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artillery were on the road from Berryville to Winchester, one mile from the latter place.
Rodes', Gordon's and Wharton's divisions (the last two being under Breckenridge), and Braxton's and King's battalions of artillery were at Stephenson's depot on the Winchester & Potomac Railroad, which is six miles from Winchester.
Lomax's cavalry picketed in my front on the Opequon, and on my left from that stream to North Mountain, while Fitz. Lee's cavalry watched the right, having small pickets across to the Shenandoah.
Four principal roads, from positions, centred at Stephenson's depot, to wit: the Martinsburg road, the road from Charlestown via Smithfield, the road from the same place via Summit Point, and the road from Berryville via Jordan's Springs.
Sheridan's main force was near Berryville, at the entrenched position which has been mentioned, while Averill was at Martinsburg with a division of cavalry.
Berryville is ten miles from Winchester, nearly east, and Martinsburg twenty-two miles nearly north.
The crossing of the Opequon on the Berryville road is four or five miles from Winchester.
From Berryville there are two good roads via White Post to the Valley Pike at Newtown and Middletown, the last two roads running east of the Opequon.
The whole country is very open, being a limestone country which is thickly settled and well cleared, and affords great facilities for the movement of troops and the operations of cavalry.
From the enemy's fortifications on Maryland Heights, the country north and east of Winchester, and the main roads through it are exposed to view.
The relative positions which we occupied rendered my communications to the rear very much exposed, but I could not avoid it without giving up the lower Valley.
The object of my presence there was to keep up a threatening attitude towards Maryland and Pennsylvania, and prevent the use of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, as well as to keep as large a force as possible from Grant's army to defend the
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