Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 1.
Frank Moore, Ed.

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[416] and Martinsburg turnpike, twelve miles from Martinsburg, to offer battle there, or advance an attack if necessary. This movement placed the enemy in a predicament. He had not crossed his whole force, and if the opposing forces had closed he must have been beaten in detail. He therefore “acknowledged the corn,” turned tail and retreated, recrossed the river, and evacuated the valley, retiring beyond Hagerstown. A lieutenant-colonel and another (member of the Eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers) were taken prisoners during this retreat.

A day or two after this, Col. Hill, Thirteenth Virginia regiment, in command of a part of the forces who had “retreated” from Harper's Ferry, and who had been pushed forward towards Romney, as our readers have learned from our Saturday's edition, sent forward towards New Creek, on the Potomac River, eighteen miles west of Cumberland, four companies of Tennessee and Virginia troops, under Col. Vaughan, of Tennessee, who found the Yankees posted on the Maryland side of the Potomac. Our brave fellows, in the face of the enemy, forded the stream, waist-deep, drove them off in the utmost confusion, captured two pieces of loaded artillery and a stand of colors, destroyed the railroad bridge at that point, and returned to Romney, making the march of thirty-six miles and gaining a brilliant victory with — in twenty hours.

Our readers will thus see what General Johnston's “retreat from Harper's Ferry,” has done. It has thoroughly broken up General Scott's paper programme, destroyed his whole Western combination, and compelled him to remodel his whole plan. If our “retreats” do thus much, we wait with confidence to see what our advance will do.