George H. Gordon, From Brook Farm to Cedar Mountain

I have referred to the onward movement ordered by the President on the twenty-second of February, with General McClellan in command of the grand army of the Potomac, organized into its several divisionary corps, under McDowell, Sumner, Heintzelman, Keyes, and Banks. Halleck was in charge of a department at the West, and Fremont in charge of the Mountain Department. It is with Banks's corps that our interest lies. While the others were to move on their devious way up the peninsula to Yorktown, Williamsburg, the Chickahominy, and the James, we were to move up the valley of the Shenandoah, closing this gateway to the enemy. Our force was as follows: We had the brigades that wintered with us at Frederick, commanded by Generals Hamilton, Williams, and Abercrombie. This force was increased by the division formerly commanded by General Charles P. Stone, at Poolsville, and consisted of three brigades, commanded by Generals Gorman, Burns, and Dana. Only the first two were with us, and these were commanded by General Sedgwick, to whom, after Stone's removal and incarceration, the division was assigned. We had also a force of some six thousand men commanded by General Shields, formerly Lander's force, which was ordered to report to Banks. Then there were about fourteen hundred nen, commanded by Colonel Geary, not serving with any brigade. This made up the whole of Banks's command.¹ The use to be