"And thou, Dalhousie, thou great god of war,
Lieutenant-Colonel to the Earl of Mar."--_Waller._
What in the newspaper slang of the day were termed "the depredations of
guerillas," in the vicinity of Washington, induced the authorities
there to make a change in outpost commanders. Wyndham, having played
an unsuccessful game for over two months, during which time his
headquarters had been raided, and his coat and hat carried off by us in
his absence, had given it up in despair, and been sent to join his
regiment at the front. The new person selected for the position was a
major-general in the army, and a whiskered pandour, whose experience in
foreign wars, it was hoped, would devise a remedy to suppress these
annoyances. As soon as he took command, the cavalry camps in Fairfax
resounded with the busy notes of preparation for a grand expedition,
which he had resolved to undertake against us. It could no longer be
endured that the war should be waged in full view of the dome of the
Capitol, and the outposts could not stand the wear and tear of a
perpetual skirmish, and the worry of lying awake all night waiting for
an invisible foe to come and kill or capture them.
The spring campaign was about to open, and if the hostile band that
created this trouble could be exterminated, the cavalry division, then
doing duty in Fairfax, might be thrown forward to the Rappahannock to
aid Hooker's operations. The Major-General was firmly persuaded, as no
one had ever seen our camp, that the so-called guerillas were nobody
but the country farmers, who collected together at night to make their
incursions, and dispersed by day to take care of their fields and
flocks. The fights at Chantilly and Dranesville ought to have convinced
him that the men who had routed his best regiments had some training in
war, and were no such irregular band as he imagined. It is true that,
after I began operations in that region, many took up arms and joined
me, who up to that time had followed peaceful pursuits. But whenever a
citizen joined me and became a soldier, he discarded the habiliments of
peace, put on his arms and uniform, and laid aside every other
occupation.
When the struggle was over, they relapsed into the habits of their
former life, and like the Puritan soldiers of Cromwell, became as
marked for devotion to their civil duties as they had ever been in war.
As for myself, it was for a long time maintained that I was a pure
myth, and my personal identity was as stoutly denied as that of Homer
or the Devil. All historic doubts about my own existence have, I
believe, been settled; but the fables published by the Bohemians who
followed the army made an impression that still lives in popular
recollection.
There is a lingering belief that my command was not a part of the
regularly organized military force of the Southern Confederacy. The
theory of the Major-General, though contradicted by facts staring him
in the face every day, got a lodgement in the minds of some people
which has never been effaced. It was to confirm it that he now
undertook to make a reconnoissance through the region infested by us.
It happened that just at that time Hooker was preparing once more to
cross the Rappahannock, and as a preliminary movement had sent Stoneman
with the cavalry corps up the river to seize the Orange and Alexandria
railroad and hold it as the line of communication with Washington.
The line that connects an army with its base of supplies is the heel
of Achilles--its most vital and vulnerable point. It is a great
achievement in war to compel an enemy to make heavy detachments to
guard it; it is equally as great a one to destroy the force that
threatens it. It was to effect this latter object that in April, 1863,
the Major-General set out on his expedition against me with two
brigades of cavalry and a battery of artillery, which was to be the
prelude of the opening of the campaign on the Rappahannock. Now it so
happened that just about that time I received a letter from Stuart
suggesting the capture of a train on the railroad. The effect of such a
stroke of course would be to create uneasiness and alarm about the
safety of Hooker's supplies.
The following is an extract from Stuart's letter: "There is now a
splendid opportunity to strike the enemy in the rear of Warrenton
Junction; the trains are running regularly to that point. Capture a
train and interrupt the operation of the railroad, though it may be,
by the time you get this, the opportunity may be gone. Stoneman's
main body of cavalry is located near Warrenton Junction, Bealeton and
Warrenton Springs. Keep far enough away from a brigade camp to give
you time to get off your plunder and prisoners. Information of the
movements of large bodies is of the greatest importance to us just now.
The marching or transportation of divisions will often indicate the
plan of a campaign. Be sure to give dates and numbers and names, as far
as possible."
I could offer no better proof than this letter of the useful services
that may be rendered by an active partisan corps in co-operation with
the movements of an army. It not only cripples an adversary, but
communicates intelligence of his movements. Accordingly I gave notice
for a meeting at Upperville to undertake an enterprise against the
railroad. I was willing to let the Union troops down in Fairfax rest
while I turned my attention to Joe Hooker. On the evening of the day
before the meeting I had been with Beattie up to the mountain to get a
fresh horse to ride on the raid, and we returned about dark. I met a
citizen, who informed me that a large Federal force was camped at
Middleburg, and that there had been artillery firing there during the
afternoon. I thought it was merely a false report that had gotten up a
stampede, for I had not heard the firing, and I could not conceive what
they could have been firing at, as we had no troops about there. I
supposed that if they had come after me they would have tried to keep
it a secret and make as little noise as possible.
About nine o'clock that night Beattie and I rode down in the direction
of Middleburg to find out if there was any truth in the rumor. When
we got on a high hill, about a mile off, that overlooks the town, we
stopped to reconnoitre. The night was very cold, with a drizzling rain.
Not a single camp-fire could be seen anywhere; and there was nothing to
indicate the bivouacs of a military force. I said to Beattie: "This is
just as I said--nothing but a stampede about nothing. If there were any
troops about there, they would have camp-fires on such a cold night as
this." We then rode forward, but had only gone a few hundred yards
farther when we were halted and fired on by a picket. This, of course,
proved that the rumor was true.
We fell back. But it was a mystery I could not solve, why there should
be an encampment of troops in such weather without fires. Then, too,
there had been artillery firing; what could possibly have been the
reason for that? The next morning I went, according to appointment,
to meet my men at Upperville, having sent out some scouts toward
Middleburg, which is eight miles distant. My desire was to let the
Union cavalry alone at Middleburg and strike the meditated blow at
Hooker, on the railroad. The force that had come up from Fairfax after
me had now been practically eliminated from the campaign. I wanted,
therefore, if possible, to slip away from them undiscovered. Early
that morning the Major-General put his column in motion on the pike
for Upperville; but he had only gone a couple of miles before his
advance-guard was driven in by Tom Richards and a few men. This caused
him to halt and get ready for action. On the day before, on his march
up the turnpike, he had seen horsemen on the hills watching him, who,
like the Arab when he folds his tent, had silently stolen away.
On reaching Middleburg, the clouds seemed to thicken around him; for he
had seen at least a dozen perched on the heights at different places
gazing at him. They were evidently ready to light down on any
stragglers, and bear them off in their talons. The Major-General
unlimbered his guns, and opened fire on every moving object in his
sight. He did no damage to anybody; but his firing gave notice for
miles around to people to get out of his way. There was a large grove
near Middleburg, in which he proposed to bivouac that night. But before
entering it, he shelled it so effectively as not only to expel any
guerillas that might be lurking there, but all animated nature. He
carried along a newspaper correspondent to chronicle his exploits. His
letter, published in the New York _Tribune_ shortly after that, made
clear a number of things which I had not been able to understand
before reading it. It praised his consummate skill and prudence in
allowing no camp-fires during the night, as they would have lighted
the way for the guerillas to attack him; while the destructive
artillery fire with which he had raked the forest showed that he
possessed the foresight of a great general. It was also stated that he
would only permit one half of his command to sleep at a time or
unbridle and unsaddle their horses. With unconscious irony the letter
concluded by stating that the result of the expedition had
demonstrated that Mosby hadn't over twenty-five men, who had been
totally exterminated. After remaining in line of battle for some time,
waiting for me to attack him, the Major-General determined not to
advance any farther toward Upperville, which lies just at the base of
the Blue Ridge.
It was surmised that the guerillas, like the Cyclops, had taken refuge
in caves on the mountainside, and there might be danger in approaching
too closely, so he turned squarely off to his left. On his line of
march he had swept the country of all the old men he could find, for he
was firmly persuaded that in doing so he was breaking up my band. No
plea in defence would be heard. A man named Hutchison, who was 70 years
old, and had always used crutches, was among the prisoners. In vain he
pleaded his age and infirmities as proof of the impossibility of his
being a guerilla. A Vermont soldier stepped forward, and swore that he
saw him leading the charge in the fight at Miskel's farm. He was sent
to Washington as a trophy. The captives under guard marched in the rear
of the column.
About eighty men had met me at Upperville. In order to elude the
Major-General, and execute my plan of capturing a train on the
railroad, I made a detour by Salem, going on toward Thoroughfare Gap in
the Bull Run Mountains. The Major-General and myself, being ignorant of
each other's plans, had also gone the same way, in order to avoid
meeting the force that had driven in his advance from Upperville.
Somehow he had got the idea in his head that a large body of Stuart's
cavalry was in the neighborhood, and he was not looking for them. An
hour or so after I had passed through Salem, the Major-General arrived
there. He had started to return to Fairfax by making a circuit around
through Thoroughfare Gap. Without any design on his part, he had struck
right on my track. As I was marching very leisurely,--for I did not
want to get to the railroad until about dark,--he might easily have
overtaken me; but he did not seem to have the least desire to do so. He
followed me at the rate of half a mile an hour. Having got all the old
farmers prisoners, the measure of his ambition was full. He had at last
destroyed the nest of vipers. He did not believe the body of cavalry
that had gone on ahead were the very men he pretended to be looking
for.
Just as I reached Thoroughfare Gap, two of my men--Alfred Glasscock and
Norman Smith--came galloping up, and said that the enemy was pursuing
me. They had, for some reason, remained behind at Salem, and saw the
Major-General's command march through along the same road I was on. As
he was only one hour behind me there, I felt certain that he was almost
upon me. Some four miles back of where I was, the roads forked at a
village called the Plains, one leading to Thoroughfare, and the other
to Hopewell Gap in the Bull Run Mountains. I immediately wheeled
around, and crossed over on the Hopewell road and started back toward
the Plains. I supposed the Major-General was in pursuit of me, and as I
could not undertake with less than 100 men to attack in front 4000
cavalry and a battery of artillery, my intention was to try to cut off
his rear-guard before it passed the forks or the gap. But when I got on
a high hill overlooking the Plains, instead of meeting his rear-guard,
when I rode forward to reconnoitre, I saw his advance, that had just
got to the forks. I halted, so did they, while their whole column
rapidly deployed in line of battle, and the guns were placed in
battery, ready for the expected onset.
Every disposition was made by him to receive an attack. We stayed there
facing each other over one hour, until it grew dark, when I disbanded
my men. I had abandoned my enterprise against the railroad because I
supposed that it had been discovered where I was going, and that if I
went on, with the Major-General behind me and Stoneman's cavalry in
front, we would all be captured. He had learned at Salem that a body of
cavalry had passed through just ahead of him, and at the Plains he saw
that they had gone on the Thoroughfare road.
After giving us, as he supposed, ample time to get away, he started
on the same route, when, with surprise, he saw a body of cavalry
threatening him on the Hopewell road. He had no idea they were the same
cavalry whose track he was on. If he continued his line of march he
must go through one of the mountain passes, and remembering the fate of
the Persians at Thermopylæ, he determined now to halt. I took it for
granted that he had stopped to go into camp at the Plains. But he, not
knowing that I had disbanded my command and fearing a night attack, as
soon as it became dark began a retreat back toward Middleburg. Being a
cautious general, he did not go along the main public road, but cut
across fields and took private ways. The bridges across every stream he
crossed were broken down after he passed, although some were so narrow
that a man could jump over them, and trees were felled across the road
to prevent us from charging his rear. After marching all night he
reached the vicinity of Middleburg about daybreak and went into camp.
He had no idea that I had disbanded my men and gone off, but thought he
had eluded us. Now, it had never entered my head that he was going to
run away from me. Beattie and I had ridden on the same night over near
Middleburg, and I stopped at the house of George McArty. About daybreak
he came running to where we were sleeping and called out to us: "Boys!
get up quick--the Yankees are all around you." We jumped up, and two
or three hundred yards away we could see the field was blue with the
Major-General's command. We bridled and saddled our horses quickly and
rode off unmolested in full view of them. The Major-General and I had
been running away from each other a whole day and night, and then came
very near sleeping together. After taking a short rest from the fatigue
of his night march, he started back to Fairfax with the battalion of
graybeards he had taken prisoners, riding bareback with blind bridles
on broken-down plow-horses. They were marched down to Washington and
paraded through the streets to gratify the curiosity of the people.
They created a greater sensation than a circus. Such was the grand
anti-climax to the Major-General's Anabasis. It is so unique and
complete in itself that I will not mar its epic unity by adding
anything more to the narrative.
PROVOST-MARSHAL'S OFFICE, FAIRFAX COURT HOUSE, VA.,
March 9, 1863, 3.30 A.M.
Capt. Mosby, with his command, entered this town this morning at
2 A.M. They captured my patrols, horses, &c. They took
Brigadier-General Stoughton and horses, and all his men detached
from his brigade. They took every horse that could be found,
public and private; and the commanding officer of the post,
Colonel Johnstone, of the Fifth New York Cavalry, made his escape
from them in a nude state by accident. They searched for me in
every direction, but being on the Vienna road visiting outposts, I
made my escape.
L. L. CONNOR, _Provost-Marshal_.
P.S. All our available cavalry forces are in pursuit of them.
MAJ. HUNT, _Asst. Adjt. Gen._
GENERAL HEINTZELMAN'S HEADQUARTERS.
Genl. Stahel's report to War Dept. says: "On the 13th day of March,
1863, the day after General Stoughton was captured at Fairfax C.H., I
was on my way from Stafford Court House to New York, on eight days'
leave of absence. Upon my arrival in Washington, I was summoned to
report at once to President Lincoln. He told me of the capture of Genl.
Stoughton and the insecure condition of our lines in front of
Washington. The President also said that he desired to have me in
command in front of Washington to put a stop to these raids. He wrote
a letter to Gen. Heintzelman, comdg. the Dept. of Washington, and
directed me to go and see him.... On the same day, the 17th of March, I
was appointed Major-General of Volunteers, to take date from the 14th
of March, 1863."
Gen. Stahel was relieved of his cavalry command on June 28th, 1863.
HEQRS. STAHEL'S CAV. DIV., DEPT. OF WASHINGTON,
FAIRFAX COURT HOUSE, April 11, 1863.
GENERAL:--I have the honor to report with regard to the
reconnoissance under command of Brig.-Gen. J. F. Copeland, which
left this place on the 3d day of April, and returned here early
on the morning of the 6th instant, that it proceeded as far as
Middleburg, and searched diligently through that whole section
of country without meeting any enemy in force or ascertaining
definitely the whereabouts of Mosby. Small detachments of rebels,
however, were occasionally seen, but scattered on the approach of
our troops.
On the 4th instant, early in the morning, in front of Middleburg, a
collision occurred between one of his pickets and some of the
enemy's, resulting in the death of one and the wounding of another
on each side. During the expedition there were captured and
arrested sixty-one prisoners, citizens and soldiers, fifty-three
horses, two mules, a quantity of wheat, three wagons, saddles,
bridles, guns, sabres, &c., all of which were turned over to the
provost-marshal of this place, and by him to Colonel Baker
Washington, a copy of whose receipt is inclosed within ... &c.
JUL. STAHEL,
_Major-General_.
MAJ.-GEN. S. P. HEINTZELMAN,
_Commanding, &c._
There is no report on file of Major-General Stahel's expedition about
two weeks after this in search of Mosby.