 |
| First Pennsylvania Regiment. |
June 4, 1861. |
June 8. |
June 3. |
This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
[520]
key to the Shenandoah Valley, in its relation to the Free-labor States), and opposing the advance of National troops, both from Northwestern Virginia and from Pennsylvania, by whom it was threatened.
Major-General McClellan was throwing Indiana and Ohio troops into that portion of Virginia; and Major-General Robert Patterson, a veteran of two wars, then at the head of the Department of Pennsylvania,1 was rapidly gathering a large force of volunteers at Chambersburg, in that State, under General W. H. Keim.2
General Patterson took command at Chambersburg, in person, on the 3d of June.
His troops consisted mostly of Pennsylvania militia, who had cheerfully responded to the call of the President, and were eager for duty in the field.
The General had proposed an attack on the insurgents on Maryland Hights, and his plan was approved by General Scott.
He was about to
move forward for the purpose, when the cautious General-in-chief ordered him
to wait for re-enforcements.
These were soon in readiness to join him, when Scott sent Patterson a letter of instruction,
in which he informed him what re-enforcements had been sent, and that he was organizing, for a diversion in his favor, “a small side expedition, under Colonel Stone,” of about two thousand five hundred men, including cavalry and artillery, who would take post on the Potomac, opposite Leesburg, and threaten Johnston's rear.
He directed Patterson to take his measures with circumspection.
“We must sustain no reverses,” he said.
“But this is not enough,” he continued; “a check or a drawn battle would be a victory to the enemy, filling his heart with joy, his ranks with men, and his magazines with voluntary contributions. . . . Attempt nothing without a clear prospect of success, as you will find the enemy strongly posted, and not inferior to you in numbers.”
3
Patterson advanced from Chambersburg with about fifteen thousand men. Already the insurgents, as we have seen, had been smitten at Philippi,
and, just as this movement had fairly
1 When the war broke out there were only two military departments, named respectively the Eastern and the Western. By a general order issued on the 27th of April, 1861, three new departments were created, namely, the Department of Washington, Colonel J. K. F. Mansfield, Commander; the Department of Annapolis, Brigadier-General B. F. Butler, Commander; and the Department of Pennsylvania, Major-General Robert Patterson, Commander.
2 General Patterson comprehended the wants of the Government, and while the National Capital was cut off from communication with the loyal States, he took the responsibility of officially requesting [April 25, 1861] the Governor of Pennsylvania to direct the organization, in that State, of twenty-five regiments of volunteers, in addition to the sixteen regiments called for. by the Secretary of War. The Governor promptly responded to the call, but the Secretary of War, even when the term of the three months men was half exhausted, declined to receive any more regiments. Fortunately for the country, Governor Curtin induced the Legislature to take the twenty-five regiments into the service of that State. This was the origin of that fine body of soldiers known as the Pennsylvania Reserves, who were gladly accepted by the Secretary of War after the disastrous battle of Bull's Run, and who, by hastening to Washington, assisted greatly in securing the National Capital from seizure immediately thereafter.
3 General Scott's Letter of Instruction to General Patterson, June 8, 1861.
Scanned printed text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.