[313]
Capture of Harper's Ferry, etc.
It had been supposed by Gen. Lee that the advance upon Frederick would lead to the evacuation of Martinsburg and Harper's Ferry, thus opening the line of communication through the valley. This not having occurred, it became necessary to dislodge the enemy from those positions, before concentrating the army west of the mountains. To accomplish this with the least delay, Gen. Jackson was directed to proceed with his command to Martinsburg, and, after driving the enemy from that place, to move down the south side of the Potomac upon Harper's Ferry. On the 14th of September Gen. Jackson had succeeded in investing Harper's Ferry, with its garrison of nearly thirteen thousand men, on three sides. A division of Longstreet's corps, under McLaws, had been sent to attack and shut it up on the Maryland side, and now occupied the fertile tract of country which is enclosed by the continuation of the Maryland Heights and the South Mountain spur of the Blue Ridge. The two ranges run nearly parallel for a little distance from the river, with an intervening space of about two miles in breadth, but the South Mountain branches off in the neighbourhood of Boonsboroa, forming what is called the “Pleasant Valley.” But at this time occurred a most critical movement on the part of the enemy, originating in one of those little accidents which sometimes disconcerts the schemes of tile greatest commanders. After the defeat of Pope, McClellan had again been placed at the head of the Federal armies in and around Washington. He was evidently at a loss to understand Lee's movements; he remained inactive for several valuable days; and he was restrained by President Lincoln's fears, who was anxious lest Gen. Lee, Having, by a feint of advance into Maryland, drawn the army from Washington, should turn around and capture the city by a coup de main. But accident, at last, revealed to him, not only the precise nature of Lee's plans, but the exact disposition of his forces. Of the curiosity displayed towards Jackson, a Confederate officer, who shared the campaign in Maryland, gives the following amusing account:Crowds were continually hanging round his headquarters, and peeping through the windows, as if anxious to catch him at hisincantations. “Others, again, actually thought that he was continually praying, and imagined that angelic spirits were his companions and counsellors; and it was not until the great man had mounted his old horse, and frequently aired himself in the streets, that many began to think him less than supernatural. His shabby attire and unpretending deportment quite disappointed the many who expected to see a great display of gold lace and feathers; and when he ordered his guards to clear his quarters of idle crowds, many went away muttering, ‘ Oh! he's no great shakes after all! ’ ”
