When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war.
--NATHANIEL LEE.
After the battle of Malvern Hill the First Brigade had a brief and
enjoyable respite from marching and fighting, while it bivouacked in the
pine forest near Savage Station.
Gen. John Pope, with his "headquarters in the saddle," set out from
Washington with a numerous force to capture Richmond, and was reënforced
by the remains of McClellan's army that had been transported from
Harrison's Landing to Acquia creek. Jackson's corps, of which Hill's
Light Division was an important part, was dispatched to watch his
movements and to check his progress. From the flat lands of the James
and the Chickahominy we marched to the hill country, and for a few days
remained near Orange Court House. On the 9th of August we forded the
Rapidan in search of the enemy. A suffocating cloud of dust enveloped
our toiling host, and so intense was the heat that a few of the men fell
sunstruck in the road. During this march, as also on similar occasions,
I saw packs of cards scattered along the highway; for though the soldier
might play them for money or amusement when there was no prospect of an
engagement, he did not relish the thought of their being found upon him
if he should be killed. In the afternoon we encountered a portion of the
National army under the command of General Banks and fought the battle
of Cedar Run, in which our people were victorious. That night the
hostile lines were so close that we could hear the Yankees talking, but
could not distinguish the words. When daylight came they were far away.
Toward the latter part of the month Pope's army occupied a position near
Warrenton in Fauquier county, while across the North Fork of the
Rappahannock river he was confronted by Lee's united army in Culpeper.
To cross the river and force the Federal position by a front attack was
plainly impracticable; but in some way the Yankees must be removed and
compelled to fight on something like equal terms. The plan was formed
that Jackson with his corps should by a forced circuitous march obtain
the enemy's rear and thus, cutting the line of his communication, compel
him to retire from his advantageous location, and that Lee with
Longstreet's corp should rejoin Jackson and bring on an engagement with
his entire army. To some military critics this division of the army in
the face of an unchastised antagonist might seem to contradict the rules
of sound strategy, but in the fertile minds of Lee and Jackson it was
the dictate of consummate genius. Such a division occurred in Maryland,
just before the battle of Sharpsburg, and again at Chancellorsville the
following year, and each time it was advantageous to the Confederate
arms. These two men had the utmost confidence in each other, and either
felt safe while the other was making an independent movement. In the
course of the years that have elapsed since the termination of the war I
have frequently been asked, "Which was the greater general, Lee or
Jackson?" After pondering this question for forty-five years I am yet
unable to decide; and that reminds me of Abe Lincoln and the hats. When
he became President, two enterprising merchants in Washington, desiring
to secure his custom, each presented him with an elegant silk hat, and
it so happened that they called at the same time to learn his opinion of
their gifts. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "these hats mutually excel
each other."
On Tuesday, the 26th of August, the march of Jackson's corps began,
every step of the onward way bringing us nearer to the Blue Ridge where
it borders the county of Rappahannock, and causing us to guess that
through some gap of the mountain we were going into the valley. We did
not know what Old Jack, (as he was familiarly and affectionately
called,) was up to, but it did not matter what was the objective,--so
implicit was the confidence reposed in his military judgment. Passing
out of Rappahannock and skirting the base of the Blue Ridge, we rested
for the night at Salem, in Fauquier, a station of the Manassas Gap
Railroad, the name of which has since been changed to Marshall. Betimes
the next morning we were hurrying eastward through Thoroughfare Gap of
Bull Run Mountain, and late in the evening we arrived at Manassas
Junction,--between Pope's army and Washington. I had read that walking
was an excellent form of exercise because it brought into play every
muscle of the body, and having walked nearly sixty miles in two days I
was convinced that the reason assigned was valid, for the muscles of my
arms and neck were almost as sore as were those of my legs. The making
of long marches unexpectedly and quickly was one of the secrets of
Jackson's success. It may be supposed by the uninitiated that after such
fatigue the soldier is not in good condition for fighting; but the
sense of weariness is lost when the excitement of battle begins.
The few Federal regiments on guard at the Junction were quickly
dispersed, and trains of cars loaded with all sorts of army supplies
were burned. A large building filled with commissary stores was also
burned, but not before our empty haversacks had been replenished. By the
light of the fires we supped plentifully on potatoes and beef and then
lay down upon the ground, not to pleasant dreams, but to dreamless
sleep.
On the 28th our brigade with some others went toward Centerville, in
Fairfax county, and thence turning away came back into Prince William
and took position on a part of the ground whereon the first battle of
Manassas had been fought. Ewell's division, which had been left behind
to befog Pope's mind and retard his movements, joined us and completed
the defensive line of Jackson's entire corps.
The next day the Federal army began to press us vigorously, but the
numerous attacks made upon us were repelled and followed by counter
charges. Our Brigadier-General, Field, was wounded badly, and Company F
lost some men, among whom was Lieutenant James Ball, who in the absence
of Capt. William Brown was in command. By his death the control of the
company was devolved upon me.
Let me here relate an incident to show that between individuals of the
opposing hosts there was no animosity. During a lull in the battle I
left the regiment and circumspectly proceeded forward to reconnoiter. I
found in a wood a Yankee captain dangerously wounded, a fine-looking man
and handsomely dressed. In reply to the question whether I could do
anything for him he asked for water, and I, kneeling down, held my
canteen to his lips, for which kindness he made grateful
acknowledgments. "And now," said I, "there is something you can do for
me: you can give me your sword, but I will not take it unless you part
with it freely." He replied that I was welcome to it, for he would never
need it again. After I had taken it he said: "You had better retire,
because our men will soon be here again." He was thirsty, and I gave him
drink; I was in danger, and he gave me friendly warning.
That sword had an unfortunate history: its beautiful scabbard, belt, and
shoulder strap were ruined when my tent was burned the next winter; its
hilt was shot off at Chancellorsville, and the naked blade was thrown
away on that ensanguined field.
I returned to where the regiment was standing prepared to receive
another attack, which, however, was not made that day. When we were
ordered to fall back to our first position, I caused to be brought with
us the bodies of Lieutenant Ball and his most intimate friend, Mordecai
Lawson, who, like him, had been shot in the forehead. With bayonets and
hands a grave was dug, in which we laid them side by side, and spreading
over them a soldier's blanket, we heaped above them the turf and clods.
In neither army could there have been found two braver men. Boon
companions in life, in death they were not divided.
The next day, Saturday the 30th, witnessed the grand struggle that has
become famous in history as the Second Battle of Manassas. After a
separation of four days Longstreet's corps had come up and formed on
Jackson's right, and General Pope was compelled either to retreat or
fight on ground so skilfully selected by General Lee. The line of battle
was nearly parallel with Bull Run, whereas in the first battle it was
perpendicular to it.
There was between the two armies a bed that had been graded for a
railroad, but upon which no rails have ever been laid. It was the
fortune of the First Brigade to fight on Friday over a shallow cut, and
on Saturday over the deepest of all. Our line being formed in an oak
forest and ordered to charge, we rushed from the wood into a large field
across which the cut had been dug, not knowing it was there until we
came close to it. The Federal soldiers on the other side made but feeble
resistance, because they had already been hotly engaged with a brigade
composed of the 60th Virginia and some regiments from Louisiana. That
brigade was down in the cut, having exhausted their ammunition, and it
would have been captured but for our timely arrival, which filled them
with rejoicing. In that charge the saber was knocked from my uplifted
hand, and falling it stuck in the ground some paces behind me.
The brigade did not cross the cut, but a few of the men clambered over
and I among them. There was a cannon over there which they pulled back
with all the hilarity of college students, some riding astraddle the
piece, cheering, and waving their caps.
We had no sooner recrossed the cut and regained our places in the line
than the grand spectacle of dense columns of Pope's army coming to the
assault was witnessed. In perfect array, they kept step as if on dress
parade, and bore their banners proudly. I looked for a terrific shock,
but before they came to close quarters with us, the Confederate
artillery, massed on high ground behind us, opened upon their closed
ranks, and wrought such fearful destruction as, I believe, was not
dealt in any other battle of the entire war. Shells burst among them so
thick and fast that in a few minutes the field was literally strewn with
the killed and wounded. They halted, they turned, they fled; and Lee's
whole army assuming the offensive, rushed forward and won the battle.
General Pope was going to hoist the Stars and Stripes above the capitol
in Richmond, but he came no nearer to the city than Cedar Run. His men
were brave, but from first to last he was mystified by Lee's superior
strategy. A prisoner said to me, "If we had your Jackson, we would soon
whip you." And I will express the opinion that if the Army of the
Potomac had been commanded by generals who were the equals of Lee and
Jackson the Southern Confederacy would have collapsed before April,
1865; and sooner still if Lee and Jackson had led the Northern armies,
while the Confederates were marshaled by leaders of Pope's caliber.