eral victory, unless where some political animosity brought out the details, or some personal rivalry extorted the truth. With the Confederate victory of Belmont, we leave for the present the story of military operations in the West. We shall soon recur to that theatre, to find there some of the largest and most important events of the war. We shall discover that the enemy, in fact, conceived a new plan of invasion of the South, through Kentucky and Tennessee, by means of amphibious expeditions, composed of gunboats and land forces; and that a war which the Southern people supposed lingered on the Potomac, was suddenly transferred and opened with imposing scenes on the western waters. CHAPTER XI. THE FICKLE PUBLIC OF THE NORTH.-GEN. SCOTT.-THE CLAMOUR FOR M'CLELLAN.—HIS "TRENT In the beginning of the war, General Winfield Scott had been entitled in Northern newspapers "the Greatest Captain of the Age." After the disaster of Manassas the same newspapers derided him as an imbecile; and in the meanest humiliation General Scott publicly announced himself an "old coward" for having yielded to popular clamour in fighting the battle, and thus sought by the most infamous confession the mercy of men prompt to insult his fallen fortunes. The fickle course of popular applause in the North was to exalt a new idol, and to designate a new victim. The clamour was for young commanders. Gen. George B. McClellan had been lifted into a sudden popularity by the indifferent affair of Rich Mountain. He was a graduate of West Point; had been one of the Military Commission sent to the Crimea; and just before the war had been employing his genius as superintendent of a railroad. He was now to take command of the Federal forces on the line of the Potomac, and to find himself suddenly exalted in the newspapers to comparisons with Alexander, Cæsar, Hannibal and Napoleon the Great. The volatile, superficial and theatrically-inclined mind of the North is, perhaps, in nothing more strikingly displayed than in its demonstrations towards its public men. Yankee fame has come to be one of the curiosities of the world. Scott was "the Greatest Captain of the Age." But McClellan was "the Young Napoleon." The name of the new hero appeared on placards, on banners, and in newspaper headings. Reporters stretched their ears to catch the least word he uttered; artists of illustrated journals dogged his steps; his eyes, hair, mouth, teeth, voice, manner and apparel were carefully described in newspaper articles. Every store of flattery and praise was exhausted upon a man who found himself famous by nothing more than the caprice of the multitude.* For months after the battle of Manassas an almost unbroken quiet extended along the line of the Potomac. McClellan had tolerated the advance of the Confederate lines to Munson's Hill, within a few miles of Alexandria; and every attempt to draw him out into a general engagement proved unavailing. Northern politicians complained of his inactivity; * There has been a curious Yankee affectation in the war. It is to discover in the infancy or early childhood of all their heroes something indicative of their future greatness, or of the designs of Providence towards them. Thus their famous cavalry commanders rode wild horses as soon as they could sit astraddle; and their greatest commander in the latter periods of the war-Ulysses S. Grant-when an infant in arms desired a pistol to be fired by his ear, and exclaimed, frick again!-thus giving a very early indication of his warlike disposition. The following, told of McClellan in a Washington newspaper, during the days of his popularity, is characteristic: "THE INFANT NAPOLEON.—An incident which occurred in the city of Philadelphia in the winter of 1826–7, is particularly worthy of record in our present crisis, inasmuch as it relates to the early history of one who fills a position commanding the attention and admiration of the world, and particularly of our own country. I will premise by saying I was in Philadelphia in the winter spoken of, attending medical lectures under a distinguished surgeon, then a professor in one of the institutions of the city. A son was born to our professor, and the event scarcely transpired before the father announced it to his delighted pupils. Scales were instantly brought from a neighboring grocer. Into one dish he placed the babe, into the other all the weights. The beam was raised, but the child moved not! The father, emptying his pockets, threw in his watch, coin, keys, knives and lancets, but to no purpose-the little hero could not be moved. He conquered every thing! And at last, while adding more and more weight, the cord supporting the beam gave way, and broke rather than the giant infant would yield! The father was Dr. McClellan, and the son-General McClellan! our young commander on the Potomac. The country will see a prophetic charm in this incident." THE BATTLE OF LEESBURG. 187 the Confederates were immensely reassured by it; but there is reason to suppose that McClellan's splendid army, that was constantly entertaining attention with parades and reviews, was performing a well-designed part, and that the gorgeous pageant on the Potomac was intended as a veil to immense military preparations going on in other directions. The Confederate advance having failed to bring on a general battle, although it was almost daily invited by heavy skirmishing, and it being impossible without a chain of strong fortifications to hold the advanced line of Mason's and Munson's hills, or even the interiour one of Fairfax Court-house and its flanks, it was decided by Gens. Johnston and Beauregard, on the 15th of October, to withdraw the army to Centreville. At the dead of night it was put in motion, and in perfect silence, without the beat of a drum or the note of a bugle, the men marched out of their forsaken entrenchments, and took the road to Centreville. THE BATTLE OF LEESBURG. The apparent retreat of the Confederates to Centreville encouraged McClellan to make an advance on the extreme left wing of their force. This enterprise brought on a conflict among the most sanguinary of the war, in view of the numbers engaged. The design of the Federal commander was to occupy the country covering the northern belt of Fairfax and Loudon counties; and while a column moved towards Dranesville, he ordered Gen. Stone, comanding on the line of the Potomac, nearly opposite to Leesburg, to throw across the river a sufficient force to co-operate with the lower movement. The Confederate force in and around Leesburg was about two thousand men. It was a brigade composed of three Mississippi regiments and the 8th Virginia, comanded by Gen. Evans, whose name had been conspicuous on the field of Manassas. Before day broke on the 20th of October, the men were drawn up in line of battle, and Evans addressed them thus: "Gentlemen, the enemy are approaching by the Dranesville road, sixteen thousand strong, with twenty pieces of artillery. They want to cut off our retreat. Reinforcements can't arrive in time if they were sent. We must fight." The little army was at once put in motion across Goose Creek and along the Dranesville road, anticipating a desperate engagement with the Federal column reported to be moving in that direction under the command of Gen. McCall. A few hours after sunrise a Federal courier was captured proceeding on his way with despatches from McCall to Stone. His papers betrayed sufficient to reveal that it was designed to draw the Confederates from Leesburg along the Dranesville road, while Stone crossed the river and occupied the town. Gen. Stone commenced the passage of the river on the 20th of October. A force of five companies of Massachusetts troops, commanded by Col. Devins, effected a crossing at Edwards' Ferry, and, a few hours thereafter, Col. Baker, who took command of all the Federal forces on the Virginia side, having been ordered by Stone to push the Confederates from Leesburg and hold the place, crossed the river at Conrad's Ferry, a little south of Harrison's Island, and on the direct road to Leesburg. Gen. Stone had ordered seven thousand five hundred men to co-operate in the movement. Baker's brigade, including the advanced companies under Devins, was two thousand three hundred strong, and he was rapidly reinforced until nearly the entire number designated by Stone had been thrown across the river. Meanwhile Gen. Evans, who had taken a position at Goose Creek, awaited the approach of the enemy. The Federals had crossed the Potomac at different points, at Edwards' Ferry which was just above the mouth of Goose Creek, and at Conrad's Ferry, where a steep bank (Ball's Bluff) hung over the water. Finding that no advance from Edwards' Ferry was attempted, Gen. Evans ordered the 17th and 18th Mississippi regiments to move rapidly to the support of the 8th Virginia and some Mississippi companies, which held the approaches to Leesburg, and had already become hotly engaged with the main body of the enemy advancing from Ball's Bluff. "If the enemy won't come to us we must go to them," exclaimed Evans, as he put the two Mississippi regiments in motion, which began a race of two miles to turn the tide of battle. The Federals who had occupied Ball's Bluff had advanced towards the wooded plain between the river and Leesburg, and held a semicircular line of battle, supported by four howitzers. Evans' order was, "to make the business short." As the fire of musketry became hot and general-for the Confederates had no opportunity to use their artillery-the Federals gave way, and fell back towards the bluff. Col. Baker urged his men to rally, and brought his disordered lines to a momentary stand. Gen. Evans, seizing the critical moment, ordered a charge. Virginians and Mississippians together rushed forward, making a resistless onset upon the Federal lines. A private sprang to the front, and advancing within eight feet of Col. Baker, fired five chambers of his revolver at him, piercing his head at the first shot, and striking him with nearly every ball. He fell dead. His terrified command gave way in utter rout, and fled towards the river. A portion, numbering several hundred men, attempted to make good their retreat by a flank movement to Edwards' Ferry, and were taken prisoners. But the bulk of the fugitives madly ran to the very verge of Ball's Bluff; and now ensued a scene of unutterable horrour, as these men were driven over the bluff on to the bayonets of their friends, thirty feet below. |