Chapter XI
when Brig.-Gen. W. W. Loring took command of the ‘Northwestern army,’ then distributed at various points in West Virginia, in July, 1861, he was joined at Huntersville by Brig.-Gen. Daniel S. Donelson's Tennessee brigade, composed of the Eighth and Sixteenth regiments under Cols. Alfred Fulton and John H. Savage, and by Brig.-Gen. Samuel R. Anderson's Tennessee brigade, composed of the First, Col. George Maney; the Seventh, Col. Robert Hatton, and the Fourteenth, Col. W. A. Forbes. Early in August, Gen. R. E. Lee assumed command of the forces in West Virginia, and Brig.--Gen. W. S. Rosecrans became his opponent in command of the Federal forces. In preparing the well-laid scheme to destroy the Federal forces at Cheat Mountain pass, General Lee moved Donelson's and Anderson's brigades to the right and left of the Federal position by circuitous mountain paths, which enabled them to penetrate the rear of the enemy. General Lee said: ‘With great effort the troops intended for the surprise had reached their destination, having traversed 20 miles of steep, rugged mountain paths, and the last day through a terrible storm which lasted all night, and in which they had to stand drenched to the skin in the cold rain. When morning broke I could see the enemy's tents on Valley river at the point on the Huttonsville road just below me. It was a tempting sight. We waited for the attack (by Rust) on Cheat mountain, which was to be the signal, till 10 a. m. But the signal did not come. All chance for surprise was ’
