + + +----------, + +Lieutenant-Colonel, Aide-de-camp, and Act'g Ass't Adj't. Gen'l." + +To this missive Burnside dictated the following answer on the field +during the battle:--[Footnote: Official Records., vol. xix. pt. ii. +p. 314.] + +"HEADQUARTERS, September 17, 1862. + +BRIG. GEN. S. WILLIAMS, Assistant Adjutant-General. + +GENERAL,--Your dispatch of yesterday this moment received. General +Burnside directs me to say that immediately upon the receipt of the +order of the general commanding, which was after twelve o'clock, he +ordered his corps to be in readiness to march, and instead of having +Captain Duane [Footnote: Captain Duane was senior engineer officer +in the field, on the staff of McClellan, and had conducted the +reconnoitring of the Antietam.] post the divisions in detail, and at +the suggestion of Captain Duane, he sent three aides to ascertain +the position of each of the three divisions, that they might post +them. These aides returned shortly before three o'clock, and they +immediately proceeded to post the three columns. The general then +went on an eminence above these positions to get a good view of +them, and whilst there, during the progress of the movement of his +corps, an aide from General McClellan came to him and said that +General McClellan was not sure that the proper position had been +indicated, and advised him not to hasten the movement until the aide +had communicated with the general commanding. He (General Burnside) +at once went to General McClellan's headquarters to inform him that +he had seen large bodies of the enemy moving off to the right. Not +finding the general commanding, General Burnside returned to his +command, and the movement was resumed and continued as rapidly as +possible. General Burnside directs me to say that he is sorry to +have received so severe a rebuke from the general commanding, and +particularly sorry that the general commanding feels that his +instructions have not been obeyed; but nothing can occur to prevent +the general from continuing his hearty co-operation to the best of +his ability in any movement the general commanding may direct. + +I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient +servant, +LEWIS RICHMOND, +Assistant Adjutant-General." + + +The answer was of course conclusive, but it leaves the difficult +problem, how came the reprimand to be written which General +McClellan could not have dictated, as the interruption of Burnside's +movement was caused by a message from himself? The blank for the +name of a staff officer who was to sign it, and the indication of +his rank and position point to Lieutenant-Colonel James A. Hardie as +the one for whom it was prepared, but Colonel Hardie must have +demurred to signing it, since Colonel Richmond's answer implies that +General Seth Williams's name was finally attached. All of us who +knew General Williams and his methods of doing business will be slow +to believe that he volunteered a paper of that kind. He afterward +served on Burnside's own staff and had his confidence. The +responsibility must fall upon General Marcy, the chief of staff, and +most of the officers of that army will be likely to conclude that he +also would act only by the direction of McClellan or of some one +whom he regarded as having decisive authority to speak for him in +his absence. + +I have already referred to an error contained in General Porter's +report of the battle of Antietam, where he says that "Morell's +division in reporting to General Burnside relieved his corps, which +was at once recalled from its position in front of Antietam bridge." +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 339.] I mention it +again only to say that since this was not only contrary to the fact, +but is unsupported by the records, to accept it and to embody it in +his official report certainly indicates no friendly disposition +toward Burnside. To that extent it supports any other circumstances +which point to Porter as the hostile influence which becomes so +manifest at McClellan's headquarters after the 14th of September. I +know by many expressions uttered by Burnside during those days and +afterward, that though he was deeply grieved at some things which +had occurred, he did not waver in his loyal friendship to McClellan. +He uttered no unkind word in regard to him personally, either then +or ever in my hearing. He sometimes spoke of what he believed to be +mischievous influences about McClellan and which he thought were too +powerful with him, but was earnest and consistent in wishing for him +the permanent command of that army till success should give a +glorious end to the war. It was after the irritating incidents I +have narrated that the visit to McClellan to dine with him occurred, +and I saw them frequently together till I left the army on the 5th +of October. Their manner toward each other was more than cordial, it +was affectionately intimate. Burnside never mentioned to me, +although I was next him in command, the reprimand which is copied +above. His real unwillingness to supersede McClellan, even when the +final order came in November, is abundantly attested. McClellan only +by degrees gave outward evidence of the souring of his own feelings +toward Burnside, but his private letters show that the process began +with the battle of South Mountain. By the time that he wrote his +final report in the latter part of 1863 it had advanced far enough +to warp his memory of the campaign and to make him try to transfer +to Burnside the responsibility for some of his mishaps. When his +"Own Story" was written, the process was complete, and no kindly +remembrance dictated a word which could give any indication of the +friendship that had died. + +Those who are not familiar with the customs of military service +might see little significance in the fact that the fault-finding +with Burnside was put in the form of official communications which +thus became part of the permanent documentary history of the war. To +military men, however, it would be almost conclusive proof of a +settled hostility to him, formally calling his military character in +question in a way to make it tell against him for ulterior purposes. +Nothing is more common in an active campaign than for a commanding +officer to send messages hurrying the movement of a part of his +army. These are usually oral, and even when delays are complained +of, the commander, in the interests of cordial cooperation and +cheerful alacrity, awaits a full opportunity for personal +explanation from his immediate subordinates before administering a +reprimand. It goes without saying that where intimate friendship +exists, still more delicate consideration is used. To send such a +letter as that of September 16th, and in the course of such +deliberate movements as were McClellan's during those days, would be +scarcely conceivable unless there had been a formal breach of +personal relations, and it was equivalent to notice that they were +henceforth to deal at arm's-length only. + +McClellan's "Own Story" shows that in regard to the alleged delay on +the morning of the 15th, he had a personal explanation from +Burnside. [Footnote: O. S., p. 586.] Yet in the night of the 16th +the same querulous inquiry was repeated as if it had not been +answered, with the addition of the new complaint of a delay on the +16th which was caused by McClellan's personal request, and the whole +accompanied by so formal a reprimand that the ordinary reply to it +would have been a demand for a court of inquiry. The occurrence was +unexampled in that campaign and stands entirely alone, although +McClellan's memoirs show that he alleged delays in other cases, +notably in Hooker's march that same afternoon to attack the enemy, +of which no recorded notice was taken. [Footnote: O. S., p.590.] +Considering the personal relations of the men before that time, and +as I myself witnessed them from day to day afterward, it is simply +incredible that McClellan dictated the letters which went from his +headquarters. + +Before ending the discussion of matters personal to these officers I +will say a few words regarding Burnside's appearance and bearing in +the field. He was always a striking figure, and had a dashing way +with him which incited enthusiasm among his soldiers. Without +seeming to care for his costume, or even whilst affecting a little +carelessness, there was apt to be something picturesque about him. +He had a hearty and jovial manner, a good-humored cordiality toward +everybody, that beamed in his face as he rode through the camps or +along the lines. When not on parade, he often discarded his uniform +coat, wearing a light undress jacket, with no indication of his rank +except the yellow silk sash about his waist which showed that he was +a general officer. On one occasion when I accompanied him in a +change of position, we passed the Ninth Corps column in march, and +it was interesting to see how he was greeted by the troops which had +been with him in his North Carolina campaign. He wore that day a +"Norfolk jacket," a brown knit roundabout, fitting close to his +person; his hat was the stiff broad-rimmed, high-crowned regulation +hat, worn rather rakishly, with gold cord, acorn-tipped; his +pistol-belt was a loose one, allowing the holster to hang on his hip +instead of being buckled tight about the waist; his boots were the +high cavalry boots reaching to the knee; his large buckskin +gauntlets covered his forearm; he rode a large bony horse, +bob-tailed, with a wall-eye which gave him a vicious look, and +suited well the brigandish air of his rider's whole appearance. +Burnside's flashing eyes, his beard trimmed to the "Burnside cut" +with the mustache running into the side whiskers whilst the square, +clean-shaven chin and jaws gave a tone of decision and force to his +features, made up a picture that at once arrested the eye. As we +went along the roadside at a fast trot, his high-stepping horse +seemed to be keeping his white eye on the lookout for a chance to +lash out at somebody. The men evidently enjoyed the scene, cheering +him loudly. I was particularly amused with one group of soldiers at +rest by their stacked muskets. They sat upon their haunches, and +clapped their hands as he passed, exclaiming and laughing, "Just see +the old fellow! just look at him!" Burnside laughed at their fun as +jollily as they did themselves, and took no offence at the +free-and-easy way in which they showed their liking for him. There +was no affectation in all this, but an honest enjoyment in following +his own whim in style and in accoutrement. His sincere earnestness +in the cause for which he was fighting was apparent to all who met +him, and no one in his presence could question the single-hearted +honesty and unselfishness of the man. His bearing under fire was +good, and his personal courage beyond question. He shrank from +responsibility with sincere modesty, because he questioned his own +capacity to deal with affairs of great magnitude. He was not only +not ambitious to command a great army, but he honestly sought to put +it aside when it was thrust upon him, and accepted it at last from a +sense of obligation to the administration which had nominated him to +it in spite of his repeated disclaimers. It carafe to him finally, +without consulting him, as a military order he could not disobey +without causing a most awkward dead-lock in the campaign. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +RETURN TO WEST VIRGINIA + + +Ordered to the Kanawha valley again--An unwelcome surprise--Reasons +for the order--Reporting to Halleck at Washington--Affairs in the +Kanawha in September--Lightburn's positions--Enemy under Loring +advances--Affair at Fayette C. H.--Lightburn retreats--Gauley Bridge +abandoned--Charleston evacuated--Disorderly flight to the +Ohio--Enemy's cavalry raid under Jenkins--General retreat in +Tennessee and Kentucky--West Virginia not in any Department--Now +annexed to that of Ohio--Morgan's retreat from Cumberland +Gap--Ordered to join the Kanawha forces--Milroy's brigade also--My +interviews with Halleck and Stanton--Promotion--My task--My division +sent with me--District of West Virginia--Colonel Crook +promoted--Journey westward--Governor Peirpoint--Governor +Tod--General Wright--Destitution of Morgan's column--Refitting at +Portland, Ohio--Night drive to Gallipolis--An amusing +accident--Inspection at Point Pleasant--Milroy ordered to +Parkersburg--Milroy's qualities--Interruptions to movement of +troops--No wagons--Supplies delayed--Confederate retreat--Loring +relieved--Echols in command--Our march up the valley--Echols +retreats--We occupy Charleston and Gauley Bridge--Further advance +stopped--Our forces reduced--Distribution of remaining +troops--Alarms and minor movements--Case of Mr. Summers--His +treatment by the Confederates. + + +In war it is the unexpected that happens. On the 4th of October my +permanent connection with the Army of the Potomac seemed assured. I +was in command of the Ninth Corps, encamped in Pleasant Valley, +awaiting the renewal of active operations. My promotion to the rank +of Major-General had been recommended by McClellan and Burnside, +with the assurance that the permanent command of the corps would be +added. On that evening an order came from Washington directing me to +return to the Kanawha valley, from which our troops had been driven. +I was to report in person at Washington immediately, and would there +get detailed directions. The order was as much a surprise to my +immediate superiors as it was to me, and apparently as little +welcome. We all recognized the necessity of sending some one to the +Kanawha who knew the country, and the reasonableness, therefore, of +assigning the duty to me. McClellan and Burnside both promised that +when matters should be restored to a good footing in West Virginia +they would co-operate in an effort to bring me back, and as this was +coupled with a strong request to the War Department that my +promotion should be made immediate, [Footnote: McClellan to Halleck, +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 383.] acquiesced with +reasonably good grace. + +Going to Washington on the eth, I received my orders and +instructions from Halleck, the General-in-Chief. They were based +upon the events which had occurred in the Kanawha valley since I +left it in August. The information got by General Stuart from Pope's +captured quartermaster had led to a careful examination of the +letter-books captured at the same time, and Lee thus learned that I +had left 5000 men, under Colonel Lightburn, to garrison the posts +about Gauley Bridge. The Confederate forces were therefore greater +than ours in that region, and General Loring, who was in command, +was ordered to make at once a vigorous aggressive campaign against +Lightburn, to "clear the valley of the Kanawha and operate +northwardly to a junction" with the army of Lee in the Shenandoah +valley. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. i. p. 1069; +_Id._, vol. xii. pp. 940-943, 946. This correspondence fully +justifies Pope's suspicion that Lee then planned to operate by the +Valley of Virginia.] Loring marched, on the 6th of September, with a +column which he reported about 5000 strong, expecting to add to it +by organizing recruits and militia as Floyd had done in the previous +year. His line of operations was by way of Princeton, Flat-top +Mountain and Raleigh C. II. to Fayette C. H. His forces do not seem +to have been noticeably increased by recruiting till ours had +retreated out of the valley. + +Lightburn's advanced positions were two,--a brigade under Colonel +Siber of the Thirty-seventh Ohio being at Raleigh C. H. and another +under Colonel Gilbert of the Forty-fourth Ohio, near the Hawk's +Nest, and at Alderson's on the Lewisburg road. A small post was kept +up at Summersville and one at Gauley Bridge, where Lightburn had his +headquarters, and some detachments guarded trains and steamboats in +the lower valley. Gauley Bridge was, as in the preceding year, the +central point, and though it was necessary to guard both the +Lewisburg and the Raleigh roads on the opposite sides of the New +River gorge, a concentration on the line the enemy should take was +the plain rule of action when the opposing armies were about equal. +Or, by concentrating at Gauley Bridge, my experience had proved that +we could hold at bay three or four times our numbers. In either +case, fighting in detail was to be avoided, and rapid concentration +under one leader to be effected. + +On the approach of the enemy Siber was withdrawn from Raleigh C. H. +to Fayette, and Gilbert to Tompkins farm, three miles from Gauley +Bridge, but the brigades were not united. On the 10th of September +Loring attacked Siber at Fayette, in the intrenchments made by +Scammon in the winter. Siber repulsed the efforts of Loring to drive +him out of his position, and held it during the day. Three companies +of the Fourth Virginia under Captain Vance, and a squad of horse +were sent by Lightburn from Gauley Bridge to Siber's assistance, but +the latter, being without definite orders and thinking he could not +hold the position another day, retreated in the night, setting fire +to a large accumulation of stores and abandoning part of his wagons. +He halted on the ridge of Cotton Hill, covering the road to Gauley +Bridge, and was there joined by five companies of the Forty-seventh +Ohio, also sent to his assistance by Lightburn. Loring followed and +made a partial attack, which was met by the rear-guard under Captain +Vance and repulsed, whilst Siber's principal column marched on to +Montgomery's ferry on the Kanawha. + +Meanwhile Lightburn had called in Gilbert's force to Gauley Bridge +during the night of the both, and placed them opposite the ferry +connecting with Siber, which was just below Kanawha Falls and in the +lower part of the Gauley Bridge camp. On Siber's appearance at the +ferry, Lightburn seems to have despaired of having time to get him +over, and directed him to march down the left bank of the river, +burning the sheds full of stores which were on that side of the +stream. When Captain Vance with the rear-guard reached the ferry, +the buildings were blazing on both sides of the narrow pass under +the bluff, and his men ran the gantlet of fire, protecting their +heads with extra blankets which they found scattered near the +stores. Vance easily held the enemy at bay at Armstrong's Creek, and +Siber marched his column, next morning, to Brownstown, some +twenty-five miles below Kanawha Falls, where steamboats met him and +ferried him over to Camp Piatt. There he rejoined Lightburn. + +Gilbert's artillery was put in position on the right bank at +Montgomery's Ferry, and checked the head of Loring's column when it +approached the Kanawha in pursuit of Siber. Lightburn had ordered +the detachment in post at Summersville to join him at Gauley, and +Colonel Elliot of the Forty-seventh Ohio, who commanded it, marched +down the Gauley with his ten companies (parts of three regiments) +and a small wagon train. He approached Gauley Bridge on the 11th, +but Lightburn had not waited for him, and the enemy were in +possession. Elliot burned his wagons and took to the hills with his +men, cutting across the angle between the Gauley and the Kanawha and +joining Gilbert's column near Cannelton. A smaller detachment, only +a little way up the Gauley, was also left to its fate in the +precipitate retreat, and it also took to the hills and woods and +succeeded in evading the enemy. It was about ten o'clock in the +morning when Loring's head of column approached the Kanawha and drew +the fire of Gilbert's guns. After about an hour's cannonade across +the river, Lightburn gave the order to retreat down the right bank, +after burning the stores and blowing up the magazine at Gauley +Bridge. Loring found men to swim across the river and extinguish the +fires kindled on the ferry-boats, which were soon put in use to +ferry Echols's brigade across. This followed Lightburn down the +right bank, whilst Loring himself, with Williams's and Wharton's +brigades, marched after Siber down the left. The over-hanging cliffs +and hills echoed with the cannonade, and the skirmishers exchanged +rifle-shots across the rapid stream; but few casualties occurred, +and after Elliot joined the column, it marched with little +interruption to Camp Piatt, thirteen miles from Charleston, where +Siber met them, and the steamboats he had used passed down the river +to the Ohio. + +Siber's brigade continued its retreat rapidly to Charleston, passed +through the town and crossed the Elk River. Gilbert's brigade also +retired, but in better order, and it kept up a skirmish with the +advance-guard of Echols's column which was following them. When +Gilbert reached the outskirts of Charleston, he checked the advance +of the enemy long enough to enable the quartermasters at the post to +move their trains across the Elk; but the haste of the evacuation +was so great that the stores in depot there were not removed, and +were burned to prevent their falling into the enemy's hands. Gilbert +retired across the Elk, and the suspension bridge was destroyed. +Loring's artillery made a dash for a hill on the left bank of the +Kanawha, which commanded the new position taken up by Lightburn's +troops, and the Confederate battery soon opened an enfilade fire +across the river, taking the line of breastworks along the Elk in +flank and in reverse. The trains and the stragglers started in +direst confusion on the road to Ravenswood on the Ohio, which +offered a line of retreat not subject to the enemy's fire. Siber's +brigade followed, Gilbert's continued to bring up the rear. The road +down the Kanawha was abandoned because it was in range of artillery +from the opposite side of the river throughout its whole course down +the valley. The road to Ripley and Ravenswood was therefore taken, +and the flying troops were met at those towns on the Ohio by +steamboats which conveyed part of them to Point Pleasant at the +mouth of the Kanawha, where the whole command was concentrated in +the course of a few days. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. +i. pp. 1058-1060.] Siber's loss was 16 killed, 87 wounded, and over +100 missing. Gilbert reported 9 men killed and 8 wounded, with about +75 missing; but as the enemy do not enumerate any captured prisoners +in their reports except a lieutenant and 10 men, it is evident that +the missing were mostly men who outran the others. Loring's losses +as reported by his surgeon were 18 killed and 89 wounded. The enemy +claim to have captured large numbers of wagons, horses, mules, and +stores of all kinds which Loring estimated at a million dollars' +worth, besides all that were burned. + +It was a panicky retreat after the hot little fight by Siber's +brigade at Fayette C. H., and it is not worth while to apply to it +any military criticism, further than to say that either of the +brigades intrenched at Gauley Bridge could have laughed at Loring. +The river would have been impassable, for all the ferry-boats were +in the keeping of our men on the right bank, and Loring would not +dare pass down the valley leaving a fortified post on the line of +communications by which he must return. The topography of the wild +mountain region was such that an army could only pass from the lower +Kanawha to the headwaters of the James River by the road Loring had +used in his advance, or by that leading through the post of Gauley +Bridge to Lewisburg and beyond. The Confederate War Department seem +to have thought that their forces might have passed from Charleston +to the Ohio, thence to Parkersburg, and turning east from this town, +have made their way to Beverly and to the Valley of Virginia by the +route Garnett had used in the previous year. They would have found, +however, as Loring told them, that it would have been easy for the +National forces to overwhelm them with numbers while they were +making so long and so difficult a march in a vast region most of +which was a wilderness. + +Lightburn's position had been made more embarrassing by the fact +that a cavalry raid under Brigadier-General Jenkins was passing +around his left flank while Loring came upon him in front. Jenkins +with a light column of horse moved from Lewisburg by way of the +Wilderness Road to northwestern Virginia, captured posts and +destroyed stores at Weston, Buckhannon, and Roane C. H., and made a +circuit to the lower Kanawha, rejoining Loring after Lightburn's +retreat. Little real mischief was done by this raid, but it added to +the confusion, and helped to disturb the self-possession of the +commanding officer. In this way it was one of the causes of the +precipitate retreat. + +Several circumstances combined to make Lightburn's disaster +embarrassing to the government. West Virginia had not been connected +with any military department after Pope's command had been broken +up. McClellan's authority did not extend beyond his own army and its +theatre of operations. Halleck could hardly take personal charge of +the affairs of remote districts. Thus the Kanawha valley had dropped +out of the usual system and was an omitted case. The embarrassment +was increased by the fact that Buell was retreating out of Tennessee +before Bragg, Morgan had evacuated Cumberland Gap and was making a +painful and hazardous retreat to the Ohio, and the Confederate +forces under Kirby Smith were moving directly upon Cincinnati. +Lightburn's mishap, therefore, was only the northern extremity of a +line of defeats extending through the whole length of the Ohio +valley from Parkersburg to Louisville. The governors of West +Virginia and Ohio were naturally alarmed at the events in the +Kanawha valley, and were earnest in their calls upon the War +Department for troops to drive Loring back beyond the mountains and +for an officer to command them who knew something of the country. + +Halleck seems to have been puzzled at the condition of things, not +having realized that Pope's retirement had left West Virginia "in +the air." It took a week, apparently, to get satisfactory details of +the actual situation, and on the 19th of September the first +important step was taken by annexing the region to the Department of +the Ohio, then commanded by Major-General Horatio G. Wright, whose +headquarters were at Cincinnati. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xvi. pt. ii. p. 328.] Wright was directed to provide for the +recovery of lost ground in West Virginia as rapidly as possible, but +the campaign in Kentucky was the more important and urgent, so that +no troops could be spared for secondary operations until the +Confederates had ceased to threaten Cincinnati and Louisville. + +On the 1st of October Halleck again called General Wright's +attention to the need of doing something for West Virginia. Governor +Peirpoint, of that State, represented the Confederates under Loring +as about 10,000 in number, and this reflected the opinion which +Lightburn had formed during his retreat. It became the basis of +calculation in the campaign which followed, though it greatly +exaggerated Loring's force. Three days later Brigadier-General +George W. Morgan was known to have reached the Ohio River with the +division he had brought from Cumberland Gap, and General Halleck +outlined a plan of action. He ordered Morgan's division to be sent +to Gallipolis to take part in the advance into the Kanawha valley, +where some new Ohio regiments were also to join them. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 381.] He at the same time +called me to Washington to receive instructions under which I was to +take command of the whole force operating on the Kanawha line. +Brigadier-General Milroy had already (September 25th) been ordered +to proceed thither with his brigade, which was in Washington and was +part of Banks's forces garrisoning the capital. [Footnote: _Id._, +pp. 355, 359.] He was moved through Pennsylvania to Wheeling by +rail, and thence down the Ohio River to Point Pleasant at the mouth +of the Kanawha. + +My order to leave the Army of the Potomac reached me on Saturday +evening. Much business had to be closed up before I could properly +turn over the command of the Ninth Corps, but I was able to complete +it and make the journey to Washington so as to report to General +Halleck on Monday morning. He received me very kindly, and explained +the necessity they were under to send some one to the Kanawha valley +who knew the country. He was complimentary as to my former service +there, and said my return to that region would meet the earnest +wishes of the governors of West Virginia and Ohio, as well as the +judgment of the War Department and of himself. To compensate for +separating me from the command of the Ninth Corps, it had been +decided to make my promotion at once and to put the whole of West +Virginia under my command as a territorial district. He inquired +into some details of the topography of the Kanawha valley and of my +experience there, and concluded by saying that reinforcements would +be sent to make the column I should lead in person stronger than the +10,000 attributed to Loring. My task would then be to drive back the +enemy beyond the mountains. When that was accomplished, part of the +troops would probably be withdrawn. The actual position of Milroy's +brigade was not definitely known, and Governor Peirpoint of West +Virginia had asked to have it sent to Clarksburg. This gave me the +opportunity to urge that my own Kanawha division be detached from +the Ninth Corps and sent back to Clarksburg, where with Milroy they +would make a force strong enough to take care of that part of the +State and to make a co-operative movement toward Gauley Bridge. This +also was granted, and immediate promotion was given to Colonel Crook +so that he might command the division, and a promise was made to do +the like for Colonel Scammon, who would then be available for the +command of the division still under Lightburn, whose retreat was +strongly condemned as precipitate. No soldier could object to an +arrangement so satisfactory as this, and though I still preferred to +remain with the Army of the Potomac, I could only accept the new +duty with sincere thanks for the consideration shown me. The +General-in-Chief accompanied me to the room of the Secretary of War, +and Mr. Stanton added to my sense of obligation by warm expressions +of personal good-will. His manner was so different from the brusque +one commonly attributed to him that I have nothing but pleasant +remembrances of my relations to him, both then and later. My own +appointment as major-general was handed me by him, the usual +promotions of my personal staff were also made, and directions were +given for the immediate appointment of Crook to be brigadier. + +I called to pay my respects to the President, but he was in Cabinet +meeting and could not be seen. I had a short but warmly friendly +visit with Mr. Chase later in the day, and was ready to leave town +for my new post of duty by the evening train. The Secretary of War +directed me to visit Wheeling and Columbus on my way, and then to +report to General Wright at Cincinnati before going to the Kanawha +valley. This was in fact the quickest way to reach the mouth of the +Kanawha River, for the fall rains had not yet come to make the Ohio +navigable, and from Columbus to Cincinnati, and thence by the +Marietta Railway eastward, was, as the railway routes then ran, the +best method of joining my command. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad +was interrupted between Harper's Ferry and Hancock (about fifty +miles) by the Confederate occupation of that part of Virginia. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 393, 394.] +General Crook was ordered to march the division from its camp in +Pleasant Valley to Hancock, where trains on the western division of +the railway would meet him and transport the troops to Clarksburg. +For myself and staff, we took the uninterrupted railway line from +Washington to Pittsburg, and thence to Wheeling, where we arrived on +the evening of October 8th. The 9th was given to consultation with +Governor Peirpoint and to communication with such military officers +as were within reach. We reached Columbus on the both, when I had a +similar consultation with Governor Tod and his military staff in +regard to new regiments available for my use. Leaving Columbus in +the afternoon, we arrived at Cincinnati late the same night, and on +Saturday, the 11th, I reported to General Wright. + +He was an officer of the engineer corps of the regular army, a man +of fine acquirements and of a serious and earnest character, whose +military service throughout the war was marked by solidity and +modesty. If there seemed at first a little _hauteur_ in his manner, +one soon saw that it was a natural reserve free from arrogance. The +sort of confusion in which everything was, is indicated by the fact +that he knew nothing of my whereabouts when informed from Washington +that I would be ordered to the Kanawha, and on the same day (6th +October) addressed a dispatch to me at Point Pleasant whilst I was +receiving instructions from General Halleck in Washington. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xvi. pt. ii. p. 579.] Our personal +consultation established a thoroughly good understanding at once, +and as long as I remained under his orders, I found him thoroughly +considerate of my wishes and appreciative of my suggestions and of +the conduct of my own part of the work to be done. + +Morgan's division, after reaching the Ohio River, had been moved to +Portland on the Marietta Railroad, the nearest point to Gallipolis, +which was twenty-five miles away and nearly opposite the mouth of +the Great Kanawha. His retreat had been through a sparsely settled +country, much of which was a wilderness, rugged and broken in the +extreme. His wagons had broken down, his teams were used up, his +soldiers were worn out, ragged, and barefoot. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. +i. p. 990.] Many arms and accoutrements had been lost, and the +command was imperatively in need of complete refitting and a little +rest. The men had been largely recruited in East Tennessee and +Kentucky, and were unwilling to serve in any other theatre of war. +The Tennesseans, indeed, were reported to be mutinous at the news +that they were to be sent to the Kanawha valley. General Wright +issued orders for the refitting of the command, and promised such +delay and rest as might be found practicable. He detached three +regiments to serve in Kentucky, and directed their place to be made +good by three new Ohio regiments then organizing. The division was +permitted to remain at Portland till imperatively needed for my +movement. + +There were no trains running on the railroad on Sunday, and Monday +morning, the 13th October, was the earliest possible start on the +remainder of my journey. I left Cincinnati at that time, and with my +personal staff reached Portland in the afternoon. Morgan's division +was found to be in quite as bad condition as had been reported, but +he was in daily expectation of the new equipments and clothing, as +well as wagons for his baggage-train and fresh horses for his +artillery. It was stated also that a paymaster had been ordered to +join the division, with funds to pay part at least of the large +arrears of pay due to the men. This looked hopeful, but still +implied some further delay. Uneasy to learn the actual condition of +affairs with Lightburn's command, I determined to reach Gallipolis +the same night. Our horses had been left behind, and being thus +dismounted, we took passage in a four-horse hack, a square wagon on +springs, enclosed with rubber-cloth curtains. Night fell soon after +we began our journey, and as we were pushing on in the dark, the +driver blundered and upset us off the end of a little sluiceway +bridge into a mud-hole. He managed to jump from his seat and hold +his team, but there was no help for us who were buttoned in. The mud +was soft and deep, and as the wagon settled on its side, we were +tumbled in a promiscuous heap into the ooze and slime, which +completely covered us. We were not long in climbing out, and seeing +lights in a farm-house, made our way to it. As we came into the +light of the lamps and of a brisk fire burning on the open hearth, +we were certainly as sorry a military spectacle as could be +imagined. We were most kindly received, the men taking lanterns and +going to our driver's help, whilst we stood before the fire, and +scraped the thick mud from our uniforms with chips from the farmer's +woodyard, making rather boisterous sport of our mishap. Before the +wagon had been righted and partly cleaned, we had scraped and +sponged each other off and were ready to go on. We noticed, however, +that the room had filled with men, women, and children from the +neighborhood, who stood bashfully back in the shadows, and who +modestly explained that they had heard there was a "live general" +there, and as they had never seen one, they had "come over." They +must have formed some amusing ideas of military personages, and we +found at least as much sport in being the menagerie as they did in +visiting it. Our mishap made us wait for the moon, which rose in an +hour or so, and we then took leave of our entertainers and our +audience and drove on, with no desire, however, to repeat the +performance. We made some ten miles more of the road, but found it +so rough, and our progress so slow, that we were glad to find +quarters for the rest of the night, finishing the journey in the +morning. + +On reaching my field of duty, my first task was to inspect the +forces at Point Pleasant, and learn what was necessary to make a +forward movement as soon as Morgan's troops should reach me. General +Wright had originally expected that inclusive of Milroy's and +Morgan's troops, I should find at the mouth of the Kanawha, on +arriving there, some 20,000 men. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. ii. p. 402.] In fact, however, Lightburn's diminished +command had only been reinforced by three new Ohio regiments (the +Eighty-ninth, Ninety-first, and Ninety-second) and a new one from +West Virginia (the Thirteenth), and with these his strength was less +than 7300, officers and men, showing that his original command was +sadly reduced by straggling and desertion during his retreat. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 522.] The new regiments were made up of good +material, but as they were raw recruits, their usefulness must for +some time be greatly limited. + +Two regiments of infantry and a squadron of cavalry with a howitzer +battery were at Guyandotte, under Colonel Jonathan Cranor of the +Fortieth Ohio, and the Fifth West Virginia was at Ceredo near the +mouth of the Big Sandy River. They had been stationed at these +points to protect the navigation of the Ohio and to repel the +efforts of the Confederate Cavalry General Jenkins to "raid" that +region in which was his old home. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. ii. pp. 459, 522.] They formed, a little later, the Third +Brigade of the Kanawha division under Crook. + +I found General Milroy in command as the ranking officer present, +and he had sent Cranor's command down the river. When Governor +Peirpoint learned that Milroy's brigade had passed Wheeling on his +way to the Kanawha, he applied urgently to General Wright to send +him, instead, from Parkersburg by rail to Clarksburg to form the +nucleus of a column to move southward from that point upon the rear +of Loring's forces. Wright assented, for both he and Halleck +accepted the plan of converging columns from Clarksburg and Point +Pleasant, and regarded that from the former place as the more +important. [Footnote: _Id_. p. 402.] If directions were sent to +Milroy to this effect, they seem to have miscarried. Besides his +original brigade, some new Indiana regiments were ordered to report +to him. He had, with characteristic lack of reflection and without +authority, furloughed the Fifth West Virginia regiment in mass and +sent the men home. I gave him a new one in place of this, ordered +him to reassemble the other as soon as possible, and to march at +once to Parkersburg, proceeding thence to Clarksburg by rail. The +new troops added to his command enabled him to organize them into a +division of two brigades, and still other regiments were added to +him later. Milroy was a picturesque character, with some excellent +qualities. A tall man, with trenchant features, bright eyes, a great +shock of gray hair standing out from his head, he was a marked +personal figure. He was brave, but his bravery was of the excitable +kind that made him unbalanced and nearly wild on the battle-field. +His impulsiveness made him erratic in all performances of duty, and +negligent of the system without which the business of an army cannot +go on. This was shown in his furlough of a regiment whilst _en +route_ to reinforce Lightburn, who was supposed to be in desperate +straits. It is also seen in the absence of Official Records of the +organization of his command at this time, so that we cannot tell +what regiments constituted it when his division was assembled at +Clarksburg. He is described, in the second Battle of Bull Run, as +crazily careering over the field, shouting advice to other officers +instead of gathering and leading his own command, which he said was +routed and scattered. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. ii. +pp. 342, 362-364.] Under the immediate control of a firm and steady +hand he could do good service, but was wholly unfit for independent +responsibility. His demonstrative manner, his boiling patriotism, +and his political zeal gave him prominence and made him a favorite +with the influential war-governor of Indiana, Oliver P. Morton, who +pushed his military advancement. + +The Kanawha division left the Army of the Potomac on the 8th of +October and reached Hancock on the 10th. There it crossed the track +of a raid of the Confederate cavalry into Pennsylvania, under +Stuart. By McClellan's order one brigade was sent to McConnelsville +to intercept the enemy, and the other was halted. [Footnote: _Id_., +vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 62-78.] By the 13th Crook had been allowed to +concentrate the division at Hancock again, but was kept waiting for +orders, so that he was not able to report to me his arrival at +Clarksburg till the 20th. Colonel Scammon was on a short leave of +absence during this march, and was promoted. [Footnote: His new rank +dated from 15th October, that of Crook from 7th September. Army +Register, 1863.] He reported to me in person in his new rank of +brigadier a little later. The brigades of the Kanawha division were +commanded by the senior colonels present. + +The increase of troops in the district made immediate need of +transportation and munitions and supplies of all kinds. The Kanawha +division had not been allowed to bring away with it its admirably +equipped supply train, but its energetic quartermaster, Captain +Fitch, came with the troops, and I immediately made him chief +quartermaster of the district. Milroy's division had no wagons, +neither had Morgan's. The fall rains had not yet raised the rivers, +and only boats of lightest draught could move on the Ohio, whilst +navigation on the Kanawha was wholly suspended. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 433.] Four hundred wagons and two +thousand mules were estimated as necessary to supply two moving +columns of ten thousand men each, in addition to such trains as were +still available in the district. Only one hundred wagons could be +promised from the depot at Cincinnati, none of which reached me +before the enemy was driven out of the Kanawha valley. I was +authorized to contract for one hundred more to be built at Wheeling, +where, however, the shops could only construct thirty-five per week, +and these began to reach the troops only after the 1st of November. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 535-537.] We hoped for rains which would give +us navigation in the Kanawha in spite of the suffering which wet +weather at that season must produce, and I ordered wagons and teams +to be hired from the country people as far as this could be done. +Similar delays and trouble occurred in procuring advance stores and +equipments. Part of Morgan's men were delayed at the last moment by +their new knapsacks coming to them without the straps which fasten +them to the shoulders. General Wright blamed the depot officers for +this, and took from me and my subordinates all responsibility for +the delays; [Footnote: ., pp. 438, 475.] but the incidents make an +instructive lesson in the difficulty of suddenly organizing a new +and strong military column in a region distant from large depots of +supply. It also shows the endless cost and mischief that may result +from an ill-advised retreat and destruction of property at such +posts as Gauley Bridge and Charleston. To put the local +quartermasters at Gallipolis and other towns on the Ohio side of the +river under my command, General Wright enlarged the boundaries of my +district so as to include the line of Ohio counties bordering on the +river. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 381, 421.] + +On visiting Lightburn's command at Point Pleasant, I ordered a +brigade to be sent forward next day (15th) to Ten-mile Creek, +repairing the road and bridges, whilst a scouting party of +experienced men started out at once to penetrate the country by +circuitous ways and to collect information. [Footnote: _Id_., p. +433.] In two or three days bits of news began to arrive, with rumors +that Loring was retreating. The truth was that he in fact withdrew +his infantry, leaving Jenkins with the cavalry and irregular forces +to hold the valley for a time, and then to make a circuit northward +by way of Bulltown, Sutton, etc., gaining the Beverly turnpike near +the mountains and rejoining the infantry, which would march to join +Lee by roads intersecting that highway at Monterey. Such at least +was the purpose Loring communicated to the Confederate War +Department; but he was not allowed to attempt it. His instructions +had been to march his whole command by the route Jenkins was taking +and at least to hold the valley stubbornly as far as Charleston. On +receipt of the news that he was retreating, orders were sent him to +turn over the command to Brigadier-General John Echols, the next in +rank, and to report in person at Richmond. [Footnote: ., pp. 661, +667.] Echols was ordered immediately to resume the positions which +had been abandoned, and did so as rapidly as possible. Loring had in +fact begun his retreat on the 11th, three days before I reached +Gallipolis, but the first information of it was got after the +scouting had been begun which is mentioned above. By the 18th I was +able to give General Wright confirmation of the news and a correct +outline of Loring's plan, though we had not then learned that Echols +was marching back to Charleston. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xix. pt. ii. p. 449.] We heard of his return two or three days +later. As evidence of the rapidity with which information reached +the enemy, it is noteworthy that Lee knew my command had left the +Army of the Potomac for West Virginia on the 11th October, three +days after Crook marched from camp in Pleasant Valley. He reported +to Richmond that four brigades had gone to that region, which was +accurate as to the number, though only half right as to +identification of the brigades. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 662, 663.] On +the 13th he sent further information that I had been promoted and +assigned to command the district. + +By the 20th there had been a slight rise in the Kanawha River, so +that it was possible to use small steamboats to carry supplies for +the troops, and Lightburn was ordered to advance his whole division +to Red House, twenty-five miles, and to remove obstructions to +navigation which had been planted there. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 456, +459.] One brigade of Morgan's division was in condition to move, and +it was ordered from Portland to Gallipolis. The rest were to follow +at the earliest possible moment. The discontent of the East +Tennessee regiments had not been lessened by the knowledge they had +that powerful political influences were at work to second their +desire to be moved back into the neighborhood of their home. On the +10th of October a protest against their being sent into West +Virginia was made by Horace Maynard, the loyal representative of +East Tennessee in Congress, a man of marked character and ability +and deservedly very influential with the government. [Footnote: +_Id_., vol. xvi. pt. ii. pp. 604, 635, 651.] Maynard addressed +Halleck a second time on the subject on the 22d, and on the 29th +Andrew Johnson, then military governor of Tennessee, wrote to +President Lincoln for the same purpose. It hardly need be said that +the preparation of those regiments would proceed slowly, pending +such negotiations. Their distant homes and families were at the +mercy of the enemy, and it seemed to them intolerable that their +faces should be turned in any other direction. I suggested an +exchange for new Ohio regiments, but as these were not yet filled +up, it could not be done. General Wright assured them that they +should be sent to Kentucky as soon as we were again in possession of +West Virginia. Most of these regiments came under my command again +later in the war, and I became warmly attached to them. Their drill +and discipline were always lax, but their courage and devotion to +the national cause could not be excelled. + +It was not till the 23d that any of Morgan's men really entered into +the forward movement in the valley. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 474, 475.] On that day the brigade of Colonel +John F. DeCourcey (Sixteenth Ohio), composed of Ohio and Kentucky +troops, reached Ten-mile Creek and was ordered to march to Red House +the day after. [Footnote: Colonel DeCourcey was an Irishman of good +family, who took service in our army, and was a good officer. He +afterwards inherited an Irish baronage.] Lightburn was busy clearing +the river of obstructions and preparing to move to Pocataligo River +as the next step in advance. Of the other brigades belonging to +Morgan, that of Brigadier-General Samuel P. Carter, composed partly +of Tennesseans, was at Gallipolis, intending to enter the valley on +the 24th. The remaining brigade, under Brigadier-General James G. +Spears, was entirely Tennessean, and was still at Portland where the +paymaster had just arrived and was giving the regiments part +payment. + +My purpose was to concentrate the force at Pocataligo, assume the +command in person, and attack the enemy in the positions in front of +Charleston, in which Wise had resisted me in the previous year. I +should have been glad to make the expected movement of a column from +Clarksburg under Crook and Milroy co-operate directly with my own, +but circumstances made it impracticable. The operations of the +Confederate cavalry under Jenkins were keeping the country north of +the Kanawha in a turmoil, and reports had become rife that he would +work his way out toward Beverly. The country was also full of rumors +of a new invasion from East Virginia. Milroy's forces were not yet +fully assembled at Clarksburg on the 20th, but he was ordered to +operate toward Beverly, whilst Crook, with the old Kanawha division, +should move on Summersville and Gauley Bridge. Both had to depend on +hiring wagons for transportation of supplies. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 459, 481, 482.] Separated as they +were, they would necessarily be cautious in their movements, making +the suppression of guerillas, the driving out of raiders, and the +general quieting of the country their principal task. Their role was +thus, of course, made subordinate to the movement of my own column, +which must force its own way without waiting for results from other +operations. + +Half of Carter's brigade was, at the last moment, delayed at +Gallipolis, the clothing and equipments sent to them there being +found incomplete. Just half of Morgan's division with two batteries +of artillery were in motion on the 24th. On that day Lightburn was +moved to Pocataligo, about forty miles from the river mouth, where I +joined him in person on the 27th. A cold storm of mingled rain and +snow had made the march and bivouac very uncomfortable for a couple +of days. General Morgan accompanied me, and during the 28th the +active column of three and a half brigades was concentrated, two or +three other regiments being in echelon along the river below. Tyler +Mountain behind Tyler Creek was, as formerly, the place at which the +enemy was posted to make a stand against our further progress, +though he had no considerable force on the south side of the river +at the mouth of Scary Creek. Reconnoissances showed nothing but +cavalry in our immediate front, and it afterwards appeared that +Echols began a rapid retreat from Charleston on that day. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 685.] He had called to him +Jenkins with the greater part of the cavalry, and entrusted to the +latter the duty of holding us back as much as possible. Suspecting +this from evidence collected at Pocataligo, I determined to put +Siber's brigade and a battery, all in light marching order, on the +south side of the river, accompanied by a light-draught steamboat, +which the rise in the river after the storm enabled us to use as far +as Charleston. This brigade could turn the strong position at Tyler +Mountain, and passing beyond this promontory on the opposite side of +the river, could command with artillery fire the river road on the +other bank behind the enemy in our front. The steamboat would enable +them to make a rapid retreat if the belief that no great force was +on that side of the river should prove to be a mistake. Siber was +also furnished with a battery of four mountain howitzers, which +could be carried to the edge of the water or anywhere that men could +march. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 504, 509, 530.] + +On the right bank of the river (north side) the principal column of +two brigades (Toland's and DeCourcey's) advanced on the turnpike near +the stream, having one six-gun battery and a section of +twenty-pounder Parrots with them. What was present of Carter's +brigade was sent by the mountain road further from the stream, to +cover our left and to turn the flank of the Tyler Mountain position, +if a stubborn stand should be made there. A light six-gun battery +accompanied it. All moved forward simultaneously on the morning of +the 29th. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] The dispositions thus made rendered it +vain for the enemy's cavalry to offer any stubborn resistance, and +Jenkins abandoned Tyler Mountain on our approach, thus giving us +certain knowledge that he was not closely supported by the infantry. +Our advance-guard reached the Elk River opposite Charleston in the +afternoon, and I made personal reconnoissance of the means of +crossing. The suspension bridge had been ruined in Lightburn's +retreat, and the enemy had depended upon a bridge of boats for +communication with their troops in the lower valley. These boats had +been taken to the further bank of the river and partly destroyed, +but as the enemy had continued his retreat, we soon had a party over +collecting those that could be used, and other flatboats used in the +coal trade, and a practicable bridge was reconstructed before night +of the 30th. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 530.] +Meanwhile I entered the town with the advance-guard as soon as we +had a boat to use for a ferry, and spent the night of the 29th +there. We had friends enough in the place to put us quickly in +possession of all the news, and I was soon satisfied that Echols had +no thought of trying to remain on the western side of the mountains. +[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 515, 520.] + +The column crossed the Elk late in the afternoon of the 30th, and I +pushed Toland's and Carter's brigades to Malden and Camp Piatt that +evening, Siber's brigade advancing to Brownstown on the other side +of the Kanawha River. Lightburn's division was ordered forward next +day to Gauley Bridge, Carter's brigade at Malden was ordered to send +strong parties southward into Boone County, to reconnoitre and to +put down guerilla bands. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 530.] DeCourcey's +brigade was halted at Charleston, and Spears' Tennessee brigade was +directed to remain at Gallipolis till further orders. Communication +was opened with Crook, who was ordered to press forward via +Summersville to Gauley Bridge as quickly as possible. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 520.] The retreating enemy +had burned the bridges, obstructed the roads with fallen timber, and +cut and destroyed the flatboats along the river; so that the first +and most pressing task was to reopen roads, make ferries and +bridges, and thus renew the means of getting supplies to the troops. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 536.] The river was still low, unusually so for +the season, and the water was falling. Every energy was therefore +necessary to get forward supplies to Gauley Bridge and the other +up-river posts, for if the river should freeze whilst low, the +winter transportation would be confined to the almost impassable +roads. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 537.] I reported to General Wright the +re-occupation of the valley, our lack of wagon-trains for further +advance, and all the facts which would assist in deciding whether +anything further should be attempted. I did not conceal the opinion +which all my experience had confirmed, that no military advantage +could be secured by trying to extend operation by this route across +the mountains into the James River valley. + +On the 2d of November Brigadier-General Scammon reported for duty, +and I ordered him to Gauley Bridge to assume command of the division +which was then under Colonel Lightburn, who resumed the command of +his brigade. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] Scammon was directed to inspect +carefully all our old positions as far as Raleigh C. H., to report +whether the recent retreat of troops from Fayetteville had been due +to any improper location of the fortifications there, to examine the +road up Loup Creek, and any others which might be used by the enemy +to turn our position at Gauley Bridge, to state the present +conditions of buildings at all the upper posts, and whether any +storehouses had escaped destruction. In short, we needed the +material on which to base intelligent plans for a more secure +holding of the region about the falls of the Kanawha, or for a +further advance to the eastward if it should be ordered. + +The information which came to me as soon as I was in actual contact +with the enemy, not only satisfied me that Loring's forces had been +greatly exaggerated, but led me to estimate them at a lower figure +than the true one. In reporting to General Wright on 1st November, I +gave the opinion that they amounted to about 3500 infantry, but with +a disproportionate amount of artillery, some twenty pieces. The +cavalry under Jenkins numbered probably 1000 or 1500 horse. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p. 531.] About the +first of October Loring, in a dispatch to Richmond, stated his force +at "only a little more than 4000," [Footnote: _Id_., p. 635.] which +probably means that the 5000 with which he entered the valley were +somewhat reduced by the sick and by desertions. He seems to refer to +his infantry, for Jenkins's command had been an independent one. It +would be reasonable, therefore, to put his total strength at some +6000 or a little higher. On our side, the column with which I +actually advanced was just about 9000 men, with 2000 more of +Morgan's command within reach, had there been need to call them up +from the Ohio River. + +On the 8th of November Halleck telegraphed to General Wright that no +posts need be established beyond Gauley Bridge, and that about half +of my command should be sent to Tennessee and the Mississippi +valley. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 556, 557.] On the same day General +Wright formally approved my views as submitted to him, and ordered +Morgan's division to be sent to Cincinnati at once. [Footnote: +_Id_., p. 537.] It was thus definitively settled that my task for +the winter would be to restore the condition of affairs in West +Virginia which had existed before Loring's invasion, and organize my +district with a view to prompt and easy supply of my posts, the +suppression of lawlessness and bushwhacking, the support of the +State authorities, and the instruction and discipline of officers +and men. My first attention was given to the question of +transportation, for the winter was upon us and wagons were very +scarce. The plan of using the river to the utmost was an economy as +well as a necessity, and I returned to my former arrangement of +using batteaux for the shallow and swift waters of the upper river, +connecting with the movable head of steamboat navigation. A tour of +inspection to Gauley Bridge and the posts in that vicinity satisfied +me that they were in good condition for mutual support, and for +carrying on a system of scouting which could be made a useful +discipline and instruction to the troops, as well as the means of +keeping thoroughly informed of the movements of the enemy. + +The line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was kept under the +control of General Kelley, and his authority extended to active +co-operation with the Army of the Potomac in keeping open +communication with Washington. In case of need, the commander of +that army was authorized to give orders to General Kelley direct, +without waiting to transmit them through my headquarters. General +Milroy was established on the Beverly front, communicating on his +left with General Kelley and on his right with General Crook, at +Gauley Bridge. General Scammon had his station at Fayette C. H., +covering the front on the south side of New River, whilst Crook +watched the north side and extended his posts in Milroy's direction +as far as Summersville. Colonel Cranor remained on the Ohio near +Guyandotte, scouting the valley of the Guyandotte River and +communicating with Charleston and other posts on the Kanawha. + +On the 12th of November reports were received from General Kelley +that authentic information showed that Jackson was advancing from +the Shenandoah valley upon West Virginia. Similar information +reached army headquarters at Washington, and in anticipation of +possible necessity for it, I directed Milroy to hold himself in +readiness to march at once to join Kelley, if the latter should call +upon him. I telegraphed General Wright that I did not think the +report would prove well founded, but it put everybody upon the alert +for a little while. Kelley had beaten up a camp of Confederates +under Imboden about eighteen miles above Moorefield on the south +branch of the Potomac, causing considerable loss to the enemy in +killed and wounded and capturing fifty prisoners. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. pp. 572, 573, 578, 585, 586.] +Some movement to support Imboden probably gave rise to the story of +Jackson's advance, but Lee kept both corps of his army in hand and +moved the whole down the Rappahannock soon afterward, to meet +Burnside's advance upon Fredericksburg. + +The invasion of the Kanawha valley by Loring had stirred up much +bitter feeling again between Union men and Confederates, and was +followed by the usual quarrels and recriminations among neighbors. +The Secessionists were stimulated to drop the prudent reserve they +had practised before, and some of them, in the hope that the +Confederate occupation would be permanent, persecuted loyal men who +were in their power. The retreat of the enemy brought its day of +reckoning, and was accompanied by a fresh emigration to eastern +Virginia of a considerable number of the more pronounced +Secessionists. I have said [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 154.] that Mr. +George Summers, formerly the leading man of the valley, had +studiously avoided political activity after the war began; but this +did not save him from the hostility of his disloyal neighbors. Very +shortly after my re-occupation of Charleston he called upon me one +evening and asked for a private interview. He had gone through a +painful experience, he said, and as it would pretty surely come to +my ears, he preferred I should hear it from himself, before enemies +or tale-bearers should present it with such coloring as they might +choose. During the Confederate occupation he had maintained his +secluded life and kept aloof from contact with the military +authorities. Their officers, however, summoned him before them, +charged him with treason to Virginia and to the Confederate States, +and demanded of him that he take the oath of allegiance to the +Southern government. He demurred to this, and urged that as he had +scrupulously avoided public activity, it would be harsh and unjust +to force him to a test which he could not conscientiously take. They +were in no mood to listen to argument, and charged that his +acquiescence in the rule of the new state government of West +Virginia was, in his case, more injurious to the Confederate cause +than many another man's active unionism. Finding Mr. Summers +disposed to be firm, they held him in arrest; and as he still +refused to yield, he was told that he should be tied by a rope to +the tail of a wagon and forced to march in that condition, as a +prisoner, over the mountains to Richmond. + +He was an elderly man, used to a refined and easy life, somewhat +portly in person, and, as he said, he fully believed such treatment +would kill him. The fierceness of their manner convinced him that +they meant to execute the threat, and looking upon it as a sentence +of death, he yielded and took the oath. He said that being in duress +of such a sort, and himself a lawyer, he considered that he had a +moral right to escape from his captors in this way, though he would +not have yielded to anything short of what seemed to him an imminent +danger of his life. The obligation, he declared, was utterly odious +to him and was not binding on his conscience; but he had lost no +time in putting himself into my hands, and would submit to whatever +I should decide in the matter. It would be humiliating and subject +him to misconstruction by others if he took conflicting oaths, but +he was willing to abjure the obligation he had taken, if I demanded +it, and would voluntarily renew his allegiance to the United States +with full purpose to keep it. + +He was deeply agitated, and I thoroughly pitied him. My acquaintance +with him in my former campaign gave me entire confidence in his +sincerity, and made me wish to spare him any fresh embarrassment or +pain. After a moment's reflection, I replied that I did not doubt +anything he had told me of the facts or of his own sentiments in +regard to them. His experience only confirmed my distrust of all +test oaths. Either his conscience already bound him to the National +government, or it did not. In either case I could not make his +loyalty more sure by a fresh oath, and believing that the one he had +taken under duress was void in fact as well as in his own +conscience, I would leave the matter there and ask nothing more of +him. He was greatly relieved by my decision, but bore himself with +dignity. I never saw any reason to be sorry for the course I took, +and believe that he was always afterward consistent and steady in +his loyalty to the United States. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +WINTER QUARTERS, 1862-63--PROMOTIONS AND POLITICS + + +Central position of Marietta, Ohio--Connection with all parts of +West Virginia--Drill and instruction of troops--Guerilla +warfare--Partisan Rangers--Confederate laws--Disposal of +plunder--Mosby's Rangers as a type--Opinions of Lee, Stuart, and +Rosser--Effect on other troops--Rangers finally abolished--Rival +home-guards and militia--Horrors of neighborhood war--Staff and +staff duties--Reduction of forces--General Cluseret--Later +connection with the Paris Commune--His relations with Milroy--He +resigns--Political situation--Congressmen distrust Lincoln--Cutler's +diary--Resolutions regarding appointments of general officers--The +number authorized by law--Stanton's report--Effect of Act of July, +1862--An excess of nine major-generals--The legal questions +involved--Congressional patronage and local distribution--Ready for +a "deal"--Bill to increase the number of generals--A "slate" made up +to exhaust the number--Senate and House +disagree--Conference--Agreement in last hours of the session--The +new list--A few vacancies by resignation, etc.--List of those +dropped--My own case--Faults of the method--Lincoln's humorous +comments--Curious case of General Turchin--Congestion in the highest +grades--Effects--Confederate grades of general and +lieutenant-general--Superiority of our system--Cotemporaneous +reports and criticisms--New regiments instead of recruiting old +ones--Sherman's trenchant opinion. + + +Early in December I established my winter headquarters at Marietta +on the Ohio River, a central position from which communication could +be had most easily with all parts of the district and with +department headquarters. It was situated at the end of the railway +line from Cincinnati to the Ohio River near Parkersburg, where the +Baltimore and Ohio Railroad met the Cincinnati line. The Baltimore +road, coming from the east, forked at Grafton in West Virginia and +reached Wheeling, as has been described in an earlier chapter. +[Footnote: _Ante_, pp. 40, 42.] The river was usually navigable +during the winter and made an easy communication with Wheeling as +with the lower towns. I was thus conveniently situated for most +speedily reaching every part of my command, in person or otherwise. +It took but a little while to get affairs so organized that the +routine of work ran on quietly and pleasantly. No serious effort was +made by the enemy to re-enter the district during the winter, and +except some local outbreaks of "bush-whacking" and petty guerilla +warfare, there was nothing to interrupt the progress of the troops +in drill and instruction. + +A good deal of obscurity still hangs about the subject of guerilla +warfare, and the relation of the Confederate government to it. There +was, no doubt, a good deal of loose talk that found its way into +print and helped form a popular opinion, which treated almost every +scouting party as if it were a lawless organization of +"bush-whackers." But there was an authoritative and systematic +effort of the Richmond government to keep up partisan bodies within +our lines which should be soldiers when they had a chance to do us a +mischief, and citizens when they were in danger of capture and +punishment. When Fremont assumed command of the Mountain Department, +he very early called the attention of the Secretary of War to the +fact that Governor Letcher was sending commissions into West +Virginia, authorizing the recipients to enlist companies to be used +against us in irregular warfare. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xii. pt. iii. p. 75.] + +The bands which were organized by the Confederate Government under +authority of law, but which were free from the control of army +commanders and unrestrained by the checks upon lawlessness which are +found in subordination to the operations of organized armies, were +called "Partisan Rangers," and protection as legitimate soldiers was +promised them. They were not required to camp with the army, or to +remain together as troops or regiments. They wore uniforms or not, +as the whim might take them. They remained, as much as they dared, +in their home region, and assembled, usually at night, at a +preconcerted signal from their leaders, to make a "raid." They were +not paid as the more regular troops were, but were allowed to keep +the horses which they captured or "lifted." They were nominally +required to turn over the beef-cattle and army stores to the +Confederate commissariat, but after a captured wagon-train had been +looted by them, not much of value would be found in it. Their raids +were made by such numbers as might chance to be got together. +Stuart, the brilliant Confederate cavalry commander, whilst +crediting Mosby with being the best of the partisans, said of him, +"he usually operates with only one-fourth of his nominal strength. +Such organizations, as a rule, are detrimental to the best interests +of the army at large." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxiii. p. +1082.] General Lee, in forwarding one of Mosby's reports, commended +his boldness and good management, but added: "I have heard that he +has now with him a large number of men, yet his expeditions are +undertaken with very few, and his attention seems more directed to +the capture of sutlers' wagons, etc., than to the injury of the +enemy's communications and outposts.... I do not know the cause for +undertaking his expeditions with so few men; whether it is from +policy or the difficulty of collecting them. I have heard of his +men, among them officers, being in rear of this army, selling +captured goods, sutlers' stores, etc. This had better be attended to +by others. It has also been reported to me that many deserters from +this army have joined him. Among them have been seen members of the +Eighth Virginia Regiment." [Footnote: _Id_., vol xxix. pt. ii. +p.652.] In the "Richmond Examiner" of August 18, 1863 (the same date +as General Lee's letter), was the statement that "At a sale of +Yankee plunder taken by Mosby and his men, held at Charlottesville +last week, thirty-odd thousand dollars were realized, to be divided +among the gallant band." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxix. pt. +ii. p. 653.] + +The injury to the discipline of their own army gradually brought +leading officers of the Confederates to the conviction that the +"Partisan Rangers" cost more than they were worth. In January, 1864, +General Rosser, one of the most distinguished cavalry officers of +the South, made a formal communication to General Lee on the +subject. "During the time I have been in the valley," he said, "I +have had ample opportunity of judging of the efficiency and +usefulness of the many irregular bodies of troops which occupy this +country, known as partisans, etc., and am prompted by no other +feeling than a desire to serve my country, to inform you that they +are a nuisance and an evil to the service. Without discipline, +order, or organization, they roam broadcast over the country, a band +of thieves, stealing, pillaging, plundering, and doing every manner +of mischief and crime. They are a terror to the citizens and an +injury to the cause. They never fight; can't be made to fight. Their +leaders are generally brave, but few of the men are good soldiers, +and have engaged in this business for the sake of gain." [Footnote: +_Id_., vol. xxxiii. p. 1081.] After classifying the mischiefs to the +regular service, he continues: "It is almost impossible to manage +the different companies of my brigade that are from Loudoun, +Fauquier, Fairfax, etc., the region occupied by Mosby. They see +these men living at their ease and enjoying the comforts of home, +allowed to possess all that they capture, and their duties mere +pastime pleasures compared with their own arduous ones, and it is a +natural consequence, in the nature of man, that he should become +dissatisfied under these circumstances. Patriotism fails, in a long +and tedious war like this, to sustain the ponderous burdens which +bear heavily and cruelly upon the heart and soul of man." [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xxxiii. p. 1081.] General Rosser recommended +the absorption of the partisan bodies into the ordinary brigades, +using their supposed talents for scouting by sending them on +expeditions as regular patrols and reconnoitring parties, reporting +to their proper command as soon as the duty was done. + +It was upon Rosser's communication that Stuart made the endorsement +already quoted, and Lee sent it forward to the War Department, +further endorsed thus: "As far as my knowledge and experience +extend, there is much truth in the statement of General Rosser. I +recommend that the law authorizing these partisan corps be +abolished. The evils resulting from their organization more than +counterbalance the good they accomplish." The Secretary of War, Mr. +Siddon, drafted a bill to abolish them, and it passed the +Confederate House. Delay occurring in the Senate, the matter was +compromised by transferring all the Rangers except Mosby's and +McNeill's to the line. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1082, 1253.] As it was +to Mosby's that the reported facts applied, and all agreed that his +was the best of the lot, we may imagine what must have been the +character of the rest. + +In the first two winters of the war, these organizations were in the +height of their pernicious activity, and the loyal West Virginians +were their favorite victims. We knew almost nothing of their +organization, except that they claimed some Confederate law for +their being. We seldom found them in uniform, and had no means of +distinguishing them from any other armed horse-stealers and +"bush-whackers." We were, however, made unpleasantly certain of the +fact that in every neighborhood where secession sentiments were +rife, our messengers were waylaid and killed, small parties were +ambushed, and all the exasperating forms of guerilla warfare were +abundant. Besides all this, the Confederate authorities assumed to +call out the militia of counties into which they were intending to +make an expedition, so that they might have the temporary +co-operation of local troops. They claimed the right to do this +because they had not recognized the separation of West Virginia, and +insisted that the whole was subject to the laws of Virginia. The +result was that the Union men formed companies of "Home Guards" for +self-protection, and the conflict of arms was carried into every +settlement in the mountain nooks and along the valleys. In this kind +of fighting there was no quarter given, or if prisoners were taken, +they were too often reported as having met with fatal accidents +before they could be handed over to the regular authorities. As all +this could have no effect upon the progress of the war, the more +cool and intelligent heads of both sides opposed it, and gradually +diminished it. Severe measures against it were in fact merciful, for +the horrors of war are always least when the fighting is left to the +armies of responsible belligerents, unprovoked by the petty but +exasperating hostilities of irregulars. The trouble from this source +was less during the winter of 1862-63 than it had been the year +before, but it still gave occupation to small movable columns of our +troops from time to time. + +The organization of my staff was somewhat increased with the +enlargement of responsibilities. Lieutenant-Colonel McElroy, who had +been my adjutant-general in the campaign of 1861, returned to me as +inspector-general and took the whole supervision of the equipment, +drill, and instruction of the troops of the district. Major Bascom, +who had received his promotion at the same time with mine, continued +to be adjutant-general. The increased work in looking after supplies +made more force in the commissariat a necessity, and Captain +Barriger of the regular army was sent to me, my former commissary, +Captain Treat, continuing on the staff. Barriger was a modest, +clear-headed officer of admirable business qualifications, whom I +had the good fortune to be again associated with late in the war. +Three principal depots of supply were established at the bases of +the principal lines of communication in the district,--Wheeling, +Parkersburg, and Gallipolis. At each of these, depot commissaries +and quartermasters were located, and the posts and commands at the +front drew their supplies from them. Captain Fitch, my +quartermaster, supervised his department in a similar way to that of +the commissariat. My aides were Captain Christie and Lieutenant +Conine, as before, and I added to them my brother, Theodore Cox, who +served with me as volunteer aide without rank in the battles of +South Mountain and Antietam, and was then appointed lieutenant in +the Eleventh Ohio Infantry. He was my constant companion from this +time till peace was established. The medical department remained +under the care of Major Holmes, Brigade-Surgeon, who combined +scientific with administrative qualities in a rare measure. + +There was no military movement during the winter of sufficient +importance to be told at length. Constant scouting and +reconnoissances were kept up, slight skirmishes were not infrequent, +but these did not prevent our sense of rest and of preparation for +the work of the next spring. General Crook, with a brigade, was +transferred temporarily to the command of Rosecrans in Tennessee, +and Kelley, Milroy, and Scammon divided the care of the three +hundred miles of mountain ranges which made our front. My own +leisure gave me the opportunity for some systematic and useful +reading in military history and art. An amusing interlude occurred +in a hot controversy which arose between General Milroy and one of +his subordinates which would not be worth mentioning except for the +fact that the subordinate had afterward a world-wide notoriety as +military chief of the Paris Commune in 1870. + +Gustave Cluseret was a Frenchman, who was appointed in the spring of +1862 an aide-de-camp with the rank of colonel upon the staff of +General Fremont, who (with questionable legality) assigned him to +command a brigade, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xii. pt. i. pp. +9, 35.] and recommended his appointment as brigadier for good +conduct in the May and June campaign against Jackson. The +appointment was made on October 14th, [Footnote: Army Register, +1863, p. 95.] and during the fall and winter he had a brigade in +Milroy's division. Milroy was, for a time, loud in his praises of +Cluseret as the _beau ideal_ of an officer, and their friendship was +fraternal. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxi. p. 779.] In the +winter, however, their mutual admiration was nipped by a killing +frost, and a controversy sprung up between them which soon led to +mutual recrimination also in the superlative degree. They addressed +their complaints to General Halleck, and as the papers passed +through my headquarters, I was a witness of their berating of each +other. They made a terrible din, on paper, for a while, but I cannot +recall anything very serious in their accusations. Halleck +pigeon-holed their correspondence, but Milroy had powerful political +friends, and Cluseret, learning that his appointment would not be +confirmed by the Senate, anticipated their action, and terminated +his military career in the United States by resigning two days +before the close of the session of Congress. [Footnote: Army +Register, 1863, p. 101. His name does not appear in the lists in the +body of the Register, because he was not in the Army April 1, 1863, +the date of publication.] + +This brings me to the subject of Congressional action in the matter +of the promotions and appointments in the army during this winter +session which closed the Thirty-seventh Congress. By it I was myself +to suffer the one severe disappointment of my military career. The +time was one of great political excitement, for the fall elections +had resulted in a great overturning in the Congressional +delegations. The Democrats had elected so many representatives for +the Thirty-eighth Congress that it was doubtful whether the +administration would be able to command a majority in the House. The +retirement of McClellan from the command had also provoked much +opposition, and in the lack of full knowledge of the reasons for +displacing him, political ones were imagined and charged. Public +policy forbade the President to make known all his grounds of +dissatisfaction with the general, and many of his own party openly +questioned his wisdom and his capacity to govern. Men whose +patriotism cannot be questioned shared in this distrust, and in +their private writings took the most gloomy view of the situation +and of the future of the country. This was intensified when Burnside +was so bloodily repulsed at Fredericksburg at the close of the first +week of the session. [Footnote: Mr. W. P. Cutler, Representative +from Ohio, a modest but very intelligent and patriotic man, wrote in +his diary under December 16th: "This is a day of darkness and peril +to the country... Lincoln himself seems to have no nerve or decision +in dealing with great issues. We are at sea, and no pilot or +captain. God alone can take care of us, and all his ways _seem_ to +be against us and to favor the rebels and their allies the +Democrats. Truly it is a day of darkness and gloom." "Life and +Times" of Ephraim Cutler, with biographical sketches of Jervis +Cutler and W. P. Cutler, p.296.] + +As is usual in revolutionary times, more radical measures were +supposed by many to be the cure for disasters, and in caucuses held +by congressmen the supposed conservatism of Mr. Lincoln and part of +his cabinet was openly denounced, and the earnestness of the army +leaders was questioned. [Footnote: Mr. Cutler reports a caucus of +the House held January 27th, in which "Mr. ---- stated that the great +difficulty was in holding the President to anything. He prided +himself on having a divided cabinet, so that he could play one +against the other... The earnest men are brought to a deadlock by +the President. The President is tripped up by his generals, who for +the most part seem to have no heart in their work." _Id_., p.301. +Mr. Cutler himself expresses similar sentiments and reiterates: "It +really seems as if the ship of state was going to pieces in the +storm." "How striking the want of a leader. The nation is without a +head." "The true friends of the government are groping around +without a leader," etc. _Id_., pp. 297, 301,302] Much of this was a +misunderstanding of the President and of events which time has +corrected, but at the moment and in the situation of the country it +was natural. It strongly affected the conduct of the federal +legislators, and must be taken into the account when we try to +understand their attitude toward the army and the administration of +military affairs. + +In the Senate, at a very early day after the opening of the session, +Mr. Wilson, chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, offered a +resolution (which passed without opposition) calling upon the +Secretary of War for "the number and names of the major-generals and +brigadier-generals in the service of the United States, and where +and how they are employed." [Footnote: Senate Journal, 3d Session, +37th Congress, Dec. 8, 1862.] This was, no doubt, the offspring of +an opinion in vogue in Congress, that the President had gone beyond +the authority of law in the number of these officers he had +appointed. If this were true, the course taken was not a friendly +one toward the administration. The whole list of appointments and +promotions would be submitted to the Senate for confirmation, and if +the statutory number had been exceeded, that body could stop +confirming when it reached the legal limit. There were, of course, +frequent consultations between the Congressional committees or the +individual members and the Secretary of War; but whatever efforts +there may have been to reach a quiet understanding failed. On the +21st of January, the Secretary not having responded to Mr. Wilson's +resolution, Mr. Rice of Minnesota offered another (which also passed +by unanimous consent), directing the Secretary of War "to inform the +Senate whether any more major and brigadier generals have been +appointed and paid than authorized by law; and if so, how many; give +names, dates of appointment and amounts paid." [Footnote: _Id_., +Jan. 21, 1863.] + +Two days later the Secretary sent in his reports in response to both +resolutions. To the first he replied that the interests of the +public service would not permit him to state "where and how" the +general officers were employed, but he gave the list of names. He +gave also a separate list of six major-generals who were not +assigned to any duty. [Footnote: These were McClellan, Fremont, +Cassius M. Clay, Buell (ordered before a military commission), +McDowell, and F. J. Porter (both before military courts in +connection with the second battle of Bull Run).] To the second +resolution he replied that "It is believed by this Department that +the law authorizing the increase of the volunteer and militia forces +necessarily implied an increase of officers beyond the number +specified in the Act of July 17, 1862, to any extent required by the +service, and that the number of appointments is not beyond such +limit." If the limit of the statute named were strictly applied, he +said there would be found to be nine major-generals and forty-six +brigadier-generals in excess. There had been no payments of +increased salary to correspond with the increased rank, except in +one instance. [Footnote: Executive Documents of Senate, 3d Session, +37th Congress, Nos. 21 and 22. The nine major-generals were Schuyler +Hamilton, Granger, Cox, Rousseau, McPherson, Augur, Meade, Hartsuff, +and N. B. Buford. If the number were thirteen, it would include +Foster, Parke, Schenck, and Hurlbut.] The list submitted showed +fifty-two major-generals in service, and one (Buford) was omitted, +so that if forty should prove to be the limit, there would be +thirteen in excess. This, however, was only apparently true, for the +Secretary's list included the four major-generals in the regular +army, whose case was not covered by the limitation of the statute. +This seems to have been overlooked in the steps subsequently taken +by members of Congress, and as the action was unwelcome to the +President, he did not enlighten the legislators respecting their +miscalculation. The business proceeded upon the supposition that the +appointments in the highest rank were really thirteen in excess of +the number fixed by the statute. + +The state of the law was this. The Act of July 22, 1861, authorized +the President to call for volunteers, not exceeding half a million, +and provided for one brigadier-general for four regiments and one +major-general for three brigades. The Act of 25th July of the same +year authorized a second call of the same number, and provided for +"such number of major-generals and brigadier-generals as may in his +(the President's) judgment be required for their organization." In +the next year, however, a "rider" was put upon the clause in the +appropriation bill to pay the officers and men of the volunteer +service, which provided "that the President shall not be authorized +to appoint more than forty major-generals, nor more than two hundred +brigadier-generals," and repealed former acts which allowed more. +[Footnote: The several acts referred to may be found in vol. xii. U. +S. Statutes at Large, pp. 268, 274, 506. The appropriation bill was +passed July 5, 1862. The date July 17, 1862, in the Secretary's +report seems to be a misprint.] This limit just covered those who +had been appointed up to the date of the approval of the +appropriation bill. Two questions, however, were still open for +dispute. First, whether a "rider" upon the appropriation should +change a general law on the subject of army organization, and +second, whether the new limit might not allow appointments to be +_thereafter_ made to the extent of the numbers stated. The report of +Mr. Stanton evidently suggests such questions. + +The matter was now in good shape for what politicians call "a deal," +and negotiations between members of Congress and the executive were +active. The result appears to have been an understanding that a bill +should be passed increasing the number of general officers, so as +not only to cover the appointments already made, but leaving a +considerable margin of new promotions to be filled by arrangement +between the high contracting parties. On the 12th of February, 1863, +the Senate passed a bill providing for the appointment of twenty +major-generals of volunteers and fifty brigadiers. This was not +acceptable to the House. The battle of Stone's River had lately been +fought in Tennessee, and representatives from the West were urgent +in arguing that affairs near Washington unduly filled the view of +the administration. There was some truth in this. At any rate the +House amended the bill so as to increase the numbers to forty +major-generals and one hundred brigadiers, to be made by promotions, +for meritorious service, from lower grades. As soon as it was known +that the Military Committee of the House would report such an +amendment, it was assumed that the Senate would concur, and a +"slate" was made up accordingly. On the hypothesis that the list of +major-generals was thirteen in excess of the forty fixed by statute, +a new list of twenty-seven was made out, which would complete the +forty to be added by the new bill. A similar list was prepared for +the brigadiers and precisely similar negotiations went on, but for +brevity's sake I shall confine myself to the list for the highest +rank, in which I was personally concerned. + +The House passed the amended bill on the 27th of February, and it +went back to the Senate for concurrence in the amendments. But now +an unexpected difficulty arose. The Senate refused to concur in the +changes made by the House. It matters little whether the senators +were offended at the determination of the lower House to have so +large a share in the nominations, or desired to punish the President +for having gone beyond the letter of the law in his promotions of +1862; the fact was that they voted down the amendments. A committee +of conference between the two houses was appointed, and a compromise +report was made fixing the additional number of major-generals at +thirty and of brigadiers at seventy-five. Both Houses finally +concurred in the report, the bill went to the President on the 1st +of March, and he signed it on the next day. + +There was but a single working-day of the session left, for the +session must end at noon of the 4th of March. The list must be +reduced. The manner in which this was done clinches the proof, if +there had been any doubt before, that the list of twenty-seven was +the result of negotiations with congressmen. No meddling with that +list was permitted, though the use of patronage as "spoils" had some +very glaring illustrations in it. The President had to make the +reduction from his own promotions made earlier, and which were +therefore higher on the list and in rank, instead of dropping those +last added, as had seemed to be demanded by the earlier action of +Congress. The only exception to this was in the case of General +Schofield, whose even-handed administration of the District of +Missouri and army of the frontier had excited the enmity of extreme +politicians in that State and in Kansas, led by Senator "Jim" Lane, +the prince of "jay-hawkers." Schofield was dropped from the +twenty-seven. + +A few changes had occurred in the original roster of officers, +making additional vacancies. Governor Morgan of New York, who had a +complimentary appointment as major-general, but had never served, +resigned. Schuyler Hamilton also resigned, and Fitz-John Porter was +cashiered. + +The number to be sacrificed was thus reduced to six, and the lot +fell on Generals N. B. Buford, G. W. Morell, W. F. Smith, H. G. +Wright, J. M. Schofield, and myself. The last four won their +promotion a second time and were re-appointed and confirmed at +varying intervals; but of that later. Of course, in such a scramble +it was only a question as to who had or had not powerful friends on +the spot who would voluntarily champion his cause. No one at a +distance could have any warning. The passage of the bill and action +under it came together. For myself, I had gone quietly on in the +performance of duty, never dreaming of danger, and it was long years +after the war before I learned how the thing had in fact been done. +My place had been near the top of the list, the commands which I had +exercised and the responsibilities intrusted to me had been greater +than those of the large majority of the appointees, and I had +conclusive evidence of the approval of my superiors. The news was at +first, therefore, both astonishing and disheartening. As a result of +political "influences," it is sufficiently intelligible. I had at +that time a barely speaking acquaintance with Senator Wade of Ohio. +It was the same with Senator Sherman, but with the added +disadvantage that in the senatorial contest of 1860 between him and +Governor Dennison I had warmly espoused the cause of the latter. Mr. +Hutchins, the representative from my district, had not been +renominated, and Garfield, who was elected in his place, had not yet +taken his seat, but was still in the military service in the field. +Mr. Chase had been a constant friend, but this was just the time +when his differences with Mr. Lincoln had become acute, and since +the 20th of December the President had in his hands the resignations +of both Seward and Chase, which enabled him to refuse both, and to +baffle the party in the Senate which was trying to force him to +reorganize his cabinet by excluding Seward and those who were +thought the more conservative. As he expressed it, "he had a pumpkin +in each end of his bag, and could now ride." [Footnote: Hay and +Nicolay's "Lincoln," vol. vi. p. 271.] If, on the theory of +apportioning the promotions to States, it were held that Ohio must +lose one of the six nominated, it was easy to see where the balance +of influence would be. General Halleck was well known to be +persistent in favoring appointments from the regular army, and would +urge that the reduction should be made from those originally +appointed from civil life. These were Schenck and myself. But +General Schenck was a veteran member of the House of Representatives +and had now been elected to the next house, in which it was known he +would be a prominent character. It goes without saying, therefore, +that on such a basis the black ball would come to me. [Footnote: The +promotions of Ohio officers then pending, besides my own, were of +Schenck, McCook, Rosecrans, Stanley, McPherson, and Sheridan.] To +complete the story of the promotions made at this time, it may be +added that a short executive session of the Senate was held after +the regular adjournment of Congress on the 4th of March, and that +the President sent in the names of Carl Schurz and Julius Stahel to +be made major-generals. For one of these a vacancy was made by the +arrangement that Cassius M. Clay was reappointed minister to St. +Petersburg and resigned the military rank which he had never used. +The other seems to have been made by a resignation to take effect +the next month. General Sumner died on the 21st of March, making +another vacancy, but it is difficult to fix with accuracy the exact +date of the changes which occurred. [Footnote: The reason for this +difficulty is in part found in the frequent assignment of rank to +officers from an earlier date than their appointment, and as the +official lists are arranged according to rank, they are sometimes +misleading as to date of appointment. Thus Rosecrans dates in the +register from March 21, 1862, but he was not appointed till some six +months later. So also Schofield when reappointed in May, 1863, was +made to rank as in his first appointment, from Nov. 29, 1862.] In +the case of the last two promotions Mr. Lincoln openly declared that +he made them in recognition of the German element in the army and in +politics. [Footnote: For an illustration of Mr. Lincoln's way of +putting things in such cases, see "Military Miscellany" by Colonel +James B. Fry, p. 281.] + +It would be unjust to assume that members of Congress and the +President were not guided by patriotic motives. The reform of the +public service in matters of appointment had not then attracted much +attention. Patronage was used for political purposes with complete +frankness and openness. In civil offices this custom was boldly +defended and advocated. There was some consciousness shown that +promotions in the army ought to be controlled by a somewhat +different rule, but it seemed to be thought that enough was done in +the way of safeguard when the choice was confined to officers +already in service, and appointments for the highest grades were not +given to entirely new men from civil life. Each aspirant could find +friends to sound his praises, and it was easy to assert that it was +only giving preference to one's friends among officers of equal +merit. Many excellent appointments were in fact made, and the +proportion of these would have been greater if the judgment of +military superiors had been more controlling in determining the +whole list. Mr. Lincoln's humorous way of explaining his actions may +give an impression of a lower standard than he actually +acknowledged; but it cannot be denied that he allowed himself to be +pressed into making military promotions, at times, upon purely +political or personal reasons. [Footnote: Colonel Fry, who was +assistant adjutant-general at Washington and in personal intercourse +with the President, gives the following as a memorandum made by Mr. +Lincoln himself in reference to an application to have a +regular-army officer made a brigadier-general of volunteers. "On +this day Mrs. ----- called upon me: she is the wife of Major ----- +of the regular army. She is a saucy little woman, and I think she +will torment me till I have to do it." Colonel Fry adds, "It was not +long till that little woman's husband was appointed a +brigadier-general." Miscellany, pp. 280, 281.] + +It did not seem to occur to the authorities that the judgment of +superior officers in the field should be called for and carefully +considered when it was a question of promoting one of their +subordinates. An instance which occurred in General Buell's army +carried this beyond the verge of the grotesque. Colonel Turchin, of +an Illinois regiment, was a Russian, an educated officer who had +served in the Russian staff corps. An excellent soldier in many +respects, his ideas of discipline were, unfortunately, lax, and in +the summer of 1862 he was courtmartialled for allowing his men to +pillage a town in Tennessee. The court was an intelligent one, of +which General Garfield was president. The story current in the army +at the time, and which I believe to be true, is that after the court +had heard part of the testimony it became apparent that they must +convict, and Mrs. Turchin, who usually accompanied her husband in +the field, started to the rear to procure political "influences" to +save him. With various recommendations she went to Washington, and +was so successful that although the sentence of the court dismissing +him from the service was promulgated on the 6th of August, he had +been appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers on the 5th, and he +was not one of those who were dropped from the list on March 3, +1863. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xvi. pt. ii. p. 277.] The +trial was one of considerable notoriety, yet it is probable that it +was overlooked by the President and Secretary of War at the time the +appointment was made; but it cannot need to be said that whatever +grounds for leniency might have existed, it turns the whole business +into a farce when they were made the basis of a promotion in the +revised list six months later. To add to the perfection of the +story, Mrs. Turchin had acted on her own responsibility, and the +colonel did not know of the result till he had gone home, and in an +assembly of personal friends who called upon him ostensibly to cheer +him in his doleful despondency, his wife brought the little drama to +its _denouement_ by presenting him with the appointment in their +presence. + +One of the worst features of the method of appointment by "slate" +made up between congressmen and the executive was that it filled up +every place allowed by law, and left nothing to be used as a +recognition for future services in the field, except as vacancies +occurred, and these were few and far between. The political +influences which determined the appointment were usually powerful +enough to prevent dismissal. Whoever will trace the employment of +officers of the highest grades in the last half of the war, will +find large numbers of these on unimportant and nominal duty, whilst +their work in the active armies was done by men of lower grade, to +whom the appropriate rank had to be refused. The system was about as +bad as could be, but victory was won in spite of it. It was +fortunate, on the whole, that we did not have the grades of +lieutenant-general and general during the war, as the Confederates +had. They made the one the regular rank of a corps commander and the +other of the commander of an army in the field. With us the +assignment of a major-general by the President to command a corps +gave him a temporary precedence over other major-generals not so +assigned, and in like manner for the commander of an army. +[Footnote: Our system was essentially that of the first French +Republic and the Consulate, under which any general of division was +assignable to an army command in chief.] If these were relieved, +they lost the precedence, and thus there was a sort of temporary +rank created, giving a flexibility to the grade of major-general, +without which we should have been greatly embarrassed. Grant's rank +of lieutenant-general was an exceptional grade, made for him alone, +when, after the battle of Missionary Ridge, he was assigned to the +command of all the armies. + +These opinions of mine are not judgments formed after the fact. The +weak points in our army organization were felt at the time, and I +took every means in my power to bring them to the attention of the +proper authorities, State and National. At the close of 1862 a +commission was appointed by the Secretary of War to revise the +articles of war and army regulations. Of this commission +Major-General Hitchcock was chairman. They issued a circular calling +for suggestions as to alterations supposed to be desirable, and a +copy was sent to me among others. I took occasion to report the +results of my own experience, and to trace the evils which existed +to their sources in our military system. I called attention to the +striking parallel between our practices and those that had been in +use in the first French Republic, and to the identical mischiefs +which had resulted. Laxity of discipline, straggling, desertion, +demagoguery in place of military spirit, giving commissions as the +reward of mere recruiting, making new regiments instead of filling +up the old ones, absence of proper staff corps,--every one of these +things had been suffered in France till they could no longer be +endured, and we had faithfully copied their errors without profiting +by the lesson. + +In the freedom of private correspondence with Mr. Chase I enlarged +upon the same topics, and urged him to get the serious attention of +the President and the cabinet to them. I gave him examples of the +mischiefs that were done by the insane efforts to raise new +regiments by volunteering when we ought to apply a conscription as +the only fair way of levying a tax on the physical strength of the +nation. I said: "I have known a lieutenant to be forced by his +captain (a splendid soldier) to resign on account of his general +inefficiency. I have seen that same lieutenant take the field a few +months later as lieutenant-colonel of a new regiment, whilst the +captain still stood at the head of his fraction of a company in the +line. This is not a singular instance, but an example of cases +occurring literally by the thousand in our vast army during the year +past.... Governor Tod (of Ohio) said to me some time ago, with the +deepest sorrow, that he was well aware that in raising the new +regiments by volunteering, the distribution of offices to the +successful recruiters was filling the army with incompetent men whom +we should have to sift out again by such process as we could!.... +Have we time for the sifting process? Even if we had, how +inefficient the process itself when these officers have their +commissions in their pockets, and cannot be brought before a court +or a military commission till much of the mischief they can do is +accomplished, bad habits amongst the soldiers formed, and the work +of training them made infinitely more difficult than with absolutely +raw recruits. It was in view of such probable results that I +expressed the hope that no more new regiments would be raised by +volunteering, when, in July last, the levy of an additional force +was mooted. It seemed to me that the President could well say to the +world, 'Our people have shown abundant proof of their enthusiasm in +support of the government by volunteering already to the number of +more than half a million, a thing unprecedented in the world's +history: we now, as a matter of military expediency, call for a +draft to fill up the broken battalions.'" [Footnote: From private +letter of Jan. 1, 1863.] + +I urged with equal frankness the need of giving unity to the army by +abolishing the distinction between regulars and volunteers, and by a +complete reorganization of the staff. I said it seemed absurd that +with nearly a million of men in the field, the Register of the Army +of the United States should show an organization of some twenty +regiments only, of which scarce a dozen had been in active service. +"If a volunteer organization is fit to decide the _great_ wars of +the nation, is it not ridiculous to keep an expensive organization +of regulars for the petty contests with Indians or for an ornamental +appendage to the State in peace?" The thing to be aimed at seemed to +me to be to have a system flexible enough to provide for the +increase of the army to any size required, without losing any of the +advantage of character or efficiency which, in any respect, +pertained to it as a regular army. Circumstances to which I have +already alluded, probably prevented Mr. Chase from taking any active +part again in the discussion of army affairs in the cabinet. +Probably many of the same ideas were urged upon the President from +other quarters, for there was much agitation of the subject in the +army and out of it. But nothing came of it, for even the draft, when +it became the law, was used more as a shameful whip to stimulate +volunteering than as an honorable and right way to fill the ranks of +the noble veteran regiments. General Sherman found, in 1864, the +same wrong system thwarting his efforts to make his army what it +should be, and broke out upon it in glorious exasperation. +[Footnote: Letter to Halleck, Sept. 4, 1864. "To-morrow is the day +for the draft, and I feel more interested in it than in any event +that ever transpired. I do think it has been wrong to keep our old +troops so constantly under fire. Some of these old regiments that we +had at Shiloh and Corinth have been with me ever since, and some of +them have lost seventy per cent in battle. It looks hard to put +these brigades, now numbering less than 800 men, into battle. They +feel discouraged, whereas, if we could have a steady influx of +recruits, the living would soon forget the dead. The wounded and +sick are lost to us, for once at a hospital, they become worthless. +It has been a very bad economy to kill off our best men and pay full +wages and bounties to the drift and substitutes." Official Records, +vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 793.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +FAREWELL TO WEST VIRGINIA--BURNSIDE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO + + +Desire for field service--Changes in the Army of the +Potomac--Judgment of McClellan at that time--Our defective +knowledge--Changes in West Virginia--Errors in new +organization--Embarrassments resulting--Visit to General +Schenck--New orders from Washington--Sent to Ohio to administer the +draft--Burnside at head of the department--District of +Ohio--Headquarters at Cincinnati--Cordial relations of Governor Tod +with the military authorities--System of enrolment and +draft--Administration by Colonel Fry--Decay of the veteran +regiments--Bounty-jumping--Effects on political parties--Soldiers +voting--Burnside's military plans--East Tennessee--Rosecrans aiming +at Chattanooga--Burnside's business habits--His frankness--Stories +about him--His personal characteristics--Cincinnati as a border +city--Rebel sympathizers--Order No. 38--Challenged by +Vallandigham--The order not a new departure--Lincoln's +proclamation--General Wright's circular. + + +My purpose to get into active field service had not slept, and soon +after the establishment of a winter organization in the district, I +had applied to be ordered to other duty. My fixed conviction that no +useful military movements could be made across the mountain region +implied that the garrisons of West Virginia should be reduced to a +minimum and confined to the duty of defending the frontier of the +new State. The rest of the troops might properly be added to the +active columns in the field. McClellan had been relieved of command +whilst I was conducting active operations in the Kanawha valley, and +Burnside suffered his repulse at Fredericksburg within a few days +after I was directed to make my headquarters at Marietta and perfect +the organization of the district. I was therefore at a loss to +choose where I would serve, even if I had been given _carte blanche_ +to determine my own work. Enough was known of the reasons for the +President's dissatisfaction with McClellan to make me admit that the +change of command was an apparent necessity, yet much was unknown, +and the full strength of the President's case was not revealed till +the war was over. My personal friendship for McClellan remained +warm, and I felt sure that Hooker as a commander would be a long +step downward. In private I did not hesitate to express the wish +that McClellan should still be intrusted with the command of the +Potomac army, that it should be strongly reinforced, and that by +constant pressure upon its commander his indecision of character +might be overcome. Those who were near to McClellan believed that he +was learning greater self-confidence, for the Antietam campaign +seemed a decided improvement on that of the Chickahominy. The event, +in great measure, justified this opinion, for it was not till Grant +took command a year later that any leadership superior to +McClellan's was developed. Yet it must be confessed that we did not +know half the discouragements that were weighing upon the President +and his Secretary of War, and which made the inertia of the Eastern +army demand a desperate remedy. + +My personal affairs drifted in this way: the contest over the lists +of promotions, of which I knew next to nothing, prevented any action +on the request for a change of duty, and the close of the session of +Congress brought the official notice that the promotion had expired +by legal limitation. [Footnote: March 24th; received the 30th.] The +first effect was naturally depressing, and it took a little time and +some philosophy to overcome it; but the war was not ended yet, and +reflection made the path of duty appear to be in the line of +continued active service. + +To form a new department for General Schenck, West Virginia was +detached from the Department of the Ohio and annexed to Maryland. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxv. pt. ii. p. 145.] This was a +mistake from a military point of view, for not only must the posts +near the mountains be supplied and reinforced from the Ohio as their +base, toward which would also be the line of retreat if retreat were +necessary, but the frequent advances of the Confederate forces, +through the Shenandoah valley to the Potomac, always separated the +West from any connection with Baltimore, and made it impossible for +an officer stationed there (as General Schenck was) to direct +affairs in the western district at the very time of greatest +necessity. + +Another important fact was overlooked. The river counties of Ohio +formed part of the district, and the depots on the river were +supplied from Cincinnati. Not only was Gallipolis thus put in +another department from the posts directly dependent on that depot +as a base of supplies and the principal station for hospitals, but +the new boundary line left me, personally, and my headquarters in +the Department of the Ohio. I at once called the attention of the +War Department to these results, sending my communication in the +first instance through General Wright. He was in the same boat with +myself, for his rank had also been reduced on the 4th of March, but +he thought the intention must have been to transfer me with the +district to the Eastern Department. On this I wrote to Washington +direct, asking for definite orders. I also wrote to General Schenck, +telling him of General Wright's supposition that I was transferred +with the district, and inquiring if he had any definite decision of +the question. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 159, 160.] + +About the 3d of April I was directed to report in person to General +Schenck at Baltimore, [Footnote: _Id_., p. 175.] and reached that +city on the 4th. My relations with General Schenck had been, +personally, cordial, and our friendship continued till his death, +many years after the war. Whatever plans he may have had were set +aside by orders from Washington, which met me at his headquarters, +ordering me to report at Columbus, Ohio, to assist the governor in +organizing the troops to be called out under the new enrolment and +conscription law. This was accompanied by the assurance that this +duty would be but temporary, and that my desire to be assigned to +active field duty would then be favorably considered. It is not +improbable that my report on army organization, which has been +mentioned, had something to do with this assignment; but I did not +ask permission to visit Washington, though within a couple of hours' +ride of the capital, and hastened back to my assigned post. Besides +my wish to cut my connection with West Virginia on general military +theories of its insignificance as a theatre of war, my stay there +would have been intolerable, since General Milroy, in whose judgment +I had less confidence than in that of any of my other subordinates, +was, by the curious outcome of the winter's promotions, the one of +all others who had been put over my head. I could not then foresee +the cost the country would pay for this in the next summer's +campaign in the Shenandoah, but every instinct urged me to sever a +connection which could bode no good. The reasonableness of my +objection to serving as a subordinate where I had been in command +was recognized, and the arrangement actually made was as acceptable +as anything except a division in an active army. + +It greatly added to my contentment to learn that General Burnside +had been ordered to the Department of the Ohio, and would be my +immediate superior. I hastened back to Marietta, closed up the +business pending there, and went to Columbus on the 9th of April. +The arrangement between Governor Tod and General Burnside proved to +be the formation of the Military District of Ohio, including the +whole State. I was placed in command of this district, reporting +directly to the general, who himself conferred with the governor. My +own relations to my superiors were thus made strictly military, +which was a much pleasanter thing for me than direct connection with +the civil authorities would be; for this involved a danger of +cross-purposes and conflicting orders. Brigadier-General John S. +Mason, an excellent officer, was ordered to report to me as my +immediate subordinate in command of the camps and the post at +Columbus, and before the end of the month Burnside directed me to +fix my own headquarters at Cincinnati, where I could be in constant +communication with himself. All this was done with the most cordial +understanding between Burnside and the governor. Indeed, nothing +could be more perfect than the genial and reasonable tone of +Governor Tod's intercourse with the military officers stationed in +Ohio. + +My duties under the Enrolment Act turned out to be very slight. The +Act (passed March 3, 1863) made, in general, each congressional +district an enrolment district under charge of a provost-marshal +with the rank of captain. A deputy provost-marshal supervised the +enrolment and draft for the State, and the whole was under the +control of the provost-marshal-general at Washington, Colonel James +B. Fry. The law provided for classification of all citizens capable +of military duty between the ages of twenty and forty-five, so as to +call out first the unmarried men and those not having families +dependent on them. The exemptions on account of physical defects +were submitted to a board of three, of which the local +provost-marshal was chairman, and one was a medical man. Substitutes +might be accepted in the place of drafted men, or a payment of three +hundred dollars would be taken in place of personal service, that +sum being thought sufficient to secure a voluntary recruit by the +government. The principal effect of this provision was to establish +a current market price for substitutes. + +The general provisions of the law for the drafting were wise and +well matured, and the rules for the subordinate details were well +digested and admirably administered by Colonel Fry and his bureau. +It was a delicate and difficult task, but it was carried out with +such patience, honesty, and thoroughness that nothing better could +be done than copy it, if a future necessity for like work should +arise. There was no good ground for complaint, and in those cases +where, as in New York, hostile political leaders raised the cry of +unfairness and provoked collision between the mob and the National +authorities, the victims were proved to be the dupes of ignorance +and malice. The administration of the law was thoroughly vindicated, +and if there were to be a draft at all, it could not be more fairly +and justly enforced. + +There was room for difference of opinion as to some of the +provisions of the law regarding exemption and substitution, but the +most serious question was raised by the section which applied to old +regiments and which had nothing to do with the enrolment and draft. +This section directed that when regiments had become reduced in +numbers by any cause, the officers of the regiment should be +proportionately diminished. As new regiments were still received and +credited upon the State's liability under the draft, it of course +resulted that the old regiments continued to decay. A public +sentiment had been created which looked upon the draft as a +disgrace, and the most extraordinary efforts were made to escape it. +Extra bounties for volunteering were paid by counties and towns, and +the combination of influences was so powerful that it was successful +in most localities, and very few men were actually put in the ranks +by the draft. + +The offer of extra bounties to induce volunteering brought into +existence "bounty-jumping," a new crime analogous to that of +"repeating" at elections. A man would enlist and receive the bounty, +frequently several hundred dollars, but varying somewhat in +different places and periods. He would take an early opportunity to +desert, as he had intended to do from the first. Changing his name, +he would go to some new locality and enlist again, repeating the +fraud as often as he could escape detection. The urgency to get +recruits and forward them at once to the field, and the wide country +which was open to recruiting, made the risk of punishment very +small. Occasionally one was caught, and he would of course be liable +to punishment as a deserter. The final report of the +provost-marshal-general mentions the case of a criminal in the +Albany penitentiary, New York, who confessed that he had "jumped the +bounty" thirty-two times. [Footnote: Provost-Marshal-General's +Report, p. 153.] + +Another evil incidental to the excessive stimulus of volunteering +was a political one, which threatened serious results. It deranged +the natural political balance of the country by sending the most +patriotic young men to the field, and thus giving an undue power to +the disaffected and to the opponents of the administration. This led +to the State laws for allowing the soldiers to vote wherever they +might be, their votes being certified and sent home. In its very +nature this was a makeshift and a very dubious expedient to cure the +mischief. It would not have been necessary if we had had at an early +day a system of recruiting that would have drawn more evenly from +different classes into the common service of the country. + +The military officers of the department and district had nothing to +do with the enrolment and drafting, unless resistance to the +provost-marshals should make military support for these officers +necessary. We had hoped to have large camps of recruits to be +organized and instructed, but the numbers actually drafted in Ohio, +in 1863, were insignificant, for reasons already stated. Three or +four very small post garrisons were the only forces at my command, +and these were reduced to the minimum necessary to guard the prison +camps and the depots of recruiting and supply. + +General Burnside had not come West with a purpose to content himself +with the retiracy of a department out of the theatre of actual war. +His department included eastern Kentucky, and afforded a base for +operations in the direction of East Tennessee. Mr. Lincoln had never +lost his eagerness and zeal to give assistance to the loyal +mountaineers, and had arranged with Burnside a plan of co-operation +with Rosecrans by which the former should move from Lexington, Ky., +upon Knoxville, whilst the latter marched from Murfreesboro, Tenn., +upon Chattanooga. This was better than the impracticable plan of +1861, which aimed at the occupation of East Tennessee before +Chattanooga had been taken, and the task was at last accomplished by +the method now used. It was by no means the best or most economical +method, which would have been to have but one strong army till +Chattanooga were firmly in our hands, and then direct a subordinate +column upon the upper Holston valley. It was utterly impossible to +keep up a line of supply for an army in East Tennessee by the wagon +roads over the mountains. The railroad through Chattanooga was +indispensable for this purpose. But Mr. Lincoln had not fully +appreciated this, and was discontented that both Buell and Rosecrans +had in turn paid little attention, as it seemed, to his desire to +make the liberation of East Tennessee the primary and immediate aim +of their campaigns. He had therefore determined to show his own +faith in Burnside, and his approval of the man, by giving him a +small but active army in the field, and to carry out his cherished +purpose by having it march directly over the Cumberland Mountains, +whilst Rosecrans was allowed to carry out the plan on which the +commanders of the Cumberland army seemed, in the President's +opinion, too stubbornly bent. + +Burnside's old corps, the Ninth, was taken from the Army of the +Potomac and sent to Kentucky, and a new corps, to be called the +Twenty-third, was soon authorized, to contain the Tennessee +regiments which had been in General Morgan's command, and two +divisions made up of new regiments organized in Ohio, Indiana, and +Illinois under the last call for volunteers. To these were added +several Kentucky regiments of different ages in service. General +Parke, so long Burnside's chief of staff, was to command the Ninth +Corps, and Major-General George L. Hartsuff was assigned to the +Twenty-third. In a former chapter I have spoken of Hartsuff's +abilities as a staff officer in West Virginia. [Footnote: Chap, vi., +_ante_.] His qualities as a general officer had not been tried. He +was wounded at the beginning of the engagement at Antietam, where he +commanded a brigade in Hooker's corps. [Footnote: Chap, xv., +_ante_.] That was his first service under his appointment as +brigadier, and he had necessarily been out of the field since that +time. My own expectation was that he would make an excellent +reputation as a corps commander, but it was not his fortune to see +much continuous field service. His health was seriously affected by +his wounds, and after a short trial of active campaigning he was +obliged to seek more quiet employment. + +The establishment of my headquarters at Cincinnati threw me once +more into close personal relations with Burnside, and enabled me to +learn his character more intimately. His adjutant-general's office +was on East Fourth Street, and most of the routine work was done +there. The general had his own quarters on Ninth Street, where he +had also an office for himself and his aides-de-camp. My own office +and the official headquarters of the district were on Broadway below +Fourth, in the house now occupied by the Natural History Society. +There was thus near half a mile between us, though I was but a +little way from the adjutant-general of the department, through +whose office my regular business with the general went. Burnside, +however, loved to discuss department affairs informally, and with +the perfect freedom of unrestrained social intercourse. When he gave +his confidence he gave it without reserve, and encouraged the +fullest and freest criticism of his own plans and purposes. His +decisions would then be put in official form by the proper officers +of the staff, and would be transmitted, though I was nearly always +personally aware of what was to be ordered before the formal papers +reached me. He had very little pride of opinion, and was perfectly +candid in weighing whatever was contrary to his predilections; yet +he was not systematic in his business methods, and was quite apt to +decide first and discuss afterward. He never found fault with a +subordinate for assuming responsibility or acting without orders, +provided he was assured of his earnest good purpose in doing so. In +such cases he would assume the responsibility for what was done as +cheerfully as if he had given the order. In like manner he was +careless of forms himself, in doing whatever seemed necessary or +proper, and might pass by intermediate officers to reach immediately +the persons who were to act or the things to be done. There was no +intentional slight to any one in this: it was only a characteristic +carelessness of routine. Martinets would be exasperated by it, and +would be pretty sure to quarrel with him. No doubt it was a bad +business method, and had its mischiefs and inconveniences. A story +used to go the rounds a little later that soldiers belonging to the +little army in East Tennessee were sometimes arrested at their homes +and sent back as deserters, when they would produce a furlough +written by Burnside on a leaf of his pocket memorandum-book, which, +as they said, had been given by him after hearing a pitiful story +which moved his sympathies. Such inventions were a kind of popular +recognition of his well-known neglect of forms, as well as of his +kind heart. There was an older story about him, to the effect that, +when a lieutenant in the army, he had been made post-quartermaster +at some little frontier garrison, and that his accounts and returns +got into such confusion that after several pretty sharp reminders +the quartermaster-general notified him, as a final terror, that he +would send a special officer and subject him and his papers to a +severe scrutiny. As the story ran, Burnside, in transparent honesty, +wrote a cordial letter of thanks in reply, saying it was just what +he desired, as he had been trying hard to make his accounts up, but +had to confess he could do nothing with them, but was sure such an +expert would straighten them. In my own service under him I often +found occasion to supply the formal links in the official chain, so +that business would move on according to "regulations;" but any +trouble that was made in this way was much more than compensated by +the generous trust with which he allowed his name and authority to +be used when prompt action would serve the greater ends in view. + +My habit was to go to his private quarters on Ninth Street, when the +regular business of the day was over, and there get the military +news and confer with him on pending or prospective business +affecting my own district. His attractive personality made him the +centre of a good deal of society, and business would drop into the +background till late in the evening, when his guests voluntarily +departed. Then, perhaps after midnight, he would take up the arrears +of work and dictate letters, orders, and dispatches, turning night +into day. It not unfrequently happened that after making my usual +official call in the afternoon, I had gone to my quarters and to bed +at my usual hour, when I would be roused by an orderly from the +general begging that I would come up and consult with him on some +matter of neglected business. He was always bright and clear in +those late hours, and when he buckled to work, rapidly disposed of +it. + +He did not indulge much in retrospect, and rarely referred to his +misfortunes in the Army of the Potomac. On one or two occasions he +discussed his Fredericksburg campaign with me. The delay in sending +pontoons from Washington to Falmouth, which gave Lee time to +concentrate at Fredericksburg, he reasonably argued, was the fault +of the military authorities at Washington; but I could easily see +that if his supervision of business had been more rigidly +systematic, he would have made sure that he was not to be +disappointed in his means of crossing the Rappahannock promptly. As +to the battle itself he steadily insisted that the advance of +Meade's division proved that if all the left wing had acted with +equal vigor and promptness, Marye's heights would have been turned +and carried. It is due to him to repeat that in such discussions his +judgment of men and their motives was always kind and charitable. I +never heard him say anything bitter, even of those whom I knew he +distrusted. + +At the time I am speaking of, Cincinnati was in a curious political +and social condition. The advance through Kentucky of Bragg and +Kirby Smith in the preceding year had made it a centre for "rebel +sympathizers." The fact that a Confederate army had approached the +hills that bordered the river had revived the hopes and the +confidence of many who, while wishing success to the Southern cause, +had done so in a vague and distant way. Now it seemed nearer to +them, and the stimulus to personal activity was greater. There was +always, in the city, a considerable and influential body of business +men who were of Southern families; and besides this, the trade +connections with the South, and the personal alliances by marriage, +made a ground of sympathy which had noticeable effects. There were +two camps in the community, pretty distinctly defined, as there were +in Kentucky. The loyal were ardently and intensely so. The disloyal +were bitter and not always restrained by common prudence. A good +many Southern women, refugees from the theatre of active war, were +very open in their defiance of the government, and in their efforts +to aid the Southern armies by being the bearers of intelligence. The +"contraband mail" was notoriously a large and active one. + +Burnside had been impressed with this condition of things from the +day he assumed command. His predecessor had struggled with it +without satisfactory results. It was, doubtless, impossible to do +more than diminish and restrain the evil, which was the most +annoying of the smaller troubles attending the anomalous +half-military and half-civil government of the department. Within +three weeks from his arrival in Cincinnati, Burnside was so +convinced of the widespread and multiform activity of the disloyal +element that he tried to subdue it by the publication of his famous +General Order No. 38. The reading of the order gives a fair idea of +the hostile influences he found at work, for of every class named by +him there were numerous examples. +[Footnote: The text of the order is as follows: + +"General Orders. +No. 38. + + +HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, +CINCINNATI, OHIO, April 13, 1863. + + +The commanding general publishes, for the information of all +concerned, that hereafter all persons found within our lines who +commit acts for the benefit of the enemies of our country, will be +tried as spies or traitors, and, if convicted, will suffer death. +This order includes the following classes of persons: Carriers of +secret mails; writers of letters sent by secret mails; secret +recruiting officers within the lines; persons who have entered into +an agreement to pass our lines for the purpose of joining the enemy; +persons found concealed within our lines, belonging to the service +of the enemy; and, in fact, all persons found improperly within our +lines who could give private information to the enemy; and all +persons within our lines who harbor, protect, conceal, feed, clothe, +or in any way aid the enemies of our country. The habit of declaring +sympathy for the enemy will not be allowed in this department. +Persons committing such offences will be at once arrested with a +view to being tried as above stated, or sent beyond our lines into +the lines of their friends. It must be distinctly understood that +treason, expressed or implied, will not be tolerated in this +department. All officers and soldiers are strictly charged with the +execution of this order, +By command of Major-General Burnside, +LEWIS RICHMOND, +Assistant Adjutant General."] + +It was no doubt true that the Confederate authorities had constant +correspondence with people in the Northern States, and that +systematic means were used to pass information and contraband +merchandise through the lines. Quinine among drugs, and percussion +caps among ordnance stores were the things they most coveted, and +dealers in these carried on their trade under pretence of being +spies for each side in turn. But besides these who were merely +mercenary, there were men and women who were honestly fanatical in +their devotion to the Confederate cause. The women were especially +troublesome, for they often seemed to court martyrdom. They +practised on our forbearance to the last degree; for they knew our +extreme unwillingness to deal harshly with any of their sex. +Personally, I rated the value of spies and informers very low, and +my experience had made me much more prone to contempt than to fear +of them. But examples had to be made occasionally; a few men were +punished, a few women who belonged in the South were sent through +the lines, and we reduced to its lowest practical terms an evil and +nuisance which we could not wholly cure. The best remedy for these +plots and disturbances at the rear always was to keep the enemy busy +by a vigorous aggressive at the front. We kept, however, a species +of provost court pretty actively at work, and one or two officers +were assigned to judge-advocate's duty, who ran these courts under a +careful supervision to make sure that they should not fall into +indiscretions. + +So long as the hand of military power was laid only on private +persons who were engaged in overt acts of giving aid and comfort to +the rebellion in the ways specified in Order No. 38, there was +little criticism. But the time came when General Burnside seemed to +be challenged by a public character of no little prominence to +enforce his order against him. The Vallandigham case became the +sensation of the day, and acquired a singular historical importance. +The noise which was made about it seemed to create a current opinion +that Burnside's action was a new departure, and that his Order No. +38 was issued wholly on his own responsibility. This was not so. In +the preceding year, and about the time of his Emancipation +Proclamation, the President had also proclaimed against treasonable +practices in very emphatic terms. He had declared that "all rebels +and insurgents, their aiders and abettors, within the United States, +and all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting +militia drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice, affording aid +and comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States, +shall be subject to martial law and liable to trial and punishment +by courts-martial or military commission." [Footnote: Messages and +Papers of the Presidents, vol. vi. p. 98. See also Order No. 42 of +General Burbridge, commanding District of Kentucky. Official +Records, vol. xxxix. pt. ii. p. 27.] + +Burnside's order was in strict accordance with this authority, and +he had no ultimate responsibility for the policy thus proclaimed. He +was simply reiterating and carrying out in his department the +declared purpose of the administration. Even in the matter of +newspaper publications, his predecessor, General Wright, had felt +obliged, upon Bragg and Kirby Smith's invasion of Kentucky, to put a +stop to treasonable editorials and to the publication of military +information likely to benefit the enemy. He issued a circular on +September 13, 1862, notifying the publishers of the Cincinnati +papers that the repetition of such offence would be immediately +followed by the suppression of the paper and the arrest and +confinement of the proprietors and writers. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xvi. pt. ii. p. 514. See a characteristic letter by +Sherman on this subject, _Id_., vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 765: "Now I am +again in authority over you, and you must heed my advice. Freedom of +speech and freedom of the press, precious relics of former history, +must not be construed too largely. You must print nothing that +prejudices government or excites envy, hatred, and malice in a +community. Persons in office or out of office must not be flattered +or abused. Don't publish an account of any skirmish, battle, or +movement of an army, unless the name of the writer is given in full +and printed. I wish you success; but my first duty is to maintain +'order and harmony.'" (To editors of "Memphis Bulletin.")] It is +necessary to keep these facts in mind if we would judge fairly of +Burnside's responsibility when it was his fortune to apply the rule +to a case attracting great public attention. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE VALLANDIGHAM CASE--THE HOLMES COUNTY WAR + + +Clement L. Vallandigham--His opposition to the war--His theory of +reconstruction--His Mount Vernon speech--His arrest--Sent before the +military commission--General Potter its president--Counsel for the +prisoner--The line of defence--The judgment--Habeas Corpus +proceedings--Circuit Court of the United States--Judge Leavitt +denies the release--Commutation by the President--Sent beyond the +lines--Conduct of Confederate authorities--Vallandigham in +Canada--Candidate for Governor--Political results--Martial +law--Principles underlying it--Practical application--The intent to +aid the public enemy--The intent to defeat the draft--Armed +resistance to arrest of deserters, Noble County--To the enrolment in +Holmes County--A real insurrection--Connection of these with +Vallandigham's speeches--The Supreme Court refuses to +interfere--Action in the Milligan case after the war--Judge Davis's +personal views--Knights of the Golden Circle--The Holmes County +outbreak--Its suppression--Letter to Judge Welker. + + +Clement L. Vallandigham had been representative in Congress of the +Montgomery County district of Ohio, and lived at Dayton. He was a +man of intense and saturnine character, belligerent and denunciatory +in his political speeches, and extreme in his views. He was the +leader in Ohio of the ultra element of opposition to the +administration of Mr. Lincoln, and a bitter opponent of the war. He +would have prevented the secession of the Southern States by +yielding all they demanded, for he agreed with them in thinking that +their demands for the recognition of the constitutional +inviolability of the slave system were just. After the war began he +still advocated peace at any price, and vehemently opposed every +effort to subdue the rebellion. To his mind the war was absolutely +unconstitutional on the part of the national government, and he +denounced it as tyranny and usurpation. His theory seemed to be that +if the South were "let alone," a reconstruction of the Union could +be satisfactorily effected by squelching the anti-slavery agitation, +and that the Western States, at any rate, would find their true +interest in uniting with the South, even if the other Northern +States should refuse to do so. Beyond all question he answered to +the old description of a "Northern man with Southern principles," +and his violence of temper made it all a matter of personal hatred +with him in his opposition to the leaders of the party in power at +the North. His denunciations were the most extreme, and his +expressions of contempt and ill-will were wholly unbridled. He +claimed, of course, that he kept within the limits of a +"constitutional opposition," because he did not, in terms, advise +his hearers to combine in armed opposition to the government. + +About the first of May he addressed a public meeting at Mount Vernon +in central Ohio, where, in addition to his diatribes against the +Lincoln administration, he denounced Order No. 38, and Burnside as +its author. His words were noted down in short-hand by a captain of +volunteers who was there on leave of absence from the army, and the +report was corroborated by other reputable witnesses. He charged the +administration with designing to erect a despotism, with refusing to +restore the Union when it might be done, with carrying on the war +for the liberation of the blacks and the enslavement of the whites. +He declared that the provost-marshals for the congressional +districts were intended to restrict the liberties of the people; +that courts-martial had already usurped power to try citizens +contrary to law; that he himself would never submit to the orders of +a military dictator, and such were Burnside and his subordinates; +that if those in authority were allowed to accomplish their +purposes, the people would be deprived of their liberties and a +monarchy established. Such and like expressions, varied by +"trampling under his feet" Order No. 38, etc., made the staple of +his incendiary speech. + +When the report was made to Burnside and he had satisfied himself of +its substantial truth, he promptly accepted the challenge to test +the legality of his order, and directed the arrest of Mr. +Vallandigham. It was characteristic of him that he did not consult +with his subordinates or with lawyers. He did not even act through +my district organization, but sent his own aide-de-camp with a guard +to make the arrest at Dayton. My recollection is that I did not know +of the purpose till it was accomplished. His reason for direct +action, no doubt, was that if there were many links in the chain of +routine, there were multiplied chances of failure. He did not want +to be baffled in the arrest, or to give the opportunity for raising +a mob, which there would be if his purposes were to become known in +advance, + +The arrest was made in the early morning of the 5th of May, before +dawn, and the prisoner was brought to Cincinnati. He was at first +taken under guard to the Burnet House, where he breakfasted, and was +then put in the military prison connected with the houses used as +barracks for the troops in the city. A military commission had been +ordered on the 21st of April from Department Headquarters for the +trial of the classes of offenders named in Order No. 38, and of this +commission Brigadier-General R. B. Potter of the Ninth Corps was +President. General Potter was a distinguished officer throughout the +war. He was a brother of Clarkson N. Potter, the prominent lawyer +and Democratic member of Congress later, and both were sons of the +Episcopal Bishop Potter of Pennsylvania. The character of the whole +court was very high for intelligence and standing. Before this court +Mr. Vallandigham was arraigned on the charge of publicly expressing +sympathy with those in arms against the government, and uttering +disloyal sentiments and opinions with intent to weaken the power of +the government in its efforts to suppress the rebellion. + +Vallandigham consulted with the Hon. George E. Pugh and others as +his counsel, and then adopted the course of protesting against the +jurisdiction of the court and against the authority for his arrest. +His grounds were that he was not amenable to any military +jurisdiction, and that his public speech did not constitute an +offence known to the Constitution and laws. To avoid the appearance +of waiving the question of jurisdiction, his counsel did not appear, +though offered the opportunity to do so, and Mr. Vallandigham +cross-examined the witnesses himself, and called those who testified +for him. The question of fact raised by him was that he had not +advised forcible resistance to the government, but had urged action +at the elections by defeating the party in power at the polls. That +he did not in terms advocate insurrection was admitted by the judge +advocate of the court, but the commission were persuaded that the +effect of his speech was intended and well calculated to be +incendiary, and to arouse any kind of outbreak in sympathy with the +armed enemies of the country. The trial ended on the 7th of May, but +the judgment was not promulgated till the 16th, proceedings in +_habeas corpus_ having intervened. The finding of the court was that +the prisoner was guilty, as charged, and the sentence was close +confinement in Fort Warren, Boston harbor, during the continuance of +the war. + +On the 9th of May Mr. Pugh made application to the United States +Circuit Court, Judge Leavitt sitting, for a writ of _habeas corpus_ +directed to General Burnside, in order that the lawfulness of Mr. +Vallandigham's arrest and trial might be tested. The court directed +notice of the application to be given to the general, and set the +11th for the hearing. The case was elaborately argued by Mr. Pugh +for the prisoner, and by Mr. Aaron F. Perry and the District +Attorney Flamen Ball for General Burnside. The hearing occupied +several days, and the judgment of the court was given on the morning +of the 16th. Judge Leavitt refused the writ on the ground that, +civil war being flagrant in the land, and Ohio being under the +military command of General Burnside by appointment of the +President, the acts and offences described in General Order No. 38 +were cognizable by the military authorities under the powers of war. + +General Burnside had awaited the action of the court, and now +promulgated the sentence under the judgment of the military +commission. Three days later (May 19th) the President commuted the +sentence by directing that Mr. Vallandigham be sent "under secure +guard, to the headquarters of General Rosecrans, to be put by him +beyond our military lines, and that in case of his return within our +line, he be arrested and kept in close custody for the term +specified in his sentence." This was done accordingly. The +Confederate officials adopted a careful policy of treating him +courteously without acknowledging that he was one of themselves, and +facilities were given him for running the blockade and reaching +Canada. There he established himself on the border and put himself +in communication with his followers in Ohio, by whom he was soon +nominated for the Governorship of the State. + +The case, of course, excited great public interest, and was, no +doubt, the occasion of considerable embarrassment to the +administration. Mr. Lincoln dealt with it with all that shrewd +practical judgment for which he was so remarkable, and in the final +result it worked to the political advantage of the National cause. +Sending Vallandigham beyond the lines took away from him the +personal sympathy which might have been aroused had he been confined +in one of the casemates of Fort Warren, and put upon him an +indelible badge of connection with the enemies of the country. The +cautious action of the Confederates in regard to him did not tend to +remove this: for it was very apparent that they really regarded him +as a friend, and helped him on his way to Canada in the expectation +that he would prove a thorn in Mr. Lincoln's side. The President's +proposal to the leading politicians who applied to him to rescind +the sentence, that as a condition of this they should make certain +declarations of the duty to support the government in a vigorous +prosecution of the war, was a most telling bit of policy on his +part, and took the sting entirely out of the accusations of tyranny +and oppression. + +It must be admitted, however, that the case was one in which the +administration ought to have left Burnside wholly untrammelled in +carrying out the proclamation of September 25, 1862, or should have +formulated a rule for its military officers, so that they would have +acted only in accordance with the wishes of the government, and in +cases where the full responsibility would be assumed at Washington. +When Burnside arrested Mr. Vallandigham, the Secretary of War +telegraphed from Washington his approval, saying, "In your +determination to support the authority of the government and +suppress treason in your department, you may count on the firm +support of the President." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. +pt. ii. p. 316.] Yet when a little later Burnside suppressed the +"Chicago Times" for similar utterances, the President, on the +request of Senator Trumbull, backed by prominent citizens of +Chicago, directed Burnside to revoke his action. [Footnote: _Id_., +pp. 385, 386.] This the latter did by General Order No. 91, issued +on the 4th of June. He read to me on June 7th a letter from Mr. +Stanton, which practically revoked the whole of his Order No. 38 by +directing him not to arrest civilians or suppress newspapers without +conferring first with the War Department. This would have been very +well if it had been done at the beginning; but to have it come after +political pressure from the outside, and in so marked contradiction +to the approval first expressed, shows that there was no +well-considered policy. It put Burnside himself in an intolerable +position, and, of course, made him decline further responsibility +for such affairs in his department. [Footnote: I do not find in the +Official Records the letter of Mr. Stanton above referred to; but I +speak of it from a written memorandum I made at the time.] + +The whole question as to the right and the policy of military +arrests and orders in such a time bristles with difficulties. Had I +been consulted before Burnside took action, I should have advised +him to collect carefully the facts and report them to Washington, +asking for specific instructions. The subject called for directions +which would be applicable in all the military departments which +included States out of the theatre of active warlike operations; and +such general directions should be given by the government. But +Burnside was apt to act impulsively, and his impulse was to follow +the bent of his ardent patriotism. He was stirred to burning wrath +by what seemed to him an intent to give aid and comfort to the +rebellion, and meant to punish such conduct without stopping to ask +what complications might come of it. + +I had found it desirable to form a judgment of my own with reference +to the extent or limitation of military authority in the actual +circumstances, and I quote the form in which I then cast it, so that +I may not seem to be giving opinions formed after my own military +duties were ended. I concluded, "First: That martial law operates +either by reason of its proclamation by competent authority, or _ex +necessitate rei_ in the immediate theatre of military operations. +Second; That when the struggle is in the nature of a revolution, and +so long as the attempted revolution is in active progress, no +definite limits can be given to the 'theatre of operations,' but the +administration must be regarded as possessing a limited +discretionary power in the use of martial law." As to the practical +application of this power, "the presumptions are always in favor of +the established civil law of the land, whenever and wherever it has +a reasonable chance of unobstructed operation. In a State or portion +of the country not the theatre of actual fighting, and where the +civil courts are actually organized and working, there must be some +strong reason for sending criminals or State prisoners before a +military tribunal; such as that the government had reason to believe +that a conspiracy was so powerful as to make an actual present +danger of its overthrowing the loyal governments in some of the +States before the civil courts could act in the ordinary process of +business. In such a case, the arrest and admission to bail of the +conspirators might be only the signal for their adherents to seize +the reins of civil power, overthrow the courts, and consummate a +revolution. The quick and summary action of military power would +then be the only thing which could avert the danger. The +justification of the use of a military tribunal depends on the +existence of 'probable cause' for believing the public danger to be +great." + +I see no reason to change the form of stating the principle I then +adopted. The limitations given it seem sufficient to secure proper +caution in applying it, and will show that I thought then, as I do +now, that the administration ought to have laid down rules by which +the commandants of military departments could be guided, and which +would have saved us from the weakness of acting with seeming vigor +on one day, only to retreat from our position the next. + +In Vallandigham's case the common argument was used by his friends +that he was not exceeding a lawful liberty of speech in political +opposition to the administration. When, however, a civil war is in +progress, it is simply a question of fact whether words used are +intended to give aid and comfort to the enemy and are evidence of +conspiracy with the public enemy. If so, it is too clear for +argument that the overt acts of the enemy are brought home to all +who combine and confederate with them, and all are involved in the +same responsibility. This question of fact and intent was officially +settled by the findings of the military court. But there was another +connection of the speech with overt acts, which the public mind took +firm hold of. Among the most incendiary of Vallandigham's appeals +had been those which urged the people to resist the provost-marshals +in the several districts. It is nonsense to say that resisting the +draft or the arrest of deserters only meant voting for an opposition +party at the elections. There had been armed and organized +resistance to arrest of deserters in Noble County just before his +speech, and soon after it there was a still more formidable armed +organization with warlike action against the enrolling officers in +Holmes County, in the same region in which the speech was made. This +last took the form of an armed camp, and the insurgents did not +disperse till a military force was sent against them and attacked +them in fortified lines, where they used both cannon and musketry. +It did not seem plausible to the common sense of the people that we +could properly charge with volleying musketry upon the barricades of +the less intelligent dupes, whilst the leader who had incited and +counselled the resistance was to be held to be acting within the +limits of proper liberty of speech. Law and common sense are +entirely in harmony in regarding the conspiracy as a unit, the +speech at Mount Vernon and the armed collision on the Holmes County +hill being parts of one series of acts in which the instigator was +responsible for the natural consequences of the forces he set in +motion. + +To complete the judicial history of the Vallandigham case, it may be +said that he applied to the Supreme Court of the United States a few +months afterward for a writ to revise and examine the proceedings of +the military commission and to determine their legality. The court +dismissed his application on the ground that the writ applied for +was not a legal means of bringing the proceedings of the military +court under review. The charges and specifications and the sentence +were all set forth in the application, so that the court was made +officially aware of the full character of the case. This was +naturally accepted at the time as practically sustaining the action +of the President and General Burnside. When, however, the war was +over, there was taken up to the Supreme Court the case of Milligan +from Indiana, who had been condemned to death for treasonable +conduct in aid of the rebellion, done as a member of the Knights of +the Golden Circle, an organization charged with overt acts in +attempting to liberate by force the Confederate prisoners of war in +the military prisons, and otherwise to assist the rebellion. The +current public sentiment in regard to executive power had +unquestionably changed with the return to peace, and Lincoln having +been assassinated and Johnson being in the presidential chair, the +tide was running strongly in favor of congressional rather than +executive initiative in public affairs. It cannot be denied that the +court responded more or less fully to the popular drift, then as in +other important historical junctures. In the opinion as delivered by +Judge Davis, it went all lengths in holding that the military +commission could not act upon charges against a person not in the +military service, and who was a citizen of the State where tried, +when in such State the civil courts were not actually suspended by +the operations of war. Chief Justice Chase and three of the justices +thought this was going too far, and whilst concurring in discharging +Milligan, held that Congress could authorize military commissions to +try civilians in time of actual war, and that such military +tribunals might have concurrent jurisdiction with the civil courts. +[Footnote: Ex parte Vallandigham, Wallace's Reports, i. 243. Ex +parte Milligan, _Id_., iv. 2, etc.] + +We must not forget that whilst the judicial action determines the +rights of the parties in a suit, the executive has always asserted +his position as an independent co-ordinate branch of the government, +authorized by the Constitution to determine for himself, as +executive, his duties, and to interpret his powers, subject only to +the Constitution as he understands it. Jefferson, Jackson, and +Lincoln in turn found themselves in exigencies where they held it to +be their duty to decide for themselves on their high political +responsibility in matters of constitutional power and duty. Lincoln +suspended the privilege of _habeas corpus_ by his own proclamation, +and adhered to his view, although Judge Taney in the Circuit Court +for Maryland denied his power to do so. When Congress passed a +regulating act on the subject which seemed to him sufficient, he +signed the statute because he was quite willing to limit his action +by the provisions embodied in it, and not because he thought the act +necessary to confer the power. + +An incident in the history of the treasonable organizations believed +to exist in Indiana emphasizes the change of mental attitude of +Judge Davis between 1863 and 1866. During the progress of the +Vallandigham case, General Burnside conceived a distrust of the +wisdom of the course pursued by Brigadier-General Carrington, who +commanded at Indianapolis, and sent Brigadier-General Hascall there +to command that district. Carrington had been the right hand of +Governor Morton in ferreting out the secrets of the Golden Circle, +and applying Order No, 38 to them, but Burnside's lack of confidence +in the cool-headed caution and judgment of his subordinate led him +to make the change. Hascall was a brave and reliable Indiana +officer, who had seen much active field service, and with whom I was +associated in the Twenty-third Corps during the Atlanta campaign. He +was ardently loyal, but an unexcitable, matter-of-fact sort of +person. He did not suit Governor Morton, who applied to the +Secretary of War to have him removed from command, declaring that +immediate action was important. Judge Davis, who was in +Indianapolis, was induced to co-operate with the governor in the +matter, and telegraphed to Mr. Stanton that Hascall's removal was +demanded by the honor and interests of the government. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p.369. See also _Id_., p.194.] +Hascall was sent to the field, and after a short interval Carrington +was restored to duty at Indianapolis. In the continued investigation +and prosecution of the Golden Circle, and finally in the trial of +Milligan, General Carrington was, under Governor Morton, the most +active instrument; and it was, of course, to keep him at work on +that line that the changes in command were secured. Yet it was the +fruit of this very work of Carrington that was so strongly and +sweepingly declared to be illegal by the Supreme Court, Judge Davis +himself delivering the opinion and going beyond the chief-justice +and others in denying all power and authority to military courts in +such cases. Had Mr. Lincoln lived, he would no doubt have avoided +any question before the Supreme Court in regard to his authority, by +pardoning Milligan as he granted amnesty to so many who had been +active in the rebellion. But Mr. Johnson was so much hampered by his +quarrel with Congress over reconstruction that he was disposed to +avoid interference with criminal cases where his action could +subject him to the charge of sympathy with the accused. He carefully +abstained from meddling with Jefferson Davis as he did with +Milligan, and left the responsibility with the courts. + +The final development of the investigation of the Society of the +Golden Circle took place after I had again obtained a field command, +and I was glad to have no occasion to form a personal judgment about +it. The value of evidence collected by means of detectives depends +so greatly on the character of the men employed and the instructions +under which they act, that one may well suspend judgment unless he +has more than ordinarily full knowledge on these points. The +findings of the military commission must stand as a _prima facie_ +historical determination of the facts it reported, and the burden of +proof is fairly upon those who assert that the conclusions were not +sustained by trustworthy evidence. + +I have mentioned the open resistance to the draft and to the arrest +of deserters in Noble and in Holmes counties. The first of these was +scarcely more than a petty riotous demonstration, which melted away +before the officers as soon as they were able to show that they were +backed by real power. The second looked for a time more formidable, +and assumed a formal military organization. Governor Tod issued a +proclamation warning the offenders of the grave consequences of +their acts, and exhorting them for their own sake and the sake of +their families to disperse and obey the laws. I directed General +Mason at Columbus to be sure, if military force had to be used, that +enough was concentrated to make stubborn resistance hopeless. The +insurgents maintained a bold face till the troops were close upon +them; but when they saw a strong line of infantry charging up toward +the stone fences on the hillside where they had made their camp, and +heard the whistling of bullets from the skirmishers, their courage +gave way and they fled, every man for himself. Only two or three +were seriously wounded, and comparatively few arrests were made. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. pp.395-397.] +Submission to law was all that was demanded, and when this was fully +established, the prisoners were soon released without further +punishment. The fear of further prosecutions operated to preserve +the peace, and the men who had been allowed to go at large were a +guaranty, in effect, for the good behavior of the community. + +Before dropping the subject, I may properly add that the arrest of +Mr. Vallandigham very naturally raised the question how far we were +willing to go in bringing disloyal men before the military courts. +Prominent citizens, and especially men in official position, often +found themselves urged to ask for the arrest of the more outspoken +followers of Vallandigham in every country neighborhood. In answer +to inquiries which had come through the Hon. Martin Welker, +[Footnote: Afterward for many years Judge of the U. S. District +Court for northern Ohio.] member of Congress for the Wayne County +district, I wrote him a letter which shows the efforts we made to be +prudent and to avoid unnecessary collisions. Judge Welker had served +as Judge Advocate on my staff in the three months' service in the +spring of 1861, and my intimacy with him made me speak as to our +policy without reserve. + +"We are hopeful," I wrote, "now that the United States Circuit Court +has refused to release Mr. Vallandigham on _habeas corpus_, that his +followers will take warning and that their course will be so +modified that there may be no occasion to make many more arrests. + +"I am persuaded that our policy should be to repress disloyalty and +sedition at home rather by punishment of prominent examples than by +a general arrest of all who may make themselves obnoxious to General +Order No. 38, as the latter course will involve a more frequent +application of military authority than we choose to resort to, +unless circumstances should make it imperatively necessary... I am +full of hope that the seditious designs of bad men will fail by +reason of the returning sense of those who have been their dupes, +and that the able and patriotic opinion of Judge Leavitt in the +_habeas corpus_ case will cause great numbers to take positive +ground in favor of the government, who have hitherto been more or +less under the influence of our northern traitors. If such shall be +the result we can afford to overlook bygones, and I am inclined to +await the development of public sentiment before following up +Vallandigham's arrest by many others." + +This letter was written before the Secretary of War made any +limitation of Burnside's authority in enforcing his famous order, +and shows that in the District of Ohio, at least, there was no +desire to set up a military despotism, or to go further in applying +military methods to conduct in aid of the rebellion than we might be +forced to go. + +Burnside's action in suppressing disloyal newspapers was not +peculiar to himself. General Wright, his predecessor, had done the +same, and other military commandants, both before and after and in +other parts of the country, had felt obliged to take the same +course. These facts only make more clear the desirability of a +well-considered system of action determined by the government at +Washington, and applicable to all such cases. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +BURNSIDE AND ROSECRANS--THE SUMMER'S DELAYS + + +Condition of Kentucky and Tennessee--Halleck's instructions to +Burnside--Blockhouses at bridges--Relief of East +Tennessee--Conditions of the problem--Vast wagon-train +required--Scheme of a railroad--Surveys begun--Burnside's efforts to +arrange co-operation with Rosecrans--Bragg sending troops to +Johnston--Halleck urges Rosecrans to activity--Continued +inactivity--Burnside ordered to send troops to Grant--Rosecrans's +correspondence with Halleck--Lincoln's dispatch--Rosecrans collects +his subordinates' opinions--Councils of war--The situation +considered--Sheridan and Thomas--Computation of +effectives--Garfield's summing up--Review of the situation when +Rosecrans succeeded Buell--After Stone's River--Relative +forces--Disastrous detached expeditions--Appeal to ambition--The +major-generalship in regular army--Views of the President +justified--Burnside's forces--Confederate forces in East +Tennessee--Reasons for the double organization of the Union armies. + + +Burnside was not a man to be satisfied with quasi-military duty and +the administration of a department outside of the field of active +warfare. He had been reappointed to the formal command of the Ninth +Corps before he came West, and the corps was sent after him as soon +as transportation could be provided for it. He reached Cincinnati in +person just as a raid into Kentucky by some 2000 Confederate cavalry +under Brigadier-General John Pegram was in progress. Pegram marched +from East Tennessee about the middle of March, reaching Danville, +Ky., on the 23d. He spread reports that he was the advance-guard of +a large force of all arms intending a serious invasion of the State. +These exaggerations had their effect, and the disturbance in the +Department of the Ohio was out of proportion to the strength of the +hostile column. [Footnote: Letter of Governor Robinson, Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 97; _Id_., pp. 121, 126.] The troops +belonging to the post at Danville retreated to the hither side of +the Kentucky River at Hickman's Bridge, where they took up a +defensive position. They saved the railway bridge from destruction, +and Brigadier-General Quincy A. Gillmore, who commanded the District +of Central Kentucky with headquarters at Lexington, was able to +concentrate there a sufficient force to resume the offensive against +Pegram. + +Burnside ordered reinforcements to Gillmore from the other parts of +Kentucky, and Pegram, whose report indicates that a foray for beef, +cattle, and horses was the principal object of his expedition, +commenced his retreat. Gillmore followed him up vigorously, +recapturing a considerable part of the cattle he had collected, and +overtaking his principal column at Somerset, routed him and drove +him beyond the Cumberland River. + +The month of March had begun with pleasant spring weather, and on +the 15th General Wright had written to Halleck that an invasion of +Kentucky was probable, especially as Rosecrans showed no signs of +resuming the aggressive against Bragg's army in middle Tennessee. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 143.] In Halleck's letter of instructions to +Burnside as the latter was leaving Washington to relieve Wright, the +general plan of an advance on East Tennessee in connection with that +of Rosecrans toward Chattanooga was outlined, but the +General-in-Chief acknowledged that the supply of an army in East +Tennessee by means of the wagon roads was probably impracticable. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 163.] He pointed out the necessity of reducing +the number and size of garrisons in the rear, and making everything +bend to the great object of organizing the army for active +initiative against the enemy. He recommended building block-houses +to protect the principal bridges on the railroads, where very small +garrisons could give comparative security to our lines of +communication. This plan was ultimately carried out on a large +scale, and was the necessary condition of Sherman's Atlanta campaign +of 1864. Taken as a whole, Halleck's instructions to Burnside +presented no definite objective, and were a perfunctory sort of +introduction to his new command, which raises a doubt whether the +organization of a little army in the Department of the Ohio met his +approval. + +The fact was that Burnside was acting on an understanding with +President Lincoln himself, whose ardent wish to send a column for +the relief of the loyal people of East Tennessee never slumbered, +and who was already beginning to despair of its accomplishment by +Rosecrans's army. The uneasiness at Washington over Rosecrans's +inaction was becoming acute, and Mr. Lincoln was evidently turning +to Burnside's department in hope of an energetic movement there. In +this hope Burnside was sent West, and the Ninth Corps was detached +from the Army of the Potomac and sent after him. The project of +following up his advance by the construction of a railroad from +Danville, then the terminus of the railway line reaching southward +from Cincinnati, was discussed, and the President recommended it to +Congress, but no appropriation of money was made. The scheme was +hardly within the limits of practicable plans, for the building of a +railway through such difficult country as the Cumberland mountain +region implied laborious engineering surveys which could only be +made when the country was reduced to secure possession, and the +expenditure of time as well as of money would be likely to exceed +the measure of reasonable plans for a military campaign. The true +thing to do was to push Rosecrans's army to Chattanooga and beyond. +With the valley of the Tennessee in our possession, and Chattanooga +held as a new base of supply for a column in East Tennessee as well +as another in Georgia, the occupation of Knoxville and the Clinch +and Holston valleys to the Virginia line was easy. Without it, all +East Tennessee campaigns were visionary. It was easy enough to get +there; the trouble was to stay. Buell's original lesson in +logistics, in which he gave the War Department a computation of the +wagons and mules necessary to supply ten thousand men at Knoxville, +was a solid piece of military arithmetic from which there was no +escape. [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 199. Official Records, vol. vii. p. +931.] + +When Burnside reached Cincinnati and applied himself practically to +the task of organizing his little army for a march over the +mountains, his first requisitions for wagons and mules were a little +startling to the Quartermaster-General and a little surprising to +himself. He began at once an engineering reconnoissance of the +country south of Lexington and Danville, as far as it was within our +control, and employed an able civil engineer, Mr. Gunn, to locate +the preliminary line for a railway. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxiii. +pt. ii. p. 610.] These surveys were the starting-points from which +the actual construction of the road between Cincinnati and +Chattanooga was made after the close of the war. + +Burnside also urged that the troops in Kentucky, exclusive of the +Ninth Corps, be organized into a new corps with General Hartsuff as +its commander. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 259.] Halleck demurred to this, +but the President directed it to be done, and the order was issued +by the War Department on 27th April. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 269, 283, +400.] Burnside also applied himself earnestly to procuring from +Rosecrans a plan of active co-operation for an advance. As soon as +Hartsuff assumed command of the new Twenty-third Corps, Burnside +sent him, on May 3d, to visit Rosecrans in person, giving him +authority to arrange an aggressive campaign. [Footnote: _Id_., p. +312.] Hartsuff's old relations to Rosecrans made him a very fit +person for the negotiation. Rosecrans hesitated to decide, and +called a council of his principal officers. He suggested that the +Ninth Corps be sent down the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to +Glasgow, near the Tennessee line, but did not indicate any immediate +purpose of advancing. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. +ii. pp. 313, 315.] Burnside meant to take the field with both corps +of his command, which he had organized under the name of the Army of +the Ohio; but to reassure Rosecrans, he wrote that if in +co-operation the two armies should come together, he would waive his +elder rank and serve under Rosecrans whilst he should remain in +middle Tennessee. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 331.] It was now the 15th of +May, and he sent a confidential staff officer again to Rosecrans to +try to settle a common plan of operations. On the 18th Halleck had +heard of Bragg's army being weakened to give General Joseph E. +Johnston a force with which to relieve Pemberton at Vicksburg, and +he became urgent for both Rosecrans and Burnside to advance. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 337.] He thought it probable that raids would +be attempted by the enemy to distract attention from his real +object, and pointed out concentration and advance as the best way to +protect the rear as well as to reach the enfeebled adversary. +Burnside hastened in good faith his preparations for movement. He +was collecting a pack mule train to supply the lack of wagons, and +put his detachments in motion to concentrate. He begged for the +third division of his corps (Getty's), which had been detained in +the Army of the Potomac and could not yet be spared, but did not +wait for it. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 338.] By the 1st of June he was +ready to leave in person for the front, and on the 3d was at +Lexington, definitely committed to the movement into East Tennessee. +There he was met by an order from Halleck to send 8000 men at once +to reinforce General Grant at Vicksburg. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 384.] +The promise was made that they should be returned as soon as the +immediate exigency was over, but the order was imperative. Burnside +never hesitated in obedience. The two divisions of the Ninth Corps +made about the number required, and they were immediately turned +back and ordered to the Ohio River to be shipped on steamboats. +Sorely disappointed, Burnside asked that he might go with his men, +but was told that his departmental duties were too important to +spare him from them. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. +ii. pp. 384, 386.] Major-General Parke was therefore sent in command +of the corps. Burnside returned to Cincinnati, grieving at the +interruption of his plans, yet hoping it would not be for long. His +duties at the rear were not agreeable, especially as this was just +the time when he was directed to recall his order suppressing +disloyal newspapers, and to refrain from arrests of civilians +without explicit authority from Washington. + +We may safely assume that the President and his War Secretary were +as little pleased at having to order the Ninth Corps away as +Burnside was to have them go. In fact the order was not made till +they entirely despaired of making Rosecrans advance with the vigor +necessary to checkmate the Confederates. On the receipt of Halleck's +dispatch of the 18th May, Rosecrans entered into a telegraphic +discussion of the probable accuracy of Halleck's information, saying +that whatever troops were sent by the enemy to Mississippi were no +doubt sent from Charleston and Savannah and not from Bragg. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 337.] He insisted that it was not good policy +to advance at present. On the 21st he said, "If I had 6000 cavalry +in addition to the mounting of the 2000 now waiting horses, I would +attack Bragg within three days." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 351.] He also +interposed the unfavorable judgment of his corps commanders in +regard to an advance. Military history shows that this is pretty +uniformly an excuse for a delay already fully resolved on by a +commanding general. Halleck had no more cavalry to send, and could +only say so. Burnside notified Rosecrans on the 22d that his columns +had begun the movements of concentration and that they would be +complete in three or four days. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xxiii. pt. ii. p. 355.] On the 28th Mr. Lincoln himself telegraphed +Rosecrans, "I would not push you to any rashness, but I am very +anxious that you do your utmost, short of rashness, to keep Bragg +from getting off to help Johnston against Grant." [Footnote: _Id_., +p. 369.] Rosecrans curtly answered, "Dispatch received. I will +attend to it." In his dispatches to Mr. Stanton of similar date +there is no intimation of any purpose whatever to move. [Footnote: +_Ibid_.] In telegraphing to Burnside, Rosecrans said that he was +only waiting for the development of the former's concentration, and +that he wished to advance by the 4th of June. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. +372, 376.] Burnside had already informed him that he would be ready +by June 2d, and repeated it. On the date last named Rosecrans +telegraphed Burnside that his movement had already begun, and that +he wanted the Army of the Ohio to come up as near and as quickly as +possible. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 381.] Still he gave no intimation to +the authorities at Washington of an advance, for none had in fact +been made by his army, nor even of any near purpose to make one. On +June 3d, Halleck telegraphed him: "Accounts received here indicate +that Johnston is being heavily reinforced from Bragg's army. If you +cannot hurt the enemy now, he will soon hurt you." He followed this +by his dispatch to Burnside ordering reinforcements to be sent to +Grant, and the remainder of the troops in the Department of the Ohio +to be concentrated defensively in Kentucky. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. +383, 384.] The only move that Rosecrans made was to send on the 8th +to his general officers commanding corps and divisions, a +confidential circular asking their opinion in writing in answer to +the following questions, in substance,-- + +1. Has the enemy been so materially weakened that this army could +advance on him at this time with strong reasonable chances of +fighting a great and successful battle? + +2. Is an advance of our army likely to prevent additional +reinforcements being sent against General Grant by Bragg? + +3. Is an immediate or early advance of our army advisable? +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 395.] + +With substantial unanimity they answered that it was not advisable +to move, though they seem generally to have been aware that +Breckinridge with about 10,000 men of all arms had gone from Bragg +to Johnston. When Rosecrans reported the result of this council to +Halleck, the latter reminded him of the maxim that "councils of war +never fight," and that the responsibility for his campaign rests +upon a commanding general and cannot be shared by a council of war. + +The careful study of the correspondence elicited by Rosecrans's +circular would make a most valuable commentary upon the theme, +"_Why_ Councils of War never fight." The three questions were +addressed to sixteen general officers commanding corps and +divisions. [Footnote: Their answers are found in Official Records, +vol. xxiii. pt. ii. as follows: Davis, p. 395, Johnson, do., McCook, +396, Turchin, 397, Brannan, 402, Crittenden, 403, Granger, 403, +Wood, 405, Negley, 407, Palmer, do., Reynolds, 409, Rousseau, 410, +Sheridan, 411, Stanley, 412, Thomas, 414, Van Cleve, 415, Mitchell, +417, and Garfield's summing up, 420.] In reading the responses the +impression grows strong that there was what may be called a popular +feeling among these officers that their duty was to back up their +commanding general in a judgment of his on the subjects submitted, +which could hardly be other than well known. On the question as to +the probable reduction of Bragg's army by detachments sent to +Johnston, whilst they nearly all have some knowledge of the +diminution of the Confederate army to about the extent mentioned +above, most of them answer that they do not think it a _material_ +weakening, that being the tenor of the inquiry put to them. Some of +them, however, say very naturally that as the secret service is +managed from headquarters and all the information received is +forwarded there, General Rosecrans should be much better able to +answer this question than his subordinates. As to the second part of +that question, nearly all seem to assume that the battle would be in +the nature of a direct attack on the fortifications at Shelbyville +and are not sanguine of a successful result. The few who speak of +turning manoeuvres feel that the further retreat of Bragg would only +lengthen their own line of communications and do no good. Strangely, +too, they argue, many of them, that an advance would not prevent +further depletion of Bragg to strengthen Johnston. They consequently +and almost unanimously advise against an immediate or early advance. + +It is instructive to compare these opinions with the actual facts. +The inaction of the summer had led directly to the detachment of two +divisions of infantry and artillery and one of cavalry to reinforce +Johnston, just as the inactivity of Meade later in the season +encouraged the Richmond government to send Longstreet to Bragg from +Virginia. If Rosecrans had moved early in the season, not only must +Bragg have kept his army intact, but the battle of Chickamauga, if +fought at all, must have been decided without Longstreet, and +therefore most probably with brilliant success for our arms. It was +delay in advancing, both in Tennessee and in Virginia, that thus +directly led to disaster. If a brilliant victory at Chickamauga had +been coincident with the fall of Vicksburg and Lee's defeat at +Gettysburg, it does not seem rash to believe that the collapse of +the Confederacy would have been hastened by a year. + +Two of the generals who answered these questions attained afterward +to such distinction that their replies are an interesting means of +learning their mental character and gauging their development. +Sheridan answered briefly that he believed Bragg had no more than +25,000 or 30,000 infantry and artillery, with a "large" cavalry +force. In this he was very close to the mark. Bragg's report for the +latter part of May, before sending reinforcements to Johnston, +showed his forces present for duty to be 37,000 infantry, a little +less than 3000 artillery, and 15,000 cavalry, in round numbers. +Deduct 10,000 from these, and Sheridan is found to be sufficiently +accurate. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 846. + +The reference to Bragg's returns of strength to the +Adjutant-General's office makes this an appropriate place to note +the method of making these returns and its bearing on the much +debated question of the "Effective Total" commonly given by +Confederate writers as the force of their armies compared with ours. +The blanks for these reports were sent out from the +Adjutant-and-Inspector-General's office at Richmond, with the order +that the numerical returns be made "on the forms furnished and +according to the directions expressed on them" (General Orders No. +64, Sept. 8, 1862). The column "Effective Total" in these returns +included only enlisted men carrying arms and actually in the line of +battle. It excluded all officers, the non-commissioned staff, +extra-duty men, the sick in hospital, and those in arrest. To secure +uniformity in the method of reporting in his army and to correct +some irregularity, General Bragg issued a circular, as follows +(Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 619):-- + +[Circular.] + +"HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF TENNESSEE, +TULLAHOMA, January 29, 1863. + + +Hereafter, under the column of 'Effective Total' in the reports from +this army, extra-duty men and men in arrest will not be included. +The 'Effective Total' must include only the fighting field +force--those who are carried into the field of battle with fire-arms +in their hands. + +By command of General Bragg. +GEORGE WM. BRENT, +Assistant Adjutant-General." + +Before the publication of the Official Records, I had occasion to +call attention to the subject: see "The Nation," May 21, 1874, p. +334; also "Atlanta" (Scribners' Series), pp. 27, 28; and again in +"The Nation," February 2, 1893, p. 86. A fair comparison between the +Confederate and the National armies, therefore, demands a +computation of numbers by the same method; and as we did not use +forms containing the "Effective Total" as reported by the +Confederates, the columns of officers and men "present for duty" +which are computed alike in the returns on both sides are the most +satisfactory and fair basis of comparison.] He did not think Bragg +would fight, but would retreat, and thought that in such a case he +would not be hindered from sending more help to Johnston. Again, as +forage in the country was scarce, he voted against an early advance. + +Thomas did not believe Bragg had been materially weakened, for if +any troops had been sent away, he thought they had returned or their +places had been supplied. He concluded that Bragg was ready to fight +with an army at least as large as that of Rosecrans; that to hold +our army where it was would sufficiently prevent further reduction +of Bragg's; that an advance would give the latter the advantage and +was not advisable. His preference for defensive warfare was very +evident. He said it was true that Bragg might be reinforced and take +the initiative, but that he "should be most happy to meet him here +with his reinforcements." In conclusion he indicated the necessity +of 6000 more cavalry to be added to the army. [Footnote: See also +_ante_, p. 478.] + +When the answers were all received, Garfield summed them up in a +paper, which must be admitted to be a remarkable production for a +young volunteer officer deliberately controverting the opinions of +such an array of seniors. He gave, as the best information at +headquarters, the force of Bragg, before sending help to Johnston, +as 38,000 infantry, 2600 artillery, and 17,500 cavalry. This made +the infantry about 1000 too many, the artillery nearly exactly +right, and the cavalry 2500 too many,--on the whole a very close +estimate. From these he deducted 10,000, which was right. He stated +Rosecrans's force at 82,700 "bayonets and sabres" with about 3000 +more on the way, but deducted 15,000 for necessary posts and +garrisons. The balancing showed 65,000 to throw against Bragg's +41,500. He further showed that delay would give time for the enemy's +detachments to return, whilst we could hope for no further increase +during the rest of the season. He then analyzed the military and +civil reasons for activity, declared that he believed we could be +victorious, and that the administration and the country had the +right to expect the army to try. + +The result was a curious but encouraging result of bold and cogent +reasoning. Although Rosecrans reported to General Halleck on the +11th of June the opinion of his corps and division commanders +against an early advance, the logic and the facts pressed upon him +by his chief of staff evidently took strong hold of his active +intellect, so that when Halleck on the 16th asked for a categorical +answer whether he would make an immediate movement forward, he +replied, "If it means to-night or to-morrow, no. If it means as soon +as all things are ready, say five days, yes." [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. pp. 8-10.] No doubt the rather plain +intimation that a categorical "no" would be followed by action at +Washington helped the decision; but it would have helped it to a +decided negative if Garfield's paper, reinforced by the personal +advice and oral discussions which we now know were of daily +occurrence between them, had not had a convincing weight with him, +both as to the feasibility of the campaign of turning manoeuvres +which he devised and adopted, and as to its probable success. The +result is reckoned one of his chief claims to military renown. + +But to judge properly the relations of the government to both the +commanding generals in Kentucky and Tennessee, it is necessary to go +back to the days immediately after the battle of Stone's River, and +to inquire what were the tasks assigned these commanders and the +means furnished to perform them. The disappointment of the +administration at Washington with Rosecrans's conduct of his +campaign dated, indeed, much earlier than the time indicated. He had +succeeded Buell at the end of October when Bragg was in full retreat +to the Tennessee River. The continuance of a vigorous pursuit and +the prompt reoccupation of the country held by us in the early +summer was regarded as of the utmost importance for political, quite +as much as for military reasons. It was not a time to halt and +reorganize an army. The question of foreign intervention was +apparently trembling in the balance, and to let European powers rest +under the belief that we had lost most of what had been gained in +the advance from Donelson to Shiloh and Corinth, was to invite +complications of the most formidable character. The Washington +authorities had therefore a perfect right to decide that to press +Bragg vigorously and without intermission was the imperative duty of +the commander of the Army of the Cumberland. He would be rightly +held to have disappointed the expectations of his government if he +failed to do so. Rosecrans had been chosen to succeed Buell because +of the belief that his character was one of restless vehemence +better adapted to this work than the slower but more solid qualities +of Thomas, who was already second in command in that army. +[Footnote: Since the text was written the Life of O. P. Morton has +appeared, and in it his part in the change from Buell to Rosecrans +is given. He urged the change upon Lincoln on the ground that +aggressive vigor was imperatively demanded. "Another three months +like the last six, and we are lost," said he. "Reject the wicked +incapables whom you have patiently tried and found utterly wanting." +On October 24th he telegraphed, "The removal of General Buell and +the appointment of Rosecrans came not a moment too soon." Life, vol. +i. pp. 197, 198.] Halleck was obliged very soon to remind Rosecrans +of this, and to claim the right of urging him onward because he +himself had given the advice which had been decisive when the +question of the choice was under consideration. + +Yet as soon as the army was again concentrated about Nashville, +Rosecrans's correspondence took the form of urgent demands for the +means of reorganization. He insisted that his cavalry force must be +greatly increased, that he must have repeating arms for his +horsemen, that he must organize a selected corps of mounted infantry +and obtain horses for them--in short, that he must take months to +put his army in a condition equal to his desires before resuming the +work of the campaign. His energy seemed to be wholly directed to +driving the administration to supply his wants, whilst Bragg was +allowed not only to stop his rather disorganized flight, but to +retrace his steps toward middle Tennessee. + +On the 4th of December Halleck telegraphed that the President was so +disappointed and dissatisfied that another week of inaction would +result in another change of commanders. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xx. pt. ii. p. 118.] Rosecrans replied detailing his +necessities, but taking a high tone and declaring himself insensible +to threats of removal. The next day Halleck patiently but decidedly +gave the reasons which made the demand for activity a reasonable +one, adding the reminder that no one had doubted that Buell would +eventually have succeeded, and that Rosecrans's appointment had been +made because they believed he would move more rapidly. [Footnote: +_Id_., p. 124.] Meanwhile every effort was made to furnish him with +the arms, equipments, and horses he desired. + +The battle of Stone's River had many points of resemblance to that +of Antietam, and like that engagement was indecisive in itself, the +subsequent retreat of the Confederates making it a victory for the +national arms. The condition of the Army of the Cumberland after the +battle was a sufficient reason for some delay, and a short time for +recuperation and reinforcement was cordially accepted by everybody +as a necessity of the situation. Congratulations and thanks were +abundantly showered on the army, and promotions were given in more +than common number. It was not concealed, however, that the +government was most anxious to follow up the success and to make the +delays as short as possible. An aggressive campaign was demanded, +and the demand was a reasonable one because the means furnished were +sufficient for the purpose. + +At the close of the month of January, Rosecrans's forces present for +duty in his department numbered 65,000, [Footnote: _Id_., vol. +xxiii. pt. ii. p. 29.] the Confederates under Bragg were 40,400. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 622.] The end of February showed the National +forces to be 80,000, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. +ii. p. 93.] the enemy 43,600. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 654.] After this +Bragg's army gradually increased till midsummer, when it reached a +maximum of about 57,000, and Rosecrans's grew to 84,000. The +Confederates had a larger proportion of cavalry than we, but this +was at the expense of being much weaker in infantry, the decisive +arm in serious engagements. In fact this disproportion was another +reason for active work, since experience showed that the enemy kept +his cavalry at home when he was vigorously pushed, and sent them on +raids to interrupt our communications when we gave him a respite. +Our superiority in numbers was enough, therefore, to make it +entirely reasonable and in accord with every sound rule of +conducting war, that the government should insist upon an active and +aggressive campaign from the earliest day in the spring when the +weather promised to be favorable. Such weather came at the beginning +of March, and the Confederates took advantage of it, as we have +seen, by sending Pegram into Kentucky. Their cavalry under Wheeler +attacked also Fort Donelson, but were repulsed. A reconnoissance by +a brigade under Colonel Coburn from Franklin toward Spring Hill +resulted in the capture of the brigade by the Confederates under Van +Dorn. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 115.] In the same month Forrest made a +daring raid close to Nashville and captured Colonel Bloodgood and +some 800 men at Brentwood. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 171, 732.] +Rosecrans organized a raid by a brigade of infantry mounted on +mules, commanded by Colonel Streight, with the object of cutting the +railroad south of Chattanooga. It was delayed in starting till near +the end of April, and was overtaken and captured near Rome in +Georgia. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 232, 321.] These exasperating +incidents were occurring whilst the Army of the Cumberland lay still +about Murfreesboro, and its commander harassed the departments at +Washington with the story of his wants, and intimated that nothing +but carelessness as to the public good stood between him and their +full supply. He was assured that he was getting his full share of +everything which could be procured,--rifles, revolvers, carbines, +horses, and equipments,--but the day of readiness seemed as far off +as ever. + +On the 1st of March the President, feeling that the time had come +when his armies should be in motion, and plainly discouraged at the +poor success he had had in getting Rosecrans ready for an advance, +authorized General Halleck to say to him that there was a vacant +major-generalcy in the regular army which would be given to the +general in the field who should first win an important and decisive +victory. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 95.] +The appeal to ambition was treated as if it had been an insult. It +was called an "auctioneering of honor," and a base way to come by a +promotion. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 111.] Halleck retorted conclusively +that Rosecrans himself had warmly advocated giving promotion in the +lower grades only for distinguished services in the field, and said: +"When last summer, at your request, I urged the government to +promote you for success in the field, and, again at your request, +urged that your commission be dated back to your services in West +Virginia, I thought I was doing right in advocating your claim to +honors for services rendered." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 138.] In view of +this unique correspondence it is certainly curious to find Rosecrans +a few days later enumerating his personal grievances to Mr. Lincoln, +and putting among them this, that after the battle of Stone's River +he had asked "as a personal favor" that his commission as +major-general of volunteers should be dated back to December, 1861, +and that it was not granted. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 146.] It was +considerably antedated, so as to make him outrank General Thomas, +much to the disgust of the latter when he learned it; but the date +was not made as early as Rosecrans desired, which would have made +him outrank Grant, Buell, and Burnside as well as Thomas. + +Persuasion and exhortation having failed, Grant must either be left +to take the chances that part of Bragg's army would be concentrated +under Johnston in Mississippi, or he must be strengthened by sending +to him that part of our forces in Kentucky and Tennessee which could +most easily be spared. There can be no doubt that it was well judged +to send the Ninth Corps to him, as it would be less mischievous to +suspend Burnside's movement into East Tennessee than to diminish the +Army of the Cumberland under existing circumstances. It is, however, +indisputably clear that the latter army should have been in active +campaign at the opening of the season, whether we consider the +advantage of the country or the reputation of its commander. + +If we inquire what means the administration gave Burnside to perform +his part of the joint task assigned him, we shall find that it was +not niggardly in doing so. His forces were at their maximum at the +end of May, when they reached but little short of 38,000 present for +duty in his whole department. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xxiii. pt. ii. p. 380.] This included, however, all the great States +of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan as well as the eastern half +of Kentucky, and there were several camps of prisoners and posts +north of the Ohio which demanded considerable garrisons. Eight +thousand men were used for this purpose, and nobody thought this an +excess. Thirty thousand were thus left him for such posts in +Kentucky as would be necessary to cover his communications and for +his active column. He expected to make his active army about 25,000, +and the advance movements had begun when, as has been stated, he was +ordered to suspend, and to send the Ninth Corps to Grant. + +The enemy in East Tennessee were under the command of General Dabney +Maury at first, but when he was sent to Mobile, General S. B. +Buckner was made the commandant. His returns of forces for May 31st +show that he had 16,267 present for duty, with which to oppose the +advance of Burnside. The information of the latter was that his +opponent had 20,000, and he reckoned on having to deal with that +number. The passes of the Cumberland Mountains were so few and so +difficult that it was by no means probable that his campaign would +be an easy one; yet the difficulties in the first occupation were +not so serious as those which might arise if Bragg were able to +maintain an interior position between the two National armies. In +that case, unless he were kept thoroughly employed by Rosecrans, he +might concentrate to crush Burnside before his decisive conflict +with the Army of the Cumberland. This was the inherent vice of a +plan which contemplated two independent armies attempting to +co-operate; and if Rosecrans had been willing to open his campaign +on the 1st of March, it is almost certain that the troops in +Kentucky would have been ordered to him. The President did not +determine to send Burnside to the West and to give him a little army +of his own till he despaired of the liberation of East Tennessee in +that season by any activity of Rosecrans. This cannot be overlooked +in any candid criticism of the summer's work. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE MORGAN RAID + + +Departure of the staff for the field--An amusingly quick +return--Changes in my own duties--Expeditions to occupy the +enemy--Sanders' raid into East Tennessee--His route--His success and +return--The Confederate Morgan's raid--His instructions--His +reputation as a soldier--Compared with Forrest--Morgan's start +delayed--His appearance at Green River, Ky.--Foiled by Colonel +Moore--Captures Lebanon--Reaches the Ohio at Brandenburg--General +Hobson in pursuit--Morgan crosses into Indiana--Was this his +original purpose?--His route out of Indiana into Ohio--He approaches +Cincinnati--Hot chase by Hobson--Gunboats co-operating on the +river--Efforts to block his way--He avoids garrisoned posts and +cities--Our troops moved in transports by water--Condition of +Morgan's jaded column--Approaching the Ohio at +Buffington's--Gunboats near the ford--Hobson attacks--Part captured, +the rest fly northward--Another capture--A long chase--Surrender of +Morgan with the remnant--Summary of results--A burlesque +capitulation. + + +The departure of General Burnside and his staff for active service +in the field was quite an event in Cincinnati society. The young men +were a set of fine fellows, well educated and great social +favorites. There was a public concert the evening before they left +for Lexington, and they were to go by a special train after the +entertainment should be over. They came to the concert hall, +therefore, not only booted and spurred, but there was perhaps a bit +of youthful but very natural ostentation of being ready for the +field. Their hair was cropped as close as barber's shears could cut +it, they wore the regulation uniform of the cavalry, with trim +round-about jackets, and were the "cynosure of all eyes." Their +parting words were said to their lady friends in the intervals of +the music, and the pretty dramatic effect of it all suggested to an +onlooker the famous parting scene in "Belgium's capital" which +"Childe Harold" has made so familiar. + +It was quite an anti-climax, however, when the gay young officers +came back, before a week was over, crestfallen, the detaching of the +Ninth Corps having suspended operations in Kentucky. They were a +little quizzed about their very brief campaign, but so +good-humoredly that they bore it pretty well, and were able to seem +amused at it, as well as the fair quizzers. + +In preparation for a lengthened absence, Burnside had turned over to +me some extra duties. He ordered the District of Michigan to be +added to my command, and gave general directions that the current +business of the department headquarters should pass through my +hands. As General Parke, his chief of staff, had gone to Vicksburg +in command of the Ninth Corps, Burnside made informal use of me to +supply in some measure his place. Our relations therefore became +closer than ever. He hoped his troops would soon come back to him, +as was promised, and in resuming business at the Cincinnati +headquarters, he tried to keep it all in such shape that he could +drop it at a moment's notice. + +To keep the enemy occupied he organized two expeditions, one under +Brigadier-General Julius White into West Virginia, and the other +under Colonel W. P. Sanders into East Tennessee. The latter was one +of the boldest and longest raids made during the war, and besides +keeping the enemy on the alert, destroying considerable military +stores and a number of important railway bridges, it was a +preliminary reconnoissance of East Tennessee and the approaches to +it through the mountains, which was of great value a little later. +The force consisted of 1500 mounted men, being detachments from +different regiments of cavalry and mounted infantry, among which +were some of the loyal men of East Tennessee under Colonel R. K. +Byrd. Sanders was a young officer of the regular army who was now +colonel of the Fifth Kentucky Cavalry. He rapidly made a first-class +reputation as a bold leader of mounted troops, but was unfortunately +killed in the defence of Knoxville in November of this same year. +His expedition started from Mount Vernon, Kentucky, on the 14th of +June, marched rapidly southward sixty miles to Williamsburg, where +the Cumberland River was fordable. Thence he moved southwest about +the same distance by the Marsh Creek route to the vicinity of +Huntsville in Tennessee. Continuing this route southward some fifty +miles more, he struck the Big Emory River, and following this +through Emory Gap, he reached the vicinity of Kingston on the Clinch +River in East Tennessee, having marched in all rather more than two +hundred miles. Avoiding Kingston, which was occupied by a superior +force of Confederates, he marched rapidly on Knoxville, destroying +all the more important railway bridges. Demonstrating boldly in +front of Knoxville, and finding that it was strongly held and its +streets barricaded for defence, he passed around the town and +advanced upon Strawberry Plains, where a great bridge and trestle +crosses the Holston River, 2100 feet in length, a place to become +very familiar to us in later campaigning. Crossing the Holston at +Flat Creek, where other bridges were burned, he moved up the left +(east) bank of the river to attack the guard at the big bridge, the +Confederate forces being on that side. He drove them off, capturing +150 of the party and five cannon. He not only destroyed the bridge, +but captured and burnt large quantities of military stores and camp +equipage. On he went along the railway to Mossy Creek, where another +bridge 300 feet long was burned. He now turned homeward toward the +north-west, having greatly injured a hundred miles of the East +Tennessee Railroad. Turning like a fox under the guidance of his +East Tennessee scouts, he crossed the Clinch Mountains and the +valley of the Clinch, and made his way back by way of Smith's Gap +through the Cumberland Mountains to his starting-place in Kentucky. +He had captured over 450 prisoners, whom he paroled, had taken ten +cannon and 1000 stands of small arms which he destroyed, besides the +large amounts of military stores which have been mentioned. He +marched about five hundred miles in the whole circuit, and though +frequently skirmishing briskly with considerable bodies of the +enemy, his losses were only 2 killed, 4 wounded, and 13 missing. Of +course a good many horses were used up, but as a preliminary to the +campaign which was to follow and in which Sanders was to have a +prominent place, it was a raid which was much more profitable than +most of them. He was gone ten days. [Footnote: Sanders' Report, +Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. pp. 385, 386.] + +The expedition under Brigadier-General Julius White was sent to beat +up the Confederate posts in the Big Sandy valley and to aid +incidentally the raid under Sanders into East Tennessee. Burnside +sent another southward in the direction of Monticello, Kentucky. The +object of these was to keep the enemy amused near home and prevent +the raids his cavalry had been making on the railway line by which +Rosecrans kept up his communication with Louisville. They seem +rather to have excited the emulation of the Confederate cavalryman +Brigadier-General John H. Morgan, who, a few days before Rosecrans's +advance on Tullahoma, obtained permission to make a raid, starting +from the neighborhood of McMinnville, Tenn., crossing the Cumberland +near Burkesville, and thence moving on Louisville, which he thought +he might capture with its depots of military stores, as it was +supposed to be almost stripped of troops. His division consisted of +about 3000 horsemen, and he took the whole of it with him, though +Wheeler, his chief, seems to have limited him to 2000. His +instructions were to make a rapid movement on the line of the +Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Kentucky and to get back to his +place in Bragg's army as quickly as possible. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. p.817.] + +Morgan's reputation as a soldier was a peculiar one. He had made a +number of raids which showed a good deal of boldness in the general +plan and a good deal of activity in the execution, but it cannot be +said that he showed any liking for hard fighting. Like boys skating +near thin ice, he seemed to be trying to see how close he could come +to danger without getting in. A really bold front showed by a small +body of brave men was usually enough to turn him aside. It is +instructive to compare his career with Forrest's. They began with +similar grade, but with all the social and personal prestige in +Morgan's favor. Forrest had been a local slave-trader, a calling +which implied social ostracism in the South, and which put a great +obstacle in the way of advancement. Both were fond of adventurous +raids, but Forrest was a really daring soldier and fought his way to +recognition in the face of stubborn prejudice. Morgan achieved +notoriety by the showy temerity of his distant movements, but nobody +was afraid of him in the field at close quarters. + +The official order to Morgan to start on his expedition was dated on +the 18th of June, but he did not get off till the close of the +month. It would seem that he remained in observation on the flank of +Rosecrans's army as the left wing moved upon Manchester, and began +his northward march after Bragg had retreated to Decherd on the way +to Chattanooga. At any rate, he was first heard of on the north side +of the Cumberland on the 2d of July, near Burkesville and marching +on Columbia. Burnside immediately ordered all his cavalry and +mounted infantry to concentrate to meet him, but his route had been +chosen with full knowledge of the positions of our detachments and +he was able to get the start of them. Brigadier-General H. M. Judah, +who commanded the division of the Twenty-third Corps which covered +that part of our front, seems to have wholly misconceived the +situation, and refused to listen to the better information which his +subordinates gave him. [Footnote: Sketches of War History, vol. iv. +(Papers of the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion). A paper by +Capt. H. C. Weaver, Sixteenth Kentucky Infantry, who was on the +staff of Brigadier-General E. H. Hobson during the pursuit of +Morgan.] After a slight skirmish at Columbia, Morgan made for the +Green River bridge at Tebb's Bend, an important crossing of the +Louisville Railroad. The bend was occupied by Colonel O. H. Moore of +the Twenty-fifth Michigan Infantry, who, under previous instructions +from Brigadier-General E. H. Hobson, intrenched a line across the +neck of the bend, some distance in front of the stockade at the +bridge. Morgan advanced upon the 4th of July, and after a shot or +two from his artillery, sent in a flag demanding the surrender of +Moore's little force, which amounted to only 200 men. Moore did not +propose to celebrate the national anniversary in that way, and +answered accordingly. The enemy kept up a lively skirmishing fight +for some hours, when he withdrew. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xxiii. pt. i. p. 645.] Moore had beaten him off with a loss of 6 +killed and 23 wounded of the brave Michigan men. He reported +Morgan's loss at 50 killed and 200 wounded. The Confederate +authorities admit that they had 36 killed, but put their wounded at +only 46, an incredibly small proportion to the killed. + +The raiders continued their route to Lebanon, where was the +Twentieth Kentucky Infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles S. +Hanson, numbering less than 400 men, without artillery. A brigade +ordered to reinforce the post delayed its advance, and Hanson was +left to his own resources. After several hours of a lively +skirmishing fight without much loss, he surrendered to save the +village from destruction by fire, which Morgan threatened. The loss +in the post was 4 killed and 15 wounded. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. p. 649.] Hanson reported 29 rebel dead +left on the field and 30 wounded, also abandoned. No doubt others of +the wounded were taken care of and concealed by their sympathizers +in the vicinity. Some military stores had been burned with the +railway station-house before Hanson surrendered. He and his men were +paroled in the irregular way adopted by Morgan on the raid. + +Bardstown was the next point reached by the enemy, but Morgan's +appetite for Louisville seems now to have diminished, and he turned +to the westward, reaching the Ohio River on the 8th, at Brandenburg, +some thirty miles below the city. The detachments of mounted troops +which were in pursuit had been united under the command of General +Hobson, the senior officer present, and consisted of two brigades, +commanded by Brigadier-General J. M. Shackelford and Colonel F. +Wolford. They approached Brandenburg on the evening of the 8th and +captured the steamboat "McCombs" with a remnant of Morgan's men and +stores the next morning when they entered the town. They saw on the +opposite bank the smoking wreck of the steamboat "Alice Dean" which +Morgan had set on fire after landing his men on the Indiana shore. +The steamboat "McCombs" was sent to Louisville for other transports. +A delay of twenty-four hours thus occurred, and when Hobson's +command was assembled in Indiana, Morgan had the start by nearly two +days. [Footnote: Hobson's Report, Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. +i. p. 659.] + +It is claimed by Morgan's intimate friend and chronicler that he +intended to cross the Ohio from the day he left camp in Tennessee, +although it would be contrary to his orders; [Footnote: _Id_., p. +818. History of Morgan's Cavalry, by B. W. Duke, p. 410.] and that +he had made investigations in advance in regard to fords on the +upper Ohio and particularly at Buffington Island, where he +ultimately tried to cross into West Virginia. If true, this would +forfeit every claim on his part to the character of a valuable and +intelligent subordinate; for operations on a large scale would be +absolutely impossible if the commander of a division of cavalry may +go off as he pleases, in disobedience to the orders which assign him +a specific task. Except for this statement, it would be natural to +conclude that when he approached Louisville he began to doubt +whether the city were so defenceless as he had assumed, and knowing +that twenty-four hours' delay would bring Hobson's forces upon his +back, he then looked about for some line of action that would save +his prestige and be more brilliant than a race back again to +Tennessee. It is quite probable that the feasibility of crossing the +Ohio and making a rapid ride through the country on its northern +bank had been discussed by him, and conscious as he was that he had +thus far accomplished nothing, he might be glad of an excuse for +trying it. This interpretation of his acts would be more honorable +to him as an officer than the deliberate and premeditated +disobedience attributed to him. But whether the decision was made +earlier or later, the capture of the steamboats at Brandenburg was +at once made use of to ferry over his command, though it was not +accomplished without some exciting incidents. A party of the +Confederates under Captain Hines had crossed into Indiana a few days +before without orders from Morgan, being as independent of him, +apparently, as he was of General Bragg. Hines's party had roused the +militia of the State, and he had made a rapid retreat to the Ohio, +reaching it just as Morgan entered Brandenburg. It may be that the +lucky daredeviltry of Hines's little raid fired his commander's +heart to try a greater one; at any rate, Morgan forgave his trespass +against his authority as he prayed to be forgiven by Bragg, and +turned his attention to driving off the Indiana militia who had +followed Hines to the bank of the river and now opened fire with a +single cannon. Morgan's artillery silenced the gun and caused the +force to retreat out of range, when he put over two of his +regiments, dismounted, to cover the ferrying of the rest. At this +point one of the "tin-clad" gunboats of the river fleet made its +appearance and took part in the combat. The section of Parrot guns +in Morgan's battery proved an overmatch for it, however, and it +retired to seek reinforcements. The interval was used to hasten the +transport of the Confederate men and horses, and before further +opposition could be made, the division was in the saddle and +marching northward into Indiana. + +At the first news of Morgan's advance into Kentucky, Burnside had +directed General Hartsuff, who commanded in that State, to +concentrate his forces so as to capture Morgan if he should attempt +to return through the central part of it. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. pp.13, 679, etc.] Judah's and Boyle's +divisions were put in motion toward Louisville, and the remainder of +the mounted troops not already with Hobson were also hurried +forward. These last constituted a provisional brigade under Colonel +Sanders. It may help to understand the organization of the National +troops to note the fact that all which operated against Morgan were +parts of the Twenty-third Corps, which was composed of four +divisions under Generals Sturgis, Boyle, Judah, and White. The +brigades were of both infantry and mounted troops, united for the +special purposes of the contemplated campaign into East Tennessee. +For the pursuit of Morgan the mounted troops were sent off first, +and as these united they formed a provisional division under Hobson, +the senior brigadier present. Quite a number of the regiments were +mounted infantry, who after a few months were dismounted and resumed +their regular place in the infantry line. For the time being, +however, Hobson had a mounted force that was made up of fractions of +brigades from all the divisions of the corps; and Shackelford, +Wolford, Kautz, and Sanders were the commanders of the provisional +brigades during the pursuit. Its strength did not quite reach 3000 +men. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. p. 658.] + +Morgan's first course was due north, and he marched with some +deliberation. On the 10th he reached Salem, about forty miles from +the river, on the railway between Louisville and Chicago. [Footnote: +_Id_., pp. 717, 719.] A small body of militia had assembled here, +and made a creditable stand, but were outflanked and forced to +retreat after inflicting on him a score of casualties. The evidences +Morgan here saw of the ability of the Northern States to overwhelm +him by the militia, satisfied him that further progress inland was +not desirable, and turning at right angles to the road he had +followed, he made for Madison on the Ohio. There was evidently some +understanding with a detachment he had left in Kentucky, for on the +11th General Manson, of Judah's division, who was on his way with a +brigade from Louisville to Madison by steamboats under naval convoy, +fell in with a party of Morgan's men seeking to cross the river at +Twelve-mile Island, a little below Madison. Twenty men and +forty-five horses were captured. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. pp. 729, +745.] If any of this party had succeeded in crossing before (as was +reported) they would of course inform their chief of the +reinforcements going to Madison, and of the gunboats in the river. +Morgan made no attack on Madison, but took another turn northward in +his zigzag course, and marched on Vernon, a railway-crossing some +twenty miles from Madison, where the line to Indianapolis intersects +that from Cincinnati to Vincennes. Here a militia force had been +assembled under Brigadier-General Love, and the town was well +situated for defence. Morgan, declining to attack, now turned +eastward again, his course being such that he might be aiming for +the river at Lawrenceburg or at Cincinnati. + +The deviousness of his route had been such as to indicate a want of +distinct purpose, and had enabled Hobson greatly to reduce the +distance between them. Hanson's brigade on the steamboats was now +about 2500 strong, and moved on the 12th from Madison to +Lawrenceburg, keeping pace as nearly as possible with Morgan's +eastward progress. Sanders's brigade reached the river twenty miles +above Louisville, and General Boyle sent transports to put him also +in motion on the river. At the request of Burnside, Governor Tod, of +Ohio, called out the militia of the southern counties, as Governor +Morton had done in Indiana. Burnside himself, at Cincinnati, kept in +constant telegraphic communication with all points, assembling the +militia where they were most likely to be useful and trying to put +his regular forces in front of the enemy. It would have been easy to +let the slippery Confederate horsemen back into Kentucky. The force +in the river, both naval and military, unquestionably prevented this +at Madison, and probably at Lawrenceburg. On the 13th Morgan was at +Harrison on the Ohio State line, and it now became my turn as +district commander to take part in the effort to catch him. I had no +direct control of the troops of the Twenty-third Corps, and the only +garrisons in Ohio were at the prison camps at Columbus and Sandusky. +These of course could not be removed, and our other detachments were +hardly worth naming. Burnside declared martial law in the counties +threatened with invasion, so that the citizens and militia might for +military purposes come directly under our control. The relations +between the general and myself were so intimate that no strict +demarcation of authority was necessary. He authorized me to give +commands in his name when haste demanded it, and we relieved each +other in night watching at the telegraph. + +A small post had been maintained at Dayton, since the Vallandigham +disturbance, and Major Keith, its commandant, was ordered to take +his men by rail to Hamilton. He went at once and reported himself +holding that town with 600 men, including the local militia, but +only 400 were armed. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. +pp.742, 743.] Lieutenant-Colonel Neff commanded at Camp Dennison, +thirteen miles from Cincinnati, and had 700 armed men there, with +1200 more of unarmed recruits. [Footnote: _Id_., p.749.] At both +these posts systematic scouting was organized so as to keep track of +the enemy, and their active show of force was such that Morgan did +not venture to attack either, but threaded his way around them. At +Cincinnati there was no garrison. A couple of hundred men formed the +post at Newport on the Kentucky side of the river, but the main +reliance was on the local militia. These were organized as soon as +the governor's call was issued on the evening of the 12th. Batteries +were put in position covering the approaches to the city from the +north and west, and the beautiful suburban hills of Clifton and +Avondale afforded excellent defensive positions. + +The militia that were called out were of course infantry, and being +both without drill and unaccustomed to marching, could only be used +in position, to defend a town or block the way. In such work they +showed courage and soldierly spirit, so that Morgan avoided +collision with all considerable bodies of them. But they could not +be moved. All we could do was to try to assemble them at such points +in advance as the raiders were likely to reach, and we especially +limited their task to the defensive one, and to blockading roads and +streams. Particular stress was put on the orders to take up the +planking of bridges and to fell timber into the roads. Little was +done in this way at first, but after two or three days of constant +reiteration, the local forces did their work better, and delays to +the flying enemy were occasioned which contributed essentially to +the final capture. + +No definite news of Morgan's crossing the Ohio line was received +till about sunset of the 13th when he was marching eastward from +Harrison. Satisfied that Lawrenceburg and lower points on the Ohio +were now safe, Burnside ordered the transports and gunboats at once +to Cincinnati. Manson and Sanders arrived during the night, and the +latter with his brigade of mounted men was, at dawn of the 14th, +placed on the north of the city in the village of Avondale. Manson +with the transports was held in readiness to move further up the +river. + +Feeling the net drawing about him, Morgan gave his men but two or +three hours' rest near Harrison, and then took the road toward +Cincinnati. He reached Glendale, thirteen miles northwest of the +city, late in the night, and then turned to the east, apparently for +Camp Dennison, equally distant in a northeast direction. His men +were jaded to the last degree of endurance, and some were dropping +from the saddle for lack of sleep. Still he kept on. Colonel Neff, +in accordance with his orders, had blockaded the principal roads to +the west, and stood at bay in front of his camp. Morgan threw a few +shells at Neff's force, and a slight skirmish began, but again he +broke away, forced to make a detour of ten miles to the north. We +had been able to warn Neff of their approach by a message sent after +midnight, and he had met them boldly, protecting the camp and the +railroad bridge north of it. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xxiii. pt. i. pp. 748, 750.] The raiders reached Williamsburg in +Clermont County, twenty-eight miles from Cincinnati, in the +afternoon of the 14th, and there the tired men and beasts took the +first satisfactory rest they had had for three days. Morgan had very +naturally assumed that there would be a considerable regular force +at Cincinnati, and congratulated himself that by a forced night +march he had passed round the city and avoided being cut off. He +had, in truth, escaped by the skin of his teeth. Could Burnside have +felt sure that Lawrenceburg was safe a few hours earlier, Manson and +Sanders might have been in Cincinnati early enough on the 13th to +have barred the way from Harrison. He had in fact ordered Manson up +at two o'clock in the afternoon, but the latter was making a +reconnoissance north of the town, and was detained till late in the +night. As soon as it was learned on the 14th that Morgan had passed +east of the Little Miami River, Sanders was ordered to join Hobson +and aid in the pursuit. [Footnote: In the reports of Hobson and +Sanders there seems to be a mistake of a day in the dates, from the +12th to the 16th. This may be corrected by the copies of current +dispatches given in Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. pp. +730-750.] Hobson's horses were almost worn out, for following close +upon Morgan's track, as he was doing, he found only broken down +animals left behind by the rebels, whilst these gathered up the +fresh animals as they advanced. Still he kept doggedly on, seldom +more than ten or fifteen miles behind, but unable to close that gap +till his opponent should be delayed or brought to bay. + +After entering Clermont County, the questions as to roads, etc, +indicated that Morgan was making for Maysville, hoping to cross the +river there. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 749.] Manson's brigade and the +gunboats were accordingly sent up the river to that vicinity. The +militia of the Scioto valley were ordered to destroy the bridges, in +the hope that that river would delay him, but they were tardy or +indifferent, and it was a day or two later before the means of +obstruction were efficiently used. Judah's forces reached Cincinnati +on the 14th, a brigade was there supplied with horses, and they were +sent by steamers to Portsmouth. Judah was ordered to spare no effort +to march northward far enough to head off the enemy's column. On the +16th General Scammon, commanding in West Virginia, was asked to +concentrate some of his troops at Gallipolis or Pomeroy on the upper +Ohio, and promptly did so. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 756.] The militia +were concentrated at several points along the railway to Marietta. +Hobson was in the rear, pushing along at the rate of forty miles a +day. + +Morgan had soon learned that the river was so patrolled that no +chance to make a ferry could be trusted, and he made his final +effort to reach the ford at Buffington Island, between Marietta and +Pomeroy. He reached Pomeroy on the 18th, but Scammon was occupying +it, and the troops of the Kanawha division soon satisfied Morgan +that he was not dealing with militia. He avoided the roads held by +our troops, and as they were infantry, could move around them, +though a running skirmish was kept up for some miles. Hobson was +close in rear, and Judah's men were approaching Buffington. Morgan +reached the river near the ford about eight o'clock in the evening. +The night was pitchy dark, and his information was that a small +earthwork built to command the ford was occupied by a permanent +garrison. He concluded to wait for daylight. The work had in fact +been abandoned on the preceding day, but at daybreak in the morning +he was attacked. Hobson's men pushed in from west and north, and +Judah from the south. The gunboats came close up to the island, +within range of the ford, and commanded it. Hobson attacked +vigorously and captured the artillery. The wing of the Confederate +forces, about 700 in number, surrendered to General Shackelford, and +about 200 to the other brigades under Hobson. The rest of the enemy, +favored by a fog which filled the valley, evaded their pursuers and +fled northward. Hobson ordered all his brigades to obey the commands +of Shackelford, who was in the lead, and himself sought Judah, whose +approach had been unknown to him till firing was heard on the other +side of the enemy. Judah had also advanced at daybreak, but in +making a reconnoissance he himself with a small escort had stumbled +upon the enemy in the fog. Both parties were completely surprised, +and before Judah could bring up supports, three of his staff were +captured, Major Daniel McCook, paymaster, who had volunteered as an +aide, was mortally wounded, ten privates were wounded, and twenty or +thirty with a piece of artillery captured. Morgan hastily turned in +the opposite direction, when he ran into Hobson's columns; Judah's +prisoners and the gun were recaptured, and the enemy driven in +confusion, with the losses above stated. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. pp. 775-777.] + +As Hobson was regularly a brigade commander in Judah's division, the +latter now asserted command of the whole force, against Hobson's +protest, who was provisionally in a separate command by Burnside's +order. Fortunately, Shackelford had already led Hobson's men in +rapid pursuit of the enemy, and as soon as Burnside was informed of +the dispute, he ordered Judah not to interfere with the troops which +had operated separately. By the time this order came Shackelford was +too far away for Hobson to rejoin him, and continued in independent +command till Morgan's final surrender. He overtook the flying +Confederates on the 20th, about sixty miles further north, and they +were forced to halt and defend themselves. Shackelford succeeded in +getting a regiment in the enemy's rear, and after a lively skirmish +between 1200 and 1300 surrendered. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 778, 781.] +Morgan himself again evaded with about 600 followers. Shackelford +took 500 volunteers on his best horses and pressed the pursuit. The +chase lasted four days of almost continuous riding, when the enemy +was again overtaken in Jefferson County, some fifteen miles +northwest of Steubenville. General Burnside had collected at +Cincinnati the dismounted men of Hobson's command, had given them +fresh horses, and had sent them by rail to join Shackelford. They +were under command of Major W. B. Way of the Ninth Michigan Cavalry +and Major G. W. Rue of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry. They brought five +or six hundred fresh men to Shackelford's aid, and their assistance +was decisive. Morgan's course to the river at Smith's Ferry on the +border of Columbiana County was intercepted, and near Salineville he +was forced to surrender with a little less than 400 men who still +followed him. About 250 had surrendered in smaller bodies within a +day or two before, and stragglers had been picked up at many points +along the line of pursuit. Burnside reported officially that about +3000 prisoners were brought to Cincinnati. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. p. 14.] General Duke states that some +300 of Morgan's command succeeded in crossing the Ohio about twenty +miles above Buffington, and escaped through West Virginia. He also +gives us some idea of the straggling caused by the terrible fatigues +of the march by telling us that the column was reduced by nearly 500 +effectives when it passed around Cincinnati. [Footnote: Hist. of +Morgan's Cavalry, pp. 442, 443.] It is probable that these figures +are somewhat loosely stated, as the number of prisoners is very +nearly the whole which the Confederate authorities give as Morgan's +total strength. [Footnote: A note attached to Wheeler's return of +the cavalry of his corps for July 31st says that Morgan's division +was absent "on detached service," effectives 2743. Add to this the +officers, etc., and the total "present for duty" would be a little +over 3000. Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 941. For Bragg's +circular explaining the term "effectives" as applying only to +private soldiers actually in the line of battle, see _Id_., p. 619, +and _ante_, p. 482.] Either a considerable reinforcement must have +succeeded in getting to him across the river, or a very small body +must have escaped through West Virginia. Burnside directed the +officers to be sent to the military prison camp for officers on +Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay, and the private soldiers to go to +Camp Chase at Columbus and Camp Morton at Indianapolis. Soon +afterward, however, orders came from Washington that the officers +should be confined in the Ohio penitentiary, in retaliation for +unusual severities practised on our officers who were prisoners in +the South. Morgan's romantic escape from the prison occurred just +after I was relieved from the command of the district in the fall, +for the purpose of joining the active army in East Tennessee. + +A glance at the raid as a whole, shows that whilst it naturally +attracted much attention and caused great excitement at the North, +it was of very little military importance. It greatly scattered for +a time and fatigued the men and horses of the Twenty-third Corps who +took part in the chase. It cost Indiana and Ohio something in the +plunder of country stores and farm-houses, and in the pay and +expenses of large bodies of militia that were temporarily called +into service. But this was all. North of the Ohio no military posts +were captured, no public depots of supply were destroyed, not even +an important railway bridge was burned. There was no fighting worthy +of the name; the list of casualties on the National side showing +only 19 killed, 47 wounded, and 8 missing in the whole campaign, +from the 2d of July to the final surrender. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxlii. pt. i. p.637.] For this the whole Confederate +division of cavalry was sacrificed. Its leader was never again +trusted by his government, and his prestige was gone forever. His +men made simply a race for life from the day they turned away from +the militia at Vernon, Indiana. Morgan carefully avoided every +fortified post and even the smaller towns. The places he visited +after he crossed the Ohio line do not include the larger towns and +villages that seemed to lie directly in his path. He avoided the +railroads also, and these were used every day to convey the militia +and other troops parallel to his route, to hedge him in and finally +to stop him. His absence was mischievous to Bragg, who was +retreating upon Chattanooga and to whom the division would have been +a most welcome reinforcement. He did not delay Burnside, for the +latter was awaiting the return of the Ninth Corps from Vicksburg, +and this did not begin to arrive till long after the raid was over. +None of the National army's communications were interrupted, and not +a soldier under Rosecrans lost a ration by reason of the pretentious +expedition. It ended in a scene that was ridiculous in the extreme. +Morgan had pressed into his service as guides, on the last day of +his flight, two men who were not even officers of the local militia, +but who were acting as volunteer homeguards to protect their +neighborhood. When he finally despaired of escape, he begged his +captive guides to change their _role_ into commanders of an +imaginary army and to accept his surrender upon merciful and +favorable terms to the vanquished! He afterward claimed the right to +immediate liberation on parole, under the conditions of this +burlesque capitulation. Shackelford and his rough riders would +accept no surrender but an unconditional one as prisoners of war, +and were sustained in this by their superiors. The distance by the +river between the crossing at Brandenburg and the ferry above +Steubenville near which Morgan finally surrendered, was some six +hundred miles. This added to the march from Tennessee through +Kentucky would make the whole ride nearly a thousand miles long. Its +importance, however, except as a subject for an entertaining story, +was in an inverse ratio to its length. Its chief interest to the +student of military history is in its bearing on the question of the +rational use of cavalry in an army, and the wasteful folly of +expeditions which have no definite and tangible military object. +[Footnote: For Official Records and correspondence concerning the +raid, see Burnside's report (Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. i. +pp.13, 14) and the miscellaneous documents (_Id_., pp.632-818).] + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE LIBERATION OF EAST TENNESSEE + + +News of Grant's victory at Vicksburg--A thrilling scene at the +opera--Burnside's Ninth Corps to return--Stanton urges Rosecrans to +advance--The Tullahoma manoeuvres--Testy correspondence--Its real +meaning--Urgency with Burnside--Ignorance concerning his +situation--His disappointment as to Ninth Corps--Rapid concentration +of other troops--Burnside's march into East Tennessee--Occupation of +Knoxville--Invests Cumberland Gap--The garrison surrenders--Good +news from Rosecrans--Distances between armies--Divergent lines--No +railway communication--Burnside concentrates toward the Virginia +line--Joy of the people--Their intense loyalty--Their faith in the +future. + + +During the Morgan Raid and whilst we in Ohio were absorbed in the +excitement of it, events were moving elsewhere. Lee had advanced +from Virginia through Maryland into Pennsylvania and had been +defeated at Gettysburg by the National army under Meade. Grant had +brought the siege of Vicksburg to a glorious conclusion and had +received the surrender of Pemberton with his army of 30,000 +Confederates. These victories, coming together as they did and on +the 4th of July, made the national anniversary seem more than ever a +day of rejoicing and of hope to the whole people. We did not get the +news of Grant's victory quite so soon as that of Meade's, but it +came to us at Cincinnati in a way to excite peculiar enthusiasm. + +An excellent operatic company was giving a series of performances in +the city, and all Cincinnati was at Pike's Opera House listening to +_I Puritani_ on the evening of the 7th of July. General Burnside and +his wife had one of the proscenium boxes, and my wife and I were +their guests. The second act had just closed with the famous trumpet +song, in which Susini, the great basso of the day, had created a +_furore_. A messenger entered the box where the general was +surrounded by a brilliant company, and gave him a dispatch which +announced the surrender of Vicksburg and Pemberton's army. Burnside, +overjoyed, announced the great news to us who were near him, and +then stepped to the front of the box to make the whole audience +sharers in the pleasure. As soon as he was seen with the paper in +his hand, the house was hushed, and his voice rang through it as he +proclaimed the great victory and declared it a long stride toward +the restoration of the Union. The people went almost wild with +excitement, the men shouted hurrahs, the ladies waved their +handkerchiefs and clapped their hands, all rising to their feet. The +cheering was long as well as loud, and before it subsided the +excitement reached behind the stage. The curtain rose again, and +Susini came forward with a national flag in each hand, waving them +enthusiastically whilst his magnificent voice resounded in a +repetition of the song he had just sung, and which seemed as +appropriate as if it were inspired for the occasion,-- + + "Suoni la tromba, e intrepido + Io pugnero da forte, + Bello e affrontar la morte, + Gridando liberta!" + +The rejoicing and the cheers were repeated to the echo, and when at +last they subsided, the rest of the opera was only half listened to, +suppressed excitement filling every heart and the thought of the +great results to flow from the victories absorbing every mind. + +Burnside reckoned with entire certainty on the immediate return of +the Ninth Corps, and planned to resume his expedition into East +Tennessee as soon as his old troops should reach him again. The +Morgan raid was just beginning, and no one anticipated its final +scope. In the dispatch from the Secretary of War which announced +Grant's great victory, Burnside was also told that the corps would +immediately return to him. In answering it on the 8th July, he said, +"I thought I was very happy at the success of General Grant and +General Meade, but I am still happier to hear of the speedy return +of the Ninth Corps." He informed Rosecrans of it on the same day, +adding, "I hope soon to be at work again." [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. pp.522, 524.] + +The Washington authorities very naturally and very properly wished +that the tide of success should be kept moving, and Secretary +Stanton had exhorted Rosecrans to further activity by saying, on the +7th, "You and your noble army now have the chance to give the +finishing blow to the rebellion. [Footnote: _Id_., p.518.] Will you +neglect the chance?" Rosecrans replied: "You do not appear to +observe the fact that this noble army has driven the rebels from +middle Tennessee, of which my dispatches advised you. I beg in +behalf of this army that the War Department may not overlook so +great an event because it is not written in letters of blood." He, +however, did not intimate any purpose of advancing. No doubt the +manoeuvering of Bragg out of his fortified positions at Shelbyville +and Tullahoma had been well done; but its chief value was that it +forced Bragg to meet the Army of the Cumberland in the open field if +the advantage should be promptly followed up. If he were allowed to +fortify another position, nothing would be gained but the ground the +army stood on. Had Rosecrans given any intimation of an early date +at which he could rebuild the Elk River bridge and resume active +operations, it would probably have relieved the strain so noticeable +in the correspondence between him and the War Department. He did +nothing of the kind, and the necessity of removing him from the +command was a matter of every-day discussion at Washington, as is +evident from the confidential letters Halleck sent to him. The +correspondence between the General-in-Chief and his subordinate is a +curious one. A number of the most urgent dispatches representing the +dissatisfaction of the President and the Secretary were accompanied +by private and confidential letters in which Halleck explains the +situation and strongly asserts his friendship for Rosecrans and the +error of the latter in assuming that personal hostility to himself +was at bottom of the reprimands sent him on account of his delays. +It was with good intentions that Halleck wrote thus, but the wisdom +of it is very questionable. It gave Rosecrans ground to assume that +the official dispatches were only the formal expression of the ideas +of the President and Secretary whilst the General-in-Chief did not +join in the condemnation of his dilatory mode of conducting the +campaign. To say to Rosecrans, as Halleck did on July 24th, "Whether +well founded or without any foundation, the dissatisfaction really +exists, and I deem it my duty as a friend to represent it to you +truly and fairly," [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. +pp. 552, 555, 601.] is to neglect his duty as commander of the whole +army to express his own judgment and to give orders which would have +the weight of his military position and presumed knowledge in +military matters. When, therefore, a few days later he gave +peremptory orders to begin an active advance, these orders were +interpreted in the light of the preceding correspondence, and lost +their force and vigor. They were met by querulous and insubordinate +inquiries whether they were intended to take away all discretion as +to details from the commander of an army in the field. [Footnote: +Aug. 4, _Id_., p. 592.] It has been argued that Rosecrans's weakness +of character consisted in a disposition to quarrel with those in +power over him, and that a spirit of contradiction thwarted the good +military conduct which his natural energy might have produced. I +cannot help reading his controversial correspondence in the light of +my personal observation of the man, and my conviction is that his +quarrelsome mode of dealing with the War Department was the result +of a real weakness of will and purpose which did not take naturally +to an aggressive campaign that involved great responsibilities and +risks. Being really indecisive in fixing his plan of campaign and +acting upon it, his infirmity of will was covered by a belligerence +in his correspondence. A really enterprising commander in the field +would have begun an active campaign in the spring before any +dissatisfaction was exhibited at Washington; and if he had a decided +purpose to advance at any reasonably early period, there was nothing +in the urgency shown by his superiors to make him abandon his +purpose. He might have made testy comments, but he would have acted. + +Halleck's correspondence with Burnside in July is hard to +understand, unless we assume that it was so perfunctory that he did +not remember at one time what he said or did earlier. In a dispatch +to the General-in-Chief dated the 11th, Rosecrans had said, "It is +important to know if it will be practicable for Burnside to come in +on our left flank and hold the line of the Cumberland; if not, a +line in advance of it and east of us." [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 529.] It was already understood between +Rosecrans and Burnside that the latter would do this and more as +soon as he should have the Ninth Corps with him; and the dispatch +must be regarded as a variation on the form of excuses for inaction, +by suggesting that he was delayed by the lack of an understanding as +to co-operation by the Army of the Ohio. On receipt of Rosecrans's +dispatch, Halleck answered it on the 13th, saying, "General Burnside +has been frequently urged to move forward and cover your left by +entering East Tennessee. I do not know what he is doing. He seems +tied fast to Cincinnati." On the same day he telegraphed Burnside, +"I must again urge upon you the importance of moving forward into +East Tennessee, to cover Rosecrans's left." [Footnote: _Id_., p. +531.] It is possible that Burnside's telegraphic correspondence with +the Secretary of War was not known to Halleck, but it is hard to +believe that the latter was ignorant of the proportions the Morgan +raid had taken after the enemy had crossed the Ohio River. The 13th +of July was the day that Morgan marched from Indiana into Ohio and +came within thirteen miles of Cincinnati. Burnside was organizing +all the militia of southern Ohio, and was concentrating two +divisions of the Twenty-third Corps to catch the raiders. One of +these was on a fleet of steamboats which reached Cincinnati that +day, and the other, under Hobson, was in close pursuit of the enemy. +Where should Burnside have been, if not at Cincinnati? If the raid +had been left to the "militia and home guards," as Halleck afterward +said all petty raids should be, this, which was not a petty raid, +would pretty certainly have had results which would have produced +more discomfort at Washington than the idea that Burnside was "tied +fast to Cincinnati." Burnside was exactly where he ought to be, and +doing admirable work which resulted in the capture of the division +of 3000 rebel cavalry with its officers from the general in command +downward. That the General-in-Chief was entirely ignorant of what +was going on, when every intelligent citizen of the country was +excited over it and every newspaper was full of it, reflects far +more severely upon him than upon Burnside. + +But this was by no means the whole. He forgot that when he stopped +Burnside's movement on 3d June to send the Ninth Corps to Grant, it +was with the distinct understanding that it prevented its resumption +till the corps should return. He had himself said that this should +be as early as possible, and meanwhile directed Burnside to +concentrate his remaining forces as much as he could. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p.384.] Burnside had been told +on the 8th of July, without inquiry from him, that the corps was +coming back to him, and had immediately begun his preparation to +resume an active campaign as soon as it should reach him. Not +hearing of its being on the way, on the 18th he asked Halleck if +orders for its return had been given. To this dispatch no answer was +given, and it was probably pigeonholed and forgotten. Burnside +continued his campaign against Morgan, and on the 24th, when the +last combinations near Steubenville were closing the career of the +raider, Halleck again telegraphs that there must be no further delay +in the movement into East Tennessee, [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p.553.] and orders an immediate report of the +position and number of Burnside's troops organized for that purpose! +He was still ignorant, apparently, that there had been any occasion +to withdraw the troops in Kentucky from the positions near the +Cumberland River. + +Burnside answered temperately, reciting the facts and reminding him +of the actual state of orders and correspondence, adding only, "I +should be glad to be more definitely instructed, if you think the +work can be better done." Morgan's surrender was on the 26th, and +Burnside immediately applied himself with earnest zeal to get his +forces back into Kentucky. Judah's division at Buffington was three +hundred miles from Cincinnati and five hundred from the place it had +left to begin the chase. Shackelford's mounted force was two hundred +miles further up the Ohio. This last was, as has been recited, made +up of detachments from all the divisions of the Twenty-third Corps, +and its four weeks of constant hard riding had used up men and +horses. These all had to be got back to the southern part of central +Kentucky and refitted, returned to their proper divisions, and +prepared for a new campaign. The General-in-Chief does not seem to +have had the slightest knowledge of these circumstances or +conditions. + +On the 28th another Confederate raid developed itself in southern +Kentucky, under General Scott. It seemed to be intended as a +diversion to aid Morgan to escape from Ohio, but failed to +accomplish anything. Scott advanced rapidly from the south with his +brigade, crossing the Cumberland at Williamsburg and moving through +London upon Richmond. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. +ii. p. 568.] Colonel Sanders endeavored to stop the enemy at +Richmond with about 500 men hastily collected, but was driven back. +He was ordered to Lexington and put in command of all the mounted +men which could be got together there, 2400 in all, and advanced +against Scott, who now retreated by Lancaster, Stanford, and +Somerset. At Lancaster the enemy was routed in a charge and 200 of +them captured. Following them up with vigor, their train was +destroyed and about 500 more prisoners were taken. At the Cumberland +River Sanders halted, having been without rations for four days. The +remnant of Scott's force had succeeded in crossing the river after +abandoning the train. Scott claimed to have taken and paroled about +200 prisoners in the first part of his raid, but such irregular +paroles of captured men who could not be carried off were +unauthorized and void. The actual casualties in Sanders's command +were trifling. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. pp. 828-843; pt. ii. pp. +568, 589.] + +The effect of this last raid was still further to wear out +Burnside's mounted troops, but he pressed forward to the front all +his infantry and organized a column for advance. In less than a +week, on August 4, he was able to announce to the War Department +that he had 11,000 men concentrated at Lebanon, Stanford, and +Glasgow, with outposts on the Cumberland River, and that he could +possibly increase this to 12,000 by reducing some posts in guard of +the railway. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 591.] Upon this, Halleck gave to +Rosecrans peremptory orders for the immediate advance of the Army of +the Cumberland, directing him also to report daily the movement of +each corps till he should cross the Tennessee. On the next day +Burnside was ordered in like manner to advance with a column of +12,000 men upon Knoxville, on reaching which place he was to +endeavor to connect with the forces under Rosecrans. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. pp.592-593.] The dispatch +closed with what was called a repetition of a former order from the +Secretary of War for Burnside to leave Cincinnati and take command +of his moving column in person. Burnside had never dreamed of doing +anything else, as everybody near him knew, though he had in fact +been quite ill during the latter part of July. The mention of a +former order was another sheer blunder on General Halleck's part, +and Burnside indignantly protested against the imputation contained +in it. [Footnote: _Id_., pp.593, 594.] The truth seems to be that +Halleck was in such a condition of irritation over his +correspondence with Rosecrans, that nothing pertaining to the +Department of the Ohio was accurately placed in his mind or +accurately stated when he had occasion to refer to it. In cutting +the knot by peremptory orders to both armies to move, he was right, +and was justified in insisting that the little column of 12,000 +under Burnside should start although it could only be got together +in greatest haste and with the lack of equipment occasioned by the +"wear and tear" of the operations against Morgan. If, in insisting +on this, he had recognized the facts and given Burnside and his +troops credit for the capture of the rebel raiders and the +concentration, in a week, of forces scattered over a distance of +nearly a thousand miles, no one would have had a right to criticise +him. The exigency fairly justified it. But to treat Burnside as if +he had been only enjoying himself in Cincinnati, and his troops all +quietly in camp along the Cumberland River through the whole +summer,--to ignore the absence of the Ninth Corps and his own +suspension of a movement already begun when he took it away,--to +assume in almost every particular a basis of fact absolutely +contrary to the reality and to telegraph censures for what had been +done, under his own orders or strictly in harmony with them,--all +this was doing a right thing in as absurdly wrong a way as was +possible. A gleam of humor and the light of common sense is thrown +over one incident, when Mr. Lincoln, seeing that Burnside had full +right from the dispatches to suppose the Ninth Corps was to come at +once to him from Vicksburg and that no one had given him any +explanation, himself telegraphed that the information had been based +on a statement from General Grant, who had not informed them why the +troops had not been sent. "General Grant," the President quaintly +added, "is a copious worker and fighter, but a very meagre writer or +telegrapher. No doubt he changed his purpose for some sufficient +reason, but has forgotten to notify us of it." [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. p. 561.] The reference to copious work +as contrasted with the _copia verborum_ gains added point from a +dispatch of Halleck to Rosecrans, quite early in the season, in +which the latter is told that the cost of his telegraph dispatches +is "as much or perhaps more than that of all the other generals in +the field." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 255.] The form of the reference to +Grant enables us also to read between the lines the progress he was +making in reputation and in the President's confidence. He kept +"pegging away," and was putting brains as well as energy into his +work. The records show also that Burnside took the hint, whether +intended or not, and in this campaign did not err on the side of +copiousness in dispatches to Washington. + +To avoid the delay which would be caused by the distribution of his +mounted force to the divisions they had originally been attached to, +Burnside organized these into a division under Brigadier-General S. +P. Carter, and an independent brigade under Colonel F. Wolford. He +also reorganized the infantry divisions of the Twenty-third Corps. +The first division, under Brigadier-General J. T. Boyle, was to +remain in Kentucky and protect the lines of communication. The +second was put under command of Brigadier-General M. D. Manson, and +the third under Brigadier-General M. S. Hascall. Each marching +division was organized into two brigades with a battery of artillery +attached to each brigade. Three batteries of artillery were in +reserve. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. ii. pp. +553-555.] + +On the 11th of August General Burnside went to Hickman's Bridge, and +the forward movement was begun. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p. 16. +Hickman's Bridge, as has already been mentioned, was at the terminus +of the Central Kentucky Railroad. There, on the bank of the Kentucky +River, Burnside made a fortified depot from which his wagon trains +should start as a base for the supply system of his army in East +Tennessee. It was called Camp Nelson in honor of the dead Kentucky +general.] At this date the Confederate forces in East Tennessee +under General Buckner numbered 14,733 "present for duty," with an +"aggregate present" of 2000 or 3000 more. Conscious that the column +of 12,000 which Halleck had directed him to start with was less than +the hostile forces in the Holston valley, Burnside reduced to the +utmost the garrisons and posts left behind him. Fortunately the +advanced division of the Ninth Corps returning from Vicksburg +reached Cincinnati on the 12th, and although the troops were wholly +unfit for active service by reason of malarial diseases contracted +on the "Yazoo," they could relieve some of the Kentucky garrisons, +and Burnside was thus enabled to increase his moving column to about +15,000 men. The earlier stages of the advance were slow, as the +columns were brought into position to take up their separate lines +of march and organize their supply trains for the road. On the 20th +Hanson's division was at Columbia, Hascall's was at Stanford, +Carter's cavalry division was at Crab Orchard, and independent +brigades of cavalry under Colonels Wolford and Graham were at +Somerset and Glasgow. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 548.] On that day +orders were issued for the continuous march. General Julius White +relieved Manson in command of the second division, and the two +infantry divisions were to move on Montgomery, Tenn., Hascall's by +way of Somerset, Chitwoods, and Huntsville, and White's by way of +Creelsboro, Albany, and Jamestown. Carter's cavalry, which covered +the extreme left flank, marched through Mt. Vernon and London to +Williamsburg, where it forded the Cumberland, thence over the +Jellico Mountains to Chitwoods where it became the advance of +Hascall's column to Montgomery. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xxx. pt. ii. p. 548.] At this point the columns were united and all +moved together through Emory Gap upon Kingston. Burnside accompanied +the cavalry in person, and sent two detachments, one to go by way of +Big Creek Gap to make a demonstration on Knoxville, and the other +through Winter's Gap for the same purpose of misleading the enemy as +to his line of principal movement. + +[Illustration: Map of East Tennessee.] + +Nothing could be more systematic and vigorous than the march of +Burnside's columns. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 569.] They made from +fifteen to twenty or twenty-five miles a day with the regularity of +clock-work, though the route in many parts of it was most difficult. +There were mountains to climb and narrow gorges to thread. Streams +were to be forded, roads were to be repaired and in places to be +made anew. On the 1st of September Burnside occupied Kingston, +having passed through Emory Gap into East Tennessee and communicated +with Crittenden's corps of Rosecrans's army. [Footnote: Itinerary, +Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. ii. pp. 576-578.] Here he learned +that upon the development of the joint plan of campaign of the +National commanders, Bragg had withdrawn Buckner's forces south of +the Tennessee at Loudon, there making them the right flank of his +army about Chattanooga. There was, however, one exception in +Buckner's order to withdraw. Brigadier-General John W. Frazer was +left at Cumberland Gap with 2500 men, and though Buckner had on +August 30th ordered him to destroy his material and retreat into +Virginia, joining the command of Major-General Samuel Jones, this +order was withdrawn on Frazer's representation of his ability to +hold the place and that he had rations for forty days. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. ii. p. 608.] There being therefore +no troops in East Tennessee to oppose its occupation, Burnside's +advance-guard entered Knoxville on the 3d of September. Part of the +Twenty-third Corps had been sent toward London on the 2d, and upon +their approach the enemy burned the great railroad bridge at that +place. A light-draught steamboat was building at Kingston, and this +was captured and preserved. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p. 333.] It +played a useful part subsequently in the transportation of supplies +when the wagon-trains were broken down and the troops were reduced +nearly to starvation. No sooner was Burnside in Knoxville than he +put portions of his army in motion for Cumberland Gap, sixty miles +northward. He had already put Colonel John F. DeCourcey (Sixteenth +Ohio Infantry) in command of new troops arriving in Kentucky, and +ordered him to advance against the fortifications of the gap on the +north side. General Shackelford was sent with his cavalry from +Knoxville, but when Burnside learned that DeCourcey and he were not +strong enough to take the place, he left Knoxville in person with +Colonel Samuel Gilbert's brigade of infantry and made the sixty-mile +march in fifty-two hours. Frazer had refused to surrender on the +summons of the subordinates; but when Burnside arrived and made the +demand in person, he despaired of holding out and on the 9th of +September surrendered the garrison. A considerable number got away +by scattering after the flag was hauled down, but 2,205 men laid +down their arms, and twelve pieces of cannon were also among the +spoils. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. pp. 548, 599, 604, 611.] +DeCourcey's troops were left to garrison the fortifications, and the +rest were sent to occupy the upper valley of the Holston toward the +Virginia line. + +On the 10th, and while still at Cumberland Gap, Burnside received a +dispatch from General Crittenden with the news that he was in +possession of Chattanooga, that Bragg had retreated toward Rome, +Ga., and that Rosecrans hoped with his centre and right to intercept +the enemy at Rome, which was sixty miles south of Chattanooga. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 523.] Everything +was therefore most promising on the south, and Burnside had only to +provide for driving back the Confederates under Jones, at the +Virginia line, a hundred and thirty miles northeast of Knoxville. It +becomes important here to estimate these distances rightly. +Knoxville is a hundred and eleven miles distant from Chattanooga by +the railroad, and more by the country roads. From Bristol on the +northeast to Chattanooga on the southwest is two hundred and +forty-two miles, which measures the length of that part of the +Holston and Tennessee valley known as East Tennessee. If Rosecrans +were at Rome, as General Crittenden's dispatch indicated, he was +more than a hundred and seventy miles distant from Knoxville, and +nearly three hundred miles from the region about Greeneville and the +Watauga River, whose crossing would be the natural frontier of the +upper valley, if Burnside should not be able to extend his +occupation quite to the Virginia line. It will be seen therefore +that the progress of the campaign had necessarily made Rosecrans's +and Burnside's lines of operation widely divergent, and they were +far beyond supporting distance of each other, since there was no +railway communication between them, and could not be for a long +time. Burnside captured some locomotives and cars at Knoxville; but +bridges had been destroyed to such an extent that these were of +little use to him, for the road could be operated but a short +distance in either direction and the amount of rolling stock was, at +most, very little. Complete success for Rosecrans, with the +reopening and repair of the whole line from Nashville through +Chattanooga, including the rebuilding of the great bridge at London, +were the essential conditions of further co-operation between the +two armies, and of the permanent existence of Burnside's in East +Tennessee. + +Efforts had been made to extend the lines of telegraph as Burnside +advanced, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. ii. p. 574; pt. +iii. p. 717.] but it took some time to do this, and even when the +wires were up there occurred a difficulty in making the electric +circuit, so that through all the critical part of the Chickamauga +campaign, Burnside had to communicate by means of so long a line of +couriers that three days was the actual time of transmittal of +dispatches between himself and Washington. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. +iii. p. 718.] The news from Rosecrans on the 10th was so reassuring +that Burnside's plain duty was to apply himself to clearing the +upper valley of the enemy, and then to further the great object of +his expedition by giving the loyal inhabitants the means of +self-government, and encouraging them to organize and arm themselves +with the weapons which his wagon trains were already bringing from +Kentucky. He had also to provide for his supplies, and must use the +good weather of the early autumn to the utmost, for the long roads +over the mountains would be practically impassable in winter. The +route from Kentucky by way of Cumberland Gap was the shortest, and, +on the whole, the easiest, and a great system of transportation by +trains under escort was put in operation. The camp at Cumberland Gap +could give this protection through the mountain district, and made a +convenient stopping-place in the weary way when teams broke down or +had to be replaced. Other roads were also used whilst they seemed to +be safe, and the energies and resources of the quartermaster's +department were strained to the utmost to bring forward arms, +ammunition for cannon and muskets, food and medical supplies, and +all the munitions of war. The roads were covered with herds of +beeves and swine, and feeding stations for these were established +and the forage had to be drawn to them, for nothing could be got, +along the greater part of the route. Burnside hoped that the railway +by Chattanooga would be put in repair and be open before winter +should shut in, but he very prudently acted on the principle of +making the most of his present means. It was well he did so, for +otherwise his little army would have been starved before the winter +was half over. + +From Cumberland Gap the courier line was sixty miles shorter than +from Knoxville, and the first dispatches of Burnside announcing his +capture of Frazer's troops reached Washington more quickly than +later ones. At noon of the 11th Mr. Lincoln answered it with hearty +congratulations and thanks. This was quickly followed by a +congratulatory message from Halleck accompanied by formal orders. +[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 555.] These last +only recapitulated the points in Burnside's further operations and +administration which were the simplest deductions from the +situation. Burnside was to hold the country eastward to the gaps of +the North Carolina mountains (the Great Smokies) and the valley of +the Holston up to the Virginia line. Halleck used the phrase "the +line of the Holston," which would be absurd, and was probably only a +slip of the pen. The exact strength of General Jones, the +Confederate commander in southwestern Virginia, was not known, but, +to preserve his preponderance, Burnside could not prudently send +less than a division of infantry and a couple of brigades of cavalry +to the vicinity of Rogersville or Greeneville and the railroad +crossing of the Watauga. This would be just about half his available +force. The other division was at first divided, one of the two +brigades being centrally placed at Knoxville, and the other at +Sevierville, thirty miles up the French Broad River, where it +covered the principal pass over the Smokies to Asheville, N. C. The +rest of his cavalry was at London and Kingston, where it covered the +north side of the Tennessee River and communicated with Rosecrans's +outposts above Chattanooga. + +Halleck further informed Burnside that the Secretary of War directed +him to raise all the volunteers he could in East Tennessee and to +select officers for them. If he had not already enough arms and +equipments he could order them by telegraph. As to Rosecrans, the +General-in-Chief stated that he would occupy Dalton or some other +point south of Chattanooga, closing the enemy's line from Atlanta, +and when this was done, the question would be settled whether the +whole would move eastward into Virginia or southward into Georgia +and Alabama. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. +555.] Burnside's present work being thus cut out for him, he set +himself about it with the cordial earnestness which marked his +character. He had suggested the propriety of his retiring as soon as +the surrender of Frazer had made his occupation of East Tennessee an +assured success, but he had not formally asked to be relieved. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 523.] His reasons for doing so dated back to +the Fredericksburg campaign, in part; for he had believed that his +alternative then presented to the government, that he should be +allowed to dismiss insubordinate generals or should himself resign, +ought to have been accepted. His case had some resemblance to Pope's +when the administration approved his conduct and his courage but +retired him and restored McClellan to command, in deference to the +supposed sentiment of the Army of the Potomac. Halleck's persistent +ignoring of the officially recorded causes of the delay in this +campaign, and his assumption that the Morgan raid was not an +incident of any importance in Burnside's responsibilities, had not +tended to diminish the latter's sense of discomfort in dealing with +army head-quarters. A debilitating illness gave some added force to +his other reasons, which, however, we who knew him well understood +to be the decisive ones with him. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xxx. pt. iii. p. 523; vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 757.] Mr. Lincoln's +sincere friendship and confidence he never doubted, but his nature +could not fully appreciate the President's policy of bending to +existing circumstances when current opinion was contrary to his own, +so that he might save his strength for more critical action at +another time. Burnside had now the _eclat_ of success in a campaign +which was very near the heart of the President and full of interest +for the Northern people. This, he felt, was a time when he could +retire with honor. Mr. Lincoln postponed action in the kindest and +most complimentary words, [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. +554. "Yours received. A thousand thanks for the late successes you +have given us. We cannot allow you to resign until things shall be a +little more settled in East Tennessee. If then, purely on your own +account you wish to resign, we will not further refuse you."] and +when he finally assigned another to command the department, did not +allow Burnside to resign, but laid out other work for him where his +patriotism and his courage could be of use to the country. + +The advent of the army into East Tennessee was, to its loyal people, +a resurrection from the grave. Their joy had an exultation which +seemed almost beyond the power of expression. Old men fell down +fainting and unconscious under the stress of their emotions as they +saw the flag at the head of the column and tried to cheer it! Women +wept with happiness as their husbands stepped out of the ranks of +the loyal Tennessee regiments when these came marching by the home. +[Footnote: Temple's East Tennessee and the Civil War, pp. 476, 478. +Humes's The Loyal Mountaineers, pp. 211, 218.] These men had +gathered in little recruiting camps on the mountain-sides and had +found their way to Kentucky, travelling by night and guided by the +pole-star, as the dark-skinned fugitives from bondage had used to +make their way to freedom. Their families had been marked as +traitors to the Confederacy, and had suffered sharpest privations +and cruel wrong on account of the absence of the husband and father, +the brother, or the son. Now it was all over, and a jubilee began in +those picturesque valleys in the mountains, which none can +understand who had not seen the former despair and the present +revulsion of happiness. The mountain coves and nooks far up toward +the Virginia line had been among the most intense in loyalty to the +nation. Andrew Johnson's home was at Greeneville, and he was now the +loyal provisional governor of Tennessee, soon to be nominated +Vice-President of the United States. General Carter, who had asked +to be transferred from the navy to organize the refugee loyalists +into regiments, was a native of the same region. It was at the +Watauga that the neighboring opponents of secession had given the +first example of daring self-sacrifice in burning the railway +bridge. For this they were hanged, and their memory was revered by +the loyal men about them, as was Nathan Hale's by our revolutionary +fathers. East Tennessee was full of such loyalty, but here were good +reasons why Burnside should push his advance at least to the +Watauga, and if possible to the Virginia line. His sympathies were +all alive for this people. The region, he telegraphed the President, +is as loyal as any State of the North. [Footnote: Official Records, +vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 523.] It threw off all disguise, it blossomed +with National flags, it took no counsel of prudence, it refused to +think of a return of Confederate soldiers and Confederate rule as a +possibility. It exulted in every form of defiance to the Richmond +government and what had been called treason to the Confederate +States. The people had a religious faith that God would not abandon +them or suffer them to be again abandoned. If such an incredible +wrong were to happen, they must either leave their country in mass, +or they must be ready to die. They could see no other alternative. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +BURNSIDE IN EAST TENNESSEE + + +Organizing and arming the loyalists--Burnside concentrates near +Greeneville--His general plan--Rumors of Confederate +reinforcements--Lack of accurate information--The Ninth Corps in +Kentucky--Its depletion by malarial disease--Death of General Welsh +from this cause--Preparing for further work--Situation on 16th +September--Dispatch from Halleck--Its apparent purpose--Necessity to +dispose of the enemy near Virginia border--Burnside personally at +the front--His great activity--Ignorance of Rosecrans's +peril--Impossibility of joining him by the 20th--Ruinous effects of +abandoning East Tennessee--Efforts to aid Rosecrans without such +abandonment--Enemy duped into burning Watauga bridge +themselves--Ninth Corps arriving--Willcox's division garrisons +Cumberland Gap--Reinforcements sent Rosecrans from all +quarters--Chattanooga made safe from attack--The supply +question--Meigs's description of the roads--Burnside halted near +Loudon--Halleck's misconception of the geography--The people +imploring the President not to remove the troops--How Longstreet got +away from Virginia--Burnside's alternate plans--Minor operations in +upper Holston valley--Wolford's affair on the lower Holston. + + +For a week after the capture of Cumberland Gap Burnside devoted +himself to the pleasing task of organizing the native loyalists into +a National Guard for home defence, issuing arms to them upon +condition that they should, as a local militia, respond to his call +and reinforce for temporary work his regular forces whenever the +need should arise. The detailed reports from the upper valley +reported the enemy under Jones at first to be 4000, and later to be +6000 strong. These estimates came through cool-headed and prudent +officers, and were based upon information brought in by loyal men +who had proven singularly accurate in their knowledge throughout the +campaign. Point was added to these reports by the experience of one +of his regiments. A detachment of 300 men of the One Hundredth Ohio +had been sent to support a cavalry reconnoissance near Limestone +Station on the railroad, whilst Burnside was investing Cumberland +Gap, and these had been surrounded and forced to surrender by the +enemy. This showed the presence of a considerable body of +Confederates in the upper valley, and that they were bold and +aggressive. It was the part of prudence to act upon this +information, and Burnside ordered all his infantry except one +brigade to march toward Greeneville. Two brigades of cavalry were +already there, and his purpose was to concentrate about 6000 +infantry, try to obtain a decisive engagement with the Confederates, +and to punish them so severely that the upper valley would be safe, +for a time at least, from invasion by them, so that he might be free +to withdraw most of his troops to co-operate with Rosecrans in a +Georgia campaign, if that alternative in Halleck's plans should be +adopted. He felt the importance of this the more, as the news +received from Virginia mentioned the movement of railway +rolling-stock to the East to bring, as rumor had it, Ewell's corps +from Lee to reinforce Jones. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. +pt. iii. pp. 661, 717.] The sending of the railway trains was a +fact, but the object, as it turned out, was to transport +Longstreet's corps to reinforce Bragg. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 731.] Of +this, however, Burnside had no intimation, and must act upon the +information which came to him. + +The Ninth Corps began to arrive at Cincinnati from Vicksburg on the +12th of August, half of it coming then, and the second division +arriving on the 20th. It was reduced to 6000 by casualties and by +sickness, and was in a pitiable condition. Being made up of troops +which had served in the East, the men were not acclimated to the +Mississippi valley, and in the bayous and marshes about Vicksburg +had suffered greatly. Malarial fevers ate out their vitality, and +even those who reported for duty dragged themselves about, the mere +shadows of what they had been. General Parke reported their arrival +and was then obliged to go upon sick-leave himself. General Welsh, +who had distinguished himself at Antietam, reported that his +division must recuperate for a few weeks before it could take the +field. He made a heroic effort to remain on duty, but died suddenly +on the 14th, and his loss was deeply felt by the corps. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 45.] Potter's division was +as badly off as Welsh's, and both were for a short time scattered at +healthful camps in the Kentucky hills. Each camp was, at first, a +hospital; but the change of climate and diet rapidly restored the +tone of the hardy soldiery. + +General Willcox, who commanded the Indiana district, belonged to the +corps, and asked to be returned to duty with it. He was allowed to +do so on the 11th of September, and the War Department sent with him +a new division of Indiana troops which had been recruited and +organized during the summer. Burnside had ordered recruits and new +regiments to rendezvous in Kentucky, and prepared to bring them as +well as the Ninth Corps forward as soon as the latter should be fit +to march. Every camp and station at the rear was full of busy +preparation during the last of August and the beginning of +September, and at the front the general himself was now +concentrating his little forces to strike a blow near the Virginia +line which would make him free to move afterward in any direction +the General-in-Chief should determine. + +On the 16th of September Hascall's division was echeloned along the +road from Morristown back toward Knoxville; White's division passed +Knoxville, moving up the valley to join Hascall. Hartsuff, who +commanded the Twenty-third Corps, had been disabled for field work +by trouble from his old wounds and was at Knoxville. Burnside was +also there, intending to go rapidly forward and overtake his +infantry as soon as they should approach Greeneville. In the night +the courier brought him a dispatch from Halleck, [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 617.] dated the 13th, directing a +rapid movement of all his forces in Kentucky toward East Tennessee, +where the whole Army of the Ohio was to be concentrated as soon as +possible. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 550.] He also directed +Burnside to move his infantry toward Chattanooga, giving as a reason +that Bragg might manoeuvre to turn Rosecrans's right, and in that +case Rosecrans would want to hand Chattanooga over to Burnside so +that he himself could move the whole Army of the Cumberland to meet +Bragg. + +There was nothing in this dispatch which intimated that Rosecrans +was in any danger, nor was Burnside informed that Bragg had been +reinforced by Longstreet's corps. On the other hand, his information +looked to Ewell's joining Jones against himself. The object Halleck +had in view seemed to be to get the Ninth Corps and other troops now +in Kentucky into East Tennessee as rapidly as possible, and then to +move the whole Army of the Ohio down toward Rosecrans. It certainly +could not be that he wished Cumberland Gap abandoned, and the trains +and detachments coming through it from Kentucky left to the tender +mercies of Jones and his Confederates, who could capture them at +their leisure and without a blow. It was equally incredible that the +government could wish to stop the organization of the loyalists just +as weapons were being distributed to them, and to abandon them to +the enemy when their recent open demonstrations in favor of the +Union would make their condition infinitely worse than if our troops +had never come to them. The rational interpretation, and the one +Burnside gave it, was that the alternative which had been stated in +the earlier dispatch of the 11th had been settled in favor of a +general movement southward instead of eastward, and that this made +it all the more imperative that he should disembarrass himself of +General Jones and establish a line on the upper Holston which a +small force could hold, whilst he with the rest of the two corps +should move southward as soon as the Ninth Corps could make the +march from Kentucky. This was exactly what General Schofield did in +the next spring when he was ordered to join Sherman with the Army of +the Ohio; and I do not hesitate to say that it was the only thing +which an intelligent military man on the ground and knowing the +topography would think of doing. To make a panicky abandonment of +the country and of the trains and detachments _en route_ to it, +would have been hardly less disgraceful than a surrender of the +whole. To Burnside's honor and credit it should be recorded that he +did not dream of doing it. He strained every nerve to hasten the +movement of his troops so as to get through with his little campaign +against Jones by the time the Ninth Corps could come from Kentucky, +and if he could accomplish it within that limit, he would have the +right to challenge the judgment of every competent critic, whether +he had not done that which became a good soldier and a good general. + +On the 17th of September the concentration of Burnside's infantry +toward Greeneville had so far progressed that he was preparing to go +personally to the front and lead them against the enemy. It is +noticeable in the whole campaign that he took this personal +leadership and activity on himself. In Hartsuff's condition of +health it would have been within the ordinary methods of action that +the next in rank should assume command of the Twenty-third Corps, +and that the department commander should remain at his headquarters +at Knoxville. But Hartsuff was able to attend to office business, +and so Burnside practically exchanged places with him, leaving his +subordinate with discretion to direct affairs in the department at +large, whilst he himself did the field work with his troops. He had +done it at Cumberland Gap when he received the surrender of Frazer; +he was doing it now, and he was to do it again, still later, when he +met Longstreet's advance at the crossing of the Holston River. + +In preparation for an absence of some days, he wrote, on the date +last mentioned, a long dispatch to General Halleck, in the nature of +a report of the state of affairs at that date. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 717.] He explained the failure of the +telegraph and the efforts that were making to get it in working +order. He gave the situation of the troops and stated his purpose to +attack the enemy. He noticed the report of Ewell's coming against +him and promised stout resistance, finding satisfaction in the +thought that it would give Meade the opportunity to strike a +decisive blow against Lee's reduced army. He reported the condition +of his trains and cattle droves on the road from Kentucky, and the +contact of his cavalry in the south part of the valley with +Rosecrans's outposts. The bridge over the Hiwassee at Calhoun, he +said, could be finished in ten days, and the steamboat at Kingston +would soon be completed and ready for use. All this promised better +means of supply at an early day, though at present "twenty-odd cars" +were all the means of moving men or supplies on the portion of the +railroad within his control. + +Later in the same day he received Halleck's dispatch of the 14th, +which said it was believed the enemy would concentrate to give +Rosecrans battle, and directed him to reinforce the latter with all +possible speed. [Footnote: Burnside's dispatches of the 17th in +answer to Halleck's seem to show that both those of 13th and 14th +were received by him after he had written the long one in the +morning. The internal evidence supports this idea, and his second +dispatch on the 17th acknowledges the receipt of Halleck's two +together. Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 718. In his +official report, however, Burnside says the dispatch of 13th was +received "on the night of the 16th" (Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. +ii. p. 550), and I have followed this statement, although his report +was not written till November, 1865, when lapse of time might easily +give rise to an error in so trifling a detail. The matter is of no +real consequence in the view I have taken of the situation.] Still, +no information was given of the movement of Longstreet to join +Bragg, and indeed it was only on the 15th that Halleck gave the news +to Rosecrans as reliable. [Footnote: Official Records, xxx. pt. ii. +p. 643.] Burnside must therefore regard the enemy concentrating in +Georgia as only the same which Rosecrans had been peremptorily +ordered to attack and which he had been supposed to be strong enough +to cope with. No time was stated at which the battle in Georgia +would probably occur. To hasten the work in hand, to put affairs at +the Virginia line in condition to be left as soon as might be, and +then to speed his forces toward Chattanooga to join in the Georgia +campaign, was plainly Burnside's duty. If it would be too rash for +Rosecrans to give battle without reinforcements, that officer was +competent to manoeuvre his army in retreat and take a defensible +position till his reinforcements could come. That course would be +certainly much wiser than to abandon East Tennessee to the enemy, +with all the consequences of such an act, quite as bad as the loss +of a battle. As matters turned out, even such instantaneous and +ruinous abandonment would not have helped Rosecrans. It was now the +afternoon of the 17th of September. The battle of Chickamauga was to +begin in the early morning of the 19th and to end disastrously on +the 20th. One full day for the marching of troops was all that +intervened, or two at most, if they were only to reach the field +upon the second day of the battle. And where were Burnside's men? +One division at Greeneville and above, more than two hundred miles +from Chattanooga, and the other near New Market and Morristown, a +hundred and fifty miles. Burnside's "twenty-odd cars" were confined +to a section of the railroad less than eighty miles long, and could +hardly carry the necessary baggage and ammunition even for that +fraction of the way. The troops must march, and could not by any +physical possibility make a quarter of the distance before +Rosecrans's fate at Chickamauga should be decided. The authorities +at Washington must bear the responsibility for complete ignorance of +these conditions, or, what would be equally bad, a forgetfulness of +them in a moment of panic. + +But Burnside did not know and could not guess that a battle was to +be fought so soon. All he could do was to prepare to carry out the +wishes of the War Department as speedily as could be, without the +total ruin of East Tennessee and all he had accomplished. Such ruin +might come by the fate of war if he were driven out by superior +force, but he would have been rightly condemned if it had come by +his precipitate abandonment of the country. He did more to carry out +Halleck's wish than was quite prudent. He stopped the troops which +had not yet reached Greeneville and ordered a countermarch. He +hastened up the country to make the attack upon the Confederates +with the force he already had in their presence, and then to bring +the infantry back at once, hoping the cavalry could hold in check a +defeated enemy. + +The necessity of delivering a blow at General Jones was afterwards +criticised by Halleck, but it was in accordance with the sound rules +of conducting war. To have called back his troops without a fight +would have been to give the enemy double courage by his retreat, and +his brigades would have been chased by the exulting foe. They would +either have been forced to halt and fight their pursuers under every +disadvantage of loss of prestige and of the initiative, or have made +a precipitate flight which would have gone far to ruin the whole +command as well as the Tennessee people they had just liberated. It +is true that this involved an advance from Greeneville upon +Jonesboro, but the cavalry were already in contact with the enemy +near there, and this was the only successful mode of accomplishing +his purpose. [Footnote: Messrs. Nicolay and Hay, in their "Life of +Lincoln," give the draft of a letter to Burnside which Mr. Lincoln +wrote but did not send, in which he expressed his surprise that +Burnside should be moving toward Virginia when they at Washington +were so anxious to have him in Georgia. Mr. Lincoln's judgments of +military affairs were excellent when he was fully possessed of the +facts; and I have elaborated somewhat my statement of the +circumstances in East Tennessee, and of the distances, etc., to show +how little they were known or understood in Washington. Nicolay and +Hay's Lincoln, vol. viii. p. 166.] + +Making use of the portion of the railroad which could be operated, +Burnside reached Greeneville on the 18th and rode rapidly to +Jonesboro. On the 19th a brigade of cavalry under Colonel Foster +attacked the enemy at Bristol, defeated them, tore up the railroad, +and destroyed the bridges two miles above the town. [Footnote: +Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. ii. p. 592.] Foster then returned to +Blountsville, and marched on the next day to Hall's Ford on the +Watauga, where, after a skirmishing fight lasting several hours, he +again dislodged the enemy, capturing about fifty prisoners and a +piece of artillery with slight loss to himself. These were flanking +movements designed to distract the attention of the enemy whilst +Burnside concentrated most of his force in front of their principal +position at Carter's Station, where the most important of the +railway bridges in that region crosses the Watauga. To impress his +opponent with the belief that he meant to make an extended campaign, +Burnside, on the 22d, notified Jones to remove the non-combatants +from the villages of the upper valley. Foster's brigade of cavalry +was again sent to demonstrate on the rear, whilst Burnside +threatened in front with the infantry. The enemy now evacuated the +position and retreated, first burning the bridge. This was what +Burnside desired, and the means of resuming railway communication to +support an advance toward Knoxville being taken from the +Confederates for a considerable time, he was now able to put all his +infantry except two regiments in march for Knoxville. A brigade of +cavalry with this small infantry support at Bull's Gap was entrusted +with the protection of this region, and by the help of the home +guards of loyal men, was able to hold it during the operations of +the next fortnight. Burnside's purpose had been, if he had not been +interrupted, to have pressed the Confederates closely with a +sufficient force in front to compel a retreat, whilst he intercepted +them with the remainder of his army, moving by a shorter line from +Blountsville. He made, however, the best of the situation, and +having driven the enemy over the State line and disengaged his own +troops, he was free to concentrate the greater part of them for +operations at the other end of the valley. + +The Ninth Corps was now beginning to arrive, and was ordered to +rendezvous first at Knoxville. Willcox had assembled his division of +new troops, mostly Indianans, and marched with them to Cumberland +Gap, where he relieved the garrison of that post, and was himself +entrusted by Burnside with the command of that portion of the +department, covering the upper valleys of the Clinch and Holston as +well as the lines of communication with Cincinnati and the Ohio +River. + +In the days immediately preceding the battle of Chickamauga, Halleck +had urged reinforcements forward toward Rosecrans from all parts of +the West. Pope in Minnesota, Schofield in Missouri, Hurlbut at +Memphis, and Sherman at Vicksburg had all been called upon for help, +and all had put bodies of troops in motion, though the distances +were great and the effect was a little too much like the proverbial +one of locking the stable door after the horse had been stolen. As +there was no telegraphic communication with Burnside, the +General-in-Chief gave orders through the adjutant-general's office +in Cincinnati directly to the Ninth Corps and to the detachments of +the Twenty-third Corps remaining or assembling in Kentucky, to march +at once into East Tennessee. An advisory supervision of the +department offices in Cincinnati had been left with me, and Captain +Anderson, the assistant adjutant-general, issued orders in General +Burnside's name after consultation with me. General Parke cut short +his sick-leave, and, though far from strong, assumed command of the +Ninth Corps and began the march for Cumberland Gap. The guards for +the railways and necessary posts were reduced to the lowest limits +of safety, and every available regiment was hurried to the front. + +By the end of September Burnside's forces were pretty well +concentrated between Knoxville and Loudon, the crossing of the +Holston River. It had now been learned that Bragg's army had +suffered even more than Rosecrans's in the battle of Chickamauga, +and notwithstanding the rout of the right wing of the Cumberland +Army, the stubborn fighting of the centre and left wing under Thomas +had made the enemy willing to admit that they had not won a decisive +victory. Our army was within its lines at Chattanooga, and these had +been so strengthened that General Meigs, who had been sent out in +haste as a special envoy of the War Department, reported to Mr. +Stanton on the 27th of September that the position was very strong, +being practically secure against an assault, and that the army was +hearty, cheerful, and confident. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. +xxx. pt. iii. p. 890.] Meigs was himself a distinguished officer of +the Engineer Corps as well as quartermaster-general, and the weight +of his opinion at once restored confidence in Washington. He saw at +a glance that the only perilous contingency was the danger of +starvation, for the wagon roads over the mountains on the north side +of the Tennessee were most difficult at best, and soon likely to +become impassable. The army was safe from the enemy till it chose to +resume the offensive, provided it could be fed. He concluded his +dispatch by saying, "Of the rugged nature of this region I had no +conception when I left Washington. I never travelled on such roads +before." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 890.] It +was only too evident that Halleck shared this ignorance, and had +added to it a neglect to estimate the distances over these mountains +and through these valleys, and the relations of the points, he +directed Burnside to hold, with the immediate theatre of Rosecrans's +operations. + +On the same date as Meigs's report, Burnside was also sending a full +statement of his situation and an explanation of his conduct. +[Footnote: _Id_., p. 904.] The telegraphic communication was opened +just as he finished his dispatch, and for the first time he had the +means of rapid intercourse with army headquarters. He patiently +explained the misconceptions and cross purposes of the preceding +fortnight, and showed how impossible and how ruinous would have been +any other action than that which he took. Halleck had said that it +would now be necessary to move the Army of the Ohio along the north +side of the Tennessee till it should be opposite Chattanooga and +reinforce Rosecrans in that way. Burnside pointed out that this +would open the heart of East Tennessee to Bragg's cavalry or +detachments from his army. He offered to take the bolder course of +moving down the south side of the rivers, covering Knoxville and the +valley as he advanced. + +Mr. Lincoln replied by authorizing Burnside to hold his present +positions, sending Rosecrans, in his own way, what help he could +spare. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 905.] Halleck's answer was an amazing +proof that he had never comprehended the campaign. He reiterated +that Burnside's orders, before leaving Kentucky and continuously +since, had been "to connect your right with General Rosecrans's +left, so that if the enemy concentrated on one, the other would be +able to assist." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 906.] If this meant anything, +it meant that Burnside was to keep within a day's march of +Rosecrans; for two days was more than enough to fight out a battle +like Chickamauga. Yet he and everybody else knew that Burnside's +supply route from Kentucky was through Cumberland Gap, and he had +warmly applauded when Burnside turned that position, and by +investing it in front and rear, had forced Frazer to surrender. He +had explicitly directed Burnside to occupy and hold the upper +Holston valley nearly or quite to the Virginia line, and one gets +weary of repeating that between these places and Chattanooga was a +breadth of two hundred miles of the kind of country Meigs had +described and more than ten days of hard marching. His present +orders are equally blind. Burnside is directed to reinforce +Rosecrans with "all your available force," yet "East Tennessee must +be held at all hazards, if possible." To "hold at all hazards" might +be understood, but what is the effect of the phrase "if possible"? +It must amount in substance to authority to do exactly what Burnside +was doing,--to hold East Tennessee with as small means as he thought +practicable, and to reinforce Rosecrans with what he could spare. + +It was, on the whole, fortunate for the country that Burnside was +not in telegraphic communication with Washington sooner. Had he been +actually compelled to abandon East Tennessee on the 13th or 14th of +September, incalculable mischief would have followed. The Ninth +Corps was _en route_ for Cumberland Gap, and it with all the trains +and droves on the road must either have turned back or pushed on +blindly with no probability of effecting a junction with the +Twenty-third Corps. Even as it was, the terror in East Tennessee, +when it became known that they were likely to be abandoned, was +something fearful. Public and private men united in passionate +protests, and the common people stood aghast. Two of the most +prominent citizens only expressed the universal feeling when, in a +dispatch to Mr. Lincoln, they used such language as this,-- + +"In the name of Christianity and humanity, in the name of God and +liberty, for the sake of their wives and children and everything +they hold sacred and dear on earth, the loyal people of Tennessee +appeal to you and implore you not to abandon them again to the +merciless dominion of the rebels, by the withdrawal of the Union +forces from East Tennessee." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. +pt. iv. p. 401. ] + +With the evidence of the ability of the Army of the Cumberland to +hold its position at Chattanooga, there came a breathing spell and a +quick end of the panic. It was seen that there was time to get all +desirable reinforcements to Rosecrans from the West, and Hooker was +sent with two corps from the East, open lines of well-managed +railways making this a quicker assistance than could be given by +even a few days' marches over country roads. The culmination of the +peril had been caused by the inactivity of the Army of the Potomac, +which had permitted the transfer of Longstreet across four States; +and now Hooker was sent from that army by a still longer route +through the West to the vicinity of Bridgeport, thirty miles by rail +below Chattanooga on the Tennessee River, but nearer fifty by the +circuitous mountain roads actually used. It became evident also that +Burnside's army could only subsist by making the most of its own +lines of supply through Kentucky. To add its trains to those which +were toiling over the mountains between Chattanooga and Bridgeport, +would risk the starvation of the whole. Until a better line could be +opened, Burnside was allowed to concentrate most of his forces in +the vicinity of Loudon, where he guarded the whole valley. His +cavalry connected with Rosecrans on the north side of the Tennessee, +and also held the line of the Hiwassee on the left. + +On the last day of September Burnside reported the concentration of +his forces and submitted three alternate plans of assisting +Rosecrans: [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 954.] +First, to abandon East Tennessee and move all his forces by the +north bank of the Tennessee River to Chattanooga. This was what +Halleck had seemed to propose. Second, to cross the Holston and +march directly against Bragg's right flank whilst Rosecrans should +attack in front. This was essentially what Grant afterward did, +putting Sherman in a position similar to that which Burnside would +have taken. Third, to march with 7000 infantry and 5000 cavalry +entirely around Bragg by the east, and strike his line of +communications at Dalton or thereabouts. This had a strong +resemblance to the strategy of Sherman next spring, when he forced +Johnston out of Dalton by sending McPherson to his rear at Resaca. +Burnside added to it the plan of a march to the sea, proposing that +if Bragg pursued him, he should march down the railroad to Atlanta, +destroying it as thoroughly as possible, and then make his way to +the coast, living on the country. + +The last of these plans was that which Burnside preferred and +offered to put into immediate execution. Neither of them was likely +to succeed at that moment, for Rosecrans was so far demoralized by +the effects of his late battle that he was in no condition to carry +out any aggressive campaign with decisive energy. He declared in +favor of the first [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iv. p. 72.] (for they were +communicated to him as well as to Halleck), and this only meant that +he wanted his army at Chattanooga reinforced by any and every means, +though he could not supply them, and the fortifications were already +so strong that General Meigs reported that 10,000 men could very +soon hold them against all Bragg's army. The plans, however, give us +interesting light on Burnside's character and abilities, and show +that he was both fertile in resources and disposed to adopt the +boldest action. Halleck in reply said that distant expeditions into +Georgia were not now contemplated, nor was it now necessary to join +Rosecrans at Chattanooga. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. +iv. p. 25.] It was sufficient for Burnside to be in position to go +to Rosecrans's assistance if he should require it. He was, however, +to "hold some point near the upper end of the valley," which kept +alive the constant occasion for misunderstanding, since it implied +the protection and occupation of all East Tennessee, and the general +there in command was the only one who could judge what was necessary +to secure the object. The necessity for activity soon showed itself. +About the 6th of October General Jones was reported to be showing a +disposition to be aggressive, and Burnside determined to strike a +blow at him again and with more force than that which had been +interrupted a fortnight before. Willcox was ordered from Cumberland +Gap to Morristown with his four new Indiana regiments; the Ninth +Corps (having now only about 5000 men present for duty) was moved up +the valley also, whilst the Twenty-third Corps, with two brigades of +cavalry, was left in its positions near Loudon. The rest of the +cavalry, under Shackelford, accompanied the movement up the valley +of which Burnside took command in person. Leaving the cavalry post +at Bull's Gap and advancing with his little army, he found the enemy +strongly posted about midway between the Gap and Greeneville. +Engaging them and trying to hold them by a skirmishing fight, he +sent Foster's cavalry brigade to close the passage behind them. +Foster found the roads too rough to enable him to reach the desired +position in time, and the enemy retreating in the night escaped. The +pursuit was pushed beyond the Watauga River, and a more thorough +destruction was made of the railroad to and beyond the Virginia +line. Considerable loss had been inflicted on the enemy and 150 +prisoners had been captured, but no decisive engagement had been +brought about, Jones being wary and conscious of inferiority of +force. Willcox was left at Greeneville with part of the cavalry, +while Burnside brought back the Ninth Corps to Knoxville. The +activity was good for the troops and was successful in curbing the +enemy's enterprise, besides encouraging the loyal inhabitants. There +was now a lull in affairs till November, broken only by a mishap to +Colonel Wolford's brigade of cavalry on the south of the Holston, +where he was watching the enemy's advanced posts in the direction of +Athens and Cleveland. Burnside had sent a flag of truce through the +lines on the 19th of October, and the enemy taking advantage of it, +delivered an unexpected blow upon Wolford, capturing 300 or 400 of +his men and a battery of mountain howitzers, together with a wagon +train which was several miles from camp. [Footnote: Official +Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 273.] Wolford heard that his train was +attacked and sent two regiments to protect it. These were surrounded +by a superior force, and Wolford then brought up the rest of his +command, only 700 strong, and made a bold effort to rescue his +comrades. This he did, with the loss of the prisoners mentioned and +the howitzers, which were taken after they had fired their last +cartridge. The wagons were burned, but the men bravely cut their way +out. Approaching Loudon, they were met by General Julius White with +infantry reinforcements. The tables were now turned on the +Confederates, who fled over the Hiwassee again, losing in their turn +about 100 prisoners. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 5, 6.] + + + +APPENDIX A + +_List of Letters and Dispatches relating to the campaign in the +Great Kanawha valley, 1861, which are not found in the publication +of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate armies (see +footnote, chapter iv. p. 60)._ + +Letters and Dispatches of General McClellan to General J. D. Cox, of +dates July 6th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 20th, August 1st. + +Letters and Dispatches of General J. D. Cox to General McClellan, of +dates July 4th, 6th, 10th, 17th. + +Letters and Dispatches of General Rosecrans to General Cox of dates +July 26th, 29th, 31st, four of August 5th, one of August 6th, 8th, +two of 13th, three of 16th, one of 17th, 18th, two of 20th, one each +of 26th, 27th, 29th, 30th. + +Letters and Dispatches of General Cox to General Rosecrans, of dates +August 6th, 7th, 10th, 19th, 28th, two each of 30th and 31st, one of +September 2d (enclosing Colonel Tyler's report of engagement at +Cross Lanes), 3d, 9th, 22d, October 5th (order of withdrawal from +Sewell Mountain), two of October 7th, one each of 8th, 9th, three of +10th, one of 16th. + +There are also missing numerous ones from and to Colonel Tyler, +Colonel W. Sooy Smith, Colonel J. V. Guthrie, and other officers. + + + +APPENDIX B + +_Letters of Generals R. B. Hayes and George Crook as to the +discipline and conduct of the Kanawha Division in the campaign of +September, 1862. The death of President Hayes has removed any +objections to the publication of his letter._ + +FREMONT, OHIO, 8th September, 1882. + +MY DEAR GENERAL,--Your note of the 4th instant came during a brief +absence from home. I appreciate your kindness and your friendly +suggestions. After sleeping on it, I am not inclined to depart from +my custom in dealing with attacks upon me.... Besides, to give a +correct relation of the Reno altercation would be to disparage an +officer who died in battle a few days after the affair, and who +cannot now give his side of the controversy. + +One of the brigades of the division was commanded by General Crook +and another by General Scammon, both regular army officers +conspicuous for attention to strictness of discipline. General +Scammon was at the time still colonel of the Twenty-third. The +regiment on that march repeatedly reported, as I was glad to do, not +a single absentee on the first roll-call immediately after the halt. + +The altercation, in its general facts, was as you recall it. But the +occasion of it was this. The regiment halted to bivouac in a +stubble-field. The men got bundles of straw, or possibly of wheat +unthreshed, from a stack in the field to lie upon. General Reno saw +it. I was temporarily absent. The general, as you say, "in a rough +way" accosted the men, and as I returned, I heard his language and +retorted in behalf of my men, not in my own case at all, for he had +said nothing to me. Hence the row between us. I was told, while I +was lying wounded, [Footnote: During the battle of South +Mountain.--J. D. C.] that General Reno was greatly pleased by our +vigorous attack, and that he paid us a high compliment, expressing +gratification that our difficulty had gone no further than it did. + +Now excuse my suggestion. Let officers tell the story whose names +are not called in question in the note referred to--say General +Scammon, General Crook, and yourself. I am grateful for your +attention to this misrepresentation, and hope you will not differ +widely from me as to the correctness of the course I take. +Sincerely, +(Signed) R. B. HAYES. + + +HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF ARIZONA, WHIPPLE BARRACKS, +PRESCOTT, A. T., November 27, 1882. + + +MY DEAR GENERAL,--Referring to your letter of the 3d instant asking +replies to certain queries with reference to the conduct of the +Kanawha Division during the Antietam campaign, I can only reply +generally. The twenty years which have elapsed make my memory +indistinct, and I can now recall only prominent features or +particular incidents in which I was especially interested. I +remember distinctly, however, that the Kanawha Division compared +favorably in discipline and general good conduct with the best +troops of the army. In my own brigade there was no straggling, or, +if any, so little that it did not come to my notice. I am quite sure +there was no pillaging in my brigade. My men probably took fence +rails for their bivouac fires, and straw and hay for their beds, but +to the best of my belief there was nothing done that could be called +pillaging. + +I heard, at the time, something with reference to a controversy +between Generals Reno and Hayes, but if ever I knew what it was +about, I have forgotten it. In this matter it seems as if the +statement of General Hayes should be conclusive. + +I am very glad that you have interested yourself in refuting the +numberless charges which the writers of personal histories have +found it convenient to lay against the Kanawha Division, and which +in almost every instance are base slanders. The _personnel_ of the +division should in itself be a sufficient refutation. The regiments +were mainly of '61 men from country districts who enlisted from +motives of patriotism, and as a rule were never disgraced by conduct +which many of the regiments enlisted in the large cities of the East +were notorious for throughout the army. + +The Kanawha Division did not belong to the Army of the Potomac, and +it was therefore an easy matter to shift responsibility from its own +organization by throwing it on the shoulders of the troops serving +with it. The subsequent reputation of this division is in itself a +sufficient answer, and I challenge history to show an organization +which was more distinguished for all soldierly qualities than the +one you had the honor to command during the campaign, until the +death of Reno gave you the Ninth Corps. + +You are at liberty to use this letter in any way you deem best, and +I am only sorry that I can do no more to assist you. + +Very Sincerely, Your friend, +GEORGE CROOK, Brig. Gen'l. + + +To General J. D. Cox. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Military Reminiscences of the Civil +War V1, by Jacob Dolson Cox + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MILITARY REMINISCENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR V1 *** + +***** This file should be named 6961.txt or 6961.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/6/9/6/6961/ + +Produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. This file was produced from images generously +made available by the CWRU Preservation Department Digital Library. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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