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Was there a blow which General Jackson might strike against General Pope while the rest of the Confederate army was making sure the Army of the Potomac was evacuating the James?
By this time Stonewall was fully recovered from whatever strange malaise had gripped him and made him into such a sluggish performer during the Seven Days battle.
And of course there was a blow which could be struck, it was merely a matter of marching and striking.
The forward most position held by Pope's army was Culpepper Courthouse, occupied by General Nathaniel Banks' Corps, constituting the right flank of the Federals. The remainder of the former Valley units, previously under the Pathfinder and now commanded by another political general, Franz Sigel, were scattered in a wide arc fronting the Rappahannock River, the center defense. General McDowell's Corps, at last attached to an army, formed the Federal left flank. The other elements which were supposed to compose Pope's force were still in the process of being assembled. General Burnside's command which had been brought from the Carolinas was in Fredericksburg. In theory they would all soon be joined by four Corps from the Army of the Potomac, those of Generals Porter, Heintzelman, Reno and Reynolds. (See map Aug.3rd post.)
Banks' force was the closest, the most isolated and the most exposed. Stonewall studied the maps and concluded that Culpepper Court House was the critical point. Take that and a wedge will have been driven between Banks and the rest of the Army of Virginia. Further, if he moved quickly enough, he could confront Banks' 8500 with his 16,500 man wing.
Proving that he was once more the Jackson of the Valley rather than the sluggard of the Peninsula, 150 years ago today, the morning after receiving Lee's "request" for a blow aginst Pope, Stonewall had his army up at dawn and marching for Culpepper Courthouse. And as with the Jackson of old, his fetish for absolute secrecy was revived. No one other than Jackson, not even his top officers, knew where they were going, what troops they could be expected to encounter or even why the movement was being undertaken.
But any member of that army who happened to get a look at Jackson that morning, saw that the battle gleam was back in his eye, he was locked into his single minded aggressive mode and was radiating that aura which he seemed to develop when action was near. So wherever they were going, they were going to fight.
In a rather odd turn of affairs, 150 years ago today, the Union commander, General John Pope, knew more about Stonewall Jackson's plans than did Jackson's subordinates who were on the road marching to meet a portion of Pope's army.
Jackson dispatched his cavalry, now under General Beverly Robertson, to chase away any Yankee cavalry guarding the Rapidan River fords. This he did, but those who fled went straight to Pope and reported that Jackson's army was on the march. More Federal cavalry was sent out and the main body on the march was detected. Pope ordered General Siegal's Corps to march to reinforce General Banks, whose Corps was ordered to form a defensive line along the ridge behind Cedar Run, some seven miles from Culpepper Courthouse.
Jackson's hyper secrecy was working against him this day. His movement was no longer a secret from the enemy, but remained one for his officers and men. A consequence of this was a slow march by Stonewall standards. With no idea of where they were supposed to be going, officers arriving at crossroads with their men had no basis for deciding which road to take. Combined with a severe heat wave which struck Virginia at this time and sapped everyone's strength, progress was not rapid.
Seemingly unaware of the heat, an extra animated Stonewall road along the line of march, urging greater efforts and showing no sympathy for those soldiers who had dropped out due to heat exhaustion. Jackson had determined that he would be in place to attack on the 9th before Banks could be reinforced, and he was going to be there no matter what was required of the men.
Stonewall Jackson was in ill humor 150 years ago this morning. He had expected to have started the day with his army much further advanced on its approach to ambush General Banks Corps, and to have taken Culpepper Courthourse after vanquishing Banks, by mid afternoon.
Instead, as a consequence of a confused and heat wave suffering march (a half dozen had died of sunstroke, many others, including General Winder had been made severely ill), he was beginning the day still eight miles from his objective.
Highest on Jackson's Ugly List was General A.P. Hill. During the Seven Pines battle, and again before Beaver Creek Dam, Hill had been left holding the bag, and then attacking alone when neither Jackson nor Longstreet had appeared in support as planned. When Lee made Jackson and Longstreet the wing commanders, Hill wasn't enthusiastic about serving under either one of them, but Longstreet had burned him twice, so Hill requested that his division be assigned to Jackson's wing.
Now he was regretting it. He found Jackson's refusal to confide his plans in his senior officers to be idiotic, and thanks to an undelivered order, Hill had inadvertently been a major contributor to yesterday's traffic jam. This had brought the wrath of Jackson down on his head, unjustly thought Hill. Finally, Hill was by nature an informal, friendly sort and he detested "by the book" officers. Jackson not only insisted on literal fidelity to all army regulations, he had added a number of eccentric laws of his own which applied only in his army.
At least Hill wasn't under Jackson's direct scolding this morning. Hill's division, the largest Jackson had, was the rear most at the moment and had yet to catch up with the rest of the army.
On the other side of the Rapidan River that morning was General Banks and he was delighted with the enigmatic order he had received from General Pope that morining. It read:
Quote:
"General Banks will move to the front immediately, assume command of all forces in the front, deploy his skirmishers if the enemy approaches, and attack him immediately as soon as he approaches, and be reinforced from here."
Banks was puzzled. Did this mean he was to use only skirmishers to attack and delay Jackson's approaching army until Pope arrived with the reinforcements? Or did it mean that Banks was to attack with his full force as soon as the Confederate army appeared? Banks was still smarting from having been humiliated by Jackson in the Valley, and was burning with the desire to redeem himself at Jackson's expense. Without asking for a clarification, he decided that the order meant...attack right away with everything you have.
He advanced his army and set up a defensive position on and around Cedar Mountain, and waited.
Jackson had his army up and marching again, although he had written to General Lee that morning expressing disappointment with his slow progress and predicting that the day would be nothing but marching. Around midday the rebels arrived before Cedar Mountain and began to receive long distance artillery fire. Jackson assumed that this was horse artillery being operated by Union cavalry sent to delay his march. Generals Ewell and Winder had their divsions on hand and Jackson told them to chase off the Union guns and seize the mountain. Thinking this was a small action, Jackson then found a farmhouse and settled on the porch swing for a nap. Orders were to awaken him when Cedar Mountain had been secured.
Ewell and Winder soon discovered that there was a bit more than just horse artillery on the mountain. They began to probe with their own artillery to mark the positions of the Federal guns, and were surprised by the high volume of return fire. Winder, against his doctor's orders, had pulled himself out of the ambulance in which he had ridden to the battle, and took personal command of his guns. The officer to his left was decapitated by a shell. The officer to his right was cut in half by another. Winder stood his ground, his eyes to his binoculars directing the fire. Then a third shell found the position, severing Winder's left arm and shreding his entire left side. He died that evening.
Then the biggest shock of all. From the heavily wooded terrain on the mountain slopes, here came Federal infantry ......attacking! Surprised and unprepared, Winder and Ewell's men went tumbling back in retreat.
Thinking Jackson might forgive them for awakening him prematurely, word of the impending disaster was relayed to the farmhouse. Jackson immediately sprang into the saddle and rode hard for the action. Upon arrival, with his men streaming toward the rear, Jackson did something no one had ever seen him do before. He drew his sword, waved it over his head and shouted to the fugitives.."Rally brave men and press forward! Your general will lead you! Jackson will lead you! Follow me!
So out of character were these dramatics on Jackson's part that his men were more surpised by that than they had been by the Yankee attack. Stonewall's theatrics worked, his men halted, turned around, squared themselves back into coherent formations and turned to face their advancing enemy.
And to complete the melodramatic aura, just at this moment A.P. Hill's division arrived, instantly shifting the numbers advantage to the Confederates and bringing Banks attack to a quick stop. Now it was the Federals turn to run from a bad shock and as usual, Jackson was at all points urging on the pursuit.
The chase continued on until stopped by darkness. Banks and the survivors of his Corps fell back that night to rejoin Pope. Jackson would stick around the area long enough to see that he was now being badly outnumbered, and then withdraw back across the Rapidan.
It was a Confederate victory. They had driven the enemy from the field and inflicted 2353 casualties on him, most of those prisoners captured in the chase. Jackson had lost about 1300 of his own force. But this triumph was way short of Jackson's orginal plan of severing Banks from the rest of Pope's army by taking Culpepper Courthourse. So he was surly. For Lee he reported a victory in cheerful terms, for his subordinates he had nothing but nasty criticism, especially for Hill, the man whose timely arrival had saved the day. The rift between Hill and Jackson would grow.
Hope this Gif works here, its a cool follow the progress of the battle thing
Col. John Hunt Morgan's July cavalry raid in Kentucky had produced numerous small fights, several captured and ransomed towns, hundreds of confiscated horses and 1200 prisoners of war.
The only offensive action General Henry Halleck was permitting in the west was General Buell's drive on Chattanooga and in conjunction with raids conducted by Colonel Nathan Forrest, Morgan had considerably slowed the already inclined to be slow Buell.
Now Morgan was going to launch another raid, this time specifically targeting Buel's supply lifeline, the L & N Railroad which linked him to the Union held Nashville. One factor which had reduced the impact of Morgan's first raid was the incredible speed with which the US Corps of Engineers was able to replace sabotaged rails and burned bridges. This time Morgan had a target in mind which would not be so easily repaired.
Near Gallatin, Tennessee, the rail line passed through twin tunnels in the mountains. 150 years ago today, Morgans men swept into Gallatin, captured the 300 man Union garrison there, and then captured an unwitting Federal locomotive and train which had arrived thinking all was normal. Morgan had all of the train's boxcars set afire and pushed into the 800 foot long tunnel. The flames destroyed the timbers supporting the roof of the tunnel and it collapsed for nearly its entire length.
Fix that, US Engineers.
Louisville and Nashville were no longer connected by rail, and Buell was no longer connected to his supply base. General Bragg had hoped to vex Buell's move against Chattanooga by drawing him North to protect Nashville. Now it had been done just by Morgan's raid.
Buell's advance ground to a halt.
Southern entrance to the Gallatin Tunnel
General Henry Halleck was deeply concerned. Among the president, the secretary of war and the general in chief, Halleck had held out the longest against removing the Army of the Potomac from its position on the James. Only when he became personally persuaded that nothing was going to get his former friend, General McClellan, to advance once more on Richmond, did he accept the necessity.
Halleck had argued against the move because it would generate the conditions which had now materialized. The smaller of the two Union armies was within striking distance for General Lee, the larger was in transit and would require a couple of weeks to be brought back in full. Halleck had warned that a man like Lee, when provided with a window in which to seize the initiative, would do just that.
150 years ago today, he did.
Lee had already dispatched Jackson to strike a blow to slow down or freeze General Pope's Army of Virginia. Now, with reports coming in confirming the departure of units from the Army of the Potomac, Lee decided that it was critical to crush that "miscreant" Pope before his army was enlarged by the Corps coming from the James. Word was sent to Stonewall Jackson to maintain his position south of the Rapidan, Lee would be joining him in two days, accompanied by General Longstreet's wing, minus a single division left to man the Richmond defenses and keep an eye on McClellan's movements.
Thus began the first of two campaigns which have guaranteed Lee a place in any arguments concerning the greatest American general.
War is a dangerous activity, even when no one is shooting at you.
150 years ago today the Potomac River was the scene of heavy traffic between Aquia Creek and Fortress Monroe as units of the Army of the Potomac were being boarded and transported north.
One steamer enagaged by the US government for the job was the West Point. It had already made the run numerous times and August 14th found it picking up 254 wounded soldiers at Newport News, along with three women and a child, all bound for Aquia Creek. Around 8:30 in the evening, the ship was near Ragged Point when it encountered the George Peabody, another government leased vessel operating the same route and heading the opposite way. Both captains sounded their whistles to alert the other. By maritime law, vessels would move to starboard when passing one another. There was some sort of communications mix up between the West Point's captain and her pilot, resulting in that ship turning sharply to port. While attempting to correct this error, the West Point swung arond and rammed the George Peabody, striking her paddle wheel.
The George Peabody lost power and began to drift, the West Point lost its bow and began to sink rapidly in 20 feet of water. 270 passengers and crew went into the river, many unable to swim, some of the wounded too helpless to avoid drowning. The George Peabody had lost power and steering and could offer only limited aid in rescuing those in the water. Eventually a Union gunboat happened on the scene and managed to save the majority of the passengers.
Generals Lee and Longstreet arrived at Gordonsville 150 years ago today and sat they down with General Jackson to plan their next move.
Jackson's strike against General Banks at Cedar Mountain had caused General Pope to consolidate his army, pulling in the flanks and occupying a position facing the Rapidan River with Cedar Mountain protecting his right flank, and his left resting on the confluence of the Rapidan and Rappahannock rivers. In Pope's mind this disposition left him more secure, in the minds of the three rebel generals, he had trapped himself in a narrow corridor, hemmed in by two rivers and a mountain.
Behind Pope's right flank ran the Orange and Alexandria Railroad which linked him to his forward base of supplies at Rappahannock Station, and his main supply base back at Manassas Junction. Lee decided to mask his infantry behind Clark's mountain on the south bank of the Rapidan, and send his cavalry swinging around Cedar Mountain to strike and destroy the railway bridge which spanned the Rappahannock near the supply station.
With Pope cut off from his supply base, he would have to fall back. As he fell back the Confederate army would sweep forward across the river and attack. Pope would be driven back to the Rappahannock, and finding the bridge destroyed, would be trapped and forced to surrender.
Jackson and Longstreet were in complete agreement on the plan, Stonewall so fired up that he proposed sending the cavalry that night and making the infantry attack tomorrow. Longstreet, remembering Jackson's serial failures to comply with timetables during the Seven Days Battle, suggested that they wait at least one day to get prepared properly. Noting that by waiting a day, he would avoid fighting on the Sabbath, Stonewall agreed. In any case the cavalry did not arrive in time and they would have had to wait a day regardless.
And then there would be a problem with the cavalry...
In the aftermath of the Cedar Mountain battle, both sides had agreed to a truce while burial details did their work. During this lull, three Union brigadiers, George Hartsuff, George Bayard, and Samuel Crawford, had crossed the lines to find and visit with their pre war friend, General Jeb Stuart.
The four men got into a conversation about the battle just fought and Stuart told them that even though it had been a clear Confederate victory, the Northen newspapers would spin it into some sort of Yankee triumph. General Crawford had argued against that notion and eventually he and Stuart arranged a bet. If the Northern press did indeed try and report the battle as a Federal victory, Crawford would owe Stuart a new hat.
A few days later copies of the New York Herald arrived in the Union camp and it was just as Stuart had predicted, an account designed to make it appear that the rebels had taken a beating. Crawford was true to his wager and a few days later a white flag toting Yankee messenger crossed the lines with a parcel for Stuart. In it was a copy of the New York Herald, and a new, expensive plumed cavalry hat.
Stuart was immensely fond of the hat and made it a part of his flamboyant uniform, happy to boast of how he came to have it.
He was wearing the hat 150 years ago today when he met with General Lee to receive his instructions for the planned strike against General Pope's forward supply base at Rappahannock Station. As soon as he was joined by the regiment led by Fitzhugh Lee coming from Beaver Dam Station, they were to set out on their sweep behind Pope's right flank.
Stuart and his staff rode to a crossroad called Verdiersville to rendevous with Lee. It featured a makeshift hotel and one private residence. Stuart and his men were invited to stay in the house. The hours passed and there was no sign of Lee. Growing tired, Stuart dispatched Major Norman Fitzhugh to ride up the road and keep an eye out for Lee, while he made a bed for himself out of his cloak, and went to sleep on the home's front porch.
It was Fitzhugh's misfortune to stumble upon two regiments of Pope's cavalry. He was captured and the Union horsemen decided to investigate the road from where Fitzhugh had ridden.
A short time later a stirring of the earth awakened the men on the porch. It was the sound of approaching horses and Captain John Mosby (yes, that Mosby) announced that Lee at last was arriving. He and a Lt. Samuel Gibson mounted up to ride out and greet them. Stuart walked toward the rode with the same purpose in mind.
A few moments later Stuart heard two shots, and then here came Mosby and Gibson, all hell for leather in full out gallops. They had ridden to within pistol shot of the Federal cavalry's spearhead before realizing the error, an education they received when the blue horsemen began firing at them. Without Mosby or Gibson having to shout a word, Stuart recognized the reason for their flight. He ran straight for his horse, mounted and kicked it into high gear alongside his junior officers. After a furious pounding up the road, they turned into the woods and managed to lose their pursuers in the heavy growth.
None of Stuart's party were captured, but all had fled leaving behind their personal belongings. For Stuart it meant the loss of his haversack, his red velvet lined cloak, and worst of all, his new plumed hat. Adding to his discomfort, he wound up wearing a bandana around his head the rest of the day and was constantly subject to "Where's your new hat, General?" questions from his men, who were teasing their general because word of his near capture and inglorious flight had spread instantly. When the story reached the Northern papers, they would add to Stuart's mortification with cartoons and jokes.
Less celebrated, but much more important than the capture of the hat was the capture of Major Fitzhugh. On his person was found a copy of Lee's orders for the strike against Rappahannock Station and the impending infantry assault which would follow. This find was immediately conveyed to Pope who decided to act to frustrate Lee's designs by falling back from the Rapidan to a new defensive line on the Rappahannock.
Lee's attack across the Rapidan would not take place. Stuart's strike against Rappahannock Station was canceled. Pope had escaped the trap.
Lee was left feeling frustrated and Jeb Stuart was left burrning with a desire for revenge and redemption.
Colonel Rodney Mason had been among those Army of the Tennessee soldiers who had been seized by panic and fled from the initial Confederate assault at Shiloh, taking his regiment with him. General Grant wrote in his memoirs that after the battle, Mason had come to him with tears in his eyes, confessed his failure to do his duty and expressed his deep personal shame. He then begged Grant for a chance to redeem himself. Grant was moved by his apparent sincerity and assigned Mason to command a regiment of Ohio volunteers who were posted at Clarksville, Tennessee, guarding the Cumberland River supply route back to Kentucky. Mason's command was 320 soldiers strong.
150 years ago today, Mason got the chance for redemption. About 160 rebel guerillas on horseback under the command of Colonel Thomas Woodward suddenly appeared outside of the town around 9 am. The majority were from a band organized by Colonel Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson. Mason rallied his troops and they took up a defensive posture around Stewart College. The irregular Confederates made a dash for Mason's headquarters, but upon seeing a reception assembled for them, they backed off.
According to Mason's report, the Confederates then wheeled out an artillery piece aimed at the college, and sent a surrender demand which stated he was surrounded by 800 men. Mason consulted his senior officers and after some divided debate, Mason requested that he be allowed to see the 800 men before agreeing to surrender. Certainly, replied the rebels, send an officer and we will take him on a tour.
Mason dispatched his second in command for the job and after a time, this officer returned to report that the Confederates had the 800 men, all well armed, plus three large artillery pieces. (The Federals had none.) Mason held another officer's conference and reports that this time there was unanimous agreement that surrender was the only option. Down went the flag and into captivity went the men.
Mason had actually surrendered to an irregular force no larger than his own, and they actually had zero artillery pieces. Woodward had arranged for Mason's officer to see the same men riding by several times, and they were bolstered by sympathetic men from the town who turned out to stand around and be counted. Only the rebel officers had uniforms, so the townsmen were as authentic looking as the guerillas as they marched by in the distance, their broom and shovel handles looking like muskets.
As for the artillery, it was all sham. Adam Johnson was called "Stovepipe" for this very reason. He had built three realistic looking fake cannons out of stovepipes and mounted them on carriages, designed for the very purpose they had been used for this day...bluffing the enemy.
This second mortification ended Mason's military career. Four days after the surrender Secretary Stanton ordered him cashiered from the service for "repeated acts of cowardice in the face of the enemy."
On the eastern front 150 years ago today, General Lee spent the day, as he had the day before since crossing the Rapidan in pursuit of General Pope's army, probing for a weakness around which he could plan his strike.
Lee was not having any luck with this. While Pope's position on the Rapidan had left him open to be trapped with two rivers behind him, his position behind the Rappahannock was solid. The northern bank of the river was high and steep, the plateau behind it crowded with Federal artillery. These days were marked by numerous skirmishes by pickets and cavalrymen, but no where was there discovered a point where Pope had left himself open to a promising attack. Worse, the first reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac had begun to arrive, swelling Pope's numbers from 55,000 to 70,000.
Unable to attack, Lee decided he had to find other means to persuade Pope to move to another position. The planned cavalry strike against Rappahannock Station had been canceled, but the basic idea was still valid. Lee decided to see how Pope reacted to a threat to his supply line, calling in General Stuart and ordering a raid agains Catlett's Station where a critical bridge spanned Cedar Run Creek in Pope's rear.
Stuart was raring to go, he had in fact been annoying Lee with his serial begging for the chance to be turned loose against the Yankees. As he had written his wife "I intend to make the Yankees pay for that hat."
In the western theater of operations, the Bragg/Kirby invasion of Kentucky grand scheme got underway, as one of General Smith's divisions advanced toward the Cumberland Gap, while Bragg took the newly named Army of Tennessee (formerly Army of Mississippi) across the Tennessee River near Chattanooga and began heading north to link up with Smith's other division, somewhere in Kentucky, depending on the progress of the two forces.
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