THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN.
The first great battle of the war was fought near Bull Run, in Virginia.
There had been skirmishing along the Potomac, in Western Virginia, and
Missouri; but upon the banks of this winding stream was fought a battle
which will be forever memorable. The Rebels call it the battle of
Manassas. It has been called also the battle of Stone Bridge and the
battle of Warrenton Road.
Bull Run is a lazy, sluggish stream, a branch of the Occoquan River,
which empties into the Potomac. It rises among the Bull Run Mountains,
and flows southeast through Fairfax County. Just beyond the stream, as
you go west from Washington, are the plains of Manassas,--level lands,
which years ago waved with corn and tobacco, but the fields long since
were worn out by the thriftless farming of the slaveholders, and now
they are overgrown with thickets of pine and oak.
Two railroads meet upon the plains, one running northwest through the
mountain gaps into the valley of the Shenandoah, and the other running
from Alexandria to Richmond, Culpepper, and the Southwest. The junction,
therefore, became an important place for Rebel military operations.
There, in June, 1861, General Beauregard mustered his army, which was to
defeat the Union army and capture Washington. The Richmond newspapers
said that this army would not only capture Washington, but would also
dictate terms of peace on the banks of the Hudson. Hot-headed men, who
seemed to have lost their reason through the influence of slavery and
secession, thought that the Southern troops were invincible. They were
confident that one Southerner could whip five Yankees. Ladies cheered
them, called them chivalrous sons of the South, and urged them on to the
field.
But General Beauregard, instead of advancing upon Washington, awaited an
attack from the Union army, making Bull Run his line of defence,
throwing up breastworks, cutting down trees, and sheltering his men
beneath the thick growth of the evergreen pines.
The army of the Union, called the Army of the Potomac, assembled at
Arlington Heights and Alexandria. General McDowell was placed in
command. Half of his soldiers were men who had enlisted for three
months, who had suddenly left their homes at the call of the President.
Their term of service had nearly expired. The three years' men had been
but a few days in camp. Military duties were new. They knew nothing of
discipline, but they confidently expected to defeat the enemy and move
on to Richmond. Few people thought of the possibility of defeat.
Let us walk up the valley of Bull Run and notice its fords, its wooded
banks, the scattered farm-houses, and fields of waving grain. Ten miles
from the Occoquan we come to the railroad bridge. A mile farther up is
McLean's Ford; another mile carries us to Blackburn's, and another mile
brings us to Mitchell's. Above these are Island Ford, Lewis Ford, and
Ball's Ford. Three miles above Mitchell's there is a stone bridge, where
the turnpike leading from Centreville to Warrenton crosses the stream.
Two miles farther up is a place called Sudley Springs,--a cluster of
houses, a little stone church, a blacksmith's shop. The stream there has
dwindled to a brook, and gurgles over a rocky bed.
Going back to the stone bridge, and standing upon its parapet, you may
look east to Centreville, about four miles distant, beautifully situated
on a high ridge of land, but a very old, dilapidated place when you get
to it. Going west from the bridge, you see upon your right hand a swell
of land, and another at your left hand, south of the turnpike. A brook
trickles by the roadside. Leaving the turnpike, and ascending the ridge
on the north side, you see that towards Sudley Springs there are other
swells of land, with wheat-fields, fences, scattered trees, and groves
of pines and oaks. Looking across to the hill south of the turnpike, a
half-mile distant, you see the house of Mr. Lewis, and west of it Mrs.
Henry's, on the highest knoll. Mrs. Henry is an old lady, so far
advanced in life that she is helpless. Going up the turnpike a mile from
the bridge, you come to the toll-gate, kept by Mr. Mathey. A cross-road
comes down from Sudley Springs, and leads south towards Manassas
Junction, six miles distant. Leave the turnpike once more, and go
northwest a half-mile, and you come to the farm of Mr. Dogan. There are
farm-sheds and haystacks near his house.
This ground, from Dogan's to the ridge east of the toll-gate, across the
turnpike and the trickling brook to Mr. Lewis's and Mrs. Henry's, is the
battle-field. You see it,--the ridges of land, the houses, haystacks,
fences, knolls, ravines, wheat-fields, turnpike, and groves of oak and
pine,--a territory about two miles square.
On Saturday, June 20th, General Johnston, with nearly all the Rebel army
of the Shenandoah, arrived at Manassas. Being General Beauregard's
superior officer, he took command of all the troops. He had about thirty
thousand men.
On Thursday, General Richardson's brigade of General McDowell's army had
a skirmish with General Longstreet's brigade at Blackburn's Ford, which
the Rebels call the battle of Bull Run, while that which was fought on
the 21st they call the battle of Manassas. General Beauregard expected
that the attack would be renewed along the fords, and posted his men
accordingly.
Going down to the railroad bridge, we see General Ewell's brigade of the
Rebel army on the western bank guarding the crossing. General Jones's
brigade is at McLean's Ford. At Blackburn's Ford is General
Longstreet's, and at Mitchell's Ford is General Bonham's. Near by
Bonham's is General Earley's, General Bartow's, and General Holmes's.
General Jackson's is in rear of General Bonham's. At Island Ford is
General Bee and Colonel Hampton's legion, also Stuart's cavalry. At
Ball's Ford is General Cocke's brigade. Above, at the Stone Bridge, is
the extreme left of the Rebel army, General Evans's brigade. General
Elzey's brigade of the Shenandoah army is on its way in the cars, and is
expected to reach the battle-field before the contest closes. General
Johnston has between fifty and sixty pieces of artillery and about one
thousand cavalry.
General McDowell had also about thirty thousand men and forty-nine
pieces of artillery. His army was in four divisions,--General Tyler's,
General Hunter's, General Heintzelman's, and General Miles's. One
brigade of General Tyler's and General Miles's division was left at
Centreville to make a feint of attacking the enemy at Blackburn's and
Mitchell's Fords, and to protect the rear of the army from an attack by
Generals Ewell and Jones. The other divisions of the army--five
brigades, numbering eighteen thousand men, with thirty-six
cannon--marched soon after midnight, to be ready to make the attack by
sunrise on Sunday morning.
General Tyler, with General Keyes's brigade, General Sherman's, and
General Schenck's, marched down the turnpike towards the Stone Bridge,
where General Evans was on the watch. General Tyler had twelve pieces of
artillery,--two batteries, commanded by Ayer and Carlisle.
It is sunrise as they approach the bridge,--a calm, peaceful Sabbath
morning. The troops leave the turnpike, march into a cornfield, and
ascend a hill overlooking the bridge. As you stand there amid the
tasselled stalks, you see the stream rippling beneath the stone arches,
and upon the other bank breastworks of earth and fallen trees. Half hid
beneath the oaks and pines are the Rebel regiments, their gun-barrels
and bayonets flashing in the morning light. Beyond the breastworks upon
the knolls are the farm-houses of Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Henry.
Captain Ayer, who has seen fighting in Mexico, brings his guns upon the
hill, wheels them into position, and sights them towards the
breastworks. There is a flash, a puff of smoke, a screaming in the air,
and then across the stream a handful of cloud bursts into view above the
Rebel lines. The shell has exploded. There is a sudden movement of the
Rebel troops. It is the first gun of the morning. And now, two miles
down the Run, by Mitchell's Ford, rolling, echoing, and reverberating
through the forests, are other thunderings. General Richardson has been
waiting impatiently to hear the signal gun. He is to make a feint of
attacking. His cannonade is to begin furiously. He has six guns, and all
of them are in position, throwing solid shot and shells into the wood
where Longstreet's men are lying.
All of Ayer's guns are in play, hurling rifled shot and shells, which
scream like an unseen demon as they fly over the cornfield, over the
meadow lands, to the woods and fields beyond the stream.
General Hunter and General Heintzelman, with their divisions, have left
the turnpike two miles from Centreville, at Cub Run bridge, a rickety,
wooden structure, which creaks and trembles as the heavy cannon rumble
over. They march into the northwest, along a narrow road,--a round-about
way to Sudley Springs. It is a long march. They started at two o'clock,
and have had no breakfast. They waited three hours at Cub Run, while
General Tyler's division was crossing, and they are therefore three
hours behind the appointed time. General McDowell calculated and
intended to have them at Sudley Springs by six o'clock, but now it is
nine. They stop a half-hour at the river-crossing to fill their canteens
from the gurgling stream.
Looking south from the little stone church, you see clouds of dust
floating over the forest-trees. The Rebels have discovered the movement,
and are marching in hot haste to resist the impending attack. General
Evans has left a portion of his command at Stone Bridge, and is
hastening with the remainder to the second ridge of land north of the
turnpike. He plants his artillery on the hill, and secretes his infantry
in a thicket of pines. General Bee is on the march, so is General Bartow
and General Jackson, all upon the double-quick. Rebel officers ride
furiously, and shout their orders. The artillerymen lash their horses to
a run. The infantry are also upon the run, sweating and panting in the
hot sunshine. The noise and confusion increase. The booming deepens
along the valley, for still farther down, by Blackburn's Ford, Hunt's
battery is pouring its fire upon Longstreet's, Jones's, and Ewell's men.
The Union troops at Sudley Springs move across the stream. General
Burnside's brigade is in advance. The Second Rhode Island infantry is
thrown out, deployed as skirmishers. The men are five paces apart. They
move slowly, cautiously, and nervously through the fields and thickets.
Suddenly, from bushes, trees, and fences there is a rattle of musketry.
General Evans's skirmishers are firing. There are jets of flame and
smoke, and a strange humming in the air. There is another rattle, a
roll, a volley. The cannon join. The first great battle has begun.
General Hunter hastens to the spot, and is wounded almost at the first
volley, and compelled to leave the field. The contest suddenly grows
fierce. The Rhode Island boys push on to closer quarters, and the Rebels
under General Evans give way from a thicket to a fence, from a fence to
a knoll.
General Bee arrives with his brigade to help General Evans. You see him
swing up into line west of Evans, towards the haystacks by Dogan's
house. He is in such a position that he can pour a fire upon the flank
of the Rhode Island boys, who are pushing Evans. It is a galling fire,
and the brave fellows are cut down by the raking shots from the
haystacks. They are almost overwhelmed. But help is at hand. The
Seventy-first New York, the Second New Hampshire, and the First Rhode
Island, all belonging to Burnside's brigade, move toward the haystacks.
They bring their guns to a level, and the rattle and roll begin. There
are jets of flame, long lines of light, white clouds, unfolding and
expanding, rolling over and over, and rising above the tree-tops. Wilder
the uproar. Men fall, tossing their arms; some leap into the air, some
plunge headlong, falling like logs of wood or lumps of lead. Some reel,
stagger, and tumble; others lie down gently as to a night's repose,
unheeding the din, commotion, and uproar. They are bleeding, torn, and
mangled. Legs, arms, bodies, are crushed. They see nothing. They cannot
tell what has happened. The air is full of fearful noises. An unseen
storm sweeps by. The trees are splintered, crushed, and broken as if
smitten by thunderbolts. Twigs and leaves fall to the ground. There is
smoke, dust, wild talking, shouting, hissings, howlings, explosions. It
is a new, strange, unanticipated experience to the soldiers of both
armies, far different from what they thought it would be.
Far away, church-bells are tolling the hour of Sabbath worship, and
children are singing sweet songs in many a Sunday school. Strange and
terrible the contrast! You cannot bear to look upon the dreadful scene.
How horrible those wounds! The ground is crimson with blood. You are
ready to turn away, and shut the scene forever from your sight. But the
battle must go on, and the war must go on till the wicked men who began
it are crushed, till the honor of the dear old flag is vindicated, till
the Union is restored, till the country is saved, till the slaveholder
is deprived of his power, and till freedom comes to the slave. It is
terrible to see, but you remember that the greatest blessing the world
ever received was purchased by blood,--the blood of the Son of God. It
is terrible to see, but there are worse things than war. It is worse to
have the rights of men trampled in the dust; worse to have your country
destroyed, to have justice, truth, and honor violated. You had better be
killed, torn to pieces by cannon-shot, than lose your manhood, or yield
that which makes you a man. It is better to die than give up that rich
inheritance bequeathed us by our fathers, and purchased by their blood.
The battle goes on. General Porter's brigade comes to the aid of
Burnside, moving towards Dogan's house. Jackson's Rebel brigade is there
to meet him. Arnold's battery is in play,--guns pouring a constant
stream of shot and shells upon the Rebel line. The Washington Artillery,
from New Orleans, is replying from the hill south of Dogan's. Other
Rebel batteries are cutting Burnside's brigade to pieces. The men are
all but ready to fall back before the terrible storm. Burnside sends to
Porter for help,--he asks for the brave old soldiers, the regulars, who
have been true to the flag of their country, while many of their former
officers have been false. They have been long in the service, and have
had many fierce contests with the Indians on the Western plains. They
are as true as steel. Captain Sykes commands them. He leads the way. You
see them, with steady ranks, in the edge of the woods east of Dogan's
house. They have been facing southwest, and now they turn to the
southeast. They pass through the grove of pines, and enter the open
field. They are cut through and through with solid shot, shells burst
around them, men drop from the ranks, but the battalion does not falter.
It sweeps on close up to the cloud of flame and smoke rolling from the
hill north of the turnpike. Their muskets come to a level. There is a
click, click, click, along the line. A broad sheet of flame, a white,
sulphurous cloud, a deep roll like the angry growl of thunder. There is
sudden staggering in the Rebel ranks. Men whirl round, and drop upon the
ground. The line wavers, and breaks. They run down the hill, across the
hollows, to another knoll. There they rally, and hold their ground a
while. Hampton's legion and Cocke's brigade come to their support.
Fugitives are brought back by the officers, who ride furiously over the
field. There is a lull, and then the strife goes on, a rattling fire of
musketry, and a continual booming of the cannonade.
General Heintzelman's division was in rear of General Hunter's on the
march. When the battle begun the troops were several miles from Sudley
Church. They were parched with thirst, and when they reached the stream
they, too, stopped and filled their canteens. Burnside's and Porter's
brigades were engaged two hours before Heintzelman's division reached
the field. Eight regiments had driven the Rebels from their first
position.
General Heintzelman marched upon the Rebels west of Dogan's house. The
Rebel batteries were on a knoll, a short distance from the toll-gate.
Griffin and Ricketts opened upon them with their rifled guns. Then came
a great puff of smoke. It was a Rebel caisson blown up by one of
Griffin's shells. It was a continuous, steady artillery fire. The
gunners of the Rebel batteries were swept away by the unerring aim of
Griffin's gunners. They changed position again and again, to avoid the
shot. Mingled with the constant crashing of the cannonade was an
irregular firing of muskets, like the pattering of rain-drops upon a
roof. At times there was a quicker rattle, and heavy rolls, like the
fall of a great building.
General Wilcox swung his brigade round upon Jackson's flank. The Rebel
general must retreat or be cut off, and he fell back to the toll-gate,
to the turnpike, across it, in confusion, to the ridge by Mrs. Henry's.
Evans's, Bee's, Bartow's, and Cocke's brigades, which have been trying
to hold their ground against Burnside and Porter's brigades, by this
movement are also forced back to Mr. Lewis's house. The Rebels do not
all go back. There are hundreds who rushed up in hot haste in the
morning lying bleeding, torn, mangled, upon the wooded slopes. Some are
prisoners.
I talked with a soldier of one of the Virginia regiments. We were near
the Stone Bridge. He was a tall, athletic young man, dressed in a gray
uniform trimmed with yellow braid.
"How many soldiers have you on the field?" I asked.
"Ninety thousand."
"Hardly that number, I guess."
"Yes, sir. We have got Beauregard's and Johnston's armies. Johnston came
yesterday and a whole lot more from Richmond. If you whip us to-day, you
will whip nigh to a hundred thousand."
"Who is in command?"
"Jeff Davis."
"I thought Beauregard was in command."
"Well, he was; but Jeff Davis is on the field now. I know it; for I saw
him just before I was captured. He was on a white horse."
While talking, a shell screamed over our heads and fell in the woods.
The Rebel batteries had opened again upon our position. Another came,
and we were compelled to leave the spot.
The prisoner may have been honest in his statements. It requires much
judgment to correctly estimate large armies. He was correct in saying
that Jeff Davis was there. He was on the ground, watching the progress
of the battle, but taking no part. He arrived in season to see the close
of the contest.
After Burnside and Porter had driven Evans, Bee, and Bartow across the
turnpike, General Sherman and General Keyes crossed Bull Run above the
Stone Bridge and moved straight down the stream. Schenck's brigade and
Ayer's and Carlisle's batteries were left to guard the rear.
Perhaps you had a brother or a father in the Second New Hampshire, or in
the Seventy-first New York, or in some other regiment; or perhaps when
the war is over you may wish to visit the spot and behold the ground
where the first great battle was fought. You will wish to see just where
they stood. Looking, then, along the line at one o'clock, you see
nearest the stream General Keyes's brigade, composed of the First,
Second, and Third Connecticut regiments and the Fourth Maine. Next is
Sherman's brigade, composed of the Sixty-ninth and Seventy-ninth New
York Militia, the Thirteenth New York Volunteers, and the Second
Wisconsin. Between these and the toll-gate you see first, as you go
west, Burnside's brigade, composed of the First and Second Rhode Island,
the Seventy-first New York Militia, and the Second New Hampshire, and
the Second Rhode Island battery; extending to the toll-house is Porter's
brigade. He has Sykes's battalion of regulars, and the Eighth and
Fourteenth regiments of New York Militia and Arnold's battery. Crossing
the road which comes down from Sudley Springs, you see General
Franklin's brigade, containing the Fifth Massachusetts Militia, the
First Minnesota Volunteers, and the Fourth Pennsylvania Militia. Next
you come to the men from Maine and Vermont, the Second, Fourth, and
Fifth Maine, and the Second Vermont, General Howard's brigade. Beyond,
upon the extreme right, is General Wilcox with the First Michigan and
the Eleventh New York. Griffin's and Rickett's batteries are near at
hand. There are twenty-four regiments and twenty-four pieces of
artillery. There are two companies of cavalry. If we step over to the
house of Mr. Lewis, we shall find General Johnston and General
Beauregard in anxious consultation. General Johnston has sent officers
in hot haste for reinforcements. Brigades are arriving out of
breath,--General Cocke's, Holmes's, Longstreet's, Earley's. Broken
regiments, fragments of companies, and stragglers are collected and
brought into line. General Bonham's brigade is sent for. All but General
Ewell's and General Jones's; they are left to prevent General Miles from
crossing at Blackburn's Ford and attacking the Rebel army in the rear.
General Johnston feels that it is a critical moment. He has been driven
nearly two miles. His flank has been turned. His loss has been very
great, and his troops are beginning to be disheartened. They have
changed their opinions of the Yankees.
General Johnston has Barley's brigade, composed of the Seventh and
Twenty-fourth Virginia, and the Seventh Louisiana; Jackson's brigade,
composed of the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Twenty-seventh, and Thirty-third
Virginia, and the Thirteenth Mississippi; Bee's and Bartow's brigades
united, composed of two companies of the Eleventh Mississippi, Second
Mississippi, First Alabama, Seventh and Eighth Georgia; Cocke's brigade,
the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-eighth Virginia, seven companies
of the Eighth, and three of the Forty-ninth Virginia; Evans's brigade,
composed of Hampton's legion, Fourth South Carolina, and Wheat's
Louisiana battalion; Holmes's brigade, composed of two regiments of
Virginia infantry, the First Arkansas, and the Second Tennessee. Two
regiments of Bonham's brigade, and Elzey's brigade were brought in
before the conflict was over. Putting the detached companies into
regiments, Johnston's whole force engaged in this last struggle is
thirty-five regiments of infantry, and about forty pieces of artillery,
all gathered upon the ridge by Mr. Lewis's and Mrs. Henry's.
There is marching to and fro of regiments. There is not much order.
Regiments are scattered. The lines are not even. This is the first
battle, and officers and men are inexperienced. There are a great many
stragglers on both sides; more, probably, from the Rebel ranks than from
McDowell's army, for thus far the battle has gone against them. You can
see them scattered over the fields, beyond Mr. Lewis's.
The fight goes on. The artillery crashes louder than before. There is a
continuous rattle of musketry. It is like the roaring of a hail-storm.
Sherman and Keyes move down to the foot of the hill, near Mr. Lewis's.
Burnside and Porter march across the turnpike. Franklin and Howard and
Wilcox, who have been pushing south, turn towards the southeast. There
are desperate hand-to-hand encounters. Cannon are taken and retaken.
Gunners on both sides are shot while loading their pieces. Hundreds
fall, and other hundreds leave the ranks. The woods toward Sudley
Springs are filled with wounded men and fugitives, weak, thirsty,
hungry, exhausted, worn down by the long morning march, want of sleep,
lack of food, and the excitement of the hour.
Across the plains, towards Manassas, are other crowds,--disappointed,
faint-hearted, defeated soldiers, fleeing for safety.
"We are defeated!"
"Our regiments are cut to pieces!"
"General Bartow is wounded and General Bee is killed!"
Thus they cry, as they hasten towards Manassas.[3] Officers and men in
the Rebel ranks feel that the battle is all but lost. Union officers and
men feel that it is almost won.
[Footnote 3: Rebel reports in Rebellion Record.]
The Rebel right wing, far out upon the turnpike, has been folded back
upon the centre; the centre has been driven in upon the left wing, and
the left wing has been pushed back beyond Mr. Lewis's house. Griffin's
and Rickett's batteries, which had been firing from the ridge west of
the toll-gate, were ordered forward to the knoll from which the Rebel
batteries had been driven.
"It is too far in advance," said General Griffin.
"The Fire Zouaves will support you," said General Barry.
"It is better to have them go in advance till we come into position;
then they can fall back," Griffin replied.
"No; you are to move first, those are the orders. The Zouaves are
already to follow on the double-quick."
"I will go; but, mark my words, they will not support me."
The battery galloped over the fields, descended the hill, crossed the
ravine, advancing to the brow of the hill near Mrs. Henry's, followed by
Rickett's battery, the Fire Zouaves, and the Fourteenth New York. In
front of them, about forty or fifty rods distant, were the Rebel
batteries, supported by infantry. Griffin and Ricketts came into
position, and opened a fire so terrible and destructive that the Rebel
batteries and infantry were driven beyond the crest of the hill.
The field was almost won. Read what General Johnston says: "The long
contest against fivefold odds, and heavy losses, especially of field
officers, had greatly discouraged the troops of General Bee and Colonel
Evans. The aspect of affairs was critical."
The correspondent of the Charleston Mercury writes: "When I entered on
the field at two o'clock, the fortunes of the day were dark. The
remnants of the regiments, so badly injured or wounded and worn, as they
staggered out gave gloomy pictures of the scene. We could not be routed,
perhaps, but it is doubtful whether we were destined to a victory."
The correspondent of the Richmond Despatch writes: "Fighting for hours
under a hot sun, without a drop of water near, the conduct of our men
could not be excelled; but human endurance has its bounds, _and all
seemed about to be lost_."
The battle surges around the house of Mrs. Henry. She is lying there
amidst its thunders. Rebel sharpshooters take possession of it, and pick
off Rickett's gunners. He turns his guns upon the house. Crash! crash!
crash! It is riddled with grape and canister. Sides, roof, doors, and
windows are pierced, broken, and splintered. The bed-clothes are cut
into rags, and the aged woman instantly killed. The Rebel regiments melt
away. The stream of fugitives toward Manassas grows more dense. Johnston
has had more men and more guns engaged than McDowell; but he has been
steadily driven. But Rebel reinforcements arrive from an unexpected
quarter,--General Smith's brigade, from the Shenandoah. It comes into
action in front of Wilcox. There are from two to three thousand men.
General Smith is wounded almost at the first fire, and Colonel Elzey
takes command. General Bonham sends two regiments, the Second and Eighth
South Carolina. They keep south of Mrs. Henry's, and march on till they
are in position to fire almost upon the backs of Griffin's and Rickett's
gunners. They march through a piece of woods, reach the top of the hill,
and come into line. Captain Imboden, of the Rebel battery, who is
replying to Griffin, sees them. Who are they? He thinks they are Yankees
flanking him. He wheels his guns, and is ready to cut them down with
grape and canister. Captain Griffin sees them, and wheels his guns.
Another instant, and he will sweep them away. He believes them to be
Rebels. His gunners load with grape and canister.
"Do not fire upon them; they are your supports!" shouts Major Barry,
riding up.
"No, sir; they are Rebels."
"They are your supports, just ordered up."
"As sure as the world, they are Rebels."
"You are mistaken, Captain; they are your supports."
The cannoneers stand ready to pull the lanyards, which will send a
tornado through those ranks.
"Don't fire!" shouts the Captain.
The guns are wheeled again towards Mrs. Henry's, and the supposed
supports are saved from destruction at the hand of Captain Griffin.
Captain Imboden, before ordering his men to fire upon the supposed
Yankees, gallops nearer to them, to see who they are. He sees them raise
their guns. There is a flash, a rattle and roll. Griffin's and Rickett's
men and their horses go down in an instant! They rush on with a yell.
There is sharp, hot, decisive work. Close musket-shots and
sabre-strokes. Men are trampled beneath the struggling horses.
There are shouts and hurrahs. The few soldiers remaining to support
Griffin and Rickett fire at the advancing Rebel brigade, but the contest
is unequal; they are not able to hold in check the three thousand fresh
troops. They fall back. The guns are in the hands of the Rebels. The day
is lost. At the very moment of victory the line is broken. In an instant
all is changed. A moment ago we were pressing on, but now we are falling
back. Quick almost as the lightning's flash is the turning of the tide.
All through a mistake! So great events sometimes hang on little things.
The unexpected volley, the sudden onset, the vigorous charge, the
falling back, produces confusion in the Union ranks. Officers and men,
generals and soldiers alike, are confounded. By a common impulse they
begin to fall back across the turnpike. Unaccountably to themselves, and
to the Rebel fugitives streaming towards Manassas, they lose strength
and heart. The falling back becomes a retreat, a sudden panic and a
rout. Regiments break and mix with others. Soldiers drop their guns and
cartridge-boxes, and rush towards the rear.
I had watched the tide of battle through the day. Everything was
favorable. The heat was intense, and I was thirsty. A soldier came past
with a back-load of canteens freshly filled.
[Illustration: BULL RUN BATTLE-GROUND, July 21, 1861.
1 Stone Bridge.
2 Sudley Springs.
3 Toll-gate kept by Mr. Mathey.
4 Mr. Dogan's house.
5 Mrs. Henry's.
6 Mr. Lewis's.
7 Wilcox's, Howard's, and Franklin's
brigades.
8 Porter's and Burnside's brigades.
9 Sherman's and Keyes's brigades.
10 Griffin's and Rickett's batteries.
11 Rebel reinforcements which fired upon
Griffin.
12 Position of Rebel army when the
Union line gave way.
13 Ridge where the battle began.]
"Where did you find the water?"
"Over there in the woods, in the rear of Schenck's brigade."
I passed the brigade. Ayers's and Carlisle's batteries were there. I
found the spring beyond a little hillock. While drinking, there was
sudden confusion in Schenck's brigade. There was loud talking, cannon
and musketry firing, and a sudden trampling of horses. A squadron of
Rebel cavalry swept past within a few rods of the spring, charging upon
Schenck's brigade. The panic tide had come rolling to the rear. Ayers
lashed his horses to a gallop, to reach Cub Run bridge. He succeeded in
crossing it. He came into position to open upon the Rebels and to check
their pursuit. The road was blocked with wagons. Frightened teamsters
cut their horses loose and rode away. Soldiers, officers, and civilians
fled towards Centreville, frightened at they knew not what. Blenker's
brigade was thrown forward from Centreville to the bridge, and the rout
was stopped. The Rebels were too much exhausted, too much amazed at the
sudden and unaccountable breaking and fleeing of McDowell's army, to
improve the advantage. They followed to Cub Run bridge, but a few cannon
and musket shots sent them back to the Stone Bridge.
But at Blackburn's Ford General Jones crossed the stream to attack the
retreating troops. General Davies, with four regiments and Hunt's
battery, occupied the crest of a hill looking down towards the ford. The
Rebels marched through the woods upon the bank of the stream, wound
along the hillside, filed through a farm-yard and halted in a hollow
within a quarter of a mile of General Davies's guns.
[Illustration: FIGHT AT BLACKBURN'S FORD, July 21, 1863.
1 Blackburn's Ford.
2 Mitchell's Ford.
3 Rebel troops.
4 Davies's brigade and batteries.
5 Richardson's brigade.]
"Lie down," said the General, and the four regiments dropped upon the
ground. The six cannon and the gunners alone were in sight.
"Wait till they come over the crest of the hill; wait till I give the
word," said the General to Captain Hunt.
The men stand motionless by their pieces. The long column of Rebels
moves on. There is an officer on his horse giving directions. The long
dark line throws its lengthening shadows upward in the declining
sunlight, toward the silent cannon.
"Now let them have it!" The guns are silent no longer. Six flashes of
light, and six sulphurous clouds are belched towards the moving mass.
Grape and canister sweep them down. The officer tumbles from his horse,
and the horse staggers to the earth. There are sudden gaps in the ranks.
They stop advancing. Officers run here and there. Another merciless
storm,--another,--another. Eighteen flashes a minute from those six
pieces! Like grass before the mower the Rebel line is cut down. The men
flee to the woods, utterly routed.
The attempt to cut off the retreat signally failed. It was the last
attempt of the Rebels to follow up their mysterious victory. The
rear-guard remained in Centreville till morning recovering five cannon
which had been abandoned at Cub Run, which the Rebels had not secured,
and then retired to Arlington.
So the battle was won and lost. So the hopes of the Union soldiers
changed to sudden, unaccountable fear, and so the fear of the Rebels
became unbounded exultation.
The sun had gone down behind the Blue Mountains, and the battle-clouds
hung thick and heavy along the winding stream where the conflict had
raged. It was a sad night to us who had gone out with such high hopes,
who had seen the victory so nearly won and so suddenly lost. Many of our
wounded were lying where they had fallen. It was a terrible night to
them. Their enemies, some of them, were hard-hearted and cruel. They
fired into the hospitals upon helpless men. They refused them water to
quench their burning thirst. They taunted them in their hour of triumph,
and heaped upon them bitterest curses. They were wild with the delirium
of success, and treated their prisoners with savage barbarity. Any one
who showed kindness to the prisoners or wounded was looked upon with
suspicion. Says an English officer in the Rebel service:--[4]
[Footnote 4: Estvan.]
"I made it my duty to seek out and attend upon the wounded,
and the more so when I found that the work of alleviating
their sufferings was performed with evident reluctance and
want of zeal by many of those whose duty it was to do it. I
looked upon the poor fellows only as suffering
fellow-mortals, brothers in need of help, and made no
distinction between friend and foe; nay, I must own that I
was prompted to give the preference to the latter, for the
reason that some of our men met with attention from their
relations and friends, who had flocked to the field in
numbers to see them. But in doing so I had to encounter
opposition, and was even pointed at by some with muttered
curses as a traitor to the cause of the Confederacy for
bestowing any attention on the d---- Yankees."
Notwithstanding the inhuman treatment they received at the hands of
their captors, there were men on that field who never quailed,--men with
patriotism so fervent, deep, and unquenchable, that they lay down
cheerfully to their death-sleep. This officer in the Rebel service went
out upon the field where the fight had been thickest. It was night.
Around him were the dying and the dead. There was a young Union officer,
with both feet crushed by a cannon-shot. There were tears upon his
cheeks.
"Courage, comrade!" said the officer, bending over him; "the day will
come when you will remember this battle as one of the things of the
past."
"Do not give me false hopes, sir. It is all up with me. I do not grieve
that I must die, for with these stumps I shall not live long."
He pointed to his mangled feet, and added: "_I weep for my poor,
distracted country. Had I a second life to live, I would willingly
sacrifice it for the cause of the Union!_"
His eyes closed. A smile lighted his countenance, as if, while on the
border of another world, he saw once more those who were dearest on
earth or in heaven. He raised himself convulsively, and cried, "Mother!
Father!"
He was dead.
He sleeps upon the spot where he fell. His name is unknown, but his
devotion to his country shall shine forevermore like a star in heaven!
When the Union line gave way, some of the soldiers were so stupefied by
the sudden change that they were unable to move, and were taken
prisoners. Among them was a Zouave, in red trousers. He was a tall,
noble fellow. Although a prisoner, he walked erect, unabashed by his
captivity. A Virginian taunted him, and called him by hard names.
"Sir," said the Zouave, "I have heard that yours was a nation of
gentlemen, but your insult comes from a coward and a knave. I am your
prisoner, but you have no right to fling your curses at me because I am
unfortunate. Of the two, I consider myself the gentleman."[5]
[Footnote 5: Charleston Mercury.]
The Virginian hung his head in silence, while other Rebel soldiers
assured the brave fellow that he should not again be insulted. So
bravery, true courage, and manliness will win respect even from enemies.
No accurate reports have been made of the number of men killed and
wounded in this battle; but each side lost probably from fifteen hundred
to two thousand men.
It was a battle which will always have a memorable place in the history
of this Rebellion, because having won a victory, the slaveholders
believed that they could conquer the North. They became more proud and
insolent. They manifested their terrible hate by their inhuman treatment
of the prisoners captured. They gave the dead indecent burial. The Rebel
soldiers dug up the bones of the dead Union men, and carved them into
ornaments, which they sent home to their wives and sweethearts. One girl
wrote to her lover to "be sure and bring her Old Lincoln's _skelp_"
(scalp), so that the women as well as the men became fierce in their
hatred. I have seen the letter, which was found upon a prisoner.
The North, although defeated, was not discouraged. There was no thought
of giving up the contest, but, as you remember, there was a great
uprising of the people, who determined that the war should go on till
the Rebellion was crushed.