McLaws's. The Richmond Enquirer |
of the 23d (four days after the battle)
says it has "authentic particulars" of
the battle; and that "the ball was
opened on Tuesday evening about 6
o'clock, by all of our available force,
60,000 strong, commanded by Gen.
Robert E. Lee in person.'
." And this
seems to be the more probable aggre-
gate.

Pollard, in his "Southern History of the War," says of this battle: "It was fought for half the day with 45,000 men on the Confederate side; and for the remaining half with no more than an aggregate of 70,000 men."

Gen. McClellan makes his entire loss in this battle 12,469: 2,010 killed, 9,416 wounded, and 1,043 missing; and says his army counted and buried "about 2,700" of the enemy, beside those buried by themselves: whence he estimates their total loss as "much greater" than ours. As the Rebels fought mainly on the defensive, under shelter of woods, and on ground commanded by their artillery, this might seem improbable. But Lee (writing his report on the 6th of March following) is silent as to his losses, while the account of them given as complete in the official publication of "Reports of the Operations of the Army of Virginia, from June, 1862, to Dec. 13th, 1862," is palpably and purposely an under-statement. That account makes the total Rebel loss in the Maryland battles only 10,291: viz., killed, 1,567; wounded, 8,724; and says nothing of missing; while McClellan gives details of considerable captures on several occasions, and sums up as follows:

D. H. Hill reports 3,241 disabled, including 4 Colonels, out of less than 5,000; and Lawton's brigade lost 554 out of 1,150.

Among the Rebel killed were Maj.-Gen. Starke, of Miss., Brig.Gens. L. O'B. Branch, of N. C., and G. B. Anderson; Cols. Douglass (commanding Lawton's brigade), Liddell, 11th Miss., Tew, 2d N. C., Barnes, 12th S. C., Mulligan, 15th Ga., Barclay, 23d do., and Smith, 27th do. Among their wounded were Maj.Gen. R. H. Anderson, Brig.-Gens. Lawton, Rhodes, Ripley, Armistead, Gregg, of S. C., R. Toombs and Wright, of Ga.

Lee, of course, did not care to renew the battle on the morrow of such a day; and McClellan, though rëenforced that morning by about 14,000 men, stood still also. He says he purposed to renew the combat the next morning;" but, when his cavalry advance reached the river, they discovered that Lee had quietly moved off across the Potomac during the night, leaving us only his dead and some 2,000 of his desperately wounded.

Lee having posted 8 batteries on the Virginia bluffs of the Potomac, supported by 600 infantry under Pen

"Thirteen guns, 39 colors, upward of *Jackson expressly states that A. P. Hill's losses were not included in his return.

29

Sept. 19.

STUART RIDES AGAIN AROUND OUR ARMY.

211

dleton, to cover his crossing, Gen. | loss into Virginia at White's Ford, Porter, at dark," sent across Gen. below Harper's Ferry. McClellan, Griffin, with his own and Barnes's hearing he had gone on this raid, brigades, to carry them. This was felt entirely confident that he could gallantly done, under the fire of not escape destruction, and made exthose batteries, and 4 guns taken; tensive preparations to insure it; but but a reconnoissance in force, made his plans were foiled by lack of enby part of Porter's division next ergy and zeal. Stuart paroled at morning," was ambushed by A. P. Chambersburg 275 sick and woundHill, a mile from the ford, and driven ed, whom he found there in hospital; pell-mell into the river, with consid- burned the railroad dépôt, machineerable loss, after a brief struggle; the shops, and several trains of loaded Rebels taking 200 prisoners. They cars, destroying 5,000 muskets and held that bank thenceforth unmo- large amounts of army clothing. lested until next day, and then qui- Perhaps these paid the Rebels for etly disappeared. their inevitable waste of horse-flesh, and perhaps not.

Lee moved westward, with the bulk of his army, to the Opequan creek, near Martinsburg; his cavalry, under Stuart, recrossing the Potomac to Williamsport, whence he escaped on the approach of Gen. Couch's division. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was now pretty thoroughly destroyed for some distance by the Rebels-neither for the first nor the last time. Gen. McClellan sent forward Gen. Williams on his left to retake Maryland Heights, which he did" without opposition; as Gen. Sumner, two days later, occupied Harper's Ferry.

Here ensued a renewal of the old game of cross-purposes-McClellan calling loudly and frequently for reenforcements, horses, clothing, shoes, and supplies of all kinds, which were readily promised, but not always so promptly supplied; Halleck sending orders to advance, which were not obeyed with alacrity, if at all. A distemper among the horses threw 4,000 out of service, in addition to the heavy losses by Rebel bullets and by over-work. Halleck states that McClellan's army had 31,000 horses on the 14th of October; McClellan responds that 10,980 were required to move ten days' provisions for that army, now swelled to 110,000 men, beside 12,000 teamsters, &c.; and that, after picketing the line of the Potomac, he had not 1,000 desirable cavalry. His entire cavalry force was 5,046; his artillery horses, 6,836; he needed 17,832 animals to draw his forage; so that he was still 10,000 short of the number actually required for an advance.

At length, Gen. McClellan crossed

the Potomac, between the 26th of | had advanced to Warrenton, when October and the 2d of November; he was relieved from command," and, moving unopposed down the east side of the Blue Ridge (Lee's army being still in the Valley, but moving parallel with ours), occupied Snicker's Gap and Manassas; and

directed to turn it over to Gen. Burnside, and report by letter from Trenton, N. J.; which he proceeded forthwith to do. Thus ended his active participation in the war.

X.

TENNESSEE-KENTUCKY-MISSISSIPPI.

BUELL BRAGG-ROSECRANS-GRANT-VAN DORN.

THE Comatose condition into which every cavalier. Burning bridges, the war on the Tennessee had fallen, and clutching whatever property after the removal of Mitchel to the could be made useful in war, had South, was fitfully broken by patter- been for some time current; when ings of Rebel enterprise far in the at length a bolder blow was struck rear of our main army. While Bu- in the capture' of Lebanon, Ky. [not ell, at or near Huntsville, Ala., was Tenn.], and almost simultaneously deliberately reorganizing and disci- of Murfreesboro', Tenn., which Forplining his forces, schooling them rest surprised; making prisoners of to an unwonted deference for Rebel Brig.-Gens. Duffield and Crittenden, rights of property-especially of prop- of Ind., with the 9th Michigan, 3d erty in men-guerrilla raids and at- Minnesota, 4 companies of the 4th tacks became increasingly and disa- Ky. cavalry, and 3 companies of the greeably frequent throughout Ken- 7th Pa. cavalry, after a spirited but tucky and Tennessee-the Confed- brief resistance. Henderson, Ky., on erate leaders, especially those of cav- the Ohio, was likewise seized by a alry regiments, on finding that they guerrilla band, who clutched a large were not needed in our front, trans- amount of hospital stores; and, being ferring their assiduous and vehement piloted across by some Indiana traiattentions to our flanks and rear. tors, captured a hospital also at NewThe names of Forrest and John burg, Ind., and paroled its helpless inMorgan began to be decidedly noto- mates. Col. John Morgan likewise rious. Horse-stealing-in fact, steal- captured' Cynthiana, in north-eastern ing in general-in the name and be- Kentucky; but was run off directly half of Liberty and Patriotism, is apt by a superior cavalry force under to increase in popularity so long as Gen. Green Clay Smith. Morgan it is practiced with impunity; and claims in his report to have captured the horses of Kentucky are eminently and paroled 1,200 Union soldiers calculated to inflame the love of during this raid, with a total loss country glowing in the breast of of but 90 of his men. Large quan

34 Nov. 7.

1 1 July 5, 1862.

2 July 2.

BRAGG AND KIRBY SMITH INVADE KENTUCKY.

213

tities of plunder were thus obtained, | advance into Maryland, the increas while property of much greater value ing scarcity of food was the more was destroyed; and enough recruits immediate, while fond expectations were doubtless gathered to offset the of a general rising in support of the waste of war. Still, military opera- Confederate cause, afforded the retions, without a base and without moter incitement to this step. Louisregular supplies, seldom produce sub- ville, with its immense resources, stantial, enduring results; and the was the immediate object of this Confederate guerrillas either soon gigantic raid, though Cincinnati was abandoned Kentucky or concealed thought to be also within its purthemselves and lay quiet therein. view. Crossing the Tennessee at The leaders, with most of their fol- Harrison, a few miles above Chattalowers, retired into Tennessee, where nooga, with 36 regiments of infanthey captured Clarksville' and pos- try, 5 of cavalry, and 40 guns, Bragg sessed themselves of ample military traversed the rugged mountain ridges stores; and a sharp cavalry fight at which hem in the Sequatchie ValGallatin resulted in a Union defeat, ley, passing through Dunlap,' Pikewith a loss of 30 killed, 50 wounded, ville, Crossville,' masking his moveand 75 prisoners. ment by a feint with cavalry on McMinnville, but rapidly withdrawing this when its purpose was accom

6

ward, to Kentucky; which he entered on the 5th.

Gen. Buell had left Corinth in June, moving eastward, as if intent on Chattanooga; but Gen. Bragg-plished, and pressing hurriedly northwho had succeeded to the chief command of the Rebels confronting him -had thereupon moved more rapidly, on parallel roads, from Tupelo, Miss., through northern Alabama and Georgia, to Chattanooga, which he reached ahead of Buell's vanguard. Bragg's army had been swelled by conscription to some 45,000 men, organized in three corps, under Hardee, Bishop Polk, and Kirby Smith respectively, whereof the last was sent to Knoxville, while the two former sufficed to hold Chattanooga against any effort which Buell was likely to make.

Kirby Smith, with his division, from Knoxville, advanced by Jacksonborough across the Cumberland range, through Big Creek Gap, moving as rapidly as possible, with a very light train; his men subsisting mainly on green corn-which is scarce enough in that poor, thinly-peopled region— his hungry, foot-sore, dusty followers buoyed up with the assurance of plenty and comfort ahead. His cavalry advance, 900 strong, under Col. J. S. Scott, moving from Kingston, Tenn., passed through Montgomery and Jamestown, Tenn., and Monticello and Somerset, Ky., to London, where it surprised and routed a battalion of Union cavalry, inflicting a loss of 30 killed and wounded and 111 prisoners; thence pushing on, making additional captures by the Aug. 24. 'Aug. 27. Aug. 30. Sept. 1. Aug. 22. Aug. 13. Aug. 17.

McClellan's Richmond campaign having proved abortive, while conscription had largely replenished the Rebel ranks, Bragg was impelled to try a bold stroke for the recovery of Tennessee and the liberation of Kentucky. As with Lee's kindred

'Aug. 19.

6

7