Campaign South of James River and Petersburg--Hunter's Raid--Battle
of Monocacy--Early's Advance on Washington (1864)--Sheridan's
Movements in Shenandoah Valley, and Other Events
In pursuance of the general plan, as we have seen, General B. F.
Butler had organized at Fortress Monroe the Army of the James,
composed of the Tenth and Eighteenth Corps, commanded, respectively,
by Generals Quincy A. Gilmore and W. F. Smith. It moved by transports
up the James River on May 4, 1864, and effected a landing without
serious resistance at Bermuda Hundred the night of the 5th. At
the same time General Kautz, with 3000 cavalry, made a raid from
Suffolk and destroyed a portion of the Petersburg and Weldon
Railroad. These movements caused a hasty concentration against
Butler of all the available troops from the Carolinas. Beauregard
was put in command of them. There was some indecisive fighting
between parts of Butler's army at Stony Creek, Jarratt's Station,
and White Bridge, and there were somewhat general engagements at
Port Walthall Junction, Chester Station, Swift Creek, Proctor's
Creek, and Drewry's Bluff, and some minor affairs along the James.
Kautz, making a second successful raid, cut the Richmond and Danville
Railroad at Caulfield, destroying bridges, tracks, and depots.
The result of all was to leave Butler's command strongly intrenched
at Bermuda Hundred, but unable to advance and seriously threaten
Richmond.
The term "Bottled up," an expression used to describe Butler's
position, was derived from a dispatch of Grant to the War Department
in which he referred to Butler's situation between the James and
the Appomattox with the enemy intrenched across his front, as being
"like a bottle."( 1)
Grant ordered Smith's corps to reinforce the Army of the Potomac.
Butler attacked Petersburg on the 9th of June, chiefly with Gilmore's
corps, but, for want of co-operation by the several attacking
bodies, the place was not taken. General Butler attributed the
defeat to Gilmore's failure to obey orders and act with energy.( 2)
After Smith's withdrawal, Butler did little more than hold his
position. The Army of the Potomac crossed to the south of the
James on June 14th. An attack was made by Meade on Petersburg on
the 16th, principally with troops under Hancock and Burnside, by
which a part only of the enemy's works with one battery and some
prisoners were taken. Fighting continued on the 17th, and a general
assault was ordered at daylight on the 18th, but on advancing it
was found that the enemy had retired to an inner and stronger line.
Later in the day unsuccessful assaults were made on this new line
by portions of the Second, Fifth, and Ninth Corps. It was then
ascertained that Lee's main army had reached Petersburg, and further
efforts to take it by assault were abandoned.( 3) There was much
fighting, extending through June, by detachments of infantry, for
possession of roads, all of which, however, was indecisive. Wilson
and Kautz's cavalry divisions, on the 22d, in a raid took Reams
Station and destroyed some miles of the Weldon Railroad, and the
next day, after defeating W. H. F. Lee's cavalry near Nottoway
Station, reached Burkeville junction and destroyed the depot and
about twenty miles of railroad track. The succeeding day they
destroyed the railroad from Meherim Station to Roanoke Bridge, a
distance of twenty-five miles, but on returning they encountered
at Reams Station, on the 28th, the enemy's cavalry and a strong
force of infantry, and were defeated, with the loss of trains and
artillery. The Sixth Corps was sent to their relief, but arrived
at the Station after the affair was over and the enemy had withdrawn.( 4)
I shall not undertake to give the important movements and operations
( 5) of the troops under Grant in front of Petersburg and Richmond,
during the remainder fo the summer and the fall of 1864, as the
troops in which I was immediately interested were, early in July,
transferred to Maryland and Washington. A summary of the occurrences
in the Shenandoah Valley and West Virginia is, however, necessary
to enable the reader the better to understand important events soon
to be narrated.
General Franz Sigel, in command of the Department of West Virginia,
moved up the Valley, and was defeated at New Market on the 15th of
May. He retired to the north bank of Cedar Creek. His loss was
about 1000 killed, wounded, and captured, and seven pieces of
artillery. General George Crook, proceeding _via_ Fayetteville,
Raleigh, and Princeton, fought the battle of Cloyd's Mountain on
the 9th of May and gained a brilliant victory. He did much damage
to the enemy, and returned to Meadow Bluff, on the Kanawha. General
David Hunter relieved Sigel in command of the department on the
21st, and joined the troops at Cedar Creek in the Valley, on the
26th. Sigel was assigned to command a Reserve Division along the
line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Hunter and Crook, from their respective positions, moved towards
Staunton on the 30th. Hunter met the enemy under General W. E.
Jones at Piedmont, on June 5th, and after a severe engagement
defeated him, killing Jones and capturing about 1500 prisoners.
Hunter reached Staunton on the 6th, and was joined by Crook on the
8th. They here destroyed railroads, Confederate supplies, mills,
and factories, and, together, advanced towards Lexington on the
10th. They were now opposed by McCausland, whose command was
chiefly cavalry. Lexington was taken on the 11th, after some
fighting, and with it large quantities of military supplies. A
portion of the James River Canal and a number of extensive iron-
works were destroyed. Hunter burned the Virginia Military Institute
and all buildings connected therewith on the 12th. He also burned
the residence of ex-Governor John Letcher. Doubts have been
entertained as to whether the burning of the Institute or Letcher's
home could be justified under the rules of modern warfare. The
Institute, however, was a preparatory school for Confederate
officers, and its Principal, Colonel Smith, with 250 cadets, united
with McCausland's troops in the defence of Lexington. Letcher had
issued a violent and inflammatory proclamation inciting the population
to rise and wage a guerilla warfare on the Union troops.( 6)
Hunter proceeded _via_ Buchanan and by the Peaks of Otter road
across the Blue Ridge, and arrived at Liberty, twenty-four miles
from Lynchburg, on the 15th. Here he heard rumors through Confederate
channels of disasters to Grant and Sherman's armies, and of Sheridan's
fighting at Trevilian Station. Hunter was also told Breckinridge
was in Lynchburg with all the rebel forces in West Virginia, and
that Ewell's corps, 20,000 strong, was arriving to reinforce him.
Notwithstanding these reports, Hunter commenced an advance on the
16th on Lynchburg. His several columns met stubborn resistance on
this and the succeeding day, but at night, after a spirited affair
at Diamond Hill, he encamped his forces near the town. It became
known to Hunter on the 18th that Lieutenant-General Jubal A. Early,
with Ewell's corps from Lee's army, was at Lynchburg. Early and
Breckinridge's combined commands far outnumbered Hunter's forces.
The situation was critical for Hunter. He maintained a bold front,
however, until nightfall, and then withdrew _via_ Liberty and
Buford's Gap to New Castle and Sweet Springs. General Wm. A.
Averell with the cavalry covered the rear. The enemy pursued rather
tardily to Salem, where Early concentrated his army. Hunter chose,
in his retreat, the Lewisburg route to Charleston on the Kanawha,
rather than retire down the Shenandoah Valley or by Warm Springs
and the South Branch of the Potomac. The latter route would have
had the advantage of bringing him out at Cumberland or New Creek
on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, much nearer to his proper base
at Martinsburg or Harper's Ferry. His retreat, on the line chosen,
left the Valley, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and Baltimore
and Washington practically without defence. Hunter arrived at
Charleston on the 30th, having marched through White Sulphur Springs,
Lewisburg, and Meadow Bluff. From near Liberty, on the 16th, he
sent his supply train of 200 wagons, 141 prisoners, and his sick
and wounded in charge of Captain T. K. McCann, A.Q.M. of Volunteers,
with orders to reach the Kanawha at Charleston. The train was
guarded by parts of the 152d and 161st Ohio Volunteers--one hundred
day men, commanded by Colonel David Putnam of the former regiment.
At Greenbrier River, on the 22d, the train was attacked by the
Thurmond brothers, and forced to return to White Sulphur Springs.
From thence it proceeded through Hillsborough to Beverly, where it
arrived on the 27th.( 7) Hunter's raid, so brilliantly begun, thus
unfortunately ended.
Early reached Lynchburg on the 17th of June and assumed command of
all the forces there, including those under Breckinridge. Early
pursued Hunter to the mountains, and then, on the 23d, marched
rapidly through Staunton and down the Shenandoah Valley, with the
purpose of invading Maryland, in pursuance of instructions given
him by Lee before being detached from the latter's main army.( 8)
Sigel was now holding Maryland Heights. Early, therefore, on the
8th of July crossed the Potomac higher up the river, and reached
Frederick City, Maryland, the morning of the 9th.( 9)
Hunter's command was obliged to descend the Kanawha by boats, then
ascend the Ohio to Parkersburg, and from there move by rail to
Cumberland and points on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Hunter
did not leave Charleston until July 3d, nor Parkersburg until the
8th, and did not reach Cumberland with any part of his army until
the 9th. He was then too remote to be available in an effort to
resist Early's invasion.(10)
Early's movements in the Valley caused loud calls for troops, and
Grant ordered Ricketts' division (Sixth Corps) to Maryland. The
division left its camp in front of the Williams house on the 6th
of July, and the same day embarked at City Point for Baltimore.
It disembarked at Locust Point, near Baltimore, on the morning of
the 8th, and took cars for Monocacy Junction, where, on the same
day, parts of two brigades of the division joined General Lew
Wallace, then in command of the department.
Prior to Ricketts' arrival Wallace had only been able to gather
together, under General E. B. Tyler, two regiments of the Potomac
Home Brigade, the 11th Maryland Infantry, two Ohio one hundred day
regiments (144th and 149th), the 8th Illinois Cavalry, and a
detachment of the 159th Ohio (one hundred day regiment), serving
as mounted infantry, all new or inexperienced troops.(11) He had
only one battery of artillery. Sigel, still at Maryland Heights,
was therefore unavailable as against Early. Only the First Brigade,
numbering 1750 men, under Colonel Truax, and a part of the Second
Brigade (138th Pennsylvania, 9th New York Heavy Artillery, 110th
and 126th Ohio), 1600 strong, Colonel McClennan commanding, of
Ricketts' veteran troops reached the battle-field. Tyler went into
position on the right, covering the stone bridge, and Ricketts on
the left. The position chosen by Wallace was good, strategically,
and also strong to resist a front attack by a superior force. It
was behind the Monocacy River, covering the railroad bridge and
the public highway and another bridge, and also had for lines of
retreat the turnpikes to Baltimore and Washington. If the position
were held, communication could be kept up with these cities, also
with Sigel at the Heights. It was Early's purpose to destroy
Wallace or brush him aside and move on Washington. Early moved
from Frederick at 8 A.M., the 9th of July, and after demonstrating
on Wallace's front, marched Gordon's troops around by a ford to
fall on Ricketts' left. The latter changed front to the left to
meet Gordon. The battle opened in earnest at 10.30 A.M. The
enemy's superiority in artillery gave him a great advantage, and
most of the day Ricketts' troops held their position under an
enfilading fire from Early's batteries. The enemy's front was so
great that Ricketts, to meet it, had to put his entire command into
one line. Gordon's first and second lines were beaten back, and
his third and fourth lines were, later, brought into action on the
Union left. Early put in his reserves there, and still Ricketts'
troops were unbroken and undismayed. It was, however, evident the
unequal contest must result in defeat, hence Wallace ordered a
retreat on the Baltimore pike. Ricketts did not commence to retire
until 4 P.M., and then in good order. Tyler's troops fought well,
and held the stone bridge until Ricketts had passed off the field.
Early was so seriously hurt that he did not or could not make a
vigorous or immediate pursuit. Save some detachments of cavalry,
he halted his army at the stone bridge. The Union loss was 10
officers and 113 men killed and 36 officers and 567 men wounded,
total, 726, besides captured or missing.(12) Colonel Wm. H. Seward
(9th N. Y. H. A.) was slightly wounded and had an ankle broken by
the fall of his horse on its being shot.
The veteran Third Division lost 656 of the killed and wounded, and
the troops under Tyler 70. My former assistant adjutant-general,
Captain Wm. A. Hathaway, was killed in this action. The total
killed and wounded in the Second Brigade, from May 5th to July 9th,
inclusive, was 2033,(13) more than half the number lost under Scott
and Taylor in the Mexican War.
No report of the Confederate loss has been found, but from the
strong Union position, the character of the Confederate attacks,
and the number of wounded (400) left in hospital, it must have
largely exceeded that of the loyal army. Early says in his report,
written immediately after the battle, that his loss "was between
600 and 700."(14)
On the morning of the 10th, Early marched _via_ Rockville towards
Washington, and arrived in front of the fortifications on the
Seventh Street pike late the next day. He met no resistance on
the way. Wallace, with Ricketts, had retired towards Baltimore.
Great consternation reigned at the Capital, and the volunteer
militia of the District of Columbia were called out.
The defences were, however, feebly manned. The First and Second
Divisions of the Sixth Corps embarked at City Point on the 10th,
and a portion of the Second reached Fort Stevens on the 11th, about
the time Early reached its front, and the First Division, with the
remainder of the Second, arrived next morning. Some skirmishing
took place in front of the fort, witnessed by President Lincoln.
Many government employees and citizens were put in the trenches.
Early retreated across the Potomac to Leesburg, somewhat precipitately,
commencing after nightfall on the 12th. He again reached the Valley
on the 15th. The Sixth Corps under Wright pursued Early on the
13th, but did not come up with him. Ricketts' division rejoined
its corps on the 17th. Portions of Hunter and Crook's commands also
joined Wright, who moved _via_ Snicker's Gap into the Valley at
Berryville. Wright alternately retired and advanced his army,
crossing and recrossing the Potomac, until August 5th, when he was
at Monocacy Junction, Maryland.
It should be stated in this connection that Early sent General
Bradley Johnson with his brigade of cavalry to cut the Northern
Central and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads; he succeeded in doing
this, and also in destroying some bridges and two passenger trains.
One bridge on the railroad between Washington and Baltimore was
destroyed by Johnson while on his way to Point Lookout, Maryland,
to release Confederate prisoners. One of the principal objects
Lee had in ordering Early into Maryland was to release these
prisoners.(15) When Early retired from Washington he recalled
Johnson.
The most remarkable thing connected with the campaign just described
was the utter dispersion of the thousands of troops in West Virginia
and the Valley under Hunter, Sigel, Crook, Averell, and B. F. Kelley,
so that none of them participated in the battle of Monocacy or the
defence of Washington.
Wright had been assigned, July 13th,(16) to command all the troops
engaged in the pursuit of Early, including a portion of the Nineteenth
Corps under General W. H. Emory, just arriving by transport from
the Army of the James. Hunter still remained in command of the
Department of West Virginia. The recent failure of Hunter caused
him to be distrusted for field work, and another commander was
sought. General Sheridan was, by Grant, ordered from the Army of
the Potomac, August 2d, to report to Halleck at Washington. In a
dispatch to Halleck of August 1st, Grant said he wanted Sheridan
put in command of all the troops in the field. On this being shown
to President Lincoln (August 3d), he impatiently wired Grant:(17)
"I have seen your dispatch in which you say 'I want Sheridan put
in command of all the troops in the field with instructions to put
himself south of the enemy and follow him to the death. Wherever
the enemy goes let our troops go also.' This, I think, is exactly
right as to how our forces should move; but please look over the
dispatches you may have received from here ever since you made that
order, and discover, if you can, that there is any idea in the head
of any one here of 'putting our army south of the enemy,' or of
'following him to the death' in any direction. I repeat to you it
will neither be done nor attempted, unless you watch it every day
and hour and force it."
Sheridan reached Harper's Ferry, August 7th, and assumed command
of the newly constituted Middle Military Division, including the
Middle Department, and the Departments of Washington, Susquehanna,
and West Virginia.(18) The First Division of the cavalry, commanded
by General Alfred T. A. Torbert, reached Sheridan from before
Petersburg, August 9th. Sheridan moved on the 10th, and reached
Cedar Creek twelve miles south of Winchester on the Strasburg pike
on the 12th, encountering some opposition at Opequon Creek,
Winchester, and Newtown. Early was reinforced by Kershaw's division
of Longstreet's corps, and by other detachments from Lee's army.
The enemy manoeuvred on Sheridan's flanks, and by August 22d the
Union Army had retired to Halltown and Harper's Ferry.
Thus far Lincoln's predictions were fulfilled. But great events
were soon to follow.
( 1) _Memoirs of Grant_, vol. ii., p. 151.
( 2) _War Records_, vol. xxxvi., Part II., p. 273, 291. _Butler's
Book_, p. 677.
( 3) _Ibid_., vol. xl., p. 168.
( 4) _War Records_, vol. xl., Part II., p. 169.
( 5) The memorable "Mine explosion," under the immediate direction
of Burnside, occurred July 30, 1864.
( 6) _War Records_, vol. xxxvii., Part I., p. 97.
( 7) _War Records_, vol. xxxvii., Part I., p. 99, 101, 618-19, 683.
( 8) _Ibid_., 346, 347.
( 9) _Ibid_., 302.
(10) _War Records_, vol. xxxvii. Part I., p. 102.
(11) _Ibid_., 200.
(12) _War Records_, vol. xxxvii., Part I., p. 201-2.
(13) _Ibid_., pp. 206-7.
(14) _War Records_, vol. xxxvii., Part I., pp. 348-9.
(15) _War Records_, vol. xxxvii., Part I., pp. 349, 767, 769.
(16) _Ibid_., Part II., pp. 261, 284.
(17) _Ibid_., Part I., p. 582.
(18) _War Records_, vol. xliii., Part I., pp. 709, 719, 721.