[
749]
Appendix to vol.
II.
Notes.
Note a, page 71.
SINCE the foregoing pages were printed we have received additional information which compels us to correct a statement relative to
General Keyes.
He did not arrive on the field of
battle at Fair Oaks with
Peck's brigade, as we had believed.
He was on the ground almost from the commencement of the battle, and some time before the moment when he directed this brigade what position it should take.
Note B, page 148.
Reports of the Federal and Confederate armies, to explain the first book.
I.—report of the army of the Potomac
On the 1st of April, 1862.
N. B. The troops marked thus (*) did not form part of those which landed at
Fortress Monroe.
Those marked thus (†) joined
McClellan after he had landed.
The brigades where dots (......) are substituted for the name of the commander were without regular commanders, and under the orders of the
senior colonel.
Commander-in-chief,
Major-General McClellan.
Chief of Staff,
Brigadier-general Marcy.
Adjutant-general,
Brigadier-general S. Williams.
Chief of Cavalry,
Brigadier-general Stoneman.
Inspector-general,
Colonel Sackett.
Chief of Engineers,
Brigadier-general Barnard.
Chief of Topographical Engineers,
Brigadier-general Humphreys.
Surgeon-in-chief,
Doctor Tripler.
[
750]
Quartermaster-general,
Brigadier-general Van Vliet.
Chief Commissary of Subsistence,
Colonel Clarke.
Chief of Ordnance,
Colonel Kingsbury.
Provost Marshal-general,
Brigadier-general Andrew Porter.
Judge Advocate,
Colonel Gantt.
Chief of the Signal Corps,
Major Myer.
Chief of Telegraphy,
Major Eckert.
Division of Reserve Cavalry,
Brigadier-general P. St. George Cooke.
1st
Brigade,
Brigadier-general Emory.
2d
Brigade,
Brigadier-general Blake.
Artillery Reserve,
Colonel Hunt.
14 Regular batteries, 80 guns.
4 Volunteer batteries, 20 guns.
Brigade of Engineers,
Brigadier-general Woodbury.
2 Volunteer regiments.
3 Companies of regulars.
Siege park batteries,
Colonel Tyler.
1 Regiment.
Infantry Reserve,
Brigadier-general Sykes.
8 Battalions of regulars, 1 regiment.
Brigade of cavalry, 4 regiments.
Sharpshooters, 1 regiment.
† 1st
Division,
Brigadier-general Franklin.
Artillery, 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery, 3 Volunteer batteries, 16 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Kearny, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Slocum, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Newton, 4 regiments.
† 2d
Division,
Brigadier-general McCall.
* (Pennsylvania Reserves.)
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 16 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Reynolds, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Meade, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Ord, 4 regiments.
1 Independent regiment.
3d
Division,
Brigadier-general King.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 18 guns.
[
751]
1st Brigade, ...... 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Patrick, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Augur, 4 regiments.
Cavalry.
Colonel Farnsworth, 1 regiment.
1st
Division,
Brigadier-general Richardson.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 18 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Howard, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Meagher, 3 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general French, 4 regiments.
2d
Division,
Brigadier-general Sedgwick.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 18 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Gorman, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Burns, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Dana, 4 regiments.
3d
Division,
Brigadier-general Blenker.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 18 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Stahel, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Von Steinwehr, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Colonel Schimmelpfennig, 4 regiments.
Cavalry.
Colonel Averill, 1 regiment.
1st
Division,
Brigadier-general F. Porter.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 18 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Martindale, 5 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Morrell, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Butterfield, 5 regiments.
Independent sharpshooters, 1 regiment.
2d
Division,
Brigadier-general Hooker.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 16 guns.
1st Brigade (
Excelsior),
Brigadier-general Sickles, 5 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Naglee, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Colonel Starr, 4 regiments.
3d
Division,
Brigadier-general Hamilton.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
[
752]
Artillery. 2 Volunteer batteries, 12 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Jameson, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Birney, 4 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Berry, 4 regiments.
1st
Division,
Brigadier-general Couch.
Artillery. 4 Regular batteries, 18 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Graham, 5 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Peck, 5 regiments.
3d Brigade, ......, 4 regiments.
2d
Division,
Brigadier-general W. F. Smith.
Artillery. Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 3 Volunteer batteries, 16 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Hancock, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Brooks, 5 regiments.
3d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Davidson, 4 regiments.
3d
Divisions,
Brigadier-general Casey.
Artillery. 4 Volunteer batteries, 22 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Keim, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade,
Brigadier-general Palmer, 5 regiments.
3d Brigade, ..... 5 regiments.
Cavalry division, 8 regiments.
1 Regiment of Independent infantry.
1st
Division,
Brigadier-general Williams.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 6 Volunteer batteries, 32 guns.
1st Brigade,
Brigadier-general Abercrombie, 4 regiments.
2d Brigade, ..... 4 regiments.
3d Brigade, ....., 6 regiments.
2d
Division,
Brigadier-general Shields.
Artillery. 1 Regular battery, 6 guns.
Artillery. 4 Volunteer batteries, 21 guns.
1st Brigade, ....., 6 regiments.
2d Brigade, ......, 5 regiments.
3d Brigade, ......, 6 regiments.
* Garrison of Washington,
Brigadier-general Wadsworth.
Infantry, 23 regiments.
Artillery in position, 7 regiments.
[
753]
Cavalry, 2 regiments.
Depot of cavalry, 4 regiments.
*
Garrison of
Baltimore,
Major-general Dix.
Infantry, 13 regiments.
Cavalry, 2 regiments.
Artillery, 1 Regular battery.
Artillery. 4 Regular batteries.
† Brigade, Provost-guard.
Regular cavalry, 1 regiment.
Regular infantry, 2 battalions.
General headquarters.
Cavalry, 3 squadrons.
Infantry, 1 company.
Ii.
Report of the army of the Potomac
On the 27th of June, 1862.
2d corps, Sumner; 17,581 men strong.
1st
Division,
Richardson.
1st Brigade,
Caldwell; 2d Brigade,
Meagher; 3d Brigade,
French.
2d
Division,
Sedgwick.
1st Brigade,
Gorman; 2d Brigade,
Burns;
3d Brigade,
Abercrombie.
3d corps, Heintzelman; 18,810 men strong.
1st
Division,
Hooker.
1st Brigade,
Sickles; 2d Brigade,
Grover;
3d Brigade,
Starr.
2d
Division,
Kearny.
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade,
Birney; 3d Brigade,
Berry.
4th corps, Keyes, 14,610 men strong.
1st
Division,
Couch.
1st Brigade,
Graham; 2d Brigade, .....; 3d Brigade,
Howe.
2d
Division,
Peck.
1st Brigade,
Keim; 2d Brigade,
Palmer; 3d Brigade,
Naglee.
5th corps, Franklin; 19,405 men strong.
1st
Division,
Slocum.
1st Brigade,
Newton; 2d Brigade,
Taylor; 3d Brigade,
Bartlett.
2d
Division,
Smith.
1st Brigade,
Hancock; 2d Brigade,
Brooks; 3d Brigade,
Davidson.
6th corps, F. Porter; 19,960 men strong.
1st
Division,
Morrell.
1st Brigade,
Martindale; 2d Brigade,
Griffin; 3d Brigade,
Butterfield.
[
754]
2d
Division,Sykes.
1st Brigade (regular),
Major Russell; 2d Brigade,
Warren.
Independent
Division,
McCall; 9514 men.
（Pennsylvania Reserves.)
1st Brigade,
Reynolds; 2d Brigade,
Meade; 3d Brigade,
Seymour.
Iii.
We are not in possession of official documents to prepare full statements of the reports prior to the 26th of June, 1862, and can only give the following outline.
On the 4th of May the army under
Johnston at
Yorktown, numbering about 55,000 men, was divided into four divisions:
1st,
Magruder; 4 brigades, under
D. R. Jones.
2d,
G. Smith; 8 brigades, under
Wilcox,
A. P. Hill,
Pickett,
Colston,
Hampton,
Hood,
Hatton and
Whiting.
3d,
D. H. Hill; 4 brigades, under
Early,
Rhodes,
Garland and
Rains.
4th,
Longstreet; 4 or 5 brigades, under
McLaws,
Kershaw,
Semmes and
R. H. Anderson.
On the 30th of May the army under
Johnston at
Richmond, about 70,000 strong, was divided into six divisions:
1st,
Magruder; 6 brigades.
2d,
Smith; 7 brigades, under
Wilcox and
Colston,
Hampton,
Hood,
Hatton and
Whiting.
3d,
D. H. Hill; 4 brigades, under
Early,
Rhodes,
Garland and
Rains.
4th,
Longstreet; 4 brigades, under
McLaws,
Kershaw,
Semmes and
R. H. Anderson.
5th,
A. P. Hill; 2 or 3 brigades, under
G. B. Anderson and
Branch.
6th,
Huger; 3 brigades, under
Pryor,
Mahone and
Pickett.
Holmes' division, comprising the three brigades under
Ripley,
Lawton and rayton, numbering 15,000 men, rejoined the army on the 2d of June.
From the month of June,
General Lee's reports enable us to give the most exact particulars.
[
755]
IV.
Report of the army of Northern Virginia
On the 26th of June, 1862.
Commander-in-chief,
R. E. Lee.
1st
Division,
Longstreet.
1st Brigade,
Kemper; 2d Brigade,
R. H. Anderson; 3d Brigade,
Pickett; 4th Brigade,
Wilcox; 5th Brigade,
Pryor.
2d
Division,
A. P. Hill. 1st Brigade,
J. R. Anderson; 2d Brigade,
M. Gregg; 3d Brigade,
Archer; 4th Brigade,
Field; 5th Brigade,
Branch; 6th Brigade,
Pender.
1st
Division,
Jackson.
1st Brigade (
Stonewall),
Winder; 2d Brigade,
Cunningham; 3d Brigade, Fulkerstone; 4th Brigade,
Lawton.
2d
Division,
Ewell.
1st Brigade,
Elzey (afterward
Early); 2d Brigade,
Trimble; 3d Brigade,
Seymour.
3d
Division,
Whiting.
1st Brigade,
Hood; 2d Brigade, Laws.
4th
Division,
D. H. Hill. 1st Brigade,
Rhodes; 2d Brigade,
Colquitt; 3d Brigade,
Garland; 4th Brigade,
G. B. Anderson; 5th Brigade,
Ripley.
1st
Division,
Magruder.
1st Brigade,
Howell Cobb; 2d Brigade,
Griffith.
2d
Division,
D. R. Jones. 1st Brigade,
Toombs; 2d Brigade,
G. T. Anderson.
3d
Division,
McLaws.
1st Brigade,
Kershaw; 2d Brigade,
Semmes.
Huger's
Division. 1st Brigade,
Armistead; 2d Brigade,
Ransom; 3d Brigade,
Mahone; 4th Brigade,
Wright.
Holmes's
Division. 1st Brigade,
Wise; 2d Brigade,
Daniel; 3d Brigade,
Walker.
Cavalry
Division,
Stuart; 9 regiments.
Reserve Artillery,
Pendleton.
The exact strength of this army has never been officially stated, but it is easy to form a calculation.
It comprised thirty-seven active brigades, averaging five regiments each.
Allowing only four hundred and fifty men to every regiment—that is to say, less than one half of the normal force—we get at the figure of two thousand two hundred and fifty men as the strength of each brigade, making the total number of Confederate infantry eighty-three thousand two hundred and fifty men. The nine regiments of
Stuart's cavalry could not count
[
756]
less than four thousand five hundred sabres, nor
Pendleton's reserve less than one thousand five hundred artillerists, while the various staffs, escorts and detachments mustered between four and five thousand, making a total of about ninety-four thousand men. We also obtain this figure through another calculation.
In the month of July, a few days after the battles of
Gaines' Mill,
Glendale and
Malvern, the army reports exhibited a total of sixty-nine thousand five hundred and fiftyfour men present in the field.
By adding the twenty thousand lost in killed, wounded and prisoners in those battles to the first figure, and five thousand crippled or sick incapacitated for active service after a week of forced marches, we still find the figure of ninety-four thousand men as the actual effective force of the Confederate army on the 26th of June.
According to detailed accounts, the following are the losses of this army by divisions from the 26th of June to the 1st of July:
Longstreet, 4429;
A. P. Hill, 3870;
Ewell, 987;
Whiting, 1081;
D. H. Hill, 3955;
Magruder, about 1000;
Jones, 832;
McLaws, 300;
Huger, 1612; Artillery, 44.
Total, 18,961, of which number the prisoners amounted to scarcely 900.
The losses of
Stuart's and
Jackson's divisions are not given in this estimate.
As the latter had been very much engaged, the aggregate amount of these losses may be estimated at 20,000 men.
Note C, page 251.
Reports of the Federal and Confederate armies, to explain the third book.
I.
Report of the Federal armies in Virginia
On the 15th of August, 1862.
Army of the Potomac—
Major-General McClellan.
1st
Division,
Richardson.
1st Brigade,
Caldwell; 2d Brigade,
Meagher; 3d Brigade,
French.
2d
Division,
Sedgwick.
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade,
Burns; 3d Brigade,
Abercrombie.
1st
Division,
Hooker.
1st Brigade,
Sickles; 2d Brigade,
Grover; 3d Brigade,
Carr.
2d
Division,
Kearny.
1st Brigade,
Robertson; 2d Brigade,
Birney; 3d Brigade,
Berry.
[
757]
4th corps, Keyes.
1st
Division,
Couch.
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade, ......; 3d Brigade,
Howe.
2d
Division,
Peck.
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade,
Palmer; 3d Brigade,
Naglee.
1st
Division,
Slocum.
1st Brigade,
Newton; 2d Brigade,
Taylor; 3d Brigade,
Bartlett.
2d
Division,
Smith.
1st Brigade,
Hancock; 2d Brigade,
Brooks; 3d Brigade,
Davidson.
1st
Division,
Morrell.
1st Brigade,
Martindale; 2d Brigade,
Butterfield; 3d Brigade,
Griffin.
2d
Division,
Sykes.
1st Brigade,
Warren; 2d Brigade (regular),
Buchanan.
Independent
Division,
Reynolds.
（Pennsylvania Reserves.)
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade,
Meade; 3d Brigade,
Seymour.
Cavalry
Division,
Stoneman.
1st Brigade,
Averill; 2d Brigade,
Pleasonton.
1st corps, Siegel (formerly the army of the mountain).
1st
Division,
Schenck.
1st Brigade,
McLean; 2d Brigade,
Stahel.
2d
Division,
Von Steinwehr.
1st Brigade,
Bohlen.
[
758]
3d
Division,
Schurz.
1st Brigade, Krysanowsky; 2d Brigade,
Schimmelpfennig;
Milroy's Brigade.
2d corps, Banks.
1st
Division,
Williams.
1st Brigade,
Crawford; 2d Brigade,
Gordon; 3d Brigade,
Gorman.
2d
Division,
Augur.
1st Brigade,
Prince; 2d Brigade,
Geary; 3d Brigade,
Green.
1st
Division,
Ricketts.
1st Brigade,
Tower; 2d Brigade,
Hartsuff; 3d Brigade,
Carroll; 4th Brigade,
Duryea.
2d
Division,
King.
1st Brigade,
Patrick; 2d Brigade,
Doubleday; 3d Brigade,
Gibbon; 4th Brigade,
Hatch.
3d
Division,
Sturgis.
1st Brigade,
Piatt; 2d Brigade, .......
9th independent corps, Burnside.
1st
Division,
Reno.
1st Brigade, .....; 2d Brigade, .....
2d
Division,
Stevens.
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade,......
3d
Division,
Parke.
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade,......
Cavalry
Division,
Cox. 1st Brigade,
Bayard; 2d Brigade,
Buford.
Ii.
Report of the army of the Potomac2
On the 15th of September, 1862.
Commander-in-chief,
Major-General McClellan.
1st corps, Hooker; 14,850 men strong.
1st
Division,
Meade.
1st Brigade,
Seymour; 2d Brigade,
Gallagher; 3d Brigade,
Magilton.
2d
Division,
Ricketts.
1st Brigade,
Hartsuff; 2d Brigade,
Christian; 3d Brigade,
Duryea.
3d
Division,
Doubleday.
1st Brigade,
Patrick; 2d Brigade,
Gibbon; 3d Brigade,
Phelps.
9th corps, Reno (afterward Cox); 13,819 men strong.
1st
Division,
Cox. 1st Brigade,
Crook; 2d Brigade,
Brooks; 3d Brigade,
Scammon.
2d
Division,
Wilcox.
1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade, .....
3d
Division,
Sturgis.
1st Brigade,
Ferrero; 2d Brigade, ......
[
759]
4th
Division,
Rodman.
1st Brigade,
Harland; 2d Brigade,
Fairchild.
2d corps, Sumner; 18,813 men strong.
1st
Division,
Richardson.
1st Brigade,
Caldwell; 2d Brigade,
Meagher.
2d
Division,
Sedgwick.
1st Brigade,
Gorman; 2d Brigade,
Dana; 3d Brigade,
Howard.
3d
Division,
French.
1st Brigade,
Max Weber; 2d Brigade,
Kimball; 3d Brigade,
Dwight Morris.
2d corps, Mansfield; 10,126 men strong.
1st
Division,
Williams.
1st Brigade,
Crawford; 2d Brigade,
Gordon.
3d
Division,
Green.
1st Brigade, Goodwich; 2d Brigade, ......
6th corps, Franklin; 12,300 men strong.
1st
Division,
Slocum.
1st Brigade,
Newton; 2d Brigade,
Torbert; 3d Brigade,
Bartlett.
2d
Division,
Smith.
1st Brigade,
Hancock; 2d Brigade,
Brooks; 3d Brigade,
Irwin.
Independent
Division,
Couch.
1st Brigade,......; 2d Brigade, ......
7th independent corps, Porter; 12,030 men strong.
1st
Division,
Morrell.
1st Brigade,
Martindale; 2d Brigade,
Griffin; 3d Brigade,
Butterfield.
2d
Division,
Sykes.
1st Brigade (regular),
Captain Dyer; 2d Brigade,
Warren.
Humphrey's
Division (joined the Army September 18th). 1st Brigade, ......; 2d Brigade, .....
Cavalry
Division,
Pleasonton; 4320 men. 1st Brigade, ...... 2d Brigade, ......
Iii.
Report of the army of Northern Virginia
On the 15th of September, 1862.
Commander-in-chief,
R. E. Lee.
1st
Division,
Pickett.
1st Brigade,
Kemper, 4 regiments; 2d Brigade (formerly
Pickett's), 5 regiments.
[
760]
2d
Division,
Walker.
1st Brigade,
Ransom, 4 regiments, 1 battery; 2d Brigade (formerly
Walker), 4 regiments, 1 battery.
3d
Division,
Hood.
1st Brigade,
Anderson, 5 regiments; 2d Brigade, Law, 4 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Wofford, 4 regiments of infantry, 1 of cavalry, 3 batteries; 4th Brigade,
Toombs, 4 regiments; 5th Brigade,
Jenkins, 4 regiments; 6th Brigade,
Evans, 5 regiments, 1 battery.
4th
Division,
McLaws.
1st Brigade,
Drayton, 3 regiments; 2d Brigade,
Barksdale, 4 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Kershaw, 4 regiments, 1 battery; 4th Brigade,
Semmes, 4 regiments; 5th Brigade,
Cobb, 5 regiments.
5th
Division,
Anderson.
1st Brigade,
Wright, 4 regiments; 2d Brigade,
Armistead, 4 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Wilcox, 5 regiments; 4th Brigade,
Pryor, 4 regiments; 5th Brigade,
Featherstone, 4 regiments; 6th Brigade,
Mahone, 4 regiments.
1st
Division,
Starke.
1st Brigade,
Winder (afterward
Grigsby), 3 regiments, 2 batteries; 2d Brigade,
Taliaferro (afterward
Warren), 4 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Stafford, 5 regiments, 1 battery; 4th Brigade,
Jones (afterward
Johnston), 4 regiments.
2d
Division,
Ewell.
1st Brigade,
Lawton, 4 regiments; 2d Brigade,
Early, 6 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Hay, 4 regiments; 4th Brigade,
Trimble, 2 regiments.
3d
Division,
A. P. Hill. 1st Brigade,
Branch, 4 regiments; 2d Brigade,
Gregg, 3 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Field, 3 regiments; 4th Brigade,
Pender, 3 regiments; 5th Brigade,
Archer, 3 regiments, 1 battery.
Independent
Division,
D. H. Hill. 1st Brigade,
Rhodes, 4 regiments; 2d Brigade,
McRae, 4 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Ripley, 4 regiments; 4th Brigade,
Anderson, 4 regiments; 5th Brigade,
Colquitt, 4 regiments.
Division of cavalry,
Stuart.
1st Brigade,
Hampton, 3 regiments; 2d Brigade,
Fitzhugh Lee, 3 regiments; 3d Brigade,
Jones, 3 regiments.
Reserve artillery,
Pendleton, 88 pieces.
Note D, page 293.
It is impossible for us to enter into the details of the discussions to which
General Porter's conduct on the 29th of August, 1862, gave
[
761]
rise; but the impartiality which it is our earnest desire to preserve in commenting upon the events of that day, compels us to say a few words on the subject of the accusations directed against that officer We shall pass over in silence the charges of incapacity, cowardice and treason.
These are belied by
Porter's whole career, who, both as a soldier and a chieftain, had been tried on more than one battle-field, and whose devotion to the cause he served cannot be called into question.
We shall only speak of those which rest upon facts or definite specifications.
After his defeat,
General Pope censured his lieutenant for not having prevented the junction of Jackson and Longstreet, by placing himself between them on the
Gainesville and
Groveton road.
He asserted that this manoeuvre was practicable, and that it would have assured the defeat of the
Confederates.
It was in consequence of this accusation that
Porter was tried and condemned.
At a later period, when the facts became more fully known, and the official reports of the
Confederate generals were given to the public, it was shown that the junction of the two Confederate corps was effected long before
Porter could have reached the point which had been indicated to him. From that moment the principal charges brought against him by the publication of
General Pope have been modified and restricted.
Pope has blamed him for not having left the
Gainesville road, which had been designated to him in his first instructions, to move to the right in the direction of
Groveton, and attack the extremity of
Longstreet's line; and the junction of the latter with
Jackson, conceded to have been accomplished at the outset of the battle, is no longer in question.
Thus far the censure is well founded, although it must be acknowledged that, in order to execute such a movement,
Porter would have been obliged to change the direction he had been ordered to follow in his formal instructions.
It is evident that
Porter, when he found himself unable to follow this direction, instead of remaining inactive, should have endeavored to find the enemy, and, notwithstanding the fatigue of his troops, should not have waited for new instructions to take part in the battle, the sound of which reached him on his right.
But this kind of censure might have been applied with equal force to many of the generals of both parties during the war, without subjecting them to any other penalty beyond the blame of their chiefs; and the contradictory orders that
Pope's lieutenants had been receiving for some days may, to a certain extent, plead in excuse of
Porter's fatal hesitation.
General Pope has weakened the effect of this second charge by his immoderate course, and by presenting the facts in a
[
762]
light which does not bear investigation.
On the one hand, he asserts that he ordered
Porter to attack the enemy's right, and assumes that he wilfully disobeyed him in not fulfilling his instructions.
Now, this order, as we have already stated, was only despatched at half-past 4 o'clock, and
Porter declared that he did not receive it until the moment when night rendered its execution impossible.
The movements of the several corps had been so frequently countermanded, that the officers of the
general staff were unable to ascertain the exact position of each, so that the delay in the transmission of that order is not to be wondered at. On the other hand,
Pope, in his anxiety to prove that
Porter's inaction had permitted the enemy to concentrate all his forces upon that portion of his line which was defended by
Jackson, quotes the official report of the latter.
But he has made a mistake in the dates, as we have ascertained by examining a collection of Confederate reports on the campaigns of
Virginia, published in
Richmond in 1864 (vol.
II., p. 96); the quotation he produces has reference to the 30th of August, and not the 29th.
This explanation will suffice to show how important it is to be circumspect in examining the various documents that have been published on both sides if one wishes to arrive at the exact truth.
Note E, page 367.
The part played by
Burnside at the
battle of Antietam has been the subject of a long and heated discussion in the
North.
General Mc-Clellan in his excellent report has severely, but without bitterness criticised the insufficiency of his lieutenant's attack upon the right wing of the
Confederates in the early part of the day. He particularly censures him for having kept his army corps inactive, which might have been employed elsewhere if the passage of the river had been found impracticable.
Mr. Swinton goes still farther, and accuses
Burnside of having through his inaction prevented
McClellan from driving the enemy's army into the
Potomac.
The biographer of
Burnside,
Mr. Woodbury, has replied to these accusations with great warmth, blaming
McClellan, on the other hand, for not having ordered
Porter to make the same effort that he had exacted from the Ninth corps.
He seeks to justify
Burnside for not having crossed the
Antietam before two o'clock by showing the heavy losses experienced by his corps.
This explanation is not satisfactory for two reasons; in the first place, because the greater part of these losses were sustained after
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the passage, in the battle fought on the other side of the river with
A. P. Hill's troops—a battle which would not have taken place if the passage had been effected a few hours sooner—and also because the successive attacks, made with insufficient forces, cost a larger sacrifice of life than would have been incurred in a single general attack made at the outset.
It will presently be seen that
Burnside, having become general-in-chief, did not have the same scruples in hurling his divisions against the formidable position of Marye's Hill.
Finally,
Mr. Woodbury states that
Lee would not have committed the fault of stripping his right in the presence of the whole of the Ninth corps.
This assertion is contradicted by the report of the
Confederate general himself, who says that he had left the defence of the approaches to the bridge of the
Rohrersville road to
Toombs' brigade alone.
Note F, page 582.
Several writers who have sought to throw the responsibility of the defeat upon
Franklin have stated that he was ordered to make a general attack upon the enemy's right, and that the attack on Marye's Hill was not to take place until after the success of this decisive movement.
An examination of the documents written at the very time of the action completely disproves this assertion.
We give below the entire text of
Burnside's order to
Franklin.
The reader will judge for himself:
‘
General Hardie will carry this despatch to you, and remain with you during the day. The general commanding directs that
you keep your whole command in position for a rapid movement down the old Richmond road, and you will send out at once a division, at least, to pass below
Smithfield, to seize, if possible, the heights near
Captain Hamilton's on this side of the
Massaponax, taking care to keep it well supported and its line of retreat open.
He has ordered another column of a division or more to be moved from
General Sumner's command up the
Plank road to its intersection of the
Telegraph road, where they will divide with a view to seizing the heights on both these roads.
Holding these heights, with the heights near
Captain Hamilton's, will, I hope, compel the enemy to evacuate the whole ridge between these points.
He makes these moves by columns distant from each other with a view of avoiding the possibility of a collision of our own forces, which might occur in a general movement during the
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and will remain as supports.
Copies of instructions to
Generals Sumner and
Hooker will be forwarded to you by an orderly very soon.
You will keep your whole command in readiness to move at once as soon as the fog lifts.
The watch-word, which, if possible, should be given to every company, will be
Scott.’
Signed,
The despatches hourly sent by
General Hardie, who was with
Franklin, to
Burnside's headquarters, show, moreover, that the latter, being informed of the dispositions made by the commander of the left wing, had no fault to find, and that he gave the signal of attack to
Sumner at a moment when he was well aware that this wing was not yet seriously engaged.
This plan differed entirely from that which had been discussed for the last two days. In consequence of this change and the new attack to be made upon Marye's Hill,
Franklin had no alternative but to strictly obey the text of the instructions he had received.
His corps commanders were of the same opinion.
Burnside, not having yet been tried as their commander-in-chief, had no right to expect more from his lieutenants than the literal execution of his orders; and when these orders were vague or contradictory, those who received them could not supply the deficiency by that initiative action which a subordinate will often venture upon, when sure that he has divined the intention of his chief; and that such conduct will meet with approval.
Hence the uncertainty and timidity which naturally characterized the movements of the
Federal army, and caused it to lose half its valor, without detracting from the bravery of the soldiers or the capacity of the generals.
Note G, page 664.
The statement of these facts is taken from a report (Thirty-sixth Congress, Second Session,
Report No. 78) laid before the House of Representatives on the 12th of February, 1861, by a special committee appointed to inquire into the robbery of Indian bonds.
All our allegations are based upon the authority of this official document.
But while we feel obliged, out of regard for truth, to show the amount of responsibility resting upon
Mr. Floyd in these culpable transactions, we eagerly seize this opportunity to modify an opinion, too severe,
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perhaps, which we have expressed in the first volume.
We accused him of having stripped the
Northern arsenals for the benefit of those of the
South during his administration of the War Department; this was an exaggerated assertion.
The following are the facts as they appear from a report made by
Mr. Stanton in the name of the committee on military affairs (Thirty-sixth Congress, Second Session,
Report No. 91). The number of muskets which
Mr. Floyd caused to be transferred from the
Northern to the
Southern arsenals in 1860 amounted to one hundred and fifteen thousand.
These arms, known to be fit for service, may be thus classified: sixty-five thousand percussion muskets, forty thousand altered muskets, ten thousand rifles; these were about one-fifth of all the arms collected in the different arsenals of the North and South.
The order of transfer having been issued in the spring of 1860, we may allow that
Mr. Floyd had no intention of securing arms for the
Southern insurrection, and that an untoward coincidence alone brought about that result.
Unfortunately, there is another order of the same character on file, which, although never executed, constitutes, from its date, a still more serious charge against him, and which, taken in connection with the first, greatly aggravates it. This is an order issued December 20, 1860, in which
Mr. Floyd directed forty columbiads and four thirty-two-pounders to be sent to the fort on
Ship Island, and seventy-one columbiads with seven thirty-two-pounders to
Galveston.
These one hundred and twenty-two guns of heavy calibre were intended for forts which at that period were yet unfinished, whose armament, therefore, was not justified by any existing circumstances.
The order was issued when the secession of several States was already an accomplished fact, and the
Secretary of War selected the very moment for its signature when the respected chief of the Ordnance Bureau,
Colonel Craig, was absent.
If this order, which would have put the
Confederates in possession of valuable resources, was not executed, it is because the
Secretary had no time to see it fulfilled, and because his successor,
Mr. Holt, hastened to revoke it.
We persist, therefore, in thinking that
Mr. Floyd failed in the performance of his duty by taking advantage of his official position to favor the arming of the States which were on the eve of insurrection against the government of which he formed a part; but while deeming him guilty on this point, we willingly acknowledge that the harm which he thus inflicted on the
Federal army was of less magnitude than we had imagined when we published the first part of this history.
