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 FOLEY'S STATUE OF STONEWALL JACKSON.
 
 L .' 
 
 JOilMALSl. 
 
 LOS AKGELES. -:-CAL. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN ESTEN COOKE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "SURRY OF EAGLE*S NEST," " MOHUN," ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 G. IV. Di I ling ham, Publisher, 
 
 SUCCESSOR TO G. W. CARLETON & Co. 
 
 MDCCCXCIII.
 
 ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 
 
 IB the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 District of New York. 
 
 EirrxBXD, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I. 
 
 FROM HIS CHILDHOOD TO THE BATTLE OF MANASSA3. 
 
 MAP 
 
 w CHAP. I. Country Boy and Constable, ... . 9 
 
 V IL Cadet at West Point, . . . . . 12 
 
 III. Lieutenant of Artillery in Mexico, ... 14 
 
 IV. Professor at Lexington, . . . . . 19 
 
 V. -Jackson is appointed Colonel of Volunteers, . 84 
 
 VI. The Valley, ...... 39 
 
 VIL The First Brigade, ..... 41 
 
 VIII. Johnston Retreats, ..... 44 
 
 IX. The " Affair at Falling Waters," . . . .49 
 
 X. Johnston leaves the Valley, .... 53 
 
 XI. Advance of the Grand Army, .... 69 
 
 XII. Manassas, ....... 63 
 
 PAET II. 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 CHAP. I. The Autumn of 1861, ... .77 
 
 II. Jackson's Farewell Address to his Brigade, 82 
 
 III. Jackson's Plan, . . .86 
 
 IV. The Winter March to Romney, .... 88
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAG 9 
 
 98 
 
 CHAP. V. Jackson falls back from Winchester, 
 
 VL Kernstown, .... 
 
 VIL Behind the Scenes, . . . .119 
 
 VUL McDowell, 124 
 
 IX. Jackson flanks his Adversary, . . . .137 
 X. General Banks Retreats, . 
 
 XL Winchester, . . . . .149 
 
 XIL The Lion in the Toils, . ... 154 
 XHL Out of the Meshes, . .... 162 
 
 XIV. The Death of Ashby, 16V 
 
 XV. Jackson narrowly escapes Capture, . . . .176 
 
 XVI. Cross Keys, ...... 181 
 
 XVIL Port Republic, 186 
 
 XVIIL Jackson in June, 1862, . . . . .193 
 
 PART III. 
 FROM PORT REPUBLIC TO CHANCELLORSVILLE. 
 
 CHAP. I." General T. J. Jackson, Somewhere," . . . 200 
 
 H. On the Chickahominy, ..... 206 
 
 EL Cold Harbor, . . . . . .214 
 
 IV. General McClellan retreats to James River, . . 227 
 
 V. Malvern Hill, . . . . . .233 
 
 VL Federal Accounts of the Retreat, . . . 238 
 
 VIL The end of the Drama, . . . . .245 
 
 VIIL General Pope in Culpepper, .... 249 
 
 IX. Cedar Run, ....... 254 
 
 X. Jackson Pursues, ..... 263 
 
 XI. General Lee advances from the Rapidan . . .267 
 
 XII. The March to Manassas, . . . 274 
 
 XIII. Jackson at Bay, ... 284 
 
 XIV. Manassas, August 29, 1862, .... 288 
 
 XV. The Second Battle of Manassas, . . .295 
 
 XVI. Oxhill, or Gennantown, .... , 303
 
 CONTENTS. I 
 
 PAGl 
 
 CHAP. XVII. General Lee enters Maryland, . . 307 
 
 XVIIL Boonsboro' and Crampton's Gap, ... 817 
 
 XIX. Capture of Harper's Ferry, . . . .320 
 
 XX. Sharpsburg, or Antietam, . . . 327 
 
 XXI. Shepherdstown, . . . .343 
 
 XXH. The Campaign, ..... 845 
 
 XXIII. General Lee's Address to bis Army, . . . 847 
 
 XXIV. Jackson and his Veterans Resting, . . . 849 
 
 XXV. General McClellan Advances, . . . .856 
 
 XXVL Jackson halts, ..... 362 
 
 XXVII. Change of Commanders, . . . 365 
 
 XXVIIL Fredericksburg, ... 368 
 
 XXIX. General Bumside attempts a last Advance, . . 879 
 
 "XTX. Jackson at Fredericksburg, .... 884 
 
 XXXI. Winter Quarters at Moss Neck, . . . .888 
 
 XXXII. Federal preparations for the Campaign of 1863, . 894 
 
 XXXIIL The Campaign Opens, . . . . .897 
 
 XXXIV. General Hooker Advances, .... 401 
 
 XXXV. In the Wilderness, ..... 404 
 
 XXXVI. Chancellorsville, ..... 411 
 
 XXXVII. The Result of Jackson's Movement, . . 429 
 
 XXXVIH " It is All Right," 438 
 
 , Jackson's Remains taken to Lexington,. . 445 
 
 XL. Jackson the Soldier and the Man, . . 450 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 BY REV. J. W. JONES, D. D. 
 
 Personal Reminiscences and Anecdotes .... 467 
 
 Proceedings attending the Unveiling of the Bronze Statue of Jack- 
 son the Gift of England to Virginia at Richmond, October 
 
 26, 1875 614 
 
 Oration by Rev. Moses D. Hoge, D. D. . . . . 556 
 
 The Spirit of the Press . .... 573
 
 STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 PAET JT. 
 
 FROM HIS CHILDHOOD TO THE FIRST BATTLE OF MANASSAa 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 COUNTRY BOY AND CONSTABLE. 
 
 THE Jackson family came from England to Virginia in the 
 last century. John Jackson, the first of whom we have men- 
 tion, settled near Weston, in Lewis County, beyond the Alle- 
 ghanies, and his son Edward became county surveyor, and 
 served in the Legislature. Jonathan, the son of Edward Jack- 
 son, settled in the town of Clarksburg in Harrison County, 
 where he commenced the practise of the law, and married Miss 
 Neal of Wood County. Of his four children by this marriage, 
 two sons and two daughters, THOMAS JONATHAN, born at Clarks- 
 burg, January 21, 1824, was the youngest. 
 
 The events of Jackson's life up to the commencement of the 
 late war are not sufficiently interesting to justify very extended 
 notice, but some particulars deserve to be recorded. The Jack- 
 sons did not belong to the class of planters, living in luxury and 
 elegance on the seaboard, but to that energetic, intelligent, and 
 thrifty population which settled in Western Virginia. - In the
 
 10 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSCN. 
 
 first generation they cleared the laad, established mills, and 
 tilled the soil. In succeeding generations they were lawyers, 
 judges, members of the Legislature, and soldiers, filling offices 
 of usefulness, and occasionally of distinction. Their manners 
 were plain, their houses and style of living unpretending, but the 
 class to which the family belonged was justly regarded as one 
 of the most intelligent and respectable in the Commonwealth. 
 
 Jonathan Jackson practised law for many years with suc- 
 cess, and became a thriving citizen, but his latter years were 
 overshadowed by misfortune. His wife died, and the amiable 
 gentleman having become security for needy friends, found all the- 
 hard-earned profits of his profession swept away. When he died 
 in 1827, he left his children penniless. Jackson was then three 
 years old. The child was thus left, upon the very threshold of 
 life, to learn the hard lesson of poverty. It is the old story which 
 meets us at the commencement of many a great career, and need 
 not be dwelt upon. The boy was taken to the house of a Dutch 
 farmer, his uncle-in-law, who probably did not make an agree- 
 able impression upon him, as he soon ran away and took refuge 
 with a kind aunt, the wife of Judge Allen of the Court of Ap- 
 peals. It is said that when the lady gently chid the forlorn 
 young runaway, and urged him to return to his uncle, he replied, 
 with great calmness and decision, " Maybe I ought, ma'am r 
 but I am not going to." Another uncle, Cummings E. Jackson, 
 now came to his succor, and took him to the old family home- 
 stead near Weston. Here he remained until he was sixteen, 
 acquiring the rudiments of a plain English education at an old 
 field school, and assisting his uncle in the labors of the farm. 
 His subsequent acquisitions were all due to the hours spent in 
 itudy at West Point and Lexington. 
 
 The character of the boy at this time seems to have been 
 earnest and energetic. At sixteen he had secured so high a rep- 
 utation for intelligence and probity, that the Justices of the 
 County Court of Lewis elected him constable, the duties of 
 which office he performed with credit and efficiency. It is prob- 
 able, however, that the position did not please him, and hearing
 
 COUNTRY BOY AND CONSTABLE. 11 
 
 that there was a vacancy at West Point, he at once determined 
 to apply for the appointment. This intention was expressed to 
 a friend, Colonel J. M. Bennett, who urged the high standard 
 of studies at the great public school, and asked the boy if he 
 had prepared himself. Jackson's reply was, " I am very igno- 
 rant, but I can make it up by study. I know I have the energy, 
 and I think I have the intellect." 
 
 This reply pleased Colonel Bennett so much that he at once 
 sat down and wrote a letter of introduction to the representative 
 of the district in Congress, urging him to assist the youth, and 
 with this letter in his pocket Jackson resigned his office of con- 
 stable and set out for Washington. An incident of this jour- 
 ney indicated how much importance he attached to the observ- 
 ance of his promises. He borrowed a friend's horse to ride to 
 Clarksburg, where he expected to take the stage, promising to 
 leave the animal at a certain stable in the town, but upon reach- 
 ing the place found that the stage was several miles upon its 
 way. This was a serious disappointment to the ardent youth, 
 and a friend, seeing his trouble, urged him to ride to the next 
 town, where he could come up with the vehicle, promising to 
 send after the borrowed horse and return him to his owner. 
 The temptation to accept this offer was great. The roads were 
 ancle deep in mud, and the stage rapidly rolling on its way ; the 
 only obstacle was his promise to leave the horse at Clarksburg. 
 He declined the friendly offer, delivered the horse at the ap- 
 pointed place, and shouldering his baggage set off on foot through 
 the mud to catch the stage. He came up with it, and proceeded 
 to Washington. This occurred in June, 1842. Jackson's ap- 
 plication was successful, and on the first of July in the same 
 year he was admitted a cadet at West Point.
 
 12 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CADET AT WEST POINT. 
 
 SUCH is a glimpse of Jackson, the orphan boy, at home in 
 Virginia. We have next to look upon the country-bred youth, 
 clad in the neat uniform of the West Point cadet, and making 
 indefatigable exertions to keep up with his class. His studies 
 were algebra, geometry, and French, and in the same class with 
 him were Generals McClellan, Foster, Reno, Stoneman, Couch, 
 and Gibbon of the United States army afterwards, and Gener- 
 als A. P. Hill, Pickett, Maury, D. R. Jones, W. D. Smith, and 
 Wilcox of the Confederate States army. 
 
 It may encourage others to know that his progress was slow. 
 At the end of the first year his standing in a class of seventy 
 was 45 in mathematics, 70 in French, and 51 in general merit, 
 with 15 demerits. During the second year he made visible 
 progress, however. At the examination he stood 18 in mathe- 
 matics, 52 in French, 68 in drawing, 55 in engineering, and 30 
 in general merit, with 26 demerits. At the end of his final year 
 he was 12 in engineering, 5 in ethics, 11 in artillery, 21 in 
 infantry tactics, 11 in mineralogy and geology ; had 7 demer- 
 its, and his graduating standing, including all previous draw- 
 backs, was 17. His "general standing" in his first year had 
 been 51 ; in his second 30 ; in his third 20 ; in his fourth it was 
 17. One of his companions declared, with apparent justice, that 
 if he remained four years longer he would graduate at the head 
 of his class. This progress had been the result of hard study. 
 Of genius, in any form, we find no traces in him at this period. 
 All was resolute toil. He did not penetrate the subject before 
 him at a glance, but mastered it by laborious application, break- 
 ing the obdurate husk only by incessant blows. Every hour 
 brought progress. What he once acquired was drilled into his 
 mind, and every step which he ascended was solid under his feet.
 
 CADET AT WEST POINT. If. 
 
 Of the youth's personal appearance and deportment at this 
 period of his life some traits are remembered. He was not 
 social in his habits, and made no figure in society. His natural 
 character and his position in life were both opposed to the fun, 
 frolic, and abandon of the volatile youths at great public schools. 
 He had come to West Point to secure an education which would 
 enable him to rise from his " low estate " of dependence upon 
 his relations, or the distasteful drudgery of his office of consta 
 ble, and from this great object he permitted no social enjoy- 
 ments to divert him. The self-denial was not difficult, however. 
 Jackson was not fond of society, and made no impression in it. 
 He was neither gay nor witty, and had little or no humor. In 
 character and appearance he was sedate and earnest ; in man- 
 ner shy and ungraceful. The recollection is still preserved of 
 many of his personal peculiarities his simplicity and absence 
 of suspicion when all around him were laughing at some of his 
 odd ways ; his grave expression and air of innocent inquiry 
 when some jest excited general merriment, and he could not see 
 the point ; his solitary habits and self-contained deportment ; 
 his absence of mind, awkwardness of gait, and evident indiffer- 
 ence to every species of amusement. These eccentricities at- 
 tracted attention, and were the subjects of jesting comment ; but 
 this comment was not ill-natured. The kindness and simplicity 
 of the hard-working youth seem to have made him many friends, 
 and disarmed all hostility. 
 
 In relation to his intellectual faculties, his associates are 
 unanimous in declaring that he exhibited no indications what- 
 ever of his future career. They gave him credit for an amount 
 of industry and energy which would enable him to accomplish 
 much, but there is nothing to show that his most intimate friends 
 at this time suspected him of possessing any thing resembling 
 military genius.
 
 14 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 LIEUTENANT OF ARTILLERY IN MEXICO. 
 
 JACKSON graduated and received the appointment of brevet 
 second lieutenant of artillery on July 1, 1846. He left West 
 Point at a fortunate moment. The United States were at war 
 with Mexico. All the roving and adventurous classes of so- 
 ciety swarmed toward the Rio Grande, fired by the fancy of 
 picturesque warfare in a romantic country ; and it is probable 
 that Jackson, then but twenty-two, shared this general excite- 
 ment. He was assigned to the First Regiment of United States 
 Artillery, then serving under General Taylor in Mexico, and 
 proceeded immediately to join his command. It is known that 
 he had a strong desire for active service, but this craving was 
 not for some time gratified. The regiment remained inactive 
 until the spring of 1847 ; but active operations then commenced, 
 and the battery to which Jackson was attached was sent to take 
 part in the assault on Vera Cruz. About the same time he re- 
 ceived his appointment as second lieutenant, and commanded a 
 battery of siege guns during the bombardment. His conduct 
 under fire for the first time must have been creditable. In 
 August, for " gallant and meritorious conduct at the siege 
 of Vera Cruz," he was promoted to the rank of first lieu- 
 *enant. 
 
 After the fall of this fortress, the American army advanced 
 upon the city of Mexico. All Jackson's aspirations now pointed 
 to a position in the light artillery. The command of heavy 
 guns did not suit his temperament, and his preference for ser- 
 vice in the field was soon gratified. Captain John B. Magruder 
 led the storming party at Cerro Gordo and captured a Mexican 
 battery, which General Scott thereupon presented to him as 
 a reward for his gallantry ; and Jackson immediately applied 
 for a position under Magruder.
 
 LIEUTENANT OF ARTILLERY IN MEXICO. 
 
 " I wanted to see active service," he said in after years, " to 
 be near the enemy and in the fight ; and when I heard that 
 John Magruder had got his battery, I bent all my energies to 
 be with him, for I knew if any fighting was to be done, Ma* 
 gruder would be * on hand.' " 
 
 He succeeded in securing his transfer, and took a prominent 
 part in the assault on the enemy's intrenched camp at Con- 
 treras, and in the stubborn struggle which followed at Chur 
 ubusco. " My fire was opened," wrote Captain Magruder, 
 " and continued with great rapidity for about an hour. In a 
 few moments Lieutenant Jackson, commanding the second sec- 
 tion of the battery, who had opened a fire upon the enemy's works 
 from a position on the right, hearing our own fire still further 
 in front, advanced in handsome style, and kept up the fire with 
 
 great briskness and effect Lieutenant Jackson's conduct 
 
 was equally conspicuous throughout the whole day, and I cannot 
 too highly commend him to the major-general's favorable con- 
 sideration." 
 
 This report was addressed to " Captain J. Hooker, A. A. G.," 
 afterwards General Hooker. 
 
 In the report of General Twiggs the young lieutenant was 
 mentioned for " gallant services ; " and for " gallant and meri- 
 torious conduct in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco," he 
 was bre vetted captain. On the 8th of September came the vic- 
 tory of El Molino del Rey ; and on the 13th the city of Mexico 
 was stormed and taken. 
 
 Jackson had borne his fair share of the toils and dangers of 
 the campaign, and had secured high commendation. The source 
 and character of this commendation place his merit beyond 
 question. General Scott twice mentioned him in his report, and 
 declared that he had " gained merited praise." General Worth 
 wrote : " After advancing some four hundred yards we came to 
 a battery which had been assailed by a portion of Magruder's 
 field-guns particularly the section under the gallant Lieutenant 
 Jackson, who, although he had lost most of his horses and many 
 -of his men, continued chivalrously at his post, combating with
 
 16 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 noble courage." General Pillow wrote : " Captain Magruder*s 
 field-battery, one section of which was served with great gal- 
 lantry by himself, and the other by his brave lieutenant, Jackson, 
 in the face of a galling fire from the enemy's intrenched posi- 
 tions, did valuable service preparatory to the general assault. . . 
 The advanced section of the battery, under the command of the 
 brave Lieutenant Jackson, was dreadfully cut up and almost 
 disabled." Captain Magruder made mention of the young man's 
 services throughout his report, and wrote : " I beg leave to call 
 the attention of the major-general commanding the division to 
 the conduct of Lieutenant Jackson of the First Artillery. If 
 devotion, industry, talent, and gallantry are the highest qualities 
 of a soldier, then he is entitled to the distinction which their 
 profession confers." 
 
 This warm testimony to the young soldier's skill and courage 
 was not disregarded. For " gallant and meritorious conduct in 
 the battle of Chepultepec, September 13, 1847," he was bre- 
 vetted major. In less than a year he had risen from brevet sec- 
 ond lieutenant to brevet major, distinguishing himself so greatly 
 in every action as to attract the attention, and secure the espe- 
 cial notice of his generals, including the commander-in-chief. 
 " The brave Lieutenant Jackson '* " The gallant Lieutenant 
 Jackson" his "devotion, industry, talent, and gallantry" 
 these tributes to his merits as a soldier had been showered upon 
 him by some of the bravest and most famous officers of the 
 army ; and such praise must have thrilled to the very depths of 
 a heart, at that time, if not afterwards, passionately sensitive to 
 military glory. 
 
 An incident, which appears to rest upon good authority, will 
 serve to convey an idea of the young lieutenant's coolness and 
 nerve. His section had opened fire on the enemy's intrench- 
 ments, and drawn upon itself a whirlwind of iron which tore 
 man and horse to pieces. Men fell around the guns at every 
 moment, and the fire of the enemy at last became so terrible 
 that the bravest of the cannoneers fled from the pieces. Only 
 Jackson and a sergeant were left, and dismounting, the youthful
 
 LIEUTENANT OF AETILLEKY IN MEXICO. 17 
 
 lieutenant took the sponge staff, and, with the assistance of his 
 sergeant, began to load and fire with immovable phlegm and 
 coolness. He was thus engaged when Magruder rode up and 
 ordered him to withdraw his guns ; but against this Jackson 
 strongly remonstrated. He could hold his ground, he declared, 
 and if General "Worth would only send him fifty regulars, he 
 would silence the enemy's batteries and render their capture 
 easy. Magruder acquiesced, the men were sent, and Jackson 
 immediately advanced his section, opening with a more rapid 
 and destructive fire than before. The opposing batteries were 
 silenced, the works were charged, and the American troops were 
 soon occupying them. 
 
 On another occasion when his men ran from the pieces, and 
 crouched behind a bank for shelter from a heavy fire of artillery, 
 Jackson is said to have advanced into the open space, which was 
 every moment being ploughed up with shot and shell, calling out 
 with great coolness, " Come on ! This is nothing. You see they 
 can't hurt me ! " 
 
 Long after the war, in 1858, a gay youth at Lexington 
 asked Jackson one day if one of these anecdotes was true, and 
 receiving a reply in the affirmative, added : 
 
 " That was a very hot place, wasn't it, Major? " 
 
 " Yes, very hot," was the reply. 
 
 " Why didn't you run, Major ! " asked another as the laugh 
 ran round the circle. With a smile Jackson replied : 
 
 " I was not ordered to do so. If I had been ordered to run, 
 I would have done so ; but I was directed to hold my position, 
 and I had no right to abandon it." 
 
 Such was the explanation of the ex-artillerist ; but we sus- 
 pect that the character of his audience, or self-deception, led him 
 to dwell too exclusively on the motive of duty. That motive 
 may have been controlling with him, and the question of his 
 young pupil gave him an excellent opportunity to enlarge upon 
 it, and " point a moral." But behind the composed mask of the 
 grave Lexington professor we think we can discern the grim 
 smile of the artillerist of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chepul- 
 2
 
 18 ' LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 tepee. "Whatever may have been the sentiment of Major Jack- 
 son of the Virginia Military Institute, Lieutenant Jackson of tha 
 United States Army in Mexico loved fighting. He loved it to 
 the last with all his piety and kindliness ; and for the simple rea- 
 son that his organization was essentially dominant, combative, 
 delighting in antagonism. Until greatly changed by religious 
 feeling, he seems to have loved fighting for its own sake ; and it 
 is certain that he performed his military duties in Mexico with 
 the greatest gusto. He does not seem at that time to have been 
 at all pious. He was a young soldier leading a soldier's life, in 
 the atmosphere of the camp ; busy with many things ; full of 
 ambition ; in good health ; and delighted with this " best of all 
 possible worlds " in which he had become a major of artillery 
 at the age of twenty-three. To have his battery in readiness 
 for action at a moment's notice to get the best position, stand 
 to his guns, do the enemy the largest amount of damage, and 
 thereby secure "honorable mention" and a brevet this was 
 probably regarded as the chief end of man by the .young and 
 ardent artillerist. 
 
 It may be said that there was nothing very grand about all 
 thi^ but it is something to be a good soldier, and Jackson cer- 
 tainly was such. He worked hard in camp, and fought hard in 
 the field. Devotion, industry, talent, and gallantry are not pos- 
 sessed by every one ; but Magruder, who knew Jackson inti- 
 mately, declared that he possessed them. 
 
 He was more than a good soldier afterwards he was a very 
 great man. But that was when a sublimer thirst than that for 
 human glory had made him a true " Soldier of the Cross."
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 19 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 
 
 THE capture of the city of Mexico ended the war, and peace 
 was soon declared between the two countries. 
 
 The United States forces were withdrawn, and we next hear 
 of Major Jackson in Florida, where the remnant of the Indian 
 tribes formerly inhabiting that region still carried on hostilities 
 against the Government. Here his health gave way. He had 
 never been a person of very robust constitution, though capable 
 of enduring great fatigue, and the swampy airs of Florida soon 
 told upon a frame subjected to a heavy strain in the campaigns 
 of Mexico. 
 
 This feeble state of health was probably the main reason 
 which induced him to accept a proposition made to him early in 
 the year 1851, to become a candidate for the chair of Natural 
 and Experimental Philosophy at the Virginia Military Institute. 
 This step involved a relinquishment of all the dreams of military 
 glory which had so long filled his mind. He was called upon to 
 bid farewell to that " pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious 
 var" which he loved ; to hang up the sword battered in glorious 
 acounter ; to close his eyes to all the bright hopes of the future ; 
 and, his " occupation gone," settle down into a simple professor, 
 drilling knowledge into the minds of his pupils year after year, 
 with no wars, no battles, no thunder of the cannon any more. 
 It must have been a hard struggle with the young soldier. The 
 camp had now become his home : the service his chosen occu- 
 pation, in which were centred all his joys and aspirations. 
 He must consent to sever at a single blow the tie so firmly knit : 
 to commence life afresh, and bending all his energies in a differ- 
 ent direction, make usefulness his aim, no longer military glory. 
 His health, or other circumstances, however decided him. He 
 wrote from Fort Meade, Florida, February 25, 1851, to Colonel
 
 20 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 (now General) Francis H. Smith, superintendent of the institute,, 
 acquiescing in the proposition to bring his name before the Board 
 of Visitors, and said : " Though strong ties bind me to the army, 
 yet I cannot consent to decline so flattering an offer." Other 
 names had been submitted to the Board by the Faculty of West 
 Point, all distinguished for high scholarship and gallant services 
 among them Generals McClellan, Reno, and Rosecrans, of 
 the Northern army, and General G. W. Smith of the Confed- 
 erate army. McClellan, Reno, Rosecrans, Jackson ! Such was 
 the occasion upon which these afterwards celebrated athletes 
 came in collision. The Virginian unhorsed all his opponents, 
 and, March 28, 1851, was elected. 
 
 We have stated that the condition of Jackson's health was 
 probably the controlling motive for his relinquishment of active 
 service in the field. It is proper to add, however, that he stated 
 to his intimates that one of his objects was to keep his mind 
 fresh, especially in artillery tactics, in order to " embrace any 
 opportunity that might offer, for obtaining command in the 
 event of war." Whether he then contemplated the great col- 
 lision between the North and the South, is not stated. The au- 
 thority for the above statement adds : " He seemed to feel that 
 he was born for command ; " but at a later period, these martial 
 longings are said to have greatly diminished. He had become 
 a professor of religion, and " would have engaged in no military 
 service but one really defensive ; and while desirous of honorable 
 regard, his great aim was duty good to be done an approving 
 conscience, and the glory of God." 
 
 On the 1st of September, 1851, Major Jackson entered upon 
 his duties as Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy 
 and Instructor of Artillery in the Virginia Military Institute 
 near Lexington. Whatever doubts he may have had about his 
 new duties, there could be no doubt that the locality was a 
 change for the better. Lexington is a town situated in the 
 county of Rockbridge, in the Valley of Virginia, surrounded by 
 blue mountains, and in the midst of smiling fields. Nowhere 
 can be found a purer air, or a more charming landscape. It
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 21 
 
 was a good exchange for the miasmatic atmosphere of the low 
 grounds of Florida, fruitful in fevers, and stealing away the life 
 of the unacclimated stranger. Such was Jackson's new home, 
 and life must have had a gay and smiling appearance to him 
 there from the beginning. We know that the region soon 
 became dearer to him than all others. 
 
 Here were spent the most tranquil and serenely happy hours 
 of a manhood which commenced and ended amid the storms of 
 battle ; and here were first revealed to him the full glory and 
 sublimity of that faith in God, which soon became the master 
 element of his being. At Lexington he was happy as husband, 
 father, friend, and citizen ; and to this Spot of earth the rigid 
 form of the dead soldier, was sent back, and, borne on a caisson 
 of the cadet battery, committed to the earth. He had asked 
 them to bury him there, to let his bones repose in the dear 
 earth to which his thoughts recurred with so much tenderness. 
 On his death-bed, when his hours were numbered, and his spirit 
 drifted slowly toward eternity, the pale lips opened, and he mur- 
 mured in a whisper : 
 
 " Bury me in Lexington, in the Valley of Virginia ! " 
 
 Two important events mark this period of Jackson's life 
 his marriage and profession of religion. He married Miss 
 Junkin, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Junkin, President of Wasliing- 
 ton College, This lady did not long survive her marriage, and 
 her only child, a daughter, died in infancy. Several years 
 after the death of his first wife he was again married to Miss 
 Morrison of North Carolina. By this marriage he had one 
 child, Julia, born a few months before his death. 
 
 Jackson became a member of the Presbyterian church of 
 the town, then under the charge of an excellent old man, the 
 Rev. Dr. White. The circumstances leading to this public pro- 
 fession of Christian faith are unknown to the present writer ; 
 but it is certain that he speedily became an active and prominent 
 member of the church, and filled, during his residence at Lex- 
 ington, important secular positions in it. Every Sunday, with 
 military regularity, the figure of the Professor was seen in hia
 
 22 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 pew at the Presbyterian church, hymn-book in hand, his ear~ 
 nest countenance turned up to the pulpit with close attention. 
 Religious duties soon became the controlling occupation of his 
 life ; the society of good men and women his chief relaxation 
 and greatest source of pleasure. All who know any thing of 
 Jackson, and observed him in private then and during his 
 period of command in the field thereafter, will remember the 
 marked preference which he displayed for the society of clergy- 
 men, and the childlike fondness, almost tenderness, which he 
 exhibited toward the pious ladies whom he encountered on his 
 marches. His reputation as an earnest and devoted Christian 
 had singularly endeared him to these gray-haired matrons, and 
 he repaid their attentions with a respect and deference which 
 was beautiful to behold. The present writer has seen him, after 
 a long and exhausting march, when he had scarcely tasted food 
 for twenty-four hours, forget the tempting supper before him, 
 and give his whole attention to the aged kdy who sat beside 
 him. This spectacle was familiar to those who lived with him. 
 Strangers may have found in it a topic for amusement and jests ; 
 but to the writer of these pages it seemed indicative of that sim- 
 plicity and goodness which were the natural instincts of his 
 character. 
 
 Any discussion of the peculiar religious views of Jackson must 
 be left to abler hands than those of the present writer. He was 
 popularly spoken of as a " fatalist " which means, if it means 
 any thing, one who believes that what will 6e, will be. It is 
 sufficient to say of Jackson that he was a member of the Presby- 
 terian Church, and strongly embraced the doctrines of predesti- 
 nation and Providential supervision. It has been said that he 
 cherished an unfailing " confidence in his destiny," and believed 
 that he had " a distinct mission of duty in which he should be 
 spared for the ends of Providence." This may be true ; but it 
 is certain that his motto was, " Do your duty, and leave the rest 
 to God." His faith was not speculative, but practical and liv- 
 ing. His earnestness of temperament was carried into religious 
 affairs, and he was averse to all sentiment which did not prove;
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 23 
 
 its genuineness by action. With him his Christian faith was a 
 practical influence, shaping his habits and life. The reality of 
 his feeling was shown every day, and no adverse influences 
 seemed to affect it. In camp and surrounded by the many dis- 
 tracting cares of command his habits of meditation and prayer 
 remained unaltered, and he was as devout an observer of re- 
 ligious exercises as in the days of peace. He was generally 
 regarded as sectarian in his views, and one of his nicknames 
 was u The Blue Light Elder." But this popular belief seems to 
 have been entirely erroneous. He was a devoted but not 
 bigoted member of the Presbyterian Church ; and a most intelli- 
 gent staff officer, long serving near his person, assured the 
 present writer that he had no such exclusive feeling whatever. 
 A letter to Dr. Hoge on the subject of army chaplains, in the 
 spring of 1863, is a strong proof of this ; and those who were 
 thrown in personal contact with him during his military career, 
 will not easily be convinced that his just, liberal, and Catholic 
 intellect could have hampered itself within the narrow bounda- 
 ries of sectarianism. 
 
 We pass now to his personal traits and habits. Well-mean- 
 ing persons have drawn a wholly incorrect likeness of Jackson 
 at this period of his life. Misled by admiration, and yielding to 
 the temptation to eulogy, they have bestowed upon Professor 
 Jackson every moral and physical grace, and even his eccentrici- 
 ties have been toned down into winning ways, original and 
 characteristic, which only made their possessor more graceful 
 and charming than before. We are sorry to say that this is all 
 fancy. Jackson was the farthest possible removed from any 
 thing graceful ; and as the first merit of any biography is ac- 
 curacy, we shall endeavor to lay before the reader a truthful 
 sketch of the real form seen moving to and fro, on the streets of 
 Lexington, between the years 1851 and 1861. 
 
 " It was the figure of a tall, gaunt, awkward individual, wear- 
 ing a gray uniform, and apparently moving by separate and dis- 
 tinct acts of volition. This stiff and unbending figure passed 
 over the ground with a sort of stride, as though measuring the
 
 2-i LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 distance from one given point to another ; and those who followed 
 its curious movements, saw it pause at times, apparently from 
 having reached the point desired. The eyes of the individual at 
 such moments were fixed intently upon the ground ; his lips 
 moved in soliloquy ; the absent and preoccupied gaze and gen- 
 eral expression of the features, plainly showed a profound un- 
 consciousness of " place and time." It was perfectly obvious 
 that the mind of the military-looking personage in the gray coat, 
 was busy upon some problem entirely disconnected from his 
 actual surroundings. ; The fact of his presence at Lexington, in 
 the commonwealth of Virginia, had evidently disappeared from 
 his consciousness ; the figures moving around him were mere 
 phantasmagoria : he had travelled in search of some principle 
 of philosophy, or some truth in theology, quite out of the real, 
 workaday world, and deep into the land of dreams. If you 
 spoke to him at such times, he awoke as it were from sleep, 
 and looked into your face with an air of simplicity and inquiry, 
 which sufficiently proved the sudden transition which he had 
 made from the world of thought to that of reality .V 
 
 In lecturing to his class, his manner was grave, earnest, full 
 of military brevity, and destitute of all the graces of the speaker. 
 Business-like, systematic, somewhat stern, with an air of rigid 
 rule, as though the matter at issue was of the utmost importance, 
 and he was entrusted with the responsibility of seeing that due 
 attention was paid to it he did not make a very favorable im- 
 pression upon the volatile youths who sat at the feet of this 
 military Gamaliel. They listened 'decorously to the grave Pro- 
 fessor, but, once dismissed from his presence, took their revenge 
 by a thousand jests upon his peculiarities of mind and demeanor. 
 His oddities were the subject of incessant, jokes : his eccentric 
 ways were dwelt upon with all the eloquence and sarcastic gusto 
 which characterize the gay conversation of young men discussing 
 an unpopular teacher. No idiosyncrasy of the Professor was lost 
 sight of. His stiff, angular figure ; the awkward movement of 
 his body ; his absent and " grum " demeanor ; his exaggerated 
 ami apparentlv absurd devotion to military regularity ; his weari-
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 25 
 
 some exactions of a similar observance on their part : -that 
 general oddity, eccentricity, and singularity in moving, talking, 
 thinking, and acting peculiar to himself all these were described 
 on a thousand occasions, and furnished unfailing food for laughter. 
 They called him " Old Tom Jackson ; " and pointing significantly 
 to their foreheads, said he was " not quite right there" Some in- 
 clined to the belief that he was only a great eccentric ; but others 
 declared him " crazy." Those who had experienced the full 
 weight of his Professional baton who had been reprimanded be- 
 fore the class, or " reported" to the superintendent for punishment 
 or dismissal called him " Fool Tom Jackson." 
 
 These details are not very heroic, and detract considerably 
 from that dignified outline which eulogistic writers upon Jack- 
 son have drawn. But they are true. Nothing is better estab- 
 lished than the fact that the man to whom General Lee wrote, 
 *' Could I have directed events, I should have chosen for the 
 good of the country to have been disabled in your stead," and 
 of whom the London Times said, " That mixture of daring and 
 judgment, which is the mark of ' Heaven born ' Generals, dis- 
 tinguished him beyond any man of his time" nothing is more 
 certain, we say, than that this man was sneered at as a fool, and 
 on many occasions stigmatized as insane. 
 
 It is doubtless true, however, that some of the youths, of 
 more generous disposition or penetrating judgment, did not share 
 in this general opinion. They saw in the young Professor orig- 
 inality rather than eccentricity of mind. They could ack^nvl- 
 edge the peculiarities of his views and opinions, and the singu- 
 larity of some of his habits, without sharing the popular 
 impression that some wheel or crank of his mental machinery 
 was out of order. Upon one point, however, there seems to 
 have been a general concurrence : the young teacher's possession 
 of an indomitable fearlessness and integrity in the discharge of 
 every duty. His worst enemies never ventured to say that he 
 did not walk the straight path of right, and administer his offi- 
 cial duties without fear, favor, or affection. They were forced 
 to recognize the fact that this stiff military machine measured
 
 26 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 out justice to all alike, irrespective of persons, and could not be 
 turned aside from the direct course by any influences around 
 him. The cadets laughed at him, but they were afraid of him. 
 They agreed, by common consent, that it was time thrown away 
 to write excuses for a " report" made by Major Jackson. The 
 faculty, from long experience, had come to understand that 
 when Major Jackson reported a cadet he deserved punishment, 
 and the consequence was that although the young men derided 
 his peculiarities, and laughed in private at his odd ways, they 
 felt that he was their master, and yielded full obedience to his 
 orders. 
 
 Such was the ex-artillerist turned professor. From his 
 functions of professor in the school-room he would pass to those 
 of instructor of artillery on the parade ground. Here he was 
 more in his element. He was called upon to teach the myster- 
 ies of that arm of the service which he loved above all others ; 
 and the proficiency of the cadets in drill and all the evolutions 
 of the battery was soon a subject of remark. Jackson took 
 great interest in these drills, especially when blank cartridges 
 were used. " An ex-Cadet," in his interesting account of this 
 portion of Jackson's life, says : "As soon as the sound of the 
 guns would fall upon his ears, a change would seem to come 
 over Major Jackson. He would grow more erect ; the grasp 
 upon his sabre would tighten ; the quiet eyes would flash ; the 
 large nostrils would dilate, and the calm, grave face would glow 
 witlP the proud spirit of the warrior. I have been frequently 
 struck with this, and have often called the attention of others. 
 to it." 
 
 We have thus presented the figure of Jackson under two 
 or three aspects as the absent-looking thinker moving, lost in 
 meditation, through the streets of Lexington ; the grave pro- 
 fessor in the lecturer's desk, and the officer of artillery, with 
 sabre at his side, directing the drill and drawling out his com- 
 mands in the long, singsong fashion peculiar to the graduates of 
 West Point. His appearance on Sunday will conclude our out- 
 line lie attended church with unfailing regularity. Punctual
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON 27 
 
 to the moment, the form of the Professor was seen to enter church, 
 decorously approach the familiar pew, and enter with grave 
 respect in his whole demeanor. Book in hand, he followed the 
 words of the hymn sung hy the congregation, and at the signal 
 for prayer rose erect, his tall figure remaining as motionless as 
 a statue until the prayer was finished. After the service he re- 
 traced his steps with decorous gravity and retired to his quar- 
 ters, to return again with the same punctuality, and conduct 
 himself with the same solemn respect, at the evening service. 
 The hours of Sunday not spent in church were given up to- 
 religious reading, meditation, and prayer in his study or in the 
 bosom of his family. 
 
 Thus passed, in a routine of duty, barren and dull to the 
 beholder, but doubtless interesting to him, a period of nearly 
 ten years. Jackson's health was still delicate, and he suffered 
 much from weakness of eyesight ; but these drawbacks did not 
 interfere with the rigid and complete discharge of his duties. 
 The feebleness of his sight induced him to turn his attention 
 especially to that subject, and when the revolution commenced T 
 he had made considerable progress in an elementary work on 
 Optics, which he proposed to publish for the benefit of his class. 
 His character seems to have been understood and appreciated 
 by the best classes of the little society of Lexington, and his 
 virtues were greatly respected. Men of grave character and 
 experience discerned the solid merits of the man ; and if they 
 did not suspect the presence of that military genius which he 
 afterwards exhibited on another arena, they valued him for his 
 conscientious devotion to duty, and loved him for his simplicity 
 and piety. One who was connected with him officially at this 
 time, Colonel Smith, the superintendent, writes : " His great 
 principle of government was that a general rule should not be 
 violated for any particular good ; and his animating rule of action 
 was, that a man could always accomplish what he willed to per- 
 form." This statement may be paraphrased in the words sys- 
 tem, regularity, justice, impartiality, and unconquerable perse- 
 verance and determination. These were valuable lessons ta
 
 28 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 teach youths." They laughed at him, but they imbibed the prin- 
 ciples of action which he taught. They derided the rigid disci- 
 pline which the young martinet enacted ; denounced him for 
 administering things u on a war footing," and no doubt honestly 
 regarded him as a most unreasonable advocate of useless mili- 
 tary etiquette ; but they were slowly and certainly trained, like 
 growing twigs, in the direction which the teacher wished. Jack- 
 gon proceeded upon the eminently just view that the Institute 
 was a military school, whose chief value consisted in the habits 
 of military system and obedience which it impressed on the 
 ductile characters of the cadets, and regarded any relaxation of 
 the rules of the establishment as directly tending to strike at the 
 intention of its founders and destroy its usefulness. Many anec- 
 dotes touching this point are related of him. He once contin- 
 ued to wear a thick woollen uniform during the sultriest days 
 of summer, when everybody else had adopted the lightest attire 
 possible ; and when asked by one of the professors why he did 
 so, replied that " he had seen an order prescribing the uniform 
 which he wore, but none had been exhibited to him directing it 
 to be changed." Another incident is equally characteristic. 
 Colonel Smith declares that he has known him to walk to and 
 fro, in front of the superintendent's quarters, with a heavy rain 
 beating upon his person, " because the hour had not quite ar- 
 rived when it was his duty to present his weekly reports." Such 
 things appeared extremely absurd to the young gentlemen who 
 had no idea of the importance of military " orders," and the 
 implicit obedience which a good soldier considers it his duty to 
 pay to them. But which was right the laughing young cadet, 
 or the grave major of artillery? Let the thousands who in the 
 late bitter and arduous struggle have been taught by stern expe- 
 rience the necessity of strict compliance with all orders, to the 
 very letter, answer the question. 
 
 As yet, however, the cadets laughed, and doubted the good 
 sense of all this rigid discipline. They not only made fun of 
 the grave Professor behind his back, but persecuted and " sorely 
 tried " him, says " An ex-Cadet," by practical jokes. One of
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 9 
 
 these was amusing, and will give the reader some idea of the 
 youths with whom he had to deal. The battery used in drilling 
 was managed by drag-ropes, which the junior class manned. 
 These would play all sorts of pranks. Sometimes a lynch-pin 
 would be secretly abstracted, and the piece or caisson would 
 break down in the midst of the drill. A more mirth-provoking 
 device even than this, however, was hit upon. A small bell 
 was adroitly suspended inside of the limber-box, and the con- 
 spirators demurely took their places at the drag-ropes. The 
 commander of the battery gave the order " Forward," and thb 
 pieces began to move. Suddenly a mysterious tinkling was 
 heard, and the cadets, unable to withstand this tax upon their 
 risible faculties, burst into shouts of laughter. The Professor 
 looked astonished, halted the battery, and with great earnestness 
 instituted an inquiry into the phenomenon. It was in vain ; 
 nothing was discovered, and the order was again given for the 
 pieces to move forward. They moved, and the hidden bell again 
 tinkled, amid renewed shouts of laughter. How this adventure 
 terminated we are not informed, but there is no doubt that the 
 trick was played and was not greatly enjoyed by Professor Jack- 
 son. Other devices of the frolicsome cadets to annoy him seem 
 to have affected him with a touch of humor. We have referred 
 to the long drawling manner in which, following the fashion of 
 West Point, he gave his commands. A favorite movement with 
 him was to bring the battery into echelon ; and whenever the 
 command to "Form echelon" was given with its accompani- 
 ment, " Right oblique trot march ! " the whole ground would 
 ring with the commands, repeated by the cadet officers, in the 
 most ridiculous drawl imaginable. One evening when this had 
 been carried to unwonted excess, the adjutant approached Jack 
 son and asked him how he was pleased with the drill. 
 
 " Very much, sir," replied Jackson ; then smiling slightly, 
 he added, "the officers gave very fine commands this afternoon." 
 
 No opportunity of having a laugh at the Professor's expense 
 was lost sight of, and on another occasion the cadets had some 
 grounds for their amusement. One day Jackson informed his
 
 5C LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 class that the clock in front of the Institute was not correct, and 
 declared his intention to ascertain, by scientific means, the exact 
 time. He accordingly marched out to the parade-ground, with 
 the class at his heels, and proceeded, by means of his instru- 
 ments, to take an observation. The result was amusing and 
 delightful to the cadets-heart. He finished his work about half- 
 past twelve in the day, and to his profound astonishment discov- 
 ered that it was nearly seven in the evening ! The cadets set up 
 a shout, and after looking around him with incredulous surprise 
 for some moments, Jackson joined in the general laughter. It 
 was soon discovered that the instruments were out of order, but 
 the cadets did not suffer this fact to lessen their appreciation of 
 the joke. 
 
 One of the few exhibitions of a tendency to humor which 
 we find in Jackson's whole career occurred at this period. The 
 reader will not be troubled with many similar incidents, and we 
 give the anecdote here. One morning in 1858 he called up a 
 member of the graduating class, and with profound gravity pro- 
 pounded the following scientific question : 
 
 " Why is it impossible to send a telegraphic despatch from 
 Lexington to Staunton ? " 
 
 The cadet reflected for some moments, and then replied that 
 the explanation of this phenomenon doubtless lay in the fact 
 that the amount of iron ore in the mountain drew the magnetic 
 current from the wires. 
 
 A covert smile touched upon Jackson's features ; fled away, 
 and he said : 
 
 " No, sir ; you can take your seat." 
 
 Another was called up, but he too failed to explain the 
 mystery. A second, then a third were equally unsuccessful- 
 Jackson listening to their theories with profound attention, but 
 with the same sly smile which had greeted the first solution. 
 This smile, probably, attracted the attention of the next cadet who 
 was called, and threw a sudden light upon the subject. His 
 countenance lit up ; his lip broke into a smile in return, and he 
 aid :
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 31 
 
 *' Well, Major Jackson, I reckon it must l>e because there is 
 no telegraph between the two places." 
 
 " You are right, sir," replied Jackson, who had suddenly 
 renewed his composed expression. " You can take your seat." 
 
 An outburst of laughter from the class greeted this passage 
 of arms in which the Professor was overthrown, but the un- 
 wonted display of humor had apparently exhausted Jackson's 
 appreciation of the quality for the time. He called the class to 
 order, and calmly continued the subject of the recitation as if 
 nothing had happened. 
 
 We give this incident upon good authority. It is the first 
 and last attempt at a practical joke which we find in Jackson's 
 life. 
 
 Another incident of his dealings with the cadets is an illus- 
 tration of the quiet courage of the man, and disregard of per- 
 sonal consequences where duty was concerned. He had brought 
 charges against a cadet, who was tried and dismissed from the 
 Institute. Burning with resentment, the young man declared 
 his intention to take Jackson's life, and arming himself took his 
 position on the road from Lexington to the Institute, over which 
 he knew the Professor would pass on his way to meet his class. 
 A friend had overheard the youth express his bloody intention, 
 and hastening to warn Jackson, met him on the road, and in- 
 formed him of his danger, strongly urging him to turn back. 
 To turn back, however, was to neglect his recitations on that 
 day, and to hold his recitations was a part of his duty. He pe- 
 remptorily refused to retrace his steps, and with the cold and 
 stern reply, " Let the assassin murder me if he will ! " continued 
 his way. As he approached the spot indicated, he saw the young 
 man standing and awaiting him. He turned and gazed fixedly 
 at him with that look which had fronted, unmoved, the most 
 terrible scenes of carnage upon many battle-fields. The youth 
 could not sustain it ; he lowered his eyes, and, turning away in 
 silence, left the spot, while Jackson calmly pursued his way. 
 
 We have here placed upon record, with such illustrations as 
 we could collect, the traits of character which distinguished
 
 32 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. ^ 
 
 Jackson at this period of his life. One other which is men- 
 tioned by a recent biographer should be noticed the strength 
 of his memory. " In the section room," says " An ex-Cadet," 
 " he would sit perfectly erect and motionless, listening with grave 
 attention, and exhibiting the great powers of his wonderful 
 memory, which was, I think, the most remarkable that ever 
 came under my observation. The course that he taught was 
 the most difficult and complicated known to mathematics, run- 
 ning through at least half a dozen text-books. In listening to a 
 recitation he rarely used a book. He was ready at any moment 
 to refer to any page or line in any of the books, and then to 
 repeat with perfect accuracy the most difficult passages that 
 could be referred to." 
 
 Such was Jackson at Lexington ; a stiff, earnest, military 
 figure artillery officer turned professor : stern in his bearing, 
 eccentric in his habits, peculiar in many of his views, leading a 
 life of alternate activity in the section room and abstraction in 
 the study, independent, devoted to duty, deeply religious in sen- 
 timent, and notable in person, deportment, and character for an 
 undoubted originality. The eccentric figure was as well known 
 in Lexington as that of the " Iron Duke," raising the finger to 
 his hat, and uttering his curt greeting in the streets of London. 
 As years wore on his character was better understood his merit 
 more fully recognized. We may doubt Colonel Smith's asser- 
 tion that at the breaking out of the present war, " the sponta- 
 neous sentiment of every cadet and graduate was to serve under 
 him as their leader," but there is good reason to believe that he 
 had strongly impressed great numbers of persons with a convic- 
 tion of his soldierly qualities his good judgment, impartiality, 
 perseverance, courage, and knowledge of the profession of arms. 
 
 Thus passed the years, almost without incident with Jack- 
 son month following month, with little to distinguish one from 
 another. The death of his first wife ; his second marriage ; a 
 brief visit which he made to Europe in 1858, and his march to 
 Charlestown, Virginia, in command of the cadet battery, in
 
 PROFESSOR AT LEXINGTON. 33 
 
 1859, during the John Brown agitation, are the only events 
 which seem to have interrupted the monotony of his daily duties. 
 The loss of his wife must have been a heavy blow to a man of 
 so much depth and earnestness of feeling, but we have no pri- 
 vate records connected with that event. His tour in Europe is 
 equally a blank. We only know that in 1858 he obtained a 
 furlough of three months from the Board of Visitors, which he 
 spent in European travel. The tour was brief and rapid, and 
 we can trace from it no influences upon his life or character. 
 At the expiration of his leave of absence he was back in his 
 accustomed place, dressed in his accustomed uniform, and calmly 
 pursuing his recitations, his artillery drills, and his scientific 
 studies. 
 
 His life had thus flowed on, almost without a ripple on the 
 serene surface. He was a sentinel on duty, whose "beat** was 
 between his study and his recitation-room. The ardent young 
 soldier had settled down into the serious professor, drilling mil- 
 itary and scientific knowledge into the minds of youth, and con- 
 tent in this sphere of usefulness to forget all the dreams of am- 
 bition. Had not the recent struggle called him to the field once 
 more, it is almost certain that he would have grown gray in his 
 professor's chair, and died unknown. 
 
 But such a tranquil life and death was not to be the fate of 
 Jackson. His early manhood had been passed in the hot at- 
 mosphere of battle, and amid the roar of artillery and small 
 arms : that stormy music had saluted his youthful ears, and was 
 to thunder round him on many a hard-fought field in a fiercer 
 contest than any of the past ; and with the solemn diapason rolJ 
 ing in the distance still, his spirit was to pass away.
 
 34 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 JACKSON IS APPOINTED COLONEL OF VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 THE causes which led to the late war are too well known ta 
 require any notice here. Other considerations operate to deter 
 the writer from entering upon the subject. A brief summary 
 would be too little, and a full discussion too much. 
 
 South Carolina seceded on the 20th December, 1860, and by 
 the 1st of February, 1861. she had been joined in the order 
 named by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, 
 and Texas. Military movements had begun at many points, 
 and the formal collision was rapidly approaching. Early in 
 February, Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was elected President 
 of the Confederate States, and on the 13th of April Fort Sum- 
 ter surrendered to General Beauregard. 
 
 On the next day, April 14, 1861, President Lincoln issued his 
 proclamation calling upon the States for 75,000 men, to enforce 
 obedience to the United States authority in the seceded States. 
 
 This proclamation decided the course of Virginia. She had 
 long delayed her decision, from an almost unconquerable repug- 
 nance to a dissolution of the Union, and the inauguration of a 
 bloody civil war, which must desolate her own territory more 
 than that of any other State ; and, in the Convention, then sitting 
 at Richmond, the advocates of secession had hitherto found them- 
 selves opposed by a majority which nothing seemed able to over- 
 come. This large party were in favor of mediating between 
 the extremes, and believed themselves competent to arrange the 
 differences by Peace Commissioners, and an appeal to the old 
 kindly feeling of both sections. In April, however, it began to 
 be plainly seen that these hopes were illusory. The Commis- 
 sioners returned from Washington without attaining any results, 
 and the proclamation of the President of the United States call- 
 ing for troops to act against the South, speedily followed.
 
 JACKSON IS APPOINTED COLONEL OF VOLUNTEERS. 35 
 
 Virginia, as one of the States still in the Union, was ex- 
 pected to furnish her quota of this force of 75,000 men ; and 
 the Commonwealth was called, upon immediately to decide 
 whether she would fight against or with the South. Her deci- 
 sion was shown by the passage, on the 17th of April, of an ordi- 
 nance of secession, and Virginia took her place, for weal or 
 woe, by the side of her Southern sisters. 
 
 Having thus cast their lot with the seceding States, the au- 
 thorities of Virginia proceeded to prepare for war. The Con- 
 vention entered with vigor upon the work of putting the Com- 
 monwealth in a state of defence ; volunteers were directed to be 
 enrolled and held in readiness in every part of the State ; and 
 Colonel R. E. Lee, who had resigned his commission in the 
 United States cavalry, and repaired to his native State, was ap- 
 pointed Major-General of the Provisional army of Virginia, and 
 placed in command of all her forces. 
 
 These steps were not taken too soon. The action of Vir- 
 ginia had been anticipated by the Federal authorities, and they 
 now acted with decision. The passage of the ordinance of seces- 
 sion became known on the 18th, and on the 19th of April Lieu- 
 tenant Jones, of the United States army, evacuated Harper's 
 Ferry, having first attempted to blow up the public buildings 
 there. On the next day reinforcements were promptly thrown 
 into Fortress Monroe ; and the navy yard at Norfolk, together 
 with the war shipping there, was set on fire and abandoned. 
 
 War had thus commenced, and with it Jackson appeared 
 upon the scene. He left Lexington on the 21st of April, in 
 command of the corps of cadets, and, proceeding to Camp Lee 
 at Richmond, entered energetically upon the task of drilling the 
 new levies flocking in from every portion of the State. While 
 he was thus engaged, Governor Letcher nominated him for colo- 
 nel of volunteers, and his name came up before the Convention. 
 Here some objection was shown to the appointment. A strong 
 prejudice had taken hold upon the public mind against the mana- 
 gers of the Military Institute, who were supposed to have be- 
 trayed an intention of monopolizing, if possible, for the officers
 
 36 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON 
 
 and graduates of that school, all military appointments in the' 
 Virginia forces, and the career of Jackson in Mexico, never 
 very widely known, appeared to have passed from the memories 
 of everybody. 
 
 " Who is this Thomas J. Jackson?" was a question asked 
 hy many, and one of his friends replied : 
 
 " I can tell you who he is. If you put him in command at 
 Norfolk, he will never leave^it alive, unless you order him to 
 do so." 
 
 His services in Mexico and at the Institute were dwelt upon 
 by his friends, and his appointment was unanimously confirmed. 
 But he was not sent to Norfolk. He was directed to proceed to 
 Harper's Ferry and take command of the forces assembling 
 there, which he did on the 3d of May, 1861. 
 
 We have a personal sketch of Jackson as he appeared at this 
 time, which, if not very complimentary, is at least characteristic, 
 and shows what effect he produced upon strangers. 
 
 An army correspondent of one of the Southern papers drew 
 an outline of the newly appointed colonel. The queer appari- 
 tion of the ex-Professor on the field excited great merriment in 
 this writer. The Old Dominion must be wofully deficient in 
 military men, he feared*, if this was the best she could do. The 
 new colonel was not at all like a commanding officer. There 
 was a painful want in him of all the " pride, pomp, and circum- 
 stance of glorious war." His dress was no better than a pri- 
 vate soldier's, and there was not a particle of gold lace about 
 his uniform. His air was abstracted ; his bearing stiff and awk- 
 ward ; he kept his own counsels ; never consulted with his offi- 
 cers, and had very little to say to anybody. On horseback his 
 appearance was even less impressive. Other officers, at that 
 early stage of the war, when the fondness for military insignia 
 and display wag greater than afterwards, when the blockade had 
 cut off the supply of gewgaws and decorations, made their ap- 
 pearance before their troops on prancing horses, with splendid 
 trappings, and seemed desirous of showing the admiring specta- 
 tors how gracefully they could sit in the saddle. The new colo-
 
 JACKSON IS APPOINTED COLONEL OF VOLUNTEERS. 87 
 
 nel was a strong contrast to all this. He rode an old horse who 
 seemed to have little of the romance of war about him, and 
 nothing at all fine in his equipment. His seat in the saddle was 
 far from graceful ; he leaned forward awkwardly ; settled his 
 chin from time to time in his lofty military stock, and looked 
 from side to side, from beneath the low rim of his cadet cap, in 
 a manner which the risible faculties of" the correspondent could 
 not resist. A queerer figure, and one which answered less to 
 the idea of military grace, had never before dawned on the atten- 
 tion of the literary gentleman who sketched it for the amuse- 
 ment of the Southern reader. 
 
 The sketch was not inaccurate in the main particulars. 
 Such was not a bad description of the figure which the troops 
 scanned curiously as he passed to and fro on duty ; and those who 
 distrusted the ability of this silent and phlegmatic personage to 
 command the forces, had their views apparently confirmed 
 soon afterwards. On the 23d of May, General Joseph E. John- 
 ston, formerly of the United States 5b-my, and an officer of tried 
 ability and courage, arrived, and took command of all the troops 
 at Harper's Ferry. Jackson was assigned to the command of a 
 brigade of infantry, composed of four regiments of Virginians. 
 
 The Federal authorities had meanwhile called for additional 
 troops, and did not seem to share the opinion of the leading 
 Northern journals, which predicted an early and almost blood- 
 less termination of the war. " The nations of Europe," said one 
 of these journals, " may rest assured that Jeff. Davis and Co. 
 will be swinging from the battlements of "Washington, at least by 
 the Fourth of July. "We spit upon a later and longer-deferred 
 justice." Another said : " Let us make quick work. The 
 * rebellion,' as some people designate it, is an unborn tadpole. 
 Let us not fall into the delusion noticed by Hallam, of mistaking 
 a ' local commotion ' for a revolution. A strong, active ' pull to 
 gether will do our work effectually in thirty days. We have 
 only tc send a column of 25,000 men across the Potomac, to 
 Richmond, and burn out the rats there ; another column of 
 25,000 to Cairo, seizing the cotton ports of the Mississippi, and
 
 38 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSOX. 
 
 retaining the remaining 25,000 included in Mr. Lincoln's call for 
 75,000 men, at Washington, not because there is any need for 
 them there, but because we do not require their services else- 
 where." A third said : " No man of sense can for a moment 
 doubt that this much-ado-about-nothing will end in a month. 
 The rebels, a mere band of ragamuffins, will fly like chaff before- 
 the wind on our approach." " Let the East get out of the 
 way," said a fourth, " this is a war of the West. We can fight 
 the battle and successfully, within two or three months at the 
 furthest. Illinois can whip the South by herself. We insist on 
 the matter being turned over to us." A fifth said : " The rebel- 
 lion will be crushed out before the assemblage of Congress not 
 a doubt of it." 
 
 The impression of the journals from which we have taken 
 the above extracts differed widely from the apparent conviction 
 of the Federal Executive. As early as the 3d of May, President 
 Lincoln called for 40,000 additional infantry volunteers, 18,000 
 seamen, and ten more regiments for the regular army, then 
 being concentrated around Washington. This would place at 
 his disposal about 150,000 troops, and this force was evidently 
 the very least number possible, to carry out the plan of the Gov- 
 ernment. This plan devised, it is said, by Lteutenant-General 
 Winfield Scott, commanding the Armies of the United States 
 was, to send one column to seize upon the Valley of the 
 Mississippi, another to enter Kentucky and crush the rising 
 spirit of rebellion there, and a third to capture Richmond, and 
 paralyze the Confederate power in Virginia. With a strict 
 blockade of the Southern ports, these steps, it was supposed, 
 would terminate the Southern movement. 
 
 Virginia was to be invaded in four directions from For- 
 tress Monroe up the Peninsula, between the James and York 
 Rivers ; from Alexandria by way of Manassas and the Orange 
 and Alexandria Railroad to Gordonsville ; from Williamsport up 
 the Valley of the Shenandoah ; and from the northwest toward 
 Staunton. These four columns were to move at the same time, 
 and, converging upon Richmond, take that city, reduce Virginia.
 
 THE VALLEY. 39 
 
 under the Federal sway again, and then, uniting with the columns 
 in Kentucky and the Mississippi Valley, penetrate to the heart 
 of the Confederacy, and dictate terms at Montgomery where it 
 had originated. 
 
 It remained to be seen whether the able soldiers in command 
 of the Confederate forces would permit this plan of operations to 
 be carried out. The question of the time necessary to subdue 
 the Southern movement upon which Lieutenant-General Scott 
 and the editors differed so widely was, after all, to be decided 
 by Johnston and Beauregard. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE VALLEY. 
 
 THE Valley of the Shenandoah, where Jackson's most cele- 
 brated military movements took place, is that portion of Vir- 
 ginia lying between the 'Blue Ridge and North Mountains, and 
 extending from the headwaters of the Shenandoah near Staun- 
 tou to the Potomac. 
 
 The region has been called with propriety the " Garden of 
 Virginia ; " and a Southern writer, in a rapture of admiration at 
 its beauties of field and forest, mountain and river, describes it 
 as a veritable Arcadia, realizing the most fanciful dreams of the 
 elder poets. In the last century we find an English traveller, 
 Buruaby, revelling in animated pictures of the splendid land- 
 scape which he looked upon from a spur of the Blue Ridge : 
 the pellucid waters of the Shenandoah, skirted by tall trees, with 
 drooping foliage, the chamoedaphnes in full bloom, and burdening 
 the air with fragrance ; the mighty forests and smiling fields ; 
 the delicious climate ; and the Eden-like happiness of those who, 
 far from the bustle, the cares, and the anxieties of the worn-out 
 world of Europe, here lived, in the midst of a lovely land, a life 
 of freedom and tranquillity unknown to princes.
 
 40 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 This beautiful and fruitful region was worthy of protection 
 for its own sake, for its patriotic inhabitants, its large slave 
 population, and for the rich supplies which its fertile fields con- 
 tained. But it was also exceedingly important, in a military 
 point of view, that it should be held by a Confederate force, and 
 no part of it surrendered to the occupation of the enemy. A 
 glance at the map of the State will show the justice of this state 
 ment. It will be seen that no portion of the region could be 
 given up, without serious detriment to military operations 
 north of Richmond ; and that possession of the upper valley 
 would enable an enemy to cut off the Confederate communication 
 with the Southwest, and strike a dangerous blow at the capital. 
 It was especially important at this time May, 1861 that not 
 a foot of ground in the lower valley should be surrendered. 
 Winchester, the key of the region, was essential to the Confed- 
 erates, and this central point was entirely undefended by fortifi- 
 cations of any description. The town was less than thirty 
 miles from the Potomac ; and excellent turnpike roads converged 
 toward it from Romney, Martinsburg, Sheppardstown, Charles- 
 town, and Berryville, like the fingers of an open hand. Over 
 these roads, the Federal force, reported to be near Romney and 
 Williamsport, could easily advance with their trains and artil- 
 lery ; and Winchester once in their possession, the effect would 
 have been disastrous in the extreme. A short march through 
 the Blue Ridge, at Snicker's, Ashby's, or Manassas Gaps, would 
 enable them to take Manassas Junction in flank and reverse, as- 
 sail the Confederate force there at an enormous advantage, and 
 either force it to fight upon terms which they dictated, or fall 
 back to the line of the Rappahannock. 
 
 Thus, to give up Winchester was to abandon not only that 
 portion of the valley with its rich resources and loyal inhab- 
 itants, but to yield possession of the whole extent of country 
 east of the Blue Ridge, and north of Fredericksburg. The Fed- 
 eral forces would have poured into this smiling region, estab- 
 lished themselves firmly throughout the entire " northern neck," 
 and almost without fighting, achieved a position for future opera-
 
 THE FIRST BRIGADE. 41 
 
 tions, to attain which afterwards cost them an untold expendi- 
 ture of money and blood. It was to prevent them from securing 
 so dangerous a foothold thus early in the struggle, that an army 
 had been sent to the lower valley, and placed under the direction 
 of an officer of tried capacity and courage. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 
 
 THE FIRST BRIGADE. 
 
 JACKSON was superseded in command, as we have said, by 
 General Johnston, on the 23d of May. He had been active and 
 energetic in organizing, equipping, and drilling the troops ; and 
 every thing was to be done. Organization, instruction, and drill 
 were only a portion of the labor. Transportation was to be se- 
 cured, artillery horses collected, and ammunition to be obtained. 
 The very harness to draw the guns was difficult to be secured. 
 The volunteers were generally well armed, but the Ordnance 
 Department of the Confederacy was wholly unorganized, and the 
 few munitions then manufactured in the South were too defec- 
 tive to be relied on. General Lee showed Colonel Stuart, about 
 this time, a miserable-looking percussion-cap, apparently ex- 
 ploded, and said sadly, " This is the best we can make." 
 
 Jackson's energy soon achieved good results. The little 
 army of volunteers was gradually moulded into something like 
 an effective force ; and although its equipments were not such as 
 enabled it to take the field with advantage, General Johnston 
 found himself in command of a very respectable body of troops. 
 It consisted of nine regiments and two battalions of infantry ; 
 four companies of artillery, with sixteen pieces, but no caissons, 
 horses, or harness, and about three hundred cavalry. 
 
 The troops were only partially drilled, several regiments al- 
 most without accoutrements, and the supply of ammunition was 
 entirely inadequate for active operations ; but the character of
 
 42 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the men who commanded this volunteer force was a sure guaranty 
 that all defects would be speedily remedied. 
 
 General Johnston was a thorough soldier, and had his whole 
 heart in the cause.* Colonel J. E. B. Stuart, who commanded 
 the cavalry, was characterized by untiring energy, clear judg- 
 ment, and extraordinary powers of communicating his own brave 
 spirit to his men. And Captain Pendleton, in charge of the ar- 
 tillery, was an excellent officer, a graduate of West Point, and 
 devoted heart and soul to the South. The deficiency in harness 
 for the artillery was readily supplied by the use of ropes and 
 farm gearing : the cavalry were taught that more depended upon 
 stout hearts, strong arms, and the elan of the true cavalier, than 
 on the number or excellence of weapons ; and into the ardent 
 youths of the infantry were infused the stern courage, the un- 
 yielding fortitude, the daring, the obstinacy, the unshrinking 
 nerve of Jackson. With Stuart in command of his cavalry, 
 
 * The correspondent of a Southern journal thus described Johnston : 
 " General Johnston, as you are aware, is a native of the proud old Common- 
 wealth of Virginia, and a little turned fifty years of age. He weighs about one 
 hundred and sixty pounds, is five feet ten inches in height though he looks 
 taller on account of his erect carriage has a florid complexion, short gray hair 
 and closely cut side-whiskers, mustache and goatee. His manners are rather 
 quiet and dignified, and his general appearance and deportment highly military. 
 Indeed, every thing about him his bearing, style of dress, and even his most 
 careless attitudes betoken the high-toned and spirited soldier, who loves his 
 profession, and whose soul revels in the din and uproar of the battle-field. His 
 short hair and beard, high color, close-fitting uniform, striking air and self-pos- 
 session, remind one of the game cock, the most courageous of all ' the fowls of 
 the air,' when clipped and trimmed and prepared for the ring. 
 
 " As a strategist he enjoys a very high reputation among military men. In 
 his operations he regards masses and general results, rather than isolated 
 bodies and mere temporary effects. And hence the opinion prevails, with 
 some, that he lacks energy and enterprise. This, however, is a great mistake. 
 No man is more watchful of his adversary, or more ready to strike when the 
 right time comes ; and when he does strike he delivers the blow of a giant. 
 He sees but little advantage in picking off a man here and there, or in precipi- 
 tating small bodies of men against each other. Instead of frittering awayhia 
 strength, he seeks rather to husband it until the auspicious moment arrives, 
 and then he goes to work with an energy and resolution that is wonderful"
 
 THE FIRST BRIGADE. 4:3 
 
 Pendleton in charge of the artillery, and Jackson to lead his in- 
 fantry, General Johnston had an auspicious augury of the splen- 
 did results which, in spite of its small numbers, the army would 
 surely achieve. Jackson had heen assigned to the command of 
 the First Brigade of the " Army of the Shenandoah," as it was 
 now called consisting of the 2d Virginia, Colonel Allen ; the 
 4th Virginia, Colonel Preston ; the 5th Virginia, Colonel Harper, 
 and the 27th (Lieutenant-Colonel Echols commanding), to 
 which was soon afterwards added the 33d Virginia, Colonel 
 Gumming. These regiments were composed of the very flower 
 and pride not only of the valley, but the whole commonwealth ; 
 and this fine fighting material was rapidly taking shape from 
 the iron hand of its leader. Jackson had already begun to 
 mould his command into that phalanx which stood unbroken 
 afterwards amid scenes of the most frightful carnage. It was 
 to take his own impress, rejoice in being led by him, and, as the 
 " Stonewall Brigade," attain a renown which will live in the 1 
 pages of history. 
 
 The origin, embodiment, and organization of this famous 
 brigade would afford material for an interesting sketch. For 
 this we have no space, but a brief reference to the material 
 and character of one of the regiments the 2d Virginia will 
 convey an idea of the rest. This regiment was composed of 
 young men from the counties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Frederick, 
 and Clarke, where there had been scarcely a youth over fifteen 
 who had not shouldered his musket and marched to defend the 
 border. The ardor of the times burned in every breast, even in 
 boys far below the military age, and it became wholly impossi- 
 ble to keep them at school. In vain did the mothers of these 
 gay youths, trembling at the thought of exposing their weak 
 frames to the hardships of the service, use every means of re- 
 taining them at home. The high spirit derived from courageous 
 ancestors broke through all obstacles, and carried its point. 
 The schools were deserted ; the scholars laid down their text- 
 books to take up the musket ; the towns, villages, and cross-roads 
 were alive with young warriors, ardently learning the drill and
 
 M LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the management of their arms ; and from their own beardless 
 ranks were elected those officers who afterwards faced the storms 
 of battle at Manassas, Kernstown, Port Republic, and in all the 
 great campaigns of the low country of Maryland and Pennsyl- 
 vania with a nerve so splendid and heroic. They had, many 
 of them, lived in luxury, but they strapped on the knapsack, 
 shouldered the musket, and marched and fought and lived hard, 
 with the contentment and resolution of veterans.' There was 
 little repining at hard fare or exhausting marches and marched 
 they were very nearly to death. They proved themselves thor- 
 ough soldiers ; accepted good fortune and bad with equanimity ; 
 and, advancing into action with a gay and chivalric courage, 
 fought and died with a smile upon the lips. In the ranks of the 
 regiment were persons of all ages and conditions old men and 
 boys, the humblest of the sons of toil and the heirs of the most 
 ancient families but there was no distinction which separated 
 them. They were all united, trained, and working for a com- 
 mon object ; and thus united they continued to the end. 
 
 All that this excellent fighting material required in May, 
 1861, was a leader who could compel the respect, arouse the en- 
 thusiasm, and control and direct the chivalric impulses of the 
 men. This leader was found in the person of Jackson 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 JOHNSTON RETREATS. 
 
 AN opportunity to test the efficiency of the troops was now 
 near at hand. The Federal authorities had entered upon the 
 campaign in Virginia with great vigor, and the surprise and 
 capture of about 600 Confederates at Philippi, in Northwestern 
 Virginia, seemed a happy omen of the future. The affair at 
 Bethel, in Lower Virginia, on the 10th of June, was not so en- 
 couraging. At that place an attacking force of Federal infantry,
 
 JOHNSTON RETREATS. 45 
 
 about 4,000 in number, was repulsed by about 1,800 Confeder- 
 ates posted behind earthworks, and forced to retreat, with some 
 loss, to Fortress Monroe. 
 
 The most important field of operations was, however, on the 
 Potomac, and toward the middle of June the great campaign in 
 that region commenced. General McClellan was advancing 
 from the northwest with an army of about 20,000 men ; Patter- 
 son was moving from Pennsylvania on Williamsport with a force 
 estimated at 18,000 ; and the " Grand Army," assembling at 
 Alexandria, was nearly ready to advance along that great war 
 artery, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, upon Richmond. 
 To oppose the march of these heavy columns, the Confederates 
 had about 23,000 men of whom 15,000 were at Manassas, and 
 about 8,000 at Harper's Ferry. Much reliance was, however, 
 placed iipon the officers in command at the points in question. 
 General Beauregard, commanding at Manassas, was a soldier 
 of recognized ability, and General Johnston was supposed to 
 possess high qualifications for his position. Although the two 
 armies were separate and distinct, they were within supporting 
 distance, and could easily be consolidated. In case a movement 
 of the large Federal force at Washington threatened to over- 
 p ower the troops at Manassas, and thus open the way to Rich- 
 mond, General Johnston could promptly evacuate the valley, 
 unite with Beauregard, and oppose the Federal advance with 
 the entire available force of the Confederacy in that region. 
 
 Such was the general situation. We proceed now to the 
 field with which we are more particularly concerned. 
 
 Upon assuming command at Harper's Ferry, General John- 
 ston made a complete reconnoissance of the place and its envi 
 rons. The authorities seem to have regarded it at the time as a 
 point of strategic importance, but Johnston's examination of the 
 ground confirmed, he declares, his preconceived opinion that the 
 position was untenable by any force not strong enough to take 
 the field against an invading army, and hold both sides of the 
 Potomac. In fact, this romantic spot is a species of triangle, of 
 which the Potomac and Shenandoah, here mingling their waters,.
 
 46 LIFE OF STOXEWALL JACKSOX. 
 
 form two sides, and an elevated plateau in rear of the town the 
 third. The position is exposed to enfilade and reverse fires 
 from the lofty ridge across the Potomac, known as Maryland 
 Heights, and could easily be turned by the enemy crossing above 
 or below. In addition to all this, Harper's Ferry was twenty 
 miles from the great route into the valley, by which Patterson 
 would advance ; and if he continued to hold it, General John- 
 ston saw that he would be out of position to defend the valley ; 
 unable, in case of emergency, to join General Beauregard, and 
 would, himself, be exposed to serious danger by a movement of 
 the enemy on his rear. 
 
 These considerations determined him to evacuate a position 
 which it " perfectly suited the enemy's views " to have him oc- 
 cupy, and retired to Winchester, his true base of operations, 
 where all the great highways converged. Thence he could op- 
 pose the columns advancing from the northwest and by way of 
 Williamsport ; had the valley to fall back along, if necessary, 
 and, better than all, the way was open to Beauregard, who might 
 need his assistance at Manassas. From a veritable trap Gen- 
 eral Johnston would emerge into an open field, where he could 
 advance or retire at will, free as a raiiger of the prairie to strike, 
 stand on the defensive, or retreat ; and this new position, offer- 
 ing so many advantages, he determined at once to occupy. 
 
 The movement, however, was not then made. The military 
 authorities at Richmond regarded the continued occupation of 
 Harper's Ferry as indispensable, and Johnston " determined to 
 hold it, until the great objects of the Government required its 
 abandonment."* To guard against surprise, in the meanwhile, 
 and deceive the enemy as to his intention, he directed Major 
 Whiting, his chief engineer, to mount a few heavy guns on Fur- 
 nace Ridge, above the town, and otherwise strengthen the posi- 
 tion. The important duty of picketing the river, above and be- 
 low, was entrusted to the cavalry under Colonel Stuart. 
 
 This officer, styled by Johnston " the indefatigable Stuart," 
 
 * This ambiguous sentence is taken from General Johnston's official report.
 
 JOHXSTON RETREATS. 47 
 
 here inaugurated that energetic system of cavalry tactics which 
 afterwards on a wider field accomplished so much, and secured 
 for its originator his great and justly-earned reputation. Bold, 
 ardent, and "indefatigable" by mental and physical organiza- 
 tion, the young Virginian for he was not yet twenty-eight years 
 of age concentrated all his faculties upon the task before him, 
 of watching for^ the enemy's approach and penetrating his de- 
 signs. Educated at West Point, and trained in Indian fighting 
 on the prairie, he brought to the great struggle, upon which he 
 had now entered, a thorough knowledge of arms, a bold and fer- 
 tile conception, and a constitution of body which enabled him to 
 bear up against fatigues which would have prostrated the strength 
 of other men. Those who saw him at this tmie are eloquent in 
 their description of his energy and the habits of the man. They 
 tell how he remained almost constantly in the saddle ; how he 
 never failed to take to one side and specially instruct every 
 squad which went out on picket ; how he was everywhere present, 
 at all hours of the day and night, along the line which he guarded ; 
 and how, by thus infusing into the raw cavalry his own untiring 
 activity and watchfulness, he was enabled, in spite of the small 
 force which he commanded about three hundred men to ob- 
 serve the whole front of the Potomac from the Point of Rocks east 
 of the Blue Ridge to the western part of Berkeley. His personal 
 traits made him a great favorite with all who knew him, and 
 contributed to his success with volunteers. His animal spirits 
 were unconquerable, his gayety and humor unfailing ; he had a 
 ready jest for all, and made the forest ring with his songs as he 
 marched at the head of his column. So great was his activity, 
 that General Johnston compared him to that species of hornet 
 called a " yellow jacket," and said that " he was no sooner 
 brushed off than he lit back again." When the General was 
 subsequently transferred to the West, he wrote to Stuart : " How 
 can I eat, sleep, or rest in peace without you upon the outpost?" 
 The anticipated advance of the Federal forces soon began. 
 On the 13th of June, information reached General Johnston that 
 the town of Romney, about thirty-seven miles west of Winches-
 
 48 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 ter, was occupied by 2,000 Federal troops, supposed to be tlier 
 advance force of General McClellan, and that General Patterson 
 was moving from Chambersburg on Williamsport. On receiv- 
 ing this intelligence, Johnston sent Colonel A. P. Hill with three 
 regiments to check the advance of the force at Romney, and 
 made immediate preparations to evacuate Harper's Ferry, and 
 fall back upon Winchester. Active steps had already been 
 taken in anticipation of the necessity of this movement. The 
 valuable machinery for manufacturing muskets and rifles had 
 been removed to Richmond, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, 
 and every arm serviceable and unserviceable secured. All that 
 now remained to be done was to send the heavy baggage and 
 public property still there to Winchester. 
 
 This was done, and on the morning of June 14th, the long 
 railroad bridge over the Potomac and the public buildings were 
 set on fire. The spectacle was magnificent. The buildings and 
 bridge were soon wrapped in flame, clouds of lurid smoke dark- 
 ened the landscape, and the troops gazing upon the scene felt 
 that the war had commenced in earnest. 
 
 On the morning of the 15th, Johnston fell back from the 
 place, and, passing through Charlestown, where the troops were 
 warmly received, bivouacked in the woods beyond. On the 16th 
 he moved by his right flank across the country to Bunker Hill, 
 on the Winchester and Martinsburg turnpike, and was thus in 
 front of General Patterson, who had thrown a force across at 
 Williamsburg, but now withdrew it, finding that Johnston's main 
 body was ready to meet any advance. As soon as the enemy 
 were known to have disappeared from his front, General John- 
 ston retired from Bunker Hill, and concentrated his whole force, 
 including Hill's command, which had returned at Winchester.
 
 THE "AFFAIR AT FALLING WATERS." 4-9 
 
 \ 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE " AFFAIR AT FALLING WATERS." 
 
 EVERY thing remained quiet, after these movements, during 
 the month of June. Stuart was, as usual, in command of the 
 front, and " his increasing activity and vigilance," says General 
 Johnston, " were relied on to repress small incursions of the en- 
 emy, to give intelligence of invasions by them, and to watch, 
 harass, and circumscribe their every movement." Johnston, 
 then occupied in throwing up earthworks at Winchester, de- 
 pended upon this officer for prompt warning of any movement 
 on the part of General Patterson ; and this warning soon came. 
 Stuart sent word that the enemy were moving, and, on the 20th 
 of June, Jackson was despatched with his brigade to the neigh- 
 borhood of Martinsburg, with orders to send such of the rolling 
 stock of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as could be removed 
 to Winchester, destroy the rest, and when the enemy appeared, 
 act as a support to the cavalry. He was not, however, to make a 
 decided stand, but feel his adversary, and, if hard pressed, retire 
 toward Winchester. 
 
 The high-spirited young men of the First Brigade received 
 the order to march against the enemy with enthusiasm ; and this 
 sentiment was not unshared by their commander. Jackson's 
 love of movement, action, and conflict has not been sufficiently 
 dwelt upon by the writers who have described the man and his 
 career. To the last he was impatient of the inactive life of the 
 camp, and. in the fall of 1862, expressed a strong desire to ac- 
 company General Stuart in his expedition around McClellan, in 
 Maryland, as a volunteer cavalry man. In June, 1861, the or- 
 der to advance and " feel the enemy," was received by him with 
 unalloyed satisfaction. This was more than shared, as we have 
 intimated, by his troops. They were proud to have been selected 
 4
 
 50 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 for this first collision, upon the result of which so much was apt 
 to depend, and prepared with ardor for the march. 
 
 Jackson was soon at Martinsburg, from which place he sent 
 a number of locomotives back to Winchester, drawn by teams 
 of horses over the turnpike. About forty engines and three hun- 
 dred cars were burned, and the brigade then advanced to sup- 
 port the cavalry between Martinsburg and Williamsport. This 
 was the first occasion upon which Jackson and Stuart, after- 
 wards so closely associated, acted together in face of the enemy. 
 Common recollections of " old times in the Valley," became a 
 bond of union between them subsequently, and their friendship 
 remained warm and constant to the last. When Jackson fell at 
 Chancellorsville, his thoughts at once turned to Stuart as his 
 successor, and he murmured, " Tell him to act upon his own 
 judgment, and do what he thinks best ; I have implicit con- 
 fidence in him ; " and when the news came of his death, tears 
 gushed into Stuart's eyes, and he said, in a broken voice, " It- 
 is a national calamity ; Jackson's loss is irreparable." 
 
 These officers were now to act together in front of the in- 
 vading force under Patterson, and their skill, enterprise, and 
 courage gave promise of favorable results. Stuart with his 
 cavalry, and Jackson with his infantry, formed a dangerous 
 combination. The one, living in the saddle and watching with 
 lynx-eyed vigilance, was sure to discover every movement of hia 
 adversary, and promptly meet ft ; the other, lying in wait, was 
 ready to advance and try of what mettle the invading column 
 was composed. 
 
 Jackson encamped in the neighborhood of the little village 
 of Hainesville, on the road to Falling Waters and Williamsport, 
 the camp of Colonel Stuart being a little in advance of that 
 point in the same direction. Such was the position of the Con- 
 federates when, on the 2d of July, the Federal army crossed 
 the Potomac at Williamsport. They were commanded by Gen- 
 eral Patterson in person, and Jackson immediately advanced to 
 receive their attack Colonel Stuart having moved with about 
 one hundred cavalry by a circuitous road to attack their flank
 
 THE "AFFAIR AT FALLING WATERS." 51 
 
 and rear. It was on this occasion that Stuart captured, in per- 
 son, forty-four men. He was detached from his command, and 
 seeing a company of Federal infantry resting in a field, sepa- 
 rated from him by a fence and bars, determined to attempt their 
 capture. He accordingly rode up to the fence, ordered one of 
 the Federal soldiers to take down the bars, which was done with 
 respectful alacrity, under the impression, doubtless, from his blue 
 uniform coat, that he was an officer of the United States army, 
 and then thundered, " Throw down your arms, or you are all 
 dead men ! " This stentorian order was obeyed at once by the 
 raw troops, who not only dropped their arms, but fell upon their 
 faces, and were all captured.* 
 
 Jackson had meanwhile advanced to meet the enemy, taking 
 with him the 5th Virginia infantry, numbering three hundred 
 ,nd eighty men, and Pendleton's battery of four six-pounders. 
 His object, he informed Captain Pendleton, was " not to fight a 
 battle, but to feel the enemy, strike a good blow, and satisfy him- 
 self what it was best to do." The remainder of his brigade had 
 accordingly been left in camp, and three of the guns were soon 
 halted, Jackson proceeding with the regiment of infantry and 
 one gun toward Falling "Waters. Near that place he came upon 
 the enemy advancing from Williamsport, their advance force 
 consisting, it is said by Federal authorities, of the brigades of 
 Abercrombie, Thomas, and Negley, with artillery, and about 
 five hundred cavalry. When first seen the Federal column was 
 emerging from a skirt of woods through which the turnpike ran, 
 and Jackson's regiment had halted behind a hill which concealed 
 them. 
 
 His orders, as we have seen, were to feel the enemy as they 
 advanced, and he now promptly made his dispositions to do so. 
 The 5th Virginia was deployed to the right and left of the road, 
 the piece of artillery held ready for action ; and these arrange- 
 ments were scarcely made when the rapid formation of line of 
 battle by the Federal troops indicated that they had discovered 
 
 * This incident was related to the writer by General Stuart.
 
 52 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the presence of the Confederates. Their infantry line occupied 
 the edge of the skirt of woods, with a battery posted on their 
 right, and a column of cavalry was visible in rear. 
 
 Jackson proceeded here as elsewhere upon the rule that it is 
 better to attack if possible, and promptly ordered his line to- 
 advance. Harper's men did so with alacrity were met by the 
 Philadelphia Rangers and the action began with animation ou 
 both sides, the Federal battery on the right of their line opening 
 a vigorous fire upon the Confederates. In spite of this fire, how- 
 ever, and that of the Federal sharp-shooters, they continued to- 
 advance, and drove the enemy from a farmhouse and yard which 
 he had occupied, which so elated the young volunteers that they 
 prepared to attack the main Federal line of battle. Jackson^ 
 however, ordered them to fall back from this dangerous position > 
 and the movement having been construed as a defeat, the Fed- 
 eral cavalry pushed forward in pursuit, advancing rapidly in 
 close column down the turnpike. They were met by the artil- 
 lery. Jackson galloped back to Pendleton's gun, which waa 
 under the crest of the hill, and, pointing out the cavalry, directed 
 him to fire a shot at the column. This was promptly done ; 
 Captain Pendleton, who had been an Episcopal clergyman, giv- 
 ing th.3 characteristic order, " Aim low, men ! and may the 
 Lord have mercy on their souls ! " The shot struck the head 
 of the cavalry column, overthrowing men and horses ; they 
 wheeled about in confusion, and, says an eye-witness, " vanished 
 like phantoms." The fire of the six-pounder was then turned 
 upon the Federal artillery, and one who took part in this 
 skirmish, whose statements are always fair and reliable, de- 
 clares that their cannoneers ran from the pieces at the first shot. 
 They had better gunners afterwards. 
 
 The action continued until about noon, the Federal forces 
 apparently fearing to advance incautiously. The Confederate 
 line was no doubt regarded as the advance-guard of a much 
 heavier force near at hand, and General Patterson extended his 
 flanks to envelope Jackson and force him to fall back upon his 
 supposed reserves. This resulted as he wished, the Southern
 
 JOHNSTON LEAVES THE VALLEY. 53 
 
 troops slowly retiring to prevent being outflanked ; the loss upou 
 each side having been, it is said, exactly the same two men 
 killed and a few wounded. 
 
 The " affair at Falling Waters," as Johnston styles it in his 
 official report, was inconsiderable for the force engaged, and de- 
 cided nothing ; but its effect upon the morale of the Southern 
 troops was important. It gave them confidence in themselves, 
 since a force of three hundred and eighty men had been able to 
 hold in check for several hours an invading column of many 
 thousands ; and, what was perhaps equally important, convinced 
 them of the coolness and soldiership of their commander. Jack- 
 son had met the enemy with the skill and nerve of the trained 
 soldier ; and the men afterwards told with admiration how, 
 while writing a despatch in the midst of the action, a cannon ball 
 which tore the tree above his head to splinters had not made 
 him move a muscle or discontinue his occupation. These may 
 seem trifles, and some readers may regard it as unnecessary 
 trouble to state that Jackson had military courage. But such 
 incidents are not trifles in war. They conciliate the confidence 
 and good feeling of troops ; and happy is the general who im- 
 presses upon his men the conviction that his nerves are beyond 
 the influence of danger, though death stare him in the face. 
 The troops believed this much of Jackson after the Falling 
 Waters affair.* 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 JOHNSTON LEAVES THE VALLEY. 
 
 JACKSON fell back slowly, continuing to show a bold front to 
 the enemy, and, reaching his camp, struck tents and moved every 
 thing to the rear. He then continued to retire, but about a mile 
 further put his artillery in position, drew up his brigade, and, in 
 
 * The writer is indebted to General Pendleton for a detailed account of 
 this engagement.
 
 54 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the words of an officer who was intimately associated with him 
 in these movements, " determined to meet the whole invading 
 force if it should come up, satisfied that he could, by the blessing 
 of God, cripple if not crush it." 
 
 The Federal column did not advance, however, upon him in 
 front. The flanking movement continued; and to avoid this, 
 Jackson again retreated. Passing through Martinsburg late in 
 the afternoon, he reached Big Spring, about two miles from the 
 town, on the road to Winchester, where he bivouacked for the 
 night. He was still " full of fight," and anxious to bring on a 
 general engagement before General Patterson's full force came 
 up. During the action in the forenoon he had sent repeated 
 despatches to General Johnston, announcing the state of affairs, 
 and urging him to advance with his main body and attack the 
 Federal commander before he reached Martinsburg. Failing in 
 this hope, he still expected reinforcements, and during the entire 
 night of the 2d of July listened anxiously for the approach of 
 the troops which would enable him to attack Patterson on the 
 next day. The commands of Bee and Elzey were promised, 
 but they did not come, and Jackson's impatience amounted 
 finally to something nearly resembling wrath. 
 
 The night passed, morning came, and the day passed on 
 still no reinforcements came. General Patterson had mean- 
 while advanced unopposed and occupied Martinsburg, where- 
 upon Jackson fell back again, halting this time at the village of 
 Darksville, seven miles from the town. Here he was met by 
 General Johnston with his whole command, and the troops were 
 speedily disposed in line of battle upon the hills and in the fields 
 surrounding the village. Filled with ardor at the expected 
 battle, Jackson was indefatigable in marshalling his force for 
 the conflict ; and, remaining hour after hour in the saddle, chose 
 carefully the position to be occupied by each regiment of his 
 brigade. It was on this occasion, while riding over the ground 
 with Captain Pendleton, that he said : " Captain, I want my 
 brigade to feel that it can itself whip Patterson's whole army,, 
 and 1 believe it can do it ! "
 
 JOHNSTON LEAVES THE VALLEY. 55 
 
 Johnston remained at Darksville, drawn up in line of battle, 
 for four days. He was unwilling to attack General Patterson 
 in the town of Martinsburg, whose solid stone buildings and en- 
 closures of masonry gave him every advantage against an assail- 
 ing force, and hoped, by occupying a position so threatening in 
 the Federal commander's front, to bring him out of his defences 
 to battle in the open fields. His own force was less than half 
 that of his opponent, and his supplies of ammunition were ter- 
 ribly meagre ; but trusting to the valor of the troops, he deter- 
 mined to bring on a general engagement and risk all results. 
 
 This challenge continued, as we have said, for four days ; 
 the troops in order of battle, and every hour expecting an ad- 
 vance of the enemy. None, however, took place, and on the 
 fourth day General Johnston, leaving Stuart with his cavalry in 
 front of the enemy, moved with his command back to Winches- 
 ter, " much to the disappointment of our troops, who were eager 
 for battle with the invaders." * 
 
 The men on this occasion almost broke out into open mur- 
 murs. They had been subjected persistently day after day to 
 the excitement of an expected action, and now that they were 
 ordered to fall into column and march back, their dissatisfaction 
 was bitter, and they construed the movement into a want of 
 courage and enterprise on the part of their commander. They 
 did not know the scarred veteran commanding them. That 
 officer looked beyond the moment, and his course was soon vin- 
 dicated by the progress of events. Woven into the warp and 
 woot of his thoughts and meditations was " Manassas" 
 
 A few days after the arrival of the army at Winchester, 
 Jackson received his commission of brigadier-general, remain- 
 ing in command of the First Brigade, to which was added about 
 this time the 33d Virginia regiment, Colonel A. C. Gumming. 
 This appointment was probably made at the instance of General 
 Johnston, who thoroughly understood the capacity of Jackson, 
 and no doubt urged his promotion. It made little difference in 
 
 * Johnston's Official Report
 
 56 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 his position, and none at all in his personal demeanor or appear- 
 ance. He appeared before his brigade in the same old gray 
 coat which he had always worn ; and the only observable cir- 
 cumstance was that the little known individual, " Colonel Jack- 
 son," had assumed that name of " General Jackson," by which 
 he is now known. 
 
 No further movements of interest marked the. campaign in 
 this region beginning and ending with the skirmish at Falling 
 Waters ; and we linger too long, perhaps, amid these early 
 scenes of the career which we have undertaken to depict. 
 Mightier events were on the march ; the Federal authorities 
 were now ready to strike their great blow at the main body of 
 the Confederates at Manassas. Here Jackson was to display, 
 in their fullest extent, those qualities of stubborn courage and 
 resolution which characterized him, to win his name of ", Stone- 
 wall," and to arouse that enthusiasm which in the latter months 
 of his life became so universal. To this great drama we shall 
 now proceed. 
 
 General Patterson soon left Martinsburg, and advanced upon 
 Winchester. His force, according to the best information, now 
 numbered about 32,000 men, while Johnston's had been also 
 swollen by the arrival of eight additional regiments from the 
 South. The design of the Federal commander was to hold 
 General Johnston in check, while General McDowell, with the 
 " Grand Army " of 55,000 men, advanced to crush Beauregard 
 at Manassas. It was now the 15th of July ; the Federal col- 
 umns were in motion from Washington, and in three days would 
 be in front of Bull Run. General Patterson accordingly moved 
 from Martinsburg Stuart retiring with his cavalry before him 
 and on the 16th was in position at Bunker Hill. The critical 
 moment had now arrived ; every hour counted. On the 17th 
 General Patterson knew, by telegraph, that the " Grand Army" 
 was at Fairfax Court-House, within a few hours' march of 
 Beauregard's position ; and a further movement was promptly 
 made to hold Johnston in the valley. General Patterson swung 
 liis left wing round to the little village of Smithfield, in the direc-
 
 JOHNSTON LEAVES THE VALLEY. 57 
 
 tion of Berryville, and in this position awaited any movement 
 of Johnston, with the evident design of holding him in check, or 
 attacking him in flank if he endeavored to march to the assist- 
 ance of Beauregard by the route of Ashby's Gap. 
 
 It was only at one o'clock in the morning, on the 18th of 
 July, and when the " Grand Army " had driven in the Con- 
 federate advance force at Manassas, that a telegraphic despatch 
 from the Government at Richmond announced the critical state 
 of affairs to Johnston. He was directed, if practicable, to send 
 his sick back to Culpepper Court-House, to evacuate Winchester, 
 and hasten to the assistance of Beauregard. 
 
 The good judgment showed by General Johnston in the 
 evacuation of Harper's Ferry now became apparent. The road 
 to Manassas was unobstructed, and the way open for his march. 
 To go to the assistance of the Army of the Potomac, it was 
 necessary either to defeat General Patterson or to elude him. 
 The latter course was chosen as the most speedy and certain, 
 and preparations were immediately made to commence the 
 movement. The number of the sick some 1,700 rendering 
 it impossible to remove them at so short a notice, they were left 
 at Winchester ; and the defence of that point, where some earth- 
 works had been thrown up and a few heavy guns mounted, was 
 entrusted to the militia of the region under Generals Carson and 
 Meem. Stuart posted a cordon of cavalry pickets from the 
 neighborhood of Smithfield along by Summit Point and Rippon 
 to the Shenandoah, completely cutting off all communication and 
 concealing every movement ; and having thus guarded against 
 every contingency in the best manner possible, Johnston left 
 Winchester behind him, and commenced his march by way of 
 Ashby's Gap, toward the east. 
 
 The valley region will long be alive with traditions of this 
 great flank movement, and the spirit exhibited by the men. 
 They had so often formed line of battle in front of the enemy, 
 only to retire afterwards without fighting, that, as we have said, 
 the troops at one time nearly broke out into open murmurs 
 against their commander. They did not know that frequently,
 
 58 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 when his bristling guns threatened the foe with their grim muz- 
 zles from every hillock, those guns were scarcely supplied with 
 a round of ammunition, and that no one could be more disap- 
 pointed at the necessity for retiring than the general himself. 
 Now, however, when the order for the march to Manassas came, 
 all murmurs disappeared. They responded eagerly to the in- 
 spiring summons, and filled the air with cheers. Through 
 Frederick and Clarke, across the Opequon and through the 
 little village of Millwood, wading the clear waters of the She- 
 nandoah with its margins of drooping foliage, and toiling up 
 the rough pathway through Ashby's Gap, the troops 'went upon 
 their way, without rations, ignorant of their destination, caring 
 for nothing, and knowing one thing only, that the moment for 
 action had arrived. On the way a message from Beauregard 
 reached Johnston by an officer who killed his horse to carry it. 
 This message was : " If you wish to help me, now is the time." 
 Johnston hastened on, his troops half famished, but with spirits 
 that rose above hunger and fatigue. Stuart drew in his pickets, 
 slowly put his little column in motion to cover the rear, and, 
 striking across by Berry ville, passed last through the Gap, and 
 then pushed on to the front. At Piedmont the exhausted in- 
 fantry were embarked on a train of the Manassas Gap Railroad ; 
 the cavalry and artillery continued their march, and the Army 
 of the Shenandoah hastened toward Manassas. 
 
 The larger portion of the troops arrived about noon on the 
 20th of July. Among the first was Jackson's brigade, which 
 was directed to take up a position in the pine thickets opposite 
 Mitchell's ford, the centre of the Confederate line. 
 
 The morning of the memorable 21st found Jackson here, 
 with 2,611 muskets, awaiting orders.
 
 ADVANCE OF THE GRAND ARMY. 59 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ADVANCE OF THE GRAND ARMY. 
 
 THE battle of Manassas possesses an interest peculiar to 
 itself. It was not remarkable for the loss on either side ; in- 
 deed, the casualties were comparatively trifling. Beyond ex- 
 hibiting the prowess of the Southern troops, it accomplished no 
 tangible results. And yet this battle will continue to hold its- 
 place among the most celebrated conflicts in the annals of the 
 world. 
 
 The explanation of this singular attraction will be found in the 
 terribly dramatic character of the conflict. It took place under 
 circumstances which drew io the arena the eyes of all the 
 world. Here two great races members of a Republic which 
 had held together for three generations first tried their strength 
 upon the battle field, and fought breast to breast for victory. 
 
 It was the first great battle of the war ; was fought with 
 stubborn persistence and enormous bitterness. Hour after hour' 
 the Northern and Southern lines reeled to and fro ou the bloody 
 plateau, in desperate attempts to remain the masters of it ; and 
 the world still listens to the story of the shifting fortunes of the- 
 hard-fought day with indescribable interest. Much more ab- 
 sorbing is the subject to those who took part in the engagement. 
 Its bloody scenes rise up once more before the eyes, and its thun- 
 ders again ring in the memory. 
 
 The fortunes of this memorable day were decided, as we 
 shall show, by the " First Brigade " of the Army of the Shenan- 
 doah, under Jackson. The battle is thus intimately connected 
 with the subject of this volume, and we shall . give its main 
 events, leaving, however, to the regular historian of the entire 
 Revolution, the task of gathering up and placing upon record the 
 minute details. 
 
 The blow about to be struck at Manassas was intended by
 
 60 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the Federal authorities to be decisive, and many things com 
 bined to make them certain of success. The North had re 
 sponded to the appeal of the President with immense prompt- 
 ness and enthusiasm; and when he called for an army of 
 400,000 meu and a loan of $400,000,000, Congress had voted 
 these great supplies with acclamation. Volunteers to invade 
 the South rushed to the Federal standard in great numbers, and 
 events occurring about the middle of July increased still further 
 the general enthusiasm. General Pegram, of the Confederate 
 army, was forced to surrender his whole command at Rich 
 Mountain, in Western Virginia, and General Garnett was de- 
 feated and killed at Carrick's ford. Everywhere disaster seemed 
 to attend the Southern arms, and there appeared.to be some jus- 
 tice in the dictum of the Northern journalists, who had described 
 the revolution as a " local commotion " only, or, in language 
 still more forcible, as an " unborn tadpole." Until the capital of 
 the Confederacy, however, was captured, and the government 
 dispersed, the great end was unaccomplished. The Southern 
 forces at Manassas lay in the path ; Patterson had accomplished 
 nothing against Johnston, and to defeat these two bodies of 
 troops was essential to the Federal success. To attain this im- 
 portant object, what was called by the newspapers the " Grand 
 Army " was speedily organized at Washington. 
 
 Great attention was paid to the organization and equipment 
 of this force, upon which so much depended. The troops were 
 armed with the best weapons, and the artillery was numerous 
 and excellent. The cavalry arm was numerous but defective, 
 and two or three years of hard fighting were necessary to show 
 the importance of that branch to the service ; but at this time 
 cavalry was not considered necessary. It was universally be- 
 lieved at the North that the splendid body of infantry assembled 
 at Washington would be able to march, without serious opposi- 
 tion, to Richmond, and the campaign appears to have been re- 
 garded rather as a summer excursion than as the initial move- 
 ment of a long and bloody war. This conviction was apparent 
 in the personal equipments of the men, and the articles of con-
 
 ADVANCE OF THE GRAND ARMY. 61 
 
 venience and luxury which they carried with them. The army 
 rations were varied by large supplies of preserved meats, cor- 
 dials, liquors, wines, and every luxury to tempt the palate. 
 Excellent oil-cloths protected the troops from the damp, and 
 white "havelocks" warded off the burning rays of the sun. 
 The march was looked upon as a frolic. 
 
 With the United States regulars, who had been summoned 
 from the West, the " Grand Army " amounted, by Federal ac- 
 counts, to about 55,000 men, with 9 regiments of cavalry, and 
 12 batteries of rifled artillery, numbering 49 guns. It was 
 placed under the command of Major-General Irwin Mc- 
 Dowell, an officer of ability, and its movements directed by 
 Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, a Virginian, who had re- 
 tained his position in the United States Army, and now com- 
 manded all the Federal armies. 
 
 Such was the force which was ready by the middle of July 
 to advance upon General Beauregard at Manassas. His own 
 army consisted of 21,833 muskets, and 29 pieces of smooth-bore 
 artillery, with about 3 companies of cavalry. By the arrival 
 subsequently of General Johnston, with 8,333 muskets, 300 
 cavalry, and 20 guns, and General Holmes from the lower Po- 
 tomac, with 1,265 muskets and 6 guns, Beauregard's force 
 was increased to 31,431 muskets, 55 guns, and about 500 cav- 
 alry. 
 
 The Confederate commander had taken position upon Bull 
 Run, a small watercourse which rises near Aldie, and flowing 
 around Manassas Junction, empties into the Occoquan. The 
 banks of this stream were abrupt, and densely wooded ; but it 
 was fordable in numerous places, and was crossed on the Centre- 
 ville and Warrenton road, below Sudley Church, by the " Stone 
 Bridge," a solid and not unpicturesque structure of brown stone, 
 near which the battle of Manassas was fought. 
 
 General Beauregard had posted his troops along this water- 
 course, behind earthworks, from Union Mills nearly to Stone 
 Bridge, a distance of about eight miles, ready to meet the Federal 
 forces should they attempt to cross at any of the fords. His
 
 62 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 centre rested at Mitchell's ford, on the direct road from Centre- 
 ville to Manassas ; and opposite this point, Jackson, it will be 
 remembered, had been directed to take up his position. 
 
 The Federal army moved forward on the 16th of July, and 
 on the morning of the 17th entered Fairfax Court-House, Gen- 
 eral Bonham, who commanded the Confederate advance guard 
 at that place, retiring slowly before them. He continued to fall 
 back all day, his rear skirmishing with the Federal advance ; 
 and after making a brief stand at Centreville after dark, ^,nd 
 throwing up signals to warn General Beauregard of his approach, 
 retired, at daylight on the 18th, within the lines on Bull Run. 
 
 About ten in the forenoon the enemy appeared, and opened 
 an artillery fire upon the Confederate centre at Mitchell's ford ; 
 but the dense woods concealed the troops from view, and no 
 loss was inflicted. This was followed by an obstinate attack 
 upon General Longstreet, who was placed with 1,200 muskets 
 at Blackburn's ford below. A force of about 3,000 Federal 
 infantry drove in his advance on the north bank of the stream, 
 and, supported by a heavy fire of artillery, attempted to force 
 their way across the ford. Three vigorous charges were made 
 to attain this object, but all were repulsed. Longstreet's in- 
 fantry, although unprotected by earthworks, fought with great 
 nerve, and the Federal infantry finally retired ; the affair turning 
 into an " artillery duel," as General Beauregard styled it, in 
 which the guns of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans 
 were handled with great skill, and inflicted some loss upon the 
 enemy. Soon afterwards the Federal infantry retired from 
 Longstreet's front. 
 
 Such was " the battle of the 18th," as it is called the pre- 
 lude to the greater struggle on the 21st. The Confederate loss 
 was 15 killed and 55 wounded ; the Federal loss 64 left dead 
 upon the field, the number wounded not known. 
 
 These two unsuccessful attacks, at Mitchell's and Black- 
 burn's fords, upon the Confederate front, induced the Federal 
 commander to abandon the further attempt to break through 
 Beauregard's line. His attention was now turned to the left
 
 
 o 
 
 ^/fa^^w*')'*
 
 MANASSAS. 63 
 
 flatik of the Confederate army, and preparations were made to 
 strike a decisive blow in that direction. 
 
 On the night of the 20th all was ready for this movement, 
 and at daylight on the 21st the Federal columns were far upon 
 their way. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MANASSAS. 
 
 A GLANCE at the map will give the reader a clearer idea of 
 the movements which now took place, than any description can 
 convey. 
 
 Beauregard's forces were strung out along the southern 
 bank of Bull Run, over a space of nearly eight miles from 
 Union Mills to Stone Bridge ; and the design of the Federal 
 commander was to move his main body silently through the 
 woods to the Confederate left, cross the upper fords of the 
 stream, and. falling upon Beauregard's flank, drive him back 
 upon Manassas, or cut him off completely from that base. He 
 would then be compelled to hasten from his earthworks, form 
 line of battle anew with a powerful enemy pressing him, and, in 
 case he was defeated, as he probably would be, the victory 
 would be decisive. 
 
 The details of the plan of operations betrayed the skilful 
 hand of Lieutenant-General Scott. One division of about 
 16,000 men was to remain behind at Centreville, to protect the 
 Federal communications ; another to march to Stone Bridge 
 with orders to make demonstrations there ; and a third to move 
 up to Red House ford, with directions to wait until that point 
 was uncovered Then a third was to cross at Sudley ford, still 
 higher up, and drive away the Confederate forces at Red House 
 ford and Stone Bridge, when the divisions there would cross ; 
 and thus a force of about 40,000 men would be concentrated 
 upon the southern banks of Bull Run, directly upon Beauregard's
 
 64 LIFE OF STOXEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 left flank. Then one determined charge, and the end would 
 crown the work. 
 
 The movements to attain this object commenced in presence 
 of a great crowd of spectators editors, idlers, sensation hunters, 
 and even ladies who had hastened with eager curiosity from 
 the Federal capital to witness the defeat of the Southern forces. 
 Champagne and every delicacy had been sent to Centreville to 
 celebrate the anticipated victory ; and on the 20th that town and 
 the camps around it were the scene, it is said, of something like 
 a carnival. The excited crowd were listening for the thunder 
 of the guns from those " mysterious Virginia forests " so often 
 mentioned, and there was little or no doubt in ,any mind of the 
 result. Lieutenant-General Scott, and others who knew some 
 what better the mettle of the South, probably experienced no 
 little anxiety ; but the crowd of spectators seem to have been 
 firm in their faith of a great Federal triumph. 
 
 Meanwhile the columns were moving, and during the night 
 of the 20th scouts brought word to General Beauregard, who 
 directed operations under General Johnston, that the enemy 
 were concentrating on the Warrenton road. The probability of 
 an attack upon the Confederate left wing was apparent, and at 
 four in the morning orders were despatched to all his command- 
 ers, by General Beauregard, to hold the troops in readiness to 
 march at a moment's warning. The design was, as soon as the 
 enemy's intentions were fully developed, to advance and attack 
 him in flank and reverse at Centrevilie, a point completely in his 
 rear. This excellent plan was never carried out, however, owing 
 to some fatality which attended the transmission of the orders ; 
 and the battle of Manassas commenced and ended south of the 
 Stone Bridge. 
 
 The ground there is an extensive plateau, rising about one 
 hundred feet above the level of the stream, and consisting of 
 
 7 O 
 
 open fields, which fall off in gentle slopes, furrowed at intervals 
 by ravines. In these ravines grew clumps of bushes, and the 
 southern and eastern brows of the plateau were skirted with a 
 thick growth of young pines. The only buildings to be seen
 
 MANA8SA8. 65 
 
 were the Henry and Robinson houses, plain wooden structures, 
 and the well-known " stone house " near the intersection of the 
 "Warrenton road, and that extending from Manassas to Sudley 
 ford, which is known as the Sudley-Brentsville road. Near 
 this point was a belt of oak forest, where the final struggle took 
 place. 
 
 The Federal advance force was moving toward the Confed- 
 erate left all night, and, following a narrow road through the 
 " Big Forest," reached Sudley ford about eight in the morn- 
 ing. This column consisted of Hunter's and Heintzelman's 
 divisions ; and the division opposite Stone Bridge having opened 
 fire on the Confederates and attracted their attention, General 
 Hunter at once threw his command across, and advanced rapidly 
 to the attack. 
 
 The extreme Confederate left at Stone Bridge was held by 
 Colonel Evans, with fifteen companies of infantry and Latham's 
 battery of smooth-bore six-pounders. He did not reply to the 
 artillery fire of the enemy, his guns being useless for that pur- 
 pose ; but when they threw forward a line of skirmishers, met 
 them and engaged in a desultory skirmish, which lasted for three 
 hours without result. It was now half-past eight, and General 
 Hunter was over. Evans had become convinced that the attack 
 upon him was merely a demonstration to cover other objects, 
 and intelligence soon reached him showing the truth of this sur- 
 mise. A heavy force was reported to be moving against his 
 flank, and, taking eleven of his fifteen companies, he hastened 
 forward by the Carter house, and, drawing up his line across the 
 Sudley-Brentsville road, with his artillery on the high ground in 
 rear, received the enemy's attack. 
 
 The conflict which immediately took place at this point 
 was very severe. The force of Colonel Evans was 800 in- 
 fantry and two six-pound guns ; that of General Hunter, by 
 Federal accounts, 16,000 infantry, 7 companies of cavalry, and 
 24 pieces of artillery ; of which force 3,500 muskets and 8 guns 
 were at once thrown forward into action. The Federal division 
 hastening down from Red House ford would make the force op-
 
 66 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 posed to Evans not far from 30,000 men, and to check this coT- 
 umn even for a moment, with 800 muskets, seemed impossible. 
 It was necessary, however, to make the attempt, and the men 
 responded with ardor. The regiment was the 4th South Caro- 
 lina, supported by a company of Wheat's battalion, and the men 
 were called on at once to meet a vigorous charge of the 2d Rhode 
 Island, supported by the fire of six thirteen-pound rifles. The 
 struggle was bitter and determined. Wheat was severely 
 wounded, but his Louisianians fought only the harder for it, 
 and Evans succeeded in repulsing the charge. His object now 
 was to hold his ground as long as possible, in order to give 
 General Beauregard time to send forward reinforcements and 
 form his new line of battle ; and the difficulty which the enemy 
 experienced in forcing him back is a high compliment to Colonel 
 Evans and his men. They fought with desperation, but were 
 slowly being pressed back by the heavy Federal line when the 
 promised succor came. General Bee, who had been ordered to 
 repair as quickly as possible with his own command and that of 
 General Bartow to the left, reached the plateau in rear of Evans 
 while the fight was raging, and perceiving the strength of the 
 position, drew up his whole command, consisting of four regi- 
 ments, two companies, and a battery, near the " Henry house.'* 
 Finding, however, that Colonel Evans was hard pressed, he 
 promptly advanced to his assistance, and, reaching the field of 
 action, disposed his forces upon Evans' right, with his battery 
 on the high ground in rear. He arrived just in time. The 
 Southern line was just giving way before the advance of fresh 
 Federal troops, which poured in a steady and destructive fire, 
 when the appearance of the Confederate reenforcement gave a 
 new aspect to affairs. Bee rapidly advanced with his four regi- 
 ments the 7th and 8th Georgia, 4th Alabama, and 2d Missis- 
 sippi and, taking command of the field, threw himself with 
 ardor into the action. 
 
 It was at once renewed with additional fury. Bee's regi- 
 ments fought with such gallantry, that, as one of them afterwards, 
 with thinned and bleeding ranks, marched off the field, General
 
 MANASSAS. 67 
 
 Beauregard raised his hat as they passed, and exclaimed, " I 
 salute the 8th Georgia with my hat off ! History shall never 
 forget you ! " The gallantry of the others was equally marked, 
 and for an hour the blended commands of Bee and Evans faced 
 the great force opposed to them unmoved. The moment came, 
 however, when the term of further resistance was reached. 
 Many officers had fallen, the men were exhausted, and still the 
 dark columns of Federal infantry grew heavier as their rear 
 closed up. Bee's force, with that of Evans, was somewhat more 
 than five regiments, with six guns ; the force opposed to him, 
 from Federal accounts, two divisions, consisting of eight 
 brigades, with seventeen companies of regular infantry, cavalry, 
 and artillery, and twenty rifle pieces. 
 
 In face of this great odds Bee was slowly forced to give 
 ground. His thin lines were swept by a destructive fire of mus- 
 ketry from the Federal troops, sheltered behind stone fences, 
 and the rifle guns of Ricketts and others filled the air with a 
 whirlwind of iron. General Bartow, Bee's second in command, 
 had had his horse shot under him, and was fighting on foot ; 
 Wheat had been borne from the field, and the ground over which 
 the opposing lines had fought was covered with dead bodies and 
 bathed in blood. The astonishing spectacle had been presented 
 of regiments holding their ground against brigades, and sustain- 
 ing without confusion the fire of many times their number for 
 hours ; but the men were now exhausted, hope began to desert 
 them, and Bee saw that he must fall back in the best order he 
 could to escape destruction. He gave the order to retire just as 
 the brigades of Sherman and Keyes, which had crossed at Red 
 House ford, pressed down upon his flank. 
 
 The scene which ensued was one of painful disaster to the 
 Southerners. The Federal troops swept forward with triumph- 
 ant cheers, and as Bee's shattered battalions fell back in full re- 
 treat, poured into them a more rapid and galling fire than before. 
 The Federal artillery redoubled its fire, and the retreat became 
 every moment more disordered. The bristling battalions of 
 Federal infantry rushed upon their prey ; the merciless fusillade
 
 68 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 continued without intermission, and the fields were strewed 1 
 with the dying and the dead. Dust, blood, the lightning of mus- 
 ketry, and the thunder of artillery, made the scene one of inex 
 pressible anguish and despair. 
 
 Bee had aimed to retire in something like order to the 
 plateau near the Henry house, and make a stand there, in a 
 stronger position ; but the quick eye of the soldier now told him 
 that all was lost. No exertions which he made could restore 
 good order ; and though he rode to and fro, amid the storm of 
 bullets, beseeching the troops by all they held dear to rally to 
 their colors until reinforcements came, he could not reform his 
 line. His voice was not heard, or his commands were disobeyed. 
 All was over. 
 
 Such was the condition of things when the glitter of bayonets 
 caught the eyes of Bee, beyond the Henry house hill ; and a 
 courier brought word that the reenforcementg were coming at 
 last. Bee galloped in the direction of the fresh troops ; they 
 were the First Brigade, under Jackson. He had been sent some 
 time before to support General Cocke, below Stone Bridge, but, 
 hearing the hot fire upon the left, had moved his brigade in that 
 direction. As he pressed on rapidly, the disordered troops of 
 Bee and Evans swept by toward the rear, but the First Brigade 
 continued to advance. All at once Bee appeared, approaching at 
 full gallop, and he and Jackson were soon face to face. The 
 latter was cool and composed ; Bee, covered with dust and 
 sweat, with his drawn sword in his hand, his horse foaming. 
 In the bitter despair of his heart he eould only groan out r 
 " General, they are beating us back ! " 
 
 The face of Jackson betrayed no corresponding emotion. 
 He had his " war look" on, but that was never a look of excite- 
 ment. His eye glittered, and, in the curt tone habitual with him, 
 he said coolly, " Sir, we will give them the bayonet." 
 
 These words seemed to act upon Bee like the ring of a 
 clarion. He galloped back to his men, and, pointing with his 
 sword to Jackson, shouted, " Look ! there is Jackson standing 
 like a stone wall ! Let us determine to die here r and we will
 
 MAJSTASSAS. 69 
 
 conquer ! " His command was partially rallied ; the detach- 
 ments took their position on the right, and Jackson's line swept 
 steadily on toward the plateau. 
 
 In a moment the whole aspect of affairs had undergone a 
 change. The Federal fofees, which were rushing forward in 
 pursuit of the broken battalions of Bee, saw themselves suddenly 
 confronted by 2,600 bayonets, and their advance was checked. 
 At the same moment the 600 infantry of Colonel Wade Hamp- 
 ton, who had held the "Warrenton road against Keyes, repulsing 
 him, until his position was completely flanked, fell back and 
 took position on the right. Met thus by Jackson and by Hamp- 
 ton, whose splendid nerve was afterwards exhibited upon so 
 many memorable fields, the Federal lines came to a halt. The 
 First Brigade was in position, the troops ready and eager. From 
 this rock the wave went back. 
 
 There is no doubt that the presence of Jackson at this crisis 
 saved the fortunes of the day. No other troops were near, and 
 in thirty minutes the enemy would have been strongly posted 
 upon the plateau near the Henry house . The retreat of General 
 Beauregard upon Manassas would have followed, or a desperate 
 assault upon earthworks occupied by the bulk of the Federal army. 
 
 The current of battle, only for a moment checked, now began 
 to move again with greater force than before. The Federal 
 battalions pressed across the Warrenton road, and rapidly ad- 
 vanced toward the Henry house, where the hottest portion of 
 the struggle was to take place. Jackson had formed his line 
 just under the eastern crest of the plateau, with Hampton and 
 the shattered remnants of the commands of Bee and Evans in a 
 ravine and forest on his right ; in front of him he had placed two 
 guns of Stanard's battery, which kept up a steady fire as the 
 enemy continued to advance. The 4th and 27th Virginia infan 
 try formed his centre, the 5th Virginia his right, and the 2 
 and 33d Virginia his left. The instructions given by Jackson to 
 his troops were, " to charge the enemy with the bayonet so soon 
 as they should appear over the crest, and within about fifty yards."* 
 
 * Jackson to Colonel J. M. Bennett, July 28th, 1861, in Appendix.
 
 70 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 As Jackson took position to check the Federal advance, 
 Generals Johnston and Beauregard appeared upon the field. 
 They had up to that time remained upon a lofty hill in rear of 
 Mitchell's ford, near the centre of the Confederate line, and, 
 hearing the continuous roar upon thewft, had waited anxiously, 
 says General Beauregard, for similar sounds from the front, as 
 an order had been sent for the whole right wing of the army to 
 advance and attack the enemy at Centreville. At half-past ten 
 a despatch from General Ewell, at Union Mills, conveyed the 
 mortifying intelligence that the order had never been received ; and 
 as it was now too late to make the movement, the whole attention 
 of the Confederate commanders was directed to the left. The 
 entire body of reserves was ordered to repair without delay to 
 that point, and Johnston and Beauregard set out at a rapid 
 gallop for the scene of action, which they reached about noon, 
 just as Jackson had opened fire with his artillery. 
 
 The spectacle at this moment was one of absorbing interest. 
 Through the dust and smoke which filled the valleys and swept 
 across the hills, were seen the heavy masses of Federal infantry 
 rapidly forming upon the plateau ; and from this cloud came the 
 thunder of artillery, the roll of musketry, and the confused 
 shouts of the combatants. At a single coup d'oeil, the glance 
 embraced the artillery-swept plateau and the sheltering ravines, 
 the glitter of bayonets, the red glare of the cannon, and the 
 forms of the officers as they passed to and fro rallying or cheer- 
 ing on the troops. Jackson's men could scarcely be seen. They 
 were lying down in line of battle, under the crest of the plateau, 
 awaiting the order to advance. 
 
 Generals Johnston and Beauregard found affairs in a most 
 critical condition. Lee and Evans were overpowered, and un- 
 less Jackson and Hampton could hold their position until ree'n- 
 forcements arrived, the day was lost. Galloping up and down 
 the disordered lines of Bee, they appealed to the men by all they 
 valued on earth to rally to their standards ; and seizing the colors 
 of the 4th Alabama, Johnston led them forward, and formed 
 them in face of a heavy fire. Beauregard was meanwhile en-
 
 HANASSAS. 71 
 
 gaged in cheering on the men in every portion of the field. The 
 animation of his Creole blood burned in his dark face, and rang 
 in the inspiring tones of his voice, as in brief soldierly phrase he 
 called upon the troops to follow him. As the reserves came up, 
 he rapidly formed them under heavy fire, and soon had a line 
 of battle consisting of, on the extreme right, Bee and Evans ; in the 
 centre, Jackson, with his four regiments, and thirteen guns under 
 Colonel Pendleton ; and on the left, the remnant of the 7th 
 Georgia, the 49th Virginia battalion, the 2d Mississippi, and the 
 6th North Carolina. Hampton's legion, the 8th Virginia, and 
 Jackson's 5th Virginia supported the right, as a reserve. On 
 the right of all was a company of cavalry, and on the extreme 
 left flank, another under Stuart. 
 
 This force consisted of 6,500 infantry and cannoneers, 2 com- 
 panies of cavalry, and 13 pieces of artillery. The Federal 
 force in line of battle, by their official statement, was some- 
 what more than 20,000 infantry, with 7 companies of regular 
 cavalry and 24 pieces of artillery. About 35,000 reserves were 
 at Centreville, Stone Bridge, and opposite the lower fords. 
 
 The coming shock was to be borne by the Confederate cen- 
 tre, composed of the Virginia regiments of Jackson. Fresh, 
 thoroughly disciplined, and commanded by a soldier of known 
 coolness and courage, these regiments were rightly regarded as 
 the chief dependence of the Confederate commander in holding 
 his ground until reinforcements arrived. Jackson was indefati- 
 gable in encouraging his men, and rode up and down his lines 
 in the midst of a heavy fire, with an unconcern which had an 
 excellent effect upon the untried youths of his command. He 
 had placed his artillery in front, without cover, and the can- 
 noneers served the pieces with ardor, returning rapidly the fire 
 of the Federal batteries, which were planted upon every rising 
 ground in front. " I fully expected them all to be killed in that 
 position," he said afterwards, " yet felt that the occasion de- 
 manded the sacrifice." His infantry was lying down about one 
 hundred yards in rear of the guns, and as the familiar figure of 
 their commander passed to and fro on his bay horse, the men
 
 72 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 heard the calm lips utter constantly the words, " Steady, boys 1 
 steady all's well ! " Those who saw him on this occasion 
 noticed especially his coolness. " A more earnest yet calm ex- 
 pression," says General Pendleton, " I have never seen upon 
 human countenance." 
 
 No material change took place in the positions of the op- 
 posing forces until about two o'clock, when the Federal lines 
 were pushed forward, and their batteries advanced, inclining 
 to the right, with the evident intention of securing an oblique 
 fire upon Jackson's front. In doing so one of them approached 
 so near Colonel Cummings' regiment the 33d Virginia that he 
 charged and captured it, but owing to the destructive fire of 
 musketry was obliged to retire and abandon the guns. Thia 
 movement of their artillery was the prelude to a new and more 
 determined advance of the Federal troops. Their infantry, 
 swarming upon the face of the plateau, was massed in the vicin- 
 ity of the Henry house, and all at once the bristling lines were 
 thrown forward, and hurled with fury upon the Confederate cen- 
 tre. As they moved, the artillery under Pendleton greeted them 
 with a discharge of canister at close range, and then withdrew 
 at a gallop to the high ground across the little valley, where 
 they continued to fire upon the Federal forces as they rushed 
 forward at a double-quick to the charge. 
 
 Jackson met this charge with the bayonet. They were now 
 so close upon him, as, in his own words, " to call for the free 
 use of the bayonet ; and I accordingly ordered the charge to be 
 made, which cut the enemy's centre, and thus separated his 
 wings." The scene described and dismissed in these few simple 
 words, was one of the most stirring and magnificent spectacles 
 of the war. The long and glittering lines of Federal infantry, 
 supported by the fire of their finest batteries, were almost in 
 contact with Jackson, when he ordered his men to charge. 
 They responded with wild cheers, and, firing a heavy volley, 
 rushed forward with all the ardor of volunteers. The enemy 
 met them with determination ; and with one mad yell arising 
 from both adversaries, and mingling its savage echoes, the sur
 
 MAN A 88 A 8. 73 
 
 ging masses came together. The scene which followed is inde- 
 scribable. The thunder of artillery and the sustained crash of 
 musketry rolled like some diabolical concert across the hills, and 
 the opposing lines were lost in a dense cloud of smoke, from 
 which rose shouts, yells, cheers, and the groans of the dying. 
 
 Jackson had charged without orders, from the necessity of 
 his situation ; but General Beauregard, it seems, had at nearly 
 the same moment ordered his whole front to advance. At 
 this order the troops rushed to the attack with an ardor and 
 enthusiasm never afterwards surpassed during the war. The 
 men seemed inspired with a species of fury almost, which made 
 them careless of wounds and death. One who was carried dy- 
 ing from the field, exclaimed, with clenched hands, " They've 
 done for me now, but my father's there yet ! our army's there 
 yet ! our cause is there yet ! and liberty's there yet ! " The 
 officers set a chivalric example to the troops, and suffered heav 
 ily. Hampton was shot while bravely leading on his men. Bee 
 fell mortally wounded at the head of the Alabamians and Geor 
 gians, near the Henry house, grasping the sword presented tt 
 him by South Carolina, and urging on his men to the last. Col 
 onel Fisher, of North Carolina, was killed ; Colonels Gartrell 
 and Falkner wounded ; and General Bartow, who had said, " I 
 shall go into that fight with a determination never to leave the 
 field alive, but in victory," was shot through the heart while 
 rallying the 7th Georgia, and fell, exclaiming to the men around 
 him, " They've killed me, but never give up the field ! " 
 
 In the midst of this hot struggle Jackson's equanimity re- 
 mained unshaken. He does not seem, during any portion of the 
 battle, to have contemplated disaster or defeat, and opposed to 
 the agitation and flurry of many around him a demeanor en- 
 tirely unmoved. When an officer rode up to him, and exclaimed 
 with great excitement, " General, I think the day is going against 
 us ! " Jackson replied, with entire coolness in his brief, curt 
 one, " If you think so, sir, you had better not say any thing 
 about it." 
 
 His bayonet charge had pierced the Federal centre,, sepa-
 
 74 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 rating the two wings ; but such was their preponderance of num- 
 bers that this advantage not only became of doubtful value, but 
 the Confederate line was in danger of being enveloped by the 
 heavy masses closing in upon its flanks. Jackson put forth all 
 his strength to retain his vantage ground ; and the enemy made 
 corresponding exertions to drive him from the plateau. At this 
 stage the struggle reached its utmost intensity. In portions of 
 the field, especially near the Henry house, the opposing lines 
 fought almost breast to breast ; and though repeatedly repulsed, 
 the Federal infantry constantly returned with new vigor to the 
 charge. Still the Confederate front remained unbroken. Led 
 by determined officers, who kept their ranks closed up, and 
 cheered them byword and example, the troops continued to 
 hold their ground upon the plateau especially the first brigade, 
 which occupied the dangerous and important position in the 
 centre. The Federal line had first been broken by this brigade, 
 and now was destined to receive from it the coup de grace. 
 
 Jackson had held his position for about an hour ; and this 
 had enabled General Beauregard to hurry forward troops from 
 the lines along Bull Run. These were at last in position, and, 
 taking command of them in person, General Beauregard, about 
 three o'clock, ordered the whole line to advance and make a de- 
 cisive assault.* Jackson still held the centre, and, although 
 wounded in the hand by a fragment of shell, paid no attention 
 to the accident. At the word, his brigade rushed forward, broke 
 through the Federal line in front of them, and, supported by the 
 reserves, drove the enemy from the plateau, across the Warren- 
 ton road, into the fields of the Dogan farm. 
 
 The decisive success had been mainly achieved by Jackson's 
 command, and he proudly wrote to a friend soon afterwards : 
 " You will find, when my report shall be published, that the First 
 
 * The writer is unable to state the number of Confederate troops in this 
 final charge. He is able, however, to vouch for the statement that the bulk 
 of General Beauregard's forces under Longstreet, Bonhum, and Ewell were 
 still retained at the lower fords to guard that front. The brunt of the battle 
 thus continued to be borne by the Army of the Shenandoah.
 
 HAJSTASSAS. Y5 
 
 Brigade was to our army what the Imperial Guard was to the 
 first Napoleon ; that, through the blessing of God, it met the thus 
 far victorious enemy, and turned the fortunes of the day." From 
 a man so modest, and so much opposed to all vain-gloriousness 
 and boasting, this statement stands for a great deal. It would 
 never have been made had the praise been undeserved. 
 
 The battle, however, was not over. The Federal lines had 
 been driven from the Henry house plateau, but their numbers 
 rendered them still formidable, and prompt steps were taken to 
 follow up this important blow. While marshalling his troops 
 for a final attack, General Johnston, who had commanded the 
 whole field from his headquarters at the Lewis house, received 
 intelligence that " a Federal army" had reached Manassas, and 
 was then advancing upon his rear. This force was soon ascer- 
 tained, however, to be that of General Kirby Smith of the Army 
 of the Shenandoah, who had just arrived with 1,700 fresh in- 
 fantry. They had come over the Manassas Gap Railroad, and, 
 hearing the heavy firing, General Smith had stopped the train 
 before it reached the Junction, disembarked the troops, and has- 
 tened forward to the battle field. Coming rapidly into position 
 near the Chinn house, on the Confederate left, h^ opened fire 
 with Beckham's battery on the enemy at the moment when they 
 were commencing a final attack. Their line extended in the 
 shape of a crescent from the Carter house, around in rear of 
 Dogan's, and across the Warrenton road to Chinn's house. The 
 fields and roads were filled with infantry, and their two brigades 
 of cavalry which had not been used. General Smith had 
 scarcely formed his line, when the Federal commander, throwing 
 forward a cloud of skirmishers, extended his right wing to out- 
 flank and envelope the Confederate line. They were met by the 
 fresh troops under Smith and Early with great spirit, and this 
 unexpected resistance, at a point supposed to be undefended, ob- 
 viously disheartened the attacking column. At the same mo- 
 ment the whole Southern line advanced to the charge, and the 
 combined attack upon the Federal flank and front was decisive. 
 The enemy was forced over the narrow plateau near Chinn's.
 
 76 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 house, out of the woods on its western slope, across the War- 
 renton road, and on toward Sudley and Red House fords. 
 Their lines were broken, and the army in full retreat. Soon this 
 retreat became a Avild and panic-stricken flight. The roads were 
 filled with artillery, the horses at full gallop ; men were crushed 
 beneath the wheels ; wagons were overturned amid the hurrying 
 crowd, and every article which could impede the retreat was 
 dropped by the men in their headlong flight. 
 
 The rout was so complete, that Jackson said, in his curt voice, 
 as he sat his horse and looked at the retreating army : " Give 
 me ten thousand men, and I will be in Washington to-night ! " * 
 
 * The writer has received valuable information in regard to this battle 
 from General Stuart, General Hampton, General Pendleton, and others. 
 Jackson's report of the operations of his brigade is lost, and the general 
 official report is very confused and inaccurate. It is there stated that Jackson 
 was repulsed and driven from the plateau at two o'clock. This is unquestion* 
 ably an error. He states, in his letter to Colonel Bennett, that he pierced the 
 Federal centre and held the ground thus won ; and General Pendleton, who 
 was present, writes that in this charge the enemy were " thoroughly broken 
 and thrown back, nor did they at all again recover that ridge." General 
 Hampton's statement to the writer is distinctly to the same effect. The un- 
 reliable character of the general official report was a matter of notoriety in 
 the Army of Northern Virginia ; but no intelligent person regarded the emi- 
 nent soldier whose name is signed to it as responsible for its inflation of style 
 or inaccuracy of statement.
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE VALLEY. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE AUTUMN OF 1861. 
 
 THE first days succeeding the battle of Manassas were 
 passed by the Southern troops in discussing the incidents of 
 the engagement. Among other things, they recalled General 
 Bee's expression while rallying his broken lines : " There is 
 Jackson, standing like a stone wall " ; and the name of " Stone- 
 wall " from that time forward adhered to the Virginian. It has 
 now become his designation throughout the world. 
 
 Jackson always insisted, however, that his troops, and not 
 himself, were entitled to this name. He was not a little gratified 
 at it, and on his death-bed said : " The men who live through 
 this war will be proud to say, ' I was one of the Stonewall 
 Brigade/ to their children." But the brigade and the army 
 insisted as pertinaciously upon applying the term to himself aa 
 descriptive of his obstinate resolution ; and they succeeded in 
 fixing it upon him. He was never generally known as " Thomas 
 Jonathan" his real baptismal name. Bee, when about to sur- 
 render his brave soul to his Maker, had baptized him, amid 
 blood and fire, as " Stonewall" Jackson.
 
 78 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON 
 
 The part taken by his brigade in the battle has been de- 
 scribed. They undoubtedly decided the fortunes of the day, by 
 first checking the rapid advance of the Federal forces until the 
 Confederate line was formed, and then, by piercing their centre, 
 separating their wings, and compelling them to fall back from 
 their strong position upon the plateau near the Henry house. 
 The importance of these services was recognized by the country, 
 and Jackson began to be spoken of as a commander of nerve 
 and ability. Beyond this, however, his fame did not extend. 
 No one seems to have suspected the existence of those great re- 
 sources of strategy and daring which lay under the calm exterior 
 of the Virginian ; and his celebrity as a soldier was still to be 
 won upon more arduous fields. 
 
 For three days Jackson waited impatiently for the order to 
 advance upon Washington. We have heard his exclamation on 
 the field of battle, that with ten thousand men he could enter the 
 Federal capital that night ; and to the future, when all the facts 
 shall be published, we must leave the decision of the question 
 whether he erred. What seems plain is, that Washington at 
 that moment was almost undefended, the Federal army routed, 
 and the way open. Jackson thought the movement perfectly 
 practicable, and said more than once, with, some impatience, " I 
 have three days' rations cooked, ready to advance. Why don't 
 the order come ! " 
 
 It did not come for what reason it is difficult at this time to 
 understand. The army was not well, but sufficiently provisioned ; 
 the means of transportation were limited, but many wagons were 
 not needed ; and General Patterson had not moved from his po- 
 sition on the upper Potomac. This was not certainly known, 
 however, and the apprehension was felt that a new army would 
 await the Confederates at Arlington Heights. The men were 
 not then inured to forced marches and fasting, and the idea of 
 promptly advancing was abandoned. To the eye of him who 
 to-day embraces the whole field, " looking before and after," the 
 movement seems to have been practicable ; but the future was 
 then hidden, the ground unknown, and the project of a forward
 
 THE AUTUMN OF 1861. Y9 
 
 movement was given up. General Johnston collected his army, 
 much scattered in the hot conflict, and sending forward advance 
 forces to Fairfax Court House and Vienna, went into camp near 
 Centreville . 
 
 The intelligence of the victory at Manassas was greeted in 
 the South in a manner which seemed disproportioned to its im- 
 portance. No bells were rung, or crowds harangued by street 
 orators ; and it was difficult to believe, from the demeanor of the 
 people, that they realized the good fortune of the Southern arms. 
 Such at least was the fact in Virginia, and the explanation may 
 probably be discovered in the natural character of the popu- 
 lation. The Virginians are not easily elated by good fortune, or 
 depressed by bad ; and they exhibited this temper of mind on the 
 present occasion. The Congress imitated them. Eesolutions 
 of thanks to the Southern troops were passed, couched in terms 
 of gravity and decorum, and the subject then seemed to be for- 
 gotten. The effect of the battle at the North was different. 
 Such ardent expectations of a decisive victory over the South 
 had been indulged, that the result fell upon the people with the 
 startling effect of a thunderbolt. The press teemed with angry 
 denunciations of the generals who had thus suffered themselves 
 to be defeated ; a policy of extermination against the South was 
 hotly advocated ; and the entire body of Northern society 
 seemed to be convulsed, as it had never been before, in the 
 recollections of the living. 
 
 Prompt steps were taken by the Federal authorities to re- 
 trieve the disaster, and every energy was brought into play. 
 New levies were made ; a heavy loan negotiated with the banks 
 of New York, on terms which indicated no change in the public 
 conviction that the South would soon be forced back into the 
 Union ; and Lieutenant-General Scott, now past seventy, yielded 
 the command of the Federal armies to a younger and more act- 
 ive officer. General George B. McClellan, the officer in ques- 
 tion, will probably rank, in the ultimate judgment of military 
 critics, as the ablest Federal commander of the war. This esti- 
 mate, which is formed by the present writer after a careful study
 
 80 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 of his official reports, and a full consideration of all the circum- 
 stances under which he acted, will only go for what it is worth ; 
 but his great abilities as a soldier were unquestioned even by his 
 opponents. He was at this time about thirty-five years of age, was 
 a graduate of West Point, and had been chiefly known before the 
 war as the author of a work upon European tactics, the result 
 of a visit as military commissioner to the Crimea. When the 
 war broke out he was assigned to the command of the Federal 
 forces in Western Virginia, where he achieved a complete suc- 
 cess over the Confederate arms at Rich Mountain and Carrick's 
 ford. These affairs had appeared on the Federal bulletins as 
 u two victories in one day ; " General McClellan received the 
 .flattering name of " the Young Napoleon," and his sudden pro- 
 motion to the command of all the United States forces indicated 
 the high opinion which had been formed of his abilities. Precise 
 .and military in his bearing when on duty, but at other times easy, 
 approachable, and ever ready to smile and utter a kind word, he 
 became immediately and greatly popular with the troops. His 
 sentiments toward the South were those of a soldier for an open 
 and powerful opponent, and he entered upon the duties of his 
 great position with a zeal and energy which soon accomplished 
 the most important results. Under his directing hand the dis- 
 organized Federal army again took shape, reformed its broken 
 ranks, and once more presented a determined and dangerous 
 trout to the South. 
 
 The military operations which took place during the remain- 
 der of the year 1861, over the whole field of struggle from Vir- 
 ginia to Missouri, form no part of the present narrative. The 
 South had not profited by the result of the battle of Manassas. 
 It is doubtful whether that victory did not prove a misfortune to 
 the Confederacy. Instead of concentrating all their energies, 
 and preparing tor a hard and protracted struggle, the Southern 
 people seemed to consider the conflict o\er, and the revolution 
 victoriously terminated at a blow. The ignis fatuus of European 
 intervention danced before every eye, leading the people of the 
 Confederate States still deeper and deeper into the treacherous
 
 THE AUTUMN OF 1861. 81 
 
 slough : and during all this time the North, with greater energy 
 and' resolution than before, was gathering, by land and by sea, 
 an overpowering force for their destruction. Immense iron-clad 
 men-of-war ; great armies at every point on the frontier ; enormous 
 levies of additional troops, and fresh loans ; a resolute determi- 
 nation to crush the South at any cost these were the elements 
 which the North now brought, with persistent activity, to the 
 further struggle. Active operations followed at nearly every 
 point. Armies took the field in Missouri, Kentucky, and Vir- 
 ginia ; and extensive expeditions by water were undertaken 
 against the fortified places along the Southern coast. In "West- 
 ern Virginia an active campaign took place, resulting in the in- 
 decisive affairs at Scary Creek, Cross Lanes, Carnifax Ferry, 
 and Cheat Mountain, where Generals Floyd and Wise carried 
 on the contest with varying but unimportant results. The only 
 affairs of importance which redeemed the campaign in Virginia, 
 after July, from its general aspect of nonsuccess, were the 
 actions at Leesburg and Alleghany Mountain, in October and 
 December. In the former Colonel Evans met and repulsed with 
 heavy slaughter a Federal force which crossed the Potomac at 
 Ball's Bluff"; and in the latter, Colonel Edward Johnson, with a 
 small body of Confederates, sustained the attack of a much larger 
 force of Federal troops for about six hours, when they retired 
 and left him in possession of the field. 
 
 But these successes did not greatly change the face of affairs, 
 and the prospect for the spring looked threatening. Two Fed- 
 eral armies were held ready to advance at the opening of fine 
 weather that at Washington, under personal command of Gen- 
 eral McClellan, and a second opposite Leesburg, under General 
 Banks of Massachusetts. In addition to these, considerable 
 bodies of Federal troops occupied the counties of Hardy, Hamp- 
 shire, and Morgan, on the head-waters of the Potomac, where 
 they lived on the country, harassed the inhabitants, and treated 
 as public enemies all who refused to subscribe to the Federal 
 oath of allegiance. 
 
 To protect this portion of the State, and guard the lower 
 6
 
 32 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 valley against General Banks, the Confederate Government do 
 termined to send a force to Winchester. This could not be 
 wholly drawn from the army at Centreville, which faced General 
 McClellan, and other sources were looked to. Detached bodies 
 from various quarters were ordered to concentrate at Winches- 
 ter, and especially the commands of Generals Loring and Henry 
 R. Jackson, who had hitherto operated in Western Virginia. 
 The force thus organized was officially styled the " Army of the 
 Monongahela," and was placed under the command of General 
 Stonewall Jackson, who had been advanced to the rank of 
 major-general. 
 
 This gratifying promotion seemed to produce little effect 
 upon Jackson, or he was too modest to let his feelings be seen. 
 On the night when he received his commission, his friend Col- 
 onel Pendleton slept with him, and they talked confidentially for 
 hours, but Jackson did not allude to it. It was only on the next 
 day, when they rode together to Fairfax Court House, that 
 Colonel Pendleton heard of it. Jackson was looking for a 
 magistrate to administer the official oath, and was thus led to 
 mention his promotion. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 JACKSON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS BRIGADE. 
 
 AFTER the battle of Manassas, Jackson had remained with 
 his brigade in the woods near Centreville, only moving once, 
 when the Confederate generals advanced to Fairfax Court House, 
 and then abruptly retired, with the hope of drawing General 
 McClellan from his earthworks at Arlington. He had looked 
 in vain for the signal to march upon Washington. Day followed 
 day and then weeks and months went by the signal did not 
 come. His brigade awaited the order to advance with an im-
 
 JACKSON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS BRIGADE. 83 
 
 patience as great as that of their commander, and were restive 
 as the bright autumn thus passed on. 
 
 They had began to regard their leader with that admiration 
 and affection which subsequently became so ardent. The Army 
 of the Potomac was nothing in their eyes without the Army of 
 the Shenandoah, the Army of the Shenandoah nothing without 
 the " Stonewall " brigade ; and the commander of that brigade 
 was, in the opinion of his troops, the first of men the " noblest 
 Roman of them all." His coolness in action, and the obstinate 
 resolution with which he fought, had made him the hero of the 
 ardent youths, sensitively impressible to military glory, and 
 prone, like the young everywhere, to hero-worship. They were 
 charmed with his soldierly qualities ; delighted with his dingy 
 gray coat and yellow cap ; and his very eccentricities and oddi- 
 ties were new claims upon their liking. They called him " Old 
 Jack " and " Stonewall ; " and when troops bestow nicknames 
 on a commander, they almost always admire him. They 
 laughed when he rode by upon his sorrel, with the rim of his 
 cap on his nose and his chin in the air, but the cheer which fol- 
 lowed was an evidence of the admiration and affection under the 
 laughter. Those who witnessed the meetings between this 
 officer and his troops, at that time and afterwards, will recall 
 the spectacle of waving hats, and tumult and rejoicing. It was 
 in vain that Jackson endeavored to avoid these ovations, which, 
 in spite of his innate modesty, were the most delightful incense 
 to the pride of the soldier. In vain did he pluck off his old cap 
 fix his eyes straight before him and pass at a rapid gallop, 
 with his staff strung out behind him, in the effort to keep pace 
 with him. The men refused to be thus defeated. The signal was 
 given at one end of the brigade that " Old Jack was coming :" 
 the men ran to the road, and as he passed at full speed, cheers 
 arose and were carried along the line, as though their leader 
 was rallying them in the gulf of battle. So unfailing was this 
 reception of Jackson by his men, and such an uproar did his 
 presence always occasion, that it was compared to the immense 
 excitement produced in the regiments and brigades by the ap-
 
 34 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 pearance of a hare or squirrel, which the men invariably ran down 
 with deafening shouts and cries. "When that distant cheering 
 was heard, the army would exclaim with good-humored laughter, 
 " That's Jackson or a rabbit ! " 
 
 This great popularity of the General will serve to explain 
 the depression of his men when they were informed that their 
 favorite was about to leave them. The fact seemed incredible. 
 That any other general but the officer in the old gray coat, with 
 the old yellow cap, on the old sorrel horse, should lead the 
 Stonewall Brigade, appeared an idea too absurd for belief. It 
 seemed an outrage on them ; a wanton disregard of their feel 
 ings which no public reasons could justify. 
 
 But in spite of this extraordinary excitement in the ranks of 
 the brigade, the inexorable order remained unchanged the sor- 
 rowful moment approached when they were to bid farewell to 
 their commander. 
 
 The day at last came ; it was the 4th of October. In a field 
 near Centreville all the regiments of the brigade except the 5th 
 Virginia, then on picket, were drawn up in close column with 
 their officers in front, and Jackson appeared before them as 
 though about to give the order for a charge. But now no en- 
 thusiasm or cheers awaited him. All knew for what purpose he 
 came, and the sorrow which filled every heart betrayed itself iu 
 the deep silence which greeted his approach. Not a sound was 
 heard along the line nor hand raised ia greeting to indicate that 
 the men had recognized their captain. The faces of the troops 
 were full of the deepest dejection, and they resembled children 
 about to be separated from their father. 
 
 As Jackson reached the centre of the line his staff halted, 
 and he rode slowly forward until he was within a few paces of 
 the men. As his glance met theirs, a slight color tinged his 
 cheek, and his eye flashed. Mastering his emotion with an effort, 
 in the midst of the profound silence, and speaking in the short 
 abrupt tones which were so familiar to them, Jackson addressed 
 them as follows : 
 
 " I am not here to make a speech, but simply to say farewell
 
 JACKSON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS BRIGADE. 85 
 
 I first met you at Harper's Ferry in the commencement of this 
 war, and I cannot take leave of you without giving expression 
 to my admiration of your conduct from that day to this wheth- 
 er on the march, in the bivouac, in the tented field, or on the 
 bloody plains of Manassas, where you gained the well-deserved 
 reputation of having decided the fate of the battle. Throughout 
 the broad extent of country over which you have marched, by 
 your respect for the rights and the property of citizens, you have 
 shown that you were soldiers not only to defend, but able and 
 willing both to defend and protect. You have already gained a 
 brilliant and deservedly high reputation throughout the army of 
 the whole Confederacy, and I trust in the future, by your deeds 
 on the field, and by the assistance of the same kind Providence 
 who has heretofore favored our cause, you will gain more victo- 
 ries, and add additional lustre to the reputation you now enjoy. 
 You have already gained a proud position in the future history of 
 this our Second War for Independence ; I shall look with great 
 anxiety to your future movements, and I trust whenever I shall 
 hear of the First Brigade on the field of battle, it will be of 
 still nobler deeds achieved, and higher reputation won ! " 
 
 As he uttered these words Jackson paused, and his eye 
 passed slowly along the line, as though he wished thus to bid 
 farewell, individually, to every familiar face. His emotion 
 seemed profound the rush of memories crowding upon him 
 more than he could bear. He could not leave them thus, with 
 such formal words only ; and the iron lip which had never trem- 
 bled in battle was suddenly seen to quiver. Mastered by an 
 uncontrollable impulse, the soldier rose in his stirrups, threw the 
 reins on the neck of his horse with an electric gesture which sent 
 a thrill through every heart, and extending his arm, added in 
 tones of the deepest feeling : 
 
 " In the Army of the Shenandoah you were the First Bri- 
 gade ! In the Army of the Potomac you were the First Brigade ! 
 In the second corps of the army you are the First Brigade I 
 You are the Fir$t Brigade in the affections of your General ; and 
 I hope, by your future deeds and bearing, you will be handed
 
 86 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSCN. 
 
 down to posterity as the First Brigade, in this our Second Wai 
 of Independence. Farewell ! " 
 
 As the last words echoed in the ears of the men, and Jack- 
 son turned to leave them, the long pent-up feeling burst forth. 
 Three prolonged cheers rolled along the line of the brigade, and 
 no sooner had they died away than they were renewed and again 
 renewed. The calm face of Jackson flushed as he listened to 
 that sound, but he did not speak. 
 
 Waving his hand in token of farewell, he galloped away, and 
 the brigade returned slowly and sorrowfully to camp. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 JACKSON'S PLAN. 
 
 BEFORE entering upon the narrative of the campaign in the 
 valley, it is necessary that we should briefly refer to Jackson's 
 views in the fall of 1861. What a distinguished man conceives 
 is often as interesting as what he executes, and certainly serves 
 equally to display his character. The plan of operations which 
 we are about to notice was never carried out, and many persons 
 at that time thought it absurd ; but it was the deliberate result 
 of Jackson's reflections, and will at least show his views at that 
 time. 
 
 He proposed that the Confederate forces should invade the 
 North in two columns, winter at Harrisburg, and in the spring 
 of 1862 advance directly upon Philadelphia. The result, he be- 
 lieved, would be a treaty of peace, and the establishment of 
 Southern independence. 
 
 The logic by which he arrived at the conclusion that this 
 plan must succeed was certainly plausible. The battle of Man- 
 assas had paralyzed for the time the military power of the 
 North, and every thing in that country was ia confusion. On 
 every side were the evidences of discouragement and dismay ;
 
 JACKSON'S PLAN. 87 
 
 the legislature was the arena of warring factions, the executive 
 embarrassed and disheartened, the old army disorganized, the 
 new levies undisciplined ; and the whole Northern country, ex- 
 hausted by the great effort which had ended so disastrously, lay, 
 for the moment, like a mighty hulk which had run on the break- 
 ers, and threatened every instant to go to pieces. Cool heads 
 saw that this prostration, hoAvever, was only temporary ; that 
 the immense resources in population and war material at the 
 North would soon enable her to recover from the blow she had 
 received ; and it was to take advantage of her present weakness 
 and avoid the recoil, that Jackson proposed his plan. 
 
 Its details were as follows : While the people and the author- 
 ities were thus discouraged, he proposed to advance with the 
 Army of the Monongahela, about 10,000 in number, into North- 
 western Virginia, where he would reclaim that whole country 
 from the Federal sway, and summon the inhabitants of Southern 
 sentiment to array themselves under his standard. His infor- 
 mation in regard to the feeling in that region derived from per- 
 sonal knowledge and the statements of influential men was ex- 
 tensive and reliable ; and he did not doubt his ability to recruit 
 between fifteen and twenty thousand men, which would place at 
 his command at least 25,000 troops enough for his further de- 
 signs. These were bold and simple. While the enemy were 
 under the impression that his only object was to reclaim and oc- 
 cupy Northwestern Virginia, he would rapidly move his whole 
 force across the Monongahela, into Monongalia County, march 
 upon Pittsburg, seize that place and destroy the United States 
 arsenal there, and then, in conjunction with the army of the 
 Potomac, which was to cross at Leesburg and form a junction 
 with his own column, advance upon Harrisburg and occupy the 
 capital of Pennsylvania. From Harrisburg he proposed that 
 the united armies should advance in the spring upon Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 Such was the plan of operations which Jackson believed 
 would terminate the war before the summer of 1862. With the 
 heart of the North thus pierced by the Southern troops, the
 
 88 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 strategic points captured, and Washington evacuated the Fed 
 eral authorities, he believed, would abandon their opposition to 
 secession and agree to an honorable peace. 
 
 It was proposed to the Confederate authorities at Richmond, 
 but was not adopted. Nothing ever came of it, and the South 
 entered upon a military policy which contemplated a long de- 
 fensive war, in which the Federal Government would find its re- 
 sources exhausted, or the patience of the people worn out. 
 Whether this was an altogether prudent course, let the subse- 
 quent events of the struggle declare. It never had the approval 
 of Jackson. He believed then, and continued to believe, as will 
 be seen throughout his career, that ; ' the Scipio Africanus policy 
 was the best." Invasion of the North was his possessing 
 thought, and became the dream of his life. He never ceased to 
 think of it, and the great successes at Port Republic, Cold Har- 
 bor, and the second Manassas, were chiefly important in his 
 eyes from their bearing upon his favorite policy. 
 
 To the question what would have been the result of the 
 adoption of this plan in the autumn of 1861, there will probably 
 be many answers ; but we pass from what Jackson suggested tc 
 what he effected. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE WINTER MARCH TO ROMNET. 
 
 JACKSON proceeded to Winchester, and assuming command 
 of the valley district, applied himself energetically to the task 
 of organizing and drilling the raw levies from the surrounding 
 country. General Loring with his command arrived in Decem- 
 ber ; and Jackson had succeeded, to his great joy, in regaining 
 his old brigade, which returned to him and went into camp near 
 the afterwards famous locality of Kernstown, in the latter days 
 of November. 
 
 The troops thus placed at his disposal were about 10,000 in
 
 THE WINTER MARCH TO ROMNEY. 89 
 
 number. With this force he hoped to afford complete protection 
 to the country, and he applied himself with great activity to the 
 work of putting the troops in proper order for the spring cam- 
 paign. They did not remain, in the meanwhile, entirely idle. 
 On the 17th of December a portion of the Stonewall Brigade 
 proceeded to the Potomac, and driving away a body of Federal 
 troops posted there, destroyed dam No. 5 on the Chesapeake and 
 Ohio Canal. Washington and Alexandria were largely supplied 
 with coal and other heavy produce from the interior by means 
 of this canal, and the inconvenience thus occasioned was proba- 
 bly considerable. Soon afterwards preparations were made for 
 a vigorous movement against the Federal forces at Romney, 
 Bath, and other points, which it was desirable to drive beyond 
 the Potomac. 
 
 Jackson at this time expressed succinctly and forcibly to one 
 of his officers, his opinion in reference to the fire delivered by 
 troops. The conversation had turned upon the relative advan- 
 tage of firing by file, and by company or battalion, and Jacksoo 
 said : " I rather think the fire by file is best on the whole, for it 
 gives the enemy an idea that the fire is heavier than if it was 
 by company or battalion. Sometimes, however, one may b 
 best sometimes the other according to circumstances. But 
 my opinion is that there ought not to be much firing at all. My 
 idea is that the best mode of fighting is to reserve your fire till 
 the enemy get or you get them to close quarters. Then de- 
 liver one deadly, deliberate fire and charge ! " 
 
 His preparations were not complete until the last days of 
 December. All was ready at last, however, and on the first 
 day of January, 1862, he set out on the road to Romney, with 
 about 9,000 men, in the midst of many speculations as to his 
 intentions. " Conjecture was rife as to our destination," says 
 an officer, " but Jackson kept his own secrets so well as to de- 
 ceive both the enemy and ourselves." In spite of the winter 
 season the day was exceedingly bright and beautiful ; the air' 
 soft and balmy ; and Jackson afterwards said to a gentleman 
 from Jefferson, " Sir, the dust was flying in the roads ! " So>
 
 "90 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 mild was the temperature that the men left behind them their 
 overcoats and blankets, to be brought on in the wagons. A 
 short distance from Winchester Jackson wheeled to the right, 
 and now marched in the direction of Bath. On the next day 
 the weather changed and grew intensely cold. The men marched 
 all day, and at night the wagons which had been unable to keep 
 up with the troops, had not arrived. The army in consequence 
 was compelled to go into bivouac without rations or covering of 
 any description depending upon camp fires for protection against 
 the cold. On the third day Jackson continued to press forward, 
 in spite of the sufferings of the troops, who, taken from com- 
 fortable winter quarters, and unaccustomed to hunger, cold, and 
 fatigue, found it almost impossible to proceed. Jackson became 
 restive. Riding along the column, he found his old brigade 
 halted on the side of the road, and asked General Garnett, who 
 had succeeded him in the command, the reason for this delay. 
 
 " I have halted to let the men cook rations, General," was 
 the reply of Garnett. 
 
 " There is no time for that," responded Jackson briefly. 
 
 " But it is impossible for the men to march further without 
 them." 
 
 " / never found any thing impossible with that brigade ! " 
 returned Jackson in his curtest tones, and he rode on. His 
 plans did not admit of delay. He intended to surprise and 
 drive the enemy before him ; and in comparison with the success 
 of the campaign, which depended upon the celerity of his march, 
 he rightly estimated the sufferings of the men as a secondary 
 matter. Such is the fatal logic of war the necessity of mili- 
 tary affairs. 
 
 Jackson now drew near Bath, and suddenly found his ad- 
 vance guard attacked. The Federal forces were posted behind 
 fences and other cover, and poured a sudden fire into the van- 
 guard, consisting of a portion of the 48th Virginia, Colonel 
 Campbell. Two companies of the 21st Virginia, under Colonel 
 Patton, -were thrown forward to their support, and an animated 
 skirmish ensued. The enemy held their ground for about half
 
 THE WINTER MARCH TO ROMNEY. 91 
 
 an hour, when reinforcements coming to the relief of the acU 
 vance guard, the Federal forces were driven oif with the loss of 
 about twenty prisoners. This engagement took place within a 
 few miles of Bath, and to that place the enemy retired on their- 
 main body. The Southern troops encamped just outside of the 
 town, and as night descended a freezing snow-storm, accompa- 
 nied with hail, swept down from the mountains, and beat directly 
 in their faces. The wagons had again failed to arrive the men 
 were without any thing to eat, or blankets to cover them, and 
 their situation was distressing. They were even without axes r 
 and the officers were compelled to overlook the destruction of 
 the fences for firewood. " Strike for the rails, boys," was the 
 order of an officer of the advance guard, and around the cheer-, 
 ful blaze the men sank down in the snow which continued to fall, 
 and worn out with fatigue slept profoundly. 
 
 " I built a fire," says a young soldier whose notes of the 
 march are before us, " and went to sleep by it, but waked up, 
 about twelve o'clock at night and found the fire out, and about 
 three inches of snow over me." He like the rest had left his. 
 blankets in the wagons, and this snowy winding sheet covered, 
 that night, the whole slumbering army. 
 
 On the next morning the mountains and valleys were cov-. 
 ered with snow, which still continued to fall without cessation. 
 Jackson did not modify his plans, however, in consequence of 
 this unexpected and most unfortunate change in the weather so 
 bright and beautiful when he left Winchester. Bath was in 
 front of him, still occupied by the enemy ; and as soon as the 
 troops had snatched a hasty meal, the order was given for an 
 advance upon the town. The Federal forces made but a brief 
 resistance. The Southern artillery was placed in position and 
 opened fire, when the infantry charged the enemy's breastworks, 
 and they fell back hastily in the direction of the Potomac. Jack 
 son had sent a force round in rear of the town to cut off theii 
 retreat, but their movements were too rapid. Before the troops 
 could reach the point designated, the Federal forces had passed 
 it and effected their retreat. They were pursued by Ashby'ss
 
 92 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 cavalry, which came upon a considerable force of infantry in 
 ambush, and the cavalry having fallen back, the Confederate 
 artillery was brought forward and fire opened. At nightfall the 
 enemy fell back from their position and retreated across the Po- 
 tomac, wading the freezing stream in one of the coldest nights 
 that had ever been known in that region. The Federal quar- 
 ters in the town of Bath fell into the hands of the troops, and a 
 number of stores were captured. In their abrupt retreat the 
 Federal officers had left behind them rich uniforms, fine services 
 of china, and all the luxurious appendages of winter quarters. 
 These were taken possession of by the troops, who devoured 
 with humorous satisfaction the excellent dinners of some Fed- 
 eral officers, which were found smoking on the board. 
 
 At nightfall the artillery fire ceased and the troops fell back, 
 two regiments, however, remaining on picket. As these were 
 forbidden to make fires, the bitter cold of the January night 
 caused them intense suffering. The soles of the men's shoes, in 
 many instances, froze tightly to the ground, and the sufferings 
 -of all were indescribable. On the morning of the 5th of Jan- 
 uary Jackson formed line of battle opposite Hancock, which 
 was held by a Federal force under General Lander ; and bring- 
 ing up his batteries, placed them in position to open fire. He 
 then sent Ashby with a flag of truce to demand the surrendei 
 of the place. This was refused by General Lander, when Jack- 
 son sent back word that he was about to shell the place giving 
 the authorities of the town two hours to remove the women and 
 children. At the expiration of that time he opened with his 
 batteries on the town, and the Federal batteries returned the 
 fire. The cannonade continued rapidly for about an hour with 
 out result Jackson directing his fire only at that portion of the 
 town which was occupied by the troops and then it ceased OD 
 both sides for the day. 
 
 On the next day the cannonade was resumed, and getting 
 our range, the Federal batteries poured a heavy fire upon the 
 troops, with little injury, however. They had been reenforced 
 .during the night, and Jackson saw that the place could not be
 
 THE WINTER MARCH TO ROMXF.V. 93 
 
 taken without very severe loss in charging across the river. 
 This fact, and the additional consideration that he had accom- 
 plished the object of his march in that direction, by driving the 
 Federal forces from the soil of Virginia, induced him to aban- 
 don the design if he had entertained it of following the enemy 
 into their own country, and give up the plan of taking the 
 town. His attention was now turned toward Eomney, where a 
 Federal force, variously estimated at from six to twelve thou- 
 sand, still remained ; and having removed the stores abandoned 
 opposite Hancock, he prepared to advance on the former place. 
 
 While these events were taking place near the town of Han- 
 cock, Colonel Rust had been ordered to proceed with two regi- 
 ments and a battery up the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which 
 here runs along the Potomac, and destroy the railroad bridge 
 over Capon River. On the way to that point he fell into an 
 ambuscade, but succeeded in driving the enemy from their posi- 
 tion ; after which he pushed on, burned the bridge, and destroyed 
 a considerable portion of the road. He then rejoined the main 
 body, and Jackson set out for Romney. 
 
 The weather had now become terrible, and the difficulties in 
 the way of military movements almost insuperable. It has been 
 truthfully said, that Napoleon's passage of the Alps scarcely sur- 
 passed this march. Rain, snow, hail, and sleet beat upon the 
 troops, who were without tents, overcoats, or blankets ; and had 
 it not been for the bivouac fires, many of the soldiers must have 
 perished. 
 
 The difficulties of the march were fourfold for the trains and 
 artillery. The roads were covered with ice two inches thick, 
 and so thoroughly glazed by the sleet that horses and men kept 
 their feet only by the greatest exertion. Men were slipping, and 
 their guns going off all along the line. " Thousands fell flat every 
 day," says an eye-witness and both men and animals were often 
 seriously hurt. The knees and muzzles of the horses were terri- 
 bly injured ; and they were seen limping along, crippled and 
 streaming with blood ; but still Jackson continued his march. 
 Wagon after wagon slid off the steep and slippery roads, and
 
 94 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 turned bottom upward, despite every attempt made to steady 
 them. One train of wagons and artillery took from daylight 
 until three P. M. to pass a hilly point ; heavy details of men 
 roughening the frozen roads with pickaxes, steadying the animals, 
 and almost lifting the vehicles along. Jackson was present 
 everywhere, encouraging the troops and seeing that no unneces- 
 sary delay was permitted by their officers. His presence in 
 fused life into the laggards, and silenced the malcontents. Pass- 
 ing a point of the road where a piece of artillery had stalled, 
 while a crowd of men were looking idle on, he stopped, dis- 
 mounted, without uttering a word, and put his own shoulder to 
 the wheel. The men were shamed by the rebuke, and hastened 
 to take their places ; the horses were whipped up, and the piece 
 moved on. 
 
 In spite of the extraordinary difficulties which this terrible 
 condition of the roads threw in the way of further operations in 
 that mountainous region, Jackson did not swerve from his fixed 
 purpose to clear the whole country of the enemy. He hoped to 
 surprise the Federal garrison at Romney, but intelligence of his 
 advance preceded him. General Kelly, who commanded the 
 Federal forces there, prepared to defend the town, and issued 
 orders to the troops to be ready. But these orders proved, it is 
 said, of no avail. A panic had seized upon the troops, and at 
 Jackson's approach General Kelly hastily evacuated the place, 
 leaving behind him his official papers, and public property to the 
 value of about half a million dollars, which fell into the hands of 
 the Confederates. 
 
 The objects of the expedition had thus been accomplished. 
 Two large counties had been cleared of the Federal troops which 
 had so long harassed them ; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 
 the great military artery between the East and the West, had been 
 seriously damaged, and the bridge over Capon River destroyed ; 
 large amounts of stores had been captured ; and the country 
 effectually reconquered from the enemy. These results had been 
 achieved by the persevering resolution of Jackson, and the en- 
 durance of the troops who had suffered severely from the bitter
 
 THE WINTER MARCH TO ROMNEY. 95 
 
 cold. But the result of their hardships repaid them. The in- 
 habitants of the region could now sleep in peace. When Jackson 
 entered Romney no Federal force was left in the entire country. 
 
 It was necessary, however, to promptly guard against an 
 advance of the enemy on his rear, from Williamsport or Har- 
 per's Ferry. Jackson accordingly left General Loring with a 
 portion of the army at Romney, and returned with the remainder 
 to Winchester. Here he wrote to a friend in Richmond, on 
 January 29th, " Please procure me thirty-five miles of telegraph 
 wire from this point to Romney " his intention being to con- 
 nect the two places by a line of telegraph, so that General Lor- 
 ing might communicate with him at a moment's notice, and 
 announce any movement of the Federal forces. Posted at Win- 
 chester meanwhile, with the main body of the army, he would 
 be able to guard the approaches both to that point and to Gen- 
 eral Loring's rear, and move either force as the operations of the 
 enemy dictated. He would thus be able to hold both the valley 
 of the Shenandoah, the valley of the South Branch of the Poto- 
 mac, and the Mountains of Morgan. Not only Jefferson, Fred- 
 erick, and Clarke, but Berkeley, Morgan, Hardy, and Hampshire 
 would be completely protected. 
 
 Such was the design of Jackson ; but for reasons now gener- 
 ally known, it was not carried out. From their first arrival at 
 Winchester, General Loring, and a great number of his officers 
 and men, had made no concealment of their lack of confidence in 
 Jackson as a soldier. Truth demands the statement, that on 
 many occasions this want of respect was displayed in a manner 
 highly derogatory to military discipline, and that deference which 
 is due to a military superior. Jackson was regarded as a man 
 of weak judgment and deficient intellect, who had accidentally 
 attained his position ; and the report was industriously circulated 
 that he cared nothing for the men of General Loring's command. 
 With this the camps had buzzed at Winchester ; and the hard- 
 ships of the winter expedition had added virulence to the senti 
 rnent. When General Loring was directed to remain at Romney, 
 the dissatisfaction of that commander, and many of his officer*
 
 98 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 and men, was excessive. As the Stonewall Brigade marched 
 back, General Loring's troops saluted it with jeers, and cries of, 
 u There goes the Mud Fence Brigade ! There go Jackson's 
 Pet Lambs ! " and this was succeeded by more serious evidences 
 of dissatisfaction. A paper was drawn up and signed by Gen- 
 eral Loring and many of his officers, reflecting in disparaging 
 terms upon Jackson's dispositions at Romney : representing that 
 the losses of the expedition had been enormous ; that the region 
 was untenable ; Romney assailable by no less* than twenty-three 
 roads, and forage and subsistence inaccessible. So strong were 
 the representations of this memorial, which was forwarded di- 
 rectly to Richmond, that an order was sent directly to General 
 Loring, for the withdrawal of his force from Romney to Win- 
 chester. In consequence of this order, which he regarded as a 
 personal discourtesy, and construed into an evidence of a want 
 of confidence in his capacity, Jackson resigned his commission 
 in the army. 
 
 This unlocked for result of the action of the War Department 
 created much discussion and feeling in Richmond, and wherever 
 it was known. Governor Letcher, without Jackson's authority, 
 withdrew his resignation, but to this he would not consent. In 
 vain did one of his most confidential friends urge upon him the 
 propriety of reconsidering his determination. Walking up and 
 down his headquarters, in great wrath, Jackson said, in his 
 curtest tones, that he would not submit to such treatment. For 
 himself, he said, he did not care. If he knew his own heart, he 
 had been actuated by no sentiment but love of country in em- 
 barking in the war, and the War Department could not prevent 
 him from serving in the ranks, as he intended to do. He was 
 nobody, but the authorities at Richmond must be taught a lesson, 
 or the next victims of their meddling would be Johnston and 
 Lee. He would not put up with a proceeding unmilitary and 
 discourteous throughout, and would not hold his commission.* 
 
 In this resolution he for some time remained obstinately fixed, 
 
 * We are indebted to Colonel A. R. Boteler for these details. Jackson's 
 tngry protest was addressed to that officer.
 
 THE WINTER MAECH TO ROMNEY. 97 
 
 but the representation of friends gradually had their effect. His 
 convictions of a supposed hostility to him at Richmond, and 
 absence of confidence in his capacity, were changed ; and with- 
 drawing his resignation, he retained the command. Returning 
 to his duties, he wrote : " Though the troops under my com- 
 mand are inadequate to the defence of this district, yet we must 
 look on the bright side, trusting that a kind Providence will con- 
 tinue to give its protection to this fair portion of our valley. I 
 
 regret that should not regard the success of the 
 
 recent expedition as far outweighing the losses sustained." 
 
 We have summed up briefly the successes the losses were 
 considerable. A large number of men were laid up in the hos- 
 pitals, and the army seriously crippled. It is true that the great 
 majority only suffered from colds and slight ailments, but they 
 were lost to the army for the time. The reader will, however, 
 decide for himself whether the expedition was or was not worth 
 what it cost. The unfortunate results which followed the with- 
 <lrawal of General Loring are certain. We soon afterwards 
 find Jackson, ordinarily so mild and patient, announcing to a 
 friend in terms of great bitterness, that the enemy were in pos- 
 session of Moorefield ; " General Loring," he wrote " ought to 
 be cashiered." The results of the expedition were thus nega- 
 tived at one blow, and all the sufferings of the troops had been 
 for nothing. Moorefield, Romney, and Bath were again de- 
 fenceless, and the counties of Hardy, Hampshire, and Morgan 
 once more at the mercy of the enemy. 
 
 In the space of thirty days a principality had been won and 
 lost again.
 
 98 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 JACKSON FALLS BACK FROM WINCHESTER. 
 
 THE spring campaign of 1862, in Virginia, was looked for 
 ward to by the Federal authorities as the decisive movement of 
 the war the hinge upon which the whole would turn. 
 
 Their plans were not destitute of ingenuity, and promised to 
 be crowned with success. Several schemes were in turn re- 
 solved on and abandoned. General McClellan, we believe, was 
 in favor of advancing up the Rappahannock, and thence march- 
 ing across to York River, within about thirty miles of Richmond. 
 President Lincoln, however, preferred the line of Manassas, and 
 on the last day of January he issued the following special order : 
 
 EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 31, 1862. 
 Ordered, That all the disposable forces of the Army of the Potomac, after 
 jyroviding safely for the defence of Washington, be formed into an expedition 
 for the immediate object of seizing and occupying a point upon the railroad 
 southwestward of what is known as Manassas Junction ; all details to be in 
 the discretion of the General-in-Chief, and the expedition to move before or 
 on the 22d day of February next. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 This plan not meeting the ready concurrence of General 
 McClellan, the Federal President wrote him the following note 
 three days afterwards : 
 
 EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 3, 1862. 
 Major- General Me Clellan : 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, You and I have distinct and different plans for a move- 
 ment of the Army of the Potomac : yours to be down the Chesapeake, up the 
 Rappahannock to Urbana, and across land to the terminus ol the railroad on 
 York River mine, to move directly to a point on the railroad southwest of 
 Manassas. If you will give me satisfactory answers to the following questions 
 I shall gladly yield my plan to yours : 
 
 I. Does not your plan involve a greatly larger expenditure of time and 
 money than mine ?
 
 JACKSON FALLS BACK FKOM WINCHESTER. 99 
 
 2. Wherein is a victory more certain by your plan than mine ? 
 
 3. Wherein is a victory more valuable by your plan than mine ? 
 
 4. In fact, would it not be less valuable in this, that it would break no 
 great line of the enemy's communication, while mine would ? 
 
 5. In case of disaster would not a safe retreat be more difficult by your 
 plan than by mine ? Yours truly, 
 
 A. LINCOLN. 
 
 The reply of General McClellan to this note is not given, but 
 his programme of operations, with some modifications, was sub- 
 sequently adopted, and the plan of the entire campaign deter- 
 mined on. 
 
 Upon the Confederate capital four armies were to converge ; 
 that of Fremont from the northwest, that of Banks from the 
 valley, that of McDowell from Fredericksburg, and that of Mc- 
 Clellan from the peninsula, between the James and York. Fre- 
 mont and Banks, having united their forces, were to drive Jack- 
 son before them, ascend the valley, cut the Confederate commu- 
 nications, and sweep down upon the capital from the mountains. 
 McClellan was to march up the peninsula to the Chickahominy, 
 and extend his right wing far up that stream ; and at the same 
 time McDowell was to advance from Fredericksburg and ex- 
 tend his left wing until it formed a junction with McClellan's 
 right. By this time Jackson, it was supposed, would be defeated 
 and swept away, and Fremont and Banks would unite with the 
 right wing of McDowell. The line would thus form an im- 
 mense semicircle, from the shores of the James to the base of 
 the Blue Ridge, and Richmond would be enveloped on the east 
 and the north with a cordon of fire. Before the column ascend- 
 ing the peninsula, 150,000 the column advancing from Fred- 
 ericksburg, 40,000 and the army descending from the moun- 
 tains, 50,000 in all 240,000 men, the capital of the Southern 
 Confederacy must be evacuated, and Virginia come under the 
 gway of the Federal authorities. 
 
 Such was the Federal programme for the spring of 1862. 
 Toward the end of February it was obvious to General John 
 ston that General McClellan designed an attack on his position
 
 [00 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 at Centreville, as soon as the roads were firm, and the weathei 
 admitted of an advance. To disappoint this movement and con- 
 centrate the Army of the Potomac with that under General Ma- 
 gruder on the peninsula, for the defence of Richmond, Johnston 
 now removed or destroyed his stores and baggage at Manassas, 
 and early in March fell back toward the Rappahannock. Mc- 
 Clellan pursued him as far as Manassas, but speedily withdrew 
 his forces to Washington ; and at this point in the coming con- 
 test we rejoin General Jackson at Winchester. 
 
 We now approach the "campaign of the valley." By his 
 operations on this great theatre, in the spring of 1862, Jackson 
 will be mainly estimated in that aftertime which sums up and 
 passes judgment on all human events without fear, favor, or the 
 prejudices of the contemporary. In the great career extending 
 over barely two years of struggle, but so crowded with memor- 
 able scenes, the names of Kernstown and McDowell, Winchester 
 and Port Republic, will outshine Cold Harbor, Manassas, 
 Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and even Chancellorsville. In 
 these latter battles Jackson was one of General Lee's lieutenants, 
 carrying out the orders of a commander-in-chief under the eye 
 and direction of that commander. In the valley he was com- 
 manding in the field, with general orders only to control him. 
 After the first blows struck at the enemy, it was plain that full 
 confidence could be placed in Jackson, and what he thenceforth 
 accomplished was due to his own brain and nerve. The result 
 was the greatest of his campaigns ; and the military student 
 will delight to dwell upon the tqiling, marching, thinking, and 
 fighting of those three months in the valley. Tradition will 
 cluster around the least detail, the soldier will be inseparably 
 connected with the beautiful region which he loved so well, and 
 old men will tell their grandchildren with pride that they 
 " fought under Jackson in the valley." 
 
 His scheme of invading the North had been long since aban- 
 doned, and he now bent all his energies to the hard task of hold- 
 ing the valley against the heavy forces of the enemy about to 
 advance upon him. He could expect no reinforcements from
 
 JACKSON FALLS BACK FROM WINCHESTER. 101 
 
 General Johnston's army, which, reduced in numbers and ein- 
 banassed like his own by the process of reorganization, was 
 barely strong enough to present a bold front to the large force 
 under McClellan ; and so deeply did the people at large sympa- 
 thize with the exposed situation of the little army, that it was 
 earnestly hoped and confidently expected, that the government 
 would order Jackson to fall back, and give up the idea of hold- 
 ing his advanced position. Such was by no means the desire 
 of Jackson ; and he had resolved that nothing but the direct as- 
 sault of an irresistible force should drive him from the soil he 
 had undertaken to protect. 
 
 The days hurried on, the snows of January were succeeded 
 by the cold rains of February ; and as March approached the 
 brisk winds began to dry the roads. On the 26th of February 
 the Federal forces began to move. On that day, Major-General 
 Banks crossed the Potomac at Harper's Ferry with a force 
 said to number 20,000 men, afterwards swollen by reenforce- 
 rnents to 35,000 ; and on the same evening the Federal cavalry, 
 before which Col. Ashby with his small force was compelled to 
 retire, occupied Charlestown. General Lander was moving 
 from above with about 11,000 troops, and these two columns, 
 numbering in all about 46,000 men, were now posted in Jack- 
 son's front. It is doubtful if he had at disposal to meet them as 
 many as 4,000 men ; but these were excellent troops, and, to use 
 his own words, he " did not feel discouraged." Reinforcements 
 were expected from the upper valley, and, until these arrived, he 
 determined to take no step backward, unless compelled to do so 
 by numbers which he could not resist. He had realized the 
 long train of " woes unnumbered " which would attend the 
 occupation of the valley by the Federal forces. It gave them 
 a foothold which not only exposed the whole country north of 
 the Rapidan, but directly threatened the communications of 
 Richmond All his energies were accordingly bent to the 
 almost hopeless task of repulsing them, and retaining possession 
 of the country. " If this valley is lost, Virginia is lost" he wrote 
 to a friend on the 3d of March, and this extreme statement
 
 L02 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 will serve to show his feeling. Indeed, the affection which 
 Jackson, never an imaginative or fanciful person, had for the 
 Valley of Virginia, was almost romantic. He always spoke of 
 it as " our valley " to his soldiers ; and his blows were never so 
 sudden and dangerous as when he was compelled to leave Win- 
 chester and retreat. Even the Federal troops discovered this 
 love of Jackson for the region, and are said to have regarded it 
 as " his property," which he would surely come back and wrest 
 from them. Thus the feelings of the individual came to add 
 vigor, if it had been needed, to the resolution of the soldier ; 
 and Jackson prepared to defend every foot of the country. u It 
 is but natural,'' he wrote afterwards, " that I should feel a deep 
 and abiding interest in the people of the valley, where are the 
 homes of so many of my brave soldiers, who have been with 
 me so long, and whose self-sacrificing patriotism has been so 
 thoroughly tested." This affection was more than returned by 
 the inhabitants. They speak now of Jackson as of one who 
 belongs entirely to themselves ; and one of the young ladies of 
 the region wrote the other day, "He is siich an idol with me, 
 that I devour every line about him." He did much to conciliate 
 this admiration and affection. His whole heart seemed to be 
 set on defending to the bitter end the whole extent of the 
 valley, and some of the hardest fighting of the war took place 
 in the rough struggle for its possession. 
 
 Of Jackson's situation at the time which we have now 
 reached the first days of March, 1862 the following extract 
 from a letter written by him to a friend on the third will convey 
 an accurate idea : 
 
 " My plan," he writes, " is to put on as bold a front as possi- 
 ble, and to use every means in my power to prevent his advance 
 whilst our reorganization is going on. What I desire is to hold 
 the country, as far as practicable, until we are in a condition tc 
 advance ; and then with God's blessing let us make thorough 
 work of it. . . Banks, who commands about 35,000 men, 
 has his headquarters 'at Charlestown ; Kelly, who has succeeded 
 Lander, has probably 11,000, with his headquarters at Paw Paw,
 
 JACKSON FALLS BACK FKOM WINCHESTER. 103 
 
 Thus you see two generals, whose united force is near 46,000 
 troops already organized for three years or the war, opposed to 
 our little force here. But I do not feel discouraged. Let me 
 have what force you can. . . I am delighted to hear you say 
 that Virginia is resolved to concentrate all her resources, if 
 necessary, to the defence of herself. Now we may look for war 
 in earnest. . . I have only to say this that if this valley ia 
 lost Virginia is lost." 
 
 His design, it will be seen, was to check the Federal advance 
 whilst his " reorganization was going on." Those brief words 
 touched on a dangerous and difficult subject. A large portion of 
 the Confederate forces had volunteered for twelve mouths only, 
 with the expectation that the war would terminate before the 
 expiration of that period. This hope was disappointed, a year 
 had passed away and hostilities were about to recommence with 
 new vigor. The Confederacy was threatened with an attack 
 still more dangerous, at the momemt when her soldiers claimed 
 the letter of the contract the right to disband leaving the 
 country defenceless. To prevent this disastrous result, Congress 
 retained the troops in the field, passing several acts, however, 
 permitting the men to change their arm of the service, to elect 
 new officers, and reorganize throughout the army. . It was this 
 " reorganization " in the face of the enemy throwing all into 
 confusion and rendering the camps so many scenes of election- 
 eering for commissions that Jackson was fearful of at the be- 
 ginning of March. While the " Carnival of Misrule " was 
 reigning throughout his army, and every cabin of logs and mud 
 in the winter quarters around Winchester, was the scene of 
 merrymaking over sly canteens of whiskey, smuggled in by the 
 candidate who was anxious to serve his country with braid on 
 Ms sleeves, while the men felt their power to dethrone their 
 present officers, and those officers unconsciously relaxed in dis- 
 cipline on that account in the midst of all this confusion the 
 enemy might at any moment advance. To prevent this advance 
 by assuming a bold front, and waiting patiently for the reorgani- 
 zation to be completed, was the object of Jackson in the first 
 flays of March.
 
 104 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 The roads rapidly dried, and were now firm to the tread 
 and hard enough to bear the heaviest artillery ; but the ree'n- 
 forcements expected by Jackson did not arrive. With his army, 
 reduced by sickness, and leaves of absence and before the new 
 organization was accomplished he was called upon to meet 
 the enemy. They numbered, according to Jackson's estimate, 
 about 46,000, while his own force was in all about 4,000 ; but 
 among these were the men of the Stonewall Brigade, and many 
 gallant regiments formerly commanded by General Loring. 
 With this little force he determined to make as. obstinate a re- 
 sistance as possible. 
 
 The collision soon came. On the day that the above letter 
 was written by Jackson, the 3d of March, General Banks left 
 a portion of his army at Charlestown, and marched with his 
 main body to Martinsburg, from which an excellent turnpike 
 road led to Winchester. 
 
 Colonel Ashby, whose cavalry remained in front watching 
 the enemy, reported these movements to General Jackson, and 
 preparations were made to receive their attack. The Confeder- 
 ate commander had no thought of retiring without a fight, and 
 his small force was soon ready to meet the Federal attack, which 
 speedily followed. On the 10th of March General Banks 
 moved toward his adversary, and on the llth the columns from 
 Martinsburg and Charlestown were united at a point about sis 
 miles from Winchester. About two o'clock in the afternoon, 
 Ashby's cavalry picket, about four miles from the town, was 
 attacked in force and the cavalry compelled to fall back. Ree'n- 
 forcements were speedily despatched to the scene of action, "but 
 these were also obliged to retire ; and Jackson promptly threw 
 forward his whole force and offered battle. 
 
 This determined front, as afterwards at Kernstown, must 
 have persuaded the Federal general that his adversary's force 
 was larger than it had been represented. He did not accept 
 the proffered battle, and made no further advance at the time, 
 waiting for his main body to arrive. 
 
 Jackson still occupied his position in advance of the town
 
 JACKSON FALLS BACK FROM WINCHESTER. 105 
 
 with the determination not to retire before the enemy without 
 engaging them, when late in the afternoon he received an order 
 from Richmond directing him to evacuate Winchester, and fall 
 back up the valley. This was a bitter disappointment to him. 
 All his dreams of defending Winchester were at once dispelled ; 
 and with a heavy heart he prepared to obey. There was nothing 
 in his orders, however, which forbade him to fight as he fell 
 back, and he resolved that before retiring he would attack his 
 adversary. An incident related of him on this occasion conveys 
 an accurate idea of his feelings and intentions. 
 
 On the night of the llth of March he visited the family of 
 the Rev. Mr. Graham, a Presbyterian clergyman of the town, 
 with whom he was intimate, and the whole family were struck 
 with the unusual buoyancy of his bearing. His manner was 
 animated ; his countenance smiling, almost gay ; and he came 
 in with a rapid and elastic tread which indicated high spirits. 
 As the hour for evening prayers had arrived, he asked permis- 
 sion to read a chapter in the Bible and offer a prayer, as he fre- 
 quently did ; and every one took notice of the eloquence and 
 feeling in his voice. When the family rose from their knees, 
 Jackson remained for a moment silent, and then said : " My 
 good friends, I can tell you what I am going to do to-night. I 
 shall attack the enemy, and defeat him." 
 
 After a few more words he left the house, but, to their great 
 surprise, returned toward midnight, looking haggard and dis- 
 pirited. He came in slowly, almost dragging himself along, 
 and said, in accents of the greatest depression : " I have come 
 to tell you that I must leave you, and to say farewell." His 
 head sank as he spoke, and he seemed to fall into a gloomy 
 reverie. From this he suddenly roused himself, and starting to. 
 his feet with flushed cheeks and flashing eyes, he half drew his. 
 sword from the scabbard and exclaimed : 
 
 " I will never leave Winchester without a fight ! never, 
 never ! " 
 
 He stood looking at the astonished auditors for some mo- 
 ments without uttering another word, and then his excitement dis>
 
 106 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 appeared. His sword was driven back with a ringing clash into 
 the scabbard, and in tones of profound discouragement he said : 
 
 ; ' No ! I cannot sacrifice my men. I intended to attack the 
 enemy on the Martinsburg road, but they are approaching on 
 the flanks too, and would surround me. I cannot sacrifice my 
 men ; I must fall back." 
 
 He then bade his friends farewell, and left the house.* On 
 the same night he recalled his troops from their position in front 
 of the enemy, left the cavalry to guard his rear, and silently 
 evacuated Winchester. 
 
 He had remained in person until the last moment, to see that 
 no stores of any description were left. Even the useless tele- 
 graph wire was directed to be brought off, and he entrusted this 
 duty to Major Harman, the chief quartermaster, with the state- 
 ment that he was " in no hurry to leave Winchester." Every 
 thing in the shape of public stores had been already removed. 
 The cars and engines from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
 had all been sent to the rear, and the men had been greeted with 
 the unique spectacle of one huge railroad engine rolling along 
 the valley turnpike, drawn by forty-two horses. Nothing was 
 thus left, and Jackson doggedly retired. 
 
 On the next morning a column of eight thousand Federal 
 troops entered the town and took possession. Colonel Ashby, 
 commanding the cavalry, which composed the rear-guard of the 
 army, remained behind his men, alone, in Winchester, until the 
 enemy had swarmed into the ancient town, and were within two 
 hundred yards of his position. 
 
 An incident very characteristic of Ashby followed. The 
 enemy had observed the daring cavalier, who thus persistently 
 sat his horse, watching their entrance, and two men were sent 
 to make a circuit, and by striking the valley turnpike in his rear, 
 intercept him and cut off his retreat. If Ashby saw this he did 
 not pay any attention to the circumstance. He waited until the 
 
 * The scene here related is given on the authority of a highly respectable 
 gentleman of Winchester, who received the incident from the family of the 
 Rev. Mr. Graham, who witnessed it, and bear testimony to its truth.
 
 KERNSTOWN. 10? 
 
 Federal column was nearly upon him, and then waving his 
 sword around his head, uttered a cheer and galloped off. Al 
 the edge of the town he found himself confronted by the men 
 sent to intercept him ; and those acquainted with the daring 
 character of Ashby will easily believe that this opportunity of 
 venting his spleen at being compelled to retreat was not unac- 
 ceptable. Without attending to the loud " halt ! " he levelled 
 his pistol as he came on, and fired at one of the cavalry men,, 
 who fell. Ashby then caught the other by the throat, dragged 
 him from the saddle, and carried him off at full gallop. This 
 incident took place exactly as here narrated. It can only be 
 explained by the statement that Ashby was the best rider in the 
 Southern army. 
 
 Jackson continued to fall back, and Ashby's cavalry, sup- 
 ported by Chew's battery of horse artillery, held the rear, dis- 
 puting every inch of ground with the enemy, who pursued 
 closely. The crack of the cavalry carbines is described as 
 having been incessant, and the roar of the artillery was " the 
 lullaby and reveille " of the little army. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 KERNSTOWN. 
 
 JACKSON'S retreat on this occasion was sullen and deliberate, 
 and the forces assailing his rear gained no advantage over Col- 
 onel Ashby, who confronted them with his cavalry everywhere, 
 and obstinately sustained their attack. At Newtown he met 
 and repulsed a column under General Shields which made a 
 furious assault upon the Confederate rear-guard, and the army 
 continued its march. Reaching Cedar Creek, near Strasburg, on 
 the evening of the first day, Jackson continued to retreat until 
 he arrived at the little town of Mount Jackson, nearly opposite 
 Luray, and about forty- five miles from Winchester. Here Ins, 
 weary troops went into camp, the enemy having ceased the pursuit
 
 108 LIFE OF STOXEWALL JACKSOX. 
 
 The Federal forces were now in possession of the entire 
 region around Winchester, and sound policy would have seemed 
 to suggest a system of conciliation toward the inhabitants, with 
 a view to changing their sentiments of hostility, and reconciling 
 them to the Federal Government. This would have been diffi- 
 cult, perhaps, but not impossible ; for in large portions of Fred- 
 erick and Jefferson Counties, the opposition to secession had 
 been violent and determined the attachment to the Union great. 
 A policy of kindness and conciliation toward the inhabitants 
 would have increased this feeling ; and a majority of tlie people 
 might have been won to neutrality at least. Geneial Banks 
 seems not to have understood the character of the people, and 
 his hostile treatment of them made them bitter enemies. His 
 policy united the jarring elements, and confirmed the wavering 
 in their Southern sympathies. Portions of this region had been 
 considered somewhat lukewarm in Confederate sentiment up to 
 that time, but General Banks succeeded in making the whole 
 strongly Southern. In 1863 a member of Congress from one of 
 the Gulf States declared that he regarded it as " the soundest 
 district in the Confederacy." 
 
 General Banks seemed at first to intend a hot pursuit of 
 Jackson, but this design was not executed. He massed his troops 
 at "Winchester, and, at the same time, a considerable force was 
 sent across the Blue Ridge toward Fredericksburg. General 
 Banks now regarding Jackson as for the time beyond his reach, 
 and believing that the Confederate commanders had neither the 
 ability nor the desire to return and attack him, turned over the 
 command to his subordinate, General Shields, and repaired to 
 the city of Washington. 
 
 On the 21st of March Jackson received intelligence froir 
 Ashby, who had remained with his cavalry in front of the 
 enemy, that their troops had evacuated the town of Strasburg, 
 and fallen back in the direction of Winchester. He imme- 
 diately resolved to follow them, and acted with his habitual 
 promptness. From Mount Jackson, where his army lay, tc 
 Winchester, the distance was nearly fifty miles, and to arrive in
 
 KERNSTOWN. 109 
 
 time to strike the rear of the retiring enemy, the " Foot Cavalry," 
 as the troops now began to be called, must put forth their utmost 
 exertions. No time was lost. Jackson broke up his camp, 
 placed himself at the head of his column, and leaving Mount 
 Jackson at dawn on the 22d, marched twenty-six miles, and biv- 
 ouacked that night at Cedar Creek, beyond Strasburg. Ashby 
 had followed the enemy, incessantly skirmishing with their rear- 
 guard, and on the evening of Jackson's arrival at Cedar Creek, 
 had an animated engagement with cavalry and artillery, in which 
 General Shields was slightly wounded by a fragment of shell. 
 The action lasted until night, the enemy continuing to fall back. 
 
 During his march Jackson received information from scouts 
 and other sources which induced him to hurry forward still more 
 rapidly. The enemy, he was informed, were sending off their 
 stores and troops from Winchester ; only four regiments of in- 
 fantry were now in the town ; and as he approached the place 
 he was notified that fifteen thousand troops under General 
 Williams were then moving through the Blue Ridge at Snick- 
 er's Gap, below Berryville, to operate against General Johnston. 
 Jackson saw at a glance that if this intelligence was reliable, au 
 opportunity now presented itself to regain all his lost ground, 
 and strike a heavy blow at the entire programme of the enemy. 
 With his three or four thousand men he did not doubt his ability 
 to crush the four regiments at Winchester, and this sudden and 
 wholly unexpected attack on the enemy's rear would have the 
 effect of retaining General Williams in the valley. 
 
 Such was Jackson's design as he now hurried forward by 
 forced marches to Winchester. He did not doubt the reporl 
 which had been brought to him of the small force there. He 
 had received his intelligence " from a source remarkable for re 
 liability," Colonel Ashby, and it was not until he was actually 
 engaged with the enemy that he found the Federal force amount- 
 ed to about eleven thousand men. 
 
 Marching from Cedar Creek at dawn he continued to press 
 forward, and about noon came up with the enemy's rear at the 
 little village of Kernstown, which is situated on the valley turn-
 
 HO LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 pike, about three miles from Winchester. Here the men stacked 
 arms, and threw themselves on the ground to snatch some rest 
 after their incessant movement. The advance had been one of 
 extreme rapidity, the troops having passed over a distance of 
 more than forty miles within a period of less than thirty-six 
 hours. The march had been so rapid that only 3,087 infantry, 
 with 27 pieces of artillery, had been able to keep up ; and these 
 were so thoroughly exhausted that they could scarcely stand. 
 An eye-witness declares that " the men were utterly broken 
 down when they reached the battle-field, and so footsore and 
 weary, that if they trod on a rock or any irregularity, they 
 would stagger." This condition of the troops induced Jackson to 
 resolve on deferring the attack until they had gained a night's rest, 
 but he subsequently returned to his original intention. His pres- 
 ence was known, as the enemy's position gave them a fair view 
 of his troops ; and fearing that they would hurry forward re- 
 enforcements during the night, he resolved to attack them at 
 once. The men were in excellent spirits in spite of their fatigue, 
 and the order was given to prepare for battle. 
 
 It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, and the declining 
 sun warned the Confederate commander that no time was to be 
 lost. As the infantry came up he assigned them their places in 
 the commanding position which he had selected on the turnpike, 
 and impatiently awaited the return of the cavalry scouts which 
 had been sent out to reconnoitre. While he was thus engaged 
 forming his troops in line of battle, the roar of Ashby's guns 
 directly in front showed that the action had begun. Jackson 
 was still forming his line when the scouts hurried in, and in- 
 formed him that the enemy, who had been posted in heavy force 
 on the right of the turnpike, were then making a circuit at a 
 double-quick, and as secretly as possible, to the left. 
 
 Their intentions were thus developed. They obviously de- 
 signed, under cover of a demonstration on the Confederate front, 
 to move around and assail the left flank a repetition of their 
 strategy at Manassas and dispositions were promptly made to 
 meet this emergency. Ashby was left with his cavalry and ar
 
 KERNSTOWN. Ill 
 
 tillery, supported by Colonel Burks' brigade, to guard the turn* 
 pike ; and with Colonel Fulkerson's and General Garnett's bri^ 
 gades (the latter the " Stonewall"), and a gun from Carpenter's 
 battery, Jackson moved to the left, and rapidly pushed on to gaiti 
 an elevated position which commanded the enemy's right. 
 /p The battle of Kernstown was fought near the eastern decliv- 
 ity of the Little North Mountain, not far from the spot where 
 the Opequan takes its rise. The country is undulating, and 
 generally open, but with patches of oak, birch, and other trees, 
 which afford a good cover for infantry. The fields are large, 
 gently rolling, and divided by rail fences or stone walls. At 
 the end of March, when the action took place, a portion of the 
 ground was ploughed, but the greater part was covered with a 
 thick crop of broom straw. Where the battle raged most hotly 
 the opposing lines were almost in collision with each other ; the 
 woods in which they were formed being only separated by a 
 narrow neck of open field, where the ground sunk down in one 
 of the undulations mentioned. This was alternately taken pos- 
 session of by both parties. On the left of this position was a 
 common rail fence which ran perpendicular to the Confederate 
 line, and formed a connecting link between the adversaries. At 
 right angles with this, and in front of the Confederate left wing, 
 was a substantial stone wall in a field of ploughed ground, which 
 extended toward the base of the mountain. 
 
 To attain the high ground on the left was the object of both 
 adversaries. The struggle thus became, in its very commence- 
 ment, an attempt of each to outflank his opponent. The enemy 
 had gotten the start, but Jackson moved promptly to counteract 
 this advantage, and succeeded through a heavy fire of artillery 
 directed at his column as it swept across the fields in reaching, 
 without loss, the position selected for his artillery. He opened 
 fire immediately with the gun from Carpenter's battery, and 
 then hastened back in person to hurry forward the rest of the 
 artillery. Every moment now counted, and new batteries came 
 up quickly. Waters' battery, and McLaughlin's " Rockbridge 
 artillery," one piece of which had done such good service in the
 
 112 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 hands of Captain Pendleton at Falling Waters, were placed in 
 position; and supported by the 21st Virginia, Colonel Patton 
 who was ordered by Jackson to stand by the guns to the last 
 opened fire on the Federal columns, which were seen rapidly 
 moving to the left. Their batteries promptly replied to the chal 
 lenge, and for some time a rapid and continuous fire was kept 
 U p_ g howers of case shot and shell falling in the midst of tb<> 
 troops, but doing them little injury. 
 
 During this animated duel between the opposing batteries, 
 the infantry of the two armies had continued steadily moving to 
 the left, and in that quarter the real contest soon commenced, 
 to which the artillery fire had only been the prelude. All at 
 once a long roar of musketry resounded from the woods, where 
 the Confederate left was posted, and in a moment the air was 
 filled with the din of battle. Colonel Echols, of the 27th Vir- 
 ginia, had opened the action by an attack upon the force imme- 
 diately in his front, and this, he soon ascertained, was very 
 large. Jackson watched the contest closely, and seeing that 
 Echols was hard pressed by numbers, ordered the 21st Virginia 
 to his support. That regiment advanced and took position on 
 Echols' right, and the battle began to rage in earnest. The 
 enemy were masked in the woods, opposite Echols and Patton, 
 and, throwing forward line after line, made vigorous attempts to 
 outflank the Confederates both on the right and the left. These 
 attempts were partially successful, but did not accomplish their 
 object. The Federal infantry reached the flank of Jackson's 
 line, and poured a steady fire into the Southern troops ; but the 
 position of the latter, in the woods, partially concealed them, 
 and the Federal fire being too high, they suffered comparatively 
 small loss, and did not retire. The remainder of Fulkerson's 
 brigade now came to their support, and soon afterwards the 
 Stonewall Brigade hastened up and formed line of battle upon 
 Fulkerson's right. These opened immediately a rapid and de- 
 structive fire. Before it the enemy's first line gave back, and 
 could not be rallied ; but fresh troops instantly took its place, 
 and a resolute charge was again made upon the Confederates
 
 KERNSTOWN. 113 
 
 It was repulsed ; and for some time this continued to be the 
 character of the contest the Federal troops rushing forward, 
 the Confederates meeting them with a heavy fire, repulsing and 
 pursuing and then the sudden appearance of Federal reserves, 
 in turn driving back their adversaries. 
 
 The Southern infantry engaged in every part of the field 
 numbered 2,742 men, according to Jackson's official report ; and 
 lie estimates the force of the enemy present at 11,000, of whom 
 *' over 8,000 " he declares were probably engaged. They were 
 thus enabled to meet the Confederate assaults with fresh troops 
 from the reserves, and did do so with promptness. One Fed- 
 eral regiment was completely repulsed, and the Confederates 
 were hotly pursuing the men into the woods, when they suddenly 
 found themselves confronted by a fresh regiment which had been 
 lying down. " They seemed to rise," says an eye-witness, " out 
 of the earth, and coming forward in beautiful order at a double- 
 quick, took their place " with the stars and stripes, says 
 another, " flaunting in our very faces." The battle thus contin- 
 ued to rage with varying fortunes, the Federal forces having 
 failed to secure any advantage. The roll of musketry in the 
 woods, says one who .heard it, " rose and fell, and swelled on 
 the air like some grand infernal organ." The artillery contin- 
 ued to thunder from its position, but its deep diapason was no 
 match for the frightful din which rose steadily from the woods, 
 and showed that the more fatal " small arms " were busy at 
 their work. 
 
 The action had now become furious. There was little ma- 
 noeuvring on the part of either adversary all was hard, close 
 fighting. The lines wavered to and fro advanced rapidly or 
 retired as quickly and the musketry fire never relaxed. Men 
 and officers were falling or being wounded and borne off at every 
 moment. Colonel Echols had his arm broken by a bullet, and 
 was compelled to yield the command of his regiment to Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel Grigsby. Lieutenant Dale, of the 5th Virginia, 
 fell while leading on his men. Captain Jones of the Irish bat- 
 talion, mounted a stump and was cheering on his company, when
 
 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACK8ON. 
 
 a bullet penetrated his brain, and he too fell. Captains Austin,. 
 Robertson, Morrison, Lieutenant Lisle, and Lieutenant Junkin v 
 one of Jackson's aide-de-camps, were some of them wounded,, 
 and all taken prisoners. Colonel Burks had his horse shot ia 
 four different places, and six balls passed through his clothes. 
 Three times the colors of the 2d Virginia were shot down, and 
 but for the gallantry of Colonel Allen, who leaped from his 
 horse and seized them, they would have been captured. 
 
 The battle raged thus blindly and without plan as it were, 
 for nearly two hours. " There was almost a continuous roai 
 of musketry," says Jackson in his report of the action, "the 
 enemy's repulsed regiments being replaced by fresh ones from 
 his large reserves." Jackson was everywhere seen under the 
 hottest fire, waving his sword around his head, and exclaiming,. 
 " Give them one more volley, my brave boys ! " His form tow- 
 ered above the smoke on his sorrel horse ; and a participant in 
 the battle makes the statement that he led five distinct charges 
 in person. 
 
 The Federal commander was still endeavoring to accomplish 
 his original design of turning Jackson's left, and assaulting him 
 in the rear. But at that point Fulkerson, with the 23d under 
 Taliaferro, and the 27th under Carson, held the position against 
 six Federal regiments without flinching. The ground was pe- 
 culiar the adversaries occupying a skirt of woods on each side 
 of a narrow field of ploughed ground, with the substantial stone 
 wall which we have mentioned, running directly across it, in 
 their front and parallel with their lines. The distance was in- 
 considerable between the two lines of battle, and the stone wall 
 was a coveted object with both, as it would enable them to shel- 
 ter themselves entirely from their opponent's fire. To attain 
 this advantage the two lines now gradually advanced, continu- 
 ing to fire hotly as they came. When within close and deadly 
 range, each broke at a rapid double-quick for the wall, cheering 
 loudly and endeavoring to reach it first. The Confederates beat 
 their opponents ; they occupied the position while their enemies 
 were still forty or fifty yards distant, and, dropping on their
 
 KERNSTOWN. 115 
 
 "knees, rested their guns on the wall, and poured a heavy volley 
 into the Federal line. The effect was decisive. The enemy 
 broke in confusion, left one of their colors on the field, and re- 
 treated in disorder to the shelter of the woods. An Ohio and a 
 Pennsylvania regiment, which took part in this charge, are said 
 to have carried back only twenty men. The rest were killed, or 
 left on the field, and Fulkerson remained in possession of the 
 ground. 
 
 The force of the Federal commander was too large, how- 
 ever, to render this and other advantages gained by the South- 
 ern troops, in any degree decisive of the result. Their reserves 
 enabled them to fill up the broken ranks, and after each repulse 
 they returned with vigor to the encounter. The engagement 
 had become general in every portion of the field, and the fire of 
 artillery and musketry was incessant. The batteries roared 
 hotly from the rising ground on the right on the left the rattle 
 of musketry never ceased or relaxed and from the direction 
 of the turnpike, on the Confederate right, was heard the contin- 
 uous thunder of the artillery under Ashby. The enemy were 
 pressing him, too, as they were Fulkerson on the left ; and the 
 effort to turn Jackson's flanks and silence his artillery became 
 desperate. The guns were the aim of the Federal batteries, 
 and the object of charge after charge by their infantry. The 
 fire on them was accurate, and resulted in some loss. One gun 
 was dismounted from its carriage by a round shot, and another 
 ^vas overturned by the frightened horses, among whom a shell 
 had burst. Both pieces subsequently fell into the hands of the 
 enemy. The charges which the artillery sustained were deter- 
 mined. As a piece belonging to the Rockbridge battery was 
 hurrying to take position in a different portion of the field, it was 
 observed by a Federal regiment close at hand, and a charge 
 made to capture it. The officer commanding the gun withheld 
 his fire until the enemy were within less than one hundred yards, 
 when the piece was double shotted with canister and discharged. 
 The execution was frightful, and a second shot drove back the 
 entire regiment. They retired in confusion, and one of the can.-
 
 116 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 noneers who served at the gun, declares that the field, as the 
 smoke lifted, was " one withering mass of humanity." 
 
 Jackson's whole force, with the exception of Campbell's and 
 Langhorne's regiments, was by this time engaged ; and he after- 
 wards declared to one of his officers that it was " a fiercer fight, 
 during its continuance, than any portion of the battle of Ma- 
 nassas." The stubborn stand made by the Confederates un- 
 doubtedly discouraged the Federal troops exceedingly, and the 
 citizens of Winchester declared that " crowds came stampeding 
 through Winchester during the fight, making for Yankee-land, 
 and exclaiming that they were utterly routed." These numer- 
 ous stragglers were seen at Charlestown, on the next morning, 
 twenty-five miles distant ; and there is reason to believe that at 
 one time the result of the action was extremely doubtful. Three 
 times the stars and stripes were seen to fall, and three times the 
 headlong charge of the entire Federal line was met and repulsed. 
 Their officers behaved with great gallantry, and were seen riding 
 up and down behind the lines, striking the men with their 
 swords, and ordering them to return to the contest. The Con- 
 federate officers were equally active, and performed many acts 
 of personal gallantry. Captain B. W. Leigh, of the Irish Bat- 
 talion, when his men were thrown into disorder, seized the col- 
 ors, and advancing under a heavy fire to a hillock in front of the 
 enemy, rallied his broken line for a new struggle. Other exhi- 
 bitions of soldierly coolness were witnessed on the part of offi- 
 cers, and the men fought with a persistence scarcely to have 
 been expected in raw troops, the majority of whom had never 
 before met the enemy. When the ammunition of some of the 
 regiments became exhausted, the men borrowed from their com- 
 rades, and in the hottest part of the battle they were seen to stoop 
 and cut the cartridge-boxes from the dead bodies of the enemy. 
 
 The battle continued with unrelenting fury until the shades 
 of night began slowly to creep across the fields. The sun had 
 sunk behind the North Mountain, casting the long shadows of 
 the contending lines over the expanse of broom-straw, now dab- 
 bled in blood, and waving in the chilly March winds ; and still*
 
 KERNSTOWN. 117 
 
 the affair seemed as far from being decided as at first. The 
 moment, however, was near at hand when the ranks of the Con- 
 federates were to be borne back, and the Federal forces were to 
 hold possession of the hard-fought field. 
 
 Jackson always believed that he lost the battle of Kernstown 
 by the falling back of the Stonewall Brigade. How did these 
 tried troops, under gallant officers, come to incur this grave im- 
 putation from their old chief ? This question we shall endeavor 
 to answer. The Stonewall Brigade had taken position on the 
 right of Fulkerson, and had sustained charge after charge with- 
 out wavering. In their turn they had charged, with all the 
 soldierly ardor which had animated them at Manassas, and the 
 Federal colors had more than once sunk before them. The 
 brigade had come, at various times, to the support of nearly 
 every regiment on the field, and late in the afternoon their sup- 
 ply of ammunition became exhausted. This unfortunate acci- 
 dent occurred at the most critical moment of the battle, when 
 they were hotly engaged ; and finding that his men were only 
 being butchered, without the power to return the enemy's fire, 
 General Garnett, commanding the brigade, ordered his lines to 
 retire a short distance, where they were less exposed. Such 
 was the origin of this unfortunate movement. Jackson was 
 watching the progress of the action from a point near at hand, 
 when suddenly, to his inexpressible chagrin, he saw the lines of 
 his old brigade fall back. He galloped to the spot stern, fiery, 
 and menacing as Washington at Monmouth and imperatively 
 ordering General Garnett to hold his ground, pushed forward to 
 stop and rally the men. Seeing a drummer retreating like the 
 rest, he seized him by the shoulder, dragged him to a rise in the 
 ground, in full view of the troops, and said, in his curt quick 
 tones, " Beat the rally ! " 
 
 The drum rolled at his order, and with his hand on th 
 frightened drummer's shoulder, amid a storm of balls, Jackson 
 saw that the disordered lines were reformed and brought into 
 something like order. 
 
 But he had arrived too late. The enemy had seen their
 
 118 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 advantage, and were now pressing forward with triumphant 
 cheers. They penetrated the opening, turned Fulkerson's right, 
 and he was forced back in disorder. At the same moment the 
 approaching roar of Ashby's artillery from the direction of the 
 turnpike, indicated that the enemy were pressing down upon 
 the right. The day was lost. 
 
 But Jackson would not yield. His stern temper was fully 
 aroused, and with the heavy columns pressing him on both flanks 
 and in front, he refused to abandon the struggle. Under his 
 passionate appeals and orders the 5th Virginia, though almost 
 entirely without ammunition, re-formed under a heavy fire, and 
 taking position directly in front, held the enemy in check, with- 
 out support, until the arrival of the 42d, under Colonel Lang- 
 horne. This regiment was hurried forward, and formed on the 
 right of the 5th. But the day was lost. The enemy had pushed 
 forward rapidly, and turned the Confederate left flank ; and the 
 handful of Southerners who still held their ground, saw the 
 Federal columns sweeping round and nearly enveloping them. 
 The two regiments supported for a time the weight of the masses 
 thrown against them ; but the Federal flanking column having 
 gotten almost entirely in the rear of the 5th Virginia, it was 
 forced to fall back. This exposed the left flank of the 42d, and 
 that regiment in turn was thrown into disorder, and retired be- 
 fore the enemy. 
 
 With his left thus enveloped, his cavalry retiring along the 
 turnpike on his right, and his centre broken through, -Jackson 
 could no longer continue the contest. He gave no order to re- 
 treat, but that or destruction was the alternative, and the lines 
 retreated sullenly from the field. It was Jackson's first and 
 last defeat, and he " died hard," fighting to the last. His sole 
 remaining regiment had been ordered forward to continue the 
 action, but before it arrived he determined to fall back. The 
 troops, says an officer who was present, fell back " without 
 panic " * sole cheering incident ! and the enemy was in pos- 
 session of the field. 
 
 * " Such was their gallantry and Tiigh state of discipline, that at no time
 
 BEHIND THE SCENES. 119 
 
 Tftght had descended, and a chill wind sighed in its passage 
 .over the wide fields of broom-straw, and through the gloomy 
 depths of the forest, where so many dead and wounded men 
 were lying. The Federal troops had won the day, but the price 
 <xf the victory had been bloody. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BEHIND THE SCENES. 
 
 BEFOKE passing to the events which succeeded the battle of 
 Kernstown, let us glance at some particulars relating to this 
 singular and comparatively unknown conflict. Many persons 
 regarded it as a blunder in Jackson ; others as one of his chief 
 successes. Federal writers claim a victory certain from the 
 first ; but Jackson died in the belief that if he had held his 
 ground ten minutes longer, the enemy would have retreated. 
 Northern accounts stated the Federal numbers at 10,000, and 
 Jackson's at 12,000. Such were the various opinions. What 
 was the truth? 
 
 The battle was not a blunder or an accident, but the result 
 of calculation and design. Jackson was misinformed in relation 
 *o the force in his immediate front, but would have fought it, at 
 the same time and place, with full knowledge of its amount. 
 An attack was necessary to accomplish his object the retention 
 of the Federal forces in the valley ; and this attack he would 
 certainly have made. When he commenced his march from 
 Mount Jackson, the Federal troops were leaving the valley ; and 
 as he approached Winchester, General Williams, with his 15,000 
 men, was below Upperville, east of the Blue Ridge, ready to 
 press General Johnston, who, falling back from Manassas, had 
 reached the Rapidan. It was important to divert this force from 
 
 during the battle or pursuit did they give way to panic." General SHIELDS' 
 Report
 
 120 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 its march, for the relief of General Johnston, and the battle of 
 Kernstown accomplished this. The roar of artillery from Win 
 cheater was plainly heard by the Federal commander ; and 
 under the impression, no doubt, that Jackson had been strongly 
 reenforced, and had fallen upon General Shields, General Wil- 
 liams made a rapid countermarch to his assistance. It will be 
 seen that Jackson's whole force up was 3,087, and that of Gen- 
 eral Shields estimated at 11,000. Thus the assault of about 
 3,000 men, kept about 26,000 from operating against Johnston. 
 
 The action was, beyond doubt, one of the fiercest encounters 
 of the war. Jackson states his force present on the evening of 
 the battle to have been 3,087 infantry, 290 cavalry, and 27 
 pieces of artillery. Of this number, 2,742 infantry, the whole 
 of the cavalry, and 18 pieces of artillery were engaged. The 
 Federal force seems to have considerably exceeded this. Jack- 
 eon estimated their numbers on the field at 11,000, and stated 
 that " probably over 8,000 were engaged." He was always ex- 
 tremely cautious in his statements, and this is doubtless not far 
 from the truth, though it would seem improbable, that in a con- 
 flict so obstinate and doubtful, the Federal commander would 
 keep out of action reserves amounting to about 3,000 men 
 more than Jackson's whole force engaged. Taking this estimate,, 
 however, the Federal force was three times greater than the 
 Confederate. The loss of the latter was 80 killed and 342 
 wounded i22. A Federal officer stated, some days afterwards,, 
 that their loss in killed was 418. The Federal report is not at 
 hand. 
 
 The battle was an undoubted defeat of the Confederates. 
 General Shields wrote : " The enemy's sufferings have been 
 terrible, and such as they have nowhere else endured since the 
 beginning of this war." The Southern loss was heavy, the vic- 
 tory complete ; but in spite of this, the affair was spoken of 
 among Federal officers as one over which they had very little 
 reason to. rejoice. The bloody resistance made by the Southern 
 troops was the topic of conversation in Winchester, and the 
 officers, it is even said, " did not claim a victory, only a drawn
 
 BEHIND THE SCENES. 121 
 
 battle." We have quoted General Shields' statement, that the 
 Confederates at no time " gave way to panic ; " the testimony 
 of another Federal authority was, that the stubborn stand made 
 by one of the Federal regiments, " alone saved them." 
 
 These are not recorded in order to glorify the Southern 
 arms, but to show that this brief and desperate conflict with 
 which the spring of 1862 opened, was at one time very uncer- 
 tain. A further proof of this is a statement made by Ashby to 
 Col. J. M. Patton. Ashby stated that when the Southern line 
 fell back, in consequence of the movement of the Stonewall Bri- 
 gade, an order for the Federal troops to retire was actually on 
 the way from General Shields, and would have arrived in ten 
 minutes. " This," says Colonel Patton, " I had from Colonel 
 Turner Ashby, who told me he knew it to be so." Ashby's char- 
 acter was very high, and he would not make such a statement 
 lightly. Jackson, it is certain, believed it ; hence his displeasure 
 at the order from General Garnett, one of the bravest men in 
 the army, which virtually lost him, as he believed, the victory. 
 
 Private letters brought through the lines seemed to indicate 
 no depression of mind in those who sympathized with the Con- 
 federates. The people around Winchester were said to regard 
 " the gallant fight of Sunday in the light of a victory," and an- 
 other letter described the passage of the Confederate prisoners 
 through the town as " a march of triumph rather than of defeat." 
 Every attention was paid to them by the ladies of Winchester, 
 remarkable throughout the whole war for their Confederate 
 sympathies, and the success of the Federal troops seemed only 
 to intensify the bitterness of their dislike for the blue uniform. 
 Contemporary narratives paint the scene vividly the waving 
 handkerchiefs as the Southern prisoners passed by, and the flushed 
 cheeks, and eyes full of scornful tears, as the ladies glanced 
 from the ragged scarecrows of Jackson to the finely dressed 
 Federal officers. The saddest scene of all was the appearance 
 of mothers and sisters upon the ghastly field of Kernstown. The 
 mayor of Winchester and the citizens dug a pit on the battle- 
 field, and buried the dead bodies of the Southern soldiers,
 
 122 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Among the crowd were many of the ladies of Winchester, close- 
 ly scanning the bodies as they were brought up one by one, and 
 sobbing as they recognized some relation or friend. Many 
 found their kindred among the dead left on the field, for the 
 larger part of Jackson's force was from the valley, and the 
 spectacle of the recognition of the bodies was harrowing. It 
 affected even the Federal officers present ; but one of these de- 
 clares that every feeling of the Southern ladies, even grief for 
 the dead, seemed merged into an intense hatred toward them- 
 selves. With flashing eyes and flushed faces, they would ex- 
 claim, "You may bring the whole force of the North here, but 
 you can never conquer us ! we will shed our last drop of 
 blood ! " * 
 
 Jackson had retreated from the field of Kernstown ; but he 
 did not go far, and did not seem to be aware of any danger in 
 remaining near the victorious enemy. Retiring to the position 
 on the turnpike which he had occupied in the morning, he issued 
 orders for the troops to bivouac where they were, and soon the 
 fires were seen sparkling like stars along the roadside, the men 
 
 * "There is nothing," says the correspondent of a Northern journal, 
 *vrating of the Southern ladies, " nothing they will not surrender with a smile 
 the gemmed ring, the diamond bracelet, the rich wardrobe. They cut up 
 'rich carpets for soldiers' blankets without a sigh ; they take the fine linen 
 from their persons for bandages. When four hundred of Longstreet's men 
 came up to Nashville prisoners of war, about the roughest, dirtiest looking set 
 of fellows the sun ever shone on, and a flight of stairs in the building they 
 occupied fell, killing and. wounding a large number of them, you should have 
 seen the fair young traitoresses come forth from the old aristocratic mansions, 
 bearing restoratives and delicacies in their hands, mingling in the dingy crowd, 
 wiping away the blood with their white handkerchiefs, and uttering words of 
 cheer ; should have seen them doing this with hundreds of Union soldiers all 
 around, and smiling back on the rough blackguards of rebels as they left. 
 JBut in all there was a defiant air in their humanity strange to see. Of a 
 truth, they carried it off grandly. And about all these girls were in mourn- 
 ing for dead rebels brothers, lovers, friends, whom these same girls had 
 sneered into treason and driven into rebellion, and billowed all the South 
 with their graves ; and the least they could do was to wear black for them 
 and flaunt black from the window blinds. Clothed be their souls in black."
 
 BEHIND THE SCENES. 123 
 
 cooking their rations and laughing over the events of the day. 
 Jackson got an armful of corn for his horse, and, wrapping his 
 blanket around him, laid down by a fire in a fence corner and; 
 went to sleep. He was close enough to hear the conversation, 
 of the Federal soldiers at their camp fires. At four o'clock ia 
 the morning he commenced his retreat. 
 
 The enemy followed, and at Cedar Creek opened upon his 
 trains with artillery, forcing him to continue his retreat. It 
 was made deliberately, and growing tired, apparently, of assail* 
 ing so impassive an adversary, the Federal commander gave 
 up the pursuit, fell back from Strasburg, barricading the roads 
 in his rear, and returned to "Winchester. 
 
 One of the many peculiar features of the battle above de-* 
 scribed, was the effect it produced upon the men and the opinion 
 it gave them of Jackson. Defeats generally dishearten troops,, 
 and put them out of humor with their commander. The result 
 on this occasion seems to have been very different. " We don't 
 feel at all whipped," wrote an officer to his wife ; and if it were 
 Avorth while, we might record many incidents showing that the 
 men of Jackson were proud of their exertions at Kernstown, and 
 believed that the enemy had suffered far more than themselves. 
 Their sentiment toward their commander was still more strik* 
 ing. Jackson had fought them desperately, and had them near* 
 ly cut to pieces ; but one of the officers of Loring, who signed 
 the protest against him at Romney, says that after Kernstowu 
 " the men went frantic about him." As he passed along the 
 column they cheered him vociferously the men of Loring as 
 well as of his own Stonewall Brigade, To fight them with despera* 
 tion and march them to death, seemed, to judge from their de 
 meaner, the best claims on the regards of the troops. They 
 struggled on exhausted, but jesting, and one was heard to say j 
 " Why is Old Jack a better general than Moses ? Because it 
 took Moses forty years to lead the Israelites through the wilder-* 
 ness, and Old Jack would have double-quicked them through ii 
 three days ! " Jackson's spirit of oombativeness seems to have 
 excited this enthusiasm ; and it is certain that from the time ok
 
 124 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the battle of Kernstown, he seemed able to achieve, with his own 
 particular troops, impossibilities almost. He held them in his 
 grasp as a sharp and tempered weapon, and it never failed him. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 MCDOWELL. 
 
 KERXSTOWN had been only a momentary check. The 
 enemy now resumed their former design of following Jackson 
 and clearing out the upper regions of the valley, with an energy 
 greater than before. 
 
 The plans of -the Federal authorities for the conduct of the 
 campaign and the thorough subjugation of the State were now 
 ripe. The following letter from General McClellan, addressed 
 to General Banks on the first day of April, will throw some 
 Jight on the Federal programme : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, 
 ON BOARD COMMODORE, April 1, 1862. 
 
 4 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL N. P. BANKS, Commcmding 5th Army Corps : 
 
 GENERAL : The change in affairs in the Valley of the Shenandoah has ren- 
 dered necessary a corresponding departure temporary at least from the plan 
 we some days since agreed upon. 
 
 In my arrangements I assume that you have a force sufficient to drive 
 .Jackson before you, provided he is not reenforced largely. I also assume 
 that you may find it impossible to find any thing towards Manassas for some 
 days ; probably not until the operation? of the main army have drawn all the 
 rebel force toward Richmond. . . . 
 
 I doubt whether Johnston will now reenforce Jackson with a view to offen- 
 sive operations. The time has probably passed when he could have gained 
 any thing by so doing. . . . 
 
 I will order Blenker to move on Strasburg, and report to you for tempo- 
 rary duty ; so that, should you find a large force in your front, you can avail 
 yourself of his aid. . , . 
 
 In regard to your movements the most important thing is to throw Jack 
 *on well back, and then to assume such a position as will enable you to pre
 
 MCDOWELL. 125 
 
 vent his return. As soon as the railway communications are reestablished, it 
 will be probably important and advisable to move on Staunton ; but this 
 would require communications, and a force of 25,000 to 30,000 for active op- 
 erations. It should also be nearly coincident with my own move on Rich- 
 mond ; at all events not so long before it as to enable the rebels to concen- 
 trate on you and then return on me. . . . 
 
 Please inform me frequently by telegraph and otherwise as to the state of 
 things in your front. I am very truly yours, 
 
 GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, 
 
 Major-General Commanding. 
 
 It will thus be seen that, to " throw Jackson well back," and, 
 when the railroad was ready, to " move on Staunton," were the 
 intentions of the Federal commander about the first of April. 
 To cooperate with General Banks, two other columns were to 
 move in the same direction from different points one under 
 General Fremont from the upper waters of the Potomac, and a 
 considerable force under General Milroy from the direction of 
 Monterey. With Banks and Fremont following on Jackson's 
 rear, and Milroy sweeping down on his flank from the western 
 mountains, it was confidently anticipated that the Confederate 
 leader would be crushed, and the rich region around Staunton 
 fall into the hands of the Federal forces. 
 
 . Such was the plan of operations, and such the situation of 
 Jackson, in the beginning of the month of April, which had now 
 opened with its bright verdure and brilliant sky. 
 
 Jackson slowly retreated after the battle of Kernstown, the 
 enemy pursuing him in force and skirmishing incessantly with 
 his rear-guard under Ashby. That cavalier was untiring in the 
 performance of his important duty, and the roar of his artillery 
 continued throughout the day saluting the ears of the troops as> 
 they awoke in the morning or laid down in bivouac at night. 
 The men suffered few hardships during the retreat. The 
 weather was growing mild, and delightful with the approaching 
 spring, and though, by an order of Jackson, none but command- 
 ers of brigades were allowed to have tents, the troops did not 
 complain of sleeping in the open air. They kindled their camp- 
 fires on the side of the turnpike, and, lulled by the distant thun-
 
 126 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 der ot A.shby's artillery, went to sleep as soundly as if they had 
 been at home in their beds. 
 
 Jackson thus crept along in the days succeeding Kernstown 
 like a wounded wolf, but turning every moment to snap at his 
 pursuers, and offer battle if they pressed on him and thus came 
 again to the vicinity of Mount Jackson, where he went into 
 the old camps which he had abandoned to march to Winchester. 
 Here he remained for more than a fortnight, paying no attention 
 to the enemy, whose large force was at the village of Edinburg, 
 in his front. General Banks seems to have been afraid to 
 attack him during this time, and contented himself with skir- 
 mishes while waiting for reinforcements to his already large 
 army. 
 
 About the middle of April, however, General Banks again 
 began to move, and Jackson promptly broke up his camp and 
 resumed his retreat. He reached the north fork of the Shenan- 
 doah where the turnpike crosses it without loss, and now, if he 
 could destroy the bridge in his rear before the enemy reached it, 
 their further advance would be temporarily checked. They 
 were pressing on, driving Ashby before them ; and knowing the 
 importance of preventing, if possible, the destruction of the 
 bridge, made great exertions to attain that object. Ashby held 
 them in check only by the most determined fighting ; and when 
 the infantry and artillery crossed the bridge, the roar of the 
 guns from the rear-guard, close at hand, indicated the 
 near approach of the enemy. The bridge was finally passed by 
 the army, and it was Ashby's business now to destroy it, and 
 check further pursuit. The task delighted this soldier; for 
 nothing is more certain than the fact that he loved danger for 
 its own sake, and never was so happy as when contending 
 face to face with imminent peril. Those who differ from him 
 in temperament may doubt this assertion, but the friends who 
 knew him best will support our statement. The work now be- 
 fore him was one of those tests of the stern fibre of his courage 
 which he loved best of all in the life of a soldier. With the masses 
 of Federal cavalry and artillery, supported by infantry, pressing
 
 MoDOWELL. 127 
 
 hotly on him, he had employment for his best faculties. Hur* 
 rying his cavalry across the bridge, he followed in person with 
 the artillery, which thundered over at a gallop, and then with a 
 detachment of picked men he hastened to apply fire to the bridge. 
 The euemy were now upon him. Their cavalry advanced at a 
 gallop, firing volleys as they came, but Ashby remained seated 
 upon his white horse superintending the work. It was more 
 difficult than he had expected. The timbers were wet from 
 rain, the flame would not kindle, and the bullets whistling 
 around the heads of the working party embarrassed their exer- 
 tions. The Federal cavalry had now reached the bridge, the 
 first files dashed across, and Ashby's men ran to their horses, 
 leaving him alone. He was obliged to follow or be captured, 
 and galloped off last, pursued by eight of the enemy, whose fire 
 he was unable to return, his own pistols having been emptied. 
 They followed him closely, firing incessantly upon him as he re- 
 treated, and this animated chase continued for nearly two miles. 
 Assistance was then near, and, looking back, Ashby saw that 
 two of his pursuers were in advance of the rest. This odds was 
 not great, and he at once reined in. The Federal cavalrymen 
 came on at a headlong gallop, carried forward by their horses, 
 and the next moment terminated their career. A bullet from 
 one of Ashby's command pierced one of them through the body, 
 and the other, arriving abreast of Ashby, was cut down with one 
 blow of his sabre. 
 
 Such was the famous chase of Ashby. He had distanced 
 his enemies, but the fine horse which he rode the beautiful 
 milk-white charger which the whole army admired had received 
 a mortal wound. A ball had pierced his side, and the blood 
 was now gushing out at every pant. As he was led along the 
 line of a regiment under arms, an eye-witness declares that he 
 never had imagined so spirited and magnificent an animal. " He 
 was white as snow," says our authority, " except where his side 
 and legs were stained with his own blood. His mane and tail 
 were long and flowing ; his eye and action evinced distinctly the 
 rage with which he regarded the injury which he had received
 
 128 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 He trod the earth with the grandeur of a wounded lion, and 
 every soldier looked upon him with sympathy and admiration. 
 He had saved his master at the cost of his own life. He almost 
 seemed conscious of his achievement, and only to regret death 
 because his own injuries were unavenged."* 
 
 The Federal forces did not press Jackson closely after the 
 passage of the bridge, and he continued his retreat without in- 
 terruption. Crossing, on the 19th of April, into Elk Run Val- 
 ley, he took up a strong position between that place and Swift 
 Run Gap, and faced the enemy, with the determination to make 
 a stand and receive his attack. His new position had been 
 chosen with the eye of a soldier, and gave him many advan- 
 tages. He was able here to meet, in a strong position, the assault 
 of the force which had followed him up the valley ; to face tin 
 column under Milroy, rapidly advancing from the west, toward 
 Staunton ; and, if necessary, to retreat upon Richmond, and unite 
 his forces with those of General Johnston, against the army un- 
 der General McClellan on the Peninsula. 
 
 The strength of his position was appreciated by General 
 Banks, and the main body of that commander's army did not 
 proceed further south than Harrisonburg. He seems to have 
 regarded the campaign as ended. On the 24th of April he tele- 
 graphed to President Lincoln : u The rebel Jackson has aban- 
 doned the Valley of Virginia permanently, and is en route to 
 Gordonsville by the way of the mountains." General Banks 
 was soon to find, however, that the dangerous rebel had no 
 thought of retreating. 
 
 We have a characteristic picture of Jackson at this time, 
 which may interest the reader. He was riding, on one Sunday 
 morning, along his lines drawn up for inspection, when Dr. 
 Dabney, his chaplain, determined to address the men. He and 
 Jackson accordingly dismounted and tied their horses ; the Bible 
 was laid open upon the head of a bass drum ; the small drums 
 beat to attention, and Dr. Dabney preached to the troops. Dur- 
 ing the sermon of more than an hour, Jackson stood perfectly 
 motionless, with his old cap drawn down to shield his eyes from 
 * See note in Appendix.
 
 MCDOWELL. 128 
 
 the dazzling sunlight ; and throughout the whole sermon an offi- 
 cer directly in front of him declares he did not move, or even 
 " wink his eyes." 
 
 Jackson's position was strong, but things looked hopeless for 
 a further continuation of the campaign in the valley. Forced 
 back to the Blue Ridge by the heavy columns in his front, he 
 now saw approaching from the western mountains another army 
 under Milroy, which would swoop down like a hawk upon 
 Staunton, and the whole region be in the possession of the ene- 
 my. General Milroy was rapidly moving from the direction 
 of Monterey with his main body, and his advance force had 
 already crossed the Shenandoah Mountain. 
 
 The rich prize of the Valley of Virginia seemed almost in 
 the Federal grasp its fate trembled in the balance. If Banks 
 and Milroy formed a junction, Staunton was gone ; and as Gen- 
 eral Edward Johnson, with two brigades, was then near Buffalo 
 Gap, a further result from the seizure of a point so important 
 would be to place the Federal forces between General Edward 
 Johnson and the main army at Swift Run Gap. Jackson was 
 forced to decide promptly what course he would pursue. Divide 
 et impera was obviously his best policy ; and he determined to 
 advance immediately and attack the force approaching from the 
 west. General Ewell had just arrived from Gordonsville with 
 his division, and Jackson posted him at Swift Run Gap to con- 
 front General Banks, while by a forced march he would sweep 
 around by Staunton, and fall upon General Milroy. After de- 
 feating that commander, his design was to concentrate his own 
 forces, Ewell's, and Johnson's, upon Banks, and drive his col- 
 umn back down the valley to Winchester. 
 
 His plans were instantly put into execution. Taking his 
 own division, consisting of the brigades commanded by General 
 Taliaferro, General Winder (Stonewall Brigade), and Colonel 
 Campbell, he proceeded rapidly to Staunton, where he found 
 General Smith, of the Virginia Military Institute, with his corps 
 of cadets, which had been directed to repair thither for the de- 
 fence of the region. From that point he continued to move
 
 130 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 westward, and, forming a junction with General Edward John- 
 son, who had six regiments under his command, advanced by 
 forced marches upon Milroy. 
 
 On the morning of May the 7th, General Johnson, who 
 knew the country thoroughly, and led the advance, encountered 
 the enemy at the Shenandoah Mountain, and drove four regi- 
 ments on picket there before him. They retreated in haste, 
 and the Confederates took possession of their camps, in which 
 were found tents, clothes, arms, and a considerable amount of 
 commissary stores. Scouts ascended the mountain, and were 
 followed by a portion of the troops, who saw, as they reached the 
 deserted camps on the summit of the range, the enemy's regi- 
 ments retreating about five miles in front of them, on the east 
 side of Bull Pasture Mountain. On the western slope of the 
 Shenandoah Mountain, which had thus been cleared of the enemy, 
 the men went into bivouac for the night. 
 
 At sunrise on the following morning the troops were again 
 put in motion, and advanced toward McDowell, a little village 
 situated in the valley of that name, just beyond the Bull Pasture 
 Mountain. The men pressed forward and approached the east- 
 ern slope of the wooded range, when Ashby's scouts, who had 
 gone in advance and reconnoitred, returned with the intelligence 
 that the enemy had posted four pieces of artillery in the road* 
 on the western base of the mountain, with the obvious intention 
 of disputing the further advance. The road at that point passed 
 through a narrow gorge, which was susceptible of being defended 
 by a very small force against one much larger ; and Jackson de- 
 termined to turn the position by ascending the steep road leading 
 up the mountain, near the gorge. This movement was executed 
 without resistance on the part of the enemy, and the elevated 
 ground was attained. General Johnson, who led the advance, 
 then proceeded with a party of thirty men and several officers 
 to the top of Sutlington's Hill, an isolated spur of the mountain, 
 on the left of the main road, and saw before him, at his feet as 
 it were, the whole valley of McDowell, bathed in the warm sun- 
 light of the May morning. From this elevated point the entire
 
 MCDOWELL. 131 
 
 position of the enemy was commanded, and their strength to a 
 partial extent discovered. In the valley near McDowell a con- 
 siderable body of infantry was seen, and a height more to the 
 right was occupied by two additional regiments, drawn up in 
 line of battle. Directly in front, about a mile from the position 
 occupied by General Johnson, a battery had been posted, sup- 
 ported by a body of infantry. 
 
 The presence of the reconnoitring party on Sutlington's Hill 
 was speedily discovered, and the enemy sent forward a body of 
 skirmishers to attack it. These were engaged by the thirty men 
 which formed General Johnson's escort, and the Federal skir- 
 mishers were driven back. General Johnson then sent word to 
 Jackson that the hill was a position of great importance, and the 
 six regiments of Johnson's command were accordingly despatched 
 to him to hold it. 
 
 The battle of McDowell commenced at this point, and was 
 a struggle for the possession of Sutlington's Hill. 
 
 As General Johnson's regiments were hurried forward, one 
 after another, to the elevated ground, he hastened to place each 
 in line of battle to repulse the assault which it was evident Gen- 
 eral Milroy was now about to make. The Federal commander 
 is said to have sent to General Fremont, who was approaching 
 from the northwest, for reinforcements ; but he had a consider- 
 able body of troops concentrated in front of the Confederates, 
 and he seems to have determined to direct all his energies mean- 
 while to the object of occupying the important position from 
 which General Johnson had made his reconnoissance, in advance 
 of the latter. 
 
 Johnson had made rapid preparations to receive the ex- 
 pected attack. His two brigades, respectively commanded by 
 Colonels Scott and Connor, had not yet arrived, but a portion 
 of one of them the 52d Virginia infantry was already in posi- 
 tion in the woods on the left side of the spur. This regiment 
 received and repulsed the assault of the enemy's skirmishers, 
 and thus gave time for the arrival of the other regiments, all of 
 which, but two, hastened forward to the positions assigned to
 
 132 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 them. The 52d Virginia, as we have said, held the left ; the 
 58th Virginia formed on the right of that ; the 12th Georgia on 
 the right of that, and holding the crest of the hill ; the 44th Vir- 
 ginia on the right of all, near a ravine which protected its right 
 flank. On the slope of the hill, in front of the Confederate lines, 
 was a body of woods, in which the skirmishers were posted, and 
 in this order General Johnson awaited the assault which he saw 
 would soon be renewed. He had no artillery in position, nor 
 was any used by the Confederates during the engagement. 
 There was no road to the rear by which it could have been with- 
 drawn in case of disaster. 
 
 During the pause which succeeded the first advance of his 
 skirmishers, and their repulse, the enemy opened with his artil- 
 lery directly in front, and kept up a rapid and incessant cannon- 
 ade while making his further preparations. A shower of case 
 shot and shell was thrown into the Confederate lines, but the 
 troops were so well under cover, and the angle of elevation at 
 which the pieces were fired was so great, that no loss was in- 
 flicted. The artillery continued to thunder, with no response of 
 any description, until the moment came for the advance of the 
 Federal infantry, when it ceased firing. 
 
 General Milroy had been reenforced by the arrival of Gen- 
 eral Schenck, who had been hurried forward while the Confeder- 
 ates were held in check by his artillery, and had now at his 
 disposal a force estimated at 8,000 men. This force he threw 
 forward, with the evident determination of carrying Sutlington's 
 Hill, and driving the Southern troops from the advantageous 
 position which they occupied on its summit. The attack was 
 .vigorous and resolute. Advancing a heavy line of infantry 
 toward the western slope of the hill, where the character of the 
 ground and the thick woods afforded him great protection, the 
 enemy charged up the hill, drove the Confederate skirmishers 
 from their cover, and, emerging from the woods directly in front 
 of Jackson's line, poured a sudden and galling fire upon his 
 right. The 12th Georgia in the centre, and the 44th Virginia 
 on its right, received this fire, and responded with a heavy vol-
 
 MCDOWELL. 133 
 
 ley ; and in a moment the battle began to rage with violence. 
 These two regiments supported alone the whole weight of the 
 column thrown against this point, delivering a fire so rapid and 
 steady that the charge, which was intended to repulse and turn 
 the Confederate right wing, completely failed. The two remain- 
 ing regiments of Johnson's command, the 25th and 3 1st Virginia, 
 now hastened up the rough road to the support of the others ; and 
 the Federal troops, having returned to the charge with greater 
 fury than before, a sanguinary contest ensued all along the line. 
 
 The Federal commander seemed determined to make the 
 battle " short and decisive," and to gain possession of the covet- 
 ed hill by one brief and desperate charge, which should over- 
 whelm all resistance, and accomplish his object at a blow. The 
 Federal lines were thrown forward amid rolling volleys of mus- 
 ketry, and they pressed General Johnson with a force so heavy 
 that the utmost exertions of the troops under that commander 
 were necessary to retain possession of the hill. The densely 
 wooded hillside was one long sheet of flame, and the reverbera- 
 tions rising from the forest and rolling along the mountain 
 warned Jackson that the moment had arrived to throw forward 
 his main body. 
 
 General Taliaferro was accordingly sent forward, and has- 
 tened with his brigade up the rough and winding by-road which 
 led from the turnpike to the summit of the hill, the 21st Vir- 
 ginia < being left at the point on the turnpike where the wood 
 road entered it to guard against an attack of the enemy on the 
 rear. Taliaferro soon reached the field, and promptly threw his 
 brigade into line of battle ; the 23d and 37th to support John- 
 son's centre, where the 12th Georgia was holding its ground 
 " with great gallantry ;" and the 10th Virginia on the left, where 
 the 52d had succeeded in driving the enemy headlong down the 
 hill. This regiment, now reenforced by the 10th, advanced with 
 loud cheers ; and such was the impetuosity of the men, that the 
 Federal right wing was repulsed, and the Confederate left swept 
 round with the design of assailing the enemy in flank, and forcing 
 them back upon their centre.
 
 134 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 The resolute and aggressive front thus displayed on Jackson's 
 left induced the enemy to concentrate their main strength against 
 his right, and, by a determined attack, attempt to turn that 
 flank, and drive him from the hill. This design was speedily 
 discovered by Jackson, and his whole disposable force was rap- 
 idly concentrated in that part of the field to resist it. Talia- 
 ferr; and the 12th Georgia came quickly to the assistance of the 
 right wing, now hard pressed by numbers ; and observing that 
 an elevated piece of woodland to the right and rear completely 
 commanded the field, and afforded an excellent position to fall 
 back to if necessary, Jackson hastened to occupy it with portions 
 of the 25th and 31st Virginia regiments, which were hurried 
 forward and rapidly placed in position. The interval between 
 this force and the main body was filled by Campbell's brigade 
 and the 10th Virginia which had hastened up from the left, and 
 with this strong reserve posted in the woods near the base of the 
 ridge, Jackson felt confident that the determined effort of the 
 enemy to turn his right flank would be defeated. 
 
 His anticipations were correct, and his dispositions crowned 
 with success. The Federal forces made a persistent attempt to 
 break through this new line and obtain possession of the hill ; 
 but charge after charge was repulsed. General Johnson was 
 wounded and forced to quit the field, but General Taliaferro 
 took his place and led the troops with skill and gallantry. Many 
 officers fell ; among the killed and wounded were Colonel Gib- 
 bons of the 10th, Colonel Harman of the 52d, Colonel 'Smith 
 and Major Higginbotham of the 25th, and Major Campbell of 
 the 42d Virginia. The Confederate troops, however, held the 
 position which they had occupied, and the battle raged along the 
 wooded slopes of the mountain until after dark, when the Fed- 
 eral forces gave up the attempt to carry the hill, and retired. 
 
 General Milroy did not want to sustain the attack which he 
 had every reason to expect would be made upon him on the en- 
 suing morning ; during the night he evacuated McDowell, set 
 the woods on fire in his rear, and retreated toward Franklin. 
 
 The battle of McDowell took place between the hours of half-
 
 MCDOWELL. 135 
 
 past four and half-past eight on the afternoon of the 8th of May, 
 and thus lasted four hours. It was hotly contested, especially 
 in the latter portion of the day, when the determined attempt 
 was made by the enemy to turn the Confederate right, and some 
 of the Southern regiments suffered severely. The Confederate 
 loss in killed was 71, in wounded 390, making a total loss of 
 461. That of the Federal troops is not known, as they held 
 their ground until night and bore off their dead. But 103 bodies 
 are said to have been discovered, covered with brushwood, in a 
 hollow of the mountain. At the village of McDowell a camp 
 was found, with large bake ovens, cooking stoves, and every 
 appliance of comfort. The camp equipage, some cases of fine 
 Enfield rifles, and other public stores, fell into the hands of the 
 Confederates. 
 
 Having announced his success to the authorities at Richmond 
 by the brief despatch, " God blessed our arms with victory at 
 McDowell yesterday," Jackson went in pursuit of General Mil- 
 roy, and continued to press him until he had reached the neigh- 
 borhood of the town of Franklin. The Federal troops, who had 
 halted here, did not offer battle, but retiring to the mountains 
 near at hand, planted their batteries, and set fire to the woods in 
 front to conceal their position. The dense smoke which rose 
 from the burning forest effectually accomplished this object, and 
 night approaching Jackson made no attack. On the next morn- 
 ing he found that the enemy had taken up a very strong position, 
 and as his own situation, with General Banks at Harrisonburg, 
 was by no means safe, he prepared to retrace his steps. 
 
 Before leaving Franklin he determined, however, to formally 
 return thanks to God for his success in the recent conflict. The 
 scene which followed is said to have been affecting and impos- 
 ing. Jackson drew up his men in a little valley about three 
 miles north of Franklin, and after a few words, in his habitual 
 curt tone, commending their gallantry at McDowell, appoint'*! 
 10 o'clock on that day as the occasion of prayer and thanksgiving 
 for the victory. " There, in the beautiful little valley of ;he 
 South Branch," says an eye-witness, " with the blue and tower-
 
 136 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 ing mountains covered with the verdure of spring, the green 
 sward smiling a welcome to the season of flowers, and the bright 
 sun unclouded, lending a genial refreshing warmth, that army, 
 equipped for the stern conflict of war, bent in humble praise and 
 thanksgiving to the God of battles, for the success vouchsafed to 
 our arms." During this scene, the artillery of the enemy rolled 
 its threatening thunders from time to time through the gorges of 
 the mountain ; and if any there prayed, " from battle and mur- 
 der and from sudden death, good Lord deliver us ! " the words 
 must have seemed to them exceedingly appropriate, and formed, 
 as it were, for the occasion. Jackson stood as usual, motionless, 
 with bent head and devout bearing, while the prayers were ut- 
 tered by the chaplain ; and the reader may fancy his erect figure 
 either that of some pious cavalier, or devout Roundhead, per- 
 forming his devotions on the field of battle. 
 
 This scene took place on the 14th of May, and on the same 
 day Jackson marched his troops back to McDowell. On the 
 next day he crossed the Shenandoah Mountain and halted at Leb- 
 anon Springs, where the army was permitted a brief rest from 
 its fatigues, and an opportunity was afforded them to attend re- 
 ligious services, and observe the day appointed by President 
 Davis as one of fasting and prayer. On the 17th the troops 
 were again in motion, and Jackson proceeded in the direction of 
 Harrisonburg. 
 
 General Banks had fallen back to Strasburg, eighteen miles 
 from Winchester. This sentence sums up the results achieved 
 by Jackson, in his advance against Milroy. The importance of 
 the success at McDowell could scarcely be estimated too highly. 
 General Banks had nearly consummated his plans to drive Jack- 
 son from the valley, and was nearly in sight of Staunton, with 
 Milroy approaching from the west, when, at the moment of 
 greatest peril for the Confederate cause, appeared suddenly the 
 Deus ex machina. Jackson advanced swiftly upon Milroy, and 
 struck a heavy blow at that portion of the programme. He 
 then returned toward Harrisonburg to assail his more powerful 
 adversary there ; but General Banks did not await his coming
 
 JACKSON FLANKS HIS ADVERSARY. 137 
 
 He fell back to Strasburg, and even this distant point, it will be 
 seen, was only the " half-way house " on his retreat to the Po- 
 tomac. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JACKSON FLANKS HIS ADVERSARY. 
 
 THE designs of Jackson now required energy, nerve, rapidity 
 of movement, and all the greatest faculties of the soldier. Upon 
 him depended, in no small degree, the fate of the campaign in 
 Virginia. 
 
 Events had hurried on. "While he was marching and coun- 
 termarching in the valley advancing to attack his adversary, 
 or retreating before him the plans of the Federal Government 
 in other portions of the field of operations had been urged on 
 with the most untiring energy. The great outline of the Vir- 
 ginia campaign, devised in the closet at Washington, had been 
 translated into action, and the Federal forces steadily pressed on 
 toward Richmond. McClellan had forced Johnston to evacuate 
 the Peninsula, and withdraw his army behind the Chicka- 
 hominy ; and when Jackson began to move in pursuit of Banks, 
 the Northern forces were dark on the fields of New Kent. The 
 narrow and insignificant current of the Chickahominy, at some 
 points approaching within a few miles of Richmond, was all that 
 now protected the front of Johnston from the attack of 156,000 
 Federal troops, under the ablest general of the United States 
 Army. 
 
 This was only a portion of the peril. At Fredericksburg, 
 General McDowell, who had displayed such good generalship in 
 the great flank movement at Manassas, was stationed with about 
 40,000 troops, and his preparations were nearly complete for an 
 advance upon Richmond from the north. McClellan only waited 
 for his arrival on the Chickahominy, to unite his right wing witb 
 McDowell's left, when the great assault on the Confederate capi-
 
 138 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 tal would follow. With nearly 200,000 troops hurled against it, 
 the city, it was supposed, must be evacuated or destroyed, and 
 the " Rebellion " terminated. 
 
 To prevent this junction between the forces of McDowell 
 and McClellan to alarm President Lincoln, and induce him to 
 withhold further re enforcements for the defence of his capital- 
 such was now the design of Jackson. If he could drive General 
 Banks before him across the Potomac, he would accomplish this ; 
 for the Federal authorities could not be at all sure that, in 
 such an event, he would not cross into Maryland, and, taking 
 advantage of the absence of McClellan's army, advance to the 
 assault of Washington. 
 
 The Federal authorities seem to have realized their danger. 
 President Lincoln's despatches teem with allusions to the sus- 
 pected designs of the Confederate commander. On the 17th of 
 May, when, having defeated Milroy, Jackson commenced his 
 march upon Harrisonburg, Lincoln writes to General McClellan : 
 
 " In order, therefore, to increase the strength of the attack 
 Upon Richmond, at the earliest moment, General McDowell has 
 been ordered to march upon that city by the shortest route. 
 He is ordered keeping himself always in a position to cover the 
 Capital from all possible attack so to operate as to put his left 
 wing in communication with your right. * * * * 
 The specific task assigned to his command, has been to provide 
 against any danger to the Capital of the nation. At your earliest 
 call for reinforcements he is sent forward to cooperate in the re- 
 duction of Richmond, but charged, in attempting this, not to un- 
 cover the City of Washington; and you will give no orders, either 
 before or after your junction, which can put him out of position 
 'to cover this city." 
 
 On the 21st of May, Lincoln writes to McDowell, at Fred- 
 <ericksburg : 
 
 " General Fremont has been ordered by telegraph to move 
 from Franklin on Harrisonburg, to relieve General Banks, and 
 -capture or destroy Jackson's or Ewell's forces. You are instruct- 
 ed, laying aside for the present the movement on Richmond, to put
 
 JACKSON FLANKS HIS ADVERSARY. 139 1 
 
 twenty thousand men in motion at once for the Shenandoah> 
 moving on the line or in the advance of the Manassas Gap 
 Railroad. Your object will be to capture the forces of Jackson 
 and Ewell, either in cooperation with General Fremont, or in case 
 a want of supplies or transportation interferes with his move- 
 ment, it is believed that the force with which you move will be 
 sufficient to accomplish the object alone. The information thus 
 received here makes it probable that, if the enemy operate- 
 actively against Banks, you will not be able to count upon much 
 assistance from him, but may even have to release him. Re- 
 ports received this moment are that Banks is fighting with Ewell 
 eight miles from Winchester." 
 
 General McDowell replies, on May 24th : 
 
 " The President's order has been received is in process of 
 execution. This is a crushing blow to us," He adds, on the 
 same day : " I beg to say that cooperation between Fremont 
 and myself, to cut off Jackson or Ewell, is not to be counted 
 upon, even if it is not a practical impossibility. Next, that I 
 am entirely beyond helping distance of General Banks, and no 
 celerity or vigor will avail, so far as he is concerned. Next, 
 that by a glance at the map, it will be seen that the line of re- 
 treat of the enemy's forces up the valley is shorter than mine 
 to go against him. It will take a week or ten days for my force 
 to go to the valley by this route, which will give it good forage, 
 and by that time the enemy will have retreated. I shall gain 
 nothing for you there, and shall gain much for you here. It is, 
 therefore, not only on personal grounds that I have a heavy 
 heart in the matter, but that I feel it throws us all back, and 
 from Richmond, north, we shall have all our large masses 
 paralyzed, and shall have to repeat what we have just accom- 
 plished. I have ordered General Shields to commence a move- 
 ment by to-morrow morning. A second division will follow in 
 the afternoon." 
 
 Such was the position of the pieces on the great chessboard, 
 of war toward the end of May. General McClellan threatening 
 General Johnston at Richmond, but incessantly calling for reeu--
 
 140 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 forcements, without which he declared himself unable to move 
 forward ; President Lincoln in Washington, telegraphing General 
 McDowell at Fredericksburg to stop his advance toward Rich- 
 mond, and send 20,000 men to the valley, to protect the Federal 
 capital by destroying the command of Jackson ; General McDow- 
 ell replying that to " cut of Jackson is a practical impossibility : " 
 the Federal campaign embarrassed and everywhere halting in con- 
 sequence of Jackson's daring and aggressive movements. The 
 complicated movements of Generals McClellan, Banks, McDow- 
 ell, Shields, Milroy, and Fremont were enough to puzzle the 
 brain of the most thorough master of the art of war. 
 
 They do not seem to have disquieted or embarrassed Jackson, 
 who saw his work plain before his eyes to divert reenforce- 
 ments from McClellan ; and he advanced to the accomplishment 
 of this object with the accuracy of a machine set in motion. 
 
 About the 20th of May he had arrived at Newmarket, where a 
 junction was formed between his own troops and those of Ewell, 
 who had marched from Elk Run Valley to meet him ; and from this 
 point bis campaign against General Banks commenced. The Fed- 
 eral commander had reached Strasburg, and was fortifying there. 
 To assail him in front would be just what he expected, and the spe- 
 cies of attack against which he had provided ; so to assault him 
 on his flank, where he did not expect it, was the obvious policy of 
 Jackson. A glance at the map of Virginia will be necessary to 
 the right appreciation of the forward and retrograde movements 
 of the Confederate forces, which were now to make the region fa- 
 mous. The village of Newmarket is situated on the valley turn- 
 pike in the county of Shenandoah, nearly forty miles from Stras- 
 burg. From this latter place to a point somewhat higher up 
 than Newmarket runs the Massinutton Mountain, parallel to the 
 Blue Ridge, which is separated from it by a narrow vallej 
 through which flows the south branch of the Shenandoah 
 Travelling north from Harrisonburg, and turning to the right al 
 Newmarket, you pass the Massinutton at Newmarket Gap, 
 reach Luray, in Page County, and thence approach Front Royal 
 by a road along the narrow valley in question. Once arrived
 
 JACKSON FLANKS HIS ADVERSARY. 141 
 
 at the town of Front Royal, you have reached the northern 
 terminus of the Massinutton Mountain, and are directly on the 
 flank of Strasburg. 
 
 Leaving a small force of cavalry to hold the turnpike and 
 conceal the movement of the main body, Jackson directed that 
 every thing, even the knapsacks of the men, should be left behind, 
 and set out by the route above indicated his force amounting to 
 18,000 or 20,000 men. On the night of the 22d, his advance, under 
 Ewell, bivouacked within ten miles of Front Royal. With such 
 secrecy and celerity had the march upon Front Royal been 
 made, that the army was nearly in sight of that place before a 
 single inhabitant of the region suspected its presence. At dawn 
 on the morning of Friday the 23d, Jackson resumed his rapid 
 march, and, diverging to the right by a steep and rough by- 
 path so as to strike across into the Gooney Manor road, came 
 in view of the town about two in the afternoon. At this point 
 not more than a mile and a half from the place he encountered 
 the enemy's pickets, and drove them in ; when an instant advance 
 was ordered upon the town. The troops responded with cheers, 
 and the 1st Maryland, under Colonel Johnson, rushed forward 
 and encountered their namesakes, the 1st (Federal) Maryland, 
 Colonel Kenley, whom they saluted with a volley and then 
 charged impetuously, forcing them to fall back in confusion. 
 
 The cavalry, sweeping down at the moment when they broke, 
 took a large number of prisoners ; and Taylor's brigade, the re- 
 serve of the advance force, coming rapidly up, the rout of the 
 Federal forces was complete, and the town was in the possession 
 of the Confederates. The attack had taken the Federal force? 
 completely by surprise. " When our guns opened on the enemy 
 they had no idea who was hammering at them," says a contem- 
 porary letter. " Thinking that Jackson was a hundred miles 
 away from them, they were completely surprised and panic- 
 stricken by the suddenness of the attack ; they surrendered to us 
 by hundreds, allowing all their stores of every sort, and in the 
 greatest quantities, to be captured, without an effort to defend 
 or destroy them." Among the stores thus captured were about
 
 142 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 five hundred excellent revolvers ; and a soldier expresses the 
 joy which all felt at finding a wagon load of coffee, which was a 
 " perfect God-send," as their rations of that article had been 
 stopped for some days. The appearance of the Confederates 
 was joyfully hailed by the inhabitants. Men, women, and chil- 
 dren ran through the streets, laughing and cheering. Every 
 house was thrown open, and every window waved with hand- 
 kerchiefs. But the men were not permitted to stop and accept 
 the hospitalities of the inhabitants. They were rushed through 
 the town at a double-quick, and a strong force thrown forward 
 toward a commanding height on the right of the turnpike, where 
 the Federal forces had taken position with the apparent intention 
 of resisting the Confederate advance. As the latter approached 
 they were met by a fire of rifled artillery ; but Colonel Crutchfield, 
 Jackson's chief of artillery, placed some pieces in position ; the 
 6th Louisiana was moved through the woods to flank their bat- 
 tery, and Wheat's Battalion and the 1st Maryland regiment 
 drove in their skirmishers in front. Thus threatened on their 
 flank and pressed down the turnpike, the Federal force retreated 
 across both forks of the Shenandoah, closely followed by the 
 Confederates. They attempted to burn the bridge over the 
 north fork of the river, but before they could do so the Confed- 
 erates arrived. The flames were extinguished, and, pushing 
 after the Federal forces at full speed, the Confederates poured 
 into them a hot fire of musketry and artillery. 
 
 During this scene the Confederate cavalry had moved to in- 
 tercept the enemy's retreat. A force under Ashby and Flournoj 
 had, before the assault on the town, crossed the south branch of 
 the Shenandoah above Front Koyal, and struck across toward 
 the northern shoulder of the Massinutton, to get between this 
 body of the enemy and their main force at Strasburg. Their 
 orders were to destroy the railroad and telegraph line between 
 the two places, so that Jackson's movement on his flank might 
 be concealed from General Banks as long as possible, and to guard 
 against the advance of reinforcements from Strasburg, or the 
 retreat of the enemy from Front Royal. Having executed his
 
 JACKSON FLANKS HIS ADVERSARY. 14:3 
 
 orders, Colonel Flournoy pushed back to the bridge over the north 
 fork above mentioned ; but finding some difficulty in passing it 
 from the partial destruction of the framework by fire, he has* 
 tened on with four companies of the 6th Virginia cavalry, and 
 came up with a body of Federal troops near Cedarville, five 
 miles from Front Royal. This force consisted of two companies 
 of cavalry, two pieces of artillery, two companies of Pennsyl- 
 vania infantry, and the 1st (Federal) Maryland regiment, 
 which had been rallied and posted there to check Jackson's 
 advance. A charge was at once made on them by the four com- 
 panies of Confederate cavalry, Captain Grimsby leading the 
 advance, and the whole force was driven from the position which 
 it held. They re-formed in an orchard on the right of the road, 
 but a second charge threw them into confusion, and the whole 
 force surrendered. Ashby was meanwhile scouting along the 
 base of the Massinutton, and clearing out the country as he 
 swept it with his cavalry. At Buckton he came upon a body of 
 the enemy, posted as a guard at that point, in a strong position, 
 and protected by the embankment of the railroad. Ashby 
 charged and dispersed them, gaining possession of the place and 
 capturing a train of cars ; but this insignificant skirmish lost 
 him some of his best officers, among them Captains Sheets and 
 Fletcher. Captain Sheets was an officer of conspicuous gal- 
 lantry, greatly esteemed by Jackson and beloved by the army. 
 At Kernstown he had seen a Confederate lieutenant retreating 
 alone, and hotly pressed by the enemy. So great was the exhaus- 
 tion of the officer, that, coming to a fence, he climbed it with 
 difficulty, and rolled over upon the ground. It was at this mo- 
 ment that Captain Sheets reached the spot ; and though he had 
 with him only a small detachment of men, while the force of 
 the enemy's infantry was very considerable, he violently ex- 
 claimed, " I will never see a Southerner captured before my 
 eyes," and charged them, rescuing the officer. He had been 
 highly valued by Ashby, to whom he is declared to have been 
 " only second in fame and efficiency ; " and here he fell, shot 
 through the head.
 
 144 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 As night came on, both the cavalry and infantry ceased from 
 further pursuit, and the weary troops went into camp. The 
 first day had thus been decidedly successful. A section of 
 rifled artillery, 700 prisoners, among them 20 officers, and large 
 quantities of public stores, had been the result of the opening of 
 the campaign. But the advantages secured did not stop here. 
 Jackson had turned General Banks' position at the town of Stras- 
 burg, and the road was now open for him to press straight for- 
 ward upon Winchester. When he had once struck the line of 
 the valley turnpike he would be completely in rear of the Federal 
 commander, and able to intercept his retreat. 
 
 CHAPTER X % 
 
 GENERAL BANKS RETREATS. 
 
 ON the next morning, May 24th, the troops were moving at 
 daylight, and Jackson hastened forward to the accomplishment 
 of his designs, which nothing but the exhaustion of the men had 
 prevented him from pursuing during the night. 
 
 The time thus lost, as will be seen, was precious ; but the 
 delay could not be avoided. The men had marched from above 
 Luray, a distance of nearly thirty miles, under a burning sun, 
 and many had fallen out of the column overcome by heat and 
 weariness. These it was necessary to collect before advancing 
 further, and the march was delayed until morning. At the first 
 dawn, the column was again in motion. General George H. Steu- 
 art, in temporary command of the 2d and 6th Virginia cavalry 
 regiments, was sent northward to Newtown, about nine miles 
 from Winchester. Ewell, with Trimble's brigade, the 1st 
 Maryland regiment and Courtney's and Brockenbrough's bat 
 teries, was directed to move on the main Front Royal turnpike 
 toward Winchester ; and Jackson proceeded, in personal com- 
 mand of the main body of the army, in the direction of Middle-
 
 GENERAL BANKS RETREATS. 145 
 
 town, with a detachment of Ashby's cavalry moving on his left 
 flank and keeping a close look-out for any attempt of the enemy 
 to retreat toward Front Royal. 
 
 On coming in sight of Middletown, Jackson saw the turn- 
 .pike from Strasburg to Winchester black with long columns of 
 Federal cavalry in rapid retreat. No time was lost in bringing 
 up the artillery. The guns of Poague and Chew were rushed 
 into position, supported by Taylor's infantry, and a hot fire was 
 opened on the retreating column, which at once threw them 
 into confusion. A few additional rounds finished the work. The 
 cavalry broke in wild disorder, scattered over the adjoining 
 fields, and disappeared like phantoms in the woods. " The 
 turnpike," says Jackson in his report, " which had just before 
 teemed with life, presented a most appalling spectacle of carnage 
 and destruction. The road was literally obstructed with the 
 mangled and confused mass of struggling and dying horses and 
 riders." About 200 prisoners were captured, but the great body 
 of the Federal cavalry made good their retreat. 
 
 The column had been followed by a park of artillery and 
 about three regiments of infantry. The former now opened a 
 rapid fire on the Confederates, and tried to force a passage 
 through. But the guns were effectually cut off. .The Confed- 
 erate batteries engaged them, and Taylor's infantry at the same 
 moment advanced, when the Northern artillery and infantry 
 retreated rapidly upon Strasburg. There the infantry aban- 
 doned their knapsacks and other accoutrements, and, with the 
 artillery, retired precipitately through the western mountains to 
 the Potomac. 
 
 It was now obvious that General Banks had already passed 
 Middletown with his main body in the direction of Winchester, 
 and the infantry which had been halted was pushed forward 
 rapidly in pursuit. Ashby had already followed, with cavalry, 
 artillery, and a supporting force of infantry, a long train of 
 wagons which was seen disappearing in the distance. The 
 scene which followed is said to have been indescribable. The 
 whole road was strewed with broken-do wn wagons, guns, knap- 
 10
 
 14:6 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 sacks, oil-cloths, cartridge boxes, haversacks, swords, arms,, 
 clothes, and accoutrements of every description. " The rush of 
 the retreat," says a writer at the time, " is represented to have 
 been more ridiculously terrible than that at Manassas." Ashby 
 had come up with the trains and the rear of the retreating Fed- 
 erals, and his batteries were firing upon them all along the 
 turnpike. A shell or round shot would strike one of the wagons 
 and overturn it, and before those behind could stop their head- 
 way, they would thunder down on the ruins of the first ; others 
 would tumble in, so as to block up the road completely ; and 
 in among the disorganized cavalry and infantry escorting the 
 trains, trampled the horsemen of Ashby, taking prisoners or 
 cutting down such as resisted. There was no discipline or order 
 in the retreat, and few officers were visible. General Banks had 
 retired to Winchester, whence he took the cars for Harper's 
 Ferry. He is said to have been overwhelmed with chagrin at 
 his misadventure, and even to have shed tears, declaring that 
 " he had been sacrificed by his Government." 
 
 Ashby*s pumiit Avas hot, and a remarkable proof of the 
 demoralization of the Federal troops is given by a well-accredited 
 incident of the retreat. " In the ardor of pursuit," writes a 
 gentleman of character and veracity, " Ashby had separated 
 himself from his men, and had gotten abreast of the Yankee col- 
 umn of cavalry which was rushing down the turnpike. Alone, 
 he charged 500 of them, dashed through their line, firing his 
 pistols right and left as he did so ; then wheeling about, he 
 again charged through them, and summoned them to surrender. 
 All who heard his voice obeyed, threw down their arms, and 
 dismounted, until some of the men came up and took charge of 
 them. In one instance he took thirty in this way." Ashby 
 caught a guidon from the hands of its bearer on this occasion, 
 and this was afterwards suspended in the Virginia Capitol. 
 The incident above given is not necessarily impossible, nor even 
 improbable. Troops retreating in disorder become entirely dis- 
 heartened, and lose the character of soldiers, despair inducing 
 them to surrender without resistance.
 
 GENERAL BANKS RETREATS. 147 
 
 The cavalrymen of Ashby' s command did not imitate his 
 example in looking first to the defeat of the enemy. Their mis- 
 conduct nearly prevented Jackson from securing the fruits of all 
 his marching and fighting. Up to this time all opposition had 
 been borne down, and there was every reason to believe that, if 
 General Banks ever reached Winchester, it would be without a 
 train, if not without an army. The cavalry and infantry under 
 Ashby now disappointed all these hopes, and, in spite of every 
 exertion on the part of their commander, betook themselves to 
 pillaging the Federal wagons. In vain did Ashby attempt to 
 rally them to the serious work before them, and push on after 
 the Federal column, now retreating in greater disorder than be- 
 fore. His orders were not heard, or disobeyed. The ranks of 
 the pursuers were scattered, in hot pursuit, not of the enemy, 
 but of plunder. The choice contents of the wagons were too 
 much for their equanimity, and, forgetting their duty as soldiers, 
 they became thoroughly disorganized, and gave themselves up 
 to indiscriminate pillage. 
 
 The consequences of this gross neglect of duty were soon 
 seen : the enemy, who should have been persistently followed, 
 took advantage of the respite, and turned savagely upon Jack- 
 son's artillery, which had pushed on ahead, and was now near 
 Newtown, without any species of support. They brought up four 
 pieces of artillery, and planted them in the outskirts of the 
 town, opening a furious fire upon the Confederate batteries. 
 Jackson hastened to the front, and when he arrived at Newtown, 
 found Poague with two guns engaged in a hot combat with the 
 Federal artillery, which continued to check his further advance 
 until dark. 
 
 This conduct of his advance force profoundly enraged Jack- 
 son, and many hot words grew out of it afterwards. He was 
 much displeased with Ashby, whose fault as a soldier was too 
 great a relaxation of the reins of discipline in his command ; and 
 as that officer felt that he had made every exertion to correct 
 the evil, he resented this imputation on the part of his command, 
 and for a time there was a marked coldness between himself
 
 148 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 and Jackson. Proud and sensitive to any reflection upon him- 
 self or his troops, Ashby held himself aloof from Jackson, like 
 Achilles in his tent ; and the stern Agamemnon, knowing that he 
 had done right, made no overtures for a renewal of amicable re- 
 lations. But this did not last, the cloud soon passed away, and 
 when Ashby fell, Jackson wrote a noble epitaph for the fallen 
 soldier, which would be sufficient, if nothing else remained, to 
 hand down his name to posterity. 
 
 At nightfall, the Federal artillery, which had held the Con- 
 federate advance in check at Newtown, retired from the field ; 
 and Jackson determined to push on after General Banks to Win- 
 chester. The troops accordingly passed through Newtown, 
 
 and continued their march the way " illumined by burning 
 
 wagons, pontoon boats, and other stores." The scene in the 
 little village of Newtown was inspiring, and communicated a 
 new impulse to the troops. " It beggared description," writes 
 an officer who witnessed it. " Every house was illuminated by 
 the inhabitants, women and even men weeping for joy, and 
 cheering us till they were hoarse. They seemed ready to em- 
 brace every soldier ; and so it was all along the road, bringing 
 to them and forcing on the half-starved fellows, as they swept by 
 in pursuit of the enemy, pies, bread, pickles, meat, and every 
 thing they could raise." The inhabitants were indeed crazy 
 with joy at the sight of the gray uniforms of their own people. 
 
 Beyond Newtown, the spectacle along the roads was even 
 more striking than that presented near Middletown. Hundreds 
 of abandoned, overturned, or burning wagons, filled with stores 
 of every description, were encountered by the troops, and excited 
 their longing as they pressed rapidly on. But no benefit could 
 be derived from these spoils of the enemy, as the delay produced 
 by the pillage had made it necessary to push on, and stop for 
 nothing. 
 
 At various stages of their march throughout the long night r 
 the Federal forces made vain attempts to check their further 
 progress. Soon after leaving Newtown, the advance was fired 
 on by a concealed force, but the 33d Virginia, Colonel Neff,
 
 WINCHESTER. 149 
 
 soon dispersed them. Near the old battle-ground of Kernstown, 
 a more serious attempt was made to check Jackson's advance. 
 As the troops approached that point, a sudden fire on their right, 
 left, and front at the same moment, revealed an ambuscade of 
 importance ; and three regiments of the Stonewall Brigade were 
 thrown forward to engage the enemy. They attacked with 
 great gallantry, and heavy firing continued for some time, but 
 the enemy, growing disheartened, finally retired, and the army 
 resumed its march. The Federal forces continued to ambuscade 
 thus from point to point during the remainder of the night, but 
 were regularly repulsed by the force in advance, and the army 
 now drew near Winchester. The main body was halted for 
 about an hour to rest, but the advance force still pressed on, 
 Jackson's design being to occupy the heights commanding the 
 town, before daylight warned the enemy of his presence. 
 
 As he advanced, about dawn, toward the coveted position, 
 he received the welcome announcement that Ewell, pushing on 
 from Newtown, had reached, early in the night, a position about 
 three miles from the town, on his right, and had thrown forward 
 pickets a mile in advance. 
 
 The plans of the Confederate commander were thus fairly in 
 progress of fulfilment, and he instantly made his dispositions to 
 attack the enemy. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WINCHESTER. 
 
 JACKSON'S advance force approached the lofty hill, on the 
 southwestern side of "Winchester, soon after daylight, on the 
 morning of the 25th of May. 
 
 This position was -occupied by the Federal skirmishers in 
 force, and General Winder was directed to take the Stonewall 
 Brigade, and seize upon the heights as soon as possible. This 
 was promptly done. The 5th Virginia was thrown forward in
 
 150 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 advance as skirmishers, and the remainder of the brigade hav- 
 ing been drawn up in line of battle, a sudden rush was made for 
 the hill. The enemy made a sharp and resolute reaistance, 
 firing heavy volleys as the Confederates charged toward their 
 position, but the spirit of the Federal troops no longer responded 
 to the call. They recoiled before the Confederate fire, retreated 
 from their position, and the Southern troops, uttering loud 
 cheers, gained the crest and were in possession of the hill. 
 
 Prompt measures were taken to improve this advantage, and 
 open the attack with an energy which should give the Federal 
 forces no time to prepare. They had hastily opened with a bat- 
 tery directly in front, and to dislodge these guns Carpenter's and 
 Cutshaw's batteries, with two Parrott guns from the Rockbridge 
 artillery, were rapidly placed in position and opened fire. 
 
 The battle speedily commenced in good earnest. It was ab- 
 solutely necessary, if the Federal forces expected to hold the 
 town of Winchester, that the Confederates should be dislodged 
 from their commanding position ; and a body of Federal sharp- 
 shooters was promptly thrown forward to feel Jackson's left, 
 and drive him, if possible, from the hill. At the same moment 
 another Federal battery began to thunder on the left, and a dan- 
 gerous enfilade fire was poured on the Southern lines. 
 
 This advance of infantry, and the fire of the new battery, 
 was promptly responded to by Jackson. The battery in his 
 front had been reduced to silence, and his guns were now turned 
 on the enemy's sharpshooters, who hastily retreated behind a 
 heavy stone fence, which protected them. From this excellent 
 position they opened a galling and destructive fire on the can- 
 noneers and horses attached to the Confederate batteries, which 
 were now engaged hotly on the left. The combined fire of their 
 sharpshooters and artillery was so heavy that Captain Poague, 
 who was most exposed to the enemy, was compelled to change 
 position, in the midst of a storm of balls. He rapidly withdrew 
 bis guns ; moved to the left and rear, and again taking position, 
 poured a determined fire upon the enfilading batteries of the en- 
 emy. The Federal sharpshooters continued to fire from their
 
 WINCHESTER. 151 
 
 position behind the stone wall mentioned, with a precision which 
 was galling and dangerous in the extreme. No one could mount 
 to the crest of the hill without hearing the sudden report of 
 their excellent long-range guns, succeeded by the whistling , of 
 balls near his person. Colonel Campbell, commanding the 2d 
 brigade of Jackson's division, went up to the summit to recon- 
 noitre, and was giving some directions to Colonel Patton, the 
 senior officer under him, when a ball pierced his arm and breast, 
 and he was borne from the field, surrendering the command of 
 the brigade to Colonel Patton. To drive out these persistent 
 and accurate marksmen, Captain Poague threw several solid 
 shot at the wall which protected them ; but in spite of the mis- 
 siles and crashing stones around them, the line of sharpshooters 
 still gallantly held their position. 
 
 While this hot fire was going on, the Federal commander 
 was making his preparations to assail Jackson's position in force. 
 All was ready at last, and suddenly the Federal infantry was 
 seen moving in heavy columns to the left, with the evident in- 
 tention of gaining possession of the ridge to the north and west 
 of the town. 
 
 Meanwhile Ewell had not been idle. As soon as Jackson's 
 guns were heard upon the left, he rapidly advanced toward the 
 southeastern side of the town, and became engaged with the 
 enemy, who were posted on the hills, and in the farm-houses 
 which here dot the rolling landscape. The 21st North Carolina 
 and 21st Georgia attacked and drove back the advance force of 
 the enemy, and Ewell pushed forward rapidly ; but here, as on 
 the left, one of those obstinate stone walls, which appears so 
 often in the narratives of battles taking place in the Valley re- 
 gion, opposed its bristling front to his further progress. The 
 Federal sharpshooters lined it, and, resting their guns on the top, 
 poured into the ranks of the 21st North Carolina, which was in 
 advance, so destructive a fire that this regiment was forced to 
 fall back with heavy loss. This success was, however, brief. 
 Taking the place of the repulsed regiment, the 21st Georgia 
 made a determined charge ; the enemy were driven from their
 
 152 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 cover ; and the main body of Ewell's forces, which had been 
 arrested by this obstacle, swept forward amid the thunder of 
 artillery to the assault. 
 
 On the left of Jackson's immediate position a similar ad- 
 vance was made, as we have seen, at the moment when his lines 
 were pushed forward on the right. To defeat the enemy's at- 
 tempt to gain possession of the hill west of the town, Jackson or- 
 dered General Taylor to advance with his brigade move in rear 
 of the Stonewall Brigade and making a circuit far round to 
 the left, ascend the northern hill, and thus confront the enemy's 
 line as it appeared. The movement was promptly made, and 
 the foot of the hill reached in the midst of a heavy fire of mus- 
 ketry and artillery, which the Federal batteries already men- 
 tioned, and the sharpshooters behind the stone wall, poured into 
 the Confederate ranks, as they took position. No attention was 
 paid to this fire by Taylor. He formed his line of battle, with 
 the 10th Virginia on his left, and the 23d on his right, and im- 
 mediately gave the order for the troops to advance rapidly and 
 gain possession of the hill. The men responded with cheers, and 
 moved forward steadily up the slope, reaching the summit without 
 resistance, and confronting the columns drawn up to receive them. 
 
 The Federal forces were thus caught in the grasp of Jack- 
 son, pressing upon both their flanks. The great leader " had 
 his war-look on," declares a soldier, " and rode about the battle- 
 field regardless of shot and shell, looking as if nothing was 
 going on." The moment was enough to rouse him, and send a 
 thrill through the pulses of any but a man of iron. Ewell was 
 driving them on the right, and doing great execution with his 
 musketry and artillery, whose traces may yet be seen on the 
 houses and fences ; and now Taylor was ready to fall on their 
 main body on the left. The attack Avas not delayed. Jackson's 
 lines swept down the hill, and across the intervening field, and 
 came into collision with the enemy. The volleys of musketry 
 were succeeded by the thunder of triumphant cheers rising above 
 the roar of the artillery ; and driving the Federal line before 
 them, Taylor's men, reenforced by the Stonewall Brigade, burst
 
 WINCHESTER. 
 
 suddenly like a torrent into the town. At the same moment 
 Ewell closed in on the right. General Elzey, who had been in 
 reserve on the turnpike, advanced in front ; and the whole Fed- 
 eral array gave way in disorder, and rapidly retreated. 
 
 The scene which ensued in the streets of Winchester is al- 
 most beyond the power of words. Men, women, and children 
 thronged in crowds from the houses, and uttered cries of wild 
 joy at the sight of the gray uniforms. The women were before 
 the men in this ovation. All personal danger was lost sight of 
 .in their excitement. As the Federal forces rushed tumultuously 
 through the town, the ladies swarmed into the streets, and paid 
 no attention to the shell and musket-balls bursting and whistling 
 around them. They hastened to every Southern soldier who 
 had been wounded and needed their services ; and a gentleman 
 of the highest veracity declares that guards had to advance and 
 clear the way for the platoons to deliver their fire on the enemy. 
 Winchester was indeed wild with delight. Confederate flags 
 and white handkerchiefs waved from every window ; brighf 
 smiles saluted the troops on every side ; and men, women, and 
 children were heard shouting " Thank God, we are free ! Thank 
 God, we are free once more ! " The whole town was one great 
 scene of uproar and rejoicing of mingled gray coats and blue 
 of old men and children and the flitting forms of'girls, boldly 
 penetrating the crowd to a,dminister to the wants of the wounded. 
 
 Jackson for the first time in his military career seemed mas- 
 tered by excitement. He caught his faded cap from his head, 
 and waving it in the air, cheered for the first and last time on 
 record. His affection for the people of Winchester was so great, 
 and his soldier pride so profoundly gratified at this triumphant 
 return to a place from which he had been compelled to retreat, 
 that he lost control of himself. The shouts of the men, the 
 sobs and exclamations of the women, and the shrill cries of the 
 children, mingled in one chorus of welcome ; but they did not 
 divert his attention from the work before him. The troops were 
 pushed forward without a moment's pause, and Jackson rode far 
 in advance of the column, in dangerous proximity to the enemy.
 
 154 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 One of his officers said, " Don't you think you are exposing 
 yourself to danger, General?" But his reply was, "Tell the 
 troops to press right on to the Potomac ! " 
 
 The Federal forces were followed persistently by the infan- 
 try, and the artillery kept up its fire ; but they were not pressed 
 with cavalry, owing to the absence of Ashby's men, and the sin- 
 gular impression of General George H. Steuart that he was under 
 Ewell and not Jackson. The pursuit was thus stopped for the 
 moment by the exhaustion of the infantry, who halted five miles 
 from the town ; but Steuart coming up about an hour afterward, 
 and forming at Bunker Hill a junction with Ashby, who had 
 swept round to the left, the Federal forces were followed hotly 
 through Martinsburg, and driven across the Potomac, with the 
 loss of many prisoners, and the capture of immense stores. 
 
 "It is seldom," says General Banks, in his report, " that a 
 river crossing of such magnitude is achieved with greater suc- 
 cess, and there never were more grateful hearts in the same 
 number of men than when, at mid-day of the 26th, we stood on 
 the opposite shore. My command had not suffered an attack 
 and rout. It had accomplished a premeditated march of nearly 
 sixty miles in the face of the enemy, defeating his plans, and 
 giving him battle wherever he was found." 
 
 It seemed thus that both the Federal and Confederate com- 
 manders were well pleased with the result, and congratulated 
 themselves upon the issue of the campaign. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE LION IN THE TOILS. 
 
 JACKSON had thus driven his opponent before him, and re- 
 gained possession of Winchester ; but the Federal garrisons at 
 Charlestown and Harper's Ferry remained, and to these his 
 attention was now directed. 
 
 The troops, however, absolutely required rest. They had
 
 THE LION EST THE TOILS. 155 
 
 made an exhausting march. From the camp above Luray ta 
 the point where the pursuit had stopped was about sixty miles % 
 and this distance the men had passed over in three days, fighting 
 two battles on the way. This was enough to break down their 
 strength, and it was necessary to give them a resting-spell. On 
 the following day, accordingly, religious services were held 
 throughout the army, and thanks returned for the recent suo 
 cesses of the Southern arms. The men then rested for that 
 day and the next. The army was then thoroughly refreshed and 
 ready for new movements, which commenced immediately. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th of May, the Stonewall Brigade 
 and the batteries of Poague and Carpenter, the whole under 
 General Winder, left their camps near Winchester, and pro- 
 ceeded, by way of Summit Point, toward Charlestown. When 
 they had reached a point about four miles from the town, intelli- 
 gence was received that the enemy occupied that place in force, 
 and intended to dispute their further advance. This information 
 was promptly conveyed to Jackson, who immediately sent 
 Ewell's division to cooperate in the movement. But Winder 
 did not wait for reinforcements. He steadily advanced in the 
 direction of the town, and, emerging from the woods within a 
 mile of the place, saw the Federal forces in line of battle imme- 
 diately in his front, and apparently about fifteen hundred in 
 number. 
 
 He decided to attack them, and at once advanced, when, as 
 he made his appearance, they opened *upon him with two pieces 
 of artillery. Carpenter's battery was placed in position, sup- 
 ported by the 33d Virginia, and returned the fire with such vigor 
 that, in twenty minutes, the Federal forces retired in disorder, 
 throwing away their arms, blankets, haversacks, and accoutre- 
 ments. Winder followed them into the town, and here a scene 
 took place similar to that which had occurred at Winchester. 
 The ladies crowded the streets, waving their handkerchiefs,, 
 and exhibiting a " wild joy," says a letter of the time, at sight 
 of their friends. The 2d Virginia was formed almost entirely 
 of volunteers from Jefferson, Frederick, Clarke, and Berkeley i
 
 156 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON 
 
 and they had not seen their families for nearly a year. But the) 
 were not suffered to stop, even to shake hands. Winder fol- 
 lowed the retreating enemy to the little hamlet of Halltown, 
 firing into their rear both with musketry and artillery, and then, 
 finding that they were posted in force upon Bolivar Heights, in 
 front of Harper's Ferry, returned to the vicinity of Charlestown. 
 
 On the following day, Jackson arrived with the main body 
 of the army, and preparations were made to attack and dislodge 
 the Federal forces. His troops were in the neighborhood of 
 Halltown, and the 2d Virginia had been sent across to Loudoun 
 Heights, on the east side of the town, when intelligence reached 
 him that Federal columns were closing in upon his rear. Shields 
 was moving from Fredericksburg on his right, and Fremont from 
 the south branch of the Potomac on his left, with the design of 
 concentrating a heavy force at Strasburg and cutting off his re- 
 treat up the Valley. 
 
 It will be remembered that President Lincoln, on the 21st of 
 May, had directed General McDowell, then commanding at 
 Fredericksburg, to " put 20,000 men in motion " to capture or 
 destroy Jackson and Ewell, and relieve General Banks. These 
 forces were to move on the line of the Manassas Gap Railroad ; 
 .and the march took place as directed. The letter of a Northern 
 correspondent gives an entertaining account of the expedition, 
 and we make the following brief extract, in which the writer 
 amuses himself at the expense of General Banks : 
 
 " Word was flashed over the wires from Washington that 
 the Philistines were upon the Congressional Samsons, and we 
 were summoned to the rescue. The order from the War De- 
 partment, to send 20,000 or 30,000 men to assist Banks and 
 defend Washington, put an entirely new face on matters, and 
 knocked the plans which a month and more of time and millions 
 of money had been spent in maturing into that peculiarly chaotic, 
 formless, and void shape popularly known and described as a 
 cocked hat. As McClellau before had been served, so now was 
 ^McDowell. 
 
 " At Markham Station, besides rheumatic pains, I encoun-
 
 THE LION IN THE TOILS. 157 
 
 tered Colonel Ashby's house, a deserted whitewashed tenement*, 
 with battered walls and crumbling staircases, and smelling 
 strongly of secession and old cheese. At Front Royal we found 
 Major-General McDowell and several minor Generals. They 
 were all determined upbn one thing that thing to bag Jackson, 
 and recapture the immense train he took from Banks for you 
 must know that Banks lost over two millions of dollars in 
 property, and, it is said, several thousand prisoners. Well, 
 then, it had been determined to retake all these national gods 
 and goods. 
 
 " A word about Blenker's division. With all respect to 
 General Blenker himself, whom I highly esteem as a German 
 and a gentleman, it comprises as lawless a set as ever pillaged 
 hen-roosts or robbed dairy-maids of milk and butter. I saw a 
 company of them gutting the cellar of a house, carrying off every 
 thing eatable and drinkable, and only replying to the earnest re- 
 monstrance of the proprietary widow, and the representation that 
 she had seven children to feed, with a guttural ' Nix fur stay.' 
 And two infantry captains bathed their yellow beards in the 
 golden cream, and were aiders and abettors, in fact, the over- 
 seers and directors of the larceny, not to say brutality." 
 
 This force was now moving from the east, and General Fre- 
 mont was approaching from the west, to meet them in the neigh- 
 borhood of Strasburg. The only force which Jackson had near 
 that point to meet them was a single regiment and two pieces of 
 artillery, under Colonel Connor, at Front Royal ; and with this 
 small body overwhelmed, he would be completely cut off, and 
 forced to surrender or fight his way through. 
 
 It was necessary to act promptly in this emergency. The 
 whole effective force of Jackson was at this time 15,000 men, 
 and the body about to attack him from the direction of Fred- 
 ericksburg was probably larger than his whole army. If Gen- 
 eral Fremont formed a junction with it, the odds would be over- 
 powering ; and to reascend the Valley before his enemies combined 
 was the obvious policy of the Confederate commander. He is- 
 sued orders for that movement at once. All the troops, but the
 
 158 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Stonewall Brigade and the cavalry, were directed to return tir 
 Winchester ; and these also, as soon as the 2d Virginia had 
 returned from Loudoun Heights, were to rejoin the main body 
 at that place. 
 
 Having made these arrangements, Jackson set out in person 
 for Winchester, travelling hy a special train on the Winchester 
 and Potomac Railroad. A gentleman who was with him relates 
 a scene that ensued during the brief journey. At one of the 
 wayside stations, a courier was seen galloping down from the 
 direction of Winchester, and Jackson clutched at the despatch 
 which he brought. 
 
 "What news?" he asked, briefly. 
 
 " Colonel Connor is cut off and captured at Front Royal, 
 General." 
 
 " Good ! " was the quick reply ; " what more? " 
 
 " Shields is there, with four thousand men." 
 
 " Good very good ! " 
 
 As he spoke his lips were firmly compressed, his face grew 
 rigid, and his eyes fixed themselves apparently upon some dis- 
 tant object. Then this preoccupation suddenly disappeared ; he 
 read the despatch which he held in his hand, tore it in pieces, 
 and dropped it, after his accustomed fashion, and, leaning for- 
 ward, rested his forehead on his hands, and immediately fell 
 asleep. He soon roused himself, and, turning to the gentleman 
 who furnishes these particulars, said : 
 
 " I am going to send you to Richmond for reinforcements. 
 Banks has halted at Williamsport, and is being reeuforced from 
 Pennsylvania. Dix, you see, is in my front, and is being ree'n- 
 forced by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. I have just received 
 a despatch informing me of the advance of the enemy upon 
 Front Royal, which is captured, and Fremont is now advancing 
 toward Wardensville. Thus, you see, I am nearly surrounded 
 by a very large force. 
 
 " What is your own, General?" asked his friend. 
 
 " I will tell you, but you must not repeat what I say, except at 
 Richmond. To meet this attack, I have only 15,000 effective men."
 
 THE LION IN THE TOILS. 159 
 
 " What will you do if they cut you off, General ? " 
 Jackson hesitated for a moment, and then coolly replied : 
 " I will fall back upon Maryland for reinforcements." 
 Jackson was in earnest. If his retreat was cut off, he in- 
 tended to advance into Maryland, and doubtless make his way 
 straight to Baltimore and Washington, depending on the South- 
 ern sentiment in that portion of the State to bring him ree'nforce- 
 ments. The design was characteristic of his military genius, 
 and its bold air of invasion probably surrounded it with charms 
 to the leader, who never lost sight of that policy. That the 
 Federal Government was apprehensive of some such movement 
 is certain. The wildest rumors were everywhere prevalent in 
 that country. It was said that Jackson had defeated all his op- 
 ponents, had crossed the Potomac with an enormous army, and 
 was then advancing on Washington. Terror reigned in the 
 North. Men wore anxious faces, and, it is said, were asking 
 constantly, " Where is Jackson ? " " Has he taken Washington ? " 
 The best proof, however, that the movement was really antici- 
 pated, was the despatch of the Federal Secretary of War to the 
 Governor of Massachusetts : " Send all the troops forward that 
 you can, immediately. Banks completely routed. Intelligence 
 from various quarters leaves no doubt that the enemy, in great 
 force, are advancing on Washington. You will please organize 
 and forward immediately all the volunteer and militia force in 
 your State." There is reason to believe that similar messages 
 were sent to all the Northern States, and that the alarm of the 
 Federal authorities was very great. 
 
 We have seen that the " great force " at Jackson's command 
 was 15,000 men, and that a much larger force was about to 
 close in upon his rear. His position was critical in the extreme. 
 Unless he moved with the greatest speed, and reached Strasburg 
 before the junction of Fremont and Shields, his retreat would be 
 cut off, and General McDowell, then at Front Royal, would 
 achieve his design of " bagging Jackson." The great stores at 
 Winchester added to his embarrassment. The thought -of losing 
 the reward of all the toil and courage of his men was iiiexpres-
 
 160 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 sibly bitter to him. Loss of all his stores, the capture, possibly 
 the destruction of his little army these were the contingencies 
 which stared Jackson in the face. To defeat the designs of the 
 enemy, and extricate his forces, was the object upon which he 
 now concentrated all his skill, nerve, and generalship. 
 
 Once at Winchester again, he possessed himself of the very 
 latest information from the rear, and made his dispositions with 
 rapidity. The Federal columns were pressing rapidly to inter- 
 cept him. Colonel Connor had been attacked, as we have seen, 
 at Front Royal, by the Federal cavalry, and driven from the 
 place with the loss of all his prisoners, and some men of his own 
 command, but had destroyed all the captured stores, worth 
 $300,000, before he retreated. Fremont was already at Ward- 
 ensville ; no time was to be lost. 
 
 Early on the morning of May 31st, Colonel Cunningham 
 left Winchester with the 21st Virginia, in charge of about 2,300 
 prisoners, and the wagon-train, and moved quickly up the valley. 
 The train was twelve miles long, and was loaded with the cap- 
 tured stores, which the enemy were so anxious to regain. 
 Jackson followed with the main body. The evacuation of Win- 
 chester was a heavy blow to him and to the inhabitants. We 
 have met with no description of the sorrowful scene which so 
 soon succeeded the joyful ovation upon his entrance. It was 
 doubtless affecting, for the whole heart of this man was bound 
 up in the old town, where so many loved him, and looked to 
 him for protection. His parting with these faces, now filled 
 with anxiety and distress, must have been bitter. We only 
 know that in brief words he assured them that he would " return 
 again shortly and as certainly as now," and that one day, not long 
 afterwards, when the Federal forces occupied the place, their camps 
 were suddenly thrown into tumult, their drums beat to arms, and 
 the words passed from lip to lip, " Jackson is coming ! " 
 
 A race now ensued, between Jackson and his adversaries, for 
 the possession of Strasburg. Every moment was important. 
 On the speed of the " foot cavalry " depended the safety of the 
 army ; and if the larger portion marched, as they seem to have
 
 THE LION IN THE TOILS. 161 
 
 done, from the vicinity of Harper's Ferry to Strasburg, nearly 
 fifty miles, between the afternoon of the 30th and the night of the 
 51st of May, it is one of the swiftest marches on record. 
 
 Jackson arrived in time, and just in time. He encamped at 
 Strasburg on the night of the 31st, with General Fremont's ad- 
 vance almost in sight. Winder had not yet come up with his 
 "brigade and batteries, and, as it was necessary to remain at 
 Strasburg until he arrived, Jackson determined to attack Fre- 
 mont, and hold him in check. This duty was assigned to Ewell, 
 who advanced on the next morning with his division, and, sup- 
 ported by other troops, afterwards sent to him, made a sudden 
 and determined assault upon their advance force. The enemy 
 resisted obstinately, but Ewell finally drove them back, and 
 Winder arriving on the same evening, the whole army continued 
 their retreat up the Valley. 
 
 Jackson was now comparatively safe. He had realized the 
 prayer which his great namesake of the " Hermitage " uttered 
 for a friend he had " triumphed over all his enemies." He had 
 flanked them at Front Royal, pursued them from Middletown, 
 beaten them at Winchester, chased them to the Potomac, filled 
 Washington with alarm ; and now, when their forces were closing 
 in upon his rear to intercept him, he had passed between them 
 with his prisoners and stores, struck them heavily as he retired, 
 and was moving toward the upper Valley. 
 
 He had captured 2,300 prisoners, 100 cattle, 34,000 pounds 
 of bacon, flour, salt, sugar, coffee, hard bread, and cheese, 
 $125,185 worth of quartermasters' stores, $25,000 worth of 
 sutlers' stores, immense medical stores, 9,354 small-arms, two 
 pieces of artillery, many cavalry horses ; and 700 sick had been 
 released on parole, making the full number of prisoners more 
 than 3,000. These results had been achieved with a loss of 68 
 killed, 329 wounded, and 3 missing total loss 400. In ending 
 his report, Jackson proudly declared that the battle of Winchester 
 was, " on our part, a battle without a straggler." 
 
 11
 
 162 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OUT OF THE MESHES. 
 
 MAY had passed, June arrived, and the Federal authorities 
 seemed as far as ever from the accomplishment of their designs 
 against Richmond. 
 
 General McClellan's army still swung to and fro on either 
 side of the Chickahominy, and that commander was still calling for 
 reinforcements. A few days after the battle of Winchester, the 
 bloody but indecisive action of " Seven Pines " took place, and 
 this seems to have been regarded as the sure prelude to the cap- 
 ture and occupation of Richmond. To that achievement all the 
 Federal movements were directed. McClellan was to press for- 
 ward from the east, McDowell to descend from Fredericksburg, 
 and Fremont and Shields to overthrow Jackson and swoop down 
 from the mountains. The three columns would then compose a 
 great cordon, and the Confederate power be crushed. 
 
 Such was the situation of affairs in the first days of June. 
 Events were hastening on in the Valley and the tidewater ; the 
 great movements in both regions were contemporaneous. On the 
 first day of June, at the very time when McClellan and Johnston 
 were fighting at " Seven Pines," before Richmond, Jackson 
 passed between the converging columns of his adversaries, 
 struck their advance with his right wing, and retired in safety. 
 At the very moment, some days afterwards, when General Mc- 
 Clellan, in the summit of a tall tree, as one of their writers de- 
 scribes him, was straining his eyes to discern the columns of 
 McDowell on the northern horizon, and listening for the tramp 
 of Fremont's men from the mountains, news was to reach him 
 of events which reversed the whole plan of his campaign. Rich- 
 mond was directly in his front, with the sunshine on its spires ; 
 the army described as the " finest on this planet " was beneath 
 him, in the trenches ; and, amid the treacherous swamps of the
 
 OUT OF THE MESHES. 163 
 
 Chickahominy, all was ready for the .great advance, to be co- 
 operated in by Generals McDowell, Shields, and Fremont, when 
 this intelligence came to overthrow the whole programme. 
 
 General Fremont had failed to intercept Jackson at Stras- 
 burg ; and General McDowell's column, under Shields, had met 
 with no greater success. Jackson had retired like a weary lion, 
 carrying off all his spoils ; and the Federal commanders only 
 met at Strasburg to condole with each other on the escape of 
 their prey. But Jackson was yet in great danger from the 
 character of the country and the large force which the enemy 
 had at their disposal. The valley turnpike runs along the west- 
 ern base of the Massinutton Mountain, which completely pro- 
 tects that road from a flank movement from the east, as high up 
 AS New Market. But opposite that point was the gap which 
 Jackson had passed through in advancing. Proceeding up the 
 Luray valley from Front Royal, a column of the enemy might 
 cross the south fork of the Shenandoah, seize the gap in ques- 
 tion, and, coming in on Jackson's flank, assail his forces and 
 check their further advance. At the same time, the column 
 which was following on his rear would close in and form a junc- 
 tion with the other ; and he would thus be compelled to fight the 
 entire Federal force in the valley, interposed between his front 
 and the Blue Ridge. 
 
 This movement by Luray was evidently the design of the 
 enemy. General Shields had now been in possession of Front 
 Royal for forty-eight hours, and, as he had not formed a junc- 
 tion with Fremont, as was originally intended, it was obviously 
 Ms purpose to make the flanking movement between the Blue 
 Ridge and the Massinutton. To defeat this plan, Jackson sent 
 forward a party to destroy the White House bridge, over the 
 south fork of the Shenandoah, on the road to the New Market 
 Gap, and also Columbia bridge, some miles up the river. A 
 signal station was also established on the southern summit of the 
 Massinutton, to advise him of movements in the Luray valley, 
 .and Jackson then hastened forward toward New Market with his 
 ^prisoners and captured stores.
 
 164 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 General Fremont's advance, which had been hovering ueai 
 the Southern army, in spite of its repulse by Ewell, soon ascer- 
 tained that the Confederates had retreated from Strasburg, and 
 the whole force of the Federal commander was pushed forward 
 in pursuit. Night had now descended, and a stratagem was at> 
 tempted by the enemy, under the cloak of darkness, to throw the 
 Confederate rear guard into confusion. The Federal cavalry 
 approached cautiously ^ and, being challenged, replied, "Friends 
 Ashby's cavalry." This disarmed suspicion, and enabled them 
 to come so near, that their attack was sudden and unexpected^ 
 The 6th Virginia cavalry, which was nearest, retired in disor- 
 der before the volleys poured into their ranks, and this confusion 
 was communicated to the 2d Virginia cavalry, which was next 
 to the 6th. At this critical moment, Colonel Munford, who 
 commanded the 2d, acted with promptness and energy. He 
 re-formed his regiment, charged the Federal cavalry, and drove 
 them back, capturing a number of prisoners. The army then 
 continued its march, without further annoyance that night. 
 
 Having snatched a brief rest, the troops moved again at day- 
 light, resuming the retreat in the direction of Woodstock. The 
 enemy followed slowly and cautiously on the trail, apparently 
 afraid to press too near and encounter Ashby, who, with hi& 
 cavalry, Caskie's battery, and the 2d brigade, under Colonel 
 Patton, held the rear. Near Woodstock another attack was 
 made on the rear guard. The extreme rear was held by 
 Caskie's battery, supported by about two hundred men from 
 Patton's command, as sharpshooters. This was regarded by 
 Ashby as sufficient to hold the enemy in check ; and his cavalry 
 was quietly pursuing its way, in advance of the artillery, when 
 the enemy's horsemen gallantly charged through the sharpshoot- 
 ers on the guns, captured some of the cannoneers, and nearly 
 succeeded in cutting off the retreat of a rifled piece. It was 
 withdrawn, however, in safety, a portion of the enemy rapidly 
 following, and, before they were aware of the intended attack 
 on them, the Confederate cavalry was thrown into disorder. 
 The men retreated in confusion, and ran into the rear of the
 
 OUT OF THE MESHES. 165 
 
 48th Virginia then passing along a narrow causeway with a 
 ravine on one side and a steep embankment on the other and, 
 so sudden was the appearance of the disorganized cavalry in the 
 midst of the infantry, that a number of the men were knocked 
 down before they could get out of the way. All was now con- 
 fusion ; but the cavalry rallied the 42d Virginia was hastily 
 moved to the right of the road and the 48th to the left and the 
 enemy were received with a sudden volley which drove them 
 back with loss. Three Federal cavalrymen had charged through 
 the whole length of the 2d brigade, two of whom were shot and 
 fell between the regiments posted on the roadside, the other es- 
 caping. 
 
 This affair annoyed Jackson extremely, the force of Federal 
 cavalry which made the charge having been very small, and on 
 the next day he asked Colonel Patton to give him the details. 
 That officer did so, and declared that he regarded it as the most 
 dashing and gallant thing which the enemy's cavalry had yet done 
 adding, that if he had been able, he would have prevented the 
 troops from firing upon the three men who charged through the 
 brigade. Jackson took no notice of these words at the moment, 
 but in a few minutes returned to the subject in a manner which 
 indicated that this daring onslaught on his rear guard by so small 
 a force had greatly exasperated him. " Why would you not 
 have shot those men, Colonel? "he asked, curtly. "I should 
 have spared them, General," returned the officer, " because they 
 were brave men who had gotten into a desperate situation where 
 it was as easy to capture them as to kill them." Jackson's reply 
 was brief. " Shoot them all," he said, coldly ; " I don't want 
 them to be brave." 
 
 After this repulse, the army continued its march, Ashby 
 having been put in command of the whole rear guard, cavalry 
 and infantry, with orders to protect the rear during the remain 
 der of the retreat. The energy of this commander was untiring, 
 and, in spite of incessant and determined assaults on him, he re- 
 pulsed every advance of the Federal cavalry throughout the 
 march. The retreat Avas one Ions battle between the Confed-
 
 166 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 erate rear and the Federal vanguard. They were pressing hotly 
 to strike Jackson and delay him until General Shields reached 
 New Market to intercept his retreat, and no efforts were spared 
 to break through the obstinate impediment which Ashby pre- 
 sented, and force Jackson to turn and defend himself. Shields' 
 column was pressing forward through the Luray valley ; if the 
 Confederate commander could only be delayed for a day, nay a 
 few hours, his fate would be sealed. 
 
 Jackson fully appreciated, however, the critical character of 
 his situation, and did not relax the rapidity of his retreat. His 
 column pressed on along the bank of the Shenandoah, pushing 
 the heavy trains and long lines of prisoners before it, and Ashby 
 continued to hold the rear, repulsing successfully every assault. 
 His artillery was never silent, and at times the troops in front 
 Avould hear the sudden rattle of small-arms, indicating that he 
 had ambushed the advancing squadrons, and from the woods 
 on the roadside poured a fire into their ranks when it was least 
 expected. 
 
 The Federal forces were thus successfully held in check. 
 Mount Jackson was passed ; the bridge over the Shenandoah, a 
 locality well known to Ashby, was destroyed by him in rear of 
 the army ; and Jackson was safe from the column in his rear. 
 A short march now promised to terminate the retreat. Jackson 
 pushed on through New Market, and finding at Harrisonburg, 
 which he reached on the 5th, that all the bridges above that 
 point were destroyed by the citizens, turned to the left and fol- 
 lowed a country road in the direction of Port Republic, beyond 
 which Brown's Gap opened the straight path to Richmond. 
 
 The fluttering signals on the summit of the Massinuttou 
 Mountain informed him that General Shields was pressing up 
 the Luray valley to intercept him at Port Republic ; but this 
 fact gave him little concern. The real struggle had been to pre- 
 vent the enemy from uniting their columns and striking him 
 while laden with spoils and prisoners. One of their columns 
 was now distanced ; the other was not feared. Jackson had 
 been the lion in the toils, but he was now out of the meshes.
 
 THE DEATH OF ASHBT. 167 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE DEATH OF ASHBT. 
 
 THE army marched from Harrisonburg in the direction of 
 Port Republic, on the morning of the 6th of June. They had 
 not seen the enemy for nearly two days, and indulged the hope 
 that they were now beyond pursuit. In this, however, they 
 were mistaken. The destruction of the bridge over the Shenan- 
 doah had delayed the Federal advance for a short time only, and 
 they were now pressing forward again on Jackson's trail. 
 
 Their cavalry advance the 1st New Jersey was com- 
 manded by Sir Percy Wyndham, an Englishman, who had served 
 as a captain in the Austrian army ; in the Italian Revolution 
 under Garibaldi as colonel, and had come to the United States 
 at the breaking out of the war, and received from President 
 Lincoln the appointment of colonel of cavalry. Placed in com- 
 mand of a regiment to operate in the Valley, Colonel Wyndham 
 had suffered much from the enterprise and activity of Ashby, 
 and had publicly announced his intention speedily to " bag " that 
 officer. We learn this from a correspondent of a Northern 
 journal who accompanied Colonel Wyndham, and who narrated 
 what occurred on this occasion. Advancing now from Harrison- 
 burg, Colonel Wyndham came, about three in the afternoon, 
 upon Ashby's cavalry, drawn up to dispute his further progress, 
 and notified his friend the correspondent, that if he " wished to 
 see a little fun," he ought to remain and witness the encounter. 
 The correspondent did do so, and what he witnessed was the 
 scene here recorded. Ashby had seen Colonel Wyndham some 
 time before he was himself discovered, and determined to " bag " 
 Sir Percy. He accordingly sent a portion of his command to 
 make a circuit, unperceived, and take position on the side of the 
 road at a point where the crest of a small hill concealed them 
 from view. When the party was in position, he made a demon-
 
 168 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 stration on the road in front of Colonel Wyndham, with the 
 apparent purpose of opposing his advance. 
 
 The force which Ashby showed in front was designedly small, 
 to draw his adversary on ; and the plan succeeded. Wyndham, 
 flushed with anticipated success, and now certain that he would 
 capture or crush the renowned cavalier of the Valley, charged 
 down the road ; when Ashby advanced to meet him, the party in 
 ambush closed in on his rear, and he was captured, together with 
 sixty-three of his men. As he was marched to the rear, under 
 guard, he is described as appearing " much chopfallen, and look- 
 .ng unutterable things in the way of impotent rage, disappointed 
 hopes, and wounded pride." As he passed along, the troops 
 greeted his appearance with laughter ; but what is said to have 
 excited his rage to the highest pitch, Avas the exclamation of one 
 of the Southern soldiers as he passed : " Look at the Yankee 
 colonel ! " Sir Percy, it seems, had a great horror of being 
 regarded as a "Yankee," and could not bear this title with 
 equanimity. 
 
 The affair which thus resulted in the capture of Colonel 
 Wyndham by the commander of the Confederate cavalry, was 
 succeeded on the same afternoon by a more serious engagement, 
 in which Ashby was to fall depriving the army of the services 
 of a partisan of matchless enterprise, indefatigable energy, and 
 romantic daring. His fame had mounted to the zenith in the 
 brief and fiery campaign now nearly over, and he seemed to 
 have before him long years of renown and usefulness, when he 
 was suddenly cut down. We approach the narrative of his death 
 with reluctance, but cannot omit an event which covered the 
 whole army with gloom, and struck down in his pride and 
 strength the renowned Partisan of the Valley. 
 
 The enemy's cavalry was speedily followed by the main body 
 of their troops, and, believing that he could strike them to advan- 
 tage, Ashby sent back for a portion of the infantry which was 
 placed at his orders, for the defence of the rear. The 58th Vir- 
 ginia and 1st Maryland were sent to him ; and, leaving Colone 1 
 Munford in command of the cavalry, with orders to keep up a
 
 THE DEATH OF ASHBY. 
 
 fire of artillery upon the Federal cavalry, drawn up on a hill in 
 his front, Ashby took the two regiments of infantry and moved 
 to the right of the road through the fields, with the design of 
 making a circuit, unperceived, and falling on the left flank of 
 the enemy. They seem to have conceived a similar design to 
 assail his right flank ; and thus the two columns met, encounter- 
 ing each other in a field waving with ripe wheat, near a piece of 
 woodland. General Ewell, who had now arrived, threw for- 
 ward his skirmishers to drive the Federal forces from their 
 cover behind a fence immediately in his front. It was about 
 sunset when this movement was made, and the golden flush of 
 the beautiful June evening lingered on the trees and brightened 
 their summits, as it slowly died away beyond the western hills. 
 The troops advanced cautiously through the tangled underwood, 
 when all at once the dropping fire of musketry was heard in 
 front, and the 58th Virginia, a very small regiment, was ordered 
 to attack the enemy. Ashby led it, and a heavy volley was 
 poured into the Federal forces, which they replied to ; another 
 came from the 58th, and the firing on the right became hot and 
 continuous. General Ewell saw that the position of the enemy 
 was such as to give them great advantage against an attack in front, 
 and that the small numbers of the 58th were making no impres- 
 sion. He accordingly ordered Colonel Johnson, commanding 
 the 1st Maryland, to advance, while the fight was going on, on 
 his right, and, by charging the enemy's right flank, drive them 
 from the fence. Johnson promptly obeyed, and, gaining the edge 
 of the woods on the Federal flank, gave the order to charge, and 
 his men rushed forward under a heavy fire. Captain Robertson 
 and Lieutenant Snowden were shot dead ; Colonel Johnson's 
 horse fell with him, pierced with three bullets ; and the colors 
 of the regiment were three times shot down. But the Pennsyl- 
 vania "Bucktails," Lieutenant-Colonel Kane, were driven from 
 their position behind the fence, their colonel captured, and the 
 Federal forces were now in full retreat. 
 
 Ashby was dead. He had gone forward with the 58th and 
 taken position on the right of the regiment, which suddenly
 
 170 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 found itself in front of the enemy. A volley was poured into 
 the Federal forces, as we have seen, by the 58th and then 
 another : but the numbers of the Virginians were so small, and 
 the position of the Federal troops so well chosen, that the fire 
 did them little damage. Ashby witnessed this result and the 
 persistent stand of his opponents with fiery impatience. He 
 directed the 58th to cease firing, and press the enemy with the 
 bayonet ; and, putting spur to his horse, rushed forward, shouting, 
 " Virginians, charge ! " when the animal was shot under him, 
 and fell.* In an instant he was on his feet, and again advanced. 
 He had not, however, moved ten steps, and was still ordering 
 the men not to fire but depend on the bayonet, when a bullet 
 pierced his body, and he fell dead almost instantly, at the very 
 moment when the shouts of triumph around him indicated the 
 repulse of the enemy. His body was raised in the arms of the 
 men, placed on a horse before one of them, and, with the equip- 
 ments of his horse, borne from the field, where the soldier had 
 died the death he would have chosen leading a charge, and 
 with his face to the foe. 
 
 Thus ended the brief but splendid career of Turner Ashby. 
 The leader in a hundred engagements had fallen in an obscure 
 skirmish, so insignificant that the very name of it is unknown. 
 But that was not important. The time and place were nothing, 
 -and would thus have been regarded by him, so that he died " in 
 harness," fighting to the last. 
 
 The name of Ashby will long be remembered by the people of 
 Virginia, Avho rightly esteemed him as one of the ablest soldiers 
 of the war, and one of the noblest sons of the commonwealth 
 which gave him birth. He was the ideal-type of the Southern 
 cavalier, pure-hearted, stainless in morals, and of heroic courage 
 and constancy. Let us praise the dead warmly, when we can do 
 so with truth and Ashby was one of those men who stand out 
 
 * This horse was the same which Jackson had ridden at the battle of 
 Manassas, and belonged to Captain James Thomson of the Stuart Horse 
 Artillery. He lent the animal to both Jackson and Ashby, and both were 
 shot upon him.
 
 THE DEATH OF ASHBY. 171 
 
 from his contemporaries, and shed splendor upon an epoch. 
 Those who knew him best were least able to discover his faults ; 
 and those which he did possess, were lost in the blaze of great 
 virtues. The son of a gentleman of Fauquier, he had early con- 
 ceived a passionate fondness for horsemanship, the chase, and 
 all manly sports, and at the breaking out of the revolution had 
 rushed to the standard of his State with the ardor of a knight 
 setting out on a crusade, or to rescue some weak woman held in 
 durance. He was already at Harper's Ferry when Jackson 
 arrived there ; and when a friend asked, " What flag are we 
 going to fight under the Palmetto, or what ?" he raised his hat, 
 showed in it a Virginia flag which he had had painted on the 
 night before his departure from Richmond, and replied, " Here 
 is the flag / intend to fight under." That night the flag was run 
 up by the light of the burning buildings, and Ashby fought under 
 it to the last. Thus commenced his career in the midst of 
 joyous excitement, with the flush of youthful ambition and hopes, 
 of distinction ; but the cloud soon overshadowed this bright 
 dawn. In the last days of June, 1861, his brother Richard, 
 while scouting with six men on the Upper Potomac, was attacked 
 by eighteen of the enemy, and, his horse falling with him, he 
 was cruelly bruised, beaten, and then shot and killed, almost 
 within sight of Turner Ashby. He tried to reach Richard, 
 and with eleven men charged one hundred, killing five with his 
 own hand ; but all was of no avail. Richard lingered a few 
 days and then died, and was buried near the town of Romney. 
 Turner Ashby being present at his burial, he stood by the grave, 
 took his brother's sword, broke it, and dropped it on the coffin, 
 clasped his hands, and raised his eyes to heaven as though regis- 
 tering some vow, and then, closely compressing his lips to pre- 
 vent a sob from bursting forth, mounted his horse in silence and 
 rode away. After the death, of his brother, a lady said of him, 
 " Ashby is now a devoted man" He took command of Jack- 
 son's cavalry in the autumn of 1861, and his commander wrote 
 of him : " As a partisan officer I never knew his superior. Hi a 
 daring was proverbial, his powers of endurance almost incredk
 
 172 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 ble, his tone of character heroic, and his sagacity almost intuitive 
 in divining the purposes and movements of the enemy." This 
 partisan, of character so heroic, of sagacity so intuitive, was the 
 native and untrained growth of Virginia soil, with no advantage 
 from the schools, and no military education. He could scarcely 
 drill a regiment ; and the discipline which he preserved, if he 
 could be said to preserve any with the men whom he commanded, 
 was more like that of the chief huntsman of a hunting-party 
 than a leader of men in the field. He was a knight rather than 
 a soldier, but what he wanted in knowledge of the science of 
 war, he made up by daring ; and his men almost idolized him, 
 for they saw that he had the eye and the nerve of the born 
 leader. What made him their chieftain was his fearless courage, 
 his contempt for danger, his unassuming bearing, and the fire 
 of his eyes, as he waved his sword around his head, and cried 
 in his clear, sweet voice, " Follow me ! " 
 
 As a leader of partisans he ranked among the foremost of his 
 contemporaries. He had the daring, the watchfulness, the love 
 of wild adventure, and the elan in an attack, which make a 
 leader irresistible. The best rider, probably, in the whole State 
 of Virginia, he had delighted, in days of peace, to figure at tour- 
 naments on his swift blood-horses ; and now the skill which he 
 had acquired there, and in the chase, was made useful for the 
 defence of the border. He might allow his men to rest, and 
 return home if they were dissatisfied ; but he never rested, and 
 had forgotten all homes but his saddle. He was never idle ; 
 ever curious to know what the enemy designed, or were doing ; 
 and allowed no man to reconnoitre for him when he could do sc 
 in person. He would sometimes ride daily over a picket line 
 sixty or seventy miles in extent, appearing suddenly in presence 
 of the lonely videttes, and thus impressing upon them the con- 
 viction that his eye was always on them. His movements were 
 rapid, untiring, without reference to night or day. He came 
 aud went, it was said, " like a dream." Heard of in one part 
 of the country on a certain day, on the next he would appear 
 suddenly, on his fleet white horse, nearly a hundred miles dis-
 
 THE DEATH OF ASHBY. 173 
 
 taut, in another region. He was the life and sou} of the men 
 thus on duty. He never looked gloomy or dejected, though 
 often sad ; and was cheerful, almost gay, except when the re- 
 membrance of his brother's death cast a shadow upon his fore- 
 head. When that spell came over him, and brought a sad 
 smile to his lips, he was more than ever dangerous, and untiring 
 on the trail of the enemy ; for private vengeance as well as the 
 public service then stung him to action. 
 
 He was a born king of battle, and had a passion for danger 
 for its own sake. It charmed and intoxicated him ; kindled the 
 gaudium certaminis in his clear brown eyes ; and he was plainly 
 then in his chosen element. The thunders of battle made him 
 happy. Habitually silent and sedate, at such moments he looked 
 animated, and grew eloquent of speech. He met Danger and 
 Death as old and familiar companions ; shook hands and walked 
 arm in arm with them. Defiance of the enemy was at such 
 times a species of pride and delight to him. At Bolivar Heights 
 his cannoneers were shot down, and the enemy were rushing 
 with loud shouts on his artillery, when, leaping to the ground, 
 he seized the sponge-staff, and loaded and fired with his own 
 hands, driving them back with shattered ranks into the town. 
 At Boteler's mill, to encourage the militia, he rode up to the 
 crest of the hill on his famous white horse, in close range of the 
 enemy's swarm of sharpshooters, slowly paced up and down, 
 and, when the bullets were showering thickest, reined in his horse, 
 and stood perfectly still, gazing carelessly at them, the picture 
 and embodiment of chivalry. At Winchester, we have seen him 
 wait until the enemy swarmed in, and then cut down the men 
 sent round to intercept him ; at Middletown, seen him charge 
 upon hundreds single-handed ; at the bridge over the Shenan- 
 doah, remain behind all his men, until the enemy were upon 
 him ; and we have shown how he fell, charging in front of his 
 line, with a spirit that was inaccessible to the emotion of fear. 
 But these scenes are only recorded by chance. The unwritten 
 romance of his career would fill volumes, and will yet be col- 
 lected from the gray-haired oracles of the fireside.
 
 174 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 He never forgot that he was a gentleman, and kept his 
 escutcheon untainted by any blot. No excitement, or peril, or 
 reverse made him rude ; no success or praise touched his deli- 
 cate and lofty spirit with the stain of arrogance or vanity. He 
 was as simple as a child, and preserved his winning courtesy 
 even toward the enemies whom he must have hated bitterly. 
 After the battle of Winchester, some Northern ladies came and 
 said : " Colonel Ashby, you may search bur baggage ; we assure 
 you we are carrying away nothing we are not at liberty, to. 
 You may search our persons, and see if we carry away any 
 thing contraband." He replied : " I have no right to look into, 
 ladies' baggage, or to examine their trunks. Virginia gentle- 
 men do not search the persons of ladies." 
 
 He was pure in his life, devout and childlike in his religious 
 faith, and a regular attendant on the services of the Episcopal 
 Church, which was the church of his ancestors. He was too 
 proud a man not to be humble and bend his knee to his Creator. 
 He would have nothing to do with the humors of the vulgar, 
 and kept himself aloof from the taint of such intercourse with 
 a sort of noble hauteur ; though no man was more frank and 
 gay on the march, in bivouac, and by the camp-fire. 
 
 In appearance the partisan was thoroughly the soldier. His 
 figure was below the medium height, and, though not robust, 
 closely knit and vigorous ; a frame capable of sleepless activity 
 and endurance ; of remaining Avhole days and nights in the sad- 
 dle, and of bidding defiance to all fatigues and hardships. His 
 forehead was fine ; his eyes dark brown, penetrating, and bril- 
 liant ; his complexion so dark that he resembled a Moor ; and 
 this face was covered by a heavy black beard and mustache. 
 He was careless in his dress, wearing a plain suit of gray, cav- 
 alry boots, and a sash. He " looked like work," and was 
 generally spattered with mud, or covered with dust. A long 
 sabre and dark feather indicated the cavalier ; his seat in the 
 saddle was that of a master rider ; and when this figure ap- 
 peared amid the smoke of battle, the face all ablaze, and the 
 nervous hand guiding the most fiery horse, as though the two
 
 THE DEATH OF ASHBT. 175 
 
 .were one, it was impossible to imagine a more perfect picture 
 ,of the cavaliers of Prince Rupert in the days of Charles I. Of 
 .his appearance in action his friends recall many particulars, and 
 their words grow eloquent as they write of him. " The last 
 *ime I saw Ashby," says Colonel Johnson, who was near him 
 when he fell, " he was riding at the head of the column with 
 jGeneral Ewell, his black face in a blaze of enthusiasm. Every 
 feature beamed with the joy of the soldier. He was gesticu- 
 lating, and pointing 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! ' ' 
 
 Of this beautiful nature, full of heroism, modesty, and chiv- 
 .iilry, much more might be said, but the crowded canvas does 
 not admit of an adequate delineation of him. The writer of 
 this page had the honor and happiness to know him ; to hear the 
 sweet accents of his friendly voice ; and to look into the depths 
 of those clear brown eyes, which never sank before the stare of 
 peril. It seems to him now, as he remembers Ashby, that he 
 has knowu and clasped hands with one of the greatest of the 
 worthies of Virginia. As a stranger, he was charming ; but 
 those who knew him best and longest are his warmest eulogists. 
 >' I was with him," says Colonel Johnson, " when the first blow 
 was struck for the cause which we both had so much at heart ; 
 ,and was with him in his last fight, always knowing him to be 
 beyond all modern men in chivalry, as he was equal to any one 
 in courage. He combined the virtues of Sir Philip Sidney with 
 the dash of Murat. I contribute my mite to his fame, which 
 will live in the Valley of Virginia, outside of books, as long as 
 its hills and mountains shall endure." 
 
 Such was the man who had fallen, in the bloom of manhood, 
 and just as his fame began to dazzle every eye. The career of 
 the great partisan was romantic, splendid, evanescent. He 
 passed like a dream of chivalry. Young in years when he died, 
 he was old in toil, in vigils, in battles, in responsibilities, and 
 .eminent public services. Fate had setlts seal upon him. After
 
 176 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 his brother's death, a sad smile was the habitual expression ot 
 his countenance, and his life was little worth to him, for he waa 
 "devoted" to death and to glory. That death soon came, when, 
 his pulses were most fiery ; and in a mean, unknown skirmish 
 Virginia lost one of the greatest of her defenders. The bold 
 
 O C3 
 
 rider, the brave partisan, the great soldier, the gentleman, the 
 patriot, the Christian, the knight without fear and without re- 
 proach such was Ashby. 
 
 He fell OQ the field, with the war-cry on his lips, and fighting 
 for his native soil ; the wave of death rolled over him, and the> 
 figure of the partisan disappeared in its depths. But that figure 
 is not lost. It has passed from earth and the eyes of the flesh,, 
 but will live immortal on the pages of history, in the memories- 
 of the aged, and in the hearts of the people who saw his great 
 faculties, and loved him as the flower of chivalry and honor. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 JACKSON NARROWLY ESCAPES CAPTURE. 
 
 To clearly comprehend the strategy of Jackson from this 
 moment, it is necessary that the reader should have a correct 
 knowledge of the situation of the opposing forces, and the- 
 ground upon which the adversaries were about to manoeuvre- 
 their columns. 
 
 Port Republic is a village situated in the angle formed by 
 the junction of the North and South Rivers, tributaries of the 
 south fork of the Shenandoah, running, as we have seen, between 
 the Blue Ridge and the Massinutton, and uniting its waters witb 
 the north fork in the vicinity of Front Royal. The village is 
 about fifteen miles southeast of Harrisonburg, and is connected 
 with that place by a county road which crosses a bridge over 
 the North River at the town. Another road passes through a 
 ford in the South River, runs northeast from Port Republic, and
 
 JACKSON NARROWLY ESCAPES CAPTURE. 177 
 
 down the right bank of the Shenandoah, to Conrad's Store and 
 Luray. A third, crossing at the same ford, east of the town, 
 runs southeast, passes the Blue Ridge at Brown's Gap, and 
 leads to Charlottesville. The ground around Port Republic is 
 rolling, and broken into hills and spurs, crowned with forests ; 
 the fields, at the time of the battle, were waving with corn and 
 wheat. North of the town the ground is elevated, and this was 
 the position which Jackson occupied with his main body, Ewell 
 remaining in the rear, about four miles distant, on the road to 
 Harrisonburg, and at a point to which the intersection of sev- 
 eral roads had given the name of Cross Keys. 
 
 Port Republic, occupied by Jackson ; Conrad's Store, occu- 
 pied by Shields ; and Harrisonburg, occupied by Fremont, formed 
 very nearly the angles of an equilateral triangle, the sides fif- 
 teen miles in length. Brown's Gap was nearly in Jackson's 
 rear, as he faced both his adversaries : thus his avenue of re- 
 treat was completely open, and it was entirely at his option 
 whether he would fight, or fall back. Entirely out of the net 
 which the enemy had thrown to entrap him at New Market, he 
 was master of his own destiny, and it remained for him to de- 
 cide whether he would abandon the Valley and unite his forces 
 with those of Johnston at Richmond, or advance to attack the 
 armies which had so persistently followed and offered him battle. 
 
 The odds against him were still such as would have discour- 
 aged a less resolute commander. General Fremont's army at 
 Harrisonburg is said to have numbered about 20,000 men, and 
 the force of General Shields, at Conrad's Store, between 10,000 
 and 15,000 probably about 12,000 ; making the whole force 
 opposed to Jackson somewhat more than 30,000 troops. His 
 own force had approached 20,000 when he marched down the 
 Valley to attack General Banks ; but such had been the rapidity 
 of the march, both in advancing and retreating, and so many of 
 his troops were laid up, detailed, and absent from other causes, 
 that his entire force amounted, probably, at this moment, to not 
 wiore than, if as much as 12,000 men. 
 
 These estimates are made upon reliable data, and, though 
 12
 
 178 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 not official, are probably very near the truth. It will thus be 
 seen that Jackson had in front of him an adversary more than 
 twice as strong in numbers as himself. 
 
 It was the relative position of the two columns of the enemy, 
 however, which now induced him not to retreat further, but to 
 act on the offensive. Fremont and Shields were only ten or 
 fifteen miles apart ; but Jackson had destroyed the bridge over 
 I lie Shenandoah at Conrad's Store, and they were thus no nearer 
 a junction of their two columns than before. To attack him, 
 General Fremont must assail him by the Harrisonburg road in 
 his front, and General Shields by the road running down on his 
 right flank ; and, if he could strike these adversaries in detail, 
 before their forces were united at Port Republic, he might count 
 with some certainty upon defeating them. 
 
 His plans were rapidly resolved on, and he hastened to carry 
 them into execution. General Ewell had fallen back from the 
 ground where Ashby fell, and now occupied a strong position 
 on the Harrisonburg road ; and the defence of that avenue of 
 approach could be left with confidence to this trusty soldier, 
 while Jackson went with the main column to meet General 
 Shields. 
 
 Jackson's plans were simple. He intended to crush General 
 Shields at one blow, and then return to the assistance of Ewell, 
 unite their forces, and fall upon the main body under Fremont. 
 The rest he left to Providence. 
 
 The great series of manosuvres now commenced with energy. 
 Jackson's main body arrived opposite Port Republic on the 
 night of the 7th of June, and a small force of cavalry was at 
 once sent out on the road toward Conrad's Store to verify the 
 report of the rapid advance of General Shields, and reconnoitre 
 the strength of his column. On the next morning the cavalry 
 came galloping back, with discreditable precipitancy, and an- 
 nounced that the enemy were then marching on Port Republic, 
 and were nearly in sight of the place. Jackson, who had crossed 
 into the town on the night before, accompanied by some mem- 
 bers of his staif, saw that not a moment was to be lost. The
 
 JACKSON NARROWLY ESCAPES CAPTURE. 179 
 
 enemy's design was evidently to make a sudden attack upon the 
 town, destroy the bridge over the Shenandoah, and thus cut off 
 the army, and get in its rear. To defeat this design, Jackson 
 sent hurried orders to Taliaferro and Winder to get their men 
 under arms for the defence of the bridge, and occupy the ground 
 on the north side, immediately opposite to it, with their batteries. 
 Before these orders could be executed, the Federal advance 
 guard appeared, their batteries opened fire, and their cavalry, 
 crossing the South River, dashed into the town, followed by the 
 artillery, which thundered forward, and took position at the 
 southern entrance of the bridge. 
 
 Jackson and his staff had not recrossed the river, and were 
 completely cut off. His army was on the north side of the 
 Shenandoah, its general with his staff on the south side, with 
 the enemy's cavalry and artillery holding the only avenue of re- 
 turn to the northern bank. The emergency served to display 
 Jackson's nerve and presence of mind. He rode toward the 
 bridge, and, rising in his stirrups, called sternly to the Federal 
 officer commanding the artillery placed to sweep it : " Who 
 ordered you to post that gun there, sir ? Bring it over here ! " 
 
 The tone of these words was so assured and commanding, 
 that the officer did not imagine they could be uttered by any 
 other than one of the Federal generals, and, bowing, he limbered 
 up the piece, and prepared to move. Jackson lost no time in 
 taking advantage of the opportunity. He put spurs to his horse, 
 and, followed by his staff, crossed the bridge at full gallop, fol- 
 lowed by three hasty shots from the artillery, which had been 
 hastily unlimbered and turned on him. It was too late. The 
 shots flew harmless over the heads of the general and his staff, 
 and they reached the northern bank in safety.* 
 
 * This incident has been variously related. It is here given accurately. 
 The correspondent of a Northern journal published the following statement 
 soon afterwards, which we extract for the amusement of the reader : " Yes- 
 terday I met Captain Robinson, of Robinson's battery, on his way home to 
 Portsmouth, Ohio, to recruit. He was at the battle of Port Republic, where 
 his brother lost three guns, and was wounded and made prisoner. Captain
 
 180 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 No time was now lost in placing the Confederate batteries 
 in position, and preparing for an assault with infantry on the 
 force occupying the bridge. The guns of Wooding, Poague, 
 and Carpenter were hurried forward, and Poague opened with 
 one of his pieces on the Federal artillery, from which Jackson 
 had just escaped. This was followed by a rapid advance of the 
 infantry. Taliaferro's brigade having reached the point first, 
 was ordered forward, and the 37th Virginia, Colonel Fulkerson, 
 charged across the bridge in face of the enemy's artillery fire, 
 and captured the gun which was playing upon them. The rest 
 of the brigade followed ; the Federal cavalry was dispersed and 
 driven back ; another gun captured, and the town was in Jack- 
 son's possession. 
 
 The enemy determined, however, not to give up the place 
 without a struggle ; and their 4th brigade, under General Carroll, 
 now advanced to the attack. The effort failed in its inception. 
 They were met by the fire of the Confederate batteries, which 
 sent a storm of shell into the advancing infantry and retreating 
 cavalry, and the Federal forces recoiled. In a short time they 
 were observed to retreat, and they continued to fall back until 
 they had reached Lewis', three miles down the river, where they 
 turned a bend in the road, and were lost sight of by the artillery, 
 which had continued to follow them on the opposite bank of the 
 
 Robinson, who appears to be a very modest and veracious man, relates that 
 while he was working one of his guns, Stonewall Jackson, whose form was 
 familiar to him, came within easy hailing distance, and, standing erect in his 
 stirrups, beckoned with his hand, and actually ordered him to ' bring that 
 gun over here.' 
 
 " Captain Robinson replied by eagerly firing three shots at the ubiquitous 
 Presbyterian, but without even the effect of scaring him. ' I might have 
 known,' said he, ' that I could not hit him.' 
 
 " Captain Robinson is utterly at a loss to explain this extraordinary per- 
 sonal demonstration of the redoubtable 'Stonewall.' Whether he mistook 
 him for one of his own men, or that some incomprehensible ruse was involved 
 in the act, he does not pretend to guess. But one thing he does know that 
 Stonewall Jackson is the great man of the war, and that our troops in the 
 Valley believe him to be as humane as he is rapid and daring."
 
 CROSS KEYS. 181 
 
 river, and hasten their movements by firing on their Sank and 
 fear. Such was the end of the first act of the drama. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CROSS KEYS. 
 
 THE attack of General Shields on Port Republic had scarcely 
 been repulsed, when General Ewell was assailed by General 
 Fremont from the direction of Harrisonburg. 
 
 Ewell was posted, as we have said, with his division, nearly 
 half way between Harrisonburg and Port Republic, where sev- 
 eral roads unite at a point known as Cross Keys, from a tavern 
 which formerly stood near the junction of the roads, bearing 
 two keys crossed upon its sign-board. The ground upon which 
 he determined to receive the attack of the enemy was a com- 
 manding ridge running at right angles to the Port Republic road, 
 which intersects it at about the centre. In front was a large 
 extent of open ground through which a rivulet ran, and his 
 flanks were protected by woods which concealed the position of 
 the troops. 
 
 Trimble's brigade was posted in the edge of the woods on 
 the right, across the creek, somewhat in advance of the centre ; 
 General Geo. H. Steuart's brigade on the left, in a wood, with a 
 field in their front ; and the centre was held by the batteries of 
 Courtney, Raines, Brockenbrough, and Lusk, in the open field 
 upon the ridge, supported by the 21st North Carolina, of Trim- 
 ble's brigade, and Elzey's brigade as a reserve. From an aide- 
 de-camp of General Blenker, killed by one of General Trimble's 
 men, was afterwards taken General Fremont's " Order of 
 March ; " and this showed that his force consisted of six brigades 
 of infantry, commanded by Generals Blenker, Milroy, Stahel, 
 Steinwehr, and another, and one brigade of cavalry. Ewell 
 liad three brigades Elzey's, Steuart's, and Trimble's, Taylor's
 
 182 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Dot having come up in time and we have his own authority for 
 stating that his force did not number 5,000 bayonets. 
 
 Ewell's dispositions were scarcely made, and the troops well 
 in position, when the 15th Alabama, Colonel Canty, which had 
 been thrown out some distance in front, was attacked by the 
 enemy, and forced gradually to retire before the large force op" 
 posed to it. The regiment made, however, a gallant resistance,- 
 and succeeded in holding the enemy in check until Ewell was- 
 ready to receive them, when the men retired. The Federal 
 forces now advanced cautiously, and threw out skirmishers to 1 
 feel the Confederate position, their artillery following and taking 
 position in the centre, near the church and former Cross Keys 
 tavern, directly opposite to that of General Ewell. About noon 
 their batteries opened, and the Confederates replying with ani- 
 mation, several hours were spent in an artillery duel, without 
 serious results upon either side. 
 
 The indisposition of the enemy to advance upon the small 
 force opposed to them can only be explained upon the hypothesis 
 that General Fremont supposed Jackson's main* body to be in 
 his front. The roar of artillery from the direction of Port Re- 
 public had announced to him the arrival of General Shields at 
 that point, and induced him to advance from Harrisonburg, with 
 the view of attacking Jackson's rear while he was engaged with 
 the column of Shields ; but the gradually receding thunder of the 
 Southern guns, as General Shields fell back and was pursued 
 down the river, was sufficient proof of the failure of the attack ; ; 
 and the enemy now seemed to fear with good grounds for the 
 apprehension an assault upon their main body by Jackson's 
 entire command, concentrated at Cross Keys. 
 
 In this state of doubt and ignorance of his adversary's posi- 
 tion and designs, General Fremont did not advance his infantry 
 for some hours contenting himself with the cannonade above 
 described. But as the day passed on, and Jackson did not at- 
 tack, he discovered the small number of the force in his front, 
 and made his dispositions for an assault upon the Confederate 
 right wing, to turn their position* The attack was soon made/
 
 CROSS KEYS. 183 
 
 A. Federal brigade was suddenly seen moving toward the Con- 
 federate right, under cover of the woods, in the direction of a 
 hill whose crest was directly in front of General Trimble. They 
 steadily moved forward without annoyance from the Confed- 
 erates Trimble reserving his fire when, just as they mounted 
 the crest of the hill, within easy range of musketry, Trimble 
 gave the word, and a long sheet of fire ran along his lines, fol- 
 lowed by a crash which resounded through the woods, and told 
 Ewell that the battle had begun. The fire was so sudden and 
 deadly that the ground was covered with the dead and wounded, 
 and the whole Federal line was borne back and driven from the 
 crest. This advantage was quickly followed up. Observing a 
 battery coming into position directly in his front, General Trim- 
 ble ordered a charge upon it. The 13th and 25th Virginia, of 
 Elzey's brigade, had been hurried up from the rear ; and, thus 
 reenforced, General Trimble pushed forward to capture the bat- 
 tery. As he advanced, the Federal infantry posted to support 
 the guns opened on his line ; but the troops responded with so 
 much animation, that the Federal forces were driven from their 
 position, and the battery hastily limbered up and beat a retreat, 
 leaving Trimble in possession of the ground. This brief en- 
 gagement was almost without loss on the Southern side, and en- 
 abled Trimble to advance his position more than a mile ; while 
 the Federal forces were obliged to make a corresponding change 
 and fall back to the ground occupied by them before they ad- 
 vanced to the attack. 
 
 In this charge, a stand of colors was taken ; the honor of 
 its capture being claimed both by the 16th Mississippi, Colonel 
 Posey, and the 21st Georgia, Colonel Mercer. 
 
 A simultaneous attack had been made on the left, where 
 Steuart was posted, and not less than four charges were made 
 by fresh Federal troops in this part of the field. They were all 
 repulsed with loss to the enemy the Confederates fighting for 
 the most part behind trees and General Ewell was about to 
 order his whole line forward, when a large force of the enemy 
 was reported to be moving around his left, with the design of
 
 '184 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 assailing him in the rear. This turned out to be erroneous 
 and, having strengthened his centre and left with the 42d and 
 48th Virginia and 1st ("Irish") battalion, all under Colonel 
 Patton, he ordered a general advance, which began about dark. 
 His left had advanced nearly within musket range of the Fed 
 eral bivouac fires near the church, and Trimble was about as 
 close to them, when Ewell received orders from Jackson to 
 withdraw as soon as possible, and cross the river to Port Repub- 
 lic. This was done without loss of time. The dead were buried, 
 the wounded removed, except those in articulo mortis, whom 
 it would have been cruel to disturb,* and the troops moved about 
 midnight toward Port Republic, which they reached at daylight. 
 
 General Ewell's loss in this battle in killed, wounded, and 
 missing, was 300. The enemy are said to have buried about 
 300, threw others into a well, and lost about 100 prisoners. 
 They stated their loss to be 2,000 ; and this remarkable dispro- 
 portion can only be explained by the fact that Ewell's position 
 was vastly better than his adversary's, and that his opponents 
 were chiefly Dutch. f 
 
 The engagement at Cross Keys was indecisive, but important 
 in its bearing upon the general plans of Jackson. General Fre- 
 mont's whole column had been checked by a much smaller force, 
 and an opportunity given for a concentration of all Jackson's 
 troops for the object which he now had in view. 
 
 His design was to quietly withdraw the command of General 
 Ewell during the night, leaving only a small force to make dem- 
 onstrations in Fremont's front ; and, concentrating the army at 
 Port Republic, cross the river, advance upon General Shields, 
 and crush him at a blow. The details of this intended move- 
 ment, and Jackson's further designs, are so clearly conveyed in 
 
 * It is related of General Ewell that he remained to the last on the field of 
 Cross Keys, helping to place the wounded on horseback with his own hands, 
 tind giving to those who were too badly injured to be removed, money out 
 of his own pocket. 
 
 f The writer is indebted to General Ewell for interesting particulars re- 
 Bating to this action.
 
 CEOS8 KEYS. 185 
 
 a MS. statement of Colonel John M. Patton, commanding the 
 force left in front of General Fremont, that we here give an ex- 
 tract from it. Colonel Patton had in his brigade only eight hun- 
 dred effective men ; and feeling that it was desirable to know as 
 much as possible of Jackson's designs, and the duty expected of 
 him, he repaired during the night to Port Republic, to have an 
 interview with the General. 
 
 u I found him at two o'clock A. M.," says Colonel Patton, 
 " actively making his dispositions. He immediately proceeded to 
 give me particular instructions as to the management of my men 
 in covering the rear, saying : ' I wish you to throw out all your 
 men if necessary, as skirmishers, and to make a great show and 
 parade, so as to make the enemy think that the whole army are 
 behind you. Hold your position as well as you can, then fall 
 back when obliged ; take a new position and hold it in the same 
 way, and I'll be back to join you in the morning.' I replied 
 that, as he knew the ground over which I had to retire (from 
 Cross Keys to Port Republic) was as bad ground for the pur- 
 pose as any in the Valley, and as my force was small, it was 
 therefore very interesting for me to know when he would be 
 back. He turned his face aside and a little up, as he sometimes 
 did, and replied : ' By the blessing of Providence I hope to be 
 back by ten o'clock.' 
 
 " This purpose of General Jackson's," adds Colonel Patton, 
 " was not executed, on account of the untoward result of his first 
 charge on the Yankee battery at Port Republic. When that re- 
 pulse took place, an aide was despatched^ to us, who reached us 
 with his horse foaming, just as we were taking up a new posi- 
 tion, and ordered us to break up our position, cross the bridge 
 at Port Republic, burn it, and hurry up to the battle-field, double 
 quick." 
 
 But we anticipate the order of events.
 
 186 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 POET REPUBLIC. 
 
 JACKSON moved to attack the Federal column under General 
 Shields about sunrise. 
 
 The battle of Port Republic was fought on the eastern bank 
 of the Shenandoah, about two miles from the town. The force 
 driven out of the place on the preceding day Avas only the ad- 
 vance guard, under General Carroll. The main body of General 
 Shields' army had now come up, and that commander had taken 
 a position which gave him great advantages in the bloody con- 
 flict about to ensue. His right flank rested on the river, which 
 here bends round in the shape of a crescent, and is edged with 
 thickets along its margin, so dense as almost completely to pre- 
 vent the advance of troops. From this strong point the Federal 
 line of battle stretched away across an extensive field embraced 
 in the bend of the stream, and at this time covered with a wheat 
 crop which the sunny days of June had turned into waving gold. 
 Their left wing rested on a wooded ridge near the 'Lewis house, 
 and just at the foot of Cole Mountain ; and at this point they 
 had posted seven pieces of artillery, with others in the rear of 
 the line, wherever the undulation of the ground afforded them 
 an opportunity to employ artillery to advantage. Thus judi- 
 ciously drawn up, with his flanks protected by a river and a 
 thickly wooded ridge, General Shields awaited with confidence^ 
 the expected attack of Jackson. 
 
 That attack was not delayed. The Federal regiments were 
 scarcely arranged in line of battle, with the Stars and Stripes 
 waving proudly in the early sunshine, when they saw advan- 
 cing toward them a long line of glittering bayonets beneath the 
 Confederate flag, and the blue "Sic semper" banner of Vir- 
 ginia.* It was the Stonewall Brigade, under General Winder, 
 
 * Letter of a soldier.
 
 PORT REPUBLIC
 
 POET REPUBLIC. 187 
 
 and accompanied by Jackson in person. They had encountered 
 and driven off the Federal pickets about a mile and a half from 
 Port Republic ; and as they now swept forward, the 2d and 4th 
 Virginia on the right, the 5th and 27th on the left, toward the 
 river, they immediately became a target for the Federal batteries 
 near the Lewis house, which swept the plateau in front and the 
 field over which the Virginians were advancing, with a storm 
 of shell. General Winder immediately brought forward hia. 
 own batteries, and posted Captain Poague, with two Parrott guns, 
 on the left of the road, with orders to open on the Federal artil- 
 lery, and, if possible, silence it. Captain Carpenter was also, 
 sent to the right with similar orders ; but the dense under- 
 growth upon the ridge rendering it impossible to drag the guns 
 through it, he returned to the left and cooperated with Poague. 
 A rapid and determined fire was now opened from the Southern 
 guns, but their adversaries had the advantage in position and 
 weight of metal. The Federal artillery opposed to Poague con-, 
 sisted of three guns from Captain Clark's battery, three from 
 Captain Huntington's, and one of Captain Robinson's, nearly all 
 rifles.* It was soon obvious that the Confederate batteries were, 
 no match for those of the enemy, and Winder determined to 
 stop this long-range engagement, and charge the Federal artil- 
 lery with his infantry. At the word, his brigade, now reenforced 
 by the 7th Louisiana, under Colonel Harry Hays, advanced at a 
 double quick ; but encountering a fire of shell, canister, and small-, 
 arms so heavy and murderous that nothing could stand before 
 it, the men fell back in disorder, and Winder was forced to, 
 abandon his design. 
 
 This first repulse gave the enemy renewed spirit, and they 
 now rushed forward and made a vigorous attack upon the. 
 brigade, which retired before them. Jackson's artillery was, 
 in consequence, obliged to retreat in haste from its position,, 
 and the ground which his lines had occupied was now in pos-, 
 session of the Federal forces. They continued to push theu; 
 
 * Report of General Tyler.
 
 188 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 advantage and press forward against the reinforcements hurried 
 to the front. The 54th and 58th Virginia, directed by Genera] 
 Ewell, and led by Colonel Scott, made a determined attack upon 
 the flank of the advancing line, and for a short time held it in 
 check ; but they were outnumbered by their opponents, whose 
 attack was supported by a hot fire of artillery, and were finally 
 compelled to retire into the woods, with the loss of one of Cap- 
 tain Poague's six-pounders, and a considerable number of men. 
 
 This inauspicious commencement of the action was disheart- 
 ening, but a new aspect was speedily given to the face of affairs. 
 Jackson soon perceived that the wooded ridge near the Lewis 
 house, on the Federal left, was the key of the whole position, and 
 that, unless the artillery there posted was captured or silenced, 
 it would continue to sweep the entire ground in front, and render 
 an attack upon the Federal centre or right wing impossible. But 
 any attempt to take the guns seemed desperate. They were on 
 commanding ground, supported by a heavy force of infantry, 
 and the charge must be made in the face of a " fire of hell." 
 Jackson pat on his horse, looking at the guns belching forth 
 their showers of iron hail, and then, turning to General Taylor, 
 who was near him, said briefly, "Can you take that battery r 
 It must be taken." Taylor galloped back to his brigade, and 
 pointing with his sword to the enemy's guns, called out in a 
 voice which rang like a clarion, " Louisianians ! can you take 
 that battery ? " The answer was a deafening shout, and, placing 
 himself at the head of the column, Taylor gave the order to 
 charge the guns. 
 
 The men swept forward at the word. They were the 6th, 
 7th, 8th, and 9th Louisiana, Wheat's battalion of " Tigers," and 
 a Virginia regiment. The ground over which they moved was 
 on the acclivity of the mountain, and they were obliged to pene- 
 trate a rough and tangled forest, which it was almost impossible 
 to pierce. But nothing could oppose the ardor of the men ; they 
 rushed forward with ranks broken by the inequality of the 
 ground, and at that moment the loud cheering of the enemy or 
 the left indicated their entire success in that portion of the field
 
 PORT REPUBLIC. 189 
 
 A response came from the right. It was Taylor's Louisianians, 
 who had re-formed their broken ranks, emerged from the woods, 
 and now charged across the low grounds in front of the Federal 
 batteries with deafening cheers. The low grounds were passed ; 
 they were now ascending the slope. As they did so, the Federal 
 batteries directed upon them their most fatal thunders. The 
 advance was made, says an eye-witness, in the midst of " one 
 incessant storm of grape, canister, and shell, literally covering 
 the valley." The men were mowed down like grass dead and 
 wounded were seen on every side ; but the Louisiana Brigade 
 still rushed on, determined to take the battery or die in front of 
 it. The Federal guns were loaded and fired with extraordinary 
 rapidity, and the wails of agony from men torn to pieces by 
 fragments of iron, mingled wildly with the loud shouts of triumph 
 as the troops still continued to press on up the hill. All at once, 
 to the raking fire of canister from the Federal artillery was 
 added a destructive fire from their infantry. The enemy's 3d 
 brigade, under General Tyler, which was posted in the rear 
 and on the flanks of the batteries, opened a determined fire, and 
 men and officers went down before it in one indiscriminate mass. 
 Colonel Hays, of the 7th Louisiana, fell severely wounded. His 
 lieutenant-colonel, De Choiseul, was shot through the lungs, and, 
 while waving his sword, staggered aod fell insensible, and was 
 borne from the field. Of 308 men of the regiment who went 
 into the charge, 158 were either killed or wounded. The troops, 
 however, continued to rush forward, regardless of peril ; for an 
 instant the gun-muzzles belched their iron contents in their faces, 
 and then the crest was attained ; with loud cheers the Confeder- 
 ates came in contact with the enemy. As the cannoneers turned 
 to fly, many were transfixed with the bayonet, the horses wer 
 shot, and the guns were turned upon the retreating infantry. 
 
 But the struggle was not over. It was absolutely necessary 
 for the Federal commander to recover, if possible, the lost ground. 
 For that battery to remain in the hands of the Southerners, was 
 to lose possession of the ridge to lose the day to be defeated, 
 and driven from the field. Heavy reinforcements were hurried
 
 390 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 forward ; a fresh brigade took the place of that which had been 
 repulsed, and a gallant charge was made to regain the guns. 
 The Louisianians were in turn driven back by the destructive 
 fire poured upon them, and the enemy dashed forward and re- 
 covered the pieces. But before they could be turned upon them, 
 the Confederates again charged, and a second time drove the 
 Federal troops from the guns. The battery was thus three times 
 lost and won in the determined effort on the part of the Louisi- 
 anians and the best troops of the enemy, concentrated in this 
 part of the field, to recover the guns and hold the ridge. Vic- 
 tory finally decided for the Confederates. The enemy were 
 driven back ; the guns were again turned on them with destruc- 
 tive effect, and the Confederate lines continued to advance. 
 
 Taylor had won the position on the ridge, after a heavy loss, 
 but he could not hold it, and he could not be reenforced. Gen- 
 eral Shields was pressing the Confederate left wing with such 
 heavy masses, that all their disposable force was necessary in 
 that portion of the field. His heavy reserves were now brought 
 p and thrown upon Taylor a fresh brigade advancing rapidly 
 and attacking the latter in flank, while a piece of artillery, which 
 had been posted within three hundred and fifty yards, opened a 
 galling fire of canister on his front. Under this combined attack 
 Taylor was compelled to fall back to the skirt of woods neai 
 which the captured battery was stationed, and from that point 
 continued his fire upon the advancing enemy. They had now 
 reenforced their left by withdrawing troops from their centre, 
 and Taylor was in imminent danger of being outflanked and 
 enveloped by the enemy. They made a determined effort to 
 turn his left flank, which forced him to fall back ; and in the 
 haste of this movement they recaptured one of the guns, though 
 without the caisson or limber. But this advantage over Taylor 
 had only been gained by dangerously weakening the Federal 
 right wing and centre. Winder had now rallied his brigade, 
 and, placing the batteries of Poague and Chew in position, opened 
 a hot fire on the Federal left. The batteries of Brockenbrough, 
 Courtney, and Raines were also hurried forward ; and with
 
 PORT REPUBLIC. 191 
 
 these guns pouring a destructive fire into their centre, the Fed- 
 eral lines began visibly to waver. 
 
 Jackson saw his advantage, and now made a corresponding 
 movement to that of the Federal commander, rapidly throwing 
 his left wing to the support of his right. Colonel Connor's bri- 
 gade arrived first, and, thus reenforced, Taylor turned savagely 
 upon his assailants and forced them back. This was the deci- 
 sive moment of the battle, and Jackson's generalship secured the 
 result at which he aimed. The Confederate lines advanced with 
 loud cheers, a roll of musketry extended from end to end of the 
 Jine, and into the Federal right flank was poured a rapid fire 
 from the artillery of General Winder. Before this hot fire in 
 front and flank the Federal lines wavered more and more, and 
 soon they were seen to break in disorder. The next moment 
 saw them retreating, panic-stricken, from the field, with the Con- 
 federate infantry pursuing and firing upon them as they fell 
 back. The infantry and artillery continued the pursuit for five 
 miles, when the cavalry took it up, continuing to press the rear 
 of the retreating column. One piece of artillery, about 800 
 muskets, and 450 prisoners were the immediate result of the 
 action. General Shields was defeated. 
 
 Whilst the forces of General Shields were thus in full retreat, 
 General Fremont appeared on the northern bank of the Shenan- 
 doah, and is said to have been furious at the manner in which 
 he had been outwitted and General Shields defeated. The 
 bridge over the river had been burned when Trimble and Patton 
 retreated ; and as the Shenandoah was greatly swollen, it was' 
 utterly impossible for General Fremont to come to the assistance 
 of his coadjutor. He was compelled to look on while General 
 Shields was being defeated ; to witness his rout, and to observe 
 every circumstance attending the pursuit. It is to be hoped that 
 General Fremont did not direct the artillery fire which now took 
 place upon the ambulances full of wounded, and the parties of men 
 engaged in burying the Federal as well as the Confederate dead. 
 The Rev. Mr. Cameron, chaplain of the 1st Maryland regiment, 
 was standing near a row of graves in which the Federal dead
 
 192 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 were being laid, and, with prayer-book in hand, was reading the 
 burial service over them, when General Fremont's artillery 
 threw shell into the group, forced the men to drop the dead 
 bodies they were carrying to the graves, and Mr. Cameron to 
 abandon his religious services. On the next morning General 
 Fremont retreated, and Colonel Munford, pushing forward with 
 his cavalry to Harrisonburg, captured about 200 men, many of 
 them severely wounded, several Federal surgeons, about 200 
 arms, many wagons, and a considerable amount of camp equipage 
 and medical stores. 
 
 In the battles of Port Republic, Cross Keys, and the skirmish 
 in which Ashby fell, the Confederate loss in killed, wounded, and 
 missing was 1,096. No estimate was made of the Federal losses, 
 but as a defeated force generally loses more heavily than its ad- 
 versary, the Federal casualties were probably greater. Jackson 
 took 975 prisoners, about 1,000 small-arms, and 7 pieces of 
 artillery, with caissons and limbers. One piece of artillery, from 
 Poague's battery, was captured and carried off by the enemy. 
 
 The battle of Port Republic was one of the most sanguinary 
 of the war. It was fought by Federal troops from the North- 
 western States chiefly, the best in their army ; and riding over 
 the field after the battle, Jackson said : " I never saw so many 
 dead in such a small space, in all my life before ! " The slaugh- 
 ter was indeed terrible. The Confederate loss in killed and 
 wounded was nearly one thousand men for the losses in the 
 preceding engagements were very slight ; the Federal loss was 
 probably greater. The Southerners fired low and fatally. A 
 Northern correspondent, writing from the hospitals of Front 
 Royal, said : " It is a noticeable fact that the majority are 
 wounded in the legs or lower part of the body. One of the men 
 remarked, ' They fired over our heads at Winchester, but they 
 fired under them this time ! ' " Where the obstinate charge upon 
 the Federal batteries took place, the ground was strewn with 
 the dead and dying. Thus, in the mere amount of blood that 
 was shed, the battle of Port Republic was remarkable and mem- 
 orable ; but this is the least of its grounds to be ranked among
 
 JACKSON IN JUNE, 1662. 193 
 
 the famous conflicts of the late revolution in Virginia. It was 
 the final and decisive blow struck at the Federal campaign in 
 the Valley. It crushed, inexorably, in a few short hours, the 
 hopes and aspirations of the two leaders who had so long and 
 persistently followed Jackson. It disembarrassed the Confeder- 
 ate commander of his adversaries in that direction, and enabled 
 him to make his swift march against the right flank of General 
 McClellan on the Chickahominy. 
 
 It was the successful termination of a series of manoeuvres, 
 which bear upon their face the unmistakable impress of military 
 genius. From the moment when, arriving at the town of Port 
 Republic, Jackson determined to retreat no further, but turn and 
 fight, his strategy was admirable. Up to that time, the sharp 
 claws of Ashby had drawn blood at every step as he retired ; but 
 there the tiger crouched, ready to spring. He only did so when 
 the prey was within his reach. The blow delivered at Crosa 
 Keys was followed by the more decisive affair at Port Republic ; 
 and after that sanguinary contest General Fremont had no 
 longer the ability to assume an offensive attitude. He retired 
 from the conflict, abandoned any further struggle, and his victor 
 remained master of the field. Jackson's despatch announcing 
 his victory was in the following words : 
 
 NEAR PORT REPUBLIC, June 9th, VIA STAUNTON, June 10th. 
 Through God's blessing, the enemy near Port Republic was this day routed, 
 with the loss of six pieces of his artillery. 
 
 T. J. JACKSON, Major-General commanding. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIH. 
 
 JACKSON IN JUNE, 1862. 
 
 AT sunset on the 9th of June, 1862, the campaign of the Val- 
 ley had terminated. It had commenced in earnest on the llth 
 of March, when Winchester was evacuated, and ended on the 
 day of Port Republic, when Jackson had defeated his adversaries 
 .and remained iu possession of the field. 
 13
 
 194 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 The reader has had the events of the campaign narrated ;, 
 what now rose above the smoke, dust, and blood of so many 
 battle-fields, was, Banks, Shields, Milroy, Fremont, with Blen- 
 ker, Sigel, Steinwehr, and other able soldiers defeated, and the 
 whole upper Valley regained. In three months Jackson had 
 marched 600 miles, fought four pitched battles, seven minor en- 
 gagements, and daily skirmishes ; had defeated four armies ; 
 captured 7 pieces of artillery, 10,000 stand of arms, 4,000 pris- 
 oners, and a very great amount of stores inflicting upon his ad- 
 versaries a known loss of 2,000 men ; with a loss upon his own 
 part comparatively small, and amounting in arms to but one 
 piece of artillery abandoned for want of horses, and a small 1 
 number of muskets. 
 
 The military results, in their bearing upon the whole field of 
 contest, had been very great. At an important crisis in the 
 history of the struggle, Jackson had intervened with his small 
 army, and, by his skill, endurance, and enterprise thrown the 
 whole programme of the enemy into confusion/ Their design of 
 combining three heavy columns for an attack upon Richmond 
 had been frustrated by his daring advance down the Valley ; all 
 the campaign halted for the moment ; and Fremont and Mc- 
 Dowell were not only crippled for the time, but their dangerous 
 adversary was in a condition to unite his forces with those of 
 General Johnston, and make that sudden attack on the Chicka~ 
 hominy which led to such important results. 
 
 Jackson's campaign in the Valley will always attract the at- 
 tention of military men, and be studied by them as a great prac- 
 tical exposition of the art of making war. The swift and sudden 
 marches ; the rapid advances and successful retreats ; the furious 
 onslaughts indicating apparent recklessness, and the obstinate- 
 refusal, on other occasions, to fight, from seeming timidity these 
 communicate to the campaign in question a vivid interest unsur- 
 passed in the annals of the entire war. Looking back over the- 
 almost incessant movements ot three months, it is difficult to dis- 
 cover any error in Jackson's operations. We have shown that 
 he attacked at Kernstown from inaccurate information;, but
 
 JACKSON IN JUNE, 1862. 195 
 
 that information was furnished by Ashby, the most enterprising 
 and reliable of partisans ; and the result of the battle, as the 
 reader has seen, was exactly what Jackson designed. More 
 than 25,000 troops were diverted from the attack on Richmond 
 and this great result had been attained by a force of about 4,000, 
 of whom less than 3,000 were engaged. In regard to the suc- 
 cess which had attended the remainder of the campaign, there 
 could be no difference of opinion. The battle of McDowell per- 
 manently checked the advance of General Milroy from the west ; 
 the advance upon General Banks drove that commander precipi- 
 tately across the Potomac ; and the retreat of Jackson in conse- 
 quence of the movements of Fremont and Shields against his 
 rear at Strasburg, was a complete success. He brought off all 
 his captured stores and prisoners ; outmarched the two columns 
 following him ; and finally, by a strategy as successful as it was 
 daring, fought them in detail at Cross Keys and Port Republic, 
 and defeated both. From that moment Jackson was master of 
 the situation, and could look with a grim smile toward his re- 
 treating adversaries. 
 
 This campaign made the fame of Jackson as a commander. 
 In the operations of March to June, in the Valley, he had dis- 
 played his great faculties fully his far-seeing generalship, his 
 prudent boldness, and that indomitable resolution and tenacity 
 of purpose which no storm could shake. Under the quiet and 
 unpretending exterior was a soul which was not born to bend, 
 and a will which broke down every obstacle in the path of its 
 possessor. The rumor of his rapid movements and constant 
 successes came like a wind from the mountains to the Confed- 
 erate capital, and infused fresh life into the languid pulses and 
 desponding hearts of the people. This will be remembered by 
 many readers of these pages. The performer of these great 
 achievements began to be looked upon as the " Man of Fate," 
 whose mission was to overthrow all Federal generals who were 
 opposed to him. His military traits were the common talk and 
 ftdmiration ; his astonishing equanimity in the face of peril ; his 
 coo! determination not to yield ; his refusal to entertain the idea
 
 L9G LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 that he could be defeated ; and the belief that, with his men, he 
 could go anywhere and achieve any thing. The South had found 
 a military hero in the quiet soldier who concealed under his face 
 of bronze such wonderful faculties. In June, 1862, Jackson 
 was already the idol of the popular heart ; and this was the 
 result of his campaign in the Valley. 
 
 The fate of that region was now settled for the time, and the 
 victor of Port Republic was called upon to enter, without paus- 
 ing, upon another struggle, on a new arena. The Valley was 
 exhausted ; every portion of its highways and by-ways had been 
 trodden by the " Foot Cavalry," until they knew and attached 
 sad or pleasant recollections memories of fatigue and suffering, 
 or of rest and refreshment to every stone, and bank, and 
 spreading tree upon the roadside ; * the mountains must now be 
 left behind, and the army must set out for fresh fields of combat 
 in the lowland. Before proceeding with our narrative, however, 
 we shall give a brief outline of Jackson as he appeared at this 
 time, all covered with the dust of the arena upon which the 
 famous athlete had overthrown Banks, Fremont, and their asso- 
 ciates. The popular idea of a general is a finely-dressed indi- 
 vidual, covered with braid, mounted upon a prancing charger, 
 and followed by a numerous and glittering staff. The personal 
 appearance and equipments of Jackson were in entire contrast 
 to this popular fancy. He wore, at this time, an old sun-em- 
 browned coat of gray cloth, originally a very plain one, and now 
 almost out at elbows. To call it sun-embrowned, however, is 
 scarcely to convey an adequate idea of the extent of its dis- 
 coloration. It had that dingy hue, the result of exposure to 
 rain and snow and scorching sunshine which is so unmistakable. 
 [t was plain that the General had often stretched his weary 
 
 * So numerous were Jackson's marches backward and forward over the 
 Valley turnpike, that his men came to 'know, and would afterwards recognize 
 the most insignificant objects. " There is the very stone I sat down on in 
 May, '62," said one of his old brigade with whom the writer rode over this 
 ground ; and, going a little further, he added : " I remember perfectly lying 
 down under that tree yonder."
 
 JACKSON IN JUNE, 1862. 197 
 
 form upon the bare ground, and slept in the old coat ; and it 
 seemed to have brought away with it no little of the dust of the 
 Valley. A holiday soldier would have disdained to wear such 
 a garb ; but the men of the Stonewall Brigade, with their com- 
 rades, loved that coat, and admired it and its owner more than 
 all the holiday uniforms and holiday warriors in the world. The 
 remainder of the General's costume was as much discolored as the 
 coat ; he wore cavalry boots reaching to the knee, and his head 
 was surmounted by an old cap, more faded than all ; the sun had 
 turned it quite yellow, indeed, and it tilted forward so far over 
 the wearer's forehead, that he was compelled to raise his chin in 
 the air in order to look under the rim. His horse was not a 
 '' fiery steed," pawing, and ready to dart forward at " thunder 
 of the captains and the shouting," but an old raw-boned sorrel, 
 gaunt and grim a horse of astonishing equanimity, who seemed 
 to give himself no concern on any subject would quietly lie 
 down to doze in the pauses of the firing, and calmly moved 
 about, like his master, careless of cannon-ball or bullet, in the 
 hottest moments of battle. 
 
 The General rode in a peculiar fashion, leaning forward 
 somewhat, and apparently -unconscious that he was in the sad- 
 dle. His air was singularly abstracted ; and, unless aware of 
 his identity, no beholder would have dreamed that this plainly- 
 clad and absent-looking soldier was the leader of a Corps 
 d'Armte. The glittering eye beneath the yellow cap would 
 have altered somewhat the impression that this man was " E 
 nobody ; " btit beyond this there was absolutely nothing in the 
 appearance of General Jackson to indicate his great rank or 
 genius as a soldier. 
 
 Such was the outward man of the General, as he appeared 
 soon after the campaign of the Valley ; and this plainness of 
 exterior had in no small degree endeared him to his soldiers. 
 His habits were still greater claims on the respect and regard 
 of the best men of his command. He was known to be wholly 
 free from all those vices which are the peculiar temptation of a 
 military life. He lived as plainly as his men, and shared all
 
 198 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 their hardships, never for a moment acting upon the hypothesis 
 that his rank entitled him to any luxury or comfort which they 
 could not share. His food was plain and simple ; his tent, when 
 he had one, which was seldom, no better than those of the men ; 
 he would wrap himself in his blankets and lie down under a 
 tree or in a fence corner, with perfect content, and apparently 
 from preference ; for to fight hard and live hard seemed to be 
 his theory of war. He rarely allowed passion to conquer him ; 
 when he yielded, it was on exciting occasions, and when great 
 designs were thwarted by negligence or incapacity on the part 
 of those to whom their execution was intrusted. Such occasions 
 seldom occurred, and Jackson's habitual temper of mind was a 
 gentle and childlike sweetness ; a simplicity and purity of heart, 
 which proved that he had indeed become " as a little child," 
 walking humbly and devoutly before his God. Prayer was like 
 breathing with him the normal condition of his being. Every 
 morning he read his Bible and prayed ; and the writer will not 
 soon forget the picture drawn by one of his distinguished asso- 
 ciates, who rode to his headquarters at daylight in November, 
 1862, when the army was falling back to Fredericksburg from 
 the Valley, and found him reading his Testament, quietly in his 
 tent an occupation which he only interrupted to describe, in 
 tones of quiet simplicity, his intended movements to foil the 
 enemy. Before sitting down to table, he raised both hands and 
 said grace. When he contemplated any movement, his old ser- 
 vant is said to have always known it by his " wrestling in 
 prayer " for many hours of the night ; and on the battle-field 
 thousands noticed the singular gesture with the right arm, 
 sometimes both arms, raised aloft. Those who looked closely 
 at him at such moments saw his lips moving in prayer. 
 
 This, however, is not the place for a personal delineation of 
 Jackson, which is reserved for a subsequent page. Our desire 
 in presenting the foregoing brief sketch was to place before the 
 reader's eye, so to speak, the figure of the chief actor in the 
 stirring scenes which we now approach. The present writer
 
 JACKSON IN JUNE, 1862. 199 
 
 first saw General Jackson on the field of Cold Harbor, and the 
 above is a correct transcript of his appearance. 
 
 It seemed hard to realize that the plainly-dressed, awkward- 
 looking person on the gaunt sorrel horse, with the faded cap and 
 the abstracted air, was the soldier who had foiled every adver- 
 sary, and won at Port Republic those laurels which time cannot 
 wither.
 
 PART III. 
 
 FKOM POET REPUBLIC TO CHANCELLOESVILLE. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 "GENERAL T. J. JACKSON, SOMEWHERE." 
 
 IN the latter part of June, 1862, the writer of these pages 
 was intrusted, for delivery to a confidential messenger, with a 
 despatch addressed u General T. J. Jackson, somewhere." 
 
 " Somewhere " was at that moment, as it had been on many 
 other occasions, the only known address of the rapidly-moving 
 and reticent commander of the Army of the Valley. When he 
 was executing one of his great movements, his operations were 
 conducted with such secrecy that the troops used to say, " Jack- 
 son is lost." Let us tell how he became " lost " upon this occa- 
 sion, and how he reached the unknown address of " somewhere." 
 
 The battle of Port Republic was fought on the 9th of June, 
 and on the 12th Jackson recrossed South River and encamped 
 near Weyer's Cave. " For the purpose of rendering thanks to 
 God for having crowned our arms with success," he says in his 
 report, " and to implore His continual favor, divine service was 
 held in the army on the 14th." 
 
 The troops were resting ; Jackson was dreaming of an ad- 
 vance into Pennsylvania. We have said that, in spite of his dis-
 
 "GENERAL T. j. JACKSON, SOMEWHERE." 201 
 
 appointment in the autumn of 1861, the project of invading the. 
 North recurred to him after every great success of the Southern 
 army ; and a remarkable proof of the truth of this statement 
 was at this time presented. So strong was his feeling on the 
 subject DOW, that he, the most reticent and cautious of com- 
 manders, could not withhold some intimation of his views. To. 
 a confidential friend, on whose prudence he knew he could rely, 
 he said at this time : " If they will only give me 60,000 men 
 now, I will go right on to Pennsylvania. I will not go down 
 the Valley ; I do not wish the people there to be harassed. I 
 will go with 40,000 if the President will give them to me, and my 
 route will be along east of the Blue Ridge. I ought not to have 
 told even you that ; but in two weeks I could be at Harrisburg." 
 The route here indicated was nearly identical with that which 
 General Lee afterward followed in advancing to Gettysburg. 
 It is left to the military student to determine whether a column 
 of 40,000 men penetrating toward the heart of the North, and 
 threatening Washington, would not have induced a withdrawal 
 of the forces before Richmond for the defence of the Federal 
 capital. But this policy, if it was urged upon the Confederate 
 authorities, was not adopted. It was determined to concentrate 
 all the troops near Richmond for a sudden attack upon General 
 McClellan, and the movements looking to this object had already 
 begun. On the llth of June Whiting's division was embarked 
 on the cars of the Danville Railroad at Richmond, and moved 
 across the James to Manchester, opposite Belle Isle, where, at 
 that moment, a large number of Federal prisoners were confined, 
 but about to be released. The train remained opposite the island 
 until the forenoon of the next day ; and the public were much 
 exercised upon the subject of this extraordinary blunder, as the 
 Federal prisoners about to be sent down the river would unques- 
 tionably inform General McClellan of this reenforcement of 
 Jackson. The train at last departed, however, and the troops 
 reached Lynchburg, where they remained until the 15th, when 
 they were moved to Charlottesville, and thence on the 18th to, 
 Staunton. On the 20th they were mpved Lack to Charlottesville
 
 202 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Jackson was already in motion. All this marching and 
 countermarching had its object. It deceived the enemy, who 
 believed that the Valley was alive with troops moving to and 
 fro, and preparing for a great advance down the Valley in pur- 
 suit of Shields and Fremont. Attention was thus entirely di- 
 verted from Richmond, where the real blow was to be struck. 
 
 Jackson omitted, on this occasion, none of those precautions 
 which so greatly contributed to the success of his movements, 
 and which justly entitle him to be characterized as the general 
 who " never made a mistake." He commenced by blinding 
 those around him. His engineers were directed to prepare im- 
 mediately a series of maps of the Valley ; and all who acquired 
 a knowledge of this carefully divulged order, told their friends 
 in confidence that Jackson was going at once in pursuit of Fre- 
 mont. As those friends told their friends without loss of time, 
 it was soon the well-settled conviction of everybody that nothing 
 was further from Jackson's intentions than an evacuation of the 
 Valley. Having deceived his friends, the Confederate general 
 proceeded to blind his enemies. 
 
 On the 16th of June he sent a note to Colonel Munford, who 
 had succeeded Ashby in command of the cavalry, and held the 
 front toward Harrisonburg, to " meet him at eleven that night 
 at the head of the street at Mount Crawford, and not to ask for 
 him or anybody." * Mount Crawford is a small village on the 
 
 * Colonel Munford had already received the following instructions : 
 
 NEAR MOUNT MERIDIAN, June 13th, 1862. 
 
 COLONEL : It is important to cut off all communications between us and 
 the enemy. Please require the ambulances to go beyond our lines at once, 
 and press our lines forward as far as practicable. It is desirable that we 
 should have New Market, and that no information should pass to the enemy. 
 I expect soon to let you have two more companies of cavalry for the Army of 
 the Northwest. I will not be able to leave here to-day, and possibly not for 
 some time, so you must look out for the safety of your train. Please impress 
 the bearers of the flag of truce as much as possible with an idea of a heavy ad- 
 vance on our part, and let them return under such impression. Whilst it is 
 desirable for us to have New Market, yet you must judge of the practicability. 
 The only true rule for cavalry, is to follow as long as the enemy retreats ; bf-
 
 " GENERAL T. J. JACKSON, SOMEWHERE." 203 
 
 Valley turnpike, about eight or ten miles from Port Republic, 
 and tbe same distance from Harrisonburg. Colonel Munford 
 received the note, set out alone, and, at the appointed hour, en- 
 tered Mount Crawford, which, at that late hour of the night, 
 looked dark and deserted. The moon was shining, however ; 
 and at the head of the street, in the middle of the highway, a 
 solitary figure on horseback awaited him, motionless, and in 
 silence. The hand of the figure went to his cap, and in the curt 
 and familiar tones of Jackson came the words : 
 
 " Ah, colonel, here you are. What news from the front?" 
 
 " All quiet, general," replied Colonel Munford. 
 
 " Good ! Now I wish you to produce upon the enemy the 
 impression that I am going to advance." 
 
 And Jackson then gave his orders in detail, after which 
 the figures parted and went different ways Jackson back to 
 Port Republic, Colonel Munford to Harrisonburg. The follow- 
 ing is the manner in which Colonel Munford carried out his 
 orders : 
 
 At Harrisonburg were a number of Federal surgeons, who had 
 come with twenty-five or thirty ambulances to carry away the 
 wounded officers and men who had been abandoned at that point 
 by General Fremont in his retreat. These were informed by Colo- 
 nel Munford, that before he could give them permission to do so, 
 he must ascertain the wishes of General Jackson ; and with this 
 reply he left them, to carry out the rest of the scheme. There 
 was attached to his command, as an independent, a well-known 
 .gentleman of that region nametl "William Gilmer ; and to -this 
 gentleman, ever ready for a good practical joke, was intrusted 
 
 yond that, of course, you can, under present circumstances, do little or nothing ; 
 but every mile you advance will probably give you additional prisoners, and 
 especially as far as" New Market, where you will get command of the road 
 from Kernstown and Columbia bridge. I congratulate you upon your continued 
 success. Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 T. J. JACKSON, Maj.-Gen. 
 
 P. S. Press our lines as far as you otherwise would have done, before the 
 flag of truce is permitted to pass them. T. J. J.
 
 204 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the execution of the plot. The Federal surgeons occupied an 
 apartment next to the room used by Colonel Munford for his 
 headquarters, and only a thin partition divided them. Every 
 word uttered in one room could be heard in the other ; and this 
 fact was well known to Colonel Munford, who gave Mr. Gil- 
 mer his instructions in a loud tone, despatched him apparently 
 to General Jackson, and then awaited the issue of his scheme. 
 
 Some hours having elapsed since they had been assured that 
 General Jackson's wishes would be ascertained, the surgeons 
 all at once heard a courier mounting the stairs, his spurs and 
 sabre clanking as he ascended. They moved quickly to the 
 partition, and placed their ears close to the cracks as it was 
 expected they would. The courier entered ; the surgeons bent 
 lower, and determined not to lose a word. 
 
 " Well," said Colonel Munford, in a voice which he knew 
 could be heard, " what does General Jackson say?" 
 
 " He told me to tell you," replied Mr. Gilmer, in his loud and 
 sonorous voice, " that the wounded Yankees are not to be taken 
 away ; and the surgeons are to be sent back, with the message 
 that he can take care of their wounded men in his own hospitals. 
 He is coming right on, himself, with heavy reinforcements. 
 Whiting's division is up ; Hood's is coming. The whole road 
 from here to Staunton is perfectly lined with troops, and so 
 crowded that I could hardly ride along ! " 
 
 Such was the highly important dialogue which the Federal 
 surgeons, listening with breathless attention, overheard. When 
 Colonel Munford sent for them, every man was on the other side 
 of the room from the partition. They were ushered in, and 
 briefly informed that they could return with their ambulances ; 
 General Jackson had instructed him to say that their wounded 
 would be cared for in the Confederate hospitals. 
 
 The surgeons returned without delay, communicated the im- 
 portant intelligence which they had overheard to General Fre- 
 mont, and that night the whole Federal army fell back to 
 Strasburg, where they began to intrench against the anticipated 
 attack.
 
 " GENERAL T. J. JACKSON, SOMEWHERE." 205 
 
 Jackson was meanwhile on his way to the Chickahominy. 
 Such were the results of the nocturnal interview at Mount Craw- 
 ford. Extraordinary precautions were used to conceal the in- 
 tended route of the troops. The men were forbidden even to 
 ask the names of the villages through which they passed ; and 
 orders were issued, that to all questions they should make but one 
 response : " I do not know." " This was just as much license 
 as the men wanted," says an eye-witness, " and they forthwith 
 knew nothing of the past, present, or future." An amusing inci- 
 dent grew out of this order. One of Hood's men left the ranks 
 on the march, and was climbing a fence to go to a cherry-tree 
 in a field near at hand, when Jackson rode by and saw him. 
 
 " Where are you going?" asked the General. 
 
 " I don't know," replied the soldier. 
 
 " To what command do you belong?" 
 
 u I don't know." 
 
 " Well, what State are you from?" 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " What is the meaning of all this ? " asked Jackson of another. 
 
 " Well," was the reply, " Old Stonewall and General Hood 
 issued orders yesterday, that we were not to know any thing 
 until after the next fight." Jackson laughed, and rode on. The 
 troops had been moved for the greater part of the way by rail- 
 road ; but at Frederick Hall, above Hanover Junction, they were 
 disembarked, and " moved in as many columns as there were 
 roads ; and for the want of roads, we sometimes marched through 
 fields and woods." 
 
 On the morning of the 25th of June, the corps was rapidly 
 " closing up," and approaching Ashland. Jackson had gone on 
 in advance, and, riding through Richmond, visited the head- 
 quarters of General Lee, on the Nine-Mile road. Some one 
 recognized him as he passed, incognito, through the city, and 
 spoke of his presence ; but so thoroughly had the entire move- 
 ment been concealed, that the inquisitive personage was told 
 that his statement was all nonsense, as General Jackson was 
 then beyond the Blue Ridge.
 
 206 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Having ascertained the views of the commanding general in 
 detail, Jackson disappeared as quietly as he came, and again 
 took the head of his advancing column. 
 
 " Somewhere," was the neighborhood of Ashland, upon the 
 Fredericksburg Railroad, about sixteen miles from Richmond. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ON THE CHICKAHOMINY. 
 
 BURIED in the tangled undergrowth on the shore of the 
 Chickahominy, the Federal army had no suspicion of the heavy 
 blow about to be struck at them. 
 
 General McClellan was now within a few miles of Richmond, 
 at the head of the most numerous and best equipped army that 
 had ever assembled on American soil. Every resource of the 
 Federal Government had been taxed to the utmost, to render 
 it overwhelming in numbers, and invincible in all the appliances 
 of war. More than 150,000 troops were encamped on the banks 
 of the Chickahominy, and the arsenals and machine-shops of the 
 North had left nothing to be desired in their armament and equip- 
 ment for the great struggle before them. They were armed 
 with excellent rifle-muskets, and the cavalry with revolvers, re- 
 peating rifles, and carbines of the best pattern. To this admira- 
 ble armament were added about 400 pieces of artillery, ranging 
 from the 30-pound Parrott to the Navy howitzer. Such were 
 the military equipments of the force ; the appliances for personal 
 comfort were as excellent. No trouble had been spared to make 
 the troops contented ; and that profusion of delicacies which had 
 attracted the attention of the hungry Confederates at Manassas, 
 was to greet their eyes again in the abandoned camps on the 
 plains of New Kent and Henrico. 
 
 The Federal troops seem to have regarded their position as 
 unassailable and not without show of reason. In front of their
 
 ON THE CHICKAHOMINY. 207 
 
 main body were the impassable swamps of the Chickahominy, 
 and on each side, the Pamunkey and the James enabled their gun 
 boats, mounted with artillery of the heaviest calibre, to guard the 
 approaches to their flank. In their rear was the White House, 
 where the largest steamers came to unload warlike stores or 
 camp delicacies ; and from this point the York River Railroad 
 ran straight to the centre of the great camp, bringing thus to the 
 very tents all which the cities of the North could afford for the 
 comfort or equipment of the troops. 
 
 Over this large army, as we have seen, was placed the 
 ablest and most accomplished soldier whom the North had yet 
 produced ; and the Federal authorities confidently expected to 
 defeat Lee and capture Richmond. 
 
 Let us look back at the ground upon which this bitter and 
 determined conflict was now to take place. The Chickahominy 
 is a narrow and sluggish stream, which, rising northwest of 
 Richmond, runs in a southeastern direction, and, holding its 
 course down the Peninsula, heads to the south and empties into 
 James River some distance above Williamsburg. Its banks 
 are swampy, and overgrown with forest trees and heavy under- 
 wood, rendering the ground almost impassable. Through these 
 tangled swamps, narrow and winding roads of oozy turf, on 
 dark and miry clay, afford a difficult and uncertain means of 
 transit from point to point. These mysterious depths are still 
 tenanted by the fallow deer ; and from the shadowy recesses, 
 dim with trailing vines, comes the sorrowful and plaintive cry 
 of the whip-poor-will. It was truly one of the strangest freaks of 
 Fate, that these Pontine marshes, tenanted only by wild animals, 
 strange reptiles, and the solitary whip-poor-will and screech-owl, 
 should be destined to become the- theatre of conflict between tens 
 of thousands of human beings, who in all the wide land could 
 find no other arena for combat. 
 
 Taking Richmond as a central point, the course of the Chick- 
 ahominy described something like the arc of a circle around it to 
 the north and east. At Meadow Bridge, where the outposts of 
 the enemy's right wing were established, the stream is but six
 
 208 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSOX. 
 
 miles distant from the capital; at New Bridge, on the Ni.e- 
 Mile road, which led toward General McClellan's centre, the 
 distance is nine miles. The avenues of approach from the 
 Chickahominy, the arc, to Richmond, the centre of the circle, 
 were commencing on the north and travelling down the stream 
 the Fredericksburg Railroad, the Brook turnpike, the Meadow 
 Bridge road, the Central Railroad, crossing at Meadow Bridge, 
 the Mechanicsville turnpike, the Nine-Mile or New Bridge 
 road, the York River Railroad, the Williamsburg turnpike, the 
 Charles City road, and the Darby town road. 
 
 The Federal right was posted, as we have said, near Meadow 
 Bridge, and his line swept along the left bank of the Chickahom- 
 iny, by Mechanicsville and Beaver-Dam Creek, to Powhite 
 Swamp, where it crossed the stream and extended beyond the 
 York River Railroad ; his left resting on the Williamsburg or 
 Bottom's Bridge road, at " Seven Pines," about five miles from 
 Richmond. The Federal line thus formed a species of crescent, 
 ten or fifteen miles in length ; the Meadow Bridge road con- 
 necting Richmond with the northern tip, the Williamsburg road 
 with the southern, and the Nine-Mile or New Bridge road run- 
 ning nearly straight to the centre. This formidable line of battle 
 was heavily fortified at Mechanicsville, Powhite, and Seven 
 Pines especially, where every knoll was crowned with almost im- 
 pregnable breastworks of earth and trunks of trees, with the 
 boughs lopped off and sharpened, and in front of these works 
 a bristling abatis of felled timber rendered access almost 
 impossible. The works were mounted with rifled artillery, and 
 every avenue completely commanded by the grim muzzles ready 
 to sweep the approaches with a hurricane of shot and shell. 
 For many weeks after the battte, the frowning fortifications ex- 
 tending on both sides of the York River road, excited the aston- 
 ishment of the citizens who visited them. But beyond the 
 Chickahominy, on the hills above Mechanicsville and Games' 
 Mill, the Federal works were still more formidable, and required, 
 indeed,for their capture, the utmost exertions of the men of Hill 
 and Longstreet and Jackson, charging hour after hour, in the
 
 ON THE CHICKAHOMINT. 209 
 
 face of a fire which has seldom been surpassed for destructive 
 violence in all the annals of war. 
 
 Such was the position of the Federal forces on the last day 
 of May, when General Johnston struck at their left wing, sta* 
 tioned near " Seven Pines," and paralyzed for the moment th6 
 advance which General McClellan designed at that time upon 
 Richmond. Their left was driven from the field, and their camps 
 and artillery captured ; but on the right they still maintained 
 their ground, and were thus enabled to claim a drawn battle, in 
 spite of the repulse on the Federal left. 
 
 This battle was hotly contested, and a private letter from a 
 member of the New York artillery, in the Cincinnati Commer- 
 cial, soon afterwards, thus described the scene : 
 
 " Our shot tore their ranks wide open," says the Northern 
 writer, " and shattered them asunder in a manner that was 
 frightful to witness ; but they closed up at once, and came on as 
 steadily as English veterans. When they got within four hun- 
 dred yards, we closed our case shot and opened on them with 
 canister ; and such destruction I never elsewhere witnessed. At 
 each discharge great gaps were made in their ranks indeed, 
 whole companies went down before that murderous fire but 
 they closed up with an order and discipline that was awe-inspir- 
 ing. * * * It was awful to see their ranks, torn and shat- 
 tered by every discharge of canister that we poured right into 
 their faces, and while their dead and dying lay in piles, closed 
 up and still kept advancing right in face of the fire. At one 
 time, three lines, one behind the other, were steadily advancing, 
 and three of their flags were brought in range of one of our 
 guns shotted with canister. Fire ! shouted the gunner, and 
 down went those three flags, and a gap was opened through 
 those three lines as if a thunderbolt had torn through them, and 
 their dead lay in swaths. But they at once closed up and came 
 steadily on, never halting or wavering, right through the woods, 
 over the fence, through the field, right up to our guns, and, 
 sweeping every thing before them, captured every piece. * * Our 
 whole division was cut to pieces, with what loss I do not know.** 
 14
 
 210 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON 
 
 The battle of ' Seven Pines " was indecisive, as on the thinf 
 day the Confederate forces fell back, and the Federal lines re- 
 sumed their former position ; and the Confederate cause sus- 
 tained a serious loss in the wound received by General Johnston 
 from a fragment of shell which struck him as he was reconnoi- 
 tring with General Stuart near Fair Oaks, iipon the left. He 
 was succeeded by General Robert E. Lee, who now prepared 
 for a general attack upon the Federal lines with the whole Con- 
 federate force then in front of Richmond. 
 
 General Lee was at this time about fifty years of age, and in 
 the ripe vigor of his faculties. He was a Virginian by birth, the 
 son of Colonel Henry Lee, surnamed "Light-Horse Harry," 
 and, like his father, had been a cavalry officer. He had accom- 
 panied Lieutenant-General Scott to Mexico, where he is said to 
 have planned the entire campaign ; and that officer's opinion of 
 his military abilities was known to be very high. In person, 
 General Lee was tall and vigorously knit, his countenance was 
 still remarkable for its personal beauty, his eyes were clear and 
 benignant, but suddenly blazed when he grew excited, and his 
 hair, beard, and mustache were gray. It was impossible to be 
 in this officer's presence, and to note his air of self-poised strength 
 and repose, without feeling that he was a person of great eleva- 
 tion of character and of broad and commanding intellect. He 
 had, at that time, won little popular fame, but had made a deep 
 impression upon some of the first men of the country. Those 
 who knew him best, loved and respected him the most ; and he 
 was, indeed, a truthful type of the old Virginia cavalier. His 
 manners were courteous but reserved, his voice deep and pleas- 
 ant, his bearing characterized by a supreme repose which few 
 human things seemed able to shake. Deeply sensible, appa- 
 rently, of the great responsibility resting upon his shoulder?, he 
 was without gayety or abandon ; but he had by nature a dry, 
 quaint humor, which sometimes came out in private, and made 
 him charming. What chiefly impressed a stranger was the 
 noble simplicity of General Lee's demeanor, the air of proud 
 courtesy which at other times distinguished him, and the latent
 
 ON THE CHICKAHOMINT. 211 
 
 fire of an eye which could be soft or fiery. It was impossible to 
 know him and not love him for he was the soul of kindness, the 
 flower of chivalry and honor. His stately figure brought to mind 
 the old race of Virginians ; and in prosperity or adversity, in vic- 
 tory or defeat, it was plain that this noble spirit was sufficient for 
 itself, looking to a greater power than man's for support. 
 
 He was said to have been greatly attached to the flag under 
 which he had so long fought, and to have resigned his commis- 
 sion in the United States Army only at the imperative call of 
 his native State. But, once embarked in the Southern struggle, 
 he had cast no look backward, and entered upon the war with 
 all the vigor of feeling and conviction combined. Above the 
 temptations of military ambition, as he was superior to the 
 thought of mercenary advantage, he had indulged, it is said, the 
 hope that the struggle might soon end, without bloodshed almost ; 
 and so well known was this sentiment, that many Southern 
 journals sneered at him as a leader too soft and unwarlike for 
 the stormy epoch in which he appeared. They did not know the 
 great resources and imperial resolution of the man who con- 
 cealed beneath his sweetness and repose of manner one of those 
 powerful organizations which mould with an iron hand the des- 
 tinies of nations. 
 
 In military affairs, the most notable traits of this officer were 
 broad comprehension and great powers of combination. The 
 movements of his mind were cautious and deliberate, and he 
 liked best to initiate great campaigns and move large bodies 
 over a wide arena to manoauvre with armies, rather than de- 
 tachments. Averse, like Johnston, to affairs of the outpost, and 
 unnecessary bloodshed on any occasion, he husbanded his 
 strength for decisive movements, and preferred to fight pitched 
 battles rather than skirmishes. The world called him slow, and 
 compared his movements unfavorably with those of Jackson ; 
 but Jackson left on record his own opinion of the man, when 
 he said to an intimate friend, after the battle of Malvern Hill : 
 
 " General Lee is not slow. No one knows the weight upon 
 his heart his great responsibilities. He is commander-in-chief.
 
 212 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON* 
 
 and he knows that, if an army is lost, it cannot be replaced. No h 
 there may be some persons whose good opinion of me will make 
 them attach some weight to my views ; and if you ever hear that 
 said of General Lee, I beg you will contradict it in my name 
 I have known General Lee for five-and-twenty years ; he is 
 cautious ; he ought to be. But he is not ' slow.' Lee is a 
 phenomenon. He is the only man whom I would follow blind* 
 fold ! " 
 
 Such was the man who now took command of the Confeder- 
 ate forces, and prepared to play the great game against McClellan. 
 To assail the Federal forces to advantage, it was obviously 
 the best policy to strike at one of their flanks, and crush that 
 wing before the other could cross the Chickahominy and come 
 to its support. General Stuart suggested an attack upon the 
 Federal left flank, which, in the event of his defeat, would have 
 prevented his retreat to his gunboats on James River ; but 
 General Lee decided, finally, upon assailing his right wing, be- 
 yond the Chickahominy, and outflanking his right at the same 
 moment, if the fortifications in that direction were such as to. 
 encourage the latter movement. 
 
 To ascertain the character of these defences on the enemy's, 
 right flank, and obtain information as to his strength and posi- 
 tion, General J. E. B. Stuart was directed to make a reconnois- 
 sance with cavalry in that direction, aad proceed, if possible, as 
 far as Old Church, when his further movements would be regula- 
 ted by circumstances. This officer, whom we have met with in the 
 Valley, had now been promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, 
 and had become the chief cavalry leader of the war. His opera-^ 
 tions in front of the enemy, toward Arlington Heights, andi 
 afterwards in covering the rear of the Army of the Potomac as 
 General Johnston fell back from Centreville, had gained for him 
 a high reputation, and this had been increased by operations in 
 the Peninsula. His regiment had grown into a brigade, with 
 such accomplished regimental commanders as Colonel Fitz Lee, 
 Colonel Martin, Colonel W. H. F. Lee, and others ; and with
 
 ON THE CHICKAHOMINT. 213: 
 
 about 1,500 men, General Stuart set out about the middle of 
 June on his reconnaissance. 
 
 The " Ride around McClellan " was long remembered, not 
 only by those who took part in it, but by the entire people, who ; 
 were delighted with its audacity and pleased with the annoyance 
 which it caused the enemy. Stuart passed through Hanover 
 Court-House, driving away a picket force ; charged and routed a 
 squadron under Captain Royal, near Old Church, burned their 
 camp and several transports on the Pamunkey, destroyed large 
 wagon-trains, captured many prisoners, and, having marched 
 entirely around General McClellan's army, built a bridge over 
 the swollen current of the Chickahominy, far below, and safely 
 crossed into Charles City, just as the Federal cavalry and 
 artillery thundered down upon his rear. This expedition at a 
 moment so important, excited general attention, and the Empe-. 
 ror Napoleon is said to have traced out Stuart's route upon the 
 map with deep interest, but the information obtained was more, 
 important than the applause of citizens or soldiers. Stuart had, 
 completely succeeded in his object. The discovery had been, 
 made that the Tottapotamoi, a stream running across the Fed- 
 eral right Sank, was wholly undefended, a movement in that 
 direction entirely practicable, and a blow at General McClellan's 
 rear, from the quarter of Cold Harbor, almost certain to prove 
 fatal, if accompanied by an assault in front. 
 
 The result of this reconnoissance decided General Lee, if his 
 resolution was not already taken ; and General Jackson was 
 promptly directed to move his corps to the Chickahominy, for 
 an attack on the enemy in flank and reverse near Cold Harbor. 
 
 We have seen how he came at the summons, and on the, 
 25th of June reached Ashland, about sixteen miles from Rich-, 
 mond.
 
 214 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 COLD HARBOR. 
 
 ON the morning of the 26th of June, the great drama com- 
 menced. For seven long days and nights its tragic scenes were 
 to be unfolded on the banks of the Chickahominy. For weeks, 
 the sluggish waters had stolen away between the rush-clad mar- 
 gins, and no sound but the melancholy cry of the whip-poor-will, 
 or the hum of the Federal camps, had disturbed the sultry nights 
 of June. Now the dreary silence had given way to the uproar 
 of battle. In the midst of dust, and smoke, and blood, the cries 
 of the wounded, and the groans of the dying, with the thunder 
 and lightning of artillery and small-arms, mingled in one great 
 diabolical solo, the days were to dawn, reach their noon, and 
 sink into the black and woeful night, in whose sombre depths 
 were buried so many hopeless moans of anguish and despair. 
 
 When the movement of General Lee commenced, the divi- 
 sions of Magruder and Huger, supported by those of Longstreet 
 and D. H. Hill, were in front of the powerful Federal works on 
 the York River Railroad and Williamsburg road, directly east 
 of the city. The division of A. P. Hill extended from Magru- 
 der's left, up the southern bank of the Chickahomiuy, Branch's 
 brigade occupying the point where the Brooke turnpike inter- 
 sects the stream. Jackson, with his own, Ewell's, and Whit- 
 ing's divisions, was on the march from Ashland, steadily sweep- 
 ing down to his appointed work. 
 
 General Lee's plan possessed the simplicity of genius. Be- 
 fore any movement could be made against the Federal forces 
 beyond the Chickahominy, it was necessary to carry their pow- 
 erful advanced positions at Mechanicsville, and on Beaver-Dam 
 Creek just below, so as to uncover the Mechanicsville bridge. 
 These ^orks Lee determined to turn with the column of Jack- 
 son, while A. P. Hill assailed them in front. Hill was ac-
 
 COLD HARBOR. 215 
 
 cordingly ordered, as soon as Jackson passed beyond Meadow 
 Bridge, to throw his division across at that point ; to advance 
 upon Mechanicsville, attack the position, and uncover the bridge, 
 when D. H. Hill would cross and join Jackson, and Long- 
 street reenforce A. P. Hill Magruder and Huger remaining 
 on the southern aide in front of the enemy's left, with orders to 
 hold their ground, whatever force was brought against them. 
 The mair body Jackson, D. H. Hill, A. P. Hill, and Long- 
 street was then to sweep down the northern bank of the Chick- 
 ahominy in echelon of divisions, Jackson on the left and in the ad- 
 vance, and Longstreet next to the stream threaten the Federal 
 depots at the White House, and their line of communication, the 
 York River Railroad ; force them to come out of their intrench- 
 ments and fight or retreat, and give up their position. By this 
 plan of battle the enemy would be attacked beyond the Chicka- 
 hominy before he could tlirow his left wing, near Seveu Pines, 
 across to the assistance of his right. The programme of opera- 
 tions involved desperate fighting for the possession of Mechan- 
 icsville, where a large body of the troops must cross ; but with 
 that point once secured, the movements which were to follow 
 promised, as far as the human eye could see, to result in the 
 success of the Confederate arms. The Federal right wing and 
 centre would be assailed in front and flank at the same moment ; 
 and the defective communications between the northern and 
 southern banks of the Chickahominy threatened General Mc- 
 Clellau with utter defeat before his left could come up to take 
 part in the action 
 
 On the 26th, as we have said above, the great gladiators 
 were face to face, and the struggle began. Brigadier-General 
 Branch crossed the Chickahominy high up, where it is crossed 
 by the Brooke turnpike, and moved down the left bank to form 
 a junction with General A. P. Hill, who crossed at Mead- 
 ow Bridge about three P. M. Branch did not arrive in time to 
 join Hill, who advanced upon Mechanicsville, and attacked the 
 Federal position there with stubborn resolution. The engage- 
 ment which ensued was resolute and bloody ; the Confederate
 
 216 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 troops returning time after time to the assault. The Federa 
 forces defended themselves with desperation, but were driven 
 from all their positions, retreating rapidly ; and the way having 
 thus been cleared for the passage of Longstreet and D. H. Hill, 
 their divisions were promptly thrown across. 
 
 Meantime, General A. P. Hill had pressed on, upon the 
 track of the retreating enemy, and about a mile below Mechan- 
 icsville found himself in front of a new and far more formidable 
 series of works on the left bank of Beaver-Dam Creek, which 
 empties near this point into the Chickahominy. The Federal 
 position here was almost impregnable to an assault in front. 
 The banks of the stream occupied by the works were abrupt, 
 almost perpendicular ; the ground in front was open and com- 
 pletely swept by their numerous artillery ; and to still further dis- 
 courage assault, they had felled the trees, destroyed the bridges, 
 and honeycombed every point with rifle-pits. 
 
 The most obstinate and determined efforts were made to 
 drive the Federal forces from their strong position, and heavy 
 firing was kept up with artillery until nine o'clock at night. The 
 attack was resumed at dawn, and the Southern troops made 
 every effort to overcome the fatal obstructions. Forcing a pas- 
 sage across the ground in front, under a heavy fire of artillery, 
 they reached the banks of the stream, but the character of the 
 ground made a successful assault of the works in front impos- 
 sible. An attempt was about to be made to cross lower down, 
 and attack the Federal left flank, when suddenly they retired in 
 haste from their strong position, and, leaving every thing in 
 flames, retreated rapidly down the stream. Jackson had crossed 
 Beaver-Dam Creek, turned their right flank, and forced them to 
 retire. 
 
 Jackson had moved as rapidly as the crowding obstructions 
 in the roads would permit on the left of A. P. Hill, making for 
 the York River Railroad. He advanced with Whiting's division 
 in front, preceded and guarded on his left flank by the cavalry 
 under Stuart. At Tottapotamoi Creek, a sluggish stream, with 
 abrupt banks heavily wooded, the bridge was discovered to be
 
 COLD HARBOR. 217 
 
 on fire, and the sound of the enemy's axes was heard beyond, 
 felling trees to obstruct the road. To prevent the prosecution 
 of this work, General Hood was directed to throw forward skir- 
 mishers, and Captain Reilly to open with his battery upon the 
 enemy. This had the desired effect. They disappeared, leaving 
 their axes sticking in the trees ; and the bridge having been re- 
 paired, the army continued its march, still skirmishing with the 
 Federal rear guard until it reached Hundley's Corner, where it 
 bivouacked for the night. Jackson, following the orders of 
 General Lee, had thus borne away from the Chickahominy, 
 where the reverberating roar of artillery indicated the commence- 
 ment of the battle ; had gained ground toward the Pamunkey, 
 driving all before him ; and was now in a position to descend 
 next day on the enemy near Cold Harbor, and decide the fate of 
 the day. 
 
 The memorable 27th of June dawned clear and cloudless. 
 Jackson, now reenforced by D. H. Hill, gradually converging 
 toward the Chickahominy again, and advancing steadily, with 
 Ewell in front, drove the enemy steadily before him, surmounted! 
 every obstacle which they had placed in the roads to bar hia 
 progress, and about five in the afternoon reached the vicinity of 
 Old Cold Harbor. 
 
 He did not arrive a moment too soon. "Whilst he had been 
 rapidly bearing down, in accordance with his orders, in the di- 
 rection of the White House, so as to threaten the Federal right 
 flank, important events had been taking place nearer to the 
 Chickahominy. 
 
 Longstreet and A. P. Hill had pressed on after the retreating 
 enemy who left behind them burning wagons and crowds of 
 stragglers until they reached, about noon, a point near New 
 Bridge. Here they found the Federal forces drawn up behind 
 Powhite Creek, in a position of very great strength, prepared to 
 hold their ground and dispute the passage of the stream. 
 
 Powhite Creek is one of those small watercourses which 
 traverse the counties of Hanover and New Kent, running be- 
 tween densely-wooded bluffs, or stealing across marshy low
 
 218 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 grounds. It runs obliquely to the Chickahominy, in a direction 
 nearly southwest, and on its left bank a long wooded ridge ex- 
 tends from above Cold Harbor to the vicinity of G-aines' Mill, 
 where it terminates in a bluff rising abruptly from a deep ravine. 
 On this ridge the enemy were posted ; their right at McG-ehee's 
 house, their left near Dr. Games'. The ravine in front was 
 filled with sharpshooters, lurking behind the banks and trees ; 
 above them, on the slope of the ridge, a heavy line of infantry 
 was stationed behind a breastwork of trees ; and on the crest a 
 third line was drawn up, supported by crowding batteries, ready 
 to unloose their thunders as soon as the Southern troops ap- 
 peared. No point was left unguarded ; rifle-pits extended on 
 every hand ; artillery and infantry crowned every elevation ; 
 and the Federal batteries on the southern bank of the Chicka- 
 hominy completely swept the ground over which the Confed- 
 erates must advance to the assault. 
 
 In front of the Federal centre and right the ground was 
 marshy, and obstructed by felled trees ; and the coverts were full 
 of sharpshooters, ready to delay the advance of the Southern 
 forces ; while the heavy batteries from the crest above played on 
 them and repelled their attack. 
 
 General A. P. Hill advancing, followed by Longstreet, 
 reached the vicinity of New Cold Harbor, opposite the Federal 
 right and centre, about two o'clock. Here he came upon the 
 enemy, whose advanced artillery was posted in the fields near 
 by, and immediately attacked them, with a dash and courage 
 which, at the close of that memorable day, had won for him and 
 his men justly deserved fame. Their advance was driven back ; 
 and then, for more than two hours, ensued a conflict desperate 
 and bloody in the extreme. In vain, however, did Hill, with 
 his force of not more than 8,000 men, assail the strong fortifica- 
 tions in which nearly 30,000 Federal troops, with heavy artillery 
 supports, disputed his advance. Their works crowning every 
 slope, and protected by ravines, watercourses, and the swamp, 
 in which the timber had been felled, rendering the approaches 
 almost impassable, still defied his most determined efforts ; and
 
 COLD HARBOR. 219 
 
 in charge after charge, the bravest of the Southern troops re- 
 coiled from the horrible fire, shattered and broken. Hill was re- 
 enforced by Pickett's brigade, and a still more resolute assault 
 was made than before ; but with the same result. The troops 
 fought with the most reckless courage ; and three of Hill's regi- 
 ,ments pierced the Federal line and attained the crest, but were 
 forced to retire before overwhelming numbers. Under the mur- 
 derous salvos of shell and canister sweeping their ranks and 
 strewing the earth with their dead, the Southern troops were 
 forced to give back, and the enemy rushed forward and gained 
 possession of the ground from which they had been first re- 
 pulsed. 
 
 General Lee had joined General A. P. Hill at New Cold 
 Harbor, and now listened with anxiety for the sound of Jack- 
 son's guns on his left. The obstinacy of the enemy in holding 
 their position on Po white Creek, instead of falling back, as it 
 was expected they would do, to protect their communications, 
 had compelled a corresponding change in Jackson's movements. 
 The design of advancing down the Peninsula in echelon of divi- 
 sions, was necessarily abandoned, in consequence of the changed 
 aspect of affairs ; and Jackson had to alter his order of march 
 and hurry forward to the battle-field. To relieve General Hill, 
 meanwhile, and hold the position until Jackson arrived, General 
 Longstreet was directed to make a feint on the right against the 
 enemy's left, near Games' Mill ; and this he proceeded to do 
 without loss of time. The batteries on the south side of the 
 Chickahominy, as well as those in front, were sweeping the ap- 
 proach, but the men advanced with great coolness to the assault, 
 and were now close upon the Federal position. Its enormous 
 strength was now for the first time discovered ; and findjng that 
 he could effect nothing by a feint, General Longstreet determined 
 to turn the movement into a real attack, and made his prepara- 
 tions without delay. 
 
 Such was the aspect of affairs on the field about five in tho 
 evening. The Federal troops had repulsed every assault, and 
 the descending sun threatened to set upon a day memorable in
 
 220 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the annals of the South for bloody and disastrous defeat. One 
 man alone could reverse this picture of ruin. General Lee, as 
 we have said, awaited anxiously, near Cold Harbor, the noise 
 of guns upon his left, informing him that Jackson had arrived. 
 Suddenly the hearts of ail throbbed fiercely ; and cheers rose 
 and ran along the shattered lines of Hill, as the welcome sound 
 was heard. From the woods on the left came the rattle of 
 small-arms, mingled with the roar of artillery ; and, with every 
 passing moment, it grew louder and louder. General Lee 
 pushed on in the direction of the sound, and saw Jackson 
 coming to meet him. 
 
 " Ah, General," said Lee, " I am very glad to see you. I 
 hoped to have been with you before." 
 
 Then pausing a moment, and listening to the 'long-streaming 
 f oar in the woods, he added : " That fire is very heavy ! Do 
 you think your men can stand it ? " 
 
 Jackson turned his head to one side, as was his custom, 
 'listened, and then said, in his brief tones : " They can stand 
 jalmc-st #ny thing. They can stand that ! " 
 
 After a brief interview, he then returned to the command of 
 his corps. His appearance on this day was not imposing. He 
 rode a gaunt sorrel horse, slow, and somewhat awkward in move- 
 ment, and his seat in the saddle was in strong contrast to that 
 of General Lee, who is very erect and graceful on horseback. 
 Jackson leaned forward like a tyro in riding; was clad in a 
 dingy gray uniform, without decorations, and wore his famous 
 old sun-scorched cap drawn down low upon the forehead. He 
 was sucking a lemon, and rode about slowly, often wholly un- 
 attended, listening with outward calmness, but evidently with 
 intense inward solicitude, to the continuous roar of musketry 
 from the woods. His position during the battle was near the 
 Old Cold Harbor house, on the left of his line ; and riding 
 slowly to and fro across the fields, he was subjected to a heavy 
 fire of shell, which he appeared wholly unconscious of, retaining 
 his calm, almost absent air through all. His appearance is best 
 described by the statement, that he seemed to have lost all
 
 COLD HAEBOE. 221 
 
 personal consciousness of time and place. His brain seemed to 
 foe busy with the hot struggle in the woods in front of him, and 
 he appeared to be absorbed in thought upon the great tragedy 
 being played before him to have concentrated on the bloody 
 drama all the resources of his mind, aiid heart, and soul, until 
 he had become oblivious of his personal identity. When spoken 
 to, his head turned quickly, and the dark eyes flashed at you, 
 from beneath the rim of the old cap. A quick response, or an 
 order in the briefest tones, followed, and the General returned to 
 his absorbing thoughts. 
 
 Jackson had never seen the ground before ; and this, he said, 
 greatly embarrassed him. But his quick eye, as at Manassas, 
 soon took in its general features, and his dispositions were 
 promptly made. Stuart took position in the extensive fields 
 near the Old Cold Harbor bouse, to charge and intercept the 
 enemy if they attempted to retreat toward the Pamunkey his 
 men having been informed by their commander that they " had 
 tough work before them, and they must perform it like men " 
 and the infantry was rapidly moved to the points where the 
 Southern lines were weakest. 
 
 Whiting's division was hurried forward to assist Longstreet 
 in his assault upon the Federal left, and formed on the left of his 
 line, joining the right of General A. P. Hill. On the left of 
 Hill, and opposite the enemy's centre, was a part of Jackson's 
 old division, the remainder being sent to the right ; on the left 
 -of that, Ewell's ; and on the extreme left, D. H. Hill's division. 
 
 The artillery had not yet arrived ; but General Stuart's horse 
 artillery, under the gallant Captain Pelham, had already opened 
 on the left, near the Old Cold Harbor house ; and the moment 
 had now come when the Federal positions must be carried, 01 
 the day be lost. We have described the ground over which the 
 men of Jackson were now about to charge. In their front a 
 swamp, and sluggish stream, a wood of tangled undergrowth, 
 .and heavy masses of felled timber, made successful attack almost 
 hopeless. But that attack must be made. The troops of Hill 
 were worn out by the long and tremendous struggle, of two days'
 
 222 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 duration, and it was now the turn of their comrades. Jackson's 
 men had charged and swept over the stone walls of the Valley, 
 lined with long rows of marksmen ; and they must now show 
 that they were able to struggle through swamps, in which the 
 feet sunk at every step ; to clamber over the enemy's abatis of 
 felled trees, with the boughs lopped and sharpened ; to pene- 
 trate undergrowth, wade through deep ditches, and charge 
 masked-batteries, which were vomiting masses of shell and canis- 
 ter in their faces. The work was hard, and required all their 
 manhood ; but it could not be avoided. The hour had came for 
 them to conquer or die. 
 
 Jackson gave the order, and his whole line swept forward in 
 one grand charge, with tumultuous cheers, and a long roar of 
 musketry, which thundered through the woods. The action had 
 begun in earnest. 
 
 Narratives of battles are chiefly valuable for the insight 
 which they afford into the depths of profound intellects, planning 
 and executing great movements upon arenas of decisive struggle. 
 It is the work of the brain, not the labor of the hand, which at- 
 tracts the attention of the student ; the conception of the com- 
 mander rather than the fighting of the troops, which advance or 
 retire like puppets at the bidding of the controlling and respon- 
 sible intellect presiding over all. This is fortunate for the 
 narrator, who, deprived of the colors of the painter, finds his 
 subject too vast and exciting for his powers. What follows that 
 order to " charge with the bayonet," but smoke, uproar, the 
 smell of blood, the groans of the dying, and the shouts of those 
 who, perhaps, at the next moment will be riddled with bullets, 
 or mangled with shell, and hurled in an instant into eternity? 
 
 After five o'clock on the 27th of June, 1862, the banks of the 
 Chickahominy, near Powhite Creek, were enveloped in a vast 
 lurid canopy, through which were seen long lines sweeping for- 
 ward to the charge, and from whose depths came up in a long 
 frightful roll, the crash of small-arms and the din of artillery, 
 mingled with wild cheers, as the opposing ranks clashed oue 
 against the other. From the moment when Jackson gave the
 
 COLD HAKBOE. 223 
 
 
 
 order for his lines to advance, the battle raged with indescribable 
 fury. Through the dense ascending clouds, we shall endeavor to 
 follow the movements of the troops commanded by Jackson, and 
 briefly describe the part which each took in the struggle. D. H. 
 Hill's troops, on the left, first came in contact with the Federal 
 line. The men rushed through the swamp, underwood, and 
 felled trees, in face of a heavy fire ; and after a fierce and bloody 
 contest drove the enemy back on their reserve. They took 
 position behind a fence and ditch ; and Hill determined to press 
 on, when his attention was called to a battery which was so 
 posted as to pour a destructive enfilading fire upon his advancing " 
 line. It was necessary first to silence this battery ; and Colonel 
 Jverson, with the 1st, 3d, and 20th North Carolina, charged 
 and captured it. The enemy immediately attacked them in 
 force, and succeeded in recapturing the guns, but not until Gen- 
 eral Hill had advanced over the dangerous ground, and was 
 engaged in an obstinate contest with the entire Federal force in 
 front of him. 
 
 Meanwhile General Ewell had a hard fight upon General 
 Hill's right. The same obstacles barred his advance upon the 
 Federal position, but he charged through the swamp, up the hill 
 in face of a terrible fire, and fought with that daring which had 
 so often excited the admiration of his commander. Reenforced 
 by Lawton and Trimble, General Ewell continued the struggle 
 until dusk, when his ammunition being completely exhausted, he 
 fell back. 
 
 Jackson's old division was the third in the line, counting 
 from left to right, and was held as a species of reserve, to be 
 sent to the support of any part of the line which was hard 
 pressed. The 1st " Stonewall " brigade moved on the enemy's 
 front through the swamp, so frequently mentioned, and did some 
 of the hardest fighting of the whole day. 
 
 It is related that when his lines at this point were hard 
 pressed, Jackson turned to an officer of his staff, and said 
 quickly : " Where is the 1st brigade?" 
 
 " In the woods, yonder, General."
 
 224 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 
 
 u Order it to advance ! " was Jackson's brief response, and 5 
 soon the lines were seen sweeping forward. As they charged* 
 the officers and men were heard shouting, " Jackson ! Jack- 
 son ! " 
 
 The enemy contended with especial obstinacy for the posses- 
 sion of the ground at this point, which was the key of his posi- 
 tion ; and the roar of his artillery and musketry, as his fire con- 
 verged upon it, was appalling. Jackson said that night, in the 
 hearing of the writer, that it was " the most terrible fire of 
 musketry he ever heard," and all who heard it will recognize 
 the truth of the description. The old brigade did not flinch 
 from the ordeal. Under its brave leader, General Charles Win- 
 der, it moved steadily on, amid the tempest of projectiles, and 
 driving the enemy from point to point, stormed his last position, 
 three hundred yards beyond McGee's, with the bayonet. The 
 2d brigade was sent to reenforce General Wilcox, at his own 
 request, but arrived too late to take part in the engagement. 
 The 3d brigade, sent to support Whiting, also came too late. 
 The 4th brigade took part in the general charge late in the 
 evening. 
 
 General Whiting's division, which held the right of Jackson's^ 
 line, advanced through the wood and swamp, in face of a mur* 
 derous fire. Hood's 4th (Texas) brigade charged with a loud 
 yell, and rushing down the precipitous ravine, leaping ditch and 
 stream, pressed forward over the enemy's abatis", and every 
 obstruction, driving all before them. They lost 1,000 men, but 
 took 14 pieces of cannon, and nearly a regiment of prisoners* 
 It was of the Texans that Jackson said on the next day, when) 
 he surveyed the ditch and abatis, over which they charged ; 
 
 " The men who carried this position were soldiers indeed ! "" 
 
 Of General Hood's decisive charge upon the Federal works 
 near McGee's house, one of his Texans gives an animated 
 sketch, of which a portion is here presented. " While Hood's* 
 brigade," says the writer, " was formed in line of battle, the 4th 
 Texas was held in partial reserve, and soon became separated 
 from the other regiments of the brigade. After remaining in
 
 COLD HARBOK. 225 
 
 the rear, lying down, for perhaps half an hour, General Hood 
 came for us, and moving by the right flank about half a mile, 
 halted us in an open space to the right of some timber, and in 
 rear of an apple orchard. The sight which we here beheld 
 beggars description. The ground was strewn with the dead and. 
 dying, while our ranks were broken at every instant by flying 
 and panic-stricken soldiers. In front of us was the ' Old 3d 
 brigade,' who, but a few moments before, had started with 
 cheers to storm the fatal palisade. But the storm of iron and 
 lead was too severe, they ' wavered ' for a moment, and fell upon 
 the ground. At this instant General Hood, who had, in per- 
 son, taken command of our regiment, commanded in his clear 
 ringing voice, ' Forward, quick, march,' and onward moved 
 the little band of five hundred, with the coolness of veterans. 
 Here Colonel Marshall fell dead from his horse, pierced by a 
 Mime ball. Volleys of musketry, and showers of grape, cani- 
 ster, and shell ploughed through us, but were only answered by 
 the stern ' Close up close up to the colors,' and onward they 
 rushed over the dead and dying, without a pause, until within 
 about one hundred yards of the breastworks. We had reached 
 the apex of the hill, and some of the men seeing the enemy just 
 before them, commenced discharging their pieces. It was at 
 this point that preceding brigades had halted, and beyond 
 which none 'had gone, in consequence of the terrible concentra- 
 ted fire of the concealed enemy. At this critical juncture the 
 voice of General Hood was heard above the din of battle, 
 "Forward, forward, charge right down on them, and drive 
 them out with the bayonet.' Fi^ng bayonets as they moved, 
 they made one grand rush for the fort ; down the hill, across 
 the creek and fallen timber, and the next minute saw our battle 
 flag planted upon the captured breastwork. The enemy, fright- 
 ened at the rapid approach of pointed steel, rose from behind 
 their defences, and started up the hill at speed. One volley was 
 poured into their back?, and it seemed as if every ball found a 
 victim, so great was the slaughter. Their works were ours, 
 and, as our flag moved from the first to the second tier of de- 
 15
 
 226 Lli'E OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 fences, a sliout arose from the shattered remnant of that regi- 
 ment, and which will long be remembered by those who heard 
 it ; a shout which announced that the wall of death was bro ken, 
 and victory, which had hovered doubtfully for hours over that 
 bloody field, had at length perched upon the battle flag of the 
 4th Texas. Right and left it was taken up and rang along the 
 lines for miles ; long after many of those who had started it 
 were in eternity." 
 
 The movements which we have here referred to, took place 
 together all along the line. The declining sun looked down 
 upon a conflict of unspeakable desperation and bitterness, and 
 hour after hour the battle continued to rage, growing madder 
 and more bloody as the shades of night drew near. With in- 
 tense but thoroughly suppressed excitement, Jackson moved to 
 and fro, receiving despatches, issuing orders, gazing at any one 
 who spoke to him with a quick flash of the dark keen eye, and 
 speaking in the curt, brief accents which characterized him. 
 He listened intently to the crash of musketry which issued from 
 the woods in front, and waited. The sound did not shift its di- 
 rection, no change in the position of the combatants was dis- 
 cernible, and the roar continued, incessant and undiminished. 
 It was obvious that the Federal forces had not been repulsed, 
 and toward dusk a courier galloped up and delivered a message 
 from one of the generals that " the enemy did not give way." 
 
 Jackson's eyes glittered under his cap, and in words which 
 issued with a species of jerk, one by one as it were, from his lips, 
 he said : " Tell him if they stand at sunset to press them with 
 the bayonet ! " 
 
 General Stuart, who was near, said : " You had better send a 
 second messenger, General, this one may be shot." 
 
 Jackson nodded, and turning to a mounted man, said " You 
 go." 
 
 Major Pendleton of his staff, however, volunteered, and bore 
 the duplicate order, and in a quarter of an hour the result was 
 perceived. The musketry fire had been heavy before, it now 
 became frightful. The order to charge with the bayonet had
 
 GENERAL McCLELLAN RETREATS TO JAMES KIVEK. 227 
 
 been obeyed, and the Confederate lines advanced, carrying all 
 before them. In spite of the terrible fire from the triple line of 
 Federal infantry on the ridge, and the incessant cannonade of 
 the batteries in front and flank, they steadily swept on, and be- 
 fore this determined charge the Federal lines gave way. They 
 were driven from the raviues and swamps to the first tier of 
 breastworks, over which the Confederates charged upon the 
 crest blazing with artillery. This last line was stormed at the 
 point of the bayonet, and abandoning their pieces the Federal 
 troops fell back in the wildest disorder. 
 
 The battle was over, and, posted in advance of his batteries, 
 near the Old Cold Harbor house, his figure clearly revealed by 
 the fires which the shell had kindled, Jackson, whose corps had 
 decided the event, listened to the wild cheers of his men, as 
 they pressed the retreating enemy toward Grapevine bridge. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GENERAL McCLELLAN RETREATS TO JAMES RIVER. 
 
 . WHEN night fell on Friday, June 27th, 1862, General Mc- 
 Clellan was defeated. 
 
 Thenceforth the only question was, how could he withdraw 
 his shattered and disheartened forces to a place of safety. Two 
 lines of retreat were open, both perilous : One down the Pen- 
 insula, with the vengeful Confederates assailing him at every 
 step, forcing him to turn and give battle day by day, if indeed 
 the first encounter did not terminate in the destruction of his 
 command. The other toward James River, on the right bank 
 of the Chickahominy, right through the Confederate lines, 
 through swamps and streams, over treacherous roads, through 
 the tangled morass, with Lee on his rear and flank, ready to 
 destroy him. 
 
 Neither prospect was inviting, but rapid decision was neces-
 
 228 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 sary; and General McClellan determined to retreat towarc 
 Harrison's Landing on James River. 
 
 The condition of things at the end of the battle, and the 
 state of the Federal troops, is well described by a correspondent 
 of the New York " Tribune." The first sentences contain a 
 statement of the impression produced upon the Federal troops 
 by Jackson's appearance at Cold Harbor : 
 
 " My note-book," writes the correspondent, " says that, at 
 six o'clock, the enemy commenced a determined attack on our 
 extreme right, evidently with a design of flanking us. It was 
 an awful firing that resounded from that smoke-clouded valley 
 not heavier than some in the earlier part of the engagement, 
 but more steady and determined. It was only by overbearing 
 exhausted men with fresh ones, that the enemy succeeded in 
 turning that flank, as, at length, he did succeed, only too well ; 
 and he accomplished it in three-quarters of an hour. At the 
 expiration of that time, our officers judiciously ordered their 
 men to fall back ; the order was not obeyed so judiciously, for 
 they ran back, broken, disordered, routed. Simultaneously the 
 wounded and skulkers about the buildings used as hospitals, 
 caught a panic, whether from a few riderless horses plunging 
 madly across the field, or from instantaneously scenting the 
 rout, does not appear. A motley mob started pell-mell for the 
 bridges. They were overtaken by many just from the woods, 
 and it seemed as if Bull Run were to be repeated. 
 
 " Meanwhile the panic extended. Scores of gallant officers 
 endeavored to rally and re-form the stragglers, but in vain ; 
 while many officers forgot the pride of their shoulder-straps, and 
 the honor of their manhood, and herded with the sneaks and 
 cowards. O, that I had known the names of those officers I 
 saw, the brave and the cowardly, that here, now, I might reward 
 and punish, by directing upon each individual the respect or the 
 contempt of a whole people ! 
 
 " That scene was not one to be forgotten. Scores of rider- 
 less, terrified horses, dashing in every direction ; f hick flying 
 bullets singing by, admonishing of danger ; "very nauute a man
 
 GENERAL MoCLELLAN RETREATS TO JAMES RIVER. 229' 
 
 struck down ; wagons and ambulances and cannon blockading 
 the way ; wounded men limping and groaning and bleeding 
 amid the throng ; officers and civilians denouncing, and reason- 
 ing, and entreating, and being insensibly borne along with the 
 mass ; the sublime cannonading, the clouds of battle-smoke, and 
 the sun just disappearing, large and Wood-red I cannot picture 
 it, but I see it, and always shall." 
 
 On the morning of the 28th it was ascertained that a por- 
 tion of the Federal force still remained on the northern bank of 
 the Chickahominy ; and as General Lee had no assurance that 
 they would not push forward reinforcements from the Peninsu- 
 la, and make another effort to preserve their communications,, 
 and save the enormous accumulation of public stores at the 
 White House, General Ewell was sent forward to Dispatch Sta- 
 tion, about one mile east of the Chickahominy, on the York- 
 River Railroad, with orders to seize the road, and cut the ene- 
 my's communications with the White House. In this movement 
 General Stuart cooperated with his cavalry, advancing in front 
 of Ewell, and encountering the enemy at Dispatch. 
 
 As soon as Stuart's cavalry dashed up, the Federal forces at 
 this point retreated in haste .across the Chickahominy, burning 
 the railroad bridge in their rear, and Ewell coming up, destroyed 
 a portion of the track of the road. 
 
 General Stuart then proceeded down the railroad, to ascer- 
 tain if there was any movement of the enemy in that direction,, 
 and reaching the White House, attacked and drove off a gun- 
 boat, which was still in the river at that place. With a Blakely 
 gun Captain John Pelham attacked the dark-hulled " monster,"" 
 as the journals then styled these vessels, drove it from its moor- 
 ings, and chased it down the river, until it disappeared behind 
 the wooded bend. At General Stuart's approach, the officer 
 commanding at the White House had set fire to the great masses 
 of stores there, and retreated down the Peninsula. As the cav- 
 alry galloped up, the scene was one mass of crackling flames 
 and lurid smoke, through which were visible the blackened ruins 
 pi the "White House" mansion, the property of Colonel W.
 
 230 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 H. F. Lee, son of the Confederate commander, and the scene 
 of Washington's marriage. From the burning mass General 
 Stuart rescued several railroad engines, and about 10,000 stand 
 of arms, partially burned ; and on the next day, leaving a 
 squadron to hold the position, hastened back to bear his part in 
 the great scenes which still continued to attract all eyes to the 
 banks of the Chickahominy. 
 
 Let us go back to the morning of the 28th of June, when 
 Stuart took up the line of march for the White House. Up to 
 the moment when the Federal forces retreated from Dispatch, 
 burning the railroad bridge, and crossing to the south side of the 
 stream, the intentions of General McClellan were undeveloped. 
 It then became plain that he had abandoned the line of the York 
 River Railroad ; and early in the forenoon, the clouds of dust 
 which rose from the southern bank of the Chickahominy, indi- 
 cated that the Federal troops were in motion. Their destina- 
 tion still, however, remained unknown. No certain evidences 
 of McClellan's intention to retreat toward Harrison's Landing 
 were observed, and as he still had at his command Bottom's and 
 Long bridges over the Chickahominy below, the line of retreat 
 down the Peninsula remained open. To frustrate any move- 
 ment in that direction, Ewell was ordered to move from Dispatch 
 to Bottom's bridge, on the main road from Richmond to Wil- 
 liamsburg ; and Stuart, on the next day, pushed on with his 
 cavalry, to guard the bridges still lower down. 
 
 Late in the afternoon of the 28th, the Federal works on the 
 south side of the Chickahominy, in front of Richmond, were re- 
 ported to be fully manned, and their forces exhibited no inten- 
 tion of retiring. Here, however, commenced that run of good 
 fortune which General McClellan derived from the character of the 
 ground. The densely-wooded lowgrounds, penetrated only by 
 Harrow and winding roads, enabled the Federal commander to 
 make his dispositions without chance of discovery ; and at the 
 moment when his frowning fortifications bristled with heavy 
 guns, with cannoneers at their posts, rapid arrangements were 
 being made to retreat to James River. During the night these
 
 GENERAL McCLELLAN RETREATS TO JAMES RIVER. 231 
 
 movements were too general to be longer concealed, and it was 
 soon discovered that the entire Federal army was in full retreat. 
 
 Then commenced the great movement which will long be re- 
 membered for the horrors which accompanied it. The Confed- 
 erates followed at dawn ; and we shall proceed to narrate briefly 
 the events which ensued, without undertaking to decide upon the 
 charges of grave neglect of duty preferred by public opinioi* 
 against some of the Confederate officers, for permitting the Fed- 
 eral forces to elude them. General Huger was to move by the 
 Charles City road, so as to strike the flank of the retreating 
 column ; and General Magruder by the Williamsburg road, in 
 order to assail their rear. Jackson, who had remained on the 
 northern bank of the Chickahominy both to cut off their retreat 
 down the Peninsula and from his inability to cross until the 
 bridges destroyed by the enemy in their rear were reconstructed, 
 was no\v ordered to cross to the south bank, and move directly 
 down the stream to cooperate with Magruder in the attack upon 
 the Federal rear. 
 
 On the night of the 29th, accordingly, Jackson, now rejoined 
 by Ewell, took up the line of march for the new scene of opera- 
 tions, crossing at Grapevine bridge, a short distance north of the 
 railroad. This bridge had furnished an avenue of retreat to 
 General McClellan, on the night of the 27th, when his forces 
 fell back from Cold Harbor ; and having passed over the rolling 
 structure of loose logs, half buried in the slushy soil, he had de- 
 stroyed it behind him. Jackson hastily reconstructed it, and 
 pushed forward without pause toward Savage Station*, the line 
 of the enemy's retreat. 
 
 Meanwhile the thunder of artillery throughout the latter 
 part of the afternoon had indicated the progress of a severe en- 
 gagement between the Federal forces and Magruder. Following 
 the retreating column, Magruder had found their whole line of 
 works deserted, and vast amounts of military stores abandoned. 
 Approaching Savage's Station about noon, he came upon their 
 rear guard, and attacked them with one of his divisions the 
 conflict continuing until night. The loss inflicted was consider^
 
 232 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 .able, and at nightfall General McClellan continued his retreat, 
 leaving behind immense amounts of stores and 2,500 men in the 
 hospitals. The stores had been partially burned, and the enemy 
 had loaded a long railroad train with their surplus ammunition, 
 gotten the engine uuder a full head of steam, and applying a 
 slow match to the ordnance, started the diabolical messenger on 
 jts way toward the Chickahominy. The engine rushed on with 
 its dangerous freight until it reached the destroyed bridge, where 
 the train blew up with a roar which was heard more than thirty 
 .miles the cars rolling, torn to pieces, into the river ; the grimy 
 engine hanging like some inanimate monster on the very brink 
 <of the trestle work, in the centre of the stream, where, by some 
 .strange chance, it had not toppled over. 
 
 The enemy's stand at Savage's Station had been made with 
 the design of covering the further retreat of their main body. 
 .In this they succeeded, and, crossing White Oak Swamp with- 
 iout interruption, they destroyed the bridge behind them and 
 were comparatively safe. 
 
 Jackson reached Savage's Station on the morning of the 
 30th, and gathered up about 1,000 stragglers from the Federal 
 .army. He did not delay his march, and pushing on, came up 
 with the enemy at White Oak Swamp, where they had assumed 
 ;a position behind the destroyed bridge, which rendered the pas- 
 sage of the stream in their front impossible. His artillery was 
 placed in position, and a steady cannonade commenced during 
 which a severe action known as the battle of Frayser's Farm 
 took place lower down. 
 
 Longstreet and A. P. Hill had pushed forward, and soon 
 came upon the Federal forces strongly posted on the Long bridge 
 road, about a mile from its intersection with the Charles City 
 road. General Huger had reported that his progress was ob- 
 structed, but about four p. M. firing was heard on the Charles 
 City road, which was supposed to indicate his approach ; and 
 Longstreet opened with his artillery to announce his presence. 
 A fierce and sanguinary conflict followed between the enemy 
 *od Longstreet reenforced by A. P. Hill. General Huger did
 
 MALVEKK HILL. 233 
 
 not come up, and Jackson was unable to force the passage of 
 White Oak Swamp : thus the two first-named commands bore 
 the brunt of the whole battle, which raged furiously until nine 
 o'clock at night. At that hour the Federal forces had been 
 driven with great slaughter from every position but one, which 
 they maintained until darkness settled down upon the woods. 
 Under the cover of night they continued to fall back, leaving 
 their dead and wounded on the field, several thousands of small 
 arms scattered about, and large numbers of prisoners, including 
 a general of division. 
 
 The battle of Frayser's Farm was the turning point of the 
 drama. General McClellan fought with desperation, and man- 
 aged to hold his ground until night, when he continued his re- 
 treat toward James River. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MALVEEN HILL. 
 
 EARLY on the next morning the 1st of July Jackson forced 
 the passage of White Oak Swamp, captured a part of the Fed- 
 eral artillery, and pressing forward^reached the battle-field of 
 the evening before, where he was assigned to the front by Gen- 
 eral Lee, and immediately continued the pursuit. 
 
 His presence infused new ardor into the movement, and, ad- 
 vancing down the Willis Church road, under an incessant fire 
 from the Federal rear guard, he found himself in front of Mal- 
 vun Hill. 
 
 On this powerful position General McClellan had drawn up 
 his entire army to repel the assault of his obstinate and untiring 
 foes. His left rested near Crewe's house, and his right near 
 Binford's. His infantry was behind hastily constructed earth- 
 works, and his artillery so massed as to concentrate a deadly fire 
 upon every avenue of approach. In front the ground was open 
 for about half a mile, and sloping gradually from the crest occu-
 
 234 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 pied by the Federal forces, was completely swept by their infan- 
 try and artillery. To reach this open ground, the Confederate 
 troops were compelled to advance through a broken and thickly- 
 wooded country, traversed by streams and swamps, passable in 
 very few places ; and this whole ground was in easy range of 
 the batteries on the heights as well as the gunboats in the river. 
 
 A more formidable position in which to repulse an assault 
 can scarcely be imagined, and the sequel plainly pointed out the 
 good generalship of the officer who had selected it. 
 
 General Lee determined to attack, and immediately made 
 his dispositions for battle. Jackson formed his line with 
 Whiting's division on the left and D. H. Hill's on the right one 
 of Ewell's brigades occupying the interval between them. The 
 rest of Ewell's and Jackson's old division were held in reserve 
 in the woods near Willis' Church. On the right of Jackson's 
 line were posted two of General Huger's brigades, and on the 
 extreme right of the Confederate line General Magruder's com- 
 mand was stationed. Longstreet and A. P. Hill were held in 
 reserve, and took no part in the action. These dispositions were 
 not made until late in the afternoon the dense woods almost 
 wholly interrupting communication. The same circumstance 
 prevented a sufficient amount of artillery from being thrown into 
 action ; and under these disheartening circumstances the battle 
 commenced. 
 
 Malvern Hill was less a battle, scientifically disputed, than a 
 bloody combat in which masses of men rushed forward and were 
 swept away by the terrible fire of artillery concentrated in their 
 front. D. H. Hill, hearing, as he supposed, the signal from 
 General Lee for a general advance, put his lines in motion, and 
 advanced to attack the tremendous position before him. He 
 was resolutely met, and so hard pressed that he was compelled 
 to call urgently for reinforcements. Jackson promptly sent for- 
 ward Ewell's reserve and his own division ; but owing to the 
 swampy nature of the ground, the thick undergrowth, and gath- 
 ering darkness, their march was so much retarded that they did 
 not arrive in time to enable Hill to maintain his position, and he
 
 MALVERN HILL. 235 
 
 was forced to fall back with heavy loss. On the left, Whiting, 
 with his batteries, drove back an advance of the Federal line 
 upon Taylor's brigade, holding Jackson's centre ; but this was 
 decisive of no results. 
 
 On the right the command of Magruder and Huger gallantly 
 advanced to the attack. Several determined efforts were made 
 to storm the Federal position near Crewe's house, and the bri- 
 gades advanced without faltering across the open field, in face 
 of a hundred pieces of artillery which tore their lines as they 
 rushed forward, and a deadly and destructive fire of musketry 
 from the masses of infantry upon the crest. As they approached 
 the hill some of the brigades gave way, and recoiled before the 
 awful fire directed upon them ; but others continued to advance, 
 and, charging the Federal guns, drove them and their infantry 
 supports from the position, leaving their dead mingled with 
 those of the Federal troops upon the hill. 
 
 But these efforts were all unavailing. The position of the 
 enemy was so powerful, and the absence of concert between the 
 Confederate columns so fatal, that the Federal lines remained 
 unbroken ; and after struggling desperately to hold the ground 
 thus won, the Confederate lines were compelled to fall back and 
 surrender their hard-earned advantage. The firing continued 
 until nine at night, when silence settled upon the battle-field, and 
 the weary troops lay down within a hundred yards of the Fed- 
 eral guns. 
 
 Such was the battle of Malvern Hill, one of the most fierce 
 and sanguinary engagements of the war. Our sketch has been 
 tame and unequal to the subject ; perhaps the reader may find 
 in the following sentences of a newspaper writer, soon after the 
 action, a more animated description : 
 
 "General McClellan," says this writer, "prepared, in the 
 language of one of his officers, to ' clothe the hill in sheets of 
 flame.' Every ravine swarmed with his thousands, and along 
 the crest of every hill flashed forth his numerous artillery, hav- 
 ing for the most part an unbroken play over the ascending slope, 
 and across cleared fields of twelve hundred yards in length.
 
 236 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the formidable nature of this position it 
 was determined to attack him, and late in the afternoon of 
 Tuesday, July 1st, this tremendous contest commenced. Soon 
 Malvern Hill was sheeted with ascending and descending flames 
 of fire. Thirty-seven pieces of artillery, supported at a greater 
 distance by heavy and more numerous batteries, and by his gun- 
 boats, kept faithful ward over the enemy's position, and ploughed 
 through our columns even before they could see the enemy or 
 deploy into line of battle. Undismayed by the most terrific can- 
 nonading of the war, the advance of Magruder's forces com- 
 menced. Onward^ in the face of a storm of shot and shell, they 
 pressed forward, until within musket range of the enemy, and 
 then they opened their fire. Whole lines of the enemy fell as 
 they stood, or, attempting retreat, were overtaken by the bullets 
 of our troops, who never veered in their aim or recoiled while 
 the enemy's infantry remained in range ; and when forced back 
 for a time by the avalanche of converging artillery, yet when the 
 infantry of the enemy ventured again beyond their batteries, our 
 lines advanced with shout and bayonet and drove them back 
 among the reserves and behind the wall of fire which flamed 
 along the mouths of the circling cannon. Thus the contest 
 ebbed and flowed until night spread its mantle on the battle- 
 field. 
 
 " The batteries of the enemy were not captured by assault, 
 because no line of men could live in their converging fires, sweep- 
 ing unobstructed the attacking forces for twelve hundred yards, 
 but his line of infantry was repeatedly broken with frightful 
 slaughter by the fierce charges of our troops, who held their 
 position and slept on the field, within one hundred yards of the 
 enemy's guns. The extent of the carnage of the enemy no onr 
 imagined until daylight revealed it in the horrors of the battle 
 field. Our dead lay close together, producing thus upon the be- 
 holder an exaggerated impression of the number ; but an exam- 
 ination showed that the loss of the enemy much exceeded ours. 
 His dead lay everywhere here in line of battle, there in wild 
 confusion of rout and retreat ; not a ravine, not a glade, not a
 
 MALVEEN HILL. 237 
 
 hill that was not dotted by their mangled forms, while every 
 dwelling, outhouse, barn and stable for miles around, was 
 crowded with their dead and dying. In many places groups of 
 dead were found distant from the battle-field, where it was evi- 
 dent they were carried, with the intent of bearing them to the 
 river, and where they were roughly and rudely tossed on the 
 wayside when the panic overtook their escort. Every indication 
 showed the wildest flight of the enemy. Cannon and caissons 
 were abandoned, and for miles the road was filled with knap- 
 sacks, rifles, muskets, etc. Loaded wagons were left on the 
 road, with vast quantities of ammunition unexploded. Caisson 
 drivers opened their ammunition chests, and threw out their 
 powder and round shot to lighten their loads, to enable them to 
 keep up with the rapid flight. It is hazarding but little to say 
 that when night put an end to the battle, the whole army of Me- 
 Clellan, with the exception of the artillery, and its diminished 
 infantry guard near Crewe's and Turner's houses, was utterly 
 disorganized, and had become a mob of stragglers. At daylight 
 aext morning nothing could be seen of his army except some 
 cavalry pickets that in the distance observed our advance. We 
 do not believe that 15,000 of the Grand Army of the Potomac 
 retpeated from the bloody heights of Malvern Hill as soldiery. 
 If nature had scooped out the bed of James River, twenty miles 
 distant from Malvern Hill, the Grand Army of the Potomac 
 would have ceased to exist." 
 
 The Federal army had indeed retreated in the night to Har- 
 rison's Landing, and the long agony was over.
 
 238 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FEDERAL ACCOUNTS OF THE RETREAT. 
 
 GENERAL MCLELLAN had thus made good his retreat, but 
 in so doing he had passed through scenes the description of 
 which in army letters harrowed for many months the blood of 
 the whole Northern people. 
 
 The aim of this work is to present as faithful a picture as 
 possible of the great series of events in which Jackson took 
 part, and the statements of some Federal writers will here be 
 given in reference to General McClellan's retreat. They are 
 vivid, and paint the great lurid picture in bloody colors. That 
 picture is a part of the present subject, since Jackson's corps 
 first broke the Federal lines and compelled them to fall back ; 
 and his troops followed closely on the Federal rear, and largely 
 contributed to the decisive result. A correspondent of the New 
 York " Tribune" thus describes the scene : 
 
 " Huddled among the wagons were 10,000 stragglers for 
 the credit of the nation be it said that four-fifths of them were 
 wounded, sick, or utterly exhausted, and could not have stirred 
 but for dread of the tobacco warehouses of the South. The con- 
 fusion of this herd of men and mules, wagons and wounded, 
 men on horses, men on foot, men by the roadside, men perched 
 on wagons, men searching for water, men famishing for food, 
 men lame and bleeding, men with ghostly eyes, looking out 
 between bloody bandages, that hid the face turn to some vivid 
 account of the most pitiful part of Napoleon's retreat from Rus- 
 sia, and fill out the picture the grim, gaunt, bloody picture of 
 war in its most terrible features. 
 
 " It was determined to move on during the night. The dis- 
 tance to Turkey Island bridge, the point on James River which 
 was to be reached, by the direct road, was six miles. But those 
 vast numbers could not move over one narrow road in days ,
 
 FEDERAL ACCOUNTS OF THE ESTREAT. 239 
 
 hence every by-road, no matter how circuitous, had been searched 
 out by questioning prisoners and by cavalry excursions. Every 
 one was filled by one of the advancing columns. The whole 
 front was in motion by seven P.M., General Keyes in command 
 of the advance. 
 
 " I rode with General Howe's brigade of Couch's division, 
 taking a wagon track through dense woods and precipitous ra- 
 vines winding sinuously far around to the left, and striking the 
 river some distance below Turkey Island. Commencing at 
 dusk, the march continued until daylight. The night was dark 
 and fearful. Heavy thunder rolled in turn along each point of 
 the heavens, and dark clouds spread the entire canopy. We 
 were forbidden to speak aloud ; or, lest the light of a cigar 
 should present a target for an ambushed rifle, we were cautioned 
 not to smoke. Ten miles of weary marching, with frequent 
 halts, as some one of the hundred vehicles of the artillery train, 
 in our centre, by a slight deviation crashed against a tree, wore 
 away the hours to dawn, when we were debouched into a magni- 
 ficent wheat field, and the smoke stack of the Galena was in 
 sight. Xenophon's remnant of ten thousand, shouting, ' The sea ! 
 the sea !' were not more glad than we." 
 
 It is certain that the whole Federal army shared this feeling. 
 Another writer in the New York " Times " says : " When an aid 
 of General McClellan rode back and reported that the way was 
 all open to James River, a thrill of relief ran through the whole 
 line, and the sight of the green fields skirting its banks was in- 
 deed an oasis in the terrible desert of suspense and apprehension 
 through which they had passed. The teams were now put upon a 
 lively trot, in order to relieve the pressure upon that portion 
 still in the rear. 4 
 
 " General McClellau and staff rode ahead and took posses- 
 sion of the old estate known as Malvern Hill, one mile back 
 from Turkey Island Bend. It is a large, old-fashioned estate, 
 originally built by the French, and has near it, in front, an old 
 -earthwork constructed by General Washington during the 
 Revolutionary War. It has a spacious yard shaded by vener-
 
 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 able elms and other trees. A fine view of the river can be 
 had from this elevated position. General McClellan expressed 
 the opinion that, with a brief time to prepare, the position 
 could be held against any force the enemy can bring against 
 us. 
 
 " Exhausted by long watching and fatigue, and covered 
 thickly with the dust of the road over which we had passed, 
 many officers threw themselves upon the shady and grassy lawn 
 to rest. The soldiers also, attracted by the shady trees, sur- 
 rounded the house, or bivouacked in the fields near by. Gen- 
 eral McClellan immediately addressed himself to the task of pre- 
 pariag despatches for the Government." 
 
 From the composition of his despatches General McClellan 
 was diverted by the intelligence that the enemy were approach- 
 ing to attack him in his last stronghold. That attack was soon 
 made and General McClellan was able, as we have seen, by 
 massing his artillery upon strong positions, to repulse the Con- 
 federate assault, and hold the ground until the welcome shades 
 of night put an end to the contest. But the battle of Malvern 
 Hill* indecisive as it appeared, had a conclusive effect upon the 
 Federal army. The frightful carnage which took place in their 
 ranks bore heavily upon the spirits of men who were completely 
 exhausted by the prostrating fatigue and excitement of six days 
 of marching and fighting, almost without rest or food. From 
 the 26th of June, the Federal troops had had no breathing space. 
 They were either engaged in desperate combat, or retreating, 
 hotly pursued. The Confederate column still followed, as fresh 
 and vigorous, to all appearances, as ever ; and under these com- 
 bined influences of fatigue, famine, disaster, and hopelessness, the 
 hearts of the Federal troops sunk. They gave up ah 1 further idea 
 of victory ; many threw down their arms, and sauve qui pent 
 was now the order of the day throughout almost the entire Fed- 
 eral army. They no longer looked forward toward the Con- 
 federate lines, but backward toward Harrison's Landing, where, 
 under the shelter of the gunboats, they saw their only hope of 
 extrication from the horrors which surrounded them. Broken.
 
 FEDERAL ACCOUNTS OF THE KETREAT. 241 
 
 in spirit, prostrated physically, and seeing in further contests 
 additional disaster only, they gave up the struggle, straggled 
 away, and arrived at the haven of safety a confused and 
 disorderly mob, rather than a disciplined and effective army. 
 
 The following paragraph, from the correspondent of the 
 New York " Tribune," at Harrison's Landing, on the 2d of 
 July, describes the demeanor of General McClellan, and the 
 condition of his troops : 
 
 " General McClellan came on board the mail boat, greatly 
 perturbed. He met General Patterson as he stepped on board, 
 laid his hand on his shoulder, and took him in a hurried man- 
 ner into the aft cabin, or ladies' saloon. As he went in he beat 
 the air with his right hand clenched, from which all present in- 
 ferred there was bad news. To the astonishment of the writer, 
 it was subsequently explained ' that the whole Army of the Po- 
 tomac lay stretched along the banks of the river where we lay, 
 having fought their way all through from Fair Oaks, a distance 
 of thirty miles.' General McClellan, however, claimed that his 
 troops ' had fought the Confederates in superior numbers every 
 day for a week, and whipped them every time.' To a question 
 as to the location of certain divisions and their generals, the an- 
 swer was, ' They are scattered everywhere, but are, neverthe- 
 less, in a solid, compact body.' And in reply to another remark, 
 it was said, ' What we want is fresh men ; they (the troops) are 
 worked to death.' " 
 
 The great advance upon Richmond from the Peninsula had 
 thus failed, like that from the direction of the Valley. General 
 McClellan's large army, which he stated on his trial numbered 
 150,000, of whom 112,000 were effective for the field, had been 
 entirely defeated, in battle after battle, and driven to seek pro- 
 tection under the portholes of the gunboats on James River. 
 The Federal bulletins represented the movement from Cold Har- 
 bor to Harrison's Landing as only a premeditated " change of 
 base," to attain a more favorable position for a new advance on 
 Richmond ; and it is true that General McClellan foresaw the 
 attack upon his right, and really did intend to move his force? 
 16
 
 242 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 gradually toward James River. Still it was obvious that thia 
 movement had now been made under compulsion, and that the 
 safety of his army rather than the attainment of a stronger po- 
 sition, induced him to fall back to Harrison's Landing. In 
 other words, the movement was not a military change of base, 
 but a compulsory retreat, in consequence of the bloody defeat at 
 Cold Harbor ; and so it was regarded by the world. General 
 McClellan had evidently suffered a disastrous and conclusive 
 defeat. He had played for a great stake, and brought all his 
 skill and energy to bear upon the game, but it had gone against 
 him. He was bankrupt, and the world could not be induced to 
 believe that he rose the winner. 
 
 The effective Federal force engaged in all portions of the 
 field had been, by General McClellan's subsequent statement, 
 112,000 men. The writer cannot state the amount of Confed- 
 erate troops accurately, and does not venture to set down the 
 exact number. The force under General Lee aftei Jackson's 
 arrival was generally estimated, however, by intelligent officers 
 in the Confederate army at 60,000. It may be said with tolera- 
 ble certainty that it did not exceed 70,000. The great battles 
 of the Chickahominy did not depend, however, so much upon 
 the number of the troops, as upon the skill of the commanders. 
 The best proof of General Lee's abilities as a soldier, lies in 
 the fact that General McClellan discovered his adversary's in- 
 tentions, but does not seem to have been able to counteract 
 them. On the 25th he wrote to President Lincoln that he 
 " would probably be attacked to-morrow," but his position was 
 such that he could not guard against the assault, or meet it with 
 greater success. He had anticipated this very movement, but 
 had not been permitted by General Lee to avoid it by changing 
 the base of his army to James River. The inexorable fate ap- 
 proached in the person of Lee ; the dial pointed to the destined 
 hour and the star of McClellan's fortunes went down in blood. 
 
 Lee had thus outgeneraled his great adversary, and reversed 
 all his plans. The result had proved the Confederate com- 
 mander to be one of the most accomplished soldiers of history ;
 
 FEDEEAL ACCOUNTS OF THE KETKEAT. 243 
 
 tout in estimating his great merits, we should not lose sight of 
 the admirable fighting qualities of his troops, or the conspicuous 
 'abilities of his subordinate commanders. Lee had shown him- 
 self to be a great captain but he had admirable lieutenants. 
 Longstreet, the stubborn and unyielding fighter, who, like the 
 " War Horse," a name given him by Lee, seemed to thrill at 
 'the u thunder of the captains and the shouting," and rejoice in 
 the hard brunt of action ; A. P. Hill, the dashing, chivalric, 
 headlong commander of the l< Light Division," who seemed to 
 understand with difficulty that the moment sometimes arrived 
 when a general must fall back ; Ewell, the blunt and determined 
 soldier, trained and confided in by Jackson ; Magruder, the pas- 
 sionate, excitable, and enterprising leader ; Hood, the daring 
 and indomitable Texan, tall, powerful, with his kind face and 
 honest smile, but under all a will of iron ; Stuart, the prince of 
 cavalrymen, with his native genius for the career of arms, his 
 daring, nerve, and coolness even in a charge that coolness 
 which remained unshaken, whatever perils menaced him ; the 
 generals of divisions and brigades ; the colonels of regiments ; 
 the commanders of squadrons and battalions ; the captains of 
 companies all cooperated with the troops, and carried out the 
 plans of General Lee, with a skill and vigor which alone could 
 accomplish such results. 
 
 Among these distinguished soldiers, marching under Lee, 
 none had performed more important services in the recent bat- 
 tles than Jackson. When he appeared upon the field the battle 
 was almost lost, and the Confederate lines were on the point of 
 falling back. The sound of- his guns changed the whole face of 
 affairs, as by magic ; and when he threw his trained troops 
 against the Federal lines, they began in their turn to waver. 
 This was always the signal with Jackson for a more resolute 
 attack ; that attack was made, and the result was a decisive vic- 
 tory, in which Jackson's corps had borne the chief part. 
 
 He fought upon this occasion with the science of a trained 
 soldier, but the anxiety of earlier days in the Valley was spared 
 him. His troops no longer required watching and careful ma-
 
 244 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 nouvring to make them victorious. The raw levies had become 
 old soldiers, and fought with a steadiness which spared their 
 commander all solicitude. This was shown in Jackson's de- 
 meanor on the field. He had the air of one who knew upon 
 what he relied, and did not doubt the result. 
 
 Malvern Hill was the end of the struggle around Richmond 
 It is true that General Lee sent Jackson forward on the next 
 day toward Harrison's Landing, and that on the day after there 
 was a desultory skirmish between the opposing forces. But the 
 roll of great events was exhausted, the curtain had fallen upon 
 the bloody drama. 
 
 Subsequent revelations, by General McClellan, of the strength 
 and condition of his army at that time, afford ample reason for 
 believing that an advance would have terminated in his capture ; 
 but upon grounds which seemed to them at that time conclusive, 
 the Confederate authorities determined to retire ; and on the 8th 
 of July the forces were accordingly withdrawn. Jackson's 
 corps fell into line, left the hot pine woods in which they had 
 lain, sweltering in front of the enemy, and took up the line of 
 march for the neighborhood of Richmond. 
 
 Jackson had lost at the battle of Cold Harbor 589 killed, 
 and 2,671 wounded. At the battle of Malvern Hill 377 killed^ 
 and 1,746 wounded. 
 
 The corps had sustained, in the fullest degree, its reputation, 
 won in the hard combats beyond the mountains, and had left its 
 mark all along the road from Ashland, by Cold Harbor to Mal- 
 vern Hill ; but it had left, too, some of its most precious blood r 
 poured out in the lowlands, as other precious blood had been, in 
 the Virginia Valley. Many brave souls slept under the green 
 sod of the Hanover slopes, in the silent swamps of the Chicka- 
 hominy, and beneath the dim pines of Charles City, sighing over 
 their unknown graves. There may they rest in peace.
 
 THE END OF THE DEAMA. 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 THE END OF THE DRAMA. 
 
 THE memorable "battles around Richmond" had thus re-- 
 suited in the defeat of the Federal campaign, and the remnant 
 of General McClellan's army had retired for safety under the- 
 frowning muzzles of the gunboats on James River. 
 
 We have traced in detail the movements which led to this- 
 result, but in the hurry of the narrative have omitted some 
 things which are necessary to an intelligent comprehension of 
 the situation of the adversaries. 
 
 At the moment when General Lee struck at him, General 
 McClellan was within cannon shot of Richmond, and his great 
 numbers seemed to render its capture certain. From the White 
 House, their base of supply on York River, to Seven Pines, 
 within four or five miles of the city, the Federal troops were 
 encamped on every hill and in every valley. The fields and 
 forests of New Kent, Henrico, and Hanover, which had made 
 those counties among the most attractive in the State, were full 
 of tents ; the woods were disappearing after the fences, the 
 meadows were traversed by wagon roads, the old mansions taken 
 for hospitals or burned ; and, under their impromptu arbors of 
 boughs, the Federal soldiers divided the proceeds of their forays 
 upon the neighboring estates. The troops seem to have fully 
 expected to take Richmond whenever a general advance was 
 made upon it ; but General McClellan was not so well assured 
 of the result. He seems to have shrunk from risking a battle 
 and evidently designed to capture the place by regular ap- 
 proaches to advance step by step, constructing powerful works 
 as he proceeded, until his heavy guns should bear directly upon 
 the city, and compel its evacuation. He was energetically pur- 
 suing this design, when, on the 27th of July, he was compelled
 
 246 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 to concentrate his army, as far as he could, behind Powhite Creek, 
 near Cold Harbor, to protect himself from destruction. 
 
 This battle has been much misunderstood. It has been re- 
 garded by many persons as only a link in the chain of events, but 
 it was in reality the day of decisive defeat for General McClellan. 
 The action at Mechanicsville was comparatively an affair of the 
 outpost, and the Federal commander promptly abandoned his 
 position there, and concentrated his entire available force for 
 the decisive struggle at Cold Harbor. He meant that to be the 
 ground upon which the issue should be decided ; his ability to 
 hold the works behind Powhite Creek, the test of every thing. 
 They were stormed, and carried with the bayonet, and General 
 McClellan had been defeated. What remained for him now was 
 retreat; and all the fighting which followed was merely the 
 effort of a good soldier to fall back in order, and save the rem- 
 nant of his army. 
 
 General McClellan's position was at that moment extremely 
 embarrassing. As we have seen, he was called upon to decide 
 rapidly whether he would retreat down the Peninsula, thus pre- 
 serving his stores at the "White House, or march across to James 
 River, a movement the moral effect of which would be much 
 better on the troops. He decided promptly upon the latter course, 
 but successfully masked his intention. A force was left on the 
 north bank of the Chickahominy, and General Lee was thus in 
 doubt as to the intended line of retreat. When that force was 
 attacked on the 28th, it retired to the southern bank, and the 
 perilous retrograde movement through the swamps of Henrico 
 and Charles City commenced. The ability displayed by General 
 McClellan in this movement is unquestionable. Its success, 
 with the subsequent campaign of the same commander in Mary- 
 land, entitle him, all things considered, to the palm of superiority 
 over all other generals of the Federal army. At every step the 
 Confederate advance was confronted by a powerful and admira- 
 bly handled rear guard, supported by artillery ; and the skill and 
 courage displayed by the Federal officers and troops, with the 
 difficult character of the country, effected their object. At
 
 THE END OF THE DRAMA. 247 
 
 White Oak Swamp, the position chosen by General McClellan 
 was so excellent that Jackson could make no impression upon it ; 
 and at Frayser's Farm the Confederate columns were held in check 
 until dark. On Malvern Hill a decisive stand was made, Mc- 
 Clellan massed his artillery, fought with the fury of despair, and 
 repulsed every assault upon his shattered ranks. When he 
 reached Harrison's Landing, as he did on the same night, it was 
 to his skill and soldership alone that the Federal authorities owed 
 the salvation of the army. 
 
 The Northern forces had thus escaped utter rout, but the 
 results achieved by General Lee's attack were very great. In 
 mere war material these embraced fifty pieces of artillery, many 
 thousands of small-arms, millions worth of property, and thou- 
 sands of prisoners. But the supreme result was the deliverance 
 of the Confederate capital. Richmond had unquestionably been 
 in imminent danger of capture, and all hearts had begun to de- 
 spond, when, in one afternoon, the Federal power in front of the 
 city was effectually broken, and the campaign terminated. 
 
 Jackson's part in these events has been described, and he 
 now became absorbed in his favorite project of invading the 
 North. This became his possessing thought, and was no secret 
 from those with whom he conversed. As day after day passed, 
 in the woods of Charles City, his impatience became extreme, 
 and one night, while lying down in his tent conversing with a 
 confidential friend, he suddenly rose from his couch, struck it 
 violently with his clenched hand, and exclaimed : 
 
 " Why don't we advance ! Now is the time for an advance 
 into Pennsylvania ; McClellan is paralyzed, and the Scipio Afri- 
 canus policy is the best ! , Let the President only give me the 
 men, and I will undertake it. I say this in no improper spirit. 
 I will go under any one under Ewell, or anybody who will 
 fight. General Lee, I believe, would go, but perhaps, he cannot." 
 And then came that tribute to General Lee which we have 
 already presented to the reader. 
 
 The views of Jackson were not concurred in by the Con- 
 federate authorities, who, menaced still by the force remaining;
 
 248 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 with General McClellan, and by the Federal army assembling at 
 Warrenton, seemed to have considered their resources too limited 
 to risk so important a movement, at such a distance from the 
 .capital. The absence, however, of those official revelations 
 which are the basis of all just views of public events, renders 
 : any definite statement upon this subject premature. 
 
 With two little incidents which belong to this period, we 
 shall conclude our sketch of Jackson around Richmond. The 
 first exhibits that sternness of spirit which his sweet smile and 
 courteous manner concealed, and is thus related by the person 
 who witnessed it. Jackson sent an order to one of his officers, 
 in the afternoon at Malvern Hill, to advance across the open 
 space in front of the Federal works and attack them. The 
 officer in question hurried to Jackson, and said almost rudely : 
 
 " Did you order me to advance over that field, sir ? " 
 
 Jackson's eye flashed under the rim of his cap, and, in his 
 briefest tones, he said : 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Impossible, sir ! " exclaimed the officer, " my men will be 
 Annihilated ! Nothing can live there ! They will be annihilated I " 
 
 Jackson listened in silence, but his face grew cold and rigid 
 with displeasure. He gazed steadily for a moment at the 
 speaker, raised his finger, and in low brief tones said : 
 
 " General . , I always endeavor to take care of my 
 
 wounded and to bury my dead. You have heard my order 
 obey it ! " 
 
 These words admitted of no reply, and the order was carried 
 (Out. The officer who relates the incident declares that he has 
 never before or since seen such an expression as that which 
 burned in the eye of Jackson as he uttered the above words. 
 He looked "dangerous" and that admonition closed the in- 
 terview. 
 
 The second incident displays the great personal popularity 
 which Jackson had already secured. On the morning after the 
 Jbattle of Malvern Hill he was riding on the left of his line, when 
 he met Colonel Munford of the cavalry, and after some words
 
 GENERAL POPE IN CULPEPPEfJ. 249 
 
 apon military matters, asked him if he had managed to secure 
 any breakfast. The Colonel informed him that he had, and 
 Jackson said : 
 
 " I should like to have some myself. I wonder if I can get 
 some buttermilk ? " 
 
 " Yes, General come with me," was Colonel Munford's 
 answer. 
 
 And they rode to the plain mansion in which an old lady of the 
 humbler class had furnished Colonel Munford with his breakfast. 
 
 " Can I get some breakfast for General Jackson, madam ? " 
 asked the officer ; " he has had none to-day." 
 
 "For whom?" exclaimed the good woman, pausing in her 
 work and looking earnestly at the speaker. 
 
 "For General Jackson," was the Colonel's reply. 
 
 " General Jackson ! That is not General Jackson ! " she 
 again exclaimed, pointing to the man in the dingy uniform. 
 
 " Yes it is, madam." 
 
 The old lady gazed at the General for a moment in silence ; 
 her face flushed red, and raising both hands she suddenly burst 
 into tears. 
 
 Every thing in her house was produced without delay, includ- 
 ing the longed-for buttermilk ; but nothing, evidently, in the old 
 lady's estimation was good enough for her hero.* These things 
 touched Jackson more than the plaudits of victory. 
 
 CHAPTER VHI. 
 
 GENERAL POPE IN CULPEPPER. 
 
 THE disastrous issue of affairs on the Chickahominy took 
 place at a moment when the Federal arms had achieved import 
 ant successes in the West. ^ ,- 
 
 In that quarter the Confederates had met with serious re- 
 
 * These incidents are related on the authority of Colonel T. T. Munford 
 of the cavalry.
 
 250 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 verses. On the 30th of May General Beauregard had been- 
 compelled to fall back from Corinth, and on the 6th of June the 
 Federal forces entered Memphis. They now held New Orleans, 
 Baton Rouge, Natchez, and Memphis, on the Mississippi ; and 
 though Vicksburg still held out, and the Federal troops had to 
 abandon the siege, the general result of the campaign was more 
 than favorable to their arms. It was in the midst of the rejoic- 
 ing at these successes that the great blow fell on the Chickahom- 
 iny, reversing all their hopes of an early termination of the 
 conflict. 
 
 The Federal authorities did not, however, despair. The 
 Southern successes were only the signal for still more gigantic 
 preparations, and determined efforts to overthrow the Confed- 
 eracy. President Lincoln called for 300,000 additional troops ; 
 larger bounties were offered for recruits than had ever before 
 been known in the history of any war ; and the Federal legisla- 
 tion indicated the basis upon which the hostilities were thereafter 
 to be carried on. A bill passed Congress, confiscating the slaves 
 of all persons adhering to the Confederate Government. An- 
 other act directed slaves to be armed and enrolled as troops ; and 
 military commanders were authorized to seize and make use of 
 any property, real or personal, belonging to Southern sympa 
 thizers, " necessary or convenient for their commands," without 
 compensation to their owners. The war was thus to be con- 
 ducted upon the hypothesis that the Southern States were not 
 belligerents according to the laws of nations, but outlawed com- 
 binations beyond the pale of civilized warfare. 
 
 Immediate steps were now taken to retrieve the disasters on 
 the banks of the Chickahominy ; and, during the month of July, 
 while General McClellan was still lying upon the hot shores of 
 the James, fresh levies were rapidly hurried forward to Wash- 
 ington. That city became one great camp ; the forces lately 
 under Generals Banks, McDowell, and Fremont, were concen- 
 trated at the Capital ; and large re enforcements having arrived 
 from McClellan, a very considerable army was soon ready to 
 take the field. This body was styled the " Army of Virginia,"
 
 GENERAL POPE IN CULPEPPEE. 251 
 
 and was speedily sent forward in detached columns to Warren- 
 ton, Culpepper Court-House, and Fredericksburg, with a view 
 to unite and advance upon Gordonsville. This force was placed 
 under the command of Major-General John Pope, who was said 
 to have declared that he had " never seen any thing of his ene- 
 mies but their backs." 
 
 General Pope reached the headquarters of the army, on the 
 Orange and Alexandria Railroad, in a special car decked with 
 streamers, and soon afterward, issued a general order, in which 
 he said to the troops : 
 
 " I desire you to dismiss from your minds certain phrases, 
 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 which 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." 
 
 General Pope then issued what was styled his " expatriation 
 order." This directed that all male citizens disloyal to the United 
 States should be immediately arrested, the oath of allegiance 
 proffered them, and if they took it, and " furnished sufficient se- 
 curity for its observance," they should be released. If they 
 declined taking it they should be sent beyond the extreme Fed- 
 eral pickets, and if found again within his lines should be treated 
 as spies and shot. "If any person," said this order, "having 
 taken the oath of allegiance, as above specified, be found to 
 have violated it, he shall be shot, and his property seized and 
 applied to the public use." In addition, " all communication 
 with any person whatever living within the lines of the enemy," 
 was prohibited ; and " any person concerned in writing, or in 
 carrying letters or messages, will be considered and treated as a 
 spy" General Steinwehr also issued an order directing that the 
 prominent citizens of his district should be arrested and detained 
 as hostages for the good behavior of the inhabitant?, and made
 
 252 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 to suffer in their persons for the acts of partisans and " bush- 
 whackers." If any of the Federal troops were " bushwhacked," 
 one of the hostages should suffer death. 
 
 The uncompromising hostility thus officially announced tow- 
 ard the entire population by General Pope and bis lieutenants, 
 speedily became the rule of proceedings on the part of tbe troops. 
 Wholesale depredations were made upon the property of the cit- 
 izens, and they were utterly unable to obtain from the Federal 
 officers either indemnity for the past or protection for the future. 
 We refrain from entering into the disagreeable and repulsive 
 details of these excesses of the troops excesses which induced 
 a writer in Blackwood's Magazine to declare that the war was 
 being conducted "in a way that cast mankind two centuries 
 back toward barbarism." A Federal writer thus describes the 
 proceedings of the troops, and with his statement we dismiss the 
 subject : 
 
 " The Army of Virginia has undergone a marked change in 
 a very important particular. The new usage which has been in- 
 stituted in regard to the protection of Confederate property, and 
 the purpose of the Government to subsist the army, as far as 
 practicable, upon the enemy's country, has produced a decided 
 revolution in the feelings and practices of the soldiery, and one 
 which seems to me very much to be regretted. 
 
 " Unless these innovations are guarded by far more stringent, 
 safeguards against irregular and unauthorized plundering, we 
 shall let loose upon the country, at the close of the war, a torrent 
 of unbridled and unscrupulous robbers. Rapid strides toward 
 villany have been made during the last few weeks. Men who 
 at home would have shuddered at the suggestion of touching 
 another's property, now appropriate remorselessly whatever 
 comes in their reach. Thieving, they imagine, has now become 
 an authorized practice, and, under the show of subsisting them- 
 selves, chickens, turkeys, hams, and corn have become a lawful 
 plunder, with little discrimination as to the character or circum 
 stances of the original owner. 
 
 " It is to me a very serious and unfortunate state of facts,
 
 GENERAL POPE IN CULPEPPER. 253 
 
 when soldiers will rush in crowds upon the smoke-house of a 
 fanner, and each quarrel with the other to get the best and 
 greatest share. I blush when I state that on the march, through 
 a section of country, every spring-house is broken open, and 
 butter, milk, eggs, and cream are engulphed, almost before the 
 place is reached by the men. Calves and sheep, and, in fact, 
 any thing and every thing serviceable for meat or drink, or 
 apparel, are not safe a moment after the approach of the army. 
 Even things apparently useless are snatched up, because, it 
 would seem, many men love to steal. 
 
 " At a place where I not long ago spent a night, scarcely an 
 article to which the fertility of a soldier could suggest the slight- 
 est use remained to the owner upon the following morning. 
 There had been soldiers there, you might wager. Pans, kettles, 
 dish-cloths, pork, poultry, provisions, and every thing desirable 
 had disappeared. The place was stripped, and without any pro- 
 cess of commissary or quartermaster. So it has been in innu- 
 merable instances. Many a family, incapable of sustaining the 
 slightest loss, has actually been deprived of all. 
 
 " I not long ago saw a dozen soldiers rushing headlong 
 thi ough 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 corner of the field, with the men 
 close upon them ; and the foremost ones caught their prizes and 
 bridled them as if they had a perfect immunity in such things. 
 A scene followed. A young lady came out and besought the 
 soldiers not to take her favorite pony. The soldiers were re- 
 morseless and unyielding, and the pony is now in the army. 
 
 " I know a case where a family were just seating themselves 
 to dinner, when some of the soldiers being that way. they weni 
 in and swallowed every thing. That was not all ; but whatever 
 in doors and out of doors the soldiers wanted was readily appro- 
 priated, and the proprietor of the place told me sorrowfully that 
 they had ruined him he never could now get out of debt. I 
 hardly regretted his misfortune so much on his account as for the 
 influence of this thieving upon the soldiers. I was really grati-
 
 254 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 fied to hear his little boy say, ' Pap says he wouldn't vote the 
 secession ticket again if he had the chance.' His patriotism was 
 evidently drawing too heavily upon his fortunes, and I was rejoiced 
 to find him in an inquiring state of mind. But unless a check is 
 given to this promiscuous and unauthorized plundering, the dis- 
 cipline and value of the army will be destroyed ; and when the 
 enlistments have expired we shall let loose a den of thieves upon 
 the country." , 
 
 It is said that General Pope subsequently issued an order de- 
 claring such proceedings unauthorized ; * but the Federal forces 
 had accomplished their work. The land was green when they 
 came, but they left a desert behind them. The fences were 
 burned, the forests felled, the farm lands turned into common, 
 and fathers of families began seriously to dread that their chil- 
 dren would starve. When the writer of this page passed through 
 Culpepper in August, it was as much as he could do to procure 
 food for himself and forage for his horse. 
 
 General Pope advanced through Culpepper toward the Rap- 
 idan, and had as yet encountered no enemy. His right extended 
 to the foot of the Blue Ridge, and his left toward the confluence 
 of the Rappahannock and Rapidan. This was the state of things* 
 in Culpepper in the last days of July. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CEDAR RUN. 
 
 WHILE General Pope thus advanced toward the Rapidan, 
 seriously threatening with his large force the Central Railroad at 
 Gordonsville, General McClellan was still with a considerable 
 
 * This was probably in consequence of General Order No. 107 from the 
 United States War Department, issued August 15th, that ' no officer or sol- 
 dier might, without proper authority, leave his colors or rauks to take private 
 property, or to enter a private house for the purpose, undei penalty of death."
 
 CEDAR BUN. 255 
 
 portion of his army at Harrison's Landing, and professed to de- 
 sign another advance on Richmond. It was thus necessary for 
 the Confederate authorities to retain a sufficient number of troops 
 at the capital to repulse any advance of the enemy from James 
 River. It was equally important, however, to check General Pope ; 
 and to that end, Jackson, who had gone into camp on the Me- 
 chanicsville road, not far from Richmond, was directed to pro- 
 ceed toward Gordonsville, and guard that point against the 
 threatened assault upon it. His own " Old Division," and General 
 Swell's, were accordingly moved in that direction, and reached 
 Gordonsville on the 19th of July. Receiving reliable information 
 that the Federal army in his front greatly outnumbered his own 
 forces, Jackson sent back to General Lee for additional troops, 
 and was reenforced by General A. P. Hill's division. 
 
 It was not long before the advanced forces of cavalry on both 
 sides came into collision. On the 2d of August, whilst Colonel 
 Jones, by direction of Brigadier-General Robertson, was moving, 
 with the 7th Virginia cavalry, to take charge of picket posts on 
 the Rapidan, he received intelligence, before reaching Orange 
 Court-House, that the enemy were in possession of that town. 
 Continuing to advance, Colonel Jones found the main street full 
 of Federal cavalry, and charged the head of the enemy's column 
 another portion of the regiment, under Major Marshall, at- 
 tacking them in flank. Both attacks were successful, and the 
 enemy were driven from the place. But the Confederate forces 
 were still greatly outnumbered ; and, in consequence of the large 
 body of the enemy in front, together with the fire of their flanking 
 parties, Jones was compelled to fall back. He made another 
 stand, however, not far from the town, and the Federal cavalry 
 retired. In this brief contest, Colonel Jones, while gallantly 
 charging at the head of his men, received a sabre wound, and 
 Major Marshall was captured. 
 
 Such was the attitude of the adversaries on the Rapidan in 
 the first days of August : Jackson at Gordonsville, General 
 Pope at Culpepper Court-House, and the cavalry of the two 
 Armies in face of each other at Orange.
 
 256 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 General Pope was waiting to be reenforced by General Burn* 
 side, and the problem with the Confederate authorities was r 
 where would the Federal flotilla, under the latter commander, 
 make an attack ? It lay in Hampton Roads, and was either in- 
 tended for the Rappahannock or the James ; to operate with 
 General Pope, or with General McClellan in another attack upon 
 Richmond. The question was soon decided by a Confederate 
 prisoner Colonel John S. Mosby, the well-known partisan 
 who left Old Point to come up the river just as General Burnside 
 was embarking infantry, cavalry, and artillery at Fortress Mon- 
 roe. From a sure source he had obtained information that these 
 troops were intended for the Rappahannock ; and as soon as the 
 flag-of-truce boat stopped below Richmond, Colonel Mosby re- 
 paired without delay to General Lee's headquarters and gave him 
 the intelligence. General Stuart, then on an expedition toward 
 the Rappahannock, had received the same information, but it 
 could not be transmitted so quickly. It was despatched b$ relays 
 of couriers to Jackson ; and the receipt of this intelligence prob- 
 ably determined him to advance and attack General Pope before 
 he was reenforced. 
 
 This design was carried into execution with that vigor and 
 rapidity which characterized all the movements of Jackson. On 
 the 7th of August he moved from Gordonsville, with his entire 
 force, in the direction of Barnett's ford, on the Rapidan, a few 
 miles above the point where the Orange and Alexandria Railroad 
 crosses the river ; and on the morning of the 8th Robertson's 
 cavalry, which had advanced beyond the Rapidan, encountered 
 the Federal cavalry on the road from Barnett's ford to Culpep- 
 per Court-House. They were attacked, driven back, and pur- 
 sued by General Robertson the army continuing to advance on 
 the track of the cavalry, with Ewell's division in front. The day 
 was spent in skirmishing with the Federal cavalry, and such waa 
 the activity and enterprise which they displayed that Jackson- 
 was obliged to send back an entire brigade to guard his trains- 
 Lawton's was selected, and thus was not engaged in the battle. 
 
 Jackson continued steadily to advance, bent on forcing Geni
 
 CEDAR RUN. 257 
 
 eral Pope to fight before his reinforcements arrived, and, if pos- 
 sible, before his troops, scattered over a large extent of country, 
 could be concentrated to resist the sharp iron wedge with which 
 the Confederate commander was about to pierce his adversary's 
 centre. On the next day August the 9th Jackson had reached 
 a point about eight miles from Culpepper Court-House, and here 
 he came upon the enemy. 
 
 The force in his front consisted, according to General Pope's 
 official report, of Banks' and Sigel's corps, and a division from 
 that of McDowell, amounting in all to 32,000 troops. Jackson 
 had two divisions, and a portion of a third. 
 
 The enemy were posted in force infantry, cavalry, and artil- 
 lery on a crest of hills near the Culpepper road, a short dis- 
 tance west and north of Slaughter's Mountain. In front, the 
 country was open and undulating a wheat-field and corn-field, 
 in which the shocks were still standing in the August sunshine, 
 extending between the opposing lines to the wooded crest, on 
 which the Federal batteries were in position, ready to open 
 when the Confederates advanced. A ridge on the right was 
 occupied by a heavy body of Federal cavalry ; and the engage- 
 ment opened in this part of the field. 
 
 A battery, under Lieutenant Terry, was sent forward oppo- 
 site the position of the Federal cavalry, and opened upon them 
 with a vigor which soon drove them from the hill. As the cav- 
 alry retired, a Federal battery beyond the crest of the hill en- 
 gaged Lieutenant Terry ; and his fire having thus been diverted, 
 the Federal cavalry returned, and again took position on the 
 ridge. 
 
 Dispositions were now made to commence the action ir 
 earnest. Jackson's division had not yet reached the field, but 
 Ewell was put in motion to secure a position which would enable 
 the whole Confederate force to attack with advantage. The 
 command of Ewell was divided. Early's brigade was ordered 
 to advance along the Culpepper road, and General Ewell, with 
 his two remaining brigades Trimble's and Hays', Colonel Ferno 
 commanding the latter rto diverge to the right, and passing 
 17
 
 258 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 along the slope of Slaughter's Mountain, gain a position from 
 which his artillery would command the ground occupied by the 
 enemy. 
 
 These movements were made without delay. Early, formed 
 in line of hattle, moved into the open field, and pushing forward 
 to the right of the road drove the Federal cavalry before him to 
 the crest of a hill which overlooked the entire space in his front. 
 As Early mounted this hill, the Federal batteries opened upon 
 him furiously ; heavy bodies of cavalry appeared in the wheat- 
 field on his left ; and so hot was the artillery fire that he with- 
 drew his troops for protection under the crest of the eminence. 
 His own artillery was now hurried forward and posted on his 
 right, near a clump of cedar trees, and four pieces, under Cap- 
 tains Brown and Dement, opened a rapid fire upon the Federal 
 batteries opposed to them. 
 
 At this moment Jackson's old division, commanded by Brig- 
 adier-General Charles Winder, arrived upon the field, and was 
 disposed in order of battle. Campbell's brigade, commanded by 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Garnett, was placed on the left, in a wood 
 near the wheat-field ; the batteries of Poague, Carpenter, and 
 Caskie, under Major Andrews, took position parallel to the road, 
 with Taliaferro's brigade as a support ; and Winder's (" Stone- 
 wall") brigade, Colonel Ronald commanding, was held in re- 
 serve. At the moment when the troops moved to their positions 
 one of the saddest events of the day took place. General Winder 
 was proceeding to direct the fire of the batteries, with that skill 
 and coolness which had attracted the attention of all in so many 
 bloody encounters, when a shell exploded in front of him, and a 
 fragment mortally wounded him. 
 
 " It is difficult," says Jackson, " in the proper reserve of an 
 official report, to do justice to the merits of this accomplished 
 officer. Urged by the Medical Director to take no part in the 
 movements of the day, because of the then enfeebled state of his 
 health, his ardent patriotism and military pride could bear no 
 such restraint. Richly endowed with those qualities of mind 
 and person which fit an officer for command, and which attract
 
 CEDAR BUN. 259 
 
 the admiration and excite the enthusiasm of troops, he was rap- 
 idly rising to the front rank of his profession. His loss has been 
 severely felt." 
 
 The command of Jackson's division now devolved on Briga- 
 dier-General W. B. Taliaferro, whose own brigade was com- 
 manded during the remainder of the action by Colonel A. G. 
 Taliaferro. 
 
 Meanwhile, Ewell moving to the right, with his two bri- 
 gades, had reached an elevated position on the northwestern 
 shoulder of Slaughter's Mountain. Here, at a point about two 
 hundred feet above the valley, he posted Latimer's battery, and 
 opened a rapid and destructive fire upon the enemy. This was 
 echoed by the guns of Andrews on the left ; and for two hours 
 an incessant cannonade was kept up between the opposing bat- 
 teries. In this artillery engagement the enemy were seriously 
 damaged ; but the Confederate loss was also considerable. Ma- 
 jor Andrews, among others, was severely wounded and borne 
 from the field. 
 
 Jackson had not attempted an advance upon the Federal 
 lines. He was waiting for General A. P. Hill, who had not yet 
 come up. Encouraged by this apparent timidity and disinclina- 
 tion to attack, the Federal commander, about five o'clock in the 
 afternoon, threw forward a dense line of skirmishers in the 
 corn-field which has been mentioned, and these were followed by 
 an advance of his infantry, up to this moment concealed in the 
 woods behind his batteries. As this heavy column advanced on 
 the left, another body debouched into view from a small valley 
 hidden by an undulation of the ground on Early's right. This 
 latter force charged straight upon Early's batteries, and he was 
 at once engaged in a hot encounter, which gradually extended 
 from his right to his left. At this period of the action Hill's 
 division reached the field, and Jackson sent forward Thomas' 
 brigade to Early's support, which arrived in time to strengthen 
 his small line, and render most valuable assistance. 
 
 The attack on his right, however, did not deceive Jackson. 
 The main body of the enemy was still massed in front of hia
 
 260 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 centre and left, and the anticipated attempt to turn that flauk 
 was speedily made. Under cover of the attack upon Early, a 
 strong column moved at a double-quick from the wood, through 
 the corn and wheat-field, swept forward over every obstacle, 
 and turning the Confederate left flank, poured a hot and deadly 
 fire into Jackson's rear. So sudden and determined was this 
 assault, that the troops were almost surrounded before they 
 knew it ; and nothing remained for them but to fall back to a 
 new position. The enemy gave them no time to reflect. They 
 rushed forward with deafening yells, pouring a terrific fire into 
 the wavering lines, and the day seemed lost. In vain did the 
 Confederate officers attempt to hold the men steady. Captain 
 B. W. Leigh, commanding the 1st Virginia battalion, took the 
 colors of his battalion and rode in front, directly down the road, 
 exposed to a concentrated fire ; and his brother officers exposed 
 themselves with equal gallantry. But these efforts were use- 
 less. The left of Taliaferro's brigade was turned, and fell back ; 
 this exposed Early, and his left also retired in confusion, though 
 the remainder of his line maintained its ground. 
 
 The fate of the day, in that portion of the field at least,, 
 seemed now decided. The infantry had been flanked and driven 
 back ; the artillery, finding itself in imminent danger of capture, 
 was rushed from the position which it had occupied, toward the 
 rear, and as it disappeared the enemy redoubled their volleys, 
 pressing the retreating Confederates with all the vigor of antici- 
 pated triumph. 
 
 At this moment of disaster and impending ruin Jackson ap- 
 peared, amid the clouds of smoke, and his voice was heard rising 
 above the uproar and the thunder of the guns. The man, ordi- 
 narily so cool, silent, and deliberate, was now mastered by the 
 genius of battle. In feature, voice, and bearing, burned the 
 gaudium certaminis the resolve to conquer or die. Galloping 
 to the front, amid the heavy fire directed upon his disordered 
 Lines, now rapidly giving way with his eyes flashing, his face 
 flushed, his voice rising and ringing like a clarion on every ear, 
 oe rallied the confused troops and brought them into line. At
 
 CEDAR RUN. 261 
 
 the same moment the old Stonewall Brigade and Branch's bri- 
 gade advanced at a double-quick, and shouting, " Stonewall Jack- 
 son ! Stonewall Jackson ! " the men poured a galling fire into 
 the Federal lines. The presence of Jackson, leading them in 
 person, seemed to produce an indescribable influence on the 
 troops, and as he rode to and fro, amid the smoke, encouraging 
 the men, they greeted him with resounding cheers. This was 
 one of the few occasions when he is reported to have been mas- 
 tered by excitement. He had forgotten apparently that he com- 
 manded the whole field, and imagined himself a simple colonel 
 leading his regiment. Everywhere, in the thickest of the fire, 
 his form was seen and his voice heard, and his exertions to rally 
 the men were crowned with success. The Federal advance was 
 checked, the repulsed troops re-formed, and led once more into 
 action, and with Jackson in front the troops swept forward and 
 reestablished their lines upon the ground from which they had 
 been driven. 
 
 Those who saw Jackson when he thus galloped to the front, 
 and thus rallied his men in the very jaws of destruction, declare 
 that he resembled the genius of battle incarnate. 
 
 The advance of the Federal forces was thus checked. They 
 were forced to retire still more rapidly, and the Stonewall Bri- 
 gade closed in on their right, and drove them back with terrible 
 slaughter through the woods.* This brigade and that of Branch 
 maintained their position in spite of vigorous attempts on the 
 part of the enemy to dislodge them, and were at length reen- 
 forced by the brigades of Archer and Fender. These were hur- 
 ried forward to the threatened point, the lines were re-formed, 
 and a general charge was made all along the Confederate front. 
 This charge swept every thing before it. The enemy were 
 driven across the field, into the opposite woods. 
 
 To retrieve this disaster they had recourse to their cavalry. 
 As Jackson's lines swept forward, the men heard the tramp of 
 horsemen, and all at once a column of Federal cavalry made an 
 
 * Jackson's report.
 
 262 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 impetuous charge. At the next moment it retired in disordei 
 before the determined volleys poured into it. Taliaferro had 
 met it in front and Branch assailed it in flank. From this com- 
 bined attack it recoiled and hastily retreated from the field. 
 
 On the right Ewell had been forced to remain inactive. The 
 incessant fire of the Confederate batteries in the valley, sweep- 
 ing the only approaches to the Federal left, had prevented him 
 from advancing. This difficulty now no longer existed, and he 
 promptly threw forward his column. His front was covered 
 by skirmishers from the 15th Alabama, which had performed 
 a similar duty with so much gallantry at Cross Keys, and the 
 brigades advanced in echelon of regiments, Trimble in advance, 
 under a furious fire of artillery, with which the Federal guns 
 endeavored to check their progress. As Ewell advanced against 
 the Federal left, the confusion into which their right had been 
 thrown by the obstinate and determined attack of Jackson in 
 person, was communicated to their entire line. They wavered ; 
 and thus repulsed from the Confederate left and centre, and now 
 pressed steadily by the right centre and left, they fell back at 
 every point, broke in confusion, and leaving their dead and 
 wounded on the field, retreated to the shelter of the woods, into 
 which they were pursued. 
 
 The bloody contest had thus terminated in the complete re- 
 pulse of the Federal forces. Jackson had captured 400 prison- 
 ers, among them a brigadier-general, 5,302 small-arms, one 
 Napoleon gun and caisson, with two other caissons and a limber, 
 and three stands of colors. His loss was 223 killed, and 1,060 
 wounded. The Federal loss was not known. Among the Con- 
 federate officers who fell, the fate of none excited more sympathy 
 than that of General Charles Winder and C'.lonel Richard H. 
 Cunningham. They were both in feeble health, and had been 
 strenuously advised by their physicians not to take part in the 
 action, but the sound of the guns was irresistible. They took 
 command of their men, and fell in the action. 
 
 Such was the battle of Cedar Run. It completely checked 
 General Pope's advance, and will take its place among Jack-
 
 JACKSON PURSUES. 263 
 
 son's most important successes. The Federal force opposed to 
 him was undoubtedly much larger than his own, and we have 
 seen that at one period of the battle the Confederate line was in 
 imminent danger of a complete repulse. That repulse, however, 
 had been prevented by the timely arrival of Jackson, who, by a 
 reckless exposure of his person, rallied the troops, and led them 
 again in the charge which drove back the enemy. 
 
 As night descended upon the battle-field, a fall moon rose* 
 pouring upon the scene of carnage its melancholy radiance. 
 The pallid beams fell on the upturned faces of the dead, the 
 forms of the wounded, and upon countenances distorted in the 
 last agony. Jackson had added another to the roll of his vie* 
 tories, and the weary troops who had won the day with so 
 much difficulty lay down to sleep, the red battle-flags fluttering 
 above them in the dim moonlight. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 JACKSON PURSUES. 
 
 THUS commenced that important movement of the Confeder- 
 ate forces northward, which drove the enemy from Virginia, and 
 obliged him, finally, to concentrate his entire available strength, 
 in Maryland, for the defence of his own soil. 
 
 General Pope had commenced his campaign with an appai 
 ent conviction that nothing could resist his triumphal progress, 
 but his imposing advance had been entirely checked, and he was 
 now rapidly retreating to that " rear," where, to use his own 
 words, " lurked disaster and shame." The hand which had 
 thus heavily struck him was that of the ubiquitous leader of the 
 Valley. Two months before, Jackson had defeated Generals. 
 Shields and Fremont, at Port Republic; within three weeks 
 thereafter, his troops had suddenly appeared near Richmond, and 
 tlirowing themselves upon General McClellan had decided u^
 
 264: LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 fortunes of the day at Cold Harbor. Now the same men undei 
 their active and indefatigable commander had emerged from the 
 woods of Culpepper, in front of General Pope, and checked his 
 advance. The presence of Jackson at this point had greatly 
 astonished the Federal forces. But a short time before the bat- 
 tle, he was supposed to be rapidly advancing down the Valley 
 upon Winchester. The Federal camps there -had been thrown 
 into a tumult by this intelligence, the drums beat to arms, and 
 the Federal soldiers, we are informed by one of their own writ- 
 ers, reminded each other of the blunt words of Jackson, when 
 he had been compelled to retire from the town in May, that he 
 would " return again shortly, and as certainly as now." When 
 the troops there were thus beating the. long roll in expectation 
 of his coming, he was near Gordousville ; and before their appre- 
 hensions had subsided, he had crossed the Rapidan, and driven 
 back General Pope. There was some ground for the statement, 
 that the enemy began to experience toward Jackson- the senti- 
 ment of the Scottish mothers of the middle ages, when they 
 quieted their crying children with the threat, " Hush ! or the 
 Black Douglas will get you ! " 
 
 General Pope evidently anticipated a different result from 
 the engagement at Cedar Run. When the firing commenced he 
 was in rear of Culpepper Court House, and he announced the 
 fact to his Goternment by telegraph, adding : " I go to the front 
 to see." He is said, however, not to have reached the scene of 
 action, or taken any part in the engagement. 
 
 The battle of Cedar Run was disputed obstinately, and con- 
 tinued until night. The Confederate troops were much ex- 
 hausted by their march, and the hard fighting combined, and 
 the hours of darkness were not propitious for an advance ; but 
 Jackson was so anxious to follow up his success and reach the 
 Federal stronghold at Culpepper Court-House before morning, 
 that he determined to pursue without delay. An advance was 
 accordingly ordered, with Hill's division in front, and after pro- 
 ceeding cautiously for a mile and a half the troops came upon 
 the Federal forces. Jackson sent forward Pegram's battery,
 
 JACKSON PURSUES. 265 
 
 supported by Field's brigade, with directions to feel the Federal 
 position with artillery ; and the battery suddenly opened, throw- 
 ing the Federal forces into great confusion. They rapidly ran 
 three or four batteries into position, and replied with a heavy 
 fire. A cannonade then commenced, and continued for some 
 time, when the Federal fire having become very severe, Pegram 
 was ordered to withdraw his guns. Colonel Jones, of the cav- 
 alry, having made a reconnoissance in front and toward the 
 right of the Confederate lines, and ascertained that Federal 
 reinforcements had arrived, Jackson considered it imprudent to 
 continue the forward movement in the darkness, and ordered a 
 halt for the night. This terminated the fighting for that day. 
 
 A gentleman serving on Jackson's staff at this time gives 
 the following glimpse of him after the action. It may interest 
 those readers who are fond of personal and familiar details. 
 On the night of the battle, Jackson was excessively fatigued and 
 terribly hungry. His headquarter wagons rarely kept up, and 
 to find them was always a sore labor with him. It frequently 
 happened, indeed, that from simple want of food he would stop 
 at some camp-fire, share the rations of the men, and after a 
 familiar talk, go on his way. On this night he sought in vain 
 for his wagons, and rode about from camp to camp until he was 
 wearied out. Passing near the bivouac of the Stonewall 
 Brigade, they recognized his figure by the moonlight ; and start- 
 ing to their feet, the men greeted him with enthusiastic cheers. 
 From this he soon escaped, and returning to the subject of ra- 
 tions, declared that if he only had some milk, of which he was 
 very fond, he would be happy. None could be procured, the 
 wagons were not found, and worn out with fatigue, the General 
 wrapped himself in his old cloak, stretched himself flat on his 
 breast under a tree, and instantly fell asleep. 
 
 On the following morning it began to rain, and suspecting 
 that the enemy had been heavily reenforced during the night 
 Jackson determined not to undertake a further advance. He 
 accordingly gave directions for his wounded to be sent to the 
 rear, the dead to be buried, and the arms abandoned by the
 
 266 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 enemy in their flight to be collected frorn the battle-field. la 
 the course of the morning General J. E. B. Stuart arrived, and, 
 at Jackson's request, took command of the cavalry, and made a 
 reconnoissance. The result of this, and information from other 
 sources, convinced Jackson that the enemy had been strongly 
 reenforced. He therefore determined not to hazard another 
 battle in his weakened condition, and after . remaining long 
 enough to make all his preparations, retire. The Federal com- 
 mander seemed in no haste to renew the conflict ; and on the 
 llth nearly two days after the battle sent a flag of truce, re- 
 questing permission until two o'clock to bury such of his dead 
 as the Confederates had not interred. This was granted, and 
 the time afterwards extended, at General Pope's request, to 
 five P. M. 
 
 The Confederate forces remained in position ready to repulse 
 any attack until night, when Jackson fell back toward the Rap- 
 idan. He recrossed that river, and on the 14th of August " to 
 render thanks to God for the victory at Cedar Run, and other 
 past victories, and to implore His continual favor in the future 
 Divine service was held in the army." On the plains of Orange, 
 as amid the blue ranges of the mountains after McDowell, the 
 men bent their bronzed faces in prayer to the Giver of Victory. 
 
 On the llth of August, while in front of the enemy, some 
 one said : " General, you have sent no despatch announcing your 
 victory." 
 
 Jackson at once took a pencil, and wrote on his knee some 
 lines which he handed to the speaker, with the question : 
 
 "How will that do?" 
 
 " Well, General," was the reply, " it is pretty much a 
 repetition of your other despatches ; but this battle is a repeti- 
 tion of the others too, and I suppose it will do." 
 
 The despatch was as follows : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS VALLEY DISTRICT, August llth 6:15 A. M. 
 COLONEL : On the evening of the 9th instant God blessed our arms with 
 another victory. The battle was near Cedar Run, about six miles from Cut 
 pepper Court-House. The enemy, according to statements of prisoners, con*
 
 LEE ADVANCES FROM THE RAP1DAN. 267 
 
 sisted of Banks', McDowell's, and Sigel's commands. We have over four 
 hundred prisoners, including Brigadier-General Prince. Whilst our list of 
 killed is less than that of the enemy, jet we have to mourn the loss of some 
 of our best officers and men. Brigadier-General Charles S. Winder was 
 mortally wounded whilst ably discharging his duty at the head of his com- 
 mand, which was the advance of the left wing of the army. We have col- 
 lected about 1,500 small-arms and other ordnance stores. 
 I am, Colonel,' your obedient servant, 
 
 T. J. JACKSON, Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
 Colonel R. H. CHILTON, A. A. G. 
 
 General Pope's was in these words : 
 
 HEADQUARTE 
 CEDAR MOUNTAIN, August 12tA 7:30 A. x 
 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMT OF VIRGINIA, ) 
 
 . 
 
 To Major-General HALLECK : 
 
 The enemy has retreated under cover of the night. 
 
 His rear is now crossing the Rapidan toward Orange Court-House. 
 
 Our cavalry and artillery are in pursuit. 
 
 JOHN POPE, Major-General, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 LEE ADVANCES FROM THE RAPIDAN. 
 
 JACKSON thus retired before the enemy toward Orange Court- 
 House, and the Federal cavalry contented themselves with hover- 
 ing on his rear and observing his march. The significance of 
 his retrograde movement was doubtless well understood, and was 
 justly regarded as the drawing back of the arm about to strike 
 a heavier blow. ;''- 
 
 The result of the battle of Cedar Run seems to have con- 
 vinced the Federal authorities that to make any headway in the 
 new field of operations on the Rappahannock, it would be neces- 
 sary to concentrate in that region all the troops operating in 
 Virginia. A brief period only had therefore elapsed before a 
 fleet of transports appeared in James River, proceeded to Harri- 
 son's Landing, and took on board the entire remnant of General
 
 268 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 McClellan's army, which had remained there under protection 
 of the gunboats since the defeat on the Chickahorainy. The 
 plan of the Federal authorities was to unite General McClellan's* 
 forces with those of General Pope ; to hurry forward from 
 Fredericksburg the troops under General Burnside, and, forming 
 one great army of these three distinct bodies, concentrate them 
 between the Rappahannock and the Rapidan, with a view to 
 penetrate the heart of Virginia, cut the communications of the 
 Confederate capital, and either drive the Government from the 
 State, or reduce it to submission. 
 
 This design was energetically undertaken, and the Confed- 
 erates were promptly called on to decide whether they would 
 stand on the defensive, for the protection of Richmond against 
 this new attack, or advance upon the enemy, and " carry the 
 war into Africa." 
 
 The latter determination was speedily arrived at ; offensive 
 operations were decided upon ; and no sooner had General Lee 
 satisfied himself that General McClellan was evacuating his po- 
 sition on James River, than he hastened to put his troops in 
 motion to attack General Pope before the expected reeuforce- 
 ments reached him. 
 
 The Confederate forces were accordingly concentrated in the 
 neighborhood of Gordonsville ; and on the 15th of August Jack- 
 son advanced, passed Orange Court-House, and camped on the 
 same evening near Mount Pisgah Church. The force under his 
 command at this time consisted of 
 
 Ewell's Division embracing the brigades of Lawton, Early, 
 Trimble, and Hays (Colonel Ferno commanding the latter) ; with 
 the. batteries of Brown, Dement, Latimer, Balthus, and D'Aquiu. 
 
 A. P. Hill's Division embracing the brigades of Branch 
 Gregg, Field, Pender, Archer, and Thomas ; with the batteries 
 of Braxton, Latham, Crenshaw, Mclntosh, Davidson, and 
 Pegram. 
 
 Jackson's (old) Division, Brigadier-General W. B. Talia- 
 ferro commanding embracing the brigades of Winder (Colonel 
 Baylor), Campbell (Major Seddon), Taliaferro (Colonel A. G.
 
 LEE ADVANCES FROM THE KAPIDAN. 26? 
 
 Taliaferro), and Starke ; with the batteries of Brockenbrough, 
 Wooding, Poague, Carpenter, Caskie, and Raines. 
 
 The Old Division was thus commanded by a brigadier-gen- 
 eral, and its brigades by colonels and majors a significant 
 commentary upon the gallantry of its officers, who had been ter- 
 ribly thinned out in the fierce encounters through which it had 
 passed. 
 
 " Major-General Stuart," says Jackson, " with his cavalry 
 cooperated during the expedition, and I shall more than once 
 have to acknowledge my obligations for the valuable and efficient 
 aid which he rendered." 
 
 Jackson remained at Mount Pisgah until the 20th, General 
 Longstreet not having completed his preparations to advance ; 
 but all being at last ready, the army moved across the Rapidan 
 on that day, and 'the campaign began. General Lee appears to 
 have designed an attack on General Pope's left flank and rear, 
 with a view to cut off* his retreat to the Rappahannock by the 
 line of the railroad, when the whole Federal army would either 
 be forced to fight at a disadvantage, or surrender themselves 
 prisoners of war. With this end in view, Longstreet moved by 
 way of Raccoon ford, and Jackson by way of Somerville ford, 
 on the Rapidan. Once beyond the river, Jackson pushed on 
 without delay, and on the same night reached Stevensburg, a 
 little village on the main road from Culpepper CourlxHouse to 
 Fredericksburg, and almost opposite the left flank of the enemy. 
 
 It may interest some of our readers to have a glimpse of the 
 Southern troops upon the marcii. History deals in generalities ; 
 but the actual picture, however homely, is more interesting, if not 
 as valuable, as the " official statement." From the journal of an 
 eye-witness we extract the following paragraphs relating to the 
 movements of the troops : 
 
 " August 20. Army crossed the Rapidan, the water thigh- 
 deep. Scene exciting and amusing. * 
 
 "August 21. The enemy in close proximity, and we have 
 to move cautiously. * * * From a hill on the other side of 
 the Rapidan we have a magnificent view for miles. Three col
 
 270 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 umns long black winding lines of men, their muskets gleaming 
 in the sunshine like silver spears are in sight, moving in the 
 direction of Fredericksburg or down the opposite bank of the 
 river. Those skirmishing in front. Good many stragglers by 
 the wayside, but they are generally broken-down soldiers, and 
 trudge slowly along in the tracks of their comrades. An at- 
 tractive part of the procession is the baggage trains, wending 
 their way in the rear of the army. Thousands of wagons are 
 in sight, and between the stalling of trains, the shouting of 
 drivers, and the chaotic confusion which emanates from the 
 motley mass, no man can complain of the ennui of the march. 
 
 " Nothing can be more picturesquely beautiful than the biv- 
 ouac at night. Thousands of troops line the woods on both 
 sides of the road for miles. Camp-fires are glimmering in the 
 trees, muskets are stacked along the edge of the forest, and the 
 men are disposed in every conceivable manner. Some are rolled 
 up in their blankets and already dreaming away the fatigues of 
 the day ; some are sitting around the camp-fires, watching the 
 roasting ears, and discussing the ' coming events which cast 
 their shadows before,' and some are among the trees, moving ta 
 and fro in the gray film of smoke that has arisen from the myr- 
 iad fires and rests upon the earth. We live on what we can 
 get now and then an ear of corn, fried green apples, or a bit 
 of ham broiled on a stick, but quite as frequently do without 
 either from morning until night. We sleep on the ground with- 
 out any other covering than a blanket, and consider ourselves 
 fortunate if we are not frozen stiff before morning. The nights 
 are both damp and cold." 
 
 A portion of this extract paints with great accuracy the com- 
 missariat of the Southern army. " A bit of ham broiled on a 
 stick " was a luxury with the men, and the time was soon to 
 come when it would be wholly unattainable ; when the entire 
 force would be called on to subsist upon green corn roasted on 
 the embers sole bill of fare of the tired and hungry soldier. 
 
 General Lee had thus massed his army between the Rappa- 
 hannock and the Rapidan, directly on the enemy's flank ; but in
 
 LEE ADVANCES FROM THE RAPID AN. 271 
 
 his expectation of a decisive battle there, he soon found himseli 
 disappointed. General Pope had no intention of renewing a 
 trial of strength with the Confederates after his experience at 
 Cedar Run ; and with a prudence which ill assorted with his 
 publicly expressed determination to take no step toward that 
 "rear" where "lurked disaster and shame," he no sooner sus- 
 pected the intended attack than he fell back promptly to the 
 north bank of the Rappahannock, and, crowning every hill with 
 his batteries, prepared to dispute the passage of the river. 
 
 Jackson lost no time in following up this retreat of the ene- 
 my, and on the 21st moved with Taliaferro's brigade in front to 
 Beverly's ford, the main crossing of the Rappahannock, just 
 above the point where the railroad intersects it. The enemy 
 were seen in force on the opposite bank, and Jackson promptly 
 ordered forward the batteries of his division under Major Shu- 
 maker, which opened fire and succeeded in silencing the Federal 
 artillery, and dispersing their infantry supports. This repulse, 
 however, was only temporary. General Stuart, who had made 
 a reconnoissance beyond the Rappahannock with his cavalry and 
 horse artillery, reported an advance in force, and heavy columns 
 soon appeared on the opposite bank. Their batteries were 
 placed in position, and a rapid and determined artillery duel en- 
 sued between the Federal batteries and those of Taliaferro. 
 This lasted all day. and when the shades of night descended 
 the landscape was s*ill lit up by bursting shell and the lurid glare 
 of the cannon. 
 
 On the morning of the 22d Jackson withdrew from the ene- 
 my's front at Beverly's ford, and advancing up the bank of the 
 river with Ewell in front, crossed Hazel River, a tributary of 
 the Rappahannock, at Welford's ford. Here Trimble's brigade 
 was left to protect the flank of the wagon train from attack, 
 and the necessity of this precaution was soon rendered apparent. 
 About noon a small party of the enemy made a dash at the 
 train and captured a portion of it. They were attacked, how- 
 ever, in turn, the wagons recaptured, and the whole party made 
 prisoners. About four o'clock a more determined effort waa
 
 272 LIFE OF STOXEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 made to delay Jackson's march, and cut off his trains. A con- 
 siderable Federal force crossed the river below, and attacked the' 
 wagons, but this met with no better success. Trimble, sup- 
 ported by Hood (commanding General Lougstreet's advance), 
 met this party, and after a sharp engagement routed and drove 
 them beyond the river again, a considerable portion of their 
 force having been taken prisoners. 
 
 Jackson continued to advance, paying little attention to these 
 assaults on his rear, and reached a point opposite Freeman's 
 ford, the next ford above the mouth of Hazel Eiver. This he 
 found guarded by a strong force, and he marched on to Warren- 
 ton Springs, on the old stage road from Warrenton to Culpepper 
 Court-House. Here he found the bridge over the river de- 
 stroyed, but the point slightly guarded, and no time was lost in 
 endeavoring to secure a position of so much importance. The 
 13th Georgia, Colonel Douglas, with the eight guns of Brown 
 and Dement, and afterwards Early's brigade, were ordered to 
 cross, and the Springs were soon in his possession, with a num- 
 ber of prisoners. 
 
 This movement had no sooner been effected than it com- 
 menced raining, and Early's position became one of very great 
 peril. The Federal forces were rapidly approaching to attack 
 him ; the river began to rise, and he was completely cut off from 
 the main body on the southern bank. Urgent messages were 
 despatched by General Early describing his situation, and stating 
 that a reconnoissance in person had discovered the enemy in his 
 front and on both flanks. To this Jackson responded briefly : 
 
 " Tell General Early to hold his position." 
 
 The 23d passed, and the enemy were nearly in collision with. 
 Early. But Jackson had not been .idle. Details of men had 
 been constructing all day a temporary bridge over the swollen 
 river, and by dawn on the 24th the infantry and artillery were 
 all safely over on the southern bank again. Early hd scarcely 
 crossed when the enemy pressed forward, and a fierce cannon- 
 ade commenced between their batteries and those of Hill. 
 
 At the very moment when Jackson was thus feeling the eu-
 
 LEE ADVANCES FKOM THE RAPID AN. 273 
 
 emy on the Rappahannock, General Stuart, at the head of his 
 cavalry, had by one of those bold dashes which characterized 
 him, penetrated to their' rear, and, in the midst of night and 
 storm, struck them at Catlet's Station, on the Orange and Alex- 
 andria Railroad, where General Pope then was in person. The 
 men on this occasion behaved with much gallantry, charging at 
 a gallop through the midnight darkness, deepened by a heavy 
 thunder-storm, over rough and unknown ground, upon the camps 
 of the enemy. The attack threw every thing into confusion, 
 and the Federal officers fled from their tents into the darkness, 
 almost without firing a shot ; but a heavy volley from their men, 
 behind the railroad, was poured into the faces of the southern 
 horsemen. General Pope escaped, leaving his coat and hat be- 
 hind, but several of his officers were captured. The most val- 
 uable part of the captured property was a box of official papers, 
 which are said to have clearly exhibited the strength of his 
 army ; his anxious desire for reinforcements ; his expectation 
 that they would soon arrive ; and the slender hopes which he 
 indulged of holding his ground, if the Confederate commander 
 attacked him in force. General Stuart hastened to lay these 
 valuable documents before General Lee, and the revelations 
 which they afforded of the enemy's numbers and designs, prob 
 ably led to the decisive movement which speedily followed the 
 raid. 
 
 General Lee determined to send a column against the ene- 
 my's rear, to get between him and Washington, cut his com- 
 munications, and in conjunction with the rest of the army, which 
 would follow, engage his whole force, and capture or destroy it 
 before it could retreat to the Potomac. This movement would 
 necessarily be attended with great peril, as the force thus de- 
 tached would be entirely separated from the main body under 
 Lee ; would move straight to a position directly in the path of 
 the retreating enemy, and might be called upon to sustain the 
 assault of his entire column before succor could reach it. To 
 effect the object of the commander-in-chief, the utmost energy, 
 judgment, and decision were necessary in the officer who under- 
 18
 
 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSOX. 
 
 took the expedition, and a man must be selected who had capa 
 city to operate alone, and whose movements would be rapid and 
 decisive. The officer selected to conduct this flank movement 
 was Jackson. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MARCH TO MANASSAS. 
 
 JACKSON lost no time. On Monday, the 25th of August, he 
 retired from the position opposite Warrenton Springs, and as- 
 cending the banks of the Rappahannock, passed through the lit- 
 tle village of Amissville, and crossed the river at Hinson's ford, 
 dragging his artillery with difficulty up the narrow and rock- 
 ribbed road beyond. From this moment rapidity of movement 
 was essential to success. The presence of Jackson in that re- 
 gion could not long be concealed, and it was vitally important 
 that the Confederate forces should push on and pass through 
 Thoroughfare Gap their proposed line of advance before the 
 enemy could occupy that strong fortress and bar their passage. 
 
 The famous " Foot Cavalry " were now called upon to put 
 forth their utmost strength. A long and exhausting march was 
 before them ; every moment was precious ; Thoroughfare Gap 
 must be reached before the enemy arrived, and the ordinary 
 rules of marching must be changed. As though recognizing 
 the truth of the maxim that wherever two men can place their 
 feet an army can move, Jackson pushed on beneath the shadow 
 of the Blue Ridge, " across open fields," declares one of hi? 
 men, " by strange country roads and comfortable homesteads, 
 by a little town in Fauquier, called Orleans, on and on, as if he 
 would never cease." When the Confederate forces advanced by 
 the same route in June, 1863, a soldier asked an old negro 
 whither the road which they were then travelling led. 
 
 " All right, master," replied the old man, with an astute
 
 THE MARCH TO MANASSAS. 275 
 
 smile, " you are going the same road Mass Jackson took last year, 
 only he took the nigh cuts ! " 
 
 By these " nigh cuts," through fields and farm gates, often 
 through gaps hastily opened in the fences, Jackson continued to 
 advance. The troops were not permitted to pause for an in- 
 stant ; weary, footsore, almost without food, they were still 
 marched steadily forward, and at night, worn out but gay, hun- 
 gry but full of enthusiasm, they bivouacked near the town of 
 Salem, on the Manassas Gap Railroad. 
 
 An officer of Jackson's staff presents a sketch of the leader 
 and his men at this moment, which is interesting. 
 
 "When his corps reached Salem," says this MS., " Gen- 
 eral Jackson rode up to the officer commanding the front 
 brigade, and complimented him upon the good condition of his 
 men, and the fine march made that day. They had then 
 travelled more than twenty miles, and were still moving on 
 briskly, and without stragglers. General Jackson stood on the 
 side of the road, and looked with evident pleasure on the full and 
 well-closed ranks ; and when they commenced their usual cheer- 
 ing, he raised his hand to stop them, and all along the lines 
 went the words, 4 Don't shout, boys, the Yankees will hear us ! ' 
 The regiments passed by without music or noise, not even a 
 loud-spoken word could be heard, nothing but the steady tramp 
 of the men. As they passed, they raised their caps, and waved 
 them around their heads, and the enthusiastic love which beamed 
 on every Countenance, showed how hard it was to suppress the 
 usual greeting. Those who saw General Jackson that evening 
 as he sat on his horse, cap in hand, with the westering sun 
 shining full on his firm kind face, could not say that he was 
 without pride. He was full of it his face all aglow with it ; 
 but it was for his men, not one iota for himself. When they 
 bad all passed, he turned and said : ' Who could fail to win vic- 
 tory with those men ! ' ' 
 
 In other portions of the line the men could not restrain their 
 enthusiasm at sight of the dingy uniform, the old yellow cap, 
 and the firm face beneath. In spite of every caution, and the
 
 276 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 orders of the General in person, they whirled their caps arounc. 
 their heads, and cheered him tumultuously. To this the soldier- 
 heart of Jackson succumbed, the disobedience of orders was 
 forgotten, and turning to a person near him, with a proud smile 
 which he could not suppress, he said : " You see I can't stop 
 them ! " 
 
 Reaching Salem at midnight, the troops were again in mo- 
 tion at daylight ; and passing " crowds, all welcoming, cheering, 
 staring with blank amazement" at the sight of Confederate 
 troops in that region, pressed on through the plains to Thorough- 
 fare Gap. The mountain-gorge was undefended, the enemy 
 had been " headed off; " and passing rapidly between the frown- 
 ing ramparts with their belts of dusky pines, Jackson with his 
 army, hungry and exhausted, but as resolute as ever, descended 
 like a hawk upon Manassas. 
 
 General Pope in his official report declares that he knew of 
 Jackson's movement. If he estimated its importance correctly,, 
 his failure to oppose it is not flattering to his skill as a command- 
 er. It is probable, however, that he regarded it as a move- 
 ment chiefly if not entirely of cavalry, a mere raid against his 
 depot at Manassas. It is improbable that the amount of force 
 under Jackson was discovered. General Stuart was on the 
 right flank of the Confederate column with a cordon of pickets, 
 and a network of scouting parties, scouring the whole region, 
 and to penetrate Stuart's chain of videttes, in any important 
 movement, was next to impossible. Had General Pope felt con- 
 vinced that the force advancing to assail his rear was not a body 
 of cavalry only, but an army corps under a commander so active 
 and dangerous as Jackson, his operations on the Rappahannock 
 would doubtless have terminated two days sooner. Thorough- 
 fare Gap would have been defended ; and the conditions under 
 which the great battles at Manassas were fought would have 
 been changed. 
 
 General Stuart had pushed in advance with his cavalry, 
 ascended the Bull Run Mountain by a winding and rocky road, 
 10 the right of the gap, and descending the eastern acclivity
 
 THE MAECH TO M4NASSAS. 277 
 
 taken his post again in front and on the flanks of the army, 
 which, on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 26th, reached the neigh- 
 borhood of Manassas. 
 
 This march will always remain famous in history. It was 
 the achievement of a leader fertile in resource, close in his cal- 
 culation of time and material, and unerring in decision and exe- 
 cution. Jackson had either outgeneralled or surprised the com- 
 mander of the Federal forces, and General Pope, who up to that 
 time had persistently kept his eyes upon the Confederate column 
 in his front upon the Rappahannock, now found himself cut off 
 from Washington by a column in his rear, and forced to retreat 
 or fight upon terms dictated by his adversary. 
 
 Jackson had thus accomplished with entire success one part 
 of his programme, and the execution of the movement was wor- 
 thy of his reputation as a soldier. But in contemplating the 
 success of the leader, we ought not to lose sight of the credit 
 which belongs to the troops. They had on this, as on many 
 other occasions, displayed a soldiership, endurance, and cheerful- 
 ness under privation and hardship which would do honor to the 
 best fighting races of history. In two days they had marched 
 about fifty miles to make an attack, which is very different from 
 a retreat. This rapid advance was made to gain a position in 
 which they expected to be immediately assailed by the large force 
 under General Pope, certain to be united against Jackson as 
 soon as it could be brought up. Many of the men were bare- 
 footed, and limped along " weary unto death." They were faint 
 from want of food and broken down by. absence of rest, but, as 
 we have seen, moved on " briskly, and without stragglers." 
 Only those who saw the Confederate troops at this time, before 
 and after the second battle of Manassas, can realize their cheer- 
 ful and soldierly bearing under privations which were calculated 
 to break down their strength and quench all their ardor. The 
 phenomenon was here presented of an army living for many 
 days upon green corn and unripe apples only and during this 
 time making exhausting marches, engaging in incessant combats, 
 and repulsing every assault. The tioops which presented this
 
 278 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 worthy and honorable spectacle were for the most part composed 
 of young men who had never known what it was to want even 
 the delicacies of life. The flower of the Southern youth, raised 
 in affluence and luxury, were toiling on over the dusty highways, 
 or lying exhausted by the roadside, or fighting when so feeble 
 that they could scarcely handle their muskets ; but a something 
 stern and resolute in the blood of these boys seemed to bear them 
 up, keep them to their work, and make them laugh even in the 
 midst of their sufferings. The writer of this page saw the men 
 of the South at this great crisis, and his pulse still throbs as 'he 
 recalls the noble spectacle which they presented. 
 
 Thoroughfare Gap was passed, the open country lay before 
 Jackson, and at Gainesville General Stuart came up with his 
 cavalry, and took position on the right flank. It was important 
 to strike the Federal communications immediately and attack 
 Manassas if possible before General Pope received intelligence 
 of the advance upon his rear ; and with this end in view, Jack- 
 son hurried forward to Bristoe, a station on the Orange and 
 Alexandria Railroad, four miles from Manassas, which was 
 reached and a small guard captured after sunset. As Stuart ap- 
 proached this place the sound of cars was heard from the direc- 
 tion of Warrenton, and a train was soon seen approaching 
 rapidly. Colonel Munford, of the 2d Virginia cavalry, fired into 
 it as it passed at full speed, but did not succeed in stopping it. 
 It continued its way and reached Manassas in safety. Other 
 trains were heard coming from the same direction, however, and, 
 dividing his force, General Ewell took possession of two points 
 on the railroad, which was obstructed by logs upon the track. 
 The trains came on without suspicion, and the result in this case 
 was more satisfactory. Two were captured, one having been 
 thrown off the track and others still were heard coming. 
 
 But by this time the firing seems to have been heard, and to 
 have excited suspicion. The trains in the direction of Warren- 
 ton uttered shrill screams which experts declared to signify, " Is 
 all right?" One of these railroad experts, named Foreman, 
 jumped on the prostrate engine, turned a portion of the ma-
 
 THE MAECH TO MANASSAS. 279 
 
 chineiy, and signalled back : " All right come on " General 
 Fitz Lee drawing up his cavalry to fire upon them as they drew 
 near. But the alarm had been given ; the trains would not run 
 the perilous gauntlet ; and the troops must turn their attention 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Jackson was thus completely in the enemy's rear ; held pos- 
 session of the railroad which supplied their army ; and the first 
 act of the great drama had been played. When the curtain de- 
 scended, this was the position of affairs : Lee was on General 
 Pope's flank ; Jackson in his rear ; the Federal reenforcements 
 from Washington and Fredericksburg had not arrived ; General 
 Pope must fight on ground and conditions selected by his enemy, 
 A cool and determined spirit would not, however, have regarded 
 the situation as desperate. Lee, with his main body, was still 
 a long way off ; Burnside was approaching from below; reen- 
 forcements were being hurried forward from Alexandria ; and 
 Jackson was playing a game which might with good hopes of 
 success be retorted against himself. Proceeding upon this view 
 of the subject, General Pope put his columns in motion and ad- 
 vanced to protect his communications, and attack Jackson before 
 he could be reenforced by Lee. 
 
 Our narrative deals with the movements of the personage 
 thus threatened. The first thing necessary was to gain posses- 
 sion of Manassas. Night had now descended, and the men were 
 exhausted by the heavy marching of the last two days ; but the 
 situation was critical ; the destruction of the stores at Manassaa 
 essential to Jackson's designs and he determined to make the 
 attack without delay. General Trimble volunteered to under- 
 take it, and accordingly advanced with the 21st North Carolina 
 and the 21st Georgia in all about five hundred men. In order 
 to insure the success of the assault, General Stuart was subse- 
 quently directed to move with a portion of his cavalry to co- 
 operate with Trimble, and " as the ranking officer, to take com- 
 mand of the expedition." The Federal force at Manassas made 
 but slight resistance. General Stuart advanced ahead of the 
 infantry with his cavalry, until challenged by the enemy's iate-.
 
 280 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 rior sentinels, and fired on with canister ; and finding the ground 
 impracticable for cavalry at night, sent for the infantry. When 
 it arrived, he directed General Trimble to rest his centre on the 
 railroad and advance, which was immediately done, and after a 
 brief contest the place was captured, Colonel Wickham, with a 
 portion of the cavalry, cutting off the enemy's retreat. 
 
 The amount of arms and stores captured at Manassas was 
 very large. Eight pieces of artillery ; seventy-two horses and 
 equipments ; three hundred prisoners ; two hundred negroes ; two 
 hundred new tents ; one hundred and seventy-five additional 
 horses, exclusive of artillery horses ; ten locomotives ; two rail- 
 road trains of enormous size, loaded with many millions' worth 
 of stores ; fifty thousand pounds of bacon ; one thousand barrels 
 of beef ; twenty thousand barrels of pork ; several thousand bar- 
 rels of flour, and a large quantity of forage, fell into Jackson's 
 hands. In addition to these public stores, were the contents of 
 the sutlers' shops, containing, says an eye-witness, " an amount 
 and variety of property such as I had never conceived of." 
 The same writer says : " 'Twas a curious sight to see our ragged 
 and famished men helping themselves to every imaginable article 
 of luxury or necessity, whether of clothing, food, or what not. 
 For my part I got a tooth-brush, a box of candles, a quantity of 
 lobster salad, a barrel of coffee, and other things which I forget. 
 The scene utterly beggared description. Our men had been liv- 
 ing on roasted corn since crossing the Rappahannock, and we 
 had brought no wagons, so we could carry little away of the 
 riches before us. But the men could eat one meal at least. So 
 they were marched up, and as much of every thing eatable 
 served out as they could carry. To see a starving man eating 
 lobster salad and drinking Rhine wine, barefooted and in tatters, 
 was curious ; the whole thing was indescribable." 
 
 This vast mass of public and private stores, with the excep- 
 tion of what the men consumed or carried away with them, a 
 bakery, furnishing daily fifteen thousand loaves of bread, and all 
 the public buildings of the place, were consigned to the flames
 
 THE MARCH TO MANASSAS. 28] 
 
 and utterly destroyed. Jackson was not to hold the place with- 
 out a further struggle, however, on the part of the enemy. 
 
 Intelligence of the danger to which this great magazine of 
 stores was exposed having reached Washington, a brigade of 
 New Jersey troops, under General Taylor, was promptly ordered 
 forward by railroad to defend it. The train reached the bridge 
 over Bull Run about seven in the morning of the 27th ; the 
 troops were disembarked, and the entire command hurried for- 
 ward as rapidly as possible toward Manassas. The Confederate 
 skirmishers, who had been posted along the crest of hills over- 
 looking Bull Run, fell back before the enemy, and they were thus 
 drawn on toward the fortifications, where the infantry and dis- 
 mounted cavalry awaited them in silence. They had advanced 
 in line of battle within close and deadly range, when suddenly 
 the artillery in the breastworks opened, and a storm of shot and 
 shell greeted them. They fell back behind a sheltering crest, 
 and were at once attacked by the Confederate infantry, who 
 drove them through Blackburn's ford, to the opposite side of 
 Bull Run. Here they were fired into by the Stuart Horse Artil- 
 lery, under Major Pelham. General Taylor was killed ; his son, 
 nephew, and at least one-half of his officers wounded, and the 
 enemy fell back in full retreat. 
 
 Hill's and Jackson's divisions were now in the neighborhood 
 of Manassas, and had driven off some of the Federal cavalry 
 and artillery which still hovered near in the direction of the old 
 battle-field. EwelPs division had remained at Bristoe. This 
 was to receive the first attack of Pope's column, pressing forward 
 to guard his rear. The advance force of General Pope was led 
 by General Hooker, an officer of energy and ability, and it soon 
 became apparent that the whole of General Pope's army had 
 fallen back from the Rappahannock, and was about to throw 
 itself upon the comparatively small force opposed to it. 
 
 The enemy appeared in Ewell's front in the afternoon, and 
 their forces were visible as far as the eye could see. The Con- 
 federate commander saw that he was largely outnumbered, and 
 could effect nothing against this great force, but he nevertheless
 
 282 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 advanced to the attack, determined to hold them in check unti 
 Jackson had accomplished his work at Manassas. The 6th and 
 8th Louisiana regiments and the 60th Georgia were promptly 
 thrown forward to engage two Federal brigades which were now 
 within close range ; and Ewell opened with a rapid fire of artil- 
 lery, which drove the Federal advance force back in confusion. 
 Their places were, however, taken by fresh columns of Federal 
 troops, and heavy reinforcements were rapidly moved to the 
 front, General Pope evidently desiring to bring on a general en- 
 gagement immediately. Ewell, however, declined the proffered 
 battle, and, drawing up Early' s brigade to protect his rear, fell 
 back in the direction of Manassas. Two regiments of cavalry, 
 under Munford and Rosser, covered Early's rear ; Captain Bos- 
 well, of the engineers, destroyed the bridge, and the column fell 
 back unpursued. 
 
 This affair was claimed by the Federal commander as an 
 important success, his impression being, apparently, that he had 
 thus repulsed, without difficulty. Jackson's entire force. The 
 intelligence was telegraphed to Washington, where it was 
 printed ; and this was the origin of the opinion held throughout 
 the North, for the moment, that Jackson was " cut off," and 
 would inevitably be captured. 
 
 The Confederate cavalry had meanwhile exerted all their ac- 
 tivity. During the entire day they were engaged in observing 
 the enemy, reporting his movements, and capturing detached 
 parties in all directions. General Fitz Lee was sent on an ex- 
 pedition toward Fairfax Court-House, to still further damage 
 the Federal communications, and, if possible, cut off the retreat 
 of Taylor's brigade ; and the entire region was scoured by ef- 
 ficient officers of cavalry, who notified General Jackson of every 
 movement. 
 
 At nightfall Manassas was evacuated ; and when the enemy 
 took possession on the following morning, Stuart's few remain- 
 ing cavalry falling back before them, they found only smoking 
 ruins, and the burnt and blackened remains of their great masses 
 of stores.
 
 THE MARCH TO MANASSAS. 283 
 
 The destruction of these stores was of vital importance to 
 General Jackson. It doubtless seemed hard to his hungry sol- 
 diers, that after a march of fifty miles, almost without food, they 
 should be called upon to destroy the tempting commissary 
 stores, and innumerable luxuries of the sutlers' shops, almost 
 before they had satisfied the cravings of nature. But the person- 
 al comfort of the army was at that moment a very small item in 
 the account. The destruction of these stores was one of the 
 greatest objects of the expedition ; General Pope depended upon 
 them for the subsistence of his army ; and the success or failure 
 of the grand operations about to commence was largely involved 
 in depriving the enemy of their benefit. 
 
 General Pope's official report shows how thoroughly he was 
 crippled by the capture of Manassas. He rests his apology for 
 the defeat which followed upon the want of rations for his men 
 and forage for his horses. Describing his starving condition, 
 and inveighing against General McClellan for refusing to de- 
 spatch trains of supplies without an escort of cavalry, he attrib- 
 utes all to the destruction at Manassas. There were some 
 grounds for his statement. Even if General Fitz Lee's cavalry 
 had permitted a convoy to pass, it could not have arrived in 
 time ; and General Pope declares in his report, that whether 
 defeating Jackson, or defeated by him, it was a simple question 
 of time whether he should fall back behind Bull Run, toward his 
 supplies, or " starve." He adds that the battle of Saturday was 
 fought because he had no option in the matter, and could not 
 delay an engagement. " Starvation" for men and horses stared 
 him in the face, and drove him to renew the action. 
 
 Such were the excellent results immediately achieved by 
 Jackson in the capture of the enemy's magazines at Manassas. 
 That historic place had thus been twice destroyed by the Confed- 
 erate commanders first by Johnston, and then by Jackson. 
 
 It had twice been occupied by the enemy, on the next day, 
 but under different circumstances. The troops which took pos- 
 session when Johnston evacuated and destroyed it in March, 
 were the advance guard of an army thoroughly provisioned and
 
 284 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 in high spirits. Those who entered it on the 28th of Augusl 
 were hungry, and with spirits already darkened by the shadow 
 of Jackson. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 JACKSON AT BAT. 
 
 JACKSON turned his back on the burning houses of Manassas 
 at nightfall. 
 
 His position was now perilous in the extreme. The main 
 body of Lee's army was in motion, and marching by the same 
 route which he had followed, to his assistance ; but General 
 Pope was moving to attack him, and the head of the Federal 
 column had already come in collision with General E\vell. Lee 
 had the arc of the circle to follow, while his adversary moved 
 over the chord ; and all now depended upon the former's celeri- 
 ty, and Jackson's strategy in meanwhile keeping the enemy at 
 bay. If General Pope could once come up with and strike 
 Jackson before Lee and Longstreet arrived, the contest would be 
 desperate, as the Confederates would be greatly outnumbered ; 
 and to ward off the threatened blow until the main body came 
 to his succor, was now the aim of General Jackson. 
 
 The movement brought into play all his resources of energy, 
 nerve, prudence, and generalship. He might have retired with- 
 out difficulty before the enemy, in the direction of Aldie, and 
 turning the Bull Run Mountain at its northern extremity, formed 
 a junction with Lougstreet, aud defied the foe ; but this with- 
 drawal of the advance force was no part of the plan of General 
 Lee. The design of that commander was to engage the enernj 
 with his whole force in the neighborhood of Manassas, while 
 they were laboring under the embarrassments occasioned by the 
 destruction of their stores and communications while the men 
 and horses were hungry and exhausted and before supplies 
 could reach them from Alexandria. The retreat toward Aldie,
 
 JACKSON AT BAT. 285 
 
 on Jackson's part, would have lost to him half the fruits of the 
 great movement thwarted General Lee's plans and reversed 
 the whole programme of operations. He accordingly banished all 
 thought of such a retrograde movement, and with that stubborn 
 nerve which characterized him, determined to fall back slowly to 
 a position within supporting distance of Longstreet, contest every 
 inch of the ground, and only retire when the existence of his army 
 made it necessary. 
 
 Accordingly, just after suriset, he put his troops in motion, 
 and began the movement which was to effect his object. His 
 corps was divided, and took different routes. Hill's division, 
 with a detachment of cavalry, set out on the road to Centreville, 
 crossing at Blackburn's ford, and thus drawing the attention of 
 the enemy in a false direction. Hill did not proceed beyond 
 Centreville, however. Having reached that point he faced to 
 the left, took the Warrenton road, and returned, recrossing 
 Bull Run at Stone bridge, hotly pursued by General Pope, who 
 had gone after him to Centreville " with Heintzelman and Reno 
 as a body-guard," says General Fitz John Porter, " not knowing 
 at the time where was the enemy." Near this point he rejoined 
 Jackson, who had fallen back, with Ewell's division, his own 
 and the rest of the cavalry, and taken up a position on the battle- 
 field of Manassas ; his left resting near Sudley ford ; his right at 
 a point a little above the small village of Groveton.* The crest 
 which he occupied was partly protected in front by a railroad 
 
 * The consequences of Jackson's movement against the Federal rear are 
 vividly depicted in the despatches of their generals. On the 28th General 
 Porter telegi iphed to General Burnside : "All that talk about bagging Jackson 
 was bosh. That enormous gap Manassas was left open, and the enemj 
 jumped through." On the 29th the same general telegraphed : "It would 
 seem from proper (?) statements of the enemy that he was wandering around 
 loose ; but I expect they know what they are doing, which is more than anj 
 one here, or anywhere, knows." When a large amount of ammunition was 
 sent from Washington, he telegraphed in regard to it that it " was on the 
 road to Alexandria, where we are all going." 
 
 On the 1st of September General McClellan wrote : " This week is the crisis 
 of our fate."
 
 286 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 cut that of a projected road branching from the main Manassas. 
 Railroad near Gainesville, and running toward Alexandria. 
 Here he was in a position to repulse the enemy unless they ad- 
 vanced in overpowering force ; to form a junction with Long- 
 street as soon as he arrived, and, if hard pressed, retire up the 
 right bank of Bull Run toward Aldie. 
 
 Deceived by the movements of A. P. Hill toward Centre- 
 ville, a force of the enemy had followed him in that direction, 
 and pursued hotly until his rear guard passed Stone bridge. 
 This was in the afternoon. But meanwhile the cavalry force of 
 the two armies had come into collision. General Stuart dis- 
 posed his cavalry so as to cover Jackson's front in the direction 
 of Warren ton and Manassas ; and having intercepted a despatch 
 from the enemy, directing cavalry to report to General Bayard 
 at Haymarket, near Thoroughfare, Stuart proceeded in that 
 direction, with his two fragments of brigades, to attack it, and 
 establish communication with Longstreet, whose arrival was 
 looked for with intense anxiety. On the way, Stuart captured 
 a party of the enemy, and, having sent his despatch through by 
 a trusty messenger, engaged the enemy's cavalry, while Long- 
 street was fighting at Thoroughfare Gap. The skirmish was still 
 going on when the sound of artillery from Stone bridge indicated 
 a battle there, and, quietly withdrawing from the action, General 
 Stuart hastened to place his command upon Jackson's right flank. 
 
 As the cavalry approached, the dust which they raised in- 
 duced the apprehension on General Stuart's part that his com- 
 mand, coming as it did from the direction of the enemy, would 
 be taken for a part of the Federal force. A staff officer was 
 accordingly despatched with the intelligence of his approach, and 
 Jackson promptly informed that the supposed enemies were 
 friends. He was reconnoitring at the moment with General 
 Ewell and others in front of his troops, drawn up in line of battle, 
 and uo sooner knew that his flank was not threatened than, 
 pointing to the enemy in his front, he said, briefly : " Ewell, 
 advance ! " 
 
 Ewell immediately threw forward his own and Jackson's
 
 JACKSON AT BAT. 287 
 
 divisions, and attacked the enemy, who were seen advancing 
 parallel with the Warrenton turnpike, inclining somewhat in the 
 direction of Manassas. It was now nearly sunset, and Jackson's 
 men were almost worn down by their heavy marches ; but the 
 enemy had exposed his flank, and the temptation to assail it was 
 irresistible. Starke's brigade was deployed in front, as skir- 
 mishers, and the batteries of Wooding, Poague, and Carpenter 
 opened on the enemy over the heads of the skirmishers. The 
 Federal batteries promptly replied, and so tremendous a fire was 
 concentrated upon the Confederate artillery that it was forced to 
 change its position. The more decisive " small-arms," however, 
 were now about to commence their work in earnest. Jackson's 
 old division, with the brigades of Lawton and Trimble on the 
 left, rushed forward to an orchard on the right, where they made 
 .an impetuous charge upon a heavy force of the enemy less than 
 a hundred yards beyond the orchard. A fierce and sanguinary 
 conflict ensued, the enemy being constantly reenforced by fresh 
 troops ; but in spite of this they did not advance. They con- 
 tinued, however, to receive Jackson's attack with the greatest 
 obstinacy, and sustained both the fire of musketry and that of the 
 Stuart Horse Artillery, under Major John Pelham, , without 
 flinching. Their intention, as afterwards appeared, was to pro- 
 tect the flank of their column until it passed Jackson's position, 
 and the troops to whom this duty was assigned performed it well. 
 They stood the fire of musketry and artillery until nine o'clock 
 at night, when the whole Federal force fell back. 
 
 Jackson's loss in this engagement was heavy, both in num- 
 bers and the personal worth of those killed and wounded. Gen- 
 eral Ewell had been badly wounded in the knee, which caused 
 the loss of his leg ; and General Taliaferro, commanding Jack- 
 son's division, was also severely wounded. The enemy had, 
 however, suffered heavily, and had yielded the field, and the 
 troops prepared for the more decisive conflict which the coming 
 day would bring. 
 
 The mild hours of the August evening which witnessed this 
 contest on the historic plains of Manassas, were marked also by
 
 288 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 a sharp engagement between Longstreet and the enemy in the 
 gorge of Thoroughfare Gap. This wild and romantic pass in. 
 the mountains, with its frowning, fire-clad battlements on either 
 side its narrow and winding road, and its rugged walls rising 
 rock above rock to the summit, right and left was defended by 
 a considerable force, with powerful batteries judiciously posted 
 to take the eastern debouchment with shell and canister. Gen- 
 eral Lee, who had pressed forward over the same road, followed 
 by Jackson, and reached the lofty hill upon the western opening 
 of the pass late in the afternoon, determined not to delay the 
 attack. A brigade was accordingly sent forward, and rushed 
 into the gap in face of a hot fire of musketry and storm of shell 
 from the enemy's artillery beyond. The conflict was kept up 
 with great spirit for some time ; but Lee having sent a force by 
 Hopewell Gap, a little north of Thoroughfare, to take the 
 enemy in flank and rear, they hastily withdrew their batteries 
 and left the way open to Longstreet, who passed through about 
 nine o'clock at night. 
 
 When a courier brought to Jackson the intelligence that 
 Longstreet had passed Thoroughfare, and was rapidly pressing 
 forward to join him, he drew a long breath and uttered a sigh 
 of relief. The long agony was over the great movement was 
 so far'a complete success. Longstreet nay, Lee himself was 
 near, and all was well. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MANA8SAS: AUGUST 29, 1862. 
 
 ON the morning of Friday, August 29th, Jackson's corps 
 was drawn up to receive the anticipated assault of the enemy, 
 posted directly in his front. His own division was on the right, 
 General Starke commanding ; Ewell's, under General Lawton,. 
 in the centre ; and Hill's upon the left. The position was a 
 strong one. His left rested near Sudley ford, and his right a
 
 MANASSAS: AUGUST 29, 1862. 289 
 
 little above the small village of Groveton, on the Warrenton 
 turnpike, a portion of the line being protected by the deep cut 
 for the projected railroad already mentioned. Thus posted, 
 General Jackson was in a condition to repel any assault, unless 
 it was made in overpowering force ; and confident of his ability 
 to hold his ground until reinforcements arrived, he presented a 
 dauntless front, ready to accept battle at any moment. 
 
 The fatal error of General Pope was his delay in making this 
 attack. Confusion seems to have reigned in the Federal coun- 
 sels, and the plainest dictates of military science were disregarded. 
 It was known that Lee was advancing with Longstreet's corps- 
 that great reserve whose blows were so heavy, and told for so 
 much in every contest. The route of this corps was also well 
 known ; there could be no doubt that they would advance 
 through Thoroughfare Gap ; and yet Thoroughfare Gap, the key 
 of the whole position, the Thermopylae which ten men could 
 have held against a thousand, was inadequately guarded, and 
 suffered to be cleared. The veriest tyro in arms would have 
 understood that all depended upon hurling the entire Federal 
 column upon Jackson before Longstreet arrived ; but General 
 Pope either did not see the importance of doing so, or was un- 
 able to accomplish it. In his defence, he presents an array of 
 charges against General Porter and other officers, for delay, 
 inefficiency, and even disloyalty ; but the rejoinders of these 
 officers are fatal in the extreme to General Pope's character for 
 generalship, and the fact remains clearly proved that he was out- 
 generalled, as he was out-fought, by General Jackson. 
 
 The hour for the execution of the movement referred to above 
 had now passed. The golden moment upon which the hinges 
 of destiny turn had slipped away. That most terrible of phrases, 
 " too late," applied in all its force to the movements of the Fed- 
 eral army. 
 
 A cloud of dust from the direction of Thoroughfare Gap, on 
 
 that eventful morning, told the tale of despair to General Pope, 
 
 of succor and good hope to Jackson. The great corps which 
 
 had turned the tide of victory upon so many hafd-fought fields 
 
 19
 
 290 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 was steadily pressing onward, and the advance was now on the 
 Warrentou turnpike, beyond Gainesville, not far from Jackson's 
 right. 
 
 All the morning General Longstreet was coming into posi- 
 tion. The far-seeing eyes of the great soldier who commanded 
 the Southern army had embraced at a glance the whole situation 
 of things, and his plans were formed. The design was to en- 
 velop the enemy,' as it were, and occupy a position from which 
 he could be struck in front, flank, and rear at the same moment, 
 if he made a single error ; and this design dictated an order of 
 battle not dissimilar from that which was crowned with such 
 success on the banks of the Chickahominy. 
 
 Jackson fronted, as we have said, obliquely to the Warren- 
 ton road, his right resting near Groveton. When Longstreet 
 arrived, his troops were steadily advanced in a line crossing the 
 Warrenton road, his left resting upon a range not far from 
 Jackson's right the two lines forming an obtuse angle,* and 
 resembling somewhat an open V. The village of Groveton was 
 in the angle thus formed, about a mile distant ; and the fields in 
 its vicinity were completely commanded by heavy batteries. 
 These were placed upon a ridge at the angle mentioned, where 
 Longstreet's left and Jackson's right approached each other, and 
 were commanded by that accomplished soldier Colonel Stephen 
 D. Lee, of South Carolina. 
 
 The advantage of this order of battle is apparent at a glance. 
 If the enemy advanced, as it was probable they would do, upon 
 Jackson, to crush him before Longstreet was ready to assist 
 him, they would expose their left flank to the latter, and be 
 placed in a most perilous position. If they succeeded in driving 
 General Jackson back, and followed up their success by a gen- 
 eral advance all along the line, that success would only expose 
 them still more to the heavy arm of Longstreet ready to fall 
 upon their unprotected flank. Their very victory would be the 
 signal of their ruin. Triumph would insure destruction. The 
 
 * General Longstreet's expression to the writer.
 
 MANASSAS : AUGUST 29, 1362. 291 
 
 rapidly-closing sides of the great V would strike them in flank 
 and rear, huddle them together, and end by crushing them with 
 its inexorable vice-like pressure. 
 
 Their only hope, in advancing upon Jackson, was to pene- 
 trate between him and Longstreet, thereby dividing the line of 
 battle. But Colonel Lee was there, with his batteries crowning 
 the crest, and the design was hopeless. 
 
 Such was General Lee's order of battle. The enemy seemed 
 as yet unaware of it. They adhered to their design of over- 
 whelming Jackson before succor reached him ; and during the 
 whole forenoon were moving their troops to the left, and massing 
 them in his front. Skirmishing and cannonading, rather desul- 
 tory in their character, and not important, went on during this 
 movement of the enemy ; but it was not until after two that the 
 battle commenced in earnest. 
 
 About that time the enemy advanced a heavy column, con- 
 sisting in part, it is said, of Banks', Sigel's, and Pope's divi- 
 sions ; and, supported by a heavy fire of artillery, threw them- 
 selves with great fury upon Jackson's left, consisting of the 
 division of A. P. Hill. Their evident design was to turn his 
 flank ; and in spite of the destructive volleys poured into their 
 faces, they pressed on, crossed the cut in the railroad extending 
 along Hill's front, and, penetrating an interval of about one hun- 
 dred and seventy-five yards, separated the right of Gregg's from 
 the left of Thomas' brigades. This success proved almost fatal 
 at the moment to General Gregg. He was entirely isolated, 
 and but for the stubborn stand made by the 14th South Carolina 
 and 49th Georgia, on Thomas' left, would have been cut off" 
 and destroyed. These regiments attacked the enemy with vigor ; 
 their triumphant advance was checked at the instant when they 
 were carrying all before them ; and the Federal column was 
 forced to retreat beyond the cut again, with heavy loss. In this 
 sanguinary conflict the men fought almost breast to breast ; and 
 General. McGowan reported that " the opposing forces at one 
 time delivered their volleys into each other at the distance of ten 
 paces."
 
 292 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 But the attempt to force back Jackson's left was not aban- 
 doned. The first assault was succeeded by another and another, 
 ever increasing in fury, and participated in by the best troops of 
 the Federal army. Time had, however, been given to remedy 
 the fatal defect in the line of battle j no opening was now pre- 
 sented to the enemy ; and, wherever the attack was made, they 
 found their assault promptly met. General Hill reported " six 
 separate and distinct assaults " which his division, reenforced by 
 Hays' brigade, met and repulsed. His loss was heavy. Gregg's 
 brigade had all of its field officers but two either killed or wound- 
 ed ; but Early's brigade, with the 8th Louisiana, came to its as- 
 sistance, and the battle raged more furiously than before. 
 
 Early found that the enemy had obtained possession of the 
 railroad cut immediately in his front, from which they were 
 pouring a galling fire. He lost no time in attacking, and they 
 were driven from the cut, thence into the woods, and pursued 
 two hundred yards. As they fell back before the Confederate 
 infantry, they were subjected to a heavy fire from the artillery 
 posted on the high ground in rear ; and so destructive was this 
 combination of cannon and small-arms, that one of the Federal 
 regiments is said to have carried back but three men. 
 
 A pause in the action was soon succeeded by another assault,, 
 this time very generally directed all along the line. The best 
 Federal troops took part in this charge, which was made with a 
 vigor indicating the importance attached to it. They evidently 
 spared no exertions. The Federal batteries opened a furious 
 fire, and, under cover of it, their infantry advanced at a double- 
 quick, plainly resolved to break through the line of Confederate: 
 bayonets, or leave their dead bodies on the field. The conflict 
 which followed was exceedingly obstinate. It continued for sev- 
 eral hours, and Jackson greatly exposed himself in encouraging 
 the men and holding his lines firm. 
 
 They retained their position thus, without wavering ; but the 
 strength of the Southern troops, so sorely tried in the heavy 
 marching, began to flag. Other causes conspired to render as- 
 sistance necessary. Heavy reinforcements were being rapidly
 
 MANASSA8 : AUGUST 29, 1862. 293 
 
 pushed forward by the enemy, arid Jackson's troops had shot 
 away all their cartridges. " We got out of ammunition," writefe 
 a young soldier of A. P. Hill's division to his mother ; " we col- 
 lected more from cartridge-boxes of fallen friend and foe. That 
 gave out, and we charged with never-failing yell and steel. All 
 day long they threw their masses on us ; all day they fell back 
 shattered and shrieking. When the sun went down, their dead 
 were heaped in front of that incomplete railway, and we sighed 
 with relief, for Longstreet could be seen coming into position on 
 our right. The crisis was over ; Longstreet never failed yet ; 
 but the sun went down so slowly ! " Without ammunition, the 
 men of Jackson seized whatever they could lay their hands on 
 to use against the enemy. The piles of stones in the vicinity of 
 the railroad cut were used and it is well established that many 
 of the enemy were killed by having their skulls broken with 
 fragments of rock. 
 
 The conflict went on in this way all the afternoon, and was 
 obstinate and determined. The enemy had not succeeded in 
 driving Jackson from his position ; but his men were beginning 
 to grow weary in the unequal struggle with an enemy who 
 threw against them incessantly heavy reinforcements of fresh 
 troops, arriving from the rear and hurried to the front, to take 
 the place of those who had been repulsed. 
 
 General Lee saw that the moment had arrived for a demon- 
 stration on the enemy's left, and this was made about nightfall. 
 Hood's division was ordered forward, and now threw itself 
 with ardor into the contest. Up to that moment the conflict had 
 been obstinate, but the firing upon both sides had perceptibly de- 
 creased in intensity the Federal troops, like their opponents, 
 appearing fatigued by the persistent conflict. It was at this mo- 
 ment that Hood's division advanced ; and the quick tongues of 
 flame leaped from the muzzles of his muskets, lighting up the 
 gathering gloom with their crimson flashes. These " fires of 
 death " were followed by the sharp crack of the guns, from end 
 to end of the great field between the opposing lines and then 
 dusky figures were seen advancing rapidly toward the Federal
 
 294 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 line. The next jets of flame spurted into the darkness were neat 
 the edge of the wood where the enemy were drawn up ; then, with 
 one long roar of musketry, and a maze of quick flashes every- 
 where, Hood's men rushed forward with wild cheers, driving the 
 enemy before them into the depths of the forest. When the deep 
 darkness of night, lit up now only by a few flashes of artillery, 
 put an end to the conflict, the Federal lines had been driven 
 more than half a mile from the position which they had held be- 
 fore Hood charged. 
 
 By order of General Lee the troops, however, fell back to 
 their former strong position, for the real struggle on the next 
 day, and bivouacked for the night a circumstance which prob- 
 ably induced General Pope to telegraph that, although he had 
 sustained a loss of 8,000 men, he had driven back the entire 
 Southern army. 
 
 Jackson had thus successfully maintained his ground against 
 the heavy pressure of the enemy's columns, and night and Long- 
 street had come. 
 
 His movement had succeeded, and he had stood at bay after 
 securing all its advantages, with that stubborn and determined 
 front which defies all attempts to break through it. Now the 
 dangerous moment had passed. Longstreet was there upon his 
 right, with his strong and veteran corps ; and Lee was by his 
 side to take from his shoulders the heavy load of anxiety which 
 he had borne unaided. 
 
 The stern soul of Jackson the soldier must have rejoiced 
 within him when night came and all was well ; but the heart of 
 the Christian was doubtless heavy, here as elsewhere, for the 
 blood about to flow.
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 
 
 SATURDAY, the 30th of August the great day which was to 
 terminate the long conflict dawned clear and beautiful. 
 
 With the first dawn the Confederate troops were under arms, 
 and prepared for the great contest. All of General Lee's forces 
 had arrived, with the exception of Anderson's division, which 
 was only a few miles from the field, and line of battle was im-. 
 mediately formed. 
 
 The order of battle remained unchanged. Jackson still 
 occupied his former position, with his left near Sudley, his right 
 above Groveton ; and Longstreet's line, as before, stretched 
 away obliquely,, the interval between the two being protected by 
 the eight batteries of Colonel Lee. General Stuart's cavalry 
 was posted on the right and left wings, and batteries were so 
 disposed as to serve as supports to the advancing columns, or 
 repulse the onset of the enemy. 
 
 The Federal army adapted its line, in some measure, to that 
 of General Lee. It curved backward from its centre, following 
 the conformation of Lee's two wings, and is said to have em-, 
 braced General Heintzelman on the right, General McDowell 
 on the left, and Porter, Sigel, and Reno in the centre. Their 
 batteries were disposed in a manner similar to General Lee's, 
 and their cavalry held well in hand to take an active part in the 
 battle. 
 
 It was in this attitude that the two armies remained in face 
 of each other for many hours neither advancing to the attack. 
 General Lee's policy was plainly to await the assault in hia 
 strong position behind the railroad, and on the high ground of 
 the Groveton heights thus forcing the enemy either to attack 
 him, or retire across Bull Run, for supplies, pursued by the 
 Southern troops. General Lee could hold his position indefk
 
 296 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 nitely, having uninterrupted communication with his rear ; but 
 the Federal general was forced to fight or retreat and the ob- 
 vious policy was to await his advance. 
 
 The strength of the position was evidently appreciated, and 
 persistent attempts were made to draw the Southern troops from 
 it. About one o'clock a feint was made upon the Confederate 
 right, and a brisk encounter took place between the advance 
 forces ; but the enemy were speedily driven back with artillery, 
 and the Confederates retained their position. Heavy masses 
 then moved in the direction of Lee's left, and General Jackson 
 prepared for an instant renewal of the fierce conflict of the pre- 
 ceding day. Several demonstrations were made, but the failure 
 here was as marked as it had been on the right ; and the Fed- 
 eral forces withdrew, apparently designing to fall back in the 
 direction of Manassas. 
 
 These movements, during the whole forenoon, and up to four 
 in the evening, were vigilantly watched by Lee. Though out- 
 wardly calm, the latent fire of his eye showed that the design 
 of the enemy was fully understood, and that every thing was 
 ready for the earnest work which must speedily succeed all this 
 manoeuvring, these elaborate ruses and feints. The enemy had 
 failed in achieving their object to deceive the wary eyes of Lee, 
 Jackson, and Longstreet and they now prepared to abandon 
 their useless movements, and trust the event of the day to supe- 
 rior numbers and stubborn fighting. 
 
 The Southern troops had witnessed the complicated evolu* 
 tioiis of the enemy across the wide fields and through the forest, 
 with little anxiety. The conflict of the preceding day had given 
 them confidence, and the men lay down in line of battle, laugh- 
 ing and jesting. Virginians, Georgians, Alabamians, Mississip- 
 pians, Texaus, Floridians, Carolinians all awaited the develop- 
 ment of the enemy's designs with entire calmness, and a species 
 of indifference which was very striking. They were in this 
 careless mood some talking, others jesting, others again sleep- 
 ing beneath the warm August sky when suddenly the roar of 
 thirty pieces of artillery shook the ground, and filled the air
 
 THE 8ECOKD BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 297 
 
 with their tremendous reverberations. Every man started to 
 his feet and the cause of the heavy cannonade was plain. 
 
 The enemy, entirely foiled in their attempt to draw Lee from 
 the heights, had suddenly advanced at a double-quick, as before, 
 against his centre, where Jackson's right and Longstreet's left 
 came together. The attack was made upon Jackson's line first, 
 by a dense column of infantry, which had been massed in a strip 
 of woods, in close vicinity to Groveton. Three heavy lines had 
 been formed for the charge, and as the first of these lines emerged 
 at a double-quick from the woods, they were greeted with the 
 murderous fire above described. The fire was directed with 
 astonishing accuracy, and the brigades which led the charge 
 were almost annihilated by the shot and shell which burst before, 
 behind, above, to the right, to the left raking and tearing them 
 to pieces. They were swept away before this horrible fire like 
 leaves in the wind, and disappeared, broken and flying in the 
 woods to be immediately succeeded, however, by other brigades 
 charging as before. Again the iron storm crashed through 
 the ranks ; and again they broke and retired. A third force, 
 heavier than before now advanced with mad impetuosity, and, in 
 the midst of the rapid fire of Lee's batteries, threw themselves 
 upon Jackson, and engaged him with desperation. 
 
 The battle was now joined in earnest, and Jackson bore the 
 brunt of the attack. The force in front of him is said to have 
 embraced, among others, the divisions of Sykes and Morrell, 
 both enjoying a high reputation for discipline, gallantry, and efli- 
 ciency. The onset of these veterans was sustained by Jackson, 
 and in some portions of the field entirely repulsed. Colonel Lee 
 had meanwhile opened a rapid fire of artillery from the hills 
 above. Moving his batteries more to the left, he reached a po- 
 sition not more than four hundred yards from the Federal line, 
 and poured a destructive fire over the heads of the Confederates. 
 " As shell after shell," says an eye-witness, " burst in the waver- 
 ing ranks, and round shot ploughed broad gaps among them, 
 you could distinctly see, through the rifts of smoke, the Federal 
 soldiers falling and flying on every side. With the dispersion
 
 298 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 of the enemy's reserve," says the same writer, " the whole mass- 
 broke 'and ran like a flock of wild sheep. Jackson's men, yel- 
 ling like devils, now charged upon the scattered crowd, but you 
 could notice 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 did not appear to 
 be more than fifty yards apart. A golden opportunity was now 
 at hand for Longstreet to attack the exposed left flank of the 
 enemy in front of him, and he ' accordingly ordered the advance 
 of Hood's division, which moved obliquely to the right and for- 
 ward of the position it had occupied. Kemper next followed, 
 with the brigade of General Jenkins on the right of that of 
 Pickett, and Jones' division completed our line of battle. The 
 brigade of Evans acted as a support to Hood. 
 
 " Not many minutes elapsed after the order to attack 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 enthusiastic cheers by the elated men. The 
 din was almost deafening. The heavy notes of the artillery at 
 first deliberate, but gradually increasing in 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 toward the front. From 
 an elevation AVC 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 these unmistakable yells which tell of a Southern 
 charge or a Southern success. 
 
 " The troops they encounter are the best disciplined in the 
 Federal army, and for a little while most obstinately do they 
 contest every inch of ground over which we advance. Nothing, 
 however, can withstand the impetuosity of our boys. Every 
 line of the enemy has been broken and dispersed, but rallies
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 299 
 
 again upon some other positions behind. Hood has already ad- 
 vanced his division nearly half a mile at a double-quick the 
 Texans, Georgians, and Hampton Legion loading and firing a? 
 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 effective 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, vet- 
 erans of every battle-field, all of whom are fighting like furies. 
 The 1st Virginia, which opened the ball at Bull Run on the 17th 
 of July, 1861, 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, with the Georgians, together with Kem- 
 per and Jenkins, are swooping around on the right, flanking the 
 Federals, and driving them tgward their centre and rear. Es- 
 chelman, with his company of the Washington artillery, Major 
 Garnett, with his battalion of Virginia batteries, and others of 
 our big guns, are likewise working around upon the enemy's 
 left, and pouring an enfilading fire into both their infantry and 
 artillery. 
 
 " We do nothing but charge ! charge ! ! charge ! ! ! If the 
 enemy make a bold effort to retrieve the fortunes of the day 
 (and they made many), and we are repulsed, it is but for the 
 moment, and the regiments rallying upon their supports plunge 
 back again into the tempest of fire that before swept them down. 
 
 " Some of the positions of the enemy were strong as Na- 
 ture could make them, and were charged five or six times, but 
 each time our soldiers were turned back by sheer physical ina- 
 bility to surmount the obstacles before them. It was then grand 
 to witness the moral heroism with which, though their comrades 
 went down like swaths of grass under the mower's scythe, other 
 men continued to step into the path of death with cheerful ,alao-
 
 300 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 rity, and still to fall with the battle-shout upon their lips, anc 
 the proud smile of conscious valor on their faces." 
 
 Gradually as the fierce struggle progressed, the sides of the 
 open V, which Lee's order of battle resembled, closed upon the 
 flanks of the enemy. Colonel Lee's artillery still continued to 
 play with destructive effect upon their front, and the batteries 
 were regularly advanced from position to position, raking the 
 lines of the enemy from every hillock. 
 
 The battle had now become terrific. The ruses and ma- 
 noeuvres of the morning had long yielded to desperate, stubborn 
 fighting, and the day depended not so much upon any military 
 skill of the generals as upon the character of the troops engaged. 
 The Federal troops fought hard, but that " heart of hope" which 
 adds so much to the efficiency of the soldier had deserted them, 
 and they contended doggedly, but without the dash and fervor 
 which compel victory. Gradually the Southern lines closed in 
 upon them. Longstreet's right pressed down upon their left, 
 and Jackson's column swung round steady, heavy, resistless, 
 upon their right, huddling the disordered regiments and brigades 
 upon their centre. 
 
 This was the situation of affairs as the sun sank slowly 
 toward the west, and the Confederate leaders now concentrated 
 all their forces for a last charge, which should carry every thing 
 before it. The batteries redoubled their exertions, the air was 
 hot and sulphurous with exploding missiles, whole ranks went 
 down before the whirlwind of iron, and the continuous stream- 
 ing roar of musketry was frightful in its intensity. The enemy 
 continued to give ground ; the Confederate reserves were hurried 
 forward to the front, and just as the sun sank a general charge 
 was made all along the lines. From the dust and smoke of battle 
 there appeared all at once before the eyes of the disheartened 
 Federal troops a rapidly-advancing line with gleaming bayonets, 
 and this line swept forward at a run. " They came on," says 
 the correspondent of a Northern journal, u like demons emerging 
 from the earth." There was no pause or hesitation. The Fed- 
 eral volleys tore through the line, but could not check it. The
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSA8. 301 
 
 men pressed on with deafening cheers over the dead and dying 
 the ranks closing up where gaps were made ; and before this 
 charge the last remnant of hope deserted the Federal troops. 
 They no longer came up to the struggle. Soon they broke and 
 disappeared in the rapidly gathering darkness. The long contest 
 was ended ; victory assured. The Federal army now thought 
 of nothing but its safety behind the sheltering heights of Centre- 
 ville. 
 
 Jackson's veterans had taken their full part in this hard com- 
 bat, and, sweeping down upon the wavering lines, had led the 
 charge which put the enemy to final rout. The fighting of the 
 corps had been excellent. They had sustained every assault 
 with great firmness ; repulsed every attempt to force them from 
 their ground ; and then advancing in their turn, had pushed the 
 enemy from position after position, and swept onward to victory. 
 
 " It was a task of almost superhuman labor," says the cor- 
 respondent from whom we have already quoted, " to drive the 
 enemy from those strong points, defended, as they were, by the 
 best artillery and infantry in the Federal army ; but in less than 
 four hours from the commencement of the battle our indomitable 
 energy had accomplished every thing. Our generals Lee, 
 Longstreet, Jackson, Hood, Kemper, Evans, Jones, Jenkins, 
 and others all shared the dangers to which they exposed their 
 men. How well their colonels and subordinate officers performed 
 their duty is best testified by the list of killed and wounded. 
 
 " The battle raged in the manner described until after dark, 
 and when it was impossible to use fire-arms, the heavens were lit 
 ap by the still continued flashes of the artillery, and the meteor 
 flight of shells scattering 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. Had we been favored with another hour of daylight, 
 their rout would have been as great as that which followed the 
 original battle of Manassas. As it was, they retreated in haste 
 and disorder to the heights of Centreville." 
 
 The part taken by the cavalry in this celebrated battle has
 
 302 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 not been noticed. General Stuart was indefatigable in his cxer- 
 tions to guard the Confederate flanks and procure the earliest in- 
 formation. He commanded the division of infantry which about 
 nightfall made the vigorous and successful attack upon the Fed- 
 eral left ; and his cavalry was engaged on the flanks of the army 
 throughout the day. As the enemy were giving way on the 
 left an impetuous charge was made by a body of cavalry under 
 Colonel Munford, of the 2d Virginia, which terminated, after a 
 close hand-to-hand conflict, in the complete rout of the largely 
 superior force brought against him. This ended the conflict ia 
 that part of the field, and the enemy broke and retired, pursued 
 by the Confederate artillery and cavalry to the banks of Bull 
 Run, over which their confused column hastened on its way to 
 Centreville. 
 
 Thus terminated the bitter contest upon the weird plains, 
 already so deeply crimsoned with Southern blood. Strange 
 Providence which rolled the tide of battle there again ! which 
 made the huge wave break in foam again upon the melancholy 
 fields around Stone bridge ! It was a veritable repetition of the 
 fierce drama of July, 1861. " Batteries were planted and cap- 
 tured yesterday," says a writer, " where they were planted and 
 captured last year. The pine thicket, where the 4th Alabama 
 and 8th Georgia suffered so terribly in the first battle, is now 
 strewn with the slain of the invader. We charged through the 
 same woods yesterday, though from a different point, where 
 Kirby Smith, the Blucher of the day, entered the fight before." 
 
 Such was this battle a hot conflict and a complete success.
 
 OXHILL, OK GERMANTOWN. 303 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 OXHILL, OR GERMANTOWN. 
 
 THE bloody and memorable conflict of " the Second Manas- 
 sas" was the splendid termination of a series of manoeuvres 
 which will always rank among the most famous of history. 
 
 If there were any persons who still muttered " luck, mere 
 good fortune," in relation to Jackson's successes, they were now 
 forced to concede that his triumphs were the result of math- 
 ematical calculation of nerve, and a fertility of resources which 
 compelled the very genius of necessity with her iron wedge to 
 yield to him. 
 
 What he had accomplished was this : He had, by a swift 
 and silent march, reached Thoroughfare before the enemy sus- 
 pected his advance ; passed through the narrow gorge without 
 resistance ; repulsed the advances of General Pope at Bristoe 
 Station ; captured and destroyed the large stores at Manassas ; 
 cut to pieces the force sent to relieve the garrison ; retired with 
 deliberation to the old battle-field of Manassas ; repulsed the 
 attack of the Federal army ; held his position until Longstreet 
 arrived ; and then falling upon the troops which were almost 
 starving in consequence of his destruction of their stores, had 
 borne the brunt of the encounter during a battle of incredible 
 fury ; helped to rout them in the final and decisive charge, and 
 was now again on their track as they fell back toward the de- 
 fences of Centreville. 
 
 Eighteen pieces of artillery, with their caissons and equip- 
 ments, 6,420 small-arms, and countless prisoners were the 
 substantial results reaped by the corps of Jackson. 
 
 But the struggle had not terminated. The Federal forces 
 were still at Centreville, and on Sunday, the 31st of August, 
 Jackson's corps was again in motion. Ordered by General Lee 
 to turn Centreville, and cut off the retreat of the Federal forces,
 
 304 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 he crossed Bull Run at Sudley ford, struck into the Little RiveJ 
 turnpike, and marching down that road, bivouacked on the same 
 evening not far from Chantilly. Here he was joined on Monday 
 morning, September 1st, by General Stuart, who had piirsued the 
 enemy toward Centreville with his cavalry ; fought their rear 
 guard at Bull Run bridge, which they destroyed behind them ; 
 and moved thence to the Little River turnpike, where, not far 
 from Germantown,he took position with his artillery and opened 
 fire upon their trains, then rapidly retreating from Centreville. 
 Forming a junction with Jackson, General Stuart disposed his 
 cavalry in front and on the right flank of the infantry, and the 
 whole moved forward in the direction of Oxhill a point on the 
 turnpike about three or four miles above Fairfax Court-House. 
 
 The scene at this moment was interesting. The men of the 
 Stonewall Brigade and their comrades were lying on the side 
 of the road, hungry and exhausted. They had not seen their 
 wagons since they left the Rappahannock, and the rations secured 
 at Manassas were long since exhausted. Green corn and unripe 
 apples had for several days been their sustenance, and now they 
 were in a country which did not afford even these. The hungry 
 men saw on every side bleak fields and forests, with scarce a roof 
 visible in the entire landscape ; and thus famished and worn out r 
 they were lying down awaiting the order to advance and attack. 
 There was no ill-humor visible ; on the contrary, jests and 
 laughter greeted the least object calculated to excite them. And 
 when the leader who had nearly marched aod fought them to 
 death rode by, they saluted him with tumultuous cheers. 
 
 A step beyond his men was Jackson. The Federal forces 
 were then in motion from Centreville, and the skirmishers on 
 the right were already engaged. The rifles were cracking and 
 the balls beginning to fly, but Jackson, like many of his men, 
 was asleep. Seated at the foot of a tree, with his chin upon his 
 breast, his cap drawn over his eyes, and his hands crossed on his 
 breast, as though he had fallen asleep while praying, he slept a 
 peacefully as a child. It was impossible not to be struck with 
 the attitude of the weary soldier. It was simple and unassum-
 
 OXHILL, OE GEKMANTOWN. 305 
 
 ing, and so sweet a calm was diffused over the features that the 
 sleeper seemed to be dreaming of home. He was soon aroused ; 
 duty called him, and mounting his horse, he took the head of his 
 column, and advanced to deliver battle on another field. 
 
 The enemy were awaiting him on the range of hills between 
 the "Warrenton and Little River turnpikes, with their right near 
 Germantown, their left beyond Mellen's house their object be- 
 ing to cover their retreat from Centreville. Jackson determined 
 to attack without delay, and posting his artillery on an eminence 
 to the left of the turnpike, drew up his command in the woods 
 on the right his own division on the left of his line, Ewell's in 
 the centre, and Hill's on the right. 
 
 Oxhill is a ridge which extends obliquely across the turn- 
 pike, here heavily wooded on each side, a mile or so above Ger- 
 mantown. Along this ridge runs a road from Frying Pan past 
 Mellen's house, to the Warrenton road, between Centreville and 
 Fairfax Court-House. On the crest of the hill, in the turnpike, 
 two pieces of artillery were stationed, and on the western slope, 
 in the woods skirting the right of the turnpike, the Confederate 
 infantry were drawn up in line of battle. The engagement 
 opened with an attack made by General Stuart, in front on the 
 turnpike, with a Blakely gun, supported by Colonel Wickham's 
 4th Virginia cavalry. Major John Pelham called by Jackson, 
 in his report of the second Manassas, " the vigilant Pelham," 
 and who was afterwards to receive from General Lee the supreme 
 name of " the gallant " commanded this gun in person, and 
 General Stuart superintended the firing. It was run forward 
 under the crest of a little hill, but had no sooner opened on some 
 cavalry in front than a swarm of sharpshooters rose from the 
 woods to the right and rained a storm of musket balls upon the 
 cannoneers. The enemy's lines were about one hundred yards 
 distant, and as the gun was without canister, it was, after a few 
 shots, withdrawn. The position of the Federal forces was thus 
 discovered, and the attack speedily commenced. 
 
 The brigades of Branch and Fields Colonel Brockenbrough 
 commanding the latter were thrown forward to feel the Federal 
 20
 
 306 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 position, and as they advanced into action a violent storm roared 
 down, and lashed the woods with a fury which drowned the noise 
 of the guns. Torrents of rain beat upon the troops, rendering 
 it almost impossible to keep their powder dry ; and the forest, 
 now shadowy with the approach of night, was lit up by lightning 
 flashes of dazzling brilliance, succeeded by deafening claps of 
 thunder. Amid this war of the elements, the two brigades ad- 
 vanced upon the enemy, and engaged him in a close and deter- 
 mined struggle. The Federal troops here posted to repulse an 
 assault appear to have been reinforcements which had not arrived 
 in time for the battle of the 30th of August, and they were thus 
 perfectly fresh, while the Confederates were greatly exhausted. 
 They were led by General Kearney, General Stevens, and other 
 officers of experience and ability, and pressed the two advance 
 brigades of Jackson in such numbers, both in front and flank, 
 that Branch began to exhibit signs of disorder. Jackson now 
 threw forward the brigades of Gregg, Fender, and Thomas, to 
 which was added a portion of Ewell's division ; and " the con- 
 flict raged with great fury, the enemy obstinately and desperately 
 contesting the ground." * All their efforts, however, were in 
 vain, and so heavy were their losses that they began to waver. 
 The loss of field and general officers on the part of the enemy 
 was remarkable, and probably disheartened the troops, already 
 dispirited by the violence of the attack. General Kearney, mis- 
 taking a Confederate soldier in the half darkness for one of his 
 own men, inquired the position of a Federal regiment, but, dis- 
 covering his mistake, suddenly turned to gallop off. As he did 
 so, the soldier levelled his musket, fired, and Kearney fell from 
 his saddle, mortally wounded.f General Stevens was also killed 
 in the engagement ; and about dark, the Federal forces retired 
 from the field, which remained in possession of Jackson. J 
 
 * Jackson's report. 
 
 f His dead body was brought off and sent under a flag of truce next day 
 to the enemy. 
 
 \ In this action, when Jackson received a message from one of his Gen- 
 erals that he would have to fall back as the men could not get their guns
 
 GENERAL LEE ENTERS MARYLAND. 307 
 
 On the next morning it was discovered that the enemy had 
 withdrawn from Jackson's front, and General Stuart, pushing 
 forward to Fairfax Court-House about noon, reported that they 
 were in full retreat toward Alexandria. The inhabitants of 
 Fairfax welcomed the Confederates with great joy, and the cav- 
 alry and Stuart horse artillery continued to follow up the Federal 
 retreat for many miles. 
 
 Such had been the unfortunate termination of General Pope'? 
 campaign, entered upon with such high hopes.* He had pro- 
 fessed to have seen hitherto only " the backs of his enemies," 
 but at Cedar Run and Manassas saw them " face to face." The 
 result had been disastrous defeat ; and from that time forth the 
 Federal authorities entrusted this officer with no important com- 
 mand. He was another added to the Generals whom Jackson 
 had met and defeated. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GENERAL LEE ENTERS MARYLAND. 
 
 THUS ended the great summer campaign by which the Fed- 
 eral authorities hoped to break down the military power of the 
 South before the forest leaves were touched by the finger of au- 
 tumn. The red battle-flag of the Confederates floated where the 
 Federal standard had been so lately seen, and new fields were 
 opened to the Southern army. Maryland was now undefended ; 
 
 to go off on account of the rain, Jackson is said to have sent back the reply 
 that the officer must hold his ground : " If his guns would not go off, neither 
 would the enemy's ! " This might form a supplement to Shakespeare's list of 
 retorts, and be styled the " retort military." 
 
 * " Sept. 3. General Pope asked to be relieved of his command, and waa 
 transferred to the Department of the Northwest. He drew up the report of 
 his campaign in Virginia, and sent it to headquarters without waiting for the 
 reports of his subordinate Generals. In this document he blames several of 
 the officers for causing his defeat." National Almanac, 1863.
 
 308 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 and the smoke of battle had scarcely lifted from the plains of 
 Manassas, when the victorious columns of Lee were in motion 
 toward the upper Potomac. 
 
 Long before, Jackson had written to a friend, " I am cor- 
 dially with you in favor of carrying the war north of the Poto- 
 mac," and we have seen that to cross into the enemy's country 
 to advance upon the North was his never-ceasing desire. 
 
 The signal of the long-wished-for advance now came. " On 
 to Maryland ! " was the watchword, and the veterans of Jackson 
 moved forward at the signal, joyous, elated, confident of victory, 
 and burning with ardor at the thought that the fair fields of Vir- 
 ginia, the homes, of their loved ones, would be relieved of the 
 horrors of war. No time was lost by General Lee in commenc- 
 ing his movement. It was necessary to gain a foothold in 
 Maryland before the disorganized forces of the Federal Govern- 
 ment were again put in fighting condition, and the campaign 
 began with energy and rapidity. 
 
 Jackson having, after his custom, inquired with great interest 
 what roads led to the Potomac, in the direction of Arlington 
 Heights, and ordered maps to be prepared of the region for his 
 use, put his troops in motion toward Leesburg. Marching from 
 Oxhill, on Sept. 3d, by way of Dranesville, he bivouacked on 
 the 4th at Big Spring, beyond Leesburg, and on the 5th the 
 passage of the Potomac was effected without resistance. The 
 scene is said to have been inspiring. 
 
 " When our army reached the middle of the river, which they 
 were wading," says an army correspondent, " General Jackson 
 pulled off his hat, and the splendid band of music struck up the 
 inspiring air of ' Maryland, my Maryland,' which was re- 
 sponded to and sung ' with the spirit and with the understand- 
 ing' by all who could sing ; and the name of all who could then 
 and there sing, was legion." 
 
 This scene took place at White's ford, not far from Leesburg, 
 and on the night of the 5th Jackson's command bivouacked near 
 the Three Springs, in Maryland. Captain Randolph, of the 
 Black Horse, a company of cavalry attached to the corps head
 
 GENERAL LEE ENTERS MARYLAND. 309' 
 
 quarters, scouted through the country on the right to give notice 
 of any movement of the enemy in that direction ; and the weary 
 soldiers slept in peace. 
 
 Jackson had thus obtained an undisturbed foothold upon the 
 soil of Maryland, and his troops indulged in rosy dreams of the 
 exciting scenes and novel triumphs of a march through the rich 
 and unexplored territory of that enemy who had so long laid 
 waste the fields of Virginia. " Pennsylvania ! Pennsylvania ! " 
 was the watchword throughout the camps ; but even the novel 
 and attractive scenes before them had not been sufficient to 
 enable a large portion of the troops to overcome the exhaustion 
 of the immense march from the Rappahannock, together with 
 the want of rest and food. A large, portion of the command of 
 Jackson, and every other general, had broken down in the rapid 
 advance ; all along the road from Manassas to Leesburg thou- 
 sands of stragglers, with weary frames and bleeding feet, were 
 toiling slowly on in the wake of the army, and the southern 
 bank of the Potomac swarmed with thousands of men who had 
 sunk down to obtain that rest which nature demanded, and with- 
 out which they could advance no further. 
 
 Before this great force could rejoin the different corps, Gen- 
 eral Lee resumed his march ; the enemy pressed forward on his 
 rear, the way was barred, and the Army of Northern Virginia 
 continued its march, and fought its enemies with less than two- 
 thirds of its numbers. 
 
 On the 6th of September Jackson reached the vicinity of 
 Frederick City, and his old division encamped in the suburbs, 
 with the exception of Jones' brigade, commanded by Colonel 
 Bradley T. Johnson, which was posted in the place as a provost 
 guard, with orders to protect all property, and promptly to sup- 
 press any attempt to harass the inhabitants. Ewell's and Hill's 
 divisions occupied positions near the railroad .bridge over the 
 Monocacy, to repulse any advance of the enemy from the direc- 
 tion of Washington. 
 
 The reception of the Confederate forces in Maryland was not 
 encouraging. That ancient commonwealth, illustrated by so
 
 310 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 many great names, and strongly Southern throughout the larger 
 portion of its territory in the habits, opinions, and character of 
 its population, was now called upon to decide, by its acts, 
 whether the Southern proclivities claimed for it were only theo- 
 retical, or such as to spur its people on to overt acts against the 
 Federal Government. The response seemed to indicate an 
 almost complete indifference, if not open hostility to the Con- 
 federate cause ; and instead of being received with smiles, the 
 troops were looked upon with ill-concealed dislike. It was not 
 until afterwards that the Confederates came to understand this 
 singular reception. They had entered a portion of the State 
 entirely dissimilar to the lower counties, where the Southern 
 sentiment was powerful. Here the Union feeling was in the 
 ascendant, as in Western Virginia, and little encouragement met 
 the Southern arms. What would have been the result of an 
 advance into the lower counties, where the planters were like 
 those of Eastern Virginia, nearly unanimous in favor of the 
 South, we can only conjecture ; but in Frederick City and above 
 that point General Lee was met with little enthusiasm, and re- 
 ceived almost no recruits. 
 
 There were, however, many exceptions to this want of cordi- 
 ality in the demeanor of the people. One Marylander fed in a 
 single day six hundred Southern soldiers ; officers and men were 
 urged to stop and use the houses and all they contained ; many 
 ladies sewed day and night on garments for the ragged troops ; 
 and from the houses of a few daring gentlemen waved white 
 handkerchiefs and the Confederate flag. An incident of the time 
 was the presentation of a magnificent riding horse to General 
 Jackson as soon as he crossed the river, which, however, came 
 very near resulting in his 'death. Frightened by the martial 
 sounds around him, the animal reared violently, and nothing but 
 Jackson's firm seat in the saddle for with all his want of grace, 
 he was an excellent rider saved him from a heavy fall. 
 
 The following passages from the letter of an army corre- 
 spondent, written on the 8th of September, presents a picture of 
 Frederick City at the time, and, with some allowance for the
 
 GENERAL LEE ENTERS MARYLAND. 311 
 
 obvious desire of the writer to persuade himself that the recep- 
 tion of the Southern troops was enthusiastic, may be taken as a 
 truthful statement of the condition of things at the moment : 
 
 " Frederick to-day presents a busy scene, more like that of a 
 Fourth of July festival than a gathering of armed invaders. A 
 majority of the stores are closed to general admission, because 
 of the crowds eager to press and buy, but a little diplomacy 
 secures an entrance at the back door, or past the sentinel wisely 
 stationed to protect the proprietor from the rush of anxious cus- 
 tomers. Prices are going up rapidly. Every thing is so cheap, 
 that our men frequently lay down a five dollar bill to pay for a 
 three dollar article, and rush out without waiting for the change. 
 The good people here don't understand it. Bitter complaints 
 are uttered against those who refuse Confederate money, and 
 it is understood that the authorities will insist upon its general 
 circulation. 
 
 " The people are beginning to recover from their surprise at 
 our sudden appearance, and to realize the magnitude of our 
 preparations to advance through and relieve Maryland from her 
 thraldom. Some are still moody, and evidently hate us heartily, 
 but we are more than compensated by the warm welcome of 
 others, who now begin to greet us from every quarter. Only a 
 few moments ago I met a lady who confessed that although she 
 had Confederate flags ready to expose in her windows as we 
 passed, she was afraid to wave them, lest being discovered by 
 her Union neighbors, she should be reported to the Federals in 
 case of our retreat, and be thereby subjected to insult if not im- 
 prisonment at their hands. To assure me how true were her 
 sentiments, she introduced me to a large room in her house, 
 where there were fourteen ladies, young and old, busy as bees,, 
 making shirts, drawers, and other clothing for the soldiers. 
 
 " She was also distributing money and tobacco to the soldiers. 
 Judging probably from my rags that I too was in a destitute 
 condition, she benevolently desired to take me in hand and re- 
 plenish my entity throughout; but of course I declined, and 
 though I could not help smilling at the ingenuous oddity of the-
 
 '312 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 proposition, a tear at the same time stole down my cheek at the 
 thought of the sufferings which these noble-hearted ladies must 
 have endured to prompt the unselfish generosity by which they 
 endeavored to express their delight in our presence." 
 
 General Lee had given the strictest orders in relation to 
 depredations by the troops ; and the same writer adds, " though 
 thousands of soldiers are now roaming through the town, there 
 has not been a solitary instance of misdemeanor." A Mary- 
 lander, Colonel Johnson, commanded the strong provost guard ; 
 no Union man was molested ; " pay as you go," was the policy 
 of the Southern leaders ; and all kinds of property used by the 
 troops, even the fence rails which they burned, were carefully 
 paid for. Never before had the world beheld the spectacle of a 
 hostile army, in an enemy's territory, conducting itself with such 
 perfect regard for the rights of property and the feelings of the 
 inhabitants. The result was soon evident. " Prices are going 
 up rapidly," says the newspaper correspondent already quoted. 
 Two days after the arrival of the " Rebels," they were found 
 not to be such terrible monsters after all ; and goods which at first 
 were sold at " greenback" prices, were now held at many hun- 
 dreds per cent, higher. Recruits did not appear. 
 
 Meanwhile General Lee had prepared his address to the 
 people of Maryland ; and if any doubt remained of the policy 
 which would be pursued by the Confederate commander, this 
 authoritative statement of his views and intentions set that doubt 
 at rest. The army and the people of the State awaited the 
 document with intense interest ; and when it was published, on 
 the 8th of September, at Frederick City, it was seized upon and 
 read with avidity, and had soon been disseminated and read 
 throughout the entire North. The address was in these words : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMT OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, ^ 
 Near FREDERICK TOWN, Sept. 8th, 1862. ) 
 To the People of Maryland : 
 
 It is right that you should know the purpose that has brought the army 
 under my command within the limits of your State, so far as that purpose 
 concerns yourselves. 
 
 The people of the Confederate States have long watched, with the deepesl
 
 GENERAL LEE ENTERS MARYLAND. 313 
 
 sympathy, the wrongs and outrages that have been inflicted upon the citizens 
 of a commonwealth allied to the States of the South by the strongest social, 
 political, and commercial ties. 
 
 They have seen, with profound indignation, their sister State deprived of 
 every right, and reduced to the condition of a conquered province. 
 
 Under the pretence of supporting the Constitution, but in violation of its 
 most valuable provisions, your citizens have been arrested and imprisoned 
 upon no charge, and contrary to all forms of law. The faithful and manly 
 protest against this outrage, made by the venerable and illustrious Mary- 
 landers, to whom, in better days, no citizen appealed for right in vain, was 
 treated with scorn and contempt. The government of your chief city has 
 been usurped by armed strangers ; your Legislature has been dissolved by 
 the unlawful arrest of its members ; freedom of the press and of speech have 
 been suppressed ; words have been declared offences by an arbitrary decree 
 of the Federal Executive, and citizens ordered to be tried by a military com 
 mission for what they may dare to speak. 
 
 Believing that the people of Maryland possessed a spirit too lofty to sub- 
 mit to such a Government, the people of the South have long wished to aid 
 you in throwing off this foreign yoke, to enable you again to enjoy the in- 
 alienable rights of freemen, and restore independence and sovereignty to your 
 State. 
 
 In obedience to this wish our army has come among you, and is prepared 
 to assist you with the power of its arms in regaining the rights of which you 
 have been despoiled. This, citizens of Maryland, is our mission, so far as you 
 are concerned. No constraint upon your free will is intended no intimidation 
 will be allowed. Within the limits of this army at least, Marylanders shall 
 once more enjoy their ancient freedom of thought and speech. We know no 
 enemies among you, and will protect all, of every opinion. It is for you to 
 decide your destiny, freely and without constraint. This army will respect 
 your choice, whatever it may be ; and while the Southern people will rejoice 
 to welcome you to your natural position among them, they will only welcome 
 you when you come of your own free will. 
 
 R. E. LEE, General Commanding. 
 
 The campaign in Maryland was thus undertaken to aid the 
 people of that State in " throwing off the foreign yoke" which 
 had so long weighed down their necks ; in " regaining the rights 
 of which they had been despoiled ; " " to enable them again to 
 enjoy the inalienable rights of freemen, and restore independence 
 and sovereignty to the State." 
 
 No citizen would be coerced ; no man's property taken from
 
 314 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 him ; if he joined the Southern army he would be welcome, but 
 if he remained at home he would not be molested. To each and 
 all was accorded the right to " decide his destiny, freely and 
 without restraint." 
 
 Certain persons have put themselves to the trouble of at- 
 tempting to discover a profound ruse in this address. Such a 
 construction of the grave and statesmanlike paper is simply 
 absurd. The advance into Maryland was made for the purpose 
 stated by General Lee, and circumstances wholly beyond his 
 control against the force of which he could not contend dic- 
 tated his subsequent operations. What these circumstances 
 were, will be stated in the ensuing pages of this work. 
 
 General Lee had thus advanced without resistance into the 
 enemy's country, and his eagles already began to open their 
 broad wings for flight toward the rich fields of Pennsylvania. 
 But one serious cause of delay existed, which changed the whole 
 face of affairs. This was the fortress, as it may appropriately 
 be called, of Harper's Ferry. At Harper's Ferry a force of 
 11,000 of the enemy, with seventy-three pieces of artillery, re- 
 mained, directly in his rear; and it was necessary before pro- 
 ceeding to enter on greater movements to gain possession of this 
 strong point which they still held. 
 
 On his ti-ial, General McClellan, in reply to the question r 
 " Will you give a statement of the principal events connected 
 with the Maryland campaign ? " said : 
 
 " When at Frederick we found the original order issued to 
 General D. H. Hill by direction of General Lee, which gave the 
 orders of march for their whole army, and developed their inten- 
 tions. The substance of the order was, that Jackson was to 
 move from Frederick by the main Hagerstown road, and leaving 
 it at some point near Middletown to cross the Potomac near 
 Sharpsburg, and endeavor to capture the garrison of Martins- 
 burg, and cut off the retreat of the garrison of Harper's Ferry 
 in that direction. General McLaws was ordered, with his own 
 command and the division of General Anderson, to move out by 
 the same Hagerstown road and gain possession of the Maryland
 
 GENERAL LEE ENTERS MARYLAND. 315 
 
 Heights, opposite Harper's Ferry. General Walker, who was 
 then apparently somewhere near the mouth of the Monocacy, 
 was to move through Lovettsville and gain possession of Lou- 
 doun Heights, thus completing the investment of Harper's Ferry. 
 General Longstreet was ordered to move to Hagerstown, with 
 Hill to serve as a rear guard. * * * * It was directed in 
 the same order that after Jackson, Walker, McLaws, etc., had 
 taken Harper's Ferry, they were to rejoin the main army at 
 Hagerstown or Boonsboro'. That order is important in another 
 sense. It shows very plainly that the object of the enemy was 
 to go to Pennsylvania, or at least to remain in Maryland." 
 
 The discovery of this order was most unfortunate for the suc- 
 cess of the campaign. Prompt steps were taken by the enemy 
 to check the advance of General Lee, relieve Harper's Ferry, 
 and defeat the projected invasion of Pennsylvania. 
 
 After the battle of Manassas great confusion is said to have 
 reigned in the Federal councils at Washington ; and the antici- 
 pated attack of the Southern army upon the capital was regarded 
 with terror. General Pope was cast aside, and the distinguished 
 officer who had fallen under the displeasure of the Federal Ex- 
 ecutive, and been deprived of the command of the army, was 
 appealed to in this critical emergency. General McClellan rose 
 to the command of the entire forces in and around Washington 
 without an effort on his part ; and he acted without consultation 
 with any one, and under no orders but " Save the Capital." The 
 genius of this skilful soldier was equal to the occasion. Troops 
 were hurried forward from various parts of the North ; the rem- 
 nants of the army defeated at Manassas were collected and re- 
 organized ; Burnside's column was brought up ; all the reserves 
 which had not arrived in time to participate in these great con- 
 tests were put in requisition, and another army, numbering about 
 1 00,000 men, was at once ready to take the field. Never had the 
 great resources in men and material of the Federal Government 
 been more strikingly displayed ; and the Southern troops were 
 now called upon to meet a fresh army. With this great mass 
 of old soldiers and new, veterans and conscripts^ General M"
 
 316 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Clellan took position in front of Washington ; when, finding that 
 General Lee no longer threatened that city, and had moved 
 toward Pennsylvania, the Federal commander hurried forward 
 in the direction of Frederick City. 
 
 General McClellan was still completely ignorant of Lee's de- 
 signs, and it was necessary for him to move with caution so as 
 cover the capital. President Lincoln was evidently uneasy, 
 from the apprehension that Lee's advance into Maryland was 
 only a feint, with a small force to draw the Federal forces 
 northward, when the main column would, by a rapid flank 
 movement, reach and assault Washington. Hampered by con- 
 tinual orders from the War Office, and unable to penetrate the 
 designs of Lee, General McClellan was compelled to advance, 
 with his left resting on the Potomac, in order to defeat any flank 
 attack upon Washington, and to proceed with a caution which 
 was indispensable in dealing with so wary and dangerous an ad- 
 versary. 
 
 Great must have been the joy of General McClellan, there 
 fore, at finding, upon a table in Frederick City, the copy of Lee's 
 order of march left there by General D. H. Hill. It would be 
 difficult to over-estimate the disastrous effect which this careless 
 ness on the part of some one had upon General Lee's campaign. 
 General McClellan now no longer advanced cautiously, and with 
 an eye to the safety of the capital. He knew all General Lee's 
 designs, and hastened, without the loss of a moment, to coun- 
 teract them. 
 
 If that order had not been found at Frederick City, the re- 
 sult of the Maryland campaign would, in all probability, have, 
 been wholly different.
 
 BOONSBORO' AND CRAMPTON's GAP. 317 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BOONSBORO' AND CRAMPTON'S GAP. 
 
 GENERAL LEE had, meanwhile, commenced his operations, 
 looking to the reduction of Harper's Ferry. 
 
 General Walker was directed to recross the Potomac and 
 move up with his brigade to Loudoun Heights, east of Harper's 
 Ferry ; General McLaws was sent to occupy Maryland Heights 
 .opposite the town, on the northern bank of the Potomac, to cut 
 off the enemy's retreat if they attempted to fall back toward 
 Frederick City ; while General Jackson was directed to march 
 straight across the country to Williamsport, take possession of 
 Martinsburg, and intercept their retreat if they moved up the 
 river, or demand the instant surrender of Harper's Ferry and 
 its garrison. Jackson could take care of himself^ but General 
 McLaws was liable to be assailed in his rear, driven from Mary- 
 land Heights, and the garrison thus relieved. A strong force 
 was accordingly posted at South Mountain, on the main road 
 from Frederick City to Boonsboro', under command of General 
 D. H. Hill, to receive the attack of General McClellan, then 
 known to be advancing ; troops were also posted at Crampton's 
 Gap and other openings in the mountain lower down ; and Gen- 
 eral Longstreet's corps was held in reserve, to move in any di- 
 rection which the emergencies of the occasion demanded. The 
 cavalry under General Stuart was ordered to bring up and pro- 
 tect the rear. 
 
 Before following Jackson in his swift advance to the execu- 
 tion of his portion of the programme, let us relate the events 
 which occurred simultaneously upon the soil of Maryland. We 
 shall thus be enabled to present an uninterrupted narrative of 
 the operations of Jackson. 
 
 General McClellan's advancing army first came in collision 
 with General Stuart's cavalry near Frederick City on the llth
 
 318 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 of September. General Stuart's front extended from New 
 Market, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, to Poolesville 
 Fitz Lee being on the left, Hampton in the centre, and Colonel 
 Munford, commanding Robertson's brigade, on the right. 
 
 On the 12th the whole line speedily became engaged, and 
 opposed the advance of the enemy with obstinate valor. The 
 Federal advance force was repulsed on repeated charges ; and 
 it was not until the corps of the army had moved to their 
 assigned positions, that Stuart slowly retired, striking the ad- 
 vancing enemy at every step with his rear guard. General 
 Hampton, bringing up the rear on the road from Frederick City 
 to Middletown, was hotly assailed by a heavy force which had 
 rushed into Frederick ; and, annoyed by the galling fire of the 
 Federal artillery, supported by a strong column of infantry, he 
 charged them with characteristic gallantry, drove back their in- 
 fantry with great loss, and captured their artillery, though, the 
 horses having been shot, he could not bring it off. The cavalry 
 then slowly retired toward the gaps in the mountain, and on the 
 next morning, September 13th, Hampton, who had occupied 
 the gap in the Catoctin Mountain near Middletown, was vigor- 
 ously assailed by overpowering columns. The gap was obsti- 
 nately held by his dismounted men and artillery until late in the 
 day, when further check of the enemy becoming unnecessary, he 
 was ordered to withdraw.* 
 
 On the 14th the enemy appeared in front of the various gaps in 
 the South Mountain, bent on breaking through and hastening to 
 the relief of the garrison at Harper's Ferry, now imminently threat 
 ened by Jackson. At Crampton's Gap an obstinate stand was 
 made by a small force of dismounted cavalry and infantry under 
 Colonel Thomas T. Munford, of the 2d Virginia cavalry, with 
 a few hundred men, and the battery of Captain Chew, which had 
 
 * On approaching Crampton's Gap, General Hampton's column was mis- 
 taken by Colonel Munford for a force of Federal cavalry, and he ordered the 
 artillery to open upon it. The guns were loaded, sighted straight at Hamp- 
 ton, and were about to be discharged, when a white flag appeared at the head 
 of ^he column, and this serious accident was averted.
 
 BOONSBORO' AND CRAMPTON's GAP. 31 & 
 
 done excellent service in the campaign of the Virginia Valley. 
 Colonel Munford opposed the advance of Slocum's division of 
 the Federal army, and for many hours prevented them from 
 passing the mountain. It was only when his ammunition was 
 completely exhausted, and the enemy were flanking him on both 
 sides, that he retired through the gap, mounted his men, and 
 moved down the mountain. General Stuart having appeared 
 upon the field, drew up the cavalry, checked the retreat of the 
 infantry of General Cobb's command, and at night the small 
 Confederate force still opposed the advance of the enemy. 
 
 Meanwhile a still heavier engagement had taken place at 
 Boonsboro' Gap, above. The pass at Boonsboro' is a defile, 
 through which runs the main turnpike from Federal City to 
 Hagerstown. The road is winding, narrow, and rugged the 
 steep mountain on one side, on the other a deep ravine. Near 
 the top are two or three houses, but few other objects break the 
 monotony of the landscape. The enemy appeared in front of 
 the position occupied by General D. H. Hill, and immediately 
 assailed him. A severe conflict ensued, the enemy's numbers 
 enabling him to gain possession of the commanding ground on 
 Hill's left, and by overlapping both wings to press him back. 
 Couriers were immediately sent to General Lee announcing the 
 condition of affairs, and Longstreet was hurried forward from 
 Hagerstown to Hill's assistance. The appearance of his corps, 
 with Evans on the left, Drayton on the right, and Hood's Texans 
 in the centre, at once changed the aspect of the field ; the Federal 
 force who were pressing heavily upon Hill and driving him back, 
 were repulsed and held in check, and the ground maintained 
 against the most determined efforts of the enemy to force a passage. 
 In this action General Reno, of the U. S. Army, was killed. 
 
 Receiving information that Harper's Ferry would certainly 
 fall on the next morning, General Lee now determined to with- 
 draw the commands of Longstreet and Hill, and retire toward 
 Sharpsburg, where his communications would be uninterrupted, 
 and his army could be concentrated. The trains were accord- 
 ingly sent to that point, and the army slowly retired. The dif-
 
 320 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 ficult and dangerous task of bringing up the rear was entrusted' 
 to Genera.1 Fitz Lee, who performed this important duty, as 
 afterwards at Sharpsburg, with a courage and ability which ex- 
 cited the admiration of the whole army. This accomplished 
 officer had distinguished himself by skill and daring upon many 
 fields ; but it was left for him, and his associate commanders of 
 the cavalry arm, to show the infantry on this occasion that the 
 saddle of a cavalryman is not a bed of roses, and that " dead 
 bodies with spurs on them " could be discovered, and discovered 
 in considerable numbers. 
 
 The last to leave the field, General Stuart with his cavalry, 
 everywhere met and repulsed the enemy's advance, the Confed- 
 erate forces slowly retired, and at daylight on Monday morning 
 the army reached Sharpsburg. 
 
 General McClellan hastened to pass through the mountains, 
 soon after dawn on the 15th, and push forward to the relief 
 of Harper's Ferry. But he was too late. The golden moment 
 had passed away, the strong arm of Jackson had struck. 
 
 CHAPTER XTX. 
 CAPTURE OF HARPER'S FERRY. 
 
 JACKSON had performed the work assigned to him with 
 rapidity, accuracy, and success. 
 
 Leaving Frederick City on the 10th, as General McClellan: 
 was pressing forward, he moved with great rapidity through 
 Middletown, Boonsboro', and Williamsport, recrossed the Poto- 
 mac into Virginia, at Light's ford, and pressed forward to his 
 task. A. P. Hill was sent on the main road to Martinsburg, 
 Swell's and Jackson's old division moved to the North Moun- 
 tain depot on the railroad about seven miles northwest of Mar- 
 tinsburg, and Major Myers commanding the cavalry was de- 
 spatched as far south as the Berkeley and Hampshire turn-
 
 CAPTURE OF HARPER'S FERRY. . 321 
 
 pike. The object of these precautions was to prevent the escape 
 westward of General White, commanding the Federal force at 
 Martinsburg, and they fully attained their object. On the 
 night of the llth General White evacuated the town, and fell 
 back to the trap set for him at Harper's Ferry. 
 
 On the 12th Jackson entered the town, capturing large 
 quantities of Federal stores. On the morning of the 13th, at 
 about 11 o'clock, the head of his column came in view of the 
 enemy drawn upon Bolivar Heights. 
 
 We have already presented a brief topographical sketch of 
 Harper's Ferry. It is a small village nestling beneath an 
 almost perpendicular hill, in the angle formed by the junction of 
 the Potomac and the Shenandoah. Bolivar Heights is in rear 
 of the town, Maryland Heights is opposite, on the northern 
 bank, and Loudoun Heights is that portion of the Blue Ridge 
 across the Shenandoah and east of the place. General Johnston 
 had retired from this position because it was exposed to an en- 
 filade and reverse fire from the heights above mentioned. The 
 Confederate forces now occupied these commanding positions 
 it was the enemy who were cooped up in Harper's Ferry and 
 Jackson prepared to try upon General Miles, commanding the 
 enemy's force, the strategy which General Patterson no doubt in- 
 tended to direct against Johnston. 
 
 Jackson immediately had recourse to signals of which he 
 always made great use to ascertain if General McLaws and 
 Walker were in position. Neither height responded to his 
 flags ; and a courier was sent to each of the generals for infor- 
 mation. Jackson would unquestionably have stormed the place 
 that day, the 13th, and have been with his entire command at 
 Crampton and Boonsboro' Gaps in time to take part in the battles 
 at those two points on the 14th ; but to attack while the enemy 
 had their way of escape open, would not only have failed to 
 obtain the main object of the expedition, but more than 10,000 
 fresh troops would have been thrown against the weak Confeder- 
 ate lines at the lower gap of South Mountain. It was not until 
 late in the night that the courier from Loudoun Heights brought 
 21
 
 322 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 word that General "Walker was in position. General McLaws 
 was also, at this hour, in his allotted place, having attacked and 
 driven off the Federal force on Maryland Heights. 
 
 The character of the ground mountain and river render- 
 ing communication by courier exceedingly difficult and tedious, 
 resort was again had to signals ; but even with this assistance 
 Jackson could not, in spite of his utmost exertions, convey to 
 Walker and McLaws his orders for the attack until late in the 
 day. Time was infinitely precious now, for the distant thunder 
 of artillery from South Mountain indicated the engagements 
 there, and nothing had been done at Harper's Ferry. Walker 
 and McLaws signalled that Bolivar Heights, where the enemy 
 were still posted, was out of range of their artillery ; and Jack- 
 son saw the necessity of forcing the Federal line back under the 
 guns of his coadjutors. 
 
 The order of battle by which Jackson surrounded the enemy, 
 and reached a position for storming the place in the morning, 
 was as follows : 
 
 General Hill was directed to move on the right along the 
 bank of the Shenandoah, around the base of the hill, and turning 
 the enemy's left, enter the town in their rear. In this move- 
 ment Ewell's division under General Lawton was to cooperate. 
 
 One brigade of Jackson's old division, and a battery, under 
 General Jones, was to make a demonstration against the enemy's 
 right, while the remainder of the division as a reserve moved along 
 the turnpike in front. 
 
 Major Massie, commanding the cavalry, was directed to 
 draw up his command on the left of the line, to prevent the enemy 
 from escaping toward Martinsburg. 
 
 General Walker was on Loudoun Heights to prevent their 
 escape over the mountain. 
 
 General McLaws was on Maryland Heights to cut them off 
 from the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 
 
 The Federal commander was thus as completely environed 
 with watchful and dangerous foes, as a wild animal driven into 
 his hole by a party of hunters, with all the avenues barred
 
 CAPTUKE OF HAEPEK'S FEBBY. * . 323 
 
 against his exit. Like a wolf in some cavern of the mountains, 
 he was about to be smoked out, and forced either to surrender or 
 die defending himself. 
 
 The movement commenced on the left, late in the afternoon, 
 the Stonewall Brigade, under Colonel Grigsby, advancing to 
 secure an elevated position on the enemy's right. The Federal 
 cavalry here stationed was promptly dispersed, and the eminence 
 seized upon. General Hill was equally successful on the right, 
 next to the Shenandoah. Moving obliquely until he struck the 
 river, he observed in front of him a commanding position occu- 
 pied by Federal infantry, but no artillery the approaches 
 having been obstructed by an abatis of felled trees. The 
 brigades of Fender, Archer, and Brockenbrough were directed to 
 storm the position, and rushing forward, Fender in advance, 
 they attained the crest of the hill, the enemy retreating almost 
 without resistance. 
 
 In the centre the line was also pushed forward with energy. 
 Ewell's division, under Lawton, moved along the turnpike and 
 the fields which skirted it, in three columns, until it reached Hall- 
 town, when line of battle was formed, and Lawton advanced to 
 School House Hill ; his own brigade and Trimble's being on the 
 right of the road, and Hay's and Early* s on the left. 
 
 Such was the position of the Confederate lines when night 
 descended. But the hours of darkness were not suffered to 
 pass unimproved. The brigades of Branch and Gregg, with 
 Thomas' as a reserve, moved along the Shenandoah, and taking 
 advantage of the ravines of the precipitous banks of the river, 
 established themselves on the plain to the left and rear of the 
 enemy's works ; and all night the Confederate artillery was 
 moving into position. Jackson had a passion for artillery, as 
 we have already stated, and on this occasion he seems to have 
 posted his batteries with a care which left nothing to be desired. 
 Colonel Lindsey Walker had put in position on the crest gained 
 by Fender, on the enemy's left, the batteries of Pegram, Mcln- 
 tosh, Davidson, Braxton, and Crenshaw ; and during the night 
 Colonel Crutchfield, Jackson's chief of artillery, crossed ten.
 
 324 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 guns of Swell's division over the Shenandoah and established 
 them on the right bank, on the acclivity of the mountain, so as 
 to enfilade the Federal position on Bolivar Heights, and take his 
 nearest and most formidable fortifications in reverse. The other 
 batteries of EwelPs division were placed upon School House 
 Hill ; Poague and Carpenter were posted on the left, opposite the 
 Federal right, and Walker and McLaws were directed to cooperate 
 in the assault from the heights on the east and the north Jackson 
 signalling to them : " I have occupied and now hold the enemy'a 
 first line of intrenchments, and, with the blessing of God, will 
 capture the whole force early in the morning." 
 
 At dawn on the 15th of September, at the moment when 
 General McClellan began to move from Boonsboro' upon the re- 
 tiring forces of General Lee, Jackson opened his artillery upon 
 Harper's Ferry. Colonel Walker, Hill's chief of artillery, com- 
 menced a rapid enfilade fire from all his batteries at about one 
 thousand yards, and their thunders were echoed by the guns on 
 School House Hill in front. Soon the batteries of Brown, Gar- 
 ber, Latimer, and Dement across the Shenandoah opened on the 
 Federal rear ; and Poague and Carpenter answered from the 
 left, pouring a hot and heavy fire upon the enemy's right. 
 Above the heads of the cannoneers raced the shot ami chell of 
 Walker and McLaws from the Loudoun and Maryland Heights 
 rendering the scene one of great magnificence. The Federal bat- 
 teries replied, and for an hour kept up a resolute fire- At the end 
 of that time their fire slackened, and then seemed to be silenced. 
 
 All at once the batteries of Colonel Walker ceaf ed their fire, 
 and the infantry prepared to storm their works, for this was the 
 signal agreed upon. Pender had commenced his advance against 
 their left, when the enemy made a last effort, and again opened. 
 The batteries of Pegram and Crenshaw replied with a rapid and 
 destructive fire, and the infantry was about to rush forward and 
 storm the positions of the enemy, when a white flag fluttered 
 from the Federal works, and in the midst of cheers which rolled 
 aloft and were reechoed from the wooded mountain, it was an: 
 nounced that the Federal commander had surrendered.
 
 CAPTURE or HARPER'S FERRY. 325 
 
 The scenes which ensued were singular, and those who were 
 present will long remember them. Jackson had been up for the 
 greater part of the night, and for many preceding nights had 
 scarcely slept an hour, although he required more rest than any 
 general in the army. He was now exhausted, and had no soon- 
 er satisfied himself that the place had fallen than he sat down on 
 the ground, leaned his elbow on a log, and was asleep in a mo- 
 ment. Meanwhile General Hill had communicated witb the- 
 Federal General White, who had succeeded to the command in 
 conseqiience of a mortal wound received by Colonel Miles,- 
 and now came, in company with that officer, to arrange with 
 Jackson the terms of surrender. The contrast between Gene- 
 ral White's neat uniform and Jackson's dingy coat is represented- 
 as having been very striking ; and the Confederate commander 
 wore an old hat, less imposing even than his yellow cap, of 
 which some lady in Martinsburg had robbed him. General 
 White probably regarded with some curiosity this singular speci- 
 men of a Southern general, and allowed Hill to open the inter-- 
 view. The latter said to Jackson : 
 
 " General, this is General White, of the United States Army." 
 
 Jackson made a courteous movement, but seemed ready to 
 fall asleep again, when Hill added : 
 
 " He has come to arrange the terms of surrender." 
 
 Jackson made no reply, and, looking under his slouch hat,. 
 Hill found that he was asleep. He was again roused, and at last 
 raising his head with difficulty, said to the Federal commander: 
 
 " The surrender must be unconditional, General. Every in- 
 dulgence can be granted afterwards." 
 
 As he finished speaking Jackson's head fell, and unable tot 
 contend against his drowsiness he again fell asleep, and the in- 
 terview terminated. The terms of the surrender were liberal. 
 The officers and men were paroled, with liberty to retain all 
 their personal effects, and the former their side-arms ; and trans- 
 portation was furnished them for their property. Upon these 
 terms 11,000 troops were surrendered. 
 
 An amusing incident of the time is thus related by an officer
 
 326 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 of the Federal army, who met Jackson in the streets of Harper's 
 Ferry. 
 
 " While we were in conversation," said this officer, " an 
 orderly rode rapidly across the bridge, and said to General 
 Jackson : 
 
 " ' I am ordered by General McLaws to report to you that 
 General McClellan is within six miles with an immense army ! ' 
 
 " Jackson took no notice of the orderly, apparently, and con- 
 tinued his conversation ; but when the orderly had turned away 
 Jackson called after him with the question : 
 
 " ' Has General McClellan any baggage train*or drove of 
 cattle?' 
 
 " The reply was that he had. Jackson remarked that ' he 
 could whip any army that was followed by a flock of cattle ' al- 
 luding to the hungry condition of his men." 
 
 It is a well-known fact that the Federal troops, instead of re- 
 garding their conqueror with a sentiment of hatred, exhibited 
 the liveliest admiration for him and curiosity to see him. Many 
 desired to shake hands with him, and did so. This feeling of 
 the Northern troops was displayed upon many occasions. A 
 gentleman of Culpepper was offered by a Federal soldier $500 
 in " greenbacks " for Jackson's autograph, but refused it ; and 
 a Federal officer said to a member of General Longstreet's staff 
 whilst a prisoner in Washington : 
 
 " I believe if we were to capture Stonewall Jackson, out 
 troops would cheer him as he passed along." 
 
 Jackson captured at Harper's Ferry 11,000 prisoners, in- 
 cluding a brigadier-general ; 13,000 small-arms ; 73 pieces of 
 artillery ; about 200 wagons, and a large amount of camp and 
 garrison equipage. His loss was small. 
 
 The following was his despatch announcing the surrender ? 
 
 HEADQUARTERS VALLEY DISTRICT, September 16, 1862. 
 
 COLONEL : Yesterday God crowned our arms with another brilliant success 
 tm the surrender, at Harper's Ferry, of Brigadier-General White and 11,000 
 troops, an equal number of small-arms, 73 pieces of artillery, and about 200 
 wagons. 
 
 In addition to other stores, there is a large amount of camp and garrison
 
 SHARPSBUKG, OR ANTTETAM. 327 
 
 equipage. Our loss was very small. The meritorious conduct of officers and 
 men will be mentioned in a more extended report. 
 
 I am, Colonel, your obedient servant, 
 
 T. J. JACKSON, Major-General. 
 Colonel R. H. CHILTON, A. A. General. 
 
 It has been truthfully declared that the capture of Harper's 
 Ferry was worth the entire campaign in Maryland ; and the 
 results achieved induced the belief, above alluded to, that Gen- 
 era! Lee had no other end in view when he advanced into that 
 country. Such a supposition is exceedingly absurd ; but the 
 capture of 11,000 prisoners, 73 pieces of artillery, 13,000 stand 
 of arms, and 200 wagons, is an amount of damage which few 
 victories inflict upon an enemy. 
 
 No good fortune, however, is entirely without alloy ; and 
 the movement against Harper's Ferry had withdrawn from Gen-, 
 eral Lee a force at that moment infinitely precious. With Jack- 
 son, McLaws, and Walker detached from the main body, he had 
 been compelled to arrest his advance into Pennsylvania, and fall 
 back to Sharpsburg to unite his army ; and thus, instead of oc- 
 cupying the aggressive attitude of an invader, to stand on the 
 defensive. 
 
 Jackson was now ordered to rejoin General Lee without de-> 
 lay, and leaving General A. P. Hill at Harper's Ferry to. 
 which Walker and McLaws had crossed he took his two re- 
 maining divisions, and by a severe night march reached Sharps^ 
 burg on the morning of the 16th September. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SHARPSBUBG, OR ANTIETAM. 
 
 THE battles of Boonsboro' and Crampton's Gap took place 
 on Sunday, September 14th; Harper's Ferry surrendered on 
 the morning of the 15th ; Tuesday, the 16th, was spent by both 
 combatants in concentrating their forces for the great conflict 
 which was to ensue.
 
 328 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 The battle of Sharpsburg was fought east and north of the 
 town of that name, in the valley immediately west of South 
 Mountain. 
 
 This valley is undulating and broken into innumerable emi- 
 nences of every size, from diminutive knolls to steep and lofty 
 hills. Many of the depressions between these hills are dry, af 
 fording good cover for infantry, while others are traversed by 
 Antietam Creek, a deep, narrow, and crooked water-course, 
 which twists about like a serpent, and has to be *' crossed every 
 ten minutes." Sharpsburg is situated on the western side of the 
 valley, and on the eastern side, near the foot of South Moun- 
 tain, are the little villages of Peterstown and Keedysville. Nu- 
 merous farm-hotises dot the valley in every direction, some 
 standing out plainly on the hill tops, others half hidden on the 
 slopes, with their ample barns and orchards. Fields of clover 
 and ripe corn stretched on every hand, and to the northward a 
 dense belt of woods shut in the prospect. In this amphitheatre, 
 with the hills rising in terraces around it, the two great adver- 
 saries, Lee and McClellan, were now to close in one of those 
 desperate struggles, which will throw a glare so lurid on the an- 
 nals of this period. 
 
 An army correspondent writes : " Jackson and Lawton 
 (commanding Ewell's division), always in time, had come for- 
 ward rapidly during the night, and were in position on our ex- 
 treme left. "What a strange strength and confidence we all felt 
 m the presence of that man ' Stonewall ' Jackson " ! 
 
 General Lee's line of battle was in front of Sharpsburg, 
 wath Longstreet on the right, D. H. Hill in the centre, and Jack- 
 son on the left the cavalry under Stuart being posted on the 
 extreme left of the line. The divisions of McLaws, Anderson, 
 and A. P. Hill, and Walker's brigade had not arrived on the 
 night of the 16th, and Jackson had under him only Ewell's and 
 his own division. 
 
 The Federal line was several miles in length, and their forces 
 embraced the corps of Burnside, Mansfield, Hooker, Sumner, 
 .Franklin, Williams (formerly that of Banks, Jackson's old ad-
 
 8HARPSBURG. OR AXTIETAM. 329 
 
 versary), and Sykes' division of Fitz John Porter's corps. Gen- 
 eral Hooker held the right of their line, one of his divisions 
 being commanded by General Meade, and Burnside the left. 
 
 ~0n the evening of the 16th the opposing lines had already 
 come into collision, General McClellan having thrown Hooker 
 across the Antietam on his right for the assault next morning. 
 Jackson's division and General Hood, holding the left of D. H. 
 Hill, were attacked, but the enemy's batteries were soon silenced, 
 and, resting on their arms in close proximity to the Federal lines, 
 the Southern troops snatched a brief sleep before the arduous 
 struggle of the coming day. 
 
 At dawn skirmishing commenced between the advanced 
 lines of Jackson and Hooker, now re enforced by the corps of 
 Mansfield, and in a short time the Federal batteries, so posted 
 on the opposite sides of the Antietam as to enfilade the Confed- 
 erate line, opened a heavy and destructive fire. Jackson's bat- 
 teries under Poague, Carpenter, Brockenbrough, Raine, Caskie, 
 and Wooding returned it hotly, and about sunrise the Federal 
 infantry advanced in heavy force to the edge of the wood, on the 
 eastern edge of the turnpike, driving in Jackson's skirmishers, 
 and opening upon his lines a determined fire of shell and canister 
 from their batteries at close range. This was kept up for some 
 time, when General Hooker suddenly advanced his line and 
 threw his entire column against Jackson. The firing which suc- 
 ceeded was heavy and incessant. The best troops of the Fed 
 eral army had been concentrated in this portion of the field to 
 turn the Confederate left, and the attempt was made with des- 
 peration. For more than two hours the lines of Jackson sus- 
 tained this almost overwhelming assault without giving back, 
 and the great mortality which resulted was sufficient evidence 
 of the desperate character of the struggle. General Starke, 
 commanding Jackson's division, and Colonel Douglas, command- 
 ing Lawton's brigade, were killed ; Generals Jones, Lawton, and 
 Walker were wounded and disabled ; more than half of the 
 brigades of Lawton and Hays were either killed or wounded ; 
 more than a third of Trimble's, and all the regimental com-
 
 330 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 manders in these brigades except two were either killed or 
 wounded. Meanwhile column after column of fresh troops were 
 thrown into action on the Federal side, as their ranks were 
 swept back by the galling fire, and thus for hour after hour, now 
 giving back, now advancing, the Southern lines held their orig- 
 inal ground. The batteries of General Stuart, commanded by 
 Major Pelham, his chief of artillery, under his direction, took a 
 leading part in this hot struggle ; and so judiciously had these 
 guns been posted, as General Jackson's report will showj that 
 they had a most important bearing on the fortunes of the day. 
 
 Jackson's line, a very thin one, owing to the absence of so. 
 large a portion of his command, sustained the heavy Federal fire 
 with great gallantry, but their ammunition became completely 
 exhausted at last ; and Jackson himself gave the order for hia 
 line to retire slowly.* This movement was no^ the result of 
 panic or confusion. A writer in the New York " Herald " said, 
 '' The rebel forces fell back slowly, and in very fair order, disput- 
 ing every foot that they gave up with the greatest obstinacy." 
 
 This retrograde inspired the enemy with new ardor. Their 
 right wing now rapidly advanced, and soon threatened to envelop 
 the Confederate left. It was almost at right angles with the 
 Federal centre, and General Hooker continued to extend his 
 right still further to outflank his adversary. Prompt steps were 
 necessary to counteract this dangerous manoeuvre, and Jackson 
 quickly moved his line to the left and rear, facing obliquely to 
 the left to meet this new assault. Into the gap thus made upon 
 his right the two small brigades of Texans under Hood threw 
 themselves with conspicuous gallantry. 
 
 Seeing Hood in their path, the enemy paused, and a Northern 
 correspondent writes : " While our advance rather faltered, the 
 
 * " Want of ammunition " has so often been the excuse for bad fighting 
 and fair defeat, that the present writer dislikes even the phrase. But the defi- 
 cient transportation of General Lee's army, and the absence of railroad con- 
 nection with his depots at Richmond, were very severely felt both at Sharps- 
 burg and Gettysburg. The Federal army was much more fortunate in these 
 particulars.
 
 SHAKPSBURG, OR ANTIETAM. 331 
 
 rebels, greatly reenforced, made a sudden and impetuous onset 
 and drove our gallant fellows back over a portion of the hard- 
 won field. What we had won, however, was not relinquished 
 without a desperate struggle, and here up the hills and down, 
 throtigh the woods and the standing corn, over the ploughed land 
 and the clover, the line of fire swept to and fro as one side or 
 the other gained a temporary advantage." 
 
 Hood was now fighting with his right toward the main line 
 of the enemy, for General Hooker had swept round so far that, 
 as we have, said, his line was almost at right angles with its 
 original position. Hood threw himself into the action with great 
 gallantry, and says, in his report : " Here I witnessed the most 
 terrible clash of arms by far that has occurred during the war. 
 The two little giant brigades of my command wrestled with the 
 mighty force, and, although they lost hundreds of their officers 
 and men, they drove them from their position and forced them 
 to abandon their guns on our left," One of these brigades num- 
 bered only 854 men. 
 
 Jackson had meanwhile moved Ewell's division toward the 
 Duukard Church, and rapidly formed a new line with a portion 
 of his own division on his right to oppose the further advance of 
 the enemy, who had rushed forward and planted a battery on the 
 turnpike near the edge of the woods. 
 
 Every thing now depended upon the arrival of the forces 
 under General McLaws. That officer advanced so slowly that 
 all the fruits of the terrible struggle of Jackson and Hood were 
 lost. 
 
 Before General McLaws had reached the field, General 
 Hooker made another and more determined attempt to turn the 
 Confederate left. The brunt of the battle was evidently here, 
 and a most persistent effort was made to break through Jackson's 
 line, or flank and drive it back in confusion on the centre.. The 
 hottest portion of this assault was borne on the extreme left by 
 the Stonewall Brigade, which received the enemy with a deter- 
 mined fire, and momentarily checked them and on the right, 
 Ewell had succeeded in holding his ground. At this crisis a
 
 332 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 heavy Federal column, supposed to be General Sumner's corps, 
 appeared upon the left, and Jackson would have been forced in a 
 short time to retire, when his own reinforcements reached the 
 field. Semmes' and Anderson's brigades, with a portion of the 
 divisions of Barksdale and McLaws, formed line of battle as sooc 
 as they reached the ground ; and soon the whole line, including 
 the Stonewall Brigade, swept forward in a determined charge. 
 This charge drove the enemy back, compelled them to surrender 
 all the ground they had gained, and pressing on, the Confederate 
 troops forced them from and beyond the woods for more than a 
 mile. 
 
 Jackson had thus entirely defeated the persistent attempt to 
 turn his left, and General McClellan's report shows that the re- 
 sult of the Federal attack in this part of the field was regarded 
 by him as decisive of the battle. Such was undoubtedly the 
 fact ; and the repulse of the Federal lines was so complete that 
 Jackson speedily assumed the offensive, and in his turn advanced 
 lo turn the Federal right. General Stuart, with his cavalry, led 
 the advance in this movement, but from the nature of the ground, 
 Jackson states, the design was soon abandoned. The Potomac 
 here makes a remarkable beud, and the narrow ground between 
 the river and the enemy's right was so completely commanded 
 by their artillery, that Jackson finally determined that the move- 
 ment was too hazardous to be attempted. 
 
 Of the fighting of the troops under Jackson and Hood on 
 this occasion, a Northern writer says : 
 
 " It is beyond all wonder how men such as the rebel troops 
 are can fight as they do. That those ragged and filthy 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 infantry, 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." 
 
 Of this great action in other portions of the field we present
 
 SHARPSBURG, OR ANTIETAM. 333 
 
 the following animated description from a Southern journal, 
 which, if not entirely accurate, will at least convey to the reader 
 something of the emotions of an eye-witness : 
 
 " THE FIGHT UPON THE CENTRE. Soon after the cessation 
 of the fight on the left, the enemy made a strong demonstration 
 upon our centre, in front of the division of General D. H. Hill. 
 Here, for awhile, the contest was carried on mainly by artillery, 
 with which both the enemy and ourselves were abundantly sup- 
 plied. The only difference between the two, if any at all, was in 
 the superiority of their metal and positions, and on our part the 
 lack of sufficient ammunition. Battery after battery was sent to 
 the rear exhausted, and our ordnance wagons, until late in the 
 <lay, were on the opposite side of the Potomac, blocked by the 
 long commissary trains which had been ordered forward from 
 Martinsburg and Shepherdstown to relieve the necessities of the 
 army. 
 
 " As indicated in the former part of this letter, our artillery 
 was posted on the summits of the line of hills which ran from 
 right to left in front of the town. That of the enemy, with one 
 exception, was on the rising ground at the base of the Blue 
 Eidge, and upon the various eminences this side. A single Fed- 
 eral battery was boldly thrown over the Stone bridge, on the 
 turnpike, nine hundred or a thousand yards in our front, and 
 held its position until disabled, with a hardihood worthy of a 
 better cause. I cannot now name all the positions of the differ- 
 ent batteries only those which I saw. Altogether, we may 
 have had playing at this time one hundred guns. The enemy 
 having at least an equal number, you may imagine what a horrid 
 concert filled the air, and how unremitting was the hail of heavy 
 balls and shells, now tearing their way through the trees, now 
 bursting and throwing their murderous fragments on every side, 
 and again burying themselves amid a cloud of dust in the earth, 
 always where they were least expected. 
 
 " This exchange of iron compliments had been kept up fron? 
 early morning, but at eleven o'clock the fire began to concentrate 
 and increase in severity. Columns of the enemy could be dis-
 
 334 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 tinctly seen across the Antietam on the open ground beyond- 
 moving as if in preparation to advance. Others were so far in 
 the distance that you could recognize them as troops only by the 
 sunlight that gleamed upon their arms, while considerable num- 
 bers were within cannon shot, defiantly flaunting their flags in 
 our faces. At twelve o'clock the scene from the apex of the 
 turnpike was truly magnificent, and the eye embraced a picture 
 such as falls to the lot of few men to look upon in this age. 
 
 " From twenty different stand- points great volumes of smoke 
 were every instant leaping from the muzzles of angry guns. The 
 air was filled with the white fantastic shapes that floated away 
 from bursted shells. Men were leaping to and fro, loading, fir- 
 ing, and handling the artillery, and now and then a hearty yell 
 would reach the ear amid the tumult, that spoke of death or dis- 
 aster from some well-aimed ball. Before us were the enemy. 
 A regiment or two had crossed the river, and, running in squads 
 from the woods along its banks, were trying to form a line. 
 Suddenly a shell falls among them, and another and another, 
 until the thousands scatter like a swarm of flies, and disappear 
 in the woods. A second time the effort is made, and there is a 
 second failure. Then there is a diversion. The batteries of the 
 Federals open afresh ; their infantry try another point, and finally 
 they succeed in effecting a lodgment on this side. Our troops,, 
 under D. H. Hill, meet them, and a fierce battle ensues in the 
 centre. Backward, forward, surging and swaying like a ship in 
 a storm, the various columns are seen in motion. It is a hot 
 place for us, but is hotter still for the enemy. They are directly 
 under our guns, 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 theii 
 line gives way in confusion. Their reserves come up, and en 
 deavor to retrieve the fortunes of the day. Our centre, however, 
 stands firm as adamant, and they fall back. Pursuit on oui 
 part is useless, for if we drove the enemy at all on the othei 
 side of the river, it would be against the sides of the mountain.
 
 SHABP8BUKG, OK ANTIETA3I. 335 
 
 where one man, fighting for bis life and liberty, disciplined or 
 undisciplined, would be equal to a dozen. 
 
 " Meanwhile, deadly work has been going on among our ar- 
 tillery. Whatever they may have made others suffer, nearly all 
 the companies have suffered severely themselves. The great 
 balls and shells of the enemy have been thrown with wonderful 
 accuracy, and dead and wounded men, horses, and disabled cais- 
 sons are visible in every battery. The instructions from General 
 Lee are that there shall be no more artillery duels. Instead, 
 therefore, of endeavoring to silence the enemy's guns, Colonel 
 Walton directs his artillery to receive the fire of their antagonists 
 quietly, and deliver their own against the Federal infantry. The 
 wisdom of the order is apparent at every shot, for with the over- 
 whelming numbers of the enemy, they might have defeated us at 
 the outset but for the powerful and well-directed adjuncts we pos- 
 sessed in our heavy guns. 
 
 " Time and again did the Federals perseveringly press close 
 up to our ranks, so near indeed that their supporting batteries 
 were obliged to cease firing lest they should 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. The sharpshooters of the 
 enemy were picking off our principal officers' continually, and espe- 
 cially those who made themselves conspicuous in the batteries. 
 In this manner the company of Captain Miller, of the Washing- 
 ton Artillery, was nearly disabled, only two out of his four guns 
 being fully manned. As it occupied a position directly under the 
 eye of General Longstreet, and he saw the valuable part it was 
 performing in defending the centre, that officer dismounted him- 
 self from his horse, and assisted by his Adjutant-General, Major 
 Sorrel, Major Fairfax, and General Drayton, worked one of the 
 guns until the crisis was passed. To see a general officer wield- 
 ing the destinies of a great fight, with its care and responsibili- 
 ties upon his shoulders, performing the duty of a common soldier, 
 in the thickest of the conflict, is a picture worthy of the pencil 
 of an artist.
 
 336 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 " The result of this battle, though at one time doubtful, was 
 finally decisive. The enemy were driven across the river with 
 a slaughter that was terrible. 
 
 " There now ensued a silence of two hours, broken only by 
 the occasional discharges of artillery. It was a sort of breath- 
 ing time, when the panting combatants, exhausted by the battle, 
 stood silently eying each other, and making ready the one to 
 strike, and the other to ward off another staggering blow. 
 
 " THE FIGHT ON THE RIGHT. It was now about 3 o'clock 
 in the afternoon, but notwithstanding the strange lull in the 
 storm, no one believed it would not be renewed before night. 
 Intelligence had come from the rear that General A. P. Hill 
 was advancing from Harper's Ferry with tbe force which Jack- 
 son had left behind, and every eye was turned anxiously in that 
 direction. In a little while we saw some of his troops moving 
 cautiously under cover of the woods and hills to the front, and 
 in an hour more he was in a position on the right. Here about 
 four o'clock the enemy had made another bold demonstration. 
 Fifteen thousand of their troops, in one mass, had charged our 
 lines, and after vainly resisting them, we were slowly giving 
 back before superior numbers. 
 
 " Our total force here was less than six thousand men ; and 
 had it not been for the admirably planted artillery, under com- 
 mand of Major Garnett, nothing until the arrival of reenforce- 
 ments could have prevented an irretrievable defeat. The 2d 
 and 20th Georgia have been especial subjects of comment, be- 
 cause of the splendid manner in which they successively met 
 and defeated seven regiments of the enemy, who advanced across 
 a bridge, and were endeavoring to secure a position on this side 
 of the river. They 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 Federal force crossed 
 the river, and made the dash against our line which well-nigh 
 proved a success. The timely arrival of General A. P. Hill, 
 however, with fresh troops, entirely changed the fortunes of the 
 day, and after an obstinate contest, which lasted from five o'clock
 
 8HAJRPSBCRG, OE ANTIETAM. 337 
 
 autil dark, the enemy were driven into and across the river with 
 great loss. During this fight the Federals bad succeeded in 
 flanking and capturing a battery, belonging, as I learn, to the 
 brigade of General Toombs. Instantly dismounting from his 
 horse, and placing himself at the head of his command, the 
 General, in his effective way, briefly told them that the battery 
 must be retaken if it cost the life of every man in his brigade, 
 and then ordered them to follow him. Follow him they did into 
 what seemed the very jaws of destruction ; and after a short but 
 fierce struggle, they had the satisfaction of capturing the prize, 
 and restoring it to the original possessors." 
 
 The battle of Sbarpsburg was perhaps as obstinately dis- 
 puted as any during the entire war. The statements about to 
 be laid before the reader will show that General McClellan's 
 force was nearly three times greater than General Lee's, and 
 there is no good reason to doubt that if the troops left on the 
 Virginia side of the Potomac had been present opposite the 
 bridge on- the Antietam, and General McLaws had arrived in 
 time upon the left, General McClellan would have been so much 
 crippled as to have been forced to retreat upon Washington with 
 the force which he had. Jackson drove General Hooker a mile 
 after all the troops which General McClellan could spare were 
 placed at Hooker's command on the right. With reinforcements 
 it is probable that Jackson would have routed his adversary. 
 
 As the day wore on it is said that General Burnside sent 
 message after message for reinforcements. These could not be 
 sent him ; and as the sun was sinking General McClellan is said 
 to have despatched orders to General Burnside to hold his posi- 
 tion, calling after the courier : 
 
 " 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 main body of General McClellan was thrown, as we 
 have said, against the Confederate left, where Jackson was sta- 
 tioned, the design of the Federal commander being to force Gen- 
 eral Lee back upon the river, and cut him to pieces before he 
 22
 
 338 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 could cross. His views are briefly expressed in the following 
 statement which he made upon his trial : 
 
 " On the morning of the 16th a close examination of the 
 ground was made, and preparations made for the attack. The 
 plan decided upon was to attack their left. The corps of Gen- 
 eral Hooker was thrown across the Antietam early in the fore- 
 noon of that day (the 16th), gained possession of the opposite 
 ridge without serious resistance, and then turned to its left, 
 moving along the crest of the ridge, advancing steadily until dark, 
 having encountered very sharp resistance during the latter part 
 of its march. And during the evening the corps of Mansfield 
 was thrown over to support Hooker. Early OB the morning of the 
 17th the corps of General Sumner was also pushed over the An- 
 tietam, to support the troops already engaged. Franklin's corps 
 arrived on the ground from Rohrersville in the course of the 
 forenoon. The result of the day's fighting on our right was 
 that we gained a considerable portion of ground held by the 
 enemy the night before, after a very stubborn resistance on his 
 part the fortunes of the day varying several times, but finally 
 resulting in our favor. It became necessary to throw Franklin's 
 corps across the Antietam to support our right soon after it 
 reached the field of battle. In the centre the effort was confined 
 mainly to artillery practice. On the left Burnside crossed the 
 river somewhere about noon, and, after severe fighting, gained 
 possession of the height which was the object of his attack, but 
 was finally obliged to yield it to the attack of a superior force, 
 still holding a position on the further bank of the stream." 
 
 In his report of the battle, General McClellan repeats his 
 statement that his main assault was against the Confederate left, 
 and his failure there decided all. The action is generally spoken 
 of at the North as a complete Federal victory ; but this does not 
 appear from General McClellan's statements on his trial, or from 
 the established facts. " The next morning," said General 
 McClellan, " I found that our loss had been so great, and there 
 was so much disorganization in some of the commands, that I 
 did not consider it proper to renew the attack that day."
 
 8HAKPSBURG, OE ANTTETAM. 339 
 
 This was on the 18th, and during the whole of that day 
 General Lee remained, drawn up in line of battle, to resume the 
 conflict if the enemy advanced. His army had suffered serious 
 loss, however, especially in valuable officers ; reinforcements 
 were constantly reaching the Federal commander ; and General 
 Lee's communications with the southern bank of the Potomac 
 were by a single road so narrow and rugged that it was almost 
 impossible to supply the army with the commissary and ord- 
 nance stores necessary to a further occupation of the ground on 
 the northern bank. General Lee accordingly determined to re- 
 cross the Potomac, to await at his leisure the additions to his 
 force which were expected, and to subsist and ammunition his 
 forces. 
 
 This movement was accomplished on the night of the 18th 
 without molestation, all the trains, artillery, and stores of every 
 description having been sent on before. 
 
 General Stuart brought up the rear with his cavalry ; the 
 last pickets were withdrawn, and by the morning of the 19th 
 General Lee had taken up a strong position on the southern 
 bank of the Potomac, ready to meet the Federal forces if they 
 attempted to cross. 
 
 The conditions under which General Lee fought the battle 
 of Sharpsburg were peculiar, and the disproportion of force 
 great. An accurate statement of facts in reference to these 
 points is necessary to a right understanding of the affair. It is 
 easy to write a partisan pamphlet and label t "history" to 
 represent the defeated forces as " overwhelmed by numbers," 
 and the enemy's loss " much larger," " very nearly double," or 
 " frightful," without investigating the facts. Such a narrative 
 may flatter partisan feelings, but it is not history. The proceed 
 ing in question appears puerile to the present writer, who here 
 as elsewhere has made an honest effort to arrive at the truth of 
 history. 
 
 It is not difficult to establish the statement, that at Sharps 
 burg General Lee fought a force about three times greater thai
 
 340 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 his own. When General McClellan was before the Committee 
 of Investigation, to examine into the circumstances attending 
 this action, he was asked, " What was your force at Antie- 
 tam?" to which he replied, "I think that before these two 
 divisions I alluded to came up, our force was about 90,000 men 
 not far from that ; it may have been 93,000 or 94,000." When 
 asked, "At what number did you estimate the force of the 
 enemy?" his reply was, " I think our estimate at the time, and 
 which was pretty well borne out by what occurred, was, that we 
 fought pretty close upon 100,000 men." 
 
 In his " Report of the Operations of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac," General McClellan is more explicit, and says : " Our forces 
 at the battle of Antietam were as follows : 
 
 Number of Men. 
 
 First Corps, 14,866 
 
 Second Corps, 18,818 
 
 Fifth Corps (one division not arrived), . . . 12,930 
 
 Sixth Corps, 12,300 
 
 Ninth Corps, 13,819 
 
 Twelfth Corps, 10,126 
 
 Cavalry Division, 4,320 
 
 Total in action, 87,164 
 
 General Lee's force he then estimated, from the reports of 
 "prisoners, deserters, spies, etc.," at 97,445 men; and this he 
 declares " gives the actual number of men present and fit for 
 duty " in Generjfl Lee's army. 
 
 It will no doubt surprise General McClellan when he ascer- 
 tains the fact that General Lee had at Sharpsburg, all told, only 
 33,000 troops, and that the brunt of the fight was sustained by 
 about 25,000, the others not having then come up. This fact 
 was long ago known to the present writer, from General Lee's 
 statement to General Stuart, that his force at Sharpsburg " did 
 not exceed in all 35,000 ; " but General Lee's official report has 
 since been published, and the exact numbers are given 33,000. 
 The explanation of this paucity of numbers will be found in the
 
 SHARP8BUEG, OR ANTIETAM. 341 
 
 bad equipment of the Southern forces, the very defective com- 
 missariat, and the exhausting character of the movements which 
 preceded the battle. In about three weeks the Southern army 
 had marched from the Rapidan via Manassas and Frederick 
 City to Sharpsburg. During this time they were almost wholly 
 without rations, and so badly clad that they excited the pity and 
 astonishment even of their enemies, who spoke of them as 
 ' ragged, hungry, and in all ways miserable." They had fought 
 almost daily battles, and lost heavily ; thousands had lagged be- 
 hind from pure inability to proceed ; and this was the explana- 
 tion of General Lee's small number. Between the Rapidan and 
 the Potomac it has been estimated that more than 20,000 gave' 
 out on the march, or were killed or disabled in battle. All the 
 roads of Northern Virginia were lined with soldiers compre- 
 hensively denominated " stragglers ; " but the great majority of 
 these men had fallen out of the advancing columu from physical 
 inability to keep up with it. Only a small portion, we believe,, 
 were " skulkers," for the troops were greatly elated at the idea 
 of transferring hostilities to Pennsylvania ; thousands were not 
 with General Lee because they had no shoes, and their bleeding 
 feet would carry them no further ; or the heavy march without 
 rations had broken them down. This great crowd toiled on pain- 
 fully in the wake of the army, dragging themselves five or six 
 miles a day ; and when they came to the Potomac, near Lees- 
 burg, it was only to 'find that General Lee had swept on, that 
 General McClellan's column was between them and him, and 
 that they could not rejoin their commands. The citizens of that 
 whole region, who fed these unfortunate persons, will bear testi- 
 mony that numbers sufficient to constitute an army in themselves, 
 passed the Blue Ridge to rendezvous, by General Lee's orders, 
 at Winchester. These 20,000 or 30,000 men were not in the 
 battle. Longstreet's corps of 26,000 men had dwindled to, 
 13,000, just one-half. Jackson's was not quite so bad, but was- 
 greatly reduced. Nor was the bulk of the latter corps present 
 until after four p. M., toward the end of the action. General 
 Lee fought until late in the day, with Longstreet, D. H. Hill,
 
 842 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Ewell, and two other divisions, a force of about 25,000 men. 
 The reenforcenients from McLaws, Anderson, and Hill increased 
 this number to 33,000, with which force General Lee met the 
 87,164 men reported by General McClellan as "in action " on 
 the Federal side. Sharpsburg may fairly be called a drawn battle, 
 and this result was highly honorable to the Southern arms. 
 
 In the movements which preceded the battle, General Mc- 
 Clellan had again exhibited that skill and soldiership which 
 saved the Federal army on the Chickahominy. He had promptly 
 organized, from the remnants of General Pope's defeated battal- 
 ions, and the new levies hurried forward, an army ready to take 
 the field ; and nothing but his great personal popularity and the 
 confidence reposed in his military judgment by the troops, could 
 have achieved a result so important. With this force he had 
 advanced from Washington, and throughout the march his move- 
 ments had been bold and judicious. His objects were to relieve 
 Harper's Ferry and arrest Lee's advance. With these ends in 
 view he pushed Franklin's corps toward Crampton's Gap, on 
 the straight road to Harper's Ferry, and moved with his main 
 body toward Hagerstown, which the head of Lee's column had 
 reached. 
 
 But for the rapidity of Jackson's march, and the energy of 
 his attack upon General Miles, McClellan would have succeeded 
 in his attempt to save the garrison. On the night of the 14th 
 he had concentrated at South Mountain an overwhelming force, 
 and on the 15th would have swooped down on Harper's Ferry. 
 But on that fatal loth the place surrendered, and so much of the 
 Federal general's programme was defeated. The other half, 
 however, was successful. Lee's further advance was checked ; 
 his forces were moved back and concentrated at Sharpsburg ; 
 and as the sun went down on the evening of the 16th of Septem- 
 ber, his great army confronted Lee on the eastern bank of the 
 Antietam. What followed is known.
 
 8HEPHERDSTOWN. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 SHEPHERDSTOWN. 
 
 THE roll of great events was now exhausted, but another 
 bloody encounter was to take place near the spot where Ashby 
 had long before drawn rein, and sat on his white horse unmoved 
 amid the Federal bullets. 
 
 General McClellan had no sooner received intelligence of the 
 retreat of his adversary, than he pushed a strong column toward 
 the Potomac in pursuit of him. Heavy batteries were promptly 
 disposed along the high ground on the north bank of the river- 
 opposite Shepherdstown, and a determined fire was opened on 
 the Confederate troops drawn up upon the southern shore. To 
 this fire, General Pendleton, chief of artillery of the army, re^ 
 plied with vigor, and the Stuart Horse Artillery, under Major 
 John Pelham, was especially active in engaging the enemy's 
 batteries. 
 
 In the evening the fire of the Federal artillery was redoubled, 
 and under the protection of the guns, General McClellan con>- 
 menced crossing a column, driving off General Pendleton and 
 Lawton's brigades, which acted as a support to the guns. By 
 the morning of the 20th a considerable body had crossed to the 
 southern bank, and Generals A. P. Hill and Early, who had 
 moved with the rest of Jackson's corps toward Martinsburg,, 
 were directed to return and drive the enemy back. 
 
 These orders were promptly obeyed, and the troops were 
 soon at the point of danger. General Hill, who commanded,, 
 drew up his force in two lines the first composed of Fender's,. 
 Gregg's, and Thomas' brigades, under command of General 
 Gregg ; the second, of Lane's, Archer's, and Brockenbrough's 
 brigades, under General Archer. General Early, with his own, 
 brigade and those of Trimble and Hays, took position in the; 
 woods on the right and left of the road leading to the ford.
 
 344 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 The Federal infantry was drawn up on the high banks of the 
 southern shore, and every point upon the Maryland side of the 
 river was crowned with their batteries, ready to open upon the 
 Confederate line as soon as it advanced. As General Hill 
 moved forward to the attack, the Federal artillery commenced a 
 rapid fire of shot and shell upon his advancing column, but no no- 
 tice of this was taken by the troops. They pressed forward, and 
 Fender found himself in front of the main Federal force which 
 was massed to attack him. As he charged, they poured a volley 
 into his line, and then rapidly extended with the view of turning 
 his left. Archer promptly threw his brigade in that direction, 
 and formed on Fender's left, when, advancing his whole line, 
 Hill made an impetuous charge, and drove the Federal line 
 before him, from the hill, down the bank, and into the river, 
 where many were drowned in attempting to cross. 
 
 " With no stop or hesitation," says an eye-witness, " using 
 no artillery, sending his men in steadily, General A. P. Hill 
 drove the enemy into and across the river, taking 300 prisoners, 
 and making the river blue with the dead." 
 
 Two hundred prisoners were taken in this affair, which 
 seems to have discouraged the Federal commander from any 
 further attempts to cross the river. The position on the bank 
 was held by Hill throughout the day until relieved by Fitz Lee's 
 cavalry, General Stuart having gone with the rest of his com- 
 mand to make an important demonstration above, in the vicinity 
 of Williamsport, where he met and repulsed the enemy in a brief 
 but spirited engagement. 
 
 On the same evening Jackson moved from Shepherdstown, 
 and encamped on the Opequon, from which point, on the 27th, 
 he moved back to Bunker's Hill, on the Martin'sburg and Win- 
 chester turnpike, where, in July, 1861, he had in the same 
 manner awaited the approach of General Patterson. 
 
 At Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, and Shepherdstown, he had 
 lost 38 officers killed and 171 wounded, 313 non-commissioned 
 officers and privates killed, 1,859 wounded, and 57 missing; 
 making a total loss of 2,438 killed, wounded, and missing.
 
 THE CAMPAIGN. 345 
 
 "For these great and signal victories," he says in terminat- 
 ing his report, " our sincere and humble thanks are due unto 
 Almighty God. Upon all appropriate occasions we should 
 acknowledge the hand of Him who reigns in Heaven, and rules 
 among the powers of the earth. In view of the arduous labors, 
 and great privations which the troops were called on to endure 
 and the isolated and perilous position which the command occu- 
 pied while engaged with the greatly superior force of the enemy, 
 we feel the encouraging consolation that God was with us and 
 gave to us the victory, and unto His holy name be all gratitude 
 and praise." 
 
 CHAPTER XXH. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 THE campaign of 1862 had virtually ended, and General 
 Lee's army was again upon the soil of Virginia. 
 
 From James River to the Potomac, the path of the Southern- 
 ers had been strewed all over with battles. Defeating the Fed- 
 eral forces in the bloody conflicts of the Chickahominy, they had 
 achieved an important success over the army of General Pope 
 at Cedar Run ; and then advancing without pause, had driven 
 that commander from Culpepper, flanked him beyond the Rap- 
 pahannock, and after destroying his enormous depot of stores, 
 engaged him on the old battle field of Manassas, and in an 
 obstinate and bloody battle completely defeated him. At 
 Oxhill, the rout of the Federal forces on the soil of Virginia 
 became final, and the army had pushed on without resting, and 
 invaded Maryland. Here it had been engaged in bloody en- 
 counters at Boonsboro' and Crampton's Gap ; had captured 
 Harper's Ferry, with 11,000 prisoners and 73 pieces of artillery, 
 and had sustained at Sharpsburg the assault of 87,000 troops 
 under a commander of acknowledged ability, offering him battle
 
 346 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 on the succeeding day, and only crossing back into Virginia fofr 
 want of food and ammunition. When the enemy pursued, they 
 had been completely defeated in a brief but bloody engagement, 
 and, drawn up on the southern bank of the Potomac, the army 
 still bade defiance to its adversaries. 
 
 Of the men who performed these arduous labors, and were- 
 successful upon so many fields against odds so great, it has 
 been truthfully said that " one-fifth of them were barefooted, 
 one-half of them in rags, and the whole of them half famished." 
 We have seen that even their adversaries regarded them with 
 mingled admiration and pity, characterizing them as "those- 
 ragged wretches, sick, hungry, and in all way miserable," and 
 wondering how they could " prove such heroes." From Federal 
 sources came the acknowledgment that " men never fought 
 better," and it was evidently a subject of great astonishment 
 with the enemy how troops so badly clothed and fed, with such 
 gaunt frames and bleeding feet, could have the heart to contend 
 against superior numbers, thoroughly equipped, with a courage 
 so unfaultering and admirable. 
 
 A Southern writer, once an humble unit of this historic 
 army, may be pardoned this reference to its superb efficiency 
 and those laurels which " time cannot wither." It did not win 
 those laurels without sweating blood in the effort, nor triumph 
 over " slaves and cowards." The Northern troops fought at the 
 second Manassas, and at Sharpsburg, with a gallantry which ex- 
 torted the admiration of their adversaries, and they were led by 
 generals of the coolest courage and the highest ability. They 
 were not a foe to be despised, nor did either side despise the 
 other in that hard struggle. When General Lee surrendered, it 
 was the preachers and other non-combatants, not the northern 
 troops, who wanted every Southern soldier hanged or shot for 
 treason. 
 
 The toils, hardships, and glories of the army of Northern 
 Virginia must be left to the historian of the future. But there 
 is a tribunal which is almost as impartial as the aftertime. It 
 has been said with truth that the voice of the stranger is like
 
 GENERAL LEE 5 S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY. 347 
 
 that of posterity, and a paragraph upon this army is here inserted 
 from the leading journal of England. 
 
 " The people of the Confederate States," says the " London 
 Times," "have made themselves famous. If the renown of 
 brilliant courage, stern devotion to a cause, and military achieve- 
 ments almost without a parallel, can compensate men for the toil 
 and privations of the hour, then the countrymen of Lee and 
 Jackson may be consoled amid their sufferings. From all pai*ts 
 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 patriotism, of unanimous self- 
 sacrifice, of wise and firm administration, 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 of men, will then be- 
 come known to the world ; and, whatever may be the fate of the 
 new nationality, or its subsequent claims to the respect of man- 
 kind, it will assuredly begin its career with a reputation for 
 genius and valor which the most famous nations may envy." 
 
 CHAPTER XXTTT. 
 
 GENERAL LEE*S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMT. 
 
 THE Maryland campaign had ended in one of those retreats 
 which ruin an opponent. General Lee had entered the Federal 
 territory, and at one blow captured 11,000 prisoners, 13,000 
 small-arms, and 73 pieces of artillery ; had repulsed a force 
 about three times greater than his own, under the ablest of their 
 Generals, in a pitched battle of incredible fury ; and then, deter- 
 mining of his own motion to retire, had done so, after offering
 
 34:8 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 them battle for twenty-four hours leaving nothing in theit 
 hands, and driving them with heavy loss across the Potomac 
 again when they attempted to harass his rear. 
 
 Such a retreat, after such successes, was a victory ; and there 
 were many persons at the North even candid enough to concede 
 the fact. " He leaves us," growled the New York " Tribune," 
 " the debris of his late camps, two disabled pieces of artillery, a 
 few hundred of his stragglers, perhaps two thousand of his 
 wounded, and as many more of his unburied dead. Not a 
 sound field-piece, caisson, ambulance, or wagon ; not a tent, box 
 of stores, or a pound of ammunition. He takes with him the 
 supplies gathered in Maryland, and the rich spoils of Harper's 
 Ferry." 
 
 General Lee's address to his army upon their return to Vir- 
 ginia will appropriately conclude our account of the great cam- 
 paign to which he refers : 
 
 General Orders No. 116. 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA, October 2d, 1862. 
 
 In reviewing the achievements of the 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, expelled him from the Rappahannock, and, after a conflict 
 of three days, utterly repulsed him on the plains of Manassas, and forced him 
 to take shelter within the fortifications around his capital. 
 
 Without halting for repose you crossed the Potomac, stormed the heights 
 of Harper's Ferry, made prisoners of more than 11,000 men, and captured up- 
 wards 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 
 success by arresting at Boonsboro' the combined armies of the enemy, advanc- 
 ing under their favorite 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.
 
 JACKSON AND HIS VETERANS RESTING. 349 
 
 Two attempts, subsequently made by the enemy, to follow you across the 
 fiver, have resulted in his complete discomfiture, and being driven back with 
 loss. 
 
 Achievements such as these demanded much valor and patriotism. His- 
 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 as you have done, much more remains to be accomplished. The 
 enemy again threatens us with invasion, and to your tried valor and patriotism 
 the country looks with confidence for deliverance and safety. Your past ex- 
 ploits give assurance that this confidence is not misplaced. 
 
 E. E. LEE, General Commanding. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 JACKSON AND HIS VETERANS RESTING. 
 
 JACKSON'S corps passed the beautiful month of October in the 
 picturesque Valley of the Shenandoah that region which their 
 leader had already made so famous. 
 
 There, in the bright October days, the army rested and re- 
 covered its strength and spirits. The bracing mountain breeze, 
 the beautiful skies, the liberty to engage in every species of fun 
 and frolic, within the limits of military discipline, seemed to 
 pour new life-blood into the frames of the men, exhausted and 
 worn down by the immense marches which they had made from 
 Cedar Run to Sharpsburg, and the toils, privations, hardships, 
 and excitements which they had undergone. 
 
 That region must have aroused many memories in the hearts 
 of Jackson's men especially in the members of the " Old Stone- 
 wall Brigade," which had fought the enemy all along from Fall 
 ing Waters to the sources of the Shenandoah. They had encoun- 
 tered General Patterson in one of the earliest engagements of the 
 war near Martinsburg, but a few miles distant ; on the road by 
 the side of which they were now encamped, they had retreated
 
 350 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 before the columns of the same General ; and along that road 
 they had pressed after General Banks when, routed at Winches- 
 ter, he had hastened to recross the Potomac. Since those old 
 days they had fought at Cross Keys, Port Republic, Cold Har- 
 bor, Malvern Hill, Cedar Run, Bristoe, Manassas, Oxhill, Har- 
 per's Ferry, Sharpsburg, Shepherdstown, and Kearneysville. 
 Comrade after comrade had lain down to die upon those bloody 
 fields face after face had " gone into the darkness," amid the 
 war- smoke hovering above the swamps of the lowland, the pines 
 of Manassas, the Valley of the Antietam. They were still alive, 
 and after all their wanderings had returned to the land where 
 they first learned the art of war under their now illustrious chief 
 returned to it, too, at a season when the face of Nature is glo- 
 rious with that beauty which seems to reach perfection just when 
 it is passing when the fields and forest, with their tints of gold, 
 and red, and yellow, are more lovely than the dreams of poets. 
 Here, in the fine and beautiful Valley of the Shenandoah, on the 
 banks of the Opequon, which murmurs under its tall trees, as it 
 lapses gently toward the Potomac, the weary soldiers of the 
 Stonewall Corps found rest and refreshment; and the bracing 
 air, as we have said, made them boys again, filling every pulse 
 with health and joy. The jest, the practical joke, the ready 
 laugh passed round ; and for a time the whole army of Northern 
 Virginia was in extravagant spirits, cheering upon the least prov- 
 ocation like a party of boys, and permitting no occasion for 
 indulging in laughter to escape them. We have a letter written 
 by one of the corps about this time, which conveys a very accu- 
 rate idea of the manner in which Jackson's men amused them- 
 selves ; and its careless style and homely details may serve to 
 interest the stay-at-home reader who is not familiar with the 
 ' goings on " of an army. Here it is : 
 
 " ' Cock-a-doodle-doo-oo !' sounded the ' shrill clarion* of a 
 neighboring henroost before day this morning ; a wakeful soldier 
 caught up the strain, and he and a hundred others forthwitk re- 
 peated bogus cock-a-doodle-doos, until they had effectually ' mur- 
 dered sleep' throughout the entire regiment. To pass the timo
 
 JACKSON AND HIS VETERANS BESTING. 351 
 
 until breakfast (!) i. e., till some 'solid-shot biscuit' and 
 leather steaks of lean kine be cooked I will ' retaliate' on you 
 and your readers. 
 
 " The campaign having apparently ended, there are no ' mov- 
 ing accidents by flood or field' of interest, and therefore nothing 
 left to record but the routine of daily camp life ; this shall be 
 true to history, however, to let the old folks at home know how 
 we live 'sure enough* while here. At this particular season, 
 though, it is particularly dull 
 
 ' No mail, no post, 
 No news from any foreign coast ; 
 No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, 
 
 No comfortable feel in any member, 
 No shade, no sunshine, no butterflies, no bees, 
 November ! ' 
 
 " Our camps not being regulated by military rule, for want of 
 material in tents, etc., are left to illustrate the variegated, archi- 
 tectural, and domestic tastes of the thousand different individuals 
 concerned. Hence, although a wall tent or Sibley graces an 
 occasional locality, the most of the men ensconce themselves in 
 bush-built shelters of various shapes, in fence-corners, under 
 gum-blankets, eked out by cedar boughs, or burrow semi-subter- 
 raneously like Esquimaux. If, as is said, the several styles of 
 architecture took their origin from natural circumstances and 
 climate, etc., as the curving Oriental roofs from the long reeds 
 originally in use the slanting Egyptians from the necessity of 
 baking their uuburnt bricks in the hot sun the Corinthian 
 from its own flowery clime, etc., etc. an architectural genius 
 might find enough original designs in this camp to supply a cen- 
 tury to come. 
 
 " The only ' useful occupation' of this brigade for some time 
 past has been to destroy all the railroads in reach ; apparently, 
 too, for no better reason than the fellow had for killing the 
 splendid anaconda in the museum, because it was his ' rule to 
 kill snakes wherever found.' A soldier just said, ' Old Jack in- 
 tends us to tear up all the railroads in the State, and with no
 
 352 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 tools but our pocket-knives.' They have so far destroyed the 
 Baltimore and Ohio, from Hedgesville to near Harper's Ferry, 
 the Winchester and Potomac almost entirely, and now the Ma- 
 nassas Gap from Piedmont to Strasburg. 
 
 " It is when idle in camp that the soldier is a great institu- 
 tion, yet one that must be seen to be appreciated. Pen cannot 
 fully paint the air of cheerful content, care-hilarity, irresponsible 
 loungings, and practical spirit of jesting that ' obtains' ready to 
 seize on any odd circumstance in its licensed levity. A ' caval- 
 ryman ' comes rejoicing in immense top-boots, for which in fond 
 pride he had invested full forty dollars of pay ; at once the cry 
 from a hundred voices follows him along the line : ' Come up 
 out o' them boots ! come out ! too soon to go into winter quar- 
 ters ! I know you're in thar ! see your arms stickin' out ! ' A 
 bumpkin rides by in an uncommonly big hat, and is frightened at 
 the shout : ' Come down out o' that hat ! Come down ! 'Taint 
 no use to say you ain't up there ; I see your legs hanging out ! ' 
 A fancy staff officer was horrified at the irreverent reception of 
 his nicely-twisted mustache, as he heard from behind innumer- 
 able trees : ' Take them mice out o' your mouth ! take 'em 
 out ! no use to say they ain't thar ; see their tails hanging out ! ' 
 Another, sporting immense whiskers, was urged to ' come out 
 of that bunch of bar ! I know you're in thar ; I see your ears 
 a working ! ' Sometimes a rousing cheer is heard in the dis- 
 tance it is explained : ' Boys, look out ! here comes " Old Stone- 
 wall" or an old hare, one or t'other' they being about the only 
 individuals who invariably bring down the house. 
 
 " But the whole day of camp life is not yet described ; the 
 night remains, and latterly it is no unusual scene, as the gloam- 
 ing gathers, to see a group quietly collect beneath the dusky 
 shadows of the forest trees ' God's first temples ' whence soon 
 arise the notes of some familiar hymn, awaking memories of 
 childhood and of home. The youthful chaplain in earnest tones 
 tells his holy mission ; another hymn is heard, and by the wan- 
 ing light of the pine torches the weird-like figures of the grouped 
 soldiers are seen reverently moving to the night's repose. The-
 
 JACKSON AND HIS VETERANS BESTING. 353 
 
 deep bass drum beats taps the sounds die out in all the camps, 
 save at times the sweet strains from the band of the 5th Stone- 
 wall regiment in a neighboring grove, till they too fade away 
 into the stilly night, and soon 
 
 ' The soldiers lie peacefully dreaming, 
 
 Their tents in the rays of the clear autumn moon, 
 Or the light of the watch-fires are gleaming ; 
 
 A tremulous sigh as the gentle night wind 
 Through the forest leaves slowly is creeping, 
 
 While the stars up above with their glittering eyes 
 Keep guard, for the army is sleeping.' " 
 
 During these days Jackson had his headquarters near 
 Bunker's Hill, and was often seen moving to and fro among his 
 troops on his old sorrel horse, with the old uniform. He was 
 always greeted with cheers by his men, and the phrase, " Jack- 
 son or a rabbit," became universal in alluding to these gay 
 sounds heard in the distance. A hundred anecdotes were told, a 
 hundred witticisms attributed to him. 
 
 In Martinsburg, where the ladies crowded around him, he 
 said : " Ladies, this is the first time I was ever surrounded ;" in 
 spite of which, says a letter-writer, " they cut every button off 
 his coat, commenced on his pants, and at one time threatened to 
 leave him in the uniform of a Georgia colonel shirt-collar and 
 spurs." 
 
 After Sharpsburg, an old and hardened offender in D. H. 
 Hill's division was brought before that commander for burning 
 fence-rails ; and despairing of producing any reform in him, Gen- 
 eral Hill sent him to Jackson, who asked him why he persisted 
 in burning rails. 
 
 "Well, General," returned the reprobate, "you see Fve 
 been enlisted eight months now in General Hill's division, and 
 in all that time I never could get a good look at you, so I 
 thought I would steal some fence-rails ; I knew they would take 
 me up and then send me to you, so I would see you." 
 
 A grim smile greeted this impudent excuse, and reading his 
 man at a glance, Jackson turned to an orderly and said : 
 23
 
 354 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 " Take this man and buck him, and set him on the top of 
 that empty barrel in front of ray tent. The front is open, and 
 he can look at me as much as he likes." 
 
 The order was obeyed to the letter, and for several hours, 
 while Jackson was engaged upon his official correspondence, 
 the rail-destroyer had an excellent opportunity of gratifying his 
 curiosity. 
 
 This and the incident related by Colonel Ford at Harper's 
 Ferry, with a hundred other anecdotes, true or imaginary, were 
 repeated by the men, and " Old Jack," a name by which the 
 General had become universally known among his troops, be- 
 came immensely popular. We have already set forth the more 
 solid grounds of popularity with the best men of his command, 
 but these anecdotes made him a prime favorite with the mass 
 of the troops. Certain it is that Jackson was never more popu- 
 lar than after the Maryland campaign ; and this doubtless arose, 
 in very great measure, from the huge satisfaction which his 
 corps experienced in having secured the really solid results of 
 the movement, in the capture of Harper's Ferry, with the great 
 number of prisoners, small-arms, and pieces of artillery. 
 
 The writer of these pages scanned curiously in those days the 
 appearance of the soldier, with whose praises the whole land 
 was ringing. He wore his dingy old uniform, and cavalry 
 boots, but the ladies of Martinsburg had robbed him not only of 
 his buttons but his old cap. The individual in the tall black 
 hat, with the brim turned down, quaker-wise all round, scarcely 
 seemed to be the veritable Stonewall Jackson. But greater 
 changes still were to ensue in his personal appearance. 
 Prompted by admiration, regard, or the desire to clothe in 
 more imposing garb the simple soldier, a distinguished officer, 
 long united to him by the ties of affection and the recollection of 
 many arduous toils in common, gave him a new coat, whose 
 wreath and staff buttons appear in the engraving in front of this 
 volume. It was suggested by one to whom the question was 
 propounded whether Jackson would relish this present, that the 
 soldier would undoubtedly appreciate such an evidence of regard,
 
 JACKSON AND HIS VETERANS RESTING. 355 
 
 accept the coat and put it away carefully in his trunk, not dar- 
 ing to wear it for fear of the indignation of his old brigade and 
 their comrades. But this prediction was falsified ; Jackson was 
 highly pleased with his coat, and he wore it on the hot day of 
 Fredericksburg. 
 
 He was an object at this time of great curiosity in the region ; 
 and was warmly greeted by those who had known Colonel Jack- 
 son of the days of Falling Waters, and regarded him as a son 
 of the Valley. The ladies were far more enthusiastic about him 
 than about the youngest and handsomest generals of the army ; 
 and at the announcement that " General Jackson was coming," 
 they would put on their finest silks, and pay as much attention 
 to their toilets as if he had been the most imposing and gallant 
 of Lovelaces, instead of a modest gentleman who preferred old 
 ladies in black silk; never knew what anybody wore, and 
 blushed at the wishes expressed by young ladies to kiss him. 
 
 Upon one occasion when Generals Lee, Jackson, Stuart, and 
 Longstreet dined at a hospitable house on the Opequon, not far 
 from Leetown, the lady of the mansion declared that it was like 
 the famous breakfast at the Castle of Tillietudlem, and that Gen- 
 eral Lee's chair should be marked and remembered ; but it was 
 said that General Jackson had been regaled with the choicest 
 portions of the banquet, and that for him she arrayed herself in 
 her best silk and assumed her most winning smiles. 
 
 It was at this period that Jackson displayed a trait of char- 
 acter for which few gave him credit. When General Stuart 
 made his raid into Maryland aud Pennsylvania in October, Jack- 
 son expressed the liveliest regret that he had not been able to 
 accompany him, as a private and amateur cavalryman of the 
 expedition. He betrayed on this occasion a longing for excite- 
 ment and action which seemed foreign to the character of the 
 pious and collected soldier ; but nothing is more certain than 
 that this love of active movement, danger, and adventure, was a 
 prominent trait in his organization. 
 
 But the days were hurrying on. General McClellan si ill 
 threatened Lee's front, and as the month of October glided
 
 356 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 away, carrying off the gorgeous trappings of the forest, and th 
 brilliant sunshine of the autumn days, the Federal authorities 
 were evidently preparing for another advance into Virginia. 
 
 Jackson remained in the vicinity of Bunker Hill, ready to 
 strike their advancing column if they attempted to move upon 
 Winchester ; and he and his veteran corps still rested, before en- 
 tering upon other bloody scenes of conflict. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 GENERAL McCLELLAN ADVANCES. 
 
 THE aim of this volume is to present an outline of the events 
 of Jackson's life ; and the narrative is thus confined to the field 
 of operations in Virginia. The crowding incidents of the war 
 in other portions of the country are no part of our subject ; and 
 in like manner all discussions of political occurrences may 
 with propriety be omitted. The historian of the future will 
 sum up and make his comments on the whole struggle ; our part 
 is to follow the steps of Jackson. 
 
 "We thus pass over the campaigns of the West, and those 
 political movements, at both capitals, which marked the autumn 
 of 1862. Our attention will continue to be directed to the 
 movements of the two great adversaries who confronted each 
 other on the banks of the Potomac. 
 
 Both armies were resting after the exhausting campaign ter- 
 minating on the field of Sharpsburg. But the bright days of 
 October were not suffered to glide away without attempts on the 
 part of each commander to beat up the quarters of his opponent. 
 This policy was inaugurated by Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, 
 in one of those raids which had so greatly annoyed the enemy 
 on the Chickahominy, at Catlett's, and elsewhere. At day- 
 light on the morning of the 10th of October, General Stuart, 
 with 1,800 men and four pieces of horse artillery, crossed
 
 GENERAL McCLELLAN ADVANCES. 35T 
 
 the Potomac between Williamsport and Hancock ; proceeded by 
 a rapid march to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which he reached' 
 at dark on the same day ; captured the place ; destroyed the- 
 machine shops and railroad buildings, containing large numbers 
 of arms and other public stores ; and on the next morning 
 marched toward Frederick City. The character of the country 
 above made it dangerous to attempt the recrossing of the Po- 
 tomac in that direction, and Stuart had taken the bold resolution^ 
 of passing entirely around the Federal army, and cutting his 
 way through to and across the ford near Lteesburg. Tins design 
 was executed with great skill and nerve. Moving with the ut^ 
 most rapidity, he reached Hyattstown below Frederick at day- 
 light on the morning of the 12th, and pushing on toward Pooles- 
 ville, found that the road in that direction was barred by Gen- 
 eral Stoneman with about 5,000 troops, and that railroad trains 
 were standing ready, with steam up, and loaded with infantry, 
 to move instantly to the point where he attempted to cross. 
 These formidable preparations, however, failed in their object. 
 Turning short to the right, and thus leaving Poolesville to his 
 left, Stuart continued to advance with rapidity toward the Po- 
 tomac, and reaching a point opposite White's ford, opened on 
 the enemy's infantry with his artillery, advanced his dismounted 
 sharpshooters, and charging their cavalry, cut his way through 
 and crossed the river, greeting their reserves as they rushed for- 
 ward to harass his rear, with a discharge from the guns of Pel- 
 ham from the southern bank. 
 
 This dangerous expedition had thus been successfully ac- 
 complished. General McClellan had made elaborate disposi- 
 tions to intercept Stuart on his return, and says in his report : 
 " After the orders were given for covering all the fords upon the' 
 river, I did not think it possible for Stuart to recross, and I be- 
 lieved that the destruction or capture of his entire force was 
 perfectly certain ; but owing to the fact that my orders were not 
 in all cases carried out as I expected, he effected his escape into 
 Virginia without much loss." Stuart did not lose a man. 
 
 O 
 
 Such was the excellent good fortune of the expedition, which
 
 358 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 in many ways was important. Several hundred horses were 
 brought safely out, and large amounts of stores destroyed, but 
 these were the least important results of the expedition. The 
 Federal cavalry was for the time completely broken down ; large 
 bodies of troops were detached from the Federal army to guard 
 the various fords on the Potomac, and General McClellan's ad- 
 vance was long delayed by the necessity of leaving behind him 
 a strong force to repel such raids in future. When he finally 
 moved, a very considerable number of troops remained on the 
 upper Potomac, to guard against another movement of the Con- 
 federate cavalry into Pennsylvania. 
 
 It was not long before the Federal forces in their turn made 
 a reconnoissauce. A strong column of infantry and artillery 
 was pushed from Shepherdstown toward Leetown ; but upon 
 reaching the edge of the woods in that vicinity they halted, and 
 on the same evening retreated rapidly, pursued by Stuart with 
 cavalry and artillery to the Potomac. Still another attempt was 
 made to reconnoitre General Lee's position this time with cav- 
 alry. A large force crossed at Shepherdstown, and making a 
 vigorous attack upon a small body of cavalry there, compelled 
 it to return toward Martinsburg. Here General Stuart took 
 command in person ; and though the horses were nearly ex- 
 hausted and the men dispirited by the events of the morning, 
 his attack upon the Federal cavalry was so vigorous that they 
 were driven back over the road by which they had advanced, 
 and at nightfall had been forced to recross the Potomac.* 
 
 * The following is General Lee's report of this incident : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, \ 
 Camp on Washington's Run, Oct. 2, 1862. ) 
 (fen. S. COOPER, Adjt. and Inspector General C. S. A., Richmond, Va. 
 
 GENERAL : The enemy's cavalry, under General Pleasanton, with six pieces 
 of artillery, drove back our pickets yesterday, in front of Shepherdstown. 
 The 9th Virginia cavalry, which was on picket, repulsed the enemy several 
 times, by vigorous charges, disputing the ground step by step, back to the 
 main body. By the time his artillery reached him, Colonel W. H. F. Lee, who 
 was in command of the brigade, was obliged to place it on the west bank of 
 She Opequon, on the flank of the enemy as he approached Martinsburg.
 
 GENERAL McCLELLAN ADVANCES. 359 
 
 No further advance of the Federal forces took place until 
 toward the end of the month. General McClellan then crossed 
 n considerable force both at Shepherdstown and Harper's Ferry ; 
 and driving in General Lee's advance force of cavalry, pushed 
 his column to Kearneys ville. Here he was met by Stuart with 
 cavalry, artillery, and the Stonewall Brigade ; but the force of 
 the enemy proving too great, the troops were, after an obstinate 
 encounter, withdrawn toward the main body. On the next day 
 General McClellan pushed on to Charlestown, where his head- 
 quarters were established for a few hours. He then returned to 
 Harper's Ferry. 
 
 All seemed ready now for the Federal advance, but General 
 McClellan appears to have regarded the equipment of his forces 
 as too incomplete to justify a forward movement. An elaborate 
 correspondence took place upon this subject between himself and 
 General Halleck, the Federal General-in-Chief at Washington^ 
 and the controversy finally assumed a tone of anger and bitter- 
 ness. General McClellan was greatly censured for not having 
 cut General Lee to piece? on the day after the battle of Sharps- 
 burg, before he could recross the Potomac ; and the Federal 
 commander's delay in advancing now, was the subject of uncon- 
 cealed displeasure on the part of General Halleck and the 
 authorities at Washington. 
 
 This now took a definite official form. On the 6th of Octo- 
 
 General Hampton's brigade had retired through Martinsburg, on the Tus- 
 carora road, when General Stuart arrived and made dispositions to attack. 
 Lee's brigade was advanced immediately, and Hampton's ordered forward. 
 The enemy retired at the approach of Lee along the Shepherdstown road, and 
 was driven across the Potomac by the cavalry, with a severe loss, and dark- 
 ness alone prevented it from being a signal victory. His rear was overtaken 
 and put to flight, our cavalry charging in gallant style under a severe fire of 
 artillery, routing squadron after squadron, killing a number, wounding more, 
 and capturing several. He was driven through Shepherdstown, and crossed 
 the river after dark, in no case standing a hand to hand conflict, but relying 
 upon his artillery and carbines at long range for protection. 
 
 I regret to add that we lost one lieutenant and several privates. 
 I am, most respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 R. E. LEE, General Commanding,.
 
 360 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 'her General Halleck sent General McClellan the following 
 order : 
 
 " I am instructed to telegraph you as follows : The Presi- 
 dent directs that you cross the Potomac, and give battle to the 
 enemy or drive him South. Your army must move now, while 
 the roads are good. If you cross the river between the enemy 
 and Washington, and cover the latter by your operation, you can 
 be reenforced with 30,000 men. If you move up the Valley of 
 the Shenandoah, not more than 12,000 or 15,000 can be sent 
 you. The President advises the interior line between Washing- 
 ton and the enemy, but does not .order it. * * * " 
 
 To this peremptory order General McClellan replied by new 
 complaints of deficient quartermaster stores shoes, blankets, 
 horses, etc. Without a thorough reequipment of the army, and 
 thousands of fresh horses for the cavalry, it was physically im- 
 possible for him, he declared, to make a forward movement. 
 
 It is probable that General McClellan was also actuated by 
 .an intelligent acquaintance with the character and resources of 
 his adversary. He had been unable to gain a decisive success 
 over General Lee at Sharpsburg, where about half the Con- 
 federate army, exhausted by long marches, had confronted him ; 
 &nd it was scarcely probable, he must have felt, that his success 
 would now be more encouraging, when General Lee had filled 
 up his ranks, and rested, provisioned, and ammunitioned his 
 forces for another struggle. No one, perhaps, of all the Federal 
 generals, estimated the military strength of the Southern army 
 so justly as this officer ; and his desire, at this time, seems to 
 .have been, to delay his advance into Virginia until he found 
 himself in command of a force so considerable and so thoroughly 
 equipped as to render success certain. 
 
 We have referred to the reconnoissances in force made to 
 Charlestown, and toward Bunker Hill. It is probable that Gen- 
 eral McClellan had not then determined by which of the two 
 routes he would advance. He states in his Report that he pre- 
 ferred the route east of the Blue Ridge ; but feared that as soon 
 as he crossed into Virginia, Lee would recross into Maryland,
 
 GENERAL MCQLELLAN ADVANCES. 36] 
 
 and again advance toward Pennsylvania. " I have since," he 
 says, " been confirmed in the belief, that if I had crossed the 
 Potomac below Harper's Ferry in the early part of October, 
 General Lee would have recrossed into Maryland." 
 
 The month of November, however, was now rapidly approach- 
 ing, with its heavy rains and inclement days, and the Federal 
 commander was convinced that General Lee would not under- 
 take again to pass the Potomac, and leave a swollen river in his 
 rear. He therefore returned to his original plan which was 
 also President Lincoln's and prepared to move by the Pied- 
 mont route toward the Rappahannock. 
 
 " The plan of campaign I adopted during this advance," he 
 says, " was to move the army, well in hand, parallel to the Blue 
 Ridge, taking Warrenton as the point of direction for the main 
 army ; seizing each pass on the Blue Ridge, by detachments, as 
 we approached it, and guarding them after we had passed, as 
 long as they would enable the enemy to trouble our communi- 
 cations with the Potomac. * * * We depended upon Har- 
 per's Ferry and Berlin for supplies, until the Manassas Gap 
 Railway was reached ; when that occurred, the passes in our 
 rear were to be abandoned, and the army massed, ready for 
 action or movement in any direction. It was my intention, if 
 upon reaching Ashby's, or any other pass, the enemy were in 
 force between it and the Potomac, in the Valley of. the Shenan- 
 doah, to move into the Valley and endeavor to gain their rear." 
 
 Such was the plan which the Federal commander proceeded 
 to carry into execution, in the last week of October, when hie 
 army crossed the Potomac into Virginia.
 
 362 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 JACKSON HALTS. 
 
 THE Federal army began to cross the Potomac at Berlin oir 
 the 26th of October, and General Lee promptly broke up hia 
 camp in front of Winchester, and moved toward the lowland. 
 
 Jackson brought up the rear, moving from his position on the 
 Martinburg and Winchester turnpike near Bunker Hill, by 
 Smithfield, Summit Point, and Berryville, to the vicinity of the 
 little village of Millwood, opposite Ashby's Gap, where he 
 halted and established his headquarters. This movement on the 
 part of Jackson puzzled and somewhat delayed the enemy, 
 through fear of an attack upon their flank. The remainder of 
 the army meanwhile crossed into Culpepper. 
 
 General Stuart had promptly put his cavalry in motion, and 
 leaving a portion to report to General Jackson, crossed the Blue 
 Ridge at Snicker's Gap, on the last day of October. From a 
 spur of the mountain the wagon trains of the advancing enemy 
 could be seen, stretching away for miles, and moving from the 
 Potomac toward Middleburg. For several days General Stuart 
 remained in .front of the gaps of the Blue Ridge, protecting the 
 flank of the army from that assault which we have seen was the 
 design of General McClellan ; and the small force under the 
 Confederate leader's command repeatedly met and defeated or 
 held in check the Federal Cavalry at Mountsville, Aldie, Union, 
 and elsewhere. Finding that the Federal column was steadily 
 moving toward the Rappahannock, General Stuart notified Gen- 
 eral Jackson of his intention to move from in front of Ashby's 
 Gap, and proceeded by way of Barbee's Cross Roads where a 
 portion of his command was hotly engaged with the Federal cav- 
 alry to the lines on the Rappahannock, in front of General Lee. 
 
 Jackson remained in the Valley ; and again the men of Long- 
 street declared, with great enjoyment of their joke, that the ec
 
 JACKSON HALTS. 363 
 
 centric commander of the 2d corps was " lost." Jackson had 
 been "lost" after this fashion, however, before the battles of 
 the Chickahominy, Cedar Run, the advance to Warrenton 
 Springs, and the second Manassas. The army were well satis- 
 fied to have him thus disappear confident that he would man- 
 age to make his way back to tb^em, and " turn up " if any hard 
 fighting was to be done. For the rest, it was not probable that 
 an enemy could surprise him in that valley region, every foot of 
 which had been fought over by his men. 
 
 Jackson was fully aware of the movements of the enemy, 
 and no doubt divined General McClellan's intention to gain by a 
 rapid march the banks of the Rappahannock before General Lee 
 could confront him, seize the gaps in the Blue Ridge, and, by 
 thus holding all the great avenues of exit from the Valley, divide 
 the Confederate army, attack it in detail, and defeat it. The 
 danger to which the Confederate commander was exposed was 
 great ; but he seems to have felt entirely assured of his ability 
 either to defeat or elude the enemy. 
 
 General Stuart, who visited him at this time, near Millwood, 
 to notify him of the intended withdrawal of the cavalry, found 
 him reading his Bible in his tent, an occupation which he discon- 
 tinued to describe his intended movements to foil General Mc- 
 Clellan. The design of the Federal commander was evidently 
 well understood by him, and he stated to General Stuart that he 
 intended to remain near Millwood for some time convinced 
 that the presence of his corps at that point would puzzle General 
 McClellan and delay his advance, from apprehensions of a move- 
 ment against the Federal rear. If General McClellan attacked 
 him with equal or not greatly disproportioned forces, he would 
 fight. If, however, the entire Federal army assailed him, he 
 would fall back toward Strasburg, march around the Massinutton 
 Mountain, and crossing at New Market and Luray, rejoin Gen- 
 eral Lee. General Stuart described Jackson's demeanor on this 
 occasion as exceedingly sweet and kindly ; but the two com- 
 manders were great friends, and the visit doubtless pleased 
 Jackson.
 
 364 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 An incident exhibiting Jackson's kindness of heart belai.gs 
 to this period, and is here related in the words of the officer who 
 communicates it : 
 
 "In November, 1862, while passing through Middletown, 
 Va., General Jackson, with his staff riding some two or three 
 miles in front of his army, then on the march for Fredericks- 
 burg met a very old woman looking for her grandson who was 
 somewhere in the army. As we passed she hailed the General, 
 saying : 
 
 *' 'Are you Mr. Jackson?' 
 
 " He told her he was, and asked what she wanted. 
 
 " ' I want to see my grandson, George Martin he belongs to 
 your company. I've brought him these clothes and victuals.' 
 
 " The General asked her what regiment her grandson was in, 
 but she could not tell. She did not know what company he was 
 hi the name of his captain even whether he was a private or 
 an officer. All she could tell was, that ' he was in Mr. Jackson's 
 company.' 
 
 " In her disappointment she cried : 
 
 " ' Why, Mr. Jackson, don't you know little George Martin? 
 George Augustus Martin ? He's been with you in all your 
 battles ; and they say,' she added, with tears streaming down 
 her furrowed cheeks, ' that he fit as hard as the best of them.' 
 
 u At this point some of the younger members of the staff 
 laughed. The General turned around quickly with his brow 
 contracted, his lips compressed, and his eyes flashing with anger. 
 He looked as if he was trying to find the guilty one. Dis- 
 mounting from his horse, and approaching the old woman, he, 
 in the kindest manner and simplest words, explained why he did 
 not know her grandson ; but gave her such simple and repeated 
 directions as would enable her to find him."
 
 CHANGE OF COMMANDERS. 365 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 CHANGE OF COMMANDERS. 
 
 GENERAL MCCLELLAN, meanwhile, advanced toward the 
 Rappahannock, and his various columns were concentrating at 
 Warrenton, when, on the 7th of November, he was, without 
 previous notice, relieved of his command. Such was the sudden 
 termination of the active career of an officer who had proved 
 himself the most formidable adversary of the South. 
 
 The plans of General McClellan, when he was invested with 
 the command of all the Federal armies, were comprehensive, 
 and struck, to use his own phrase, "at the heart of the rebel- 
 lion." He was not long continued, however, in the supreme 
 command, and was sent with the Army of the Potomac to the 
 Peninsula, where he was defeated, but by his excellent general- 
 ship saved his army from surrender or destruction. Thence he 
 was ordered to Washington, and his abilities seem to have been 
 recognized, since, after the defeat of General Pope, he rose 
 again, as by right, to the command of all the forces, and with no 
 orders except " protect the capital " commenced offensive opera- 
 tions against General Lee. The result was the battle of Sharps- 
 burg, by which the advance of the Confederate commander upon 
 Pennsylvania was checked, and his campaign defeated. To 
 disappoint the plans of a soldier so eminent as General Lee is no 
 small proof of ability in the commander who succeeds in so 
 doing ; and the movements of General McClellan subsequent to 
 the battle of Sharpsburg appear to have been able and judicious. 
 He moved as soon as he could into Virginia, and his plans 
 seemed excellently devised, when he was suddenly decapitated. 
 
 The explanation of this sudden withdrawal of confidence on 
 the part of the Federal authorities must be sought for in the 
 political histories of this period it forms no part of our own 
 subject
 
 366 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 General McClellan was succeeded by General Ambrose E.. 
 Burnside, a commander of some reputation but moderate abili 
 ties, who is reported to have protested against his appointment 
 to so great a command on the score of his inability to administer 
 it. President Lincoln, however, insisted, and General Burnside 
 assumed the direction of the army in its further operations. 
 The result of affairs at Fredericksburg subsequently occasioned 
 an official investigation ; and from General Burnside's testimony 
 before the committee, we are informed of his designs upon as- 
 suming command of the Federal army. Finding that General 
 Lee confronted him in the upper Rappahannock, and that the 
 way was barred in that direction, General Burnside conceived 
 the project of making a demonstration in front of Lee to engage 
 his attention, and, whilst his adversary was thus amused, of 
 moving his main body rapidly down to Fredericksburg, where 
 he would cross and turn his adversary's flank. Lee would thus 
 be forced to fall back for the protection of Richmond, and the 
 Federal army would move rapidly in the same direction in pur- 
 suit. 
 
 This plan of operations at once commenced by a feint on the 
 upper Rappahannock, but it did not deceive the Confederate 
 commander. No sooner had General Burnside put his main 
 column in motion toward Fredericksburg, than General Lee r 
 who had remained in the vicinity of Culpepper Court-House 
 watching his opponent, made a corresponding movement across 
 the Rapidan. General McClellan had moved rapidly southward 
 only to find the army which he had left at Winchester facing 
 him in front of Culpepper. General Burnside now no sooner 
 appeared upon the hills of Stafford near Fredericksburg, than 
 he discovered on the high ground opposite the gray lines of his 
 adversary. 
 
 The intended surprise had turned out a failure ; and from 
 the latter part of November when these movements took place, 
 to the middle of December, the two armies remained in sight of 
 each other, divided only by the Rappahannock. . 
 
 The large Federal camps were established in rear of the hills
 
 CHANGE OF COMMANDERS. 367 
 
 opposite Fredericksburg, and their earthworks on this command- 
 ing position were soon mounted with heavy artillery intended to 
 cover the crossing of their army. From " Chatham" and other 
 residences overlooking the town, General Burnside and his 
 officers constantly reconnoitred the Confederate position the 
 pickets dotting the banks of the river below, from above Fal- 
 mouth to Deep Run. The river was thus guarded from United 
 States ford, near the confluence of the Rappahannock and Rapi- 
 dan, to Port Royal, twenty-two miles below the place. 
 
 The ground around Fredericksburg, on the southern side of 
 the river, was well adapted to the repulse of an attacking force. 
 From a point just above the town and immediately upon the 
 stream, commences a range of hills which, diverging from the 
 river, sweep around to Hamilton's crossing on the Richmond 
 and Fredericksburg Railroad about four miles below, and a mile 
 or more from the river. The ground thus enclosed is an exten- 
 sive plain, through which, and parallel to the stream, runs the 
 " River Road," a broad highway skirted with cedars, growing 
 out of embankments, serving the purpose of fences. The ditches 
 formed by throwing up these embankments furnished an im- 
 promptu species of intrenchmeut which shielded the Federal 
 troops in no small degree from the Southern fire. Through the 
 plain described wanders a small stream known as Deep Run, 
 with precipitate banks, completely sheltering troops, as the 
 stream approaches the river. 
 
 On the crest of hills here mentioned extending from near 
 Falmouth to the crossing, and thickly covered throughout nearly 
 their whole extent by oaks, edged by pine thickets the Confeder- 
 ate commander had formed his line of battle. Longstreet's corps 
 held the left, extending from the river to a point about midway 
 the length of the range, and just beyond Deep Run. Jackson, 
 who had remained in the Valley until about the 1st of December, 
 when he rejoined General Lee, held the right of the line, occupy- 
 ing the ground from Longstreet's right to Hamilton's crossing, 
 where the range of hills descends into the plain. On the ex- 
 treme right, in the extensive plain intersected by the " River
 
 368 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Road " and the " Old Richmond Road," running from the cross- 
 ing to the former, General Stuart was posted with his cavalry 
 and horse artillery to protect Jackson's flank, which it was proba- 
 ble the enemy would attempt to turn. The Massaponnax, a 
 small stream with precipitate banks, formed the southern and 
 eastern boundary of this plain, rendering any movement of the 
 Federal forces beyond General Stuart's right impracticable. 
 
 Such was the disposition of General Lee's forces to repulse 
 the intended advance of the enemy. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIH. 
 
 FREDERICKSBURG. 
 
 GENERAL BURNSIDE had thus completely failed in his design 
 of stealing a march upon his opponent, and it is on record that 
 he was greatly opposed to attempting the passage of the river in 
 the face of Lee. The Federal authorities, however, had set 
 their hearts upon striking a heavy blow before the spring, and 
 General Burnside reluctantly acquiesced in a project which did 
 not receive the approval of his military judgment. 
 
 Up to the llth of December, no movement of any import- 
 ance had taken place, though the enemy had made numerous 
 attempts to produce the impression that they intended to cross 
 below or above, not at Fredericksburg. Their troops were seen 
 moving to and fro on the Stafford hills opposite, and the river 
 bank was heavily picketed along the entire front. 
 
 The Confederate Generals awaited the threatened: movement 
 with confidence, and a well-grounded belief that in spite of the 
 numbers of the Federal army, and the presence of such able 
 soldiers as Sumner, Franklin, Hooker, and others in command 
 of grand divisions, they would be able to repulse any attack. 
 
 It would seem that the enemy were, on their side, equally 
 confident. The dismissal of General McClellan had been very
 
 FREDEEICKSBUEG. 369 
 
 distasteful to the troops, but they were thoroughly disciplined, 
 and ready to fight under any one ; and the Northern journals, 
 extensively circulated among their camps, had sedulously instilled 
 the conviction that the " On to Richmond" movement was now 
 certain of success. 
 
 The Confederate commander finally received reliable intelli- 
 gence that the enemy had finished their preparations for crossing, 
 and were putting their troops in motion. 
 
 Before daylight on the morning of Thursday, December llth, 
 they commenced throwing two pontoons across at Fredericks- 
 burg, one above, the other below the destroyed railroad bridge. 
 While engaged in this attempt, and swarming upon the boats, a 
 destructive fire was opened upon them from the southern bank 
 of the river, where Brigadier-General Barksdale was posted 
 with his Mississippians, and this fire was so hot, that it at first 
 drove the enemy back. They quickly renewed the attempt, 
 however, and pushed on the work, in spite of the hail-storm of 
 bullets from Barksdale, whose troops fought with desperation. 
 The heavy fog slowly lifted from the scene, and then commenced, 
 and was kept up all day, one of the most determined bombard- 
 ments known in history. The enemy had planted more than a 
 hundred pieces of artillery on the hills to the northern and east- 
 ern side of the town, and from an early hour in the forenoon, 
 swept the streets with round shot, shell, and case shot firing 
 frequently a hundred guns a minute. The quick puffs of 
 smoke, touched in the centre with tongues of flame, ran inces- 
 santly along the lines of their batteries on the slopes, and as the 
 smoke slowly drifted away, the bellowing roar came up in one 
 continuous roll. The town was soon fired, and a dense cloud of 
 smoke enveloped its roofs and steeples. The white church 
 spires still rose serenely aloft, defying shot or shell, though 
 a portion of one of them was torn off. The smoke was succeeded 
 by lurid flame, and the crimson mass brought to mind the pictures 
 of Moscow burning. 
 
 This incessant fire of heavy artilldry on the town was kept 
 up from daylight until dark. Barksdale's troops continued tn 
 24
 
 370 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 hold the place in spite of the terrible enfilading fire sweeping the 
 streets with round shot, grape, and shell, so as to command every 
 foot of ground in the town. Amid houses torn to pieces, and 
 burning, crashing chimneys, and falling walls which buried men 
 beneath them, the Mississippians maintained their position. 
 When night descended, the flames of burning houses still lit up 
 the landscape, and though the continuous roar of the batteries 
 was hushed, a sullen gun at intervals resembled the hoarse 
 growl of a wild animal who retires with reluctance from his prey. 
 
 The result of this bombardment was cruel, and the scenes 
 which followed it sufficient to excite the sensibilities of the most 
 hard-hearted. Men, women, and children had been driven from 
 the town ; and hundreds of ladies and children were seen wan- 
 dering homeless and without shelter over the frozen highway, 
 with bare feet and thin clothing, knowing not where to find a 
 place of refuge. Delicately nurtured girls, upon whose frail 
 forms no rain had ever beat, and whom no wind had visited too 
 roughly, walked hurriedly, with unsteady feet, over the various 
 roads, seeking some friendly roof to cover them. Whole families 
 sought sheds by the wayside, or made temporary shelters of fence- 
 rails and straw, knowing not whither to fly. Such were the cruel 
 results of the cannonade. Night had settled down ; the shat- 
 tered houses were visible only when the flames of the burning 
 buildings soared up suddenly as they caught some new object ; 
 and the enemy held the place. Barksdale had fallen back, 
 fighting from street to street until he reached the suburbs, where, 
 posting his troops behind a stone wall, he held his ground, and 
 no further attack was made on him. 
 
 When the morning of Friday the 12th dawned, the enemy 
 had thrown across additional pontoons, and their army was 
 nearly over. As yet they had not been saluted by a single shot 
 from the Confederate artillery ; and they no doubt felicitated 
 themselves, in a very high degree, upon this circumstance. 
 Thus Friday ended the night passed the great day arrived. 
 
 General Lee had disposed his forces in the manner already in- 
 dicated. Longstreet's corps was posted on the left, with strong
 
 FKEDEKICKSBUKG. 371 
 
 batteries along the hills by Marye's house. Jackson held the 
 right, with General A. P. Hill in front and near Hamilton's 
 crossing ; General Taliaferro, commanding Jackson's old division, 
 in his rear ; and General D. H. Hill, behind the crest of hills, in 
 reserve. On the slope of the hill, just where it descends tow- 
 ard the crossing, Colonel Lindsay Walker was posted, with 
 Pegram's, Mclntosh's, and sections of Crenshaw's, Latham's, 
 and Johnson's batteries 14 guns. On the left of the line, near 
 the Bernard cabins, Captain Davidson was stationed, with 
 Rains', Caskie's, Braxton's, and Davidson's batteries 21 guns. 
 To the right, and two hundred yards in advance of these, Cap- 
 tain Brockenbrough commanded Carpenter's, Wooding's, and 
 Braxton's batteries 12 guns. On Jackson's left was the right 
 of General Longstreet, under Hood ; and this was just at the 
 centre of the whole line. On the extreme right, as we have 
 said, beyond Hamilton's crossing, in the extensive plain, diversi- 
 fied by woods, General Stuart had drawn up his cavalry and 
 horse artillery, ready to assist in repulsing the attack upon what 
 was felt to be the weakest portion of the line. 
 
 Soon after daybreak on the 13th the troops were all in po- 
 sition, and General Lee rode along the lines, accompanied by 
 General Jackson, to inspect in person the disposition of the 
 forces. On the old " Richmond road," leading from the crossing 
 to the Bowling Green or river road, General Stuart joined 
 them, and they proceeded to the outer picket lines, close on the 
 enemy. The movement had already begun, and the Federal 
 forces were seen advancing across the bottom directly upon Gen- 
 eral Jackson's position. By direction of General Stuart, Major 
 John Pelham, of the Stuart Horse Artillery, immediately brought 
 up a Napoleon gun, and opened on their left flank ; three bat- 
 teries replied, and for many hours this one gun fought them all 
 with unyielding firmness. Major Pelham and Captain Henry, 
 who both superintended the working of the piece, were publicly 
 complimented, and their obstinate stand, in an important position, 
 unquestionably had a most valuable part in demoralizing the 
 Federal forces.
 
 372 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Soon after daylight the enemy began to feel General Lee's 
 position from left to right with infantry and artillery. The Fed- 
 eral commander seemed to be undecided in his plans, and exhib- 
 ited no powers of combination or manoeuvring. The lines were 
 pushed forward, then drawn back, and the only Federal arm 
 that seemed efficiently handled was the artillery. This was 
 fought with great skill and effect during the entire battle, and 
 inflicted severe loss upon the Confederates. The accuracy of their 
 fire was remarkable. The writer of this, who was present on the 
 right, recalls an instance. A Blakely gun opened fire upon the 
 Federal batteries, when one of their guns replied like an echo ; a 
 round shot crashed among the canonneers, and a boy exclaimed 
 to General Stuart who was sitting upon his horse near by, 
 " General, their very first shot has killed two men ! " 
 
 About ten o'clock the fog lifted, and the enemy were seen 
 approaching in heavy force, about 55,000 troops having been 
 concentrated against the Confederate right. They were com- 
 manded by Generals Franklin and Hooker, whose orders were 
 to gain possession of the old " Richmond road," turn the crest 
 of hills at Hamilton's crossing, and assail the Confederate right 
 flank. Encouraged by the silence of the Confederate batteries, 
 the enemy pushed forward directly upon Walker's position, and 
 were suffered to come within eight hundred yards before a gun 
 was fired. When they had reached that point, however, four- 
 teen guns opened suddenly, and completely broke and repulsed 
 them. No troops could stand before the iron storm tearing 
 through their ranks, and General Franklin could not imme- 
 diately re-form his men and bring them again to the assault. 
 
 About one o'clock, however, another attempt was made to 
 carry the position this time preceded by a heavy fire of artil- 
 lery directed against Colonel Walker and General A. P. Hill. 
 Walker opened all his batteries in response, and was assisted by 
 Pelham on the right. The Federal forces, consisting of Frank- 
 lin's and Hooker's grand divisions, were evidently staggered by 
 the terrible fire ; but re-forming, pressed on and closed in upon 
 A. P. Hill in a fierce and bloody struggle. An interval had
 
 FREDERICKSBURG. 373 
 
 been left between Archer's and Lane's brigades, and of this the 
 enemy took instant advantage. Pressing forward, Hill's line 
 was penetrated; Lane's right and Archer's left turned; and 
 they were forced to fall back. Gaining thus a position in rear 
 of that occupied by Lane and Archer, the enemy attacked 
 Gregg's brigade; and in this contest General Gregg, while 
 attempting to rally Orr's Rifles, which had given way, fell mor- 
 tally wounded. 
 
 Seeing that his first line was rapidly being forced back by 
 the overwhelming numbers brought against it, General Jackson 
 now ordered up his second line, consisting of the commands of 
 Lawton, Early, Trimble, and Taliaferro. Their appearance 
 upon the scene changed every thing. In a brief but decisive 
 combat they repulsed the enemy, and, following up their advan- 
 tage, drove him with great slaughter to the railroad in front of 
 the first position, taking a number of prisoners. So far was the 
 pursuit carried, that Jackson's forces came within close range of 
 the Federal artillery, and full upon their strong reserves of infan- 
 try. The ground was not yielded, however, on that account ; and 
 finding that the enemy did not advance, General Jackson 
 determined to do so himself. Their artillery was so posted as 
 to render the movement an extremely hazardous one, but the 
 stake was great, and Jackson determined to take the risks, and 
 if possible put the force of the enemy directly opposed to him to 
 complete rout. Those who saw him at that hour, will never 
 forget the expression of intense but suppressed excitement 
 which his face displayed. The genius of battle seemed to have 
 gained possession of the great leader, ordinarily so calm ; and 
 his countenance glowed as from the glare of a great conflagra- 
 tion. His design was to place his artillery in front, draw up 
 the infantry in rear of it, and make the movement just as night 
 descended, so that if necessary he might fall back under the cov- 
 er of darkness. This design was destined, however, not to be 
 carried into execution. Delay occurred in making the necessary 
 preparations, and when, finally, the first guns moved forward, 
 the enemy, evidently fearing such a movement, opened a
 
 374: LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 terrific fire of artillery, which caused the abandonment of the 
 project. 
 
 We have neglected to speak of the events which occurred on 
 General Jackson's right. The batteries there were a part of his 
 command, though directed by General Stuart, and throughout 
 the day fought with unyielding obstinacy. The enemy handled 
 their guns with skill and nerve ; and their immense reserves 
 were brought up and put into action but they were encoun- 
 tered and silenced. The duel between the opposing batteries 
 during the latter part of the day was superb. Colonel "Walker 
 Was exposed, from the position of his guns, to a destructive fire 
 from the Federal batteries, and the Confederate artillery in the 
 fields beyond Hamilton's crossing was the target for their 
 heaviest guns, both on the south and north side of the river. 
 
 Toward evening the battle in this part of the field became 
 desperate. The enemy fought their artillery admirably, and 
 never was their enormous strength in that arm more thoroughly 
 displayed. Every species of projectile known to modern war- 
 fare was rained upon the fields, from guns of every calibre and 
 "description, and in this cannonade the heavy siege pieces on the 
 heights beyond the river bore an important part. The attempt 
 of General Franklin to turn the Confederate right was supported 
 .in the most effective manner by his artillery, and the fire be- 
 came appalling. It was delivered parallel to the railroad, and 
 the Federal sharpshooters from the ditches poured a galling fire 
 into the Confederate cannoneers. The batteries which opposed 
 the Federal guns were those of Pegram, Latham, Crenshaw, 
 Johnson, Mclntosh, Braxton, Letcher, and others. To these 
 were subsequently added the 2d and 3d companies of Richmond 
 howitzers, the first company being engaged on the left the Staun- 
 ton Artillery, Lieutenant Garber, a section of Poague's battery, 
 Lieutenant Graham, Caskie's, Hardaway's, Louisiana Guard 
 Artillery, Captain D'Aquin, and others all under the command 
 of Major Pelham, who fought them with soldierly skill and 
 coolness. The whole of the artillery on the right, including 
 Captain Henry's Horse Artillery, of Major Pelham's battalion,
 
 FKEDERICKSBURG. 375 
 
 was under the immediate direction of General Stuart, who was 
 everywhere in the thickest of the fight the target of artillery 
 and sharpshooters alike. The latter had posted themselves two 
 or three hundred yards off, behind a hedge, and no doubt 
 attracted by the plume and uniform of a general officer, directed 
 their fire upon him, striking him twice, but not doing him 
 injury. Meanwhile, the batteries never for an instant relaxed 
 in their fire. All through the afternoon they continued the fight,, 
 those which were disabled or out of ammunition retiring, to be 
 replaced by others. 
 
 Just at sunset Stuart ordered all his batteries to advance.. 
 This was done in consequence of a message from Jackson that 
 " he was going to advance and attack the enemy precisely at 
 sunset, and General Stuart was desired to advance his artillery 
 and fire as rapidly as possible, taking care not to injure the 
 troops as they attacked." This order was promptly obeyed. 
 Stuart took up a position so much in advance as to be almost on. 
 the flank of the Federal line, not five hundred yards distant, and 
 opened a more rapid and determined fire than before. When 
 General "W. H. F. Lee, one of his cavalry officers, sent to ascer-i. 
 tain how matters were going on, Stuart replied, " Tell General Lee 
 that all is right. Jackson has not advanced, but I have ; and I 
 am going to crowd them with artillery." This was boldly and 
 effectually done, and the result was apparent. The Federal fire 
 slackened, then ceased ; and when General Stuart's voice, in the 
 darkness, ordered a new advance toward the Bowling Green 
 road, no response could be elicited from their guns, and the- 
 Confederates remained masters of the field.* 
 
 * The force which operated against the Confederate right hi this action, 
 is stated to have been, as we have said, on Federal authority, 55,000 men. 
 This is not improbable, as the bulk of the United States, forces was used in, 
 this important assault. The army consisted of the 1st, 2d, 3d, 5th, 6th, 9th, 
 and llth Corps; and if these were recruited to the full number they possessed 
 by General McClellan's statement, at Sharpsburg, it would bring the Federal 
 force, exclusive of the 3d, llth, and one division of the 5th Corps, to 72,71,8 
 men. As the llth was a corps of reserve, the Federal, force was probably
 
 376 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 On the left a similar result followed the assault upon Marye'i 
 Hill. In this fierce and determined attack, which was made by 
 Meagher's brigade, composed chiefly of Irish, the Federal loss 
 was frightful. The troops were compelled to cross the open ground 
 between the suburbs of the town and the base of the hill, and 
 while doing so were subjected to a close and deadly fire from 
 Cobb's and Cooke's brigades, posted behind the stone wall at 
 the foot of the heights, and from Colonel Walton's artillery in 
 the earthworks above. This combined fire of bullets and can- 
 ister drove them back, but they again charged. The result 
 was the same they were again repulsed with heavy loss, and 
 were forced to fall back, with shattered ranks, to the protection 
 of the houses. In this struggle General Cobb was killed and 
 General Cooke severely wounded, nearly at the same moment. 
 
 Such was the battle of Fredericksburg. It is remarkable for 
 the small proportion of Confederate troops engaged, and for the 
 bad fighting of the Federal forces. The explanation of the latter 
 fact must be left to conjecture, but with the exception of 
 Meagher's brigade, no portion of the Federal infantry seems to 
 have acted with their customary efficiency. The charge upon 
 Jackson seemed hot and determined, but in spite of the heavy 
 force engaged in it 55.000 men, by General Burnside's state- 
 ment it was repulsed without difficulty by Jackson's first and 
 second lines, certainly falling short of 15,000 troops; The 
 Federal forces seemed to fight without enthusiasm or confidence 
 m their leaders. They bad lost morale from some reason ; and 
 so easily was their advance repulsed, that General Lee regarded 
 the affair as nothing more than a heavy demonstration to feel 
 his position, not a definite trial of strength with the whole 
 Federal army. From the hill above Hamilton's crossing, iu 
 company with Jackson, General Lee witnessed, on the next 
 (Sunday) morning, the imposing spectacle of the Federal army 
 drawn up in battle array, with banners flying, as though about 
 lo advance to the assault ; but that assault was not to take place. 
 
 not far short of 100,000 troops. General Lee's numbers are not known to the 
 present writer.
 
 FEEDEKICKSBUKG. 377 
 
 The explanation of the fact will be found in an extract from 
 General Burnside's testimony before the subsequent Committee 
 of Investigation, in which he states both his plan of attack and 
 the considerations which induced him to abandon all further de- 
 signs of carrying the heights occupied by the Confederates. 
 
 " The enemy," said General Burnside, " had cut a road along 
 the rear of the line of heights, where we made our attack, by 
 means of which they connected the two wings of their army, and 
 avoided a long detour round through a bad country. 
 
 " I obtained from a colored man from the other side of the 
 town, information in regard to this new road, which proved to 
 be correct. I wanted to obtain possession of that new road, and 
 that was my reason for making an attack on the extreme left. 
 I did not intend to make the attack on the right until that posi- 
 tion had been taken, which I supposed would stagger the enemy 
 by cutting their line in two, and then I proposed to make a 
 direct attack on their front and drive them out of the works. 
 
 " I succeeded in building six bridges, and in taking the whole 
 army across. The two attacks were made, and we were repulsed 
 still holding a portion of the ground we had fought upon, but 
 not our extreme advance. That night I went all over the field 
 on our right. In fact, I was with the officers and men until day- 
 light. I found the feeling to be rather against an attack the 
 next morning. In fact, it was decidedly against it. 
 
 " I returned to my headquarters, and after a conversation 
 with General Sumner, told him that I wanted him to order the 
 9th Army Corps, which was the corps I originally commanded, 
 to form the next morning a column of attack by regiments. It 
 consisted of some eighteen old regiments and some new ones, 
 and desired the column to make a direct attack upon the enemy's 
 works. I thought that these regiments, by driving quickly up 
 after each other, would be able to carry the stone wall and the 
 batteries in front, forcing the enemy into their next line, and by 
 joining in with them they would not be able to fire upon us to 
 any great extent. I left General Sumner with that understand- 
 ing, and directed him to give the order
 
 378 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 u The order was given, and the order of attack was formed. 
 On the next morning, just before the column was to have started, 
 General Sumner came up to me and said : ' General, I hope 
 you will desist from this attack. I do not know of any general 
 officer who approves of it, and I think it will prove disastrous to 
 the army.' Advice of that kind from General Sumner, who 
 has always been in favor of our advancing whenever it wa* 
 possible, caused me to hesitate. I kept the column of attack 
 formed, and sent over for the division and corps commanders- 
 and consulted with them. They unanimously voted against the 
 attack. I then went over to see the officers of the command on 
 the other side, and found that the same opinion prevailed 
 among them. 
 
 " I then sent for General Franklin, who was on the left, and 
 he was of exactly the same opinion. This caused me to decide 
 that I ought not to make the attack I had contemplated ; and be- 
 sides, inasmuch as the President of the United States had told 
 me not to be in haste in making this attack that he would 
 give me all the support he could, but he did not want the Army 
 of the Potomac destroyed I felt that I could not take the re- 
 sponsibility of ordering the attack, notwithstanding my own be- 
 lief at the time that the works of the enemy could be carried. 
 
 " In the afternoon of that day I again saw the officers, and 
 told them that I had decided to withdraw to this side of the river 
 all our forces, except enough to hold the town and the bridge 
 heads, but should keep the bridges there for future operations in 
 case we wanted to cross again." 
 
 It was determined, however, by the advice of General 
 Hooker, not to attempt to hold the town even, and on Monday 
 night the Federal army commenced recrossing the river. By 
 Tuesday morning the forces had disappeared from the south 
 bank of the Rappahannock, and General Burnside's was another 
 name added to the list of Federal generals who had suffered de- 
 feat at the hands of Lee and Jackson.
 
 GENERAL BURNSIDE ATTEMPTS A LAST ADVANCE. 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 GENERAL BURNSIDE ATTEMPTS A LAST ADVANCE. 
 
 WE have not described the excesses which the Federal offi- 
 cers permitted the troops to commit in Fredericksburg the 
 burning of houses, the rifling of wardrobes, and the general 
 spoliation of private property. These scenes, of the tragic and 
 grotesque mingled for men were found dead after Meagher's 
 charge, with women's shawls and bonnets on would take up too 
 much space, and excite, only disgust. They will doubtless be re- 
 corded by local historians in the future, and will remain a dark 
 portion of the great picture of the recent struggle. 
 
 We pass to General Burnside's final effort to gain a foothold 
 south of the Rappahannock. In the latter part of January, the 
 Federal commander massed his army opposite Banks' ford, sev- 
 eral miles above Fredericksburg, and the troops were already in 
 motion to attempt the crossing of the river, when the weather 
 suddenly changed, and torrents of rain descended upon the army. 
 
 The fate of any movement at this most unpropitious of sea- 
 sons, was soon shown. General Burnside was literally stuck in 
 the mud, and could not carry out his projected advance. The 
 movement is described so vividly in army letters written to 
 Northern journals at the period, that we shall make one or two 
 extracts, and then dismiss the subject. One correspondent writes : 
 
 " Within a space of two miles the scene of confusion was 
 greatest. In a deep gully, and on a hill-side, where the road 
 ascended, where stuck fast more than a dozen guns, caissons, 
 brigade wagons, and great headquarter wagons. The guns and 
 pontoons were three days in reaching the ford, and had to be 
 dragged by united labor of men and horses, when it was discov- 
 ered that approaches to the river were impracticable. The mud 
 in the freshly-cut roads was too deep. The men got in sight, 
 they said, of rebel camp-fires.
 
 380 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 "At every turn or rise on the road a wagon or caisson could 
 be seen sticking fast in the mud ; horses and mules were down 
 in the mire, unable to rise. In every gully batteries, caissons, 
 supply-wagons, ambulances, and pontoons were mired ; horses 
 and mules up to their bellies in mud ; soldiers on the march 
 sinking to their knees at almost every step. It was impossible 
 to draw an empty wagon through the dreadful mud. The whole 
 army was stuck fast." 
 
 Another correspondent gives a minute picture of the attempt- 
 ed advance, and of the feeling of the troops. He says : 
 
 "The march of the army to this place has been gloomy 
 enough. The severest storm of the season has continued since 
 early Tuesday evening until to-day. This afternoon there are 
 signs of sunshine again. Of course the inclement weather render- 
 ed army operations upon any very extensive scale wholly imprac- 
 ticable. The execution of the orders for an advance would have 
 been poorly enough in the finest weather, for, as I told you be- 
 fore, the army has lost its prestige ; the soldier no longer thinks 
 it an honor to belong to the Army of the Potomac. As an illus- 
 tration of the feeling prevalent among the officers, I will say 
 that when General Burnside's order, which you have no doubt 
 already published, was read, the inquiry was made by an officer, 
 ' What do you think of it? ' 
 
 " ' General, it don't seem to have the ring,' was the response. 
 
 " ' No, sir, the bell is broken,' said the General. 
 
 "Not that he meant any want of confidence in General 
 Burnside ; but the bell of the Army of the Potomac is sadly 
 fractured, and its tones have no longer the clear ^ inspiring ring 
 of victory. But I do not need to refer to the condition of the 
 army at greater length. Every phase you can get will reveal the 
 same truth, which is well understood here and at Washington., 
 
 " All day on Wednesday the men dragged their feet from 
 one mud footstep to fathom another still more uncertain, and 
 picked their way along the skirts of woods and fields and the 
 edge of the road to keep as sound footing as possible. The cold 
 rain poured in torrents.
 
 GENEKAL BURNSIDE ATTEMPTS A- LAST ADVANCE. 381 
 
 " The mules and horses, already worn to hide and bone with 
 old and starvation, floundered and trembled in the uncertain 
 ruts and deceptive mud pools. Teamsters and riders cursed and 
 lashed their beasts, but to no avail. At two o'clock pontoons 
 and guns and caissons, ammunition wagons and ambulances 
 were promiscuously mixed and interspersed in one long line, 
 where the mire was momentarily growing deeper and the dark- 
 uess of night approaching. Each general and commanding offi- 
 cer whose business it was, were exerting themselves to their ufc- 
 most to get the teams along. Some generals covered with mire 
 personally directed the drivers and the squads of men who 
 manned long drag-ropes and assisted the horses in moving the 
 heavy loads. 
 
 " At the front the same state of affairs was observed. If the 
 pontoons had been up on Tuesday ; yes, if the army had moved 
 when the order was first given, when the roads were dry and hard, 
 instead of waiting a week, until the enemy had learned of the move 
 and of its destination, and the utmost reasonable expectations of 
 continued fair weather had passed, the march would have been fine 
 and the crossing would have been easy. The place selected had 
 all the advantages that could be asked, and to the rebels disad- 
 vantages which would have given us easy success. I forbear 
 giving you the particulars of the location and preparations for 
 crossing, as well as the strength of the army, guns, and such ar- 
 rangements, as they may be secrets which would give the enemy 
 an advantage should General Burnside return to the attack at 
 this point when the roads are dry and troops rested. 
 
 " It had been contemplated to cross at several points, but the 
 difficulty of moving pontoon trains and guns compelled the aban- 
 donment of all but one place, and the concentration of men and 
 trains at that on "Wednesday night. In fact, I suspect the pur- 
 pose of crossing had been abandoned by General Burnside at 
 that time, and the troops and munitions were concentrated for 
 safety and convenience. The troops encamped in the splendid 
 growths of oaks, and the number of axes plying, and general 
 1mm of life and activity, impressed one with the idea of stepping
 
 382 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 into an immense ship-yard under full blast. The great blazing 
 log fires soon warmed the wet garments, and the men slept 
 soundly. 
 
 " On Thursday the order was circulated to stop the further 
 advance of troops and wagons and batteries not yet up. The 
 cavalry in part returned to their old camps. Light artillery was 
 also sent back, and order sent to General Sumner's grand divi- 
 sion, which had not yet moved, postponing indefinitely the orders 
 to be ready." 
 
 " The bell is broken" such was the figure employed to de- 
 scribe the depressed condition of the Federal troops at this time. 
 At the risk of wearying the reader we shall add another para- 
 graph upon the same subject, which finishes the picture. It is- 
 taken from the New York ; ' Times," and the article from which 
 it is extracted is said to have greatly enraged General Halleck 
 at the time when it was published : 
 
 " Sad, sad it is to look at this superb Army of the Potomac, 
 the match of which no conqueror ever led this incomparable 
 army, fit to perform the mission the country has imposed upon it 
 paralyzed, petrified, put under a blight and spell ; and on the 
 other hand the noble nation bleeding to death and pouring out 
 the rich wine of its life in vain. 
 
 " But the root of the matter is a distrust of the general con- 
 duct and ordering of things. They feel that things are at loose 
 ends in fact they know it, for our army is one that reads and 
 thinks. This spirit of discontent is augmented by many causes 
 of a special nature. For example : 1. They have not for many 
 months been paid. Shameful and inexcusable in the Govern- 
 ment. 2. The stagnation, ennui, disgust, suffering, sickness, and 
 discontent of camp life in winter (without winter quarters), amid 
 Virginia mud, cold, and rain. No small hardships, I can assure 
 you ; and it is doubtful if any European army ever had to sub- 
 mit to equally great ones. 3. General feeling of despondenc) 
 resulting from mismanagement and our want of military suc- 
 cess. Soldiers are severe critics and are not to be bamboozled. 
 You may marshal your array of victories in glittering editorials
 
 GENERAL BFRNSIDE ATTEMPTS A LAST ADVANCE. 383 
 
 they smile sarcastically at them. You see men who tell you 
 that t/ipy have been in a dozen battles, and were licked and 
 chased every time they would like to chase once to see how 
 it ' feels.' This begins to tell painfully on them. Their splen- 
 did qualities their patience, faith, hope, courage, are gradually 
 oozing out. Certainly never were a graver, gloomier, more 
 sober, sombre, serious, and unmusical body of men than the 
 Army of the Potomac at the present time. It is a saddening 
 contrast with a year ago." 
 
 The condition of affairs in the Southern army was strongly 
 in contrast with tliis ; tind perhaps the Confederate authorities 
 never had at their disposal a more effective force. The ranks 
 had filled up since the Maryland campaign ; the men were well 
 rationed and tolerably clothed, and the result of the battle of 
 Fredericksburg, in which about 25,000 troops (if so many) had 
 repulsed about 75,000, had greatly elated them. The present 
 writer never remembers seeing the army in gayer spirits, and 
 the correspondent of the London " Times," who saw them in 
 the winter of 1862, speaks of the " wonderful spirits of the tat- 
 terdemalion regiments of the South." . The same writer adds : 
 
 " It 'is a strange thing to look at these men, so ragged, slov- 
 enly, sleeveless, without a superfluous ounce of flesh upon their 
 bones, with wild matted hair, in mendicants' rags, and to think 
 when the battle-flag goes to the front how they can and do fight. 
 ' There is only one attitude in which I never should be ashamed 
 of your seeing my men, and that is when they are fighting.' 
 These were General Lee's words to me the* first time I ever saw 
 him ; they have been confirmed by every other distinguished offi- 
 cer in the Confederacy." 
 
 The Southern troops found at this time a still greater ad- 
 mirer in the editor of the Washington " Republican," a journal 
 of strong Northern sentiment ; and especial commendation wa? 
 b&stowed upon the Virginians : 
 
 " If there has been any decadence of the manly.virtues in the 
 Old Dominion," said this writer, " it is not because the present 
 generation has proved itself either weak or cowardly or unequal
 
 384 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 to the greatest emergencies. No people, with so few numbcr&y 
 ever put into the field and kept there so long, troops more nu- 
 merous, brave, or more efficient, or produced Generals of more- 
 merit, in all the kinds and grades of military talent. It is not a 
 worn-out, effete race which has produced Lee, Johnston, Jack- 
 son, Ashby, and Stuart. It is not a worn-out and effete race 
 which, for two years, has defended its capital against the ap- 
 proach of an enemy close upon their borders, and outnumbering 
 them thirty to one. It is not a worn-out and effete race which 
 has 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 cause, but they are fighting bravely. 
 They have few cowards and no traitors. The hardships of war 
 are endured without a murmur by all classes, and the dangers of 
 war without flinching, by the newest conscripts ; while their gen- 
 try, the offshoot of their popular social system, have thrown, 
 themselves into the camp and field with all the dash and high 
 spirit of the European noblesse of the middle ages, risking, with- 
 on* apparent concern, upon a desperate adventure, 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." 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 JACKSON AT FREDERICKSBUBG. 
 
 WE pass now from the narrative of great public events to a< 
 few personal details of Jackson at the period of the battle of 
 Fredericksburg. 
 
 Those who served in the Army of Northern Virginia at the 
 time in question will not soon forget the effect produced upon the?
 
 JACKSON AT FKEDERICKSBURG. 385 
 
 troops by the intelligence that Jackson had arrived with his in- 
 vincible corps, and was ready to take part in any movement 
 which occurred. The presence of the great soldier seemed to 
 infuse new strength and confidence into every heart ; and wher- 
 ever he passed the woods reechoed with cheers in his honor. He 
 was then ascending to the summit of his fame, and the hearts of 
 the men went forth to greet him with an affection and admiration 
 amounting to enthusiasm. 
 
 On the evening of his arrival he had thrown himself upon the 
 ground, under a tree, and was warming himself by the camp-fire, 
 when an excellent lady, living near at hand, sent him an invita- 
 tion to come and sup with the family. His presence had been 
 discovered from a soldier, who asked permission to draw water 
 from the well " for General Jackson " to which the good lady 
 responded : u Tell General Jackson that every thing in this 
 house belongs to him." 
 
 The General speedily appeared in response to the invitation, 
 and evidently enjoyed his conversation with the lady of the man- 
 sion with the keenest relish. The only significant circumstance 
 connected with the incident was the character of this lady. She 
 was not young, brilliant, and amusing, but very old, gray-haired, 
 and known throughout the whole region for her unassuming 
 goodness and devoted piety. In her society, Jackson seemed to 
 experience an inexpressible charm to rest his brain and his 
 heart, as with his sweet and modest smile he sat and listened to 
 the simple friendly accents. His countenance was full of quiet 
 pleasure as he talked with the aged lady, and in spite of his long 
 day's march he nearly lost sight of his supper in continuing the 
 conversation. 
 
 Both are now dead ; but they must have met again beyond 
 the stars. 
 
 When the enemy's intended advance was ascertained, Jack- 
 son's forces moved silently to their position, and the men began 
 to look out for their favorite, in order to cheer him as he rode 
 along the line. Strange to say, no sound was heard in any direc- 
 tion, and one of the men said : 
 25
 
 386 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 " Why don't old Jack come along, I wonder? " 
 
 " Why, he passed by a quarter of an hour ago," was the 
 reply of a brother soldier. 
 
 " Old Jack ! " exclaimed the first, " he pass by ! " 
 
 " Yes, didn't you see him with his staff ? " 
 
 " What ! " ejaculated the soldier with an accent demanding 
 at least tkree exclamation points, " that finely-dressed fellow that 
 went by here, Old Jack ! No, sir ! You can't fool me in thai 
 way ! " 
 
 But Jackson had really passed, and the troops had not recog- 
 nized him, from a very simple circumstance. He had doffed hi 
 old coat soiled with dirt and scorched by the sun, to appear in a 
 new uniform for him of the most gorgeous description. It con 
 sisted of the new coat presented to him by General Stuart in the 
 Valley ; a superb new overcoat of dark-blue cloth, with an am- 
 ple cavalry cape ; and a new cap, in the shape yf his old cadet 
 cap worn in so many battles, but, unlike the former, shining with 
 gold braid which was resplendent in contrast with the dark cloth. 
 It was no wonder that the troops did not recognize him in this 
 unwonted finery. The old uniform had seemed to them to be a 
 part of him, and the new was by no means to their liking. 
 
 Jackson's position during the battle was for the greater por- 
 tion of the time near or in front of Colonel Walker's artillery on 
 the hill above Hamilton's crossing, where his right was posted. 
 Here the fire of the enemy's guns was exceedingly hot, and Jack- 
 son, like the rest, dismounted and lay down to protect himself 
 from the storm of shell which swept the crest. He was soon on. 
 horseback again, however, and moving to every portion of the 
 field. It was in the latter part of the day that, while hurrying 
 to another part of the line, he directed an officer to order his ar- 
 tillery on the hill, then swept by projectiles, to move forward, 
 and added coolly : 
 
 " Captain, if you and your horse come out alive, tell General 
 Stuart that I am going to advance my whole line at sunset." 
 
 At this period of the action, Jackson exhibited unwonted ex- 
 citement. Despite his collected bearing, it was evident from his
 
 JACKSON AT FREDERICK8BURG. 387 
 
 rapid movements from .point to point, and a flush in his cheeks, 
 that his whole soul was aroused, and his brain on fire with the 
 thought that he would be able to drive the enemy with the bay- 
 onet beyond the river. Even, however, at this moment, when his 
 resolution was taken, and his nature stirred to its depths, his 
 soldierly courtesy did not desert him. To the salutes which he 
 received, he responded as carefully, with the finger to the cap, as 
 if he had been on parade. 
 
 An affecting incident is related by a friend * who shared hia 
 bed on the night of the battle ; and it is here given as we re- 
 ceived it from him. About midnight, Jackson's tent-mate, who 
 had not yet fallen asleep, saw the soldier rise, dress, and go to 
 his desk. He lit his candle, and, placing some books on end, so 
 as to conceal the light from the supposed sleeper's eyes, began to 
 work. From work he passed to reflection, and his friend said, 
 suddenly : 
 
 " "What are you thinking of, General ? " 
 
 " Oh ! are you awake ? " was his reply ; " I was thinking of 
 the battle to-morrow, and that the balls will be hotter on the hill 
 by the crossing than to-day." 
 
 As they were conversing, the sound of horse's hoofs was 
 heard approaching ; the noise ceased, and an orderly came into 
 the tent. 
 
 "Who is that?" asked Jackson. 
 
 " Somebody from General Gregg, sir." 
 
 " Tell him to come in." 
 
 An officer appeared at the opening, and, saluting Jackson, 
 said : 
 
 " General Gregg is dying, General, and sent me to say to 
 you that he wrote you a letter recently in which he -used expres- 
 sions he is now sorry for. He says that he meant no disrespect 
 by that letter, and was only doing what he considered to be his 
 duty. He hopes you will forgive him." 
 
 Jackson listened to these words in silence, but it was evident 
 
 * Colonel A. R. Boteler our authority for this incident.
 
 388 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 that he was greatly moved. When the officer had ceased speak- 
 ing, he said, earnestly : 
 
 " Tell General Gregg I will be with him directly." 
 
 Then calling to his body-servant, he directed him to saddle 
 his " old sorrel." 
 
 To this, however, the considerate Jim objected, and com- 
 menced an elaborate account of what the old sorrel had passed 
 through on that day. Jackson checked him impatiently, and di- 
 rected him to obey without further words. 
 
 " Say to the General," he added, turning to the officer, " that 
 I will be with him immediately." 
 
 And he was soon in the saddle, riding through the chill De- 
 cember night, upon his mission. 
 
 We know not what passed that night between the brother 
 soldiers what words were exchanged, what pardon granted ere 
 it was asked or what solemn farewell's took place between the 
 man about to die and him who watched beside him. There are 
 many dramas in war the curtain never rises upon some of the 
 most affecting. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXI. 
 
 WINTER QUARTERS AT MOSS NECK. 
 
 AFTER the battle of Fredericksburg, Jackson established his 
 headquarters at " Moss Neck," the estate of the Corbins, about 
 ten miles below the town, and here he remained during the 
 winter. 
 
 Upon the crest of the long range of hills which here runs 
 along the right bank of the Rappahannock, dominating the wide 
 low grounds, and affording admirable positions for artillery, if 
 the enemy advanced, he remained for months, watching the up- 
 lands on the opposite side of the river, and ready at any moment 
 to oppose, with his veterans of the old corps, the advancing Fed-
 
 WINTER QUARTERS AT MOSS NECK. 389" 
 
 erals. From an eminence near headquarters the view was very 
 attractive. To the right and left the wooded range extended 
 toward Fredericksburg on the one hand, and Port Royal on the 
 other ; in front, the far-stretching low grounds gave full sweep 
 to the eye ; and at the foot of its forest-clad bluffs, or by the 
 margin of undulating fields, the Rappahannock calmly flowed 
 toward the sea. Old mansions dotted this beautiful land for 
 beautiful it was in spite of the chill influences of winter, with its 
 fertile meadows, its picturesque woodlands, and its old roads 
 skirted by long rows of shadowy cedars, planted with the regu- 
 larity of ornamental shrubbery in a gentleman's garden. 
 
 Headquarters were near the " Corbin House ; " in front was 
 " Hayfield," the residence of that Taylor family illustrated in 
 old days by " Colonel John Taylor, of Caroline ; " near at hand 
 were the hospitable residences of the Baylors, Bernards, and 
 others ; and in the distance, toward Fredericksburg, was " St. 
 Julian," the ancient homestead of the Brooke family, which 
 Washington, Randolph, and the great statesmen of the past al- 
 ways paused at on their journeys, to give the news and discuss 
 the men and things of the past century. 
 
 Another age had come now, and the' smiling fields were dis- 
 figured by the footprints of war. The meadows were crossed 
 and recrossed by roads which had cut up the soil into ruts and 
 miry holes. The steep banks as the enemy have had an op- 
 portunity of seeing were fashioned into earthworks for sharp- 
 shooters ; the beautiful cedars were felled to supply firewood for 
 the troops ; and every thing betrayed the presence of the huge, 
 dark, bloody, dirty, brutal genius of battle. 
 
 Jackson employed himself during the winter months in pre- 
 paring the official reports of his battles. The embodiment of the 
 facts, as given in the reports of officers engaged, was entrusted 
 to Lieutenant-Colonel Faulkner, A. A. G., but Jackson carefully 
 revised and corrected the statements before his official signature 
 was appended. He was exceedingly careful not to have any 
 thing placed thus upon formal record which was not established 
 by irrefutable proof. Truth was, with him, the jewel beyond all
 
 390 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 price ; and nothing discomposed him more than the bare suspi- 
 cion that accuracy was sacrificed to effect. Another marked 
 trait in him was his rooted objection to present in his reports the 
 motives of his a.ction, and explain the objects of his various 
 movements. It is said that Colonel Faulkner remonstrated with 
 him upon this point, and declared that the men who came after 
 him would be greatly embarrassed by the absence of these ex- 
 planations ; above all, that his fame would suffer on the pages 
 t)f the historian. To this Jackson replied in nearly the following 
 words : 
 
 " The men who come after me must act for themselves ; and 
 BS to the historians who speak of the movements of my com- 
 mand, I do not concern myself greatly as to what they may say." 
 
 He disliked adjectives in the narratives of his battles ; and 
 this severe simplicity renders his reports occasionally cold and 
 dry to the reader that of the battle of Kernstown, for example. 
 But it is impossible to withhold our respect from the motives 
 which prompted this brevity of statement. Jackson had indeed 
 an unconquerable aversion for " making the most " of any event 
 in which he was concerned. His native modesty revolted from 
 every species of ostentation ; and boasting or self-laudation were 
 with him simply impossible. His modesty was displayed in 
 many ways. He always shrunk from those favorable compari- 
 sons of himself with his brother soldiers which indiscreet news- 
 paper writers indulged in, and regarded them with obvious pain 
 and repugnance. It is not so certain that he did not enjoy 
 " skilled commendation " of his actions, and even the praises of 
 the journals. He loved human sympathy and the admiration of 
 his fellowmen ; and the expression of these feelings greatly 
 pleased him, for he was conscious of having labored hard to 
 deserve them. To the form, however, which this public senti- 
 ment occasionally assumed, he was not a little opposed. He 
 would never have his likeness taken. That which was fortu- 
 nately secured in the spring of 1863, and appears in front of this 
 volume, was the result of an urgent request from one to whom 
 ne could refuse nothing. When the publishers of an illustrated
 
 WINTER QUARTERS AT MOSS NECK. . 39 J 
 
 periodical wrote to him, asking for his daguerreotype and some, 
 notes of his battles as the basis of a sketch, he wrote in reply, 
 that he had no likeness of himself, and had done nothing worthy 
 of mention. 
 
 In the preparation of his official reports, and the routine of 
 labor incident to his command, passed the winter days of 
 1862-'63. Those who visited Moss Neck during these days, 
 give a humorous description of the surroundings of the famous 
 General Stonewall. Before his tent was pitched, he established 
 his headquarters in a small out-building of the Corbin House j 
 dtici all who came to transact business with Lieutenant-General 
 Jackson, were struck by a series of headquarter ornaments of 
 the most unique and surprising description. On the walls of the 
 apartment were pictures of race horses, well known and dear 
 in former days to the planters of the neighboring region. Then, 
 there was a portrait of some celebrated game cock, ready 
 trimmed and gaffed for conflict to the death. A companion 
 piece to these was the picture of a terrier engaged in furious 
 onslaught upon an army of rats, which he was seizing, tearing, 
 and shaking to death as fast they came. These decorations of 
 headquarters excited the merriment of the General's associates ; 
 and General Stuart suggested to him that a drawing of the apart- 
 ment should be made, with the race horses, game cocks, and 
 terrier in bold relief, the picture to be labelled : " View of the 
 winter-quarters of General Stonewall Jackson, affording an in- 
 sight into the tastes and character of the individual." The im- 
 pression which he produced upon his visitors, at the time in 
 question, is exhibited by the following passage from a letter 
 of the Rev. Dr. Hoge, who went to call upon him. Dr. Hoge 
 writes : 
 
 u I have just returned from a visit to General Jackson's 
 
 headquarters, at Moss Neck, the grand mansion of Mr. , 
 
 some ten miles from Fredericksburg. The General modestly 
 occupies the lower room of one of the offices in the yard. As, 
 soon as I arrived General Jackson claimed me as his guest, and 
 I gladly spent what time I could with him. I found Mr.
 
 392 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 regularly ensconced in his office, as a sort of chaplain general, 
 not officially, of course, but virtually. His work is partly to in- 
 crease the number of chaplains, placing them where most needed, 
 and partly to preach himself wherever there is need of it in the 
 corps. His position is very important, and his residence with 
 General Jackson not only furthers his influence, but is personally 
 profitable to him. Indeed, it seems hardly possible to be long 
 in the society of that noble and honored General, that simple- 
 hearted, straightforward, laborious, devoted man of God, with- 
 out catching something of his spirit the spirit of toil, of patience, 
 of modesty, of careful conscientiousness, of child-like dependence 
 on God, of fervent believing prayer. While I was in camp I 
 preached five times in the Stonewall Brigade. How the men 
 crowded into their log church, how they listened, how they 
 seemed to hang upon the word, you, of all men, need least to be 
 told, for you have seen so much of them from the beginning of 
 the war. On Sunday night, after preaching, the General, Mr. 
 
 , and myself, had a long talk, as we sat drying our boots in 
 
 front of the open fire. When it was nearly eleven o'clock the 
 General asked rue to conduct worship ; and afterwards, before 
 retiring, he set us the example of kneeling again for secret 
 prayer. He then shared his bed upon the floor with me, and we 
 talked till long after midnight. Though usually taciturn, he led 
 the conversation. How anxious he was for his army ! how 
 anxious for himself! How manifest it was that he is a man 
 whose great desire is to be right in all things, and especially to 
 be right before God ! In our whole intercourse I could not de- 
 tect the slightest trace of self-importance, ostentation, or seeking 
 after vainglory. To glorify God possessed all his thoughts. 
 ' I have been thinking a great deal about our chief end lately,' 
 said he, ' and I think the first answer in our catechism tells it 
 all ; man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for- 
 ever ; and I think,' he added, ' we need not trouble ourselves 
 much about the second part, if we only attend well to the first. 
 I find my life in camp a very happy one when I am enabled tc 
 keep this aim steadily before me to live for the glory of God.' ''
 
 WINTER QUARTERS AT MOSS NECK. 
 
 Those who saw him during this period, will recall many 
 other charming reminiscences of him. He was very fond of 
 children, and those of the neighborhood will long remember the 
 kind voice and smile of the soldier his .caresses and affectionate 
 ways. "We have alluded to the new cap, which the General 
 wore at the battle of Fredericksburg, resplendent with gold braid 
 and all manner of decorations. He did not admire this fine sub- 
 stitute for that old, sun-scorched cap, which had so long served 
 him ; and when, one day, a little girl was standing at his knee, 
 looking up from her clustering curls at the kindly General, whose 
 hand was caressing her hair, he called for a pair of scissors, 
 ripped off the rich gold band, and joining the ends, placed it like 
 a coronet upon her head, with smiles and evident admiration of 
 the pretty picture thus presented.* 
 
 Another little girl, in one of the hospitable houses of that 
 region, told the present writer that when she expressed to a 
 gentleman her wish to kiss General Jackson, and the gentleman 
 repeated her words, the General blushed very much, and turned 
 away with a slight laugh, as if he was confused. 
 
 These are trifles, but it is surely a pleasant spectacle to see 
 the great soldier amid these kindly, simple scenes ; to watch the 
 leader, whose soul has never shrunk in the hour of peril, passing 
 happy moments in the society of laughing children. 
 
 The days passed thus quietly at Moss Neck, the enemy 
 making numerous demonstrations, but never crossing. January, 
 February, the greater part of March went by, and Jackson still 
 remained upon his crest of hills above the meadows of the Rap- 
 pahannock. But late in March he moved his headquarters to a 
 point near Hamilton's crossing, just in rear of the battle field 
 of Fredericksburg, on the southern side of the Massaponnax, and 
 not far from General Lee. 
 
 He had some time before been made Lieutenant-General, but 
 this promotion could add nothing to the stature of a man whose 
 military renown was so firmly established. 
 
 * The late Colonel A. S. Pendleton, Jackson's A. A. G., is our authority 
 for this incident.
 
 394: LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Jackson looked forward to the coming campaign with taer 
 deepest interest. He was one day conversing with a member 
 of his staff, and having stated the grounds upon which he be- 
 lieved a great battle would soon take place, he remained silent 
 for some moments, and then added humbly and reverently : 
 
 " My trust is in God." 
 
 A brief silence again followed these words ; but suddenly the 
 face of the soldier flushed with martial enthusiasm, and rising 
 to his feet, with flashing eyes and compressed lips, he exclaimed : 
 
 " I wish they would come ! " 
 
 The spring was now beginning to advance, and the season 
 for hostilities had returned. Jackson hastened the preparation 
 of his reports, and had the satisfaction of knowing that at last 
 they were nearly complete. 
 
 It was whilst he was engaged in his revision of the report 
 of the operations of his corps in the Maryland campaign, that 
 the note of battle was again sounded ; and from memories of 
 past events and the battles already fought, he was recalled to 
 the present and to the still more desperate conflict about to take 
 place to the last, and what was to prove not the least splendid 
 of his achievements. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 FEDEEAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1863. 
 
 IT is impossible in a work like the present to present that 
 comprehensive view of operations in every quarter of the field, 
 which is necessary to an intelligent understanding of the late 
 revolution. The crowding incidents of the struggle must be 
 sought elsewhere. Scarce an allusion can be made to them 
 here. 
 
 The aspect of affairs at the opening of the year 1863 was
 
 FEDERAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1863. 395 
 
 far more encouraging to the South than in the spring of 1862. 
 Then a heavy cloud seemed to have settled upon the Southern 
 horizon, and ruin stared the Confederates in the face. Donald- 
 son and Roanoke Island had been captured ; the Confederates 
 had been defeated at Elkhorn, Kernstown, and Newbern, which 
 latter loss exposed all Eastern North Carolina. In April Fort 
 Macon surrendered, and on the 1st of May New Orleans fell. 
 Such had been the aspect of affairs in May, 1862. 
 
 As May, 1863, approached, the prospects of the South looked 
 far more favorable, and the victories of Cold Harbor, Cedar 
 Run, the second Manassas, and Fredericksburg had inspired the 
 troops with enthusiasm. In Virginia two years of arduous 
 struggle had not enabled the Federal authorities to penetrate 
 beyond the Rappahannock ; and on the southern banks of that 
 river, in the opening of the spring of 1863, the long lines of 
 Confederate pickets warned the enemy that any attempt to cross 
 would be resisted by the army which had repulsed them in De- 
 cember at Fredericksburg. 
 
 We are compelled, in like manner, to pass over the political 
 events of the period, including the Emancipation Proclamation 
 of President Lincoln, by which he declared the slaves free on 
 and after January 1, 1863, and announced that the Federal Gov- 
 ernment would " do no act or acts to repress such persons or 
 any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual 
 freedom." The general survey, military and political, must be 
 looked for elsewhere. 
 
 What had, however, a direct bearing upon the Virginia 
 campaign, and the subject of this book, was the evident impres- 
 sion among many of the most prominent politicians at the North, 
 that unless the approaching campaign was successful, the Fed- 
 eral Government must make peace upon the basis of separation 
 and Southern independence. The New York "Tribune" an- 
 nounced the programme of operations which the times de- 
 manded, and gave its views as follows : " Having mafced our 
 forces and filled our depots and caissons, charge upon the rebels 
 in every quarter assailing their ports with iron-clads, their ar-
 
 396 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 mies with stronger armies, fighting resolutely but warily with 
 intent to capture their strongholds and exhaust their resources 
 while expeditions of light-armed black Unionists, carrying only 
 arms and ammunition, traverse those portions of Rebeldom most 
 exposed and thickly peopled with slaves, carrying liberty to all 
 who wish it, and arms wherewith to defend it ; moving rapidly 
 and evading all fortified points and overpowering forces, while 
 breaking up railroads and telegraph lines, and making trouble 
 generally." If this " making trouble generally" by black Union- 
 ists and others did not attain its object, then the war must be 
 given up by the North. " If three months more of earnest 
 fighting," said the "Tribune," " shall not serve to make a serious 
 impression on the rebels if the end of that term shall find us 
 no further advanced than its beginning if some malignant fate 
 has decreed that the blood and treasure of the nation shall ever 
 be squandered in fruitless efforts let us low to our destiny, and 
 make the best attainable peace." 
 
 The Federal authorities seemed so far to concur in these 
 views, as to determine upon a more resolute prosecution of hos- 
 tilities than before. Every means was again used to gather re- 
 cruits, and by the spring the authorities had upon the shores of 
 the Rappahannock, a force which Major-General Peck, of the 
 United States Army, stated, in the New York " Herald " to. 
 have numbered 159,300 men. 
 
 This large army was not to be commanded by General Burn- 
 side. The battle of Fredericksburg seems to have occasioned 
 his disgrace with the military authorities, and he was to be suc- 
 ceeded by General Joseph Hooker, called, for his nerve and ob- 
 stinacy upon the field, " Fighting Joe Hooker." This ofiicer 
 was a soldier of ability as division or corps commander, but 
 does not seem to have possessed the faculties necessary in the 
 head of an army. He had become embroiled both with Gen- 
 eral McClellan and General Burnside, whose operations he 
 greatly^ensured before the Committees of Investigation ; and the 
 Federal authorities now seemed to have so far coincided in hi? 
 views as to have decided that he should have an opportunity to
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OPENS. 397 
 
 display his own abilities unhampered by any immediate supe- 
 rior. He was placed in command of the celebrated Army of 
 the Potomac ; all the resources of the Government were put at 
 his orders ; and in April he had ready for the field an army 
 which he himself described as " the finest on this planet." 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OPENS. 
 
 AT the end of April the two armies confronted each other on 
 the banks of the Rappahannock, from a point above its conflu- 
 ence with the Rapidan, as far down as Port Royal. The bulk 
 of the Confederate forces remained, however, near Fredericks- 
 burg. The various fords in the county of Culpepper were 
 guarded by General Stuart with his cavalry. 
 
 The first note of the coming conflict was sounded on the 1 7th 
 of March from the upper Rappahannock. On that day General 
 Averill with about three thousand cavalry crossed the river at 
 Kelly's ford, with the obvious purpose of cutting General Lee's 
 communications in the direction of Gordonsville, and ascertain- 
 ing his strength and position. 
 
 Bad fortune, however, attended the expedition. The Fed- 
 eral general was met near Kelly's ford, by General Fitz Lee, 
 with about eight hundred cavalry, ind his advance so obstinately 
 opposed, that, after a day of stubborn and bloody conflict, he 
 was forced to fall back, with heavy loss, and recross the river. 
 General Lee's loss was considerable ; and among the officers 
 killed was Major John Pelham the " gallant Pelham " of Gen 
 eral Lee's report at Fredericksburg who was present with Gen 
 eral Stuart during the battle. The fall of this great artillerisl 
 was an irreparable calamity, but the enemy were checked ; and 
 the Southern troops had the prestige of victory in the first action 
 of the spring campaign.
 
 398 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 After the battle of Kellysville, which for hard and obstinat 
 fighting has scarcely been excelled, the Federal forces remained 
 quiet until April. Toward the middle of that month every 
 thing indicated an early advance. It was known that General 
 Hooker had been making extraordinary exertions to increase the 
 strength of his army, and to place every department of the 
 command upon a thorough " war footing." These labors were 
 said to have secured the desired result ; and, in the month of 
 April, the Northern journals repeatedly and confidently asserted 
 General Hooker's Ability to overwhelm General Lee whenever 
 he advanced. 
 
 This confidence seems to have been shared by General 
 Hooker and the majority of his officers. Whether deceived by 
 spies, who communicated false intelligence, or misled by his 
 own anticipations, which made " the wish the father to the 
 thought," the Federal commander exhibited, in many ways, a 
 perfect confidence in his ability to defeat Lee, and looked for- 
 ward to the battle about to take place as destined to terminate 
 the war. 
 
 The advance of the Federal forces was preceded as usual by 
 movements of cavalry. The enemy had largely increased their 
 force in this branch, and paid great attention to its armament 
 and equipment. The North had been ransacked for horses ; the 
 best patterns of carbines and pistols were furnished in profusion ; 
 and great attention was given to the organization of the force, 
 the character of its officers, and its efficiency in every particu- 
 lar. The commanders were given to understand that much was 
 expected of them ; and General Pleasanton, to whose command 
 the whole was entrusted, seemed anxious to recover the laurel? 
 which Averill had lost in his encounter with Fitz Lee. 
 
 During the month of April, persistent attempts were made 
 by Pleasanton to penetrate into the county of Culpepper, and 
 beat up General Stuart's quarters there ; his expectation being 
 to gain information, and unmask General Lee's position. 
 
 These attempts, however, were unsuccessful. The Confed- 
 erate cavalry under Stuart confronted the enemy at every point,
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OPENS. 399 
 
 from United States ford below the confluence of the rivers to the 
 upper waters ; whenever the Federal cavalry crossed they were 
 forced to retire with loss, and up to the moment when General 
 Hooker's army was put in motion, the enemy's great cavalry 
 force had been useless in gaining for the commanding general 
 iuforrnation of General Lee's position, movements, or designs. 
 
 We have spoken of Lee's position in general terms. The 
 main body confronted the enemy's camps near Fredericksburg, 
 and occupied the woods in rear of the old battle field, A force 
 was posted opposite Ely's and United States fords higher up the 
 river, and the various fords from United States to Hinson's, far 
 up the Rappahannock, continued to be picketed by Stuart's caval- 
 ry, which, under the supervision of that energetic commander, left 
 no avenue of advance unguarded. The exposed left flank was 
 rightly regarded as the direction from which the Federal forces 
 would attack, with the view of turning General Lee's position 
 and forcing him to fall back. Extreme vigilance was accord- 
 ingly enjoined upon the cavalry pickets ; and no sooner had the 
 Federal column put itself in motion on the upper waters than 
 General Stuart telegraphed the fact to General Lee. 
 
 tt would seem that General Hooker decided to advance upon 
 receiving information that the " only army to oppose him was 
 one of 40,000 under Jackson, Lee being sick and his army scat- 
 tered." The presence of General Longstreet, with the greater 
 part of his corps in front of Suffolk, south of James River, was 
 well known to the Federal commander ; and he rightly decided 
 that if it was possible for him at all to defeat Lee's army, it was 
 possible now. 
 
 General Hooker's plan is said to have been as follows : 
 
 A force of about 20,000 men was to cross the Rappahannock 
 near the old battle field of Fredericksburg, and thus produce 
 upon the Confederate commander the impression that General 
 Hooker was about to renew the attempt in which General 
 Burnside had failed. Whilst General Lee's attention was en- 
 gaged by the demonstration at this point, the main body of the 
 Federal army was to cross the Rappahannock by the upper fords,
 
 400 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 and sweeping down with rapidity upon General Lee's left flank, 
 take a strong position not far from Fredericksburg. The col- 
 umn which had crossed below was then to recross the river, 
 move rapidly up the northern bank to the fords which the move 
 ment of the main body would have uncovered ; and, a second 
 time crossing to the southern bank, unite with the other. Thus 
 the whole force of General Hooker would be concentrated on the 
 south side of the Rappahannock, and General Lee would be 
 compelled to leave his strong position on the Massaponnax hills 
 and fight upon ground chosen by his adversary, or fall back 
 rapidly to prevent that adversary from attaining his rear and de- 
 stroying him. 
 
 In order to insure the event of the conflict which it was an- 
 ticipated General Lee would determine upon before falling back, 
 measures were taken to interrupt his communications so as to 
 cut oif his supplies and prevent General Longstreet from coming 
 to his assistance. An extensive cavalry raid against the Central 
 Railroad was accordingly made a part of the programme ; and 
 this, it was expected, would render General Lee's defeat perfect- 
 ly certain. 
 
 Such was the apparently skilful but really bungling strategy 
 by which General Hooker attempted to outgeneral his able ad- 
 versary. Formidable as his scheme appeared, it yet had a fatal 
 flaw. The Federal commander was dividing his forces in pres- 
 ence of an opponent with whose ability he was thoroughly ac- 
 quainted ; and was exposing himself to the sudden and fatal 
 blow which was so soon to fall. The movement of his cavalry, 
 from which he expected so much, was the most fatal error of all. 
 By thus detaching nearly his whole mounted force from the main 
 army, General Hooker exposed himself to the great flank attack 
 from Jackson which the presence of his cavalry would have 
 unmasked and insured the defeat of his army. 
 
 The Federal commander seems scarcely to have doubted, 
 however, his ability to defeat General Lee, and appears to have 
 cherished the conviction that if he could once mass his forces on 
 the southern bank of the Rappahannock, the event was certain.
 
 GENERAL HOOKER ADVANCES. 401 
 
 When this object was afterwards attained, General Hooker is- 
 sued an order of congratulation to his troops, in which he de- 
 clared that he occupied a position so strong that " the enemy 
 must either ingloriously fly or come out from behind his defences, 
 and give us battle on our own ground, where certain destruction 
 waits him." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 GENERAL HOOKER ADVANCES. 
 
 GENERAL HOOKER'S preparations were at last complete, and 
 on Monday, the 27th day of April, the troops were put in 
 motion. 
 
 The 5th, llth, and 12th Corps of the Federal army, under 
 General Slocum, moved with eight days' rations toward Kelly's 
 ford, near the point where the Orange and Alexandria Railroad 
 crosses the Rappahannock, and by Tuesday night were in posi- 
 tion and ready to cross on the ensuing day. On Tuesday night 
 also, the 1st, 3d, and 6th Corps were opposite Franklin's cross- 
 ing, three miles below Fredericksburg, ready to cross on pon- 
 toons simultaneously with the force above. 
 
 Both columns were on Wednesday, April 29th, thrown 
 across the Rappahannock at the points mentioned, and establish- 
 ed themselves, without resistance, upon the southern bank of the 
 river. At the same time the great cavalry expedition under 
 General Stoneman began also to move, its route being through 
 the county of Culpepper, in the direction of Gordonsville. 
 
 General Hooker was in personal command of the main body, 
 which crossed at Kelly's ford, and now steadily moved toward 
 the Rapidan. 
 
 As soon as the designs of the enemy were developed in the 
 directions of Kelly's ford, General Stuart concentrated his cav- 
 alry in front of that point, and observed their further movements, 
 26
 
 402 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 communicating full information of their force and the direction 
 of their march to General Lee. As the Federal column ad* 
 vanced, he hung upon its front and flank, and by a successful 
 attack at Madden's, below Brandy, threw the enemy into dis- 
 order, and ascertained from prisoners captured that the column 
 consisted of the corps of Howard, Slocum, and Meade. The 
 men had eight days' rations in their haversacks, and supply trains 
 moved with the force, from which it was apparent that General 
 Hooker designed a real advance to offer battle to the Southern 
 army. 
 
 Every exertion was now made by Stuart to harass them and 
 impede their progress. Discovering speedily that they were 
 moving toward Ely's and Germanna fords on the Rapidan, he 
 hastened with General Fitz Lee's brigade around by Raccoon 
 ford above, to gain the front of their column, and interpose him- 
 self between them and Fredericksburg. General W. H. F. Lee's 
 brigade, which constituted the rest of the command, was de- 
 tached to guard the upper fords of the Rapidan, and oppose 
 Stoneman's heavy column of cavalry, which was then advancing 
 in the direction of Gordonsville. 
 
 The great events occurring in another portion of the field 
 will prevent us from returning to the subject of this extensive 
 raid. We shall, therefore, speak briefly of it hci-e. The Federal 
 cavalry rapidly advanced and attacked General W. H. F. Lee 
 upon the Rapidan, but were delayed there for a considerable 
 time by that able commander. When he fell back in accordance 
 with orders from General R. E. Lee, General Stoneman hastened 
 across, penetrated the country to the Central Railroad, which he 
 tore up for a short distance near Trevillian's ; passed on to- 
 James River, ravaging the country and carrying off horses ; at- 
 tempted to destroy the Columbia aqueduct, but failed ; returned ; 
 retreated, destroying the bridges on the South Anna behind him ; 
 and hurried back across the Rapidan. During all this time the 
 horsemen of Lee had harassed him at every step ;. cut off de- 
 tached portions of his command ; captured many otficers and 
 men ; and greatly demoralized his men. With an adequate
 
 GENERAL HOOKEK ADVANCES. 403 
 
 force, instead of a few hundred men upon jaded horses, General 
 W. H. F. Lee would have cut off General Stoneman's retreat 
 and compelled his surrender. 
 
 The Federal columns under General Hooker had meanwhile 
 pressed on to Germanna and Ely's fords, where they succeeded 
 in crossing in spite of resistance from Captain Collins, of the 15th 
 Virginia cavalry. At the same time Couch's 2d Corps prepared 
 to cross at United States ford below. 
 
 In front of Banks' and Ely's fords General Lee had two 
 brigades of Anderson's division, Posey's and Mahone's, and one 
 battery in all about 8,000 men. Upon the approach of the 
 enemy this force was withdrawn and concentrated at Chancel- 
 lorsville, where it was joined upon the morning of the 30th by 
 Wright's brigade, which had been sent up to reenforce it. The 
 enemy still pressing on, reenforced now by Couch's Corps from 
 United States ford making four army corps, under the imme- 
 diate command of General Hooker General Anderson fell back 
 from Chancellorsville to Tabernacle Church, on the plank road 
 five miles below, where he could be reenforced by the old Mine 
 road, running thence to General Lee's position near Fredericks- 
 burg. 
 
 Such were the relative positions of the adversaries on the 
 night of Thursday, the 30th of April. General Hooker had en- 
 tirely succeeded thus far in his plans ; his main body was over, 
 Sedgwick's column was recrossing the river to march up and 
 reunite with him, and Stoneman was streaming like a meteor 
 toward the Central Railroad. Around Chancellorsville, the 
 Federal forces were rapidly throwing up strong intrenchments, 
 and two-thirds of the difficulties and dangers of the whole cam- 
 paign seemed over. 
 
 They had just commenced.
 
 4:04: LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 \ 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 / 
 
 THE battle of Chancellorsville was a strange conflict, and it 
 took place in a singular country. Let us attempt to sketch the 
 features of the landscape, and define some of the localities of the 
 great drama. 
 
 Journeying westward from Fredericksburg over a broad and 
 excellent road, which in former days was the great highway be- 
 tween the lower Rappahannock and the mountains, the traveller 
 is called upon to decide, some five miles from the town, whether 
 he will continue in the road which he is pursuing the " old turn- 
 pike " or follow one which diverges to the left, and is known 
 as the " Orange plank road." Both lead to Chancellorsville, 
 five or six miles distant the " old turnpike " conducting him 
 straight over hill and through dale to the point in question ; the 
 " plank road " winding around so as to pass over a more level 
 country. Taking the latter, the traveller passes the ruins of 
 " Tabernacle Church," five miles from Chancellorsville ; then 
 " Aldrich's house," two miles distant ; and reaches the locality 
 of the great struggle. 
 
 Chancellorsville was (for it is now destroyed) a large brick 
 mansion, with ample wings, and was formerly used as a tavern 
 for the entertainment of travellers journeying to and fro from 
 Fredericksburg to the mountains. Standing in front of the 
 Cbancellorsville house and looking southward the traveller had 
 before -him extensive fields bounded by forests ; behind him a 
 belt of woods, through which approached the main road from 
 Ely's and United States fords, a few miles distant. By this road 
 the Federal forces reached Chancellorsville. Two or three miles 
 in front, but concealed from view by the thick growth of stunted 
 oaks and pines, was " the Furnace," an assemblage of buildings 
 for smelting iron ore. By this locality, Jackson moved from a
 
 IN THE WILDERNESS. 405 
 
 point between the ", Tabernacle Church " and Chancellorsville, 
 to gain the right flank of the enemy. A mile or two distant on 
 the right was a plain wooden dwelling house, on the left side of 
 the main road, known as " Melzi Chancellor's." Between this 
 house and Chancellorsville, Jackson fell. A few hundred yards 
 from it, in the edge of the woods on the right of the road, was a 
 small white building, known as " Wilderness Church." Just 
 beyond this point the old turnpike, which had been swallowed up 
 at Chancellorsville by the plank road, again left it the plank 
 diverging to the left, the turnpike running straight on. Two or 
 three miles beyond Chancellorsville the plank road was joined 
 by a branch, the Germanna ford plank road coming from the 
 northwest and crossing the old turnpike at " Wilderness Run," 
 five miles from Chancellorsville, where stood and still stands a 
 tall wooden building, called the " Wilderness Tavern." Here 
 Jackson was taken when he was wounded. Last of all, about 
 half a mile from the angle formed by the junction of the Orange 
 and Germanna plank roads, an eccentric independent highway 
 known as .the " Brock Road," and running from Spottsylvania 
 Court-House to Ely's ford, crossed the Orange road and the old 
 turnpike, keeping on its course without respect to either. By 
 the " Brock road " Jackson attained the old turnpike, and made 
 his attack upon the enemy's right and rear. 
 
 The country around Chancellorsville was known as " The 
 Wilderness," and the bare fields, alternating with dense and im- 
 passable thicketg, communicated to the region an appearance 
 inexpressively drear and melancholy. The houses were few and 
 lost in the interminable pines often no indications of human 
 habitation were seen for many miles ; and the only sign of life 
 which greeted the lonely traveller as he pursued his dreary jour- 
 ney in the evening over the interminable plank road, winding on 
 through the thick wood, was the mournful cry of the whippoor- 
 will that sound which was the last to greet the ears of so many 
 dying soldiers on the night of the great battle about to make this 
 sombre region more gloomy and depressing than before. 
 
 In this country of unending thickets and narrow and winding
 
 406 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 avenues, General Hooker had established himself, carefully add 
 ing to the natural strength of the position. His troops were 
 massed around Chancellorsville, and the approaches to the cen- 
 tral point were obstructed in every direction by felled trees, 
 earthworks for infantry, and redoubts for artillery. From Melzi 
 Chancellor's on the right, around toward the Furnace to the 
 southward, and across the plank road and the old turnpike below, 
 these defences extended in an unbroken line, or rather lines for 
 he had constructed additional works behind the first line, upon 
 which to fall back if hard pressed. The approach to these de- 
 fences was over narrow roads, completely commanded by hun- 
 dreds of pieces of artillery, or through thickets where the growth 
 was so dense as in many localities to prevent the passage of a 
 human body between the trunks of the trees or the matted boughs. 
 In front of all bristled an elaborate abatis of felled trees, which 
 it seemed impossible for troops tp charge across without being 
 annihilated. Yet those obstacles were surmounted ; that bristling 
 abatis passed, and the Federal works carried at the point of the 
 bayonet. 
 
 General Hooker had thus guarded elaborately against that 
 attack which, in spite of his order to his troops, he probably ex- 
 pected. Federal writers assert that Chancellorsville was selected 
 as enabling General Hooker to there intercept the army of Gen- 
 eral Lee on its " line of retreat toward Gordonsville ; " but there 
 is reason to believe that the Federal commander there halted to 
 avail himself of the character of the ground to repel an attack, 
 and from the very reasonable apprehension that if he advanced 
 further he would expose his own " line of retreat" in case of 
 disaster, back to the Rappahannock. 
 
 The left wing of the Federal army, composed of three army 
 corps under General Sedgwick, and numbering about 20,000 
 men, crossed, as we have seen, three miles below Fredericksburg, 
 on Wednesday, April 29th, and General Jackson, whose com- 
 mand was opposite that point, promptly drew up his corps in line 
 of battle to repel the anticipated attack. D. H. Hill's division, 
 commanded by General Rodes, was formed on the right of and
 
 IN THE WILDERNESS. 407 
 
 perpendicular to the railroad, near Hamilton's crossing, his 
 right extending to Massaponax Creek ; and this line was 
 strongly and rapidly fortified by the troops under fire from the 
 Federal artillery on the northern bank of the river. 
 
 As the enemy did not advance, however, either on that day 
 or the next, it became apparent that General Sedgwick's move- 
 ment was merely a feint intended to occupy the attention of the 
 Confederate commander, while the main body of the Federal 
 army crossed at some other point. 
 
 This view of the enemy's designs was soon confirmed by in-^ 
 telligence from General Stuart that General Hooker had crossed 
 the Rappahannock at Kelly's ford, on the same day, and was 
 then moving steadily t&ward the Rapidan. It was obvious that 
 General Sedgwick's part of the programme was to retain General 
 Lee at Fredericksbui'g, not to make an attack ; and that General 
 Hooker designed to reach Chancellorsville, or some other point 
 on General Lee's flank, from which he would be able to take 
 his position near Fredericksburg in flank and reverse. 
 
 The resolution of General Lee was promptly taken. Jack-^ 
 son was ordered to leave one division of his corps in front of 
 General Sedgwick near Hamilton's crossing, and proceed with 
 the three others by the military road to Tabernacle Church, 
 five miles from Chancellorsville ; and taking command of An^ 
 derson's force at that point, " attack and repulse the enemy." 
 
 This order reached Jackson about 8 o'clock in the evening,, 
 and at midnight the three divisions were on the march to Taber* 
 nacle Church. They were A. P. HiU's division, D. H. Hill's,, 
 commanded by General Rodes, and Trimble's, commanded by 
 General Colston. 
 
 The command reached Tabernacle Church on Friday, May 
 1st, and continued to advance up the plank road toward Alrich's, 
 when heavy firing from the old turnpike on the right indicated 
 that Anderson, who had been ordered to move up by that road,, 
 had met the enemy. The force with which he came in contact 
 proved to be Sykes' division of regulars, and an obstinate resist^ 
 ance was offered to his further advance. The firing becoming
 
 iOS LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 very close and heavy, Jackson halted his column, and detached the 
 brigades of Ramseur, McGowan, Heth, and Lane, which were 
 sent forward to support General Anderson. The remainder of 
 the corps was then drawn up in line of battle on the ridge in 
 rear, and directed to wait for further orders. 
 
 Jackson continued to press the enemy back toward Chancel- 
 lorsville, in spite of stubborn resistance, until he found himself 
 in front of their first line of intrenchments, and was subjected to 
 the fire of the artillery in their earthworks, which the dense 
 woods had up to that moment masked from view. The heavy 
 abatis in front of these defences rendered the result of an attack 
 very doubtful ; and finding the day far spent, Jackson determined 
 to defer further operations until the next morning. The enemy 
 had now retired from his front, and that night the command 
 bivouacked near Alrich's house, about two miles from Chancel- 
 lorsville. 
 
 While these events were occurring in front of the enemy's 
 line of works stretching north and south across the plank road 
 and old turnpike, a hot artillery duel took place near the " Fur- 
 nace," a point, as we have said, about two miles south of Chan- 
 cellorsville, directly in front of the Federal right wing. General 
 Wright had been sent with his brigade to this point to feel the 
 enemy, and here he was joined by General Stuart, who had con- 
 trived to harass General Hooker's column and impede his advance 
 by charges of cavalry, and the fire of his batteries of horse artillery, 
 all along the road from Germanna ford. The Federal infantry 
 occupied a commanding position about 1,200 yards in front, and, 
 with the design of driving them from this ground, which General 
 Wright wished to secure, General Stuart directed Major Beck- 
 ham, his chief of artillery, to open upon the enemy with four 
 pieces of his horse artillery. This was done, and the Federal 
 infantry were driven from the crest ; but the fire of Stuart's 
 pieces drew upon them the concentrated fire of several batteries 
 which were masked behind the woods, and now suddenly opened 
 all their thunders at the same moment. Further to the left, 
 from a position on Talley's farm, Captain Breathed, of the horse
 
 IN THE WILDERNESS. 409 
 
 artillery, also opened on the Federal infantry with a section of 
 rifle pieces ; but in the conflict at the " Furnace " the Confeder 
 ates sustained considerable loss. General Stuart here lost his 
 efficient Adjutant-General Major R. Channing Price, a young 
 officer of great courage and capacity. All who knew him 
 loved him, and his death was a loss to the service. 
 
 Night put an end to the contest in this portion of the field, 
 and both armies prepared for the arduous struggle which was to 
 take place on the ensuing day. 
 
 Meanwhile General Lee had arrived with the remainder of 
 Anderson's and McLaws' division. And a consultation was held 
 to determine upon the further plan of action. The position of 
 the Federal forces was peculiar. We have described it in general 
 terms on a preceding page, but note here some additional par- 
 ticulars relating to it, which will convey a better idea of the 
 difficulties with which the Confederate commander was called 
 upon to contend. General Hooker had expected an attack 
 either from the direction of Fredericksburg on the line of the 
 old turnpike, or from the direction of Spottsylvania Court-House, 
 by way of the " Furnace." Against an assault from these two 
 quarters he had guarded himself by a double line of battle some- 
 what resembling two sides of a square, his right ranging 
 along the plank road in front of Chancellorsville nearly east and 
 west, his left extending toward the river nearly north and south, 
 the angle where the two lines joined each other being below and 
 not far from the Chancellorsville house. The abatis in front 
 of the works was, as we have said, almost impassable, the 
 dense thickets presented a barrier which no courage could over- 
 come ; and behind the lines, as upon his flanks, the Federal com- 
 mander had posted his numerous artillery ready to sweep the 
 roads as the Southerners advanced. 
 
 Humanly speaking, General Hooker's position was impreg- 
 nable against an attack in front, except with a loss of life in 
 storming it frightful to contemplate ; and the design of assailing 
 him from the east or the south was speedily abandoned. 
 
 An attack upon one of his flanks promised better results ; and
 
 410 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Jackson's suggestion that he should move well to the left au<! 
 make a sudden attack upon the enemy's right and rear above 
 Chancellorsville, while another assault" was made in front, was 
 speedily assented to by General Lee. By this movement, the 
 elaborate series of defences thrown up by the enemy would be 
 rendered useless, their plan of battle reversed ; and they would 
 be compelled to face to the rear and fight, if they fought at all, 
 at a disadvantage. 
 
 Those who are familiar with the bent of Jackson's genius 
 will easily comprehend the alacrity with which he proceeded to 
 carry out General Lee's orders. These sudden and mortal 
 blows struck at an enemy rejoicing in the strength of his de- 
 fences, and prepared to hurl destruction on the assailant while 
 he himself is protected, always possessed an inexpressible charm 
 for the great leader who had delivered so many such ; and Jack- 
 eon now saw the field open for a supreme exhibition of military 
 genius, and a decisive victory. 
 
 He knew the importance of celerity and secrecy of move- 
 ment, and every preparation was made for the march at an early 
 hour on the succeeding morning. No precautions were omitted 
 calculated to mask the movement from the enemy. Experienced 
 guides were promptly secured, and General Stuart was ready 
 with his cavalry to cooperate in the enterprise by guarding the 
 front and flanks of the column, driving off scouting parties, and 
 communicating prompt intelligence of the enemy's position or 
 movements. By the assistance of this experienced commander 
 of cavalry, and through the employment of due precaution, Jack- 
 son did not doubt his ability to reach the point where he intended 
 to attack, without being discovered, and to strike a blow which 
 would decide the fate of the enemy.
 
 CHANCELLOKSVILLE. 41 J 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 CHANCELLOKSVILLE. 
 
 ON the morning of the 2d of May Jackson was early in the 
 saddle, and pushed forward his preparations with vigor, in spite 
 of a distressing cold which he had caught by sleeping without 
 sufficient covering to protect him from the humid airs of the 
 -chill spring night. 
 
 This cold had resulted from his kindly solicitude for the com- 
 fort of another. In the hasty march he seems to have left be- 
 hind him his blankets, and one of his aides threw over him a 
 heavy cape, as some addition to his scant covering. During the 
 night Jackson bethought him that the young man might be suf- 
 fering from cold in consequence of this generosity, and, rising 
 quietly, he spread the cape over the youthful sleeper, and again 
 lay down without it. The consequence was a severe cold ; and 
 this cold terminated in that attack of pneumonia which, occur- 
 ring at a time when he was enfeebled by his wound, resulted in 
 his death. If he had not thrown that cape over his sleeping aide, 
 it is probable that he would have survived his wounds. 
 
 In spite, however, of this severe indisposition, Jackson had 
 never exhibited more ardor and energy than when undertaking 
 this great movement. Its splendid details and triumphant result 
 were no doubt mapped out in his brain, and an unwonted ex- 
 citement mastered him. The enterprise was one which demand- 
 ed the highest traits of military genius. He had undertaken to 
 move, without being discovered, along the entire front of the 
 enemy, and in close proximity to their lines ; to make his way by 
 unfrequented roads and through dense thickets to their flank and 
 rear, and to attack the large force of General Hooker in his 
 intrenchments above Chancellorsville, and put every thing upon 
 the issue of the struggle. If one step went wrong in the pro- 
 gramme, his purpose would be defeated ; if he was repulsed in
 
 412 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the assault, there was no possibility of receiving assistance from 
 General Lee ; upon his skill and soldiership depended not only 
 the success of the movement which he was about to make, but 
 the very existence of the great army corps which he com- 
 manded. 
 
 The column commenced its march at daybreak. Leaving 
 the plank road about a mile and a half from Chancellorsville, 
 and occupying the attention of the Federal forces by the fire of a 
 battery under Major Pegram, Jackson pressed on steadily by 
 the Old Mine road in the direction of the Furnace ; the cavalry 
 under General Stuart moving in front and on the flanks of the 
 column, to mask the troops from the enemy. At the Furnace 
 the 23d Georgia, Colonel Best, was left to guard the road lead- 
 ing from that point toward Chancellorsville, in order to protect 
 the column against an attack on its flank in passing, and Jack- 
 son continued to advance. As the rear of the column reached 
 the Furnace, the anticipated attack took place ; the enemy sud- 
 denly advancing and assailing the 23d Georgia so unexpectedly 
 that the whole regiment, with the exception of Colonel Best and 
 a few men, was surrounded and captured. The trains of the 
 corps were also attacked by the Federal forces, but Colonel J. 
 Thompson Brown promptly placed his artillery in position, and, 
 after a brief but hot engagement, the enemy were repulsed and 
 compelled to retreat toward Chancellorsville. 
 
 The design of the Confederate commander seemed thus to have 
 been unmasked ; but such was not the fact. The enemy still had 
 no suspicion of his real intentions, and the direction in which his 
 column now moved no doubt explains this circumstance. The road 
 which Jackson followed, bends southward at the Furnace for a 
 short distance, returning, as it were, toward the point from which 
 it came ; and the enemy's writers assert that they supposed the 
 Southern troops to be in full retreat toward Spottsylvania Court- 
 House. Such was the fatal misconception of General Hooker 
 affording one more proof of the soundness of Napoleon's maxim, 
 that the first necessity of a general is to study the character of 
 his opponent. General Hooker ought to have been sufficiently
 
 OHANCELLOESVILLE. 413 
 
 acquainted with the character of Jackson to understand that to 
 retreat without a battle was no part of the military philosophy 
 of the man of Kernstown ; and that the soldier who had flanked 
 General McClellan and gotten in rear of General Pope, would 
 probably try the same strategy against General Hooker. 
 
 The column continued its rapid march its movement com- 
 pletely masked by the cavalry which attacked and drove off the 
 reconnoitring parties of the enemy its destination undreamed 
 of by the Federal army, now engrossed by Lee's attack in front. 
 Hour after hour the march continued without cessation ; the 
 troops penetrating with difficulty the wild country through 
 which they moved ; the artillery slowly toiling on through the 
 narrow roads over which the heavy engines of war had never 
 before moved. Jackson rode at the head of his column, and 
 General Stuart with his cavalry continued to protect the front 
 and flank from observation. Reaching the Brock road, running, 
 as we have said, from Spottsylvauia Court-House to Ely's ford, 
 and crossing the right flank of the enemy, Jackson continued to 
 follow it until he attained the point where it intersects the 
 Orange plank road, not far from the plank road to Germanna 
 ford, and about three miles from Chancellor sville. 
 
 At this point General Fitz Lee, commanding the cavalry 
 under General Stuart, informed Jackson that, by ascending an 
 elevation near at hand, he could obtain a good view of the posi- 
 tions of the enemy, who, taking him for a simple cavalry vidette, 
 would pay no attention to him. He accordingly proceeded to 
 the point indicated, and from which the Federal cavalry had 
 been driven. A single glance showed him the position of the 
 Federal line of battle. He was jiot yet sufficiently on the ene- 
 my's flank, and, turning to one of his aides, he said, briefly, 
 "Tell my column to cross that road." He referred to the 
 Orange plank road, and, hastening back, placed himself again al 
 the head of the troops, who continued to move by the Brock road, 
 and advanced without delay to the old turnpike.* 
 
 * General Fitz Lee gives us this incident.
 
 414 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSO1S T . 
 
 The movement had thus far been a complete success. Jack- 
 son had reached without discovery a position where he could at- 
 tack the enemy in flank and reverse, and orders were instantly 
 issued to prepare the troops for action. Those who saw him at 
 this moment declare that he had never exhibited greater anima- 
 tion and ardor. The troops moved rapidly to their positions, 
 and line of battle was promptly formed ; Rodes' division in front,, 
 on the left of the turnpike ; A. P. Hill's 'two hundred yards in 
 rear of the first line ; and Colston's at the same distance in rear 
 of the second. This disposition of the forces was subsequently 
 modified, however, in consequence of the dense undergrowth, 
 which rendered it almost impossible for the troops to move for- 
 ward in extended line of battle, and Rodes only advanced in line, 
 the two other divisions, with the artillery, moving in column 
 along the road. The only artillery which was in front and 
 ready for action at the opening of the engagement, was a section 
 of the Stuart Horse Artillery, under Captain Breathed ; and 
 these pieces moved in front of Rodes, having been ordered by 
 General Stuart to keep a few yards in rear of the skirmishers, 
 which were thrown forward about four hundred yards in ad- 
 vance. 
 
 If the reader has understood our verbal chart of the country, 
 he will perceive that the enemy was now taken at a fatal disad- 
 vantage. The old turnpike ran straight into the flank and rear 
 of the Federal right wing, and Jackson's design was to advance 
 rapidly on the line of this road, extend his line of battle well to 
 the left, and, swinging round with his left, cut off the enemy's re- 
 treat to the fords of the Rappahannock, and capture them. This 
 strange wilderness of impenetrable thickets and narrow roads 
 presented almost insuperable obstacles to the success of such an 
 undertaking ; but such was the confidence of the Confederate 
 commander in his veteran corps, trained to overcome all diffi- 
 culties upon many battle fields, that he looked forward to victory 
 as within his grasp. 
 
 The Federal lines extended across the old turnpike, close 
 now to his front ; behind these, below Melzi Chancellor's, they
 
 CIIANCELLOKSVILLE. 415 
 
 occupied strong earthworks, protecting the flank of their right 
 wing; and on the ridge at Chancellorsville, their epaukments 
 were mounted with rifled artillery, ready to sweep the approaches 
 from every quarter. General Hooker had been joined at this 
 time by the 1st and. 3d Corps of General Sedgwick's column, and 
 had six army corps at Chancellorsville. The force of General 
 Lee, in the absence of Longstreet, was about 35,000 men in all 
 and of these Jackson had taken 22,000 to make his attack 
 upon the Federal right.* 
 
 Jackson had moved so skilfully and silently that up to the 
 moment of attack the enemy did not so much as suspect his pres- 
 ence. Immediately in front of him was Sigel's llth Corps, com- 
 manded on this day by General Howard ; and Fate decreed that 
 this force should receive the last charge of Jackson. 
 
 That charge was sudden, unlocked for, decisive. At fifteen 
 minutes past five in the evening Jackson gave the order for his 
 lines to advance and charge the enemy's works ; and at the 
 word the men rushed forward with tumultuous cheers, bearing 
 straight down on the flank of the Federal right wing. The two 
 guns of Breathed opened a rapid fire in front of the line lim- 
 bering up and advancing at a gallop to secure new positions as 
 the infantry rushed on and Eodes burst like a thunderbolt upon 
 the unsuspicious troops of Howard, who ran from their suppers, 
 which they were cooking, to 'seize their arms and endeavor to 
 defend themselves. Rodes' men debouched at a double-quick 
 from the woods, uttering loud cheers, and, attacking the enemy 
 in front and flank, pressed on to their intrenchments and stormed 
 them, capturing several hundred prisoners and five pieces of ar- 
 tillery. So sudden was this attack that scarcely any organized 
 resistance was offered to the assault the Federal forces flying 
 in the wildest confusin, leaving the field strewed with their guns 
 and knapsacks. 
 
 In this attack the men of Colston's division bore a prominent 
 
 * General Lee's numbers are not understated here ; and th force under 
 Jackson is exactly stated, on the authority of Colonel A. S. Pendleton, his 
 assistant adjutant-general, an officer of very high character and intelligence.
 
 416 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSOX. 
 
 part. They advanced with great enthusiasm ; soon caught up 
 with General Rodes' line ; and, mingling with it in inextricable 
 confusion, went over the enemy's works, and aided in completing 
 the rout of the Federal forces. 
 
 Colonel Crutchfield, Jackson's chief of artillery, now hurried 
 forward his batteries, and opened a heavy fire upon the enemy's 
 epaulements near Qhancellorsville, which drew from their artil- 
 lery a furious response. This fire was directed down the road, 
 however, and inflicted small loss upon the Confederate infantry. 
 They were advancing to the right and left of the road, led by 
 Jackson in person, and those who saw him at this moment de- 
 clare that he seemed completely carried away by the excitement 
 of the moment. He leaned forward on his horse, extending his 
 arm far in front, as though he wished to "push the men for- 
 ward," and his voice was heard exclaiming, " Press forward ' 
 press forward ! " every few minutes during the entire attack 
 When not thus mastered by the ardor of battle, his right hand 
 was raised aloft with that gesture now familiar to his men, a& 
 though he were praying to the God of battles for victory.* 
 
 The charge of the Confederates had resulted in the complete 
 rout of the right wing of the Federal army. Jackson had burst 
 upon them from the woods so suddenly that they could not or 
 did not make the least resistance. Whole regiments ran without 
 firing a shot. Batteries went off at a gallop, ran into trees and 
 fences, and were captured and turned upon them. At a single 
 
 * "Frequently, during the fiercest of the conflict, he would stop, raise his 
 hand, and turn his eyes toward heaven, as if praying for a blessing on our 
 arms. The frequency with which this was done that evening attracted the 
 attention of all with him. Our troops made repeated charges, driving the 
 enemy before them every time, which caused loud and long-continued cheering 
 along our entire line, which was ever the signal for victory and General 
 Jackson would invariably raise his hand and give thanks to Him who gave 
 the victory. I have never seen him seem so well pleased with the progress 
 and results of a fight as on that occasion. On several occasions during this 
 fight, as he gassed the dead bodies of some of our veterans, he halted, raise i 
 his hand as if to ask a blessing upon them, and to pray God to save their 
 souls." MS. of Captain Wilbourn, of Jackson's staff.
 
 CHANCELLOKSVILLE. 417 
 
 
 
 blow Jackson had paralyzed the right wing of the Federal army, 
 and they were rushing in complete disorder upon the reserves. 
 A writer in a Northern journal thus describes the scene : 
 
 " The flying Germans came dashing over the field in crowds, 
 stampeding and running as only men do run when convinced that 
 sure destruction is awaiting them. I must confess that I have 
 no ability to do justice to the scenes that followed. It was my 
 lot to be in the centre of that field when the panic burst upon us. 
 May I never be a witness to another such scene ! On one hand 
 was a solid column of infantry retreating at double-quick ; on the 
 other was a dense mass of beings who were flying as fast as their 
 legs could carry them, followed up by the rebels pouring their 
 murderous volleys in upon us, yelling and hooting, to increase 
 the confusion ; hundreds of cavalry horses, left riderless at the 
 first discharge from the rebels, dashing frantically about in all 
 directions ; scores of batteries flying from the field ; battery 
 wagons, ambulances, horses, men, cannon, caissons, all jumbled 
 and tumbled together in one inextricable mass and the murder- 
 ous fire of the rebels still pouring in upon them ! To add to the 
 terror of the occasion there was but one means of escape from 
 the field, and that through a little narrow neck or ravine washed 
 out by Scott's Creek. Toward this the confused mass plunged 
 headlong. For a moment it seemed as if no power could avert 
 the frightful calamity that threatened the entire army. On came 
 the panic-stricken crowd, terrified artillery riders spurring and 
 lashing their horses to their utmost ; ambulances upsetting and 
 being dashed to pieces against trees and stumps ; horses dashing 
 over the field ; men flying and crying with alarm a perfect tor- 
 rent of passion, apparently uncontrollable. The men ran in all 
 directions. They all seemed possessed with an instinctive idea 
 of the shortest and most direct line from the point whence they 
 started to the United States Mine ford, and the majority of them 
 did not stop until they had reached the ford. Many of them on 
 reaching the river dashed in and swam to the north side, and are 
 supposed to be running yet. The stampede was universal ; the 
 disgrace general." 
 27
 
 4:18 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 
 
 The attack thus briefly described lasted for two or three hours 
 The first charge took place at half-past five or six in the after 
 noon, and the Confederate troops continued to follow the enemy 
 until after eight at night. The tangled undergrowth of the re- 
 gion rendered successful pursuit almost impossible ; but through 
 this obstinate barrier the troops rushed on, driving the enemy 
 before them until they took refuge in the strong works around 
 Chancellorsville. The Southern lines continued to press forward 
 until they reached the ridge overlooking that upon which Chan- 
 cellorsville is situated, about half a mile distant, when, in the 
 darkness, the right of the Confederate line became entangled io 
 a heavy abatis of felled trees, and the troops were compelled to 
 halt. 
 
 They were now in very great confusion the divisions of 
 Rodes and Colston having been mingled almost inextricably 
 and it was necessary to desist from the attack in order to re-form 
 the commands. This was rendered still more necessary by a sud- 
 den fire from the Federal batteries in front, scarcely hah a mile 
 distant, which swept the road and woods with shot and shell, still 
 further adding to the confusion resulting from the charge. 
 Rodes' division was accordingly ordered to fall back, and, direct- 
 ing General A. P. Hill to move with his division to the front, 
 Jackson rode forward to reconnoitre the enemy's position. 
 
 It was now nearly ten o'clock at night. The Wilderness 
 slept in the tranquil light of the moon, and from the dark 
 thickets came the continuous and melancholy cry of the whip- 
 poorwill, sounding strangely amid that scene upon which so 
 many human beings had just met in close and deadly encounter. 
 The silence was unbroken, -except by these plaintive cries of the 
 bird of night, mingled with the tramp and hum of men, as they 
 moved to their allotted positions for the new struggle which, in 
 spite of the darkness, Jackson had determined upon ; and from 
 the dark lines of the enemy near Chancellorsville, directly in 
 front, came only a confused and hollow murmur sole evidence 
 of the fact that their army was on the qui vive, and their gunnera 
 standing with lighted port-fires beside the pieces, ready to sweep
 
 CHANCELLORS VILLE. 419" 
 
 the approaches to the position which they occupied, if the rustle 
 of a leaf or the fall of a twig announced a new advance of the 
 Southerners. 
 
 Jackson's design had been only half achieved. He had 
 driven the enemy from their first line of intrenchments, and 
 doubled up their right wing on their centre. But this only 
 showed the possibility of a more decisive success. Jackson saw 
 at a glance the immense results to be achieved by vigorously fol- 
 lowing up the blow which he had already struck, and his design 
 now was to swing round with his left, interpose his corps 
 between the Federal army and United States ford, and capture 
 or destroy them, or be himself destroyed. 
 
 He wanted but " one more hour of daylight" he afterwards 
 said, to effect this great movement, and cut the enemy off from 
 the Rappahannock ; but within the hour he was himself to fall, 
 struck down by one of those incomprehensible decrees of Provi- 
 dence which men see but cannot understand. "We approach with 
 pain the details of this event, which filled the whole South with 
 grief. 
 
 Jackson had ridden forward, as we have said, to reconnoitre, 
 accompanied only by Captain R. E. Wilbourn of his staff, and 
 Captain William Randolph, with about half a dozen couriers? and 
 two men of the signal corps. The enemy were less than two 
 hundred yards in front of his lines, and no pickets had been es- 
 tablished. Thus Jackson soon found himself considerably in 
 advance of the troops, with nothing between him and the enemy. 
 Who was to blame for this neglect we have no means of ascer- 
 taining, but it resulted in the death of Jackson. 
 
 Such was his ardor at this critical moment, and so great his 
 anxiety to penetrate the movements of the enemy, doubly 
 screened as they were by the dense forest and the shadows of 
 night, that he continued his way without thought of the great 
 danger to which he was exposing himself. So real was thia 
 peril that one of his staff officers said to him : " General, don't 
 you think this is the wrong place for you ? " To which he replied 
 quickly, " The danger is all over the enemy is routed ! go
 
 420 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 back and tell A. P. Hill to press right on ! " No one presumed 
 to offer further remonstrance, and Jackson continued to advance 
 down the road toward Chancellorsville, listening for every 
 sound, and endeavoring to peer through the half darkness. 
 
 He had advanced in this manner more than a hundred yards 
 beyond his lines, and had reached a point on the road opposite an 
 unfinished weather-board house on the right, whose shell-torn 
 roof may still be seen, when suddenly, without any conceivable 
 cause, a heavy volley was fired by the Confederate infantry in his 
 rear and on the right of the road, apparently directed at him and 
 his escort. Several of the party fell from their horses ; and 
 Jackson turned to the left and galloped off in the opposite direc- 
 tion. He had not gone twenty steps into the woods when a 
 Confederate brigade, which was there drawn up within twenty 
 yards of him, delivered a volley in their turn, kneeling on the 
 right knee, as the flash of the guns showed, as though preparing 
 to guard against cavalry. By this fire Jackson was wounded in 
 three places. He received one ball in his left arm, two inches 
 below the shoulder joint, shattering the bone and severing the 
 chief artery; a second passed through the same arm, between 
 the elbow and wrist, making its exit through the palm of the 
 hand ; and a third ball entered the palm of his right hand, about 
 the middle, and passing through, broke two of the bones. 
 
 At the moment when he was struck he was holding his bridle 
 in his left hand, and his right was raised, either in the gesture 
 habitual with him, or to defend his face from the boughs of the 
 trees. His left hand immediately dropped by his side, and his 
 horse, thus no longer controlled by the rein, wheeled suddenly 
 and ran off with him from the firing, in the direction of the en- 
 emy. His helpless condition exposed him immediately to a dis- 
 tressing accident. His horse ran violently between two pine 
 trees, from one of which a low bough extended, about the height 
 of his head, to the other ; and as he passed between the trees 
 this bough struck him in the face, tore off his cap, and threw him 
 so violently back that his shoulders came in contact with his 
 horse. He did not fall, however, and soon rose erect again,
 
 CHAKCELLOESVILLE. 421 
 
 seizing the bridle with the bleeding fingers of his right hand, and 
 turning the horse into the road again. \Here Captain Wilbourn 
 succeeded in catching the reins and checking the animal, who 
 was almost frantic from terror, at the moment when, from loss 
 of blood and exhaustion, Jackson was about to fall from the 
 saddle. 
 
 The scene which the road presented at this moment was 
 gloomy and exciting. Horses mad with fright were seen run- 
 ning in every direction, in the greatest confusion some of them 
 riderless, others defying the control of their riders and in the 
 road lay the wounded and dying, making the night more tragic 
 with their groans. The whole escort of Jackson, except Captain 
 Wilbourn and Mr. Wynn, of the signal corps, were killed, 
 wounded, or dismounted. One of the signal corps, who was rid- 
 ing just behind Jackson, had his horse killed, and himself fell 
 mortally wounded. A courier was wounded, and his horse ran 
 with him into the enemy's lines, which were not more than one 
 hundred yards distant ; and Lieutenant Morrison, aide-de-camp 
 and brother-in-law of Jackson, threw himself from his horse as 
 he ran off toward the enemy's lines the animal falling dead a 
 moment afterwards. Captain Bos well, chief engineer, who hac 
 been sent to General Hill, near by, was killed, and his horse ran 
 with him into the enemy's lines before he fell ; Captain Forbes, 
 aide-de-camp to General Hill, was killed ; Captain Howard, of 
 the staff, was wounded, and his horse bore him off into the Fed- 
 eral camp ; Captain Leigh, aide-de-camp, had his horse shot under 
 him ; and two or three of General Hill's couriers were killed. 
 Near the spot where Jackson was wounded, were counted the 
 dead bodies of fourteen horses. 
 
 Such had been the lamentable result of this causeless fire 
 oflicers and men killed, others wounded, others borne off into the 
 enemy's lines ; Captain Boswell, of Jackson's staff, dragged a 
 corpse toward Chancellorsville, and Jackson himself wounded 
 unto death. 
 
 We proceed to relate the remaining particulars of the tragedy. 
 The firing had ceased as suddenly as it began, and Jackson
 
 4:22 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 back in the road near the spot where he had received the firs' 
 volley. No one but Captains Wilbourn and Wynn, of the signal 
 corps, were present now. The rest were dead or scattered. But 
 some one was seen sitting on his horse by the side of the road, 
 .and looking on, motionless and silent. This unknown individual 
 was clad in a dark dress, which strongly resembled the Federal 
 uniform ; but he was directed to " ride up there, and see what 
 troops those were " the men who had fired the volleys. The 
 stranger slowly rode in the direction pointed out, but never re- 
 turned. Who this silent personage was, is left to conjecture. 
 
 Captain Wilbourn, who was standing by Jackson, now said. 
 *' They certainly must be our troops " to which the General 
 .assented with a nod of the head, but said nothing. He was 
 looking up the road toward his lines " with apparent astonish- 
 ment," and continued to look in that direction as if unable to 
 realize that he could have been fired upon and wounded by his 
 own men. His wound was bleeding profusely, the blood stream- 
 ing down so as to fill his gauntlets, and it was necessary to act 
 promptly. Captain Wilbourn asked him if he was much injured, 
 .and urged him to make an effort to move his fingers, as the 
 ability to do this would show that his arm was not broken. He 
 .endeavored to do so, looking down at his hand during the at- 
 tempt, but speedily gave up the effort, announcing that the arm 
 was broken. An attempt made by his companion to straighten it 
 .caused him great anguish, and murmuring, " You had better 
 take me down," he leaned forward and fell into Captain Wil- 
 bourn's arms. He was so much exhausted by loss of blood, 
 that he was unable to take his feet out of the stirrups, and 
 this was done by Mr. Wynn. He was then carried by the two 
 men to the side of the road, where, in case the enemy advanced, 
 he would not be discovered, and his fall could not come to the 
 knowledge of his own troops. Here he was laid under a small 
 tree, Captain Wilbourn holding his head upon his breast, and 
 Wynn was sent back to summon Dr. McGuire, his chief surgeon, 
 ^,nd hasten up the first ambulance which could be found. The 
 messenger was also cautioned not to mention his wound to any
 
 CHAZSTCELLOKSVILLE. 423 
 
 one but the surgeon, in order that the troops, ?oon to renew the 
 attack, might not be discouraged. Captain Wilbourn then made 
 an examination of his injuries ; first removing the General's field 
 glasses and haversack which latter contained some paper, en- 
 velopes, and two religious tracts and putting them on his own 
 person for safety, he proceeded, with a small penknife, to cut 
 away the sleeves of the India rubber overall, dress coat, and two 
 shirts from the bleeding arm. 
 
 . While engaged in this painful duty he heard the sound of 
 horses' hoofs approaching, and General Hill, who had succeeded 
 in checking the fire of the troops, to which he had also been ex- 
 posed, rode up. Captain Wilbourn called to him, and he ap- 
 proached dismounting immediately, with Captain B. W. Leigh, 
 serving that day on his staff. The rest of the staff and escort 
 were halted, and remained in the saddle a few paces from the 
 spot. Jackson had just murmured, " Captain, I wish you would 
 get me a skilful surgeon," when General Hill came to his side, 
 and expressed his regret at the occurrence, asking if the wound 
 was painful. Jackson replied, " Very painful," and added that 
 his " arm was broken." General Hill pulled off his gauntlets, 
 which were full of blood, and Lieutenant Smith, his aide-de-camp, 
 who had just arrived, removed his sabre and belt. The arm, 
 now much swollen, was tied up with a handkerchief; and as it 
 had ceased bleeding, and Jackson did not complain, or exhibit 
 any marks of suffering, those around him indulged the hope that 
 the artery was not cut. He was painfully weak, however, and 
 it was necessary that some stimulant should be administered. 
 A flask, containing a small quantity of whiskey or brandy, was 
 furnished by one of the party, and this was held to his lips. He 
 swallowed the spirits with manifest repugnance, and then called 
 for water, which was handed him in a canteen, and of which he 
 drank freely. This seemed to give him strength, but his con- 
 dition was still critical, and it seemed impossible to move him 
 without making his wound bleed afresh. 
 
 To remove him from that spot was, however, absolutely neces- 
 sary. The enemy were not more than a hundred yards distant ;
 
 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 the battle might recommence at any moment ; and the situation 
 of the wounded leader, thus exposed to both the Federal fire and 
 that of his own men, and in danger of being trampled upon by 
 the charging battalions, was critical in the extreme. Either 
 death or capture imminently threatened him ; and it was not 
 long before a new act in the tragic drama commenced. 
 
 Suddenly the voice of Captain Adams, of General Hill's 
 staff, was heard from the road, about ten or fifteen yards in front 
 of the group, calling out : " Halt ! surrender fire on them if 
 they don't surrender ! " 
 
 General Hill immediately drew his pistol, and mounting his 
 horse, moved back to take command of his line, first assuring 
 Jackson that he would keep his accident, as far as possible, from 
 the knowledge of the troops for which the General thanked 
 him. The persons halted -proved to be two Federal skirmishers 
 who at once surrendered, with an air of considerable astonish 
 ment, declaring that they were not aware they were in the Con- 
 federate lines. This incident will show how near the enemy 
 were at the moment ; and a few minutes afterwards Lieutenant 
 Morrison, who had now come up, reported that the Federal lines 
 were advancing rapidly, and were at that moment within less 
 than a hundred yards of- the spot. He exclaimed, " Let us 
 take the General up in our arms, and carry him off! " but Jack- 
 son, now very faint and pale, replied, " No ; if you can help me 
 up, I can walk." 
 
 He was accordingly lifted and placed upon his feet, when the 
 enemy's batteries in front opened with great violence, and Cap- 
 tain Leigh, who had just arrived with a litter, had his horse 
 killed under him by a shell. He leaped to the ground, near 
 Jackson, and the latter leaning his right arm upon this officer's 
 shoulder, slowly dragged himself along toward the Confederate 
 lines, the blood from his wounded arm flowing profusely over 
 Captain Leigh's uniform. The Southern troops were now in 
 motion to repulse the advance of the enemy, and as they passed 
 the wounded general, whose escort of officers indicated his rank, 
 they asked : " Who is that? who have you there?"
 
 CHANCELLOESVILLE. 425 
 
 To this the reply was, " Oh, it is only a friend of ours who 
 is wounded." 
 
 These inquiries became at last so frequent as the column 
 continued to pass, that Jackson said : " When asked, just say it 
 is a Confederate officer." 
 
 The curiosity of the troops, however, was evaded with the 
 utmost difficulty, and the men would go around the horses which 
 were led along on each side of the General, to conceal him, to 
 see if they could recognize him. Something" in the atmosphere 
 seemed to inform the veterans of the old corps that their great 
 commander was no longer in the saddle to lead them to victory ; 
 and every circumstance appeared to furnish ground for their 
 gloomy suspicions. At last the unfortunate discovery was made. 
 One of the men caught a glimpse of the General, walking bare- 
 headed in the moonlight, and suddenly exclaimed, " in the most 
 pitiful tone," says an eye-witness : " Great God ! that is General 
 Jackson ! " 
 
 An evasive reply was made to these words, indicating that 
 the man was mistaken ; and he gazed at the officer with a look 
 of blank astonishment and doubt, but passed on without further 
 words. 
 
 All this occurred before Jackson had been able to drag him- 
 self more than tAventy steps. At the point, however, which the 
 party had now reached, they found the litter hurried forward by 
 Captain Leigh ; and as the General's strength was completely 
 exhausted, he was placed upon it, and borne off by Captain 
 Leigh, Lieutenant Smith, and two men of the ambulance corps. 
 The rest of the party walked on each side, leading the horses. 
 
 The litter had scarcely begun to move, when the fire of the 
 enemy's artillery became frightful. The ridge in front of Chan- 
 cellorsville resembled the crater of a volcano vomiting forth fire 
 und iron. A hurricane of shell and canister swept the road as 
 with the besom of destruction ; and the broken ranks, riderless 
 horses, and wild confusion made up a scene of tumult which was 
 enough to try the stoutest nerves. The enemy had probably 
 understood that some cause of confusion had arisen m the Con-
 
 4:26 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 federate ranks, or suspected that another attack was about tc 
 commence, and they directed upon the road over which the 
 Southern forces were compelled to advance, the concentrated fire 
 of their heaviest artillery. A storm of grape tore through the 
 trees and along the road, mowing down the boughs, and striking 
 fire from the stones of the turnpike ; and for a moment the 
 Southern line was checked and thrown into the utmost disorder. 
 By this fire General Hill, General Fender, Colonel Crutchfield, 
 Jackson's chief of artillery, and Major Rogers, of artillery, also 
 of Jackson's staff, were wounded, and one of the men of the am- 
 bulance corps carrying the litter of the wounded General, was 
 shot through both arms, and dropped his burden. His companion 
 did likewise, hastily flying from the dangerous locality, and but 
 for Captain Leigh, who caught the handle of the litter, it would 
 have fallen to the ground. Lieutenant Smith had been leading 
 his own and the General's horse, but the animals now broke 
 away from him, in uncontrollable terror, and the tremendous 
 fire scattered the rest of the party in every direction for 
 shelter. 
 
 Under these circumstances the litter was lowered into the 
 road, and the officers lay down by it to protect themselves in 
 some degree from the merciless hurricane of grape and canister 
 which whistled through the air, and " struck myriads of sparks 
 from the flinty stone of the roadside." Jackson raised himself 
 upon his elbow and attempted to get up, but Lieutenant Smith 
 threw his arm across the General's breast and compelled him to 
 desist. They lay in this manner for some minutes without mov- 
 ing, and in the midst of the most terrific confusion. " So far as 
 I could see into our lines," says one of the party, " men and 
 horses were struggling with a most terrible death." A few 
 minutes before, the road had been crowded, declares another, 
 and now no man or beast was visible except those writhing in 
 the agonies of death. The wounded soldier and his companions 
 were the sole living human beings upon the gloomy scene. 
 
 In a little while the fire of canister veered around to the 
 opposite side ; and although the enemy continued to direct a hot
 
 CHANCELLORS VILLE. 427 
 
 fire of shell down the road, Jackson rose to his feet, leaning 
 upon Lieutenants Smith and Morrison, the latter having rejoined 
 the party, and followed by Captain Leigh bearing the litter 
 which he probably foresaw would soon again be needed, the 
 General turned aside from the road which was again filling with 
 infantry and artillery, and struck into the woods. Here he 
 dragged himself along with painful difficulty, passing lines of 
 infantry lying upon their faces. He was moving slowly through 
 the tangled undergrowth by the roadside, when General Fender, 
 who had been only slightly wounded, recognized Lieutenant 
 Smith, and asked " who it was that was wounded." Lieutenant 
 Smith replied evasively, " A Confederate officer," but as they 
 came nearer in the moonlight, General Fender recognized his 
 commander. 
 
 " Ah ! General," he said, " I am sorry to see you have 
 been wounded. The lines here are so much broken that I fear 
 we will have to fall back." 
 
 Although greatly exhausted and almost fainting from his 
 wound, Jackson exhibited at this moment the old martial fire 
 of which nothing could deprive him. He raised his drooping 
 head, and with a flash of the eye exclaimed : 
 
 " You must hold your ground, General Fender ! You must 
 hold your ground, sir ! " 
 
 This was the last order given by Jackson on the field. His 
 strength was now completely exhausted, and he asked to be per- 
 mitted to lie down upon the ground. But to this his escort 
 would not consent. The fire of the enemy's artillery was still 
 exceedingly hot, and as an advance of their infantry was mo- 
 mentarily expected, it was necessary to move on. The litter 
 brought on by Captain Leigh was now again put in requisition ; 
 the fainting General was laid upon it ; and some men having 
 been procured to carry the litter, the whole party continued to 
 move through the tangled wood in the direction of Melzi Chan- 
 cellor's. So dense was the undergrowth, and the ground so diffi- 
 cult, that their progress was slow and painful. An accident 
 which happened to one of the litter-bearers, was the occasion of
 
 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 more pain to the wounded man than the injuries which he had- 
 received from the bullets. One of the men caught his foot in a 
 grapevine, stumbled, and let go the handle of the litter, which 
 descended heavily to the ground. Jackson fell upon his left 
 shoulder, where the bone had been shattered, and his agony 
 must have been extreme. " For the first time," says one of the 
 party, " he groaned, and most piteously." 
 
 He was raised from the ground, and a beam of moonlight 
 passing through the dense foliage overhead, revealed the coun- 
 tenance of the soldier, pale, exhausted, with closed eyes his 
 breast covered with blood, and rising and falling with his pain- 
 ful breathing. Those around him now feared that the great loss 
 of blood had deprived him of his small remaining strength, and 
 that his life was slowly ebbing away. What a death to die ! 
 All around him was the dense and tangled wood, only half illu- 
 minated by the struggling moonbeams above him burst the 
 shell of the enemy, exploding, says an officer, " like showers 
 of falling stars ; " and when the firing lulled for a moment, they 
 heard the melancholy cry of the whippoorwill, lost in the thicket. 
 In this strange wilderness the man of Port Republic and Ma- 
 nassas, who had led so many desperate charges, seemed about to 
 close his eyes and die in the night, far from home and kindred, 
 and watched over by a few friends only whom Providence had 
 sent to bis assistance. 
 
 But such was not to be the termination of his career. When 
 asked by one of the party whether he was much hurt, he opened 
 his eyes, and said quietly, without further exhibition of pain : 
 
 " No, my friend, don't trouble yourself about me." 
 
 The litter was then again raised upon the shoulders of tho 
 men, and the party continued their way. The ground now be- 
 came still more difficult, and finding further progress through 
 the wood utterly impracticable, they turned to the left, reached 
 the road, and pressing into service new reliefs of bearers, made 
 their way to a point on the road where a solitary ambulance was 
 standing. In this ambulance Colonel Crutchfield and Major 
 Rogers had been placed when wounded. Although badly
 
 THE RESULT OF JACKSON'S MOVEMENT. 429 
 
 hurt, the latter insisted upon being taken out, to make room for 
 the General, and Jackson was laid in his place. 
 
 The General repeatedly asked for some spirits during his 
 progress to the rear, and this wau now obtained. It sensibly 
 relieved him, and, reaching Melzi Chancellor's, he found Dr. 
 McGuire, his chief surgeon. 
 
 From Melzi Chancellor's he was taken to the hospital at 
 Wilderness Run, at the intersection of the old turnpike and 
 Germanna plank road, five miles west of Chancellorsville.* 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE RESULT OF JACKSON'S MOVEMENT. 
 
 THE decisive engagement which we have attempted to de- 
 scribe should properly be called the battle of the Wilderness, to 
 distinguish it from the battle of Chancellorsville, which occurred 
 on the next day. We have, nevertheless, acquiesced in the pop- 
 ular decision, which has given the latter name to the battles 
 both of Saturday and Sunday ; and now proceed briefly to sum 
 up the exciting incidents which terminated the great struggle, 
 before returning to the proper theme of these pages. 
 
 When Jackson and Hill were both wounded and forced to 
 retire from the field, a member of General Hill's staff was de- 
 spatched to summon General Stuart, who had gone with his 
 cavalry to hold the road to Ely's ford. As soon as he arrived, 
 the command of the corps, which had temporarily devolved upon 
 General Rodes, was formally turned over to him by General 
 Hill, who was still upon the field, and he proceeded to make 
 
 * The foregoing narrative is based upon minute and most interesting MS. 
 statements from Captain R. E. Wilbourn and Lieutenant J. P. Smith, of the 
 General's staff, and a letter of Captain B. W. Leigh, serving on General Hill's 
 staff, which will be found in the Appendix to this volume. These details are 
 .now for the first time published.
 
 4:30 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 instant preparations for a renewal of the attack. Ignorant in a 
 great measure of the enemy's position, and summoned thus to 
 take command in the darkness, General Stuart requested Major 
 Pendleton to go to General Jackson and ask what his disposi- 
 tions and plans were, as he " knew that what General Jackson 
 had designed was the very best that could be done." When this 
 message was delivered to the wounded soldier at Wilderness 
 Run, he replied : " Go back to General Stuart and tell him to 
 act upon his own judgment, and do what he thinks best ; I have 
 implicit confidence in him." * 
 
 In consequence of the recent attack upon the Confederate 
 right, and the confusion of the troops which had fired into each 
 other several times, mistaking each other for the enemy, Gen- 
 eral Stuart decided not to hazard a night attack, and addressed 
 himself energetically to the task of preparing for an assault 
 upon the Federal position at dawn next day. Riding rapidly 
 along the lines, he placed each in position, enjoined silence, and 
 made every disposition for a move at daylight. A writer in one 
 of the journals describes the picturesqiie appearance of the Gen- 
 eral as he thus moved rapidly to and fro, his drawn sabre gleam- 
 ing in the moonlight, his words of good cheer inspiring the men 
 of Jackson with new ardor for the obstinate struggle which was 
 still before them. 
 
 The corps was drawn up in three lines Hill's division con- 
 stituting the first, Colston's the second, and Rodes' the third. 
 At dawn every preparation was made ; the troops were eager 
 for the encounter ; and as the sun rose splendidly, driving away 
 the mists which enveloped the wild landscape, General Stuart 
 ordered his three lines to advance upon the enemy. The men 
 bore steadily down upon the Federal position, which was not 
 half a mile in front, and soon the forest echoed with the crash 
 of musketry and artillery. With a quick eye General Stuart 
 had seen that the ridge upon the right of his line was an admi- 
 
 * This statement is made upon the authority of Colonel A. S. Pendleton, 
 Jackson's adjutant-general, who recalled the exact words used by General 
 Jackson.
 
 THE RESULT OF JACKSON's MOVEMENT. 431 
 
 rable position for artillery, and, massing rapidly upon this emi- 
 nence thirty pieces, he opened a heavy enfilading fire upon the 
 Federal batteries. The effect was important, the fire sweeping 
 every thing before it, and driving the enemy still further from 
 the plank road beyond Chancellorsville toward the river. 
 
 Met thus by this heavy and damaging fire from the Confed- 
 erate right, the Federal lines swung round and made a vigorous 
 assault upon their left. To repulse this attack, Colston's divi- 
 sion, which had been ordered to the right, was rapidly moved to 
 the left, and the three lines became merged into one line of bat- 
 tle, which was soon engaged in a bloody contest with the heavy 
 columns of the enemy, fighting now with the energy of despair. 
 General Hooker had contracted his lines, massed his forces for 
 a last struggle ; and at this critical moment the ammunition of a 
 considerable portion of the Southern troops, in consequence of 
 the hot action on the night before, was exhausted. 
 
 Every available regiment was immediately sent to the point ; 
 the troops were ordered to hold the ground at all hazards, if ne- 
 cessary with the bayonet, and the enemy were held in check. 
 The right of the line had now swung round, and about eight 
 o'clock the works of the enemy were stormed by the combined 
 forces of the Confederates, Stuart's right having connected with 
 Anderson's left, where General Lee commanded in person. 
 Three times they were won and lost, amid a deafening roar of 
 artillery and musketry. Nothing, however, availed to check the 
 Southern troops. The artillery was advanced ; the infantry 
 made their way over every obstacle, and at ten o'clock Chan- 
 cellorsville was in General Lee's possession. 
 
 The scene presented at this moment was one of overpower- 
 ing horror and magnificence. In their fiery path the shells had 
 set the woods on fire, and the forest was roaring and crackling 
 above the countless wounded, buried in their depths, and thus 
 exposed to the most agonizing of all deaths. Over the bleeding 
 bodies soared the inexorable flames ; and in many instances the 
 fallen, half torn to pieces by shell, or pierced with balls, found 
 their expiring moments hastened by the cruel tongues of fire.
 
 432 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 An inexpressible horror enveloped the scene, and in front of all 
 rose the Chancellorsville house, riddled with cannon shot, and 
 presenting one huge mass of flame. It had been set on fire by 
 shell, and now resembled the crater of a volcano, from which 
 rose jets of flame and lurid smoke, mingling with the rest, and 
 overshadowing the whole landscape with its gloomy mantle. 
 
 Such is a brief outline of this sanguinary conflict. The 
 Confederate troops never fought with more resolution, and al- 
 though they were gallantly met they carried the day. A North- 
 ern writer describing the Southern troops says : 
 
 " From the large brick house, which gives the name to this 
 vicinity, the enemy could be seen sweeping slowly, but confi- 
 dently, determinedly, and surely, through the clearings which 
 extended in front. Nothing could excite more admiration for 
 the best qualities of the veteran soldier than the manner in 
 which the enemy swept out, as they moved steadily onward, 
 the forces which were opposed to them. We say it reluctantly, 
 and for the first time, that the enemy have shown the finest 
 qualities, and we acknowledge, on this occasion, their superior- 
 ity in the open field to our own men. 
 
 " They delivered their fire with precision, and were appar- 
 ently inflexible and immovable under the storm of bullets and 
 shell which they were constantly receiving. Coming to a 
 piece of timber, which was occupied by a division of our own 
 men, half the number were detailed to clear the woods. It 
 seemed certain that here they would be repulsed, but they 
 marched right through the wood, driving our own soldiers out, 
 who delivered their fire and fell back, halted again, fired and 
 fell back as before, seeming to concede to the enemy, as a mat- 
 ter of course, the superiority which they evidently felt them- 
 selves. Our own men fought well. There was no lack of cour- 
 age, but an evident feeling, apparently the result of having been 
 so often whipped, or of having witnessed the rout on the night 
 previous, that they were destined to be beaten, and the only 
 Dhing for them to do was to fire and retreat. The enemy felt 
 confident that they were to be victorious, and our men had, from
 
 THE KESULT OF JACKSON's MOVEMENT. 433 
 
 some occasion, imbibed the same impression. Our men showed 
 lack of earnestness and enthusiasm, but no want of courage. 
 All that they needed was the inspiration of a series of victories 
 to look back upon, and an earnestness and confidence in the suc- 
 cess of the cause for which they were fighting. Thus ended 
 the Sabbath and another chapter in the series of our dis- 
 asters." 
 
 On the afternoon of Sunday, May 3d, General Lee was in 
 line of battle along the plank road with his centre at Chancel- 
 lorsville. A final advance was just on the point of being made 
 when intelligence arrived that General Sedgwick had recrossed 
 into Fredericksburg, stormed Marye's hill, captured a portion of 
 the Confederate force there, and was now advancing up the main 
 road to form a junction with General Hooker at Chancellorsville. 
 This movement of so heavy a force against his flank made it 
 necessary for General Lee to delay his advance upon General 
 Hooker ; and the divisions of Anderson and McLaws were sent 
 to meet Sedgwick. At Salem Church, about five miles from 
 Fredericksburg, they encountered Barksdale and Wilcox falling 
 back before the enemy, who pressed them hotly ; and the reen- 
 forcements just came in time. General Sedgwick was held in 
 check until night ; and on the next morning General Lee, who 
 had arrived during the night, vigorously attacked him and drove 
 him back in confusion on Banks' ford. He was pursued to that 
 point, and barely had time to cross on his pontoons when the 
 Confederate artillery opened upon him. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 5th, McLaws' division was sent toward 
 United States ford, and General Lee returned with Anderson to 
 Chancellorsville to attack General Hooker. " By this time," 
 says a Northern writer, " the aspect of affairs had become ex- 
 ceedingly dark." The prospect was indeed gloomy. General 
 Hooker had been defeated in every struggle since his appearance 
 on the southern shores of the Rappahannock ; had been driven 
 from Chancellorsville, forced back upon the river and on Tues 
 day afternoon it commenced raining. 
 
 When General Lee advanced on Wednesday morning hi? ad- 
 28
 
 434 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 versary had disappeared. He had commenced the movement a& 
 far back as Sunday night ; on Monday night all his trains and 
 baggage were across, and on Tuesday night the infantry and ar- 
 tillery were moved to the Northern bank, heavy layers of pine- 
 boughs having been laid upon the pontoons to deaden the sound 
 of the wheels. 
 
 To all who witnessed these events, the movement of General 
 Hooker meant enforced retreat. He styled it " withdrawing," 
 and issued a " congratulatory order " to his troops, which is here 
 recorded. 
 
 General Order JVo. 49. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, May 6, 1863. 
 
 The Major-General commanding tenders to this army his congratulations 
 on its achievements of the last seven days. If it has not accomplished all 
 that was expected, the reasons are well known to the army. It is sufficient 
 to say they were of a character not to be foreseen or prevented by human sa- 
 gacity or resources. 
 
 In withdrawing from the south bank of the Rappahannock before deliver- 
 ing a general battle to our advesraries, the army has given renewed evidence 
 of its confidence in itself and its fidelity to the principles it represents. 
 
 By fighting at a disadvantage we would have been recreant to our trust, to> 
 ourselves, to our cause, and to our country. Profoundly loyal, and conscious- 
 of its strength, the Army of the Potomac will give or decline battle whenever 
 its interests or honor may command it. 
 
 By the celerity and secrecy of our movements, our advance and passage- 
 of the river were undisputed, and, on our withdrawal, not a rebel dared to fol- 
 low us. The events of the last week may well cause the heart of every officer 
 and soldier of the army to swell with pride. 
 
 We have added new laurels to our former renown. We have made long, 
 marches, crossed rivers, surprised the enemy in his intrenchments ; and when- 
 ever we have fought, we have inflicted heavier blows than those we have re- 
 ceived. 
 
 We have taken from the enemy 5,000 prisoners and 15 colors, captured T 
 pieces of artillery, and placed hors du combat 18,000 of our foe's chosen 
 troops. 
 
 We have destroyed his depots filled with vast amounts of stores, damaged 
 his communications, captured prisoners within the fortifications of his capital, 
 and filled his country with fear and consternation. 
 
 We have no other regret than that caused by the loss of our brave com
 
 THE RESULT OF JACKSON^ MOVEMENT. . 435 
 
 panions ; and in this we are consoled by the conviction that they have fallen 
 in the holiest cause ever submitted to the arbitration of battle. 
 
 By command of Major-General HOOKER, 
 S. WILLIAMS, Assistant Adjutant-General 
 
 General Lee's order was as follows : 
 
 General Order No. 5 
 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMY or NORTHERN VIRGINIA, May 7, 1863. 
 
 With heartfelt gratification the General commanding expresses to the ar- 
 my his sense of the heroic conduct displayed by officers and men during the 
 arduous operations in which they have just been engaged. 
 
 Under trying vicissitudes of heat and storm you attacked the enemy, 
 strongly intrenched in the depths of a tangled wilderness, and again on the 
 hills of Fredericksburg, fifteen miles distant, and by the valor that has tri- 
 umphed ou so many fields, forced him once more to seek safety beyond the 
 Rappahannock. While this glorious victory entitles you to the praise and 
 gratitude of the nation, we are especially called upon to return our grateful 
 thanks to the only Giver of victory, for the signal deliverance He has 
 wrought. 
 
 It is therefore earnestly recommended that the troops unite on Sunday 
 next, in ascribing unto the Lord of Hosts the glory due unto His name. 
 
 Let us not forget in our rejoicing the brave soldiers who have fallen hi 
 defence of their country ; and, while we mourn their loss, let us resolve to 
 emulate their noble example. 
 
 The army and the country alike lament the absence for a time of one to 
 whose bravery, energy, and skill they are so much indebted for success. 
 
 The following letter from the President of the Confederate States is com- 
 municated to the army as an expression of his appreciation of their success : 
 
 " I have received your despatch, and reverently unite with you in giving 
 praise to God for the success with which he has crowned our arms. In the 
 name of the people, I offer my cordial thanks to yourself and the troops under 
 your command, for this addition to the unprecedented series of great victories 
 which our army has achieved. The universal rejoicing produced by this hap- 
 py result will be mingled with a general regret for the good and the brave 
 who are numbered among the killed and the wounded." 
 
 R. E. LEE, General 
 
 The trenchant criticism of a Northern journal upon General 
 Hooker's whole campaign will appropriately conclude our brief i 
 outline. This, it must be remembered, is a Federal critique.
 
 436 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 not Confederate ; and if somewhat bitter, will not be found 
 unfair. 
 
 " In view," says this writer, " of the pleasing delusions which 
 the Administration is now endeavoring to propagate, it would be 
 well, perhaps, to outline some of the leading facts in this short 
 campaign, from which the reader can draw his own moral : 
 
 "1. It is not true that General Lee was surprised or deceived 
 by General Hooker's movement across the Rappahannock. From 
 the Richmond papers of last Saturday it is clear that the Con- 
 federate military leaders understood it perfectly, and deliberately 
 allowed our army to cross, confident of their ability to defeat, if 
 not destroy it. Forney, in the Philadelphia ' Press,' states that 
 General Hooker was induced to cross by the assurances of his 
 spies and scouts that the only army to oppose him was one of 
 40,000 under General Jackson, General Lee being sick and his 
 army scattered. The Baltimore secessionists had the same re- 
 port, and believed it. General Hooker, therefore, at the very 
 start, was the deceived party, and walked straight into the trap 
 prepared for him. 
 
 " 2. The great cavalry raid, which was an entire success, did 
 General Hooker no good, because it did not precede, instead of 
 accompanying his movements. General Lee's reinforcements 
 had all arrived before the destruction of the railroads and 
 bridges. To him this is now only a temporary inconvenience. 
 Had General Hooker retained his cavalry with his army, it 
 would have been far better for him. He could have captured 
 several thousand more prisoners when Fredericksburg was 
 taken, and, more than all, could have prevented General Jack- 
 eon's surprise of his flank and rear. They might have changed 
 the complexion of the fight. 
 
 " 3. General Hooker's division of his army was as disas- 
 trous in this instance as have been all such in former military 
 history. It is known that General Halleck utterly disapproved 
 of this dispersion of the Union forces, and the result proved that 
 \n this case, at least, he was right. If General Lee had fur- 
 nished General Hooker with a plan, it could not have been more
 
 THE RESULT OF JACKSON'S MOVEMENT. 437 
 
 to his liking. He first hurled all his forces upon General Hooker 
 and beat him ; this was on Saturday and Sunday, and then on 
 Monday he repossessed the heights of Frederickshurg, and drove 
 General Sedgwick across the river, with the loss of one-third of 
 his force. Thus General Lee, with one great army, beat two 
 smaller armies in detail. 
 
 " 4. The battles of Saturday and Sunday were indisputable 
 rebel victories, as the enemy's attack upon General Sedgwick on 
 Monday proved. The latter was defeated almost before General 
 Hooker's eyes, and the latter could not even make a diversion to 
 save him. Generals Lee and Jackson drove our army steadily 
 from point to point until it was crowded back upon the south 
 bank of the river. Our artillery, which, according to the rebel 
 accounts, was splendidly served, no doubt saved what remained 
 of the army. 
 
 "5. The retreat across the river, according to General Lee's 
 despatch to Jeff. Davis, commenced on Sunday night, and was 
 in consequence of his signal victory. The Administration's 
 statement is that it was commenced on Tuesday night, simply 
 as a matter of precaution on account of the storm and the rising 
 stream. General Lee's account has all the known facts and the 
 probabilities on its side. The Union correspondents all agree 
 that the stores and baggage were moved to the north bank on 
 Monday, leaving nothing but the artillery and infantry to cross 
 on Tuesday. The fierce storm of that day probably saved the 
 bulk of our army, which was passed over at night. 
 
 " 6. General Hooker's statement of his losses reads as if it 
 was made by General Wadsworth. He says his total loss in 
 killed, wounded, and missing will not be more than 10,000 
 men. If this be true, there are several circumstances that need 
 explaining badly. General Sedgwick alone., all the accounts 
 agree, lost one-third his force, or about 6,000 men ; but call it 
 5,000. The capture of Fredericksburg, and the storming of the 
 heights in its rear on Sunday, lost us 800 men in killed and 
 wounded. This would leave but little over 4,000 to have been 
 killed, wounded, and captured in the tremendous battles of SaU
 
 438 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 urday and Sunday, when, at the very least, 150,000 men met in 
 deadly conflict. If General Hooker and General Lee commanded 
 Chinese armies, this might have been possible ; but as they were 
 Americans on both sides, it is simply incredible. The rout of 
 the llth Corps, and the driving back of our whole lines for two 
 days in succession, must have cost us we will not say how 
 many men, but certainly more than 4,000. Judged by the other 
 battles of the war, this fight ought to have put 25,000 men hors 
 du combat. General Hooker may be right in his estimate, but 
 if he is, the fighting on both sides was disgraceful. 
 
 " But the theme is too painful to dwell upon. The whole 
 management of the campaign shows a painful lack both of ca- 
 pacity and true courage, of mental force and a high sense of 
 honor. Our rulers are alike incapable and unveracious." 
 
 Such was the epitaph of General Hooker ! 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVm. 
 
 " IT IS ALL RIGHT." 
 
 ALL day long on Sunday, while the great conflict was roar- 
 ing around Chancellorsville, Jackson lay at Wilderness Run, 
 faint, motionless, but thrilling at this sound so long familiar to 
 his ears. 
 
 Never before had the illustrious soldier been compelled to 
 retire from the field for, at Manassas, though wounded, he still 
 retained command of his brigade ; and it must have stirred his 
 soul to its depths to find himself thus powerless as an infant 
 while the great battle, big with weal or woe for his country, was 
 raging furiously a few miles distant from the couch on which 
 he lay. 
 
 But there was no choice left him. The fatal balls had torn 
 through flesh and muscle, through bone and artery. His life 
 was ebbing slowly ; and he could only submit his spirit humbly
 
 U IT IS ALL EIGHT." 439 
 
 to the decree of that God who had never deserted him, and to 
 whose mysterious will he bowed with simple, childlike resig- 
 nation. 
 
 He had been carried, as we have said, to the field hospital at 
 Wilderness Run, about five miles west of the battle-field ; and 
 here he was placed in a tent in rear of the tavern at that point, 
 under a stunted tree, which is still exhibited to the visitor. He 
 had lost so much blood in that painful progress from the front, 
 borne on a litter every moment jolting and aggravating thus the 
 extent of his injuries, that upon arriving at Wilderness Run he 
 was almost pulseless. The face from which his men had so 
 often gathered the inspiration of victory, was calm and pale ; the 
 arm which had risen reverently aloft in so many scenes of blood 
 and death was paralyzed, and lay as helpless as an infant's by 
 his side ; the great form which had towered in the front of bat- 
 tle was stretched, drained of strength and motion, on the bed of 
 a hospital. 
 
 A thorough examination was speedily made of the^ soldier's 
 wounds. They were found to be very serious ; and the result of 
 a consultation between Drs. McGuire, Black, Coleman, and 
 Walls, was that amputation of the arm should be immediately 
 resorted to. 
 
 This decision of the surgeons was guardedly communicated 
 to him. He was asked : " If we find amputation necessary, 
 shall it be done at once ? " He replied with alacrity and that 
 disregard of pain which was a part of his manly spirit : 
 
 " Yes, certainly ! Dr. McGuire, do for me whatever you 
 think right." 
 
 Preparations were accordingly made for performing the oper- 
 ation, and the patient having been put under the influence of 
 chloroform, his arm was taken off without subjecting him, appar- 
 ently, to very great pain. He slept well after the operation, 
 and when he awoke asked for Mrs. Jackson, and requested that 
 she might be sent for. 
 
 His thoughts then turned to the battle which was at the time 
 n progress, and he seemed to have no doubt that it would result
 
 440 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 in victory for the Confederates. He spoke of the attack which- 
 he had made on the preceding evenins, and said with a glow of 
 martial ardor and a proud smile : " If I had not been wounded, 
 or had had one hour more of daylight, I would have cut off the 
 enemy from the road to United States ford ; we would have had 
 them entirely surrounded, and they would have been obliged to 
 surrender or cut their way out they had no other alternative. 
 My troops may sometimes fail in driving an enemy from a posi- 
 tion ; but the enemy always fails to drive my men from a 
 position." 
 
 He did not complain of his wounds, and never referred to 
 them unless a direct question was addressed to him on the sub- 
 ject by some one. He spoke, however, of the fall from the 
 litter as he was being borne from the field ; and, although no 
 contusion or abrasion was perceptible from this accident, de- 
 clared that it had done him serious injury. 
 
 About this time he had the satisfaction of receiving from the 
 commander whom he loved and admired so warmly, this touch- 
 ing evidence of his sympathy : 
 
 " I have just received your note, informing me that you. 
 were wounded. I cannot express my regret at the occurrence. 
 Could I have directed events, I should have chosen, for the good 
 of the country, to have been disabled in your stead. I con- 
 gratulate you on the victory which is due to your skill and 
 energy." 
 
 This recognition from his commanding general of the loss 
 which the cause had sustained when he was wounded, proved 
 grateful to his feelings ; but upon reading it he reverently said : 
 " General Lee should give the glory to God." 
 
 The regret of General Lee at this deplorable event was in- 
 deed poignant. The soul of the great commander was moved 
 to its depths ; and he who had so long learned to conceal emo- 
 tion, could not control his anguish. " Jackson will not he can- 
 not die ! " General Lee exclaimed, in a broken voice, and wav- 
 ing every one from him with his hand " he cannot die ! " 
 
 But the hours were hastening on Sunday passed ; the
 
 U IT IS ALL RIGHT." 441 
 
 wounded man sleeping well in the afternoon and Monday 
 came. His physicians now deemed it advisable to remove him 
 to some point where he could be more quiet ; and, accordingly, 
 he was carried to Mr. Chandler's, near Guinea's Depot, on the 
 Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, about eight 
 miles from Hamilton's crossing, where every arrangement was 
 made to ensure his comfort and careful treatment. During the 
 ride from the Wilderness to Guinea's he complained greatly of 
 the heat of the day, and, in addition to the wet applications ap- 
 plied to his wound, begged that a wet cloth might be laid upon 
 his stomach. He declared that this gave him great relief. 
 
 During the ride to Guinea's he had maintained his serene and 
 cheerful bearing, and talked much in reference to the battle of 
 Saturday. He spoke of the gallant bearing of General Rodes, 
 and said that his commission as major-general ought to date 
 from that day. In this the wishes of the dying soldier were com- 
 plied with. 
 
 He seemed also very anxious to hear all the particulars 01 
 the battle of Sunday. When told of the charge of his old Stone- 
 wall Brigade, and how, led by Stuart in person, and shouting, 
 u Charge ! and remember Jackson ! " they pressed on over every 
 obstacle, his breast heaved, the old martial light came to his 
 face, and with deep emotion he exclaimed : 
 
 " It was just like them ! it was just like them ! They are a 
 noble body of men ! " 
 
 He was very much affected at the intelligence of General Pax- 
 ton's death, but seemed to derive a sorrowful satisfaction from 
 the glories which his old command had won. He asked after 
 every one whom he knew, and said : 
 
 " The men who live through this war will be proud to say 
 ' I was one of the Stonewall Brigade ' to their children." 
 
 With that modesty, however, which never left him, he has- 
 tened to guard this declaration from the appearance of egotism, 
 and added that the name of " Stonewall " did not belong to him, 
 but to his brigade. 
 
 His mind continued to dwell continually upon religious sub-
 
 442 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 jects, and his views of Providential interposition were constantly 
 present with him. Looking at his mutilated arm, he said : 
 
 " Many people would regard this as a great misfortune. I 
 regard it as one of the great blessings of my life." 
 
 An officer long associated with him said : 
 
 " ' All things work together for good to those that lore 
 God.' " 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " was the earnest reply, " that's it ! " 
 
 Speculating with this officer upon the question whether those 
 miraculously cured of the palsy by our Saviour ever had a re- 
 turn of the disease, he said with great feeling : 
 
 " I do not think it could have returned, for the power was too 
 great. The poor paralytic could never again shake with the 
 palsy. Oh, for infinite power ! " 
 
 On Monday night he slept well, and seemed to have recov- 
 ered in a great measure from the nervous shock which he had 
 received from his injuries. His spirits rose, and oh Tuesday 
 morning he ate with relish, and seemed to look forward to his 
 recovery as speedy and certain. He was still somewhat annoyed 
 by the cold which he had caught on the night of the 1st of May, 
 by returning the cape spread over him by the young member of 
 his staff; but to this he attached no importance. 
 
 He said to his physician : u Can you tell me, from the ap- 
 pearance of my wounds, how long I will be kept from the 
 field ? " and when told that they were doing remarkably well, he 
 exhibited very great satisfaction. He had no pain in the side, 
 and thought himself well enough to see and converse with his 
 staff; but he was advised against this by his attendants, and did 
 not persist. 
 
 On Wednesday, his wounds continued to look remarkably 
 well, and he was now regarded as so far out of danger, that prep- 
 arations were made to carry him by railroad to Richmond. A 
 rain, however, which had set in, prevented this design, and he 
 was not removed. On this night, while Dr. McGuire, who had 
 not closed his eyes for three nights, was snatching a little rest, 
 the General complained of nausea, and ordered his body servant.
 
 "IT IS ALL EIGHT." 443 
 
 Jim, t-> place a wet towel on his stomach. This was done, but 
 with bad results. The surgeon was waked by Jim at daylight, 
 and informed that his master was suffering very much. The 
 pain was in the right side, and was due partly to the heavy fall 
 from the litter while being borne from the battle-field, and partly 
 to incipient pneumonia, which now began to develop itself. 
 
 This was on the morning of Thursday, and later in the day 
 Mrs. Jackson arrived. The presence of his wife seemed to afford 
 the General great joy, and thenceforth she nursed him to the 
 moment of his death. 
 
 The remainder of the sorrowful record will not fill much 
 space, or occupy the attention of the reader many moments. 
 The Supreme Ruler of the destinies of humanity had decreed 
 that this pure and majestic spirit should pass from earth to a hap- 
 pier and more peaceful realm. The hours of the great soldier were 
 numbered ; he had fought his last battle, finished his work, and 
 now was about to receive that crown laid up for those who be- 
 lieve in Him who governs all things. 
 
 Gi Thursday evening all pain had ceased, but a mortal pros- 
 tration came on, from which he never recovered. He still con- 
 versed feebly, and again said : 
 
 " I consider these wounds a blessing ; they were given me for 
 some good and wise purpose, and I would not part with them if 
 I could." 
 
 From this time he continued to sink, and on Sunday morning 
 it was obvious that he could only live a few hours longer. His 
 mind was still clear, however, and he asked Major Pendleton, his 
 Adjutant-General, " who was preaching at headquarters on that 
 day?" Mrs. Jackson was with him during his last moments, 
 and conversed with him fully and freely. 
 
 " I know you would gladly give your life for me," he said, 
 " but I am perfectly resigned. Do not be sad, I hope I shall re- 
 cover. Pray for me, but always remember in your prayers to 
 use the petition, ' Thy will be done.' " 
 
 In the event of his death, he advised her to return to her 
 father's home, and said :
 
 444 LITE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 " You have a kind, good father, but there is no one so kind 
 and good as your Heavenly Father." 
 
 His manner to every one had become full of gentleness and 
 tenderness. The great spirit was fading slowly from the world, 
 like a sun unobscured by clouds or vapors. The prospect of death 
 produced no change in him. 
 
 " It will be infinite gain," he said, " to be translated to 
 heaven, and be with Jesus." 
 
 When his wife announced to him finally with tears that his 
 last moments were approaching, he murmured calmly : 
 
 " Very good, very good ; it is all right." 
 
 Apprised thus that his final moment was approaching, he 
 sent kind messages to all his friends, the Generals and others ; 
 taking thus his leave of earth, and sending his august farewells 
 to those with whom he had fought upon so many bloody battle- 
 fields. 
 
 He expressed a wish that he might be buried in " Lexington, 
 in the Valley of Virginia " and then his mind began to wander. 
 That delirium which seizes upon the most powerful organizations, 
 the most vigorous brains, at the mysterious moment when the 
 last sands are falling from the hour-glass, began to affect him. 
 
 His thoughts reverted to the battle-field of Saturday, and he 
 exclaimed at intervals : 
 
 " Order A. P. Hill to prepare for action." 
 
 " Pass the infantry to the front ! " 
 
 " Tell Major Hawks to send forward provisions to the men ! " 
 
 He evidently believed himself once more amid the forests of 
 the Wilderness, and about to advance with his great corps upon 
 the enemy. 
 
 This martial agitation soon, however, passed away. His ex- 
 citement disappeared, his features again became serene, and he 
 murmured with a smile : 
 
 " Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of th( 
 trees ! " 
 
 The moment had indeed arrived when the illustrious leader 
 was about to pass the dark river which separates two worlds.
 
 JACKSON'S REMAINS TAKEN TO LEXINGTON. 445 
 
 and rest under the shade of the Tree of Life. From this time 
 he continued gradually to sink, and at fifteen minutes past three 
 in the afternoon, on Sunday, the 10th of May, he peacefully 
 expired. 
 
 Such was the death of Jackson. He who had passed through 
 a thousand scenes of carnage, expired upon his bed, surrounded 
 by weeping friends, who were taught by that august spectacle 
 how a Christian soldier can die. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 JACKSON'S REMAINS TAKEN TO LEXINGTON. 
 
 THE incidents which accompanied the reception of the illus- 
 trious soldier's body in Richmond and Lexington will terminate 
 our narrative. 
 
 Honors were offered to him in all parts of the country, and 
 the reader will peruse with interest these two which we have se- 
 lected from the number. General Lee wrote : 
 
 " With deep grief the Commanding General announces to the 
 army the death of Lieutenant-General Jackson, who expired on 
 the 9th, at 3.15 p. M. The daring, skill, and energy of this great 
 and good soldier, by a decree of an all-wise Providence, are now 
 lost to us. But while we mourn his death, we feel that his spirit 
 lives, and will inspire the whole army with his indomitable 
 courage and unshaken confidence in God as our hope and 
 strength. 
 
 " Let his name be a watchword for his corps, who have fol- 
 lowed him to victory on so many fields. Let officers and soldiers 
 imitate his invincible determination to do every thing in the de- 
 fence of our beloved country." 
 
 General Beauregard, commanding at Charleston, and long 
 the warm friend of the Virginian, wrote : 
 
 " The illustrious soldier, Lieutenant-General Thomas J.
 
 446 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 Jackson, is dead. The memory of his high worth, conspicuous 
 virtues, and momentous services will be treasured in the heart,, 
 and excite the pride of his country to all time. His renown is- 
 already identified with our revolution ; and even our enemy ad- 
 mits his unselfish devotion to our cause, and admires his eminent 
 qualities. 
 
 " The Commanding Generals of the First Military District 
 and of the District of Georgia, on the day following the receipt 
 of this order, Avill cause a gun to be fired every half hour, be- 
 ginning at sunrise and ending at sunset ; and the flags of every 
 post in the department will be hoisted at half-mast in token of 
 this national bereavement." 
 
 The intelligence reached Richmond on the evening of the 
 10th, and created profound depression among all classes of citi- 
 zens. On the morning of the llth it was announced that the 
 remains of the soldier would reach Richmond that afternoon in a 
 special train sent by the Governor of Virginia, and the Mayor 
 of the city requested all persons to suspend business after ten 
 o'clock in token of respect for the dead. All stores, workshops, 
 the departments of Government, and all places in which labor 
 was performed were closed. Flags were suspended' at half-mast, 
 a deep silence reigned in the streets, and in spite of the intense 
 heat large crowds remained for hours at the Fredericksburg 
 depot, waiting for the arrival of the train. 
 
 About four in the evening, amid a painful silence, only 
 broken by the tolling of the bells, the train reached Richmond 
 with its burden. The coffin was placed in a hearse, behind 
 which was stationed the General's staff, and preceded by Gen- 
 eral Elzey and his staff, the State Guard of Virginia, and two 
 regiments of infantry, moved through crowds of citizens to the 
 Governor's house. 
 
 The body was laid in the reception-room of the mansion, the 
 coffin-lid having been raised so as to show the person of the 
 dead ; a wreath of laurel was laid upon the breast, and around 
 the coffin was wrapped the snow-white banner of the Confederate- 
 States.
 
 JACKSON'S REMAINS TAKEN TO LEXINOTON. 447 
 
 That banner had been just adopted, and had never yet been 
 raised. It was thus first used to wrap the dead body of the 
 man who had fought so well for the land over which it was to 
 float. 
 
 ' The face of the dead," says a writer in one of the journals. 
 " displayed the same indomitable lines of firmness, with the long, 
 slightly aquiline nose, and high forehead, of marble whiteness ; 
 but the cheeks presented a deep' pallor. The eyelids were firmly 
 closed, the mouth natural, and the whole contour of the face 
 composed, the full beard and mustache remaining. The body 
 was dressed in a full citizen's suit, it being the object of his 
 friends, and we doubt not the nation's wish, to preserve the 
 uniform in which he fought and fell." 
 
 During the evening a few friends and the officers of govern- 
 ment were admitted, also some members of Jackson's old 
 brigade. It is said that President Davis stood long by the body, 
 gazed at the pallid face with deep emotion, and then turned 
 away and left the house in silence. A more affecting incident 
 was the appearance of an old soldier of the Stonewall Brigade. 
 The veteran stood for some moments looking at the pale face of 
 his General with tears in his eyes, then bending down pressed a 
 kiss upon the lips, and slowly retired. 
 
 During the night the body was embalmed, a plaster cast of 
 the features taken, and the corpse was placed in a metallic 
 coffin. On the next day a great and solemn pageant marked the 
 universal sense of loss. 
 
 A great procession was formed, and at the hour appointed 
 the coffin was borne to the hearse ; a signal gun was fired from 
 the equestrian statue of Washington on the square ; and to the 
 solemn strains of the " Dead March in Saul," the procession 
 began to move. The hearse was drawn by four white horses, 
 and preceded by two regiments of Pickett's division and the State 
 Guard of Virginia, with arms reversed, General Pickett and 
 his staff, the Fayette artillery, and a squadron of cavalry. Be- 
 hind came Generals Ewell, Winder, Churchill, Corse, Steuart, 
 Kemper, Garnett, and Admiral Forrest pall-bearers. These
 
 448 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 were followed by the horse of the dead soldier caparisoned foj 
 battle, and led by his body-servant ; his staff ; members of the 
 Old Stonewall Brigade with sorrowful and downcast looks ; 
 General Elzey and his staff; and then a vast array of govern- 
 ment officials, the President, members of the Cabinet, the 
 Governor of Virginia, the city authorities, with the judges, 
 citizens, and good people generally a silent and sorrowful mul- 
 titude. 
 
 The procession moved down Governor's Street and up to the 
 head of Main Street, whence it returned to the western gate of 
 the Capitol Square, where a great concourse had assembled to 
 see it enter. Sobs had accompanied it upon its way, the tears 
 not only of women but of bearded men ; such public grief had 
 not been displayed since the death of Washington. 
 
 Thus amid tolling bells, the discharge of artillery at intervals, 
 and the mournful strains of martial music, the long procession 
 reached the Capitol Square. Here it halted, and the hearse 
 moved to the western entrance of the capitol, accompanied only 
 by the pall-bearers, general officers, and the public guard. In 
 the midst of a great crowd of weeping women and children, 
 with the thunder of artillery, and the mournful music of the 
 bands filling the air, the coffin was then lifted from the hearse 
 and borne into the capitol. The Hall of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives had been draped in mourning, Confederate standards 
 folded along the face of the galleries, and here in front of the 
 speaker's chair, on a species of altar covered with white linen 
 looped up with crape, the coffin was deposited. 
 
 The face and bust were then uncovered, and the crowd was 
 admitted to gaze upon the features. Throughout the afternoon 
 multitudes continued to come and go, old men and youths, 
 women and children all taking a sorrowful look at the placid 
 features of the illustrious dead. When night came, 20,000 per- 
 sons had thus passed in front of the body. 
 
 From the capitol the remains of Jackson were borne, under 
 military escort, to Lexington, where they were received by 
 General Smith, the corps of cadets, the professors, and a large
 
 JACKSON'S REMAINS TAKEN TO LEXINGTON. 449 
 
 body of citizens. They were escorted in solemn procession to 
 the barracks of the Institute, and deposited in the old lecture- 
 room of the deceased. The room was just as he had left it two 
 years before, as no one had occupied it during his absence ; but 
 it had been draped in mourning. The coffin was placed in front 
 of the dead man's favorite chair, and amid the roar of the old 
 cadet battery, heard at intervals of half an hour throughout the 
 day, the body of the soldier lay in state in the familiar hall. 
 
 It was thus that he had returned to the beloved spot where 
 he had passed so many happy hours in other years, and to which 
 his thoughts went back in those last moments when he mur- 
 mured : 
 
 " Bury me in Lexington, in the Valley of Virginia ! " 
 
 " Lexington ! " That town had witnessed the peaceful labors 
 of the professor ; the calm researches of the quiet student ; the 
 serene enjoyments of the good husband and friend. Thence he 
 had departed to enter upon the career which was to make his 
 name renowned forever in the annals of a tragic epoch to 
 crown him with glory and honor as the right arm and chief 
 hope of a great people. He murmured " Lexington ! Lexing- 
 ton ! " as the German exile murmurs " the Rhine ! the 
 Rhine ! " 
 
 " The Valley of Virginia ! " Those words too had, doubt- 
 less, a magical influence upon the stern soul of the celebrated 
 leader. They conjured up visions of his chief glories won upon 
 that old familiar, long loved soil. They meant Kernstown ! 
 McDowell ! 'Winchester ! Cross Keys ! Port Republic ! There 
 was scarce a foot of the great highways of that region but had 
 been trodden by him and his soldiers ; scarce a mile over which 
 he had not fought. There his steps had been clogged with 
 battles, and almost every encounter was a victory. For that 
 sacred earth he had fought so long and persistently ; thence he 
 had so frequently driven the invaders ; every foot was dear to 
 him from the mouth of the beautiful Shenandoah to its source ; 
 and for its freedom he had cheerfully risked all that man pos- 
 sesses. He had delivered that lovely land from all its foes ; 
 29
 
 450 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 and, lying powerless there near Fredericksburg, his heart turned 
 fondly to the scene of his happiness and his fame. In that earth 
 which he had redeemed the soil of the Valley of Virginia he 
 desired his ashes to repose. 
 
 There they were accordingly deposited. Escorted by infan- 
 try, cavalry, and artillery, and borne to the grave upon a caisson 
 of the old cadet battery, as became the great artillerist, they 
 were consigned to the beloved earth where reposed the bodies 
 of his first wife and child. 
 
 It is said that some loving hand planted on his grave a piece 
 of laurel brought from the grave of Napoleon at St. Helena 
 thus connecting, as it were, by an invisible link, the man of 
 Austerlitz with the victor of Port Republic and Chancellors- 
 ville. 
 
 Both returned in the moments of delirium to the battle-field ; 
 but whilst Napoleon died with that fierce cry, " Tete d'Armee ! " 
 upon his lips, Jackson fell asleep in a childlike dream of rivers 
 and green trees. Napoleon trusted in his " Star " Jackson in 
 God. The former was a simple fatalist ; the motto of the Vir- 
 ginian was, " Do your duty and trust to Providence." 
 
 " It is all right," was the other motto of Jackson and he 
 clung to it even in death. Let us, too, trust that all is well, and 
 look beyond the storm with serene trust in Him who rules the 
 destinies of men and nations. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIER AND THE MAN. 
 
 WE have presented in the foregoing pages as truthful a record 
 of the events of Jackson's career, as the material at our com- 
 mand permitted. It is impossible that the main occurrences 
 have not been understood, or that the reader has not formed a 
 tolerably clear idea of the military and personal traits of the in-
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIER AND THE MAN. 45T 
 
 dividual. From the narrative, better than from any comment,- 
 those characteristics will be deduced ; but a rapid summary 
 of Jackson's traits as a soldier and a man may interest some 
 readers, and to this we now proceed. Eulogy is easy in pres- 
 ence of this great career ; but let us dismiss all such unprofitable- 
 work, and rationally inquire what endowments went to accom- 
 plish the successes of the soldier. 
 
 Jackson was a born leader, and had, underlying all, that su' 
 preme spirit of combativeness which is the foundation of rnili-- 
 tary success. It is a fancy that he did not love fighting. War 
 was horrible in his eyes, it is true, from the enormous public and 
 private misery which it occasioned ; but he none the less loved 
 the conflict of opposing forces. In battle, under his calm exte~ 
 rior, he had the gaudium certaminis. You could see that he was 
 a fighting animal, from his ponderous jaw. We say " animal,"" 
 because, at such moments, Jackson the compassionate Christian,- 
 became Jackson the veritable bull-dog. His combativeness,. 
 when thus aroused, was obstinate, enormous. To fight to the' 
 death was his unfaltering resolve, and his own invincible resolu- 
 tion was infused into his troops ; they became inspired by his 
 ardor, and were more than a match for two or three times their 
 number fighting without this stimulus. With Jackson leading 
 them in person, on fire with the heat of battle, the Stonewall 
 Brigade and other troops which had served under him long, felt 
 themselves able to achieve impossibilities. But combativeness 
 and military ardor do not make a great commander ; without 
 them no officer can accomplish much, but more is needed to- 
 achieve the glories of arms. Enterprise is necessary ; and this 
 word, for want of a better, must express a quality of Jackson's 
 mind which more than all else gave him his astonishing success.- 
 His rule was, never to allow an enemy to rest ; to attack wher- 
 ever it was possible, and to press on until all opposition was- 
 broken down and the day gained. The remarkable activity- 
 shown in his campaigns is an evidence that he possessed this; 
 trait as a General in a more eminent degree, perhaps, than any of 
 his contemporaries. A sluggish or unwary adversary was doomed
 
 152 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 already. When he least expected it, Jackson was before him 
 attacking with all the advantages of a surprise. It was said that 
 he marched his men nearly to death, and it was true. But 
 these excessive drains upon their physical strength were compen- 
 sated by victories, by spoils, and by an immense accession to the 
 moral strength of his command. Nor did he fail to preserve, 
 thus, thousands of lives, which would have been lost by more 
 deliberate and conventional warfare. He always preferred to 
 arrive, by forced marches, in face of an unprepared enemy, and 
 drive them before him, with comparatively small loss, to a more 
 leisurely advance which would find them ready to. meet him. 
 He aimed to succeed rather by sweat than blood. His famous 
 flank movements proved a terrible tax on the strength of his 
 troops ; but after their exhausting marches, the men finished the 
 work without bloodshed, almost, and soon forgot their weariness 
 in the sweet sleep which follows toil and victory. Aggressive 
 warfare was the fundamental principle of his military system. 
 He preserved the unvarying conviction, throughout his whole 
 career, that the true policy of the South was one of invasion. 
 So far did he carry this, that after Port Republic, as we have 
 seen, he was passionately bent on advancing into Pennsylvania, 
 though General McClellan was knocking at the doors of Rich- 
 mond with an army of 150,000 men. After the battles of the 
 'Chickahominy, he rose from his camp-couch one night, where he 
 was lying, talking with a friend, and violently striking the pillow 
 with his clenched hand, exclaimed : " Why don't we go to Penn- 
 sylvania now ? The Scipio Africanus policy is the best ! " To 
 march, to manoeuvre, to flank, to strike to advance, retreat, 
 keep his enemy in constant fear such was his system. He 
 never rested, and took no account of hours or seasons. He 
 seems to have considered all weather good to fight in, and to 
 have discarded the general conviction of military men that night 
 attacks are hazardous. The Bath expedition was undertaken in 
 the dead of winter ; and at Fredericksburg he projected and at- 
 tempted to execute that final assault upon the Federal army 
 which was to begin " precisely at sunset." At Chancellorsville, 
 
 I
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIER AND THE MAN. 453 
 
 at nine o'clock at night, when he fell, he was preparing for that 
 movement of his left wing which was to envelope General Hook- 
 er and decide the fate of the Federal army. No other general 
 living would have ventured upon so dangerous an undertaking ; 
 but Jackson had decided upon it without hesitation. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that unwary or indolent opponents 
 became the victims of a strategy so bold and aggressive. Gen- 
 eral Banks is an example. A more unfortunate appointment 
 could not have been made by the Federal Government. General 
 Banks seems to have been without enterprise, and greatly want- 
 ing in that watchful care which his position, in front of so dan- 
 gerous a foe, required. Jackson surprised him at Strasburg, 
 and drove him from the Valley, almost without resistance. The 
 manoeuvring around Port Republic was another example of his 
 superiority to General Fremont, whose plan of advancing with 
 one column upon Jackson's rear, while another was sent to inter- 
 cept him, was turned against him, and became the occasion of 
 his ruin. The rapidity of Jackson's marches in the Valley cam- 
 paign and the expedition to the rear of General Pope, was mar- 
 vellous ; but there was something still more striking in the en- 
 terprise which suggested these movements. To a soldier so fer- 
 tile in resources, so rapid, daring, and unhesitating, victory was 
 almost a foregone conclusion. 
 
 The difference between enterprise and foolhardiness is that 
 between calculation and chance. Jackson's military movements 
 were always based upon close calculation, and he was certainly 
 not wanting in foresight and caution. He seems to have known 
 perfectly well what it was in his power to achieve, and as 
 thoroughly what was beyond his strength. He risked much, on 
 many occasions, but appears to have been justified in his calcu- 
 lations of the ultimate result. It will be objected to him by 
 military men, that he hazarded too much at times, and was only 
 extricated by good fortune. There appears to be some justice 
 in this ; but the resources of his genius were enormous, and 
 doubled his numbers. Some of his ideas seem absurd when 
 coolly looked at. We have seen that when he was asked what
 
 454 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 iie would have done if, after the battle of Winchester, the con- 
 verging columns of the enemy had cut him off at Strasburg, he 
 replied, " I would have fallen back upon Maryland for reen- 
 iforcements." Such a movement must, it would appear, have 
 terminated in his destruction ; but it would be difficult to find a 
 man of hia old command who would have doubted his ultimate 
 triumph even then. 
 
 His genius was for great movements and decisive blows ; 
 ,and thus his services became more and more valuable as his 
 rank increased. He was better as brigadier than as colonel ; 
 better still as major-general ; and as lieutenant-general was best 
 .of all. It is useless to ask what he would have been as com- 
 mander-in-chief, without a superior at Richmond. But the brain 
 which conceived and executed the campaign of the Valley, must 
 have been equal to any position. 
 
 Jackson's other merits as a General were great. He was a 
 bad organizer and disciplinarian, but admirable in his selection 
 of men for important command. He conducted his campaigns 
 upon the soundest rules of military science ; and where he di- 
 verged from the beaten track of precedent, did so from consider- 
 ations connected with the nature of the country in which he 
 operated, the peculiarities of his adversary, or the character of 
 the troops upon which he depended. 
 
 He kept open generally his line of retreat, and provided 
 for disaster though it was hard to realize that failure ever 
 entered into his calculations. He had the soldier's eye for posi- 
 tion, and chose his ground both for infantry and artillery with 
 the exactness of genius ; but if all his arrangements were made, 
 and his plans required battle, would fight on any ground. He 
 depended most upon his infantry, but loved artillery from his early 
 ;association with that branch of the service, never appearing so 
 well pleased as when directing in person the fire of his cannon, 
 amid a shower of shot and shell. When once engaged, he 
 seemed to discard all idea of defeat, and to regard the issue as 
 assured. And what was more important, his men seemed to 
 share his conviction. Even at Kernstown he believed the Fed-
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIER AND THE MAN. 455 
 
 eral forces would have retired in teu minutes if one of his own 
 brigades had not been ordered to fall back. A man less open to 
 the conviction that he was whipped, could not be imagined. His 
 indomitable combativeness, it might have been said, made him 
 set his teeth against Fate, and endeavor to place his heel upon 
 Destiny itself. 
 
 It may be said of him with truth, that he deserved victory. 
 No man was more careful in the use of every precaution to en- 
 sure success. The idea that he blundered on without prudence 
 or system, and achieved his successes only by some mysterious 
 good fortune, is a mere, fancy. No soldier was ever less in- 
 debted to " luck ; " no one ever proceeded in military matters 
 upon profounder logic. He knew his strength and his weakness, 
 but the difference between him and others was, that he made his 
 estimates more correctly. He did not look to numbers only, but 
 to morale, the situation, and the spirits of his troops. With the 
 three hundred of Leonidas, he would have attempted great 
 things ; with the fifty thousand survivors of Napoleon's Grand 
 Amnee, crushed in morale by Waterloo, he would have attempted 
 nothing. If his men were on fire with ardor, and the enemy, 
 though treble their number, were disorganized by surprise, or 
 for other reasons, he would advance to the assault without fear 
 of defeat. 
 
 No General ever made a greater use of mystery. He saw 
 from the first that he commanded men of education, thought, 
 speculation the most inquisitive of private soldiers. Without 
 due precaution taken, they were certain to know what it was in- 
 expedient for the private soldier to know ; his designs would be 
 penetrated, and be noised abroad. Hence his inscrutable mys- 
 tery. He would not permit his men to inquire the names of the 
 towns through which they passed ; and on the march against 
 General McClellan at Richmond, issued that order directing the 
 troops to reply, " I don't know," to every question. He said 
 that if his coat knew what he designed, he would take it off and 
 burn it. He would encamp for the night at cross roads, and the 
 quidnuncs were iu despair at their inability to determine toward 

 
 456 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 what point of the compass he would march on the morrow. 
 About to abandon the Valley, he publicly directed careful maps 
 to be made of the region, as though intending a campaign there- 
 in. When one of his staff engaged dinner a few miles ahead of 
 his advancing column, he admonished him of his error. How 
 did he know that the column would pass that point? 
 
 He had the faculty of waiting for his adversary. No man 
 was ever more determined not to be forced to fight before he 
 was ready. His retreats appeared panic-stricken, but were in, 
 reality the deliberate movements of a master of the art of war,. 
 He was never more dangerous than when flying. From dreams: 
 of success, and visions of complete victory, his opponent was apt 
 to be rudely awakened. We have seen that, in May, 1862, 
 General Banks, then at Harrisonburg, telegraphed that the rebel 
 Jackson had been driven from the Valley, and was in rapid, 
 retreat on Richmond. The commentary was Jackson's swift, 
 and unexpected march upon Milroy at McDowell ; his complete 
 defeat of that officer, and his equally rapid advance upon Gen- 
 eral Banks at Harrisonburg, before which the Federal com- 
 mander was forced in turn to retreat in confusion. 
 
 Until all his arrangements were made, no adversary could 
 draw him into action. When the moment came, he saved the 
 officer opposed to him all trouble on that score. He initiated 
 the matter by attacking with all his strength. If one assault 
 failed, he made a second. If his first line gave way he brought 
 up his second. If the second had bad fortune, his reserve was 
 led into action ; and if these did not at once retrieve the fortunea 
 of the day, he placed himself in front of them and led them in 
 person, fully determined to conquer or die. 
 
 There were few who failed him at such moments. The sight 
 of Jackson upon these occasions, seemed to turn the heads of the 
 troops. They forgot all else, and grew reckless ; and when men 
 become reckless, they go far. Cedar Run, as the reader may 
 remember, furnished an instance of this. The left wing, formed 
 of Jackson's veterans, was broken, and in ten minutes the battle 
 would have been lost. There were no reserves to put in, and;
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIEK AND THE MAN. 457 
 
 Jackson rallied the troops in person. A single shout of " Stone- 
 wall Jackson ! Stonewall Jackson ! " ran along the line, and it 
 was re-formed in a moment. In front of them they saw a sword 
 shining through the smoke of action, and recognized the old 
 faded cap and piercing eyes of their chief. The result was 
 a new assault, and one of the most important of Jackson's 
 victories. 
 
 His tenacity and strength of will seemed to have no limit. 
 Nothing appeared to affect that supreme resolution. Such a 
 man is the master of fate, and with his iron hand directs events. 
 Napoleon trusted to his star, and Jackson, it was said, believed 
 in " his destiny " a word which he construed, apparently, to 
 mean success against his enemies, wherever he encountered them. 
 There seems to be good ground for the belief that he regarded 
 himself as a passive instrument in the hands of Providence to 
 accomplish great events, and had satisfied himself that the Lord 
 of Hosts would uphold him. This conviction, supported by 
 abilities of the first order, made him almost irresistible. 
 
 His intellect, in all military matters, was remarkably clear, vig- 
 orous, and practical. There are some nimble and apprehensive 
 spirits whose natures appear too sharp and delicate for every- 
 day work. To cut down a tree men do not use a razor, but an 
 axe. Jackson's military judgment was a ponderous weapon, 
 and struck straight at the obstacle. He was opposed to half-way 
 measures and in favor of decisive blows. Subtlety and dialecti- 
 cal hair-splitting found little favor with him. He knew what he 
 wanted, and had a perfectly clear idea of the means by which he 
 could secure his object. Refinements of strategy occupied ^little 
 of his attention. He was for results, and saw how to attain 
 them. Alone of all the Southern generals he was in favor of 
 attacking the Federal army on the evening of the battle of 
 Fredericksburg ; and at the council of war, held on that occa- 
 sion, is said to have started from a doze, when called upon for 
 his opinion, exclaiming, only half awake, " Drive 'em into the 
 river." All his views were aggressive, and looked to attack, 
 not defence. After Port Eepublic he said, " If the President
 
 458 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 will give me 60,000 men, I will be in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 
 in two weeks. I will undertake it with 40,000." After Cold 
 Harbor, as we have seen, he again wished to advance, exclaim- 
 ing, " The Scipio Africanus policy is the best." On the evening 
 of the first battle of Manassas, his clear military intellect, un- 
 clouded by subtleties, hesitations, or those pros and cons which 
 paralyze action, saw the whole field before him ; and he said, in 
 his curt voice : " Give me 10,000 men, and I will be in "Wash- 
 ington to-night." 
 
 He was an intense and concentrative thinker. His piercing 
 eyes saw far and deep. Without the power to utter, write, or 
 perform any notable thing in the ordinary commerce of human 
 affairs, he brought to the great game of war immense powers of 
 analysis and combination. Success was an equation which he 
 worked out with mathematical precision. When an event took 
 place like the gap left in his line at the second battle of Manas- 
 sas, and Fredericksburg, or the falling back of the Stonewall 
 Brigade at Kernstown, his whole plans miscarried. It was the 
 error in the calculation which vitiated the result. Such were 
 the faculties which seem to the present writer to have character- 
 ized Jackson, and produced his extraordinary successes. But it 
 is difficult to discard the idea, after a full consideration of his 
 career, that he was guided in his arduous campaigns by some- 
 thing resembling a species of intuition. Many of his followers 
 openly stated their belief that he was " inspired," and the mili- 
 tary critic will find, after all, in his career a certain intuition of 
 genius which cannot be classified or described. He seemed to 
 possess the faculty of seeing what was the right thing to do at 
 the right time ; not to come to his conclusion by any train of 
 logic, but at a bound. Others exhibited supreme talent, trained 
 to the highest perfection ; but Jackson's military movements 
 everywhere betrayed that subtle thing called genius. His glance 
 was like the lightning which reveals the entire landscape before 
 the benighted traveller and shows him the road. 
 
 Passing from the characteristics of Jackson the soldier we 
 may find some points of interest in the personal traits of Jackson
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIER AND THE MAN. 459 
 
 the man. It is interesting to know how such men look and 
 speak ; how they carry themselves under good or bad fortune ; 
 in what manner they " live and move and have their being." 
 Jackson's demeanor upon the field was quite absorbed, and at 
 times absent-minded, as though he were engaged in some pro- 
 found calculation, or following some subtle train of thought 
 When spoken to at such moments, his head turned quickly, his 
 eye glittered, and he listened with attention, replying in the 
 fewest words possible. His tone was curt but not discourteous. 
 His bearing, his smile, and the ready hand to his cap, on the 
 contrary, were markedly courteous, nor has the present writer 
 ever known him, under the most exciting circumstances, to lose 
 this simple and modest air of kindly good breeding. He was 
 the most approachable of corps commanders, and any private 
 soldier might be sure of a friendly reply to any question which 
 he asked. There was no air of authority, official stiffness, hau- 
 teur, assumption, or coldness in his demeanor. He " looked like 
 work," was unmoved by vanity, regarded his troops as his 
 children ; and when he fell, it was not the heart of wife and friend 
 alone that felt the blow, but thousands who no longer felt the old 
 enthusiasm preluding victory. 
 
 His air at Lexington had been that of a recluse. In the 
 army he became somewhat more sociable, but was never easy 
 and unembarrassed. His voice was low and distinct, without 
 much compass, but clear in enunciation, with all its curtness, 
 and conveying the impression of great earnestness in the speaker. 
 All the staff officers of the army liked him. In listening to a 
 communicatiin he bent over, paid close attention, and from time 
 to time nodded his head and smiled, as though pleased with the 
 accuracy of the statement. His orders were brief, clear, and 
 if necessary were repeated. This was done quietly, and with- 
 out fret or impatience. " He was the politest man I ever saw," 
 said an officer long near his person, " and I believe he consid- 
 ered it a part of his military duty." This may be true, but it 
 was not the source of his courtesy. He was by nature kindly, 
 and on many occasions displayed an exquisite sense of true cour-
 
 460 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 tesy, and spoke very nobly. Just before Chancellorsville, whilt 
 riding with General Lee, fee met Colonel Wickham, of the cav 
 airy, who received some instructions from General Lee as to the 
 disposition of his force. "When General Lee had finished, Jack- 
 son said : " Colonel, there is a gap in the line yonder ; General 
 Wright is too much to the left. Tell him to close up with your 
 cavalry." Colonel Wickham looked at the speaker, whose dress 
 exhibited no evidences of his rank, and said, " From whom 
 shall I say the order comes, sir?" " Why, Colonel," said Gen- 
 eral Lee, " don't you know General Jackson?" Colonel Wick- 
 ham bowed and replied, " I did not, General. I keep with my 
 command, and never before had the pleasure to meet or know 
 you, General Jackson." " But I knew you, Colonel," replied 
 Jackson, with the bow of a nobleman and his most winning 
 smile. This smile was very sweet. A lady described it as 
 " angelic." It was certainly the most friendly imaginable, and 
 charmed all who conversed with him. It was impossible not to 
 see that he was a man of great kindness, of an extraordinary 
 sweetness of temper, tender-hearted, easily moved to pity and 
 all pure emotions. He was very simple and unostentatious in 
 his manners and habits ; used neither tea, coffee, nor tobacco,, 
 and never touched spirit except as a medicine. When he was 
 sick one day, Dr. McGuire, his surgeon, gave him some whis- 
 key, and he made a wry face in swallowing it. Dr. McGuire 
 asked him if it was not good, when he replied : " Oh yes, very 
 good. I like liquor, both the taste and the effect, and that is the 
 reason I don't drink it I " He cared not what he ate, and would 
 sleep in a fence corner with perfect content. There never was 
 a greater sleeper. His physical constitution seemed to require 
 it, and he would drop asleep under a tree, in his chair, or in the 
 saddle on a march. " If his rest was broken for one night," 
 says Dr. McGuire, " he was almost sure to go to sleep upon his 
 horse if riding next day." On one of these occasions when he 
 was swaying unsteadily with the movements of his horse, a sol- 
 dier who did not recognize him called out and asked facetiously 
 " where he got his liquor ! " The noise woke the General, and
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIER AND THE MAN. 461 
 
 tie laughed heartily. His propensity for lying on the ground 
 had much to do with the dingy appearance of his uniform. His 
 old coat was covered with dust collected from the battle-fields 
 of many regions, as he slept upon the earth, in rude bivouac, 
 after the hard-fought day. All this endeared him to his soldiers, 
 at whose camp-fires he would stop to talk in the friendly fashion 
 of the officers of Napoleon, and whose rations he would fre- 
 quently share. The sight of his faded coat and cadet cap was 
 the sign to cheer, and " Old Jack " was personally adored, as in 
 his military capacity he was regarded by his men as the greatest 
 of leaders. Even his peculiarities became sources of popular- 
 ity, and endeared him to his troops. It was said of Suwarrow 
 that his men mimicked him, gave him nicknames, and adored 
 him. It was the same with Jackson. His troops laughed a. 
 his dingy old uniform, his cap, tilting forward on his nose, his 
 awkward strides, his abstracted air, and christening him " Old 
 Jack," made him their first and greatest of favorites. There 
 was one peculiarity of the individual, however, which they re- 
 garded with something like superstition. We refer to the singu- 
 lar fashion he had of raising his hand aloft, and then suddenly 
 letting the arm fall at his side. On many occasions he made 
 this strange gesture as his veterans moved slowly before him, 
 advancing to the charge. At such moments his face would be 
 raised to heaven, his eyes closed, and his lips would move evi- 
 dently in prayer. The same gesture was observed in him, as we 
 have seen, at Chancellorsville, while gazing at the body of one 
 of his old command. He was plainly praying, with his hand 
 uplifted, for the welfare of the dead man's soul. 
 
 We have given an outline of Jackson's chief traits as a sol- 
 dier. Intellectually, he does not appear to have been conspic- 
 uously endowed beyond the sphere of his profession. His mind 
 was sound and just, but not brilliant or original. He was a 
 good mathematician, a patient thinker, and displayed a native 
 good sense in his views and opinions, but, except in military af- 
 fairs, he exhibited no traces of genius. He was a clear and in- 
 telligent but not a powerful or original writer. Such of his let-
 
 462 LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 ters as we have seen do not differ in a noticeable degree from 
 those of mediocre men. He seemed to possess little imagina- 
 tion or poetry. His genius was practical, and dealt with the 
 phenomena of nature, the principles of science and philosophy, 
 and the realities of the world around him. It will remain an 
 interesting problem whether he would have distinguished him- 
 self in the conduct of civil affairs. It is certain that he would 
 have been a dominant man, and as President would have ad- 
 ministered the Government in accordance with his views of 
 right, without regard to persons. Whether he would have 
 proved himself as great in the cabinet or the chair of the Exec- 
 utive as in the field, is doubtful. 
 
 An officer long intimately associated with him gives an ex- 
 cellent summary of his character. 
 
 " Apparently dull in some directions," says this gentleman, 
 " he was in others an original and patient thinker. As a mili- 
 tary genius no other remains like him. Judging with quick and 
 seldom erring sagacity, he was as prompt, energetic, and success- 
 ful in action. Humble before his Maker, gentle in daily life, 
 with an amiable sweetness to chosen friends, and a sincere po- 
 liteness toward every human being, he was habitually brief and 
 decided in expression, steadfast in purpose, and when fully 
 aroused, as in the crisis of battle, sublime in the fire of his 
 spirit. A man of prayer, faith, simplicity, purity, and power." 
 
 There is little doubt that the views of the present generatioD, 
 including the writer of these pages, concerning Jackson the sol- 
 dier, are more or less mingled with undue admiration. His 
 faults are not seen ; his merits may be exaggerated. But as a 
 man, his virtues were recognized even by his opponents. The 
 trait of character which conciliated most the regard and respect 
 of his enemies, was the profound sincerity and earnestness of 
 his nature. There was no doubt about Jackson's utter truth 
 and honesty. Life with him was a serious affair, and he seemed 
 to have no time for enjoyment even. At "West Point he studied 
 conscientiously, avoiding all lighter occupations ; in Mexico he 
 betook himself to hard fighting ; and at Lexington his whole
 
 JACKSON THE SOLDIER AND THE MAN. 463 
 
 became absorbed in the performance of his humdrum du- 
 ties, and the earnest endeavor to discover the will of his Maker, 
 and conform to that will in all things. 
 
 The students laughed at the silent and awkward professor, 
 who found enjoyment apparently in nothing but religious exer- 
 cises and hard work ; but they could not understand the " great 
 thoughts " and certain joys which the taciturn soldier derived 
 from his religion. 
 
 We cannot here define the exact religious views of this emi- 
 nent man. He has been called a fatalist, from his ultra indiffer 
 ence to danger ; but fatalism, proper, is an absurdity. That he 
 held the Presbyterian view of predestination is certain ; but to 
 discover and perform the will of God, without regard to that or 
 any other dogma, was his " meat and drink." With him, his 
 religion was his life. It was the broad foundation of all his 
 thoughts and words and deeds. He seemed to live, consciously, 
 under the eye of God, and to shape all his actions with reference 
 to the divine approval. He bad no time to think whether this 
 or that in his character, his actions, or his utterances, was " con- 
 ventional " or not pleased or displeased his fellow-man, Am I 
 conforming my life to the will of God ? was always and under 
 all circumstances his only question. 
 
 From this profound and controlling piety sprung his virtues, 
 his peculiarities, and his true greatness. Contemplating the 
 profound significance, of his position as an immortal soul, tarry- 
 ing for a season only upon earth, and destined by its conduct 
 here to shape for all eternity its own weal or woe, all other 
 things became poor and inconsiderable in his eyes ; what men 
 thought of him, how he appeared in society, what dress he wore, 
 what food he eat, what worldly enjoyments he neglected, or what 
 worldly honors he missed or secured. Something of the old 
 spirit of the Man of Tarsus was in the heart of Jackson, whp 
 had his meditations and his work, and could afford to neglect the 
 purple and the feasting, and endure all things for the faith that 
 was in him. 
 
 Jackson died before he reached the age of forty, and had but
 
 464: LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON. 
 
 two years of life for the display of his great faculties. But 
 this period was long enough. In that contracted space of time 
 he accomplished results which will render his name and fame 
 immortal. Few human beings ever equalled him in the great 
 art of making war fewer still in purity of heart and life. 
 It was a nature almost altogether lovely which lay under that 
 faded uniform of the great soldier. No stain of insincerity, or 
 meanness, or vain-gloriousness marred a character which com- 
 bined the loftiest virtues of the gentleman, the soldier, and the 
 Christian. 
 
 He sleeps now, cold to praise or blame ; but a poor writer, 
 proud to have touched his hand and followed him, offers this 
 page to his Illustrious memory. 
 
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