the whole day, so that it was evening before he penetrated to the Confederate line of battle at Front Royal. Next morning, when Meade hoped to give battle, Lee had made good his retreat.* Upon this, as nothing was now to be hoped from the movement on hand, the march was conducted leisurely towards the Rappahannock, and Lee retired to the vicinity o Culpepper.

In this position a considerable period of repose followed; and this inaction was imposed not more by the necessity of resting and recruiting the army, than because both sides found it necessary to draw detachments from the armies in Virginia for other needs. From the army of Meade a considerable body was taken to send to South Carolina, and a large force withdrawn to dispatch to New York for the purpose of enforcing the draft, the attempted execution of which, some time before, had given rise to extensive riots in that city. On the other hand, the severe pressure that Rosecrans was bringing to bear upon the central army of the Confederacy under General Bragg, in Tennessee, prompted the detachment from Lee's army of the corps of Longstreet, for the purpose of throwing it into the scale as a make-weight against the Union force. This withdrawal took place early in September, and necessarily reduced the Confederates to a purely defensive attitude in Virginia. Soon afterwards, General Meade became aware of Longstreet's departure, and he then sent his cavalry across the Rappahannock, drove the enemy over the Rapidan, and subsequently followed with his whole force, occupying Culpepper and the regions between the Rappahannock and the Rapidan, the latter river now becoming the

*"As the Federals continued to advance along the eastern slope of the mountains, apparently with the purpose of cutting us off from the railroad, Longstreet was ordered on the 19th of July to proceed to Culpepper Courthouse by way of Front Royal. He succeeded in passing part of his command over the Shenandoah in time to prevent the occupation of Manassas and Chester Gaps by the enemy. As soon as a ponton-bridge could be laid down, the rest of his corps crossed and marched through Chester Gap to Culpepper, where they ar rived on the 24th. He was followed by Hill's corps. Ewell reached Front Royal the 23d, and encamped near Madison Courthouse the 29th."-Lee: Report.

dividing line between the opposing armies. As the position held by Lee on the south bank of the Rapidan was a very advantageous one, Meade's projects of advance turned towards a flanking movement; but just at the time he had matured a plan of operations, he was informed from Wash ington that it was found necessary to still further weaken the Army of the Potomac by the withdrawal of two corps to forward to Tennessee, in which section of the theatre of war the military situation had been seriously compromised by Rosecrans' defeat at Chickamauga-a defeat to which the force sent from Virginia under Longstreet had in no small degree contributed. The corps taken were the Eleventh and Twelfth, and they were put under the command of General Hooker. This, in turn, reduced Meade to a strict defensive; for though he received some accessions to his numbers from the draft, yet these added little to his real strength, the conscripts being raw and unreliable, and large numbers deserted at the first opportunity. It was evident, therefore, that he could undertake no considerable operation until the return of the troops sent to New York. But when, towards the middle of October, these finally came back, and General Meade was about to initiate an offensive movement, he found himself suddenly thrown once more on the defensive by the bold initiative of Lee, in an operation the events of which I shall now relate.

II.

THE FLANK MARCH ON CENTREVILLE.

Made aware of the heavy deduction of force from the Army of the Potomac, but exaggerating probably its extent, Lee early in October determined on an offensive movement that should have the effect of driving Meade back from the line of the Rapidan. With this object he resolved to move around his opponent's right flank, and endeavor to interpose

between him and Washington.* He counted that if he should be able in this situation to seriously cripple Meade, it would exhaust the season of active operations and detain the Army of the Potomac on the frontier for the winter, during which time it would be possible for Lee to still further re-enforce from his own command the heavily pressed Confederate Army of the West.

In execution of this plan, Lee crossed the Rapidan on Friday, October 9th, and taking "circuitous and concealed roads,"† passed by way of Madison Courthouse quite to Meade's right. Stuart, with Hampton's cavalry division, moved on the right of the column, while Fitz Hugh Lee's cavalry division, with a detachment of infantry, was left to hold the lines south of the Rapidan and mask the turning movement.

The first positive intimation which General Meade had of Lee's intention was an attack made upon his advance posts on the right at James City, held by a portion of Kilpatrick's cavalry division and some infantry of the Third Corps. This force was driven in by Stuart on the 10th, and fell back on Culpepper; and it being then clear to Meade that his right was already turned, he that night sent back his trains, and at two o'clock on the morning of the 11th, began a retrograde movement across the Rappahannock. The march was accomplished during that day, and by afternoon the army was across the river.

Lee with his main body neared Culpepper on the 11th to find that the whole army had moved behind the Rappahannock some hours before. He then halted his army during the rest of the 11th, while Stuart pressed the rear of

* I learn from General Longstreet that Lee at this time frequently spoke of an operation that should "swap Queens;" that is, he thought of marching direct upon and capturing Washington, giving up the attempt to cover Richmond. But Mr. Davis would never consent to this war à l'outrance; and, besides, the Army of Northern Virginia was at this time too much reduced from its late losses to authorize so audacious an enterprise.

+ Lee: Report of Fall Operations in Virginia.

Meade's column, which was covered by the cavalry under Pleasonton.

Buford's division of troopers had crossed the Rapidan at Germanna Ford on the night of the 10th, after the Confederates had begun their movement, but was met on the morning of the 11th by Fitz Hugh Lee's horsemen ; whereupon Buford, falling back over the Rapidan, united at Brandy Station with Pleasonton's main body of cavalry, and then followed the army across the Rappahannock.

On the following morning, Monday, October 12th, Gen. Lee advanced his columns; but finding that Meade had been too quick for him, and that his first turning movement had failed, owing to the rapid retreat of his opponent, he determined, instead of following up Meade by the direct line of his retreat, to make a new flank movement by routes to the west, "with the design," as he says in his report, "of reaching the Orange and Alexandria railroad north of the Rappahannock, and interrupting the retreat of the enemy." This operation had very near been successful, owing to the uncertainty of General Meade as to his antagonist's real purpose, and the false movements resulting therefrom.

Having put the Rappahannock between himself and Lee, Meade conceived that his retreat might have been premature, especially as he was informed on the morning of the 12th that Lee was near Culpepper C.H. and it was uncertain whether he intended to do more. Accordingly, that afternoon the main body of the army, consisting of the Second, Fifth, and Sixth corps, with Buford's cavalry division, was countermarched to the south bank of the Rappahannock to proceed back towards Culpepper. General Meade designed to give battle if Lee was really there. But, as has been seen, the latter had that morning again advanced to plant himself by a circuitous turning movement on Meade's line of retreat towards Washington. Thus was presented the curious contretemps, that while on the 12th the main body of the army was marching southward to meet Lee at Culpepper, Lee was moving rapidly northward on parallel roads to lay hold of Meade's communications!

But of this mistake, which if prolonged much longer might have proved fatal to Meade, he had that afternoon convincing proof in an event which fell out in this wise.

While the three corps named had been sent on the countermarch towards Culpepper, the Third Corps under General French had been left to guard the line of the Rappahannock, and took position at Freeman's Ford, while the cavalry division of General Gregg watched the passage of the Upper Rappahannock at Sulphur or Warrenton Springs. Now Lee, continuing his northward march, on the afternoon of the 12th struck Sulphur Springs, and there crossed his columns to the north bank of the Rappahannock; so that Gregg found himself assailed by the van of the enemy advancing towards Warrenton, and was driven off after having been somewhat severely handled. Of course, on receiving this intelligence from Gregg, the real nature of Lee's movement was instantly disclosed to Meade, who sent an immediate order recalling the three corps from their untimely move on Culpepper. This order found these corps in bivouac on the road to Culpepper, and reached them towards midnight of Monday, when they at once began a rapid retrograde movement to the north of the Rappahannock.

It is easy to see that from this misunderstanding not only was the general retrograde movement to meet the Confederate advance seriously compromised, but the Third Corps, remaining alone on the north bank of the Rappahannock, was thrown quite out of position and exposed to destruction by an overwhelming force. But Lee, unaware of the true state of affairs, did not turn aside to molest that isolated force, but continued his northward movement, and by a night march of the three corps, the different corps of the Army of the Potomac were, on the morning of Tuesday the 13th, again concentrated on the north bank of the Rappahannock.

As on the morning of the 13th the opposing forces were both on the north side of the Rappahannock, there ensued between the two armies a close race-Lee aiming, by a flank march, to strike in on Meade's line of retreat by the Orange