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of the whole army, officers and men, which, under the blessing of Divine Providence, enabled the crowning victory to be obtained, which I feel confident the country will never cease to bear in grateful remembrance.
It is my duty, as well as my pleasure, to call attention to the earnest efforts and cooperation on the part of Major-General D. N. Couch, commanding the department of the Susquehannah, and particularly to his advance of four thousand men under Brigadier-General W. F. Smith, who joined me at Boonsboro, just prior to the withdrawal of the confederate army.
In conclusion, I desire to return my thanks to my staff, general and personal, to each and all of whom I was indebted for unremitting activity and most efficient assistance.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
General R. E. Lee's report.
headquarters army of Northern Virginia, July 31, 1863.
General S. Cooper, Adjutant and Inspector-General, Richmond, Va.:
General: I have the honor to submit the following outline of the recent operations of this army for the information of the department:
The position occupied by the enemy opposite Fredericksburgh being one in which he could not be attacked to advantage, it was determined to draw him from it. The execution of this purpose embraced the relief of the Shenandoah Valley from the troops that had occupied the lower part of it during the winter and spring, and, if practicable, the transfer of the scene of hostilities north of the Potomac.
It was thought that the corresponding movements on the part of the enemy, to which those contemplated by us would probably give rise, might offer a fair opportunity to strike a blow at the army therein, commanded by General Hooker; and that, in any event, that army would be compelled to leave Virginia, and possibly to draw to its support troops designed to operate against other parts of the country.
In this way it was supposed that the enemy's plan of campaign for the summer would be broken up, and part of the season of active operations be consumed in the formations of new combinations, and the preparations that they would require.
In addition to these advantages, it was hoped that other valuable results might be attained by military success.
Actuated by these and other important considerations that may hereafter be presented, the movement began on the third June.
McLaws's division, of Longstreet's corps, left Fredericksburgh for Culpeper Court-House, and Hood's division, which was encamped on the Rapidan, marched to the same place.
They were followed on the fourth and fifth by Ewell's corps, leaving that of A. P. Hill to occupy our lines at Fredericksburgh.
The march of these troops having been discovered by the enemy on the afternoon of the fifth, and the following day he crossed a force, amounting to about one army corps, to the south side of the Rappahannock, on a pontoon-bridge laid down near the mouth of Deep Run. General Hill disposed his command to resist their advance, but as they seemed intended for the purpose of observation rather than attack, the movements in progress were not arrested.
The forces of Longstreet and Ewell reached Culpeper Court-House by the eighth, at which point the cavalry, under General Stuart, was also concentrated.
On the ninth a large force of Federal cavalry, strongly supported by infantry, crossed the Rappahannock at Beverly's and Kelly's Fords, and attacked General Stuart.
A severe engagement ensued, continuing from early in the morning until late in the afternoon, when the enemy was forced to recross the river with heavy loss, leaving four hundred prisoners, three pieces of artillery and several colors in our hands.
General Jenkins, with his cavalry brigade, had been ordered to advance toward Winchester to cooperate with the infantry in the proposed expedition into the lower valley, and at the same time General Imboden was directed, with his command, to make a demonstration in the direction of Romney, in order to cover the movement against Winchester, and prevent the enemy at that place from being reenforced by the troops on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Both of these officers were in position when General Ewell left Culpeper Court-House on the sixteenth.
Crossing the Shenandoah near Front Royal, he detached Rodes's division to Berryville, with instructions, after dislodging the force stationed there, to cut off the communication between Winchester and the Potomac.
With the divisions of Early and Johnson, General Ewell advanced directly upon Winchester, driving the enemy into his works around the town on the thirteenth.
On the same day the troops at Berryville fell back before General Rodes, retreating to Winchester.
On the fourteenth General Early stormed the works at the latter place, and the whole army of General Milroy was captured or dispersed.
Most of those who attempted to escape were intercepted and made prisoners by General Johnson.
Their leader fled to Harper's Ferry with a small party of fugitives.
General Rodes marched from Berryville.
to Martinsburgh, entering the latter place on the fourteenth, where he took seven hundred prisoners, five pieces of artillery and a considerable quantity of stores.
These operations cleared the valley of the enemy, those at Harper's Ferry withdrawing to Maryland Heights.
More than four thousand prisoners, twenty-nine pieces of artillery, two hundred and seventy wagons and ambulances, with four hundred horses, were captured, besides a large amount of military stores.
Our loss was small.
On the night that Ewell appeared at Winchester the Federal troops in front of A. P. Hill, at Fredericksburgh, recrossed General S. Cooper, Adjutant and Inspector-General, Richmond, Va.:
