The Opening Battles

By Kevin Campbell

Author Kevin Campbell in this work examines in detail the swirling cavalry fight at Brandy Station. He also gives a lucid, well-written account of the debacle that befell Robert H. Milroy and his ill-fated division at Winchester and Carters Woods. Those battles, bloody in their own right, were soon relegated to the back pages when the horrific Battle of Gettysburg began dominating the press and the postwar reminiscences of the veterans. We can learn much from this new work, with its treasury of pertinent eyewitness accounts and clear prose. His skill in digging through the regimentals, official records, diaries, and other materials is evident, as well as his ability to interweave them into a cohesive narrative that brings the battles, personalities, and long hours of marching to light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514492659

Kevin Campbell

Kevin Alan Campbell has been an independent researcher and student of the civil war and the Eastern theater of the conflict for over thirty-seven years. As a college graduate and product engineer in the building products industry, he pays attention to details, which is required by his profession, and this can be seen within his research and writing efforts. He first became interested in the Battle of Gettysburg as a young man when he visited the battlefield for the first time in 1977. His passion for the battle was cemented a few years later after reading Professor Edwin Coddington’s work for the first time. He has visited the hallowed ground in Pennsylvanian many times since. He lives in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Megan.

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Copyright © 2016 by Kevin A. Campbell.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016907495

ISBN:  Hardcover  978-1-5144-9266-6

Softcover  978-1-5144-9264-2

eBook  978-1-5144-9265-9

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Rev. date: 06/09/2016

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Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Forward

Maps

Prologue: Spring, 1863

Book III—The Federal Horseman Show Their Mettle

1-Cause for Concern

2-Open Fields and Rolling Hills

3-A Little Brick House of Worship

4-Stevensburg

5-Fleetwood Hill

6-Buford Tries His Right

7-Two Reputations

8-The Rebels March

Book IV—Winchester

9-He was my brother

10-Return of the Blue Bellies

11-Outpost or Bastion

12-The Federals Stay and Fight

13-By the Left Flank

14-Martinsburg

15-Stephenson’s Depot

16-Vanquished and Strewn About

17-Fallout

Epilogue: A Tarnished Career

Appendix A–Order of Battle of the Union Forces at Brandy Station

Appendix B–Order of Battle of the Confederate Forces at Brandy Station

Appendix C–Strengths and Casualties at Brandy Station

Appendix D–Order of Battle of the Union Forces at Winchester

Appendix E–Order of Battle of the Confederate Forces at Winchester

Appendix F–Strengths and Casualties at Winchester

Abbreviations

Bibliography

Illustrations

Maps

Federal Plan at Brandy Station

Jones Meets Davis

Jones’ Position

Buford Deploys

Buford Attacks

The Lines Shift

The 6th Ohio Clears Stevensburg

Butler Clears Stevensburg

Duffié Deploys

Butler is Defeated

Gregg Arrives

Gregg Attacks

1st Pennsylvania Attacks

Jones’ Second Attack

Kilpatrick and Hampton Collide

1st Maine Clears the Hill

Gregg Disengages

Lee Deploys

The Stone Wall, First Attack

The Stone Wall, Second Attack

The Stone Wall, Third Attack

The Infantry Clears the Wall

Lee Falls Back

Lee Makes a Stand

Buford Falls Back

The Rebels March

Destruction of the B&O Railroad

Ewell Deploys

The Federals are Driven

The Federals Fall Back to the Heights

Rodes’ March to Williamsport

The Rebels Pressure the Town

Diversion

Early’s Flank March

Assault on West Fort

Jenkins Arrives

Rodes Attacks

The Federals Quit the Field

Attack of the 12th Pennsylvania

Keifer Attacks

First Attack of the Second Brigade

The Second Brigade is Spent

The Third Brigade Falters & the Division Scatters

Photos

Andrew G. Curtain

Robert C. Schenk

Henry W. Halleck

John S. Mosby

Charles Francis Adams

Julius Stahel

Culpeper Court House

Brandy Station

The Welford House

John Minor Botts

The Botts Home, Auburn

William E. Grumble Jones

George Armstrong Custer

A crib dam on the Hazel River

Robert F. Beckham

John Opie

Henry Clay Cutler

William S. McClure

Beckham’s position at Saint James Church

Location of Saint James Church

Henry C. Whelan

Ulric Dahlgren

Pontoon boat

Hansbrough Ridge

Matthew C. Butler

Site of Norman’s Mill Ford

Williams C. Wickham

Mountain Run

Alexander C. M. Pennington Jr.

Farley Memorial

Fleetwood Hill

James Monroe Deems

Virgil Broderick

Pierce M. B. Young

Joseph W. Martin

William Irvine

Calvin S. Douty

Buford’s Knoll

James M. Robertson

Solomon Williams

Samuel S. Elder

Theophilus F. Rodenbough

Richard L. T. Beale

Wesley Merritt

Daniel Oakey

William A. Graham

John R. Chambliss

Darius N. Couch

John D. Imboden

Lord Thomas Fairfax

Destroyed B&O yard in Martinsburg

Hunter H. McGuire

Hunter McGuire’s boyhood home

The David Walker Barton home

Robert Barton

Randolph Barton

Mary Greenhow Lee

Cornelia Peake McDonald

Mary Katherine McVicar

Sarah Catherine Kate Sperry

Kate Sperry’s home

Cornelia McDonald’s home

Gustave Paul Cluseret

George Hay

Thomas A. Morris

John C. Frémont

Franz Sigel

Robert H. Milroy

Lloyd Logan’s home

Joseph W. Keifer

Washington L. Elliott

Andrew T. McReynolds

John R. Kenly

Benjamin F. Kelley

Post war image of Star Fort

James H. Stevenson

William H. Ball

William T. Wilson

Alonzo W. Adams

John W. Schall

Harry Gilmor

Junius Daniel

Albert G. Jenkins

James R. Herbert

John B. Gordon

William N. Foster

William G. Ely

Henry Peale

Noah G. Ruhl

William T, Wilson

Edward A. O’Neal

Moses M. Granger

Harry T. Hays

View looking west from Fort Milroy

William R. Peck

Jonathan B. Hanson

Daniel Tyler

Benjamin F. Smith

Tuscarora Creek

Stephen D. Ramseur

Edward Johnson

George H. Steuart

Railroad cut near Stephenson’s Depot

18th Connecticut at Stephenson’s Depot

The old railroad bridge

Benjamin W. Owens

John W. Horn

James A Walker

Thomas F. Wildes

Joseph Holt

David W. Barton gravesite

This work is dedicated to

Megan

May the special challenges you face in life never overcome your smile.

Preface

During my thirty-eight-year odyssey of study and now authorship of the Civil War, I have discovered a number of things about the Rebellion’s historiography and the men who have produced its volumes. First, there are a great many learned men who have come before me who I owe a debt of gratitude for their efforts in establishing a path to follow. This trail has allowed me to begin and complete the first two volumes of this work. Second, there are also a great many that have, at least in my opinion, done nothing more than cloud the issues of the Civil War with their opinions which have been formed upon speculation. And, while it is the historian’s job to fill in the holes of history with well-reasoned and thought out judgments, too many of these verdicts are formulated by theoretical thought. While these opinions are welcome and provoke deliberation regarding their subject matter, they should be treated as conjecture. While in many instances such opinions are initially treated as speculative, many who follow conveniently convert hypothetical assertions into substantiated fact. For their own convenience they enter presumptive thought into mainstream belief. Possibly the best examples of this is the 150-year-old question as to the outcome of the Gettysburg Campaign if Stonewall Jackson had survived and, that the 20th Maine saved the Federal army from total defeat at Gettysburg. I have tried to keep this speculative thought out of my work. I am sure I have not been completely successful in this endeavor and for this I humbly beg the readers indulgence.

I am also a firm believer in the philosophy that in order to understand the events and actions of individuals one must understand their situation and personality. In the first volume of this work I endeavored to lay out the character, life experiences and philosophies of the major and minor players of the Gettysburg Campaign. To me, this was an important preamble to the journey to Gettysburg and the carnage which occurred in and around the southern Pennsylvania town. To that end, where applicable, I have included the same character and situational development for participants who make their first appearance within these pages.

This second volume documents the cavalry battle at Brandy Station, the movement of the Confederate Second Corps into the Shenandoah Valley and the expulsion of the Federals from the Lower Valley at the Second Battle of Winchester. While the first volume set the stage for the campaign, this volume begins to address the details. I thought it important to not only address the issues and existence of the fighting men and their commanders but the civilians affected by the events surrounding them. Once again, not all the stories can be told. I have tried to choose the accounts which I feel provide the deepest understanding and connection to not only the military aspects of the campaign, but the soldier’s experiences and the plight of the civilians who found themselves embroiled in the events.

Both engagements were vital in determining the course and events which took place during the campaign following their occurrence. Brandy Station set the stage for the cavalry battles which would occur in the Loudoun Valley a week later and more than likely affected the mind-set of Jeb Stuart. In addition, it put the finishing touches on the evolution of the Federal cavalry and placed them on a common footing with their antagonists. It had taken over half the war for the Union troopers to bring themselves up to par with the vaunted Confederate cavalry. During the Gettysburg Campaign the playing field would be relatively equal. The battle at Winchester opened the door to the heart of southern Pennsylvania, the Cumberland Valley, and, more than likely provided the Confederacy and Lee’s army with a false premonition of ultimate success.

Within the body or this work I have endeavored to relay to the reader the tone of the times. Today, opinions and political correctness are closely watched by citizens, organizations and authoritative figures. Many activities and terms, which have been determined unacceptable behaviors or language in today’s society, were commonplace during the mid-19th century. Except for terms which have been deemed tremendously offensive, I have not removed any of the slightly or somewhat controversial terms, opinions or activities displayed by the players within the opus of which I write. I have not done this to create argument or dissention, only to provide context and a glimpse into the mindset of the individuals, their character and belief systems.

While it was my intention within this volume to limit my opinions and let the soldiers and the record tell the story, I found it impossible to keep this promise. There are specific issues which cry out for my proverbial two cents. One such subject is the character of Robert H. Milroy and his relationships with the citizens of Winchester, his immediate superior, Robert Schenck, and Henry Halleck. I felt it necessary to explore Milroy’s personality and these relationships since they ultimately built the foundation for his disastrous defeat at Winchester and the rousing commencement of the campaign for General Richard Ewell’s Second Corps. In addition, the Rebel success ultimately established a level of expectation in Ewell which he would fail to achieve. Milroy, remaining in Winchester to be crushed by a significantly superior force, greatly assisted in the establishment of the belief that Ewell was capable of providing a continuation of the early war successes achieved by Stonewall Jackson.

In a larger sense, Milroy’s failure at Winchester was due more of his own doing than the efforts of Ewell’s Corps. The utter destruction of his command however, was looked upon as a great victory for the Confederate cause and its impression upon the victors provided additional justification for the belief that they could whip any Federal force anywhere, at any time. This, to the astute individual, was obviously folly but to a Rebel soldier it was a substantiated fact. The simple fact of the matter, at least in this author’s opinion, is that Ewell was an average commander while Milroy was a poor one because he lacked the ability to put aside his ego. It’s possibly just that simple.

Another hurdle which needed to be overcome during the production of this work was the constant search for someone interested enough in my work and who possessed sufficient time, within the course of their own busy life, to devote themselves to assist in editorial efforts. One thing I have discovered over my career as a product engineer for a major building products manufacturer is that if one looks at something long enough they will begin to see what they believe or want to be present not what is actually on the computer screen. This is not only true for engineering documents but manuscripts as well. It is amazing how many incorrect or misrepresented items remain undetected when the same set of eyes reviews a piece of information. One unequivocal fact is that when different eyes review a document the more accurate the document becomes. To all those who have put up with my imperfection I appreciate your sacrifice.

Structure of this Work

Readers may notice that the subsections, or Books, within this volume are designated III and IV. This is due to the fact that the narrative is intended to be a continuous account, therefore the Books are numbered as a continuation from Volume I.

The author anticipates nine volumes within this series but has discovered that placing such a restriction is probably a somewhat whimsical notion. The general topics of each proposed volume are as follows:

Volume 1 (Books I and II) – Preparation, planning and biographical data.

Volume 2 This Volume, (Books III and IV) – The opening battles of the campaign.

Volume 3 (Books V and VI) – The advance and movements from 10 to 30 June.

Volume 4 (Books VII and VIII) - 1 July.

Volume 5 (Books IX and X) – 2 July: Longstreet’s assault on the Federal left.

Volume 6 (Books XI and XII) – 2 July: The fighting on the Federal right.

Volume 7 (Books XIII and XIV) – 3 July: Longstreet’s Assault and cavalry actions.

Volume 8 (Books XV and XVI) – The retreat of Lee’s army and Meade’s pursuit.

Volume 9 (Books XVII and XVIII) – The results of the campaign including:

Controversies

Lives of the participants through the remainder of the war

Post war period

Now, on to Volume III

Kevin A Campbell

Klamath Falls, Oregon

2016

Acknowledgements

As usual, the list of individuals deserving thanks is significantly longer than the space devoted to their recognition. Anyone who I neglect to recognize, you know who you are. Thanks for your encouragement, support and assistance.

I would like to specifically thank the Stuart E. Brown III family for providing permission to publish the photo of Randolph Barton from their collection. They were kind enough to promptly return my phone call and cordial in their response to my request.

I would also like to personally thank Patty Stringfellow, director of the Jasper County Public Library, for providing permission to utilize the library’s extensive collection of papers from the Robert H. Milroy Collection. It would have been impossible to develop an understanding of Milroy’s personality and his mental makeup without the use of this wide-ranging assemblage.

Thanks are also due Rebecca A. Edert who graciously provided permission to utilize a number of photos from the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives at the Handley Regional Library in Winchester. Many of the images in the archives’ large collection of period photographs are unique to the archive and their use is greatly appreciated.

I would also like to express thanks to Jerry Holsworth who also calls the Stewart Bell Jr. Achieves home. Jerry is one of the most energetic individuals I know and has written numerous pieces on the history of Winchester during the war. Although he is not a lifelong resident of Winchester (go Aggies), his passion for Winchester’s history knows no bounds. He was gracious enough to take time off from his busy day during my first research trip to Winchester to guide me on a tour of the fortifications, or what’s left of them, to the northwest of town, and the battlefield near Stephenson’s Depot. He pointed out the ground over which Hays’ Louisianans charged during their assault on West Fort. Many thanks.

Once again John Heiser at the Gettysburg National Military Park’s Library assisted me in pulling documents and files from the library’s rather large collection of primary and secondary materials. During the three days I spent in the library’s research room in May of 2014, the general use copy machine decided to terminate its cooperation and ceased to function. John and other members of the park’s staff assisted in copying a large number of documents I had identified as being critical to my research using the library’s copy machine. Thanks to all who maintained their patience and tolerated my burdensome requests.

Once again I am thankful for the editorial work of Katrina Myers. Katrina worked her way through the Brandy Station section of this work without the aid of any maps or other documents to assist with content and the intent of my ramblings. She once again had to deal with my poor grammar, and overall destruction of the English language. This work is better off due to her efforts.

I would also like to thank Scott L. Mingus Sr. who, once aware of my work, expressed great interest and graciously reviewed the entire manuscript. Scott provided input on factual issues, corrections and content that made for a more historically accurate final draft. He supplied specifics on a number of items pertinent to Second Winchester and his suggestions regarding the content and flow of the manuscript were greatly appreciated.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Scott for penning the Forward to this volume. When I asked if he would mind putting down a few words for me he showed great enthusiasm, which I wholly appreciated. The next time I get to Adams and York Counties, I owe you supper.

Thanks are due the United State Army Heritage and Education Center for the assistance they provided me on my various trips to the archive. They are always cordial and ready to help when asked.

I would also like to thank Ed Welch, the recorder for the Commandery of Massachusetts MOLLUS for granting permission to utilize photos from the commandery’s extensive collection which is housed at the USAHEC. While permission is generally not required to utilize the MOLLUS photos, I always like to give credit where credit is due.

Once again, thanks are due to the curators of the Doubleday Inn. The best place to stay and relax in Gettysburg. I will miss Molly on my next visit but I am sure Cooper and I will become buddies.

I would like to express my thanks to my brother, Kyle, who during the late summer of 2015, read the manuscript and found a number of typographical and grammatical errors. I greatly appreciate his assistance, interest and thoughts.

Once more, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to my wife Susan who has put up with my isolation and seemingly brainless inability to recall things important to her while my mind wanders back and forth from being an author and writer to being a husband and supporter of her wishes and needs. She works hard to keep me on a correct life path and I appreciate her more than she knows. Love you.

Thanks to my late parents, Richard and Vickie. Dad, I miss your stories. Mom, I miss your cherry dump cake. You did a great job with all three of us.

Finally, I would like to once again thank the men who sacrificed and fought for what they believed to be right and the men and women who created the mountain of primary and secondary source material that was utilized to create this manuscript.

For those of you, whom I have missed, please except my sincere apology.

Thanks to all.

Forward

The 1863 Gettysburg Campaign and the famed three-day battle in and around the seat of Adams County, Pennsylvania, have over the past century and a half inspired tens of millions of words in more than a thousand books and uncounted numbers of magazine articles. Yet, there remains much more to be said, and the interest in the topic has scarcely waned. New books continue to come out each month, many with a fresh spin or new information. With the advent of the Internet and easy on-line access to military records, regimental histories, period newspapers, memoirs, and other primary sources, today’s generation of Civil War writers have access to considerably more fresh material than those of the 20th century. This has helped solidify our understanding of battles and movements, as well as camp life, the campaign trail, and the everyday lives of the soldiers and civilians back home. Many heretofore obscure and forgotten newspaper articles not read since the 19th century are now but a click away, bringing their stories back to relevance.

In particular, those primary references are fundamental to interpreting the story of the Gettysburg Campaign. What the soldiers saw, smelled, felt, and endured while on the road to Pennsylvania or in numerous smaller engagements during the prelude to Gettysburg are critical to our understanding of how those maneuvers and experiences played out, and what they meant to the participants.

Kevin Campbell has superbly mined the available primary sources, as well as some of the most reliable secondary sources from the mid-to-late-1800s, to craft this exhaustive and well-conceived book, one of a planned series of titles covering nearly all major aspects of the Gettysburg Campaign. His skill in digging through the regimentals, official records, diaries, and other materials is evident, as well as his ability to interweave them into a cohesive narrative that brings the battles, personalities, and long hours of marching to light.

The late spring and early summer of 1863 proved to be fateful to both the Northern cause and those ardent Southerners striving for continental and global recognition of their self-declared independence. Many in the South believed that one more major victory, this time on Northern soil, would be decisive. Support for Lincoln’s controversial war policies, already weak in certain parts of the Union, might erode to the point where the Federals might be brought to the negotiating table. Optimism was high in mid-May, and perhaps the morale of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was at its all-time peak as its soldiers readied themselves for the summer campaign. Just one more push; just one more stinging defeat of the Yankees might be all it took to finally end the bloodshed.

That, of course, was not to be. As the vanguard of Lee’s forces moved toward the Shenandoah Valley the first week of June, no one could anticipate that the seemingly endless string of victories over the hated Yankees would end in a faraway county at a site with soon-to-be-immortal names such as the Peach Orchard, Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield, McPherson’s Ridge, and Cemetery Hill. The first hint that the campaign might not go as well as hoped happened at Brandy Station near Culpeper, Virginia, on June 9. Union cavalry, recently reorganized and now under several new, aggressive brigade and division leaders, fought Jeb Stuart’s vaunted cavaliers to a tactical and strategic draw. To many observers, the Federal horsemen had finally come of age and were now a solid match for the Southern saddle soldiers. That concern was soon overshadowed by events on June 13-15 near Winchester, Berryville, and Martinsburg when Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s Second Corps essentially destroyed the relatively untested Second Division of the Union Eighth Corps, opening the gateway to Gettysburg through the Shenandoah and Cumberland valleys. Confederate optimism again abounded, and Northern newspapers decried yet another loss, this time one that left a Union major general scrambling for the rest of his life to justify his actions at Winchester and left the South with the initial impression that Dick Ewell was indeed a worthy successor to the late, lamented Stonewall Jackson.

Author Kevin Campbell in this work examines in detail the swirling cavalry fight at Brandy Station. He also gives a lucid, well-written account of the debacle that befell Robert H. Milroy and his ill-fated division at Winchester and Carter’s Woods. Those battles, bloody in their own right, were soon relegated to the back pages when the horrific battle of Gettysburg began dominating the press and the post-war reminiscences of the veterans. We can learn much from this new work, with its treasury of pertinent eyewitness accounts and clear prose. One can only hope the Oregon-based author will have the patience to continue this voluminous series of martial books that, when finished, should comprise one of the best multi-volume repositories of information on the campaign and its battles and men.

Scott L. Mingus, Sr.

York County, Pennsylvania

Maps

Map1FederalPlanatBrandyStation.jpgMap2JonesMeetsDavis.jpgMap3JonesPosition.jpgMap4BufordDeploys.jpgMap5BufordAttacks.jpgMap6TheLinesShift.jpgMap7The6thOhioClearsStevensburg.jpgMap8ButlerClearsStevensburg.jpgMap9DuffieDeploys.jpgMap10ButlerisDefeated.jpgMap11GreggArrives.jpgMap12GreggAttacks.jpgMap131stPennsylvaniaAttacks.jpgMap14JonesSecondAttack.jpgMap15KilpatrickandHamptonCollide.jpgMap161stMaineClearstheHill.jpgMap17GreggDisengages.jpgMap18LeeDeploys.jpgMap19TheStoneWallFirstAttack.jpgMap20TheStoneWallSecondAttack.jpgMap21TheStoneWallThirdAttack.jpgMap22TheInfantryClearstheWall.jpgMap23LeeFallsBack.jpgMap24LeeMakesaStand.jpgMap25BufordFallsBack.jpgMap26TheRebelsMarch.jpgMap27DestructionoftheBORailroad.jpgMap28EwellDeploys.jpgMap29TheFederalsareDriven.jpgMap30TheFederalsFallBacktotheHeights.jpgMap31RodesMarchtoWilliamsport.jpgMap32TheRebelsPressuretheTown.jpgMap33Diversion.jpgMap34EarlysFlankingMarch.jpgMap35AssaultonWestFort.jpgMap36JenkinsArrives.jpgMap37RodesAttacks.jpgMap38TheFederalsQuittheField.jpgMap39Attackofthe12thPennsylvania.jpgMap40KeiferAttacks.jpgMap41FirstAttackoftheSecondBrigade.jpgMap42TheSecondBrigadeisSpent.jpgMap43TheThirdBrigadeFaltersTheDivisionScatters.jpg

The Opening Battles

Bravery without forethought causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.

Sun Tzu

Prologue

Spring, 1863

"if I get killed, remember I shall

die for my country"¹

Confederate soldier to his mother

June 1863

First Lieutenant Thomas William Trussell believed he had reason to be somewhat fatigued. A miller from Winchester, Virginia, he had enlisted as a private in the 1st Virginia Cavalry at Newtown on 20 July 1861. A member of Company A, Trussell became a first sergeant on 1 February of the following year before being elected first lieutenant two-and-a-half-months later. The lieutenant’s source of weariness, and no doubt pride, was rather unique. It was now the middle of May, 1863, and somehow he had managed to determine, at least in his mind, the number of miles the regiment had traveled since leaving Yorktown on 1 May of the previous year. Whether he kept a log or was just making an educated guess, he believed the Virginians had ridden the exact sum of 3,144 miles.²

On 8 May, Trussell’s regiment was camped near Orange Court House. A few days earlier, as the opening moves of the Chancellorsville Campaign were underway; his company became cut off from the remainder of the regiment. Company A, along with Companies B, E and I, had been on picket duty near Rixeyville as the Federals made their presence known. It took little time for the stranded men to make themselves useful. They quickly latched on to William H. F. Rooney Lee’s cavalry brigade and assisted in chasing after Federal cavalrymen George Stoneman. Although the Virginians never managed to catch up with their quarry, a good deal of skirmishing took place during the pursuit. The ride was long and difficult according to Private John Brownlee Bell of Company E. For eight days they rode hard and rested little. Although Bell admitted no heavy fighting occurred, he noted there was skirmishing nearly every day. At one point he believed that Stoneman was within their grasp but the Federals managed to escape across the river. Bell recalled rations were in short supply during the chase. At one point he remembered having nothing but a quarter pound of bacon and three crackers over a three-day period. Another Company E man, Sergeant Benjamin James Haden, remembered having only five crackers over an eight-day span. Eventually the tired and hungry riders found their way to Orange Court House where, to their relief, they established camp.³

For a number of days, the men of the 1st Virginia remained in camp, drilling and resting from their recent adventures. Then, on 16 May, orders were received to move to Culpeper Court House. Preparations for the summer campaign were underway and the Confederate cavalry under the command of the flamboyant Jeb Stuart was beginning to congregate near Culpeper. Like most of the regiments of Stuart’s command, the 1st was significantly reduced in manpower. Nine days after the move the regiment had only thirty-four officers and 335 enlisted men mounted on adequate horses. Another two officers and 146 men were present but lacked sufficient mounts. An additional 242 men and eight officers were absent, presumably off participating in the Confederate remounting program, which allowed men to leave the regiment to procure a fresh animal.⁴

The 10th Virginia also rode after Stoneman’s band and, like their counterparts in the 1st, failed to catch up with the Federal raiders. Major William Bailey Clement, who had joined the regiment as a captain with a troop of riders from North Carolina, recalled the excursion as being rather miserable. The major remembered riding through the night of 7 May pelted by an incessant rain. After taking a few prisoners the 10th rode on to Orange Court House and set up their bivouac. Clement was anxious for the regiment’s supply wagons to catch up due to all his baggage being with the train. He had been in the same clothing for close to two weeks and was concerned that if he did not have fresh garments soon he would be forced to battle a case of body lice. He had seen them before when he first joined the regiment, but had been lucky then for in that instance they had only infested his blanket.⁵

Clement and the boys from the 10th reached Orange Court House about 10 May. Five days later Lieutenant Gustavus Adolphus Bingham arrived with what Clement called Company Q. These were the men of the regiment who were incapacitated and unable to participate in active operations due to sick, lame or missing mounts. The major noted that the size of Company Q generally increased proportionally to the prospects of an engagement with the enemy.⁶

The encampment was pleasant and relaxing for both men and horses alike. Plenty of clover and grass was available for the animals to graze upon and according to Clement the location was very nice. Within a few days the minor damage to the railroad inflicted by Stoneman’s raiders was repaired and trains began to run once more, bringing mail and supplies from Richmond. Unfortunately, the good times lasted for only a few days. Like their friends in the 1st Virginia, on 16 May, orders were received to once more be on the move and Clement was disappointed at leaving their fine bivouac. The following day men who possessed usable mounts saddled their horses and rode off to the north toward Culpeper Court House. Those without animals to ferry them no doubt began the trek on foot.⁷

If Clement was concerned that the regiment’s new campsite near Culpeper would be of lesser quality than the one they had been forced to leave, he need not have worried. On the last day of May Private James W. Gray noted that the regiment was living better than it had for a number of weeks. Gray, pleased that supplies were getting through, saw his daily ration of bacon increased from a quarter to a half pound. The horses were also regaining health consuming the grasses and additional corn which was being made available. Although most of the horses had fatten[ed] on the additional fodder, Gray’s animal, for some reason, seemed to be refusing to gain strength.⁸

By 25 May the regiment was beginning to recover and strengthen although a number of men were still without adequate mounts. The unit reported twenty-seven officers and 259 men mounted and prepared for active service. Company Q contained one officer and seventy-two men while another sixteen officers and a whopping 345 men were absent presumably away from the regiment trying to procure mounts.⁹

Another group of men who found themselves encamped near Culpeper in late May were the troopers of Companies C and K of the 2nd North Carolina. The companies constituted the regiment’s Second Squadron and had been on detached duty since 1 August 1862. After being ordered to relieve two other companies of their regiment, they had remained behind on picket duty in Martin County, North Carolina, when the remainder of the regiment was ordered to Richmond. At the time, Captain John C. Booth was in command of Company C but he had been wounded near Washington, North Carolina, and his injuries had plagued him ever since. On 1 May he resigned his commission making way for Lieutenant James M. Wynn to take command. Wynn was eventually promoted to captain to rank from the day Booth resigned. During their detached duty the command of Company K fell to Lieutenant William Alexander Graham. Like Lieutenant Wynn, Graham was required to take over for the company’s captain when the latter was wounded in battle. The injured captain left the regiment on 8 December 1862. Graham took over the same day and, like Wynn, was promoted to captain. ¹⁰

After their nine-month separation, the men of Companies B and K finally received orders to rejoin their regiment at Culpeper Court House. They rode into town on 20 May amidst a great deal of fanfare. The celebration however was not for the North Carolinians. Unfortunately, they arrived the same day Stuart had moved his headquarters from Orange Court House to Culpeper. The pomp was for Stuart who never seemed to pass up an opportunity to display the trappings of war. Leaving the festivities behind, the squadron passed through town and headed east along the tracks of the Orange and Alexander Railroad to a small siding known as Brandy Station. Turning northward the group of riders continued on until they arrived near the Hazel River where they finally located the remainder of their regiment. Shortly after their arrival, the boys from Companies C and K found their colonel, Solomon Williams, had finally returned from court-martial duty.¹¹

On the opposite side of the Rappahannock the Federal horsemen were having an eventful May as well. On the seventeenth the men of the 8th Illinois Cavalry received orders to conduct a reconnaissance to King George County. They were instructed to ride down the Northern Neck, a strip of Virginia land between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. The area had become a haven for bushwhackers and smugglers and the regiment’s historian noted that the incursion was intended to punish civilians who were participating in questionable activity and for breaking up the contraband trade. The men were happy to perform the duty. They were pleased to be heading toward King George, for they knew that prior excursions to the area had provided them with a good living.¹²

Arriving at King George Court House, the regiment was divided into three raiding parties each being assigned one of the three main roads which ran the length of the neck. Riding the entire length of the isthmus, the men from Illinois captured and destroyed Rebel property without limits. The entire country was searched, and every nook along the banks of the two rivers explored, recalled regimental surgeon Abner Hard. One hundred sloops, yawls, ferry-boats &c., were burned with their contents; consisting of salt, oil, whisky, leather, stationary, wool cards, percussion caps, boots, shoes, clothing and many other articles of especial value to the rebels. About twenty thousand pounds of bacon and a large quantity of flour was also destroyed. The Yankees no doubt filled their saddlebags with as much of the booty as possible before putting the remainder to the torch.¹³

At Leeds Ferry the Federals were quickly able to determine that the ferry boat was being used to smuggle materials across the Rappahannock. Unfortunately, the boat, which the Federals had intended to destroy, was out of reach, moored on the south bank of the river. In short order some enterprising Yankees devised a plan to coax the Rebels into bringing the boat to the north shore. Disguising themselves as Rebels, two officers and four men went to the river with two men dressed in Federal blue. Setting up their ruse as if the two men in blue were prisoners, they called attention to themselves and gestured for the boat to come over and take them across. The charade worked for soon the boat was on its way to the northern bank. As the ferry reached the shore, the Yankees quickly took its occupants prisoner and fulfilled their desire to burn the vessel.¹⁴

The men from Illinois rode on down the neck all the way to where the two rivers converged. On 22 May, Lieutenant William C. Hazelton and Sergeant Smith D. Martin of Company D were riding about three miles from their bivouac when they were ambushed by a group of renegades. While Hazelton escaped uninjured, Martin was not so lucky. Fifteen balls of buckshot struck the sergeant, severely wounding him.¹⁵

While the Illinois boys prepared for their excursion down the neck, the men from the 6th Pennsylvania were establishing a new camp along the Aquia Creek rail line. Our tents were pitched on very high ground, with good shade and water, wrote a member of the regiment. [O]ur camp was well arranged, and presented a very fine appearance. We remained here in quietness, performing no duty but such as referred to our own immediate improvements… Although all was generally pleasant in camp, one rather somber event did occur. Second Lieutenant William Sproule of Company F had ridden with the regiment as it participated in Stoneman’s Raid. Three days into the ride he had fallen ill but continued on, presumably not wishing to be left behind and captured by the enemy. After the regiment crossed Kelly’s Ford during its return trip, he was immediately taken to the hospital. On 19 May the sad news that Sproule had died quickly filtered its way through camp. He was greatly beloved by his comrades, and possessed many admirable qualities, wrote Samuel L. Gracey, the regiment’s chaplain. Captain Charles B. Davis accompanied the body back to Philadelphia where the cavalryman was laid to rest with military honors.¹⁶

On 13 May the men of the 1st Maine Cavalry relocated their camp from Bealeton to Warrenton Junction. Although their activities remained essential the same from one camp to the other, one member of the regiment recalled a situation which was rather unique.

Day before yesterday a detail of ten men from this regiment, of whom I was one, and twenty or more from another regiment, went on a reconnaissance under the command of Capt. [Benjamin F.] Tucker, of Co. B, First Maine. Between Sulphur Springs and Warrenton we found a secesh soldier lying by the roadside. He was the neatest-dressed and best-looking confederate I have ever seen, and from his manner I at once concluded he was some one’s pet child, which after events proved. He had just been exchanged, and was on the way to join his regiment; had called at Warrenton the day before to see his parents, - said he had gone against his better judgment, and this was the result. When we got to Warrenton I was one of three sent with him to his father’s to get a few things he thought he should need. That was a big job for me, who never could bear to see any one [sic] in trouble, to take a prisoner of war to bid good-by to his mother. I had to go, however, and make the best of it. Thought I had got somewhat calloused to exhibitions of feeling, but found I had not. Treated them as well as I could, and gave his mother all the comfort I could. How she did beg me to ‘take him out a little ways, where nobody would see me, and parole him;’ but I couldn’t do it. I was glad when we got through, though I couldn’t have hurried them at all. He left his mother, saying, ‘Take care of yourself, and don’t worry about me; I shall come out all right; and if I get killed, remember I shall die for my country.’ And we rode off.¹⁷

Such were the events of life for the Northern and Southern cavalrymen during the spring of 1863. The latter weeks of May and the early days of June found the troopers of both the Federal and Rebel cavalry organizations shifting from numerous locations, conducting minor field operations and executing daily camp duties. Although both groups knew that the summer would bring more fighting, few, if any contemplated that within six weeks the chances of an independent southern Confederacy would all but vanish. While plenty of fight still remained in the hearts of the Southern warriors, the logistics of their situation were slowly deteriorating. The ability to maintain the war on the level required to achieve victory through military conquest, if it had even been possible at all, was all but gone. The path to a permanent Southern nation lay in the hearts and minds of the Northern populace. Only by manipulating the people of the North into forcing their government to recognize the South and negotiate peace could the Southern nation be established.

Most of the horsemen of Stuart’s Division, while they understood that winning the war meant a new Southern nation; possessed little immediate concern over such matters. While they all wished the bloodshed and hardships would end, allowing them to return to their families, they knew that at some point they would once again cross sabre with their Yankee foe. The discerning element of their future however, was the fact that the Federal horsemen were beginning to show that they were on the road to perfecting their craft and still possessed a great deal of fight. In March near Kelly’s Ford, the Federals had all but bested the Southern raiders, the gallant John Pelham falling to Yankee fire in the process. Then, for the first time, a large Federal force had raided behind Rebel lines during the fight at Chancellorsville. Although Stoneman’s excursion had done little to harm the Confederate war effort, the simple fact that the enemy had executed such a movement signaled a significant change in the attitude and aggressiveness of the Federal cavalry. The Northern riders were beginning to figure out how to be an effective fighting force, something the Southern cavalry had learned during the early stages of the war. The two antagonists would now be on a more even footing.

Now, the mighty Stonewall had fallen at Chancellorsville. What would the army do without their great corps commander who always seemed to best the enemy? But, although the services of the aggressive Jackson were lost to the Rebels, they still possessed the skills and talent of Robert E. Lee. Most believed Lee to be the Confederacy’s best field commander. Would he not lead them to victory? After all, triumph had been achieved at Chancellorsville against a Federal force over twice that of their own. The spirit of the Rebels was high. With Lee in command the path forward could only lead to victory and the vanquishing of the vile Yankee race. As the summer opened, most of the horsemen of Stuart’s command believed that success was within their grasp. In a few days, after another violent tangle with the up-and-coming Federal cavalry, some would begin to have doubts.

Book III

The Federal Horseman Show Their Mettle

Chapter I

Cause for Concern

…the object in view, which is to

disperse and destroy the rebel force

assembled in the vicinity of Culpeper…¹⁸

General Hooker to General Pleasonton

7 June 1863.

During April and May of 1863, as Grumble Jones and John Imboden gallivanted about in western Virginia, the civilian population within southwestern Pennsylvania began expressing concerns over their safety from the marauding Confederates. Apprehension over the security of their property and possessions fueled the discussions. The Pennsylvanians, while concerned, continued to believe they were generally safe until elements of General Jones’ raiders rode into Morgantown on 27 April. While Morgantown, the county seat of Monongalia County, with its 13,000 citizens, was of no real military significance, its proximity to Pittsburgh and Wheeling sent panic rolling across the countryside. The Confederates were now within fifty miles of the industrial complexes in and around the two cities. Great concern arose over the security of the facilities in Pittsburgh which contained extensive foundries engaged in the casting of large cannon. Although Jones was not interested in riding farther north or west to threaten either city, the citizenry had no way of knowing they were perfectly safe from the Confederate raiders.¹⁹

Thomas M. Howe, Pennsylvania’s assistant adjutant general, expressed his concern over the occupation of Morgantown by firing off a dispatch to Governor Andrew G. Curtin shortly after 2:00 a.m. on 28 April.

PITTSBURGH, 28th.

Governor CURTIN:

An express messenger from Morgantown, by express train from Uniontown, arrived here at 2 o’clock this morning, with intelligence that 4,000 rebel cavalry were within 2 miles of Morgantown at 2 o’clock yesterday, coming into Pennsylvania. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, between Grafton and Cumberland, is torn up.

All the forgoing is confirmed by intelligence from Wheeling. We are without arms, artillery, or ammunition here. What can you do for us?

THOMAS M. HOWE,

Assistant Adjutant General, Pennsylvania.

Although Howe’s intelligence was fairly accurate, his estimate of Rebel strength was nearly twice Jones’ actual number. The more pertinent question in Howe’s mind however, was whether Curtin would be able to provide any help from Harrisburg?²⁰

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Andrew Gregg Curtin, governor of Pennsylvania. LOC

Daylight had yet to crack the horizon as the governor rolled out of bed to read Howe’s dispatch. When he was finished, Curtin quickly wrote his own message to Secretary of War Stanton. Have you any information? he asked. [W]hat force, if any, can you oppose to the rebels? Curtin went on to complain to Stanton that he had no force in the State of any kind to confront the raiders. Be pleased to telegraph me as soon as possible, as there is much alarm in this part of Pennsylvania threatened. The telegraph line between Washington and Harrisburg remained quiet that morning. It was a period of time much too long for Curtin. Did Washington not realize the extent of the concern? At the time the War Department was a bureaucratic maze of red tape and delay. To expect a reply in such a short time was unrealistic, but Curtin was not interested in why he had not heard from Washington. Around noon he sent another message to Stanton. Since his first communication he had received word that the approaching Rebels had now taken Morgantown. Again, Curtin begged for troops and any information the War Department may have confirming the information.²¹

Governor Curtin was not the only Pennsylvania official raising the alarm. Deputy Quartermaster General Osborn Cross also sent a message to General-in-Chief Halleck early on the morning of the twenty-eighth. Osborn’s note relayed the same information as Curtin’s and reiterated the fact that the railroad from Wheeling to Cumberland had been damaged. Stanton also received a communication from the governor of Ohio, David Tod, who indicated that he had sent support to Wheeling. Tod had dispatched three companies from the Governor’s Guard, a two-gun artillery battery and 500 additional men from various commands. In all, Tod sent 850 men to the threatened area.²²

For some reason Stanton failed to provide Curtin with a response to either of his messages. He evidently showed at least one of the communications to the president or discussed the matter with him because Lincoln wrote the governor a short note indicating there was nothing to be alarmed about. I do not think the people of Pennsylvania should be uneasy about an invasion, Lincoln wrote. Doubtless a small force of the enemy is flourishing about in the northern part of Virginia… to divert us in another quarter. I believe it is nothing more. We think we have adequate force close after them.²³

Lincoln’s reassurance did little to calm Curtin or stem the tide of requests he was receiving to either provide aid from Washington or call out the militia. Although Jones’ troopers showed no signs of being interested in riding farther north or west, over the next few days, panic and paranoia became the norm. Three days later Curtin sent another message, this time directly to the president. I am hourly receiving dispatches from the western part of this State, Curtin complained. I presume you are well informed as to the doings of the rebels now threatening our border, and I have assured the people of that region that the General Government has the means and the disposition to protect them. Curtin also told Lincoln that he had received reports that the Union forces had been routed and were falling back into Pennsylvania. The governor, while not directly requesting the militia be called out, asked Lincoln that if it was the president’s pleasure to call out the troops, arrangements should be made for their transportation and subsistence. In an effort to solidify his concern, Curtin attached copies of dispatches he had received from Francis H. Pierpoint in western Virginia and other prominent citizens.²⁴

Before Lincoln had an opportunity to answer Curtin, the governor once again, fired off another message.

HARRISBURG, PA., May 1, 1863.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States:

I am so importuned from the west, where a great deal of alarm and anxiety justly prevails, that you will pardon me for earnestly requesting an answer to my dispatch of this p.m., so that I may be informed what preparations or means, if any, are being made use of or desired to protect this State from threatened invasion. The rebel force is doubtless greatly magnified, but there can be no doubt of it being much larger than our own…

A. G. CURTIN,

Governor²⁵

Curtin’s obsession over a Confederate cavalry force roaming around in western Virginia must have been increasingly frustrating for Lincoln and his administration. At around 9:00 p.m. another message from the governor arrived, which, if not the final straw, must have been close to it. Curtin sent the message to not only Lincoln but to Halleck, Stanton and Major General Robert C. Schenck, commander of the Federal troops in the Baltimore area and the Middle Military Department. Attached to the message was a copy of a dispatch which Curtin had received indicating that Stonewall Jackson with a force of 20,000 Rebels was advancing on Uniontown.

Lincoln, although he was a good friend, finally had enough. He sat down and late in the evening of 1 May responded to Curtin’s flurry of dispatches.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

May 1, 1863.

Governor CURTIN, Harrisburg, Pa.:

The whole disposable force at Baltimore and elsewhere in reach have already been sent after the enemy which alarms you. The worst thing the enemy could do for himself would be to weaken himself before Hooker, and therefore it is safe to believe he is not doing it, and the best thing he could do for himself would be to get us so scared as to bring part of Hooker’s force away, and that is just what he is trying to do.

I will telegraph you in the morning about calling out the militia.

A. LINCOLN²⁶

While Curtin was complaining to the president, Halleck and Stanton were participating in a series of correspondence with General Schenck to determine the actual state of affairs in the region and what could be done about Jones and Imboden. After determining the truth of the situation, Schenck sent a communication to Curtin which seemed to help calm his nerves. I have no report that Union troops have been repulsed anywhere except at Fairmont, between Grafton and Wheeling, Schenck informed the Governor, where, two days ago a party guarding the bridge over the Monongahela were driven off by largely superior numbers, and the bridge destroyed. I have no reliable information of any invasion of Pennsylvania…, Schenck continued. The wild panic at Wheeling and at Pittsburgh has been to me all along unaccountable. The tone of the general communication showed obvious frustration with not only the terror exhibited by the civilian population but his forces as well.

I find by report from General [Benjamin F.] Kelley that the Governor [Pierpoint] was entirely mistaken about 7,000 rebels at Mannington. I wish the troops at Wheeling, instead of sticking to the town, would go out or send out [troops] and look along the railroad to help stop the mischief, if any is still going on west of Grafton. Besides about 4,500 troops of all arms… at Clarksburg, I have sent westward into the invaded district over 6,000. All I want is some co-operation from the direction of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River, to beat and capture the enemy completely, if he does not escape by Clarksburg at once.²⁷

As promised, Lincoln sent another message to Curtin on 2 May regarding the militia. The president told the governor that the Federal forces in the area had gathered together and they would be forcing the enemy into a fight that very day. Lincoln then addressed the militia issue. I am not less anxious to do my duty to Pennsylvania then yourself, Lincoln confirmed, but I really do not yet see the justification for incurring the trouble and expense of calling out the militia. I shall keep watch, and try to do my duty.²⁸

The two communications from General Schenck and the president seemed to successfully calm Curtin’s paranoia. The governor favored Lincoln with a return message which was received at the War Department during the early afternoon of 2 May. I have no doubt my dispatch to Pittsburgh, and sent since yours received, Curtin responded, will quiet the excitement in Western Pennsylvania. All the movements of the Government are perfectly satisfactory, and your conclusion as to calling militia force in harmony with my views. I have not been seriously alarmed, and in my dispatches only reflected a part of the excitement, and all from the west.

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Robert Cumming Schenck, commander of the Middle Department. LOC

Although Lincoln and Schenck may have sent a force after Jones and Imboden, the Federals in the area would not be able to drive the raiders off. The president’s assessment of the rumor that Jackson was marching toward Pennsylvania was exactly correct. Lee could not afford to weaken his army in the face of Hooker’s massive force since he had already done so by dispatching Longstreet south of Richmond with two divisions of his corps. Allowing Jackson to march north to raid Pennsylvania would place Lee in position at Fredericksburg with only 40,000 men to confront Hooker who possessed well over 100,000 soldiers. Lincoln’s error however, which can only be judged so with the assistance of hindsight, was his failure to call out the militia. In a few short weeks, the raid into Pennsylvania which Curtin feared so greatly would turn into a full invasion of the state. If the president had called the militia, it would have been readily available when the Confederate threat materialized. However, during the first few days of May, Lincoln and the War Department had another event foremost in their minds as Hooker battled for his army’s existence at Chancellorsville. As the fighting raged in central Virginia, the thought of a Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania, at least for the next few days, would not be prominent in the president’s mind.

With their raiding complete, Imboden and Jones simply rode south, unmolested, out of the region to rejoin Lee’s army. The panic which had engulfed the region subsided. It would be a few weeks before the citizens of Pennsylvania would once again be thrown into a panic, which on the second occasion would be justified.

The War Department Squirms

On 20 May, Stanton received a communication from an informant in Baltimore that indicated Lee’s army would soon be on the move. I have been informed by one who seems to be pretty well versed in the affairs of rebeldom, the informant began, that the rebels intend to invade Maryland, and endeavor to capture Baltimore and Washington. He states that this will be done in about three weeks unless something should be done to frustrate their intended movement. The informer noted three reasons for Lee planning the movement. The first was the thinning of Hooker’s ranks due to expiring terms of enlistment. Second, the Rebels believed the defenses of Washington had been weakened because some troops had been sent to reinforce Hooker from the capital. And third, disgruntled Southern supporters in one Northern state had written to the Confederate government for assistance. While the final motive seemed to be a bit of a stretch, and the second was untrue, it seemed feasible that the informant’s first reason for Lee moving on Washington was plausible.

The following day, Halleck received a similar note from a gentleman named Johnson Paenter from New York City.

SIR: There is no doubt whatever that the rebels are preparing to invade Washington and Baltimore very soon, and if they cannot take Washington they say that they are sure of Baltimore, with all its stores. This programme [sic], decided upon some time ago, since the defeat of Hooker, they now seem to think cannot fail. They will soon get men enough from other departments, they think, to overwhelm the Union forces. The great depletion of our ranks by the expiration of so many thousands’ terms of service adds vastly to their chances. Will not something be done speedily to diminish these chances?