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THE 

WILLIAM  R.  PERKINS 

LIBRARY 

OF 
DUKE  UNIVERSITY' 


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BY 


EDWARD     A.     POLLARD 


AITHOR    OF     "  DLAfK    DIAMONDS,        KTO 


"  Diinite!  et  vosmet  rebus  secundii  seriate."— ^JRjiElX). 


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WEST  &  JOHNSTON,  14:»  MAIN  STREET, 


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Cibrary  of  the 

Couisiaua  State  University, 

A.  anb  211.  College. 


ACCESSION  NO. 


THE 


.Second  ^Icar  of  the  ilf  at 


BY 


EDWAIU)    A.    POLLARD: 

AUTHOR    or     "nt.AOK    DIAMONDS,"    K.TC. 


Ihtrat''.    .-7  vointrt  rehiia  ieciindif  fervaU." — .'F/>>;n>. 


i:  I  C  H  I\I  O  N  I>  : 
WK8T   A   .TOHSSTON,   1*5   MAIN   STUKEl 

1  s  «  s . 


Entered  accordiiifr  to  Act  of  Congrest?,  in  ^he  year  18GS, 

By  west  a  JOHNSTON, 

In  the  Klerk's  Office  of  tbe  District  Court  of  the  Confederate ^tatts  lor  tte 
Eastern  District  of  Virginia. 


CHAS.    H.    Wy.VSE,    FBINTEK. 


PREFACE. 


In  presenting  a  second  volume  of  a  popular  History  of  the 
Southern  War  for  Independence,  the  author  gratefully  acknow- 
ledges the  kind  reception  b}'-  the  Southern  public  of  his  first 
volume,  the  generous  notices  of  the  independent  Press  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  the  encouragement  of  friends.  He  has  no 
disposition  to  entreat  criticism  or  importune  its  charities. 
But  he  would  be  incapable  of  gratitude,  if  he  was  not  sensible 
of  the  marks  of  public  generosity  which  have  been  given 
to  a  work  which  made  no  pretensions  to  severe  or  legiti- 
mate history  and  ventured  upon  no  solicitations  of  literary 
success. 

He  can  afford  no  better  vindication  of  the  character  and 
objects  of  his  work  than  by  quoting  here  what  was  prefixed 
to  one  of  the  editions  of  his  first  volume : 

"Every  candid  mind  must  be  sensible  of  the  futility  of 
attempting  a  high  order  of  historical  composition  in  the  treat- 
ment  of  recent  and  incomplete  events ;  but  it  docs  not  follow 
that  the  cotemporary  annal,  the  popular  narrative  and  other 
inferiour  degrees  of  history  can  have  no  value  and  interest, 
because  they  cannot  compete  in  accuracy  with  the  future 
retrospect  of  events.  The  vulgar  notion  of  history  is  that  it 
is  a  record  intended  for  posterity.  The  author  contends  that 
history  has  an  office  to  perform  in  the  present,  and  ■  that  one 
"of  the  greatest  values  of  cotemporary  annals  is  to  vindi- 
1 


iv  PREFACE. 

catc  in  good  time  to  the  world  the  fame  and  reputation  of 
nations." 

"  With  this  object  constantly  in  view,  the  author  has  com- 
posed this  work.  He  will  accomplish  his  object,  and  be 
rewarded  with  a  complete  satisfaction,  if  his  unpretending 
book  shall  have  the  effect  of  promoting  more  extensive  inqui- 
ries ;  enlightening  the  present ;  vindicating  the  principles  of  a 
great  contest  to  the  cotemporary  world ;  and  putting  before 
the  living  generation  in  a  convenient  form  of  literature,  and 
a{  an  early  and  opportune  time,  the  name  and  deeds  of  our 
people." 

Eichmond,  July,  1863. 


1h 
f 


CONTENTS. 

•♦ 

CHAPTER  .1. 

The  New  Orleans  Disaster. ..Its  Consequences  and  Effects. ..Dispatches  of 
the  European  Commissioners  ..Butler  "the  Beast". ..Public  Opinion  in  Eu- 
rope...The  Atrocities  of  tlie  Massachusetts  Tjrant... Execution  of  Mumford... 
Lesson  of  New  Orleans. ..Spirit  of  Resistance  in  the  South. ..Change  in  the 
Fortunes  of  the  Confederacy. ..Two  Leading  Causes  for  it. ..The  Richmond 
"Examiner". ..The  Conscription  Law. ..Governor  Brown  of  Georgia. ..Re-or- 
ganization of  the  Army...  Abandonment  of  our  Frontier  Defences. ..The  Policy 
of  Concentration. ..Governor  Rector's  Appeal... First  Movements  of  the  Sum- 
mer Campaign  in  Virginia. ..The  Retreat  from  Yorktown... Evacuation  of  Nor- 
folk...Destruction  of  the  "Virginia". ..Commodore  Tatuall's  Report. ..Secre- 
tary Mallory's  Visit  to  Norfolk. ..The  Engagement  of  Williamsburg. ..The 
Affair  of  Barhamsville...McClellan's  Investment  of  the  Lines  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy... Alarm  in  Richmond. ..The  Water  Avenue  of  the  James. ..The  Panic 
in  Official  Circles. ..Consternation  in  the  President's  House. ..Correspondence 
between  President  Davis  and  the  Legislature  of  Virginia. ..Noble  Resolutions 
of  the  Legislature. ..Response  of  the  Citizens  of  Richmond. ..The  Bombard- 
ment of  Drewry's  Bluff... The  Mass  Meeting  at  the  City  Hall... Renewal  of 
Public  Confidence. ..The  Occasions  of  This. ..Jackson's  C.\mpaiqn  in  the 
Valley. ..The  Engagement  of  McDowell. ..The  Surprise  at  Front  Royal... 
Banks'  Retreat  Down  the  Valley. ..The  Engagements  of  Port  Republic. ..Re- 
sults of  the  Campaign. ..Death  of  Turner  Ashby... Sufferings  of  the  People  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah... Memoir  of  Turner  Asiiby. 

Page  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Situation  of  Richmond. ..Its  Strategic  Importance. ..What  the  Yankees 
Had  Done  to  Secure  Piichmond...THE  Battle  of  Seven  Pines. ..Miscarriage 
of  Gen.  Johnston's  Plans. ..The  Battles  of  the  Chickahominy... Storming 
of  the  Enemy's  Entrenchments... McClellan  Driven  from  his  Northern  Line  of 
Defences. ..The  Situation  on  the  Other  Side  of  the  Chickahominy...Magruder'8 
Comment. ..The  Affair  of  Savage  Station....The  Battle  of  Frazi£r's  Farm.. .A 
Terrible  Crisis... Battle  of  Malvern  Hill. ..The  Enemy  in  Communication  with 
his  Gunboats....The  Failure  to  Cut  him  off....Glory  and  Fruits  of  Our  Victory.... 
Misrepresentations  of  the  Yankees. ..Safety  of  Richmond. ..The  War  in  Other 
Parts  of  the  Confederacy. ..The  Engagement  of  Seces8ionville...The  Campaiga 


tI  contents. 

of  the  Wc«t...Thc  Eyacuation  of  Corinth. ..More  Yankee  Falsehoods. ..Capture 
of  Memphis. ..The  Trize  of  the  Mis.'-issippi... Statistics  of  its  Navigation. ..Siege 
of  Vickeburg...  Heroism  of  "the  Queen  City  "...Morgan's  RaiJ  into  Ken- 
tucky...The  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Frontier. ..Prospects  in  the  West. ..Plan 
of  Campaign  there. Page  57 

CHAPTER,  III. 

Effect  of  McClcllan's  Defeat  in  the  North. ..Call  for  more  Troops. ..Why  the 
Ni.rih  was  not  Easily  Dispirited. ..The  War  as  a  Money  Job....A'o/<f;  General 
WaHbington'8  Opinion  of  New  England... The  Yankee  Finances. ..Exasperation 
of  Ho8tililiea^..Thc  Yankee  Idea  of  a  ♦' Vigourous  Prosecution  of  the  War"... 
A>cendnncy  of  the  Radicals. ..War  Measures  at  Washington. ..Anti-Slayery 
Af'pccta  of  the  War. ..Brutality  of  the  Yankees. ..The  Insensibility  of  Europe... 
Yankee  Chaplains  in  Virginia. ..Seizures  of  Private  Property. ..Pope's  Orders 
in  Virginia. ..Steinwehr's  Order  Rcs-pecting  Hostages. ..The  Character  and  Ser- 
Tices  of  General  John  Pope. ..The  "Arm}'  of  Virginia". ..Irruption  of  the 
Northern  Spoilsmen. ..The  Yankee  Trade  in  Counterfeit  Confederate  Notes... 
Pope's  "Chasing  the  Rebel  Hordes"'... Movement  Against  Pope  by  "Stone- 
wall" Jack!50ii...BATTi.K  OF  Cei>au  Mountain. ..McClellan  Recalled  from  the 
Peninsula. ..The  Third  Grand  Army  of  the  North. ..Jackson's  Surprise  of  tho 
Enemy  at  Manassas.. .A  Rapid  and  Masterly  Movement. ..Change  of  the  Situ- 
ation...Attack  by  the  Enemy  upon  Rristow  Station  and  at  Manassas  Junc- 
tion... Marshalling  of  the  Hosts. ..Longstreet's  Passage  of  Thoroughfare  Gap... 
The  Plans  of  General  Lee. ..Spirit  of  our  Troops. ..Their  Painful  Marches... 
TnK  Skcomu  Battle  of  Manassas. ..A  Terrible  Bayonet  Charge — Rout  of  the 
Enemy... A  Hideous  Battle-Feld... General  Lee  and  the  Summer  Campaign  of 
Virginia. ..Jackson's  Share  in  it. ..Extent  of  the  Great  Victory  of  Manassas... 
Excitement  in  Washington. ..The  Yankee  Army  Falls  Back  Upon  Alexandria 
and  Washington. ..Review  of  the  Situation... Rapid  Change  in  our  Military 
Fortunes. ..What  the  South  had  Accomplished. ..Comparison  of  Material 
Strengtli  Between  North  and  South. ..Humiliating  Result  to  the  Warlike  Rep- 
uution  of  the  North. Pagb  83 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Rescue  of  Virginia  from  the  Invader. ..Gen.  Loring's  Campaign  in  the 
Kanawha  Valley... A  Novel  Theatre  of  the  War. ..Gen.  Lee's  Passage  of  the 
Potomac... His  Plans. ..Disposition  of  our  Forces. ..McClcllan  again  at  tho 
Head  of  the  Yankee  Army. ..The  Battle  of  Boon8horo'...The  Capture  of 
Haui'eu'b  Fkkuv — Its  Fruits. ..The  Battle  of  Suaki'siuuc... Great  Supe- 
riority of  the  Enemy's  Numbers. ..Fury  of  the  Battle. ..Tho  Bridge  of  Antie- 
tam...A  Drawn  Battle. ..Spectacles  of  Carnage. ..The  Unburied  Dead. ..General 
Lee  Retires  into  Virginia. ..McClellan's  Pretence  of  Victory. ..The  Affair  of 
Sbepherdrttowg... Charges  against  McClellan...Hi8  Disgrace. ..Review  of  the 
Maryland  Campaign — Misrepresentations  of  Gen.  Lee's  Objects... His  Re- 
treat...('ommcnt  of  tho  New  York  "Tribune". ..The  Cold  Reception  of  the 
Confederates  in  Maryland. ..Excuses  for  the  Timidity  of  the  Mary  landers... 
What  was  Accomplished  by  the  Summer  Campaign,  of  18C2...The  Outburst 


CONTENTS.  VU 

of  Applause  in  Europe. ..Tribute  from  the  London  "Times" — Public  Opinion 
in  England. ..Distinction  between  the  People  and  the  Government — The  Mask 
of  England. ..Our  Foreign  Relations  in  the  War.. .A  Historical  Parallel  of 
Secession. ..Two  Remarks  on  the  "Neutrality"  of  Europe. ..The  Yankee 
Blockade  and  the  Treaty  of  Paris — The  Confederate  Privateers — Temper  of 
the  South. ..Fruits  of  the  Blockade Page  128 

CHAPTER  V. 

Movements  in  the  West. ..The  Splendid  Programme  of  the  Yankees. ..Ken- 
tucky the  Critical  Point. ..Gen.  Kirby  Smith's  Advance  into  Kentucky. ..The 
Battle  of  Richmond. ..Reception  of  the  Confederates  in  Lexington. ..Expec- 
tation of  an  Attack  on  Cincinnati. ..Gen.  Bragg's  Plans. ..Smith's  Movement 
to  Bragg's  Lines. ..Escape  of  the  Yankee  Forces  from  Cumberland  Gap. ..Af- 
fair of  JIunfordsville...Gen.  Bragg  between  the  Enemy  and  the  Ohio. ..An 
Opportunity  for  a  Decisive  Blow...Bueirs  Escape  to  Louisville.. .The  Inaugu- 
ration of  Governor  at  Frankfort... An  Idle  Ceremony. ..Probable  Surprise  of 
Gen.  Bragg. ..The  Battle  of  PERRYviLLE...Its  Immediate  Results  in  our 
Favour. ..Bragg's  Failure  to  Concentrate  his  Forces... His  Resolution  of  Re- 
treat...Scenes  of  the  Retreat  from  Kentucky. ..Errours  of  the  Campaign. ..A 
Lame  Excuse. ..Public  Sentiment  in  Kentucky — The  Demoralization  of  that 
State. ..The  Lessons  of  Submission Page  149 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Our  Lines  in  the  Southwest. ..General  Breckenridge's  Attack  on  Baton 
Rouge. ..Destruction  of  the  Ram  Arkansas. ..Gen.  Price's  Reverse  at  luka... 
Desperate  Fighting. ..The  Battle  of  Corinth. ..Van  Dorn's  Hasty  Exulta- 
tions...The  Massacre  of  College  Hill. ..Wild  and  Terrible  Courage  of  the  Con- 
federates...Our  Forces  Beaten  Back. ..Our  Lines  of  Retreat  Secured. ..The 
Military  Prospects  of  the  South  Overshadowed. ..The  Department  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi... Romance  of  the  War  in  Missouri... Schofield's  Order 
Calling  Out  the  Militia. ..Atrocities  of  the  Yankee  Rule  in  Missouri. ..Robbei'y 
Without  "Red  Tape  "...The  Guerilla  Campaign. ..The  Affair  of  Kirksville... 
Execution  of  Col.  McCullough...The  Affair  of  Lone  Jack. ..Timely  Reinforce- 
ment of  Lexington  by  the  Yankees. ..The  Palmyra  Massacre. ..The  Question 
of  Retaliation  with  the  South. ..The  Military  and  Political  Situation... 
Survey  of  the  Military  Situation. ..Capture  of  Galveston  by  the  Yankees. ..The 
Enemy's  Naval  Power... His  Iron  Clads... Importance  of  Founderies  in  the 
South. ..Prospect  in  the  Southwest. ..Prospect  in  Tennessee. ..Prospect  in  Vir- 
ginia...Stuart's  Raid  into  Pennsylvania. ..Souvenirs  of  Southern  Chivalry... 
The  "Soft-mannered  Rebels  "...Political  Complexion  of  the  War  in  the 
North. ..Lincoln's  "Emancipation  Proclamation  "...History  of  Yankee  Legis- 
lation in  the  War. ..Political  Errour  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation — Ita 
Effect  on  the  South. ..The  Decay  of  European  Sympathy  with  the  Abolition- 
i8t3...What  the  War  Accomplished  for  Negro  Slavery  in  the  South. ..Yankee 
Falsehoods  and  Bravados  in  Europe. ..Delusion  of  Conquering  the  South  by 
Starvation..  Caricatures  in  the  New  York  Pictorials. ..The  Noble  Eloquence 
of  Hunger  and  Rags... Manners  ip^c  South. ..Yankee  Warfare. ..The  Desola- 


Tlii  CONTENTS. 

tion  of  Virginia. ..The  Lessons  of  Harsh  Necessity. ..Improvement  of  the  Civil 
Administration  of  the  Confederacy. ..Ordnance,  Manufacturing  Resources, 
QuartcrDia.stcra'  Supplies,  &c Paqb  167 

CIIArTER  VII. 

The  Heroism  of  Virginia. ..Her  Battle-Field3...BurnsiJe'3  Plan  of  Cam- 
raign... Calculations  of  his  Movement  upon  Fredericksburg. ..Failure  to  Sur- 
prise Gen.  Lee. ..The  Battle  of  FnEDERiCKSBDRC.Thc  Enemy  Crossing  the 
River. ..Their  Bombardment  of  the  Town. ..Scenes  of  Distress. ..The  Battle  on 
the  Right  >Ying...Thc  Story  of  Marye's  Heights. ..Repulse  of  the  Enemy... 
The  Old  Lesson  of  Barren  Victory. ..Death  of  Gen.  Cobb. ..Death  of  Gcnerjit" 
Gregg. -Romance  of  the  Story  of  Fredericksburg... Her  Noble  Women. ..Yan- 
kee Sacking  of  the  Town. ..A  Specimen  of  Yankee  Warfare  in  North  Caro- 
lina...Designs  of  the  Enemy  in  this  State:.. The  Engagements  of  Kinston... 
Glance  at  other  Theatres  of  the  War. ..Gen.  Hindman's  Victory  at  Prairie 
Grove...  Achievements  of  our  Cavalry  in  the  West. ..The  Affair  of  Hartsville... 
Col.  Clarkson's  Expedition. ..Condition  of  Events  at  the  Close  of  the  Year 
18G2 Page  192 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Eastern  Portion  of  Tennessee. ..Its  Military  Importance. ..Composition 
of  Bragg's  Army — The  Battle  of  MuKFREESBORo'...The  Right  Wing  of  the 
Enemy  Routed — Bragg's  Exultations. ..The  Assault  of  the  2d  January,..'' The 
Bloody  Crossing  of  Stone  River  "...The  Confederates  Fall  Back  to  TuUa- 
homa... Review  of  the  Battle  Field  of  Murfreesboro'... Repulse  of  the  Enemy 
at  Vicksburg....TiiE  Re-capture  of  Galveston. ...The  Midnight  March... 
Capture  of  "the  Harriet  Lane  "...Arkansas  Post  Taken  by  the  Yankees. ..Its 
Advantages. ..The  Affair  of  the  Rams  in  Charleston  Harbour. ..Naval  Structure 
of  the  Confederacy. ..Capture  of  the  Yankee  Gunboat  "  Queen  of  tiie  West  "... 
Heroism  of  George  Wood. ..Capture  of  "the  Indianola"...The  War  on  the 
Water. ..The  Confederate  Cruisers. ..Prowess  of  "the  Alabama." 

Page  211 

CHAPTER  IX. 

An  Extraordinary  Lull  in  the  War... An  Affair  with  the  Enemy  on  the 
Blackwater... Raids  in  the  West. ..Van  Dorn's  Captures. ..The  Meeting  of 
Congress. ..Character  of  This  Body. ..Its  Dullness  and  Servility... Mr.  Foote 
and  the  Cabinet. ..Two  Popular  Themes  of  Confidence. ..Party  Contention  in 
the  North. ..Successes  of  the  Democrats  There. ..Analysis  of  the  Party  Politics 
cf  the  North... The  Interest  of  New  England  in  the  War. ..How  the  War 
Affected  the  Northwestern  Portions  of  the  United  States.. .Mr.  Foote's  Reso- 
lutions Respecting  the  Northwestern  States... How  They  Were  Received  by 
the  Southern  Public. ..New  War  Measures  at  Washington. ..Lincoln  a  Dic- 
tator...Prospect  of  Foreign  Interference. ..Action  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon... 
Suffering  of  the  Working  Classes  in  England. ..The  Delusions  of  an  Early 
Peace. ..The  Tasks  Before  Congress. ..Prostrate  Condition  of  the  Confederate 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Finances. ..Preaident  Davis'  Blunder. ..The  Errours  of  Our  Financial  System... 
The  Wealth  of  the  South. ..The  Impressment  Law  of  Congress. ..Scarcity  of 
Supplies. ..Inflated  Prices. ..Speculation  and  Extortion  in  the  Confederacy... 
Three  Fteniarks  About  These. ..The  Verdict  of  History.     .         .         Page  235 

CHAPTER  X. 

Character  of  Military  Events  of  the  Spring  sf  1SG3... Repulse  of  the  Enemy 
at  Fort  McAllister. ..Tub  Siege  of  ViCKSBUKG...Thc  Yazoo  Pass  Expedition... 
Confederate  Success  at  Fort  Pemberton...The  Enemy's  Canals  or  "Cut  OffsV... 
Their  Failure. ..Bombardment  of  Port  Hudson. ..Destruction  of  "The  Mis- 
sissippi"...A  Funeral  Pyre... Happy  Effects  of  our  Victory.. .A  Review  of  the 
Line  of  Inland  Hostilities. ..Hooker's  Hesitation  on  the  Rappahannock. ..The 
Assignment  of  Confederate  Commands  West  of  the  Mississippi. ..The  Affair  of 
Kelly's  Ford. ..Death  of  Major  Pelham... Naval  Attack  on  Charleston... 
Destruction  of  "The  Keokuk". ..Scenery  of  the  Bombardment. ..Extent  of  the 
Confederate  Success. ..Events  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky. ..Pegram's  Re- 
verse...The  Situation  of  Hostilities  at  the  close  of  April  1862. 

Page  250 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Close  of  the  Second  Year  of  the  War. ..Propriety  of  an  Outline  of  Some 
Succeeding  Events... Cavalry  Enterprises  of  the  Enemy. ..The  Raids  in  Mis- 
sissippi and  Virginia. ..Sketch  of  the  Battles  of  the  Rappahannock. ..The 
Enemy's  Plan  of  Attack. ..The  Fight  at  Chancellorsville...The  Splendid  Charge 
of  "Stonewall"  Jackson. ..The  Fight  at  Fredericksburg. ..The  Fight  at  Salem 
Church. ..Summary  of  our  Victory. ..Death  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson. ..Ilis 
Character  and  Services Page  268 

CHAPTER  XII. 

A  Period  of  Disasters. ..Department  of  the  Mississippi. ..Grant's  March 
Upon  Vicksburg...Its  Steps  and  Incidents... The  Engagement  of  Port  Gibson... 
The  Evacuation  of  Jackson. ..The  Battle  of  Baker's  Creek. ..Pemberton's 
Declarations  as  to  the  Defence  of  Vicksburg...A  Grand  Assault  upon  "the 
Heroic  City  "...Its  "Repuhe...  The  Final  Surrender  of  Vicksburff...'iloyi  the  Pub- 
lic Mind  of  the  South  was  Shocked. ..Consequences  of  the  Disaster. ..How  it 
Involved  Affairs  on  the  Lower  Mississippi. ..Other  Theatres  of  the  War. ..The 
Campaign  in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland...  Hooker  Manoeuvred  out  of  Vir- 
ginia...The  Recapture  of  Winchester. ..The  Second  Invasion  of  the  Northern 
Territory. ..The  Alarm  of  the  North. ..General  Lee's  Object  in  the  Invasion  of 
Maryland  and  Pennsylvania. ..His  Essays  at  Conciliation... The  Errour  of  Such 
Policy. ..The  Advance  of  his  Lines  into  Pennsylvania. ..The  Battle  of  Gettys- 
burg...The  Three  Days'  Engagements. ..Death  of  Barksdale... Pickett's  Splen- 
did Charge  on  the  Batteries. ..Repulse  of  the  Confederates... Anxiety  and 
Alarm  in  Richmond. ..Lee's  Safe  Retreat  into  Virginia. ..Mystery  of  his 
Movement... Recovery  of  the  Confidence  of  the  South  *****  Review 
of  the  Present  Aspects  of  the  War. ..Comparison  Between  the  Disasters  of 


X  CONTENTS. 

1862  and  those  of  ]?r,n...Tlie  Vitals  of  the  Confederacy  yet  Untouched... 
ReTicw  of  the  C'lTil  Administration. ..President  Davis,  his  Cabinet  and  his 
FaTOtirites...nis  I'rivate  Quarrels... His  Deference  to  European  Opinion... 
Deolioe  of  the  Finances  of  the  Confederacy. ..Reasons  of  this  Decline— The 
Confederate  Brokers. ..The  Blockade-Kunners...The  Disaffections  of  Property- 
Holders. ..The  Spirit  of  the  Army. ..The  Moral  Resolution  of  the  Confede- 
racy...Ilow  the  Enemy  has  Strengthened  it. ..The  Prospects  of  the  Future. 

Page  283 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

REVIEW— POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  THE  NORTH,  &c. 

The  Dogma  of  Numerical  Majorities. ..Its  Date  in  the  Yankee  Mind... 
Demoralization  of  the  Idea  of  the  Sovereignty  of  Numbers. ..Experience  of 
Minorities  in  American  Politics. ..Source  of  the  Doctrine  of  "Consolida- 
tion "...The  Slavery  Question  the  Logical  Result  of  Consolidation...  Another 
Aspect  of  Consolidation  in  the  Tariff.. .Summary  of  the  Legislation  on  the 
Tariff... A  Yankee  Picture  of  the  Poverty  of  tlie  South. ..John  C.  Calhoun... 
President  Davis'  Opinion  of  his  School  of  Politics..."  Nullification,"  as  a 
Uniou  Measure... Mr.  Webster's  "Four  Exhaustive  Propositions  "...The  True 
Interpretation  of  the  Present  Struggle  of  the  South. ..The  Northern  Idea  of 
the  Sovereignty  of  Numbers. ..Its  Results  in  this  War. ..President  Lincoln's 
Office... The  Revenge  of  the  Yankee  Congress  Upon  the  People. ..The  Easy 
Surrender  of  their  Liberties  bj'  the  Yankees. ..Lincoln  and  Cromwell. ..Expla- 
nation of  the  Political  Subserviency  in  the  North. ..Superficial  Political  Edu- 
cation of  the  Yankee. ..His  "  Civilization  "...The  Moral  Nature  of  the  Yankee 
Unmasked  by  the  War. ..His  New  Political  System. ..Burnside's  "Death 
Order  "...A  Bid  for  Confederate  Scalps. ...\  Now  Interpretation  of  the  War... 
The  North  as  a  Parasite.. .The  Foundations  of  the  National  Independence  of 
the  South. ..Present  Aspects  of  the  War. ..Its  External  Condition  and  Morals... 
The  Spirit  of  the  South  and  the  Promises  of  the  Future.        .        .    Page  309 


* 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  New  Orleans  Disaster. ..Its  Consequences  and  Effects. ..Dispatcl^ea  of 
tbe  European  Commissioners  ..Butler  "  tbe  Beast". ..Public  Opinion  in  Eu- 
rope...The  Atrocities  of  tlie  IMassa'^liusetts  Tjrant... Execution  of  Mutnforcl... 
Lesion  of  New  Orleans. ..Spirit  of  ResistaJice  in  the  South. ..Change  in  tlie 
Fortftnes  of  tbe  Confederal}'. .".Two  Lending  Causes  for  it. ..The  Richmond 
'*  Examiner". ..The  Conscription  Law. ..Governor  Brown  of  Georgia... He-or- 
ganization of  the  Army...  Abandonment  of  our  Frontier  Defences... The  Polio/ 
of  Concentration. ..Givernor  Rectors  Appeal... First  Movements  of  the  Sum- 
mer Campaign  in  Virginia... The  Retreat  from  Yorktown... Evacuation  of  Nor- 
folk...Destruction  of  the  " Virginia". ..Oommodore  Tatnall's  Report. ..Secro» 
tary  Mallory'e  Visit  to  Norfolk. ..'Hie  Engagement  of  Wil]iam.sburg...Tlio 
AfF:iir  of  Barh(imsville...McClellan's  Investment  of  the  Lines  of  the  Cliicka- 
hominy... Alarm  in  Richmond. ..The  Water  Avenue  of  the  James. ..The  Panio 
■in  Official  Circles. ..Consternation  in  the  President's  House... Correspondence 
between  President  Davis  and,  the  Legislature. of  Virginia... Noble  Resolutions 
•f  the  Legislature... Response  of  the  Citizens  of.  Richmond. ..The  Bombard- 
ment of  Drewry's  Bluff.. .The  Mass  Meeting  at  the  City  JHall... Renewal  of 
Public  Confidence... The  Occasions  of  This  ..Jackson's  Campaign  in  thh 
Valley. ..The  Engagement  of  McDowell. ..'•. he  Surprise  at  Front  Royal... 
Banks'  Retreat  Down  the  Valley. ..The  Engagements  of  Port  Republic... Re- 
sults of  the  Campaign. ..Death  of  Turner  Ashby... Sufferings  of  the  People  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah. ..Memoiti  of  Tobner  Ashby. 


The  fall  of  New  Orleans  was  one  of  tlic  most  extraordinary 
triumphs  which  the  enemy  had  obtained.  It  was  the  crown- 
ing stroke  of  that  extraordinary  campaign  of  the  winter  and 
Bpring  of  the  year  1862,  in  which,  by  the  improvidence  of  the 
Southern  'authorities  and  a  false  military  policy  which  divided 
their  armies  and  weakened  them  by. undue  dispersion,  they 
had  lost  much  of  their  territory,  most  of  tlie  prestige  of  their 
arms,  and  had  fallen  upon  a  train  of  disasters  well  calculated 
2 


18  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

•to  afloct  the  general  pul)lic,  both  at  home  and  abroatl.  The 
clofc  of  this  campaign,  so  ill-starred  to  the  ConfcJeracj,  found 
it  with  Bcarcelj  more  than  three  entire  States — Texas,  Ala- 
^  bama  and  Georgia.  Large  portions  of  the  territories  of  Vir- 
rinia,  the  Carolinas  and  Florida  were  occupied  by  the  enemy; 
he  had  broken  our  line  of  defences  in  Tennessee,  and  hehl  im- 
portant positions  on  the  Upper  Mississippi ;  and  now,  by  the 
capture  of  New  Orleans,  he  had  secured  the  great  Southern 
depot  of  the  trade  of  the  immense  central  valley  of*  the  con- 
tinent, obtained  command  of  an  extent  of  territory  accessible 
by  his  gunboats  greater  than  the  entire  country  before  lost  to 
the  Confederacy,  and  had  good  reason  to  hope,  by  the  junction 
of  his  fleets  on  the  Mississippi,  to  open  its  navigation,  and 
give  to  the  West  an  outlet  to  iJie  ocean.         '    .  • 

The  conquest^  of  the  Federal  arms  made  in  the  winter  and 
fpring  of  18G2,  were  rot  without  their  elTect  in  Europe,  and 
presented  to  the  nations  in  "that  part  of  the  world  a  sotnbre 
picture  of  the  Confederacy.  ^  The  dispatches  of  our  ministers 
at  the  courts  of  -England  and  Prance  declared  that  the  pros- 
pect of  recognition,  of  which  they  had  formerly  given  such 
•warm  and  sanguine  assurances,  had  been  overclouded  by  the 
disaster  at  New  Orleans.  Mr.  Slidell.  wrote  from  Paris  that 
the  French  government  declared.that  "if  New  Orleans  had 
not  fallen,  our'  recognition  could  not  have  been  much  longer 
delayed."  He  added,  however,  that  he  had  been  assured  that 
**even  after  that  disaster,  if  we  obtained  <lccidcd  successes  in 
Virginia  and  Tennessee,  or  couhl  hold  the  enemy  at  bay  a 
month  or  two,  the  same  result  would  fuUow" — a  promise,  to 
the  breach  of  which  and  to  the  unhappy  expectations  which  it 
excited,  we  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  refer.  Mr.  Mason, 
our  minister  at  London,  also  referred  to  the  opinio^i  that  at 
the  time  of  the  eneujy's  capture  of  New  Orleans,  our  recogni- 
tion was  on  the  eve  of  accomplishment. 

The  immfdiate  sufl'orerjj  of  the  disaster  at  New  Orleans  were 
the  people  of  that  city.  It  was  aptly  rewarded  for  its  easy 
BubmisBJon  by  the  scourge  of  a  tyrant.     The  corrupt  and  mer- 


TOE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  19 


0 


cilcss  master  of  this  great  emporium,  General  Butler  of  ^las- 
sachusetts,  was  a  man  who  found  no  merit  in  submission,  unless 
6ucli  as  grovelled  in  the  dust  and  paid  personal  court  and  pecu- 
niary^ tribute  to  himself.  The  rule  of  this  vulgar  and  drunken 
man  e.xcited  the  horrour  and  disgust  of  the  civilized  world,  and 
secured  for  liim  in  the  South  the  popular  soubriquet  of  "  the 
Beast."  His  order  which  stigmatized  as  prostitutes  the  ladies 
of  New  Orleans,  who  betrayed  in  the  streets  or  from  the  bal- 
conies their  indignation  against  the  invaders  of  their  city, 
while  it  made  him  the  hero  of  the  hour  in  the  North  with  a 
pceple  who  admired  the  coarse  spirit  of  the  bully,  drew  upon 
him  the  execrations  of  all  humane  and  honourable  people.  In 
the  British  Parliament,  Lord  Palmerston  declared  the  procla- 
mation to  be  "infamous,"  and  the  condemnation  of  the  inde- 
cent and  dirty  edict  was  echoed  by  the  press  of  Europe.* 
The  acts  of  the  tyrant  of  New  Orleans  surpassed  all  former 

^  *  Tlie  "Order  C8,"  wln'eli  has  stigmatized  its  brutal  anthor  throughout 
Christendom,  was  at  fiv^X.  refused  pu-blication  by  all  the  newspapers  in  New 
Orleans.  It  was  then  copied  on  sheets  of  paper  and  suiyeptitiously  pwteci 
on  many  of  the  principal  corners  of  the  streets  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  the  St.  Cliarles  Hotel.  The  next  day  all  of  the  newspaper  offices 
were  ordered  to  be  closed  for  disobediencfe  of  orders.  On  thia  becoming 
known,  the  True  Delia  paper  published  the  order,  and  tlie  other  newspapers 
timidly  subuiitttd  to  the  force  of  circumstances,  ami  published  it  also.  The 
•atural  excitement  and  indignation  that  "followed  throughout  the  community 
ia  iiiflescribable  Several  lady  subscribers  sent  to  the  newspaper  ofiices  and 
indignantly  and  pwitively  forbade  that  such  papers  should  longer  be  left  at 
thfir  dwelling,  ilajor  Monroe,  with  ft  paity  of  influential  citizens,  at  once 
calli'd  on  the  Beast  an'd  endeavored  to  obtain  some  qualification  of  the  order; 
but  they  could  get  no  satisfaction  and  were  rudely  dismissed.  Mayor  1\I(  nroo 
then  wrote  an  indignant  and  reproachful  communication  to  Cutler,  and  again 
pressed  him  for  a  modification  of  the  hateful  order.  Butler  tlien  sent  for  tho 
Mayor.  Mayor  Monroe  replied,  "^ell  General  Butler  my  office  is  at  the 
City  Iliitel,  where  be  can  see  me,  if  desirable."  Butler  retorted,  thr.t  unless 
the  Mayor  came  at  once  to  his  headquarters,  he  would  send  an  armed  force 
to  arrest  and  bring  him  there.  Further  opposition  being  useless,  the  Mayorj 
chief  of  i>olice,  and  several  friends,  tlien  went  to  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  where 
they  found  the  Beast  in  n  towering  rnge.  Butler  claimed  to  be  much  insulted 
at  the  conduct  of  the  Mayor,  and  without  ceremony  or  delay,  sent  Mr.  Mon- 
roo  and  those  who  aecompani»'d  him  to  prison.  In  a  few*dayg  they  were  all 
shipped  down  to  Fort  Jackson.  . 


20  TDB   SECOND 'year    OF    THE   AVAR. 

atrocities  nnd  outrages  of  the  war.  In  frequent  instances, 
Citizco!*,  accused  b}-  Butler  of  contumacious  disloynlty,  w-jro 
confined  at  hard  libour,  with  halls  and  chains  attached  to  their 
limbs;  and  sometimes  this  degrading  putfishracnt  was  inflicted 
upon  men  whose  only  offence  was  that  of  selling  medicines  to 
the  sick  soldiers  of  the  Confecleracy.  Helpless  women  wcro 
torn  from  their  homes  and  confined  in  prison.  One  of  these — 
a  Mis.  Phillips — was-accused  of  laughing  as  the  funeral  traia 
of  a  Yankee  olScer  passed  her  doors;  she  was  seized,  and, 
with  an  in^nious  and  devilish  cruelty,  her  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced by  Butler — imprisonment  on  an  island  of  barren  sand 
under  a  tropical  sun.  Various  pretexts  were  infcnt<?d  for 
plundering  the  inhabitants  of  the  conquered  oity:  men  were 
forced  to  elect  between  8tar\»atioh  by  the  confiscation  of  all 
their  property  and  ta!>>ing  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  invaders 
of  their  country;  fines' were  levied  at  pleasure,  and  recusants 
threatened  with  ball  and  chain. 

The  conduct  of  the  negroes  in  New  Orleans  became  intole* 
rable  to  their  owners.  They  were  fed,  clothed  and  q'lartered 
by  the  Yankee^,  who  fraternized  with  them  genen'illy  in  a. 
sbamoful  way.  The  planters  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city 
were  required  to  share  their  crops  with  the  commanding  Gene- 
ral, his  brother.  Andrew  J.  Butler,  and  other  officers ;  and 
vhen  this  partnership  was  refused,  the  plantations  were  robbed 
of  everything  susceptible  of  removal,'  and  the  slaves  taken 
from  their  owners  and  compelled  to  work#  under  tl^  bayonets 
of  Y'ankce  guards. 

It  would  occupy  many  pages  to  detail  what  the  people  of 
New  Orleans  suflered  at  the  hands  of  the  invaders  whom  they 
Lad  BO  easily  admitted  into  tlieir  city,  in  insult,  wrongs,  confis- 
cation of  property,  seizure  of  private  dwellings  and  brazen 
robbery.  The  Yankee  officers,  from  colonel  to  lieutenant,  as 
the  caprice  of  each  might  dictate,  seized  and  took  possession 
of  gentlemen's  houses,  broke  into  their  wine  rooms,  forced 
open  the  wardrobes  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  either  used 
or   sent  away  from   the   city   the  clothing  of  whole  families. 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  21 

Some  of  the  private  residences  of  respectable  citizens  were 
appropriated  to  the  vilest  uses,  the  officials  who  had  engaged 
them  making  them  the  private  shops  of  the  most  infamous 
female  characters. 

But  while  Butler  was  thus  apparently  occupied  with  the  op- 
pressioh  of  i' rebels,"  he  was  too  much  of  a  Yankee  to  be  lost 
to  the  opportunity  of  making  his  pecuniary  fortunes  out  of  tho 
exigencies  which  he  had  created.  The  banker  and  .broker  of 
the  corrupt  operations  in  which  he  was  engage<|,  was  his  own 
brother,  who  bonglit  confiscated  property,  shipped  large  con- 
Bignments  from  New  Orleans,  to  be  paid  for  in  cotton,  and 
speculated  largely  in  powder,  saltpetre,  muskets  and  other  war 
material  sold  to  the  Confederacy,  surreptitiously  sent  out  from 
the  city  and  covered  by  permits  for  provisions.  Of  the  trade 
in  provisions  for  cotton,  Butler  received  his  share  of  the  gains, 
w.hilc  the  robbeiy  was  covered  up  by  the  pretence  of  consump- 
tion in  New  Orleans  "to  prevent  starvation,"  or  by  reported 
actunl  issue  to  troops.  The  Yankee  General  did  not  hesitate 
to  deal  in  the  very.life;blood  of  his  own  soldiers. 

The  rule  of  Butler  in  New  Orleans  is  especially  memorable 
for  the  deliberate  murder  of  William  B..  Mumford,  a  citizen  of 
the  Confederate  States,  against  whom  the  tyrant  had  invented 
t4ie  extraordinary  charge  that  he  had  insulted  the  flag  of  the 
United  States.  The  fact^vas  that  before  the  city  had  surren- 
dered, Mu;ifor(T  had  taken  down  from  the  mint  the  enemy's 
flag.  The  ensign  was  wrongfully  there;  the  city  had  not  sur- 
rendered; and  even  in  its  worst  aspects,  the  act  of  Mumford 
jv'as  simply  one  of  war,  not  deserving  death,  still  less  the  death 
of  a  felon.  The  horrible  crime  of  murdering  in  cold  blood  an 
unresisting  and  non-combatant  captive,  was  complete!  by  But- 
ler on  the  7th  of  June.  On  that  day  Mumford,  the  martyr, 
was  publicly  executed  on  •  the-  gallows.  The' Massachusetts 
coward  and  tyrant  had  no  ear  or  heart  for  the  pitiful  pleadings 
made  to-save  the  life  of  his  captive,  especially  by  his  unhappy 
wife,  who  in  her  supplications  for  mercy  was  rudely  repulsed, 
and  at  times  answered  with  drunken  jokes  and  taunts.     The 


t-2  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

• 

r  .■  utiun  to<.k  place  in  tlic  si^lii  of  tliousands  of  pMnic-8trickcn 
c  ;  •/••na.  Nunc  Ppdkc  but  the  martyr  himself.  His  voice  was 
loud  and  clear.  Looking  up  at  the  stars  und  stripes  which 
diiutc-d  lii;;h  over  the  t^cenc  before*  him,  ho  remarked  that  ho 
Lad  fou;;lit  under  that  flag  twice,  but  it  had  become  hiiteftil  to 
him,  and  he  had  torn  it  and  trailed  it  in  the  dust.  "  I  con- 
•idcr,"  said  the  brave  young  man,  "that  the  manner  of  my 
diMth  will  be  no  disgrace  to  my  wife  and  child;  my  country 
>ill  honour  them." 

The  experience  of  New  Orleans  gave  a  valuable  lesson  to 
the  South.  It  exhibited  the  consequences  of  submission  to  the 
enemy  in  confiscation,  brutality,  military  domination,  insult, 
universal  poverty,  t!ie  beggary  of  thousands,  the  triumph  of 
the  vilest  individuals  in  the  community,  the  abasement  of  the 
honest  and  industrious,  and  the  outlawry  of  the  slaVvS.  The 
spirit  of  resistance  in  the  South  was  fortified  b}'  the  enemy's 
exhiliitions  of  triumph,  and  the  resolution  gained  ground  that 
it  was  much  better  to  consign  the  cities  of  the  Confedcraoy  to 
the  flames  than  to  surrender  them  to  the  enemy.  A  time  was 
approaching  when  Yankee  gunboats  was  to  lose  their  prestige 
of  terror;  when  cities  were  no  longer  to  be  abandoned  or  i^ur- 
rendered  on  the  approach  of  a  foe;  and  wlicn  the  freemen  of 
the  South  were  to  be  taught  how,  by  a  spirit  above  fear  and 
ready  for  all  sacrifice,' they  might  d«fy  the  most  potent  agen- 
cies of  modern  warfare. 

With  the  bright  month  of  May  a  new  era  was  dawning  on 
the  fortffuQS  of  the  Confederacy.  This  happy  change  of  for-' 
tune  was  due  not  only  to  the  improved  resolution  of  tlie  South^ 
It  is  in  a  great  (le::;ree  to  be  attributed  to  two  loading  causes 
in  the  military  administration.  These  were,  first,  the  conscrip- 
tion law,  with  the  consequent  re-organization  of  the  army; 
arid,  secondly,  the  abandonment  of  our  plan  of  fr<Mitier  de- 
fii\ce,  which  made  way  for  the  superiour  and  more  fortunate 
policy  of  the  concentration  of  our  forces  in  the  intericiur. 

The  first  suggestion  of  a  conscription  law  was  made  by  tha 
Richmond  Examiner — a  bold  and  vi;'ilant  leader  of  the  news- 


THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  23 

paper  press  of  the  Confederncy.  It  \Vas  met  with  violent  op- 
position from  the  arlniinistration,  with  the  chinior  of  dem;igo^i- 
cal  presses  that  the  suggestion  con.veyed  a  reflection  upon  the 
patriotism  of  the  country,  and  with  the  fashionable  nonsense 
that  it  was  a- confession  caloulateil  to  give  aid  and  comfort  to 
the  enemy.  But  the  early  a<]vocates  of  conscription  enjoyed 
the  singul'ir  triumph  of  converting  public  opinion  completely 
to  their  side,  and  forcing  the  government  at  a  future  period  to 
the  confession  that  the  system  which  it  had  at  first  frowned 
upon  had  proved  the  Sidvation  of  the  country. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  we  had  nothing  that  deserved 
the  title  of  a  military  system.  ^  There  was  no  lack  of  zeal  or 
determination  in  the  South;  but  the- organization  of  the  army 
was  defective,  its  discipline  was  re'tarded  by  bad  laws,  and  at  a 
time  that  the  forces  of  the  enemy  in  Virginia  had  reached  the 
highest  state  of  efficiency,  our  own  army  was  passing  through 
Buecessive  stages  of  disorganization  to  dissolution.  The  aimy 
of  the  enemy  was  superiour  to  our  own  in  every  respect,  except 
courage  and  good  cause;  they  had  every  guaranty  of  success 
that  numbers,  discipline,  complete  organization  and  perfect 
equi|)ments  could  effect. 

The  military  system  of  the  South  dates  from  the  passage  of 
the  conscription  law.  To  this  measure  must  be  attributed  ♦hat 
solidity  in  the  organization  of  our  army*  and  that  efficiency 
which  challenged  "the  admiration  of- the  world.  The  beneficial 
effocts  of  this  enactment  were  soon  mafiifcst  as  well  to  our- 
selves as  to  the  woild.  It  distributed  over*the  Confederacy 
the  levies  in  propoTtiorf  to  the  inhabitants  of  each  State  and 
county.  It  centralized  the  organization  of  the  army.  And  it 
introduced  a  regular  system  of  recruiting,  which  guarantied 
that  the  efficiency  of  the  army  would  not  be  impaired  by  the 
lajjse  of  time  and  the  loss  of  liealth  and  life  incident  to  war- 
fare. •  • 

The  conscription  law  came  not  a  moment  too  soon.  The  acta 
of  Congress  providing  for  re-enlistm(?nt3  had  failed  to  effect 
the  desired  object.  •  Without  decadence  of  the  real  valour  of 


fi4  THK    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

oor  people  or  tlicir  invMicihIc  deierniination  to  acliievo  their 
indcpetulchcc,  llie  spirit  of  volunteering  liad  died  out,  and  the 
rcsoluiion  of  our  sohliers  al.readv  in  the  ficM  was  not  suflicicnt 
to  resist  tht  prospects,  cherished  for  months  amid  the  suOer- 
ings  and  monotony  of  the  camps,  of  jcluniing  to  their  homes. 
The  exi<'ency  was  critical,  and  even  vital.  In  a  period  of 
thirty  days  the  terms  of  service  of  one  liundred  and  f  )rty- 
eiglit  regiments  expired.  There  was  good  reason  to  believe 
that  a  large  majority  of  the  men  had  not  re-enlisted,  and  of 
those  -who  had  re-enlisted,  a  very  largo  majority  had  entered 
companies  v^hich  could  never  be  assembled,  or  if  assembled, 
tould  not  be  prepared  for  the  field  in  lime  to  meet  the  invasion 
actually  commenced. 

The  first  act  of  conscription  was  passed  on  the  IGlh  of 
April.'  18G2.  It  was  afterwards  enlarged  by  another  act, 
(I'Tih  September),  giving  the  Executive  the  power  to  call  into 
service  persons  between  the  ages  of  tJiirty-five  and  "forty-five. 
Although  the  rush  of  volunteers  had  compara'tively  ceased, 
Und  the 'ardour  of  the  individual  did  not  suffice  for  the  profi'er 
of  self-devotion,  yet  the  sentiments  and  convictions  of  the  mas9 
rccognizod  as  the  most  sacred  obligation  the  stern  duty  of  de- 
fending, if  needs  be,  with  their  entire  numbers,  their  imperilled 
liberty,  fortune  and  honour.  The  conscription  law  was,  gene- 
rally, cheerfully  ac(fuiesced  in.  In  every  Stiite  one  or  more 
camps  df  instruction,  for  the  reception  and  training  of  eon- 
Bcrlpts,  was  establisherl;  and  to  each  State  an  ofliQcr,  styled  a 
commandant  of  Conscripts,  was  appointed,  charged  with  tho 
lupervision  of  the  enrollment  and  instiniction  of  the  new  levies. 

The  execution  of  the  conscription  law  was  unfortunately  re- 
lieted  for  a  time  by  (lovernor  Brown  of  Georgia.  The  cor- 
respondence between  him  and  the  Presitlent  on  the  subject, 
•which  was  printed  and  liawked  in  pamphlet  form  through  tlu) 
couutry,  was  a  curiosity.  It  was  illustrated  copiously  by  Mr. 
Brown  with  citations  from  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  resolu- 
tions of  :1798  and  cxhmned  opinions  of  members  of  the  old 
Federal  Convention  of  17b7.     In  the  most^vitnl  periods  of  tho 


THE   SECOND    YEAR  OP    THE    WAR.  ^25 

country's  destiny,  and  in  the  fierce  tumults  of  a  revolution, 
the  people  of  the  South  were  refreshed  with  exhumations  from 
the  politicians  of  1787,  and  the  usual  amount  of  clnp-trnp 
about  our  "forefathers,"  and  the  old  political  system  that  had 
rotted  over  ourlieads. 

The  beneficial  effect  of  the  conscription  law  in  the  r^-organi- 
zation  of  our  army  was  assisted  by  some  other  acts  of  legisla- 
tion. That  re-organization  was  advanced  by  the  appointment 
of  Lieutenant  Generals,  some  commanding  separate  depart- 
'ments,  and  others  heading  army  corps  under  a  General  in  the 
field.  The  policy  of  organizing  the  brigades  with  troops  and 
Generals  from  the  several  States  was  pursued,  as  opportunities 
offered,  without  detriment  to  the  publix;  service.  The  greater 
satisfaction  of  the  men  from  each  State,  when  collected  toge-  . 
thcr,  tho- gf nerous  emulation  for  glory  to'their  State,  and»the 
fair  apportionment  of  officers  assured  to  each  State  according 
to  its  contribution  of  defenders  to  the  country'",  overbalanced 
the  inconvenience  of  separating  regiments  or  companies  pre- 
viously associaied,  and  the  liability  to  State  jealounes.  Mili- 
tary courts  were  organized  to  secure  the  prompt  administration 
of  tiie  military  law,  to  check  desertion  and  straggling,  to  re- 
strain license  of  .all  kinds,  and  to  advanc6  temperance,  disci- 
pline and  subordination. 

But  it  was  not  only  the  re-organization  and  improved  morale 
of  the  army  that  came  to  the  aid  of  the  declining  fortunes  of 
the  South  in  the  war. 

The  disasters  on  the  Mississippi  frontier  and  in  other  direc- 
tions had  constrained  the  government  to  adopt  the  policy  of- 
concentrating  its  forces  in  the  interiour  of  Virginia.  The  ob- 
ject of  all  war  ia  to  reach  a  decisi*'e  point  of  the  campaign, 
and  this  object  was  i:calizcd  by  a  policy  which  it  is  triio  the 
government  had  not  adopted  at  the  instance  of  reason,  lut 
which  had  been  imposed  upon  it  by  the  force  of  disaster. 
There  were  childish  complaints  that  certain  districts  and  points 
on  the  frontier  had  been  abandoned  by' the  Confederates  for 
the  purpose  of  a  concentration  of  troops  iu  Virginia.     An  jn- 


CG  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OP    THE    WAR. 

flammalnry  appeal  was  m;ule  by  Governor  Rector  of  Arkansas 
to  the  StJles  of  the  Tr.-ins  Mississippi,  reprcsi'Mting  tlnit  the 
government  hail  ileserted  tlicni  in  transferring  iis  troops  to 
Other  portions  of  tlie  Confc'leracj,  and  suggesting  that  they 
should  form  a  t»ew  associ.iti<jn  for  their  safetj'.  But  the  ap- 
peal wa.H^evert'ly  rebuked  by  public  sentiment.  The  complaint 
of  Governor  Rector  cost  him  his  election,  and  the  display  of 
the  demagogue  consigned  him  to  the  rcproncheH  of  the  pultlic. 

Such  complaints  were  alike  selfish  and  senseless,  and  in 
most  cases  nothing  more  than  the  utterances  of  a  demagogical, 
Bhort-sighted  and  selfish  spirit,  whjch  would  have  preferred  the 
apparent  security  of  it^  own  particular  Slate  or  section  to  the 
fortunes  of  the  whole  Confederacy.  The  fact  was,  that  t.here 
was  cause  of  intelligent  congratulation,  even  in  those  districts 
froHi  which  the  Confetlerate  troops  had  been  withdrawti  to 
make  a  dccisi\"c  battle,  that  we  had  at  last  reached  a  crisis,  the 
decision  of  which  might  reverse  all  our  past  misfortunes  and 
achieve  results  in  which  every  State  of  the  Confederacy  would 
have  a.shaie. 

Rut  the  first  movements  of  the  famous  summer  campaign  in 
Virginia  that  was  to  change  the  fortunes  of  the  war  and  adorn 
our  arms,  were  not  auspicious.  The  designs  of  some  of  these 
movements  were  iiot  properly  appreciated  at  the  time,  and 
same  of  the  inciileiits  that  attemled  them  were  real  disasters. 

We  have  seen  that  by  the  happy  boldness  of  General  Ma- 
grudcr  iii  keeping  the  enemy  in  check  on  the  line  between 
Yorktown,  on  Yoik  river,  and  Mulberry  Island,  on  James 
river,  the  advance  of  the  grand  Federal  army,  destined  for  the 
cajiture  of  Richmond,  was  stayed  until  our  forces  were  rescued 
by  the  ctjusuminaie  strategy  of  (Jen.  Johnston  from  the  pres- 
sure of  enveloping  armies,  who  arrived  in  time  to  reinforce  our 
lines  on  the  Peninsula.  It  became. necessary,  however,  in  the- 
judg^iient  of  that  commander,  to  fall  back  in  the  direction  of 
Richu>on<l.  It  was  easily  seen  by  General  Johnston  that  at 
Yorktown  there  was  tto  prospect  of  a  general  action,  as  the 
attttck  on  either  side  would  have  to  be  made  under  disadvan- 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.  27 

tages  which  neither  army  was  willing  to  risk.  The  Y;inkee3 
were  in  eupcriour  force,  besides  their  additional  strength  in 
their  gunboats,  and  in  falling  back  so  a^  to  invest  the  line  of 
the  Chickahominy,  Gicncral  Johnston  expected  to  force  the 
enemy  to  mure  equal  terms.  The  difficulty  was  to  match  the 
strength  of  the  e>»cmy  on  the  water;  and  the  best  practical 
equivalent  for  this  was  considered  to  be  the  open  field,  where 
gunboats  being  out  of  the  question,  the  position  of  our  lioopa 
would  be  the  same  as  if  at  Yorktown  they  had  had  a  force  of 
gunboats  exactly  equal  to  that  of  the  enemy,  thus  neutralizing 
his  advantage'in  respect  of  naval  armainent. 

Tl»e  retreat  from  Yorktown  produced  uneasiness  in  the  pub- 
lic mind,  and  naturally  shook  the  confidence  of  the  many  who 
"were  in  ignorance  of  the  phins  of  the  cautious  and  taciturn 
strategist  at  the  head  of  our  forces  in  Virginia.  It  involved 
our  surrender  of  Korfolk,  with  ull  the  advantages  of  its  con- 
tiguous navy -yard  and  dock.  And  it  was  accompanied  by  a 
disaster  which,  in  so  far  as  it  was  supposed  to  be  unnecessary 
and  wanton,  occasioned  an  amount  of  }:'rief  and  rage  in  the 
Confederacy  such  as  had  not  yet  been  exhibited  in  the  war. 

This  memorable  disaster  was  the  destruction  of  the  famous 
mailed  steamer  Virginia — "the  iron  diadem  of  the  South." 
This  vessel,  wlii?h  had  obtained  for  us  our  first  triumph  on  the 
water,  was  an  object  of  pride,  and  almost;  of  affection,  to  the 
people  of  the  South.  She  was  popularly  said  to  Uc  worth  fifty 
thousand  troops  in  the  field.  Nor  was  this  estimate  excessive, 
when  it  is  recollected  that  she  protected  Noifolk,  the  navy- 
yard  and  James  river;  that  no  fleet  of  transports  could 
safily  land  its  troopg,  designed  to  attack  those  places,  at  any 
point  from  Cape  Henry  to  the  upper  James,  as  far  as  she  could 
ascend;  that  her  presence  at  Norfolk  had  annihilated  the  land 
and  water  blockade  at  Newport  News,  passed  the  control  of 
the  James  river  into  our  hands,  and  protected  the  right  flank, 
of  our'army  on  the  Peninsula. 

The  Virginia  was  destroyed  under  the  immedfate  ordei^  of 
her  commander,  Commodore  Tatnall,  on  the  morning  of  the 


28  THE    SECOND   TEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

11th  of  May,  in  the  vicinity  of  Craney  Lsland.  According  to 
his  statement,  he  liad  been  betrayed  into  the  necessity  of  de- 
stroyin;;  his  ve^•sel  Ify  firing  her  magazine,  by  the  deceitful 
rcptesentJitions  of  his  pilots,  who  at  first  «ssurcd  him  that  they 
couhl  take  the  ship,  with  a  draft  of  eighteen  feet  of  water, 
>»ilhin  forty  niih's  of  Richmond,  and  after  having  liftcil  her  so 
as  to  unfit  her  for  action,  then  declared  that  they  could  not  get 
her  above  the  Jamestown, flats,  up  to  which  point  tlie  sliorc  on 
each  side  was  occ;ipicd  by  the  enemy.  It  is  proper  to  add, 
that  this  statement  of  facts  was  contested  by  the  pilots,  who 
resented  the  reflections  made  upon  their  loyalty  or  courage. 
Wiiatevcr  m.iy  have  been  tlic  merits  of  this  controversy,  it  is 
certain  tliat  tiie  vessel  was  destroyed  in  great  haste  by  Com- 
modore  Tatnall,  who,  in  the  dead  hour  of  ni;:ht,  aroused  from 
his  slumbers  and  acquainted  with  the  decision  of  his  pilots, 
ordered  tlic  ship  to  be  put  ashore,  landed  his  crew  in  tho 
vicinity  of  Craney  Island,  and  blew  to  the  four  winds  of  hea- 
ven the  only  naval  structure  that  guarded  the  ^Yater  approach 
to  Richmond. 

The  destruction  of  the  A'irginia  was  a  sharp  and  unexpected 
Wow  to  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  the  South  in  their  gov- 
ernment. How  far  the  government  was  implicated  in  this 
foolish  and  desperate  act,  was  never  openly  Scknowledgcd  or 
exactly -ascertained ;  but,  despite  the  pains  of  ofFiciarconccal- 
ment,  tlierc  are  ccitain  well-attested  facts  which  indicate  that 
in  the  destruction  of  this  great  war-ship,  tho  autlioii^ies  at 
Riclimund  were  ;iot  guiltless.  'These  facts  properly  belong  to 
the  history  of  one  of  the  most  unhappy  events  that  had  oc- 
curred feince  the  commencement  of  the  war. 

The  Virginia  was  destroyed  at  5  A.'  M.  of  the  11th  of  ]May. 
During  the  morning  of  the  sam'e  day  a  prominent  politician  in 
the  streets  of  Richmond  was  observed   t-o  be  \cvy  nuich  <lo- 

.jected;  he  remarked  that  it  was  an  evil  day  for  the  Confedc- 
racv.  On  being  questioned  by  his  intimate  friends,  he  declared 
to  t"cm  that 'the  Government  had-  determined  upon,  or  assented 

*to,  the  destruction  of  the  Virginia,  and  that  he  had  learned 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  29 

tkis  from  the  highest  sources  of  authority  in  the  capital.  At 
this  time  the  news  of  tlie  explosion  of  the  Virginia  couhl  not 
have  possibly  readied  Ilichtnond;  there  was  no  telegrnpliic 
coratnunication  between  the  scene  of  her  destruction  and  the 
city,  and  the  evidence  appears  to  be  complete,  that  the  Gov- 
ernment had  at  least  a  prevision  of  the  destruction  of  this 
vessel,  or  had  assented  to  the  general  policy»of  the  act,  trust- 
ing, perhaps,  to  acquit  itself  of  the  responsibility  for  it  on  the 
unworthy  plea  that  it  had  given  no  express  orders  in  the  matter. 

Again,  it  is  w6ll 'known  that  for  at  least  a  week  prior  to  the 
destruction  of  the  Virginia, 'the  evacuation  of  Norfolk  had 
been  determined  upon ;  that  during  this  time  the  removal  of 
stores  was  daily  progressing;  and  that  Mr.  Mallory,  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy,  had  within  this  pferiod,  himself,  visited 
Norfolk  to  look  after  the  public  interests.  The  evacuation  of 
this  port  clearly  involved  the  question,  what  disposition  was  to 
be  made  c/f  the  Virginia.  If  the  Government  made  no  deci- 
sion of  a  question,  which  for  a  week  stared  it  in  the  face,  it 
certainlj'  was  ver}-  strangely  neglectful  of" the  public  interest. 
If  Mr.  Mallory  .visited  Norfolk  when  the  evacuation  was  going 
On,  and  never  thought  of  the  Virginia,  or  thinking  of  h^ 
kept  dumb,  never  even  giving  so  much  as  an  official  nod  as  to 
what  diisposition  should  be  made 'of  her,  he  mus(^  have  been 
more  stupid  than  the  people  who  laughed  at  him  in  Richmond, 
or  the  members  of  Congress  who  nicknamed  without  mercy^ 
thought  him  to  be. 

It  is  also  not  a  little  singular  that  .when  a  court  of  inquiry 
had  found  that  Jthe  destruction  of  the  Virginia  was  unneces- 
sary and  improper,  Mr.  Mallory  should  have  waived  the  call- 
ing of  a  court  martial,  forgotten  what  was  due  to  the  public 
interest  on  such  a  finding  as  that  made  by.  the  preliminary 
court,  and  expressed  himself  satisfied  to"  let  the  matter  rest. 
The  fact  is  indisputable,  that  the  court  martial,  which  after- 
wards sat  in  the  case,  was  called  at  the  demand  of  Commodore 
Tatnall  himself.     It  resulted  in  his  acquittal. 

The  evacuation  of  Norfolk  wasrlie  occasion  of  great  distress 


80  TOB    EE?OND    YliAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

to  its  populatron.  But  it  was  the  part  of  a  wise  policy,  that 
our  miliiary  lines  fIiouM  be  contracted  and  that  the  troops  of 
Gen.  linger  should  be  consolidated  with  the  army  before  Ilich- 
mond. 

The  retreat  from  York  town  to  the  Chickahotninj  was  marked 
by  spirited  incidents  and  by  one  important  engagement. 
MiClillan  becomijig,  through  an  accident,  aware  of  the  movc- 
mctit  of  Gen.  Johnston,  immediately  pursued  our  columns, 
which  recoiled  on  him  at  Williamsburg,  on  the  0th  of  May, 
and  drove  back  his  army.  During  the  wliole  of  that  day. 
Gen.  Longslrcet's  division,  which  brought  up  the  rear,  was 
engngc<l  with  the  enemy  from  sunrise  to  sunset.  The  d;iy  was 
marked  by  signal  successes,  for  we  cnptured  three  hundred  and 
fifty  prisoners,  took  n'ine  pieces  of  artillery,  and  left  on  the 
field,  in  killed  and  wounded,  at  least  three  thousand  of  the 
enemy.  During  the  night,  our  army  resumed  its  movement 
towards  Richmond,  and  half  an  hour  after  sunrifee  il  had 
evacuated  the  town,  under  the  necessity  of  leaving  our  killed 
and  wounded  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  following  day,  the  insolence  of  the  enemy  was  again 
checked  on  the  route  of  our  retieat.  On  the  '.  th  of  May  he' 
attempted  a  landing,  under  cover  of  his  gunboatSj  at  IJarhams- 
villo,  near  ^Vest  Point.  The  attempt  was  ineffectual.  The 
Yankees  were  driven  back,  after  they  had  assaulted  our  posi- 
tion three  diflorcnt  times — the  last  time  being  forced  to  the 
cover  of  their  gunboats  by  the  brave  Texans  of  Gen.  Whiting's 
division  who,  in  the  face  of  an  artillery  fire,  pressed  the 
fugitives  so  closely  that  many  were  driven  into  the  river  and 
drowned. 

Tlie  investment  of  the  lines  of  the  Chickahominy  brought 
the  two  opposing  armies  within  sight  of  Richmond.  After  a 
de!?ultury  military  experience,  a  useless  and  inglorious  march 
to  Manassas,  a  long  delay  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  and 
Ches:ipcake,  and  a  vague  abandonment  of  these  lines  for 
operations  on  the  Peninsula,  McClellan,  who  was  the  "Napo- 
leon "  of  the  Democratic  party  of  the  North,  but  a  slow  and 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.  31 

ccntomptible  blunderer  in  tlic  estiiiintion  of  the  Ropublicanp, 
found  himself,  by  the  fortune  of  circumstances,  within  sight  of 
the  steeples  and  spires  of  the  long-sought  Capital  of  the  Con- 
federacy. 

The  proximity  of  the  enemy  was  an  occasion  of  great  anxiety 
Id  the  people  of  Richmond,  and  the  visible  tremour  of  the 
Conredorate  authorities  in  that  city  was  not  a  spectacle  calcu- 
lated either  to  nerve  the  army  or  assure  the  citizens.  The  fact 
is,  that  the  Confederate  authorities  had  shamefully  neglected 
the  defences  of  Richmond,  and  were  nf)w  making  preparations 
to  leave  it,  which  were  called  prudential,  but  which  naturally 
inspired  a  panic  such  as  had  never  before  been  witnessed  in 
the  history  of  the  war.  The  destruction  of  the  Virginia  had 
left  tiie  water  avenue  to  Richmond  ahiiost  undefended.  The 
City  Council  had  for  months  been  urging  upon  the  Confederate 
Government  the  necessity  of  obstructing  the  river,  and  failing 
to  ijiduce  them  to  hurry  on  the  work,  had,  with  patriotic  zeal, 
undeitaken  it  themselves.  A  newspaper  in  Richmond — the 
Examiver — had  in  good  time  pointed  out  the  necessity  of 
obstructing  t1»e  river  with  stone,  but  the  coujisel  was  treated 
with  such  conceit  and  harshness  by  the  govenament,  that  it 
was  only  atlbe  risk  of  its  existence  that  that  paper  continued 
for  ^weeks  to  point  out  the  insecurity  of  Richmond  and  the 
omissions'  of  its  authorities.  The  government  was  at  last 
aroused  to  a  sense  of  danger  only  to  fall  to  work  in  ridiculous 
haste,  and  with  the  blindness  of  alarm.  The  appearance  of 
the  Yankee  gunboats  in  James  River  was  the  signal  for  Mr. 
Secretary  Mallory  to  show  his  alacrity  in  meeting  the  enemy 
by  an  advertisement  for  "timber"  to  construct  new  naval 
defences.  The  only  pbstruction  between  the  city  and  the 
dread  Monitor  and  the  gunboats  was  a  half-finished  fort  at 
Drewry's  Bluff,  which  mounted  four  guns.  Some  of  the  Con- 
federate officers  had  taken  a  "gunboat  panic,"  for  the.  line  of 
stone, obstructions  in  the  river  was  lot  yet  complete.  They 
,  seized  upon  schooners  at  the  wharves  loaded  with  plaster  of 
paris,  guano,  and  other  valuable  cargoes,  carried  them  to  points 


32  TUB    6KC0ND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

• 

where  thej  supposed  the  passage  of  tlic  river  was  to  be  con- 
toBtC'l,  and  in  some  instances  sunk  them  in  the  wrong  places. 

There  is  no  duubt  that  about  this  time  the  autlioriries  of  the 
Confederate  States  had  nigh  despaired  of  the  s.ifcty  of  Kich- 
mond.  The  most  argent  appeals  had  been  made  to  Congress 
by  the  press  and  the  people  to  continue  its  session  in  Rich- 
mond while  the  crisis  impended.  But  its  members  refused  to 
give  this  mark  of  confidence  to  the  government,  or  to  make 
any  sacrifice  of  their  selfish  considerations  for  the  moral 
encouragement  of  their«constitucnts.  They  had  adjourned  in 
haste  and  left  Richmond,  regarding  only  the  safety  of  their 
persons  or  the  convenience  of  their  homes. 

Nor  was  the  Executive  more  determined.  In  the  President's 
mansion  abouv  this  time  all  was  consternation  and  dismay.  A 
letter  written  by  .one  of  his  family  at  n  time  when  Richmond 
was  thought  to  be  imminently  threatened,  and  intercepted  by 
the  enemy,  afforded  excessive  merriment  to  the  Yankees,  and 
made  a  jtaitiful  cxiiibition  to  the  Soutii  of  the  weakness  and 
fears  of  those  entrusted  with  its  fortunes.  This  letter,  written 
with  refreshing  simplicity  of  heart,  overflowci'-  with  pitiful 
sympathy  fur  ihe  President,  and  amused  the  enemy  with  refer- 
ences to  the  sore  anxieties  of  "  Uncle  Jeff."  and^to  the  pros- 
pect of  his  sinking  under  the  misfortunes  of  his  ailniinis^tra- 
tion.  The  authenticity  of  this  letter  was  never  Ciflled  into 
question:  it  is  a  painful  and  delicate  historical  evidence,  but 
one  to  which,  iri  the  interests  of  truth,  allusion  should  not  be 
spared.* 


*  The  following  is  a  portion  of  tlie  Icltcr  referred  to.  The.  reflcctroM 
which  it  niukes  upon  the  cournpe  of  our  uoLlc,  tuffcriug  soldiers  were 
probably  husty,  and  may  be  spared  here :, 

#  *  «  *  «' When  I  think  of  the  dark  gloom  that  now  hovers  over  our 
"country,  I  am  ready  to  hiiik  witli  despair.  There  is  a  probability  of  Gen'l 
"  Jack!'ui)'8  army  falling  back  on  Hichmond,  and  iu  view  of  this,  no  lady  ia 
"allowvU  to  po  up  on  the  railroad  to  Gordonsville  for  ftur,  if  allowed  to  one, 
"Ihut  many  oiliera  would  wi^<h  to  do  it,  which  would  incommode  the  army." 

•'Qeneriil  Johntloii  is  falliuf;;  buck  from  the  I'eninsu'a,  or  Y'orktovvfl,  and 
"Uncle  Jeir.  thinkt  we  hud  Lett :r  go  to  a  ta/ir  place  lliun  RickmonS. 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  83 

It  is  true  that  President  Davis,  when  invited  bj  the  Legis- 
lature of  Virginia  to  express  his  intentions  towards  Richmond, 


"  We  have  not  decided  yet  where  we  shall  go,  but  I  ^hink  to  North  Carolica, 
"to  some  far-off  country  town,  or,  pcrhsip?,  io  South  Carolina.  If  Johnston 
"falls  back  as  far  as  Richmoiul,  all  our  troops  from  Gordonsville  and  "Switt 
"Run  Gap"  will  also  fall  back  to  this  place,  and  make  one  desperate  stand 
"  against  McClcIlan.  If  you  will  look  at  the  map,  y»u  will  sec  that  the 
"  Yankees  arc  npproacl'.ing  Richmond  from  three  diirerent  directions — from 
"  Fredericksburg,  Harrisonburg,  and  Yorktown.  Oh  !  God,  defend  this  peo- 
"  pie  with  thy  powerful  arm,  is  my  constant  prayer.  Oh,  mother,  Uncle  Jeflf. 
"is  miserable.  He  tries  to  bcucheerful,  and  bear  up  against  such  a  continua- 
"  tion  t)f  troubles,  but,  oh,  I  fear  he  cannot  live  long,  if  be  does  not  get  some 
"rest  and  quiet. 

"Our  reverses  distressed  him  so  m\ich,  and  he  is  so  weak  and  feeble,  it 
"makes  my  heart  ache  to  look  at  him.  He  kn^ws  that  he  ought  to  send  his 
"  wife  and  children  away,  and  yet  he  cannot  bear  to  part  with  them,  and  we 
"all  dread  to  leave  him  too.     Varina  and  I  had  a  bard  cry  about  it  to-day, 

"  Oh  i  what  a  blow  the  fall  of  New  Orleans  was.  It  liked  to  have  set  us  all. 
"crazy  here.  Everybody  looks  depressed,  and  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy 
"looks  drooping  and  sinking;  but  if  God  is  with  us,  whocan  be  against  us? 
"Our  troops  are  not  doing  as  well  as  we  expected  *******  jhe 
"regiments  that  are  most  apt  tg  rua  are  from  North  Carolina  and  Tennes- 
"  see.  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  the  Mississippi  and  Couisiana  troops  beharo 
"gloriously  whenever  called  on  to  fight. 

"Uncle  Jeff,  thinks  you  are  safe  at  home,  as  there  tvill  be  no  rcsiitance  ai 
"Vicksburff,  and  the  Yankees  will  hardly  occupy  it ; -and,  even  if  tiiey  did, 
V  the  army  would  gain  notliing  by  marching  into  the  country,  and  a  few 
"soldiers  would  be  afraid  to  go  so. far  into  the  interior. 

"P.  S.  We  all  leave  here  to-mwrow  morning  for  Raleigh.  Three  gnn- 
"  boats  are  in  James  River,  on  their  way  to  the  city,  and  may  probably  reaoh 
"here  in  a  few  hours;  so  we  have  no  longer  any  time  to  delay.  I  only  hope 
"that  we  have  not  delayed  too  long  already.  _  I  shall  then  be  cut  off  from  all 
"communication  with  — ,  and  I  expect  to  have  no  longer. any  pea6(?." 

"1  will  write  again  from  Raleigh,  aad  Fanny  must  write  me  a  letter  and 
"direct  it  to  Raleigh;  perhaps  I  may  get  it.  F  am  afraid  that  Richmond 
"will  fall  inta  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  as  there  is  no  way  to  keep  back  the 
"gunboats.  James  River  is  so  high  that  all  obstructions  are  in  danger  of 
"being  washed  away  ;  so  that  there  is  no  help  for  the  city.  She  will  either 
"submit  or  else  be  shelled,  an^  I  think,  the  latter  alternative 'will  ba* 
"  resorted  to. 

"Uncle  Jeff,  was  confirmed  last'Tue.'day  in  St.  Paul's  Church  by  Bishop 
"Johns.     He  was  baptized  at  home  in  the  morning  before  church. 

"  Do  try  to  get  a  letter  to  me  some  way.  Direct  some  to  Raleigh  and  some 
"  to  Richmond.  Yours,  ever  devotedly,  , 


94  TOE    SECOND    VEAR    OF    THE    AVAR. 

had  dcclarcil  that  he  entertained  the  prospect  of  holding  it.- 
Bat  his  reply  was  full  of  embarrassment.  While  he  declared 
his  intention  not  to  surrender  the  city,  he  at  the  same  time 
poggosted  the  fangiful  possibility,  that  even  with  the  loss  of 
Richmond  oUr  struggle  for  independence  might  be  protracted 
for  many  years  in  the  mountai"ns  of  Virginia.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  acts  of  the  Confederate  ofiicials  gave  visible  and 
unmistakable  signs  of  their  sens9  of  the  insecurity  of  the 
capital.  They  added  to  the  public  alarm  by  preparations  to 
remove  the  archives.  They  ran  off  their  wives  and  children 
into  the  country.  They  gave  the  public  every  reason  to 
believe  that  Uichmond  was  to  become  the  prey  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  catastrophe  was  awaited  with  lively  alaruv,  or  dull  and 
melancholy  expectation. 

In  the  early  weeks  of  May  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy 
■presented  many  strange  and  humiliating  spectacles.  The  air 
was  filled  with  those  rumours  of  treason  and  disloyalty  which 
seem  invariably  to  grow  out  of  a  sense  of  insecurity.  Men 
xrho  had  been  lojidest  in  their  prf)fessions  of  resistance  and 
Belf-devotion  when  the  Yankees  were  at  a  distance,  were  now 
engaged  in  secreting  their  property,  and  a  few  openly  flattered 
tbenipclvcs  that  they  had  not  committed  themselves  in  the  war 
in  a  way  to  incur  the  enemy's  resentment.  Some  of  them  had 
their  ccUars  packed  with  manufactured  tobacco.  The  railroad 
trains  were  crowded  with  refugees.  At  every  extortioner's 
shop  on  Main  Street,  even  including  the  book-stores,  an  array 
of  packing  trunks  invited  attention,  and  suggested  the  necessity 
of  flight  from  Richmond.  At  the  railroad  depots  were  to  be 
Been  piles  of  baggage,  awaiting  transportation.  But  the  most 
abundant  and  humiliating  ^igns  of  the  panic  were  to  be  seen 
in  the  number  of  pine  boxes  about  the  departments  ticketed 
"  Columbia,  South  Carolina,"  and  which  contained  the  most 
valuable  of  the  piiblic  archives. 

In  this  condition  of  the  public  mind,  a  new  appeal  was  made 
to  it.  When  it  was  ascertained  that  the  Monitor,  Galena,  and 
Aristook,  were  about  to  head  for  Richmond,  the  Legislature  of 


THE    SECOND  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  35 

.Virginia  passed  resolutions  calling  upon  the  Confederate 
authorities  to  defend  it  to  the  last  extremity,  and  to  make 
choice  of  i);s  destruction  rather  than  that  of  surrender  to  the 
enemy.  Tiiis  resolution  uas  worthy  of  the  noble  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  of  a  people  Avho  were  the  descendants  of  AVash- 
ington's  coteraporaries,  of  Hampden's  friends,  and  of  King 
John's  Barons.  Its  terms  were  too  explicit  to  admit  of  any 
doubt  in  their  construction,  or  any  wavering  on  the  part  of  tho 
Confederate  authorities.  They  cxfiressed  the  desire  that  Rich- 
mond should  be  defended  to  the  last  extremity,  and  declared 
that  "  the  President  be  assured,  that  whatever  destruction  or 
loss  of  property  of  the  State  or  individuals  shall  thereby  result, 
will  be  cheerfully  submitted  to." 

The  resolutions  of  the  Legislature  were  responded  to  in 
meetings  of  citizens.  The  magical  effects  of  the  spirit  which 
they  created  will  long  be  remembered  in  Richmond.  The 
Confederate  authorities  were. stimulated  by  the  brave  lesson; 
inert  and  speculative  patriotism  was  aroused  to  exertion ; 
mutual  inspiration  of  courage  and  devotion  passed  from  heart 
to  heart  through  the  community,  and  with  the  restoration  of 
public  confidence,  came  at  last  vigorous  preparations.  The 
■  James  was  rapidly  filled  up,  the  works  at  Drewry's  Bluff  were 
strengthened,  and  a  steady  defiance  offered  to  -the  Yankee  gun- 
boats, which  had  appeared  within  a  few  miles  of  the  city  at  a 
moment  when  the  last  gap  in  our  river  obstructions  was  filled 
up  by  a  scuttled  schooner.  ^ 

On  the  loth  of  ^lay,  the  fleet  of  Yankee  gunboats  in  the 
James  opened  an  attack  on  our  batteries  at  Drewry's  Bluff. 
The  sound  of  the  guns  was  heard  in  the  streets  of  Richmond, 
and  \arious  and  uncertain  reports  of  the  fortunes  of  the  contest 
agitated  the  public.  In  the  midst  of  the  excitement,  an. extra- 
ordinary scene  occurred  in  the  city.  A  meeting  of  citizena 
had  been  called  at  the  City  Hall  on  an  accidental  occasion, 
and  at  the  enthusiastic  call  of  the  crowd,  impromptu  addresses 
were  made  by  the  Governor  of  Virginia  and  the  Mayor  of  the* 
city.     Each  of  these  officials  pledged  his  faith  that  Richmond! 


^  TIIK    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

alioulil  never  be  surrendered.  Gov.  Letcher  declared,  with  a 
peculiar  warmth  of  expression,  that  if  the  demand  was  made 
upon   him,  with  the  alternative  to  surrender  or  be  shelled,  he 

should  reply,  ■"  bombard  and  be  d ;-d."     Mayor  Mayo  was 

not  loss  determined  in  the  language  which  he  addressed  to  the 
citizens.  He  told  them  that  even  if  they  were  to  require  him 
to  surrender  the  Capital  of  Virginia  and  of  the  Confederacy, 
he  would,  sooner  than  comply,  resign  the  nia3t)ralty ;  and 
that,  despite  his  age,  he  still  had  the  nerve  and  strength  to 
ghoulder  a  musket  in  defence  of  the  city  founded  by  one  of  his 
ancestors.  These  fervid  declarations  were  responded  to  by 
the  citizens  with  Avild  and  ringing  shouts,  l^or  were  these  the 
demonstrations  of  a  mob.  Among  those  who  so  enthusias- 
tically approved  the  resolution  of  consigning  Richmond  to  the 
flames  rather  than  to  the  possession  of  the  enemy,  were  some 
of  the  most  wealtliy  and  respectable  citizens  of  the  place, 
whose  stakqs  of  property  in  the  city  were  large,  and  whose 
beautiful  homes  were  exposed  to  the  shot  and  shell  of  the 
malignant  foe. 

The  night  brought  the  news  of  a  signal  victory.  Our  batte- 
ries, under  the  skillful  command  of  Capt.  Farrand,  had,  after  a 
contest  of  four  hours  and  a  half,  given  a  decisive  repulse  to  the 
gunboats,  with  the  inconsiderable  loss  of  five- killed  and  seven 
wounded.  The  accuracy  of  oui;  fire  had  astonished  the  enemy 
and  carried  dismay  through  his  fleet.  Eighteen  shots  went 
through  the  sides  of  tjie  Galena,  according  to  the  enemy's  own 
account ;  and  this  river  monster  lost  thirty  of  her  crew  in 
killed  and  wounded.  Seventeen  men  were  killed  on  another 
of  the  boats  by  the  explosion  of  a  gun.  The  boats  had  been 
unable *to  advance  in  the  face  of  the  accurate  and  deadly  fire 
of  yuv  artillerists,  and  the  riext  day  they  had  dropped  down 
the  stream,  quite  satisfied  of  the  impracticability  of  the  water 
approach  to  Richmond. 

Regarding  all  the  circumstances  in  which  this  action  had 

•taken  place,  there  is  no  extravagance  in  saying,  that  the  scale 

of  the  war  was  turned  in  our  favour  by  even  so  small  an  affair 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  37 

as  that  of  Drewry's  Bluff.  It  exploded  the  fanciful  theories 
of  the  enemy's  invincibility  on  the  water,  and  went  far  to 
assure  the  s^ifety  of  the  now  cJosely  threatened  Capital  of  the 
Confederacy. 

But  there  were  other  causes  .about  this  time  which  conspired 
to  renew  the  popular  confidence  in  our  arms,  and  to  swell  with 
gratitude  and  hope  the  hearts  which  had  so  long  throbbed 
with  anxiety  in  our  besieged  capital.  We  shall  see  how,  for 
some  time,  at  least,  the  safety  of  Richmond  was  trusted,  not 

■  so  much  to  the  fortunes  of  the  forces  that  immediately  pro- 
tected it,  as  to  the  splendid  diversion  of  the  heroic  Jackson  in 
the  Valley  of  Virginia.  To  this  famous  expedition  public 
attention  was  now   turned,  in   the  North  as  well  as  in   the 

•South,  and  its  almost  marvellous  results,  with  markpd  una- 
nimity, were  ascribe^  to  the  zeal,  heroism  and  genius  of  its 
commander  alone. 

Jackson's  campaign  in  the  valley. 

On  the  change  of  our  military  lines  in  Virginia,  and  tho 
rapid  shifting  of  the  scene  of  active  hostilities  from  the  Poto- 
mac, Gen. .Jackson  had  been  assigned  with  a  small  force  to 
guard  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  ana  the  approaches  in  that 
direction,  to  the  armies  of  the  enemy  which  enveloped  Rich- 
mond. 

Our  first  success  was  obtained  in  the  upper  portion  of  th-a 
Valley.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  May,  our  forces  ha.i 
approached  the  position  of  Milroy,  the  Yankee  commander  at 
McDowell.  The  brigade  of  (general  Johnson  had  secured  an 
advantageous  position  on  a  hill,  and  the  enemy,  fearful  of 
being  surrounded,  decided  at  last,  after  some  signs  of  hesita- 
tion, to  deliver  battle.  The  action  was  not  joined  until  about 
two  hours  of  sunset.  The  fact  was,  that  we  engaged  the  enemy 
with  not  more  than  one  third  of  his  own  numbers,  which  wcro 
about  twelve  thousand.  But  the  contest  was  easily  decided 
by  the  brave  troops  of  Johnson's  brigade,  composed  of  Virginia 
volunteers,  with  the  12th  Georgia  regiment.     They  had  stood 


38  THE   SBCON'D   YEAR   OP  THE   WAR. 

\ 

for  nearly  two   hourd  receiving  with  composed  courage   the 

cross  fire  of  the  cnetnj's  artillery ;  and  then,  as  the  sun  was 

winking,  they  made  the  charge  decisive  of  the  da^',  and  drove 

the  enemy  i^  consternation  and  utter  rout  from  the  field. 

Our  loss  in  this  action  was  considerable.  Of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  (cillcd  and  wounded,  nearly  two-thirds  were  Georgians. 
The  troops  of  this  State  on  other  occasions  than  this  had  left 
monuments  of  their  courage  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia. 
Tiic  loss  of  the  enemy  at  McDowell  exceeded  that  of  the  Con- 
federates, and  was  conjectured  to  be  double  our  own. 

It  was  probably  at  the  suggestion  of  his  own  judgment,  and 
^t  the  instance  of  his  own  military  instincts,  that  Gen.  Jackson 
determined  to"  act  on  the  aggressive,  and  to  essay  the  extra- 
ordinary task  of  driving  the  Yankees  from  the  Valley*.  In 
pursuance  of  this  determination,  his  rciolution  was  quickly 
taken  to  make  a  dash  at  Fremont's  advance,  west  of  Staunton, 
and  then  to  turn  .upon  Banks  with,  the  adventurous  purpose  of 
driving  him  into  Maryland. 

Gen.  Banks,  one  of  the  military  pets  of  the  more  truculent 
party  of  the  abolitionists,  had  entered  A'irginia  with  the  airs  of 
a  conqueror.  As  early  as  the  24th  of  April  he  had  telegraphed 
to  his  government  the  story  of  uninterrupted  and  triumphant 
progrosis ;  he  announced  that  he  had  "  advanced  near  Harris- 
onburg;" and,  with  a  characteristic  flourish,  he  added  :  "  Tho 
rebel  Jackson  has  abandoned  the  Valley  of  Virginia  perma- 
nently, and  is  en  route  for"  Gordonsville  by  the  way  of  the 
taountuins." 

Tile  first  intimation  the  obtuse  Yankee  General  had  of  his 
mistalco  was  the  astounding  news  that  reached  him  on  the 
evening  of  May  2"jd,  that  the  "rebel  Jackson"  had  descended 
on  the  guard  at  Front  Koyal,  Colonel  Kcnly,  1st  Maryland 
regiment,  commanding,  burned  the  bridges,  driven  the  Federj^l 
troops  towards  Stnisburg  with  great  loss,  captured  a  section  of 
artillery,  and  taken  about  fourteen  hundred  prisoners. 

It  was  now  Banks's  turn  to  betake  himself  to  flight,  or,  in 
the  official  circumlocution  of  that  commander,  "  to  enter  the 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  39 

lists  with  the  enemy  in  a  race  or  a  battle,  as  he  should  choose, 
for  the  possession  of  Winchester,  the  key  of  the  Valley.**  But 
he  was  not  destined  to  reach  his  promised  haven  of  security 
without  disaster.  * 

On  th6  day  following  the  sudden  apparition  of  Jackson  at 
Front  Royal,  tlie  untiring  commander  had  by  a  rapid  movo- 
mcnt  succeeded  in  piercing  Banks'  main  column  while  retreat- 
ing from  Strasburg  to  Winchester;  the  rear,  including  a  body 
of  the  celebrated  Zouaves  d'Afriquc,  retreating  towards  Stras- 
burg. 

The  Yankee  General  reached  "Winchester  only  to  find  fresh 
causes  of  alarm.  The  people  of  that  ancient  town,  already 
sure  of  their  deliverance,  received-  the  Yankees  witli  shouts  of 
derision  and  defiant  cheers  for  Jackson.  Some  Confederate 
oflicei's  came  into'  the  enemy's  camp  with  entire  unconcern, 
supposing  that  their  own  troops  occupied  the  town  as  a  matter 
of  couj'se,  and  when  captured„gave  the  Yankees  the  delightful 
assurance  that  an  attack  would  be  made  by  the  terrible  Jackson" ^ 
at  daybreak.  ^ 

On  the  25th  of  May,  Gen.  Jackson  gave  the  crowning  stroke 
t(T  the  rapid,  movements  of  the  past  two  days  by  attacking 
Winchester  and  driving  out  the  cowardly  enemy  almost  without 
resistance.  Gen.  Banks  speaks  of  his  retreat  with  a  shamclesa- 
ness  that  is  at  once  simple  and  refreshing.  He  says  "  pursuit 
by -the  enemy  was  prompt  and  vigorous;  but  our  movemeiitfl 
were  rapid ;"  and  he  writes  to  tlie  authorities  at  Washington 
of  his  crossing  of  the  Potomac:  "There  never  were  raoro 
grateful  hearts  in  the  same  numper  of  men  than  when  at  mid- 
day on  the'  30th  of  May  wc  stood  on  the  opposite  shore."  lie 
had  escaped  with  the  loss  of  all  the  material  and  paraphernalia 
that  constitute  an  army,  lie  ITad  abandoned,  at  Winchester 
all  .his  commissary  and  ordnance  stores.  He  had  resigned 
that  town  and  Front  Royal  to  the  undisputed  possession  of  the 
Confederates.  He  had  left  in  their  hands  four  thousand 
prisoners,  and  stores  amounting  to  millions  of  dollars.  And 
all  these  prizes  had  been  obtained  by  the  Confederates  in  the 


40  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

brief  poriotl  of  a  few  days,  and  with  a  loss  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  in  kilIo<l  and  wounded. 

When  (tencr.il  Jackson  fell  back  from  Winchester,  after 
routinp  Banks,  \f^  managed,  with  great  address,  boldness  and 
encr;:v.  to  carry  oflf  his  prisoners  and  spoils,  and  to  bring  off 
his  arinv  between  the  converging  columns  of  Fremont,  who 
approached  his  rear  from  the  west,  with  eight  brigades,  and 
Bhiclds,  who  approached  from  the.  -cast,  with  four  brigades. 
If  these  brigades  averaged  twenty-five  hundred  men,  the  forpe 
of  Fremont  was  twenty  thousand  and  that  of  Shields  ten 
thousand  men.  At  Harrisonburg,  Jackson  left  the  main  turn- 
pike r<5ad  of  the  Valley  and  marched  towards  Port  Republic, 
the  distance  between  these  tfs'o  placcsbeifig  about  twelve  miles. 
Port  Republic  is  situated  at  the  junction  of  South  river,  flow- 
ing north,  and  North  river,  flowing  east.  Jackson  could  retire 
no  further  without  crossing  North  river,  which  was  swollen, 
and  there  was  then  no  bridge  over  it  except  at  Port  Republic. 
The  two  rivers  uniting  at  that  village  form  the  Shenandoalr, . 
which  flow3  north,  ajid  which  could  not  then  be  crossed  by  an 
army.  On  the  cast  side  of  that  stream  was  the  array  of  Shields, 
and  on  the  west  side  were  the  armies  of  Fremont  and  Jackson. 
The  latter  halted  near  North  river  without  crossing  it,  and,' 
while  in  that  position,  his  rear  was  approached  and  attacked 
by  Fremont's  whole  army,  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  8th 
of  June,. and,  at  the  same  time,  Shields'  force  approached  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Shenandoah  near  Port  Republic. 

That  part  of  Jackson's  army  which  engaged  Fremont  on 
Sunday -Avas  commanded  by  General  Ewell,  while  the  rest  of 
the  army  under  General  Jackson  held  Shields  in  check  with 
Artillery  firing  across  the  Shenandoah  near  Port  Republic. 
The  battle  of  Sunday  took  place  about  five  miles  from  that 
village  ill  the  direction  of  Harrisonburg. 

It  began  early  in  the  morning  and  lasted  all  day,  with  occa- 
pional  intervals.  .  It  was  mainly  an  artillery  fight,  but  now  and 
then,  here  and  there,  the  infantry  became  hotly  engaged. 
The  force  under  Fremont  was  much  larger  than  that  under 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  41 

Ewell,  but  the  latter  was  strongly  posted  on  eminences  which 
favored  the  effectiveness  of  artillery  and  sheltered  the  infantry, 
while  the  enemy  could  only  approach  through  open  fields. 
Ewell's  command  was  handled  wkh  remarkable  skill,  while 
Fremont's  generalsliip  was  indifferent.  Ewell's  artillery  was 
served  with  admirable  precision  and  effect,  and  his  infantry, 
whenever  engaged,  displayed  grqat  steadiness  'and  gallantry. 
.The  result  was,  that  when  night  put  an  end  to  the  contest, 
Fremont  had  been  driven  back  between  one  and  two  miles, 
with  a  loss,  in  killed  and  wounded,  not  less  than  two  thousand, 
■  and  probably  much  larger,  v.hile  our  loss  did  not  exceed  three 
hundred,  and  probably  not  two  hundred.  The  judicious  selec- 
•tion  of  a  position  in  which  to  receive  the  enemy  favored  this 
result,  but  it  was  largely  due  to  the  superiour  fighting  quali- 
ties of  our  men. 

Soon  after  nightfall,-  General  Jgckson  began  to  withdraw 
his  men  from  this  battle-field,  and  pass  them  over  North  river 
by  the  bridge  at  Port  Republic,  with  a  view  to  attack  Shields  • 
the  next  morning.  He  left  in  front  of  Fremont  a  small  force 
to  amuse  and  detain  him,  and,  after  retiring  before  him  to  Port 
Republic,  to  burn  the  brfdge  behind  them,  and  thus  to  prevent 
Fremont  from  rendering  any  aid  to  Shields.  All  this  wa^  ac- 
complished. 

On  Monday  morning,  Jackson  passed  the  greater  part  of 
his  army  across  the  South  river  (the  smallest  of  the  streams) 
by  means  of  a  bridge  made  of  planks  laid  on  wagons  ftlaced 
in  the  river.  Early  in  the  morning  a  sufficient  number  had 
crossed  to  commence  the  battle,  and  they  were  led  to  the  field 
between  one  and  two  miles  distant,  en  the  east  bank  of  the 
Shenandoah.  The  enemy's  force  was  found  drawn  up  await- 
ing the  attack.  .  . 

The  enemy's  line  extended  from  the  river  about  half  a  mile 
across  a  flat  bottom,  free  from  timber,  and  covered  with  wheat, ' 
grass,  (fcc.     His  left  rested  on  the  point  of  a  low  ridge  coming 
out  from  the  woods  which  skirt  the  bottom.     On  a  slight  ele- 
vation there  and  ig  some  small  knolls  in  the  bottom,  he  had  his 


42     "  TUB    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

artillery  comTnan<ling  the  road  and  the  wide  uncovered  level 
plain,  over  which  Jackson's  array  was  obliged  to  advance* 
The  level  and  exposed  ground  ofTcred  scarcely  any  suitable  po- 
sition for  planting  our  artillery.  The  advantage  of  position 
bcl'>ii;_'c.l  altogether  to  the  enemy.  The  capital  fault  of  his 
disjiusitiun  for  battle  was  that  the  battery  on  his  extreme  left 
was  posted  nedr  the  woods  without  any  infantry  in  the  woods 
to  defend  it.  By  availing  himself  of  this  circumstance,  and 
by  a  brilliant  manoeuvre  and  charge,  Jackson  turned  the  for- 
tune of  the  day  at  a  critical  moment. 

For  some  two  hours  the  battle  raged  with  great  fury.  Our 
infantry,  at  first  but  few,  advanced  with  marvelous  intrepidity 
in  the  face  of  a  withering  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry.  At 
one  moment  the  enemy  advanced  a  section  of  a  battery  several 
hundred  3'ards  so  as  to  enfilade  our  left  wing,  which  already 
suffered  terribly  from  the  fire  in  front..  It  seemed. that  nothing 
could  withstand  the  fury  of  the  enemy's  fire  of  all  arms.  Ilis 
artillery  was  very  fine,  and  was  served  with  great  effect  by 
regulars.  But  other  troops  coming  at  double  quick  from  Port 
Bepublic,  came  on  the  field,  and,  at  'the  same  time,  the  Louisi- 
ana brigade,  under  Taylor,  emerged"'  from  the  woods  on  the 
cncpiy's  left.  They  had  been  sent  by  a  considerable  circuit 
through  the  woods,  which  extend  all  along  the  battle-field  be- 
tween the  cleared  grouhd  and  the  neighbouring  mountain.  By 
a  slight  error  of  direction  they  came  out  of  the  woods  a  little 
too  s8on,  and  found  themselves  almost  in  front  of  the  battery, 
which  instantly  began  to  shower  grape  upon  them.  But,  im- 
mediately rectifying  their  direction,  they  charged  tlu3  battery 
with  irresistible  Impetuosity,  and  carried  it.  The  contest  then 
was  speedily  ended.  The  enemy's  whole  line  gave  way  and 
was  presently  retreating  in  disorder,  pursued  by  our  cavalry. 
The  pursuit  was  kept  up  about  ten  or  twelve  miles,  but  the 
flight  continued  all  that  day  and  the  next.  About  five  hun- 
dred prisoners  were  taken  that  day,  and  others  after  that  Avere 
■  brought  in  daily.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  in  killed  and  wounded 
was  heavy,  and  so  was  our  own.     Six  splgndid  cannon  were 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  43 

t 

captured  on  the  field,  another  was  .taken  in  the  pursuit,  and 
still  another  had  been  captured  on  Sunday.  The  force  of  the 
enemy  engaged  was  about  six  or  seven  .thousand,  and  ours  a 
little  larger.  Shields  was  not  present,  but  his  troops  were 
connnanded  by  General  Tylcri 

After  the  rout  of  the  enemy  had  commenced;  the  last  of  our 
troops  crossed  over  the  bridge  {it  Port  Republic  and  burnt  it. 
Fremont,  cautiously  following,  appeared  some  time  afterwards, 
and  drew  up  his  army  in  line  of  battle  on  the  heights  along 
the  west  bank  of  the  Shenandoah,  from  which  he  overlooked 
the  field  of  battle.  While  he  stood  there  in  impotent  idleness, 
Jackson's  army,  having  finally  disposed  of  Shields,  moved  off 
at  leisure  to  Brown's  Gap,  and  there  encamped,  to  rest  for  a 
few  days  from  the  fatigues  of  a  month's  campaign  more  ardu- 
ous and  more  successful  than  any  month's  operations  of  the 
war.  The  exhaustion  of  our  men  and  the  interposition  of  a 
river,  no  longer  bridged,,  secured  Fremont  from  a  second  bat-; 
tic  or  a  hasty  flight.  The  next  day  he  commenced  his  retreat 
down  the  Valley. 

This  fimous  campaign  must,  indeed,  take  a  rank  in  tire  his- 
tory of  the  war,  urjrivalled'by  any  other  in  the  rapidity  of  its 
movements  and»n  the  brilliancy  of  the  results  accomplished, 
compared  with  the  means  at  its  command.  Its  heroic  deeds 
revived  the  hopes  of  the  South,  and  threw  the  splendour  of 
sunlight  over  the  long  lines  of  the  Confederate  host.  By  a 
scries  of  rapid  movements,  which  occupied  but  a  'few  weeks, 
General  Jackson  had,  with  inferiour  numbers,  defeated  succes- 
sively four  Generals,  with  as  many  armies,  swept  the  Valley  of 
"Virginia  of  hostile  forces,  made  the  Federal  authorities  trem- 
ble in  their  capital,  and  frustrated  the  combinations  by'  which 
the  enemy  had  purposed  to  aid  General  McCIellan  and  environ 
lli'chmond  by  large  converging  armies. 

Our  loss  of  life  in  this  campaign  was  inconsiderable  in  num- 
bers ;  but  on  the  black  list  of  killed,  thwe  was  one  name  con- 
spicuous throughout  the  Confederacy,  and  especially  dear  to 
Virginians.     Colonel  Turner  Ashby,  whose  name  was  linked 


44  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

with  80  much  of  the  romance  of  the  war,  and  whose  gentle  and 
enthusiastic  courage  and  knightly  bearing  had  called  to  mind 
the  recollections  of  chivalry  and  adorned  Virginia- with  a  new 
chaplet  of  fame,  had,  on  the  5th  of  June,  fallen  in  a  skirmish 
near  Ilarrishurg. 

"  Tho  last  time  I  saw  Ashby,".  Avrites  a  noble  conu-ade  in 
arms,  Colonel  Bradley  T.  Johnson  of  the  Maryland  Line,  "  he 
was  riding  at  the  head  of  the  column  with  General  Ewell — his 
black  face  in  a  blaze  of  enthusiasm.  Every  feature  beamed 
with  the  joy  of  the  soldier.  lie  was  gesticulating  and  point- 
ing out  the  country  and- positions  to  General  Ewell.  I  could 
imagine  what  he  was  saying  by  the  motions  of  his  right  arm. 
I  pointed  him  out  to  my  Adjutant.  'Look  at  Ashby  ;  see  how 
he  is  enjoying  himself.'  " 

A  few  hours  later  and  the  brave  Virginian,  so  full  of  life, 
was  a  corpse.  Our  men  had  fallen  upon  a  body  of  the  enemy 
concealed  in  a  piece  of  woods  and  lender  the  cover  of  a  fence. 
Ash b}' was  on  the. right  of  the  58th  A^irginia.  He  implored 
the  men  to  stop  their  fire,  which  .was  inelfectual,  and  to  charge 
the  enemy.  They  were  too  much  excited  to  heed  him,  and 
turning  towards  the  enemy  he  wa\'ed  his  l^and — "Virginians, 
charge!"  In  a  second  his  horse  fell.  lie  a\«s  on  his  feet  in 
an  instant.  "Men,"  he  cried,  "cease  firing — charge,  for  God's 
sake,  charge!"  Tho  next  instant  he  fell  dead — not  twenty 
yards  from  the  concealed  marksman  who  had  killed  him. 

To  the  sketch  we  have  briefly  given  of  this  campaign,  it  is 
just  to  add  one  word  of  reflection.  It  had  been  frequently  and 
very  unwarrantably  asserted  that  the  people  of  what  was  once 
the  garden  spot  of  the  South,  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  were' 
favourably  inclined  to  the  Union  cause,  and  th^it  many  of  them 
had  Hliown  a  very  decided  spirit  of  disloyalty  to  the  Confede- 
rate authority.  The  best  refutation  of  this  slander  is  to'be 
found  in  the  enemy's  own  accounts  of  his  experiences  in  that 
region. 

The  fact  is,  that  the  people  of  this  Valley  had  suffered  to  a 
most  extraordinary  degree  the  fiery  trials  and  ravages  of  war. 


TUB    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.    ,  45 

Their  country  had  been  bandied  about  from  tlie  possession  of 
the  Confederates  to  that  of  the  Yankees,  and  then  back  again, 
until  it  had  been  stripped  of  everything  by  needy  friends  oh 
the  one  side,  and  unscrupulous  invaders  on  the  other.  Some 
portions  of  the  country  were  actually  overrun  by  three  armies 
in  two  weeks.  In  such '  circumstances  there  were,  no  doubt, 
expressions  of  discontent,  which  had  been  hastily  misinter- 
preted as  disloyal  demonstrations;  but,  despite  these,  there  is 
just  reason  to  believe  that  a  spirit  of  patriotism  and  integrity 
abided, in  the  Valley  of  Virginia, "and  that  it  nad  been  main- 
tained untjer  trials  and  chastisements  much  greater  than  those 
which  had  befallen  other  parts  of  the  Confederacy.      • 


MEMOIR  OF  TURNER  ASIIBY. 

The  writer  liad  proposed  a  record  in  another  and  more  extensive  form  of 
the  principal  events  of  the  life  of  Turner  Ashby;  but  the  disappointment  of 
assistance  to  sources  of  information  from  persons  who  bad  represented  them- 
selvcs^s  the  friends  of  the  deceased,  and  from  whom  the  writer  had  reason  to 
expect  willing  and  warm  co-operation,  has  compelled  him  to  defer  the  execu- 
tion of  his  original  and  cherished  purpose  of  giving  to  the  public  a  worthj 
biography  of  one  whose  name  is  a  source  of  immortal  pride  to  the  South, 
and  an  enduring  ornament  to  the  chivahy  of  Virginia.  But  the  few  incidents 
roughly  thrown  together  here  may  have  a  certain  interest.  They  give  the 
key  to  the  character  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  war;  they 
afford  an  example  to  be  emulated  by  our  soldiers;  they  represent  a  typo  of 
courage  peculiarly  Southern  in  its  aspects;  and  they  add  an  unfading  leaf  to 
the  chaplct  of  glory  which  Virginia  has  gathered  on  the  blood-stained  fields 
of  the  war. 

It  is  not  improper  here  to  state  the  weight  and  significance  given  to  the 
present  revolution  by  the  secession  of  Virginia.  It  takes  time  for  revolutions 
to  acquire  their  meaning  and  proper  significance.  That  which  was  com- 
menced by  the  Cotton  States  of  the  South,  attained  its  growth,  developed  its 
purpose,  and  became  instantly  and  thoroughly  in  earnest  at  the  period  when 
the  arcond  secesnionary  movement,  inaugurated  by  Virginia,  confronted  the 
powers  at  Washington  with  its  sublime  spectacles. 

Virginia  did  not  eecede  in  either  the  circuraf-lance  or  sense  in  which  the 
Cotton  States  had  separated  themselves  from  the  Union.  She  did  not  leave 
the  Union  with  delusive  prospects  of  peace  to  comfort  or  sustiiin  her.  She 
did  not  secede  in  the  seusc  in  which  .separation  from  the  Union  was  the  pri- 
mary obj«ct  of  secession.  Her  act. of  secession  was  subordinate;  she  waf 
Called  upon  to  oppose  a*  practical  and  overt  usurpation  on  the  part  of  the 


4G  THB    SKCOSD    YEATI    OF    THE    MAU. 

OoTernmenUiit  Waobinjrfon  in  (Imwing  its  swoxJ  against  the  povcrcignt}- of 
Htn(C!»  firi<>  inKiKting  on  the  right  of  coercion;  to  contest  this  her  f^epfirntion 
fnnii  i1j<  liiion  was  nccessiir^,  and  became  a  painful  formality  which  could 
not  bf  <l:'j>«-nfcd  with. 

A  ju*t  iind  pbiloK'i  hical  obcervalinn  of  events  must  find  that  in  this  second 
»••ceJ^^ionarJ  moTement  of  tiie  Southern  8t«tei-,  the  revolution  was  put  on  a 
ba»i8  infirtilely  higher  and  firmer  in  all  its  moral  and  couhtitutional  iispocts; 
that  at  tliid  period  it  developed  itscjf.  acquired  its  proper  significance,  ai.d 
was  brondljr  translated  into  a  war  of  liberty.  The  movement  of  Virginia  had 
more  tiinn  onjthing  else  added  to  the  moral  influences  of  the  revolution  and 
perfected  its  justification  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  It  was  plain  that  i-hc  had 
Dot  acceded  on  an  issue  of  policy,  but  one  of  distinct  and  practical  cotirrtitu- 
tionn!  right,  and  th'at,  too,  in  the  Gace  of  a  war  which  frowned  iipon  her  own 
boidern,  and  wliich  necessarily  was  to  make  her  foil  the  princi[ial  theatre  of 
its  ravrtgcs  and  woes.  Her  attachment  to  tlie  Union  had  been  ptovcd  by.tlio 
mofct  unth-ing  and  noble  cffurts  to  save  it;  her  Legislature  originated  the 
Peace  Conference,  wliich  a^stmblcd  at  Washington  in  February,  18GI;  her 
representatives  in  Congress  sought  in  that  body  every  mode  of  honourable 
pacification;  her  Convention  sent  delegates  to  Washington  to  persuade  Mr. 
Lincoln  to  a  pacific  policy ;  and  iu  every  form  of  public  asscmhly,  every  ex- 
pedient of  negotiation  was  essayed  to  save  the  Union.  When  these  efforts  at 
pacification,  which  Virginia  had  made  with  an  unselfishness  without  parallel, 
and  with  a  nobility  of  spirit  that  scorned  any  misrepresentation  of  her  office, 
proved  abortive,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  draw  her  sword  in  front  of  ihtf  enemy, 
and  to  devote  all  she  possessed  and  loved  and  hoped  for  to  the  fortunes'of  the 
war.  It  is  not  necessary  to  recount  at  length  the  services  of  this  ancient 
Commonwealth  in  the  war  for  Southern  independence.  She  furnislicd  nearly 
all  of  the  arms,  ammunition  and  accoutremeiit.s  that  won  the  early  battled; 
she  piivc  the  Confederate  se(|vice,  from  her  own  armories  and  stores,  seventy- 
fivpi  thousand  rifles  and  muskets,  nearly  three  luindred  pieces  of  artillery, 
and  a  magnificent  armory,  containing  all  the  machinery  necessary  for  manu- 
facturing arms  on  a  large  scolc;  and  on  every  occasion  she  replied  to  tlie  call 
for  troops,  until  she  drained  her  arms«bcaring  population  to  the  dregs. 

It  is  a  circumstance  of  most  honourable  ren^ark,  that  such  has  been  the 
conduct  of  Virginia  in  this  war,  that  even  from  the  base  and  vindictive  enemy 
tributes  have  been  forced  to  the  devoted  coiyage  and  hcruic  qualities  of  her 
sons.  The  following  extraordinary  tribute  from  the  WaMhington  AV/u''>/<ca/t, 
the  organ  of  ab  jlition  at  the  Yankee  capital,  is  a  coninliment  more  expre.-sivo 
than  anything  a  Virginian  could  say  for  his  own  State  and  its  present  venera- 
tion of  heroes: 

"  If  there  has  been  any  decadence  of  the  manly  virtues  in  the  Old  Domin- 
"  ion,  it  is  not  because  the  present  generation  has  proved  itself  either  weak 
"or  cowardly  or  unequal  to  the  greatc.'^^t  emergencies.  No  people,  with  so 
"few  numbers,  ever  put  into  the  field,  and  kept  there  so  long,  troops  more 
"numerous,  brave,  or  more  efiicient,  or  produced  Generals  of  more  merit,  in 
"nit  the  kinds  and  grades  of  military  tsiJent.  It  is  not  u  worn-out,  effete  race 
•*  which  has  produced  Lee.  Johnston,  Jackson,  Ashby  and  Stuart.  It  is  not  a 
"worn-out  and  effete  race  which,  for  two  years, 'has  defended  its  capital 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  47 

"against  tbe  approach  of  an* enemy  close  upon  their  borders,  and  outnum- 
"bering  tliem  thirty  to  one.  It  is  not  a  worn-out  and  effete  race  which  hae 
"preserved  substantial  popular  unity  under  all  the  straits  and  pressure  and 
"sacrifices  of  this  unprecedented  war.  'Let  history,'  as  was  said  of  another 
"race,  'which  records  their  unhappy  fate  as  a  people,  do  justice  to  their 
"rude  virtues  as  men.'  They  are  fighting  madly  in  a  bad  cafise,  but  they 
"arc  fighting  bravely.  They  have  few  cowards  and  no  traitors.  The  hard- 
'•  ships  of  war  are  endured  without  a  murmur  bj'  all  classes,  and  the  dangers 
"of  war  without  flinching,  by  the  newest  conscripts;  while  their  gentry,  the 
"oflFshootof  their  popular  social  system,  have  thrown  themselves  into  the 
"  camp  and  field  with  all  the  dash  and  high  spirit?  of  the  European  nobleste  of 
"  the  middle  ages,  risking,  without  apparent  concern,  upon  a  desperate  ad- 
" venture,  all  that  men  value;  and  after  a  generation  of  peace  and  repose 
"and  security,  which  had'not  emasculated  them,  presenting  to  their  enemies 
"a  trained  and  intrepid  front,  as  of  men  born  and  bred  to  war." 

What  has  been  said  here  of.  Virginia  and  her  characteristics  in  the  present 
revolution,  is  the  natural  and  just  preface  to  what  we  have  to  say  of  the  man 
who,  more  than  any  one  else  in  this  war,  illustrated  the  chivalry  of  the  Com- 
monwealth and  the  virtues  of  her  gentry.  Turner  Ashby  was  a  thorough 
Virginian.  He  was  an  ardent  lover'of  the  old  Union.  Ho  was  brought  up 
in  that  conservative  and  respectable  school  of  politics  which  hesitated  long  to 
sacrifice  a  Union  which  had  been,  in  part,  constructed  by  the  most  illustrious 
of  the  sons  of  Virginia;  which  had  conferred  many  honours  upon  her;  and 
which  was  the  subject  of  manj'  hopes  in  the  future.  l?ut  when  it  became 
evident  that  the  life  of  the  Union  was  gone,  and  the  sword  was  drawn  for  con- 
Etitutional  liberty,  the  spirit  of  Virginia  was  again  illustrated, by  Ashby,  who 
showed  a  devotion  in  the  field  even  more  admirable  than  the  virtue  of  politi- 
cal principles. 

Turner  Ashby  was  the  second  son  of  the  late  Colonel  Turner  Ashby,  of 
"Rose  Bank,"  Fauquier  county,  and  Dorothea  F.  Green,  the  daughter  of  tiie 
late  James  Green,  Sr.,  of  Rappahannock  county.  Colonel  Ashby,  a^his  death, 
left  three  s^ns  and  three  daugiiters—  the  eldest  of  whom  did  not  exceed  twc'lv<j 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  d^atli — to  t)ie  sole  care  of  their  devoted  mo- 
ther. To  her  excellent  sense,  generous  disposition  and  noble  character,  the 
Confederacy  is  inJebted  for  two  as  noble  and  gallant  men  as  have  won  soldiers' 
graves  during  this  war. 

The  father  of  Turner  Ashby.  was  the  sixth  son,  that  reached  manhood,  of 
Captain  Jack  Ashby,  a  man  of  mark  in  the  day  in  whigh  he  lived,  and  of 
whom  many  anecdotes  are  still  extant,  illustrative  of  bis  remarkable  charac- 
ter.    One  of  these  belongs  to  the  colonial  times,  and  is  interesting: 

"When  the  news  of  the  disastrom  defeat  and  death  of  General  Braddock 
"reached  Fort  Loudoun,  (now  Winchester,  \^rginia,)  John  Ashby  was  there, 
"and  his  celebrity  as  a  horseman  induced  "le  British  Commandant  of  tho 
"post  to  secure  hifl  services  as  bearer  of  dispatches  to  the  Vice- Royal  Gov- 
"ernor  nt  Williamsburg.  Asiiby  at  once  proceeded  on  his  mission,  and  in  dn 
"incredibly  short  time  presented  himself  before  the  commander  at  Fort  Lou- 
"doun.  This  official,  of  cholerfc  disposition,  upon  the  appearance  of  Ashby, 
"broke  out  in  severe  reproach  for  bis  delay  in  proceeding  on  his  mission,  &iii 


48  THB    6KC0KD    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

••»•»  finallj  f track  dumb  with  afltonishmcnt.  at  the  presentation  of  the  Gov- 
"rrnpr'a  replj  to  the  divpatch!  .The  ride  is  Enid  to  have  bicn  accomplished 
"in  tbt  ibortest  poHsiblc  lime,  and  the  fact  is  certitivd  in  the  records  of  Frcd- 
" crick  county  court." 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  of  1770,  Captain  Jack  Ashby 
raircd  a  company  in  ills  neighbourhood  in  the  upper  part  of  Fauquier.  It 
wax  allarhed  to  the  third  Virginia  regiment,  under  command  of  General  Mur- 
^hllll.  He  wm  in  the  battles  of  Brandy  wine,  Gernmntonn,  and  Several  other 
of  the  mof«t  denperately  contested  fields  of  the  Revolution.  From  exposure 
and  hardships  endured  upon  the  frontiers  of  Canada,  he  contracted  disease, 
from  which  he  was  never  entirely  relieved  fo  the  day  of  his  deatii.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  service  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Revolution,  and  after  the 
proclamation  of  peace,  quittly  settled  upon  his  beautiful  farm  not  far  from 
Markhum  Station,  upon  the  Manassas  Gap  railroad.  Four  of  his  sons,  John, 
Samuel,  Nimrod  and  Thomson,  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 

The  father  of  our  hero  <lied,  as  we  have  stated,  leaving  a  family  of  children 
of  tender  age.  Young  Turner  was  put  to  school,  where  it  does  not  appear 
that  he  showed  any  peculiar  trait  in  his  studies;  but  he  was  remarkable 
omong  his  young  associates  for  his  sedate  manners,  his  grave  regard  for 
truth,  and  his  appreciation  of  points  ofhonour. 

Turner  .\shby  never  had  the  advantages  of  a  college  education,  but  he  had 
a  good,  healthy  mind;  he  jvas  an  attentive  student  of  human  nature,  and  a 
convenient  listener  where  information  was  to  be  gained;  and  he  possessed 
those  ordinary  stores  of  knowledge  which  mny  be  acquired  liy  a  moderate  use 
of  books  and  an  attentive  intercourse  with  men.  lie  was  engaged  for  some 
time  in  merchandise  at  Markham's  Depot.  The  old  homestead  of  his  father 
still  stands  near  there,  and  not  far  from  the  homestead  of  the  Mar^ialls. 
The  tastes  of  Ashby  were  trro  domestic  for  politics.  lie  was  nt  one  time 
Whig  candidate  for  the  Virginia  Legislature  from  Fauquier,  but  was  defeated 
by  a  small  majority.  This  was  his  only  public  appearance,  in  any  political 
strife,  and.  but  little  else  is  known  of  him  as  a  politician  beyond  his  ardent 
Admiration  of  and  personal  attachment  to  Robert  E.  Scott. 

AshUy's  attachment  to  domestic  life  was  enlivened  by  an  extreme  fondness 
for  manly  pastimes.  He  was  n  horseman  from  very  childhood,  and  had  the 
greatest  passion  for  equestrian  exercises.  His  delight  in  physical  excitements 
was  singularly  pure  and  virtuous;  he  shunned  the  dissipations  fashionable 
among  young  men;  and  while  so  sober  and  steady  in  his  habits  as  sometimes 
to  be  a  joke  among  his  coinj)anion8,  yet  ho  was  the  foremost  in  all  innocent 
sports,  the  first  to  get  up  tournaments  and  fox  chases,  and  almost  always  tlie 
eucccs'jful  competitor  in  all  manly  games.  His  favcrite  liorse  was  trained  for 
tournaments  and  fox- hunting,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  a  common  pastime 
of  Ashby  to  take  him  into  tli£  meadow  and  jump  him  over  hay  cocks  and 
Btone  fences.  Some  of  his  feats  of  horsemanship  /ire  memorable,  and  arc 
constantly  related  in  bis  neighbourhood.  While  at  the  Fauquier  Springs, 
which  he  frequently  visited,  and  where  he  got  up  tournaments  after  the  fash- 
ion of  the  ancient  chivalry,  he  once  displayed  his  horsemanship  by  riding  into 
the  ball-room,  up  and  down  steep  flights  of  steps,  to  the  mingled  terrour  and  . 
admiration  of  the  guests.     No  cavalier  was  more  graceful.     The  reserve  of 


THE  .SECOND   yEAB   OF   THE   WAR.  49 

his  manner  was  thrown  nsiile  in  such  sport",  and  his  black  eyes  and  dark  face 
were  lighted  up  with  the  zeal  of  competition  or  the  excitement  of  danger. 

The  gravity  so  perceptible  at  times  in  Ashby's  manner  was  not  the  eign 
either  of  a  melancholy  or  blank  mind.  He  was  too  practical  for  reveries;  he 
was  rather  a  man  of  deep  feelings.  While  lie  scorned  the  vulgar  and  shallovr 
ambition  that  seeks  for  notoriety/he  probatJy  had  that  ideal  and  aspiration 
which  silent  men  often  have,  and  which,  if  called  "ambition"  at  all,  is  to  be 
characterized  as  the  noble  and  spiritual  ambition  that  wins  the  honours  of 
history,  while  others  contend  for  the  baubles  of  the  populace. 

"  He  was,"  writes  a  lady  of  his  neighbourhood,  "  a  person  of  very  doop 
"  feelings,  which  would  not  have  been  apparent  to  strangers,  from  his  nato- 
"  ral  reserve  of  manner;  but  there  was  no  act  of  friendship  or  kindness  he 
"  would  have  shrunk  to  perform,  if  called  on.  While  he  was  not  a  professor 
"  of  religion,  there  was  always  a  peculiar  regard  for  the  pVecepts  of  the  Bible 
"  which  showed  itself  in  his  irreproachable  walk  in  life.  Often  have  I  known 
"  him  to  open  the  Sabbath  school  at  the  request  of  his  lady  friends,  in  a  little 
"  church  near  his  home,  by  reading  a  prayer  and  chapter  in  the  Bible.  Turner 
"  Ashby  seldom  left  his  native  neighbourhood,  so  strong  were  his  local  attaoh- 
"  ments,  and  would  not  Imve  done  so,  .save  at  his  country's  call."    • 

That  call  was  sounded  sooner  than  Ashby  expected.  At  the  first  prelude 
to  the  bloody  drama  of  the  war — the  John  Brown  raid — he  had  been  con- 
epicuous,  and  his  company  ofc  horse,  then  called  "The  Mountain  Rangers," 
did  service  on  that  occasion.  He  appeared  to  have  felt  and  known  ^ic  con- 
sequences which  were  to  ensue  fronj  this  frightful  crusade;  Tlienceforward 
Lis  physical  and  intellectual  powers  were  di^-ected  to  the  coming  struggle. 
On  the  occasion  of  the  irruption  of  John  Brown  and  his  felon  band  at  Har- 
per's Ferry,  he  remarked  to  Mr.  Boteler,  the  member  of  Congress  from  that 
district,  that  a  crisis  was  approaching,  and  that  the  South  would  be  continu- 
ally subject  to  such  inroads  and  insults,  unless  some  prevention  was  qiyckly 
effected.  He  continued, -however,  a  strong  Union  man  until  the  election  of 
Lincoln  ;  he  was  anxious  that  harmony  should  be  effected  between  the  States, 

!,nd  the  legacies  of  the  past  should  be  preserved  in  a  constitutional  and  fra- 
ernal  Union  ;but  this  hope  was  instantly  dispelled  hy  the  result  of  the  elec- 
tion; and  as  soOn  as  it  was  announced,  he  went  quietly  and  energetically  to 
work,  drilling  his  men,  promoting  their  efficiency,  and  preparing  for  that 
great  trial  of  arms  which  he  saw  rapidly  approaching. 

The  next  time  that  Mr.  Boteler  met  Ashby  at  Harper's  Ferry,  was  on  the 
night  of  the  17th  of  April,  18G1.  Mr.  Boteler  took  him  aside,  and  said  to 
•him,  "What  flag  are  we  going  to  fight  under — the  Palmetto  or  what?" 
Ashby  lifted  his  hat,  and  within  it  was  laid  a  Virginia  flag.  He  had  had  it 
painted  at  midnigjit,  before  he  left  Richmond.  "Here,"  said  he,  "is  the 
flag  I  intend  to  figlit  under."'  That  night  the  flag  was  run  up  by  the  light  of 
the  burning  l^uildinps  fired  by  the  Vanftee?,  and  the  next  morning  tlie  glo- 
rious emblem  of  the  Old  Dominion  w«3  seen  floating  from  the  Federal  flag- 
BtnflT — the  first  ensign  of  liberty  raided  by  Virginia  in  thi.s  war. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  arrival  of  Captain  Ashby  at  Harper's  Ferry  with 
his  cavalry,  that  he  was  placed  in  command. at  Point  of  Pvocks  by  General 
4 


50  THE    SECOND   YEAR. OF   THE   WAR. 

Johnston,  Bnppc.rt««l  by  C«pt«in  R    Wclby  Carter'!-  corapnny  of  cavalry  and 
CapUin  John  Q.  Winfields  infantry  corps  of  "  Urocks  Gap  Riflemen.'' 

About  the  nmtne  time  Colonel  Anpus  W.  McDonald,  senior,  of  Winchester, 
Virginia,  wan  commissioned  to  raise  a  Legion  of  mounted  men  for  border  scr- 
T»e«,  the  Lieutenant  Colonelcy  of  which  was  'at  once  tendered  to  Captain 
Askby.  Without  final  acceptance  of  this  jJosition,  he,  with  his  command,  en- 
tered the  Legion,  the  organization  of  which  was  soon  accomplished. 

The  original  Captains  were  Ashby,  Winfield,"S.  W.  Myers,  Mason,  Shands, 
Jordan,  Miller,  Harper  and  Sheet?.. 

This  force  was  assembled  at  Romney,  Hampshire  county,  very  soon  after 
the  evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry  by  General  Johnston. 

The  (lifTiculty  which  existed  as  to  Captain  .'Vshby's  acceptance  of  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonelcy of  the  Legion,  consisted  in  the  fact  that  lie  folt  under  espe- 
c'utl  obligations  to  his  company,  who  were  unwilling  to  dispense  with  his 
personal  command.  The  arrival  of  his  brother  Richard  Ashby.  from  Texas, 
who  joined  the  company  as  independent  volunteer,  appeared  to  open  the  way 
of  relieving. this  difficulty,  as  the  company  was  prepared  to  accept  in  him  n 
Captain,  in  order  to  secure  the  promotion  of  their  beloved  leader. 

But  a  •elancholy  providence  was  to  occur  at  this.time,  which  was  to  colour 
the  life  of  Turner  Ashby,  and  affect  it  more  deeply  than  anything  he  had  yet 
experienced.  The  county  of  Hampshire  had  already  been  invaded  by  the 
enemy,  and  Colonel,  now  Major  General,  A.  P,  Hill  had  already  visited  the 
county  with  several  regiments  of  infantry,  in  order  to  repel  the  invader. 
This  county  was  also  chosen  for  the  labour  of  the  Mounted  Legion, 

It  was  shortly  after  the  organization  of  the  command,  and  its  active  duty 
entered  upon,  that  Captain  Ashby  led  a  detachment  to  Green  Spring  Statiop, 
on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad,  for  the  purpose  of  observation.  He  had 
with  him  eleven  men,  and  his  brother  Richard  led  another  small  bund  of  six. 
The  latter  was  proceeding  along  the  railroad  westward,  in  the  direction  of 
Cumberland — some  ten  miles  away— when  he  was  ajn^uscaded  at  the  mouth 
of  a  ravine  just  beside  the  railroad  there,  running  just  between  the  river 
bank  and  the  steep  mountain  side.  The  enemy's  force  consisted  of  about 
eighteen  men,  commanded  by  Corporal  Hays,  of  the  Indiana*  Zouave  regi-' 
ment,  which  was  stationed  at  Cumberland.  His  men,  nt  length  compelled  to 
fall  hack  before  superior  numbers,  hastened  down  the  railroad  to  rejoin  Rich- 
ard A^hby.  Covering  their  retreat  himself,  ho  hastened  to  the  rescue  of  one 
of  his  men  severely  wounded  in  tiie  face  by  n  sabre  stroke,  and  in  a  hand  to 
hand  fight  with  Corporal  Hays,  severely  woundetl  him  in  the  head  with  his 
sabre.  Fallowing  immediately  his  retreating  companions,  the  horse  which  he. 
rode  proved  false,  and  fell  into  a  cattle-stop  of  the  railroad  with  his  unfortu- 
nate rider.  He  was  overtak(«i,  beaten,  bruised,  wounded  and  left  for  dead. 
He  was  removed  many  hours  aftelwards,  and  lived  for  several  days,  enjoying 
every  kind  attention,  but  his  wounds  proved  mortal.  He  was  •buried  in  the 
beautiful  Indian  Mound  Cemetery  at  Romney  on  the  4th  of  July,  18Q1. 

During  the  engagement  of  his  brother.  Turner  Ashby  stiirted  up  the  rail- 
road to  his  rescue;  but  in  passing  along  the  river's  brink,  his  force  was  fired 
Bpon  from  Kelly's  Island,  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Potomac,  about  twelve 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  .  51 

miles  east  of  Cumberland.  Thc'island  lies  some  sixty  feet  from_  the  Virginia 
bank,  which  is  precipitous,  and  directly  laid  with  the  railroad  track.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  island,  which  was  reached  through  water  to  the  saddle  girth, 
there  is  a  gently  rising  beach  some  thirty  yards  to  the  interiour,  which  is 
thickly  wooded,  and  contains  a  dense^ndergrowth.  Here  in  ambush  lay,  ns 
was  afterwards  reported,  about  forty  of  the  Indiana  troops,  and  nearly  sixty 
of  Merley's  branch  rillomen^Maryland  Union  men  of  the  vicinity — wood- 
men skilled  with,  the  rifle,  and  many  of  them  desperate  characters.  After 
receiving  the  enemy's  fire,  T.urner  Ashby  and  his  eleven  at  once  charged,  and 
after  a  sharp  engagement,  routed  and  dispersed  their  forces.  It  has  bwn  de- 
clared that  not  less  than  forty  shots  were  fired  at  Ashby  on  that  occasion,  but 
not  he  nor  his  horse  were  harmed,  and  at  least  five  of  the  enemy  were  pro- 
bably slain  by  his  hand. 

From  the  date  of  his  brother's  death,  a  change  passed  over  the  life  of  Turner 
Ashby.  He  always  wore  a  sad  smile  after  that  unhappy  day,  and  his  lifo 
became  more  solemn  and  earnest  to  the  end  of  his  own  evanescent  an4, splen- 
did career.  "  Ashby,"  said  a  lady  friend,  speaking  of  him  after  this  period, 
"is  now  a  devoted  many  His  behaviour  at  his  brother's  grave,  as  it  is  de- 
scribed by  one  of  the  mourners  at  the  same  spot,  was  most  touching.  He 
Btood  over  the  grave,  took  his  brother's  sword,  broke  it  and  threw  it  into  the 
opening  ;  clasped  his  hands  and  looked  npward  as  if  in  resignation  ;  and  then 
pressing  his  lips,  as  if  in  the  bitterness  of  grief,  while  a  tear  rolled  down  his 
cheek,  he  turned  without  a  word,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  awaj'.  Thence- 
forth his  name  Was  a  t^rrour  to  the  enemy. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  his  brother,  his  company  consented  to  yield  hiiu 
u^  in  order  that  he  might  accept  the  Lieutenant-Colonelcy  of  the  Legion,  and 
elected  First  Lieutenant  William  Turner  (his  cousin)  captain  in  his  stead. 
The  Legion,  numbering  at  that  time  nearly  nine  hundred  effective  men  tole- 
rably equipped  and  mounted,  continued  on  duty  in  Hampshire  until  the  16th 
of  July,  18'j1,  when  if  started  for  Manassas,  but  did  not  arrive  until  after  the 
battle.  The  command  was  imme  Jiately  afterwards  ordered  'to  Staunton  to 
join  General  Lee's  fQj|es— subsequently  to  HoUingsworth,  one  mile  south  of 
Winchester.  In  the  meantime,  Colonel  Ashby,  with  several  companies,  was 
sent  on  detached  duty  to  Jefferson,  into  which  county  the  enemy  was  making 
frequent  incursions  from  Harper's  Ferry  and  Maryland. 

In  Jefferson,  Ashby  had  command  of  four  companies  of  cavalry  and  about 
eight  hundred  militia.  Yaftkeo  raids  were  kept  from  the  doors  of  the  inhab- 
itants, and  the  enemy  made  but  little  appearance  in  this  portion  of  Virginia, 
until  Banks  crossed  the  Potomac  in  February,  1862. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Athby's  cavalry  acquired  its  great  renown. 
The  Lincoln  soldiers  dreaded  nothing  so  much  as  they  did  these  hated  troop- 
ers. Go  where  they  would,  out  of  sight  of  their  encampments,  they  were 
almost  sure  to  meet  some  of  Ashby's  cavalry,  who  seemed  to  posHesa  the 
power  of  ubiquity.  And,  in  truth,  they  had  good  cause  both  to  hate  and  to 
fear  Asiiby'.s  cavalry ;  for  many  a  Federal  horseman  dropped  from  bis  saddle, 
and  many  a  Federal  soldier  on  foflt  dropped  in  his  track?,  at  the  cracJi  of 
Confederate  rifles  in  tb«  hands  of  Ashby's  fearless  sharpshooters. 


% 


52  THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

Pnriog  the  lime  of  the  fncumpment  Rf  Plowing  Spring?,  Colonel  Aslibj 
r«rcly  crcr  cuino  into  town,  which  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant.  No- 
tliing could  M?duce  him  from  his  duties;  no  admiration,  no  dinner  parties  or 
0(4U(ion>.  could  move  him  to  leave  his  camp.  He  always  blcpt  with  his 
men.  No  matter  wl'nt  hour  of  the  night  he  was  aroused,  he  was  always 
wakeful,  »c!f-po»ses!"cd  and  re^dy  to  do  battle.  He  was  idolized  by  his  men, 
whom  he  treated  as  companions  and  indulged  without  reference  to  rules  of 
military  discipline.  He  had  great  coutenipt  for  the  militai};  arts',  was  proba- 
bly incapable  of  drilling  a  regiment,  and  preserved  among  lii.s  men  scarcely 
aoTtiiyig  more  than  the  rude  discipline  of  camp  hunters.  But  though  not  a 
■ticklfl' for  military  rules,  he  would  have  no  coward  or  eye-soldier  in  his  com- 
mtvnd.  If  ti  man  was  dissatisfied,  he  at  once  started  him  off  home.  He 
allowed  his  men  many  liberties.  A  gentleman  asked  him  one  day  where  his 
tnen  were.  •'Well,"  said  he,  "the  boys  fought  very  well  yesterday,  and 
there  are  not  more  than  thirty  of  them  here  to-day." 

Ahhl'v's  influence  over  his  men  was  principally  due  to  the  brilliant  and 
amazirt^  examples  of  personal  courage  which  he  always  gave  them  in  front  of 
the  battle.  His  men  could  never  find  him  idle.  In  battle  his  eye  kindled  up 
nioBt  gloriously.  He  wore  a  grey  coat  and  pants,  with  boots  and  sash;  ho 
always  looked  like  work,  was  freqqontly  covered  with  mnd,  and  appeared  to 
be  never  fatigued  or  dejected.  He  would  come  and  go  like  a  dream.  Ho 
would  be  heard  of  at  one  time  in  one  part  of  the  country,  and  then,  when 
least  expected,  would  conic  dashing  by  on  the  famous  white  horse,  which  was 
his  pride.  • 

When  the  fight  occurred  at  Botcler's  Mill,  the  militia  wore  for  the  first  timo 
under  fire.  The  euemy,bad  encamped  on  tlie  other  side  of  the  Potomac,  op- 
posite the  mill.  Our  troops  quietly  crept  upon  them,  and  planted  two  pieces 
of  cannon  within  range,  and  let  drive  at  them  with  terrible  effect,  whereupon 
they  fled.  They  afterwards  returned  in  force,  and  ranged  themselves  on  the 
other  side  with  long  rangC  guns.  Ashby,  to  encourage  the  militia,  who  were 
raw,  advanced  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  rode  his  while  horse  up  and  down 
within  point  blank  range  of  the  enemy's  fire.  When  Ik^  balls  were  liurlliHg 
thickest,  he  would  reiu  in  his  horse  and  stand  perfectly^till,  tiie  very  picture 
of  during  and  chivalry. 

At  Bolivar  heights,  when  the  enemy  were  firing  upon  our  men  and  had  shot 
down  the  gunners  at  the  cannon,  ho  sprang  from  his  horse  and  seized  the 
rammer  hi:iisclf.  Ha  was  conspicuous  in  actijn  "lit  every  point.  His  friends 
used  to  inijilore  him  not  to  ride  his  whittJ  horse — for  he  had  also  a  black  one — 
but  he  was  deuf  to  every  caution  that  respected  the  safety  of  liis  person. 

The  key  to  Ashby's  character  was  his  passion  for  danger.  '  He  craved  the 
excitement  of  battle,  and  was  never  happier  than  when  riding  his  noble 
alecd  in  the  thickest  of  the  storm  of  battle.  There  are  .<4ome  minds  which 
find  a  sweet  intoxicatiun  in  danger,  and  Macaulay  has  named  a  remarkable 
instance  in  William  ill.,  the  silent  and  ascetic  King  of  Eiiglniid,  who  was 
transformed  into  gaiety  by  the  excitement  of  personal  peril.  "Danger," 
lays  the  historian,  "acted  upon  him  like^vine;"  it  made  him  full  of  anima- 
tion and  spcccb.     Ashby's  delight  in  danger  was  a  royal  one.     It  came  from 


THE   SECOND   YEAR  OF   THE   WAR.  53 

no  brutal  bardibood  or  animal  spirits;  and  tbe  Virginia  cavalier  is  tbis  far 
superiour  to  otber  famous  partisans  in  .this  war,  that  be  united  with  tbe  aJ- 
Tentures  of  courage  tbe  courtesies  of  a  gentleman  and  Christian,  and  the  re- 
finements of  a  pure  and  gentle  soul.  Ho  was  never  rude;  be  was  insensible 
to  the  humours  of  tbe  vulgar;  and  he  never  even  threw  into  the  fiice  of  bla 
enemy  a  coarse  taunt  or  a  specimen  of  thst  wit  common  in  the  armjii 

Turner  Asbby  was  doubtless  as  perfect  a  specimen  of  modern  cliivalry  as 
.  tbe  South  even  has  ever  produced.  His  brilliant  daring,  bis  extreme  cour- 
tesy to  woman,  his  devotion  "to  tbe  l.orse,  his  open-hearted  manner  and  hia 
scorn  of  n)eau  actions,  are  qualities  as  admitable  now  as  in  the  days  of  Frois- 
sart's  Chronicles.  After  the  battle  of  Winchester,  tbe  Yankee  women  and 
families  of  officers  sometimes  came  to  Asbby,  to  get  passes.  They  were  sur- 
prised to  find  with  what  readiness  permits  were  granted.  They  would  say, 
••Colonel  Ashbj%  you  may  search  our  baggage.  We  assure  you  we  arecar- 
Vying  away  nothing  which  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  do."  His  reply  was,  "I 
have  no  riglit  to  look  into  ladies'  baggage,  or  to  examine  their  trunks.  South- 
ern gentlemen  do  no  such  thing."  They  said,  "Colonel,  you  may  search  our 
persons,  and  see  if  we  carry  away  anything  contraband."  Tbe  reply  Wiie, 
"Virginia  gentlemen  do  not  search  the  persons  of  ladies." 

Few  young  men  of  Ashby's  age  could  have  resisted  the  intoxication  of 
of  praise  heaped  upon  him  from  every  quarter.  The  fact  was,  no  aged  and 
stern  devotee. to  duty  was  ever  more  insensible,  in  tbe  performance  of  hia 
task,  to  ibe  currents  of  popular  favour  than  the  young  Paladin  of  the  South. 
Tbe  foll4»wing  copy  of  a  letter,  written  at  the  height  of  his  reputation  to  an 
elderly  gentlemen  of  Stafford  county,  illustrates  the  modesty  which  ndorneJ 
the  life  of  Turner  Ashby,  and  the  sense  of  duty  which  insured  its  most  bril- 
liant successes: 

••My  Dear  ^r:  I  have  just  received  your  exceedingly  kind  and  most  flat- 
•'  terJng  letter.  Let  me  assure  yofi  that  it  gives  me  no  little  pleasure  to  know 
''  that  my  course,  whi^  doing  my  duty  to  my  country,  meets  your  approval, 
"  whose  age  and  experience  make  it  more  to  be  estimated.  That  I  have  no^ 
'•  sought  self-aggrandizement,  or  regarded  anything  sfve  what  I  believed  to 
••  be  my  duty  to  my  country  in  this  war,  I  hope  it  is  needless  to  assure  j'ou. 
••  When  tny  course  meets  with  the  approval  of  the  old  patriots,  I  feel  doubly 
"  satisfied  that  I  have  not  mistaken  what  I  believe  to  be  my  duty.  What  you 
"  are  pleased  to  say  of  my  brotlier  (who  fell  as  I,  too,  expect  to  fall,  if  my 
"country  needs  it)  is  but  too  true.  Had  he  been  spared  Jong^r,  be  would 
'•  doubtless  have  been  of  great  value  to  our  country.  llis  fall,  however,  hag 
•'not  been  without  its  lesson  to  the  enemy,  teaching  them  that  Viiginians 
"  know  bow  to  die  as  well  as  .fight  for  their  liberty.  He  died  without  a  re- 
"  gret,  feeling  that  bis  life  was  due  to  his  country's  cause.  Please  present 
'*  me  most  kindly  U>  all  my  friends  in  SfaflTord,  and  accept  my  highest  respects 
'•  for  yourself. » 

"  Your  obedient  servant,    * 

"  TuBNEfl  AgnBT." 


54  TDE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

We  have  alreadj  refrrred  in  the  pages  of  this  history  to  Ashbj's  share  in 
the  BOTertl  plorious  campnignn  of  Jackson  in  the  Valley;  to  his  participntiou 
in  the  batljo  of  Kcrnstown ;  to  his  futnous  adventure  with  the  Yar.kee  pickets 
•t  the  bridge,  and  to  Homo  other  of  his  daring  exploits  on  the  front  mid  tlniiks 
of  the  enemy.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  battle  of  Kerustown  that  hia 
energy  was  exercised  to  an  extraordinary  degree  in  protecting  the  retreat  and 
unnoying  the  hkirta  of  the  enemy.  In  thii  ty-ei'jht  out  of  forty-two  days  after 
Uiis  bntiic  he  was  fighting  the  enemy,  keeping  him  in  check,  or  cutting  off  his  . 
communications.  The  terrible  fatigues  he  incurred  never  seemed  to  depress 
liim,  or  to  t|x  his  endurance.  Ifa  acquaintance  testifies  that  it  was  not  an 
infrequent  feat  for  him  to  ride  daily  oTcr  a  line  of  pickfets  sixty  or  scTenty 
miles  in  extent. 

At  a  later  period  of  the  Valley  campaign,  when  Banks  returned  from 
Slra«liurg  and  our  trqops  were  chasing  him,  Ashby  would  follow  and  charge 
the  Yankees  as  the  Rockbridge  Artillery  poured  in  their  fire.  At  one  time  he 
wus  riding  abreast  of  three  hundred  infantrj',  who  were,  passing  along  the 
tnrnpiko.  All  at  once  lie  wheeled  his  horse,  and  leaping  the  fence  with  drawn 
Bword,  cut  his  way  right  through  them,  then  wheeling,  he  did  the  same  thing 
»  second  time.  Riding  up  to  the  standard  bearer,  he  seized  it  from  him  *nd 
duhhed  him  to  the  earth.  The  terrified  wretches  never  raised  a  weapon 
figiiinsrt  him.  Seventy-five  of  them,  wliom  .he  cut  off,  laid  down  their  arms, 
Biid  gat  down  at  his  order  in  the  corner  of  the  fence,  where  they  remained 
until  his  men  caipe  up  to  take  care  of  them.  The  flag  was  that  of  a, Vermont 
regiment.  A  few  days  after,  Mr.  Dotcler  asked  Ashby  of  the  cxplfit.  lie 
diow  the  flag  from  his  bosom  and  gave  it  to  him.  It  was  presented  by  Mr. 
Botelcr  to  the  Library  of  the  State,  at  Richmond,  whei-e  it  may  now  be  seen — 
&  testimony  to  one  of  the  most  brilliant  deeds  of  Virginia's  youthful  hero. 

A  week  after  this  adventure,  A^hby  was  dead.  But  a  few  days  before  the 
tcrminatijn  of  his  brilliant  career,  he  received  the  promotion  jvhich  had  been 
long  due  him  from  the  Government.  Just  before  leaving  Uichmond  after  the 
ndjounimeiit  of  the  first  session  of  the  permanent  Confess,  Mr.  Boteler,  who 
was  a  member  of  tliat»  body  and  Ashby's  constant  friend,  went  to  the  Presi- 
dent, told  him  that  Ifc  was  going  home,  and  asked  that  one  act  of  justice 
Khould  be  done  to  the  people  of  the  Valley,  which  they  had  long  expected. 
He  wished  to  be  able  to  carry  back  to  his  people  the  assurance  that  Ashby 
8hoQld  be  commissioned  a  Brigadier  General.  The  order  for  the  commission 
vas  at  once  made  out.  When  the  announcement  was  made  to  Ashby,  he  ex- 
tibited  no  emotion,  except  that  his  face  was  lighted  up  by  one  of  those  sad 
smiles  which  had  occasionally  brightened  it  since  the  death  of  his  brother. 

The  tuanncr  of  Ashby's  death  has  already  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
pages  of  tiie  brief  historical  narrative  of  the  Valley  campaign.  Tli'e  writer 
is  indebted  for  the  particulars  of  that  sad  event  to  Colonel  Bradley  T.  John- 
Boii,  the  brave  Maryland  oflicer  whose  command  was  conspicuous  in  the  afl^uir 
that  cost  Ashby  his  life,  and  earned  an  immortal  honour  in,  revenging  his 
d  'ath.  He  takes  the  liberty  of  extracting  from  a  letter  of  this  oflicer  an  ac- 
count of  the  engagement:  ^        .    . 

"  Ou  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  Gth  of  Juno,"  writes  Colonel  Johnson, 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    AVAR.  55 

"  we  left  IlaiTisonburg,  not  Laving  seen  the  enemj'  for  two  days.  To. our 
"  surprise  iu  the  afternoon,  his  cavaj^y  made  a  dash  into  our  rear  guard,  and 
"was  whipped  most  efTectually,  their  Colonel,  Sir  Percy  Wyndham,  being 
"  taken  prisoner.  My  regiment  was  supporting  a  battery  a  short  distance 
"behind  thi's  cavalry  fight.  Iu  half  an  hour  we  were  ordered  forward — that 
•'is,  toward  the  enemy  retracing  the  march  just  made.  Our  infantry  con- 
"  sisted  only  of  Brigadier  General  George  H.  Stewart's  brigade,  the  58,th 
"  Virginia,  44th  Virginia,  two  other  Virginia  rcgknents,  and  the  Maryland 
"Line — of  the  latter,  only  the  1st  Maryland  was  taken  back;  the  artiHery 
"  and  all  the  cavalry  was  left  behind  us.  The  58th  Virginia  was  first,  my  re- 
."  giment  (the  1st  Maryland)  next,  then  came  the  44th  and  the  rest.  * 

"  A  couple  of  miles  east  of  Harrisonburg,  we  left  the  road  and  filed  to  tLe 
"  right,  through  the  fields,  soon  changihg  direction  again  so  as  to  move  par- 
"  allel  to  the  road.  General  Ewell  soon  sent  for  two  of  my  companiiffe  as  skir- 
"  mishers.  Moving  cautiously  through  the  darkening  shades  of  the  tangled 
"  wood  just  as  the  evening  twilight  was  brightening  the  trees  in  front  of  us 
"  in  an  opening,  spot,  spof,  spot,  began  a  dropping  fire  from  the  skirmish- 
"  ers,  and  instantly  the  58th  Virginia  poured  in  a  volley.  .  Another  volley 
"  was  fired.  The  leaves  began  to  fall,  and  the  bullets  bit  the  trees  around. 
"  General  Ewell  came  up  in  a  gallop.  '  Charge,  Colonel,  charge  to  the  left!' 
"  And  I  charged,  got  to  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and  found  a  heavy  body  of  ia- 
"  fantry  and  cavalry  supporting  a  battery  on  a  hill  six  hundred  yards  in  front 
"of  me.  But  the  Yankee  balls  came  fast  and  thick  on  my  flank.  'The 
"  58th  are  firing  into  us,'  the  leading  Captain  said.  General  Ewell  and  my- 
"  self,  the  only  mounted  oflScers,  plunged  after  them,  and  found  it  was  not" 
"  their  fire.  I  got  back.  '  Up,  men,  and  take  that  hill,'  pointing  to  my  right. 
"  They  went^in  with  a  cheer.  In  less  than  five  seconds  the  front  rank  of  the 
"second  company  went  down.  The  colour  sergeant,  Doyle,  fell.  The  cor- 
"  pnral  who  caught  them  from  him  fell.  The  next  who  took  them  fcU,  when 
"  Corporal  Shanks,  a  six-footer,  seized  them,  raising  them  over  his  fcead  at 
"arm's  leng'th.  Captain  Robertson  lay  dead;  Lieutenant  Snowden  shot  to 
"death;  myself  on  t\^  ground,  my  horse  shot  in  three  places.  But  still  we 
"went  forward,  and  drove  the  Bucktails  from  the  fence  where  they  had  been 
"  concealed.     *     *     •     *" 

It  was  as  the  brave  Marylandcrs  were  pressing  on  in  this  charge  that 
Asliby,  who  was  on  the  right  of  the  58th  Virginia  exhorting  them,  fell  by  an 
intelligent  bullet  of  the  enemy.  His  death  was  quickly  avenged.  As  our 
troops  reached  the  fence  from  which  the  shot  had  been  fired,  the  line  of  Yan- 
kees melted  away  like  mist  before  a  hurricane. 

"The  account  I  have  given  you,"  writes  Colonel  Johnson,  "of  the  manner 
"  of  Ashby's  death,  is  collated  from  the  statements  of  many  eye- witnesses  of 
"  my  skirmishing  companies,  who  were  all  around. him  when  befell.  I  did 
"  not  see  it,  thougli  not  thirty  yards  from  him,  but  was  busy  with  my  own 
"  men;  and  I  am  tpecific  in  stating  the  source  of  liis  death,  as  there  is  a  loose 
"  impression  that  he  was  killed  by  a  shot  from  the  58th  Virginia.  I  am  per- 
"  sundcd  this  is  not  so,  from  tl^p  statements  of  two  very  cool  officers,  Captain 
•*  Nicholas  and  Lieutenant  Booth,  who  were  talking  to  him  the  minute  before 
".he  fell.     **•*»* 


56  THE  'gECOSD   YEAR    OF  THE   WAR. 

"Jisliby  was  my  6ri>t  rcTolutionary  acquaintance  in  Virginia.  I  was  with 
••  him  Khcn  the  first  blow  ytaa  struck  fo^;  tlie  ciiuse  wc  both  bad  so  much  at 
••  heart,  and  was  with  him  in  his  bust  light,  always  knowing  liim  to  be  beyond 
••  all  moilern  men  in  chivalry,  as  he  was  equal  to  any  one  in  courage.  Ue 
"combined  the  virtues  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney  with  the  dash  of  Murat.  I  con- 
••  tribute  tiiy  mile  to  his  fame,  which  will  live  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  out- 
•••ide  of  books,  as  long  aa  its  hill.s  and  mountains  shall  endure." 

No  word  escaped  from  i^shhy's  lips  as  he  fell.  It  was  not  necessary.  No 
dyinn  legend,  fpoken  in  death's  embrace,  could  have  added  to  that  noble  life. 
Itself  w:is  n  beautiful  poem;  a  sounding  oration;  a  sufficient  legacy  to  the 
virtue  of  hiH  countrymen. 


THE   SECOND   YEAR»OF   THE   WAR.  57 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Situation  of  Ricliinondi..Its  Stiate'njic  Importance. ..What  tiie  Yankees 
Had  Done  to  Secure  Richmond. ..The  Battlk  of  Seven  Fines. ..Miscarriage 
of  Gen.  Johnston's  Plans. ..The  Datti,e,s  of  the  Chickahominy... Storming 
of  the  Enemy's  Entrenchments. ..McClellan  Driven  from  his  Northern  Line  of 
Defences. ..The  Situation  on  the  Other  Side  of  the  Chicl<ahoniiny...Magruder'a 
•Comment. ..The  Affair  of  Savage  Station....The  Battle  of  Fruzier's  Farm... A 
Terrible  Crisit*... Battle  of  Malvern  Mill. ..The  Enem^  in  Communicalion  with 
his  Gunboats....The  Failure  to  Cut  him  off.. ..Glory  and  Fruits  of  Our  Victory.... 
Misrepresentations  of  the  Yankees... Safety  of  Richmond. ..The  War  in  Other 
Parts  of  the  Confederacy. ..The  Engagement  of  Secessionville...The  Campaign 
of  the  West...'rtie  Evacuation  of  Corinth. ..More  Yankee  Falsehoods. ..Capture 
of  Memphis. ..The  Prize  of  the  Mississippi. ..Statistics  of  its  Navigation. ..Siege 
of  Vicksburg... Heroism  of  "the  Queen  City  "...Morgan's  JRaid  into  Ken- 
tucky...The  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Frontier. ..Prospects  in  the  West... Plan 
of  Campaign  there. 

Richmond  is  the  heart  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  It  is  hun- 
dreds of  miles  from  the  sea,  yet  with  water  communication  to 
Old  Point,  to  Washington,,  and  to  New  York.  It  is  the 
strategic  point  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the  whole  Con- 
federacy. If  Richmond  had  fallen  before  McClellan's  forces, 
the  North  expected  that  there  would  follow  all  of  North  Caro- 
lina except  the  mountains,  part  of  South  Carolina,  and  all  of 
Tennessee  that  was  left  to  us. 

On  the  Richmond  lines,  two  of  the  greatest  and  most 
splendid  armies  that  had  ever  been  arrayed  on  a  single  field 
confronted  ca6h  other ;  every  accession  that  could  be  procured 
from  the  most  distant  quarters  to  their  numbers,  and  every- 
thing that  could  be  drawn  from  the  resources  of  the  respective 
countries  of  each,  had  been  made  to  contribute  to  the  strength 
and  splendour  of  the  opposing  hosts. 

Since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  the  North  had  taxed 
its  resources  for  the  capture  of  Richmond  ;  nothing,  was  omit- 
ted for  the  accomplishment  of  this  event ;  the  way  had  to   be 


58  THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

opened  to  the  capital  by  tedious  and  elaborate  operations  on 
the  frontier  of  Virginia;  this  accomplished,  the  city  of  Rich- 
mond was  surrounded  by  an  army  whose  numbers  was  all  that 
could  be  desired;  composed  of  picked  foracs ;  having  every 
advantage  that  science,  and  art  cpuld  bestow  in  fortifications 
and  every  appliance  of  war ;  assisted  by  gun-boat  flotillas  la 
two  rivers,  and  endowed  with  everything  that  could  assure 
success. 

The  Northern  journals  were  unreserved  in  the  statement 
that  the  commands  of  Fremont,  Banks  and  McDowell  had 
been  consolidated  into  one  army,  under  Major-Geijeral  Pope, 
with  a  view  of  bringing  all  the  Federal  forces  in  Virginia  to 
co-operate  with  McClcUan  on  the  Richmond  lines.  A  portion 
of  this  army  must  have  readied  McClellan,  probably  at  an 
early  stage  of  the  engagements  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond. 
Indeed,  it  was  stated  at  a  subsequent  period  by  Mr.  Chandler, 
a  member  of  the  Federal  Congress,  that  the  records  of  the 
War  Department  at  Washington  showed  that  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  had  been  sent  to  the  lines 
about  Richmond.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that,  in  the  memo- 
rable content  for.  the  safety  of  .the  Confederate  capital,  wo 
engaged  an  army  whose  superiority  in  numbers  to  us  was 
largely  increased  by  timely  reinforcements,  and  with  regard  to 
the  operations  of  which  the  Northern  Government  had  omitted 
no  conditions  of  success. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    SEVEN    PINES. 

Having  reached  .the  Chickahominy,  McClellan  threw  a  por- 
tion of  his  army  across  the  river,  and,  having  thus  established 
his  left,  proceeded  to  pivot  upon  it,  and  to  extend  his  right  by 
the  right  bank  of  the  Pamunkey,  so  as  to  get  to  the  North  of 
Richmond. 

Before  the  30ih  of  Ma}',  General  Johnston  had  ascertained 
that  Kej'cs'  corps  was  encamped  on  this  side  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy,. near  the  Williamsburg  road,  and  the  same  day  a  strong 
body  of  the  enemy  was  reported  in  front  of  D.  II.  Hill.     The 


•  THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF    THE    WAR.  69 

following  <Hsposition  of  forces  was  made  for  tbe  attack  the  next 
day,  the  troops  being  ordered  to  move  at  daybreak  :  General 
Hill,  supported  by  the  division,  of  General  Longstrefet,  (who 
had 'the  direction  of  operations  on  the  right,)  was  to  advance 
by  the  Williamsburg  road  to  attack  the  enemy  in  front ;  Gen- 
eral Huger,  with  his  division,  was  to  move  down  the  Charles 
City  road,  in  order  to  attack  jn  flank  the  troops  who  might  be 
engaged  with  Hill  and  Longstreet,  unless  he  found  in  his  front 
force  enough  to  .occupy  his  division;  General  Smith  was  tc 
march  to  the  junction  of  the  New  Bridge  road  and  the  Nine 
Mile  road,  to  be  in  readiness  cither  to  fall  on  Keyes'  right 
flank,  or  to  cover  Longstreet's  left. 

The  next  day  hour  after  hour  passed,  while  Gen.  Longstreet 
in  vain  waited  for  Huger's  division.-  At  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  he  resolved  to  make  the  attack  without  these  troops, 
and  moved  upon  the  enemy  with  his  own  and  D.  II.  Hill's 
division,  the  latter  in  advance.. 

Hill's  brave  troops,  admirably  commanded  and  most  gal- 
lantly led,  forced  their  way  through  the  abattis  which  formed 
the  enemy's  external  defences,  and  stormed  their  entrench- 
ments by  a  determined  and  irresistible  rush.  Such  was  the* 
manner  in  which  the  enemy's  first  line  was  carried.  .The 
operation  was  repeated  with  the  same  gallantry  and  success  as 
our  troops  pursued  their  victorious  career  through  the  enemy's 
successive  camps  and  entrenchments.  At  each  new  position 
they  encountered  fresh  troops  belonging  to  it,  and  reinforce- 
ments brought  on  from  the  rear.  Thus  they  had  to  repel 
repeated  eff"ort3  to  retake  works  which  they  had  carried.  But 
their  advance  was  never  successfully  resisted.  Their  onward 
movement  was  only  stayed  by  the  coming  of  night.  By  night- 
fall they  had  forced  their  way  to  the  "  Seven  Pines,"  having 
driven  the  enemy  back  more  than  two  miles,  through  their 
own  camps,  and  from  a  series  of  entrenchments,  and  repelled 
every  attempt  to  rccapture*them  with  great  slaughter. 

The  attack  on  the  enemy's  right  was  not  so  fortunate.  The 
strength  of  his  position  enabled  him  to  hold  it  until  dark,  and 


60  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE  WAR.  '    • 

the  intervention  of  night  alone  saved  him  from  r6ut.  On  this 
part  of  the  ficUl  Gen.  Johnston  was  severely  wounded  by  the 
fragment  of  a  shell. 

In  his  official  report  of  the  operations  of  the  day,  Gederal 
Johnston  says  :  "  Had  Major-Gcneral  Iluger's  division  been 
in  position  and  ready  for  action  wlicn  those  of  Smith,  Long- 
street  and  Hill  moved,  I  am  satisfied  that  Keyes'  corps  would 
have  been  destroyed  instead  of  being  merely  defeated."  The 
slow  and  impotent  movements  of  Gen.  Huger  were  excused  by 
himself  on  account  of  the  necessity  of  building  a  bridge  to 
cross  the  swollen  stream  in  his  front,  and  other  accidental 
causes  of  delay. 

But  nothwithstanding  the  serious  diminution  of  the  fortunes 
of  the  day  by  Huger's  mishaps,  they  were  yet  'conspicuous. 
We  had  taken  ten  pieces  of  artillery  and  six  thousand  muskets, 
besides  other  spoils.  Our  total  loss  was  more  than  four  thou- 
sand. That  of  the  enemy  is  stated  in  their  own  newspapers 
to  have  exceeded  ten  thousand — an  estimate  which  is  no  doubt 
short  of  the  truth. 

On  the  morifing  of  the  first  of  June,  the  enemy  made  a  weak 
demonstration  of  attack  on  our  lines.  The  lUh  and  14th 
Virginia  regiments  \vere  ordered  to  feel  for  the  enemy,  and 
while  thus  engaged,  suddenly  came  upon  a  body  of  fifteen 
thousand  Yankees  entrenched  in  the  woods.  Under  the 
murderous  fire  poured  into  their  ranks,  our  troops  were  forced 
to  fall  back,  but  were  rallied  by  the  self-devoted  gallantry  of 
their  officers.  Colonel  Godwin,  the  dashing  and  intrepid  com- 
mander of  the  Otii,  received  a  Minie  ball  in  the  leg,  and  a 
moment  later  had  his  hip  crushed  by  the  fall  of  his  horse, 
which  was  shot  under  liiin.  He  was  thirty  paces  in  advance 
of  his  regiment  when  the  attack  was  made,  encouraging*  his 
n.en.  At  last,  reinforcements  coming  up,  the  attack  of  the 
enemy  amis  vigourously  repulsed.  This  was  the  last  demon- 
stration of  the  enemy,  who  proceeded  to  strengthen  those  lines 
of  entrenchments  from  wliifli  he  had  not  yet  been  driven. 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  61 

THE  BATTLES  OF  THE  CniCKAHaMINT. 

tJpon  taking  command  of  the  Confederate  army  in  the  field, 
after  General  Johnston  had  been  wounded  in  the  battle  of 
Seven  Pines,  Gen.  Lee  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  the  spirit  of 
that  commander,  which  had  already  been  displayed  in  attack- 
ing the  enemy,  and  which  indicated  the  determination  on  his 
part  that  the  operations  before  Richmond  should  not  degene- 
rate into  a  scige. 

.  The -course  of  the  Chickahominy  arou^^d  Richmond  aflforda 
an  idea  of  the  enemy's  position  at  the  commencement  of  the 
action.  This  stream  meanders  through  tlie  Tide-water  district 
of  Virginia — its  course  approaching  that  of  the  arc  of  a  circle 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Richmond — until  it  reaches  the  lower 
.end  of  Charles  City  county,  #^here  it  abruptly  turns  to  the 
south  and  empties  into  the  James.  A  portion  of  the  enen^'s 
forces  had  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  and 
were  fortified  on  the  "Williamsburg  road.  On  the  nOrth  bank 
of  the  stream  the  enemy  was  strongly  posted  for  many  miles; 
the  heights  on  that  side  of  the  stream  having  been  "fortified 
with  great  energy  and  skill  from  Meajiow  Bridge,  on  a  lino 
nearly  due  north  from  the  city  to  a  point  below  Bottom's 
Bridge,  which  is  due  east.  This  line  of  the  enemy  extended 
for  about  twenty  miles. 

Reviewing  the  situation  of  the  two  armies  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  action,  the  advantage  was  entirely  our  own. 
McClcllan  had  divided  his  army  on  the  two  sides  of  the  Chick- 
ahominy, and  operating  apparently  with  the  design  of  half 
circumvallating  Richmond,  had  spread  out  his  forces  to  an  ex- 
tent that  impaired  the  faculty  of  concentration,  and  had  made 
a  weak  and  dangerous  extension  of  his  lines. 

On  Thursday,  the  26th  of  June,  at  three  o'clock,  Major- 
G(incral  Jackson — fresh  from  the  exploits  of  his  magnificent 
campaign  in  the  Valley — took  up  his  line  of  march  from  Ash- 
land, and  proceeded  down  the  country  between  the  Chicka- 
hominy and  Pamunkey  rivers.     The  enemy  collected  on  the 


62  TDE   SECOND   TEAR   OF   TUE   WAR. 

north  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  at  tli«  point  where  it  is 
crossed  by  the  Brooke  turnpike,  were  driven  6ff,  and  Briga- 
dier-General Brancli,  crossing  the  stream,  directed  his  move- 
ments for  a  junction  uith  the  column  of  General  A.  1'.  Hill, 
which  had  crossed  at  Meadow  Bridge.  General  Jackson  hav- 
ing borne  away  from  the  Chickahominy,  so  as  to  gain  ground 
towards  the  Pamunkey,  marched  to  the  left  of  Mechanicsville, 
while  General  Hill,  keeping  well  to  the  Chickahominy,  ap- 
proached that  village  and  engaged  the  enemy  there. 

With  about  fourteen  thousand  men  (General  Branch  did  not 
arrive  till  nightfall),  General  Hill  engaged  the  forces  of  tho 
enemy  until  night  put  an  end  to  the  contest.  While  he  did 
not  succeed,  in  that  limited  time,  in .  routing  the  enemy,  his 
forces  stubbornly  maintained  the  possession  of  Mechanicsville 
and  the  ground  taken  by  them  tn  the  other  side  of  the  Chick- 
ahominy. Driven  from  the  immediate  locality  of  Mechanics- 
ville, the  enemy  retreated  during  the  night  down  the  river  to 
Pcwhite  swamp,  and  night  closed  the  operations  of  Thursday. 

STORMINQ    OF   THE    ENEMY'S   ENTRENCHMENTS. 

'  The  road  having  been  cleared  at  Mechanicsville,  Gen.  Long- 
street's  corps  d'armee,  consisting  of  his  veteran  division  of  the 
Old  Guard  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill's 
division,  debouched  from  the  woods  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Chickahominy,  and  crossed  that  river.  Friday  morning  the 
general  advance  upon  the  enemy  began ;  (Jen.  A.  P.  Hill  in 
the  centre,  and  bearing  towards  Cold  Harbour,  while  Gen. 
Longstreet  and  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  came  down  the  Chickahominy 
to  New  Bridge.  Gen.  Jackson  still  maintained  his  position, 
in  advance,  far  to  the  left,  and  gradually  converging  to  the 
Chickahominy  again. 

The  position  of  the  enemy  was  now  a  singular  one.  One 
portion  of  his  army  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chicka- 
hominyi  fronting  Richmond,  and  confronted  by  Gen.  Ma- 
gruder.     The  other  portion,   on  tho   north  side,  had  fallen 


THE    SECOND   YEAH    OF    THE   A7AR.  63 

• 

baclc  to  a  new  line  of  defences,  -where  McClcllan  proposed  to 
make  a  decisive  battle.  • 

As  soon  as  Jackson's  arrival  at  Cold  Harbour  was  an- 
nounced, Gen.  Lee  and  Gen.  Longstreet,  accompanied  by 
their  respective  staffs,  rode  by  Gaines'  Mill  and  halted  at 
New  Cold  Harbour,  where  they  joined  .Gen.  A.  P.  Hill.  Soon 
the  welcome  sound  of  Jackson's  guns  announced  that  he  was 
at  work. 

The  action  was  now  to  become  general  for  the  first  time  on 
the  Richmond  lines ;  and  a  collision  of  numbers  was  about  to 
take  place  equal  to  any  that  had  yet  occurred  in  the  history  of 
the  war.  '  . 

From  four  o'clock  until  eight  the  battle  raged  with  a  display 
of  the  utmost  daring  and  intrepidity  on  the  part  of  the  Con/- 
federate  army.  The  enemy's  lines  were  finally  broken  and  his 
strong  positions  all  carried,  and  night  covered  the  retreat  of 
McClellan's  broken  and  routed  columns  to  the  south  side  of 
the  Chickahominy. 

The  assault  of  the  enemy's  works  near  Gaines'  Mill  is  a 
memorable  part  of  the  engagement  of  Friday,  and  the  display 
of  fortftude,  as  well  as  quick  and  dashing-  gallantry  of  our 
troops  on  that  occasion,  takes  its  place  by  the  side  of  the  most 
glorious  exploits  of  the  war.  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  had  made  the 
first. assault  upon  the  lines  of  the  enemy's  entrenchments  near 
Gaines'  Mill.  A  fierce  struggle  had  ensued  between  his 
division  and  the  garrison  of  the  line  of  defence.  Repeate(f 
charges  were  made  by  Hill's  troops,  but  the  formidable  charac- 
teiv^of  the  works,  and  murderous  volleys  from  the  artillery 
covering  them,  kept  our  troops  in  check.  Twenty-six  pieces 
of  artillery  were  thundering  at  them,  and  a  perfect  hail-storm 
of  lead  fell  thick  and  fast  around  them.  In  front  stood  Fede- 
ral camps,  stretching  to  the  northeast  for  miles.  Drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle  were  more  than  three  full  divisions,  commanded 
by  McCall,  Porter  and  Sedgwick.  Banners  darkened  the  air; 
artillery  vomited  forth  incessant  volleys  of  grape,  canister  and 


G4  THE    SECOND   YEAR  OF   THE    WAR. 

shell ;  and  the  wmg  of  death  waved  everywhere  in  the  sulphur- 
ous atmosphere  of  the  hattlo. 

It  was  past  four  o'clock  when  I'ickett's  hrif^ade  from  Long- 
street's  division  came  to  Hill's  support.  Pickett's  regiments 
fought  with  the  most  determined  valour.  At  last,  Whiting's 
division,  composed  of  the  "Old  Third"'  and  Texan  brigades, 
ad-vanccd  at  a  double-quick,  charged  the  batteries,  and  drove 
the  enemy  from  his  strong  line  of  defence.  The  Ith  Texas 
regiment  was  led  by  a  gallant  A'^irginian,  Colonel  Bradfute 
Warwick.  As  the  regiment  was  marching  on  with  an  irresisti- 
ble impetuosity  to  the  charge,  he  seized  a  battle-ling  which  had 
been  abandoned  by  one  of  our  regiments,  and,  bearing  it  aloft, 
he  passed  both  of  the  enemy's  breast-works  in  a  most  gallant 
^yle,  and  as  he  was  about  to  plant  the  coloure  on  a  battery 
that  the  regiment  captured,  his  right  breast  was  pierced  by  a 
Minie  ball,  and  he  fell  mortally  wounded. 

The  works  carried  by  our  noble  troops  would  have  been  in- 
vincible to  the  bayonet,  had  they  been  garrisoned  by  men  less 
dastardly  than  the  Yankees.  All  had  been  done  on  our  side 
with  the  bullet  and  the  ba^'onet.  For  four  hours  had  our  in- 
feriour  fgrce,  unaided  by  a  single  piece  of  artillery,  withstood 
over  thirty  thousand,  assisted  by  twcnty-siX:  pieces  of  artillery.- 

To  keep  the  track  of  the  battle,  which  had  swept  around 
Richmond,  we  must  have  reference  to  some  of  the  principal 
]»oirits  of  locality  in  the  enemy's  lines.  It  will  be  recollected 
fhat  it  was  on  Thursday  evening  when  the  attack  was  com- 
menced upon  the  enemy  near  Meadow  Bridge.  This  locality 
is  about  six  miles  distant  from  the  city,  on  a  line  almost  due 
north.  This  position-  was  the  enemy's  extreme  right.  His 
lines  extended  from  here  across  the  Chickahominy,  near  the 
I'owhite  Creek,  two  or  three  miles  above  the  crossing  of  the 
York  River  railroad.  From  Meadow  Bridge  to  this  railroad, 
the  distance  along  the  Cliickahominy  on  the  north  side  is  about 
ten  miles.  The  different  stages  between  the  points  indicated, 
along  which  the  enemy  were  driven,  are  Mcchanicsville,  about 
a  mile  north  of  the  Chickahominy;  further  on,  Beaver  Dam 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  65 

Creek,  emptying  into  the  Chickaliominy ;  then  the  New  Bridge 
road,  on  whicli  Cold  Harbour  is  located;- and  then  Powhito 
Creek,  w|iere  the  enemy  had  made  his  last  stand,  and  bcea 
repulsed  from'  the  field. 

The  York  River  railroad  runs  in  an  easterly  direction,  ia- 
tersecting  the  Chickaliominy  about  ten  miles  from  the  city. 
South  of  the  railroad  is  the  Williamsburg  road,  connecting 
with  the  Nine  Mile  road  at  Seven  Pines.  The  former  road 
connects  with  the  New  Bridge  road,  which  turns  olT  and  crosses 
the  Chickahominy.  From  Seven  Pines,  where  the  Nine  Mile 
road  joins  the  upper  one,  the  road  is  known  as  the  old  Wil- 
liamsburg road,  and  crosses  the  Chickahominy  at  Bottom's 
Bridge. 

With  the  bearing  of  these  localities  in  his  mind,  the  reader 
-will  readily  understand  how  it  was  that  the  enemy  was  driven 
from  his  original  strongholds  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicka-V 
hominy,  and  how,  at 'the  time  of  Friday's  battle,  he  had  been 
compelled  to  surrender  the  possession  of  the  Fredericksburg 
and  Central  railroads,  and  had  been  pressed  to  a  position 
where  he  was  cut  off  from  the  principal  avenues  of  supply  and 
escape.  The  disposition  of  our  forces  was  such  as  to  cut  off 
all  communication  between  McClellan's  army  and  the  White 
House,  on  the  Pamunkcy  river;  he  had  been  driven  com- 
pletely from  his  northern  line  of  defences;  and  it  was  sup- 
posed that  he  would  be  unable  to  extricate  himself  from  his- 
position  without  a  victory  or  capitulation. 

On  Sunday  morning,  it  appears  that  our  pickets,  on  Ihe 
Nine  Mile  road,  having  engaged  some  small  detachments  of 
the  enemy  and  driven  them  beyond  their  fortifications,  found 
them  deSQrted.  In  a  short  while,  it  became  known  to  our 
generals  that  McClellan,  having  massed  his  entire  force  on 
this  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  was  retreating  towards  James 
river. 

The  entrenchments,  which   the  enemy  had  deserted,  were 
found    to    be   formidable    and   elaborate.      That    immediately 
across^ the  railroad,  at  the  six  mile  post,  which  had  been  sup- 
6 


C6  THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF    THE    WAR. 

posed  to  be  light  earthwork,  designed  to  sweep  the  railroad, 
turned  out  to  be  an.  imnicnsxC  embrasured  fortification,  extend- 
ing for  hun(h-cdH  of  yards  on  either  side  of  the  track.  Within 
this  work  were  found  great  quantities  of  fixed  ammunition, 
which  had  apparently  been  prepared  fur  removal  and  then 
dcBcrted.  All  the  cannon,  as  at  other  entrenchments,  had 
been  canied  off.  A  dense  cloud  of  smoke  was  seen  issuing 
from  the  woods  two  miles  in  advance  of  the  battery  and  half 
»  mile  to  the  right  of  the  railroad.  The  smoke  was  found  to 
proceed  from  a  perfect  mountain  of  the  enemy's  commissafy 
Btorcs,  consisting  of  sugar,  cufTee  and  baron,  prepared  meals, 
tef^otables,  &c.,  which  he  had  fired,  'i'lie  fiilils  and  woods 
around  this  spot  were  covered  with  every  descripti6n  of  cloth- 
ing and  camp  equipage.  No  indication  was  wanting  that  tho 
enemy  had  left  this  encampment  in  haste  and  disorder. 
•  The  enemy  had  been  imperfectly  watched  at  a  conjuncture 
the  most  critical  in  the  contest,  and  thit)Ugh  an  omission  of 
our  guard — the  facts  f)f  which  arc  yet  the  subject  of  some  con- 
troversy— McClellan  liad  succeeded  in  mas.'?ing  his  entire  force, 
ami  taking  up  a  line  of  retreat,  by  which  he  hoped  to  reach 
the  cover  of  his  gunboats  on  the  James.  But  the  most  un- 
fortunate circumstance  to  us  was,  that  since  the  enemy  had 
escaped  from  us  in  his  fortified  camp,  his  retreat  was  favoured 
by  a  country,  the  characteristics  of  which  arc  unbroken  forcsta 
and  wide  swamps,  where  it  was  impossible  to  pursue  him  with 
rapiility,  and  extremely  diflicult  to  reconnoitre  his  position  so 
as  to  bring  him  to  decisive  battle. 

In  an  official  report  of  the  situation  of  forces  on  the 
Richmond  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  General  Magrudcr 
iescribes  it  as  one  pf  the  gravest  peril.  He  states  that  the 
lorgcr  portion  of  the  enemy  was  on  that  side  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy ;  that  the  bridges  had  all  been  destroyed,  and  but  one 
rebuilt — the  New  Hriilge — which  was  commanded  fully  by  the 
enemy's  guns;  and  that  there  were  but  twenty  five  thousand 
■»cn  between  McCIellan's  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  and 
Richmond.     Referring  to  a  situation  so  extremely  critical,  bo 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  67 

says :  "  Had  McClellan  massed  his  whole  force  in  column,  and 
advanced  it  against  any  point  of  our  line  of  battle,  as  was 
done  at  Austerlitz  under  similar  circumstances,  by  the  great- 
est captain  of  any  age,  though  the  head  of  his  column  would 
have  suffered  greatly,  its  monlcntum  would  have  insured  him 
success,  and  the  occupation  of  our  works  about  Richmond, 
and^  consequently,  of  the  city,  might  have  been  his  reward. " 
Taking  this  view  of  the  situation,  General  Magruder  states 
that  his  relief  was  great  when  it  was  discovered  the  next  day 
that  the  enemy  had  left  our  front  and  was  continuing  to  re- 
treat. ♦ 

The  facts,  however,  are  contrary  to  the  theory  of  General 
^lagruder  and  to  the  self-congratulations  which  he  derives  from 
it.  Our  troops  on  the  two  sides  of  the  river  were  only  sepa- 
rated until  we  succeeded  in  occupying  the  position  near  what 
is  known  as  New  Bridge,  which  occurred  before  12  o'clock  M., 
on  Friday,  June  27,  and  before  the  attack  on  the  enemy  at 
Gaines.'  Mill.  From  the  time  we  reached  the  position  referred 
to,  our  communications  between  the  two  wings  of  our  army 
may  be  regarded  as  re-established.  The  bridge  referred  to 
and  another  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  above  were  ordered 
to  be  repaired  before  noon  on  Friday,  and  the  new  bridge  was 
sufficiently  rebuilt  to  be  passed  by  artillery  on  Friday  night, 
and  the  one  above  it  was  used  for  the  passage  of  wagons,  am- 
bulances and  troops  early  on  Saturday  morning.  Besides  this, 
all  other  bridges  above  New  Bridge  and  all  the  fords  above 
that  point  were  open  to  us. 

TUE    AFFAIR    AT   SAVAGE    STATION. 

During  Sunday,  a  portion  of  the  enemy  was  encountered 
upon  the  Yoik  river  railroad,  near  a  place  called  Savage  Sta- 
tion, the  troops  engaged  on  our  side  being  the  division  of  Gen- 
eral McLaws,  consisting  of  Generals  Kershaw  and  Semmes* 
brigades,  supported  by  General  Griffith's  brigade  from  Magru- 
der's  division.  Tiie  Federals  were  found  to  be  strongly  en- 
trenched, and  as  soon  as  our  skirmishers  came  in  view,  they 


G8  THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

were  opened  upon  with  a  furious  cannonade  from  a  park  of 
field  pieces.  Kemper's  battery  now  went  to  the  front,  and  for 
tliree  hours  tlie  battle  raged  hotly,  when  the  discomfited  Yan- 
kees again  resumed  their  retreat.  Early  in  the  day,  on  reach- 
ing the  redoubts,  General  Griffith,  of  Mississippi,  one  of  the 
heroes  of  Leesburg,  was  killed  by  the  fragment  of  a  shell. 
lie  was  the  only  general  officer  killed  on  our  side  during  ithe 
whole  of  the  bloody  week. 

In  this  encounter  with  the  enemy,  the  gallant  10th  Georgia 
re'giment  sufTorcd  severely,  engaging  the  enemy  hand-to-haml, 
an(t  leaving  upon  the  field  memorable  evidences  of  their  cour- 
age. The  enemy,  to  use  an  expression  of  his  prisoners,  was 
** mowed  down"  by  the  close  fire  of  our  adventurous  troops; 
and  the  failure  of  the  attempt  of  McClellan  to  break  through 
our  lines  at  this  point,  left  him  to  (Jbntinue  a  hopeless  retreat. 

THE    DATTLE    OF    FRAYSER'S    FARM. 

By  daybreak  on  Monday  morning,  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy 
T^as  actively  resumed.  D.  II.  Hill,  Whiting  and  Ewell,  under 
command  of  Jackson,  crossed  the  Chickahominy  by  the  Grape- 
vine Bridge,  and  followed  the  enemy  on  their  track  by  the 
"Williamsburg  road  and  Savage's  Station.  Longstreet,  A.  P. 
Ilill,  linger  and  Magrudcr  pursued  the  enemy  by  the  Charles 
City  road,  with  the  intention  of  cutting  them  off. 

The  divisions  of  Generals  Hill  and  Longstreet  were,  during 
the  whole  of  the  day,  moving  in  the  hunt  for  the  enem^'.  The 
disposition  which  was  made  of  our  forces  brought  Gen.  Long- 
Street  on  the  enemy's  front,  immediately  supported  by  General 
Hill's  division^  consisting  of  six  brigades.  The  forces  com- 
manded by  General  Longstreet  were  his  old  division,  consisting 
of  six  brigades. 

The  position  of  the  enemy  was  about  five  miles  nortlicast  of 
Darbytown,  on  tlie  New  Market  road.  The  immediate  scene 
of  the  battle  was  a  plain  of  sedge  pines,  in  the  cover  of  which 
the  enemy's  forces  were  skilfully  disposed — the' locality  being 
known  as  Frayser's  farm.     In  advancing  upon  the  enemy,  bat- 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  69 

jteries  of  sixteen  heavy  guns  were  opened  upon  the  advance 
columns  of  General  Hill.  Our  troops,  pressing  heroically  for- 
ward, had  no  sooner  got  within  musket  range,  than  the  enemy, 
forming  several  lines  of  battle,  poured  upon  them  from  his 
heavy  masses  a  devouring  fire  of  musketry.  The  conflict  be- 
came terrible,  the  air  being  filled  with  missiles  of  death,  every 
moment  having  its  peculiar  sound  of  terrour,  and  every  spot 
its,  sight  of  ghastly  destruction  and  horrour.  It  is  impossible 
that  in  any  of  the  series  of  engagements  which  had  taken  phice 
within  the  past  few  days,  and  had  tracked  the  lines  of  llich- 
mond  with  fire  and  destruction,  there  could  have  been  more 
desperate  fighting  on  the  part  of  our  troops.  Never  was'  a 
more  glorious  victory  plucked  from  more  desperate  and  threat- 
ening circumstances.     While  exposed  to  the  double  fire  of  the 

.  enemy's  batte^^es  and  his  tnusketry,  we  were  unable  to  contend 
with  hiiB  with  artillery.  But  although  thus  unmatched,  our 
brave  troops  pressed  on  with  unquailing  vigour  and  a  resistless 
courage,  driving  the  enemy  before  themi  This  was  accom- 
plished without  artillery,  there  being  but  one  battery  in  Gen. 
Hill's  command  on  the  spot,  and  that  belonged  to  Lojigstreet's 
division,  and  could  not  be  got  into  position.  Thus  the  fight 
continued  with  an  ardour  and  devotion  that  few  battle-fields 
have  ever  illustrated.  Step  by  step  the  enemy  were  driven 
back,  his  guns  taken,  and  the  ground  he  abandoned  strewn 
with  his,  dead.  By  half-past  eight  o!clock  we  had  taken  all 
his  cannon, "and,  continuing  to  advance,  had  driven  him  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  his  ground  of  battle. 

Our  forces  were  still  advancing  upon  the  retreating  lines  of 
the  enemy.  It  was  now  about  half-past  nine  o'clock,  and  very 
dark.  Suddenly,  as  if  it  had  burst  from  the  heavens,  a  sheet 
of  fire  enveloped  the  front  of  our  advance.  The, enemy  had 
made  another  stand  to  receive  us,  and  from  the  black  masses 
of  his  forces,  it  was  evident  that  he  had  been   heavily  rein- 

•  forced,  and  that  another  whole  corps  d'armee  had  been  brought 
up  to  contest  the  fortunes  of  the  night.  Line  after  line  of 
battle  was  formed.     It  was  evident  that  his  heaviest  columns 


70  THB   SECOND   TEAR   OF   TOE   WAR. 

vcre  now  being  thrown  against  our  smnll  command,  and  it 
iniglit  liavo  l)ccn  supposed  tliat  he  wouM  only  be  satisfied  with 
its  anniJiihition.     The  loss  here  on  our  side  was  terrible. 

The  situation  being  evidently  hopeless  for  any  further  pur- 
suit of  the  fugitive  enemy,  who  had  now  brought  up  euch  over- 
whelming forces,  our  troops  retired  slowly. 

At  this  moment,  seeing  their  adversary  retire,  the  most  vocife- 
rous cheers  arose  along  the  whole  Yagkee  line.  They  were  taken 
up  in  the  distance  by  the  masses  wiiich  for  miles  and  miles  beyond 
vcre  supporting  McClellan's  front.  It  was  a  moment  when  the 
lieart  of  the  stoutest  qomraander  might  have  been  appalled. 
The  situation  of  our  forces  was  gow  as  desperate  as  it  well 
could  be,  and  required  a  courage  and  presence  of  mind  to  re- 
trieve it,  which  the  circumstances  which  surroun<led  them  were 
rot  well  calculated  to  inspire.  The5'  had  fuugli^  for  five  or  six 
hours  without  reinforcements.  All  our  reserves  had  been  brought 
op  in  the  action.  Wilcox's  brigade,  which  had  been  almost  an- 
nihilated, was  re  forming  in  the  rear. 

Riding  rapidly  to  the  position  of  this  brigade,  General  Hill 
brought  tjicm  by  great  exertions,  up  to  the  front,  to  check  the 
advance  of  the  now  confident,  cheering  enemy.  Catching  the 
fpiiit  of  their  commander,  tlie  brave,  but  j.nU'il  men,  moved  up 
to  the  front,  replying  to  the  enemy's  cheers  with  shiuts  and 
jells.  At  this  demonstration,  which  the  enemy,  no  doubt,  sup- 
posed signified  heavy  reinforcements,  he  stopped  his  advance. 
It  was  now  about  half-past  ten  o'clock  in  the  night.  The 
enemy  had  been  arrested;  and  the  fight — one  of  the  most  re- 
markable, long-contested  and  irallant  ones  that  had  yet  occurred 
on  our  lines — was  concluded  with  the  achievement  of  a  field 
under  the  most  tryin:^ circumstances,  which  the  enemy,  with  liio 
most  overpowering  numbers  brought  up  to  reinforce  him,  had 
not  succeeded  in  reclaiming. 

General  Magruder's  division  did  not  come  up  until  eleven 
o'clock  al  night,  after  the  fight  had  been  concluded.    By  orders* 
from  Gen.  Lee,  M:igni<ier  moved  upon  and  occupied  the  battle- 
ground; General  Hill's  command  being  in  such  a  condition  of 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    0F    THE    WAR.  71 

prostration  from  their  long  and  toilsome  figlit,  a_nd  sufiering  in 

killed  and  wounded,  that  it  was  proper  they  should  be  relieved 

by  the  occupation  of  the  battle-ground  by  a  fresh  corps  d'armee. 

t 

THE    BATTLE    OF    MALVERN    HILT.. 

Early  on  Tuesday  rhorning,  the  enemy,  from  tlie  position  to 
which  he  had  keen  driven  the  night  befoVe,  continued  his  re- 
treat in  a  southeasterly  direction  towards  his  gunboats  in 
James  river. 

General  Magruder  was  directed  to  proceed  by  the  Quaker 
road,  and  to  form  on  the  right  of  Jackson.  On  account  of  a 
misunderstanding  as  to  which  Was  the  Quaker  road,  the  wrong 
route  was  taken  by  General  Magruder;  and  the  direction  of 
his  movement  wr.s  s\d)sequently  changed,  so  as  to  plaoe  his 
troops  on  the  right  of  linger,  who,  in  the  meantime,  had  formed 
on  the  right  of  Jackson. 

The  enemy  had  now  placed  himself  in  communication  with 
his  gunboats  in  the  river.  He  was  strongly  posted  on  the 
crest  of  a  hill,  commanding  an  undulating  field,  which  fell  to 
our  right  into  a,  plain  or  meadow.  His  batteries  of  artillery 
were  numerous,  and  were  collected  into  two  large  bodies, 
Btrongly  supported  by  infantry,  and  commanded  perfectly  tho 
meadow  on'  our  right  and  the  field  in  our  front,  except  the 
open  ravijies  formed  by  the  undulations  of  the  ground. 

An  order  Avas  dispatched  by  General  Magruder  to  bring  up 
from  all  the  batteries  thirty  rifle  pieces,  if  possible,  with  which 
he  hoped  to  shatter  the  enemy's  infantry.  While  delay  wafl 
thus  occasioned,  he  was  ordered  to  make  the  attack.  Return- 
ing rapidly  to  the  position  occupied  by  the  main  body  of  his 
troops,  he  gave  Brigadier  General  Jones  the  necessary  oi'ders 
for  the  advance  of  his  division.  While  this  was  being  done,  a 
heavy  and  crushing  fire  was  opened  from  the  enemy's  guns,  of 
great  range  and  metal. 

General  Armistcad  having  repulsed,'  driven  back  and  fol- 
lowed up  a  heavy  body  of  the  enemy's  skirmishers,  an  order 
was  received  from   General  Lee  by  Magruder,  directing  him 


72  THE    SECOND-  YEAR    OF   THE    AVAR. 

*'to  advance  rapidly,  press  forward  his  whole  line,  and  follow 
up  Armistoad's  successes,  as  the  enemy  were  reported  to  be 
getting  off."  In  the  meantime  Mahone's  and  Ransom's  brig- 
ades of  Iluger's  division  having  been  ordered  up.  General  Ma- 
gruder  gave  the  order  that  "Wright's  brigade,  supported  by 
Mahone'fi,  should  advance  and  attack  the  enemy's  batteries  on 
the  right,  and  that  Jones'  division,  expected  momentarily, 
should  advance  on  the  front,  and  Ransom's  brigade  should  at- ' 
tack  on  the  left.  The  plan  of  attack  was  fo  hurl  about  fifteen 
thousand  men  against  the  enemy's  batteries  and  supporting  in- 
fantry— to  follow  up  any  successes  they  might  obtain;  and  if 
nnahle  to  drive"  the  enemy  from  his  strong  position,  to  continue 
the  fight  in  front  by  pouring  in  fresh  troops;  and  in  case  they 
were*  repulsed,  to  hold  strongly  the  line  of  battle  where  we 
stood. 

At  about  5  o'clock  P.  M.,  the  order  was  given  to  our  men 
to  charge  across  the  field  and  drive  the  enemy  from  their  posi- 
tion. Gallantly  they  sprang  to  the  encounter,  rushing  into 
the  field  at  a  full  run.  Instantl}',  from  the  line  of  the  enemy's 
breastworks,  a  murderous  storm  of  grape  and  canister  was 
hurled  into  their  ranks,  with  the  most  terrible  effect.  Ofiicers 
and  men  went  down  by  hundreds;  but  yet,  undaunted  and  un- 
"waveririg,  our  line  dashed  on,  until  two-thirds  of  the  distance 
across  the  field  was  accomplished.  Here  the  carnage  from,  the 
withering  fire  of  the  enemy's  combined  artillery  and  tnusketry 
was  dreailful.  .Our  line  wavered  a  moment,  and  fell  back  to 
the  cover  of  the  woods.  Twice  again  the  effort  to  carry  the 
position  was  renewed,  but  each  time  with  the  same  result. 

The  hill  was  bathed  with  flames.  Towards  sunset  the  earth 
quivered  with  the  tci'rific  concussion  of  artillery  and  huge  ex- 
plosions. Shells  raced  athwart  the  horizon,  exploding  into 
deadly  iron  hail.  The  forms  of  smoke-masked  men  ;  the  gleam 
of  muskets  on  the  plains,  where  soldiers  were  disengaged;  the 
artistic  order  of  battFe;  the  wild  career  of  wilder  horsemen 
plunging  to  and  fro  across  the  field,  formed  a  scene  of  exciting 
gr'unkur.     In  the  forest,  where  eyes  did  not  penetrate,  there 


,      THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   M'AR.  73 

was  nothing  but  the  cxhilaratiDg  and  exhausting  spasm  of 
battle. 

As  tlie  niffht  fell,  the  battle  slackened.  We  had  not  car- 
ried  the  enemy's  position,  but  we  occupied  the  field,  and  during 
the  night  posted  our  pickets  within  one  hundred  yards  of  his 
guns.  The  brigades  of  Mahone  and  Wright  slept  on  the  bat- 
tle-field in  the  advanced  positions  they  had  won,  and  Armis- 
tead's  brigade  and  a  portion  of  Ransom's  also  occupied  the 
battle-field. 

The  battle  of  Tuesday,  properly  known  as  that  of  Malvern 
Hill,  was  perhaps  the  most  sanguinary  of  the  series  of  bloody 
conflicts  which  had  taken  place  on  the  lines  about  Richmond. 
Although  not  a  defeat,  it  broke  the  chain  of  our  victories.  It 
was  made  memorable  l)y  its  melancholy  monument  of  carnage, 
which  was  probably  greater  than  "General  Magruder's  estimate, 
which  states  that  our  loss  fell  short  of  three  thousand.  But  it 
had  given  the  enemy  no  advantage,  except  in  the  unfruitful 
sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  our  troops;  and  the  line  of  his  retreat 
was  again  taken  up,  hj^  forces  toiling  towards  the  river  through 
mud,  swamp  and  forest. 

The  skill,  and  spirit  with  which  McCleilan  had  managed  to 
retreat  Was,  indeed,  remarkable,  and"  afforded  no  mean  proofs 
of  his  generalship.  At  every  stage  of  his  retreat  he  had  con- 
fronted our  forces  with  a  strong  rear  guard,  an^i  had  encoun- 
tered us  with  well  organi«ed  lines  of  battle,  and  regular  dispo- 
sitions of  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery.  His  heavy  rifled 
cannon  had  been  us^d  against  us  constantly  on  his  retreat.  A 
portion  of  his  forces  had  now  effected  cominunication  with  the 
river  at  points  below  City  Point.  The  plan  of  cutting  off  his 
communication  with  the  river,  wiiich  was  to  have  been  executed 
by  a  movement  of  Holmes'  division  between  him  and  the  river, 
was  frustrated  by  the  severe  fire  of  the  gun-boats,  and  since 
then  the  situation  of  the  enemy  appeared  to  be  that  of  a  divi- 
sion or  dispersion  of  his  forces,  one  portion  resting  on  the  riv^r, 
and  the  other,  to  some  extent,,  involved  bjPour  lines. 

It  had  been  stated  to  the  public  of  Ri|fcmond,  with  great  pre- 


74  THE    SECOND    VEAR    OF    THE    WAR.      , 

cision  of  detail,  that  on  tlie-cv^ning  of  Saturday,  the  28th  of 
June,  we  hiul  biou;^ht  the  enemy  to  bay  on  the  south  side  of  the 
ChifkahfUniny,  and  that  it  only  remained  to  fmitih  him  in  a  sin- 
gle battle.  Such,  in  fact,  appeared  to  have  been  the  situation 
then.  The  ne.xt  morning,  however,  it  was  perceived  tliat  our 
supposed  resources  of  generalship  had  given  us  too  much  confi- 
dence; thiit  the  enemy  had  managed  to  extricate  himself  from 
the  critical  position,  and,  having  massed  his  forces,  had  suc- 
ceeded, under  cover  of  the  night,  in  opening  a  way  to  the 
James  river.* 

Upon  this  untoward  event,  the  operations  of  our  army  on 
the  Richmond  side  of  the  Ciiickahominy  were  to  follow  the  fu- 
gitive enejny  through  a  country  where  he  had  admirable  o{)por- 
tunities  of  concealment,  and  through  the  swamps  ,and  forests 
of  wh'ch  he  had  retreated  wilh  the  most  remarkable  judgment, 
dexterity,  and  spirit  of  fortitude. 

The  glory  and  fruits  of  our  victory  may  have  been  seriously 
diminished  by  the  grave  misli;ip  or  fault  by  which  the  ei«my 
was  permitted  to  leave  his  camp  on  the  gouth  side  of  the  Chlck- 
ahominy,  in  ah  open  country,  and  to  plur.gc  into  the  dense 
cover  of  wood  and  swamp,  where  the  best  portiorj  of  a  whole 
week  was  consumed  in  hunting  him,  and  finSing  out  his  new 
position  only  in  time  to  attack  him  umler  the  uncertainty  and 
disadvantage  (jf  the  darkness  of  night. 

But   tiie  successes  achieved  in  tlw  scries  of  engagements 

*  With  reference  to  McClellan'^  escape  from  White  Oak  Swamp  to  the  river, 
letters  of  Ymikee  officers,  published  in  tlie  Nortlieni  joiinmls,  .-tnlril  that 
whi'ii  MeClc'llan  on  Siiturdny  evi'ning  sent  his  ecouts  <li)wn  tlic  rond  to  Turkey 
Islmid  l>ri(lge,  he  was  astimisln-d  and  deliphtcd  to  fiixl  that  (Hir  forces  hail  not 
OCCii|iii'd  lliiit  load,  and  ininu'diately  started  his  wuj^on  and  artillery  trains, 
whicli  WL-re  quietly  |)aHsing  down  tli:it  road  all  iiijjlit  to  the  .lames  river,  whilst 
our  forces  were  qnielly  s!ie|iitig  within  four  miles  of  the  very  road  they  should 
Lave  occupied,  and  should  have  captured  every  one  of  the  enemy's  one  thou- 
snml  wagons  and  four  hundred  cannon.  It  is  fuither  tftated  in  these  letters, 
that  if  we  iia<i  blocked  up  that  only  passage  of  escape,  their  entire  army  must 
have  surrendered  or  been  starved  out  in  twenty- four  hours.  These  nro  the 
Viinlvces'  own  accouiits^^  how  much  they  were  indebted  to  blunders  on  our 
part  for  the  success  of  M(5(Mellan's  retreat— a  kind  of  admission  not  popular 
irith  a  vain  and  self  adul^Ay  enemy. 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  7.5 

which  had  already  occurred  were  not  to.  be  Hgiitly  esteemed, 
or  to  be  depreciated,  because  of  errours  wiiich,  if  they  had  not 
occurred,  wouhl  have  made  our  victory  more  glorious  and  iik^-q 
complete.  The  siege  of  Richmond  had  been  raised;  at.  army 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  had  been  puslicd  from 
their  strongholds  and  fgrtifications,  and  put  to  flight;  we  hiid 
enjoyed  the  eclat  of  an  almost  daily  succession  of  victories; 
we  had  gathered  an  immense  spoil  in  stores,  provisions  i^nd 
artillery;  and  we  had  demoralized  and  dispersed,  if  we  had 
not  succeeded  in  annihilating,  an  army  which  had  every,  re- 
source that  could  be  summoned  to  its  assistance,  every  possible 
addition  of  numbers  within  tlie  reach  of  the  Yankec'  govern- 
ment, and  every  material  condition  of  success  to  ensure  for  it 
the  great  prize  of  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy,  which  was 
now,  as  far  as  human  judgment  couhl  determine,  irretrievably 
lost  to  them,  and  secure  in  the  protection  of  a  victorious  army. 

The  Northern  papers  claimed  that  the  movements  of  Mc- 
Clellan  from  the  Chickahominy  river  were  purely  strategic, 
and  that  he  had  obtained  a  position,  where  he  vvould  establish 
a  new  base  of  operations  against  Richmond.  '  Up  to  the  first 
decisive  stage  in  the  series  of  engagements — Cold  ILnbour — 
there  were  certainly  plain  strategic  designs  in  his  b.;ck\vard 
movement.  His  retirement  from  Mechanicsville  was  probably 
voluntary,  and  intended  to  concentrate  his  troops  lower  down, 
wTiere  he  might  fight  with  the  advantages  of  numbers  ami  his 
own  selection  of  position.  Continuing  his'retreat,  he  fixed  the 
decisive  field  at  Cold  Harbour.  Again  having  been  pushed 
from  his  strongholds  north  of  the  Chickahominy,  the  enemy 
made  a  strong  attompt  to  retrieve  his  disasters  by  renewing  a 
concentration  of  his  troops  at  Fraysc's  farm. 

From  the  time  of  these  two  principal  battje^,  all  pretensions 
of  the  enemy's  retreat  to  strategy  must  cease.  His  retreat 
was  now  unmistakeable;  it  was  no  longer  a  falling  back  to 
concentrate  troops  for  action  ;  it  is,  in  fact,  impossible  to  dis- 
guise  that  it  was  the  retreat  of  an  enemy  who  was  discomfited 
and  whipped,  although  not  routed.     He  had  abandoned   the 


76  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

railroads;  he  had  given  up  tlie  strongholds  which  lie  had  pro- 
vided to  secure  him  in  case  of  a  check :  he  had  destroyed  from 
c^ht  to  ten  millions  dollars'  worth  of  stores;  he  had  deserted 
his  hospitals,  his  sick  and  wounded,  and  he  had  left  in  our 
hainls  thousands  of  prisoners  and  innumerable  stragglers. 

Kegar  ling  all  that  had  heen  afcotn])lislu'd  in  these  battles; 
the  displays  of  the  valour  nnd  devotion  of  our  troops;  the  ex- 
pcndituje  of  blood;  and  the  helpless  and  fugitive  condition  to 
whic-li  the  enemy  had  at  last  been,  reduced,  there  was  cause  for 
the.  keenest  regrets  that  an  enemy  in  this  condition  was  per- 
mitted to  secure  his  retreat.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  in 
failing  to  cut  off  McClcUan's  retreat  to  the  river,  we  failed  to 
accomplish  the  most  important  condition  for  the  completion  of 
our  victory.  But  although  the  result  of  the  conflict  had  fallen 
below  public  expectation,  it  was  sufficiently  fortunate  to  excite 
popular  joy,  and  grave  enough  to  engage-  the  most  serious 
speculation  as  to  the  future. 

The  mouth  of  the  Yankee  Government  was  shut  from  any 
more  promises  of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war;  the  powers 
of  Europe  saw  that  the  Southern  Confederacy  was  not  yet 
cruslicd,  or  likely  to  be  crushed,  by  its  insolent  foe;  and  the 
people  of  the  South  had  again  challenged  the  confidence  of  tlic 
world  in  the  elasticity  of  their  fortunes  and  the  invincible 
destiny  of  their  independence. 

The  fortune  of  events  in  other  parts  of  the  Confederacy, 
takiiig  place  about*  the  time  of  the  relief  of  Richmond,  or 
closely  following  it,  although  less  striking  and  dramatic,  was 
not  uiipropitious.  These  events,  a  rapid  survey  of  which  takes 
us  from  the  seacoast  to  the  Mississippi  frontier,  added  to  the 
exultiitions  which  the  victories  of  the  Chickahorainy  had  occa- 
sioned, and,  although  qualified  by  some  disasters,  enlarged-  and 
enlightened  the  prospects  of  the  future. 

A  fejv  days  before  the  great  batt'les  had  been  joined  around 
Richmond,  a    brilliant    success    over    the  Yankees    had    been 
obtained  in  an  .engagement  on  James  Island  in  the  neighbor-' 
hood   of  Charleston.     The  battle  of  Secessioriville,  as  it  was 


THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.-  '  7T 

called,  occurred  on  the  16th  of  June.  About  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  that  day,  the  enemy,  taking  advantage  of  the  ' 
negligence  of  our  pickets,  drove  them  in,  or  captured  them, 
some  eight  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  battery  at  Secession- 
ville,  and,  advancina;  rapidly  upon  this  work  in  line  of  battle, 
arrived  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  it  before  we  could  open 
upon  him.  The  men,  however,  were  at  their  guns,  which  were 
at  once,  well  and  rapidly  served,  while  the  infantry  was  moved 
promptly  into  position  under  the  orders  of  Col.  J.  G.  Lamar, 
the  heroic  commander  of  the  post.  It  wfls  not  long  after 
getting  the  infantry  into  position  that  the  enemy  were  driven 
back  in  confusion.  They  were  soon,  however,  reinforced, 
and  made  another  desperate  charge,  when  they  were  again 
driven  back ;  a  third  time  they  came,  but  only  to  meet  with 
the  most  determined  repulse.  They  th6n  made  a  flank  move- 
ment on  our  right,  on  the  west  of  Seccssionville,  where  they 
were  gallantly  met  by  the  Charleston  battalion,  which  was  soon 
reinforced  by  the  Louisiana  battalion.  Three  times  had  the 
heroic  band  of  Confederates  repulsed  (often  at  the.  point  of  the- 
bayonet)  a  fprce  thrice  their  strength,  under  the  fire  of  three 
ffunboats  and  four  land  batteries.  About  ten  o'clock  tho 
enemy  retreated  in  great  confusion,  leaving  their  dead  and 
wounded  on  the  field,  a  number  lying  in  our  trenches.  The 
loss  of  the  enemy  was  at  least  four  hundred  in  killed,  wounded 
and  prisoners.  Their  dead  in  front  of  the  Secessionville  works 
numbered  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight.  Our  loss  was  foi:ty 
killed  and  about  twice  that  number  wounded. 

In  the  situation  in  the  West  some  important  changes  had 
transpired  in  the  early  months  of  the  summer. 

The  evacuation  of  Corinth  was  determined  upon  by  General 
Beauregard,  after  having  twice  offered  the  enemy  battle  outside 
of  his  entrenched  lines,  and  was  accomplished  on  the  SOth  of 
May.  The  transparent  object  of  the  Yankee  commander  was 
to  cut  oif  our  resources  by  destroying  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  and 
Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroads.  This  was  substantially 
foiled  by  the  evacuation  and  withdrawal  of  our  forces  along 


78  THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

the  line  of  the  former  road.  Remaining  in  rear  of  the,  Tus- 
ctiinliia  and  its  affluents,  some  six  mi?es  from  Corinth,  long 
enou^'h  to  collect  stragglers,  General  Beauregard  resumed  hi8 
march,  concentrating  his  main  forces  at  Baldwin.  On  the  7th 
of  June  he  left  Baldwin,  it  offering  no  advantages  of  a  defensive 
character,  and  assemlled  the  main  body  of  his  forces  at  Tupelo. 

On  the  morning  of  the  evacuation  of  Corinth,  our  cffectivo 
force  did  not  exceed  forty-seven  thousand  men  of  all  arms; 
that  of  the  enemy,  obtained  from  the 'best  sources  of  informa- 
tion, could  not  have  been  less  than  ninety  thou:?and  men  of  all 
arms.  The  story  of  the  evacuation  -was  flourished  by  the 
Yankees  as  a  gryat  success  on  their  side,  and  coupled  with  an 
audacious  falsehood  reported  by  Gen.  Pope  to  Gen,  Ilalleck,  then 
in  command  of  the  enemy's  forces  in  the  West,  to  the  effect  that 
he  had  taken  ten  thousand  prisoners  and  fifteen  thousand  stand 
of  arms.  The  facts  are,  that  the  retreat  was  conducted  with 
great  order  and'  precision  ;  and  that,  despite  the  boasts  of  the 
North  to  the  contrary,  we  lost  no  more  prisoners  than  the 
enemy  did  himself,  and  abandoned  to  him  in  stores  not  more 
than  would  amount  to  one  day'"8  expense  of  our  army. 

Tlie  capture  of  Memphis  was  another  step  towards  the  reali- 
zation of  the  enemy's  great  object  of  opening'the  navigation 
of  tiie  Mississippi,  which  was  persistently  demanded  by  the 
Northwestern  States  as  the  price  of  their  contributions  to  the 
war  and  their  support  of  the  administration  at  Washington.* 
This  city  had  been  formally  surrendered   to  the  Yaidtees  after 


*  The  Board  of  Trade,  of  St.  Louis,  published  a  paper  on  this  subject, 
which  assumed  the  ground  that  the  object  of  tlie  Confederacy  was  to  Imld  the 
entire  and  exclubive  control  of  the  Mihtiie^ippi.  It  went  into  dejail  to  show 
bow  great  the  loss  of  the  present  obi-truction  of  that  highway  was  to  tho 
"loyal"  Western  States.  It  was  the  natural  outlet  to  the  pioduce  of  the 
Upper  Valley.  During  the  year  JH(iO  the  shipments  from  Cairo  and  pointa 
above  the  Missisfcippi  and  its  tributaries,  by  way  of  the  lo.wer  Mi.->.>-i?sippi, 
anmunted  to  a  million  tons,  of  which  400,Ut)0  went  from  St.  Louis.  It 
averred  that  the  difl'erence  in  cost  of  freight  by  the  river  anj  the  railroad  waa 
ten  dolhirs  a  ton;  also,  that  thi",  with  the  return  freight,  would  amount  to  a 
total  of  $15,000,000  tax  on  the  Western  people  by  raasou  of  the  closing  of  the 
river.  • 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   "WAR.  79 

a  naval  engagement  in  front  of  it  on  the  6th  of  June,  in. -which 
our  h)ss  was  eighty  killed  and  Wounded  anc]  seventy-five  taken 
prisoners,  and  four  gunboats  sunk. 

The  occupation  of  Memphis  by  the  enemy  was  a  scM-ious 
disaster  to  the  Sooth,  although  it  did  not  open  the  Mississippi; 
for  it  gave  him  extraordinary  facilities  for  almost  daily  rein- 
forcements of  men  and  supplies,  and  for  the  preparation  of 
expeditions  to  penetrate  to  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy. 

But  the  enemy  received  a  check  on  the  Mississippi  whero 
he.  had  least  expected  it.  On  the  24th  of  June,  his  combined 
fleet  retiied,  and  abandoned  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  without 
accomplishing  anything,  after  a  siege  of  six  weeks.  No  injury 
■was  sustained  by  any  of  the  ba,tteriee  at  Vicksburg.  The 
number  of  shells  thrown  into  the  city  and  at , the  batteries 
amounted  to  25,000.  The  casualties  in  the  city  were  one 
woman  and  one  negro  man  killed,  and  among  the  soldiers  on 
guard  and  at  the  batteries  thei'e  were  twenty-two  killed  and 
wounded.  The  lower  bombarding  fleet,  under  command  of 
Corns.  Farragut  ainl  Porter,  consisted  of  18  gun  and  mortar 
boats,  5  sloops  of  war  and  70  transports;  the  upper  fleet  con- 
sisted of  11  gunboats  and  rams,  and  13  transports,  under 
command  of  Com.  Davis. 

The  people  of  the  South  found  in  the  defence *of  Vicksburg 
a  splendid  lesson  of  magnanimity  and  disinterested  patriotism. 
For  several  weeks  this  city  had  resisted  successfully  the  attack 
of  the  enemy's  gunboats,  mortar  flect^  and  lieavy  siege  guns. 
She  was  threatened  by  powerful  fleets  above  and  below,  and 
yet,  with  unexampled  "spirit,  the  Queen  City  of  the  Bluffs  sus- 
tained the  iron  storm  that  was  rained  upon  her  for  weeks  with 
continued  fury. 

New  Orleans,  Baton  Rouge,  Natchez  and  'Memphis  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  Yankees,  and  their  possession  by  the  enemy 
might  have  furnished  to  Vicksburg,  in  its  exposed  and  des- 
perate situation,  the  usual  excuses  of  timidity  and  selfishness 
for  its  surrender.  But  the  brave  city  resisted  these  vile  and 
unmanly  excuses,  and  gave  to  the  world  one  of  the  proudest 


80  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

:m<l  most  brilliant  illustrations  of  the  earnestness  and  devotion 
of  the  people  of  thc.South  tliat  h:ul  yet  ailorncd  the  war. 

The  fact  that  lut  little  hopes  could  be  entertained  of  the 
eventual  success '  of  the  defence  of  Yicksburg  against  the 
powerful  concentration  of  the  enemy's  navy,  heightened  the 
nobility  of  the  resistance  she  made.  The  resistance  of  the  enemy 
in  circumstances  which  afford  but  a  feeble  and  uncertain  pros- 
jicct  of  victory  recjuires  a  great  spirit;  but  it  is  more  invalu- 
able to  us  tlia^i  a  hundred  easy  victories;  it  teaches  the  enemy 
that  we  are  invincible  and  overcomes  him  with  despair;  it 
exhibits  to  the  world  the  inspirations  and  moral  grandeur 
of  our  cause ;  and  it  educates  our  people  in  chiralry  and 
warlike  virtues  by  thq  force  of  illustrious  examples  of  self- 
devotion.         V 

But  the  people  of  the  South  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing 
an  unexpected  issue  of  victory  in  the  siege  of  A'icksburg,  and 
had  occasion  to  learn  another  lesson  that  the  history  of  all 
wars  indicates,  that  the  practical  test  of  resistance  affords 
the  only  sure  determination,  whether  a  place  is  defensible  or 
not.  AVitli  a  feeling  of  inexpressible  pri<lc  did  Vick,sburg 
])ehold  two  immense  ficcls,  each  of  whicli  had  been  heretofore 
invincible,  brought  to  bay,  and,  unable  to  cope  with  her,  kept 
at  a  rcspectfTil  distance,  and  compelled  to  essay  the  extra- 
ordinary task  of  digging  a  new  channel  for  the  Mississippi. 

In  the  month  of  July  occurred  the  remarkable  exped'rtion  of 
the  celebrated  John  Morgan  into  Kentucky.  The  expedition 
of  this  cavalier  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  rapid  and  suc- 
cessful raids  recorded  in  history.  Composed  of  a  force  less 
I  ban  one  thousand,  consisting  of  Morgan's  own  regiment,  witk 
some  partisan  rangers  from  Georgia,  and  a  Texas  squadron, 
to  which  was  attached  two  companies  of  Tennessee  cavalry,  it 
penetrated  as  far  as  Cynthianna.  It  was  Morgan's  intention 
to  make  a  stand  at  Richmond,  Kentucky,  to  await  reinforce- 
ments, as  he  was  persuaded  that  nearly  the  whole  people  of 
that  State  were  ready  to  rise  and  join  him  ;  but  finding  that 
the  enemy  was  endeavoring  to  envelope  him  with  large  bodies 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  81 

of  cavalry,  he  Teas  compelled  to  fall  back.  On  reacliing 
Somerset,  he  took  possession  of  the  telegraph,  and  very  coolly 
countermanded  all  the  previous  orders  that  had  been  given  by 
Gen.  Boyle  at  Louisville  to  pursue  him. 

He  had  left  Knoxville  on  the  fourth  day  of  July  with  nine 
hundred  men,  and  returned  to  Lexington  on  the  28th  with 
nearly  twelve  hundred.  In  twenty-four  days  he  had  pene- 
trated two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  into  a  country  in  full  pos- 
session of  the  Yankees  ;  captured  seventeen  towns  ;  met,  fought 
and  captured  a  Yankee  force  superiour  to  his  own  in  numbers ; 
captured  three  thousand  stand  of  arms  at  Lebanon  ;  and,  from 
first  to  last,  destroyed  during  his  raid  military  stores,  railroad 
bridges  and  other  property  to  the  value  of  eight  or  ten  millions 
of  dollars.  He  accomplished  all  this,  besides  putting  the 
people  of  Cincinnati  into  a  condition,  described  by  one  of  their 
newspapers,  as  "  bordering  on  frenzy,"  and  returned  to  Ten- 
nessee with  a  loss  in  all  his  engagements  of  not  more  than 
ninety  men  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 

While  some  activity  was  shown  in  extreme  portions  of  the 
West,  we  shall  see  that  our  military  operations  from  Green- 
brier county,  Virginia,  all  the  way  down  to  Chattanooga, 
Tennessee,  were  conducted  with  but  little  vigour.  On  the 
boundaries  of  East  Tennessee,  Southwestern  Virginia  and 
Kentucky,  we  had  a  force  in  the  aggregate  of  thirty  thousand 
men  confronted  by  probably  not  half  their  number  of  Yankee 
troops ;  yet  the  Southwestern  counties  of  Virginia  and  the 
Valley  of  tha  Clinch,  in  Tennessee,  were  entered  and  merci- 
lessly plundered  by  the  enemy  in  the  face  of  our  troops. 

But  we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice  the  campaign  in  the 
West  on  a  broader  arena.  We  shall  see  how  movements  in 
this  direction  pressed  back  the  discouraged  and  retreating  foe. 
We  shall  see  how  these  movements  of  the  Confederates  were 
intended  to  repossess  the  country  previously  occupied  by  them 
and.to  go  forward  to  the  redemption  of  the  State  of  Kentucky,* 
and  the  attack  of  one  or  more  of  the  leading  cities  of  the  West ; 
how,  in  the  prosecution  of  this  plan,  ISorth  Alabama  and  Mis- 
G 


82  THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

sissippi  were  speedily  cleared  of  the  footsteps  of  the  foe ;  how 
all  of  Tennessee,  save  the  strongholds  of  Memphis  and  Nash- 
ville, and  the  narrow  districts  commanded  by  them,  were 
retrieved,  and  by  converging  armies,  nearly  the  whole  of  Ken- 
tucky was  occupied  and  held — and  how,  at  last,  all  these 
achievements  were  reversed  in  a  night's  time,  and  the  most 
valuable  and  critical  points  abandoned  by  our  troops,  or  rather 
by  the  will  of  the  unfortunate  general  who  led  them. 

But  our  narrative  docs  not  yet  open  on  the  chequered  page 
of  the  West.  That  important  part  of  our  history  is  prefaced 
by  the  brilliant  story  of  the  summer  campaign  of  the  upper 
Potomac,  and  is  relieved  by  dazzling  lights  of  glory  on  the  old 
battle-grounds  of  Virginia. 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  83 


• 


CHAPTER  III. 

Effect  of  McClcllan's  Defeat  in  the  North. ..Call  for  more  Troops. ..Why  the 
North  was  not  Easily  Dispirited. ..Thp  War  as  a  Money  Job. ..Note:  General 
Washington's  Opinion  of  New  England. ..The  Yankee  Finances. ..Exasperation 
of  Hostilities. ..The  Yankee  Itlea  of  a  "Vigonrons  Prosecution  of  the  War"... 
Ascendancy  of  the  Radicals. ..War  Measures  at  Washington... Anti-Slavery 
Aspects  of  the  Wa**... Brutality  of  the  Yankees... The  Insensibility  of  Europe... 
Yankee  Chaplains  in  Virginia. ..Seizures  of  Private  Property. ..Pope's  Oiders 
in  Virginia. ..Steinwehr's  Order  Respecting  Hostages. ..The  Character  and  Ser- 
vices of  General  John  Pope. ..The  "Army  of  Virginia". ..Irruption  of  the 
Northern  Spoilsmen. ..The  Yankee  Trade  in  Counterfeit  Confederate  Notes... 
Pope's  "Chasing  the  Rebel  Hordes". ..Movement  Against  Pope  by  "Stone- 
wall" Jackson. ..Battle  of  Gedaii  Mountain... McClellan  Recalled  from  the 
Peninsula. ..The  Third  Grand  Army  of  the  North. ..Jackson's  Surprise  of  the 
Enemy  at  Manassas. ..A  Rapid  and  Masterly  Movement. ..Change  of  the  Situ- 
ation...Attack  by  the  Enemy  upon  Bristow  Station  and  at  Manassas  Junc- 
tion... JIarshalling  of  the  Hosts. ..Longstrcet's  Passage  of  Thoroughfare  Gap... 
The  Plans  of  General  Lee... Spirit  of  our  Troops. ..Their  Painful  Marches... 
The  Second  Battle  of  Manassas. ..A  Terrible  Bayonet  Charge — Rout  of  the 
Enemy... A  Hideous  Battle-Feld... General  Lee  and  the  Summer  Campaign  of 
Virginia. ..Jackson's  Share  in  it. ..Extent  of  the  Great  Victory  of  Manassas... 
Excitement  in  Washington. ..The  Yankee  Army  Falls  Back  Upon  Alexandria 
and  Washington. ..Review  of  the  Situation. ..Rapid  Change  in  our  Military 
Fortunes. ..What  the  South  had  Accomplished. ..Comparison  of  Material 
Strength  Between  North  and  South. ..Humiliating  Result  to  the  Warlike  Rep- 
utation of  the  North. 

The  eflfect  of  the  defeat  of  McClellan  before  Richmoud  was 
received  at  the  North  with  ill-concealed  mortification  &nd 
anxiety.  Beneath  the  bluster  of  the  newspapers,  and  the  af- 
fectations of  public  confidence,  disappointment,  embarrassment 
and  alarm  were  perceptible.  The  people  of  the  North  had 
been  so  assured  of  the  capture  of  Richmond,  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  re-animate  them  on  the  heels  of  McClcllan's  retreat. 
The  prospects  held  out  to  them  so  long,  of  ending  the  war  in 
"sixty  days,"  "crushing  out  the  rebellion,"  and  eating  victo- 
rious dinners  in  Richmond,  had  been  bitterly  disappointed  and 


84  THE   SECOND    YEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 

were  not  to  be  easily  renewed.  The  government  at  Washing- 
ton showed  its  appreciation  of  the  disaster  its  arms  had  sus- 
tained bj  making  a  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  additional 
troops ;  and  the  people  of  the  North  were  urged  by  every  va- 
riety of  appeal,  including  large  bounties  of  money,  to  respond 
to  the  stirrinfj  call  of  President  Lincoln.* 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  North  was  seriously  dis- 
couraged by  the  events  that  had  taken  place  before  Richmond. 
But  it  was  a  remarkable  circumstance,  uniformly  illustrated  in 
the  war,  that  the  North,  though  easily  intoxicated  by  triumph, 
was  not  in  the  same  proportion  depressed  by  defeat.  There  is 
an  obvious  explanation  for  this  peculiarity  of  temper.  As  long 
as  the  North  was  conducting  the  war  upon  the  soil  of  the  South, 
a  defeat  there  involved  more  money  expenditure  and  more 
calU  for  troops;  it  involved  scarcely  anything  else;  it  had  no 
other  horrours,  it  did  not  imperil  their  homes;  it  might  easily 
be  repaired  by  time.  Indeed,  there  was  some  sense  in  the  ex- 
hortation of  some  of  the  Northern  orators,  to  the  effect  that 
defeat  made  their  people  stronger  than  ever,  because,  while  it 
required  them  to  put  forth  their  energies  anew,  it  enabled  them 

*  The  Army  Register,  published  at  Wnshington,  in  its  statement  of  the 
organization  of  the  regular  army,  enumerates  as  its  force  six  regiments  of 
cavalry,  five  of  artillery,  ten  of  infantry,  (old  army),  and  nine  of  infantry, 
(new  army.) 

The  strength  of  this  branch  of  the  service  in  men,  may  be  thus  stated: 
■    t 
Total  commissioned  olTicers,  .  .  2,388 

Total  enlisted,        ....         40,G2G 

Aggregate,        43,014 

The  figures  which  are  collected  below  to  show  the  organization  of  the  vol- 
unteer army  of  the  North,  refer  to  the  date  of  the  Jiigiater,  August  1,  1802. 

It  appears  that  at  this  date  there  were  in  the  volunteer  army  of  the  North 
seventy  regiments  of  cavalry,  seventy  of  artillery,  and  eight  hundred  and 
sixty  regiments  of  infantry. 

These  startling  official  figures  give  the  following  result: 

Total  commi.'^sioncd  oflioers,  .  .  39,022 

Total  rank  and  file,  .  .  .      1,052,480  ,, 

Aggregate,      ],0'J2,401 

% 


THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  85 

to  talce  advantage  of  experience,  to  multiply  their  means  of 
success,  and  to  essay  new  plans  of  campaign.  No  one  can 
doubt  but  that  the  celebrated  Manassas  defeat  really  strength- 
ened the  North;  and  doubtless  the  South  would  have  realized 
the  same  consequence  of  the  second  repulse  of  the  enemy's 
movements  on  Richmond,  if  it  had  been  attended  by  the  same 
conditions  on  our  part  of  inaction  and  repose. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  completely  the  ordinary  aspects 
of  war  were  changed  and  its  horrours  diminished,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  North,  by  the  false  policy  of  the  South,  in  keeping 
the  theatre  of  active  hostilities  within  her  own  borders.  Defeat 
did  not  dispirit  the  North,  because  it  was  not  brought  to  her 
doors.  Where  it  did  not  immediately  imperil  the  safety  of 
the  country  and  homes  of  the  Yankees,  where  it  gave  time  for 
the  recovery  and  re-organization  of  the  attacking  party,  and 
•where  it  required  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war  nothing  but 
more  money  jobs  in  Congress  and  a  new  raking  up  of  the  scum 
of  the  cities,  the  effects  of  defeat  upon  the  North  might  well 
be  calculated  to  be  the  exasperation  of  its  passions,  the  inflam- 
mation of  its  cupidity,  and  the  multiplication  of  its  exertions 
to  break  and  overcome  the  misapplied  power  of  our  armies. 

Indeed,  the  realization  of  the  war  in  the  North  was,  in  many 
respects,  nothing  more  than  that  of  an  immense  money  job. 
The  large  money  expenditure  at  Washington  supplied  a  vast 
fund  of  corruption ;  it  enriched  the  cobimercial  centres  of  the 
North,  and  by  artificial  stimulation  preserved  such  cities  as 
New  York  from  decay;  it  interested  vast  numbers  of  politi- 
cians, contractors  and  dissolute  public  men  in  continuing  the 
war  and  enlarging  the  scale  of  its  operations;  and,  indeed,  the 
disposition  to  make  money  out  of  the  war  accounts  for  much 
of  tha{  zeal  in  the  North,  which  was  mistaken  for  political  ar- 
dour or  the  temper  of  patriotic  devotion.* 


*  The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  unpublished  leltor  from  Gen.  Wash- 
ington to  Richard  Henry  Lee, .and,  as  an  exposition  of  the  cliaracter  of  the 
Northern  people  from  a  pen  eacred  to  posterity,  is  deeply  interesting.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  of  the  authenticity  of  the  letter.     It  has  been  preserved  ia 


86  THE    SECOND  YEAR   Of  THE  WAR. 

But  viliWe  politicians  plundered  the  government  at  Washing- 
ton and  contractors  grew  rich  in  a  single  day  and  a  fictitious 

the  Lcc  family,  who,  though  applied  to  by  Bancroft,  Irving  and  others  for  a 
copy  for  publication,  have  hitherto  refused  it,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be 
improper  to  give  to  the  world  a  private  letter  from  tho  Father  of  his  Country 
reflecting  upon  any  portion  of  it  while  tho  Union  endured.  But  now,  that 
"these  people"  have  trampled  the  Constitution  under  foot,  destroyed  Iho 
government  of  our  fathers,  and  invaded  and  desolated  Washington's  own 
county  in  Virginia,  there  can  be  no  impropriety  in  showing  his  private  opia- 
ioD  of  the  Massachusetts  Yankees: 

[Copy.] 

Camp  at  CASinniDCE,  Aug.  29,  1775. 
Dear  Sir:     *     *     * 

As  we  have  now  nearly  completed  our  lines  of  defence,  wc  have  nothing 
more,  in  my  ojiinion,  to  fear  from  the  enemy,  provided  we  can  keep  our  men 
to  their  duty,  and  make  them  watchful  and  vigilant;  but  it  is  among  the  most 
difficult  tasks  I  ever  undertook  in  my  live,  to  induce  these  people  to  believe 
that  there  is  or  can  be  danger,  till  the  bayonet  is  pushed  at  their  breasts;  not 
that  it  proceeds  from  any  uncommon  prowess,  but  rather  from  au  unaccount- 
able kind  of  stupidity  in  tho  lower  class  of  these  people,  which,  believe  me, 
prevails  but  too  generally  among  the  officers  of  tho  Massachusetts  part  of  the 
army,  who  are  nearly  of  tho  same  kidney  with  the  private,  and  adds  not  a 
little  to  my  difficulties,  as  there  is  no  such  thing  as  getting  officers  of  this 
stamp  to  exert  themselves  in  carrying  orders  into  execution.  To  curry  favour 
with  the  men  (by  whom  they  were  chosen  and  on  whose  smiles  possibly  they 
may  think  they  may  again  rely)  seems  to  he  one  of  the  principal  objects  of 
their  attention.  I  submit  it,  therefore,  to  your  consideration,  whether  there 
is,  or  is  not,  a  propriety  in  that  resolution  of  the  Congress  which  leaves  tho 
ultimate  appointment  of  all  officers  below  the  rank  of  general  to  the  govern- 
ments where  the  regiments  originated,  now  tho  army  is  become  Continental? 
To  me,  it  appears  improper  in  two  points  of  view — first,  it  is  giving  that 
power  and  weight  to  an  individual  Colony  which  ought  of  right  to  belong  to 
the  whole.  Then  it  damps  the  spirit  and  ardour  of  volunteers  from  all  but 
the  four  New  England  Governments,  as  none  but  their  people  have  the  least 
chance  of  getting  into  office.  Would  it  not  be  better,  therefore,  to  Ijave  tho 
warrants,  which  the  Commander-in-Chief  is  authorized  to  give  pro  tempore, 
approved  or  disapproved  by  the  Continental  Congress,  or  a  committee  of  their 
body,  which  I  should  suppose  in  any  long  recess  must  always  sit?  »  In  this 
case,  every  gentleman  will  stand  an  equal  chance  of  being  promoted,  accord- 
ing to  his  merit:  in  tho  other,  all  offices  will  be  ooufined  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  four  New  England  Governments,  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  impolitic  to  a 
degree.  I  have  made  a  pretty  good  slam  among  such  kind  of  officers  as  the 
Massachusetts  Government  abounds  in  since  I  came  to  this  camp,  having 
broken  one  colonel  and  two  captains  for  cowardly  behaviour  in  the  action  on 
Bunker's  Hill,  two  captains  for  drawing  more  provisions  and  pay  than  they 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  87 

prosperity  dazzled  the  eyes  of  the  observer  in  the  cities  of  the 
North,  the  public  finances  of  the  Yankee  government  had  long 
ago  become  desperate.  It  is  interesting  at  this  point  to  make 
a  brief  summary  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  North  by  a 
comparison  of  its  public  debt  "with  the  assets  of  the  government. 

The  debt  of  the  present  United  States,  audited  and  float- 
ing, calculated  from  data  up  to  June  30,  1862,  -was  at  least 
$1,300,000,000.  The  daily  expenses,  as  admitted  by  the 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  "Ways  and  Means,  was  between 
three  and  four  millions  of  dollars;  the  debt,  in  one  year  from 
this  time,  could  not  be  less  than  two  thousand  five  hundred 
millions  of  dollars. 

Under  the  census  of  1860,  all  the  property  of  every  kind  in 
all  the  States  was  estimated  at  less  than  $12,500,000,000. 
Since  the  war  commenced,  the  depreciation  has  been  at  least 
one-fourth— $3,175,000,000.  From  $9,375,000,000  deduct 
the  property  in  the  beceded  States,  at  least  one-third  — 
$3,125,000,000; — leaving,  in  the  present  United  States, 
$6,250,000,000. 

It  will  thus  be  seen,  that  the  present  debt  of  the  North  was 
one-fifth  of  all  the  property  of  every  kind  it  possesses ;  and  in 

had  men  in  their  company,  and  one  for  being  absent  from  his  post  when  the 
enemy  appeared  there  and  burnt  a  bouse  just  by  it.  Besides  these,  I  have  at 
this  time  one  colonel,  one  major,  one  captain  and  two  subalterns  under  arrest 
for  trial.  In  short,  I  spare  none,  and  yet  fear  it  will  not  all  do,  as  these  peo- 
ple seem  to  be  too  inattentive  to  everything  but  their  interest. 

********* 
There  have  been  so  many  great  and  capital  errours  and  abuses  to  rectify — 
BO  many  examples  to  make,  and  so  little  inclination  in  the  officers  of  inferiour 
rank  to  contribute  tlicir  aid  to  accomplish  this  work,  that  my  life  has  been 
nothing  else  (since  I  came  here)  but  one  continual  round  of  vexation  and 
fatigue.  In  short,  no  pecuniary  recompense  could  induce  me  to  undergo  what 
I  have ;  especially,  as  I  expect,  by  showing  so  little  countenance  to  irregu- 
larities and  public  abuses  as  to  render  myself  very  obnoxious  to  a  great  part 
of  these  people.  But  as  I  have  already  greatly  exceeded  the  bounds  of  a 
letter,  I  will  not  trouble  you  with  matters  relative  to  my  own  feelings. 

Your  affectionate  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  GEO.  WASUINGTON. 

Richard  Uenry  Lee,  Esq. 


88  TDE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

one  year  more  it  would  probably  be  more  than  one-third.  No 
people  on  earth  had  ever  been  plunged  in  so  large  a  debt  in 
80  short  a  time.  No  government  in  existence  had  so  large  a 
debt  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  property  held  by  its 
people. 

In  continuing  the  narrative  of  the  campaign  in  Virginia,  we 
shall  have  to  observe  the  remarkable  exasperation  with  which 
the  North  re-entered  upon  this  campaign  and  to  notice  many 
deeds  of  blackness  which  illustrated  the  temper  in  which  she 
determined  to  prosecute  the  desperate  fortunes  of  the  war. 
The  military  authorities  of  the  North  seemed  to  suppose  tUat 
better  success  would  attend  a  savage  war,  in  which  no  quarter 
was  to  be  given  and  no  age  or  sex  spared,  than  had  hitherto 
been  secured  to  such  hostilities  as  are  alone  recognized  to  be 
lawful  by  civilized  men  in  modern  times.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  comment  at  length  upon  this  fallacy.  Brutality  in  war  was 
mistaken  for  vigour.  AVar  is  not  emasculated  by  the  observ- 
ances of  civilization  ;  its  vigour  and  success  consist  in  tlie 
resources  of  generalship,  the  courage  of  troops,  the  moral 
ardours  of  its  cause.  To  attempt  to  make  up  for  deficiency 
in  these  great  ^nd  noble  elements  of  strength  by  mere  brutal 
severities — such  as  pillage,  assassination,  &c. — is  absurd  ;  it 
reduces  the  idea  of  war  to  the  standard  of  the  brigand ;  it 
offends  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  world,  and  it  excites  its 
enem^^to  the  last  stretch  of  determined  and  desperate  exertion. 

There  had  long  been  a  party  in  the  North  who  mistook  bru- 
tality in  war  for  vigour,  and  clamoured  for  a  policy  which  was 
to  increase  the  horrours  of  hostilities  by  arming  the  slaves,  and 
making  the  invaded  country  of  the  South  the  prey  of  white 
brigands  and  "loyal'-'  negroes.  This  party  was  now  in  the 
ascendancy.  It  had  already  obtained  important  concessions 
from  the  Washington  government.  Nine-tenths  of  the  logis- 
lution  of  the  Yankee  Congress  had  been  occupied  in  some  form 
or  other  with  the  ([uestion  of  slavery.  Universal  emancipation 
in  the  South,  and  the  utter  overthrow  of  all  property,  was  now 
the  declared  policy  of  the  desperate  and  demented  leaders  of 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 


89 


the  war.  The  Confiscation  Bill,  enacted  at  the  close  of  the 
session  of  Congress,  confiscated  all  the  slaves  belonging  to  those 
who  were  loyal  to  the  South,  constituting  nine-tenths  at  least  of 
the  slaves  in  the  Confederate  States.  In  the  Border  States  oc- 
cupied by  the  North,  slavery  was  plainly  doomed  under  a  plaa 
of  emancipation  proposed  by  Mr.  Lincoln  with  the  flimsy  and 
ridiculous  pretence  of  compensation  to  slaveholders.* 

These  concessions  to  the  radical  party  in  the  North  excited' 
new  demands.  The  rule  which  was  urged  upon  the  govern- 
ment, and  which  the  government  hastened  to  accept,  was  tO-' 
spare  no  means,  however  brutal-,  to  contest  the  fortunes  of  the 
war,  and  to  adopt  every  invention  of  torture  for  its  enemy. 
The  slaves  were  to  be  armed  and  carried  in  battalions  an;ainst 
their  masters.  The  invaded  country  of  the  South  was  to  be 
pillaged,  wasted  and  burnt;  the  Northern  troops,  like  hungry 
locusts,  were  to  destroy  everything  green ;  the  people  in  the 
invaded  districts  were  to  be  laid  under  contributions,  compelled 
to  do  the  work  of  slaves,  kept  in  constant  terrour  of  their 
lives,  and  fire,  famine  and  slaughter  were  to  be  the  portion  of 
the  conquered. 

Before  the  eyes  of  Europe  the  mask  of  civilization  had  been 
taken  from  the  Yankee  war;   it  degenerated  into  unbridled' 


*  According  to  the 

census  of  1860— 

Kentucky  had 

225,490  slaves. 

Maryland, 

. 

87,188 

Virginia, 

490,887 

Delaware, 

1,798 

Missouri, 

114,965 

Tennessee, 

275,784 

Making  in  the  whole,      1,196,112      " 

At  the  proposed  rate  of  Taluation,  these  would  amount  to   $358,833, 
Add  for  deportation  and  colonization  $100  each,  119,244, 


And  we  have  the  enormous  sum  of 


$478,078,133- 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that  a  proposition  conld  be  made  in  good  faitb, 
or  that  in  any  event  the  propoBiiion  could  .be  otherwise  thnn  wortlilesp,  to  add 
this  vast  amc^unt  to  the  public  debt  of  the  North  at  a  moment  when  the  trea- 
sury was  reeling  under  the  enormous  expenditures  of  the  war. 


90  THE   SECOND   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

butchery  and  robbery.  But  the  nations  of  Europe,  "which 
boasted  themselves  as  humane  and  civilized,  had  yet  no  inter- 
ference to  ofler  in  a  war  which  shocked  the  senses  and  appealed 
to  the  common  offices  of  humanity.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that 
during  the  entire  continuance  of  the  war  up  to  this  time,  the 
British  government  had  acted  "n-ith  reference  to  it  in  a  spirit 
of  selfish  and  inhuman  calculation ;  and  there  is,  indeed,  but 
little  doubt  that  an  early  recognition  of  the  Confederacy  by 
France  was  thwarted  by  the  interference  of  that  cold  and 
inister  government,  that  ever  pursues  its  ends  by  indirection 
nd  perfects  its  hypocrisy  under  the  specious  cloak  of  extreme 
conscientiousness.  No  greater  delusion  could  have  possessed 
the  people  of  the  South  than  that  the  government  of  England 
■was  friendly  to  them.  That  government,  which  prided  itself 
on  its  cold  and  ingenious  selfishness,  seemed  to  have  discovered 
a  much  larger  source  of  profit  in  the  continuation  of  the  Ame- 
rican war  than  it  could  possibly  derive  from  a  pacification  of 
the  contest.  It  was  willing  to  see  its  operatives  starving  and 
to  endure  the  distress  of  a  "cotton  famine,"  that  it  might 
have  the  ultimate  satisfaction,  which  it  anticipated,  of  seeing 
both  parties  in  the  American  war  brought  to  the  point  of  ex- 
haustion, and  its  own  greatness  enlarged  on  the  ruins  of  a 
hated  commercial  rival.  The  calculation  was  far-reaching;  it 
was  characteristic  of  a  government  that  secretly  laughed  at 
all  sentiment,  made  an  exact  science  of  selfishness,  and  scorned 
the  weakness  that  would  sacrifice  for  any  present  good  the 
larger  fruits  of  the  future. 

This  malevolent  and  venomous  spirit  of  anti-slavery  in  the 
war  pervaded  the  whole  of  Northern  society.  It  was  not  only 
the  utterance  of  such  mobs  as,  in  New  York  city,  adopted  as 
their  war  cry  against  the  South,  ^^ kill  all  the  inhabitants;" 
it  found  expression  in  the  political  measures,  military  orders 
and  laws  of  the  government;  it  invaded  polite  society,  and 
was  taught  not  only  as  an  element  of  patriotism,  but  as  a  vir- 
tue of  religion.  The  characteristic  religion  of  New  England, 
composed  of  about  equal  quantities  of  blasphemy  and  balder- 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  91 

dash,  went  hand  in  hand  with  the  war.  Some  of  these  pious 
demonstrations  were  curious,  and  bring  to  remembrance  the 
fanaticism  and  rhapsodies  of  the  old  Puritans.* 

The  Yankee  array  chaphains  in  Virginia  alternately  dis- 
gusted and  amused  the  country  with  the  ferocious  rant  with 
which  they  sought  to  inspire  the  crusade  against  the  South. 
One  of  these  pious  missionaries  in  Winchester,  after  the  regu- 
lar Sunday  service,  announced  to  the  assembled  Yankee  troops 
an  imaginary  victory  in  front  of  Richmond,  and  then  called 
for  "  three  cheers  and  a  tiger  and  Yankee  Doodle."  In  a 
sermon  preached  near  the  enemy's  camp  of  occupation,  the 
chaplain  proclaimed  the  mission  of  freeing  the  negroes.  He 
told  them  they  were  free,  and  that,  as  the  property  amassed 
by  their  masters  was  the  fruit  of  the  labours  of  the  blacks, 
these  had  the  best  title  to  it  and  should  help  themselves.  At 
another  place  near  the  scene  of  the  execution  of  John  Brown  for 
violation  of  law,  sedition  and  murder,  a  sermon  was  preached 
by  an  army  chaplain  on  some  text  enjoining  "  the  mission  of 
proclaiming  liberty ;"  and  the  hymn  given  out  and  sung  was — 

"John  Brown's  body  hangs  dangling  in  the  air, 
Sing  glory,  glory,  hallelujah!" 

*  No  one  aflFected  the  peculiarity  of  the  Puritans  more  than  Gov.  Andrews, 
of  ]\Ias9nchusctts.  The  following  pious  rant  is  quoted  from  one  of  his 
speeches  at  Worcester ;  in  blasphemy  and  bombast  it  equals  any  of  the  ful- 
minatious  of  the  "Pilgrim  Fathers" — 

"I  know  that  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  one  foot  on  the  earth  and  one  on  the 

sea,  will  proclaim  in  unanswcreble  language,  that  four  millions  of  bondmen 

shall  ere  long  be  slaves  no  longer.    We  live  in  a  war,  not  a  riot;  as  we  thought 

last  year,  with  a  half  million  in  the  field  against  an  atrocious  and  rebellious 

foe.     Our  government  now  ^'ecognizes  it  as  a  war,  and  the  President  of  the 

United  States,  fulminating  his  war  orders,  has  blown  a  blast  before  which  the 

enemy  must  fly.     Rebellion  must  fall,  and  they  who  have  stood  upon  the 

necks  of  so  many  bondsmen  shall  be  swept  away  and  four  million  souls  rise 

to  immortality. 

".\h,  foul  tyrants  1  do  ydu  hear  him  where  he  conio?? 
Ah,  blaok  traitor?!  do  you  know  him  as  lie  comes? 
lu  tlie  thunder  of  the  cannon  and  the  roll  of  the  drum', 
As  we  go  marching  on. 

•'  Mf>n4nny  die  .and  mouMer  in  the  dnst — 
Men  mny  die  and  ari?<!  aji.ain  from  the  dust.  * 

Shoulder  to  slioulder,  in  tlie  ranks  of  the  just, 
When  God  is  marching  on. 


92  THR   SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

These,  however,  were  but  indications  displayed  of  a  spirit 
in  the  North,  which,  with  reference  to  the  practical  conduct  of 
t|fe  war,  were  serious  enough. 

j3y  a  pcncral  order  of  the  Washington  Government,  the 
military  commanders  of  that  government,  within  the  States  of 
Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Missis- 
eippi,  Louisiana,  Texas  and  Arkansas,  were  directed  to  seize 
and  use  any  property,  real  or  personal,  belongingv  to  the  in- 
habitants of  this  Confederacy  which  might  be  necessary  or  con- 
Tcnient  for  their  several  commands,  and  no  provision  was  made 
for  any  compensation  to  the  owners  of  private  property  thus 
seized  and  appropriated  by  the  military  commanders  of  the 
enemy. 

But  it  was  reserved  for  the  enemy's  army  in  Northern  Vir- 
ginia to  exceed  all  that  had  hitherto  been  known  of  the  savago 
cruelty  of  the  Yankees,  and  to  convert  the  hostilities  hitherto 
waged  against  armed  forces  into  a  campaign  of  robbery  and 
murder  against  unarmed  citizens  and  peaceful  tillers  of  tho 
Boil. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  18G2,  General  Pope,  commanding  the 
forces  of  the  enemy  in  Northern  Virginia,  published  an  order 
requiring  that  "  all  commanders  of  any  army  corps,  divisions, 
brigaues,  and  detached  commands,  will  proceed  itnmediatcly  to 
arrest  all  disloyal  male  citizens  within  their  lines,  or  within 
their  reach,  in  rear  of  their  respective  commands.  Such  as 
are  willing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States, 
and  will  furnish  sufficient  security  for  its  observance,* shall  be 
permitted  to  remain  at  their  homes  and  pursue  in  good  faith 
their  accustomed  avocations.  Those  wRo  refuse  shall  be  con- 
ducted South,  beyond  the  extreme  pickets  of  this  army,  and  be 
notified  that,  if  found  again  anywhere  within  our  lines,  or  at 
any  point  in  rear,  they  shall  be  considered  spies  and  subjected 
to  the  extreme  rigour  of  military  law.  If  any  pefson,  having 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  as  above  specified,  be  found  to 
have  violafted  it,  he  shall  be  shot,  and  his  property  seized  and 
applied  to  the  public  use." 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  93 

By  another  order  of  Brigadier-General  Steinwehr,  in  Pope's 
command,  it  was  proposed  to  hold  under  arrest  the  most  promi- 
nent citizens  in  the  districts  occupied  by  the  enemy,  as  host- 
ages, to  suffer  death  in  case  of  any  of  the  Yankee  soldiers 
being  shot  by  "bushwhackers,"  by  which  term  was  meant  the 
citizens  of  the  South  who  had  taken  up  arms  to  defend  their 
homes  and  families. 

The  Washington  Government  had  found  a  convenient  instru- 
ment for  the  work  of  villainy  and  brutality  with  which  it  pro- 
posed to  resume  the  active  campaign  in  Virginia. 

With  a  view  to  renewed  operations  against  Richmond,  large 
forces  of  Yankee  troops  were  massed  at  Warrenton,  Little 
Washington  and  Fredericksburg.  Of  these  forces,  entitled  the- 
"Army  of  Virginia,"  the  command  was  given  to  Major-General 
John  Pope,  who  boasted  that  he  had  come  from  the  West 
where  "he  had  only  seen  the  hacks  of  the  enemy." 

This  notorious  Yankee  commander  was  a  man  nearly  forty 
years  of  age,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  but  a  citizen  of  Illinois. 
He  was  born  of  respectable  parents.  lie  was  graduated  at 
West  Point  in  1842,  and  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  where  he 
•was  breveted  Captain. 

In  18-19  he  conducted  the  Minnesota  exploring  expedition, 
and  afterwards  acted  as  topographical  engineer  in  New  Mexico, 
nntil  1853,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  one  of 
the  expeditions  to  survey  the  route  of  the  Pacific  railroad.  He 
distinguished  himself  on  the  overland  route  to  the  Pacific  by 
"sinking"  artesian  wells  and  government  money  to  the  amount 
of  a  million  of  dollars.  One  well  was  finally  abandoned  incom- 
plete, and  afterwards  a  perennial  spring  was  found  by  other 
parties  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  In  a  letter  to  Jefferson 
Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War,  urging  this  route  to  the  Pacific, 
and  the  boring  these  wells,  Pope  made  himself  the  especial 
champion  of  the  South. 

In  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  Pope  was  roa3^  a  Brigadier- 
General  of  Volunteers.  He  held  a  command  in  Missouri  for 
some  time  before  he  became  particularly  noted.     When  Gen. 


♦>• 


I* 

94  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR. 

ITallcck  took  charge  of  the  disorganized  department,  Pope  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  District  of  Central  Missouri.  He 
was  afterwards  sent  to  Southeastern  Missouri.  The  cruel  disj 
position  of  the  man,  of  which  his  rude  manners,  and  a  vulgar 
bearded  face,  with  coarse  skin,  gave  indications,  found  an 
abundant  field  for  gratification  in  this  unhappy  State.  His 
proceedings  in  ^lissouri  will  challenge  a  comparison  with  the 
most  infernal  record  ever  bequeathed  by  the  licensed  murderer 
to  the  abhorrence  of  mankind.  And  yet,  it  was  his  first  step 
in  blood — the  first  opportunity  he  had  ever  had  to  feast  his 
eyes  upon  slaughter  and  regale  his  ears  with  the  cries  of  human 
agony. 

Having  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major-Gcncral,  Pope 
was  next  appointed  to  act  at  the  head  of  a  corps  to  co-operate 
with  Halleck  in  the  reduction  of  Corinth.  After  the  evacua- 
tion of  Corinth  by  Gen.  Beauregard,  Pope  was  sent  by  Ilulleck 
to  annoy  the  rear  of  the  Confederate  army,  but  Beauregard 
turned  upon,  and  repulsed  his  pursuit.  The  report  of  Pope  to 
Halleck,  that  he  had  captured  10,000  of  Beauregard's  army, 
and  15,000  stand  of  arms,  when  he  had  not  taken  a  man  or  a 
musket,  stands  alone  in  the  history  of  lying.  It  left  him  with- 
out a  rival  in  that  respectable  art. 

Such  was  the  man  who  took  command  of  the  enemy's  forces 
in  Northern  Virginia.  His  bluster  was  as  excessive  as  his 
accomplishments  in  falsehood.  He  was  described  in  a  Southern 
newspaper  as  "  a  Yankee  compound  of  Bobadil  and  Munchau- 
sen." His  proclamation,  that  he  had  seen  nothing  of  his 
enemies  "  but  their  backs,"  revived  an  ugly  story  in  his  private 
life,  and  gave  occasion  to  the  witty  interrogatory,  if  the  gen- 
tleman who  cowhidcd  him  for  offering  an  indignity  to  a  lady 
was  standing  with  his  back  to  him  when  he  inflicted  the  chas- 
tisement. The  fact  was  that  Pope  had  won  his  baton  of  mar- 
shal by  bragging  to  the  Yankee  fill.  He  was  another  instance, 
besides  that  of  Butler,  how  easily  a  military  reputation  might 
be  mado  in  the  North  by  bluster,  lying,  and  acts  of  coarse 
cruelty  to  the  defenceless.     On  what  monstrous  principles  he 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  95 

commenced  his  career  in  Virginia,  and  what  orders  he  issued, 
are  still  fresh  in  the  public  memory. 

"  I  desire  you  to  dismiss  from  your  minds  certain  phrases, 
(said  Pope  to  his  army,)  which  I  am  sorry  to  find  much  in  vogue 
among  you.  I  hear  constantly  of  taking  strong  positions  and 
holding  them  ;  of  lines  of  retreat  and  bases  of  supplies.  Let 
us  discard  such  ideas.  The  strongest  position  a  soldier  should 
desire  to  occupy  is  the  one  from  which  he  can  most  easily 
advance  upon  the  enemy.  Let  us  study  the  probable  line  of 
retreat  of  our  opponents,  and  leave  our  own  to  take  care  of 
itself.  Let  us  look  before  and  not  behind.  Disaster  and 
shame  lurk  in  the  rear." 

On  establishing  his  headquarters  at  Little  Washington,  tire 
county  seat  of  Rappahannock,  Pope  became  a  source  of 
mingled  curiosity  and  dread  to  the  feeble  villagers.  They  were 
in  a  condition  of  alarm  and  anguish  from  the  publication  of  his 
order,  to  banish  from  their  homes  all  males  who  should  refuse 
to  take  the  Yankee  oath  of  allegiance.  Dr.  Bisphaw  of  the 
village  was  deputed  to  wait  upon  the  Yankee  tyrant,  and  ask 
that  the  barbarous  order  be  relaxed. 

He  painted,  at  the  same  time,  the  agony  of  the  women  and 
children,  and  stated  that  the  effect  would  be  to  place  six  new 
regiments  in  the  rebel  service.  "  We  can't  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,"  said  the  Doctor,  "and  we  won't — man,  woman  or 
child — but  we  will  give  a  parole  to  attend  to  our  own  business, 
afford  no  communication  with  the  South,  and  quietly  stay  upon 
our  premises." 

"  I  shall  enforce  the  order  to  the  letter,"  said  General  Pope. 
"  I  did  not  make  it  without  deliberation,  and  if  you  don't  take 
the  oath  you  shall  go  out  of  my  lines." 

In  the  short  period  in  which  Pope's  army  was  uninterrupted 
in  its  career  of  robbery  and  villainy  in  Northern  Virginia, 
every  district  of  country  invaded  by  him  or  entered  by  his 
marauders  was  ravaged  as  by  a  horde  of  barbarians.  This 
portion  of  Virginia  will  long  bear  the  record  and  tradition  of 
the  irruption  of  the   Northern   spoilsmen.     The  new  usage 


96  THB   SECOND   YEAR   OP    THE   WAR. 

whicli  had  been  instituteJ  in  regard  to  protection  of  Confede- 
rate property,  and  the  purpose  of  the  Washington  government 
to  subsist  its  troops  upon  the  invaded  country,  converted  the 
*'Army  of  Virginia  "  into  licensed  brigands  and  let  loose  upon 
the  country  a  torrent  of  unbridled  and  unscrupulous  robbers. 
The  Yankee  troops  appropriated  remorselessly  whatever  came 
within  their  reach.  They  rushed  in  crowds  upon  the  smoke- 
•houses  of  the  farmers.  On  the  march  through  a  section  of 
country,  every  spring-house  was  broken  open ;  butter,  milk, 
eggs  and  cream  were  engulphcd ;  calves  and  sheep,  and,  in 
fact,  anything  and  everything  serviceable  for  meat,  or  drink, 
Or  apparel,  were  not  safe  a  moment  after  the  approach  of  the 
Yankee  plunderers.  Wlicrever  they  camped  at  night,  it  would 
'be  found  the  next  morning  that  scarcely  an  article,  for  which  the 
fertility  of  a  soldier  could  suggest  the  slightest  use,  remained 
to  the  owner.  Pans,  kettles,  dishcloths,  pork,  poultry,  provi- 
sions and  everything  desirable  had  disappeared.  The  place  was 
etript,  and  without  any  process  of  commissary  or  quartermaster. 
Whenever  the  Yankee  soldiers  advanced  into  a  new  section 
the  floodgates  were  immediately  opened  and  fae  simile  Con- 
federate notes  (this  spurious  currency  being  manufactured  in 
Philadelphia  and  sold  by  public  advertisement  for  a  few  cents 
to  Yankee  soldiers)  wero  poured  out  upon  the  land.*     They 

*  The  Northern  trade  iu  this  counterfeit  money  Wft3  open  un^l  undisguised; 
enticing  advertisements  of  its  protit  were  freeij  made  in  the  Northern  jour- 
oals,  and  circulars  were  dibtributed  throupii  the  Federal  army  proposing  to 
■apply  tliQ  troops  v?ith  "rebel"  currency  almost  at  the  price  of  the  paper  oa 
which  the  counterfeit  was  executed.  Wo  copy  below  onu  of  these  circulars 
found  on  the  person  of  a  Yankee  prisoner;  the  curiosity  being  a  court  paper 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Commissioner  Watson,  of  Uichmond: 

"$20  Confederate  liond !  !  I  have  this  day  issued  a  Tac-siniile  .$120  Con- 
feueruie  IJond — nnikinn.  in  all,  fifteen  ditlerent  Facsimile  Rebel  IJunds,  Notes, 
Shinpliistern  and  Postage  Stumjis  issued  l)y  me  the  f)ast  three  mouths. 

Trade  supplied  at  00  cents  per  100,  or  $4  per  lUOU.  All  orders  by  mail  or 
lexprcss  i)romptly  execvited. 

jgj^"  All  oiders  to  be  sent  by  mail  must  be  accompanied  with  18  cents  in 
poit:ige  stamps,  in  addition  to  the  above  price  to  prepay  the  postage  on  each 
100  ordered.  Address,  8.  C.  UriiAM. 

403  Chesnut  Street,  Thiladelphio. 

N.  B.     I  shall  have  a  $100  Itcbcl  Note  out  this  weeb." 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAPt.  97 

were  passed  indiscriminately  upon  the  unsuspecting  inhabitants, 
poor  as  well  as  rich,  old  and  young,  male  and  ft;raale.  In  fre- 
quent instances,  this  outrage  was  perpetrated  in  return  for  kind 
nursing  by  poor,  aged  women. 

Tiiese  spurious. notes  passed  readily,  uiul  seemed  to  be  ftiken 
gladly  for  whatever  \y»s  held  for  sale.  Bank  notes  and  shin- 
phisters  wore  given  fof  change.  Horses  and  other  valuable 
property  were  often  purchased  with  this  bogus  currency.  A 
party  of  Yankee  soldiers  entered  a  country  store,  fortified 
with  exhaustless  quantities  of  Philadelphia  Confederate  notes, 
and  commenced  trade.  Forty  pounds  of  sugar  was  first  or- 
dered, and  the  storekeeper,  pleased  with  the  sudden  increase 
of  business,  called  in  his  wife  to  assist  in  putting  up  the  order 
in  small  parcels.  Seventy-five  cents  a  pound  was  the  cost. 
That  was  a  small  matter.  Matches  were  purchased.  Twenty- 
five  cents  per  box  was  the  charge.  Tobacco  also  found  a  ready 
market.  Each  man  provided  himself  with  a  straw  hat;  but" 
the  crownTng  act  of  all  was  the  abstraction  from  the  till  of  mo- 
ney already  paid  to  the  dealer  for  his  goods,  and  the  purchase 
of  more  goods  with  tlie  same  spurious  medium. 

SucI^  acts  o-f  villainy  and  the  daily  robberies  committed  by 
Pope's  soldier;?  were  very  amusing  to  the  Northern  people,  and 
gave  them  a  stock  of  capital  jokes.  "I  not  long  ago  saw," 
wrote  a  correspondent  of  a  Yankee  newspaper,  "a  dozen  sol- 
diers ru8hihg  he;idlong  through  a  field,  each  anxious  to  get  the. 
first  choice  of  three  horses  shading  themselves  quietly  under  a 
tree.  The  animals  made  their  best  time  into  the  farthest  cor- 
ner of  the  fitld  with  the  men  close  upon  them,  and  the  fore- 
most men  caught  their  prizes  and  bridled  them  as  if  they  had 
a  perfect  immunity  in  such  sort  of  thing?.  A  scene  followed. 
A  young  lady  came  out  and  besought  the  soldiers  not  to  tako^ 
her  favourite  pony.  The  soldiers  were  remorseless  and  un- 
yielding, and  the  pony  is  now  in  the  army." 

It  is  not  within  the  design  of  these  pages  to  pursue  the  sto- 
ries of  outr;ige,  villainy  and  barbarism  of  the  enemy's  armies 
in  Virginia;  but  with  what  we  have  said  intended  only  to  show 
7 


tra  TUB    SKCOND   YEAR    OF   THE   AVAR. 

the  spirit  of  that  army  and  tlie  character  of  its  leader,  we  shall 
hasten  to  dcsci*ibc  tho  sciics  of  events  wliich,  at  last,  confronted 
it  with  an  army  of  avengers  on  the  historic  Plains  of  Manas- 
sas, an<l  culminated  ihere  in 'a  victory,  which  liberated  Virginia 
froiff  its  invaders,  broke  the  "line  of  the  l^tomac"  from  Lees- 
burg  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  opened  ;\n  avenue  for  tlie  first 
time  into  the  territory  of  the  North.    ' 

TUE    BATTLE    OF    CEDAR    MOU^^TAIN. 

The  Northern  newspapers  declared  that  Pope  was  right 
■when  he  said  that  he  was  accustomed  to  sec  the  hacks  of  his 
enemy,  and  were  busy  in  assuring  their  readers  that  his  only 
occupation  was  to  chase  "the  rebel  hordes."  It  was  said  that 
he  had  penetrated  as  far  as  Madison  Court-house  without  see- 
ing any  enemy.  The  Southern  troops,  it  was  prophesied, 
would  keep  on  tlicir  retreat  beyond  tlic  Virginia  Central  rail- 
road. Pope's  army  was  now  as  far  in  the  interiour,  by  over- 
land marches,  as  any  of  the  Yankee  troops  had  ever  been. 
The  position  of  his  advance  was  described  as  about  ten  miles 
cast  of  Port  Republic,  with  an  eye  on  the  Shenandoah  Yalley ; 
antl  it  was  boasted  that  the  second  Napoleon  of  the  Yankees 
had  already  complete  possession  of  the  country  north  of  the 
llapidun   river,  and  only  awaited  his  leisure   to  march  upon 

<  Richmond. 

These  exultations  were  destined  to  a  sharp  and  early  disap- 

,  pointmcnt.  The  Confederate  authorities  in  Richmond  knew 
that  it  was  necessajy  to  strike  somewhere  hefore  the  three 

'  hundred  thousand  recruits  called  for  by  the  Washington  gov- 
ernment should  be  brought  to  the  field  to  overwlielm  them. 
It  was  necessary  to  retain  in  the  strong  works  around  Rich- 
mond a  sufficient  force  to  repulse  any  attack  of  McClellan's 
army ;  but  at  the  same  time  the  necessity  was  clear  to  hold 
Pope's  forces  in  check  and  to  make  an  active  movement  against 
him.     The  execution  of  this  latter  purpose  was  entrusted  to 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE- WAR.  99 

Jaclcscn,  the  brave,  eccentric  and  beloved  commander,*  who 
had  achieved  so  many  victories  against  so  many  extraordinary 
odds  and  obstncles;  all  ^e  movements  of  the  campaign  being 
directed  by  the  self-possessed,  controlling  and  earnest  mind  of 
General  Lee. 

The  insolent  enemy  received  his  first  lesson  at  the  hands  of 
the  heroic  Jackson  on  the  wooded  sides  and  cleared  slopes  of 
the  mountainous  country  in  Culpppor.  In  consco[nence  of  the 
advance  of  the  Confederates  beyond  the  Rapidan,^Iajor-(jfen- 
eral  Pope  had  sent  forward  two  army  corps,  commanded  by 
General  Banks,  to  hold  them  in  check. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  August,  a  portion  of  General 
Jackson's  division,  consisting  of  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  brigades, 
under  the  command  of  Gen.  Charles  S.  Winder,  crossed  the 
Rapidan  river,  a  few  miles  above  the  railroad,  and,  having 
advanced  a  mile  into  Culpcper  county,  encamped  for  the  night. 
The  next  morning,  the  enemy  being  reported  as  advancing, 
our  forces,  Ewell's  division  being  in  advance,  moved  forward 
on  the  main  road  from  Orange  Court-house  to  Culpeper  Court- 
house, about  three  miles,  and  took  position — our  left  flank 
resting  on  the  Southwest  Mountain  nnd  our  artillery  occupy- 
ing several  commanding  positions.  At  12  M.,  our  forces  com- 
menced cannonading,  which  was  freely  responded  to  by  the 


*  There  havo  been  a  great  many  pen  and  ink  portraits  of  the  famous 
"Stonewiiir'  Jackson;  tlie  s^ingular  features  and  eccentric  manners  of  this 
popular  h'.ro  affording  a  fruitful  suVjcct  of  description  and  anccdo'c.  A  gen- 
tleman, who  was  known  to  be  a  rare  and  quick  judge  of  cbiiractcr,  was  af  keil 
bj?  the  writer  for  a  description  of  Jackgon,  whom  he  had  met  but  for  a  few 
moments  on  the  battle-field.  "  He  is  a  fighting  man,"  was  tlie  reply;  "rough 
mouth,  iron  jaw,  and  nostrils  big  as  a  horse's."  This  description  has  doubt- 
less much  force  in  it,  although  blunt  and  homely  in  its  cxprcs.«ion.  Th^m- 
pression  given  by  Jackson  is  .that  of  a  man  perhaps  forty  years  old,  six  feet 
high,  mcdiufljf  size,  and  somewhat  angular  in  person.  lie  has  yellowish-grey 
eyos,  a  Roman  no?c,  sharp;  a  thin,  forward  chin,  angular  brow,  a  clora 
mouth,  and  liglit  brown  hair.  The  expression  of  his  face  is  to  poIup  extent 
'unhappy,  bu^ot  sullen  or  unsocial.  He  is  impulsive,  Mlent  and  emphatic. 
His  dress  is  omcial,  but  very  plain,  his  cap-front  resting  nearly  on  his  nose. 
His  tall  horse  diminished  the  effect  of  hie  tize,  so  that  when  mounted  ho  ap- 
pears less  in  person  than  he  really  is. 


100  TnE    gECOXD    YEAR    OF   THE   WAU. 

% 

enemy,  wlio  did  not  sconi  rcadj  for  the  engjigemcnt,  Tihich 
tliey  liad  nlTectcd  to  clialk-n/ro.  Indeed,  podic  stv:ite<:y  seemed 
necessary  to  bring  them  to  fight.  About  a  V.  M.,  Gen.  Early's 
brigade  (EweH's^division)  made  a  circuit  through  the  wooda, 
#ttncking  the  enemy  on  their  right  flank,  the  13th  Virginia 
regiment  heing  in  the  advance  as  skirmishers.  At  1  o'clock 
the  firing  began,  and  soon  the  fight  became  general.  As  Gen. 
Jackson's  division,  then  commanded  by  Gen.  Winder,  were 
rapidly  proceeding  to  the  scene  of  action,  the  eneiny,  guided 
by  the  dust  made  by  tiie  artillery,  shelled  the  road  with  great 
precision.  It  was  by  this  shell  that  the  brave  Winder  was 
killed.  His  left  arm  shattered  and  his  side  also  wounded,  he 
survived  but  an  hour.  At  a.  still  later  period,  a  portion  of 
Gen.  A.  P.  Hill's  division  were  engaged.  The  battle  was< 
mainly  fought  in  a  large  field  near  Mrs.  Crittenden's  house,  a 
portion  Leing  open,  and  the  side  occupied  by  the  Yankees 
being  covered  with  luxuriant  corn.  Through  this  corn,  when 
Our  forces  were  considerably  scattered,  two  Yankee  cavalry 
regiments  made  a  desperate  charge,  evidently  expecting  utterly 
to  disorganize  our  lines.  The  result  was  precisely  the  reverse. 
Our  men  rallied-,  ceased  to  fire  on  the  infantry,  and,  concen- 
trating their  attention  on  the  cavalry,  poured  into  their  ranks 
a  fire  which  emptied  many  a  saddle,  and  caused  the  foe  to 
wheel  and  retire,  which,  however,  they  effected  without  break- 
ing their  columns.  For  some  time  the  tide  of  victory  ebbod 
and  flowed,  but  about  dark  the  foe  finally  broke  and  retreated 
*in  confusion  to  the  woods,  leaving  their  dead  and  many  of 
their  wounded,  Avith  a  large  quantity  of  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion upon  the  field.  Daylight  faded  and  the  moon  in  her  full 
gltry  appeared,  just  as  the  tcrrours  of  the  raging  battle  gave 
way  to  the  sickening  scenes  of  a  field  where  a  victory  had  been 
won. 

The  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  as  it  was  entitled,  may  be 
characterized  as  Otic  of  the  most  rapid  and  severe  ^gagements 
of  the  war.  In  every  particular  it  was  a  sanguinary  and  des- 
perate  struggle,  and  resulted  in  a  complete  and  decisive  victory 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR,  101 

for  our  arms.  Our  forces  cnfraged  amounted  to  about  eight 
thousand,  whilst  those  of  the  enemy  could  not  have  been  les3 
than  fifteen  thousand.  Our  loss  was  near  six  hundred  killed, 
wounded  and  missing;  that  of  the  enemy  little,  if  any,  less 
than  two  thousand!  We  captured  nearly  five  hundred  pri- 
soners, over  fifteen  hundred  stand  of  arms,  two  splendid  Na- 
poleon guns,  twelve  wagon  loads  of  ammunition,  several  wagon 
loads  of  new  and  excellent  clothing,  and  drove  the  enemy  two 
miles  beyond  the  field  of  battle,  which  we  held  for  two  days 
and  nights. 

^  The  battle  was  remarkable  for  an  extraordinary  and  terrific 
"artillery  duel."  In  fact,  the  fire  was  conducted  with  artil- 
lery alone  for  more  than  three  hours.  The  opposing  batteries 
unlimbered  so  close  to  each  other  that,  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  firing,  they  used  grape  and  canister.  Those  Avorking 
our  battery  could  distinctly  hear  the  hum  of  voices  of  the  in- 
fantry support  of  the  Federal  battery.  The  Louisiana  Guard 
artillery  and  the  Purcell  battery  were  ordered  to  take  position 
and  open  on  the  enemy  from  the  crest  of  a  hill.  Here  they 
found  themselves  opposed  by  five  batteries  of  the  enemy  within 
short  range.  The  battle  raged  fiercely,  the  enemy  firing  with 
great  precision.  The  accuracy  of  our  fire  was  proved  by  the 
fact,  that  the  enemy,  though  their  guns  were  mere  than  twice 
as  numerous,  were  compelled  to  shift  the  position  of  their  bat- 
teries five  different  times.  Once  during  the  fight,  the  enemy's 
sharpshooters,  under  cover  of  a  piece  of  woods,  crept  up  within 
a  short  distance  of  our  batteries  and  opened  on  them,  but  were 
instantly  scattered  by  a  discharge  of  canister  from  one  of  the 
howitzers. 

The  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain  was  the  natural  preface  to 
that  larger  and  severer  contest  of  arras  which  was  to  baptize, 
for  a  second  time,  the  field  of  Manassas  with  the  blood  of 
Southern  patriots,  and  illuminate  it  with  the  sjdcndid  scenes 
of  a  decisive  victory.  It  convinced  the  North  of  the  necessity 
of  a  larger  scale  of  exertion  and  a  concentration  of  its  forces 
in  Virginia  to  effect  .its  J;wice-foiled  advance  upon  the  capital 


102  THB   BECOKD   YEAR    OF  TDE   WAR. 

of  the  Confederacy.  It  wns  decided  by  the  Washington  gov- 
ernment to  recall  McClellan's  army  from  the  Peninsula,  to 
unite  his  columns  Avith  those  of  Pope,  to  include  irlso  the  forces 
at  Fredericksburg,  and,  banding  these  in  a  third  Grand  Army 
more  splendid  than  its  predecessors,  to  make  one  concentrated 
endeavour  to  retrieve  its  unfortunate  summer  campaign  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  plant  its  banners  in  the  city  of  Richmond. 

Kot  many  days  elapsed  before  the  evacuatioi\  of  Berkeley 
and  Westovcr,  on  the  James  river,  was  signalled  to  the  autho- 
rities of  Richmond  by  the  large  fleet  of  trhnsports  collected 
on  the  James  and  the  Rappahannock.  It  became  necessary  to 
meet  the  rapid  movements  of  the  enemy  by  new  dispositions  of 
our  forces;  not  a  day  was  to  be  lost;  and  by  the  17th  of  Au- 
gust, General  Lee  had  assembled  in  front  of  Pope  a  forcQ  suffi- 
cient to  contest  his  further  advance,  and  to  balk  his  threatened 
passage  of  the  Rapidan. 

After  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  the  forces  under  Stone- 
Tvall  Jackson  withdrew  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Rapidan,  and 
were  for  some  days  unheard  of,  except  that  a  strong  force  was 
in  the  vicinity  of  Madison  Court-house,  some  twelve  miles  to 
the  westward,  in  the  direction  of  Luray  and  the  Shenandoah 
valley;  but  it  was  supposed  by  the  enemy  that  this  was  only  a 
wing  of  the  army  under  Ewell,  intended  to  act  as  reserves  to 
Jackson's  army,  and  to  cover  his  retreat  back  to  Gordonsville. 
Not  80,  however.  These  forces  of  Ewell,  as  afterwards  dis- 
covered by  the  Yankees  to  their  great  surprise,  were  the  main 
body  of  Jackson's  army,  en  route  for  the  Shenandoah  valley. 

It  was  probably  the  design  of  Gen.  Lee,  with  the  bulk  of 
the  Confederate  army,  to  take  the  front,  left  and  riglit,  and 
engage  Gen.  Pope  at- or  near  the  Rapidan,  while  Jackson  and 
Ilwell  were  to  cross  the  Shenandoah  river  and  mountains,  cut 
off  his  supplies  by  way  of  the  railroad,  and  menace  his  rear. 
The  adventure,  on  the  })art  of  Jackson,  was  dillicult  and  des- 
perate; it  took  the  risk  of  atiy  new  movements  of  Pope,  by 
%vhich  he  (Jackson)  himself  might  be  cut  off.  It  Avas  obvious, 
indeed,  that  if  Pope  could  reach  Goriionsville,  he  would  cut  ofiF 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  103 

Jackson's  supplies,  but  in  this  direction  he  was  to  be  confronted 
by  Gen.  Lee  with  tlie  forces  Nvitlidrawn  from  Richmond.  With 
the  movement  of  Jaekton  the  object  was  to  keep  Pope  between 
the  R^pidan  and"  the  llappahannock  rivers  until  Jackson  had 
attained  his  position  at  Manassas,  or  perhaps  at  Rappahannock 
bridge f  but  Pope's  retreat  to  the  Rappahannock's  north  bank 
frustrated  that  design,  and  rendered  it  necessar}'  for  General 
Lee  to  follow  up  liis  advanta;:];e,  and,  by  a  sjstcm  of  feints,  to 
take  Pope's  attention  from  his  rear  and  divert  it  to  his  front. 
On  Monday,  the  28th  of  August,  at  daybreak.  Gen.  Jack- 
son's corps,  consisting  of  General  Ewell's  division,  General 
Hiir^  division,  and  General  Jackson's  old  division,  under  com- 
mand of  General  Taliaferro,  and  a  force  of  cavalry  under 
General  Stuart,  marched  from  Jefiersonton,  in  Culpeper  cpunty, 
jji^^  crossed  the  Rappahannock  eight  miles  above  that  place, 
and  marched  by  Orleans  to  Salem,  in  Fauquier.  The  next 
day  they  passed  through  Thoroughfare  Gap,  of  Bull  Run  moun- 
tains, to  Bristow  and  Manassas  Stations,  on  the  Orange  and 
Alexandria  railroad,  elTecting  a  complete  surprise  of  the  encmy^ 
capturing  a  large  number  of  prisoners,  several  trains  of  cars, 
and  immense  commissary  and  quartermaster  stores,  and  several 
pieces  of  artillery.  The  distance  marched  in  these  two  days 
was  over  fifty  miles.  On  AVednesday,  Manassas  Station  was 
occupied  by  Jackson.'s  old  division,  whilst  Ewell  occupied  Bris- 
tow, and  Hill  and  Stuart  dispersed  the  force  sent  from  Alexan- 
dria to  attack  what  the  enemy  supposed  to  be  only  a  cavalry 
force. 

The  amount  of  property  which  fell  into  our  hands  at  Manas- 
sas Avas  immense — several  trains  heavily  laden  with  stores,  ten 
first  class  locomotives,  fift}''  tliousand  pounds  of  bacon,  one 
'thousand  barrels  of  beef,  two  thousand  barrels  of  pork,  several 
thousand  barrels  of  flour,  and  a  large  quantity  of  oats  and  corn. 
A  bakery,  which  was  daily  turning  out  fifteen  thousand  loaves 
of  bread,  was  also  destroyed.  Next  to  Alexandria,  ^Manassas 
was  probably  the  largest  depot  established  for  the  Northern 
army  in  Virginia. 


^ 


104  THfi    SECOND    YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

The  movement  of  Jackson,  whicli  we  have  briefly  sketched, 
is  the  chief  clement  of  the  situation  in  Avhich  the  decisive  en- 
gagements of  Manassas  vcrc  fought.  In  t^is  connection  it 
must  be  studied ;  it  was  tJie  brilliant  stratogfc  preface  to  the 
most  decisive  victory  yet  achieved  on  the  theatre  of  the  war. 
The  corps  of  Jackson,  having  headed  off  the  Federal  army 
under  Pope,  had  now  possession  of  Manassas  Plains.  It  had 
accomplished  its  design,  which  was  to  force  Pope  back — de- 
prive him  completely  of  direct  communication  with  Washington 
or  Alexandria,  and  eventually  induce  his  surrender  or  annihi- 
lation. 

The  principal  and  anxious  topic  in  the  North  was,  by  what 
eccentric  courses  the  famous  Confederate  commander  had  man- 
aged tp  get  around  the  right  wing  of  Pope's  army,  when  it  was 
supposed — and  in  fact  the  hasty  exultation  had  already  been^ 
caught  up  in  the  Yankee  newspapers — that  it  was  the  "  rebel" 
general  who  was  cut  off,  and  that  he  would  probably  make  a 
desperate  retreat  into  the  mountains  to  escape -tlic  tcrrours  of 
Pope.  Indeed,  it  was  some  time  before  the  full  and  critical 
meaning  of  the  situation  dawned  upon  the  prejudiced  mind  of 
the  Northern  public.  The  idea  was  indulged  that  the  capture 
of  Manassas  was  only  a  successful  raid  by  a  body  of  rebel 
guerillas;  and  so  it  was  dismissed  by  the  newspapers  with  a" 
levity,  characteristic  of  their  insolence  and  ignorance. 

Weak  and  credulous  as  General  Pope  was,  it.  is  probable  that 
the  moment  he  heard  that  Jackson  was  in  his  rear,  he  was 
satisfied  that  it  was  no  raid.  The  situation  had  been  changed 
almost  in  a  moment.  Pope  had  evacuated  Warrenton  Junction 
and  was  moving  along  the  railroad  upon  I\Ianassas,  anxious  to 
secure  his  "line  of  retreat,"  and  expecting,  doubtless,  with  no 
little  confidence,  by  rapid  marches  of  a  portion  of  his  forces* 
by  the  turnpike  upon  Gainesville,  to  intercept  any  reinforce- 
ments by  the  way  of  Thoroughfare  Gap  to  Jackson,  and  to  fall 
upon  and  crush  him  by  the  weight  of  numbers.  A  portion  of 
the  Confederate  army  now  fronted  to  the  South,  and  the  Fed- 
eral army  towards  Washington.     The  latter  had  been  swollen 


THE  SECOND  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  105 

by  reinforcements,  and  the  advance  corps  from  Burnside  was 
marching  on  rapidly  from  Fredericksburg  to  complete  the 
amassment  on  the,Fcderal  side. 

Although  the  situation  of  G^n.  Pope  was  one  unexpected  by 
himself^  and  surrounded  by  many  embarrassments,  he  yet  had 
many  circumstances  of  advantage  in  which  to  risk  a  great  and 
decisive  battle.'  The  New  York  journals  persisted  in  declaring 
that  it  was  not  the  infallible  Pope,  but  the  "rebel"  army  that 
was  "in  a  tight  place."  At  any  rate,  Pope  was  not  in  the 
situation  in  which  McClellan  found  himself  when  his  right  wing 
was  turned  by  the  Confederates  in  front  of  Richmond — that 
is,  without  supports  or  reinforcements.  On  the  contrary,  on 
his  right,  and  on  the  way  up  from  Frcdcrickf^urg,  was  the 
new  army  of  the  Potovnac  under  Burnside;  while  advancing 
forward  from  Alexandria  was  the  newly  organized  army  of 
Virginia  under  McClellan.  Such  was  the  array  of  force  that 
threatened  the  army  we  had  withdrawn  from  Richmond,  and 
in  which  the  Northern  populaces'  indulged  the  prospect  of  ^a 
certain  and  splendid  victory. 

An  encounter  of  arms  of  vital  consequence  was  now  to  en- 
sue on  the  already  historic  and  famous  Plains  of  Manassas — 
the  beautiful  stretch  of  hill  and  dale  reaching  as  far  as  Cen- 
treville,  varied  by  amphitheatres,  an  admirable  battle  ground; 
with  the  scenery  of  which  the  Southern  troops  associated  the 
exciting  thoughts  of  a  former  victory  and  a  former  shedding 
of  the  blood  of  their  beloved  and  best  on  the  memorable  and 
consecrated  spots  that  marked  the  field  of  battle. 

THE  ENGAGEMENT  OP  W^EDNESDAY',  THE  27Tn  OF  AUGUST. 

On  Wednesday,  the  27th,  an  attack  was  made  by  the  enemy 
upon  Bristow  Station,  and  also  at  Manassas  Junction. 

On  the  morning  of  that  day,  at  about  eleven  o'clock,  Gen. 
Taylor's  brigade,  of  Major-General  Slocum's  division  of  the 
army  of  the  Potomac,  consisting  of  the  first,  second,  third 
and  fourth  Npw  Jersey  regiments,  were  ordered  to  proceed  to 


106  rtB   SECOND   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR. 

Manassas  by  rail  from  their  camp  near  Fort  Ellsworth,  Alex- 
andria. 

Tiie  brigade  arrived  nt  Cull  Run  bridge  aj^out  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  The  ti'oops  hnded  and  crossed  the  bridge 
with  as  little  delay  ns  possible,  and  marched  towards  Manassas. 
After  ascending  the  hill  emerging  from  the  valley  of  Bull  ilun, 
they  encountered  a  line  of  skirmishers,  of  the  Confederates, 
which  fell  back  before  them.  The  brigmle  niiuclied  on  in  the 
direction  of  Manassas,  not  seeing  any  of  the  enemy  until 
within  range  of  the  circular  scries  of  fortifications  around  the 
Junction,  when  heavy  artillery  was  opened  upon  them  from  "all 
directions.  General  Taylor  retired  beyond  the  range  of  our 
guns  to  the-rfiar  of  a  sheltering  crest  of  ground,  from  which 
he  Avas  driven  by  our  infantry.  Crossing  at  Blackburn's  ford, 
he  was  pursued  by  our  horse  artillery,  which  fired  into  him, 
creating  the  utmost  havoc.  The  brigade  retreated  in  a  disor- 
ganized mass  of  flying  men  towards  Fairfax;  it  was  pursued 
by  our  eager  troops  beyond  t)entreville,  and  the  track  of  the 
flying  and  cowardly  enemy  was  marked  with  his  dead. 

The  flight  of  the  enemy  was  attended  by  the  most  Avild  and 
terrible  scenes,  as  he  was  pursued  bj'  our  horse  artillery,  pour- 
ing canister  into  his  ranks.  The  brigade  was  almost  annihi- 
lated. General  Taylor  himself,  his  son  on  his  staff,  and  his 
nephew,  were  wounded;  also  one-half  of  his  officers. 

At  3  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  the  same  day,  the  enemy  attacked 
General  Ewell,  at  Bristow,  and  that  General,  after  a  handsome 
little  fight,  in  which  he  punisilied  the  enemy  severely,  retired 
across  Muddy  Run,  as  had  previously  been  agreed  upon,  to 
Manassas  Junction.  This  attack  was  made  by  the  divisiort  of 
the  enemy  commanded  by  Gen.  Hooker,  which  was  dispatched 
to  that  point  and  detached  from  the  advancing  forces  of  Pope, 
who,  of  course,  claimed  the  result  of  the  aflair  as  a  signal 
Federal  success. 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  107 


MOVEMENTS  OF  THURSDAY,  THE  28tH  OF  AUGUST. 

After  sunset  on  Thursday  General  Jackson  accomplished  one 
of  the  most  beautiful ^nd  masterly  strategic  movements  of  the 
war,  He  found  himself  many  miles  in  advance  of  the  rest  of 
our  army.  The  enemy  might  throw  his  immense  columns  be- 
tween him  and  Longstreet — Alexandria  and  Washington  wa* 
to  his  rear  wlicn  he  turned  to  attack  the  enemy.  lie  deter- 
mined to  throw  himself  upon  the  enemy's  flank,  to  preserve 
the  same  nearness  to  Alexandria,  to  place  himself  within  sup- 
port of  the  remainder  of  our-armt,  and  to  occupy  a  position 
from  which  he  could  not  be  driven,"  even  if  support  did  not  ar- 
rive in  time.  All  this  he  accomplished  that  night,  after  de- 
stroying the  stores,  buildings,  cars,  &c.,  and  burning  the  rail- 
road bridges  over  Muddy  Run  and  Bull  Run.  He  marched  at 
ni^t  with  his  entire  force  from  IManassas  Station  to  Manassas 
battle-field,  crossing  the  Warrenton  turnpike,  and  *pkicing  his 
troops  in  such  position  that  he  could  confront  the  enemy  should 
they  attempt  to  advance  by  the  Warrenton  pike  or  by  the  Sud- 
ley  road  and  ford,  and  have  the  advantage  of  communicating 
by  the.  Aldie  road  with  Longstreet,  should  he  not  have  passed 
the  Thoroughfare  Gap,  and  at  all  events  gain  for  himself  a 
safe  position  for  attack  or  defence.  At  seven  o'clock,  A.  M., 
on  Friday,  General  Stuart  encountered  the  enemy's  cavalry 
near  Gainesville,  on  the  Warrenton  pike,  and  drovelhem  back; 
and  during  the  morning  the  2d  brigade  of  Gen.  Taliaferro's 
division,  under  Colonel  Bradley  Johnson,  again  repulsed  them. 
It  was  flow  ascertained  that  the  enemy's  column  was  advancing 
(or  retreating)  from  Warrenton,  along  the  line  of  the  railroad 
and  by  w«y  of  the  Warrenton  turnpike,  and  that  they  intended 
to  pass  a  part  of  their  force  over  the  Stone  Bridge  and  Sudley 
ford.  Gen.  Jackson  immediately  ordered  Gen.  Taliaferro  to 
advance  with  his  division  to  attack  their  left  flank;  which  was 
advancing  towards  Sudley  Mill.  Gen.  Ewell's  division  marched 
considerably  in  the  rear  of  the  1st  division.     After  marching 


'/J* 


108  THE    SECOND    VEAU    OF   THE   WAR. 

some  three  tnilc<?,  it  \vas  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  aban- 
doned tljc  idea  of  crossing  at  Sudley,  and  had  left  theWar- 
renton  pike  to  the  left,  beyond  Groveton,  and  were  apparently 
cutting  across  to  the  railroad  through  the  fields  and  woods. 
In  a  few  minutes,  however,  he  advanced  across  the  turnpike  to 
ittack  us,  and  Jackson's  army  was  thrown  forward  to  meet 
him. 

#  From  this  sketch  of  the  movements  of  the  corps  commanded 
by  Gen.  Jackson,  it  will  be  seen  that  though  a  portion  of  our 
forces,  under  Gens.  Ewell  and  Jackson,  were  on  Tuesday  and 
a  part  of  Wednesday,  the  26th  and  27th  of  August,  on  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  fcetween  Pope  and  Alexandria, 
on  the  approach  of  Pope  froTO  Warrenton  they  withdrew  to  the 
west  and  halted  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Warrenton  turnpike,  ex- 
pecting to  be  rejoined  by  Longstreet,  ^ere  they  awaited  tbe 
approach  of  the  enemy  and  delivered  him  battle. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  FRIDAY,  THE  29Tn  OF  AUGUST.. 

The  conflict  of  Friday  occurred  near  the  village  of  Groveton, 
our  right  resting  jyst  above  and  near  the  village,  and  the  left 
upon  the  old  battle-field  of  Manassas.  The  division  of  General 
Anderson  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  the  corps  of  Longstrcxt  had 
not  been  fully  placed  in  position.  The  enemy,  probably  aware 
of  our  movements,  selected  this  opportunity  to  make  an  attack 
upon  .Jack§on,  (hoping  thereby  to  turn  our  left,  destroy  our 
combinatiorfs,  and  disconcert  the  plans  which  had  already  be- 
come apparent  to  the  Federal  commanders. 

Gen.  Longstreet's  passage  of  the  Thoroughfare  Gap  in  the 
face  of  a  force  of  two  thousand  of  the  enemy,  is  on?  of  the 
most  remarkable  incidents  of  the  late  operations  in  Northern 
Virginia.  The  Gap  is  a  wild,  rude  opening  through  the  Bull 
Run  Mountains,  varying  in  width  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  yards.  A  rapid  stream  of  water  murmurs  over  the 
rocks  of  the  rnggcd  defile,  along  which  runs  a  stony  winding 
road.  On  either  side  arise  the  mountains,  those  on  the  lift 
presenting  their  flat,  precipitous  faces  to  the  beholder,  with 


.tP 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  109 

here  and  there  a  shrub  jutting  out  and  relieving  the  monoto- 
nous grey  of  the  rocky  mass;  and  those  on  the  right  covered 
thickly  with  timber,  impassable  to  any  but  the  most  active  men. 
The  strong  position  alTorded  by  this  pass-,  which  might  havo 
been  held  against  almost  any  force^  by  a  thousand  determined 
troops  and  a  battery  of  artillery,  had  been  possessed  by  the 
enemy,  who  had  planted  his  batteries  at  various  points  and 
lined  the  sides  of  the  mountains  with  his  skirmishers.  As  it 
Wiis,  the  passage  was  effected  by  Longstreet's  division  with  the 
loss  of  only  three  men  wounded.  This  result  was  accomplished 
by  a  decisive  piece  of  strategy,  by  which  a  small  column  of 
three  brigades— Pryor's,  Wilcox's  and  Featherstone's,  and  two 
batteries  of  rifle  pieces — were^^thrown  through  Hopewell  Gap 
some  three  miles  to  the  left  of  Thoroughfare  Gap,  as  we  ap- 
proached Manassas. 

Under  Jackson  and  Longstreet,  the  details  of  the  plan  of 
Gen.  Lee  had  been  so  far  carried  cut  in  every  respect.  For 
ten  days  or  more  the  troops  of  both  of  these  Generals  in  the 
advance  were  constantly  under  fire.  The  former  had  been 
engaged  in  no  less  than  four  serious  fights.  Many  of  the  men 
were  barefooted,  in  rags;  provided  with  only  a  single  blanket 
as  a  protection  against  the  heavy  dews  .  and  severe  cold  at 
night;  frequently  they  would  get  nothing  from  daylight  to 
daylight ;  rations  at  bestjConsisted  of  bread  and  water,  with  a 
rare  and  economical  intermingling  of  bacon;  and  the  troops 
were  in  what  at  any  other  time  they  would  have  characterized 
as  a  suffering  condiiioa.  Notwithstanding  thete  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, not  a  murmur  of  complaint  had  been  heard; 
marches  of  Xwunty,  and  in  one  instance  of  thirty,  miles  a  day 
had  been  patiently  endured,  and  the  spirit  of  the  army,  so  far 
from  being  broken,  was  elevated  to  a  degree  of  enthusiasm 
which  foreboded  nothing  but  the  victory  it  won. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  Washington  Artillery  of 
New  Orleans  and  several  either  batteries  were  planted  upon  a 
high  hill  that  commanded  the  extensive  ground  over  which  the 
enemy  were  advancing,  and  just  in  front  of  this,  perhaps  a 


110  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

little  to  the  left,  the  fight  began.  The  Federals  threw  forward 
a  lieavy  column,  supported  bj  field  batteries,  and  under  cover 
of  their  fire  made  a  bold  stroke  to  divide  our  line.  The  blow 
fell  upon  a  portion  of  Ewcll's  troops,  who  were  concealed  be- 
hind tlie  embankment  of  a  railroad,  tut  no  sooner  had  the  en- 
emy appeared  within  close  range,  than  they  received  a  terribly 
galling  fire,  which  drove  them  panic-stricken  from  that  portion- 
of  the  field.  As  they  ran,  our  artillery  opened  upon  the  %ing 
mass  with  shell  and  round  shot.  Every  ball  could  be  seen  tajc- 
ing  'eifect.  The  enemy  fell  by  scores,  until  finally  the  once 
beautiful  line  melted  confusedly  into  the  woods.  Again  they 
renewed  the  attack,  and  gradually  the  fight  became  general 
along  nearly  the  entire  column  of  Jackson. 

As  the  afternoon  progressed,  however,  Gen.  Lee  discovered 
that  strong  Yankee  reinforcements  were  coming  up,  and  he 
accordingly  ordered  the  -division  of  General  Hood,  belonging 
to  Longstreet's  corps,  to  make  a  demonstration  on  the  enemy's 
left.  This  was  done,  perhaps  an  hour  before  dark,  and  the 
moment  they  became  engaged  the  difference  became  percepti- 
ble at  a  glance.  Jackson,  thus  strengthened,  fought  with  re- 
newed vigour,  and  the  enemy  not  knowing  the  nature  of  the 
reinforcements,  and  diverted  by  our  onset,  which  compelled 
him  to  change  his  lines,  was  proportionately  weakened.  The 
result  was,  that  at  dark  Hood's  division  had  driven  the  forces 
in  front  of  them  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  our  starting 
point,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  might 
have  turned  the  defeat  into  an  utter  rout. 

The  conflict  had  been  terrific.  Our  troops  were  advanced 
several  times  during  the  fight,  but  the  enemy  fought  with  des- 
peration, and  did  not  retire  until  nine  o'clock  at  night,  when 
they  sullenly  left  the  field  to  the  Confederates.  During  the 
night  orders  came  from  head-quarters  for  our  troops  to  fall 
back  to  their  original  positions,  preparatory  to  our  renewal  of 
the  action  in  the  morning.  It  might  have  been  this  simple 
retrograde  movement  which  led  to  the  mendacious  despatch 
sent  by  Pope  to  Washington,  stating  that  he  had  whipped  our 


K>   ' 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  Ill 

army  and  driven  us  from  the  field,'*"  but  confessing  tbat  the 
Federal  loss  was  eight  thousand  in  killed  and  wounded. 

THE   BATTLE    OP   SAtURDAY,   THE    SOtH   OF   AUGUST. 

The  grand  day  of  the  prolonged 'contest  was  yet  to  dawn. 
For  two  days  each  wing  of  our  army  under  Generals  Long- 
street  and  Jackson  had  repulsed  with  vigour  attacks  made  on 
them  separately.  General  Pope  had  concentrated  the  greater 
portion  of  tlie  army  under  his  command  for  a  desperate  re- 
newal of  the  attack  on  our  linof^.  Friday  night  found  those  of 
our  men  who  were  not  engaged  in  burying  the  dead  and  bring- 
ing away  the  wounded,  sleeping  upon  their  arms.  All  the 
troops  of  Longstreet's  corps,  with  the  exception  of  Gen.  R.  H. 
Anderson's,  whicV  was  only  three  or  four  miles  in  the  rear,  had 
taken  their  places  in  the  line  of  battle,  and  every  one  looked 
forward  to  the  events  of  the  coming  day,  the  anticipations  of 
which  had  sustained  our  soldiers  under  the  terrible  fatigue, 
discomforts  and  deprivations  of  the  ten  days'  tedious  march, 
by  which  reinforcements  had  at  last  reached  the  heroic  and 
unyielding  Jackson. 

"With  the  first  streak  of  daylight  visible  through  the  light 
mist  that  ascended  from  the  woods,  our  men  were  under  arms. 
The  pickets  of  the  two  armies  were  within  a  few  hundred  yards 
of  each  other.  Every  circumstance  indicated  that  the  battle 
would  commence  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning.  The  wak- 
ing of  a  portion  of  our  batteries  into  life  soon  after  daylight, 
and  the  frequent  cannonading  thereafter,  the  almost  incessant 
skirmisliing  in  front,  with  its  exciting  volleys  of  musketry,  all 
conspired  to  produce  this  impression. 

Our  line  of  battle  was  an  obtuse  crescent  in  shape,  and  at 

*  It  np^ears  thnt  G^n.  R.  II.  Anderson's  division,  which  came  down  the 
turupiW  on  Kheir  way  to  Sudlcy  Church,  wtere  they  had  been  ordered  the 
day  before,  were  stopped  by  our  pickets  and  told  that  the  enemy  were  in 
strong  force  imniodialely  in  front.  The  Genernl  cor.ntern)arched  Iiis  division, 
wagons  and  artillery,  and  fell  back  in  rear  of  Longstrcet  for  the  i;ight.  It  is 
probable  that  the  euetuy,  seeing  (his,  supposed  it  to  be  the  falling  back  of  our 
whole  army.     M|a|b«9 


112  THJIf  6EC0XI>  YEAH   OF   THE   WAR. 

least  five  miles  long.  Jackson's  line,  •whicli  formed  our  left, 
strctclied  from  Sudlcy,  on  Dull  Run,  aloni;  the  jiiirtly  exca- 
vated track  of  the  Manassas  Inilepenil^nt  lino  of  iailioa<1,  for 
a  portion  of  the  way,  and  thence  towards  ik  jioint  on  the  AVar- 
rcnt  !f  Unnpikf,  about  a* mile  and  a  half  in  rear  or  west  of 
Grovfton.  His  extreme  right  came  ^vill!!u  about  six  hundred 
yards  of  the  turnpike. 

Longstrcet's  command,  Avhicli  formed  our  ri<iht  Wing,  ex- 
tended from  tlie  point  near  the  turnpike  on  wliicli  Jackson's 
right  flank  rested,  and  prolonged  the  line  of  l^attle-far  to  the 
right,  stretcliing  beyond  the  line  of  tlic  Manassas  Gap  rail- 
road. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  a  point  on  the  Warrcnton  tiiinj.^v. ,  a 
mile  and  a  half  west  of  Groveton,  was  the  (ventre  of  our  posi- 
tion, and  the  apex  of  our  crescent,  wKoso  convexity  was  to- 
wards the  west.  It  was  here,  in  an  interval  between  Jack- 
son's right  and  Longstrcct'.s  left  that  our  artillery  was  placed. 
Eight  batteries  were  planted  on  a  commanding  clcvatii  :>. 

Tiie  enemy's  line  of  battle  conformed  itself  to  ours,  and 
took,  therefore,  a  crescent  form,  of  whicli  the  centre  or  more 
advanced  portion  was  at  Groveton,  whence  the  wings  dtclincd 
obliquely  to  the  right  and  left.  Their  batteries  were  in  roar 
of  their  infantry,  and  occupied  the  hills  which  they  had  held 
in  the  fight  of  July,  l^Gl,  but  pointed  difl'orently. 

The  disposition  of  the  enemy's  forces  ^vas.  General  Ileint- 
zelman  on  the  extreme  right  and  Gen.  McDowell  on  the  ox- 
trcme  left,  while  the  army  corps  of  Generals  Fitz  John  Porter 
and  k^cigel,  and  Reno's  division  of  General  Burnside's  army, 
were  placed  in  the  centre. 

The  elevation  occupied  b}'  our  artillery,  under  command  of 
Colonel  Stephen  D.  Lee,  of  t^outh  Carolina,  was  the  most  com- 
manding ground  that  could,  have  been  selected  for  the  Impose. 
It  was  about  the  centre  of  tho  entire  array.  To  the  front,,  the 
land  brealis  beautifully  into  hill  and  dale,  forming  a  sort  of 
amphitheatre.  Around  the  field,  and  occasionally  shooting 
into  it  in  narrow  bands,  arc  heavy  woods. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  113 

Early  in  the  morning  the  immense  masses  of  the  enemy's 
infantry  were  seen  in  line  of  battle,  and  far  in  the  distance 
immen§e  clouds  of  dust  JBlled  the  heavens.  During  this  time 
our  batteries  were  pitching  their  shot  and  shell  into  the  Fede- 
ral ranks,,  and  returning  the  fire  of  their  artillery  on  the  brovy 
of  an  opposite  hill.  Sometimes  it  was  fierce*,  but  generally  it 
was  a  deliberate  interchange  of  fire. 

About  1  A.  M.  a  regiment  advfinced  rapidly  on  the  enemy's 
left,  determined  to  drive  out  our  pickets  from  an  orchard, 
where  all  the  morning  they  hgid  been  keeping  up  a  brisk  fire. 
This  eft'ort  succeeded,  and  our  brave  sharp-shooters  retired 
through  the  orchard  in  good  order.  As  soon  as  they  got  well 
out  of  the  way,  our  batteries  opened  upon  the  enemy,  and  in 
ten  minutes  they  were  retreating,  sheltering  themselves  in  the 
ravines  and  behind  a  barn.  At  2  o'clock  the  forces  that  had 
been  moving  almost  the  whole  day  towards  our  left,  began  to 
move  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  it  appeared  that  they  were 
retiring  towards  Manassas,  two  or  three  miles  distant.  Seve- 
ral attempts  were  now  made  to  advance  upon  our  left  like  those 
to  drive  in  our  pickets  on  our  right,  but  a  few  shells  served  to 
scatter  the  skirmishers  and  drive  them  into  the  woods  that 
skirted  this  beautiful  valley  on  either  hand.  When  it  appeared 
more  than  probable  that  the  enemy,  foiled  in  his  attempt  to 
make  us  bring  on  the  fight  by  these  little  advances  on  our 
right  and  left,  was  about  to  retire,  and  merely  kept  up  the  can- 
nonading in  order  to  conceal  his  retreat,  suddenly,  at  4  P.  M., 
there  belched  forth  from  every  brazen  throat  in  our  batteries  a 
volley  that  seemed  to  shake  the  very  earth. 

It  was  at  this  instant  that  the  battle  was  joined.  As  the 
sporting  whirls  of  smoke  drifted  away  the  cause  of  the  tumult 
was  at  once  discerned.  A  dense  column  of  infantry,  several 
thousand  strong,  which  had  been  massed  behind  and  near  a 
strip  of  woods,  had  moved  out  to  attack  Jackson,  whose  men 
were  concealed  behind' an  excavation  on  the  railroad.  As  soon 
as  they  were  discovered  our  batteries  opened  with  tremendous 
power,  but  the  Federals  moved  boldly  forward,  until  they  came 


114  THE  SECOND  YEAK  OF  THE  WAR. 

■within  the  range  of  our  small  arms,  where  for  fully  fifteen 
minutes,  thej  remained  desperately  engaged  with  our  infantr}'. 
As  the  fight  progressed,  a  second  line  emerged  from  tUe  cover 
and  went  to  the  support.of  those  in  front,  and  finally  a  third 
line  marched  out  into  the  open  field  below  us  and  there  halted, 
hesitated,  and  soon  commenced  firing  over  the  heads  of  their 
comrades  beyond. 

Jackson's  infantry  raked  these  three  columns  terribly.  Ko- 
peatcdly  did  they  break  and  run,  and  rally  again  under  the 
energetic  appeals  of  their  officers,  for  it  was  a  crack  corps  of 
the  Federal  army — that  of  Generals  Sykes  and  Morrell;  but 
it  was  not  in  human  nature  to  stand  unflinchingly  before  that 
hurricane  of  fire.  As  the-  fight  progressed,  Lee  moved  his  bat- 
teries to  the  left,  until  reaching  a  position  only  four  hundred 
yards  distant  from  the  enemy's  lines,  he  opened  again.  The 
spectacle  was  now  magnificent.  As  shell  after  shell  burst  in 
the  wavering  ranks,  and  round  shot  ploughed  broad  gaps  among 
them,  one  could  distinctly  see  through  the  rifts  of  smoke  the 
Federal  soldiers  falling  and  flying  on  every  side.  With  the 
explosion  of  every  bomb,  it  seemed  as  if  scores  dropped  dead, 
or  writhed  in  agony  upon  the  field.  Some  were  crawling  on 
their  hands  and  knees  ;  ponie  were  piled  up  together;  and  some 
were  lying  scattered  around  in  every  attitude  that  imagination 
can  conceive. 

Presently  the  Yankee  columns  began  to  break  and  men  to 
fall  out  to  the  rear.  The  retreating  numbers  gradually  in- 
crease, and  the  great  mass,  without  line  or  form,  now  move 
back  like  a  great  multitude  without  guide  or  leader.  From  a 
Blow,  steady  walk,  the  great  mass,  or  many  parts  of  it,  move 
at  a  run.  Jackson's  men,  yelling  like  devils,  now  charge  upon 
the  scattered  crowd ;  but  it  is  easily  seen  that  they  themselves 
had  severely  suffered,  and  were  but  a  handful  compared  with 
the  overwhelming  forces  of  the  enemy.  The  flags  of  two  or 
three  regiments  do  not  appear  to  be  more  than  fifty  yards 
apart.  The  brilliant  affair  has  not  occupied  more  than  half 
an  hour,  but  in  that  brief  time  more  than  a  thousand  Yankees 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  115 

have  been  launched  into  eternity,  or  left  mangled  on  the 
ground. 

The  whole  scene  of  battle  now  changes.  It  will  be  seen  in 
referring  to  the  disposition  of  our  forces,  that  Jackson's  line, 
which  formed  our  left,  stretched  from  Bull  Run  towards  a  point 
on  the  Warrenton  turnpike.  In  his  severe  action  with  the  en- 
emy, his  left,  advancing  more  rapidly  than  his  right,  had  swept 
around  by  the  Pittsylvania  House,  and  was  pressing  the  Fede- 
rals back  towards  the  turnpike.  It  was  now  the  golden  oppor- 
tunity for  Longstreet  to  attack  the  exposed  left  flank  of  the 
enemy  in  front  of  it. 

Hood's  Brigade  charged  next  the  turnpike.  In  its  track  it 
met  Sickles'  Excelsior  Brigade,  and  almost  annihilated  it. 
The  ground  was  piled  with  the  slain.  Pickett's  Brigade  was 
on  the  right  of  Hood's,  next  came  Jenkins'  Brigade,  and  next 
was  Kemper's,  which  charged  near  the  Conrad  House.  Evana' 
and  Anderson's  were  the  reserve,  and  subsequently  came  into 
action. 

Not  many  minutes  elapsed  after  the  order  to  attack  passed 
along  our  entire  line  before  the  volleys  of  platoons,  and  finally 
the  rolling  reports  of  long  lines  of  musketry,  indicated  that 
the  battle  was  in  full  progress.  The  whole  army  was  now  in 
motion.  The  woods  were  full  of  troops,  and  the  order  for  the 
supports  to  forward  at  a  quick  step  was  received  with  enthusi- 
astic cheers  by  the  elated  men.  The  din  was  almost  deafen- 
ing, the  heavy  notes  of  the  artillery,  at  first  deliberate,  but 
gradually  increasing  in  their  rapidity,  mingled  with  the  sharp 
treble  of  the  small  arms,  gave  one  an  idea  of  some  diabolical 
concert  in  which  all  the  furies  of  hell  were  at  work.  Through 
the  woods,  over  gently  rolling  hills,  now  and  then  through  an 
open  field  we  travel  on  towards  the  front.  From  an  elevation 
we  obtain  a  view  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  field.  Hood 
and  Kemper  are  now  hard  at  it,  and  as  they  press  forward, 
never  yielding  an  inch,  sometimes  at  a  double  quick,  you  hear 
those  unmistakable  yells,  which  tell  of  a  Southern  charge  or  a 
Southern  success. 


116  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

Reaching  the  vicinltj  of  the  Chinn  House,  the  eye  at  once 
erahraces  the  entire  vista  of  battle — at  least  that  portion  of  it 
which  is  going  on  in  front  of  Longstreet.  Some  of  our  men 
are  in  the  woods  in  the  rear,  and  some  in  the  open  field  where 
stretches  the  undulating  surface  far  away  towards  Bull  Run. 
The  old  battle  ground  is  plainly  discernible  less  than  two  miles 
distant,  and  to  the  right  and  left,  as  well  as  in  front,  the  coun- 
try is  comparatively  unobstructed  by  heavy  woods.  Just  be- 
fore you,  only  three  or  four  hundred  yards  away,  are  the  in- 
fantry of  the  enemy,  and  at  various  points  in  the  rear  are 
their  reserves  and  batteries.  Between  the  armies,  the  ground 
is  already  covered  with  the  dead  and  wounded,  for  a  distance 
lengthwise  of  nearly  a  mile. 

Our  own  artillery  are  likewise  upon  commanding  positions, 
and  you  hear  the  heavy  rush  of  shot,  the  terrible  dumps  into 
the  ground,  and  the  crash  of  trees  through  which  they  tear 
with  resistless  force  on  every  side. 

Nothing  can  withstand  the  impetuosity  of  our  troops.  Every 
line  of  the  enemy  has  been  broken  and  dispersed,  but  rallies 
again  upon  some  other  position  behind.  Hood  has  already 
advanced  his  division  nearly  half  a  mile  at  a  double-quick,  the 
Texans,  Georgians  and  Hampton  Legion  loading  and  firing  as 
they  run,  yelling  all  the  while  like  madmen.  They  have  cap- 
tured one  or  two  batteries  and  various  stands  of  colors,  and  are 
still  pushing  the  enemy  before  them.  Evans,  at  the  head  of 
his  brigade,  is  following  on  the  right,  as  their  support,  and 
pouring  in  his  cfiectivc  volleys.  Jenkins  has  come  in  on  the 
right  of  the  Chinn  House,  and,  like  an  avalanche,  sweeps 
down  upon  the  legions  before  him  with  resistless  force.  Still 
further  to  the  right  is  Longstreet's  old  brigade,  composed  of 
Virginians — veterans  of  every  battle-field — all  of  whom  are 
fighting  like  furies.  The  First  Virginia,  which  opened  the 
fight  at  Bull  Run  on  the  17th  of  July,  18G1,  with  over  six 
hundred  men,  now  reduced  to  less  than  eighty  members,  is 
winning  new  laurels;  but  out  of  the  little  handful,  more  than 
a  third   have   already  bit  the  dust.     Toombs  and  Anderson, 


>* 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  117 

with  the  Georgian^^Hlther  with  Kemper  and  Jenkins,  are 
swooping  around  on  the  right,  flanking  the  Federals,  and  driv- 
ing them  towards  their  centre  and  rear.  Eschelman,  with  his 
company  of  the  Washington  Artillery ;  Major  Garnett,  with 
his  battalion  of  Virginia  batteries,  and  others  of  our  big  guns, 
are  lijiewise  working  around  upon  the  enemy's  left,  and  pour- 
ing an  enfilading  fire  into  both  their  infantry  and  artillery. 

While  the  grand  chorus  of  battle  is  thundering  along  our 
front,  Jackson  has  closed  in  upon  the  enemy  on  their  right,  and 
Longstreet  has  similarly  circumscribed  them  on  their  left.  In 
other  words,  the  V  shaped  lines  with  which  we  commenced  the 
engagement  have  opened  at  the  angle,  while  the  two  opposite 
ends  of  the  figure  are  coming  together.  Lee  has  advanced  his 
battalion  of  artillery  from  the  centre,  and  from  hill-top  to  hill- 
top, wherever  he  can  effect  a  lodgement,  le'ts  loose  the  racing 
masses  of  iron  that  chase  each  other  through  the  Federal  ranks. 
Pryor,  Featherstone  and  Wilcox  being  on  the  extreme  left  of 
Longstreet's  line,  are  co-operating  with  the  army  of  Jackson. 

It  was  at  this  point  of  the  battle,  when  our  infantry  pouring 
down  from  the  right  and  left,  made  one  of  the  most  terrible 
^nd  sublime  bayonet  charges  in  the  records  of  war.  There  was 
seen  emerging  from  the  dust  a  long,  solid  mass  of  men,  coming 
down  upon  the  Avorn  and  disheartened  Federals,  at  a  bayonet 
charge,  on  the  double-quick.  This  line  of  bayonets,  in  the  dis- 
tance, presented  a  spectacle  at  once  awful,  sublime,  terrible  and 
overwhelming.  "  They  came  on,"  said  a  Northern  account  re- 
ferring to  the  Confederates,  "like  demons  emerging  from  the 
earth."  With  grim  and  terrible  energy,  our  men  came  up 
within  good  range  of  the  enemy's  columns;  they  take  his  fire 
without  a  halt;  a  momentary  confusion  ensues  as  the  leaden 
showers  are  poured  into  our  ranks ;  but  the  next  moment  the 
bugles  sound  the  order  to  our  phalanxes,  and  instantly  the  huge 
mass  of  Confederates  is  hurled  against  the  enemy's  left  wing. 
The  divisions  of  Reno  and  Schenck — the  choicest  veterans  of 
the  Federal  army  arc  swept  away.  Setting  up  a  yell  of  tri- 
umph, our  men  push  over  the  piles  of  their  own  dead  and  the 


118  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   TUE   VTAR. 

corpses  of  many  a  Federal,  using  tbe^^Wet  at  close  quarters 
with  thccncraj. 

The  rout  of  the  enemy  was  complete.  It  had  been  a  task 
of  almost  superhuman  labour  to  drive  the  enemy  from  his 
strong  points,  defended  as  they  were  by  the  best  artillery  and 
infantry  in  the  Federal  army,  but  in  less  than  four  houi^  from 
the  commencement  of  the  battle  our  indomitaUe  energy  had 
accomplished  every  thing.  The  arrival  of  R.  II.  Anderson 
with  his  reserves  soon  after  the  engagement  was  fairly  opened, 
proved  a  timely  acquisition,  and  the  handsome  manner  in  which 
he  brought  his  troops  into  position  showed  the  cool  and  skillful 
General.  Our  Generals,  Lee,  Longstreet,  Jackson,  Uood, 
Kemper,  Evans,  Jones,  Jenkins,  and  others,  all  shared  the 
dangers  to  which  they  exposed  their  men.  How  well  their 
Colonels  and  the  subordinate  officers  performed  their  duty  is 
best  testified  by  the  list  of  killed  and  wounded. 

In  determining  the  fortunes  of  the  battle  our  cavalry  had  in 
more  than  one  instance  played  a  conspicuous  part. 

As  the  columns  of  the  enemy  began  to  give  way.  General 
Beverly  Robinson  was  ordered  by  Gen.  Longstreet  to  charge 
the  ilying  masses  with  his  brigade  of  cavalry.  The  brigado* 
numbering  a  thousand  men,  composed  of  Manford's,  Myers', 
Ilarmau's  and  Flournoy's  regiments,  was  immedi:itoly  put  in 
fnotion,but  before  reaching  the  infantry  General  Robinson  dis- 
covered a  brigade  of  the  enemy  fifteen  hundred  strong  drawn 
up  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  directly  in  his  front.  Leaving  one  of 
"his  r^'^rlments  in  reserve,  ho  ch;irr!;cd  with  the  other  three  full 
at  the  enemy's  ranks.  As  our  men  drew  ncar^  the  whole  of  the 
Yankee  line  fired  at  them  a  volley  from  their,  carbines,  most  of 
the  bullets,  however,  whistling  harmlesL^ly  over  their  lieads.  In 
enother  instant  the  enemy  received  the  terrific  shock  of  our 
squadrons.  There  was  a  pause,  a  hand-to-hand  fight  for  a 
moment,  and  the  enemy  broke  and  fled  in  total  rout.  All 
organization  Avas  destroyed,  and  every  man  trusted  for  his 
safety  only  in  the  heels  of  his  horse. 

Isigiit   closed  upon  the  battle.     When  it  was  nnpossiblc  to 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  119 

use  fire-arms  the  hcarens  were  lit  up  by  the  still  continued 
flashes  of  the  artillery,  and  the  meteor  flight  of  shells  scatter- 
ing their  iron  spray.  By  this  time  the  enemy  had  been  forced 
across  Bull  Run,  and  their  dead  covered  every  acre  from  the 
starting  point  of  the  fight  to  the  Stone  Bridge.  In  its  first 
stages  the  retreat  of  the  enemy  was  a  wild,  frenzied  rout ;  the 
great  mass  of  the  enemy  moving  at  a  full  run,  scattering  over 
the  fields  and  trampling  upon  the  dead  and  living  in  the  mad 
agony  of  their  flight.  The  whole  army  was  converted  into  a 
mob;  regiments  and  companies  were  no  longer  distinguishable; 
and  the  panic  stricken  fugitives  were  slaughtered  at  every  step 
of  their  retreat — our  cavalry  cutting  them  down,  ODOur  infan- 
try driving  their  bayonets  into  their  backs. 

In  crossing  Bull  Run  many  of  the  enemy  were  drowned, 
being  Fiterally  dragged  and  crushe(!*under  the  water,  Avhich  was 
not  more  than  waist  deep,  by  the  crowds  of  frenzied  men  press- 
in'i'  and  trampling  upon  each  other  in  the  stream.  On  reach- 
ing Centreville  the  flight  of  the  enemy  was  arrested  by  the 
appearance  of  about  thirty  thousand  fresh  Yankee  troops — 
General  Franklin's  corps.  The  mass  of  fugitives  was  here 
rallied,  to  the  extent  of  forming  it  again  into  columns,  and 
with  tins  appearance  of  organization,  it  was  resolved  by  Gene- 
ral Pope  to  continue  his  retreat  to  the  "entrenchments  of 
Washington. 

Thus  ended  the  second  great  battle  of  Manassas.  We 'had 
driven  the  enemy  up  hill  and  down,  a  distance  of  two  and  ft 
half  miles,  strewing  this  great  space  with  his  dead,  captured 
thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  some  six  or  eight  thousand  stand 
of  arras.  Seven  thousand  prisoners  were  paroled  on  the  field 
of  battle.  For  want  of  transportation  valuable  stores  had  to 
be  destroyed  as  captured,  v.hilc  the  enemy,  at  their  various 
depots,  arc  reported  to  have  burned  many  millions  of  property 
in  their  retreat. 

The  appearance  of  thc^ field  of  battle  attested  in  the  most 
terrible  and  hideous  mariner  the  carnage  in  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy.     Over  the  gullic,  ravines  and  valleys,  which  divided 


120  THB  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

the  opposite  hills  the  dead  and  wounded  lay  by  thousands,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  The  woods  were  full  of  thera.  In 
front  of  the  Cliinn  House,  which  had  been  converted  into  a 
hospital,  the  havoc  was  terrible.  The  ground  was  strewn  not 
only  with  men,  but  arms,  ammunition,  provisions,  haversacks, 
Oftntcens,  and  whatever  else  the  affrighted  Federals  could 
throw  away,  to  facilitate  their  flight.  In  front  of  the  positions 
occupied  by  Jackson's  men,  the  killed  were  more  plentiful.  In 
many  instances  as  many  as  eighty  or  ninety  dead  marked  the 
place  where  had  fought  a  single  Yankee  regiment.  Around 
the  Henry  and  Robinson  houses  the  dead  were  more  scattered, 
as  if  they«were  picked  off,  or  killed  while  running.  The  body 
of  a  dead  Yankee  was  found  lying  at  full  length  upon  the 
grave  of  the  aged  Mrs.  Henry,  who  was  killed  by  the  enemy's 
balls  in  the  old  battle  thar.had  raged  upon  this  spot.  '  Three 
others  were  upon  the  very  spot  where  Bartow  fell,  and  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  death  place  of  Gen.  Bee  was  still  another 
group.  A  little  further  on  a  wounded  Federal  had  lain  for  the 
last  two  days  and  nights,  where  by  extending  his  hand  on  either 
side  he  could  touch  the  dead  bodies  of  his  companions.  His 
head  was  pillowed  on  one  of  these.  Confederate  soldiers  were 
also  to  be  found  in  the  midst  of  these  putrifying  masses  of 
death  ;  but  these  were  comparatively  rare.  The  scenes  of  the 
battle-field  were  rendered  ghastly  by  an  extraordinary  circum- 
Btahce.  There  was  not  a  dead  Yankee  in  all  that  broad  field 
who  had  not  been  stripped  of  his  shoes  or  stockings — and  in 
numerous  cases  been  left  as  naked  as  the  hour  he  was  born. 
Our  bare-footed  and  ragged  men  had  not  hesitated  to  supply 
their  necessities  even  from  the  garments  and  equipments  of  the 
dead. 

The  enemy  admitted  a  loss  down  to  Friday  night  of  17,000 
men,  Pope  oflficially  stating  his  loss  on  that  day  to  have  been 
8,000.  In  one  of  the  Baltimore  papers  it  was  said  that  the 
entire  Y^ankee  loss,  including  that  of  Saturday,  was  32,000 
men — killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  This  statement  allows 
15,000  for  the  loss  on  Saturday.     That  the  loss  of  that  par- 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  121 

tlcular  day  Avas  vastly  greater  than  the  enemy' admit,  we  take 
to  be  certain.  They  are  not  the  persons'to  over-estimate  their 
own  losses,  and,  in  the  meantime.  Gen.  Lee  tells  us  that  over 
7,000  of  them  were  taken  and  paroled  on  the  field.  If  they 
fought  the  battle  with  anything  like  the  desperation  they  pre- 
tend, considering  that  it  lasted  five  hours,  they  certainly  had 
more  than  8,000  killed  and  wounded.  Four  days  after  the 
battle  there  were  %t\\\  three  thousand  wounded  Yankees  un- 
carcd  for  within  the  lines  of  Gen.  Lee.  It  is  very  certain,  if 
they  were  not  cared  for,  it  was  because  the  number  of  wounded 
was  so  great  that  their  turn  had  not  come.  Our  own  wounded, 
not  exceeding,  it  is  said,  3,000,  could  very  well  be  attended  to 
in  a  day,  and  then  the  turn  of  the  Yankees  would  come.  Yet 
so  numerous  were  they,  that  at  the  end  of  four  days  three 
thousand  of  them  had  not  received  surgical  assistance.  This 
indicates  an  enormous  list  of  wounded,  and  confirms  the  report 
of  one  officer,  who  puts  down  their  killed  at  5,000,  and  their 
wounded  at  three  times  that  figure,  making  20,000  killed  and 
wounded,  and  of  others  who  say  that  their  killed  and  wounded 
were  to  us  in  the  proportion  of  five,  six,  and  even  seven  to  one. 
As  many  prisoners  were  taken,  who  were  not  included  in  the 
7,000  paroled  men  mentioned  by  Gen.  Lee,  we  do  not  think  we 
make  an  over-estimate  when  we  set  down  the  whole  Yankee  loss 
at  30,000  in  round  numbers.  Their  loss  on  Friday,  estimated 
by  Pope  himself  at  8,000,  added  to  their  loss  on  Saturday, 
makes  38,000.  Previous  operations,  including  the  battle  of 
Cedar  Run,  the  several  expeditions  of  Stuart,  and  the  various 
skirmishes  in  which  we  were  almost  uniformly  victorious,  we 
should  think  would  fairly  bring  the  total  loss  of  the  enemy  to 
50,000  men,  since  our  forces  first  crossed  the  Rapidan.  This 
is  a  result  almost  unequalled  in  the  history  of  modern  cam- 
paigns. 

The  results  of  Gen.  Lee's  strategy  were  indicative  of  the 
resources  of  military  genius.  Day  after  day  the  enemy  were 
beaten,  until  his  disasters  culminated  on  the  plains  of  Ma- 
nassas.    Day  after  day  our  officers  and  men  manifested  their 


122  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    "rtlE   WAR. 

superiority  to  tfft;  enemy.  The  summer  campaign  in  Virginia 
lirt  bojn  conducted  %y  a  single  army.  The  same  toil-wofn 
tr<f^ps  who  liad  rolie\T<l  from  siege  the  city  of  Richmond,  had 
advaijrcd  to  meet  another  invading  army,  reinforced  not  only 
by^hc  dePcAtcd  afmy  of  McClellan,  but  by  the  fresh  corps  of 
Generals  Bnrnside'nnd  Hiintor.  ^'ho  trials  and  marches  of 
these  troops  arc  extraordinary  in  history.  Transportation  wa3 
inadequate;  the  streams  which  they  had  t(f cross  were  swollen 
to  unusual  height ;  it  was  only  by  forced  marches  and  repeated 
combats  ftiey  codld  turn  the  position  of  the  "enemy,  and,  at 
last  succeeding  in  this,  and  formin;?  a  iunction  of  their 
columns,  in  the  face  of  greatly  superior  forces,  they  fought  the 
decisive  battle  of  the  30th  of  August,  the  crowning  triumph  of 
their  toil  and  valour. 

The  route  of  the  extraordinary  marches  of  our  troops  pre- 
sented, for  long  and  weary  miles,  the  touching  pictures  of  the 
trials  of  war.  Broken  down  soldiers  (not  all  "stragglers'") 
lined  the  road.  At  night  time  they  might  be  found  asleep  in 
every  conceivable  attitude  of  disc(fmfort — on  fence  rails  and  in 
fence  corners — some  half  bent,  others  almost  erect,  in  ditches 
an<l  on  steep  hill-sides,  some  without  blanket  or  overcoat.  Day- 
break found  them  drenched  with  dew,  but  strong  in  purpose; 
witli,  half  rations  of  bread  and  meat,  ragged  and  barefooted, 
they  go  cheerfully  forward.  If  o  nobler  spectacle  was  ever  pre- 
sented in  history.  These  beardless  youths  and  gray-haired 
men,  who  thus  spent  their  nights  like  the  beasts  of  the  fuld, 
were  ihc  best  men  of  the  land — of  all  classes,  trades  and  pro- 
fessions. The  spectacle  was  such  as  to  inspire  the  pra3'er  that 
ascended  from  the  saTictuaries  of -the  South — that  God  might 
reward  the  devotion  of  these  men  to  principle  and  j.Hlice  by 
Drowning  their  labours  and  sacrifices  with  that  blessing  which 
alw:iys  bririgeth  peace. 

The  victory  which  had  crowned  the  campaign  of  our  armies 
in  Virginia,  illuminates  the  names  of  all  associated  with  it. 
But  in  the  achievement  of  that  victory,  and  in  the  history  of 
that  caujpaign,  there  is  one  name  which,  in  a  few  months,  had 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  123 

mounted  to  tlie^ zenith  of  fame  ;  which  in  dvaniatic  associations, 
in  rapid  incidents,  and  in  swift  and  sudden  renown,  challenged 
comparison  with  the  most  extraordinary  phenomena  in  the 
annals  of  military  genius.  This  remark  is  not  invidioiJfe  in  its 
spirit,  nor  is  it 'forced  into  the  context  of  this  sketch.  A  per- 
sonal allusion  may  be  spared  in  the  narrative,  when  that 
allusion  is  to  the  most  remarkable  man  in  the  history  of  this 
war. 

We  refer  to  General  Stonewall  Jackson  and  tliat  wonderful 
chapter  of  military  achievements  which  commenced  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  and  concluded  at  Manassas.  It  was  difficult 
to  say  what  this  man  had  not  accomplished  that  had  ever 
before  been  accomplished  in  history  with  equal  means  and  in 
an  equal  period  of  time. 

In  the  spring  Gen.  Jackson  had  been  placed  in  command  of 
the  small  array  of  observation  which  held  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Shenandoah  and  the  country  about  Staunton.  It  was 
intended  that  he  should  remain  quasi  inactive,  to  watch  the 
enemy  and  to  wait  for  him  ;  but  he  soon  comrfienced  manocuver- 
ing  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  ventured  upon  a  scale  of 
operations  that  threw  the  higher  military  authorities  at  Rich- 
mond into  a  fever  of  anxiety  and  alarm. 

In  less  than  thirty  days  he  dashed  at  the  Yankee  advance, 
and  driving  it  back,  wheeled  his  army,  swept  down  the  Valley 
and  drove  Banks  across  the  Potomac.  Returning  to  the  upper 
Valley,  he  manrxsuvered  around  for  threo  Aveeks — in  the  mean- 
time dealing  Fremont  a  heavy  blow  at  Cross  Keys  and  defeat- 
ing Shields  in  the  Luvay  valley — and,  then  suddenly  swept 
down  the  A'irginia  Central,  RaiJroad,  via  Gordonsville,  on 
McClcllan's  riglit,  before  Richmond.  The  part  he  played  in 
winding  up  the  campaign  on  the  Peninsula  is  well  known. 
Almost  before  the  smoke  had  lifted  from  the  bloody  field  of 
the  Cliickahominy,  we  hear  of  him  again  on  his  old  stamp- 
ing ground  above  Gordonsville.  Cedar  Mountain  was  fought 
and  won  from  Pope  before  he  knew  liis  campaign  Svas  opened. 
Jackson  fell  back;  but  only  to  flank  him  on  the  right.     Pope 


124  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

retired  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  Rappahanno(^',  but  Jackson 
Bwarrg  still  further  round  to  the  Jsorth  and  outflanked  him 
afjiiu.  Yet  afr:»in  he  gave  up  the  Rappahannock  and  fell 
l-ick  s5»ith  of  Warrcnton,  and,  for  the  third  time,  Jackson  out- 
flanked liim  tiirough  Thoroughfare  Gap,  and  at  last  got  in  his 
rear.  Pope  now  had  to  fight ;  and  the  victory  which  perched 
upon  our  banners  was  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  with  Avhat  insolent  confidence  the 
North  had  anticipated  a  crowning  triumph  of  its  arms  on  the 
field  of  jNIanassas,  even  when  the  air  around  Washington  was 
burdened  with  the  signals  of  its  defeat.  The  North  did  not 
tolerate  the  idea,  of  defeat.  On  the  very  day  of  the  battle, 
Washington  was  gay  with  exultation  and  triumph  over  an  im- 
agined victory.  At  thirty  minutes  past  twelve  o'clock,  the 
Washington  Star  published  a  dispatch  declaring,  that  it  had 
learned  from  parties  just  from  Fairfax  county,  that  the  firing 
had  stopped;  and  added,  *'we  trust  the  fact  means  :v  surrender 
of  the  rebels,  and  do  not  see  how  it  can  mean  aught  else."  At 
a  later  hour  of  the  afternoon,  a  dispatch  was  received  at  the 
War  Department,  from  Major-Gcncral  Pope,  announcing  a 
brilliant  victory  in  a  decisive  battle  with  the  Confederate  forces 
on  the  old  Biill  Run  battle-field.  It  was  stated  thai  he  had 
defeated  the  Confederate  army,  and  was  driving  it  in  discomfi- 
ture before  him.  This  dispatch  had  a  mngical  efl!"eet.  The  War 
Department,  contrary  to  its  usual  custom,  not  only  permitted, 
but  officially  authorized  the  publication  of  the  dispatch.*  Citi- 
zens of  every  grade,  of  both  sexes  and  of  all  ages,  were  seen 
in  groups  around  the  corners  and  in  the  places  of  public  resort 
speculating  upon  the  particulars,  and  the  consequences  of  the 
decisive  victory  reported.  The  triumph  of  the  Federal  arms 
"was  apparently  shown  to  be  more  complete  by  reason  of  the 
announcement  that  General  Stonewall  Jackson,  with  sixteen 
thousand  of  his  troops,  had  been  cut  oR"  and  captured. 

It  was  at  this  point  of  exultation  that  another  dispatch  was 
received  from  General  Pope,  stating  that  the  uncertain  tide  of 
battle  had  unfortunately  turned  against  the  Federal  army,  and 


THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  125 

that  he  had  been  compelled  to  abandon  the  battle-fiold  during 
Ihe  evening.  The  revulsion  was  great;  the  untimely  hallelu- 
jahs were  interrupted,  and  the  population  of  ^Yashington,  from 
its  hasty  and  indecent  exultations  of  the  morning,  was  soon  to 
be  converted  into  a  panic-stricken  community,  trembling  for 
its  own  safety. 

Indeed,  the  victory  achieved  by  the  Confederates  was  far 
more  serious  than  the  most  lively  alarm  in  Washington  couM 
at  first  imagine.  The  next  morning  after  the  battle,  the  last 
feeble  resistance  of  the  Federals  at  Centreville  was  broken. 
The  finishing  stroke  was  given  by  the  Confederates  under  Gen. 
A.  P.  Hill,  who,  on  the  1st  of  September,  (Monday,)  encoun- 
tered a  large  body  of  the  enemy  at  Gcrmantown,  a'  small  vil- 
lage in  Fairfax  county,  near  the  main  road  leading  from  Cen- 
treville to  Fairfax  Court  House.  The  enemy,  it  appears,  had 
succeeded  in  rallying  a  sufficient  number  of  their  routed  troops 
at  the  point  named,  to  make  another  show  of  opposition  to  the 
advance  of  the  victorious  Confederates  on  their  territory.  On 
Sunday,  the  pursuit  of  Pope's  army  was  commenced  and  pressed 
with  vigour  on  the  Fairfax  Court  House  road,  and  on  i\Ionday 
morning  at  daylight  the  enemy  were  discovered  drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle  across  the  road,  their  right  extending  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Germantown.  General  Hill  immediately  ordered  the 
attack,  and  after  a  brief  but  hotly  contested  fight,  the  enemy 
withdrew.  During  the  night,  the  enemy  fell  back  to  Fairfax 
Court  House  and  abandoned  his  position  at  Centreville.  The 
next  day,  about  noon,  he  evacuated  Fairfax  Court  House,  tak- 
ing the  road  to  Alexandria  and  Washington. 

Thus  were  realized  the  full  and  glorious  results  of  the  second 
victory  of  Manassas;  thus  were  completed  the  great  objects  of 
the  brilliant  summer  campaign  of  1862  in  Virginia;  and  thus, 
for  a  second  time,  on  the  famous  borders  of  the  Potomac,  the 
gates  were  thrown  wide  open  to  the  invasion  of  the  North,  and 
to  new  fields  of  enterprise  for  the  victorious  armies  of  the 
South. 

The  rapid  change  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy,  and 


9y 

12$  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    TUB    WAR. 


\ 


th||6har[ypontrast  bctwccivits  Jate  forlorn  situation  and  uh^ 
were  now  the  b^Ui-ipt  promises  of  the  future,  were  animating 
and  suggestive  topics. 

Little  more  than  three  months  had  elapsed  since  the  columns 
of  a  hostile  arjny^werc  debouching  on  the  plains  near  Rich- 
mond,  when  an  evacuation  of  the  city  and  a  further  retreat  of 
the  Confederate  army  were  believed  by  nearly  all  official  per- 
OTns  the  most  prudent  and  politic  stojis  that  the  government 
couM  lake  under  the  circumstances.  Little  more  than  three 
months  had  elapsed  since  our  armies  were  retreating  weak  and 
disorganized  before  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy, 
yielding  to  them  the  sea-coast,  the  mines,  the  manufacturing 
power,  the  grain  fields,  and  even  entire  States  of  the  Confede- 
racy. Now  we  were  advancing  with  increased  numbers,  im- 
proved organization,  renewed  courage,  and  the  prestige  of 
victory  upon  an  enemy  defeated  and  disheartened. 

As  the  opposing  armies  of  the  war  now  stood,  the  South 
had  causes  for  congratulation  and  pride  such,  perhaps,  as  no 
other  people  ever  had  in  similar  circumstances.  The  North 
had  a  population  of  twenty-three  millions  against  eight  mil- 
lions serving  the  South,  and  of  these  eiglit  millions  nearly 
three  millions  were  African  slaves.  Tlie  white  population  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania  was  grcaier  than  that  of  thfc 
Confederate  States.  Manufacturing  establishments  of  all  de- 
scriptions rendered  the  North  a  self-sustaining  people  for  all 
the  requirements  of  peace  or  war,  and,  with  these  advantages, 
they  retained  those  of  an  unrestricted  commerce  with  foreign 
nations.  The  North  had  all  the  ports  of  the  world  open  to  its 
ships;  it  had  furnaces,  foundries  and  workshops;  its  manufac- 
turing resources,  compared  with  those  of  the  South,  were  as 
five  hundred  to  one;  the  great  marts  of  Europe  were  open  to 
it  for  supplies  of  arms  and  stores;  there  was  nothing  of  mate- 
rial resource,  nothing  of  the  apparatus  of  conquest  that  was 
not  within  its  reach. 

The  South,  on  the  other  hand,  with  only  a  few  insignificant 
manufactories  of  arms  and   materials  of  war,  textile  fabrics, 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   WAK.  127 

leather,  &c.,  had  been  cut  off  by. an  encircling  blockade  for 
fifteen  months  from  all  those  supplies  upon  which'  she  had  de- 
pended from  the  North  and  from  Europe,  in  the  ^Yay  of  arms, 
munitions  of  ^Yar,  clothing,  medicines,  and  many  of  the  essen- 
tials of  subsistence.  The  South  was  without  the  vcst'ige  of  a 
navy,  except  a  straggling  ship  or  two,  while  that  of  the  North 
in  this  war  was  equal  to  a  land  force  o^  three  or  four  hundred 
thousand  men.  The  South  was  nearly  exhausted  of  the  coiVi- 
nionest  articles  of  food,  while  the  Northern  States  had  a  super- 
abundance of  all  the  essentials  and  luxuries  of  life.  The 
Northern  troops,  en  masse,  were  better  armed,  equipped  and 
subsisted  than  those  of  any  other  r^^^gtion,  while  those  of  the 
South  were  armed  with  all  sorts  of  weapons — good,  bad  and 
indifferent — clothed  in  rags  and  fed  upon  half  rations. 

The  result  of  all  this  immense  and  boasted  superiority  on 
the  part  of  the  North,  coupled  with  the  most  immense  exer- 
tions, was  that  the  South  remained  unconquered.  The  result 
was  humiliating  enough  to  the  warlike  reputation  of  the  North. 
It  had  not  been  separated  from  its  feeble  adversary  by  seas  or 
mountains,  but  only  by  a  geographical  line;  nature  had  not 
interfered  to  protect  the  weak  from  the  strong.  Three  "grand 
armies"  had  advanced  against  Ilichmond;  and  yet  not  only 
was  the  South  more  invincible  in  spirit  than  ever,  but  her  ar- 
mies of  brave  and  ragged  men  were  alrca'ly  advancing  upon 
the  Northern  borders,  and  threatening,  at  least  so  far  as  to 
alarm  their  enemy,  the  invasion  of  Ohio  and  Tennsylvania  and 
the  occupation  of  the  Northern  capild. 


iP 


128  TUE    SE^bNO  YEXH   OF    TUE  ""WAR. 


CUAPTER  IV. 

Boscu^e  of  Virginia  from   the  .Invatler...Gen.   Loring's  Cninpaign  in   tUo 

Knnawlia  VaIl<j...A  Novel  Thealre  of  the  War...G«D.  Lee's  l'n.*s-nge  of  tlie 

Pot(3faac...Hi8   Finns. ..Disposition   of  our   Forces... McClellan   hguin   nt-tbe 

Heifd  of  the  Y!inke(?Armv...TnK  Batti.k  of  BooN8nono'...THK  C.\rTiRR  of 
■ 

Harpeu's  Fkrry — Its  Frait.^...TiiK  Battle  of  SiiAiirjBfRG... Great  Supe- 
riority of  tb<tEneniy's  Numbers... Fury  of  the  Buttle. ..The  Bridge  of  Antie- 
tani...  A  Drawn  Battle. ..Spectacles  of  Carnage. ..Tlie  Vnburieil  DcHd...GiMH'ral« 
Lee  Retires  into  Virginia. ..MfClelian's  Pretence  of  Victory. ..The  Affair  of 
Sbeplierd.-itown... Charges  against  McClellan...Hi3  Disgrace. ..Review  of  the 
Marjlund  Campaign — Misrepresentations  of  Gen.  Lee's  Objects... His  Re- 
treat...Comment  uf  the  New  York  "  Tribune". ..The  Cold  Reception  of  the 
Confederates  in  Maryland. ..Excuses  for  the  Timidity  of  the  Mnrylanders... 
What  was  Accomplished  by  the  Summer  Campaign  of  18G2...The  Outburst 
of  Applause  iu  Europe. ..Tribute  from  the  Loudon  "Times" — Public  Opinion 
in  Euglaud... Distinction  between  the  People  and  the  Government — The  Mask 
of  England. ..Orn  Forf.ign  Rki.atioxs  in  thk  War... A  Historical  Parallel  of 
Secession. ..Two  Remarks  on  the  "Neutrality"  of  Europe. ..The  Yankee 
Blockade  and  the  Treaty  of  Paris — The  Confederate  Privateers — Temper  of 
the  South. ..Fruits  of  the  Blockade. 

TuE  close  of  the  summer  found  the  long-harassed  soil  of 
,yirginia  cleared  of  the  footsteps  of  the  invader.  The  glorious 
victory  of  Manassas  was  followed  by  other  propitious  events  in 
this  State  of  lesser  importance,  but  which  went  to  complete 
the  general  result  of  her  freedom  from  the  thraldom  of  the 
Yankee. 

In  the  early  part  of  September  tlie  campaign  of  General 
Loring  in  the  A'^alley  of  the  Kanawha  was  consummated  by  a 
vigorous  attack  on  the  enemy  at  Fayette  Court  House,  and 
the  occupation  of  Charleston  by  our  troops.  On  the  10th  of 
that  month  we  advanced  upon  the  ehemy's  front  at  Fayette 
Court  House,  while  a  portion  of  our  forces  made  a  detour  over 
the  mountain  so^s  to  attack  him  in  the  rear.  "l^iilJ  figliting 
continued  from  noon  until  night,  our  artillery  attacking  despe- 


.*■ 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  129" 


rate! J  in  front;  and  the  enemy  took  advantage  of  the  darkness 
to  effect  his  escape,  not,  however,  without  leaving  his  trains  in 
our  hands. 

The  Yankees  made  a  stand  at  Cotton  Hill,  seven  miles  fur- 
ther on.  A  few  hours'  fighting  dislodged  them,  and  we  pur- 
sued on  to  Kanawha  Falls,  where  they  again  made  a  stand; 
but  a  few  hours'  contest  made  us  again  masters  of  the  field, 
with  more  than  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  stores  and  some 
prisoners. 

The  advance  of  our  troops  to  Charlestown  was  the  signal  to 
the  enemy  for  an  inhuman  attempt  to  burn  the  town,  the  wo- 
men being  driven  from  their  homes  on  fifteen  minutes'  notice. 
As  our  troops  approached  tlie  town,  dense  clouds  of  black 
srnoke  w^ere  seen  to  hang  over  it,  mingled  with  the  lurid" glare 
of  burning  buildings,  while  tlie  shrieks  of  frightened  women 
and  children  filled  the  air.  The  e^jght  stung  to  madness  our 
troops.  Two  regiments  of  Kanawha  Vajley  men,  beholding 
in  plain  view  the  homes  of  their  childhood  blazing,  and  catch- 
ing the  cries  of  distress  of  their  mothers,  wives  and  sisters, 
rushed,  furious  and  headlong,  to  the  rescue.  Happily  they 
were  not  too  late  to  arrest  the  conflagration,  and  a  few  public 
buildings  and  some  private  residences  were  all  that  fell  under 
the  enemy's  torch. 

The  campaign  of  the  Kanawha  was  accomplished  by  us  with* 
a  loss  of  not  more  than  a  hundred  men.     The  results  were  ap- 
parently of  great  importance,  as  we  had  secured  tlie  great 
salines  of  Virginia,*  driven  the  enemy  from  the  Valley  of  the 


*  But  few  persons,  even  in  the  South,  have  adequate  ideas  of  the  resources 
and  facilities  for  the  production  of  salt  in  the  Kanawha  Valley,  and  of  the 
value  of  that  email  strip  of  Confederate  territory.  In  Kanawha  county 
alone  forty  furnaces  were  in  operation  ;  some  operated  by  gas  and  some  by 
coal.  Salt  by  the  million  of  bushels  had  been  sold  here  from  year  to  year  at 
twelve  cents  and  twenty  cents  per  bushel,  filling  the  markets  of  the  West  and 
South.  Ships  for  Liverpool  had  formerly  taken  out  salt  as  ballast;  and  yet, 
at  one  time  in  the  war,  owing  to  the  practical  cutting  off  of  the  saline  sup- 
plies in  Virginia,  this  article,  formerly  of  such  cheap  bulk,  bad  been  sold  in 
Richmond  nt  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  povnd. 

9 


130  THB  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

Kanawha,  and  put  onr  forces  in  position  to  threaten  his  towns 
on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio.  But  unhappily  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion hereafter  to  see  that  these  results  were  ephemeral,  and 
that  this  unfortunate  part  of  Virginia  was  destined  to  other 
experiences  of  the  rigour  of  the  enemy. 

For  the  present  the  progress  of  events  takes  us  from  the  old 
battle-fields  of  the  South  and  introduces  us  to  a  novel  theatre 
of  the  war — that  theatre  being  located  for  the  first  time  on 
the  soil  and  within  the  recognized  dominions  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  September  Gen.  Lee,  leaving  to  his 
right  Arlington  Heights,  to  which  had  retreated  the  shattered 
army  of  Pope,  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Maryland. 

The  immediate  designs  of  this  movement  of  the  Confederate 
commander  were  to  seize  Harper's  Ferry  and  to  test  the  spirit 
of  the  Marylanders;  but  in  order  to  be  unmolested  in  his  plans, 
he  threatened  Pennsylvania  from  Hagerstown,  throwing  Gov. 
Curtain  almost  into  hysterics,  and  animating  Baltimore  with 
the  hope  that  he  would  emancipate  her  from  the  iron  tyranny 
of  Gen.  Wool. 

After  the  advance  of  our  army  to  Frederick,  the  Northern 
journals  were  filled  with  anxious  reports  of  a  movement  of  our 
troops  in  the  direction  of  Pennsylvania.  While  the  people  of 
the  North  were  agitated  by  these  reports,  the  important  move- 
*  ment  undertaken  for  the  present  by  Gen.  Lee  was  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Virginia.  It  appears  that  for  this  purpose  our  forces 
in  Maryland  were  divided  into  three  corps,  commanded  by 
Generals  Jackson,  Longstreet  and  Hill.  The  forces  under 
Jackson  having  re-crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport  and 
taken  possession  of  Martinsburg,  had  then  passed  rapidly  be- 
hind Harper's  Ferry,  that  a  capture  might  be  effected  of  the 
garrison  and  stores  known  to  be  there.  In  the  meantime,  the 
corps  of  Longstreet  and  Hill  were  put  in  position  to  cover  the 
operations  of  Jackson  and  to  hold  back  McClellan's  forces, 
•which  were  advancing  to  the  relief  of  Harper's  Ferry. 

Gen.  McClellan  had  resumed  the  chief  command  of  the 
Federal  armies  on  the  second  day  of  September.     On  the 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE 'WAR.  131 

fourteenth  of  that  month,  he  fought  his  first  battle  in  Mary- 
land, called  the  battle  of  Boonsboro'  or  of  South  Mountain. 

THE   BATTLE   OP   BOONSBORO'. 

When  Jackson  had  diverged  to  the  left  from  the  line  of 
march  pursued  by  the  main  body  of  the  Confederates  re-cross- 
ing the  Potomac  and  moving  rapidly  upon  Harper's  Ferry, 
Gen.  Longstreet  had  meanwhile  continued  his  march  to  Ha- 
gerstown,  and  there  awaited  the  result.  To  frustrate  this 
design,  and  relieve  Gen.  Miles  and  the  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
men  who  occupied  Harper's  Ferry,  the  enemy  moved  their  en- 
tire force  upon  the  Gap  in  the  mountains,  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  and  there  sought  to  break  through  the  barrier  we  were 
so  jealously  guarding,  divide  our  lines,  and  defeat  our  armies 
in  detail.  Foreseeing  this  intention  on  the  part  of  the  Fede- 
rals, Gen.  Lee  had  posted  the  division  of  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  in 
and  around  the  Gap,  on  the  opposite  side  and  summit,  with  in- 
structions to  hold  the  position  at  every  hazard,  until  he  was 
notified  of  the  success  of  the  movement  of  Jackson  and  his 
co-operates.  It  was  certainly  no  part  of  the  original  plan  to 
fight  a  pitched  battle  here,  except  to  secure  this  one  desirable 
result. 

The  pass  is  known  as  Boonsboro'  Gap,  being  a  continuation 
over  the  broad  back  of  the  mountain  of  the  national  turnpike. 
The  road  is  winding,  narrow,  rocky  and  rugged,  with  either  a 
deep  ravine  on  one  side  and  the  steep  sides  of  the  mountain  on 
the  other,  or  like  a  huge  channel  cut  through  a  solid  rock. 
Near  the  crest  are  two  or  three  houses,  which,  to  some  extent, 
overlook  the  adjacent  valleys,  but  elsewhere  the  face  of  the 
mountain  is  unbroken  by  a  solitary  vestige  of  the  handiwork 
of  man. 

The  battle  commenced  soon  after  daylight,  by  a  vigorous 
cannonade,  under  cover  of  which,  two  or  three  hours  later, 
first  the  skirmishers  and  then  the  main  bodies  became  engaged. 
A  regular  line  of  battle  on  our  part,  either  as  regards  numbers 


132  TJIE  €5C0ND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

or  regularity,  was  impossible,  and  the  theatre  of  the  fight  was 
therefore  limited.  The  fortunes  of  the  day,  which  were  des- 
perate enough  in  the  face  of  the  most  overwhelming  numbers, 
were  stubbornly  contested  by  the  Confederates.  The  brigade 
of  Gen.  Garland  of  Virginia,  the  first  engaged,  lost  its  bravo 
commander.  "While  endeavoring  to  rally  his  men,  he  fell, 
pierced  in  the  breast  by  a  musket  ball,  and  died  upon  the  field. 

AVhile  our  lines  were  giving  way  under  the  pressure  of  the 
enemy's  numbers,  the  welcome  sounds  of  reinforcements  were 
borne  on  the  air.  The  corps  of  Gen.  Longstrect  was  at  Ha- 
gcrstown,  fourteen  miles  distant,  and  at  daylight  commenced 
its  march  towards  the  scene  of  action.  Hurrying  forward 
with  all  speed,  stopping  neither  to  rest  nor  eat,  the  advance 
arrived  at  the  pass  about  four  o'clock,  and  were  at  once  sent 
into  the  mountain.  Brigade  after  brigade,  as  rapidly  as  it 
came  up,  followed,  until  by  five  o'clock  nearly  the  entire  com- 
mand, with  the  exception  of  the  brigade  of  General  Toombs, 
which  had  been  left  at  Ilagerstown,  was  in  position,  and  a  por- 
tion of  it  already  engaged.  Evans  was  assigned  to  the  extreme 
left,  Drayton  to  the  right,  and  Hood,  with  his  "ragged  Tex- 
ans,"  occupied  the  centre. 

The  accession  of  fresh  numbers  at  once  changed  the  tone 
and  temper  of  the  combat.  The  ominous  volleys  of  musketry 
rolled  down  the  mountain  in  almost  deafening  succession.  But 
advance  we  could  not.  The  enemy  in  numbers  were  like  a 
solid  wall.  Their  bayonets  gleamed  from  behind  every  rock 
and  bush.  Retreat,  we  would  not,  and  thus  we  fought,  dog- 
gedly giving  and  taking  tlie  fearful  blows  of  battle,  until  long 
after  nightfall. 

The  cessation  of  firing  left  the  respective  forces,  with  some 
exceptions,  in  nearly  the  same  relative  situation  as  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  battle.  The  enemy  gained  nothing  and  we 
lost  nothing.  On  the  contrary,  our  object  had  been  obtained. 
"We  had  encountered  a  force  of  the  enemy  near  five-fold  our 
own,  and  after  a  bloody  day,  in  which  our  killed  and  wounded 
were  quite  twenty-five  hundred  and  those  of  the  enemy  pro- 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  133 

bably  more,  we  had  held  him  in  check  until  Gen.  Jackson  was 
heard  from  and  the  success  of  his  enterprise  rendered  certain. 

THE   CAPTURE   OF   HARrER'S   FERRY. 

While  the  action  of  Boonsboro'  was  in  progress,  and  the 
enemy  attempting  to  force  his  way  through  the  main  pass  on 
the  Frederick  and  Ilagerstown  road,  the  capture  of  Harper's 
Ferry  was  accomplished  by  the  army  corps  of  Gen.  Jackson. 

During  the  night  of  the  14th  September,  General  Jackson 
planted  his  guns,  and  in  the  morning  opened  in  tall  directions  Jf, 

on  the  Federal  forces  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  on  Bolivar  m. 

Heights.     The  white  flag  was  raised  at  twenty  minutes  past  V 

seven.  At  the  moment  of  surrender,  Col.  Miles,  the  Federal 
commander,  was  struck  by  a  piece  of  shell,  which  carried  away 
his  left  thigh.  "My  God,  I  am  hit,"  he  exclaimed,  and  fell 
into  the  arras  of  his  aid-de-camp. 

The  extent  of  the  conquest  is  determined-  by  the  fact  that 
we  took  eleven  thousand  troops,  an  equal  number  of  small 
arms,  seventy-three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  about  two  hundred 
wagons.  The  force  of  the  enemy  which  surrendered  consisted 
of  twelve  regiments  of  infantry,  three  companies  of  cavalry 
and  six  companies  of  artillery.  The  scene  of  the  surrender 
was  one  of  deep  humiliation  to  the  North.  It  was  indeed  a 
repetition  of  the  revolutionary  glories  of  Yorktown  to  sec  here 
the  proud,  gaily-dressed  soldiers  of  the  oppressor  drawn  up  in 
lino,  stacking  their  arms,  and  surrendering  to  the  ragged, 
barefoot,  half-starved  soldiers  of  liberty. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    SHARPSBURG. 

On  the  17th  of  September  Gen.  Ifee  had  retired  to  unite 
his  forces,  as  far  as  possible,  to  confront  the  still  advancing 
forces  of  McClellan,  which,  having  obtained  possession  of 
Crampton's  Gap  on  the  direct  road  from  Frederick  City  to 
Sharpsburg,  were  pressing  our  forces,  and  seemed  determined 


134  THE    SECOND    TEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 

on  a  decisive  battle.     Sharpsburg  is  about  ten  miles  north  of 
Harper's  Ferry  and  about  eight  miles  west  of  Boonsboro'. 

This  town  lies  in  a  deep  valley.  The  country  around  it  is 
broken.  Ascending  a  hill  just  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  town, 
and  looking  towards  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  eye  ranges  over  the 
greater  portion  of  the  eventful  field.  To  the  right  and  left  is 
a  succession  of  hills  which  were  occupied  by  the  Confederates. 
In  front  is  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Antietam,  divided  longi- 
tudinally by  the  river  which  empties  into  the  Potomac  on  your 
right,  and  behind,  forming  a  background  to  the  picture,  only 
two  miles  distant,  are  the  steep,  umbrageous  sides  of  the  Blue 
Ridge. 

The  morning  of  the  17th  found  Gen.  Lee  strongly  posted, 
but  with  no  more  than  forty-five  thousand  men  when  the  bat- 
tle commenced.  The  force  of  the  enemy  could  not  have  been 
much  short  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men ;  of  whom 
one  hundred  thousand  were  trained  soldiers,  disciplined  in 
camp  and  field  since  the  commencement  of  the  war. 

The  forces  of  the  enemy  were  commanded  by  McClellan  in 
person,  and  numbered  the  whole  command  of  Gen.  Burnside, 
recently  augmented  by  the  addition  of  several  new  regiments; 
the  army  corps  lately  under  Gen.  McDowell,  now  under  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Hooker;  Gen.  Sumner's  corps;  Gen.  Franklin's 
corps;  Gen.  Banks'  corps,  commanded  by  Gen,  "Williams;  and 
Sykes'  division  of  Fitz  John  Porter's  corps.  Their  line  of 
battle  was  between  four  and  five  miles  long,  with  their  left 
stretching  across  the  Sharpsburg  road.  Burnside  was  on  the 
extreme  left;  Porter  held  a  commanding  eminence  to  the  right 
of  Burnside,  thougfii  Warren's  brigade  of  Porter's  corps  was 
subsequently  posted  in  the  woods  on  the  left  in  support  of 
Burnside's  men ;  Sumner's  corps  was  on  an  eminence  next  to 
the  right  or  north  from  JPorter,  and  General  Hooker  had  the 
extreme  right. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  the  IGth,  the  enemy  opened 
a  light  artillery  fire  on  our  lines.  At  three  next  morning 
every  man  was  at  his  post,  and  awaited  in  solemn  silence  the 


THE  SECOND  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  135 

day  dawn.  No  sooner  did  tlie  light  break  in  the  east  than  the 
picket  firing  began,  and  increased  in  fury  until  about  sunrise, 
when  artillery  and  infantry  together  grappled  in  the  terrible 
fight. 

Large  masses  of  the  Federals,  who  had  crossed  the  Antie- 
tam  above  our  position,  assembled  on  our  left.  They  advanced 
in  three  compact  lines.  The  divisions  of  Generals  McLaws, 
R.  H.  Anderson,  A.  P.  Hill  and  Walker,  who  were  expected 
to  have  joined  Gen.  Lee  on  the  previous  night,  had  not  come 
up.  Generals  Jackson's  and  Ewell's  divisions  were  thrown  to 
the  left  of  Generals  Hill  and  Longstreet.  The  enemy  ad- 
vanced between  the  Antietam  and  the  Sharpsburg  and  Ila- 
gerstown  tuj;npike,  and  was  met  by  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill's  and  the 
left  of  Gen.  Longstreet's  divisions,  where  the  conflict  raged, 
extending  to  our  entire  left. 

AVhen  the  troops  of  D.  H.  Hill  were  engaged,  the  battle 
raged  with  uncommon  fury.  Backwards,  forwards,  surging 
and  swaying  like  a  ship  in  storm,  the  various  columns  are  seea 
in  motion.  It  is  a  hot  place  for  the  enemy.  They  are  directly 
under  our  jjuns,  and  we  mow  them  down  like  grass.  The  raw 
levies,  sustained  by  the  veterans  behind,  come  up  to  the  work 
well,  and  fight  for  a  short  time  with  an  excitement  incident  to 
their  novel  experiences  of  a  battle ;  but  soon  a  portion  of  their 
line  gives  way  in  confusion.  Their  reserves  come  up,  and  en- 
deavor to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  Our  centre,  how- 
ever, stands  firm  as  adamant,  and  they  fall  back. 

Prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  divisions  of  McLaws,  Anderson 
and  Walker,  who  had  been  advanced  to  support  the  left  wing 
and  centre,  as  soon  as  they  had  crossed  the  Potomac  on  the 
morning  of  the  17th,  that  portion  of  our  line  was  forced  back 
by  superior  numbers.  As  soon,  however,  as  these  forces  could 
be  brought  into  action,  the  enemy  was  driven  back,  our  lino 
was  restored,  and  our  position  maintained  during  the  rest  of 
the  day. 

Time  and  again  did  the  Federals  perseveringly  press  close 
up  to  our  ranks,  so  near  indeed  that  their  supporting  batteries 


186  THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   TVAR. 

were  obliged  to  cease  firing,  lest  they  sliould  kill  their  own 
men,  but  just  as  often  were  they  driven  back  by  the  combined 
elements  of  destruction  which  we  brought  to  bear  upon  them. 
It  was  an  hour  when  every  man  was  wanted.  And  nobly  did 
our  brave  soldiers  do  their  duty.  "  It  is  beyond  all  wonder," 
writes  a  Federal  officer,  "  how  men  such  as  the  rebel  troops 
arc  can  fight  as  they  do.  That  those  ragged  wretches,  sick, 
hungry,  and  in  all  ways  miserable,  should  prove  such  heroes 
in  fight,  is  past  explanation.  Men  never  fought  better.  There 
was  one  regiment  that  stood  up  before  the  fire  of  two  or 
three  of  our  long  range  batteries  and  of  two  regiments  of  in- 
fantry, and  though  the  air  around  them  was  vocal  with  the 
whistle  of  bullets  and  the  scream  of  shells,  there  they  stood 
and  delivered  their  fire  in  perfect  order."  * 

In  the  afternoon  the  enemy  advanced  on  our  right,  where 
General  Jones's  division  was  posted,  and  he  handsomely  main- 
tained his  position.  The  bridge  over  the  Antietam  creek  was 
guarded  by  General  Toombs's  brigade,  which  gallantly  re- 
sisted the  approach  of  the  enemy ;  but  their  superior  numbers 
enabling  them  to  extend  their  left,  they  crossed  below  the 
bridge,  and  forced  our  line  back  in  some  confusion. 

Our  troops  fought  until  they  were  nearly  cut  to  pieces,  and 
then  retreated  only  because  they  had  fired  their  last  round. 
It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  immense  Yankee  force  crossed 

the  river,  and  made  the  dash  against  our  line,  which  well  nigh 

.'V, 

*  There  are  some  characteristic  anecdotes  of  the  close  quarters  in  which 
the  battle  of  Sharpsburg  was  fought  aud  the  desperate  valour  shown  in  such 
straits.  At  one  passage  of  the  battle,  Colonel  Geary  of  the  famous  Hamp- 
ton Legion,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  corps  of  the  army,  found  himself 
confronted  by  an  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy.  An  officer  came  for- 
v^ard  and  demanded  his  surrender.  "Surrender!  Hell!"  exclaimed  the 
intrepid  South  Carolinian,  as  with  the  spring  of  a  tiger  he  seized  the  officer 
and  clapped  a  pistol  to  his  head,  "if  you  don't  surrender  your  own  com- 
mand to  me  this  instant,  you  infernal  scoundrel,  I'll  blow  your  brains  out." 
The  astonished  aud  affrighted  Yankee  called  out  that  he  surrendered.  But 
his  men  were  not  as  cowardly  as  himself,  and  the  llag  of  the  regiment  he 
commanded  was  only  taken  after  the  colour-bearer  had  been  cut  down  by 
our  swords. 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OP  THE  WAR.  137 

proved  a  success.  But  it  was  at  this  moment  also  that  ■wel- 
come and  long-expected  reinforcements  reached  us.  At  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  General  A.  P.  Hill's  division  came  up 
and  joined  the  Confederate  right.  It  was  well  that  General 
Burnside's  .advance  on  the  Fedei'al  left  was  so  long  delayed, 
and  was  eventually  made  with  overwhelming  numbers.  The 
day  closed  with  Gen.  Burnside  clinging  closely  to  the  bridge, 
beyond  which  he  could  not  advance,  with  General  Jackson  on 
the  same  ground  as  the  Confederates  held  in  the  morning,  upon 
as  level  and  drawn  a  battle  as  history  exhibits.  But  it  was 
fought  foi-  half  the  day  with  45,000  men  on  the  Confederate 
side,  and  for  the  remaining  half  with  not  more  tlian  an  aggre- 
gate of  70,000  men,  against  a  host  which  is  admitted  to  have 
consisted  of  130,000  men,  and  may  have  been  more. 

It  is  certain  that  if  we  had  had  fresh  troops  to  hurl  against 
Burnside  at  the  bridge  of  Antietom,  the  day  would  have  been 
ours.  The  anxious  messages  of  this  ofiScer  to  McClclIan  for 
reinforcements  were  again  and  again  repeated  as  the  evening 
wore  on,  and  the  replies  of  that  commander  showed  that  he 
understood  where  was  the  critical  point  of  the  battle.  As  the 
sun  was  sinking  in  the  west,  he  dispatched  orders  to  General 
Burnside,  urging  him  to  hold  his  position,  and  as  the 'messen- 
ger was  riding  away  ho  called  him  back — "  Tell  him  if  he 
cannot  hold  his  ground,  then  the  bridge,  to  the  last  man ! — 
always  the  bridge,!     If  the  bridge  is  lost,  all  is  lost." 

The  enemy  held  the  bridge,  but  of  other  portions  of  the 
field  we  retained  possession.  Varying  as  may  have  been  the 
successes  of  the  day,  they  left  us  equal  masters  of  the  field 
with  our  antagonist.  But  our  loss  had  been  considerable;  it 
was  variously  estimated  from  five'  to  nine  thousand;  and  we 
had  to  deplorb  the  fall  of  Generals  Branch  and  Starke,  with 
other  brave  and  valuable  officers.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was 
not  less  than  our  own.*     They  had  fought  well  and  been  ably 

*  The  New  York  Tribune  said  :  "  The  dead  lie  ia  heaps,  and  the  wounded 
arc  coming  in  by  thousands.  Around  and  in  a  large  barn  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  spot  where  General  Hooker  engaged  the  enemy's  left,  there  were 


138  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OP  THE  WAR. 

commanded.  But  they  had  the  advantage  not  only  of  num- 
bers, but  of  a  position  from  which  they  could  assume  an  offen- 
sive or  defensive  attitude  at  will,  besides  which  their  signal 
stations  on  the  Blue  Ridge  commanded  a  view  of  our  every 
movement. 

The  battle-field  of  Sharpsburg  will  long  be  remembered  from 
the  terrible  and  hideous  circumstance  that  so  many  of  the  dead 
were  left  unburied  upon  it.  Some  of  them  laid  with  their  faces 
to  the  ground,  whither  they  had  turned  in  the  agony  of  death, 
and  in  which  position  they  had  died ;  others  were  heaped  in 
piles  of  three  and  four  together,  with  their  arms  interlocked, 
and  their  faces  turned  upwards  towards  the  sky.  Scores  of 
them  were  laid  out  in  rows,  as  though  the  death-shot  had  pe- 
netrated their  breasts  as  they  were  advancing  to  the  attack. 
Covered  with  mud  and  dust,  with  their  faces  and  clothes 
smeared  with  blood  and  gore,  there  they  rotted  in  the  sun ! 

The  close  of  this  great  battle  left  neither  army  in  a  condi- 
tion to  renew  the  conflict,  although  our  own  brave  troops  were 
desperately  ready  to  do  so.  But  the  next  morning  McClellan 
had  disappeared  from  our  front,  and,  knowing  the  superiority 
of  the  enemy's  numbers,  and  not  willing  to  risk  tJie  combina- 
tions he  was  attempting,  Gen.  Lee  crossed  the  Potomac  with- 
out molestation,  and  took  position  at  or  near  Shepherdstown. 

The  enemy  claimed  a  victory,  but  the  best  evidence,  if  any 
were  wanting,  to  prove  that  he  was  really  defeated  and  his 
army  crippled,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  he  did  not  renew 
the  fight  on  the  succeeding  day,  and  on  the  next  permitted 
Gen.  Lee  to  re  cross  the  Potomac  without  an  attempt  to  ob- 

counted  1,250  wounded.  In  Sumner's  corps  alone,  our  loss  in  killed,  wounded 
and  missing  amounts  to  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  eight.  Tiie  15th 
Massachusetts  regiment  went  into  the  battle  with  five  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
and  came  out  with  one  hundred  and  fifty-six.  The  19th  Massachusetts,  of 
four  hundred  and  six,  lost  all  but  one  hundred  and  forty-seven.  The  5th 
New  Hampshire,  about  three  hundred  strong,  lost  one  hundred  and  ten  en- 
listed men  and  fourteen  ofiicers.  Massachusetts,  out  of  eight  regiments  en- 
gaged, loses  upwards  of  fifteen  hundred,  and  Pennsylvania  has  suffered  more 
than  any  other  State." 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  139 

struct  him.  The  pretence  of  victory  on  this  occasion  cost 
McClellan  his  command.  On  the  20th  of  September  he  made 
a  feint  or  a  weak  and  hesitating  attempt  to  cross  the  Potomac 
at  Shepherdstown,  when  the  column  which  had  crossed  was 
fallen  upon  by  A.  P.  Hill  and  pushed  into  the  river,  which  was 
filled  with  the  dead  and  wounded  attempting  to  escape. 

The  charges  against  McClellan  consequent  upon  his  pre- 
tended victory,  were  sustained  by  the  oflScial  testimony  of  the 
Yankee  commander-in-chief.  The  report  of  "Gen.  Ilalleck 
accused  McClellan  of  disobedience  of  orders,  in  refusing  to 
advance  against  the  enemy  after  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg, 
upon  the  plea  that  the  army  lacked  shoes,  tents,  stores,  an.d 
other  necessaries,  which  General  Ilalleck  held  to  be  entirely 
unfounded,  asserting  that  all  the  wants  of  the  army  were  duly 
cared  for,  and  that  any  causes  of  delay  that  might  have  oc- 
curred were  trivial  and  speedily  remedied.  He  furthermore 
charged  McClellan  with  willful  neglect  of  a  peremptory  order 
of  the  Cth  of  October  to  cross  the  Potomac  immediately,  to 
give  battle  to  the  Confederates  or  to  drive  them  South. 

A  fatal  consequence  to  the  Yankees  of  the  campaign  in 
Maryland  was  the  sacrifice  to^  popular  clamour  and  official 
envy  of  him  whom  they  had  formerly  made  their  military  pet 
and  "Napoleon,"  and  who,  although  the  extent  of  his  preten- 
sions was  ridiculous,  was  really  esteemed  in  the  South  as  the 
ablest  General  in  the  North.  The  man  who  succeeded  him  in 
the  command  of  the  array  of  the  Potomac  Avas.Gen.  Ambrose 
Burnsidc,  of  Rhode  Island.  He  had  served  during  the  Mexican 
*var  as  a  second  lieutenant;  and  at  the  time  he  was  raised  to 
his  important  command,  the  captain  of  the  company  with 
which  he  had  served  in  Mexico,  Edmund  Barry,  was  a  recruit- 
ing agent  in  Richmond  for  the  "Maryland  Line." 

We  have  perhaps  imperfectly  sketched  the  movements  of 
the  Maryland  campaign.*    But  ^Ye  have  sought  to  determine  its 


*  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  just  summary  of  the  campaign  in 
Northern  Virginia  and  on  the  Upper  Potomac,  or  one  the  statements  of  which 


140  THE   SECOND   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.' 

historical  features  without  any  large  enumeration  of  details. 
It  was  mixed  with  much  of  triumph  to  us ;  it  added  lustre  to 
our  arms;  it  inflicted  no  loss  upon  us  for  which  we  did  not  ex- 
act full  retribution;  it  left  the  enemy  nothing  but  barren  re- 

may  be  more  safely  appropriated  by  history  than  the  following  address  of 
Geo.  Leo  to  Lis  army : 

"Headquabters  Akmy  Nortuern  Virginia,") 
October  2d,  lbG2.  / 

General  Orders,  No,  116.  , 

In  reviewing  the  achievements  of  tlie  army  during  the  present  campaign, 
the  Commanding  General  cannot  withhold  the  expression  of  his  admiration  of 
the  indomitable  courage  it  has  displayed  in  battle,  and  its  cheerful  endurance 
of  privation  and  hardship  on  the  march. 

Since  your  great  victories  around  Richmond  you  have  defeated  the  enemy 
at  Cedar  Mountain,  cupelled  him  from  the  Rappahannoci;,  and,  aft^r  a  con- 
flict of  three  days,  utterly  repulsed  him  on  the  I'hiins  of  Manassas,  and  forced 
him  to  take  shelter  within  the  fortilications  around  his  capital. 

Without  halting  for  repose  you  crossed  the  Potomac,  stormed  the  heights 
of  Harper's  Ferry,  made  prisoners  of  more  than  eleven  thousand  men,  and 
captured  upwards  of  seventy  pieces  of  artillery,  all  their  small  arms  and 
»'  other  munitions  of  war. 

^  While  one  corps  of  the  army  was  thus  engaged,  the  other  insured  its  suc- 

cess by  arresting  at  Boonsboro'  the  combined  armies  of  the  enemy,  advancing 
under  their  favourite  General  to  the  relief  of  their  beleaguered  comrades. 

On  the  field  of  Sharpsburg,  with  less  than  one-third  his  numbers,  you  re- 
sisted, from  daylight  until  dark,  the  whole  army  of  the  enemy,  and  repulsed 
every  attack  along  his  entire  front,  of  more  than  four  miles  in  extent. 

The  whole  of  the  following  day  you  stood  prepared  to  resume  the  conflict 
on  the  same  ground,  and  retired  next  morning,  without  molestation,  across- 
the  Potomac. 

Two  attempts,  subsequently  made  by  the  enemy,  to  follow  you  across  the 
river,  have  resulted  in  his  complete  discomfiture,  and  being  driven  back  with 
loss. 

Achievements  such  as  these  demanded  much  valour  and  patriotism.     Ilis-t 
tory  records  few  examples  of  greater  fortitude  and  endurance  than  this  army 
has  exhibited;  and  I  am  commissioned  by  the  President  to  thank  you,  in  the 
name  of  the  Confederate  States,  for  the  undying  fame  you  have  won  for  their 
arms. 

Much  aa,you  have  done,  much  more  remains  to  be  accomplished.  The 
enemy  again  threatens  us  with  invasion,  and  to  your  tried  valour  and  patriot- 
ism the  country  looks  with  confidence  for  deliverance  and  safety.  Your  past 
exploits  give  assurance  that  this  confidence  is  not  misplaced. 

R.  E.  LF-F, 
General  Commanding." 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THB   WAR.  141 

suits;  and  it  gave  us  a  valuable  lesson  of  the  state,  of  public 
opinion  in  Maryland. 

There  is  one  point  to  which  the  mind  naturally  refers  for  a 
just  historical  interpretation  of  the  Maryland  campaign.  The 
busy  attempts  of  newspapers  to  pervert  the  truth  of  history 
were  renewed  in  an  effort  to  misrepresent  the  designs  of  Gen. 
Lee  in  crossing  the  Potomac,  as  limited  to  a  mere  incursion, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  take  Harper's  Ferry,  and  that  ac- 
complished, to  return  into  Virginia  and  await  the  movements 
of  McClellan.  It  is  not  possible  that  our  commanding  Gene- 
ral can  be  a  party  to  this  pitiful  deceit,  to  cover  up  any  failure 
of  his,  or  that  he  has  viewed  with  any  thing  but  disgust  the 
offer  of  falsehood  and  misrepresentation  made  to  him  by  flat- 
terers. ■ 

Let  it  be  freely  confessed,  that  the  object  of  General  Lee 
in  crossing  the  Potomac  was  to  hold  and  occupy  Maryland ; 
that  his  proclamation  issued  at  Frederick,  offering  protection 
to  the  Marylanders„is  incontrovertible  evidence  of  this  fact; 
that  he  was  forced  to  return  to  Virginia,  not  by  stress  of  any 
single  battle,  but  by  the  force  of  many  circum^ances,  some  of 
which  history  should  blush  to  record;  that,  in  these  respects, 
the  Maryland  campaign  was  a  failure.  But  it  was  a  failure 
relieved  by  brilliant  episodes,  rmxed  with  at  least  one  extraor- 
dinary triumph  of  our  arms,  and  to  a  great  extent  compen- 
sated by  many  solid  results. 

In  the  brief  campaign  in  Maryland,  our  army  had  given  the 
most  brilliant  illustrations  of  valour;  it  had  given  the  enemy  at 
Harper's  Ferry  a  reverse  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
war ;  it  had  inflicted  upon  him  a  loss  in  men  and  material 
greater  than  our  own ;  and,  in  retreating  into  Virginia,  it  left 
him  neither  spoils  nor  prisoners,  as  evidence  of  the  successes 
lie  claimed.  The  indignant  comment  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
on  Lee's  retirement  into  Virginia  is  the  enemy's  own  record  of 
the  barren  results  that  were  left  them.  "  He  leaves  us,"  said 
this'paper,  "the  debris  of  his  late  camps,  two  disabled  pieces 
of  artillery,  a  few  hundred  of  his  stragglers,  perhaps  two  thou- 


142  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

sand  of  lys  vrounded,  and  as  many  more  of  his  unburicd  dead. 
Not  a  sound  ficld-piccc,  caisson,  ambulance  or  -wagon,  not  a 
tent,  a  box  of  stores  or  a  pound  of  ammunition.  lie  takes 
"vvitli  him  the  supplies  gathered  in  Maryland,  and  the  rich  spoils 
of  Harper's  Ferry."  The  same  paper  declared,  that  the  fail- 
ure of  Maryland  to  rise  or  to  contribute  recruits,  (all  the  acces- 
sions to  our  force,  obtained  in  this  State,  did  not  exceed  eight 
hundred  men,)  was  the  defeat  of  Lee,  and  about  the  only  defeat 
he  did  sustain ;  that  the  Confederate  losses  proceeded  mainly 
from  the  failure  of  their  own  exaggerated  expectations ;  that 
Lee's  retreat  over  the  Potomac  was  a  master-piece ;  and  that 
the  manner  in  which  he  combined  Hill  and  Jackson  for  the  en- 
velopment of  Harper's  Ferry,  while  he  checked  the  Federal 
columns  at  Hagerstown  Heights  and  Crampton  Gap,  Mas  pro- 
bably the  best  achievement  of  the  war. 

The  failure  of  the  people  of  Maryland  to  respond  to  the 
proclamation  of  Gen.  Lee  issued  at  Frederick,  inviting  them 
to  his  standard,  and  generously  assuring  protection  to  all 
classes  of  political  opinion,  admits  of  some  excuse ;  but  the 
explanations  commonly  made  on  this  subject  do  not  amount  to 
their  vindication.  It  is  true  that  when  Gen.  Lee  was  in  Fre- 
derick, he  was  forty-five  miles  from -the  city  of  Baltimore — a 
city  surrounded  by  Federal  bayonets,  zealously  guarded  by 
an  armed  Federal  police,  and  lying  in  the  shadow  of  Fort 
McHenry  and  of  two  powerful  fortifications  located  within  the 
limits  of  the  corporation.  It  is  true  that  our  army  passed 
only  through  two  of  the  remote  counties  of  the  State,  namely  : 
Frederick  and  Washington,  which  with  Carroll  and  Alleghany, 
are  well  known  to  contain  the  most  violent  "  Union"  popula- 
tion in  Maryland.  It  is  true  that  the  South  could  not  have 
expected  a  welcome  in  these  counties  or  a  desperate  mutiny 
for  the  Confederacy  in  Baltimore.  But  it  was  expected  that 
Southern  sympathizers  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  who  so 
glibly  ran  the  blockade  on  adventures  of  trade,  might  as  rea- 
dily work  their  way  to  the  Confederate  army  as  to  the  Confed- 
erate markets ;  and  it  was  not  expected  that  the  few  recruits 


THE   SECOND   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  143 

■who  timidly  advanced  to  our  lines  would  have  been  so  easily 
dismayed  by  the  rags  of  our  soldiers  and  by  the  prospects  of 
a  service  that  promised  equal  measures  of  hardship  and  glory. 

The  army  which  rested  again  in  Virginia  had  made  a  history 
that  will  flash  dojvn  the  tide  of  time  a  lustre  of  glory.  It  had 
done  an  amount  of  marching  and  fighting  that  appears  almost 
incredible  even  to  those  minds  familiar  with  the  records  of 
great  military  exertions.  Leaving  the  banks  of  James  River, 
it  proceeded  directly  to  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  and 
moving  out  from  that  river,  it  fought  its  way  to  the  Potomac, 
crossed  that  stream  and  moved  on  to  Fredericktown  and  Ha- 
gerstown,  had  a  heavy  engagement  at  the  mountain  gaps 
below,  fought  the  greatest  pitched  battle  of  the  war  at  Sharps- 
burg  ;  and  then  recrossed  the  Potomac  back  into  Virginia. 
During  all  this  time,  covering  the  full  space  of  a  month,  the 
troops  rested  but  four  days.  Of  the  men  who  performed  these 
wonders,  one-fifth  of  them  were  barefoot,  one-half  of  them  in 
rags  and  the  whole  of  them  half  famished. 

The  remarkable  campaign  which  we  have  briefly  sketched, 
extending  from  the  banks  of  the  James  River  to  those  of  the 
Potomac,  impressed  the  world  with  wonder  and  admiration, 
excited  an  outburst  of  applause  among  living  nations,  which 
anticipated  the  verdict  of  posterity,  and  set  the  whole  of 
Europe  ringing  with  praises  of  the  heroism  and  fighting  quali- 
ties of  the  Southern  armies.  The  South  was  already  obtain- 
ing some  portion  of  the  moral  rewards  of  this  war,  in  the  esti- 
mation in  which  she  was  held  by  the  great  martial  nations  of 
the  world.  She  had  purchased  the  rank  with  a  bloody  price. 
She  had  extorted  homage  from  the  most  intelligent  and  influ- 
ential organs  of  public  opinion  in  the  Old  World,  from  men 
well  versed  in  the  history  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  and 
from  those  great  critics  of  cotemporary  history,  which  are 
least  accustomed  to  the  language  of  extravagant  compliment. 

The  following  tribute  from  the  London  Times — the  great 
organ  of  historic  precedent  and  educated  opinion  in  the  Old 
World — was  echoed  by  the  other  journals  of  Europe: 


144  THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

"  The  people  of  the  ConfeJci-atc  States  have  made  thcm- 
"  selves  famous.  If  the  renown  of  brilliant  courage,  stern  de- 
"  votion  to  a  cause,  and  military  achievements  almost  without 
"  a  parallel,  can  compensate  men  for  the  toil  and  privations  of 
"  the  hour,  then  the  countrymen  of  Lee  anc^  Jackson  raa^  be 
"  consoled  amid  their  sufferings.  From  all  parts  of  Europe, 
"  from  their  enemies  as  well  as  their  friends,  from  those  who 
"condemn  their  acts  as  well  as  those  who  sympathize  with 
"  them,  comes  the  tribute  of  admiration.  "When  the  history 
"of  this  war  is  written,  the  admiration  will  doubtless  become 
"  deeper  and  stronger,  for  the  veil  which  has  covered  the 
"  South  will  be  drawn  away  and  disclose  a  picture  of  patriot- 
"  ism,  of  unanimous  self-sacrifice,  of  wise  and  firm  administra- 
"  tion,  which  we  can  now  only  see  indistinctly.  The  details  of 
"  extraordinary  national  effort  which  has  led  to  the  repulse  and 
"  almost  to  the  destruction  of  an  invading  force  of  more  than 
"half  a  million  men,  will  then  become  known  to  the  world, 
"and,  whatever  may  be  the  fate  of  the  new  nationality,  or  its 
"  subsequent  claims  to  the  respect  of  mankind,  it  will  assuredly 
"  begin  its  career  with  a  reputation  for  genius  and  valour  which 
"  the  most  famous  nations  may  envy." 

It  is  at  first  appearance  strange,  that  while  such  was  the 
public  opinion  in  England  of  our  virtues  a,nd  abilities,  that  that 
government  should  have  continued  so  unjust  and  obstinate  with 
respect  to  our  claims  for  recognition.  But  the  explanation  is 
easy.  The  demonstrations  of  the  conflict  which  awakened 
such  generous  admiration  of  us  in  the  breasts  of  a  majority  of 
the  English  people  were  to  the  government  the  subjects  only  of 
jealous  and  interested  views.  We  hud  trusted  too  much  to 
manifestations  of  public  opinion  in  England ;  we  had  lost 
sight  of  the  distinction  between  the  people  and  government  of 
that  country,  and  had  forgotten  that  the  latter  had,  since  the 
beginning  of  this  war,  been  cold  and  reserved,  had  never  given 
us  anything  to  hope  from  its  sympathies  or  its  principles,  and 
had  limited  its  action  on  the  American  question  to  the  unfeel- 
ing and  exacting  measures  of  selfishness. 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   AVAR.  145 

The  bloody  and  unhappy  revelation  -^'hich  the  war  has  made 
of  enormous. military  resources  has  naturally  given  to  Europe, 
and  especially  to  England,  an  extraordinary  interest  in  its 
continuation.  •  It  is  probable  that  she  would  not  have  hesitated 
to  recognize  the  South,  unless  firmly  pursuaded  of  our  ability 
and  resolution  to  carry  on  the  war,  and  unless  she  had  another 
'object  to  gain  besides  that  of  a  permanent  division  in  the  na- 
tionality and  power  of  her  old  rival.  That  object  was  the  ex- 
haustion of  both  North  and  South.  England  proposed  to 
effect  the  continuation  of  the  war,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the 
mutual  ruin  of  the  two  ntitions  engaged  in  it,  by  standing  aside 
and  trusting  that  after  vast  expenditures  of  blood  and  waste  of 
resources  the  reparation  of  the  Union  would  be  quite  as  surely 
accomplished  by  the  self-devotion  of  the  South,  as  by  the  less 
profitable  mode  of  foreign  intervention. 

In  this  unchristian  and  inhuman  calculation,  England  had 
rightly.estimated  the  resolution  and  spirit  of  the  South.  We 
were  prepared  to' win  our  independence  with  the  great  prices 
of  blood  and  suffering  that  she  had  named.  But  wc  under- 
stood what  lurked  behind  the  mask  of  British  conscience,"  and 
we  treasured  the  lesson  for  the  future. 

OUR   FOREIGN    RELATIONS    IN    THE   WAR. 

It  is  not  amiss  in  this  connection  to  make  a  summary  in  re- 
ference to  the  relations  between  the  Confederacy  and  the  neu- 
tral powers  of  Europe  during  the  progress  of  the  war  to  the 
present  period  of  our  narrative. 

The  confederation  of  the  Southern  States  in  1861  was  the 
third  political  union  that  had  been  formed  between  the  States 
of  North  America.  The  first  act  of  secession  dates  as  far 
back  as  1789,  when  eleven  of  the  States,  becoming  dissatisfied 
with  the  old  articles  of  confederation  made  in  1778,  seceded 
and  formed  a  second  union.  When  in  1861  eleven  of  the 
States  again  seceded  and  united  themselves  under  the  style  of 
the  Confederate  States  of  North  America,  they  exercised  a 
9 


14G  THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    TITE   WAR. 

right  ^vliich  required  no  justification,  and  ■\>liich  in  a  former 
instance  had  not  been  contested  by  any  part}'  at.home,  or  made 
the  subject  of  discussion  with  any  third  power. 

On  every  attempt  for  the  opening  of  formal  diplomatic  in- 
tercourse with  the  European  powers,  the  commissioners  of  the 
Confederate  States  had  met  with  the  objection  that  these  pow- 
ers could  not  assume  to  judge  between  the  conflicting  represen- 
tations of  the  two  parties  as  to  the  true  naftire  of  their  pre- 
vious mutual  relations:  and  that  tlicy  were  constrained  by 
international  usage  and  the  considerations  of  propriety  to 
recognize  the  self-evident  fact  of  the  existence  of  a  war,  and 
to  maintain  a  strict  neutrality  during  its  progress. 

Of  this  neutrality,  two  remarks  are  to  be  made:    • 

First.  It  was  founded  upon  the  grave  errour  that  the  sepa- 
rate sovereignty  and  independence  of  tlic  States  bad  been 
merged  into  one  common  sovereignty;  an  errour  easily  in- 
duced bythe  delegation  of  power  granted  by  these  States  to 
the  Federal  government  to  represent  them  in  foreign  inter- 
course, but  one  that  should  Iiave  been  as  easily  dispelled  by 
appeals  to  reason  and  historical  fact. 

Secondly.  The  practical  operation  of  this  falsely  assumed 
and, falsely  named  "neutrality"  was  an  actual  decision  against 
the  rights  of  the  South,  and  had  been  but  little  short  of  active 
hostilities  against  her. 

By  the  governments  of  England  and  France,  the  doctrines 
announced  in  the  treaty  of  Paris  were  ignored,  and  the  mon- 
strous Yankee  blockade,  by  some  forty  or  fifty  vessels,  of  a 
coast  line  nearly  three  thousand  miles  in  extent,  came  to  be 
acknowledged  and  respected.  AVhen  this  recognition  of  the 
blockade  was  made,  it  is  very  certain  that  the  whole  Yankee 
navy,  if  employed  on  that  service  and  nothing  else,  could  not 
furnish  vessels  enougli  to  pass  signals  from  point  to  point  along 
the  coast.  At  the  time  this  paper  blockade  was  declared  and 
acknowledged,  the  Kavy  Register  shows  that  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment had  in  commission  but  forty  vessels  all  told.  These 
were  scattered  over  the  world:    some  of  them  were  in  the 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE    AVAR.  147 

China'  seas,  some  in  the  Pacific,  some  in  the  Mediterranean, 
some  in  our  OAvn  part  of  the  world,  and  some  in  another.  The 
actual  force  employed  in  tlie  blockading  service  did  not  give 
one  vessel  for  every  fifty  miles  of  coast.  lA  addition  to  these 
considerations,  it  had  been  shown  by  unquestionable  evidence, 
furnished  in  part  by  the  officials  of  the  European  powers  them- 
selves, that  the  few  Southern  ports  really  guarded  by  naval 
forces  of  the  Yankees  had  been  invested  so  inefficiently  that 
hundreds  of  entries  had  been  effected  into  them  since  the  dec- 
laration of  the  blockade. 

During  nearl}'  two  years  of  struggle  had  this  boasted  "neu- 
trality" of  the  European  powers  operated  as  active  hostility 
against  us,  for  they  had  helped  the  enemy  to  prevent  us,  with 
a  force  which  was  altogether  inadequate,  from  obtaining  sup- 
plies of  prime  necessity. 

Nor  was  this  all.  "\Ye  had  no  commerce;  but  in  that  the 
enemy  was  rich.  We  had  no  navy;  in  that  he  was  strong. 
Therefore,  w"hen  England  and  her  allies  declared  that  neither 
the  armed  cruisers  4ior  the  prizes  of  cither  of  the  belligerents 
should  have  hospitality  and  protection  in  neutral  ports,  the 
prohibition,  directc<l  against  both  belligerents,  was  in  reality 
effective  against  the  Confederate  States  alone,  for  they  alone 
could  find  a  hostile  commerce  on  the  ocean. 

Thus  it  was  that,  in  the  progress  of  the  w\ar,  the  neutral 
nations  of  Europe  had  pursued  a  policy  which,  nominally  im- 
partial, had  been  practically  most  favourable  to  our  enemies 
and  most  detrimental  to  us. 

The  temper  which  this  injustice  produced  in  the  South  was 
fortunate.  The  South  was  conscious  of.  powers  of  resislnncc 
of  which  the_  world  was  incredulous;  and  the  first  feverish  ex- 
pectations of  recognition  by  the  European  powers  were  re- 
placed- by  a  proud  self-reliance  and  a  calm  confidence,  which 
were  forming  our  national  character,  while  contributing  at  the 
same  time  to  the  immediate  successes  of  our  arms. 

The  recognition  by  France  and  England  of  Lincoln's  paper 
blockade,  had  by  no  njeans  proved  an  unmitigated  evil  to  us. 


148  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  TUB  WAR. 

It  had  forced  us  into  many  branches  of  industry,  into  which, 
but  for  tliat  blockade,  vco  should  have  never  entered.  "We 
had  excellent  powder  mills  of  our  own,  and  fine  armories 
which  turned  out  muskets,  rifles,  sabres,  &c.  [The  war  found 
no  more  than  half  a  dozen  furnaces  in  'blast  in  the  whole  Con- 
federacy, and  most  of  those  had  been  destroyed  by  the  enemy. 
But  the  government  had  given  such  encouragement  to  the  iron 
men  that  new  mines  had  been  opened  in  other  parts  of  the 
Confederac}'',  and  furnaces  enough  were  already  up  or  in  the 
course  of  erection,  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  government. 
In  the  last  spring  wo  had  planted  not  more-than  one-fourth  of 
the  usual  brelidth  of  land  in  cotton,  and  our  surplus  labour 
was  directed  to  breadstuffs  and  provisions.  All  these  were  the 
fruits  to  us  of  a  blockade  which  threatened  England' especially 
with  a  terrible  reaction  of  her  own  injustice,  and  was  laying 
up  a  store  of  retribution  for  Europe. 


''Wli 


f 


K'f 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  149 


CHAPTER  V. 

Movements  in  the  West. ..The  Splendid  rrogramme  of  the  Yankees. ..Ken- 
tucky the  Critical  Point. ..Gen.  Kirby  Smith's  Advance  into  Kentucky. ..The 
Battle  of  Richmond. ..Reception  of  the  Confederates  in  Lexington. ..Expec- 
tation of  an  Attack  on  Cincinnati. ..Gen.  Bragg's  Plans. ..Smith's  Movement 
to  Bragg's  Lines. ..Escape  of  the  Yankee  Forces  from  Cumberland  Gap. ..Af- 
fair of  Munfordsville...Gen.  Bragg  between  the  Enemy  and  the  Ohic.Aa 
Opportunity  for  a  Decisive  Blow...Bueirs  Escape  to  Louisville. ..The  Inaugu- 
ration of  Governor  at  Frankfort... An  Idle  Ceremony. ..Probable  Surprise  of 
Gen.  Bragg. ..Thk  Battle  of  PERRTViLLE...Its  Immediate  Results  in  our 
Favour. ..Bragg's  Failure  to  Concentrate  his  Forces... His  Resolution  of  Re- 
treat...Scenes  of  the  Retreat  from  Kentucky. ..Errours  of  the  Campaign...  A 
Lame  Excuse. ..Public  Sentiment  in  Kentucky — The  Demoralization  of  that 
State. ..The  Lessons  of  Submission.  ^ 

On  the  same  day  that  victory  perched  on  our  banners  on 
the  phiins  of  Manassas,  an  important  success  Avas  achieved  by 
our  brave  troops  in  another  part  of  the  Confederacy.  A  vic- 
tory gained  at  Richmond  in  Kentucky  gave  a  companion  to 
Manassas,  and  opened  in  the  West  a  prospect  of  the  advance 
of  our  troops  simultaneous  with  the  dawn  of  new  hopes  and 
aspirations  in  the  East. 

A  few  paragraphs  are  sufficient  for  the  rapid  summary  of 
events  necessary  to  the  contemphition  of  the  situation  in  the 
West,  in  which  the  battle  of  Richmond  was  won. 

The  North  had  prepared  a  splendid  programme  of  opera- 
tions in  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghany.  Bat  few  persons 
on  the  Southern  seaboard  had  adequate  ideas  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  enemy's  preparations  or  of  the  strength  of  the  forces 
concentrating  on  the  march  in  the  Western  country.  These 
preparations  exceeded  in  magnitude  all  military  movements 
designed  or  attempted  since  the  commencement  of  the  war; 
for  they  contemplated  not  only  the  expulsion  of  our  forces 
from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  and  the  States  west  of  the  Mi:- 


150  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

sissippi,  but  the  penetration  through  the  Gulf  States  of  the  heart 
of  the  South.  The  army,  now  well  on  its  way  inft  Middle  Ten- 
nessee, had  Northern  Alabama  and  Georgia  for  its  ultimate  des- 
tination ;  that  of  Grant  was  already  advanced  into  Mississippi ; 
that  of  McClernand,  organizing  at  Columbus  and  Memphis, 
was  intended  to  operate  on  the  Mississippi;  another  army  was 
already  operating  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas;  and  a  gunboat 
fleet  had  been  phiced  on  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  which 
was  said  to  be  terrible  in  destructivencss  and  impregnable  in 
strength.  Such  was  the  extent  of  the  enemy's  plans  of  cam- 
paign in  the  West. 

The  situation  left  the  South  but  little  choice  than  that  of 
making  an  aggressive  movement  by  which  North  Alabama  and 
Middle  and  East  Tennessee  might  be  cleared  of  the  forces  of 
the  enemy  and  they  compelled  to  fall  back  to  assist  General 
Buell  in  Kentucky — this  State  being  fixed  as  the  critical  point 
in  the  West  and  the  field  of  the  active  campaign.  The'  brief 
retirement  of  Gen.  Beauregard  from  active  command  oil  ac- 
count of  ill  health,  which  was  made  shortly  after  his  evacua- 
tion of  Corinth,  left  the  way  open  to  the  promotion  of  Gen. 
Bragg,  a  favourite  of  the  administration,  who  had  a  certain 
military  reputation,  but  as  an  active  commander  in  the  field 
had  the  confidence  neither  of  the  army  n«r  of  the  public. 
The  first  steps  of  the  campaign  were  easily  decided  by  this 
commander.  It  was  to  use  the  forces  of  Gen.  Kirby  Smith  to 
threaten  Cincinnati,  and  thus  distract  the  attention  and  divide 
the  forces  of  the  enemy;  wliile  Gen.  Bragg  himself,  co-operat- 
ing with  Smitli,  Avas  to  fulfill  the  great  purpose  of  the  cara- 
paigr^  which  was  the  expulsion  of  the  enemy  from  Kentucky 
and  the  capture  of  Louisville,  thus  subjecting  the  whole  of 
that  great  grain-growing  and  meat-producing  commonwealth, 
with  all  its  rich  stores,  to  our  control. 

Early  in  the  month  of  August,  Gen.  McCown,  under  the 
orders  of  Gen.  Smith,  moved  his  division  from  London  to 
Knoxville  in  East  Tennessee.  Thence  our  troops  moved  to 
the  gaps  in  the  Cumberland  mountains,  being  joined  by  Clai- 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  151 

home's  division  at  the  lower  gap,  when  the  whole  force  was 
ordered  through  with  the  trains  and  artillery.  From  this  time 
our  troops  made  forced  marches  until  they  reached  Barbours- 
ville,  which  is  on  the  main  thoroughfare  by  which  the  Yankees 
received  their  supplies  at  the  gap  by  way  of  Lexington.  Halt- 
ing there  long  enougli  only  to  get  water,  our  wearied  army 
was  pushed  on  to  the  Cumberland  Ford.  Here  a  few  days' 
rest  was  allowed  to  the  troops,  who  had  performed  their  hard 
march  over  stony  roads,  with  their  almost  bare  feet,  and  with 
green  corn  garnished  with  a  small  supply  of  poor  beef  for 
their  food. 

THE    BATTLE   OF    RICHMOND. 

On  the  2Dth  of  August  our  troops  were  in  striking  distance 
of  the  enemy  at  Richmond.  Until  our  advance  descended  the 
Big  Hill,  it  met  with  no  opposition  from  the  enemy.  Here, 
on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  enemy  was  discovered  to  be 
in  force  in  our  front,  and  a  bold  reconnoissance  of  the  cavalry 
under  Colonel  Scott,  in  the  afternoon,  indicated  a  determina- 
tion to  give  us  battle.  Although  Churchill's  division  did  not 
get  up  until  quite  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  then  in  an  appa- 
rently exhausted  state.  Gen.  Smitli  determined  to  march  to 
Richmond  the  next  day,  even  at  the  cost  of  a  battle  with  the 
whole  force  of  the  enemy.  The  leading  division,  under  Gen. 
Claiborne,  was  moved  early  the  next  morning,  and,  after  ad- 
vancing two  or  three  miles,  they  found  the  enemy  drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle  in  a  fine  position,  near  Mount  Zion  Oliurch,  six 
miles  from  Richmond.  Without  waiting  for  Churchill's  divi- 
sion, Claiborne  at  once  commenced  the  action,  and  by  half- 
past  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  fire  of  artillery  was 
hvUk  on  both  sides.  As  our  force  was  almost  too  small  to 
storm  the  position  in  front,  without  a  disastrous  loss.  General 
Churchill  was  sent  with  one  of  his  brigades  to  turn  the  enemy's 
right.  While  this  movement  was  being  executed,  a  bold  and 
well-conducted  attempt,  on  the  part  of  the   enemy,  to  turn 


)iJCm. 


152  THE  SECOND  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

Claiborne's  right,  was  admirably  foiled  by  the  firmness  of  Col. 
Preston  Smith's  brigade,  who  repulsed  the  enemy  >Yith  great 
slaughter.  In  the  meantime  Gen.  Churchill  had  been  com- 
pletely successful  in  his  movement  upon  ^the  enemy's  right 
flank,  where,  by  a  bold  charge,  his  men  completed  a  victory 
already  partially  gained  by  the  gallantry  of  our  troops  on  the 
left. 

The  Yankees  having  been  repulsed  and  driven  in  confusion 
from  this  part  of  the  field,  might  have  retreated  without  risk- 
ing another  passage  at  arms,  had  they  not  misapprehended  our 
movements. 

Gen.  Smith  having  ordered  the  cavalry  to  go  around  to  the 
north  of  Richmond  and  attempt  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the 
enemy,  our  artillery  ceased  firing,  and  the  enemy,  thinking 
our  army  was  preparing  for  a  retreat,  had  the  foolhardiness  to 
rally  on  their  own  retreat  and  attempt  a  charge  upon  the 
Texas  and  Arkansas  troops  under  McCray,  who,  to  the  great 
astonishment  of  the  enemy,  instead  of  running  away,*  met 
them  on  the  half-way  ground.  This  gallant  brigade  of  Texans 
and  Arkansians  had  to  fight  the  battle  alone.  Although  tho 
odds  opposed  to  them  were  fearful,  yet,  by  reserving  their  own 
fire,  under  the  deafening  roar  of  the  enemy's  guns,  and  hj  a 
well-timed  and  dashing  charge  upon  the  advancing  lines,  they 
completely  routed  and  put  to  fligjit  the  hosts  of  the  enemy. 
They  fled  in  iiie  wildest  confusion  and  disorder.  Their  knap- 
sacks, swords,  pistols,  hats  and  canteens,  scattered  along  the 
road,  would  have  marked  the  route  they  travelled,  even  if 
their  dead  and  dying  had  not  too  plainly  showed  the  way. 

In  passing  a  deserted  camp  of  the  enemy.  Gen.  Smith  found 
from  some  of  the  wounded  that  Gen.  Nelson,  the  Yankee  com- 
mander, with  reinforcements,  had  arrived  after  the  second- 
battle.  A  march  of  two  miles  brouglit  us  within  sight  of  the 
town,  in  front  of  which,  and  on  a  commanding  ridge,  with  both 
flanks  resting  upon  woods,  Nelson  had  determined  to  make  a 
final  stand.  Churchill,  with  a  brigade,  was  sent  off  to  the  left, 
when  a  deafening  roar  of  musketry  soon  announced  the  raging 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  153 

of  a  furious  combat.  In  the  meanwhile,  Preston  Smith,  bring- 
ing up  his  division  at  a  double-quick,  formed  in  front  of  the 
enemy's  centre  and  left.  Almost  without  waiting  the  com- 
mand of  the  officers,  this  division  coolly  advanced  under  the 
murderous  fire  of  a  force  t^Yice  their  number,  and  drove  them 
from  the  field  in  the  greatest  confusion,  and  ■with  immense 
slaughter.  The  exhausted  condition  of  our  men,  together  with 
the  closing  in  of  night,  prevented  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy 
more  than  a  mile  bcj'ond  Richmond. 

The  results  of  the  day  were  gratifying  enough.  "With  less 
than  half  his  force,  Gen.  Smith  had  attacked  and  carried  a 
very  strong  position  at  Mount  Zion  Church,  after  a  hard  fight 
of  two  hours.  Again,  a  still  better  position  at  "White's  farm, 
in  half  an  hour;  and  finally,  in  the  town  of  Richmond,  just 
before  sunset,  our  indomitable  troops  deliberately  walked  (they 
were  too  tired  to  run)  up  to  a  magnificent  position,  manned  by 
ten  thousand  of  the  enemy,  many  of  them  perfectly  fresh,  and 
canned  it  in  fifteen  minutes.  In  the  last  engagement,  we  took 
prisoners  from  thirteen  regiments.  Our  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  was  about  four  hundred;  that  of  the  enemy  was 
about  one  thousand,  and  his  prisoners  five  thousand.  The  im- 
mediate fruits  of  the  victory  were  nine  pieces  of  artillery  and 
ten  thousand  small  arms,  and  a  large  quantity  of  supplies. 
These  latter  were  greatly  increased  by  the  capture  of  Rich- 
mond and  Frankforl;,  the  whole  number  of  cannon  taken  being 
about  twenty. 

On  the  first  day  of  September  Gen.  Smith  took  up  the  line 
of  March  for  Lexington;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth 
day  of  that  month,  our  forces,  consisting  of  a  Texas  brigade 
and  an  Arkansas,  brigade  under  the  command  of  General 
Cimrchill,  and  General  Claibjrnc's.  division  and  Gen.  Heath's 
division,  all  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Kirby  Smith,  marched 
through  the  city  amidst  the  hearty  and  generous  welcome  of 
thousands  ol  men,  women  and  children. 

The  entrance  of  our  troops  into  Lexington  was  the  occasion 
of  the  most  inspiriting  and  touching  scenes.     Streets,  windows 


4 


154  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

and  gardens  were  filled  with  ladies  and  little  girls  with  stream- 
ers of  red  and  blue  ribbons  and  flags  with  stars.  Beautiful 
women  seized  the  hard  brown  hands  of  our  rough  and  ragged 
soldiers,  and  with  tears  and  smiles  thanked  thcra  again  and 
again  for  coming  into  Kentucky  and  freeing  them  from  the 
presence  and  insults  of  the  hated  and  insolent  Yankees.  For 
hours  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  was  unbounded.  At  every 
corner  of  the  streets,  baskets  of  provisions  and  buckets  of 
water  were  placed  for  the  refreshment  of  our  weary  soldiers, 
and  hundreds  of  our  men  were  presented  with  shoes  and  hats 
and  coats  and  tobacco  from  the  grateful  people.  Private  resi- 
dences were  turned  for  the  time  into  public  houses  of  enter- 
tainment, free  to  all  who  could  bo  persuaded  to  go  and  eat. 
But  if  the  reception  of  the  infantry  was  cnthssiastic,  the 
tears,  the  smiles,  and  .shouts  and  cheers  of  wild  delight  which 
greeted  General  John  Morgan's  cavalry  as  they  came  dashing 
through  the  streets  amidst  clouds  of  dust,  was  without  a  par- 
allel. The  wildest  joy  ruled  the  hours.  The  bells  of  the»city 
pealed  forth  their  joyous  welcome,  whilst  the  waving  of  thou- 
sands of  white  handkerchiefs  and  tiny  Confederate  flags  at- 
tested the  gladness  and  delight  of  every  heart. 

It  would  have  been  well  if  the  enthusiasm  which  welcomed 
Gen.  Smith  in  this  town  could  have  been  confirmed  as  a  true 
token  of  the  public  sentimcut  of  Kentucky.  But  while  this 
sentiment  was  developing  itself,  the  exultation  wljich  greeted 
'  our  troops  at  Lexington  was  reflected  in  other  ^rts  of  the 
Confederacy:  and  from  the  results  already  achieved  in  the 
Western  campaign,  the  Southern  public  was  raised  to  the  pin- 
nacle of  hopeful  expectation.  When  it  was  known  at  the  scat 
of  government  in  Virginia  that  Gen.  Smith,  after  crushing  the 
force  opposed  to  him  at  Richmond,  had  gone  on  and  captured 
Lexington,  Paris  and  Cynthiana,  and  established  his  lines  al- 
most in  sight  of  Cincinnati,  the  public  indulged  the  prospect 
of  the  speedy  capture  of  this  great  city  of  the  West,  with  its 
valuable  stores  and  yards  for  building  gunboats.  What  might 
have  been  the  result  of  a  sudden  attack  on  this  city  (for  one 


^ 


.« 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  155 

of  our  brigades  was  in  striking  distance  of  it)  is  left  to  con- 
jecture. The  order  was  to  menace,  not  to  attack;  and  the 
purposes  of  the  campaign  projected  by  Gen.  Bragg  required 
that  Smith's  command,  after  making  its  demonstration  on  the 
Ohio,  should  fall  back  into  the  interiour  to  co-operate  with  the 
splendid  army  he  had  already  brought  into  Kentucky. 

Gen.  Bragg  had  entered  the  State  by  the  eastern  route  from 
Knoxvillc  and  Chattanooga.  The  direct  route  by  the  way  of 
Nashville  would  have  brought  hitn  on  Bucll's  front;  but  he 
chose*  to  make  the  crossing  of  the  Cumberland  river  several 
miles  above  Nashville,  apparently  with  the  design  of  making 
a  flank  movement  on  Buell.  The  immediate  effect  of  this 
movement  was  to  cause  the  Yankees  to  evacuate  East  Tennes- 
see, and  to  Relieve  North  Alabama  from  Federal  occupation ; 
but  the  enemy,  learning  that  Cincinnati  was  not  in  immediate 
danger,  had  abundant  time  to  remove  the  forces  collected  for 
the  defence  of  that  city,  to  be  united  with  Buell's  army  in 
Kentucky. 

The  sudden  disappearance  of  Smith  from  in  front  of  Cincin- 
nati, and  the  rapidity  of  his  movement,  intimated  clearly 
enough  that  he  was  making  a  forced  march  to  reach  Bragg 
and  strengthen  him  before  a  decisive  trial  of  his  strength  with 
Buell.  But  the  movement  deprived  us  of  a  victory  that  might 
have  been  cheaply  won  ;  for  it  gave  opportunity  of  escape  to 
the  Yankee  Gen.  Morgan,  who  had  been  completely  hemmed 
in  at  Curapel'land  Gap,  with  an  army  of  ten  or  twelve  thou- 
sand men  and  abundance  of  arms  and  equipments. 

The  distance  to  the  Ohio  River  is  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  and  includes  the  most  mountainous  portions  of  Ken- 
tucky. There  arc  scarcely  fifty  miles  of  the  entire  route  in 
whioJi  there  are  not  defiles  and  passes  where  a  small  force 
could  have  kept  the  enemy  at  bay.  The  famous  cavalry  com- 
mander, John  II.  Morgan,  had  been  sent  with  a  portion  of  his 
command  to  harrass  the  retreating  enemy  ;  and  this  intrepid 
officer,  with  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  arrested  the  Yankee 
army  for  five  days,  and  might  have  captured   them  .with  the 


•* 


«' 


4 


-%^ 


156  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR. 

half  of  Marshall's  infantry,  uho  were  -within  little  more  than 
a  (hiy's  march.  But  reinforcements  were  not  sent  forward, 
and  no  alternative  Avas  left  to  Morgan  but — after  inflicting 
Buch  damage  as  he  could  upon  the  enemy — to  rejoin  Smith's 
march,  Avhich  had  now  taken  the  direction  of  Frankfort. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  Gen.  Bragg  captured  about  five 
thousand  of  the  enemy  at  Munfordsville,  with  the  inconsider- 
able loss  on  our  side  of  about  fifty  men  in  killed  and  wounded. 
lie  had  thrown  his  lines  between  Buell's  force  at  Bowling 
Green  and  Louisville,  and  it  was  confidently  expected  tlfat  he 
would  engage  him,  drive  him  across  the  Ohio  or  the  Missis- 
sippi, or  at  least  disconcert  his  hopes  of  preparations  and 
increase  of  forces  at  Louisville.  Buell's  entire  force  at  tliis 
time  was  not  computed  at  over  thirty  five  thousan'd,  for  Avhich 
our  army,  in  the  best  possible,  spirits  and  confidence,  was  an 
overmatch. 

It  is  probable  that  at  this  juncture  the  struggle  in  Kentucky 
might  have  been  decided  by  a  fight  on  a  fair  field  with  an  army 
our  inferiour  in  all  respects.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  subse- 
quent events,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  what  good  object 
Gen.  Bragg  could  have  had  in  declining  a  contest  with  the 
enemy  but  a  few  miles  distant.  It  is  still  more  inexplicable 
that  after  the  success  of  Munfordsville  he  should  have  stood 
idly  by  and  suffered  IjucII  and  his  wagon  trains  to  pass 
between  him  and  the  Ohio  River,  almost  in  sight,of  his  lines. 
lie  had  passed  Buell  to  enter  Kentucky,  and  fflHng  accom- 
plished it,  his  reasons  for  allowing  his  enemy  t^^cpass  him 
and  enter  Louisville  are  inadmissible  to  any  justification  that 
can  be  oflcred  by  practical  good  sense.  AVhatever  explanations 
have  been  made  of  them,  it  is  certain  that  at  this  time  tho 
public  has  not  abandoned  its  opinion,  that  General  Brivgg's 
failure  to  deliver  battle  at  the  important  conjuncture  which 
placed  him  between  the  enemy  and  the  Ohio,  was  the  fatal 
errour  of  the  Kentucky  campaign. 

On  the  4th  of  October,  Gen.  Bragg  joined  Smith's  army  at 
Frankfort,  where  was  conducted  the  inauguration  of  the  Pro- 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.  157 

visional  Governor  of  Kentucky,  Mr.  Hawes.  This  ceremony, 
however,  was  scarcely  anything  more  than  a  pretentious  farce. 
Scarcely  was  it  completed,  when  the  Yankees  threatened  the 
State  capital,  and  the  newly-installed  Governor  had  to  flee 
from  their  approach.  The  delusion,  that  Buell's  army  was 
quietly  resting  in  Louisville,  was  dispelled  by  the  news  received 
at  Frankfort  on  tlie  inauguration  day,  to  the  eftect  that  the 
Yankees  were  in  large  force  within  twelve  miles  of  the  place. 
But  tlie  apparent  movement  on  Frankfort  was  a  mere  feint, 
while-the  enemy  was  concentrating  to  force  our  left  wing  near 
Perryville. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    PERRYVILLE. 

Having  arrived  at  Ilarrodsburg  from  Frankfort,  Gen.  Bragg, 
finding  the  enemy  pressing  heavily  in  his  rear  near  Perryville, 
determined  to  give  him  battle  there,  and  ordered  Gen.  Polk  to 
make  the  attack  next  day.  But  he  had  made  an  unfortunate 
disposition  of  his  forces,  for  on  the  day  before  the  division  of 
Withers  had  been  sent  to  Salvisa  to  reinforce  General  Kirby 
Smith  and  cut  off  Sill's  division.  Hardee's  and  Buckner's 
divisions  were  marched  to  Perryville,  leaving  Gen.  Cheatham's 
at  Harrodsburg,  which,  however,  came  up  to  Perryville  on  the 
night  of  the  7th  of  October,  before  the  engagement.  Withers' 
failed  to  intercept  Gen.  Sill's  division,  but  captured  the  rear- 
guard, co^|ting  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  an 
ammuniti^^Bain  ;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  General 
Withers'  aWrGen.  Kirby  Smith's  forces  reached  Harrodsburg, 
having  been  too  late  to  participate  in  the  decisive  events  of 
the  preceding  day. 

Tlie  morning  of  the  8th  October  found  not  more  than  fifteen 
thousand  Confederate  troops  confronting  aA  enemy  three  times 
their 'numbers.  The  forces  opposed  to  us  at  Perryville  con- 
sisted of  the  right  wing  of  the  "Army  of  the  Ohio,"  composed 
of  Buell's  vetctan  army,  with  Major-Gcneral  Geo.  W.  Thomas 
as  Commander-in-Chief  of  .the  field,  and  Gen.  Alex.  McCook 
commanding  the  first  corps.     We  fought  nine  divisions  of  the 


158  THE   SECOND   TEAR   OF    THE   WAR. 

a 

Abolition  army,  composed  at  least  of  five  thousand  each, 
making  forty  five  thousand  men. 

Gen.  Buckncr's  division,  which  was  posted  on  our  extreme 
right,  -with  Anderson's  division,  formed  the  left  wing  of  the 
army  of  the  Mississippi,  under  Major-General  Hardee.  Cheat- 
ham's and  AVithers'  divisions  formed*  the  right  wing,  under 
Major-Gen.  Polk.     Thus  we  had  but  three  divisions  in  the  field. 

The  action  opened  a  little  past  noon.  It  was  only  skir- 
mishing for  a  considerable  time,  Colonel  Powell's  brigade  hold- 
ing the  extreme  left  of  our  lines,  and  gallantly  driving  the 
enemy  back  for  about  a  mile  against  superior  forces.  It  was 
about  this  time,  towards  4  P.  M.,  when  General  Smith's  bri- 
gade, belonging  to  Cheatham's  division,  was  ordered  back  to 
our  assistance,  that  General  Adams,  with  his  brave  Louisian- 
ians,  was  holding  the  enemy  in  check  against  fearful  odds, 
when  he  was  forced  to  fall  back  from  his  position.  General 
Hardee,  seeing  the  importance  of  holding  the  point,  ordered 
General  Adams  to  retake  it,  telling  him  he  would  be  supported 
by  reinforcements.  It  was  while  advancing  again,  and  anx- 
iously looking  for  the  reinforcements,  that  General  Adams, 
seeing  some  soldiers  firing  at  what  he  supposed  to  be  out  own 
men,  ordered  them  to  cease  firing.  "  I  tell  you,  sir,  they  are 
Yankees,"  cried  one  of  the  officers.  "I  think  not,  and  you 
had  better  go  forward  first  and  ascertain,"  replied  Adams. 
"I'll  go,  sir,  but  I  don't  think  it  necessary,  for  I. know  they 
are  Yankees,"  insisted  the  officer.  "Well,"  aaW  Adams, 
"I'll  go  myself,"  and  dashing  forward  on  his  charger,  he 
had  not  proceeded  one  hundred  yards  when  a  furious  storm  of 
Minic  balls  whizzed  by  his  ears  from  the  enemy.  The  Gene- 
ral turned  immediately,  and  riding  up,  shouted  to  our  troops 
to  pour  in  their  fire.  Towards  six  o'clock  the  firing  became 
incessant  on  both  sides.  There  stood  Adams,  with  his  little 
brigade,  holding  back  a  division  of  the  enemy,  left,  as  it 
were,  alone  to  his  fate,  until,  seeing  no  chance  of  being  rein- 
forced, he  gradually  fell  back,  in  most  excellent  order,  but  not 
without  considerable  loss. 


THE    SECOND   TEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  159 

Towards  night  the  engagement  subsided.  Fearfully  out- 
numbered, our  troops  had  not  hesitated  to  engage  at  any  odds, 
and  despite  the  checks  they  had  encountered  at  times,  the 
enemy  was  driven  two  miles  from  his  first  line  of  battle.  As 
darkness  fell  the  conflict  was  over.  A  ftw  shots  from  long 
range  guns  were  exchanged.  The  full  round  moon  rose  in  the 
east  and  lighted  the  dismal  scene.  In  half  an  hour  the  picket 
fires  of  the  opposing  armies  were  visible  five  hundred  yards 
distant,  and  our  wearied  men  laid  down  on  their  arms. 

The  immediate  results  of  the  battle  of  Perryville  were  in  * 
our  favour.  We  had  captured  fifteen  pieces  of  artillery  by  the 
most  daring  charges,  had  inflicted  the  loss  of  four  thousand 
men  on  the  enemy,  and  held  several  hundred  of  his  prisoners. 
Our  own  loss  was  estimated  at  twenty-five  hundred,  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing.  The  enemy  had  lost  one  of  their  best 
generals  on  the  field — Jackson.  Seeing  his  men  wavering,  he 
had  advanced  to  t^he  front  line,  and,  waving  his  sword,  cheered 
and  urged  them  on.  While  thus  displaying  an  extraordinary 
courage  he  was  struck  in  the  right  breast  by  a  piece  of  an 
exploded  shell,  and  fell  from  his  horse.  It  is  said  by  those 
near  him  that  he  said  only,  "  Oh  God  ! "  and  died  without  a 
struggle. 

But  the  success  of  Perryville  Avas  of  no  importance  to  us ; 
it  was  merely  a  favourable  incident  and  decided  nothing.  It 
is  probable  General  Bragg  had  it  in  his  power  here,  by  con- 
centxatinghis  troops,  to  crush  the  enemy's  force  in  Kentucky; 
but  he  allowed  himself  to  be  deceived  as  to  the  disposition  of 
the  enemy's  forces,  scattered  his  own,  and  engaged  and  de- 
feated the  head  of  the  Yankee  column  with  less  than  fifteen 
thousand  men.*     Had  he  fallen  with  his  whole  a\*ailable  force, 


*  It  is  proper  to  state,  that  an  apology  for  General  Bragg,  in  this  matter, 
•was  offered  in  the  public  prints,  to  the  effect  that  before  the  battle  of  Perry- 
ville General  Kirby  Smith  had  commuuicated  to  General  Bragg  his  positive 
belief  that  the  real  attack  was  threatened  upon  him,  whilst  ihe  feint  was 
upon  Perryville,  and  urged  reinforcements;  and  that  this  was  the  reason 
why  General  Withers'  division  was  sent  to  General  Kirby  Smith  and  was  not 
sent  to  Generals  Polk  and  Hardee. 


16,0  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAB. 

forty  thousand  men,  on  the  enemy  at  PerryviHe,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  he  might  have  dispersed  the  Yankee  army  and 
given  it  such  a  blow  that  it  Avould  not  have  made  a  stand  this 
side  the  Ohio  river. 

Unfortunately  tbe  battle  of  Perryville  was  another  experi- 
ence of  Shiloh,  without  any  decisive  results.  Had  we  have 
-^  had  five  thousand  more  men,  or  had  ^Vithers  been  there,  we 
might  have  completely  routed  the  enemy,  leaving  us  the  way 
clear  to  Louisville.  No  troops  in  the  world  ever  fought  with 
•  more  desperate  courage  than  ours.  Whole  regiments  of  our 
men  went  into  that  fight  barefooted,  fought  barefooted,  and 
had  marched  barefooted  from  Chattanooga.  The  brunt  of  the 
battle  was  borne  by  General  Cheatham's  gallant  Tenncsseeans. 
No  soldiers  of  .the  Confederacy  ever  fought  with  greater 
bravery. 

Ascertaining  that  the  enemy  was  heavily  reinforced  during 
the  night.  General  Bragg  withdrew  his  force  early  the  next 
morning  to  Harrodsburg,  where  he  was  joined  by  Smith  and 
Withers.  On  the  10th,  all  our  forces  fell  back  to  "Camp 
Breckinridge  (Dick  Robinson),  the  cavalry  holding  the  enemy 
in  check  at  Danville.  It  was  supposed  that  General  Bragg 
would  have  made  a  stand  here,  as  the  place  was  very  defen- 
sible and  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  sweeping  the  country 
and  driving  off  by  private  enterprise  or  cavalry  force  vast 
herds  of  cattle,  so  much  needed  by  our  army.  The  camp  is 
in  an  acute  angle  formed  by  the  junction  of  Kentucky  and 
Dick's  rivers,  with  high  and  impassable  and  perpendicular 
cliffs  for  long  distances  up  these  rivers,  except  at  a  few  cross- 
ings ;  and  the  upper  line  of  the  angle  has  high  and  command- 
ing hills,  suited  for  artillery  defences.  It  was  said  that  it  was 
impregnable  to  any  other  attack  than  that  of  famine. 

But  moved  by  various  considerations,  and  excited  by  the  su- 
periority of  Buell's  numbers,  it  was  determined  by  General 
Bragg  that  the  whole  army  should  make  its  exodus  from  Ken- 
tucky ;  and  in  order  to  secure  the  immense  quantity  of  cap- 
tured stores,   goods,   clothing,  &c.,  much  of  which  had   also 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  161 

been  purchased,  with  some  five  thousand  head  of  cattle,  horses, 
mules,  &c.,  that  the  retreat  should  commence  on  the  night  of 
the  12th,  On  that  day,  Sunday,  orders  were  received  to  cook 
four  days'  rations  for  the  march.  Major-General  McCown, 
with  General  Ililliard's  Legion,  and  a  cavalry  force  and  artil- 
lery, was  ordered  to  defend  Fishing  Ford,  across  Dick',8  river, 
and  commanding  the  road  to  Camp  Breckinridge,  in  our  rear, 
to  the  last  extremity. 

The  distress  of  those  people  of  Kentucky  who  were  friendly 
to  the  South,  on  learning  that  they  were  to  be  abandoned  by 
our  troops,  was  the  most  affecting  circumstance  of  the  sad  re- 
treat. When  our  troops  abandoned  Lexington,  the  terrour, 
dismay  and  anguish  of  the  inhabitants  were  extreme.  The 
women  ran  through  the  streets  crying  and  wringing  their 
hands,  while  families  hastily  gathered  their  clothing,  packed 
their  trunks,  and  obtained  wagons  to  depart,  the  greatest  dis- 
tress prevailing. 

The  retreat  commenced  on  Sunday  night,  the  12th  October, 
Major  Adrain's  cavalry  conducting  the  advance  train  of  Gen. 
Kirby  Smith.  That  night  piles  of  goods,  clothes,  &c.,  were 
burned  that  could  not  be  carried  off  from  the  warehouse. 
Long  before  day  on  the  morning  of  the  I3th,  the  whole  camp 
was  astir.  If  any  one  doubted  that  we  were  actually  retreat- 
ing, the  burning  piles  of  abandoned  stores,  gun-carriages,  &c., 
were  sufficient  to  convince  him  of  the  deplorable  fact. 

At  gray  dawn  the  troops  reached  Bryantsville,  about  two 
miles  from  the  camp,  where  the  whole  command  of  conducting 
the  retreat  was  turned  over  to  Gen.  Polk.  Already  train  after 
train  of  wagons  had  passed,  and  others  were  still  forming  and 
joining  in  the  immense  cavalcade.  Ammunition  trains  and 
batteries  of  captured  artillery  had  preceded.  Then  followed 
trains  of  goods,  wares  and  merchandise,  provision  trains  of 
army  stores,  trains  of  captured  muskets,  escorts  of  cavalry, 
artillery  drawn  by  oxen.  Then  came  private  trains  of  refugee 
families,  flying  with  their  negroes  for  safety — ladies  and  chil- 
dren in  carriaoes,  stage  coaches,  express  Magons,  omnibuses^ 
11 


162  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  TUE  WAR. 

bnggies,  ambulances,  jersey  wagons,  and  every  conceivaLlc 
vehicle  imaginable,  and  following,  came  the  wagons  of  the  dif- 
ferent brigades  of  General  Smith's  army,  with  infantry,  cav- 
alry and  artillery  in  the  rear.  Intermixed  with  the  throng 
■were  thousands  of  head  of  cattle,  horses  and  mules. 

The  effect  of  our  retreat  along  the  road  everywhere  was 
sinking  and  depressing  in  the  extreme.  No  miniature  banners 
waved,  no  white  'kerchiefs  greeted  our  troops  with  approving 
smiles  from  lovely  women,  and  no  wild  cheer  was  heard  re- 
sponsive to  .the  greetings  which  had  attended  their  march  to' 
Kentucky.  Trembling  women  stole  to  the  doors  to  look  upon 
the  strange,  mystified  scene  before  them,  and  as  the  truth 
gradually  forced  itself  upon  them,  their  eyes  filled  with  tears, 
and  they  shrank  back,  fearing  even  to  make  the  slightest  de- 
monstration of  friendliness — all  was  sullen,  downcast  and 
gloomy. 

The  enemy  was  in  pursuit,  and  making  a  strong  eifort  to 
flank  us,  so  as  to  cut  off  our  trains,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
urge  on  the  teams  night  and  day  for  fear  of  capture.  For 
some  portion  of  the  way  the  road  lay  along  the  bed  of  Dick's 
river,  a  miserable  rocky  branch,  which  our  troops  had  to  cross 
and  recross  for  six  miles  in  a  dark  and  hazy  night.  Scenes  of 
terrible  confusion  and  delay  occurred  along  this  road.  Wag- 
ons broke  down,  were  overturned,  and  frequently  stalled,  and 
in  the  former  case  were  often  abandoned.  The  bawling  of  the 
teamsters  to  their  mules,  the  cracking  of  their  whips,  and  vol- 
leys of  oaths  in  the  most  outlandish  gibberish,  which  none  but 
the  mules  could  understand,  were  kept  up  all  night.  In  the 
day  time  more  cheerful  scenes  relieved  the  retreat.  The  foli- 
age of  the  forest  trees  and  brushwood  enlivened  the  wayside 
•with  their  rich  hues  of  dark  maroon  splendor  to  brilliant 
crimson. 

The  retreat  was  admirably  covered  by  Gen.  Wheeler.  From 
the  battle-field  at  Perryville  to  Cumberland  Gap  this  General 
conducted  his  movements  in  the  same  masterly  manner  that 
had  characterized  him  in  the  previous  part  of  the  campaign. 


THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  163 

He  retarded  the  enemy  by  various  means.  When  he  reached 
the  hilly  country  he  obstructed  the  road  by  felled  trees.  By 
all  such  ingenious  devices,  he,  with  a  small  force,  enabled  the 
baggage  trains  and  straggling  infantry  to  escape  capture. 
From  Altamont  to  Cumberland  Gap  he  encountered  the  enemy 
twenty-nine  times,  seriously  damaged  him,  and  saved  much  of 
our  infantry  from  capture.  At  Rock  Castle  the  enemy  aban- 
doned the  pursuit ;  our  Avhole  train  of  stores  being  up,  and 
not  even  a  wagon  lost,  except  those  abandoned  on  account  of 
breaking  doAvn. 

We  must  leave  here  an  account  of  the  movements  of  Gen. 
Bra 2:2;  until  the  time  shall  come  for  us  to  see  how  his  retreat 
from  Kentucky  through  Cumberland  Gap  transferred  the  most 
important  scenes  of  the  war  in  the  West  to  the  memorable 
lines  of  Nashville.  Deplorable  as  was  this  retreat,  it  was  not 
without  some  circumstances  that  palliated-  it,  or  relieved  the 
grief  of  the  public  mind.  It  is  certain  that  it  was  a  disap- 
pointment to  the  enemy,  who  had  expected  to  crush  our  forces 
in-  Kentucky,  and  were  not  prepared  for  the  news  of  their  libe- 
ration from  the  toils  which  they  flattered  themselves  had  been 
BO  industriously  and  elaborately  woven  around  them. 

It  is  probable,  too,  that  under  the  circumstances,  after  our 
own  army  had  blundered  so  badly  in  the  first  steps  of  the  cam- 
paign, its  retreat  from  Kentucky,  without  thd  burden  of  defeat 
and  without  material  losses,  was  preferable  to  alternatives 
which  otherwise  would  have  probably  befallen  it.  It  had  en- 
tered into  Gen.  Beauregard's  plan  of  campaign  in  the  West, 
before  he^  had  been  superseded,  to  regain  the  control  of  the 
Tennessee  and  Cumberland  rivers,  and  thus  prepare  for  future 
operations.  The  construction  of  works  on  the  Cumberland 
and  Tennessee  rivers  so  as  to  command  them,  was  plainly  an 
important  concern;  and,  according  to  General  Beauregard's 
idea,  should  have  been  preliminary  to  the  active  campaign  in 
the  West.  With  these  works,  it  appears  probable  that  an  ad- 
vance might  have  been  made  with  safety  into  Kentucky;  and 
even  had  we  failed  in  the  taking  of  Louisville  and  Cincinnati, 


164  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

•which  was  a  part  of  Gen.  Beauregard's  plan,  and  hcen  com- 
pelled to  fall  back,  it  is  thought  not  improbable  that  we  could 
have  made  a  successful  stand  on  the  Cumberland.  But  Gen. 
Bragg  had  failed  to  adopt  these  suggestions.  Had  he  suc- 
ceeded, after  our  victory  at  Perryville,  in  driving  the  enemy 
back  to  Louisville,  unless  he  had  been  able  to  take  that  place, 
he  would  have  been  compelled  to  retreat  so  soon  as  the  Ten- 
nessee and  Cumberland  rivers  should  have  risen  sufficiently  to 
have  admitted  the  entrance  of  the  enemy's  gunboats  and  trans- 
ports. Taking  this  view,  it  may  be  said  that  as  we  did  not 
have  command  of  these  rivers,  it  was  fortunate  that  our  army 
left  Kentucky  when  it  did,  otherwise  it  might  have  found  great 
difficulty  after  the  winter  rains  commenced  in  getting  away 
at  all. 

For  the  failure  of  Gen.  Bragg's  campaign  in  Kentucky,  the 
excuse  was  offered  that  the  people  of  that  State  had  been  un- 
friendly, that  they  had  not  joined  his  standard  in  considerable 
numbers,  and  that  they  had  disappointed  his  own  and  the  com- 
mon expectation  of  the  Southern  public  with  respect  to  their 
political  sentiments.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  how 
little  applicable  such  an  excuse  is  to  positive  blunders  in  the 
conduct  of  an  army,  and  to  those  imperfections  of  judgment 
and  faults  of  strategy  which,  whatever  may  be  their  remote 
connection,  are  the  immediate  occasions  and  responsible  causes 
of  disaster. 

But  it  is  to  be  admitted  that  the  South  was  bitterly  disap- 
. pointed  in  the  manifestations  of  public  sentiment  in  Kentucky  ; 
that  the  exhibitions  of  sympathy'  in  this  State  were  meagre  and 
sentimental,  and  amounted  to  but  little  practical  aid  of  our 
cause.  Indeed,  no  subject  was  at  once  more  dispiriting  and 
perplexing  to  the  South  than  the  cautious  and  unmanly  recep- 
tion given  to  our  armies,  both  in  Kentucky  and  Maryland. 
The  references  we  have  made  to  the  sentiment  of  each  of  these 
States,  leaves  but  little  room  to  doubt  the  general  conclusion, 
that  the  dread  of  Yankee  vengeance,  and  love  of  property, 
were  too  powerful  to  make  them  take  risks  against  these  in 


THE    SECOND    TEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  165 

favour  of  a  cause  for  which  their  people  had  a  mere  preference, 
without  any  attachments  to  it  higher  than  those  of  selfish 
calculation. 

There  must,  indeed,  be  some  explanation  for  the  extraordi- 
nary quiet  of  the  people  of  Maryland  and  Kentucky  under  the 
tyranny  that  ruled  them,  and  for  that  submission,  the  painful 
signs  of  which  we  had  unwillingly  seen.  This  explanation  was 
not  to  be  found  in  the  conduct  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a 
-remarkable  fact  that  the  Lincoln  government  had  not  taken 
any  pains  to  change  the  opinions  and  prejudices  of  the  people 
in  these  two  States.  It  had  made  no  attempt  to  conciliate 
them  ;  it  had  performed  no  act  calculated  to  awaken  their 
affection ;  it  had  done  nothing  to  convert  their  hearts  to  the 
support  of  an  administration  to  which  they  were  originally 
hostile.  ^ 

It  would  be  a  foolish  and  brutal  explanation  to  attribute  the 
submission  of  these  States  to  cowardice.  The  people  of  these 
States  were  brave  ;  they  were  descended  from  noble  ancestries, 
and  they  had  the  same  blood  and  types  of  race  that  were  com- 
mon to  the  South.  The  sons  of  Kentucky  and  Maryland  who 
had  fought  under  the  Confederate  flag  were  as  noble  specimens 
of  the  Southern  soldier  as  any  to  be  found  in  our  armies.  Eut 
the  people  of  these  States,  who  had  stayed  at  home  and  been 
schooled  in  the  lessons  of  submission,  appeared  to  have  lost 
the  spirit  and  stature  of  their  ancestors,  and  dragged  the 
names  of  Maryland  and  Kentucky  in  the  dust. 

The  only  just  explanation  that  can  be  furnished  of  the  abject 
attitude  of  these  States  is,  that  having  taken  the  first  steps  of 
submission  to  a  pitiless  despotism,  they  had  been  easily  cor- 
rupted into  its  subjects.  The  lessons  of  history  furnish*  many 
exhibitions  of  how  easily  the  spirit  of  a  community  is  crushed 
by  submission  to  tyranny ;  how  the  practice  of  non-resistance 
makes  of  men  crawling  creatures.  The  mistake  is  in  making 
the  first  step  of  submission ;  when  that  is  accomplished, 
demoralization  becomes  rapid,  and  the  bravest  community 
sinks  into  emasculation.     Under  the  experience  of  non-resist- 


166  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

ance  to  the  rule  of  a  despot,  men  become  timid,  artful  and 
miserly ;  they  spend  their  lives  in  consulting  the  little  ends  of 
personal  selfishness.  This  corruption  in  Kentucky,  as  well  a| 
in  Maryland,  had  gone  on  with  visible  steps.  Their  history- 
was  a  lesson  which  the  South  might  well  remember,  of  the 
fatal  consequences  of  any  submission  to  despotic  will,  for  how- 
ever specious  its  plea,  all  records  of  man's  experience  have 
ahown  that  it  undermines  the  virtues  of  a  people,  and  degene- 
ra.tes  at  last  into  servile  acquiescence  in  its  fate. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   Y»'AB.  167 


•  CHAriER  VI. 

Our  Lines  in  the  Southwest. ..General  Breckenrldge's  Attack  on  Batoa 
Rouge... Destruction  of  the  Ram  Arkansas. ..Gen.  Price's  Reverse  at  luka... 
Desperate  Fighting. ..The  Batti.k  of  CoRZNTii...Van  Doru's  Hasty  E.iulta- 
tions...The  Massncic  of  College  Hill. ..Wild  and  Terrible  Courage  of  the  Con- 
federates...Our  Forces  Beaten  Back. ..Our  Lines  of  Retreat  Secured. ..The 
Military  Prospects  of  the  South  Overshadowed. ..The  Department  of  thk 
Trans  Mississirri... Romance  of  the  War  in  Missouri. ..Schofield's  Order 
Calling  Out  the  Militia. ..Atrocities  of  the  Yankee  Rule  in  Missouri. ..Robbery 
Without  "Red  Tape  "...The  Guerilla  Campaign. ..The  Affair  of  Kirksville... 
Execution  of  Col.  McCullough...The  Affair  of  Lot)e  Jack. ..Timely  Reinforce- 
ment of  Lexington  by  the  Vankecs...The  Palmyra  Massacre. ..The  Questioa 
of  Retaliation  with  the  South. ..The  Military  and  Pomticai,  Situation... 
Survey  of  the  Military  Situation. ..Capture  of  Galveston  by  the  Yankees. ..The 
Enemy's  Naval  Power... His  Iron  Clads..  Importance  of  Foundcries  in  the 
South. ..Prospect  in  the  Southwest. ..Prospect  in  Tennessee. ..Prospect  in  Vir- 
ginia...Stliart's  Raid  into  Pennsylvania. ..Souvenirs  of  Southern  Chivalry... 
The  "Soft-mannered  Rebels  "...Political  Complexioa  of  the  War  in  the 
North. ..Lincoln's  "Emancipation  Proclamation  "...History  of  Yankee  Legis- 
lation in  the  War. ..Political  Errour  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation — Its 
Eflect  on  the  South. ..The  Decay  of  European  Sympathy  with  the  Abolition- 
ists... What  the  War  Accomplished  for  Negro  Slavery  in  the  South. ..Yankee 
Falsehoods  and  Bravados  in  Europe. ..Dtlusion  of  Conquering  the  South  by 
Starvation..  Caricatures  in  the  New  York  pictorials... The  Noble  Eloquence 
of  Hunger  and  Rags... Manners  in  the  South. ..Yankee  Warfare. ..The  Desola- 
tion of  Virginia. ..The  Lessons  of  Harsh  Neces.sity... Improvement  of  the  Civil 
Administration  of  the  Confederacy. ..Ordnance,  Manufacturing  Resources, 
Quartei masters'  Supplies,  &c. 

The  crisis  in  Kentucky  was  probably  hastened  by  certain 
disastrous  events  which  had  taken  place  on  our  lines  in  the 
Southwest.  A  large  Confederate  force  had  been  left  in  North 
Mississippi  when  Gen.  Bragg  moved  into  Kentucky,  and  tho 
speculation  was  not  remote  that,  with  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  railroad  open  from  Chattanooga  to  a  point  near  the 
position  of  our  army  in  Mississippi,  that  portion  of  our  forces 
in  the  West  might  render  important  assistance  to,  or,  in  some 


168  THE    SECOND    TEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

emergency,  effect  a  co-operation  with  the  armies  that  had  been 
marched  into  Kentucky. 

But  the  story  of  the  Southwest  was  one  of  ahnost  unbroken 
disaster,  owing  less,  perhaps,  to  inadequate  numbers  than  to 
the  blind  and  romantic  generalship  which  carried  them  into 
the  jaws  of  destruction.  There  was  one  golden  link  in  the 
chain  of  events  here,  and  that  was  the  heroic  defence  of  Vicks- 
burg.  But  while  this  famous  town  so  nobly  disputed  the  palm 
of  the  jMississippi,  her  example  of  victorious  resistance  was 
obscured,  though  not  overshadowed,  by  other  events  in  the 
Southwest. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  an  attack  make  by  General  Brecken- 
ridge  with  less  than  tlirce  thousand  men  on  Baton  Rouge,  was 
severely  repulsed  by  an  enemy  nearly  twice  his  numbers,  fight- 
ing behind  fortifications  which  were  almost  impregnable,  and 
assisted  by  a  fleet  of  gunboats  in  the  river.  The  unequal 
attack  was  made  by  our  troops  with  devoted  courage ;  they 
succeeded  in  driving  the  enemy  to  the  arsenal  and  tower,  and  to 
the  cover  of  his  gunboats  ;  but  they  were  compelled  to  with- 
draw with  diminished  and  exhausted  numbers  before  a  fire 
which  it  was  impossible  to  penetrate. 

This  check  (for  it  deserves  no  more  important  or  decisive 
title)  Avas  in  a  measure  occasioned,  or,  at  least,  was  accompa- 
nied, by  a  disaster  of  real  importance.  This  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  great  Confederate  ram  Arkansas,  already  famous 
for  having  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  hostile  fleet  at  Vicksburg, 
and  the  promises  of  whose  future  services  had  given  to  the 
South  many  brilliant  but  illusory  hopes.  The  Arkansas  left 
Vicksburg  to  co-operate  in  the  attack  upon  Baton  Rouge. 
After  passing  Bayou  Sara  her  machinery  became  deranged  or 
disabled.  But  two  alternatives  were  left — to  blow  her  up  or 
suffer  her  to  be  captured  by  the  Yankee  gunboats.  The  for- 
mer was  resorted  to,  and  this  proud  achievement  of  naval 
architecture  floated  a  wreck  on  the  Mississippi  River. 

The  failure  of  another  enterprise  of  attack  on  the  enemy, 
made  by  Gen.  Price  at  luka  on  the  20th  of  September,  was 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  169 

much  more  disastrous  than  the  aflfair  of  Baton  Rouge.  Over- 
matched by  numbers,  Gen.  Price  was,  after  some  partial  and 
temporary  success,  forced  back,  with  a  loss  greater  than  that 
of  the  enemy.  In  this  engagement  our  loss  was  probably  eight 
hundred  in  killed  and  wounded.  But  never  had  troops  fought 
with  more  terrible  resolution  or  wilder  energy  than  the  soldiers 
of  Price.  The  fighting  was  almost  hand  to  hand ;  and  as  an 
instance  of  the  close  and  deadly  combat,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  an  Ohio  battery  was  taken  by  our  men  four  diffei-ent 
times,  and  as  often  retaken  by  greatly  superiour  numbers  of 
the  enemy.  The  desperation  of  our  soldiers  astonished  those 
who,  by  the  weight  of  numbers  alone,  were  able  to  resist  them. 
Several  of  our  men  endeavored  to  tear  the  colours  from  the 
hands  of  the  Yankees  by  main  force,  and  either  perished  in  the 
attempt  or  were  made  prisoners.  In  one  spot  next  morning, 
there  were  counted  seventeen  Confederate  soldiers  lying  dead 
around  one  of  their  officers.  Sixteen  feet  square  would  cover 
the  whole  space  where  they  died. 

But  there  was  yet  to  ensue  the  great  disaster  which  was  to 
re-act  on  other  theatres  of  the  war  and  cast  the  long  shadow 
of  misfortune  upon  the  country  of  the  AVcst..  It  was  destined 
to  take  place  at  Corinth,  where  Major-General  Rosecranz, 
commanding  the  Yankee  army  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ten- 
nessee, was  stationed  with  at  least  forty  thousand  men. 

THE   BATTLE    OF    CORINTH. 

The  armies  of  GeVis.  Van  Dorn  and  Price — under  Gen.  Van 
Dorn  as  the  ranking  officer — having  formed  a  junction  at 
Ripley,  marched  thence  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  the  enemy 
in  battle,  though  it  was  well  known  that  the  battle  must  be 
waged  under  the  serious  disadvantages  of  great  disparity  in 
numbers  and  strength  of  position. 

On  the  2d  of  October  our  forces  marched  from  Pocahontas 
to  Chewalla,  points  on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad, 
thus  moving  from  the, west  on  Corinth,  the  stronghold  of  the 
enemy.     That  night  the  soldiers  rested  on  their  arms,  in  eager 


170  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

and  confident  expectation  of  meeting  the  foe  in  battle  array  on 
the  ensuing  morning. 

On  Fri(hiy,  October  3d,  the  order  of  battle  was  formed — the 
right  being  held  by  Gen.  Van  Dorn's  troops,  composing  only 
one  division,  under  Gen.  Lovell ;  while  the  left  was  occupied 
by  Gen.  Price's  troops,  composed  of  two  divisijns — the  extreme 
left  under  Gen.  Herbert,  and  the  right  under  Gen.  Maury, 
whose  division,  as  thus  placed,  formed  the  centre  of  the  whole 
force.  Advancing  in  this  order,  at  7J  o'clock  in  the  morning 
Gen.  Lovcll's  division  arrived  within  long  range  of  the  enemy, 
who  had  marched  out  some  miles  in  front  of  the  extreme  outer 
lines  of  his  fortifications.  Immediately  the  artillery  of  Gen. 
Villipigue,  whose  brigade  was  in  the  advance,  opened  fire  upon 
the  enemy,  who,  in  a  short  time,  began  to  give  way  and  fall 
back,  and  continued  to  do  so  for  two  hours,  under  a  heavy  and 
effective  fire  from  the  advancing  batteries  of  General  Lovell's 
division. 

At  9^  o'clock,  the  enemy  having  made  a  stand  one-half  mile 
in  front  of  his  fortifications.  Gen.  Lovell  advanced  his  infantry 
and  poured  a  destructive  musketry  fire  into  the  ranks  of  the 
Yankees,  who  replied  with  spirit;  and  now,  Gen.  Price  having 
ordered  up  his  divisions  under  Generals  Maury  and  Herbert, 
the  battle  raged  all  along  the  line — the  enemy  suffering  terri- 
bly. At  length  a  charge  was  ordered.  Gen.  Lovell's  division 
leading.  In  double-quick  time  our  soldiers,  pressing  forward 
with  loud  cheers,  drove  the  enemy  behind  his  entrenchments. 
Simultaneously  almost,  the  divisions  of  Generals  Maury  and 
Herbert,  the  one  after  the  other,  charged  the  enemy  in  front  of 
them  with  equal  success. 

There  was  now  a  strange  lull  in  the  battle.  The  Yankees 
had  withdrawn  entirely  behind  their  fortifications,  their  fire 
had  dropped  off,  and  the  tumult  of  the  fierce  strife  died  away. 
The  unexpected  quiet  lasted  for  a  whole  hour.  By  that  time, 
the  Yankees  having  brought  several  field  batteries  in  front, 
opened  from  these,  and  at  the  same  tin*e'frora  his  heavy  artil- 
lery, a  most  tremendous  cannonade.     This  fire  was  directed 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  Ill 

obiefly,  if  not  wholly,  against  the  right  wing  under  General 
Lovell,  and,  though  so  tremendous  in  sound,  produced  but 
little  eifect.  Our  soldiers  remained  silent  and  stood  firm. 
They  were  waiting  for  orders.  Presently  the  second  charge 
was  ordered.  Gallantly  was  it  made  by  Gen.  Lovell's  division, 
and  as  gallant]}'  was  it  supported  by  charges  all  along  the  cen- 
tre and  right  wing  by  the  divisions  of  Generals  Maury  and 
Herbert.  On,  on  our  glorious  columns  swept  through  the 
leaden  rain  and  iron  hail;  the  first  lino  of  fortifications  is 
reached  and  passed;  and  the  Yankees  do  not  stop  until  they 
have  reached  the  next  line  of#entrenchments. 

On  Friday  night  the  news  of  a  great  victory  was  dispatched 
by  Gen.  Van  Dorn  to  Richmond.  This  announcement  was 
made  with  an  exultation  so  hasty  and  extreme,  that  it  is  to  be 
supposed  that  this  commander  was  entirely  unaware  of  the 
strength  of  the  enemy's  works  at  Corinth,  and,  consequently, 
of  the  supreme  trial  which  yet  remained  for  the  courage  and 
devotion  of  his  troops. 

The  nest  morning  the  general  relation  of  our  troops  to  each 
other  and  to  the  enemy  remained  as  it  was  on  the  previous 
day — Gen.  Van  Dorn,  in  supreme  command,  occupying  the 
centre,  Gen.  Price  the  left  wing,  and  Gen.  Lovell  the  right 
wing.  Gen.  LovelTs  division  held  ground  west  of  Corinth  and 
just  south  of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad.  General 
Maury's  division  was  posted  north  of  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  railroad,  and  between  it  and  the  Memphis  and 
Ohio  railroad.  Gen.  Herbert's  division  was  on  the  left,  east  of 
the  Memphis  and  Ohio  railroad — thus  advancing  from  the 
north  upon  Corinth. 

The  battle  was  commenced  by  Gen.  Price  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, one-half  hour  before  daylight.  The  artillery  having  been 
moved  forward,  opened  upon  the  enemy  in  his  entrenchments 
at  a  distance  of  four  hundred  yards.  The  enemy  replied,  and 
a  heavy  cannonading,  by  both  sides,  ensued  for  one  hour. 
Our  troops  suffered  but  little  damage  from  this  fire,  and  the 
artillery  was  withdrawn  with  the  view  of  advancing  the  infan- 


172  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

try.  Now  heavy  skirmishing  followed  all  along  the  line,  which 
wa3  kept  up  until  about  10  o'clock.  Then  beginning  with 
Gen.  Lovell's  division,  who  were  immediately  seconded  by 
Gen.  Price's  army — Gen.  Herbert's  division  fiist,  and  then 
Gen.  Maury's — our  whole  line  advanced  upon  the  entrench- 
ments of  the  enemy. 

Here  occurred  one  of  the  most  terrible  struggles  of  the  war. 
The  shock  of  the  tremendous  onset  was  terrible.  One  portion 
of  our  lines  rushed  pell  mell  into  Corinth,  losing  in  their  con- 
fidence of  victory  almost  every  semblance  of  order,  infantry 
and  cavalry  being  crowded  together  in  a  dense  mass,  wild  with 
excitement,  and  rending  the  air. with  fierce  and  exulting  yells. 
But  the  batteries  of  the  enemy  were  situated  to  command  the 
village  as  well  as  the  approaches  to  it. 

The  serried  ranks  of  the  enemy,  now  prepared  to  receive 
us,  afforded  convincing  proof  that  victory  was  yet  distant  from 
our  grasp,  and  that  a  hard  and  bloody  fight  was  at  hand.  A 
portion  of  Maury's  division  was  ordered  to  charge  the  formi- 
dable fort  on  College  Ilill.  This  was  the  forlorn  hope.  Dis- 
appointed in  gaining  a  lodgment  in  the  village,  we  must  confess 
to  a  defeat,  if  that  battery  be  not  taken.  Once  in  our  pos- 
session the  town  is  ours.  The  men,  massed  in  single  column 
eight  deep,  moved  forward  in  silence,  regardless  of  the  shower 
of  bullets  which  whistled  about  their  ears  and  decimated  their 
ranks.  The  decisive  moment — the  turning  point  of  the  en- 
gagement— had  arrived.  Every  battery  of  the  enemy  bearing 
on  the  column  was  double  charged  with  griipe  and  canister, 
which  burst  over  the  heads  of  our  troops.  Scores  were  killed 
at  every  discharge,  but  they  moved  steadily  on,  maintaining 
the  silence  of  the  grave.  As  fast  as  one  soldier  fell,  his  com- 
rade behind  stepped  forward  and  took  his  place.  They 
charged  up  to  the  battery,  reserving  their  fire  until  they 
reached  the  parapets.  Twice  repulsed,  the  third  time  they 
reached  the  outer  works,  and  planted  their  flag  upon  the  es- 
carpment. It  was  shot  down  and  again  planted,  but  shot 
down  afiain. 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  173 

These  devoted  troops  now  held  partial  possession  of  the 
works.  But  the  triumpli  was  of  short  duration.  According 
to  previous  instructions,  tlie  enemy's  gunners  fell  back  behind 
the  Avorks,  and  the  next  instant  from  their  batteries  threw  a 
•murderous  fire  into  our  ranks  at  the  shortest  possible  range. 
Nothing  human  could  withstand  such  a  fire;  the  confusion  it 
produced  was  irretrievable;  our  men  were  driven  back  and  the 
day  lost. 

But  the  attack  was  not  abandoned  without  instances  of  wild 
and  terrible  courage  fhat  were  almost  appalling.  In  their 
madness  and  desperation,  our  men  would  rush  up  to  the  very 
mouths  of  the  cannon,  and  many  were  blown  to  pieces  by  the 
rapid  and  constant  discharges.  Such  spectacles  of  courage 
were  curious  and  terrible  to  behold.  An  ofl^cer,  standinir  a 
little  way  out  from  his  men,  was  shouting,  "Give  it  to  the 
scoundrels."  The  words  had  but  passed  from  his  lips,  when 
the  first  shell  from  a  Parrott  gun  struck  his  left  shoulder,  tear- 
ing off  his  whole  side.  He  turned  his  head  a  little  to  one  side, 
his  mouth  opened,  his  eyes  glared,  and  he  fell  dead. 

The  attack  on  the  enemy's  batteries  was  rash  and  magnifi- 
cent. The  intensity  of  the  fight  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  tAVO  hundred  and  sixty  dead  bodies  Avere  found  in  and  about 
the  trenches  within  a  distance  of  fifty  feet  of  the  Avorks.  It 
is  impossible  to  enumerate  the  examples  of  daring  which  adorn 
the  story  of  this  attack.  The  second  Texas  infantry,  under 
Col.  Rogers,  led  the  charge,  and  the  Colonel  himself  fell  on 
the  enemy's  breastAvorks  with  the  colours  of  his  regiment  in 
his  hand.  A  piece  of  paper  was  found  under  his  clothing  giv- 
ing his  name  and  rank  and  the  address  of  his  friends.  As 
Gen.  Cabell  mounted  the  enemy's  parapet,  the  first  man  he 
encountered  was  a  Yankee  colonel,  who  cried  out,  "Kill  that 

d d  rebel   officer."     The  next   instant  a  blow   from    the 

General's  sabre  placed  his  antagonist  at  his  feet.  In  the 
brigade  of  this  brave  oflScer,  J.  H.  Bullock,  Adjutant  of  the 
13th  Arkansas  regiment — a  noble  specimen  of  the  Southern 
soldier;  for,  though  blessed  in  estate  and  family,  a  son-in-laAV 


174  THB  SECOND  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

of  Chief  Justice  Parsons,  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  master 
of  a  beautiful  and  prosperous  home,* he  had  volunteered  a9  a 
private  and  been  advanced  for  merit — made  a  display  Of  cour- 
age to  animate  his  men  that  was  a  splendid  picture  of  heroism, 
as  he  stood  out  and  exposed  himself  to  the  enemy's  fire  until 
his  clotliing  was  pierced  by  balls,  his  life  being  saved  only  by 
that  unseen  shield  with  which  Providence  protects  its  agents. 
The  gallant  commander  of  this  ever-glorious  regiment,  Col. 
Daly,  had  fallen,  while  himself  engaged  in  the  animation  of 
his  men — cheering;  and  leading  them  on  to  the  attack. 

Under  the  necessities  of  the  case,  our  troops  had  fallen 
back;  and,  though  in  doing  so  they  were  exposed  to  a  terrible 
and  destructive  fire,  there  was  no  panic,  no  rout — the  wounded, 
except  those  who  fell  right  at  the  entrenchments,  having  been 
nearly  all  brought  away.  Our  army  retired  to  the  woods  at  a 
distance  of  only  six  hundred  yards;  and  there,  while  our  ar- 
tillery resumed  fire  and  kept  it  up  for  a  short  time,  formed 
again  in  order  of  battle.  But  the  enemy  appearing  indisposed 
to  renew  the  conflict,  Gen.  Van  Dorn,  at  three  o'clock,  drew 
off  his  whole  force,  being  most  ably  supported  in  doing  so  by 
Gen.  Price  and  the  other  general  officers. 

The  next  morning,  at  half-past  eight  o'clock,  our  advance, 
consisting  of  Gen.  Phifer's  brigade,  and  Col.  "Whitfield's  Le- 
gion, with  one  battery — not  exceeding  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred in  all — crossed  the  Davis  bridge  at  Ilatchic  river,  to 
engage  the  enemy,  a  largo  body  of  whom,  from  Bolivar,  had 
the  day  before  reached  that  point,  and  had  there  been  held  in 
check  by  Col.  Slemraon's  and  Adams'  cavalry,  with  one  bat- 
tery. Our  advance  having  crossed  the  bridge  and  gone  a  little 
distance,  received  a  heavy  fire  at  short  range  from  a  concealed, 
battery,  which  was  followed  directly  by  a  charge  from  a  largely 
superior  force.  Our  troops  retreated  in  a  good  deal  of  confu- 
sion across  the  bridge — having  suffered  a  loss,  perhaps,  of  three 
hundred  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  The  reinforcements  ar- 
riving, our  troops  formed  in  line,  and  a  fight  with  musketry 
ensued  and  was  kept  up   for  some  time  across  the  river,  but 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  176 

■with  very  little  loss  on  our  side.  Meanwhile,  our  field  pieces 
opened  upon  the  enemy,  and,  they  replying,  cannonading  was 
continued  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  During  this 
time,  our  advance  was  gradually  withdrawn,  and  following  the 
other  troops,  with  the  long  wagon  train  of  supplies,  woundetl, 
&c. — the  artillery  having  also  been  brought  off — made  a  suc- 
cessful crossing  of  Hatcliie  river  some  miles  higher  up  the 
stream.  The  retreat  was  eventually  halted  at  a  point  little 
north  of  Ripley. 

Our  loss  in  all  the  three  days'  engagements  was  probably 
quite  double  that  of  the  enemy.  In  killed  and  wounded  it  ex- 
ceeded three  thousand ;  and  it  was  estimated,  besides,  that  we 
had  left  more  than  fifteen  hundred  prisoners  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy. 

The  defeat  of  Corinth  was  followed  by  swift  news  of  disas- 
ter and  discouragement.  The  military  prospect  was  not  dark, 
but  it  had  lost  much  of  the  brightness  it  had  had  only  a  few 
weeks  before.  Kentucky  had  been  gloomily  abandoned.  In 
Virginia  the  hopes  of  conquering  a  peace  on  the  Potomac  had 
for  the  time  been  given  up;  the  Kanawha  Valley  had  again 
been  mostly  surrendered  to  the  enemy;  and  Marshall's  forces, 
back  again  in  Southwestern  Virginia,  were  consuming  the  sub- 
stance of  the  country  with  but  little  return  of  other  service. 
In  other  parts  of  the  Confederacy,  the  prospect  was  not  much 
relieved. 

THE    DEPARTMENT    OF    TUE   TRANS-MISSISSIPPI. 

The  events  in  the  department  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  were 
too  distant  to  affect  the  general  fortunes  of  the  war  ;  they  were 
but  episodes  to  the  great  drama  of  arms  that  passed  over  the 
broad  and  imposing  theatres  of  Virginia,  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee ;  but  they  were  replete  with  romance,  and  if  their 
interest  is  at  present  partial,  it  is  so,  perhaps,  for  the  reason 
that  they  are  imperfectly  known. 

Missouri  had  the  better  of  other  seats  of  hostility  for  the 
real  romance  of  War.     The  remote  geography  of  the  country, 


176  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

the  rough  character  of  the  people,  the  intensity  and  ferocity 
of  the  passions  excited,  and  tlie  reduction  of  military  opera- 
tions to  a  warfare  essentially  partisan  and  frontier,  gave  to  the 
progress  of  the  uar  in  this  quarter  a  wild  aspect,  and  illus- 
trated it  with  rare  and  thrilling  scenes. 

Gen.  SchoBcld,  the  Yankee  commander,  who  hud  been  left 
by  Ilalleck  with  the  brief  and  comprehensive  instructions  "to 
take  care  of  Missouri,"  found  the  power  of  the  Confederates 
broken  in  nearly  three  fourths  of  that  State,  but  the  South- 
western portion  threatened  by  the  active  movements  of  Gen. 
Hindman,  in  command  of  State  forces  raised  in  Arkansas  and 
Texas.  But  in  no  part  of  Missouri  was  the  spirit  of  the  peo- 
ple broken.  Guerrilla  bands  made  their  appearance  in  all  parts 
of  the  State;  and  their  numbers  rapidly  augmented  under  the 
despotic  edict  of  Schofield,  calling  out  the  militia  of  the  State 
to  murder  their  own  countrymen. 

The  dark  atrocities  of  the  Yankee  rule  in  Missouri,  enacted 
as  they  were  in  a  remote  country,  and  to  a  great  extent 
removed  from  observation,  surpassed  all  that  was  known  in 
other  parts  of  the  Confederacy  of  the  cruelty  and  fury  of  the 
enemy.  The  developments  on  this  subject  are  yet  imperfect ; 
but  some  general  facts  are  known  of  the  inordinate  license  of 
the  enemy  in  Missouri,  while  others  of  equal  horrour  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  the  public. 

In  other  parts  of  the  Confederacy  many  of  the  excesses  of 
tho  enemy  were  performed  under  certain  formalities,  and  to 
some  extent  regulated  by  them.  Lut  in  ^lissouri  there  was 
no  "  red  tape,"  no  qualification  of  forms  ;  the  order  of  the  day 
was  open  robbery,  downright  murder,  and  freedom  to  all  crimes 
of  which  "  rebels  "  were  the  victims.  Citizens  were  plundered 
with  bare-faced  audacity.  Those  citizens  of  St.  Louis  county 
alone,  who  were  suspected  by  Gen.  Schofield  to  sympathize 
with  the  South,  were  taxed  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to 
arm,  clothe  and  subsist  those  who  were  spilling  the  blood  of 
their  brothers,  and  threatening  their  own  homes  with  the  torch 
and  with  outrages  to  which  death  is  preferable. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  177 

The  sanguinary  guerrilla  warfare  in  Missouri  may  be  said  to 
have  commenced  in  the  month  of  July  by  the  assembling  of 
bands  nndcr  Porter,  Poindexter,  Cobb  and  others.  The  "prin- 
cipal theatre  of  guerrilla  operations  was  at  this  time  the  North- 
eastern division  of  Missouri,  where  the  almost  devilish  cruelties 
of  the  Yankee  commander,  the  notorious  Colonel  McNeil,  had 
lashed  the  people  into  incontrollable  fury. 

On  the  Gth  of  August,  Porter's  band  was  attacked  at  Kirks- 
ville  by  McNeil  with  a  large  force  of  cavalry  and  six  pieces  of 
artillery.  This  gallant  partizan  made  a  resistance  of  four 
hours  against  overwhelming  numbers,  and  retired  only  after 
such  a  demonstration  of  valour ;  leaving  the  Yankees  to  claim 
as  a  victory  an  affair  in  which  they  had  sustained  a  loss  of 
more  than  five  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded,  probably  double 
our  own. 

The  day  after  the  action,  a  party  of  Yankee  scouts  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  near  Edina  Col.  F.  McCullough,  who  was 
attached  to  Porter's  command,  and  at  the  time  of  his  capture 
was  quite  alone.  The  next  morning  a  train  with  an  armed 
escort  proceeded  from  Edina  to  Kirksvillc.  McCullough  was 
sent  along.  On  arriving  at  Kirksvillc,  the  news  of  the  capture 
of  this  famous  partisan  excited  the  most  devilish  feeling  among 
the  Yankee  troops.  lie  was  confined  a  brief  time  Avith  the 
other  prisoners.  Meantime  a  court-martial  was  held  and  he 
was  sentenced  to  be  shot  that  very  afternoon.  lie  received' 
the  information  of  his  fate  with  perfect  composure,  but  pro- 
tested against  it.  Leaning  against  the  fence,  he  wrote  a  few 
lines  to  his  wife.  These,  with  his  watch,  he  delivered  to  the 
officer,  to  be  given  to  her.  Upon  the  way  to  his  execution,  he 
requested  the  privilege  to  give  the  command  to  fire,  which  was 
granted.  All  being  ready,  he  said  :  .  "  What  I  have  done,  i 
have  done  as  a  principle  of  right.     Aim  at  the  heart.     Fire !" 

The    command    taking  the   soldiers   by  surprise,  one  fired 

sooner  than   the  rest.     The  ball   entering  his  breast,  he  fell, 

while  the  other  shots  passed  over  him.     Falling  with  one  log 

doubled  under  the  body,  he  requested  to  have  it  straightened 

12 


178  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THB    WAR. 

oat.  While  this  was  being  done  he  said ;  "  I  forgive  you  for 
this  barbarous  act."  The  squad  having  reloaded  their  pieces, 
another  volley  was  fired — this  time  into  his  body,  and  he  died. 

On  the  15th  of  August  occurred  the  more  important  action 
of  Lone  Jack.  Large  Yankee  forces  were  moved  from 
Lexington,  with  orders  to  effect  a  junction  near  Lone  Jack  and 
attack  the  forces  under  Hughes  and  Quantrell,  supposed  to  be 
somewhere  in  Jackson  county.  The  disaster  which  met  the 
Yankees  here  was  the  most  serious  of  the  guerrilla  campaign. 
Their  command  was  defeated,  with  a  loss  of  three  hundred 
killed  and  wounded,  two  pieces  of  their  artillery  captured  on 
the  field,  their  routed  forces  turned  back  upon  Lexington  and 
that  place  put  in  imminent  peril.  The  timely  reinforcement 
of  Lexington  by  all  the  available  forces  of  the  enemy  in  North- 
eastern Missouri  alone  saved  the  place  from  capture  by  the 
Confederates,  and  disconcerted  their  plans  of  relieving  their 
comrades  north  of  the  rjver. 

The  guerrilla  campaign  of  Missouri  is  made  memorable  by 
the  fearful  story  of  the  "Palmyra  massacre."  The  important 
incidents  of  this  tragedy  are  gathered  from  the  enemy's  own 
publications,  and  it  was  from  Y'^ankee  newspapers  that  the  peo- 
ple of  the  South  first  learned  the  barbarous  and  exultant 
news  that  McNeil  had  executed  ten  Confederate  prisoners 
because  a  tory  and  spy  had  been  carried  off  a  captive  by  our 
forces. 

From  the  enemy's  own  accounts,  it  appears  that  the  missing 
man,  Andrew  Allsman,  was  a  legitimate  prisoner  of  war;  that 
on  the  descent  of  the  Confederate  forces  upon  Palmyra  he 
was  captured  by  them ;  that  he  belonged  to  the  Federal 
cavalry,  but  that  being  too  old  to  endure  all  the  hardships  of 
active  duty,  he  was  detailed  as  a  spy,  being  "  frequently,"  as 
one  of  the  Y'^ankee  papers  states,  "  called  upon  for  information 
touching  the  loyally  of  men,  which  he  always  gave  to  the 
extent  of  his  ability." 

When  McNeil  returned  to  Palmyra  in  October,  he  caused  a 
notice  to  be  issued  that  unless  Allsman  was  returned  in  ten 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  179 

days  he  would  shoot  ten  Confederate  prisoners  as  "a  meet 
reward  for  tlieir  crimes,  among  which  was  the  illegal  restrain- 
ing of  said  Allsman  of  his  liberty."  The  ten  days  elapsed, 
and  the  prisoner-  was  not  returned.  The  following  account  of 
what  ensued,  is  condensed  from  the  Palmyra  Courier,  a 
"Union"  journal,  without  any  variation  from  the  language  in 
which  it  describes  the  deed  of  the  demons  with  whom  it  was  in 
sympathy : 

"  The  tenth  day  expired  with  last  Friday.  On  that  day  ten 
rebel  prisoners,  already  in  custody,  were  selected  to  pay 
with  their  lives  the  penalty  demanded.  A  little  after  11 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  next  day,  three  government  wagons  drove 
to  the  jail.  One  contained  four,  and  each  of  the  others  three 
rough  board  coffins.  The  condemned  men  were  conducted 
from  the  prison  and  seated  in  the  wagons,  one  upon  each 
coffin.  A  sufficient  guard  of  soldiers  accompanied  them,  and 
the  cavalcade  started  for  the  fatal  grounds.  The  ten  coffins 
were  removed  from  the  wagons  and  placed  in  a  row,  six  or 
eight  feet  apart,  forming  a  line  north  and  south.  Each  coffin 
was  placed  upon  the  ground  with  its  foot  west  and  head  east. 
Thirty  soldiers  of  the  2d  M.  S.  M.  were  drawn  up  in  a  single 
line,  extending  north  and  south,  facing  the  row  of  coffins. 
The  arrangements  completed,  the  men  knelt  upon  the  grass 
between  their  coffins  and  the  soldiers.  At  the  conclusion  of 
a  prayer  by  the  army  chaplain,  each  prisoner  took  his  seat 
upon  the  foot  of  his  coffin,  facing  the  muskets  which  in  a 
few  moments  were  to  launch  them  into  eternity.  They  were 
nearly  all  firm  and  undaunted.  The  most  noted  of  the  ten 
was  Captain  Thomas  A.  Sidner  of  Monroe  county,  whose 
capture  at  Shelbyville,  in  the  disguise  of  a  woman,  we  related 
several  weeks  since.  lie  was  now  elegantly  attired  in  a  suit 
of  black  broadcloth,  with  a  white  ve^st.  A  luxurious  growth 
of  beautiful  hair  rolled  down  upon  his  shoulders,  which,  with 
his  fine  personal  appearance,  could  not  but  bring  to  mind  the 
handsome  but  vicious  Absalom.  There  was  nothing  espe- 
cially worthy  of  note  in  the  appearance  of  the  others.     A 


180  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

"  few  moments  after  1  o'clock  the  chaplain  in  attendance  shook 
"hands  with  the  prisoners.  Two  of  them  accepted  bandages 
"  for  the  eyes,  the  rest  refused.  A  hundred  spectators  had 
"gathered  around  the  amphitheatre  to  witness  the  impressive 
"scene.  The  stillness  of  death  pervaded  the  place.  The 
"officer  in  command  now  stepped  forward,  and  gave  the  word 
"of  command — 'Ready!  jiim !  fire!'  Tiic  discharges,  how- 
"  ever,  were  not  made  simultaneously — probably  through  want 
"  of  a  perfect  understanding  of  the  orders  to  fire.  Two  of  the 
"  rebels  fell  backwards  upon  their  coffins  and  died  instantly. 
"  Capt.  Sidner  sprang  forward  and  fell  with  his  head  towards 
"  the  soldiers,  his  face  upwards,  his  hands  clasped  upon  his 
"breast,  and  the  left  leg  drawn  half  way  up.  He  did  not 
"  more  again,  but  died  iipmediately.  He  had  requested  the 
"  soldiers  to  aim  at  his  heart,  and  they  obeyed  but  too 
"  implicitly.  The  other  seven  were  not  killed  outright ;  so  the 
"  reserves  were  called  in,  who  dispatched  them  with  their 
"revolvers." 

The  "Palmyra  massacre"  was  destined  to  a  long  and  pain- 
ful remembrance  by  the  people  of  the  South,  not  only  because 
of  its  tragic  interest,  but  because  it  was  a  comment  scrawled 
in  blood  on  that  weak  and  remiss  policy  of  our  government, 
which  had  so  long  submitted  to  the  barbarous  warfare  of  the 
enemy  and  hesitated  at  the  rule  of  retaliation. 

TUE    MILITARY   AND    POLITICAL    SITUATION. 

A  slight  survey  of  the  military  situation  at  this  time  adds 
something  to  the  list  of  our  disasters,  and  is  necessary  to  un- 
derstand the  proportions  of  the  crisis  at  which  the  fortunes  of 
the  South  had  arrived. 

The  capture  of  Galveston  on  the  coast  of  Texas,  on  the 
9th  of  October,  was  another  repetition  of  the  almost  invariable 
story  of  disaster  at  the  hands  of  the  enemy's  naval  power.  It 
was  made  almost  without  resistance.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
war,  the  defenceless  condition  of  Galveston  had  been  repre- 
sented to  the  government,  as  in  fact  there  was  no  ordnance 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  181 

available  there  but  a  lot  of  old  cannon  captured  from  the 
United  States.  These  representations  in  the  letters  and  peti- 
tions of  the  people  of  Galveston  were  made  without  eifect, 
until  at  last,  some  time  in  the  summer  of  1.861,  a  deputation 
of  citizens  waited  upon  the  authorities  at  Richmond,  begging 
piteously  a  few  cannon  to  defend  them  from  the  enemy.  The 
whole  extent  of  the  response  of  the  government  to  this  and 
other  appeals  \>'as  to  send  to  Galveston  eleven  or  thirteen  guns, 
two  of  which  were  rifled ;  and  transportation  for  these  was 
only  given  to  New  Orleans,  whence  they  had  to  be  dragged 
over  piney  hills  and  through  swamps  to  their  destination. 
The  consequence  was,  that  the  enemy  had  made  an  easy  prize 
of  one  of  our  principal  seaports ;  when,  after  threatening  it 
for  eighteen  months,  he  at  last  found  it  practically  defenceless. 

The  fall  of  Galveston*  again  turned  the  perplexed  attention 
of  the  people  of  the  South  to  the  enormous  and  rapid  increase 
of  the  enemy's  naval  power  in  this  war  as  one  of  its  most  pain- 
ful subjects  of  interest.  This  arm  had  grown  to  such  size  as 
to  threaten  us  in  many  respects  more  seriously  than  the  ene- 
my's land  forces.  It  was  calculated,  that  with  the  completion 
of  their  vast  number  of  naval  structures  already  on  the  stocks, 
tlie  Yankees  Avould  have  388  vessels,  mounting  3,072  guns — 
nearly  nine  guns  to  the  vessel.  Of  these,  thirty  were  iron- 
clad, mounting  ninety  of  the  heaviest  guns  in  the  world,  each 
weighing  42,240  pounds,  and  throwing  a  solid  shot,  fifteen 
inches  in  diameter,  vk'cighing  480  pounds. 

It  is  not  wonderrul  that  in  view  of  these  vast  preparations 
in  the  North,  the  people  of  the  South  should  have  watched 
with  intense  interest  the  long  lines  of  their  sea-coast,  and  been 
on  the  tiptoe  of  expectation  for  the  fleets  of  the  Yankees, 
which  were  to  sweep  upon  them  in  numbers  and  power  yet  un- 
equalled by  any  naval  demonstration  of  the  enemy  in  this  war. 
It  was  easy  to  see  that  the  South  would  have  to  look  to  its 
foundries  to  set  off  the  naval  power  of  the  enemy.  AVhen  wo 
could  match  their  naval  armaments  with  our  batteries  on  shore, 
we  might  expect  to  hold  our  sea-coast  against  their  fleets.     The 


182  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

authorities  at  Richmonfl  were  instructed  that  there  was  but  one 
way  of  replying  to  the  Yankee  iron-clads  on  equiil  terms; 
and  that  was  bj  ironclad  battcric?,  with  powerful  guns  in 
them,  and  with  the  use  of  steel-pointed  or  wrought-iron  pro- 
jectiles. 

In  the  Southwest,  the  strong  tenure  which  we  maintained  " 
oF  Yicksburg  was  a  sturabling-block  to  the  Yankee  schemes  for 
the  conquest  of  Mississippi.  The  fate  of  that  State  was  also 
confidently  entrusted  to  the  brave  troops  under  the  command 
of  General  Pemberton,  who  was  assisted  by  Van  Dorn  and 
Price  and  an  increasing  army. 

But  it  was  to  Tennessee  that  the  minds  of  the  intelligent 
were  turned  to  look  for  the  earliest  and  severest  conflict  of  the 
campaign  in  the  West.  The  enemy  already  held  the  western 
portion  of  the  State  and  a  part  of  the  middle,  and  evidently 
desired  to  obtain  possession  of' the  eastern  portion.  He  was 
reported  to  be  coming  down  from  Kentucky  for  the  purpose, 
in  heavy  columns,  under  Gen.  Rosccranz,  by  wny  of  Nash- 
ville; and  there  was  reai-on  to  suppose  that  he  would  endea- 
vour to  make  a  flank  movement  on  Knoxvillo,  and,  at  the  same 
tinte,  capture  Chattanooga,  as  the  key  of  Xorth  Alabama  and 
Georgia. 

In  Virginia  a  lull  had  followed  the  famous  summer  campaign, 
and  our  army  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  quietly  re- 
cruited, and  was  daily  improving  in  organization  and  numbers. 
The  only  incident  that  had  broken  the  moi^tony  of  our  camps 
was  the  renewal  in  the  North  of  the  phantom  of  "invasion  by 
the  rebels"  by  a  raid  into  Pennsylvania,  accomplished  by  the 
rapid  and  brilliant  commander  of  our  cavalry,  Gen.  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart,  with  about  two  thousand  men.  The  expedition  pene- 
trated to  Chambcrsburg,  which  was  occupied  for  a  short  time 
by  our  troops  on  the  10th  of  October.  It  met  with  no  resist- 
ance, accumulated  no  stores,  and  accomplished  nothing  beyond 
the  results  of  a  reconnoissance,  and  the  wonder  of  one  of  the 
most  rapid  marches  on  record. 

This  expedition  left  to  the  Yankees  a  remarkable  souvenir 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR.  183 

of  Southern  cliivalry.  Private  property  was  uniformly  re- 
spected by  our  troops;  Yankee  civilians  were  treated  with 
scrupulous  regard;  and  many  kindnesses  Avere  shown  tho 
alarmed  people  in  a  knightly  style,  which  would  have  been 
creditable  to  us  had  it  not  been  made  ridiculous  by  excess  of 
courtesy  and  a  tender  and  ceremonious  politeness  which  was 
in  very  absurd  contrast  to  the  manners  of  our  enemy.  On  en- 
tering Chambcrsburg,  "the  soft-mannered  rebels,"  as  Colonel 
McClure,  the  Yankee  commander  of  the  post,  described  them, 
treated  him  with  the  most  tender  politeness.  Indeed,  the  nar- 
rative of  this  officer's  experience  furnishes  a  curious  leaf  in 
the  history  of  the  war.-  To  the  great  amusement  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  North,  Col.  McClure  gave  a  long  account  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  strained  chivalry  of  our  troops.  He  re- 
lated how  they  had  "thanked  him  for  being  candid,"  when  he 
told  them  that  he  was  a  Republican;  how  he  wat  politely  asked 
for  food  by  the  officers;  and  how  a  private  in  Stuart's  terrible 
command  had,  "with  a  profound  bow,  asked  for  a  few  coals  to 
light  a  fire." 

The  story  of  these  courtesies  and  salaams  to  our  enemy  is 
not  one  for  our  amusement.  It  aftbrds  an  instructive  illustra- 
tion that  is  valuable  in  history,  of  the  over-amiable  disposition 
and  simple  mind  of  the  South ;  and  it  places  in  stark  and  hor- 
rible contrast  an  agreeable  picture  with  that  of  the  devilish 
atrocities  and  wanton  and  mocking  destruction  of  the  Yankee 
armies  on  the  soil  of  the  Confederacy. 

While  the  war  lagged,  we  are  called  upon  to  notice  new 
sources  of  resolution  and  power  in  the  South,  which  were  per- 
haps more  valuable  than  victories  in  the  field.  In  this  depart- 
ment of  iTiterest,  which  is  quite  equal  to  that  of  battles  and 
sieges,  it  will  be  necessary  to  pass  in  review  some  political  acts 
of  the  rival  governments,  and  some  events  of  moral  import- 
ance. 

At  last  the  Abolitionists  of  the  North  had  had  their  wild 
and  wicked  will.  On  the  22d  da}'  of  September,  President 
Lincoln    issued   his   celebrated    proclamation    of  "  emancipa- 


184  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OP   THE   WAR. 

tion"*  of  the  slaves  of  the  South,  to  take  effect  after  the  first 
of  next  January,  thus  unmasking  the  objects  of  the  war, 
and  exhibiting  to  the  world  the  sublime  of  administrative 
madness. 

*  The  following  is  a  copy  of  this  remarkable  document: 

BY    THE    PUESIDE.NT    OK    TllK    LXITEU    STATES — A    rnOCLAMATlON. 

Wuihuiyion,  Sept.  22,  18G2. 

I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  I'rc-^iilent  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  anny  and  navy  thereof,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  de- 
clare, that  hereafter,  as  heretofore,  the  war  will  be  prosecuted  for  the  object 
of  practically  restoring  the  conslitutional  relation  between  the  United  States 
and  the  people  thereof,  in  which  States  that  relation  is,  or  may  be,  suspended 
or  di.>^turbed;  that  it  is  my  purpose,  upon  the  next  meeting  of  Congress,  to 
again  recommend  the  adoption  of  a  practical  measure  tendering  pecuniary 
aid  to  the  free  acceptance  or  rejection  of  all  the  slave  Slates,  so  called,  tho 
people  whereof  m:iy  not  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  and 
which  States  may  then  have  vuluiitarily  adopted  or  thereafter  may  volunta- 
rily adopt  the  immediate  or  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery  within  their  re- 
spective limits;  and  that  the  efforts  to  colonize  persons  of  African  descent, 
with  their  consent,  upon  the  continent  or  elsewhere,  with  the  previously  ob- 
tained consent  of  the  governments  existing  there,  will  be  continued;  that  on 
the  first  day  of  January,  iu  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty- three,  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  any  State,  or  any  desig- 
nated part  of  a  State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States,  shall  be  thenceforward  and  forever  free;  and  the  execu- 
tive government  of  the  United  Stutc?,  including  tho  naval  and  military  au- 
thority thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons, 
and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any 
efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom  ;  that  the  Executive  will,  on 
the  firtt  day  of  January  aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  detignale  the  States  and 
parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof  respectively  shall  then 
be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States;  and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the 
people  thereof,  shall  oi»  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in  the  Congresa 
of  the  United  States  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elections  wherein  a  ma- 
jority of  the  qualified  TOters  of  such  State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  ia 
the  absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof  have  not  been  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States. 

And  I  do  hereby  enjoin  upon  and  order  all  persons  engaged  in  tho  military 
and  naval  service  of  the  United  States  to  observe,  obey  and  enforce  within 
their  respective  spheres  of  service  the  act  and  sections  above  recited. 

And  the  Executive  will  in  due  time  recommend  that  all  citizens  of  tho 
United  States,  who  shall  have  remained  loyal  thereto  tiiroughout  the  rebel- 
lion, eball  (upon  the  restoration  of  the  constitutional  relation  between  the 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  185 

Since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  the  Abolitionists  had 
gradually  compassed  their  ends  at  Washington,  or  rather  the 
real  objects  and  inherent  spirit  of  the  war  had  been  gradually 
developed.  They  had  legislated  slavery  forever  out  of  the 
territories;  they  had  abolished  it  in  the  District  of  Columbia; 
they  had  passed  laws  confiscating  the  jjj'operty  of  "rebels" 
and  emancipating  their  slaves,  and  declaring  all  fugitive  slaves 
free  within  their  military  lines;  they  had  made  it  a  crime  on 
the  part  of  their  military  officers  to  restore  or  aid  in  restoring 
any  fugitive  slave  to  his  master;  and  finally,  they  had  pro- 
cured from  President  Lincoln  a  proclamation  declaring  all  the 
slaves  in  the  Confederate  States  beyond  the  lines  of  their  land 
and  naval  forces  "henceforward  and  forever  free." 

This  infamous  proclamation,  while  regarded  by  the  South  as 
a  fulmination  of  exasperated  passion,  was  in  the  North  a  source 
of  weakness  and  division.  It  divided  the  North  and  strength- 
ened the  enemies  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  without 
creating  any  enthusiasm  among  its  friends.  The  few  in  the 
North  who  still  had  some  regard  for  the  written  constitution 
under  which  they  lived,  contended  that  the  President  could 
not  proclaim  emancipation  except  under  the  pressure  of  mili- 
tary necessity,  and  what  sort  of  a  military  necessity,  it  was 
asked,  was  that  which  admitted  of  a  delay  of  a  hundred  days. 
The  fulmen  hrutum  issued  to  appease  the  anti-slavery  party 
proved  a  fire-brand  at  home.  Many  even  of  this  party  were 
dissatisfied  and  decried  the  proclamation  because  of  its  tardi- 
ness. "There  was  a  time,"  said  the  New  York  Tribune^ 
"  when  even  this  bit  of  paper  could  have  brought  the  negro  to 
our  side ;  but  now  slavery,  the  real  rebel  capital,  has  been  sur- 
rounded by  a  Chickahominy  swamp  of  blunders  and  outrages 
against  that  race  which  no  i^ai^er  spade  can  dig  through." 


United  States  and  their  respective  States  and  people,  if  the  relation  shall 
have  been  suspended  or  disturbed)  be  compensated  for  all  losses  by  acts  of 
the  United  States,  including  the  loss  of  slaves. 

In  \ritncss  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  the  seal  of 

the  United  States  to  be  allixcd. 

Abraham  Lincoln. 


186  THB    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

To  the  South  the  fulmination  of  Lincoln  was  a  crowning 
proof  of  the  true  principles  of  the  party  that  had  elevated  him 
to  the  Presidency,  and  that  on  its  accession  to  power  liad  made 
perfidious  use  of  the  most  solemn  pledges.*  It  was  a  public 
confession  of  the  fact  that  conquest,  extermination  and  emanci- 
pation were  the  reai  objects  of  the  war — a  fact  which  the 
enemy  for  a  while  had  affected  to  deny.  It  attempted  to 
accomplish  by  the  horrours  of  servile  insurrection  what  our 
enemy  had  failed  to  accomplish  by  military  operations.     It 


*  One  of  the  most  singular  juxtapositions  between  the  professions  of  the 
North  nt  tlic  commenccmeut  of  hostilities  and  its  present  ideas,  is  afforded 
in  Mr.  Scwanl's  famous  letter,  written  to  the  French  Governmcut  on  the  22d 
April,  1861,  and  his  subsequent  circular  to  the  Yankee  ministers  in  Europe. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  singular  of  all  the  juggleries  and  nummersaults  of 
Yankee  diplomacj'. 

In  the  first  pronunciatnento  of  Secretary  Seward,  written  "  by  the  direction 
of  the  President, "  occurs  the  following  passage  : 

"The  condition  of  slavery  in  the  several  States  will  remain  just  the  same, 
"whether  it  succeeds  or  fail.  The  rights  of  the  States,  and  the  coadition  of 
"every  human  being  in  them,  will  remain  suWject  to  exactly  the  same  laws 
"  and  form  of  administration,  whether  the  revolution  shall  succeed  or  whether 
"it  shall  fail.  Their  constitutions  and  laws  and  customs,  habits  and  institu- 
"  tions  in  either  case  will  remain  the  eame.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  to 
"this  incontestable  .statement  the  further  ftict  t)iat  the  new  Presiilent,  as  well 
"as  the  citizens  through  whose  suffrages  he  has  come  into  the  administration, 
"has  always  repudiated  all  designs  whatever,  and  wherever  imputed  to  him 
"and  them,  of  dislurbinrf  (he  system  of  siiveri/  as  it  is  existing  under  the  Con- 
"  stitulion  cfnd  laus.  The  case,  however,  would  not  be  fully  presented  were 
"I  to  omit  to  say  that  any  such  effort  on  his  part  would  be  unconstitulionnl, 
"and  all  his  acts  in  that  direction  would  be  prevented  by  the  judicial 
"authority,  eveu  though  Ihcy  were  assented  to  by  Congress  and  the  people." 

Within  eighteen  months  after  Seward  declares  ofliuially  to  one  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  government  that  the  President  has  no  wish  and  no  right  to  inter- 
fere with  the  institutions  of  the  "rebellious"  States,  he  writes  another  letter, 
also  directed  to  the  ministers  abroad,  announcing  the  adoption  of  a  policy 
which,  if  it  could  be  carried  out,  would  make  a  complete  revolution  in  the 
social  organization  of  the  South.  Utterly  regardless  of  his  former  position 
and  deolaration,  he  undertakes  to  justify  the  "emancipation"  proclamation  of 
the  Yankee  President.  But  this  is  not  all.  What  shall  we  say  of  the 
effrontery  of  the  lie,  when  Seward  asserts  that  the  abolition  proclamation  is 
not  only  a  just  and  proper  act,  but  avows  his  belief  that  the  world  will  recog- 
nize 'Hhe  moderation  and  maffnanimitij  with  which  the  goternmenl  proceeds  in  a 
matter  so  solemn  and  important !" 


THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  187 

confessed  to  the  world  his  inability  and  failure  to  accomplish 
his  purposes  by  regular  and  honorable  hostilities.  It  was,  in 
short,  the  diabolical  attempt  of  an  infatuated  ruler,  unworthy 
of  authority,  in  a  fit  of  disappointed  malice,  to  inflict  the  worst 
horrours  known  to  human  nature  upon  eight  millions  of  people 
\Fho  had  wisely  rejected  his  authority. 

The  "emancipation"  proclamation  not  only  strengthened 
the  South  and  nerved  her  to  greater  exertions  in  the  war,  but 
it  fortunately  gave  occasion  to  the  world  for  a  more  interested 
observation  and  closer  study  of  the  peculiar  institution  of  the 
Confederacy.  The  sympathies  of  Europe  with  the  anti  slavery 
party  in  America  were  depressed  by  the  conduct  of  that  party, 
its  exhibitions  of  ferocity  and  by  the  new  manifestations  which 
the  war  had  made  of  the  nature  and  moral  condition  of  negro 
slavery  in  the  South. 

Indeed,  the  war  had  shown  the  system  of  slavery  in  the 
South  to  the  world  in  some  new  and  striking  aspects,  and  had 
removed  much  of  that  cloud  of  prejudice,  defamation,  false- 
hood, romance  and  perverse  sentimentalism  through  which  our 
peculiar  institution  had  been  formerly  known  to  Europe.  It 
had  given  a  better  vindication  of  our  system  of  slavery  than 
all  the  books  that  couli  be  written  in  a  generation.  It  had 
shown  that  slavery  was  an  element  of  strength  with  us  ;  that 
it  had  assisted  us  in  our  struggle;  that  no  servile  insurrections 
had  taken  place  in  the  South  in  spite  of  the  allurements  of  our 
enemy ;  that  the  slave  had  tilled  the  soil  while  his  master  had 
fought ;  that  in  large  districts  unprotected  by  our  troops,  and 
with  a  white  population  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  women 
and  children,  the  slave  had  continued  at  his  work  quiet,  cheer- 
ful and  faithful ;  and  that,  as  a  con^^ervative  element  in  our 
social  system,  the  institution  of  slavery  had  withstood  the 
shocks  of  war  and  been  a  faithful  ally  of  our  arms,  although 
instigated  to  revolution  by  every  art  of  the  enemy,  and 
prompted  to  the  work  of  assassination  and  pillage  by  the  most 
brutal  examples  of  the  Yankee  soldiery.* 

*  The  missiouary  settlements  of  the  Yankees  oa  the  coast  of  South  Caro- 


188  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  "WAR. 

Since  the  commencement  of  the  war  the  North  had  had 
almost  exclusive  access  to  the  ear  of  the  -world,  and  had 
poured  into  it  whatever  of  slander  or  of  misrepresentation 
human  ingenuity  could  suggest.  This  circumstance,  which 
■was  at  first  thought  to  be  a  great  disadvantage  to  us,  had  not 
only  proved  a  harmless  anno3^ancc,  but  had  resulted  in  invalu- 
able benefit.  It  had  secured  sympathy  for  us  ;  it  had  excited 
the  inquiries  of  the  intelligent,  who,  after  &11,  give  the  law  to 
public  opinion ;  and  it  had  naturally  tempted  the  North  to 
such  lying  and  bravado  as  to  disgust  the  world. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  North  had  assured  the 
world  that  the  people  of  the  South  were  a  sensual  and  bar- 
barous people,  demoralized  by  their  institution  of  slavery,  and 
depraved  by  self-will  and  licentiousness  below  the  capacity  for 

Una  were  an  acknowledged  failure,  so  far  as  the  proposed  education  and  ex- 
altation of  the  blacks  were  concerned.  The  appearance  of  the  ancient  town 
of  Beaufort,  since  it  had  fallen  into  the  enemy's  possession,  indicated  the 
peculiarities  of  Yankee  rule,  and  afforded  an  interesting  exhibition  of  their 
relations  with  the  negro.  The  inhabitants  had  taken  nothing  away  with 
them  but  their  personal  property  and  their  valuable  domestic  slave  servants. 
The  furniture  was  left  untouched  in  the  houses.  These  houses  were  owned 
by  the  Barnwells,  the  Rhetts,  the  Cuthberts.  the  rhillipses,  and  other  distin- 
guished families  of  North  Carolina.  The  elegant  furniture,  the  libraries,  the 
works  of  art,  had  nearly  all  disappeared.  Th(^  had  been  sent  North  from 
time  to  time  by  Yankee  officers,  and  many  of  these  officers  of  high  rank. 
The  elegant  dwelling-houses  had  been  converted  into  barracks,  negro  quar- 
ters, hospitals  and  store-houses.  The  best  houses  had  been  put  in  complete 
order,  and  were  occupied  by  the  officers  of  the  department  and  the  abolition- 
ist missionaries  from  Boston  and  elsewhere.  The  elforts  of  these  missiona- 
ries to  teach  the  negroes  their  letters  and  habits  of  cleanliness  met  with  no 
success.  Beaufort  was  full  of  negroes,  well  clothed,  sft  government  expense, 
fat,  saucy  and  lazy.  The  town  looked  dirty  and  disorderly,  and  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  second  class  Mexican  village.  Some  of  the  missionaries  had 
been  elevated  to  the  position  of  planters,  and  occupied  the  estates  of  the  old 
Carolinians.  The  labor  on  these  estates  was  performed  by  contraband  ne- 
groes. These  abolition  lords  assumed  all  the  hauteur  and  dignity  of  the 
Southern  planter.  The  only  difference  to  the  black  labourer  was  that  he 
had  the  name  of  freeman;  his  labour  was  as  unrelenting  as  ever.  Massa- 
chusetts missionaries  and  Massachusetts  speculators  enjoyed  the  larger  share 
of  government  patronage  here.  The  department  of  Hunter  appeared  to  be 
experimenting  in  attempts  to  elevate  a  negro  to  equality  with  the  white  man. 
Military  operations  were  secondary  considerations. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  189 

administrative  government.  The  best  reply  to  these  slanders, 
was  our  conduct  in  this  jvar.  Ih'en  the  little  that  was  known 
in  Europe  of  the  patriotic  devotion,  the  dignity  and  cultivated 
humanity  of  the  people  of  the  South,  as  shown  in  the  war,  had 
been  sufficient  to  win  unbounded  encomiums  for  them.  We 
had  not  only  withstood  for  nearly  two  years  a  power  which  had 
put  thirteen  hundred  thousand  men  in  the  field ;  but  we  had 
shown  that  we  were  a  people  able  in  public  affairs,  resolute, 
brave  and  prudent. 

Another  characteristic  Yankee  misrepresentation,  made  to 
the  world  about  this  time  on  the  subject  of  the  war,  was,  that 
it  was  to  be  concluded  at  an  earlj  day  by  the  force  of  destitu- 
tion and  suffering  in  the  South.  The  delusion  of  conquering 
the  "rebels"  by  famine  easily  caught  the  vulgar  ear.  The 
North  made  it  a  point  to  exaggerate  and  garble  everything  it 
could  find  in  Southern  newspapers,  of  the  ragged  condition  of 
our  armies,  the  high  prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  the 
hardships  of  the  war.  The  Yankees  were  pleasantly  enter- 
tained with  stories  of  our  suffering.  Their  pictorials  were 
adorned  with  caricatures  of  "sccesh"  in  skeleton  soldiers  and 
gaunt  cavalrymen  with  spurs  strapped  to  their  naked  heels. 
Their  perfumed  fops  and  dainty  ladies  had  the  fashion  of  tit- 
tering at  the  rags  of  our  prisoners.  They  had  an  overwhelm- 
ing sense  of  the  ludicrous  in  the  idea  of  Southern  women 
cutting  up  the  carpets  in  their  houses  to  serve  for  blankets  and 
garments  for  the  soldiers. 

The  fact  was  that  our  sufferings  were  great;  but  their  mute 
eloquence  which  the  enemy  misinterpreted  as  a  prospect  of 
craven  submission,  was  truly  the  sign  of  self-devotion.  AVhat- 
everwas  suffered  in  physical  destitution  was  not  to  be  regret- 
ted. It  practiced  our  people  in  self-denial;  it  purified  their 
spirit;  it  brought  out  troops  of  virtues;  it  ennobled  our  wo- 
men with  offices  of  charity;  it  gave  us  new  bonds  of  sympathy 
and  love,  and  it  trained  us  in  those  qualities  which  make  a 
nation  great  and  truly  independent. 

In  the  whirl  of  passing  events,  many  strange  things  were 


190  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

daily  happening  around  us  that  at  a  remoter  period  of  history 
Vi\\\  read  like  romance.  The  directions  of  our  industry  were 
changed.  Planters  raised  corn  and  potatoes,  fattened  hogs 
and  cultivated  garden  vegetables,  while  cotton  was  by  univer- 
sal consent  neglected.  Our  newspapers  were  of  all  sizes  and 
colours,  sometimes  containing  four  pages,  sometimes  two,  and 
not  a  few  were  printed  on  common  brown  wrapping  paper. 
Politics  were  dead.  A  political  enemy  was  a  curiosity  only 
read  of  in  the  records  of  the  past.  Our  amusements  had  been 
revolutionized.  Outside  of  Richmond,  a  theatre  was  remem- 
bered only  as  an  instkution  of  bye-gone  times.  Most  of  our 
people  did  their  own  playing  and  their  own  singing;  and  the 
ladies  spent  the  mornings  in  sewing  coarse  shirts  or  pantaloons 
for  the  soldiers  to  wear,  and  sung  in  public  at  night  to  gain 
money  for  the  soldiers'  eijuipments. 

The  footprints  of  the  enemy,  in  Virginia  especially,  had 
marked  lines  of  desolation  such  as  history  seldom  records. 
Starting  from  Fortress  Monroe  and  running  westward  to  Win- 
chester, scarcely  a  house  within  fifty  miles  of  the  Potomac  but 
bore  evidence  of  Yankee  greed  and  spoliation.  In  nearly 
every  county  the  court-house  in  which  the  assizes  for  each 
county  used  to  be  held,  was  rudely  demolished,  doors  and  win- 
dows torn  down,  while  within,  upon  the  white  walls  in  every 
phase  of  handwriting,  were  recorded  the  autographs  of  the 
vandals,  whose  handiwork  surrounded  the  beholder. 

"White  the  people  of  the  South  suffered,  the  resources  of  the 
country  were  developed  by  harsh  necessity;  and  about  the  pe- 
riod where  our  narrative  reaches,  we  are  called  upon  to  notice 
that  happy  change  in  the  administration  of  our  government,  in 
which  short-sighted  expectations  of  peace  were  replaced  by 
the  policy  of  provision  and  an  amassment  of  stores  for  a  war 
of  indefinite  duration.  Measures  were  adopted  to  afford  ade- 
quate supplies  of  ordnance,  arms  and  munitions  for  the  army. 
Of  small  arms  the  supply  was  more  adequate  to  the  regiments 
of  the  army  than  at  any  other  time.  They  had  increased  from 
importation  and  capture  not  less  than  eighty  thousand.     Es- 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  191 

tablisliments  for  making  ordnance  "were  founded  in  different 
parts  of  the  South;  a  nitre  corps  was  organized  for  service; 
and  former  dread  of  deficiency  of  the  munitions  of  vmr  no 
longer  existed.  The  manufacturing  resources  of  tlie  country, 
especially  in  iron,  were  liberally  patronized  by  the  government, 
by  liirge  advances  and  liberal  contracts;  but  in  this  the  public 
service  met  great  embarrassment  from  the  temptations  con- 
stantly offered  to  contractors  to  prefer  the  superiour  profits 
which  they  could  command  by  supplying  the  general  market. 
The  quartermaster's  department  was  under  the  direction  of 
Gen.  Myers,  of  South  Carolina,  whose  contributions  to  the  cause 
of  the  South,  in  the  zeal  and  ability  which  he  brought  into  his 
important  office,  must  take  a  high  rank  in  all  the  histories  of 
the  war.  He  contended  against  the  great  obstacles  of  the 
blockade,  the  difficulties  of  railroad  transportation  and  the 
constant  losses  in  the  enemy's  ravages  of  the  country,  and 
performed  wonders  under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances. 
Woolens  and  leather  were  imported  from  Europe  through 
trains  of  difficulties;  the  most  devoted  exertions  were  made  to 
replenish  the  scant  supplies  of  blankets  and  shoes  in  the  army; 
and  by  using  to  the  utmost  our  internal  resources,  by  the  es- 
tablishment of  factories  and  the  organization  of  workshops; 
and  by  greater  economy  in  the  use  of  our  supplies,  the  suffer- 
ings of  our  soldiers  were  alleviated  and  their  zeal  refreshed 
for  the  campaign. 


m 


w 


THE   SIi:CO^■D    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Ucroism  of  Virginia... Her  Battle-Fields...Barnside's  Plan  of  Cam- 
paig^n...C.'\lculations  of  his  ATovcmcnt  upon  Fredericksburg. ..Fnilnre  to  Sur- 
prise Gen.  Lee. ..The  Batti.k  or  FnF.DEnicK9nuna...The  Enemy  Crossinpc  the 
River. ..Their  Bombardment  of  the  Town. ..Scenes  of  Distress. ..The  Battle -ou 
the  Right  Wing. ..The  Story  of  Marye's  Heights. ..liepulsc  of  the  Enemy... 
The  Old  Lesson  of  Barren  Victory. ..Death  of  Gen.  Cobb...Peath  of  General 
Gregg. ..Romance  of  the  Storj'  of  Fredericksburg... Iler  Noble  Women. ..Yan- 
kee Sacking  of  the  Town... A  Specimen  of  Yankee  Warfare  in  North  Caro- 
lina...Designs  of  the  Enemy  in  this  State. ..The  Engagements  of  Kinston... 
Glance  at  other  Theatres  of  the  War. ..Gen.  Ilindman's  Victory  at  Prairie 
GrOTe... Achievements  of  our  Cavalry  in  the  West. ..The  Affair  of  Ilartsville... 
Col.  Clarkson'a  Expedition-. .Condition  of  Events  at  the  Close  of  the  Year 
18C2. 

^  Virginia  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  war.  Nearly  two- 
thirds  of  her  territory  had  been  overrui)  by  the  enemy,  and 
her  richest  fields  had  been  drenched  with  blood  or  marked  by 
the  scars  of  the  invader.  Tiic  patriotic  spirit  and  the  chival- 
rous endurance  of  this  ancient  and  admirable  commonwealth 
had  not  only  supported  these  losses  and  afllictions  without  a 
murmur,  but  these  experiences  of  the  war  were  the  sources  of 
new  inspiration,  and  the  occasions  of*renewed  resolution  and 
the  reinforcement  of  courage  by  the  sentiment  of  devotion. 
When  we  add  to  the  consideration  of  the  grand  spirit  of  this 

,  State  the  circumstances  that  the  flower  of  the  Confederate 
army  was  naturally  collected  on  tliis  tbo  most  critical  theatre 
of  the  war,  and  that  the  operations  in  Virginia  were  assisted 
by  the  immediate  presence  of  the  government,  we  shall  natu- 
rally look  here  for  the  most  brilliant  and  decisive  successes  of 
the  war. 

When  the  Confederate  army  fell  back  into  Virginia,  after 
its  short  but  eventful  campaign  in  Mar}'land,  Gen.  Lee,  by  tjie 
skillful  disposition  of  his  forces  in  front  of  Winchester,  ren- 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  193 

dered  it  impracticable  for  McClellan  to  invade  the  Valley  of 
the  Shenandoah,  and  forced  him  to  adopt  the  route  on  the  eaat 
side  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  Federal  commander  accepted 
this  alternative  the  more  readily,  since  he  hoped,  by  an  osten- 
tatious display  of  a  part  of  his  forces  near  Shepherdstown,  to 
deceive  Gen.  Lee  and  gain  his  flank  and  rear  at  Warrenton. 
On  his  arrival  at  this  latter  place,  however,  much  to  hia 
surprise  and  dismny,  he  found  the  forces  of  Lee  quietly  await- 
ing him  on  the  south  bank  of  the  llappahannock. 

McClellan  having  been  superseded  by  Burnside,  that  officer 
undertook  a  plan  of  campaign  entirely  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility, in  opposition  to  the  suggestions  of  Ilalleck  and  to  what 
were  known  to  be  the  predilections  of  the  military  authorities 
at  Washington.  The  plan  of  Gen.  Burnside  was  to  concentrate 
l^.he  army  in  the  nciglibourhood  of  Warrenton,  to  make  a  small 
movement  across  the  Rappahannock  as  a  feint,  with  a  view  to 
divert  the  attention  of  the  Confederates  and  lead  them  to 
believe  he  was  going  to'move  in  the  direction  of  Gordonsville, 
and  then  to  make  a  rapid  movement  of  the  whole  army  to 
Fredericksburg,  on  the  North  side  of  the  Rappahannock. 

In  moving  upon  Fredericksburg,  Gen.  Burnside  calculated 
that  his  army  would  all  the  time  be  as  near  Washington  as 
would  the  Confederates,  and  that  after  arriving  at  Fredericks- 
burg it  would  be  at  a  point  nearer  to  Richmond  than  it  would 
be  even  if  it  should  take  Gordonsville. 

This  novel  enterprise  against  the  Confederate  Capital  was 
hailed  by  the  Northern  newspapers  with  renewed  acclamations 
of  "on  to  Richmond;"  and  the  brazen  and  familiar  prophecy 
of  the  fall  of  the  city  "  within  ten  days"  was  repeated  with 
new  emphasis  and  bravado.  In  the  meantime  the  plans  of 
Burnside,  so  far  as  they  contemplated  a  surprise  of  the  Con- 
federates, had  failed,  and  at  Fredericksburg,  a3  at  Warrenton, 
his  army  found  itself,  by  the  active  movements  of  Gen.  Lee, 
confronted  by  a  force  sufficient  to  dispute  its  advance  and  to 
deliver  battle  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the  stake. 
13 


194  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


TUE  BATTLE  OF  FREDERICKSBURG. 

Gen.  Burnsitlc  having,  concentrated  his  army  at  Fredericks- 
burg, employed  himself  for  several  days  in  the  latter  part  of 
November  in  bringing  up  from  Aquia  Creek  all  the  pontoons 
he  could  for  building  the  bridges  which  were  necessary  to  throw 
his  forces  across  the  river.  Several  councils  of  war  were  called 
to  decide  about  crossing  the  Rappahannock.  It  was  finally 
determined  to  cross  at  Fredericksburg,  under  the  impression 
that  Gen.  Lee  had  thrown  a  large  portion  of  his  force  down 
the  river  and  elsewhere,  thus  weakening  his  defences  in  front. 

On  the  night  of  the  10th  December  the  enemy  commenced 
to  throw  three  bridges  over  the  Rappahannock — two  at 
Fredericksburg,  and  the  third  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter 
below,  near  the  mouth  of  Deep  Run.  In  the  prosecution  of 
this  work,  the  enemy  was  defended  by  his  artillery  on  the  hills 
of  Stafford,  which  completely  commanded  the  plain  on  which 
Fredericksburg  stands.  The  narrowness  of  the  Rappahannock, 
its  winding  course,  and  deep  bed,  afforded  opportunity  for  the 
construction  of  bridges  at  points  beyond  the  reach  of  our 
artillery,  and  th?  banks  had  to  be  watched  by  skirmishers. 
The  houses  of  Fredericksburg  afforded  a  cover  for  the  skir- 
mishers at  the  bridges  opposite  the  town,  but  at  the  lowest 
point  of  crossing  no  shelter  could  be  had. 

The  17th  Mississippi  regiment,  Barksdale's  brigade,  being 
on  picket  within  the  town,  were  ordered  to  the  bluff  overlook- 
in2  the  site  of  the  old  railroad  brid";c.  The  moon  was  bril- 
liant,  and  by  its  light  our  men  could  distinguish  the  enemy's 
forces  working  on  a  pontoon  bridge  stretching  from  the  Staf- 
ford bank  towards  the  foot  of  the  bluff.  In  the  course  of  an 
hour  the  bridge  had  been  stretched  within  sixty  yards  of  the 
southern  shore.  The  work  was  going  bravely  on,  when  the 
two  companies  of  the  ITtli,  who  were  lying  on  the  extreme 
verge  of  the  bluff,  were  ordered  to  fire.  The  order  was  delibe- 
rately given  and  executed.  At  the  crack  of  our  rifles,  the 
bridge-builders  scampered  for  the  shore;  but  the  next  moment 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  195 

there  was  opened  upon  the  bluff  a  terrific  fire  of  shell,  grape 
and  musketry,  which  was  kept  up  until  our  troops  retired. 
Twice  again,  at  intervals  of  half  an  hour,  the  enemy  renewed 
the  attempt  to  complete  the  bridge,  but  was  in  each  instance 
repulsed.  After  the  third  repulse  of  the  enemy,  the  whole  of 
Barksdale's  brigade  Avas  ordered  to  the  support  of  the  IVth 
regiment,  and  were  put  into  position,  some  in  the  rear  of  the 
bluff  and  others  higher  up  and  lower  down  the  stream.  At 
this  juncture  the  enemy's  fire  from  cannon  and  small  arms  be- 
came so  tremendous  and  overwhelming  that  our  troops  were 
only  preserved  from  destruction  by  lying  flat  on  their  faces. 
In  every  instance  in  which  a  man  ventured  to  raise  his  head 
from  the  earth,  he  was  instantly  riddled  by  bullets  or  torn  to 
pieces  by  grapeshot.  The  emergency  may  be  und'erstood  when 
it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  position  occupied  by  our  men  was 
swept  by  the  enemy's  batteries  and  sharpshooters  not  two  hun- 
dred yards  distant  on  the  opposite  heights. 

Towards  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  11th  December, 
three  rousing  chcers'from  the  river  bank  beneath  the  bluff  an- 
nounced that  the  enemy  had  completed  the  bridge,  and  that 
his  troops  had  effected  a  landing  on  the  southern  bank.  About 
this  time  the  order  for  a  retreat  was  received  by  our  men. 
The  regiments  of  the  brigade  fell  back  by  different  streets, 
firing  as  they  retreated  upon  the  enemy,  who  closely  followed 
them.  The  brigade  rendezvoused  at  the  market-house  and 
faced  the  enemy.  A  sharp  skirmish  ensued,  but  our  troops, 
acting  under  orders,  again  fell  back  and  left  the  town  in  pos- 
session of  the  enemy. 

It  having  become  evident  to  Gen.  Lee  that  no  effectual  op- 
position could  be  offered  to  the  construction  of  the  bridges  or 
passage  of  the  river,  it  only  remained  that  positions  should  bo 
selected  to  oppose  the  enemy's  advance  after  crossing.  Under 
cover  of  the  darkness  of  the  night  of  the  12th  and  of  a  dense 
fog,  a  large  force  passed  the  river,  and  took  position  on  the 
right  bank,  protected  by  their  heavy  guns  on  the  left. 

The  effects  of  the  enemy's  bombardment  upon  the  unfortu- 


19G  THB  8BC0ND   TBAR   OF  THB  WAB. 

nate  town  vcre  dcploraMe.  The  majority  of  the  population 
bad  long  ago  fled  the  city  at  tlie  prospect  of  its  destruction; 
and  the  touching  spectacles  of  their  misery  and  suffering  ^vere 
Been  for  miles  around  the  city,  where  houseless  women  juid 
children  were  camped  out  or  roaming  shelterless  and  hungry 
through  the  fields,  A  number  of  citizens  who  had  returned  to 
the  town  under  the  delusion  that  it  would  not  be  attacked,  left 
it  during  the  day  the  enemy  crossed  the  river,  single  or  in 
families,  and  sought  for  refuge  and  safety  in  the  country. 
They  were  scattered  about — some  in  cabins,  some  in  the  open 
air,  and  others  wandering  vacantly  along  the  railroads.  Little 
children  with  blue  feet  trod  painfully  the  frozen  ground,  and 
those  whom  they  followed  knew  as  little  as  themselves  where 
to  seek  food  »nd  shelter.  Hundreds  of  ladies  wandered  home- 
less  over  the  frozen  highway,  with  bare  feet  and  thin  clothing, 
knowing  not  where  to  find  a  place  of  refuge.  Delicately  nur- 
tured girl.s,  with  slender  forms,  upon  which  no  rain  had  ever 
beat,  which  no  wind  had  ever  visited  too  roughly,  walked  hur- 
riedly, with  unsteady ,  feet,  upon  the  road,  seeking  only  some 
place  where  they  could  shelter  themselves.  Whole  families 
sought  fcheJs  by  the  wayside,  or  made  roofs  of  fence-rails  and 
Btraw,  knowing  not  whither  to  fly,  or  to  what  friend  to  have 
recourse.  This  was  the  result  of  the  enemy's  bombardment. 
Night  had  settled  down,  and  though  the  roar  of  the  batteries 
bad  hushed,  the  flames  of  burning  houses  still  lit  up  the  land- 
Bcaj)C. 

The  sun  of  the  loih  of  December  rose  clear,  but  a  dim  fog 
shrouded  the  town  of  Fredericksburg  and  the  circumjacent 
valleys,  and  delayed  the  opening  of  the  antagonistic  batteries. 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  our  troops  were  all  under  arms, 
and  batteries  in  position  to  receive  tlie  expected  attack  of  the 
enemy. 

The  Rappahannock,  in  its  course  from  west  to  cast,  is  skirted, 
just  at  the  point  where  Fredericksburg  stands  on  its  southern 
bank,  by  low  crests  of  hills,  which  on  the  northern  bank  run 
parallel  and  close  to  the  river,  and  on  the  southern  bank  trend 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  197 

backward  from  the  stream,  and  leave  a  semi-circular  plain  six 
miles  in  length  and  two  or  three  in  depth,  enclosed  within  their 
circumference  before  they  again  approach  the  river  in  tho 
neighborhood  of  Massaponax  creek.  Immediately  above  tho 
town,  and  on  the  left  of  the  Confederate  position,  the  bluffs 
are  bold  and  bare  of  trees;  but  south  of  the  railroad,  begin- 
ning near  the  town  and  running  to  a  point  at  Hamilton's  Cross- 
ing, and  also  parallel  with  the  river,  is  a  range  of  hills  covered 
■with  dense  oak  forest  fringed  on  its  northern  border  by  pine 
thickets.  Our  force?  occupied  the  whole  length  of  this  forest. 
Longstreet'a  corps  occupied  the  highlands  above,  opposite  and 
for  a  mile  belo\v  the  town.  Jackson's* corps  rested  on  Long- 
street's  right,  and  extended  away  to  the  eastward,  the  extreme 
right  under  A.  P.  Hill  crossing  the  railroad  at  Hamilton's 
crossing,  and  stretching  into  the  valley  towards  the  river. 
Our  front  was  about  six  miles  in  length.  I^Iost  of  the  batte- 
ries of  both  corps  were  posted  in  the  skirts  of  the  forest,  along 
the  line  of  the  railroad,  the  seven  batteries  in  Colonel  Lindsey 
Walker's  regiment  and  Stuart's  horse  artillery  being  stationed 
in  the  valley,  between  the  railroad  at  Hamilton  s  Crossing  and 
the  river.  The  enemy's  forces  occupied  the  valley  north  of 
the  railroad  from  Fredericksburg  to  within  half  a  mile  of  our 
extreme  right.  His  light  batteries  were  posted  over  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  the  valley,  at  from  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  H 
mile  from  the  railroad,  while  the  hills  on  the  northern  banks 
of  the  river  from  Falmouth  to  Fitzhuiih's  farm,  five  miles  be- 
low  Fredericksburg,  were  studded  at  intervals  of  half  a  mile 
with  his  batteries  of  heavy  guns. 

At  noon  the  fog  had  cleared  away,  but  there  was  a  thick 
haze  in  the  atmosphere.  About  this  time  the  enemy's  infantry 
moved  forward  from  the  river  towards  our  batteries  on  th^ 
hills.  As  they  pressed  forifard  across  the  valley,  Stuart'4 
horse  artillery  from  our  extreme  right  opened  upon  them  a  de- 
structive enfilading  fire  of  round  shot.  This  fire,  which  an- 
noyed them  sorely,  was  kept  up  in  spite  of  six  batteries  which 
were  directed  against  the  horse  artillery  as  soon  as  it  was  un- 


198  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

masked.  By  one  o'clock  the  Yankee  columns  had  crossed  the 
valli  J  and  entered  the  woods  south  of  the  railrojSB.  The  bat- 
teries on  both  sides  slackened  their  fire,  and  musketry,  at  first 
scattering,  but  quickly  increasing  to  a  crash  and  roar,  sounded 
through  the  woods.  Dense  volumes  of  smoke  rose  above  the 
trees,  and  volley  succeeded  volley,  sometimes  so  rapidly  as  to 
blend  into  a  pfolonged  and  continuous  roar.  A.  P;  Hill's  di- 
•vision  sustained  the  first  shock  of  battle.  The  rest  of  Jack- 
son's corps  were  in  different  lines  of  reserves.  D.  II.  Hill's 
division  was  drawn  up  in  J.  L.  Maryc's  field,  under  a  long  hill, 
•iu  rear  of  our  line  of  battle.  Here  they  remained  during  the 
most  of  the  da}',  being,  moved  from  time  to  time  to  the  right 
or  left,  as  the  exigencies  of  battle  dictated.  Shortly  after  the 
infantry  fight  be^an,  a  brigade  of  this  division  was  moved  at  a 
double-quick  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  right,  and  posted  in  a 
dense  clump  of  pines  in  supporting  distance  of  StUBrt's  horse 
artillery.  In  ten  minutes  they  were  brought  back  to  their 
original  position..  The  celerity  of  this  movement  made  a  sin- 
.gular  and  exciting  spectacle.  A  long  black  line  shoots  from 
ithe  position  of  the  reserves,  crosses  the  railroad  at  Hamilton's 
station,  skims  across  the  valley,  and  in  a  few  moments  is  lost 
in  the  pines  nearly  two  miles  away.  After  scarcely  a  breath- 
ing spell,  the  same  line  emerges  from  the  pines  and  retraces 
its  steps  to  its  original  position.  As  this  brigade  resumed  its 
position  in  reserve,  the  fire  of  musketry  directly  in  its  front 
slackened.  A  few  crackling  shots  were'  heard  to  our  left, 
along  Longstrect's  division,  and  then  a  succession  of  volleys, 
which  were  kept  up  at  intervals  during  the  remainder  of  the 
evening.  The  musketry  fire  on  our  right  was  soon  renewed, 
and  the  battle  raged  with  increased  fury.  Our  batteries  along 
our  Avholc  front  again  re-opened,  and  Col.  Walker's  artillery 
regiment,  composed  of  Latham^,  Letcher's,  Bi'axton's,  Pe- 
gram's,  Crenshaw's,  Johnson's  and  Mcintosh's  batteries,  sta- 
tioned in  the  open  low  grounds  to  the  east  of  the  railroad  at 
Hamilton's  station,  moved  forward  several  hundred  yards  in 
the  direction  of  Fredericksburg.     Hill's  and  Early's   troops 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  199 

had  driven  tlie  enemy  from  the  woods  and  across  the  railvoad 
in  the  direction  of  their  pontoon  bridges  near  Deep  Run.  Our 
men  pursued  them  a  mile  and  a  half  across  the  bottom  land, 
and  fell  back  only  when  they  had  gotten  under  the  shelter  of 
their  batteries.  Again  the  enemy  rallied  and  returned  to  re- 
new the  contest,  but  were  again  driven  back.  All  the  batteries 
of  Jackson's  corps  were  at  this  time  in  full  play,  and  in  the 
approaching  twilight  the  blaze  of  the  guns  and  the  quick 
Hashes  of  the  shells  more  distinctly  visible,  constituted  a  scene 
at  once  splendid  and  terrific. 

On  the  right  wing  the  enemy  had  been  driven  back  with 
great  loss.  General  Stuart  had  well  redeemed  his  grim 
despatch — that  he  was  "going  to  crowd  l^^m  with  artillery." 
The  enormous  strength  of  this  military  arin,  had  been  used 
with  desperation  on  one  side  and  devoted  courage  on  the  other. 
The  enemy  had  twenty  thousand  men  engaged  on  this  wing : 
while,  altogether,  from  first  to  last,  we  had  not  more  than  ten 
thousand  in  the  line  of  fire. 

But  while  the  battle  was  dashing  furiously  against  the  lines 
of  Jackson,  the  enemy  was  crossing  troops  over  his  bridges  at 
Fredericksburg  and   massing  them   in  front  of  Longstreet,  in  ' 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  town. 

On  reference  to  the  positions  of  the  battle-field,  it  will  be 
apparent  that  the  left  of  the  Confederate  arm}' — a  portion  of 
it  stationed  not  more  than  four  hundred  yards  from  Fredericks- 
burg— occupied  a  much  stronger  position  than  the  centre  and 
right.  There  was  not  sufiicient  room  for  the  Yankee  troops 
destined  for  the  attack  of  the  nearest  Confederate  batteries  to 
deploy  and  form,  except  under  a  deadly  Confederate  fire, 
whereas,  the  Yankee  troops  who  attacked  the  Confederate 
centre  and  right  had  a  large  plain  on  which  to  deploy,  and  had 
much  fewer  disadvantages  of  ground  to  contend  with,  inasmuch 
as  they  advanced  against  lower  hills  and  had  the  long  spurs  of 
copse  to  assist  them  as  points  of  attack,  calculated  to  protect 
and  serve  as  points  cCappui  to  the  Yankees  if  they  could  once 
have  succeeded  in  carrying  and  holding  them. 


£00  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OP   THE    WAR. 

In  tliis  part  of  the  field  the  enemy  tlispliiyeJ  a  devotion  tliat 
ie  remarkable  in  history.  This  dis[»lay  does  not  adorn  the 
Yankees:  it  was  made  by  a  race  tliat  has  left  testimonies  of 
its  courage  in  such  stories  as  Waterloo  and  Fonteroy.  To  the 
Irish  division,  commanded  by  Gen.  Meagher,  was  principally 
committed  the  desperate  task  of  bursting  out  of  the  town  of 
Fredericksburg,  and  forming  under  the  withering  fire  of  the 
Confederate  batteries,  to  attack  Marye's  Heights,  towering 
immediately  in  their  front.  Tl.e  troops  were  harangued  in 
impassioned  language  by  their  commander,  who  pointed  to  the 
heights  as  the  contested  prize  of  victory. 

The  heights  were  occupied  by  the  Washington  Artillery  and 
a  portion  of  McLaws'  division.  As  the  enemy  advanced,  the 
artillery  reserved  their  fire  u:ilil  he  arrived  within  two  hundred 
and  fifty  yards,  when  they  opened  on  the  heavy  masses  with 
grape  and  canister.  At  the  first  bro  dside  of  the  sixteen  guns 
of  the  battalion,  hundreds  of  the  enemy  went  down,  and  at  every 
successive  discharge  great  furrows  were  plowed  through  their 
ranks.  They  staggered  repeatedly,  but  were  as  often  rallied 
and  brought  forward.  Again  and  again  they  made  frantic 
dashes  upon  our  steady  line  of  fire,  and  as  often  were  the  hill- 
sides strewn  for  acres  with  their  corpses.  At  last,  no  longer 
able  to  withstand  the  withering  fire,  they  broke  and  iled  in 
confusion.  They  were  pressed  into  town  by  our  infantry.  Our 
\ictory  was  complete  all  along  the  line.  When  the  voices  of 
our  ofiiccrs  in  the  darkness  ordered  the  last  advance,  the  com- 
bat had  terminated  in  the  sjlonce  of  the  f  je. 

The  enemy  left  behind  him  a  ghastly  field.  Some  portions 
of  it  were  literally  packed  with  his  dead.  At  the  foot  of 
Marye's  Heights  Avas  a  frightful  spectacle  of  carnage.  The 
bodies  which  had  fallen  in  dense  masses  within  forty  yards  .of 
the  muzzles  of  Col.  Walton's  guns,  testified  to  the  gallantry  of 
the  Irish  division,  and  showed  what  manner  of  men  they  were 
who  pressed  on  to  death  with  the  dauntlessness  of  a  race  whose 
courage  history  has  made  indisputable.  The  loss  of  the  enemy 
was   out  of  all   comparison    in  numbers  with   our   own ;  the 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  201 

evidences  of  its  extent  do  not  permit  us  to  doubt  that  it  was 
at  least  ten  thousand ;  while  our  own  killed  and  wounded, 
during  the  operations  since  the  movements  of  the  enemy  began 
at  Fredericksburg,  amounted  to  about  eighteen  hundred. 

At  the  thrilling  tidings  of  Fredericksburg  the  hopes  of 
the  South  rose  high  that  we  were  at  last  to  realize  some 
important  and  practical  consequences  from  the  prowess  of  our 
arms.  We  had  obtained  a  victory  in  which  the  best  troops  of 
the  North — including  Sumner's  grand  division — had  been 
beaten  ;  in  which  defeat  had  loft  the  shattered  foe  cowering 
beneath  the  houses  of  Fredericksburg ;  and  in  which  he  had 
been  forced  into  a  position  which  left  him  no  reasonable  hope 
of  escape,  with  a  river  in  his  rear,  whicli,  thougli  threaded  by 
pOntoon  bridges,  wouhl  have  been  impassable  under  the 
pressure  of  attack.  It  is  remaikable  that,  so  far  as  the  war 
had  progressed,  although  fought  on  an  almost  unparalleled 
scale  in  numbers,  it  was  yet  not  illustrated  by  the  event  so 
common  in  the  military  history  of  Europe,  of  the  decisive 
annihilation  of  any  single  army.  But  it  was  thought  that 
Fredericksburg,  at  least,  would  give  an  illustration  of  a 
decisive  victory  in  this  war.  The  Southern  public  waited  with 
impatience  for  the  completion  of  the  success  that  had  already 
been  announced,  and  the  newspapers  were  eagerly  scanned  for 
the  hoped-for  intelligence  that  Gen.  Lee  had,  by  the  vigour  of 
a  fresh  asi^ault,  dispatched  his  crippled  enemy  on  the  banks  of 
the  river.  But  no  such  assault  was  made.  While  the  public 
watched  with  keen  impatience  for  the  blow,  the  announcement 
came  that  the  enemy,  after  having  remained  entirely  at  his 
leisure  one  day  in  Fredericksburg,  had  the  next  night  crossed 
the  Rappahannock  Avithout  accident  or  a  single  effort  at  inter- 
ruption on  our  part,  and  that  the  army  of  Burnside,  which 
was  a  short  while  ago  thought  to  be  in  the  jaws  of  destruction, 
was  quietly  re-organizing  in  perfect  security  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  river.  It  was  the  old  lesson  to  the  South  of  a  barren 
victory.  The  story  of  Fredericksburg  was  incomplete  and 
unsatisfactory;  and  there  appeared  no  prospect  but  that  a  war 


202  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

xragcd  at  awful  sacrifices  was  yet  indefinitely  to  linger  in  the 
trail  of  bJoody  skirmishes. 

The  victory,  which  had  only  the  negative  Advantage  of 
having  checked  the  enemy  without  destroying  him,  and  the 
vulgar  glory  of  our  having  killed  and  wounded  several  thousand 
men  more  than  we  had  lost,  had  been  purchased  by  us  with 
lives,  though  comparatively  small  in  numbers,  yet  infinitely 
more  precious  than  those  of  mercenary  hordes  arrayed  against 
us.  Two  of  our  Brigadier-Generals — General  Thomas  K.  11. 
Cobb  of  Georgia  and  Gen.  Maxcy  Gregg  of  South  Carolina — 
had  fallen  on  the  field.  The  loss  of  each  was  more  conspicuous 
from  extraordinary  personal  worth  than  from  mere  distinctions 
of  rank.  Gen.  Cobb  was  the  brother  of  Gen.  Ilowell  Cobb, 
and  was  an  able  and  eloquent  member  of  the  Provisional  Con- 
gress, in  which  body  he  had  served  in  the  important  capacity 
of  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs. 

Of  the  virtues  and  services  of  Gon.  Maxcy  Gregg  it  is  not 
necessary  to  remind  any  portion  of  the  people  of  the  South 
by  a  detailed  review  of  incidents  in  his  career.  His  name  was 
^familiarly  coupled  with  the  first  movements  of  the  war,  he 
having  been  appointed  to  the  command^  of  the  First  South 
Carolina  regiment,  the  first  force  from  the  State  which  arrived 
in  Virginia,  and  whose  advent  at  Ilichmond  had  been  hailed 
with  cxtruor<linary  demonstrations  of  honour  and  welcome. 
The  term  of  the  service  of  this  regiment  having  expired,  it 
returned  to  South  Carolin-i,  but  its  commander.  Colonel  Gregg, 
remained  in  Virginia,  and  subsequently  re-organized  the  regi- 
ment, which  had  since  been  constantly  and  conspicuously  in 
service.  Its  commander  was  eubsequently  made  a  Brigadier 
General. 

Gen.  Gregg,  although  the  occupations  of  Ijis  life  were  prin- 
cipally professional,  iiad  a  large  and  brilliant  political  reputa- 
tion in  his  State.  He  was  a  leading  member  of  ibe  bar,  and 
practiced  his  profession  with  distinction  and  success  for  a 
period  of  more  than  twenty  years  in  Columbia.  In  politics 
he  was  an  extreme  State  Rights  man,  and  stood,  with  others. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  203 

at  the  liead  of  that  part}'^  in  South  Carolina.  He  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  favour  of  the  policy  of  re  opening  the  Slave  Trade, 
■which  had  been  the  subject  of  some  excited  and  untimely  dis- 
cussion in  the  South  some  years  ago;  he  and  ex-Governor 
Adams,  of  South  Carolina,  being  associated  as  the  leading 
representatives  of  that  idea  in  the  Cotton  States. 

Gen.  Gregg  was  remarkable  for  his  firm  and  unflinching 
temper.  In  the  army  he  had  an  extraordinary  reputation  for 
self-possession  and  sang  frold  in  battle.  He  was  never  discon- 
certed, and  had  the  happy  faculty  of  inspiring  the  courage  -of 
his  troops,  not  so  much  by  words  as  by  his  cool  determination 
and  ei'cn  behaviour. 

The  romance  of  the  story  of  Fredericksburg,  is  written  no 
less  in  the  quiet  heroism  of  her  women  th«n  in  deeds  of  arms. 
The  verses  of  the  poet  rather  than  the  cold  language  of  a  mere 
chronicle  of  events  are  most  fitting  to  describe  the  beautiful 
courage  and  noble  sacrifices  of  those  brave  daughters  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  preferred  to  see  their  homes  reduced  to  ashes, 
rather  than  polluted  by  the  Yankee,  and  who  in  the  blasts  of 
winter,  and  in  the  fiercer  storms  of  blood  and  fire,  went  forth 
undismayed,  encouraging  our  soldiers,  and  proclaiming  their 
desire  to  suffer  privation,  poverty  and  death,  rather  than  the 
shame  of  a  surrender  or  the  misfortune  of  a  defeat.  In  all 
the  terrible  scenes  of  Fredericksburg,  there  were  no  weakness 
and  tears  of  women. '  Mothers,  exiles  from  their  homes,  met 
their  sons  in  the  ranks,  embraced  them,  told  them  their  duty, 
and  with  a  self-negation  most  touching  to  witness,  concealed 
their  want,  sometimes  their  hunger,  telling  their  brave  boys 
they  were  comfortable  and  happy,  that  they  might  not  be 
troubled  witli  domestic  anxieties.  At  Hamilton  Crossing, 
many  of  the  women  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting  their  rela- 
tives in  the  army.  In  the  haste  of  flight,  mothers  had  brought 
a  fi;w  garments,  or  perhaps  the  last  loaf  of  bread  for  the  sol- 
dier boy,  and  the  lessDn  of  duty  whispered  in  the  ear  gave  to 
the  youn^  heart  the  pure  and  brave  inspiration  to  sustain  it  in 
battle.     Ko  more  touching  and  noble  evidence  could  be  offered 


204  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

of  the  lieroisrn  of  the  women  of  Fredericksburg  than  the  gra- 
titiitle  of  our  array;  for,  afterwards,  when  sub'^criptions  for 
their  relief  came  to  be  a(Me(l  up,  it  was  found  that  thousands 
of  dollars  had  been  contributed  by  ragged  soldiers  out  of  their 
pittance  of  pay  to  the  fund  of  the  refugees.  Tlicre  could  be 
no  more  eloquent  tribute  than  this  offered  to  the  wottcn  of 
Fredericksburg — a  beautiful  and  immortal  souvenir  of  their 
Bufferings  and  virtues. 

What  w.is  endured  in  the  Yankee  sacking  of  the  town,  finds 
BCarcely  anywhere  a  par.illel  in  the  history  of  civilized  races. 
It  is  impossible  to  detail  here  the  munlerous  acts  of  the 
enemy,  the  arsons,  the  robberies,  the  torture  of  women,  and 
the  innumerable  and  indescribable  villanies  committed  upon 
helpless  people.  The  following  extract  from  the  New  York 
Tribune^  written  by  one  of  its  army  correspondents  in  a  tone 
of  devili.sh  amusement,  affcirds  a  glimpse  of  Burnside's  bri- 
gands in  Fredericksburg,  and  of  the  accustomed  barbarities  of 
the  enemy. 

"The  old' mansion  of  Douglas  Gordon — perhaps  the  wealth- 
"  iest  citizen  in  the  vicinity — is  now  used  as  the  headquarters 
*'  of  General  Howard,  but  before  he  occupied  it,  every  room 
''had  been  torn  with  shot,  and  tlu'n  all  the  elegant  furniture 
"and  works  of  art  broken  and  smashed  by  the  soldiers,  who 
"burst  into  the  house  after  having  driven  the  rebel  sliarp- 
"  shooters  from  behind  it.  When  I  entered  it  early  this  morn- 
"  ing,  before  its  occupation  by  Gen.  Howard,  I  found  the  sol- 
"  diers  of  his  fine  division  diverting  themselves  with  the  rich 
"  dresses  found  in  the  wardrobes';  some  had  on  bonnets  of  the 
'*  fashion  of  last  year,  and  were  surveying  themselves  before 
**  mirrors,  which,  an  hour  or  two  afterwards,  were  pitched  out 
"  of  the  window  and  smashed  to  pieces  upon  the  pavement ; 
"  others  had  elegant  scarfs  bound  round  theiy  heads  in  the 
"  form  of  turbans,  and  sliawls  around  their  waists. 

'*  We  destroyed  by  fire  nearly  two  whole  squares  of  build- 
"  ings,  chiefly  used  for  business  purposes,  together  Vith  the 
*'  fine  residences  of  O.'-McDowell,  Dr.  Smith,  J.  H.  Kelly,  A. 


THE    SECOND   TEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  205 

"  S.  Cott,  William  Slaughter,  and  many  other  smaller  dwell- 
*'  ings.  Every  store,  I  think,  without  exception,  wns  pillaged 
"  of  every  valuable  article.  A  fine  drug  store,  which  would 
"  not  have  looked  badly  on  Broadway,  was  literally  one  mass 
"  of  broken  glass  and  jars." 

The  records  of  the  Spanish  and  Moorish  struggles,  the  wars 
of  the  Roses  and  the  thirty  years  war  in  Germany,  may  be 
safely  challenged  for  comparisons  with  the  acts  of  barbarity 
of  the  Yankees.  Their  worst  acts  of  atrocity  were  not  com- 
mitted in  the  mad  intoxication  of  combat,  but  in  cold  and 
cowardly  blood  on  the  helple:>s  and^defenceless.  While  the 
lawless  and  savage  scenes  in  Fredericksburg,  to  which  we  have 
referred,  were  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind,  the  enemy  in 
another  dopafrtment  of  the  war,  was  displaying  the  same  fiend- 
ish temper,  stung  by  defeat  and  emboldened  with  the  prospect 
of  revenging  her  fortunes  on  the  women  and  children  of  tho 
South.  The  Yankee  incursions  and  raids  in  North  Carolina 
in  the  month  of  December  are  companion  pieces  to  the  sack  of 
Fredericksburg. 

"  On  entering  Williamstown,  North  Carolina,"  says  an  cyc- 
>Yitness,  "  the  Yankees  respected  not  a  single  house — it  mat- 
*'  tercd  not  whether  the  owner  was  in  or  absent.  Doors  were 
"  broken  open  and  houses  entered  by  the  soldiers,  who  took 
"  everything  they  saw,  and  what  they  were  unable  to  carry 
"  aWay  they  broke  and  destroyed.  •  Furniture  of  every  des- 
"  criplion  was  committed  to  the  flames,  and  the  citizens  who 
"  dared  to  remonstrate  with  them  were  threatened,  cursed  and 
"  buffeted  about.  *****  rpj^^  enemy  stopped 
"  for  the  night  at  Mr.  Ward's  mill.  Mr.  AVard  was  completely 
"  stripped  of  everything,  they  not  even  leavin'g  him  enough 
"  for  breakfast.  While  on  a  sick  bed  his  wife  was,  in  his  pre- 
"  sence,  searched  and  robbed  of  five  hundred  dollars.  The 
"  Yankees  went  about  fifteen  miles  above  Hamilton,  when,  for 
"  some  cause,  they  suddenly  turned  and  marched  back,  taking, 
"  with  some  slight  deviations  in  quest  of  plunder,  the  same 
"route  they  had  come.     The  town  of  Hamilton  was  set  on 


206  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

*'  fire  and  as  many  as  fiftcen*houses  laid  in  ashes.  During  the 
"  time  the  Yankees  encamped  at  Williamstown  everything 
"  which  they  left  unharmed  \\hen  last  there,  was  demolished. 
"  Every  house  in  town  was  occupied  and  defaced.  Several 
"  fine  residences  were  actually  used  as  horse  stahles.  Iron 
"  safes  were  broken  open,  and  in  the  presence  of  their  owners 
"  riflet^of  their  contents.  Several  citizens  were  seized  and 
"  robbed  of  the  money  on  tlieir  persons.     *  *  ^:•i         * 

"  On  Sunday  morning  Williamstown  was  fired  and  no  effort 
"  made  to  arrest  the  flames  until  several  houses  were  burnt. 
*'  No  attempt  was  mad«  hf  the  Yankee  officeps,  from  General 
"JFoster  down,  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  property.  On 
"  the  contrary,  they  connived  at  it,  and  some  of  the  privates 
"  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  they  were  instructed  to  do  as 
"  they  had  done.  Two  ladies  at  AVilliamstown  went  to  Gen. 
''  Foster  to  beseech  protection  from  his  soldiers,  and  were 
"  rudely  and  arrogantly  ordered  from  his  presence." 

Refer.ring  to  the  same  scenes,  a  correspondent  writes  :  "  Fa- 
"  milies  who  fled  in  dismay  at  the  approach  of  the  invader,  re- 
"  turned  and  found,  as  well  as  the  few  who  remained  at  home, 
"clothes,  beds,  bedding,  spoons  and  books  abstracted;  costly 
"  furniture,  crockery,  doors,  harness  and  vehicle^  demolished  ; 
"  locks,  windows  and  mirrors  broken  ;  fences  burned  ;  corn, 
"  potatoes  and  peas  gathered  from  the  barns  and  fields  con- 
"  suined ;  iron  safes  dug  to  •pieces  and  thrown  out  of  doors, 
"  and  their  contents  stolen." 

■  Tiie  object  of  the  enemy's  movements  in  North  Carolina, 
long  a  subject  of  anxious  speculation,  was  at  last  developed, 
in  time  for  a  severe  check  to  be  given  it.  At  the  time  that 
.the  enemy  assaulted  our  lines  in  front  of  Fredericksburg,  fol- 
lowing his  favorite  policy  of  simultaneous  attack  in  different 
departments,  he  had  planned  a  movement  upon  the  Wilming- 
ton and  Weldon  railroad ;  and  on  the  same  day  that  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg  was  fought,  occurred  an  important  passage 
of  arms  in  North  Carolina. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  December,  Brigadier  General  Evans 


THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF  ^»E   WAR.  207 

encountered,  with  two  thousand  men,  the  advancing  -enemy, 
and  with  this  small  force  held  him  in  check  at  Southwest  creek, 
beyond  Kinston.  The  Yankee  force,  commanded  by  Foster^ 
consisted  of  fifteen  thousand  men  and  nine  gunboats.  Hav- 
ing delayed  their  advance  for  some  time,  General  Evans  suc- 
ceeded in  withdrawing  his  force,  with  small  loss,  to  the  left 
bank  of  the  Neuse  river  at  Kinston.  Ho  held  the  Yankees  at 
bay  until  the  IGth,  when  they  advanced  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river,  and  made  an  attack  at  Whitehall  bridge,  about 
eighteen  miles  below  Goldsboro' ;  in  which  they  were  driven 
back  by  General  Robertson,  with  severe  loss. 

The  important  object  on  our  side  was  to  protect  the  railroad 
bridge  over  the  iSleuse  and  the  county  bridge  about  half  a  mile 
above;  and  to  effect  this,  reinforcements  having  reached  us,  a 
rapid  disposition  of  our  forces  was  made.  Duritig  the  ITth, 
the  enemy  appeared  in  force  before  General  Clingman's  three 
regiments,  and  he  withdrew  across  the  county  bridge  to  this 
side  of  the  river.  The  artillery  of  the  enemy  was  playing 
upon  the  railroad  bridge;  and  Evans'  brigade  had  at  last  to 
move  forward  by  the  county  road,  and  cross,  if  at  all,  the 
bridge  a  half  mile  above  the  railroad.  About  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  one  bold  and  daring  incendiary  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  bridge,  and  covered  by  the  w'ing.wall  of  the  abut- 
ment, lighted  a  flame  wliich  soon  destroyed  tlie  superstructure, 
leaving  the  masonry,  abutments  and  pier  intact. 

It  was  Very  important  for  us  now  t|  save  the  county  bridge, 
the  only  means  remaining  of  crossing  the  river  in  the  vicinity* 
Evans'  and  Clingman'fe  brigades  were  ordered  to  cross,  sup- 
ported by  Pettigrew's  brigade;  and  the  Mississippi  brigade, 
just  coming  in,  was  ordered  to  move  forward  at  once.  The 
enemy  were  driven  back  from  their  position  on  the  line  of  the 
railroad,  but  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  the  nature 
of  the  ground,  and  the  fact  that  our  artillery,  cavalry  and  a  large 
portion^  of  the  reinforcements  had  not  yet  arrived,  it  was  not 
deemed  advisable  to  attack  their  strong  second  position  that 
evening.     During  the  night  the  enemy  made  a  hurried  retreat 


208  THE    SEOON^D    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

^0  their  fortifications  and  gunboats,  moving  with  such  celerity 
that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  pursuit  with  any  other  arms  than 
cavalry,  of  which  at  that  time,  unfortunately,  we  had  none. 

Ouf  loss  in  these  engagements  was  inconsiderable — seventy- 
one  killed  and  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  wounded.  The 
enemy's  occupation  of  Kinston  and  the  bridge  there  prevented 
a  body  of  our  men,  about  five  hundred  in  number,  from  escap- 
ing. The  greater  part  wore  ti»ken  prisoners  and  paroled,  and 
some  few  succeeded  in  escaping  higher  up  on  the  river. 

The  substantial  achievements  of  the  grand  army  of  invasion 
were,  that  they  burned  the  superstructure  of  two  bridges, 
■which  cost  originally  less  than  ten  thousand  dollars.  They 
had  utterly  failed  to  attempt  to  take  advantage  of  the  tempo- 
rary and  partial  interruption  of  our  railroad  line,  for  the  pur- 
pose" of  strikihg  a  decisive  blow  at  any  important  point  before 
we  could  thoroughly  re-establish  our  eommuiiioation  without  it. 

In  other  quarters  of  the  war  less  important  than  A^irginia 
or  North  Carolina,  the  early  montl>6  of  the  winter  were  distin- 
guished by  some  combats  of  various  importance.  The  feeble 
campaign  in  the  country  west  of'  the  Mississippi  was  marked 
by  one  engagement,  the  dimensions  of  which  were  largo  for 
that  campaign,  but  the  situation  of  which  was  too  distant  to 
affect  the  general  .condition  of  the  Confederacy. 

On  the  27th  of  November  Gpn.  Iliudman  came  up  with  ihe 
enemy  at  Prairie  Grove,  near  Fayetteville,  Arkansas,  with  a 
force  of  about  nine  thousand  men.  The  enemy,  under  the 
•oramand  of  Gen.  Blount,  was  already  largely  supcriour  in 
numbers;  and  it  was  the  object  of  Ilin'dman  to  cut  off  rein- 
forcements of  seven  or  eight  thousand,  wiiich  were  on  the 
march.  In  this  he  failed;  but,  nothing  daunted,  brought  on 
the  attack  at  daylight,  capturing,  in  the  first  charge  of  Gen. 
Marmaduke's  cavalry,  a  whole  regiment,  and  twenty-three 
wagons  heavily  laden  with  quartermaster  and  medical  stores. 
Soon  after  sunrise  the  fight  commenced  in  good  earnest,  and 
with  no  cessation  the  artiiicry  continued  until  night-fall.  Our 
whole  line  of  infantry  were  in  close  conflict  nearly  the  whole 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  209 

day  with  the  enemy,  who  were  attempting  with  their  force  of 
eighteen  thousand  men  to  drive  us  from  our  position.  In  eve^ 
instance* they  were  repulsed,  and  finally  driven  back  from  the 
field;  Gen.  Ilindman  driving  them  to  within  eight  miles  of 
Fayetteville,  when  our  forces  fell  back  to  their  supply^epot, 
.between  Cane  Hill  and  Van  Burcn.  We  capture^il  thVee  hun- 
dred prisoners  and  vast  quantities  of  stores.  The  enemy's 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  about  one  thousand;  the  Con- 
federate loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing,  about  throe  hun- 
dred. In  one  of  the  charges  of  the  engagement.  Gen.  Stein, 
of  the  Missouri  State  Guard,  was  killed,  a  ball  passing  directly 
through  his  brain. 

•  The  close  of  the  year  1862  leaves  little  to  record  of  events 
of  importance  sufficient  to  affect  the  fortunes  of  the  war,  be- 
yond what  has  been  related  in  these  pages  Avitl\  more  or  less 
particularity  of 'detail.  In  that  large  expanse  of  country  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  the  tributaries  of  the  Atlantic, 
events,  since  our  last  reference  to  these  theatres  of  tlic^war, 
were  of  little  apparent  importance,  although  they  were  prepar- 
ing for  a  grand  tragedy  of  arms  upon  which  we  shall  find  that 
the'  first  page  of  the  new  year  opens.  "  There  were  daring 
forays,  brilliant  skirmishes  and  enterprises  of  our  cavalry,  to 
which  a  brief  reference  is  only  possible  in  these  pages.  Such 
were  the  exploits  of 'Gens.  Forrest  and  Morgan,  our  distin- 
guished cavalry  commanders  in  West  Tennessee,  in  which  they 
tfnnoyed  the  enemy,  destroyed  railroad  bridges  and  Federal 
property,  and  captured  several  towns  in  successful  raids.  On 
the  7th  of  December  a  sin^e  expedition,  sent  out  under  Mor- 
gan from  Gen.  Bragg's  lines,  attacked  an  outpost  of  the  enemy 
at  Ilartsville  on  the  Cumberland,  killed  and  wounded  two  hun- 
dred, captured  eighteen  hundred  prisoners,  two  pieces  of  artil- 
lery and  two  thousand  small  arms,  and  all  other  stores  at  the 
position.  Nor  in  our  slight  record  of  indecisive  but  gallant 
incidents  of  the  war,%iftst  we  neglecc  to  mention  the  brave 
enterprise  of  Col.  Clarkson,  another  choice  spirit  of  Southern 
chivalry,  who,  with  a  detachment  of  the  Virginia  State  line, 
14 


210  TUE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

penetrated  into  Kentucky,  captured  the  town  of  Piketon  on 
"e  8th  of  December,  secured  a  hirge  amount  of  stores,  and 
nipped  an  important  enterprise  of  the  enemy  in  the  bud. 

In  the  meantime  some  important  new  assignments  of  mili- 
tary <?bmraand  had  been  made  in '  preparation  for  the  winter 
campaign,  aJid  happily  inspired  the  country  with  renewed  con-, 
fidcnce  in  the  fortunes  of  the  war.  Gen.  Gustavus  W.  Smith, 
whose  patriotism  was  as  enthusiastic  as  his  military  genius  was 
admirable,  (for  he  had  broken  ties  as  well  as  restraints  in  es- 
caping from  the  North  to  join  the  standard  of  his  native 
South,)  had  taken  command  in  North  Carolina.  Gen.  Ecau- 
regard  had  been  assigned  to  the  important  care  of  the  defences 
of  Charleston  and  Sjjvannah,  threatened  by  the  most  formida- 
ble armadas  that  the  warlike  ingenuity  and  lavish  expenditure 
of  the  enemy. had  yet  produced.  Gen.  Pemberton  had  relieved 
Vau  Dorn  of  the  army  of  the  Southwest  at'  Holly  Springs, 
■which.had  been  taken  by  surprise  on  the  20th  of  December, 
and*  w:a3  now  in  our  possession;  and  that  latter  oflScer,  ill- 
Btarred  by  fortune,  but  whose  gallantry  and  enterprise  were 
freely  acknowledged,  was  appropriately  appointed  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  cavalry  forces  in  the  West.  The  command  of  all 
the  forces  between  the  Alleghany  and  the  Mississippi  was  en- 
trusted to  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  whose  ma'tchless  strategy 
had  more  than  once  enlightened  the  records  of  the  war,  and 
whose  appointment  to  this  large  and  important  command  was 
hailed  with  an  outburst  of  joy  and  enthusiastic  confidence  m 
all  parts  of  the  South. 


i 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  211 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

• 

The  Eastern  Portion  of  Tennessee. ..Its  Military  Importjincc... Composition 
of  Brngg's  Army — The  TSattlk  of  ^IuRFREESBORO'...The  Rislit  Wing  ofjhe 
Enemy  Routed — Bragg's  Exultations. ..The  Assault  of  the  2il  .January...  '  The 
Bloody  Crossing  of  Stone  River  "...The  Confederates  Fall  Back  to  Tulla- 
homa... Review  of  the  Battle  Field  of  Murfreesboro'... Repulse  of  the  Enemy 
at  Vicksburg....TnK  Re  capttire  of  Galveston.. ..The  Midnight  March... 
Capture  of  "  Wie  Harriet  Lane  "...Arkansas  Post  Taken  by  the  Yanl/ees...It3 
Advantages. ..The  Affair  of  the  Ranis  in  Cnarleston  Harbour. ..Naval  Structure 
of  the  Confederacy. ..Capture  of  the  Yankee  Gunboat  "Queen  of  the  West"... 
Heroism  of  George  Wood. ..Capture  of  "the  Indianola"...The  War  on  the 
Water. ..The  Confederate  Cruisers. ..Prowess  of  ^' the  Alabama." 

The  eastern  portion  of  Tennessee  abounds  in  hills,  rocks, 
poverty  and  ignorance.  But  its  military  situation*  was  one  of 
great  importance  to  the  Confederacy.  The  enemy  already 
held  West  and  Middle  Tennessee.  It  required  but  to  occupy 
East  Tennessee  to  have  entire  possession  ,of  one  of  the  most 
valuable  ^tates  "of  the  Confederacy.  They  also  felt  bound  in 
honour  and  duty  to  render  the  long  promised  assistance  to  the 
Unionists  of  East  Tennessee.  Tennessee  would  be  more 
thoroughly  theirs  than  Kentucky,  wlien  once  they  filled  this 
eastern  portion  of  it  with  their  armies.  The  essential  geo- 
graphical importance  of  this  country  to  the  Confederacy  was 
to©  obvious  to  be  dwelt  upon.  It  ct»vered  Georgia  and  involved 
the  defences  of  the  cotton  region  of  the  South.  Through  it 
ran  a  great  continental  line  of  railroad,  of  which  the  South 
could  not  be  deprived  without  unspeakable  detriment.  The 
importance  of  this  road  to  the  supply  of  our  armies  was  no  less 
considerable  than  to  the  supply  of  our  general  population. 

The  gallant  and  heroic  army  of  the  Confederacy,  commanded 
by  General  Braxton  Bragg,  composed^  of  Floridians,  Louisla- 
nians,'  South  Carolinians,  Georgians  and  Kentuckians,  number- 


212  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

ing  between  thirty  and  forty  thousaml  men,  had  occupied 
Murfreesboro'  for  over  a  month,  in  confidence  and  security, 
never  dreaming  of  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  President  Davis 
had  visited  and  reviewed  the  brave  veterans  of  Fishing  Creek, 
Pensacqla,  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Perryville  and  Ilartsvillo,  and, 
satit-fied  of  their  ability  to  resist  any  foe  who  should  have  the 
temerity  to  attack  them,  he  withdrew  from  ofir  forces  Steven- 
Bop's  division,  of  Kirby  Smith's'corps,  numbering  about  eight 
thousand  men„leaving  scarcely  thirty  thousand  mpn  to  defend 
"what  was  left  to  us  of  Tennessee. 

Balls,  parties  and  brilliant  festivities  relieved  the  ennui  of 
the  Cjjmp  of  the  Confederates.  On  Christmas  ere  scenes  of 
revelry  enlivened  ^lurfrcesboro',  and  offioors  and  men  alike 
gave  themselves  up  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  hour,  with  an 
abandonment  of  all  military  cares,  indulging  in  fancied  security. 

The  enemy's  force  at  NashVille,  under  command  of  Rose- 
cranz,  was  not  believed  to  have  been  over  forty  thousand,  and 
the  opinion  w'as  confidently  entertained  that  he  would  not 
attempt  to  advance  until  the  Cumberland  should  rise,  to  afford 
him  the  aid  of  his  gunboats.  Indeed,  Morgan  had  been  sent 
to  Kentucky  to  destroy  the  Nashville  road  and  cut  off  his 
supplies,  so  that  he  might  force  the  .enemy  to  come  out  and 
meet  us.  Yet,  that  very  night,  Vihon  festivity  prevailed,  the 
enemy  was  marching  upon  us  ! 

THE    BATTLE    OF   MURFREESBORO'. 

The  grounds  in  front  of  Murfreesboro'  had  been  surveyed 
and  examined  a  month  before,  in  order  to  select  a  position Yor 
battle  in  case  of  surprise,  and  our  troops  were  thrown  forward 
to  prevent  such  a  misfortune.  Polk's  corps,  with  Cheatham's 
division,  occupied  our  centre,  Maney's  brigade  being  thrown 
forward  towards  Lavergne,'"where  Wheeler's  cavalry  was  annoy- 
ing the  enemy.  A  portion  of  Kirby  Smith's  corps,  McCown's 
division,*occupied  Ready  ville,  on  our  right,  and  Hardee's  corps 
occupied  Triune,  on  our  left,  with  Wharton's  cavalry  thrown 
out  in  the  vicinity  of  Franklin. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WlR.  213 

Festival  and  mirth  continued  on  Christmas  day,  hut  the  day 
following,  Friday,  the  26th,  was  a  most  gloomy  one.  The  rain 
fell  in  torrents.  Tliat  same  evening  couriers  arrived  and 
reported  a  general  advance  of  the  enemy.  All  was  excitement 
and  ,comraotJon,  and  the  greatest  activity  prevailed.  The 
enemy  had  already  driven  in  our  advance  front.  Hardee's 
corps  fell  back  from  Triune.  Major-Gen.  McCown's  divigion 
was  ordered  to  march  to  I\turfreesboro'  at  once,  liaving  received 
the  order  at  midnight.  Heavy  skirmishing  by  Wheeler  and 
Wharton's  cavajry  had  conl:ini\ed  since  the  25th.  On  the  27th 
the  ground  for  our  line  of  battle  was  selected  in  front  of  the 
town,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  on  Stone's  River.  The 
enemy  had  now  advanced  be>;rond  Triune,  his  main  body 
occupying  Stuart's  Creek,  t(?n  miles  from  town.  On  the  28th 
our  troops  to(^  up  their  position  in  line  of  battle.  Polk's 
corps,  consisting  of  Withers'  and  Cheatham's  divisions,  formed 
our  left  wing,  and  was  posted  about  a  mile  and  a  half  on  the 
west  side  of  Stone's  Rivor,  its  right  resting  on  the  Nashville 
road,  and  its  left  extending  as  far  as  the  Salem  pike,  a  distance 
of  nearly  six  miles.  Hardee's  corps,  consisting  of  Breckin^ 
ridge's  and  Cleblirne's  divisions,  was  formed  on  the  cast  bank 
of  the  river,  its  left  resting  near  the  Nashville  road,  and  its 
right  extending  towards  the  Lebanon  pike,  about  three  miles 
inlength,  making  our  line  of  battle  about  nine  miles  in  length, 
in  the  shape  of  an  obtuse  angle.  McCown's  division  formed 
the  reserve,  opposite  our  centre,  and  Jackson's  brigade  was 
held  in  reserve  on  the  ricjht  flank  of  Hardee.  Stone's  River 
crosses  the  Salem  pike  about  i\  mile  and  a  half  on  the  south 
side  of  the  town,  making  a  curve  below  the  pike  about  a  mile 
furtl\er  south,  and  then  runs  nearly  north  and  south  in  front 
of  Murfreesboro',  crossing  tht?  Nashville  pike  and  extending 
towards  the  Labanon  pike,  some  half  a  mile,  when  it  malces 
another  turn  or  bend  and  runs  nearly  east  and  west,  emptying 
into  the  Cumberland  River.  The  river,  at  the  shoals,  where 
it  crosses  the  Nashville  pike,  wa«  fgrdable  and  not  over  ankle 
deep.     The  banks  above  and  below  were  rather  steep,  being 


214  xnt  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAB.. 

some  five  to  eight  feet  liigli,  with  rocky  protusions.  The 
nature  of  the  country  was  undulating,  but  mostly  level  in  our 
front,  with  large,  open  fields.  To  the  right  or  the  west  side 
the  ground  was  more  volling,  with  rocky  upheaval  and  crop- 
pings  of  limestone  and  thick  cedar  groves.  On  tUc*side  c^f  the 
river  towards  the  Lebaj;ion  pike  were  thin  patches  of  woods 
and  rocky  projections. 

On  the  29th  there  was  continued  skirmishing  by  our  cavalry 
forces,  the  enemy  gradually  advancing.  On  the  30th  the 
cnem}'  had  advanced  by  three  (jplurans  and  took  up  his  posi- 
tion about  a  mile  in  our  front.  At  noon  he  shelled^  our 
right  and  centre  in  order  to  feci  our  reserves.  At  3  P.  M. 
the  enemy  made  an  advance  on  our  left,  and  attempted  to 
drive  us  back  in  order  to  occupy  the  ground  for  his  right  wing. 
A  spirited  engagement  immediately  cpmmenced,.Gencral  Polk 
having  ordered  forward  a  portion  of  Withers'  division.  Robin- 
son's battery  held  the  enemy  in  check,  keeping  up  a  most 
deadly  and  destructive  fire.  Three  •times  the  enemy  charged 
this  battery,  but  were  repulsed  by  the  gallant  one  hundred  and 
fifty-fourth  Tennessee.  Colonel  Loomis,^commanding  Gard- 
ner's brigade,  and  the  brigade  formerly  DuTican's,  with  the 
South  Carolinians,  Alabamians  and  Louisianians,  wero  most 
hotly  engaged,  and  though  suffering  considerably,  yicceeded  in 
driA'ing  back  the  enemy  Avith  great  ^laughter.  It  was  now 
clear  that  the  enemy  intended  to  mass  his  forces  on  our  left, 
in  order  to  make  a  flank  movement  the  next  day,  and  obtain, 
^if  possible,  the  Salem  pike,  which,  if. successful,  would  give  him 
possession  of  the  Chattanooga  ;-ailroad,  Cleburne's  division,  of 
Hardee's  corps,  and  ]\Iajor-General  McCown's  division,  were 
immediately  ordered  over  towards  the  Salem  pike  to  reinforce 
our  extreme  left  wing.  Whccle'r's  cavalry  had  already  gained 
the  enemy's  rear,  and  had  captured  a  train  of  wagons  and  a 
number  of  prisoners.  A  cold,  drizzling  rain  had  set  in,  and 
our  troops  were  greatly  exposed,  being  without  shelter  and 
bivouacking  by  their  camp  Jires. 

On  the  morning  of  the  31st,  the  grand  battle  was  opened. 


'  THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  215 

• 
At  the  break  of  day  on  the  cold  and  cloudy  morning,  General 

Hardee  gave  the  order  to  advance,  and  the  fight  was  openjed 
by  McCown's  division,  with  Cleburne,  advancing  upon  the 
enemy's  right  wing  under  Gen.  ^IcCook.  The  charge  was  of 
the  most;  rapid  characteix  The  alarm  given  by  the  enemy's 
pickets  scarcely  reached  his  camp  before  the  Confederates 
were  upon  it.  The  sight  of  our  advance  was  a  most  magnifi- 
cent one.  Two  columns  deep,  with  a  front  of  nearly  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile,  the  lyie  ^vell  preserved  and  advancing  with 
great  rapidity,  on  came  the  Confederate  left  wing,  the  bayo- 
nets glistening  in  a  bright  sun,  which  had  broken  through  the 
thick  fog. 

The  enemy  was  taken  completely  by  .surprise,  their  artillery 
horses  not  even  being  hitched  up.  Such  was  the  impetuosity 
of  the  charge,  that  the  enemy  fell  back  in  dismay,  our  troops 
pouring  in  a  most  murderous  fire.  With  such  rapidity  did  our 
men  cross  the  broken  ploughed  fields,  that  our  artillery  could 
not  follow  them.  Wharton's  cavalry  had  charged  a  battery, 
the  horses  not  being  harnessed,  and  driving  back  the  infantry 
supporting  it,  succeeded,  in  capturing  it.  The  enemy  having 
gradiia'lly  recovered,  now  disputed  our  further  advance,  and 
the  battle  raged  with  terrific  violence.  They  continued  to  fall 
back,  however,  under  our  fire,  until  we  had  swung  round  nearly 
our  whole  left,  on  their  right,  as  if  on  a  pivot,  driving  the  en- 
emy some  six  miles  towards  his  centre,  when  Withers  and 
Cheatham  also  hurled  their  divisions  on  tlie  foe  with  such  ter- 
rible effect,  tliat  battery  after  battery  was  taken,  and  their 
dead  la^  in  heaps  upon  the  field.  The  enemy  wa^  now  driven 
towards  tl>c  Nashville  ^oad,  about  a  mile  in  front  of  our  cen- 
tre, and  took  a  commanding  position  on  an  eminence  overlook- 
ing the  plain,  and  which  was  protected  by  rocks  and  a  di-nse 
cedar  wood. 

The  battle  had  been  terrific;  crash  upon  crash  of  musketry 
stunned  the  ear;  the  ground  trembled  with  the  thunder  of  ar- 
tillery ;  the  cedars  rocked  and  quivered  in  the  fiery  blast,  and 
the  air  was  rent  with  the  explosion  of  shells.     The  enemy  at 


21^  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

• 
several  points  offered  a  most  gallant  resistance,  but  nothing 

human  could  withstand  the  impetuosity  of  that  charge.  A 
spirit  of  fury  seemed  to  possess  our  men,  from  the  command- 
ers down  to  the  common  soldiers,  and  on  they  swept,  shot  and 
shell,  canister,  grape  and  bullets  teanng  through  thei/  ranks, 
until  the  way  could  be.traced  by  the  dead  and  dying.  Still  on 
they  went,  overturning  infantry  and  artillery  alike,  driving  the 

»enemy  like  the  hurricane  scatters  the  leaves  upon  its  course, 
capturing  hundreds  of  prisoners,  aftd  literally  blackening  the 
ground  with  the  dead.  Such  a  charge  was  never  before  wit- 
nessed. For  miles,  through  fields  and  forests,  over  ditcj^es, 
fences  and  ravines,  they  swept.  Brigade  aftci'  brigade,  bat- 
tegy  after  battery,  vrere  thrown  forward  to  stay  their  onward 
march;  but  another  volley  of  musketry,  anuther  gleaming  of 
the  ba3'onet,  and  like  their  predecessors  they  were  crushed  into 
one  common  ruin. 

It  was  now  about  noon.  Our  charge  had  been  one  of  splen- 
did results.  We  had  already  captured  some  five  thousahd 
prisoners,  nearly  thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  some  five  thousand 
stand  of  arms,  and  ammunition  wagons.     We  had  broken  the 

'  enemy's  right,  having  driven  him  for  nearly  five  houiis  on  a 
curve,  a  distance  of  over  five  miles  from  our  extreme  left  to' 
the  enemy's  centre,  and  backwards  about  three  miles  from  our 
centre.  The  Yankees  had  made  a  stand,  only  where  the  natu- 
ral advantages  of  the  ground  sheltered  them. 

Rosecranz  had  not  been  dismayed  by  the  events  of  the  morn- 
ing, and  had  watched  them  with  an  air  of  confidence  \Yhicli  his 
Bubordinate  gfficers  found  it  difficult  to  understand.  Referring 
to  his  adversary,  he  said:  "I'll  show  h'usa  a  trick  w«rth  two  of 
his.i'  Gen.  Rosecranz  was  well  aware  of  the  danger  of  ad- 
vancing reinforcements  from  his  left  or  centre.  The  Confede- 
rates lay  in  his  front  within  sight  and  almost  within  hearing. 
He  knew  that  they  were  anxiously  watching  his  movements, 
and  waiting  to  see  which  part  of  his  line  would  be  weakened. 
But  though  he  declined  to  send  McCook  reinforcements,  Rose- 
cranz employed  himself  in  so  preparing  his  line  as  to   aid 


THE    SECOND   YEAR  OF   THE   WAR.  21T 

McCook,,to  get  safely  on  his  right.  His  preparations  were  to 
halt  the  Confederates  on  his  defeated  right  without  exposing 
his  left  and  centre  to  immment  danger.  For  this  purpose  he 
quickly  determined  to  mass  his  artillery  on  the  position  occfu- 
pied  by  the  centre.  These  movements  were  masked  by  im- 
mense cedar  forests.  Thus  prepared,  at  the  proper  moment 
the  centre  of  the  enemy  was  advanced  a  fow  hundred  yard?, 
and  soon  aftcr'the  Confederates  appeared  m  fotue  pursuing  his 
right  wing.  f 

The  position  of  the  enemy  was  on  an  oi'al-shapcd  hill  not 
very  high,  but  furnishing  an  excellent  position  for  hl3%.rtillery. 
It  was  determined  to  carry  this  stronghold  at  all  hazards,  and 
the  brigades  of  Chalmer  and  DonClson,  supported  by  Manlc3'-'s 
and  Stewart's  brigades,  with  Cobb's,  Byrne's,  Chas.  Smith's 
and  Slocomb's  batteries,  were  ordered  to  preparet  for  \h0 
charge.  'It  was  a  forlorn  hope,  but  our  men  faced  the  mighty 
whirlwind  of  shot  and  shell  with  heroic'  firmness,  an(J  did  not 
fall  back  until  they  had  (japtured  two  lotteries.  The  brigades 
of  Generals  Adams  and  Jackson,  of  Breckinridge's  division^ 
who  held  our  right,  were  now  ordered  across  the*  river  tC)  re- 
lieve our  broken  columns,  and  advanced  towards  the  enemy's 
grand  battery  with  a  like  coolness  and  heroism,*but  they  were 
also  rcp.ulsed  and  fell  back  under  the  enemy's  terrible^ fire. 

A  portion  of  Gen.  Hardee's  command  bivouacked  for  tlie 
night  in  th.e  cedars,  within  five  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy  S 
lines.  That  night  it  was  cold  to  freezing.  Upon  the  battle- 
field lay  thousands  of  the  enemy's  dead  and  wounded,  who 
froze  stiff,  presenting  a  ghastly  scene  by  moonlight. 

The  scene  in  the  cedars  was  fearful  and  picturlsque.  A 
brilliant  winter  moon  shed  its  lustre  amid  the  foliage  of  the 
forest  of  evergreens,  and  lighted  up  with  silver  8h<?fen  the 
ghastly  battle  field.  Dismounted  cannon,  scattered  caissonSf 
glittcfing  and  abandoned  arms  strewed  the  forest  and  fiel(R 
Tbe  dead  lay  stark  and  stiff  at  every  step,  with  clenched  handl* 
and  contracted  limbs  in  the  wild  attitudes  in  which  "they  fell^ 
congealed  by  the  bitter  cold.     It  was  the  eve  of  the  new  year. 


218  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OP   THE    WAR. 

Moans  of  the. neglected  dying,  mingled  with  the  low  peculiar 
shrink  of  the  Ivoimded  artillery  horses,  chanted  a  misertre  for 
the  dying  year. 

•Amid  the  dim  camp  fires,  feebly  lighted  to  avoid  attracting 
iTie  artillery-  of  the  enemy,  groups  of  mutilated  and  shudder- 
ing wounded  were  huddled,  und  the  kneoling  forms  of  surg<jon3 
bending  in  the  fircJight  over  the  mnngl(*d  bodies  of  the  dying, 
added  to  the  a^enanity  of  the  night. 

The  appearance  of  the  dead  onfthc  field  was  remarkable,  for 
the  large  proportion  was  evidently  slain  by  artillery.  Tlio 
bodies  o^rnany  of  the  confederates  who  had  advanced  to  the 
assault  on  the  enemy's  masl^ed  batteries  were  literally  torn  to 
pvoces.  The  cross-fire  of  the  artillery  had  had  this  terrible 
eflfect.  "I  saw,"  says  a  spectator  of  this  terrible  scene,  "an 
•ffiter,  MJj«se  two  legs,  one  arm  and  body  lay  in  separate  parts 
of  the  field.  I  saw  another  Avhosc  dislocated  right  ^irm  lay 
across  hi?  neck,  and  mbrc  than  half  hig  head  was  gone." 

On  the  day  sucrcecdii^  tiie  fight,  Gpn.  Bragg  telegraphed  to 
lliehmond  the  news  of  a  great  victory,  presented  his  compli- 
ments to  thj  autiiorities,  and  wrote,  "  God  has  granted  us  a 
happy  new  year."  His  exultations  were  over  hasty,  for  though 
wc  had  routcd'on  the  morning  of  the  preceding  day  the  right 
wing  of  the  enemy,  the  final  cor\test  was  jct  to  be  dccijJed. 

In  the  meantime,  Rosecranz  fearing  that  his  position  might 
Be  flanked,  or  from  some  suspicion  that  it  was  i)ot  secure, 
abandoned  it  that  night,  only  to  take  up  a  still  stronger  one 
in  the  bed  of  the  river,  towards  the  Labanon  pike,  on  a  couple 
of  hillocks,  which  he  again  crowned  with  his  strongest  bat- 
•feries.       • 

Many  of  his  generals  felt  despondent;  some  favoured  re- 
treat ;  tut  the  constancy  of  "Ilosecranz  remained  untouched. 
One  of  his  staff  officers  remarked,  "Your  tenacity  of  purpose, 
General,  is  a  theme  of  universal  comment."  "  I  gucss^"  he 
replied,  "  that  the  trooi>s  have  discovered  that  Bragg  is  a  gopd 
dftg,  but  hold-fast  is  better." 

The  first  of  tUe  year  found  the  enemy  strongly  entrenched, 


THE    SECOND   TEAfe   OF  THE  WA|l.  219 

"with  his  right  drawn  up  a  little  on  the  south 'side  of  the  Naalv-. 
ville  pike,  while  his  left  remained  fortified#n  the  bend  of  the 
river,  already  described.  Our  position  was  greatly  advanced 
on  the  left  and  centre,  but  otherwise  remained  the  same.  Oa 
that  day  General  Bragg  ^issued  the  following  address  to  nia 
army : 

"  The  General  commanding  is  happy  to  announce  to  tho 
ti'oops  the  continued  success  of  our  arms  yesterday.  Genera-la 
Wheeler  and  Wharton,  witlu  the  cavalry,  again  assaulted  the 
enemy's  line  of  communication,  capturing  over  two  hundred 
wagons  and  other  stores.  Twice 'have  we  nov/  made  ],he  cir- 
cuit of  the  enemy's  forc^g,  and  destro3'cd  his  troins,  and  ndl 
less  than  six  hundred  wagons,  and  ihre^  tliousand  mules  KaVe 
fallen  into  our  hands.  *          *  ^:          *         q^,  success 

continues  uninterrupted.  One  more  struggle,  and  the  glorious 
victory  already  achieved  will  be  crow'ned  by  the  rout  of  the 
cnoray,  who  are  now  greatly  demoralized.  The  feJeneral  com- 
manding has  every  confidence  that  his  gallant  troops  will  fully 
meet  his  expectations." 

It  W!js  confidently  believed  that  the  enemy  would  havc.F&- 
treated  on  the  night  of  the  31st,  but  as  he  did  not,^it  was  con- 
cluded to  wait  and  see  if  he  would  make  any  attaclc.  •  The 
day  consequently  passed  off  quieCiy,  excepting  some'  slight 
skirmishing.  » 

On  the  second  of  January,  the  ill-omened  Friday,  the  atti- 
tude of  the  two  armies  remained  the  sSme  durmg  the  morcing, 
and  without  incident,  except  some  shelling  on  our  right. 

By  three  o'clock  it  was  determined  to  assault  the  enemy-'« 
stronghold  on  the  bend  of  the  river.  It  was  a  d(*8pcrate  de- 
termination. Unfortunately,  Gen.  Bragg  had  ^ven  the'  ene- 
my nearly  two  days  to  re-organize  and  concentrate  his  baffled 
army,  so  that  he  ipight  the  more  cfTcctually  make  a  stubbornr 
resistance. 

The  enemy  had  taken  up  a  position  at  a  point  near  the  beni 
of  the  river  where  it  takes  a  westerly  couj'se.  Here  risQis  a 
high  ridge  covered  by  a  skirt  of  woods,  ontg^-hich  the  enemj 


jMO  ^e  second  year  of  the  war. 

had  planted  their'  artiiler^,  suppor.ted  by  a  line  of  infantry. 
Behind  this  ridge|Hnd  in  the  woods  and  rocky  ravines,  lay 
•oncealed  also  a  large  force  of  the  enemy.  Further  to  the 
enemy's  left  was  another  skirt  of  woods,  which  the  enemy  also 
#<^upicd,  outflanking  our  front  nearly  one  thousand  yards. 
Near  the  first  skirt  of  woods  mentionofl,  is  a  ford  of  the  river, 
the  opposite  banks  of  which,  from  its  elevated  position,  over- 
looks and  commantls  the  ridge  above  described  on  this  side,  or 
the  south  and  cast  bank  of  the  rjver,  while  one  mile  fuvther 

4tewn  the  river  is  another  ford.     It  was  at 'this  commanding 

....  .  • 

position^ in  the  river  bend  wbere  the  enemy  had  made  his  cka- 

4^1,  havjng  massed  his  batteries  of  artillery  and  infantry  in 
each  a  skillful  miinMer«as  t©  protccjt  his  centre  on  the  Nashville 
pike,  and  his  extreme  left,  which  now  extended  on  our  side  of 
tbe  river.  Such  was  the  position  of  the  enemy  on  our  ex- 
tifcme  right  on  the  morning  of  that  memorable  day  of  slaugh- 
ter, the  2d  oT  January. 

Gen.  Breckenridge  was  ordered  to  carry  by  assault,  the  po- 
Bifion  of  the  enemy  on  tlio  ridge  already  described.  lie 
formed  his  division  in  two  lines,  changinfj  front  from  his  for- 
Bwr  position  to  nearly  a  right  angle,  and  facing  in  the  direction 
of  the  river.  General  Hanson's*  brigade,  with  Palmer's,  now 
eemmanded  by  Gen.  Pillow,  formed  the  first  line,  with  Pillow 
on  U»e  right ;  the  second  line  being  formed  by  Preston's  and* 
Gibson's,  two  hundred  yards  in  the  rear.  Colonel  Hunt's 
regiment,  of  Hanson's  "brigade,  was  left  to  support  Cobb's 
battery  on  the  nill.  From  the  enemy's  commanding  position 
across  the  river,  he  was  enabled  to  see  all  of  our  movements, 
and,  consequently,  prepared  to  resist  us.  Between  General 
Breckenridgc's  division  -and  the  enemy's  batteries  on  the  ridge 
was  an  intervening  space  of  eight  hundred  yards,  extending 
ever  an  open  field  skirted  by  woods,  along  which  the  enemy's 
Bkirmishers  were  in  such  force  as  almost  amounted  to  a  line  of 
battle. 

^he  attack  was^to  be  made  at  4  o'clock,  and  a  signal  gun 
was  to  announce  |Lc  hour.     In  those  battalions  stood  the  noble 


THE  SECOND  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  221  ' 

sol  fliers  of  Florida,  Alabama,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Tennessee  ) 
and  North  Carolina  in  battle  array,  firm  and  inflej^ble,  await- 
ing the  signal  for  combat.  The  report  of  a  cannon  had  not 
died  upon  the  ear  before  the  bugle  from  Hanson's  brigada 
sounded  a  charge.  The  brigades  moved  rapidly  forjvatd 
through  the  thinned  woods  until  gaining  the  open  fields,  the 
men  having  been  iostructed  not  to  deliver  their  fire  until  cloae 
upon  the  enemy,  ancf  then  to  charge  with  the  bayonet.  On 
came  Pillow,  followed  by  Preston  :  forward  hurried  Ilari^on,  - 
followed  by  Gibson.  Fro^n  the  moment  of  gaining  the  fiel^jt  J 
the  enemy's  artillery  from  tlie  ridge  opened  a  ^weeping  fiVo, 
and  a  whirlwind  of  Minnie  balls  from  their  infantry,  with  shot 
and  shell,  filled  the  air.  Our  men  were  ordered  to  lie  down 
for  a  few  minutes  to  let  the  fuij"  of  the  storm  pass.  Then  tlie 
cry  from  Brockenridgc — *' Up,  my  men,  and  charge!" — rang 
out.  With  the  impetuosity  of  a  torrent  they  rushed  forward 
to  the  woods  sloping  the  ridge.  On  dashed  Wright's  battery 
ojf  Preston^ , brigade  at  a  furious  gallop,  and  soon  opened  fit« 
upon  one  of  the  enemy's  batteries  about  three  hundred  yardb 
to  our  right.  The  enemy,  awed  by  the  mad  bravery  of  our 
men,  recoiled ;  their  ranks  thinned  rapidly,  notwithstanding 
^ey  received  reinforcement  after  reinforcement.  Their, left 
■wing,  which  already  outflanked  us  on  our  right,  was  drivea 
•  back  towards  the  river  bank,  the  20th  Tennessee  capturing 
some  two  hundred  prisoners.  The  contest  now  raged  fierce 
and  bloody.  It  was  one  continuous  roar  of  musketry  aijd 
artillery.  Facing  the  storm  of  death,  our  heroes  charged  with 
fury,  and  so  effective  was  the  firing  of  our  lines,  that  we  carried 
the  ridge  with  a  wild  demoniac  yell,  driving  the  enemy  from 
it,  with  his  artillery,  down  the  hill  side  and  across  the»river. 
Captain.  Wright  soon  reached  the  top  of  the  ridge  with  his 
battery,  and  -opened  on  the  enemy  with  spherical  case.  At' 
this  time  the  concentrated  fire  of  the  enemy  l)ecame  terrible 
and  appalling.  A  sheet  of  flame  was  poured  fort^  from  their 
artillery  on  the  hills  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  overlook- 
ing our  left  and  front  and  from  their  batteries  (Jn  the  river 


222  THE    SKCOXD    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

l^nk,  while  the  opposite  side  also  swarined  with  their  infantry,  ' 
who  pourcj  in  on  us  a  most  murderous  fire.  Still  our  men 
never  (juailed,  but  pressed  forward  and  crossed  the  river,  the 
enemy  making  frigHVful  gaps  in  our  ranks,  lut  which  were 
nhn\cdiatcly  closed  up.  Here  it  was  that  in  less  than  half^n 
hour  over  two  thousand  of  our  brave  soldiers  went  down  !  The 
utter. hopelessness  of  carrying  the  opposite  ^eights,  and  of  con- 
tending against  the  overwhelmingly  suJ?erior  numbers  of  the 
enfimy  without  artillery  or  rcuiforcements  to  support  us, 
hftving  been  fully  tested,  General  .Breckcnridge  ordered  his 
djil^isiori  to  fjjll  back.  It  was  nearly  dark  when  the  conflict 
dosed,  and  during  the  night  he  occupied  a  portion  of  the  field 
in  advance  of  that  he  occupied  during  the  day. 

•It  was  after  the  capture'  of  the  enemy's  position  on  the 
ridge,  when  our  men  drove  him  across  the  river  with  terrible 
slaughter  of  his  forces,  that  the  noble  Hanson' fell  mortally 
•woauded,  exclaiming  :  "  Forward — forward,  my  brave  boys,  to 
the  charge ;"  and  afterwards,  wheh  brought  from  the  field,  ne 
said  with  his  flickering  breath  :  "I. am  willing  to  die  with  such 
a  "wound  received  in  so  glorious  a  cause."  We  had  held  the 
enemy's  position  on  the  ridge  for  about  half  an  hour,  Captain 
E.  Ji.  Wright's  battery  doing  admirable  execution,  when  that 
gallant  oflifcer  fell  at  his  guns  mortally  wounded,  the  enemy 
having  charged  within  seventy-five  yards  of  his  pieces.  • 

*  The  final  repulse  of  Breckcnridge  was  a  sad  blo\Y  to  our 
l^pes.  The  prudence  of  this  terrible  attack  upon  the  inipreg- 
pablc  position  of  the  enemy  has  been  seriously  questioned,  and 
military  critics  of  tlie  battle  of  Murfree'sboro'  have  also  fcwnd 
room  for  censuring  the  neglect  of  Gen.  Bragg  in  not  previously 
securing  the  hillocks  in  the  bend  of  Stone's  River,  which  he 
permitted  the  enemy  to  occupy.  As  it  happened,  it  w;as  a  bad 
repulse,  and  the  vivid  recollections  of  the  "bloody  crossing  of 
Stone's  River,"  in  which  in  less  than  one  hour  two  thousand 
of  our  mep  were  killed  and  wounded,  long  survived  in  our 
army.  It  lost  us  the  vantage  ground  we  had  gained  over  the 
6nemy  on  -the  ^st  aad  greatly  depressed  our  troops.     But/or 


THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  223 

this,  we  would  still  have  held  MurfreesUoro'.  On  tho  3d  the 
rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  as  our  troops  were  worn  oivt  and 
nearly  exhausted,  it  was  determined  to  fall  back  that  night, 
and  not  run  the  risk  of  mee^ng  the  enemy's  reinforcements, 
which,  it  was  reported,  he  was  receiving.  Everything  had 
previously  been  provided  for  the  retreat.  It  was  conducted 
with  order  and  composure."" 

Sunday  morning  Rosecranz  moved  into  MurfrcQsboro',  and 
Gen.  J3ragg%-etiVed  to  the  position  of  Tullahoma.  This  place 
is  in  Coffee  county,  Tennessee,  situated  on  Rock  creek,  and 
off^'S  admirable  means  of  defence.     It  is  seventy-one  miles 


*  In  Ms  ofiicial  report  of  tho  battle,  Gen.  Bragg  makes  the  following  state- 
ment on  the  subject  of  the  first  daj's  operations,  relative  to  their  check  and 
the  failure  to  l^reak  the  enemy's  centre  : 

"To  meet  our  successful  advance,  and  retrieve  his  losses  in  the  front  of 
his  left,  the  enemy  early  transferred  a  portion  of  his  jeservo  from  hie  left  to 
that  flank,  and  by  two  o'clock  had'succeeded  iu  concentrating  fucn  a  fjrcc  ia 
Li6Mtenant-General*Hiirdee'8  front  as  to  check  his  further  progress.  Onr  two 
lines  had  by  this  time  Ijccome  almost  blended,  so 'weakened 'were  they  by 
losses,  exhaustion  and  extension  to  cover  the  enemy's  whole  front.  As  early 
as  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  Major-General  Breokenridge  was°called  ou  for  one  bri«- 
gade,  and  soon  after  for  a  second,  to  reinforce  or  act  as  a  reserveAo  Lieut. 
Gen.  Hardee.  His  reply  to  the  first  call  Represented  the  enemy  crossing 
Stone's  river  in  heavy  force,  in  his  immediate  front,  and  on  receiving  tho 
second  order,  he  informed  me  that  they  had  already  crossed  in  heavy  force, 
and  weijp  advancing  to  attack  his  lines.  He  was  immediately  ordered  not  to 
await  attack,  but  to  advance  and  meet  him.  About  this  same  time  a  report 
reached  me  that  a4ieavy  force  of  the  enemy's  infantry, was  advancing  on  tha 
Lebanon  road,  about  five  miles  in  Breckcnridge'i^  front.  Brigadier- General 
Pegram,  who  had  been  sent  to  that  road  to  cover  the  flank  of  the  infantcy 
wiTh  his  cavalry  brigade,  save  two  regiiueuts  detached  with  Whe^ei*  and 
Wharwn,  was  onlered  forward  immediately  to  develep^ny  such  movement. 
The  "orders  for  the  two,  brigades  from  Breckinridge  were  countermanded, 
■?(i^ilst  dispositions  were  made,  at  his  request,  to  reinforce  him.  Before  they 
could  be  carried  out,  the  movements  ordered  disclosed  the  fact  that  no  force 
had  crossed  Stone's  river;  that  the  only  enemy  in  our  immediate  front  tbea 
was  a  small  body  of  sharpshooters;  and  that  there  was  no  advance  on  the 
Lebanon  road.  These  unfortunate  misapprehennions  on  that  part  of  the 
field,''which  with  proper  .precaution  could  not  have  existed,  witlilicld  frohi 
active  operations  three  fine  brigades  until  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in  ciieck- 
in^our  progress,  had  re-established  his  lines,  and  had  collected  many  of  liis 
broken  battalions.  ' 

• 
V 


224  IDB    SECOND    YEAR    OP    THE    WAR. 

from,  Nash vifte  and  ^liirtj-two  ftom  Murfreesboro',  and  lice 
imm(^iat6lj  on  the  ^shvillc  afnd  Chattanooga  railroad,  whore 
it  is  intersected  bf^the  McMinnvillc  and  Manchester  road. 
As  a  base  of  operatibns  and  as  a  position  of  defence,  the  phice 
offered  great  advaatages. 

So  far  as  the  relative  amount  of  carnage  aflTccts  the  qucwion 
of  victorj,  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  to  wliicli  side  in  the 
battle  of  Murfreesboro'  is  to  be  ascribed  tlie  superiority.  In 
the  first  day's  fight,  tlie  jiumbcr  of  the  cntmyis^  killed  and 
founded  was  probably  six  or  seven  thousand;  in  the  engage- 
tnent  >Yh':ch  succeeded,  our  lo3«  was  disproportionate  ^o  the 
enemy's;  but  at  the  close  of  the  whole  affair,  the  "Yankees 
were  doubtless  greater  losers  in  life  than  ourselves.  In  point 
of  captures  and  with  respect  to  the  number  of  prisoners  taken, 
the  battle  of  Murfreesboro'  raay  be  accounted  a  XJonfedcrate 
success.  The  ground  whicU  the  North  has  for  claiming  a  vic- 
tory is,  *hat  our  ifJrces  fell  back  and  that  their  positions  were 
occupied.  But  the  occupation  of  Mv^rfrecsboro*  was  no  im- 
portant consideration;  the  works  were  neither  extensive  ;ior 
'strong;  and  the  new  line  of  defence  reorganized  by  Gent;ral 
Bragg Vas,  as  we  shall  see,  quite  sufficient  to  hold  the  enemy 
in  check.  The  truth  is,*  that  the  Yankees,  although  their 
cbiims  to  Ihe  victory  of  Murfreesboro'  are  questionable,  liad 
igreat  reasons  to  congratulate  themselves  that  an  army,  which, 
4n  the  first  day's  l^jtjtle,  had  its  riglit  wii>g  broken  and  one- 
'third  of  its  nrttlltry  Jost,  should  have  escaped  destruction  and 
extricated  itself  in  a  manntr  to  assure  its  further  safety. 

BiiT;  however  the  issue  of  "Murfreesboro'  is  to  be  decitl(^,  the 
South  ha4  reas(fh*to  expect  considerable  material  advantages 
from  events  in  other  parts  of  the  West.  The  siege  of  Vicl^- 
burg  by  land  was  for  the  time  virtually  abandoned.  Some 
engagements  had  taken  place  before  this  town,  which  were  ex- 
aggerated by  the  telegraph,;  but  they  were  mere  skirmishes, 
intended  to  feel  the  strength  of  the  defences.  Being  satisfied 
^at  they  were  too  strong  to  be  attacked  with  safety^  and  pro- 
bflbly  learning  that  Grant's  army  would  never  effect  a  junction 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF.  TflE   WiLR.  225 

• 
■with  it,  the  Yankee  force  before  YicliaJ)urg  rc-cmbarkid,  ^Yi,tll 

a  gredt  loss  of  material  employed  in  the  entrcuchnients  pre- 
paratory to  tl^e  siege. 

THE    RECAPTURE    OF   GALVESTON.     . 

While  the  new  year  had  doubtfully  opened  in  Tennessee,  a 
brilliant  success  marked  the  same,  period  in  thc'distant  State 
of  Texas.  An  efpcclitien  wJls  skillfully  planned  and  gajlantly 
(♦xeciUed  oy  the  bravc'and  energetic  Magrud'er,  the' results* of 
which  Avei:e  the  capture  of  the  city  and  harbour  of  <jralvcstqp, 
ar  hirge  quantfty  of  arms*  ammunition,  stores,  &c.,  the  famous 
Yankee  steamer  Harriet  L4ne,*and  some  other  craft  of'lcss 
importance.  • 

On  the.  night  of  ^e-31st  a(  Deeeiilber,  General  Magrudjer 
silently  marcRed  along  the  road  to  Oalveston  city.  Our  forces 
consisted  of  several  regiments  of  infantry  and  about  twenty^ 
two  pieces  of  artillery,  though  the  principal  attack  was'  ^o  be 
made  by  the  artillery,  as  tlftre  were  on\y  about  three  hundVad 
j^  the  enemy  in  the  city,  aqd  they  were  behind  a  barricade^ 
the  outer  end  of'  the  wharf. 

Our  troops  reached  the  suburbs  of , the  city  about  thif^* 
o'tlock.  The  streets  were  completely  deserted;  the  f(;W  in- 
habitants M"ho  had  remaincd-imthe  city  "vj'cre  sleeping  soundly 
and  had  ouv  men  not  a\taked  and  worned  them  of  their  d^a-' 
gei*^  they  would  have  glept  on  until  'the  cannon's  roar  had 
startled  them.  The  march  of  qur  troops  through  the  oit\'  was 
a  quiet  p/ocession.      •  .    ' 

The  sceile,  the  3ead  hour  of  night,  and  the  fact  that  ibid 
was  to  be  the  first  battk;  of  many  of  them,  alU  conspired  to 
make  them  strious.  Tlioif,  too,  the  great  heavy  w-trvcs  came 
t«nib]ing  and  roaring  in  from  the  Gulf,  chanting  oat  upon  the 
Etiir  rriglit  air,  as  they  dashed  along,  something  that  gouHded 
like  a  funeral  dirge.  But  onward  our  nien  stole,  through  long, 
ioncly  strjets,  now  ayound  this  corner  dnd  now^turniirg,  that, 
ttnCil  a^  lengtli  tl\ey  reached  Strand  street,  whi<Sj\  .runs  p^mUlel 
witii  the  w'ater,  and  is  the  next  one  to  the. wharves.  •  The  moon 
16 


M6  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   AVAR. 

was  no^-  do?rn,  and  e^wryihing  was  enveloped  in  darkness; 
the  guns  wer^  noiselessly  placed  in  position  and  Joadfid,  the 
men  looking  like  so  many  shadows  as  they  took  |heir  places  in 
tht  gloom.  Tliere,  wikhin  three  hundred  yards,  lay  tlTe  llar- 
riet  Lane,  tile  Owasso,  the  CliftoiT,  and  two  other  hoats,  wi|b 
their  broadsidgs  turned  towards  our  troops,  and  ready  to  open 
Upon  them  tfie  momgnt  they  fired.  This  they  knew,  fjr  the 
YankoiBS  had  been  ashore  the  day  beft^rc  an'ft  told  the  people 
that  they  knew  all  about  the  plans  of  the  "rebels,"  and  werfe 
waiting  for  them.  In  fact,  they  were  so  certain  i)f  victory 
^Xfaat  they  ftlloV-td  our  men  to  place  tfieir  guns  iif  position  wlth- 
•ul  Tiring  upon  them. 

Gen.  Magruder  opened  the  attack  by  firing  the  first  gun. 
Itt  a  few  moments  ihe  bright  fljfshes,  theJ)ooming  reporlte  and 
ifhizzing  shells  told  plainer-than  words  that  the  actjon  had  be- 
gan "in  earnest;  for  the  next  hour  the  roar  of  cannon  was  in- 
cessitnt.  The  clear,  keen  crack  of  our  little  rifled  guns,  the 
ini[  sound  of  our  sea-coast  howitzers,  and  the  mighty  thunder- 
kig  bass  of  the  colmnbiads  dlWd  lOjO-pojind  ^arrott  guns  on  tl^^ 
gunboats,  combined  to  form  a  piece  of  music  fitted  for  Pande- 
mienium. 

Th£  fight  raged  furiously  on  both  sides,  But  it  was  fast  be- 
eomjng  evident  that  our  land  forces  alonc.were  no  match  for 
the  Yanljec  boats,  with  dieir  great  ^ns  and  mortars,  which 
Tatnited  a  haVf  bushel  of  grape  and  canister  at  every  dischatge. 
Bhrly  rn  the  engagement  a  charge  was  made  by  three  hundred 
of  our  infantry  on  three  compianios  of  the  forty-secoud  Massai- 
cfensettiS  regrment,  stationed  behind  a  barricade  af  the  end  of 
Kuhn's  wharf.  The  enemy  had  torfi  up  the  planks  from  the 
-wharf,  and  made  a  breastwork  of  <?hem.  Our  men  rushed  out 
into  the  waters  with  their  scaling  ladders  "and  dashed  .up  to 
then,  but  the  position  was  too  strong  and  they  had  to  retire^ 
letiving  our  artillery  to  shell  them  out.  We  lost  some  ten  or 
fifteen  in  this  charge,  and  would  have  lost  more,  .but  it  was 
pitch  dark- and"  thp  Yankees  fired  very  wiUlly. 

Daylight  at  length   arrived,  and  every  one  was  anxiously 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAH.  227 

lookiBg  for  our  boats,  which  ongbt  to  have  been  up  two  hours 
before.  They  had  come  down  within  sight  at  about  V2  o'clock, 
e.nd,  hearing  nothijig  of  our  troops,  retired  £ve  or  six'railes, 
under  the  impression  that  the  land  ^ittack'had  been  pqslpoped. 
^ere  they  Parted  until'  about  three  o'clock,  Wien  the  land 
attack  began.  As  soon  as  Major  Smith,  who  commanded  the 
expedition,  saw  that  tlje  work  had  begun,  he  ordered  all  steam 
to  be  put  on  and  started  back.  He  was  then  .a  considerable 
distance  from  thfe  citj,  ancT.was  unable  to  reach  it  until  day- 
light. At  tlmt  timQ  the  Bayou  "City  and  Neptune^  follawe^  in 
the  distance  by  th'e  John  F.  Can  and  Lucy  Gwin,  hospital 
boats,  bore  steadily  down  upon  the  Harriet  Lane,  then  lyino-  at 
the  end  of  the  wharf,  opposite  the  Cotton  Press. 

The  Harriet  Lane  had  far  soiye  time  directeti  her  fire  at 
thtem,  but  fortunately  without  effect;'  but  wheji  within  about 
fifty  jards,  the  Neptune  received  several  balls,  damaging  ^her 
considerably.  She  kept  steadily  on  her  way,  howeve^,'  and  in 
a  few  mom^ts  more  ran  into  ike  Lane  amidship.  The  enemy's 
decks  were  soon  cleared  with  th^e  buck-shot  from  the  double- 
barrel  guns  of  the  ^Negtune^s  cj-ew,  wlto  would  have  boarded 
her,  but  it  was  discovered  t^at  the*Neptune  ^^as  rapidly  sink- 
ing in  consequence  of  the  damages  she  had  received.  .She  was 
acco'rdingly  run  Snto  shoal  water,  about  fifty 'yards  from"  the 
iane,  wlfere  she  sunk  irataediately.  In  the  mean  time  the 
Yankee  crew,,  seeing  the  predicament  of -the  Nepiune,  caine 
up  on  deck  again,  and  were  preparing  to  give  Ii-er  a  broadside, 
jwljen  the  Bayou  City  fortunately  interfered  with  their  prepa- 
tions  by  running  into  the  Lane's  wheel-house.  Another*  volley 
of  buck-shot  again  cleared  Hec  decks.  The  next  instant  the 
crew  of  the  Bayou  City  were  aboard  of  her,  Major  Smith  gal* 
lantly  leading  the  way,  and  shooting  the  Lane's.comm'anding 
ofiiccr  (Capt.  Wainwright).  as  he  leaped  upon  the  deck.  Tho 
vessel  wa§  immediately  surrendered,  and, down, came  the  ^ars 
and  stripes  and  up  went  our  flag.  It  was  found  that  the  cap- 
tain and  first  lieutenant  of  the  boat  were  both  killed,  ancl 


228  THBt  SECOND    i'EAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

aVout  tliirty  of  hor  crew.  kilJ^il  or  woundod.     Our  loss  o^  the 
boats  \^•^^»about  sixteen  killcd'aiul  thirty  wounded.  , 

Th(f  Yankee  boats,  the  Clifton  and  Owas^,  saved'themselvea 
by  ^pa^yig  out  of  tlfe  har])(5ur,  while  the  Bayqu  Cit}^  was  in 
some  way  onlnnglcd  with  her  prize.  The  Woslfield  was  huri|U 
a»  plic  was  .fast  aground.  Our  prize  was  one  of  whicii  wfe 
might  •weir  be  prou;!.  The  ILiirict  Lane  was  a  vessel  (|^  six 
hundred  tons  Ijurden,  was  originally  built  for  the  revenue  ser- 
vic(>,  but  at  the  beginning  of  the  "jvar  w^h  the  South  she  was 
turnTjd  overto  the  navy,  and  *at  Once  unilcrwenf  such  altera- 
tions as  were  thought  necessary  to  adapt  ner  to  her  new  ser- 
vice. yVt  the  tinie^  of  her  capture,  shcinounted  eight  guns  of 
beaNjr  calibre,  her  bow  gun  being  a  fifteen  inch  rifle. 

The  re-ca^t«iic>of  Galveston  jfnd  the  adv^ntagts  which  en- 
sued, were  pe^liaps  outbalanced  by  a  disaster  which  shorPly 
foll^jwcd  ami  overshadowed  much  of  the  prospect  in.  the  gemote 
rcgionf.west  of  the  Mississippi.  This  was  the  forcible  occiijfH- 
tion  by  the  Yankees'bf  Arkansas  .Post  and  the  Surrender  of 
its  entire  garrison.  ^     , 

*  The  troops  garrisonfng  Arkansas  P<jsl  at  the  time  of  attack, 
consisted  of  thr'cc  brigade's,  mostjy  T«xans,  ftnd  coninianded 
rcsjieCti^'ely  by  Colonels  .Garland,  Deshler  aad  Dunnin^tun, 
tlie  whoK;  forming  a  division  lyjdcr  the  coniirffrrid  of  Brig^jdier 
^•jieral  T.  3.  Churchill,  and*  numbering  on  the  dJfy  of-tMb 
figlit-uot  more  thijn-  thirSy-three  hundred  effecuve.men.  On 
the  '.'th  day  of»Janu;iry  a'scout  from  belowbrought  intelligence 
to  uencral  CH;urcliill  of  i^  Yankee  gun  b(«it  having  made  its 
appoa>''Vnce  in  the  Arkansas  river,  souie  thirty  milea^below  thtj 
Porit:  gome  hours  later  on  the«ame  day  aniQthe'r  scout  brou^dit 
news  of  other  guji-*boats,  followed  by  transports,  making  theii; 
Ynxy  up  the  gver.  Upon  the  reqeijit  of  this  intelligence,  Gel). 
Churchill -ordered  every  thing  in  reitdiness  Tor  an  attack,  and 
ere 'night  closotl  in  all  the  troops  w^ro  distributfd  iilong  the- 
line  of  entrenchments,  where  they  remained  all  night  in  a 
pelting  'fitoim   of  i;a4n.     The  enemy,  in   the  mean   time,   had 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  229 

landed  a  force  about  two  utiles  below  the^'ort,  IfUt  they  m^cKp 
no  demonstration  until  about  ^ine  or  ten  o'cloclt  the  /lex-t 
morning,  when  'they  cq^menced  shelling  the  fort  from  their 
advance  gnn-boats  that  were  cautiously  and  slowly  feeling 
^eir  way  up  th6  river. 

Our  troops  hofd  the. position  first  taken  b^^^thcm  until  about 
four  o'clock,  P.  T\I.,  when  the  General,  fearing  a  fliink  move- 
naent  on  our  left,  ordered  tlje  men  to  fall  back  to  a  line  of 
entrenchments  near  tho»  yet  unfinisiied  foi»t,  which  line  was 
Speedily  completed  and  all  the  troops  properly  di^tribu^/ed  be- 
fore night  set  in.  J^sf  as  darkness  was  drawing*  near,  fduT 
gun-boats  approached  the  fort  and  commenced  their  Uombard- 
ment,  our  guns  from  the  fort  answering  gallantly,  and  after 
t\yo  hours' tterrifio  shellinf;,  the  grin-boats  retired,  one  (Jf  them, 
the»Eastport,  badly  disabl.ed.  Our  loss^p  tt)"thi8  time'don- 
sigted'of  oiTly  three  killed  ant^some  tnree  or  four  wounde^l.* 

•The  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock  the  enemy  renewed  the  at- 
tack with  gun-boats  and  lai^l  forces  combined.  They  had  also 
^ected  j^  battery  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  by  me'ana 
of  which  they  kept  up  a  terrible  cross-fire  tha't  swept  the 
whole  area  of  ground  occupied  by  our  men.  The  firing  con- 
tinued \intil  about  four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  General 
Churchill,  seeing  his«de/ences  expend  to  .a  raking  flte  fond 
stoi'ming  parties  clo^ng  upon  his  r'ear,  surrend<ered.  General 
McClernaij'd  taking  thg. whole-  force,  making  more  than  three 
thc|isand  men  prisoners^  Our  loss  in  kitted  and  wounded  was 
not  two  hundred  men. 

The  results  of  this  success  of  the  Yankees  were  many  thou- 
•sand  ^soners  of  -war,  and  a  fortified  point  guarding  the  navi- 
gation of  tlw  Arkansas  river,  and  shutting  out  its  commerce 
frhni  the  Mississippi.  Bub  the  prospect  which  tJiey  indujged 
of  ascending' without  interruption  to  Little  Hock  ami  taking 
%11  posaopsion  of  the  Arkansas  capital,  was  rath«r  premature. 

Ther»«)8^notliiVg  yet  important  to  record  of  tke  operations' 
9£  ^ifimfticnse  deets  of  tke  enemy  collected  an  our  i;oast  in 


230  THE  SBCOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

thf  winter  oP  18G2#  The  armadas  were  as  yet  silent.  *  For 
monPis  a  Harge  fleet  of  the  enemy  had  been  at  thp  mouth  of 
Charleston  harbour  or  picketed  off  the.coast. 
.  On  the  30th  of  January  the  Confederate  rams  in  the  har- 
bour of  Charleston,  under  command  of  Capt.*  Ingraham,  ka^ 
made  a  sally  towards  the  enemy's  neeU  Tlie  success  of  this 
aally  was  jgnorantly  exaggerated  by  the  Confederates,  and  a 
craim  madp  that*lhe  blockade  hsyl  been  raised,  which  preten- 
gion  >ya3  afterwards  abandoned.  Tho>fact  was  that  one  of  the 
Yanke^  vessels — the.  Mcrccdita — was  seriously  injured,  anfl 
Another — the  Keystone  Stafe — got  a'sVot  through  her  steam 
drum,  cflusing  the  death  of  tw^nly-one  persons.  The  Merce- 
dita  wa.s  saved  by  tlie  treachery  of  the  Yankees,  who  repre- 
sented riie-ship  ta  be  in  a  sinking  coi|[lition,  thus  deceiving  the 
Coufederates  as  to  Jhe  extent  ofr.the  danwge  they  hact  in: 
flisted.  She  steamea  down  to  Port  Ko3'al,  after  our  ratfis  had 
left  her,  under  the  supposition  that  she  was  sinking  in  shoal 
water.  Her  commaifder  had  callejj  out,  "We  are  in  a  sinking 
contlition,"  and  the  reply  of  Capt.  Ingraham  was,  that  s]^ 
could  only  sfnk  as  far  as  her  rails,  and  we  could  not  take  her 
crew  aboard.  A  mean  and  oowardly  falsehood  saved  the  ves- 
*el ;  but  in  Yankee  estimation  the  triumphs  of  such  i'illainy 
wwe  quite  equal  to  the  qpngratulatioijs  df  a  victory. 

Opr  victory  a£  Galvestdn,  of  which  wc'  have  given  some  •{Re- 
count, was  the  precursor  of  other  captures  of  tli.e  enemyfs 
vessels,  which  were  teiportant  acoessions  to  our  little  nafvy. 
That  arm  of  service,  in  which  we  were  so  deficient,  and  had 
shown  such  iiptitude  for  self-destruction,  was  not  entirely  pow- 
erress;  for  we  not  only  had  rams  for  harbour  defcnVts  and* 
three  fleet  privateers  at  sea,  but  our  power  on  tlfc  water  was 
enlarged  even  beyond  our  expectations,  aa  we  shall  see,  fcy 
Ouptures  from  the  enemy. 

Tike  Yankee  g«i>boat  Queen  of  the  West,  having  succeedtf^ 
in  ru^Miing  our  batteries  at  Vicksburg,  had*  for  sorae  weeks 
bee*  ••^^imitting  ravages,-  penetrating  the  coimtry  of  the  Jlo^l 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  231 

river.  On  the  14th  of  February  she  encountered  in  this  river 
^nd  captured  a  small  Confederate '  steamer,  the  ^ra.  The 
crew  and  pass<;ngers  of  the  Era  were  taken  prisoners,  and  all 
"were  guarded  on  board  th%  Era  by  a  band  of  soldiers,  save 
Mr.  George  Wood,  the  pilot,  who  was  ordered  aboard  .tte 
Queen  of  the  AVest,  and,  vlth  threats,,  directed  to  her  pilot 
wheel  to  assist  her  pilot  in  directing  her  oi>ward  to  the  capture 
of  oyr  fort  on  th^  river.  On  they  glided,  but  not  distrustful, 
and  much  elated  at  their  success,  tul  they  came  in  reach  of 
our  battery  at  five  P.  M.,  when  the  vessel  commenced  firing 
still  advancing.  She  ha(T  come  within  a  quarfer  of  a  mile  of 
Our  battery  and  on  the  opposite  shore  iu  fullc^ngc  for  our  guns, 
whcg  the  g{ilia;it' Wood,  who  directed  her  wheel,  had  her 
rounded,  ran  her  aground,  breaking  her-  rudder  and  thus  cri^ 
pling  her  a»d' turning  her  broadside  to  giv£  our  guns  a  fair 
chance.  This  gallant  nTan,  in  the  confusion,  made'  good  his 
e;gcape.  Thus  crippled  and  disabled  b}^  the. hand  that  drove 
her  (Jp»  to  her.  destiny;  she  lay  like  a  wounded  falcon,  at  the 
mercy  bf  her  adversaries. 

.  The^nigiit  was  dark  and  stormy,  the  heavens  overhung  with 
dduds,  which  now, and  than  pe.aled  forth  their  muttering  thunr 
der,  amd  drenched  the  earth  with  rain.  Thus  in  the  raia 
sjQrm  .^his  crippl^  Queen  lay  beaten  by  the  iempcst.  She 
yfb.s  we41  barricade'd  with  cotton  bales.  On  seeing  all  hope  af 
success^one,  the  comminding  officer,  Gdlonel  Ellett,  made  his 
escape,^wfth  nearly  aM  his  gi'ew,  ,by  getting  on  cotton  bales 
and  floating  dow-y  the  river.  She  raised  the  white  signal,'  as 
tke  storm  abated,  as  it  was  seen  by  the  light  of  a  burning 
•warehouse,  but  it'was  not  answered  till  next  morning.  •  Thir- 
teen of  the  crew  remained  in  silence  till  day-lighfr,  then  her 
HPiWte  banner  was  still  afloat,  and  then,  anJ  not. till  then,  our 
soldiers  crossed  the  river  and  took  possession  ^f  Jier. 
••  Xhe  fog  which  had  enabled  the  Queen  of  tho.West-  to  get 
by  Vicksburaj  had  also  availed  for  the  passage  of  another  gu»- 
imit,  Uie  Iffdiaqola.     This^resscl  had  al§o  contijaued  for  weeki 


232  TBS   SECOND   YEAR   OF    IfiE   WAR. 

te^go  at  lar^e,  preying  on  the  bbal8«that  were  transporting  oiir 
BUpjilic?,  a^d  harassing  our  foTces  in  ev^ry  ^vaJ.  Seeing  t\^ 
gjfeat  iniurj  and^havoc  that  she  might  do,  a  cduncil  was  held, 
aiui  the  capture  of  the  Indianola  at  o\cfj  sacrifice  was  deter- 
miwcd  upon.  •  • 

A'  corJin^'ly  an  expedition  was.  iittcd  out,  consisting  of  twj 
gun'-boats — the  Queen  of  the  West 'and  tlie  Wei^b — and  two 
Bteudicrs — the  Era  and  l!(f.  Batej.  The  exj|editit)n  was^om- 
man<lcd  by  Major  Walker,  with  Captain  Ilulton  as  executive 
officer  of  t]ie  fleet.^  All  being  ready,*the  expedition  started 
out  from  the  mt)ut:h.of  the  Red  river  in  pyrsuit  of  the  Indian- 
ola. Coming  u{^t4i^  Aiisilissiypi  to  Granjl  Gulf,  it  was  learned 
that  tlic  ludianola  was  nflrfar  off,  and  a  haft  j\,ifcb  orderod^that 
aU  the  vessels  might  «ome  up.  All  being  in  line,  the  expedi- 
tion put  up  theTiver  and  on_  the  24th  of  February  came  upon 
the  Iiidiiuiola,  overhauling  her  abolit  five  Riiles  below  New 
©aTtbngo,  and  semo  thirty  below  Vicksburg.  It  was  ajbout 
BMie'  o'clock  at  night.  The  en^my  had  received  no  iiiijJrma- 
tion  of  the  movement,  and  was  not  a*vare  of  oiir  afpi»oach 
nntil  we  were  tvithin  a  half  mile  of  her.  Seeing  ©thq  rapid 
approach  of  the  vessels,  the  Indianola  at  gnce  knew  that'  ^t 
■was  an  attempjj^^o  capture  her,  and  she  .immediately  reunded 
her  IroHd^ideifJi,, lashing  a  coal  barge  alonjjside  hert»pai;||^ 
the  bluws  lliat  might  bo  made  to  run  iutand'sLnk  herr  On  tHe 
vessth  noaniVig,  fire  Mias  opened,  and  a  most  terrific  sypd  des- 
perate engagement  ensued,*lastihg  overman  bouV  Putt:iifg  on 
all  hcr.slcara,  <he  QuceA  of  the  West  madc^  blow  at  the  In- 
dianola, oleavlhg  tlu)  barge  in  two  and  striking  her  with  su(|li 
tremendous  force  l^liat  the  Indianola's  machinery  ^vas  baclly 
injured.  Here  the  action  on  both-  sijes  bocaine  tlesperato^ 
The  blow  of  tJw  Queen  .of  tho  West  was  quickiyfollowed  #i^ 
by  the  We^b  vith  a  terrific  "butt'^  at  full  speed.  This  finished 
the  woKk.  TJlie  In(J*ianola  was  discovered  to  be  in  ^a  sinl^ing 
condition,  aod  was.  put  for  tlic  shore  oU  the  Louisiana  sifll*. 
Seeing   this,  ilsut.  Dr.  }>tttey  was  Ott-dered  to  .Voard  hew.     O* 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OP   THE   WAR.  233 

beafing  alongside  her,  the  Indianola  surrenderG(3,^and  all  her 
offifiefs  and  crew — numbArinfj  in  all  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men — were  made  prisoners. 

Tliese  additions  to  our  navaV  struotures  gn  the  Mississippi 
were  important.  We  now  possessed*  some  power  in  the  inte-^ 
rigui*  wat«rs  of  the  C«i!federacy ;  to  our  harbour  defences  we 
had  already  added  some  rams;  and  our  deficiency  in*  a  navy 
was  nat  a  lau^iing  stock  to  tl>e  Nor^h  as  longaS  ourifew  pri- 
vateers were  able  to  cruise  in  the  Atlantic  and  carry  dismay 
to  the  exposed  commerce  of  tRe  Gulf.  • 

The  few  shi|)a  the  North  possessed  that  were  the  equals  m 
'  pojnt  of  speed  of  the  Confederate  privateers,  thfe  Alabama  and 
Florid*,  were,  with  a  single  exception,  purchased  vessels,  built 
for  the  merchant  service,  :lnd  exceedingly  liable  to  be  disabled 
in  their  machinery  on  account  of  its  being  nearly  all  above  the 
wator  line.  Taking,  as  samples  of  vessels  of  this  class,  tm) 
Vandcrbilt,  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Is\and,  the  North  had 
three  ships  which,  for  the  purpose  tJiey  were  intended,  were 
without  superiours;  but  the  chances  were  that,  if  coming  un- 
der the  fire  of  the  Alabama  or  FForida,  they  would  be,  b*y  a 
W'cll  directed  shot  or  shell  at  qjoec  quarters,  crippled  and  be- 
come an  easy  prize.  •  '/ ' 

The  exploits  of  our  cruisers  were  suflEicienlf  to  show  the 
value  jind  efficiency  of  the  weapon  of  privatceringi,  and  to 
excite  many  regrets  that  our  means  in  this  department  of  war- 
fare were  so  limited.  One  natiorwil  steamer  alone — th^  Ala- 
bama — coaam'anded  by,  offtcers  and  mawned  by  a  crew  wTW)  were 
debarred  by  the  closure  of  neutral  ports  from  the  opportunity 
of  causing  captjired  vessels*  to  be  condemned  in  their. favour 
as  prixes,  had  sufficed  to  double  the  rates  of  m.^inc  insurance 
in  Y;jn4cce  ports,  and  consigned  to  forced  inaction  numbers  of 
Yankee  vessels,  in  addition  to  the  direct  damage  inflicted  by 
captures  at  sea.  The  Northern  papers  paid  a  high  tribute  to 
the  acti\^ty  and  daring  of  ouFfcw  privateers  in  the  statement 
4Rat^  during  one  month-  of  Ainter,  British  Steamers  had  carried 


234  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

from  San  Ffanrisco  to  Europe  six  nnd  a  quarter  mllliofls  of 
gold,  whilst  during  the  same  time  from  the  same  port 'there 
had  arrived  in  New  York  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  of  the  precious  metal.  In  view  of  such  results,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  overrcstimate  the  effects,  if  wo  had  had  a 
hundred  of  private  armed  vessels,  anfU  especially  if  we  cogld 
have  secured  from  neutral  Europe  the  means  of  disposing  of 
Buch  prtecs  aft  wo  miglit  ^lake  of  the  comtncrce^)f  the  enemy. 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  2S5 


•  •  CHAPTER  IX. 

An  Extraordinary  Lull  in  tlie»  War...  An  Affair  with  the  Ene||W^  on  the 
Black\yatcr..^RaiJs  in  the  West. ..Van  Dorn's  Captures. ..The  JtlEETiNO'OF 
C0NOUES8... Character  of  This  Botly...It3  Dullness  and  Servility... l\Jr.  Footo 
and  the  Cabinet. ..Two  Popular  Tlfemes  of  Confidence.'.. Party  Contention  ia 
the  N(»rth...SucciSses  of  the  Democrats  There. ..Analysisgpf  the  Party  Politics 
of  tltf  North... The  Interest  of  New  England  in  the  War... How  tlie  War 
Affected  the  Northwestern  Portion8.of  the  United  States... Mr.  Foote's^eso* 
lutio^is  Respecting  the  Northwestern  States... How  They  Were  Received  by 
the  Southern  Public. ..New  War  Measures  at  AVashihgtoiff.. Lincoln  a  Dic- 
tator...Prospect  of  Foreign  Interference. ..Action  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon.., 
Suf^eri«g  of  the  Working  Classes  in  England. ..The  Delusions  of  an  Early 
Peace. ..The  Tasks  Before  Cohgress... Prostrate  Condition  of  the  Confederate 
Finances. ..President  Davis'  Blunder. ..The  Errours  of  Our  ^inancialSystem... 
The  Wealth  of  the  South. ..The  Impressment  Law  of  Congress. ..Scftrcity  of 
Supplies. ..luflatad  Pri«es... Speculation  and  Extortion  in  the  Confederacy... 
Threft  Remarks  About  These. ..Tl^p  Verdict  of  History. 

The  battle  of  I\Iurfrcesboro'  was  followed  by  an  extraordinary 
lull  oY  the  movetaents  of  .the  war.  For  months  the  great 
armies  in  Tennessee  and  Virginia  were  tO; stand  agaze  of  each 
other.  The  events  of  this  period  are  slight  and  easily 
recounted. 

While  the  lines  of  the  Rappahannock  Remained  undisturbed, 
our  forces  on  "the  Blackwatt?r  Lad*  aft  engagement  of  outposts 
on  the  31st  of  January,  which  waa  unduly  magnified  into  'a 
battle.  The  success  of  -the  affair  was  not  wholly  uyimport^nt, 
as  ;f  lois  t)f  some  liundrefls  M'as  inflrcted  upon  the  enemy  before 
our  forces- fell  toick  to  Carrsville,  which  they  were  compelled 
to  do  in  the  face  of  superiouf  numbers. 

In  Tennessee  t^igre  was  a  series  of  exploits  of  our  cavalry, 
|b«  detf\ils  of  which  it  is  impossible  now  t;p  recount.  The  most 
i^mnrlffible  of  thtsc  successes  was  probably  that  of  Van  Dopr, 
wbo,  on  the  firat  day  of  Match,  at  Thompson's  Station,  between 


236  THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR, 

Columbia  and  Franklin,  captured  five  regiments  of  the  enemy's 
iftfantry,  comprisiag  twenty-two  hundred  officers  an^  men. 

TUE    MEETING    OF   CONGRESS. 

The  readier  will  be  interested  in  .tnrninff  from  the  urrim- 
portant  military  events  of  this  period  to  notice  the  re-assemtling 
of  the  Ctnfederate  Congress  and  its  proceedings  in  the  early 
monthg^f  1863.  It  is  not  to  be  disguised  that  this  body  ftll 
below  the'sffirit  and  virtue  of  the  people,  and  was  remarkable 
for  its  dehitutioft  of  talents  and  Nihility.  Not  a  single  speech 
that  has  yet  b^n  made  in  it  will  live.  It  i^true  that  the" 
regular  Congress  elected  by  the^  people  was  an  improvement 
upon  the  ignorant  and  unsavory  body  known  as  tlie  Provi«if»pal 
Congress,  which  ^fas  the  creature  of  conventions,  and  which 
■was  disgi-'aced  in  the  character  of  somft  of  ifs  members  ;  lynong 
TFjiom  were  conspicuous  corrupt  and*  senile  politicians  fpom 
Virginia,  who  had  done  all  they  could  to  sacrin(!fc  and  degrade 
their  State,  who  liad  "  toadi^;d  ",m  society^ as  l^jcll  aS'in*  poli- 
tics, to  notabilities  of  Nfw  Englajid,  and  who'*had"  ta^en  a 
proijiinent  part  m  emasculating,  and,  in  fact,  annulling,  the 
S-cquestratioff  Law,  in  order  to  save  the  'pragerty  of  relatives 
who  had  sided  with  the.  North  against  the  l;w*d  that  had  Dorf»« 
them  amd  honoured  their  fathers. 

But  the  reguhw  Congress,  although  if  had  fto  tai^t  of  dis- 
loyalty or  Yankee  toatlyiain  in  it,  was  a  weak  body.  It  "had 
made  no  mark  in  the  "history  of  the  government)  it  was  desti- 
tute of  originality;  its  rSeaSuKCs  ^'ere,  generally,  those*whioh 
Were  recommended  b}»tiie  rExocutiy;  or  s^gj^estcd*  by  tkc-news- 
pap^rs;  itjiad  produced  no  great  finiTncial  measure^"  it*inadB 
nt)t  one  fftrolce  of  statesmailsliip ;  it  ifttered  ^ofc  a  siti^"f!ery 
appeal  to  the  popular  heart  such  as  i^  customary  in  ntvohitionai 
It  afforded,  perhaps,  a  proof  of  t]fti  freaircnt  assertion  that  our 
demttfratic  syste^  did  not'  produce  great  liien.  •  The  mo*trof 
the  little  abiHty  it  bad 'was  occupied  with. servility,  to*  ti% 
Bxecotivc  and  demagogieiil  displays.  *  • 

It  is  diiSiJult,  indeed,  for  a  legiBlati\^e  body  to  preseine  it« 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  23T 

independence,  and  to  resist  the  tendency  of  tlie,Exo£utiv(i  to 
absorb  pow,^r  in  time  of  ^var,  and  this  fact  ^^^lft  well  illustrated 
by  the  Confederate  Congres^.  One  Rf  the'  ^"catest  politiqal 
scholars  of  America,  ISIr.  !Madisofl,  notiQecf  this  danger  in  the 
political  ^constitution  of  ^he  gaiWitry.  Ile^siyd  : — "  War  is  in 
fact  th(*  true  nurse  §f  Ex^cuti^e  aggrandiztmont.  In  war  a 
physical  force  i^  to  be  created,  and  it  is  the  Executive  will 
which  is  to  direct  it.  In  war  the  puhlic  treasures  a-isp  to  be 
unlocked,  and  it  fs  the  Executive  hand'which  'is  to  dispense 
them.  In  war  the  honours  and  emoluments  of  office. are  to  be 
multiplied,  and  it  is*tlie  Executi^'e  patronage  under  Which  tliey 
are  to  be  enjoyed.  Ijt  is  in  wa'r,  finally,  that  laurels  are  <o  be 
gathered,  anii  it  is  th'e  Executive  brow  they»are<o  encircle." 

There  was  but  little  opposition  in  Congress  tb  President 
Davis;  byt  ther'e-was  sorrie  which  took  a  direction  td  his  Ci^bi- 
net,.and  this  opposition  was  represented  by  Mr.  Poote  of  Ten- 
nessee— a  man  .of  ackno'wlcdgdd  ability  and  many  virtu(?s  of 
cljaracter,  a^io»  had"  re-entered  upon  the  political,  stage  after  a 
public^  lift,  winch,  kowever  }^  lacked  in  the  "cheap  merit  ©f 
partisan  consistency^  had  been  adorned  by  displays  of  wonder-* 
fuL  intellect  and  great  polirical  genius.  Mr.  Foote  ^v^s  not^a 
man  to  be  deterred  from  speaking  the  t;-uth  ;  his  quickness  to 
resentment  and  his  chivalry,  which,  thougJi  somewhat  Quixdtic, 
was  foivj'ied  in  flie  most  noble  and  delicate 'sense  of  honour, 
made  those  who  wi)uld''have  bullied  or  silenced,  a  weaker 
person,. stafld  in  awe  of  Jum.  A  man  of  such  temper  was  ftot 
likely  to  stint  words  in  assaijing  an  opponent;  and  his  sharp 
dcclauKitions  in  Con'gress,  his  searching  commc;its,  and  liis 
great  powers  ftf  sjft'casm,  us(;d  upon  sucli  men  ^as/Mallorj^ 
Benjamin  ami  Northrop  were. the  only  relief  of  tl)e  dulnessiof 
the  Congress,  and  (ke  only  historical  features  «f  its  debates. 

'Mr.'Poote  w{«s  o^  a  temperament  that  easily  indulged  the 
pro«petJts*of  peace  which  so  goneralTy  existed  Avhen  Congress 
resumed  itf^'sessiort  in  the  opening  of  jhe  new  year.  At  an 
earl/  jicriodf-of  ^he  session  resolutions  were  introduced  by  hiiji 
fnvitiisg  the  Jfcrthwe^tei^  States  to  abstention»from  the  war, 


3i38  THB   SECOND  TEAR   OF   THB   WAR. 

an\J  expjessf^g  a  lively  and  friendly  confidence  in  the  negotia- 
tion Avliich  the  J^peror  of  the  French  b«d  jusfrpndertaken 
for  a  (|u;ilified  racHiatioif  in  the  war  in  Ameriaa.  Of  tliese  two 
popular  themes  of  ^opfidenrt)  some  explanation  is  due. 

Since  the  commencement  of.  tj^e  war,  there  had  bgen  s^rac 
few  people  in  thoi  North  who  had  o^pos^  its  prosecut^n,  and 
many  more  who  were  averse  to  its  policy  and*  measures.  The 
removal  of  McClellan  added  a  bitter  feud  to  animosities  al- 
ready  existing,  and  <he  enunciation  at  Washington  of  the 
policy  of  emancipation  contributed  to  the  party  divisions  in 
the  North.'  The  result  of  the. Northern  elections  in  the  fall  of 
186;^  was  apparently  an  empTiafic  and  irppressive  popular  ver- 
dict against  tie  Abolition  party  Avhick  had  ruled  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington.  In  the  face  of  a  majority  of  107,000 
agjynst  tlrem  in  1S60,  the  Democrat^  had  carried*  thp  State  of 
New  York.  The  metropolis  of  New  York  was  carried  .J/y  a 
Democratic,  majority  of  31,000-:-a  change  of. 48,000  votes  in 
twelve  months.  Within  the  great  States  of  Naw  Jersey,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indij\pa  and  Illinoisjithe* remits  of 
•the  popular  elections  were  a  more  or  less  emphatic  avowal  of 
ogpositit)n  to  the  schemes  of  those  who  were  using  the  po\ver 
of  the  government  to.  advance  and  fasten  upon  the  country 
their  political  vagaries,  regardless  of  right  and  written  consti- 
tutions. These  six  States  contained  a  maj*ority  of  tjie  free 
State  population.  Tlicy  furnished  thd  majority  of  Ihe  troops 
in  the  field  againsC  us.  They  had  t»^^u)-thirds  of  the  w^calth  of 
the  North.  It  was  clear  that,  the  Washington  government 
needed  men  and  money  to  carry  on  the  war,  and  to  have  a 
ynited  North  tbe  Democratic  States  must  furoish  mor<3  than 
hajf  of  eith'er. 

Under  these,  circumstances,  it  is  not  Surprising  that  the 
peopfe  of  the  South  should  have  conyinced  themselves  #iat  &n 
important  reaction  was  tdking  .place  in  public  sentiirfen*  iii^the 
North,  and  that  it  naturally  tended  to  d  negotiation  for  pe'ace. 
But  in  one-half  of  this  opinion  they  were  mistaken.  ►Therje 
was  a  reaction  in  the  North ;   but  It  had  scarcely  anji  thing 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF*  TffE   WAR. 

more  than  a  partisan  significance^  It  was  h  sti*uggle.  between 
those  in  power  and  those  out  of  power ;  the  issues  (?f  which 
were. feigned  and  exaggerated ;  in  which  much  that  was  said 
against  the  war  was  not  really  njejftit;  and  at  the  close  of 
which  the  paesions  it  had  excited  suddenly  evaporated.  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  who,  in  -the  Democratic  campaign  in  New  YorMl 
hall  made  ^speeches  quite  warm  enough  for  Southern  latitudes, 
was  after  the  elections  am  advocate  of  tlie  jtvar'and  a  mocken 
of  "  the  rebellion."  Many  more  followed  the  distinguished 
lead  of  the  demagogue  in  raising  a  clamour  about  the  admiil- 
istration  merely  for  party  purposes,  and  having  served  those 
purposes,  m  returning  to  the  advocacy  of  a  Avar,  in  which,  by 
giving  false  encouragement  to  the  North,  and  holding  out 
hopes  of  "'r.ecoHstruction,"  they  were  enemies  more  fatal  tb 
the  South  than  the  blind  and  revengeful  radicals  who  soughi 
her  destruc.tion.  ■ 

It  is  probable  Jhat  the  movements,  in  the  Northwestern 
States  against  the  administra'tion  were 'better  .founded  in  prin- 
ciple  than  those  that  had  taken  place  in-other  parts  of  the 
North,  and  that  they  denoted  a  ^ncere  aversion  to  the  war. 
The  opposition  of  Mi:.  Vallandigham,  who  assumed  to,  nepre- 
sent  ^his  sentiment  of  "the  Northwest  in  Congress,  was  appa- 
rently superiour  to  the  demagogical  clamour  6f  such  men  as 
Vart  Buren  and  Seymour' of  New  York.  The  sentiment  was 
undT)ubtedly  sincere,*  whateVer  ^he  merits  or  demerits  of  its 
officious  reuresentaj;ive.*" 

*'iyiere  is  unavo'ulabfe  renson  for  doubtin*  the  virtue  of  Mr.  Vallandig- 
ham. It  is  difficult,  to  discover  the  motives  of  tlje  Yankee.  , The  people  of 
the  South  have  rtason  to  know,  frUn  former,  political  association  with  this 
faithless  race,  how  Indirect  are  their  courses  and  how  affected  their  zeaT. 
What  a^ipears  to  be  the  inspiration  of  virtue,  may  be  the  deep  design  of  a  sel- 
fish ambition;  singularity  of  opinion  may  prove  nothing  but  an  itch  for  a 
cheap  reputation  ;  and  an  extraordinaVy  displayof  one's  self  before  the  pub- 
lic may,  at  best,  be.but  the  ingenious  trick  of  a  charlatan. 

When  Mr.  Vallandigham  was 'exiled  for  obetrucfing  enlisttpents  in  tjie 
North,  ho  had  an  opportunity  in  his  travels  in  the  Confederacy  of  Itarnifig 
the  sentiments  of  the  people, .arfd  pi  these  he  gave  the  following  report  in  aa 
address  to  the  people  of  Ohio  :    ,     •  •    . 

"Travelling  a  thousand  miFes  and  ^oro  through  nearly  one-half  of  the 


240  TUB  SECoyt)  tear  of  the  war: 

The  pocunirf!^  interest  of  ^few  England  in  the  war  was  plain 
enough  •  The  clctyand  for  the  products  of  'her  industr}''  fof 
objects  of  this  war  was  greater  than  at  any  formei^crif^  in 
the  history  of  this  conthicyit.  Her  workshops,  were  in  full 
blast.  Ships  and  locomotives  w*ere  to  be  built,  the  weapons  of 
♦ar'werd  to  be  created,  and  the  ironiuojl|^ers  of  New  Engl?lnd 
IJouml  a  vast  and  profitable  ^iplo^'merit  in  answering  -thfBe 
demands.  Thfc  spjmlcrs  and  wfavers»and  blanket-mjjkers  and 
artisans  were  kept  bu>^  at  their  avocations,  and  everywhere 
ift  these  avaricious  districts  of  the  North  arose  the  hum  of 
.profitable  industry. 

But  wnile  New  England  rioted  in  the  gains  of  "the  war,  it 
was'  stark  ruin  to  the  agricultural  States  of  the  Northwest. 
The  people  there  were  growing 'poorer  eve*ny«tla3'.  in  the  midst 
of  pUiity.  The  great  Southern  market  which  thliir  resources 
supplied  had  been  clo.scd,  and  there  was  no  new  ^^cmand  for 
tjieir  agricultural  products.  The  corn,  wjieat  and ^ bacon  of 
Indiana  and  Illiuois  was  scarely  woitli  the  cost  of  transporta- 
tion to  the  Atlintife  coast.  The  railroads  connectifig>the  West 
with  the  seaboads  were  principally  in  tlic  hands  of  the  Eastern 
capit«i|ist?,  aiijj  the  rates  of  freight  werc.so  enormous,  that  the 
surplus  agrii^iltural  product  of  the  NtTithwestern  farnieijij  was 
in  many  instanf^es  left  to  rot  on  their  lands  or  he  u^d  ;«  fuel. 

I'his. violent  contrast  betjv'ben  *N^w  England  and-thq^est 
in  the  oJlectai^n  each  of  the  w!#,  \\?is  deVtWoped  in  a  forniicralile 
opposition    of   opinion.     Indications  'of    fjris  -opj^psition    h^^l 

already  been  given  in   t4ie  pr^ss  of  St.  J|ouis  and   Chicago. 

^ ^_^ ! . ^^ *, 

"  Cunfeuerate  Sluites,  ntiu  sojauriiing  1^  a  time  ut  widely  iliilerent  poiuts, 
*«  I  met  n(5t  one  man,  woiunn  or  cLilil,  who  weie  not  resolved  to  perish  ^atfapr 
"than  yield  to  the  prcj<i<<lre  of  arinn,  even  in  the  mos|  desperate  ex^Anily. 
"    t     f  *    ,     *    ^     Niillifr,  however,  Bl  Vie  odd,  did  I  m<et  any  one,  ir/inl- 

"  ever  his  opinion  or  station,  ponticul  o^ private,  who  did  tint  dtrlare  his  rcadi- 
"  ncKS,  when  the  tear  shall  have  ceased,  and  invadin'i;  arnjes  It  tvithdrawn,  to 
^'consider  and'discus^  the  rjueslioti  of  reuniorP.  And  wliCkshall  doubt  the  idsuo 
"■of  the  argiinftntT"  _        ^  ^» 

A  man  wl^o  can  nc  guilty  of  such  ft  d^ihA-al^c  falsehood,  and  onoevk^ently 
plannettto  catch  votes  for  his  jjoliiical  Tnjoln',  can  certainly  make  popreten- 
Biou  to  heroism,  aD«l  niuy  even  have  l^s  claiiiA  to  bonusty  jus^y  doubted. 


THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.  244, 

The  jealousy  of  the  agricultural  States  of' the  North  was  being 
inflamed  bj  the  unequal  profits  of  the  war,  and  the  selfish 
policy^ of  the  Abolitionists;  and  the  opinion  plainly  grew  in 
the  press  and  public  discussion  that  the  West  had  not  a  single 
interest  in  the  ^\ar  beyoml  securing  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi.      • 

IIuw  fjjr  statesmanship  jn  the  South  might  have  profited  by 
this  disaffection  in  the  ^lorthwester^  States  is  left  a  matter  pf 
coojfscture  and  controversy.  The  efforts  made  in  the  Confede- 
rate Congress  by  Mr.  Foote  in  this  direction,  tendering  'to 
these  States  a  complete  assurance  of  the  free  navigation  of  th« 
Mississippi,  and  proposing  ah  Alliance  with  th6  Confcdei*acy, 
Wthout  political  complictftions,  fliet  with  feeble  encouragement- 
in  that  body,  a  doubtful  response  from  the  army  and  divided 
comments  of  the  press.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  merits 
of  Mr.  Foote's  proposition,  it  admitted  of  no  delay.  While 
our  government  treated  it  with  hesitation,  the  authorities  at 
Washington -were  making  anxious  and. immense  preparation 
to  overcome  the  disaflfcctij>n  of  the  people  and  to  carry  on  tbe 
war;  and  tlie  means  to  do  ti*is  were  supplied  by  an  act 
suspending  the  habeas  corpus  and  making  Lincoln  absolute 
dictator ;  by  new  measures  of  finance,  and  by  a  conscription 
law  which  called  into  the  field  three  million  of  men. 

Tlie  prospect  o»f  a  terminatioff  of  the  war  by  any  action  of 
foreign  governments  was  mere  distant  than  that  afforded  by 
party  elections  and  movements  in  the  North.  This  action  waa 
limited  to  the  French  ETnperor  alene ;  it  had  not  progressed' 
further  at  this  time  than  an  invitation  to  England  and  Russia, 
made  in  Novembei;  1862,  to  unite  in  proposing  an  armistice  to 
the  Washington  Government,  w^icli  should  merely  give  an 
opportunity  for  discussion,  Without  affecting  in  atiy  vi^y  the 
present  military  interests  and  positions  of  the  belligerents. 
Mild  as  the  French  ^proposition  was?,  it  was  rejected  by  Russia 
and  England.  Lord  Russell  replied  for  his  government  that 
the  time  wa8  not  ripe  for  such  mediation  as  was  proposed,  arid 
that  it  would  be  better  to  watch  carefully  the  progress  of 
16 


242  THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

•pinion  in  America  and   wait  for  some  change  in  \Yliicli   the 

•liree  Courts  could  offer  their  friendly  counsel  with   a  prospect 

of  success.     The  British  statesman   had  nothing  to  jfiesjil   for 

the  mass  of  suffering  humanity  in  his  own  land  which  the  war 

he  was  implored   to  stop  or  to  ameliorate  had  occasioned ;  for 

humanity  was  easily  outweiglied  by  political  reasons,  which  aw 

as  often  worked   out  througli   the   bVood   and  tears  of  its  own 

people  as  through  the  misfortunes  of  others.* 

: M ■■ *— 

*  In  a  letter  of  Mr.  Cobden,  pulilishc'l  during  the  enrly  winter  in  an 
Bngli^li. journal, "he  declnres  that  in  travelling  from  Manchester  to  Ulackburn 
over  a  country  covered  with  enow,  He  finind  hundreds  of  wasted  viclifn»  of 

J  old  and  want.  He  says:  "  Ilithert(j  the  dist»-8sed  population  have  tVlt  little 
lore  than  the  want  of  food.  Now  and  from  heuqeforth  blafikets,  fuel  ani 
clothing  arc  as  essential  to  health  as  bread  and  soup."  He  argues  that  it  is 
Welesa  to  save  people  from  dying  by  hunger,  only  that  they  may  perish  by 
fever,  or  by  the  exhaustion  consequent  on  cold  and  insufficient  food. 

The  early  advent  of  winter  enhanced  the  misery  of  the  suffering.  In  many 
districts  the^fe  was  no  fuel,  no  means  of  warmth  except  the  scanty  allowance 
«f  coals  distributed  in  some^places  by  the  Relief  Comuiitteee.  Everywhere 
the  people  had  too  little  to  eat,  and  that  little  was.not  sufficiently  nutricious; 
eveiywhere  they  suffiTed  flrom  cold  yet  more'cruelly  than  from  hunger;  and 
nowhere  was  Hiere  a  fund  suffiiiiciit  ttj'providc  for  their  necesirtties. 

The  humane  shuddered  rfith  liorrour  as  they  read  the' frightful  accouuts  of 
the  sudering  of  the  poor  published  day  after  day  in  the  London  Times.  A 
letter  from  8toi;kport  described  the  people  there  as  "suffering  all  the  hor- 
rours  of  a  protracted  famine."  Tiic  same  writer  says:  "One  poor  nmn  upon 
whom  I  calle^  this  morning,  havin'stripped  the  walks  of  .every  littl%  orna- 
ment to  purchase  bread  for  his  wife  and  t^reelittle  children,  took  the  fender 
and  sold  it  for  a  shilling."  The  cases  of  distress  reported  in  the  newspapers 
merely  represented  the  average  condition  of  the  unemployed.  An  aged 
copple,  we  are  told,  had  saved  thirty  six  poudtls ;  this  is  gone,  their  furnitare 
ft  pawned,  the  husband  is  in  the  iidirmary,  and  the  old  w^man  living  on  a 
charitiible  dole  of  half  a  crown  per  week,  with  some  soup  and  bread.  lu 
Another  case  five  persons, .among  them  a  sick  woman,  are  living  on  scv^ 
Bhillings  a  week.  One  fanuly  of  six — considered  te  be  particularly  well  off — 
have  seven  shillings,  an  allowance  of  couls  and  some  soup  and  bread  from 
tiieir  former  emjjojer.  Anotlur  family  of  six  or  seven  had  lived  for  twelve 
months  on  six  shillings  a  week. 

The  University. of  Oxford  had  subscribed  about  £400')  towards  the  relief 
of  the  sufi'ering  people.  A  meeting  was  held  to  promote  further  ajjtion,  at 
which  the  following  facts  were  stated  by  fhe  Hon.  E.  L.  Stanley  of  Ballipl 
College : 

"They  received   from  America   before    the   blockade  five  sixths  of  their 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  243 

But  while  the  prospect  of  an  early  peace  dissolved  before 
the  eyes  of  Congress,  a  subject  of  instant  and  practical  impor- 
tance was  sorely  pressing  upon  its  attention.  The  vast  volume 
of  Treasury  notes  issued  Jsy  the  government  had  occasioned  a 
rapid  depreciation  of  fur  currency,  inflatea  prices  and  pror 
duced  serious  financial  difficulties.  So  crude  and  short-siarhted 
had  been  our  notions  of*  public  finance,  that  at  the  meeting  of 
Congress  in  August  1862,  we  find  President  Davis  recom'r 
mending  to  it  that  the  public  creditors  should  not  be  paid  in 
bondfj,  but  that  unlimited  issues  of  currency  should  be  made. 
He  then  said  in  his  written  message  to  Congress :  "  The  legisr 
lation  of  the  last  session  provided  for  the  purchase  of  supplies 
with  the  bond^  of  the  government,  but  tiie  preference  of  tiie 
people  for  Treasury  notes  has  been  so  marked  that  legislation 
is  recommended  to  "authorize  an  increase  in  the  issue  of  Trea* 
sury  notes,  which  the  public  service  seems-  to  requrire.  No 
grave  inconvenience  need  be  apprehended  from  this  ina'caseU 
issue^  as  the  provision  of  law  by  wliich  these  notes  are  converr 
tible  into  eight  per  cent,  bonds,  forms  an  efficient  and  perma- 
nent «afeguard  against  any  serious  depreciation  of  the  cur- 
rency." ^ 


"cotton;  five  days  of  \he  week  thoy  worked  on  what  cryne  from  America; 
"only  one  day.  oa  what  c^me  from  other  countries.  That  supply  was  noV 
"  practically^t  an  jeud.  The  few  sUips  that  ran  the  blockade  made  no  notice- 
"  able,tliffV'rence,  jind  even  if  other  countries  should  double  their  prodiTCtinri, 
"we  should  be  only  supplied  with  mateiial  for  one-thivd  of  o\]t  usual  wojk* 
"The  country,  then,  was  losing  two-thirds  of  the  indulstry  engaged  iu  this 
"trade,  and  two-thirds  of  the  capital  were  making  no  return.  Aid  this 
"  trade  wifs  such  a  main  part  of  the  industry  of  the  nation  that  what  affoctPS 
"it  must  affect  all.  A  Parliameniary  return  gave  the  persons  actuall^ 
"engaged  in  the  nulls  at  n«ar  500,000.  If  they  reckoned  their  families,  tli^ 
"traders  who  supplied  them,  the  colliers,  machinists,  builders,  and  shipping 
"  interest  engaged  in  supplying  cotton,  they  would  prgbRbly  not  oversilati!  the 
"  number  of  dependents  on  cotton  only  at  .%00i,000.  These  people  were  noW 
"deprive<l  of  fully  two  thirds  of  their  subsistence."  f 

Such  is  a  picture  of  the  "Cotton  Famine  "  in  England.  The  most  roma?kj- 
able  circumstance  in  connection  with  it  was  the  profound  indifferem'e  of  the 
English  Mini.'try  to  the  distress  of  near  a  million  of  those  for  whose  lives  anS 
happiness  they  were  responsible. 


214  THE  SECONB  YEAR  CF  THE  WAR. 

The  consequences  of  this  ignorant  and  wild  6nancial  policj 
were  tliat.  by  the  next  inectiiig  of  Congress,  tjju  volume  of 
currency  was  at  least  four  times  wiiat  were  the  wants  of  the 
Conmiunity  for  a  circulating  mtMliiiin^  that  prices  were  iullated 
more  than  an  equal  degree,  for  want  oft  confidence  in  the  paper 
of  the  government  had  kindled  tlie  fever  of  speculation^  that 
the  public  credit,  abused  by  culpable  tgnorancc  and  obstinate 
empiricism,  had  fallciT  to  an  ebb  that  alarmed  the  country, 
more  than  any  reverse  in  the  military  fortunes  oT  thb  war; 
and  that  the  government  was  forced  to  the  doubtful  and  not 
very  honourable  expedient  of  atteii^pting  to  restore  its  cur- 
rency by  a  system  of  demolietizing  its  own  issues. 

The  redundancy  of  the  currency  was  the  chief  cause  of  its 
depreciation.  The  amount  of  money  in  circulation  in  the 
South  in  time  of  peace,  was  ^bO,OOU,000.  *  In  January  1863, 
it  was  $^00,000,000.  In  September  1801,  Confederate  notea 
were  about  equal  to  specie;  before  December,  specie  was  at* 
20  per  cent,  premium  ;  before  April  1(50'2,  it  was  at  50  per 
cent. ;  before  last  September,  at  100 ;  before  December,  at 
225;  before  February,  at  280,  and  in  the  spring  of  18<J3,  at 
the  frightful  pretifium  of  four  hundred  per  cent.,  while  blink 
bills  were  worth  one  hundred  and  ninety  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Since  the  foundation  of  the  Confederate  Government,  its 
finances  had  been  grossly  mismanaged:  The  -Treasury  note 
was  a  naked  promise  to  pay  ;  there  was  no  fuhd  jtledg(;d  for 
its  redemption  ;  and  the  prospect  of  the  rigid  liquidation  of  the 
©aormous  debt  that  this  class  of  paper  represented  six  months 
after  the  restoration  of  peace,  depended  solely  on  tUe  specu- 
lative prospect  of  a  foreign  loan  to  the  amount  of  many  hun- 
dred millions  of  dollars.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war 
the  South  had  tiic  elements  for  the  structure  of  one  of  the 
xnost  successful  ami  elaalic^  schemes  of  finance  that  the  world 
had  seen.  The  planters  were  anj^ious  to  cft'ect  the  sales  of 
t'leir  cotton  and  tobacco  to  the  Confederate  States:  these  would 
have  supplied  the  government  with  a  basis  of  ijredit  which 
would   Lave    been    extended    as   the   prices   of  these    stap'les 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  24;5 

advanced,  and  therefore  kept  progress  with  the  war ;  but  this 
scheme  was  opposed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr. 
Memrainger,  and  defeated  by  his  influence.  He  was  urtfortu- 
nately  sustained  by  an  Executive  grossly  incompetent  on  sub- 
jects of  finance  ;  whicii  was  ignorant  of  the  principle  of  politi- 
cal economy,  that  there  are  no  roy:jJ  ways  (?f  making  money 
out  of  nothing,  that  governments  must  raise  money  in  the 
legitimate  .way  t)f  taxation,  loans,  &c. ;  which  relied  upon  the 
manufact#re  of  a  revenue  out  of  naked  paper  x)bligation9 ;  ai\d 
which  actually  went  to  the  foolish  extremity  of  recommending 
that  the  creditors  of  the  government  should  take  their  payment 
in  currency  ^pther  than  in  the  pubJio  stocks.  It  appears, 
indeed,  that  our  government  was  ignorant  qf  the  most  primitive 
truths  of  finance,  and  that  it  had  not  read  in  history  or  in 
reason  the  lesson  of  the  fatal  connection  bettveen  currency  and 
revenue. 

It  te  true  that  some  appreciation  of  this  lesson  was  at  last 
shown,  by  Congress  in  its  new  tax  bill;  for  the  theory  of  that 
bill  was,  by  an  enormous  weight*  of  taxation,  to  pay,  at  least 
mcasurabl}^,  the  expenses  of  the  war  as  it'pvogressedj  ftnd  .tb 
risk  no  further  connecJion  between  the  two  distinct  financisd 
ccHicerns  of  revenue  and  currency.  But  on  the  other  hand  its 
system  of  forcing  the  funding  of  treasury  notes  by  arbitrary 
reductions  of  interest,  betrayed  the  ignorance  of  Congress  :  left 
incomplete  and  embarrassed  a  system  of* finance  Avhich  might 
ha\e  otherwise  been  carried  to  a  poirit  of  extraordinary  suc- 
cess;  and  aimed  a  direct  blo\V  at  the  integrity  of  the  publio 
credit.  •    • 

Jt  was  easy  to  see  that  slight  diffetences  in  rates  of  interest 
would  afford  but  feebhe  inducements  for  the  conversion  of  the 
treasury  note  into  the  bond,  when  money  was  easily  doubled 
or^quadruplcd  in  the  active  commercial  speculations  peculiar 
to  the  condition  of  the^atith  in  the  war,  unless  the  bond  could 
be  readily  used  as  a  medium  of  exchanges;  and  in  that  event 
there  would  only  be  a  change  in  the  form  of  the  paper,  the" 
volume  of  the  currency  would  be  undiminished,  and  its  depre- 


446  THB    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

elation  therefore  remain  the  same.  But  while  the  analysis  of 
this  sjstem  of  fun«ling  shows  it  to  be  a  transftarcnt  juggle,  it 
was  ^y  no  ineaits  certain  that  it  did  not  contain  the  germ  of 
many  positive  evils.  The  right  of«  a  government  to  make  ftr- 
bitcary  clianges  in  any  of  the  terras  of  its  obligations  which 
affect  thei^  valu^,  is  questionable,  and  the  commercial  honour 
of  such  an  expedient  is  more  than  doubtful.  AVhile  it  intro- 
duced the  shadow  of  repudiation  only  to  weak  and  suspicious 
ipind.si,  it  is  yet  to  be  regretted  that  even  whispers  o§  that  sub- 
ject were  ever  heard  in  tlie  South.  But  as  far  as  our  foreign 
credif  was  •concerned,  there  is  no  doubt  that  th«  empirical  ac-' 
tion  of  Congress,  whicli«involved,  even  to  the  apaallest  extent, 
the  integrity  of  our  obligations,  was  of  serious  prejudice.  It 
thight  indeed  have  been  logically  and  certainly  expected  that 
Ihe  general  confidence  in  Europe  in  the  military  fortunes  of 
the  Confederacy  wouM  have  been  productive  of  unlimited 
credit  to  us  abroad,  had  the  faith  of  Europe  in  the  ni^nage- 
menlof  our  finances  equalled  that  in  the  success  of  oirrarms.* 
On  the  subject  of  the  financial  management  of  the  new 
Cpnfc^eracy,  one  '•general,  rafiection  at  least  admits  of  no 
doubt.  The  attentive  reader  will  recognize  as  the  most  re- 
markable circumstance  of  this  war,  that  within  two  years  \^e 

public  finances  of  the  Confederacy  should  have  been  brought 
*_, — 

*  rt  is  true  tluit  a  pmiiU  forrign  lonn  has  been  iiegotiiited  in  Europe;  but 
it  affor  is  no  test  of  our  credit  in  pre.sent  circunistmices,  as  it  was  made  on  a 
pledge  of  cotton.  It  shows,  howevtr,  wliat  niiglit  hiive  been  done,  ii  the 
cotton  liad  been  parcbnttud  b-y  the  goTerniiient  aitd  »ioliiliz«-d,  for  the  whole 
crop  inigrti  iiave  been  secured  in  ISdl  iit  seven  cents  ft  pound. ^J3ut  against 
this  8cheme  the  government  had  sat  its  face  as»flint,  and  when  it  did  become 
distruBfful  of  its  former  conclftflon,  it  had  only  the  nerve  to  make  a  »ery 
iimited  experiment  iu  tlie  application  of  thi»stai>le  to  sui)port  a  credit" almost 
hopelessly  abused  by  paper  issues. 

It  w:is  estimated  that  Ihere  rem.-iined  in.  the  States  of  the  Confederacy  at 
lliiu  time  3,5(10,000  bales  of  cotton,  wliich  <»iul<i  be  exported  in  tlie  evei4  of 
tlie'poits  being  opened  to  trade,  Tliis  estinilLte^s  made  after  deducting  from 
tho  crops  of  lyfil  and  1802  the  quantity  of  cotton  wliicii  iind  run  tiie  block- 
ade, the  aniount  destroyed  to  prevent  cai)ture  by  the  Yankees,  and  tlie  rjpaa- 
tity  used  for  Imme  consumption,  wliich,  since  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
liud  enormously  increased,  being  bow  fully  51)0,000  bales  per  annum. 


THE    SECOND   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  2^7 

to  the  brink  of  ruin.  The  sympathy  of  the  people  Wiilx  the 
revolution  was  unbounded.  The  disposition  of  all  classes  to- 
wards the  government  was  one  of  extreme  generosity.  The 
jlfoperty  of  the  States  of  the  Confederacy  was  greater  per 
capita  tha*  that  of  any  community  on  the  globe.  No  country 
in  the  world  had  export  values  comparable  in  mflgnitude  to 
those  of  the  South,  and  the  exports  of  all  other  countries 
were  produced  at  a  cost  in  labour  four  times  that  of_  Qurs.  In 
such  circumstances  it  is  highly  improbable  that  the  government 
of  th»  Confederacy  could,  within  two  years,  have  wrecked  its 
credit  with  its  own  people,  unless  by  the  most  ignorant  trifling 
with  great  questions  and  the  childish  management  of  its  trea- 
sury. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  war  it  had  been  our  boast  that  we 
had  spent  only  fifteen  millions,  while  the  Yankees  had  spent 
ten  or  fifteen  times  that  amount.  But  we  find  that  the  debt 
of  the  general  government  of  the  Confederate  Stages  in  Janu- 
ary last  was  $556,000,000,  with  the  prospeq^,  at  tlie  current 
rate  of  expenditure,  that  it  would  reach  nine  hundred  millions 
by  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  on  the  first  of  July;  and  it  is 
curious  to*  observe*wlTat  miscalculations  were  made  of  public 
debt  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South.  The  newspapers  of 
the  two  nations  flourished  the  estimates  of  their  debt  in  enu- 
merations only  of  the  obligations  of  the  general  government  of 
each,  and  made  complacent  comparisons  of  these  sums  with 
the  debts  of  European  governments.  But  according  to  the 
estimates  of  Europe  and  the  aalculations  of  plain  reason,  the 
true  volume  of  the  debt  of  each  of  thes£  nations  \Yas  repre- 
sented not  only  by  what  was  owed  by  the  Richmond  and 
Washington  governments,  but  by  the  aggregate  amount  of  tke 
indebtedness  of  tliQ  several  States  composing  each  confedera- 
tion. Ilere^ould  be  the  only  tru«e  atud  just  measure  of  thS 
national  debt  of  cither  the  South  or  the  North  in  comparisoa 
with  the  itebts  of  other  governments,  to  which  the  system  of 
the  division  of  powers  between  a  central  authority  and  States 
was  unknown.     The  debt  of  each  member  of  the   Southcra 


2^8  TUB    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

Confederacy,  as  mcH  as  that  of  a  central  authority,  was  a  bur- 
den on  the  nation,  for  the  problem  of  its  payment  was  at  last 
to  resolve  itself  into  a  tax  upon  the  people.  It  is  only  by  a 
calculation  of  these  aggregates  that  just  comparisons  could  Ifc 
made  bi-tween  our  financial  condition  and  that  of  tlie  North  or 
Eurojjean  nations;  and  although  such  comparisons  on  our  side 
vcre  to  the  disadvant;ige  of  our  enemies,  yet  they  exhibited 
facts  which  were  unpleasant  enough  to  ourselves. 

The  law  of  impre^ment  enacted  by  Congress  affords*  the 
evidence  of  the  scarcity  of  supplies  in  the  South.  Th»  ques- 
tion of  food  with  that  of  finance  divided  the  attention  of  the 
government.  The  grain-growing  ami  provision-raising  coun- 
try, which  stretches  from  the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry  to 
Memphis  on  the  Tennessee,  was  now  exhausted  of  its  provi- 
Bions.  Much  of  the  productive  portions  of  JNorth  Carolina 
and  the  Gulf  States  had  been  also  exhausted.  The  great  and 
true  source  of  meat  suppl}"-,  the  State  of  Kentucky,  which 
contained*  more  ^ogs  and  cattle,  two  or  three  to  one,  than  were 
kft  in  all  the  South  besides,  had  fallen  into  the  undivided  pos- 
session of  the  Yankres.  The  general  scarcity  of  all  sorts  of 
supplies  was  attested  by  tire  high  prices  of  Everything  eatable. 
The  advance  in  prices  induced  by  the  scarcity  of  supplies,  was 
Etill  fuither  enormou^sly  enhanced  by  the  greedy  CQinmcrcial 
Bpeculation  which  distressed  the  South,. and  threw  a  shadow  of 
dishonour  upon  the  moral  aspects  of  our  struggle. 

It  is  a  subject  of  extraordinary  remark,  that  the  struggle 
for  our  independence  should  \\;\\jc  been  attended  by  the  ignoble 
circumstapces  of  a  co;nmercial  speculation  in  the  South  unpar- 
alleled in  its  heartlessness  and  selfish  greed.  War  invariably 
excites  avarice  and  speculation ;  it  is  the  active  promoter  of 
rapid  fortunes  and  corrupt  commercial  practices.  But  it  is  a 
matter  of  sui  prise  thajt  mwe  than  an  ordinary  share  of  this 
bad,  avaricious  spirit  should  have  been  developed  in  the  South 
during  a  war  which  involved  the  national  existence,  which  pre- 
sented so  many  contrasts  of  hepoic  self-sacrifice,  and  which 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  249 

was  adorned  with  exhibitions  of  moral  courage  and   devotion 
such  as  the  world  had  seldom  seen. 

But  of  this  social  and  moral  contradiction  in  our  ^nr  for 
in'dependence,  some  explanation  may  be  oifered.  It  may,  in 
some  measure,  be  found  in  three  fact?:  first,  that  jf  distrust  of 
the  national  currency  prevailed  in  thc-country ;  secondly,  that 
the  initiative  (for  it  is  the  first  steps  in  speculation  which  are 
more  responsible)  was  made  by  Jews  and  foreign  adventurers 
who  everywhere  infested  the  Confederacy;  and,  thirdly,  that 
the  fever  of  gain  was  greatly  inflamed  by  the  corruptions  of 
the  government,  the  "abuse  of  its  pecuniary  patronage,  and  a 
system  of  secret  contract,  in  which*  officials  who  were  dishon- 
est shared  the  profits,  and  those  wdio  were  incompetent  were 
easily  overreached  in  the  negotiation.  The  only  serious  Met 
which  defaced  our  struggle  for  independence  was,  at  least  to 
some  extent,  the  creature  of  circumstances;  and  that  is  lost 
to  the  eye  of  humane  and  enlightened  history  in  the  lustre  of 
arms  and  virtues  shed  on  the  Soutlf  in  the  most  sublime  ^I'ials 
of  the  war. 


250  THE  SECOND  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Clmracter  of  Military  Events  of  the  Spring  of»l 863... Repulse  of  the  Enemy 
nt  Fort  McAllister. ..TnK  Sikge  op  VicKsnriir.... The  Yazoo  Pass  Expe<lition... 
Confc'lerate  Success  nt  Fort  Pembcrton...Tlie  Enemy's  Cimals  or  "Cut  OH*"... 
Their  Failure. ..Bombaromknt  of  Port  Hidson... Destruction  of  "Tiie  Mis- 
sissippi"....\  Funeral  Pyre... Happy  Effects  of  our.Victory....\  Heview  of  tbe 
Line  of  Inlaml  Hostilities... Hooker's  Hesitation  on  the  Rappahannock. ..The 
Assignment  of  Confederate  Cominan'ls  West  of  the  Mississippi. ..The  ,\ff(iir  of 
Kelly's  Ford... Death  ef  Major  Pelham...NAV.\i,  Attack  on  Ciiahlkstox... 
Destruction  of  "The  Keokuk". ..Scenery  of  the  BomViardrneiit... Extent  of  the 
Confidt-rate  Success... Events  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky. ..Pegrani's  Re- 
verse...The  Situation'df* Hostilities  at  the  close  of  April  1862. 

5^]tlK)ugh  but  little  is  to  be  found  of  a  decisive  character  in 
tlie  niiiitarj  events  of  the  Spring  of  1862,  there  was  yet  a 
series  of  interesting  occurrences  which  went  far  to  prove  the 
inefficiency  of  the  most  boasted  naval  structures  of  the  enemy 
and  the  progress  we  had  mjide  in  defensive  works  on  the  lines 
of  our  harbours  and  the  banks  of  our  rivers. 

The  first  of  these  may  be  mentioned  as  the  repul.^^e  of  the 
enemy  at  Fortf  ]\IcAllistcr  on  tlf^  third  of  M^rch.  This  fort 
is  on  the  cuter  line  of  the  defences  of  Savannah.  Oil'  the 
Georjiia  coast,  and  cijihtcen  miles  to  the  southward  of  the 
Savartnah  river,  is  Ossabaw  Sound.  Into  this  sound  flows  the 
Ogeechee  river,* a  stream  navigable  some  distance  up — some 
thirty  miles — to  vessels  of  a  larger  class.  On  the  Ogeechee 
river,  four  miles  above  the  sound,  is  ^ituate  Fort  McAllister. 
The  fort  stands  on  the  main  land,  directly  on  the  river  bank, 
and*  commands  the  river  for  a  mile  and  a  half  or  two  miles. 

The  attack  of  the  enemy  on  this  fort  was  made  with  three 
iron-clads  and  two  mortar-boats.  The  result  of  a  whole  day's 
bombardment  was,  that  one  gun  was  dismounted,  but  the  foBt 
remained  uninjured,  and  no  loss  of  life  was  sustained  on  our 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR.  251 

aide.  The  iron-clad  Montauk  was  struck  with  solid  shot 
seven-ty-one  times,  and  was  lifted  clear  out  of  the  water  by 
the  explosion  of  a  torpedo  under  he/  bow,  but  the  Yankees 
stated  that  she  was  not  seriously  injured.  Indeed,  they  de- 
clared that  the  whole  affair  was  nothing  more  than  an  experi- 
mentum  crucis,  to  ascertain  the  power  of  th6ir  new  iron-clade 
to  resist  cannon-shot,  and  that  the  result  of  the  cncouiatcr  was 
all  that  they  had  hoped-.  *  If  the  enemy  was  pleased  with  the 
result,  the  Confederates  had  certainly  no  reason  to  dispute  his 
satisfaction,  as  long  as  they  had  the  solid  gratification  of  hav- 
ing resisted  a  bombardment  of  eight  hours,  without  injury  to 
their  works  or  the  loss  of  a  single  life. 

While  the  enemy  menaced  the  sealioard,  he  had  found  ano- 
ther theatre  for  his  naval  power  on  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  His  operations  there  were  even  mot-e  important 
than  those  on  our  sea  lines,  for  they  were  an  essential  part  of 
the  campaign  in  thc"^Vest.  In  fact,  Vicksburg  was  for  a  long 
time  the. point  on  which  depended  the  movements  in  Tennes- 
see and  the  resolution  of  the  great  crisis  in  the  West. 

THE    SIEGE    OF    VICKSBURG. 

The  siege  of  Vicksburg  furnishes  a  most  remarkable  instance 
of  the  industry  and  physical  .perseverance  of  the  Yankees. 
Ever  since  Hecember  lb62,^hey  had  been  busily  engaged  in 
the  attempt  to  circumvent  oUr  defences,  even  "to  the  extremity 
of  fgrcing  our  internal  navigation  of  swampy  lagoons  and  ob- 
structed creeks  for  a  distance, of •foyr  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

The  enemy.'s  operafions  in  other  directions  kept  him  quiet 
directly  in  front  of  Vicksburg,  but  his  purpose  was  all  thp 
same — the  capture  and  occupation  of  the  place.  The  enemy 
bad  three  distinct  •  projects  for  compagsing  the  capture"  of 
Vicksburg:  Firs.t,  the  canal  across  the  isthmus  opfiosite  the 
city;  secondly,  the  project  of  getting  through  the  Yazoo 
Pass;  third,  the  Lake  Providence  canal  project.  It  had  been 
all  the  time  the  prirv^ipal  aim  of  the  Yankees  to  get  in  the 
rear  or  below   Vicksburg.     Th^ir  present  pkn,  and  one  on 


262  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

which  they  were  now  at  work,  was  to  get  tlirough  the  Yazoo 
Pass  in  the  hope  of  getting  in  our  rqar  and  cutting  off  our 
supplies.  Their  idea  wj^s  to  flank  VicksHurg,  capture  Jackson, 
cat  off  Grenada,  and  destroy  all  possibility  of  oiir  obtaining 
supplies  throughout  that  rich  country,  by  this  one  bold  stroke. 
•  The  route  ma^iped  out  by  the  Yankees  commences  near 
Helena,  Arkansas,  where  the  Yazoo  Pass  connects  the  Mis- 
sissippi with  the  Coldwater  river,  through  Moon  lake.  The 
distance  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Col<hvat(y  by  this  pass  is 
about  twenty  miles — a  Very  narrow  and  tortuous  channel,  only 
navigable  when  the  Mississippi  is  (piitc  high  and  its  waters 
overflow  the  low  lands  of  this  region.  The  Coldwater  river 
empties  into  the  Tallahatchie,  and  the  Tallahatchie  into  the 
IS^izoo.  The  whole  distance  by  this  route  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  moulh  of  the  Yazoo,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Vicks- 
burg,  is  some  five  hundred  miles,  and  over  one-half  of  it,  or 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Tallahatchie,  it  is  easily  obstructed.  The 
Yankees  met  with  no  obstruction  on  their  ascent  of  t'hc  Talla- 
hatchie, except  the  ovcrgroAvth  and  tortuousness  of  the  stream 
— which  prevented  the  gunboats,  in  some  instances,  from  mak- 
ing more  than  three  and  four  miles  a  day — until  reaching  the 
mouth  of  the  Tallahatch'e,  or  its  neighbourhood,  where  they 
encountered  the  batteries  known  as  Fort  Pemberton,  which 
stood  as  the  barrier  against  the  entrance  of  their. fleet  into  the 
Yazoo  river,  formed  by  the  conflaence  of  the  Talhthatchie  and 
Yallobusha  rivers.  .« 

This  fort  was  nofclung  n:!©)"*  t^an  an  indented  line  of  earth- 
works, composed  of  cotton  bales  and  rflud,  thrown  up  on  the 
peck  of  a  bend  of  the  Tallahatchi*  river,  where  the  river  was 
only  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide.  The  site  was  selected 
by  Major  General  Loj-ing  as  the  best  po3it>ion  on  the  Yazoo  br 
Tallahatchie  river. 

It  was  here  on  the  13th  of  March,  that  the  Yazoo  expedi- 
tion was  intercepted  and  driven. back  by  our  batteries,  which 
achieved  a  splendid  victory  over  the  Yankee  gunboat?.  The 
YalUbusha  river  unites   with'  the   Tallahatchie  in.  the  bend, 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.         *  25S 

forming  the  Yazoo,  so  that  the  right  flank  of  our  works  rested 
upon  the  Talhihatchie,  and  the  left  upon  the  Yazoo,  both,  how- 
ever, being  really  tlie  same  stream.  Th^  left  flank  was  oppo- 
site Greenwood,  which  is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ya- 
zoo. The  Tallahatchie,  under  the  guns  of  the  fort,  was  ob- 
structed by  an  immense  raft,  behind  which  the  Star  of  tho 
West  was  sunk  in  the  channel.  The  intervention  of  the  pcJ^nt 
above  the  bend  masked  tho  whole  of  our  line  except  the  left, 
upon  which,  consequently,  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  boats  was 
directed.  The  fire  was  terrific,  uniaterrupted  for  four  hours, 
fr«m  ten  to  sixteen  heavy  calibre  guns  on  gunboats,  two  heavy 
guns  on  land,  and  one  mortar.  Yet  the  line  qf  our  batteries 
was  maintained.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  in  this  unsuccessful 
attack  is  not  known  ;  but  his  gunboats  and  batteries  were  con- 
stantly hit  and  large  quantities  of  burning  cotton  were  struck 
from  them. 

The  defeat  of  the  enemy  at  Fort  Pcmberton  prevented  his 
fleet  from  passing  by  to  the  lower  Yazoo.  But  thrs  was  not 
the  only  canal  project  of  the  Yankees.  One  at  Lake  Provi- 
dence, was  intended  to  affprd  a  passage  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  headwaters  of  the  Red  rifer,  by  which  they  might  com- 
mand a  vast  scope  of  country  and  immense  resources.  This 
canal,  which  it  was  said  was  to  change  the  bed  "of  the  Missis- 
sissippi  and  turn  its  mighty  curr.erit  in  the  Atchafalaya  river  on 
its  way  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  also  a  failure.  The  canal 
had*  been  opened  and  an  enormous  extent  of  country  sub- 
merged 'and.  ruined,  but  it  was  found  that  no  gunboats  or 
transports  could  ever'  reach  the  Mississippi  below  Vicksburg 
by  that  route.  Snags  and  drift  choked  up  the  tortuous 
streams  formed  by  the  flood  from  the  cut  levees,  and  even  if 
navi^ition  had* been  possible,  the  channel  might  have  been 
rendered  impassable  in  a  hundred  places  by  a  score  of  active 
guerrillas. 

In  the  meantime,  there  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Yankees  were  content  te  abandon  the  project  of  cuttin<t  a 
ditch  through  the  main  land  opposite  Vicksburg,  by  which  it 


254  *        THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

was  hoped  to  force  the  current  of  tlie  Mississippi  into  an  un- 
accustomed course  through  which  to  pass  their  vessels  without 
going  within  range  of  our  batteries. 

It  was  thus  that  the  enemy  was  apparently  brought  to  the 
point  of  necessity  of  either  attacking  our  fortiGcations  at  Sny- 
der's Bluff  on  the  Yazoo,  or  our  batteries  in  front  of  the  city. 
Th^se  were  the  only  two  points  left  against  which  he  could 
operate,  and  tiiey  were  the  same  which  he  had  been  trying  to 
avoid  for  the  last  three  months.  When  he  first  arrived  these 
were  the  only  points  susceptible  of  assault,  but  wishing  to 
flank  them  he  had  wasted  three  n)onths'  time,  lost  a  number  of 
gunboats  and  transports,- and  many  thousands  of  his  troops.  , 

An  attack  directly  in  front  of  the  city  plainly  threatened 
the  most  serious  disastel*  to  the  enemy.  From  a  point  of  the 
river  above,  where  high  land  begins,  there  is  a  high  and  pre- 
cipitous bluff,  which  would  not  afford  any  landing  place  foi'  the 
troops — only  about  two  acres  of  ground  are  to  be  found  where 
a  landing  could  be  effected,  and  upon  this  a  formidable  battery 
was  ready  to  receive  them,  and  jn  the  rear  there  were  number- 
less other  batteries  to  protect  it.  The  whole  bluff,  oxte?iding 
a  distance  of  two  miles,  was  ^Iso  frowning  with  guns,  all  of 
which  would  be^r  upon  an  enemy  in  the  river. 

Th(J  expedition  of  the  enemy  on  the  Tallahatchie,  which 
met  such  unexpected  and  disgraceful  defeat  from  the  guns  of 
a  hastily  made  fort,  is  memorable  as  anotJier  of  those  Yankee 
raids  which,  Unable  tp  accomplish  military  results,  was  leO  to 
gratify  itself  with  the  plunder  of  citizens  and  tbe  Cowardly 
atrocities  of  marauders.  From  the  barbarity  of  the  Yankee, 
Mississippi  was  a  distinguished  sufferer  as  well  as  Virginia. 
T\vo-third6  of  Sherman's  army  was  composed  of  new  troops 
from  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  and  they  had  come 
down  the  Mississippi  with  the  intension  of  burnijig  and  de- 
stroying everything  they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  The  whole 
line  of  their  march  was  one  continued  scene  of  destruction. 
Private  dwellings  were  burned,  women  and  chihlren  driven  out 
of  their  houses,  and  even  the  clothes  stripped  from  their  backs, 


THE    SEd^ND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  255 

to  say  nothing  of  acts  coraniitted  by  the  soldiery  which  might 
ma^ke  the  blackest  hearted  libertine,  blush  for  shame.*  • 

Another  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  force  our  strongholds  on 
the  Mississippi,  which  we  have  to  relate  at  this  time,  was  made 
on  Port  Hudson  on  the  15th  of  March.  We  have  seen  how 
fatal,  so  far,  had  been  the  enemy's  attempts  to  run  oyr  batte- 
ries and  to  get  to  the  south  of  Vicksburg.  His  first  attempt 
w,.s  with  the  Queen  of  the  West,  his  second  with  the  Indianola; 
but  though  successful  in 'these  two  cases  in  running  our  batte- 
ries, the  boats  were  soon  captured  by  our  men,  and  the  enemy 
completely  foiled  in  his  design.  It  was  now  proposed  that  the 
enemy's  fleet  should  attack  Port  Hudson  and  attempt  to  force 
a  passage  up  the  river. 

THE    BOMBARDMENT    OF    PORT    HUDSON. 

Port  Hudson  is  a  strongly  fortified  position  en  the  lowel^ 
Mississippi  —  about  sixteen  miles  above  Baton  Rouge  and 
thre}  hundre<l  below  Vicksburg'.  It  is  sftuated  on  a  bend  in 
the  river,  and  its  great  strength  as  a  place  of  defence  against 
a  fleet  consists  in  the  height  of  its  cliffs  and  the  peculiar  for- 
mation of  the  river  at  that  place.     The  cliffs  are  very  high 


*  Tlie  followirtg  is  a  private  confession  taken  from  the  letter  of  a  Yankee 
officer,  attached  to  Sherman's  command:  "I  have  always  blamed  Union 
General  for  guarding  rebel  property,  but  I  now  see  the  necessity  of  it. 
Three  weeks  of  such  unbridled  license  would  ruin  our  army.  1  tell  you  the 
trutii  when  I  say  we  are  about  as  mean  a  mob  as  ever  walked  the  face  of  the 
earth.  It  is  perfectly  frightfil.  If  I  lived  in  this  country,  I  never  would  lay 
down  my  arms  white  a  'yankee'.reirilliued  on  the  soil.  I  do  not  blame  South- 
erners for  being  secessionists  now.  I  ciuld  relate  many  things  that  would  be 
laughable  if  they  were  not  so  horribly  disgraceful.  For  instance,  imagine 
two  privates  in  an  elegant  carriage,  belonging  to  some  wealHiy  SoutlR*rn 
nabob,  -with  a-splendi'd  span  i^'  liorses  riding  in  stt^te  along  the  road  we  are 
mirciiing  over,  with  a  negro  coachman  holding  the  reins  in  all  the  style  of  an 
Englisli  nobleman,  and  then  two  small  drummer  boys  going  it  at  a  two  forty 
pace,  in  an  elegant  buggy,  with  a  fast  liorse,  and  the  buggy  loaded  with  a 
strange  medley  of  household  furniture  and  kitchen  utensils,  from  an  elegant 
parlor  mirror  to  a  pair  of  fire-dogs,  all  of  which  they  have  'cramped'  from 
some  fine  house,  which,  from  sheer  wautonues:,  they  have  rifled  and  de- 
stroyed." 


256  THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF    "Ae   WAR. 

and  also  very  steep — in  fact,  aJtnost  perpendicular.  The  river 
jipt  at  the  bend  opposite  the  toAvn||6uddenly  narrows,  so  that 
the  rapid  current  strikes  aj^ainst  the  west  bank,  and  then 
sweeps  through  a  narrow  channel  just  at  the  base  of  the  cliff. 
Our  batteries  were  located  on  a  bluff  at  the  elbow  of  the  river, 
and  commanded  a  range  of  three  miles  dbovc  and  below,  com- 
pelling any  vessel  Avhich  might  attempt  the  passage  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  a  plunging  fire. 

Six  vessels  were  to  comprise  the  en<?my's  expedition,  divided 
into  two  divis*ons.  Tiie  vanguard  was  to  cofsist  of  the  flag 
ship  Hartford,  a  first  class  steam  sloopof-war,  carrying  twenty- 
six  eight  and  nine  inch  Paixhan  giyis,  leading,  followed  by  the 
Monongahela,  a  second  class  steam  sloop,  qjounting  sixteen 
heavy   guns,  and  the  Richmond,  a  first  class  steam  sloop  of 

twenty-six  guns,  principally  eight  and  nine  inch  columbiads. 

^^ho  rear  guiird  was  composed  of  the  first  class  steam  sloop 
Mississippi,  twenty-two  guns,. eight  and  nine  inch,  and  th« 
gunboats  Kinnes  and  GennesSee,  each  carrying  three  colum- 
biads and  two  rifled  thirty-two  pounders.  The  Mississippi  was 
a^ide-wheel  steamer.  ^11  the  others  were  screw  propellers. 
The  vanguard  was  commanded  by  "Admiral  Farragut  in  per- 
son, on  board  the  Hartford.  The  rear  was  under  command  of 
Capt.  Melarlcthon  Smith,  flying  his  pennant  froip  the  Missis- 
sippi. They  were  to  proceed  up  the  stream  in  single  file,  the 
stern  of  one  following  close  upon  the  gtern  of  anothef,  and 
kcepiiig  their  fires  and  lights  well  concealed  until  they  should 
be  discovered  by  our  IfUtteries,  when  tjicy  were  to  get  by  tho 
best  they  could,  fighting  th(yr  passage,  and  oitcc  above  they 
believed  they  would  have  fche%tronghold  on  both  sides,  their 
guns  covering  every  part  of  the  encampment. 

Siiortly  before  midnight,  the  boats,.having  formed  tho  line 
of  batilc  as  described,  their  decks  cleared  for  action,  and  the 
men  at  their  quartt^rs,  the  Hartford  led  the  way  a'nd  the  others 
promptly  followed  her  direction.  At  the  moment  of  their  dis- 
covery, a  rocket  w«s  to  be  sent  up  from  the  admiral's  flag- 
ship, as  the  signal  for  the  Essex  and  her  accompanying  mor- 
tar-boats to  commence  work. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  25T 

Although  there  had  been  no  indications  of  suchji  determined 
night  attack  by  Farragut,  the  usual  vigilant  precautions  were 
in  force  at  our  batteries.  Every  gun  was  ready  for  action, 
and  around  each  piece  ^l(?pt  a  detachment  of  gunners.  So 
dark  was  the  night,  however,  and  so  sliglitly  had  the  armed 
craft  nosed  their  way  up,  that  the  flag-shi[yhad  passed  some  of 
our  guns  and  all  the  fleet  were  within  easy  range  before  their 
approach  was  known.  Almost  at  t^ic  same  time  a  rocket  from 
D'ur  signal  corps,  and  the  discharge  of  muskets  by  an  infantry 
picket,  arousetftur  line.  Qufck  as  a  flash,  while  the  falling 
fire  of  our  alarm  rocket  was  yet  unextinguished,  there  shot  up 
into  the  sky,  from  the  Hartford's  deck,  another.  Then  cam* 
one  grand,  long,  deafening  roar,  that  rent  the  atmosphere  witlji 
its  mighty  thunder,  shaking  both  land  and  water,  and  causing 
the  high  battery-crowned  cliffs  to  tremble,  as  if  with  fear  and- 
wonder. 

The  darkness  of  the  night  gave  extraordinary  sublimity  to 
the  scene  of  bombardment.  The  sheets  of  flame  that  poured 
from  the  sides  of  the  sloops  at  each  discharge  lit  up  nearly  the 
whole  stretch  of  river,  placing  each  craft  in  strong  relief 
against  the  black  sky.  On  the  long  line  of  bluff,  the  batteries 
but  a  moment  before  silcjit  as  the  church-yard,  now  resounded 
to  the  hurrying  fread  ot  men,  while  the  quick,  stern  tones  of 
command  were  heard  ab#^'e  the  awful  din,  and  the  furtively 
glancing  rays  of  light  from  the  battle  lanterns  revealed  the 
huge  instruments  of  death  and*  dpstruction,  and  showed  the 
half-covered  way  to  magazines. 

Minute  after  minute  passe<l  away,  and  the  fleet  kept  its  un- 
checked course  up  the  stream.  The  feeling  pf  its  officers  wai 
one  of  amazement  at  the  silence  of  the  J)atteries.  The  ques- 
tion was  seriously  propounded,  had  not  the  Confederates  de- 
Bcrted  them?  But  only  too  soon  did  the  enemy  discover  that 
we  were  but"  waiting  to  bring  their  whole  fleet  irretrievablr 
under  our  guns  before  we  Vent  to  \\«ork. 

For  fifteen  minutes  had  they  plied  at  their  monster  cannon, 
and  now  they  were  commencing  to  relax,  from  sheer  vexation, 
17 


358  THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

whrn  a  flasl^of  light*  from  the  crest  of  a  cliff  lights  the  vray 
for  a  shell  to  go  plunging  through  the  Hartford's  deck.  This 
was  the  monitor,  and  at  once  the  enemy  saw  a  cordon  of  vivid 
light  as  lon^  as  their  own.  '  . 

Now  commenced  the  battle  in  all  its  terrible  earnestness. 
Outnumbered  in  gflns  and  outweighed  in  metal,  our  volleys 
were  as  quickly  repeated  and  the  majority  of  them  unerring 
in  their  aim.  As  soon  as  the  enemy  thus  discovcrc<l  our  bat- 
teries, they  opened  on  them  with  grape  and  canister,  "wliich 
was  more  accurately  thro^vn  than  their  shells,  arid  threw  clouds 
of  dirt  upon  the  guns  and  gunners;  the  shells  went  over  them 
in  every  conceivable  direction,  except  the  right  one. 
-  The  Hartford,  a  very  fast  ship,  now  made  straight  up  the 
river,  making  liar  best  time,  and  trj'ing  to  divert  the  aim  of 
%\ir  gunners  by  her  incessant  and  deafening  broadsides.  She 
soon  outstripped  the  balance  of  the  fleet.  Shot  after  shot 
struck  her,  riddling  her  through  and  through,  but  still  she  kept 
on  her  way. 

Every  craft  now  looking  out  for  itself  and  bound  to  mflke 
its  very  best  time  to  get  by,  the  fleet  lost  its  orderly  line  of 
battle,  and  got  so  mixed  up,  it  was  diflicnlt,  and  sometimes  im- 
possible, to  distinguish  one  from  anoU^cr.  It  was  speedily  ap- 
parent to  the  enemy,  that  the  fire  was  a  great  deal  hotter  and 
more  destructive  than  had  been  cxffcctcd,  and  the  captains  of 
the  two  gunboats  and  of  the  Monongahola,  doubtless  resolved 
quickly  that  it  would  be  madntss  to  attempt  to  run  such  a  ter- 
rific- gauntlet  of  iron  hail.  ^Vhethcr  the  commanders  of  the 
Richmond  and  Mississippi  had  already  arrived  at  the  same  de- 
termination, or  came  to  it  soon  after,  is  not  known;  but  they 
all,  except  the  Hartford,  undertook  to  put  about  and  return 
the  way  they  came. 

For  .this  purpose  the  Richmond  came  close  in  to  the  left 
bank,  under  the  batteries,  and  then  circled  round,  her  course 
reaching  nearly  up  to  th<?  opposite* point.  In  executing  this 
manoeuvre,  she  gave  our  batteries  successively  "a  raking  posi- 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  259 

tion,  and  they  toolc  excellent  advantage  of  it,  seriously  damag- 
ing her,  as  the  crashing  of  her  timbers  plainly  toM. 

The  Mississippi  undertook  to  execute  the  same  manoeuvre  of 
turning  round  and  making  her  escape  back  to  the  point  she 
started  from.  She  had  rounded  and  just  turned  down  stream, 
when  one  of  our  shots  tore  off  her  rudder,  and  another  went 
crushing  through  her  machiner3^  Immediately  after  came  the 
rushing  sound  of  steam  escaping  from  some  bgaken  pipe,  and 
the  now  unmanageable  vessel  drifted"  aground  directly  opposite 
our  crescent  line  of  batteries.  Her  range  was  quickly  gained, 
and  she  w\ts  being  rapidly  torn  to  pieces  by  our  missiles,  when 
her  commander  gave  the  order  for  all  hands  to  save  themselves 
the  best  way  they  could.  At  the  same  time  fire  broke  out  in 
two  places.  At  this  time  her  decks  were  strewn  with  dead 
and  wounded.  Some  fifty-five  or  sixty  persons  saved  them- 
selves by  jumping  overboard  and  swimming  to  the  shore. 

The  dead  and  wounded  were  left  upon  the  Mississippi,  which 
soon  floated  off  and  started  down  with  the  current.  All  the 
other  vessels  were  now  out  of  range,  and  the  spectacle  of  the 
burning  ship  was  a  grand  and  solemn  one,  yet  mingled  with 
painful  thoughts  of  the  horrible  fate  of  those  mangled  lAifor- 
tunates  who  were  being  burned  to  death  upon  this  floating 
funeral  pyre.  As  the  flames  would  reach  the  shells  lying 
among  her  guns,  they  exploded  one  by  one,  adding*  to  the 
novel  grandeur  of  the  sight.  The  light  of  the  burning  wreck 
could  be  seen,  steadily  increasing  its  distance,  for  two  houra 
and  a  half.  At  five  minutes  past  five  o'clock,  when  the  Mis- 
sissippi was  probably  within  five  miles  of  Baton  Rouge,  a  sud- 
den glare  lit  up  the  whole  sky.  The  cause  was  well  known  to 
be  the  explosion  of  the  magazine.  •  After  a  considerable  inter- 
val of  time,  a  long  rumbling  sound  brought  final  protf  that 
the  Mississippi,  one  of  the  finest  vessels  of  the  United  States 
navy,  which  had  earned  an  historical  fame  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  war  for  her  usefulness  in  the  Gulf 
during  the  Mexican  war,  and  as  the  flag-ship  of  the  Japan  ex- 
pedition, was  a  thing  of  the  past. 


t(50  THK  SKcdxD  yi:ar  of  the  war. 

flThe  victory  of  Port  Hudson  forms  one  of  the  most  sntisfac- 
tory  and  briliatit  pages  in  the  history  of  the  war.  The  fleet, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Hartford,  had  been  driven  back  by 
our  batteries,  and  a  grateful  surprise  had  been  given  to  many 
of  our  peo[»lc  wlio  had  acquired  the  disheartening  conviction 
that  gunboats  could  treat  shore  batteries  with  contempt.  So 
far  our  strongholds  on  the  Mississip'pi  had  bid  defiance  to  the 
foe,  and  nionthg  of  costly  preparation  for  their  reduction  had 
been  spent  in  vain. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  on  the  Mississippi,  the 
long  line  of  inland  hostilities  remained  unvaried  and  almost 
silent.  In  Virginia  and  in  Tennessee,  the  powerful  armies  of 
Lee  and  Hooker,  Bragg  and  Rosecranz,  had  camped  for  months 
in  close  proximity  without  a  cannonade,  and  almost  without  a 
mcirmish.  To  some  extent  the  elements  had  proclaimed  a 
truce,  while  the  hesitating  temper  of  the  enemy  betrayed  a 
policy  strangely  at  variance  with  the  former  vigorous  campaign 
in  the  same  season  of  the  last' year.  Especially  was  the  hesi- 
tation remarkable  in  Virginia,  where  the.  new  c'>mmander-in- 
chief  of  the  enemy — Hooker — was  a  violent  member  of  tho 
Abortionist  part3%  He  was  the*  chief  of  that  clique  among 
the  Yankee  oflTicers  who  made  the  war  not  to  realize  the  dream 
©f  a  nutored  Union,  but  for  the  subjugation  and  destruction 
of  the  Southern  social  system,  the  massacre  or  exile  of  the  in- 
li:iliilaTit8  of  the  Southern  country,  and  the  confiscation  of 
their  entire  real  and  personal  property. 

Beyond  the  Mississippi  there  was  scarcely  any  thing  to  re- 
mark but  a  new  assignment  of  military  commands.  We  had 
now  west  of  the  Missis8ip[)i  Licutenant-General  Kirby  Smith, 
Oerieral  Price,  General  M;i«;;ru(ler  and  General  Sibley.  Gen. 
Bmiththad  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  dcpisrinient,  and 
♦lad  alrea<ly  issued  an  order  announcing  that  fact;  General 
i*rice  was  assigned  to  lead  the  fiebl  movements  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  Arkansas  and  his  own  State,  Missouri;  Gen.  Sibley 
vas  moving  to  other  important  points;  and  Gen.  Magruder's 
field  of  operations  was  Texas. 


THE    SECOND   TEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  261 

We  have  to  record  but  a  single  incident  in  the  spring  of 
1863,  to  break  the  long  silence  of  the  lines  of  the  Rappahan- 
nock. On  the  morning  of  th^  17th  of  March  the  enemy 
crossed  the  river  at  Kelly's  Ford,  with  both  a  cavalry  and  ar- 
tillery force,  numbering  probably  three  thousand  men.  They 
advanced  within  six  miles  of  Culpcper  Court-House,  where 
they  were  engaged  by  the  brigade  of  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee.  The 
fight  was  severe  and  lasted  several  hours.  The  Yankeee  were 
finally  repulsed,  and  fell  back  routed  and  panic-stricken,  after 
having  inflicted  a  loss  upon  us  of  about  one  hundred  in  killed 
and  wounded.  They  had  fought  with  some  advantages  at  first, 
bravely  contesting  their  ground,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
a  report  of  reinforcements  coming  up  to  us  was  the  occasion 
of  their  retreat.  When  the  retreat  was  ordered,  they  fled  in 
dismay  and  confusion.  . 

This  aflair — if  it  was  worth  any  thing^cost  us  the  life  of 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  artillery  ofl^cers  in  the  army.  M;ijor 
Pelham,  of  Alabama,  who  had  acquired  the  title  of  "  the  gal- 
lant Pelhara"  from  the  hands  of  Gen.  Lee  in  the  official  report 
of  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  was  killed  by  the  fragment  of 
a  shell.  At  Fredericksburg  he  had  distinguished  himself  by 
sustaining  the  concentrated  fire  of  a  number  of  the  enemy's 
batteries.  Li  that  terrible  trial  he  had  stood  as  a  rock.  In 
the  affair  which  cost  him  his  life,  he  had  just  risen  in  his  sad- 
dle to  cheer  a  troop  of  cavalry  rushing  to  the  charge,  when 
the  fatal  blow  was  given.  He  was  only  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  anc?  had  been  through  all  the  battles  in  Virginia.  Un- 
usual honours  were  paid  his  remains,  for  thej  were  laid  in  the 
capitol,  and  tributes  of  rare  flowers  strewn  upon  the  bier  of 
"the  young  Marcellus  of  the  South." 

NAVAL    ATTACK    ON   CHARLESTON. 

The  city  of  Charleston  had  long  been  the  object  of  the 
enemy's  lust;  it  was  considered  a  prize  scarcely  less  important 
than  the  long-conte>Htcd  one  of  Richmond;  and  with  more  tha» 
their  customary  assurance,  the  Yankees  anticipated  the  glory 


262  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

and  counted  the  triumplis  of  the  capture  of  the  cradle  of  tlie 
revolution.  It  was  thought  to  be  an  easy  matter  for  Admiral 
Dupont's  iron-clad  fleet  to  taj^e  the  city,  and  the  Yankee  news- 
papers for  months  had  indulged  the  prospect  of  the  capture  of 
Charleston  as  a-  thing  of  the  future  that  only  awaited  their 
pleasure. 

On  Sunday  morning,  the  oth  of  April,  four  "monitors," 
the  Ironsides  (an  armour-plated  frigate  with  an  armament  of 
twenty-two  10,  11  and  15-inch  guns)  and  thirty  vessels  of  va- 
rious sizes  were  seen  ofT  the  bar.  Four  monitors  and  thirty- 
five  wooden  vessels  were  added  to  the  fleet  on  the  following 
day;  thirty-five  vessels,  for  the  most  part  transports,  appeared 
in  the  Stono,  and  the  enemy  landed  a  force  of  about  six  thou- 
8and  men  on  Coles'  and  Battej;^  Islands.  These  facts,  with 
oth^  indications,  led  Gen.  Beauregard  to  count  upon  an  attack 
on  Tuesday,  and  the  expectations  of  that  sagacious  and  vigi- 
lant commander  were  not  disappointed. 

The  atmosphere  early  on  Tuesday  morning,  7th  of  April, 
was  misty,  but  as  the  day  advanced  the  haze  lightened,  and 
the  monitors  and  the  Ironsides  w^ere  seen  lying  off"  Morris  Is- 
land. Between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  aftctnoon,  a  dis- 
patch from  Colonel  Rhett,  commandant  of  Fort  Sumter, 
informed  Gen.  Beauregard  that  five  monitors  and  the  Ironsides 
■were  approaching  the  fort.  The  fleet  were  seen  rounding  the 
point  of  Morris  Island,  the  Keokuk  in  the  advance.  It  was  a 
happy  moment  for  the  defenders  of  Charleston.  So  long  had 
suspense  reigned  in  that  city,  that  the  booming  of  the  signal 
gun  and  the  announcement  that  at  last  the  battle-had  begun 
was  a  positive  relief.  A  thrill  of  joy  came  to  every  heart, 
and  the  countenances  of  all  declared. plainly  that  a  signal  vic- 
tory over  the  mailed  vessels  was  reckoned  upon  without  doubt 
or  misgiving.  The  long  roll  beat  in  Fort  Sumter;  the  artille- 
rists in  that  work  rushed  to  their  guns.  The  regimental  flag 
of  the  1st  South  Carolina  Artillery  and  "the  stars  and  bars" 
of  the  Confederate  States  flaunted  out  from  their  flagstafls  on 
the  fort,  and  were  saluted  as  the  enemy  advanced  with  an  out- 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  263 

burst  of  "Dixie"  from  the  band,  and  the  deep-mouthed  roar 
of  thirteen  pieces  of  heavy  artillery. 

On  came  the  mailed  monitors.  Their  ports  were  closed, 
and  they  appeared  deserted  of  all  Jiving  things.  They  moved 
northwardly  towards  Sullivan's  Island,  and  at  a  distance  from 
its  batteries  about  1200  yards  they  began  to  curve  around  to- 
wards Sumter.  A  flash,  a  clond  of  smoke,  a  clap  of  thunder 
herald  a  storm  of  heavy  shot  which  bursts  from  the  island  upon 
the  side  of  the  frigate.  The  ships  move  on  silently.  The 
jieep-mouthed  explosions  of  Sumter  in  the  next  instant  burst 
upon  the  advancing  ships,  and  hurl  tremendous  bolts  of 
wrought  iron  against  the  armour  of  the  Ironsides.  The  frigate 
halts.  At  a  distance  of  about  Uwclve  hundred  yards  from  that 
work  she  delivers  from  seven  guns  a  broadside  of  15-inch  shot 
that  dashes  against  the  sea-face  of  Sumter  with  a  heavy  crash. 
Bricks  fly  from  the  parapet  and  whirl  from  the  traverse.  A 
shell  smashes  a  marble  lintel  in  the  officers'  quarters,  hustles 
through  a  window  on  the  oth?r  side,  and,  striking  the  parapet, 
hurls  a  tornado  of  bricks  far  to  the  rear.  The  works  on  Mor- 
ris Island  burst  into  the  deafening  chorus.  On  land*  and  on 
sea,  from  all  the  batteries  of  the  outer  circle,  from  all  the  tur- 
rets of  the  inner  circle. 

It  was  manifest'that  the  Ironsides  was  appointed  to  test  the 
strength  of  the  fort.  Fort  Sumter  acknowledged  the  compli- 
ment b}'  pouring  the  contents  of  her  biggest  guns  into  that 
pride  of  the  Yankee  navy.  Advancing  on  her  circling  course, 
the  Ironsides  made  way  for  her  attendant  warriors;  and  one 
by  one,  as  their  turrets  moved  in  the  solemn  waltz,  they  re- 
ceived the  fire,  sometimes  diffused,  sometimes  concentrated,  of 
the  surrounding  circle  of  batteries.  The  first  division  of  the 
ships  curved  on  its  path  under  an  iron  storm  that  rendcd  the 
air  with  its  roar  and  bursted  upon  their  mail  in  a  quick  suc- 
cession of  reports;  sometimes  with  the  heavy  groan  of  crush- 
ing, sometimes  with  the  sharp  cry  of  tearing.  Delivering  a 
fire  of  shot  and  shell  as  1%ey  passed  the  works  on  Morris  Is- 
land, the  Jronsides  and  her  monitors  moved  slowly  out  of  range. 


264  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    TUE    WAR. 

As  tlie  Ironsides  "nithdrcw  from  the  action,  taking  position  to 
the  south  of  Fort  Sumter,  steam  was  seen  issuing  from  licr  in 
dense  volumes,  and  it  was  believed  that  she  was  seriously 
dani'igod. 

The  Keokuk,  a  douhlc-turreted  iron-clad,  led  into  the  fight 
four  monitors.  More  bold  than  even  the  Ironsides,  she  ad- 
vanced under  a  tornado  of  shot  to  a  position  Avithin  about  nine 
hundred  yards  of  Fort  Sumter.  Halting  at  that  distance,  she 
d'scliar^od  her  15-inch  balls  from  her  turrets  ajrainst  the  sea- 
face  of  that  fort.  Crushing  and  scattering  the  bricks  on  Mia 
line  of  her  tremendous  fire,  she  failed,  however,  to  make  any 
serious  impression  on  the  walls.  A  circle  of  angry  flashes  ra- 
diated towards  her  from  all  sides,  while  a  tempest  of  iron  bolts 
and  round  shot  crashed  against  her  sides.  For  about  twenty 
minutes  she  stood  still  in  apparent  helplessness.  At  the  expi- 
ration of  that  time  she  moved  slowly  on,  and  after  receiving 
the  fire  of  the  works  on  Morris  Island,  passed  out  of  range. 
Bhe  was  fairly  riddled,  for  she  liifd  been  the  target  of  the  most 
powerful  guns  the  Confederates  could  command,  (jreat  holes 
■were  visible  in  her  sides,  her  prow,  her  after-turret  and  her 
smoke-stack.  Her  plates  were  bent  and  bolts  protruded  here 
and  there  all  over  her.  She  was  making  water  rapidly,  and  it 
ivas  plain  to  see  that  she  was  a  doomed  ship! 

After  the  Keokuk  and  her  companions  had  passed  out  of 
range,  the  circular  movement  was  not  renewed.  The  shijjs  re- 
tired outside  the  harbour  to  their  anchorage;  and  after  about 
two  hours  and  a  half  of  a  most  terrible  storm  of  shot  and  thun- 
der of  artillery,  Fort  Sumter  and  its  supporting  batteries  settled 
down  under  sluggish  clouds  of  sinoke  into  triumphs  of  quiet. 

Our  victory  was  one  of  unexpected  brilliancy,  and  iiad  cost 
vs  scarcely  more  than  the  ammunition  for  our  gutis.  A  drum- 
mer-boy was  killed  at  Fort  Sumter  and  five  men  wounded. 
Our  artillery  practice  was  excellent,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  the  nine  Yankee  vessels  were  struck  five  hundred  and 
twenty  times.  The  Keokuk  receiv#  no  less  tli.m  ninety  shots. 
Bhe  did  not   outlive  the  attack  on   Fort   Sumter  twe\j^e  hours. 


THE    SECOND   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  265 

The  next  day  her  smoke-stack  and  one  of  her  turrets  were 
visible  iluring  low  water  off  Morris  Island,  where  she  had 
sunk. 

The  battle  had  been  fought  on  the  extreme  outer  line  of 
fire,  and  the  enemy  had  been  defeated  at  the  very  threshold  of 
our  defences.  Whether  his  attack  was  intended  only  as  a  re- 
eonnoissance,  or  whether  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  prelimi- 
nary skirmish,  was  in  fact  the  whole  affair,  it  is  certain  that 
our  success  gave  great  assurances  of  the  safety  of  Charleston; 
that  it  had  tiie  proportions  of  a  considerable  victory  ;  and  that 
it  went  far  to  impeach  the  once  dreaded  power  of  the  iron- 
clads of  the  enemy.* 

The  month  of  April  has  but  few  events  of  military  note  be- 
yond what  has  been  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  pages.  The 
check  of  Van  Dorn  at  Franklin,  Tennessee,  and  the  reverse  of 
Pegram  in  Kentucky,  were  unimportant  incidents;  they  did 
not  affect  the  campaign,  and  their  immediate  disasters  were  in- 
considerable. The  raid  of  the  latter  commander  into  Ken- 
tucky again  revived  reports  of  the  reaction  of  public  senti- 
ment in  that  unhappy  State  in  favour  of  the  Confederacy.  It 
was  on  his  retreat  that  he  was  set  upon  by  a  superiour  force  of 
the  enemy  near  Somerset,  from  which  he  effected  an  escape 
across  the  Cumberland,  after  the  loss  of  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners. 


*  It  is  a  question  of  scientific  interest  whether,  in  the  construction  of  iron- 
clafls,  tlie  Confederate  plan  of  slanted  sides  is  not  superiour  to  the  Yankee 
plan  of  thick-walled  turrets — the  Virginia-Merrimac,  and  not  the  Monitor, 
the  true  i^odel.  The  Yankee  monitor  is  an  upright,  cylindrical  turret.  If  a 
shot  stiikes  the  centre  line  of  this  cyliniler,  it  will  not  glance,  but  deliver  its 
full  force.  On  the  contrary,  the  peculiarity  of  the  Virginia-Merrimac  was  its 
roof  shaped  sides,  on  which  the  shot  glances.  The  inventor  of  that  noble  na- 
val structure,  Command jr  Brooke,  claimed  the  slanted  or  roof-shaped  sides 
as  constituting  the  original  feature  and  most  important  merit  of  his  inven- 
tion. We  may  add  now  that  to  the  genius  of  this  accomplished  officer  the 
Confederacy  was  variously  indebted;  for  it  was  a  gun  of  bis  invention — "the 
Brooke  gun" — that  fired  the  bolt  w^ich  pierced  the  turret  of  the  Keokuk  and 
gave  the  first  proof  in  the  war  that  no  thickness  of  iron,  that  is  practical  in 
the  construction  of  such  a  machine,  is  sufficient  to  secure  it. 


266  TUB  SECOND  YEAR  OF  TUE  WAR. 

This  period,  properly  the  close  of  the  second  year  of  hos- 
tilities, presents  a  striking  contrast  with  the  corresj)onding 
month  of  the  former  year  with  respect  to  the  paramount  as- 
pects of  the  war.  In  April,  16G2,  the  Confederates  had  fallen 
back  in  Virginia  from  the  Potomac  beyond  the  Rappahannock, 
and  were  on  the  point  of  receding  from  the  vicinity  of  the 
lower  Chesapeake  before  the  advancing  army  of  McClellan. 
Now  they  confronted  the  enemy  from  the  Rappahannock  and 
hovered  upon  his  ilank  within  striking  distance  to  the  Potomac, 
while  another  portion  of  our  forces  manoeuvred  almost  in  the 
rear  and  quite  upon  the  flank  of  Norfolk.  Twelve  months 
ago  the  enemy  threatened  the  important  Southern  artery  which 
links  the  coast  of  the  Carolinas  with  Virginia;  he  was  master 
of  Florida,  both  on  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf;  and  Mobile 
trembled  at  every  blast  from  the  Federal  bugles  of  Pensacola. 
Now  his  North  Carolina  lines  were  held  exclusively  as  lines  of 
occupation;  he  was  repulsed  on  the  seaboard;  his  operations 
in  Florida  were  limited  to  skirmishing  parties  of  negroes;  and 
Mobile  had  become  the  nursery  of  cruisers  in  the  very  face  of 
his  blockading  squadron.  A  year  ago  the  grasp  of  the  enemy 
was  closing  on  the  Mississippi  from  Cairo  to  the  Gulf;  but 
while  Butler  was  enjoying  his  despotic  amusements  and  build- 
ing up  his  private  fortunes  in  the  Crescent  City,  the  strong- 
holds of  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson  were  created,  and  held  at 
bay  the  most  splendid  expeditions  which  the  extravagance  of 
the  North  had  yet  prepared.  A  year  ago  the  enemy,  by  his 
successes  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  hold  the  way  almost 
into  the  very  heart  of  the  Confederacy,  through  Eastern  Ten- 
nessee and  Western  Virginia.  Now  the  fortunes  of  the  war 
in  that  whole  region  were  staked  u])on  the  issues  of  impending 
battle. 

For  three  months  the  "grand  hesitation"  of  the  North  had 
continued.  AVith  some  seven  or  eight  hundred  thousand  sol- 
diers in  the  field  and  countless  cruisers  swarming  on  our  coasts, 
the  enemy  had  yet  granted  us  a  virtual  suspension  of  arras 
since  the  great  battles  of  Fredericksburg  and  Murfrecsboro', 


THE   SECOND   YEAR  'OF   THE   WAR.  267 

interrupted  only  by  petty  engagements  and  irresolute  and 
fruitless  bombardments.  lie  had  shown  that  he  possessed  no 
real  confidence  in  the  success  of  his  arms ;  he  had  so  far  failed 
to  reduce  any  one  of  "the  three  great  strongholds  of  the  re- 
bellion," Richmond,  Charleston  and  Yicksburg ;  and  he  had 
ceased  to  map  out  those  plans  of  conquest  of  which  he  ^Yas 
formerly  so  prolific. 


258  THE    SBCOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  XL 

CIo<ie  of  the  Secoml  Year  of  the  War.. .Propriety  of  nn  Outline  of  Some 
Succeetliiip  Ev«'nts...(?iivalrj  Enterpri.-'es  of  tlie  Enemy  ...The  Unidx  in  Mis- 
eiis!<ip|ii  and  Virgiiiin...SKKTCii  of  thk  IJattlks  ok  tiik  RAiM'AiiAXNOi'K...The 
Enemy's  Plan  of  Attack. ..The  Fipht  at  Chuiicelliirsville...The  Sph-niid  Chnrge 
of  "Stonewall"  Jackson. ..The  Fight  at  Fredericksburg. ..The  Fight  nl  Salem 
Church. ..Summary  of  our  Victory. ..Dkatu  or  "Stonkwali."  jACK8ox...IIi8 
Character  and  Services. 

The  second  year  of  the  war,  havin;^  commenced  "vvith  the 
fall  of  New  Orleans,  1st  of  May,  1862,  properly  closes  with 
the  events  recorded  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Of  succeeding 
events,  whicli  liave  occurred  between  this  period  and  that  of 
publication,  we  do  not  propov-^e  to  attempt  at  this  time  a  full 
niirrative;  their  detail  belongs  to  another  volume.  It  is  pro- 
posed at  present  only  to  make  an  outline  of  them,  so  as  to 
give  to  the  reader  a  stand-point  of  intelligent  observation, 
from  which  he  may  survey  the  general  situation  at  the  time 
these  pages  are  given  to  the  public. 

The  next  volume  of  our  history  will  open  on  that  series  of 
remarkable  raids  and  enterprises  on  the  part  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry  whicli,  in  the  months  of  April  and  May,  di.sturbed 
many  parts  of  the  Confederacy.  ^Vc  shall  find  that  tiic  ex- 
tent of  these  raids  of  Yankee  horsemen,  their  simultaneous 
occurrence  in  widely  removed  parts  of  the  Confedcrac}',  and 
the  circumstances  of  each,  betrayed  a  deliberate  and  e.xtenijivo 
purpose  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  and  a  consistency  of  design 
deserving  the  mo.st  serious  consideration. 

We  shall  relate  how  the  people  of  Uiclimond  were  alarmed 
by  the  apparitjon  of  Yankee  cavalry  near  their  homes.  But 
"we  shall  find  causes  of  congratulation ^hat  the  unduly  famous 
expedition  of  Stoneman  was  not  more  destructive.     The  dam- 


■  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  269 

age  which  it  inflicted  upon  our  railroads  was  slight,  its  hurried 
pillage  did  not  amount  to  much,  and  the  onl/  considerable 
captur*  it  effected  was  of  a  train  of  commissary  wagons  in 
King  William  county. 

Other  parts  of  the  Confederacy,  visited  about  the  same  time 
by  Yankee  cavalry,  were  not  so  fortunate.  The  State  of  Mis- 
sissippi was  ransacked  almost  through  its  entire  length  by  the 
Grierson  raid.  Starting  from  Corinth,  near  the  northern 
boundary  of  Mississippi,  a  body  of  Yankee  horsemen,  cer- 
tainly not  exceeding  two  thousand,  rode  down  the  valley  of 
the  Tombigbee,  penetrated  to  a  point  below  the  centre  of  the 
State,  and  then  making  a  detour,  reached  the  Mississippi  Gulf 
coast  in  safety.  This  force,  so  insignificant  in  numbers,  made 
the  entire  passage  of  the  State  of  Mississippi  from  the  north- 
east to  the  southwest  corner;  and  the  important  town  of  En- 
terprise was  barely  saved  by  reinforcements  of  infantry  which 
arrived  from  Meridian  just  fifteen  minutes  before  the  Yankees 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  place. 

We  shall  have  to  add  here  cotemporary  accounts  of  another 
Yankee  raid  in  Georgia.  That  adventure,  however,  was  hap- 
pily nipped  in  the  bud  by  Forrest,  who  captured  the  Yankee 
commander,  Stuart,  and  his  entire  party,  at  Rome,  Georgia, 
after  one  of  the  most  vigorous  pursuits  ever  made  of  an  enemy. 

The  interest  of  these  raids  was  something  more  than  that  of 
the  excursions  of  brigands.  That  of  Stoneman  was  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  great  battle  which  signalized  the  opening 
of  the  month  of  May  on  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock,  and 
broke  at  last  the  "grand  hesitation"  of  the  enemy,  which  had 
been  the  subject  of  so  much  impatience  in  the  South. 

SKETCH  OF  THE  BATTLES  OP  THE  RAPPAHANNOCK. 

The  plan  of  attack  adopted  by  Gen.  Hooker  may  be  briefly 
characterized  as  a  feint  on  our  right,  and  a  flank  movement  ia 
force  on  our  left.  It  was  determined  to  throw  a  heavy  force 
across  the  rivor  just  below  the  mouth  of  Deep  Run,  and  three 
miles  below  Fredericksburg,  and  pretend  to  renew  the  attempt 


270  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    ^S'AR. 

in  which  Burnsidc  had  previously  been  unsuccessful.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  movement  was  two-fold — first,  to  hold  the  Confede- 
rate forces  at  that  point ;  and  second,  to  protect  Iltoker's 
communications  and  supplies,  while  the  other  half  of  the  army 
should  make  a  crossing  above  the  fortifications,  and  sweeping 
down  rapidly  to  the  rear  of  Fredericksburg,  take  a  strong  po- 
sition and  hold  it  until  they  could  be  reinforced  by  the  portion 
of  the  army  engaged  in  making  the  feint,  which  was  to  with- 
draw from  its  position,  take  the  bridges  to  the  point  of  the 
river  which  had  been  uncovered  by  the  flank  movement,  and 
the  whole  army  was  thus  to  be  concentrated  in  the  rear  of 
Fredericksburg. 

The  execution  of  this  plan  was  Commenced  on  Monday,  the 
20th  of  April.  Three  corps  darmee — the  Fifth,  Eleventh 
and  Twelfth — were  ordered  to  march  up  the  river  with  eight 
days'  rations  to  Kelly's  Ford,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock, near  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad.  This 
force,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Slocura,  of  the  Twelfth 
corps,  reached  the  point  at  which  it  was  to  cross  the  Rappa- 
hannock on  Tuesday  night.  On  the  same  night  three  other 
corps — the  First,  Third  and  Sixth — were  sent  to  the  mouth  of 
Deep  Run,  three  miles  below  Fredericksburg,  to  be  ready  to 
undertake  the  crossing  simultaneously  with  the  other  corps  at 
Kelly's  Ford  on  Wednesday  morning  before  day.  The  move- 
ment was  successfully  conducted  at  both  points,  and  without 
serious  opposition  from  the  Confederates. 

The  second  corps,  under  Couch,  which  had  remained  at 
Banks'  Ford,  four  miles  above  the  town,  was  moved  up  to  the 
United  States  Ford,  just  below  the  point  of  conilucnce  of  the 
Rappahannock  and  Rapidan,  and  crossed  to  join  Gen.  Slocum, 
who  had  crossed  the  Rappahannock  several  miles  higher  up  at 
Kelly's  Ford,  and  the  Rapidan  at  Germanna  Mills  and  Ely's 
Ford,  and  marched  down  to  Chanccllorsville.  These  move- 
ments occupied  Wednesday  and  Thursday.  Hooker  now  as- 
sumed command  of  the  right  wing  of  his  army,  lie  took  his 
position  across  the  plank  road  and  turnpike  at  Chancellors- 


THE    SECOND  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  271 

vHle,  eleven  miles  from  Fredericksburg,  in  order  to  cut  off 
our  anticipated  retreat  in  the  direction  of  Gordonsville,  and 
strengthened  his  naturally  formidable  position  by  a  series  of 
elaborate  abattis  and  field  works. 

The  North  eagerly  seized  upon  the  different  circumstances 
of  the  existing  situation  as  indicative  of  victory.  General 
Hooker  had  made  himself  conspicuous  in  the  eyes  of  the  Yan- 
kees. He  was  confident,  when  examined  before  the  Congres- 
sional Committee  on  the  conduct  of  the  war,  that  he  could 
have  marched  into  Richmond  at  any  time  at  his  ease  had  he 
been  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  instead  of  Gen. 
McClellan ;  and  if  he  had  had  command  instead  of  Burnside, 
he  would  have  achieved  wonders.  He  had  recently  stated  that 
the  army  he  led  was  "  the  finest  on  the  planet,"  "an  army  of 
veterans,"  as  the  Tribune  remarked,  "superior  to  that  of  the 
Peninsula;"  and  so  larg^  was  it  that  Northern  journals  as- 
sorted that  Hooker  had  more  troops  than  he  knew  what  to  do 
with.  Nor  was  this  all.  He  was  allowed  by  Lee  to  cross  the 
Rappahannock  without  opposition  and  without  loss,  and  to  se- 
cure a  position  deemed  impregnable — one  which,  according  to 
the  order  he  issued  on  Thursday,  the  30th  of  April,  had  ren- 
dered it  necessary  that  "  the  enemy  must  either  ingloriously 
fly  or  come  out  from  behind  his  defences  and  give  us  (the  Yan- 
kee army)  battle  on  our  own  ground,  where  certain  destruc- 
tion waits  him." 

In  the  meantime.  Gen.  Lee  was  not  slow  to  meet  the  dispo- 
sitions of  his  adversary.  The  enemy  continued  to  pour  across 
the  river  at  Deep  Run,  until  three  entire  corps,  numbering  be- 
tween fifty  and  sixty  thousand  men  under  Gen.  Sedgwick,  had 
crossed  to  the  South  side.  Lee  calmly  watched  this  movement, 
as  well  as  the  one  higher  up  the  river  under  Hooker,  until  he 
had  penetrated  the  enemy's  design,  and  seen  the  necessity  of 
making  a  rapid  division  of  his  own  forces,  to  confront  him  on 
two  different  fields,  and  risking  the  result  of  fighting  him  in 
detail. 

About  noon  on  ^Vednesday,  the  29th,  information  was  re- 


272  THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF    THE    WAR. 

ceived  that  the  enemy  had  crossed  the  Rappahannock  in  /orce 
at  Kelly's  and  Ellis  Fords  above,  and  were  passing  forward 
towards  Genn:iuia  Mills  and  Ely's  Ford  on  the  Rapidan^  Two 
brigades  (if  Anderson's  division,  Posey's  Mississippians  and 
M.ihone's  Virginians,  numbering  about  8,000  men,  and  one 
battery  of  four  guns,  were,  and  had  been  for  several  weeks, 
stationed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ely's  Ford  on  the  Rapidan, 
and  United  States  Ford  on  the  Rappahannock,  guarding  the 
approaches  to  Fredericksburg  in  that  direction.  It  was  appa- 
rent that  this  small  force  would  be  entirely  inadeciuate  to  arrest 
the  approach  of  llouker's  heavy  column,  and  Wright's  brigade 
was  orilered  up  to  their  support.  At  daylight  on  Thursday 
morning,  the  head  of  Wright's  brigade  reached  Chancellors- 
"villc,  at  which  point  Posey  and  Mahone  had  concentrated  their 
forces  with  a  view  of  making  a  stand.  Major  General  Ander- 
son having  also  arrived  in  the  lutt«r  part  of  the  night,  and 
having  obtained  further  information  of  the  number  of  the 
Yankee  forces,  upon  consultation  with  his  brigade  commanders, 
determined  to  fall  back  from  Chanceliorsville,  in  the  direction 
of  Fredericksburg,  five  miles,  to  a  point  where  the  Old  Mine 
road  leading  from  the  United  States  ¥ovd  crosses  the  Orange 
and  Frederieksburg  turnpike  and  plank  road.  The  turnpike 
and  jihiiik  road  were  parallel  to  each  other  from  Chanceliors- 
ville to  the  point  where  the  Old  Mine  road  crosses  them,  and 
from  there  to  Fredericksburg  tiiey  make  one  road. 

Chanceliorsville  is  eleven  miles  above  Fredericksburg,  and 
about  four  miles  south  of  the  point  of  confluence  of  the  Rapi- 
dan with  the  Rappahannock,  and  consists  of  a  large  two  story 
brick  house,  formerly  kept  as  a  tavern,  and  a  few  out-houses. 
It  is  situated  on  the  plank  road  leading  from  F'redericksburg 
>  to  Orange  Court  House,  and  is  easily  approached  by  roads 
leading  from  Germania  i\lills  and  Ely's,  United  States  and 
Banks'  Fords.  Between  Chanceliorsville  and  the  river  and 
above  lies  the  Wilderness,  a  district  of  country  formerly  covered 
with  a  scrubby  black  jack,  oaks,  and  a  tliiuk,  tangled  uuder- 
growth,  but  now  somewhat  cleared  up.     The  ground  around 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  273 

Ohancellorsville  is  lieavily  timbered,  and  favorable  for  defence. 
Seven  miles  from  Chancellors ville,  on  the  road  to  Fredericks- 
burg, ^nd  four  miles  from  the  latter  place,  is  Sakm  Church. 

During  the  night  of  Thursday,  General  Lee  ordered  Jack- 
soo  to  march  from  his  camp  below  Fredericksburg,  i^ith  A.  P. 
Hill's  and  Rhodes'  (formerly  D.  11.  Ilill's  division,)  to  the  re- 
lief of  Anderson..  -Gen.  Lee  brought  up  ^the  divisions  of  An- 
derson and  McLaws.  He  occupied  the  attention  of  the  encniy 
in  front,  while  Gen.  Jackson  with  the  divisions  of  Hill,-  Rhodes 
and  Trnuble  moved  by  the  road  that  leads  from  the  Mine  Road, 
behind  the  line-of.battle,  to  the  road  that  leads  to  Germana 
Ford.  This  movement  of  General  Jackson  occupied  nearly 
the  whole'  of  S;tturday,  May  2d,  so  that  he  did  not  get  into 
position  at  the  Wilderness  Church  until  near  sunset  of  that 
day. 

While  Jackson  Vas  gaining  the  enemy's  rear,  IMcLaws  and 
Anderson  had  successfully  maintained  their  position  in  front. 
Hooker  had  been  felicitating  himself  upon  his  supposed  good 
fortune  in  gaining  our  rear.  What  must  have  been  his  sur- 
prise, then,  to  find  Stonewall  Jackson  on  his  extreme  right  and 
rear.  Jackson's  assault  was  sudden  and  furious.  In  a  short 
time  he  threw  Sergei's  corps  (the  11th)  of  Dutchmen  into  a  per- 
fect panic,  and  was  driving  the  whole  right  wing  of  the  Yan- 
kee army-fiercely'down  upon  Anderson's  and  McLaw's  sturdy 
veterans,  who,  in  turn,  hurled  them  back,  and  rendered  futile 
their  efforts  to  break  through  our  lower  lines,  and  made  it 
neqessary  for  thenl  to  give  back  towards  the  river. 

There  was  an  intermission  of  about  one  hour  in  the  firing 
from  throe  until  nine  o'clock.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Jack- 
son received  his  death  wound  from  his  own  men,  who  mistook 
him  for  the  enemj''.  General  Hill,  upon  whom  the  command 
now  devolved,  was  soon  afterwards  wounded  also ;  Avhen  Gene-" 
ral  Rhodes  assumed  command  until  General  Stuart  could  arrive 
upon  that  part  of  the  field.  Stuart  renewed  tlie  fight  at  nitUt 
o'clock,  night  as  it  was,  in  accordance  With  General  J  k  ," 
original  plan,  aad  did  not  wilhhohJUhis  blows  until  the  :i  ;  .  g 
18 


274  THE    SBC©ND    YBAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

right  had  been  floublcd  in  on  liis  centre  in  and  around  Chan- 
ccllor5ville. 

At  dayliprht  Sunday  mornino;,  our  army,  wliich  n^w  sur- 
rounded the  enemy  on  all  sides  except  towards  the  river,  com- 
menced" advancing  and  closing  in  upon  liim  from  all  points. 
The  enemy  had  dug  rifle  pits  and  cut  ahattis  in  front  and  along 
his  whole  line,  while  his  artillery,  well  protected  by  earthworks) 
covered  everv  eminence  and  swell  of  risin<;  "round,  so  as  to 
get  a  direct  ami  enfilading  fire  upon  our  advancing  .columns. 
But  on  our  gallant  men  moved,  their  ranks  played  upon  by  an 
incessant  fire  of  shell,  grape  and  canister, /rom  the  front,  the 
right  and  left.  On  they  pressed  through  the  wood,  over  the 
fields,  up  the  hills,  into,  the  very  mouths  of  rfie  enemy's  guns, 
and  the  long  line  of  rifle  pits.  With  a  terrible  shout  they 
sprang  forward,  and  rushing  through  the  tangled  abattis,  they 
gained  the  bank  in  front  of  the  rifle-pits,  Vhen  the  foe  gave 
way  in  great  confusion  and  fled. 

An  extraordinary  victory  appeared  to  be  in  our  grasp.  The 
capture  or  destruction  of  Hooker's  army  now  appeared  certain. 

General  Lee,  finding  the  enemy  still  in  force  towards  the 
river,  ordered  the  army  to  form  on  the  plank  road  above  Chan- 
cellorsville,  extending  his  line  in  a  south-easterly  direction 
down  the  turnpike  below  Chancellorsville,  with  his  centre  rest- 
ing about  the  latter  point.  Just  there  news  was  received  that 
Sedgwick,  taking  advantage  of  our  weakness,  had  crossed  the 
river  at  Fredericksburg,  driven  Barksdale  from  the  town,  and 
occupied  Marye's  Hill,  after  capturing  several  pieces  of  the 
Washington  Artillery.  It  was  also  stated  that  Sedgwick  was 
advancing  up  the  plank  road  upon  Lee's  rear.  This  movement 
of  the  enemy  was  all  that  saved  Hooker  from  destruction. 

The  story  of  the  reverse  at  Fredericksburg  is  easily  told. 
Our  forces  in  defence  of  the  line,  commencing  at  ^larye's  hill, 
and  terminating  at  Hamilton's  Crossing,  consisted  of  General 
Barksdale's  brigade  and  General  Early's  division.  General 
Barksdale  held  the  extreme  left.  His  line  had  its  beginning 
at  a  point  two  hundred  yards  north  of  Marye's  heights,  and 


THE    SECOND   YEAH    OF   THE  WAR.  27^ 

extended  a  mile  and  a  half  to  a  point  opposite  the  pontoon 
bridge  on  the  left  of  Mansfield.  This  brigade,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  battle,  did  not  exceed  two  thousand  in  numbers, 
rank  and  file,  and  throughout  the  entire  length  of  its  line,  had 
no  other  support  than  six  pieces  of  the  Washington  Artillery, 
which  were  posted  on  Marye's  heights,  and  Head's  Battery, 
which  was  placed  in  position  on  the  hill  to  the  left  of  Ilowi- 
son's  house. 

Against  this  position  the  enemy  brought  to  bear  the  com- 
mand of  Gibbins  on  the  left  flank,  and  about  twenty  thousand 
of  Sedgwick's  corps.  The  first  assault  was  made  in  front  of 
the  stone  wall,  as  in  the  case  of  last  December,  and  was  sig- 
nally repulsed.  This  was  repeated  three  times,  and  on  each 
occasion  the  handful  of  men  behind  the  wall,  with  shouts  of 
enthusiasm  and  deadly  volleys,  drove  back  the  assailants.  The 
firs*t  charge  was  made  before  sunrise,  and  the  others  in  as  rapid 
succession  as  was  possible  after  rallying  and  reinforcement. 
About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  enemy  adopted  the  ruse 
of  requesting  a  flag  of  truce  for  the  alleged  purpose  of  carry- 
ing off"  the  wounded,  but  for  the  real  object  of  ascertaining  our 
force.  The  flag  was  granted,  and  thereby  our  insufl^icient  de- 
fence was  exposed,  the  bearer  coming  up  on  the  left  flank  from 
a  direction  whence  our  whole  line  was  visible.  Immediately 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  truce,  the  enemy  reinforced  their 
front,  and  threw  the  whole  of  Gibbins'  division  on  our  left  de- 
fended by  the  21st  Mississippi  regiment  alone,  commanded  by 
Colonel  B.  J.  Humphreys.  This  regiment  faced  the  advancing 
host  without  quailing,  and,  after  firing  until  but  a  few  feet  in- 
tervened between  them  and  the  foe,  they  clubbed  muskets  and 
successfully  dashed  back  the  front  line  of  their  assailants.  The 
enemy,  by  the  force  of  overwhelming  numbers,  however,  broke 
through  our  line,  and  Marye's  hill  was  flanked  about  eleven 
o'clock  Sunday  morning. 

The  turn  which  events  had  taken  in  front  of  Fredericksburg 
made  it  necessary  for  General  Lee  to  arrest  the  pursuit  of 
Hooker,  and  caused  him  to  send  back  to  Fredericksburg  the 


276  THE    SaCOND   YBAR    OF  THE   VfAR. 

^visions  of  Anderson  and  ISIcLaws  to  check  the  advauoe  of 
Sedgwick.  Gen.  McT/nvs  moved  down  the  plunk  ro:id  to'  rein- 
force Barksdalc  and  AVilcox,  the  hitter  of  whom  liad  been  ob- 
serving Banks*  Ford,  and  who  had  been  driven  back  fo  Salem 
Church.  McLaws  reaching  Salem  Church  in  time  to  relievo 
Wilco-v  from  the  pressure  of  overwhelming  numbers,  checked 
the  advance  of  Sedgwick,  and  drove  him  back,  with  groat  loss 
to  both  parties,  until  night  closed  the  conflict. 

The  enemy,  however,  was  not  yet  defeated.  One  more 
struggle  remained,  and  to  make  that  the  enemy  during  tlu? 
night  massed  a  heavy  force  against  McLaw;s'  left,  in  order  to 
establish  communication  with  Hooker  along  the  river  road. 
Anderson  moved  rapidly  to  the  support  of  McLaws,  and 
reached  the  church  about  12  M.,  having  marched  fifteen  miles. 
Gen.  Lee,  having  arrived  qn  the  field,  ordered  Anderson  to 
move  round  the  church  and  establish  his  right  on  Early's  left, 
(Early  having  come  up  from  Hamilton's  Crossing  in  rear  of 
t'le  enemy.)  The  enemy  having  weakened  his  left  in  order  to 
force  McLaws  and  gain  the  river  road,  Gen.  Lee  massed  a 
heavy  force  upon  this  weakened  part  of  the  enemy,  and  at  a 
concerted  signal,  Anderson  and  Early  rushed  upon  the  enemy's 
left. 

The  signal  for  the  general  attack  was  not  given  until  just 
before  sunset,  when  our  men  rushed  upon  the  enemy  like  a 
hurricane.  But  little  resistance  was  made,  the  beaten  foe 
having  fled  in  wild  confusion  in  the  direction  of  Banks'  Ford. 
At  dark  a  short  pause  ensued;  but  as  soon  as  the  moon  rose, 
the  enemy  was  speedily  driven  to  Banks'  Ford,  and  on  that 
night  of  the  4th  May  ended  this  remarkable  series  of  battles 
on  the  lines  of  the  Rappahannock. 

The  enemy  being  driven  from  every  point  around  Freder- 
icksburg, Gen.  Lee  determined  to  make  short  work  of  Hooker 
dt  United  States  Ford.  Therefore,  Tuesday  noon  Anderson 
was  ordered  to  proceed  immediately  back  to  Chancellorsville, 
^•hile  McLaws  was  instructed  to  take  up  his  position  in  front 
^f  "CFnitcd  States  Ford,  at  or  near  llic  j miction  of  the  Old 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  27T 

Mine  and  River  roads.  But  a  drenching  storm  of  wind  and 
rain  set  in  and  continued  -without  cessation  until  Wednesday 
forenoon,  -when  it  was  discovered  that  Hooker,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  darkness  and  the  storm,  had  also  retreated  across 
the  river  the  preceding  night. 

Our  forces/ engaged  in  the  fight  did  not  exceed  fifty  thousand 
men.  The  enemy's  is  variously  estimated  at  from  one  hundred 
thousand  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  Yet  the  greater 
gallantry  of  our  troops,  even  despite  the  emergency  into  which 
their  commander  had  brought  them,  enabled  him  not  only  to 
beat  this  immense  army,  but  to  capture  several  thousand  pri- 
soners, thirty  or  forty  thousand  small  arms,  several  stands  of 
colours,  and  an  immense  amount  of  personal  property,  and  to 
kill  and  wound  some  twenty-five  thousand  men.  It  was  a  glo- 
rious week*s  work.* 

We  have  not  at  present  those  lights  before  us  necessary  for 
a  just  criticism  of  the  military  aspects  of  these  battles  of  the 
Rappahannock.  They  were  undoubtedly  a  great  victory  for 
the  Confederacy.  But  there  were  two  remarkable  misfortunes 
■which  diminished  it.  The  breaking  of  our  lines  at  Fredericks- 
burg withdrew  pursuit  from  Hooker.  When  thereupon  our 
forces  were  turned  upon  Sedgwick,  a  second  misfortune  robbed 

*  The  army  which  accomplished  this  work  was,  according  to  the  Yankee 
description  of  it,  a  curiosity.  Some  of  tlie  military  corref-pondencc  of  the 
Yankee  journals  was  more  candid  than  usual,  and  admitted  a  shameful  de- 
feat by  the  "rafged  rebels."     One  of  these  correspondents  wrote: 

"We  had  men  enough,  well  enough  equipped  and  well  enough  posted,  to 
have  devoured  the  ragged,  imperfecily  armed  and  o(]uipped  host  of  our  ene- 
mies from  oflf  the  face  of  the  earth.  Their  artillery  horses  are  poor,  starved 
frames  of  beasts,  tied  on  to  their  carriages  and  caissons  with  odds  and  ends 
of  rope  and  strips  of  raw  hide.  Their  supply  and  ammuuilion  trains  look* 
like  a  congregation  of  all  the  crippled  California  emigrant  trains  that  ever' 
escaped  off  the  desert  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  rampaging  Camanche  In- 
dians. The  men  are  ill-dressed,  ill-equipped  and  ill-provided- — a  set  of  rag- 
muffins  that  a  man  is'ashamed  to  be  seen  among,  even  when  he  is  a  prisoner* 
and  can't  help  it.  Ami  yet  thej'  have  beaten  us  fairly,  beaten  us  nil  ta 
pieces,  beaten  us  so  easily  that  we  are  objects  of  contempt  even  to  their  com- 
monest private  soldiers,  with  no  shirts  to  bang  out  of  the  liol«(»in  their  panta- 
looirs,  and  cartridge-boxes  tied  rouud  their  waists  with  strands  of  rope." 


278  THE    SECOND    TEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

US  of  a  complete  success ;  fur  he  managed  to  secure  his  retc£at 
bv  Banks'  Ford,  which  exit  might  possibly  have  been  cut  off, 
and  the  exclusion  of  which  would  have  secured  his  surrender. 
Of  these  events  there  is  yet  no  oflicial  detail. 

But  a  shadow  greater  than  that  of  any  partial  misfortunes 
on  the  field  rested  on  the  Confederate  victory  of  >Clyincellor3- 
ville.  It  was  the  death  of  Gen.  Jackson.  This  event  is  im- 
portant enough  to  require,  even  in  the  contracted  limits  of 
these  supplementary  pages,  a  separate  title  and  a  notice  apart 
from  our  iieucral  narrative. 


THE  DEATH  OF  "STONEWALL"  JACKSON. 

It  was  about  eiplit  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening,  2d  May,  when  Gen.  Jack- 
Boii  and  his  staff,  who  were  returning  on  the  front  of  our  line  of  skirmi.sliers, 
were  tired  upon  by  a  regiment  of  his  own  corps,  who  ni'stook  the  party  for 
the  enemy.  At  the  time  tlie  General  was  only  about  fifty  yanls  in  advance 
of  the  enemy.  He  had  given  orders  to  fire  at  any  thing  coming  up  the  road 
before  he  left  the  lines.  The  enemy's  skirmishers  appeared  ahead  of  him 
and  he  turned  to  ride  back.  Just  then  some  one  cried  out,  "Cavalry!" 
"charge!"  and  immediately  the  regiment  fired.  The  whole  party  broke  for- 
ward to  ride  through  our  line  to  escape  the  tire.  Capt.  Boswell  was  killed 
and  carried  througii  the  line  by  his  horse,  and  fell  amid  our  own  men.  TLo 
General  himself  was  struck  by  three  balls:  one  through  the  left  arm,  two 
inches  below  the  shoulder  joint,  shattering  the  bone  and  severing  the  chief 
artery;  another  ball  passed  through  same  arm,  between  elbow  and  wriBt, 
making  its  exit  through  the  palm  of  the  hand;  a  third  ball  entered  the  palm 
of  the  right  hand  about  its  middle,  and  passing  through,  broke  two  of  the 
bones.  As  General  Jackson  was  being  borne  from  the  field,  one  of  the  litter- 
bearers  was  shot'down,  and  the  General  fell  from  the  shouUters  of  the  men, 
receiving  a  severe  contusion,  adding  to  the  injury  of  the  arm  and  injuring 
the  side  .severely.  Tlie  enemy's  fire  of  artillery  on  the  point  was  terrible. 
Gen.  Jackson  was  left  for  five  minutes  until  the  fire  slackened,  then  j)laced  in 
au  ambulance  and  carrie'd  to  the  field  hospital  at  Wilderness  Run.  He  lost  a 
large  amount  of  blood,  and  at  one  time  told  Dr.  McGuire  he  thought  he  was 
dying,  and  would  have  bled  to  death,  but  a  tourniiiuet  was  immediately  ap- 
plied.    For  two  hours  he  was  nearly  pulseless  from  the  shook. 

Amputation  of  the  arm  was  decided  upon,  and  tKe  operation  was  borne  so 
well  that  hopes  of  a  speedy  recovery  were  confidently  entertained.  A  few 
days  had  elapsed,  and  his  physicians  had  decided  to  remove  the  distinguished 
Bulierer  to  Richmond,  when  .symptoms  of  pneumortia  were  unfortunately  de- 
veloped. The^lomplication  of  tiiis  severe  disease  with  his  wounds  left  but 
little  hope  of  a^ife,  and  on  Sunday,  the  eighth  day  of  his  suffering,  it  was 


THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  279 

a:pparent  that  he  was  rapidly  sinking,  and  he  was  informed  that  he  was  dy- 
ing. The  intelligence  was  received  with  no  expression  of  disappointment  or 
anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  dying  hcix);  his  only  response  wa«,  "It  is  all 
right,"  which  was  repeated.  He  had  previously  said  that  he  considered  his 
■wounds  "a  blessing,"  as  Providence  had  always  a  good  design  in  whatever  it 
ordained,  and  to  that  Providence  in  which  he  had  alvtays  trusted  he  commit- 
ted himself  with  uninterrupted  confidence.  But  once  he  regretted  his  early 
fall,  and  that  was  with  reference  to  the  immediate  fortunes  of  the  field.  Ho 
said,  "If  I  had  not  been  wounded,  or  had  had  an  hour  more  of  daylight,  I 
would  have  cut  off  the  enemy  from  the  road  to  the  United  States  Ford,  and 
wo  would  have  had  them  entirely  surrounded,  and  they  would  have  beea 
obliged  to  surrender  or  cut  their  way  out;  they  had  no  other  alternative. 
My  troops  sometimes  may  fail  in  driving  the  enemy  from  a  position,  but  the 
enemy  always  fail  to  drive  my  men  from  a  position."  This  was  said  with  a 
sort  of  smiling  playfulness. 

The  following  account  of  the  dying  moments  of  the  hero  is  taken  from  the 
authentic  testimony  of  a  religious  friend  and  companion: 

"  He  endeavoured  to  cheer  those  who  were  around  him.  Noticing  the  sad- 
ness of  his  beloved  wife,  he  said  to  her  tenderly,  'I  know  you  would  gladly 
give  your  life  for  me,  but  I  am  perfectly  resigned.  Do  not  be  sad — I  hope  I 
shall  recover.  Pray  for  me,  but  always  remember  in  your  prayer  to  use  the 
petition,  Thy  will  be  done.'  Those  who  were  around  him  noticed  a  remarka- 
ble development  of  tenderness  in  his  manner  and  feelings  during  his  illness, 
that  was  a  beautiful  mellowing  of  that  iron  sternness  and  imperturbable 
calm  that  characterized  him  in  his  tnilitary  operations.  Advising  his  wife, 
in  the  event  of  his  death,  to  return  to  her  father's  house,  he  remarked,  'You 
have  a  kind  and  good  father.  But  there  is  no  one  so  kind  and  good  as  your 
Heavenly  Father.'  AVhen  she  told  him  that  the  doctors  did  not  think  he 
could  live  two  hours,  although  he  did  not  himself  expect  to  die,  he  replied, 
'It  will  be'infinite  gain  to  be  translated  to  Heaven  and  be  with  Jesus.'  Ho 
then  said  he  had  much  to  say  to  her,  but  was  too  weak. 

"He  had  always  desired  to  die,  if  it  were  Gods  will,  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
seemed  to  greet  its  light  that  day  with  peculiar  pleasure',  saying,  with  evi- 
dent delight,  'It  is  the  Lord's  day;'  and  inquired  anxiously  what  provision 
had  been  made  for  preaching  to  the  army;  and  having  ascertained  that  ar- 
ro-ngemeuts  were  made,  he  was  contented.  Delirium,  which  occasionally 
manifested  itself  during  the  last  two  days,  prevented  some  of  the  ^(crancea 
of  his  faith,  which  would  ^otherwise  have  doubtless  been  made.  His  thoughts 
vibrated  between  religious  subjects  and  the  battle-field;  now  asking  some 
questions  about  the  Bible  or  church  history,  and  then  giving  an  order — 'Pass 
the  infantry  to  the  front.'  'Tell  Major  Hawks  to  send  forward  provisions  to 
the  men.'  'Let  us  cross  over  the  river,  and  rest  under  the  shade  of  the 
trees' — until  at  last  his  gallant  spirit  gently  passed  over  the  dark  river  and 
entered  on  its  rest." 

It  is  not  proposed  here,  nor  could  space  be  found  witliin  the  limits  of  a 
supplementary  chapter  to  make  a  record  of  the  life  and  services  of  General 
Jackson.     A  very  brief  sketch  is  all  that  is  possible ;  and  indeed  it  is  scarcely 


280  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

necessary  to  do  more,  as  so  miicli  of  his  military  life  is  already  spread  on  Uie 
p»pes  of  tbis  \'olunio  and  intermixed  with  the  general  narrative  of  the  war. 

General  Thoimis  Jouatlian  Jackson  was  born  in  Harrison-county,  Virginia' 
in  1^2'^  and  praduivted  at  West  Point  in  184iT.  His  fir.^t  military  services 
were  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  he  behaved  so  well  that  he  was  brcvettcd  major 
for  his  services.  The  Army  Register  and  the  actual  history  and  facts  of  the 
Mexican  war  do  not  furnish  the  name  of  another  person  entering  the  war 
without  position  or  cfBco  who  attained  the  high  rank  of  major  in  the  brief 
campaign  and  series  of  battles  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  city  of  Mexico. 

At  tlie  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  Jacki^on  resigned  his  position  in  the  army 
&nd  obtained  a  professorehip  in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute.  His  services 
were  not  conspicuous  here;  Colonel  Giliiam  was  considered  as  the  military 
genius  of  the  school,  and  Thomas  Jackson  was  but  little  thought  of  by  the 
small  hero-worshippers  of  Lexington.  The  cadets  had  but  little  partiality 
for  the  taciturn,  praying  professor. 

Perhaps  none  of  the  acquaintances  of  Jackson  were  more  surprised  J^t  his 
brilliant  exhibitions  of  genius  in  this  war,  than  those  who  knew  his  blank  life 
at  the  Institute,  and  were  familiar  with  the  stilF  and  uninteresting  figure  that 
was  to  be  seen  every  Sunday  in  a  pew  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lexing- 
ton. But  true  genius  awaits  occasion  commensurate  with  its  power  and  aspi- 
ration. The  spirit  of  Jackson  was  trained  in  another  school  than  tha^  of 
West  Point  or  Lexington,  and  had  it  been  confined  there,  it  never  would  have 
illuminated  the  page  of  history. 

In  the  early  periods  of  the  war,  Jackson,  commissioned  Colonel  by  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  was  attached  to  General  Johnston's  command  on  the 
Upper  Potomac.  At  Falling  Waters,  on  the  2d  of  July,  18G1,  he  engaged  the 
advance  of  Patterson,  and  gave  the  Yankees  one  of  the  first  exemplifications 
of  his  ready-witted  strategy;  as  Patterson  never  knew  that,  for  several  hours, 
he  was  fighting  an  insignificant  force,  skillfully  disposed  to  conceal  their 
wealvness,  while  Johnston  was  making  his  dispositions  in  the  rear. 

The  first  conspicuous  services  of  Jackson  in  this  war  were  rendered  at  Ma- 
nassas in  1861:  although  the  marks  of  active  determination  he  bad  shown  on 
the  Upper  PotMnac,  and  the  aflair  of  Falling  Waters,  had  already  secured 
for  him  promotion' to  a  lirigadier-Generalship.  The  author  recollects  some 
paragraphs  in  a  Southern  newspaper  expressing  great  merriment  at  the  first 
.apparition  of  the  future  hero  on  the  battle-field.  His  queer  figure  on  horse- 
back, anijthe  habit  of  settling  his  chin  in  his  stock,  were  very  amusing  to 
some  correspondents,  wlio  made  a  flippant  jest  in  some  of  the  Southern  news- 
papers of  the  military  specimen  of  the  Old  Dominion.  The  jest  is  forgiven 
and  forgotten  in  the  tributes  of  admiration  and  love  which  were  to  ensue  to 
the  popular  hero  of  the  war. 

We  have  already  given  in  another  part  of  this  work  (the  first  volume)  an 
account  of  the  remarkable  expedition  of  Jackson  in  the  depth  of  the  winter 
of  18G1-2  to  Winchester,  whore  he  had  been  sent  from  Gen.  Johnston's  lines. 
The  expedition  was  successful,  and  the  march  was  made  through  an  almost 
blinding  storm  of  snow  and  sleet,  our  troops  bivouacking  at  night  in  the  for- 
est, where  many  died  from  cold  and  exhaustion. 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  281 

Witliout  doubt,  the  most  brilliant  and  extraordinary  passage  in  the  military 
life  of  General  Jackson  was  the  ever  famous  campaign  of  the  summer  of 
1862  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  From  the  Valley  he  reached  by  rapid  marches 
the  lines  of  the  Chickahominy  in  time  to  plaj'  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  splen- 
did conclusion  of  the  campaign  of  the  Peninsula. 

Sinpe  the  battles  of  the  Chickahominy,  the  military  services  of  General 
Jacknon  are  comparatively  fresh  in  the  recollections  of  the  public.  We  have 
already  seen  in  these  pages  that  the  most  substantial  achievements  and  bril- 
liant successes  of  last  summer's  campaign  in  Virginia  are  to  b3  attributed 
to  him. 

The  participation  of  Jackson  in  the  campaign  of  Maryland,  and  that  of 
the  Rappahannock,  shared  their  glory,  but  without  occasion  for  observation 
on  those  distinct  and  independent  movements  which  were  his  forte,  and  for 
the  display  of  which  he  had  room  in  the  Valley  campaign,  and  that  against 
Pope. 

The  most  noble  testimony  of  the  services  of  the  departed  hero  in  the  battle 
of  Chanccllorsville  is  to  be  found  in  the  note  of  Gen.  Lee,  which  is  charac- 
teristic of  his  own  generosity  and  worth.     Gen.  Lee  wrote  him: 

"Genei'al:  I  have  just  received  your  note  informing  me  that  you  flvere 
wounded.  I  cannot  express  my  regret  at  the  occurrence.  Could  I  have  dic- 
tated events,  I  should  have  chosen  for  the  good  of  the  co\iutry  to  have  been 
disabled  in  your  stead.  * 

*'I  congratulate  you  upon  the  victory  which  is  due  to  your  skill  and  en- 
ergy." 

Jackson's  response  to  his  attendants  on  hearing  the  note  read  is  said  to 
have  been,  "Gen.  Lee  should  give  the  glory  to  God."  It  was  an  expression 
of  his  modesty  and  reverence. 

A  friend  relates  that  a  few  nights  before  this  battle,  an  equally  character- 
istic incident  occurred  that  is  worthy  of  record.  He  was  discussing  with  one 
of  his  aids  the  probabilitj'  and  issue  of  a  battle,  when  he  became  unusually 
excited.  After  talking  it  over  fully,  he  jaused,  and  with  deep  humility  and 
reverence  said,  "My  trubt  is  in  God ;"  then,  as  if  the  souivd  of  battle  was  iu 
his  ear,  he  raised  himself  to  his  tallest  stature,  and  with  fla&ing  eyes  and  a 
face  all  blazoned  with  the  fire  of  the  conflict,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  wish  they 
would  come." 

A  strong  religious  sentiment  combined  with  practical  energ}',  and  an  appa- 
rent dash  of  purpose  qualified  by  the  silent  calculations  of  genius,  were  the 
remarkable  traits  of  the  character  of  Jackson.  It  was  his  humble  Christian 
faith  combined  with  the  spirit  of  the  warrior  that  nmde  that  rare  and  lofty 
type  of  martial  pi-owess  that  has  shrined  Jackson  among  the  great  heroes  of 
the  age.  ^ 

From  all  parts  of  the  living  world  have  come  ttibutes  to  his  fame.  "  He 
Tras,"  says  the  London  I'lnns,  "one  of  the  most  consummate  Generals  that 
"  this  century  has  produced.  *  *  *  That  mixture  of  daring  and  judg- 
"  ment  which  is  the  mark  of  *  Heaven-born'  Generals,  distinguished  him  be- 
•*yond  any  man  of  his  time.  Although  the  young  Confederacy  has  been 
"  illustrated  by  a  number  of  eminent  soldieis,  y(it  the  applause  and  devotion 


282  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

"  of  his  countrymen,  coufirmeJ  by  the  judgment  of  European  nations,  have 
"  given  the  first  place  to  Gen.  Jackson.  The  military  fents  he  accomplished 
*'  moTed  the  minis  of  the  people  with  astonishment,  which  it  is  only  given  to 
"  the  highest  genius  to  produce.  The  blows  he  struck  at  the  enemy  were  as 
"  terrible  and  decisive  as  those  of  Bonaparte  himself." 

It  is  proposed  already  that  the  State  of  Virginia  shall  build  for  him  a 
stately  tomb,  and  strike  a  medal  to  secure  the  memory  of  his  name.  These 
expressions  of  a  nation's  gratitude  may  serve  its  own  pleasure.  But  other- 
wise they  are  uunecossary. 

'•  Dear  son  of  memory,  great  beir  of  fame. 
What  need'ct  thou  such  weak  witness  of  thy  name!" 


t 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   AVA«.  2i6 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  Period  of  Disasters»,DEPARTMKNT  of  the  Misaissim... Grant's  March 
Upon  Vicksburg...Its  Steps  and  Incidents. ..The  Engagement  of  Port  Gibson... 
The  Evacuation  of  Jackson. ..The  Battle  of  Baker's  Creek. ..Pemberton's 
Declarations  as  to  the  Defence  of  Vicksburg...A  Grand  Assault  up'on  "the 
Heroic  City  "...Its  Rei^ulse...  The  Final  Surrender  of  Vicksburff... lioyi  the  Pub- 
lic Mind  of  the  Soutli  was  Shocked.. .Consequences  of  the  Disaster... llow  it 
Involved  Affairs  on  the  Lower  Mississippi. ..Other  Theatres  of  the  War. ..The 
Campaign  in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland...  Hooker  Manouvred  Out  of  Vir- 
ginia...The  Recapture  of  Winchester. ..The  S«cond  Invasion  of  the  Northern 
Territory. ..The  Alarm  of  the  North. ..General  Lee's  Object  in  the  Invasion  of 
Maryland  and  Pennsylvania. ..Ilis  Essays  at  Conciliation... The  Errour  of  Such 
Policy. ..The  Advance  of  his  Lines  into  Pennsylvania. ..The  Battle  of  Gettys- 
burg...The  Three  Days'  Engagements. ..Death  of  Barksdale... Pickett's  Splen- 
did Charge  on  the  Batteries. ..Repulse  of  the  Confederates... Anxiety  and 
Alarm  in  Richmond. ..Lee's  Safe  Retreat  into  Virginia. ..Mystery  of  his 
Movement... Recovery  of  the  Confidence  of  the  South  *****  Review 
of  the  Present  Aspects  of  the  War. ..Comparison  Between  the  Disasters  of 
18C2  and  those  of  1863. ..The  Vitals  of  the  Confederacy  yet  Untouched... 
Review  of  the  Civil  Administration. ..President  Davis,  his  Cabinet  and  his 
Favourites... His  Private  Quarrels... His  Deference  to  European  Opinion... 
Decline  of  the  Finances  of  the  Confederacy. ..Reasons  of  this  Decline — The 
Confederate  Brokers. ..The  Blockade-Runners. ..The  Disaffections  of  Property- ! 
Holders. ..The  Spirit  of  the  Army. ..The  Moral  Pvesolution  of  the  Confede- 
racy...IIow  the  Enemy  has  Strengthened  it. ..The  Prospects  of  the  Future. 

We  find  it  necessary  to  give  another  chapter  to  the  exten- 
sion of  our  narrative  beyond  its  appropriate  limit.  We  shall 
proceed  rapidly  with  a  general  reference  to  such  events  as  may 
exhibit  the  condition  of  the  Confetleracy  at  the  time  of  this 
writing,  reserving  details  for  another  ^ume  that  will  properly 
cover  the  period  of  the  third  year  of  the  War.  That  year 
has  opened  with  disasters,  at  which  we  can  now  glance  only 
imperfectly,  for  upon  th^ta  the  lights  of  time  have  scarcely  jct 
developed. 


284  TH«!    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THfe'  WAB. 

DEPARTMENT     OF    THE     MISSISSIPPI. 

As  the  attention  of  the  reader  returns  to  the  busy  scenes  of 
the  war,  it  is  taken  by  one  of  those  sudden  translations,  so 
common  in  this  history,-from  Virginia  to  the  distant  theatres 
of  the  West.  The  smoke  of  battle  yet  lingered  on  the  Rappa- 
hannock, when  the  attention  of  the  public  was  suddenly  drawn 
to  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  by  the  startling  announce- 
ment that  an  army  of  the  enemy  was  on  the  overland  march 
against  Vicksburg,  that  had  so  long  defied  an  attack  from  the 
•water.  • 

"We  have  at  this  time  only  very  uncertain  materials  for  the 
history  of  the  campaign  in  INIississippi.  "We  must  at  present 
trust  ourselves  to  a  very  general  outline  that  will  exclude  any 
considerable  extent  of  comment ;  satisfied  that  what  we  can 
do  at  present  to  ihterest  the  reader  is  simply  to  put  certain 
leading  occurrences  of  the  campaign  in  their  natural  succession, 
and  make  a  compact  resume  of  events  which,  up  to  this 
time,  have  been  related  in  a  very  confused  and  scattering 
style. 

By  running  the  gauntlet  of  our  batteries  at  A'icksburg  with 
his  transports,  Grant  avoided  the  necessity  of  the  completion 
of  the  canal,  and  secuv^d  a  passage  of  the  river,  after  leading 
his  troops  over  the  narrow  peninsula  below  A'icksburg,  at  any 
'point,  above  Port  Hudson  which  he  might  select.  It  appears 
that  the  defences  at  Grand  Gulf,  twenty-two  miles  south  of 
Warrenton,  at  the  mouth  "of  Black  River,  were  only  constructed 
after  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in  getting  some  of  his  vessels 
between  Port  Hudson  and  Vicksburg.  The  Black  River 
being  navigable  for  some  distance,  they  were  intended  to 
obstruct  the  passage  of  a  force  to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg  by 
this  route.  # 

The  abandonment  of  our  works  there  after  a  severe  bombard- 
ment, opened  the  door  to  the  enemy,  and  the  battle  of  Port 
Gibson,  fought  on  the  first  day  of  Maiy,  put  them  still  further 
on  their  way  to  Vicksburg.     The  evacuation  of  Port  Gibson 


TOE    SECOND    YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  285 

by  General  Bowen  was  followed  by  that  of  Bayou  Pierre, 
and  his  forces  were  withdrawn  across  the  Big  Black,  within 
twenty  miles  of  Vicksburg. 

So  far  in  the  campaign  the  enemy  had  a  remarkable  advan- 
tage. Our  generals  Avere  wholly  ^nablc  to  penetrate  his 
(Resigns,  and  were  compelled  to  wait  the  progressive  steps  of 
their  development. 

It  was  impossible  to  foresee  the  precise  point  at  which  the 
blow  would  be  struck,  or  to  form  any  probable  conjecture  of 
the  immediate  objects  of  the  enemy's  enterprise.  When 
Grant's  transports'  had  succeeded  in  passing  the  batteries  'at 
Vicksburg,  he  had  a  river  front  of  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
where  he  could  land.  The  point  of  his  landing  having  been 
determined  at  Grand  Gulf,  it  was  still  uncertain  whether  he 
meant  to  approach  Vicksburg  by  the  river,  under  cover  of  his 
gunboats,  or  whether  he  would  attempt  to  circumscribe  the 
place  and  cut  our  communications  east.  It  subsequently 
appeared  that  the  latter  enterprise  was  selected  by  the  enemy, 
and  that  Jackson  was  flie  immediate  point  of  attack. 

On  the  14th  of  May  the  enemy  took  possession  of  Jackson. 
Gen.  Johnston  was  entrusted  with  the  active  command  of  the 
Confederate  forces  in  the  SouthAvest  too  late  to  save  those 
disastrous  results  which  had  already  occurred ;  and  the  very 
first  step  to  which  he  was  forced  by  existing  circumstances, 
was  the  evacuation  of  Jackson.  But  the  enemy's  occupation 
of  the  capital  of  Mississippi  seems  to  have  been  but  an  unim- 
portant incident,  and  it  is  probable  that,  even  with  inferiour 
forces  ou  our  side,  a  battle  would  have  been  risked  there  if 
Jackson  had  been  of  greater  importance  than  as  a  point  of 
railroad  in  possession  of  the  enemy. 

Although  Gen.  Bowen,  in  the  engagement  of  Port  Gibson, 
failed  to  check  the  rapid  advance  of  the  enemy,  it  was  under- 
stood that  he  had  been  able  to  evacuate  in  good  order  his 
position  south  of  the  Big  Black,  and  establish  a  line  of  defence, 
extending  along,  that  stream  east  from  the  Mississippi,  so  as  to 
secure  Vicksburg  against  assault  from   the  south.     This,  the 


286  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

main  lino  of  our  defence,  was  occupied  by  General  PembertOn 
with  heavy  reinforcements  from  Vicksburg. 

On  the  IGth  of  May  occurred  the  bloody  battle  of  Baker's 
Creek,  (on  the  Jackson  and  Vicksburg  road,)  in  wliich  the 
force  under  Pemberton^as  defeated  with  considerable  loss 
of  artillery.  On  the  following  day  the  Confederates  again 
sustained  a  disasteK  at  Big  Black  Bridge ;  and  on  the  18th 
Vicksburg  was  closely  invested  by  the  enemy,  and  the  right  of 
his  army  rested  on  the  river  above  the  town. 

It  is  probable  that  it  was  to  give  time  for  reinforcements  to 
arrive  in  the  enemy's  rear,  who,  flushed  with  victory  at  Grand 
Gulf,  Port  Gibson  and  Jackson,  had  turned  back  from  the 
latter  on  the  rear  defences  of  Vicksburg,  that  Gen.  Pcmberton, 
perhaps,  unwisely,  advanced  from  his  works  to  meet  Grant  in 
the  open  field  and  hold-  him  in  check,  and  thus,  from  greatly 
inadequate'  forces,  suffered  the  disheartening  disasters  of 
Baker's  Creek  and  Big  Black  Bridge.  As  a  last  resort  he 
retired  behind  his  works  with  a  weakened  and  somewhat 
dispirited  but  still  glorious  little  armyT  The  unfortunate  com- 
mander appeased  the  clamour  against  himself  by  an  apparently 
noble  candour  and  memorable  words  of  heroism.  He  said 
that'  it  had  been  declared  that  he  would  sell  Vicksburg,  and 
exhorted  his  soldiers  to  follow  him  to  see  the  price  at  which  he 
would  sell  it,  for  it  would  not  be  less  than  his  own  life  and  that 
of  every  man  in  his  command.  Those,  words  were  not  idle  utter- 
ances ;  tliey  deserve  to  be  commemorated  ;  they  were  heroic  only 
in  proportion  as  they  were  fulfilled  and  translated  into  action. 
The  events  of  the  19th,  20th  and  21st  of  May  wearied  the 
Yankees,  who  imagined  that  they  saw  in  their  grasp  the  palm 
of  the  Mississippi.  So  fully  assured  were  they  of  victory, 
that  they  posponed  it  from  day  to  day.  To  storm  the  works 
was  to  take  Vicksburg,  in  their  opinion,  and  when  it  was  known 
.  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  that  at  ten  o'clock  next  morning 
■  the  whole  line  of  Confederate  works  would  be  assaulted,  the 
credulous  and  vain  enemy  accounted  success  so  certain  that  it 
was  already  given  to  the  wings  of  the  telegraph. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE   WAR.  287 

Indeed,  there  is  no  doubt  that  at  one  hour  of  this  famous 
day,  McClernand,  the  Yankee  General  who  made  the  assault 
on  the  left,  sent  a  dispatch  to  Grant  that  he  had  taken  three 
forts  and  would  soon  be  in  possession  of  the  city.  But  the 
success  was  a  deceitful  one.  The  redoubts  carried  by  the 
enemy  brought  him  within  the  pale  of  a  devouring  fire.  At 
every  point  he  was  repulsed ;  and  with  reference  to  complete- 
ness of  victory,  exhibitions  of  a  devoted  courage,  and  the 
carnage  accomplished  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  these  battles 
of  Vicksburg  must  be  accounted  among  the  most  famous  in  the 
annals  of  the  war. 

But  despite  the  discouragements  of  the  repulse,  there  still 
remained  to  the  enemy  the  prospects  of  a  siege  under  circum- 
stances of  peculiar  and  extraordinary  advantage.  Although 
Grant's  attack  was  made  from  Grand  Gulf,  that  place  was  not 
long  his  base ;  and  when  he  gained  Haines'  Bluff  and  the 
Yazoo,  all  communication  with  it  was  abandoned.  He  was 
enabled  to  rely  on  Memphis  and  the  river  above  Vicksburg  for 
food  and  reinforcements ;  his  communications  were  open  with 
the  entire  West;  and  tlie  Northern  newspapers  urgently 
demanded  that  the  utrtiost  support  sliould  be  given  to  a 
favourite  general,  and  that  the  Trans-Mississippi  should  be 
stripped  of  troops  to  supply  him  with  reinforcements. 

But  tlie  South  still  entertained  hopes  of  the  safety  of  Vicks- 
burg. It  was  stated  in  Richmond  by  those  who  should  have 
been  well  informed,  tliat  the  garrison  numbered  considerably 
more  than  twenty  thousand  men,  and  was  provisioned  for  a 
siege  of  six  months.  Nearly  every  day  tlie  telegraph  had 
some  extravagance  to  tell  concerning  the  supreme  safety  of 
Vicksburg  and  the  confidence  of  the  garrison.  The -heroic 
promise  of  Pemberton  that  the  city  should  not  fall  until  the 
last  man  had  fallen  in  the  last  ditch  was  called  to  the  popular 
remembrance.  The  confidence  of  the  South  was  swollen  even 
to  insolence  by  these  causes ;  and  although  a  few  of  the  intel- 
ligent doubted  the  extravagant  assurances  of  the  safety  of 


288  THfi    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

Vicksbuvg,  the  people  at  large  received  them  with  an  unhesi- 
tating and  exultant  faith. 

Under  these  circuriistances  the  surprise  and  consternation  of 
the  people  of-  the  South  may  be  imagined,  when,  without  the 
least  premonition,  the  announcement  came  that  the  select  an- 
niversary of  the  Fourth  of  Juh/  had  been  signalized  by  the 
capitulation  of  Vicksburg,  without  a  fight;  the  surrender  of 
twenty  odd  thousand  troops  as  prisoners;  and  the  abandon- 
ment to  the  Yankees  of  one  of  the  greatest  prizes  of  artillery 
that  had  yet  been  made  in  the  war.  The  news  fell  upon  Rich- 
mond like  a  thunder-clap  from  clear  skies.  The  day  of  our 
humiliation  at  Vicksburg  had  been  ill-selected.  ]>ut  it  was 
said  that  Gen.  Pcmberton.was  advised  that  the  enemy  intended 
to  make  a  formidable  assault  on  the  next  day,  and  that  he  was 
unwilling  to  await  it  with  an  enfeebled  garrison,  many  of  whonCi 
were  too  weak  to  bear  arms  in  their  hands.  The  condition  of 
the  garrison,  although  certainly  not  as  extreme  as  that  which 
Pemberton  had  heroically  prefigured  as  the  alternative  of  sur- 
render, and  although  holding  no  honourable  comparison  with 
the  amount  of  privation  and  suffering  borne  in  other  sieges  re- 
corded in  history,  was  yet  deplorable.*  Our  troops  had  suffered 
more  from  exhausting  labours  than  from  hunger;  and  their 
spirit  had  been  distressed  by  the  melancholy  isolation  of  a  siege 
in  which  they  were  cut  off  from  communication  with  their 
homeij,  and  perhaps  by  other  causes  which-  are  not  now  cer- 
tainly known.  Patience  is  not  a  virtue  of  Southern  soldiers; 
and  for  it  at  least  the  garrison  of  Vicksburg  will  not  be  con- 
spicuous in  history. 

It  is  not  possible  at  this  time  to  determine  the  consequences 
of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg.  That  it  was  the  ostensible  key  to  a 
vast  amount  of  disputed  territory  in  the  West,  and  that  it  in- 
volved a  network  of  important  positions,  were  universally  ad- 
mitted in  the  South.  But  this  estimate  of  its  importance  is 
intricate  and  uncertain,  and  awaits  the  development  of  events. 
The  army  of  Johnston  was  saved,  instead  of  being  risked  in 
an  attack  on  Grant's  rear  at  Vicksburg,  and  is  still  disputing 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  TEE  WAR.  289 

the  enemy's  encroachments  in  the  Southv.xst.     We  must  leave 
its  movements  to  more  convenient  and  future  narration. 

But  Ave  must  recognize  the  fact  of  various  disasters  which 
have  immediately  ensued  from  the  fail  of  Yicksburg.  It  cora«- 
pelled  the  surrender  of  Port  Hudson  as  its  necessary  conse- 
quence.*    It  neutralized   in  a  great  measure  a  remarkable 

*  The  full  of  Port  Hudson  did  not  take  plnce  until  after  a  prolonged  and 
gallant  resistance,  the  facts  of  which  msxy  be  briefly  commemorated  here. 
On  the  morning  of  t'.c  22d  Maj-,  the  enemy,  under  command  of  Gen.  Banks, 
pushed  his  infantry  forwiird  witiiin  a  mile  of  our  breastworkfg.  Having  taken 
his  position  for  the  investment  of  our  works,  ho  advanced  with  his  whole 
force  ngainst  the  breastworks,  directing  his  main  attack  against  the  left, 
commanded  by  Col.  Stendnian.  Vigourous  assaults  were  also  made  against 
the  extreme  left  of  Col.  Miles  and  Gen.  Beale,  the  former  of  whom  com- 
manded on  the  centre,  the  latter  on  the  right.  On  the  left  the  attack  was 
made  by  a  brigade  of'negroes,  composing  about  three  regiments,  together 
with  the  same  force  of  white  Yarjkecs  across  a  bridge  which  had  been  built 
over  Sandy  creek.  About  five  hundred  negroes  in  front  advanced  at  double- 
quick  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  works,  when  the  artillery  on 
the  river'  bluff,  and  two  light,  pieces  on  cur  left,  opened  upon  them,  and  at 
the  same  time  they  were  received  with  volleys  of  musketry.  The  negroes 
fled  every  way  in  perfect  confusion,  and,  according  to  the  enemy's  report,  six 
hundred  of  them  perished.     The  repulse  on  Miles'  left  was  decisive. 

On  the  IStli  of  June  a  communication  was  received  from  Gen.  Banks,  de- 
manding tlie  unconditional  surrender  of  the  post.  He  complimented  the  gar- 
rison in  high  terras  for  their  endurance.  He  stated  that  his  artillery  was 
equal  to  any  in  extent  ant]  efficiency;  that  hie  men  outnumbered  ours  five  to 
one;  and  that  he  demanded  the  surrender  in  the  name  of  humanity,  to  pre- 
vent a  useless  sacrifice  of  life.  Gen.  Gardner  replied  thajt  his  duty  required 
bim  to  defend  ihe  post,  and  he  must  refuse  to  entertain  any  such  proposition. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th,  just  before  day,  the  fleet  and  all  the  land  bat- 
teries, which  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in  erecting  at  one  hundred  to  three 
hundred  yards  from  our  breastworks,  opened  fire  at  the  same  time.  About 
duyliglit,  under  cover  of  the  smoke,  the  enemy  advanced  along  the  whole 
line,  and  in  many  places  approached  wiiliin  ten  feet  of  our  works.  Our 
brave  soldiers  were  wide  awake,  and,  opening  upon  tiicm,  drove  tliem  back 
in  confusion,  a  great  number  of  tliem  being  left  dead  in  the  ditches.  One 
entire  division  and  a  brigade  were  ordered  to  charge  the  position  of  the  lat 
Mississippi  and  the  0th  Alabama,  and  by  the  mere  physical  pressure  of  num- 
bers some  of  them  got  within  the  works,  but  all  these  were  immediately 
killed.  After  a  sharp  contest  of  two  houis,  the  enemy  were  every  where  re- 
pulsed, and  witlidrcw  to  their  old  lines. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  month  of  June,  there  was  heavy  skirmishing 
daily,  with  constant  firing  night  and  d.iy  from  tlie  gun  and  mortnr  boats.     Du- 

19 


290  THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF    TUE   WAR. 

Bcries  of  successes  on  the  Lower  Mississippi,  inclucling  the  vic- 
tory of  Gen.  Taylor  at  Ashland,  Louisiana,  which  broke  one 
of  the  points  of  investment  around  Vicksburg,  and  his  still 
Caere  glorious  achievement  in  the  capture  of  Brashear  City. 
The  defence  of  the  cherished  citadel  of  the  Mississippi  had 
involved  exposure  and  weakness  in  other  quarters.  It  had  al- 
most stripped  Charleston  of  troops ;  it  had  taken  many  thou- 
sand men  from  Bragg's  army ;  and  it  had  made  such  requisi- 
tions on  his  force  for  the  newly  organized  lines  in  Mississippi, 
that  that  General  was  compelled  or  induced,  wisely  or  un- 
yrisely,  to  fall  back  from  Tullahoma,  to  give  up  the  country  on 
the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad,  and  practically  to  aban- 
don the  defence  of  Middle  Tennessee. 

While  people  in  Richmond  were  discussing  the  story  of 
Vicksburg,  the  grief  and  anxiety  of  that  disaster  were  sud- 
denly swallowed  up  by  what  was  thought  to  be  even  more  pain- 
ful news  from  the  army  of  Gen.  Lee.  For  once  it  appeared 
to  the  popular  imagination  that  a  great  disaster  in  the  West 
had  a  companion  in  the  East.  The  fall  of  Vicksburg  was  pre- 
ceded but  one  day  by  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  To  that  bat- 
ring  the  siege  of  six  weelcs,  from  May  27th  to  July  7th,  inclusive,  the  enemy 
must  have  fired  from  fifty  to  seventy- five  thousand  shot  and  shell,  yet  not 
more  than  twenty- five  men  were  killed  by  these  projectiles.  They  had  worse 
dangers  than  these  to  contend  against. 

AV)out  the  20th  or  30th  of  June,  the  garrison's  supply  of  meat  gave  out, 
■when  Gen.  Gardner  ordered  the  mules  to  be  butchered,  after  ascertaining 
that  the  men  were  willing  to  eat  them.  At  the  same  time  the  supply  of  am- 
munition was  becoming  exhausted,  and  at  the  time  of  the  surrender  there 
were  only  twenty  rounds  of  cartridges  left,  with  a  small  supply  for  artillery. 

On  Tuesday,  July  7th,  salutes  were  tired  from  the  enemy's  batteries  and 
gunboats,  and  loud  cheering  was  heard  along  the  entire  line,  and  Yankees 
who  were  in  conversing  distance  of  our  men  told  them  that  Vicks^liurg  had 
fallen.  That  night  about  ten  o'clock  Gen.  Gardner  summoned  a  council  of 
war,  who,  without  exception,  decided  that  it  was  imposs^ible  to  hold  out 
longer,  considering  that  the  provisions  of  the  garrison  were  exhausted,  the 
iiramunition  almost  expended,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  men  sick  or  so 
exhausted  as  to  be  unfit  for  duty.  The  surrender  was  accomplished  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th.  The  number  of  the  garrison  which  surreadered  was  be- 
tween five  and  six  thousand,  of  whom  not  more  than  half  were  effective  men 
for  duty. 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  291 

tie-field  we  must  translate  the  reader  by  a  very  rapid  summary 
of  the  operations  which  led  to  it. 

THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    PENNSYLVANIA    AND   MARYLAND. 

By  a  series  of  rapid  movements,  Gen.  Lee  had  succeeded 
in  mananivreing  Hooker  out  of  Virginia.  On  the  extreme 
left,  Jenkins,  with  his  cavalry,  began  the  movement  by  threat- 
ening Milroy  at  Winchester,  wliile  under  the  dust  of  Stuart's 
noisy  cavalry  reviews,  designed  to  engage  the  attention  of  the 
enemy,  E well's  infantry  marched  into  the  valley  by  the  way  of 
Front  Royal.  Advancing  by  rapid  marches  across  the  Blue 
Ridge,  Gen.  Ewell,  tlie  successor  to  Jackson's  command,  fell 
like  a  thunder-bolt  upon  Milroy  at  Winchester  and  Martins- 
burg,  capturing  the  greater  part  of  his  forces,  many  guns,  and 
heavy  supplies  of  grain,  ammunition  and  other  military  stores. 
The  Yankees'  own  account  of  their  disaster  indicated  the  mag- 
nitude of  our  success.  The  New  York  Herald  declared,  "not 
"  a  thing  was  saved  except  that  which  was  worn  or  carried 
"upon  the  persons  of  the  troops.  Three  entire  batteries  of 
"  field  artillery  and  one  battery  of  siege  guns — all  the  artillery 
"  of  the  command  in  fact — about  two  hundred  and  eighty  wag- 
"  ons,  over  twelve  hundred  horses  and  mules,  all  the  conimis- 
"  sary  and  quartermaster's  stores,  and  ammunition  of  all 
"  kinds,  over  six  thousand  muskets,  and  small  arms  without 
"  stint,  the  private  baggage  of  the  officers  and  men,  all  fell 
"  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Of  the  seven  thousand  men 
"  of  the  command,  but  from  sixteen  hundred  to  two  thousand 
"have  as  yet  arrived  here,  leaving  to  be  accounted  for  five 
"  thousand  men." 

After  accomplishing  his  victory  at  Winchester,  Gen.  Ewell 
moved  promptly  up  to  the  Potomac,  and  occupied  such  fords 
as  we  might  desire  to  use,  in  the  event  it  should  be  deemed 
proper  to  advance  into  the  enemy's  country.  The  sudden  ap- 
pearance of  Ewell  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  coupled 
with  the  demonstration  at  Culpeper,  made  it  necessary  for 
Hooker  to  abandon  Fredericksburg  entirely,  and  to  occupy  the 


292  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

Strong  positions  at  Centrcville  and  Blanassas,  so  as  to  inter- 
pose his  army  between  us  and  Washington,  and  thus  prevent  a 
sudden  descent  from  the  Blue  Ridge  by  Gen.  Lee  upon  tho 
Yanlcee  capital.  Meanwhile,  Longstreet  and  Ilill  were  follow- 
ing fa'=>t  upon  Ewell's  track,  the  former  reaching  Ashby's  and 
Snicker's  Gaps  in  tiir.c  to  prevent  any  movement  upon  Ewell's 
rear,  and  the  latter  (Hill)  getting  to  Culpepcr  in  good  season 
to  protect  Longstreet's  rear,  or  to  co-operate  with  him  in  the 
event  of  an  attack  upon  his  flank,  or  to  guard  against  any  de- 
monstration in  the  direction  of  Richmond. 

Having  gained  over  the  Yankee  commander  the  important 
advantage  of  the  military  initiative,  and  firmly  established  his 
communications  in  the  rear  of  his  base  of  operations  on  the 
Other  side  of  the  Potomac,  Gen.  Lee  was  in  a  position  to  hurl  his 
forces  wherever  he  might  desire;  and  it  was  soon  announced 
in  the  North  that  Hooker  had  declined  a  battle  in  Virginia, 
and  that  the  second  invasion  of  the  Northern  territory  had 
been  commenced  by  the  Confederates  under  auspices  that  had 
not  attended  the  first.  It  was  soon  known  that  the  light-horse- 
taen  of  Lee  had  appeared  upon  his  war  path  in  the  southern 
region  of  Pennsylvania.  For  weeks  the  dashing  and  adventu- 
rous cavalry  of  Jenkins  and  Imboden  Avere  persistently  busy  in 
BCQuring  the  country  between  the  Susquehannah  and  the  AUe- 
ghanies,  the  Monocacy  and  the  Potomac,  and  from  the  lines 
before  Harrisburg  to  the  very  gates  of  Washington  and  Balti- 
more their  trumpets  had  sounded. 

The  North  was  thrown  into  paroxysms  of  terrour.  At  the 
first  news  of  the  invasion,  Lincoln  had  called  for  a  hundred 
thousand  men  to  defend  Washington.  Governor  Andrews  of- 
fered the  whole  military  strength  of  Massachusetts  in  the  ter- 
rible crisis.  Governor  Seymour,  of  New  York,  summoned 
McClellan  to  grave  consultations  respecting  the  defences  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  bells  were  set  to  ringing  in  Brooklyn. 
Regiment  after  re<iiment  was  sent  off  from  New  York  to  Phil- 
auclphia.  The  famous  Seventh  regiment  took  the  field  and 
proceeded  to  Harrisburg.     The  Dutch  farmers  in  the  valley 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  293 

drove  their  cattle  to  the  mountains,  and  the  archives  were  re- 
moved from  Harrisburg. 

Nor  did  the  alarm  exceed  the  occasion  for  it.  It  was  obvi- 
ous to  the  intelligent  in  the  North  that  their  army  of  the  Po- 
tomac was  the  only  real  obstacle  which  could  impede  the 
triumphant  march  of  the  army  of  Lee  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  Yankee  States,  and  in  whatever  direction  he  might  choose 
to  push  his.  campaign.  The  press  attempted  some  ridiculous 
comfit  by  writing  vaguely  of  thousands  of  militia  springing 
to  arms.  But  the  history  of  modern  Avarfare  afforded  better 
instruction,  for  it  taught  clearly  enough  that  an  invading  army 
of  regular  and  victorious  troops  could  only  be  effectively 
checked  by  the  resistance  of  a  similar  army  in  the  field,  or  of 
fortified  places  strong  enough  to  compel  a  regular  siege.  In 
certain  circumstances,  a  single  battle  had  often  decided  the 
fate  of  a  long  war;  and  the  South  easily  indulging  the  pros- 
pect of  the  defeat  of  Hooker's  forces,  was  elated  with  renewed 
anticipations  of  an  early  peace. 

While  the  destruction  of  Hooker's  army  was  the  paramount 
object  of  Gen.  Lee's  campaign,  he  had  unfortunately  fallen 
into  the  errour  of  attempting  to  conciliate  the  people  of  the 
North  and  to  court  the  opinions  of  Europe  by  forswearing 
all  acts  of  retaliation  and  omitting  even  the  devastation  of  the 
enemy's  country.  The  fertile  acres  of  the  Pennsylvania  Val- 
ley were  untouched  by  violent  hands;  all  requisitions  for  sup- 
plies were  paid  for  in  Confederate  money;  and  a  protection 
was  given  to  the  private  property  of  the  enem}^  which  had 
never  been  afiforded  even  to  that  of  our  own  citizens.  So  fur 
as  the  orders  of  Gen.  Lee  on  these  subjects  restrained  pillage 
and  private  outrage,  they  Avere  sustained  by  public  sentiment 
in  the  South,  which,  in  fact,  never  desired  that  we  should  re- 
taliate upon  the  Yankees  by  a  precise  imitation  of  their  enor- 
mities and  crimes.  But  retaliation  is  not  only  the  work  of 
pillagers  and  marauders.  Its  ends  might  have  been  accom- 
plished, as  far  as  the  people  of  the  South  desired,  by  inflicting 
upon  the  enemy  some  injury  commensurate  with  what  they  had 


294  THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

suflfered  at  his  hands;  the  smallest  measure  of  which  would 
have  been  the  devastation  of  the  country,  which,  done  by  our 
army  in  line  of  battle,  would  neither  have  risked  demoraliza- 
tion nor  detracted  from  discipline.  Such  a  return  for  the  out- 
rages which  the  South  had  suffered  from  invadinfj;  hordes  of 
the  Yankees,  would  in  fact  have  been  short  of  justice,  and  so 
far  have  possessed  the  merit  of  magnanimity.  But  Gen.  Lee 
was  resolved  on  more  excessive  magnanimity;  and  at  the  time 
the  Yankee  armies,  particularl}'^  in  the  Southwestern  portion  of 
the  Confederacy,  were  enacting  outrnges  which  recalled  the 
darkest  days  of  mediaeval  warfare,  our  forces  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Valley  were  protecting  the  private  property  of  Y^ankees, 
composing  their  alarm,  and  making  a  display  of  stilted  chiv- 
alry to  the  amusement  of  the  Dutch  farmers  and  to  the  intense 
disgust  of  our  own  people.* 


*  A  letter  from  our  lines  in  Mississippi  thus  describes  the  outrages  of  the 
enemy  there,  which  were  cotemporary  with  Lee's  civilities  in  Pennsylvania: 

"I  thought  the  coudition  of  Northern  Mississippi,  and  the  country  around 
my  own  home  in  Memphis,  deplorable.  There  robberies  were  committed, 
houses  were  burned,  and  occasionally  a  helpless  man  or  woman  was  mur- 
dered; but  here,  around  Jackson  and  Vicksburg,  there  are  no  terms  used  in 
all  the  calendar  of  crimes  which  could  convey  any  adequate  conception  of 
the  revolting  enormities  perpetrated  b}'  our  foes.  Women  have  been  robbed 
of  their  jewelry  and  wearing  apparel — stripped  almost  to  nakcdnc.»s  in  the 
presence  of  jeering  Dutch;  ear-rings  have  been  torn  from  their  ears,  and 
rings  from  bleeding  fingers.  Every  house  has  been  pillaged,  and  tliousands 
burned.  The  whole  country  between  the  Big  Black  and  the  Mississippi,  and 
all  that  district  through  which  Grant's  army  passed,  is  one  endless  scene  of 
desolation.  This  is  not  the  worst;  robbery  and  murder  are  surely  bad  enough, 
but  worse  than  all  this,  women  have  been  subjected  to  enormities  worse  than 
death. 

"  Negroes,  men  and  women,  who  can  leave  their  homes,  are  forced  or  en- 
ticed away.  The  children  alone  are  left.  Barns  and  all  descriptions  of  farm- 
houses have  been  burned.  All  supplies,  bacon  and  flour,  are  seized  for  the 
use  of  the  invading  army,  and  the  wretched  inhabitants  left  to  starve.  The 
roads  along  which  Grant's  army  has  moved,  are  strewn  with  all  descriptions 
of  furniture,  wearing  apparel  and  private  property.  In  many  instances  hus- 
bands have  been  arrested  and  threatened  with  instant  death  by  the  hangman's 
rope,  in  order  to  make  their  wives  reveal  the  places  of  concealment  of  their 
valuable  effects.  The  poor  women  are  made  to  ransom  their  sons,  daughters 
and  husbands.  The  worst  slaves  are  selected  to  insult,  taunt  and  revile  their 
masters,  and  the  wives  and  daughters  of  their  masters." 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  295 

If  Gen.  Lee  had  supposed  that  his  moderate  warfare  would 
conciliate  the  Yankees,  he  was  greatly  mistaken ;  for  it  is  pre- 
cisely this  warfare  which  irritates  a  people  without  intimidating 
them.  The  simple  object  of  his  campaign  appears  to  have 
been  the  defeat  of  Hooker,  which  would  uncover  Washington 
and  Baltimore.  The  critical  conjuncture  which  had  been  30 
long  sought  was  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 

We  must  spare  here  many  of  the  details  of  those  movements 
which  brought  the  two  armies  in  contact,  and  trust  ourselves 
to  a  brief  and  general  account  of  this  great  engagement  ia 
Pennsylvania,  followed,  as  it  is,  by  a  rapid  current  of  events 
there  and  elsewhere. 

Having  crossed  the  Potomac  at  or  near  Williamsport,  the 
Confederates  marched  to  Hagerstown,  to  Greencastle  and 
thence  to  Chambersburg.  Ewell,  who  held  the  advance,  went 
as  far  as  Carlisle,  some  twelve  miles  from  Harrisburg.  Mean- 
while, Hooker,  having  withdrawn  his  forces  from  Stafford, 
moved  to  and  across  the  Potomac,  and  took  up  a  line  extending 
from  Washington  to  Baltimore,  expecting  General  Lee  to  offer 
him  battle  in  Maryland.  Finding  himself  disappointed  in  this, 
and  compelled  by  pride  or  by  his  superiours,  he  relinquished 
his  command  to  Meade,  who,  finding  out  that  Lee  had  deflected 
in  his  march  through  Pennsylvania,  and  was  moving  down  the 
Baltimore  turnpike  from  Chambersburg,  moved  from  Baltimore 
on  the  same 'road  to  meet  him.  The  two  armies  which  had 
ceased  to  confront  each  other  since  the  breaking  up  of  the 
Fredericksburg  lines,  found  themselves  again  face  to  face  near 
Gettysburg  on  Wednesday,  July  1st. 

The  action  of  the  1st  July  was  brought  on  by  General  Rey- 
nolds, who  held  the  enemy's  advance,  and  who  thought  himself 
in  superiour  force  to  the  Confederates.  He  paid  the  penalty 
of  his  temerity  by  a  defeat ;  he  was  overpowered  and  out> 
flanked,  and  fell  mortally  wounded  on  the  field. 

In  this  fight  the  corps  of  A.  P.  Hill  was  generally  engaged; 
but,  about  one  hour  after  its  opening,  General  Ewell,  who  was 
moving  from  the  direction  of  Carlisle,  came  up  and  took  a 


296  THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR. 

position  on  our  extreme  left.  Two  divisions  of  this  corps, 
Rhodes'  and  Early's,  advanced  upon  and  engaged  the  enemy 
in  front.  Longstreet,  •who  was  not  engaged  in  the  fight  of  the 
first  day,  swung  around  his  column  to  A.  P.  Hill's  right,  but 
did  not  take  position  for  action  until  Thursday  morning.  The 
result  of  the  first  day  was  that  the'  enemy  was  repulsed  at  all 
points  of  the  line  engaged,  and  driven  over  the  range  of  hills 
to  the  south  of  Gettysburg,  through  the  town  and  about  half  a 
mile  beyond.  At  this  point  is  a  mountain  w'hich  commands  the 
ground  in  front  for  a  mile  on  all  sides.  This  the  enemy 
retreated  to  after  their  repulse,  and  immediately  fortified,  their 
line  occupying  the  mountain,  and  extending  on  the  right  and 
left  of  it. 

The  early  part  of  Thursday,  the  22d  of  July,  wore  away 
■without  any  positive  demonstration  of  attack  on  either  side. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  an  artillery  attack  was  made  by  our 
forces  on  the  left  and  centre  of  the  enemy,  Tthich  was  rapidly 
followed  by  the  advance  of  our  infantry.  Long-street's  corps  on 
our  side  being  principally  engaged.  A  fearful  but  indecisive 
conflict  ensued,  and  for  four  hours  the  sound  of  musketry  was 
incessant.  In  the  fight  we  lost  a  number  of  ofiicers,  among 
them  Gen.  Barksdale  of  Mississippi,  whose  brave  and  generous 
spirit  expired,  where  he  preferred  to  die,  on  the  ensanguined 
field  of  battle.  Of  this  "  haughty  rebel,"  who  had  fallen  within 
their  lines,  the  Yankees  told  Avith  devilish  satisfaction  the 
Btory  that  his  end  ^vas  that  of  extreme  agony,  and  his  last 
•words  were  to  crave  as  a  dying  boon  a  cup  of  ■water  and  a" 
stretcher  from  an  ambulance  boy.  The  letter  of  a  Yankee 
officer  testifies  that  the  brave  and  suffering  hero  declared  with 
his  last  breath  that  he  was  proud  of  the  cause  he  died  fighting 
for;  proud  of  the  manricr  in  which  he  received  his  death;  and 
confident  that  his  countrymen  were  invincible. 

The  third  day's  battle  was  commenced  by  the  Confederates. 
The  enemy's  position  on  the  mountain  was  apparently  impreg- 
nable, for  there  was  no  conceivable  advance  or  approach  that 
could  not  be  raked  and  crossed  with  the  artillery.     The  reserve 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  297 

artillery  and  all  the  essentials  to  insure  victory  to  the  Yankees 
•were  in  position  at  the  right  time.  All  the  heights  and  every 
advantageous  position  along  the  entire  line  \\'here  artillery 
could  bo  massed  or  a  battery  planted,  frowned  down  on  the 
Confederates  through  brows  of  brass  and  iron.  On  the  slopes 
of  this  mountain  occurred  one  of  the  most  terrific  combats  of 
modern  times,  in  which  three  hundred  cannon  were  belching 
forth  their  thunders  at  one  time,  and  nearly  two  hundred  thou- 
sand muskets  were  being  discharged  as  rapidly  as  men  hurried 
with  excitement  and  passion  could  load  them. 

The  battle  of  Friday  had  commenced  early  in  the  morning. 
With  the  exception  from  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  one  in 
in  the  afternoon,  it  lasted  all  day.  The  Confederates  did  not 
succeed  in  holding  an}'-  of  the  crests,  although  one  or  two 
were  reached ;  and  night  again  closed  on  the  smoke-wrapped 
field. 

The  most  glorious  incident  of  Gettysburg,  and  the  one  upon 
which  the  eye  of  history  will  beam,  was  the  charge  of  our 
devoted  men  upon  the  deadly  heights  where  turned  the  tide  of 
battle.  The  principal  stronghold  of  the  enemy  was  known  as 
McPherson's  Heights,  where  his  centre  rested.  In  Thursday's 
fight  this  important  position  had  for  a  short  time  been  in  pos- 
session of  a  single  one  of  our  brigades — Wright's  noble  Geor- 
gians— who  had  charged  it  with  the  bayonet  and  captured  the 
heavy  batteries  on  the  cre^t,  but  were  unable  to  hold  it  for 
"want  of  timely  support. 

In  Friday's  contest,  a  more  formidable  and  elaborate  attempt 
was  to  be  made  to  wrest  from  the  enemy  the  crest  which  was 
the  key  of  his  position.  Pickett's  division  being  in  the  ad- 
vance, was  supported  on  the  right  by  Wilson's  brigade,  and  on 
the  left  by  Ileth's  division,  commanded  by  Pettigrew.  The 
steady  movement  of  Pickett's  men  into  the  tempest  of  fire  and 
steel,  against  a  mountain  bristling  with  guns,  had  nothing  to 
exceed  it  in  sublimity  on  any  of  the  battle-fields  of  the  revolu- 
tion. Into  the  sheets  of  artillery  fire  advanced  the  unbroken 
lines  of  our  men.     The  devoted  Confederates  are  struggling 


298  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

not  only  against  the  enemy's  artillery,  but  against  a  severe  fire 
from  heavy  masses  of  his  infantry,  posted  behind  a  stone  fence. 
But  nothing  checks  their  advance ;  they  storm  the  fence,  they 
shoot  the  gunners,  and  Kemper's  and  Armistead's  banners  are 
already  planted  on  the  enemy's  "works. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  at  this  auspicious  moment  a 
proper  amount  of  support  to  Pickett  would  have  secured  his 
position,  and  carried  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  But  that  sup- 
port was  not  at  hand.  Pettigrew's  division  had  faltered,  and 
that  gallant  commander  in  vain  strove  to  rally  the  raw  troops. 
In  the  meantime,  the  enemy  had  moved  around  strong  flank- 
ing bodies  of  infantry,  and  was  rapidly  gaining  Pickett's  rear. 
With  overwhelming  numbers  in  our  font,  almost  hemmed  in  by 
the  enemy,  the  order  is  given  to  fall  back.  The  retreating  line 
is  pressed  heavily.  It  does  not  give  way.  But  many  noble 
spirits  who  had  passed  safely  through  the  fiery  ordeal  of  the 
advance  and  charge,  now  fall  on  the  right  and  on  the  left. 

In  this  great  battle,  though  unfavorable  to  us,  the  enemy's 
loss  probably  exceeded  our  own,  as  the  Yankees  were  closely 
crowded  on  the  hills,  and  devoured  by  our  artillery  fire.  The 
information  of  the  enemy's  loss  is  perhaps  most  accurately 
obtained  from  the  bulletin  furnished  by  his  Surgeon  General, 
which  stated  that  he  had  something  over  12,000  Yankee 
wounded  under  his  control.  Counting  one  killed  for  four 
wounded,  and  making  sonic  allowance  for  a  large  class  of 
wounded  men  who  had  not  come  under  the  control  of  the  oflS- 
cial  referred  to,  we  are  justified  in  stating  the  enemy's  loss  in 
casualties  at  Gettysburg,  as  somewhere  between  fifteen  and 
eighteen  thousand.  Our  loss,  slighter  by  many  thousands  in 
comparison,  was  yet  frightful  enough.  On  our  side,  Pickett's 
division  had  been  engaged  in  the  hottest  work  of  the  day,  and 
the  havoc  in  its  ranks  was  appalling.  Its  losses  on  this  day 
a4fe  famous,  and  should  be  commemorated  in  detail.  Every 
Brigadier  in  the  division  was  killed  or  wounded.  Out  of  twen- 
ty-four regimental  officers,  onl}''  two  escaped  unhurt.  The  Col- 
onels of  five  Virginia  regiments  were  killed.     The  9th  Virginia 


THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  299 

went  in  two  hundred  and  fifty  strong,  and  came  out  with  only 
thirty-eight  men  ;  while  the  equally  gallant  19th  rivaled  the 
terrible  glory  of  such  devoted  courage. 

The  recoil  at  Gettysburg  was  fatal,  not  necessarily,  but  by 
the  course  of  events,  to  Gen.  Lee's  campaign ;  and  the  return 
of  his  army  to  its  defensive  lines  in  Virginia,  was  justly  re- 
garded in  the  South  as  a  reverse  in  the  general  fortunes  of  the 
contest.  Yet  the  immediate  results  of  tlie  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg must  be  declared  to  have  been  to  a  great  extent  negative. 
The  Confederates  did  not  gain  a  victory,  neither  did  the  enemy. 
The  general  story  of  the  contest  is  simple.  Lee  had  been 
unable  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  taking  the  highlands,  many 
of  them  with  very  steep  declivities,  and  nearly  a  mile  in  slope. 
The  battle  was  an  effort  of  the  Confederates  to  take  those 
heights.  The  right  flank,  the  left  flank,  the  centre  were  suc- 
cessively the  aim  of  determined  and  concentrated  assaults. 
The  Yankee  lines  were  broken  and  driven  repeatedly.  But  in- 
exhaustible reserves  and  a  preponderant  artillery,  advantageous- 
ly placed,  saved  them  from  rout. 

The  first  news  received  in  Richmond  of  Gen.  Lee's  retreat, 
was  from  Yankee  sources,  which  represented  his  army  as  a  dis- 
organized mass  of  fugitives  unable  to  cross  the  Potomac  on 
account  of  recent  floods,  and  at  the  mercy  of  an  enemy  im- 
mensely superiour  in  numbers  and  flushed  with  victory.  This 
news  and  that  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  reached  the  Confede- 
rate Capital  the  same  day.  Twenty-four  hours  served  to  dash 
the  hope  of  an  early  peace,  and  to  overcloud  the  horizon  of 
the  war.  The  temptation  of  despair  was  again  whispered  to 
weak  minds.  It  was  the  second  period  of  great  disaster  to  the 
South,  and  renewed  a  grief  similar  to  what  had  been  expended 
a  year  ago  upon  the  sorrowful  stories  of  Donelson  and  New 
Orleans. 

But  happily  in  this  instance  the  public  despondency  was  of 
short  duration.  A  few  days  brought  news  from  our  lines,  which 
exploded  the  falsehoods  of  the  Yankees,  and  assured  the  people 
of  the  South  that  the  engagements  of  Gettysburg  had  resulted 


300  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

in  worsting  the  enemy,  in  killing  and  wounding  a  number  ex- 
ceeding our  own,  and  in  the  capture  of  a  large  number  of 
prisoners.  The  public  was  yet  further  satisfied  that  the  fall- 
ing back  of  our  army,  at  least  as  far  as  Ilagerstown,  was  a 
movement  dictated  by  general  considerations  of  strategy  and 
prudence.  It  consoled  itself  that  tlic  subsequent  retirement  of 
our  forces  into  Virginia  was  the  excess  of  safety ;  and  it  found 
reason  for  congratulation  that  the  retreat  of  Lee  to  his  old 
lines  was  accomplished  with  a  dexterity  and  success  that  foiled 
the  enemy^  and  disappointed  the  greater  portion  of  his  triumph. 
But  notwithstanding  these  causes  of  moderate  thankfulness, 
it  must  be  confessed  that  the  retreat  from  Hagerstown  across 
the  Potomac  was  an  inconsequence  and  a  ra;*  stery  to  the  intel- 
ligent public.  Lee's  position  there  was  strong;  his  force  was 
certainly  adequate  for  another  battle ;  preparations  were  made 
for  aggressive  movements ;  and  in  the  midst  of  all  came  a 
sudden  renouncement  of  the  campaign,  and  the  retreat  into 
Virginia.  The  history  of  this  untimely  retreat  has  not  been 
developed ;  but  there  is  one  fact  to  assist  the  explanation  of  it, 
and  that  is  that  the  authorities  at  Richmond  were  much  more 
alarmed  than  Gen.  Lee,  and  much  less  capable  than  the  com- 
mander, himself  of  judging  the  military  situation  from  which 
his  army  Avas  recalled.  The  troops  availed  themselves  of 
no  other  refuge  than  that  of  their  own  soil ;  they  had  not 
been  defeated  or  seriously  worsted;  and  so  far  the  public  had 
its  secondary  wisli  for  the  safety  of  the  army.  But  this  did 
not  exclude  mortification  on  the  part  of  tliose  who  believed  that 
Gen.  Lee  had  abandoned  the  enemy's  territory,  not  as  a  conse- 
quence of  defeat,  but  from  the  undue  timidity  or  the  arrogant 
disposition  of  the  authorities  who  controlled  him.  The  grounds 
of  such  a  belief  are  not  certainly  stated ;  but  its  existence  in 
the  public  mind  is  a  fact  to  be  recognized  by  the  historian,  and 
to  be  determined  by  evidence  when  time  and  occasiT)n  shall 
produce  it. 

The  check  at  Gettysburg  and  "the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  which 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    AVAR.  301 

we  have  seized  upon  as  the  prominent  events  of  the  summer  of 
1863,  and  of  ■uhich  we  hope  hereafter,  in  another  volume,  to 
give  a  more  minute  and  faithful  account,  in  connection  with 
many  cotemporary  or  closely  consequent  events,  which  arc  here 
omitted,  afford  a  natural  pause  in  which  we  may  well  review 
the  events  of  the  revolution,  and  speculate  on  its  distant  or  ul- 
timate future. 

The  disasters  to  which  we  have  briefly  referred,  although 
considerable,  were  far  from  being  desperate,  and  were  scarcely 
occasions  of  any  serious  alarm  in  the  South,  as  to  the  ultimate 
issue  of  the  struggle.  The  military  condition  of  the  country 
was  certainly  far  better  than  at  the  former  unhappy  period  of 
the  spring  of  1862.  Then  our  armies  were  feeble,  and,  in  a 
great  measure,  disorganized  ;  the  conscription  law  had  not  gone 
into  operation,  and  our  reduced  forces  were  scattered  along  an 
extended  frontier.  Now  well  disciplined  and  seasoned  armies 
hold  with  compact  forces  the  critical  positions  in  the  Confede- 
racy. The  loss  of  territory,  which  in  a  European  campaign, 
where  inland  fortresses  and  great  cities  give  convenient  foot- 
holds to  an  invading  army,  would  have  been  estimated  as  a 
fatal  disadvantage,  had  a  very  different  signification  in  a  war 
between  the  two  great  American  powers.  Indeed  it  may  be 
said  that  the  armies  of  our  enemy  scarcely  did  more  than  hold 
the  ground  they  stood  upon,  and  that  in  a  war  now  passing 
into  its  third  year,  they  had  failed  to  touch  the  vitals  of  the 
Confederacy.  The  temporary  cession  of  large  bodies  of  terri- 
tory to  them,  was  really  to  their  disadvantage  in  military  re- 
spects ;  for  it  occasioned  the  necessity  of  extending  their  lines 
of  communication,  exposing  their  rear,  and  subjecting  them- 
selves, on  every  side,  to  the  dangers  of  a  hostile  country,  where 
there  were  no  great  fortresses  or  citadels  to  protect  them. 

But  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  were  to  be  found  at 
this  time  but  few  subjects  of  congratulation  in  the  internal 
condition  of  the  Confederacy.  The  civil  administration,  ,in 
many  of  the  departments,  was  ignorant,  defective  and,  in  some 
instances,  oppressive.     The  appendage  of  Congress  might  well 


302  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

have  been  dispensed  with  in  our  revolution,  for  it  accomplished 
nothing;  all  its  legislation  Avas  patch-work,  and  its  measures  hut 
the  weak  echoes  of  the  newspapers.  The  extraordinary  cabi- 
net of  Mr.  Davis  still  survived  as  a  ridiculous  cypher ;  for  its 
members  never  dared  to  raise  their  voices  on  any  public  mea- 
sure, or  to  assert  their  existence  beyond  signing  their  names  to 
certify  the  laws  and  orders  of  the  government  or  the  will  of 
the  President. 

The  military  pragmatism  of  the  President  was  his  Avorst  fail- 
ing. He  had  treated  Price,  among  the  earliest  heroes  of  the 
war,  with  cold  and  insolent  neglect.  lie  had  constrained  Gus- 
tavus  Smith  to  resign,  and  deprived  the  country  of  one  of  its 
most  brilliant  Generals.  He  had  taken  the  unfair  opportunity 
of  a  sick  furlough  on  the  part  of  Beauregard  to  deprive  him 
of  his  command  in  the  West  and  give  it  to  a  favourite.  He 
had  even  attempted  to  put  Jackson  in  leading  strings;  for  it 
was  the  Presidential  order  that  set  bounds  to  his  famous  Win- 
chester expedition,  and  that  would  have  timidly  recalled  him 
from  his  splendid  campaign  in  the  Valley.  Nor  was  this  all. 
There  was  reason  to  suppose  that  Lee's  return  from  the  terri- 
tory of  the  North  was  constrained  by  the  views  of  the  Execu- 
tive, and  that  the  President,  who  had  once  defeated  the  cap- 
ture of  Washington  by  his  interference  at  the  first  field  of 
Manassas,  had  again  repeated  his  intermeddling,  removed  a 
decisive  victory  from  the  grasp  of  our  army,  and  turned  back 
the  war  for  years. 

While  such  was  the  envious  or  ignorant  interference  of  the 
President  with  our  most  meritorious  Generals,  he  was  not  with- 
out favourites.  While  he  quarreled  with  such  men  as  Price, 
Beauregard,  Gustavus  Smith  and  Johnston,  he  maintained  such 
favourites  as  Holmes,  Heth,  Lovell  and  Pemberton.  No  man 
was  ever  more  sovereign  in  his  likes  and  dislikes.  Favourites 
were  elevated  to  power  and  the  noblest  spirits  consigned  to  ob- 
scurity by  the  fiat  of  a  single  man  in  the  Confederacy,  and 
that  man  one  of  the  strongest  prejudices,  the  harshest  obsti- 
nacy, and  the  most  ungovernable  fondness  for  parasites. 


THE    SECOND    YEAR   OF   THE    WAR.  303 

In  this  war  Mr.  Davis  has  evidently  been  anxious  to  appear 
in  the  eyes  of  Europe  as  the  military  genius  of  the  Confede- 
racy, as  well  as  the  head  of  its  civil  administration.  He  has 
been  careless  of  public  opinion  at  home.  But  this  has  been  no 
proof  of  stoicism  or  of  greatness;  it  has  merely  shown  his 
conceit  to  be  in  a  different  direction.  This  conceit  has  been 
that  of  "provincialism" — the  courting  of  that  second-hand 
public  opinion  which  is  obtained  from  the  politicians  and  jour- 
nalists of  Europe ;  the  bane  of  political  and  civil  society  in 
the  South.  No  man  of  equal  public  station  on  this  continent 
has  ever  courted  the  opinions  of  Europe  more  assiduously  than 
the  President  of  this  Confederacy.  The  proclamations  of  the 
Executive,  the  general  orders  of  the  army,  the  pronunciamen- 
toes  of  chivalry  which  have  denied  the  rights  of  retaliation, 
bilked  the  national  conscience,  and  nursed  a  viperous  enemy 
with  the  milk  of  kindness,  have  all  been  composed  with  an  eye 
to  European  effect.  CoVnpromises  of  dignity  and  self-respect 
have  been  made  to  conciliate  foreign  nations.  Consuls  draw- 
ing their  exequaturs  from  the  Washington  government — a 
standing  derogation  to  the  Confederacy  Avhich  has  received 
them — have  been  sheltered  and  endured  here;  and  Europe, 
which  denies  our  rights  over  our  territory,  has  received  at  our 
hands  the  safety  of  her  citizens. 

We  have  referred  in  other  pages  to  the  low  condition  of  the 
finances  of  the  Confederacy  in  the  opening  months  of  this 
year.  It  had  since  declined  much  further.  In  February, 
1862,  President  Davis  had  made  the  most  extravagant  con- 
gratulations to  the  country  on  our  financial  condition,  and 
pointed  with  an  air  of  triumph  to  the  failing  fortunes  of  the 
enemy's  treasury.  In  less  than  eighteen  months  thereafter, 
■when  gold  was  quoted  in  New  York  at  twenty-five  per  cent, 
premium,  it  was  selling  in  Richmond  at  nine  hundred  per  cent, 
premium !  Such  have  been  the  results  of  the  financial  wisdom 
of  the  Confederacy,  dictated  by  the  President,  who  advised 
Congress  to  authorize  illimitable  issues  of  treasury  notes,  and 
aggravated  no  doubt  by  the  ignorance  of  his  Secretary,  who 


304  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   TUE   WAR. 

invented  a  legerdemain  of  funding  which  succeeded  not  only 
in  depreciating  the  currency,  but  also  in  dishonouring  the  gov- 
ernment. 

The  experiments  of  Mr.  Memminger  on  the  currency  was 
the  signal  of  multiplied  and  rapid  depreciation.  AVhile  the 
eccentric  and  pious  Secretary  was  figuring  out  impossible 
schemes  of  making  money,  or  ransacking  the  book-stores  for 
works  on  religious  controversy,  unprincipled  brokers  in  the 
Confederacy  were  undermining  "the  currency  with  a  zeal  for 
the  destruction  of  their  country  not  less  than  that  of  the  Yan- 
kees. The  assertion  admits  of  some  qualification.  .Sweeping 
remarks  in  history  are  generally  unjust.  Among  those  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  banking  and  exchange  in  the  South, 
there  were  undoubtedly  some  enlightened  and  public-spirited 
men  who  had  been  seduced  by  the  example  or  constrained  by 
the  competition  of  meaner  and  more  avaricious  men  of  the 
same  profession,  to  array  themselves  rfgainst  the  currency,  and 
to  commit  offences  from  which  they  would  have  shrunk  in  hor- 
rour,  had  they  not  been  disguised  by  the  casuistry  of  com- 
merce and  gain. 

It  was  generally  thought  in  the  South  reprehensible  to 
refuse  the  national  currency  in  the  payment  of  debts.  Yet 
the  broker,  who  demanded  ten  dollars  in  this  currency  for  one 
in  gold,  really  was  guilty  of  nine  times  refusing  the  Confederate 
money.  It  was  accounted  shocking  for  citizens  in  the  South 
to  speculate  in  soldiers'  clothing  and  bread.  Yet  the  broker, 
who  demanded  nine  or  ten  prices  for  gold,  the  representative 
of  all  values,  speculated  alike  in  every  necessary  in  the 
country.  Nor  was  this  the  greatest  of  their  offences.  With 
unsurpassed  sharaelcssness  brokers  in  the  Confederacy  exposed 
the  currency  of  the  North  for  sale  and  demanded  for  it  four 
hundred  per  cent,  premium  over  that  of  the  Confederacy ! 
This  act  of  benefit  to  the  Yankees  was  openly  allowed  by  the 
government.  A  bill  had  been  introduced  in  Congress  to  pro- 
hibit this  traffic  and  to  extirpate  this  infamous  anomaly  in  our 
history ;  but  it  failed  of  enactment,  and  its  failure  can  only  be 


I 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  305 

attributed  to  the  grossest  stupidity,  or  to  sinister  influencesof 
the  most  dishonourable  kind.  The  traffiic  was  immcnselj 
profitable.  State  bonds  and  bank  bills  to  the  amount  of  many 
millions  were  sent  North  by  the  brokers,  and  the  rates  of  dis- 
count were  readily  submitted  to  when  the  returns  were  made 
in- Yankee  paper  money,  which,  in  the  Richmond  shops,  was 
worth  in  Confederate  notes  five  dollars  for  one. 

One — but  only  one — cause  of  the  depreciation  of  the  Con- 
federate currency  was  illicit  trade.  It  had  done  more  to 
demoralize  the  Confederacy  than  anything  else.  The  inception 
of  this  trade  was  easily  winked  at  by  the  Confederate  authorities ; 
it  commenced  with  paltry  importations  across  the  Totomac ;  it 
was  said  that  the  country  wanted  medicines,  surgical  instru- 
ments and  a  number  of  trifles,  and  that  trade  with  the  Yankees 
in  these  could  result  in  no  serious  harm.  But  by  the  enlarged 
license  of  the  government  it  soon  became  an  infamy  and  a 
curse  to  the  Confederatey.  AVhat  was  a  petty  traffic  in  its 
commencement  soon  expanded  into  a  shameless  trade,  which 
corrupted  the  patriotism  of  the  country,  constitiUed  an  anomaly 
in  the  history  of  belligerents,  and  reflected  lasting  disgrace 
upon  the  honesty  and  good  sense  of  our  government.  The 
country  had  taken  a  solemn  resolution  to  burn  the  cotton  in 
advance  of  the  enemy  ;  but  the  conflagration  of  this  staple  soon 
came  to  be  a  rare  event ;  instead  of  being  committed  to  the 
flames  it  was  spirited  to  Yankee  markets.  Nor  were  these 
operations  always  disguised.  Some  commercial  houses  in  the 
Confederacy  counted  their  gains  by  millions  of  dollars  since 
the  war,  through  the  favour  of  the  government  in  allowing 
them  to  export  cotton  at  pleasure.  The  beneficiaries  of  this 
trade  contributed  freely  to  public  charities  and  did  certain 
favours  to  the  government ;  but  their  gifts  were  but  the 
parings  of  immense  gains ;  and  often  those  who  were  named 
by  weak  and  credulous  people  or  by  interested  flatterers  as 
public-spirited  citizens  and  patriotic  donors,  were,  in  fact,  the 
most  unmitigated  extortioners  and  the  vilest  leeches  on  the  body 
politic. 

20 


30o  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

In  this  war  we  owe  to  the  cause  of  truth  some  humiliatinj; 
confessions.  Whatever  diminution  of  spirit  there  may  have 
been  in  the  South  since  the  commencement  of  her  .struggle,  it 
has  been  on  the  part  of  those  pretentious  chisses  of  the 
wealthy,  who,  in  peace,  were  at  once  the  most  zealous  "seces- 
sionists "  and  the  best  customers  of  the  Yankees,  and  who, 
now,  in  war,  are  naturally  the  sneaks  and  tools  of  the  enemy. 
The  cotton  and  sugar  planters  of  the  extreme  South  who  prior 
to  the  war  were  loudest  for  secession,  were  at  the  same  time 
known  to  buy  every  article  of  their  consumption  in  Yankee 
markets,  and  to  cherish  an  ambition  of  shining  in  the  society 
of  Northern  hotels.  It  is  not  surprising  that  many  of  these 
affected  patriots  have  found  congenial  occupation  in  this  war 
in  planting  in  copartnership  with  the  enemy,  or  in  smuggling 
cotton  into  his  lines.  The  North  is  said  to  have  obtained  in 
the  progress  of  this  war,  from  the  Southwest  and  Charleston, 
enough  cotton  at  present  prices  to  uphold  its  whole  system  of 
currency — a  damning  testimony  of  the  avarice  of  the  planter. 
Yet  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  convincing  proof,  in  general,  that 
property,  though  very  pretentious  of  patriotism,  when  identi- 
fied with  selfishness,  is  one  of  the  most  weak  and  cowardly 
things  in  revolutions  and  the  first  to  succumb  under  the  hor- 
rours  of  war. 

It  is  pleasing  to  turn  from  the  exhibition  of  ignorance  and 
weakness  in  the  government,  and  the  vile  passions  of  its 
favourites,  to  the  contemplation  of  that  patriotic  spirit  which 
yet  survives  in  the  masses  of  the  people  and  keeps  alive  the 
sacred  animosities  of  the  war.  We  rejoice  to  believe  that  the 
masses  are  not  only  yet  true,  but  that  a  haughtier  and  fiercer 
spirit  than  ever  animates  the  demand  of  our  people  for  inde- 
pendence, and  insures  their  efforts  to  obtain  it.  The  noble 
people  and  army  who  have  sustained  and  fought  this  war  will 
have  cause  to  rejoice.  Society  in  the  South  is  being  upheaved 
by  this  war,  and  with  our  independence  will  be  re-established 
on  new  orders  of  merit.  The  insolent  and  pampered  slave- 
holding  interest  of  the  South ;  the  planters'  aristocracy  blown 


THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF    THE    WAR.  307 

with  conceit  and  vulgar  airs  of  patronage  ;  the  boast  of  lands 
and  kin  give  way  before  new  aspirants  to  honour.  The  repub- 
lic gives  new  titles  to  greatness.  Many  of  those  who  were 
esteemed  great  politicians  before  the  war  are  now  well  nigh 
forgotten.  The  honours  of  State,  the  worship  of  society,  the 
rewards  of  affection  are  for  the  patriots  of  the  revolution  that 
will  date  our  existence.  Such  are  the  great  prizes,  intertwined 
with  that  of  independence,  which  stir  our  people  and  army 
with  noble  desires  and  beckon  them  to  victory. 

It  is  not  only  in  the  present  external  situation  of  the  war 
that  encouragement  is  to  be  found  for  the  South.  With  con- 
siderable additions  to  her  material  elements  of  success,  the 
South  has  in  the  second  year  of  the  war  abated  none  of  that 
moral  resolution  which  is  the  vital  and  essential  principle  of 
victory,  whatever  co-operation  and  assistance  it  may  derive 
from  external  conditions.  That  resolution  has  been  strength- 
cned  by  recent  developments;  for  as  tlie  war  has  progressed, 
the  enemy  has  made  a  full  exposure  of  his  cruel  and  savage 
purposes,  and  has  indicated  consequences  of  subjugation  more 
terrible  than  death. 

He  has,  by  the  hideous  array  of  the  instruments  of  torture 
which  he  has  prepared  for  a  new  inauguration  of  his  authority 
an^ong  those  who  have  disputed  it,  not  only  excited  the  zeal  of 
a  devoted  patriotism  to  war  with  him,  but  has  summoned  even 
the  mean  but  strong  passions  of  selfishness  to  oppose  him. 
The  surrender  to  an  enemy  as  base  as  the  Yankee,  might  well 
attract  the  scorn  of  the  world  and  consign  the  South  to  de- 
spair. The  portions  of  such  a  fate  for  the  South  are  gibbets, 
confiscation,  foreign  rule,  the  tutelage  of  New  Enghind,  the 
outlawi'y  of  the  negro,  the  pangs  of  universal  poverty,  and  the 
contempt  of  mankind. 

War  is  a  thing  of  death,  of  mutilation  and  fire;  but  it  has 
its  law  of  order ;  and  when  that  law  is  not  observed,  it  fails  in 
effecting  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  waged,  and  the  curse  it 
would  inflict  recoils  upon  itself.  It  is  remarkable  in  the  pre- 
sent war,  that  the  policy  of  the  Washington  government  has 


308  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE   WAR. 

been  an  increase  in  every  feature  of  the  first  cause  of  the  re- 
volt. But  this  has  been  fortunate  for  the  South.  The  conse- 
quences of  such  despotic  and  savage  violences,  as  the  emanci- 
pation proclamation,  the  arming  of  slaves  and  the  legalization 
of  plunder,  have  been  the  growth  of  new  hostility  to  the 
Union,  and  an  important  and  obvious  vindication  to  the  world 
of  the  motives  of  the  South  and  the  virtues  of  her  cause. 

Regarding  the  condition  of  events  in  which  this  record 
closes;  the  broad  lustre  of  victories  covering  the  space  of  so 
many  months;  the  numbers  of  our  forces  in  the  field,  un- 
equalled at  any  other  period  of  the  war;  and  the  spirit  ani- 
mated by  the  recollections  of  victorious  arms  and  stung  by  the 
fresh  cruelties  of  an  atrocious  enemy,  we  may  well  persuade 
ourselves  that  there  is  no  such  word  as  "fail"  in  this  struggle. 
Even  beneath  the  pall  of  disaster,  there  is  no  place  for  such  a 
word.  The  banners  of  the  Confederacy  do  not  bear  the  mot- 
toes and  devices  of  a  doubtful  contest.  Tliat  brave  phrase  we 
may  apply  to  ourselves,  which  is  the  law  of  progress  and  suc- 
cess; which  summons  the  energies  of  mankind  and  works  out 
the  problems  of  human  existence ;  which  is  at  once  an  expres- 
sion of  the  will  of  the  Creator  and  the  power  of  the  creature; 
and  which  beautifully  harmonizes  the  dispensations  of  Provi- 
dence with  the  agency  of  men — "Fortuna  Forticus." 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE   WAR.  309 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

REVIEW— POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  THE  NOUTII,  &c. 

The  Dograa  of  Numerical  Majorities. ..Its  Date  in  the  Yankee  Mind... 
Demoralization  of  the  Idea  of  the  Sovereignty  of  Numbers. ..Experience  of 
Minorities  in  American  Politics... Source  of  the  Doctrine  of  "Consolida- 
tion "...The  Slaver}'  Question  the  Logical  Result  of  Consoliilation... Another 
Aspect  of  Consoliilation  in  the  Tariff... Summary  of  the  Legislation  on  the 
Tariff.. .A  Yankee  Picture  of  the  Poverty  of  the  South. ..John  C.  Calhoun... 
President  Davis'  Opinion  of  his  School  of  Politics... "Nullification,"  as  a 
Union  Measure. ..Mi-.  Webster's  "Four  Exhaustive  Propositions". ..The  True 
Interpretation  of  the  Present  Struggle  of  the  South. ..The  Northern  Idea  of 
the  Sovereignty  of  Numbfrs...It,s  Results  in  this  War. ..President  Lincoln's 
Office. ..The  Revenge  of  the  Yankee  Congress  Upon  the  People. ..The  Easy 
Surrender  of  their  Liberties  by  the  Yankees. ..Lincoln  and  Cromwell. ..Expla- 
nation of  the  Political  Subserviency  in  the  North. ..Superficial  Political  Edu- 
cation of  the  Yankee... His  "Civilization  "...The  Moral  Nature  of  the  Yankee 
Unmasked  by  the  War... His  Nevr  Political  System. ..Burnside's  "Death 
Order  "...A  Bid  for  Confederate  Scalps...  A  New  Interpretation  of  the  Wnr... 
The  North  as  a  Parasite, ..The  Foundations  of  the  National  Independence  of 
the  South. ..Present  Aspects  of  the  AVar...Its  External  Condition  and  Morals... 
The  Spirit  of  the  South  and  the  Promises  of  the  Future. 

The  chief  value  of  history  is  the  moral  discoveries  it  makes. 
What  is  discovered  in  the  records  of  the  old  Union  and  the 
events  of  the  present  v.ar,  of  that  portion  of  the  American 
people  commonly  known  as  the  Yankees,  furnishes  not  only 
food  for  curiosity,  but  a  valuable  fund  of  philosophy. 

In  exploring  the  character  and  political  f^xperience  of  the 
people  of  the  North,  much  of  what  is  generally  thought  to  be 
a  confusion  of  vices  may  be  traced  to  the  peculiar  idea  that 
people  have  of  the  nature  ami  offices  of  government.  Their 
idea  of  government  may  be  briefly  stated  as  the  sovereignty  of 
numbers.  This  conception  of  political  authority  is  of  no  late 
date  with  the  people  of  the  North ;  it  came  in  their  blood  and 
in  their  traditions  for  centuries ;  it  was  part  of  the  Puritanical 


310  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

idea  ;  it  was  manifest  in  the  Revolution  of  177G  (the  issues  of 
wliich  wore  saved  by  the  conservatism  of  the  South);  and  it  is 
to-day  exhibited  in  the  passionate  and  despotic  populace  that 
wages  war  upon  the  Confederacy. 

The  peculiarities  of  this  idea  of  government  are  very 
interesting,  and  its  consequences  are  visible  in  every  part  and 
fibre  of  the  society  of  the  North.  It  excludes  all  the  elements 
of  virtue  and  wisdom  in  the  regulation  of  political  authority; 
it  regards  numbers  as  the  great  element  of  free  government; 
it  represents  a  nuraerifcal  majority  as  infallible  and  omnipotent ; 
and  it  gives  opportunity  to  the  flattery  of  demagogues  to  pro- 
claim the  divine  rights  and  sagacity  of  numbers,  and  to 
denounce  all  constitutions  which  restrict  liberty  as  most 
unrighteous  inventions. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  comment  at  length  upon  the  errour  and 
coarseness  of  this  idea  of  government.  According  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  Yankees,  the  body  politic  ought  simply  to 
have  a  political  organization  to  bring  out  and  enforce  the  will 
of  the  majority ;  and  such  an  organization  was  supposed  to  be 
the  general  government  made  by  our  forefathers.  But  while 
it  is  unnecessary  to  discuss  the  fallacy  of  this  view,  it  is  enter- 
taining and  instructive  to  observe  the  train  of  demoralization 
it  introduced  into  the  society  of  the  North  and  the  consequences 
it  involved. 

The  Northern  idea  of  government  was  materialistic ;  it 
degraded  political  authority  because  it  despoiled  it  of  its  moral 
offices  and  represented  it  as  an  accident  determined  by  a  com- 
parison of  numbers.  It  destroyed  the  virtue  of  minorities ; 
compelled  them  to  servile  acquiescence  ;  and  explains  that  con- 
stant and  curious  phenomenon  in  much  of  American  politics — 
the  rapid  absorption  of  minorities  after  the  elections.  It  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  despotism  more  terrible  than  that  of  any 
single  tyrant ;  destroyed  moral  courage  in  the  people ;  broke 
down  all  the  barriers  of  conservatism  ;  and  substituted  the 
phrase,  "f//e  majority  must  govern,"  for  the  conscience  and 
justice  of  society. 


THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.  311 

This  idea,  carried  out  in  the  early  political  government  of 
America,  soon  attained  a  remarkable  development.  This 
development  was  the  absurd  doctrine  of  Consolidation.  It 
denied  the  rights  of  the  States  ;  refused  to  interpret  the  Union 
from  the  authority  of  cotemporaries  or  from  the  nature  of  the 
circumstances  in  which  it  was  formed,  or  from  the  objects 
which  it  contemplated  ;  and  represented  it  as  a  central  political 
organization  to  enforce  the  divine  pleasure  of  a  numerical 
majority.  The  Union  was  thus  converted,  though  witli  diffi- 
culty, into  a  remorseless  despotism,  and  the  various  and  con- 
flicting interests  and  pursuits  of  one  of  the  vastest  political 
bodies  in  the  world  were  entrusted  to  the  arrogant  and  reckless 
majority  of  numbers. 

The  slavery  question  was  the  logical  and  inevitable  result  of 
Consolidation.  It  is  remarkable  how  many  minds  in  America 
have  proceeded  on  the  supposition  that  this  agitation  was  acci- 
dental and  have  distracted  themselves  with  the  foolish  inquiry 
why  the  Yankees  assailed  the  domestic  institutions  of  the 
South  while  they  neglected  to  attack  the  similar  institutions  of 
Cuba  and  Brazil.  These  minds  do  not  appreciate  the  fact  that 
the  slavery  agitation  was  a  necessity  of  the  Northern  theory  of 
government.  Duty  is  the  correlative  of  power;  and  if  the 
government  at  \yashington  in  Yankee  estimation  was  a  con- 
solidated organization,  with  power  to  promote  the  general 
welfare  by  any  means  it  might  deem  expedient,  it  was  proper 
that  it  should  overthrow  the  hated  institution  of  slavery  in  the 
South.  The  central  government  was  responsible  for  its 
continuance  or  existence  in  proportion  to  its  power  over  it. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  duty  of  acting  upon  the 
subject  of  shivery  was  imperious  and  amounted  to  a  moral 
necessity. 

But  the  slavery  agitation  was  not  the  only  remarkable  con- 
sequence of  the  Northern  idea  of  the  divine  rights  of  majori- 
ties. It  may  be  said  that  every  political  maxim  of  the  North 
has  its  practical  and  selfish  application  as  well  as  its  moral 
and   sentimental    aspect.     The    same    idea   of  the    power   of 


312  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

numerical  majorities  that  kindled  the  slavery  disputes  gave 
birth  to  the  tariff  and  other  schemes  of  le<rishition  to  make  the 
Southern  minority  subservient  and  profitable  to  those  who 
were  their  masters  by  the  virtue  of  numbers. 

The  slavery  and  tariff  issues  are  singularly  associated  in 
American  politics ;  for  one  at  least  was  an  important  auxiliary 
to  the  other.  It  was  necessary  for  the  Northern  people  to 
make  their  numerical  power  available  to  rule  the  Union  ;  and 
as  slavery  was  strictly  a  sectional  interest,  it  only  had  to  be 
made  the  criterion  of  the  parties  at  the  North  to  unite  this 
section  and  make  it  master  of  the  Union.  When  the  power 
of  the  North  could  thus  be  united,  it  was  easy  to  carry  out  its 
measures  of  sectional  ambition,  encroachment  and  ao-jri'f'ndize- 
raent.  The  history  of  the  enormous  despotism  of  Yankee 
tariffs  is  easily  summed  up. 

The  war  of  1812  left  the  United  States  with  a  debt  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  millions.  To  provide  for  the  payment  of 
this  debt,  heavy  duties  were  laid  on  foreign  goods ;  and  as  in 
the  exigencies  of  the  war  some  home  manufactures  had  sprung 
up,  which  were  useful  and  deserving,  and  which  were  in  danger 
of  sinking  under  foreign  competition,  on  the  return  of  peace 
it  was  proposed  to  regulate  the  tariff  so  as  to  afford  them  some 
assistance.  Protection  was  an  incidental  feature  in  the  tariff 
of  1816,  and  as  such  was  zealjusly  recommended  even  by  John 
C.  Calhoun,  who  was  a  conspicuous  advocate  of  the  bill.  But 
the  principle  of  protection  once  admitted,  maintained  its  hold 
and  enlarged  its  demands.  In  the  tariffs  of  1820,  '24  and 
'28,  it  was  successively  carried  further;  ^the  demand  of  the 
North  for  premiums  to  its  manufacturing  interests  becoming 
more  exacting  and  insolent.  * 

In  1831  the  public  debt  had  been  so  far  diminished  as  to 
render  it  certain  that,  at  the  existing  rate  of  revenue,  in  three 
years  the  last  dollar  would  be  paid.  The  government  had 
been  collecting  about  twice  as  much  revenue  as  its  usual  ex- 
penditures required,  and  it  was  calculated  that  if  the  existing 
tariff    continued    in    operation,  there   would    be    after   three 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  313 

years  an  annual  surplus  in  the  treasury  of  twelve  or  thirteen 
millions.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  reduction  of  the 
tariff  was  a  plain  matter  of  justice  and  prudence;  but  it  was 
resisted  by  the  North  -with  brazen  defiance.  Unfortunately, 
Mr.  Clay  was  weak  enough  to  court  popularity  in  the  North 
by  legislative  bribes,  and  it  was  mainly  through  his  exertions 
that  enough  was  saved  of  the  protection  principle  to  satisfy 
the  rapacity  of  the  Yankee ;  for  which  the  statesman  of  Ken- 
tucky enjoyed  a  brief  and  indecent  triumph  in  the  North. 

As  an  engine  of  oppression  of  the  South,  the  tariff  did  its 
work  well;  for  it  not  only  impoverished  her,  but  fixed  on  her 
a  badge  of  inferiority  which  was  an  unfailing  mark  for  Yankee 
derision.  The  South  had  no  great  cities.  Their  growth  was 
paralyzed,  and  they  were  scarcely  more  than  the  suburbs  of 
Northern  cities.  The  agricultural  productions  of  the  South 
Vfere  the  basis  of  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  United  States; 
yet  Southern  cities  did  not  carry  it  on.  The  resources  of  this 
unhappy  part  of  the  country  were  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Northern  people,  and  for  forty  years  every  tax  imposed  by 
Congress  was  laid  with  a  view  of  subserving  the  interests  of 
the  North. 

The  bliiiht  of  such  legislation  on  the  South  was  a  source  of' 
varied  gratification  to  the  Yankee;  especially  that  it  gave  him 
the  conceit  that  the  South  was  an  inferiour.  The  contrast  be- 
tween the  slow  and  limited  prosperity  of  the  South  and  the 
swift  and  noisy  progress  of  the  North,  was  never  more  remark- 
able than  at  the  period  of  the  great  tariff  controversy  of 
1831-2.  The  condition  of  the  country  at  this  time  i;5  de- 
scribed by  Parton,  the  Yankee  biographer  of  Andrew  Jack- 
son, with  flippant  self-complacency.     He  says: 

"  The  North  was  rushing  on  like  a  Western  high-pressure 
"  steamboat,  with  roein  in  the  furnace  and  a  man  on  the  safety 
"  valve.  All  through  Western  New  York,  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
"  Illinois,  the  primeval  wilderness  was  vanisliing  like  a  mist, 
"  and  towns  were  springing  into  existence  with  a  rapidity  that 
"  rendered  necessary  a  new  map  every  month,  and  spoiled  the 


814  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

"  gazetteers  as  fast  as  they  were  printed.  The  city  of  New 
*'  York  began  already  to  feel  itself  the  London  of  the  New 
"  World,  and  to  calculate  how  many  years  must  elapse  before 
"  it  would  be  the  London  of  the  World. 

"  The  South  meanwhile  was  depressed  and  anxious.  Cotton 
"  was  down,  tobacco  was  down.  Corn,  wheat  and  pork  were 
"  down.  For  several  years  the  chief  products  of  the  South 
"  had  either  been  inclining  downward,  or  else  had  risen  in 
"  price  too  slowly  to  make  up  for  the  (alleged)  increased  price 
*'  of  the  commodities  which  the  South  was  compelled  to  buy. 
*'  Few  new  towns  changed  the  Soutliern  map.  Charleston 
"  languished,  or  seemed  to  languish,  certainly  did  not  keep 
*'  pace  with  New  York,  Boston  and  Philadelphia.  No  Cincin- 
"  nati  of  the  South  became  the  world's  talk  by  the  startling 
*'  rapidity  of  its  growth.  No  Southern  river  exhibited  at 
*'  every  bend  and  coyne  of  vantage  a  rising  village.  No 
"  Southern  mind,  distracted  with  the  impossibility  of  devising 
*'  suitable  names  for  a  thousand  new  places  per  annum,  fell 
*'  back  in  despair  upon  the  map  of  the  old  world,  and  selected 
*'  at  random  any  convenient  name  that  presented  itself,  bestow- 
*'  ing  upon  clusters  of  log  huts  such  titles  as  Utica,  Rome,  Pa- 
*'  lernio,  Naples,  Russia,  Egypt,  Madrid,  Paris,  Elba  and 
"  Berlin.  No  Southern  commissioner,  compelled  to  find  names 
*'  for  a  hundred  streets  at  once,  had  seized  upon  the  letters  of 
*'  the  alphabet  and  the  figures  of  arithmetic,  and  called  the 
"  avenues  A,  B,  C  and  D,  and,  instead  of  naming  his  cross 
*'  streets,  numbered  them." 

For  forty  years  the  North  reaped  the  fruits  of  partial  legis- 
lation, while  the  South  tasted  the  bitterness  of  oppression. 
The  shoemakers,  the  iron  men,  the  sailmakers,  and  the  cotton 
and  woolen  spinners  in  the  North  clamoured  for  protection 
against  their  English,  Swedish  and  Russian  competitors,  and 
pasily  obtained  it.  The  South  paid  duties  upon  all  articles 
that  the  tariff  kept  out  of  the  country;  but  these  duties,  in- 
stead of  going  into  the  treasury  as  revenue,  went  into  the 
purses  of  manufacturers  as  bounty.     After  paying  this  tribute. 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  315 

money  to  the  North,  the  South  liad  then  to  pay  her  quota  for 
the  support  of  the  government.  The  North,  for  there  was 
perfect  free  trade  between  the  States,  had  a  preference  over 
all  the  world  for  its  Avares  in  the  markets  of  the  South.  This 
preference,  amounted  to  20  or  30  or  40  or  50  per  cent.,  and 
even  more,  according  to  tlic  article  and  the  existing  tariff.  It 
extended  over  a  countr}?-  having  twelve  millions  of  customers. 
The  sum  of  the  Yanlcee  profits  out  of  the  tariff  was  thus  enor- 
mous. Had  the  South  submitted  to  the  "Morrill  tariff,"  it 
would  have  exacted  from  her  something  like  one  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars  as  an  annual  tribute  to  the  North.  But  submission 
has  some  final  period,  and  the  South  has  no  longer  a  lot  in  the 
legislation  at  Washington. 

In  the  tariff  controversy  of  1831-2,  we  find  the  premoni- 
tions of  the  present  revolution.  Ic  is  a  curious  circumstance 
that  in  the  excitement  of  that  period  some  medals  were  se- 
cretly struck,  bearing  the  inscription,  '■'■John  0.  Calhoun, 
First  President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.''  The  name 
of  the  new  power  was  correctly  told.  But  the  times  were  not 
ripe  for  a  declaration  of  Southern  independence,  and  even  the 
public  opinions  of  j\Ir.  Calhoun  resisted  the  suggestion  of  a 
dissolution  of  the  Union. 

The  "nullification"  doctrine  of  the  statesman  of  North 
Carolina  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  political  studies  of 
America;  for  it  illustrates  the  long  and  severe  contest  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Soutliern  people  between  devotion  to  the  Union 
and  the  sense  of  wrong  and  injustice.  ]\Ir.  Calhoun  either  did 
not  dare  to  offend  the  popular  idolatry,  or  was  sincerely  at- 
tached to  the  Union ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  was  deeply  sen- 
sible of  the  oppression  it  devolved  upon  the  South.  Nullifi- 
cation was  simply  an  attempt  to  accommodate  these  two  facts. 
It  professed  to  find  a  remedy  for  the  grievances  of  States  with- 
out disturbing  the  Union ;  and  the  nullification  of  an  unconsti- 
tutional law  within  the  local  jurisdiction  of  a  State  was  proposed 
as  the  process  for  referring  the  matter  to  some  constitutional 
tribunal  other  than  the  Supreme  court,  whose  judgments  should 


316  THE    SECOND   YEAR   OF,  TOE   WAR. 

be  above  all  influences  of  political  party.  It  was  a  crude 
scheme,  and  only  remarkable  as  a  sacrifice  to  that  peculiar 
idolatry  in  American  politics  which  worshipped  the  name  of 
the  Union. 

The  present  President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy — Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis — has  referred  to  the  political  principles  of  Mr. 
Calhoun  in  some  acute  remarks  made  on  the  interesting  occa- 
sion of  his  farewell  to  the  old  Senate  at  Washington.  He 
says : 

"A  great  man,  who  now  reposes  with  his  fathers,  and  who 
has  often  been  arraigned  for  a  want  of  fealty  to  the  Union, 
advocated  the  doctrine  of  nullification  because  it  preserved  the 
Union.  It  was  because  of  his  deep-seated  attachment  to  the 
Union;  his  determination  to  find  some  remedy  for  cxi^'ting  ills 
short  of  a  severance  of  the  ties  which  bound  South  Carolina 
to  the  other  States,  that  Mr.  Calhoun  advocated  the  doctrine 
of  Nullification,  which  be  proclaimed  to  be  peaceful;  to  be 
within  the  limits  of  State  power,  not  to  disturb  the  Union,  but 
only  to  be  a  means  of  bringing  the  agent  before  the  tribunal 
of  the  States  for  their  judgment." 

In  defending  in  the  speech  referred  to  the  action  of  the 
State  of  Mississippi  in  separating  herself  from  the  Union,  Mr. 
Davis  remarks  with  justice,  that  Secession  belongs  to  iinother 
class  of  remedies  than  that  proposed  by  the  great  South  Caro- 
linian. The  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions  of  1798,  long 
the  political  text  of  the  South,  bore  the  seeds  of  the  present 
revolution,  for  they  laid  the  foundation  for  the  right  of  seces- 
sion in  the  sovereignty  of  the  States;  and  Mr.  Calhoun's  de- 
duction from  them  of  his  doctrine  of  nullification  was  narroyr 
and  incomplete. 

But  we  shall  not  renew  here  vexed  political  questions.  We 
have  referred  at  some  length  to  the  details  of  the  old  United 
States  tariffs  and  the  incidental  controversies  of  parties,  be- 
cause we  shall  find  here  a  peculiar  development  of  the  political 
ideas  of  the  North.  To  all  the  ingenious  philosophy  of  State 
rights;  to  the  disquisitions  of  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  Tyler;  to 


THE    SECOND   YEAR    OF   TUE   WAR.  317 

the  discussions  of  the  rforal  duties  of  the  government,  the 
North  had  but  one  invariable  reply,  and  that  was  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  will  of  the  majority.  It  recognized  no  sovereign 
but  numbers,  and  it  was  thought  to  be  a  sufficient  defence  of 
the  tariff  and  other  legislation  unequal  to  the  South  that  it 
was  the  work  and  wnll  of  the  majority. 

It  was  during  the  agitation  of  the  tariff  that  the  consolida- 
tion school  became  firmly  established.  Mr.  Webster,  the 
mouth-piece  of  the  manufacturing  interest  in  the  North,  at- 
tempted by  expositions  of  the  Constitution  to  represent  the 
government  as  a  central  organization  of  numbers,  without  any 
feature  of  originality  to  distinguish  it  from  other  rude  democ- 
racies of  the  world.  In  his  attempt  to  simplify  it,  he  degraded 
it  to  the  common-place  of  simple  democracy,  and  insulted  the 
wisdom  of  those  who  had  made  it.  The  political  opini(fhs  of 
Mr.  Webster  were  summed  up  in  what  he  arrogantly  called 
"Four  Exhaustive  Propositions."  These  propositions  were 
famous  in  the  newspapers  of  his  day,  and  may  be  reproduced 
here  as  a  very  just  summary  of  the  political  ideas  of  the 
North : 

MR.    AVEBSTER's   four   EXHAUSTIVE   PROPOSITIONS. 

1.  '•  That^hc  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  not  a 
"  league,  confederacy  or  compact  between  the  people  of  the 
"  several  States  in  their  sovereign  capacity  ;  but  a  government 
"  founded  on  the  adoption  of  the  people,  and  creating  direct 
"relations  between  itself  and  individuals." 

2.  "  That  no  State  authority  has  power  to  dissolve  these  re- 
"lations;  that  nothing  can  dissolve  them  but  revolution;  and 
"  that,  consequently,  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  secession 
"  without  revolution." 

•  3.  "  That  there  is  a  supreme  law,  consisting  of  the  Consti- 
"  tution  of  the  United  States,  acts  of  Congress  passed  in  pur- 
"  suance  of  it,  and  treaties;  and  that  in  cases  not  capable  of 
"  assuming  the  character  of  a  suit  in  law  or  equity,  Congress 
"  must  judge  of  and  finally  interpret  this  supreme  law,  as 


318  THE    SECOND    YEAR    OF   THE    WAR. 

**  often  as  it  lias  occasion  to  pass  acts  of  legislation;  and  in 
'*  cases  capable  of  assuming  the  character  of  a  suit,  the  Su- 
"  prerae  Court  of  the  United  States  is   the  first  interpreter." 

4.  "That  the  attempt  by  a  State  to  abrogate,  annul  or  nul- 
*'  lify  an  act  of  Congress,  or  to  arrest  its  operation  within  her 
"  limits,  on  the  ground  that,  in  her  opinion,  such  law  is  uncon- 
**  stitutionalj  is  a  direct  usurpation  on  the  just  powers  of  the 
"general  government,  and  on  the  equal  rights  of  other  States; 
"  a  plain  violation  of  the  Constitution  ;  and  a  proceeding  es- 
"  sentially  revolutionary  in  its  character  and  tendency." 

It  is  in  the  light  of  these  propositions  that  the  present 
assertion  of  the  independence  of  the  South  is  denounced  by 
the  North  as  rebellion.  And  it  is  with  reference  to  them  and 
their  savage  doctrine  of  the  power  of  numbers  in  a  union  of 
soveriign  States,  that  we  may  in  turn  challenge  th?  world  to 
declare  if  the  South  in  this  struggle  is  not  enlisted  in  the  cause 
of  free  government,  which  is  more  important  to  the  world  than 
"the  Union"  Avliich  has  disappeared  beneath  the  wave  of 
history. 

In  the  present  war  the  North  has  given  faithful  and  constant 
indications  of  its  dominant  idea  of  the  political  sovereignty,  as 
well  as  the  military  omnipotence,  of  numbers.  It  is  absurd  to 
refer  to  the  person  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  the  p(^tical  master 
of  the  North  ;  he  is  the  puppet  of  the  vile  despotism  that  rules 
by  brute  numbers.  Wo  have  already  referred  to  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  such  despotism.  We  shall  see  others  in  this 
war  in  the  timidity  and  subservient  hesitation  to  which  such  a 
government  reduces  party  minorities  and  in  that  destitution  of 
honour  which  invariably  characterizes  the  many-headed  despot- 
ism of  the  people. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  on  a  principle  of  deadly  antagonism 
to  the  social  order.  His  party  found  him  subservient  to  their 
passions,  and  with  the  President  in  the  hollow  of  their  hand, 
for  two  years  they  have  reigned  triumphantly  in  the  Congress 
at  Washington.     Such   has   been  the  stupendous  lunacy  and 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR.  319 

knavery  of  this  body,  that  it  -will  be  regarded  in  all  coming 
time  OS  a  blotch  on  civilization  and  a  disgrace  to  the  common 
humanity  of  the  age. 

There  are  some  minds  in  the  South  ■which  are  prejudiced  by 
the  impression  that  the  power  of  the  Lincoln  party  -was  broken 
by  the  fall  elections  of  1862 ;  that  it  has  lost  the  majority  of 
numbers  in  the  North  ;  and  that  thereby  the  despotism  which 
we  have  described  as  characteristic  of  the  North  is  rapidly 
approaching  the  period  of  its  dissolution  or  an  era  of  reaction. 
But  this  reply  to  our  theory  docs  not  take  into  account  all  the 
facts.  The  Republican  party  in  the  North  still  has  the 
majority  of  force — a  majority  more  dangerous  and  appalling 
than  that  of  numbers,  as  it  finds  more  numerous  objects  of 
revenge  among  its  own  people. 

The  Yankee  Congress  rejected  at  the  polls  has  taken  fearful 
revenge  on  the  people  who  ventured  an  opinion  hostile  to 
the  ruling  dynasty.  They  have  passed  the  bank,  conscription 
and  habeas  corpus  suspension  bills,  thus  placing  every  life  and 
every  dollar,  and,  indeed,  every  right  of  twenty  millions  of 
freeborn  people  at  the  absolute  mercy  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Thc}^  have  abated  none  of  their  legislation  a2;ainst  the  interests 
of  humanity  and  the  written  and  unwritten  law  of  civilization 
in  this  war.y  They  have  added  to  it.  They  are  organizing 
insurrections  in  South  Carolina ;  they  have  sent  a  negro  array 
into  Florida  :  they  are  organizing  black  regiments  in  Tennessee. 
But  a  few  months  ago  the  infamous  law  was  passed  at  Wash- 
ington known  as  "the  Plunder  Act,"  in  which  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  was  authorized  to  appoint  agents  to  go  South, 
collect  all  property,  send  it  North  and  have  it  sold.  In 
different  parts  of  the  Confederacy  the  Yankee  troops  are  now 
destroying  all  farming  implements,  seizing  all  provisions,  an(l 
preventing  the  planting  of  crops,  with  the  avowed  determina- 
tion of  starving  the  Southern  people  into  submission.  Such  a 
warfare  contemplates  the  extermination  of  women  and  children 
as  well  as  men,  and  proposes  to  inflict  a  revenge  more  terrible 


,820  THE    SECOND    i'EAR    OF    THE    M'AR. 

|o  or  tolerate  the  assaults  of  the  "Washington  government  on 
than  the  tortures  of  savages  and  the  modern  atrocities  of  the 
8epoj8. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  greatly  to  be  -wondered  at  that  a  people 
like  the  Yankees  should  sllO^Y  a  brutal  rage  in  warfare  upon 
an  enemy  who  has  chastised  their  insolence  and  exasperated 
their  pride,  and  that  they  should  therefore  be  generally  ready 
to  give  their  adhesion  to  any  train  of  measures  calculated  for 
revenge  upon  the  South.  But  it  is  a  matter  of  grave  and 
solicitous  inquiry  that  this  people  should  so  easily  tolerate 
measures  in  the  government  which  have  been  plainly  directed 
ftgainst  their  o^Yn  liberties  and  which,  while  they  have  been 
applauding  a  "  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,"  have  estab- 
lished a  savage  despotism  at  home.  It  is  yet  more  remarkable 
that  the  erection  of  this  despotism  should  be  hailed  with  a  cer- 
tain applause  by  its  own  victims.  History  has  some  instances 
of  the  servile  and  unnatural  joys  of  a  people  in  the  surrender 
of  their  liberties ;  but  none  grosser  than  that  in  which  has 
been  inaugurated  the  throne  of  Abraham  Lincoln  at  Wash- 
ington. 

There  are  numerous  examples  in  history  where  great  abilities 
or  some  scattered  virtues  in  the  character  of  a  despot  have  won 
the  flattery  of  minds  not  ignoble  and  unconscious  of  their 
humiliation.  Milton  in  his  Latin  superlatives  spoke  of  Crom- 
well very  much  after  the  same  manner  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln 
is  spoken  of  in  Yankee  vernacular.  JEum  te  agnoscunt  omnes, 
Cromuelle,  ea  tu  civis  maximus  ct  gloriosissimits,  dux  jjublici 
consilii,  exercitum^  fortusimorum  iinperator,  pater  patrisc 
cessisti.  But  the  Western  lawyer  and  tavern-jester  is  not  a 
Cromwell.  No  attractions  of  genius  arc  to  be  found  in  the 
personal  composition  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  His  person  in  fact 
is  utterly  unimportant.  He  holds  the  reins  for  a  higher  power; 
and  that  power  is  the  many-headed  monster  of  Fanaticism, 
vhich  by  numbers  or  by  force  constrains  the  popular  will  and 
rules  with  the  rod  of  iron. 

The  disposition  generally  of  the  Northern  people  to  submit 


THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  321 

their  own  liberties  and  the  destruction  of  their  civil  rights, 
must  proceed  from  permanent  and  well-defined  causes.  We 
have  already  hinted  in  these  pages  an  explanation  of  this  ser- 
vile acquiescence  in  the  acts  of  the  government.  It  is  doubt- 
less the  fruit  of  the  false  political  education  in  the  North  that 
gives  none  other  but  materialistic  ideas  of  governm^ent  and 
inculcates  the  virtue  of  time-serving  with  all  political  majori- 
ties. It  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  demoralization  of  the  Yan- 
kee; to  the  servile  habit  of  his  mind;  to  his  long  practice  of 
submission  to  the  wild  democracy  of  numbers — all  proceeding 
from  that  false  idea  of  government  which  recognizes  it  only  as 
the  organ  of  an  accidental  party,  and  not  as  a  self-existent 
principle  of  right  and  virtue.  It  is  a  melancholy  fact  that  the 
people  of  the  North  have  long  ceased  to  love  or  to  value  lib- 
erty. They  have  ceased  to  esteem  the  political  virtues;  to 
take  any  account  of  the  moral  elements  of  government;  or  to 
look  upon  it  else  than  as  a  physical  power,  to  be  exercised  at 
the  pleasure  of  a  party,  and  to  be  endured  until  reversed  by 
the  accident  of  numbers. 

The  superficial  political  education  of  the  people  of  the  North 
explains  much  that  is  curious  in  their  society.  Time-serving 
of  power  gave  them  wealth,  while  it  degraded  their  national 
character.  In  the  old  government  they  easily  surrendered 
their  political  virtue  for  tariffs,  bounties,  &c. ;  and  the  little 
left  of  it  is  readily  sacrificed  on  the  devilish  altars  of  this  war. 
Their  habit  of  material  computation  made  them  boastful  of  a 
"civilization"  untouched  by  the  spirits  of  virtue  and  humanity, 
consisting  only  of  the  rotten,  material  things  which  make  up 
the  externals  and  conveniences  of  life,  and  the  outer  garments 
of  society.  Their  Avealth  was  blazed  out  in  arts  and  railroads; 
common  schools,  the  nurseries  of  an  insolent  ignorance;  and 
gilded  churches,  the  temples  of  an  impure  religion.  No  people 
has  ever  established  more  decisively  the  fact  of  the  worthless- 
ness  of  what  remains  of  "civilization,"  when  the  principle  of 
liberty  is  subtracted,  or  more  forcibly  illustrated  how  much  of 
phosphorescent  rottenness  there  is  in  such  a  condition. 
21 


322  THB  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

"Their  much-loTed  wealth  imparts 
ConvenieDce,  I'lcnty,  elegance  and  arts; 
But  view  them  closer,  craft  and  fraud  appear, 
Even  liberty  itself  is  bartered  here, 
At  gold's  superiour  cliarms  all  freedom  flies, 
The  needy  sell  it  and  the  rich  man  buys; 
A  land  of  tyrants  and  a  den  of  slaves." 

The  present  war  has  sufficiently  demonstrated  the  mistake  of 
the  North  in  the  measure  of  its  civilization,  and  convinced  the 
world  that  much  of  what  it  esteemed  its  former  strength  was 
"but  plethoric  ill."  It  has  done  more  than  this,  for  it  has 
unmasked  the  moral  nature  of  the  Yankee.  It  has  exposed  to 
the  detestation  of  the  world  a  character  which  is  the  product 
of  materialism  in  politics  and  materialism  in  religion — the 
spawn  of  the  worship  of  power  and  the  lust  of  gain.  The 
Yankee  who  has  followed  up  an  extravagance  of  bluster  by 
the  vilest  exhibitions  of  cowardice ;  who  has  falsified  his  prate 
of  humanity  by  the  deeds  of  a  savage ;  who,  in  the  South,  has 
been  in  this  war  a  robber,  an  assassin,  a  thief  in  the  night  and 
at  home  a  slave  fawning  on  the  hand  that  manacles  him,  has 
gecured  for  himself  the  everlasting  contempt  of  the  world. 
The  characteristics  of  a  people  who  boasted  themselves  the 
most  enlightened  of  Christian  nations,  are  seen  in  a  castrated 
civilization;  while  the  most  remarkable  qualities  they  have  dis- 
played in  the  war  are  illustrated  by  the  coarse  swagger  and 
drunken  fumes  of  such  men  as  Butler,  and  the  rouged  lies  of 
Buch  "military  authorities"  as  Halleck  and  Hooker. 

All  vestiges  of  constitutional  liberty  have  long  ago  been  lost 
in  the  North.  The  very  term  of  "State  rights"  is  mentioned 
with  derision,  and  the  States  of  the  North  have  ceased  to  be 
more  than  geographical  designations.  No  trace  is  left  of  the 
old  political  system  but  in  the  outward  routine  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  but  "the  skin 
of  the  immolated  victim,"  and  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  a 
republic  are  the  disguises  of  a  cruel  and  reckless  despotism. 

During  the  two  miserable  and  disastrous  years  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  has  held  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  he  has 


THE   SECOND   YEAR    OF   THE    WAR.  323 

made  the  institutions  of  his  country  but  a  name.  The  office 
of  President  is  no  longer  recognized  in  its  republican  simpli- 
city; it  is  overlaid  with  despotic  powers  and  exceeds  in  reality 
the  most  famous  imperial  titles.  Not  a  right  secured  by  the 
Constitution  but  has  been  invaded;  not  a  principle  of  freedom 
but  has  been  overthrown ;  not  a  franchise  but  has  been  tram- 
pled under  foot.  The  infamous  "death  order"  published  by 
Burnside,  more  bloody  than  the  Draconian  penalty  and  more 
cruel  than  the  rude  decrees  of  the  savage,  is  without  a  parallel 
in  the  domestic  rule  or  in  the  warfare  of  any  people  making 
the  feeblest  pretence  to  civilization.  It  assigns  the  penalty  of 
death  t«  "writers  of  letters  sent  by  secret  mails,"  and  to  all 
persons  who  "feed,  clothe  or  in  any  manner  aid"  the  soldiers 
of  the  Confederacy.  This  infamous  decree  will  live  in  history; 
it  is  already  associated  with  a  memorable  martyrdom — that  of 
Clement  Vallandigham. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  North  finds  great  difficulty  in  as- 
signing to  the  world  the,objects  of  the  present  mad  and  inhu- 
man war.  The  old  pretences  made  by  the  Yankees  of  fighting 
for  a  constitutional  Union,  and  contesting  the  cause  of  free 
government  for  the  world,  are  too  absurd  and  disgusting  to  be 
repeated.  They  are  unwilling  to  admit  that  they  are  fighting 
for  revenge,  and  prosecuting  a  war,  otherwise  hopeless,  for  the 
gratification  of  a  blind  and  fanatical  hate.  They  have  re- 
cently changed  the  political  phrases  of  the  war,  and  the  latest 
exposition  of  its  object  is  that  the  North  contends  for  "the  life 
of  the  nation."  If  this  means  that  a  parasite  is  struggling 
for  existence,  and  that  the  North  desires  the  selfish  aggran- 
dizements of  the  Union,  and  its  former  tributes  to  its  wealth, 
wc  shall  not  dispute  the  theory.  But  the  plain  question  oc- 
curs, what  right  has  the  North  to  constrain  the  association  of 
a  people  who  have  no  benefit  to  derive  from  the  partnership, 
and  who,  by  the  laws  of  nature  and  society,  are  free  to  consult 
their  own  happiness?  The  North  has  territory  and  numbers 
and  physical  resources  enough  for  a  separate  existence,  and  if 
she  has  not  virtue  enough  to  sustain  a  national  organization, 


324  THE   SECOND    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR. 

she  has  no  right  to  seek  it  in  a  compulsory  union  with  a  people 
who,  sensible  of  their  superiour  endowments,  have  resolved  to 
take  their  destinies  in  their  own  hand?. 

There  is  one  sense,  indeed,  in  which  association  with  the 
South  does  imply  the  national  welfare  of  the  North.  The 
South  gave  to  the  old  government  all  its  ideas  of  statesman- 
fihip;  it  leavened  the  political  mass  with  its  characteristic  con- 
servatism; and  it  combatted  and,  to  some  extent,  controlled 
the  brutal  theory  that  represented  numbers  as  the  element  of 
free  government.  The  revolutionary  and  infidel  society  of  the 
North  was  moderated  by  the  piety  and  virtues  of  the  South, 
and  the  old  national  life  was  in  some  degree  purified  by  the 
political  ideas  and  romantic  character  of  that  portion  of  the 
country  now  known  as  the  Confederacy.  It  is  in  this  sense 
that  the  Southern  element  is  desirable  to  the  North,  and  that 
the  Union  involves  "the  life  of  the  nation;"  and  it  is  precisely 
in  the  same  sense  that  an  eternal  dissociation  and  an  independ- 
ent national  existence  are  objects  to  t^\e  South  not  only  of  de- 
sire, but  of  vital  necessity. 

We  can  never  go  back  to  the  embraces  of  the  North.  There 
is  blood  and  leprosy  in  the  touch  of  our  former  associate.  We 
can  never  again  live  with  a  people  who  have  made  of  this  war 
a  huge  assassination ;  who  have  persecuted  us  with  savage  and 
cowardly  hate;  who  gloat  over  the  fancies  of  starving  women 
and  children;  who  have  appealed  to  the  worst  passions  of  the 
black  heart  of  the  negro  to  take  revenge  upon  us;  and  who, 
not  satisfied  with  the  emancipation  proclamation  and  its  scheme 
of  servile  insurrection,  have  actually  debated  in  their  State 
Legislatures  the  policy  of  paying  negroes  premiums  for  the 
murder  of  white- families  in  the  South.* 


*  The  following  is  taken  from  an  Abolition  pamphlet  (1863),  entitled  "In- 
teresting Debate,"  &c.,  in  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  characteristic 
of  the  bln«phcmous  fanaticism  of  the  Yankee  and  his  hideous  lust  for  blood: 

"Mr.  LowuY — I  believed  thou  and  now  that  He  who  watclies  over  the  spar- 
vow  will  chastise  us  until  we  will  be  just  towards  ourselves  and  towards  four 
millions  of  God's  poor,  down-cast  prisoners  of  war.     I  said  that  I  would  arm 


THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR.  325 

While  we  congratulate  ourselves  on  the  superiority  of  our 
political  ideas  over  those  of  the  North,  and  the  purer  life  of 
our  society,  vre  do  not  forget  that,  although  "we  have  carried 
away  much  less  of  the  territory  and  numbers  of  the  old  Union 
than  have  been  left  to  our  enemy,  wc  still  have  a  sufficiency  of 
the  material  elements  of  a  national  existence. 

The  South  has  attempted  to  lay  the  foundations  of  national 
independence,  with  a  territory  as  great  as  the  whole  of  Europe, 
with  the  exception  of  Russia  and  Turkey;  with  a  population 
four  times  that  of  the  continental  colonies;  and  with  a  capa- 
city for  commerce  equivalent  to  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  ex- 
ports of  the  old  Union. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  glance  at  the  cotemporary  aspects 
of  the  war  to  re-assure  our  confidence  in  its  destiny,  and  to 
renew  our  vows  upon  its  altars.  The  hope  of  reconstruction 
is  a  vanity  of  the  enemy.  To  mobocratic  Yankees;  to  New 
England  "majorities;"  to  the  base  crews  of  Infidelity  and 
Abolitionism ;  to  the  savages  who  have  taken  upon  their  souls 
the  curse  of  fratricidal  blood  and  darkened  an  age  of  civiliza- 
tion with  unutterable  crime  and  outrage,  the  South  can  never 
surrender,  giving  up  to  such  a  people  their  name,  their  lands, 
their  wealth,  their  traditions,  their  glories,  their  heroes  newly 
dead,  their  victories,  their  hopes  of  the  future.  Such  a  fate 
is  morally  impossible.     We  have  not  paid  a  great  price  of  life 

the  negro — tbat  I  would  place  him  in  the  front  of  battle — and  that  I  would 
invite  his  rebel  master  with  his  stolen  arms  to  shoot  his  stolen  ammunition 
into  his  stolen  property  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  dollars  a  shot.  I  said  fur- 
ther, that  were  I  commander-in-chief,  by  virtue  of  the  war  power  and  in 
obedience  to  the  customs  of  civilized  nations  and  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  civilized  nations,  I  would  confiscate  every  rebel's  property,  whether  upon 
two  legs  or  four,  and  tbat  I  would  give  to  the  slave  who  would  bring  me  his 
master's  disloyal  scalp  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  his  master's  planta- 
tion;  nor  would  I  be  at  all  exacting  as  to  where  the  scalp  Avas  taken  off,  so 
that  it  was  at  some  point  between  the  bottom  of  the  cars  and  the  top  of  the 
loins.  This,  sir,  was  my  language  long  before  Fremont  had  issued  his  im- 
mortal proclamation.  The  logic  of  events  is  sanctifying  daily  these  anointed 
truths.  Father,  forgive  thou  those  who  deride  and  vilify  me,  because  1  enun- 
ciated them:  they  know  not  what  they  do." 


326  THE   SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR. 

for  nothing.  We  have  not  forgotten  our  dead.  The  flower  of 
our  youth  and  the  strength  of  our  manhood  have  not  gone 
down  to  the  grave  in  vain.  We  are  not  willing  for  the  poor 
boon  of  a  life  dishonoured  and  joyless  to  barter  our  liberties, 
surrender  our  homes  to  the  spoiler,  exist  as  the  vassals  of  Mas- 
sachusetts or  become  exiles,  whose  title  to  pity  will  not  exceed 
the  penalty  of  contempt.  Any  contact,  friendly  or  indiffer- 
ent, with  the  Yankee,  since  the  display  of  his  vices,  would  be 
painful  to  a  free  and  enlightened  people.  It  would  be  vile  and 
unnatural  to  the  people  of  the  South  if  extended  across  the 
bloody  gulf  of  a  cruel  war,  and  unspeakably  infamous  if  made 
in  the  attitude  of  submission. 


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