CHAPTER XI.

THE VICTORY OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN AND FALL OF HARPER'S FERRY.

(September 2d to September 12th, 1862.)

THE DEFENCE OF WASHINGTON.-GENERAL MCCLELLAN IN COMMAND.-INVASION OF MARYLAND.-SLOW PURSUIT OF THE FOE. THE REBEL CAPTURE OF FREDERICK.-THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN RANGE.-POSITION OF THE ENEMY.-BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN.-DEATH OF GENERAL RENO.- PERIL OF HARPER'S FERRY. ITS IMPORTANCE DISREGARDED. FEEBLE DEFENCE. SHAMEFUL SURRENDER.

Ir was on the 2d of September, 1862, that General Pope was ordered to fall back upon Washington, where General McClellan had been placed in charge of the defences. The army was exhausted, dispirited, and shattered, by the disastrous issue of Pope's campaign. There seemed to be a general conviction that a new leader must be chosen to restore confidence to the army, and to repair these terrible losses. The army in general called for McCleilan. The voice of the people was for some other leader. As General Pope's army approached Alexandria, General McClellan was instructed to assume the command, and to assign the troops their positions for the defence of Washington.

A portion of the rebel troops moved towards Vienna, twelve miles west of Washington, that they might, by a demonstration near Chain Bridge, divert attention from the more important movement of General Lee. This distinguished rebel chief, at the head of a large and victorious army, had now his choice, either to advance on the fortifications of Washington, or to move, in overwhelming invasion, upon Maryland and Pennsylvania, with the hope of capturing both Baltimore and Philadelphia, and perhaps of uniting Maryland with the fortunes of rebeldom.

The prospect of invading the rich and populous districts of the North, which had not yet felt the scourge of war, was very inviting. If successful, a boundless amount of plunder might be obtained; Maryland might be detached from the loyal States; the Northern sympathizers with the rebellion would be emboldened to adopt more vigorous measures to thwart the Government, and the English Government would find the excuse it was so eagerly seeking, to recognize the slaveholding despotism.

Animated by these prospects, General Lee did not wait to refresh his troops after the hard fighting which they had encountered, but on Sunday, August 31st, while his advance was still engaged with a portion of Pope's army near Centreville, he moved with the main body of his troops towards Leesburg. Thence, rapidly traversing the eastern slope of the Bull Mountain range, he crossed the Potomac at Noland's Ford. Pushing vigorously along the western banks of the Monocacy River, on the night of

September 5th the advance reached White Oak Springs, three miles from the city of Frederick, and forty-seven miles from Centreville. Frederick is considered the second city in Maryland in commercial importance, and the third in population, containing about 6,000 inhabitants. The announcement of the approach of a large rebel force filled the city with consternation. There was but one company of soldiers stationed there; no resistance could be offered. Many of the inhabitants fled towards Baltimore and Pennsylvania. The surgeon in charge of the military hospital succeeded in removing all but one hundred and twenty of the patients to Baltimore, and in destroying nearly all the medical stores.

About ten o'clock in the morning of September 6th, the advance-guard of the rebel army, under "Stonewall" Jackson, entered Frederick unopposed. They numbered three thousand men, well provided with artillery, many of the pieces having been captured from the patriots in their recent battles. The appearance of the rebel soldiers was pitiable. Their clothes of gray homespun were so soiled and ragged, as to be revolting both to the eye and the nostril. They were nearly all barefooted, and they were not accompanied by any baggage-train. Both officers and men presented an aspect so filthy and beggarly, that even the secessionists, who had joyfully hailed their approach, turned from them in disgust. The men were, however, under very rigid discipline. The butt of a pistol, or a sabre blow, were the words of warning and command to any who violated the law of their superiors. Stragglers were mercilessly shot, and the least offence was visited with severest punishment.

The rebels, much to their disappointment, met with a cold reception. They had fully expected that the community of slaveholding Maryland would rally round them as deliverers. On the contrary, the citizens avoided them, but few Confederate flags were displayed, and Union sentiments were freely avowed. One man, to whom the rebel scrip was offered, indignantly replied: "The name of the Confederacy depreciates even the value of the blank paper upon which that name is printed." On the, Sunday following the entrance of the rebels into the city, the churches were opened as usual. General Jackson attended, a part of the day, the church at which the Rev. Dr. Zacharias officiated. The heroic and faithful pastor, in a firm voice, prayed for the President of the United States, in the presence of the rebel General.

On Monday, the 8th, General Lee issued a proclamation to the people of Maryland, urging them, traitorously, to cast off their allegiance to the Government of the United States, and to join the rebels. He assured them of the co-operation of his army to aid them to sever the ties which bound them to the Union, but that he would not attempt to force them to measures which they could not voluntarily adopt. There was no response whatever to this appeal. The Marylanders, unseduced, remained true to their country. At the same time, Governor Bradford issued a proclamation, calling upon the citizens to rise in defence of their homes, and to form suitable organizations to render effectual aid to the National Government, whose armies could alone protect them.

In the southern counties of Pennsylvania, the greatest excitement and

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alarm prevailed. The farmers collected their wives, children, and cattle, and sent them for safety into the northern counties, while they remained to defend their homesteads and to repel the invaders. Far and near stores were closed, alarm-bells were rung, mass-meetings gathered, and, after a few words of consultation, the men organized immediately for drill.

While these hurried movements in raising volunteers for self-defence were in progress in the Border States, public confidence found its chief reliance in the veteran Army of the Potomac, which, under its former leader, was promptly ordered by the President to the pursuit of its old foe. General McClellan was ordered to advance immediately, with all the forces not needed for the defence of Washington. He moved his army up the western bank of the Potomac, hoping to cut Lee's army in two, by separating that portion which had crossed the river from the troops which remained on the Virginia side. Indeed, it was still uncertain how far the invasion of Maryland was a feint, with the design of withdrawing the troops from Washington, that the Capital might be exposed defenceless to the main body of Lee's army. There was, moreover, the utmost need of dispatch, that the rebels might be overtaken and their true designs ascertained.

Most of the troops of General McClellan were in motion on the 5th. The First corps, under General Hooker, and the Ninth, under General

Reno, forming the right wing, commanded by General Burnside. While the line of the Potomac was carefully guarded to protect Washington, massive divisions of the army advanced, by several nearly parallel roads, in the direction of Frederick. With all the lower part of the river in our possession, the rebels could only cross by the upper fords, at a great distance from Washington. But little reliance could be placed upon the new levies who had so enthusiastically rushed to our National banner. They were but poorly prepared to meet the veteran legions of Lee. The only power which could effectually check the progress of the invaders was in the hands of General McClellan. With characteristic caution he moved, and so slowly as to provoke very severe criticism. This advance, in pursuit of the fleet-footed foe, was at the rate of but seven miles a day. In the following words, General McClellan gives his justification for his slow and cautious advance :

“During these movements I had not imposed long marches on the columns. The absolute necessity of refitting and giving some little rest to troops worn down by previous long-continued marching and severe fighting, together with uncertainty as to the actual position, strength, and intentions of the enemy, rendered it incumbent upon me to move slowly and cautiously until I reached Urbanna, where I first obtained reliable information that the enemy's object was to move on Harper's Ferry and the Cumberland Valley; and not upon Baltimore, Washington, or Harrisburg."

The number of the rebel army, at the lowest estimate, was sufficient to indicate a bold and heavy stroke at the North. It was the majestic movement of an army; not the dashing raid of a few brigades. When the National troops left Washington, on the 5th, the rebels had already crossed the Potomac, at Noland's Ford, in force. On the 6th they entered Frederick, the capital of the State. On the 8th, General Lee issued from that city his proclamation to the inhabitants of the State. The main body of his army encamped, from the 6th to the 10th, near Frederick; while his advance, on the 10th, entered Hagerstown, nearly thirty miles northwest from Frederick, from which point all the detached commands were appointed to rendezvous.

On the 12th, two days after the rebels evacuated Frederick, General McClellan's advance entered the city. On the 13th, the main body of the patriot army passed through the streets, enthusiastically cheered by the citizens. On the same day, Pleasanton's cavalry drove the scattering rear forces of the rebels over the Catoctin Hills, and opened the main route of pursuit to the base of South Mountain Range. Here the hostile armies. were again to meet, and try their strength on Union soil. When General Lee found himself pursued, having recruited his worn and half-starved troops on the fertile fields of Meriden, he put his army again on the march. To secure his line of retreat, and to gain an important position for defence, he resolved to capture Harper's Ferry, which was not strongly garrisoned. He accordingly ordered "Stonewall" Jackson to recross the Potomac at Sharpsburg, to cut off the retreat of the garrison. Another strong division was sent directly towards Harper's Ferry, to take possession of Maryland

Heights, which commanded the post. To make sure of the capture, another rebel division crossed below the ferry. Having captured this stronghold, the divisions were immediately to return, and rejoin the main body of the rebel army in its march into Pennsylvania. It was while this large number of the enemy were thus separated from the main body, that McClellan made the attack on Lee, which resulted in the decided Union victory of South Mountain.

The rebels had chosen a fine military position on the sides and summit of this range, which is a continuation of the Blue Ridge. As there were but few practical passes through the mountains, they offered a very strong natural barrier to the advance of the National forces. The two principal passes, Turner's Gap and Crampton's Gap, but five miles from each other, are easily defended. The former, through which the rebels mainly passed, is twelve miles from Frederick, and three from Middletown, on the Hagerstown turnpike. The lower pass was important, as defending the rebel flank.

Turner's Gap was held by about forty thousand rebel troops, with twelve pieces of artillery, under Longstreet and Hill. Crampton Gap was occupied by another rebel force under Cobb. Both of these passes were however, carried on the same day, in two distinct engagements, one of which was conducted by General McClellan, and the other by General Franklin. The engagement at Turner's Gap was brought on by a reconnoissance of Pleasanton's cavalry, which, being well supported by infantry, developed into a stubbornly contested assault of the enemy's position.

At six o'clock, Sunday morning, September 14th, a portion of the Ninth Army Corps was ordered to support General Pleasanton, who, with a brigade of cavalry and several pieces of artillery, was moving up towards the rebels on the Hagerstown turnpike. The rebels slowly fell back towards the mountain, where they were ascertained to be in such force as to require a more vigorous attack.

South Mountain, at Turner's Gap, is about one thousand feet high. Its steep sides are of difficult ascent, on account of the numerous ledges and loose rocks, which give no steady foothold. Being thickly covered with · forest from bottom to top, except an occasional clearing for pasture, or a cornfield, they presented a hazardous front to an attacking column.

The rebels were posted on each side of the gap and within the pass, commanding by their artillery every acre of the plain at the foot of the mountain. About a mile and a half from the gap, on the main road from Middletown, is the little village of Bolivar, numbering six or eight houses. At this point two roads diverge from either side of the turnpike, each taking a circuitous route, gradually ascending the mountain until they meet at the summit.

The different divisions, which early in the morning had been put in readiness for battle, came into position about eight o'clock, and began to move up the turnpike from beyond Middletown. The Ninth Corps, under General Reno, proceeded in two columns to Bolivar, and there turned off by the road on the left of the turnpike. Here, on rising ground in front of the village, a line of battle was formed. Since seven o'clock, a. m.,