[
115]
Chapter 5: military and naval operations on the coast of South Carolina.--military operations on the line of the Potomac River.
- Need of harbors for blockading vessels
-- gathering of a naval and military expedition in Hampton Roads, 115.
-- composition of the expedition
-- its departure, 116.
-- a terrible storm at sea
-- joy of the Confederates, 117.
-- the expedition off Beaufort Harbor
-- Confederate defenses there, 118.
-- Tatnall and his Mosquito fleet
-- plan of attack, 119.
-- battle of Port Royal entrance, 120.
-- capture of forts Walker and Beauregard at Port Royal entrance, 121.
-- Landing of National forces at Hilton head, 122.
-- the coast Island region of South Carolina abandoned to the National troops, 123.
-- flight of white inhabitants
-- capture of Beaufort, 124.
-- conquests on the coast of Georgia, 125.
-- care of the cotton on the coast Islands, 126.
-- movements against Port Royal Ferry
-- composition of the expedition, 127.
-- battle at Port Royal Ferry
-- attempt to close the Harbor of Charleston with sunken vessels filled with Rocks, 128.
-- failure of the attempt
-- McClellan and the Army of the Potomac, 129.
-- preparations for marching on Richmond
-- retirement of General Scott, 130.
-- organization and equipment of the Army of the Potomac
-- French
[7]
Princes on McClellan's staff, 131.
-- position of the Army of the Potomac
-- its Departments, 132.
-- reviews
-- hostile demonstrations, 133.
-- a land and naval expedition, down the Potomac planned
-- its failure
-- the Potomac blockade, 134.
-- reconnoissance near Washington City
-- Committee on the Conduct of the War, 135.
-- Confederates evacuate Munson's Hill--“Quaker guns,” 136.
-- expedition to Harper's Perry, 137.
-- capture of Harper's Ferry
-- the combatants along the Potomac, 138.
-- movements on the Potomac, 139.
-- invasion of Virginia, 140.
-- Senator E. D. Baker and his troops, 141.
-- battle of Ball's Bluff, 142.
-- a terrible scene on the River, 143.
-- disaster to the National arms, 144.
-- the honored dead
-- explanation demanded, 145.
-- the case of General Stone, 146.
-- a prisoner of State, 147.
-- the Baltimore Plot, 148.
-- how Mr. Lincoln's life was saved.
149.
Hampton Roads presented a spectacle, in October, similar to that, late in August, of the
Hatteras expedition; but more imposing.
It was a land and naval armament, fitted out for a descent upon the borders of
lower South Carolina, among the coast islands between
Charleston harbor and the
Savannah River.
The want of some harbors under the control of the
Government in that region, as stations, and as places of refuge of the blockading vessels during the storms of
autumn and
winter, had caused the
Government to take action on the subject even before the meeting of Congress in July.
So early as June, a Board of army and navy officers was convened at
Washington City.
1 The Board, after careful investigations, made elaborate reports, and, in accordance with their recommendations, expeditions were planned.
The
Secretary of the Navy, with the help of his energetic assistant,
Mr. Fox, had so far matured an expedition for the
Southern coast, that, early in October, rumors of it began to attract public attention.
It became tangible when in
Hampton Roads a large squadron was seen gathering, and at
Annapolis a considerable land force was collecting, which, it was said, was to form a part of the expedition.
Whither it was to go was a mystery to the public, and its destination was so uncertain to the popular mind, that it was placed by conjecture at almost every point of interest between
Cape Hatteras and
Galveston, in Texas.
Even in official circles its destination was generally unknown when it sailed, so well had the secret been kept.
The land forces of the expedition, which assembled at
Annapolis, in Maryland, about fifteen thousand in number, were placed in charge of
Brigadier-General T. W. Sherman, acting as major-general.
The naval portion of the expedition was placed under the command of
Captain S. F. Dupont, who had served as chairman of the Board of Inquiry just mentioned.
The fleet was composed of fifty war vessels and transports, with twenty-five coal vessels under convoy of the
Vandalia. These, with the troops, left
Hampton Roads and proceeded to sea on a most lovely October morning,
having been summoned to the movement at dawn by the booming of a gun on the
Wabash, the
Commodore's flag-ship.
The destination of the expedition was not generally known by the participants
[
116]
in it until it was well out to sea, when, under peculiar circumstances, as we shall observe, it was announced to be
Port Royal entrance and harbor, and the coast islands of
South Carolina.
The army under
Sherman was divided into three brigades, commanded respectively by
Brigadier-Generals Egbert S. Viele,
Isaac J. Stevens, and
Horatio G. Wright; all of them, including the chief, being graduates of the
West Point Military Academy.
The transports which bore these troops were about thirty-five in number, and included some powerful steamships.
2
The
Wafbash led the way out to sea, and its followers, moving in three parallel lines, and occupying a space of about twelve miles each way, made a most imposing appearance.
The war-vessels and transports were judiciously intermingled, so that the latter might be safely convoyed.
3 During a greater portion of the day of departure, they moved down the coast toward stormy
Cape Hatteras, most of the vessels in sight of the shore of
North Carolina, and all hearts cheered with promises of fine weather.
That night was glorious.
The next day was fair.
The second night was calm and beautiful.
There was no moon visible; but the stars were brilliant.
The dreaded
Cape Hatteras was passed in the dimness with such calmness of sea, that on the following morning a passenger on the
Atlantic counted no less than thirty-eight of the fifty vessels in sight from her deck.
But, on that evening, the aspect of the heavens changed, and the terrible storm, already mentioned, which swept over
Hatteras so fearfully at the beginning of November, was soon encountered, and the expedition was really “scattered to the winds.”
So complete was the dispersion, that, on the morning of the 2d of November, only a single vessel might be seen from the deck of the
Wabash. Fortunately, there were sealed orders on board of each vessel.
These were opened, and the
[
117]
place of rendezvous, off
Port Royal, was made known.
In that fearful storm four transport vessels were lost,
4 but not a dozen persons perished.
It was most remarkable how small was the aggregate amount of disaster suffered by so large a number of vessels in company, by a storm so severe that at times it was a hurricane.
Some were compelled to part with freight, in order to insure salvation.
The gunboat
Mercury lost one of her two rifled guns, thrown overboard to lighten her; and the
Isaac P. Smith was saved by parting with eight 8-inch guns in the same way. The side-wheel steamer
Florida, carrying nine guns, was disabled, and put back in distress; and the
Belvidere and two New York ferry-boats (
Ethan Allen and
Commodore Perry) were compelled to go back to
Fortress Monroe, where they gave the first public notice of the storm and the dispersion of the fleet.
The sad news disturbed the loyal people with alarm and distress until the small amount of disaster was known, while the
Confederate newspapers were jubilant with the expressed idea that the elements were in league with them in destroying their enemies.
“The stars in their courses fought against Sisera,” one of them quoted, and added, “So the winds of heaven fight for the good cause of Southern independence.
Let the Deborahs of the
South sing a song of deliverance.”
That joyous song was very brief, for, whilst it was swelling in full chorus, a voice of wailing went over the
Southern land, such as had not been heard since its wicked betrayers had raised their arms for the destruction of the
Republic and the liberties of the people.
On Sunday morning
the storm began to abate, and the vessels of the expedition to reassemble around the flag-ship.
When passing
Charleston harbor,
Commodore Dupont sent in
Captain Lardner with the
Seneca to direct the
Susquehanna, on blockading duty there, to proceed to
Port Royal; and on the following morning, at eight o'clock, the
Wabash anchored off
Port Royal Bar in company with twenty-five vessels, whilst many others were continually heaving in sight in the dim offing.
The expedition was now on the threshold of a theater of great and important events, with many difficulties and dangers still before it. The awful perils of the sea had been passed, but there were others, no less fearful, to be encountered in the works of man before it. There were also grave dangers beneath the waters on which that armada floated, for the insurgents had, as we have observed,
5 removed lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and every help to navigation all along the
Southern coasts.
Yet a remedy for this evil was found in the person of
Commander Charles H. Davis (the
fleet captain, and chief of
Dupont's staff), and
Mr. Boutelle, of the Coast Survey, a man of
[
118]
great scientific skill, who had recently been engaged in making a minute examination of this coast.
By these well-informed men the channel entrance to
Port Royal Sound was found, and so well buoyed in the course of a few hours that the fleet might enter with perfect safety.
At three o'clock in the!
afternoon
Commodore Dupont was informed that all of his gun-boats and transports drawing less than eighteen feet water might go forward without danger.
The movement commenced at once, and at twilight these vessels were all anchored in the roadstead of
Port Royal.
To oppose the further progress of the expedition, the
Confederates had earthworks on each side of
Port Royal entrance.
The one on the northern.
side, at
Bay Point,
Phillip's Island, was named
Fort Beauregard, and that on the southern side, near
Hilton Head,
Hilton Head Island, was called
Fort Walker.
The latter was a strong regular work, with twenty-four guns; and the former, though inferior to it in every respect, was formidable, being armed with twenty guns.
Fort Walker was manned, when the expedition arrived, by six hundred and twenty men,
6 under
General T. F. Drayton, a wealthy land-owner, whose mansion was not more than a miledistant from it, standing a few yards.
from the beach, and overlooking a. beautiful expanse of land and water.. He was a brother of
Captain Percival Drayton, commander of the
Pocahontas, of this expedition.
On the beach at Camp Lookout, six miles from
Fort Walker, were sixty-five men of
Scriven's guerrillas, who acted as scouts and couriers for the commander.
These forces were increased, before the, battle commenced, to one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven men.
7 The force on
Bay Point was six hundred
and forty men, commanded by
Colonel R. G. M. Dunovant.
8 Of these, one hundred and forty-nine, consisting of the
Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, garrisoned
Fort Beauregard,. under the immediate command of
Captain Stephen Elliott, Jr., of
Beaufort.
Dunovant's infantry force was stationed so as to protect the eastern portion of
Phillip's Island, and the entrance to Trenchard's Inlet.
In addition to these land forces, there was a little squadron called the “Musquito fleet,” under
Commodore Josiah Tatnall, a brave old veteran of. the
National navy, who served with distinction in the war of 1812, but who. had been seduced from his allegiance and his flag by the siren song of supreme State sovereignty.
He had followed the politicians of his native
[
119]
Georgia in the wicked ways of treason, and in the course of a few months he had fallen from his high position of an honored commander, kindly placed by his Government in a retreat of ease and comfort, at the naval station at
Sackett's Harbor, on
Lake Ontario, in New York, to be the
chief manager of a little flotilla of eight small armed steamers that had been employed in navigating the shallow waters among the
Coast Islands, and losing, by lack of success, even the respect of those whose bad cause he had consented to serve.
His achievements on the occasion we are now considering consisted of a harmless show of opposition to the fleet when it anchored in
Port Royal roadstead; a successful retreat from danger when a few shots were hurled at his vessels; assisting in the flight of the
Confederate land forces upon
Hilton Head Island, and in the destruction of his own flotilla to prevent its capture by his late
brothers in the
National navy.
On Tuesday, the 5th,
Commander John Rogers, a passenger with
Dupont, on his way to his own ship, the
Flag, accompanied by
General Wright, made a reconnoissance in force of the
Confederate works in the
Ottawa, supported by the
Curlew, Seneca, and
Smith. The forts on both shores opened upon them, as they desired they should, and an engagement of about three-quarters of an hour ensued, by which the strength and, character of those works were fairly tested.
In the mean time, the great
Wabash had passed safely over the bar, and every thing was now ready for an attack.
It was delayed by an ugly wind off shore, and meanwhile the
Confederates were re-enforced and their works were strengthened.
Thursday, the 7th, dawned gloriously.
The transports were all in sight, and in the light of the morning sun a grand spectacle was speedily presented.
It had been ascertained by
Rogers and
Wright that
Fort Walker, on
Hilton Head, was by far the most powerful of the defenses, and upon it the bolts of the fleet were chiefly hurled.
The order of battle “comprised a main squadron ranged, in a line ahead, and a flanking squadron, which was to be thrown off on the northern section of the harbor, to engage the enemy's flotilla (
Tatnall's), and prevent them taking the rear ships of the main line when it turned to the southward, or cutting off a disabled vessel.”
9
That flotilla was then lying at a safe distance between
Hilton Head and
Paris Islands.
The plan of attack was to pass up midway between
Forts Walker and
Beauregard (which were about two miles apart), receiving and returning the fire of both; and at the distance of two and a half miles northward of the latter, round by the west, and closing in with the former, attack it on
[
120]
its weakest flank, and enfilade its two water faces.
10 The vessels were to pass abreast of the fort very slowly, in the order of battle, and each avoid becoming a fixed mark for the
Confederate guns.
On reaching the shoal ground making off from the extremity of
Hilton Head, the line was to turn to the north by the east, and, passing to the northward, to engage
Fort Walker with the port battery nearer than when first on the same course.
These evolutions were to be repeated.
The captains of the vessels were called on board the
Wabash, and fully instructed in the manner of proceeding; and this plan of pursuing a series of elliptical movements was strictly followed in the engagement that ensued.
The signal to get under way was given at eight o'clock in the morning,
and the action commenced at about half-past, nine, by a gun at
Fort Walker, which was instantly followed by one at
Fort Beauregard.
The
Wabash immediately responded, and was followed by the
Susquehanna. After the first prescribed turn, the signal for closer action was given, at a quarter past ten, the
Wabash passing
Fort Walker at a distance, when abreast, of eight hundred yards. In the designated order the fight went on. At half-past 11 the flag of
Fort Walker was shot away, and the heavy guns of the
Wabash and
Susquehanna had so “discomforted the enemy,” as
Dupont reported, and the shells from the smaller vessels were falling so thickly upon them at the enfilading point,
11 that their fire became sensibly weaker and weaker, until their guns ceased altogether to reply.
At a quarter past one P. M., the
Ottawa signalled that the fort was abandoned.
Fort Beauregard was also silent and abandoned.
The garrisons of both had fled for their lives.
According to the official and unofficial reports of the
Confederate officers and correspondents,
Fort Walker had become the scene of utter desolation, at noon. Dismounted cannon lay in all directions, and the dead
 |
|
Plan of battle at Port Royal entrance. |
and dying were seen on every side.
The place had become utterly untenable, yet it was a perilous thing
[
121]
to leave it. An open space of a mile, directly in range of the
National guns, lay between the fort and a thick wood to which they must go for shelter.
Across this they ran, each man for himself, divested of every thing that might make him a laggard.
Each of the wounded was placed in a blanket and borne away by four men, but the dead were left.
The garrison, with their commander, ran six miles across the island, to
Seabrook, where they embarked for
Savannah.
So too at
Fort Beauregard the retreat had been hasty.
General Drayton had vainly endeavored to send over re-enforcements to the little garrison there, that fought bravely and well.
Seeing danger of being cut off from retreat,
Colonel Dunovant ordered them to flee while there was a chance for safety.
Leaving an infernal machine in
Fort Beauregard for a murderous purpose,
12 and a note for
Commodore Dupont13 Captain Elliott and his command retreated with the rest of the troops, first to St. Helen's, then to
Port Royal Island, and then to the plan of
Fort Beauregard.
main, with all possible haste, for the Charleston and Savannah Railway.
The loss on board the fleet during the action was very slight.
14 Dupont reported it at thirty-one, of whom eight were killed.
The Confederate officers reported their loss in both forts at fifty, of whom ten were killed in
Fort Walker, but none in
Fort Beauregard.
On the evening succeeding the battle, a procession of seventeen boats, from the
Wabash, conducted the remains of the dead to their burial-place on
Hilton Head, near
Pope's mansion,
[
122]
in a grove of palm and orange trees, not far from the fort; and on the following day,
Dupont issued a stirring
general order, in which,. after speaking in praise of his officers and men, he said: “The flag-officer fully sympathizes with the officers and men of the squadron, in the satisfaction they must feel at seeing the ensign of the. Union once more in the
State of South Carolina, which has been the, chief promoter of the wicked and unprovoked rebellion they have been called upon to suppress.”
The flags captured at the forts were sent to the Navy Department, where they were put to a better use as curtains.
for a window.
Up to the time when the forts were silenced, the land forces were only spectators of the conflict; then it was their turn to act, and promptly they
performed their duty.
The transports containing them at once moved forward, the launches were prepared, and a flag of truce was sent ashore to ask whether the garrison had surrendered.
There was no one there to respond.
The Union flag was hoisted by
Commander Rogers,
15 amid the greetings of cheers from the fleet and transports; and very soon the surface of the water was dark with a swarm of troops in boats made specially for such occasions.
Early in the evening, the brigades of
Generals Wright and
Stevens had landed on the beach, which was so flat that the water is always shallow a long distance out.
Wright's men landed first, close by
Fort Walker; and so eager were they to tread the soil of
South Carolina, that many of them leaped from the boats and waded ashore.
Fort Walker was formally taken possession of, and
General Wright made his Headquarters near it, at the abandoned mansion of
William Pope, and the only dwelling-house at that point.
It had been the headquarters of
General Drayton.
General Stevens's brigade, consisting of the Seventy-ninth
 |
|
Popes House Hilton head. |
New York and Eighth Michigan, crossed over to
Bay Point the next morning, and took possession of
Fort Beauregard.
The victory was now complete, and the universal joy which it created in the Free-labor States found public expression in many places; for it seemed as if the hand of
[
123]
retributive justice, so long withheld, was about to be laid heavily upon the chief offender,
South Carolina.
16
A thrill pervaded the loyal land
When the gladdening tidings came to hand;
Each heart felt joy's emotion!
The clouds of gloom and doubt dispersed,
The sun of hope through the darkness burst,
And the zeal the patriot's heart had nursed
Burned with a warm devotion.
The joy of the Loyalists was equaled in intensity by the sadness of the Secessionists everywhere.
The latter perceived that an irreparable blow had been dealt against their cause, and throughout the
Confederacy there was much wailing, lamentation, and bitter recriminations.
It was believed that
Charleston and
Savannah would soon be in possession of the
National forces, and that
Forts Sumter and
Pulaski would be “repossessed” by the
Government.
General R. S. Ripley, an old army officer who had abandoned his flag, was the
Confederate commander of that sea-coast district,
17 having his headquarters at
Charleston.
He had arrived on
Hilton Head just before the action commenced, but retired to
Coosawhatchie, on the main, satisfied that no glory was to be achieved in a fight so hopeless on the part of his friends.
It was under his advice that the
Confederate troops abandoned that region to the occupation of the
National forces.
The latter fact was officially announced by
General Sherman, in a proclamation to the people of
South Carolina on the day after the battle.
Unfortunately, a portion of that proclamation was couched in such terms, that neither the personal pride nor the political pretensions of the rebellious leaders was offended.
It was so lacking in positiveness that they regarded it with perfect indifference.
18 Indeed, it was difficult to get them to notice it at all
[
124]
Messengers were sent with it, under a flag of truce, first to
Port Royal Island, and thence to the main.
The Confederate officers they met told them there were no “loyal” citizens in
South Carolina, and that no others wanted it, and advised them to turn back with their bundle of proclamations.
They acted upon this recommendation, and so ended the attempt to conciliate the South Carolinians.
General Sherman set vigorously to work to strengthen his position on
Hilton Head, for it was to be made a depot of supplies.
Mechanics and lumber had been brought out in the transports.
Buildings were speedily erected; also an immense wharf; and in a short time the place assumed the outward appearance of a mart of commerce.
Meanwhile,
Dupont sent his armed vessels in various directions among the islands and up the rivers of the coast of
South Carolina, in the direction of
Charleston; and before the lose of November, every soldier occupying earthworks found here and there, and nearly every white inhabitant, had abandoned those islands and fled to the main, leaving the negroes, who refused to accompany them, to occupy their plantations and houses.
Everywhere, evidences of panic and hasty departure were seen; and it is now believed that, had the victory at
Port Royal been immediately followed up, by attacks on
Charleston and
Savannah, both cities might have been an easy prey to the
National forces.
Beaufort, a delightful city on
Port Royal Island, where the most aristocratic portion of
South Carolina society had summer residences, was entered,
and its arms and munitions of war seized, without the least resistance,
19 there being, it was reported, only one white man there, named
Allen (who was of Northern birth), and who was too much overcome with fear or strong drink to give any intelligible account of affairs there.
20 The negroes everywhere evinced the greatest delight at the advent of the “Yankees,” about whom their masters had told them fearful tales; and it was a most touching sight to see them — men, women, and children — flocking to the island shores when the vessels appeared, carrying little bundles containing all their worldly goods, and with perfect faith that the invader was their
[
125]
deliverer, expressing a desire to go on board the ships, evidently fearing that their masters would return.
21 The latter had used great exertions, by persuasion, threats, and violence, to induce their slaves to accompany them in their flight to the interior, but with very little success.
22
With equal ease
Dupont took possession of Big Tybee Island, at the mouth of the
Savannah River, from which
Fort Pulaski, which was within easy mortar distance, might be assailed, and the harbor of
Savannah perfectly sealed against blockade runners.
On the
approach of the
National gunboats, the
de fenses, which consisted of a strong martello tower erected there during the war of 1812, and a battery at its base, were abandoned, and on the 25th
Dupont wrote to the
Secretary of War: “The flag of the
United States is flying over the territory of the
State of Georgia.”
24
Before the close of the year the
National authority was supreme from
Wassaw Sound below the mouth of the
Savannah, to the
North Edisto River.
Every fort on the islands in that reg ion had been abandoned, and there was nothing to make sellious opposition to National authority.
25 But at the close of November, and in the month of December, over had sent the curious net-work of creeks and rivers on that coast hung the black clouds of extensive conflagrations, evincing intense hostility to that authority by t he South Carolinians.
Vast quantitie s of cotton were on the is lands w hen the
National forces came; a departure, when the first panic had
[
126]
passed by, planters returned stealthily and applied the torch to that which was gathered and ungathered, that it should not fall into the hands of the invaders.
26  |
|
Coast Islands. |
In this connection it is proper to say, that so soon as the report of the existence of a vast quantity of abandoned cotton on these coast islands — cotton of the most valuable kind
27--reached
Washington, an order went forth for its secure preservation and preparation for market.
Agents were appointed for the purpose, and the military and naval authorities in that region were directed to give them all necessary aid. Measures were taken to organize the negro population on the islands, and to carry forward all necessary work on the abandoned plantations.
This business was left in the control of the Treasury Department, and was efficiently and wisely managed by
Secretary Chase, who appointed
Edwin L. Pierce as a special agent for the purpose.
At the beginning of February following,
Mr. Pierce reported that about two hundred plantations on fifteen of the
South Carolina coast islands were occupied, or under the control of the
[
127]
Union forces, and that upon them there was an aggregate negro population of about eight thousand, exclusive of several thousand colored refugees at and around
Hilton Head.
The industrial operations in this region under the control of the
Government will be further considered hereafter.
The only stand made by the Confederate forces in defense of the
South Carolina coast islands, after the battle of the 7th of November, was at Port Royal Ferry, on the
Coosaw, at the close of the year.
They had a fortified position there, and a force estimated at eight thousand strong, under
Generals Gregg and
Pope, from which it was determined to expel them.
A joint land and naval expedition against this post was undertaken, the former comnmanded by
Brigadier-General Stevens, and the latter by
Commander C. R. P. Rogers.
The troops employed by
Stevens were
Colonel Frazier's Forty-seventh and
Colonel Perry's Forty-eighth New York regiments, and the Seventy-ninth New York Highlanders,
Major Morrison; Fiftieth Pennsylvania,
Colonel Pennsylvania, Coonel
 |
|
Flat boats used for Landing troops. |
Crist; Eighth Michigan,
Colonel Fenton; and the One Hundredth Pennsylvania ( “Round heads” ),
Colonel Leasure, of
Stevens's brigade; in all about four thousand five hundred men. The naval force assembled at
Beaufort for the purpose was composed of the gun-boats
Ottawa,
Pembina,
Hale, and
Seneca, ferry-boat
Ellen, and four large boats belonging to the
Wabash, each of them carrying a 12-pounder howitzer, under the respective commands of
Lieutenants Upshur,
Luce, and
Irwin, and
Acting Master Kempff.
The expedition moved in the evening of the 31st of December.
A large portion of the vessels went up the
Broad River, on the westerly side of
Port Royal Island, to approach the
Ferry by
Whale Creek; and at the same time
General Stevens's forces made their way to a point where the
Brick Yard Creek, a continuation of the
Beaufort River, unites with the
Coosaw.
There he was met by
Commander Rogers, with launches, and his troops were embarked on large fiat boats, at an early hour in the morning.
The
Ottawa, Pembina, and
Hale soon afterward entered the
Coosaw, and at
Adams's plantation, about three miles below the
Ferry, the land
 |
|
Port Royal Ferry before the attack. |
and naval forces pressed forward to the attack, two of the howitzers of the
Wabash accompanying the former, under
Lieutenant Irwin.
Stevens threw out the Eighth Michigan as skirmishers, and the gun-boats
[
128]
opened a brisk fire into the woods in their front.
The Seventy-ninth New York led. Very soon a concealed battery near the
Ferry was encountered.
It opened upon them with grape and canister, but was soon silenced by a close encounter, in which the Eighth Michigan bore the brunt.
The Fiftieth Pennsylvania pressed forward to the support of these and the
Highlanders, but very little fighting occurred after the first onset.
The Confederates, seeing the gun-boats
Seneca,
Ellen,
Pembina, and
Ottawa coming forward, abandoned their works and fled, and the
Pennsylvania “Round heads” passed over the
Ferry and occupied them.
At four o'clock in the afternoon,
General Stevens joined them.
The works were demolished, and the houses in the vicinity were burned.
General Stevens's loss was nine wounded, one of them (
Major Watson, of the Eighth Michigan) mortally.
While the
National forces were thus gaining absolute control of the
South Carolina coast islands, and the blockading ships, continually multiplying on the
Atlantic and on the
Gulf, were watching every avenue of ingress or egress for violators of the law, the
Government, profiting by the hint given by the insurgents themselves, several months before, in sinking obstructions in the channel leading up to
Norfolk,
28 proceeded to close, in like manner, the main entrances to the harbors of
Charleston and
Savannah.
For that purpose a number of condemned merchant vessels, chiefly whalers, were found in
New England harbors, and purchased by order of the
Secretary of the Navy. Twenty-five of them, each of three or four hundred tons burden, were stripped of their copper
per bottoms, and were as heavily laden as their strength would permit, with blocks of granite, for the purpose of closing up
Charleston harbor.
In their sides, below water-mark, holes were bored, in which movable plugs were inserted, so that when these vessels reached their destination these might be drawn, and the water allowed to pour in.
This “stone fleet,” as it was called, reached the blockading squadron off
Charleston at the middle of December, and on the 20th, sixteen of the vessels,
29 from New Bedford and New London, were sunk on the bar at the entrance of the
Main Ship channel,
30 six miles in a direct southern line from
Fort Sumter.
This was done under the superintendence of
Fleet-captain Charles H. Davis.
They were placed at intervals, checkerwise, so as to form
[
129]
disturbing currents that would perplex but not destroy the navigation Indeed, the affair was intended by the
Government, and expected by those acquainted with the nature of the coast, the currents, and the harbor, to be only a temporary interference with navigation, as a war measure, and these experts laughed at the folly of those who asserted, as did a writer who accompanied the fleet, that “Charleston Bar is paved with granite, and the harbor is a thing of the past.”
31 The idea that such was the case was fostered by the
Confederates, in order to “fire the
Southern heart;” and their newspapers teemed with denunciations of the “barbarous act,” and frantic calls upon commercial nations to protest by cannon, if necessary, against this “violation of the rights of the civilized world.”
The British press and British statesmen sympathizing with the insurgents joined in the outcry, and the
British Minister at
Washington (Lord Lyons) made it the subject of diplomatic remonstrance.
He was assured that the obstructions would be temporary, and he was referred to the fact that, since they had been placed there, a British ship, in violation of the blockade, had run into
Charleston harbor with safety, carrying supplies for the enemies of the
Government.
The work of the “stone fleet” was a failure
32 and the expected disaster to
Charleston, from its operations, did not occur.
But a fearful one did fall upon that city at the very time when this “stone fleet” was approaching.
A conflagration commenced on the night of the 14th of December, and continued the following day, devouring churches and public buildings, with several hundred.stores, dwellings, manufactories, and warehouses, valued, with their contents, at millions of dollars.
Let us now turn from the sea-coast, and observe events at the
National capital and in its vicinity, especially along the line of the
Potomac River.
We left the Confederate army, after the
Battle of Bull's Run, lying in comparative inactivity in the vicinity of its victory, with
General Joseph E. Johnston as its chief commander, having his Headquarters at
Centreville33 We left the Army of the Potomac in a formative state,
34 under
General McClellan, whose Headquarters were in
Washington City, on Pennsylvania Avenue, opposite the southeast corner of
President Square.
He was busily engaged, not only in perfecting its physical organization, but in making a. solid improvement in its moral character.
He issued orders that corn mended themselves to all good citizens, among the most notable of which was one
which enjoined “more perfect respect for the Sabbath.”
He won “golden opinions” continually, and with the return of every morning he found himself more and more securely intrenched in the faith and affections of the people, who were lavish of both.
General McClellan's moral strength at this time was prodigious.
The soldiers and the people believed in him with the most earnest faith.
His short campaign in
Western Virginia had been successful.
He had promised, on taking command of the Army of the Potomac, that the war should be “short, sharp, and decisive ;” and he said to some of his followers,
while the
President and
Secretary of War were standing by,
[
130]
“Soldiers!
We have had our last retreat.
We have seen our last defeat.
You stand by me, and I will stand by you, and henceforth victory will crown our efforts.”
35 These words found a ready response from the soldiers and the people, and they were pondered with hope, and repeated with praise.
In them were promises of the exercise of that promptness and energy of action, in the use of the resources of the country, that would speedily bring peace.
In the hearts of the people still rang the cry of “On to
Richmond!”
while their lips, taught circumspection by the recent disaster at
Bull's Run, were modestly silent.
The soldiers, eager to wipe out the disgrace of that disaster, were ready to obey with alacrity, at any moment, an order to march on
Richmond.
And it was evidently the determination of the commander, all through the earlier weeks of autumn, to strike the foe at
Manassas, as quickly as possible, and march triumphantly on the
Confederate capital.
36 But the retirement of
Lieutenant-General Scott from the chief command of the
National Army,
37 and the appointment of
McClellan to fill his place, imposed new duties and responsibilities upon the latter, and his plan of campaign against the insurgents in
Virginia was changed.
The new organization of the Army of the Potomac was perfected at the middle of October, when at least seventy-five thousand well-armed and fairly disciplined troops were in a condition to be placed in column for active operations against the
Confederates in front of
Washington.
At that time the
National city was almost circumvallated by earth-works, there being no
[
131]
less than thirty-two forts completed and armed for its defense, and to these sixteen were added in the course of six weeks.
39 Provisions, stores, ammunition, and clothing, were on hand in the greatest abundance, and the
chief commander was furnished with numerous and efficient staff officers,
40 among whom were two French Princes of the
House of Orleans, who had just arrived at the capital, with their uncle, the
Prince de Joinville, son of the late
Louis Philippe,
King of the
French.
These were the
Count of
Paris and the
Duke of
Chartres, sons of the late
Duke of
Orleans, who wished to acquire military experience in the operations of so large a force as was there in arms.
A prominent member of the then reigning family in
France, whose head was considered a usurper by the Orleans family, had just left this country for his own. It was
the Prince Jerome Bonaparte, a cousin of the Emperor Napoleon the Third, who, with his wife, had arrived in New York in the preceding July, in his private steam yacht.
He went to
Washington, where he was entertained by the
President, and visited the
Houses of Congress and the army on
Arlington Heights and vicinity.
He passed through the lines and visited the Confederate forces under
Beauregard, at
Manassas.
Returning to New York, he started on a tour to
Niagara,
Canada, and the
Western prairies, with the princess.
At the middle of September, he went from New York to
Boston and
Halifax in his yacht, and so homeward.
It was only a few days before Prince Jerome's departure from New York that the
Prince de Joinville arrived there, with members of his family.
He came to place his son, the
Duke of Penthievre (then sixteen years of age), in the Naval School at
Newport.
He brought with him his two nephews above named, who offered their services to the
Government, with the stipulation on their part that they should receive no pay. Each was commissioned a captain, and assigned to the staff of
General McClellan.
They remained in the service until the close of the
Peninsula campaign, in July, 1862, and acquitted themselves well.
[
132]
McClellan had organized every necessary department thoroughly, and had endeavored to place at the head of each the best men in the service.
41 These had been active co-workers with him, and their several departments were in the best possible condition for effective service.
The main body of the army was now
judiciously posted, for offense or defense, in the immediate vicinity of
Washington City, with detachments on the left bank of the
Potomac as far up as
Williamsport, above
Harper's Ferry, and as far down as
Liverpool Point, in Maryland, nearly opposite
Acquia Creek.
42
At the close of September a grand review had been held, when seventy
[
133]
thousand men of all arms were assembled and maneuvered.
It was the largest military force ever gathered on the
American Continent, and gave the loyal people assurance of the safety of the
Republic.
And to these troops, regiment after regiment, at the rate of two thousand men each day, and battery after battery, was continually added from the teeming population and immense resources of the Free-labor States.
A little later,
there was another imposing review.
It was of artillery and cavalry alone; when six thousand horsemen, and one hundred and twelve heavy guns, appeared before
President Lincoln, the
Secretary of State,
Prince de Joinville, and other distinguished men. Their evolutions were conducted over an area of about two hundred acres: the cavalry under the direction of
General Palmer, and the artillery under the command of
General Barry.
The whole review was conducted by
General Stoneman.
But drills, parades, and reviews were not the only exhibitions of war near the
Potomac during these earlier days of autumn.
There was some real though not heavy fighting between the opposing forces there.
The audacity of the
Confederates was amazing.
Soon after the
Battle of Bull's Run,
General Johnston had advanced his outposts from
Centreville and Fairfax Court House to Munson's Hill, only six miles in an air-line from
Washington City, where the
Confederate flag was flaunted for weeks, in full view of the
National Capitol.
At other points above the city, his scouts pressed up almost to the
Potomac, and he was at the same time taking measures for
 |
|
Fairfax Court-House.43 |
erecting batteries at points below the
Occoquan Creek, for the purpose of obstructing the passage of supplies up that river, for the
National army around
Washington.
The probability of such a movement had been perceived at an early day by vigilant and expert men.
So early as June, the Navy Department had called the attention of the
Secretary of War (
Mr. Cameron) to the importance, in view of the possible danger, of seizing and holding Matthias Point, in order to secure the navigation of the river.
At different times afterward,
44 the attention of the
President,
General Scott, and
General McClellan was called to the matter by the same Department, but nothing was done until toward the close of September, when Confederate batteries were actually planted there
45 Then it was proposed to send a land force down the
Maryland side of the river, and crossing in boats, covered by the
Potomac flotilla, take possession of the shore just above Matthias Point.
The
Secretary of the Navy, having
[
134]
use for the
Potomac flotilla elsewhere, was anxious that the movement should take place at once.
46 Preparations were accordingly made to send four thousand of
Hooker's division for the purpose.
The Navy Department furnished transportation, and
Captain Craven, the commander of the flotilla, gathered his vessels in the vicinity of Matthias Point, to co-operate in an attack on the batteries there.
In the mean time the
chief engineer (
Major Barnard) reported adversely,
47 and the project was abandoned.
On the assurance of sufficient aid from the Navy Department, it was agreed that a land force should march down the right bank of the
Potomac, capture all batteries found there, and take permanent possession of that region.
This project was also abandoned, because
McClellan believed that the movement might bring on a general engagement, for which he, did not feel prepared.
No attempt was afterward made to interfere with the
Confederates in their mischievous work, and early in October
Captain Craven officially announced that the navigation of the
Potomac was closed, and the
National capital blockaded in that important direction.
Craven was so mortified because of the anticipated reproach of the public for the supposed inefficiency of his command, that he made a request to be assigned to duty elsewhere.
The President, who had warmly seconded the Navy Department in urging
McClellan to take measures for keeping the navigation of the river open, was exceedingly annoyed; whilst the nation at large, unable to understand the cause of this new disaster, and feeling deeply mortified and humiliated, severely censured the
Government.
48 That blockade, so disgraceful to the
Government, was continued until the
Confederates voluntarily evacuated their position in front of
Washington, in March following.
[
135]
As the Army of the Potomac rapidly increased in numbers and equipment in
Virginia in front of
Washington, it required more space than the narrow strip between the river and the advance posts of the
Confederates, and early in September it was determined to acquire that space by pushing back the intruders.
Already there had been several little skirmishes between the pickets and the outposts of the confronting contestants.
On the 5th of August, a detachment of the Twenty-eighth New York, under
Captain Brush, mostly firemen, attacked a squad of Confederate cavalry in
Virginia, opposite the
Point of Rocks, killing and wounding eight men, and capturing nine prisoners and twenty horses; and on the, 12th a detachment of the Tenth New York, under
Captain Kennedy, crossed the
Potomac from
Sandy Hook, and attacked and routed some
Virginia cavalry at
Lovettsville.
On the 12th of September,
reconnoissance was made toward Lewinsville, four or five miles from Camp Advance, at the
Chain Bridge, by about two thousand men, under the command of
General William F. Smith,
49 in charge of a brigade at that post.
They had accomplished a topographical survey, for which purpose they were chiefly sent, and were returning, when they were attacked by a body of
Virginians,
50 under the command of
Colonel J. E. B. Stuart, afterward the famous general leader of cavalry in the Confederate army.
Stuart opened heavily with his cannon, which at first disconcerted the
National troops.
The latter were kept steady until
Griffin's Battery was placed in position, when its guns soon silenced those of the Virginians, and scattered their cavalry.
Then the
National troops, having accomplished their object, returned to their post near the
Chain Bridge “in perfect order and excellent spirits,” with a loss of two killed and ten wounded.
51
[
136]
Three days after the affair near Lewinsville, the pickets on the right of the command of
Colonel John W. Geary, of the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania, stationed three miles above
Darnestown, in Maryland, were attacked
by four hundred and fifty
Virginians, who had boldly crossed the
Potomac.
A spirited skirmish for about two hours ensued, resulting in a loss to the assailants of eight or ten killed, and several wounded, and their utter repulse.
Geary's loss was one killed; and his gain was great animation for the troops under his command, who were charged with holding the country opposite
Harper's Ferry.
A little later, National troops permanently occupied Lewinsville,
Vienna,
and Fairfax Court House,
the
Confederates falling back to
Centreville without firing a shot.
They had evacuated Munson's Hill on the 28th of September, when the position was formally taken possession of by the Nationals, who had been for some time looking upon it from
Bailey's Crossroads with much respect, because of its apparently formidable works and heavy armament.
These had been reconnoitered with great caution, and pronounced to be alarmingly strong, when the fort was really a slight earthwork, running irregularly around about four acres on the brow of the hill, without ditch or glacis, “in every respect a squirming piece of work,” as an eye-witness wrote.
Its armament consisted of one stove-pipe and two logs, the latter with a black disc painted on the middle of the sawed end of each, giving them the appearance, at a distance, of the muzzles of 1.00-pound Parrott guns.
These “
Quaker guns,” like similar ones at
Manassas a few months later, had, for six weeks, defied the Army of the Potomac.
In a house near the fort (which was soon made into a strong regular work),
Brigadier-General James Wadsworth, who was placed in command, there made his Headquarters; and on the roof he caused a signal-station to be erected, from which there was an interchange of intelligence with another station on the dome of the
capitol at
Washington.
There the writer visited
General Wadsworth, late in November, 1861, and found that ardent and devoted patriot, who had left all the ease and enjoyments which great wealth and a charming domestic circle bestow, and for the sake of his endangered country was enduring all the privations incident to an arduous camp life.
His quarters were humble, and in no respect did his arrangements for comfort differ from those of his brother officers.
On the day of the grand review of the cavalry and artillery of the Army
[
137]
of the
Potomac,
53 there was an important movement in the vicinity of
Harper's Ferry, which led to a still more important one a week later.
On that day,
Major J. P. Gould, of the Thirteenth Massachusetts, was sent across the river to some mills a short distance above
Harper's Ferry, to seize some wheat there belonging to the
Confederates.
54 The movement was made known to
General Evans,
55 commanding in the vicinity, and quite a heavy force was sent to oppose them.
56 Geary was called upon for re-enforcements.
He promptly responded by crossing the river with about six hundred men and four pieces of cannon, the latter under the respective commands of
Captain Tompkins of the Rhode Island Battery, and
Lieutenant Martin of the Ninth New York Battery.
57 The wheat was secured and made into flour; and
Geary was about to recross the river with his booty, on the morning of the 16th, when his pickets, on Bolivar Heights, two and a half miles west of
Harper's Ferry, and extending from the Potoinac to the
Shenandoah, were attacked by Confederates in three collumns, consisting of infantry and cavalry, and supported by artillery.
The pickets were driven
 |
|
Geary's Headquarters on camp Heights. |
into the town of
Bolivar.
Geary, who, with his main body, was on Camp Heights,
58 an eminence around the foot of which nestles the villae of
Harper's Ferry, rallied them and a general fight ensued.
In his front on Bolivar Heights, were a large body of troops and three heavy guns, and suddenly there appeared on Loudon Heights on his left, across the
Shenandoah River, another large body of men, with four pieces of cannon, which with plunging shot might terribly smite the little National force, and command the ferry on the Potolmac.
Geary sent a company of the Thirteenth Massachusetts, under
Captain Schriber, to guard the fords of the
Shenandoah, and prevent troops crossing there and joining those on Bolivar Heights.
He then had only four hundred and fifty men left to fight his foe on his front.
With these he repelled three
[
138]
fierce charges of
Ashby's cavalry, and withstood the storm of bullets from a long line of infantry on Bolivar Heights, until joined, at eleven o'clock, by
Lieutenant Martin, with one rifled cannon, with which he had crossed the
Potomac Ferry under a galling fire of riflemen on Loudon Heights.
These two companies of the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania turned the
Confederate left near the
Potomac, and gained a portion of the
Heights.
At the same time,
Martin opened a telling fire on the
Confederate cannon in front, and
Tompkins silenced two guns on Loudon Heights.
The main body moved forward at this crisis, charged the foe, and in a few minutes were in possession of Bolivar Heights from river to river.
It was now half-past 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
The Confederates fled, and were driven up the valley in the direction of
Halltown.
They did not cease their flight until they reached
Charlestown, on the line of the railway between
Harper's Ferry and
Winchester, a distance of six miles.
Major Tyndale arrived from
Point of Rocks with five companies of
Geary's regiment immediately after the capture of the
Heights.
He brought with him the standard of the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania.
It was immediately unfurled, “and under its folds,” wrote the victor, “we directed the fire of our artillery against the batteries and forces on Loudon Heights, and soon succeeded in silencing every gun and driving away every rebel that could be seen.
The victory was now complete.”
59 Geary's troops rested until evening, when, there being no military necessity for holding Bolivar Heights at that time, he crossed the
Ferry with his whole command and resumed his position in
Maryland.
His loss was four killed, seven wounded, and two taken prisoners. The loss fell chiefly on the
Wisconsin troops.
60 The loss of the
Confederates is unknown.
Still more important movements were made on the line of the
Potomac River as the beautiful month of October was passing away.
At that time
Major-General Banks was in command of troops holding the
Maryland side of the river from
Darnestown to
Williamsport.
Brigadier-General Charles P. Stone (who had been assigned to the command of a special corps of observation on the Tight flank of the Army of the Potomac), with a considerable body of troops, then had his Headquarters at
Poolesville, a short distance from Conrad's and Edwards's Ferries, on the
Potomac River.
These ferries were not far from
Leesburg, the capital of
Loudon County, Virginia, where it was reported that the
Confederate left, under
General N. G. Evans, was strong in numbers.
The troops under
Stone confronted this left wing, and commanded the approaches to
Leesburg, a village at the terminus of the Alexandria, Loudon, and Hampshire railway, and which was the key to the upper interior communication with the
Valley of the Shenandoah.
Between the two ferries just named (which were four or five miles apart) was
Harrison's Island, three miles in length and very narrow and nearly equally dividing the river.
[
139]
On the 17th of October it was reported (erroneously) that the
Confederates had evacuated
Leesburg.
General McClellan then determined to make a thorough reconnoissance of the
Confederate left, to ascertain their strength, and to cover the operations of his topographical engineers in making a map of that region.
He accordingly ordered
General McCall, who held the advanced command in
Virginia on the right of the
National line, to move forward and occupy Drainsville, about half way between the
Chain Bridge and
Leesburg.
He did so, and pushed his scouts forward to
Goose Creek, within four miles of the latter place.
On the following morning,
General Banks telegraphed to
General McClellan from
Darnestown, saying, “The signal station at
Sugar Loaf telegraphs that the enemy have moved away from
Leesburg.”
McCall had also reported to
McClellan the previous evening that he had not encountered any opposition, and that it was reported that the
Confederates had abandoned the town.
On the strength of
Banks's dispatch, and without waiting for later information from Drainsville,
McClellan notified
General Stone of the movement of
McCall.
He assured him that “heavy reconnoissances” would be sent out that day “in all directions” from Drainsville, and desired him to keep “a good lookout on
Leesburg,” to see if it had the effect to drive the
Confederates away, adding, “Perhaps a slight demonstration on your part would have the effect to move them.”
This dispatch reached
Stone before noon. He acted promptly, and at evening he telegraphed to the
Chief that he had made a feint of crossing the river, during the afternoon, at two places, and had sent out a reconnoitering party toward
Leesburg, from
Harrison's Island, adding, “I have means of crossing one hundred and twenty-five men once in ten minutes at each of two points.”
To this dispatch he received no reply.
The feint had been made at the ferries of
Edwards and
Conrad, already mentioned.
The brigade of
General Gorman, Seventh Michigan, two troops of the
Van Alen cavalry, and the
Putnam Rangers were sent to the former, where a section of
Bunting's New York Battery was on duty.
To the latter
Stone sent a battalion of the Twentieth Massachusetts, under its commander,
Colonel Lee, a section of
Vaughan's Rhode Island Battery, and
Colonel Cogswell's New York (Tammany) Regiment.
The ferry was at that time defended by a section of
Ricketts's Battery.
Colonel Devens was sent to
Harrison's Island in two flat-boats from the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, bearing four companies of his Massachusetts Fifteenth. One company of the same regiment was already there.
A reserve, numbering about three thousand men, was held in readiness to co-operate, should a battle ensue.
With this reserve was the fine body of Pennsylvanians known as the First California regiment, commanded by
Colonel E. D. Baker, then a representative of the
State of Oregon in the
National Senate.
These movements, at first designed as a feint, resulted in a battle.
McCall had made a reconnoissance on Sunday, the 20th,
which had evidently caused an opposing movement on the part of the
Confederates.
An infantry regiment of these had been observed marching from
Leesburg and taking shelter behind a hill, about a mile and a half from the position of the Nationals at Edwards's Ferry.
In order to disperse or intimidate these,
General Gorman was ordered to deploy his forces in their
[
140]
view.
Three flat-boats, filled with troops, were maneuvered as if crossing, and shot and shell were cast into the place where the foe was concealed.
This demonstration caused the
Confederates to retire, and at twilight
Gorman's force returned to camp.
In the mean time, a scouting party of about twenty men had been sent out from
Harrison's Island under
Captain Philbrick, of the Fifteenth Massachusetts.
They ascended the steep bank on the
Virginia side, opposite the island, known as Ball's Bluff, which rises about one hundred and fifty feet above the
Potomac.
Philbrick went a short distance toward
Leesburg, when he discovered, as he supposed, a small camp of Confederates, apparently not well guarded.
Upon receiving information of this fact,
General Stone, who supposed that
McCall was near to assist, if necessary, sent orders to
Colonel Devens to cross from
Harrison's Island with five companies of his regiment, and proceed at dawn to surprise that camp.
Colonel Lee was also ordered to cross from the
Maryland shore with four companies of his regiment and a four-oared boat, to occupy the island after
Devens's departure, and to send one company to the
Virginia shore, to take position on the heights there, and cover his return.
Two mountain howitzers were also to be sent stealthily up the tow-path of the canal, and carried over to the opposite side of the island, so as to command the
Virginia shore.
These orders were promptly obeyed.
Devens advanced at dawn, but the reported camp could not be found.
It proved that other objects had been mistaken for tents.
He marched cautiously on to within a mile of
Leesburg, without discovering scarcely a trace of a foe. There he halted in a wood, and sent a courier to
General Stone for further orders.
Devens had been watched by vigilant Confederates.
61 Evans and his main force lay on
Goose Creek.
Riflemen and cavalry were hovering near, and waiting a favorable opportunity to strike
Devens.
He had a slight skirmish with the former, in which one of his men was killed and nine were wounded, when he fell back in safety and in perfect order toward the bluff, at about eight o'clock in the morning, and halted within a mile of the little band under
Colonel Lee.
While tarrying in an open field of about eight acres, he received a message from
General Stone, directing him to remain there until support could be sent to him. The remainder of
Devens's regiment had been brought over by
Lieutenant-Colonel Ward.
His entire force consisted of only six hundred and twenty-five men.
In the mean time,
Colonel Baker, who was acting as brigadier-general, in command of the reserves, had been ordered to have the California Regiment, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Wistar, at Conrad's Ferry at sunrise, and the remainder of his command ready to move early.
In order to divert attention from
Devens's movement,
Colonel Gorman was directed to send two companies of the First Minnesota Regiment,
Colonel Dana, across the river at Edwards's Ferry, under cover of
Ricketts's cannon, to make a reconnoissance
[
141]
toward
Leesburg; and a party of the
Van Alen cavalry, led by
Major Mix, were ordered to scour the country in the direction of that town,. and after gaining all possible information concerning its topography, and the position of the
Confederates, to hasten back to the cover of the
Minnesota.
skirmishers. These movements were well performed.
The scouts came suddenly upon a Mississippi regiment, when shots were exchanged without much harm to either party.
At a little past noon,
Devens and his band were assailed by Confederates under
Colonels Jenifer and
Hunton, in the woods that skirted the open field in which they had halted.
Infantry attacked the main body on their left, and cavalry fell upon the skirmishers in front.
His men stood their ground firmly; but, being pressed by overwhelming numbers, and re-enforcements not arriving, they fell back about sixty paces, to foil an attempt to flank them.
This was accomplished, and they took a position about half a mile in front of
Colonel Lee.
In the mean time
Colonel Baker had been pressing forward from Conrad's Ferry, to the relief of the assailed troops.
Ranking
Devens, he had been ordered to
Harrison's Island to take the chief command, with full discretionary powers to re-enforce the party on the
Virginia shore, or to withdraw all of the troops to the
Maryland shore.
He was cautioned to be careful with the artillery under his control, and not to become engaged with greatly superior numbers.
When
Baker found that
Devens had been attacked, he decided to reenforce him. It was an unfortunate decision, under the circumstances, and yet it then seemed to be the only proper one.
The task was a most difficult and perilous one.
The river had been made full by recent rains, and the currents in the channels on each side were very swift.
The
means for transportation were entirely inadequate.
There had been no expectation of such movement, and: no provision had been made for it. There was only one scow, or flat-boat, for the service, between the
Maryland shore and
Harrison's Island, and at first only two skiffs and a Francis metallic life-boat were on the opposite side.
To these were soon added one scow; and these four little vessels composed the entire means of transportation of several hundred troops and munitions of war.
McClellan had not ordered more than a “demonstration” by a small portion of
Stone's troops, in conjunction with those of
McCall; but
Stone, to whom the chief had not intimated his object in ordering “heavy reconnoissances in all directions” in that vicinity, and who knew that there were forty thousand troops within easy call of his position, naturally considered that they were to complete the expulsion of the
Confederates from the
Potomac.
He therefore made what disposition he might to assist in the
[
142]
movement, in conjunction with
McCall, and, as he supposed, with the division of
General Smith, known to be within supporting distance.
62 He was ignorant of the very important fact that, on the previous evening,
General McClellan had ordered
McCall to fall back from Drainesville.
It was so. At the very time when
Baker was preparing to pass over the reserves in force,
McCall, by order of
McClellan, was marching back to his camp near the
Chain Bridge, and
Smith was without orders to do any thing in particular, thus making the peril that threatened the Nationals at Ball's Bluff much greater for want of this support.
Colonel Baker, like
General Stone, was ignorant of this damaging movement, and was pressing on in high spirits, with the most wearisome and perplexing toil in slowly passing his troops in three scows,
63 when, hearing the sound of battle on the
Virginia shore, he hastened over in a small skiff; leaving instructions to forward the artillery as quickly as possible.
His
California regiment had already crossed and joined
Devens and
Lee. A rifled 6-pounder of
Bunting's Rhode Island Battery, under
Lieutenant Bramhall, followed them.
Two howitzers under
Lieutenant French were already there; and, just before
Baker reached the
Bluff, a detachment of
Cogswell's Tammany Regiment had climbed the winding path leading up from the river.
Baker now took command of all the forces on the
Bluff, numbering nineteen hundred.
64 These were immediately formed in battle order, and awaited attack.
The ground on which the Nationals were compelled to give battle was unfavorable for them.
It was an open field, surrounded on three sides by a dense forest, and terminating on the fourth at the brow of the high bluff at the river.
With their backs to the stream, the
Union forces were prepared for the contest, which was begun at three o'clock in the afternoon, by
General Evans, who hurled the Eighteenth Mississippi, under
Colonel Burt, upon
Baker's left flank, and the commands of
Jenifer and
Hunton upon his front.
65 These came from the woods, that swarmed with Confederates, and were received with the most determined spirit.
The battle instantly became general and severe.
Colonel Featherston, with the Seventeenth Mississippi, joined in the fray.
Bramhall and French soon brought their heavy guns to bear, and were doing good execution, when both officers were borne wounded away, and their pieces were hauled to the rear, to prevent their falling into the hands of their foe. A greater calamity speedily followed.
The gallant
Baker was seen here and there in the thickest of the fight, encouraging his men by words and deeds, and when the battle had lasted nearly two hours he fell dead, pierced with many bullets.
66
[
143]
The immediate command now devolved upon
Colonel Lee, but
Cogswell, his superior, soon took the control of affairs.
Seeing the desperate situation of the troops, with an overwhelming force on their front and flanks, and a deep and turbulent river in their rear,
Cogswell ordered them to move to the left, and attempt to cut their way through to Edwards's Ferry, about three miles distant, where they might receive the aid of the force there under
General Stone.
This movement was about to take place, when the Tammany Regiment, deceived by the beckoning of a Confederate officer, whom they mistook for a National one, dashed off on a charge in the direction indicated by the deceiver, carrying with them the rest of the line.
Then a destructive fire at close distance was poured upon the whole column by the Thirteenth Mississippi Regiment,
Colonel William Barksdale, which advanced from the direction of the ferry.
Cogswell's plan was frustrated, and he gave orders for his whole force to retire immediately to
Harrison's Island, and thence to the
Maryland shore.
That retreat almost instantly became a rout.
Down the steep declivity the Nationals hurried, in wild disorder, to reach the boats, while the
Confederates, who had followed them up to the brow of the bluff with ball and bayonet, fired into the straggling mass below with murderous effect.
The fugitives huddled on the shore, formed in some order at first, and kept up the hopeless fight for a time, while endeavoring to cross the flood to
Harrison's Island.
Only one large flatboat was there, and that, with an over-load of wounded and others, at the beginning of its first voyage, was riddled with bullets, and sunk.
The smaller vessels had disappeared in the gloom, and there was no means of escape for the Unionists but by swimming.
This was attempted by some.
Several of them were shot in the water,
67 and others, swept away by the current in the darkness,
 |
|
Map of the battle of Ball's Bluff. |
were drowned.
68 A little more than one-fourth of the whole of
Cogswell's
[
144]
command, including himself and
Colonel Lee, were made prisoners, and marched off to
Leesburg, whilst
Colonel Devens escaped on his horse, that swam across the turbulent Potomac.
A few were saved from captivity by stealing along under the banks, and making their way to
Gorman's camp below.
While the contest was raging at Ball's Bluff,
General Stone, who was at Edwards's Ferry with about seven thousand troops, had been sending over the remainder of
Gorman's brigade to co-operate with
Baker, all the while unsuspicious of the perilous condition of the troops of that commander.
He
 |
|
Banks's Headquarters at Edwards's Ferry. |
had received information from time to time that
Baker was perfectly able to hold his position if not to advance; and, believing that he would repulse and drive his assailants he was prepared to push
Colonel Gorman forward to strike the retreating forces on their flank.
He felt anxious, however, and at four o'clock telegraphed to
General Banks for a brigade of his division, to place on the
Maryland shore, in support of the troops on
Harrison's Island and the severely pressed combatants on Ball's Bluff.
69
A little while afterward, the sad news of
Baker's death was received, and
Stone hastened forward to take command in person.
On his way he was met by some of the fugitives, with the tale that the
Confederates were ten thousand strong, and that all was lost.
Still ignorant of the position of
McCall, he left orders to hold
Harrison's Island, and then hastened back to Edwards's Ferry, to secure the safety of the twenty-five hundred troops that boo had sent across the river.
There he was joined by
General Banks, at three o'clock in the morning,
who took the chief command.
Orders arrived at about the same time, from
General McClellan, to hold the
Island and the
Virginia shore at all hazards, and intimating that, re-enforcements would be sent.
70
So ended the Baxtle of Ball's Bluff,
71 in disaster to the
National arms.
In the camps of the Unionists, in the vicinity of the battle, on that gloomy night of the 21st of October, there was darkness and woe, while the little
[
145]
village of
Leesburg, near by, whither the captives were taken, was brilliantly illuminated, and the
Confederates there were wild with joy. The Union loss was about one thousand men and three cannon.
Nearly three hundred men were killed, and over five hundred were made prisoners and taken to
Richmond.
72 The Confederate loss was about three hundred.
According to
General Evans's report, he had one hundred and fifty-three killed, including
Colonel E. R. Burt, of the Eighteenth Mississippi, and two taken prisoners. He did not mention the number of his wounded, which was reported to be large.
The death of
Senator Baker was felt as a national calamity.
73 He was one of the ablest men of his time as a statesman and prator.
Thoroughly comprehending the great issue, and the horrible crime of the conspirators, he had eagerly left the halls of legislation (where he had combated the friends of the criminals with eloquent words, and voted for abundant means to crush the rebellion) to lead his countrymen into battle for the right.
The achievements of his little band at Ball's Bluff, who composed a part of the Army of the Potomac, assisted greatly in effacing from the escutcheon of that army the stain it received at the
battle of Bull's Run.
Again, as in the case of the
battle of Bull's Run, the grieved, and disappointed, and mortified loyal people demanded an explanation of the catastrophe.
To the most inexpert there appeared evidence of fatal mismanagement.
General McClellan,
General Stone, and
Colonel Baker all received censure at different times, and by different persons; the first, for remissness in duty in not informing
Stone of the retrograde movement of
McCall, and sending re-enforcements; the second, for sending troops across the river without adequate transportation for a larger body at a time; and the third, for rashness.
in crossing at all and engaging the
Confederates, double his own in numbers.
There was a natural clamor for investigation, and, on the assembling of Congress, the House of Representatives passed a resolution asking the
[
146]
Secretary of War “whether any, and, if any, what measures had been taken to ascertain who was responsible for the disastrous movement of the
National troops at Ball's Bluff.”
It was answered
that
General McClellan was of the opinion that “an inquiry on the subject of the resolution would, at that time, be injurious to the public service.”
But
General McClellan had already answered that inquiry, so far as one of the commanders was concerned.
He was at
Stone's Headquarters, at
Poolesville, twenty-four hours after the disaster, and from there had telegraphed to the
President, saying, “I have investigated this matter, and
General Stone is without blame.
Had his orders been followed, there could (or would) have been no disaster.”
74 This was unknown to the public.
They were dissatisfied with the apparent desire on the part of the
General-in-chief to stifle investigation, and more than ever he was held to be personally responsible for the disaster.
For a time there were warm discussions in Congress on the subject.
Finally a victim appeared to propitiate the public feeling, in the person of
General Stone, who was arrested
by order of the War Department and sent to Fort Lafayette, at the entrance to New York Bay, and then used for the confinement of political prisoners.
There he was detained until the following August, when, without trial, or any public proceedings whatever, he was released.
That fortress being a place of durance for men charged with treasonable acts, this gallant and truly patriotic officer suffered patiently and silently, for a greater portion of the war, un er the imputations of disloyalty.
He was imprisoned without public accusation, was held a prisoner about six months, in profound ignorance of any charges against him, and was released without comment by the power that closed the prison doors upon him.
75
But little more remains to be said concerning affairs at Ball's Bluff.
[
147]
Supposing all the troops to be on the
Virginia side of the
Potomac,
McClellan telegraphed to
Stone to intrench himself there, and to hold his position, at all hazards, until re-enforcements should arrive.
At the same time he ordered
Banks to remove the remainder of his division to Edwards's Ferry, and send over as many men as possible to re-enforce
Stone.
These orders were promptly obeyed.
Intrenchments were thrown up; large numbers of
[
148]
troops were crossed, and active preparations were in progress for moving strongly upon the
Confederates, when, on Tuesday night,
General McClellan arrived at
Poolesville.
Then, as he says, he “learned, for the first time, the full details of the affair.”
The preparations for a forward movement, which promised the most important results for the
National cause, were immediately suspended, and orders were
[
149]
given for the entire force to recross the river to the
Maryland side.
Generals Banks and
Stone, and the troops under their commands, were disappointed and mortified, for they knew of no serious impediments then in the way of an advance.
General McClellan subsequently said, that “a few days afterward,” he “received information which seemed to be authentic, to the effect that large bodies of the enemy had been ordered from
Manassas to
Leesburg, to cut off our troops on the
Virginia side;” and that their “timely withdrawal had probably prevented a still more serious disaster.”
78 Plain people inquired whether sufficient re-enforcements for the Nationals, to counteract the movement from
Manassas, might not have been spared from the almost one hundred thousand troops then lying at ease around
Washington, only a few miles distant.
Plain people were answered by the question, What do you know about war?
