RETREAT FROM THE PENINSULA, AND GENERAL POPE'S BULL RUN CAMPAIGN.
Premonitions of a change of base--The transfer
commenced--Marching down the Peninsula--On board transports--A
contrast--Arrival at Alexandria--Unaccountable delays--General
Pope's campaign--An obstinate general--Causes of Pope's failure.
Early in August, rumors were floating about the army, that General
McClellan had received positive orders to transfer the Army of the
Potomac to the front of Washington, there to unite the forces of the two
armies; and that this plan was strongly opposed by General McClellan,
who insisted that he wanted only a few thousand more men to march into
Richmond.
The army had received large reinforcements since arriving at Harrison's
Landing, and now numbered more than one hundred thousand men; not by any
means an inconsiderable force, yet too small, in General McClellan's
opinion, to warrant another advance.
But, owing to the movements of the enemy in front of General Pope, the
supposed impracticability of the route, and to some distrust as to the
abilities of General McClellan by the authorities at Washington,
peremptory orders had been sent to him to remove his army as quickly as
possible from the Peninsula.
What the merits of the dispute in high places might be, the army at
large was not able to decide; but the rumors gave rise to many spirited
debates, in which the authorities at Washington and the authority at
Harrison's Bar had each earnest advocates. At length it became known
that the army was to leave the Peninsula, and preparations for this
important movement commenced. The work of shipping the sick and wounded,
numbering twelve thousand five hundred, began; but it was not carried on
with a degree of alacrity satisfactory to the War Department or the
President.
The wharves along the river side became the scene of immense activity.
Ambulances crowded along the banks of the river, laden with sick and
wounded, while those from the hospitals able to walk, tottered along
with trembling steps, their wan faces and sunken eyes telling their
story of suffering. Transports were in waiting for these, and were
rapidly filled with their freight of suffering humanity. Everything not
movable was ordered to be destroyed. Tents were struck and taken to the
pickets who had left them behind, and everything betokened an important
movement. Three or four days were spent in momentary expectation of the
order to "fall in," but still the situation remained unchanged.
At length, on the 16th of August, all was ready and the men were ordered
to pack their knapsacks; but the men of the Sixth corps remained in camp
until the sun's rays became scorching; then the column moved rapidly
eastward. A hard day's march on the 16th and another on the 17th,
brought the corps in sight of the Chickahominy. It crossed a pontoon
bridge of enormous extent, in the construction of which ninety boats
were used, and the length of which was over two thousand feet.
Thoroughly exhausted the men bivouacked on the eastern bank of the
Chickahominy.
The rebels, now aware of the retreat, were following close at the heels
of the Union army, but declined to make any offensive demonstrations,
further than picking up stragglers and those that fell out by the way
from weakness and fatigue. The main portion of the rebel army was now
occupied in important movements in another direction.
Another rapid march, under a burning sun, brought our corps to the
ancient capital of the Old Dominion--Williamsburgh. Passing through its
streets without halting, taking only time to glance at its now
dilapidated buildings, we reached the familiar scenes of the old
battle-field, which, three months before, we little expected to recross
before the downfall of the rebellion. Here was the plain where a portion
of our Second division had, by its gallantry, decided the fate of the
battle; the scene of our bivouac in the rain and mud, and the redoubts
where lay the wounded rebels, whose groans had rendered the night
hideous. In the midst of these scenes we bivouacked again for the night.
At dawn the column moved again, and after a fatiguing march reached
Yorktown; our Second division encamping in the works erected by Porter's
division during our famous thirty days' siege of that place.
Many of the men had by this time become exhausted; and a long train of
ambulances was filled with these and sent ahead on the morning of the
20th. The well ones soon followed toward Fortress Monroe, halting on the
field of Big Bethel. This was the first visit of our corps to this
disastrous field, and the men rambled about manifesting great interest
in the spot rendered sacred by the blood of Winthrop and Greble.
Plums, peaches and sweet potatoes constituted novel additions to the
diet of the men, and although the two former were unripe, their good
effects were manifested in arresting multitudes of those troublesome
cases of diarrhea which had resisted all treatment so long as the men
were deprived of acid fruits. Another hard march on the 21st brought the
corps again, after five months' absence, to the vicinity of the
desolated village of Hampton, and the end of our march for the present.
The whole army was crowded along the shores, waiting to embark for
Aquia. Transports of every size and description were riding upon the bay
or lashed to the wharves, and infantry, cavalry and artillery were
crowding toward the beach ready to take their turn to embark. The scene
was one of unusual activity, resembling only the one we had witnessed on
embarking for the Peninsula months ago.
At length all were on board, and the transports swung out upon the bay
and steamed up the Potomac. One of the transports on which a portion of
the Second division was embarked, the "Vanderbilt," had been, in other
days, an old friend, as she ploughed up and down the Hudson; now her
magnificent saloons, which had been of dazzling beauty, were dismantled
and disfigured. No gorgeous drapery or gilded mirrors adorned them, but
desolation and filth prevailed.
The weather was charming, and, except for the crowded condition of the
transports, the trip would have been a delightful one. What a contrast
was there in the appearance of those same men now, and when they came
down the river in April! Then our ranks were full; the men were healthy
and in fresh vigor; their uniforms were new and clean, and their muskets
and equipments were polished and glistening. Now, we looked about with
sadness when we remembered how many of our former companions were
absent, and how few present. We could bring to mind many who went to the
Peninsula, full of hope, who had sunk as victims of the malarial
poisons, and now rested in humble graves at Yorktown or along the
Chickahominy; and many others who had nobly fallen upon the field of
strife; and yet others who now were wearing out tedious days of sickness
in hospitals or at home.
The little band that remained could hardly be recognized as the same men
who left the defenses of Washington but a few months since; their faces
were now bronzed from constant exposure to the scorching rays of the
sun, and their clothing was worn and soiled. Hats and caps of every
description: hats of straw and of palm leaf, of brown wool, black wool,
and what had been white wool. Caps military and caps not military, all
alike in only one respect, that all were much the worse for wear. It
would have puzzled a stranger to have determined from this diversity of
apparel, what was the regular uniform of our troops.
We came up the river with feelings far less exultant and confident than
those experienced in our downward trip. Indeed a gloom hung over the
minds of all. The army was satisfied that General McClellan would be
removed from command, and it was said that General Pope or General
Burnside would be his successor. Though they remembered the brilliant
successes of the one in the west and of the other in the south, many
expressed fears that the command of a large army might be as fatal to
either of these as it had been to General McClellan.
At sunset of the 23d, the transports bearing the two divisions of the
Sixth corps, were anchored just off Alexandria; but none of the men were
allowed to go ashore. Spending another night in the crowded vessels,
where the foul air prevailing between decks rendered breathing anything
but a luxury, the men hailed the appearance of daylight as the time for
their liberation from this close and unpleasant confinement.
The process of disembarking progressed rapidly, and the divisions were
marched through the city to a field about a mile beyond its limits,
where we encamped near Fort Ellsworth.
Although this was on Sunday morning, and it was known that Pope's army
was fighting the enemy even before we left the Peninsula, and was in
need of reinforcements; yet no signs of marching occurred until
Thursday.
Let us now turn back for a moment and hastily glance at the movements of
General Pope and his army, which had now for several days been actively
engaged. The battle of Cedar Mountain was fought on Saturday, August
9th. General Banks, pushing his corps toward Cedar Mountain, and,
finding the enemy in his front, had boldly attacked him. The confederate
forces were led by General Jackson, and outnumbered the forces under
General Banks. The field was hotly contested for an hour and a half,
when our forces were obliged to fall back; but being reinforced by
Rickett's division, they were able to prevent the enemy from occupying
the field. During the night, Jackson withdrew his forces, leaving the
ground in our hands, which was at once occupied by the Union forces.
The whole of Sunday was occupied in burying the dead and bringing off
the wounded of both armies. Our men had behaved with great bravery, and
the gallantry and zeal of General Banks was what might have been
expected from that general. The field was yet in our hands; yet the
battle could hardly be called a decided victory for our arms. Jackson
retreated rapidly across the Rapidan, in the direction of Gordonsville,
leaving many dead and wounded along the road from Cedar Mountain to
Orange Court House. Except to follow up the enemy with cavalry as far as
Orange Court House, no important move was made for several days by the
forces under General Pope.
Reinforcements were constantly arriving for Jackson, and it became
evident, by the 18th, that nearly the whole of Lee's army was assembling
in front of General Pope, along the south side of the Rapidan. Among
papers captured from the enemy at this time, was an autograph letter
from General Robert Lee to General Stuart, stating his determination to
overwhelm General Pope's army before it could be reinforced by any
portion of the army of the Potomac.
The whole army was now ordered to fall back and occupy a stronger
position behind the Rappahannock. The movement was executed on the 18th
and 19th of August, without loss; the new line extending from Kelley's
Ford to a point three miles above Rappahannock Station. The enemy
appeared next day at the various fords, but, finding them strongly
guarded, waited for all their forces to arrive from the Rapidan.
The whole of the 21st and 22d were spent by the enemy in efforts to
cross the river, and a fierce artillery duel prevailed along the line
for more than seven miles in extent, but the rebels were repulsed at
every point, and withdrew with the intention of moving up the river and
turning the flank of the Union army.
General Pope, appreciating the danger of this movement on the part of
the rebels, telegraphed to Washington, and, in reply, was assured that,
if he could hold out two days longer, he should be so strongly
reinforced as to enable him, not only to hold his position, but to take
the offensive.
It is needless to say that, with the exception of one or two small
divisions, no reinforcements reached him within that time; and although
General Porter reported to him by letter from Bealton on the 25th, it
had been better for General Pope had he not come at all. On the night of
the 26th, Jackson, coming through Thoroughfare Gap, got in the rear of
Pope's army and cut the railroad at Kettle Run, near Warrenton Junction.
Lee was still in front, in the vicinity of Sulphur Springs. General
Pope, desiring at the same time to fall back toward Centreville and
interpose his army between Jackson's and Lee's forces, ordered a
retrograde movement. His troops were by this time fairly exhausted. In
his report to the Secretary of War, he says: "From the 18th of August,
until the morning of the 27th, the troops under my command had been
continually marching and fighting night and day; and during the whole of
that time there was scarcely an interval of an hour without the roar of
artillery. The men had had little sleep, and were greatly worn down with
fatigue; had had little time to get proper food or to eat it; had been
engaged in constant battles and skirmishes, and had performed services,
laborious, dangerous and excessive, beyond any previous experience in
this country." Jackson had succeeded in burning fifty cars at Bristow
Station, and a hundred more at Manassas Junction, heavily laden with
ammunition and supplies. On the afternoon of the 27th, a severe
engagement occurred between Hooker's division of Heintzelman's corps,
which had arrived the evening before, and Ewell's division of
Longstreet's corps, near Bristow Station. Ewell was driven back; the
loss on each side being about three hundred. During the night, General
McDowell with his corps, and Generals Reno and Kearney with their
divisions, took such positions as effectually to interpose between
Jackson's forces and Lee's, and no alternative was left Jackson but to
turn upon Hooker and rout him, or to retreat by way of Centreville.
Hooker's men had exhausted their ammunition, so that there were but five
rounds per man left. General Pope, fearing that Hooker would be
attacked, dispatched an aide to General Porter with orders to join
Hooker at once. The aide was instructed to inform General Porter of the
immediate necessity of moving at once, and to remain and guide him to
the place. But Porter utterly refused to obey the order. Most
fortunately for our army, Jackson, ignorant of Hooker's weakness,
determined to retreat by way of Centreville; a mistake which prevented
most serious consequences to us. Jackson in his retreat was hotly
pursued, and on the 28th a severe battle took place between McDowell's
corps and the retreating column, in which our forces gained decided
advantages. On the 29th, Jackson was again near the old Bull Run
battle-ground, and a terrific battle ensued, which lasted with great
fury from daylight until dark. The rebels were driven from the field,
which was occupied by our men. General Pope sent peremptory orders to
Fitz John Porter to move at once upon Centreville; which would have cut
off Jackson's retreat; but again this commander refused to obey orders,
and Jackson was enabled to unite with Lee, who had by this time reached
Thoroughfare Gap, and was pushing on toward him. Had the orders of
General Pope been carried out, Jackson must without doubt have been
crushed before Lee's forces could by any possibility have reached the
field of action.
On the following day the whole of both armies were brought face to face
with each other. General Pope, by this time hopeless of any aid from the
fresh troops he had expected long before this from Washington, and aware
of the disaffection of the largest and freshest corps in his command,
although nearly discouraged, determined to give battle and inflict as
much damage as possible upon the enemy. His force now, including
Porter's corps, was about forty thousand. The whole of Lee's and
Jackson's forces now pressed upon our lines with terrible effect.
The action raged with great fury for several hours; the rebels
constantly massing heavy columns against our lines, especially upon the
left, where McDowell's and Sigel's corps resisted the onset with great
bravery, but were at length forced to yield, when an utter rout took
place; the whole army falling back upon Centreville in great disorder.
On this day, for the first time in all these long series of battles,
Porter's corps was brought into action. The conduct of the corps, in the
early part of the day, showed a determination on the part of its leaders
not to fight, and the men fell back in disorder; but being rallied later
in the day, the pride of the men overcame the obstinacy of their
commanders and the corps did good service. Hooker's and Kearney's
divisions, and Reynolds' Pennsylvania reserves had rendered most gallant
services from the time they reached General Pope's army.
Returning now to our Sixth corps under General Franklin. The corps
remained quietly at Alexandria, from the morning of the 24th until the
afternoon of the 29th. Rations and ammunition were as well supplied when
we reached Alexandria as when we left. The booming of cannon was heard
on the 26th and 27th, and contrabands and white refugees informed us
that terrible fighting was in progress beyond Manassas. We wondered that
we were not ordered to go to the relief of the little army which we knew
was resisting the whole of Lee's and Jackson's forces.
On Thursday afternoon, August 28th, the corps received marching orders.
Tents were struck, knapsacks packed, rations provided, and many
regiments, shouldering their knapsacks, stood in line ready to move. But
sunset came and no further orders. The men waited impatiently, only a
few venturing to unpack their knapsacks or pitch their tents, until long
after dark.
Friday morning brought few indications of an advance. Head-quarter tents
remained standing, artillery horses stood unharnessed, and everything
showed an intentional delay. At length the corps moved. Marching quietly
and easily, the old ground of Camp Misery was passed, and the corps
reached Annandale, where it halted and encamped after an easy march of
six miles. Saturday morning the corps again moved leisurely along,
making very frequent halts. The firing in front indicated a hardly
contested battle, and our men, knowing that Pope must be in need of
reinforcements, were anxious to push forward rapidly. Every hour the
corps halted for at least twenty minutes, and sometimes even longer. At
this snail pace we passed Fairfax Court House, the roar of musketry and
artillery becoming constantly louder in front, and arrived at
Centreville. Orders immediately came for the corps to proceed to Cub
Run, about two miles beyond Centreville. Here, wounded men by hundreds
and stragglers in greater numbers passed across the little bridge over
the run, a dismal crowd, hastening toward Centreville.
As usual at such times, scores of cowardly villains were attempting to
pass to the rear as wounded men.
An amusing encounter occurred between one of this class, a coward in
captain's uniform, and one of our own officers, Captain Deyoe, as brave
a fellow as ever drew a sword. The demoralized captain, his sword thrown
away and its sheath after it, came hurriedly upon the bridge, where
Deyoe was sitting, coolly filling his pipe. The fugitive captain turned
his face, pale with fright, to the imperturbable Deyoe, and, striking
him on the shoulder, said with as much composure as he could muster,
"Captain, we have had hard times of it out there, but _don't be afraid,
don't be afraid_." Deyoe, turning his face toward that of the straggler
with a look of unruffled coolness and unmitigated contempt, replied,
"Well, who the d--is afraid? Oh, yes, I see, _you are_. Well, you had
better get away from here then!"
The corps remained at Cub Run until nightfall, when it was ordered to
return to Centreville, where it encamped. Regiments from our Third
brigade were sent to the rear of Centreville to arrest stragglers, who
were hurrying toward Alexandria in great numbers.
The regiments were drawn up in line across the turnpike, where they
remained all night, turning back hundreds of stragglers at the point of
the bayonet.
The scene at Centreville on the next day was one of the utmost
confusion. Thousands of stragglers wandered about without knowing or
caring what had become of their commands; long columns of shattered
regiments and batteries filed past to take up new positions, either
within the intrenchments or on the flanks. The appearance of these
skeletons of regiments and batteries gave evidence of the terrible
experiences of this long series of engagements. Their ranks, thinned by
the fortunes of battle, and still more by the disgraceful skulking which
had become so universal, the worn and weary appearance of the men, their
flags, each surrounded by only enough men to constitute a respectable
color-guard, all showed that even the hard experiences of the Army of
the Potomac had never had so demoralizing an effect as this.
The skulkers were loud-mouthed in their denunciations of General
McDowell. Hundreds of them, who had in all probability not been near
enough to the front during the whole retreat to know anything that was
going on there, declared that they had seen him waving that mystic white
hat as a signal to the rebels; and all knew that it was through his
treachery that the army had been destroyed. Others declared positively
that they had seen, with their own eyes, General McClellan, with a small
body of faithful followers, dash against the advancing foe, and arrest
the pursuit! Such wild and improbable stories filled the whole
atmosphere, and, strangest of all, were believed by thousands, not only
in the army, but throughout the whole north.
Long trains of ambulances were bringing from the battle-field wounded
men, who had been, since Saturday, exposed to the burning sun and the
storm which had prevailed during Sunday night.
Temporary hospitals were established, and surgeons were actively
employed in ministering to the relief of the unfortunate. Monday evening
the battle of Glendale or Chantilly was fought, in the midst of a
terrific thunder storm. The enemy, in attempting to turn our right, had
been met by Hooker, Reno, McDowell and Kearney, and repulsed with heavy
loss, from our entire front. But the victory was a costly one for us.
The brave, earnest and accomplished soldier, Major-General Kearney, and
the gallant Stevens, were both killed while leading their commands
against the enemy.
The Sixth corps, on Monday evening, was marched back to Fairfax Court
House; but early next morning returned within a mile of Centreville,
when it took possession of the heights, and lay in line of battle until
three o'clock P.M., when orders were received to march back to our old
camp at Alexandria, which we reached at ten o'clock the same night; thus
making in a single evening, a distance that had required two full days
and a part of another, to march, in going out.
Thus ended General Pope's campaign in Virginia. Never was a campaign so
misrepresented or so little understood; and never were the motives of
men so falsely judged as were those of the generals connected with this
campaign.
General Pope had fallen a victim to the foulest treachery of ambitious
rivals, rather than to the strength of his open foes. Any one who will
in candor trace the movements and the handling of that little army, when
beset by an enemy now known to have been double its own strength, must
concede that his plans were well conceived, and his generalship in this
campaign fully equaled that which had won him so great renown in the
west.
That the defeat of General Pope was brought about by the rivalry and
jealousy of generals of the Union army cannot now be doubted. We know
why Porter withheld the largest and freshest corps in the command from
the fights, while its eleven thousand men were within sight of the
battles; but why was the Sixth corps delayed? Some one was equally
culpable with Porter. Was it worse to keep a corps out of the fight,
when on the field, than to keep another corps off from the field
altogether without any good reason? There can be but one question--who
was responsible for the criminal neglect to send the Sixth corps to the
assistance of Pope's army?