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126

THE RIVER RECROSSED.

birds sang along the banks of the Rappahannock, as merrily as though no scenes of death and carnage had made them as memorable as the shores of Trasymenus.

Some skirmishing and cannonading followed, but on Monday night, the wearied and bleeding army was secretly, silently transported across the river, the pontoons taken up— and the great campaign was ended.

The country was fearfully excited by this catastrophe, coming so quickly on the heels of McClellan's removal, and abuse was poured on the Government from every quarter, until Burnside publicly took the responsibility of the whole movement on himself.

Great complaint was made that the pontoons were not sent forward from Washington, in time to meet Burnside when he moved from Warrenton, so that he could have crossed at once, and taken possession of the heights, before the enemy had time to occupy them. Hooker, too, thought, if he could have had his own way, he might have seized and held them in advance. There are always supposed events after a defeat, which, had they occurred, would have made it a victory. But Lee was too good a General to allow his retreat to Richmond to be cut off by a sudden dash. He showed afterwards, when attacked by Hooker, and still later, when pressed by Grant with double his own force, that neither dash, great ability, nor overwhelming numbers, could accomplish this desired object. Still, deeply as the country was mortified at the defeat, but little condemnation of Burnside openly was heard. His unwillingness to take chief command, his modest appreciation of his own abilities, his known moral worth and true patriotism, warded off the blows, that afterwards fell fierce and fast on Hooker, who suffered a similar defeat near the same place.

Burnside soon after planned another advance movement, designed to retrieve his disasters, and had actually commenced

GENERAL MITCHELL.

127

it, but heavy rains set in, which turned the whole country into a sea of mud, and it was abandoned.

This practically closed the campaign in Virginia for the year. The rebels, some three thousand strong, crossed the Rappahannock above Burnside, and attacked Dumfries, but were repulsed.

ter.

Further south, but little was accomplished. General Mitchell, the celebrated astronomer, who had abandoned his quiet pursuits at the call of his country, and, under Buell, acquired the reputation of a skillful, energetic General, but was afterwards relieved from his command, under the insane charge of speculating in cotton, was sent, early in the Autumn, to the Southern Department to take the place of HunHe immediately infused energy and life into affairs, and great results were expected from his known force of character. But he was stricken down in the midst of his usefulness, by the yellow fever, and died at Beaufort on the 30th of October. A pure and noble man, he was at the outset, so ungenerously treated by the War Department, that, during Cameron's administration, he sent in his resignation, but it was not accepted. Afterwards, though he had filled the land with his deeds, he suffered under the charge of speculating, and at last was sent to Beaufort to die.

In North Carolina, only partial, isolated blows were struck, having no direct bearing on any of the great campaigns. The principal event which marked the closing year in this Department, was an expedition against Kinston, set on foot by Foster, with four brigades under General Wessels and commanded by Colonels Amory, Stevenson and Lee. He left Newbern on the 8th of December, and on the 14th, met the enemy in force, under General Evans, about a mile from Kinston, and gave him battle. The rebels were beaten, and retreated, abandoning the town, which Foster took possession of He rendered useless two heavy guns which he

128

A DARING DEED.

could not bring off, and captured four field pieces. After destroying the quartermasters' stores, and burning the bridge, he proceeded to Whitehall. From thence, he continued his course, fighting as he advanced, till he came within eight miles of Goldsboro', which was only fifty miles from Raleigh, the Capital of the State. After burning trestle-work and cars, and tearing up railroad tracks, and, last of all, firing the bridge over the Neuse, under the shots of the enemy, he retraced his steps to Newbern-having advanced seventy or eighty miles into the heart of the State, and spread consternation wherever he went. Lieutenant George W. Graham applied the torch to the bridge, under the fire of the enemy's artillery and infantry, and then saved himself by jumping from it.

The total loss in the expedition, was five hundred and seventy-seven. Among the killed was Colonel Gray, of the Ninety-sixth New York regiment.

The sum total of the military operations for the year, was not satisfactory, and belied the promise of the Government, and the hopes of the people, that the war would be a short

one.

But while in the East, the New Year came in gloomily, in the West, it was signaled by a battle that inaugurated a series of movements, which, in the end, were to have an important bearing on the war.

CHAPTER IX.

DECEMBER. 1862.-JANUARY, 1863.

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO', OR STONE RIVER-ROSECRANS AT NASHVILLE-
HIS DELAY ΤΟ MOVE-THE COUNCIL OF WAR-ROSECRANS' PARTING
WORDS- -THE MARCH COMMENCED-THE ENEMY'S LINE OF BATTLE AT
MURFREESBORO'-ROSECRANS' PLAN OF BATTLE-SCENES AND INCIDENTS—
BRAGG'S PLAN OF ATTACK-MORNING OF THE BATTLE-ATTACK OF THE
ENEMY-DESTRUCTION OF OUR RIGHT WING-ROSECRANS INCREDULOUS-
HIS GALLANT CONDUCT WHEN INFORMED OF HIS DISASTER-HEROIC
FENSE BY SHERIDAN-FORMING A NEW LINE OF BATTLE-STUBBORNNESS
OF THE LEFT WING-SPLENDID BEHAVIOR OF HAZEN-THE CLOSE-AP-
PEARANCE OF THE FIELD-OUR HEAVY LOSS-OPERATIONS OF THE FOL-

DE

LOWING DAYS-LAST BATTLE-MURFREESBORO' EVACUATED-ROSECRANS

CELEBRATES HIGH MASS-THE ARMY RESTS.

R

for

O SECRANS, who had succeeded Buell in command of the Army of the Cumberland, had a high reputation energy and skill, having never yet been beaten in a single battle. He took up his head-quarters at Nashville, and commenced the reorganization of the army.

the

Here he remained, apparently idle, for two months, and

country, ignorant of the circumstances that surrounded him, grew impatient. The usual pressure, which at the first had urged on McDowell, and which, like an evil genius, had followed every General since the war began, was brought to bear on him. But no power on earth could make him move till he was ready. They might supersede him, but could not force him to do that which his judgment condemned, if he was to be held responsible for the result.

At length, having settled matters somewhat to his satisfaction in Nashville-secured his communications, and accumu lated thirty days' provisions, he determined to move. A consultation was held at head-quarters, on Christmas night,

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which broke up at midnight. The army was to march in the morning; and as Rosecrans, in parting, took each commander by the hand, he said: "Spread out your skirmishers far and wide! Expose their nests! Keep fighting! Good night."

The morning, so big with fate, dawned gloomily on the army-the clouds hung like a pall over the wintry landscapegreat drifts of slowly moving mist lay along the valleys— while the rain came down in torrents, that gathered in pools in the road, or ran in yellow streams along the gullies. The reveille, as it rolled from camp to camp, had a muffled sound in the murky atmosphere, and everything conspired to shed a gloom over the army. But the soldiers seemed to forget the storm in the excitement of marching on the enemy, and soon the mighty host, nearly fifty thousand strong, was sweeping along the muddy roads and across the drenched fields. Thomas led the center, McCook the right, and Crittenden the left. About noon, the clouds broke away before a stiff north-west breeze, and the sun came out to lighten up the somber landscape. But already the dropping fire of musketry, and now and then the boom of a cannon, told that the rebel "nests" were being "stirred up.' All day long, the steady columns toiled on over the broken country, and at night bivouacked in the wet fields. But with darkness came again the heavy rain-clouds, and the cold storm beat on the tired army. Through the darkness and storm, Rosecrans with his escort went dashing over the country, in search of McCook's head-quarters. Their horses' hoofs struck fire among the rocks, and they swung along at such a slashing pace that one of his escort finally exclaimed: "General, this way of going like h-1 over the rocks will knock up the horses." "That's true," he replied; "walk." Moving on more slowly through the impenetrable blackness, he called an orderly and said, "Go back and tell that young man he must not be profane." Reaching McCook's head-quarters

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