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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/2649-8.txt b/2649-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3a29fcc --- /dev/null +++ b/2649-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9739 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captains of the Civil War, by William Wood + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Captains of the Civil War + A Chronicle of the Blue and the Gray, Volume 31, The + Chronicles Of America Series + +Author: William Wood + +Editor: Allen Johnson + +Release Date: November 30, 2006 [EBook #2649] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR *** + + + + +Produced by Alev Akman, Diane Beane, James J. Kelly Library +of St. Gregory's University and Robert J. Hall + + + + + +THIS BOOK WAS DONATED TO PROJECT GUTENBERG BY THE JAMES J. KELLY +LIBRARY OF ST. GREGORY'S UNIVERSITY; THANKS TO ALEV AKMAN. + +Scanned by Dianne Bean. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN EDITION + +VOLUME 31 +THE CHRONICLES OF AMERICA SERIES + +ALLEN JOHNSON +EDITOR + +GERHARD R. LOMER +CHARLES W. JEFFERYS +ASSISTANT EDITORS + + +[Illustration: _GENERAL U. S. GRANT_ +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington.] + + + + +CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR + +A CHRONICLE OF THE BLUE AND THE GRAY + +BY WILLIAM WOOD + + +NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS +TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & CO. +LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD +OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS +1921 + + +TO MY AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB + + + + +PREFACE + +Sixty years ago today the guns that thundered round Fort Sumter began +the third and greatest modern civil war fought by English-speaking +people. This war was quite as full of politics as were the other +two--the War of the American Revolution and that of Puritan and +Cavalier. But, though the present Chronicle never ignores the vital +correlations between statesmen and commanders, it is a book of +warriors, through and through. + +I gratefully acknowledge the indispensable assistance of Colonel +G. J. Fiebeger, a West Point expert, and of Dr. Allen Johnson, +chief editor of the series and Professor of American History at +Yale. + +WILLIAM WOOD, + +Late Colonel commanding 8th Royal Rifles, and Officer-in-charge, +Canadian Special Mission Overseas. + +QUEBEC, + April 18, 1921. + + + + +CONTENTS + +I. THE CLASH: 1861 + +II. THE COMBATANTS + +III. THE NAVAL WAR: 1862 + +IV. THE RIVER WAR: 1861 + +V. LINCOLN: WAR STATESMAN + +VI. LEE AND JACKSON: 1862-3 + +VII. GRANT WINS THE RIVER WAR: 1863 + +VIII. GETTYSBURG: 1863 + +IX. FARRAGUT AND THE NAVY: 1863-4 + +X. GRANT ATTACKS THE FRONT: 1864 + +XI. SHERMAN DESTROYS THE BASE: 1864 + +XII. THE END: 1865 + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +INDEX + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +GENERAL U. S. GRANT + +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington. + +GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE + +Photograph. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington + +GENERAL T. J. (STONEWALL) JACKSON + +Photograph. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington. + +NORTH AND SOUTH IN 1861 + +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. + +ADMIRAL D. G. FARRAGUT + +Photograph by Brady. + +CIVIL WAR: CAMPAIGNS OF 1862 + +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. + +CIVIL WAR: VIRGINIA CAMPAIGNS, 1862 + +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. + +CIVIL WAR: CAMPAIGNS OF 1863 + +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. + +GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN + +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington. + +CIVIL WAR: CAMPAIGNS OF 1864 + +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. + + + + +CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR + +CHAPTER I + +THE CLASH: 1861 + +States which claimed a sovereign right to secede from the Union +naturally claimed the corresponding right to resume possession of +all the land they had ceded to that Union's Government for the use +of its naval and military posts. So South Carolina, after leading +the way to secession on December 20, 1860, at once began to work +for the retrocession of the forts defending her famous cotton port +of Charleston. These defenses, being of vital consequence to both +sides, were soon to attract the strained attention of the whole +country. + +There were three minor forts: Castle Pinckney, dozing away, in +charge of a solitary sergeant, on an island less than a mile from +the city; Fort Moultrie, feebly garrisoned and completely at the +mercy of attackers on its landward side; and Fort Johnson over on +James Island. Lastly, there was the world-renowned Fort Sumter, +which then stood, unfinished and ungarrisoned, on a little islet +beside the main ship channel, at the entrance to the harbor, and +facing Fort Moultrie just a mile away. The proper war garrison of +all the forts should have been over a thousand men. The actual +garrison--including officers, band, and the Castle Pinckney +sergeant--was less than a hundred. It was, however, loyal to the +Union; and its commandant, Major Robert Anderson, though born in +the slave-owning State of Kentucky, was determined to fight. + +The situation, here as elsewhere, was complicated by Floyd, President +Buchanan's Secretary of War, soon to be forced out of office on a +charge of misapplying public funds. Floyd, as an ardent Southerner, +was using the last lax days of the Buchanan Government to get the +army posts ready for capitulation whenever secession should have +become an accomplished fact. He urged on construction, repairs, and +armament at Charleston, while refusing to strengthen the garrison, +in order, as he said, not to provoke Carolina. Moreover, in November +he had replaced old Colonel Gardner, a Northern veteran of "1812," by +Anderson the Southerner, in whom he hoped to find a good capitulator. +But this time Floyd was wrong. + +The day after Christmas Anderson's little garrison at Fort Moultrie +slipped over to Fort Sumter under cover of the dark, quietly removed +Floyd's workmen, who were mostly Baltimore Secessionists, and began +to prepare for defense. Next morning Charleston was furious and +began to prepare for attack. The South Carolina authorities at +once took formal possession of Pinckney and Moultrie; and three +days later seized the United States Arsenal in Charleston itself. +Ten days later again, on January 9, 1861, the _Star of the West_, +a merchant vessel coming in with reinforcements and supplies for +Anderson, was fired on and forced to turn back. Anderson, who had +expected a man-of-war, would not fire in her defense, partly because +he still hoped there might yet be peace. + +While Charleston stood at gaze and Anderson at bay the ferment of +secession was working fast in Florida, where another tiny garrison +was all the Union had to hold its own. This garrison, under two +loyal young lieutenants, Slemmer and Gilman, occupied Barrancas +Barracks in Pensacola Bay. Late at night on the eighth of January +(the day before the _Star of the West_ was fired on at Charleston) +some twenty Secessionists came to seize the old Spanish Fort San +Carlos, where, up to that time, the powder had been kept. This +fort, though lying close beside the barracks, had always been +unoccupied; so the Secessionists looked forward to an easy capture. +But, to their dismay, an unexpected guard challenged them, and, +not getting the proper password in reply, dispersed them with the +first shots of the Civil War. + +Commodore Armstrong sat idle at the Pensacola Navy Yard, distracted +between the Union and secession. On the ninth Slemmer received +orders from Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief at Washington, to +use all means in defense of Union property. Next morning Slemmer +and his fifty faithful men were landed on Santa Rosa Island, just +one mile across the bay, where the dilapidated old Fort Pickens +stood forlorn. Two days later the Commodore surrendered the Navy +Yard, the Stars and Stripes were lowered, and everything ashore fell +into the enemy's hands. There was no flagstaff at Fort Pickens; but +the Union colors were at once hung out over the northwest bastion, +in full view of the shore, while the _Supply_ and _Wyandotte_, +the only naval vessels in the bay, and both commanded by loyal +men, mastheaded extra colors and stood clear. Five days afterwards +they had to sail for New York; and Slemmer, whose total garrison +had been raised to eighty by the addition of thirty sailors, was +left to hold Fort Pickens if he could. + +He had already been summoned to surrender by Colonel Chase and +Captain Farrand, who had left the United States Army and Navy for +the service of the South. Chase, like many another Southern officer, +was stirred to his inmost depths by his own change of allegiance. +"I have come," he said, "to ask of you young officers, officers of +the same army in which I have spent the best and happiest years +of my life, the surrender of this fort; and fearing that I might +not be able to say it as I ought, and also to have it in proper +form, I have put it in writing and will read it." He then began +to read. But his eyes filled with tears, and, stamping his foot, +he said: "I can't read it. Here, Farrand, you read it." Farrand, +however, pleading that his eyes were weak, handed the paper to the +younger Union officer, saying, "Here, Gilman, you have good eyes, +please read it." Slemmer refused to surrender and held out till +reinforced in April, by which time the war had begun in earnest. +Fort Pickens was never taken. On the contrary, it supported the +bombardment of the Confederate 'longshore positions the next New +Year (1862) and witnessed the burning and evacuation of Pensacola +the following ninth of May. + +While Charleston and Pensacola were fanning the flames of secession +the wildfire was running round the Gulf, catching well throughout +Louisiana, where the Governor ordered the state militia to seize +every place belonging to the Union, and striking inland till it +reached the farthest army posts in Texas. In all Louisiana the +Union Government had only forty men. These occupied the Arsenal at +Baton Rouge under Major Haskins. Haskins was loyal. But when five +hundred state militiamen surrounded him, and his old brother-officer, +the future Confederate General Bragg, persuaded him that the Union +was really at an end, to all intents and purposes, and when he +found no orders, no support, and not even any guidance from the +Government at Washington, he surrendered with the honors of war +and left by boat for St. Louis in Missouri. + +There was then in Louisiana another Union officer; but made of +sterner stuff. This was Colonel W. T. Sherman, Superintendent of +the State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy at Alexandria, +up the Red River. He was much respected by all the state authorities, +and was carefully watching over the two young sons of another future +Confederate leader, General Beauregard. William Tecumseh Sherman +had retired from the Army without seeing any war service, unlike +Haskins, who was a one-armed veteran of the Mexican campaign. But +Sherman was determined to stand by the Union, come what might. +Yet he was equally determined to wind up the affairs of the State +Academy so as to hand them over in perfect order. A few days after +the seizure of the Arsenal, and before the formal secession of +the State, he wrote to the Governor: + +"Sir: As I occupy a _quasi_-military position under the laws of +the State, I deem it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such +position when Louisiana was a State of the Union, and when the motto +of this seminary was inserted in marble over the main door: "By +the liberality of the General Government of the United States. The +Union--_esto perpetua_." Recent events foreshadow a great change, and +it becomes all men to choose.... I beg you to take immediate steps +to relieve me as superintendent, the moment the State determines to +secede, for on no earthly account will I do any act or think any +thought hostile to, or in defiance of, the old Government of the +United States." + +Then, to the lasting credit of all concerned, the future political +enemies parted as the best of personal friends. Sherman left everything +in perfect order, accounted for every cent of the funds, and received +the heartiest thanks and best wishes of all the governing officials, +who embodied the following sentence in their final resolution of +April 1, 1861: "They cannot fail to appreciate the manliness of +character which has always marked the actions of Colonel Sherman." +Long before this Louisiana had seceded, and Sherman had gone north +to Lancaster, Ohio, where he arrived about the time of Lincoln's +inauguration. + +Meanwhile, on the eighteenth of February, the greatest of all surrenders +had taken place in Texas, where nineteen army posts were handed +over to the State by General Twiggs. San Antonio was swarming with +Secessionist rangers. Unionist companies were marching up and down. +The Federal garrison was leaving the town on parole, with the band +playing Union airs and Union colors flying. The whole place was +at sixes and sevens, and anything might have happened. + +In the midst of this confusion the colonel commanding the Second +Regiment of United States Cavalry arrived from Fort Mason. He was +on his way to Washington, where Winfield Scott, the veteran +General-in-Chief, was anxiously waiting to see him; for this colonel +was no ordinary man. He had been Scott's Chief of Staff in Mexico, +where he had twice won promotion for service in the field. He had +been a model Superintendent at West Point and an exceedingly good +officer of engineers before he left them, on promotion, for the +cavalry. Very tall and handsome, magnificently fit in body and in +mind, genial but of commanding presence, this flower of Southern +chivalry was not only every inch a soldier but a leader born and +bred. Though still unknown to public fame he was the one man to +whom the most insightful leaders of both sides turned, and rightly +turned; for this was Robert Lee, Lee of Virginia, soon to become +one of the very few really great commanders of the world. + +As Lee came up to the hotel at San Antonio he was warmly greeted +by Mrs. Darrow, the anxious wife of the confidential clerk to Major +Vinton, the staunch Union officer in charge of the pay and quartermaster +services. "Who are those men?" he asked, pointing to the rangers, +who wore red flannel shoulder straps. "They are McCulloch's," she +answered; "General Twiggs surrendered everything to the State this +morning." Years after, when she and her husband and Vinton had +suffered for one side and Lee had suffered for the other, she wrote +her recollection of that memorable day in these few, telling words: +"I shall never forget his look of astonishment, as, with his lips +trembling and his eyes full of tears, he exclaimed, 'Has it come +so soon as this?' In a short time I saw him crossing the plaza on +his way to headquarters and noticed particularly that he was in +citizen's dress. He returned at night and shut himself into his +room, which was over mine; and I heard his footsteps through the +night, and sometimes the murmur of his voice, as if he was praying. +He remained at the hotel a week and in conversations declared that +the position he held was a neutral one." + +Three other Union witnesses show how Lee agonized over the fateful +decision he was being forced to make. Captain R. M. Potter says: +"I have seldom seen a more distressed man. He said, 'When I get +to Virginia I think the world will have one soldier less. I shall +resign and go to planting corn.'" Colonel Albert G. Brackett says: +"Lee was filled with sorrow at the condition of affairs, and, in a +letter to me, deploring the war in which we were about to engage, +made use of these words: 'I fear the liberties of our country will +be buried in the tomb of a great nation.'" Colonel Charles Anderson, +quoting Lee's final words in Texas, carries us to the point of parting: +"I still think my loyalty to Virginia ought to take precedence +over that which is due to the Federal Government; and I shall so +report myself in Washington. If Virginia stands by the old Union, +so will I. But if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession +as a constitutional right, nor that there is sufficient cause for +revolution) then I will still follow my native State with my sword, +and, if need be, with my life. I know you think and feel very +differently. But I can't help it. These are my principles; and I +must follow them." + +Lee reached Washington on the first of March. Lincoln, delivering +his Inaugural on the fourth, brought the country one step nearer +war by showing the neutrals how impossible it was to reconcile +his principles as President of the whole United States with those +of Jefferson Davis as President of the seceding parts. "The power +confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property +and places belonging to the government." Three days later the +provisional Confederate Congress at Montgomery in Alabama passed +an Army Act authorizing the enlistment of one hundred thousand +men for one year's service. Nine days later again, having adopted +a Constitution in the meantime, this Congress passed a Navy Act, +authorizing the purchase or construction of ten little gunboats. + +In April the main storm center went whirling back to Charleston, +where Sherman's old friend Beauregard commanded the forces that +encircled Sumter. Sumter, still unfinished, had been designed for +a garrison of six hundred and fifty combatant men. It now contained +exactly sixty-five. It was to have been provisioned for six months. +The actual supplies could not be made to last beyond two weeks. +Both sides knew that Anderson's gallant little garrison must be +starved out by the fifteenth. But the excited Carolinians would +not wait, because they feared that the arrival of reinforcements +might balk them of their easy prey. On the eleventh Beauregard, +acting under orders from the Confederate Government, sent in a +summons to surrender. Anderson refused. At a quarter to one the +next morning the summons was repeated, as pilots had meanwhile +reported a Federal vessel approaching the harbor. Anderson again +refused and again admitted that he would be starved out on the +fifteenth. Thereupon Beauregard's aides declared immediate surrender +the only possible alternative to a bombardment and signed a note +at 3:20 A.M. giving Anderson formal warning that fire would be +opened in an hour. + +Fort Sumter stood about half a mile inside the harbor mouth, fully +exposed to the converging fire of four relatively powerful batteries, +three about a mile away, the fourth nearly twice as far. At the northern +side of the harbor mouth stood Fort Moultrie; at the southern stood +the batteries on Cummings Point; and almost due west of Sumter stood +Fort Johnson. Near Moultrie was a four-gun floating battery with an +iron shield. A mile northwest of Moultrie, farther up the harbor, +stood the Mount Pleasant battery, nearly two miles off from Sumter. +At half-past four, in the first faint light of a gray morning, +a sudden spurt of flame shot out from Fort Johnson, the dull roar +of a mortar floated through the misty air, and the big shell--the +first shot of the real war--soared up at a steep angle, its course +distinctly marked by its burning fuse, and then plunged down on +Sumter. It was a capital shot, right on the center of the target, +and was followed by an admirable burst. Then all the converging +batteries opened full; while the whole population of perfervid +Charleston rushed out of doors to throng their beautiful East Battery, +a flagstone marine parade three miles in from Sumter, of which and +of the attacking batteries it had a perfect view. + +But Sumter remained as silent as the grave. Anderson decided not to +return the fire till it was broad daylight. In the meantime all ranks +went to breakfast, which consisted entirely of water and salt pork. +Then the gun crews went to action stations and fired back steadily +with solid shot. The ironclad battery was an exasperating target; +for the shot bounced off it like dried peas. Moultrie seemed more +vulnerable. But appearances were deceptive; for it was thoroughly +quilted with bales of cotton, which the solid shot simply rammed +into an impenetrable mass. Wishing to save his men, in which he was +quite successful, Anderson had forbidden the use of the shell-guns, +which were mounted on the upper works and therefore more exposed. +Shell fire would have burst the bales and set the cotton flaming. +This was so evident that Sergeant Carmody, unable to stand such +futile practice any longer, quietly stole up to the loaded guns +and fired them in succession. The aim lacked final correction; +and the result was small, except that Moultrie, thinking itself +in danger, concentrated all its efforts on silencing these guns. +The silencing seemed most effective; for Carmody could not reload +alone, and so his first shots were his last. + +At nightfall Sumter ceased fire while the Confederates kept on +slowly till daylight. Next morning the officers' quarters were set +on fire by red-hot shot. Immediately the Confederates redoubled +their efforts. Inside Sumter the fire was creeping towards the +magazine, the door of which was shut only just in time. Then the +flagstaff was shot down. Anderson ran his colors up again, but the +situation was rapidly becoming impossible. Most of the worn-out men +were fighting the flames while a few were firing at long intervals to +show they would not yet give in. This excited the generous admiration +of the enemy, who cheered the gallantry of Sumter while sneering +at the caution of the Union fleet outside. The fact was, however, +that this so-called fleet was a mere assemblage of vessels quite +unable to fight the Charleston batteries and without the slightest +chance of saving Sumter. + +Having done his best for the honor of the flag, though not a man +was killed within the walls, Anderson surrendered in the afternoon. +Charleston went wild with joy; but applauded the generosity of +Beauregard's chivalrous terms. Next day, Sunday the fourteenth, +Anderson's little garrison saluted the Stars and Stripes with fifty +guns, and then, with colors flying, marched down on board a transport +to the strains of _Yankee Doodle_. + +Strange to say, after being four years in Confederate hands, Sumter +was recaptured by the Union forces on the anniversary of its surrender. +It was often bombarded, though never taken, in the meantime. + +The fall of Sumter not only fired all Union loyalty but made +Confederates eager for the fray. The very next day Lincoln called +for 75,000 three-month volunteers. Two days later Confederate letters +of marque were issued to any privateers that would prey on Union +shipping. Two days later again Lincoln declared a blockade of every +port from South Carolina round to Texas. Eight days afterwards he +extended it to North Carolina and Virginia. + +[Illustration: _GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE_ +Photograph. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington.] + +But in the meantime Lincoln had been himself marooned in Washington. +On the nineteenth of April, the day he declared his first blockade, +the Sixth Massachusetts were attacked by a mob in Baltimore, through +which the direct rails ran from North to South. Baltimore was full +of secession, and the bloodshed roused its fury. Maryland was a +border slave State out of which the District of Columbia was carved. +Virginia had just seceded. So when the would-be Confederates of +Maryland, led by the Mayor of Baltimore, began tearing up rails, +burning bridges, and cutting the wires, the Union Government found +itself enisled in a hostile sea. Its own forces abandoned the Arsenal +at Harper's Ferry and the Navy Yard at Norfolk. The work of demolition +at Harper's Ferry had to be bungled off in haste, owing to shortness +of time and lack of means. The demolition of Norfolk was better +done, and the ships were sunk at anchor. But many valuable stores +fell into enemy hands at both these Virginian outposts of the Federal +forces. Through six long days of dire suspense not a ship, not a +train, came into Washington. At last, on the twenty-fifth, the +Seventh New York got through, having come south by boat with the +Eighth Massachusetts, landed at Annapolis, and commandeered a train +to run over relaid rails. With them came the news that all the +loyal North was up, that the Seventh had marched through miles of +cheering patriots in New York, and that these two fine regiments +were only the vanguard of a host. + +But just a week before Lincoln experienced this inexpressible relief +he lost, and his enemy won, a single officer, who, according to +Winfield Scott, was alone worth more than fifty thousand veteran +men. On the seventeenth of April Virginia voted for secession. +On the eighteenth Lee had a long confidential interview with his +old chief, Winfield Scott. On the twentieth he resigned, writing +privately to Scott at the same time: "My resignation would have been +presented at once but for the struggle it has cost me to separate +myself from a service to which I have devoted the best years of my +life. During the whole of that time I have experienced nothing but +kindness from my superiors and a most cordial friendship from my +comrades. I shall carry to the grave the most grateful recollections +of your kind consideration, and your name and fame shall always be +dear to me. Save in the defense of my native State I never desire +again to draw my sword." + +The three great motives which finally determined his momentous +course of action were: first, his aversion from taking any part +in coercing the home folks of Virginia; secondly, his belief in +State rights, tempered though it was by admiration for the Union; +and thirdly, his clear perception that war was now inevitable, and +that defeat for the South would inevitably mean a violent change +of all the ways of Southern life, above all, a change imposed by +force from outside, instead of the gradual change he wished to +see effected from within. He was opposed to slavery; and both his +own and his wife's slaves had long been free. Like his famous +lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, he was particularly kind to the +blacks; none of whom ever wanted to leave, once they had been domiciled +at Arlington, the estate that came to him through his wife, Mary +Custis, great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. But, like Lincoln +before the war, he wished emancipation to come from the slave States +themselves, as in time it must have come, with due regard for +compensation. + +On the twenty-third of this eventful April Lee was given the chief +command of all Virginia's forces. Three days later "Joe" Johnston +took command of the Virginians at Richmond. One day later again +"Stonewall" Jackson took command at Harper's Ferry. Johnston played +a great and noble part throughout the war; and we shall meet him +again and again, down to the very end. But Jackson claims our first +attention here. + +Like all the great leaders on both sides Jackson had been an officer +of regulars. He was, however, in many ways unlike the army type. +He disliked society amusements, was awkward, shy, reserved, and +apparently recluse. Moderately tall, with large hands and feet, +stiff in his movements, ungainly in the saddle, he was a mere nobody +in public estimation when the war broke out. A few brother-officers +had seen his consummate skill and bravery as a subaltern in Mexico; +and still fewer close acquaintances had seen his sterling qualities +at Lexington, where, for ten years, he had been a professor at +the Virginia Military Institute. But these few were the only ones +who were not surprised when this recluse of peace suddenly became +a very thunderbolt of war--Puritan in soul, Cavalier in daring: +a Cromwell come to life again. + +Harper's Ferry was a strategic point in northern Virginia. It was +the gate to the Shenandoah Valley as well as the point where the +Baltimore and Ohio Railroad crossed the Potomac some sixty miles +northwest of Washington. Harper's Ferry was known by name to North +and South through John Brown's raid two years before. It was now +coveted by Virginia for its Arsenal as well as for its command of +road, rail, and water routes. The plan to raid it was arranged at +Richmond on the sixteenth of April. But when the raiders reached +it on the eighteenth they found it abandoned and its Arsenal in +flames. The machine shops, however, were saved, as well as the +metal parts of twenty thousand stand of arms. Then the Virginia +militiamen and volunteers streamed in, to the number of over four +thousand. They were a mere conglomeration of semi-independent units, +mostly composed of raw recruits under officers who themselves knew +next to nothing. As usual with such fledgling troops there was no +end to the fuss and feathers among the members of the busybody +staffs, who were numerous enough to manage an army but clumsy enough +to spoil a platoon. It was said, and not without good reason, that +there was as much gold lace at Harper's Ferry, when the sun was +shining, as at a grand review in Paris. + +Into this gaudy assemblage rode Thomas Jonathan Jackson, mounted +on Little Sorrel, a horse as unpretentious as himself, and dressed +in his faded old blue professor's uniform without one gleam of +gold. He had only two staff officers, both dressed as plainly as +himself. He was not a major-general, nor even a brigadier; just a +colonel. He held no trumpeting reviews. He made no flowery speeches. +He didn't even swear. The armed mob at Harper's Ferry felt that +they would lose caste on Sunday afternoons under a commandant like +this. Their feelings were still more outraged when they heard that +every officer above the rank of captain was to lose his higher +rank, and that all new reappointments were to be made on military +merit and direct from Richmond. Companies accustomed to elect their +officers according to the whim of the moment eagerly joined the +higher officers in passing adverse resolutions. But authorities who +were unanimous for Lee were not to be shaken by such absurdities +in face of a serious war. And when the froth had been blown off +the top, and the dregs drained out of the bottom, the solid mass +between, who really were sound patriots, settled down to work. + +There was seven hours' drill every day except Sunday; no light task +for a mere armed mob groping its ignorant way, however zealously, +towards the organized efficiency of a real army. The companies had +to be formed into workable battalions, the battalions into brigades. +There was a deplorable lack of cavalry, artillery, engineers, +commissariat, transport, medical services, and, above all, staff. +Armament was bad; other munitions were worse. There would have been +no chance whatever of holding Harper's Ferry unless the Northern +conglomeration had been even less like a fighting army than the +Southern was. + +Harper's Ferry was not only important in itself but still more +important for what it covered: the wonderfully fruitful Shenandoah +Valley, running southwest a hundred and forty miles to the neighborhood +of Lexington, with an average width of only twenty-four. Bounded +on the west by the Alleghanies and on the east by the long Blue +Ridge this valley was a regular covered way by which the Northern +invaders might approach, cut Virginia in two (for West Virginia +was then a part of the State) and, after devastating the valley +itself (thus destroying half the food-base of Virginia) attack +eastern Virginia through whichever gaps might serve the purpose +best. More than this, the only direct line from Richmond to the +Mississippi ran just below the southwest end of the valley, while +a network of roads radiated from Winchester near the northeast +end, thirty miles southwest of Harper's Ferry. + +Throughout the month of May Jackson went on working his men into +shape and watching the enemy, three thousand strong, at Chambersburg, +forty-five miles north of Harper's Ferry, and twelve thousand strong +farther north still. One day he made a magnificent capture of rolling +stock on the twenty-seven miles of double track that centered in +Harper's Ferry. This greatly hampered the accumulation of coal at +Washington besides helping the railroads of the South. Destroying +the line was out of the question, because it ran through West Virginia +and Maryland, both of which he hoped to see on the Confederate +side. He was himself a West Virginian, born at Clarksburg; and it +grieved him greatly when West Virginia stood by the Union. + +Apart from this he did nothing spectacular. The rest was all just +sheer hard work. He kept his own counsel so carefully that no one +knew anything about what he would do if the enemy advanced. Even +the officers of outposts were forbidden to notice or mention his +arrival or departure on his constant tours of inspection, lest a +longer look than usual at any point might let an awkward inference +be drawn. He was the sternest of disciplinarians when the good of +the service required it. But no one knew better that the finest +discipline springs from self-sacrifice willingly made for a worthy +cause; and no one was readier to help all ranks along toward real +efficiency in the kindest possible way when he saw they were doing +their best. + +At the end of May Johnston took over the command of the increasing +force at Harper's Ferry, while Jackson was given the First Shenandoah +Brigade, a unit soon, like himself, to be raised by service into +fame. + + +On the first and third of May Virginia issued calls for more men; +and on the third Lincoln, who quite understood the signs of the +times, called for men whose term of service would be three years +and not three months. + +Just a week later Missouri was saved for the Union by the daring +skill of two determined leaders, Francis P. Blair, a Member of +Congress who became a good major-general, and Captain Nathaniel Lyon, +an excellent soldier, who commanded the little garrison of regulars +at St. Louis. When Lincoln called upon Governor Claiborne Jackson +to supply Missouri's quota of three-month volunteers the Governor +denounced the proposed coercion as "illegal, unconstitutional, +revolutionary, inhuman, and diabolical"; and thereafter did his +best to make Missouri join the South. But Blair and Lyon were too +quick for him. Blair organized the Home Guards, whom Lyon armed +from the arsenal. Lyon then sent all the surplus arms and stores +across the river into Illinois, while he occupied the most commanding +position near the arsenal with his own troops, thus forestalling +the Confederates, under Brigadier-General D. M. Frost, who was now +forced to establish Camp Jackson in a far less favorable place. So +vigorously had Blair and Lyon worked that they had armed thousands +while Frost had only armed hundreds. But when Frost received siege +guns and mortars from farther south Lyon felt the time had come +for action. + +Lyon was a born leader, though Grant and Sherman (then in St. Louis +as junior ex-officers, quite unknown to fame) were almost the only +men, apart from Blair, to see any signs of preëminence in this +fiery little redheaded, weather-beaten captain, who kept dashing +about the arsenal, with his pockets full of papers, making sure +of every detail connected with the handful of regulars and the +thousands of Home Guards. + +On the ninth of May Lyon borrowed an old dress from Blair's +mother-in-law, completing the disguise with a thickly veiled sunbonnet, +and drove through Camp Jackson. That night he and Blair attended +a council of war, at which, overcoming all opposition, answering +all objections, and making all arrangements, they laid their plans +for the morrow. When Lyon's seven thousand surrounded Frost's seven +hundred the Confederates surrendered at discretion and were marched +as prisoners through St. Louis. There were many Southern sympathizers +among the crowds in the streets; one of them fired a pistol; and +the Home Guards fired back, killing several women and children +by mistake. This unfortunate incident hardened many neutrals and +even Unionists against the Union forces; so much so that Sterling +Price, a Unionist and former governor, became a Confederate general, +whose field for recruiting round Jefferson City on the Missouri +promised a good crop of enemies to the Union cause. + +Lyon and Blair wished to march against Price immediately and smash +every hostile force while still in the act of forming. But General +Harney, who commanded the Department of the West, returned to St. +Louis the day after the shooting and made peace instead of war with +Price. By the end of the month, however, Lincoln removed Harney and +promoted Lyon in his place; whereupon Price and Governor Jackson at +once prepared to fight. Then sundry neutrals, of the gabbling kind +who think talk enough will settle anything, induced the implacables +to meet in St. Louis. The conference was ended by Lyon's declaration +that he would see every Missourian under the sod before he would +take any orders from the State about any Federal matter, however +small. "This," he said in conclusion, "means war." And it did. + +Again a single week sufficed for the striking of the blow. The +conference was held on the eleventh of June. On the fourteenth +Lyon reached Jefferson City only to find that the Governor had +decamped for Boonville, still higher up the Missouri. Here, on +the seventeenth, Lyon attacked him with greatly superior numbers +and skill, defeated him utterly, and sent him flying south with +only a few hundred followers left. Boonville was, in itself, a +very small affair indeed. But it had immense results. Lyon had +seized the best strategic point of rail and river junction on the +Mississippi by holding St. Louis. He had also secured supremacy +in arms, munitions, and morale. By turning the Governor out of +Jefferson City, the State capital, he had deprived the Confederates +of the prestige and convenience of an acknowledged headquarters. +Now, by defeating him at Boonville and driving his forces south in +headlong flight he had practically made the whole Missouri River a +Federal line of communication as well as a barrier between would-be +Confederates to the north and south of it. More than this, the +possession of Boonville struck a fatal blow at Confederate recruiting +and organization throughout the whole of that strategic area; for +Boonville was the center to which pro-Southern Missourians were +flocking. The tide of battle was to go against the Federals at +Wilson's Creek in the southwest of the State, and even at Lexington +on the Missouri, as we shall presently see; but this was only the +breaking of the last Confederate waves. As a State, Missouri was +lost to the South already. + +In Kentucky, the next border State, opinions were likewise divided; +and Kentuckians fought each other with help from both sides. Anderson, +of Fort Sumter fame, was appointed to the Kentucky command in May. +But here the crisis did not occur for months, while a border campaign +was already being fought in West Virginia. + +West Virginia, which became a separate State during the war, was +strongly Federal, like eastern Tennessee. These Federal parts of +two Confederate States formed a wedge dangerous to the whole South, +especially to Virginia and the Carolinas. Each side therefore tried +to control this area itself. The Federals, under McClellan, of +whom we shall soon hear more, had two lines of invasion into West +Virginia, both based on the Ohio. The northern converged by rail, +from Wheeling and Parkersburg, on Grafton, the only junction in +West Virginia. The southern ran up the Great Kanawha, with good +navigation to Charleston and water enough for small craft on to +Gauley Bridge, which was the strategic point. + +In May the Confederates cut the line near Grafton. As this broke +direct communication between the West and Washington, McClellan +sent forces from which two flying columns, three thousand strong, +converged on Philippi, fifteen miles south of Grafton, and surprised +a thousand Confederates. These thereupon retired, with little loss, +to Beverly, thirty miles farther south still. Here there was a +combat at Rich Mountain on the eleventh of July. The Confederates +again retreated, losing General Garnett in a skirmish the following +day. This ended McClellan's own campaign in West Virginia. + +But the Kanawha campaign, which lasted till November, had only +just begun, with Rosecrans as successor to McClellan (who had been +recalled to Washington for very high command) and with General +Jacob D. Cox leading the force against Gauley. The Confederates +did all they could to keep their precarious foothold. They sent +political chiefs, like Henry A. Wise, ex-Governor of Virginia, +and John B. Floyd, the late Federal Secretary of War, both of whom +were now Confederate brigadiers. They even sent Lee himself in +general commend. But, confronted by superior forces in a difficult +and thoroughly hostile country, they at last retired east of the +Alleghanies, which thenceforth became the frontier of two warring +States. + +The campaign in West Virginia was a foregone conclusion. It was not +marked by any real battles; and there was no scope for exceptional +skill of the higher kind on either side. But it made McClellan's +bubble reputation. + +McClellan was an ex-captain of United States Engineers who had +done very well at West Point, had distinguished himself in Mexico, +had represented the American army with the Allies in the Crimea, +had written a good official report on his observations there, had +become manager of a big railroad after leaving the service, and had +so impressed people with his ability and modesty on the outbreak +of war that his appointment to the chief command in West Virginia +was hailed with the utmost satisfaction. Then came the two affairs +at Philippi and Rich Mountain, the first of which was planned and +carried out by other men, while the second was, if anything, spoiled +by himself; for here, as afterwards on a vastly greater scene of +action, he failed to strike home at the critical moment. + +Yet though he failed in arms he won by proclamations; so much so, +in fact, that _Words not Deeds_ might well have been his motto. He +began with a bombastic address to the inhabitants and ended with +another to his troops, whom he congratulated on having "annihilated +two armies, commanded by educated and experienced soldiers, intrenched +in mountain fastnesses fortified at their leisure." + +It disastrously happened that the Union public were hungering for +heroes at this particular time and that Union journalists were itching +to write one up to the top of their bent. So all McClellan's tinsel +was counted out for gold before an avaricious mob of undiscriminating +readers; and when, at the height of the publicity campaign, the +Government wanted to retrieve Bull Run they turned to the "Man +of Destiny" who had been given the noisiest advertisement as the +"Young Napoleon of the West." McClellan had many good qualities +for organization, and even some for strategy. An excited press and +public, however, would not acclaim him for what he was but for +what he most decidedly was not. + + +Meanwhile, before McClellan went to Washington and Lee to West +Virginia, the main Union army had been disastrously defeated by +the main Confederate army at Bull Run, on that vital ground which +lay between the rival capitals. + +In April Lincoln had called for three-month volunteers. In May the +term of service for new enlistments was three years. In June the +military chiefs at Washington were vainly doing all that military +men could do to make something like the beginnings of an army out of +the conglomerating mass. Winfield Scott, the veteran General-in-Chief, +rightly revered by the whole service as a most experienced, farsighted, +and practical man, was ably assisted by W. T. Sherman and Irvin +McDowell. But civilian interference ruined all. Even Lincoln had +not yet learned the quintessential difference between that civil +control by which the fighting services are so rightly made the +real servants of the whole people and that civilian interference +which is very much the same as if a landlubber owning a ship should +grab the wheel repeatedly in the middle of a storm. Simon Cameron, +then Secretary of War, was good enough as a party politician, but +all thumbs when fumbling with the armies in the field. The other +members of the Cabinet had war nostrums of their own; and every +politician with a pull did what he could to use it. Behind all these +surged a clamorous press and an excited people, both patriotic +and well meaning; but both wholly ignorant of war, and therefore +generating a public opinion that forced the not unwilling Government +to order an armed mob "on to Richmond" before it had the slightest +chance of learning how to be an army. + +The Congress that met on the Fourth of July voted five hundred +thousand men and two hundred and fifty million dollars. This showed +that the greatness of the war was beginning to be seen. But the +men, the money, and the Glorious Fourth were so blurred together +in the public mind that the distinction between a vote in Congress +and its effect upon some future battlefield was never realized. +The result was a new access of zeal for driving McDowell "on to +Richmond." Making the best of a bad business, Scott had already +begun his preparations for the premature advance. + +By the end of May Confederate pickets had been in sight of Washington, +while McDowell, crossing the Potomac, was faced by his friend of +old West Point and Mexican days, General Beauregard, fresh from the +capture of Fort Sumter. By the beginning of July General Patterson, +a veteran of "1812" and Mexico, was in command up the Potomac near +Harper's Ferry. He was opposed by "Joe" Johnston, who had taken +over that Confederate command from "Stonewall" Jackson. Down the +Potomac and Chesapeake Bay there was nothing to oppose the Union +navy. General Benjamin Butler, threatening Richmond in flank, along +the lower Chesapeake, was watched by the Confederates Huger and +Magruder. Meanwhile, as we have seen already, the West Virginian +campaign was in full swing, with superior Federal forces under +McClellan. + +Thus the general situation in July was that the whole of northeastern +Virginia was faced by a semicircle of superior forces which began +at the Kanawha River, ran northeast to Grafton, then northeast +to Cumberland, then along the Potomac to Chesapeake Bay and on +to Fortress Monroe. From the Kanawha to Grafton there were only +roads. From Grafton to Cumberland there was rail as well. From +Cumberland to Washington there were road, rail, river, and canal. +From Washington to Fortress Monroe there was water fit for any +fleet. The Union armies along this semicircle were not only twice +as numerous as the Confederates facing them but they were backed +by a sea-power, both naval and mercantile, which the Confederates +could not begin to challenge, much less overcome. Lee was the military +adviser to the Confederate Government at Richmond as Scott then +was to the Union Government at Washington. + +Such was the central scene of action, where the first great battle +of the war was fought. The Union forces were based on the Potomac +from Washington to Harper's Ferry. The Confederates faced them +from Bull Run to Winchester, which points were nearly sixty miles +apart by road and rail. The Union forces were fifty thousand strong, +the Confederate thirty-three thousand. The Union problem was how to +keep "Joe" Johnston in the Winchester position by threatening or +actually making an invasion of the Shenandoah Valley with Patterson's +superior force, while McDowell's superior force attacked or turned +Beauregard's position at Bull Run. The Confederate problem was how to +give Patterson the slip and reach Bull Run in time to meet McDowell +with an equal force. The Confederates had the advantage of interior +lines both here and in the semicircle as a whole, though the Union +forces enjoyed in general much better means of transportation. The +Confederates enjoyed better control from government headquarters, +where the Cabinet mostly had the sense to trust in Lee. Scott, on +the other hand, was tied down by orders to defend Washington by +purely defensive means as well as by the "on to Richmond" march. +Patterson was therefore obliged to watch the Federal back door +at Harper's Ferry as well as the Confederate side doors up the +Shenandoah: an impossible task, on exterior lines, with the kind +of force he had. The civilian chiefs at Washington did not see +that the best of all defense was to destroy the enemy's means of +destroying _them_, and that his greatest force of fighting _men_, +not any particular _place_, should always be their main objective. + +On the fourteenth of June Johnston had destroyed everything useful +to the enemy at Harper's Ferry and retired to Winchester. On the +twentieth Jackson's brigade marched on Martinsburg to destroy the +workshops of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway and to support the +three hundred troopers under J. E. B. Stuart, who was so soon to +be the greatest of cavalry commanders on the Confederate side. +Unknown at twenty-nine, killed at thirty-one, "Jeb" Stuart was a +Virginian ex-officer of United States Dragoons, trained in frontier +fighting, and the perfect type of what a cavalry commander should +be: tall, handsome, splendidly supple and strong, hawk-eyed and +lion-hearted, quick, bold, determined, and inspiring, yet always +full of knowledge and precaution too; indefatigable at all times, +and so persistent in carrying out a plan that the enemy could no +more shake him off than they could escape their shadows. + +On the second of July the first brush took place at Falling Waters, +five miles south of the Potomac, where Jackson came into touch +with Patterson's advanced guard. As Jackson withdrew his handful +of Virginian infantry the Federal cavalry came clattering down +the turnpike and were met by a single shot from a Confederate gun +that smashed the head of their column and sent the others flying. +Meanwhile Stuart, who had been reconnoitering, came upon a company +of Federal infantry resting in a field. Galloping among them suddenly +he shouted, "Throw down your arms or you are all dead men!" Whereupon +they all threw down their arms; and his troopers led them off. +Patterson, badly served by his very raw staff, reported Jackson's +little vanguard as being precisely ten times stronger than it was. +He pushed out cautiously to right and left; and when he tried to +engage again he found that Jackson had withdrawn. Falling Waters was +microscopically small as a fight. But it served to raise Confederate +morale and depress the Federals correspondingly. + +Patterson occupied Martinsburg, while Johnston, drawn up in line +of battle, awaited his further advance four days before retiring. +Then, with his fourteen thousand, Patterson advanced again, stood +irresolute under distracting orders from the Government in Washington, +and finally went to Charlestown on the seventeenth of July--almost +back to Harper's Ferry. Johnston, with his eleven thousand, now +stood fast at Winchester, fifteen miles southwest, while Stuart, +like a living screen, moved to and fro between them. + +Meanwhile McDowell's thirty-six thousand had marched past the President +with bands playing and colors flying amid a scene of great enthusiasm. +The press campaign was at its height; so was the speechifying; +and ninety-nine people out of every hundred thought Beauregard's +twenty-two thousand at Bull Run would be defeated in a way that +would be sure to make the South give in. McDowell had between two +and three thousand regulars: viz., seven troops of cavalry, nine +batteries of artillery, eight companies of infantry, and a little +battalion of marines. Then there was the immense paper army voted +on the Glorious Fourth. And here, for the general public to admire, +was a collection of armed and uniformed men that members of Congress +and writers in the press united in calling one of the best armies +the world had ever seen. Moreover, the publicity campaign was kept +up unflaggingly till the very clash of arms began. Reporters marched +along and sent off reams of copy. Congressmen, and even ladies, +graced the occasion in every way they could. "The various regiments +were brilliantly uniformed according to the æsthetic taste of peace," +wrote General Fry, then an officer on McDowell's staff, and "during +the nineteenth and twentieth the bivouacs at Centreville, almost +within cannon range of the enemy, were thronged with visitors, +official and unofficial, who came in carriages from Washington, +were under no military restraint, and passed to and fro among the +troops as they pleased, giving the scene the appearance of a monster +military picnic." + +Had McDowell been able to attack on either of these two days he +must have won. But previous Governments had never given the army +the means of making proper surveys; so here, within a day's march +of the Federal capital, the maps were worthless for military use. +Information had to be gleaned by reconnaissance; and reconnaissance +takes time, especially without trustworthy guides, sufficient cavalry, +and a proper staff. Moreover, the army was all parts and no whole, +through no fault of McDowell's or of his military chiefs. The +three-month volunteers, whose term of service was nearly over, +had not learned their drill as individuals before being herded +into companies, battalions, and brigades, of course becoming more +and more inefficient as the units grew more and more complex. Of +the still more essential discipline they naturally knew still less. +There was no lack of courage; for these were the same breed of +men as those with whom Washington had won immortal fame, the same +as those with whom both Grant and Lee were yet to win it. But, +as Napoleon used to say, mere men are not the same as soldiers. +Nor are armed mobs the same as armies. + +The short march to the front was both confused and demoralizing. +No American officer had ever had the chance even of seeing, much +less handling, thirty-six thousand men under arms. This force was +followed by an immense and unwieldy train of supplies, manned by +wholly undisciplined civilian drivers; while other, and quite +superfluous, civilians clogged every movement and made confusion +worse confounded. "The march," says Sherman, who commanded a brigade, +"demonstrated little save the general laxity of discipline; for, +with all my personal efforts, I could not prevent the men from +straggling for water, blackberries, or anything on the way they +fancied." In the whole of the first long summer's day, the sixteenth +of July, the army only marched six miles; and it took the better +part of the seventeenth to herd its stragglers back again. "I wished +them," says McDowell, "to go to Centreville the second day [only +another six miles out] but the men were foot-weary, not so much +by the distance marched as by the time they had been on foot." +That observant private, Warren Lee Goss, has told us how hard it +is to soldier suddenly. "My canteen banged against my bayonet; both +tin cup and bayonet badly interfered with the butt of my musket, +while my cartridge-box and haversack were constantly flopping up +and down--the whole jangling like loose harness and chains on a +runaway horse." The weather was hot. The roads were dusty. And +many a man threw away parts of his kit for which he suffered later +on. There was food in superabundance. But, with that unwieldy and +grossly undisciplined supply-and-transport service, the men and +their food never came together at the proper time. + +Early on the eighteenth McDowell, whose own work was excellent +all through, pushed forward a brigade against Blackburn's Ford, +toward the Confederate right, in order to distract attention from +the real objective, which was to be the turning of the left. The +Confederate outposts fell back beyond the ford. The Federal brigade +followed on; when suddenly sharp volleys took it in front and flank. +The opposing brigade, under Longstreet (of whom we shall often +hear again), had lain concealed and sprung its trap quite neatly. +Most of the Federals behaved extremely well under these untoward +circumstances. But one whole battery and another whole battalion, +whose term of service expired that afternoon, were officially reported +as having "moved to the rear to the sound of the enemy's cannon." +Thereafter, as military units, they simply ceased to exist. + +At one o'clock in the morning of this same day Johnston received +a telegram at Winchester, from Richmond, warning him that McDowell +was advancing on Bull Run, with the evident intention of seizing +Manassas Junction, which would cut the Confederate rail communication +with the Shenandoah Valley and so prevent all chance of immediate +concentration at Bull Run. Johnston saw that the hour had come. +It could not have come before, as Lee and the rest had foreseen; +because an earlier concentration at Bull Run would have drawn the +two superior Federal forces together on the selfsame spot. There +was still some risk about giving Patterson the slip. True, his +three-month special-constable array was semi-mutinous already; and +its term of service had only a few more days to run. True, also, +that the men had cause for grievance. They were all without pay, +and some of them were reported as being still "without pants." But, +despite such drawbacks, a resolute attack by Patterson's fourteen +thousand could have at least held fast Johnston's eleven thousand, +who were mostly little better off in military ways. Patterson, +however, suffered from distracting orders, and that was his undoing. +Johnston, admirably screened by Stuart, drew quietly away, leaving +his sick at Winchester and raising the spirits of his whole command +by telling them that Beauregard was in danger and that they were +to "make a forced march to save the country." + +Straining every nerve they stepped out gallantly and covered mile +after mile till they reached the Shenandoah, forded it, and crossed +the Blue Ridge at Ashby's Gap. But lack of training and march discipline +told increasingly against them. "The discouragement of that day's +march," said Johnston, "is indescribable. Frequent and unreasonable +delays caused so slow a rate of marching as to make me despair of +joining General Beauregard in time to aid him." Even the First +Brigade, with all the advantages of leading the march and of having +learnt the rudiments of drill and discipline, was exhausted by a +day's work that it could have romped through later on. Jackson +himself stood guard alone till dawn while all his soldiers slept. + +As Jackson's men marched down to take the train at Piedmont, Stuart +gayly trotted past, having left Patterson still in ignorance that +Johnston's force had gone. By four in the afternoon of the nineteenth +Jackson was detraining at Manassas. But, as we shall presently +see, it was nearly two whole days before the last of Johnston's +brigades arrived, just in time for the crisis of the battle. When +Johnston had joined Beauregard their united effective total was +thirty thousand men. There had been a wastage of three thousand. +McDowell also had no more than thirty thousand effectives present +on the twenty-first; for he left one division at Centreville and +lost the rest by straggling and by the way in which the battery +and battalion already mentioned had "claimed their discharge" at +Blackburn's Ford. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth, while, +sorely against his will, the Federals were having their "monster +military picnic" at Centreville, he was reconnoitering his constantly +increasing enemy under the greatest difficulties, with his ill-trained +staff, bad maps, and lack of proper guides. + +Lee had chosen six miles of Bull Run as a good defensive position. +But Beauregard intended to attack, hoping to profit by the Federal +disjointedness. Consequently none of the eight fords were strongly +defended except at Union Mills on the extreme right and the Stone +Bridge on the extreme left, where the turnpike from Centreville +to Warrenton crossed the Run. Bull Run itself was a considerable +obstacle, having fairly high banks and running along the Confederate +front like the ditch of a fortress. Three miles in rear stood Manassas +Junction on a moderate plateau intersected by several creeks. The +most important of these creeks, Young's Branch, joined Bull Run on +the extreme left, near the Stone Bridge and Warrenton turnpike, +after flowing through the little valley between the Henry Hill +and Matthews Hill. Three miles in front, across Bull Run, stood +Centreville, the Federal camp and field base during the battle. + +Sunday, July 21, 1861, was a beautiful midsummer day. Both armies +were stirring soon after dawn. But a miscarriage of orders delayed +the Confederate offensive so much that the initiative of attack passed +to the Federals, who advanced against the Stone Bridge shortly after +six. This attack, however, though made by a whole division against a +single small brigade, was immediately recognized as a mere feint +when, two hours later, Evans, commanding the Confederate brigade, +saw dense clouds of dust rising above the woods on his left front, +where the road crossed Sudley Springs, nearly two miles beyond his +own left. Perceiving that this new development must be a regular +attempt to turn the whole Confederate left by crossing Bull Run, he +sent back word to Beauregard, posted some men to hold the Stone +Bridge, and marched the rest to crown the Matthews Hill, facing +Sudley Springs a mile away. Meanwhile four of "Joe" Johnston's five +Shenandoah brigades--Bee's, Bartow's, Bonham's, and Jackson's--had +been coming over from the right reserve to strengthen Evans at the +Bridge. As the great Federal turning movement developed against the +Confederate left these brigades followed Evans and were themselves +followed by other troops, till the real battle raged not along Bull +Run but across the Matthews Hill and Henry Hill. + +Forming the new front at right angles to the old, so as to attack +and defend the Confederate left on the Matthews and Henry Hills, +caused much confusion on both sides; but more on the Federal, as +the Confederates knew the ground better. By eleven Bee had reached +Evans and sent word back to hurry Bartow on. But the Federals, +having double numbers and a great preponderance in guns, soon drove +the Confederates off the Matthews Hill. As the Confederates recrossed +Young's Branch and climbed the Henry Hill the regular artillery of +the Federals limbered up smartly, galloped across the Matthews +Hill, and from its nearer slope plied the retreating Confederates +on the opposite slope with admirably served shell. Under this fire +the raw Confederates ran in confusion, while their uncovered guns +galloped back to find a new position. + +[Illustration: _GENERAL T. J. (STONEWALL) JACKSON_ +Photograph. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington.] + +"Curse them for deserting the guns," snapped Imboden, whose battery +came face to face with Jackson's brigade. "I'll support you," said +Jackson, "unlimber right here." At the same time, half-past eleven, +Bee galloped up on his foaming charger, saying, "General, they're +beating us back." "Then, Sir," said Jackson, "we'll give them the +bayonet"; and his lips shut tight as a vice. + +Bee then went back behind the Henry Hill, where his broken brigade +was trying to rally, and, pointing toward the crest with his sword, +shouted in a voice of thunder: "Rally behind the Virginians! Look! +There's Jackson standing like a stone wall!" From that one cry +of battle Stonewall Jackson got his name. + +While the rest of the Shenandoahs were rallying, in rear of Jackson, +Beauregard and Johnston came up, followed by two batteries. Miles +behind them, all the men that could be spared from the fords were +coming too. But the Federals on the Matthews Hill were still in +more than double numbers; and they enjoyed the priceless advantage +of having some regulars among them. If the Federal division at the +Stone Bridge had only pushed home its attack at this favorable +moment the Confederates must have been defeated. But the division +again fumbled about to little purpose; and for the second time +McDowell's admirable plan was spoilt. + +It was now past noon on that sweltering midsummer day; and there +was a welcome lull for the rallying Confederates while the Federals +were coming down the Matthews Hill, struggling across the swamps +and thickets of Young's Branch, and climbing the Henry Hill. Within +another hour the opposing forces were at close grips again, and +the Federals, flushed with success and steadied by the regulars, +seemed certain to succeed. + +Imboden has vividly described his meeting Jackson at this time. +"The fight was just then hot enough to make him feel well. His +eyes fairly blazed. He had a way of throwing up his left hand with +the open palm towards the person he was addressing; and, as he told +me to go, he made this gesture. The air was full of flying missiles, +and as he spoke he jerked down his hand, and I saw that blood was +streaming from it. I exclaimed, 'General, you are wounded.' 'Only +a scratch--a mere scratch,' he replied; and, binding it hastily +with a handkerchief, he galloped away along his line." + +Five hundred yards apart the opposing cannon thundered, while the +musketry of the long lines of infantry swelled the deafening roar. +Suddenly two Federal batteries of regulars dashed forward to even +shorter range, covered by two battalions on their flank. But the +gaudy Zouaves of the outer battalion lost formation in their advance; +whereupon "Jeb" Stuart, with only a hundred and fifty horsemen, +swooped down and smashed them to pieces by a daring charge. Then, +just as the scattered white turbans went wildly bobbing about, +into the midst of the inner battalion, out rushed the Thirty-third +Virginians, straight at the guns. The battery officers held their +fire, uncertain in the smoke whether the newcomers were friend or +foe, till a deadly volley struck home at less than eighty yards. +Down went the gunners to a man; down went the teams to a horse; +and off ran the Zouaves and the other supporting battalion, +helter-skelter for the rear. + +But other Federals were still full of fight and in superior numbers. +They came on with great gallantry, considering they were raw troops +who were now without the comfort of the guns. Once more a Federal +victory seemed secure; and if the infantry had only pressed on +(not piecemeal, by disjoined battalions, but by brigades) without +letting the Confederates recover from one blow before another struck +them, the day would have certainly been theirs. Moreover, they +would have inflicted not simply a defeat but a severe disaster +on their enemy, who would have been caught in flank by the troops +at the Stone Bridge; for these troops, however dilatory, must have +known what to do with a broken and flying Confederate flank right +under their very eyes. Premonitory symptoms of such a flight were +not wanting. Confederate wounded, stragglers, and skulkers were +making for the rear; and the rallied brigades were again in disorder, +with Bee and Bartow, two first-rate brigadiers, just killed, and +other seniors wounded. Another ominous sign was the limbering up +of Confederate guns to cover the expected retreat from the Henry +Hill. + +But on its reverse slope lay Jackson's Shenandoahs, three thousand +strong, and by far the best drilled and disciplined brigade that +either side had yet produced--apart, of course, from regulars. +Jackson had ridden up and down before them, calm as they had ever +seen him on parade, quietly saying, "Steady, men, steady! All's +well." In this way he had held them straining at the leash for +hours. Now, at last, their time had come. Riding out to the center +of his line he gave his final orders: "Reserve your fire till they +come within fifty yards. Then fire and give them the bayonet; and yell +like furies when you charge!" Five minutes later, as the triumphant +Federals topped the crest, the long gray line rose up, stood fast, +fired one crashing point-blank volley, and immediately charged home +with the first of those wild, high rebel yells that rang throughout +the war. The stricken and astounded Federal front caved in, turned +round, and fled. At the same instant the last of the Shenandoahs--Kirby +Smith's brigade, detrained just in the nick of time--charged the +wavering flank. Then, like the first quiver of an avalanche, a +tremor shook the whole massed Federals one moment on that fatal +hill: the next, like a loosened cliff, they began the landslide +down. + +There, in the valley, along Young's Branch, McDowell established +his last line of battle, based on the firm rock of the regulars. +But by this time the Confederates had brought up troops from the +whole length of their line; the balance of numbers was at last in +their favor; and nothing could stay the Federal recoil. Lack of +drill and discipline soon changed this recoil into a disorderly +retreat. There was no panic; but most of the military units dissolved +into a mere mob whose heart was set on getting back to Washington in +any way left open. The regulars and a few formed bodies in reserve +did their best to stem the stream. But all in vain. + +One mile short of Centreville there was a sudden upset and consequent +block on the bridge across Cub Run. Then the stream of men retreating, +mixed with clogging masses of panic-struck civilians, became a +torrent. + + +Bull Run was only a special-constable affair on a gigantic scale. +The losses were comparatively small--3553 killed and wounded on both +sides put together: not ten per cent of the less than forty thousand +who actually fought. Moreover, the side that won the battle lost +the war. And yet Bull Run had many points of very great importance. +In spite of all shortcomings it showed the good quality of the +troops engaged: if not as soldiers, at all events as men. It proved +that the war, unlike the battle, would not be fought by special +constables, some of whom first fired their rifles when their target +was firing back at them. It brought one great leader--Stonewall +Jackson--into fame. Above all, it profoundly affected the popular +points of view, both North and South. In the South there was undue +elation, followed by the absurd belief that one Southerner could +beat two Northerners any day and that the North would now back +down _en masse_, as its army had from the Henry Hill. A dangerous +slackening of military preparation was the unavoidable result. +In the North, on the other hand, a good many people began to see +the difference between armed mobs and armies; and the thorough +Unionists, led by the wise and steadfast Lincoln, braced themselves +for real war. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE COMBATANTS + +No map can show the exact dividing line between the actual combatants +of North and South. Eleven States seceded: Virginia, the Carolinas, +Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, +and Arkansas. But the mountain folk of western Virginia and eastern +Tennessee were strong Unionists; and West Virginia became a State +while the war was being fought. On the other hand, the four border +States, though officially Federal under stress of circumstances, +were divided against themselves. In Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, +and Kansas, many citizens took the Southern side. Maryland would +have gone with the South if it had not been for the presence of +overwhelming Northern sea-power and the absence of any good land +frontier of her own. Kentucky remained neutral for several months. +Missouri was saved for the Union by those two resourceful and determined +men, Lyon and Blair. Kansas, though preponderantly Unionist, had +many Confederates along its southern boundary. On the whole the +Union gained greatly throughout the borderlands as the war went on; +and the remaining Confederate hold on the border people was more +than counterbalanced by the Federal hold on those in the western +parts of old Virginia and the eastern parts of Tennessee. Among +the small seafaring population along the Southern coast there were +also some strongly Union men. + +Counting out Northern Confederates and Southern Federals as canceling +each other, so far as effective fighting was concerned a comparison +made between the North and South along the line of actual secession +reveals the one real advantage the South enjoyed all through--an +overwhelming party in favor of the war. When once the die was cast +there was certainly not a tenth of the Southern whites who did not +belong to the war party; and the peace party always had to hold +its tongue. The Southerners formed simpler and far more homogeneous +communities of the old long-settled stock, and were more inclined +to act together when once their feelings were profoundly stirred. + +The Northern communities, on the other hand, being far more complex +and far less homogeneous, were plagued with peace parties that +grew like human weeds, clogging the springs of action everywhere. +There were immigrants new to the country and therefore not inclined +to take risks for a cause they had not learned to make their own. +There were also naturalized, and even American-born, aliens, aliens +in speech, race, thought, and every way of life. Then there were the +oppositionists of different kinds, who would not support any war +government, however like a perfect coalition it might be. Among these +were some Northerners who did business with the South, especially +the men who financed the cotton and tobacco crops. Others, again, +were those loose-tongued folk who think any vexed question can be +settled by unlimited talk. Next came those "defeatist" cranks who +always think their own side must be wrong, and who are of no more +practical use than the out-and-out "pacifists" who think everybody +wrong except themselves. Finally, there were those slippery folk who +try to evade all public duty, especially when it smacks of danger. +These skulkers flourish best in large and complex populations, +where they may even masquerade as patriots of the kind so well +described by Lincoln when he said how often he had noticed that +the men who were loudest in proclaiming their readiness to shed +their last drop of blood were generally the most careful not to +shed the first. + +Many of these fustian heroes formed the mushroom secret societies +that played their vile extravaganza right under the shadow of the +real tragedy of war. Worse still, not content with the abracadabra +of their silly oaths, the busybody members made all the mischief +they could during Lincoln's last election. Worst of all, they not +only tried their hands at political assassination in the North but +they lured many a gallant Confederate to his death by promising to +rise in their might for a "Free Northwest" the moment the Southern +troopers should appear. Needless to say, not a single one of the whole +bombastic band of cowards stirred a finger to help the Confederate +troopers who rode to their doom on Morgan's Raid through Indiana and +Ohio. The peace party wore a copper as a badge, and so came to be known +as "Copperheads," much to the disgust of its more inflated members, +who called themselves the Sons of Liberty. The war party, with a +better appreciation of how names and things should be connected, +used their own descriptive "Copperhead" in its appropriate meaning +of a poisonous snake in the grass behind. + +The Indians would have preferred neutrality between the two kinds +of inevitably dispossessing whites. But neutrality was impossible +in what was then the Far West. Not ten thousand Indians fought +for both sides put together. On the whole they fought well as +skirmishers, though they rarely withstood shell fire, even when +their cover was good and their casualties small. + +The ten times more numerous negroes were naturally a much more +serious factor. The North encouraged the employment of colored labor +corps and even colored soldiers, especially after Emancipation. +But the vast majority of negroes, whether slave or free, either +preferred or put up with their Southern masters, whom they generally +served faithfully enough either in military labor corps or on the +old plantations. As the colored population of the South was three +and a half millions this general fidelity was of great importance +to the forces in the field. + +The total population of the United States in 1861 was about thirty-one +and a half millions. Of this total twenty-two and a half belonged to +the North and nine to the South. The grand total odds were therefore +five against two. The odds against the South rise to four against +one if the blacks are left out. There were twenty-two million whites +in the North against five and a half in the South. But to reach +the real fighting odds of three to one we must also eliminate the +peace parties, large in the North, small in the South. If we take +a tenth off the Southern whites and a third off the Northern grand +total we shall get the approximate war-party odds of three to one; +for these subtractions leave fifteen millions in the North against +only five in the South. + +This gives the statistical key to the startling contrasts which +were so often noted by foreign correspondents at the time, and +which are still so puzzling in the absence of the key. The whole +normal life of the South was visibly changed by the war. But in +the North the inquiring foreigner could find, on one hand, the +most steadfast loyalty and heroic sacrifice, both in the Northern +armies and among their folks at home, while on the other he could +find a wholly different kind of life flaunting its most shameless +features in his face. The theaters were crowded. Profiteers abounded, +taking their pleasures with ravenous greed; for the best of their +blood-money would end with the war. Everywhere there was the same +fundamental difference between the patriots who carried on the war +and the parasites who hindered them. Of course the two-thirds who +made up the war party were not all saints or even perfect patriots. +Nor was the other third composed exclusively of wanton sinners. There +were, for instance, the genuine settlers whom the Union Government +encouraged to occupy the West, beyond the actual reach of war. But +the distinction still remains. + +Though sorely hampered, the Union Government did, on the whole, +succeed in turning the vast and varied resources of the North against +the much smaller and less varied resources of the South. The North +held the machinery of national government, though with the loss of +a good quarter of the engineers. In agriculture of, all kinds both +North and South were very strong for purposes of peace. Each had +food in superabundance. But the trading strength of the South lay +in cotton and tobacco, neither of which could be turned into money +without going north or to sea. In finance the North was overwhelmingly +strong by comparison, more especially because Northern sea-power +shut off the South from all its foreign markets. In manufactures +the South could not compare at all. Northern factories alone could +not supply the armies. But finance and factories together could. +The Southern soldier looked to the battlefield and the raiding +of a base for supplying many of his most pressing needs in arms, +equipment, clothing, and even food--for Southern transport suffered +from many disabilities. Fierce wolfish cries would mingle with +the rebel yell in battle when the two sides closed. "You've got +to leave your rations!"--"Come out of them clothes!"--"Take off +them boots, Yank!"--"Come on, blue bellies, we want them blankets!" + +It was the same in almost every kind of goods. The South made next +to none for herself and had to import from the North or overseas. +The North could buy silk for balloons. The South could not. The +Southern women gave in their whole supply of silk for the big balloon +that was lost during the Seven Days' Battle in the second year of +the war. The Southern soldiers never forgave what they considered +the ungallant trick of the Northerners who took this many-hued +balloon from a steamer stranded on a bar at low tide down near +the mouth of the James. Thus fell the last silk dress, a queer +tribute to Northern sea-power! Northern sea-power also cut off +nearly everything the sick and wounded needed; which raised the +death rate of the Southern forces far beyond the corresponding death +rate in the North. Again, preserved rations were almost unknown in +the South. But they were plentiful throughout the Northern armies: +far too plentiful, indeed, for the taste of the men, who got "fed +up" on the dessicated vegetables and concentrated milk which they +rechristened "desecrated vegetables" and "consecrated milk." + +There is the same tale to tell about transport and munitions. Outside +the Tredegar Iron Works at Richmond the only places where Southern +cannon could be made were Charlotte in North Carolina, Atlanta and +Macon in Georgia, and Selma in Alabama. The North had many places, +each with superior plant, besides which the oversea munition world +was far more at the service of the open-ported North than of the +close-blockaded South. What sea-power meant in this respect may be +estimated from the fact that out of the more than three-quarters of +a million rifles bought by the North in the first fourteen months +of the war all but a beggarly thirty thousand came from overseas. + +[Illustration: North and South in 1861.] + +Transport was done by road, rail, sea, and inland waters. Other +things being equal, a hundred tons could be moved by water as easily +as ten by rail or one by road. Now, the North not only enjoyed +enormous advantages in sea-power, both mercantile and naval, but +in road, rail, canal, and river transport too. The road transport +that affected both sides most was chiefly in the South, because most +maneuvering took place there. "Have you been through Virginia?--Yes, +in several places" is a witticism that might be applied to many +another State where muddy sloughs abounded. In horses, mules, and +vehicles the richer North wore out the poorer and blockaded South. +Both sides sent troops, munitions, and supplies by rail whenever +they could; and here, as a glance at the map will show, the North +greatly surpassed the South in mileage, strategic disposition, +and every other way. + +The South had only one through line from the Atlantic to the +Mississippi; and this ran across that Northern salient which threatened +the South from the southwestern Alleghanies. The other rails all had +the strategic defect of not being convenient for rapid concentration +by land; for most of the Southern rails were laid with a view to +getting surplus cotton and tobacco overseas. The strategic gap +at Petersburg was due to a very different cause; for there, in +order to keep its local transfers, the town refused to let the most +important Virginian lines connect. + +Taking sea-power in its fullest sense, to include all naval and +mercantile parts on both salt and fresh water, we can quite understand +how it helped the nautical North to get the strangle-hold on the +landsman's South. The great bulk of the whole external trade of +the South was done by shipping. But, though the South was strong in +exportable goods, it was very weak in ships. It owned comparatively +few of the vessels that carried its rice, cotton, and tobacco crops +to market and brought back made goods in return. Yankees, Britishers, +and Bluenoses (as Nova Scotian craft were called) did most of the +oversea transportation. + +Moreover, the North was vastly stronger than the South on all the +inland waters that were not "Secesh" from end to end. The map shows +how Northern sea-power could not only divide the South in two but +almost enisle the eastern part as well. Holding the Mississippi +would effect the division, while holding the Ohio would make the +eastern part a peninsula, with the upper end of the isthmus safe in +Northern hands between Pittsburgh, the great coal and iron inland +port, and Philadelphia, the great seaport, less than three hundred +miles away. The same isthmus narrows to less than two hundred miles +between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg (on the Susquehanna River); and +its whole line is almost equally safe in Northern hands. A little +farther south, along the disputed borderlands, it narrows to less +than one hundred miles, from Pittsburgh to Cumberland (on the Potomac +canal). Even this is not the narrowest part of the isthmus, which +is less than seventy miles across from Cumberland to Brownsville +(on the Monongahela) and less than fifty from Cumberland to the +Ohiopyle Falls (on the Youghiogheny). These last distances are +measured between places that are only fit for minor navigation. +But even small craft had an enormous advantage over road and rail +together when bulky stores were moved. So Northern sea-power could +make its controlling influence felt in one continuous line all +round the eastern South, except for fifty miles where small craft +were concerned and for two hundred miles in the case of larger +vessels. These two hundred miles of land were those between the +Ohio River port of Wheeling and the Navy Yard at Washington. + +Nor was this virtual enislement the only advantage to be won. For +while the strong right arm of Union sea-power, facing northward +from the Gulf, could hold the coast, and its sinewy left could +hold the Mississippi, the supple left fingers could feel their +way along the tributary streams until the clutching hand had got +its grip on the whole of the Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, Missouri, +Arkansas, and Red rivers. This meant that the North would not only +enjoy the vast advantages of transport by water over transport +by land but that it would cause the best lines of invasion to be +opened up as well. + +Of course the South had some sea-power of her own. Nine-tenths of +the United States Navy stood by the Union. But, with the remaining +tenth and some foreign help, the South managed to contrive the +makeshift parts of what might have become a navy if the North had +only let it grow. The North, however, did not let it grow. + +The regular navy of the United States, though very small to start +with, was always strong enough to keep the command of the sea and +to prevent the makeshift Southern parts of a navy from ever becoming +a whole. Privateers took out letters of marque to prey on Northern +shipping. But privateering soon withered off, because prizes could +not be run through the blockade in sufficient numbers to make it +pay; and no prize would be recognized except in a Southern port. +Raiders did better and for a much longer time. The _Shenandoah_ +was burning Northern whalers in Bering Sea at the end of the war. +The _Sumter_ and the _Florida_ cut a wide swath under instructions +which "left much to discretion and more to the torch." The famous +_Alabama_ only succumbed to the U.S.S. _Kearsarge_ after sinking +the _Hatteras_ man-of-war and raiding seventy other vessels. Yet +still the South, in spite of her ironclads, raiders, and rams, in +spite of her river craft, of the home ships or foreigners that +ran the blockade, and of all her other efforts, was a landsman's +country that could make no real headway against the native sea-power +of the North. + +Perhaps the worst of all the disabilities under which the abortive +Southern navy suffered was lubberly administration and gross civilian +interference. The Administration actually refused to buy the beginnings +of a ready-made sea-going fleet when it had the offer of ten British +East Indiamen specially built for rapid conversion into men-of-war. +Forty thousand bales of cotton would have bought the lot. The +Mississippi record was even worse. Five conflicting authorities +divided the undefined and overlapping responsibilities between +them: the Confederate Government, the State governments, the army, +the navy, and the Mississippi skippers. A typical result may be seen +in the fate of the fourteen "rams" which were absurdly mishandled by +fourteen independent civilian skippers with two civilian commodores. +This "River Defense Fleet" was "backed by the whole Missouri delegation" +at Richmond, and blessed by the Confederate Secretary of War, Judah +P. Benjamin, that very clever lawyer-politician and ever-smiling +Jew. Six of the fourteen "rams" were lost, with sheer futility, +at New Orleans in April, '62; the rest at Memphis the following +June. + +As a matter of fact the Confederate navy never had but one real +man-of-war, the famous _Merrimac_; and she was a mere razee, cut +down for a special purpose, and too feebly engined to keep the +sea. Even the equally famous _Alabama_ was only a raider, never +meant for action with a fleet. Over three hundred officers left +the United States Navy for the South; but, as in the case of the +Army, they were followed by very few men. The total personnel of the +regular Confederate navy never exceeded four thousand at any one time. +The irregular forces afloat often did gallant, and sometimes even +skillful, service in little isolated ways. But when massed together +they were always at sixes and sevens; and they could never do more +than make the best of a very bad business indeed. The Secretary of +the Confederate navy, Stephen R. Mallory, was not to blame. He was +one of the very few civilians who understood and tried to follow +any naval principles at all. He had done good work as chairman of +the Naval Committee in the Senate before the war, and had learnt +a good deal more than his Northern rival, Gideon Welles. He often +saw what should have been done. But men and means were lacking. + +Men and means were also lacking in the naval North at the time +the war began. But the small regular navy was invincible against +next to none; and it enjoyed many means of expansion denied to +the South. + +On the outbreak of hostilities the United States Navy had ninety +ships and about nine thousand men--all ranks and ratings (with +marines) included. The age of steam had come. But fifty vessels +had no steam at all. Of the rest one was on the Lakes, five were +quite unserviceable, and thirty-four were scattered about the world +without the slightest thought of how to mobilize a fleet at home. +The age of ironclads had begun already overseas. But in his report +to Congress on July 4, 1861, Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, +only made some wholly non-committal observations in ponderous +"officialese." In August he appointed a committee which began its +report in September with the sage remark that "Opinions differ +amongst naval and scientific men as to the policy of adopting the +iron armament for ships-of-war." In December Welles transmitted this +report to Congress with the still sager remark that "The subject +of iron armature for ships is one of great general interest, not +only to the navy and country, but is engaging the attention of the +civilized world." Such was the higher administrative preparation +for the ironclad battle of the following year. + +It was the same in everything. The people had taken no interest in +the navy and Congress had faithfully represented them by denying +the service all chance of preparing for war till after war had +broken out. Then there was the usual hurry and horrible waste. +Fortunately for all concerned, Gideon Welles, after vainly groping +about the administrative maze for the first five months, called +Gustavus V. Fox to his assistance. Fox had been a naval officer of +exceptional promise, who had left the service to go into business, +who had a natural turn for administration, and who now made an +almost ideal Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He was, indeed, far +more than this; for, in most essentials, he acted throughout the +war as a regular Chief of Staff. + +One of the greatest troubles was the glut of senior officers who +were too old and the alarming dearth of juniors fit for immediate +work afloat. It was only after the disaster at Bull Run that Congress +authorized the formation of a Promotion Board to see what could be +done to clear the active list and make it really a list of officers +fit for active service. Up to this time there had been no system +of retiring men for inefficiency or age. An officer who did not +retire of his own accord simply went on rising automatically till +he died. The president of this board had himself turned sixty. +But he was the thoroughly efficient David Glasgow Farragut, a man +who was to do greater things afloat than even Fox could do ashore. +How badly active officers were wanted may be inferred from the +fact that before the appointment of Farragut's promotion board +the total number of regular officers remaining in the navy was +only 1457. Intensive training was tried at the Naval Academy. Yet +7500 volunteer officers had to be used before the war was over. +These came mostly from the merchant service and were generally +brave, capable, first-rate men. But a nautical is not the same as +a naval training; and the dearth of good professional naval officers +was felt to the end. The number of enlisted seamen authorized by +Congress rose from 7600 to 51,500. But the very greatest difficulty +was found in "keeping up to strength," even with the most lavish +use of bounties. + +The number of vessels in the navy kept on growing all through. +Of course not nearly all of them were regular men-of-war or even +fighting craft "fit to go foreign." At the end of the first year +there were 264 in commission; at the end of the second, 427; at +the end of the third, 588; and at the end of the fourth, 671. + +Bearing this in mind, and remembering the many other Northern odds, +one might easily imagine that the Southern armies fought only with +the courage of despair. Yet such was not the case. This was no +ordinary war, to be ended by a treaty in which compromise would +play its part. There could be only two alternatives: either the +South would win her independence or the North would have to beat +her into complete submission. Under the circumstances the united +South would win whenever the divided North thought that complete +subjugation would cost more than it was worth. The great aim of +the South was, therefore, not to conquer the North but simply to +sicken the North of trying to conquer her. "Let us alone and we'll +let you alone" was her insinuating argument; and this, as she knew +very well, was echoed by many people in the North. Thus, as regards +her own objective, she began with hopes that the Northern peace +party never quite let die. + +Then, so far as her patriotic feelings were concerned, the South +was not fighting for any one point at issue--not even for slavery, +because only a small minority held slaves--but for her whole way +of life, which, rightly or wrongly, she wanted to live in her own +Southern way; and she passionately resented the invasion of her +soil. This gave her army a very high morale, which, in its turn, +inclined her soldiers the better to appreciate their real or imagined +advantages over the Northern hosts. First, they and their enemies +both knew that they enjoyed the three real advantages of fighting +at home under magnificent leaders and with interior lines. Robert +Lee and Stonewall Jackson stood head and shoulders above any Northern +leaders till Grant and Sherman rose to greatness during the latter +half of the war. Lee himself was never surpassed; and he, like +Jackson and several more, made the best use of home surroundings +and of interior lines. Anybody can appreciate the prime advantage of +interior lines by imagining two armies of equal strength operating +against each other under perfectly equal conditions except that one +has to move round the circumference of a circle while the other +moves to meet it along the shorter lines inside. The army moving +round the circumference is said to be operating on exterior lines, +while the army moving from point to point of the circumference +by the straighter, and therefore shorter, lines inside is said +to be operating on interior lines. In more homely language the +straight road beats the crooked one. In plain slang, it's best to +have the inside track. + +Of course there is a reverse to all this. If the roads, rails, +and waterways are better around the circle than inside it, then +the odds may be turned the other way; and this happens most often +when the forces on the exterior lines are the better provided with +sea-power. Again, if the exterior forces are so much stronger than +the interior forces that these latter dare not leave any strategic +point open in case the enemy breaks through, then it is evident +that the interior forces will suffer all the disadvantages of being +surrounded, divided, worn out, and defeated. + +This happened at last to the South, and was one of the four advantages +she lost. Another was the hope of foreign intervention, which died +hard in Southern hearts, but which was already moribund halfway +through the war. A third was the hope of dissension in the North, +a hope which often ran high till Lincoln's reëlection in November, +'64, and one which only died out completely with the surrender of +Lee. The fourth was the unfounded belief that Southerners were +the better fighting men. They certainly had an advantage at first +in having a larger proportion of men accustomed to horses and arms +and inured to life in the open. But, other things being equal, there +was nothing to choose between the two sides, so far as natural +fighting values were concerned. + +Practically all the Southern "military males" passed into the ranks; +and a military male eventually meant any one who could march to +the front or do non-combatant service with an army, from boys in +their teens to men in their sixties. Conscription came after one +year; and with very few exemptions, such as the clergy, Quakers, +many doctors, newspaper editors, and "indispensable" civil servants. +Lee used to express his regret that all the greatest strategists +were tied to their editorial chairs. But sterner feelings were +aroused against that recalcitrant State Governor, Joseph Brown +of Georgia, who declared eight thousand of his civil servants to +be totally exempt. From first to last, conscripts and volunteers, +nearly a million men were enrolled: equaling one-fifth of the entire +war-party white population of the seceding States. + +All branches of the service suffered from a constant lack of arms +and munitions. As with the ships for the navy so with munitions +for the army, the South did not exploit the European markets while +her ports were still half open and her credit good, Jefferson Davis +was spotlessly honest, an able bureaucrat, and full of undying zeal. +But, though an old West Pointer, he was neither a foresightful +organizer nor fit to exercise any of the executive power which he +held as the constitutional commander-in-chief by land and sea. He +ordered rifles by the thousand instead of by the hundred thousand; +and he actually told his Cabinet that if he could only take one +wing while Lee took the other they would surely beat the North. +Worse still, he and his politicians kept the commissariat under +civilian orders and full of civilian interference, even at the +front, which, in this respect, was always a house divided against +itself. + + +The little regular army of '61, only sixteen thousand strong, stood +by the Union almost to a man; though a quarter of the officers +went over to the South. Yet the enlisted man was despised even +by the common loafers who would not fight if they could help it. +"Why don't you come in?" asked a zealous lady at a distribution +of patriotic gifts, "aren't you one of our heroes?" "No, ma'am," +answered the soldier, "I'm only a regular." + +The question of command was often a very vexed one; and many mistakes +were made before the final answers came. The most significant of +all emergent facts was this: that though the officers who had been +regulars before the war did not form a hundredth part of all who +held commissions during it, yet these old regulars alone supplied +every successful high commander, Federal and Confederate alike, +both afloat and ashore. + +The North had four times as many whites as the South; it used more +blacks as soldiers; and the complete grand total of all the men +who joined its forces during the war reached two millions and +three-quarters. But this gives a quite misleading idea of the real +odds in favor of the North, especially the odds available in battle. +A third of the Northern people belonged to the peace party and +furnished no recruits at all till after conscription came in. The +late introduction of conscription, the abominable substitution +clause, and the prevalence of bounty-jumping combined to reduce +both the quantity and quality of the recruits obtained by money or +compulsion. The Northerners that did fight were generally fighting +in the South, among a very hostile population, which, while it made +the Southern lines of communication perfectly safe, threatened +those of the North at every point and thus obliged the Northern +armies to leave more and more men behind to guard the communications +that each advance made longer still. Finally, the South generally +published the numbers of only its actual combatants, while the +Northern returns always included every man drawing pay, whether +a combatant or not. On the whole, the North had more than double +numbers, even if compared with a Southern total that includes +noncombatants. But it should be remembered that a Northern army +fighting in the heart of the South, and therefore having to guard +every mile of the way back home, could not meet a Southern one +with equal strength in battle unless it had left the North with +fully twice as many. + +Conscription came a year later (1863) in the North than in the +South and was vitiated by a substitution clause. The fact that a +man could buy himself out of danger made some patriots call it "a +rich man's war and a poor man's fight." And the further fact that +substitutes generally became regular bounty-jumpers, who joined +and deserted at will, over and over again, went far to increase the +disgust of those who really served. Frank Wilkeson's _Recollections +of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac_ is a true voice from +the ranks when he explains "how the resort to volunteering, the +unprincipled dodge of cowardly politicians, ground up the choicest +seed-corn of the nation; how it consumed the young, the patriotic, +the intelligent, the generous, and the brave; and how it wasted +the best moral, social, and political elements of the Republic, +leaving the cowards, shirkers, egotists, and moneymakers to stay +at home and procreate their kind." + +That is to say, it was so arranged that the foxy-witted lived, while +the lion-hearted died. + +The organization of the vast numbers enrolled was excellent whenever +experts were given a free hand. But this free hand was rare. One +vital point only needs special notice here: the wastefulness of +raising new regiments when the old ones were withering away for +want of reinforcements. A new local regiment made a better "story" +in the press; and new and superfluous regiments meant new and +superfluous colonels, mostly of the speechifying kind. So it often +happened that the State authorities felt obliged to humor zealots +set on raising those brand-new regiments which doubled their own +difficulties by having to learn their lesson alone, halved the +efficiency of the old regiments they should have reinforced, and +harassed the commanders and staff by increasing the number of units +that were of different and ever-changing efficiency and strength. +It was a system of making and breaking all through. + + +The end came when Northern sea-power had strangled the Southern +resources and the unified Northern armies had worn out the fighting +force. Of the single million soldiers raised by the South only two +hundred thousand remained in arms, half starved, half clad, with the +scantiest of munitions, and without reserves of any kind. Meanwhile +the Northern hosts had risen to a million in the field, well fed, +well clothed, well armed, abundantly provided with munitions, and +at last well disciplined under the unified command of that great +leader, Grant. Moreover, behind this million stood another million +fit to bear arms and obtainable at will from the two millions of +enrolled reserves. + +The cost of the war was stupendous. But the losses of war are not +to be measured in money. The real loss was the loss of a million +men, on both sides put together, for these men who died were of +the nation's best. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE NAVAL WAR: 1862 + +Bull Run had riveted attention on the land between the opposing +capitals and on the armies fighting there. Very few people were +thinking of the navies and the sea. And yet it was at sea, and not +on land, that the Union had a force against which the Confederates +could never prevail, a force which gradually cut them off from +the whole world's base of war supplies, a force which enabled the +Union armies to get and keep the strangle-hold which did the South +to death. + +The blockade declared in April was no empty threat. The sails of +Federal frigates, still more the sinister black hulls of the new +steam men-of-war, meant that the South was fast becoming a land +besieged, with every outwork accessible by water exposed to sudden +attack and almost certain capture by any good amphibious force +of soldiers and sailors combined. + +Sea-power kept the North in affluence while it starved the South. +Sea-power held Maryland in its relentless grip and did more than +land-power to keep her in the Union. Sea-power was the chief factor +in saving Washington. Seapower enabled the North to hold such points +of vantage as Fortress Monroe right on the flank of the South. +And sea-power likewise enabled the North to take or retake other +points of similar importance: for instance, Hatteras Island. + +In a couple of days at the end of August, 1861, the Confederate +forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, were compelled to surrender +to a joint naval and military expedition under Flag-Officer Stringham +and Major-General B. F. Butler. The immediate result, besides the +capture of seven hundred men, was the control of the best entrance +to North Carolina waters, which entailed the stoppage of many oversea +supplies for the Confederate army. The ulterior result was the +securing of a base from which a further invasion could be made with +great advantage. + + +The naval campaign of the following year was truly epoch-making; +for the duel between the _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_ in Hampton Roads +on March 9, 1862, was the first action ever fought between ironclad +steam men-of-war. + +Eleven months earlier the Federal Government had suddenly abandoned +the Norfolk Navy Yard; though their strongest garrison was at Fortress +Monroe, only twelve miles north along a waterway which was under +the absolute control of their navy, and though the Confederates' +had nothing but an inadequate little untrained force on the spot. +Among the spoils of war falling into Confederate hands were twelve +hundred guns and the _Merrimac_, a forty-gun steam frigate. The +_Merrimac_, though fired and scuttled by the Federals, was hove +up, cut down, plated over, and renamed the _Virginia_. (History, +however, knows her only as the _Merrimac_.) John L. Porter, Naval +Constructor to the Confederate States, had made a model of an ironclad +at Pittsburgh fifteen years before; and he now applied this model +to the rebuilding of the _Merrimac_. He first cut down everything +above the water line, except the gun deck, which he converted into a +regular citadel with flat top, sides sloping at thirty-five degrees, +and ends stopping short of the ship's own ends by seventy feet fore +and aft. The effect, therefore, was that of an ironclad citadel +built on the midships of a submerged frigate's hull. The four-inch +iron plating of the citadel knuckled over the wooden sides two +feet under water. The engines, which the South had no means of +replacing, were the old ones which had been condemned before being +sunk. A four-foot castiron ram was clamped on to the bow. Ten guns +were mounted: six nine-inch smooth-bores, with two six-inch and +two seven-inch rifles. Commodore Franklin Buchanan took command +and had magnificent professional officers under him. But the crew, +three hundred strong, were mostly landsmen; for, as in the case +of the Army, the men of the Navy nearly all took sides with the +North, and the South had very few seamen of any other kind. + +To oppose the _Merrimac_ the dilatory North contracted with John +Ericsson the Swede, who had to build the _Monitor_ much smaller +than the Merrimac owing to pressure of time. He enjoyed, however, +enormous advantages in every other respect, owing to the vastly +superior resources of the North in marine engineering, armor-plating, +and all other points of naval construction. The _Monitor_ was launched +at New York on January 30, 1862, the hundredth day after the laying +of her keel-plate. Her length over all was 172 feet, her beam was +41, and her draught only 10--less than half the draught of the +_Merrimac_. Her whole crew numbered only 58; but every single one +was a trained professional naval seaman who had volunteered for +dangerous service under Captain John L. Worden. She was not a good +sea boat; and she nearly foundered on her way down from New York to +Fortress Monroe. Her underwater hull was shipshape enough; but her +superstructure--a round iron tower resting on a very low deck--was +not. Contemptuous eyewitnesses described her very well as looking +like a tin can on a shingle or a cheesebox on a raft. She carried +only two guns, eleven-inchers, both mounted inside her turret, +which revolved by machinery; but their 180-pound shot were far +more powerful than any aboard the _Merrimac_. In maneuvering the +_Monitor_ enjoyed an immense advantage, with her light draft, strong +engines, and well-protected screws and rudder. + +On the eighth of March, a lovely spring day, the _Merrimac_ made +her trial trip by going into action with her wheezy old engines, +lubberly crew, and the guns she had never yet fired. She shoveled +along at only five knots; but the Confederate garrisons cheered +her to the echo. Seven miles north she came upon the astonished +fifty-gun _Congress_ and thirty-gun _Cumberland_ swinging drowsily +at anchor off Newport News, with their boats alongside and the +men's wash drying in the rigging. Yet the surprised frigates opened +fire at twelve hundred yards and were joined by the shore batteries, +all converging on the _Merrimac_, from whose iron sides the shot +glanced up without doing more than hammer her hard and start a few +rivets. Closing in at top speed--barely six knots--the _Merrimac_ +gave the _Congress_ a broadside before ramming the _Cumberland_ +and opening a hole "wide enough to drive in a horse and cart." +Backing clear and turning the after-pivot gun, the _Merrimac_ then +got in three raking shells against the _Congress_, which grounded +when trying to escape. Meanwhile the _Cumberland_ was listing over +and rapidly filling, though she kept up the fight to the very last +gasp. When she sank with a roar her topmasts still showed above +water and her colors waved defiance. An hour later the terribly +mauled _Congress_ surrendered; whereupon her crew was rescued and +she was set on fire. By this time various smaller craft on both +sides had joined the fray. But the big _Minnesota_ still remained, +though aground and apparently at the mercy of the _Merrimac_. The +great draught of the _Merrimac_ and the setting in of the ebb tide, +however, made the Confederates draw off for the night. + +Next morning they saw the "tin can on the shingle" between them and +their prey. The _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_ then began their epoch-making +fight. The patchwork engines of the deep-draught _Merrimac_ made her +as unhandy as if she had been water-logged, while the light-draught +_Monitor_ could not only play round her when close-to but maneuver +all over the surrounding shallows as well. The _Merrimac_ put her +last ounce of steam into an attempt to ram her agile opponent. +But a touch of the _Monitor's_ helm swung her round just in time +to make the blow perfectly harmless. The _Merrimac_ simply barged +into her, grated harshly against her iron side, and sheered off +beaten. The firing was furious and mostly at pointblank range. +Once the _Monitor_ fired while the sides were actually touching. +The concussion was so tremendous that all the _Merrimac's_ gun-crews +aft were struck down flat, with bleeding ears and noses. But in +spite of this her boarders were called away; whereupon every man +who could handle cutlass and revolver made ready and stood by. The +_Monitor_, however, dropped astern too quickly; and the wallowing +_Merrimac_ had no chance of catching her. The fight had lasted all +through that calm spring morning when the _Monitor_ steamed off, +across the shallows, still keeping carefully between the _Merrimac_ +and _Minnesota_. It was a drawn battle. But the effect was that +of a Northern victory; for the _Merrimac_ was balked of her easy +prey, and the North gained time to outbuild the South completely. + +Outbuilding the South of course meant tightening the "anaconda" +system of blockade, in the entangling coils of which the South +was caught already. Three thousand miles of Southern coastline +was, however, more than the North could blockade or even watch to +its own satisfaction all at once. Fogs, storms, and clever ruses +played their part on behalf of those who ran the blockade, especially +during the first two years; and it was almost more than human nature +could stand to keep forever on the extreme alert, day after dreary +day, through the deadly boredom of a long blockade. Like caged +eagles the crews passed many a weary week of dull monotony without +the chance of swooping on a chase. "Smoke ho!" would be called +from the main-topgallant cross-tree. "Where away?" would be called +back from the deck. "Up the river, Sir!"--and there it would stay, +the very mark of hope deferred. Occasionally a cotton ship would +make a dash, with lights out on a dark night, or through a dense +fog, when her smoke might sometimes be conned from the tops. +Occasionally, too, a foreigner would try to run in, and not seldom +succeed, because only the fastest vessels tried to run the blockade +after the first few months. But the general experience was one of +utter boredom rarely relieved by a stroke of good luck. + +The South could not break the blockade. But the North could tighten +it, and did so repeatedly, not only at sea but by establishing +strong strategic centers of its own along the Southern coast. We +have seen already how Hatteras Island was taken in '61, five weeks +after Bull Run. Within another three weeks Ship Island was also taken, +to the great disadvantage of the Gulf ports and the corresponding +advantage of the Federal fleet blockading them; for Ship Island +commanded the coastwise channels between Mobile and New Orleans, +the two great scenes of Farragut's success. Then, on the seventh +of November, the day that Grant began his triumphant career by +dealing the Confederates a shrewd strategic blow at Belmont in +Missouri, South Carolina suffered a worse defeat at Port Royal +(where she lost Forts Beauregard and Walker) than North Carolina +had suffered at Hatteras Island. Admiral S. F. Du Pont managed +the naval part of the Port Royal expedition with consummate skill, +especially the fine fleet action off Hilton Head against the Southern +ships and forts. He was ably seconded by General Thomas West Sherman, +commanding the troops. + +North Carolina's turn soon came again, when she lost Roanoke Island +(and with it the command of Albemarle Sound) on February 8, 1862; +and when she also had Pamlico Sound shut against her by a joint +expedition that struck down her defenses as far inland as Newbern +on the fourteenth of March. Then came the turn of Georgia, where +Fort Pulaski, the outpost of Savannah, fell to the Federals on +the eleventh of April. Within another month Florida was even more +hardly hit when the pressure of the Union fleet and army on Virginia +compelled the South to use as reinforcements the garrison that +had held Pensacola since the beginning of the war. + +These were all severe blows to the Southern cause. But they were +nothing to the one which immediately followed. + +The idea of an attack on New Orleans had been conceived in June, +'61, by Commander (afterwards Admiral) D. D. Porter, of the U.S.S. +_Powhatan_, when he was helping to blockade the Mississippi. The +Navy Department had begun thinking over the same idea in September +and had worked out a definite scheme. New Orleans was of immense +strategic importance, as being the link between the sea and river +systems of the war. The mass of people and their politicians, on +both sides, absurdly thought of New Orleans as the objective of a +land invasion from the north. Happily for the Union cause, Gustavus +Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, knew better and persuaded +his civilian chief, Gideon Welles, that this was work for a joint +expedition, with the navy first, the army second. The navy could +take New Orleans. The army would have to hold it. + +The squadron destined for this enterprise was commanded by David +Glasgow Farragut, who arrived at Ship Island on February 20, 1862, +in the _Hartford_, the famous man-of-war that carried his flag in +triumph to the end. Unlike Lee and Jackson, Grant and Sherman, +the other four great leaders in the Civil War, Farragut was not an +American whose ancestors on both sides had come from the British +Isles. Like Lee, however, he was of very ancient lineage, one of +his ancestors, Don Pedro Farragut, having held a high command under +the King of Aragon in the Moorish wars of the thirteenth century. +Farragut's father was a pure-blooded Spaniard, born under the British +flag in Minorca in 1755. Half Spanish, half Southern by descent, +Farragut was wholly Southern by family environment. His mother, +Elizabeth Shine, was a native of North Carolina. He spent his early +boyhood in New Orleans. Both his first and second wives came from +Virginia; and he made his home at Norfolk. On the outbreak of the +war, however, he immediately went North and applied for employment +with the Union fleet. + +Farragut was the oldest of the five great leaders, being now sixty +years of age, while Lee was fifty-five, Sherman forty-two, Grant +forty, and Jackson thirty-eight. He was, however, fit as an athlete +in training, able to turn a handspring on his birthday and to hold +his own in swordsmanship against any of his officers. Of middle +height, strong build, and rather plain features, he did not attract +attention in a crowd. But his alert and upright carriage, keenly +interested look, and genial smile impressed all who ever knew him +with a sense of native kindliness and power. Though far too great +a master of the art of war to interfere with his subordinates he +always took care to understand their duties from their own points +of view so that he could control every part of the complex naval +instruments of war--human and material alike--with a sure and inspiring +touch. His one weakness as a leader was his generous inclination +to give subordinates the chance of distinguishing themselves when +they could have done more useful service in a less conspicuous +position. + +[Illustration: _ADMIRAL D. G. FARRAGUT_ +Photograph by Brady.] + +Farragut's base at Ship Island was about a hundred miles east from +the Confederate Forts Jackson and St. Philip. These forts guarded +the entrance to the Mississippi. Ninety miles above them stood +New Orleans, to which they gave protection and from which they +drew all their supplies. The result of a conference at Washington +was an order from Welles to "reduce the defenses which guard the +approaches to New Orleans." But Farragut's own infinitely better +plan was to run past the forts and take New Orleans first. By doing +this he would save the extra loss required for reducing the forts +and would take the weak defenses of New Orleans entirely by surprise. +Then, when New Orleans fell, the forts, cut off from all supplies, +would have to surrender without the firing of another shot. Everything +depended on whether Farragut could run past without too much loss. +Profoundly versed in all the factors of the problem, he foresaw +that his solution would prove right, while Washington's would as +certainly be wrong. So, taking the utmost advantage of all the +freedom that his general instructions allowed, he followed a course +in which anything short of complete success would mean the ruin +of his whole career. + +The forts were strong, had ninety guns that would bear on the fleet, +and were well placed, one on each side of the river. But they suffered +from all the disadvantages of fixed defenses opposed by a mobile +enemy, and their own mobile auxiliaries were far from being +satisfactory. The best of the "River Defense Fleet," including +several rams, had been ordered up to Memphis, so sure was the +Confederate Government that the attack would come from the north. +Two home-made ironclads were failures. The _Louisiana's_ engines +were not ready in time; and her captain refused to be towed into the +position near the boom where he could do the enemy most harm. The +_Mississippi_, a mere floating house, built by ordinary carpenters, +never reached the forts at all and was burnt by her own men at New +Orleans. + +Farragut felt sure of his fleet. He had four splendid new men-of-war +that formed a homogeneous squadron, four other sizable warships, and +nine new gunboats. All spars and rigging that could be dispensed +with were taken down; all hulls camouflaged with Mississippi mud; and +all decks whitened for handiness at night. A weak point, however, +was the presence of mortar-boats that would have been better out +of the way altogether. These boats had been sent to bombard the +forts, which, according to the plan preferred by the Government, +were to be taken before New Orleans was attacked. In other words, +the Government wished to cut off the branches first; while Farragut +wished to cut down the tree itself, knowing the branches must fall +with the trunk. + +On the eighteenth of April the mortar-boats began heaving shells +at the forts. But, after six days of bombardment, the forts were +nowhere near the point of surrendering, and the supply of shells +had begun to run low. + +Meanwhile the squadron had been busy preparing for the great ordeal. +The first task was to break the boom across the river. This boom +was placed so as to hold the ships under the fire of the forts; +and the four-knot spring current was so strong that the eight-knot +ships could not make way enough against it to cut clear through +with certainty. Moreover, the middle of the boom was filled in by +eight big schooners, chained together, with their masts and rigging +dragging astern so as to form a most awkward entanglement. Farragut's +fleet captain, Henry H. Bell, taking two gunboats, _Itasca_ and +_Pinola_, under Lieutenants Caldwell and Crosby, slipped the chains +of one schooner; whereupon this schooner and the _Itasca_ swung +back and grounded under fire of the forts. The _Pinola_ gallantly +stood by, helping _Itasca_ clear. Then Caldwell, with splendid +audacity and skill, steamed up through the narrow gap, turned round, +put on the _Itasca's_ utmost speed, and, with the current in his +favor, charged full tilt against the chains that still held fast. +For one breathless moment the little _Itasca_ seemed lost. Her +bows rose clear out, as, quivering from stem to stern, she was +suddenly brought up short from top speed to nothing. But, in another +fateful minute, with a rending crash, the two nearest schooners +gave way and swept back like a gate, while the _Itasca_ herself +shot clear and came down in triumph to the fleet. + +The passage was made on the twenty-fourth, in line-ahead (that +is, one after another) because Farragut found the opening narrower +than he thought it should be for two columns abreast, at night, under +fire, and against the spring current. Owing to the configuration of +the channel the starboard column had to weigh first, which gave +the lead to the 500-ton gunboat _Cayuga_. This was the one weak +point, because the leading vessel, drawing most fire, should have +been the strongest. The fault was Farragut's; for his heart got +the better of his head when it came to placing Captain Theodorus +Bailey, his dauntless second-in-command, on board a vessel fit +to lead the starboard column. He could not bear to obscure any +captain's chances of distinction by putting another captain over +him. So Bailey was sent to the best vessel commanded by a lieutenant. + +The _Cayuga's_ navigating officer, finding that the guns of the +forts were all trained on midstream, edged in towards Fort St. +Philip. His masts were shot to pieces, but his hull drew clear +without great damage. "Then," he says, "I looked back for some +of our vessels; and my heart jumped up into my mouth when I found +I could not see a single one. I thought they must all have been +sunk by the forts." But not a ship had gone down. The three big +ones of the starboard column--_Pensacola, Mississippi_, and +_Oneida_--closed with the fort (so that the gunners on both sides +exchanged jeers of defiance) and kept up a furious fire till the +lighter craft astern slipped past safely and joined the _Cayuga_ +above. + +Meanwhile the _Cayuga_ had been attacked by a mob of Mississippi +steamers, six of which belonged to the original fourteen blessed +with their precious independence by Secretary Benjamin, "backed +by the whole Missouri Delegation." So when the rest of the Federal +light craft came up, "all sorts of things happened" in a general +free fight. There was no lack of Confederate courage; but an utter +absence of concerted action and of the simplest kind of naval skill, +except on the part of the two vessels commanded by ex-officers +of the United States Navy. The Federal light craft cut their way +through their unorganized opponents as easily as a battalion of +regulars could cut through a mob throwing stones. But the only +two Confederate naval officers got clear of the scrimmage and did +all that skill could do with their makeshift little craft against +the Federal fleet. Kennon singled out the _Varuna_ (the only one of +Farragut's vessels that was not a real man-of-war), raked her stern +with the two guns of his own much inferior vessel, the _Governor +Moore_, and rammed her into a sinking condition. Warley flew at +bigger game with his little ram, the _Manassas_, trying three of +the large men-of-war, one after another, as they came upstream. The +_Pensacola_ eluded him by a knowing turn of her helm that roused +his warmest admiration. The _Mississippi_ caught the blow glancingly +on her quarter and got off with little damage. The _Brooklyn_ was +taken fair and square amidships; but, though her planking was crushed +in, she sprang no serious leak and went on with the fight. The +wretched little Confederate engines had not been able to drive the +ram home. + +The _Brooklyn_ was the flagship _Hartford's_ next-astern and the +_Richmond's_ next-ahead, these three forming the main body of Farragut's +own port column, which followed hard on the heels of the starboard +one, so hard, indeed, that there were only twenty minutes between +the first shot fired by the forts at the _Cayuga_ and the first +shot fired by the _Hartford_ at the forts. Besides the forts there +was the _Louisiana_ floating battery that helped to swell the storm +of shot and shell; and down the river came a fire-raft gallantly +towed by a tug. The _Hartford_ sheered off, over towards Fort St. +Philip, under whose guns she took ground by the head while the +raft closed in and set her ablaze. Instantly the hands on fire +duty sprang to their work. But the flames rushed in through the +ports; and the men were forced a step back. Farragut at once called +out: "Don't flinch from the fire, boys. There's a hotter fire than +that for those who don't do their duty!" Whereupon they plied their +hoses to such good effect that the fire was soon got under control. +Farragut calmly resumed his walk up and down the poop, while the +gunners blew the gallant little tug to bits and smashed the raft +in pieces. Then he stood keenly watching the _Hartford_ back clear, +gather way, and take the lead upstream again. Every now and then +he looked at the pocket compass that hung from his watch chain; +though, for the most part, he tried to scan a scene of action lit +only by the flashes of the guns. The air was dense and very still; +so the smoke of guns and funnels hung like a pall over both the +combatants while the desperate fight went on. + +At last the fleet fought through and reached the clearer atmosphere +above the forts; all but the last three gunboats, which were driven +back by the fire. Then Farragut immediately sent word to General +Benjamin F. Butler that the troops could be brought up by the bayous +that ran parallel to the river out of range of the forts. But the +General, having taken in the situation at a glance from a transport +just below the scene of action, had begun to collect his men at +Sable Island, twelve miles behind Fort St. Philip, long before +Farragut's messenger could reach him by way of the Quarantine Bayou. +From Sable Island the troops were taken by the transports to a +point on the Mississippi five miles above Fort St. Philip. + +After a well-earned rest the whole fleet moved up to New Orleans +on the twenty-fifth, turning the city's lines five miles downstream +without the loss of a man, for the simple reason that these had +been built only to resist an army, and so lay with flanks entirely +open to a fleet. General Lovell (the able commander who had so +often warned the Confederate Government of the danger from the sea) +at once evacuated the defenseless city. The best of the younger men +were away with the armies. The best of the older men were too few for +the storm. And so pandemonium broke loose. Burning boats, blazing +cotton, and a howling mob greeted Farragut's arrival. But after the +forts (now completely cut off from their base) had surrendered +on the twenty-eighth a landing party from the fleet soon brought +the mob to its senses by planting howitzers in the streets and +lowering the Confederate colors over the city hall. On the first +of May a garrison of Federal troops took charge of New Orleans +and kept it till the war was over. + + +New Orleans was a most pregnant Federal victory; for it established a +Union base at the great strategic point where sea-power and land-power +could meet most effectively in Mississippi waters. + +But it was followed by a perfect anti-climax; for the Federal +Government, having planned a naval concentration at Vicksburg, +determined to put the plan in operation; though all the naval and +military means concerned made such a plan impossible of execution in +1862. Amphibious forces--fleets and armies combined--were essential. +There was no use in parading up and down the river, however +triumphantly, so long as the force employed could only hold the part +of the channel within actual range of its guns. The Confederates +could be driven off the Mississippi at any given point. But there +was nothing to prevent them from coming back again when once the +ships had passed. An army to seize and hold strategic points ashore +was absolutely indispensable. Then, and only then, Farragut's long +line of communication with his base at New Orleans would be safe, +and the land in which the Mississippi was the principal highway +could itself be conquered. + +"If the Mississippi expedition from Cairo shall not have descended +the river, you will take advantage of the panic to push a strong +force up the river to take all their defenses in rear." These were +the orders Farragut had to obey if he succeeded in taking New Orleans. +They were soon reinforced by this reminder: "The only anxiety we feel +is to know if you have followed up your instructions and pushed a +strong force up the river to meet the Western flotilla." Farragut +therefore felt bound to obey and do all that could be done to carry +on a quite impossible campaign. So, with a useless landing party +of only fifteen hundred troops, he pushed up to Vicksburg, four +hundred miles above New Orleans. The nearest Federal army had been +halted by the Confederate defenses above Memphis, another four +hundred higher still. + +There were several reasons why Farragut should not have gone up. +His big ships would certainly be stranded if he went up and waited +for the army to come down; moreover, when stranded, these ships +would be captured while waiting, because both banks were swarming +with vastly outnumbering Confederate troops. Then, such a disaster +would more than offset the triumph of New Orleans by still further +depressing Federal morale at a time when the Federal arms were +doing none too well near Washington. Finally, all the force that +was being worse than wasted up the Mississippi might have been +turned against Mobile, which, at that time, was much weaker than +the defenses Farragut had already overcome. But the people of the +North were clamorous for more victories along the line to which +the press had drawn their gaze. So the Government ordered the fleet +to carry on this impossible campaign. + +Farragut did his best. Within a month of passing the forts he had +not only captured New Orleans and repaired the many serious damages +suffered by his fleet but had captured Baton Rouge, and taken even +his biggest ships to Vicksburg, five hundred miles from the Gulf, +against a continuous current, and right through the heart of a +hostile land. Finding that there were thirty thousand Confederates +in, near, or within a day of Vicksburg he and General Thomas Williams +agreed that nothing could be done with the fifteen hundred troops +which formed the only landing party. Sickness and casualties had +reduced the ships' companies; so there were not even a few seamen +to spare as reinforcements for these fifteen hundred soldiers, whom +Butler had sent, under Williams, with the fleet. Then Farragut +turned back, his stores running dangerously short owing to the +enormous difficulties of keeping open his long, precarious line of +communications. "I arrived in New Orleans with five or six days' +provisions and one anchor, and am now trying to procure others.... +Fighting is nothing to the evils of the river--getting on shore, +running foul of one another, losing anchors, etc." In a confidential +letter home he is still more outspoken. "They will keep us in this +river till the vessels break down and all the little reputation +we have made has evaporated. The Government appears to think that +we can do anything. They expect me to navigate the Mississippi +nine hundred miles in the face of batteries, ironclad rams, etc.; +and yet with all the ironclad vessels they have North they could +not get to Norfolk or Richmond." + +Back from Washington came still more urgent orders to join the +Mississippi flotilla which was coming down to Vicksburg from the +north under Flag Officer Charles H. Davis. So once more the fleet +worked its laboriously wasteful way up to Vicksburg, where it passed +the forts with the help of Porter's flotilla of mortar-boats on +the twenty-eighth of June and joined Davis on the first of July. +There, in useless danger, the joint forces lay till the fifteenth, +the day on which Grant's own "most anxious period of the war" began +on the Memphis-Corinth line, four hundred miles above. + +Farragut, getting very anxious about the shoaling of the water, +was then preparing to run down when he heard firing in the Yazoo, +a tributary that joined the Mississippi four miles higher up. This +came from a fight between one of his reconnoitering gunboats, the +_Carondelet_, and the _Arkansas_, an ironclad Confederate ram that +would have been very dangerous indeed if her miserable engines had +been able to give her any speed. She was beating the _Carondelet_, +but getting her smoke-stack so badly holed that her speed dropped +down to one knot, which scarcely gave her steerage way and made +her unable to ram. Firing hard she ran the gauntlet of both fleets +and took refuge under the Vicksburg bluffs, whence she might run +out and ram the Union vessels below. Farragut therefore ran down +himself, hoping to smash her by successive broadsides in passing. +But the difficulties of the passage wasted the daylight, so that +he had to run by at night. She therefore survived his attack, and +went downstream to join the Confederates against Baton Rouge. But +her engines gave way before she got there; and she had to be blown +up. + +Farragut was back at New Orleans before the end of July. On the +fifth of August the Confederates made their attack on Baton Rouge; +but were beaten back by the Union garrison aided by three of Farragut's +gunboats and two larger vessels from Davis's command. The losses +were not very severe on either side; but the Union lost a leader +of really magnificent promise in its commanding general, Thomas +Williams, a great-hearted, cool-headed man and most accomplished +officer. The garrison of Baton Rouge, being too small and sickly +and exposed, was withdrawn to New Orleans a few days later. + +Then Farragut at last returned to the Gulf blockade. Davis went back +up the river, where he was succeeded by D. D. Porter in October. +And the Confederates, warned of what was coming, made Port Hudson +and Vicksburg as strong as they could. Vicksburg was now the only +point they held on the Mississippi where there were rails on both +sides; and the Red River, flowing in from the West between Vicksburg +and Port Hudson, was the only good line of communication connecting +them with Texas, whence so much of their meat was obtained. + +For three months Farragut directed the Gulf blockade from Pensacola, +where, on the day of his arrival, the twentieth of August, he was the +first American to hoist an admiral's flag. The rank of rear-admiral +in the United States Navy had been created on the previous sixteenth +of July; and Farragut was the senior of the first three officers +upon whom it was conferred. + +Farragut became the ranking admiral just when the United States +Navy was having its hardest struggle to do its fivefold duty well. +There was commerce protection on the high seas, blockade along the +coast, coöperation with the army on salt water and on fresh, and +of course the destruction of the nascent Confederate forces afloat. +But perhaps a knottier problem than any part of its combatant duty +was how to manage, in the very midst of war, that rapid expansion +of its own strength for which no government had let it prepare in +time of peace. During this year the number of vessels in commission +grew from 264 to 427. Yet such a form of expansion was much simpler +than that of the enlisted men; and the expansion of even the most +highly trained enlisted personnel was very much simpler than the +corresponding expansion of the officers. Happily for the United +States Navy it started with a long lead over its enemy. More happily +still it could expand with the help of greatly superior resources. +Most happily of all, the sevenfold expansion that was effected +before the war was over could be made under leaders like Farragut: +leaders, that is, who, though in mere numbers they were no more, in +proportion to their whole service, than the flag as mere material +is to a man-of-war, were yet, as is the flag, the living symbol +of a people's soul. + +Commerce protection on the high seas was an exceedingly harassing +affair. A few swift raiders, having the initiative, enjoyed great +advantages over a far larger number of defending vessels. Every +daring raid was trumpeted round the world, bringing down unmeasured, +and often unmerited, blame on the defense. The most successful +vigilance would, on the other hand, pass by unheeded. The Union +navy lacked the means of patrolling the sea lanes of commerce over +millions and millions of desolate square miles. Consequently the +war-risk insurance rose to a prohibitive height on vessels flying +the Stars and Stripes; and, as a further result, enormous transfers +were made to other flags. The incessant calls for recruits, afloat +and ashore, and to some extent the lure of the western lands, also +robbed the merchant service of its men. Thus, one way and another, +the glory of the old merchant marine departed with the Civil War. + +Blockade was more to the point than any attempt to patrol the sea +lanes. Yet it was even more harassing; for it involved three distinct +though closely correlated kinds of operation: not only the seizure, +in conjunction with the army, of enemy ports, and the patrolling of +an enemy coastline three thousand miles long, but also the patrolling +of those oversea ports from which most contraband came. This oversea +patrol was the most effective, because it went straight to the +source of trouble. But it required extraordinary vigilance, because +it had to be conducted from beyond the three-mile limit, and with +the greatest care for all the rights of neutrals. + +By mid-November Farragut was back at New Orleans. A month later +General Banks arrived with reinforcements. He superseded General +Butler and was under orders to coöperate with McClernand, Grant's +second-in-command, who was to come down the Mississippi from Cairo. +But the proposed meeting of the two armies never took place. Banks +remained south of Port Hudson, McClernand far north of Vicksburg; +for, as we shall see in the next chapter, Sherman's attempt to take +Vicksburg from the North failed on the twenty-ninth of December. + +The naval and river campaigns of '62 thus ended in disappointment +for the Union. And, on New Year's Day, Galveston, which Farragut had +occupied in October without a fight and which was lightly garrisoned +by three hundred soldiers, fell into Confederate hands under most +exasperating circumstances. After the captain and first lieutenant +of the U.S.S. _Harriet Lane_ had been shot by the riflemen aboard two +cotton-clad steamers the next officer tamely surrendered. Commander +Renshaw, who was in charge of the blockade, amply redeemed the honor +of the Navy by refusing to surrender the _Westfield_, in spite +of the odds against him, and by blowing her up instead. But when +he died at the post of duty the remaining Union vessels escaped; +and the blockade was raised for a week. + +After that Commodore H. H. Bell, one of Farragut's best men, closed +in with a grip which never let go. Yet even Bell suffered a reverse +when he sent the U.S.S. _Hatteras_ to overhaul a strange vessel that +lured her off some fifteen miles and sank her in a thirteen-minute +fight. This stranger was the _Alabama_, then just beginning her famous +or notorious career. Nor were these the only Union troubles in the +Gulf during the first three weeks of the new year. Commander J. +N. Matt ran the _Florida_ out of Mobile, right through the squadron +that had been specially strengthened to deal with her; and the +shore defenses of the Sabine Pass, like those of Galveston, fell +into Confederate hands again, to remain there till the war was +over. + +In spite of all failures, however, Farragut still had the upper +hand along the Gulf, and up the Mississippi as far as New Orleans, +without which admirable base the River War of '62 could never +have prepared the way for Grant's magnificent victory in the River +War of '63. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE RIVER WAR: 1862 + +The military front stretched east and west across the border States +from the Mississippi Valley to the sea. This immense and fluctuating +front, under its various and often changed commanders, was never a +well coördinated whole. The Alleghany Mountains divided the eastern +or Virginian wing from the western or "River" wing. Yet there was +always more or less connection between these two main parts, and +the fortunes of one naturally affected those of the other. Most +eyes, both at home and abroad, were fixed on the Virginian wing, +where the Confederate capital stood little more than a hundred +miles from Washington, where the greatest rival armies fought, +and where decisive victory was bound to have the most momentous +consequences. But the River wing was hardly less important; for +there the Union Government actually hoped to reach these three +supreme objectives in this one campaign: the absolute possession of +the border States, the undisputed right of way along the Mississippi +from Cairo to the Gulf, and the triumphant invasion of the lower +South in conjunction with the final conquest of Virginia. + +We have seen already how the Union navy, aided by the army, won +its way up the Mississippi from the Gulf to Baton Rouge, but failed +to secure a single point beyond. We shall now see how the Union +army, aided by the navy, won its way down the Mississippi from +Cairo to Memphis, and fairly attained the first objective--the +possession of the border States; but how it also failed from the +north, as the others had failed from the south, to gain a footing +on the crucial stretch between Vicksburg and Port Hudson. One more +year was required to win the Mississippi; two more to invade the +lower South; three to conquer Virginia. + + +Just after the fall of Fort Sumter the Union Government had the +foresight to warn James B. Eads, the well-known builder of Mississippi +jetties, that they would probably draw upon his "thorough knowledge +of our Western rivers and the use of steam on them." But it was +not till August that they gave him the contract for the regular +gunboat flotilla; and it was not till the following year that his +vessels began their work. In the meantime the armies were asking for +all sorts of transport and protective craft. So the first flotilla on +Mississippi waters started under the War (not the Navy) Department, +though manned under the executive orders of Commander John Rodgers, +U. S. N., who bought three river steamers at Cincinnati, lowered +their engines, strengthened their frames, protected their decks, +and changed them into gunboats. + +The first phase of the clash in this land of navigable rivers had +ended, as we have seen already, with the taking of Boonville on +the Missouri by that staunch and daring Union regular, General +Nathaniel Lyon, on June 17, 1861. Boonville was a stunning blow +to secession in those parts. Confederate hopes, however, again +rose high when the news of Bull Run came through. At this time +General John C. Frémont was taking command of all the Union forces +in the "Western Department," which included Illinois and everything +between the Mississippi and the Rockies. Frémont's command, however, +was short and full of trouble. Round his headquarters at St. Louis +the Confederate colors were flaunted in his face. His requisitions +for arms and money were not met at Washington. Union regiments +marched in without proper equipment and with next to no supplies. +There were boards of inquiry on his contracts. There were endless +cross-purposes between him and Washington. And early in November he +was transferred to West Virginia just as he was about to attack with +what seemed to him every prospect of success. He had not succeeded. +But he had done good work in fortifying St. Louis; in ordering +gunboats, tugs, and mortar-boats; in producing some kind of system +out of utter confusion; in trusting good men like Lyon; and in +sending the then unknown Ulysses Grant to take command at Cairo, +the excellent strategic base where the Ohio joins the Mississippi. + +The most determined fighting that took place during Frémont's command +was brought on by Lyon, who attacked Ben McCulloch at Wilson's Creek, +in southwest Missouri, on the tenth of August. Though McCulloch had +ten thousand, against not much over five, Lyon was so set on driving +the Confederates away from such an important lead-bearing region +that he risked an attack, hoping by surprise, skillful maneuvers, +and the help of his regulars to shake the enemy's hold, even if +he could not thoroughly defeat him. Disheartened by his repeated +failure to get reinforcements, and very anxious about the fate +of his flanking column under Sigel, whose attack from the rear +was defeated, he expressed his forebodings to his staff. But the +light of battle shone bright as ever in his eyes; he was killed +leading a magnificent charge; and when, after his death, his little +army drew off in good order, the Confederates, by their own account, +"were glad to see him go." + +On the twentieth of September the Confederates under Sterling Price +won a barren victory by taking Lexington, Missouri, where Colonel +James Mulligan made a gallant defense. That was the last Confederate +foothold on the Missouri; and it could not be maintained. + +In October, Anderson, who had never recovered from the strain of +defending Fort Sumter, turned over to Sherman the very troublesome +Kentucky command. Sherman pointed out to the visiting Secretary of +War, Simon Cameron, that while McClellan had a hundred thousand +men for a front of a hundred miles in Virginia, and Frémont had +sixty thousand for about the same distance, he (Sherman) had been +given only eighteen thousand to guard the link between them, although +this link stretched out three hundred miles. Sherman then asked for +sixty thousand men at once; and said two hundred thousand would +be needed later on. "Good God!" said Cameron, "where are they to +come from?" Come they had to, as Sherman foresaw. Cameron made +trouble at Washington by calling Sherman's words "insane"; and +Sherman's "insanity" became a stumbling-block that took a long time +to remove. + +Grant, in command at Cairo, began his career as a general by cleverly +forestalling the enemy at Paducah, where the Tennessee flows into the +Ohio. Then, on the seventh of November, he closed the first confused +campaign on the Mississippi by attacking Belmont, Missouri, twenty +miles downstream from Cairo, in order to prevent the Confederates at +Columbus, Kentucky, right opposite, from sending reinforcements to +Sterling Price in Arkansas. There was a stiff fight, in which the +Union gunboats did good work. Grant handled his soldiers equally +well; and the Union objective was fully attained. + + +Halleck, the Federal Commander-in-Chief for the river campaign +of '62, fixed his headquarters at St. Louis. From this main base +his right wing had rails as far as Rolla, whence the mail road +went on southwest, straight across Missouri. At Lebanon, near the +middle of the State, General Samuel R. Curtis was concentrating, +before advancing still farther southwest against the Confederates +whom he eventually fought at Pea Ridge. From St. Louis there was +good river, rail, and road connection south to Halleck's center in +the neighborhood of Cairo, where General Ulysses S. Grant had his +chief field base, at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio. A +little farther east Grant had another excellent position at Paducah, +beside the junction of the Ohio and the Tennessee. Naval forces +were of course indispensable for this amphibious campaign; and in +Flag-Officer Andrew Hull Foote the Western Flotilla had a commander +able to coöperate with the best of his military colleagues. Halleck's +left--a semi-independent command--was based on the Ohio, stretched +clear across Kentucky, and was commanded by a good organizer and +disciplinarian, General Don Carlos Buell, whose own position at +Munfordville was not only near the middle of the State but about +midway between the important railway junctions of Louisville and +Nashville. + +Henry W. Halleck was a middle-aged, commonplace, and very cautious +general, who faithfully plodded through the war without defeat or +victory. He looked so long before he leaped that he never leaped at +all--not even on retreating enemies. Good for the regular office-work +routine, he was like a hen with ducklings for this river war, in +which Curtis, Grant, Buell, and his naval colleague Foote, were +all his betters on the fighting line. + +His opponent, Albert Sidney Johnston, was also middle-aged, being +fifty-nine; but quite fit for active service. Johnston had had +a picturesque career, both in and out of the army; and many on +both sides thought him likely to prove the greatest leader of the +war. He was, however, a less formidable opponent than Northerners +were apt to think. He was not a consummate genius like Lee. He had +inferior numbers and resources; and the Confederate Government +interfered with him. Yet they did have the good sense to put both +sides of the Mississippi under his unified command, including not +only Kentucky and Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas, but the whole +of the crucial stretch from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. In this they +were wiser than the Federal Government with Halleck's command, +which was neither so extensive nor so completely unified. + +Johnston took post in his own front line at Bowling Green, Kentucky, +not far south of Buell's position at Munfordville. He was very +anxious to keep a hold on Kentucky and Missouri, along the southern +frontiers of which his forces were arrayed. His extreme right was +thrown northward under General Marshall to Prestonburg, near the +border of West Virginia, in the dangerous neighborhood of many +Union mountain folk. His southern outpost on the right was also +in the same kind of danger at Cumberland Gap, a strategic pass +into the Alleghanies at a point where Kentucky, Tennessee, and +Virginia meet. Halfway west from there, to Bowling Green the +Confederates hoped to hold the Cumberland near Logan's Cross Roads +and Mill Springs. Westwards from Bowling Green Johnston's line held +positions at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, Fort Henry on the +Tennessee, and Columbus on the Mississippi. All his Trans-Mississippi +troops were under the command of the enthusiastic Earl Van Dorn, +who hoped to end his spring campaign in triumph at St. Louis. + + +The fighting began in January at the northeastern end of the line, +where the Union Government, chiefly for political reasons, was +particularly anxious to strengthen the Unionists that lived all +down the western Alleghanies and so were a thorn in the side of +the solid South beyond. On the tenth Colonel James A. Garfield, a +future President, attacked and defeated Marshall near Prestonburg +and occupied the line of Middle Creek. The Confederates, half starved, +half clad, ill armed, slightly outnumbered, and with no advantage +except their position, fought well, but unavailingly. Only some +three thousand men were engaged on both sides put together. Yet +the result was important because it meant that the Confederates +had lost their hold on the eastern end of Kentucky, which was now +in unrestricted touch with West Virginia. + +Within eight days a greater Union commander, General G. H. Thomas, +emerged as the victor of a much bigger battle at Mill Springs and +Logan's Cross Roads on the upper Cumberland, ninety miles due east +of Bowling Green. The victory was complete, and Thomas's name was +made. Thomas, indeed, was known already as a man whose stentorian +orders had to be obeyed; and a clever young Confederate prisoner +used this reputation as his excuse for getting beaten: "We were doing +pretty good fighting till old man Thomas rose up in his stirrups, +and we heard him holler out: 'Attention, Creation! By kingdoms, +right wheel!' Then we knew you had us." + +There were only about four thousand men a side. But in itself, and +in conjunction with Garfield's little victory at Prestonburg, the +battle of Logan's Cross Roads was important as raising the Federal +morale, as breaking through Johnston's right, and as opening the road +into eastern Tennessee. Short supplies and almost impassable roads, +however, prevented a further advance. One brigade was therefore +detached against Cumberland Gap, while the rest joined Buell's +command, which was engaged in organizing, drilling hard, and keeping +an eye on Johnston. + +In February the scene of action changed to Johnston's left center, +where Forts Donelson and Henry were blocking the Federal advance +up the Cumberland and the Tennessee. + +On the fourth, Flag-Officer Foote, with seven gunboats, of which +four were ironclads, led the way up the Tennessee, against Fort +Henry. That day the furious current was dashing driftwood in whirling +masses against the flotilla, which had all it could do to keep +station, even with double anchors down and full steam up. Next +morning a new danger appeared in the shape of what looked like a +school of dead porpoises. These were Confederate torpedoes, washed +from their moorings. As it was now broad daylight they were all +successfully avoided; and the crews felt as if they had won the +first round. + +The sixth of February dawned clear, with just sufficient breeze to +blow the smoke away. The flotilla steamed up the swollen Tennessee +between the silent, densely wooded banks. Not a sound was heard +ashore until, just after noon, Fort Henry came into view and answered +the flagship's signal shot with a crashing discharge of all its +big guns. Then the fire waxed hot and heavy on both sides, the +gunboats knocking geyser-spouts of earth about the fort, and the +fort knocking gigantic splinters out of the gunboats. The _Essex_ +ironclad was doing very well when a big shot crashed into her middle +boiler, which immediately burst like a shell, scalding the nearest +men to death, burning others, and sending the rest flying overboard +or aft. With both pilots dead and Commander W. D. Porter badly +scalded, the _Essex_ was drifting out of action when the word went +round that Fort Henry had surrendered: and there, sure enough, +were the Confederate colors coming down. Instantly Porter rallied +for the moment, called for three cheers, and fell back exhausted +at the third. + +The Confederate General Tilghman surrendered to Foote with less +than a hundred men, all the rest, over twenty-five hundred, having +started towards Fort Donelson before the flag came down. The Western +Flotilla had won the day alone. But it was the fear of Grant's +approaching army that hurried the escaping garrison. An hour after +the surrender Grant rode in and took command. That night victors +and vanquished were dining together when a fussy staff officer came +in to tell Grant that he could not find the Confederate reports. +On this Captain Jesse Taylor, the chief Confederate staff officer, +replied that he had destroyed them. The angry Federal then turned +on him with the question, "Don't you know you've laid yourself +open to punishment?" and was storming along, when Grant quietly +broke in: "I should be very much surprised and mortified if one +of my subordinate officers should allow information which he could +destroy to fall into the hands of the enemy." + +The surrender of Fort Henry, coming so soon after Prestonburg and +Logan's Cross Roads, caused great rejoicing in the loyal North. The +victory, effective in itself, was completed by sending the ironclad +_Carondelet_ several miles upstream to destroy the Memphis-Ohio +railway bridge, thus cutting the shortest line from Bowling Green to +the Mississippi. But the action, in which the army took no part, +was only a preliminary skirmish compared with the joint attack of +the fleet and army on Fort Donelson. Fort Donelson was of great +strategic importance. If it held fast, and the Federals were defeated, +then Johnston's line would probably hold from Bowling Green to +Columbus, and the rails, roads, and rivers would remain Confederate +in western Tennessee. If, on the other hand, Fort Donelson fell, +and more especially if its garrison surrendered, then Johnston's +line would have to be withdrawn at once, lest the same fate should +overtake the outflanked remains of it. Both sides understood this +perfectly well; and all concerned looked anxiously to see how the +new Federal commander, General Grant, would face the crisis. + + +Ulysses Simpson Grant came of sturdy New England stock, being eighth +in descent from Matthew Grant, who landed in 1630 and was Surveyor +of Connecticut for over forty years. Grant's mother was one of +the Simpsons who had been Pennsylvanians for several generations. +His family was therefore as racy of the North as Lee's was of the +South. His great-grandfather and great-granduncle, Noah and Solomon +Grant, held British commissions during the final French-and-Indian +or Seven Years' War (1756-63) when both were killed in the same +campaign. His grandfather Noah served all through the Revolutionary +War. Financial reverses and the death of his grandmother broke up +the family; and his father, Jesse Grant, was given the kindest +of homes by Judge Tod of Ohio. Jesse, being as independent as he +was grateful, turned his energies into the first business at hand, +which happened to be a tannery at Deerfield owned by the father of +that wild enthusiast John Brown. A great reader, an able contributor +to the Western press, and a most public-spirited citizen, Jesse +Grant was a good father to his famous son, who was born on April +27, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio. Young Grant +hated the tannery, but delighted in everything connected with horses; +so he looked after the teams. One day, after swapping horses many +miles from home, he found himself driving a terrified bolter that +he only just managed to stop on the edge of a big embankment. His +grown-up companion, who had no stomach for any more, then changed +into a safe freight wagon. But Ulysses, tying his bandanna over +the runaway's eyes, stuck to the post of danger. + +After passing through West Point without any special distinction, +except that he came out first in horsemanship, Grant was disappointed +at not receiving the cavalry commission which he would have greatly +preferred to the infantry one he was given instead. Years later, +when already a rising general, he vainly yearned for a cavalry +brigade. Otherwise he had curiously little taste for military life; +though at West Point he thought the two finest men in the world +were Captain C. F. Smith, the splendidly smart Commandant, and, +even more, that magnificently handsome giant, Winfield Scott, who +came down to inspect the cadets. Some years after having served +with credit all through the Mexican War (when, like Lee, he learnt +so much about so many future friends and foes) he left the army, +not to return till he and Sherman had seen Blair and Lyon take +Camp Jackson. After wisely declining to reënter the service under +the patronage of General John Pope, who was full of self-importance +about his acquaintance with the Union leaders of Illinois, Grant +wrote to the Adjutant-General at Washington offering to command +a regiment. Like Sherman, he felt much more diffident about the +rise from ex-captain of regulars to colonel commanding a battalion +than some mere civilians felt about commanding brigades or directing +the strategy of armies. He has himself recorded his horror of sole +responsibility as he approached what might have been a little +battlefield on which his own battalion would have been pitted against +a Southern one commanded by a Colonel Harris. "My heart kept getting +higher and higher until it felt as though it was in my throat. I +would have given anything then to have been back in Illinois; but +I had not the moral courage to halt and consider what to do. When +we reached a point from which the valley below was in full view +... the troops were gone. My heart resumed its place. It occurred +to me at once that Harris had been as much afraid of me as I had +been of him. This was a view of the question I never forgot." + +Grant's latent powers developed rapidly. Starting with a good stock +of military knowledge he soon added to it in every way he could. He +had the insight of genius. Above all, he had an indomitable will +both in carrying out practicable plans in spite of every obstacle +and in ruthlessly dismissing every one who failed. Not tall, not +handsome, in no way striking at first sight, he looked the leader +born only by reason of his square jaw, keen eye, and determined +expression. Lincoln's conclusive answer to a deputation asking +for Grant's removal simply was, "he fights." And, when mounted on +his splendid charger Cincinnati, Grant even looked what he was--"a +first-class fighting man." + + +Grant marched straight across the narrow neck of land between the +forts, which were only twelve miles apart. Foote of course had +to go round by the Ohio--fifteen times as far. His vanguard, the +dauntless _Carondelet_, now commanded by Henry Walke, arrived on +the twelfth and fired the first shots at the fort, which stood on +a bluff more than a hundred feet high and mounted fifteen heavy +guns in three tiers of fire. Grant's infantry was already in position +round the Confederate entrenchments; and when his soldiers heard +the naval guns they first gave three rousing cheers and then began +firing hard, lest the sailors should get ahead of them again. Birge's +sharpshooters, the snipers of those days, were particularly keen. +They never drilled as a battalion, but simply assembled in bunches +for orders, when Birge would ask: "Canteens full? Biscuits for +all day?" After which he would sing out: "All right, boys, hunt +your holes"; and off they would go to stalk the enemy with their +long-range rifles. + +Early next morning Grant sent word to Walke that he was establishing +the rest of his batteries and that he was ready to take advantage +of any diversion which the _Carondelet_ could make in his favor. +Walke then fired hard for two hours under cover of a wooded point. +The fort fired back equally hard; but with little effect except +for one big solid shot which stove in a casemate, knocked down a +dozen men, burst the steam heater, and bounded about the engine +room "like a wild beast pursuing its prey." Forty minutes later +the _Carondelet_ was again in action, firing hard till dark. Late +that night Foote arrived with the rest of the flotilla. + +The fourteenth was another naval day. Foote's flotilla advanced +gallantly, the four ironclads leading in line abreast, the two +wooden gunboats half a mile astern. The ironclads closed in to less +than a quarter-mile and hung on like bulldogs till the Confederates +in the lowest battery were driven from their guns. But the plunging +fire from the big guns on the bluff crashed down with ever increasing +effect. Davits were smashed like matches, boats knocked into kindling +wood, armor dented, started, ripped, stripped, and sent splashing +overboard as if by strokes of lightning. Before the decks could +be re-sanded there was so much blood on them that the gun crews +could hardly work for slipping. Presently the _Pittsburgh_ swung +round, ran foul of the _Carondelet_, and dropped downstream. The +pilot of the _St. Louis_ was killed, and Foote, who stood beside +him, wounded. The wheel-ropes of the _St. Louis_, like those of +the _Louisville_, were shot away. The whole flotilla then retired, +still firing hard; and the Confederates wired a victory to Richmond. + +Both sides now redoubled their efforts; for Donelson was a great +prize and the forces engaged were second only to those at Bull Run. +Afloat and ashore, all ranks and ratings on both sides together, +there were fifty thousand men present at the investment from first +to last. The Confederates began with about twenty thousand, Grant +with fifteen thousand. But Grant had twenty-seven thousand fit for +duty at the end, in spite of all his losses. He was fortunate in +his chief staff officer, the devoted and capable John A. Rawlins, +afterwards a general and Secretary of War. Two of his divisional +commanders, Lew Wallace and, still more, C. F. Smith, the old Commandant +of Cadets, were also first-rate. But the third, McClernand, here +began to follow those distorting ideas which led to his dismissal +later on. The three chief Confederates ranked in reverse order +of efficiency: Floyd first and worst, cantankerous Pillow next, +and Buckner best though last. + +The Federal prospect was anything but bright on the evening of +the fourteenth. Foote had just been repulsed; while McClernand had +fought a silly little battle on his own account the day before, +to the delight of the Confederates and the grievous annoyance of +Grant. The fifteenth dawned on a scene of midwinter discomfort +in the Federal lines, where most of the rawest men had neither +great-coats nor blankets, having thrown them away during the short +march from Fort Henry, regardless of the fact that they would have +to bivouac at Donelson. Thus it was in no happy frame of mind that +Grant slithered across the frozen mud to see what Foote proposed; +and, when Foote explained that the gunboats would take ten days for +indispensable repairs, Grant resigned himself to the very unwelcome +idea of going through the long-drawn horrors of a regular winter +siege. + +But, to his intense surprise, the enemy saved him the trouble. At +first, when they had a slight preponderance of numbers, they stood +fast and let Grant invest them. Now that he had the preponderance +they tried to cut their way out by the southern road, upstream, where +McClernand's division stood guard. As Grant came ashore from his +interview with Foote an aide met him with the news that McClernand +had been badly beaten and that the enemy was breaking out. Grant +set spurs to his horse and galloped the four muddy miles to his +left, where that admirable soldier, C. F. Smith, was as cool and +wary as ever, harassing the enemy's new rear by threatening an +assault, but keeping his division safe for whatever future use +Grant wanted. Wallace had also done the right thing, pressing the +enemy on his own front and sending a brigade to relieve the pressure +on McClernand. These two generals were in conversation during a lull +in the battle when Grant rode up, calmly returned their salutes, +attentively listened to their reports, and then, instead of trying +the Halleckian expedient of digging in farther back before the enemy +could make a second rush, quietly said: "Gentlemen, the position +on the right must be retaken." + +Grant knew that Floyd was no soldier and that Pillow was a +stumbling-block. He read the enemy's mind like an open book and +made up his own at once by the flash of intuition which told him +that their men were mostly as much demoralized by finding their +first attempt at escape more than half a failure as even McClernand's +were by being driven back. He decided to use Smith's fresh division +for an assault in rear, while McClernand's, stiffened by Wallace's, +should re-form and hold fast. Before leaving the excited officers and +men, who were talking in groups without thinking of their exhausted +ammunition, he called out cheerily "Fill your cartridge boxes quick, +and get into line. The enemy is trying to escape and he must not +be permitted to do so." McClernand's division, excellent men, but +not yet disciplined soldiers, responded at once to the touch of a +master hand; and as Grant rode off to Smith's he had the satisfaction +of seeing the defenseless groups melt, change, and harden into +well-armed lines. + +Smith, ready at all points, had only to slip his own division from +the leash. Buckner, who was to have covered the Confederate escape, +was also ready with the guns of Fort Donelson and the rifles of +defenses that "looked too thick for a rabbit to get through." Smith, +knowing his unseasoned men would need the example of a commander +they could actually see, rode out in front of his center as if +at a formal review. "I was nearly scared to death," said one of +his followers, "but I saw the old man's white moustache over his +shoulder, and so I went on." As the line neared the Confederate +abatis a sudden gust of fire seemed to strike it numb. In an instant +Smith had his cap on the point of his sword. Then, rising in his +stirrups to his full gigantic height, he shouted in stentorian +tones: "No flinching now, my lads! Here--this way in! Come on!" +In, through, and out the other side they went, Smith riding ahead, +holding his sword and cap aloft, and seeming to bear a charmed life +amid that hail of bullets. Up the slope he rode, the Confederates +retiring before him, till, unscathed, he reached the deadly crest, +where the Union colors waved defiance and the Union troops stood +fast. + +Floyd, being under special indictment at Washington for misconduct +as Secretary of War, was so anxious to escape that he turned over +the command to Pillow, who declined it in favor of Buckner. That +night Floyd and Pillow made off with all the river steamers; Forrest's +cavalry floundered past McClernand's exposed flank, which rested on +a shallow backwater; and Buckner was left with over twelve thousand +men to make what terms he could. Next morning, the sixteenth, he wrote +to Grant proposing the appointment of commissioners to agree upon +terms of surrender. But Grant had made up his mind that compromise +was out of place in civil war and that absolute defeat or victory +were the only alternatives. So he instantly wrote back the famous +letter which quickly earned him the appropriate nickname--suggested +by his own initials--of Unconditional Surrender Grant. + + + Hd Qrs., Army in the Field + Camp near Donelson Feb'y 16th 1882 + +Gen. S. B. Buckner, + Confed. Army. + +Sir: Yours of this date proposing armistice, and appointment of +Commissioners to settle terms of capitulation is just received. +No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be +accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works + + I am, Sir, very respectfully, + Your obt. sert., + U. S. GRANT + Brig. Gen. + + +Grant and Buckner were old army friends; so their personal talk +was very pleasant at the little tavern where Buckner and his staff +had just breakfasted off corn bread and coffee, which was all the +Confederate stores afforded. + +Donelson at once became, like Grant, a name to conjure with. The +fact that the Union had at last won a fight in which the numbers +neared, and the losses much exceeded, those at Bull Run itself, the +further fact that this victory made a fatal breach in the defiant +Southern line beyond the Alleghanies, and the delight of discovering +another, and this time a genuine, hero in "Unconditional Surrender +Grant," all combined to set the loyal North aflame with satisfaction, +pride, and joyful expectation. Great things were expected in Virginia, +where the invasion had not yet begun. Great things were expected +in the Gulf, where Farragut had not yet tried the Mississippi. +And great things were expected to result from Donelson itself, +whence the Union forces were to press on south till they met other +Union forces pressing north. The river campaign was then to end +in a blaze of glory. + +Donelson did have important results. Johnston, who had already +abandoned Bowling Green for Nashville, had now to abandon Nashville, +with most of its great and very sorely needed stores, as well as +the rest of Tennessee, and take up a new position along the rails +that ran from Memphis to Chattanooga, whence they forked northeast +to Richmond and Washington and southeast to Charleston and Savannah. +Columbus was also abandoned, and the only points left to the +Confederates anywhere near the old line were Island Number Ten in +the Mississippi and the Boston Mountains in Arkansas. + +But the triumphant Union advance from the north did not take place +in '62. Grant was for pushing south as fast as possible to attack the +Confederates before they had time to defend their great railway junction +at Corinth. But Halleck was too cautious; and misunderstandings, +coupled with division of command, did the rest. Halleck was the +senior general in the West. But the three, and afterwards four, +departments into which the West was divided were never properly +brought under a single command. Then telegrams went wrong at the +wire-end advancing southwardly from Cairo, the end Grant had to +use. A wire from McClellan on the sixteenth of February was not +delivered till the third of March. Next day Grant was thunderstruck +at receiving this from Halleck: "Place C. F. Smith in command of +expedition and remain yourself at Fort Henry. Why do you not obey +my orders to report strength and positions of your command?" And +so it went on till McClellan authorized Halleck to place Grant +under arrest for insubordination. Then the operator at the wire-end +suddenly deserted, taking a sheaf of dispatches with him. He was +a clever Confederate. + +Explanations followed; and on the seventeenth of March Grant rejoined +his army, which was assembling round Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee, +near the future battlefield of Shiloh, and some twenty miles northeast +of Corinth. + +Meanwhile Van Dorn and Sterling Price, thinking it was now or never +for Missouri, decided to attack Curtis. They had fifteen against +ten thousand men, and hoped to crush Curtis utterly by catching +him between two fires. But on the seventh of March the Federal left +beat off the flanking attack of McCulloch and McIntosh, both of +whom were killed. The right, furiously assailed by the Confederate +Missourians under Van Dorn and Price, fared badly and was pressed +back. Yet on the eighth Curtis emerged victorious on the hard-fought +field that bears the double name of Elkhorn Tavern and Pea Ridge. +This battle in the northwest corner of Arkansas settled the fate +of Missouri. + +A month later the final attack was made on Island Number Ten. Foote's +flotilla had been at work there as early as the middle of March, +when the strong Confederate batteries on the island and east shore +bluffs were bombarded by ironclads and mortarboats. Then the Union +General John Pope took post at New Madrid, eight miles below the +island, on the west shore, which the Confederates had to evacuate +when he cut their line of communications farther south. They now +held only the island and the east shore opposite, with no line +of retreat except the Mississippi, because the land line on the +east shore was blocked by swamps and flanked by the Union armies +in western Tennessee. + +On the night of the fourth of April the _Carondelet_ started to +cut this last line south. She was swathed in hawsers and chain +cables. Her decks were packed tight with every sort of gear that +would break the force of plunging shot; and a big barge, laden +with coal and rammed hay, was lashed to her port side to protect +her magazine. Twenty-three picked Illinoisian sharpshooters went +aboard; while pistols, muskets, cutlasses, boarding-pikes, and hand +grenades were placed ready for instant use. The escape-pipe was +led aft into the wheel-house, so as to deaden the noise; and hose +was attached to the boilers ready to scald any Confederates that +tried to board. Then, through the heart of a terrific thunderstorm, +and amid a furious cannonade, the _Carondelet_ ran the desperate +gauntlet at full speed and arrived at New Madrid by midnight. + +The Confederates were now cut off both above and below; for the +position of Island Number Ten was at the lower point of a V-shaped +bend in the Mississippi, with Federal forces at the two upper points. +But the Federal troops could not close on the Confederates without +crossing over to the east bank; and their transports could not run +the gauntlet like the ironclads. So the Engineer Regiment of the West +cut out a water road connecting the two upper points of the V. This +admirable feat of emergency field engineering was effected by sawing +through three miles of heavy timber to the nearest bayou, whence a +channel was cleared down to New Madrid. Then the transports went +through in perfect safety and took Pope's advanced guard aboard. The +ironclad _Pittsburg_ had come down, through another thunderstorm, +this same morning of the seventh; and when the island garrison +saw their position completely cut off they surrendered to Foote. +Next day Pope's men cut off the greater part of the Confederates +on the mainland. Thus fell the last point near Johnston's original +line along the southern borders of Missouri and Kentucky. + +Just before it fell Johnston made a desperate counterattack from +his new line at Corinth, in northwest Mississippi, against Grant's +encroaching force at Shiloh, fifteen miles northeast, on the Tennessee +River. + +Writing "A. S. Johnston, 3d April, 62, _en avant_" on his pocket +map of Tennessee, the Confederate leader, anguished by the bitter +criticism with which his unavoidable retreat had been assailed, cast +the die for an immediate attack on Grant before slow Halleck reinforced +or ready Buell joined him. Johnston's lieutenants, Beauregard and +Bragg, had obtained ten days for reorganization; and their commands +were as ready as raw forces could be made in an extreme emergency. +They hoped to be joined by Van Dorn, whose beaten army was working +east from Pea Ridge. But on the second they heard that Buell was +approaching Grant from Nashville; and on the third Johnston's advanced +guard began to move off. Van Dorn arrived too late. + +The march, which it was hoped to complete on the fourth, was not +completed till the fifth. The roads were ankle-deep in clinging +mud, the country densely wooded and full of bogs and marshes. The +forty thousand men were not yet seasoned; and, though full of +enthusiasm, they neither knew nor had time to learn march discipline. +Moreover, Johnston allowed his own proper plan of attacking in +columns of corps to be changed by Beauregard into a three-line +attack, each line being formed by one complete corps. This meant +certain and perhaps disastrous confusion. For in an attack by columns +of corps the firing line would always be reinforced by successive +lines of the same corps; while attacking by lines of corps meant +that the leading corps would first be mixed up with the second, +and then both with the third. + +In the meantime Grant was busier with his own pressing problems +of organization for an advance than with any idea of resisting +attack. He lacked the prevision of Winfield Scott and Lee, both of +whom expected from the first that the war would last for years. His +own expectation up to this had been that the South would collapse +after the first smashing blow, and that its western armies were +now about to be dealt such a blow. He was not unmindful of all +precautions; for he knew the Confederates were stirring on his +front. Yet he went downstream to Savannah without making sure that +his army was really safe at Shiloh. + +Pittsburg Landing was at the base of the Shiloh position. But the +point at which, by the original orders, Buell was to join was Savannah, +nine miles north along the Tennessee. So Grant had to keep in touch +with both. He had not ignored the advantage of entrenching. But +the best line for entrenching was too far from good water; and +he thought he chose the lesser of two evils when he devoted the +time that might have been used for digging to drilling instead. His +army was raw as an army; many of the men were still rawer recruits; +and, as usual, the recruiting authorities had sent him several +brand-new battalions, which knew nothing at all, instead of sending +the same men as reinforcements to older battalions that could "learn +'em how." Grant's total effectives at first were only thirty-three +thousand. This made the odds five to four in favor of Johnston's +attack. But the rejoining of Lew Wallace's division, the great +reinforcement by Buell's troops, and the two ironclad gunboats +on the river, raised Grant's final effective grand total to sixty +thousand. The combined grand totals therefore reached a hundred +thousand--double the totals at Donelson and far exceeding those +at Bull Run. + +After a horrible week of cold and wet the sun set clear and calm +on Saturday, the eve of battle. The woods were alive with forty +thousand Confederates all ready for their supreme attack on the +thirty-three thousand Federals on their immediate four-mile front. +Grant's front ran, facing south, between Owl and Lick Creeks, two +tributaries that joined the Tennessee on either side of Pittsburg +Landing. Buell's advance division, under Nelson, was just across the +Tennessee. But Grant was in no hurry to get it over. His reassuring +wire that night to Halleck said: "The main force of the enemy is at +Corinth. I have scarcely the faintest idea of an attack (general +one) being made upon us." But the skirmishing farther south on Friday +had warned Grant, as well as Sherman and the vigilant Prentiss, +that Johnston might be trying a reconnaissance in force--the very +thing that Beauregard wished the Confederates to do. + +Long before the beautiful dawn of Sunday, the fateful sixth of +April, Prentiss had thrown out from the center a battalion which +presently met and drove in the vanguard of the first Confederate +line of assault. The Confederate center soon came up, overwhelmed +this advanced battalion, and burst like a storm on the whole of +Prentiss's division. Then, above the swelling roar of multitudinous +musketry, rose the thunder of the first big guns. "Note the hour, +please, gentlemen," said Johnston; and a member of his staff wrote +down: "5:14 A.M." + +Johnston's admirable plan was, first, to drive Grant's left clear +of Lick Creek, then drive it clear of Pittsburg Landing, where the +two Federal ironclads were guarding the ferry. This, combined with +a determined general assault on the rest of Grant's line, would huddle +the retreating Federals into the cramped angle between Owl Creek and +the Tennessee and force them to surrender. But there were three +great obstacles to this: Sherman on the right, the "Hornet's Nest" +in the center, and the gunboats at the Landing. Worse still for the +Confederates, Buell was now too close at hand. Three days earlier +Johnston had wired from Corinth to the Government at Richmond: +"Hope engagement before Buell can form junction." But the troubles +of the march had lost him one whole priceless day. + +The Confederate attack was splendidly gallant and at first pushed +home regardless of loss. The ground was confusing to both sides: +a bewilderment of ups and downs, of underbrush, woods, fields, +and clumps of trees, criss-cross paths, small creeks, ravines, +and swamps, without a single commanding height or any outstanding +features except the two big creeks, the river, and the Pittsburg +Landing. + +At the first signs of a big battle Grant hurried to the field, +first sending a note to Buell, whom he was to have met at Savannah, +then touching at Crump's Landing on the way, to see Lew Wallace +and make sure whether this, and not the Pittsburg Landing, was the +point of attack. Arrived on the field of Shiloh, calm and determined +as ever, he was reassured by finding how well Sherman was holding +his raw troops in hand at the extremely important point of Shiloh +itself, next to Owl Creek. + +But elsewhere the prospect was not encouraging, though the men +got under arms very fast and most of them fought very well. The +eager gray lines kept pressing on like the rising tide of an angry +sea, dashing in fury against all obstructing fronts and swirling +round the disconnecting flanks. The blue lines, for the most part, +resisted till the swift gray tide threatened to cut them off. Half +of Prentiss's remaining men were in fact cut off that afternoon and +forced to surrender with their chief, whose conduct, like their +own, was worthy of all praise. Back and still back the blue lines +went before the encroaching gray, each losing heavily by sheer hard +fighting at the front and streams of stragglers running towards +the rear. + +Sherman, like others, gave ground, but still held his men together, +except for the stragglers he could not control. In the center C. +F. Smith's division, with Hurlbut's in support, and all that was +left of Prentiss's, defended themselves so desperately that their +enemies called their position the Hornet's Nest. Here the fight +swayed back and forth for hours, with ghastly losses on both sides. +C. F. Smith himself was on his deathbed at Savannah. But he heard +the roar of battle. His excellent successor, W. H. L. Wallace, +was killed; and battalions, brigades, and even divisions, soon +became inextricably mixed together. There was now the same confusion +on the Confederate side, where Johnston was wounded by a bullet +from the Hornet's Nest. It was not in itself a mortal wound. But, +knowing how vital this point was, he went on encouraging his men +till, falling from the saddle, he was carried back to die. + +Grant still felt confident; though he had seen the worst in the rear +as well as the best at the front. Two of his brand-new battalions, +the very men who afterwards fought like heroes, when they had learned +the soldier's work, now ran like hares. "During the day," says Grant, +"I rode back as far as the river and met General Buell, who had +just arrived. There probably were as many as four or five thousand +stragglers lying under cover of the river bluff, panic-stricken. As +we left the boat Buell's attention was attracted by these men. I +saw him berating them and trying to shame them into joining their +regiments. He even threatened them with shells from the gunboats +nearby. But all to no effect. Most of these men afterward proved +themselves as gallant as any of those who saved the battle from +which they had deserted." + +By half-past five, after twelve hours' fighting, Grant at last +succeeded in forming a new and shorter line, a mile behind that +morning's front, but without any dangerous gaps. There were three +reorganized divisions--Sherman's, McClernand's, and Hurlbut's, one +fresh division under Nelson, and a strong land battery of over +twenty field guns helping the two ironclad gunboats in the defense +of Pittsburg Landing. The Confederate effectives, reduced by heavy +losses and by as many stragglers as the Federals, were now faced +by five thousand fresh men on guard at the Landing. Beauregard, +who had succeeded Johnston, then stopped the battle for the day, +with the idea of retiring next morning to Corinth. But, before +his orders reached it, his battle-worn right made a desperate, +fruitless, and costly attack on the immensely strengthened Landing. + +That night the rain came down in torrents; and the Confederates +sought shelter in the tents the Federals had abandoned. They found +little rest there, being harassed all through the bleak dark by +the big shells that the gunboats threw among them. + +At dawn Grant, now reinforced by twenty-five thousand fresh men under +Buell and Lew Wallace, took the offensive. Beauregard, hopelessly +outnumbered and without a single fresh man, retired on Corinth, +magnificently covered by Bragg's rearguard, which held the Federals +back for hours near the crucial point of Shiloh Church. + +Shiloh was the fiercest battle ever fought in the River War. The +losses were over ten thousand a side in killed and wounded; while a +thousand Confederates and three thousand Federals were captured. It +was a Confederate failure; but hardly the kind of victory the Federals +needed just then, before the consummate triumph of Farragut at New +Orleans. It brought together Federal forces that the Confederates +could not possibly withstand, even on their new line east from Memphis. +But it did not raise the Federal, or depress the Confederate, morale. + + +Four days after the battle Halleck arrived at Pittsburg Landing +and took command of the combined armies. He was soon reinforced +by Pope; whereupon he divided the whole into right and left wings, +center, and reserve, each under its own commander. Grant was made +second in command of the whole. But, as Halleck dealt directly +with his other immediate subordinates, Grant simply became the +fifth wheel of the Halleckian slow-coach, which, after twenty days +of preparation, began, with most elaborate precautions, its crawl +toward Corinth. + +Grant's position became so nearly unbearable that he applied more +than once for transfer to some other place. But this was refused. +So he strove to do his impossible duty till the middle of July, +when his punishment for Shiloh was completed by his promotion to +command a depleted remnant of Halleck's Grand Army. It is not by +any means the least of Grant's claims to real greatness that, as +a leader, he was able to survive his most searching trials: the +surprise at Shiloh, the misunderstandings and arrest that followed +Shiloh, the slur of being made a fifth-wheel second-in-command, +the demoralizing strain of that "most anxious period of the war" +when his depleted forces were thrown back on the defensive, and +the eight discouraging months of Sisyphean offensive which preceded +his triumph at Vicksburg. No one who has not been in the heart of +things with fighting fleets or armies can realize what it means +to all ranks when there is, or even is supposed to be, "something +wrong" with the living pivot on which the whole force turns. And +only those who have been behind the scenes of war's all-testing +drama can understand what it means for even an imagined "failure" +to "come back." + +Corinth was of immense importance to both sides, as it commanded +the rails not only east and west, from the Tennessee to Memphis, +but north and south, from the Ohio to New Orleans and Mobile. Though +New Orleans was taken by Farragut on the twenty-fifth of April, the +rails between Vicksburg and Port Hudson remained in Confederate +hands till next year; while Mobile remained so till the year after +that. + +Beauregard collected all the troops he could at Corinth. Yet, even +with Van Dorn's and other reinforcements, he had only sixty thousand +effectives against Halleck's double numbers. Moreover, the loss of +three States and many battles had so shaken the Confederate forces +that they stood no chance whatever against Halleck's double numbers +in the open. All the same, Halleck burrowed slowly forward like a +mole, entrenching every night as if the respective strengths and +victories had been reversed. + +After advancing nearly a mile a day Halleck closed in on Corinth. +He was so deeply entrenched that no one could tell from appearances +which side was besieging the other. Towards the end of May many +Federal railwaymen reported that empty trains could be heard running +into Corinth and full trains running out. But, as the Confederates +greeted each arriving "empty" with tremendous cheers, Halleck felt +sure that Beauregard was being greatly reinforced. The Confederate +bluff worked to admiration. On the twenty-sixth Beauregard issued +orders for complete evacuation on the twenty-ninth. On the thirtieth +Halleck drew up his whole grand army ready for a desperate defense +against an enemy that had already gone a full day's march away. + +In the meantime the Federal flotilla had been fighting its way +down the Mississippi, under (the invalided) Foote's very capable +successor, Flag-Officer Charles Henry Davis. The Confederates had +very few naval men on the river, but many of their Mississippi +skippers were game to the death. They rammed Federal vessels on +the tenth of May at Fort Pillow, eighty miles above Memphis. Eight +of their fighting craft were strongly built and heavily armored, +though very deficient in speed. The Federal flotilla was very well +manned by first-class naval ratings, and was reinforced early in +June by seven fast new rams, commanded by their designer, Colonel +Charles Ellet, a famous civil engineer. + +At sunrise on the lovely sixth of June the Federal flotilla, having +overcome the Confederate posts farther north and being joined by +Ellet's rams, lay near Memphis. The Confederates came upstream to +the attack, expecting to ram the gunboats in the stern as they +had at Fort Pillow. But Ellet suddenly darted down on the eight +Confederate ironclads, caught one of them on the broadside, sank +her, and disabled two others. The action then became general. The +overmatched Confederates kept up a losing battle for more than an +hour, in full view of many thousands of ardent Southerners ashore. +The scene, at its height, was appalling. The smoke, belching black +from the funnels and white from the guns, made a suffocating pall +overhead; while the dark, squat, hideous ironclad hulls seemed to +have risen from a submarine inferno to stab each other with livid +tongues of flame--so deadly close the two flotillas fought. When +the awful hour was over the Confederates were not only defeated but +destroyed; and a wail went up from the thousands of their anguished +friends, as if the very shores were mourning. + + +For the next month Grant held the command at Memphis. Then, on +the eleventh of July, Halleck was recalled to Washington as +General-in-Chief of the whole army; while Pope was transferred to +Virginia. The Federal invasion of Virginia under that "Young Napoleon," +McClellan, had not been a success against Lee and Stonewall Jackson. +Nor did it improve with Pope at the front and Halleck in the rear, +as we shall presently see; though Halleck had declared that Pope's +operations at Island Number Ten were destined to immortal fame, and +Pope himself admitted his own greatness in sundry proclamations +to the world. + +The campaign now entered its second phase. The Virginian wing (of +the whole front reaching from the Mississippi to the sea) was checked +this summer; and was to remain more or less checked for many a long +day. The river wing, under the general direction of Halleck, had +also reached its limit for '62 about the same time, after having +conquered Kentucky and western Tennessee as well as the Mississippi +down to Memphis. + +This river wing was now depleted of some excellent troops and again +divided into quite separate commands. Buell commanded the Army +of the Ohio. Grant commanded his own Army of the Tennessee and +Rosecrans's Army of the Mississippi. Buell's scene of action lay +between the tributary streams--Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee--with +Chattanooga as his ultimate objective. Grant's scene of action +lay along the southward rails and Mississippi, with Vicksburg as +his ultimate objective. + +[Illustration: Civil War Campaigns of 1862] + +The Confederates were of course set on recovering complete control +of the line of Southern rails that made direct connections between +the Mississippi Valley and the sea: crossing the western tributaries +of the St. Francis and White Rivers; then running east from Memphis, +through Grand Junction, Corinth, and Iuka, to Chattanooga; thence +forking off northeast, through Knoxville, to Washington, Richmond, +and Norfolk; and southeast to Charleston and Savannah. Confederate +attention had originally been fixed on Corinth and Chattanooga. +But General O. M. Mitchel's abortive raid, just after Shiloh, had +also drawn it to the part between. The Federals therefore found +their enemy alert at every point. + +Braxton Bragg, Beauregard's successor and Buell's opponent, basing +himself on Chattanooga, tried to drive his line of Confederate +reconquest through the heart of Tennessee and thence through +mid-Kentucky, with the Ohio as his ultimate objective. His colleagues +near the Mississippi, Van Dorn and Sterling Price, meanwhile tried +to effect the reconquest of the Memphis-Corinth rails that Grant +and Rosecrans were holding. + +All main offensives, on both sides, ultimately failed in this latter +half of the river campaign of '62. So nothing but the bare fact +that they were attempted needs any notice here. + +In August, about the time that Lee and Jackson were maneuvering +in Virginia to bring on the Second Bull Run, Price and Bragg began +their respective advances against Grant and Buell. Buell was at +Murfreesboro, defending Nashville. Bragg, screened by the hills of +eastern Tennessee, made for the Ohio at Louisville and Cincinnati. +Pivoting on his left he wheeled his whole army round and raced for +Louisville. Buell enjoyed the advantage of rails over roads and +of interior lines as well. But Bragg had stolen several marches +on him at the start and he only won by a head. + +The Union Government, now thoroughly alarmed, sent Thomas to supersede +Buell. But Thomas declined to take over the command, and on the +eighth of October Buell fought Bragg at Perryville. There was no +tactical defeat or victory; but Bragg retired on Chattanooga. The +Government now urged Buell to enter east Tennessee. He protested +that lack of transport and supplies made such a move impossible. +William S. Rosecrans then replaced him. Buell was never employed +again. He certainly failed fully to appreciate the legitimate bearing +of statesmanship on strategy; but, for all that, he was an excellent +organizer and a good commander. + +In the meantime Grant had been experiencing his "most anxious period +of the war." During this anxious period, which lasted from July to +October, Rosecrans defeated Price at Iuka. This happened on the +nineteenth of September. Van Dorn then joined Price and returned +to the attack but was defeated by Rosecrans at Corinth on the fourth +of October. The Confederates, who had come near victory on the +third, retired in safety, because Grant still lacked the means of +resuming the offensive. + +As soon as he had the means Grant marched his army south for Vicksburg. +There were three converging forces: Grant's from Grand Junction, +Sherman's from Memphis, and a smaller one from Helena in Arkansas. +But the Confederate General, J. C. Pemberton, who had replaced Van +Dorn, escaped the trap they tried to set for him. He was strongly +entrenched on the south side of the Tallahatchie, north of Oxford, +on the Mississippi Central rails. While Grant and Sherman converged +on his front, the force from Helena rounded his rear and cut the +rails. But the damage was quickly repaired; and Pemberton retired +south toward Vicksburg before Grant and Sherman could close and +make him fight. + +Then Grant tried again. This time Sherman advanced on board of +Mississippi steamers, with the idea of meeting the Union expedition +coming up from New Orleans. But Van Dorn cut Grant's long line +of land communications at Holly Springs, forcing Grant back for +supplies and leaving Sherman, who had made his way up the Yazoo, +completely isolated. Grant fared well enough, so far as food was +concerned; for he found such abundant supplies that he at once +perceived the possibility of living on the country without troubling +about a northern base. He spent Christmas and New Year at Holly +Springs, and then moved back to Memphis. + +In the meantime Sherman's separated force had come to grief. On the +twenty-ninth of December its attempt to carry the Chickasaw Bluffs, +just north of Vicksburg, was completely frustrated by Pemberton; for +Sherman could not deploy into line on the few causeways that stood +above the flooded ground. + +On the eleventh of January this first campaign along the Mississippi +was ended by the capture of Arkansas Post. McClernand was the senior +there. But Sherman did the work ashore as D. D. Porter did afloat. + +Meanwhile Bragg had brought the campaign to a close among the eastern +tributaries by a daring, though abortive, march on Nashville. Rosecrans, +now commanding the army of the Cumberland, stopped and defeated him +at Stone's River on New Year's Eve. + + +The "War in the West," that is, in those parts of the Southwest +which lay beyond the navigable tributaries of the Mississippi system, +was even more futile at the time and absolutely null in the end. +Its scene of action, which practically consisted of inland Texas, +New Mexico, and Arizona, was not in itself important enough to be +a great determining factor in the actual clash of arms. But Texas +supplied many good men to the Southern ranks; and the Southern +commissariat missed the Texan cattle after the fall of Vicksburg +in '63. New Mexico might also have been a good deal more important +than it actually was if it could have been made the base of a real, +instead of an abortive, invasion of California, the El Dorado of +Confederate finance. + +We have already seen what happened on February 15, 1861, when General +Twiggs handed over to the State authorities all the army posts in +Texas. On the first of the following August Captain John R. Baylor, +who had been forming a little Confederate army under pretext of a +big buffalo hunt, proclaimed himself Governor of New Mexico (south +of 34°) and established his capital at Mesilla. In the meantime the +Confederate Government itself had appointed General H. H. Sibley +to the command of a brigade for the conquest of all New Mexico. +Not ten thousand men were engaged in this campaign, Federals and +Confederates, whites and Indians, all together; but a decisive +Confederate success might have been pregnant of future victories +farther west. Some Indians fought on one side, some on the other; +and some of the wilder tribes, delighted to see the encroaching +whites at loggerheads, gave trouble to both. + +On February 21, 1862, Sibley defeated Colonel E. R. S. Canby at +Valverde near Fort Craig. But his further advance was hindered +by the barrenness of the country, by the complete destruction of +all Union stores likely to fall into his hands, and by the fact +that he was between two Federal forts when the battle ended. On +the twenty-eighth of March there was a desperate fight in Apache +Cañon. Both sides claimed the victory. But the Confederates lost +more men as well as the whole of their supply and ammunition train. +After this Sibley began a retreat which ended in May at San Antonio. +His route was marked by bleaching skeletons for many a long day; and +from this time forward the conquest of California became nothing +but a dream. + + +The "War in the West" was a mere twig on the Trans-Mississippi +branch; and when the fall of Vicksburg severed the branch from the +tree the twig simply withered away. + + +The sword that ultimately severed branch and twig was firmly held +by Union hands before the year was out; and this notwithstanding +all the Union failures in the last six months. Grant and Porter +from above, Banks and Farragut from below, had already massed forces +strong enough to make the Mississippi a Union river from source to +sea, in spite of all Confederates from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +LINCOLN: WAR STATESMAN + +Lincoln was one of those men who require some mighty crisis to call +their genius forth. Though more successful than Grant in ordinary +life, he was never regarded as a national figure in law or politics +till he had passed his fiftieth year. He had no advantages of birth; +though he came of a sturdy old English stock that emigrated from +Norfolk to Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, and though +his mother seems to have been, both intellectually and otherwise, +above the general run of the Kentuckians among whom he was born +in 1809. His educational advantages were still less. Yet he soon +found his true affinities in books, as afterwards in life, not +among the clever, smart, or sentimental, but among the simple and +the great. He read and reread Shakespeare and the Bible, not because +they were the merely proper things to read but because his spirit +was akin to theirs. This meant that he never was a bookworm. Words +were things of life to him; and, for that reason, his own words +live. + +He had no artificial graces to soften the uncouth appearance of his +huge, gaunt six-foot-four of powerful bone and muscle. But he had +the native dignity of straightforward manhood; and, though a champion +competitor in feats of strength, his opinion was always sought as +that of an impartial umpire, even in cases affecting himself. He +"played the game" in his frontier home as he afterwards played +the greater game of life-or-death at Washington. His rough-hewn, +strong-featured face, shaped by his kindly humor to the finer ends +of power, was lit by a steady gaze that saw yet looked beyond, +till the immediate parts of the subject appeared in due relation +to the whole. Like many another man who sees farther and feels more +deeply than the rest, and who has the saving grace of humor, he knew +what yearning melancholy was; yet kept the springs of action tense +and strong. Firm as a rock on essentials he was extremely tolerant +about all minor differences. His policy was to live and let live +whenever that was possible. The preservation of the Union was his +master-passion, and he was ready for any honorable compromise that +left the Union safe. Himself a teetotaller, he silenced a temperance +delegation whose members were accusing Grant of drunkenness by +saying he should like to send some of his other generals a keg of +the same whisky if it would only make them fight. + +When he took arms against the sea of troubles that awaited him at +Washington he had dire need of all his calm tolerance and strength. +To add to his burdens, he was beset by far more than the usual +horde of office-seekers. These men were doubly ravenous because +their party was so new to power. They were peculiarly hard to place +with due regard for all the elements within the coalition. And each +appointment needed most discriminating care, lest a traitor to +the Union might creep in. While the guns were thundering against +Fort Sumter, and afterwards, when the Union Government was marooned +in Washington itself, the vestibules, stairways, ante-rooms, and +offices were clogged with eager applicants for every kind of civil +service job. And then, when this vast human flood subsided, the +"interviewing" stream began to flow and went on swelling to the +bitter end. These war-time interviewers claimed most of Lincoln's +personal attention just when he had the least to spare. But he would +deny no one the chance of receiving presidential aid or comfort and +he gladly suffered many fools for the chance of relieving the sad +or serious others. Add to all this the ceaseless work of helping to +form public opinion, of counteracting enemy propaganda, of shaping +Union policy under ever-changing circumstances, of carrying it +out by coalition means, and of exercising civil control over such +vast armed forces as no American had hitherto imagined: add these +extra burdens, and we can begin to realize what Lincoln had to +do as the chief war statesman of the North. + +A sound public opinion is the best embattlement of any home front. +So Lincoln set out to help in forming it. War on a national scale +was something entirely new to both sides, and especially unwelcome +to many people in the North, though the really loyal North was +up at Lincoln's call. Then came Bull Run; and Lincoln's renewed +determination, so well expressed in Whitman's words: "The President, +recovering himself, begins that very night--sternly, rapidly sets +about the task of reorganizing his forces, and placing himself in +positions for future and surer work. If there was nothing else +of Abraham Lincoln for history to stamp him with, it is enough to +send him with his wreath to the memory of all future time, that he +endured that hour, that day, bitterer than gall--indeed a crucifixion +day--that it did not conquer him that he unflinchingly stemmed it, +and resolved to lift himself and the Union out of it." + +Bull Run was only the beginning of troubles. There were many more +rocks ahead in the stormy sea of public opinion. The peace party +was always ready to lure the ship of state out of its true course +by using false lights, even when certain to bring about a universal +wreck in which the "pacifists" would suffer with the rest. But +dissensions within the war party were worse, especially when caused +by action in the field. Frémont's dismissal in November, '61, caused +great dissatisfaction among three kinds of people: those who thought +him a great general because he knew how to pose as one and really +had some streaks of great ability, those who were fattening on +the army contracts he let out with such a lavish hand, and those +who hailed him as the liberator of the slaves because he went +unwarrantably far beyond what was then politically wise or even +possible. He was the first Unionist commander to enter the Northern +Cave of Adullam, already infested with Copperhead snakes. + +There he was joined by McClellan exactly a year later; and there +the peace-at-current-prices party continued to nurse and cry their +grievances till the war was over. McClellan's dismissal was a matter +of dire necessity because victory was impossible under his command. +But he was a dangerous reinforcement to the Adullamites; for many +of the loyal public had been fooled by his proclamations, the press +had written him up to the skies as the Young Napoleon, and the +great mass of the rank and file still believed in him. He took +the kindly interest in camp comforts that goes to the soldier's +heart; and he really did know how to organize. Add his power of +passing off tinsel promises for golden deeds, and it can be well +understood how great was the danger of dismissing him before his +defects had become so apparent to the mass of people as to have +turned opinion decisively against him. We shall presently meet +him in his relation to Lincoln during the Virginian campaign, and +later on in his relation to Lee. Here we may leave him with the +reminder that he was the Democratic candidate for President in +'64, that he was still a mortal danger to the Union, even though +he had rejected the actual wording of his party's peace plank. + +The turn of the tide at the fighting front came in '63; but not +at the home front, where public opinion of the most vocal kind +was stirred to its dregs by the enforcement of the draft. The dime +song books of the Copperhead parts of New York expressed in rude +rhymes very much the same sort of apprehension that was voiced +by the official opposition in the Presidential campaign of '64. + + Abram Lincoln, what yer 'bout? + Stop this war, for it's played out. + +Another rhyme, called "The Beauties of Conscription," was a more +decorous expression of such public opinion. + + And this, the "People's Sovereignty," + Before a despot humbled! + . . . . + Well have they cashed old Lincoln's drafts, + Hurrah for the Conscription! + . . . . + Is not this war--this MURDER--for + The negro, _nolens volens?_ + +So, carrying out their ideas to the same sort of logical conclusion, +the New York mob of '63 not only burnt every recruiting office they +found undefended but burnt the negro orphan asylum and killed all +the negroes they could lay their hands on. + +Public opinion did veer round a little with the rising tide of +victory in the winter of '63 and '64. But, incredible as it may +seem to those who think the home front must always reflect the +fighting front, the nadir of public opinion in the North was reached +in the summer of '64, when every expert knew that the resources of +the South were nearing exhaustion and that the forces of the North +could certainly wear out Lee's dwindling army even if they could +not beat it. The trumpet gave no uncertain sound from Lincoln's +lips. "In this purpose to save the country and its liberties no +class of people seem so nearly unanimous as the soldiers in the +field and the sailors afloat. Do they not have the hardest of it? +Who should quail while they do not?" But the mere excellence of a +vast fighting front means a certain loss of the nobler qualities in +the home front, from which so many of the staunchest are withdrawn. +And then war-weariness breeds doubts, doubts breed fears, and fears +breed the spirit of surrender. + +There seemed to be more Copperheads in the conglomerate opposition +than Unionists ready to withstand them. The sinister figure of +Vallandigham loomed large in Ohio, where he openly denounced the +war in such disloyal terms that the military authorities arrested +him. An opposition committee, backed by the snakes in the grass of +the secret societies, at once wrote to Lincoln demanding release. +Lincoln thereupon offered release if the committee would sign a +declaration that, since rebellion existed, and since the armed forces +of the United States were the constitutional means of suppressing +rebellion, each member of the committee would support the war till +rebellion was put down. The committee refused to sign. More people +then began to see the self-contradictions of the opposition, and +most of those "plain people" to whom Lincoln consciously appealed +were touched to the heart by his pathetic question: "Must I shoot +the simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch +a hair of the wily agitator who induces him to desert?" + +But there was still defection on the Union side, and among many +"plain people" too; for Horace Greeley, the best-known Union editor, +lost his nerve and ran away. And Greeley was not the only Union +journalist who helped, sometimes unwittingly, to pervert public +opinion. The "writing up" of McClellan for what he was not, though +rather hysterical, was at least well meant. But the reporters who +"wrote down" General Cox, because he would not make them members +of his staff in West Virginia, disgraced their profession. The +lies about Sherman's "insanity" and Grant's "intoxication" were +shamelessly excused on the plea that they made "good stories." +Sherman's insanity, as we have seen already, existed only in the +disordered imagination of blabbing old Simon Cameron. Grant, at +the time these stories were published, was strictly temperate. + +Amid all the hindrances--and encouragements, for the Union press +generally did noble service in the Union cause--of an uncensored +press, and all the complexities of public opinion, Lincoln kept +his head and heart set firmly on the one supreme objective of the +Union. He foresaw from the first that if all the States came through +the war United, then all the reforms for which the war was fought +would follow; but that if any particular reform was itself made +the supreme objective, then it, and with it all the other reforms, +would fail, because only part of the Union strength would be involved, +whereas the whole was needed. Moreover, he clearly foresaw the +absolute nature of a great civil war. Foreign wars may well, and +often do, end in some sort of compromise, especially when the home +life of the opponents can go on as before. But a great civil war +cannot end in compromise because it radically changes the home +life of one side or the other. Davis stood for "Independence or +extermination"; Lincoln simply for the Union, which, in his clear +prevision, meant all that the body politic could need for a new and +better life. He accepted the word "enemy" as descriptive of a passing +phase. He would not accept such phraseology as Meade's, "driving the +invader from our soil." "Will our generals," he complained, "never +get that idea out of their heads? The whole country is our soil." + +He was a life-long advocate of Emancipation, first, with compensation, +now as part of the price to be paid for rebellion. Emancipation, +however, depended on the Union, not the Union on it. His Proclamation +was ready in the summer of '62. But to publish it in the midst of +defeat would make it look like an act of despair. In September, +when the Confederates had to recross the Potomac after Antietam, the +Proclamation was given to the world. Its first effect was greater +abroad than at home; for now no foreign government could say, and +rightly say, that the war, not being fought on account of slavery, +might leave that issue still unsettled. This was a most important +point in Lincoln's foreign policy, a policy which had been haunted +by the fear of recognition for the South or the possibility of +war with either the French or British, or even both together. + +Lincoln's Cabinet was composed of two factions, one headed by Seward, +the Secretary of State, the other by Chase, the Secretary of the +Treasury. Both the fighting services were under War Democrats: +the Army under Stanton, the Navy under Welles. All these ministers +began by thinking that Lincoln had the least ability among them. +Seward and Welles presently learnt better. Stanton's exclamation +at Lincoln's death speaks for itself "Now he belongs to the ages!" +But Chase never believed that Lincoln could even be his equal. +Chase and the Treasury were a thorn in the side of the Government; +Chase because it was his nature, the Treasury because its notes fell +to thirty-nine cents in the dollar during the summer of '64. Welles, +hard-working and upright, was guided by an expert assistant. Stanton, +equally upright and equally hardworking, made many mistakes. And +yet, when all is said and done, Stanton was a really able patriot +who worked his hardest for what seemed to him the best. + +Such were the four chief men in that Cabinet with which Lincoln +carried out his Union policy and over which he towered in what +became transcendent statesmanship--the head, the heart, the genius +of the war. He never, for one moment, changed his course, but kept +it fixed upon the Union, no matter what the winds and tides, the +currents and cross-currents were. Thus, while so many lesser minds +were busy with flotsam and jetsam of the controversial storm, his +own serener soul was already beyond the far horizon, voyaging toward +the one sure haven for the Ship of State. + + +But Lincoln was more than the principal civilian war statesman: he +was the constitutional Commander-in-Chief of all the Union forces, +afloat and ashore. He was responsible not only for raising, supplying, +and controlling them, but for their actual command by men who, in +the eyes of the law, were simply his own lieutenants. The problem +of exercising civil control without practicing civilian interference, +always and everywhere hard, and especially hard in a civil war, +was particularly hard in his case, in view of public opinion, the +press, his own war policy, and the composition of his Cabinet. +His solution was by no means perfect; but the wonder is that he +reached it so well in spite of such perverting factors. He began +with the mere armed mob that fought the First Bull Run beset with +interference. He ended with Farragut, Grant, and Sherman, combined +in one great scheme of strategy that included Mobile, Virginia, +and the lower South, and that, while under full civil control, +was mostly free from interference with its naval and military +work--except at the fussy hands of Stanton. + +The fundamental difference between civil control, which is the +very breath of freedom, and civilian interference, which means +the death of all efficiency, can be quite simply illustrated by +supposing the proverbial Ship of State to be a fighting man-of-war. +The People are the owners, with all an owner's rights; while their +chosen Government is their agent, with all an agent's delegated +power. The fighting Services, as the word itself so properly implies, +are simply the People's servants, though they take their orders +from the Government. So far, so good, within the limits of civil +control, under which, and which alone, any national resources--in +men, money, or material--can lawfully be turned to warlike ends. +But when the ship is fitting out, still more when she is out at sea, +and most of all when she is fighting, then she should be handled only +by her expert captain with his expert crew. Civilian interference +begins the moment any inexpert outsider takes the captain's place; +and this interference is no less disastrous when the outsider remains +at home than when he is on the actual spot. + +Lincoln and Stanton were out of their element in the strategic +fight with Lee and Stonewall Jackson, as the next chapter abundantly +proves. But they will bear, and more than bear, comparison with +Davis and Benjamin, their own special "opposite numbers." Benjamin, +when Confederate Secretary of War in '62, nearly drove Jackson +out of the service by ordering him to follow the advice of some +disgruntled subordinates who objected to being moved about for +strategic reasons which they could not understand. To make matters +worse, Benjamin sent this precious order direct to Jackson without +even informing his immediate superior, "Joe" Johnston, or even Lee +himself. Thus discipline, the very soul of armies, was attacked +from above and beneath by the man who should have been its chief +upholder. Luckily for the South things were smoothed over, and +Benjamin learnt something he should have known at first. + +Davis had none of Lincoln's diffidence about his own capacity for +directing the strategy of armies. He had passed through West Point +and commanded a battalion in Mexico without finding out that his +fitness stopped there. He interfered with Lee and Jackson, sometimes +to almost a disabling extent. He forced his enmity on "Joe" Johnston +and superseded him at the very worst time in the final campaign. He +interfered more than ever just when Lee most required a free hand. +And when he did make Lee a real Commander-in-Chief the Southern +cause had been lost already. Lincoln's war statesmanship grew with +the war. Davis remained as he was. + +Lincoln had to meet the difficulties that always occur when +professionals and amateurs are serving together. How much Lincoln, +Stanton, professionals, and amateurs had to do with the system that +was evolved under great stress is far too complex for discussion +here. Suffice it to say this: Lincoln's clear insight and openness +of mind enabled him to see the universal truth, that, other things +being equal, the trained and expert professional must excel the +untrained and inexpert amateur. But other things are never precisely +equal; and a war in which the whole mass-manhood is concerned brings +in a host of amateurs. Lincoln was as devoid of prejudice against +the regular officers as he was against any other class of men; and +he was ready to try and try again to find a satisfactory commander +among them, in spite of many failures. The plan of campaign proposed +by General Winfield Scott (and ultimately carried out in a modified +form) was dubbed by wiseacre public men the "Anaconda policy"; witlings +derided it, and the people were too impatient for anything except "On +to Richmond!" Scott, unable to take the field at seventy-five, had +no second-in-command. Halleck was a very poor substitute later on. +In the meantime McDowell was chosen and generously helped by Lincoln +and Stanton. But after Bull Run the very people whose impatience +made victory impossible howled him down. + +Then the choice fell on McClellan, whose notorious campaign fills +much of our next chapter. There we shall see how refractory +circumstances, Stanton's waywardness among them, forced Lincoln +to go beyond the limits of civil control. Here we need only note +McClellan's personal relations with the President. Instead of summoning +him to the White House Lincoln often called at McClellan's for +discussion. McClellan presently began to treat Lincoln's questions +as intrusions, and one day sent down word that he was too tired to +see the President. Lincoln had told a friend that he would hold +McClellan's stirrups for the sake of victory. But he could not +abdicate in favor of McClellan or any one else. + +It was none of Lincoln's business to be an actual Commander-in-Chief. +Yet night after weary night he sat up studying the science and art +of war, groping his untutored way toward those general principles +and essential human facts which his native genius enabled him to +reach, but never quite understanding--how could he?--their practical +application to the field of strategy. His supremely good common +sense saved him from going beyond his depth whenever he could help +it. His Military Orders were forced upon him by the extreme pressure +of impatient public opinion. He told Grant "he did not know but +they were all wrong, and he did know that some of them were." + +McClellan was not the only failure in Virginia. Burnside and Hooker +also failed against Lee and Jackson. All three suffered from civilian +interference as well as from their own defects. At last, in the +third year of the war, a victor appeared in Meade, a good, but +by no means great, commander. In the fourth year Lincoln gave the +chief command to Grant, whom he had carefully watched and wisely +supported through all the ups and downs of the river campaigns. + +Grant's account of his first conference alone with Lincoln is eloquent +of Lincoln's wise war statesmanship: + + +He stated that he had never professed to be a military man or +to know how campaigns should be conducted, and never wanted to +interfere in them.... All he wanted was some one who would take +the responsibility and act, and call on him for all the assistance +needed, pledging himself to use all the power of the government +in rendering such assistance.... He pointed out on the map two +streams which empty into the Potomac, and suggested that the army +might be moved on boats and landed between the mouths of these +streams. We would then have the Potomac to bring our supplies and +the tributaries would protect our flanks while we moved out. I +listened respectfully, but did not suggest that the same streams +would protect Lee's flanks while he was shutting us up. I did not +communicate my plans to the President; nor did I to the Secretary +of War or to General Halleck. + + +Trust begot trust; and some months later Grant showed war statesmanship +of the same magnificent kind. McClellan had become the Democratic +candidate for President, to the well-founded alarm of all who put +the Union first. In June, when Grant and Lee were at grips round +Richmond, Lincoln was invited to a public meeting got up in honor +of Grant with only a flimsy disguise of the ominous fact that Grant, +and not Lincoln, might be the Union choice. Lincoln sagaciously wrote +back: "It is impossible for me to attend. I approve nevertheless +of whatever may tend to strengthen and sustain General Grant and +the noble armies now under his command. He and his brave soldiers +are now in the midst of their great trial, and I trust that at +your meeting you will so shape your good words that they may turn +to men and guns, moving to his and their support." The danger to +the Union of taking Grant away from the front moved Lincoln deeply +all through that anxious summer of '64, though he never thought +Grant would leave the front with his work half done. In August an +officious editor told Lincoln that he ought to take a good long +rest. Lincoln, however, was determined to stand by his own post of +duty and find out from Grant, through their common friend, John +Eaton, what Grant's own views of such ideas were. This is Eaton's +account of how Grant took it: + + +We had been talking very quietly. But Grant's reply came in an +instant and with a violence for which I was not prepared. He brought +his clenched fists down hard on the strap arms of his camp chair. +"They can't do it. They can't compel me to do it." Emphatic gesture +was not a strong point with Grant. "Have you said this to the +President?" "No," said Grant, "I have not thought it worth while +to assure the President of my opinion. I consider it as important +for the cause that he should be elected as that the army should +be successful in the field." + + +When Eaton brought back his report Lincoln simply said, "I told you +they could not get him to run till he had closed out the rebellion." + +On the twenty-third of this same gloomy August, lightened only +by the taking of Mobile, Lincoln asked his Cabinet if they would +endorse a memorandum without reading it. They all immediately signed. +After his reëlection in November he read it out: "This morning, +as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this +Administration will not be reëlected. Then it will be my duty to +so coöperate with the President-elect as to save the Union between +the election and the inauguration, as he will have secured his +election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards." +He added that he would have asked McClellan to throw his whole +influence into getting enough recruits to finish the war before +the fourth of March. "And McClellan," was Seward's comment, "would +have said 'Yes, yes,' and then done nothing." + +Lincoln's reëlection was helped by Farragut's victory in August, +Sherman's in September, and Sheridan's raid through the Shenandoah +Valley in October. But it was also helped by that strange, vivifying +touch which passes, no one knows how, from the man who best embodies +a supremely patriotic cause to the masses of his fellow patriots, +and then, at some great crisis, when they scale heights which he +has long since trod, comes back in flood and carries him to power. + +Lincoln stories were abroad; the true were eclipsing the false; and +all the true ones gained him increasing credit. Naval reformers, +and many others too, enjoyed the homely wit with which he closed +the first conference about such a startlingly novel craft as the +plans for the _Monitor_ promised: "Well, Gentlemen, all I have to +say is what the girl said when she put her foot into the stocking: +'It strikes me there's something in it.'" The army enjoyed the joke +against the three-month captain whom Sherman threatened to shoot +if he went home without leave. The same day Lincoln, visiting the +camp, was harangued by this prospective deserter in presence of many +another man disheartened by Bull Run. "Mr. President: this morning +I spoke to Colonel Sherman and he threatened to shoot me, Sir!" +Lincoln looked the two men over, and then, in a stage whisper every +listener could hear, said: "Well, if I were you, and he threatened +to shoot me, I wouldn't trust him; for I'm sure he'd do it." Both +Services were not only pleased with the "rise" Lincoln took out +of a too inquisitive politician but were much reassured by its +model discretion. This importunate politician so badgered Lincoln +about the real destination of McClellan's transports that Lincoln +at last promised to tell everything he could if the politician +would promise not to repeat it. Then, after swearing the utmost +secrecy, the politician got the news: "They are going to sea." + +The whole home front as well as the Services were touched to the +heart by tales of Lincoln's kindness in his many interviews with +the war-bereaved; and letters like these spoke for themselves to +every patriot in the land: + + Executive Mansion, November 21, 1864. + +Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts. + +Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department +a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are +the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of +battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine +which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so +overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation +that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. +I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your +bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved +and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid +so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. + + Yours very sincerely and respectfully, + Abraham Lincoln. + + +Nor did the Lincoln touch stop there. It even began to make its +quietly persuasive way among the finer spirits of the South from +the very day on which the Second Inaugural closed with words which +were the noblest consummation of the prophecy made in the First. +This was the prophecy: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching +from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and +hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus +of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the +better angels of our nature." And this the consummation: "With +malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the +right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish +the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him +who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan--to +do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among +ourselves and with all nations." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +LEE AND JACKSON: 1862-3 + +Most Southerners remained spellbound by the glamour of Bull Run +till the hard, sharp truths of '62 began to rouse them from their +flattering dream. They fondly hoped, and even half believed, that +if another Northern army dared to invade Virginia it would certainly +fail against their entrenchments at Bull Run. If, so ran the argument, +the North failed in the open field it must fail still worse against +a fortified position. + +The Southern generals vainly urged their Government to put forth +its utmost strength at once, before the more complex and less united +North had time to recover and begin anew. They asked for sixty +thousand men at Bull Run, to be used for a vigorous counterstroke +at Washington. They pointed out the absurdity of misusing the Bull +Run (or Manassas) position as a mere shield, fixed to one spot, +instead of making it the hilt of a sword thrust straight at the heart +of the North. Robert E. Lee, now a full general in the Confederate +Army and adviser to the President, grasped the whole situation +from the first and urged the right solution in the official way. +Stonewall Jackson, still a junior general, was in full accord with +Lee, as we know from the confidential interview (at the end of +October, '61) between him and his divisional commander, General G. +W. Smith, who made it public many years later. The gist of Jackson's +argument was this: "McClellan won't come out this year with his +army of recruits. We ought to invade now, not wait to be invaded +later on. If Davis would concentrate every man who can be spared +from all other points and let us invade before winter sets in, +then McClellan's recruits couldn't stand against us in the field. +Let us cross the upper Potomac, occupy Baltimore, and, holding +Maryland, cut the communications of Washington, force the Federal +Government out of it, beat McClellan if he attacks, destroy industrial +plants liable to be turned to warlike ends, cut the big commercial +lines of communication, close the coal mines, seize the neck of +land between Pittsburg and Lake Erie, live on the country by +requisition, and show the North what it would cost to conquer the +South." On asking Smith if he agreed, Smith answered: "I will tell +you a secret; for I am sure it won't be divulged. These views were +rejected by the Government during the conference at Fairfax Court +House at the beginning of the month." Jackson thereupon shook Smith's +hand, saying, "I am sorry, very sorry," and, mounting Little Sorrel +without another word, rode sadly away. + +Jefferson Davis probably, and some of his Cabinet possibly, understood +what Lee, "Joe" Johnston, Beauregard, Smith, and Jackson so strongly +urged. But they feared the outcry that would assuredly be raised by +people in districts denuded of troops for the grand concentration +elsewhere. So they remained passive when they should have been active, +and, trying to strengthen each separate part, fatally weakened the +whole. + +Meanwhile the North was collecting the different elements of warlike +force and changing its Secretary of War. Cameron was superseded +by Stanton on the fifteenth of January. Twelve days later Lincoln +issued the first of those military orders which, as we have just +seen, he afterwards told Grant that the impatience of the loyal +North compelled him to issue, though he knew some were certainly, and +all were possibly, wrong. This first order was one of the certainly +wrong. McClellan's unready masses were to begin an unlimited mud +march through the early spring roads of Virginia on the twenty-second +of February, in honor of Washington's birthday. A reconnoitering +staff officer reported the roads as being in their proper places; +but he guessed the bottom had fallen out. So McClellan was granted +some delay. + +His grand total was now over two hundred thousand men. The Confederate +grand total was estimated at a hundred and fifteen thousand by the +civilian detectives whom the Federal Government employed to serve +in place of an expert intelligence staff. The detective estimate +was sixty-five thousand men out. The real Confederate strength +at this time was only fifty thousand. There was little chance of +getting true estimates in any other way, as the Federal Government +had no adequate cavalry. Most of the few cavalry McClellan commanded +were as yet a mere collection of men and horses, quite unfit for +reconnoitering and testing an enemy's force. + +McClellan's own plan, formed on the supposition that the Confederates +held the Bull Run position with at least a hundred thousand men, +involved the transfer of a hundred and fifty thousand Federals by +sea from Washington to Fortress Monroe, on the historic peninsula +between the York and James rivers. Then, using these rivers as +lines of communication, his army would take Richmond in flank. +Lincoln's objection to this plan was based on the very significant +argument that while the Federal army was being transported piecemeal +to Fortress Monroe the Confederates might take Washington by a +sudden dash from their base at Centreville, only thirty miles off. +This was a valid objection; for Washington was not only the Federal +Headquarters but the very emblem of the Union cause--a sort of living +Stars and Stripes--and Washington lost might well be understood to +mean almost the same as if the Ship of State had struck her colors. + +On the ninth of March the immediate anxiety about Washington was +relieved. That day came news that the _Monitor_ had checkmated the +_Merrimac_ in Hampton Roads and that "Joe" Johnston had withdrawn +his forces from the Bull Run position and had retired behind the +Rappahannock to Culpeper. On the tenth McClellan began a reconnoitering +pursuit of Johnston from Washington. Having found burnt bridges and +other signs of decisive retirement, he at last persuaded the reluctant +Lincoln to sanction the Peninsula Campaign. On the seventeenth his +army began embarking for Fortress Monroe, ten thousand men at a +time, that being all the transports could carry. For a week the +movement of troops went on successfully; while the Confederates +could not make out what was happening along the coast. Everything +also seemed quite safe, from the Federal point of view, in the +Shenandoah Valley, where General Banks commanded. And both there +and along the Potomac the Federals were in apparently overwhelming +strength; even though the detectives doing duty as staff officers +still kept on doubling the numbers of all the Confederates under +arms. + +Suddenly, on the twenty-third, a fight at Kernstown in the Shenandoah +Valley gave a serious shock to the victorious Federals, not only +there but all over the semicircle of invasion, from West Virginia +round by the Potomac and down to Fortress Monroe. The fighting on +both sides was magnificent. Yet Kernstown itself was a very small +affair. Little more than ten thousand men had been in action: seven +thousand Federals under Shields against half as many Confederates +under Stonewall Jackson. The point is that Jackson's attack, though +unsuccessful, was very disconcerting elsewhere. From Kernstown the +area of disturbance spread like wildfire till the tactical victory +of seven thousand Federals had spoilt the strategy of thirty times +as many. Shields reported: "I set to work during the night to bring +together all the troops within my reach. I sent an express after +Williams's division, requesting the rear brigade, about twenty miles +distant, to march all night and join me in the morning. I swept the +posts in rear of almost all their guards, hurrying them forward +by forced marches, to be with me at daylight." Banks, now on his +way to Washington, halted in alarm at Harper's Ferry. McClellan, +perceiving that Jackson's little force was more than a mere corps of +observation, approved Banks and added: "As soon as you are strong +enough push Jackson hard and drive him well beyond Strasburg," +that is, west of the Massanuttons, where Frémont could close in +and finish him. Lincoln had already been thinking of transferring +nine thousand men from McClellan to Frémont. Kernstown decided +it; so off they went to West Virginia. Still fearing an attack +on Washington, Lincoln halted McDowell's army corps, thirty-seven +thousand strong, on the march overland to join McClellan on the +Peninsula, and kept them stuck fast round Centreville, near Bull +Run. And so McClellan's Peninsular force was suddenly reduced by +forty-six thousand men. + +April was a month of maneuvers and suspense. By the end of it McClellan, +based on Fortress Monroe, had accumulated a hundred and ten thousand +men. The Confederates on the Peninsula, holding Yorktown, numbered +fifty thousand. McClellan sadly missed McDowell, whose corps was to +have taken the fort at Gloucester Point that prevented the Federal +gunboats from turning the enemy's lines at Yorktown. McDowell moved +south to Fredericksburg, leaving a small force near Manassas Junction +to connect him with the garrison of Washington. The Confederates +could spare only twelve thousand men to watch him. Meanwhile Banks +occupied the Shenandoah Valley, having twenty thousand men at +Harrisonburg and smaller forces at several points all round, from +southwest to northeast, each designed to form part of the net that +was soon to catch Jackson. Beyond Banks stood Frémont's force in +West Virginia, also ready to close in. Jackson's complete grand +total was less than that of Banks's own main body. Yet, with one +eye on Richmond, he lay in wait at Swift Run Gap, crouching for a +tiger-spring at Banks. Virginia was semicircled by superior forces. +But everywhere inside the semicircle the Confederate parts all +formed one strategic whole; while the Federal parts outside did not. +Moreover, the South had already decided to call up every available +man; thus forestalling the North by more than ten months on the +vital issue of conscription. + +In May the preliminary clash of arms began on the Peninsula. The +Confederates evacuated the Yorktown lines on the third. On the +fifth McClellan's advanced guard fought its way past Williamsburg. +On the seventh he began changing his base from Fortress Monroe to +White House on the Pamunkey. Here on the sixteenth he was within +twenty miles of Richmond, while all the seaways behind him were safe +in Union hands. The fate not only of Richmond but of the whole South +seemed trembling in the scales. The Northern armies had cleared +the Mississippi down to Memphis. The Northern navy had taken New +Orleans, the greatest Southern port. And now the Northern hosts +were striking at the Southern capital. McClellan with double numbers +from the east, McDowell with treble numbers from the north, and the +Union navy, with more than fourfold strength on all the navigable +waters, were closing in. The Confederate Government had even decided +to take the extreme step of evacuating Richmond, hoping to prolong +the struggle elsewhere. The official records had been packed. Davis +had made all arrangements for the flight of his family. And from +Drewry's Bluff, eight miles south of Richmond, the masts of the +foremost Federal vessels could be seen coming up the James, where, +on the eleventh, the _Merrimac_, having grounded, had been destroyed +by her own commander. + +But the General Assembly of Virginia, passionately seconded by +the City Council, petitioned the Government to stand its ground +"till not a stone was left upon another." Every man in Richmond who +could do a hand's turn and who was not already in arms marched out +to complete the defenses of the James at Drewry's Bluff. Senators, +bankers, bondmen and free, merchants, laborers, and ministers of +all religions, dug earthworks, hauled cannon, piled ammunition, +or worked, wet to the waist, at the big boom that was to stop the +ships and hold them under fire. The Government had changed its mind. +Richmond was to be held to the last extremity. And the Southern +women were as willing as the men. + +In the midst of all this turmoil Lee calmly reviewed the situation. +He saw that the Federal gunboats coming up the James were acting +alone, as the disconnected vanguard of what should have been a +joint advance, and that no army was yet moving to support them. +He knew McClellan and Banks and read them like a book. He also +knew Jackson, and decided to use him again in the Shenandoah Valley +as a menace to Washington. Writing to him on the sixteenth of May, +the very day McClellan reached White House, only twenty miles from +Richmond, he said: "Whatever movement you make against Banks, do it +speedily, and, if successful, drive him back towards the Potomac, +and create the impression, as far as possible, that you design +threatening that line." Moreover, out of his own scanty forces, he +sent Jackson two excellent brigades. Thus, while the great Federal +civilians who knew nothing practical of war were all agog about +Richmond, a single point at one end of the semicircle, the great +Confederate strategist was forging a thunderbolt to relieve the +pressure on it by striking the Federal center so as to threaten +Washington. The fundamental idea was a Fabian defensive at Richmond, +a vigorous offensive in the Valley, to produce Federal dispersion +between these points and Washington; then rapid concentration against +McClellan on the Chickahominy. + +The unsupported Federal gunboats were stopped and turned back at +the boom near Drewry's Bluff. McClellan, bent on besieging Richmond +in due form, crawled cautiously about the intervening swamps of the +oozy Chickahominy. McDowell, who could not advance alone, remained +at Fredericksburg. Shields stood behind him, near Catlett's Station, +to keep another eye on nervous Washington. + + +In the meantime Stonewall Jackson, still in the Shenandoah, had +fought no battles since his tactical defeat at Kernstown on the +twenty-third of March had proved such a pregnant strategic victory +elsewhere. But late in April he had a letter from Lee, telling of +the general situation and suggesting an attack on Banks. Banks, +however, still had twenty thousand men at Harrisonburg, with twenty-five +thousand more in or within call of the Valley. Jackson's complete +grand total was less than eighteen thousand. The odds against him +therefore exceeded five against two; and direct attack was out of +the question. But he now began his maneuvers anew and on a bolder +scale than ever. He had upset the Federal strategy at Kernstown, +when there were less than eight thousand Confederates in the Valley. +What might he not do with ten thousand more? His wonderful Valley +Campaign, famous forever in the history of war, gives us the answer. + +He had five advantages over Banks. First, his own expert knowledge +and genius for war, backed by a dauntless character. Banks was a +very able man who had worked his way up from factory hand to Speaker +of the House of Representatives and Governor of Massachusetts. But +he had neither the knowledge, genius, nor character required for +high command; and he owed his present position more to his ardor +as a politician than to his ability as a general. Jackson's second +advantage was his own and his army's knowledge of the country for +which they naturally fought with a loving zeal which no invaders could +equal. The third advantage was in having Turner Ashby's cavalry. +These were horsemen born and bred, who could make their way across +country as easily as the "footy" Federals could along the road. +In answer to a peremptory order a Federal cavalry commander could +only explain: "I can't catch them. They leap fences and walls like +deer. Neither our men nor our horses are so trained." The fourth +advantage was in discipline. Jackson habitually spared his men more +than his officers, and his officers more than himself, whenever +indulgence was possible. But when discipline had to be sternly +maintained he maintained it sternly, throughout all ranks, knowing +that the flower of discipline is self-sacrifice, from the senior +general down, and that the root is due subordination, from the +junior private up. After the Conscription Act had come into force +a few companies, who were time-expired as volunteers, threw down +their arms and told their colonel they wouldn't serve another day. +On hearing this officially Jackson asked: "Why does Colonel Grigsby +refer to me to learn how to deal with mutineers? He should shoot +them where they stand." The rest of the regiment was then paraded +with loaded arms, facing the mutineers, who were given the choice +of complete submission or instant death. They chose submission. That +was the last mutiny under Stonewall Jackson. Both sides suffered from +straggling, the Confederates as much as the Federals. But Confederate +stragglers rejoined the better of the two; and in downright desertion +the Federals were the worse, simply because their own peace party +was by far the stronger. The final advantage brings us back to +strategy, on which the whole campaign was turning. Lee and Jackson +worked the Confederates together. Lincoln and Stanton worked the +Federals apart. + +On the last of April Jackson slipped away from Swift Run Gap while +Ewell quietly took his place and Ashby blinded Banks by driving the +Federal cavalry back on Harrisonburg. Jackson's men were thoroughly +puzzled and disheartened when they had to leave the Valley in full +possession of the enemy while they ploughed through seas of mud +towards Richmond. What was the matter? Were they off to Richmond? +No; for they presently wheeled round. "Old Jack's crazy, sure, +this time." Even one of his staff officers thought so himself, and +put it on paper, to his own confusion afterwards. The rain came +down in driving sheets. The roads became mere drains for the oozing +woods. Wheels stuck fast; and Jackson was seen heaving his hardest +with an exhausted gun team. But still the march went on--slosh, +slosh, squelch; they slogged it through. _Close up, men!--close up +in rear!--close up, there, close up!_ + +On the fourth of May Jackson got word from Edward Johnson, commanding +his detached brigade near Staunton, that Milroy, commanding Frémont's +advanced guard, was coming on from West Virginia. Jackson at once +seized the chance of smashing Milroy by railing in to Staunton before +Banks or Frémont could interfere. This would have been suicidal +against a great commander with a well-trained force. But Banks, +grossly exaggerating Jackson's numbers, was already marching north +to the railhead at New Market, where he would be nearer his friends +if Jackson swooped down. Detraining at Staunton the Confederates +picketed the whole neighborhood to stop news getting out before +they made their dash against Milroy. On the seventh they moved +off. The cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, where Jackson +had been a professor for so many years, had just joined to gain +some experience of the real thing, and as they stepped out in their +smart uniforms, with all the exactness of parade-ground drill, +they formed a marked contrast to the gaunt soldiers of the Valley, +half fed, half clad, but wholly eager for the fray. + +[Illustration: CIVIL WAR: VIRGINA CAMPAIGNS, 1862] + +That night Milroy got together all the men he could collect at +McDowell, a little village just beyond the Valley and on the road to +Gauley Bridge in West Virginia. He sent posthaste for reinforcements. +But Frémont's men were divided too far west, fearing nothing from +the Valley, while Banks's were thinking of a concentration too +far north. + +In the afternoon of the eighth, Milroy attacked Jackson with great +determination and much skill. But after a stern encounter, in which +the outnumbered Federals fought very well indeed, the Confederates +won a decisive victory. The numbers actually engaged--twenty-five +hundred Federals against four thousand Confederates--were even +smaller than at Kernstown. But this time the Confederates won the +tactical victory on the spot as well as the strategic victory all +over the Valley; and the news cheered Richmond at what, as we have +seen already, was its very darkest hour. The night of the battle +Jackson sent out strong working parties to destroy all bridges and +culverts and to block all roads by which Frémont could reach the +Valley. In some places bowlders were rolled down from the hills. +In one the trees were felled athwart the path for a mile. A week +later Jackson was back in the Valley at Lebanon Springs, while +Frémont was blocked off from Banks, who was now distractedly groping +for safety and news. + +The following day, the famous sixteenth, we regain touch with Lee, +who, as mentioned already, then wrote to Jackson about attacking +Banks in order to threaten Washington. This dire day at Richmond, +the day McClellan reached White House, was also the one appointed by +the Southern Government as a day of intercession for God's blessing +on the Southern arms. None kept it more fervently, even in beleaguered +Richmond, than pious Jackson in the Valley. Then, like a giant +refreshed, he rose for swift and silent marches and also sudden +hammer-strokes at Banks. + +Confident that all would now go well, Washington thought nothing +of the little skirmish at McDowell, because it apparently disturbed +nothing beyond the Shenandoah Valley. The news from everywhere +else was good; and Federals were jubilant. So were the civilian +strategists, particularly Stanton, who, though tied to his desk +as Secretary of War, was busy wire-pulling Banks's men about the +Valley. Stanton ordered Banks to take post at Strasburg and to +hold the bridges at Front Royal with two detached battalions. This +masterpiece of bungling put the Federals at Front Royal in the air, +endangered their communications north to Winchester, and therefore +menaced the Valley line toward Washington. But Banks said nothing; +and Stanton would have snubbed him if he had. + +On the twenty-third of May a thousand Federals under Colonel Kenly +were sweltering in the first hot weather of the year at Stanton's +indefensible position of Front Royal when suddenly a long gray line +of skirmishers emerged from the woods, the Confederate bugles rang +out, and Jackson's battle line appeared. Then came a crashing volley, +which drove in the Federal pickets for their lives. Colonel Kenly +did his best. But he was outflanked and forced back in confusion. A +squadron of New York cavalry came to the rescue; but were themselves +outflanked and helpless on the road against the Virginian horsemen, +who could ride across country. Kenly had just made a second stand, +when down came the Virginians, led by Colonel Flournoy at racing +speed over fence and ditch, scattering the Federal cavalry like +chaff before the wind and smashing into the Federal infantry. Two +hundred and fifty really efficient cavalry took two guns (complete +with limbers, men, and horses), killed and wounded a hundred and +fifty-four of their opponents, and captured six hundred prisoners +as well--and all with a loss to themselves of only eleven killed +and fifteen wounded. + +Ashby's cavalry, several hundreds strong, pushed on and out to the +flanks, cutting the wires, destroying bridges, and blocking the +roads against reinforcements from beyond the Valley. Three hours +after the attack a dispatch-rider dashed up to Banks's headquarters +at Strasburg. But Banks refused to move, saying, when pressed by +his staff to make a strategic retreat on Winchester, "By God, sir, +I will not retreat! We have more to fear from the opinions of our +friends than from the bayonets of our enemies!" The Cabinet backed +him up next day by actually proposing to reinforce him at Strasburg +with troops from Washington and Baltimore. Nevertheless he was +forced to fly for his life to Winchester. His stores at Strasburg +had to be abandoned. His long train of wagons was checked on the +way, with considerable loss. And some of his cavalry, caught on +the road by horsemen who could ride across country, were smashed +to pieces. + +Jackson pressed on relentlessly to Winchester with every one who +could march like "foot cavalry," as his Valley men came to be called. +On the twenty-fifth, the third day of unremitting action, he carried +the Winchester heights and drove Banks through the town. Only the +Second Massachusetts, which had already distinguished itself during +the retreat, preserved its formation. Ten thousand Confederate +bayonets glittered in the morning sun. The long gray lines swept +forward. The piercing rebel yell rose high. And the people, wild +with joy, rushed out of doors to urge the victors on. + +By the twenty-sixth, the first day on which Stanton's reinforcements +from Baltimore and Washington could possibly have fought at Strasburg, +the Confederates had reached Martinsburg, fifty miles beyond it. +Banks had already crossed the Potomac, farther on still. The newsboys +of the North were crying, _Defeat of General Banks! Washington in +danger!_ Thirteen Governors were calling for special State militia, +for which a million men were volunteering, spare troops were hurrying +to Harper's Ferry, a reserve corps was being formed at Washington, +the Federal Government was assuming control of all the railroad +lines, and McClellan was being warned that he must either take +Richmond at once or come back to save the capital. Nor did the +strategic disturbance stop even there; for the Washington authorities +ordered McDowell's force at Fredericksburg to the Valley just as +it was coming into touch with McClellan. + +On the twenty-eighth Jackson might have taken Harper's Ferry. But +the storm was gathering round him. A great strategist directing +the Federal forces could have concentrated fifty thousand men, by +sunset on the first of June, against Jackson's Army of the Valley, +which could not possibly have mustered one-third of such a number. +McDowell arrived that night at Front Royal. He had vainly protested +against the false strategy imposed by the Government from Washington, +and he was not a free agent now. Yet, even so, his force was at +least a menace to Jackson, who had only two chances of getting +away to aid in the defeat of McClellan and the saving of Richmond. +One was to outmarch the converging Federals, gain interior lines +along the Valley, and defeat them there in detail. The other was to +march into friendly Maryland, trusting to her Southern sentiments +for help and reinforcements. He decided on the Valley route and +marched straight in between his enemies. + +His fortnight's work, from the nineteenth of May to the first of +June, inclusive, is worth summing up. In these fourteen days he +had marched 170 miles, routed 12,500 men, threatened an invasion +of the North, drawn McDowell off from Fredericksburg, taken or +destroyed all Federal stores at Front Royal, Winchester, and +Martinsburg, and brought off safely a convoy seven miles long. +Moreover, he had done all this with the loss of only six hundred, +though sixty thousand enemies lay on three sides of his own sixteen +thousand men. + +His remaining problem was harder still. It was how to mystify, +tire out, check short, and then immobilize the converging Federals +long enough to let him slip secretly away in time to help Johnston +and Lee against McClellan. Jackson, like his enemies, moved through +what has been well called the Fog of War--that inevitable uncertainty +through which all commanders must find their way. But none of his +enemies equaled him in knowledge, genius, or character for war. + +The first week in June saw desperate marches in the Valley, with +the outnumbering Federals hot-foot on the trail of Jackson, who +turned to bay one moment and at the next was off again. On the +sixth the Federals got home against his rear guard. It began to +waver, and Ashby ordered the infantry to charge. As he gave the +order his horse fell dead. In a flash he was up, waving his sword +and shouting: "Charge, for God's sake, charge!" The Confederate +line swept forward gallantly. But, just as it left the wood, Ashby +was shot through the heart. His men avenged him. Yet none could +fill his place as a born leader of irregular light horse. + +Next morning the hounds were hot upon the scent again: Shields +and Frémont converging on Jackson, whom they would run to earth +somewhere north of Staunton. But on the eighth and ninth Jackson +turned sharply and bit back, first at Frémont close to Cross Keys, +then at Shields near Port Republic. Each was caught alone, just +before their point of junction, and each was defeated in detail +as well. + +Fully to appreciate Jackson's strategy we must compare the strategical +and tactical numbers concerned throughout this short but momentous +Valley Campaign. The strategic numbers are those at the disposal +of the commander within the theater of operations. The tactical +numbers are those actually present on the field of battle, whether +engaged or not. At McDowell the Federals had 30,000 in strategic +strength against 17,000 Confederates; yet the Confederates got 6000 +on to the field of battle against no more than 2500. At Winchester +the Federal strategic strength was 60,000 against 16,000; yet the +Confederate tactical strength was every man of the 16,000 against +7500--only one-eighth of Banks's grand total. At Cross Keys the +strategic strengths were 23,000 Federals against 13,000 Confederates; +yet 12,750 Federals were beaten by 8000 Confederates. Finally, at +Port Republic, the Federals, with a strategic strength of 22,000 +against the Confederate 12,700, could only bring a tactical strength +of 4500 to bear on 6000 Confederates. The grand aggregate of these +four remarkable actions is well worth adding up. It comes to this +in strategic strength: 135,000 Federals against 58,700 Confederates. +Yet in tactical strength the odds are reversed; for they come to +this: 36,000 Confederates against only 27,250 Federals. Therefore +Stonewall Jackson, with strategic odds of nearly seven to three +against him, managed to fight with tactical odds of four to three +in his favor. + + +While Jackson was fighting in the Valley the Confederates at Richmond +were watching the nightly glow of Federal camp fires. McClellan +had 30,000 men north of the Chickahominy, waiting for McDowell to +come back from his enterprise against Jackson, and 75,000 south +of it. What could the 65,000 Confederates do, except hold fast to +their lines? TO RICHMOND 4-1/2 MILES: so read the sign-post at +the Mechanicsville bridge, and there stood the nearest Federal +picket. Johnston and Lee knew, however, that McClellan's alarmist +detectives swore to a Confederate army three times its actual strength +at this time; and there was reason to hope that the consequent +moral ascendancy would help the shock of an attack suddenly made +on one of McClellan's two wings while the flooded Chickahominy +flowed between them and its oozy swamps bewildered his staff. + +Hearing that McDowell need not be feared, Johnston attacked at +daylight on the thirty-first of May. The battle of Seven Pines +(known also as Fair Oaks) was not unlike Shiloh. The Federals were +taken by surprise on the first day and only succeeded in holding +their own by hard fighting and with a good deal of loss. A mistake +was made by the Confederate division told off for the attack on the +key to the Federal front (an attack which, if completely successful, +would have split the Federals in two) and the main bodies were +engaged before this fatal error could be rectified. So the surprised +Federals gradually recovered from the first shock and began to +feel and use their hitherto unrealized strength. On the second +day (the first of June) Johnston, who had been severely wounded, +was plainly defeated and compelled to fall back on Richmond again. + +On the morrow of this defeat Lee was appointed to "the immediate +command of the armies in eastern Virginia and North Carolina." +Davis was not war statesman enough to make him Commander-in-Chief +till '65--four years too late. Johnston did not reappear till he +tried to relieve Vicksburg from the determined attacks of Grant +in '63. + +The twelfth of June will be remembered forever in the annals of +cavalry for Stuart's first great ride round McClellan's host. With +twelve hundred troopers and two horse artillery guns he stole out +beyond the western flank of the Federals and reached Taylorsville that +evening, twenty-two miles north of Richmond. Next day he rode right in +among the Federal posts in rear, discovering that McClellan's right +stretched little north of the Chickahominy, that it was not fortified, +and that it did not rest on any strong natural feature, such as a +swampy stream. This was exactly the information Lee required. So +far, so good. The Federals met with up to this time had simply been +ridden down. But now the whole country was alarmed and McClellan +had forces out to cut Stuart off on his return, while General Cooke +(Stuart's father-in-law) began to pursue him from Hanover Court +House. + +Then Stuart took the boldest step of all, deciding to go clear round +the rest of the Federal army. At Tunstall's Station on the York +River Railroad he routed the guard, tore up the track, destroyed the +stores and wagons, cut the wires, burnt the bridge, and replenished +his supplies. Thence southeast, by the Williamsburg road, his column +marched under a full summer moon, the people running out of doors, +wild with joy at his daring. At sunrise he reached the Chickahominy, +only to find it flooded, full of timber, and spanned by nothing +better than a broken bridge. But, using the materials of a warehouse +to make a footway, the troopers crossed in single file, leading +their chargers, which swam. Waving his hand to the Federals, who had +just arrived too late, Stuart pushed on the remaining thirty-five +miles to Richmond, rounding the Federal flank within range of Federal +gunboats on the James. + +This magnificent raid not only procured in three days information +that McClellan's civilian detectives could not have procured in +three years but raised Confederate morale and depressed the Federals +correspondingly. Moreover, it drove the first nail into McClellan's +coffin. For in October, just after another Stuart raid, the following +curious incident occurred on board the _Martha Washington_ when +Lincoln was returning from an Alexandria review which had cheered +him up considerably, coming, as it did, after Lee had failed in +Maryland. By way of answering the very pertinent question--"Mr. +President, how about McClellan?"--Lincoln simply drew a ring on +the deck, quietly adding: "When I was a boy we used to play a game +called 'Three times round and out.' Stuart has been round McClellan +twice. The third time McClellan will be out." + +Stuart rode ahead of his troopers, straight to Lee, who immediately +wrote to Jackson suggesting that the Army of the Valley, while +keeping the Federals alarmed to the last about an attack on the +line of the Potomac, might secretly slip away and join a combined +attack on McClellan. Jackson, who had of course foreseen this, was +ready with every blind known to the art of war. Even his staff +and generals knew nothing of their destination. The first move was +so secret that the enemy never suspected anything till it was too +late, while friends thought there was to be another surprise in +the Valley. The second move led various people to suspect a march +on Washington--no bad news to leak out; and nothing but misleading +items did leak out. The Army of the Valley moved within a charmed +circle of cavalry which prevented any one from going forward, ahead +of the advance, and swept before it all stragglers through whom +the news might leak out by the rear. On the twenty-third of June, +only eight days after Stuart had reported his raid to Lee, Jackson +attended Lee's conference at the same place, Richmond. The Valley +Army was then on its thirty-mile march from Frederick's Hall to +Ashland, where it arrived on the twenty-fifth, fifteen miles north. + +McClellan had over a hundred thousand men. Lee had less than ninety +thousand, even after Jackson had joined him. To attack McClellan's +strongly fortified front, with its almost impregnable flanks, would +have been suicide. But McClellan's farther right, commanded by that +excellent officer, FitzJohn Porter, lay north of the Chickahominy, +with its own right open for junction with McDowell. So Lee, knowing +McClellan and the state of this Federal right, decided on the +twenty-fourth to attack Porter and threaten McClellan's communications +not only with McDowell to the north but with White House, the Federal +base twenty miles northeast. This was an exceedingly bold move, +first, because McClellan had plenty of men to take Richmond during +Lee's march north, secondly, because it meant the convergence of +separate forces on the field of battle (Jackson being at Ashland, +fifteen miles from Richmond) and, thirdly, because the Confederates +were inferior in armament and in supplies of all kinds as well +as in actual numbers. Magruder, who had held the Yorktown lines +so cleverly with such inferior forces, was to hold Richmond (on +both sides of the James) with thirty-five thousand men against +McClellan's seventy-five thousand, while Lee and Jackson converged +on Porter's twenty-five thousand with over fifty thousand. + +Then followed the famous Seven Days, beginning on the twenty-sixth +of June near the signpost at the Mechanicsville bridge--TO RICHMOND +4-1/2 MILES--and ending at Harrison's Landing on the second of July. +On the twenty-sixth the attack was made with consummate strategic +skill. But it was marred by bad staff work, by the great obstructions +in Jackson's path, and by A. P. Hill's premature attack with ten +thousand men against Porter's admirable front at Beaver Dam Creek. +Hill's men moved down their own side of the little valley in dense +masses till every gun and rifle on Porter's side was suddenly unmasked. +No scythe could have mowed the leading Confederates better. Two +thousand went down in the first few minutes, and the rest at once +retreated. + +Porter fell back on Gaines's Mill, where, after being reinforced, +he took up a strong position on the twenty-seventh. Again there +was failure in combining the attack. Jackson found obstructions +that even he could not overcome quickly enough. Hill attacked again +with the utmost gallantry, wave after wave of Confederates rushing +forward only to melt away before the concentrated fire of Porter's +reinforced command. + +But at last the Confederates--though checked and roughly +handled--converged under Lee's own eye; and an inferno of shot +and shell loosened and shook the steadfast Federal defense. Lee +and Jackson, though far apart, gave the word for the final charge +at almost the same moment. As Jackson's army suddenly burst into +view and swept forward to the assault the joyful news was shouted +down the ranks: "The Valley men are here!" Thereupon Lee's men took +up the double-quick with "Stonewall Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!" +as their battle cry. The Federals fought right valiantly till their +key-point suddenly gave way, smashed in by weight of numbers; for +Lee had brought into action half as many again as Porter had, even +with his reinforcements. On the gallantly defended hill the long +blue lines rocked, reeled, and broke to right and left all but +the steadfast regulars, whose infantry fell back in perfect order, +whose cavalry made a desperate though futile attempt to stay the +rout by charging one against twenty, and whose four magnificent +batteries, splendidly served to the very last round, retired unbroken +with the loss of only two guns. Then the Confederate colors waved +in triumph on the hard-won crest against the crimson of the setting +sun. + +The victorious Confederates spent the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth +in finding the way to McClellan's new base. His absolute control +of all the waterways had enabled him to change his base from White +House on the Pamunkey to Harrison's Landing on the James. When the +Confederates discovered his line of retreat by the Quaker Road they +pressed in to cut it. On the thirtieth there was severe fighting +in White Oak Swamp and on Frayser's Farm. But the Federals passed +through, and made a fine stand on Malvern Hill next day. Finally, +when they turned at bay on the Evelington Heights, which covered +Harrison's Landing, they convinced their pursuers that it would +be fatal to attack again; for now Northern sea-power was visibly +present in flotillas of gunboats, which made the flanks as hopelessly +strong as the front. + +McClellan therefore remained safely behind his entrenchments, with +the navy in support. He had to his own credit the strategic success +of having foiled Lee by a clever change of base; and to the credit +of his army stood some first-rate fighting besides some tactical +success, especially at Malvern Hill. Nevertheless the second invasion +of Virginia was plainly a failure; though by no means a glaring +disaster, like the first invasion at Bull Run. + +McClellan, again reinforced, still professed his readiness to take +Richmond under conditions that suited himself. But the most promising +Northern force now seemed to be Pope's Army of Virginia, coming +down from the line of the Potomac, forty-seven thousand strong, +composed of excellent material, and heralded by proclamations which +even McClellan could never excel. John Pope, Halleck's hero of Island +Number Ten, came from the West to show the East how to fight. "I +presume that I have been called here to lead you against the enemy, +and that speedily. I hear constantly of taking strong positions +and holding them--of lines of retreat and bases of supplies. Let +us discard such ideas. Let us study the probable line of retreat +of our opponents, and leave our own to take care of themselves." +His Army of Virginia contained Frémont's (now Sigel's) corps, as +well as those of Banks and McDowell--all experts in the art of +"chasing Jackson." + +Jackson was soon ready to be chased again. The Confederate strength +had been reduced by the Seven Days and not made good by reinforcement; +so Lee could spare Jackson only twenty-four thousand men with whom +to meet the almost double numbers under Pope. But Jackson's men had +the better morale, not only on account of their previous service but +because of their rage to beat Pope, who, unlike other Northerners, +was enforcing the harshest rules of war. His lieutenant, General von +Steinwehr, went further, not only seizing prominent civilians as +hostages (to be shot whenever he chose to draw his own distinctions +between Confederate soldiers and guerillas) but giving his German +subordinates a liberty that some of them knew well how to turn +into license. This, of course, was most exceptional; for nearly +all Northerners made war like gentlemen. Unhappily, those who did +not were bad enough and numerous enough to infuriate the South. + +Halleck, who had now become chief military adviser to the Union +Government, was as cautious as McClellan and had so little discernment +that he thought Pope a better general than Grant. Lincoln, Stanton, +and Halleck put their heads together; and an order soon followed +which had the effect of relieving the pressure on Richmond and +giving the initiative to Lee. Halleck ordered McClellan to withdraw +from Harrison's Landing, take his Army of the Potomac round by sea +to Aquia Creek, and join Pope on the Rappahannock--an operation +requiring the whole month of August to complete. + +Lee lost no time. His first move was to get Pope's advanced troops +defeated by Jackson, who brought more than double numbers against +Banks at Cedar Run on the ninth of August. The Federals fought +magnificently, nine against twenty thousand men. After the battle +Jackson marched across the Rapidan, and Halleck wisely forbade +Pope from following him, even though the first of Burnside's men +(now the advanced guard of McClellan's army) had arrived at Aquia +and were marching overland to Pope. Then followed some anxious days +at Federal Headquarters. Jackson vanished; and Pope's cavalry, +numerous as it was, wore itself out trying to find the clue. McClellan +was still busy moving his men from Harrison's Landing to Fortress +Monroe, whence detachments kept sailing to Aquia. What would Lee +do now? + +On the thirteenth he began entraining Longstreet's troops for +Gordonsville. On the fifteenth he conferred with his generals. +And on the seventeenth, from the lookout on Clark's Mountain, he +saw Pope's unsuspecting army camped round Slaughter Mountain within +fifteen miles of the united Confederates. Halleck had just given +Pope the fatal order to "fight like the devil" till McClellan came +up. Pope was full of confidence. And there he lay, in a bad strategic +and worse tactical position, and with slightly inferior numbers, +just within reach of Jackson and Lee. Pope was, however, saved from +immediate disaster by an oversight on the part of Stuart. In ordering +Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry brigade to rendezvous at Verdierville that +night Stuart forgot to make the order urgent and the missing brigade +came in late. Stuart, anxious to see the enemy's position for himself, +rode out and was nearly taken prisoner. His dispatch-box fell into +Pope's hands, with a memorandum of Jackson's reinforcements. Jackson +was for attacking next day in any case and groaned aloud when Lee +decided not to, owing to the failure of cavalry combination in +front and the belated supplies in the rear. Pope retired safely on +the eighteenth, and on the nineteenth a thick haze hid his rear +from Lee's lookout. + +Lee was now in a very difficult position, apparently face to face +with what would soon be the joint forces of Pope, McClellan, and +probably another corps from Washington: the whole well fed, well +armed, and certainly more than twice as strong as the united +Confederates. But Jackson and Stuart multiplied their forces by +skillful maneuvers and mystifying raids, and presently Stuart had +his revenge for the affront he had suffered on the seventeenth. +On the tempestuous night of the twenty-second he captured Pope's +dispatches. On the twenty-fourth, at Jefferson, Lee and Jackson +discussed the situation with these dispatches before them. Dr. +Hunter McGuire, the Confederate staff-surgeon, noticed that Jackson +was unusually animated, drawing curves in the sand with the toe +of his boot while Lee nodded assent. Perhaps it was Jackson who +suggested the strategic idea of that wonderful last week in August. +However that may have been, Lee alone was responsible for its adoption +and superior direction. + +With a marvelous insight into the characters of his opponents, +a consummate knowledge of the science and art of war, and--quite +as important--an exact appreciation of the risks worth running, +Lee actually divided his 55,000 men in face of Pope's 80,000, of +20,000 more at Washington and Aquia, and of 50,000 available +reinforcements. Then, by the well-deserved results obtained, he +became one of the extremely few really great commanders of all +time. + +The "bookish theorick" who, with all the facts before him, revels +in the fond delights of retrospective prophecy, will never understand +how Lee succeeded in this enterprise, except by sheer good luck. +Only those who themselves have groped their perilous way through +the dense, distorting fog of war can understand the application +of that knowledge, genius, and character for war which so rarely +unite in one man. + +Lee sent Jackson north, to march at utmost speed under cover of +the Bull Run Mountains, to cross them at Thoroughfare Gap, and +to cut Pope's line at Manassas, where the enormous Federal field +base had been established. Unknown to Pope, Longstreet then slipped +into Jackson's place, so as to keep Pope in play till the raid on +Manassas and threat against Washington would draw him northeast, +away from McClellan at Aquia. The final move of this profound, +though very daring, plan was to take advantage of the Federal +distractions and consequent dispersions so as to effect a junction +on the field of battle against a conquerable force. + +Jackson moved off by the first gray streak of dawn on the twenty-fifth, +and that day made good the six-and-twenty miles to Salem Church. +Screened by Stuart's cavalry, and marching through a country of +devoted friends on such an errand as a commonplace general would +never suspect, Jackson stole this march on Pope in perfect safety. +The next day's march was far more dangerous. Roused while the stars +were shining the men moved off in even greater wonder as to their +destination. But when the first flush of dawn revealed the Bull +Run Mountains, with the well-known Thoroughfare Gap straight to +their front, they at once divined their part of Lee's stupendous +plan: a giant raid on Manassas, the Federal base of superabundant +supplies. The news ran down the miles of men, and with it the thrill +that presaged victory. Mile after mile was gained, almost in dead +silence, except for the clank of harness, the rumble of wheels, the +running beat of hoofs, and that long, low, ceaselessly rippling sound +of multitudinous men's feet. Hungry, ill-clad, and worn to their +last spare ounce, the gaunt gray ranks strained forward, slipped +from their leash at last and almost in sight of their prey. So far +they were undiscovered. But the Gap was only ten miles by airline +from Pope's extreme right, and the tell-tale cloud of dust, floating +down the mountain side above them, must soon be sighted, signaled, +noted, and attended to. Only speed, the speed of "foot-cavalry," +could now prevail, and not a man must be an inch behind. _Close +up, men, close up!--Close up there in rear!--Close up! Close up!_ + +By noon the head of the column had already crossed those same +communications which Pope had told his army to disregard in favor +of the much more interesting enemy line of retreat. Little did he +think that the man he had come to chase was about to burn the bridge +at Bristoe Station and thus cut the line between the Federal front +at Warrenton and the Federal base at Manassas. All went well with +Jackson, except that some news escaped to Washington and Warrenton +sooner than he expected. A Federal train dashed on to Washington +before the rails could be torn up. The next two trains were both +derailed and wrecked. But the fourth put all brakes down and speeded +back to Warrenton. Jackson quickly took up a very strong position +on the north side of Broad Run, behind the burnt railway bridge, +and sent Stuart's troopers with two battalions of "foot-cavalry" +to raid the base at Manassas, replenish the exhausted Confederate +supplies, and do the northward scouting. + +The situation of the rival armies on the night of the twenty-seventh +forms one of the curiosities of war. Jackson was concentrating +round Manassas Junction. Lee was following Jackson's line of march, +but was still beyond Thoroughfare Gap. Between them stood part of +Pope's army, the whole of which occupied an irregular quadrilateral +formed by lines joining the following points: Warrenton Junction, +Bristoe Station, Gainesville, and Thoroughfare Gap. Thirty miles +northeast were the twenty thousand Federals who joined Pope too +late. Thirty miles southeast the rear of McClellan's forces were +still massing at Aquia. In Pope's opinion Jackson was clearly trapped +and Lee cut off. + +But when Pope began to close his cumbrous net the following day +Jackson had disappeared again. Orders and counter-orders thereupon +succeeded each other in bewildering confusion. McClellan could +be left out: and a very good thing too, thought Pope, who wanted +the victory all to himself, and whose own army greatly outnumbered +Lee's and Jackson's put together. But Washington was nervous again; +it contained the reinforcements; and it had suddenly become +indispensable to Pope as an immediate base of supplies now that the +base at Manassas had been so completely destroyed. Pope's troops +therefore mostly drew east during the twenty-eighth, forming by +nightfall a long irregular line, facing west, with its right beyond +Centreville and its extreme left held by Banks's mauled divisions +south of Catlett's Station. Meanwhile Jackson had slipped into +place in the curve of Bull Run, facing southeast, with his left +near Stone Bridge, his back to Sudley Springs, and his right open +to junction with Lee, who was waiting for daylight to force the +Gap against the single division left there on guard. + +During the afternoon, while Jackson's tired men were lying sound +asleep in their ranks, Jackson himself was roused to see captured +orders which showed that some Federals were crossing his front. +Reading these orders to his divisional commanders he immediately +ordered one to attack and another to support. If the Federals concerned +were exposing an unguarded flank they should be attacked at a +disadvantage. If they were screening larger forces trying to join +the reinforcements from Washington or Aquia, then they should be +attacked so as to distract Pope's attention and draw him on before +the Federal union became complete, though not before Lee had reached +the new Bull Run position the following day. The attack was consequently +made from the woods around Groveton not too long before dark. It +resulted in a desperate frontal fight, neither side knowing what +the other had in its rear or on its flanks. Again the Federals +were outnumbered: twenty-eight against forty-five hundred men in +action. But again they fought with the utmost resolution and drew +off in good order. The strategic advantage, however, was wholly +Confederate; for Pope, who thought Jackson must now be falling +back to the Gap, at once began confusedly trying to concentrate +for pursuit on the twenty-ninth--the very thing that suited Lee +and Jackson best. + +Early that morning the two-days' Battle of Second Manassas (or +Second Bull Run) began with Pope's absurd attempt to pursue an +army drawn up in line of battle. Moreover, Jackson's position was +not only strong in itself but well adapted for giving attackers a +shattering surprise. The left rested on Bull Run at Sudley Ford. +The center occupied the edge of the flat-topped Stony Ridge. A +quarter-mile in front of it, and some way lower down, were the +embankments and cuttings of an unfinished railroad. On the right +was Stuart's Hill, where Lee was to join by sending Longstreet in. +The approaches in rear were hidden from the eyes of an enemy in +front. The cuttings and embankments made excellent field works for +the defense. And the forward edge of the Ridge was wooded enough +to let counter-attackers mass under cover and then run down to +surprise the attackers by manning the cuttings and embankments. + +Sigel's Germans, supported by the splendid Pennsylvanians under +Reynolds, advanced from the Henry Hill to hold Jackson till Pope +could come up and finish him. The numbers were about even, with slight +odds in favor of Jackson. But the shock was delivered piecemeal. +Each part was roughly handled and driven back in disorder. And +by the time Reynolds had come to the front Lee's advanced guard +was arriving. Then eighteen thousand Federals marched in from +Centreville under Reno, Kearny, and "fighting Joe Hooker," of whom +we shall hear again. Pope came up in person with the rest of his +available command, rode along his line, and explained the situation +as founded on his ignorance and colored by his fancy. At this very +moment Longstreet came up on Jackson's right. Reynolds went into +action against what he thought was Jackson's extended right but +what was really Longstreet's left. Meanwhile the Centreville troops +attacked near Bull Run. But that dashing commander, Philip Kearny, +was held up by Jackson's concentrated guns; so Hooker and Reno +advanced alone, straight for the railroad line. The Confederates +behind it poured in a tremendous hail of bullets, and the long +dry grass caught fire. But nothing stopped Hooker till bayonets +were crossed on the rails and the Confederate line was broken. Then +the Confederate reserves charged in and drove the Federals back. +No sooner was this seen than, with a burst of cheering, another +blue line surged forward. Again the Confederate front was broken, +but again their reserves drove back the Federals. And so the fight +went on, with stroke and counterstroke, till, at a quarter past +five, twelve hours after Pope's first men had started from the +Henry Hill, his thirty thousand attackers found themselves unable +to break through. + +Pope wished to make one more effort to round up Jackson's supposedly +open right. But Porter quite properly sent back word that it was +far too strong for his own ten thousand. In reply Pope angrily +ordered an immediate attack. But it was now too dark, and the battle +ended for the day. + +Strangely enough, Lee was also having trouble with his subordinate +on the same flank at the same time, but with this difference, that +Porter was right while Longstreet was wrong. Lee saw his chance of +rolling up Pope's left and ordered Longstreet to do it. But, after +reconnoitering the ground, Longstreet came back to say the chance +was "not inviting." Again Lee ordered an attack. But Longstreet +wasted time, looking for needlessly favorable ground till long after +dark. Meanwhile the Federals were also feeling their way forward +over the same ground to get into a good flanking position for next +day's battle. So the two sides met; and it was past midnight when +Longstreet settled down. Lee wanted a sword thrust. Longstreet gave +a pin prick. We shall meet Longstreet again, in the same character +of obstructive subordinate, at Gettysburg. But he was, for the +most part, a very good officer indeed; and the South, with its +scanty supply of trained leaders, could not afford to make changes +like the North. The fault, too, was partly Lee's; for his one weak +point with good but wayward subordinates was a tendency to let his +sensitive consideration for their feelings overcome his sterner +insight into their defects. + +At noon on the fatal thirtieth of August, Pope, self-deluded and +self-sufficient as before, dismayed his best officers by ordering +his sixty-five thousand men to be "immediately thrown forward in +pursuit of the enemy," whose own fifty thousand were now far readier +than on the previous day. + +Then the dense blue masses marched to their doom. Twenty thousand +bayonets shone together from Groveton to Bull Run. Forty thousand +more supported them on the slopes in rear, while every Federal +gun thundered forth protectingly from the heights behind. The +Confederate batteries were pointed out as the objective of attack. +Not one glint of steel appeared between these batteries and the +glittering Federal host. To the men in the ranks and to Pope himself +victory seemed assured. But no sooner had that brave array come +within rifle range of the deserted railroad line than, high and +clear, the Confederate bugles called along the hidden edges of +the flat-topped Ridge; when instantly the great gray host broke +cover, ran forward as one man, and held the whole embankment with +a line of fire and steel. + +A shock of sheer amazement ran through the Federal mass. Then, +knightly as any hero of romance, a mounted officer rode out alone, +in front of the center, and, with his sword held high, continued +leading the advance, which itself went on undaunted. The Confederate +flank batteries crossed their fire on this devoted center. Bayonets +flashed out of line in hundreds as their owners fell. Colors were +cut down, raised high, cut down again. But still that gallant horse +and man went on, unswerving and untouched. Even the sweeping volleys +spared them both, though now, as the Federals closed, these volleys +cut down more men than the cross-fire of the guns. At last the +unscathed hero waved his sword and rode straight up the deadly +embankment, followed by the charging line. "Don't kill him! Don't +kill him!" shouted the admiring Confederates as his splendid figure +stood, one glorious moment, on the top. The next, both horse and man +sank wounded, and were at once put under cover by their generous +foes. + +For thirty-five dire minutes the fight raged face to face. One +Federal color rose, fell, and rose again as fast as living hands +could take it from the dead. Over a hundred men lay round it when +the few survivors drew back to re-form. Pope fed his front line +with reserves, who advanced with the same undaunted gallantry, but +also with the same result. As if to make this same result more sure +he never tried to win by one combined assault, wave after crashing +wave, without allowing the defense to get its second wind; but let +each unit taste defeat before the next came on. Federal bravery +remained. But Federal morale was rapidly disintegrating under the +palpable errors of Pope. Misguided, misled, and mishandled, the +blue lines still fought on till four, by which time every corps, +division, and brigade had failed entirely. + +Then, at the perfect moment and in the perfect way, Lee's counterstroke +was made: the beaten Federals being assailed in flank as well as +front by every sword, gun, bayonet, and bullet that could possibly +be brought to bear. Only the batteries remained on the ridge, firing +furiously till the Federals were driven out of range. The infantry +and cavalry were sent in--wave after wave of them, without respite, +till the last had hurled destruction on the foe. + +As at the First Bull Run, so here, the regulars fell back in good +order, fighting to the very end. But the rest of Pope's Army of +Virginia was no longer an organized unit. Even strong reinforcements +could do nothing for it now. On the second of September, three days +after the battle, its arrival at Washington, heralded by thousands +of weary stragglers, threw the whole Union into gloom. + + +The first counter-invasion naturally followed. Southern hopes ran +high. Bragg's invasion of Kentucky seemed to be succeeding at this +time. The trans-Mississippi line still held at Vicksburg and Port +Hudson. Richmond had been saved. Washington was menaced. And most +people on both sides thought so much more of the land than of the +sea that the Federal victories along the coast and up the Mississippi +were half forgotten for the time being; and so was the strangling +blockade. Lee, of course, saw the situation as a whole; and, as a +whole, it was far from bright. But though the counter-invasion was +now a year too late it seemed worth making. Maryland was full of +Southern sympathizers; and campaigning there would give Virginia a +chance to recuperate, while also preventing the North from recovering +too quickly from its last reverse. Thus it was with great expectations +that the Confederates crossed the Potomac singing _Maryland, my +Maryland!_ + +But Maryland did not respond to this appeal. The women, it is true, +were mostly Southern to the core and ready to serve the Confederate +cause in every way they could. But the men, reflecting more, knew +they were in the grip of Northern sea-power. Nor could they fail +to notice the vast difference between the warlike resources of +the North and South. Northern armies had been marching through for +many months, well fed, well armed, and superabundantly supplied. +The Confederates, on the other hand, were fewer in numbers, half +starved, in ragged clothing, less well armed, and far less abundantly +supplied in every way. A Northerner who fell sick could generally +count on the best of medical care, not to mention a profusion of +medical comforts. But the blockade kept medicines and surgical +instruments out of the Southern ports; and the South could make +few of her own. So, to be very sick or badly wounded meant almost +a sentence of death in the South. Eighteen months of war had +disillusioned Maryland. The expected reinforcements never came. + +Lee had again divided his army in the hope of snatching victory by +means of better strategy. On the thirteenth of September Jackson +was bombarding the Federals at Harper's Ferry, Longstreet was at +Hagerstown, and Stuart was holding the gaps of South Mountain. + +The same day McClellan, whose whole army was at Frederick, received +a copy of Lee's orders. They had been wrapped round three cigars +and lost by a careless Confederate staff officer. Had McClellan +forced the gaps immediately, maneuvered with reasonable skill, and +struck home with every available man, he might have annihilated +Lee. But he let the thirteenth pass quietly; and when he did take the +passes on the fourteenth it cost him a good deal, as the Confederate +infantry had reinforced Stuart. On the fifteenth Jackson took Harper's +Ferry. On the sixteenth he joined Lee at Antietam. And on the +seventeenth, when the remaining availables had also joined Lee, +McClellan made up his mind to attack. "Ask me for anything but +time," said the real Napoleon. The "Young Napoleon" did not even +need the asking. + +Antietam (so called from the Antietam Creek) or Sharpsburg (so +called from the Confederate headquarters there) was one of the +biggest battles of the Civil War; and it might possibly have been +the most momentous. But, as things turned out, it was in itself an +indecisive action, spoilt for the Federals, first, by McClellan's +hesitating strategy, and then by his failure to press the attack home +at all costs, with every available man, in an unbroken succession +of assaults. He had over 80,000 men with 275 guns against barely +40,000 with 194 guns of inferior strength. But though the Federals +fought with magnificent devotion, and though the losses were very +serious on both sides, the tactical result was a mutual checkmate. +The strategic result, however, was a Confederate defeat; for, with +his few worn veterans, Lee had no chance whatever of keeping his +precarious hold on a neutral Maryland. + +October was a quiet month, each side reorganizing without much +interference from the other, except for Stuart's second raid round +the whole embattled army of McClellan. This time Stuart took nearly +two thousand men and four horse artillery guns. Crossing the Potomac +at McCoy's Ford on the tenth he reached Chambersburg that night, +destroyed the Federal stores, took all the prisoners he wanted, +cut the wires, obstructed the rails, and went on with hundreds +of Federal horses. Next day he circled the Federal rear toward +Gettysburg, turned south through Emmitsburg, and crossed McClellan's +line of communications with Washington at Hyattstown early on the +twelfth. By this time the Federal cavalry were riding themselves to +exhaustion in vain pursuit; while many other forces were trying to +close in and cut him off. But he reached the mouth of the Monocacy +and crossed White's Ford in safety, fighting off all interference. +The information he brought back was of priceless value. Lee now +learned that McClellan was not falling back on Washington but being +reinforced from there, and that consequently no new Peninsula Campaign +was to be feared at present. This alone was worth the effort, risk, +and negligible loss. Stuart had marched a hundred and twenty-six +miles on the Federal side of the Potomac--eighty of them without +a single halt; and he had been fifty-six hours inside the Federal +lines, mostly within four riding hours of McClellan's own headquarters. + +This second stinging raid roused the loyal North to fury; and by +November a new invasion of Virginia was in full swing on the old +ground, with McClellan at Warrenton, Lee at Culpeper, and Jackson +in the Valley. + +But McClellan's own last chance had gone. Late at night on the +seventh he was sitting alone in his tent, writing to his wife, when +Burnside asked if he could come in with General C. P. Buckingham, +the confidential staff officer to the War Department. After some +forced conversation Buckingham handed McClellan a paper ordering his +supersession by Burnside. McClellan simply said: "Well, Burnside, +I turn the command over to you." The eighth and ninth were spent in +handing over; and on the tenth McClellan made his official farewell. +Next day he was entraining at Warrenton Junction when the men, +among whom he was immensely popular, broke ranks and swarmed round +his car, cursing the Government and swearing they would follow +no one but their "Old Commander." McClellan, with all his faults +in the field, was a good organizer, an extremely able engineer, +a very brave soldier, a very sympathetic comrade in arms, and a +regular father to his men, whose personal interests were always his +first care. The moment was critical. McClellan, had he chosen, might +have imitated the Roman generals who led the revolts of Prætorian +Guards. But he stepped out on the front platform of the car, held +up his hand, and, amid tense silence, asked the men to "stand by +General Burnside as you have stood by me." The car they had uncoupled +to prevent his departure was run up and coupled again; and then, +amid cheers of mournful farewell, they let him go. + +General Ambrose E. Burnside was expected to smash Lee, take Richmond, +and end the war at once. He was a good subordinate, but quite unfit +for supreme command, which he accepted only under protest. Moreover, +he was not supported as he should have been by the War Department, +nor even by the Headquarter Staff. While changing his position from +Warrenton to Fredericksburg he was hampered by avoidable delays. +So when he reached Falmouth he found Lee had forestalled him on +the opposing heights of Fredericksburg itself. + +The disastrous thirteenth of December was dull, calm, and misty. +But presently the sun shone down with unwonted warmth; the mists +rolled up like curtains; and there stood 200,000 men, arrayed in +order of battle: 80,000 Confederates awaiting the onslaught of +120,000 Federals. + +On came the solid masses of the Federals, eighty thousand strong, +with forty in support, amid the thunder of five hundred attacking +and defending guns. The sunlight played upon the rising tide of +Federal bayonets as on sea currents when they turn inshore. The +colors waved proudly as ever; and to the outward eye the attack +seemed almost strong enough to drive the stern and silent gray +Confederates clear off the crest. But the indispensable morale was +wanting. For this was the end of a long campaign, full of drawn +battles and terrible defeats. Burnside was an unpopular substitute +for McClellan; he was not in any way a great commander; and he was +acting under pressure against his own best judgment. His army knew +or felt all this; and he knew they knew or felt it. The Federals, +for all their glorious courage, felt, when the two fronts met at +Fredericksburg, that they were no more than sacrificial pawns in +the grim game of war. After much useless slaughter they reeled +back beaten. But they could and did retire in safety, skillfully +"staffed" by their leaders and close to their unconquerable sea. + +Lee could make no counterstroke. The Confederate Government had +not dared to let him occupy the far better position on the line +of the North Anna, from which a vigorous counterstroke might have +almost annihilated a beaten attacker, who would have been exposed +on both flanks, beyond the sure protection of the sea. Thus fear of +an outcry against "abandoning" the country between Fredericksburg +and the North Anna caused the Southern politicians to lose their +chance at home. But without a decisive victory they could not hope +for foreign intervention. So losing their chance at home made them +lose it abroad as well. + +Burnside was dazed by his defeat and the appalling loss of life +in vain. But after five weeks of most discouraging inaction he +tried to surprise Lee by crossing the Rappahannock several miles +higher up. On the twentieth and twenty-first of that miserable +January the Federal army ploughed its dreary way through sloughs +of gluey mud under torrents of chilling rain. Then, when the pace +had slackened to a funereal crawl, and the absurdly little chance of +surprising Lee had vanished altogether, this despairing "Mud March" +came to its wretched end. Four days later Burnside was superseded by +one of his own subordinates, General Joseph Hooker, known to all +ranks as "Fighting Joe Hooker." + + +Fredericksburg, the spell of relaxing winter quarters beside the +fatal Rappahannock, and then the fatal "Mud March," combined to +lower Federal morale. Yet the mass of the men, being composed of +fine human material, quickly recovered under "Fighting Joe Hooker," +who knew what discipline meant. Numbers and discipline tell. But +disciplined numbers were not the only or even the greatest menace +to the South. For here, as farther west, the Confederate Government +was beginning to be foolish just as the Federal Government showed +signs of growing wise. Lincoln and Stanton were giving Joe Hooker a +fairly free hand just when Davis and Seddon (his makeshift minister +of war) were using Confederate forces as puppets to be pulled about +by Cabinet strings from Richmond. Here again (as later on at +Chattanooga) Longstreet was sent away on a useless errand just +when he was needed most by Lee. Good soldier though he was in many +ways he was no such man as Stonewall Jackson; and, in this one +year, he failed his seniors thrice. + +It is true enough that the April situation of 1863 might well shake +governmental nerves; for Richmond was being menaced from three +points--north, southeast, and south: Fredericksburg due north, +Suffolk southeast, Newbern south. Newbern in North Carolina was +a long way off. But its possession by an active enemy threatened +the rail connection from Richmond south to Wilmington, Charleston, +and Savannah, the only three Atlantic ports through which the South +could get supplies from overseas. Suffolk was nearer. It covered +the landward side of Norfolk, which, with Fortress Monroe, might +become the base of a new Peninsula Campaign. But Fredericksburg +was nearest; nearest to Richmond, nearest to Washington, nearest +to the main Southern force; and not only nearest but strongest, in +every way strongest and most to be feared. "Fighting Joe Hooker" was +there, with a hundred and thirty thousand men, already stirring for +the spring campaign that was to wipe out memories of Fredericksburg, +make short work of Lee, and end the war at Richmond. + +Yet Longstreet cheerfully marched off, pleased with his new command, +to see what he could do to soothe the Government by winning laurels +for himself at Suffolk. On the seventeenth, just two weeks before +the supreme test came on Lee's weakened army at Chancellorsville, +Longstreet reported to Seddon that Suffolk would cost three thousand +men, if taken by assault, or three days' heavy firing if subdued by +bombardment. Shrinking from such expenditure of life or ammunition, +Davis, Seddon, and Longstreet fell back on a siege, which, preventing +all junction with Lee, might well have cost the ruin of their cause. + +Lee and Jackson then prepared to make the best of a bad business +along the Rappahannock, and to snatch victory once more, if possible, +from the very jaws of death. The prospect was grimmer than before. +Hooker was a better fighter than McClellan and wiser than Burnside +or Pope. Moreover, after two years of war, the Union Government +had at last found out that civilian detectives knew less about +armies than expert staff officers know, and that cavalry which +was something more than mere men on horses could collect a little +information too. Hooker knew Lee's strength as well as his own. +So he decided to hold Lee fast with one part of the big Federal +army, turn his flank with another, and cut his line of supply and +retreat with Stoneman's ten thousand sabers as well. The respective +grand totals were 130,000 Federals against 62,000 Confederates. + +So far, so good; so very good indeed that Hooker and his staff +were as nearly free from care on May Day as headquarter men can +ever be in the midst of vital operations. Hooker had just reason to +be proud of the Army of the Potomac and of his own work in reviving +it. He had, indeed, issued one bombastic order of the day in which +he called it "the finest on the planet." But even this might be +excused in view of the popular call for encouraging words. What +was more to the point was the reëstablishment of Federal morale, +which had been terribly shaken after the great Mud March. Hooker's +sworn evidence (as given in the official _Report of Committee on +the Conduct of the War_) speaks for itself: "The moment I was placed +in command I caused a return to be made of the absentees of the +army, and found the number to be 2922 commissioned officers and +81,964 non-commissioned officers and privates. They were scattered +all over the country, and the majority were absent from causes +unknown." + +On the twenty-eighth of April Stuart saw the redisciplined Federals +in motion far up the Rappahannock, while next day Jackson saw others +laying pontoons thirty miles lower down, just on the seaward side +of Fredericksburg. Lee took this news with genial calm, remarking +to the aide: "Well, I heard firing and was beginning to think it +was time some of your lazy young fellows were coming to tell me +what it was about. Tell your good general he knows what to do with +the enemy just as well as I do." On the thirtieth it became quite +clear that Hooker was bent on turning Lee's left and that he had +divided his army to do so. Jackson wished to attack Sedgwick's +35,000 Federals still on the plains of Fredericksburg. But Lee +convinced him that the better way would be to hold these men with +10,000 Confederates in the fortified position on the confronting +heights while the remaining 52,000 should try to catch Hooker himself +between the jaws of a trap in the forest round Chancellorsville, +where the Federal masses would be far more likely to get out of +hand. It was an extremely daring maneuver to be setting this trap +when Sedgwick had enough men to storm the heights of Fredericksburg, +when Stoneman was on the line of communication with the south, +and when Hooker himself, with superior numbers, was gaining Lee's +rear. But Lee had Jackson as his lieutenant, not Longstreet, as +he was to have at Gettysburg. + +Hooker's movements were rapid, well arranged, and admirably executed +up to the evening of the first of May, when, finding those of the +enemy very puzzling among the dense woods, he chose the worst of +three alternatives. The first and best, an immediate counter-attack, +would have kept up his army's morale and, if well executed, revealed +his own greater strength. The second, a continued advance till he +reached clearer ground, might have succeeded or not. The third +and worst was to stand on his defense, a plan which, however sound +in other places, was fatal here, because it not only depressed +the spirits of his army but gave two men of genius the initiative +against him in a country where they were at home and he was not. +The absence of ten thousand cavalry baffled his efforts to get +trustworthy information on the ground, while the dense woods baffled +his balloons from above. On the second of May he still thought +the initiative was his, that the Confederates were retreating, +and that his own jaws were closing on them instead of theirs on +him. + +Meanwhile, owing to miscalculations of the space that had to be +held in force, his right was not only thrown forward too far but +presented a flank in the air. This was the flank round which Stonewall +Jackson maneuvered with such consummate skill that it was taken on +three sides and rolled up in fatal confusion. Its commander, the +very capable General O. O. Howard, who perceived the mistake he +could not correct, tried hard to stay the rout. But, as his whole +reserve had been withdrawn by Hooker to join an attack elsewhere, +his lines simply melted away. + +The three days' battle that followed (ending on the fifth of May) +was bravely fought by the bewildered Federals. Yet all in vain. +Hooker was caught like a bull in a net; and the more he struggled +the worse it became. At 6 P.M. on the second the cunning trap was +sprung when a single Confederate bugle rang out. Instantly other +bugles repeated the call at regular intervals through miles of +forest. Then, high and clear on the silent air of that calm May +evening, the rebel yell rose like the baying of innumerable hounds, +hot on the scent of their quarry, with Jackson leading on. Nothing +could stop the eager gray lines, wave after wave of them pressing +through the woods; not even the gallant fifty guns that fought with +desperation in defense of Hazel Grove, where Hooker was rallying +his men. + +For two days more the tide of battle ebbed and flowed; but always +against the Federals in the end, till, broken, bewildered, and +disheartened, they retired as best they could. Lee was unable to +pursue. Longstreet's men were still missing; and so were many supplies +that should have been forwarded from Richmond. There the Government +clung to the fond belief that this mere victory had won the war, +and that pursuit was useless. Thus Lee's last chance of crushing +the invaders was taken from him by his friends. + +At the same time the Southern cause suffered another irreparable +loss; but in this case at the purely accidental hands of Southern +men. Jackson's staff, suddenly emerging from a thicket as the first +night closed in, was mistaken for Federal cavalry and shot down. +Jackson himself was badly wounded in three places and carried from +the field. He never heard the rebel yell again. Next Sunday, when the +staff-surgeon told him that he could not possibly live through the +night, he simply answered: "Very good, very good; it is all right." +Presently he asked Major Pendleton what chaplain was preaching at +headquarters. "Mr. Lacy, sir; and the whole army is praying for +you." "Thank God," said Jackson, "they are very kind to me." A +little later, rousing himself as if from sleep, he called out: +"Order A. P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the +front! Tell Major Hawks--" There his strength failed him. But after +a pause he said quietly, "Let us cross over the river and rest +under the shade of the trees." And with these words he died. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +GRANT WINS THE RIVER WAR: 1863 + +We have seen already how the River War of '62 ended in a double +failure of the Federal advance on Vicksburg: how Grant and Sherman, +aided by the flanking force from Helena in Arkansas, failed to +catch Pemberton along the Tallahatchie; and then how Sherman alone, +moving down the Mississippi, was defeated by Pemberton at Chickasaw +Bayou, just outside of Vicksburg. + +Leaving Memphis for good, Grant took command in the field again +on the thirtieth of January. His army was strung out along seventy +miles of the Mississippi just north of Vicksburg, so hard was it to +find enough firm ground. The first important move was made when, in +Grant's own words, "the entire Army of the Tennessee was transferred +to the neighborhood of Vicksburg and landed on the opposite or +western bank of the river at Milliken's Bend." + +Grant, everywhere in touch with Admiral D. D. Porter's fleet and +plentifully supplied with water transport of all kinds, thus commanded +the peninsula or tongue of low land round which the mighty river took +its course in the form of an elongated U right opposite Vicksburg. +His farthest north base was still at Cairo; and the whole line of +the Mississippi above him was effectively held by Union forces +afloat and ashore. Four hundred miles south lay Farragut and Banks, +preparing for an attack on Port Hudson and intent on making junction +with the Union forces above. + +Two bad generals stood very much in Grant's way, one on either +side of him in rank--McClernand, his own second-in-command, and +Banks, his only senior in the Mississippi area. McClernand presently +found rope enough to hang himself. Our old friend Banks, who had +not yet learnt the elements of war, though schooled by Stonewall +Jackson, never got beyond Port Hudson, and so could not spoil Grant's +command in addition to his own. Fortunately, besides Sherman and +other professional soldiers of quite exceptional ability, Grant had +three of the best generals who ever came from civil life: Logan, +Blair, and Crocker. Logan shed all the vices, while keeping all +the virtues, of the lawyer when he took up arms. Blair knew how +to be one man as an ambitious politician and another as a general +in the field. Crocker was in consumption, but determined to die in +his boots and do his military best for the Union service first. +The personnel of the army was mostly excellent all through. The +men were both hardy and handy as a rule, being to a large extent +farmers, teamsters, railroad and steamboat men, well fitted to meet +the emergencies of the severe and intricate Vicksburg campaign. + +Throughout this campaign the army and navy of the Union worked +together as a single amphibious force. Grant's own words are no +mere compliment, but the sober statement of a fact. "The navy, under +Porter, was all it could be during the entire campaign. Without +its assistance the campaign could not have been successfully made +with twice the number of men engaged. It could not have been made +at all, in the way it was, with any number of men, without such +assistance. The most perfect harmony reigned between the two arms +of the Service. There never was a request made, that I am aware +of, either of the Flag-Officer or any of his subordinates, that +was not promptly complied with." And what is true of Porter is at +least as true of Farragut, who was the greater man and the senior +of every one afloat. + +Grant could take Vicksburg only by reaching good ground, and the +only good ground was below and in rear of the fortress. There was no +foothold for his army on the east bank of the Mississippi anywhere +between Memphis and Vicksburg. This meant that he must either start +afresh from Memphis and try again to push overland by rail or cross +the swampy peninsula in front of him and circle round his enemy. A +retirement on Memphis, no matter how wise, would look like another +great Union defeat and consequently lower a public morale which, +depressed enough by Fredericksburg, was being kept down by the +constant naval reverses that opened '63. Circling the front was +therefore very much to be preferred from the political point of view. +On the other hand, it was beset by many alarming difficulties; for it +meant starting from the flooded Mississippi and working through the +waterlogged lowlands, across the peninsula, till a foothold could be +seized on the eastern bank below Vicksburg. Moreover, this circling +attack, though feasible, might depress the morale of the troops by +the way. Burnside's disastrous "Mud March" through the January +sloughs of Virginia, made in the vain hope of outflanking Lee, had +lowered the morale of the army almost as much as Fredericksburg +itself had lowered the morale of the people. + +Through the depth of winter the army toiled "in ineffectual efforts," +says Grant, "to reach high land above Vicksburg from which we could +operate against that stronghold, and in making artificial waterways +through which a fleet might pass, avoiding the batteries to the +south of the town, in case the other efforts should fail." A wetter +winter had never been known. The whole complicated network of bends +and bayous, of creeks, streams, runs, and tributary rivers, was +overflowing the few slimy trails through the spongy forest and +threatening the neglected levees which still held back the encroaching +waters. There was nothing to do, however, but to keep the men busy +and the enemy confused by trying first one line and then another +for two weary months. By April, writes Grant, "the waters of the +Mississippi having receded sufficiently to make it possible to +march an army across the peninsula opposite Vicksburg, I determined +to adopt this course, and moved my advance to a point below the +town." + +Meanwhile, far below, Farragut and Banks were at work round Port +Hudson: Farragut to good effect; Banks as usual. On the fourteenth +of March Farragut started up the river with seven men-of-war and +wanted the troops to make a demonstration against Port Hudson from +the rear while the fleet worked its way past the front. But, just +as Farragut was weighing anchor, Banks, who had had ample time +for preparation, sent word to say he was still five miles from +Port Hudson. "He'd as well be at New Orleans," muttered Farragut, +"for all the good he's doing us." + +Six of the vessels were lashed together in pairs, the heavier ones +next the enemy, the lighter ones secured well aft so as to mask the +fewest guns. This arrangement also gave each pair the advantage +of having twin screws. Farragut's flagship, the _Hartford_, leading +the line-ahead, suffered least from the dense smoke on that damp, +calm, moonless night. But the others were soon groping blindly up +the tortuous channel. The _Hartford_ herself took the ground for +a critical moment. But, with her own screw going ahead and that +of the _Albatross_ going astern, she drew clear and won through. +Not so, however, the other five ships. Only the _Hartford_ and +_Albatross_ reached the Red River. Yet even this was of great +importance, as it completely cut off Port Hudson from all chance of +relief. Farragut went on up the Mississippi to see Grant, destroying +all riverside stores on the way. Grant was delighted, and, in the +absence of Porter, who was up the Yazoo, sent Farragut an Ellet +ram and some sorely needed coal. + +Grant's seventh (and first successful) effort to get a foothold (from +which to carry out one of the boldest and most brilliant operations +recorded in the history of war) began with a naval operation on the +sixteenth of April, when Porter ran past the Vicksburg batteries +by night. Though Porter had the four-knot current in his favor he +needed all his skill and moral courage to take a regular flotilla +round the elongated U made by the Mississippi at Vicksburg, with +such a bend as to keep vessels under more or less distant fire +for five miles, and under much closer fire for nearly nine. At +the bend the vessels could be caught end-on. For nearly five miles +after that they were subject to a plunging fire. Porter led the +way on board the flagship _Benton_. He had seven ironclads, of +which three were larger vessels and four were gunboats built by +Eads, a naval constructor with orignal ideas and great executive +ability. One ram and three transports followed. Coal barges were +lashed alongside or taken in tow. Some of these were lost and one +transport was sunk. But the rest got through, though not unscathed. +It seemed like a miracle to the tense spectators that any flotilla +should survive this dash down a river of death flowing through a +furnace. But the ironclads, magnificently handled, stood up to +their work unflinchingly, fired back with regulated vigor, and +took their terrific pounding without one vital wound. + +Porter presently relieved Farragut, who went back to New Orleans. +From this time, till after the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, +Porter commanded three flotillas, each with a base of its own: +first, a flotilla remaining north of Vicksburg for work on the +Yazoo; secondly, the main body between Vicksburg and Grand Gulf; +thirdly, the Red River flotilla. This combined naval force commanded +all lines of communication north, south, and west of Vicksburg, +thus enabling Grant to concentrate entirely against the eastern +side. + +On the thirtieth of April Grant landed with twenty thousand men at +Bruinsburg, on the east side of the Mississippi, about sixty miles +below Vicksburg. A week later Sherman reinforced him to thirty-three +thousand. Before the fall of Vicksburg his total strength reached +seventy-five thousand. The Confederate total also fluctuated; but +not so much. There were about sixty thousand Confederates in the +whole strategic area between Vicksburg and Jackson (fifty miles +east) when Grant made his first daring move, and about the same when +Vicksburg surrendered. The scene of action was almost triangular; +for it lay between the three lines joining Jackson, Haynes's Bluff, +Rodney, and Jackson again. The respective lengths of these straight +lines are forty, fifty, and seventy miles. But roundabout ways +by land and water multiplied these distances, and much fighting +and many obstacles vastly increased Grant's difficulties. + +An army, however, that had managed to reach Bruinsburg from the +north and west was assuredly fit for more hard work of any kind; +while a commander who had left a safe base above Vicksburg and +landed below, to live on (as well as in) an enemy country till +victory should give him a new land line to the north, must, in +view of the resultant triumph, be counted among the master-minds +of war. Grant's marvelous skill in massing, dividing, forwarding, +and concentrating his forces over a hundred miles of intricate +passages between Milliken's Bend and Bruinsburg was only excelled +by his consummate genius in carrying out this daring operation, +forcing his way through his enemies, into full possession of interior +lines, between their great garrison of Vicksburg and their field +army from Jackson. He had to create two fronts in spite of his +doubled enemy and live on that enemy's country without any land +base of his own. + +Grant knew the country was quite able to support his army if he +could only control enough of it. Bread, beef, and mutton would be +almost unobtainable. But chickens, turkeys, and ducks were abundant, +while hard-tack would do instead of bread. Bird-and-biscuit of course +became unpopular; and after weeks of it Grant was not surprised +to hear a soldier mutter "hard-tack" loudly enough for others to +take up the cry. By this time, however, he luckily knew that the +bread ration was about to be resumed; and when he told the men +they cheered as only men on service can--men to whom battles are +rare events but rations the very stuff of daily existence. Coffee, +bacon, beef, and mutton came next in popular favor when full rations +were renewed. So when the Northern land line was reopened towards +the end of the siege, and friends came into camp with presents +from home, they found, to their amazement, that even the tenderest +spring chicken was loathsome to their boys in blue. + +Grant set to work immediately on landing. His first objective was +Grand Gulf, which he wanted as a field base for further advance. +But in order to get it he had to drive away the enemy from Port +Gibson, which was by no means easy, even with superior numbers, +because the whole country thereabouts was so densely wooded and +so intricately watered that concerted movements could only be made +along the few and conspicuous roads. On the first of May, however, +the Confederates were driven off before their reinforcements could +arrive. McClernand bungled brigades and divisions out of mutual +support. But Grant personally put things right again. + +By the third of May the bridge burnt by the enemy had been repaired +and Grant's men were crossing to press them back on Vicksburg, so +as to clear Grand Gulf. Grant's supply train (raised by impressing +every horse, mule, ox, and wheeled thing in the neighborhood) looked +more like comic opera than war. Fine private carriages, piled high +with ammunition, and sometimes drawn by mules with straw collars +and rope lines, went side by side with the longest plantation wagons +drawn by many oxen, or with a two-wheeled cart drawn by a thoroughbred +horse. + +Before any more actions could be fought news came through that +the Federals in Virginia had been terribly beaten by Lee, who was +now expected to invade the North. The South was triumphant; so +much so, indeed, that its Government thought the war itself had +now been won. But Lincoln, Grant, and Lee knew better. + +Swiftly, silently, and with a sure strategic touch, Grant marched +northeast on Jackson, to make his rear secure before he turned on +Vicksburg. On the twelfth he won at Raymond and on the fourteenth +at Jackson itself. Here he turned back west again. On the sixteenth +he won the stubborn fight of Champion's Hill, on the seventeenth +he won again at Big Black River, and on the eighteenth he appeared +before the lines of Vicksburg. With the prestige of five victories +in twenty days, and with the momentum acquired in the process, he +then tried to carry the lines by assault on the spot. But the attack +of the nineteenth failed, as did its renewal on the twenty-second. +Next day both sides settled down to a six weeks' siege. + +The failure of the two assaults was recognized by friend and foe +as being a mere check; and Grant's men all believed they had now +found the looked-for leader. So they had. Like Lee and Stonewall +Jackson in Virginia, Grant, with as yet inferior numbers (but with +the immense advantage of sea-power), had seized, held, and acted +on interior lines so ably that his forty-three thousand men had +out-maneuvered and out-fought the sixty thousand of the enemy, +beating them in detail on ground of their own besides inflicting a +threefold loss. Grant lost little over four thousand. The Confederates +lost nearly twelve thousand, half of whom were captured. + +The only real trouble, besides the failure to carry the lines by +assault, was with the two bad generals, McClernand and Banks. McClernand +had promulgated an order praising his own corps to the skies and +conveying the idea that he and it had won the battles. Moreover, +he hinted that he had succeeded in the assault while the others had +failed. This was especially offensive because Grant, at McClernand's +urgent request, had sent reinforcements from other corps to confirm a +success that he found nonexistent on the spot, except in McClernand's +own words. To crown this, McClernand had sent his official order, +with all its misleading statements, to be published in the Northern +press; and the whole army was now supplied with the papers containing +it. So gross a breach of discipline could not go unpunished; and +McClernand was sent back to Springfield in disgrace. + +Banks, unfortunately, was senior to Grant and of course independent +of Farragut; so he could safely vex them both--Grant, by spoiling +the plan of concerting the attacks on Port Hudson and Vicksburg in +May; Farragut, by continual failure in coöperation and by leaving +big guns exposed to capture on the west bank. But things turned out +well, after all. The guns were saved by the naval vessels that beat +off a Confederate attack on Donaldsonville; and Grant's army was saved +from coming under Banks's command by Banks's own egregious failure +in coöperation. This failure thus became a blessing in disguise: a +disguise too good for Halleck, whose reprimand from Washington +on the twenty-third of May shows what dangers lurked beneath the +might-have-been. "The Government is exceedingly disappointed that +you and General Grant are not acting in conjunction. It thought to +secure that object by authorizing you to assume the entire command +as soon as you and General Grant could unite." + +In the end the Confederates suffered much more than the Federals +from civilian interference; for the orders of their Government +came through in time to confuse a situation that was already bad +and growing worse. Between Porter afloat and Grant ashore Vicksburg +was doomed unless "Joe" Johnston came west with sufficient force +to relieve it in time. Johnston did come early enough, but not +in sufficient force; so the next best thing was to destroy all +stores, abandon Vicksburg, and save the garrison. The Government, +however, sent positive orders to hold Vicksburg to the very last +gasp. Johnston had meanwhile sent Pemberton (the Vicksburg commander) +orders to combine with him in free maneuvering for an attack in +the field. But Pemberton's own idea was to await Grant on the Big +Black River, where, with Johnston's help, he thought he could beat +him. Then followed hesitation, a futile attempt to harmonize the +three incompatible schemes; and presently the division of the +Confederates into separated armies, driven apart by Grant, whose +own army soon dug itself in between them and quickly grew stronger +than both. + +Grant's lines, facing both opponents, from Haynes's Bluff to Warrenton, +were fifteen miles long, which gave him one man per foot when his +full strength was reached Pemberton's were only seven; and his +position was strong, both towards the river, where the bluffs rose +two hundred feet, and on the landward side, where the slopes were +sharp and well fortified. Grant closed in, however, and pressed +the bombardment home. Except for six 32-pounders and a battery of +big naval guns he had nothing but field artillery. Yet the abundance +of ammunition, the closeness of the range, and the support of his +many excellent snipers, soon gave him the upper hand. Six hundred +yards was the farthest the lines were apart. In some places they +nearly touched. + +All ranks worked hard, especially at engineering, in which there +was such a dearth of officers that Grant ordered every West Pointer +to do his turn with the sappers and miners as well as his other +duty. This brought forth a respectful protest from the enormously +fat Chief Commissary, who said he could only be used as a sap-roller +(the big roller sappers shove protectingly before them when snipers +get their range). The real sap-rollers came to grief when an ingenious +Confederate stuffed port-fires with turpentined cotton and shot them +into rollers only a few yards off. But after this the Federals +kept their rollers wet; and sapped and burrowed till the big mine +was fully charged and safe from the Confederate countermine, which +had missed its mark. + +While trying to blow each other up the men on both sides exchanged +amenities and chaff like the best of friends. Each side sold its +papers to the other; and the wall-paper newsprint of Vicksburg +made a good war souvenir for both. There was a steady demand for +Federal bread and Confederate tobacco. When market time was over the +Confederates would heave down hand-grenades, which agile Federals, +good at baseball, would heave uphill again before they exploded. And +woe to the man whose head appeared out of hours; for snipers were +always on the watch, especially that prince of snipers, Lieutenant H. +C. Foster, renowned as "Coonskin" from the cap he wore. A wonderful +stalker and dead shot he was a terror to exposed Confederates at +all times; but more particularly towards the end, when (their front +artillery having been silenced by Grant's guns) Coonskin built a +log tower, armored with railway iron, from which he picked off +men who were safe from ordinary fire. + +On the twenty-first of June Pemberton planned an escape across the +Mississippi and built some rough boats. But Grant heard of this; +the flotilla grew more watchful still; and before any attempt at +escape could be made the great mine was fired on the twenty-fifth. +The whole top of the hill was blown off, and with it some men who +came down alive on the Federal side. Among these was an unwounded +but terrified colored man, who, on being asked how high he had +gone, said, "Dunno, Massa, but t'ink 'bout t'ree mile." An immense +crater was formed. But there was no practicable breach; so the +assault was deferred. A second mine was exploded on the first of +July. But again there was no assault; for Grant had decided to +wait till several huge mines could be exploded simultaneously. +In the meantime an intercepted dispatch warned him that Johnston +would try to help Pemberton to cut his way out. But by the time +the second mine was exploded Pemberton was sounding his generals +about the chances of getting their own thirty thousand to join +Johnston's thirty thousand against Grant's seventy-five thousand. +The generals said No. Negotiations then began. + +On the third of July Grant met Pemberton under the "Vicksburg Oak," +which, though quite a small tree, furnished souvenir-hunters with +many cords of sacred wood in after years. Grant very wisely allowed +surrender on parole, which somewhat depleted Confederate ranks in +the future by the number of men who, returning to their homes, +afterwards refused to come back when the exchange of prisoners +would have permitted them to do so. + +That was a great week of Federal victory--the week including the +third, fourth, and eighth of July. On the third Lee was defeated at +Gettysburg. On the now doubly "Glorious Fourth" Vicksburg surrendered +and the last Confederate attack was repulsed at Helena in Arkansas. On +the eighth Port Hudson surrendered. With this the whole Mississippi +fell into Federal hands for good. On the first of August Farragut +left New Orleans for New York in the battle-scarred _Hartford_ +after turning over the Mississippi command to Porter's separate +care. + + +Meanwhile the Confederates in Tennessee, weakened by reinforcing +Johnston against Grant, had been obliged to retire on Chattanooga. +To cover this retirement and make what diversion he could, Bragg sent +John H. Morgan with twenty-five hundred cavalry to raid Kentucky, +Indiana, and Ohio. Perplexing the outnumbering Federals by his +daring, "Our Jack Morgan" crossed the Ohio at Brandenburg, rode +northeast through Indiana, wheeled south at Hamilton, Ohio, rode +through the suburbs of Cincinnati, reached Buffington Island on the +border of West Virginia, and then, hotly pursued by ever-increasing +forces, made northeast toward Pennsylvania. On the twenty-sixth of +July he surrendered near New Lisbon with less than four hundred +men left. + +The Confederate main body passed the summer vainly trying to stem +the advance of the Army of the Cumberland, with which Rosecrans and +Thomas skillfully maneuvered Bragg farther and farther south till +they had forced him into and out of Chattanooga. In the meantime +Burnside's Army of the Ohio cleared eastern Tennessee and settled +down in Knoxville. + +But in the middle of September Longstreet came to Bragg's rescue; +and a desperate battle was fought at Chickamauga on the nineteenth +and twentieth. The Confederates had seventy thousand men against +fifty-six thousand Federals: odds of five to four. They were determined +to win at any price; and it cost them eighteen thousand men, killed, +wounded, and missing; which was two thousand more than the Federals +lost. But they felt it was now or never as they turned to bay with, +for once, superior numbers. As usual, too, they coveted Federal +supplies. "Come on, boys, and charge!" yelled an encouraging sergeant, +"they have cheese in their haversacks!" Yet the pride of the soldier +stood higher than hunger. General D. H. Hill stooped to cheer a +very badly wounded man. "What's your regiment?" asked Hill. "Fifth +Confederate, New Orleans, and a damned good regiment it is," came +the ready answer. + +Rosecrans, like many another man who succeeds halfway up, failed +at the top. He ordered an immediate general retreat which would +have changed the hard-won Confederate victory into a Federal rout. +But Thomas, with admirable judgment and iron nerve, stood fast +till he had shielded all the others clear. From this time on both +armies knew him as the "Rock of Chickamauga." + +The unexpected defeat of Chickamauga roused Washington to immediate, +and this time most sensible, action. Grant was given supreme command +over the whole strategic area. Thomas superseded Rosecrans. Sherman +came down with the Army of the Tennessee. And Hooker railed through +from Virginia with two good veteran corps. Meanwhile the Richmond +Government was more foolish than the Washington was wise; for it let +Davis mismanage the strategy without any reference to Lee. Bragg also +made a capital mistake by sending Longstreet off to Knoxville with +more than a third of his command just before Grant's final advance. +The result was that Bragg found himself with only thirty thousand men +at Chattanooga when Grant closed in with sixty thousand, and that +Longstreet was useless at Knoxville, which was entirely dependent +on Chattanooga. Whoever won decisively at Chattanooga could have +Knoxville too. Davis, as the highest authority, and Bragg, as the +most responsible subordinate, ensured their own defeat. + +Chattanooga was the key to the whole strategic area of the upper +Tennessee; for it was the best road, rail, and river junction between +the lower Mississippi and the Atlantic ports of the South. It had +been held for some time by a Federal garrison which had made it +fairly strong. But toward the end of October it was short of supplies; +and Hooker had to fight Longstreet at Wauhatchie in the Lookout +Valley before it could be revictualed. When Hooker, Thomas, and +Sherman were there together under Grant in November it was of course +perfectly safe; and the problem changed from defense to attack. The +question was how to drive Bragg from his commanding positions on +Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. The woods and hills offered +concealment to the attack in some places. But Lookout Mountain +was a splendid observation post, twenty-two hundred feet high and +crested with columns of rock. The Ridge was three miles east, the +Mountain three miles south, of Cameron Hill, which stood just west +of Chattanooga, commanding the bridge of boats that crossed the +Tennessee. + +The battle, fought with great determination on both sides, lasted +three days--the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth of +November. Sherman made the flank attack on Missionary Ridge from the +north and Thomas the frontal attack from the west. Hooker attacked +the western flank of Lookout Mountain. + +Thomas did the first day's fighting, which was all preliminary +work, by advancing a good mile, taking the Confederate lines on the +lower slopes of the Ridge, and changing their defensive features +to face the Ridge instead of Chattanooga. + +At two the next morning Giles Smith's brigade dropped down the +Tennessee in boats and surprised the extreme north pickets placed +by Bragg at the mouth of the South Chickamauga to cover the right +of the Ridge. By noon Sherman's men were over the Tennessee ready +to coöperate with Thomas. Sherman had hidden his camp among the +hills on the other side so well that his movements could not be +observed, even from the commanding height of Lookout Mountain. The +night surprise of Bragg's pickets and the drizzling rain of the +morning prevented the Confederates from hearing or seeing anything +of Sherman's attack in the early afternoon; so he found himself on +the northern flank of Missionary Ridge before Bragg's main body +knew what he was doing. When the Confederates did attack it was too +late; and the twenty-fourth ended with Sherman entrenched against +the flank on even higher ground than Thomas held against the center. +Sherman's cavalry had meanwhile moved round the flank, on the lower +level and much farther off, to cut Bragg's right rear connection +with Chickamauga Station, whence the rails ran east to Cleveland, +Knoxville, and Virginia. + +Hooker's work this second day was to feel the Confederate force +on Lookout Mountain while keeping the touch with Thomas, who kept +the touch with Sherman. Mists hid his earlier maneuvers. He closed +in successfully, handled his men to admiration, and gained more +ground than either he or Grant had expected. Having succeeded so +well he changed his demonstration into a regular attack, which +became known as the "Battle above the Clouds." Step by step he +fought his way up, over breastworks and rifle pits, felled trees +and bowlders, through ravines and gullies, till the vanguard reached +the giant palisades of rock which ramparted the top. The roar of +battle was most distinctly heard four miles away, on Orchard Knob, +where Grant and Thomas were anxiously waiting. But nothing could +be seen until a sudden breeze blew the clouds aside just as the +long blue lines charged home and the broken gray retreated. Then, +from thirty thousand watching Federals, went up a cheer that even +cannon could not silence. + +At midnight Grant sent a word of encouragement to Burnside at Knoxville. +He then wrote his orders for what he now hoped would be a completely +victorious attack. The twenty-fifth of November broke beautifully +clear, and the whole scene of action remained in full view all day +long. Fearful of being cut off from their main body on Missionary +Ridge the Confederates had left Lookout Mountain under cover of +the dark. But by destroying the bridges across the Chattanooga +River, which ran through the valley between the Mountain and the +Ridge, they delayed Hooker till late that afternoon, thus saving +their left from an even worse disaster than the one that overtook +their center and their right. + +Sherman had desperate work against their right, as Bragg massed +every available gun and man to meet him. This massing, however, +was just what Grant wanted; for he now expected Hooker to appear +on the other flank, which Bragg would either have to give up in +despair or strengthen at the expense of the center, which Thomas +was ready to charge. But with Hooker not appearing, and Sherman +barely holding his own, Grant slipped Thomas from the leash. The +two centers then met hand to hand. But there was no withstanding +the Federal charge. Back went the Confederates, turning to bay +at their second line of defense. Here again they were overborne +by well-led superior numbers and soon put to flight. Sheridan, +of whom we shall hear again in '64, took up the pursuit. Bragg +lost all control of his men. Stores, guns, and even rifles were +abandoned. Thousands of prisoners were taken; and most of the others +were scattered in flight. The battle, the whole campaign, and even +the war in the Tennessee sector, were won. + +Vicksburg meant that the trans-Mississippi South would thenceforth +wither like a severed branch. Chattanooga meant that the Union +forces had at last laid the age to the root of the tree. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +GETTYSBURG: 1863 + +On the fifth of May we left Lee victorious in Virginia; but with +his indispensable lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, mortally wounded. + +Though thoroughly defeated at Chancellorsville, Hooker soon recovered +control of the Army of the Potomac and prepared to dispute Lee's +right of way. Lee faced a difficult, perhaps an insoluble, problem. +Longstreet urged him to relieve the local pressure on Vicksburg by +concentrating every available man in eastern Tennessee, not only +withdrawing Johnston's force from Grant's rear but also depleting +the Confederates in Virginia for the same purpose. Then, combining +these armies from east and west with the one already there under +Bragg, the united Confederates were to crush Rosecrans in their +immediate front and make Cincinnati their great objective. Lee, +however, dared not risk the loss of his Virginian bases in the +meantime; and so he decided on a vigorous counter-attack, right +into Pennsylvania, hoping that, if successful, this would produce +a greater effect than any corresponding victory could possibly +produce elsewhere. + +On the ninth of June a cavalry combat round Brandy Station, in +the heart of Virginia, made Hooker's staff feel certain that Lee +was again going up the Valley and on to Maryland. At one time, +for want of supplies, Lee had to spread out his front along a line +running eighty miles northwest from Fredericksburg to Strasburg. +Hooker, on the keen alert, implored the Government to let him attack +the three Confederate corps in detail. Success against one at least +was certain. Lincoln understood this perfectly. But the nerves of his +colleagues were again on edge; and no argument could persuade them +to adopt the best of all possible schemes of defense by destroying +the enemy's means of destroying them. They insisted on the usual +shield theory of passive defense, and ordered Hooker to keep between +Lee and Washington whatever might happen. This absurd maneuver was +of course attended with all the usual evil results at the time. +Equally of course, it afterwards drew down the wrath of the wiseacre +public on their own representatives. But wiseacre publics never stop +to think that many a government is forced to do foolish and even +suicidal things in war simply because it represents the ignorance +and folly, as well as the wisdom, of all who have the vote. + +Yet both the loyal public and its Government had some good reasons +to doubt Hooker's ability, even apart from his recent defeat; and +Lincoln, wisest of all--except in applying strategy to problems +he could not fully understand--felt almost certain that Hooker's +character contained at least the seeds of failure in supreme command. +"He talks to me like a father," said Hooker, on reading the letter +Lincoln wrote when appointing him Burnside's successor. This remarkable +letter, dated January 26, 1863, though printed many times, is worth +reading again: + + +I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course +I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons, +and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things +in regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe +you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which, of course, I like. +I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in +which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is +a valuable, if not an indispensable, quality. You are ambitious, +which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm; but +I think that during General Burnside's command of the army you +have taken counsel of your ambition, and thwarted him as much as +you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country and to a +most meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in +such way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the +army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not +for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. +Only those generals who gain successes can set up dictatorships. +What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the +dictatorship. The Government will support you to the utmost of +its ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and +will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you +have aided to infuse into the army, of criticizing their commander +and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I +shall assist you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor +Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army +while such a spirit prevails in it. And now, beware of rashness, +but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward, and give us +victories. + + +Then came Chancellorsville, doubts at Washington, interference by +Stanton, ill-judged orders from Halleck, and some not very judicious +rejoinders from Hooker himself, who became rather peevish, to Lincoln's +alarm. So when, on the twenty-seventh of June, Hooker tendered his +resignation, it was promptly accepted. With Lee in Pennsylvania +there was no time for discussion: only for finding some one to +trust. + +Lee, as usual, had divined the political forces working on the +Union armies from Washington and had maneuvered with a combination +of skill and daring that exactly met the situation. Throwing his +left forward (under Ewell) in the Shenandoah Valley he had driven +Milroy out of Winchester on the fourteenth of June and next day +secured a foothold across the Potomac. Then the rest of his army +followed. It was so much stretched out (to facilitate its food +supply) that Lincoln again wished to strike it at any vulnerable +spot. But the Cabinet in general (and Stanton in particular) were +still determined that the Union army should be their passive shield, +not their active sword. On the twenty-fourth Ewell was already +beginning to semicircle Gettysburg from the Cumberland Valley. On +the twenty-eighth, the day on which Meade succeeded Hooker in the +Federal command, the Confederate semicircle, now formed by Lee's +whole army, stretched from Chambersburg on the west, through Carlisle +on the north, to York on the east; while the massed Federals were +still in Maryland, near Middletown and Frederick, thirty miles +south of Gettysburg, and only forty miles northwest of nervous +Washington. + +Hooker's successor, George G. Meade, was the fifth defender of +Washington within the last ten months. Luckily for the Union, Meade +was a sound, though not a great, commander, and his hands were +fairly free. Luckily again, he was succeeded in command of the Fifth +Corps by George Sykes, the excellent leader of those magnificent +regulars who fought so well at Antietam and Second Manassas. The +change from interference to control was made only just in time +at Washington; for three days after Meade's free hand began to +feel its way along the threatened front the armies met upon the +unexpected battlefield of Gettysburg. + +Lee in Pennsylvania was in the midst of a very hostile population +and facing superior forces which he could only defeat in one of +two difficult ways: either by a sudden, bewildering, and unexpected +attack, like Jackson's and his own at Chancellorsville, or by an +impregnable defense on ground that also favored a victorious +counter-attack and the subsequent crushing pursuit. But there was +no Jackson now; and the nature of the country did not favor the +bewildering of Federals who were fighting at home under excellent +generals well served by a competent staff and well screened by cavalry. +So the "fog of war" was quite as dense round Lee's headquarters as +it was round Meade's on the first of July, when Lee found that his +chosen point of concentration near Gettysburg was already occupied +by Buford's cavalry, with infantry and some artillery in support. +The surprise--and no very great surprise--was mutual. The Federals +were found where they could stand on their defense in a very strong +position if the rest of their army could come up in time. And Lee's +only advantage was that, having already ordered concentration round +the same position, he had a few hours' start of Meade in getting +there. + +Each commander had intended to make the other one attack if possible; +and Meade of course knew that Lee, with inferior numbers and vastly +inferior supplies, could not afford to stay long among gathering +enemies in the hostile North without decisive action. The Confederates +must either fight or retreat without fighting, and make their choice +very soon. So, when the two armies met at Gettysburg, Lee was +practically forced to risk an immediate action or begin a retreat +that might have ruined Confederate morale. + +Gettysburg is one of those battles about which men will always +differ. The numbers present, the behavior of subordinates, the +tactics employed, were, and still are, subjects of dispute. Above +all, there is the vexed question of what Lee should or should not +have done. We have little space to spare for any such discussions. +We can only refer inquirers to the original evidence (some of which +is most conflicting) and give the gist of what seems to be indubitable +fact. The numbers were a good seventy thousand Confederates against +about eighty thousand Federals. But these are the approximate grand +totals; and it must be remembered that the Confederates, having +the start, were in superior numbers during the first two days. +On each side there was an aggrieved and aggrieving subordinate +general, Sickles on the Federal side, Longstreet on the other. +But Sickles was by far the less important of the two. In tactics +the Federals displayed great judgment, skill, and resolution. The +Northern people called Gettysburg a soldiers' battle; and so, in +many ways, it was; for there was heroic work among the rank and +file on both sides. But it most emphatically was not a soldiers' +battle in the sense of its having been won more by the rank and +file than by the generals in high command; for never did so many +Federal chiefs show to such great advantage. No less than five +commanded in succession between morning and midnight on the first +day, each meeting the crisis till the next senior came up. They +were Buford, Reynolds, Howard, Hancock, Meade. Hunt also excelled in +command of the artillery; and this in spite of much misorganization +of that arm at Washington. Warren was not only a good commander +of the engineers but a good all-round general, as he showed by +seizing, on his own initiative, the Little Round Top, without which +the left flank could never have been held. + +Finally, there is the great vexed question of what Lee should or +should not have done. First, it seems clear that (like Farragut and +unlike Grant and Jackson) he lacked the ruthless power of making +every subordinate bend or break in every time of crisis: otherwise +he would have bent or broken Longstreet. Next, it may have been +that he was not then at his best. Concludingly, it may be granted +to armchair (and even other) critics that if everything had been +something else the results might not have been the same. + + +Lee, having invaded the North by marching northeast under cover of +the mountains and wheeling southeast to concentrate at Gettysburg, +found Buford's cavalry suddenly resisting him, as they formed the +northwest outpost of Meade's army, which was itself concentrating +round Pipe Creek, near Taneytown in Maryland, fifteen miles southeast. +Gettysburg was a meeting place of many important roads. It stood at +the western end of a branch line connecting with all the eastern +rails. And it occupied a strong strategic point in the vitally +important triangle formed by Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Washington. +Thus, like a magnet, it drew the contending armies to what they +knew would prove a field decisive of the whole campaign. + +The Federal line, as finally held on the third of July, was nearly +five miles long. The front faced west and was nearly three miles +long. The flanks, thrown back at right angles, faced north and +south. Near the north end of the front stood Cemetery Hill, near +the south the Devil's Den, a maze of gigantic bowlders. Along the +front the ground was mostly ridged, and even the lower ground about +the center was a rise from which a gradual slope went down to the +valley that rose again to the opposite heights of Seminary Ridge, +where Lee had his headquarters only a mile away. The so-called +hills were no more than hillocks, the ridges were low, and most +slopes were those of a rolling country. But the general contour +of the ground, the swelling hillocks on the flanks (Culp's Hill +on the right, the Round Tops on the left) and the broad glacis up +which attackers must advance against the center, all combined to +make the position very strong indeed when held by even or superior +numbers. + +The first day's fight began when A. P. Hill's Confederates, with +Longstreet's following, closed in on Gettysburg from the west to +meet Ewell's, who were coming down from the north. Buford's Federal +cavalry resisted Hill's advanced brigades successfully till Reynolds +had brought the First Corps forward in support and ordered the +two other nearest corps to follow at the double quick. Reynolds +was killed early in the day; but not before his well trained eye +had taken in the situation at a glance and his sure judgment had +half committed both armies to that famous field. + +The full commitment came shortly after, when Meade sent Hancock +forward to command the three corps and Buford's cavalry in their +attempt to stem the Confederate advance. Howard was then the senior +general on the field, having taken over from Doubleday, who had +succeeded Reynolds. But he at once agreed that such a strong position +should be held and that Hancock should proceed to rectify the lines. +This was no easy task; for Ewell's Confederates had meanwhile come +down from the north and driven in the Federal flank on the already +hard-pressed front. The front thereupon gave way and fell back +in confusion. But Hancock's masterly work was quickly done and +the Federal line was reëstablished so well that the Confederates +paused in their attack and waited for the morrow. + +The Confederates had got as good as they gave, much to their disgust. +Archer, one of their best brigadiers, felt particularly sore when +most of his men were rounded up by Meredith's "Iron Brigade." When +Doubleday saw his old West Point friend a prisoner he shook hands +cordially, saying, "Well, Archer, I _am_ glad to see you!" But +Archer answered, "Well, I'm not so glad to see _you_--not by a +damned sight!" The fact was that the excellent Federal defense had +come as a very unpleasing surprise upon the rather too cocksure +Confederates. Buford's cavalry and Reynolds's infantry had staunchly +withstood superior numbers; while Lieutenant Bayard Wilkeson actually +held back a Confederate division for some time with the guns of +Battery G, Fourth U. S. Artillery. This heroic youth, only nineteen +years of age, kept his men in action, though they were suffering +terrible losses, till two converging batteries brought him down. + +He was well matched by a veteran of over seventy, John Burns, an +old soldier, whom the sound of battle drew from his little home like +the trumpet-call to arms. In his swallow-tailed, brass-buttoned, +old-fashioned coatee, Burns seemed a very comic sight to the nearest +boys in blue until they found he really meant to join them and +that he knew a thing or two of war. "Which way are the rebels?" +he asked, "and where are our troops? I know how to fight--I've +fit before." So he did; and he fought to good purpose till wounded +three times. + +Late in the evening Meade arrived and inspected the lines by moonlight. +Having ordered every remaining man to hasten forward he faced the +second day with well-founded anxiety lest Lee's full strength should +break through before his own last men were up. His right was not +safe against surprise by the Confederates who slept at the foot of +Culp's Hill, and his left was in imminent danger from Longstreet's +corps. But on the second day Longstreet marked his disagreement +with Lee's plans by delaying his attack till Warren, with admirable +judgment, had ordered the Round Tops to be seized at the double +quick and held to the last extremity. Then, after wasting enough +time for this to be done, Longstreet attacked and was repulsed; +though his men fought very well. Meanwhile Ewell, whose attack +against the right was to synchronize with Longstreet's against +the left, was delayed by Longstreet till the afternoon, when he +carried Culp's Hill. + +This was the only Confederate success; for Early failed to carry +Cemetery Hill, the adjoining high ground, which formed the right +center, and the rest of the Federal line remained intact; though +not without desperate struggles. + +The third was the decisive day; and on it Meade rose to the height +of his unappreciated skill. This was the first great battle in +which all the chief Federals worked so well together and the first +in which the commander-in-chief used reserves with such excellent +effect, throwing them in at exactly the right moment and at the +proper place. But these indispensable qualities were not of the +kind that the public wanted to acclaim, or, indeed, of the kind +that they could understand. + +Meade was determined to clear his flanks. So he began at dawn to +attack Ewell on Culp's Hill and kept on doggedly till, after four +hours of strenuous fighting, he had driven him off. By this time +Meade saw that Lee was not going to press home any serious attack +against the Round Tops and Devil's Den on the left. So the main +interest of the whole battle shifted to the center of the field, where +Lee was massing for a final charge. The idea had been to synchronize +three coöperating movements against Meade's whole position. His left +was to have been held by a demonstration in force by Longstreet +against the Devil's Den and Round Tops, while Ewell held Culp's +Hill, which seemed to be at his mercy, and which would flank any +Federal retreat. At the same time Meade's center was to have been +rushed by Pickett's fresh division supported by three attached +brigades. But though the central force was ready before nine o'clock +it never stepped off till three; so great was Longstreet's delay +in ordering Pickett's advance. Meanwhile the Federals had made +Culp's Hill quite safe against Ewell. So all depended now on the +one last desperate assault against the Federal center. + +This immortal assault is known as Pickett's Charge because it was +made by Pickett's division of Longstreet's corps supported by three +brigades from Hill's--Wilcox's, Perry's, and Pettigrew's. The whole +formed a mass of about ten thousand men. If they broke the Federal +line in two, then every supporting Confederate was to follow, while +the rest turned the flanks. If they failed, then the battle must +be lost. + +Hour after hour passed by. But it was not till well past one that +Longstreet opened fire with a hundred and forty guns. Hunt had +seventy-seven ready to reply. But after firing for half an hour +he ceased, wishing to reserve his ammunition for use against the +charging infantry. This encouraged the Confederate gunners, who +thought they had silenced him. They then continued for some time, +preparing the way for the charge, but firing too high and doing +little execution against the Federal infantry, who were lying down, +mostly under cover. Hunt's guns were more exposed and formed better +targets; so some of them suffered severely: none more than those of +Battery A, Fourth U.S. Artillery. This gallant battery had three +of its limbers blown up and replaced. Wheels were also smashed to +pieces and guns put out of action, till only a single gun, with +men enough to handle it, was left with only a single officer. This +heroic young lieutenant, Alonzo H. Cushing (brother to the naval +Cushing who destroyed the _Albemarle_), then ran his gun up to +the fence and fired his last round through it into Pickett's men +as he himself fell dead. + +Pickett advanced at three o'clock, to the breathless admiration +of both friend and foe. He had a mile of open ground to cover. But +his three lines marched forward as steadily and blithely as if the +occasion was a gala one and they were on parade. The Confederate +bombardment ceased. The Federal guns and rifles held their fire. Fate +hung in silence on those gallant lines of gray. Then the Federal +skirmishers down in the valley began fitfully firing; and the waiting +masses on the Federal slopes began to watch more intently still. +"Here they come! Here comes the infantry!" The blue ranks stirred +a little as the men felt their cartridge boxes and the sockets of +their bayonets. The calm warnings of the officers could be heard +all down the line of Gibbon's magnificent division, which stood +straight in Pickett's path. "Steady, men, steady! Don't fire yet!" + +For a very few, tense minutes Pickett's division disappeared in +an undulation of the ground. Then, at less than point-blank range, +it seemed to spring out of the very earth, no longer in three lines +but one solid mass of rushing gray, cresting, like a tidal wave, to +break in fury on the shore. Instantly, as if in answer to a single +word, Hunt's guns and Gibbon's rifles crashed out together, and +shot, shell, canister, and bullet cut gaping wounds deep into the +dense gray ranks. Still, the wave broke; and, from its storm-blown +top, one furious tongue surged over the breastwork and through +the hedge of bayonets. It came from Armistead's brigade of stark +Virginians. He led it on; and, with a few score men, reached the +highwater mark of that last spring tide. + +When he fell the tide of battle turned; turned everywhere upon +that stricken field; turned throughout the whole campaign; turned +even in the war itself. + +As Pickett's men fell back they were swept by scythe-like fire +from every gun and rifle that could mow them down. Not a single +mounted officer remained; and of all the brave array that Pickett +led three-fourths fell killed or wounded. The other fourth returned +undaunted still, but only as the wreckage of a storm. + +[Illustration: CIVIL WAR CAMPAIGNS OF 1863] + +Lee's loss exceeded forty per cent of his command. Meade's loss +fell short of thirty. But Meade was quite unable to pursue at once +when Lee retired on the evening of the fourth. The opposing cavalry, +under Pleasonton and Stuart respectively, had fought a flanking +battle of their own, but without decisive result. So Lee could +screen his retreat to the Potomac, where, however, his whole supply +train might have been cut off if its escort under the steadfast +Imboden had not been reinforced by every teamster who could pull +a trigger. + + +Gettysburg and Vicksburg, coming together, of course raised the +wildest expectations among the general public, expectations which +found an unworthy welcome at Government headquarters, where Halleck +wrote to Meade on the fourteenth: "The escape of Lee's army has +created great dissatisfaction in the mind of the President." Meade +at once replied: "The censure is, in my judgment, so undeserved +that I most respectfully ask to be immediately relieved from the +command of this army." Wiser counsels thereupon prevailed. + +Lee and Meade maneuvered over the old Virginian scenes of action, +each trying to outflank the other, and each being hampered by having +to send reinforcements to their friends in Tennessee, where, as +we have seen already, Bragg and Rosecrans were now maneuvering in +front of Chattanooga. In October (after the Confederate victory of +Chickamauga) Meade foiled Lee's attempt to bring on a Third Manassas. +The campaign closed at Mine Run, where Lee repulsed Meade's attempted +surprise in a three-day action, which began on the twenty-sixth +of November, the morrow of Grant's three days at Chattanooga. + + +From this time forward the South was like a beleaguered city, certain +to fall if not relieved, unless, indeed, the hearts of those who +swayed the Northern vote should fail them at the next election. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +FARRAGUT AND THE NAVY: 1863-4 + +The Navy's task in '63 was complicated by the many foreign vessels +that ran only between two neutral ports but broke bulk into +blockade-runners at their own port of destination. For instance, +a neutral vessel, with neutral crew and cargo, would leave a port +in Europe for a neutral port in America, say, Nassau in the Bahamas +or Matamoras on the Rio Grande. She could not be touched of course +at either port or anywhere inside the three-mile limit. But +international law accepted the doctrine of continuous voyage, by +which contraband could be taken anywhere on the high seas, provided, +of course, that the blockader could prove his case. If, for example, +there were ten times as many goods going into Matamoras as could +possibly be used through that port by Mexico, then the presumption +was that nine-tenths were contraband. Presumption becoming proof +by further evidence, the doctrine of continuous voyage could be +used in favor of the blockaders who stopped the contraband at sea +between the neutral ports. The blockade therefore required a double +line of operation: one, the old line along the Southern coast, +the other, the new line out at sea, and preferably just beyond +the three-mile limit outside the original port of departure, so +as to kill the evil at its source. Nassau and Matamoras gave the +coast blockade plenty of harassing work; Nassau because it was +"handy to" the Atlantic ports, Matamoras because it was at the +mouth of the Rio Grande, over the shoals of which the Union warships +could not go to prevent contraband crossing into Texas, thence up +to the Red River, down to the Mississippi (between the Confederate +strongholds of Vicksburg and Port Hudson) and on to any other part +of the South. But what may be called the high-seas blockade was no +less harassing, complicated as it was by the work of Confederate +raiders. + +The coast blockade of '63 was marked by two notable ship duels and +three fights round Charleston, then, as always, a great storm center +of the war. At the end of January two Confederate gunboats under +Commodore Ingraham attacked the blockading flotilla of Charleston, +forced the _Mercedita_ to surrender, badly mauled the _Keystone +State_, and damaged the _Quaker City_. But, though some foreign +consuls and all Charleston thought the blockade had been raised +for the time being, it was only bent, not broken. + +At the end of February the Union monitor _Montauk_ destroyed the +Confederate privateer _Nashville_ near Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee +River in Georgia. In April nine Union monitors steamed in to test the +strength of Charleston; but, as they got back more than they could +give, Admiral Du Pont wisely decided not to try the fight-to-a-finish +he had meant to make next morning. Wassaw Sound in Georgia was +the scene of a desperate duel on the seventeenth of June, when +the Union monitor _Weehawken_ captured the old blockade-runner +_Fingal_, which had been converted into the new Confederate ram +_Atlanta_. The third week in August witnessed another bombardment +of Charleston, this time on a larger scale, for a longer time, +and by military as well as naval means. But Charleston remained +defiant and unconquered both this year and the next. + +Confederate raiders were at work along the trade routes of the +world in '63, doing much harm by capture and destruction, and even +more by shaking the security of the American mercantile marine. +American crews were hard to get when so many hands were wanted +for other war work; and American vessels were increasingly apt to +seek the safety of a neutral flag. + +Slowly, and with much perverse interference to overcome in the +course of its harassing duties, the Union navy was getting the +strangle-hold that killed the sea-girt South. By '64 the North had +secured this strangle-hold; and nothing but foreign intervention +or the political death of the Northern War Party could possibly +shake it off. The South was feeling its practical enislement as +never before. The strong right arm of the Union navy held it fast +at every point but three--Wilmington, Charleston, and Mobile; and +round these three the stern blockaders grew stronger every day. +The Sabine Pass and Galveston also remained in Southern hands; +and the border town of Matamoras still imported contraband. But +these other three points were closely watched; and the greatly +lessened contraband that did get through them now only served the +western South, which had been completely severed from the eastern +South by the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The left arm of +the Union navy now held the whole line of the Mississippi, while +the gripping hand held all the tributary streams--Ohio, Cumberland, +and Tennessee--from which the Union armies were to invade, divide, +and devastate the eastern South this year. + + +Several Southern raiders were still at large in '64. But the most +famous or notorious three have each their own year of glory. The +_Florida_ belongs to '63, the _Shenandoah_ to '65. So the one great +raiding story we have now to tell is that of the _Alabama_, the +greatest of them all. + +The _Alabama_ was a beautiful thousand-ton wooden barkentine, built +by the Lairds at Birkenhead in '62, with standing rigging of wire, +a single screw driven by two horizontal three-hundred horse power +engines, coal room for three hundred and fifty tons, eight good +guns, the heaviest a hundred-pound rifle, and a maximum crew of +one hundred and forty-nine--all ranks and ratings--under Captain +Raphael Semmes, late U. S. N. Semmes was not only a very able officer +but an accomplished lawyer, well posted on belligerent and neutral +rights at sea. + +For nearly two years the _Alabama_ roved the oceans of the Old +World and the New, taking sixty-six Union vessels valued at seven +million dollars, spreading the terror of her name among all the +merchantmen that flew the Stars and Stripes, and infuriating the +Navy by the wonderful way in which she contrived to escape every +trap it set for her. She was designed for speed rather than for +fighting, and, with her great spread of canvas, could sometimes +work large areas under sail. But, even so, her runs, captures, +and escapes formed a series of adventures that no mere luck could +have possibly performed with a fluctuating foreign crew commanded +by ex-officers of the Navy. Her wanderings took her through nearly +a hundred degrees of latitude, from the coast of Scotland to St. +Paul Island, south of the Indian Ocean, also through more than +two hundred degrees of longitude, from the Gulf of Mexico to the +China Sea. She captured "Yankees" within one day's steaming of +the New York Navy Yard as well as in the Straits of Sunda. West +of the Azores and off the coast of Brazil her captures came so +thick and fast that they might have almost been a flock of sheep +run down there by a wolf. Finally, to fill the cup of wrath against +her, she had sunk a blockader off the coast of Texas, given the +slip to a Union man-of-war at the Cape of Good Hope, and kept the +Navy guessing her unanswered riddles for two whole years. + +Imagine, then, the keen elation with which all hands aboard the +U. S. S. _Kearsarge_ heard at their berth off Flushing that the +_Alabama_ was in port at Cherbourg on the Channel coast of France, +only one day's sail southwest! And there she was when the _Kearsarge_ +came to anchor; and every Northern eye was turned to see the ship +of which the world had heard so much. The Kearsarges hardly dared +to hope that there would be a fight; for they had the stronger +vessel, and now the faster one as well. The _Alabama_ had been +built for speed; but she had knocked about so much without a proper +overhaul that her copper sheathing was in rags, while she was more +or less strained in nearly every other part. The _Kearsarge_, on +the other hand, was in good order, with mantlets of chain cable +protecting her vitals, with one-third greater horse power, with +fourteen more men in her crew, and with two big pivot guns throwing +eleven inch shells with great force at short ranges. Moreover, +the _Kearsarge_, with her superior speed and stronger hull, could +choose the range and risk close quarters. The Alabamas were also +keen to estimate respective strengths. But the French authorities +naturally kept the two ships pretty far apart; so the Alabamas +never saw the chain mantlets which the Kearsarges had cleverly +hidden under a covering of wood that appeared to be flush with the +hull. + +The Kearsarges had a second and still more elating surprise when they +heard the _Alabama_ was coming out to fight. Semmes was apparently +anxious to show that his raider could be as gallant in fighting a +man-of-war as she was effective in sinking merchant vessels; so +he wrote his challenge to the Confederate Consul at Cherbourg, who +passed it on to the U. S. Consul, who handed it to Captain Winslow, +commanding the _Kearsarge_. Still, four days passed without the +_Alabama_; and the Kearsarges were giving up hope, when, suddenly, +on Sunday morning, the nineteenth of June, just as they had rigged +church and fallen in for prayers, out came the _Alabama_. The +_Kearsarge_ thereupon drew off, so that the _Alabama_ could not easily +escape to neutral waters if the duel went against her. Cherbourg, +of course, was all agog to see the fight; and many thousands of +people, some from as far as Paris, watched every move. An English +yacht, the _Deerhound_, kept an offing of about a mile, ready to +rescue survivors from a watery grave. Its owner, with his wife +and family, had intended to stay ashore and go to church. But, +when they heard the _Alabama_ was really going out, he put the +question to the vote around the breakfast-table, whereupon it was +carried unanimously that the _Deerhound_ should go too. + +When the deck-officer of the _Kearsarge_ sang out, "_Alabama!_" +Captain Winslow put down his prayer-book, seized his speaking-trumpet, +and turned to gain a proper offing, while the drum beat to general +quarters and the ship was cleared for action, with pivot-guns to +starboard. The weather was fine, with a slight haze, little sea, +and a light west breeze. Having drawn the _Alabama_ far enough to +sea, the _Kearsarge_ turned toward her again, showing the starboard +bow. When at a mile the _Alabama_ fired her hundred-pounder. For +nearly the whole hour this famous duel lasted the ships continued +fighting in the same way--starboard to starboard, round and round +a circle from half to a quarter mile across. Each captain stood +on the horse-block abreast the mizzen-mast to direct the fight. +Semmes presently called to his executive officer: "Mr. Kell, use +solid shot! Our shell strike the enemy's side and fall into the +water" (after bounding off the iron mantlets Winslow had so cleverly +concealed). The _Kearsarge's_ gunnery was magnificent, especially +from the after-pivot, which Quartermaster William Smith fired with +deadly aim, even when three of his gun's crew had been wounded by +a shell. These three, strange to say, were the only casualties +that occurred aboard the _Kearsarge_. But at sea the stronger side +usually suffers much less and the weaker much more than on land. +The _Alabama_ lost forty: killed, drowned, and wounded. + +The Kearsarges soon saw how the fight was going and began to cheer +each first-rate shot. "That's a good one! Now we have her! Give her +another like the last!" The big eleven-inchers got home repeatedly +as the range decreased; so much so that Semmes ordered Kell to keep +the _Alabama_ headed for the coast the next time the circling brought +her bow that way. This would bring her port side into action, which +was just what Semmes wanted now, because she had a dangerous list +to starboard, where the water was pouring through the shot-holes. +Kell changed her course with perfect skill, righting the helm, +hoisting the head-sails, hauling the fore-try-sail-sheet well aft, +and pivoting to port for a broadside delivered almost as quickly +as if there had not been a change at all. But at this moment the +engineer came up to say the water had put his fires out and that +the ship was sinking. At the same time a strange thing happened. +An early shot from the _Kearsarge_ had carried away the _Alabama's_ +colors; and now the _Alabama's_ own last broadside actually announced +her own defeat by "breaking out" the special Stars and Stripes +that Winslow had run up his mizzenmast on purpose to break out +in case of victory. A cannon ball had twitched the cord that held +the flag rolled up "in stops." + +Semmes sent his one remaining boat to announce his surrender; threw +his sword into the sea; and jumped in with the survivors. The +_Deerhound_, on authority from Winslow, had already closed in to +the rescue, followed by two French pilot boats and two from the +_Kearsarge_; when suddenly the _Alabama_, rearing like a stricken +horse, plunged to her doom. + + +Long before the _Alabama's_ end the Navy had been preparing for the +finishing blows against the Southern ports. Farragut had returned +to New Orleans in January, '64, hoping for immediate action. But +vexatious delays at Washington postponed his great attack till +August, when he crowned his whole career by his master-stroke against +Mobile. Grant was equally annoyed by this absurd delay, which was +caused by the eccentric, and therefore entirely wasteful, Red River +Expedition of '64, an expedition we shall ignore otherwise than +by pointing out, in this and the succeeding chapters, that it not +only postponed the overdue attack on Mobile but spoilt Sherman's +grand strategy as well as Farragut's and Grant's. Banks commanded +it. But by this time even he had learnt enough of war to know that +it was a totally false move. So he boldly protested against it. +But Halleck's orders, dictated by the Government, were positive. +So there was nothing for it but to suffer a well-deserved defeat +while trying to kill the dead and withering branches of Confederate +power beyond the Mississippi, in order to "show the flag in Texas" +and say "hands off!" to Mexico and France in the least effective +way of all. + +During this delay the Confederate ram _Albemarle_ came down the +Roanoke River, hoping to break through the local blockade in Albemarle +Sound and so give North Carolina an outlet to the sea. Two attempts +against Newbern, which closed the way out to Pamlico Sound, had +failed; but now (the fifth of May) great hopes were set upon the +_Albemarle_. At first she seemed impregnable; and the Federal shot +and shell glanced harmlessly off her iron sides. But presently +Commander Roe of the _Sassacus_ (a light-draft, pair-paddle, +double-ender gunboat) getting at right angles to her, ordered his +engineer to stuff the fires with oiled waste and keep the throttle +open. "All hands, lie down!" shouted Roe, as the throbbing engines +drove his vessel to the charge. Then came an earthquake shock: the +_Sassacus_ crashed her bronze beak into the _Albemarle's_ side. +Both vessels were disabled; a shell from the _Albemarle_ burst the +boilers of the _Sassacus_, scalding the engineers. But the rest +fought off the attempt made by the Albemarles to board. Presently +the furious opponents drifted apart; and the _Albemarle_, unable +to face her other enemies, took refuge upstream. There, on the +twenty-seventh of October, she was heroically attacked and sunk by +Lieutenant W. B. Cushing, U. S. N., with a spar torpedo projecting +from a little steam launch. Cushing himself swam off through a +hail of bullets, worked his way through the woods, seized a skiff +belonging to one of the enemy's outposts, and reached the flagship +half dead but wholly triumphant. + + +Between the _Albemarle's_ two fights Farragut took Mobile after +a magnificent action on the fifth of August. There were batteries +ashore, torpedoes across the channel, the _Tennessee_ ram and other +Confederate vessels waiting on the flank: three kinds of danger to +the Union fleet if one false movement had been made. But Farragut's +touch was sure. He sent his ironclads through next to the batteries, +which were only really dangerous on one side. This protected the +wooden ships against the batteries and the ironclads against the +torpedoes; for the Confederates had to leave part of the fairway +clear in order to use it themselves. Through this narrow channel +the four strongly armored monitors led the desperate way, a little +ahead and to starboard of the wooden vessels, which followed in +pairs, each pair lashed together, with the stronger on the starboard +side, next to Fort Morgan. + +The Confederates in Fort Morgan, and in the small and distant Fort +Powell on the other side, hardly reached a thousand men. Their force +afloat was also comparatively small: the ironclad ram _Tennessee_ +and three side-wheeler gunboats. But the great strength of their +position and the many dangers to a hostile fleet combined to make +Farragut's attack a very serious operation, even with his four +monitors, eight screw sloops, and four smaller vessels. The Union +army, which took no part in this great attack, was over five thousand +strong, and lost only seven men in the land bombardment later on. + +Farragut crossed the bar in the _Hartford_ at ten past six in the +morning with the young flood tide and a westerly breeze to blow +the smoke against Fort Morgan. All his ships ran up the Stars and +Stripes not only at the peak, as usual, but at each mast-head as +well. Farragut himself at first took post in the port main rigging. +But as the smoke of battle rose around him he climbed higher and +higher till he got close under the maintop, where a seaman, sent +up by Captain Drayton, lashed him on securely. + +All went well amid the furious cannonade till the monitor _Tecumseh_, +taking the wrong side of the channel buoy in her anxiety to ram +the _Tennessee_, ran over the torpedoes, was horribly holed by the +explosion, and plunged headforemost to the bottom, her screw madly +whirling in the air. Nor was this the worst; for the _Tecumseh's_ +mistake had thrown the other monitors out of their proper line-ahead, +athwart the wooden ships, which began to slow and swing about in +some confusion. The Confederates redoubled their fire. Ahead lay +the fatal torpedoes. For a moment Farragut could not decide whether +to risk an advance at all costs or to turn back beaten. He was +a very devout as well as a most determined man; and his simple +prayer, "O God, shall I go on?" seemed answered by the echo of +his soul, "Go on!" So on he went, not in unreflecting exaltation, +but in exaltation based on knowledge and on skill. Like Cromwell, +he might well have said, "Trust in the Lord and keep your powder +dry!" For he had done all that naval foresight could have done +to ensure success. And now, in one lightning flash of genius, he +reviewed the situation. He knew the torpedoes of his day were often +unreliable, that they exploded only on a special kind of shock, +that those which did explode could not be replaced in action, that +they were all fixed to their own spots, and that if one ship was +blown up her next-astern would get through safely. + +The _Brooklyn_, his next-ahead, was in his way. So he ordered the +flagship _Hartford_ and her lashed-together consort, the double-ender +_Metacomet_, to use, the one her screw, the other her paddles, in +opposite directions, till he had cleared the _Brooklyn's_ stern. +As he drew clear and headed for the danger-channel a shout went up +from the _Brooklyn's_ deck--"'ware torpedoes!" But Farragut, his +mind made up, instantly roared back--"Damn the torpedoes!" Then, +turning to the _Hartford's_ and _Metacomet's_ decks, he called +his orders down: "Four bells! Captain Drayton, go ahead! Captain +Jouett, full speed!" In answer to the order of "four bells" the +engines worked their very utmost and the two vessels dashed ahead. +Torpedoes knocked against the bottom and some of the primers actually +snapped. But nothing exploded; and Farragut won through. + +Inside the harbor the _Tennessee_ fought hard against the overwhelming +Union fleet. But her low-powered engines gave her no chance at +quick maneuvers. Three vessels rammed her in succession; and she +was forced to surrender. + +After this purely naval victory on the fifth of August, General +Granger's troops invested Fort Morgan, which, becoming the target +of an irresistible converging fire from both land and sea on the +twenty-second, surrendered on the twenty-third. + +The next objective of a joint expedition was Fort Fisher, which +stood at the end of a long, low tongue of land between the sea and +Cape Fear River. Fort Fisher guarded the entrance to Wilmington +in North Carolina, the port, above all others, from which the +Confederate armies drew their oversea supplies. Lee wrote to Colonel +Lamb, its commandant, saying that he could not subsist if it was +taken. Lamb had less than two thousand men in the fort; but there +were six thousand more forming an army of support outside. The +Confederates, however, had no naval force to speak of, while the +Union fleet, commanded by Admiral Porter, was the largest that +had ever yet assembled under the Stars and Stripes. There were +nearly sixty fighting vessels of all kinds, including five new +ironclads and the three finest new frigates. The guns that were +carried exceeded six hundred. + +There was also a mine ship, the old _Louisiana_, stuffed chock-a-block +with powder to blow in the side of the fort. The Washington wiseacres +set great store on this new mine of theirs. It was, of course, to +end the war. But naval and military experts on the spot were more +than doubtful. On the night of the twenty-third of December the +_Louisiana_ was safely worked in near the fort by brave Commander +Rhind, who fired the slow match and escaped unhurt with his devoted +crew of volunteers. A tremendous explosion followed. But, as there +was nothing to drive the force of it against the walls, it simply +resulted in an enormous flurry of water, mud, sand, earth, and +bits of flaming wreckage. + +Next morning the fleet bombarded with such success as to silence +many of the guns opposed to them. But on Christmas Day General +Weitzel reported that an assault would fail; whereupon General +Butler concurred and retreated, much to the rage of the fleet, which +thought quite otherwise. + +In a few days General Terry arrived with the same white troops +reinforced by two small colored brigades, making a total of eight +thousand men. To these Porter, strongly reinforced, added a naval +brigade, two thousand strong, that volunteered to storm the sea +face of Fort Fisher. These gallant men had only cutlasses and +pistols--except the four hundred marines, who carried bayonets and +rifles. They were a scratch lot, from the soldier's point of view, +never having been landed together as a single unit till called upon +to assault the most dangerous features of the fort. Yet, though +they were repulsed with considerable loss, they greatly helped +to win the day by obliging the defenders to divide their forces. +As Terry's army was, by itself, four or five times stronger than +Lamb's entire command the military stormers succeeded in fighting +their way through every line of defense and compelling a surrender. +They did exceedingly well. But their rear was safe, because Bragg +had withdrawn the supporting army for service elsewhere; while, +in their front, the enemy defenses had been almost torn out by +the roots in many places under the terrific converging fire of six +hundred naval guns for three successive days. + +When Fort Fisher surrendered on the fifteenth of January (1865) +the exhausted South had only one good port and one good raider +left: Charleston and the _Shenandoah_. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +GRANT ATTACKS THE FRONT: 1864 + +On March 9, 1864, at the Executive Mansion, and in the presence of all +the Cabinet Ministers, Lincoln handed Grant the Lieutenant-General's +commission which made him Commander-in-Chief of all the Union armies--a +commission such as no one else had held since Washington. On April +9, 1865, Grant received the surrender of Lee at Appomattox; and +the four years war was ended by a thirteen months campaign. + + +Victor of the River War in '63, Grant moved his headquarters from +Chattanooga to Nashville soon before Christmas. He then expected +not only to lead the river armies against Atlanta in '64 but, at +the same time, to send another army against Mobile, where it could +act in conjunction with the naval forces under Farragut's command. + +He consequently made a midwinter tour of inspection: southeast to +Chattanooga, northeast to Knoxville and Cumberland Gap, northwest to +Lexington and Louisville, thence south, straight back to Nashville. +This satisfied him that his main positions were properly taken and +held, and that a well-concerted drive would clear his own strategic +area of all but Forrest's elusive cavalry. + +It was the hardest winter known for many years. The sticky clay +roads round Cumberland Gap had been churned by wheels and pitted by +innumerable feet throughout the autumn rains. Now they were frozen +solid and horribly encumbered by débris mixed up with thousands +upon thousands of perished mules and horses. Grant regretted this +terrible wastage of animals as much in a personal as in a military +way; for, like nearly all great men, his sympathies were broad +enough to make him compassionate toward every kind of sentient +life. No Arab ever loved his horse better than Grant loved his +splendid charger Cincinnati, the worthy counterpart of Traveler, +Lee's magnificent gray. + +Summoned to Washington in March, Grant, after one scrutinizing +look at the political world, then and there made up his steadfast +mind that no commander-in-chief could ever carry out his own plans +from any distant point; for, even in his fourth year of the war, +civilian interference was still being practiced in defiance of naval +and military facts and needs, and of some very serious dangers. + +Lincoln stood wisely for civil control. But even he could not resist +the perverting pressure in favor of the disastrous Red River Expedition, +against which even Banks protested. Public and Government alike +desired to give the French fair warning that the establishment of +an Imperial Mexico, especially by means of foreign intervention, +was regarded as a semi-hostile act. There were two entirely different +ways in which this warning could be given: one completely effective +without being provocative, the other provocative without being in +the very least degree effective. The only effective way was to win +the war; and the best way to win the war was to strike straight at +the heart of the South with all the Union forces. The most ineffective +way was to withdraw Union forces from the heart of the war, send them +off at a wasteful tangent, misuse them in eccentric operations just +where they would give most offense to the French, and then expose +them to what, at best, could only be a detrimental victory, and to +what would much more likely be defeat, if not disaster. + +Yet, to Grant's and Farragut's and every other soldier's and sailor's +disgust, this worst way of all was chosen; and Banks's forty thousand +sorely needed veterans were sent to their double defeat at Sabine +Cross Roads and Pleasant Hill on the eighth and ninth of April, while +Porter's invaluable fleet and the no less indispensable transports +were nearly lost altogether owing to the long-foretold fall of +the dangerous Red River. The one success of this whole disastrous +affair was the admirable work of Colonel Joseph Bailey, who dammed +the water up just in time to let the rapidly stranding vessels +slide into safety through a very narrow sluice. + +Even the Red River lesson was thrown away on Stanton, whose interference +continued to the bitter end, except when checked by Lincoln or countered +by Grant and Sherman in the field. When Grant was starting on his +tour of inspection he found that Stanton had forbidden all War +Department operators to let commanding generals use the official +cipher except when in communication with himself. There were to +be no secrets at the front between the commanding generals, even +on matters of immediate life and death, unless they were first +approved by Stanton at his leisure. The fact that the enemy could +use unciphered messages was nothing in his autocratic eyes. Nor +did it prick his conscience to change the wording in ways that +bewildered his own side and served the enemy's turn. + +When Grant took the cipher Stanton ordered the operator to be dismissed. +Grant thereupon shouldered the responsibility, saying that Stanton +would have to punish him if any one was punished. Then Stanton gave +in. Grant saw through him clearly. "Mr. Stanton never questioned +his own authority to command, unless resisted. He felt no hesitation +in assuming the functions of the Executive or in acting without +advising with him.... He was very timid, and it was impossible +for him to avoid interfering with the armies covering the capital +when it was sought to defend it by an offensive movement against +the army defending the Confederate capital. The enemy would not +have been in danger if Mr. Stanton had been in the field." + +Stanton was unteachable. He never learnt where control ended and +disabling interference began. In the very critical month of August, +'64, he interfered with Hunter to such an extent that this patriotic +general had to tell Grant "he was so embarrassed with orders from +Washington that he had lost all trace of the enemy." Nor was that the +end of Stanton's interference with the operations in the Shenandoah +Valley. Lincoln's own cipher letter to Grant on the third of August +shows what both these great men had to suffer from the weak link +in the chain between them. + +I have seen your despatch in which you say, "I want Sheridan put +in command of all the troops in the field, with instructions to put +himself south of the enemy, and follow him to the death. Wherever +the enemy goes, let our troops go also." This, I think, is exactly +right, as to how our forces should move. But please look over the +despatches you may have received from here, even since you made +that order, and discover, if you can, that there is any idea in the +head of any one here of "putting our army _south_ of the enemy," +or of "following him to the _death_" in any direction. I repeat +to you it will neither be done or attempted unless you watch it +every day, and hour, and force it. + +The experts of the loyal North were partly comforted by knowing that +Davis and his ministers had interfered with Jackson, that during +the present campaign they made a crucial mistake about Johnston, +and that they failed to give Lee the supreme command until it was +too late. But no Southern Secretary went quite so far as Stanton, +who actually falsified Grant's order to Sheridan at the crisis +of the Valley campaign in October. Here are Grant's own words: +"This order had to go through Washington, where it was intercepted; +and when Sheridan received what purported to be a statement of +what I wanted him to do it was something entirely different." + +Nor was Stanton the only responsible civilian to interfere with Grant. +There was no government press censorship--perhaps, in this peculiar +war, there could not be one. So the only safety was unceasing care, +even in cases vouched for by civilians of high official standing. +When Grant was beginning the great campaign of '64 the Honorable +Elihu B. Washburne, afterwards United States Minister to France, +introduced one Swinton as the prospective historian of the war. On +this understanding Swinton accompanied the army. One night Grant +gave verbal orders to the staff officer on duty. Three days later +these orders appeared in a Richmond paper. Shortly afterwards, in +the midst of the Wilderness battle, Swinton was found eavesdropping +behind a stump during a midnight conference at headquarters. Sent +off with a serious warning, he next appeared, in another place, as +a prisoner condemned to death for spying. Grant, satisfied that +he was not bent on getting news for the enemy in particular, but +only for the press in general, released and expelled him with such +a warning this time that he never once came back. + + +The Union forces at the front were about twice the corresponding +forces of the South. Sherman, who commanded the river armies after +Grant's transfer to Virginia, says: "I always estimated my force at +about double, and could afford to lose two to one without disturbing +our relative proportion." In Virginia the Army of the Potomac under +Meade and the new Army of the James under Butler, both under Grant's +immediate command, totaled over a hundred and fifty thousand men +against the ninety thousand under Lee. These odds of five to three +remained the same when a hundred and ten thousand Federals went +into winter quarters against sixty-six thousand Confederates at +Petersburg. But, when the naval odds of more than ten to one in +favor of the North are added in, the general odds of two to one are +reached on this as well as other scenes of action. In reserves the +odds were very much greater; for while the South was getting down +to its last available man the North began the following year with +nearly one million in the forces and two millions on the registered +reserve. Thus, even supposing that half the reserves were unfit for +active service, the man-power odds against the South were these: +two to one in arms at the beginning of the great campaign, five to +one at the end of it, and ten to one if the fit reserves were all +included. The odds in transportation by land, and very much more +so by water, were even greater at corresponding times; while the +odds in all the other resources which could be turned to warlike +ends were greater still. + +The Southern situation, therefore, was not encouraging from the +naval and military point of view. The border States had long been +lost, then the trans-Mississippi; and now the whole river area was +held as a base by the North. Only five States remained effective: +Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. These formed an +irregular oblong of about two hundred thousand square miles between +the Appalachians and the sea. There were a good eight hundred +Confederate miles from the Shenandoah Valley to Mobile. But the +three hundred miles across the oblong, even in its widest part, +were everywhere threatened and in some places held by the North. +The whole coast was more closely blockaded than ever; and only +three ports remained with their defenses still in Southern hands: +Wilmington, Charleston, and Mobile. Alabama was threatened by land and +sea from the lower Mississippi and the Gulf. Georgia was threatened +by Sherman's main body in southeastern Tennessee. The Carolinas +were in less immediate danger. But they were menaced both from the +mountains and the sea; and if the Union forces conquered Virginia and +Georgia, then the Carolinas were certain to be ground into subjugation +between Grant's victorious forces on the north and Sherman's on +the south. + +Grant fixed his own headquarters with the Army of the Potomac at +Culpeper Court House, north of the Rapidan. Lee's Army of Northern +Virginia was at Orange Court House, over twenty miles south. Grant, +taking his own headquarters as the center, regarded Butler's Army +of the James as the left wing, which could unite with the center +round Richmond and Petersburg. The long right wing ran through +the whole of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, clear away to +Memphis, with its own headquarters at Chattanooga. There Sherman +faced Johnston, who occupied a strong position at Dalton, over +thirty miles southeast. The great objectives were, of course, the +two main Southern armies under Lee and Johnston, with Richmond +and Atlanta as the chief positions to be gained. + +All other Union forces were regarded as attacking the South from +the rear. Wherever coast garrisons could help to tighten the blockade +or seriously distract Confederate attention they were left to do +so. Wherever they could not they were either depleted for the front +or sent there bodily. The principal Union field force attacking +from the rear was to have been formed by Banks's forty thousand +veterans in conjunction with Farragut's fleet against Mobile. But +the Red River Expedition spoilt that combination in the spring +and postponed it till August, when Farragut did nearly all the +fighting, and the coöperating army was far too late to produce the +distracting effect that Grant had originally planned. + +General Franz Sigel was sent to the upper Shenandoah Valley, both +to guard that approach on Washington and to destroy the resources on +which Lee's army so greatly relied. General George Crook was given +a mounted column to operate from southern West Virginia against +the line of rails running toward Tennessee through the lower end +of the Valley. + +The most notable new general was Philip H. Sheridan, whom Grant +selected for the cavalry command. Sheridan was thirty-three, two +years older than his Southern rival, Stuart, and, like him, a young +regular officer who rose to well-earned fame the moment his first +great chance occurred. + +Sherman we have met from the very beginning of the war and followed +throughout its course. He was continually rising to more and more +responsible command; but it was only now that he became the virtual +Commander-in-Chief of all the river armies and the chosen coöperator +with Grant on a universal scale. He was of the old original stock, +his first American ancestors having emigrated from England in 1634. +An old regular, with special knowledge of the South, and in the +fullness of his powers at the age of forty-four, he had developed +with the war till there was no position which he could not fill +to the best advantage of the service. + +Grant fixed the fourth of May for the combined advance of all the +converging forces of invasion. There were two weak points where +the Union armies failed: one in the farthest south, where, as we +have so often seen, Banks could not attack Mobile owing to his +absence at Red River; the other in the farthest north, where Sigel +was badly beaten and replaced by Hunter. Here, after much disabling +interference at the hands of Stanton, Hunter was succeeded by Sheridan, +whom Grant himself directed with consummate skill. There were also +two Confederate thorns in the Federal side: Forrest's cavalry in +Sherman's rear, Mosby's cavalry in Grant's. Forrest roved about the +river area, snapping up small garrisons, cutting communications, +and doing a good deal of damage right up to the Ohio. Mosby, with +a much smaller but equally efficient force, actually raided to and +fro in Grant's immediate rear; and on one occasion nearly captured +Grant himself just on the eve of the opening move. As Grant's unguarded +special train from Washington pulled up at Warrenton Junction, where +there was only one Union official, Mosby's men had just crossed +the track in pursuit of some Federal cavalry. + +But neither these two Confederate thorns in the side nor the more +serious Federal failures could stop the general advance. Nor yet +could Butler's lack of success on the James. Butler had seized +and fortified an exceedingly strong defensive position at Bermuda +Hundred on a peninsula, with navigable water on both flanks and in +rear, and a very narrow neck of land in front. The only trouble +was that it was as hard for him to surmount the Confederate front +across the same narrow neck as it was for the enemy to surmount +his own. He was, in fact, bottled up, with the cork in the enemy's +hands. He did send out cavalry from Suffolk to cut the rails south +of Petersburg. But no permanent damage was done there. Petersburg +itself, which at that time was almost defenseless, was not taken. And +in the middle of the month Beauregard attacked Butler so vigorously +as to make the Army of the James rather a passive than an active +force till it was presently, absorbed by Grant when he arrived +before Richmond in June. + +Grant felt perfect confidence only in four prime elements of victory: +first, in his ability to wear Lee down by sheer attrition if other +means failed; next, in his own magnificent army; then in Sherman's; +and lastly in Sheridan's cavalry. His supply and transport services +were nearly perfect, even in his own most critical eyes. "There +never was a corps better organized than was the quartermaster's +corps with the Army of the Potomac in 1864." His field engineering +and his signal service were also exceedingly good. At every halt +the army threw up earth and timber entrenchments with wonderful +rapidity and skill. At the same time the telegraph and signal corps +was busy laying insulated wires by means of reels on muleback. +Parallel lines would be led to the rear of each brigade till quite +clear, when their ends would be joined by a wire at right angles, +from which headquarters could communicate with every unit at the +front. Sherman's army was equally efficient, and Sheridan's cavalry +soon proved that sweeping raids could be carried out by one side +as well as by the other. + +Crossing the Rapidan at the Germanna Ford, Grant marched south +through the Wilderness on the fifth of May. The Wilderness was +densely wooded; the roads were few and bad; the clearings rare +and too small for large units. When Lee attacked from the west +and Grant turned to face him the fighting soon became desperate, +close, and somewhat confused. Neither side gained any substantial +advantage on the first day. Next morning Grant, preparing to attack +at five, was forestalled by Lee, who wished to keep him at arm's +length till Longstreet came up on the southern flank. Again the +opposing armies closed and fought with the greatest determination +for over an hour, when the Confederates fell back in some confusion. +Then Longstreet arrived and restored the battle till he was severely +wounded. After this Lee took command of his right, or southern, wing +and kept up the fight all day. Meanwhile Sheridan had countered +the Confederate cavalry under Stuart, which had been trying to +swing round the same southern flank. The main bodies of infantry +swayed back and forth till dark, with the woods and breastworks +on fire in several places, and many of the wounded smothering in +the smoke. + +On the seventh reassuring news came in from Sherman and Butler, +Sheridan drove off the Confederate cavalry at Todd's Tavern, and +the southward march continued. As Grant and Meade rode south that +evening, past Hancock's corps, and the men saw they were heading +straight for Richmond, there was such a burst of cheering that +the Confederates, thinking it meant a night attack, deluged the +intervening woods with a heavy barrage till they found out their +mistake. + +The race for Richmond continued on the eighth, each army trying to +get south of the other without exposing itself to a flank attack. +Grant had sent his wagon trains farther east, to move south on +parallel roads and keep those nearest Lee quite clear for fighting. +This movement at first led Lee to suspect a Federal retirement on +Fredericksburg, which caused him to send Longstreet's corps south +to Spotsylvania. The woods being on fire, and the men unable to +bivouac, the whole corps pushed on to Spotsylvania, thus forestalling +Grant, who had intended to get there first himself. + +This brought on another tremendous battle in the bush. Lee formed +a semicircle, facing north, round Spotsylvania, in a supreme effort +to stem, if not throw back, Grant's most determined advance. Grant, +on the other hand, indomitably pressed home wave after wave of attack +till the evening of the twelfth. The morning of that desperate day +was foggy; and the attack was delayed. The Federal objective was +a commanding salient, jutting out from the Confederate center, +and now weakened by the removal of guns overnight to follow the +apparent Federal move toward the south. The gray sentries, peering +through the dripping woods, suddenly found them astir. Then wave +after wave of densely massed blue dashed to the assault, swarming +up and over on both sides, regardless of losses, and fighting hand +to hand with a fury that earned this famous salient the name of +Bloody Angle. Back and still back went the outnumbered gray, many of +whom were surrounded by the swirling currents of inpouring blue. But +presently Lee himself came up, and would have led his reinforcements +to the charge if a pleading shout of "General Lee to the rear!" +had not induced him to desist. Every spare Confederate rushed to +the rescue. From right and left and rear the gray streams came, +impetuous and strong, united in one main current and dashed against +the blue. There, in the Bloody Angle, the battle raged with +ever-increasing fury until the rising tide of strife, bursting +its narrow bounds, carried the blue attackers back to where they +came from. But they were hardly clear of that appalling slope before +they reformed, presented an undaunted front once more, and then +drew off with stinging resistance to the very last. + +After five days of much rain and little fighting Grant made his +final effort on the eighteenth. This was meant to be a great surprise. +Two corps changed position under cover of the night and sprang +their trap at four in the morning. But Lee was again before them, +ready and resolute as ever. Thirty guns converged their withering +fire on the big blue masses and seemed to burn them off the field. +These masses never closed, as they had done six days before; and +when they fell back beaten the fortnight's battle in the Wilderness +was done. + +During it there had been two operations that gave Grant better +satisfaction: Sheridan's raid and Sherman's advance. As large bodies +of cavalry could not maneuver in the bush Grant had sent Sheridan +off on his Richmond Raid ten days before. Striking south near +Spotsylvania, Sheridan's ten thousand horsemen rounded Lee's right, +cut the rails on either side of Beaver Dam Station, destroyed this +important depot on the Virginia Central Railroad, and then made +straight for Richmond. Stuart followed hard, made an exhausting +sweep round Sheridan's flank, and faced him on the eleventh at +Yellow Tavern, six miles north of Richmond. Here the tired and +outnumbered Confederates made a desperate attempt to stem Sheridan's +advance. But Stuart, the hero of his own men, and the admiration +of his generous foes, was mortally wounded; and his thinner lines, +overlapped and outweighed, gave ground and drew off. Richmond had +no garrison to resist a determined attack. But Sheridan, knowing he +could not hold it and having better work to do, pushed on southeast +to Haxall's Landing, where he could draw much-needed supplies from +Butler, just across the James. With the enemy aggressive and alert +all round him, he built a bridge under fire across the Chickahominy, +struck north for the Army of the Potomac, and reported his return +to Grant at Chesterfield Station--halfway back to Spotsylvania--on +his seventeenth day out. + +In the course of this great raid Sheridan had drawn off the Confederate +cavalry; fought four successful actions; released hundreds of Union +prisoners and taken as many himself; cut rails and wires to such an +extent that Lee could only communicate with Richmond by messenger; +destroyed enormous quantities of the most vitally needed enemy +stores, especially food and medical supplies; and, by penetrating +the outer defenses of Richmond, raised Federal prestige to a higher +plane at a most important juncture. + +Meanwhile Sherman, whose own main body included a hundred thousand +men, had started from Chattanooga at the same time as Grant from +Culpeper Court House. In Grant's opinion "Johnston, with Atlanta, +was of less importance only because the capture of Johnston and +his army would not produce so immediate and decisive a result in +closing the rebellion as would the possession of Richmond, Lee, and +his army." Sherman's organization, supply and transport, engineers, +staff, and army generally were excellent. So skillful, indeed, +were his railway engineers that a disgusted Confederate raider +called out to a demolition party: "Better save your powder, boys. +What's the good of blowing up this one when Sherman brings duplicate +tunnels along?" + +Sherman had double Johnston's numbers in the field. But Johnston, +as a supremely skillful Fabian, was a most worthy opponent for this +campaign, when the Confederate object was to gain time and sicken +the North of the war by falling back from one strongly prepared +position to another, inflicting as much loss as possible on the +attackers, and forcing them to stretch their line of communication +to the breaking point among a hostile population. Two of Sherman's +best divisions were still floundering about with the rest of the +Red River Expedition. So he had to modify his original plan, which +would have taken him much sooner to Atlanta and given him the support +of a simultaneous attack on Mobile by a coöperating joint expedition. +But he was ready to the minute, all the same. + +Dalton, Johnston's first stronghold, was cleverly turned by McPherson's +right flank march; whereupon Johnston fell back on Resaca. Here, +on the upon the fifteenth of May, the armies fought hard for some +hours. But Sherman again outflanked the fortified enemy, who retired +to Kingston. Then, after Sherman had made a four days' halt to +accumulate supplies, the advance was resumed, against determined +opposition and with a good deal of hard fighting for a week in the +neighborhood of New Hope Church. The result of the usual outflanking +movements was that Johnston had to evacuate Allatoona on the fourth +of June. Sherman at once turned it into his advanced field base; +while Johnston fell back on another strong and well-prepared position +at Kenesaw Mountain. + +Grant, favored in a general way by Sherman and in a special way +by Sheridan, had meanwhile enjoyed a third advantage, this time +on his own immediate front, through the sickness of Lee, who could +not take personal command during the last ten days of May. On the +twenty-first half of Grant's army marched south while half stood +threatening Lee, in order to give their friends a start toward +Richmond. This move was so well staffed and screened that perhaps +Lee could not have seen his chance quite soon enough in any case. +But when he did learn what had happened even his calm self-control +gave way to the exceeding bitter cry: "We must strike them! We must +never let them pass us again!" On the thirtieth he was horrified +at getting from Beauregard (who was then between Richmond and +Petersburg) a telegram which showed that the Confederate Government +was busy with the circumlocution office in Richmond while the enemy +was thundering at the gate. "War Department must determine when +and what troops to order from here." Lee immediately answered: +"If you cannot determine what troops you can spare, the Department +cannot. The result of your delay will be disaster. Butler's troops +will be with Grant tomorrow." Lee also telegraphed direct to Davis +for immediate reinforcements, which arrived only just in time for +the terrific battle of Cold Harbor. + +With these three advantages, in addition to the other odds in his +favor, Grant seemed to have found the tide of fortune at the flood +in the latter part of May. But he had many troubles of his own. +No sooner had half his army been badly defeated on the eighteenth +than news came that Sigel was in full retreat instead of cutting +off supplies from Lee. Then came news of Butler's retreat from +Drewry's Bluff, close in to Richmond. Nor was this all; for it was +only now that definite news of the Red River Expedition arrived +to confirm Grant's worst suspicions and ruin his second plan of +helping Farragut to take Mobile. But, as was his wont, Grant at +once took steps to meet the crisis. He ordered Hunter to replace +Sigel and go south--straight into the heart of the Valley, asked the +navy to move his own base down the Rappahannock from Fredericksburg +to Port Royal, and then himself marched on toward Richmond, where +Lee was desperately trying to concentrate for battle. + +The two armies were now drawing all available force together round +the strategic center of Cold Harbor, only nine miles east of Richmond. +On the thirty-first Sheridan drove out the enemy detachments there, +and was himself about to retire before much superior reinforcements +when he got Grant's order to hold his ground at any cost. Nightfall +prevented a general assault till the next morning, when Sheridan +managed to stand fast till Wright's whole corps came up and the +enemy at once desisted. But elsewhere the Confederates did what +they could to stave the Federals off from advantageous ground on +that day and the next. The day after--the fateful third of June--the +two sides closed in death-grips at Cold Harbor. + +On this, the thirtieth day of Grant's campaign of stern attrition +and would-be-smashing hammer-strokes at Lee, these were his orders +for attack: "The moment it becomes certain that an assault cannot +succeed, suspend the offensive. But when one does succeed, push it +vigorously, and, if necessary, pile in troops at the successful +point from wherever they can be taken." The trouble was that Grant +was two days late in carrying on the battle so well begun by Sheridan, +that Warren's corps was two miles off and entirely disconnected, +and that the three remaining corps formed three parts and no whole +when the stress of action came. + +At dawn Meade's Army of the Potomac (less Warren's corps) began +to take post for the grand attack that some, more sanguine than +reflecting, hoped would win the war. When it was light the guns +burst out in furious defiance, each side's artillery trying to +beat the other's down before the crisis of the infantry assault. +There was no maneuvering. Each one of Meade's three corps--Hancock's, +Wright's, and Smith's (brought over from Butler's command)--marched +straight to its front. This led them apart, on diverging lines, and +so exposed their flanks as well as their fronts to enemy fire. But +though each corps thought its neighbor wrong to uncover its flanks, +and the true cause was not discovered till compass bearings were +afterwards compared, yet each went on undaunted, gaining momentum +with every step, and gathering itself together for the final charge. + +Then, surging like great storm-blown waves, the blue lines broke +against Lee's iron front. In every gallant case there was the same +wild cresting of the wave, the same terrific crash, the same adventurous +tongues of blue that darted up as far as they could go alive, the same +anguishing recession from the fatal mark, and the same agonizing +wreckage left behind. In Hancock's corps the crisis passed in just +eight minutes. But in those eight dire minutes eight colonels died +while leading their regiments on to a foredoomed defeat. One of +these eight, James P. McMahon of New York, alone among his dauntless +fellows, actually reached the Confederate lines, and, catching the +colors from their stricken bearer, waved them one moment above +the parapet before he fell. + +Flesh and blood could do no more. Under the withering fire and crossfire +of Lee's unshaken front the beaten corps went back, re-formed, and +waited. They had not long to wait; for Grant was set on swinging +his three hammers for three more blows at least. So again the three +assaults were separately made on the one impregnable front; and again +the waves receded, leaving a second mass of agonizing wreckage with +the first. Yet even this was not enough for Grant, who once more +renewed his orders. These orders quickly ran their usual course, +from the army to the different corps, from each corps to its own +divisions, and from divisions to brigades. But not a single unit +stirred. From the generals to the "thinking bayonets" every soldier +knew the limit had been reached. Officially the order was obeyed by +a front-line fire of musketry, as well as by the staunch artillery, +which again gave its infantry the comfort of the guns. But that +was all. + +Thus ended the battle of Cold Harbor, the last pitched battle on +Virginian soil. Grant reported it in three short sentences; and +afterwards referred to it in these other three. "I have always +regretted that the last assault [_i.e._, the whole battle of the +third of June] was ever made. No advantage whatever was gained +to compensate for the heavy loss. Indeed, the advantages, other +than those of relative losses, were on the Confederate side." Even +these, however, were also on the Confederate side, as Grant lost +nearly thirteen thousand, while Lee lost less than eighteen hundred. +Cold Harbor undoubtedly lowered Union morale, both at the front +and all through the loyal North. It encouraged the Peace Party, +revived Confederate hopes, and shook the army's faith in Grant's +commandership. Martin McMahon, a Union general, writing many years +after the event, of which he was a most competent witness, said: +"It was the dreary, dismal, bloody, ineffective close of the +lieutenant-general's first campaign with the Army of the Potomac." + + +Cold Harbor caused a change of plan. Reporting two days later Grant +said: "I now find, after thirty days of trial, the enemy deems it +of the first importance to run no risks with the armies they now +have. Without a greater sacrifice of human life than I am willing +to make all cannot be accomplished that I had designed outside of +the city [of Richmond]. I have therefore resolved upon the following +plan," which, in one word, involved a complete change from a series +of pitched battles to a long-drawn open siege. + +The battles lasted thirty days, the siege three hundred. Therefore, +from this time on for the next ten months, Lee had to keep his living +shield between Grant's main body and the last great stronghold +of the fighting South, while the rising tide of Northern force, +commanding all the sea and an ever-increasing portion of the land, +beat ceaselessly against his front and flanks, threw out destroying +arms against his ever-diminishing sources of supply, and wore the +starving shield itself down to the very bone. + +Grant's losses--forty thousand killed and wounded--were all made +good by immediate reinforcement; as was his other human wastage +from sickness, straggling, and desertion: made good, that is, in +the quantities required to wear out Lee, whose thinning ranks could +never be renewed; but not made good in quality; for many of the best +were dead. The wastage of material is hardly worth considering on +the Northern side; for it could always be made good, superabundantly +good. But the corresponding wastage on the Southern side was unrenewed +and unrenewable. Food, clothing, munitions, medical stores--it was +all the same for all the Southern armies: desperate expedients, +slow starvation, death. + +Consternation reigned at Richmond on the twelfth of June, the day +the fitful firing ceased around Cold Harbor. There was danger in +the Valley, where Hunter had won success at Staunton, and where +Crook's and Averell's Union troops were expected to arrive from West +Virginia. Sheridan, too, was off on a twenty-day raid. He cut the +Virginia Central rails at Trevilian, did much other damage between +Richmond and the Valley, and, toward the end of June, rejoined Grant, +who had reached the James nearly a fortnight before. Always trying +to overlap Lee's extending right, Grant closed in on Petersburg +with the Army of the Potomac while the Army of the James held fast +against Richmond. This part of the front then remained comparatively +quiet till the end of July. + +But the beleaguered Confederates made one last sortie out of the +Valley and straight against Washington. At the beginning of July +the Valley was uncovered owing to the roundabout flank march that +Hunter was forced to make back to his base for ammunition. The +enterprising Jubal Early took advantage of this with some veteran +troops and made straight for Washington. On the ninth Lew Wallace +succeeded in delaying him for one day at the Monocacy by an admirably +planned defense most gallantly carried out with greatly inferior +numbers and far less veteran men. This gave time for reinforcements +to pour into Washington; so that on the twelfth, Early, finding +the works alive with men, had to retreat even faster than he came. + +In the meantime Grant's extreme right wing was steadily pressing +the invasion of Georgia, where we left Sherman and Johnston face +to face at Kenesaw in June. Here again the beleaguered Confederates +had been making desperate raids or sorties, trying to cut Sherman +off from his base in Tennessee and keep back the Federal forces +in other parts of the river area. "Our Jack Morgan," whom we left +as a prisoner of war after his Ohio raid of '63, had escaped in +November, fought Crook and Averell for Saltville and Wytheville +in May, and then, leaving southwest Virginia, had raided Kentucky +and taken Lexington, but been defeated at Cynthiana and driven back +by overwhelming numbers till he again entered southwest Virginia +on the twentieth of June. Forrest raided northeastern Mississippi, +badly defeated Sturgis at Brice's Cross Roads in June, but was +himself defeated by A. J. Smith at Tupelo in July. + +Meanwhile Sherman had been tapping Johnston's fifty miles of +entrenchments for three weeks of rainy June weather, hoping to find +a suitable place into which he could drive a wedge of attack. On +the twenty-seventh he tried to carry the Kenesaw lines by assault, +but failed at every point, with a loss of twenty-five hundred--three +times what Johnston lost. + +By a well-combined series of maneuvers Sherman then forced Johnston +to fall back or be hopelessly outflanked. Johnston, with equal skill, +crossed the Chattahoochee under cover of the strongly fortified +bridgehead which he had built unknown to Sherman. But Sherman, with +his double numbers, could always hold Johnston with one-half in front +while turning his flank with the other. So even the Chattahoochee +was safely crossed on the seventeenth of July and the final move +against Atlanta was begun. That same night Johnston's magnificent +skill was thrown to the winds by Davis, who had ordered the bold +and skillful but far too headlong John B. Hood to take command +and "fight." + +Five days later Hood fought the battle of Atlanta. Just as Sherman +was closing in to entrench for a siege Hood attacked his extreme +left flank with the utmost resolution, driving it in and completely +enveloping it. But Sherman was not to be caught. Knowing that only +a part of Hood's army could be sent to this attack while the rest +held the lines of Atlanta, Sherman left McPherson's veteran Army +of the Tennessee to do the actual fighting, supported, of course, +by the movement of troops on their engaged right. McPherson was +killed. Logan ably replaced him and won a hard-fought day. Hood's +loss was well over eight thousand; Sherman's considerably less +than half. + +On the twenty-eighth Hood attacked the extreme right, now commanded +by General O. O. Howard in succession to McPherson, whose Army of +the Tennessee again did most distinguished service, especially +Logan's Fifteenth Corps near Ezra Church. The Confederates were +again defeated with the heavier loss. After this the siege continued +all through the month of August. + +While Hood was trying to keep Sherman off Atlanta Grant was trying +to make a breach at Petersburg. Grant gave Meade "minute orders +on the 24th [of July] how I wanted the assault conducted," and +Meade elaborated the actual plan with admirable skill except in one +particular--that of the generals concerned. Burnside was ordered +to use his corps for the assault, and he chose Ledlie's division to +lead. The mine was on an enormous scale, designed to hold eight tons +of powder, though it was only charged with four, and was approached +by a gallery five hundred feet long. On the twenty-ninth Grant +brought every available man into proper support of Burnside, whose +other three divisions were to form the immediate support of Ledlie's +grand forlorn hope. + +In the early morning of the thirtieth the mine blew up with an +earthquaking shock; the enemy round it ran helter-skelter to the +rear; a crater like that of a volcano was formed; and a hundred +and sixty pieces of artillery opened a furious fire on every square +inch near it. Ledlie's division rushed forward and occupied the +crater. But there the whole maneuver stopped short; for everything +hinged on Ledlie's movements; and Ledlie was hiding, well out of +danger, instead of "carrying on." After a pause Confederate +reinforcements came up and drove the leaderless division back. +"The effort," said Grant, "was a stupendous failure"; and it cost +him nearly four thousand men, mostly captured. + +August was a sad month for the loyal North. It was then, as we +have seen, that Lincoln had to warn Grant about the way in which +his orders were being falsified in Washington. It was then that +Sherman asked for reinforcements, so as to be up to strength before +and after the taking of Atlanta. And it was then that Halleck warned +Grant to be ready to send some of his best men north if there should +be serious resistance to the draft. Nor was this all. Thurlow Weed, +the great election agent, told Lincoln that the Government would +be defeated; which meant, of course, that the compromised and +compromising Peace Party would probably be at the helm in time +to wreck the Union. With so many of the best men dead or at the +front the whole tone of political society had been considerably +lowered--to the corresponding advantage of all those meaner elements +that fish in troubled waters when the dregs are well stirred up. +There were sinister signs in the big cities, in the press, and +in financial circles. The Union dollar once sank to thirty-nine +cents. To make matters worse, there was a good deal of well-founded +discontent among the self-sacrificing loyalists, both at the home +and fighting fronts, because the Government apparently allowed +disloyal and evasive citizens to live as parasites on the Union's +body politic. The blood tax and money tax alike fell far too heavily +on the patriots; while many a parasite grew rich in unshamed safety. + +Mobile was won in August. But the people's eyes were mostly fixed +upon the land. So a much greater effect was produced by Sherman's +laconic dispatch of the second of September announcing the fall of +Atlanta. The Confederates, despairing of holding it to any good +purpose, had blown up everything they could not move and then retreated. +This thrilling news heartened the whole loyal North, and, as Lincoln +at once sent word to Sherman, "entitled those who had participated +to the applause and thanks of the nation." Grant fired a salute +of shotted guns from every battery bearing on the enemy, who were +correspondingly depressed. For every one could now see that if +the Union put forth its full strength the shrunken forces of the +South could not prevent the Northern vice from crushing them to +death. + +September also saw the turning of the tide on the still more conspicuous +scene of action in Virginia. Grant had sent Sheridan to the Valley, +and had just completed a tour of personal inspection there, when +Sheridan, finding Early's Confederates divided, swooped down on +the exposed main body at Opequan Creek and won a brilliant victory +which raised the hopes of the loyal North a good deal higher still. + +Exactly a month later, on the nineteenth of October, Early made a +desperate attempt to turn the tables on the Federals in the Valley +by attacking them suddenly, on their exposed left flank, while +Sheridan was absent at Washington. (We must remember that Grant +had to concert action personally with his sub-commanders, as his +orders were so often "queered" when seen at Washington by autocratic +Stanton and bureaucratic Halleck.) The troops attacked broke up +and were driven in on their supports in wild confusion. Then the +supports gave way; and a Confederate victory seemed to be assured. + +But Sheridan was on his way. He had left the scene of his previous +victory at Opequan Creek, near Winchester, and was now riding to the +rescue of his army at Cedar Creek, twenty miles south. "Sheridan's +Ride," so widely known in song and story, was enough to shake the +nerves of any but a very fit commander. The flotsam and jetsam of +defeat swirled round him as he rode. Yet, with unerring eye, he +picked out the few that could influence the rest and set them at +work to rally, reform, and return. Inspired by his example many +a straggler who had run for miles presently "found himself" again +and got back in time to redeem his reputation. + +Arriving on the field Sheridan discovered those two splendid leaders, +Custer and Getty, holding off the victorious Confederates from what +otherwise seemed an easy prey. His presence encouraged the formed +defense, restored confidence among the rest near by, and stiffened +resistance so much that hasty entrenchments were successfully made +and still more successfully held. The first rush having been stopped, +Sheridan turned the lull that ensued into a triumphal progress by +riding bareheaded along his whole line, so that all his men might +feel themselves once more under his personal command. Cheer upon +cheer greeted him as his gallant charger carried him past; and +when the astonished enemy were themselves attacked they broke in +irretrievable defeat. + +This crowning victory of the long-drawn Valley campaigns, coming +with cumulative force after those of Mobile, Atlanta, and Opequan +Creek, did more to turn the critical election than all the speeches +in the North. The fittest at the home front judged by deeds, not +words, agreeing therein with Rutherford B. Hayes (a future President, +now one of Sheridan's generals) who said: "Any officer fit for +duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for +a seat in Congress, ought to be scalped." + +The devastation of everything in the Valley that might be useful +to Lee's army completed the Union victory in arms; while Lincoln's +own triumph in November completed it in politics and raised his +party to the highest plane of statesmanship in war. + +From this time till the early spring the battle of the giants in +Virginia calmed down to the minor moves and clashes that mark a +period of winter quarters; while the scene of more stirring action +shifts once more to Georgia and Tennessee. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +SHERMAN DESTROYS THE BASE: 1864 + +Sherman made Atlanta his field headquarters for September and October, +changing it entirely from a Southern city to a Northern camp. The +whole population was removed, every one being given the choice of +going north or south. In his own words, Sherman "had seen Memphis, +Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans, all captured from the enemy, +and each at once garrisoned by a full division, if not more; so +that success was actually crippling our armies in the field by +detachments to guard and protect the interests of a hostile population." +In reporting to Washington he said: "If the people raise a howl +against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, +and not popularity seeking. If they want peace, they and their +relatives must stop the war." He also excluded the swarms of +demoralizing camp-followers that had clogged him elsewhere. One +licensed sutler was allowed for each of his three armies, and no +more. Atlanta thus became a perfect Union stronghold fixed in the +flank of the South. + +The balance of losses in action, from May to September, was heavily +against the South: nearly nine to four. The actual numbers did +not greatly differ: thirty-two thousand Federals to thirty-five +thousand Confederates. (And in killed and wounded the Federals +lost many more than the Confederates. It was the thirteen thousand +captured Confederates that redressed the balance.) But, since Sherman +had twice as many in his total as the Confederates had in theirs, the +odds in relative loss were nine to four in his favor. The balance +of loss from disease was also heavily against the Confederates, +who as usual suffered from dearth of medical stores. The losses in +present and prospective food supplies were even more in Sherman's +favor; for his devastations had begun. Yet Jefferson Davis was +bound that Hood should "fight"; and Hood was nothing loth. + +Davis went about denouncing Johnston for his magnificent Fabian +defense; and added insult to injury by coupling the name of this +very able soldier and quite incorruptible man with that of Joseph +E. Brown, Governor of Georgia, who, though a violent Secessionist, +opposed all proper unification of effort, and exempted eight thousand +State employees from conscription as civilian "indispensables." +Then, when Sherman approached, Brown ran away with all the food +and furniture he could stuff into his own special train; though +he left behind him all arms, ammunition, and other warlike stores, +besides the confidential documents belonging to the State. + +Brown had also weakened Hood's army by withdrawing the State troops +to gather in the harvest and store it where Sherman afterwards used +what he wanted and destroyed the rest. Yet Hood kept operating +in Sherman's rear, admirably seconded by Forrest's and Wheeler's +raiding cavalry. Late in October Forrest performed the remarkable +feat of taking a flotilla with cavalry. He suddenly swooped down on +the Tennessee near Johnsonville and took the gunboat _Undine_ with +a couple of transports. Hood had meanwhile been busy on Sherman's +line of communications, hoping at least to immobilize him round +Atlanta, and at best to bring him back from Georgia for a Federal +defeat in Tennessee. + +[Illustration: _GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN_ +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington] + +On the fifth of October the last action near Atlanta was fought thirty +miles northwest, when Hood made a desperate attempt on Allatoona with +a greatly superior force. Twelve miles off, on Kenesaw Mountain, +Sherman could see the smoke and hear the sounds of battle through the +clear, still, autumn air. But as his signalers could get no answer +from the fort he began to fear that Allatoona was already lost, when +the signal officer's quick eye caught the faintest flutter at one of +the fort windows. Presently the letters, C--R--S--E--H--E--R, were +made out; which meant that General John M. Corse, one of the best +volunteers produced by the war, was holding out. He had hurried +over from Rome, on a call from Allatoona, and was withstanding more +than four thousand men with less than two thousand. All morning long +the Confederates persisted in their attacks, while Sherman's relief +column was hurrying over from Kenesaw. Early in the afternoon the +fire slackened and ceased before this column arrived. But Sherman's +renewed fears were soon allayed. For Corse, after losing more than +a third of his men, had repulsed the enemy alone, inflicting on +them an even greater loss in proportion to their double strength. + +Corse was still full of fight, reporting back to Kenesaw that though +"short a cheek bone and an ear" he was "able to whip all hell yet." +Sherman thanked the brave defenders in his general orders of the +seventh for "the handsome defense made at Allatoona" and pointed +the moral that "garrisons must hold their posts to the last minute, +sure that the time gained is valuable and necessary to their comrades +at the front." + +The situation at the beginning of November was most peculiar. With +the whole Gulf coast blockaded and the three great ports in Union +hands, with the Mississippi a Union stream from source to sea, +and with Sherman firmly set in the northwest flank of Georgia, +Hood made the last grand sortie from the beleaguered South. It was +a desperate adventure to go north against the Federal troops in +Tennessee, with Kentucky and the line of the Ohio as his ultimate +objective, when Lincoln had been returned to power, when Grant +was surely wearing down Lee in Virginia, and when Sherman's +preponderance of force was not only assured in Georgia but in Tennessee +as well. Moreover, Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," had been sent +back to counter Hood from Grant's and Sherman's old headquarters +at Nashville on the Cumberland. And Thomas was soon to have the +usual double numbers; for all the Western depots sent him their +trained recruits, till, by the end of November, his total was over +seventy thousand. Hood's forty thousand could not be increased or +even stopped from dwindling. Yet he pushed on, with the consent +of Beauregard, who now held the general command of all the troops +opposed to Sherman. + +The next moves were even more peculiar than the first. For while +Hood hoped to close the breach in Georgia by drawing Sherman back, +and Sherman expected that when he went on to widen the breach he +would draw Hood back, what really happened was that each advanced +on his own new line in opposite directions, Hood north through +Tennessee, Sherman southeast through Georgia. So firm was the grip +of the Union on all the navigable waters that Hood could only cross +the Tennessee somewhere along the shoals. He chose a place near +Florence, Alabama, got safely over and encamped. There, for the +moment, we shall leave him and follow Sherman to the sea. + + +The region of the Gulf and lower Mississippi being now under the +assured predominance of Union forces, Grant, with equal wisdom +and decision, entirely approved of Sherman's plan to cut loose +from his western base, make a devastating march through the heart +of fertile Georgia, and join the eastern forces of the North at +Savannah, where Fort Pulaski was in Union hands and the Union navy +was, as usual, overwhelmingly strong. + +Sherman's March to the Sea at once acquired a popular renown which +it has never lost. This, however, was chiefly because it happened +to catch the public eye while nothing else was on the stage. For +its many admirable features were those about which most people +know little and care less: well-combined grand strategy, perfection +in headquarter orders and the incidental staff work, excellent +march discipline, wonderful coördination between the different +arms of the Service and with all auxiliary branches--especially +the commissariat and transport, and, to clinch everything, a +thoroughness of execution which distinguished each unit concerned. +As a feat of arms this famous march is hardly worth mentioning. +There were no battles and no such masterly maneuvers as those of +the much harder march to Atlanta. Nor was the operational problem +to be mentioned in the same breath with that of the subsequent march +through the Carolinas. Sherman himself says: "Were I to express +my measure of the relative importance of the march to the sea, and +of that from Savannah northward, I would place the former at one, +and the latter at ten--or the maximum." + +The Government was very doubtful and counseled reconsideration. +But Grant and Sherman, knowing the factors so very much better, +were sure the problem could easily be solved. Sherman left Atlanta +on the fifteenth of November and laid siege to Savannah on the tenth +of December. He utterly destroyed the military value of Atlanta and +everything else on the way that could be used by the armies in the +field. Of course, to do this he had to reduce civilian supplies to +the point at which no surplus remained for transport to the front; +and civilians naturally suffered. But his object was to destroy the +Georgian base of supplies without inflicting more than incidental +hardship on civilians. And this object he attained. He cut a swath +of devastation sixty miles wide all the way to Savannah. Every +rail was rooted up, made red-hot, and twisted into scrap. Every +road and bridge was destroyed. Every kind of surplus supplies an +army could possibly need was burnt or consumed. Civilians were +left with enough to keep body and soul together, but nothing to +send away, even if the means of transportation had been left. + +Sherman's sixty thousand men were all as fit as his own tall sinewy +form, which was the very embodiment of expert energy. Every weakling +had been left behind. Consequently the whole veteran force simply +romped through this Georgian raid. The main body mostly followed the +rails, which gangs of soldiers would pile on bonfires of sleepers. +The mounted men swept up everything about the flanks. But nothing +escaped the "bummers," who foraged for their units every day, starting +out empty-handed on foot and returning heavily laden on horses or +mules or in some kind of vehicle. If Atlanta had been a volcano +in eruption, and the molten lava had flowed to Savannah in a stream +sixty miles wide and five times as long, the destruction could +hardly have been worse, except, of course, that civilians were +left enough to keep them alive, and that, with a few inevitable +exceptions, they were not ill treated. + +The fighting hardly disturbed the daily routine. Sherman was never +in danger; though wiseacre Washington, supposing that he ought to +be, used to pester Lincoln, who always replied: "Grant says the +men are safe with Sherman, and that if they can't get out where +they want to, they can crawl back by the hole they went in at." +This seemed to allay anxiety; though the truth was that Sherman's +real safety lay in going ahead to the Union sea, not in retracing +his steps over the devastated line of his advance. + +On approaching Savannah a mounted officer was blown up by a land +torpedo, his horse killed, and himself badly lacerated. Sherman +at once sent his prisoners ahead to dig up the other torpedoes +or get blown up by those they failed to find. No more explosions +took place. Savannah itself was strongly entrenched and further +defended by Fort McAllister. Against this fort Sherman detached +his own old Shiloh division of the Fifteenth Corps, now under the +very capable command of General William B. Hazen. As the day wore +on Sherman became very impatient, watching for Hazen's attack, when +a black object went gliding up the Ogeechee River toward the fort. +Presently a man-of-war appeared flying the Stars and Stripes and +signaling, _Who are you?_ On getting the answer, _General Sherman_, +she asked, _Is Fort McAllister taken?_ and immediately received the +cheering assurance, _No; but it will be in a minute._ Then, just +as the signal flags ceased waving, Hazen's straight blue lines +broke cover, advanced, charged through the hail of shot, shell, +and rifle bullets, rushed the defenses, and stood triumphant on +the top. + +Before midnight Sherman was writing his dispatches on board the +U.S.S. _Dandelion_ and examining those received from Grant. He +learned now, from Grant's of the third (ten days before), that +Thomas was facing Hood round Nashville and that the Government, +and even Grant, were getting very impatient with Thomas for not +striking hard and at once. A week later the Confederate general, +Hardee, managed to evacuate Savannah before his one remaining line +of retreat had been cut off. He was a thorough soldier. But men +and means and time were lacking; and the civil population hoped +to save all that was not considered warlike stores. Thus immense +supplies fell into Sherman's hands. Savannah was of course placed +under martial law. But as the wax was now nearing its inevitable +end, and the citizens were thoroughly "subjugated," those who wished +to remain were allowed to do so. Only two hundred left, going to +Charleston under a flag of truce. + +[Illustration: CIVIL WAR CAMPAIGNS OF 1864] + +The following official announcement reached Lincoln on Christmas +Eve. + + Savannah, Georgia, December 22, 1864. + +TO HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT LINCOLN, + WASHINGTON, D. C. + +I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, +with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and +plenty of ammunition, +also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. + W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General. + + +In the meantime Hood's desperate sortie had struck north as far +as Franklin, Tennessee. Here, on the last of November, General +John Schofield, commanding the advanced part of Thomas's army, +gallantly withstood a furious attack. On this the closing day of +a lingering Indian summer the massed Confederates charged with +the piercing rebel yell, and charged again; re-formed under cover +of the dense pall of stationary smoke; and returned to the charge +again and again. Many a leader met his death right against the +very breastworks. Another would instantly spring forward, only +to fall in his turn. Thirteen times the gaunt gray lines rushed +madly through the battle smoke and lost their front ranks against +the withering fire before the autumn night closed in. Schofield then +fell back on Brentwood, halfway on the twenty miles to Nashville. +He had lost over two thousand men. But Hood had lost three times +as many; and Hood's were irreplaceable except by a very few local +recruits. + +Hood now concentrated every available man for his final attack on +Thomas, who had odds of twenty thousand in his favor. Hood marched +his thirty-five thousand up to Nashville, where he actually invested +the fifty-five thousand Federals. By this time even Grant was so +annoyed at what seemed to him unreasoning delay that he sent Logan +to take command at once and "fight." But on the fifteenth of December +Thomas came out of his works and fought Hood with determined skill +all day. Having gained a decisive advantage already he pressed it +home to the very utmost on the morrow, breaking through Hood's +shaken lines, enveloping whole units with converging fire, and +taking prisoners in mass. After a last wild effort Hood's beaten +army fled, having lost fifteen thousand men, five times as much +as Thomas. + +The battle of Nashville came nearer than any other to being a really +annihilating victory. Out of the forty thousand men Hood had at +first in Tennessee not half escaped; and of the remainder not nearly +half were ever seen in arms again. As an organized force his army +simply disappeared. The few thousands saved from the wreckage of +the storm found their painful way east to join all that was left +for the last stand against the overwhelming forces of the North. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE END: 1865 + +By '65 the Southern cause was lost. There was nothing to hope for +from abroad. Neither was there anything to hope for at home, now +that Lincoln and the Union Government had been returned to power. +From the very first the disparity of resources was so great that +the South had never had a chance alone except against a disunited +North. Now that the North could bring its full strength to bear +against the worn-out South the only question remaining to be settled +in the field was simply one of time. Yet Davis, with his indomitable +will, would never yield so long as any Confederates would remain +in arms. And men like Lee would never willingly give up the fight +so long as those they served required them. Therefore the war went +on until the Southern armies failed through sheer exhaustion. + +The North had nearly a million men by land and sea. The South had +perhaps two hundred thousand. The North could count on a million +recruits out of the whole reserve of twice as many. The South had no +reserves at all. The total odds were therefore five to one without +reserves and ten to one if these came in. + +The scene of action, for all decisive purposes, had shrunk again, +and now included nothing beyond Virginia and the Carolinas; and +even there the Union forces had impregnable bases of attack. When +Wilmington fell in January the only port still left in Southern +hands was Charleston; and that was close-blockaded. Fighting +Confederates still remained in the lower South. But victories like +Olustee, Florida, barren in '64, could not avail them now, even +if they had the troops to win them. The lower South was now as +much isolated as the trans-Mississippi. Between its blockaded and +garrisoned coast on one side and its sixty-mile swath of devastation +through the heart of Georgia on the other it might as well have +been a shipless island. The same was true of all Confederate places +beyond Virginia and the Carolinas. The last shots were fired in +Texas near the middle of May. But they were as futile against the +course of events as was the final act of war committed by the +Confederate raider _Shenandoah_ at the end of June, when she sank +the whaling fleet, far off in the lone Pacific. + +For the last two months of the four-years' war Davis made Lee +Commander-in-Chief. Lee at once restored Johnston to his rightful +place. These two great soldiers then did what could be done to +stave off Grant and Sherman. Lee's and Johnston's problem was of +course insoluble. For each was facing an army which was alone a +match for both. The only chance of prolonging anything more than a +mere guerilla war was to join forces in southwest Virginia, where +the only line of rails was safe from capture for the moment. But this +meant eluding Grant and Sherman; and these two leaders would never +let a plain chance slip. They took good care that all Confederate +forces outside the central scene of action were kept busy with +their own defense. They also closed in enough men from the west +to prevent Lee and Johnston escaping by the mountains. Then, with +the help of the navy, having cut off every means of escape--north, +south, east, and west--they themselves closed in for the death-grip. + +By the first of February Sherman was on his way north through the +Carolinas with sixty thousand picked men, drawing in reinforcements +as he advanced against Johnston's dwindling forty thousand, until +the thousands that faced each other at the end in April were ninety +and thirty respectively. On the ninth of February (the day Lee +became Commander-in-Chief) Sherman was crossing the rails between +Charleston and Augusta, of course destroying them. A week later he +was doing the same at Columbia in the middle of South Carolina. +By this time his old antagonist, Johnston, had assumed command; +so that he had to reckon with the chances of a battle, as on his +way against Atlanta, and not only with the troubles of devastating +an undefended base, as on his march to the sea. The difficulties of +hard marching through an enemy country full of natural and artificial +obstacles were also much greater here than in Georgia. How well these +difficulties could be surmounted by a veteran army may be realized +from a recorded instance which, though it occurred elsewhere, was +yet entirely typical. In forty days an infantry division of eight +thousand men repaired a hundred miles of rail and built a hundred +and eighty-two bridges. + +Sherman took a month to advance from Columbia in the middle of +South Carolina to Bentonville in the middle of North Carolina. +Here Johnston stood his ground; and a battle was fought from the +nineteenth to the twenty-first of March. Had Sherman known at the +time that his own numbers were, as he afterwards reported, "vastly +superior," he might have crushed Johnston then and there. But, +as it was, he ably supported the exposed flank that Johnston so +skillfully attacked, won the battle, inflicted losses a good deal +larger than his own, and gained his ulterior objective as well +as if there had not been a fight at all. This objective was the +concentration of his whole army round Goldsboro by the twenty-fifth. +At Goldsboro he held the strategic center of North Carolina, being +at the junction whence the rails ran east to Newbern (which had +long been in Union hands), west to meet the only rails by which +Lee's army might for a time escape, and north (a hundred and fifty +miles) to Grant's besieging host at Petersburg. Sherman's record is +one of which his men might well be proud. In fifty days from Savannah +he had made a winter march through four hundred and twenty-five +miles of mud, had captured three cities, destroyed four railways, +drained the Confederate resources, increased his own, and half +closed on Lee and Johnston the vice which he and Grant could soon +close altogether. + +Nevertheless Grant records that "one of the most anxious periods +was the last few weeks before Petersburg"; for he was haunted by +the fear that Lee's army, now nearing the last extremity of famine, +might risk all on railing off southwest to Danville, the one line +left. Lee, consummate now as when victorious before, masked his +movements wonderfully well till the early morning of the twenty-fifth +of March, when he suddenly made a furious attack where the lines +were very near together. For some hours he held a salient in the +Federal position. But he was presently driven back with loss; and +his intention to escape stood plainly revealed. + +The same day Sherman railed down to Newbern over the line repaired +by that indefatigable and most accomplished engineer, Colonel W. W. +Wright, took ship for City Point, Virginia, and met Lincoln, Grant, +and Admiral Porter there on the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth. +Grant explained to Lincoln that Sheridan was crossing the James +just below them, to cut the rails running south from Petersburg +and then, by forced marches, to cut those running southwest from +Richmond, Lee's last possible line of escape. Grant added that +the final crisis was very near and that his only anxiety was lest +Lee might escape before Sheridan cut the Richmond line southwest to +Danville. Lincoln said he hoped the war would end at once and with +no more bloodshed. Grant and Sherman, however, could not guarantee +that Davis might not force Lee and Johnston to one last desperate +fight. Lincoln added that all he wanted after the surrender was +to get the Confederates back to their civil life and make them +good contented citizens. As for Davis: well, there once was a man +who, having taken the pledge, was asked if he wouldn't let his +host put just a drop of brandy in the lemonade. His answer was: +"See here, if you do it unbeknownst, I won't object." From the +way that Lincoln told this story Grant and Sherman both inferred +that he would be glad to see Davis disembarrass the reunited States +of his annoying presence. + +This twenty-eighth of March saw the last farewells between the +President and his naval and military lieutenants at the front. +Admiral Porter immediately wrote down a full account of the +conversations, from which, together with Grant's and Sherman's +strong corroboration, we know that Lincoln entirely approved of +the terms which Grant gave Lee, and that he would have approved +quite as heartily of those which Sherman gave to Johnston. + +Next morning the final race, pursuit, defeat, and victory began. +Grant marched all his spare, men west to cut Lee off completely. +He left enough to hold his lines at Petersburg, in case Lee should +remain; and he arranged with Sherman for a combined movement, to +begin on the tenth of April, in case Johnston and Lee should try +to join each other. But he felt fairly confident that he could +run Lee down while Sherman tackled Johnston. + +On the first of April Sheridan won a hard fight at Five Forks, +southwest of Petersburg. On Sunday (the second) Lee left Petersburg +for good, sending word to Richmond. That morning Davis rose from +his place in church and the clergyman quietly told the congregation +that there would be no evening service. On Monday morning Grant +rode into Petersburg, and saw the Confederate rearguard clubbed +together round the bridge. "I had not the heart," said Grant, "to +turn the artillery upon such a mass of defeated and fleeing men, +and I hoped to capture them soon." On Tuesday Grant closed his +orders to Sherman with the words, "Rebel armies are now the only +strategic points to strike at," and himself pressed on relentlessly. + +Late next afternoon a horseman in full Confederate uniform suddenly +broke cover from the enemy side of a dense wood and dashed straight +at the headquarter staff. The escort made as if to seize him. But +a staff officer called out, "How d'ye do, Campbell?" This famous +scout then took a wad of tobacco out of his mouth, a roll of tinfoil +out of the wad, and a piece of tissue paper out of the tinfoil. When +Grant read Sheridan's report ending "I wish you were here" (that +is, at Jetersville, halfway between Petersburg and Appomattox), +he immediately got off his black pony, mounted Cincinnati, and +rode the twenty miles at speed, to learn that Lee was heading due +west for Farmville, less than thirty miles from Appomattox. + +On Thursday the sixth, Lee, closely beset in flank and rear, lost +seven thousand men at Sailor's Creek, mostly as prisoners. The +heroes of this fight were six hundred Federals, who, having gone +to blow up High Bridge on the Appomattox, found their retreat cut +off by the whole Confederate advanced guard. Under Colonel Francis +Washburn, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and Colonel Theodore Read, +of General Ord's staff, this dauntless six hundred charged again +and again until, their leaders killed and most of the others dead +or wounded, the rest surrendered. They had gained their object +by holding up Lee's column long enough to let its wagon train be +raided. + +Grant, now feeling that his hold on Lee could not be shaken off, +wrote him a letter on Friday afternoon, saying: "The results of +the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further +resistance." That night Lee replied asking what terms Grant proposed +to offer. Next morning Grant wrote again to propose a meeting, +and Lee answered to say he was willing to treat for peace. Grant +at once informed him that the only subject for discussion was the +surrender of the army. That evening Federal cavalry under General +George A. Custer raided Appomattox Station, five miles southwest of +the Court House, and held up four trains. A few hours later, early +on Sunday, the famous ninth of April, 1865, Lee's advanced guard was +astounded to find its way disputed so far west. It attacked with +desperation, hoping to break through what seemed to be a cavalry +screen before the infantry came up; but when Lee's main body joined +in, only to find a solid mass of Federal infantry straight across +its one way out, Lee at once sent forward a white flag. + +Grant, overwrought with anxiety, had been suffering from an excruciating +headache all night long. But the moment he opened Lee's note, offering +to discuss surrender, he felt as well as ever, and instantly wrote +back to say he was ready. Pushing rapidly on he met Lee at McLean's +private residence near Appomattox Court House. There was a remarkable +contrast between the appearance of the two commanders. Grant, only +forty-three, and without a tinge of gray in his brown hair, took +an inch or two off his medium height by stooping keenly forward, +and had nothing in his shabby private's uniform to show his rank +except the three-starred shoulder-straps. When the main business +was over, and he had time to notice details, he apologized to Lee, +explaining that the extreme rapidity of his movements had carried +him far ahead of his baggage. Lee's aide-de-camp, Colonel Charles +Marshall, afterwards explained that when the Confederates had been +obliged to reduce themselves simply to what they stood in, each +officer had naturally put on his best. Hence Lee's magnificent +appearance in a brand-new general's uniform with the jeweled sword +of honor that Virginia had given him. Well over six feet tall, +straight as an arrow in spite of his fifty-eight years and snow-white, +war-grown beard, still extremely handsome, and full of equal dignity +and charm, he looked, from head to foot, the perfect leader of +devoted men. + +Grant, holding out his hand in cordial greeting, began the conversation +by saying: "I met you once before, General Lee, while we were serving +in Mexico.... I have always remembered your appearance, and I think +I should have recognized you anywhere." After some other personal +talk Lee said: "I suppose, General Grant, that the object of our +present meeting is fully understood. I asked to see you in order +to ascertain on what terms you would receive the surrender of my +army." Grant answered that officers and men were to be paroled +and disqualified from serving again till properly exchanged, and +that all warlike and other stores were to be treated as captured. +Lee bowed assent, said that was what he had expected, and presently +suggested that Grant should commit the terms to writing on the +spot. When Grant got to the end of the terms already discussed +his eye fell on Lee's splendid sword of honor, and he immediately +added the sentence: "This will not embrace the side-arms of the +officers, nor their private horses or baggage." When Lee read over +the draft he flushed slightly on coming to this generous proviso +and gratefully said: "This will have a very happy effect upon my +army." Grant then asked him if he had any suggestions to make; +whereupon he said that the mounted Confederates, unlike the Federals, +owned their horses. Before he had time to ask a favor Grant said +that as these horses would be invaluable for men returning to civil +life they could all be taken home after full proof of ownership. +Lee again flushed and gratefully replied: "This will have the best +possible effect upon the men. It will be very gratifying and do +much toward conciliating our people." + +While the documents were being written out for signature Grant +introduced the generals and staff officers to Lee. Then Lee once +more led the conversation back to business by saying he wished +to return his prisoners to Grant at the earliest possible moment +because he had nothing more for them to eat. "I have, indeed, nothing +for my own men," he added. They had been living on the scantiest +supply of parched corn for several days; and this famine fare, +combined with their utter lack of all other supplies--especially +medicine and clothing--was wearing them away faster than any "war +of attrition" in the open field. After heartily agreeing that the +prisoners should immediately return Grant said: "I will take steps +at once to have your army supplied with rations. Suppose I send +over twenty-five thousand; do you think that will be a sufficient +supply?" "I think it will be ample," said Lee, who, after a pause, +added: "and it will be a great relief, I assure you." + +Then Lee rose, shook Grant warmly by the hand, bowed to the others, +and left the room. As he appeared on the porch all the Union officers +in the grounds rose respectfully and saluted him. While the Confederate +orderly was bridling the horses Lee stood alone, gazing in unutterable +grief across the valley to where the remnant of his army lay. Then, +as he mounted Traveler, every Union officer followed Grant's noble +example by standing bareheaded till horse and rider had disappeared +from view. + +Grant next sent off the news to Washington and, true to his sterling +worth, immediately stopped the salutes which some of his enthusiastic +soldiers were already beginning to fire. "The war is over," he +told his staff, "the rebels are our countrymen again, and the best +sign of rejoicing after the victory will be to abstain from all +demonstrations in the field." + +In the meantime Lee had returned to his own lines, along which he +now rode for the last time. The reserve with which he had steeled +his heart during the surrender gave way completely when he came +to bid his men farewell. After a few simple words, advising his +devoted veterans to become good citizens of their reunited country, +the tears could no longer be kept back. Then, as he rode slowly +on, from the remnant of one old regiment to another, the men broke +ranks, and, mostly silent with emotion, pressed round their loved +commander, to take his hand, to touch his sword, or fondly stroke +his splendid gray horse, Traveler, the same that had so often carried +him victorious through the hard-fought day. + + +North and South had scarcely grasped the full significance of Lee's +surrender, when, only five days later, Lincoln was assassinated. "It +would be impossible for me," said Grant, "to describe the feeling +that overcame me at the news. I knew his goodness of heart, and +above all his desire to see all the people of the United States +enter again upon the full privileges of citizenship with equality +among all. I felt that reconstruction had been set back, no telling +how far." "Of all the men I ever met," said Sherman, "he seemed to +possess more of the elements of greatness, combined with goodness, +than any other." + +On the very day of the assassination Sherman had written to Johnston +offering the same terms Grant had given Lee and Lincoln had most +heartily approved. Three days later, on the seventeenth, just as +Sherman was entering the train for his meeting with Johnston, the +operator handed him a telegram announcing the assassination. Enjoining +secrecy till he returned, Sherman took the telegram with him and +showed it to Johnston, whom he watched intently. "The perspiration +came out on his forehead," Sherman wrote, "and he did not attempt to +conceal his distress. He denounced the act as a disgrace to the age +and hoped I did not charge it to the Confederate Government. I told +him I could not believe that he or General Lee or the officers of the +Confederate army could possibly be privy to acts of assassination." +When Sherman got back to Raleigh he published the news in general +orders, and experienced the supreme satisfaction of finding that +not one man in all that mournful army had to be restrained from +a single act of revenge. + +After much misunderstanding with Washington now in lesser hands, +the surrender of Johnston's and the other Confederate armies was +effected. Each body of troops laid down its arms and quietly dispersed. +One day the bugles called, the camp fires burned, and comrades +were together in the ranks. The next, like morning mists, they +disappeared, thenceforth to be remembered and admired only as the +heroes of a hopeless cause. + + +It was a very different scene through which their rivals marched +into lasting fame with all the pride, pomp, and circumstance of war. +On the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of May, in perfect weather, +and in the stirring presence of a loyal, vast, enthusiastic throng, +the Union armies were reviewed in Washington. For over six full +hours each day the troops marched past--the very flower of those +who had come back victorious. The route was flagged from end to +end with Stars and Stripes, and banked with friends of each and +every regiment there. Between these banks, and to the sound of +thrilling martial music, the long blue column flowed--a living +stream of men whose bayonets made its surface flash like burnished +silver under the glorious sun. + + +Then, when the pageantry was finished, and the volunteers that formed +the vast bulk of those magnificent Federal armies had again become +American civilians in thought and word and deed, these steadfast +men, whose arms had saved the Union in the field, were first in +peace as they had been in war: first in the reconstruction of their +country's interrupted life, first in recognizing all that was best +in the splendid fighters with whom they had crossed swords, and +first--incomparably first--in keeping one and indivisible the reunited +home land of both North and South. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +Thousands of books have been written about the Civil War; and more +about the armies than about the navies and the civil interests +together. Yet, even about the armies, there are very few that give +a just idea of how every part of the war was correlated with every +other part and with the very complex whole; while fewer still give +any idea of how closely the navies were correlated with the armies +throughout the long amphibious campaigns. + +The only works mentioned here are either those containing the original +evidence or those written by experts directly from the original +evidence. And of course there are a good many works belonging to +both these classes for which no room can be found in a bibliography +so very brief as the present one must be. + +_The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records +of the Union and Confederate Armies_, 128 vols. (1880-1901), and +_Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of +the Rebellion_, 26 vols. (1894-), form two magnificent collections +of original evidence published by the United States Government. +But they have some gaps which nothing else can fill. _Battles and +Leaders of the Civil War_ (1887-89), written by competent witnesses +on both sides, gives the gist of the story in four volumes (published +afterwards in eight). _The Rebellion Record_, 12 vols. (1862-68), +edited by Frank Moore, forms an interesting collection of non-official +documents. _The Story of the Civil War_, 4 vols. (1895-1913), begun by +J. C. Ropes, and continued by W. R. Livermore, is an historical work +of real value. Larned's _Literature of American History_ contains an +excellent bibliography; but it needs supplementing by bibliographies +of the present century. Inquiring readers should consult the +bibliographies in volumes 20 and 21 (by J. K. Hosmer) in the _American +Nation_ series. + +There are many works of a more special kind that deserve particular +attention. General E. P. Alexander's _Military Memoirs of a Confederate_ +(1907), the _Transactions of the Military Historical Society of +Massachusetts_, Major John Bigelow's _The Campaign of Chancellorsville_ +(1910), and J. D. Cox's _Military Reminiscences_, 2 vols. (1900), +are admirable specimens of this very extensive class. + +The two greatest generals on the Northern side have written their +own memoirs, and written them exceedingly well: _Personal Memoirs +of U. S. Grant_, 2 vols. (1885-86), and _Memoirs of General W. T. +Sherman_, 2 vols. (1886). But the two greatest on the Southern +side wrote nothing themselves; and no one else has written a really +great life of that very great commander, Robert Lee. Fitzhugh Lee's +enthusiastic sketch of his uncle, _General Lee_ (1894), is one of +the several second-rate books on the subject. Colonel G. F. R. +Henderson's _Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War_, 2 vols. +(1898), is, on the other hand, among the best of war biographies. +Henderson's strategical study of the Valley Campaign is a masterpiece. +Two good works of very different kinds are: _A History of the Civil +War in the United States_ (1905), by W. Birkbeck Wood and Major J. +E. Edmonds, and _A History of the United States from the Compromise +of 1850_, 8 vols. (1893-1919), by James Ford Rhodes. The first +is military, the second political. Mr. Rhodes has also written a +single volume _History of the Civil War_ (1917). _American Campaigns_ +by Major M. F. Steele, issued under the supervision of the War +Department (1909), deals chiefly with the military operations of +the Civil War. + +The naval side of this, as of all other wars, has been far too +much neglected. But that great historian of sea-power, Admiral +Mahan, has told the best of the story in his _Admiral Farragut_ +(1892). + +An interesting contemporary account of the war will be found in +the five volumes of Appleton's _American Annual Cyclopœdia_ for +the years from 1861 to 1865. B. J. Lossing's _Pictorial History of +the Civil War_, 3 vols. (1866-69), and Harper's _Pictorial History +of the Rebellion_, 2 vols. (1868), give graphic pictures of military +life as seen by contemporaries. Personal reminiscences of the war, +of varying merit, have multiplied rapidly in recent years. These +are appraised for the unwary reader in the bibliographies already +mentioned. Frank Wilkeson's _Recollections of a Private Soldier in +the Army of the Potomac_ (1887), George C. Eggleston's _A Rebel's +Recollections_ (1905), and Mrs. Mary B. Chestnut's _Diary from +Dixie_ (1905) are among the best of these personal recollections. + +The political and diplomatic history has been dealt with already +in the two preceding _Chronicles_. _Abraham Lincoln: a History_, +by John G. Nicolay and John Hay, in ten volumes (1890), and _The +Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln_, in twelve volumes (1905), form +the quarry from which all true accounts of his war statesmanship +must be built up. Lord Charnwood's _Abraham Lincoln_ (1917) is an +admirable summary. To these titles should be added Gideon Welles's +_Diary_, 3 vols. (1911), and, on the Confederate side, Jefferson +Davis's _The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government_, 2 vols. +(1881), and Alexander H. Stephens's _A Constitutional View of the +Late War Between the States_, 2 vols. (1870). The best life of +Jefferson Davis is that by William E. Dodd in the _American Crisis +Biographies_ (1907). W. H. Russell's _My Diary North and South_ +(1863) records the impressions of an intelligent foreign observer. + +The present _Chronicle_ is based entirely on the original evidence, +with the convenient use only of such works as have themselves been +written by qualified experts directly from the original evidence. + + + + +INDEX + +Alabama, secedes; in 1864; threatened +_Alabama_, Confederate raider; _Kearsarge_ and; and _Hatteras_ +_Albatross_, ship +_Albemarle_, Confederate ram, Cushing destroys +Albemarle Sound, command lost +Alexandria (Louisiana), State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy +Allatoona (Georgia), Johnston evacuates; Corse's defense of +"Anaconda policy" +Anderson, Colonel Charles, quotes Lee +Anderson, Major Robert, commands at Fort Moultrie; at Fort Sumter; + surrender; leaves Fort Sumter; appointed to Kentucky command; + superseded by Sherman +Annapolis, Union troops at +Antietam (Maryland), battle +Apache Cañon, fight in +Appomattox Court House (Virginia), Lee's surrender +Appomattox Station, Custer raids +Aquia, McClellan's troops at +Archer, J. T., Confederate brigadier +Arizona, "War in the West" +Arkansas secedes, +_Arkansas_, Confederate ram +Arkansas Post, capture of +Arlington, home of General Lee +Armstrong, Commodore, at Pensacola +Army, Confederate, Act providing for enlistment; at Harper's Ferry; + Jackson and; lack of equipment; advantages; conscription; munitions; + relations with Federals at Vicksburg; Army of Northern Virginia; + unrenewable wastage; number of troops (1865); Lee's farewell to +Army, Federal, enlistments; Congress votes troops and money; + McDowell's; regulars in; number of troops; conscription; organization; + Grant's (1862); Army of the Cumberland; Army of the Mississippi; Army + of the Ohio; well equipped; Army of the Potomac; Army of the Tennessee; + Army of Virginia; relations with Confederates at Vicksburg; Army of the + James; reviewed in Washington +Army Act, Provisional Confederate Congress passes +Ashby, Turner, Confederate cavalry leader; at Harrisonburg; Valley raid; + death +Ashby's Gap, Johnston crosses Blue Ridge at +Ashland (Virginia), Jackson at +Atlanta, Southern cannon made at; Northern objective; battle; Sherman + announces fall of; effect of victory; Sherman's headquarters; last + action near +_Atlanta_, Confederate ram captured by _Weehawken_ +Averell, W. D., cavalry leader + +Bailey, Colonel Joseph +Bailey, Captain Theodorus +Balloons +Baltimore, Secessionists at Fort Sumter; Massachusetts troops mobbed in; + Jackson's plan to occupy +Baltimore and Ohio Railway, Jackson destroys workshop +Banks, General N. P., supersedes General Butler; on the Mississippi + (1862); (1863); commands in Shenandoah Valley; in Shenandoah campaign; + incapacity; commands Red River Expedition +Barrancas Barracks +Bartow, General F. S., Bull Run; killed +Baton Rouge, Union Arsenal at; Farragut captures; Confederate attack; + Union Navy wins way to +"Battle above the Clouds," Lookout Mountain +Baylor, Captain J. R., proclaims himself Governor of New Mexico +Beauregard. General P. G. T., sons at Louisiana Military Academy; and + Fort Sumter; on the Potomac; at Bull Run; preparation for Shiloh; + battle of Shiloh; Corinth; and Confederate plans; attacks Butler; + telegram to Lee; command of troops opposed to Sherman +Beauregard, Fort +Beaver Dam Creek (Virginia), Porter's front at Mechanicsville +Bee, General B. E., Bull Run; killed +Bell, Commodore H. H. +Belmont (Missouri), Grant attacks +Benjamin, J. P., Confederate Secretary of War +_Benton_, flagship +Bentonville (North Carolina), battle +Bering Sea, _Shenandoah_ in +Bermuda Hundred (Virginia), Butler seizes +Beverly (West Virginia), Confederates retire to +Big Black River (Mississippi), Grant's victory at +Birge, H. W., and sharpshooters +Bixby, Mrs., letter to +Blackburn's Ford (Virginia), McDowell at +Blair, General F. P., fight for Missouri; as a general +Blockade, declared; effectiveness; blockade-runners; on Mississippi; + attempts to break; double line necessary +Bloody Angle, salient in Spotsylvania action +Bonham, General M. L., Bull Run +Boonville (Missouri), battle +Boston Mountains, Confederates hold +Bowling Green (Kentucky), Johnston at; Johnston abandons +Brackett, Colonel A. G., quoted +Bragg, General Braxton; at Baton Rouge; preparations for Shiloh; succeeds + Beauregard; invasion of Kentucky; march on Nashville; sends out Morgan; + Chickamauga; Chattanooga; Missionary Ridge +Brandy Station (Virginia), cavalry combat at +Brentwood (Tennessee), Schofield at +Brice's Cross Roads (Mississippi), Forrest defeats Sturgis at +Bristoe Station (Virginia), bridge burned +_Brooklyn_, fight with _Manassas_; against Fort Morgan +Brown, John +Brown, J. E., Governor of Georgia +Bruinsburg (Louisiana), Grant lands force at +Buchanan, Commodore Franklin +Buckingham, General C. P., and McClellan +Buckner, General S. B., as a general; Fort Donelson; surrender; and Grant +Buell, General D. C., commands in West; and Halleck; preparations + for Shiloh; battle of Shiloh; commands Army of the Ohio; end of service +Buford, John, cavalry leader at Gettysburg +Bull Run, First campaign; public clamor for action; disposition of forces; + Confederate problem; Falling Waters; Federal preparations; Blackburn's + Ford; McDowell advances; Confederate preparations and plans; Federal + advance; Confederate rout; Confederates rally; Stuart's charge; Federal + retreat; losses; importance; number of troops +Bull Run, Second campaign, maneuvering for; battle +Burns, John, at Gettysburg +Burnside, General A. E.; failure in Virginia; succeeds McClellan; as a + general; at Fredericksburg; "Mud March"; Knoxville; at Petersburg +Butler, General Benjamin, Bull Run; in North Carolina; Mississippi + campaign; Banks supersedes; against Fort Fisher; commands Army of the + James; at Bermuda Hundred; retreat from Drewry's Bluff + +Cairo (Illinois), Grant in command at +Caldwell, Lieutenant, of the _Itasca_ +California, invasion of +Cameron, Simon, Secretary of War; and Sherman; Stanton succeeds +Canby, Colonel E. R. S., at Valverde +Carolinas, danger from West Virginia; secede; effective for South (1864); + menace to; Sherman's march through; scene of action (1865); _see also_ + North Carolina, South Carolina +_Carondelet_, Federal gunboat +Castle Pinckney +Catlett's Station (Virginia) Shields at; Banks near +_Cayuga_, Federal gunboat +Cedar Creek (Virginia), Sheridan's ride to +Cedar Run (Virginia), battle +Cemetery Hill (Gettysburg), Early fails at +Centreville (Virginia), in Bull Run campaign; Confederate base; McDowell's + corps at +Chambersburg (Pennsylvania), Federals at; Stuart's raid +Champion's Hill (Mississippi), fight of +Chancellorsville (Virginia), battle of; plans; Federal defeat +Charleston (South Carolina), forts; beginning of hostilities; United States + Arsenal seized; surrender of Fort Sumter; menaced; naval combats around; + bombardment; defenses in Southern hands; Savannah citizens go to +Charlestown (West Virginia), Patterson advances to +Charlotte (North Carolina), Southern cannon made in +Chase, S. P., Secretary of Treasury +Chase, Colonel W. H.. demands surrender of Fort Pickens +Chattahoochee River, Johnston crosses +Chattanooga, Buell's objective; Bragg's base; Confederates retire on; Bragg + at (1863); key to strategic area; battles on Missionary Ridge and Lookout + Mountain; significance of victory; Grant moves headquarters from; Grant + inspects; Federal headquarters; Sherman starts from +Chestnut, James, Confederate officer at Fort Sumter +Chickamauga (Georgia), battle; result of Federal defeat +Chickasaw Bluffs (Mississippi), Sherman's assault +Cincinnati, Grant's charger +Cincinnati (Ohio), Confederate objective +City Point (Virginia), Union leaders meet at +Civil control _vs._ civil interference +Clarksburg (West Virginia), Jackson born at +Cold Harbor (Virginia), Battle of; result +Columbia (South Carolina), Sherman at +Columbus (Kentucky), Confederates at +Commerce, importance to South; protection of; Confederate raiders + interfere with +Congress, Confederate, passes Army and Navy Acts +Congress, United States, vote for army; Welles's report to; authorizes + Promotion Board +_Congress, Merrimac_ and +Conscription; Act +Contraband, importation into South +Cooke, General, pursues Stuart +Copperheads; _see also_ Pacifists +Corinth (Mississippi), Confederate railway junction at; Johnston's line at; + Beauregard retires after Pittsburg Landing; importance of position; + Beauregard at; Federal advance on; Confederate objective; Rosecrans + defeats Van Dorn at +Corse, General J. M., at Allatoona +Cox, General J. D., Kanawha campaign; newspaper lies about +Craig, Fort, Valverde near +Crocker, General M. M. +Crook, General George, cavalry commander +Cross Keys (Virginia), battle +Culpeper, Johnston retires to; Lee at; Grant's headquarters +Culp's Hill (Gettysburg), Confederate victory on +_Cumberland, Merrimac_ and +Cumberland Gap, Johnston threatened at; Federal brigade against; + winter (1864) +Cummings Point (South Carolina), batteries at +Curtis, General S. R., at Pea Ridge; compared with Halleck +Cushing, Lieutenant A. H., Pickett's Charge +Cushing, Lieutenant W. B., destroys _Albemarle_ +Custer, General G. A., at Cedar Creek; raids Appomattox Station +Custis, Mary, wife of Lee +Cynthiana (Kentucky), Morgan defeated at + +Dalton (Georgia), Johnston at +_Dandelion_, U. S. S., Sherman on +Darrow, Mrs., and Lee; quoted +Davis, Flag-Officer C. H., Mississippi flotilla under; succeeds Foote +Davis, Jefferson, President of Confederacy, 11; personal characteristics; + as executive; interference in military matters; stands for "Independence + or extermination"; military mistakes; plans flight from Richmond; and + Lee; and Johnston; Lincoln on; receives word of Southern defeat (April + 2, 1865) +_Deerhound_, English yacht; rescues crew of _Alabama_ +Donaldsonville (Louisiana), Confederate attack on +Donelson, Fort, Johnston holds; Confederates from Fort Henry start for; + importance; Grant before; Floyd and Pillow escape from; surrender; + results of surrender; number of troops +Doubleday, General Abner, succeeds Reynolds; at Gettysburg +Drayton, Captain, of the _Hartford_ +Drewry's Bluff (Virginia), Confederate defenses at; Federal gunboats + stopped at; Butler's retreat from +Du Pont, Admiral S. F., Port Royal expedition; at Charleston + +Eads, J. B., shipbuilder +Early, General Jubal, advance toward Washington; attack at Cedar Creek +Eaton, John, quoted +Elkhorn Tavern and Pea Ridge, battle of +Ellet, Colonel Charles, civil engineer +Emancipation, Lincoln and +Ericsson, John, shipbuilder +_Essex_, gunboat before Fort Henry +Ewell, General R. S., in Jackson's Valley campaign; in Shenandoah + Valley; Gettysburg +Ezra Church (Georgia), battle + +Fair Oaks (Virginia), battle +Fairfax Court House (Virginia), Confederate conference at +Falling Waters (West Virginia), battle in Bull Run campaign +Farragut, Admiral D. G.; efficiency; commands squadron at Ship Island; + ancestry; age; fleet; and his subordinates; New Orleans; at Fort St. + Philip; orders; on to Vicksburg; captures Baton Rouge; returns to New + Orleans; Gulf blockade; becomes ranking admiral; again at New Orleans; + occupies Galveston; success of 1862; Lincoln and; prepares to attack + Port Hudson; and Banks; goes up Mississippi; again to New Orleans; + leaves for New York; and the Navy (1863-64); and Mobile; takes Fort + Morgan; at Fort Fisher +Farrand, Captain, demands surrender of Fort Pickens +Ferragut, Don Pedro, ancestor of Farragut +_Fingal_, blockade-runner converted into ram +Fisher, Fort, bombardment; surrender +Five Forks (Virginia), battle +Florence (Alabama), Hood near +Florida, beginning of war in; secedes; Confederate troops withdrawn from +_Florida_, Confederate raider +Flournoy, Colonel T. S., leader of Virginians in Valley campaign +Floyd, J. B., Secretary of War; Kanawha campaign; Fort Donelson; escape +Foote, Flag-Officer A. H., ability; Fort Henry; Fort Donelson; wounded; + Island Number Ten; Davis succeeds +Forrest, General N. B., and Grant; cavalry raids +Foster, Lieutenant H. C. +Fox, G. V., Assistant Secretary of Navy +France, intervention in Mexico +Franklin (Tennessee), Hood reaches +Frayser's Farm, battle +Frederick (Maryland), McClellan's army at +Fredericksburg (Virginia), McDowell at; Burnside's headquarters; battle; + "Mud March"; result of battle; menace to Richmond from; Lee suspects + Federal retirement on +Frémont, General J. C., commands "Western Department"; in West Virginia; + and Jackson's Valley campaign; dismissal; replaced by Sigel +Front Royal (Virginia), Banks at; battle; McDowell arrives at; Jackson + destroys Federal stores at +Frost, Brigadier-General D. M., at Camp Jackson; surrenders + +Gaines's Mill, battle +Galveston (Texas), occupied by Farragut; again in Confederate hands, +Gardner, Colonel, Anderson replaces at Charleston +Garfield, Colonel J. A., at Prestonburg +Garnett, General R. S., killed +Georgia, secedes; beginning of war in; effective for South (1864); Sherman + threatens; scene of action; Sherman's March to the Sea +Getty, General G. W., at Cedar Creek +Gettysburg campaign; Lee's defeat; cavalry combat; government interference; + Meade succeeds Hooker; battle; Little Round Top; importance of location; + first day; second day; third day; Pickett's Charge; Lee's retreat +Gilman, Lieutenant, in Florida; at Fort Pickens +Gloucester Point (Virginia), Federals fail to take fort at +Goldsboro (North Carolina), Sherman at +_Governor Moore_, Confederate vessel +Grafton (West Virginia), Federal line at +Grand Gulf (Mississippi), Grant's objective +Granger, General Gordon, at Fort Morgan +Grant, Jesse, father of General Grant +Grant, Matthew, ancestor of General Grant +Grant, Noah, great-grand-father of General Grant +Grant, Solomon, great-granduncle of General Grant +Grant, General U. S.; and Lyon; at Belmont (Missouri); age; River war + of 1863; commands at Cairo; at Fort Henry; ancestors; early life; + appearance; Fort Donelson; as a soldier; "unconditional surrender"; + desire to push South; ordered arrested for insubordination; at + Pittsburg Landing; Shiloh; made second in command; relations with + Halleck; as a leader; commands Army of the Tennessee; Vicksburg as + objective; holds Memphis-Corinth rails; "most anxious period of the + war"; Holly Springs; returns to Memphis; on the Mississippi; and + Lincoln; lies about; given chief command; refuses Presidential + candidacy (1864); his generals; and Banks; on action of Navy in + Vicksburg campaign; quoted; naval operations help; lands army at + Bruinsburg; supplies for army; Port Gibson: at Grand Gulf; victories in + rear of Vicksburg; siege of Vicksburg; surrender of Vicksburg; given + supreme command; Chattanooga; and Red River Expedition; campaign (1864); + Lieutenant-General; midwinter tour; summoned to Washington; and Stanton; + and Swinton; force in Virginia; headquarters at Culpeper Court House; + plans advance; Confederate cavalry raids against; elements of victory; + Wilderness; Spotsylvania; Sheridan's raid; Sherman's advance; Cold + Harbor; losses; Petersburg; approves Sherman's plans; Nashville; closes + in on Lee; at meeting at City Point (Virginia); Lincoln approves terms + to Lee; quoted; letter to Lee; surrender of Lee; terms of Lee's + surrender; on assassination of Lincoln +Greeley, Horace, defection of +Grigsby, Colonel, Jackson and + +Hagerstown (Maryland), Longstreet at +Halleck, General H. W., Federal commander in West; as a general; Grant + and; after Shiloh; at Corinth; General-in-Chief; military adviser at + Washington; reprimands Banks; censures Meade; orders Red River + Expedition +Hampton Roads, _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_ in +Hancock, General W. S.; at Gettysburg; at Cold Harbor +Hanover Court House (Virginia), Cooke pursues Stuart from +Hardee, General W. J., evacuates Savannah +Harney, General W. S., commands Department of the West +Harper's Ferry, Federal forces abandon; Jackson at; strategic point; + Virginia militia at; Johnston takes command at; Union forces on Potomac + near; Johnston retires from; Banks at; troops gather at; Jackson and +_Harriet Lane_, U. S. S. +Harris, Colonel, Confederate leader +Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), Banks at +Harrison's Landing (Virginia), in Seven Days' battle; McClellan + moves from +_Hartford_, Federal man-of-war, at Ship Island; New Orleans forts; in + Vicksburg campaign; Mobile Bay +Haskins, Major, at Baton Rouge +_Hatteras_, Alabama sinks +Hatteras Island, taken +Haxall's Landing (Virginia), Sheridan at +Hayes, R. B., quoted +Hazen, General W. B., takes Fort McAllister +Helena (Arkansas), force joins Grant; Confederate attack repulsed +Henry, Fort, Johnston at; blocks Federal advance; attack on; surrender; + Federal march from; Grant ordered to remain at +Hill, General A. P., at Beaver Dam Creek; at Gaines's Mill; Gettysburg +Hill, General D. H. +Hilton Head (South Carolina), fleet action off +Holly Springs (Mississippi), Grant at +Hood, General J. B., battle of Atlanta; number of troops; Nashville; + attacks Schofield +Hooker, General Joseph, failure in Virginia; Second Bull Run; supersedes + Burnside; discipline; as a general; on deserters; joins Grant; at + Wauhatchie; Lookout Mountain; Chancellors ville; Washington interferes + with; Lincoln's letter to; resignation +"Hornets' Nest" +Howard, General O. O., Gettysburg campaign; at Chancellorsville; commands + Army of the Tennessee +Huger, General Benjamin, against Butler +Hunter, General David, and Washington interference; Sigel replaced by; + succeeded by Sheridan; success at Staunton; and Early +Hurlbut, General S. A., at Shiloh + +Imboden, General J. D., at Bull Run; describes Jackson; Gettysburg +Indiana, Morgan's Raid +Indians, part in Civil War +Ingraham, Commodore D. N., attacks blockade at Charleston +"Iron Brigade," Meredith's +Island Number Ten, Confederates hold; attack on; Pope's operations +_Itasca_, Federal gunboat +Iuka (Mississippi), battle + +Jackson, Governor Claiborne +Jackson, General T. J.; and negroes; personal characteristics; at Harper's + Ferry; as disciplinarian; Johnston takes command from; commands First + Shenandoah Brigade; at Martinsburg; at Falling Waters; guards while + soldiers sleep; at Bull Run; origin of nickname "Stonewall"; Imboden + describes; as a general; age; McClellan's failure against; maneuvering + in Virginia; as strategist; campaign (1862-63); Lee and; Kernstown; + Banks designs net for; forces; Valley campaign; McDowell; rout of Banks; + summary of fortnight's work; Port Republic; pursuit of; planned attack + on McClellan; attends Lee's conference; Seven Days; again pursued; + Cedar Run; plans against Pope; marches north; slips away; at Manassas + Junction; preparations for battle; Second Bull Run; in the Valley; + against Hooker; wounded; death; Grant marches on; government interference + with +Jackson (Mississippi), Grant wins at +Jackson, Camp (Missouri), Frost establishes; Lyon takes +Jackson, Fort, guards New Orleans +James Island, Fort Johnson on +Jefferson City (Missouri), Confederate recruiting at; Lyon at +Jetersville (Virginia), Grant goes to +Johnson, General Edward, commands near Staunton +Johnson, Fort, Charleston +Johnston, General A. S., commands in West; Logan's Cross Roads; Nashville; + Pope cuts line; plans attack on Grant; Shiloh; death +Johnston, General J. E., commands at Richmond; at Harper's Ferry; Federal + problem of attack; destroys stores at Harper's Ferry; eludes Patterson; + joins Beauregard; Bull Run; immediate superior of Jackson; Davis and; + retires to Culpeper; against McClellan; Seven Pines; wounded; Vicksburg; + government mistake concerning; Dalton; Sherman against; Resaca; New Hope + Church; evacuates Allatoona; at Kenesaw Mountain; Bentonville; terms of + surrender + +Kanawha campaign; _see also_ West Virginia +Kansas, Southern sympathy in +Kearny, General Philip, Second Bull Run +_Kearsarge_, U. S. S., and _Alabama_ +Kenesaw Mountain (Georgia), Johnston at; battle; Sherman watches Allatoona + engagement from +Kenly, Colonel, at Front Royal +Kennon, Confederate naval officer +Kentucky, opinions divided in; neutral; Southern sympathy in; Confederates + lose hold of eastern; Federals conquer; Bragg's invasion of; Morgan's + raid; Grant's army in; Hood's objective +Kernstown (Virginia), battle +_Keystone State_, Confederate gunboats attack +Kingston (Georgia), Johnston retires to +Knoxville (Tennessee), Burnside occupies; Longstreet sent against; + dependent upon Chattanooga; Bragg's connection cut; Grant's inspection of + +Lacy, chaplain at Jackson's headquarters +Lamb, Colonel commands Fort Fisher +Lancaster (Ohio), Sherman at +Lebanon (Missouri), General Curtis at +Lebanon Springs, Jackson at +Lee, Fitzhugh, Stuart and +Lee, General R. E.; at San Antonio; military career; decision for South; + resignation from U. S. Army; commands Virginia forces; Kanawha campaign; + military adviser at Richmond; prevision; as a leader; age; McClellan + against; maneuvering in Virginia; made Commander-in-Chief; in 1862-63; + and Jackson; plans Valley campaign; appointed to command in eastern + Virginia and North Carolina; plan against McClellan; Seven Days; + McClellan foils; sends Jackson against Pope; entrains Longstreet for + Gordonsville; as strategist; divides army; Second Bull Run; and + Longstreet; invasion of Maryland; again divides army; at Antietam; at + Culpeper; Fredericksburg; Burnside tries to surprise; Hooker against; + quoted; Chancellorsville; defeat at Gettysburg; no part in Chattanooga + strategy; plans counter-attack in Pennsylvania; Brandy Station; + position before Gettysburg; Gettysburg; retreat; attempt to bring on + Third Manassas; on importance of Wilmington; at Orange Court House; + Wilderness; Spotsylvania; illness; prepares for Cold Harbor; at Cold + Harbor; losses; siege; losses; Petersburg; insoluble problem; leaves + Petersburg; Sailor's Creek; asks terms of Grant; surrenders; terms of + surrender; farewell to army +Lexington (Kentucky) Grant inspects; Morgan's raid +Lexington (Missouri), Price takes +Lick Creek, Grant's forces at +Lincoln, Abraham, Inaugural; declares blockade; and Lee; calls for + Missouri's quota of volunteers; general call for volunteers; and civil + control; on evaders of service; reëlection; and Grant; as war statesman; + birth; education; appearance; personal characteristics; appointments; + quoted; and Vallandigham; Emancipation; foreign policy; Cabinet; as + Commander-in-Chief; and McClellan; stories; letter to a bereaved mother; + Second Inaugural quoted; military orders; halts McDowell; and Hooker; + and Stanton; cipher letter to Grant; and Sherman; meets Union leaders; + assassination; approves terms of surrender; bibliography +Little Sorrel, Jackson's horse +Logan, General J. A.; replaces McPherson at Atlanta; Ezra Church; Nashville +Logan's Cross Roads, Confederates at; Thomas's victory at +Longstreet, General James, entrains for Gordonsville; Jackson's march + against Pope; Second Bull Run; obstructs Lee's plans; at Hagerstown; + leaves Lee; reinforces Bragg; Wauhatchie; urges help for Vicksburg; + Gettysburg; Wilderness; wounded +Lookout Mountain, _see_ Chattanooga +Louisiana, Union forces in; Sherman in; secedes +_Louisiana_, Confederate ironclad; as mine ship +Louisville (Kentucky), Bragg at; Grant inspects +_Louisville_, at Fort Donelson +Lovell, General Mansfield, evacuates New Orleans +Lyon, General Nathaniel, commands at St. Louis; fight for Missouri; Frémont + and; Wilson's Creek; killed + +McAllister, Fort, naval conflict near; Hazen's attack +McClellan, General G. B., in West Virginia; recalled to Washington; bubble + reputation; former career; "Young Napoleon of the West"; newspaper + publicity; force in Virginia; telegram to Grant delayed; Federal invasion + of Virginia under; dismissal; Lincoln and; Democratic candidate for + President (1864); plan of campaign; Peninsula Campaign; at Fortress + Monroe; base at White House; in Chickahominy swamps; government + interference with; Jackson aids against; awaits McDowell; number of + troops; exaggerates number of enemy; Seven Pines; Stuart's ride around; + Lee and; changes base to Harrison's Landing; Malvern Hill; plans to + take Richmond; ordered to Aquia; Pope and; discovers Lee's plans; lets + opportunity slip; Antietam; superseded by Burnside; popularity +McClernand, General J. B., Grant's second-in-command; fails to meet Banks; + battle on own account; at Fort Donelson; Shiloh; Arkansas Post; as a + general; breach of discipline; dismissal +McCulloch, General Benjamin at Wilson's Creek; killed at Pea Ridge +McDowell, General Irvin, assists Scott; crosses Potomac; Bull Run; + President reviews army of; number of troops; difficulties encountered; + quoted; wastage in forces; people lose confidence in; kept from + reinforcing McClellan; strike at Richmond; ordered to Valley; Jackson + and; McClellan awaits +McDowell (Virginia), battle +McGuire, Dr. Hunter +McIntosh, General James, killed at Pea Ridge +McMahon, J. P., at Cold Harbor +McMahon, General Martin, quoted +McPherson, General J. B., killed at Atlanta +Macon (Georgia), Southern cannon made at +Maffitt, Commander J. N., commands _Florida_ +Magruder, General J. B., and Butler; Yorktown; holds Richmond +Mallory, S. R., Confederate Secretary of Navy +Malvern Hill (Virginia), battle +Manassas, Johnston at; Jackson at; location; Federal base; base destroyed; + Battle of Second; _see also_ Bull Run +_Manassas_, Federal ram +Marshall, Colonel Charles, Lee's aide-de-camp +Marshall, General H. M., with Johnston in Kentucky +_Martha Waskington_, story of Lincoln on board +Martinsburg (West Virginia), Jackson marches on; Patterson occupies; + Confederates reach; Jackson destroys Federal stores at +Maryland, border slave State; Confederate hope for; Southern sympathy in; + sea-power keeps for Union; Jackson's plan to enter; Confederate invasion; + Federals massed in +Mason, Fort, Lee from +Matamoras, contraband imported into +Matthews Hill, battle of Bull Run +Meade, General G. G., quoted; as a general; succeeds Hooker in command; + Gettysburg; Lincoln's dissatisfaction with; Army of Potomac under; headed + for Richmond; Cold Harbor; Petersburg +Mechanicsville (Virginia), battle +Memphis, Confederate rams lost at; Confederate fleet at; Grant in command + at; Sherman's army from; Grant returns to; Grant leaves; Grant considers + retirement on +_Mercedita_, Confederate gunboats attack +Meredith, Solomon, "Iron Brigade" at Gettysburg +_Merrimac_, only Confederate man-of-war; duel with _Monitor_; destroyed +Mesilla (New Mexico), Baylor establishes capital at +_Metacomet_ against Fort Morgan +Mexican War, Grant serves in +Mexico, France warned from intervention in +Middle Creek (Kentucky), Garfield occupies line of +Mill Springs (Kentucky), Confederates at; battle +Milroy, R. H., in Jackson's Valley campaign; driven from Winchester +Mine Run (Virginia), battle +_Minnesota, Merrimac_ attacks +Missionary Ridge, _see_ Chattanooga +Mississippi, secedes; conflicting authorities balk navy +_Mississippi_, Confederate ship; burnt at New Orleans +Mississippi River, Union power on; Federal problem; River War (1862); River + War (1863); Federals hold, +Missouri, saved for Union; Southern sympathy in; River campaign (1862); + Curtis in +Missouri River, made Federal line of communication; last Confederate + foothold on +Mitchel, General O. M., raid +Mobile, fleet drawn from; in Southern hands; Farragut against; Fort Morgan; + army sent against; Sherman desires attack on; Grant's plan to help + Farragut; taken +_Monitor_, duel with _Merrimac_; Lincoln on plans for +Monocacy River, Wallace delays Early at +Monroe, Fortress, Federal forces at; _Monitor_ at; McClellan's plan for + position at; McClellan at; McClellan leaves +_Montauk_, Union monitor +Montgomery (Alabama), provisional Confederate Congress +Morgan, J. H., Raid; surrender; Kentucky raid +Morgan, Fort Farragut against +Mosby, J. S., Confederate cavalry leader +Moultrie, Fort +Mount Pleasant battery +"Mud March," Burnside's; Mulligan, Colonel James, at Lexington (Missouri) +Murfreesboro (Tennessee), Buell at + +Nashville, Buell reinforces Grant from; Buell defends; Grant's + headquarters; Thomas sent from; Thomas faces Hood at; battle +_Nashville_, Confederate privateer +Navy, Confederate, sea-power of South; poor administration; _see also_ + Navy, United States +Navy, United States, stands by Union; keeps command of sea; size (1861); + Welles's report on; Fox as Assistant Secretary of Navy; Promotion Board; + training; growth; Naval War (1862); fivefold duty of; Farragut and; + blockade-runners complicate task of; part in River War (1862) +Navy Act +Negroes, fidelity to South; North uses as troops; New York draft riots; + _see also_ Emancipation, slavery +Nelson, William, at Shiloh +New Hope Church (Georgia), fighting near +New Madrid (Missouri), Pope at; _Carondelet_ arrives at +New Mexico, as base of California invasion; Baylor proclaims himself + Governor; Sibley in +New Orleans, Confederate rams lost at; attack conceived; strategic + importance; joint expedition necessary; Farragut commands enterprise; + Welles's orders; Farragut's plan; _Mississippi_ burned at; preparations; + passing of forts; taken; Farragut at; Baton Rouge garrison withdrawn to +New York, _Monitor_ launched; draft riot +Newbern (North Carolina), expedition against; Richmond menaced from; + attempt against; in Union hands; meeting of Union leaders at +Norfolk Navy Yard, Federal abandonment of +North, peace parties; _see also_ Pacifists; population (1861); resources; + transport facilities; sea-power; _see also_ Navy, United States; + commerce; total forces; conscription; conduct of soldiers; Lee's + invasion; conditions in 1864 +North Carolina, blockade; defeat at Hatteras Island; loses defenses; _see + also_ Carolinas + +Ohio, Morgan's Raid; Vallandigham case +Olustee (Fla.), victory of +_Oneida_, Confederate ship +Opequan Creek (Virginia), Sheridan's victory at +Orange Court House (Virginia), Lee at +Ord, General E. O. C., Read on staff of + +Pacifists, in North; Peace party encouraged by Cold Harbor +Paducah (Kentucky), Grant forestalls enemy at; Grant's position at +Pamlico Sound (North Carolina), joint expedition against +Patterson, General Robert, commands on Potomac; and plans for Bull Run; + Falling Waters; occupies Martinsburg; advance; and Johnston +Pea Ridge (Arkansas), battle +Pemberton, General J. C., escapes Federal trap; Chickasaw Bluffs; commander + at Vicksburg; plans escape; surrender +Pensacola (Florida), beginning of war; evacuation; South uses garrison to + reinforce Virginia; Farragut directs Gulf blockade from +_Pensacola_, Confederate ship +Peninsula Campaign, McClellan plans; campaign +Pendleton, Major A. S., member of Jackson's staff +Perryville (Kentucky), battle +Petersburg (Virginia), strategic rail gap at; winter quarters; Butler fails + to take; Grant at; Lee leaves +Philippi (West Virginia), battle +Pickens, Fort +Pickett, G. E., charge at Gettysburg +Pillow, General G. J., at Fort Donelson; escape +Pillow, Fort, Federal vessels rammed at +Pinckney, Castle, _see_ Castle Pinckney +_Pinola_, Federal gunboat +Pipe Creek, Meade's army at +Pittsburg Landing, _see_ Shiloh +_Pittsburgh_, Federal ironclad at Fort Donelson; at Island Number Ten +Pleasant Hill, battle +Pleasonton, General A., cavalry leader +Point Pleasant (Ohio), Grant born at +Pope, General John, Grant declines patronage of; Island Number Ten; + reinforces Halleck at Pittsburg Landing; transfer to Virginia; quoted; + within reach of Jackson and Lee; retires safely; Jackson captures + dispatches of; Lee divides army against; Jackson's plan against; Jackson + marches around; reinforcement; Jackson eludes; Second Bull Run +Port Gibson (Mississippi) +Port Hudson (Louisiana) +Port Republic (Virginia) +Port Royal (South Carolina), Confederate defeat; Grant moves base to +Porter, Admiral D. D., conceives idea of attack on New Orleans; on + Mississippi; succeeds Davis; capture of Arkansas Post; Vicksburg + campaign; Mississippi command; attacks Fort Fisher; on Red River; at + City Point conference, +Porter, FitzJohn, position; Beaver Dam Creek; Gaines's Mill; Second Bull + Run; Pope's order +Porter, J. L., Naval Constructor to Confederate States +Porter, Commander W. D., at Fort Henry +Potter, Captain R. M., on Lee's decision +Powell, Fort +_Powhatan_, U. S. S., Porter commands +Prentiss, General B. M., at Shiloh +Press, perverts public opinion; no government censorship +Prestonburg, Garfield defeats Marshall near +Price, Sterling, becomes Confederate general; takes Lexington (Missouri); + Grant prevents reinforcements for; attacks Curtis in Missouri; against + Grant; defeated at Iuka +Privateers +Profiteers +Pulaski, Fort + +_Quaker City_, Confederate gunboats attack + +Rations, before Vicksburg; Grant supplies Lee's army +Rawlins, J. A., Grant's chief staff officer +Raymond (Mississippi), battle +Read, Colonel Theodore, at Sailor's Creek +Red River Expedition (1864) +Reno, General L. J., Second Bull Run +Renshaw, Commander, in charge of blockade +Resaca (Georgia), battle +Reynolds, General J. F., Second Bull Run; Gettysburg; killed +Rhind, Commander, fires mine-ship _Louisiana_ +Rich Mountain (Virginia), battle +Richmond, plan to raid Harper's Ferry arranged at; Federal objective; + Tredegar Iron Works; Grant and Lee at grips around; McClellan threatens; + plan to evacuate; change of plan; Jackson starts for; Magruder to hold; + saved; Sheridan's raid; Grant marches toward; consternation after Cold + Harbor; Army of the James against +_Richmond_, Federal ship +"River Defense Fleet" +River War (1862); (1863) +Roanoke Island captured +"Rock of Chickamauga," nickname for General Thomas +Rodgers, Commander John, and first flotilla on Mississippi +Roe, Commander of the _Sassacus_ +Rosecrans, General W. S., succeeds McClellan; Army of Mississippi under; + holds Memphis-Corinth rails; replaces Buell; victory at Corinth; + commands Army of Cumberland; Stone's River; maneuvers Bragg south; + Thomas supersedes; Confederate plan to crush; Chattanooga + +Sabine Cross Roads (Louisiana), Banks's defeat at +Sabine Pass (Texas), in Confederate hands +Sable Island, Butler's troops at +Sailor's Creek (Virginia), Lee's defeat at +St. Louis, Haskins goes to; Lyon commands at; Lyon marches prisoners + through; Harney makes peace; conference; Frémont's headquarters; Frémont + fortifies; Halleck's headquarters +_St. Louis_, Federal gunboat +St. Philip, Fort +Salem Church (Virginia), Jackson reaches +San Antonio (Texas), surrender to State; Lee at; Sibley's retreat +San Carlos, Fort +Santa Rosa Island, Slemmer defends +_Sassacus_, fight with _Albemarle_ +Savannah (Georgia), South holds; Sherman plans march to; Sherman reaches; + Hardee evacuates +Savannah (Tennessee), in Shiloh campaign +Schofield, General John, Nashville campaign +Scott, General Winfield, General-in-Chief, orders to Slemmer; and Lee; + military adviser at Washington; civilian interference with; Grant's + admiration for; prevision; "Anaconda policy" +Seddon, J. A., Confederate Secretary of War +Sedgwick, General John, Virginia campaign +Selma (Alabama), Southern cannon made at +Seminary Ridge, Lee's headquarters +Semmes, Captain Raphael of _Alabama_ +Seven Days' Battle; balloon used in +Seven Pines (Virginia), battle +Seward, W. H., Secretary of State; on McClellan +Sharpsburg, _see_ Antietam +_Shenandoah_, Confederate raider +Shenandoah Brigade, First, Jackson in command of +Shenandoah Valley, Johnston in; Sheridan's raid; Kernstown; positions + (April, 1862); forces; Jackson's maneuvers; McDowell; Front Royal; + Winchester; pursuit of Banks; summary of Jackson's accomplishment in; + pursuit of Jackson; Cross Keys; Port Republic; Jackson's strategy; + Ewell in; Stanton's interference; Sigel in; Hunter's retreat; Early + in; Sheridan in; Opequan Creek; "Sheridan's Ride"; Cedar Creek; Federal + victory +Sheridan, General P. H., raid helps Lincoln's reëlection; Chattanooga; + Stanton falsifies Grant's order to; as a general; Grant and; Todd's + Tavern; Richmond raid; Cold Harbor; raid; Trevilian; Opequan Creek; + "Sheridan's Ride"; in Washington; later operations; Five Forks +Sherman, General W. T., colonel in Louisiana State Military Academy; leaves + Louisiana; and Lyon; assists Scott; account of McDowell's march; as a + leader; Port Royal expedition; age; attempt to take Vicksburg; Kentucky + command; reported insane; diffident about rise; Shiloh; joins Grant; + Chickasaw Bluffs; and Lincoln; Vicksburg campaign; commands Army of + Tennessee; Chattanooga; Red River Expedition spoils strategy of; and + Stanton; on relative forces in South; threatens Georgia; Dalton; fitness + for command; advance; Resaca; New Hope Church; at Allatoona; at Kenesaw; + maneuvers Johnston; battle of Atlanta; asks reinforcements; announces + fall of Atlanta; Lincoln's reply to; campaign (1864); quoted; at Atlanta; + Hood's attempt on Allatoona; preponderance of force; March to the Sea; + presents Savannah to Lincoln; march through Carolinas; conference at City + Point (Virginia); terms of surrender to Johnston; on Lincoln +Shields, General James, Kernstown; at Catlett's Station; Port Republic +Shiloh, Grant's army assembles near; Confederate preparations; Grant's + position and force; battle; losses; outcome; result +Shine, Elizabeth, mother of Farragut +Ship Island, taken; Farragut at +Sibley, General H. H., in New Mexico +Sickles, General D. E., at Gettysburg +Sigel, General Franz, Wilson's Creek; Second Bull Run; command in + Shenandoah Valley; Hunter replaces +Simpson, Grant's mother's name +Slavery, Lee and; _see also_ Emancipation, Negroes +Slemmer, Lieutenant, command at Pensacola; defends Fort Pickens +Smith, General A. J., at Tupelo +Smith, Captain C. F., Grant's admiration for; as a leader; Fort Donelson; + ordered by Halleck to command expedition; Shiloh +Smith, General G. W., and Jackson's plan +Smith, Giles, Chattanooga +Smith, General Kirby, Bull Run +Smith, William, quartermaster on _Kearsarge_ +Sons of Liberty +South, seceding States of; war party in; population (1861); resources; + transportation; sea-power; _see also_ Navy, Confederate; reason for + fighting; advantages; raiders; situation (1864); losses (1864); cause + lost; number of troops +South Carolina, secedes; defeat at Port Royal; _see also_ Carolinas, + Charleston +South Mountain, Stuart at +Spotsylvania (Virginia), battle +Stanton, E. M., Secretary of War; and Lincoln; military interference; and + Lee; Cameron succeeded by; Banks and; orders McClellan to Aquia; and + Hooker; forbids use of cipher; and Grant's orders +_Star of the West_, merchant vessel fired on at Charleston +Staunton (Virginia), Jackson at; Hunter's success at +Steinwehr, General Adolph, atrocities under +Stone's River (Tennessee), battle +Strasburg (Virginia), Banks's retreat from +Stringham, Flag-Officer, expedition against Hatteras forts +Stuart, J. E. B.; Confederate cavalry leader, Martinsburg; Bull Run; raid + around McClellan; against Pope; at South Mountain; second raid around + McClellan; and Lee's retreat; age; Sheridan encounters; Yellow Tavern; + killed +Sturgis, defeat at Brice's Cross Roads +Suffolk (Virginia), menace to Richmond from +Sumter, Fort, location; Anderson goes to; fall of +_Sumter_, Confederate raider +_Supply_, vessel at Fort Pickens +Swift Run Gap (Virginia), Jackson at +Swinton, William, war correspondent +Sykes, General George, succeeds Meade + +Taylor, Captain Jesse, destroys Confederate reports at Fort Henry +_Tecumseh_, sunk in Mobile Bay +Tennessee, mountain folk Unionist; secedes +_Tennessee_, Confederate ram +Terry, General A. H., at Fort Fisher +Texas, State militia seize army posts; General Twiggs surrenders posts; + secedes; contraband enters; Red River Expedition; last shots fired in +Thomas, General G. H., Mill Springs; "Rock of Chickamauga"; + Chattanooga; Nashville campaign +Thoroughfare Gap (Virginia), Jackson's expedition +Tilghman, General Lloyd, surrenders Fort Henry +Tod, Judge, Jesse Grant in home of +Todd's Tavern (Virginia), battle +Transportation; means of communication in Virginia campaign +Traveler, Lee's horse +Tredegar Iron Works +Trevilian (Virginia), Sheridan at +Tunstall's Station (Virginia), Stuart's raid +Tupelo (Mississippi), Forrest defeated at +Twiggs, General D. E., surrenders Texas garrisons + +_Undine_, gunboat taken with cavalry +Union Mills (Virginia), ford defended +United States, population (1861); _see also_ North, South + +Vallandigham case +Valley Campaign, Jackson's; _see_ Shenandoah Valley +Valverde (New Mexico), Canby's defeat at +Van Dorn, General Earl, Confederate commander of trans-Mississippi troops; + Pea Ridge; reinforces Beauregard; tries to reconquer Memphis-Corinth + rails; replaced by Pemberton; at Holly Springs +_Varuna, Governor Moore_, destroys +Vicksburg, Farragut's expedition; importance of position; Sherman's + attempt; _see also_ Chickasaw Bluffs; Grant's operations preceding; + Grant's objective; Holly Springs; Confederates hold; Grant's position; + generals at; Navy at; Grant's maneuvers; Federal force; Confederate + force; scene of action; army rations at; siege; surrender; significance + of victory; effect of victory +"Vicksburg Oak," Grant meets Pemberton under +Vinton. Major, Union officer at San Antonio +Virginia, Lee's loyalty to; blockade; secedes; Lee given chief command + in; West Virginia part of; issues call for volunteers; West Virginia + separates from; mountain folk Unionists; Federals hold western part + of; Farragut from; Pope transferred to; Burnside's invasion of; Grant + transferred to; campaign (1864); Wilderness; Todd's Tavern; + Spotsylvania; Sheridan's raid; Cold Harbor; losses; campaign (1865); + Petersburg; Five Forks; Sailor's Creek; Lee's surrender; _see also_ + Peninsula campaign +_Virginia, Merrimac_ renamed +Virginia Military Institute, Jackson at; cadets join Jackson + +Walke, Henry, commands _Carondelet_ +Walker, Fort +Wallace, General Lew, as a leader; at Fort Donelson; Shiloh; and Early +Wallace, General W. H. L., killed +Warley, A. F., commands Manassas +Warren, G. K., Gettysburg; defection at Cold Harbor +Washburn, Colonel Francis, at Sailor's Creek +Washburne, E. B., introduces Swinton +Washington, capture of rolling stock hampers; desire to defend; sea-power + saves; Southern plans against; reserve corps at; Pope's army retires to; + Early makes for; Union troops reviewed in +Wassaw Sound, duel between _Weehawken_ and _Atlanta_ in +Wauhatchie (Tennessee), battle +Weed, Thurlow, election agent +_Weehawken_, duel with _Atlanta_ +Weitzel, General Godfrey, at Fort Fisher +Welles, Gideon, Secretary of Navy; report to Congress; orders concerning + New Orleans +West, settlers beyond reach of war +West Virginia, part of Virginia; Jackson from; becomes separate State; + campaign in; Frémont in +_Westfield_, Renshaw refuses to surrender +Wheeler, General Joseph, Confederate cavalry leader +White House (Virginia), McClellan's base +White Oak Swamp (Virginia), battle +Whitman, Walt, on Lincoln +Wilcox, General C. M., Pickett's Charge +Wilderness, battle +Wilkeson, Lieutenant Bayard, Gettysburg +Wilkeson, Frank, _Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the + Potomac_ +Williams, General Thomas, at Vicksburg with Farragut; killed +Wilmington (North Carolina), rail connections threatened; in Confederate + hands; Fort Fisher guards entrance to; captured +Wilson's Creek (Missouri), battle +Winchester (Virginia), Johnston retires to; Banks refuses to retreat to; + forces at; Ewell drives Milroy out of +Winslow, Captain, commands _Kearsarge_ +Wise, H. A., ex-Governor of Virginia +Worden, Captain J. L., commands _Monitor_ +Wright, Colonel W. W., engineer +_Wyandotte_, vessel at Pensacola + +Yazoo River, Porter on +Yellow Tavern, Stuart and Sheridan at +Yorktown, Confederates hold; evacuated + +Zouaves under Stuart + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Captains of the Civil War, by William Wood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR *** + +***** This file should be named 2649-8.txt or 2649-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/4/2649/ + +Produced by Alev Akman, Diane Beane, James J. Kelly Library +of St. Gregory's University and Robert J. Hall + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/2649-8.zip b/2649-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ea00c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/2649-8.zip diff --git a/2649-h.zip b/2649-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..38d1f54 --- /dev/null +++ b/2649-h.zip diff --git a/2649-h/2649-h.htm b/2649-h/2649-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0818ef5 --- /dev/null +++ b/2649-h/2649-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13372 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"> +<html> + +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; +charset=ISO-8859-1"> + <title>Captains of the Civil War</title> + <style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body { background: white; color: black; + margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; } + h1 { text-align: center; margin-top: 4em; + color: black; background: white; } + h2 { text-align: center; margin-top: 2em; } + h3 { text-align: center; } + p.indent { text-indent: 1em; text-align: justify; } + p.sp_indent { text-indent: 1em; text-align: justify; + margin-top: 2em; } + p.center { text-align: center; } + p.author { text-align: center; font-size: larger; + margin: 2em; } + p.subtitle { text-align: center; font-size: larger; } + p.quote { text-align: justify; font-size: smaller; } + p.footnote { font-size: smaller; text-align: justify; } + p.index { text-align: justify; margin-top: 0px; + margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1em; + text-indent: -1em; font-size: smaller; } + p.index_gap { text-align: justify; margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1em; + text-indent: -1em; font-size: smaller; } + p.image { text-align: center; margin: 0.5em; } + p.book_title { text-align: center; font-size: x-large; + margin-top: 2em; } + td.right { text-align: right; } + div.image { margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; + text-align: center; } + span.page { position: absolute; left: 92%; right: auto; + text-align: right; text-indent: 0em; + color: gray; background: white; + font-size: 9px; font-weight: normal; } + --> + </style> +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captains of the Civil War, by William Wood + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Captains of the Civil War + A Chronicle of the Blue and the Gray, Volume 31, The + Chronicles Of America Series + +Author: William Wood + +Editor: Allen Johnson + +Release Date: November 30, 2006 [EBook #2649] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR *** + + + + +Produced by Alev Akman, Diane Beane, James J. Kelly Library +of St. Gregory's University and Robert J. Hall + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<p> +THIS BOOK WAS DONATED TO PROJECT GUTENBERG BY THE JAMES J. KELLY +LIBRARY OF ST. GREGORY'S UNIVERSITY; THANKS TO ALEV AKMAN. +</p> + +<p> +Scanned by Dianne Bean. +</p> + +<div><hr /></div> + +<p class="center" style="font-size: smaller;"> +ABRAHAM LINCOLN EDITION<br /> +∴ +</p> + +<p class="center"> +VOLUME 31<br /> +THE CHRONICLES OF AMERICA SERIES<br /> +ALLEN JOHNSON<br /> +EDITOR +</p> + +<p class="center" style="font-size: smaller;"> +GERHARD R. LOMER<br /> +CHARLES W. JEFFERYS<br /> +ASSISTANT EDITORS +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 514px;"> +<a name="fig_01"> +<img src="images/fig_01.jpg" width="514" height="686" alt="Fig. 1"></a> +<p class="image"><i>GENERAL U. S. GRANT</i><br /> +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington.</p> +</div> + +<h1>CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR</h1> + +<p class="subtitle"> +A CHRONICLE OF THE BLUE AND THE GRAY +</p> + +<p class="author"> +BY WILLIAM WOOD +</p> + +<p class="center"> +NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS<br /> +TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & CO.<br /> +LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD<br /> +OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS<br /> +1921 +</p> + +<p class="center" style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;"> +TO<br /> +MY AMERICAN FRIENDS<br /> +OF THE<br /> +BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_ix"><span class="page">Page ix</span></a> +PREFACE</h2> + +<p class="indent"> +Sixty years ago today the guns that thundered round Fort Sumter began +the third and greatest modern civil war fought by English-speaking +people. This war was quite as full of politics as were the other +two—the War of the American Revolution and that of Puritan +and Cavalier. But, though the present Chronicle never ignores the +vital correlations between statesmen and commanders, it is a book +of warriors, through and through. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +I gratefully acknowledge the indispensable assistance of Colonel +G. J. Fiebeger, a West Point expert, and of Dr. Allen Johnson, +chief editor of the series and Professor of American History at +Yale. +</p> + +<p style="margin-left: 60%;"> +WILLIAM WOOD, +</p> + +<p style="font-size: smaller; text-align: justify; margin-left: 50%;"> +Late Colonel commanding 8th Royal Rifles, and Officer-in-charge, +Canadian Special Mission Overseas. +</p> + +<p> +QUEBEC,<br /> + April 18, 1921. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_Xi"><span class="page">Page Xi</span></a> +CONTENTS +</h2> + +<table border="0"> +<tr><td class="right">I.</td> + <td><a href="#page_1">THE CLASH: 1861</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">II.</td> + <td><a href="#page_56">THE COMBATANTS</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">III.</td> + <td><a href="#page_84">THE NAVAL WAR: 1862</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">IV.</td> + <td><a href="#page_116">THE RIVER WAR: 1861</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">V.</td> + <td><a href="#page_168">LINCOLN: WAR STATESMAN</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">VI.</td> + <td><a href="#page_193">LEE AND JACKSON: 1862-3</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">VII.</td> + <td><a href="#page_260">GRANT WINS THE RIVER WAR: 1863</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">VIII.</td> + <td><a href="#page_287">GETTYSBURG: 1863</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">IX.</td> + <td><a href="#page_307">FARRAGUT AND THE NAVY: 1863-4</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">X.</td> + <td><a href="#page_327">GRANT ATTACKS THE FRONT: 1864</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">XI.</td> + <td><a href="#page_366">SHERMAN DESTROYS THE BASE: 1864</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">XII.</td> + <td><a href="#page_379">THE END: 1865</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right"> </td> + <td><a href="#page_397">BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="right"> </td> + <td><a href="#page_401">INDEX</a></td></tr> +</table> + +<h2> +<a name="page_xiii"><span class="page">Page xiii</span></a> +ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<p><a href="#fig_01">GENERAL U. S. GRANT</a><br /> +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington. +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_02">GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE</a><br /> +Photograph. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_03">GENERAL T. J. (STONEWALL) JACKSON</a><br /> +Photograph. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington. +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_04">NORTH AND SOUTH IN 1861</a><br /> +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_05">ADMIRAL D. G. FARRAGUT</a><br /> +Photograph by Brady. +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_06">CIVIL WAR: CAMPAIGNS OF 1862</a><br /> +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_07">CIVIL WAR: VIRGINIA CAMPAIGNS, 1862</a><br /> +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. +</p> + +<p><a name="page_xiv"><span class="page">Page xiv</span></a> +<a href="#fig_08">CIVIL WAR: CAMPAIGNS OF 1863</a><br /> +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_09">GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN</a><br /> +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington. +</p> + +<p><a href="#fig_10">CIVIL WAR: CAMPAIGNS OF 1864</a><br /> +Map by W. L. G. Joerg, American Geographical Society. +</p> + +<p class="book_title"> +<a name="page_1"><span class="page">Page 1</span></a> +CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">THE CLASH: 1861</p> + +<p class="indent"> +States which claimed a sovereign right to secede from the Union +naturally claimed the corresponding right to resume possession of +all the land they had ceded to that Union's Government for the use +of its naval and military posts. So South Carolina, after leading +the way to secession on December 20, 1860, at once began to work +for the retrocession of the forts defending her famous cotton port +of Charleston. These defenses, being of vital consequence to both +sides, were soon to attract the strained attention of the whole +country. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There were three minor forts: Castle Pinckney, dozing away, in +charge of a solitary sergeant, on an island less than a mile from +the city; Fort Moultrie, feebly garrisoned and completely at the +mercy of <a name="page_2"><span class="page">Page 2</span></a> +attackers on its landward side; and Fort Johnson over on James +Island. Lastly, there was the world-renowned Fort Sumter, which +then stood, unfinished and ungarrisoned, on a little islet beside +the main ship channel, at the entrance to the harbor, and facing +Fort Moultrie just a mile away. The proper war garrison of all +the forts should have been over a thousand men. The actual +garrison—including officers, band, and the Castle Pinckney +sergeant—was less than a hundred. It was, however, loyal to +the Union; and its commandant, Major Robert Anderson, though born +in the slave-owning State of Kentucky, was determined to fight. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The situation, here as elsewhere, was complicated by Floyd, President +Buchanan's Secretary of War, soon to be forced out of office on a +charge of misapplying public funds. Floyd, as an ardent Southerner, +was using the last lax days of the Buchanan Government to get the +army posts ready for capitulation whenever secession should have +become an accomplished fact. He urged on construction, repairs, and +armament at Charleston, while refusing to strengthen the garrison, +in order, as he said, not to provoke Carolina. Moreover, in November +he had replaced old Colonel Gardner, a Northern veteran of "1812," +by <a name="page_3"><span class="page">Page 3</span></a> Anderson +the Southerner, in whom he hoped to find a good capitulator. But +this time Floyd was wrong. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The day after Christmas Anderson's little garrison at Fort Moultrie +slipped over to Fort Sumter under cover of the dark, quietly removed +Floyd's workmen, who were mostly Baltimore Secessionists, and began +to prepare for defense. Next morning Charleston was furious and +began to prepare for attack. The South Carolina authorities at once +took formal possession of Pinckney and Moultrie; and three days +later seized the United States Arsenal in Charleston itself. Ten +days later again, on January 9, 1861, the <i>Star of the West</i>, +a merchant vessel coming in with reinforcements and supplies for +Anderson, was fired on and forced to turn back. Anderson, who had +expected a man-of-war, would not fire in her defense, partly because +he still hoped there might yet be peace. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While Charleston stood at gaze and Anderson at bay the ferment of +secession was working fast in Florida, where another tiny garrison +was all the Union had to hold its own. This garrison, under two +loyal young lieutenants, Slemmer and Gilman, occupied Barrancas +Barracks in Pensacola Bay. Late at night on the eighth of January +(the day <a name="page_4"><span class="page">Page 4</span></a> +before the <i>Star of the West</i> was fired on at Charleston) +some twenty Secessionists came to seize the old Spanish Fort San +Carlos, where, up to that time, the powder had been kept. This +fort, though lying close beside the barracks, had always been +unoccupied; so the Secessionists looked forward to an easy capture. +But, to their dismay, an unexpected guard challenged them, and, +not getting the proper password in reply, dispersed them with the +first shots of the Civil War. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Commodore Armstrong sat idle at the Pensacola Navy Yard, distracted +between the Union and secession. On the ninth Slemmer received orders +from Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief at Washington, to use all means +in defense of Union property. Next morning Slemmer and his fifty +faithful men were landed on Santa Rosa Island, just one mile across +the bay, where the dilapidated old Fort Pickens stood forlorn. Two +days later the Commodore surrendered the Navy Yard, the Stars and +Stripes were lowered, and everything ashore fell into the enemy's +hands. There was no flagstaff at Fort Pickens; but the Union colors +were at once hung out over the northwest bastion, in full view of +the shore, while the <i>Supply</i> and <i>Wyandotte</i>, the only +naval vessels in the bay, and both commanded <a name="page_5"><span +class="page">Page 5</span></a> by loyal men, mastheaded extra colors +and stood clear. Five days afterwards they had to sail for New +York; and Slemmer, whose total garrison had been raised to eighty +by the addition of thirty sailors, was left to hold Fort Pickens +if he could. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He had already been summoned to surrender by Colonel Chase and +Captain Farrand, who had left the United States Army and Navy for +the service of the South. Chase, like many another Southern officer, +was stirred to his inmost depths by his own change of allegiance. +"I have come," he said, "to ask of you young officers, officers of +the same army in which I have spent the best and happiest years +of my life, the surrender of this fort; and fearing that I might +not be able to say it as I ought, and also to have it in proper +form, I have put it in writing and will read it." He then began +to read. But his eyes filled with tears, and, stamping his foot, +he said: "I can't read it. Here, Farrand, you read it." Farrand, +however, pleading that his eyes were weak, handed the paper to the +younger Union officer, saying, "Here, Gilman, you have good eyes, +please read it." Slemmer refused to surrender and held out till +reinforced in April, by which time the war had begun in earnest. +Fort Pickens was never taken. On the contrary, it supported the <a +name="page_6"><span class="page">Page 6</span></a> bombardment of +the Confederate 'longshore positions the next New Year (1862) and +witnessed the burning and evacuation of Pensacola the following +ninth of May. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While Charleston and Pensacola were fanning the flames of secession +the wildfire was running round the Gulf, catching well throughout +Louisiana, where the Governor ordered the state militia to seize +every place belonging to the Union, and striking inland till it +reached the farthest army posts in Texas. In all Louisiana the +Union Government had only forty men. These occupied the Arsenal at +Baton Rouge under Major Haskins. Haskins was loyal. But when five +hundred state militiamen surrounded him, and his old brother-officer, +the future Confederate General Bragg, persuaded him that the Union +was really at an end, to all intents and purposes, and when he +found no orders, no support, and not even any guidance from the +Government at Washington, he surrendered with the honors of war +and left by boat for St. Louis in Missouri. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There was then in Louisiana another Union officer; but made of +sterner stuff. This was Colonel W. T. Sherman, Superintendent of +the State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy at <a +name="page_7"><span class="page">Page 7</span></a> Alexandria, up +the Red River. He was much respected by all the state authorities, +and was carefully watching over the two young sons of another future +Confederate leader, General Beauregard. William Tecumseh Sherman +had retired from the Army without seeing any war service, unlike +Haskins, who was a one-armed veteran of the Mexican campaign. But +Sherman was determined to stand by the Union, come what might. +Yet he was equally determined to wind up the affairs of the State +Academy so as to hand them over in perfect order. A few days after +the seizure of the Arsenal, and before the formal secession of +the State, he wrote to the Governor: +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +"Sir: As I occupy a <i>quasi</i>-military position under the laws +of the State, I deem it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such +position when Louisiana was a State of the Union, and when the +motto of this seminary was inserted in marble over the main door: +"By the liberality of the General Government of the United States. +The Union—<i>esto perpetua</i>." Recent events foreshadow a +great change, and it becomes all men to choose.... I beg you to +take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent, the moment +the State determines to secede, for on no earthly account will I +do any act or think any thought hostile to, or in defiance of, +the old Government of the United States." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_8"><span class="page">Page 8</span></a> Then, to +the lasting credit of all concerned, the future political enemies +parted as the best of personal friends. Sherman left everything in +perfect order, accounted for every cent of the funds, and received +the heartiest thanks and best wishes of all the governing officials, +who embodied the following sentence in their final resolution of +April 1, 1861: "They cannot fail to appreciate the manliness of +character which has always marked the actions of Colonel Sherman." +Long before this Louisiana had seceded, and Sherman had gone north +to Lancaster, Ohio, where he arrived about the time of Lincoln's +inauguration. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile, on the eighteenth of February, the greatest of all surrenders +had taken place in Texas, where nineteen army posts were handed +over to the State by General Twiggs. San Antonio was swarming with +Secessionist rangers. Unionist companies were marching up and down. +The Federal garrison was leaving the town on parole, with the band +playing Union airs and Union colors flying. The whole place was +at sixes and sevens, and anything might have happened. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the midst of this confusion the colonel commanding the Second +Regiment of United States Cavalry arrived from Fort Mason. He was +on <a name="page_9"><span class="page">Page 9</span></a> his way +to Washington, where Winfield Scott, the veteran General-in-Chief, +was anxiously waiting to see him; for this colonel was no ordinary +man. He had been Scott's Chief of Staff in Mexico, where he had +twice won promotion for service in the field. He had been a model +Superintendent at West Point and an exceedingly good officer of +engineers before he left them, on promotion, for the cavalry. Very +tall and handsome, magnificently fit in body and in mind, genial +but of commanding presence, this flower of Southern chivalry was +not only every inch a soldier but a leader born and bred. Though +still unknown to public fame he was the one man to whom the most +insightful leaders of both sides turned, and rightly turned; for +this was Robert Lee, Lee of Virginia, soon to become one of the +very few really great commanders of the world. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As Lee came up to the hotel at San Antonio he was warmly greeted +by Mrs. Darrow, the anxious wife of the confidential clerk to Major +Vinton, the staunch Union officer in charge of the pay and quartermaster +services. "Who are those men?" he asked, pointing to the rangers, +who wore red flannel shoulder straps. "They are McCulloch's," she +answered; "General Twiggs surrendered everything to the State this +morning." Years after, <a name="page_10"><span class="page">Page +10</span></a> when she and her husband and Vinton had suffered +for one side and Lee had suffered for the other, she wrote her +recollection of that memorable day in these few, telling words: +"I shall never forget his look of astonishment, as, with his lips +trembling and his eyes full of tears, he exclaimed, 'Has it come +so soon as this?' In a short time I saw him crossing the plaza on +his way to headquarters and noticed particularly that he was in +citizen's dress. He returned at night and shut himself into his +room, which was over mine; and I heard his footsteps through the +night, and sometimes the murmur of his voice, as if he was praying. +He remained at the hotel a week and in conversations declared that +the position he held was a neutral one." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Three other Union witnesses show how Lee agonized over the fateful +decision he was being forced to make. Captain R. M. Potter says: +"I have seldom seen a more distressed man. He said, 'When I get +to Virginia I think the world will have one soldier less. I shall +resign and go to planting corn.'" Colonel Albert G. Brackett says: +"Lee was filled with sorrow at the condition of affairs, and, in a +letter to me, deploring the war in which we were about to engage, +made use of these words: 'I fear the liberties of our country will +be buried in <a name="page_11"><span class="page">Page 11</span></a> +the tomb of a great nation.'" Colonel Charles Anderson, quoting +Lee's final words in Texas, carries us to the point of parting: +"I still think my loyalty to Virginia ought to take precedence +over that which is due to the Federal Government; and I shall so +report myself in Washington. If Virginia stands by the old Union, +so will I. But if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession +as a constitutional right, nor that there is sufficient cause for +revolution) then I will still follow my native State with my sword, +and, if need be, with my life. I know you think and feel very +differently. But I can't help it. These are my principles; and I +must follow them." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee reached Washington on the first of March. Lincoln, delivering +his Inaugural on the fourth, brought the country one step nearer +war by showing the neutrals how impossible it was to reconcile +his principles as President of the whole United States with those +of Jefferson Davis as President of the seceding parts. "The power +confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property +and places belonging to the government." Three days later the +provisional Confederate Congress at Montgomery in Alabama passed +an Army Act authorizing the enlistment of one hundred <a +name="page_12"><span class="page">Page 12</span></a> thousand men +for one year's service. Nine days later again, having adopted a +Constitution in the meantime, this Congress passed a Navy Act, +authorizing the purchase or construction of ten little gunboats. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In April the main storm center went whirling back to Charleston, +where Sherman's old friend Beauregard commanded the forces that +encircled Sumter. Sumter, still unfinished, had been designed for +a garrison of six hundred and fifty combatant men. It now contained +exactly sixty-five. It was to have been provisioned for six months. +The actual supplies could not be made to last beyond two weeks. +Both sides knew that Anderson's gallant little garrison must be +starved out by the fifteenth. But the excited Carolinians would +not wait, because they feared that the arrival of reinforcements +might balk them of their easy prey. On the eleventh Beauregard, +acting under orders from the Confederate Government, sent in a +summons to surrender. Anderson refused. At a quarter to one the next +morning the summons was repeated, as pilots had meanwhile reported +a Federal vessel approaching the harbor. Anderson again refused +and again admitted that he would be starved out on the fifteenth. +Thereupon Beauregard's aides declared <a name="page_13"><span +class="page">Page 13</span></a> immediate surrender the only possible +alternative to a bombardment and signed a note at 3:20 A.M. giving +Anderson formal warning that fire would be opened in an hour. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Fort Sumter stood about half a mile inside the harbor mouth, fully +exposed to the converging fire of four relatively powerful batteries, +three about a mile away, the fourth nearly twice as far. At the +northern side of the harbor mouth stood Fort Moultrie; at the southern +stood the batteries on Cummings Point; and almost due west of Sumter +stood Fort Johnson. Near Moultrie was a four-gun floating battery +with an iron shield. A mile northwest of Moultrie, farther up the +harbor, stood the Mount Pleasant battery, nearly two miles off +from Sumter. At half-past four, in the first faint light of a gray +morning, a sudden spurt of flame shot out from Fort Johnson, the +dull roar of a mortar floated through the misty air, and the big +shell—the first shot of the real war—soared up at a +steep angle, its course distinctly marked by its burning fuse, +and then plunged down on Sumter. It was a capital shot, right on +the center of the target, and was followed by an admirable burst. +Then all the converging batteries opened full; while the whole +population of perfervid Charleston rushed <a name="page_14"><span +class="page">Page 14</span></a> out of doors to throng their beautiful +East Battery, a flagstone marine parade three miles in from Sumter, +of which and of the attacking batteries it had a perfect view. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But Sumter remained as silent as the grave. Anderson decided not to +return the fire till it was broad daylight. In the meantime all ranks +went to breakfast, which consisted entirely of water and salt pork. +Then the gun crews went to action stations and fired back steadily +with solid shot. The ironclad battery was an exasperating target; +for the shot bounced off it like dried peas. Moultrie seemed more +vulnerable. But appearances were deceptive; for it was thoroughly +quilted with bales of cotton, which the solid shot simply rammed +into an impenetrable mass. Wishing to save his men, in which he was +quite successful, Anderson had forbidden the use of the shell-guns, +which were mounted on the upper works and therefore more exposed. +Shell fire would have burst the bales and set the cotton flaming. +This was so evident that Sergeant Carmody, unable to stand such +futile practice any longer, quietly stole up to the loaded guns +and fired them in succession. The aim lacked final correction; +and the result was small, except that Moultrie, thinking itself +in danger, <a name="page_15"><span class="page">Page 15</span></a> +concentrated all its efforts on silencing these guns. The silencing +seemed most effective; for Carmody could not reload alone, and so +his first shots were his last. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At nightfall Sumter ceased fire while the Confederates kept on +slowly till daylight. Next morning the officers' quarters were set +on fire by red-hot shot. Immediately the Confederates redoubled +their efforts. Inside Sumter the fire was creeping towards the +magazine, the door of which was shut only just in time. Then the +flagstaff was shot down. Anderson ran his colors up again, but the +situation was rapidly becoming impossible. Most of the worn-out men +were fighting the flames while a few were firing at long intervals to +show they would not yet give in. This excited the generous admiration +of the enemy, who cheered the gallantry of Sumter while sneering +at the caution of the Union fleet outside. The fact was, however, +that this so-called fleet was a mere assemblage of vessels quite +unable to fight the Charleston batteries and without the slightest +chance of saving Sumter. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Having done his best for the honor of the flag, though not a man +was killed within the walls, Anderson surrendered in the afternoon. +Charleston went wild with joy; but applauded the generosity <a +name="page_16"><span class="page">Page 16</span></a> of Beauregard's +chivalrous terms. Next day, Sunday the fourteenth, Anderson's little +garrison saluted the Stars and Stripes with fifty guns, and then, +with colors flying, marched down on board a transport to the strains +of <i>Yankee Doodle</i>. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Strange to say, after being four years in Confederate hands, Sumter +was recaptured by the Union forces on the anniversary of its surrender. +It was often bombarded, though never taken, in the meantime. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The fall of Sumter not only fired all Union loyalty but made +Confederates eager for the fray. The very next day Lincoln called +for 75,000 three-month volunteers. Two days later Confederate letters +of marque were issued to any privateers that would prey on Union +shipping. Two days later again Lincoln declared a blockade of every +port from South Carolina round to Texas. Eight days afterwards he +extended it to North Carolina and Virginia. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 505px;"> +<a name="fig_02"> +<img src="images/fig_02.jpg" width="505" height="931" alt="Fig. 2"></a> +<p class="image"><i>GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE</i><br /> +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington.</p> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +But in the meantime Lincoln had been himself marooned in Washington. +On the nineteenth of April, the day he declared his first blockade, +the Sixth Massachusetts were attacked by a mob in Baltimore, through +which the direct rails ran from North to South. Baltimore was full of +secession, <a name="page_17"><span class="page">Page 17</span></a> +and the bloodshed roused its fury. Maryland was a border slave +State out of which the District of Columbia was carved. Virginia +had just seceded. So when the would-be Confederates of Maryland, +led by the Mayor of Baltimore, began tearing up rails, burning +bridges, and cutting the wires, the Union Government found itself +enisled in a hostile sea. Its own forces abandoned the Arsenal at +Harper's Ferry and the Navy Yard at Norfolk. The work of demolition +at Harper's Ferry had to be bungled off in haste, owing to shortness +of time and lack of means. The demolition of Norfolk was better +done, and the ships were sunk at anchor. But many valuable stores +fell into enemy hands at both these Virginian outposts of the Federal +forces. Through six long days of dire suspense not a ship, not a +train, came into Washington. At last, on the twenty-fifth, the +Seventh New York got through, having come south by boat with the +Eighth Massachusetts, landed at Annapolis, and commandeered a train +to run over relaid rails. With them came the news that all the +loyal North was up, that the Seventh had marched through miles of +cheering patriots in New York, and that these two fine regiments +were only the vanguard of a host. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_18"><span class="page">Page 18</span></a> But just a +week before Lincoln experienced this inexpressible relief he lost, +and his enemy won, a single officer, who, according to Winfield +Scott, was alone worth more than fifty thousand veteran men. On the +seventeenth of April Virginia voted for secession. On the eighteenth +Lee had a long confidential interview with his old chief, Winfield +Scott. On the twentieth he resigned, writing privately to Scott +at the same time: "My resignation would have been presented at +once but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a +service to which I have devoted the best years of my life. During +the whole of that time I have experienced nothing but kindness +from my superiors and a most cordial friendship from my comrades. +I shall carry to the grave the most grateful recollections of your +kind consideration, and your name and fame shall always be dear to +me. Save in the defense of my native State I never desire again +to draw my sword." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The three great motives which finally determined his momentous course +of action were: first, his aversion from taking any part in coercing +the home folks of Virginia; secondly, his belief in State rights, +tempered though it was by admiration for the Union; and thirdly, +his clear perception that <a name="page_19"><span class="page">Page +19</span></a> war was now inevitable, and that defeat for the South +would inevitably mean a violent change of all the ways of Southern +life, above all, a change imposed by force from outside, instead +of the gradual change he wished to see effected from within. He +was opposed to slavery; and both his own and his wife's slaves had +long been free. Like his famous lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, +he was particularly kind to the blacks; none of whom ever wanted +to leave, once they had been domiciled at Arlington, the estate +that came to him through his wife, Mary Custis, great-granddaughter +of Martha Washington. But, like Lincoln before the war, he wished +emancipation to come from the slave States themselves, as in time +it must have come, with due regard for compensation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the twenty-third of this eventful April Lee was given the chief +command of all Virginia's forces. Three days later "Joe" Johnston +took command of the Virginians at Richmond. One day later again +"Stonewall" Jackson took command at Harper's Ferry. Johnston played +a great and noble part throughout the war; and we shall meet him +again and again, down to the very end. But Jackson claims our first +attention here. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Like all the great leaders on both sides Jackson <a name="page_20"><span +class="page">Page 20</span></a> had been an officer of regulars. +He was, however, in many ways unlike the army type. He disliked +society amusements, was awkward, shy, reserved, and apparently +recluse. Moderately tall, with large hands and feet, stiff in his +movements, ungainly in the saddle, he was a mere nobody in public +estimation when the war broke out. A few brother-officers had seen +his consummate skill and bravery as a subaltern in Mexico; and +still fewer close acquaintances had seen his sterling qualities +at Lexington, where, for ten years, he had been a professor at +the Virginia Military Institute. But these few were the only ones +who were not surprised when this recluse of peace suddenly became a +very thunderbolt of war—Puritan in soul, Cavalier in daring: +a Cromwell come to life again. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Harper's Ferry was a strategic point in northern Virginia. It was +the gate to the Shenandoah Valley as well as the point where the +Baltimore and Ohio Railroad crossed the Potomac some sixty miles +northwest of Washington. Harper's Ferry was known by name to North +and South through John Brown's raid two years before. It was now +coveted by Virginia for its Arsenal as well as for its command of +road, rail, and water routes. The plan to raid it was arranged +at Richmond on the <a name="page_21"><span class="page">Page +21</span></a> sixteenth of April. But when the raiders reached +it on the eighteenth they found it abandoned and its Arsenal in +flames. The machine shops, however, were saved, as well as the +metal parts of twenty thousand stand of arms. Then the Virginia +militiamen and volunteers streamed in, to the number of over four +thousand. They were a mere conglomeration of semi-independent units, +mostly composed of raw recruits under officers who themselves knew +next to nothing. As usual with such fledgling troops there was no +end to the fuss and feathers among the members of the busybody +staffs, who were numerous enough to manage an army but clumsy enough +to spoil a platoon. It was said, and not without good reason, that +there was as much gold lace at Harper's Ferry, when the sun was +shining, as at a grand review in Paris. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Into this gaudy assemblage rode Thomas Jonathan Jackson, mounted +on Little Sorrel, a horse as unpretentious as himself, and dressed +in his faded old blue professor's uniform without one gleam of gold. +He had only two staff officers, both dressed as plainly as himself. +He was not a major-general, nor even a brigadier; just a colonel. +He held no trumpeting reviews. He made no flowery speeches. He +didn't even swear. The armed mob at Harper's <a name="page_22"><span +class="page">Page 22</span></a> Ferry felt that they would lose caste +on Sunday afternoons under a commandant like this. Their feelings +were still more outraged when they heard that every officer above +the rank of captain was to lose his higher rank, and that all new +reappointments were to be made on military merit and direct from +Richmond. Companies accustomed to elect their officers according +to the whim of the moment eagerly joined the higher officers in +passing adverse resolutions. But authorities who were unanimous +for Lee were not to be shaken by such absurdities in face of a +serious war. And when the froth had been blown off the top, and +the dregs drained out of the bottom, the solid mass between, who +really were sound patriots, settled down to work. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There was seven hours' drill every day except Sunday; no light task +for a mere armed mob groping its ignorant way, however zealously, +towards the organized efficiency of a real army. The companies had +to be formed into workable battalions, the battalions into brigades. +There was a deplorable lack of cavalry, artillery, engineers, +commissariat, transport, medical services, and, above all, staff. +Armament was bad; other munitions were worse. There would have been +no chance whatever of holding Harper's Ferry unless the Northern <a +name="page_23"><span class="page">Page 23</span></a> conglomeration +had been even less like a fighting army than the Southern was. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Harper's Ferry was not only important in itself but still more +important for what it covered: the wonderfully fruitful Shenandoah +Valley, running southwest a hundred and forty miles to the neighborhood +of Lexington, with an average width of only twenty-four. Bounded +on the west by the Alleghanies and on the east by the long Blue +Ridge this valley was a regular covered way by which the Northern +invaders might approach, cut Virginia in two (for West Virginia +was then a part of the State) and, after devastating the valley +itself (thus destroying half the food-base of Virginia) attack +eastern Virginia through whichever gaps might serve the purpose +best. More than this, the only direct line from Richmond to the +Mississippi ran just below the southwest end of the valley, while +a network of roads radiated from Winchester near the northeast +end, thirty miles southwest of Harper's Ferry. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Throughout the month of May Jackson went on working his men into +shape and watching the enemy, three thousand strong, at Chambersburg, +forty-five miles north of Harper's Ferry, and twelve thousand strong +farther north still. One day he <a name="page_24"><span +class="page">Page 24</span></a> made a magnificent capture of rolling +stock on the twenty-seven miles of double track that centered in +Harper's Ferry. This greatly hampered the accumulation of coal at +Washington besides helping the railroads of the South. Destroying +the line was out of the question, because it ran through West Virginia +and Maryland, both of which he hoped to see on the Confederate +side. He was himself a West Virginian, born at Clarksburg; and it +grieved him greatly when West Virginia stood by the Union. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Apart from this he did nothing spectacular. The rest was all just +sheer hard work. He kept his own counsel so carefully that no one +knew anything about what he would do if the enemy advanced. Even +the officers of outposts were forbidden to notice or mention his +arrival or departure on his constant tours of inspection, lest a +longer look than usual at any point might let an awkward inference +be drawn. He was the sternest of disciplinarians when the good of +the service required it. But no one knew better that the finest +discipline springs from self-sacrifice willingly made for a worthy +cause; and no one was readier to help all ranks along toward real +efficiency in the kindest possible way when he saw they were doing +their best. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_25"><span class="page">Page 25</span></a> At the +end of May Johnston took over the command of the increasing force +at Harper's Ferry, while Jackson was given the First Shenandoah +Brigade, a unit soon, like himself, to be raised by service into +fame. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +On the first and third of May Virginia issued calls for more men; +and on the third Lincoln, who quite understood the signs of the +times, called for men whose term of service would be three years +and not three months. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Just a week later Missouri was saved for the Union by the daring +skill of two determined leaders, Francis P. Blair, a Member of +Congress who became a good major-general, and Captain Nathaniel Lyon, +an excellent soldier, who commanded the little garrison of regulars +at St. Louis. When Lincoln called upon Governor Claiborne Jackson +to supply Missouri's quota of three-month volunteers the Governor +denounced the proposed coercion as "illegal, unconstitutional, +revolutionary, inhuman, and diabolical"; and thereafter did his +best to make Missouri join the South. But Blair and Lyon were too +quick for him. Blair organized the Home Guards, whom Lyon armed +from the arsenal. Lyon then sent all the surplus arms and stores +across the <a name="page_26"><span class="page">Page 26</span></a> +river into Illinois, while he occupied the most commanding position +near the arsenal with his own troops, thus forestalling the +Confederates, under Brigadier-General D. M. Frost, who was now +forced to establish Camp Jackson in a far less favorable place. So +vigorously had Blair and Lyon worked that they had armed thousands +while Frost had only armed hundreds. But when Frost received siege +guns and mortars from farther south Lyon felt the time had come +for action. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lyon was a born leader, though Grant and Sherman (then in St. Louis +as junior ex-officers, quite unknown to fame) were almost the only +men, apart from Blair, to see any signs of preëminence in this +fiery little redheaded, weather-beaten captain, who kept dashing +about the arsenal, with his pockets full of papers, making sure +of every detail connected with the handful of regulars and the +thousands of Home Guards. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the ninth of May Lyon borrowed an old dress from Blair's +mother-in-law, completing the disguise with a thickly veiled sunbonnet, +and drove through Camp Jackson. That night he and Blair attended +a council of war, at which, overcoming all opposition, answering +all objections, and making all arrangements, they laid their plans +for the <a name="page_27"><span class="page">Page 27</span></a> +morrow. When Lyon's seven thousand surrounded Frost's seven hundred +the Confederates surrendered at discretion and were marched as +prisoners through St. Louis. There were many Southern sympathizers +among the crowds in the streets; one of them fired a pistol; and +the Home Guards fired back, killing several women and children +by mistake. This unfortunate incident hardened many neutrals and +even Unionists against the Union forces; so much so that Sterling +Price, a Unionist and former governor, became a Confederate general, +whose field for recruiting round Jefferson City on the Missouri +promised a good crop of enemies to the Union cause. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lyon and Blair wished to march against Price immediately and smash +every hostile force while still in the act of forming. But General +Harney, who commanded the Department of the West, returned to St. +Louis the day after the shooting and made peace instead of war with +Price. By the end of the month, however, Lincoln removed Harney and +promoted Lyon in his place; whereupon Price and Governor Jackson at +once prepared to fight. Then sundry neutrals, of the gabbling kind +who think talk enough will settle anything, induced the implacables +to meet in St. Louis. The <a name="page_28"><span class="page">Page +28</span></a> conference was ended by Lyon's declaration that he +would see every Missourian under the sod before he would take any +orders from the State about any Federal matter, however small. +"This," he said in conclusion, "means war." And it did. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Again a single week sufficed for the striking of the blow. The +conference was held on the eleventh of June. On the fourteenth +Lyon reached Jefferson City only to find that the Governor had +decamped for Boonville, still higher up the Missouri. Here, on +the seventeenth, Lyon attacked him with greatly superior numbers +and skill, defeated him utterly, and sent him flying south with +only a few hundred followers left. Boonville was, in itself, a +very small affair indeed. But it had immense results. Lyon had +seized the best strategic point of rail and river junction on the +Mississippi by holding St. Louis. He had also secured supremacy +in arms, munitions, and morale. By turning the Governor out of +Jefferson City, the State capital, he had deprived the Confederates +of the prestige and convenience of an acknowledged headquarters. +Now, by defeating him at Boonville and driving his forces south in +headlong flight he had practically made the whole Missouri River +a Federal line of communication as well as a barrier between <a +name="page_29"><span class="page">Page 29</span></a> would-be +Confederates to the north and south of it. More than this, the +possession of Boonville struck a fatal blow at Confederate recruiting +and organization throughout the whole of that strategic area; for +Boonville was the center to which pro-Southern Missourians were +flocking. The tide of battle was to go against the Federals at +Wilson's Creek in the southwest of the State, and even at Lexington +on the Missouri, as we shall presently see; but this was only the +breaking of the last Confederate waves. As a State, Missouri was +lost to the South already. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Kentucky, the next border State, opinions were likewise divided; +and Kentuckians fought each other with help from both sides. Anderson, +of Fort Sumter fame, was appointed to the Kentucky command in May. +But here the crisis did not occur for months, while a border campaign +was already being fought in West Virginia. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +West Virginia, which became a separate State during the war, was +strongly Federal, like eastern Tennessee. These Federal parts of +two Confederate States formed a wedge dangerous to the whole South, +especially to Virginia and the Carolinas. Each side therefore tried +to control this area itself. The Federals, under McClellan, of whom +we shall <a name="page_30"><span class="page">Page 30</span></a> +soon hear more, had two lines of invasion into West Virginia, both +based on the Ohio. The northern converged by rail, from Wheeling +and Parkersburg, on Grafton, the only junction in West Virginia. +The southern ran up the Great Kanawha, with good navigation to +Charleston and water enough for small craft on to Gauley Bridge, +which was the strategic point. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In May the Confederates cut the line near Grafton. As this broke +direct communication between the West and Washington, McClellan +sent forces from which two flying columns, three thousand strong, +converged on Philippi, fifteen miles south of Grafton, and surprised +a thousand Confederates. These thereupon retired, with little loss, +to Beverly, thirty miles farther south still. Here there was a +combat at Rich Mountain on the eleventh of July. The Confederates +again retreated, losing General Garnett in a skirmish the following +day. This ended McClellan's own campaign in West Virginia. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But the Kanawha campaign, which lasted till November, had only +just begun, with Rosecrans as successor to McClellan (who had been +recalled to Washington for very high command) and with General +Jacob D. Cox leading the force against Gauley. The Confederates +did all they could to <a name="page_31"><span class="page">Page +31</span></a> keep their precarious foothold. They sent political +chiefs, like Henry A. Wise, ex-Governor of Virginia, and John B. +Floyd, the late Federal Secretary of War, both of whom were now +Confederate brigadiers. They even sent Lee himself in general commend. +But, confronted by superior forces in a difficult and thoroughly +hostile country, they at last retired east of the Alleghanies, +which thenceforth became the frontier of two warring States. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The campaign in West Virginia was a foregone conclusion. It was not +marked by any real battles; and there was no scope for exceptional +skill of the higher kind on either side. But it made McClellan's +bubble reputation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +McClellan was an ex-captain of United States Engineers who had +done very well at West Point, had distinguished himself in Mexico, +had represented the American army with the Allies in the Crimea, +had written a good official report on his observations there, had +become manager of a big railroad after leaving the service, and had +so impressed people with his ability and modesty on the outbreak +of war that his appointment to the chief command in West Virginia +was hailed with the utmost satisfaction. Then came the two affairs +at <a name="page_32"><span class="page">Page 32</span></a> Philippi +and Rich Mountain, the first of which was planned and carried out by +other men, while the second was, if anything, spoiled by himself; +for here, as afterwards on a vastly greater scene of action, he +failed to strike home at the critical moment. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Yet though he failed in arms he won by proclamations; so much so, +in fact, that <i>Words not Deeds</i> might well have been his motto. +He began with a bombastic address to the inhabitants and ended with +another to his troops, whom he congratulated on having "annihilated +two armies, commanded by educated and experienced soldiers, intrenched +in mountain fastnesses fortified at their leisure." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It disastrously happened that the Union public were hungering for +heroes at this particular time and that Union journalists were itching +to write one up to the top of their bent. So all McClellan's tinsel +was counted out for gold before an avaricious mob of undiscriminating +readers; and when, at the height of the publicity campaign, the +Government wanted to retrieve Bull Run they turned to the "Man +of Destiny" who had been given the noisiest advertisement as the +"Young Napoleon of the West." McClellan had many good qualities +for organization, and even some for strategy. An excited press and +public, however, would not <a name="page_33"><span class="page">Page +33</span></a> acclaim him for what he was but for what he most +decidedly was not. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Meanwhile, before McClellan went to Washington and Lee to West +Virginia, the main Union army had been disastrously defeated by +the main Confederate army at Bull Run, on that vital ground which +lay between the rival capitals. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In April Lincoln had called for three-month volunteers. In May the +term of service for new enlistments was three years. In June the +military chiefs at Washington were vainly doing all that military +men could do to make something like the beginnings of an army out of +the conglomerating mass. Winfield Scott, the veteran General-in-Chief, +rightly revered by the whole service as a most experienced, farsighted, +and practical man, was ably assisted by W. T. Sherman and Irvin +McDowell. But civilian interference ruined all. Even Lincoln had +not yet learned the quintessential difference between that civil +control by which the fighting services are so rightly made the +real servants of the whole people and that civilian interference +which is very much the same as if a landlubber owning a ship should +grab the wheel repeatedly in the middle of a storm. Simon Cameron, <a +name="page_34"><span class="page">Page 34</span></a> then Secretary +of War, was good enough as a party politician, but all thumbs when +fumbling with the armies in the field. The other members of the +Cabinet had war nostrums of their own; and every politician with a +pull did what he could to use it. Behind all these surged a clamorous +press and an excited people, both patriotic and well meaning; but +both wholly ignorant of war, and therefore generating a public +opinion that forced the not unwilling Government to order an armed +mob "on to Richmond" before it had the slightest chance of learning +how to be an army. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Congress that met on the Fourth of July voted five hundred +thousand men and two hundred and fifty million dollars. This showed +that the greatness of the war was beginning to be seen. But the +men, the money, and the Glorious Fourth were so blurred together +in the public mind that the distinction between a vote in Congress +and its effect upon some future battlefield was never realized. +The result was a new access of zeal for driving McDowell "on to +Richmond." Making the best of a bad business, Scott had already +begun his preparations for the premature advance. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By the end of May Confederate pickets had been in sight of Washington, +while McDowell, crossing <a name="page_35"><span class="page">Page +35</span></a> the Potomac, was faced by his friend of old West Point +and Mexican days, General Beauregard, fresh from the capture of +Fort Sumter. By the beginning of July General Patterson, a veteran +of "1812" and Mexico, was in command up the Potomac near Harper's +Ferry. He was opposed by "Joe" Johnston, who had taken over that +Confederate command from "Stonewall" Jackson. Down the Potomac +and Chesapeake Bay there was nothing to oppose the Union navy. +General Benjamin Butler, threatening Richmond in flank, along the +lower Chesapeake, was watched by the Confederates Huger and Magruder. +Meanwhile, as we have seen already, the West Virginian campaign +was in full swing, with superior Federal forces under McClellan. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Thus the general situation in July was that the whole of northeastern +Virginia was faced by a semicircle of superior forces which began +at the Kanawha River, ran northeast to Grafton, then northeast +to Cumberland, then along the Potomac to Chesapeake Bay and on +to Fortress Monroe. From the Kanawha to Grafton there were only +roads. From Grafton to Cumberland there was rail as well. From +Cumberland to Washington there were road, rail, river, and canal. +From Washington to <a name="page_36"><span class="page">Page +36</span></a> Fortress Monroe there was water fit for any fleet. The +Union armies along this semicircle were not only twice as numerous +as the Confederates facing them but they were backed by a sea-power, +both naval and mercantile, which the Confederates could not begin +to challenge, much less overcome. Lee was the military adviser to +the Confederate Government at Richmond as Scott then was to the +Union Government at Washington. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Such was the central scene of action, where the first great battle +of the war was fought. The Union forces were based on the Potomac +from Washington to Harper's Ferry. The Confederates faced them +from Bull Run to Winchester, which points were nearly sixty miles +apart by road and rail. The Union forces were fifty thousand strong, +the Confederate thirty-three thousand. The Union problem was how to +keep "Joe" Johnston in the Winchester position by threatening or +actually making an invasion of the Shenandoah Valley with Patterson's +superior force, while McDowell's superior force attacked or turned +Beauregard's position at Bull Run. The Confederate problem was +how to give Patterson the slip and reach Bull Run in time to meet +McDowell with an equal force. The Confederates had the advantage +of interior <a name="page_37"><span class="page">Page 37</span></a> +lines both here and in the semicircle as a whole, though the Union +forces enjoyed in general much better means of transportation. The +Confederates enjoyed better control from government headquarters, +where the Cabinet mostly had the sense to trust in Lee. Scott, on +the other hand, was tied down by orders to defend Washington by +purely defensive means as well as by the "on to Richmond" march. +Patterson was therefore obliged to watch the Federal back door +at Harper's Ferry as well as the Confederate side doors up the +Shenandoah: an impossible task, on exterior lines, with the kind +of force he had. The civilian chiefs at Washington did not see +that the best of all defense was to destroy the enemy's means of +destroying <i>them</i>, and that his greatest force of fighting +<i>men</i>, not any particular <i>place</i>, should always be their +main objective. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the fourteenth of June Johnston had destroyed everything useful +to the enemy at Harper's Ferry and retired to Winchester. On the +twentieth Jackson's brigade marched on Martinsburg to destroy the +workshops of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway and to support the +three hundred troopers under J. E. B. Stuart, who was so soon to +be the greatest of cavalry commanders on the Confederate <a +name="page_38"><span class="page">Page 38</span></a> side. Unknown +at twenty-nine, killed at thirty-one, "Jeb" Stuart was a Virginian +ex-officer of United States Dragoons, trained in frontier fighting, +and the perfect type of what a cavalry commander should be: tall, +handsome, splendidly supple and strong, hawk-eyed and lion-hearted, +quick, bold, determined, and inspiring, yet always full of knowledge +and precaution too; indefatigable at all times, and so persistent +in carrying out a plan that the enemy could no more shake him off +than they could escape their shadows. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the second of July the first brush took place at Falling Waters, +five miles south of the Potomac, where Jackson came into touch +with Patterson's advanced guard. As Jackson withdrew his handful +of Virginian infantry the Federal cavalry came clattering down the +turnpike and were met by a single shot from a Confederate gun that +smashed the head of their column and sent the others flying. Meanwhile +Stuart, who had been reconnoitering, came upon a company of Federal +infantry resting in a field. Galloping among them suddenly he shouted, +"Throw down your arms or you are all dead men!" Whereupon they all +threw down their arms; and his troopers led them off. Patterson, +badly served by his very raw staff, reported <a name="page_39"><span +class="page">Page 39</span></a> Jackson's little vanguard as being +precisely ten times stronger than it was. He pushed out cautiously +to right and left; and when he tried to engage again he found that +Jackson had withdrawn. Falling Waters was microscopically small +as a fight. But it served to raise Confederate morale and depress +the Federals correspondingly. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Patterson occupied Martinsburg, while Johnston, drawn up in line +of battle, awaited his further advance four days before retiring. +Then, with his fourteen thousand, Patterson advanced again, stood +irresolute under distracting orders from the Government in Washington, +and finally went to Charlestown on the seventeenth of July—almost +back to Harper's Ferry. Johnston, with his eleven thousand, now +stood fast at Winchester, fifteen miles southwest, while Stuart, +like a living screen, moved to and fro between them. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile McDowell's thirty-six thousand had marched past the President +with bands playing and colors flying amid a scene of great enthusiasm. +The press campaign was at its height; so was the speechifying; +and ninety-nine people out of every hundred thought Beauregard's +twenty-two thousand at Bull Run would be defeated in a way that +would be sure to make the South give in. <a name="page_40"><span +class="page">Page 40</span></a> McDowell had between two and three +thousand regulars: viz., seven troops of cavalry, nine batteries +of artillery, eight companies of infantry, and a little battalion +of marines. Then there was the immense paper army voted on the +Glorious Fourth. And here, for the general public to admire, was +a collection of armed and uniformed men that members of Congress +and writers in the press united in calling one of the best armies +the world had ever seen. Moreover, the publicity campaign was kept +up unflaggingly till the very clash of arms began. Reporters marched +along and sent off reams of copy. Congressmen, and even ladies, +graced the occasion in every way they could. "The various regiments +were brilliantly uniformed according to the æsthetic taste of +peace," wrote General Fry, then an officer on McDowell's staff, and +"during the nineteenth and twentieth the bivouacs at Centreville, +almost within cannon range of the enemy, were thronged with visitors, +official and unofficial, who came in carriages from Washington, +were under no military restraint, and passed to and fro among the +troops as they pleased, giving the scene the appearance of a monster +military picnic." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Had McDowell been able to attack on either of these two days he must +have won. But previous <a name="page_41"><span class="page">Page +41</span></a> Governments had never given the army the means of +making proper surveys; so here, within a day's march of the Federal +capital, the maps were worthless for military use. Information had +to be gleaned by reconnaissance; and reconnaissance takes time, +especially without trustworthy guides, sufficient cavalry, and +a proper staff. Moreover, the army was all parts and no whole, +through no fault of McDowell's or of his military chiefs. The +three-month volunteers, whose term of service was nearly over, +had not learned their drill as individuals before being herded +into companies, battalions, and brigades, of course becoming more +and more inefficient as the units grew more and more complex. Of +the still more essential discipline they naturally knew still less. +There was no lack of courage; for these were the same breed of +men as those with whom Washington had won immortal fame, the same +as those with whom both Grant and Lee were yet to win it. But, +as Napoleon used to say, mere men are not the same as soldiers. +Nor are armed mobs the same as armies. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The short march to the front was both confused and demoralizing. +No American officer had ever had the chance even of seeing, much +less handling, thirty-six thousand men under arms. This force <a +name="page_42"><span class="page">Page 42</span></a> was followed +by an immense and unwieldy train of supplies, manned by wholly +undisciplined civilian drivers; while other, and quite superfluous, +civilians clogged every movement and made confusion worse confounded. +"The march," says Sherman, who commanded a brigade, "demonstrated +little save the general laxity of discipline; for, with all my +personal efforts, I could not prevent the men from straggling for +water, blackberries, or anything on the way they fancied." In the +whole of the first long summer's day, the sixteenth of July, the +army only marched six miles; and it took the better part of the +seventeenth to herd its stragglers back again. "I wished them," +says McDowell, "to go to Centreville the second day [only another +six miles out] but the men were foot-weary, not so much by the +distance marched as by the time they had been on foot." That observant +private, Warren Lee Goss, has told us how hard it is to soldier +suddenly. "My canteen banged against my bayonet; both tin cup and +bayonet badly interfered with the butt of my musket, while my +cartridge-box and haversack were constantly flopping up and +down—the whole jangling like loose harness and chains on +a runaway horse." The weather was hot. The roads were dusty. And +many a man threw away <a name="page_43"><span class="page">Page +43</span></a> parts of his kit for which he suffered later on. There +was food in superabundance. But, with that unwieldy and grossly +undisciplined supply-and-transport service, the men and their food +never came together at the proper time. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Early on the eighteenth McDowell, whose own work was excellent +all through, pushed forward a brigade against Blackburn's Ford, +toward the Confederate right, in order to distract attention from +the real objective, which was to be the turning of the left. The +Confederate outposts fell back beyond the ford. The Federal brigade +followed on; when suddenly sharp volleys took it in front and flank. +The opposing brigade, under Longstreet (of whom we shall often +hear again), had lain concealed and sprung its trap quite neatly. +Most of the Federals behaved extremely well under these untoward +circumstances. But one whole battery and another whole battalion, +whose term of service expired that afternoon, were officially reported +as having "moved to the rear to the sound of the enemy's cannon." +Thereafter, as military units, they simply ceased to exist. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At one o'clock in the morning of this same day Johnston received +a telegram at Winchester, from Richmond, warning him that McDowell +was <a name="page_44"><span class="page">Page 44</span></a> advancing +on Bull Run, with the evident intention of seizing Manassas Junction, +which would cut the Confederate rail communication with the Shenandoah +Valley and so prevent all chance of immediate concentration at +Bull Run. Johnston saw that the hour had come. It could not have +come before, as Lee and the rest had foreseen; because an earlier +concentration at Bull Run would have drawn the two superior Federal +forces together on the selfsame spot. There was still some risk about +giving Patterson the slip. True, his three-month special-constable +array was semi-mutinous already; and its term of service had only +a few more days to run. True, also, that the men had cause for +grievance. They were all without pay, and some of them were reported +as being still "without pants." But, despite such drawbacks, a +resolute attack by Patterson's fourteen thousand could have at +least held fast Johnston's eleven thousand, who were mostly little +better off in military ways. Patterson, however, suffered from +distracting orders, and that was his undoing. Johnston, admirably +screened by Stuart, drew quietly away, leaving his sick at Winchester +and raising the spirits of his whole command by telling them that +Beauregard was in danger and <a name="page_45"><span class="page">Page +45</span></a> that they were to "make a forced march to save the +country." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Straining every nerve they stepped out gallantly and covered mile +after mile till they reached the Shenandoah, forded it, and crossed +the Blue Ridge at Ashby's Gap. But lack of training and march discipline +told increasingly against them. "The discouragement of that day's +march," said Johnston, "is indescribable. Frequent and unreasonable +delays caused so slow a rate of marching as to make me despair of +joining General Beauregard in time to aid him." Even the First +Brigade, with all the advantages of leading the march and of having +learnt the rudiments of drill and discipline, was exhausted by a +day's work that it could have romped through later on. Jackson +himself stood guard alone till dawn while all his soldiers slept. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As Jackson's men marched down to take the train at Piedmont, Stuart +gayly trotted past, having left Patterson still in ignorance that +Johnston's force had gone. By four in the afternoon of the nineteenth +Jackson was detraining at Manassas. But, as we shall presently see, +it was nearly two whole days before the last of Johnston's brigades +arrived, just in time for the crisis of the battle. When Johnston +had joined Beauregard <a name="page_46"><span class="page">Page +46</span></a> their united effective total was thirty thousand men. +There had been a wastage of three thousand. McDowell also had no +more than thirty thousand effectives present on the twenty-first; for +he left one division at Centreville and lost the rest by straggling +and by the way in which the battery and battalion already mentioned +had "claimed their discharge" at Blackburn's Ford. Throughout the +nineteenth and twentieth, while, sorely against his will, the Federals +were having their "monster military picnic" at Centreville, he was +reconnoitering his constantly increasing enemy under the greatest +difficulties, with his ill-trained staff, bad maps, and lack of +proper guides. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee had chosen six miles of Bull Run as a good defensive position. +But Beauregard intended to attack, hoping to profit by the Federal +disjointedness. Consequently none of the eight fords were strongly +defended except at Union Mills on the extreme right and the Stone +Bridge on the extreme left, where the turnpike from Centreville +to Warrenton crossed the Run. Bull Run itself was a considerable +obstacle, having fairly high banks and running along the Confederate +front like the ditch of a fortress. Three miles in rear stood Manassas +Junction on a moderate plateau intersected by <a name="page_47"><span +class="page">Page 47</span></a> several creeks. The most important of +these creeks, Young's Branch, joined Bull Run on the extreme left, +near the Stone Bridge and Warrenton turnpike, after flowing through +the little valley between the Henry Hill and Matthews Hill. Three +miles in front, across Bull Run, stood Centreville, the Federal +camp and field base during the battle. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sunday, July 21, 1861, was a beautiful midsummer day. Both armies +were stirring soon after dawn. But a miscarriage of orders delayed +the Confederate offensive so much that the initiative of attack passed +to the Federals, who advanced against the Stone Bridge shortly after +six. This attack, however, though made by a whole division against a +single small brigade, was immediately recognized as a mere feint +when, two hours later, Evans, commanding the Confederate brigade, +saw dense clouds of dust rising above the woods on his left front, +where the road crossed Sudley Springs, nearly two miles beyond his +own left. Perceiving that this new development must be a regular +attempt to turn the whole Confederate left by crossing Bull Run, he +sent back word to Beauregard, posted some men to hold the Stone +Bridge, and marched the rest to crown the Matthews Hill, facing +Sudley Springs a mile away. Meanwhile four <a name="page_48"><span +class="page">Page 48</span></a> of "Joe" Johnston's five Shenandoah +brigades—Bee's, Bartow's, Bonham's, and Jackson's—had +been coming over from the right reserve to strengthen Evans at the +Bridge. As the great Federal turning movement developed against the +Confederate left these brigades followed Evans and were themselves +followed by other troops, till the real battle raged not along Bull +Run but across the Matthews Hill and Henry Hill. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Forming the new front at right angles to the old, so as to attack +and defend the Confederate left on the Matthews and Henry Hills, +caused much confusion on both sides; but more on the Federal, as +the Confederates knew the ground better. By eleven Bee had reached +Evans and sent word back to hurry Bartow on. But the Federals, +having double numbers and a great preponderance in guns, soon drove +the Confederates off the Matthews Hill. As the Confederates recrossed +Young's Branch and climbed the Henry Hill the regular artillery of +the Federals limbered up smartly, galloped across the Matthews +Hill, and from its nearer slope plied the retreating Confederates +on the opposite slope with admirably served shell. Under this fire +the raw Confederates ran in confusion, while their uncovered guns +galloped back to find a new position. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 513px;"> +<a name="fig_03"> +<img src="images/fig_03.jpg" width="513" height="682" alt="Fig. 3"></a> +<p class="image"><i>GENERAL T. J. (STONEWALL) JACKSON</i><br /> +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington.</p> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_49"><span class="page">Page 49</span></a> "Curse them +for deserting the guns," snapped Imboden, whose battery came face +to face with Jackson's brigade. "I'll support you," said Jackson, +"unlimber right here." At the same time, half-past eleven, Bee +galloped up on his foaming charger, saying, "General, they're beating +us back." "Then, Sir," said Jackson, "we'll give them the bayonet"; +and his lips shut tight as a vice. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bee then went back behind the Henry Hill, where his broken brigade +was trying to rally, and, pointing toward the crest with his sword, +shouted in a voice of thunder: "Rally behind the Virginians! Look! +There's Jackson standing like a stone wall!" From that one cry +of battle Stonewall Jackson got his name. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While the rest of the Shenandoahs were rallying, in rear of Jackson, +Beauregard and Johnston came up, followed by two batteries. Miles +behind them, all the men that could be spared from the fords were +coming too. But the Federals on the Matthews Hill were still in +more than double numbers; and they enjoyed the priceless advantage +of having some regulars among them. If the Federal division at the +Stone Bridge had only pushed home its attack at this favorable moment +the Confederates must have been defeated. But the division again <a +name="page_50"><span class="page">Page 50</span></a> fumbled about +to little purpose; and for the second time McDowell's admirable +plan was spoilt. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was now past noon on that sweltering midsummer day; and there +was a welcome lull for the rallying Confederates while the Federals +were coming down the Matthews Hill, struggling across the swamps +and thickets of Young's Branch, and climbing the Henry Hill. Within +another hour the opposing forces were at close grips again, and +the Federals, flushed with success and steadied by the regulars, +seemed certain to succeed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Imboden has vividly described his meeting Jackson at this time. +"The fight was just then hot enough to make him feel well. His +eyes fairly blazed. He had a way of throwing up his left hand with +the open palm towards the person he was addressing; and, as he +told me to go, he made this gesture. The air was full of flying +missiles, and as he spoke he jerked down his hand, and I saw that +blood was streaming from it. I exclaimed, 'General, you are wounded.' +'Only a scratch—a mere scratch,' he replied; and, binding it +hastily with a handkerchief, he galloped away along his line." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Five hundred yards apart the opposing cannon thundered, while the +musketry of the long lines of infantry swelled the deafening roar. +Suddenly two <a name="page_51"><span class="page">Page 51</span></a> +Federal batteries of regulars dashed forward to even shorter range, +covered by two battalions on their flank. But the gaudy Zouaves +of the outer battalion lost formation in their advance; whereupon +"Jeb" Stuart, with only a hundred and fifty horsemen, swooped down +and smashed them to pieces by a daring charge. Then, just as the +scattered white turbans went wildly bobbing about, into the midst +of the inner battalion, out rushed the Thirty-third Virginians, +straight at the guns. The battery officers held their fire, uncertain +in the smoke whether the newcomers were friend or foe, till a deadly +volley struck home at less than eighty yards. Down went the gunners +to a man; down went the teams to a horse; and off ran the Zouaves +and the other supporting battalion, helter-skelter for the rear. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But other Federals were still full of fight and in superior numbers. +They came on with great gallantry, considering they were raw troops +who were now without the comfort of the guns. Once more a Federal +victory seemed secure; and if the infantry had only pressed on (not +piecemeal, by disjoined battalions, but by brigades) without letting +the Confederates recover from one blow before another struck them, +the day would have certainly been theirs. <a name="page_52"><span +class="page">Page 52</span></a> Moreover, they would have inflicted +not simply a defeat but a severe disaster on their enemy, who would +have been caught in flank by the troops at the Stone Bridge; for +these troops, however dilatory, must have known what to do with a +broken and flying Confederate flank right under their very eyes. +Premonitory symptoms of such a flight were not wanting. Confederate +wounded, stragglers, and skulkers were making for the rear; and +the rallied brigades were again in disorder, with Bee and Bartow, +two first-rate brigadiers, just killed, and other seniors wounded. +Another ominous sign was the limbering up of Confederate guns to +cover the expected retreat from the Henry Hill. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But on its reverse slope lay Jackson's Shenandoahs, three thousand +strong, and by far the best drilled and disciplined brigade that +either side had yet produced—apart, of course, from regulars. +Jackson had ridden up and down before them, calm as they had ever +seen him on parade, quietly saying, "Steady, men, steady! All's +well." In this way he had held them straining at the leash for +hours. Now, at last, their time had come. Riding out to the center +of his line he gave his final orders: "Reserve your fire till they +come within fifty yards. Then fire and give them the bayonet; and +yell like <a name="page_53"><span class="page">Page 53</span></a> +furies when you charge!" Five minutes later, as the triumphant Federals +topped the crest, the long gray line rose up, stood fast, fired one +crashing point-blank volley, and immediately charged home with the +first of those wild, high rebel yells that rang throughout the war. +The stricken and astounded Federal front caved in, turned round, and +fled. At the same instant the last of the Shenandoahs—Kirby +Smith's brigade, detrained just in the nick of time—charged +the wavering flank. Then, like the first quiver of an avalanche, +a tremor shook the whole massed Federals one moment on that fatal +hill: the next, like a loosened cliff, they began the landslide +down. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There, in the valley, along Young's Branch, McDowell established +his last line of battle, based on the firm rock of the regulars. +But by this time the Confederates had brought up troops from the +whole length of their line; the balance of numbers was at last in +their favor; and nothing could stay the Federal recoil. Lack of +drill and discipline soon changed this recoil into a disorderly +retreat. There was no panic; but most of the military units dissolved +into a mere mob whose heart was set on getting back to Washington +in any way left open. The regulars and a few formed bodies in <a +name="page_54"><span class="page">Page 54</span></a> reserve did +their best to stem the stream. But all in vain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One mile short of Centreville there was a sudden upset and consequent +block on the bridge across Cub Run. Then the stream of men retreating, +mixed with clogging masses of panic-struck civilians, became a +torrent. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Bull Run was only a special-constable affair on a gigantic scale. +The losses were comparatively small—3553 killed and wounded +on both sides put together: not ten per cent of the less than forty +thousand who actually fought. Moreover, the side that won the battle +lost the war. And yet Bull Run had many points of very great importance. +In spite of all shortcomings it showed the good quality of the +troops engaged: if not as soldiers, at all events as men. It proved +that the war, unlike the battle, would not be fought by special +constables, some of whom first fired their rifles when their target +was firing back at them. It brought one great leader—Stonewall +Jackson—into fame. Above all, it profoundly affected the +popular points of view, both North and South. In the South there +was undue elation, followed by the absurd belief that one Southerner +could beat two Northerners <a name="page_55"><span class="page">Page +55</span></a> any day and that the North would now back down <i>en +masse</i>, as its army had from the Henry Hill. A dangerous slackening +of military preparation was the unavoidable result. In the North, +on the other hand, a good many people began to see the difference +between armed mobs and armies; and the thorough Unionists, led by +the wise and steadfast Lincoln, braced themselves for real war. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_56"><span class="page">Page 56</span></a> +CHAPTER II</h2> + +<p class="subtitle"> +THE COMBATANTS +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +No map can show the exact dividing line between the actual combatants +of North and South. Eleven States seceded: Virginia, the Carolinas, +Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, +and Arkansas. But the mountain folk of western Virginia and eastern +Tennessee were strong Unionists; and West Virginia became a State +while the war was being fought. On the other hand, the four border +States, though officially Federal under stress of circumstances, +were divided against themselves. In Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, +and Kansas, many citizens took the Southern side. Maryland would +have gone with the South if it had not been for the presence of +overwhelming Northern sea-power and the absence of any good land +frontier of her own. Kentucky remained neutral for several months. +Missouri was saved for the Union by those two resourceful <a +name="page_57"><span class="page">Page 57</span></a> and determined +men, Lyon and Blair. Kansas, though preponderantly Unionist, had +many Confederates along its southern boundary. On the whole the +Union gained greatly throughout the borderlands as the war went on; +and the remaining Confederate hold on the border people was more +than counterbalanced by the Federal hold on those in the western +parts of old Virginia and the eastern parts of Tennessee. Among +the small seafaring population along the Southern coast there were +also some strongly Union men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Counting out Northern Confederates and Southern Federals as canceling +each other, so far as effective fighting was concerned a comparison +made between the North and South along the line of actual secession +reveals the one real advantage the South enjoyed all through—an +overwhelming party in favor of the war. When once the die was cast +there was certainly not a tenth of the Southern whites who did not +belong to the war party; and the peace party always had to hold +its tongue. The Southerners formed simpler and far more homogeneous +communities of the old long-settled stock, and were more inclined +to act together when once their feelings were profoundly stirred. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Northern communities, on the other hand, <a name="page_58"><span +class="page">Page 58</span></a> being far more complex and far +less homogeneous, were plagued with peace parties that grew like +human weeds, clogging the springs of action everywhere. There were +immigrants new to the country and therefore not inclined to take +risks for a cause they had not learned to make their own. There +were also naturalized, and even American-born, aliens, aliens in +speech, race, thought, and every way of life. Then there were the +oppositionists of different kinds, who would not support any war +government, however like a perfect coalition it might be. Among these +were some Northerners who did business with the South, especially +the men who financed the cotton and tobacco crops. Others, again, +were those loose-tongued folk who think any vexed question can be +settled by unlimited talk. Next came those "defeatist" cranks who +always think their own side must be wrong, and who are of no more +practical use than the out-and-out "pacifists" who think everybody +wrong except themselves. Finally, there were those slippery folk who +try to evade all public duty, especially when it smacks of danger. +These skulkers flourish best in large and complex populations, where +they may even masquerade as patriots of the kind so well described by +Lincoln when he said how <a name="page_59"><span class="page">Page +59</span></a> often he had noticed that the men who were loudest +in proclaiming their readiness to shed their last drop of blood +were generally the most careful not to shed the first. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Many of these fustian heroes formed the mushroom secret societies +that played their vile extravaganza right under the shadow of the +real tragedy of war. Worse still, not content with the abracadabra +of their silly oaths, the busybody members made all the mischief +they could during Lincoln's last election. Worst of all, they not +only tried their hands at political assassination in the North but +they lured many a gallant Confederate to his death by promising to +rise in their might for a "Free Northwest" the moment the Southern +troopers should appear. Needless to say, not a single one of the whole +bombastic band of cowards stirred a finger to help the Confederate +troopers who rode to their doom on Morgan's Raid through Indiana and +Ohio. The peace party wore a copper as a badge, and so came to be known +as "Copperheads," much to the disgust of its more inflated members, +who called themselves the Sons of Liberty. The war party, with a +better appreciation of how names and things should be connected, +used their own descriptive "Copperhead" in its <a name="page_60"><span +class="page">Page 60</span></a> appropriate meaning of a poisonous +snake in the grass behind. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Indians would have preferred neutrality between the two kinds +of inevitably dispossessing whites. But neutrality was impossible +in what was then the Far West. Not ten thousand Indians fought +for both sides put together. On the whole they fought well as +skirmishers, though they rarely withstood shell fire, even when +their cover was good and their casualties small. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The ten times more numerous negroes were naturally a much more +serious factor. The North encouraged the employment of colored labor +corps and even colored soldiers, especially after Emancipation. +But the vast majority of negroes, whether slave or free, either +preferred or put up with their Southern masters, whom they generally +served faithfully enough either in military labor corps or on the +old plantations. As the colored population of the South was three +and a half millions this general fidelity was of great importance +to the forces in the field. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The total population of the United States in 1861 was about thirty-one +and a half millions. Of this total twenty-two and a half belonged to +the North and nine to the South. The grand total <a name="page_61"><span +class="page">Page 61</span></a> odds were therefore five against +two. The odds against the South rise to four against one if the +blacks are left out. There were twenty-two million whites in the +North against five and a half in the South. But to reach the real +fighting odds of three to one we must also eliminate the peace +parties, large in the North, small in the South. If we take a tenth +off the Southern whites and a third off the Northern grand total +we shall get the approximate war-party odds of three to one; for +these subtractions leave fifteen millions in the North against only +five in the South. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This gives the statistical key to the startling contrasts which +were so often noted by foreign correspondents at the time, and +which are still so puzzling in the absence of the key. The whole +normal life of the South was visibly changed by the war. But in +the North the inquiring foreigner could find, on one hand, the +most steadfast loyalty and heroic sacrifice, both in the Northern +armies and among their folks at home, while on the other he could +find a wholly different kind of life flaunting its most shameless +features in his face. The theaters were crowded. Profiteers abounded, +taking their pleasures with ravenous greed; for the best of their +blood-money would end with the war. <a name="page_62"><span +class="page">Page 62</span></a> Everywhere there was the same +fundamental difference between the patriots who carried on the war +and the parasites who hindered them. Of course the two-thirds who +made up the war party were not all saints or even perfect patriots. +Nor was the other third composed exclusively of wanton sinners. There +were, for instance, the genuine settlers whom the Union Government +encouraged to occupy the West, beyond the actual reach of war. But +the distinction still remains. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Though sorely hampered, the Union Government did, on the whole, +succeed in turning the vast and varied resources of the North against +the much smaller and less varied resources of the South. The North +held the machinery of national government, though with the loss of +a good quarter of the engineers. In agriculture of, all kinds both +North and South were very strong for purposes of peace. Each had +food in superabundance. But the trading strength of the South lay +in cotton and tobacco, neither of which could be turned into money +without going north or to sea. In finance the North was overwhelmingly +strong by comparison, more especially because Northern sea-power +shut off the South from all its foreign markets. In manufactures +the South could not compare at all. <a name="page_63"><span +class="page">Page 63</span></a> Northern factories alone could +not supply the armies. But finance and factories together could. +The Southern soldier looked to the battlefield and the raiding +of a base for supplying many of his most pressing needs in arms, +equipment, clothing, and even food—for Southern transport +suffered from many disabilities. Fierce wolfish cries would mingle +with the rebel yell in battle when the two sides closed. "You've got +to leave your rations!"—"Come out of them clothes!"—"Take +off them boots, Yank!"—"Come on, blue bellies, we want them +blankets!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was the same in almost every kind of goods. The South made next +to none for herself and had to import from the North or overseas. +The North could buy silk for balloons. The South could not. The +Southern women gave in their whole supply of silk for the big balloon +that was lost during the Seven Days' Battle in the second year of +the war. The Southern soldiers never forgave what they considered +the ungallant trick of the Northerners who took this many-hued +balloon from a steamer stranded on a bar at low tide down near +the mouth of the James. Thus fell the last silk dress, a queer +tribute to Northern sea-power! Northern sea-power also cut off nearly +everything the sick and <a name="page_64"><span class="page">Page +64</span></a> wounded needed; which raised the death rate of the +Southern forces far beyond the corresponding death rate in the +North. Again, preserved rations were almost unknown in the South. +But they were plentiful throughout the Northern armies: far too +plentiful, indeed, for the taste of the men, who got "fed up" on the +dessicated vegetables and concentrated milk which they rechristened +"desecrated vegetables" and "consecrated milk." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is the same tale to tell about transport and munitions. Outside +the Tredegar Iron Works at Richmond the only places where Southern +cannon could be made were Charlotte in North Carolina, Atlanta and +Macon in Georgia, and Selma in Alabama. The North had many places, +each with superior plant, besides which the oversea munition world +was far more at the service of the open-ported North than of the +close-blockaded South. What sea-power meant in this respect may be +estimated from the fact that out of the more than three-quarters of +a million rifles bought by the North in the first fourteen months +of the war all but a beggarly thirty thousand came from overseas. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 713px;"> +<a name="fig_04"></a> +<a href="images/fig_04.jpg"> +<img src="images/fig_04_sm.jpg" width="713" height="490" alt="Fig. 4"> +</a></div> + +<p class="indent"> +Transport was done by road, rail, sea, and inland waters. Other +things being equal, a hundred tons could be moved by water as easily +<a name="page_65"><span class="page">Page 65</span></a> as ten +by rail or one by road. Now, the North not only enjoyed enormous +advantages in sea-power, both mercantile and naval, but in road, +rail, canal, and river transport too. The road transport that affected +both sides most was chiefly in the South, because most maneuvering +took place there. "Have you been through Virginia?—Yes, in +several places" is a witticism that might be applied to many another +State where muddy sloughs abounded. In horses, mules, and vehicles +the richer North wore out the poorer and blockaded South. Both +sides sent troops, munitions, and supplies by rail whenever they +could; and here, as a glance at the map will show, the North greatly +surpassed the South in mileage, strategic disposition, and every +other way. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The South had only one through line from the Atlantic to the +Mississippi; and this ran across that Northern salient which threatened +the South from the southwestern Alleghanies. The other rails all had +the strategic defect of not being convenient for rapid concentration +by land; for most of the Southern rails were laid with a view to +getting surplus cotton and tobacco overseas. The strategic gap +at Petersburg was due to a very different cause; for there, in +order to keep its local transfers, the <a name="page_66"><span +class="page">Page 66</span></a> town refused to let the most important +Virginian lines connect. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Taking sea-power in its fullest sense, to include all naval and +mercantile parts on both salt and fresh water, we can quite understand +how it helped the nautical North to get the strangle-hold on the +landsman's South. The great bulk of the whole external trade of +the South was done by shipping. But, though the South was strong in +exportable goods, it was very weak in ships. It owned comparatively +few of the vessels that carried its rice, cotton, and tobacco crops +to market and brought back made goods in return. Yankees, Britishers, +and Bluenoses (as Nova Scotian craft were called) did most of the +oversea transportation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Moreover, the North was vastly stronger than the South on all the +inland waters that were not "Secesh" from end to end. The map shows +how Northern sea-power could not only divide the South in two but +almost enisle the eastern part as well. Holding the Mississippi +would effect the division, while holding the Ohio would make the +eastern part a peninsula, with the upper end of the isthmus safe in +Northern hands between Pittsburgh, the great coal and iron inland +port, and Philadelphia, the great seaport, less than three <a +name="page_67"><span class="page">Page 67</span></a> hundred miles +away. The same isthmus narrows to less than two hundred miles between +Pittsburgh and Harrisburg (on the Susquehanna River); and its whole +line is almost equally safe in Northern hands. A little farther +south, along the disputed borderlands, it narrows to less than +one hundred miles, from Pittsburgh to Cumberland (on the Potomac +canal). Even this is not the narrowest part of the isthmus, which +is less than seventy miles across from Cumberland to Brownsville +(on the Monongahela) and less than fifty from Cumberland to the +Ohiopyle Falls (on the Youghiogheny). These last distances are +measured between places that are only fit for minor navigation. +But even small craft had an enormous advantage over road and rail +together when bulky stores were moved. So Northern sea-power could +make its controlling influence felt in one continuous line all +round the eastern South, except for fifty miles where small craft +were concerned and for two hundred miles in the case of larger +vessels. These two hundred miles of land were those between the +Ohio River port of Wheeling and the Navy Yard at Washington. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Nor was this virtual enislement the only advantage to be won. For +while the strong right arm <a name="page_68"><span class="page">Page +68</span></a> of Union sea-power, facing northward from the Gulf, +could hold the coast, and its sinewy left could hold the Mississippi, +the supple left fingers could feel their way along the tributary +streams until the clutching hand had got its grip on the whole +of the Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and Red +rivers. This meant that the North would not only enjoy the vast +advantages of transport by water over transport by land but that +it would cause the best lines of invasion to be opened up as well. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of course the South had some sea-power of her own. Nine-tenths of +the United States Navy stood by the Union. But, with the remaining +tenth and some foreign help, the South managed to contrive the +makeshift parts of what might have become a navy if the North had +only let it grow. The North, however, did not let it grow. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The regular navy of the United States, though very small to start with, +was always strong enough to keep the command of the sea and to prevent +the makeshift Southern parts of a navy from ever becoming a whole. +Privateers took out letters of marque to prey on Northern shipping. +But privateering soon withered off, because prizes could not be run +through the blockade in sufficient numbers <a name="page_69"><span +class="page">Page 69</span></a> to make it pay; and no prize would +be recognized except in a Southern port. Raiders did better and +for a much longer time. The <i>Shenandoah</i> was burning Northern +whalers in Bering Sea at the end of the war. The <i>Sumter</i> and +the <i>Florida</i> cut a wide swath under instructions which "left +much to discretion and more to the torch." The famous <i>Alabama</i> +only succumbed to the U.S.S. <i>Kearsarge</i> after sinking the +<i>Hatteras</i> man-of-war and raiding seventy other vessels. Yet +still the South, in spite of her ironclads, raiders, and rams, in +spite of her river craft, of the home ships or foreigners that +ran the blockade, and of all her other efforts, was a landsman's +country that could make no real headway against the native sea-power +of the North. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Perhaps the worst of all the disabilities under which the abortive +Southern navy suffered was lubberly administration and gross civilian +interference. The Administration actually refused to buy the beginnings +of a ready-made sea-going fleet when it had the offer of ten British +East Indiamen specially built for rapid conversion into men-of-war. +Forty thousand bales of cotton would have bought the lot. The +Mississippi record was even worse. Five conflicting authorities +divided the <a name="page_70"><span class="page">Page 70</span></a> +undefined and overlapping responsibilities between them: the Confederate +Government, the State governments, the army, the navy, and the +Mississippi skippers. A typical result may be seen in the fate +of the fourteen "rams" which were absurdly mishandled by fourteen +independent civilian skippers with two civilian commodores. This +"River Defense Fleet" was "backed by the whole Missouri delegation" +at Richmond, and blessed by the Confederate Secretary of War, Judah +P. Benjamin, that very clever lawyer-politician and ever-smiling +Jew. Six of the fourteen "rams" were lost, with sheer futility, +at New Orleans in April, '62; the rest at Memphis the following +June. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As a matter of fact the Confederate navy never had but one real +man-of-war, the famous <i>Merrimac</i>; and she was a mere razee, +cut down for a special purpose, and too feebly engined to keep the +sea. Even the equally famous <i>Alabama</i> was only a raider, +never meant for action with a fleet. Over three hundred officers +left the United States Navy for the South; but, as in the case of +the Army, they were followed by very few men. The total personnel +of the regular Confederate navy never exceeded four thousand at +any one time. The irregular forces afloat often did gallant, and +sometimes <a name="page_71"><span class="page">Page 71</span></a> +even skillful, service in little isolated ways. But when massed +together they were always at sixes and sevens; and they could never +do more than make the best of a very bad business indeed. The Secretary +of the Confederate navy, Stephen R. Mallory, was not to blame. He +was one of the very few civilians who understood and tried to follow +any naval principles at all. He had done good work as chairman of +the Naval Committee in the Senate before the war, and had learnt +a good deal more than his Northern rival, Gideon Welles. He often +saw what should have been done. But men and means were lacking. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Men and means were also lacking in the naval North at the time +the war began. But the small regular navy was invincible against +next to none; and it enjoyed many means of expansion denied to +the South. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the outbreak of hostilities the United States Navy had ninety +ships and about nine thousand men—all ranks and ratings (with +marines) included. The age of steam had come. But fifty vessels +had no steam at all. Of the rest one was on the Lakes, five were +quite unserviceable, and thirty-four were scattered about the world +without the slightest thought of how to mobilize a fleet at <a +name="page_72"><span class="page">Page 72</span></a> home. The +age of ironclads had begun already overseas. But in his report to +Congress on July 4, 1861, Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, +only made some wholly non-committal observations in ponderous +"officialese." In August he appointed a committee which began its +report in September with the sage remark that "Opinions differ +amongst naval and scientific men as to the policy of adopting the +iron armament for ships-of-war." In December Welles transmitted this +report to Congress with the still sager remark that "The subject +of iron armature for ships is one of great general interest, not +only to the navy and country, but is engaging the attention of the +civilized world." Such was the higher administrative preparation +for the ironclad battle of the following year. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was the same in everything. The people had taken no interest in +the navy and Congress had faithfully represented them by denying +the service all chance of preparing for war till after war had broken +out. Then there was the usual hurry and horrible waste. Fortunately +for all concerned, Gideon Welles, after vainly groping about the +administrative maze for the first five months, called Gustavus +V. Fox to his assistance. Fox had been <a name="page_73"><span +class="page">Page 73</span></a> a naval officer of exceptional +promise, who had left the service to go into business, who had a +natural turn for administration, and who now made an almost ideal +Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He was, indeed, far more than +this; for, in most essentials, he acted throughout the war as a +regular Chief of Staff. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the greatest troubles was the glut of senior officers who +were too old and the alarming dearth of juniors fit for immediate +work afloat. It was only after the disaster at Bull Run that Congress +authorized the formation of a Promotion Board to see what could be +done to clear the active list and make it really a list of officers +fit for active service. Up to this time there had been no system +of retiring men for inefficiency or age. An officer who did not +retire of his own accord simply went on rising automatically till +he died. The president of this board had himself turned sixty. But +he was the thoroughly efficient David Glasgow Farragut, a man who +was to do greater things afloat than even Fox could do ashore. How +badly active officers were wanted may be inferred from the fact that +before the appointment of Farragut's promotion board the total number +of regular officers remaining in the navy was only 1457. Intensive +training <a name="page_74"><span class="page">Page 74</span></a> +was tried at the Naval Academy. Yet 7500 volunteer officers had +to be used before the war was over. These came mostly from the +merchant service and were generally brave, capable, first-rate +men. But a nautical is not the same as a naval training; and the +dearth of good professional naval officers was felt to the end. +The number of enlisted seamen authorized by Congress rose from 7600 +to 51,500. But the very greatest difficulty was found in "keeping +up to strength," even with the most lavish use of bounties. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The number of vessels in the navy kept on growing all through. +Of course not nearly all of them were regular men-of-war or even +fighting craft "fit to go foreign." At the end of the first year +there were 264 in commission; at the end of the second, 427; at +the end of the third, 588; and at the end of the fourth, 671. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bearing this in mind, and remembering the many other Northern odds, +one might easily imagine that the Southern armies fought only with +the courage of despair. Yet such was not the case. This was no +ordinary war, to be ended by a treaty in which compromise would +play its part. There could be only two alternatives: either the +South would win her independence or the North would have to beat +<a name="page_75"><span class="page">Page 75</span></a> her into +complete submission. Under the circumstances the united South would +win whenever the divided North thought that complete subjugation +would cost more than it was worth. The great aim of the South was, +therefore, not to conquer the North but simply to sicken the North +of trying to conquer her. "Let us alone and we'll let you alone" +was her insinuating argument; and this, as she knew very well, +was echoed by many people in the North. Thus, as regards her own +objective, she began with hopes that the Northern peace party never +quite let die. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then, so far as her patriotic feelings were concerned, the South +was not fighting for any one point at issue—not even for +slavery, because only a small minority held slaves—but for +her whole way of life, which, rightly or wrongly, she wanted to +live in her own Southern way; and she passionately resented the +invasion of her soil. This gave her army a very high morale, which, +in its turn, inclined her soldiers the better to appreciate their +real or imagined advantages over the Northern hosts. First, they and +their enemies both knew that they enjoyed the three real advantages +of fighting at home under magnificent leaders and with interior lines. +Robert Lee and Stonewall <a name="page_76"><span class="page">Page +76</span></a> Jackson stood head and shoulders above any Northern +leaders till Grant and Sherman rose to greatness during the latter +half of the war. Lee himself was never surpassed; and he, like +Jackson and several more, made the best use of home surroundings and +of interior lines. Anybody can appreciate the prime advantage of +interior lines by imagining two armies of equal strength operating +against each other under perfectly equal conditions except that one +has to move round the circumference of a circle while the other +moves to meet it along the shorter lines inside. The army moving +round the circumference is said to be operating on exterior lines, +while the army moving from point to point of the circumference +by the straighter, and therefore shorter, lines inside is said +to be operating on interior lines. In more homely language the +straight road beats the crooked one. In plain slang, it's best to +have the inside track. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of course there is a reverse to all this. If the roads, rails, +and waterways are better around the circle than inside it, then +the odds may be turned the other way; and this happens most often +when the forces on the exterior lines are the better provided with +sea-power. Again, if the exterior forces are so much stronger than +the interior forces that <a name="page_77"><span class="page">Page +77</span></a> these latter dare not leave any strategic point open in +case the enemy breaks through, then it is evident that the interior +forces will suffer all the disadvantages of being surrounded, divided, +worn out, and defeated. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This happened at last to the South, and was one of the four advantages +she lost. Another was the hope of foreign intervention, which died +hard in Southern hearts, but which was already moribund halfway +through the war. A third was the hope of dissension in the North, a +hope which often ran high till Lincoln's reëlection in November, +'64, and one which only died out completely with the surrender of +Lee. The fourth was the unfounded belief that Southerners were +the better fighting men. They certainly had an advantage at first +in having a larger proportion of men accustomed to horses and arms +and inured to life in the open. But, other things being equal, there +was nothing to choose between the two sides, so far as natural +fighting values were concerned. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Practically all the Southern "military males" passed into the ranks; +and a military male eventually meant any one who could march to +the front or do non-combatant service with an army, from boys in +their teens to men in their sixties. <a name="page_78"><span +class="page">Page 78</span></a> Conscription came after one year; +and with very few exemptions, such as the clergy, Quakers, many +doctors, newspaper editors, and "indispensable" civil servants. +Lee used to express his regret that all the greatest strategists +were tied to their editorial chairs. But sterner feelings were +aroused against that recalcitrant State Governor, Joseph Brown +of Georgia, who declared eight thousand of his civil servants to +be totally exempt. From first to last, conscripts and volunteers, +nearly a million men were enrolled: equaling one-fifth of the entire +war-party white population of the seceding States. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +All branches of the service suffered from a constant lack of arms +and munitions. As with the ships for the navy so with munitions +for the army, the South did not exploit the European markets while +her ports were still half open and her credit good, Jefferson Davis +was spotlessly honest, an able bureaucrat, and full of undying zeal. +But, though an old West Pointer, he was neither a foresightful +organizer nor fit to exercise any of the executive power which he +held as the constitutional commander-in-chief by land and sea. He +ordered rifles by the thousand instead of by the hundred thousand; +and he actually told his Cabinet that if he could only take one +wing while Lee took the <a name="page_79"><span class="page">Page +79</span></a> other they would surely beat the North. Worse still, +he and his politicians kept the commissariat under civilian orders +and full of civilian interference, even at the front, which, in +this respect, was always a house divided against itself. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The little regular army of '61, only sixteen thousand strong, stood +by the Union almost to a man; though a quarter of the officers +went over to the South. Yet the enlisted man was despised even +by the common loafers who would not fight if they could help it. +"Why don't you come in?" asked a zealous lady at a distribution +of patriotic gifts, "aren't you one of our heroes?" "No, ma'am," +answered the soldier, "I'm only a regular." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The question of command was often a very vexed one; and many mistakes +were made before the final answers came. The most significant of +all emergent facts was this: that though the officers who had been +regulars before the war did not form a hundredth part of all who +held commissions during it, yet these old regulars alone supplied +every successful high commander, Federal and Confederate alike, +both afloat and ashore. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The North had four times as many whites as the South; it used more +blacks as soldiers; and the <a name="page_80"><span class="page">Page +80</span></a> complete grand total of all the men who joined its +forces during the war reached two millions and three-quarters. But +this gives a quite misleading idea of the real odds in favor of +the North, especially the odds available in battle. A third of the +Northern people belonged to the peace party and furnished no recruits +at all till after conscription came in. The late introduction of +conscription, the abominable substitution clause, and the prevalence +of bounty-jumping combined to reduce both the quantity and quality +of the recruits obtained by money or compulsion. The Northerners +that did fight were generally fighting in the South, among a very +hostile population, which, while it made the Southern lines of +communication perfectly safe, threatened those of the North at +every point and thus obliged the Northern armies to leave more and +more men behind to guard the communications that each advance made +longer still. Finally, the South generally published the numbers +of only its actual combatants, while the Northern returns always +included every man drawing pay, whether a combatant or not. On the +whole, the North had more than double numbers, even if compared +with a Southern total that includes noncombatants. But it should +be remembered that a <a name="page_81"><span class="page">Page +81</span></a> Northern army fighting in the heart of the South, +and therefore having to guard every mile of the way back home, +could not meet a Southern one with equal strength in battle unless +it had left the North with fully twice as many. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Conscription came a year later (1863) in the North than in the +South and was vitiated by a substitution clause. The fact that a +man could buy himself out of danger made some patriots call it "a +rich man's war and a poor man's fight." And the further fact that +substitutes generally became regular bounty-jumpers, who joined +and deserted at will, over and over again, went far to increase the +disgust of those who really served. Frank Wilkeson's <i>Recollections +of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac</i> is a true voice +from the ranks when he explains "how the resort to volunteering, the +unprincipled dodge of cowardly politicians, ground up the choicest +seed-corn of the nation; how it consumed the young, the patriotic, +the intelligent, the generous, and the brave; and how it wasted +the best moral, social, and political elements of the Republic, +leaving the cowards, shirkers, egotists, and moneymakers to stay +at home and procreate their kind." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_82"><span class="page">Page 82</span></a> That is +to say, it was so arranged that the foxy-witted lived, while the +lion-hearted died. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The organization of the vast numbers enrolled was excellent whenever +experts were given a free hand. But this free hand was rare. One +vital point only needs special notice here: the wastefulness of +raising new regiments when the old ones were withering away for +want of reinforcements. A new local regiment made a better "story" +in the press; and new and superfluous regiments meant new and +superfluous colonels, mostly of the speechifying kind. So it often +happened that the State authorities felt obliged to humor zealots +set on raising those brand-new regiments which doubled their own +difficulties by having to learn their lesson alone, halved the +efficiency of the old regiments they should have reinforced, and +harassed the commanders and staff by increasing the number of units +that were of different and ever-changing efficiency and strength. +It was a system of making and breaking all through. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The end came when Northern sea-power had strangled the Southern +resources and the unified Northern armies had worn out the fighting +force. Of the single million soldiers raised by the South <a +name="page_83"><span class="page">Page 83</span></a> only two hundred +thousand remained in arms, half starved, half clad, with the scantiest +of munitions, and without reserves of any kind. Meanwhile the Northern +hosts had risen to a million in the field, well fed, well clothed, +well armed, abundantly provided with munitions, and at last well +disciplined under the unified command of that great leader, Grant. +Moreover, behind this million stood another million fit to bear arms +and obtainable at will from the two millions of enrolled reserves. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The cost of the war was stupendous. But the losses of war are not +to be measured in money. The real loss was the loss of a million +men, on both sides put together, for these men who died were of +the nation's best. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_84"><span class="page">Page 84</span></a> +CHAPTER III</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">THE NAVAL WAR: 1862</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bull Run had riveted attention on the land between the opposing +capitals and on the armies fighting there. Very few people were +thinking of the navies and the sea. And yet it was at sea, and not +on land, that the Union had a force against which the Confederates +could never prevail, a force which gradually cut them off from +the whole world's base of war supplies, a force which enabled the +Union armies to get and keep the strangle-hold which did the South +to death. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The blockade declared in April was no empty threat. The sails of +Federal frigates, still more the sinister black hulls of the new +steam men-of-war, meant that the South was fast becoming a land +besieged, with every outwork accessible by water exposed to sudden +attack and almost certain capture by any good amphibious force +of soldiers and sailors combined. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_85"><span class="page">Page 85</span></a> Sea-power +kept the North in affluence while it starved the South. Sea-power +held Maryland in its relentless grip and did more than land-power +to keep her in the Union. Sea-power was the chief factor in saving +Washington. Seapower enabled the North to hold such points of vantage +as Fortress Monroe right on the flank of the South. And sea-power +likewise enabled the North to take or retake other points of similar +importance: for instance, Hatteras Island. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In a couple of days at the end of August, 1861, the Confederate +forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, were compelled to surrender +to a joint naval and military expedition under Flag-Officer Stringham +and Major-General B. F. Butler. The immediate result, besides the +capture of seven hundred men, was the control of the best entrance +to North Carolina waters, which entailed the stoppage of many oversea +supplies for the Confederate army. The ulterior result was the +securing of a base from which a further invasion could be made with +great advantage. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The naval campaign of the following year was truly epoch-making; for +the duel between the <i>Monitor</i> and <i>Merrimac</i> in Hampton +Roads on <a name="page_86"><span class="page">Page 86</span></a> +March 9, 1862, was the first action ever fought between ironclad +steam men-of-war. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Eleven months earlier the Federal Government had suddenly abandoned +the Norfolk Navy Yard; though their strongest garrison was at Fortress +Monroe, only twelve miles north along a waterway which was under +the absolute control of their navy, and though the Confederates' +had nothing but an inadequate little untrained force on the spot. +Among the spoils of war falling into Confederate hands were twelve +hundred guns and the <i>Merrimac</i>, a forty-gun steam frigate. +The <i>Merrimac</i>, though fired and scuttled by the Federals, was +hove up, cut down, plated over, and renamed the <i>Virginia</i>. +(History, however, knows her only as the <i>Merrimac</i>.) John +L. Porter, Naval Constructor to the Confederate States, had made +a model of an ironclad at Pittsburgh fifteen years before; and he +now applied this model to the rebuilding of the <i>Merrimac</i>. +He first cut down everything above the water line, except the gun +deck, which he converted into a regular citadel with flat top, +sides sloping at thirty-five degrees, and ends stopping short of the +ship's own ends by seventy feet fore and aft. The effect, therefore, +was that of an ironclad citadel built on the midships of a submerged +<a name="page_87"><span class="page">Page 87</span></a> frigate's +hull. The four-inch iron plating of the citadel knuckled over the +wooden sides two feet under water. The engines, which the South had +no means of replacing, were the old ones which had been condemned +before being sunk. A four-foot castiron ram was clamped on to the +bow. Ten guns were mounted: six nine-inch smooth-bores, with two +six-inch and two seven-inch rifles. Commodore Franklin Buchanan +took command and had magnificent professional officers under him. +But the crew, three hundred strong, were mostly landsmen; for, +as in the case of the Army, the men of the Navy nearly all took +sides with the North, and the South had very few seamen of any +other kind. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +To oppose the <i>Merrimac</i> the dilatory North contracted with +John Ericsson the Swede, who had to build the <i>Monitor</i> much +smaller than the Merrimac owing to pressure of time. He enjoyed, +however, enormous advantages in every other respect, owing to the +vastly superior resources of the North in marine engineering, +armor-plating, and all other points of naval construction. The +<i>Monitor</i> was launched at New York on January 30, 1862, the +hundredth day after the laying of her keel-plate. Her length over +all was 172 feet, her beam was 41, <a name="page_88"><span +class="page">Page 88</span></a> and her draught only 10—less +than half the draught of the <i>Merrimac</i>. Her whole crew numbered +only 58; but every single one was a trained professional naval +seaman who had volunteered for dangerous service under Captain John +L. Worden. She was not a good sea boat; and she nearly foundered +on her way down from New York to Fortress Monroe. Her underwater +hull was shipshape enough; but her superstructure—a round +iron tower resting on a very low deck—was not. Contemptuous +eyewitnesses described her very well as looking like a tin can on +a shingle or a cheesebox on a raft. She carried only two guns, +eleven-inchers, both mounted inside her turret, which revolved by +machinery; but their 180-pound shot were far more powerful than +any aboard the <i>Merrimac</i>. In maneuvering the <i>Monitor</i> +enjoyed an immense advantage, with her light draft, strong engines, +and well-protected screws and rudder. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the eighth of March, a lovely spring day, the <i>Merrimac</i> +made her trial trip by going into action with her wheezy old engines, +lubberly crew, and the guns she had never yet fired. She shoveled +along at only five knots; but the Confederate garrisons cheered her +to the echo. Seven miles north she came upon the astonished fifty-gun +<i>Congress</i> and <a name="page_89"><span class="page">Page +89</span></a> thirty-gun <i>Cumberland</i> swinging drowsily at +anchor off Newport News, with their boats alongside and the men's +wash drying in the rigging. Yet the surprised frigates opened fire +at twelve hundred yards and were joined by the shore batteries, +all converging on the <i>Merrimac</i>, from whose iron sides the +shot glanced up without doing more than hammer her hard and start a +few rivets. Closing in at top speed—barely six knots—the +<i>Merrimac</i> gave the <i>Congress</i> a broadside before ramming +the <i>Cumberland</i> and opening a hole "wide enough to drive in +a horse and cart." Backing clear and turning the after-pivot gun, +the <i>Merrimac</i> then got in three raking shells against the +<i>Congress</i>, which grounded when trying to escape. Meanwhile the +<i>Cumberland</i> was listing over and rapidly filling, though she +kept up the fight to the very last gasp. When she sank with a roar +her topmasts still showed above water and her colors waved defiance. +An hour later the terribly mauled <i>Congress</i> surrendered; +whereupon her crew was rescued and she was set on fire. By this time +various smaller craft on both sides had joined the fray. But the big +<i>Minnesota</i> still remained, though aground and apparently at the +mercy of the <i>Merrimac</i>. The great draught of the <i>Merrimac</i> +and the setting in of the ebb tide, <a name="page_90"><span +class="page">Page 90</span></a> however, made the Confederates draw +off for the night. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Next morning they saw the "tin can on the shingle" between them +and their prey. The <i>Monitor</i> and <i>Merrimac</i> then began +their epoch-making fight. The patchwork engines of the deep-draught +<i>Merrimac</i> made her as unhandy as if she had been water-logged, +while the light-draught <i>Monitor</i> could not only play round +her when close-to but maneuver all over the surrounding shallows as +well. The <i>Merrimac</i> put her last ounce of steam into an attempt +to ram her agile opponent. But a touch of the <i>Monitor's</i> helm +swung her round just in time to make the blow perfectly harmless. +The <i>Merrimac</i> simply barged into her, grated harshly against +her iron side, and sheered off beaten. The firing was furious and +mostly at pointblank range. Once the <i>Monitor</i> fired while +the sides were actually touching. The concussion was so tremendous +that all the <i>Merrimac's</i> gun-crews aft were struck down flat, +with bleeding ears and noses. But in spite of this her boarders +were called away; whereupon every man who could handle cutlass +and revolver made ready and stood by. The <i>Monitor</i>, however, +dropped astern too quickly; and the wallowing <i>Merrimac</i> had +no chance of catching her. The fight <a name="page_91"><span +class="page">Page 91</span></a> had lasted all through that calm +spring morning when the <i>Monitor</i> steamed off, across the +shallows, still keeping carefully between the <i>Merrimac</i> and +<i>Minnesota</i>. It was a drawn battle. But the effect was that of +a Northern victory; for the <i>Merrimac</i> was balked of her easy +prey, and the North gained time to outbuild the South completely. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Outbuilding the South of course meant tightening the "anaconda" +system of blockade, in the entangling coils of which the South +was caught already. Three thousand miles of Southern coastline +was, however, more than the North could blockade or even watch to +its own satisfaction all at once. Fogs, storms, and clever ruses +played their part on behalf of those who ran the blockade, especially +during the first two years; and it was almost more than human nature +could stand to keep forever on the extreme alert, day after dreary +day, through the deadly boredom of a long blockade. Like caged +eagles the crews passed many a weary week of dull monotony without +the chance of swooping on a chase. "Smoke ho!" would be called +from the main-topgallant cross-tree. "Where away?" would be called +back from the deck. "Up the river, Sir!"—and there it would +stay, the very mark of hope deferred. Occasionally a cotton ship <a +name="page_92"><span class="page">Page 92</span></a> would make a +dash, with lights out on a dark night, or through a dense fog, when +her smoke might sometimes be conned from the tops. Occasionally, +too, a foreigner would try to run in, and not seldom succeed, because +only the fastest vessels tried to run the blockade after the first +few months. But the general experience was one of utter boredom +rarely relieved by a stroke of good luck. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The South could not break the blockade. But the North could tighten +it, and did so repeatedly, not only at sea but by establishing strong +strategic centers of its own along the Southern coast. We have seen +already how Hatteras <a name="page_93"><span class="page">Page +93</span></a> Island was taken in '61, five weeks after Bull Run. +Within another three weeks Ship Island was also taken, to the great +disadvantage of the Gulf ports and the corresponding advantage of +the Federal fleet blockading them; for Ship Island commanded the +coastwise channels between Mobile and New Orleans, the two great +scenes of Farragut's success. Then, on the seventh of November, +the day that Grant began his triumphant career by dealing the +Confederates a shrewd strategic blow at Belmont in Missouri, South +Carolina suffered a worse defeat at Port Royal (where she lost +Forts Beauregard and Walker) than North Carolina had suffered at +Hatteras Island. Admiral S. F. Du Pont managed the naval part of +the Port Royal expedition with consummate skill, especially the +fine fleet action off Hilton Head against the Southern ships and +forts. He was ably seconded by General Thomas West Sherman, commanding +the troops. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +North Carolina's turn soon came again, when she lost Roanoke Island +(and with it the command of Albemarle Sound) on February 8, 1862; +and when she also had Pamlico Sound shut against her by a joint +expedition that struck down her defenses as far inland as Newbern +on the fourteenth of March. Then came the turn of Georgia, where +Fort Pulaski, the outpost of Savannah, fell to the Federals on +the eleventh of April. Within another month Florida was even more +hardly hit when the pressure of the Union fleet and army on Virginia +compelled the South to use as reinforcements the garrison that +had held Pensacola since the beginning of the war. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +These were all severe blows to the Southern cause. But they were +nothing to the one which immediately followed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The idea of an attack on New Orleans had been conceived in June, +'61, by Commander (afterwards Admiral) D. D. Porter, of the U.S.S. +<i>Powhatan</i>, when he was helping to blockade the Mississippi. +<a name="page_94"><span class="page">Page 94</span></a> The Navy +Department had begun thinking over the same idea in September and had +worked out a definite scheme. New Orleans was of immense strategic +importance, as being the link between the sea and river systems of +the war. The mass of people and their politicians, on both sides, +absurdly thought of New Orleans as the objective of a land invasion +from the north. Happily for the Union cause, Gustavus Fox, Assistant +Secretary of the Navy, knew better and persuaded his civilian chief, +Gideon Welles, that this was work for a joint expedition, with the +navy first, the army second. The navy could take New Orleans. The +army would have to hold it. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The squadron destined for this enterprise was commanded by David +Glasgow Farragut, who arrived at Ship Island on February 20, 1862, +in the <i>Hartford</i>, the famous man-of-war that carried his flag +in triumph to the end. Unlike Lee and Jackson, Grant and Sherman, +the other four great leaders in the Civil War, Farragut was not an +American whose ancestors on both sides had come from the British +Isles. Like Lee, however, he was of very ancient lineage, one of +his ancestors, Don Pedro Farragut, having held a high command under +the King of Aragon in the Moorish wars of <a name="page_95"><span +class="page">Page 95</span></a> the thirteenth century. Farragut's +father was a pure-blooded Spaniard, born under the British flag in +Minorca in 1755. Half Spanish, half Southern by descent, Farragut +was wholly Southern by family environment. His mother, Elizabeth +Shine, was a native of North Carolina. He spent his early boyhood +in New Orleans. Both his first and second wives came from Virginia; +and he made his home at Norfolk. On the outbreak of the war, however, +he immediately went North and applied for employment with the Union +fleet. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut was the oldest of the five great leaders, being now sixty +years of age, while Lee was fifty-five, Sherman forty-two, Grant +forty, and Jackson thirty-eight. He was, however, fit as an athlete +in training, able to turn a handspring on his birthday and to hold +his own in swordsmanship against any of his officers. Of middle +height, strong build, and rather plain features, he did not attract +attention in a crowd. But his alert and upright carriage, keenly +interested look, and genial smile impressed all who ever knew him +with a sense of native kindliness and power. Though far too great a +master of the art of war to interfere with his subordinates he always +took care to understand their duties from their own points of view +so that he could control <a name="page_96"><span class="page">Page +96</span></a> every part of the complex naval instruments of +war—human and material alike—with a sure and inspiring +touch. His one weakness as a leader was his generous inclination +to give subordinates the chance of distinguishing themselves when +they could have done more useful service in a less conspicuous +position. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 505px;"> +<a name="fig_05"> +<img src="images/fig_05.jpg" width="505" height="655" alt="Fig. 5"></a> +<p class="image"><i>ADMIRAL D. G. FARRAGUT</i><br /> +Photograph by Brady.</p> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut's base at Ship Island was about a hundred miles east from +the Confederate Forts Jackson and St. Philip. These forts guarded +the entrance to the Mississippi. Ninety miles above them stood New +Orleans, to which they gave protection and from which they drew all +their supplies. The result of a conference at Washington was an order +from Welles to "reduce the defenses which guard the approaches to New +Orleans." But Farragut's own infinitely better plan was to run past +the forts and take New Orleans first. By doing this he would save +the extra loss required for reducing the forts and would take the +weak defenses of New Orleans entirely by surprise. Then, when New +Orleans fell, the forts, cut off from all supplies, would have to +surrender without the firing of another shot. Everything depended +on whether Farragut could run past without too much loss. Profoundly +versed in all the factors of the problem, <a name="page_97"><span +class="page">Page 97</span></a> he foresaw that his solution would +prove right, while Washington's would as certainly be wrong. So, +taking the utmost advantage of all the freedom that his general +instructions allowed, he followed a course in which anything short +of complete success would mean the ruin of his whole career. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The forts were strong, had ninety guns that would bear on the fleet, +and were well placed, one on each side of the river. But they suffered +from all the disadvantages of fixed defenses opposed by a mobile +enemy, and their own mobile auxiliaries were far from being +satisfactory. The best of the "River Defense Fleet," including +several rams, had been ordered up to Memphis, so sure was the +Confederate Government that the attack would come from the north. +Two home-made ironclads were failures. The <i>Louisiana's</i> engines +were not ready in time; and her captain refused to be towed into +the position near the boom where he could do the enemy most harm. +The <i>Mississippi</i>, a mere floating house, built by ordinary +carpenters, never reached the forts at all and was burnt by her +own men at New Orleans. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut felt sure of his fleet. He had four splendid new men-of-war +that formed a homogeneous squadron, four other sizable warships, +and nine <a name="page_98"><span class="page">Page 98</span></a> +new gunboats. All spars and rigging that could be dispensed with +were taken down; all hulls camouflaged with Mississippi mud; and +all decks whitened for handiness at night. A weak point, however, +was the presence of mortar-boats that would have been better out +of the way altogether. These boats had been sent to bombard the +forts, which, according to the plan preferred by the Government, +were to be taken before New Orleans was attacked. In other words, +the Government wished to cut off the branches first; while Farragut +wished to cut down the tree itself, knowing the branches must fall +with the trunk. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the eighteenth of April the mortar-boats began heaving shells +at the forts. But, after six days of bombardment, the forts were +nowhere near the point of surrendering, and the supply of shells +had begun to run low. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile the squadron had been busy preparing for the great ordeal. +The first task was to break the boom across the river. This boom +was placed so as to hold the ships under the fire of the forts; +and the four-knot spring current was so strong that the eight-knot +ships could not make way enough against it to cut clear through +with certainty. Moreover, the middle of the boom was <a +name="page_99"><span class="page">Page 99</span></a> filled in +by eight big schooners, chained together, with their masts and +rigging dragging astern so as to form a most awkward entanglement. +Farragut's fleet captain, Henry H. Bell, taking two gunboats, +<i>Itasca</i> and <i>Pinola</i>, under Lieutenants Caldwell and +Crosby, slipped the chains of one schooner; whereupon this schooner +and the <i>Itasca</i> swung back and grounded under fire of the +forts. The <i>Pinola</i> gallantly stood by, helping <i>Itasca</i> +clear. Then Caldwell, with splendid audacity and skill, steamed up +through the narrow gap, turned round, put on the <i>Itasca's</i> +utmost speed, and, with the current in his favor, charged full +tilt against the chains that still held fast. For one breathless +moment the little <i>Itasca</i> seemed lost. Her bows rose clear +out, as, quivering from stem to stern, she was suddenly brought up +short from top speed to nothing. But, in another fateful minute, +with a rending crash, the two nearest schooners gave way and swept +back like a gate, while the <i>Itasca</i> herself shot clear and +came down in triumph to the fleet. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The passage was made on the twenty-fourth, in line-ahead (that +is, one after another) because Farragut found the opening narrower +than he thought it should be for two columns abreast, at night, +under fire, and against the spring current. <a name="page_100"><span +class="page">Page 100</span></a> Owing to the configuration of +the channel the starboard column had to weigh first, which gave +the lead to the 500-ton gunboat <i>Cayuga</i>. This was the one +weak point, because the leading vessel, drawing most fire, should +have been the strongest. The fault was Farragut's; for his heart +got the better of his head when it came to placing Captain Theodorus +Bailey, his dauntless second-in-command, on board a vessel fit +to lead the starboard column. He could not bear to obscure any +captain's chances of distinction by putting another captain over +him. So Bailey was sent to the best vessel commanded by a lieutenant. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The <i>Cayuga's</i> navigating officer, finding that the guns of +the forts were all trained on midstream, edged in towards Fort +St. Philip. His masts were shot to pieces, but his hull drew clear +without great damage. "Then," he says, "I looked back for some of +our vessels; and my heart jumped up into my mouth when I found +I could not see a single one. I thought they must all have been +sunk by the forts." But not a ship had gone down. The three big +ones of the starboard column—<i>Pensacola, Mississippi</i>, +and <i>Oneida</i>—closed with the fort (so that the gunners on +both sides exchanged jeers of defiance) and kept up a furious fire +till the <a name="page_101"><span class="page">Page 101</span></a> +lighter craft astern slipped past safely and joined the <i>Cayuga</i> +above. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile the <i>Cayuga</i> had been attacked by a mob of Mississippi +steamers, six of which belonged to the original fourteen blessed +with their precious independence by Secretary Benjamin, "backed +by the whole Missouri Delegation." So when the rest of the Federal +light craft came up, "all sorts of things happened" in a general +free fight. There was no lack of Confederate courage; but an utter +absence of concerted action and of the simplest kind of naval skill, +except on the part of the two vessels commanded by ex-officers +of the United States Navy. The Federal light craft cut their way +through their unorganized opponents as easily as a battalion of +regulars could cut through a mob throwing stones. But the only +two Confederate naval officers got clear of the scrimmage and did +all that skill could do with their makeshift little craft against +the Federal fleet. Kennon singled out the <i>Varuna</i> (the only +one of Farragut's vessels that was not a real man-of-war), raked +her stern with the two guns of his own much inferior vessel, the +<i>Governor Moore</i>, and rammed her into a sinking condition. +Warley flew at bigger game with his little ram, the <i>Manassas</i>, +trying three of the large men-of-war, one <a name="page_102"><span +class="page">Page 102</span></a> after another, as they came upstream. +The <i>Pensacola</i> eluded him by a knowing turn of her helm that +roused his warmest admiration. The <i>Mississippi</i> caught the +blow glancingly on her quarter and got off with little damage. The +<i>Brooklyn</i> was taken fair and square amidships; but, though +her planking was crushed in, she sprang no serious leak and went +on with the fight. The wretched little Confederate engines had +not been able to drive the ram home. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The <i>Brooklyn</i> was the flagship <i>Hartford's</i> next-astern +and the <i>Richmond's</i> next-ahead, these three forming the main +body of Farragut's own port column, which followed hard on the +heels of the starboard one, so hard, indeed, that there were only +twenty minutes between the first shot fired by the forts at the +<i>Cayuga</i> and the first shot fired by the <i>Hartford</i> at +the forts. Besides the forts there was the <i>Louisiana</i> floating +battery that helped to swell the storm of shot and shell; and down the +river came a fire-raft gallantly towed by a tug. The <i>Hartford</i> +sheered off, over towards Fort St. Philip, under whose guns she took +ground by the head while the raft closed in and set her ablaze. +Instantly the hands on fire duty sprang to their work. But the +flames rushed in through the ports; <a name="page_103"><span +class="page">Page 103</span></a> and the men were forced a step +back. Farragut at once called out: "Don't flinch from the fire, +boys. There's a hotter fire than that for those who don't do their +duty!" Whereupon they plied their hoses to such good effect that +the fire was soon got under control. Farragut calmly resumed his +walk up and down the poop, while the gunners blew the gallant little +tug to bits and smashed the raft in pieces. Then he stood keenly +watching the <i>Hartford</i> back clear, gather way, and take the +lead upstream again. Every now and then he looked at the pocket +compass that hung from his watch chain; though, for the most part, +he tried to scan a scene of action lit only by the flashes of the +guns. The air was dense and very still; so the smoke of guns and +funnels hung like a pall over both the combatants while the desperate +fight went on. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At last the fleet fought through and reached the clearer atmosphere +above the forts; all but the last three gunboats, which were driven +back by the fire. Then Farragut immediately sent word to General +Benjamin F. Butler that the troops could be brought up by the bayous +that ran parallel to the river out of range of the forts. But the +General, having taken in the situation at a glance from a <a +name="page_104"><span class="page">Page 104</span></a> transport +just below the scene of action, had begun to collect his men at +Sable Island, twelve miles behind Fort St. Philip, long before +Farragut's messenger could reach him by way of the Quarantine Bayou. +From Sable Island the troops were taken by the transports to a +point on the Mississippi five miles above Fort St. Philip. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After a well-earned rest the whole fleet moved up to New Orleans +on the twenty-fifth, turning the city's lines five miles downstream +without the loss of a man, for the simple reason that these had +been built only to resist an army, and so lay with flanks entirely +open to a fleet. General Lovell (the able commander who had so +often warned the Confederate Government of the danger from the sea) +at once evacuated the defenseless city. The best of the younger men +were away with the armies. The best of the older men were too few for +the storm. And so pandemonium broke loose. Burning boats, blazing +cotton, and a howling mob greeted Farragut's arrival. But after the +forts (now completely cut off from their base) had surrendered +on the twenty-eighth a landing party from the fleet soon brought +the mob to its senses by planting howitzers in the streets and +lowering the Confederate colors over the city hall. On the first +of May a garrison <a name="page_105"><span class="page">Page +105</span></a> of Federal troops took charge of New Orleans and +kept it till the war was over. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +New Orleans was a most pregnant Federal victory; for it established a +Union base at the great strategic point where sea-power and land-power +could meet most effectively in Mississippi waters. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But it was followed by a perfect anti-climax; for the Federal +Government, having planned a naval concentration at Vicksburg, +determined to put the plan in operation; though all the naval and +military means concerned made such a plan impossible of execution in +1862. Amphibious forces—fleets and armies combined—were +essential. There was no use in parading up and down the river, +however triumphantly, so long as the force employed could only +hold the part of the channel within actual range of its guns. The +Confederates could be driven off the Mississippi at any given point. +But there was nothing to prevent them from coming back again when +once the ships had passed. An army to seize and hold strategic +points ashore was absolutely indispensable. Then, and only then, +Farragut's long line of communication with his base at New Orleans +would be safe, and the land in which the <a name="page_106"><span +class="page">Page 106</span></a> Mississippi was the principal +highway could itself be conquered. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +"If the Mississippi expedition from Cairo shall not have descended +the river, you will take advantage of the panic to push a strong +force up the river to take all their defenses in rear." These were +the orders Farragut had to obey if he succeeded in taking New Orleans. +They were soon reinforced by this reminder: "The only anxiety we feel +is to know if you have followed up your instructions and pushed a +strong force up the river to meet the Western flotilla." Farragut +therefore felt bound to obey and do all that could be done to carry +on a quite impossible campaign. So, with a useless landing party +of only fifteen hundred troops, he pushed up to Vicksburg, four +hundred miles above New Orleans. The nearest Federal army had been +halted by the Confederate defenses above Memphis, another four +hundred higher still. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There were several reasons why Farragut should not have gone up. +His big ships would certainly be stranded if he went up and waited +for the army to come down; moreover, when stranded, these ships +would be captured while waiting, because both banks were swarming +with vastly outnumbering Confederate troops. Then, such a disaster +<a name="page_107"><span class="page">Page 107</span></a> would more +than offset the triumph of New Orleans by still further depressing +Federal morale at a time when the Federal arms were doing none +too well near Washington. Finally, all the force that was being +worse than wasted up the Mississippi might have been turned against +Mobile, which, at that time, was much weaker than the defenses +Farragut had already overcome. But the people of the North were +clamorous for more victories along the line to which the press +had drawn their gaze. So the Government ordered the fleet to carry +on this impossible campaign. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut did his best. Within a month of passing the forts he had +not only captured New Orleans and repaired the many serious damages +suffered by his fleet but had captured Baton Rouge, and taken even +his biggest ships to Vicksburg, five hundred miles from the Gulf, +against a continuous current, and right through the heart of a +hostile land. Finding that there were thirty thousand Confederates +in, near, or within a day of Vicksburg he and General Thomas Williams +agreed that nothing could be done with the fifteen hundred troops +which formed the only landing party. Sickness and casualties had +reduced the ships' companies; so there were not even a few seamen to +spare as reinforcements <a name="page_108"><span class="page">Page +108</span></a> for these fifteen hundred soldiers, whom Butler +had sent, under Williams, with the fleet. Then Farragut turned +back, his stores running dangerously short owing to the enormous +difficulties of keeping open his long, precarious line of +communications. "I arrived in New Orleans with five or six days' +provisions and one anchor, and am now trying to procure others.... +Fighting is nothing to the evils of the river—getting on +shore, running foul of one another, losing anchors, etc." In a +confidential letter home he is still more outspoken. "They will +keep us in this river till the vessels break down and all the little +reputation we have made has evaporated. The Government appears +to think that we can do anything. They expect me to navigate the +Mississippi nine hundred miles in the face of batteries, ironclad +rams, etc.; and yet with all the ironclad vessels they have North +they could not get to Norfolk or Richmond." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Back from Washington came still more urgent orders to join the +Mississippi flotilla which was coming down to Vicksburg from the +north under Flag Officer Charles H. Davis. So once more the fleet +worked its laboriously wasteful way up to Vicksburg, where it passed +the forts with the help of Porter's flotilla of mortar-boats on +the <a name="page_109"><span class="page">Page 109</span></a> +twenty-eighth of June and joined Davis on the first of July. There, +in useless danger, the joint forces lay till the fifteenth, the +day on which Grant's own "most anxious period of the war" began +on the Memphis-Corinth line, four hundred miles above. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut, getting very anxious about the shoaling of the water, +was then preparing to run down when he heard firing in the Yazoo, +a tributary that joined the Mississippi four miles higher up. This +came from a fight between one of his reconnoitering gunboats, the +<i>Carondelet</i>, and the <i>Arkansas</i>, an ironclad Confederate +ram that would have been very dangerous indeed if her miserable +engines had been able to give her any speed. She was beating the +<i>Carondelet</i>, but getting her smoke-stack so badly holed that +her speed dropped down to one knot, which scarcely gave her steerage +way and made her unable to ram. Firing hard she ran the gauntlet of +both fleets and took refuge under the Vicksburg bluffs, whence she +might run out and ram the Union vessels below. Farragut therefore +ran down himself, hoping to smash her by successive broadsides in +passing. But the difficulties of the passage wasted the daylight, +so that he had to run by at night. She therefore survived his attack, +<a name="page_110"><span class="page">Page 110</span></a> and went +downstream to join the Confederates against Baton Rouge. But her +engines gave way before she got there; and she had to be blown +up. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut was back at New Orleans before the end of July. On the +fifth of August the Confederates made their attack on Baton Rouge; +but were beaten back by the Union garrison aided by three of Farragut's +gunboats and two larger vessels from Davis's command. The losses +were not very severe on either side; but the Union lost a leader +of really magnificent promise in its commanding general, Thomas +Williams, a great-hearted, cool-headed man and most accomplished +officer. The garrison of Baton Rouge, being too small and sickly +and exposed, was withdrawn to New Orleans a few days later. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then Farragut at last returned to the Gulf blockade. Davis went back +up the river, where he was succeeded by D. D. Porter in October. +And the Confederates, warned of what was coming, made Port Hudson +and Vicksburg as strong as they could. Vicksburg was now the only +point they held on the Mississippi where there were rails on both +sides; and the Red River, flowing in from the West between Vicksburg +and Port Hudson, was the only good line of communication connecting +<a name="page_111"><span class="page">Page 111</span></a> them +with Texas, whence so much of their meat was obtained. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For three months Farragut directed the Gulf blockade from Pensacola, +where, on the day of his arrival, the twentieth of August, he was the +first American to hoist an admiral's flag. The rank of rear-admiral +in the United States Navy had been created on the previous sixteenth +of July; and Farragut was the senior of the first three officers +upon whom it was conferred. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut became the ranking admiral just when the United States +Navy was having its hardest struggle to do its fivefold duty well. +There was commerce protection on the high seas, blockade along +the coast, coöperation with the army on salt water and on +fresh, and of course the destruction of the nascent Confederate +forces afloat. But perhaps a knottier problem than any part of +its combatant duty was how to manage, in the very midst of war, +that rapid expansion of its own strength for which no government +had let it prepare in time of peace. During this year the number +of vessels in commission grew from 264 to 427. Yet such a form +of expansion was much simpler than that of the enlisted men; and +the expansion of even the most highly trained enlisted personnel +<a name="page_112"><span class="page">Page 112</span></a> was very +much simpler than the corresponding expansion of the officers. +Happily for the United States Navy it started with a long lead +over its enemy. More happily still it could expand with the help +of greatly superior resources. Most happily of all, the sevenfold +expansion that was effected before the war was over could be made +under leaders like Farragut: leaders, that is, who, though in mere +numbers they were no more, in proportion to their whole service, +than the flag as mere material is to a man-of-war, were yet, as +is the flag, the living symbol of a people's soul. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Commerce protection on the high seas was an exceedingly harassing +affair. A few swift raiders, having the initiative, enjoyed great +advantages over a far larger number of defending vessels. Every +daring raid was trumpeted round the world, bringing down unmeasured, +and often unmerited, blame on the defense. The most successful +vigilance would, on the other hand, pass by unheeded. The Union +navy lacked the means of patrolling the sea lanes of commerce over +millions and millions of desolate square miles. Consequently the +war-risk insurance rose to a prohibitive height on vessels flying +the Stars and Stripes; and, as a further result, enormous transfers +were made to <a name="page_113"><span class="page">Page 113</span></a> +other flags. The incessant calls for recruits, afloat and ashore, +and to some extent the lure of the western lands, also robbed the +merchant service of its men. Thus, one way and another, the glory +of the old merchant marine departed with the Civil War. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Blockade was more to the point than any attempt to patrol the sea +lanes. Yet it was even more harassing; for it involved three distinct +though closely correlated kinds of operation: not only the seizure, +in conjunction with the army, of enemy ports, and the patrolling of +an enemy coastline three thousand miles long, but also the patrolling +of those oversea ports from which most contraband came. This oversea +patrol was the most effective, because it went straight to the +source of trouble. But it required extraordinary vigilance, because +it had to be conducted from beyond the three-mile limit, and with +the greatest care for all the rights of neutrals. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By mid-November Farragut was back at New Orleans. A month later +General Banks arrived with reinforcements. He superseded General +Butler and was under orders to coöperate with McClernand, +Grant's second-in-command, who was to come down the Mississippi +from Cairo. But <a name="page_114"><span class="page">Page +114</span></a> the proposed meeting of the two armies never took +place. Banks remained south of Port Hudson, McClernand far north +of Vicksburg; for, as we shall see in the next chapter, Sherman's +attempt to take Vicksburg from the North failed on the twenty-ninth +of December. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The naval and river campaigns of '62 thus ended in disappointment +for the Union. And, on New Year's Day, Galveston, which Farragut had +occupied in October without a fight and which was lightly garrisoned +by three hundred soldiers, fell into Confederate hands under most +exasperating circumstances. After the captain and first lieutenant +of the U.S.S. <i>Harriet Lane</i> had been shot by the riflemen +aboard two cotton-clad steamers the next officer tamely surrendered. +Commander Renshaw, who was in charge of the blockade, amply redeemed +the honor of the Navy by refusing to surrender the <i>Westfield</i>, +in spite of the odds against him, and by blowing her up instead. +But when he died at the post of duty the remaining Union vessels +escaped; and the blockade was raised for a week. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After that Commodore H. H. Bell, one of Farragut's best men, closed +in with a grip which never let go. Yet even Bell suffered a reverse +when he <a name="page_115"><span class="page">Page 115</span></a> +sent the U.S.S. <i>Hatteras</i> to overhaul a strange vessel that +lured her off some fifteen miles and sank her in a thirteen-minute +fight. This stranger was the <i>Alabama</i>, then just beginning her +famous or notorious career. Nor were these the only Union troubles +in the Gulf during the first three weeks of the new year. Commander +J. N. Matt ran the <i>Florida</i> out of Mobile, right through the +squadron that had been specially strengthened to deal with her; +and the shore defenses of the Sabine Pass, like those of Galveston, +fell into Confederate hands again, to remain there till the war was +over. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In spite of all failures, however, Farragut still had the upper +hand along the Gulf, and up the Mississippi as far as New Orleans, +without which admirable base the River War of '62 could never +have prepared the way for Grant's magnificent victory in the River +War of '63. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_116"><span class="page">Page 116</span></a> +CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">THE RIVER WAR: 1862</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The military front stretched east and west across the border States +from the Mississippi Valley to the sea. This immense and fluctuating +front, under its various and often changed commanders, was never +a well coördinated whole. The Alleghany Mountains divided +the eastern or Virginian wing from the western or "River" wing. +Yet there was always more or less connection between these two +main parts, and the fortunes of one naturally affected those of +the other. Most eyes, both at home and abroad, were fixed on the +Virginian wing, where the Confederate capital stood little more +than a hundred miles from Washington, where the greatest rival +armies fought, and where decisive victory was bound to have the most +momentous consequences. But the River wing was hardly less important; +for there the Union Government actually hoped to reach these three +supreme objectives <a name="page_117"><span class="page">Page +117</span></a> in this one campaign: the absolute possession of the +border States, the undisputed right of way along the Mississippi +from Cairo to the Gulf, and the triumphant invasion of the lower +South in conjunction with the final conquest of Virginia. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +We have seen already how the Union navy, aided by the army, won +its way up the Mississippi from the Gulf to Baton Rouge, but failed +to secure a single point beyond. We shall now see how the Union +army, aided by the navy, won its way down the Mississippi from +Cairo to Memphis, and fairly attained the first objective—the +possession of the border States; but how it also failed from the +north, as the others had failed from the south, to gain a footing +on the crucial stretch between Vicksburg and Port Hudson. One more +year was required to win the Mississippi; two more to invade the +lower South; three to conquer Virginia. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Just after the fall of Fort Sumter the Union Government had the +foresight to warn James B. Eads, the well-known builder of Mississippi +jetties, that they would probably draw upon his "thorough knowledge +of our Western rivers and the use of steam on them." But it was +not till August that they gave him the contract for the regular +gunboat <a name="page_118"><span class="page">Page 118</span></a> +flotilla; and it was not till the following year that his vessels +began their work. In the meantime the armies were asking for all +sorts of transport and protective craft. So the first flotilla on +Mississippi waters started under the War (not the Navy) Department, +though manned under the executive orders of Commander John Rodgers, +U. S. N., who bought three river steamers at Cincinnati, lowered +their engines, strengthened their frames, protected their decks, +and changed them into gunboats. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first phase of the clash in this land of navigable rivers had +ended, as we have seen already, with the taking of Boonville on +the Missouri by that staunch and daring Union regular, General +Nathaniel Lyon, on June 17, 1861. Boonville was a stunning blow to +secession in those parts. Confederate hopes, however, again rose +high when the news of Bull Run came through. At this time General +John C. Frémont was taking command of all the Union forces +in the "Western Department," which included Illinois and everything +between the Mississippi and the Rockies. Frémont's command, +however, was short and full of trouble. Round his headquarters +at St. Louis the Confederate colors were flaunted in his face. +His requisitions for arms and money were not met at Washington. +Union <a name="page_119"><span class="page">Page 119</span></a> +regiments marched in without proper equipment and with next to +no supplies. There were boards of inquiry on his contracts. There +were endless cross-purposes between him and Washington. And early +in November he was transferred to West Virginia just as he was +about to attack with what seemed to him every prospect of success. +He had not succeeded. But he had done good work in fortifying St. +Louis; in ordering gunboats, tugs, and mortar-boats; in producing +some kind of system out of utter confusion; in trusting good men +like Lyon; and in sending the then unknown Ulysses Grant to take +command at Cairo, the excellent strategic base where the Ohio joins +the Mississippi. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The most determined fighting that took place during Frémont's +command was brought on by Lyon, who attacked Ben McCulloch at Wilson's +Creek, in southwest Missouri, on the tenth of August. Though McCulloch +had ten thousand, against not much over five, Lyon was so set on +driving the Confederates away from such an important lead-bearing +region that he risked an attack, hoping by surprise, skillful maneuvers, +and the help of his regulars to shake the enemy's hold, even if +he could not thoroughly defeat him. <a name="page_120"><span +class="page">Page 120</span></a> Disheartened by his repeated failure +to get reinforcements, and very anxious about the fate of his flanking +column under Sigel, whose attack from the rear was defeated, he +expressed his forebodings to his staff. But the light of battle +shone bright as ever in his eyes; he was killed leading a magnificent +charge; and when, after his death, his little army drew off in good +order, the Confederates, by their own account, "were glad to see +him go." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the twentieth of September the Confederates under Sterling Price +won a barren victory by taking Lexington, Missouri, where Colonel +James Mulligan made a gallant defense. That was the last Confederate +foothold on the Missouri; and it could not be maintained. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In October, Anderson, who had never recovered from the strain of +defending Fort Sumter, turned over to Sherman the very troublesome +Kentucky command. Sherman pointed out to the visiting Secretary of +War, Simon Cameron, that while McClellan had a hundred thousand +men for a front of a hundred miles in Virginia, and Frémont +had sixty thousand for about the same distance, he (Sherman) had +been given only eighteen thousand to guard the link between them, +although this link stretched out three hundred miles. Sherman then +<a name="page_121"><span class="page">Page 121</span></a> asked for +sixty thousand men at once; and said two hundred thousand would +be needed later on. "Good God!" said Cameron, "where are they to +come from?" Come they had to, as Sherman foresaw. Cameron made +trouble at Washington by calling Sherman's words "insane"; and +Sherman's "insanity" became a stumbling-block that took a long time +to remove. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant, in command at Cairo, began his career as a general by cleverly +forestalling the enemy at Paducah, where the Tennessee flows into the +Ohio. Then, on the seventh of November, he closed the first confused +campaign on the Mississippi by attacking Belmont, Missouri, twenty +miles downstream from Cairo, in order to prevent the Confederates at +Columbus, Kentucky, right opposite, from sending reinforcements to +Sterling Price in Arkansas. There was a stiff fight, in which the +Union gunboats did good work. Grant handled his soldiers equally +well; and the Union objective was fully attained. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Halleck, the Federal Commander-in-Chief for the river campaign +of '62, fixed his headquarters at St. Louis. From this main base +his right wing had rails as far as Rolla, whence the mail road +went <a name="page_122"><span class="page">Page 122</span></a> on +southwest, straight across Missouri. At Lebanon, near the middle +of the State, General Samuel R. Curtis was concentrating, before +advancing still farther southwest against the Confederates whom +he eventually fought at Pea Ridge. From St. Louis there was good +river, rail, and road connection south to Halleck's center in the +neighborhood of Cairo, where General Ulysses S. Grant had his chief +field base, at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio. A little +farther east Grant had another excellent position at Paducah, beside +the junction of the Ohio and the Tennessee. Naval forces were of course +indispensable for this amphibious campaign; and in Flag-Officer Andrew +Hull Foote the Western Flotilla had a commander able to coöperate +with the best of his military colleagues. Halleck's left—a +semi-independent command—was based on the Ohio, stretched +clear across Kentucky, and was commanded by a good organizer and +disciplinarian, General Don Carlos Buell, whose own position at +Munfordville was not only near the middle of the State but about +midway between the important railway junctions of Louisville and +Nashville. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Henry W. Halleck was a middle-aged, commonplace, and very cautious +general, who faithfully <a name="page_123"><span class="page">Page +123</span></a> plodded through the war without defeat or victory. He +looked so long before he leaped that he never leaped at all—not +even on retreating enemies. Good for the regular office-work routine, +he was like a hen with ducklings for this river war, in which Curtis, +Grant, Buell, and his naval colleague Foote, were all his betters +on the fighting line. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +His opponent, Albert Sidney Johnston, was also middle-aged, being +fifty-nine; but quite fit for active service. Johnston had had +a picturesque career, both in and out of the army; and many on +both sides thought him likely to prove the greatest leader of the +war. He was, however, a less formidable opponent than Northerners +were apt to think. He was not a consummate genius like Lee. He had +inferior numbers and resources; and the Confederate Government +interfered with him. Yet they did have the good sense to put both +sides of the Mississippi under his unified command, including not +only Kentucky and Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas, but the whole +of the crucial stretch from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. In this they +were wiser than the Federal Government with Halleck's command, +which was neither so extensive nor so completely unified. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_124"><span class="page">Page 124</span></a> Johnston +took post in his own front line at Bowling Green, Kentucky, not far +south of Buell's position at Munfordville. He was very anxious to +keep a hold on Kentucky and Missouri, along the southern frontiers +of which his forces were arrayed. His extreme right was thrown +northward under General Marshall to Prestonburg, near the border of +West Virginia, in the dangerous neighborhood of many Union mountain +folk. His southern outpost on the right was also in the same kind +of danger at Cumberland Gap, a strategic pass into the Alleghanies +at a point where Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet. Halfway +west from there, to Bowling Green the Confederates hoped to hold +the Cumberland near Logan's Cross Roads and Mill Springs. Westwards +from Bowling Green Johnston's line held positions at Fort Donelson +on the Cumberland, Fort Henry on the Tennessee, and Columbus on +the Mississippi. All his Trans-Mississippi troops were under the +command of the enthusiastic Earl Van Dorn, who hoped to end his +spring campaign in triumph at St. Louis. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The fighting began in January at the northeastern end of the line, +where the Union Government, chiefly for political reasons, was +particularly <a name="page_125"><span class="page">Page 125</span></a> +anxious to strengthen the Unionists that lived all down the western +Alleghanies and so were a thorn in the side of the solid South +beyond. On the tenth Colonel James A. Garfield, a future President, +attacked and defeated Marshall near Prestonburg and occupied the +line of Middle Creek. The Confederates, half starved, half clad, +ill armed, slightly outnumbered, and with no advantage except their +position, fought well, but unavailingly. Only some three thousand +men were engaged on both sides put together. Yet the result was +important because it meant that the Confederates had lost their +hold on the eastern end of Kentucky, which was now in unrestricted +touch with West Virginia. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Within eight days a greater Union commander, General G. H. Thomas, +emerged as the victor of a much bigger battle at Mill Springs and +Logan's Cross Roads on the upper Cumberland, ninety miles due east +of Bowling Green. The victory was complete, and Thomas's name was +made. Thomas, indeed, was known already as a man whose stentorian +orders had to be obeyed; and a clever young Confederate prisoner +used this reputation as his excuse for getting beaten: "We were doing +pretty good fighting till old man Thomas rose up in his stirrups, +and we heard him holler out: 'Attention, <a name="page_126"><span +class="page">Page 126</span></a> Creation! By kingdoms, right wheel!' +Then we knew you had us." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There were only about four thousand men a side. But in itself, and +in conjunction with Garfield's little victory at Prestonburg, the +battle of Logan's Cross Roads was important as raising the Federal +morale, as breaking through Johnston's right, and as opening the road +into eastern Tennessee. Short supplies and almost impassable roads, +however, prevented a further advance. One brigade was therefore +detached against Cumberland Gap, while the rest joined Buell's +command, which was engaged in organizing, drilling hard, and keeping +an eye on Johnston. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In February the scene of action changed to Johnston's left center, +where Forts Donelson and Henry were blocking the Federal advance +up the Cumberland and the Tennessee. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the fourth, Flag-Officer Foote, with seven gunboats, of which +four were ironclads, led the way up the Tennessee, against Fort +Henry. That day the furious current was dashing driftwood in whirling +masses against the flotilla, which had all it could do to keep +station, even with double anchors down and full steam up. Next +morning a new danger appeared in the shape of what looked like a +school <a name="page_127"><span class="page">Page 127</span></a> of +dead porpoises. These were Confederate torpedoes, washed from their +moorings. As it was now broad daylight they were all successfully +avoided; and the crews felt as if they had won the first round. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The sixth of February dawned clear, with just sufficient breeze to +blow the smoke away. The flotilla steamed up the swollen Tennessee +between the silent, densely wooded banks. Not a sound was heard ashore +until, just after noon, Fort Henry came into view and answered the +flagship's signal shot with a crashing discharge of all its big +guns. Then the fire waxed hot and heavy on both sides, the gunboats +knocking geyser-spouts of earth about the fort, and the fort knocking +gigantic splinters out of the gunboats. The <i>Essex</i> ironclad +was doing very well when a big shot crashed into her middle boiler, +which immediately burst like a shell, scalding the nearest men +to death, burning others, and sending the rest flying overboard +or aft. With both pilots dead and Commander W. D. Porter badly +scalded, the <i>Essex</i> was drifting out of action when the word +went round that Fort Henry had surrendered: and there, sure enough, +were the Confederate colors coming down. Instantly Porter rallied +for the moment, called for three cheers, and fell back exhausted +at the third. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_128"><span class="page">Page 128</span></a> The +Confederate General Tilghman surrendered to Foote with less than a +hundred men, all the rest, over twenty-five hundred, having started +towards Fort Donelson before the flag came down. The Western Flotilla +had won the day alone. But it was the fear of Grant's approaching +army that hurried the escaping garrison. An hour after the surrender +Grant rode in and took command. That night victors and vanquished +were dining together when a fussy staff officer came in to tell +Grant that he could not find the Confederate reports. On this Captain +Jesse Taylor, the chief Confederate staff officer, replied that he +had destroyed them. The angry Federal then turned on him with the +question, "Don't you know you've laid yourself open to punishment?" +and was storming along, when Grant quietly broke in: "I should be +very much surprised and mortified if one of my subordinate officers +should allow information which he could destroy to fall into the +hands of the enemy." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The surrender of Fort Henry, coming so soon after Prestonburg and +Logan's Cross Roads, caused great rejoicing in the loyal North. The +victory, effective in itself, was completed by sending the ironclad +<i>Carondelet</i> several miles upstream to destroy the Memphis-Ohio +railway bridge, thus <a name="page_129"><span class="page">Page +129</span></a> cutting the shortest line from Bowling Green to +the Mississippi. But the action, in which the army took no part, +was only a preliminary skirmish compared with the joint attack +of the fleet and army on Fort Donelson. Fort Donelson was of great +strategic importance. If it held fast, and the Federals were defeated, +then Johnston's line would probably hold from Bowling Green to +Columbus, and the rails, roads, and rivers would remain Confederate +in western Tennessee. If, on the other hand, Fort Donelson fell, +and more especially if its garrison surrendered, then Johnston's +line would have to be withdrawn at once, lest the same fate should +overtake the outflanked remains of it. Both sides understood this +perfectly well; and all concerned looked anxiously to see how the +new Federal commander, General Grant, would face the crisis. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Ulysses Simpson Grant came of sturdy New England stock, being eighth +in descent from Matthew Grant, who landed in 1630 and was Surveyor +of Connecticut for over forty years. Grant's mother was one of +the Simpsons who had been Pennsylvanians for several generations. +His family was therefore as racy of the North as Lee's <a +name="page_130"><span class="page">Page 130</span></a> was of the +South. His great-grandfather and great-granduncle, Noah and Solomon +Grant, held British commissions during the final French-and-Indian +or Seven Years' War (1756-63) when both were killed in the same +campaign. His grandfather Noah served all through the Revolutionary +War. Financial reverses and the death of his grandmother broke up +the family; and his father, Jesse Grant, was given the kindest +of homes by Judge Tod of Ohio. Jesse, being as independent as he +was grateful, turned his energies into the first business at hand, +which happened to be a tannery at Deerfield owned by the father of +that wild enthusiast John Brown. A great reader, an able contributor +to the Western press, and a most public-spirited citizen, Jesse Grant +was a good father to his famous son, who was born on April 27, 1822, +at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio. Young Grant hated the +tannery, but delighted in everything connected with horses; so he +looked after the teams. One day, after swapping horses many miles +from home, he found himself driving a terrified bolter that he only +just managed to stop on the edge of a big embankment. His grown-up +companion, who had no stomach for any more, then changed into a safe +freight wagon. But Ulysses, tying his <a name="page_131"><span +class="page">Page 131</span></a> bandanna over the runaway's eyes, +stuck to the post of danger. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After passing through West Point without any special distinction, +except that he came out first in horsemanship, Grant was disappointed +at not receiving the cavalry commission which he would have greatly +preferred to the infantry one he was given instead. Years later, +when already a rising general, he vainly yearned for a cavalry +brigade. Otherwise he had curiously little taste for military life; +though at West Point he thought the two finest men in the world +were Captain C. F. Smith, the splendidly smart Commandant, and, +even more, that magnificently handsome giant, Winfield Scott, who +came down to inspect the cadets. Some years after having served +with credit all through the Mexican War (when, like Lee, he learnt +so much about so many future friends and foes) he left the army, +not to return till he and Sherman had seen Blair and Lyon take Camp +Jackson. After wisely declining to reënter the service under the +patronage of General John Pope, who was full of self-importance about +his acquaintance with the Union leaders of Illinois, Grant wrote to +the Adjutant-General at Washington offering to command a regiment. +Like Sherman, he felt much more diffident <a name="page_132"><span +class="page">Page 132</span></a> about the rise from ex-captain of +regulars to colonel commanding a battalion than some mere civilians +felt about commanding brigades or directing the strategy of armies. +He has himself recorded his horror of sole responsibility as he +approached what might have been a little battlefield on which his +own battalion would have been pitted against a Southern one commanded +by a Colonel Harris. "My heart kept getting higher and higher until +it felt as though it was in my throat. I would have given anything +then to have been back in Illinois; but I had not the moral courage +to halt and consider what to do. When we reached a point from which +the valley below was in full view ... the troops were gone. My +heart resumed its place. It occurred to me at once that Harris had +been as much afraid of me as I had been of him. This was a view +of the question I never forgot." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant's latent powers developed rapidly. Starting with a good stock +of military knowledge he soon added to it in every way he could. He +had the insight of genius. Above all, he had an indomitable will +both in carrying out practicable plans in spite of every obstacle +and in ruthlessly dismissing every one who failed. Not tall, not +handsome, in no way striking at first sight, he looked the leader +<a name="page_133"><span class="page">Page 133</span></a> born only +by reason of his square jaw, keen eye, and determined expression. +Lincoln's conclusive answer to a deputation asking for Grant's removal +simply was, "he fights." And, when mounted on his splendid charger +Cincinnati, Grant even looked what he was—"a first-class +fighting man." +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Grant marched straight across the narrow neck of land between the +forts, which were only twelve miles apart. Foote of course had to +go round by the Ohio—fifteen times as far. His vanguard, +the dauntless <i>Carondelet</i>, now commanded by Henry Walke, +arrived on the twelfth and fired the first shots at the fort, which +stood on a bluff more than a hundred feet high and mounted fifteen +heavy guns in three tiers of fire. Grant's infantry was already in +position round the Confederate entrenchments; and when his soldiers +heard the naval guns they first gave three rousing cheers and then +began firing hard, lest the sailors should get ahead of them again. +Birge's sharpshooters, the snipers of those days, were particularly +keen. They never drilled as a battalion, but simply assembled in +bunches for orders, when Birge would ask: "Canteens full? Biscuits +for all day?" After which he would sing out: "All right, boys, +<a name="page_134"><span class="page">Page 134</span></a> hunt +your holes"; and off they would go to stalk the enemy with their +long-range rifles. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Early next morning Grant sent word to Walke that he was establishing +the rest of his batteries and that he was ready to take advantage +of any diversion which the <i>Carondelet</i> could make in his +favor. Walke then fired hard for two hours under cover of a wooded +point. The fort fired back equally hard; but with little effect +except for one big solid shot which stove in a casemate, knocked +down a dozen men, burst the steam heater, and bounded about the +engine room "like a wild beast pursuing its prey." Forty minutes +later the <i>Carondelet</i> was again in action, firing hard till +dark. Late that night Foote arrived with the rest of the flotilla. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The fourteenth was another naval day. Foote's flotilla advanced +gallantly, the four ironclads leading in line abreast, the two +wooden gunboats half a mile astern. The ironclads closed in to less +than a quarter-mile and hung on like bulldogs till the Confederates +in the lowest battery were driven from their guns. But the plunging +fire from the big guns on the bluff crashed down with ever increasing +effect. Davits were smashed like matches, boats knocked into kindling +wood, armor dented, <a name="page_135"><span class="page">Page +135</span></a> started, ripped, stripped, and sent splashing overboard +as if by strokes of lightning. Before the decks could be re-sanded +there was so much blood on them that the gun crews could hardly +work for slipping. Presently the <i>Pittsburgh</i> swung round, +ran foul of the <i>Carondelet</i>, and dropped downstream. The +pilot of the <i>St. Louis</i> was killed, and Foote, who stood +beside him, wounded. The wheel-ropes of the <i>St. Louis</i>, like +those of the <i>Louisville</i>, were shot away. The whole flotilla +then retired, still firing hard; and the Confederates wired a victory +to Richmond. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Both sides now redoubled their efforts; for Donelson was a great +prize and the forces engaged were second only to those at Bull Run. +Afloat and ashore, all ranks and ratings on both sides together, +there were fifty thousand men present at the investment from first to +last. The Confederates began with about twenty thousand, Grant with +fifteen thousand. But Grant had twenty-seven thousand fit for duty at +the end, in spite of all his losses. He was fortunate in his chief +staff officer, the devoted and capable John A. Rawlins, afterwards a +general and Secretary of War. Two of his divisional commanders, +Lew Wallace and, still more, C. F. Smith, the old Commandant of +Cadets, <a name="page_136"><span class="page">Page 136</span></a> +were also first-rate. But the third, McClernand, here began to +follow those distorting ideas which led to his dismissal later on. +The three chief Confederates ranked in reverse order of efficiency: +Floyd first and worst, cantankerous Pillow next, and Buckner best +though last. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Federal prospect was anything but bright on the evening of +the fourteenth. Foote had just been repulsed; while McClernand had +fought a silly little battle on his own account the day before, +to the delight of the Confederates and the grievous annoyance of +Grant. The fifteenth dawned on a scene of midwinter discomfort +in the Federal lines, where most of the rawest men had neither +great-coats nor blankets, having thrown them away during the short +march from Fort Henry, regardless of the fact that they would have +to bivouac at Donelson. Thus it was in no happy frame of mind that +Grant slithered across the frozen mud to see what Foote proposed; +and, when Foote explained that the gunboats would take ten days for +indispensable repairs, Grant resigned himself to the very unwelcome +idea of going through the long-drawn horrors of a regular winter +siege. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But, to his intense surprise, the enemy saved him the trouble. +At first, when they had a slight <a name="page_137"><span +class="page">Page 137</span></a> preponderance of numbers, they stood +fast and let Grant invest them. Now that he had the preponderance +they tried to cut their way out by the southern road, upstream, where +McClernand's division stood guard. As Grant came ashore from his +interview with Foote an aide met him with the news that McClernand +had been badly beaten and that the enemy was breaking out. Grant +set spurs to his horse and galloped the four muddy miles to his +left, where that admirable soldier, C. F. Smith, was as cool and +wary as ever, harassing the enemy's new rear by threatening an +assault, but keeping his division safe for whatever future use +Grant wanted. Wallace had also done the right thing, pressing the +enemy on his own front and sending a brigade to relieve the pressure +on McClernand. These two generals were in conversation during a lull +in the battle when Grant rode up, calmly returned their salutes, +attentively listened to their reports, and then, instead of trying +the Halleckian expedient of digging in farther back before the enemy +could make a second rush, quietly said: "Gentlemen, the position +on the right must be retaken." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant knew that Floyd was no soldier and that Pillow was a +stumbling-block. He read the enemy's mind like an open book and +made up his own at <a name="page_138"><span class="page">Page +138</span></a> once by the flash of intuition which told him that +their men were mostly as much demoralized by finding their first +attempt at escape more than half a failure as even McClernand's +were by being driven back. He decided to use Smith's fresh division +for an assault in rear, while McClernand's, stiffened by Wallace's, +should re-form and hold fast. Before leaving the excited officers and +men, who were talking in groups without thinking of their exhausted +ammunition, he called out cheerily "Fill your cartridge boxes quick, +and get into line. The enemy is trying to escape and he must not +be permitted to do so." McClernand's division, excellent men, but +not yet disciplined soldiers, responded at once to the touch of a +master hand; and as Grant rode off to Smith's he had the satisfaction +of seeing the defenseless groups melt, change, and harden into +well-armed lines. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Smith, ready at all points, had only to slip his own division from +the leash. Buckner, who was to have covered the Confederate escape, +was also ready with the guns of Fort Donelson and the rifles of +defenses that "looked too thick for a rabbit to get through." Smith, +knowing his unseasoned men would need the example of a commander +they could actually see, rode out in front of his center <a +name="page_139"><span class="page">Page 139</span></a> as if at +a formal review. "I was nearly scared to death," said one of his +followers, "but I saw the old man's white moustache over his shoulder, +and so I went on." As the line neared the Confederate abatis a +sudden gust of fire seemed to strike it numb. In an instant Smith +had his cap on the point of his sword. Then, rising in his stirrups +to his full gigantic height, he shouted in stentorian tones: "No +flinching now, my lads! Here—this way in! Come on!" In, through, +and out the other side they went, Smith riding ahead, holding his +sword and cap aloft, and seeming to bear a charmed life amid that +hail of bullets. Up the slope he rode, the Confederates retiring +before him, till, unscathed, he reached the deadly crest, where +the Union colors waved defiance and the Union troops stood fast. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Floyd, being under special indictment at Washington for misconduct +as Secretary of War, was so anxious to escape that he turned over +the command to Pillow, who declined it in favor of Buckner. That +night Floyd and Pillow made off with all the river steamers; Forrest's +cavalry floundered past McClernand's exposed flank, which rested on +a shallow backwater; and Buckner was left with over twelve thousand +men to make what terms he <a name="page_140"><span class="page">Page +140</span></a> could. Next morning, the sixteenth, he wrote to Grant +proposing the appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms +of surrender. But Grant had made up his mind that compromise was +out of place in civil war and that absolute defeat or victory were +the only alternatives. So he instantly wrote back the famous letter +which quickly earned him the appropriate nickname—suggested +by his own initials—of Unconditional Surrender Grant. +</p> + +<p class="quote" style="margin-left: 40%;"> +<br /> + Hd Qrs., Army in the Field<br /> +Camp near Donelson Feb'y 16th 1882 +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Gen. S. B. Buckner,<br /> + Confed. Army. +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Sir: Yours of this date proposing armistice, and appointment of +Commissioners to settle terms of capitulation is just received. +No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be +accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works +</p> + +<p class="quote" style="margin-left: 50%;"> +I am, Sir, very respectfully,<br /> + Your obt. sert.,<br /> + U. S. GRANT<br /> + Brig. Gen. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Grant and Buckner were old army friends; so their personal talk +was very pleasant at the little tavern where Buckner and his staff +had just breakfasted off corn bread and coffee, which was all the +Confederate stores afforded. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_141"><span class="page">Page 141</span></a> Donelson +at once became, like Grant, a name to conjure with. The fact that +the Union had at last won a fight in which the numbers neared, and +the losses much exceeded, those at Bull Run itself, the further +fact that this victory made a fatal breach in the defiant Southern +line beyond the Alleghanies, and the delight of discovering another, +and this time a genuine, hero in "Unconditional Surrender Grant," +all combined to set the loyal North aflame with satisfaction, pride, +and joyful expectation. Great things were expected in Virginia, +where the invasion had not yet begun. Great things were expected +in the Gulf, where Farragut had not yet tried the Mississippi. +And great things were expected to result from Donelson itself, +whence the Union forces were to press on south till they met other +Union forces pressing north. The river campaign was then to end +in a blaze of glory. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Donelson did have important results. Johnston, who had already +abandoned Bowling Green for Nashville, had now to abandon Nashville, +with most of its great and very sorely needed stores, as well as +the rest of Tennessee, and take up a new position along the rails +that ran from Memphis to Chattanooga, whence they forked northeast +to Richmond and Washington and southeast to <a name="page_142"><span +class="page">Page 142</span></a> Charleston and Savannah. Columbus +was also abandoned, and the only points left to the Confederates +anywhere near the old line were Island Number Ten in the Mississippi +and the Boston Mountains in Arkansas. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But the triumphant Union advance from the north did not take place +in '62. Grant was for pushing south as fast as possible to attack the +Confederates before they had time to defend their great railway junction +at Corinth. But Halleck was too cautious; and misunderstandings, +coupled with division of command, did the rest. Halleck was the +senior general in the West. But the three, and afterwards four, +departments into which the West was divided were never properly +brought under a single command. Then telegrams went wrong at the +wire-end advancing southwardly from Cairo, the end Grant had to +use. A wire from McClellan on the sixteenth of February was not +delivered till the third of March. Next day Grant was thunderstruck +at receiving this from Halleck: "Place C. F. Smith in command of +expedition and remain yourself at Fort Henry. Why do you not obey +my orders to report strength and positions of your command?" And +so it went on till McClellan authorized Halleck to place Grant under +arrest <a name="page_143"><span class="page">Page 143</span></a> +for insubordination. Then the operator at the wire-end suddenly +deserted, taking a sheaf of dispatches with him. He was a clever +Confederate. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Explanations followed; and on the seventeenth of March Grant rejoined +his army, which was assembling round Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee, +near the future battlefield of Shiloh, and some twenty miles northeast +of Corinth. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile Van Dorn and Sterling Price, thinking it was now or never +for Missouri, decided to attack Curtis. They had fifteen against +ten thousand men, and hoped to crush Curtis utterly by catching +him between two fires. But on the seventh of March the Federal left +beat off the flanking attack of McCulloch and McIntosh, both of +whom were killed. The right, furiously assailed by the Confederate +Missourians under Van Dorn and Price, fared badly and was pressed +back. Yet on the eighth Curtis emerged victorious on the hard-fought +field that bears the double name of Elkhorn Tavern and Pea Ridge. +This battle in the northwest corner of Arkansas settled the fate +of Missouri. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A month later the final attack was made on Island Number Ten. Foote's +flotilla had been at work there as early as the middle of March, +when <a name="page_144"><span class="page">Page 144</span></a> the +strong Confederate batteries on the island and east shore bluffs +were bombarded by ironclads and mortarboats. Then the Union General +John Pope took post at New Madrid, eight miles below the island, +on the west shore, which the Confederates had to evacuate when he +cut their line of communications farther south. They now held only +the island and the east shore opposite, with no line of retreat +except the Mississippi, because the land line on the east shore +was blocked by swamps and flanked by the Union armies in western +Tennessee. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the night of the fourth of April the <i>Carondelet</i> started +to cut this last line south. She was swathed in hawsers and chain +cables. Her decks were packed tight with every sort of gear that +would break the force of plunging shot; and a big barge, laden +with coal and rammed hay, was lashed to her port side to protect +her magazine. Twenty-three picked Illinoisian sharpshooters went +aboard; while pistols, muskets, cutlasses, boarding-pikes, and hand +grenades were placed ready for instant use. The escape-pipe was +led aft into the wheel-house, so as to deaden the noise; and hose +was attached to the boilers ready to scald any Confederates that +tried to board. Then, through the heart of a terrific thunderstorm, +and amid a <a name="page_145"><span class="page">Page 145</span></a> +furious cannonade, the <i>Carondelet</i> ran the desperate gauntlet +at full speed and arrived at New Madrid by midnight. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Confederates were now cut off both above and below; for the +position of Island Number Ten was at the lower point of a V-shaped +bend in the Mississippi, with Federal forces at the two upper points. +But the Federal troops could not close on the Confederates without +crossing over to the east bank; and their transports could not run +the gauntlet like the ironclads. So the Engineer Regiment of the West +cut out a water road connecting the two upper points of the V. This +admirable feat of emergency field engineering was effected by sawing +through three miles of heavy timber to the nearest bayou, whence a +channel was cleared down to New Madrid. Then the transports went +through in perfect safety and took Pope's advanced guard aboard. The +ironclad <i>Pittsburg</i> had come down, through another thunderstorm, +this same morning of the seventh; and when the island garrison saw +their position completely cut off they surrendered to Foote. Next +day Pope's men cut off the greater part of the Confederates on +the mainland. Thus fell the last point near Johnston's original +line along the southern borders of Missouri and Kentucky. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_146"><span class="page">Page 146</span></a> Just +before it fell Johnston made a desperate counterattack from his +new line at Corinth, in northwest Mississippi, against Grant's +encroaching force at Shiloh, fifteen miles northeast, on the Tennessee +River. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Writing "A. S. Johnston, 3d April, 62, <i>en avant</i>" on his pocket +map of Tennessee, the Confederate leader, anguished by the bitter +criticism with which his unavoidable retreat had been assailed, cast +the die for an immediate attack on Grant before slow Halleck reinforced +or ready Buell joined him. Johnston's lieutenants, Beauregard and +Bragg, had obtained ten days for reorganization; and their commands +were as ready as raw forces could be made in an extreme emergency. +They hoped to be joined by Van Dorn, whose beaten army was working +east from Pea Ridge. But on the second they heard that Buell was +approaching Grant from Nashville; and on the third Johnston's advanced +guard began to move off. Van Dorn arrived too late. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The march, which it was hoped to complete on the fourth, was not +completed till the fifth. The roads were ankle-deep in clinging +mud, the country densely wooded and full of bogs and marshes. The +forty thousand men were not yet seasoned; <a name="page_147"><span +class="page">Page 147</span></a> and, though full of enthusiasm, +they neither knew nor had time to learn march discipline. Moreover, +Johnston allowed his own proper plan of attacking in columns of +corps to be changed by Beauregard into a three-line attack, each +line being formed by one complete corps. This meant certain and +perhaps disastrous confusion. For in an attack by columns of corps +the firing line would always be reinforced by successive lines +of the same corps; while attacking by lines of corps meant that +the leading corps would first be mixed up with the second, and +then both with the third. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the meantime Grant was busier with his own pressing problems +of organization for an advance than with any idea of resisting +attack. He lacked the prevision of Winfield Scott and Lee, both of +whom expected from the first that the war would last for years. His +own expectation up to this had been that the South would collapse +after the first smashing blow, and that its western armies were +now about to be dealt such a blow. He was not unmindful of all +precautions; for he knew the Confederates were stirring on his +front. Yet he went downstream to Savannah without making sure that +his army was really safe at Shiloh. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Pittsburg Landing was at the base of the Shiloh <a name="page_148"><span +class="page">Page 148</span></a> position. But the point at which, +by the original orders, Buell was to join was Savannah, nine miles +north along the Tennessee. So Grant had to keep in touch with both. +He had not ignored the advantage of entrenching. But the best line +for entrenching was too far from good water; and he thought he +chose the lesser of two evils when he devoted the time that might +have been used for digging to drilling instead. His army was raw +as an army; many of the men were still rawer recruits; and, as +usual, the recruiting authorities had sent him several brand-new +battalions, which knew nothing at all, instead of sending the same +men as reinforcements to older battalions that could "learn 'em +how." Grant's total effectives at first were only thirty-three +thousand. This made the odds five to four in favor of Johnston's +attack. But the rejoining of Lew Wallace's division, the great +reinforcement by Buell's troops, and the two ironclad gunboats +on the river, raised Grant's final effective grand total to sixty +thousand. The combined grand totals therefore reached a hundred +thousand—double the totals at Donelson and far exceeding +those at Bull Run. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After a horrible week of cold and wet the sun set clear and calm +on Saturday, the eve of battle. The <a name="page_149"><span +class="page">Page 149</span></a> woods were alive with forty thousand +Confederates all ready for their supreme attack on the thirty-three +thousand Federals on their immediate four-mile front. Grant's front +ran, facing south, between Owl and Lick Creeks, two tributaries that +joined the Tennessee on either side of Pittsburg Landing. Buell's +advance division, under Nelson, was just across the Tennessee. But +Grant was in no hurry to get it over. His reassuring wire that +night to Halleck said: "The main force of the enemy is at Corinth. +I have scarcely the faintest idea of an attack (general one) being +made upon us." But the skirmishing farther south on Friday had +warned Grant, as well as Sherman and the vigilant Prentiss, that +Johnston might be trying a reconnaissance in force—the very +thing that Beauregard wished the Confederates to do. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Long before the beautiful dawn of Sunday, the fateful sixth of +April, Prentiss had thrown out from the center a battalion which +presently met and drove in the vanguard of the first Confederate line +of assault. The Confederate center soon came up, overwhelmed this +advanced battalion, and burst like a storm on the whole of Prentiss's +division. Then, above the swelling roar of multitudinous musketry, +rose the thunder of the first big guns. <a name="page_150"><span +class="page">Page 150</span></a> "Note the hour, please, gentlemen," +said Johnston; and a member of his staff wrote down: "5:14 A.M." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Johnston's admirable plan was, first, to drive Grant's left clear +of Lick Creek, then drive it clear of Pittsburg Landing, where the +two Federal ironclads were guarding the ferry. This, combined with +a determined general assault on the rest of Grant's line, would huddle +the retreating Federals into the cramped angle between Owl Creek and +the Tennessee and force them to surrender. But there were three +great obstacles to this: Sherman on the right, the "Hornet's Nest" +in the center, and the gunboats at the Landing. Worse still for the +Confederates, Buell was now too close at hand. Three days earlier +Johnston had wired from Corinth to the Government at Richmond: +"Hope engagement before Buell can form junction." But the troubles +of the march had lost him one whole priceless day. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Confederate attack was splendidly gallant and at first pushed +home regardless of loss. The ground was confusing to both sides: +a bewilderment of ups and downs, of underbrush, woods, fields, +and clumps of trees, criss-cross paths, small creeks, ravines, +and swamps, without a single commanding <a name="page_151"><span +class="page">Page 151</span></a> height or any outstanding features +except the two big creeks, the river, and the Pittsburg Landing. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At the first signs of a big battle Grant hurried to the field, +first sending a note to Buell, whom he was to have met at Savannah, +then touching at Crump's Landing on the way, to see Lew Wallace +and make sure whether this, and not the Pittsburg Landing, was the +point of attack. Arrived on the field of Shiloh, calm and determined +as ever, he was reassured by finding how well Sherman was holding +his raw troops in hand at the extremely important point of Shiloh +itself, next to Owl Creek. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But elsewhere the prospect was not encouraging, though the men +got under arms very fast and most of them fought very well. The +eager gray lines kept pressing on like the rising tide of an angry +sea, dashing in fury against all obstructing fronts and swirling +round the disconnecting flanks. The blue lines, for the most part, +resisted till the swift gray tide threatened to cut them off. Half +of Prentiss's remaining men were in fact cut off that afternoon and +forced to surrender with their chief, whose conduct, like their +own, was worthy of all praise. Back and still back the blue lines +went before the encroaching gray, each losing heavily by sheer +hard <a name="page_152"><span class="page">Page 152</span></a> +fighting at the front and streams of stragglers running towards +the rear. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman, like others, gave ground, but still held his men together, +except for the stragglers he could not control. In the center C. +F. Smith's division, with Hurlbut's in support, and all that was +left of Prentiss's, defended themselves so desperately that their +enemies called their position the Hornet's Nest. Here the fight +swayed back and forth for hours, with ghastly losses on both sides. +C. F. Smith himself was on his deathbed at Savannah. But he heard +the roar of battle. His excellent successor, W. H. L. Wallace, +was killed; and battalions, brigades, and even divisions, soon +became inextricably mixed together. There was now the same confusion +on the Confederate side, where Johnston was wounded by a bullet +from the Hornet's Nest. It was not in itself a mortal wound. But, +knowing how vital this point was, he went on encouraging his men +till, falling from the saddle, he was carried back to die. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant still felt confident; though he had seen the worst in the rear +as well as the best at the front. Two of his brand-new battalions, +the very men who afterwards fought like heroes, when they had learned +the soldier's work, now ran like hares. <a name="page_153"><span +class="page">Page 153</span></a> "During the day," says Grant, +"I rode back as far as the river and met General Buell, who had +just arrived. There probably were as many as four or five thousand +stragglers lying under cover of the river bluff, panic-stricken. +As we left the boat Buell's attention was attracted by these men. +I saw him berating them and trying to shame them into joining their +regiments. He even threatened them with shells from the gunboats +nearby. But all to no effect. Most of these men afterward proved +themselves as gallant as any of those who saved the battle from +which they had deserted." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By half-past five, after twelve hours' fighting, Grant at last +succeeded in forming a new and shorter line, a mile behind that +morning's front, but without any dangerous gaps. There were three +reorganized divisions—Sherman's, McClernand's, and Hurlbut's, +one fresh division under Nelson, and a strong land battery of over +twenty field guns helping the two ironclad gunboats in the defense +of Pittsburg Landing. The Confederate effectives, reduced by heavy +losses and by as many stragglers as the Federals, were now faced by +five thousand fresh men on guard at the Landing. Beauregard, who +had succeeded Johnston, then stopped the <a name="page_154"><span +class="page">Page 154</span></a> battle for the day, with the idea +of retiring next morning to Corinth. But, before his orders reached +it, his battle-worn right made a desperate, fruitless, and costly +attack on the immensely strengthened Landing. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +That night the rain came down in torrents; and the Confederates +sought shelter in the tents the Federals had abandoned. They found +little rest there, being harassed all through the bleak dark by +the big shells that the gunboats threw among them. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At dawn Grant, now reinforced by twenty-five thousand fresh men under +Buell and Lew Wallace, took the offensive. Beauregard, hopelessly +outnumbered and without a single fresh man, retired on Corinth, +magnificently covered by Bragg's rearguard, which held the Federals +back for hours near the crucial point of Shiloh Church. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Shiloh was the fiercest battle ever fought in the River War. The +losses were over ten thousand a side in killed and wounded; while +a thousand Confederates and three thousand Federals were captured. +It was a Confederate failure; but hardly the kind of victory the +Federals needed just then, before the consummate triumph of Farragut +at New Orleans. It brought together Federal <a name="page_155"><span +class="page">Page 155</span></a> forces that the Confederates could +not possibly withstand, even on their new line east from Memphis. +But it did not raise the Federal, or depress the Confederate, morale. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Four days after the battle Halleck arrived at Pittsburg Landing +and took command of the combined armies. He was soon reinforced +by Pope; whereupon he divided the whole into right and left wings, +center, and reserve, each under its own commander. Grant was made +second in command of the whole. But, as Halleck dealt directly +with his other immediate subordinates, Grant simply became the +fifth wheel of the Halleckian slow-coach, which, after twenty days +of preparation, began, with most elaborate precautions, its crawl +toward Corinth. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant's position became so nearly unbearable that he applied more +than once for transfer to some other place. But this was refused. +So he strove to do his impossible duty till the middle of July, when +his punishment for Shiloh was completed by his promotion to command +a depleted remnant of Halleck's Grand Army. It is not by any means +the least of Grant's claims to real greatness that, as a leader, +he was able to survive his most searching <a name="page_156"><span +class="page">Page 156</span></a> trials: the surprise at Shiloh, +the misunderstandings and arrest that followed Shiloh, the slur of +being made a fifth-wheel second-in-command, the demoralizing strain +of that "most anxious period of the war" when his depleted forces +were thrown back on the defensive, and the eight discouraging months +of Sisyphean offensive which preceded his triumph at Vicksburg. No +one who has not been in the heart of things with fighting fleets +or armies can realize what it means to all ranks when there is, or +even is supposed to be, "something wrong" with the living pivot on +which the whole force turns. And only those who have been behind +the scenes of war's all-testing drama can understand what it means +for even an imagined "failure" to "come back." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Corinth was of immense importance to both sides, as it commanded +the rails not only east and west, from the Tennessee to Memphis, +but north and south, from the Ohio to New Orleans and Mobile. Though +New Orleans was taken by Farragut on the twenty-fifth of April, the +rails between Vicksburg and Port Hudson remained in Confederate +hands till next year; while Mobile remained so till the year after +that. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Beauregard collected all the troops he could at <a name="page_157"><span +class="page">Page 157</span></a> Corinth. Yet, even with Van Dorn's +and other reinforcements, he had only sixty thousand effectives +against Halleck's double numbers. Moreover, the loss of three States +and many battles had so shaken the Confederate forces that they +stood no chance whatever against Halleck's double numbers in the +open. All the same, Halleck burrowed slowly forward like a mole, +entrenching every night as if the respective strengths and victories +had been reversed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After advancing nearly a mile a day Halleck closed in on Corinth. +He was so deeply entrenched that no one could tell from appearances +which side was besieging the other. Towards the end of May many +Federal railwaymen reported that empty trains could be heard running +into Corinth and full trains running out. But, as the Confederates +greeted each arriving "empty" with tremendous cheers, Halleck felt +sure that Beauregard was being greatly reinforced. The Confederate +bluff worked to admiration. On the twenty-sixth Beauregard issued +orders for complete evacuation on the twenty-ninth. On the thirtieth +Halleck drew up his whole grand army ready for a desperate defense +against an enemy that had already gone a full day's march away. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_158"><span class="page">Page 158</span></a> In the +meantime the Federal flotilla had been fighting its way down the +Mississippi, under (the invalided) Foote's very capable successor, +Flag-Officer Charles Henry Davis. The Confederates had very few +naval men on the river, but many of their Mississippi skippers +were game to the death. They rammed Federal vessels on the tenth +of May at Fort Pillow, eighty miles above Memphis. Eight of their +fighting craft were strongly built and heavily armored, though +very deficient in speed. The Federal flotilla was very well manned +by first-class naval ratings, and was reinforced early in June by +seven fast new rams, commanded by their designer, Colonel Charles +Ellet, a famous civil engineer. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At sunrise on the lovely sixth of June the Federal flotilla, having +overcome the Confederate posts farther north and being joined by +Ellet's rams, lay near Memphis. The Confederates came upstream to +the attack, expecting to ram the gunboats in the stern as they +had at Fort Pillow. But Ellet suddenly darted down on the eight +Confederate ironclads, caught one of them on the broadside, sank +her, and disabled two others. The action then became general. The +overmatched Confederates kept up a losing battle for more than an +hour, in <a name="page_159"><span class="page">Page 159</span></a> +full view of many thousands of ardent Southerners ashore. The scene, +at its height, was appalling. The smoke, belching black from the +funnels and white from the guns, made a suffocating pall overhead; +while the dark, squat, hideous ironclad hulls seemed to have risen +from a submarine inferno to stab each other with livid tongues of +flame—so deadly close the two flotillas fought. When the +awful hour was over the Confederates were not only defeated but +destroyed; and a wail went up from the thousands of their anguished +friends, as if the very shores were mourning. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +For the next month Grant held the command at Memphis. Then, on +the eleventh of July, Halleck was recalled to Washington as +General-in-Chief of the whole army; while Pope was transferred to +Virginia. The Federal invasion of Virginia under that "Young Napoleon," +McClellan, had not been a success against Lee and Stonewall Jackson. +Nor did it improve with Pope at the front and Halleck in the rear, +as we shall presently see; though Halleck had declared that Pope's +operations at Island Number Ten were destined to immortal fame, and +Pope himself admitted his own greatness in sundry proclamations +to the world. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_160"><span class="page">Page 160</span></a> The campaign +now entered its second phase. The Virginian wing (of the whole +front reaching from the Mississippi to the sea) was checked this +summer; and was to remain more or less checked for many a long +day. The river wing, under the general direction of Halleck, had +also reached its limit for '62 about the same time, after having +conquered Kentucky and western Tennessee as well as the Mississippi +down to Memphis. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This river wing was now depleted of some excellent troops and again +divided into quite separate commands. Buell commanded the Army of the +Ohio. Grant commanded his own Army of the Tennessee and Rosecrans's +Army of the Mississippi. Buell's scene of action lay between the +tributary streams—Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee—with +Chattanooga as his ultimate objective. Grant's scene of action lay +along the southward rails and Mississippi, with Vicksburg as his +ultimate objective. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 715px;"> +<a name="fig_06"></a> +<a href="images/fig_06.jpg"> +<img src="images/fig_06_sm.jpg" width="715" height="426" alt="Fig. 6"></a> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +The Confederates were of course set on recovering complete control +of the line of Southern rails that made direct connections between +the Mississippi Valley and the sea: crossing the western tributaries +of the St. Francis and White Rivers; then running east from Memphis, +through Grand <a name="page_161"><span class="page">Page 161</span></a> +Junction, Corinth, and Iuka, to Chattanooga; thence forking off +northeast, through Knoxville, to Washington, Richmond, and Norfolk; +and southeast to Charleston and Savannah. Confederate attention +had originally been fixed on Corinth and Chattanooga. But General +O. M. Mitchel's abortive raid, just after Shiloh, had also drawn +it to the part between. The Federals therefore found their enemy +alert at every point. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Braxton Bragg, Beauregard's successor and Buell's opponent, basing +himself on Chattanooga, tried to drive his line of Confederate +reconquest through the heart of Tennessee and thence through +mid-Kentucky, with the Ohio as his ultimate objective. His colleagues +near the Mississippi, Van Dorn and Sterling Price, meanwhile tried +to effect the reconquest of the Memphis-Corinth rails that Grant +and Rosecrans were holding. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +All main offensives, on both sides, ultimately failed in this latter +half of the river campaign of '62. So nothing but the bare fact +that they were attempted needs any notice here. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In August, about the time that Lee and Jackson were maneuvering in +Virginia to bring on the Second Bull Run, Price and Bragg began their +respective advances against Grant and Buell. <a name="page_162"><span +class="page">Page 162</span></a> Buell was at Murfreesboro, defending +Nashville. Bragg, screened by the hills of eastern Tennessee, made +for the Ohio at Louisville and Cincinnati. Pivoting on his left +he wheeled his whole army round and raced for Louisville. Buell +enjoyed the advantage of rails over roads and of interior lines +as well. But Bragg had stolen several marches on him at the start +and he only won by a head. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Union Government, now thoroughly alarmed, sent Thomas to supersede +Buell. But Thomas declined to take over the command, and on the +eighth of October Buell fought Bragg at Perryville. There was no +tactical defeat or victory; but Bragg retired on Chattanooga. The +Government now urged Buell to enter east Tennessee. He protested +that lack of transport and supplies made such a move impossible. +William S. Rosecrans then replaced him. Buell was never employed +again. He certainly failed fully to appreciate the legitimate bearing +of statesmanship on strategy; but, for all that, he was an excellent +organizer and a good commander. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the meantime Grant had been experiencing his "most anxious period +of the war." During this anxious period, which lasted from July to +October, Rosecrans defeated Price at Iuka. This <a name="page_163"><span +class="page">Page 163</span></a> happened on the nineteenth of +September. Van Dorn then joined Price and returned to the attack +but was defeated by Rosecrans at Corinth on the fourth of October. +The Confederates, who had come near victory on the third, retired +in safety, because Grant still lacked the means of resuming the +offensive. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As soon as he had the means Grant marched his army south for Vicksburg. +There were three converging forces: Grant's from Grand Junction, +Sherman's from Memphis, and a smaller one from Helena in Arkansas. +But the Confederate General, J. C. Pemberton, who had replaced Van +Dorn, escaped the trap they tried to set for him. He was strongly +entrenched on the south side of the Tallahatchie, north of Oxford, +on the Mississippi Central rails. While Grant and Sherman converged +on his front, the force from Helena rounded his rear and cut the +rails. But the damage was quickly repaired; and Pemberton retired +south toward Vicksburg before Grant and Sherman could close and +make him fight. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then Grant tried again. This time Sherman advanced on board of +Mississippi steamers, with the idea of meeting the Union expedition +coming up from New Orleans. But Van Dorn cut Grant's <a +name="page_164"><span class="page">Page 164</span></a> long line +of land communications at Holly Springs, forcing Grant back for +supplies and leaving Sherman, who had made his way up the Yazoo, +completely isolated. Grant fared well enough, so far as food was +concerned; for he found such abundant supplies that he at once +perceived the possibility of living on the country without troubling +about a northern base. He spent Christmas and New Year at Holly +Springs, and then moved back to Memphis. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the meantime Sherman's separated force had come to grief. On the +twenty-ninth of December its attempt to carry the Chickasaw Bluffs, +just north of Vicksburg, was completely frustrated by Pemberton; for +Sherman could not deploy into line on the few causeways that stood +above the flooded ground. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the eleventh of January this first campaign along the Mississippi +was ended by the capture of Arkansas Post. McClernand was the senior +there. But Sherman did the work ashore as D. D. Porter did afloat. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile Bragg had brought the campaign to a close among the eastern +tributaries by a daring, though abortive, march on Nashville. Rosecrans, +now commanding the army of the Cumberland, <a name="page_165"><span +class="page">Page 165</span></a> stopped and defeated him at Stone's +River on New Year's Eve. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The "War in the West," that is, in those parts of the Southwest +which lay beyond the navigable tributaries of the Mississippi system, +was even more futile at the time and absolutely null in the end. +Its scene of action, which practically consisted of inland Texas, +New Mexico, and Arizona, was not in itself important enough to be +a great determining factor in the actual clash of arms. But Texas +supplied many good men to the Southern ranks; and the Southern +commissariat missed the Texan cattle after the fall of Vicksburg +in '63. New Mexico might also have been a good deal more important +than it actually was if it could have been made the base of a real, +instead of an abortive, invasion of California, the El Dorado of +Confederate finance. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +We have already seen what happened on February 15, 1861, when General +Twiggs handed over to the State authorities all the army posts in +Texas. On the first of the following August Captain John R. Baylor, +who had been forming a little Confederate army under pretext of a +big buffalo hunt, proclaimed himself Governor of New Mexico <a +name="page_166"><span class="page">Page 166</span></a> (south of +34°) and established his capital at Mesilla. In the meantime +the Confederate Government itself had appointed General H. H. Sibley +to the command of a brigade for the conquest of all New Mexico. +Not ten thousand men were engaged in this campaign, Federals and +Confederates, whites and Indians, all together; but a decisive +Confederate success might have been pregnant of future victories +farther west. Some Indians fought on one side, some on the other; +and some of the wilder tribes, delighted to see the encroaching +whites at loggerheads, gave trouble to both. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On February 21, 1862, Sibley defeated Colonel E. R. S. Canby at +Valverde near Fort Craig. But his further advance was hindered +by the barrenness of the country, by the complete destruction of +all Union stores likely to fall into his hands, and by the fact +that he was between two Federal forts when the battle ended. On +the twenty-eighth of March there was a desperate fight in Apache +Cañon. Both sides claimed the victory. But the Confederates +lost more men as well as the whole of their supply and ammunition +train. After this Sibley began a retreat which ended in May at San +Antonio. His route was marked by bleaching <a name="page_167"><span +class="page">Page 167</span></a> skeletons for many a long day; and +from this time forward the conquest of California became nothing +but a dream. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The "War in the West" was a mere twig on the Trans-Mississippi +branch; and when the fall of Vicksburg severed the branch from the +tree the twig simply withered away. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The sword that ultimately severed branch and twig was firmly held +by Union hands before the year was out; and this notwithstanding +all the Union failures in the last six months. Grant and Porter +from above, Banks and Farragut from below, had already massed forces +strong enough to make the Mississippi a Union river from source to +sea, in spite of all Confederates from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_168"><span class="page">Page 168</span></a> +CHAPTER V</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">LINCOLN: WAR STATESMAN</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lincoln was one of those men who require some mighty crisis to call +their genius forth. Though more successful than Grant in ordinary +life, he was never regarded as a national figure in law or politics +till he had passed his fiftieth year. He had no advantages of birth; +though he came of a sturdy old English stock that emigrated from +Norfolk to Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, and though +his mother seems to have been, both intellectually and otherwise, +above the general run of the Kentuckians among whom he was born +in 1809. His educational advantages were still less. Yet he soon +found his true affinities in books, as afterwards in life, not +among the clever, smart, or sentimental, but among the simple and +the great. He read and reread Shakespeare and the Bible, not because +they were the merely proper things to read but because his spirit +was akin to theirs. This <a name="page_169"><span class="page">Page +169</span></a> meant that he never was a bookworm. Words were things +of life to him; and, for that reason, his own words live. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He had no artificial graces to soften the uncouth appearance of his +huge, gaunt six-foot-four of powerful bone and muscle. But he had +the native dignity of straightforward manhood; and, though a champion +competitor in feats of strength, his opinion was always sought as +that of an impartial umpire, even in cases affecting himself. He +"played the game" in his frontier home as he afterwards played +the greater game of life-or-death at Washington. His rough-hewn, +strong-featured face, shaped by his kindly humor to the finer ends +of power, was lit by a steady gaze that saw yet looked beyond, +till the immediate parts of the subject appeared in due relation +to the whole. Like many another man who sees farther and feels more +deeply than the rest, and who has the saving grace of humor, he +knew what yearning melancholy was; yet kept the springs of action +tense and strong. Firm as a rock on essentials he was extremely +tolerant about all minor differences. His policy was to live and +let live whenever that was possible. The preservation of the Union +was his master-passion, and he was ready for any honorable compromise +<a name="page_170"><span class="page">Page 170</span></a> that left +the Union safe. Himself a teetotaller, he silenced a temperance +delegation whose members were accusing Grant of drunkenness by +saying he should like to send some of his other generals a keg of +the same whisky if it would only make them fight. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When he took arms against the sea of troubles that awaited him at +Washington he had dire need of all his calm tolerance and strength. +To add to his burdens, he was beset by far more than the usual +horde of office-seekers. These men were doubly ravenous because +their party was so new to power. They were peculiarly hard to place +with due regard for all the elements within the coalition. And each +appointment needed most discriminating care, lest a traitor to +the Union might creep in. While the guns were thundering against +Fort Sumter, and afterwards, when the Union Government was marooned +in Washington itself, the vestibules, stairways, ante-rooms, and +offices were clogged with eager applicants for every kind of civil +service job. And then, when this vast human flood subsided, the +"interviewing" stream began to flow and went on swelling to the +bitter end. These war-time interviewers claimed most of Lincoln's +personal attention just when he had <a name="page_171"><span +class="page">Page 171</span></a> the least to spare. But he would +deny no one the chance of receiving presidential aid or comfort and +he gladly suffered many fools for the chance of relieving the sad +or serious others. Add to all this the ceaseless work of helping to +form public opinion, of counteracting enemy propaganda, of shaping +Union policy under ever-changing circumstances, of carrying it +out by coalition means, and of exercising civil control over such +vast armed forces as no American had hitherto imagined: add these +extra burdens, and we can begin to realize what Lincoln had to +do as the chief war statesman of the North. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A sound public opinion is the best embattlement of any home front. +So Lincoln set out to help in forming it. War on a national scale +was something entirely new to both sides, and especially unwelcome +to many people in the North, though the really loyal North was +up at Lincoln's call. Then came Bull Run; and Lincoln's renewed +determination, so well expressed in Whitman's words: "The President, +recovering himself, begins that very night—sternly, rapidly +sets about the task of reorganizing his forces, and placing himself +in positions for future and surer work. If there was nothing else +of Abraham Lincoln for history to stamp <a name="page_172"><span +class="page">Page 172</span></a> him with, it is enough to send him +with his wreath to the memory of all future time, that he endured +that hour, that day, bitterer than gall—indeed a crucifixion +day—that it did not conquer him that he unflinchingly stemmed +it, and resolved to lift himself and the Union out of it." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bull Run was only the beginning of troubles. There were many more +rocks ahead in the stormy sea of public opinion. The peace party +was always ready to lure the ship of state out of its true course +by using false lights, even when certain to bring about a universal +wreck in which the "pacifists" would suffer with the rest. But +dissensions within the war party were worse, especially when caused +by action in the field. Frémont's dismissal in November, +'61, caused great dissatisfaction among three kinds of people: +those who thought him a great general because he knew how to pose +as one and really had some streaks of great ability, those who +were fattening on the army contracts he let out with such a lavish +hand, and those who hailed him as the liberator of the slaves because +he went unwarrantably far beyond what was then politically wise or +even possible. He was the first Unionist commander to enter the +Northern Cave of Adullam, already infested with Copperhead snakes. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_173"><span class="page">Page 173</span></a> There +he was joined by McClellan exactly a year later; and there the +peace-at-current-prices party continued to nurse and cry their +grievances till the war was over. McClellan's dismissal was a matter +of dire necessity because victory was impossible under his command. +But he was a dangerous reinforcement to the Adullamites; for many +of the loyal public had been fooled by his proclamations, the press +had written him up to the skies as the Young Napoleon, and the +great mass of the rank and file still believed in him. He took +the kindly interest in camp comforts that goes to the soldier's +heart; and he really did know how to organize. Add his power of +passing off tinsel promises for golden deeds, and it can be well +understood how great was the danger of dismissing him before his +defects had become so apparent to the mass of people as to have +turned opinion decisively against him. We shall presently meet +him in his relation to Lincoln during the Virginian campaign, and +later on in his relation to Lee. Here we may leave him with the +reminder that he was the Democratic candidate for President in +'64, that he was still a mortal danger to the Union, even though +he had rejected the actual wording of his party's peace plank. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The turn of the tide at the fighting front came <a name="page_174"><span +class="page">Page 174</span></a> in '63; but not at the home front, +where public opinion of the most vocal kind was stirred to its +dregs by the enforcement of the draft. The dime song books of the +Copperhead parts of New York expressed in rude rhymes very much the +same sort of apprehension that was voiced by the official opposition +in the Presidential campaign of '64. +</p> + +<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> +Abram Lincoln, what yer 'bout?<br /> +Stop this war, for it's played out. +</p> + +<p style="text-align: justify;"> +Another rhyme, called "The Beauties of Conscription," was a more +decorous expression of such public opinion. +</p> + +<p style="margin-left: 10%;"> +And this, the "People's Sovereignty,"<br /> +Before a despot humbled!<br /> +. . . .<br /> +Well have they cashed old Lincoln's drafts,<br /> +Hurrah for the Conscription!<br /> +. . . .<br /> +Is not this war—this MURDER—for<br /> +The negro, <i>nolens volens?</i> +</p> + +<p style="text-align: justify;"> +So, carrying out their ideas to the same sort of logical conclusion, +the New York mob of '63 not only burnt every recruiting office they +found undefended but burnt the negro orphan asylum and killed all +the negroes they could lay their hands on. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_175"><span class="page">Page 175</span></a> Public +opinion did veer round a little with the rising tide of victory +in the winter of '63 and '64. But, incredible as it may seem to +those who think the home front must always reflect the fighting +front, the nadir of public opinion in the North was reached in +the summer of '64, when every expert knew that the resources of +the South were nearing exhaustion and that the forces of the North +could certainly wear out Lee's dwindling army even if they could +not beat it. The trumpet gave no uncertain sound from Lincoln's +lips. "In this purpose to save the country and its liberties no +class of people seem so nearly unanimous as the soldiers in the +field and the sailors afloat. Do they not have the hardest of it? +Who should quail while they do not?" But the mere excellence of a +vast fighting front means a certain loss of the nobler qualities in +the home front, from which so many of the staunchest are withdrawn. +And then war-weariness breeds doubts, doubts breed fears, and fears +breed the spirit of surrender. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There seemed to be more Copperheads in the conglomerate opposition +than Unionists ready to withstand them. The sinister figure of +Vallandigham loomed large in Ohio, where he openly denounced the +war in such disloyal terms that the <a name="page_176"><span +class="page">Page 176</span></a> military authorities arrested +him. An opposition committee, backed by the snakes in the grass of +the secret societies, at once wrote to Lincoln demanding release. +Lincoln thereupon offered release if the committee would sign a +declaration that, since rebellion existed, and since the armed forces +of the United States were the constitutional means of suppressing +rebellion, each member of the committee would support the war till +rebellion was put down. The committee refused to sign. More people +then began to see the self-contradictions of the opposition, and +most of those "plain people" to whom Lincoln consciously appealed +were touched to the heart by his pathetic question: "Must I shoot +the simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch +a hair of the wily agitator who induces him to desert?" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But there was still defection on the Union side, and among many +"plain people" too; for Horace Greeley, the best-known Union editor, +lost his nerve and ran away. And Greeley was not the only Union +journalist who helped, sometimes unwittingly, to pervert public +opinion. The "writing up" of McClellan for what he was not, though +rather hysterical, was at least well meant. But the reporters who +"wrote down" General Cox, because he would <a name="page_177"><span +class="page">Page 177</span></a> not make them members of his staff +in West Virginia, disgraced their profession. The lies about Sherman's +"insanity" and Grant's "intoxication" were shamelessly excused on +the plea that they made "good stories." Sherman's insanity, as +we have seen already, existed only in the disordered imagination +of blabbing old Simon Cameron. Grant, at the time these stories +were published, was strictly temperate. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Amid all the hindrances—and encouragements, for the Union +press generally did noble service in the Union cause—of an +uncensored press, and all the complexities of public opinion, Lincoln +kept his head and heart set firmly on the one supreme objective +of the Union. He foresaw from the first that if all the States +came through the war United, then all the reforms for which the +war was fought would follow; but that if any particular reform was +itself made the supreme objective, then it, and with it all the +other reforms, would fail, because only part of the Union strength +would be involved, whereas the whole was needed. Moreover, he clearly +foresaw the absolute nature of a great civil war. Foreign wars may +well, and often do, end in some sort of compromise, especially +when the home life of the opponents can go on as before. But a +<a name="page_178"><span class="page">Page 178</span></a> great +civil war cannot end in compromise because it radically changes the +home life of one side or the other. Davis stood for "Independence +or extermination"; Lincoln simply for the Union, which, in his clear +prevision, meant all that the body politic could need for a new and +better life. He accepted the word "enemy" as descriptive of a passing +phase. He would not accept such phraseology as Meade's, "driving the +invader from our soil." "Will our generals," he complained, "never +get that idea out of their heads? The whole country is our soil." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He was a life-long advocate of Emancipation, first, with compensation, +now as part of the price to be paid for rebellion. Emancipation, +however, depended on the Union, not the Union on it. His Proclamation +was ready in the summer of '62. But to publish it in the midst of +defeat would make it look like an act of despair. In September, +when the Confederates had to recross the Potomac after Antietam, the +Proclamation was given to the world. Its first effect was greater +abroad than at home; for now no foreign government could say, and +rightly say, that the war, not being fought on account of slavery, +might leave that issue still unsettled. This was a most important +point in <a name="page_179"><span class="page">Page 179</span></a> +Lincoln's foreign policy, a policy which had been haunted by the +fear of recognition for the South or the possibility of war with +either the French or British, or even both together. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lincoln's Cabinet was composed of two factions, one headed by Seward, +the Secretary of State, the other by Chase, the Secretary of the +Treasury. Both the fighting services were under War Democrats: +the Army under Stanton, the Navy under Welles. All these ministers +began by thinking that Lincoln had the least ability among them. +Seward and Welles presently learnt better. Stanton's exclamation +at Lincoln's death speaks for itself "Now he belongs to the ages!" +But Chase never believed that Lincoln could even be his equal. +Chase and the Treasury were a thorn in the side of the Government; +Chase because it was his nature, the Treasury because its notes fell +to thirty-nine cents in the dollar during the summer of '64. Welles, +hard-working and upright, was guided by an expert assistant. Stanton, +equally upright and equally hardworking, made many mistakes. And +yet, when all is said and done, Stanton was a really able patriot +who worked his hardest for what seemed to him the best. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Such were the four chief men in that Cabinet <a name="page_180"><span +class="page">Page 180</span></a> with which Lincoln carried out his +Union policy and over which he towered in what became transcendent +statesmanship—the head, the heart, the genius of the war. +He never, for one moment, changed his course, but kept it fixed +upon the Union, no matter what the winds and tides, the currents +and cross-currents were. Thus, while so many lesser minds were +busy with flotsam and jetsam of the controversial storm, his own +serener soul was already beyond the far horizon, voyaging toward +the one sure haven for the Ship of State. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +But Lincoln was more than the principal civilian war statesman: he +was the constitutional Commander-in-Chief of all the Union forces, +afloat and ashore. He was responsible not only for raising, supplying, +and controlling them, but for their actual command by men who, in +the eyes of the law, were simply his own lieutenants. The problem +of exercising civil control without practicing civilian interference, +always and everywhere hard, and especially hard in a civil war, +was particularly hard in his case, in view of public opinion, the +press, his own war policy, and the composition of his Cabinet. His +solution was by no means perfect; but the wonder is that he reached +it so well in spite <a name="page_181"><span class="page">Page +181</span></a> of such perverting factors. He began with the mere +armed mob that fought the First Bull Run beset with interference. +He ended with Farragut, Grant, and Sherman, combined in one great +scheme of strategy that included Mobile, Virginia, and the lower +South, and that, while under full civil control, was mostly free +from interference with its naval and military work—except +at the fussy hands of Stanton. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The fundamental difference between civil control, which is the +very breath of freedom, and civilian interference, which means +the death of all efficiency, can be quite simply illustrated by +supposing the proverbial Ship of State to be a fighting man-of-war. +The People are the owners, with all an owner's rights; while their +chosen Government is their agent, with all an agent's delegated power. +The fighting Services, as the word itself so properly implies, are +simply the People's servants, though they take their orders from +the Government. So far, so good, within the limits of civil control, +under which, and which alone, any national resources—in men, +money, or material—can lawfully be turned to warlike ends. +But when the ship is fitting out, still more when she is out at +sea, and most of all when she is fighting, <a name="page_182"><span +class="page">Page 182</span></a> then she should be handled only +by her expert captain with his expert crew. Civilian interference +begins the moment any inexpert outsider takes the captain's place; +and this interference is no less disastrous when the outsider remains +at home than when he is on the actual spot. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lincoln and Stanton were out of their element in the strategic +fight with Lee and Stonewall Jackson, as the next chapter abundantly +proves. But they will bear, and more than bear, comparison with +Davis and Benjamin, their own special "opposite numbers." Benjamin, +when Confederate Secretary of War in '62, nearly drove Jackson +out of the service by ordering him to follow the advice of some +disgruntled subordinates who objected to being moved about for +strategic reasons which they could not understand. To make matters +worse, Benjamin sent this precious order direct to Jackson without +even informing his immediate superior, "Joe" Johnston, or even Lee +himself. Thus discipline, the very soul of armies, was attacked +from above and beneath by the man who should have been its chief +upholder. Luckily for the South things were smoothed over, and +Benjamin learnt something he should have known at first. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Davis had none of Lincoln's diffidence about his own capacity for +directing the strategy of armies. <a name="page_183"><span +class="page">Page 183</span></a> He had passed through West Point +and commanded a battalion in Mexico without finding out that his +fitness stopped there. He interfered with Lee and Jackson, sometimes +to almost a disabling extent. He forced his enmity on "Joe" Johnston +and superseded him at the very worst time in the final campaign. He +interfered more than ever just when Lee most required a free hand. +And when he did make Lee a real Commander-in-Chief the Southern +cause had been lost already. Lincoln's war statesmanship grew with +the war. Davis remained as he was. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lincoln had to meet the difficulties that always occur when +professionals and amateurs are serving together. How much Lincoln, +Stanton, professionals, and amateurs had to do with the system that +was evolved under great stress is far too complex for discussion +here. Suffice it to say this: Lincoln's clear insight and openness of +mind enabled him to see the universal truth, that, other things being +equal, the trained and expert professional must excel the untrained +and inexpert amateur. But other things are never precisely equal; +and a war in which the whole mass-manhood is concerned brings in a +host of amateurs. Lincoln was as devoid of prejudice against the +<a name="page_184"><span class="page">Page 184</span></a> regular +officers as he was against any other class of men; and he was ready +to try and try again to find a satisfactory commander among them, +in spite of many failures. The plan of campaign proposed by General +Winfield Scott (and ultimately carried out in a modified form) was +dubbed by wiseacre public men the "Anaconda policy"; witlings derided +it, and the people were too impatient for anything except "On to +Richmond!" Scott, unable to take the field at seventy-five, had no +second-in-command. Halleck was a very poor substitute later on. In +the meantime McDowell was chosen and generously helped by Lincoln +and Stanton. But after Bull Run the very people whose impatience +made victory impossible howled him down. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then the choice fell on McClellan, whose notorious campaign fills +much of our next chapter. There we shall see how refractory +circumstances, Stanton's waywardness among them, forced Lincoln +to go beyond the limits of civil control. Here we need only note +McClellan's personal relations with the President. Instead of summoning +him to the White House Lincoln often called at McClellan's for +discussion. McClellan presently began to treat Lincoln's questions +as intrusions, and one day sent down word that he was too tired to +see the <a name="page_185"><span class="page">Page 185</span></a> +President. Lincoln had told a friend that he would hold McClellan's +stirrups for the sake of victory. But he could not abdicate in +favor of McClellan or any one else. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was none of Lincoln's business to be an actual Commander-in-Chief. +Yet night after weary night he sat up studying the science and art +of war, groping his untutored way toward those general principles +and essential human facts which his native genius enabled him to +reach, but never quite understanding—how could he?—their +practical application to the field of strategy. His supremely good +common sense saved him from going beyond his depth whenever he +could help it. His Military Orders were forced upon him by the +extreme pressure of impatient public opinion. He told Grant "he +did not know but they were all wrong, and he did know that some +of them were." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +McClellan was not the only failure in Virginia. Burnside and Hooker +also failed against Lee and Jackson. All three suffered from civilian +interference as well as from their own defects. At last, in the third +year of the war, a victor appeared in Meade, a good, but by no means +great, commander. In the fourth year Lincoln gave the chief command +to Grant, whom he had carefully watched and <a name="page_186"><span +class="page">Page 186</span></a> wisely supported through all the +ups and downs of the river campaigns. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant's account of his first conference alone with Lincoln is eloquent +of Lincoln's wise war statesmanship: +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +He stated that he had never professed to be a military man or +to know how campaigns should be conducted, and never wanted to +interfere in them.... All he wanted was some one who would take +the responsibility and act, and call on him for all the assistance +needed, pledging himself to use all the power of the government +in rendering such assistance.... He pointed out on the map two +streams which empty into the Potomac, and suggested that the army +might be moved on boats and landed between the mouths of these +streams. We would then have the Potomac to bring our supplies and +the tributaries would protect our flanks while we moved out. I +listened respectfully, but did not suggest that the same streams +would protect Lee's flanks while he was shutting us up. I did not +communicate my plans to the President; nor did I to the Secretary +of War or to General Halleck. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Trust begot trust; and some months later Grant showed war statesmanship +of the same magnificent kind. McClellan had become the Democratic +candidate for President, to the well-founded alarm of all who put +the Union first. In June, when Grant and Lee were at grips round +Richmond, Lincoln was <a name="page_187"><span class="page">Page +187</span></a> invited to a public meeting got up in honor of Grant +with only a flimsy disguise of the ominous fact that Grant, and +not Lincoln, might be the Union choice. Lincoln sagaciously wrote +back: "It is impossible for me to attend. I approve nevertheless +of whatever may tend to strengthen and sustain General Grant and +the noble armies now under his command. He and his brave soldiers +are now in the midst of their great trial, and I trust that at +your meeting you will so shape your good words that they may turn +to men and guns, moving to his and their support." The danger to +the Union of taking Grant away from the front moved Lincoln deeply +all through that anxious summer of '64, though he never thought +Grant would leave the front with his work half done. In August an +officious editor told Lincoln that he ought to take a good long +rest. Lincoln, however, was determined to stand by his own post of +duty and find out from Grant, through their common friend, John +Eaton, what Grant's own views of such ideas were. This is Eaton's +account of how Grant took it: +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +We had been talking very quietly. But Grant's reply came in an +instant and with a violence for which I was not prepared. He brought +his clenched fists down hard on the strap arms of his camp chair. +"They can't <a name="page_188"><span class="page">Page 188</span></a> +do it. They can't compel me to do it." Emphatic gesture was not a +strong point with Grant. "Have you said this to the President?" +"No," said Grant, "I have not thought it worth while to assure the +President of my opinion. I consider it as important for the cause +that he should be elected as that the army should be successful +in the field." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When Eaton brought back his report Lincoln simply said, "I told you +they could not get him to run till he had closed out the rebellion." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the twenty-third of this same gloomy August, lightened only +by the taking of Mobile, Lincoln asked his Cabinet if they would +endorse a memorandum without reading it. They all immediately signed. +After his reëlection in November he read it out: "This morning, +as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this +Administration will not be reëlected. Then it will be my duty +to so coöperate with the President-elect as to save the Union +between the election and the inauguration, as he will have secured his +election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards." +He added that he would have asked McClellan to throw his whole +influence into getting enough recruits to finish the war before +the fourth of March. "And McClellan," was Seward's comment, "would +have said 'Yes, yes,' and then done nothing." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_189"><span class="page">Page 189</span></a> Lincoln's +reëlection was helped by Farragut's victory in August, Sherman's +in September, and Sheridan's raid through the Shenandoah Valley in +October. But it was also helped by that strange, vivifying touch +which passes, no one knows how, from the man who best embodies a +supremely patriotic cause to the masses of his fellow patriots, +and then, at some great crisis, when they scale heights which he +has long since trod, comes back in flood and carries him to power. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lincoln stories were abroad; the true were eclipsing the false; and +all the true ones gained him increasing credit. Naval reformers, +and many others too, enjoyed the homely wit with which he closed +the first conference about such a startlingly novel craft as the +plans for the <i>Monitor</i> promised: "Well, Gentlemen, all I +have to say is what the girl said when she put her foot into the +stocking: 'It strikes me there's something in it.'" The army enjoyed +the joke against the three-month captain whom Sherman threatened +to shoot <a name="page_190"><span class="page">Page 190</span></a> +if he went home without leave. The same day Lincoln, visiting the +camp, was harangued by this prospective deserter in presence of many +another man disheartened by Bull Run. "Mr. President: this morning +I spoke to Colonel Sherman and he threatened to shoot me, Sir!" +Lincoln looked the two men over, and then, in a stage whisper every +listener could hear, said: "Well, if I were you, and he threatened +to shoot me, I wouldn't trust him; for I'm sure he'd do it." Both +Services were not only pleased with the "rise" Lincoln took out +of a too inquisitive politician but were much reassured by its +model discretion. This importunate politician so badgered Lincoln +about the real destination of McClellan's transports that Lincoln +at last promised to tell everything he could if the politician +would promise not to repeat it. Then, after swearing the utmost +secrecy, the politician got the news: "They are going to sea." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The whole home front as well as the Services were touched to the +heart by tales of Lincoln's kindness in his many interviews with +the war-bereaved; and letters like these spoke for themselves to +every patriot in the land: +</p> + +<p class="quote" style="margin-left: 20%;"> +Executive Mansion, November 21, 1864. +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts. +</p> + +<p class="quote"> + +Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department +a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are +the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of +battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine <a +name="page_191"><span class="page">Page 191</span></a> which should +attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. +But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that +may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I +pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your +bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved +and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid +so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. +</p> + +<p class="quote" style="margin-left: 10%;"> +Yours very sincerely and respectfully,<br /> + Abraham Lincoln. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Nor did the Lincoln touch stop there. It even began to make its +quietly persuasive way among the finer spirits of the South from +the very day on which the Second Inaugural closed with words which +were the noblest consummation of the prophecy made in the First. +This was the prophecy: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching +from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and +hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus +of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the +better angels of our nature." And this the consummation: "With +malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the +right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish +the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for +him <a name="page_192"><span class="page">Page 192</span></a> who +shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan—to +do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among +ourselves and with all nations." +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_193"><span class="page">Page 193</span></a> +CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">LEE AND JACKSON: 1862-3</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Most Southerners remained spellbound by the glamour of Bull Run +till the hard, sharp truths of '62 began to rouse them from their +flattering dream. They fondly hoped, and even half believed, that +if another Northern army dared to invade Virginia it would certainly +fail against their entrenchments at Bull Run. If, so ran the argument, +the North failed in the open field it must fail still worse against +a fortified position. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Southern generals vainly urged their Government to put forth +its utmost strength at once, before the more complex and less united +North had time to recover and begin anew. They asked for sixty +thousand men at Bull Run, to be used for a vigorous counterstroke +at Washington. They pointed out the absurdity of misusing the Bull +Run (or Manassas) position as a mere shield, fixed to one spot, +instead of making it the hilt of a sword <a name="page_194"><span +class="page">Page 194</span></a> thrust straight at the heart of +the North. Robert E. Lee, now a full general in the Confederate +Army and adviser to the President, grasped the whole situation +from the first and urged the right solution in the official way. +Stonewall Jackson, still a junior general, was in full accord with +Lee, as we know from the confidential interview (at the end of +October, '61) between him and his divisional commander, General G. +W. Smith, who made it public many years later. The gist of Jackson's +argument was this: "McClellan won't come out this year with his +army of recruits. We ought to invade now, not wait to be invaded +later on. If Davis would concentrate every man who can be spared +from all other points and let us invade before winter sets in, +then McClellan's recruits couldn't stand against us in the field. +Let us cross the upper Potomac, occupy Baltimore, and, holding +Maryland, cut the communications of Washington, force the Federal +Government out of it, beat McClellan if he attacks, destroy industrial +plants liable to be turned to warlike ends, cut the big commercial +lines of communication, close the coal mines, seize the neck of land +between Pittsburg and Lake Erie, live on the country by requisition, +and show the North what it would cost <a name="page_195"><span +class="page">Page 195</span></a> to conquer the South." On asking +Smith if he agreed, Smith answered: "I will tell you a secret; for +I am sure it won't be divulged. These views were rejected by the +Government during the conference at Fairfax Court House at the +beginning of the month." Jackson thereupon shook Smith's hand, +saying, "I am sorry, very sorry," and, mounting Little Sorrel without +another word, rode sadly away. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Jefferson Davis probably, and some of his Cabinet possibly, understood +what Lee, "Joe" Johnston, Beauregard, Smith, and Jackson so strongly +urged. But they feared the outcry that would assuredly be raised by +people in districts denuded of troops for the grand concentration +elsewhere. So they remained passive when they should have been active, +and, trying to strengthen each separate part, fatally weakened the +whole. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile the North was collecting the different elements of warlike +force and changing its Secretary of War. Cameron was superseded by +Stanton on the fifteenth of January. Twelve days later Lincoln issued +the first of those military orders which, as we have just seen, he +afterwards told Grant that the impatience of the loyal North compelled +him to issue, though he knew some were <a name="page_196"><span +class="page">Page 196</span></a> certainly, and all were possibly, +wrong. This first order was one of the certainly wrong. McClellan's +unready masses were to begin an unlimited mud march through the +early spring roads of Virginia on the twenty-second of February, +in honor of Washington's birthday. A reconnoitering staff officer +reported the roads as being in their proper places; but he guessed +the bottom had fallen out. So McClellan was granted some delay. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +His grand total was now over two hundred thousand men. The Confederate +grand total was estimated at a hundred and fifteen thousand by the +civilian detectives whom the Federal Government employed to serve +in place of an expert intelligence staff. The detective estimate +was sixty-five thousand men out. The real Confederate strength +at this time was only fifty thousand. There was little chance of +getting true estimates in any other way, as the Federal Government +had no adequate cavalry. Most of the few cavalry McClellan commanded +were as yet a mere collection of men and horses, quite unfit for +reconnoitering and testing an enemy's force. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +McClellan's own plan, formed on the supposition that the Confederates +held the Bull Run position with at least a hundred thousand men, +<a name="page_197"><span class="page">Page 197</span></a> involved +the transfer of a hundred and fifty thousand Federals by sea from +Washington to Fortress Monroe, on the historic peninsula between +the York and James rivers. Then, using these rivers as lines of +communication, his army would take Richmond in flank. Lincoln's +objection to this plan was based on the very significant argument +that while the Federal army was being transported piecemeal to +Fortress Monroe the Confederates might take Washington by a sudden +dash from their base at Centreville, only thirty miles off. This +was a valid objection; for Washington was not only the Federal +Headquarters but the very emblem of the Union cause—a sort +of living Stars and Stripes—and Washington lost might well +be understood to mean almost the same as if the Ship of State had +struck her colors. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the ninth of March the immediate anxiety about Washington was +relieved. That day came news that the <i>Monitor</i> had checkmated +the <i>Merrimac</i> in Hampton Roads and that "Joe" Johnston had +withdrawn his forces from the Bull Run position and had retired +behind the Rappahannock to Culpeper. On the tenth McClellan began +a reconnoitering pursuit of Johnston from Washington. Having found +burnt bridges and other signs of <a name="page_198"><span +class="page">Page 198</span></a> decisive retirement, he at last +persuaded the reluctant Lincoln to sanction the Peninsula Campaign. +On the seventeenth his army began embarking for Fortress Monroe, +ten thousand men at a time, that being all the transports could +carry. For a week the movement of troops went on successfully; +while the Confederates could not make out what was happening along +the coast. Everything also seemed quite safe, from the Federal point +of view, in the Shenandoah Valley, where General Banks commanded. +And both there and along the Potomac the Federals were in apparently +overwhelming strength; even though the detectives doing duty as +staff officers still kept on doubling the numbers of all the +Confederates under arms. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Suddenly, on the twenty-third, a fight at Kernstown in the Shenandoah +Valley gave a serious shock to the victorious Federals, not only +there but all over the semicircle of invasion, from West Virginia +round by the Potomac and down to Fortress Monroe. The fighting on +both sides was magnificent. Yet Kernstown itself was a very small +affair. Little more than ten thousand men had been in action: seven +thousand Federals under Shields against half as many Confederates +under Stonewall Jackson. The point is that Jackson's attack, <a +name="page_199"><span class="page">Page 199</span></a> though +unsuccessful, was very disconcerting elsewhere. From Kernstown the +area of disturbance spread like wildfire till the tactical victory +of seven thousand Federals had spoilt the strategy of thirty times +as many. Shields reported: "I set to work during the night to bring +together all the troops within my reach. I sent an express after +Williams's division, requesting the rear brigade, about twenty miles +distant, to march all night and join me in the morning. I swept the +posts in rear of almost all their guards, hurrying them forward +by forced marches, to be with me at daylight." Banks, now on his +way to Washington, halted in alarm at Harper's Ferry. McClellan, +perceiving that Jackson's little force was more than a mere corps of +observation, approved Banks and added: "As soon as you are strong +enough push Jackson hard and drive him well beyond Strasburg," that +is, west of the Massanuttons, where Frémont could close in +and finish him. Lincoln had already been thinking of transferring +nine thousand men from McClellan to Frémont. Kernstown decided +it; so off they went to West Virginia. Still fearing an attack on +Washington, Lincoln halted McDowell's army corps, thirty-seven +thousand strong, on the march overland to join McClellan on the +Peninsula, and kept <a name="page_200"><span class="page">Page +200</span></a> them stuck fast round Centreville, near Bull Run. +And so McClellan's Peninsular force was suddenly reduced by forty-six +thousand men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +April was a month of maneuvers and suspense. By the end of it McClellan, +based on Fortress Monroe, had accumulated a hundred and ten thousand +men. The Confederates on the Peninsula, holding Yorktown, numbered +fifty thousand. McClellan sadly missed McDowell, whose corps was to +have taken the fort at Gloucester Point that prevented the Federal +gunboats from turning the enemy's lines at Yorktown. McDowell moved +south to Fredericksburg, leaving a small force near Manassas Junction +to connect him with the garrison of Washington. The Confederates +could spare only twelve thousand men to watch him. Meanwhile Banks +occupied the Shenandoah Valley, having twenty thousand men at +Harrisonburg and smaller forces at several points all round, from +southwest to northeast, each designed to form part of the net that +was soon to catch Jackson. Beyond Banks stood Frémont's +force in West Virginia, also ready to close in. Jackson's complete +grand total was less than that of Banks's own main body. Yet, with +one eye on Richmond, he lay in wait at Swift Run Gap, crouching +for a tiger-spring <a name="page_201"><span class="page">Page +201</span></a> at Banks. Virginia was semicircled by superior forces. +But everywhere inside the semicircle the Confederate parts all +formed one strategic whole; while the Federal parts outside did not. +Moreover, the South had already decided to call up every available +man; thus forestalling the North by more than ten months on the +vital issue of conscription. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In May the preliminary clash of arms began on the Peninsula. The +Confederates evacuated the Yorktown lines on the third. On the +fifth McClellan's advanced guard fought its way past Williamsburg. +On the seventh he began changing his base from Fortress Monroe to +White House on the Pamunkey. Here on the sixteenth he was within +twenty miles of Richmond, while all the seaways behind him were safe +in Union hands. The fate not only of Richmond but of the whole South +seemed trembling in the scales. The Northern armies had cleared +the Mississippi down to Memphis. The Northern navy had taken New +Orleans, the greatest Southern port. And now the Northern hosts +were striking at the Southern capital. McClellan with double numbers +from the east, McDowell with treble numbers from the north, and +the Union navy, with more than fourfold <a name="page_202"><span +class="page">Page 202</span></a> strength on all the navigable +waters, were closing in. The Confederate Government had even decided +to take the extreme step of evacuating Richmond, hoping to prolong +the struggle elsewhere. The official records had been packed. Davis +had made all arrangements for the flight of his family. And from +Drewry's Bluff, eight miles south of Richmond, the masts of the +foremost Federal vessels could be seen coming up the James, where, +on the eleventh, the <i>Merrimac</i>, having grounded, had been +destroyed by her own commander. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But the General Assembly of Virginia, passionately seconded by +the City Council, petitioned the Government to stand its ground +"till not a stone was left upon another." Every man in Richmond who +could do a hand's turn and who was not already in arms marched out +to complete the defenses of the James at Drewry's Bluff. Senators, +bankers, bondmen and free, merchants, laborers, and ministers of +all religions, dug earthworks, hauled cannon, piled ammunition, +or worked, wet to the waist, at the big boom that was to stop the +ships and hold them under fire. The Government had changed its mind. +Richmond was to be held to the last extremity. And the Southern +women were as willing as the men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_203"><span class="page">Page 203</span></a> In the +midst of all this turmoil Lee calmly reviewed the situation. He saw +that the Federal gunboats coming up the James were acting alone, as +the disconnected vanguard of what should have been a joint advance, +and that no army was yet moving to support them. He knew McClellan +and Banks and read them like a book. He also knew Jackson, and +decided to use him again in the Shenandoah Valley as a menace to +Washington. Writing to him on the sixteenth of May, the very day +McClellan reached White House, only twenty miles from Richmond, he +said: "Whatever movement you make against Banks, do it speedily, +and, if successful, drive him back towards the Potomac, and create +the impression, as far as possible, that you design threatening +that line." Moreover, out of his own scanty forces, he sent Jackson +two excellent brigades. Thus, while the great Federal civilians +who knew nothing practical of war were all agog about Richmond, a +single point at one end of the semicircle, the great Confederate +strategist was forging a thunderbolt to relieve the pressure on it +by striking the Federal center so as to threaten Washington. The +fundamental idea was a Fabian defensive at Richmond, a vigorous +offensive in the Valley, to produce <a name="page_204"><span +class="page">Page 204</span></a> Federal dispersion between these +points and Washington; then rapid concentration against McClellan +on the Chickahominy. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The unsupported Federal gunboats were stopped and turned back at +the boom near Drewry's Bluff. McClellan, bent on besieging Richmond +in due form, crawled cautiously about the intervening swamps of the +oozy Chickahominy. McDowell, who could not advance alone, remained +at Fredericksburg. Shields stood behind him, near Catlett's Station, +to keep another eye on nervous Washington. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +In the meantime Stonewall Jackson, still in the Shenandoah, had +fought no battles since his tactical defeat at Kernstown on the +twenty-third of March had proved such a pregnant strategic victory +elsewhere. But late in April he had a letter from Lee, telling of +the general situation and suggesting an attack on Banks. Banks, +however, still had twenty thousand men at Harrisonburg, with twenty-five +thousand more in or within call of the Valley. Jackson's complete +grand total was less than eighteen thousand. The odds against him +therefore exceeded five against two; and direct attack was out of the +question. But he now began <a name="page_205"><span class="page">Page +205</span></a> his maneuvers anew and on a bolder scale than ever. +He had upset the Federal strategy at Kernstown, when there were +less than eight thousand Confederates in the Valley. What might +he not do with ten thousand more? His wonderful Valley Campaign, +famous forever in the history of war, gives us the answer. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He had five advantages over Banks. First, his own expert knowledge +and genius for war, backed by a dauntless character. Banks was a +very able man who had worked his way up from factory hand to Speaker +of the House of Representatives and Governor of Massachusetts. But +he had neither the knowledge, genius, nor character required for +high command; and he owed his present position more to his ardor +as a politician than to his ability as a general. Jackson's second +advantage was his own and his army's knowledge of the country for +which they naturally fought with a loving zeal which no invaders could +equal. The third advantage was in having Turner Ashby's cavalry. +These were horsemen born and bred, who could make their way across +country as easily as the "footy" Federals could along the road. +In answer to a peremptory order a Federal cavalry commander could +only explain: "I can't catch them. <a name="page_206"><span +class="page">Page 206</span></a> They leap fences and walls like +deer. Neither our men nor our horses are so trained." The fourth +advantage was in discipline. Jackson habitually spared his men more +than his officers, and his officers more than himself, whenever +indulgence was possible. But when discipline had to be sternly +maintained he maintained it sternly, throughout all ranks, knowing +that the flower of discipline is self-sacrifice, from the senior +general down, and that the root is due subordination, from the +junior private up. After the Conscription Act had come into force +a few companies, who were time-expired as volunteers, threw down +their arms and told their colonel they wouldn't serve another day. +On hearing this officially Jackson asked: "Why does Colonel Grigsby +refer to me to learn how to deal with mutineers? He should shoot +them where they stand." The rest of the regiment was then paraded +with loaded arms, facing the mutineers, who were given the choice +of complete submission or instant death. They chose submission. That +was the last mutiny under Stonewall Jackson. Both sides suffered from +straggling, the Confederates as much as the Federals. But Confederate +stragglers rejoined the better of the two; and in downright desertion +the Federals were the worse, simply because <a name="page_207"><span +class="page">Page 207</span></a> their own peace party was by far +the stronger. The final advantage brings us back to strategy, on +which the whole campaign was turning. Lee and Jackson worked the +Confederates together. Lincoln and Stanton worked the Federals +apart. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the last of April Jackson slipped away from Swift Run Gap while +Ewell quietly took his place and Ashby blinded Banks by driving the +Federal cavalry back on Harrisonburg. Jackson's men were thoroughly +puzzled and disheartened when they had to leave the Valley in full +possession of the enemy while they ploughed through seas of mud +towards Richmond. What was the matter? Were they off to Richmond? +No; for they presently wheeled round. "Old Jack's crazy, sure, +this time." Even one of his staff officers thought so himself, +and put it on paper, to his own confusion afterwards. The rain +came down in driving sheets. The roads became mere drains for the +oozing woods. Wheels stuck fast; and Jackson was seen heaving his +hardest with an exhausted gun team. But still the march went +on—slosh, slosh, squelch; they slogged it through. <i>Close +up, men!—close up in rear!—close up, there, close up!</i> +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the fourth of May Jackson got word from <a name="page_208"><span +class="page">Page 208</span></a> Edward Johnson, commanding his +detached brigade near Staunton, that Milroy, commanding Frémont's +advanced guard, was coming on from West Virginia. Jackson at once +seized the chance of smashing Milroy by railing in to Staunton +before Banks or Frémont could interfere. This would have +been suicidal against a great commander with a well-trained force. +But Banks, grossly exaggerating Jackson's numbers, was already +marching north to the railhead at New Market, where he would be +nearer his friends if Jackson swooped down. Detraining at Staunton +the Confederates picketed the whole neighborhood to stop news getting +out before they made their dash against Milroy. On the seventh they +moved off. The cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, where +Jackson had been a professor for so many years, had just joined +to gain some experience of the real thing, and as they stepped out +in their smart uniforms, with all the exactness of parade-ground +drill, they formed a marked contrast to the gaunt soldiers of the +Valley, half fed, half clad, but wholly eager for the fray. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 549px;"> +<a name="fig_07"> +<img src="images/fig_07.jpg" width="549" height="561" alt="Fig. 7"></a> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +That night Milroy got together all the men he could collect at +McDowell, a little village just beyond the Valley and on the road +to Gauley <a name="page_209"><span class="page">Page 209</span></a> +Bridge in West Virginia. He sent posthaste for reinforcements. But +Frémont's men were divided too far west, fearing nothing +from the Valley, while Banks's were thinking of a concentration +too far north. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the afternoon of the eighth, Milroy attacked Jackson with great +determination and much skill. But after a stern encounter, in which +the outnumbered Federals fought very well indeed, the Confederates +won a decisive victory. The numbers actually engaged—twenty-five +hundred Federals against four thousand Confederates—were +even smaller than at Kernstown. But this time the Confederates won +the tactical victory on the spot as well as the strategic victory +all over the Valley; and the news cheered Richmond at what, as we +have seen already, was its very darkest hour. The night of the +battle Jackson sent out strong working parties to destroy all bridges +and culverts and to block all roads by which Frémont could +reach the Valley. In some places bowlders were rolled down from the +hills. In one the trees were felled athwart the path for a mile. A +week later Jackson was back in the Valley at Lebanon Springs, while +Frémont was blocked off from Banks, who was now distractedly +groping for safety and news. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_210"><span class="page">Page 210</span></a> The following +day, the famous sixteenth, we regain touch with Lee, who, as mentioned +already, then wrote to Jackson about attacking Banks in order to +threaten Washington. This dire day at Richmond, the day McClellan +reached White House, was also the one appointed by the Southern +Government as a day of intercession for God's blessing on the Southern +arms. None kept it more fervently, even in beleaguered Richmond, +than pious Jackson in the Valley. Then, like a giant refreshed, he +rose for swift and silent marches and also sudden hammer-strokes +at Banks. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Confident that all would now go well, Washington thought nothing +of the little skirmish at McDowell, because it apparently disturbed +nothing beyond the Shenandoah Valley. The news from everywhere +else was good; and Federals were jubilant. So were the civilian +strategists, particularly Stanton, who, though tied to his desk +as Secretary of War, was busy wire-pulling Banks's men about the +Valley. Stanton ordered Banks to take post at Strasburg and to +hold the bridges at Front Royal with two detached battalions. This +masterpiece of bungling put the Federals at Front Royal in the air, +endangered their communications north to Winchester, and therefore +menaced the Valley line <a name="page_211"><span class="page">Page +211</span></a> toward Washington. But Banks said nothing; and Stanton +would have snubbed him if he had. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the twenty-third of May a thousand Federals under Colonel Kenly +were sweltering in the first hot weather of the year at Stanton's +indefensible position of Front Royal when suddenly a long gray line +of skirmishers emerged from the woods, the Confederate bugles rang +out, and Jackson's battle line appeared. Then came a crashing volley, +which drove in the Federal pickets for their lives. Colonel Kenly +did his best. But he was outflanked and forced back in confusion. A +squadron of New York cavalry came to the rescue; but were themselves +outflanked and helpless on the road against the Virginian horsemen, +who could ride across country. Kenly had just made a second stand, +when down came the Virginians, led by Colonel Flournoy at racing +speed over fence and ditch, scattering the Federal cavalry like +chaff before the wind and smashing into the Federal infantry. Two +hundred and fifty really efficient cavalry took two guns (complete +with limbers, men, and horses), killed and wounded a hundred and +fifty-four of their opponents, and captured six hundred prisoners +as well—and all with a loss to themselves of only eleven +killed and fifteen wounded. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_212"><span class="page">Page 212</span></a> Ashby's +cavalry, several hundreds strong, pushed on and out to the flanks, +cutting the wires, destroying bridges, and blocking the roads against +reinforcements from beyond the Valley. Three hours after the attack +a dispatch-rider dashed up to Banks's headquarters at Strasburg. +But Banks refused to move, saying, when pressed by his staff to +make a strategic retreat on Winchester, "By God, sir, I will not +retreat! We have more to fear from the opinions of our friends +than from the bayonets of our enemies!" The Cabinet backed him +up next day by actually proposing to reinforce him at Strasburg +with troops from Washington and Baltimore. Nevertheless he was +forced to fly for his life to Winchester. His stores at Strasburg +had to be abandoned. His long train of wagons was checked on the +way, with considerable loss. And some of his cavalry, caught on +the road by horsemen who could ride across country, were smashed +to pieces. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Jackson pressed on relentlessly to Winchester with every one who +could march like "foot cavalry," as his Valley men came to be called. +On the twenty-fifth, the third day of unremitting action, he carried +the Winchester heights and drove Banks through the town. Only the +Second <a name="page_213"><span class="page">Page 213</span></a> +Massachusetts, which had already distinguished itself during the +retreat, preserved its formation. Ten thousand Confederate bayonets +glittered in the morning sun. The long gray lines swept forward. +The piercing rebel yell rose high. And the people, wild with joy, +rushed out of doors to urge the victors on. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By the twenty-sixth, the first day on which Stanton's reinforcements +from Baltimore and Washington could possibly have fought at Strasburg, +the Confederates had reached Martinsburg, fifty miles beyond it. +Banks had already crossed the Potomac, farther on still. The newsboys +of the North were crying, <i>Defeat of General Banks! Washington +in danger!</i> Thirteen Governors were calling for special State +militia, for which a million men were volunteering, spare troops +were hurrying to Harper's Ferry, a reserve corps was being formed +at Washington, the Federal Government was assuming control of all +the railroad lines, and McClellan was being warned that he must +either take Richmond at once or come back to save the capital. Nor +did the strategic disturbance stop even there; for the Washington +authorities ordered McDowell's force at Fredericksburg to the Valley +just as it was coming into touch with McClellan. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_214"><span class="page">Page 214</span></a> On the +twenty-eighth Jackson might have taken Harper's Ferry. But the +storm was gathering round him. A great strategist directing the +Federal forces could have concentrated fifty thousand men, by sunset +on the first of June, against Jackson's Army of the Valley, which +could not possibly have mustered one-third of such a number. McDowell +arrived that night at Front Royal. He had vainly protested against +the false strategy imposed by the Government from Washington, and +he was not a free agent now. Yet, even so, his force was at least +a menace to Jackson, who had only two chances of getting away to +aid in the defeat of McClellan and the saving of Richmond. One +was to outmarch the converging Federals, gain interior lines along +the Valley, and defeat them there in detail. The other was to march +into friendly Maryland, trusting to her Southern sentiments for +help and reinforcements. He decided on the Valley route and marched +straight in between his enemies. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +His fortnight's work, from the nineteenth of May to the first of +June, inclusive, is worth summing up. In these fourteen days he +had marched 170 miles, routed 12,500 men, threatened an invasion +of the North, drawn McDowell off from Fredericksburg, taken or +destroyed all Federal stores at Front <a name="page_215"><span +class="page">Page 215</span></a> Royal, Winchester, and Martinsburg, +and brought off safely a convoy seven miles long. Moreover, he +had done all this with the loss of only six hundred, though sixty +thousand enemies lay on three sides of his own sixteen thousand +men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +His remaining problem was harder still. It was how to mystify, +tire out, check short, and then immobilize the converging Federals +long enough to let him slip secretly away in time to help Johnston +and Lee against McClellan. Jackson, like his enemies, moved through +what has been well called the Fog of War—that inevitable +uncertainty through which all commanders must find their way. But +none of his enemies equaled him in knowledge, genius, or character +for war. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first week in June saw desperate marches in the Valley, with +the outnumbering Federals hot-foot on the trail of Jackson, who +turned to bay one moment and at the next was off again. On the +sixth the Federals got home against his rear guard. It began to +waver, and Ashby ordered the infantry to charge. As he gave the +order his horse fell dead. In a flash he was up, waving his sword +and shouting: "Charge, for God's sake, charge!" The Confederate +line swept forward gallantly. But, just as it left the wood, Ashby +was shot through the <a name="page_216"><span class="page">Page +216</span></a> heart. His men avenged him. Yet none could fill +his place as a born leader of irregular light horse. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Next morning the hounds were hot upon the scent again: Shields +and Frémont converging on Jackson, whom they would run to +earth somewhere north of Staunton. But on the eighth and ninth +Jackson turned sharply and bit back, first at Frémont close +to Cross Keys, then at Shields near Port Republic. Each was caught +alone, just before their point of junction, and each was defeated +in detail as well. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Fully to appreciate Jackson's strategy we must compare the strategical +and tactical numbers concerned throughout this short but momentous +Valley Campaign. The strategic numbers are those at the disposal +of the commander within the theater of operations. The tactical +numbers are those actually present on the field of battle, whether +engaged or not. At McDowell the Federals had 30,000 in strategic +strength against 17,000 Confederates; yet the Confederates got 6000 +on to the field of battle against no more than 2500. At Winchester +the Federal strategic strength was 60,000 against 16,000; yet the +Confederate tactical strength was every man of the 16,000 against +7500—only one-eighth of Banks's grand total. At Cross Keys +the strategic strengths were 23,000 <a name="page_217"><span +class="page">Page 217</span></a> Federals against 13,000 Confederates; +yet 12,750 Federals were beaten by 8000 Confederates. Finally, at +Port Republic, the Federals, with a strategic strength of 22,000 +against the Confederate 12,700, could only bring a tactical strength +of 4500 to bear on 6000 Confederates. The grand aggregate of these +four remarkable actions is well worth adding up. It comes to this +in strategic strength: 135,000 Federals against 58,700 Confederates. +Yet in tactical strength the odds are reversed; for they come to +this: 36,000 Confederates against only 27,250 Federals. Therefore +Stonewall Jackson, with strategic odds of nearly seven to three +against him, managed to fight with tactical odds of four to three +in his favor. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +While Jackson was fighting in the Valley the Confederates at Richmond +were watching the nightly glow of Federal camp fires. McClellan +had 30,000 men north of the Chickahominy, waiting for McDowell to +come back from his enterprise against Jackson, and 75,000 south +of it. What could the 65,000 Confederates do, except hold fast to +their lines? TO RICHMOND 4-1/2 MILES: so read the sign-post at +the Mechanicsville bridge, and there stood the nearest Federal +picket. Johnston and Lee <a name="page_218"><span class="page">Page +218</span></a> knew, however, that McClellan's alarmist detectives +swore to a Confederate army three times its actual strength at +this time; and there was reason to hope that the consequent moral +ascendancy would help the shock of an attack suddenly made on one +of McClellan's two wings while the flooded Chickahominy flowed +between them and its oozy swamps bewildered his staff. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Hearing that McDowell need not be feared, Johnston attacked at +daylight on the thirty-first of May. The battle of Seven Pines +(known also as Fair Oaks) was not unlike Shiloh. The Federals were +taken by surprise on the first day and only succeeded in holding +their own by hard fighting and with a good deal of loss. A mistake +was made by the Confederate division told off for the attack on the +key to the Federal front (an attack which, if completely successful, +would have split the Federals in two) and the main bodies were +engaged before this fatal error could be rectified. So the surprised +Federals gradually recovered from the first shock and began to +feel and use their hitherto unrealized strength. On the second +day (the first of June) Johnston, who had been severely wounded, +was plainly defeated and compelled to fall back on Richmond again. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_219"><span class="page">Page 219</span></a> On the +morrow of this defeat Lee was appointed to "the immediate command +of the armies in eastern Virginia and North Carolina." Davis was +not war statesman enough to make him Commander-in-Chief till +'65—four years too late. Johnston did not reappear till he +tried to relieve Vicksburg from the determined attacks of Grant +in '63. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The twelfth of June will be remembered forever in the annals of +cavalry for Stuart's first great ride round McClellan's host. With +twelve hundred troopers and two horse artillery guns he stole out +beyond the western flank of the Federals and reached Taylorsville that +evening, twenty-two miles north of Richmond. Next day he rode right in +among the Federal posts in rear, discovering that McClellan's right +stretched little north of the Chickahominy, that it was not fortified, +and that it did not rest on any strong natural feature, such as a +swampy stream. This was exactly the information Lee required. So +far, so good. The Federals met with up to this time had simply been +ridden down. But now the whole country was alarmed and McClellan +had forces out to cut Stuart off on his return, while General Cooke +(Stuart's father-in-law) began to pursue him from Hanover Court +House. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_220"><span class="page">Page 220</span></a> Then +Stuart took the boldest step of all, deciding to go clear round +the rest of the Federal army. At Tunstall's Station on the York +River Railroad he routed the guard, tore up the track, destroyed the +stores and wagons, cut the wires, burnt the bridge, and replenished +his supplies. Thence southeast, by the Williamsburg road, his column +marched under a full summer moon, the people running out of doors, +wild with joy at his daring. At sunrise he reached the Chickahominy, +only to find it flooded, full of timber, and spanned by nothing +better than a broken bridge. But, using the materials of a warehouse +to make a footway, the troopers crossed in single file, leading +their chargers, which swam. Waving his hand to the Federals, who had +just arrived too late, Stuart pushed on the remaining thirty-five +miles to Richmond, rounding the Federal flank within range of Federal +gunboats on the James. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This magnificent raid not only procured in three days information +that McClellan's civilian detectives could not have procured in +three years but raised Confederate morale and depressed the Federals +correspondingly. Moreover, it drove the first nail into McClellan's +coffin. For in October, just after another Stuart raid, the following +curious <a name="page_221"><span class="page">Page 221</span></a> +incident occurred on board the <i>Martha Washington</i> when Lincoln +was returning from an Alexandria review which had cheered him up +considerably, coming, as it did, after Lee had failed in Maryland. +By way of answering the very pertinent question—"Mr. President, +how about McClellan?"—Lincoln simply drew a ring on the deck, +quietly adding: "When I was a boy we used to play a game called +'Three times round and out.' Stuart has been round McClellan twice. +The third time McClellan will be out." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Stuart rode ahead of his troopers, straight to Lee, who immediately +wrote to Jackson suggesting that the Army of the Valley, while +keeping the Federals alarmed to the last about an attack on the +line of the Potomac, might secretly slip away and join a combined +attack on McClellan. Jackson, who had of course foreseen this, was +ready with every blind known to the art of war. Even his staff +and generals knew nothing of their destination. The first move +was so secret that the enemy never suspected anything till it was +too late, while friends thought there was to be another surprise +in the Valley. The second move led various people to suspect a +march on Washington—no bad news to leak out; and nothing +but misleading items did leak out. The <a name="page_222"><span +class="page">Page 222</span></a> Army of the Valley moved within +a charmed circle of cavalry which prevented any one from going +forward, ahead of the advance, and swept before it all stragglers +through whom the news might leak out by the rear. On the twenty-third +of June, only eight days after Stuart had reported his raid to Lee, +Jackson attended Lee's conference at the same place, Richmond. +The Valley Army was then on its thirty-mile march from Frederick's +Hall to Ashland, where it arrived on the twenty-fifth, fifteen +miles north. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +McClellan had over a hundred thousand men. Lee had less than ninety +thousand, even after Jackson had joined him. To attack McClellan's +strongly fortified front, with its almost impregnable flanks, would +have been suicide. But McClellan's farther right, commanded by that +excellent officer, FitzJohn Porter, lay north of the Chickahominy, +with its own right open for junction with McDowell. So Lee, knowing +McClellan and the state of this Federal right, decided on the +twenty-fourth to attack Porter and threaten McClellan's communications +not only with McDowell to the north but with White House, the Federal +base twenty miles northeast. This was an exceedingly bold move, +first, because McClellan had plenty of men <a name="page_223"><span +class="page">Page 223</span></a> to take Richmond during Lee's +march north, secondly, because it meant the convergence of separate +forces on the field of battle (Jackson being at Ashland, fifteen +miles from Richmond) and, thirdly, because the Confederates were +inferior in armament and in supplies of all kinds as well as in +actual numbers. Magruder, who had held the Yorktown lines so cleverly +with such inferior forces, was to hold Richmond (on both sides +of the James) with thirty-five thousand men against McClellan's +seventy-five thousand, while Lee and Jackson converged on Porter's +twenty-five thousand with over fifty thousand. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then followed the famous Seven Days, beginning on the twenty-sixth +of June near the signpost at the Mechanicsville bridge—TO +RICHMOND 4-1/2 MILES—and ending at Harrison's Landing on +the second of July. On the twenty-sixth the attack was made with +consummate strategic skill. But it was marred by bad staff work, +by the great obstructions in Jackson's path, and by A. P. Hill's +premature attack with ten thousand men against Porter's admirable +front at Beaver Dam Creek. Hill's men moved down their own side +of the little valley in dense masses till every gun and rifle on +Porter's side was suddenly unmasked. No scythe <a name="page_224"><span +class="page">Page 224</span></a> could have mowed the leading +Confederates better. Two thousand went down in the first few minutes, +and the rest at once retreated. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Porter fell back on Gaines's Mill, where, after being reinforced, +he took up a strong position on the twenty-seventh. Again there +was failure in combining the attack. Jackson found obstructions +that even he could not overcome quickly enough. Hill attacked again +with the utmost gallantry, wave after wave of Confederates rushing +forward only to melt away before the concentrated fire of Porter's +reinforced command. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But at last the Confederates—though checked and roughly +handled—converged under Lee's own eye; and an inferno of +shot and shell loosened and shook the steadfast Federal defense. +Lee and Jackson, though far apart, gave the word for the final +charge at almost the same moment. As Jackson's army suddenly burst +into view and swept forward to the assault the joyful news was +shouted down the ranks: "The Valley men are here!" Thereupon Lee's +men took up the double-quick with "Stonewall Jackson! Jackson! +Jackson!" as their battle cry. The Federals fought right valiantly +till their key-point suddenly gave way, smashed in by weight of +numbers; for Lee had <a name="page_225"><span class="page">Page +225</span></a> brought into action half as many again as Porter +had, even with his reinforcements. On the gallantly defended hill +the long blue lines rocked, reeled, and broke to right and left +all but the steadfast regulars, whose infantry fell back in perfect +order, whose cavalry made a desperate though futile attempt to stay +the rout by charging one against twenty, and whose four magnificent +batteries, splendidly served to the very last round, retired unbroken +with the loss of only two guns. Then the Confederate colors waved +in triumph on the hard-won crest against the crimson of the setting +sun. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The victorious Confederates spent the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth +in finding the way to McClellan's new base. His absolute control +of all the waterways had enabled him to change his base from White +House on the Pamunkey to Harrison's Landing on the James. When the +Confederates discovered his line of retreat by the Quaker Road they +pressed in to cut it. On the thirtieth there was severe fighting +in White Oak Swamp and on Frayser's Farm. But the Federals passed +through, and made a fine stand on Malvern Hill next day. Finally, +when they turned at bay on the Evelington Heights, which covered +Harrison's Landing, <a name="page_226"><span class="page">Page +226</span></a> they convinced their pursuers that it would be fatal +to attack again; for now Northern sea-power was visibly present in +flotillas of gunboats, which made the flanks as hopelessly strong +as the front. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +McClellan therefore remained safely behind his entrenchments, with +the navy in support. He had to his own credit the strategic success +of having foiled Lee by a clever change of base; and to the credit +of his army stood some first-rate fighting besides some tactical +success, especially at Malvern Hill. Nevertheless the second invasion +of Virginia was plainly a failure; though by no means a glaring +disaster, like the first invasion at Bull Run. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +McClellan, again reinforced, still professed his readiness to take +Richmond under conditions that suited himself. But the most promising +Northern force now seemed to be Pope's Army of Virginia, coming +down from the line of the Potomac, forty-seven thousand strong, +composed of excellent material, and heralded by proclamations which +even McClellan could never excel. John Pope, Halleck's hero of Island +Number Ten, came from the West to show the East how to fight. "I presume +that I have been called here to lead you <a name="page_227"><span +class="page">Page 227</span></a> against the enemy, and that speedily. +I hear constantly of taking strong positions and holding them—of +lines of retreat and bases of supplies. Let us discard such ideas. +Let us study the probable line of retreat of our opponents, and +leave our own to take care of themselves." His Army of Virginia +contained Frémont's (now Sigel's) corps, as well as those +of Banks and McDowell—all experts in the art of "chasing +Jackson." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Jackson was soon ready to be chased again. The Confederate strength +had been reduced by the Seven Days and not made good by reinforcement; +so Lee could spare Jackson only twenty-four thousand men with whom +to meet the almost double numbers under Pope. But Jackson's men had +the better morale, not only on account of their previous service but +because of their rage to beat Pope, who, unlike other Northerners, +was enforcing the harshest rules of war. His lieutenant, General von +Steinwehr, went further, not only seizing prominent civilians as +hostages (to be shot whenever he chose to draw his own distinctions +between Confederate soldiers and guerillas) but giving his German +subordinates a liberty that some of them knew well how to turn +into license. This, of course, was most exceptional; for nearly +all Northerners made <a name="page_228"><span class="page">Page +228</span></a> war like gentlemen. Unhappily, those who did not +were bad enough and numerous enough to infuriate the South. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Halleck, who had now become chief military adviser to the Union +Government, was as cautious as McClellan and had so little discernment +that he thought Pope a better general than Grant. Lincoln, Stanton, +and Halleck put their heads together; and an order soon followed +which had the effect of relieving the pressure on Richmond and +giving the initiative to Lee. Halleck ordered McClellan to withdraw +from Harrison's Landing, take his Army of the Potomac round by sea +to Aquia Creek, and join Pope on the Rappahannock—an operation +requiring the whole month of August to complete. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee lost no time. His first move was to get Pope's advanced troops +defeated by Jackson, who brought more than double numbers against +Banks at Cedar Run on the ninth of August. The Federals fought +magnificently, nine against twenty thousand men. After the battle +Jackson marched across the Rapidan, and Halleck wisely forbade +Pope from following him, even though the first of Burnside's men +(now the advanced guard of McClellan's army) had arrived at Aquia +and were <a name="page_229"><span class="page">Page 229</span></a> +marching overland to Pope. Then followed some anxious days at Federal +Headquarters. Jackson vanished; and Pope's cavalry, numerous as it +was, wore itself out trying to find the clue. McClellan was still +busy moving his men from Harrison's Landing to Fortress Monroe, +whence detachments kept sailing to Aquia. What would Lee do now? +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the thirteenth he began entraining Longstreet's troops for +Gordonsville. On the fifteenth he conferred with his generals. +And on the seventeenth, from the lookout on Clark's Mountain, he +saw Pope's unsuspecting army camped round Slaughter Mountain within +fifteen miles of the united Confederates. Halleck had just given +Pope the fatal order to "fight like the devil" till McClellan came +up. Pope was full of confidence. And there he lay, in a bad strategic +and worse tactical position, and with slightly inferior numbers, +just within reach of Jackson and Lee. Pope was, however, saved +from immediate disaster by an oversight on the part of Stuart. In +ordering Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry brigade to rendezvous at Verdierville +that night Stuart forgot to make the order urgent and the missing +brigade came in late. Stuart, anxious to see the enemy's position for +himself, <a name="page_230"><span class="page">Page 230</span></a> +rode out and was nearly taken prisoner. His dispatch-box fell into +Pope's hands, with a memorandum of Jackson's reinforcements. Jackson +was for attacking next day in any case and groaned aloud when Lee +decided not to, owing to the failure of cavalry combination in +front and the belated supplies in the rear. Pope retired safely +on the eighteenth, and on the nineteenth a thick haze hid his rear +from Lee's lookout. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee was now in a very difficult position, apparently face to face +with what would soon be the joint forces of Pope, McClellan, and +probably another corps from Washington: the whole well fed, well +armed, and certainly more than twice as strong as the united +Confederates. But Jackson and Stuart multiplied their forces by +skillful maneuvers and mystifying raids, and presently Stuart had +his revenge for the affront he had suffered on the seventeenth. +On the tempestuous night of the twenty-second he captured Pope's +dispatches. On the twenty-fourth, at Jefferson, Lee and Jackson +discussed the situation with these dispatches before them. Dr. +Hunter McGuire, the Confederate staff-surgeon, noticed that Jackson +was unusually animated, drawing curves in the sand with the toe +of his boot while Lee nodded assent. <a name="page_231"><span +class="page">Page 231</span></a> Perhaps it was Jackson who suggested +the strategic idea of that wonderful last week in August. However +that may have been, Lee alone was responsible for its adoption +and superior direction. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +With a marvelous insight into the characters of his opponents, a +consummate knowledge of the science and art of war, and—quite +as important—an exact appreciation of the risks worth running, +Lee actually divided his 55,000 men in face of Pope's 80,000, of +20,000 more at Washington and Aquia, and of 50,000 available +reinforcements. Then, by the well-deserved results obtained, he +became one of the extremely few really great commanders of all +time. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The "bookish theorick" who, with all the facts before him, revels +in the fond delights of retrospective prophecy, will never understand +how Lee succeeded in this enterprise, except by sheer good luck. +Only those who themselves have groped their perilous way through +the dense, distorting fog of war can understand the application +of that knowledge, genius, and character for war which so rarely +unite in one man. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee sent Jackson north, to march at utmost speed under cover of +the Bull Run Mountains, to cross them at Thoroughfare Gap, and to +cut Pope's <a name="page_232"><span class="page">Page 232</span></a> +line at Manassas, where the enormous Federal field base had been +established. Unknown to Pope, Longstreet then slipped into Jackson's +place, so as to keep Pope in play till the raid on Manassas and threat +against Washington would draw him northeast, away from McClellan at +Aquia. The final move of this profound, though very daring, plan +was to take advantage of the Federal distractions and consequent +dispersions so as to effect a junction on the field of battle against +a conquerable force. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Jackson moved off by the first gray streak of dawn on the twenty-fifth, +and that day made good the six-and-twenty miles to Salem Church. +Screened by Stuart's cavalry, and marching through a country of +devoted friends on such an errand as a commonplace general would +never suspect, Jackson stole this march on Pope in perfect safety. +The next day's march was far more dangerous. Roused while the stars +were shining the men moved off in even greater wonder as to their +destination. But when the first flush of dawn revealed the Bull Run +Mountains, with the well-known Thoroughfare Gap straight to their +front, they at once divined their part of Lee's stupendous plan: +a giant raid on Manassas, the Federal base <a name="page_233"><span +class="page">Page 233</span></a> of superabundant supplies. The news +ran down the miles of men, and with it the thrill that presaged +victory. Mile after mile was gained, almost in dead silence, except +for the clank of harness, the rumble of wheels, the running beat +of hoofs, and that long, low, ceaselessly rippling sound of +multitudinous men's feet. Hungry, ill-clad, and worn to their last +spare ounce, the gaunt gray ranks strained forward, slipped from +their leash at last and almost in sight of their prey. So far they +were undiscovered. But the Gap was only ten miles by airline from +Pope's extreme right, and the tell-tale cloud of dust, floating +down the mountain side above them, must soon be sighted, signaled, +noted, and attended to. Only speed, the speed of "foot-cavalry," +could now prevail, and not a man must be an inch behind. <i>Close +up, men, close up!—Close up there in rear!—Close up! +Close up!</i> +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By noon the head of the column had already crossed those same +communications which Pope had told his army to disregard in favor +of the much more interesting enemy line of retreat. Little did +he think that the man he had come to chase was about to burn the +bridge at Bristoe Station and thus cut the line between the Federal +front at Warrenton and the Federal base at Manassas. All went <a +name="page_234"><span class="page">Page 234</span></a> well with +Jackson, except that some news escaped to Washington and Warrenton +sooner than he expected. A Federal train dashed on to Washington +before the rails could be torn up. The next two trains were both +derailed and wrecked. But the fourth put all brakes down and speeded +back to Warrenton. Jackson quickly took up a very strong position +on the north side of Broad Run, behind the burnt railway bridge, +and sent Stuart's troopers with two battalions of "foot-cavalry" +to raid the base at Manassas, replenish the exhausted Confederate +supplies, and do the northward scouting. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The situation of the rival armies on the night of the twenty-seventh +forms one of the curiosities of war. Jackson was concentrating round +Manassas Junction. Lee was following Jackson's line of march, but +was still beyond Thoroughfare Gap. Between them stood part of Pope's +army, the whole of which occupied an irregular quadrilateral formed +by lines joining the following points: Warrenton Junction, Bristoe +Station, Gainesville, and Thoroughfare Gap. Thirty miles northeast +were the twenty thousand Federals who joined Pope too late. Thirty +miles southeast the rear of McClellan's forces were still massing +at Aquia. In Pope's <a name="page_235"><span class="page">Page +235</span></a> opinion Jackson was clearly trapped and Lee cut off. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But when Pope began to close his cumbrous net the following day +Jackson had disappeared again. Orders and counter-orders thereupon +succeeded each other in bewildering confusion. McClellan could +be left out: and a very good thing too, thought Pope, who wanted +the victory all to himself, and whose own army greatly outnumbered +Lee's and Jackson's put together. But Washington was nervous again; +it contained the reinforcements; and it had suddenly become +indispensable to Pope as an immediate base of supplies now that the +base at Manassas had been so completely destroyed. Pope's troops +therefore mostly drew east during the twenty-eighth, forming by +nightfall a long irregular line, facing west, with its right beyond +Centreville and its extreme left held by Banks's mauled divisions +south of Catlett's Station. Meanwhile Jackson had slipped into +place in the curve of Bull Run, facing southeast, with his left +near Stone Bridge, his back to Sudley Springs, and his right open +to junction with Lee, who was waiting for daylight to force the +Gap against the single division left there on guard. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +During the afternoon, while Jackson's tired men <a name="page_236"><span +class="page">Page 236</span></a> were lying sound asleep in their +ranks, Jackson himself was roused to see captured orders which +showed that some Federals were crossing his front. Reading these +orders to his divisional commanders he immediately ordered one to +attack and another to support. If the Federals concerned were exposing +an unguarded flank they should be attacked at a disadvantage. If +they were screening larger forces trying to join the reinforcements +from Washington or Aquia, then they should be attacked so as to +distract Pope's attention and draw him on before the Federal union +became complete, though not before Lee had reached the new Bull Run +position the following day. The attack was consequently made from +the woods around Groveton not too long before dark. It resulted in a +desperate frontal fight, neither side knowing what the other had +in its rear or on its flanks. Again the Federals were outnumbered: +twenty-eight against forty-five hundred men in action. But again +they fought with the utmost resolution and drew off in good order. +The strategic advantage, however, was wholly Confederate; for Pope, +who thought Jackson must now be falling back to the Gap, at once +began confusedly trying to concentrate for pursuit on the +twenty-ninth—the very thing that suited Lee and Jackson best. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_237"><span class="page">Page 237</span></a> Early +that morning the two-days' Battle of Second Manassas (or Second +Bull Run) began with Pope's absurd attempt to pursue an army drawn +up in line of battle. Moreover, Jackson's position was not only +strong in itself but well adapted for giving attackers a shattering +surprise. The left rested on Bull Run at Sudley Ford. The center +occupied the edge of the flat-topped Stony Ridge. A quarter-mile +in front of it, and some way lower down, were the embankments and +cuttings of an unfinished railroad. On the right was Stuart's Hill, +where Lee was to join by sending Longstreet in. The approaches in +rear were hidden from the eyes of an enemy in front. The cuttings +and embankments made excellent field works for the defense. And the +forward edge of the Ridge was wooded enough to let counter-attackers +mass under cover and then run down to surprise the attackers by +manning the cuttings and embankments. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sigel's Germans, supported by the splendid Pennsylvanians under +Reynolds, advanced from the Henry Hill to hold Jackson till Pope +could come up and finish him. The numbers were about even, with slight +odds in favor of Jackson. But the shock was delivered piecemeal. +Each part was roughly handled and driven back in disorder. And by +the <a name="page_238"><span class="page">Page 238</span></a> time +Reynolds had come to the front Lee's advanced guard was arriving. +Then eighteen thousand Federals marched in from Centreville under +Reno, Kearny, and "fighting Joe Hooker," of whom we shall hear +again. Pope came up in person with the rest of his available command, +rode along his line, and explained the situation as founded on his +ignorance and colored by his fancy. At this very moment Longstreet +came up on Jackson's right. Reynolds went into action against what he +thought was Jackson's extended right but what was really Longstreet's +left. Meanwhile the Centreville troops attacked near Bull Run. But +that dashing commander, Philip Kearny, was held up by Jackson's +concentrated guns; so Hooker and Reno advanced alone, straight for +the railroad line. The Confederates behind it poured in a tremendous +hail of bullets, and the long dry grass caught fire. But nothing +stopped Hooker till bayonets were crossed on the rails and the +Confederate line was broken. Then the Confederate reserves charged +in and drove the Federals back. No sooner was this seen than, with +a burst of cheering, another blue line surged forward. Again the +Confederate front was broken, but again their reserves drove back +the Federals. And so the fight went on, with <a name="page_239"><span +class="page">Page 239</span></a> stroke and counterstroke, till, +at a quarter past five, twelve hours after Pope's first men had +started from the Henry Hill, his thirty thousand attackers found +themselves unable to break through. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Pope wished to make one more effort to round up Jackson's supposedly +open right. But Porter quite properly sent back word that it was +far too strong for his own ten thousand. In reply Pope angrily +ordered an immediate attack. But it was now too dark, and the battle +ended for the day. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Strangely enough, Lee was also having trouble with his subordinate +on the same flank at the same time, but with this difference, that +Porter was right while Longstreet was wrong. Lee saw his chance of +rolling up Pope's left and ordered Longstreet to do it. But, after +reconnoitering the ground, Longstreet came back to say the chance +was "not inviting." Again Lee ordered an attack. But Longstreet +wasted time, looking for needlessly favorable ground till long after +dark. Meanwhile the Federals were also feeling their way forward +over the same ground to get into a good flanking position for next +day's battle. So the two sides met; and it was past midnight when +Longstreet settled down. Lee wanted a sword thrust. Longstreet +gave a pin prick. We shall meet Longstreet <a name="page_240"><span +class="page">Page 240</span></a> again, in the same character of +obstructive subordinate, at Gettysburg. But he was, for the most +part, a very good officer indeed; and the South, with its scanty +supply of trained leaders, could not afford to make changes like +the North. The fault, too, was partly Lee's; for his one weak point +with good but wayward subordinates was a tendency to let his sensitive +consideration for their feelings overcome his sterner insight into +their defects. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At noon on the fatal thirtieth of August, Pope, self-deluded and +self-sufficient as before, dismayed his best officers by ordering +his sixty-five thousand men to be "immediately thrown forward in +pursuit of the enemy," whose own fifty thousand were now far readier +than on the previous day. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then the dense blue masses marched to their doom. Twenty thousand +bayonets shone together from Groveton to Bull Run. Forty thousand +more supported them on the slopes in rear, while every Federal gun +thundered forth protectingly from the heights behind. The Confederate +batteries were pointed out as the objective of attack. Not one +glint of steel appeared between these batteries and the glittering +Federal host. To the men in the ranks and to Pope himself victory +seemed assured. But no sooner had that brave array come within +rifle <a name="page_241"><span class="page">Page 241</span></a> range +of the deserted railroad line than, high and clear, the Confederate +bugles called along the hidden edges of the flat-topped Ridge; +when instantly the great gray host broke cover, ran forward as +one man, and held the whole embankment with a line of fire and +steel. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A shock of sheer amazement ran through the Federal mass. Then, +knightly as any hero of romance, a mounted officer rode out alone, +in front of the center, and, with his sword held high, continued +leading the advance, which itself went on undaunted. The Confederate +flank batteries crossed their fire on this devoted center. Bayonets +flashed out of line in hundreds as their owners fell. Colors were +cut down, raised high, cut down again. But still that gallant horse +and man went on, unswerving and untouched. Even the sweeping volleys +spared them both, though now, as the Federals closed, these volleys +cut down more men than the cross-fire of the guns. At last the +unscathed hero waved his sword and rode straight up the deadly +embankment, followed by the charging line. "Don't kill him! Don't +kill him!" shouted the admiring Confederates as his splendid figure +stood, one glorious moment, on the top. The next, both horse and +man sank <a name="page_242"><span class="page">Page 242</span></a> +wounded, and were at once put under cover by their generous foes. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For thirty-five dire minutes the fight raged face to face. One +Federal color rose, fell, and rose again as fast as living hands +could take it from the dead. Over a hundred men lay round it when +the few survivors drew back to re-form. Pope fed his front line +with reserves, who advanced with the same undaunted gallantry, but +also with the same result. As if to make this same result more sure +he never tried to win by one combined assault, wave after crashing +wave, without allowing the defense to get its second wind; but let +each unit taste defeat before the next came on. Federal bravery +remained. But Federal morale was rapidly disintegrating under the +palpable errors of Pope. Misguided, misled, and mishandled, the +blue lines still fought on till four, by which time every corps, +division, and brigade had failed entirely. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then, at the perfect moment and in the perfect way, Lee's counterstroke +was made: the beaten Federals being assailed in flank as well as +front by every sword, gun, bayonet, and bullet that could possibly +be brought to bear. Only the batteries remained on the ridge, firing +furiously till the Federals were driven out of range. The infantry +and <a name="page_243"><span class="page">Page 243</span></a> cavalry +were sent in—wave after wave of them, without respite, till +the last had hurled destruction on the foe. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As at the First Bull Run, so here, the regulars fell back in good +order, fighting to the very end. But the rest of Pope's Army of +Virginia was no longer an organized unit. Even strong reinforcements +could do nothing for it now. On the second of September, three days +after the battle, its arrival at Washington, heralded by thousands +of weary stragglers, threw the whole Union into gloom. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The first counter-invasion naturally followed. Southern hopes ran +high. Bragg's invasion of Kentucky seemed to be succeeding at this +time. The trans-Mississippi line still held at Vicksburg and Port +Hudson. Richmond had been saved. Washington was menaced. And most +people on both sides thought so much more of the land than of the +sea that the Federal victories along the coast and up the Mississippi +were half forgotten for the time being; and so was the strangling +blockade. Lee, of course, saw the situation as a whole; and, as a +whole, it was far from bright. But though the counter-invasion was +now a year too late it seemed worth making. Maryland was full of +Southern <a name="page_244"><span class="page">Page 244</span></a> +sympathizers; and campaigning there would give Virginia a chance +to recuperate, while also preventing the North from recovering too +quickly from its last reverse. Thus it was with great expectations +that the Confederates crossed the Potomac singing <i>Maryland, my +Maryland!</i> +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But Maryland did not respond to this appeal. The women, it is true, +were mostly Southern to the core and ready to serve the Confederate +cause in every way they could. But the men, reflecting more, knew +they were in the grip of Northern sea-power. Nor could they fail +to notice the vast difference between the warlike resources of +the North and South. Northern armies had been marching through for +many months, well fed, well armed, and superabundantly supplied. +The Confederates, on the other hand, were fewer in numbers, half +starved, in ragged clothing, less well armed, and far less abundantly +supplied in every way. A Northerner who fell sick could generally +count on the best of medical care, not to mention a profusion of +medical comforts. But the blockade kept medicines and surgical +instruments out of the Southern ports; and the South could make +few of her own. So, to be very sick or badly wounded meant almost +a sentence of death in the South. <a name="page_245"><span +class="page">Page 245</span></a> Eighteen months of war had +disillusioned Maryland. The expected reinforcements never came. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee had again divided his army in the hope of snatching victory by +means of better strategy. On the thirteenth of September Jackson +was bombarding the Federals at Harper's Ferry, Longstreet was at +Hagerstown, and Stuart was holding the gaps of South Mountain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The same day McClellan, whose whole army was at Frederick, received +a copy of Lee's orders. They had been wrapped round three cigars +and lost by a careless Confederate staff officer. Had McClellan +forced the gaps immediately, maneuvered with reasonable skill, and +struck home with every available man, he might have annihilated +Lee. But he let the thirteenth pass quietly; and when he did take the +passes on the fourteenth it cost him a good deal, as the Confederate +infantry had reinforced Stuart. On the fifteenth Jackson took Harper's +Ferry. On the sixteenth he joined Lee at Antietam. And on the +seventeenth, when the remaining availables had also joined Lee, +McClellan made up his mind to attack. "Ask me for anything but +time," said the real Napoleon. The "Young Napoleon" did not even +need the asking. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Antietam (so called from the Antietam Creek) or <a name="page_246"><span +class="page">Page 246</span></a> Sharpsburg (so called from the +Confederate headquarters there) was one of the biggest battles of +the Civil War; and it might possibly have been the most momentous. +But, as things turned out, it was in itself an indecisive action, +spoilt for the Federals, first, by McClellan's hesitating strategy, +and then by his failure to press the attack home at all costs, +with every available man, in an unbroken succession of assaults. +He had over 80,000 men with 275 guns against barely 40,000 with +194 guns of inferior strength. But though the Federals fought with +magnificent devotion, and though the losses were very serious on +both sides, the tactical result was a mutual checkmate. The strategic +result, however, was a Confederate defeat; for, with his few worn +veterans, Lee had no chance whatever of keeping his precarious +hold on a neutral Maryland. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +October was a quiet month, each side reorganizing without much +interference from the other, except for Stuart's second raid round +the whole embattled army of McClellan. This time Stuart took nearly +two thousand men and four horse artillery guns. Crossing the Potomac at +McCoy's Ford on the tenth he reached Chambersburg that night, destroyed +the Federal stores, took all the prisoners <a name="page_247"><span +class="page">Page 247</span></a> he wanted, cut the wires, obstructed +the rails, and went on with hundreds of Federal horses. Next day he +circled the Federal rear toward Gettysburg, turned south through +Emmitsburg, and crossed McClellan's line of communications with +Washington at Hyattstown early on the twelfth. By this time the +Federal cavalry were riding themselves to exhaustion in vain pursuit; +while many other forces were trying to close in and cut him off. But +he reached the mouth of the Monocacy and crossed White's Ford in +safety, fighting off all interference. The information he brought +back was of priceless value. Lee now learned that McClellan was not +falling back on Washington but being reinforced from there, and that +consequently no new Peninsula Campaign was to be feared at present. +This alone was worth the effort, risk, and negligible loss. Stuart +had marched a hundred and twenty-six miles on the Federal side +of the Potomac—eighty of them without a single halt; and he +had been fifty-six hours inside the Federal lines, mostly within +four riding hours of McClellan's own headquarters. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This second stinging raid roused the loyal North to fury; and by +November a new invasion of Virginia was in full swing on the old +ground, with <a name="page_248"><span class="page">Page 248</span></a> +McClellan at Warrenton, Lee at Culpeper, and Jackson in the Valley. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But McClellan's own last chance had gone. Late at night on the +seventh he was sitting alone in his tent, writing to his wife, when +Burnside asked if he could come in with General C. P. Buckingham, +the confidential staff officer to the War Department. After some +forced conversation Buckingham handed McClellan a paper ordering his +supersession by Burnside. McClellan simply said: "Well, Burnside, +I turn the command over to you." The eighth and ninth were spent in +handing over; and on the tenth McClellan made his official farewell. +Next day he was entraining at Warrenton Junction when the men, among +whom he was immensely popular, broke ranks and swarmed round his +car, cursing the Government and swearing they would follow no one +but their "Old Commander." McClellan, with all his faults in the +field, was a good organizer, an extremely able engineer, a very brave +soldier, a very sympathetic comrade in arms, and a regular father to +his men, whose personal interests were always his first care. The +moment was critical. McClellan, had he chosen, might have imitated +the Roman generals who led the revolts of Prætorian Guards. +But he <a name="page_249"><span class="page">Page 249</span></a> +stepped out on the front platform of the car, held up his hand, and, +amid tense silence, asked the men to "stand by General Burnside +as you have stood by me." The car they had uncoupled to prevent +his departure was run up and coupled again; and then, amid cheers +of mournful farewell, they let him go. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +General Ambrose E. Burnside was expected to smash Lee, take Richmond, +and end the war at once. He was a good subordinate, but quite unfit +for supreme command, which he accepted only under protest. Moreover, +he was not supported as he should have been by the War Department, +nor even by the Headquarter Staff. While changing his position from +Warrenton to Fredericksburg he was hampered by avoidable delays. +So when he reached Falmouth he found Lee had forestalled him on +the opposing heights of Fredericksburg itself. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The disastrous thirteenth of December was dull, calm, and misty. +But presently the sun shone down with unwonted warmth; the mists +rolled up like curtains; and there stood 200,000 men, arrayed in +order of battle: 80,000 Confederates awaiting the onslaught of +120,000 Federals. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On came the solid masses of the Federals, eighty thousand strong, +with forty in support, amid the <a name="page_250"><span +class="page">Page 250</span></a> thunder of five hundred attacking +and defending guns. The sunlight played upon the rising tide of +Federal bayonets as on sea currents when they turn inshore. The +colors waved proudly as ever; and to the outward eye the attack +seemed almost strong enough to drive the stern and silent gray +Confederates clear off the crest. But the indispensable morale was +wanting. For this was the end of a long campaign, full of drawn +battles and terrible defeats. Burnside was an unpopular substitute +for McClellan; he was not in any way a great commander; and he was +acting under pressure against his own best judgment. His army knew +or felt all this; and he knew they knew or felt it. The Federals, +for all their glorious courage, felt, when the two fronts met at +Fredericksburg, that they were no more than sacrificial pawns in +the grim game of war. After much useless slaughter they reeled +back beaten. But they could and did retire in safety, skillfully +"staffed" by their leaders and close to their unconquerable sea. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee could make no counterstroke. The Confederate Government had +not dared to let him occupy the far better position on the line +of the North Anna, from which a vigorous counterstroke might have +almost annihilated a beaten attacker, <a name="page_251"><span +class="page">Page 251</span></a> who would have been exposed on +both flanks, beyond the sure protection of the sea. Thus fear of +an outcry against "abandoning" the country between Fredericksburg +and the North Anna caused the Southern politicians to lose their +chance at home. But without a decisive victory they could not hope +for foreign intervention. So losing their chance at home made them +lose it abroad as well. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Burnside was dazed by his defeat and the appalling loss of life +in vain. But after five weeks of most discouraging inaction he +tried to surprise Lee by crossing the Rappahannock several miles +higher up. On the twentieth and twenty-first of that miserable +January the Federal army ploughed its dreary way through sloughs +of gluey mud under torrents of chilling rain. Then, when the pace +had slackened to a funereal crawl, and the absurdly little chance of +surprising Lee had vanished altogether, this despairing "Mud March" +came to its wretched end. Four days later Burnside was superseded by +one of his own subordinates, General Joseph Hooker, known to all +ranks as "Fighting Joe Hooker." +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Fredericksburg, the spell of relaxing winter quarters beside the +fatal Rappahannock, and then <a name="page_252"><span class="page">Page +252</span></a> the fatal "Mud March," combined to lower Federal morale. +Yet the mass of the men, being composed of fine human material, +quickly recovered under "Fighting Joe Hooker," who knew what discipline +meant. Numbers and discipline tell. But disciplined numbers were +not the only or even the greatest menace to the South. For here, +as farther west, the Confederate Government was beginning to be +foolish just as the Federal Government showed signs of growing +wise. Lincoln and Stanton were giving Joe Hooker a fairly free hand +just when Davis and Seddon (his makeshift minister of war) were using +Confederate forces as puppets to be pulled about by Cabinet strings +from Richmond. Here again (as later on at Chattanooga) Longstreet +was sent away on a useless errand just when he was needed most +by Lee. Good soldier though he was in many ways he was no such +man as Stonewall Jackson; and, in this one year, he failed his +seniors thrice. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is true enough that the April situation of 1863 might well shake +governmental nerves; for Richmond was being menaced from three +points—north, southeast, and south: Fredericksburg due north, +Suffolk southeast, Newbern south. Newbern in North Carolina was a +long way off. But its <a name="page_253"><span class="page">Page +253</span></a> possession by an active enemy threatened the rail +connection from Richmond south to Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah, +the only three Atlantic ports through which the South could get +supplies from overseas. Suffolk was nearer. It covered the landward +side of Norfolk, which, with Fortress Monroe, might become the +base of a new Peninsula Campaign. But Fredericksburg was nearest; +nearest to Richmond, nearest to Washington, nearest to the main +Southern force; and not only nearest but strongest, in every way +strongest and most to be feared. "Fighting Joe Hooker" was there, +with a hundred and thirty thousand men, already stirring for the +spring campaign that was to wipe out memories of Fredericksburg, +make short work of Lee, and end the war at Richmond. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Yet Longstreet cheerfully marched off, pleased with his new command, +to see what he could do to soothe the Government by winning laurels +for himself at Suffolk. On the seventeenth, just two weeks before +the supreme test came on Lee's weakened army at Chancellorsville, +Longstreet reported to Seddon that Suffolk would cost three thousand +men, if taken by assault, or three days' heavy firing if subdued by +bombardment. Shrinking from such expenditure of life or ammunition, +Davis, Seddon, <a name="page_254"><span class="page">Page 254</span></a> +and Longstreet fell back on a siege, which, preventing all junction +with Lee, might well have cost the ruin of their cause. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee and Jackson then prepared to make the best of a bad business +along the Rappahannock, and to snatch victory once more, if possible, +from the very jaws of death. The prospect was grimmer than before. +Hooker was a better fighter than McClellan and wiser than Burnside +or Pope. Moreover, after two years of war, the Union Government +had at last found out that civilian detectives knew less about +armies than expert staff officers know, and that cavalry which +was something more than mere men on horses could collect a little +information too. Hooker knew Lee's strength as well as his own. +So he decided to hold Lee fast with one part of the big Federal +army, turn his flank with another, and cut his line of supply and +retreat with Stoneman's ten thousand sabers as well. The respective +grand totals were 130,000 Federals against 62,000 Confederates. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +So far, so good; so very good indeed that Hooker and his staff +were as nearly free from care on May Day as headquarter men can +ever be in the midst of vital operations. Hooker had just reason +to be proud of the Army of the Potomac and of his own <a +name="page_255"><span class="page">Page 255</span></a> work in +reviving it. He had, indeed, issued one bombastic order of the +day in which he called it "the finest on the planet." But even +this might be excused in view of the popular call for encouraging +words. What was more to the point was the reëstablishment of +Federal morale, which had been terribly shaken after the great Mud +March. Hooker's sworn evidence (as given in the official <i>Report +of Committee on the Conduct of the War</i>) speaks for itself: +"The moment I was placed in command I caused a return to be made +of the absentees of the army, and found the number to be 2922 +commissioned officers and 81,964 non-commissioned officers and +privates. They were scattered all over the country, and the majority +were absent from causes unknown." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the twenty-eighth of April Stuart saw the redisciplined Federals +in motion far up the Rappahannock, while next day Jackson saw others +laying pontoons thirty miles lower down, just on the seaward side +of Fredericksburg. Lee took this news with genial calm, remarking +to the aide: "Well, I heard firing and was beginning to think it +was time some of your lazy young fellows were coming to tell me what +it was about. Tell your good general he knows what to do with the +enemy just as well as I <a name="page_256"><span class="page">Page +256</span></a> do." On the thirtieth it became quite clear that +Hooker was bent on turning Lee's left and that he had divided his +army to do so. Jackson wished to attack Sedgwick's 35,000 Federals +still on the plains of Fredericksburg. But Lee convinced him that +the better way would be to hold these men with 10,000 Confederates +in the fortified position on the confronting heights while the +remaining 52,000 should try to catch Hooker himself between the +jaws of a trap in the forest round Chancellorsville, where the +Federal masses would be far more likely to get out of hand. It was +an extremely daring maneuver to be setting this trap when Sedgwick +had enough men to storm the heights of Fredericksburg, when Stoneman +was on the line of communication with the south, and when Hooker +himself, with superior numbers, was gaining Lee's rear. But Lee +had Jackson as his lieutenant, not Longstreet, as he was to have +at Gettysburg. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Hooker's movements were rapid, well arranged, and admirably executed +up to the evening of the first of May, when, finding those of the +enemy very puzzling among the dense woods, he chose the worst of +three alternatives. The first and best, an immediate counter-attack, +would have kept up his army's morale and, if well executed, revealed +his <a name="page_257"><span class="page">Page 257</span></a> own +greater strength. The second, a continued advance till he reached +clearer ground, might have succeeded or not. The third and worst +was to stand on his defense, a plan which, however sound in other +places, was fatal here, because it not only depressed the spirits +of his army but gave two men of genius the initiative against him +in a country where they were at home and he was not. The absence +of ten thousand cavalry baffled his efforts to get trustworthy +information on the ground, while the dense woods baffled his balloons +from above. On the second of May he still thought the initiative +was his, that the Confederates were retreating, and that his own +jaws were closing on them instead of theirs on him. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile, owing to miscalculations of the space that had to be +held in force, his right was not only thrown forward too far but +presented a flank in the air. This was the flank round which Stonewall +Jackson maneuvered with such consummate skill that it was taken on +three sides and rolled up in fatal confusion. Its commander, the +very capable General O. O. Howard, who perceived the mistake he +could not correct, tried hard to stay the rout. But, as his whole +reserve had been withdrawn by Hooker to join an attack elsewhere, +his lines simply melted away. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_258"><span class="page">Page 258</span></a> The three +days' battle that followed (ending on the fifth of May) was bravely +fought by the bewildered Federals. Yet all in vain. Hooker was +caught like a bull in a net; and the more he struggled the worse +it became. At 6 P.M. on the second the cunning trap was sprung +when a single Confederate bugle rang out. Instantly other bugles +repeated the call at regular intervals through miles of forest. +Then, high and clear on the silent air of that calm May evening, +the rebel yell rose like the baying of innumerable hounds, hot +on the scent of their quarry, with Jackson leading on. Nothing +could stop the eager gray lines, wave after wave of them pressing +through the woods; not even the gallant fifty guns that fought with +desperation in defense of Hazel Grove, where Hooker was rallying +his men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For two days more the tide of battle ebbed and flowed; but always +against the Federals in the end, till, broken, bewildered, and +disheartened, they retired as best they could. Lee was unable to +pursue. Longstreet's men were still missing; and so were many supplies +that should have been forwarded from Richmond. There the Government +clung to the fond belief that this mere victory had won the war, +and that pursuit was useless. Thus <a name="page_259"><span +class="page">Page 259</span></a> Lee's last chance of crushing the +invaders was taken from him by his friends. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At the same time the Southern cause suffered another irreparable +loss; but in this case at the purely accidental hands of Southern +men. Jackson's staff, suddenly emerging from a thicket as the first +night closed in, was mistaken for Federal cavalry and shot down. +Jackson himself was badly wounded in three places and carried from +the field. He never heard the rebel yell again. Next Sunday, when the +staff-surgeon told him that he could not possibly live through the +night, he simply answered: "Very good, very good; it is all right." +Presently he asked Major Pendleton what chaplain was preaching at +headquarters. "Mr. Lacy, sir; and the whole army is praying for +you." "Thank God," said Jackson, "they are very kind to me." A +little later, rousing himself as if from sleep, he called out: +"Order A. P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the +front! Tell Major Hawks—" There his strength failed him. +But after a pause he said quietly, "Let us cross over the river +and rest under the shade of the trees." And with these words he +died. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_260"><span class="page">Page 260</span></a> +CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">GRANT WINS THE RIVER WAR: 1863</p> + +<p class="indent"> +We have seen already how the River War of '62 ended in a double +failure of the Federal advance on Vicksburg: how Grant and Sherman, +aided by the flanking force from Helena in Arkansas, failed to +catch Pemberton along the Tallahatchie; and then how Sherman alone, +moving down the Mississippi, was defeated by Pemberton at Chickasaw +Bayou, just outside of Vicksburg. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Leaving Memphis for good, Grant took command in the field again +on the thirtieth of January. His army was strung out along seventy +miles of the Mississippi just north of Vicksburg, so hard was it to +find enough firm ground. The first important move was made when, in +Grant's own words, "the entire Army of the Tennessee was transferred +to the neighborhood of Vicksburg and landed on the opposite or +western bank of the river at Milliken's Bend." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_261"><span class="page">Page 261</span></a> Grant, +everywhere in touch with Admiral D. D. Porter's fleet and plentifully +supplied with water transport of all kinds, thus commanded the +peninsula or tongue of low land round which the mighty river took +its course in the form of an elongated U right opposite Vicksburg. +His farthest north base was still at Cairo; and the whole line of +the Mississippi above him was effectively held by Union forces +afloat and ashore. Four hundred miles south lay Farragut and Banks, +preparing for an attack on Port Hudson and intent on making junction +with the Union forces above. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Two bad generals stood very much in Grant's way, one on either +side of him in rank—McClernand, his own second-in-command, +and Banks, his only senior in the Mississippi area. McClernand +presently found rope enough to hang himself. Our old friend Banks, +who had not yet learnt the elements of war, though schooled by +Stonewall Jackson, never got beyond Port Hudson, and so could not +spoil Grant's command in addition to his own. Fortunately, besides +Sherman and other professional soldiers of quite exceptional ability, +Grant had three of the best generals who ever came from civil life: +Logan, Blair, and Crocker. Logan shed all the vices, while keeping +all the virtues, of the <a name="page_262"><span class="page">Page +262</span></a> lawyer when he took up arms. Blair knew how to be +one man as an ambitious politician and another as a general in +the field. Crocker was in consumption, but determined to die in +his boots and do his military best for the Union service first. +The personnel of the army was mostly excellent all through. The +men were both hardy and handy as a rule, being to a large extent +farmers, teamsters, railroad and steamboat men, well fitted to meet +the emergencies of the severe and intricate Vicksburg campaign. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Throughout this campaign the army and navy of the Union worked +together as a single amphibious force. Grant's own words are no +mere compliment, but the sober statement of a fact. "The navy, under +Porter, was all it could be during the entire campaign. Without +its assistance the campaign could not have been successfully made +with twice the number of men engaged. It could not have been made +at all, in the way it was, with any number of men, without such +assistance. The most perfect harmony reigned between the two arms +of the Service. There never was a request made, that I am aware +of, either of the Flag-Officer or any of his subordinates, that +was not promptly complied with." And what is true of Porter is at +<a name="page_263"><span class="page">Page 263</span></a> least +as true of Farragut, who was the greater man and the senior of +every one afloat. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant could take Vicksburg only by reaching good ground, and the +only good ground was below and in rear of the fortress. There was no +foothold for his army on the east bank of the Mississippi anywhere +between Memphis and Vicksburg. This meant that he must either start +afresh from Memphis and try again to push overland by rail or cross +the swampy peninsula in front of him and circle round his enemy. A +retirement on Memphis, no matter how wise, would look like another +great Union defeat and consequently lower a public morale which, +depressed enough by Fredericksburg, was being kept down by the +constant naval reverses that opened '63. Circling the front was +therefore very much to be preferred from the political point of +view. On the other hand, it was beset by many alarming difficulties; +for it meant starting from the flooded Mississippi and working through +the waterlogged lowlands, across the peninsula, till a foothold +could be seized on the eastern bank below Vicksburg. Moreover, this +circling attack, though feasible, might depress the morale of the +troops by the way. Burnside's disastrous "Mud March" through the +January <a name="page_264"><span class="page">Page 264</span></a> +sloughs of Virginia, made in the vain hope of outflanking Lee, had +lowered the morale of the army almost as much as Fredericksburg +itself had lowered the morale of the people. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Through the depth of winter the army toiled "in ineffectual efforts," +says Grant, "to reach high land above Vicksburg from which we could +operate against that stronghold, and in making artificial waterways +through which a fleet might pass, avoiding the batteries to the +south of the town, in case the other efforts should fail." A wetter +winter had never been known. The whole complicated network of bends +and bayous, of creeks, streams, runs, and tributary rivers, was +overflowing the few slimy trails through the spongy forest and +threatening the neglected levees which still held back the encroaching +waters. There was nothing to do, however, but to keep the men busy +and the enemy confused by trying first one line and then another +for two weary months. By April, writes Grant, "the waters of the +Mississippi having receded sufficiently to make it possible to +march an army across the peninsula opposite Vicksburg, I determined +to adopt this course, and moved my advance to a point below the +town." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile, far below, Farragut and Banks were <a name="page_265"><span +class="page">Page 265</span></a> at work round Port Hudson: Farragut +to good effect; Banks as usual. On the fourteenth of March Farragut +started up the river with seven men-of-war and wanted the troops +to make a demonstration against Port Hudson from the rear while +the fleet worked its way past the front. But, just as Farragut was +weighing anchor, Banks, who had had ample time for preparation, +sent word to say he was still five miles from Port Hudson. "He'd +as well be at New Orleans," muttered Farragut, "for all the good +he's doing us." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Six of the vessels were lashed together in pairs, the heavier ones +next the enemy, the lighter ones secured well aft so as to mask the +fewest guns. This arrangement also gave each pair the advantage +of having twin screws. Farragut's flagship, the <i>Hartford</i>, +leading the line-ahead, suffered least from the dense smoke on +that damp, calm, moonless night. But the others were soon groping +blindly up the tortuous channel. The <i>Hartford</i> herself took +the ground for a critical moment. But, with her own screw going +ahead and that of the <i>Albatross</i> going astern, she drew clear +and won through. Not so, however, the other five ships. Only the +<i>Hartford</i> and <i>Albatross</i> reached the Red River. Yet +even this was of great importance, as <a name="page_266"><span +class="page">Page 266</span></a> it completely cut off Port Hudson +from all chance of relief. Farragut went on up the Mississippi to +see Grant, destroying all riverside stores on the way. Grant was +delighted, and, in the absence of Porter, who was up the Yazoo, +sent Farragut an Ellet ram and some sorely needed coal. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant's seventh (and first successful) effort to get a foothold (from +which to carry out one of the boldest and most brilliant operations +recorded in the history of war) began with a naval operation on the +sixteenth of April, when Porter ran past the Vicksburg batteries +by night. Though Porter had the four-knot current in his favor he +needed all his skill and moral courage to take a regular flotilla +round the elongated U made by the Mississippi at Vicksburg, with +such a bend as to keep vessels under more or less distant fire +for five miles, and under much closer fire for nearly nine. At +the bend the vessels could be caught end-on. For nearly five miles +after that they were subject to a plunging fire. Porter led the +way on board the flagship <i>Benton</i>. He had seven ironclads, +of which three were larger vessels and four were gunboats built by +Eads, a naval constructor with orignal ideas and great executive +ability. One ram and three transports followed. Coal barges were +lashed alongside <a name="page_267"><span class="page">Page +267</span></a> or taken in tow. Some of these were lost and one +transport was sunk. But the rest got through, though not unscathed. +It seemed like a miracle to the tense spectators that any flotilla +should survive this dash down a river of death flowing through a +furnace. But the ironclads, magnificently handled, stood up to +their work unflinchingly, fired back with regulated vigor, and +took their terrific pounding without one vital wound. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Porter presently relieved Farragut, who went back to New Orleans. +From this time, till after the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, +Porter commanded three flotillas, each with a base of its own: +first, a flotilla remaining north of Vicksburg for work on the +Yazoo; secondly, the main body between Vicksburg and Grand Gulf; +thirdly, the Red River flotilla. This combined naval force commanded +all lines of communication north, south, and west of Vicksburg, +thus enabling Grant to concentrate entirely against the eastern +side. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the thirtieth of April Grant landed with twenty thousand men +at Bruinsburg, on the east side of the Mississippi, about sixty +miles below Vicksburg. A week later Sherman reinforced him to +thirty-three thousand. Before the fall of Vicksburg his total strength +reached seventy-five <a name="page_268"><span class="page">Page +268</span></a> thousand. The Confederate total also fluctuated; +but not so much. There were about sixty thousand Confederates in +the whole strategic area between Vicksburg and Jackson (fifty miles +east) when Grant made his first daring move, and about the same when +Vicksburg surrendered. The scene of action was almost triangular; +for it lay between the three lines joining Jackson, Haynes's Bluff, +Rodney, and Jackson again. The respective lengths of these straight +lines are forty, fifty, and seventy miles. But roundabout ways +by land and water multiplied these distances, and much fighting +and many obstacles vastly increased Grant's difficulties. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An army, however, that had managed to reach Bruinsburg from the +north and west was assuredly fit for more hard work of any kind; +while a commander who had left a safe base above Vicksburg and +landed below, to live on (as well as in) an enemy country till +victory should give him a new land line to the north, must, in +view of the resultant triumph, be counted among the master-minds +of war. Grant's marvelous skill in massing, dividing, forwarding, +and concentrating his forces over a hundred miles of intricate +passages between Milliken's Bend and Bruinsburg was only excelled +by <a name="page_269"><span class="page">Page 269</span></a> his +consummate genius in carrying out this daring operation, forcing +his way through his enemies, into full possession of interior lines, +between their great garrison of Vicksburg and their field army +from Jackson. He had to create two fronts in spite of his doubled +enemy and live on that enemy's country without any land base of +his own. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant knew the country was quite able to support his army if he +could only control enough of it. Bread, beef, and mutton would be +almost unobtainable. But chickens, turkeys, and ducks were abundant, +while hard-tack would do instead of bread. Bird-and-biscuit of course +became unpopular; and after weeks of it Grant was not surprised +to hear a soldier mutter "hard-tack" loudly enough for others to +take up the cry. By this time, however, he luckily knew that the +bread ration was about to be resumed; and when he told the men they +cheered as only men on service can—men to whom battles are rare +events but rations the very stuff of daily existence. Coffee, bacon, +beef, and mutton came next in popular favor when full rations were +renewed. So when the Northern land line was reopened towards the end +of the siege, and friends came into camp with presents from home, +they found, to their amazement, that even <a name="page_270"><span +class="page">Page 270</span></a> the tenderest spring chicken was +loathsome to their boys in blue. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant set to work immediately on landing. His first objective was +Grand Gulf, which he wanted as a field base for further advance. +But in order to get it he had to drive away the enemy from Port +Gibson, which was by no means easy, even with superior numbers, +because the whole country thereabouts was so densely wooded and +so intricately watered that concerted movements could only be made +along the few and conspicuous roads. On the first of May, however, +the Confederates were driven off before their reinforcements could +arrive. McClernand bungled brigades and divisions out of mutual +support. But Grant personally put things right again. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By the third of May the bridge burnt by the enemy had been repaired +and Grant's men were crossing to press them back on Vicksburg, so +as to clear Grand Gulf. Grant's supply train (raised by impressing +every horse, mule, ox, and wheeled thing in the neighborhood) looked +more like comic opera than war. Fine private carriages, piled high +with ammunition, and sometimes drawn by mules with straw collars +and rope lines, went side by side with the longest plantation wagons +drawn by many oxen, <a name="page_271"><span class="page">Page +271</span></a> or with a two-wheeled cart drawn by a thoroughbred +horse. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Before any more actions could be fought news came through that +the Federals in Virginia had been terribly beaten by Lee, who was +now expected to invade the North. The South was triumphant; so +much so, indeed, that its Government thought the war itself had +now been won. But Lincoln, Grant, and Lee knew better. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Swiftly, silently, and with a sure strategic touch, Grant marched +northeast on Jackson, to make his rear secure before he turned on +Vicksburg. On the twelfth he won at Raymond and on the fourteenth +at Jackson itself. Here he turned back west again. On the sixteenth +he won the stubborn fight of Champion's Hill, on the seventeenth +he won again at Big Black River, and on the eighteenth he appeared +before the lines of Vicksburg. With the prestige of five victories +in twenty days, and with the momentum acquired in the process, he +then tried to carry the lines by assault on the spot. But the attack +of the nineteenth failed, as did its renewal on the twenty-second. +Next day both sides settled down to a six weeks' siege. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The failure of the two assaults was recognized by friend and foe as +being a mere check; and <a name="page_272"><span class="page">Page +272</span></a> Grant's men all believed they had now found the +looked-for leader. So they had. Like Lee and Stonewall Jackson +in Virginia, Grant, with as yet inferior numbers (but with the +immense advantage of sea-power), had seized, held, and acted on +interior lines so ably that his forty-three thousand men had +out-maneuvered and out-fought the sixty thousand of the enemy, +beating them in detail on ground of their own besides inflicting a +threefold loss. Grant lost little over four thousand. The Confederates +lost nearly twelve thousand, half of whom were captured. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The only real trouble, besides the failure to carry the lines by +assault, was with the two bad generals, McClernand and Banks. McClernand +had promulgated an order praising his own corps to the skies and +conveying the idea that he and it had won the battles. Moreover, +he hinted that he had succeeded in the assault while the others had +failed. This was especially offensive because Grant, at McClernand's +urgent request, had sent reinforcements from other corps to confirm a +success that he found nonexistent on the spot, except in McClernand's +own words. To crown this, McClernand had sent his official order, with +all its misleading statements, to be published in the Northern press; +and the <a name="page_273"><span class="page">Page 273</span></a> +whole army was now supplied with the papers containing it. So gross +a breach of discipline could not go unpunished; and McClernand +was sent back to Springfield in disgrace. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Banks, unfortunately, was senior to Grant and of course independent +of Farragut; so he could safely vex them both—Grant, by spoiling +the plan of concerting the attacks on Port Hudson and Vicksburg in +May; Farragut, by continual failure in coöperation and by +leaving big guns exposed to capture on the west bank. But things +turned out well, after all. The guns were saved by the naval vessels +that beat off a Confederate attack on Donaldsonville; and Grant's +army was saved from coming under Banks's command by Banks's own +egregious failure in coöperation. This failure thus became +a blessing in disguise: a disguise too good for Halleck, whose +reprimand from Washington on the twenty-third of May shows what +dangers lurked beneath the might-have-been. "The Government is +exceedingly disappointed that you and General Grant are not acting +in conjunction. It thought to secure that object by authorizing +you to assume the entire command as soon as you and General Grant +could unite." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the end the Confederates suffered much more <a name="page_274"><span +class="page">Page 274</span></a> than the Federals from civilian +interference; for the orders of their Government came through in +time to confuse a situation that was already bad and growing worse. +Between Porter afloat and Grant ashore Vicksburg was doomed unless +"Joe" Johnston came west with sufficient force to relieve it in +time. Johnston did come early enough, but not in sufficient force; +so the next best thing was to destroy all stores, abandon Vicksburg, +and save the garrison. The Government, however, sent positive orders +to hold Vicksburg to the very last gasp. Johnston had meanwhile sent +Pemberton (the Vicksburg commander) orders to combine with him in +free maneuvering for an attack in the field. But Pemberton's own idea +was to await Grant on the Big Black River, where, with Johnston's +help, he thought he could beat him. Then followed hesitation, a +futile attempt to harmonize the three incompatible schemes; and +presently the division of the Confederates into separated armies, +driven apart by Grant, whose own army soon dug itself in between +them and quickly grew stronger than both. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant's lines, facing both opponents, from Haynes's Bluff to Warrenton, +were fifteen miles long, which gave him one man per foot when his +<a name="page_275"><span class="page">Page 275</span></a> full +strength was reached Pemberton's were only seven; and his position +was strong, both towards the river, where the bluffs rose two hundred +feet, and on the landward side, where the slopes were sharp and well +fortified. Grant closed in, however, and pressed the bombardment +home. Except for six 32-pounders and a battery of big naval guns he +had nothing but field artillery. Yet the abundance of ammunition, +the closeness of the range, and the support of his many excellent +snipers, soon gave him the upper hand. Six hundred yards was the +farthest the lines were apart. In some places they nearly touched. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +All ranks worked hard, especially at engineering, in which there +was such a dearth of officers that Grant ordered every West Pointer +to do his turn with the sappers and miners as well as his other +duty. This brought forth a respectful protest from the enormously +fat Chief Commissary, who said he could only be used as a sap-roller +(the big roller sappers shove protectingly before them when snipers +get their range). The real sap-rollers came to grief when an ingenious +Confederate stuffed port-fires with turpentined cotton and shot them +into rollers only a few yards off. But after this the Federals kept +their rollers wet; and sapped and burrowed <a name="page_276"><span +class="page">Page 276</span></a> till the big mine was fully charged +and safe from the Confederate countermine, which had missed its +mark. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While trying to blow each other up the men on both sides exchanged +amenities and chaff like the best of friends. Each side sold its +papers to the other; and the wall-paper newsprint of Vicksburg +made a good war souvenir for both. There was a steady demand for +Federal bread and Confederate tobacco. When market time was over the +Confederates would heave down hand-grenades, which agile Federals, +good at baseball, would heave uphill again before they exploded. And +woe to the man whose head appeared out of hours; for snipers were +always on the watch, especially that prince of snipers, Lieutenant H. +C. Foster, renowned as "Coonskin" from the cap he wore. A wonderful +stalker and dead shot he was a terror to exposed Confederates at +all times; but more particularly towards the end, when (their front +artillery having been silenced by Grant's guns) Coonskin built a +log tower, armored with railway iron, from which he picked off +men who were safe from ordinary fire. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the twenty-first of June Pemberton planned an escape across +the Mississippi and built some rough boats. But Grant heard of +this; the flotilla <a name="page_277"><span class="page">Page +277</span></a> grew more watchful still; and before any attempt at +escape could be made the great mine was fired on the twenty-fifth. +The whole top of the hill was blown off, and with it some men who +came down alive on the Federal side. Among these was an unwounded +but terrified colored man, who, on being asked how high he had +gone, said, "Dunno, Massa, but t'ink 'bout t'ree mile." An immense +crater was formed. But there was no practicable breach; so the +assault was deferred. A second mine was exploded on the first of +July. But again there was no assault; for Grant had decided to +wait till several huge mines could be exploded simultaneously. +In the meantime an intercepted dispatch warned him that Johnston +would try to help Pemberton to cut his way out. But by the time +the second mine was exploded Pemberton was sounding his generals +about the chances of getting their own thirty thousand to join +Johnston's thirty thousand against Grant's seventy-five thousand. +The generals said No. Negotiations then began. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the third of July Grant met Pemberton under the "Vicksburg Oak," +which, though quite a small tree, furnished souvenir-hunters with many +cords of sacred wood in after years. Grant very <a name="page_278"><span +class="page">Page 278</span></a> wisely allowed surrender on parole, +which somewhat depleted Confederate ranks in the future by the +number of men who, returning to their homes, afterwards refused +to come back when the exchange of prisoners would have permitted +them to do so. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +That was a great week of Federal victory—the week including the +third, fourth, and eighth of July. On the third Lee was defeated at +Gettysburg. On the now doubly "Glorious Fourth" Vicksburg surrendered +and the last Confederate attack was repulsed at Helena in Arkansas. On +the eighth Port Hudson surrendered. With this the whole Mississippi +fell into Federal hands for good. On the first of August Farragut +left New Orleans for New York in the battle-scarred <i>Hartford</i> +after turning over the Mississippi command to Porter's separate +care. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Meanwhile the Confederates in Tennessee, weakened by reinforcing +Johnston against Grant, had been obliged to retire on Chattanooga. +To cover this retirement and make what diversion he could, Bragg sent +John H. Morgan with twenty-five hundred cavalry to raid Kentucky, +Indiana, and Ohio. Perplexing the outnumbering Federals by <a +name="page_279"><span class="page">Page 279</span></a> his daring, +"Our Jack Morgan" crossed the Ohio at Brandenburg, rode northeast +through Indiana, wheeled south at Hamilton, Ohio, rode through the +suburbs of Cincinnati, reached Buffington Island on the border of +West Virginia, and then, hotly pursued by ever-increasing forces, +made northeast toward Pennsylvania. On the twenty-sixth of July +he surrendered near New Lisbon with less than four hundred men +left. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Confederate main body passed the summer vainly trying to stem +the advance of the Army of the Cumberland, with which Rosecrans and +Thomas skillfully maneuvered Bragg farther and farther south till +they had forced him into and out of Chattanooga. In the meantime +Burnside's Army of the Ohio cleared eastern Tennessee and settled +down in Knoxville. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But in the middle of September Longstreet came to Bragg's rescue; +and a desperate battle was fought at Chickamauga on the nineteenth +and twentieth. The Confederates had seventy thousand men against +fifty-six thousand Federals: odds of five to four. They were determined +to win at any price; and it cost them eighteen thousand men, killed, +wounded, and missing; which was two thousand more than the Federals +lost. But they felt <a name="page_280"><span class="page">Page +280</span></a> it was now or never as they turned to bay with, for +once, superior numbers. As usual, too, they coveted Federal supplies. +"Come on, boys, and charge!" yelled an encouraging sergeant, "they +have cheese in their haversacks!" Yet the pride of the soldier +stood higher than hunger. General D. H. Hill stooped to cheer a +very badly wounded man. "What's your regiment?" asked Hill. "Fifth +Confederate, New Orleans, and a damned good regiment it is," came +the ready answer. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Rosecrans, like many another man who succeeds halfway up, failed +at the top. He ordered an immediate general retreat which would +have changed the hard-won Confederate victory into a Federal rout. +But Thomas, with admirable judgment and iron nerve, stood fast +till he had shielded all the others clear. From this time on both +armies knew him as the "Rock of Chickamauga." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The unexpected defeat of Chickamauga roused Washington to immediate, +and this time most sensible, action. Grant was given supreme command +over the whole strategic area. Thomas superseded Rosecrans. Sherman +came down with the Army of the Tennessee. And Hooker railed through +from Virginia with two good veteran corps. Meanwhile the Richmond +Government was more <a name="page_281"><span class="page">Page +281</span></a> foolish than the Washington was wise; for it let +Davis mismanage the strategy without any reference to Lee. Bragg +also made a capital mistake by sending Longstreet off to Knoxville +with more than a third of his command just before Grant's final +advance. The result was that Bragg found himself with only thirty +thousand men at Chattanooga when Grant closed in with sixty thousand, +and that Longstreet was useless at Knoxville, which was entirely +dependent on Chattanooga. Whoever won decisively at Chattanooga +could have Knoxville too. Davis, as the highest authority, and +Bragg, as the most responsible subordinate, ensured their own defeat. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Chattanooga was the key to the whole strategic area of the upper +Tennessee; for it was the best road, rail, and river junction between +the lower Mississippi and the Atlantic ports of the South. It had +been held for some time by a Federal garrison which had made it +fairly strong. But toward the end of October it was short of supplies; +and Hooker had to fight Longstreet at Wauhatchie in the Lookout +Valley before it could be revictualed. When Hooker, Thomas, and +Sherman were there together under Grant in November it was of course +perfectly safe; and the problem changed from <a name="page_282"><span +class="page">Page 282</span></a> defense to attack. The question +was how to drive Bragg from his commanding positions on Missionary +Ridge and Lookout Mountain. The woods and hills offered concealment +to the attack in some places. But Lookout Mountain was a splendid +observation post, twenty-two hundred feet high and crested with +columns of rock. The Ridge was three miles east, the Mountain three +miles south, of Cameron Hill, which stood just west of Chattanooga, +commanding the bridge of boats that crossed the Tennessee. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The battle, fought with great determination on both sides, lasted +three days—the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth +of November. Sherman made the flank attack on Missionary Ridge +from the north and Thomas the frontal attack from the west. Hooker +attacked the western flank of Lookout Mountain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Thomas did the first day's fighting, which was all preliminary +work, by advancing a good mile, taking the Confederate lines on the +lower slopes of the Ridge, and changing their defensive features +to face the Ridge instead of Chattanooga. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At two the next morning Giles Smith's brigade dropped down the +Tennessee in boats and surprised the extreme north pickets placed +by Bragg <a name="page_283"><span class="page">Page 283</span></a> +at the mouth of the South Chickamauga to cover the right of the +Ridge. By noon Sherman's men were over the Tennessee ready to +coöperate with Thomas. Sherman had hidden his camp among the +hills on the other side so well that his movements could not be +observed, even from the commanding height of Lookout Mountain. The +night surprise of Bragg's pickets and the drizzling rain of the +morning prevented the Confederates from hearing or seeing anything +of Sherman's attack in the early afternoon; so he found himself on +the northern flank of Missionary Ridge before Bragg's main body +knew what he was doing. When the Confederates did attack it was too +late; and the twenty-fourth ended with Sherman entrenched against +the flank on even higher ground than Thomas held against the center. +Sherman's cavalry had meanwhile moved round the flank, on the lower +level and much farther off, to cut Bragg's right rear connection +with Chickamauga Station, whence the rails ran east to Cleveland, +Knoxville, and Virginia. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Hooker's work this second day was to feel the Confederate force +on Lookout Mountain while keeping the touch with Thomas, who kept +the touch with Sherman. Mists hid his earlier maneuvers. He closed +in successfully, handled his men to <a name="page_284"><span +class="page">Page 284</span></a> admiration, and gained more ground +than either he or Grant had expected. Having succeeded so well he +changed his demonstration into a regular attack, which became known +as the "Battle above the Clouds." Step by step he fought his way up, +over breastworks and rifle pits, felled trees and bowlders, through +ravines and gullies, till the vanguard reached the giant palisades of +rock which ramparted the top. The roar of battle was most distinctly +heard four miles away, on Orchard Knob, where Grant and Thomas were +anxiously waiting. But nothing could be seen until a sudden breeze +blew the clouds aside just as the long blue lines charged home and +the broken gray retreated. Then, from thirty thousand watching +Federals, went up a cheer that even cannon could not silence. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At midnight Grant sent a word of encouragement to Burnside at Knoxville. +He then wrote his orders for what he now hoped would be a completely +victorious attack. The twenty-fifth of November broke beautifully +clear, and the whole scene of action remained in full view all day +long. Fearful of being cut off from their main body on Missionary +Ridge the Confederates had left Lookout Mountain under cover of the +dark. But by destroying the bridges across the Chattanooga River, +which <a name="page_285"><span class="page">Page 285</span></a> +ran through the valley between the Mountain and the Ridge, they +delayed Hooker till late that afternoon, thus saving their left +from an even worse disaster than the one that overtook their center +and their right. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman had desperate work against their right, as Bragg massed +every available gun and man to meet him. This massing, however, +was just what Grant wanted; for he now expected Hooker to appear +on the other flank, which Bragg would either have to give up in +despair or strengthen at the expense of the center, which Thomas +was ready to charge. But with Hooker not appearing, and Sherman +barely holding his own, Grant slipped Thomas from the leash. The +two centers then met hand to hand. But there was no withstanding +the Federal charge. Back went the Confederates, turning to bay +at their second line of defense. Here again they were overborne +by well-led superior numbers and soon put to flight. Sheridan, +of whom we shall hear again in '64, took up the pursuit. Bragg +lost all control of his men. Stores, guns, and even rifles were +abandoned. Thousands of prisoners were taken; and most of the others +were scattered in flight. The battle, the whole campaign, and even +the war in the Tennessee sector, were won. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_286"><span class="page">Page 286</span></a> Vicksburg +meant that the trans-Mississippi South would thenceforth wither +like a severed branch. Chattanooga meant that the Union forces +had at last laid the age to the root of the tree. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_287"><span class="page">Page 287</span></a> +CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">GETTYSBURG: 1863</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the fifth of May we left Lee victorious in Virginia; but with +his indispensable lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, mortally wounded. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Though thoroughly defeated at Chancellorsville, Hooker soon recovered +control of the Army of the Potomac and prepared to dispute Lee's +right of way. Lee faced a difficult, perhaps an insoluble, problem. +Longstreet urged him to relieve the local pressure on Vicksburg by +concentrating every available man in eastern Tennessee, not only +withdrawing Johnston's force from Grant's rear but also depleting +the Confederates in Virginia for the same purpose. Then, combining +these armies from east and west with the one already there under +Bragg, the united Confederates were to crush Rosecrans in their +immediate front and make Cincinnati their great objective. Lee, +however, dared not risk the loss of his Virginian bases in the +meantime; and so <a name="page_288"><span class="page">Page +288</span></a> he decided on a vigorous counter-attack, right into +Pennsylvania, hoping that, if successful, this would produce a +greater effect than any corresponding victory could possibly produce +elsewhere. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the ninth of June a cavalry combat round Brandy Station, in +the heart of Virginia, made Hooker's staff feel certain that Lee +was again going up the Valley and on to Maryland. At one time, +for want of supplies, Lee had to spread out his front along a line +running eighty miles northwest from Fredericksburg to Strasburg. +Hooker, on the keen alert, implored the Government to let him attack +the three Confederate corps in detail. Success against one at least +was certain. Lincoln understood this perfectly. But the nerves of his +colleagues were again on edge; and no argument could persuade them +to adopt the best of all possible schemes of defense by destroying +the enemy's means of destroying them. They insisted on the usual +shield theory of passive defense, and ordered Hooker to keep between +Lee and Washington whatever might happen. This absurd maneuver was +of course attended with all the usual evil results at the time. +Equally of course, it afterwards drew down the wrath of the wiseacre +public on their own representatives. But wiseacre publics <a +name="page_289"><span class="page">Page 289</span></a> never stop +to think that many a government is forced to do foolish and even +suicidal things in war simply because it represents the ignorance +and folly, as well as the wisdom, of all who have the vote. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Yet both the loyal public and its Government had some good reasons +to doubt Hooker's ability, even apart from his recent defeat; and +Lincoln, wisest of all—except in applying strategy to problems +he could not fully understand—felt almost certain that Hooker's +character contained at least the seeds of failure in supreme command. +"He talks to me like a father," said Hooker, on reading the letter +Lincoln wrote when appointing him Burnside's successor. This remarkable +letter, dated January 26, 1863, though printed many times, is worth +reading again: +</p> + +<p class="quote"> + +I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course +I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons, +and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things +in regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe +you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which, of course, I like. +I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in +which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is +a valuable, if not an indispensable, quality. You are ambitious, +which, <a name="page_290"><span class="page">Page 290</span></a> +within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm; but I think +that during General Burnside's command of the army you have taken +counsel of your ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in +which you did a great wrong to the country and to a most meritorious +and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such way as to +believe it, of your recently saying that both the army and the +Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in +spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals +who gain successes can set up dictatorships. What I now ask of +you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The +Government will support you to the utmost of its ability, which +is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all +commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to +infuse into the army, of criticizing their commander and withholding +confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you +as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napoleon, if he +were alive again, could get any good out of an army while such +a spirit prevails in it. And now, beware of rashness, but with +energy and sleepless vigilance go forward, and give us victories. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then came Chancellorsville, doubts at Washington, interference by +Stanton, ill-judged orders from Halleck, and some not very judicious +rejoinders from Hooker himself, who became rather peevish, to Lincoln's +alarm. So when, on the twenty-seventh of June, Hooker tendered +his resignation, <a name="page_291"><span class="page">Page +291</span></a> it was promptly accepted. With Lee in Pennsylvania +there was no time for discussion: only for finding some one to +trust. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee, as usual, had divined the political forces working on the +Union armies from Washington and had maneuvered with a combination +of skill and daring that exactly met the situation. Throwing his +left forward (under Ewell) in the Shenandoah Valley he had driven +Milroy out of Winchester on the fourteenth of June and next day +secured a foothold across the Potomac. Then the rest of his army +followed. It was so much stretched out (to facilitate its food +supply) that Lincoln again wished to strike it at any vulnerable +spot. But the Cabinet in general (and Stanton in particular) were +still determined that the Union army should be their passive shield, +not their active sword. On the twenty-fourth Ewell was already +beginning to semicircle Gettysburg from the Cumberland Valley. On +the twenty-eighth, the day on which Meade succeeded Hooker in the +Federal command, the Confederate semicircle, now formed by Lee's +whole army, stretched from Chambersburg on the west, through Carlisle +on the north, to York on the east; while the massed Federals were +still in Maryland, near Middletown and Frederick, thirty miles +south <a name="page_292"><span class="page">Page 292</span></a> of +Gettysburg, and only forty miles northwest of nervous Washington. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Hooker's successor, George G. Meade, was the fifth defender of +Washington within the last ten months. Luckily for the Union, Meade +was a sound, though not a great, commander, and his hands were +fairly free. Luckily again, he was succeeded in command of the Fifth +Corps by George Sykes, the excellent leader of those magnificent +regulars who fought so well at Antietam and Second Manassas. The +change from interference to control was made only just in time +at Washington; for three days after Meade's free hand began to +feel its way along the threatened front the armies met upon the +unexpected battlefield of Gettysburg. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee in Pennsylvania was in the midst of a very hostile population +and facing superior forces which he could only defeat in one of +two difficult ways: either by a sudden, bewildering, and unexpected +attack, like Jackson's and his own at Chancellorsville, or by an +impregnable defense on ground that also favored a victorious +counter-attack and the subsequent crushing pursuit. But there was +no Jackson now; and the nature of the country did not favor the +bewildering of Federals who were fighting at home under excellent +generals well served by a <a name="page_293"><span class="page">Page +293</span></a> competent staff and well screened by cavalry. So +the "fog of war" was quite as dense round Lee's headquarters as +it was round Meade's on the first of July, when Lee found that his +chosen point of concentration near Gettysburg was already occupied +by Buford's cavalry, with infantry and some artillery in support. +The surprise—and no very great surprise—was mutual. +The Federals were found where they could stand on their defense +in a very strong position if the rest of their army could come up +in time. And Lee's only advantage was that, having already ordered +concentration round the same position, he had a few hours' start +of Meade in getting there. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Each commander had intended to make the other one attack if possible; +and Meade of course knew that Lee, with inferior numbers and vastly +inferior supplies, could not afford to stay long among gathering +enemies in the hostile North without decisive action. The Confederates +must either fight or retreat without fighting, and make their choice +very soon. So, when the two armies met at Gettysburg, Lee was +practically forced to risk an immediate action or begin a retreat +that might have ruined Confederate morale. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Gettysburg is one of those battles about which <a name="page_294"><span +class="page">Page 294</span></a> men will always differ. The numbers +present, the behavior of subordinates, the tactics employed, were, +and still are, subjects of dispute. Above all, there is the vexed +question of what Lee should or should not have done. We have little +space to spare for any such discussions. We can only refer inquirers +to the original evidence (some of which is most conflicting) and +give the gist of what seems to be indubitable fact. The numbers +were a good seventy thousand Confederates against about eighty +thousand Federals. But these are the approximate grand totals; +and it must be remembered that the Confederates, having the start, +were in superior numbers during the first two days. On each side +there was an aggrieved and aggrieving subordinate general, Sickles +on the Federal side, Longstreet on the other. But Sickles was by +far the less important of the two. In tactics the Federals displayed +great judgment, skill, and resolution. The Northern people called +Gettysburg a soldiers' battle; and so, in many ways, it was; for +there was heroic work among the rank and file on both sides. But +it most emphatically was not a soldiers' battle in the sense of its +having been won more by the rank and file than by the generals in +high command; for never did so many Federal <a name="page_295"><span +class="page">Page 295</span></a> chiefs show to such great advantage. +No less than five commanded in succession between morning and midnight +on the first day, each meeting the crisis till the next senior +came up. They were Buford, Reynolds, Howard, Hancock, Meade. Hunt +also excelled in command of the artillery; and this in spite of +much misorganization of that arm at Washington. Warren was not only +a good commander of the engineers but a good all-round general, +as he showed by seizing, on his own initiative, the Little Round +Top, without which the left flank could never have been held. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Finally, there is the great vexed question of what Lee should or +should not have done. First, it seems clear that (like Farragut and +unlike Grant and Jackson) he lacked the ruthless power of making +every subordinate bend or break in every time of crisis: otherwise +he would have bent or broken Longstreet. Next, it may have been +that he was not then at his best. Concludingly, it may be granted +to armchair (and even other) critics that if everything had been +something else the results might not have been the same. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Lee, having invaded the North by marching northeast under cover +of the mountains and <a name="page_296"><span class="page">Page +296</span></a> wheeling southeast to concentrate at Gettysburg, +found Buford's cavalry suddenly resisting him, as they formed the +northwest outpost of Meade's army, which was itself concentrating +round Pipe Creek, near Taneytown in Maryland, fifteen miles southeast. +Gettysburg was a meeting place of many important roads. It stood at +the western end of a branch line connecting with all the eastern +rails. And it occupied a strong strategic point in the vitally +important triangle formed by Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Washington. +Thus, like a magnet, it drew the contending armies to what they +knew would prove a field decisive of the whole campaign. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Federal line, as finally held on the third of July, was nearly +five miles long. The front faced west and was nearly three miles +long. The flanks, thrown back at right angles, faced north and +south. Near the north end of the front stood Cemetery Hill, near +the south the Devil's Den, a maze of gigantic bowlders. Along the +front the ground was mostly ridged, and even the lower ground about +the center was a rise from which a gradual slope went down to the +valley that rose again to the opposite heights of Seminary Ridge, +where Lee had his headquarters only a mile away. The so-called +hills <a name="page_297"><span class="page">Page 297</span></a> +were no more than hillocks, the ridges were low, and most slopes +were those of a rolling country. But the general contour of the +ground, the swelling hillocks on the flanks (Culp's Hill on the +right, the Round Tops on the left) and the broad glacis up which +attackers must advance against the center, all combined to make the +position very strong indeed when held by even or superior numbers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first day's fight began when A. P. Hill's Confederates, with +Longstreet's following, closed in on Gettysburg from the west to +meet Ewell's, who were coming down from the north. Buford's Federal +cavalry resisted Hill's advanced brigades successfully till Reynolds +had brought the First Corps forward in support and ordered the +two other nearest corps to follow at the double quick. Reynolds +was killed early in the day; but not before his well trained eye +had taken in the situation at a glance and his sure judgment had +half committed both armies to that famous field. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The full commitment came shortly after, when Meade sent Hancock +forward to command the three corps and Buford's cavalry in their +attempt to stem the Confederate advance. Howard was then the senior +general on the field, having taken over from Doubleday, who had +succeeded Reynolds. <a name="page_298"><span class="page">Page +298</span></a> But he at once agreed that such a strong position +should be held and that Hancock should proceed to rectify the lines. +This was no easy task; for Ewell's Confederates had meanwhile come +down from the north and driven in the Federal flank on the already +hard-pressed front. The front thereupon gave way and fell back in +confusion. But Hancock's masterly work was quickly done and the +Federal line was reëstablished so well that the Confederates +paused in their attack and waited for the morrow. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Confederates had got as good as they gave, much to their disgust. +Archer, one of their best brigadiers, felt particularly sore when +most of his men were rounded up by Meredith's "Iron Brigade." When +Doubleday saw his old West Point friend a prisoner he shook hands +cordially, saying, "Well, Archer, I <i>am</i> glad to see you!" But +Archer answered, "Well, I'm not so glad to see <i>you</i>—not +by a damned sight!" The fact was that the excellent Federal defense +had come as a very unpleasing surprise upon the rather too cocksure +Confederates. Buford's cavalry and Reynolds's infantry had staunchly +withstood superior numbers; while Lieutenant Bayard Wilkeson actually +held back a Confederate division for some time with the guns <a +name="page_299"><span class="page">Page 299</span></a> of Battery +G, Fourth U. S. Artillery. This heroic youth, only nineteen years +of age, kept his men in action, though they were suffering terrible +losses, till two converging batteries brought him down. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He was well matched by a veteran of over seventy, John Burns, an +old soldier, whom the sound of battle drew from his little home like +the trumpet-call to arms. In his swallow-tailed, brass-buttoned, +old-fashioned coatee, Burns seemed a very comic sight to the nearest +boys in blue until they found he really meant to join them and +that he knew a thing or two of war. "Which way are the rebels?" he +asked, "and where are our troops? I know how to fight—I've +fit before." So he did; and he fought to good purpose till wounded +three times. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Late in the evening Meade arrived and inspected the lines by moonlight. +Having ordered every remaining man to hasten forward he faced the +second day with well-founded anxiety lest Lee's full strength should +break through before his own last men were up. His right was not +safe against surprise by the Confederates who slept at the foot of +Culp's Hill, and his left was in imminent danger from Longstreet's +corps. But on the second day Longstreet marked his disagreement with +Lee's <a name="page_300"><span class="page">Page 300</span></a> +plans by delaying his attack till Warren, with admirable judgment, +had ordered the Round Tops to be seized at the double quick and +held to the last extremity. Then, after wasting enough time for +this to be done, Longstreet attacked and was repulsed; though his +men fought very well. Meanwhile Ewell, whose attack against the +right was to synchronize with Longstreet's against the left, was +delayed by Longstreet till the afternoon, when he carried Culp's +Hill. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This was the only Confederate success; for Early failed to carry +Cemetery Hill, the adjoining high ground, which formed the right +center, and the rest of the Federal line remained intact; though +not without desperate struggles. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The third was the decisive day; and on it Meade rose to the height +of his unappreciated skill. This was the first great battle in +which all the chief Federals worked so well together and the first +in which the commander-in-chief used reserves with such excellent +effect, throwing them in at exactly the right moment and at the +proper place. But these indispensable qualities were not of the +kind that the public wanted to acclaim, or, indeed, of the kind +that they could understand. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meade was determined to clear his flanks. So <a name="page_301"><span +class="page">Page 301</span></a> he began at dawn to attack Ewell on +Culp's Hill and kept on doggedly till, after four hours of strenuous +fighting, he had driven him off. By this time Meade saw that Lee +was not going to press home any serious attack against the Round +Tops and Devil's Den on the left. So the main interest of the whole +battle shifted to the center of the field, where Lee was massing +for a final charge. The idea had been to synchronize three +coöperating movements against Meade's whole position. His left +was to have been held by a demonstration in force by Longstreet +against the Devil's Den and Round Tops, while Ewell held Culp's +Hill, which seemed to be at his mercy, and which would flank any +Federal retreat. At the same time Meade's center was to have been +rushed by Pickett's fresh division supported by three attached +brigades. But though the central force was ready before nine o'clock +it never stepped off till three; so great was Longstreet's delay +in ordering Pickett's advance. Meanwhile the Federals had made +Culp's Hill quite safe against Ewell. So all depended now on the +one last desperate assault against the Federal center. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This immortal assault is known as Pickett's Charge because it was +made by Pickett's division of Longstreet's corps supported by three +brigades <a name="page_302"><span class="page">Page 302</span></a> +from Hill's—Wilcox's, Perry's, and Pettigrew's. The whole +formed a mass of about ten thousand men. If they broke the Federal +line in two, then every supporting Confederate was to follow, while +the rest turned the flanks. If they failed, then the battle must +be lost. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Hour after hour passed by. But it was not till well past one that +Longstreet opened fire with a hundred and forty guns. Hunt had +seventy-seven ready to reply. But after firing for half an hour +he ceased, wishing to reserve his ammunition for use against the +charging infantry. This encouraged the Confederate gunners, who +thought they had silenced him. They then continued for some time, +preparing the way for the charge, but firing too high and doing +little execution against the Federal infantry, who were lying down, +mostly under cover. Hunt's guns were more exposed and formed better +targets; so some of them suffered severely: none more than those of +Battery A, Fourth U.S. Artillery. This gallant battery had three +of its limbers blown up and replaced. Wheels were also smashed to +pieces and guns put out of action, till only a single gun, with +men enough to handle it, was left with only a single officer. This +heroic young lieutenant, Alonzo H. Cushing (brother to the naval +<a name="page_303"><span class="page">Page 303</span></a> Cushing +who destroyed the <i>Albemarle</i>), then ran his gun up to the +fence and fired his last round through it into Pickett's men as +he himself fell dead. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Pickett advanced at three o'clock, to the breathless admiration +of both friend and foe. He had a mile of open ground to cover. But +his three lines marched forward as steadily and blithely as if the +occasion was a gala one and they were on parade. The Confederate +bombardment ceased. The Federal guns and rifles held their fire. Fate +hung in silence on those gallant lines of gray. Then the Federal +skirmishers down in the valley began fitfully firing; and the waiting +masses on the Federal slopes began to watch more intently still. +"Here they come! Here comes the infantry!" The blue ranks stirred +a little as the men felt their cartridge boxes and the sockets of +their bayonets. The calm warnings of the officers could be heard +all down the line of Gibbon's magnificent division, which stood +straight in Pickett's path. "Steady, men, steady! Don't fire yet!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For a very few, tense minutes Pickett's division disappeared in +an undulation of the ground. Then, at less than point-blank range, +it seemed to spring out of the very earth, no longer in three lines +but one solid mass of rushing gray, cresting, like a tidal <a +name="page_304"><span class="page">Page 304</span></a> wave, to +break in fury on the shore. Instantly, as if in answer to a single +word, Hunt's guns and Gibbon's rifles crashed out together, and +shot, shell, canister, and bullet cut gaping wounds deep into the +dense gray ranks. Still, the wave broke; and, from its storm-blown +top, one furious tongue surged over the breastwork and through +the hedge of bayonets. It came from Armistead's brigade of stark +Virginians. He led it on; and, with a few score men, reached the +highwater mark of that last spring tide. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When he fell the tide of battle turned; turned everywhere upon +that stricken field; turned throughout the whole campaign; turned +even in the war itself. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As Pickett's men fell back they were swept by scythe-like fire +from every gun and rifle that could mow them down. Not a single +mounted officer remained; and of all the brave array that Pickett +led three-fourths fell killed or wounded. The other fourth returned +undaunted still, but only as the wreckage of a storm. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 723px;"> +<a name="fig_08"></a> +<a href="images/fig_08.jpg"> +<img src="images/fig_08_sm.jpg" width="723" height="430" alt="Fig. 8"></a> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee's loss exceeded forty per cent of his command. Meade's loss +fell short of thirty. But Meade was quite unable to pursue at once +when Lee retired on the evening of the fourth. The opposing <a +name="page_305"><span class="page">Page 305</span></a> cavalry, +under Pleasonton and Stuart respectively, had fought a flanking +battle of their own, but without decisive result. So Lee could +screen his retreat to the Potomac, where, however, his whole supply +train might have been cut off if its escort under the steadfast +Imboden had not been reinforced by every teamster who could pull +a trigger. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Gettysburg and Vicksburg, coming together, of course raised the +wildest expectations among the general public, expectations which +found an unworthy welcome at Government headquarters, where Halleck +wrote to Meade on the fourteenth: "The escape of Lee's army has +created great dissatisfaction in the mind of the President." Meade +at once replied: "The censure is, in my judgment, so undeserved +that I most respectfully ask to be immediately relieved from the +command of this army." Wiser counsels thereupon prevailed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lee and Meade maneuvered over the old Virginian scenes of action, +each trying to outflank the other, and each being hampered by having +to send reinforcements to their friends in Tennessee, where, as +we have seen already, Bragg and Rosecrans were now maneuvering in +front of Chattanooga. In October (after the Confederate victory of +Chickamauga) <a name="page_306"><span class="page">Page 306</span></a> +Meade foiled Lee's attempt to bring on a Third Manassas. The campaign +closed at Mine Run, where Lee repulsed Meade's attempted surprise +in a three-day action, which began on the twenty-sixth of November, +the morrow of Grant's three days at Chattanooga. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +From this time forward the South was like a beleaguered city, certain +to fall if not relieved, unless, indeed, the hearts of those who +swayed the Northern vote should fail them at the next election. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_307"><span class="page">Page 307</span></a> +CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">FARRAGUT AND THE NAVY: 1863-4</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Navy's task in '63 was complicated by the many foreign vessels +that ran only between two neutral ports but broke bulk into +blockade-runners at their own port of destination. For instance, +a neutral vessel, with neutral crew and cargo, would leave a port +in Europe for a neutral port in America, say, Nassau in the Bahamas +or Matamoras on the Rio Grande. She could not be touched of course +at either port or anywhere inside the three-mile limit. But +international law accepted the doctrine of continuous voyage, by +which contraband could be taken anywhere on the high seas, provided, +of course, that the blockader could prove his case. If, for example, +there were ten times as many goods going into Matamoras as could +possibly be used through that port by Mexico, then the presumption +was that nine-tenths were contraband. Presumption becoming proof by +further evidence, the <a name="page_308"><span class="page">Page +308</span></a> doctrine of continuous voyage could be used in favor +of the blockaders who stopped the contraband at sea between the +neutral ports. The blockade therefore required a double line of +operation: one, the old line along the Southern coast, the other, +the new line out at sea, and preferably just beyond the three-mile +limit outside the original port of departure, so as to kill the +evil at its source. Nassau and Matamoras gave the coast blockade +plenty of harassing work; Nassau because it was "handy to" the +Atlantic ports, Matamoras because it was at the mouth of the Rio +Grande, over the shoals of which the Union warships could not go +to prevent contraband crossing into Texas, thence up to the Red +River, down to the Mississippi (between the Confederate strongholds +of Vicksburg and Port Hudson) and on to any other part of the South. +But what may be called the high-seas blockade was no less harassing, +complicated as it was by the work of Confederate raiders. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The coast blockade of '63 was marked by two notable ship duels and +three fights round Charleston, then, as always, a great storm center +of the war. At the end of January two Confederate gunboats under +Commodore Ingraham attacked the blockading flotilla of Charleston, +forced the <a name="page_309"><span class="page">Page 309</span></a> +<i>Mercedita</i> to surrender, badly mauled the <i>Keystone State</i>, +and damaged the <i>Quaker City</i>. But, though some foreign consuls +and all Charleston thought the blockade had been raised for the +time being, it was only bent, not broken. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At the end of February the Union monitor <i>Montauk</i> destroyed +the Confederate privateer <i>Nashville</i> near Fort McAllister +on the Ogeechee River in Georgia. In April nine Union monitors +steamed in to test the strength of Charleston; but, as they got +back more than they could give, Admiral Du Pont wisely decided not +to try the fight-to-a-finish he had meant to make next morning. +Wassaw Sound in Georgia was the scene of a desperate duel on the +seventeenth of June, when the Union monitor <i>Weehawken</i> captured +the old blockade-runner <i>Fingal</i>, which had been converted +into the new Confederate ram <i>Atlanta</i>. The third week in +August witnessed another bombardment of Charleston, this time on a +larger scale, for a longer time, and by military as well as naval +means. But Charleston remained defiant and unconquered both this +year and the next. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Confederate raiders were at work along the trade routes of the +world in '63, doing much harm by capture and destruction, and even +more by shaking <a name="page_310"><span class="page">Page +310</span></a> the security of the American mercantile marine. +American crews were hard to get when so many hands were wanted +for other war work; and American vessels were increasingly apt to +seek the safety of a neutral flag. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Slowly, and with much perverse interference to overcome in the +course of its harassing duties, the Union navy was getting the +strangle-hold that killed the sea-girt South. By '64 the North had +secured this strangle-hold; and nothing but foreign intervention +or the political death of the Northern War Party could possibly +shake it off. The South was feeling its practical enislement as +never before. The strong right arm of the Union navy held it fast +at every point but three—Wilmington, Charleston, and Mobile; +and round these three the stern blockaders grew stronger every day. +The Sabine Pass and Galveston also remained in Southern hands; +and the border town of Matamoras still imported contraband. But +these other three points were closely watched; and the greatly +lessened contraband that did get through them now only served the +western South, which had been completely severed from the eastern +South by the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The left arm of the +Union navy now held the whole line of the <a name="page_311"><span +class="page">Page 311</span></a> Mississippi, while the gripping +hand held all the tributary streams—Ohio, Cumberland, and +Tennessee—from which the Union armies were to invade, divide, +and devastate the eastern South this year. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Several Southern raiders were still at large in '64. But the most +famous or notorious three have each their own year of glory. The +<i>Florida</i> belongs to '63, the <i>Shenandoah</i> to '65. So +the one great raiding story we have now to tell is that of the +<i>Alabama</i>, the greatest of them all. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The <i>Alabama</i> was a beautiful thousand-ton wooden barkentine, +built by the Lairds at Birkenhead in '62, with standing rigging of +wire, a single screw driven by two horizontal three-hundred horse +power engines, coal room for three hundred and fifty tons, eight +good guns, the heaviest a hundred-pound rifle, and a maximum crew of +one hundred and forty-nine—all ranks and ratings—under +Captain Raphael Semmes, late U. S. N. Semmes was not only a very +able officer but an accomplished lawyer, well posted on belligerent +and neutral rights at sea. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For nearly two years the <i>Alabama</i> roved the oceans of the Old +World and the New, taking <a name="page_312"><span class="page">Page +312</span></a> sixty-six Union vessels valued at seven million +dollars, spreading the terror of her name among all the merchantmen +that flew the Stars and Stripes, and infuriating the Navy by the +wonderful way in which she contrived to escape every trap it set +for her. She was designed for speed rather than for fighting, and, +with her great spread of canvas, could sometimes work large areas +under sail. But, even so, her runs, captures, and escapes formed a +series of adventures that no mere luck could have possibly performed +with a fluctuating foreign crew commanded by ex-officers of the +Navy. Her wanderings took her through nearly a hundred degrees +of latitude, from the coast of Scotland to St. Paul Island, south +of the Indian Ocean, also through more than two hundred degrees of +longitude, from the Gulf of Mexico to the China Sea. She captured +"Yankees" within one day's steaming of the New York Navy Yard as +well as in the Straits of Sunda. West of the Azores and off the +coast of Brazil her captures came so thick and fast that they might +have almost been a flock of sheep run down there by a wolf. Finally, +to fill the cup of wrath against her, she had sunk a blockader +off the coast of Texas, given the slip to a Union man-of-war at +the Cape of Good Hope, and kept the <a name="page_313"><span +class="page">Page 313</span></a> Navy guessing her unanswered riddles +for two whole years. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Imagine, then, the keen elation with which all hands aboard the +U. S. S. <i>Kearsarge</i> heard at their berth off Flushing that +the <i>Alabama</i> was in port at Cherbourg on the Channel coast +of France, only one day's sail southwest! And there she was when +the <i>Kearsarge</i> came to anchor; and every Northern eye was +turned to see the ship of which the world had heard so much. The +Kearsarges hardly dared to hope that there would be a fight; for +they had the stronger vessel, and now the faster one as well. The +<i>Alabama</i> had been built for speed; but she had knocked about +so much without a proper overhaul that her copper sheathing was in +rags, while she was more or less strained in nearly every other +part. The <i>Kearsarge</i>, on the other hand, was in good order, +with mantlets of chain cable protecting her vitals, with one-third +greater horse power, with fourteen more men in her crew, and with two +big pivot guns throwing eleven inch shells with great force at short +ranges. Moreover, the <i>Kearsarge</i>, with her superior speed and +stronger hull, could choose the range and risk close quarters. The +Alabamas were also keen to estimate respective strengths. But the +French authorities naturally kept the two <a name="page_314"><span +class="page">Page 314</span></a> ships pretty far apart; so the +Alabamas never saw the chain mantlets which the Kearsarges had +cleverly hidden under a covering of wood that appeared to be flush +with the hull. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Kearsarges had a second and still more elating surprise when +they heard the <i>Alabama</i> was coming out to fight. Semmes was +apparently anxious to show that his raider could be as gallant in +fighting a man-of-war as she was effective in sinking merchant +vessels; so he wrote his challenge to the Confederate Consul at +Cherbourg, who passed it on to the U. S. Consul, who handed it +to Captain Winslow, commanding the <i>Kearsarge</i>. Still, four +days passed without the <i>Alabama</i>; and the Kearsarges were +giving up hope, when, suddenly, on Sunday morning, the nineteenth +of June, just as they had rigged church and fallen in for prayers, +out came the <i>Alabama</i>. The <i>Kearsarge</i> thereupon drew +off, so that the <i>Alabama</i> could not easily escape to neutral +waters if the duel went against her. Cherbourg, of course, was all +agog to see the fight; and many thousands of people, some from as far +as Paris, watched every move. An English yacht, the <i>Deerhound</i>, +kept an offing of about a mile, ready to rescue survivors from a +watery grave. Its owner, with his wife and family, had intended +to <a name="page_315"><span class="page">Page 315</span></a> stay +ashore and go to church. But, when they heard the <i>Alabama</i> +was really going out, he put the question to the vote around the +breakfast-table, whereupon it was carried unanimously that the +<i>Deerhound</i> should go too. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When the deck-officer of the <i>Kearsarge</i> sang out, +"<i>Alabama!</i>" Captain Winslow put down his prayer-book, seized +his speaking-trumpet, and turned to gain a proper offing, while +the drum beat to general quarters and the ship was cleared for +action, with pivot-guns to starboard. The weather was fine, with +a slight haze, little sea, and a light west breeze. Having drawn +the <i>Alabama</i> far enough to sea, the <i>Kearsarge</i> turned +toward her again, showing the starboard bow. When at a mile the +<i>Alabama</i> fired her hundred-pounder. For nearly the whole +hour this famous duel lasted the ships continued fighting in the +same way—starboard to starboard, round and round a circle +from half to a quarter mile across. Each captain stood on the +horse-block abreast the mizzen-mast to direct the fight. Semmes +presently called to his executive officer: "Mr. Kell, use solid +shot! Our shell strike the enemy's side and fall into the water" +(after bounding off the iron mantlets Winslow had so cleverly +concealed). The <i>Kearsarge's</i> gunnery was <a name="page_316"><span +class="page">Page 316</span></a> magnificent, especially from the +after-pivot, which Quartermaster William Smith fired with deadly +aim, even when three of his gun's crew had been wounded by a shell. +These three, strange to say, were the only casualties that occurred +aboard the <i>Kearsarge</i>. But at sea the stronger side usually +suffers much less and the weaker much more than on land. The +<i>Alabama</i> lost forty: killed, drowned, and wounded. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Kearsarges soon saw how the fight was going and began to cheer +each first-rate shot. "That's a good one! Now we have her! Give her +another like the last!" The big eleven-inchers got home repeatedly +as the range decreased; so much so that Semmes ordered Kell to +keep the <i>Alabama</i> headed for the coast the next time the +circling brought her bow that way. This would bring her port side +into action, which was just what Semmes wanted now, because she had +a dangerous list to starboard, where the water was pouring through +the shot-holes. Kell changed her course with perfect skill, righting +the helm, hoisting the head-sails, hauling the fore-try-sail-sheet +well aft, and pivoting to port for a broadside delivered almost +as quickly as if there had not been a change at all. But at this +moment the engineer came up to say the water had put his fires out <a +name="page_317"><span class="page">Page 317</span></a> and that the +ship was sinking. At the same time a strange thing happened. An early +shot from the <i>Kearsarge</i> had carried away the <i>Alabama's</i> +colors; and now the <i>Alabama's</i> own last broadside actually +announced her own defeat by "breaking out" the special Stars and +Stripes that Winslow had run up his mizzenmast on purpose to break +out in case of victory. A cannon ball had twitched the cord that +held the flag rolled up "in stops." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Semmes sent his one remaining boat to announce his surrender; threw +his sword into the sea; and jumped in with the survivors. The +<i>Deerhound</i>, on authority from Winslow, had already closed +in to the rescue, followed by two French pilot boats and two from +the <i>Kearsarge</i>; when suddenly the <i>Alabama</i>, rearing +like a stricken horse, plunged to her doom. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Long before the <i>Alabama's</i> end the Navy had been preparing +for the finishing blows against the Southern ports. Farragut had +returned to New Orleans in January, '64, hoping for immediate action. +But vexatious delays at Washington postponed his great attack till +August, when he crowned his whole career by his master-stroke against +Mobile. Grant was equally annoyed by <a name="page_318"><span +class="page">Page 318</span></a> this absurd delay, which was caused +by the eccentric, and therefore entirely wasteful, Red River Expedition +of '64, an expedition we shall ignore otherwise than by pointing out, +in this and the succeeding chapters, that it not only postponed +the overdue attack on Mobile but spoilt Sherman's grand strategy +as well as Farragut's and Grant's. Banks commanded it. But by this +time even he had learnt enough of war to know that it was a totally +false move. So he boldly protested against it. But Halleck's orders, +dictated by the Government, were positive. So there was nothing +for it but to suffer a well-deserved defeat while trying to kill +the dead and withering branches of Confederate power beyond the +Mississippi, in order to "show the flag in Texas" and say "hands +off!" to Mexico and France in the least effective way of all. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +During this delay the Confederate ram <i>Albemarle</i> came down +the Roanoke River, hoping to break through the local blockade in +Albemarle Sound and so give North Carolina an outlet to the sea. +Two attempts against Newbern, which closed the way out to Pamlico +Sound, had failed; but now (the fifth of May) great hopes were set +upon the <i>Albemarle</i>. At first she seemed impregnable; and the +Federal shot and shell glanced harmlessly <a name="page_319"><span +class="page">Page 319</span></a> off her iron sides. But presently +Commander Roe of the <i>Sassacus</i> (a light-draft, pair-paddle, +double-ender gunboat) getting at right angles to her, ordered his +engineer to stuff the fires with oiled waste and keep the throttle +open. "All hands, lie down!" shouted Roe, as the throbbing engines +drove his vessel to the charge. Then came an earthquake shock: the +<i>Sassacus</i> crashed her bronze beak into the <i>Albemarle's</i> +side. Both vessels were disabled; a shell from the <i>Albemarle</i> +burst the boilers of the <i>Sassacus</i>, scalding the engineers. +But the rest fought off the attempt made by the Albemarles to board. +Presently the furious opponents drifted apart; and the <i>Albemarle</i>, +unable to face her other enemies, took refuge upstream. There, on +the twenty-seventh of October, she was heroically attacked and +sunk by Lieutenant W. B. Cushing, U. S. N., with a spar torpedo +projecting from a little steam launch. Cushing himself swam off +through a hail of bullets, worked his way through the woods, seized +a skiff belonging to one of the enemy's outposts, and reached the +flagship half dead but wholly triumphant. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Between the <i>Albemarle's</i> two fights Farragut took Mobile +after a magnificent action on the fifth <a name="page_320"><span +class="page">Page 320</span></a> of August. There were batteries +ashore, torpedoes across the channel, the <i>Tennessee</i> ram +and other Confederate vessels waiting on the flank: three kinds +of danger to the Union fleet if one false movement had been made. +But Farragut's touch was sure. He sent his ironclads through next +to the batteries, which were only really dangerous on one side. This +protected the wooden ships against the batteries and the ironclads +against the torpedoes; for the Confederates had to leave part of the +fairway clear in order to use it themselves. Through this narrow +channel the four strongly armored monitors led the desperate way, a +little ahead and to starboard of the wooden vessels, which followed +in pairs, each pair lashed together, with the stronger on the starboard +side, next to Fort Morgan. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Confederates in Fort Morgan, and in the small and distant Fort +Powell on the other side, hardly reached a thousand men. Their force +afloat was also comparatively small: the ironclad ram <i>Tennessee</i> +and three side-wheeler gunboats. But the great strength of their +position and the many dangers to a hostile fleet combined to make +Farragut's attack a very serious operation, even with his four +monitors, eight screw sloops, and four smaller vessels. The Union +army, which took no part <a name="page_321"><span class="page">Page +321</span></a> in this great attack, was over five thousand strong, +and lost only seven men in the land bombardment later on. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Farragut crossed the bar in the <i>Hartford</i> at ten past six +in the morning with the young flood tide and a westerly breeze to +blow the smoke against Fort Morgan. All his ships ran up the Stars +and Stripes not only at the peak, as usual, but at each mast-head as +well. Farragut himself at first took post in the port main rigging. +But as the smoke of battle rose around him he climbed higher and +higher till he got close under the maintop, where a seaman, sent +up by Captain Drayton, lashed him on securely. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +All went well amid the furious cannonade till the monitor +<i>Tecumseh</i>, taking the wrong side of the channel buoy in her +anxiety to ram the <i>Tennessee</i>, ran over the torpedoes, was +horribly holed by the explosion, and plunged headforemost to the +bottom, her screw madly whirling in the air. Nor was this the worst; +for the <i>Tecumseh's</i> mistake had thrown the other monitors +out of their proper line-ahead, athwart the wooden ships, which +began to slow and swing about in some confusion. The Confederates +redoubled their fire. Ahead lay the fatal torpedoes. For a moment +Farragut <a name="page_322"><span class="page">Page 322</span></a> +could not decide whether to risk an advance at all costs or to turn +back beaten. He was a very devout as well as a most determined +man; and his simple prayer, "O God, shall I go on?" seemed answered +by the echo of his soul, "Go on!" So on he went, not in unreflecting +exaltation, but in exaltation based on knowledge and on skill. +Like Cromwell, he might well have said, "Trust in the Lord and +keep your powder dry!" For he had done all that naval foresight +could have done to ensure success. And now, in one lightning flash +of genius, he reviewed the situation. He knew the torpedoes of his +day were often unreliable, that they exploded only on a special +kind of shock, that those which did explode could not be replaced +in action, that they were all fixed to their own spots, and that +if one ship was blown up her next-astern would get through safely. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The <i>Brooklyn</i>, his next-ahead, was in his way. So he ordered +the flagship <i>Hartford</i> and her lashed-together consort, the +double-ender <i>Metacomet</i>, to use, the one her screw, the other +her paddles, in opposite directions, till he had cleared the +<i>Brooklyn's</i> stern. As he drew clear and headed for the +danger-channel a shout went up from the <i>Brooklyn's</i> +deck—"'ware torpedoes!" But Farragut, his <a name="page_323"><span +class="page">Page 323</span></a> mind made up, instantly roared +back—"Damn the torpedoes!" Then, turning to the <i>Hartford's</i> +and <i>Metacomet's</i> decks, he called his orders down: "Four +bells! Captain Drayton, go ahead! Captain Jouett, full speed!" +In answer to the order of "four bells" the engines worked their +very utmost and the two vessels dashed ahead. Torpedoes knocked +against the bottom and some of the primers actually snapped. But +nothing exploded; and Farragut won through. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Inside the harbor the <i>Tennessee</i> fought hard against the +overwhelming Union fleet. But her low-powered engines gave her no +chance at quick maneuvers. Three vessels rammed her in succession; +and she was forced to surrender. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After this purely naval victory on the fifth of August, General +Granger's troops invested Fort Morgan, which, becoming the target +of an irresistible converging fire from both land and sea on the +twenty-second, surrendered on the twenty-third. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The next objective of a joint expedition was Fort Fisher, which +stood at the end of a long, low tongue of land between the sea and +Cape Fear River. Fort Fisher guarded the entrance to Wilmington +in North Carolina, the port, above all others, from which the +Confederate armies drew their oversea <a name="page_324"><span +class="page">Page 324</span></a> supplies. Lee wrote to Colonel +Lamb, its commandant, saying that he could not subsist if it was +taken. Lamb had less than two thousand men in the fort; but there +were six thousand more forming an army of support outside. The +Confederates, however, had no naval force to speak of, while the +Union fleet, commanded by Admiral Porter, was the largest that +had ever yet assembled under the Stars and Stripes. There were +nearly sixty fighting vessels of all kinds, including five new +ironclads and the three finest new frigates. The guns that were +carried exceeded six hundred. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There was also a mine ship, the old <i>Louisiana</i>, stuffed +chock-a-block with powder to blow in the side of the fort. The +Washington wiseacres set great store on this new mine of theirs. It +was, of course, to end the war. But naval and military experts on +the spot were more than doubtful. On the night of the twenty-third +of December the <i>Louisiana</i> was safely worked in near the fort +by brave Commander Rhind, who fired the slow match and escaped +unhurt with his devoted crew of volunteers. A tremendous explosion +followed. But, as there was nothing to drive the force of it against +the walls, it simply resulted in an enormous flurry of water, mud, +sand, earth, and bits of flaming wreckage. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_325"><span class="page">Page 325</span></a> Next +morning the fleet bombarded with such success as to silence many +of the guns opposed to them. But on Christmas Day General Weitzel +reported that an assault would fail; whereupon General Butler concurred +and retreated, much to the rage of the fleet, which thought quite +otherwise. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In a few days General Terry arrived with the same white troops +reinforced by two small colored brigades, making a total of eight +thousand men. To these Porter, strongly reinforced, added a naval +brigade, two thousand strong, that volunteered to storm the sea +face of Fort Fisher. These gallant men had only cutlasses and +pistols—except the four hundred marines, who carried bayonets +and rifles. They were a scratch lot, from the soldier's point of +view, never having been landed together as a single unit till called +upon to assault the most dangerous features of the fort. Yet, though +they were repulsed with considerable loss, they greatly helped +to win the day by obliging the defenders to divide their forces. +As Terry's army was, by itself, four or five times stronger than +Lamb's entire command the military stormers succeeded in fighting +their way through every line of defense and compelling a surrender. +They did exceedingly well. But their rear was safe, because Bragg had +<a name="page_326"><span class="page">Page 326</span></a> withdrawn +the supporting army for service elsewhere; while, in their front, +the enemy defenses had been almost torn out by the roots in many +places under the terrific converging fire of six hundred naval +guns for three successive days. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When Fort Fisher surrendered on the fifteenth of January (1865) +the exhausted South had only one good port and one good raider +left: Charleston and the <i>Shenandoah</i>. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_327"><span class="page">Page 327</span></a> +CHAPTER X</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">GRANT ATTACKS THE FRONT: 1864</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On March 9, 1864, at the Executive Mansion, and in the presence +of all the Cabinet Ministers, Lincoln handed Grant the +Lieutenant-General's commission which made him Commander-in-Chief +of all the Union armies—a commission such as no one else +had held since Washington. On April 9, 1865, Grant received the +surrender of Lee at Appomattox; and the four years war was ended +by a thirteen months campaign. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Victor of the River War in '63, Grant moved his headquarters from +Chattanooga to Nashville soon before Christmas. He then expected +not only to lead the river armies against Atlanta in '64 but, at +the same time, to send another army against Mobile, where it could +act in conjunction with the naval forces under Farragut's command. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He consequently made a midwinter tour of <a name="page_328"><span +class="page">Page 328</span></a> inspection: southeast to Chattanooga, +northeast to Knoxville and Cumberland Gap, northwest to Lexington +and Louisville, thence south, straight back to Nashville. This +satisfied him that his main positions were properly taken and held, +and that a well-concerted drive would clear his own strategic area +of all but Forrest's elusive cavalry. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was the hardest winter known for many years. The sticky clay +roads round Cumberland Gap had been churned by wheels and pitted +by innumerable feet throughout the autumn rains. Now they were +frozen solid and horribly encumbered by débris mixed up +with thousands upon thousands of perished mules and horses. Grant +regretted this terrible wastage of animals as much in a personal as +in a military way; for, like nearly all great men, his sympathies +were broad enough to make him compassionate toward every kind of +sentient life. No Arab ever loved his horse better than Grant loved +his splendid charger Cincinnati, the worthy counterpart of Traveler, +Lee's magnificent gray. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Summoned to Washington in March, Grant, after one scrutinizing +look at the political world, then and there made up his steadfast +mind that no commander-in-chief could ever carry out his own plans +from any distant point; for, even in <a name="page_329"><span +class="page">Page 329</span></a> his fourth year of the war, civilian +interference was still being practiced in defiance of naval and +military facts and needs, and of some very serious dangers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lincoln stood wisely for civil control. But even he could not resist +the perverting pressure in favor of the disastrous Red River Expedition, +against which even Banks protested. Public and Government alike +desired to give the French fair warning that the establishment of +an Imperial Mexico, especially by means of foreign intervention, +was regarded as a semi-hostile act. There were two entirely different +ways in which this warning could be given: one completely effective +without being provocative, the other provocative without being in +the very least degree effective. The only effective way was to win +the war; and the best way to win the war was to strike straight at +the heart of the South with all the Union forces. The most ineffective +way was to withdraw Union forces from the heart of the war, send them +off at a wasteful tangent, misuse them in eccentric operations just +where they would give most offense to the French, and then expose +them to what, at best, could only be a detrimental victory, and to +what would much more likely be defeat, if not disaster. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_330"><span class="page">Page 330</span></a> Yet, +to Grant's and Farragut's and every other soldier's and sailor's +disgust, this worst way of all was chosen; and Banks's forty thousand +sorely needed veterans were sent to their double defeat at Sabine +Cross Roads and Pleasant Hill on the eighth and ninth of April, while +Porter's invaluable fleet and the no less indispensable transports +were nearly lost altogether owing to the long-foretold fall of +the dangerous Red River. The one success of this whole disastrous +affair was the admirable work of Colonel Joseph Bailey, who dammed +the water up just in time to let the rapidly stranding vessels +slide into safety through a very narrow sluice. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Even the Red River lesson was thrown away on Stanton, whose interference +continued to the bitter end, except when checked by Lincoln or countered +by Grant and Sherman in the field. When Grant was starting on his +tour of inspection he found that Stanton had forbidden all War +Department operators to let commanding generals use the official +cipher except when in communication with himself. There were to +be no secrets at the front between the commanding generals, even +on matters of immediate life and death, unless they were first +approved by Stanton at his leisure. The fact that the enemy could +use unciphered messages <a name="page_331"><span class="page">Page +331</span></a> was nothing in his autocratic eyes. Nor did it prick +his conscience to change the wording in ways that bewildered his +own side and served the enemy's turn. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When Grant took the cipher Stanton ordered the operator to be dismissed. +Grant thereupon shouldered the responsibility, saying that Stanton +would have to punish him if any one was punished. Then Stanton gave +in. Grant saw through him clearly. "Mr. Stanton never questioned +his own authority to command, unless resisted. He felt no hesitation +in assuming the functions of the Executive or in acting without +advising with him.... He was very timid, and it was impossible +for him to avoid interfering with the armies covering the capital +when it was sought to defend it by an offensive movement against +the army defending the Confederate capital. The enemy would not +have been in danger if Mr. Stanton had been in the field." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Stanton was unteachable. He never learnt where control ended and +disabling interference began. In the very critical month of August, +'64, he interfered with Hunter to such an extent that this patriotic +general had to tell Grant "he was so embarrassed with orders from +Washington that he had lost all trace of the enemy." Nor was that +<a name="page_332"><span class="page">Page 332</span></a> the end +of Stanton's interference with the operations in the Shenandoah +Valley. Lincoln's own cipher letter to Grant on the third of August +shows what both these great men had to suffer from the weak link +in the chain between them. +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +I have seen your despatch in which you say, "I want Sheridan put +in command of all the troops in the field, with instructions to put +himself south of the enemy, and follow him to the death. Wherever +the enemy goes, let our troops go also." This, I think, is exactly +right, as to how our forces should move. But please look over the +despatches you may have received from here, even since you made +that order, and discover, if you can, that there is any idea in +the head of any one here of "putting our army <i>south</i> of the +enemy," or of "following him to the <i>death</i>" in any direction. +I repeat to you it will neither be done or attempted unless you +watch it every day, and hour, and force it. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The experts of the loyal North were partly comforted by knowing that +Davis and his ministers had interfered with Jackson, that during +the present campaign they made a crucial mistake about Johnston, +and that they failed to give Lee the supreme command until it was +too late. But no Southern Secretary went quite so far as Stanton, +who actually falsified Grant's order to Sheridan at the crisis of +the Valley campaign in October. Here are <a name="page_333"><span +class="page">Page 333</span></a> Grant's own words: "This order +had to go through Washington, where it was intercepted; and when +Sheridan received what purported to be a statement of what I wanted +him to do it was something entirely different." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Nor was Stanton the only responsible civilian to interfere with +Grant. There was no government press censorship—perhaps, +in this peculiar war, there could not be one. So the only safety +was unceasing care, even in cases vouched for by civilians of high +official standing. When Grant was beginning the great campaign of '64 +the Honorable Elihu B. Washburne, afterwards United States Minister +to France, introduced one Swinton as the prospective historian of +the war. On this understanding Swinton accompanied the army. One +night Grant gave verbal orders to the staff officer on duty. Three +days later these orders appeared in a Richmond paper. Shortly +afterwards, in the midst of the Wilderness battle, Swinton was +found eavesdropping behind a stump during a midnight conference at +headquarters. Sent off with a serious warning, he next appeared, +in another place, as a prisoner condemned to death for spying. +Grant, satisfied that he was not bent on getting news for the enemy +in particular, but only for the press in <a name="page_334"><span +class="page">Page 334</span></a> general, released and expelled +him with such a warning this time that he never once came back. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The Union forces at the front were about twice the corresponding +forces of the South. Sherman, who commanded the river armies after +Grant's transfer to Virginia, says: "I always estimated my force at +about double, and could afford to lose two to one without disturbing +our relative proportion." In Virginia the Army of the Potomac under +Meade and the new Army of the James under Butler, both under Grant's +immediate command, totaled over a hundred and fifty thousand men +against the ninety thousand under Lee. These odds of five to three +remained the same when a hundred and ten thousand Federals went +into winter quarters against sixty-six thousand Confederates at +Petersburg. But, when the naval odds of more than ten to one in +favor of the North are added in, the general odds of two to one are +reached on this as well as other scenes of action. In reserves the +odds were very much greater; for while the South was getting down +to its last available man the North began the following year with +nearly one million in the forces and two millions on the registered +reserve. Thus, even supposing that half the reserves were unfit <a +name="page_335"><span class="page">Page 335</span></a> for active +service, the man-power odds against the South were these: two to +one in arms at the beginning of the great campaign, five to one at +the end of it, and ten to one if the fit reserves were all included. +The odds in transportation by land, and very much more so by water, +were even greater at corresponding times; while the odds in all +the other resources which could be turned to warlike ends were +greater still. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Southern situation, therefore, was not encouraging from the +naval and military point of view. The border States had long been +lost, then the trans-Mississippi; and now the whole river area was +held as a base by the North. Only five States remained effective: +Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. These formed an +irregular oblong of about two hundred thousand square miles between +the Appalachians and the sea. There were a good eight hundred +Confederate miles from the Shenandoah Valley to Mobile. But the +three hundred miles across the oblong, even in its widest part, +were everywhere threatened and in some places held by the North. +The whole coast was more closely blockaded than ever; and only +three ports remained with their defenses still in Southern hands: +Wilmington, Charleston, and <a name="page_336"><span class="page">Page +336</span></a> Mobile. Alabama was threatened by land and sea from the +lower Mississippi and the Gulf. Georgia was threatened by Sherman's +main body in southeastern Tennessee. The Carolinas were in less +immediate danger. But they were menaced both from the mountains and +the sea; and if the Union forces conquered Virginia and Georgia, +then the Carolinas were certain to be ground into subjugation between +Grant's victorious forces on the north and Sherman's on the south. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant fixed his own headquarters with the Army of the Potomac at +Culpeper Court House, north of the Rapidan. Lee's Army of Northern +Virginia was at Orange Court House, over twenty miles south. Grant, +taking his own headquarters as the center, regarded Butler's Army +of the James as the left wing, which could unite with the center +round Richmond and Petersburg. The long right wing ran through +the whole of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, clear away to +Memphis, with its own headquarters at Chattanooga. There Sherman +faced Johnston, who occupied a strong position at Dalton, over +thirty miles southeast. The great objectives were, of course, the +two main Southern armies under Lee and Johnston, with Richmond +and Atlanta as the chief positions to be gained. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_337"><span class="page">Page 337</span></a> All other +Union forces were regarded as attacking the South from the rear. +Wherever coast garrisons could help to tighten the blockade or +seriously distract Confederate attention they were left to do so. +Wherever they could not they were either depleted for the front +or sent there bodily. The principal Union field force attacking +from the rear was to have been formed by Banks's forty thousand +veterans in conjunction with Farragut's fleet against Mobile. But +the Red River Expedition spoilt that combination in the spring +and postponed it till August, when Farragut did nearly all the +fighting, and the coöperating army was far too late to produce +the distracting effect that Grant had originally planned. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +General Franz Sigel was sent to the upper Shenandoah Valley, both +to guard that approach on Washington and to destroy the resources on +which Lee's army so greatly relied. General George Crook was given +a mounted column to operate from southern West Virginia against +the line of rails running toward Tennessee through the lower end +of the Valley. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The most notable new general was Philip H. Sheridan, whom Grant +selected for the cavalry command. Sheridan was thirty-three, two +years <a name="page_338"><span class="page">Page 338</span></a> +older than his Southern rival, Stuart, and, like him, a young regular +officer who rose to well-earned fame the moment his first great +chance occurred. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman we have met from the very beginning of the war and followed +throughout its course. He was continually rising to more and more +responsible command; but it was only now that he became the virtual +Commander-in-Chief of all the river armies and the chosen +coöperator with Grant on a universal scale. He was of the +old original stock, his first American ancestors having emigrated +from England in 1634. An old regular, with special knowledge of the +South, and in the fullness of his powers at the age of forty-four, +he had developed with the war till there was no position which he +could not fill to the best advantage of the service. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant fixed the fourth of May for the combined advance of all the +converging forces of invasion. There were two weak points where +the Union armies failed: one in the farthest south, where, as we +have so often seen, Banks could not attack Mobile owing to his +absence at Red River; the other in the farthest north, where Sigel +was badly beaten and replaced by Hunter. Here, after much disabling +interference at the hands of Stanton, <a name="page_339"><span +class="page">Page 339</span></a> Hunter was succeeded by Sheridan, +whom Grant himself directed with consummate skill. There were also +two Confederate thorns in the Federal side: Forrest's cavalry in +Sherman's rear, Mosby's cavalry in Grant's. Forrest roved about the +river area, snapping up small garrisons, cutting communications, +and doing a good deal of damage right up to the Ohio. Mosby, with +a much smaller but equally efficient force, actually raided to and +fro in Grant's immediate rear; and on one occasion nearly captured +Grant himself just on the eve of the opening move. As Grant's unguarded +special train from Washington pulled up at Warrenton Junction, where +there was only one Union official, Mosby's men had just crossed +the track in pursuit of some Federal cavalry. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But neither these two Confederate thorns in the side nor the more +serious Federal failures could stop the general advance. Nor yet +could Butler's lack of success on the James. Butler had seized +and fortified an exceedingly strong defensive position at Bermuda +Hundred on a peninsula, with navigable water on both flanks and in +rear, and a very narrow neck of land in front. The only trouble +was that it was as hard for him to surmount the Confederate front +across the same narrow neck as it was <a name="page_340"><span +class="page">Page 340</span></a> for the enemy to surmount his +own. He was, in fact, bottled up, with the cork in the enemy's +hands. He did send out cavalry from Suffolk to cut the rails south +of Petersburg. But no permanent damage was done there. Petersburg +itself, which at that time was almost defenseless, was not taken. And +in the middle of the month Beauregard attacked Butler so vigorously +as to make the Army of the James rather a passive than an active +force till it was presently, absorbed by Grant when he arrived +before Richmond in June. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant felt perfect confidence only in four prime elements of victory: +first, in his ability to wear Lee down by sheer attrition if other +means failed; next, in his own magnificent army; then in Sherman's; +and lastly in Sheridan's cavalry. His supply and transport services +were nearly perfect, even in his own most critical eyes. "There +never was a corps better organized than was the quartermaster's +corps with the Army of the Potomac in 1864." His field engineering +and his signal service were also exceedingly good. At every halt +the army threw up earth and timber entrenchments with wonderful +rapidity and skill. At the same time the telegraph and signal corps +was busy laying insulated wires by means of reels on muleback. +Parallel <a name="page_341"><span class="page">Page 341</span></a> +lines would be led to the rear of each brigade till quite clear, +when their ends would be joined by a wire at right angles, from +which headquarters could communicate with every unit at the front. +Sherman's army was equally efficient, and Sheridan's cavalry soon +proved that sweeping raids could be carried out by one side as +well as by the other. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Crossing the Rapidan at the Germanna Ford, Grant marched south +through the Wilderness on the fifth of May. The Wilderness was +densely wooded; the roads were few and bad; the clearings rare +and too small for large units. When Lee attacked from the west +and Grant turned to face him the fighting soon became desperate, +close, and somewhat confused. Neither side gained any substantial +advantage on the first day. Next morning Grant, preparing to attack +at five, was forestalled by Lee, who wished to keep him at arm's +length till Longstreet came up on the southern flank. Again the +opposing armies closed and fought with the greatest determination +for over an hour, when the Confederates fell back in some confusion. +Then Longstreet arrived and restored the battle till he was severely +wounded. After this Lee took command of his right, or southern, wing +and kept <a name="page_342"><span class="page">Page 342</span></a> up +the fight all day. Meanwhile Sheridan had countered the Confederate +cavalry under Stuart, which had been trying to swing round the +same southern flank. The main bodies of infantry swayed back and +forth till dark, with the woods and breastworks on fire in several +places, and many of the wounded smothering in the smoke. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the seventh reassuring news came in from Sherman and Butler, +Sheridan drove off the Confederate cavalry at Todd's Tavern, and +the southward march continued. As Grant and Meade rode south that +evening, past Hancock's corps, and the men saw they were heading +straight for Richmond, there was such a burst of cheering that +the Confederates, thinking it meant a night attack, deluged the +intervening woods with a heavy barrage till they found out their +mistake. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The race for Richmond continued on the eighth, each army trying to +get south of the other without exposing itself to a flank attack. +Grant had sent his wagon trains farther east, to move south on +parallel roads and keep those nearest Lee quite clear for fighting. +This movement at first led Lee to suspect a Federal retirement on +Fredericksburg, which caused him to send Longstreet's corps south to +Spotsylvania. The woods being on fire, and the <a name="page_343"><span +class="page">Page 343</span></a> men unable to bivouac, the whole +corps pushed on to Spotsylvania, thus forestalling Grant, who had +intended to get there first himself. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This brought on another tremendous battle in the bush. Lee formed +a semicircle, facing north, round Spotsylvania, in a supreme effort +to stem, if not throw back, Grant's most determined advance. Grant, +on the other hand, indomitably pressed home wave after wave of attack +till the evening of the twelfth. The morning of that desperate day +was foggy; and the attack was delayed. The Federal objective was +a commanding salient, jutting out from the Confederate center, and +now weakened by the removal of guns overnight to follow the apparent +Federal move toward the south. The gray sentries, peering through the +dripping woods, suddenly found them astir. Then wave after wave of +densely massed blue dashed to the assault, swarming up and over on +both sides, regardless of losses, and fighting hand to hand with a +fury that earned this famous salient the name of Bloody Angle. +Back and still back went the outnumbered gray, many of whom were +surrounded by the swirling currents of inpouring blue. But presently +Lee himself came up, and would have led his reinforcements to the +charge if a pleading shout <a name="page_344"><span class="page">Page +344</span></a> of "General Lee to the rear!" had not induced him to +desist. Every spare Confederate rushed to the rescue. From right +and left and rear the gray streams came, impetuous and strong, +united in one main current and dashed against the blue. There, in +the Bloody Angle, the battle raged with ever-increasing fury until +the rising tide of strife, bursting its narrow bounds, carried the +blue attackers back to where they came from. But they were hardly +clear of that appalling slope before they reformed, presented an +undaunted front once more, and then drew off with stinging resistance +to the very last. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After five days of much rain and little fighting Grant made his +final effort on the eighteenth. This was meant to be a great surprise. +Two corps changed position under cover of the night and sprang +their trap at four in the morning. But Lee was again before them, +ready and resolute as ever. Thirty guns converged their withering +fire on the big blue masses and seemed to burn them off the field. +These masses never closed, as they had done six days before; and +when they fell back beaten the fortnight's battle in the Wilderness +was done. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +During it there had been two operations that gave Grant better +satisfaction: Sheridan's raid and <a name="page_345"><span +class="page">Page 345</span></a> Sherman's advance. As large bodies +of cavalry could not maneuver in the bush Grant had sent Sheridan +off on his Richmond Raid ten days before. Striking south near +Spotsylvania, Sheridan's ten thousand horsemen rounded Lee's right, +cut the rails on either side of Beaver Dam Station, destroyed this +important depot on the Virginia Central Railroad, and then made +straight for Richmond. Stuart followed hard, made an exhausting +sweep round Sheridan's flank, and faced him on the eleventh at +Yellow Tavern, six miles north of Richmond. Here the tired and +outnumbered Confederates made a desperate attempt to stem Sheridan's +advance. But Stuart, the hero of his own men, and the admiration +of his generous foes, was mortally wounded; and his thinner lines, +overlapped and outweighed, gave ground and drew off. Richmond had +no garrison to resist a determined attack. But Sheridan, knowing he +could not hold it and having better work to do, pushed on southeast +to Haxall's Landing, where he could draw much-needed supplies from +Butler, just across the James. With the enemy aggressive and alert +all round him, he built a bridge under fire across the Chickahominy, +struck north for the Army of the Potomac, and reported his return to +Grant at <a name="page_346"><span class="page">Page 346</span></a> +Chesterfield Station—halfway back to Spotsylvania—on +his seventeenth day out. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the course of this great raid Sheridan had drawn off the Confederate +cavalry; fought four successful actions; released hundreds of Union +prisoners and taken as many himself; cut rails and wires to such an +extent that Lee could only communicate with Richmond by messenger; +destroyed enormous quantities of the most vitally needed enemy +stores, especially food and medical supplies; and, by penetrating +the outer defenses of Richmond, raised Federal prestige to a higher +plane at a most important juncture. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile Sherman, whose own main body included a hundred thousand +men, had started from Chattanooga at the same time as Grant from +Culpeper Court House. In Grant's opinion "Johnston, with Atlanta, +was of less importance only because the capture of Johnston and +his army would not produce so immediate and decisive a result in +closing the rebellion as would the possession of Richmond, Lee, and +his army." Sherman's organization, supply and transport, engineers, +staff, and army generally were excellent. So skillful, indeed, were +his railway engineers that a disgusted Confederate raider called +out to a demolition <a name="page_347"><span class="page">Page +347</span></a> party: "Better save your powder, boys. What's the +good of blowing up this one when Sherman brings duplicate tunnels +along?" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman had double Johnston's numbers in the field. But Johnston, +as a supremely skillful Fabian, was a most worthy opponent for this +campaign, when the Confederate object was to gain time and sicken +the North of the war by falling back from one strongly prepared +position to another, inflicting as much loss as possible on the +attackers, and forcing them to stretch their line of communication +to the breaking point among a hostile population. Two of Sherman's +best divisions were still floundering about with the rest of the +Red River Expedition. So he had to modify his original plan, which +would have taken him much sooner to Atlanta and given him the support +of a simultaneous attack on Mobile by a coöperating joint +expedition. But he was ready to the minute, all the same. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Dalton, Johnston's first stronghold, was cleverly turned by McPherson's +right flank march; whereupon Johnston fell back on Resaca. Here, +on the upon the fifteenth of May, the armies fought hard for some +hours. But Sherman again outflanked the fortified enemy, who retired +to Kingston. Then, after Sherman had made a four days' halt to +accumulate <a name="page_348"><span class="page">Page 348</span></a> +supplies, the advance was resumed, against determined opposition and +with a good deal of hard fighting for a week in the neighborhood +of New Hope Church. The result of the usual outflanking movements +was that Johnston had to evacuate Allatoona on the fourth of June. +Sherman at once turned it into his advanced field base; while Johnston +fell back on another strong and well-prepared position at Kenesaw +Mountain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant, favored in a general way by Sherman and in a special way +by Sheridan, had meanwhile enjoyed a third advantage, this time +on his own immediate front, through the sickness of Lee, who could +not take personal command during the last ten days of May. On the +twenty-first half of Grant's army marched south while half stood +threatening Lee, in order to give their friends a start toward +Richmond. This move was so well staffed and screened that perhaps +Lee could not have seen his chance quite soon enough in any case. +But when he did learn what had happened even his calm self-control +gave way to the exceeding bitter cry: "We must strike them! We must +never let them pass us again!" On the thirtieth he was horrified +at getting from Beauregard (who was then between Richmond and +Petersburg) a telegram <a name="page_349"><span class="page">Page +349</span></a> which showed that the Confederate Government was +busy with the circumlocution office in Richmond while the enemy +was thundering at the gate. "War Department must determine when +and what troops to order from here." Lee immediately answered: +"If you cannot determine what troops you can spare, the Department +cannot. The result of your delay will be disaster. Butler's troops +will be with Grant tomorrow." Lee also telegraphed direct to Davis +for immediate reinforcements, which arrived only just in time for +the terrific battle of Cold Harbor. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +With these three advantages, in addition to the other odds in his +favor, Grant seemed to have found the tide of fortune at the flood +in the latter part of May. But he had many troubles of his own. +No sooner had half his army been badly defeated on the eighteenth +than news came that Sigel was in full retreat instead of cutting +off supplies from Lee. Then came news of Butler's retreat from +Drewry's Bluff, close in to Richmond. Nor was this all; for it was +only now that definite news of the Red River Expedition arrived +to confirm Grant's worst suspicions and ruin his second plan of +helping Farragut to take Mobile. But, as was his wont, Grant at +once took steps to meet the crisis. He <a name="page_350"><span +class="page">Page 350</span></a> ordered Hunter to replace Sigel +and go south—straight into the heart of the Valley, asked the +navy to move his own base down the Rappahannock from Fredericksburg +to Port Royal, and then himself marched on toward Richmond, where +Lee was desperately trying to concentrate for battle. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The two armies were now drawing all available force together round +the strategic center of Cold Harbor, only nine miles east of Richmond. +On the thirty-first Sheridan drove out the enemy detachments there, +and was himself about to retire before much superior reinforcements +when he got Grant's order to hold his ground at any cost. Nightfall +prevented a general assault till the next morning, when Sheridan +managed to stand fast till Wright's whole corps came up and the +enemy at once desisted. But elsewhere the Confederates did what +they could to stave the Federals off from advantageous ground on +that day and the next. The day after—the fateful third of +June—the two sides closed in death-grips at Cold Harbor. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On this, the thirtieth day of Grant's campaign of stern attrition +and would-be-smashing hammer-strokes at Lee, these were his orders +for attack: "The moment it becomes certain that an assault cannot +succeed, suspend the offensive. But when <a name="page_351"><span +class="page">Page 351</span></a> one does succeed, push it vigorously, +and, if necessary, pile in troops at the successful point from +wherever they can be taken." The trouble was that Grant was two +days late in carrying on the battle so well begun by Sheridan, +that Warren's corps was two miles off and entirely disconnected, +and that the three remaining corps formed three parts and no whole +when the stress of action came. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At dawn Meade's Army of the Potomac (less Warren's corps) began +to take post for the grand attack that some, more sanguine than +reflecting, hoped would win the war. When it was light the guns +burst out in furious defiance, each side's artillery trying to beat +the other's down before the crisis of the infantry assault. There +was no maneuvering. Each one of Meade's three corps—Hancock's, +Wright's, and Smith's (brought over from Butler's command)—marched +straight to its front. This led them apart, on diverging lines, and +so exposed their flanks as well as their fronts to enemy fire. But +though each corps thought its neighbor wrong to uncover its flanks, +and the true cause was not discovered till compass bearings were +afterwards compared, yet each went on undaunted, gaining momentum +with every step, and gathering itself together for the final charge. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_352"><span class="page">Page 352</span></a> Then, +surging like great storm-blown waves, the blue lines broke against +Lee's iron front. In every gallant case there was the same wild +cresting of the wave, the same terrific crash, the same adventurous +tongues of blue that darted up as far as they could go alive, the +same anguishing recession from the fatal mark, and the same agonizing +wreckage left behind. In Hancock's corps the crisis passed in just +eight minutes. But in those eight dire minutes eight colonels died +while leading their regiments on to a foredoomed defeat. One of +these eight, James P. McMahon of New York, alone among his dauntless +fellows, actually reached the Confederate lines, and, catching the +colors from their stricken bearer, waved them one moment above +the parapet before he fell. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Flesh and blood could do no more. Under the withering fire and crossfire +of Lee's unshaken front the beaten corps went back, re-formed, and +waited. They had not long to wait; for Grant was set on swinging +his three hammers for three more blows at least. So again the three +assaults were separately made on the one impregnable front; and again +the waves receded, leaving a second mass of agonizing wreckage with +the first. Yet even this was not enough for Grant, who once more +renewed <a name="page_353"><span class="page">Page 353</span></a> +his orders. These orders quickly ran their usual course, from the +army to the different corps, from each corps to its own divisions, +and from divisions to brigades. But not a single unit stirred. +From the generals to the "thinking bayonets" every soldier knew +the limit had been reached. Officially the order was obeyed by a +front-line fire of musketry, as well as by the staunch artillery, +which again gave its infantry the comfort of the guns. But that +was all. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Thus ended the battle of Cold Harbor, the last pitched battle on +Virginian soil. Grant reported it in three short sentences; and +afterwards referred to it in these other three. "I have always +regretted that the last assault [<i>i.e.</i>, the whole battle +of the third of June] was ever made. No advantage whatever was +gained to compensate for the heavy loss. Indeed, the advantages, +other than those of relative losses, were on the Confederate side." +Even these, however, were also on the Confederate side, as Grant +lost nearly thirteen thousand, while Lee lost less than eighteen +hundred. Cold Harbor undoubtedly lowered Union morale, both at +the front and all through the loyal North. It encouraged the Peace +Party, revived Confederate hopes, and shook the army's faith in +Grant's <a name="page_354"><span class="page">Page 354</span></a> +commandership. Martin McMahon, a Union general, writing many years +after the event, of which he was a most competent witness, said: +"It was the dreary, dismal, bloody, ineffective close of the +lieutenant-general's first campaign with the Army of the Potomac." +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Cold Harbor caused a change of plan. Reporting two days later Grant +said: "I now find, after thirty days of trial, the enemy deems it +of the first importance to run no risks with the armies they now +have. Without a greater sacrifice of human life than I am willing +to make all cannot be accomplished that I had designed outside of +the city [of Richmond]. I have therefore resolved upon the following +plan," which, in one word, involved a complete change from a series +of pitched battles to a long-drawn open siege. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The battles lasted thirty days, the siege three hundred. Therefore, +from this time on for the next ten months, Lee had to keep his living +shield between Grant's main body and the last great stronghold +of the fighting South, while the rising tide of Northern force, +commanding all the sea and an ever-increasing portion of the land, +beat ceaselessly against his front and flanks, threw out <a +name="page_355"><span class="page">Page 355</span></a> destroying +arms against his ever-diminishing sources of supply, and wore the +starving shield itself down to the very bone. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant's losses—forty thousand killed and wounded—were +all made good by immediate reinforcement; as was his other human +wastage from sickness, straggling, and desertion: made good, that +is, in the quantities required to wear out Lee, whose thinning +ranks could never be renewed; but not made good in quality; for +many of the best were dead. The wastage of material is hardly worth +considering on the Northern side; for it could always be made good, +superabundantly good. But the corresponding wastage on the Southern +side was unrenewed and unrenewable. Food, clothing, munitions, +medical stores—it was all the same for all the Southern armies: +desperate expedients, slow starvation, death. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Consternation reigned at Richmond on the twelfth of June, the day +the fitful firing ceased around Cold Harbor. There was danger in +the Valley, where Hunter had won success at Staunton, and where +Crook's and Averell's Union troops were expected to arrive from +West Virginia. Sheridan, too, was off on a twenty-day raid. He +cut the Virginia Central rails at Trevilian, did much other <a +name="page_356"><span class="page">Page 356</span></a> damage between +Richmond and the Valley, and, toward the end of June, rejoined Grant, +who had reached the James nearly a fortnight before. Always trying +to overlap Lee's extending right, Grant closed in on Petersburg +with the Army of the Potomac while the Army of the James held fast +against Richmond. This part of the front then remained comparatively +quiet till the end of July. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But the beleaguered Confederates made one last sortie out of the +Valley and straight against Washington. At the beginning of July +the Valley was uncovered owing to the roundabout flank march that +Hunter was forced to make back to his base for ammunition. The +enterprising Jubal Early took advantage of this with some veteran +troops and made straight for Washington. On the ninth Lew Wallace +succeeded in delaying him for one day at the Monocacy by an admirably +planned defense most gallantly carried out with greatly inferior +numbers and far less veteran men. This gave time for reinforcements +to pour into Washington; so that on the twelfth, Early, finding +the works alive with men, had to retreat even faster than he came. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the meantime Grant's extreme right wing was steadily pressing +the invasion of Georgia, where we <a name="page_357"><span +class="page">Page 357</span></a> left Sherman and Johnston face to +face at Kenesaw in June. Here again the beleaguered Confederates +had been making desperate raids or sorties, trying to cut Sherman +off from his base in Tennessee and keep back the Federal forces +in other parts of the river area. "Our Jack Morgan," whom we left +as a prisoner of war after his Ohio raid of '63, had escaped in +November, fought Crook and Averell for Saltville and Wytheville +in May, and then, leaving southwest Virginia, had raided Kentucky +and taken Lexington, but been defeated at Cynthiana and driven back +by overwhelming numbers till he again entered southwest Virginia +on the twentieth of June. Forrest raided northeastern Mississippi, +badly defeated Sturgis at Brice's Cross Roads in June, but was +himself defeated by A. J. Smith at Tupelo in July. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Meanwhile Sherman had been tapping Johnston's fifty miles of +entrenchments for three weeks of rainy June weather, hoping to find +a suitable place into which he could drive a wedge of attack. On the +twenty-seventh he tried to carry the Kenesaw lines by assault, but +failed at every point, with a loss of twenty-five hundred—three +times what Johnston lost. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By a well-combined series of maneuvers Sherman <a name="page_358"><span +class="page">Page 358</span></a> then forced Johnston to fall back +or be hopelessly outflanked. Johnston, with equal skill, crossed +the Chattahoochee under cover of the strongly fortified bridgehead +which he had built unknown to Sherman. But Sherman, with his double +numbers, could always hold Johnston with one-half in front while +turning his flank with the other. So even the Chattahoochee was +safely crossed on the seventeenth of July and the final move against +Atlanta was begun. That same night Johnston's magnificent skill was +thrown to the winds by Davis, who had ordered the bold and skillful +but far too headlong John B. Hood to take command and "fight." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Five days later Hood fought the battle of Atlanta. Just as Sherman +was closing in to entrench for a siege Hood attacked his extreme +left flank with the utmost resolution, driving it in and completely +enveloping it. But Sherman was not to be caught. Knowing that only +a part of Hood's army could be sent to this attack while the rest +held the lines of Atlanta, Sherman left McPherson's veteran Army of +the Tennessee to do the actual fighting, supported, of course, by +the movement of troops on their engaged right. McPherson was killed. +Logan ably replaced him and won a hard-fought <a name="page_359"><span +class="page">Page 359</span></a> day. Hood's loss was well over +eight thousand; Sherman's considerably less than half. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the twenty-eighth Hood attacked the extreme right, now commanded +by General O. O. Howard in succession to McPherson, whose Army of +the Tennessee again did most distinguished service, especially +Logan's Fifteenth Corps near Ezra Church. The Confederates were +again defeated with the heavier loss. After this the siege continued +all through the month of August. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While Hood was trying to keep Sherman off Atlanta Grant was trying +to make a breach at Petersburg. Grant gave Meade "minute orders +on the 24th [of July] how I wanted the assault conducted," and +Meade elaborated the actual plan with admirable skill except in +one particular—that of the generals concerned. Burnside was +ordered to use his corps for the assault, and he chose Ledlie's +division to lead. The mine was on an enormous scale, designed to +hold eight tons of powder, though it was only charged with four, +and was approached by a gallery five hundred feet long. On the +twenty-ninth Grant brought every available man into proper support +of Burnside, whose other three divisions were to form the immediate +support of Ledlie's grand forlorn hope. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_360"><span class="page">Page 360</span></a> In the +early morning of the thirtieth the mine blew up with an earthquaking +shock; the enemy round it ran helter-skelter to the rear; a crater +like that of a volcano was formed; and a hundred and sixty pieces +of artillery opened a furious fire on every square inch near it. +Ledlie's division rushed forward and occupied the crater. But there +the whole maneuver stopped short; for everything hinged on Ledlie's +movements; and Ledlie was hiding, well out of danger, instead of +"carrying on." After a pause Confederate reinforcements came up +and drove the leaderless division back. "The effort," said Grant, +"was a stupendous failure"; and it cost him nearly four thousand +men, mostly captured. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +August was a sad month for the loyal North. It was then, as we +have seen, that Lincoln had to warn Grant about the way in which +his orders were being falsified in Washington. It was then that +Sherman asked for reinforcements, so as to be up to strength before +and after the taking of Atlanta. And it was then that Halleck warned +Grant to be ready to send some of his best men north if there should +be serious resistance to the draft. Nor was this all. Thurlow Weed, +the great election agent, told Lincoln that the Government would be +<a name="page_361"><span class="page">Page 361</span></a> defeated; +which meant, of course, that the compromised and compromising Peace +Party would probably be at the helm in time to wreck the Union. +With so many of the best men dead or at the front the whole tone +of political society had been considerably lowered—to the +corresponding advantage of all those meaner elements that fish +in troubled waters when the dregs are well stirred up. There were +sinister signs in the big cities, in the press, and in financial +circles. The Union dollar once sank to thirty-nine cents. To make +matters worse, there was a good deal of well-founded discontent +among the self-sacrificing loyalists, both at the home and fighting +fronts, because the Government apparently allowed disloyal and +evasive citizens to live as parasites on the Union's body politic. +The blood tax and money tax alike fell far too heavily on the patriots; +while many a parasite grew rich in unshamed safety. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mobile was won in August. But the people's eyes were mostly fixed +upon the land. So a much greater effect was produced by Sherman's +laconic dispatch of the second of September announcing the fall of +Atlanta. The Confederates, despairing of holding it to any good +purpose, had blown up everything they could not move and then retreated. +<a name="page_362"><span class="page">Page 362</span></a> This +thrilling news heartened the whole loyal North, and, as Lincoln +at once sent word to Sherman, "entitled those who had participated +to the applause and thanks of the nation." Grant fired a salute +of shotted guns from every battery bearing on the enemy, who were +correspondingly depressed. For every one could now see that if +the Union put forth its full strength the shrunken forces of the +South could not prevent the Northern vice from crushing them to +death. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +September also saw the turning of the tide on the still more conspicuous +scene of action in Virginia. Grant had sent Sheridan to the Valley, +and had just completed a tour of personal inspection there, when +Sheridan, finding Early's Confederates divided, swooped down on +the exposed main body at Opequan Creek and won a brilliant victory +which raised the hopes of the loyal North a good deal higher still. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Exactly a month later, on the nineteenth of October, Early made a +desperate attempt to turn the tables on the Federals in the Valley +by attacking them suddenly, on their exposed left flank, while +Sheridan was absent at Washington. (We must remember that Grant +had to concert action personally with his sub-commanders, as his +orders were so often "queered" when seen at Washington <a +name="page_363"><span class="page">Page 363</span></a> by autocratic +Stanton and bureaucratic Halleck.) The troops attacked broke up +and were driven in on their supports in wild confusion. Then the +supports gave way; and a Confederate victory seemed to be assured. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But Sheridan was on his way. He had left the scene of his previous +victory at Opequan Creek, near Winchester, and was now riding to the +rescue of his army at Cedar Creek, twenty miles south. "Sheridan's +Ride," so widely known in song and story, was enough to shake the +nerves of any but a very fit commander. The flotsam and jetsam of +defeat swirled round him as he rode. Yet, with unerring eye, he +picked out the few that could influence the rest and set them at +work to rally, reform, and return. Inspired by his example many +a straggler who had run for miles presently "found himself" again +and got back in time to redeem his reputation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Arriving on the field Sheridan discovered those two splendid leaders, +Custer and Getty, holding off the victorious Confederates from what +otherwise seemed an easy prey. His presence encouraged the formed +defense, restored confidence among the rest near by, and stiffened +resistance so much that hasty entrenchments were successfully <a +name="page_364"><span class="page">Page 364</span></a> made and +still more successfully held. The first rush having been stopped, +Sheridan turned the lull that ensued into a triumphal progress +by riding bareheaded along his whole line, so that all his men +might feel themselves once more under his personal command. Cheer +upon cheer greeted him as his gallant charger carried him past; +and when the astonished enemy were themselves attacked they broke +in irretrievable defeat. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This crowning victory of the long-drawn Valley campaigns, coming +with cumulative force after those of Mobile, Atlanta, and Opequan +Creek, did more to turn the critical election than all the speeches +in the North. The fittest at the home front judged by deeds, not +words, agreeing therein with Rutherford B. Hayes (a future President, +now one of Sheridan's generals) who said: "Any officer fit for +duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for +a seat in Congress, ought to be scalped." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The devastation of everything in the Valley that might be useful +to Lee's army completed the Union victory in arms; while Lincoln's +own triumph in November completed it in politics and raised his +party to the highest plane of statesmanship in war. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_365"><span class="page">Page 365</span></a> From this +time till the early spring the battle of the giants in Virginia +calmed down to the minor moves and clashes that mark a period of +winter quarters; while the scene of more stirring action shifts +once more to Georgia and Tennessee. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_366"><span class="page">Page 366</span></a> +CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">SHERMAN DESTROYS THE BASE: 1864</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman made Atlanta his field headquarters for September and October, +changing it entirely from a Southern city to a Northern camp. The +whole population was removed, every one being given the choice of +going north or south. In his own words, Sherman "had seen Memphis, +Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans, all captured from the enemy, +and each at once garrisoned by a full division, if not more; so +that success was actually crippling our armies in the field by +detachments to guard and protect the interests of a hostile population." +In reporting to Washington he said: "If the people raise a howl +against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, +and not popularity seeking. If they want peace, they and their +relatives must stop the war." He also excluded the swarms of +demoralizing camp-followers that had clogged him elsewhere. One +licensed sutler was <a name="page_367"><span class="page">Page +367</span></a> allowed for each of his three armies, and no more. +Atlanta thus became a perfect Union stronghold fixed in the flank +of the South. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The balance of losses in action, from May to September, was heavily +against the South: nearly nine to four. The actual numbers did +not greatly differ: thirty-two thousand Federals to thirty-five +thousand Confederates. (And in killed and wounded the Federals +lost many more than the Confederates. It was the thirteen thousand +captured Confederates that redressed the balance.) But, since Sherman +had twice as many in his total as the Confederates had in theirs, the +odds in relative loss were nine to four in his favor. The balance +of loss from disease was also heavily against the Confederates, +who as usual suffered from dearth of medical stores. The losses in +present and prospective food supplies were even more in Sherman's +favor; for his devastations had begun. Yet Jefferson Davis was +bound that Hood should "fight"; and Hood was nothing loth. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Davis went about denouncing Johnston for his magnificent Fabian +defense; and added insult to injury by coupling the name of this +very able soldier and quite incorruptible man with that of Joseph E. +Brown, Governor of Georgia, who, though a <a name="page_368"><span +class="page">Page 368</span></a> violent Secessionist, opposed all +proper unification of effort, and exempted eight thousand State +employees from conscription as civilian "indispensables." Then, when +Sherman approached, Brown ran away with all the food and furniture +he could stuff into his own special train; though he left behind +him all arms, ammunition, and other warlike stores, besides the +confidential documents belonging to the State. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Brown had also weakened Hood's army by withdrawing the State troops +to gather in the harvest and store it where Sherman afterwards used +what he wanted and destroyed the rest. Yet Hood kept operating +in Sherman's rear, admirably seconded by Forrest's and Wheeler's +raiding cavalry. Late in October Forrest performed the remarkable +feat of taking a flotilla with cavalry. He suddenly swooped down on +the Tennessee near Johnsonville and took the gunboat <i>Undine</i> +with a couple of transports. Hood had meanwhile been busy on Sherman's +line of communications, hoping at least to immobilize him round +Atlanta, and at best to bring him back from Georgia for a Federal +defeat in Tennessee. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 513px;"> +<a name="fig_09"> +<img src="images/fig_09.jpg" width="513" height="623" alt="Fig. 9"></a> +<p class="image"><i>GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN</i><br /> +Photograph by Brady. In the collection of L. C. Handy, Washington.</p> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +On the fifth of October the last action near Atlanta was fought +thirty miles northwest, when <a name="page_369"><span class="page">Page +369</span></a> Hood made a desperate attempt on Allatoona with a greatly +superior force. Twelve miles off, on Kenesaw Mountain, Sherman could see +the smoke and hear the sounds of battle through the clear, still, autumn +air. But as his signalers could get no answer from the fort he began to +fear that Allatoona was already lost, when the signal officer's quick +eye caught the faintest flutter at one of the fort windows. Presently +the letters, C—R—S—E—H—E—R, were +made out; which meant that General John M. Corse, one of the best +volunteers produced by the war, was holding out. He had hurried over +from Rome, on a call from Allatoona, and was withstanding more than +four thousand men with less than two thousand. All morning long +the Confederates persisted in their attacks, while Sherman's relief +column was hurrying over from Kenesaw. Early in the afternoon the +fire slackened and ceased before this column arrived. But Sherman's +renewed fears were soon allayed. For Corse, after losing more than +a third of his men, had repulsed the enemy alone, inflicting on +them an even greater loss in proportion to their double strength. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Corse was still full of fight, reporting back to Kenesaw that though +"short a cheek bone and an <a name="page_370"><span class="page">Page +370</span></a> ear" he was "able to whip all hell yet." Sherman +thanked the brave defenders in his general orders of the seventh +for "the handsome defense made at Allatoona" and pointed the moral +that "garrisons must hold their posts to the last minute, sure +that the time gained is valuable and necessary to their comrades +at the front." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The situation at the beginning of November was most peculiar. With +the whole Gulf coast blockaded and the three great ports in Union +hands, with the Mississippi a Union stream from source to sea, +and with Sherman firmly set in the northwest flank of Georgia, +Hood made the last grand sortie from the beleaguered South. It was +a desperate adventure to go north against the Federal troops in +Tennessee, with Kentucky and the line of the Ohio as his ultimate +objective, when Lincoln had been returned to power, when Grant was +surely wearing down Lee in Virginia, and when Sherman's preponderance +of force was not only assured in Georgia but in Tennessee as well. +Moreover, Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," had been sent back to +counter Hood from Grant's and Sherman's old headquarters at Nashville +on the Cumberland. And Thomas was soon to have the usual double +numbers; for all the Western depots sent <a name="page_371"><span +class="page">Page 371</span></a> him their trained recruits, till, +by the end of November, his total was over seventy thousand. Hood's +forty thousand could not be increased or even stopped from dwindling. +Yet he pushed on, with the consent of Beauregard, who now held the +general command of all the troops opposed to Sherman. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The next moves were even more peculiar than the first. For while +Hood hoped to close the breach in Georgia by drawing Sherman back, +and Sherman expected that when he went on to widen the breach he +would draw Hood back, what really happened was that each advanced +on his own new line in opposite directions, Hood north through +Tennessee, Sherman southeast through Georgia. So firm was the grip +of the Union on all the navigable waters that Hood could only cross +the Tennessee somewhere along the shoals. He chose a place near +Florence, Alabama, got safely over and encamped. There, for the +moment, we shall leave him and follow Sherman to the sea. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +The region of the Gulf and lower Mississippi being now under the +assured predominance of Union forces, Grant, with equal wisdom +and decision, entirely approved of Sherman's plan to cut loose +from his western base, make a devastating <a name="page_372"><span +class="page">Page 372</span></a> march through the heart of fertile +Georgia, and join the eastern forces of the North at Savannah, +where Fort Pulaski was in Union hands and the Union navy was, as +usual, overwhelmingly strong. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman's March to the Sea at once acquired a popular renown which +it has never lost. This, however, was chiefly because it happened +to catch the public eye while nothing else was on the stage. For +its many admirable features were those about which most people know +little and care less: well-combined grand strategy, perfection in +headquarter orders and the incidental staff work, excellent march +discipline, wonderful coördination between the different arms +of the Service and with all auxiliary branches—especially +the commissariat and transport, and, to clinch everything, a +thoroughness of execution which distinguished each unit concerned. +As a feat of arms this famous march is hardly worth mentioning. +There were no battles and no such masterly maneuvers as those of +the much harder march to Atlanta. Nor was the operational problem +to be mentioned in the same breath with that of the subsequent march +through the Carolinas. Sherman himself says: "Were I to express +my measure of the relative importance of the march to the sea, and +of that from Savannah <a name="page_373"><span class="page">Page +373</span></a> northward, I would place the former at one, and +the latter at ten—or the maximum." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Government was very doubtful and counseled reconsideration. +But Grant and Sherman, knowing the factors so very much better, +were sure the problem could easily be solved. Sherman left Atlanta +on the fifteenth of November and laid siege to Savannah on the tenth +of December. He utterly destroyed the military value of Atlanta and +everything else on the way that could be used by the armies in the +field. Of course, to do this he had to reduce civilian supplies to +the point at which no surplus remained for transport to the front; +and civilians naturally suffered. But his object was to destroy the +Georgian base of supplies without inflicting more than incidental +hardship on civilians. And this object he attained. He cut a swath +of devastation sixty miles wide all the way to Savannah. Every +rail was rooted up, made red-hot, and twisted into scrap. Every +road and bridge was destroyed. Every kind of surplus supplies an +army could possibly need was burnt or consumed. Civilians were +left with enough to keep body and soul together, but nothing to +send away, even if the means of transportation had been left. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman's sixty thousand men were all as fit as <a name="page_374"><span +class="page">Page 374</span></a> his own tall sinewy form, which +was the very embodiment of expert energy. Every weakling had been +left behind. Consequently the whole veteran force simply romped +through this Georgian raid. The main body mostly followed the rails, +which gangs of soldiers would pile on bonfires of sleepers. The +mounted men swept up everything about the flanks. But nothing escaped +the "bummers," who foraged for their units every day, starting +out empty-handed on foot and returning heavily laden on horses or +mules or in some kind of vehicle. If Atlanta had been a volcano +in eruption, and the molten lava had flowed to Savannah in a stream +sixty miles wide and five times as long, the destruction could +hardly have been worse, except, of course, that civilians were +left enough to keep them alive, and that, with a few inevitable +exceptions, they were not ill treated. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The fighting hardly disturbed the daily routine. Sherman was never +in danger; though wiseacre Washington, supposing that he ought to +be, used to pester Lincoln, who always replied: "Grant says the +men are safe with Sherman, and that if they can't get out where +they want to, they can crawl back by the hole they went in at." +This seemed to allay anxiety; though the truth was that Sherman's +real safety lay in going ahead to <a name="page_375"><span +class="page">Page 375</span></a> the Union sea, not in retracing +his steps over the devastated line of his advance. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On approaching Savannah a mounted officer was blown up by a land +torpedo, his horse killed, and himself badly lacerated. Sherman +at once sent his prisoners ahead to dig up the other torpedoes or +get blown up by those they failed to find. No more explosions took +place. Savannah itself was strongly entrenched and further defended +by Fort McAllister. Against this fort Sherman detached his own old +Shiloh division of the Fifteenth Corps, now under the very capable +command of General William B. Hazen. As the day wore on Sherman +became very impatient, watching for Hazen's attack, when a black +object went gliding up the Ogeechee River toward the fort. Presently +a man-of-war appeared flying the Stars and Stripes and signaling, +<i>Who are you?</i> On getting the answer, <i>General Sherman</i>, +she asked, <i>Is Fort McAllister taken?</i> and immediately received +the cheering assurance, <i>No; but it will be in a minute.</i> +Then, just as the signal flags ceased waving, Hazen's straight blue +lines broke cover, advanced, charged through the hail of shot, +shell, and rifle bullets, rushed the defenses, and stood triumphant +on the top. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Before midnight Sherman was writing his <a name="page_376"><span +class="page">Page 376</span></a> dispatches on board the U.S.S. +<i>Dandelion</i> and examining those received from Grant. He learned +now, from Grant's of the third (ten days before), that Thomas was +facing Hood round Nashville and that the Government, and even Grant, +were getting very impatient with Thomas for not striking hard and +at once. A week later the Confederate general, Hardee, managed to +evacuate Savannah before his one remaining line of retreat had +been cut off. He was a thorough soldier. But men and means and +time were lacking; and the civil population hoped to save all that +was not considered warlike stores. Thus immense supplies fell into +Sherman's hands. Savannah was of course placed under martial law. +But as the wax was now nearing its inevitable end, and the citizens +were thoroughly "subjugated," those who wished to remain were allowed +to do so. Only two hundred left, going to Charleston under a flag +of truce. +</p> + +<div class="image" style="width: 717px;"> +<a name="fig_10"></a> +<a href="images/fig_10.jpg"> +<img src="images/fig_10_sm.jpg" width="717" height="424" alt="Fig. 10"></a> +</div> + +<p class="indent"> +The following official announcement reached Lincoln on Christmas +Eve. +</p> + +<p class="quote" style="margin-left: 20%;"> +Savannah, Georgia, December 22, 1864. +</p> + +<p class="quote"> +TO HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT LINCOLN,<br /> + WASHINGTON, D. C. +</p> + +<p class="quote"> + +I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, +with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and +<a name="page_377"><span class="page">Page 377</span></a> +plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of +cotton. +</p> + +<p class="quote" style="margin-left: 20%;"> +W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the meantime Hood's desperate sortie had struck north as far +as Franklin, Tennessee. Here, on the last of November, General +John Schofield, commanding the advanced part of Thomas's army, +gallantly withstood a furious attack. On this the closing day of +a lingering Indian summer the massed Confederates charged with +the piercing rebel yell, and charged again; re-formed under cover +of the dense pall of stationary smoke; and returned to the charge +again and again. Many a leader met his death right against the +very breastworks. Another would instantly spring forward, only +to fall in his turn. Thirteen times the gaunt gray lines rushed +madly through the battle smoke and lost their front ranks against +the withering fire before the autumn night closed in. Schofield then +fell back on Brentwood, halfway on the twenty miles to Nashville. +He had lost over two thousand men. But Hood had lost three times +as many; and Hood's were irreplaceable except by a very few local +recruits. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Hood now concentrated every available man for his final attack on +Thomas, who had odds of twenty thousand in his favor. Hood marched +his thirty-five <a name="page_378"><span class="page">Page +378</span></a> thousand up to Nashville, where he actually invested +the fifty-five thousand Federals. By this time even Grant was so +annoyed at what seemed to him unreasoning delay that he sent Logan +to take command at once and "fight." But on the fifteenth of December +Thomas came out of his works and fought Hood with determined skill +all day. Having gained a decisive advantage already he pressed it +home to the very utmost on the morrow, breaking through Hood's +shaken lines, enveloping whole units with converging fire, and +taking prisoners in mass. After a last wild effort Hood's beaten +army fled, having lost fifteen thousand men, five times as much +as Thomas. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The battle of Nashville came nearer than any other to being a really +annihilating victory. Out of the forty thousand men Hood had at +first in Tennessee not half escaped; and of the remainder not nearly +half were ever seen in arms again. As an organized force his army +simply disappeared. The few thousands saved from the wreckage of +the storm found their painful way east to join all that was left +for the last stand against the overwhelming forces of the North. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_379"><span class="page">Page 379</span></a> +CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">THE END: 1865</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By '65 the Southern cause was lost. There was nothing to hope for +from abroad. Neither was there anything to hope for at home, now +that Lincoln and the Union Government had been returned to power. +From the very first the disparity of resources was so great that +the South had never had a chance alone except against a disunited +North. Now that the North could bring its full strength to bear +against the worn-out South the only question remaining to be settled +in the field was simply one of time. Yet Davis, with his indomitable +will, would never yield so long as any Confederates would remain +in arms. And men like Lee would never willingly give up the fight +so long as those they served required them. Therefore the war went +on until the Southern armies failed through sheer exhaustion. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The North had nearly a million men by land and <a name="page_380"><span +class="page">Page 380</span></a> sea. The South had perhaps two +hundred thousand. The North could count on a million recruits out +of the whole reserve of twice as many. The South had no reserves +at all. The total odds were therefore five to one without reserves +and ten to one if these came in. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The scene of action, for all decisive purposes, had shrunk again, +and now included nothing beyond Virginia and the Carolinas; and +even there the Union forces had impregnable bases of attack. When +Wilmington fell in January the only port still left in Southern +hands was Charleston; and that was close-blockaded. Fighting +Confederates still remained in the lower South. But victories like +Olustee, Florida, barren in '64, could not avail them now, even +if they had the troops to win them. The lower South was now as +much isolated as the trans-Mississippi. Between its blockaded and +garrisoned coast on one side and its sixty-mile swath of devastation +through the heart of Georgia on the other it might as well have +been a shipless island. The same was true of all Confederate places +beyond Virginia and the Carolinas. The last shots were fired in +Texas near the middle of May. But they were as futile against the +course of events as was the final act of war committed by the <a +name="page_381"><span class="page">Page 381</span></a> Confederate +raider <i>Shenandoah</i> at the end of June, when she sank the +whaling fleet, far off in the lone Pacific. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For the last two months of the four-years' war Davis made Lee +Commander-in-Chief. Lee at once restored Johnston to his rightful +place. These two great soldiers then did what could be done to +stave off Grant and Sherman. Lee's and Johnston's problem was of +course insoluble. For each was facing an army which was alone a +match for both. The only chance of prolonging anything more than a +mere guerilla war was to join forces in southwest Virginia, where +the only line of rails was safe from capture for the moment. But this +meant eluding Grant and Sherman; and these two leaders would never +let a plain chance slip. They took good care that all Confederate +forces outside the central scene of action were kept busy with their +own defense. They also closed in enough men from the west to prevent +Lee and Johnston escaping by the mountains. Then, with the help of +the navy, having cut off every means of escape—north, south, +east, and west—they themselves closed in for the death-grip. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By the first of February Sherman was on his way north through the +Carolinas with sixty thousand <a name="page_382"><span class="page">Page +382</span></a> picked men, drawing in reinforcements as he advanced +against Johnston's dwindling forty thousand, until the thousands +that faced each other at the end in April were ninety and thirty +respectively. On the ninth of February (the day Lee became +Commander-in-Chief) Sherman was crossing the rails between Charleston +and Augusta, of course destroying them. A week later he was doing +the same at Columbia in the middle of South Carolina. By this time +his old antagonist, Johnston, had assumed command; so that he had to +reckon with the chances of a battle, as on his way against Atlanta, +and not only with the troubles of devastating an undefended base, as +on his march to the sea. The difficulties of hard marching through +an enemy country full of natural and artificial obstacles were also +much greater here than in Georgia. How well these difficulties could +be surmounted by a veteran army may be realized from a recorded +instance which, though it occurred elsewhere, was yet entirely +typical. In forty days an infantry division of eight thousand men +repaired a hundred miles of rail and built a hundred and eighty-two +bridges. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sherman took a month to advance from Columbia in the middle of South +Carolina to Bentonville <a name="page_383"><span class="page">Page +383</span></a> in the middle of North Carolina. Here Johnston stood +his ground; and a battle was fought from the nineteenth to the +twenty-first of March. Had Sherman known at the time that his own +numbers were, as he afterwards reported, "vastly superior," he +might have crushed Johnston then and there. But, as it was, he ably +supported the exposed flank that Johnston so skillfully attacked, +won the battle, inflicted losses a good deal larger than his own, +and gained his ulterior objective as well as if there had not been +a fight at all. This objective was the concentration of his whole +army round Goldsboro by the twenty-fifth. At Goldsboro he held the +strategic center of North Carolina, being at the junction whence +the rails ran east to Newbern (which had long been in Union hands), +west to meet the only rails by which Lee's army might for a time +escape, and north (a hundred and fifty miles) to Grant's besieging +host at Petersburg. Sherman's record is one of which his men might +well be proud. In fifty days from Savannah he had made a winter +march through four hundred and twenty-five miles of mud, had captured +three cities, destroyed four railways, drained the Confederate +resources, increased his own, and half closed on Lee and Johnston +the vice which he and Grant could soon close altogether. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_384"><span class="page">Page 384</span></a> Nevertheless +Grant records that "one of the most anxious periods was the last +few weeks before Petersburg"; for he was haunted by the fear that +Lee's army, now nearing the last extremity of famine, might risk +all on railing off southwest to Danville, the one line left. Lee, +consummate now as when victorious before, masked his movements +wonderfully well till the early morning of the twenty-fifth of +March, when he suddenly made a furious attack where the lines were +very near together. For some hours he held a salient in the Federal +position. But he was presently driven back with loss; and his intention +to escape stood plainly revealed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The same day Sherman railed down to Newbern over the line repaired +by that indefatigable and most accomplished engineer, Colonel W. W. +Wright, took ship for City Point, Virginia, and met Lincoln, Grant, +and Admiral Porter there on the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth. +Grant explained to Lincoln that Sheridan was crossing the James +just below them, to cut the rails running south from Petersburg +and then, by forced marches, to cut those running southwest from +Richmond, Lee's last possible line of escape. Grant added that the +final crisis was very near and that his only <a name="page_385"><span +class="page">Page 385</span></a> anxiety was lest Lee might escape +before Sheridan cut the Richmond line southwest to Danville. Lincoln +said he hoped the war would end at once and with no more bloodshed. +Grant and Sherman, however, could not guarantee that Davis might not +force Lee and Johnston to one last desperate fight. Lincoln added +that all he wanted after the surrender was to get the Confederates +back to their civil life and make them good contented citizens. As +for Davis: well, there once was a man who, having taken the pledge, +was asked if he wouldn't let his host put just a drop of brandy in +the lemonade. His answer was: "See here, if you do it unbeknownst, +I won't object." From the way that Lincoln told this story Grant +and Sherman both inferred that he would be glad to see Davis +disembarrass the reunited States of his annoying presence. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This twenty-eighth of March saw the last farewells between the +President and his naval and military lieutenants at the front. +Admiral Porter immediately wrote down a full account of the +conversations, from which, together with Grant's and Sherman's +strong corroboration, we know that Lincoln entirely approved <a +name="page_386"><span class="page">Page 386</span></a> of the terms +which Grant gave Lee, and that he would have approved quite as +heartily of those which Sherman gave to Johnston. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Next morning the final race, pursuit, defeat, and victory began. +Grant marched all his spare, men west to cut Lee off completely. +He left enough to hold his lines at Petersburg, in case Lee should +remain; and he arranged with Sherman for a combined movement, to +begin on the tenth of April, in case Johnston and Lee should try +to join each other. But he felt fairly confident that he could +run Lee down while Sherman tackled Johnston. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the first of April Sheridan won a hard fight at Five Forks, +southwest of Petersburg. On Sunday (the second) Lee left Petersburg +for good, sending word to Richmond. That morning Davis rose from +his place in church and the clergyman quietly told the congregation +that there would be no evening service. On Monday morning Grant +rode into Petersburg, and saw the Confederate rearguard clubbed +together round the bridge. "I had not the heart," said Grant, "to +turn the artillery upon such a mass of defeated and fleeing men, +and I hoped to capture them soon." On Tuesday Grant closed his +orders to Sherman with the words, "Rebel armies are now the only +strategic points to strike at," and himself pressed on relentlessly. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_387"><span class="page">Page 387</span></a> Late +next afternoon a horseman in full Confederate uniform suddenly +broke cover from the enemy side of a dense wood and dashed straight +at the headquarter staff. The escort made as if to seize him. But +a staff officer called out, "How d'ye do, Campbell?" This famous +scout then took a wad of tobacco out of his mouth, a roll of tinfoil +out of the wad, and a piece of tissue paper out of the tinfoil. When +Grant read Sheridan's report ending "I wish you were here" (that +is, at Jetersville, halfway between Petersburg and Appomattox), +he immediately got off his black pony, mounted Cincinnati, and +rode the twenty miles at speed, to learn that Lee was heading due +west for Farmville, less than thirty miles from Appomattox. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On Thursday the sixth, Lee, closely beset in flank and rear, lost +seven thousand men at Sailor's Creek, mostly as prisoners. The +heroes of this fight were six hundred Federals, who, having gone +to blow up High Bridge on the Appomattox, found their retreat cut +off by the whole Confederate advanced guard. Under Colonel Francis +Washburn, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and Colonel Theodore Read, +of General Ord's staff, this dauntless six hundred charged again +and again until, their leaders killed and most of the others dead or +wounded, <a name="page_388"><span class="page">Page 388</span></a> +the rest surrendered. They had gained their object by holding up +Lee's column long enough to let its wagon train be raided. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant, now feeling that his hold on Lee could not be shaken off, +wrote him a letter on Friday afternoon, saying: "The results of +the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further +resistance." That night Lee replied asking what terms Grant proposed +to offer. Next morning Grant wrote again to propose a meeting, +and Lee answered to say he was willing to treat for peace. Grant +at once informed him that the only subject for discussion was the +surrender of the army. That evening Federal cavalry under General +George A. Custer raided Appomattox Station, five miles southwest of +the Court House, and held up four trains. A few hours later, early +on Sunday, the famous ninth of April, 1865, Lee's advanced guard was +astounded to find its way disputed so far west. It attacked with +desperation, hoping to break through what seemed to be a cavalry +screen before the infantry came up; but when Lee's main body joined +in, only to find a solid mass of Federal infantry straight across +its one way out, Lee at once sent forward a white flag. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant, overwrought with anxiety, had been <a name="page_389"><span +class="page">Page 389</span></a> suffering from an excruciating +headache all night long. But the moment he opened Lee's note, offering +to discuss surrender, he felt as well as ever, and instantly wrote +back to say he was ready. Pushing rapidly on he met Lee at McLean's +private residence near Appomattox Court House. There was a remarkable +contrast between the appearance of the two commanders. Grant, only +forty-three, and without a tinge of gray in his brown hair, took +an inch or two off his medium height by stooping keenly forward, +and had nothing in his shabby private's uniform to show his rank +except the three-starred shoulder-straps. When the main business +was over, and he had time to notice details, he apologized to Lee, +explaining that the extreme rapidity of his movements had carried +him far ahead of his baggage. Lee's aide-de-camp, Colonel Charles +Marshall, afterwards explained that when the Confederates had been +obliged to reduce themselves simply to what they stood in, each officer +had naturally put on his best. Hence Lee's magnificent appearance +in a brand-new general's uniform with the jeweled sword of honor +that Virginia had given him. Well over six feet tall, straight as +an arrow in spite of his fifty-eight years and snow-white, war-grown +beard, still extremely <a name="page_390"><span class="page">Page +390</span></a> handsome, and full of equal dignity and charm, he +looked, from head to foot, the perfect leader of devoted men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant, holding out his hand in cordial greeting, began the conversation +by saying: "I met you once before, General Lee, while we were serving +in Mexico.... I have always remembered your appearance, and I think +I should have recognized you anywhere." After some other personal +talk Lee said: "I suppose, General Grant, that the object of our +present meeting is fully understood. I asked to see you in order +to ascertain on what terms you would receive the surrender of my +army." Grant answered that officers and men were to be paroled +and disqualified from serving again till properly exchanged, and +that all warlike and other stores were to be treated as captured. +Lee bowed assent, said that was what he had expected, and presently +suggested that Grant should commit the terms to writing on the +spot. When Grant got to the end of the terms already discussed +his eye fell on Lee's splendid sword of honor, and he immediately +added the sentence: "This will not embrace the side-arms of the +officers, nor their private horses or baggage." When Lee read over +the draft he flushed slightly on coming to this generous proviso <a +name="page_391"><span class="page">Page 391</span></a> and gratefully +said: "This will have a very happy effect upon my army." Grant +then asked him if he had any suggestions to make; whereupon he +said that the mounted Confederates, unlike the Federals, owned +their horses. Before he had time to ask a favor Grant said that +as these horses would be invaluable for men returning to civil +life they could all be taken home after full proof of ownership. +Lee again flushed and gratefully replied: "This will have the best +possible effect upon the men. It will be very gratifying and do +much toward conciliating our people." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While the documents were being written out for signature Grant +introduced the generals and staff officers to Lee. Then Lee once +more led the conversation back to business by saying he wished +to return his prisoners to Grant at the earliest possible moment +because he had nothing more for them to eat. "I have, indeed, nothing +for my own men," he added. They had been living on the scantiest +supply of parched corn for several days; and this famine fare, +combined with their utter lack of all other supplies—especially +medicine and clothing—was wearing them away faster than any +"war of attrition" in the open field. After heartily agreeing that +the prisoners should immediately return <a name="page_392"><span +class="page">Page 392</span></a> Grant said: "I will take steps +at once to have your army supplied with rations. Suppose I send +over twenty-five thousand; do you think that will be a sufficient +supply?" "I think it will be ample," said Lee, who, after a pause, +added: "and it will be a great relief, I assure you." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then Lee rose, shook Grant warmly by the hand, bowed to the others, +and left the room. As he appeared on the porch all the Union officers +in the grounds rose respectfully and saluted him. While the Confederate +orderly was bridling the horses Lee stood alone, gazing in unutterable +grief across the valley to where the remnant of his army lay. Then, +as he mounted Traveler, every Union officer followed Grant's noble +example by standing bareheaded till horse and rider had disappeared +from view. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Grant next sent off the news to Washington and, true to his sterling +worth, immediately stopped the salutes which some of his enthusiastic +soldiers were already beginning to fire. "The war is over," he +told his staff, "the rebels are our countrymen again, and the best +sign of rejoicing after the victory will be to abstain from all +demonstrations in the field." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the meantime Lee had returned to his own <a name="page_393"><span +class="page">Page 393</span></a> lines, along which he now rode +for the last time. The reserve with which he had steeled his heart +during the surrender gave way completely when he came to bid his men +farewell. After a few simple words, advising his devoted veterans +to become good citizens of their reunited country, the tears could +no longer be kept back. Then, as he rode slowly on, from the remnant +of one old regiment to another, the men broke ranks, and, mostly +silent with emotion, pressed round their loved commander, to take +his hand, to touch his sword, or fondly stroke his splendid gray +horse, Traveler, the same that had so often carried him victorious +through the hard-fought day. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +North and South had scarcely grasped the full significance of Lee's +surrender, when, only five days later, Lincoln was assassinated. "It +would be impossible for me," said Grant, "to describe the feeling +that overcame me at the news. I knew his goodness of heart, and +above all his desire to see all the people of the United States +enter again upon the full privileges of citizenship with equality +among all. I felt that reconstruction had been set back, no telling +how far." "Of all the men I ever met," said Sherman, "he seemed to +possess <a name="page_394"><span class="page">Page 394</span></a> +more of the elements of greatness, combined with goodness, than +any other." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the very day of the assassination Sherman had written to Johnston +offering the same terms Grant had given Lee and Lincoln had most +heartily approved. Three days later, on the seventeenth, just as +Sherman was entering the train for his meeting with Johnston, the +operator handed him a telegram announcing the assassination. Enjoining +secrecy till he returned, Sherman took the telegram with him and +showed it to Johnston, whom he watched intently. "The perspiration +came out on his forehead," Sherman wrote, "and he did not attempt to +conceal his distress. He denounced the act as a disgrace to the age +and hoped I did not charge it to the Confederate Government. I told +him I could not believe that he or General Lee or the officers of the +Confederate army could possibly be privy to acts of assassination." +When Sherman got back to Raleigh he published the news in general +orders, and experienced the supreme satisfaction of finding that +not one man in all that mournful army had to be restrained from +a single act of revenge. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After much misunderstanding with Washington now in lesser hands, +the surrender of Johnston's and the other Confederate armies was +effected. <a name="page_395"><span class="page">Page 395</span></a> +Each body of troops laid down its arms and quietly dispersed. One +day the bugles called, the camp fires burned, and comrades were +together in the ranks. The next, like morning mists, they disappeared, +thenceforth to be remembered and admired only as the heroes of a +hopeless cause. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +It was a very different scene through which their rivals marched +into lasting fame with all the pride, pomp, and circumstance of war. +On the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of May, in perfect weather, +and in the stirring presence of a loyal, vast, enthusiastic throng, +the Union armies were reviewed in Washington. For over six full +hours each day the troops marched past—the very flower of +those who had come back victorious. The route was flagged from +end to end with Stars and Stripes, and banked with friends of each +and every regiment there. Between these banks, and to the sound +of thrilling martial music, the long blue column flowed—a +living stream of men whose bayonets made its surface flash like +burnished silver under the glorious sun. +</p> + +<p class="sp_indent"> +Then, when the pageantry was finished, and the volunteers that formed +the vast bulk of those <a name="page_396"><span class="page">Page +396</span></a> magnificent Federal armies had again become American +civilians in thought and word and deed, these steadfast men, whose +arms had saved the Union in the field, were first in peace as they +had been in war: first in the reconstruction of their country's +interrupted life, first in recognizing all that was best in the +splendid fighters with whom they had crossed swords, and +first—incomparably first—in keeping one and indivisible +the reunited home land of both North and South. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_397"><span class="page">Page 397</span></a> +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE</h2> + +<p class="indent"> +Thousands of books have been written about the Civil War; and more +about the armies than about the navies and the civil interests +together. Yet, even about the armies, there are very few that give +a just idea of how every part of the war was correlated with every +other part and with the very complex whole; while fewer still give +any idea of how closely the navies were correlated with the armies +throughout the long amphibious campaigns. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The only works mentioned here are either those containing the original +evidence or those written by experts directly from the original +evidence. And of course there are a good many works belonging to +both these classes for which no room can be found in a bibliography +so very brief as the present one must be. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<i>The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records +of the Union and Confederate Armies</i>, 128 vols. (1880-1901), +and <i>Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the +War of the Rebellion</i>, 26 vols. (1894-), form two magnificent +collections of original evidence published by the United States +Government. But they have some gaps which nothing else can fill. +<i>Battles and Leaders of the Civil War</i> (1887-89), written by +competent witnesses on both sides, gives the gist of the story +in four volumes <a name="page_398"><span class="page">Page +398</span></a> (published afterwards in eight). <i>The Rebellion +Record</i>, 12 vols. (1862-68), edited by Frank Moore, forms an +interesting collection of non-official documents. <i>The Story of +the Civil War</i>, 4 vols. (1895-1913), begun by J. C. Ropes, and +continued by W. R. Livermore, is an historical work of real value. +Larned's <i>Literature of American History</i> contains an excellent +bibliography; but it needs supplementing by bibliographies of the +present century. Inquiring readers should consult the bibliographies +in volumes 20 and 21 (by J. K. Hosmer) in the <i>American Nation</i> +series. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There are many works of a more special kind that deserve particular +attention. General E. P. Alexander's <i>Military Memoirs of a +Confederate</i> (1907), the <i>Transactions of the Military Historical +Society of Massachusetts</i>, Major John Bigelow's <i>The Campaign +of Chancellorsville</i> (1910), and J. D. Cox's <i>Military +Reminiscences</i>, 2 vols. (1900), are admirable specimens of this +very extensive class. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The two greatest generals on the Northern side have written their +own memoirs, and written them exceedingly well: <i>Personal Memoirs +of U. S. Grant</i>, 2 vols. (1885-86), and <i>Memoirs of General +W. T. Sherman</i>, 2 vols. (1886). But the two greatest on the +Southern side wrote nothing themselves; and no one else has written +a really great life of that very great commander, Robert Lee. Fitzhugh +Lee's enthusiastic sketch of his uncle, <i>General Lee</i> (1894), +is one of the several second-rate books on the subject. Colonel +G. F. R. Henderson's <i>Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil +War</i>, 2 vols. (1898), is, on the other hand, among the best of +war biographies. Henderson's strategical study of the Valley Campaign +is a masterpiece. Two <a name="page_399"><span class="page">Page +399</span></a> good works of very different kinds are: <i>A History +of the Civil War in the United States</i> (1905), by W. Birkbeck +Wood and Major J. E. Edmonds, and <i>A History of the United States +from the Compromise of 1850</i>, 8 vols. (1893-1919), by James Ford +Rhodes. The first is military, the second political. Mr. Rhodes +has also written a single volume <i>History of the Civil War</i> +(1917). <i>American Campaigns</i> by Major M. F. Steele, issued +under the supervision of the War Department (1909), deals chiefly +with the military operations of the Civil War. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The naval side of this, as of all other wars, has been far too +much neglected. But that great historian of sea-power, Admiral +Mahan, has told the best of the story in his <i>Admiral Farragut</i> +(1892). +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An interesting contemporary account of the war will be found in the +five volumes of Appleton's <i>American Annual Cyclopœdia</i> for +the years from 1861 to 1865. B. J. Lossing's <i>Pictorial History +of the Civil War</i>, 3 vols. (1866-69), and Harper's <i>Pictorial +History of the Rebellion</i>, 2 vols. (1868), give graphic pictures +of military life as seen by contemporaries. Personal reminiscences of +the war, of varying merit, have multiplied rapidly in recent years. +These are appraised for the unwary reader in the bibliographies +already mentioned. Frank Wilkeson's <i>Recollections of a Private +Soldier in the Army of the Potomac</i> (1887), George C. Eggleston's +<i>A Rebel's Recollections</i> (1905), and Mrs. Mary B. Chestnut's +<i>Diary from Dixie</i> (1905) are among the best of these personal +recollections. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The political and diplomatic history has been dealt with already +in the two preceding <i>Chronicles</i>. <i>Abraham Lincoln: a +History</i>, by John G. Nicolay and John Hay, <a name="page_400"><span +class="page">Page 400</span></a> in ten volumes (1890), and <i>The +Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln</i>, in twelve volumes (1905), +form the quarry from which all true accounts of his war statesmanship +must be built up. Lord Charnwood's <i>Abraham Lincoln</i> (1917) +is an admirable summary. To these titles should be added Gideon +Welles's <i>Diary</i>, 3 vols. (1911), and, on the Confederate +side, Jefferson Davis's <i>The Rise and Fall of the Confederate +Government</i>, 2 vols. (1881), and Alexander H. Stephens's <i>A +Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States</i>, 2 vols. +(1870). The best life of Jefferson Davis is that by William E. Dodd +in the <i>American Crisis Biographies</i> (1907). W. H. Russell's +<i>My Diary North and South</i> (1863) records the impressions of +an intelligent foreign observer. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The present <i>Chronicle</i> is based entirely on the original +evidence, with the convenient use only of such works as have themselves +been written by qualified experts directly from the original evidence. +</p> + +<h2><a name="page_401"><span class="page">Page 401</span></a> +INDEX</h2> + +<p class="index_gap">Alabama, secedes, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; in 1864, +<a href="#page_335">335</a>; threatened, <a href="#page_336">336</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Alabama</i>, Confederate raider, +<a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, +<a href="#page_311">311-12</a>; <i>Kearsarge</i> and, +<a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_313">313-17</a>; and +<i>Hatteras</i>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, +<a href="#page_115">115</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Albatross</i>, ship, <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Albemarle</i>, Confederate ram, Cushing destroys, +<a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_318">318-319</a></p> + +<p class="index">Albemarle Sound, command lost, +<a href="#page_93">93</a></p> + +<p class="index">Alexandria (Louisiana), State Seminary of Learning +and Military Academy, <a href="#page_6">6-7</a></p> + +<p class="index">Allatoona (Georgia), Johnston evacuates, +<a href="#page_348">348</a>; Corse's defense of, +<a href="#page_369">369-70</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Anaconda policy," <a href="#page_184">184</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anderson, Colonel Charles, quotes Lee, +<a href="#page_11">11</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anderson, Major Robert, commands at Fort Moultrie, +<a href="#page_2">2</a>; at Fort Sumter, <a href="#page_3">3</a>, +<a href="#page_12">12-15</a>; surrender, <a href="#page_15">15</a>; +leaves Fort Sumter, <a href="#page_16">16</a>; appointed to Kentucky +command, <a href="#page_29">29</a>; superseded by Sherman, +<a href="#page_120">120</a></p> + +<p class="index">Annapolis, Union troops at, +<a href="#page_17">17</a></p> + +<p class="index">Antietam (Maryland), battle, +<a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_245">245-46</a>, +<a href="#page_292">292</a></p> + +<p class="index">Apache Cañon, fight in, +<a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Appomattox Court House (Virginia), Lee's surrender, +<a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a></p> + +<p class="index">Appomattox Station, Custer raids, +<a href="#page_388">388</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aquia, McClellan's troops at, +<a href="#page_228">228-29</a>, <a href="#page_231">231</a>, +<a href="#page_234">234</a></p> + +<p class="index">Archer, J. T., Confederate brigadier, +<a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arizona, "War in the West," +<a href="#page_165">165</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arkansas secedes, <a href="#page_56">56</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Arkansas</i>, Confederate ram, +<a href="#page_109">109</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arkansas Post, capture of, +<a href="#page_164">164</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arlington, home of General Lee, +<a href="#page_19">19</a></p> + +<p class="index">Armstrong, Commodore, at Pensacola, +<a href="#page_4">4</a></p> + +<p class="index">Army, Confederate, Act providing for enlistment, +<a href="#page_11">11-12</a>; at Harper's Ferry, +<a href="#page_21">21-22</a>; Jackson and, <a href="#page_21">21-22</a>, +<a href="#page_23">23-24</a>; lack of equipment, +<a href="#page_63">63</a>, <a href="#page_244">244</a>; advantages, +<a href="#page_76">76-77</a>; conscription, <a href="#page_78">78</a>; +munitions, <a href="#page_78">78</a>; relations with Federals at +Vicksburg, <a href="#page_276">276</a>; Army of Northern Virginia, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>; unrenewable wastage, +<a href="#page_355">355</a>; number of troops (1865), +<a href="#page_380">380</a>; Lee's farewell to, +<a href="#page_393">393</a></p> + +<p class="index">Army, Federal, enlistments, <a href="#page_33">33</a>; +Congress votes troops and money, <a href="#page_34">34</a>, +<a href="#page_40">40</a>; McDowell's, <a href="#page_39">39-40</a>; +regulars in, <a href="#page_79">79</a>; number of troops, +<a href="#page_79">79-80</a>; conscription, <a href="#page_81">81</a>; +organization, <a href="#page_82">82</a>; Grant's (1862), +<a href="#page_148">148</a>; Army of the Cumberland, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>; Army +of the Mississippi, <a href="#page_160">160</a>; +<a name="page_402"><span class="page">Page 402</span></a> Army of +the Ohio, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>; +well equipped, <a href="#page_244">244</a>; Army of the Potomac, +<a href="#page_254">254-55</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>, +<a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_386">386</a>, +<a href="#page_351">351</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>, +<a href="#page_356">356</a>; Army of the Tennessee, +<a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>, +<a href="#page_280">280</a>, <a href="#page_358">358</a>; Army of +Virginia, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>; +relations with Confederates at Vicksburg, <a href="#page_276">276</a>; +Army of the James, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>, +<a href="#page_356">356</a>; reviewed in Washington, +<a href="#page_395">395</a></p> + +<p class="index">Army Act, Provisional Confederate Congress passes, +<a href="#page_11">11-12</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ashby, Turner, Confederate cavalry leader, +<a href="#page_205">205</a>; at Harrisonburg, +<a href="#page_207">207</a>; Valley raid, <a href="#page_212">212</a>; +death, <a href="#page_215">215-16</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ashby's Gap, Johnston crosses Blue Ridge at, +<a href="#page_45">45</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ashland (Virginia), Jackson at, +<a href="#page_223">223</a></p> + +<p class="index">Atlanta, Southern cannon made at, +<a href="#page_64">64</a>; Northern objective, +<a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_386">386</a>; battle, +<a href="#page_358">358-59</a>; Sherman announces fall of, +<a href="#page_361">361</a>; effect of victory, +<a href="#page_364">364</a>; Sherman's headquarters, +<a href="#page_366">366-67</a>; last action near, +<a href="#page_368">368-70</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Atlanta</i>, Confederate ram captured by +<i>Weehawken</i>, <a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Averell, W. D., cavalry leader, +<a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Bailey, Colonel Joseph, <a href="#page_330">330</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bailey, Captain Theodorus, +<a href="#page_100">100</a></p> + +<p class="index">Balloons, <a href="#page_68">68</a></p> + +<p class="index">Baltimore, Secessionists at Fort Sumter, +<a href="#page_3">3</a>; Massachusetts troops mobbed in, +<a href="#page_16">16</a>; Jackson's plan to occupy, +<a href="#page_194">194</a></p> + +<p class="index">Baltimore and Ohio Railway, Jackson destroys workshop, +<a href="#page_37">37</a></p> + +<p class="index">Banks, General N. P., supersedes General Butler, +<a href="#page_113">113</a>; on the Mississippi (1862), +<a href="#page_113">113</a>, <a href="#page_114">114</a>, +<a href="#page_167">167</a>; (1863), <a href="#page_261">261</a>, +<a href="#page_264">264-65</a>, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, +<a href="#page_273">273</a>; commands in Shenandoah Valley, +<a href="#page_198">198</a>; in Shenandoah campaign, +<a href="#page_199">199</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, +<a href="#page_203">203</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, +<a href="#page_205">205</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, +<a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, +<a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, +<a href="#page_235">235</a>; incapacity, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, +<a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>; commands +Red River Expedition, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, +<a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>, +<a href="#page_337">337</a>, <a href="#page_338">338</a></p> + +<p class="index">Barrancas Barracks, <a href="#page_3">3</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bartow, General F. S., Bull Run, +<a href="#page_48">48</a>; killed, <a href="#page_52">52</a></p> + +<p class="index">Baton Rouge, Union Arsenal at, <a href="#page_6">6</a>; +Farragut captures, <a href="#page_107">107</a>; Confederate attack, +<a href="#page_110">110</a>; Union Navy wins way to, +<a href="#page_117">117</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Battle above the Clouds," Lookout Mountain, +<a href="#page_284">284</a></p> + +<p class="index">Baylor, Captain J. R., proclaims himself Governor +of New Mexico, <a href="#page_165">165-66</a></p> + +<p class="index">Beauregard. General P. G. T., sons at Louisiana +Military Academy, <a href="#page_7">7</a>; and Fort Sumter, +<a href="#page_12">12</a>, <a href="#page_15">15-16</a>; on the Potomac, +<a href="#page_35">35</a>; at Bull Run, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, +<a href="#page_45">45</a>, <a href="#page_49">49</a>; preparation +for Shiloh, <a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_147">147</a>; +battle of Shiloh, <a href="#page_153">153-54</a>; Corinth, +<a href="#page_156">156</a>; and Confederate plans, +<a href="#page_195">195</a>; attacks Butler, +<a href="#page_340">340</a>; telegram to Lee, +<a href="#page_348">348-49</a>; command of troops opposed to Sherman, +<a href="#page_371">371</a></p> + +<p class="index">Beauregard, Fort, <a href="#page_92">92</a></p> + +<p class="index">Beaver Dam Creek (Virginia), Porter's front at +Mechanicsville, <a href="#page_223">223</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bee, General B. E., Bull Run, +<a href="#page_49">49</a>; killed, <a href="#page_52">52</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bell, Commodore H. H., <a href="#page_99">99</a>, +<a href="#page_114">114</a></p> + +<p class="index">Belmont (Missouri), Grant attacks, +<a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_121">121</a></p> + +<p class="index">Benjamin, J. P., Confederate Secretary of War, +<a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, +<a href="#page_182">182</a> <a name="page_403"> <span class="page">Page +403</span></a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Benton</i>, flagship, +<a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bentonville (North Carolina), battle, +<a href="#page_382">382-83</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bering Sea, <i>Shenandoah</i> in, +<a href="#page_69">69</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bermuda Hundred (Virginia), Butler seizes, +<a href="#page_339">339</a></p> + +<p class="index">Beverly (West Virginia), Confederates retire to, +<a href="#page_30">30</a></p> + +<p class="index">Big Black River (Mississippi), Grant's victory +at, <a href="#page_271">271</a></p> + +<p class="index">Birge, H. W., and sharpshooters, +<a href="#page_133">133</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bixby, Mrs., letter to, +<a href="#page_190">190-191</a></p> + +<p class="index">Blackburn's Ford (Virginia), McDowell at, +<a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_46">46</a></p> + +<p class="index">Blair, General F. P., fight for Missouri, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, +<a href="#page_27">27</a>, <a href="#page_57">57</a>, +<a href="#page_131">131</a>; as a general, +<a href="#page_261">261</a></p> + +<p class="index">Blockade, declared, <a href="#page_16">16</a>; +effectiveness, <a href="#page_84">84</a>, <a href="#page_91">91-92</a>, +<a href="#page_113">113</a>, <a href="#page_244">244</a>, +<a href="#page_280">280</a>; blockade-runners, +<a href="#page_91">91-92</a>, <a href="#page_307">307-08</a>; on +Mississippi, <a href="#page_93">93</a>; attempts to break, +<a href="#page_308">308-309</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>; double +line necessary, <a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bloody Angle, salient in Spotsylvania action, +<a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_344">344</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bonham, General M. L., Bull Run, +<a href="#page_48">48</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boonville (Missouri), battle, +<a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_118">118</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boston Mountains, Confederates hold, +<a href="#page_142">142</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bowling Green (Kentucky), Johnston at, +<a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_129">129</a>; Johnston +abandons, <a href="#page_141">141</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brackett, Colonel A. G., quoted, +<a href="#page_10">10-11</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bragg, General Braxton, <a href="#page_287">287</a>, +<a href="#page_325">325-26</a>; at Baton Rouge, <a href="#page_6">6</a>; +preparations for Shiloh, <a href="#page_146">146</a>; succeeds +Beauregard, <a href="#page_161">161</a>; invasion of Kentucky, +<a href="#page_161">161</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, +<a href="#page_243">243</a>; march on Nashville, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>; sends out Morgan, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>; Chickamauga, <a href="#page_279">279</a>; +Chattanooga, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, <a href="#page_305">305</a>; +Missionary Ridge, <a href="#page_282">282</a>, +<a href="#page_288">288</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brandy Station (Virginia), cavalry combat at, +<a href="#page_288">288</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brentwood (Tennessee), Schofield at, +<a href="#page_377">377</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brice's Cross Roads (Mississippi), Forrest defeats +Sturgis at, <a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bristoe Station (Virginia), bridge burned, +<a href="#page_233">233</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Brooklyn</i>, fight with <i>Manassas</i>, +<a href="#page_102">102</a>; against Fort Morgan, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brown, John, <a href="#page_20">20</a>, +<a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brown, J. E., Governor of Georgia, +<a href="#page_78">78</a>, <a href="#page_367">367-68</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bruinsburg (Louisiana), Grant lands force at, +<a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Buchanan, Commodore Franklin, +<a href="#page_87">87</a></p> + +<p class="index">Buckingham, General C. P., and McClellan, +<a href="#page_248">248</a></p> + +<p class="index">Buckner, General S. B., as a general, +<a href="#page_136">136</a>; Fort Donelson, <a href="#page_138">138</a>; +surrender, <a href="#page_139">139</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>; +and Grant, <a href="#page_140">140</a></p> + +<p class="index">Buell, General D. C., commands in West, +<a href="#page_122">122</a>; and Halleck, <a href="#page_123">123</a>; +preparations for Shiloh, <a href="#page_146">146</a>, +<a href="#page_148">148</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>; battle of +Shiloh, <a href="#page_153">153</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>; +commands Army of the Ohio, <a href="#page_160">160</a>; end of +service, <a href="#page_162">162</a></p> + +<p class="index">Buford, John, cavalry leader at Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_293">293</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a>, +<a href="#page_296">296</a>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, +<a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bull Run, First campaign, <a href="#page_33">33</a>, +<a href="#page_84">84</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, +<a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, +<a href="#page_193">193</a>; public clamor for action, +<a href="#page_34">34</a>, <a href="#page_39">39-40</a>; disposition +of forces, <a href="#page_34">34-35</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>; +Confederate problem, <a href="#page_36">36-37</a>; Falling Waters, +<a href="#page_38">38-39</a>; Federal preparations, +<a href="#page_41">41-43</a>; Blackburn's Ford, +<a href="#page_43">43</a>; McDowell advances, <a href="#page_44">44</a>; +Confederate preparations and plans, <a href="#page_44">44-46</a>; +Federal advance, <a href="#page_47">47</a>; Confederate rout, +<a href="#page_48">48-49</a>; Confederates rally, +<a href="#page_49">49-50</a>; Stuart's charge, <a name="page_404"><span +class="page">Page 404</span></a> <a href="#page_51">51</a>; Federal +retreat, <a href="#page_53">53-54</a>; losses, +<a href="#page_54">54</a>; importance, <a href="#page_54">54-55</a>; +number of troops, <a href="#page_148">148</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bull Run, Second campaign, maneuvering for, +<a href="#page_161">161</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>; battle, +<a href="#page_237">237-43</a></p> + +<p class="index">Burns, John, at Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_299">299</a></p> + +<p class="index">Burnside, General A. E., <a href="#page_228">228</a>; +failure in Virginia, <a href="#page_185">185</a>; succeeds McClellan, +<a href="#page_248">248</a>; as a general, <a href="#page_249">249</a>, +<a href="#page_250">250</a>; at Fredericksburg, +<a href="#page_249">249</a>, <a href="#page_250">250</a>, +<a href="#page_251">251</a>; "Mud March," <a href="#page_251">251</a>, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>, <a href="#page_255">255</a>, +<a href="#page_263">263-64</a>; Knoxville, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, +<a href="#page_284">284</a>; at Petersburg, +<a href="#page_359">359</a></p> + +<p class="index">Butler, General Benjamin, Bull Run, +<a href="#page_35">35</a>; in North Carolina, <a href="#page_85">85</a>; +Mississippi campaign, <a href="#page_103">103</a>; Banks supersedes, +<a href="#page_113">113</a>; against Fort Fisher, +<a href="#page_325">325</a>; commands Army of the James, +<a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>, +<a href="#page_340">340</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>; at Bermuda +Hundred, <a href="#page_339">339</a>; retreat from Drewry's Bluff, +<a href="#page_349">349</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Cairo (Illinois), Grant in command at, +<a href="#page_119">119</a>, <a href="#page_121">121</a>, +<a href="#page_122">122</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a></p> + +<p class="index">Caldwell, Lieutenant, of the <i>Itasca</i>, +<a href="#page_99">99</a></p> + +<p class="index">California, invasion of, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, +<a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cameron, Simon, Secretary of War, +<a href="#page_33">33-34</a>, <a href="#page_120">120</a>; and +Sherman, <a href="#page_177">177</a>; Stanton succeeds, +<a href="#page_195">195</a></p> + +<p class="index">Canby, Colonel E. R. S., at Valverde, +<a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Carolinas, danger from West Virginia, +<a href="#page_29">29</a>; secede, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; effective +for South (1864), <a href="#page_335">335</a>; menace to, +<a href="#page_386">386</a>; Sherman's march through, +<a href="#page_372">372</a>, <a href="#page_381">381-82</a>; scene +of action (1865), <a href="#page_380">380</a>; <i>see also</i> +North Carolina, South Carolina</p> + +<p class="index"><i>Carondelet</i>, Federal gunboat, +<a href="#page_109">109</a>, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, +<a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_144">144-145</a></p> + +<p class="index">Castle Pinckney, <a href="#page_1">1</a>, +<a href="#page_2">2</a>, <a href="#page_3">3</a></p> + +<p class="index">Catlett's Station (Virginia) Shields at, +<a href="#page_204">204</a>; Banks near <a href="#page_235">235</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Cayuga</i>, Federal gunboat, +<a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cedar Creek (Virginia), Sheridan's ride to, +<a href="#page_363">363-64</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cedar Run (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_228">228</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cemetery Hill (Gettysburg), Early fails at, +<a href="#page_300">300</a></p> + +<p class="index">Centreville (Virginia), in Bull Run campaign, +<a href="#page_46">46</a>, <a href="#page_47">47</a>, +<a href="#page_54">54</a>; Confederate base, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>; McDowell's corps at, +<a href="#page_200">200</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chambersburg (Pennsylvania), Federals at, +<a href="#page_23">23</a>; Stuart's raid, +<a href="#page_246">246-47</a></p> + +<p class="index">Champion's Hill (Mississippi), fight of, +<a href="#page_271">271</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chancellorsville (Virginia), battle of, +<a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_257">257-58</a>, +<a href="#page_290">290</a>; plans, <a href="#page_256">256</a>; +Federal defeat, <a href="#page_287">287</a></p> + +<p class="index">Charleston (South Carolina), forts, +<a href="#page_1">1-2</a>; beginning of hostilities, +<a href="#page_3">3</a>, <a href="#page_6">6</a>; United States +Arsenal seized, <a href="#page_8">8</a>; surrender of Fort Sumter, +<a href="#page_12">12-16</a>; menaced, <a href="#page_253">253</a>, +<a href="#page_310">310</a>; naval combats around, +<a href="#page_308">308-309</a>; bombardment, +<a href="#page_309">309</a>; defenses in Southern hands, +<a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>, +<a href="#page_380">380</a>; Savannah citizens go to, +<a href="#page_376">376</a></p> + +<p class="index">Charlestown (West Virginia), Patterson advances +to, <a href="#page_39">39</a></p> + +<p class="index">Charlotte (North Carolina), Southern cannon made +in, <a href="#page_64">64</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chase, S. P., Secretary of Treasury, +<a href="#page_179">179</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chase, Colonel W. H.. demands surrender of Fort +Pickens, <a href="#page_5">5</a> <a name="page_405"><span +class="page">Page 405</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Chattahoochee River, Johnston crosses, +<a href="#page_358">358</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chattanooga, Buell's objective, +<a href="#page_160">160</a>; Bragg's base, <a href="#page_161">161</a>, +<a href="#page_162">162</a>; Confederates retire on, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>; Bragg at (1863), +<a href="#page_279">279</a>, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, +<a href="#page_305">305</a>; key to strategic area, +<a href="#page_281">281</a>; battles on Missionary Ridge and Lookout +Mountain, <a href="#page_281">281-85</a>; significance of victory, +<a href="#page_285">285-86</a>; Grant moves headquarters from, +<a href="#page_327">327</a>; Grant inspects, +<a href="#page_328">328</a>; Federal headquarters, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>; Sherman starts from, +<a href="#page_346">346</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chestnut, James, Confederate officer at Fort Sumter, +<a href="#page_12">12-13</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chickamauga (Georgia), battle, +<a href="#page_279">279-80</a>, <a href="#page_305">305-06</a>; +result of Federal defeat, <a href="#page_280">280</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chickasaw Bluffs (Mississippi), Sherman's assault, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cincinnati, Grant's charger, +<a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, +<a href="#page_387">387</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cincinnati (Ohio), Confederate objective, +<a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a></p> + +<p class="index">City Point (Virginia), Union leaders meet at, +<a href="#page_384">384</a></p> + +<p class="index">Civil control <i>vs.</i> civil interference, +<a href="#page_33">33-34</a>, <a href="#page_181">181-82</a>, +<a href="#page_329">329</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clarksburg (West Virginia), Jackson born at, +<a href="#page_24">24</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cold Harbor (Virginia), Battle of, +<a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_350">350-53</a>; result, +<a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a></p> + +<p class="index">Columbia (South Carolina), Sherman at, +<a href="#page_382">382</a></p> + +<p class="index">Columbus (Kentucky), Confederates at, +<a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a></p> + +<p class="index">Commerce, importance to South, +<a href="#page_66">66</a>; protection of, <a href="#page_112">112</a>; +Confederate raiders interfere with, <a href="#page_309">309-10</a></p> + +<p class="index">Congress, Confederate, passes Army and Navy Acts, +<a href="#page_11">11-12</a></p> + +<p class="index">Congress, United States, vote for army, +<a href="#page_34">34</a>; Welles's report to, +<a href="#page_72">72</a>; authorizes Promotion Board, +<a href="#page_73">73</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Congress, Merrimac</i> and, +<a href="#page_88">88-89</a></p> + +<p class="index">Conscription, <a href="#page_78">78</a>, +<a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>; Act, +<a href="#page_206">206</a></p> + +<p class="index">Contraband, importation into South, +<a href="#page_307">307-08</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cooke, General, pursues Stuart, +<a href="#page_219">219</a></p> + +<p class="index">Copperheads, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, +<a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, +<a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>; <i>see +also</i> Pacifists</p> + +<p class="index">Corinth (Mississippi), Confederate railway junction +at, <a href="#page_142">142</a>; Johnston's line at, +<a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>; Beauregard +retires after Pittsburg Landing, <a href="#page_154">154</a>; importance +of position, <a href="#page_156">156</a>; Beauregard at, +<a href="#page_156">156-57</a>; Federal advance on, +<a href="#page_157">157</a>; Confederate objective, +<a href="#page_161">161</a>; Rosecrans defeats Van Dorn at, +<a href="#page_163">163</a></p> + +<p class="index">Corse, General J. M., at Allatoona, +<a href="#page_369">369-70</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cox, General J. D., Kanawha campaign, +<a href="#page_30">30</a>; newspaper lies about, +<a href="#page_176">176-77</a></p> + +<p class="index">Craig, Fort, Valverde near, +<a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Crocker, General M. M., <a href="#page_261">261</a>, +<a href="#page_262">262</a></p> + +<p class="index">Crook, General George, cavalry commander, +<a href="#page_337">337</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, +<a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cross Keys (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_216">216-17</a></p> + +<p class="index">Culpeper, Johnston retires to, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>; Lee at, <a href="#page_248">248</a>; +Grant's headquarters, <a href="#page_336">336</a></p> + +<p class="index">Culp's Hill (Gettysburg), Confederate victory on, +<a href="#page_300">300</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Cumberland, Merrimac</i> and, +<a href="#page_89">89</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cumberland Gap, Johnston threatened at, +<a href="#page_124">124</a>; Federal brigade against, +<a href="#page_126">126</a>; winter (1864), <a href="#page_328">328</a> +<a name="page_406"><span class="page">Page 406</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Cummings Point (South Carolina), batteries at, +<a href="#page_13">13</a></p> + +<p class="index">Curtis, General S. R., at Pea Ridge, +<a href="#page_122">122</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a>; compared +with Halleck, <a href="#page_123">123</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cushing, Lieutenant A. H., Pickett's Charge, +<a href="#page_302">302-03</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cushing, Lieutenant W. B., destroys <i>Albemarle</i>, +<a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a></p> + +<p class="index">Custer, General G. A., at Cedar Creek, +<a href="#page_363">363</a>; raids Appomattox Station, +<a href="#page_388">388</a></p> + +<p class="index">Custis, Mary, wife of Lee, +<a href="#page_19">19</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cynthiana (Kentucky), Morgan defeated at, +<a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Dalton (Georgia), Johnston at, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Dandelion</i>, U. S. S., Sherman on, +<a href="#page_376">376</a></p> + +<p class="index">Darrow, Mrs., and Lee, <a href="#page_9">9</a>; +quoted, <a href="#page_10">10</a></p> + +<p class="index">Davis, Flag-Officer C. H., Mississippi flotilla +under, <a href="#page_108">108</a>; succeeds Foote, +<a href="#page_158">158</a></p> + +<p class="index">Davis, Jefferson, President of Confederacy, +<a href="#page_11">11</a>; personal characteristics, +<a href="#page_78">78</a>; as executive, <a href="#page_78">78-79</a>; +interference in military matters, <a href="#page_78">78-79</a>, +<a href="#page_182">182-83</a>, <a href="#page_252">252</a>, +<a href="#page_332">332</a>; stands for "Independence or extermination," +<a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a>; military +mistakes, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, +<a href="#page_358">358</a>; plans flight from Richmond, +<a href="#page_202">202</a>; and Lee, <a href="#page_219">219</a>, +<a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>; and Johnston, +<a href="#page_358">358</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>; Lincoln on, +<a href="#page_385">385</a>; receives word of Southern defeat (April +2, 1865), <a href="#page_386">386</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Deerhound</i>, English yacht, +<a href="#page_314">314-15</a>; rescues crew of <i>Alabama</i>, +<a href="#page_317">317</a></p> + +<p class="index">Donaldsonville (Louisiana), Confederate attack +on, <a href="#page_273">273</a></p> + +<p class="index">Donelson, Fort, Johnston holds, +<a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_126">126</a>; Confederates +from Fort Henry start for, <a href="#page_128">128</a>; importance, +<a href="#page_129">129</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>; Grant +before, <a href="#page_135">135-40</a>; Floyd and Pillow escape from, +<a href="#page_139">139</a>; surrender, <a href="#page_140">140-41</a>; +results of surrender, <a href="#page_141">141-42</a>; number of +troops, <a href="#page_148">148</a></p> + +<p class="index">Doubleday, General Abner, succeeds Reynolds, +<a href="#page_297">297</a>; at Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Drayton, Captain, of the <i>Hartford</i>, +<a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Drewry's Bluff (Virginia), Confederate defenses +at, <a href="#page_202">202</a>; Federal gunboats stopped at, +<a href="#page_204">204</a>; Butler's retreat from, +<a href="#page_349">349</a></p> + +<p class="index">Du Pont, Admiral S. F., Port Royal expedition, +<a href="#page_93">93</a>; at Charleston, +<a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Eads, J. B., shipbuilder, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, +<a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Early, General Jubal, advance toward Washington, +<a href="#page_356">356</a>; attack at Cedar Creek, +<a href="#page_362">362-363</a></p> + +<p class="index">Eaton, John, quoted, <a href="#page_187">187-88</a></p> + +<p class="index">Elkhorn Tavern and Pea Ridge, battle of, +<a href="#page_143">143</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ellet, Colonel Charles, civil engineer, +<a href="#page_158">158</a></p> + +<p class="index">Emancipation, Lincoln and, +<a href="#page_178">178</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ericsson, John, shipbuilder, +<a href="#page_87">87</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Essex</i>, gunboat before Fort Henry, +<a href="#page_127">127</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ewell, General R. S., in Jackson's Valley campaign, +<a href="#page_207">207</a>; in Shenandoah Valley, +<a href="#page_291">291</a>; Gettysburg, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, +<a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_300">300</a>, +<a href="#page_301">301</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ezra Church (Georgia), battle, +<a href="#page_359">359</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Fair Oaks (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_218">218</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fairfax Court House (Virginia), Confederate conference +at, <a href="#page_195">195</a> <a name="page_407"><span +class="page">Page 407</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Falling Waters (West Virginia), battle in Bull +Run campaign, <a href="#page_38">38-39</a></p> + +<p class="index">Farragut, Admiral D. G., <a href="#page_330">330</a>; +efficiency, <a href="#page_73">73</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, +<a href="#page_263">263</a>; commands squadron at Ship Island, +<a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_96">96</a>; ancestry, +<a href="#page_94">94-95</a>; age, <a href="#page_95">95</a>; fleet, +<a href="#page_97">97-98</a>; and his subordinates, +<a href="#page_95">95-96</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>; New +Orleans, <a href="#page_98">98-104</a>, <a href="#page_105">105</a>, +<a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>; at Fort +St. Philip, <a href="#page_102">102-03</a>; orders, +<a href="#page_106">106</a>; on to Vicksburg, +<a href="#page_106">106</a>; captures Baton Rouge, +<a href="#page_107">107</a>; returns to New Orleans, +<a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_110">110</a>; Gulf +blockade, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>; +becomes ranking admiral, <a href="#page_111">111</a>; again at +New Orleans, <a href="#page_113">113</a>; occupies Galveston, +<a href="#page_114">114</a>; success of 1862, +<a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>; Lincoln +and, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>; +prepares to attack Port Hudson, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, +<a href="#page_264">264-65</a>; and Banks, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, +<a href="#page_273">273</a>; goes up Mississippi, +<a href="#page_266">266</a>; again to New Orleans, +<a href="#page_267">267</a>; leaves for New York, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>; and the Navy (1863-64), +<a href="#page_307">307</a> <i>et seq.</i>; and Mobile, +<a href="#page_319">319-20</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a>, +<a href="#page_349">349</a>; takes Fort Morgan, +<a href="#page_320">320-23</a>; at Fort Fisher, +<a href="#page_323">323-26</a></p> + +<p class="index">Farrand, Captain, demands surrender of Fort Pickens, +<a href="#page_5">5</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ferragut, Don Pedro, ancestor of Farragut, +<a href="#page_94">94-95</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Fingal</i>, blockade-runner converted into ram, +<a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fisher, Fort, bombardment, +<a href="#page_323">323-26</a>; surrender, +<a href="#page_326">326</a></p> + +<p class="index">Five Forks (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_386">386</a></p> + +<p class="index">Florence (Alabama), Hood near, +<a href="#page_371">371</a></p> + +<p class="index">Florida, beginning of war in, +<a href="#page_3">3-6</a>; secedes, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; +Confederate troops withdrawn from, <a href="#page_93">93</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Florida</i>, Confederate raider, +<a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a>, +<a href="#page_311">311</a></p> + +<p class="index">Flournoy, Colonel T. S., leader of Virginians in +Valley campaign, <a href="#page_211">211</a></p> + +<p class="index">Floyd, J. B., Secretary of War, +<a href="#page_2">2-3</a>; Kanawha campaign, <a href="#page_31">31</a>; +Fort Donelson, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a>; +escape, <a href="#page_139">139</a></p> + +<p class="index">Foote, Flag-Officer A. H., ability, +<a href="#page_122">122</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a>; Fort +Henry, <a href="#page_126">126</a>; Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, +<a href="#page_137">137</a>; wounded, <a href="#page_135">135</a>; +Island Number Ten, <a href="#page_143">143</a>; Davis succeeds, +<a href="#page_158">158</a></p> + +<p class="index">Forrest, General N. B., and Grant, +<a href="#page_328">328</a>; cavalry raids, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, +<a href="#page_357">357</a>, <a href="#page_368">368</a></p> + +<p class="index">Foster, Lieutenant H. C., +<a href="#page_276">276</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fox, G. V., Assistant Secretary of Navy, +<a href="#page_72">72-73</a>, <a href="#page_94">94</a></p> + +<p class="index">France, intervention in Mexico, +<a href="#page_329">329</a></p> + +<p class="index">Franklin (Tennessee), Hood reaches, +<a href="#page_377">377</a></p> + +<p class="index">Frayser's Farm, battle, <a href="#page_225">225</a></p> + +<p class="index">Frederick (Maryland), McClellan's army at, +<a href="#page_245">245</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fredericksburg (Virginia), McDowell at, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, +<a href="#page_213">213</a>; Burnside's headquarters, +<a href="#page_249">249</a>; battle, <a href="#page_250">250-51</a>; +"Mud March," <a href="#page_251">251</a>, <a href="#page_252">252</a>, +<a href="#page_255">255</a>, <a href="#page_263">263-264</a>; result +of battle, <a href="#page_251">251-52</a>; menace to Richmond from, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>; Lee suspects +Federal retirement on, <a href="#page_342">342</a></p> + +<p class="index">Frémont, General J. C., commands "Western +Department," <a href="#page_118">118-19</a>; in West Virginia, +<a href="#page_119">119</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>; and Jackson's Valley campaign, +<a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>; dismissal, +<a href="#page_172">172</a>; replaced by Sigel, +<a href="#page_227">227</a></p> + +<p class="index">Front Royal (Virginia), Banks at, +<a href="#page_210">210</a>; battle, <a href="#page_211">211-12</a>; +McDowell arrives at, <a href="#page_214">214</a>; Jackson destroys +Federal stores at, <a href="#page_214">214-15</a></p> + +<p class="index">Frost, Brigadier-General D. M., +<a name="page_408"><span class="page">Page 408</span></a> at Camp +Jackson, <a href="#page_26">26</a>; surrenders, +<a href="#page_27">27</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Gaines's Mill, battle, +<a href="#page_224">224-25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Galveston (Texas), occupied by Farragut, +<a href="#page_114">114</a>; again in Confederate hands, +<a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gardner, Colonel, Anderson replaces at Charleston, +<a href="#page_2">2</a></p> + +<p class="index">Garfield, Colonel J. A., at Prestonburg, +<a href="#page_125">125</a></p> + +<p class="index">Garnett, General R. S., killed, +<a href="#page_30">30</a></p> + +<p class="index">Georgia, secedes, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; beginning +of war in, <a href="#page_93">93</a>; effective for South (1864), +<a href="#page_335">335</a>; Sherman threatens, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_356">356-57</a>; scene of +action, <a href="#page_365">365</a>, <a href="#page_366">366-71</a>; +Sherman's March to the Sea, <a href="#page_372">372-76</a></p> + +<p class="index">Getty, General G. W., at Cedar Creek, +<a href="#page_363">363</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gettysburg campaign, <a href="#page_287">287</a> +<i>et seq.</i>; Lee's defeat, <a href="#page_278">278</a>; cavalry +combat, <a href="#page_288">288</a>; government interference, +<a href="#page_288">288-89</a>; Meade succeeds Hooker, +<a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>; battle, +<a href="#page_293">293-305</a>; Little Round Top, +<a href="#page_295">295</a>; importance of location, +<a href="#page_296">296</a>; first day, <a href="#page_297">297-99</a>; +second day, <a href="#page_299">299-300</a>; third day, +<a href="#page_300">300-05</a>; Pickett's Charge, +<a href="#page_301">301-04</a>; Lee's retreat, +<a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gilman, Lieutenant, in Florida, +<a href="#page_3">3</a>; at Fort Pickens, <a href="#page_5">5</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gloucester Point (Virginia), Federals fail to take +fort at, <a href="#page_200">200</a></p> + +<p class="index">Goldsboro (North Carolina), Sherman at, +<a href="#page_383">383</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Governor Moore</i>, Confederate vessel, +<a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grafton (West Virginia), Federal line at, +<a href="#page_30">30</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grand Gulf (Mississippi), Grant's objective, +<a href="#page_270">270</a></p> + +<p class="index">Granger, General Gordon, at Fort Morgan, +<a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grant, Jesse, father of General Grant, +<a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grant, Matthew, ancestor of General Grant, +<a href="#page_129">129</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grant, Noah, great-grand-father of General Grant, +<a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grant, Solomon, great-granduncle of General Grant, +<a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grant, General U. S., <a href="#page_76">76</a>, +<a href="#page_83">83</a>, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, +<a href="#page_109">109</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, +<a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>; and Lyon, +<a href="#page_26">26</a>; at Belmont (Missouri), +<a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_121">121</a>; age, +<a href="#page_95">95</a>; River war of 1863, +<a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a> <i>et +seq.</i>; commands at Cairo, <a href="#page_119">119</a>, +<a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_122">122</a>; at Fort Henry, +<a href="#page_128">128</a>; ancestors, <a href="#page_129">129-130</a>; +early life, <a href="#page_130">130-31</a>; appearance, +<a href="#page_132">132-33</a>; Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_135">135-41</a>; as a soldier, +<a href="#page_140">140-41</a>; "unconditional surrender," +<a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>; desire +to push South, <a href="#page_142">142</a>; ordered arrested for +insubordination, <a href="#page_142">142-43</a>; at Pittsburg Landing, +<a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_147">147-48</a>; Shiloh, +<a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_147">147-54</a>; made +second in command, <a href="#page_155">155</a>; relations with +Halleck, <a href="#page_155">155</a>; as a leader, +<a href="#page_155">155-56</a>; commands Army of the Tennessee, +<a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>; Vicksburg +as objective, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, +<a href="#page_263">263</a>; holds Memphis-Corinth rails, +<a href="#page_161">161</a>; "most anxious period of the war," +<a href="#page_162">162-63</a>; Holly Springs, +<a href="#page_168">168-64</a>; returns to Memphis, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>; on the Mississippi, +<a href="#page_167">167</a>; and Lincoln, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, +<a href="#page_185">185-86</a>, <a href="#page_332">332</a>, +<a href="#page_360">360</a>; lies about, <a href="#page_177">177</a>; +given chief command, <a href="#page_185">185-186</a>; refuses +Presidential candidacy (1864), <a href="#page_187">187-88</a>; +his generals, <a href="#page_261">261-62</a>; and Banks, +<a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>; on action +of Navy in Vicksburg campaign, <a href="#page_262">262</a>; quoted, +<a href="#page_264">264</a>; naval operations help, +<a href="#page_266">266-67</a>; lands <a name="page_409"><span +class="page">Page 409</span></a> army at Bruinsburg, +<a href="#page_267">267</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a>; supplies +for army, <a href="#page_269">269</a>, <a href="#page_270">270-71</a>; +Port Gibson, <a href="#page_270">270</a>; at Grand Gulf, +<a href="#page_270">270</a>; victories in rear of Vicksburg, +<a href="#page_271">271</a>; siege of Vicksburg, +<a href="#page_271">271-78</a>; surrender of Vicksburg, +<a href="#page_277">277-78</a>; given supreme command, +<a href="#page_280">280</a>; Chattanooga, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, +<a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a>; and Red River +Expedition, <a href="#page_317">317-18</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>; +campaign (1864), <a href="#page_327">327</a> <i>et seq.</i>; +Lieutenant-General, <a href="#page_327">327</a>; midwinter tour, +<a href="#page_327">327-328</a>; summoned to Washington, +<a href="#page_328">328</a>; and Stanton, +<a href="#page_330">330-331</a>, <a href="#page_332">332</a>, +<a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_362">362-63</a>; and +Swinton, <a href="#page_333">333-34</a>; force in Virginia, +<a href="#page_384">384</a>; headquarters at Culpeper Court House, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>; plans advance, <a href="#page_338">338</a>; +Confederate cavalry raids against, <a href="#page_339">339</a>; +elements of victory, <a href="#page_340">340-41</a>; Wilderness, +<a href="#page_341">341-44</a>; Spotsylvania, +<a href="#page_343">343-344</a>; Sheridan's raid, +<a href="#page_344">344-46</a>; Sherman's advance, +<a href="#page_344">344-45</a>, <a href="#page_346">346-48</a>; Cold +Harbor, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_350">350-54</a>; +losses, <a href="#page_355">355</a>; Petersburg, +<a href="#page_359">359-60</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, +<a href="#page_386">386</a>; approves Sherman's plans, +<a href="#page_371">371</a>; Nashville, <a href="#page_378">378</a>; +closes in on Lee, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, +<a href="#page_383">383</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>, +<a href="#page_386">386</a>; at meeting at City Point (Virginia), +<a href="#page_384">384</a>; Lincoln approves terms to Lee, +<a href="#page_385">385</a>; quoted, <a href="#page_386">386</a>; +letter to Lee, <a href="#page_388">388</a>; surrender of Lee, +<a href="#page_389">389-392</a>; terms of Lee's surrender, +<a href="#page_390">390-91</a>; on assassination of Lincoln, +<a href="#page_393">393</a></p> + +<p class="index">Greeley, Horace, defection of, +<a href="#page_176">176</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grigsby, Colonel, Jackson and, +<a href="#page_206">206</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Hagerstown (Maryland), Longstreet at, +<a href="#page_245">245</a></p> + +<p class="index">Halleck, General H. W., Federal commander in West, +<a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_122">122</a>, +<a href="#page_142">142</a>; as a general, +<a href="#page_122">122-23</a>; Grant and, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, +<a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, +<a href="#page_155">155</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>, +<a href="#page_363">363</a>; after Shiloh, <a href="#page_155">155</a>; +at Corinth, <a href="#page_157">157</a>; General-in-Chief, +<a href="#page_159">159</a>; military adviser at Washington, +<a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>; reprimands +Banks, <a href="#page_273">273</a>; censures Meade, +<a href="#page_305">305</a>; orders Red River Expedition, +<a href="#page_318">318</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hampton Roads, <i>Monitor</i> and <i>Merrimac</i> +in, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hancock, General W. S., <a href="#page_342">342</a>; +at Gettysburg, <a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>; +at Cold Harbor, <a href="#page_351">351</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hanover Court House (Virginia), Cooke pursues Stuart +from, <a href="#page_219">219</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hardee, General W. J., evacuates Savannah, +<a href="#page_376">376</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harney, General W. S., commands Department of the +West, <a href="#page_27">27</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harper's Ferry, Federal forces abandon, +<a href="#page_17">17</a>, <a href="#page_20">20-21</a>; Jackson +at, <a href="#page_19">19</a>, <a href="#page_21">21-22</a>, +<a href="#page_23">23-24</a>; strategic point, +<a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_23">23</a>; Virginia +militia at, <a href="#page_21">21</a>; Johnston takes command at, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_35">35</a>; Union forces on +Potomac near, <a href="#page_35">35</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, +<a href="#page_37">37</a>; Johnston retires from, +<a href="#page_37">37</a>; Banks at, <a href="#page_199">199</a>; +troops gather at, <a href="#page_213">213</a>; Jackson and, +<a href="#page_214">214</a>, <a href="#page_245">245</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Harriet Lane</i>, U. S. S., +<a href="#page_114">114</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harris, Colonel, Confederate leader, +<a href="#page_132">132</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), Banks at, +<a href="#page_204">204</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harrison's Landing (Virginia), in Seven Days' battle, +<a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>; McClellan +moves from, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Hartford</i>, Federal man-of-war, at Ship Island, +<a href="#page_94">94</a>; New Orleans forts, +<a href="#page_102">102-03</a>; in <a name="page_410"><span +class="page">Page 410</span></a> Vicksburg campaign, +<a href="#page_265">265</a>; Mobile Bay, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, +<a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Haskins, Major, at Baton Rouge, +<a href="#page_6">6</a>, <a href="#page_7">7</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Hatteras</i>, Alabama sinks, +<a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_115">115</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hatteras Island, taken, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, +<a href="#page_92">92-93</a></p> + +<p class="index">Haxall's Landing (Virginia), Sheridan at, +<a href="#page_345">345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hayes, R. B., quoted, <a href="#page_364">364</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hazen, General W. B., takes Fort McAllister, +<a href="#page_375">375</a></p> + +<p class="index">Helena (Arkansas), force joins Grant, +<a href="#page_163">163</a>; Confederate attack repulsed, +<a href="#page_278">278</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry, Fort, Johnston at, <a href="#page_124">124</a>; +blocks Federal advance, <a href="#page_126">126</a>; attack on, +<a href="#page_126">126-27</a>; surrender, <a href="#page_127">127</a>, +<a href="#page_128">128-29</a>; Federal march from, +<a href="#page_136">136</a>; Grant ordered to remain at, +<a href="#page_142">142</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hill, General A. P., at Beaver Dam Creek, +<a href="#page_223">223-24</a>; at Gaines's Mill, +<a href="#page_224">224</a>; Gettysburg, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, +<a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hill, General D. H., <a href="#page_280">280</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hilton Head (South Carolina), fleet action off, +<a href="#page_93">93</a></p> + +<p class="index">Holly Springs (Mississippi), Grant at, +<a href="#page_164">164</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hood, General J. B., battle of Atlanta, +<a href="#page_358">358</a>, <a href="#page_359">359</a>, +<a href="#page_367">367</a>; number of troops, +<a href="#page_371">371</a>, Nashville, <a href="#page_376">376</a>; +attacks Schofield, <a href="#page_377">377</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hooker, General Joseph, failure in Virginia, +<a href="#page_185">185</a>; Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_238">238</a>; supersedes Burnside, +<a href="#page_251">251</a>, <a href="#page_289">289-90</a>; discipline, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>; as a general, <a href="#page_254">254</a>; +on deserters, <a href="#page_255">255</a>; joins Grant, +<a href="#page_280">280</a>; at Wauhatchie, <a href="#page_281">281</a>; +Lookout Mountain, <a href="#page_282">282-285</a>; Chancellors +ville, <a href="#page_287">287</a>; Washington interferes with, +<a href="#page_288">288</a>; Lincoln's letter to, +<a href="#page_289">289-290</a>; resignation, +<a href="#page_290">290-91</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Hornets' Nest," <a href="#page_150">150</a>, +<a href="#page_152">152</a></p> + +<p class="index">Howard, General O. O., Gettysburg campaign, +<a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>; at +Chancellorsville, <a href="#page_257">257</a>; commands Army of +the Tennessee, <a href="#page_359">359</a></p> + +<p class="index">Huger, General Benjamin, against Butler, +<a href="#page_35">35</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hunter, General David, and Washington interference, +<a href="#page_331">331</a>, <a href="#page_338">338-89</a>; Sigel +replaced by, <a href="#page_338">338</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>; +succeeded by Sheridan, <a href="#page_339">339</a>; success at Staunton, +<a href="#page_355">355</a>; and Early, <a href="#page_356">356</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hurlbut, General S. A., at Shiloh, +<a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Imboden, General J. D., at Bull Run, +<a href="#page_49">49</a>; describes Jackson, <a href="#page_50">50</a>; +Gettysburg, <a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Indiana, Morgan's Raid, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, +<a href="#page_278">278-79</a></p> + +<p class="index">Indians, part in Civil War, <a href="#page_60">60</a>, +<a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ingraham, Commodore D. N., attacks blockade at +Charleston, <a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Iron Brigade," Meredith's, +<a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Island Number Ten, Confederates hold, +<a href="#page_142">142</a>; attack on, <a href="#page_143">143-45</a>; +Pope's operations, <a href="#page_159">159</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Itasca</i>, Federal gunboat, +<a href="#page_99">99</a></p> + +<p class="index">Iuka (Mississippi), battle, +<a href="#page_162">162</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Jackson, Governor Claiborne, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_27">27</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jackson, General T. J., <a href="#page_94">94</a>, +<a href="#page_272">272</a>; and negroes, <a href="#page_19">19</a>; +personal characteristics, <a href="#page_19">19-20</a>; at Harper's +Ferry, <a href="#page_21">21-22</a>, <a href="#page_23">23-24</a>; as +disciplinarian, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>; +Johnston takes command from, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, +<a href="#page_35">35</a>; commands First Shenandoah Brigade, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>; at Martinsburg, <a href="#page_37">37</a>; +<a name="page_411"><span class="page">Page 411</span></a> at Falling +Waters, <a href="#page_38">38-39</a>; guards while soldiers sleep, +<a href="#page_45">45</a>; at Bull Run, <a href="#page_45">45</a>, +<a href="#page_48">48</a>, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, +<a href="#page_52">52-53</a>, <a href="#page_54">54</a>; origin of +nickname "Stonewall," <a href="#page_49">49</a>; Imboden describes, +<a href="#page_50">50</a>; as a general, <a href="#page_76">76</a>; +age, <a href="#page_95">95</a>; McClellan's failure against, +<a href="#page_159">159</a>; maneuvering in Virginia, +<a href="#page_161">161</a>; as strategist, <a href="#page_182">182</a>, +<a href="#page_194">194-95</a>, <a href="#page_216">216-217</a>; +campaign (1862-63), <a href="#page_193">193</a> <i>et seq.</i>; +Lee and, <a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>; +Kernstown, <a href="#page_198">198-99</a>; Banks designs net for, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>; forces, <a href="#page_204">204</a>; +Valley campaign, <a href="#page_205">205-217</a>; McDowell, +<a href="#page_208">208-09</a>; rout of Banks, +<a href="#page_210">210-12</a>; summary of fortnight's work, +<a href="#page_214">214-15</a>; Port Republic, +<a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_217">217</a>; pursuit +of, <a href="#page_215">215-16</a>; planned attack on McClellan, +<a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>; attends +Lee's conference, <a href="#page_222">222</a>; Seven Days, +<a href="#page_223">223-226</a>; again pursued, +<a href="#page_227">227</a>; Cedar Run, <a href="#page_228">228-29</a>; +plans against Pope, <a href="#page_230">230-31</a>; marches north, +<a href="#page_231">231-32</a>; slips away, <a href="#page_232">232</a>; +at Manassas Junction, <a href="#page_234">234</a>; preparations +for battle, <a href="#page_235">235-36</a>; Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_237">237-43</a>; in the Valley, +<a href="#page_248">248</a>; against Hooker, +<a href="#page_254">254</a>, <a href="#page_255">255</a>, +<a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a>; wounded, +<a href="#page_258">258</a>; death, <a href="#page_259">259</a>; +Grant marches on, <a href="#page_271">271</a>; government interference +with, <a href="#page_332">332</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jackson (Mississippi), Grant wins at, +<a href="#page_271">271</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jackson, Camp (Missouri), Frost establishes, +<a href="#page_26">26</a>; Lyon takes, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, +<a href="#page_131">131</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jackson, Fort, guards New Orleans, +<a href="#page_96">96</a></p> + +<p class="index">James Island, Fort Johnson on, +<a href="#page_2">2</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jefferson City (Missouri), Confederate recruiting +at, <a href="#page_27">27</a>; Lyon at, <a href="#page_28">28</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jetersville (Virginia), Grant goes to, +<a href="#page_387">387</a></p> + +<p class="index">Johnson, General Edward, commands near Staunton, +<a href="#page_208">208</a></p> + +<p class="index">Johnson, Fort, Charleston, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_13">13</a></p> + +<p class="index">Johnston, General A. S., commands in West, +<a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a>; Logan's +Cross Roads, <a href="#page_126">126</a>; Nashville, +<a href="#page_141">141</a>; Pope cuts line, +<a href="#page_145">145</a>; plans attack on Grant, +<a href="#page_146">146</a>; Shiloh, <a href="#page_148">148</a>, +<a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>; death, +<a href="#page_152">152</a></p> + +<p class="index">Johnston, General J. E., commands at Richmond, +<a href="#page_19">19</a>; at Harper's Ferry, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, +<a href="#page_35">35</a>; Federal problem of attack, +<a href="#page_36">36</a>; destroys stores at Harper's Ferry, +<a href="#page_37">37</a>; eludes Patterson, <a href="#page_44">44</a>; +joins Beauregard, <a href="#page_45">45-46</a>; Bull Run, +<a href="#page_48">48</a>, <a href="#page_49">49</a>; immediate +superior of Jackson, <a href="#page_182">182</a>; Davis and, +<a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>, +<a href="#page_381">381</a>; retires to Culpeper, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>; against McClellan, +<a href="#page_215">215</a>; Seven Pines, <a href="#page_218">218</a>; +wounded, <a href="#page_218">218</a>; Vicksburg, +<a href="#page_219">219</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>; government +mistake concerning, <a href="#page_332">332</a>; Dalton, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>; Sherman +against, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, +<a href="#page_357">357-58</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>, +<a href="#page_386">386</a>; Resaca, <a href="#page_347">347</a>; +New Hope Church, <a href="#page_348">348</a>; evacuates Allatoona, +<a href="#page_348">348</a>; at Kenesaw Mountain, +<a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_357">357-58</a>; +Bentonville, 382-83; terms of surrender, <a href="#page_394">394</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Kanawha campaign, <a href="#page_30">30</a>; <i>see +also</i> West Virginia</p> + +<p class="index">Kansas, Southern sympathy in, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>, <a href="#page_57">57</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kearny, General Philip, Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_238">238</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Kearsarge</i>, U. S. S., and <i>Alabama</i>, +<a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_313">313-17</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kenesaw Mountain (Georgia), Johnston at, +<a href="#page_348">348</a>; battle, <a name="page_412"><span +class="page">Page 412</span></a> <a href="#page_357">357-58</a>; Sherman +watches Allatoona engagement from, <a href="#page_369">369</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kenly, Colonel, at Front Royal, +<a href="#page_211">211</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kennon, Confederate naval officer, +<a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kentucky, opinions divided in, +<a href="#page_29">29</a>; neutral, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; +Southern sympathy in, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; Confederates lose +hold of eastern, <a href="#page_125">125</a>; Federals conquer, +<a href="#page_160">160</a>; Bragg's invasion of, +<a href="#page_161">161</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, +<a href="#page_243">243</a>; Morgan's raid, <a href="#page_278">278</a>, +<a href="#page_357">357</a>; Grant's army in, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>; Hood's objective, +<a href="#page_370">370</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kernstown (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_198">198-99</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Keystone State</i>, Confederate gunboats attack, +<a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kingston (Georgia), Johnston retires to, +<a href="#page_347">347</a></p> + +<p class="index">Knoxville (Tennessee), Burnside occupies, +<a href="#page_279">279</a>; Longstreet sent against, +<a href="#page_281">281</a>; dependent upon Chattanooga, +<a href="#page_281">281</a>; Bragg's connection cut, +<a href="#page_284">284</a>; Grant's inspection of, +<a href="#page_328">328</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Lacy, chaplain at Jackson's headquarters, +<a href="#page_259">259</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lamb, Colonel commands Fort Fisher, +<a href="#page_324">324</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lancaster (Ohio), Sherman at, +<a href="#page_8">8</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lebanon (Missouri), General Curtis at, +<a href="#page_122">122</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lebanon Springs, Jackson at, +<a href="#page_209">209</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lee, Fitzhugh, Stuart and, +<a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lee, General R. E., <a href="#page_94">94</a>, +<a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_186">186</a>, +<a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a>; at San +Antonio, <a href="#page_8">8-9</a>, <a href="#page_10">10</a>; +military career, <a href="#page_9">9</a>; decision for South, +<a href="#page_10">10-11</a>, <a href="#page_18">18-19</a>; resignation +from U. S. Army, <a href="#page_11">11</a>; commands Virginia forces, +<a href="#page_19">19</a>; Kanawha campaign, <a href="#page_31">31</a>, +<a href="#page_33">33</a>; military adviser at Richmond +<a href="#page_36">36</a>; prevision, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, +<a href="#page_147">147</a>; as a leader, <a href="#page_75">75-76</a>; +age, <a href="#page_95">95</a>; McClellan against, +<a href="#page_159">159</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a>; maneuvering +in Virginia, <a href="#page_161">161</a>; made Commander-in-Chief, +<a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a>, +<a href="#page_332">332</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>; in 1862-63, +<a href="#page_193">193</a> <i>et seq.</i>; and Jackson, +<a href="#page_194">194</a>; plans Valley campaign, +<a href="#page_203">203</a>; appointed to command in eastern Virginia +and North Carolina, <a href="#page_219">219</a>; plan against McClellan, +<a href="#page_222">222-23</a>; Seven Days, +<a href="#page_223">223</a>; McClellan foils, +<a href="#page_226">226</a>; sends Jackson against Pope, +<a href="#page_228">228</a>; entrains Longstreet for Gordonsville, +<a href="#page_229">229</a>; as strategist, +<a href="#page_230">230-31</a>; divides army, +<a href="#page_231">231</a>; Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_237">237-243</a>; and Longstreet, +<a href="#page_239">239-40</a>, <a href="#page_252">252</a>, +<a href="#page_253">253-54</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a>; invasion +of Maryland, <a href="#page_243">243-45</a>; again divides army, +<a href="#page_245">245</a>; at Antietam, +<a href="#page_245">245-46</a>; at Culpeper, +<a href="#page_248">248</a>; Fredericksburg, +<a href="#page_249">249</a>; Burnside tries to surprise, +<a href="#page_251">251</a>; Hooker against, +<a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, +<a href="#page_287">287</a>; quoted, <a href="#page_255">255-56</a>; +Chancellorsville, <a href="#page_253">253</a>, +<a href="#page_258">258</a>; defeat at Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>; no part in Chattanooga strategy, +<a href="#page_281">281</a>; plans counter-attack in Pennsylvania, +<a href="#page_287">287-88</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, +<a href="#page_292">292</a>; Brandy Station, +<a href="#page_288">288</a>; position before Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a>; Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_293">293</a> <i>et seq.</i>; retreat, +<a href="#page_305">305</a>; attempt to bring on Third Manassas, +<a href="#page_306">306</a>; on importance of Wilmington, +<a href="#page_324">324</a>; at Orange Court House, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>; Wilderness, <a href="#page_341">341</a>, +<a href="#page_344">344</a>; Spotsylvania, +<a href="#page_342">342-44</a>; illness, <a href="#page_348">348</a>; +prepares for Cold Harbor, <a href="#page_349">349</a>; at Cold Harbor, +<a href="#page_350">350-52</a>; losses, <a href="#page_353">353</a>; +siege, <a href="#page_354">354</a>; losses, <a href="#page_354">354</a>; +<a name="page_413"><span class="page">Page 413</span></a> Petersburg, +<a href="#page_356">356</a>, <a href="#page_383">383-84</a>; insoluble +problem, <a href="#page_381">381</a>; leaves Petersburg, +<a href="#page_386">386</a>; Sailor's Creek, +<a href="#page_387">387-88</a>; asks terms of Grant, +<a href="#page_388">388</a>; surrenders, <a href="#page_388">388-89</a>; +terms of surrender, <a href="#page_390">390-91</a>; farewell to +army, <a href="#page_393">393</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lexington (Kentucky) Grant inspects, +<a href="#page_328">328</a>; Morgan's raid, +<a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lexington (Missouri), Price takes, +<a href="#page_29">29</a>, <a href="#page_120">120</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lick Creek, Grant's forces at, +<a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lincoln, Abraham, Inaugural, <a href="#page_11">11</a>; +declares blockade, <a href="#page_16">16</a>; and Lee, +<a href="#page_18">18</a>; calls for Missouri's quota of volunteers, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>; general call for volunteers, +<a href="#page_33">33</a>; and civil control, <a href="#page_33">33</a>, +<a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, +<a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>, +<a href="#page_329">329</a>; on evaders of service, +<a href="#page_58">58-59</a>; reëlection, +<a href="#page_77">77</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>, +<a href="#page_370">370</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a>; and Grant, +<a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>; as war +statesman, <a href="#page_168">168</a> <i>et seq.</i>; birth, +<a href="#page_168">168</a>; education, <a href="#page_168">168-69</a>; +appearance, <a href="#page_169">169</a>; personal characteristics, +<a href="#page_169">169-70</a>; appointments, +<a href="#page_170">170-71</a>; quoted, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, +<a href="#page_176">176</a>; and Vallandigham, +<a href="#page_176">176</a>; Emancipation, <a href="#page_178">178</a>; +foreign policy, <a href="#page_178">178-79</a>; Cabinet, +<a href="#page_179">179-80</a>; as Commander-in-Chief, +<a href="#page_180">180</a>, <a href="#page_185">185</a>; and McClellan, +<a href="#page_184">184-85</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, +<a href="#page_221">221</a>; stories, <a href="#page_189">189-90</a>; +letter to a bereaved mother, <a href="#page_190">190-91</a>; Second +Inaugural quoted, <a href="#page_191">191-92</a>; military orders, +<a href="#page_195">195-96</a>; halts McDowell, +<a href="#page_199">199-200</a>; and Hooker, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>, <a href="#page_289">289-90</a>; and +Stanton, <a href="#page_330">330</a>; cipher letter to Grant, +<a href="#page_332">332</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>; and Sherman, +<a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_374">374</a>, +<a href="#page_376">376-77</a>; meets Union leaders, +<a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>; assassination, +<a href="#page_393">393</a>; approves terms of surrender, +<a href="#page_394">394</a>; bibliography, +<a href="#page_399">399</a></p> + +<p class="index">Little Sorrel, Jackson's horse, +<a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a></p> + +<p class="index">Logan, General J. A., <a href="#page_261">261-62</a>; +replaces McPherson at Atlanta, <a href="#page_358">358</a>; Ezra Church, +<a href="#page_359">359</a>; Nashville, <a href="#page_378">378</a></p> + +<p class="index">Logan's Cross Roads, Confederates at, +<a href="#page_124">124</a>; Thomas's victory at, +<a href="#page_125">125</a>, <a href="#page_126">126</a></p> + +<p class="index">Longstreet, General James, entrains for Gordonsville, +<a href="#page_229">229</a>; Jackson's march against Pope, +<a href="#page_232">232</a>; Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_237">237</a>; obstructs Lee's plans, +<a href="#page_239">239-40</a>; at Hagerstown, +<a href="#page_245">245</a>; leaves Lee, <a href="#page_252">252</a>, +<a href="#page_253">253</a>; reinforces Bragg, +<a href="#page_279">279</a>; Wauhatchie, <a href="#page_281">281</a>; +urges help for Vicksburg, <a href="#page_287">287</a>; Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_294">294</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a>, +<a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_299">299-300</a>, +<a href="#page_301">301</a>; Wilderness, <a href="#page_341">341</a>; +wounded, <a href="#page_341">341</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lookout Mountain, <i>see</i> Chattanooga</p> + +<p class="index">Louisiana, Union forces in, <a href="#page_6">6</a>; +Sherman in, <a href="#page_6">6-8</a>; secedes, <a href="#page_8">8</a>, +<a href="#page_56">56</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Louisiana</i>, Confederate ironclad, +<a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>; as mine +ship, <a href="#page_324">324</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louisville (Kentucky), Bragg at, +<a href="#page_162">162</a>; Grant inspects, +<a href="#page_328">328</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Louisville</i>, at Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lovell, General Mansfield, evacuates New Orleans, +<a href="#page_104">104</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lyon, General Nathaniel, commands at St. Louis, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>; fight for Missouri, +<a href="#page_25">25-28</a>, <a href="#page_57">57</a>, +<a href="#page_118">118</a>, <a href="#page_131">131</a>; Frémont +and, <a href="#page_119">119</a>; Wilson's Creek, +<a href="#page_119">119-20</a>; killed, <a href="#page_120">120</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">McAllister, Fort, naval conflict near, +<a href="#page_309">309</a>; Hazen's attack, <a href="#page_375">375</a> +<a name="page_414"><span class="page">Page 414</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">McClellan, General G. B., in West Virginia, +<a href="#page_29">29-30</a>, <a href="#page_35">35</a>; recalled +to Washington, <a href="#page_30">30</a>; bubble reputation, +<a href="#page_31">31-33</a>; former career, <a href="#page_31">31</a>; +"Young Napoleon of the West," <a href="#page_32">32</a>; newspaper +publicity, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_176">176</a>; force +in Virginia, <a href="#page_120">120</a>, <a href="#page_196">196</a>; +telegram to Grant delayed, <a href="#page_142">142</a>; Federal +invasion of Virginia under, <a href="#page_159">159</a>, +<a href="#page_194">194</a> <i>et seq.</i>; dismissal, +<a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_248">248-49</a>; Lincoln +and, <a href="#page_184">184-85</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, +<a href="#page_221">221</a>; Democratic candidate for President +(1864), <a href="#page_186">186</a>; plan of campaign, +<a href="#page_196">196-97</a>; Peninsula Campaign, +<a href="#page_198">198-228</a>; at Fortress Monroe, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_201">201</a>; base at +White House, <a href="#page_201">201</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, +<a href="#page_222">222</a>; in Chickahominy swamps, +<a href="#page_204">204</a>; government interference with, +<a href="#page_213">213</a>; Jackson aids against, +<a href="#page_215">215</a>; awaits McDowell, +<a href="#page_217">217</a>; number of troops, +<a href="#page_217">217</a>; exaggerates number of enemy, +<a href="#page_218">218</a>; Seven Pines, <a href="#page_218">218</a>; +Stuart's ride around, <a href="#page_219">219-20</a>, +<a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_246">246-47</a>; Lee +and, <a href="#page_222">222-23</a>; changes base to Harrison's +Landing, <a href="#page_225">225</a>; Malvern Hill, +<a href="#page_225">225-26</a>; plans to take Richmond, +<a href="#page_226">226</a>; ordered to Aquia, +<a href="#page_228">228</a>; Pope and, <a href="#page_235">235</a>; +discovers Lee's plans, <a href="#page_245">245</a>; lets opportunity +slip, <a href="#page_245">245</a>; Antietam, +<a href="#page_246">246</a>; superseded by Burnside, +<a href="#page_248">248</a>; popularity, +<a href="#page_248">248-49</a></p> + +<p class="index">McClernand, General J. B., Grant's second-in-command, +<a href="#page_113">113</a>; fails to meet Banks, +<a href="#page_114">114</a>; battle on own account, +<a href="#page_136">136</a>; at Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a>, +<a href="#page_139">139</a>; Shiloh, <a href="#page_153">153</a>; +Arkansas Post, <a href="#page_164">164</a>; as a general, +<a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, +<a href="#page_272">272</a>; breach of discipline, +<a href="#page_272">272-73</a>; dismissal, +<a href="#page_278">278</a></p> + +<p class="index">McCulloch, General Benjamin at Wilson's Creek, +<a href="#page_119">119</a>; killed at Pea Ridge, +<a href="#page_143">143</a></p> + +<p class="index">McDowell, General Irvin, assists Scott, +<a href="#page_33">33</a>; crosses Potomac, +<a href="#page_34">34-35</a>; Bull Run <a href="#page_36">36</a>, +<a href="#page_53">53</a>; President reviews army of, +<a href="#page_39">39</a>; number of troops, <a href="#page_40">40</a>; +difficulties encountered, <a href="#page_40">40-41</a>, +<a href="#page_42">42</a>; quoted, <a href="#page_42">42</a>; wastage +in forces, <a href="#page_46">46</a>; people lose confidence in, +<a href="#page_184">184</a>; kept from reinforcing McClellan, +<a href="#page_199">199-200</a>; strike at Richmond, +<a href="#page_201">201</a>; ordered to Valley, +<a href="#page_213">213</a>; Jackson and, <a href="#page_214">214</a>; +McClellan awaits, <a href="#page_217">217</a>, +<a href="#page_218">218</a></p> + +<p class="index">McDowell (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_208">208-09</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a></p> + +<p class="index">McGuire, Dr. Hunter, <a href="#page_230">230</a></p> + +<p class="index">McIntosh, General James, killed at Pea Ridge, +<a href="#page_143">143</a></p> + +<p class="index">McMahon, J. P., at Cold Harbor, +<a href="#page_352">352</a></p> + +<p class="index">McMahon, General Martin, quoted, +<a href="#page_354">354</a></p> + +<p class="index">McPherson, General J. B., killed at Atlanta, +<a href="#page_358">358</a></p> + +<p class="index">Macon (Georgia), Southern cannon made at, +<a href="#page_64">64</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maffitt, Commander J. N., commands <i>Florida</i>, +<a href="#page_115">115</a></p> + +<p class="index">Magruder, General J. B., and Butler, +<a href="#page_35">35</a>; Yorktown, <a href="#page_223">223</a>; +holds Richmond, <a href="#page_223">223</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mallory, S. R., Confederate Secretary of Navy, +<a href="#page_71">71</a></p> + +<p class="index">Malvern Hill (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a></p> + +<p class="index">Manassas, Johnston at, <a href="#page_44">44</a>; +Jackson at, <a href="#page_45">45</a>, <a href="#page_234">234</a>; +location, <a href="#page_46">46-47</a>; Federal base, +<a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_233">233</a>; base +destroyed, <a href="#page_234">234</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a>; +Battle of Second, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, +<a href="#page_292">292</a>; <i>see also</i> Bull Run</p> + +<p class="index"><i>Manassas</i>, Federal ram, +<a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Marshall, Colonel Charles, Lee's aide-de-camp, +<a href="#page_389">389</a> <a name="page_415"><span class="page">Page +415</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Marshall, General H. M., with Johnston in Kentucky, +<a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_125">125</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Martha Waskington</i>, story of Lincoln on board, +<a href="#page_221">221</a></p> + +<p class="index">Martinsburg (West Virginia), Jackson marches on, +<a href="#page_37">37</a>; Patterson occupies, +<a href="#page_39">39</a>; Confederates reach, +<a href="#page_213">213</a>; Jackson destroys Federal stores at, +<a href="#page_215">215</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maryland, border slave State, +<a href="#page_17">17</a>; Confederate hope for, +<a href="#page_24">24</a>; Southern sympathy in, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>, <a href="#page_243">243-44</a>; sea-power +keeps for Union, <a href="#page_85">85</a>; Jackson's plan to enter, +<a href="#page_194">194</a>; Confederate invasion, +<a href="#page_243">243-45</a>; Federals massed in, +<a href="#page_291">291</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mason, Fort, Lee from, <a href="#page_8">8</a></p> + +<p class="index">Matamoras, contraband imported into, +<a href="#page_307">307</a>, <a href="#page_308">308</a>, +<a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">Matthews Hill, battle of Bull Run, +<a href="#page_47">47</a>, <a href="#page_48">48</a>, +<a href="#page_50">50</a></p> + +<p class="index">Meade, General G. G., quoted, +<a href="#page_178">178</a>; as a general, <a href="#page_185">185</a>, +<a href="#page_292">292</a>; succeeds Hooker in command, +<a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>; Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_299">299</a>, +<a href="#page_300">300-01</a>; Lincoln's dissatisfaction with, +<a href="#page_305">305</a>; Army of Potomac under, +<a href="#page_334">334</a>; headed for Richmond, +<a href="#page_342">342</a>; Cold Harbor, <a href="#page_351">351</a>; +Petersburg, <a href="#page_359">359</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mechanicsville (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_223">223</a></p> + +<p class="index">Memphis, Confederate rams lost at, +<a href="#page_70">70</a>; Confederate fleet at, +<a href="#page_97">97</a>; Grant in command at, +<a href="#page_159">159</a>; Sherman's army from, +<a href="#page_163">163</a>; Grant returns to, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>; Grant leaves, <a href="#page_260">260</a>; +Grant considers retirement on, <a href="#page_263">263</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Mercedita</i>, Confederate gunboats attack, +<a href="#page_308">308-09</a></p> + +<p class="index">Meredith, Solomon, "Iron Brigade" at Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Merrimac</i>, only Confederate man-of-war, +<a href="#page_70">70</a>; duel with <i>Monitor</i>, +<a href="#page_85">85-91</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a>; destroyed, +<a href="#page_202">202</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mesilla (New Mexico), Baylor establishes capital +at, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Metacomet</i> against Fort Morgan, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mexican War, Grant serves in, +<a href="#page_131">131</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mexico, France warned from intervention in, +<a href="#page_329">329</a></p> + +<p class="index">Middle Creek (Kentucky), Garfield occupies line +of, <a href="#page_125">125</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mill Springs (Kentucky), Confederates at, +<a href="#page_124">124</a>; battle, <a href="#page_125">125</a></p> + +<p class="index">Milroy, R. H., in Jackson's Valley campaign, +<a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>; driven +from Winchester, <a href="#page_291">291</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mine Run (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_306">306</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Minnesota, Merrimac</i> attacks, +<a href="#page_89">89</a>, <a href="#page_91">91</a></p> + +<p class="index">Missionary Ridge, <i>see</i> Chattanooga</p> + +<p class="index">Mississippi, secedes, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; +conflicting authorities balk navy, <a href="#page_69">69-70</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Mississippi</i>, Confederate ship, +<a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>; burnt +at New Orleans, <a href="#page_97">97</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mississippi River, Union power on, +<a href="#page_68">68</a>; Federal problem, <a href="#page_105">105</a>; +River War (1862), <a href="#page_116">116</a> <i>et seq.</i>; River +War (1863), <a href="#page_260">260</a> <i>et seq.</i>; Federals +hold, <a href="#page_310">310-11</a>, <a href="#page_370">370</a></p> + +<p class="index">Missouri, saved for Union, +<a href="#page_25">25-29</a>, <a href="#page_56">56-57</a>; Southern +sympathy in, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; River campaign (1862), +<a href="#page_121">121-22</a>; Curtis in, <a href="#page_122">122</a>, +<a href="#page_143">143</a></p> + +<p class="index">Missouri River, made Federal line of communication, +<a href="#page_28">28-29</a>; last Confederate foothold on, +<a href="#page_120">120</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mitchel, General O. M., raid, +<a href="#page_161">161</a> <a name="page_416"><span class="page">Page +416</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Mobile, fleet drawn from, <a href="#page_107">107</a>; +in Southern hands, <a href="#page_310">310</a>, +<a href="#page_335">335-336</a>; Farragut against, +<a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a>; Fort +Morgan, <a href="#page_320">320-23</a>; army sent against, +<a href="#page_327">327</a>; Sherman desires attack on, +<a href="#page_347">347</a>; Grant's plan to help Farragut, +<a href="#page_349">349</a>; taken, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, +<a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>, +<a href="#page_364">364</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Monitor</i>, duel with <i>Merrimac</i>, +<a href="#page_85">85-91</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a>; Lincoln +on plans for, <a href="#page_189">189</a></p> + +<p class="index">Monocacy River, Wallace delays Early at, +<a href="#page_356">356</a></p> + +<p class="index">Monroe, Fortress, Federal forces at, +<a href="#page_35">35</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, +<a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>; <i>Monitor</i> +at, <a href="#page_88">88</a>; McClellan's plan for position at, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>, <a href="#page_198">198</a>; McClellan +at, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>; McClellan +leaves, <a href="#page_201">201</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Montauk</i>, Union monitor, +<a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Montgomery (Alabama), provisional Confederate Congress, +<a href="#page_11">11</a></p> + +<p class="index">Morgan, J. H., Raid, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, +<a href="#page_278">278-279</a>; surrender, <a href="#page_279">279</a>; +Kentucky raid, <a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Morgan, Fort Farragut against, +<a href="#page_320">320-23</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mosby, J. S., Confederate cavalry leader, +<a href="#page_339">339</a></p> + +<p class="index">Moultrie, Fort, <a href="#page_1">1-2</a>, +<a href="#page_3">3</a>, <a href="#page_13">13</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mount Pleasant battery, <a href="#page_13">13</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Mud March," Burnside's, <a href="#page_251">251</a>, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>, <a href="#page_255">255</a>, +<a href="#page_263">263-64</a>; Mulligan, Colonel James, at Lexington +(Missouri), <a href="#page_120">120</a></p> + +<p class="index">Murfreesboro (Tennessee), Buell at, +<a href="#page_162">162</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap">Nashville, Buell reinforces Grant from, +<a href="#page_146">146</a>; Buell defends, <a href="#page_162">162</a>; +Grant's headquarters, <a href="#page_327">327</a>; Thomas sent +from, <a href="#page_370">370</a>; Thomas faces Hood at, +<a href="#page_376">376</a>; battle, <a href="#page_377">377-378</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Nashville</i>, Confederate privateer, +<a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Navy, Confederate, sea-power of South, +<a href="#page_68">68-71</a>; poor administration, +<a href="#page_69">69-70</a>; <i>see also</i> Navy, United States</p> + +<p class="index">Navy, United States, stands by Union, +<a href="#page_68">68</a>; keeps command of sea, +<a href="#page_68">68</a>; size (1861), <a href="#page_71">71</a>; +Welles's report on, <a href="#page_72">72</a>; Fox as Assistant +Secretary of Navy, <a href="#page_72">72-73</a>; Promotion Board, +<a href="#page_73">73</a>; training, <a href="#page_73">73-74</a>; +growth, <a href="#page_74">74</a>; Naval War (1862), +<a href="#page_84">84</a> <i>et seq.</i>; fivefold duty of, +<a href="#page_111">111</a>; Farragut and, <a href="#page_307">307</a> +<i>et seq.</i>; blockade-runners complicate task of, +<a href="#page_307">307</a>; part in River War (1862), +<a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_133">133</a>, +<a href="#page_134">134-35</a>, <a href="#page_144">144-45</a></p> + +<p class="index">Navy Act, <a href="#page_12">12</a></p> + +<p class="index">Negroes, fidelity to South, <a href="#page_60">60</a>; +North uses as troops, <a href="#page_60">60</a>, +<a href="#page_79">79</a>; New York draft riots, +<a href="#page_174">174</a>; <i>see also</i> Emancipation, slavery</p> + +<p class="index">Nelson, William, at Shiloh, +<a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a></p> + +<p class="index">New Hope Church (Georgia), fighting near, +<a href="#page_348">348</a></p> + +<p class="index">New Madrid (Missouri), Pope at, +<a href="#page_144">144</a>; <i>Carondelet</i> arrives at, +<a href="#page_145">145</a></p> + +<p class="index">New Mexico, as base of California invasion, +<a href="#page_165">165</a>; Baylor proclaims himself Governor, +<a href="#page_165">165-66</a>; Sibley in, +<a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">New Orleans, Confederate rams lost at, +<a href="#page_70">70</a>; attack conceived, <a href="#page_93">93</a>; +strategic importance, <a href="#page_94">94</a>; joint expedition +necessary, <a href="#page_94">94</a>; Farragut commands enterprise, +<a href="#page_94">94</a>; Welles's orders, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, +<a href="#page_96">96</a>; Farragut's plan, +<a href="#page_96">96-97</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>; +<i>Mississippi</i> burned at, <a href="#page_97">97</a>; preparations, +<a href="#page_97">97-98</a>; passing of forts, +<a href="#page_97">97-103</a>; taken, <a href="#page_104">104-105</a>, +<a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_201">201</a>; Farragut +at, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_113">113</a>, +<a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>; Baton +Rouge garrison withdrawn to, <a href="#page_110">110</a> +<a name="page_417"><span class="page">Page 417</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">New York, <i>Monitor</i> launched, +<a href="#page_87">87</a>; draft riot, <a href="#page_174">174</a></p> + +<p class="index">Newbern (North Carolina), expedition against, +<a href="#page_93">93</a>; Richmond menaced from, +<a href="#page_252">252-253</a>; attempt against, +<a href="#page_318">318</a>; in Union hands, +<a href="#page_383">383</a>; meeting of Union leaders at, +<a href="#page_384">384</a></p> + +<p class="index">Norfolk Navy Yard, Federal abandonment of, +<a href="#page_17">17</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a></p> + +<p class="index">North, peace parties, <a href="#page_58">58</a>; <i>see +also</i> Pacifists; population (1861), <a href="#page_60">60-61</a>; +resources, <a href="#page_62">62-63</a>, <a href="#page_64">64</a>; +transport facilities, <a href="#page_64">64-65</a>; sea-power, +<a href="#page_64">64</a>, <a href="#page_66">66-68</a>, +<a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, +<a href="#page_310">310</a>; <i>see also</i> Navy, United States; +commerce, <a href="#page_66">66</a>; total forces, +<a href="#page_79">79-80</a>, <a href="#page_83">83</a>; conscription, +<a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>; conduct of +soldiers, <a href="#page_227">227-28</a>; Lee's invasion, +<a href="#page_295">295</a>; conditions in 1864, +<a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">North Carolina, blockade, <a href="#page_16">16</a>; +defeat at Hatteras Island, <a href="#page_92">92-93</a>; loses +defenses, <a href="#page_93">93</a>; <i>see also</i> Carolinas</p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Ohio, Morgan's Raid, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>; Vallandigham +case, <a href="#page_175">175-76</a></p> + +<p class="index">Olustee (Fla.), victory of, +<a href="#page_380">380</a> <i>Oneida</i>, Confederate ship, +<a href="#page_100">100</a></p> + +<p class="index">Opequan Creek (Virginia), Sheridan's victory +at, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>, +<a href="#page_364">364</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orange Court House (Virginia), Lee at, +<a href="#page_336">336</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ord, General E. O. C., Read on staff of, +<a href="#page_387">387</a> </p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Pacifists, in North, <a href="#page_58">58</a>, +<a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, +<a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>; Peace +party encouraged by Cold Harbor, <a href="#page_353">353</a></p> + +<p class="index">Paducah (Kentucky), Grant forestalls enemy at, +<a href="#page_121">121</a>; Grant's position at, +<a href="#page_122">122</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pamlico Sound (North Carolina), joint expedition +against, <a href="#page_93">93</a></p> + +<p class="index">Patterson, General Robert, commands on Potomac, +<a href="#page_35">35</a>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>; and plans +for Bull Run, <a href="#page_36">36</a>; Falling Waters, +<a href="#page_38">38-39</a>; occupies Martinsburg, +<a href="#page_39">39</a>; advance, <a href="#page_39">39</a>; +and Johnston, <a href="#page_44">44</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pea Ridge (Arkansas), battle, +<a href="#page_143">143</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pemberton, General J. C., escapes Federal trap, +<a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>; Chickasaw +Bluffs, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>; +commander at Vicksburg, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, +<a href="#page_275">275</a>; plans escape, <a href="#page_276">276</a>; +surrender, <a href="#page_277">277</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pensacola (Florida), beginning of war, +<a href="#page_3">3-5</a>; evacuation, <a href="#page_6">6</a>; +South uses garrison to reinforce Virginia, <a href="#page_93">93</a>; +Farragut directs Gulf blockade from, <a href="#page_111">111</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Pensacola</i>, Confederate ship, +<a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peninsula Campaign, McClellan plans, +<a href="#page_196">196-97</a>; campaign, +<a href="#page_198">198-204</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pendleton, Major A. S., member of Jackson's staff, +<a href="#page_259">259</a></p> + +<p class="index">Perryville (Kentucky), battle, +<a href="#page_162">162</a></p> + +<p class="index">Petersburg (Virginia), strategic rail gap at, +<a href="#page_65">65-66</a>; winter quarters, +<a href="#page_334">334</a>; Butler fails to take, +<a href="#page_340">340</a>; Grant at, <a href="#page_356">356</a>, +<a href="#page_383">383</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>; Lee leaves, +<a href="#page_386">386</a></p> + +<p class="index">Philippi (West Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_30">30</a>, <a href="#page_31">31</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pickens, Fort, <a href="#page_4">4</a>, +<a href="#page_5">5</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pickett, G. E., charge at Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_301">301-04</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pillow, General G. J., at Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a>; escape, +<a href="#page_139">139</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pillow, Fort, Federal vessels rammed at, +<a href="#page_158">158</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pinckney, Castle, <i>see</i> Castle Pinckney +<a name="page_418"><span class="page">Page 418</span></a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Pinola</i>, Federal gunboat, +<a href="#page_99">99</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pipe Creek, Meade's army at, +<a href="#page_296">296</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pittsburg Landing, <i>see</i> Shiloh</p> + +<p class="index"><i>Pittsburgh</i>, Federal ironclad at Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_135">135</a>; at Island Number Ten, +<a href="#page_145">145</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pleasant Hill, battle, <a href="#page_330">330</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pleasonton, General A., cavalry leader, +<a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Point Pleasant (Ohio), Grant born at, +<a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pope, General John, Grant declines patronage +of, <a href="#page_131">131</a>; Island Number Ten, +<a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a>; reinforces +Halleck at Pittsburg Landing, <a href="#page_155">155</a>; transfer to +Virginia, <a href="#page_159">159</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>; +quoted, <a href="#page_226">226-27</a>; within reach of Jackson +and Lee, <a href="#page_229">229</a>; retires safely, +<a href="#page_230">230</a>; Jackson captures dispatches of, +<a href="#page_230">230</a>; Lee divides army against, +<a href="#page_231">231</a>; Jackson's plan against, +<a href="#page_232">232</a>; Jackson marches around, +<a href="#page_232">232-34</a>; reinforcement, +<a href="#page_234">234</a>; Jackson eludes, +<a href="#page_235">235</a>; Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, +<a href="#page_239">239</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a>, +<a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a></p> + +<p class="index">Port Gibson (Mississippi), +<a href="#page_270">270</a></p> + +<p class="index">Port Hudson (Louisiana), <a href="#page_110">110</a>, +<a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, +<a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">Port Republic (Virginia), <a href="#page_216">216</a>, +<a href="#page_217">217</a></p> + +<p class="index">Port Royal (South Carolina), Confederate defeat, +<a href="#page_92">92</a>; Grant moves base to, +<a href="#page_350">350</a></p> + +<p class="index">Porter, Admiral D. D., conceives idea of attack +on New Orleans, <a href="#page_93">93</a>; on Mississippi, +<a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>; succeeds +Davis, <a href="#page_110">110</a>; capture of Arkansas Post, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>; Vicksburg campaign, +<a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a>, +<a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_267">267</a>, +<a href="#page_274">274</a>; Mississippi command, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>; attacks Fort Fisher, +<a href="#page_324">324</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>; on Red +River <a href="#page_330">330</a>; at City Point conference, +<a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a></p> + +<p class="index">Porter, FitzJohn, position, +<a href="#page_222">222</a>; Beaver Dam Creek +<a href="#page_323">323</a>; Gaines's Mill, <a href="#page_224">224</a>; +Second Bull Run, <a href="#page_239">239</a>; Pope's order, +<a href="#page_239">239</a></p> + +<p class="index">Porter, J. L., Naval Constructor to Confederate +States, <a href="#page_86">86</a></p> + +<p class="index">Porter, Commander W. D., at Fort Henry, +<a href="#page_127">127</a></p> + +<p class="index">Potter, Captain R. M., on Lee's decision, +<a href="#page_10">10</a></p> + +<p class="index">Powell, Fort, <a href="#page_320">320</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Powhatan</i>, U. S. S., Porter commands, +<a href="#page_93">93</a></p> + +<p class="index">Prentiss, General B. M., at Shiloh, +<a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a></p> + +<p class="index">Press, perverts public opinion, +<a href="#page_176">176-77</a>; no government censorship, +<a href="#page_333">333</a></p> + +<p class="index">Prestonburg, Garfield defeats Marshall near, +<a href="#page_125">125</a></p> + +<p class="index">Price, Sterling, becomes Confederate general, +<a href="#page_27">27</a>; takes Lexington (Missouri), +<a href="#page_120">120</a>; Grant prevents reinforcements for, +<a href="#page_121">121</a>; attacks Curtis in Missouri, +<a href="#page_143">143</a>; against Grant, <a href="#page_161">161</a>; +defeated at Iuka, <a href="#page_162">162-63</a></p> + +<p class="index">Privateers, <a href="#page_16">16</a>, +<a href="#page_68">68</a></p> + +<p class="index">Profiteers, <a href="#page_61">61</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pulaski, Fort, <a href="#page_93">93</a>, +<a href="#page_372">372</a> </p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> <i>Quaker City</i>, Confederate gunboats attack, +<a href="#page_309">309</a> </p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Rations, before Vicksburg, +<a href="#page_269">269-70</a>; Grant supplies Lee's army, +<a href="#page_392">392</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rawlins, J. A., Grant's chief staff officer, +<a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">Raymond (Mississippi), battle, +<a href="#page_271">271</a></p> + +<p class="index">Read, Colonel Theodore, at Sailor's Creek, +<a href="#page_387">387</a></p> + +<p class="index">Red River Expedition (1864), +<a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, +<a href="#page_337">337</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, +<a href="#page_349">349</a> <a name="page_419"><span class="page">Page +419</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Reno, General L. J., Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_238">238</a></p> + +<p class="index">Renshaw, Commander, in charge of blockade, +<a href="#page_114">114</a></p> + +<p class="index">Resaca (Georgia), battle, +<a href="#page_347">347</a></p> + +<p class="index">Reynolds, General J. F., Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>; Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>; killed, +<a href="#page_297">297</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rhind, Commander, fires mine-ship <i>Louisiana</i>, +<a href="#page_324">324</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rich Mountain (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_30">30</a>, <a href="#page_31">31-32</a></p> + +<p class="index">Richmond, plan to raid Harper's Ferry arranged +at, <a href="#page_20">20</a>; Federal objective, +<a href="#page_34">34</a>, <a href="#page_35">35</a>, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>; Tredegar +Iron Works, <a href="#page_64">64</a>; Grant and Lee at grips around, +<a href="#page_186">186</a>; McClellan threatens, +<a href="#page_201">201</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, +<a href="#page_204">204</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, +<a href="#page_217">217</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>; plan +to evacuate, <a href="#page_202">202</a>; change of plan, +<a href="#page_202">202</a>; Jackson starts for, +<a href="#page_207">207</a>; Magruder to hold, +<a href="#page_223">223</a>; saved, <a href="#page_243">243</a>; +Sheridan's raid, <a href="#page_344">344</a>, +<a href="#page_345">345-46</a>; Grant marches toward, +<a href="#page_350">350</a>; consternation after Cold Harbor, +<a href="#page_355">355</a>; Army of the James against, +<a href="#page_356">356</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Richmond</i>, Federal ship, +<a href="#page_102">102</a></p> + +<p class="index">"River Defense Fleet," <a href="#page_70">70</a>, +<a href="#page_97">97</a></p> + +<p class="index">River War (1862), <a href="#page_116">116</a> +<i>et seq.</i>; (1863), <a href="#page_260">260</a> <i>et seq.</i>, +<a href="#page_327">327</a></p> + +<p class="index">Roanoke Island captured, <a href="#page_93">93</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Rock of Chickamauga," nickname for General Thomas, +<a href="#page_280">280</a>, <a href="#page_370">370</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rodgers, Commander John, and first flotilla on +Mississippi, <a href="#page_118">118</a></p> + +<p class="index">Roe, Commander of the <i>Sassacus</i>, +<a href="#page_319">319</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rosecrans, General W. S., succeeds McClellan, +<a href="#page_30">30</a>; Army of Mississippi under, +<a href="#page_160">160</a>; holds Memphis-Corinth rails, +<a href="#page_161">161</a>; replaces Buell, +<a href="#page_162">162</a>; victory at Corinth, +<a href="#page_163">163</a>; commands Army of Cumberland, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>; Stone's River, +<a href="#page_164">164-65</a>; maneuvers Bragg south, +<a href="#page_279">279</a>; Thomas supersedes, +<a href="#page_280">280</a>; Confederate plan to crush, +<a href="#page_287">287</a>; Chattanooga, +<a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Sabine Cross Roads (Louisiana), Banks's defeat +at, <a href="#page_330">330</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sabine Pass (Texas), in Confederate hands, +<a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sable Island, Butler's troops at, +<a href="#page_104">104</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sailor's Creek (Virginia), Lee's defeat at, +<a href="#page_387">387</a></p> + +<p class="index">St. Louis, Haskins goes to, <a href="#page_6">6</a>; +Lyon commands at, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_28">28</a>; +Lyon marches prisoners through, <a href="#page_27">27</a>; Harney +makes peace, <a href="#page_27">27</a>; conference, +<a href="#page_27">27-28</a>; Frémont's headquarters, +<a href="#page_118">118</a>; Frémont fortifies, +<a href="#page_119">119</a>; Halleck's headquarters, +<a href="#page_121">121</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>St. Louis</i>, Federal gunboat, +<a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">St. Philip, Fort, <a href="#page_96">96</a>, +<a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_104">104</a></p> + +<p class="index">Salem Church (Virginia), Jackson reaches, +<a href="#page_232">232</a></p> + +<p class="index">San Antonio (Texas), surrender to State, +<a href="#page_8">8-9</a>; Lee at, <a href="#page_9">9-10</a>; Sibley's +retreat, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">San Carlos, Fort, <a href="#page_4">4</a></p> + +<p class="index">Santa Rosa Island, Slemmer defends, +<a href="#page_4">4</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Sassacus</i>, fight with <i>Albemarle</i>, +<a href="#page_319">319</a></p> + +<p class="index">Savannah (Georgia), South holds, +<a href="#page_253">253</a>; Sherman plans march to, +<a href="#page_372">372</a>; Sherman reaches, +<a href="#page_375">375</a>; Hardee evacuates, +<a href="#page_376">376</a></p> + +<p class="index">Savannah (Tennessee), in Shiloh campaign, +<a href="#page_147">147</a>, <a href="#page_148">148</a></p> + +<p class="index">Schofield, General John, Nashville campaign, +<a href="#page_377">377</a></p> + +<p class="index">Scott, General Winfield, General-in-Chief, orders to +Slemmer, <a href="#page_4">4</a>; and Lee, <a href="#page_9">9</a>, +<a href="#page_18">18</a>; military <a name="page_420"> +<span class="page">Page 420</span></a> adviser at Washington, +<a href="#page_33">33</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>; civilian +interference with, <a href="#page_33">33</a>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>; +Grant's admiration for, <a href="#page_131">131</a>; prevision, +<a href="#page_147">147</a>; "Anaconda policy," +<a href="#page_184">184</a></p> + +<p class="index">Seddon, J. A., Confederate Secretary of War, +<a href="#page_252">252</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sedgwick, General John, Virginia campaign, +<a href="#page_256">256</a></p> + +<p class="index">Selma (Alabama), Southern cannon made at, +<a href="#page_64">64</a></p> + +<p class="index">Seminary Ridge, Lee's headquarters, +<a href="#page_296">296</a></p> + +<p class="index">Semmes, Captain Raphael of <i>Alabama</i>, +<a href="#page_311">311</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a>, +<a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Seven Days' Battle, <a href="#page_228">228-26</a>; +balloon used in, <a href="#page_63">63</a></p> + +<p class="index">Seven Pines (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_218">218</a></p> + +<p class="index">Seward, W. H., Secretary of State, +<a href="#page_179">179</a>; on McClellan, +<a href="#page_188">188</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sharpsburg, <i>see</i> Antietam</p> + +<p class="index"><i>Shenandoah</i>, Confederate raider, +<a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_311">311</a>, +<a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a></p> + +<p class="index">Shenandoah Brigade, First, Jackson in command +of, <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Shenandoah Valley, Johnston in, +<a href="#page_36">36</a>; Sheridan's raid, <a href="#page_189">189</a>; +Kernstown, <a href="#page_198">198-99</a>; positions (April, +1862), <a href="#page_200">200</a>; forces, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>; Jackson's +maneuvers, <a href="#page_205">205-07</a>; McDowell, +<a href="#page_208">208-09</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>; Front +Royal, <a href="#page_210">210-12</a>; Winchester, +<a href="#page_212">212</a>; pursuit of Banks, +<a href="#page_212">212-213</a>; summary of Jackson's accomplishment +in, <a href="#page_214">214-15</a>; pursuit of Jackson, +<a href="#page_215">215-16</a>; Cross Keys, <a href="#page_216">216</a>; +Port Republic, <a href="#page_216">216</a>; Jackson's strategy, +<a href="#page_216">216-17</a>; Ewell in, <a href="#page_291">291</a>; +Stanton's interference, <a href="#page_331">331-333</a>; Sigel +in, <a href="#page_337">337</a>; Hunter's retreat, +<a href="#page_356">356</a>; Early in, <a href="#page_356">356</a>, +<a href="#page_362">362</a>; Sheridan in, <a href="#page_362">362</a>; +Opequan Creek, <a href="#page_362">362</a>; "Sheridan's Ride," +<a href="#page_363">363-64</a>; Cedar Creek, +<a href="#page_363">363-64</a>; Federal victory, +<a href="#page_364">364</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sheridan, General P. H., raid helps Lincoln's +reëlection, <a href="#page_189">189</a>; Chattanooga, +<a href="#page_285">285</a>; Stanton falsifies Grant's order to, +<a href="#page_332">332-33</a>; as a general, +<a href="#page_337">337-38</a>; Grant and, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, +<a href="#page_340">340</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>; Todd's +Tavern, <a href="#page_342">342</a>; Richmond raid, +<a href="#page_344">344</a>, <a href="#page_345">345-46</a>; Cold +Harbor, <a href="#page_350">350</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>; raid, +<a href="#page_355">355</a>; Trevilian, <a href="#page_355">355</a>; +Opequan Creek, <a href="#page_362">362</a>; "Sheridan's Ride," +<a href="#page_363">363-64</a>; in Washington, +<a href="#page_362">362</a>; later operations, +<a href="#page_384">384</a>; Five Forks, <a href="#page_386">386</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sherman, General W. T., colonel in Louisiana +State Military Academy, <a href="#page_6">6-8</a>; leaves Louisiana, +<a href="#page_8">8</a>; and Lyon, <a href="#page_26">26</a>; assists +Scott, <a href="#page_33">33</a>; account of McDowell's march, +<a href="#page_42">42</a>; as a leader, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, +<a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, +<a href="#page_338">338</a>; Port Royal expedition, +<a href="#page_93">93</a>; age, <a href="#page_95">95</a>; attempt +to take Vicksburg, <a href="#page_114">114</a>; Kentucky command, +<a href="#page_120">120</a>; reported insane, +<a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>; diffident +about rise, <a href="#page_131">131</a>; Shiloh, +<a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, +<a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a>; joins +Grant, <a href="#page_163">163</a>; Chickasaw Bluffs, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>; and Lincoln, +<a href="#page_189">189</a>; Vicksburg campaign, +<a href="#page_267">267</a>; commands Army of Tennessee, +<a href="#page_280">280</a>; Chattanooga, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, +<a href="#page_282">282</a>, <a href="#page_283">283</a>, +<a href="#page_285">285</a>; Red River Expedition spoils strategy +of, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>; and +Stanton, <a href="#page_330">330</a>; on relative forces in South, +<a href="#page_334">334</a>; threatens Georgia, +<a href="#page_336">336</a>; Dalton, <a href="#page_336">336</a>, +<a href="#page_347">347</a>; fitness for command, +<a href="#page_338">338</a>; advance, <a href="#page_345">345</a>, +<a href="#page_346">346-47</a>; Resaca, <a href="#page_347">347</a>; +New Hope Church, <a href="#page_348">348</a>; at Allatoona, +<a href="#page_348">348</a>; at Kenesaw, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, +<a href="#page_357">357</a>; maneuvers Johnston, +<a href="#page_357">357-358</a>; <a name="page_421"><span +class="page">Page 421</span></a> battle of Atlanta, +<a href="#page_358">358-359</a>; asks reinforcements, +<a href="#page_360">360</a>; announces fall of Atlanta, +<a href="#page_361">361</a>; Lincoln's reply to, +<a href="#page_362">362</a>; campaign (1864), +<a href="#page_366">366</a> <i>et seq.</i>; quoted, +<a href="#page_366">366</a>; at Atlanta, <a href="#page_366">366-67</a>; +Hood's attempt on Allatoona, <a href="#page_369">369-70</a>; +preponderance of force, <a href="#page_370">370</a>; March to the +Sea, <a href="#page_372">372-76</a>; presents Savannah to Lincoln, +<a href="#page_376">376-77</a>; march through Carolinas, +<a href="#page_381">381-83</a>; conference at City Point (Virginia), +<a href="#page_384">384-85</a>; terms of surrender to Johnston, +<a href="#page_386">386</a>, <a href="#page_394">394</a>; on Lincoln, +<a href="#page_393">393-94</a> + +<p class="index">Shields, General James, Kernstown, +<a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>; at Catlett's +Station, <a href="#page_204">204</a>; Port Republic, +<a href="#page_216">216</a></p> + +<p class="index">Shiloh, Grant's army assembles near, +<a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_146">146</a>; Confederate +preparations, <a href="#page_146">146-47</a>; Grant's position +and force, <a href="#page_147">147-49</a>; battle, +<a href="#page_149">149-55</a>; losses, <a href="#page_154">154</a>; +outcome, <a href="#page_154">154</a>; result, +<a href="#page_154">154-55</a></p> + +<p class="index">Shine, Elizabeth, mother of Farragut, +<a href="#page_95">95</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ship Island, taken, <a href="#page_92">92</a>; +Farragut at, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_96">96</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sibley, General H. H., in New Mexico, +<a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sickles, General D. E., at Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_294">294</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sigel, General Franz, Wilson's Creek, +<a href="#page_120">120</a>; Second Bull Run, +<a href="#page_237">237</a>; command in Shenandoah Valley, +<a href="#page_337">337</a>; Hunter replaces, +<a href="#page_350">350</a></p> + +<p class="index">Simpson, Grant's mother's name, +<a href="#page_129">129</a></p> + +<p class="index">Slavery, Lee and, <a href="#page_19">19</a>; <i>see +also</i> Emancipation, Negroes</p> + +<p class="index">Slemmer, Lieutenant, command at Pensacola, +<a href="#page_3">3</a>; defends Fort Pickens, +<a href="#page_4">4-5</a></p> + +<p class="index">Smith, General A. J., at Tupelo, +<a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Smith, Captain C. F., Grant's admiration for, +<a href="#page_131">131</a>; as a leader, +<a href="#page_135">135-36</a>; Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_138">138</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>; ordered +by Halleck to command expedition, <a href="#page_142">142</a>; +Shiloh, <a href="#page_152">152</a></p> + +<p class="index">Smith, General G. W., and Jackson's plan, +<a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a></p> + +<p class="index">Smith, Giles, Chattanooga, +<a href="#page_282">282</a></p> + +<p class="index">Smith, General Kirby, Bull Run, +<a href="#page_53">53</a></p> + +<p class="index">Smith, William, quartermaster on <i>Kearsarge</i>, +<a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sons of Liberty, <a href="#page_59">59</a></p> + +<p class="index">South, seceding States of, <a href="#page_56">56</a>; +war party in, <a href="#page_57">57</a>; population (1861), +<a href="#page_60">60-61</a>; resources, <a href="#page_62">62-64</a>; +transportation, <a href="#page_64">64-66</a>; sea-power, +<a href="#page_66">66-68</a>; <i>see also</i> Navy, Confederate; +reason for fighting, <a href="#page_75">75</a>; advantages, +<a href="#page_75">75-77</a>; raiders, <a href="#page_311">311</a>; +situation (1864), <a href="#page_335">335</a>; losses (1864), +<a href="#page_367">367</a>; cause lost, <a href="#page_379">379</a>; +number of troops, <a href="#page_380">380</a></p> + +<p class="index">South Carolina, secedes, <a href="#page_1">1</a>; +defeat at Port Royal, <a href="#page_92">92</a>; <i>see also</i> +Carolinas, Charleston</p> + +<p class="index">South Mountain, Stuart at, +<a href="#page_245">245</a></p> + +<p class="index">Spotsylvania (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_342">342-48</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stanton, E. M., Secretary of War, +<a href="#page_179">179</a>; and Lincoln, <a href="#page_179">179</a>; +military interference, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, +<a href="#page_207">207</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>, +<a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_338">338</a>; and Lee, +<a href="#page_182">182</a>; Cameron succeeded by, +<a href="#page_195">195</a>; Banks and, <a href="#page_211">211</a>; +orders McClellan to Aquia, <a href="#page_228">228</a>; and Hooker, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>; forbids +use of cipher, <a href="#page_330">330-81</a>; and Grant's orders, +<a href="#page_332">332-333</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Star of the West</i>, merchant vessel fired +on at Charleston, <a href="#page_3">3</a>, <a href="#page_4">4</a> +<a name="page_422"><span class="page">Page 422</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Staunton (Virginia), Jackson at, +<a href="#page_208">208</a>; Hunter's success at, +<a href="#page_355">355</a></p> + +<p class="index">Steinwehr, General Adolph, atrocities under, +<a href="#page_227">227</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stone's River (Tennessee), battle, +<a href="#page_165">165</a></p> + +<p class="index">Strasburg (Virginia), Banks's retreat from, +<a href="#page_212">212</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stringham, Flag-Officer, expedition against Hatteras +forts, <a href="#page_85">85</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stuart, J. E. B., <a href="#page_255">255</a>; +Confederate cavalry leader, Martinsburg, <a href="#page_37">37-38</a>; +Bull Run, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, <a href="#page_45">45</a>, +<a href="#page_51">51</a>; raid around McClellan, +<a href="#page_219">219-21</a>; against Pope, +<a href="#page_229">229-30</a>; at South Mountain, +<a href="#page_245">245</a>; second raid around McClellan, +<a href="#page_246">246-47</a>; and Lee's retreat, +<a href="#page_305">305</a>; age, <a href="#page_338">338</a>; +Sheridan encounters, <a href="#page_342">342</a>; Yellow Tavern, +<a href="#page_345">345</a>; killed, <a href="#page_345">345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sturgis, defeat at Brice's Cross Roads, +<a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Suffolk (Virginia), menace to Richmond from, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sumter, Fort, location, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_13">13</a>; Anderson goes to, <a href="#page_3">3</a>; +fall of, <a href="#page_12">12-16</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Sumter</i>, Confederate raider, +<a href="#page_69">69</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Supply</i>, vessel at Fort Pickens, +<a href="#page_4">4</a></p> + +<p class="index">Swift Run Gap (Virginia), Jackson at, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Swinton, William, war correspondent, +<a href="#page_333">333-34</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sykes, General George, succeeds Meade, +<a href="#page_292">292</a> </p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Taylor, Captain Jesse, destroys Confederate +reports at Fort Henry, <a href="#page_128">128</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Tecumseh</i>, sunk in Mobile Bay, +<a href="#page_321">321</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tennessee, mountain folk Unionist, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>, <a href="#page_57">57</a>; secedes, +<a href="#page_56">56</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Tennessee</i>, Confederate ram, +<a href="#page_320">320</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, +<a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Terry, General A. H., at Fort Fisher, +<a href="#page_325">325</a></p> + +<p class="index">Texas, State militia seize army posts, +<a href="#page_6">6</a>; General Twiggs surrenders posts, +<a href="#page_8">8-9</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>; secedes, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>; contraband enters, +<a href="#page_308">308</a>; Red River Expedition, +<a href="#page_318">318</a>; last shots fired in, +<a href="#page_380">380</a></p> + +<p class="index">Thomas, General G. H., Mill Springs, +<a href="#page_125">125</a>; "Rock of Chickamauga," +<a href="#page_280">280</a>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>; Chattanooga, +<a href="#page_282">282</a>, <a href="#page_283">283</a>, +<a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a>; Nashville +campaign, <a href="#page_370">370</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>, +<a href="#page_377">377-78</a></p> + +<p class="index">Thoroughfare Gap (Virginia), Jackson's expedition, +<a href="#page_231">231</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, +<a href="#page_233">233</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tilghman, General Lloyd, surrenders Fort Henry, +<a href="#page_128">128</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tod, Judge, Jesse Grant in home of, +<a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Todd's Tavern (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_342">342</a></p> + +<p class="index">Transportation, <a href="#page_64">64-66</a>; means +of communication in Virginia campaign, <a href="#page_35">35-36</a></p> + +<p class="index">Traveler, Lee's horse, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, +<a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tredegar Iron Works, <a href="#page_64">64</a></p> + +<p class="index">Trevilian (Virginia), Sheridan at, +<a href="#page_355">355</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tunstall's Station (Virginia), Stuart's raid, +<a href="#page_220">220</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tupelo (Mississippi), Forrest defeated at, +<a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Twiggs, General D. E., surrenders Texas garrisons, +<a href="#page_8">8</a>, <a href="#page_9">9</a>, +<a href="#page_165">165</a> </p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> <i>Undine</i>, gunboat taken with cavalry, +<a href="#page_368">368</a></p> + +<p class="index">Union Mills (Virginia), ford defended, +<a href="#page_46">46</a></p> + +<p class="index">United States, population (1861), +<a href="#page_60">60-61</a>; <i>see also</i> North, South +<a name="page_423"><span class="page">Page 423</span></a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Vallandigham case, +<a href="#page_175">175-76</a></p> + +<p class="index">Valley Campaign, Jackson's; <i>see</i> Shenandoah +Valley</p> + +<p class="index">Valverde (New Mexico), Canby's defeat at, +<a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Van Dorn, General Earl, Confederate commander +of trans-Mississippi troops, <a href="#page_124">124</a>; Pea +Ridge, <a href="#page_143">143</a>; reinforces Beauregard, +<a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>; tries +to reconquer Memphis-Corinth rails, <a href="#page_161">161</a>; +replaced by Pemberton, <a href="#page_163">163</a>; at Holly Springs, +<a href="#page_163">163-64</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Varuna, Governor Moore</i>, destroys, +<a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vicksburg, Farragut's expedition, +<a href="#page_105">105-06</a>, <a href="#page_107">107</a>; importance +of position, <a href="#page_110">110</a>; Sherman's attempt, +<a href="#page_114">114</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>; <i>see +also</i> Chickasaw Bluffs; Grant's operations preceding, +<a href="#page_156">156</a>; Grant's objective, +<a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>; Holly +Springs, <a href="#page_163">163-64</a>; Confederates hold, +<a href="#page_167">167</a>; Grant's position, +<a href="#page_260">260-261</a>; generals at, +<a href="#page_261">261-62</a>; Navy at, <a href="#page_262">262-63</a>, +<a href="#page_265">265-67</a>; Grant's maneuvers, +<a href="#page_263">263-64</a>; Federal force, +<a href="#page_267">267-68</a>; Confederate force, +<a href="#page_268">268</a>; scene of action, +<a href="#page_268">268</a>; army rations at, +<a href="#page_269">269-70</a>; siege, <a href="#page_271">271-77</a>; +surrender, <a href="#page_277">277-78</a>; significance of victory, +<a href="#page_286">286</a>; effect of victory, +<a href="#page_305">305</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Vicksburg Oak," Grant meets Pemberton under, +<a href="#page_277">277</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vinton. Major, Union officer at San Antonio, +<a href="#page_9">9</a>, <a href="#page_10">10</a></p> + +<p class="index">Virginia, Lee's loyalty to, <a href="#page_11">11</a>; +blockade, <a href="#page_16">16</a>; secedes, <a href="#page_17">17</a>, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>; Lee given chief command in, +<a href="#page_19">19</a>; West Virginia part of, +<a href="#page_23">23</a>; issues call for volunteers, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>; West Virginia separates from, +<a href="#page_29">29</a>; mountain folk Unionists, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>; Federals hold western part of, +<a href="#page_57">57</a>; Farragut from, <a href="#page_95">95</a>; +Pope transferred to, <a href="#page_159">159</a>; Burnside's invasion +of, <a href="#page_247">247-51</a>; Grant transferred to, +<a href="#page_334">334</a>; campaign (1864), +<a href="#page_334">334-36</a>, <a href="#page_340">340-46</a>, +<a href="#page_348">348-56</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, +<a href="#page_365">365</a>; Wilderness, <a href="#page_341">341-44</a>; +Todd's Tavern, <a href="#page_342">342</a>; Spotsylvania, +<a href="#page_342">342-43</a>; Sheridan's raid, +<a href="#page_344">344</a>, <a href="#page_345">345-46</a>; Cold +Harbor, <a href="#page_349">349-54</a>; losses, +<a href="#page_355">355</a>; campaign (1865), +<a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, +<a href="#page_386">386-88</a>; Petersburg, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, +<a href="#page_386">386</a>; Five Forks, <a href="#page_386">386</a>; +Sailor's Creek, <a href="#page_387">387</a>; Lee's surrender, +<a href="#page_388">388-93</a>; <i>see also</i> Peninsula campaign</p> + +<p class="index"><i>Virginia, Merrimac</i> renamed, +<a href="#page_86">86</a></p> + +<p class="index">Virginia Military Institute, Jackson at, +<a href="#page_20">20</a>; cadets join Jackson, +<a href="#page_208">208</a> </p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Walke, Henry, commands <i>Carondelet</i>, +<a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a></p> + +<p class="index">Walker, Fort, <a href="#page_92">92</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wallace, General Lew, as a leader, +<a href="#page_135">135-36</a>; at Fort Donelson, +<a href="#page_138">138</a>; Shiloh, <a href="#page_148">148</a>, +<a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>; and Early, +<a href="#page_356">356</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wallace, General W. H. L., killed, +<a href="#page_152">152</a></p> + +<p class="index">Warley, A. F., commands Manassas, +<a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Warren, G. K., Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_300">300</a>; defection +at Cold Harbor, <a href="#page_351">351</a></p> + +<p class="index">Washburn, Colonel Francis, at Sailor's Creek, +<a href="#page_387">387</a></p> + +<p class="index">Washburne, E. B., introduces Swinton, +<a href="#page_333">333</a></p> + +<p class="index">Washington, capture of rolling stock hampers, +<a href="#page_24">24</a>; desire to defend, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>; sea-power saves, <a href="#page_85">85</a>; +Southern plans against, <a href="#page_193">193</a>, +<a href="#page_210">210</a>; reserve corps at, +<a href="#page_213">213</a>, <a href="#page_231">231</a>, +<a href="#page_235">235</a>; Pope's army retires to, +<a href="#page_243">243</a>; Early makes for, +<a href="#page_356">356</a>; Union troops reviewed in, +<a href="#page_395">395</a> <a name="page_424"><span class="page">Page +424</span></a></p> + +<p class="index">Wassaw Sound, duel between <i>Weehawken</i> and +<i>Atlanta</i> in, <a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wauhatchie (Tennessee), battle, +<a href="#page_281">281</a></p> + +<p class="index">Weed, Thurlow, election agent, +<a href="#page_360">360</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Weehawken</i>, duel with <i>Atlanta</i>, +<a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Weitzel, General Godfrey, at Fort Fisher, +<a href="#page_325">325</a></p> + +<p class="index">Welles, Gideon, Secretary of Navy, +<a href="#page_71">71</a>, <a href="#page_179">179</a>; report to +Congress, <a href="#page_72">72</a>; orders concerning New Orleans, +<a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_96">96</a></p> + +<p class="index">West, settlers beyond reach of war, +<a href="#page_62">62</a></p> + +<p class="index">West Virginia, part of Virginia, +<a href="#page_23">23</a>; Jackson from, <a href="#page_24">24</a>; +becomes separate State, <a href="#page_29">29</a>, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>; campaign in, <a href="#page_29">29-33</a>; +Frémont in, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, +<a href="#page_200">200</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Westfield</i>, Renshaw refuses to surrender, +<a href="#page_114">114</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wheeler, General Joseph, Confederate cavalry leader, +<a href="#page_368">368</a></p> + +<p class="index">White House (Virginia), McClellan's base, +<a href="#page_201">201</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, +<a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, +<a href="#page_225">225</a> + +<p class="index">White Oak Swamp (Virginia), battle, +<a href="#page_225">225</a></p> + +<p class="index">Whitman, Walt, on Lincoln, +<a href="#page_171">171-72</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wilcox, General C. M., Pickett's Charge, +<a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wilderness, battle, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, +<a href="#page_341">341-44</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wilkeson, Lieutenant Bayard, Gettysburg, +<a href="#page_298">298-99</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wilkeson, Frank, <i>Recollections of a Private +Soldier in the Army of the Potomac</i>, <a href="#page_81">81</a></p> + +<p class="index">Williams, General Thomas, at Vicksburg with Farragut, +<a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_108">108</a>; killed, +<a href="#page_110">110</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wilmington (North Carolina), rail connections +threatened, <a href="#page_253">253</a>; in Confederate hands, +<a href="#page_310">310</a>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>; Fort +Fisher guards entrance to, <a href="#page_323">323</a>; captured, +<a href="#page_380">380</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wilson's Creek (Missouri), battle, +<a href="#page_29">29</a>, <a href="#page_119">119-20</a></p> + +<p class="index">Winchester (Virginia), Johnston retires to, +<a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>; Banks refuses +to retreat to, <a href="#page_212">212</a>; forces at, +<a href="#page_216">216</a>; Ewell drives Milroy out of, +<a href="#page_291">291</a></p> + +<p class="index">Winslow, Captain, commands <i>Kearsarge</i>, +<a href="#page_314">314</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wise, H. A., ex-Governor of Virginia, +<a href="#page_31">31</a></p> + +<p class="index">Worden, Captain J. L., commands <i>Monitor</i>, +<a href="#page_88">88</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wright, Colonel W. W., engineer, +<a href="#page_384">384</a></p> + +<p class="index"><i>Wyandotte</i>, vessel at Pensacola, +<a href="#page_4">4</a> </p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Yazoo River, Porter on, +<a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_267">267</a></p> + +<p class="index">Yellow Tavern, Stuart and Sheridan at, +<a href="#page_345">345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Yorktown, Confederates hold, +<a href="#page_200">200</a>; evacuated, <a href="#page_201">201</a></p> + + +<p class="index_gap"> Zouaves under Stuart, +<a href="#page_51">51</a></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Captains of the Civil War, by William Wood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR *** + +***** This file should be named 2649-h.htm or 2649-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/4/2649/ + +Produced by Alev Akman, Diane Beane, James J. Kelly Library +of St. Gregory's University and Robert J. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +THIS BOOK, VOLUME 31 IN THE CHRONICLES OF AMERICA SERIES, ALLEN +JOHNSON, EDITOR, WAS DONATED TO PROJECT GUTENBERG BY THE JAMES J. +KELLY LIBRARY OF ST. GREGORY'S UNIVERSITY; THANKS TO ALEV AKMAN. + +Scanned by Dianne Bean. + + + + + +CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR + +A CHRONICLE OF THE BLUE AND THE GRAY + +BY WILLIAM WOOD + + + + +PREFACE + +Sixty years ago today the guns that thundered round Fort Sumter +began the third and greatest modern civil war fought by +English-speaking people. This war was quite as full of politics +as were the other two--the War of the American Revolution and +that of Puritan and Cavalier. But, though the present Chronicle +never ignores the vital correlations between statesmen and +commanders, it is a book of warriors, through and through. + +I gratefully acknowledge the indispensable assistance of Colonel +G. J. Fiebeger, a West Point expert, and of Dr. Allen Johnson, +chief editor of the series and Professor of American History at +Yale. + +WILLIAM WOOD, + +Late Colonel commanding 8th Royal Rifles, and Officer-in-charge, +Canadian Special Mission Overseas. + +QUEBEC, April 18, 1921, CONTENTS + +I. THE CLASH: 1861 + +II. THE COMBATANTS + +III. THE NAVAL WAR: 1862 + +IV. THE RIVER WAR: 1861 + +V. LINCOLN: WAR STATESMAN + +VI. LEE AND JACKSON: 1862-3 + +VII. GRANT WINS THE RIVER WAR: 1863 VIII. GETTYSBURG: 1863 + +IX. FARRAGUT AND THE NAVY: 1863-4 + +X. GRANT ATTACKS THE FRONT: 1864 + +XI. SHERMAN DESTROYS THE BASE: 1864 + +XII. THE END: 1865 + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + + + +CAPTAINS OF THE CIVIL WAR + +CHAPTER I. THE CLASH: 1861 + +States which claimed a sovereign right to secede from the Union +naturally claimed the corresponding right to resume possession of +all the land they had ceded to that Union's Government for the +use of its naval and military posts. So South Carolina, after +leading the way to secession on December 20,1860, at once began +to work for the retrocession of the forts defending her famous +cotton port of Charleston. These defenses, being of vital +consequence to both sides, were soon to attract the strained +attention of the whole country. + +There were three minor forts: Castle Pinckney, dozing away, in +charge of a solitary sergeant, on an island less than a mile from +the city; Fort Moultrie, feebly garrisoned and completely at the +mercy of attackers on its landward side; and Fort Johnson over on +James Island. Lastly, there was the world-renowned Fort Sumter, +which then stood, unfinished and ungarrisoned, on a little islet +beside the main ship channel, at the entrance to the harbor, and +facing Fort Moultrie just a mile away. The proper war garrison of +all the forts should have been over a thousand men. The actual +garrison--including officers, band, and the Castle Pinckney +sergeant--was less than a hundred. It was, however, loyal to the +Union; and its commandant, Major Robert Anderson, though born in +the slave-owning State of Kentucky, was determined to fight. + +The situation, here as elsewhere, was complicated by Floyd, +President Buchanan's Secretary of War, soon to be forced out of +office on a charge of misapplying public funds. Floyd, as an +ardent Southerner, was using the last lax days of the Buchanan +Government to get the army posts ready for capitulation whenever +secession should have become an accomplished fact. He urged on +construction, repairs, and armament at Charleston, while refusing +to strengthen the garrison, in order, as he said, not to provoke +Carolina. Moreover, in November he had replaced old Colonel +Gardner, a Northern veteran of "1812," by Anderson the +Southerner, in whom he hoped to find a good capitulator. But this +time Floyd was wrong. + +The day after Christmas Anderson's little garrison at Fort +Moultrie slipped over to Fort Sumter under cover of the dark, +quietly removed Floyd's workmen, who were mostly Baltimore +Secessionists, and began to prepare for. defense. Next morning +Charleston was furious and began to prepare for attack. The South +Carolina authorities at once took formal possession of Pinckney +and Moultrie; and three days later seized the United States +Arsenal in Charleston itself. Ten days later again, on January 9, +1861, the Star of the West, a merchant vessel coming in with +reinforcements and supplies for Anderson, was fired on and forced +to turn back. Anderson, who had expected a man-of-war, would not +fire in her defense, partly because he still hoped there might +yet be peace. + +While Charleston stood at gaze and Anderson at bay the ferment of +secession was working fast in Florida, where another tiny +garrison was all the Union had to hold its own. This garrison, +under two loyal young lieutenants, Slemmer and Gilman, occupied +Barrancas Barracks in Pensacola Bay. Late at night on the eighth +of January (the day before the Star of the West was fired on at +Charleston) some twenty Secessionists came to seize the old +Spanish Fort San Carlos, where, up to that time, the powder had +been kept. This fort, though lying close beside the barracks, had +always been unoccupied; so the Secessionists looked forward to an +easy capture. But, to their dismay, an unexpected guard +challenged them, and, not getting the proper password in reply, +dispersed them with the first shots of the Civil War. + +Commodore Armstrong sat idle at the Pensacola Navy Yard, +distracted between the Union and secession. On the ninth Slemmer +received orders from Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief at +Washington, to use all means in defense of Union property. Next +morning Slemmer and his fifty faithful men were landed on Santa +Rosa Island, just one mile across the bay, where the dilapidated +old Fort Pickens stood forlorn. Two days later the Commodore +surrendered the Navy Yard, the Stars and Stripes were lowered, +and everything ashore fell into the enemy's hands. There was no +flagstaff at Fort Pickens; but the Union colors were at once hung +out over the northwest bastion, in full view of the shore, while +the Supply and Wyandotte, the only naval vessels in the bay, and +both commanded by loyal men, mastheaded extra colors and stood +clear. Five days afterwards they had to sail for New York; and +Slemmer, whose total garrison had been raised to eighty by the +addition of thirty sailors, was left to hold Fort Pickens if he +could. + +He had already been summoned to surrender by Colonel Chase and +Captain Farrand, who had left the United States Army and Navy for +the service of the South. Chase, like many another Southern +officer, was stirred to his inmost depths by his own change of +allegiance. "I have come," he said, "to ask of you young +officers, officers of the same army in which I have spent the +best and happiest years of my life, the surrender of this fort; +and fearing that I might not be able to say it as I ought, and +also to have it in proper form, I have put it in writing and will +read it." He then began to read. But his eyes filled with tears, +and, stamping his foot, he said: "I can't read it. Here, Farrand, +you read it." Farrand, however, pleading that his eyes were weak, +handed the paper to the younger Union officer, saying, "Here, +Gilman, you have good eyes, please read it." Slemmer refused to +surrender and held out till reinforced in April, by which time +the war had begun in earnest. Fort Pickens was never taken. On +the contrary, it supported the bombardment of the Confederate +longshore positions the next New Year (1869.) and witnessed the +burning and evacuation of Pensacola the following ninth of May. + +While Charleston and Pensacola were fanning the flames of +secession the wildfire was running round the Gulf, catching well +throughout Louisiana, where the Governor ordered the state +militia to seize every place belonging to the Union, and striking +inland till it reached the farthest army posts in Texas. In all +Louisiana the Union Government had only forty men. These occupied +the Arsenal at Baton Rouge under Major Haskins. Haskins was +loyal. But when five hundred state militiamen surrounded him, and +his old brother-officer, the future Confederate General Bragg, +persuaded him that the Union was really at an end, to all intents +and purposes, and when he found no orders, no support, and not +even any guidance from the Government at Washington, he +surrendered with the honors of war and left by boat for St. Louis +in Missouri. + +There was then in Louisiana another Union officer; but made of +sterner stuff. This was Colonel W. T. Sherman, Superintendent of +the State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy at +Alexandria, up the Red River. He was much respected by all the +state authorities, and was carefully watching over the two young +sons of another future Confederate leader, General Beauregard. +William Tecumseh Sherman had retired from the Army without seeing +any war service, unlike Haskins, who was a one-armed veteran of +the Mexican campaign. But Sherman was determined to stand by the +Union, come what might. Yet he was equally determined to wind up +the affairs of the State Academy so as to hand them over in +perfect order. A few days after the seizure of the Arsenal, and +before the formal secession of the State, he wrote to the +Governor: + +"Sir: As I occupy a quasi-military position under the laws of the +State, I deem it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such +position when Louisiana was a State of the Union, and when the +motto of this seminary was inserted in marble over the main door: +"By the liberality of the General Government of the United +States. The Union--esto perpetua." Recent events foreshadow a +great change, and it becomes all men to choose .... I beg you to +take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent, the moment +the State determines to secede, for on no earthly account will I +do any act or think any thought hostile to, or in defiance of, +the old Government of the United States." + +Then, to the lasting credit of all concerned, the future +political enemies parted as the best of personal friends. Sherman +left everything in perfect order, accounted for every cent of the +funds, and received the heartiest thanks and best wishes of all +the governing officials, who embodied the following sentence in +their final resolution of April 1, 1861: "They cannot fail to +appreciate the manliness of character which has always marked the +actions of Colonel Sherman." Long before this Louisiana had +seceded, and Sherman had gone north to Lancaster, Ohio, where he +arrived about the time of Lincoln's inauguration. + +Meanwhile, on the eighteenth of February, the greatest of all +surrenders had taken place in Texas, where nineteen army posts +were handed over to the State by General Twiggs. San Antonio was +swarming with Secessionist rangers. Unionist companies were +marching up and down. The Federal garrison was leaving the town +on parole, with the band playing Union airs and Union colors +flying. The whole place was at sixes and sevens, and anything +might have happened. + +In the midst of this confusion the colonel commanding the Second +Regiment of United States Cavalry arrived from Fort Mason. He was +on his way to Washington, where Winfield Scott, the veteran +General-in-Chief, was anxiously waiting to see him; for this +colonel was no ordinary man. He had been Scott's Chief of Staff +in Mexico, where he had twice won promotion for service in the +field. He had been a model Superintendent at West Point and an +exceedingly good officer of engineers before he left them, on +promotion, for the cavalry. Very tall and handsome, magnificently +fit in body and in mind, genial but of commanding presence, this +flower of Southern chivalry was not only every inch a soldier but +a leader born and bred. Though still unknown to public fame he +was the one man to whom the most insightful leaders of both sides +turned, and rightly turned; for this was Robert Lee, Lee of +Virginia, soon to become one of the very few really great +commanders of the world. + +As Lee came up to the hotel at San Antonio he was warmly greeted +by Mrs. Barrow, the anxious wife of the confidential clerk to +Major Vinton, the staunch Union officer in charge of the pay and +quartermaster services. "Who are those men?" he asked, pointing +to the rangers, who wore red flannel shoulder straps. "They are +McCulloch's," she answered; "General Twiggs surrendered +everything, to the State this morning." Years after, when she and +her husband and Vinton had suffered for one side and Lee had +suffered for the other, she wrote her recollection of that +memorable day in these few, telling words: "I shall never forget +his look of astonishment, as, with his lips trembling and his +eyes full of tears, he exclaimed, 'Has it come so soon as this?' +In a short time I saw him crossing the plaza on his way to +headquarters and noticed particularly that he was in citizen's +dress. He returned at night and shut himself into his room, which +was over mine; and I heard his footsteps through the night, and +sometimes the murmur of his voice, as if he was praying. He +remained at the hotel a week and in conversations declared that +the position he held was a neutral one." + +Three other Union witnesses show how Lee agonized over the +fateful decision he was being forced to make. Captain R. M. +Potter says: "I have seldom seen a more distressed man. He said, +'When I get to Virginia I think the world will have one soldier +less. I shall resign and go to planting corn.'" Colonel Albert G. +Brackett says: "Lee was filled with sorrow at the condition of +affairs, and, in a letter to me, deploring the war in which we +were about to engage, made use of these words: 'I fear the +liberties of our country will be buried in the tomb of a great +nation.'" Colonel Charles Anderson, quoting Lee's final words in +Texas, carries us to the point of parting: "I still think my +loyalty to Virginia ought to take precedence over that which is +due to the Federal Government; and I shall so report myself in +Washington. If Virginia stands by the old Union, so will I. But +if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession as a +constitutional right, nor that there is sufficient cause for +revolution) then I will still follow my native State with my +sword, and, if need be, with my life. I know you think and feel +very differently. But I can't help it. These are my principles; +and I must follow them." + +Lee reached Washington on the first of March. Lincoln, delivering +his Inaugural on the fourth, brought the country one step nearer +war by showing the neutrals how impossible it was to reconcile +his, principles as President of the whole United States with +those of Jefferson Davis as President of the seceding parts. "The +power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess +the property and places belonging to the government." Three days +later the provisional Confederate Congress at Montgomery in +Alabama passed an Army Act authorizing the enlistment of one +hundred thousand men for one year's service. Nine days later +again, having adopted a Constitution in the meantime, this +Congress passed a Navy Act, authorizing the purchase or +construction of ten little gunboats. + +In April the main storm center went whirling back to Charleston, +where Sherman's old friend Beauregard commanded the forces that +encircled Sumter. Sumter, still unfinished, had been designed for +a garrison of six hundred and fifty combatant men. It now +contained exactly sixty-five. It was to have been provisioned for +six months. The actual supplies could not be made to last beyond +two weeks. Both sides knew that Anderson's gallant little +garrison must be starved out by the fifteenth. But the excited +Carolinians would not wait, because they feared that the arrival +of reinforcements might balk them of their easy prey. On the +eleventh Beauregard, acting under orders from the Confederate +Government, sent in a summons to surrender. Anderson refused. At +a quarter to one the next morning the summons was repeated, as +pilots had meanwhile reported a Federal vessel approaching the +harbor. Anderson again refused and again admitted that he would +be starved out on the fifteenth. Thereupon Beauregard's aides +declared immediate surrender the only possible alternative to a +bombardment and signed a note at 3:20 A.M. giving Anderson formal +warning that fire would be opened in an hour. + +Fort Sumter stood about half a mile inside the harbor mouth, +fully exposed to the converging fire of four relatively powerful +batteries, three about a mile away, the fourth nearly twice as +far. At the northern side of the harbor mouth stood Fort +Moultrie; at the southern stood the batteries on Cummings Point; +and almost due west of Sumter stood Fort Johnson. Near Moultrie +was a four-gun floating battery with an iron shield. A mile +northwest of Moultrie, farther up the harbor, stood the Mount +Pleasant battery, nearly two miles off from Sumter. At half-past +four, in the first faint light of a gray morning, a sudden spurt +of flame shot out from Fort Johnson, the dull roar of a mortar +floated through the misty air, and the big shell--the first shot +of the real war--soared up at a steep angle, its course +distinctly marked by its burning fuse, and then plunged down on +Sumter. It was a capital shot, right on the center of the target, +and was followed by an admirable burst. Then all the converging +batteries opened full; while the whole population of perfervid +Charleston rushed out of doors to throng their beautiful East +Battery, a flagstone marine parade three miles in from Sumter, of +which and of the attacking batteries it had a perfect view. + +But Sumter remained as silent as the grave. Anderson decided not +to return the fire till it was broad daylight. In the meantime +all ranks went to breakfast, which consisted entirely of water +and salt pork. Then the gun crews went to action stations and +fired back steadily with solid shot. The ironclad battery was an +exasperating target; for the shot bounced off it like dried peas. +Moultrie seemed more vulnerable. But appearances were deceptive; +for it was thoroughly quilted with bales of cotton, which the +solid shot simply rammed into an impenetrable mass. Wishing to +save his men, in which he was quite successful, Anderson had +forbidden the use of the shell-guns, which were mounted on the +upper works and therefore more exposed. Shell fire would have +burst the bales and set the cotton flaming. This was so evident +that Sergeant Carmody, unable to stand such futile practice any +longer, quietly stole up to the loaded guns and fired them in +succession. The aim lacked final correction; and the result was +small, except that Moultrie, thinking itself in danger, +concentrated all its efforts on silencing these guns. The +silencing seemed most effective; for Carmody could not reload +alone, and so his first shots were his last. + +At nightfall Sumter ceased fire while the Confederates kept on +slowly till daylight. Next morning the officers' quarters were +set on fire by red-hot shot. Immediately the Confederates +redoubled their efforts. Inside Sumter the fire was creeping +towards the magazine, the door of which was shut only just in +time. Then the flagstaff was shot down. Anderson ran his colors +up again, but the situation was rapidly becoming impossible. Most +of the worn-out men were fighting the flames while a few were +firing at long intervals to show they would not yet give in. This +excited the generous admiration of the enemy, who cheered the +gallantry of Sumter while sneering at the caution of the Union +fleet outside. The fact was, however, that this so-called fleet +was a mere assemblage of vessels quite unable to fight the +Charleston batteries and without the slightest chance of saving +Sumter. + +Having done his best for the honor of the flag, though not a man +was killed within the walls, Anderson surrendered in the +afternoon. Charleston went wild with joy; but applauded the +generosity of Beauregard's chivalrous terms. Next day, Sunday the +fourteenth, Anderson's little garrison saluted the Stars and +Stripes with fifty guns, and then, with colors flying, marched +down on board a transport to the strains of Yankee Doodle. + +Strange to say, after being four years in Confederate hands, +Sumter was recaptured by the Union forces on the anniversary of +its surrender. It was often bombarded, though never taken, in the +meantime. + +The fall of Sumter not only fired all Union loyalty but made +Confederates eager for the fray. The very next day Lincoln called +for 75,000 three-month volunteers. Two days later Confederate +letters of marque were issued to any privateers that would prey +on Union shipping. Two days later again Lincoln declared a +blockade of every port from South Carolina round to Texas. Eight +days afterwards he extended it to North Carolina and Virginia. + +But in the meantime Lincoln had been himself marooned in +Washington. On the nineteenth of April, the day he declared his +first blockade, the Sixth Massachusetts were attacked by a mob in +Baltimore, through which the direct rails ran from North to +South. Baltimore was full of secession, and the bloodshed roused +its fury. Maryland was a border slave State out of which the +District of Columbia was carved. Virginia had just seceded. So +when the would-be Confederates of Maryland, led by the Mayor of +Baltimore, began tearing up rails, burning bridges, and cutting +the wires, the Union Government found itself enisled in a hostile +sea. Its own forces abandoned the Arsenal at Harper's Ferry and +the Navy Yard at Norfolk. The work of demolition at Harper's +Ferry had to be bungled off in haste, owing to shortness of time +and lack of means. The demolition of Norfolk was better done, and +the ships were sunk at anchor. But many valuable stores fell into +enemy hands at both these Virginian outposts of the Federal +forces. Through six long days of dire suspense not a ship, not a +train, came into Washington. At last, on the twentyfifth, the +Seventh New York got through, having come south by boat with the +Eighth Massachusetts, landed at Annapolis, and commandeered a +train to run over relaid rails. With them came the news that all +the loyal North was up, that the Seventh had marched through +miles of cheering patriots in New York, and that these two fine +regiments were only the vanguard of a host. + +But just a week before Lincoln experienced this inexpressible +relief he lost, and his enemy won, a single officer, who, +according to Winfield Scott, was alone worth more than fifty +thousand veteran men. On the seventeenth of April Virginia voted +for secession. On the eighteenth Lee had a long confidential +interview with his old chief, Winfield Scott. On the twentieth he +resigned, writing privately to Scott at the same time: "My +resignation would have been presented at once but for the +struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to +which I have devoted the best years of my life. During the whole +of that time I have experienced nothing but kindness from my +superiors and a most cordial friendship from my comrades. I shall +carry to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind +consideration, and your name and fame shall always be dear to me. +Save in the defense of my native State I never desire again to +draw my sword." + +The three great motives which finally determined his momentous +course of action were: first, his aversion from taking any part +in coercing the home folks of Virginia; secondly, his belief in +State rights, tempered though it was by admiration for the Union; +and thirdly, his clear perception that war was now inevitable, +and that defeat for the South would inevitably mean a violent +change of all the ways of Southern life, above all, a change +imposed by force from outside, instead of the gradual change he +wished to see effected from within. He was opposed to slavery; +and both his own and his wife's slaves had long been free. Like +his famous lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, he was particularly +kind to the blacks; none of whom ever wanted to leave, once they +had been domiciled at Arlington, the estate that came to him +through his wife, Mary Custis, great-granddaughter of Martha +Washington. But, like Lincoln before the war, he wished +emancipation to come from the slave States themselves, as in time +it must have come, with due regard for compensation. + +On the twenty-third of this eventful April Lee was given the +chief command of all Virginia's forces. Three days later "Joe" +Johnston took command of the Virginians at Richmond. One day +later again "Stonewall" Jackson took command at Harper's Ferry. +Johnston played a great and noble part throughout the war; and we +shall meet him again and again, down to the very end. But Jackson +claims our first attention here. + +Like all the great leaders on both sides Jackson had been an +officer of regulars. He was, however, in many ways unlike the +army type. He disliked society amusements, was awkward, shy, +reserved, and apparently recluse. Moderately tall, with large +hands and feet, stiff in his movements, ungainly in the saddle, +he was a mere nobody in public estimation when the war broke out. +A few brother-officers had seen his consummate skill and bravery +as a subaltern in Mexico; and still fewer close acquaintances had +seen his sterling qualities at Lexington, where, for ten years, +he had been a professor at the Virginia Military Institute. But +these few were the only ones who were not surprised when this +recluse of peace suddenly became a very thunderbolt of +war--Puritan in soul, Cavalier in daring: a Cromwell come to life +again. + +Harper's Ferry was a strategic point in northern Virginia. It was +the gate to the Shenandoah Valley as well as the point where the +Baltimore and Ohio Railroad crossed the Potomac some sixty miles +northwest of Washington. Harper's Ferry was known by name to +North and South through John Brown's raid two years before. It +was now coveted by Virginia for its Arsenal as well as for its +command of road, rail, and water routes. The plan to raid it was +arranged at Richmond on the sixteenth of April. But when the +raiders reached it on the eighteenth they found it abandoned and +its Arsenal in flames. The machine shops, however, were saved, as +well as the metal parts of twenty thousand stand of arms. Then +the Virginia militiamen and volunteers streamed in, to the number +of over four thousand. They were a mere conglomeration of +semi-independent units, mostly composed of raw recruits under +officers who themselves knew next to nothing. As usual with such +fledgling troops there was no end to the fuss and feathers among +the members of the busybody staffs, who were numerous enough to +manage an army but clumsy enough to spoil a platoon. It was said, +and not without good reason, that there was as much gold lace at +Harper's Ferry, when the sun was shining, as at a grand review in +Paris. + +Into this gaudy assemblage rode Thomas Jonathan Jackson, mounted +on Little Sorrel, a horse as unpretentious as himself, and +dressed in his faded old blue professor's uniform without one +gleam of gold. He had only two staff officers, both dressed as +plainly as himself. He was not a major-general, nor even a +brigadier; just a colonel. He held no trumpeting reviews. He made +no flowery speeches. He didn't even swear. The armed mob at +Harper's Ferry felt that they would lose caste on Sunday +afternoons under a commandant like this. Their feelings were +still more outraged when they heard that every officer above the +rank of captain was to lose his higher rank, and that all new +reappointments were to be made on military merit and direct from +Richmond. Companies accustomed to elect their officers according +to the whim of the moment eagerly joined the higher officers in +passing adverse resolutions. But authorities who were unanimous +for Lee were not to be shaken by such absurdities in face of a +serious war. And when the froth had been blown off the top, and +the dregs drained out of the bottom, the solid mass between, who +really were sound patriots, settled down to work. + +There was seven hours' drill every day except Sunday; no light +task for a mere armed mob groping its ignorant way, however +zealously, towards the organized efficiency of a real army. The +companies had to be formed into workable battalions, the +battalions into brigades. There was a deplorable lack of cavalry, +artillery, engineers, commissariat, transport, medical services, +and, above all, staff. Armament was bad; other munitions were +worse. There would have been no chance whatever of holding +Harper's Ferry unless the Northern conglomeration had been even +less like a fighting army than the Southern was. + +Harper's Ferry was not only important in itself but still more +important for what it covered: the wonderfully fruitful +Shenandoah Valley, running southwest a hundred and forty miles to +the neighborhood of Lexington, with an average width of only +twenty-four. Bounded on the west by the Alleghanies and on the +east by the long Blue Ridge this valley was a regular covered way +by which the Northern invaders might approach, cut Virginia in +two (for West Virginia was then a part of the State) and, after +devastating the valley itself (thus destroying half the foodbase +of Virginia) attack eastern Virginia through whichever gaps might +serve the purpose best. More than this, the only direct line from +Richmond to the Mississippi ran just below the southwest end of +the valley, while a network of roads radiated from Winchester +near the northeast end, thirty miles southwest of Harper's Ferry. + +Throughout the month of May Jackson went on working his men into +shape and watching the enemy, three thousand strong, at +Chambersburg, forty-five miles north of Harper's Ferry, and +twelve thousand strong farther north still. One day he made a +magnificent capture of rolling stock on the twenty-seven miles of +double track that centered in Harper's Ferry. This greatly +hampered the accumulation of coal at Washington besides helping +the railroads of the South. Destroying the line was out of the +question, because it ran through West Virginia and Maryland, both +of which he hoped to see on the Confederate side. He was himself +a West Virginian, born at Clarksburg; and it grieved him greatly +when West Virginia stood by the Union. + +Apart from this he did nothing spectacular. The rest was all just +sheer hard work. He kept his own counsel so carefully that no one +knew anything about what he would do if the enemy advanced. Even +the officers of outposts were forbidden to notice or mention his +arrival or departure on his constant tours of inspection, lest a +longer look than usual at any point might let an awkward +inference be drawn. He was the sternest of disciplinarians when +the good of the service required it. But no one knew better that +the finest discipline springs from self-sacrifice willingly made +for a worthy cause; and no one was readier to help all ranks +along toward real efficiency in the kindest possible way when he +saw they were doing their best. + +At the end of May Johnston took over the command of the +increasing force at Harper's Ferry, while Jackson was given the +First Shenandoah Brigade, a unit soon, like himself, to be raised +by service into fame. + + +On the first and third of May Virginia issued calls for more men; +and on the third Lincoln, who quite understood the signs of the +times, called for men whose term of service would be three years +and not three months. + +Just a week later Missouri was saved for the Union by the daring +skill of two determined leaders, Francis P. Blair, a Member of +Congress who became a good major-general, and Captain Nathaniel +Lyon, an excellent soldier, who commanded the little garrison of +regulars at St. Louis. When Lincoln called upon Governor +Claiborne Jackson to supply Missouri's quota of three-month +volunteers the Governor denounced the proposed coercion as +"illegal, unconstitutional, revolutionary, inhuman, and +diabolical"; and thereafter did his best to make Missouri join +the South. But Blair and Lyon were too quick for him. Blair +organized the Home Guards, whom Lyon armed from the arsenal. Lyon +then sent all the surplus arms and stores across the river into +Illinois, while he occupied the most commanding position near the +arsenal with his own troops, thus forestalling the Confederates, +under Brigadier-General D. M. Frost, who was now forced to +establish Camp Jackson in a far less favorable place. So +vigorously had Blair and Lyon worked that they had armed +thousands while Frost had only armed hundreds. But when Frost +received siege guns and mortars from farther south Lyon felt the +time had come for action. + +Lyon was a born leader, though Grant and Sherman (then in St. +Louis as junior ex-officers, quite unknown to fame) were almost +the only men, apart from Blair, to see any signs of preeminence +in this fiery little redheaded, weather-beaten captain, who kept +dashing about the arsenal, with his pockets full of papers, +making sure of every detail connected with the handful of +regulars and the thousands of Home Guards. + +On the ninth of May Lyon borrowed an old dress from Blair's +mother-in-law, completing the disguise with a thickly veiled +sunbonnet, and drove through Camp Jackson. That night he and +Blair attended a council of war, at which, overcoming all +opposition, answering all objections, and making all +arrangements, they laid their plans for the morrow. When Lyon's +seven thousand surrounded Frost's seven hundred the Confederates +surrendered at discretion and were marched as prisoners through +St. Louis. There were many Southern sympathizers among the crowds +in the streets; one of them fired a pistol; and the Home Guards +fired back, killing several women and children by mistake. This +unfortunate incident hardened many neutrals and even Unionists +against the Union forces; so much so that Sterling Price, a +Unionist and former governor, became a Confederate general, whose +field for recruiting round Jefferson City on the Missouri +promised a good crop of enemies to the Union cause. + +Lyon and Blair wished to march against Price immediately and +smash every hostile force while still in the act of forming. But +General Harney, who commanded the Department of the West, +returned to St. Louis the day after the shooting and made peace +instead of war with Price. By the end of the month, however, +Lincoln removed Harney and promoted Lyon in his place; whereupon +Price and Governor Jackson at once prepared to fight. Then sundry +neutrals, of the gabbling kind who think talk enough will settle +anything, induced the implacables to meet in St. Louis. The +conference was ended by Lyon's declaration that he would see +every Missourian under the sod before he would take any orders +from the State about any Federal matter, however small. "This," +he said in conclusion, "means war." And it did. + +Again a single week sufficed for the striking of the blow. The +conference was held on the eleventh of June. On the fourteenth +Lyon reached Jefferson City only to find that the Governor had +decamped for Boonville, still higher up the Missouri. Here, on +the seventeenth, Lyon attacked him with greatly superior numbers +and skill, defeated him utterly, and sent him flying south with +only a few hundred followers left. Boonville was, in itself, a +very small affair indeed. But it had immense results. Lyon had +seized the best strategic point of rail and river junction on the +Mississippi by holding St. Louis. He had also secured supremacy +in arms, munitions, and morale. By turning the Governor out of +Jefferson City, the State capital, he had deprived the +Confederates of the prestige and convenience of an acknowledged +headquarters. Now, by defeating him at Boonville and driving his +forces south in headlong flight he had practically made the whole +Missouri River a Federal line of communication as well as a +barrier between would-be Confederates to the north and south of +it. More than this, the possession of Boonville struck a fatal +blow at Confederate recruiting and organization throughout the +whole of that strategic area; for Boonville was the center to +which pro-Southern Missourians were flocking. The tide of battle +was to go against the Federals at Wilson's Creek in the southwest +of the State, and even at Lexington on the Missouri, as we shall +presently see; but this was only the breaking of the last +Confederate waves. As a State, Missouri was lost to the South +already. + +In Kentucky, the next border State, opinions were likewise +divided; and Kentuckians fought each other with help from both +sides. Anderson, of Fort Sumter fame, was appointed to the +Kentucky command in May. But here the crisis did not occur for +months, while a border campaign was already being fought in West +Virginia. + +West Virginia, which became a separate State during the war, was +strongly Federal, like eastern Tennessee. These Federal parts of +two Confederate States formed a wedge dangerous to the whole +South, especially to Virginia and the Carolinas. Each side +therefore tried to control this area itself. The Federals, under +McClellan, of whom we shall soon hear more, had two lines of +invasion into West Virginia, both based on the Ohio. The northern +converged by rail, from Wheeling and Parkersburg, on Grafton, the +only junction in West Virginia. The southern ran up the Great +Kanawha, with good navigation to Charleston and water enough for +small craft on to Gauley Bridge, which was the strategic point. + +In May the Confederates cut the line near Grafton. As this broke +direct communication between the West and Washington, McClellan +sent forces from which two flying columns, three thousand strong, +converged on Philippi, fifteen miles south of Grafton, and +surprised a thousand Confederates. These thereupon retired, with +little loss, to Beverly, thirty miles farther south still. Here +there was a combat at Rich Mountain on the eleventh of July. The +Confederates again retreated, losing General Garnett in a +skirmish the following day. This ended McClellan's own campaign +in West Virginia. But the Kanawha campaign, which lasted till +November, had only just begun, with Rosecrans as successor to +McClellan (who had been recalled to Washington for very high +command) and with General Jacob D. Cox leading the force against +Gauley. The Confederates did all they could to keep their +precarious foothold. They sent political chiefs, like Henry A. +Wise, ex-Governor of Virginia, and John B. Floyd, the late +Federal Secretary of War, both of whom were now Confederate +brigadiers. They even sent Lee himself in general commend. But, +confronted by superior forces in a difficult and thoroughly +hostile country, they at last retired east of the Alleghanies, +which thenceforth became the frontier of two warring States. + +The campaign in West Virginia was a foregone conclusion. It was +not marked by any real battles; and there was no scope for +exceptional skill of the higher kind on either side. But it made +McClellan's bubble reputation. + +McClellan was an ex-captain of United States Engineers who had +done very well at West Point, had distinguished himself in +Mexico, had represented the American army with the Allies in the +Crimea, had written a good official report on his observations +there, had become manager of a big railroad after leaving the +service, and had so impressed people with his ability and modesty +on the outbreak of war that his appointment to the chief command +in West Virginia was hailed with the utmost satisfaction. Then +came the two affairs at Philippi and Rich Mountain, the first of +which was planned and carried out by other men, while the second +was, if anything, spoiled by himself; for here, as afterwards on +a vastly greater scene of action, he failed to strike home at the +critical moment. + +Yet though he failed in arms he won by proclamations; so much so, +in fact, that WORDS NOT DEEDs might well have been his motto. He +began with a bombastic address to the inhabitants and ended with +another to his troops, whom he congratulated on having +"annihilated two armies, commanded by educated and experienced +soldiers, intrenched in mountain fastnesses fortified at their +leisure." + +It disastrously happened that the Union public were hungering for +heroes at this particular time and that Union journalists were +itching to write one up to the top of their bent. So all +McClellan's tinsel was counted out for gold before an avaricious +mob of undiscriminating readers; and when, at the height of the +publicity campaign, the Government wanted to retrieve Bull Run +they turned to the ''Man of Destiny" who had been given the +noisiest advertisement as the "Young Napoleon of the West." +McClellan had many good qualities for organization, and even some +for strategy. An excited press and public, however, would not +acclaim him for what he was but for what he most decidedly was +not. + + +Meanwhile, before McClellan went to Washington and Lee to West +Virginia, the main Union army had been disastrously defeated by +the main Confederate army at Bull Run, on that vital ground which +lay between the rival capitals. + +In April Lincoln had called for three-month volunteers. In May +the term of service for new enlistments was three years. In June +the military chiefs at Washington were vainly doing all that +military men could do to make something like the beginnings of an +army out of the conglomerating mass. Winfield Scott, the veteran +General-in-Chief, rightly revered by the whole service as a most +experienced, farsighted, and practical man, was ably assisted by +W. T. Sherman and Irvin McDowell. But civilian interference +ruined all. Even Lincoln had not yet learned the quintessential +difference between that civil control by which the fighting +services are so rightly made the real servants of the whole +people and that civilian interference which is very much the same +as if a landlubber owning, a ship should grab the wheel +repeatedly in the middle of a storm. Simon Cameron, then +Secretary of War, was good enough as a party politician, but all +thumbs when fumbling with the armies in the field. The other +members of the Cabinet had war nostrums of their own; and every +politician with a pull did what he could to use it. Behind all +these surged a clamorous press and an excited people, both +patriotic and well meaning; but both wholly ignorant of war, and +therefore generating a public opinion that forced the not +unwilling Government to order an armed mob "on to Richmond" +before it had the slightest chance of learning how to be an army. + +The Congress that met on the Fourth of July voted five hundred +thousand men and two hundred and fifty million dollars. This +showed that the greatness of the war was beginning to be seen. +But the men, the money, and the Glorious Fourth were so blurred +together in the public mind that the distinction between a vote +in Congress and its effect upon some future battlefield was never +realized. The result was a new access of zeal for driving +McDowell "on to Richmond." Making the best of a bad business, +Scott had already begun his preparations for the premature +advance. + +By the end of May Confederate pickets had been in sight of +Washington, while McDowell, crossing the Potomac, was faced by +his friend of old West Point and Mexican days, General +Beauregard, fresh from the capture of Fort Sumter. By the +beginning of July General Patterson, a veteran of "1812" and +Mexico, was in command up the Potomac near Harper's Ferry. He was +opposed by "Joe" Johnston, who had taken over that Confederate +command from "Stonewall" Jackson. Down the Potomac and Chesapeake +Bay there was nothing to oppose the Union navy. General Benjamin +Butler, threatening Richmond in flank, along the lower +Chesapeake, was watched by the Confederates Huger and Magruder. +Meanwhile, as eve have seen already, the West Virginian campaign +was in full swing, with superior Federal forces under McClellan. + +Thus the general situation in July was that the whole of +northeastern Virginia was faced by a semicircle of superior +forces which began at the Kanawha River, ran northeast to +Grafton, then northeast to Cumberland, then along the Potomac to +Chesapeake Bay and on to Fortress Monroe. From the Kanawha to +Grafton there were only roads. From Grafton to Cumberland there +was rail as well. From Cumberland to Washington there were road, +rail, river, and canal. From Washington to Fortress Monroe there +was water fit for any fleet. The Union armies along this +semicircle were not only twice as numerous as the Confederates +facing them but they were backed by a sea-power, both naval and +mercantile, which the Confederates could not begin to challenge, +much less overcome. Lee was the military adviser to the +Confederate Government at Richmond as Scott then was to the Union +Government at Washington. + +Such was the central scene of action, where the first great +battle of the war was fought. The Union forces were based on the +Potomac from Washington to Harper's Ferry. The Confederates faced +them from Bull Run to Winchester, which points were nearly sixty +miles apart by road and rail. The Union forces were fifty +thousand strong, the Confederate thirty-three thousand. The Union +problem was how to keep "Joe" Johnston in the Winchester position +by threatening or actually making an invasion of the Shenandoah +Valley with Patterson's superior force, while McDowell's superior +force attacked or turned Beauregard's position at Bull Run. The +Confederate problem was how to give Patterson the slip and reach +Bull Run in time to meet McDowell with an equal force. The +Confederates had the advantage of interior lines both here and in +the semicircle as a whole, though the Union forces enjoyed in +general much better means of transportation. The Confederates +enjoyed better control from government headquarters, where the +Cabinet mostly had the sense to trust in Lee. Scott, on the other +hand, was tied down by orders to defend Washington by purely +defensive means as well as by the "on to Richmond" march. +Patterson was therefore obliged to watch the Federal back door at +Harper's Ferry as well as the Confederate side doors up the +Shenandoah : an impossible task, on exterior lines, with the kind +of force he had. The civilian chiefs at Washington did not see +that the best of all defense was to destroy the enemy's means of +destroying THEM, and that his greatest force of fighting MEN, not +any particular PLACE, should always be their main objective. + +On the fourteenth of June Johnston had destroyed everything +useful to the enemy at Harper's Ferry and retired to Winchester. +On the twentieth Jackson's brigade marched on Martinsburg to +destroy the workshops of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway and to +support the three hundred troopers under J. E. B. Stuart, who was +so soon to be the greatest of cavalry commanders on the +Confederate side. Unknown at twenty-nine, killed at thirty-one, +"Jeb" Stuart was a Virginian ex-officer of United States +Dragoons, trained in frontier fighting, and the perfect type of +what a cavalry commander should be: tall, handsome, splendidly +supple and strong, hawk-eyed and lion-hearted, quick, bold, +determined, and inspiring, yet always full of knowledge and +precaution too; indefatigable at all times, and so persistent in +carrying out a plan that the enemy could no more shake him off +than they could escape their shadows. + +On the second of July the first brush took place at Falling +Waters, five miles south of the Potomac, where Jackson came into +touch with Patterson's advanced guard. As Jackson withdrew his +handful of Virginian infantry the Federal cavalry came clattering +down the turnpike and were met by a single shot from a +Confederate gun that smashed the head of their column and sent +the others flying. Meanwhile Stuart, who had been reconnoitering, +came upon a company of Federal infantry resting in a field. +Galloping among them suddenly he shouted, "Throw down your arms +or you are all dead men!" Whereupon they all threw down their +arms; and his troopers led them off. Patterson, badly served by +his very raw staff, reported Jackson's little vanguard as being +precisely ten times stronger than it was. He pushed out +cautiously to right and left; and when he tried to engage again +he found that Jackson had withdrawn. Falling Waters was +microscopically small as a fight. But it served to raise +Confederate morale and depress the Federals correspondingly. + +Patterson occupied Martinsburg,while Johnston, drawn up in line +of battle, awaited his further advance four days before retiring. +Then, with his fourteen thousand, Patterson advanced again, stood +irresolute under distracting orders from the Government in +Washington, and finally went to Charlestown on the seventeenth of +July--almost back to Harper's Ferry. Johnston, with his eleven +thousand, now stood fast at Winchester, fifteen miles southwest, +while Stuart, like a living screen, moved to and fro between +them. + +Meanwhile McDowell's thirty-six thousand had marched past the +President with bands playing and colors flying amid a scene of +great enthusiasm. The press campaign was at its height; so was +the speechifying; and ninety-nine people out of. every hundred +thought Beauregard's twenty-two thousand at Bull Run would be +defeated in a way that would be sure to make the South give in. +McDowell had between two and three thousand regulars: viz., seven +troops of cavalry, nine batteries of artillery, eight companies +of infantry, and a little battalion of marines. Then there was +the immense paper army voted on the Glorious Fourth. And here, +for the general public to admire, was a collection of armed and +uniformed men that members of Congress and writers in the press +united in calling one of the best armies the world had ever seen. +Moreover, the publicity campaign was kept up unflaggingly till +the very clash of arms began. Reporters marched along and sent +off reams of copy. Congressmen, and even ladies, graced the +occasion in every way they could. "The various regiments were +brilliantly uniformed according to the aesthetic taste of peace," +wrote General Fry, then an officer on McDowell's staff, and +"during the nineteenth and twentieth the bivouacs at Centreville, +almost within cannon range of the enemy, were thronged with +visitors, official and unofficial, who came in carriages from +Washington, were under no military restraint, and passed to and +fro among the troops as they pleased, giving the scene the +appearance of a monster military picnic." + +Had McDowell been able to attack on either of these two days he +must have won. But previous Governments had never given the army +the means of making proper surveys; so here, within a day's march +of the Federal capital, the maps were worthless for military use. +Information had to be gleaned by reconnaissance; and +reconnaissance takes time, especially without trustworthy guides, +sufficient cavalry, and a proper staff. Moreover, the army was +all parts and no whole, through no fault of McDowell's or of his +military chiefs. The three-month volunteers, whose term of +service was nearly over, had not learned their drill as +individuals before being herded into companies, battalions, and +brigades, of course becoming more and more inefficient as the +units grew more and more complex. Of the still more essential +discipline they naturally knew still less. There was no lack of +courage; for these were the same breed of men as those with whom +Washington had won immortal fame, the same as those with whom +both Grant and Lee were yet to win it. But, as Napoleon used to +say, mere men are not the same as soldiers. Nor are armed mobs +the same as armies. + +The short march to the front was both confused and demoralizing. +No American officer had ever had the chance even of seeing, much +less handling, thirty-six thousand men under arms. This force was +followed by an immense and unwieldy train of supplies, manned by +wholly undisciplined civilian drivers; while other, and quite +superfluous, civilians clogged every movement and made confusion +worse confounded. "The march," says Sherman, who commanded a +brigade, "demonstrated little save the general laxity of +discipline; for, with all my personal efforts, I could not +prevent the men from straggling for water, blackberries, or +anything on the way they fancied." In the whole of the first long +summer's day, the sixteenth of July, the army only marched six +miles; and it took the better part of the seventeenth to herd its +stragglers back again. "I wished them, " says McDowell, "to go to +Centreville the second day [only another six miles out] but the +men were footweary, not so much by the distance marched as by the +time they had been on foot." That observant private, Warren Lee +Goss, has told us how hard it is to soldier suddenly. "My canteen +banged against my bayonet; both tin cup and bayonet badly +interfered with the butt of my musket, while my cartridge-box and +haversack were constantly flopping up and down--the whole +jangling like loose harness and chains on a runaway horse." The +weather was hot. The roads were dusty. And many a man threw away +parts of his kit for which he suffered later on. There was food +in superabundance. But, with that unwieldy and grossly +undisciplined supply-and-transport service, the men and their +food never came together at the proper time. + +Early on the eighteenth McDowell, whose own work was excellent +all through, pushed forward a brigade against Blackburn's Ford, +toward the Confederate right, in order to distract attention from +the real objective, which was to be the turning of the left. The +Confederate outposts fell back beyond the ford. The Federal +brigade followed on; when suddenly sharp volleys took it in front +and flank. The opposing brigade, under Longstreet (of whom we +shall often hear again), had lain concealed and sprung its trap +quite neatly. Most of the Federals behaved extremely well under +these untoward circumstances. But one whole battery and another +whole battalion, whose term of service expired that afternoon, +were officially reported as having "moved to the rear to the +sound of the enemy's cannon." Thereafter, as military units, they +simply ceased to exist. + +At one o'clock in the morning of this same day Johnston received +a telegram at Winchester, from Richmond, warning him that +McDowell was advancing on Bull Run, with the evident intention of +seizing Manassas Junction, which would cut the Confederate rail +communication with the Shenandoah Valley and so prevent all +chance of immediate concentration at Bull Run. Johnston saw that +the hour had come. It could not have come before, as Lee and the +rest had foreseen; because an earlier concentration at Bull Run +would have drawn the two superior Federal forces together on the +selfsame spot. There was still some risk about giving Patterson +the slip. True, his three-month special-constable array was +semi-mutinous already; and its term of service had only a few +more days to run. True, also, that the men had cause for +grievance. They were all without pay, and some of them were +reported as being still "without pants." But, despite such +drawbacks, a resolute attack by Patterson's fourteen thousand +could have at least held fast Johnston's eleven thousand, who +were mostly little better off in military ways. Patterson, +however, suffered from distracting orders, and that was his +undoing. Johnston, admirably screened by Stuart, drew quietly +away, leaving his sick at Winchester and raising the spirits of +his whole command by telling them that Beauregard was in danger +and that they were to "make a forced march to save the country." + +Straining every nerve they stepped out gallantly and covered mile +after mile till they reached the Shenandoah, forded it, and +crossed the Blue Ridge at Ashby's Gap. But lack of training and +march discipline told increasingly against them. "The +discouragement of that day's march," said Johnston, "is +indescribable. Frequent and unreasonable delays caused so slow a +rate of marching as to make me despair of joining General +Beauregard in time to aid him." Even the First Brigade, with all +the advantages of leading the march and of having learnt the +rudiments of drill and discipline, was exhausted by a day's work +that it could have romped through later on. Jackson himself stood +guard alone till dawn while all his soldiers slept. + +As Jackson's men marched down to take the train at Piedmont, +Stuart gayly trotted past, having left Patterson still in +ignorance that Johnston's force had gone. By four in the +afternoon of the nineteenth Jackson was detraining at Manassas. +But, as we shall presently see, it was nearly two whole days +before the last of Johnston's brigades arrived, just in time for +the crisis of the battle. When Johnston had joined Beauregard +their united effective total was thirty thousand men. There had +been a wastage of three thousand. McDowell also had no more than +thirty thousand effectives present on the twenty-first; for he +left one division at Centreville and lost the rest by straggling +and by the way in which the battery and battalion already +mentioned had "claimed their discharge" at Blackburn's Ford. +Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth, while, sorely against +his will, the Federals were having their "monster military +picnic" at Centreville, he was reconnoitering his constantly +increasing enemy under the greatest difficulties, with his +ill-trained staff, bad maps, and lack of proper guides. + +Lee had chosen six miles of Bull Run as a good defensive +position. But Beauregard intended to attack, hoping to profit by +the Federal disjointedness. Consequently none of the eight fords +were strongly defended except at Union Mills on the extreme right +and the Stone Bridge on the extreme left, where the turnpike from +Centreville to Warrenton crossed the Run. Bull Run itself was a +considerable obstacle, having fairly high banks and running along +the Confederate front like the ditch of a fortress. Three miles +in rear stood Manassas Junction on a moderate plateau intersected +by several creeks. The most important of these creeks, Young's +Branch, joined Bull Run on the extreme left, near the Stone +Bridge and Warrenton turnpike, after flowing through the little +valley between the Henry Hill and Matthews Hill. Three miles in +front, across Bull Run, stood Centreville, the Federal camp and +field base during the battle. + +Sunday, July 21, 1861, was a beautiful midsummer day. Both armies +were stirring soon after dawn. But a miscarriage of orders +delayed the Confederate offensive so much that the initiative of +attack passed to the Federals, who advanced against the Stone +Bridge shortly after six. This attack, however, though made by a +whole division against a single small brigade, was immediately +recognized as a mere feint when, two hours later, Evans, +commanding the Confederate brigade, saw dense clouds of dust +rising above the woods on his left front, where the road crossed +Sudley Springs, nearly two miles beyond his own left. Perceiving +that this new development must be a regular attempt to turn the +whole Confederate left by crossing Bull Run, he sent back word to +Beauregard, posted some men to hold the Stone Bridge, and marched +the rest to crown the Matthews Hill, facing Sudley Springs a mile +away. Meanwhile four of "Joe" Johnston's five Shenandoah +brigades--Bee's, Bartow's, Bonham's, and Jackson's--had been +coming over from the right reserve to strengthen Evans at the +Bridge. As the great Federal turning movement developed against +the Confederate left these brigades followed Evans and were +themselves followed by other troops, till the real battle raged +not along Bull Run but across the Matthews Hill and Henry Hill. + +Forming the new front at right angles to the old, so as to attack +and defend the Confederate left on the Matthews and Henry Hills, +caused much confusion on both sides; but more on the Federal, as +the Confederates knew the ground better. By eleven Bee had +reached Evans and sent word back to hurry Bartow on. But the +Federals, having double numbers and a great preponderance in +guns, soon drove the Confederates off the Matthews Hill. As the +Confederates recrossed Young's Branch and climbed the Henry Hill +the regular artillery of the Federals limbered up smartly, +galloped across the Matthews Hill, and from its nearer slope +plied the retreating Confederates on the opposite slope with +admirably served shell. Under this fire the raw Confederates ran +in confusion, while their uncovered guns galloped back to find a +new position. "Curse them for deserting the guns," snapped +Imboden, whose battery came face to face with Jackson's brigade. +"I'll support you," said Jackson, "unlimber right here." At the +same time, half-past eleven, Bee galloped up on his foaming +charger, saying, "General, they're beating us back." "Then, Sir," +said Jackson, "we'll give them the bayonet"; and his lips shut +tight as a vice. + +Bee then went back behind the Henry Hill, where his broken +brigade was trying to rally, and, pointing toward the crest with +his sword, shouted in a voice of thunder: "Rally behind the +Virginians! Look! There's Jackson standing like a stone wall!" +From that one cry of battle Stonewall Jackson got his name. + +While the rest of the Shenandoahs were rallying, in rear of +Jackson, Beauregard and Johnston came up, followed by two +batteries. Miles behind them, all the men that could be spared +from the fords were coming too. But the Federals on the Matthews +Hill were still in more than double numbers; and they enjoyed the +priceless advantage of having some regulars among them. If the +Federal division at the Stone Bridge had only pushed home its +attack at this favorable moment the Confederates must have been +defeated. But the division again fumbled about to little purpose; +and for the second time McDowell's admirable plan was spoilt. + +It was now past noon on that sweltering midsummer day; and there +was a welcome lull for the rallying Confederates while the +Federals were coming down the Matthews Hill, struggling across +the swamps and thickets of Young's Branch, and climbing the Henry +Hill. Within another hour the opposing forces were at close grips +again, and the Federals, flushed with success and steadied by the +regulars, seemed certain to succeed. + +Imboden has vividly described his meeting Jackson at this time. +"The fight was just then hot enough to make him feel well. His +eyes fairly blazed. He had a way of throwing up his left hand +with the open palm towards the person he was addressing; and, as +he told me to go, he made this gesture. The air was full of +flying missiles, and as he spoke he jerked down his hand, and I +saw that blood was streaming from it. I exclaimed, 'General, you +are wounded.' 'Only a scratch--a mere scratch,' he replied; and, +binding it hastily with a handkerchief, he galloped away along +his line." + +Five hundred yards apart the opposing cannon thundered, while the +musketry of the long lines of infantry swelled the deafening +roar. Suddenly two Federal batteries of regulars dashed forward +to even shorter range, covered by two battalions on their flank. +But the gaudy Zouaves of the outer battalion lost formation in +their advance; whereupon "Jeb" Stuart, with only a hundred and +fifty horsemen, swooped down and smashed them to pieces by a +daring charge. Then, just as the scattered white turbans went +wildly bobbing about, into the midst of the inner battalion, out +rushed the Thirty-third Virginians, straight at the guns. The +battery officers held their fire, uncertain in the smoke whether +the newcomers were friend or foe, till a deadly volley struck +home at less than eighty yards. Down went the gunners to a man; +down went the teams to a horse; and off ran the Zouaves and the +other supporting battalion, helter-skelter for the rear. + +But other Federals were still full of fight and in superior +numbers. They came on with great gallantry, considering they were +raw troops who were now without the comfort of the guns. Once +more a Federal victory seemed secure; and if the infantry had +only pressed on (not piecemeal, by disjoined battalions, but by +brigades) without letting the Confederates recover from one blow +before another struck them, the day would have certainly been +theirs. Moreover, they would have inflicted not simply a defeat +but a severe disaster on their enemy, who would have been caught +in flank by the troops at the Stone Bridge; for these troops, +however dilatory, must have known what to do with a broken and +flying Confederate flank right under their very eyes. Premonitory +symptoms of such a flight were not wanting. Confederate wounded, +stragglers, and skulkers were making for the rear; and the +rallied brigades were again in disorder, with Bee and Bartow, two +first-rate brigadiers, just killed, and other seniors wounded. +Another ominous sign was the limbering up of Confederate guns to +cover the expected retreat from the Henry Hill. + +But on its reverse slope lay Jackson's Shenandoahs, three +thousand strong, and by far the best drilled and disciplined +brigade that either side had yet produced apart, of course, from +regulars. Jackson had ridden up and down before them, calm as +they had ever seen him on parade, quietly saying, "Steady, men, +steady! All's well." In this way he had held them straining at +the leash for hours. Now, at last, their time had come. Riding +out to the center of his line he gave his final orders: "Reserve +your fire till they come within fifty yards. Then fire and give +them the bayonet; and yell like furies when you charge!" Five +minutes later, as the triumphant Federals topped the crest, the +long gray line rose up, stood fast, fired one crashing +point-blank volley, and immediately charged home with the first +of those wild, high rebel yells that rang throughout the war. The +stricken and astounded Federal front caved in, turned round, and +fled. At the same instant the last of the Shenandoahs--Kirby +Smith's brigade, detrained just in the nick of time--charged the +wavering flank. Then, like the first quiver of an avalanche, a +tremor shook the whole massed Federals one moment on that fatal +hill: the next, like a loosened cliff, they began the landslide +down. + +There, in the valley, along Young's Branch, McDowell established +his last line of battle, based on the firm rock of the regulars. +But by this time the Confederates had brought up troops from the +whole length of their line; the balance of numbers was at last in +their favor; and nothing could stay the Federal recoil. Lack of +drill and discipline soon changed this recoil into a disorderly +retreat. There was no panic; but most of the military units +"dissolved into a mere mob whose heart was set on getting back to +Washington in any way left '''Open. The regulars and a few formed +bodies in reserve did their best to stem the stream. But all in +vain. + +One mile short of Centreville there was a sudden upset and +consequent block on the bridge across Cub Run. Then the stream of +men retreating, mixed with clogging masses of panic-struck +civilians, became a torrent. + + +Bull Run was only a special-constable affair on a gigantic scale. +The losses were comparatively small--3553 killed and wounded on +both sides put together: not ten per cent of the less than forty +thousand who actually fought. Moreover, the side that won the +battle lost the war. And yet Bull Run had many points of very +great importance. In spite of all shortcomings it showed the good +quality of the troops engaged: if not as soldiers, at all events +as men. It proved that the war, unlike the battle, would not be +fought by special constables, some of whom first fired their +rifles when their target was firing back at them. It brought one +great leader--Stonewall Jackson--into fame. Above all, it +profoundly affected the popular points of view, both North and +South. In the South there was undue elation, followed by the +absurd belief that one Southerner could beat two Northerners any +day and that the North would now back down en masse, as its army +had from the Henry Hill. A dangerous slackening of military +preparation was the unavoidable result. In the North, on the +other hand, a good many people began to see the difference +between armed mobs and armies; and the thorough Unionists, led by +the wise and steadfast Lincoln, braced themselves for real war. + + + +CHAPTER II. THE COMBATANTS + +No map can show the exact dividing line between the actual +combatants of North and South. Eleven States seceded: Virginia, +the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, +Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. But the mountain folk of western +Virginia and eastern Tennessee were strong Unionists; and West +Virginia became a State while the war was being fought. On the +other hand, the four border States, though officially Federal +under stress of circumstances, were divided against themselves. +In Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas, many citizens took +the Southern side. Maryland would have gone with the South if it +had not been for the presence of overwhelming Northern sea-power +and the absence of any good land frontier of her own. Kentucky +remained neutral for several months. Missouri was saved for the +Union by those two resourceful and determined men, Lyon and +Blair. Kansas, though preponderantly Unionist, had many +Confederates along its southern boundary. On the whole the Union +gained greatly throughout the borderlands as the war went on; and +the remaining Confederate hold on the border people was more than +counterbalanced by the Federal hold on those in the western parts +of old Virginia and the eastern parts of Tennessee. Among the +small seafaring population along the Southern coast there were +also some strongly Union men. + +Counting out Northern Confederates and Southern Federals as +canceling each other, so far as effective fighting was concerned +a comparison made between the North and South along the line of +actual secession reveals the one real advantage the South enjoyed +all through--an overwhelming party in favor of the war. When once +the die was cast there was certainly not a tenth of the Southern +whites who did not belong to the war party; and the peace party +always had to hold its tongue. The Southerners formed simpler and +far more homogeneous communities of the old long-settled stock, +and were more inclined to act together when once their feelings +were profoundly stirred. + +The Northern communities, on the other hand, being far more +complex and far less homogeneous, were plagued with peace parties +that grew like human weeds, clogging the springs of action +everywhere. There were immigrants new to the country and +therefore not inclined to take risks for a cause they had not +learned to make their own. There were also naturalized, and even +American-born, aliens, aliens in speech, race, thought, and every +way of life. Then there were the oppositionists of different +kinds, who would not support any war government, however like a +perfect coalition it might be. Among these were some Northerners +who did business with the South, especially the men who financed +the cotton and tobacco crops. Others, again, were those +loose-tongued folk who think any vexed question can be settled by +unlimited talk. Next came those "defeatist" cranks who always +think their own side must be wrong, and who are of no more +practical use than the out-and-out "pacifists" who think +everybody wrong except themselves. Finally, there were those +slippery folk who try to evade all public duty, especially when +it smacks of danger. These skulkers flourish best in large and +complex populations, where they may even masquerade as patriots +of the kind so well described by Lincoln when he said how often +he had noticed that the men who were loudest in proclaiming their +readiness to shed their last drop of blood were generally the +most careful not to shed the first. + +Many of these fustian heroes formed the mushroom secret societies +that played their vile extravaganza right under the shadow of the +real tragedy of war. Worse still, not content with the +abracadabra of their silly oaths, the busybody members made all +the mischief they could during Lincoln's last election. Worst of +all, they not only tried their hands at political assassination +in the North but they lured many a gallant Confederate to his +death by promising to rise in their might for a "Free Northwest" +the moment the Southern troopers should appear. Needless to say, +not a single one of the whole bombastic band of cowards stirred a +finger to help the Confederate troopers who rode to their doom on +Morgan's Raid through Indiana and Ohio. The peace party wore a +copper as a badge, and so came to be known as "Copperheads," much +to the disgust of its more inflated members, who called +themselves the Sons of Liberty. The war party, with a better +appreciation of how names and things should be connected, used +their own descriptive "Copperhead" in its appropriate meaning of +a poisonous snake in the grass behind. + +The Indians would have preferred neutrality between the two kinds +of inevitably dispossessing whites. But neutrality was impossible +in what was then the Far West. Not ten thousand Indians fought +for both sides put together. On the whole they fought well as +skirmishers, though they rarely withstood shell fire, even when +their cover was good and their casualties small. + +The ten times more numerous negroes were naturally a much more +serious factor. The North encouraged the employment of colored +labor corps and even colored soldiers, especially after +Emancipation. But the vast majority of negroes, whether slave or +free, either preferred or put up with their Southern masters, +whom they generally served faithfully enough either in military +labor corps or on the old plantations. As the colored population +of the South was three and a half millions this general fidelity +was of great importance to the forces in the field. + +The total population of the United States in 1861 was about +thirty-one and a half millions. Of this total twenty-two and a +half belonged to the North and nine to the South. The grand total +odds were therefore five against two. The odds against the South +rise to four against one if the blacks are left out. There were +twenty-two million whites in the North against five and a half in +the South. But to reach the real fighting odds of three to one we +must also eliminate the peace parties, large in the North, small +in the South. If we take a tenth off the Southern whites and a +third off the Northern grand total we shall get the approximate +war-party odds of three to one; for these subtractions leave +fifteen millions in the North against only five in the South. + +This gives the statistical key to the startling contrasts which +were so often noted by foreign correspondents at the time, and +which are still so puzzling in the absence of the key. The whole +normal life of the South was visibly changed by the war. But in +the North the inquiring foreigner could find, on one hand, the +most steadfast loyalty and heroic sacrifice, both in the Northern +armies and among their folks at home, while on the other he could +find a wholly different kind of life flaunting its most shameless +features in his face. The theaters were crowded. Profiteers +abounded, taking their pleasures with ravenous greed; for the +best of their blood-money would end with the war. Everywhere +there was the same fundamental difference between the patriots +who carried on the war and the parasites who hindered them. Of +course the two-thirds who made up the war party were not all +saints or even perfect patriots. Nor was the other third composed +exclusively of wanton sinners. There were, for instance, the +genuine settlers whom the Union Government encouraged to occupy +the West, beyond the actual reach of war. But the distinction +still remains. + +Though sorely hampered, the Union Government did, on the whole, +succeed in turning the vast and varied resources of the North +against the much smaller and less varied resources of the South. +The North held the machinery of national government, though with +the loss of a good quarter of the engineers. In agriculture of, +all kinds both North and South were very strong for purposes of +peace. Each had food in superabundance. But the trading strength +of the South lay in cotton and tobacco, neither of which could be +turned into money without going north or to sea. In finance the +North was overwhelmingly strong by comparison, more especially +because Northern sea-power shut off the South from all its +foreign markets. In manufactures the South could not compare at +all. + +Northern factories alone could not supply the armies. But finance +and factories together could. The Southern soldier looked to the +battlefield and the raiding of a base for supplying many of his +most pressing needs in arms, equipment, clothing, and even food-- +for Southern transport suffered from many disabilities. Fierce +wolfish cries would mingle with the rebel yell in battle when the +two sides closed. "You've got to leave your rations!"--"Come out +of them clothes!"--"Take off them boots, Yank!"--"Come on, blue +bellies, we want them blankets!" + +It was the same in almost every kind of goods. The South made +next to none for herself and had to import from the North or +overseas. The North could buy silk for balloons. The South could +not. The Southern women gave in their whole supply of silk for +the big balloon that was lost during the Seven Days' Battle in +the second year of the war. The Southern soldiers never forgave +what they considered the ungallant trick of the Northerners who +took this many-hued balloon from a steamer stranded on a bar at +low tide down near the mouth of the James. Thus fell the last +silk dress, a queer tribute to Northern seapower! Northern +seapower also cut off nearly everything the sick and wounded +needed; which raised the death rate of the Southern forces far +beyond the corresponding death rate in the North. Again, +preserved rations were almost unknown in the South. But they were +plentiful throughout the Northern armies: far too plentiful, +indeed, for the taste of the men, who got "fed up" on the +dessicated vegetables and concentrated milk which they +rechristened "desecrated vegetables" and "consecrated milk." + +There is the same tale to tell about transport and munitions. +Outside the Tredegar Iron Works at Richmond the only places where +Southern cannon could be made were Charlotte in North Carolina, +Atlanta and Macon in Georgia, and Selma in Alabama. The North had +many places, each with superior plant, besides which the oversea +munition world was far more at the service of the open-ported +North than of the close-blockaded South. What sea-power meant in +this respect may be estimated from the fact that out of the more +than three-quarters of a million rifles bought by the North in +the first fourteen months of the war all but a beggarly thirty +thousand came from overseas. + +Transport was done by road, rail, sea, and inland waters. Other +things being equal, a hundred tons could be moved by water as +easily as ten by rail or one by road. Now, the North not only +enjoyed enormous advantages in sea-power, both mercantile and +naval, but in road, rail, canal, and river transport too. The +road transport that affected both sides most was chiefly in the +South, because most maneuvering took place there. "Have you been +through Virginia?--Yes, in several places" is a witticism that +might be applied to many another State where muddy sloughs +abounded. In horses, mules, and vehicles the richer North wore +out the poorer and blockaded South. Both sides sent troops, +munitions, and supplies by rail whenever they could; and here, as +a glance at the map will show, the North greatly surpassed the +South in mileage, strategic disposition, and every other way. + +The South had only one through line from the Atlantic to the +Mississippi; and this ran across that Northern salient which +threatened the South from the southwestern Alleghanies. The other +rails all had the strategic defect of not being convenient for +rapid concentration by land; for most of the Southern rails were +laid with a view to getting surplus cotton and tobacco overseas. +The strategic gap at Petersburg was due to a very different +cause; for there, in order to keep its local transfers, the town +refused to let the most important Virginian lines connect. + +Taking sea-power in its fullest sense, to include all naval and +mercantile parts on both salt and fresh water, we can quite +understand how it helped the nautical North to get the +strangle-hold on the landsman's South. The great bulk of the +whole external trade of the South was done by shipping. But, +though the South was strong in exportable goods, it was very weak +in ships. It owned comparatively few of the vessels that carried +its rice, cotton, and tobacco crops to market and brought back +made goods in return. Yankees, Britishers, and Bluenoses (as Nova +Scotian craft were called) did most of the oversea +transportation. + +Moreover, the North was vastly stronger than the South on all the +inland waters that were not "Secesh" from end to end. The map +shows how Northern sea-power could not only divide the South in +two but almost enisle the eastern part as well. Holding the +Mississippi would effect the division, while holding the Ohio +would make the eastern part a peninsula, with the upper end of +the isthmus safe in Northern hands between Pittsburgh, the great +coal and iron inland port, and Philadelphia, the great seaport, +less than three hundred miles away. The same isthmus narrows to +less than two hundred miles between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg (on +the Susquehanna River); and its whole line is almost equally safe +in Northern hands. A little farther south, along the disputed +borderlands, it narrows to less than one hundred miles, . from +Pittsburgh to Cumberland (on the Potomac canal). Even this is not +the narrowest part of the isthmus, which is less than seventy +miles across from Cumberland to Brownsville (on the Monongahela) +and less than fifty from Cumberland to the Ohiopyle Falls (on the +Youghiogheny). These last distances are measured between places +that are only fit for minor navigation. But even small craft had +an enormous advantage over road and rail together when bulky +stores were moved. So Northern sea-power could make its +controlling influence felt in one continuous line all round the +eastern South, except for fifty miles where small craft were +concerned and for two hundred miles in the case of larger +vessels. These two hundred miles of land were those between the +Ohio River port of Wheeling and the Navy Yard at Washington. + +Nor was this virtual enislement the only advantage to be won. For +while the strong right arm of Union sea-power, facing northward +from the Gulf, could hold the coast, and its sinewy left could +hold the Mississippi, the supple left fingers could feel their +way along the tributary streams until the clutching hand had got +its grip on the whole of the Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, +Missouri, Arkansas, and Red rivers. This meant that the North +would not only enjoy the vast advantages of transport by water +over transport by land but that it would cause the best lines of +invasion to be opened up as well. + +Of course the South had some sea-power of her own. Nine-tenths of +the United States Navy stood by the Union. But, with the +remaining tenth and some foreign help, the South managed to +contrive the makeshift parts of what might have become a navy if +the North had only let it grow. The North, however, did not let +it grow. + +The regular navy of the United States, though very small to start +with, was always strong enough to keep the command of the sea and +to prevent the makeshift Southern parts of a navy from ever +becoming a whole. Privateers took out letters of marque to prey +on Northern shipping. But privateering soon withered off, because +prizes could not be run through the blockade in sufficient +numbers to make it pay; and no prize would be recognized except +in a Southern port. Raiders did better and for a much longer +time. The Shenandoah was burning Northern whalers in Bering Sea +at the end of the war. The Sumter and the Florida cut a wide +swath under instructions which "left much to discretion and more +to the torch." The famous Alabama only succumbed to the U.S.S. +Kearsarge after sinking the Hatteras man-of-war and raiding +seventy other vessels. Yet still the South, in spite of her +ironclads, raiders, and rams, in spite of her river craft, of the +home ships or foreigners that ran the blockade, and of all her +other efforts, was a landsman's country that could make no real +headway against the native seapower of the North. + +Perhaps the worst of all the disabilities under which the +abortive Southern navy suffered was lubberly administration and +gross civilian interference. The Administration actually refused +to buy the beginnings of a ready-made sea-going fleet when it had +the offer of ten British East Indiamen specially built for rapid +conversion into men-of-war. Forty thousand bales of cotton would +have bought the lot. The Mississippi record was even worse. Five +conflicting authorities divided the undefined and overlapping +responsibilities between them: the Confederate Government, the +State governments, the army, the navy, and the Mississippi +skippers. A typical result may be seen in the fate of the +fourteen "rams" which were absurdly mishandled by fourteen +independent civilian skippers with two civilian commodores. This +"River Defense Fleet" was "backed by the whole Missouri +delegation" at Richmond, and blessed by the Confederate Secretary +of War, Judah P. Benjamin, that very clever lawyer-politician and +eversmiling Jew. Six of the fourteen "rams" were lost, with sheer +futility, at New Orleans in April, '62; the rest at Memphis the +following June. + +As a matter of fact the Confederate navy never had but one real +man-of-war, the famous Merrimac; and she was a mere razee, cut +down for a special purpose, and too feebly engined to keep the +sea. Even the equally famous Alabama was only a raider, never +meant for action with a fleet. Over three hundred officers left +the United States Navy for the South; but, as in the case of the +Army, they were followed by very few men. The total personnel of +the regular Confederate navy never exceeded four thousand at any +one time. The irregular forces afloat often did gallant, and +sometimes even skillful, service in little isolated ways. But +when massed together they were always at sixes and sevens; and +they could never do more than make the best of a very bad +business indeed. The Secretary of the Confederate navy, Stephen +R. Mallory, was not to blame. He was one of the very few +civilians who understood and tried to follow any naval principles +at all. He had done good work as chairman of the Naval Committee +in the Senate before the war, and had learnt a good deal more +than his Northern rival, Gideon Welles. He often saw what should +have been done. But men and means were lacking. + +Men and means were also lacking in the naval North at the time +the war began. But the small regular navy was invincible against +next to none; and it enjoyed many means of expansion denied to +the South. + +On the outbreak of hostilities the United States Navy had ninety +ships and about nine thousand men--all ranks and ratings (with +marines) included. The age of steam had come. But fifty vessels +had no steam at all. Of the rest one was on the Lakes, five were +quite unserviceable, and thirty-four were scattered about the +world without the slightest thought of how to mobilize a fleet at +home. The age of ironclads had begun already overseas. But in his +report to Congress on July 4, 1861, Gideon Welles, Secretary of +the Navy, only made some wholly non-committal observations in +ponderous "officialese." In August he appointed a committee which +began its report in September with the sage remark that "Opinions +differ amongst naval and scientific men as to the policy of +adopting the iron armament for ships-of-war." In December Welles +transmitted this report to Congress with the still sager remark +that "The subject of iron armature for ships is one of great +general interest, not only to the navy and country, but is +engaging the attention of the civilized world." Such was the +higher administrative preparation for the ironclad battle of the +following year. + +It was the same in everything. The people had taken no interest +in the navy and Congress had faithfully represented them by +denying the service all chance of preparing for war till after +war had broken out. Then there was the usual hurry and horrible +waste. Fortunately for all concerned, Gideon Welles, after vainly +groping about the administrative maze for the first five months, +called Gustavus V. Fox to his assistance. Fox had been a naval +officer of exceptional promise, who had left the service to go +into business, who had a natural turn for administration, and who +now made an almost ideal Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He was, +indeed, far more than this; for, in most essentials, he acted +throughout the war as a regular Chief of Staff. + +One of the greatest troubles was the glut of senior officers who +were too old and the alarming dearth of juniors fit for immediate +work afloat. It was only after the disaster at Bull Run that +Congress authorized the formation of a Promotion Board to see +what could be done to clear the active list and make it really a +list of officers fit for active service. Up to this time there +had been no system of retiring men for inefficiency or age. An +officer who did not retire of his own accord simply went on +rising automatically till he died. The president of this board +had himself turned sixty. But he was the thoroughly efficient +David Glasgow Farragut, a man who was to do greater things afloat +than even Fox could do ashore. How badly active officers were +wanted may be inferred from the fact that before the appointment +of Farragut's promotion board the total number of regular +officers remaining in the navy was only 1457. Intensive training +was tried at the Naval Academy. Yet 7500 volunteer officers had +to be used before the war was over. These came mostly from the +merchant service and were generally brave, capable, first-rate +men. But a nautical is not the same as a naval training; and the +dearth of good professional naval officers was felt to the end. +The number of enlisted seamen authorized by Congress rose from +7600 to 51,500. But the very greatest difficulty was found in +"keeping up to strength," even with the most lavish use of +bounties. + +The number of vessels in the navy kept on growing all through. Of +course not nearly all of them were regular men-of-war or even +fighting craft "fit to go foreign." At the end of the first year +there were 264 in commission; at the end of the second, 427; at +the end of the third, 588; and at the end of the fourth, 671. + +Bearing this in mind, and remembering the many other Northern +odds, one might easily imagine that the Southern armies fought +only with the courage of despair. Yet such was not the case. This +was no ordinary war, to be ended by a treaty in which compromise +would play its part. There could be only two alternatives: either +the South would win her independence or the North would have to +beat her into complete submission. Under the circumstances the +united South would win whenever the divided North thought that +complete subjugation would cost more than it was worth. The great +aim of the South was, therefore, not to conquer the North but +simply to sicken the North of trying to conquer her. "Let us +alone and we'll let you alone" was her insinuating argument; and +this, as she knew very well, was echoed by many people in the +North. Thus, as regards her own objective, she began with hopes +that the Northern peace party never quite let die. + +Then, so far as her patriotic feelings were concerned, the South +was not fighting for any one point at issue--not even for +slavery, because only a small minority held slaves--but for her +whole way of life, which, rightly or wrongly, she wanted to live +in her own Southern way; and she passionately resented the +invasion of her soil. This gave her army a very high morale, +which, in its turn, inclined her soldiers the better to +appreciate their real or imagined advantages over the Northern +hosts. First, they and their enemies both knew that they enjoyed +the three real advantages of fighting at home under magnificent +leaders and with interior lines. Robert Lee and Stonewall Jackson +stood head and shoulders above any Northern leaders till Grant +and Sherman rose to greatness during the latter half of the war. +Lee himself was never surpassed; and he, like Jackson and several +more, made the best use of home surroundings and of interior +lines. Anybody can appreciate the prime advantage of interior +lines by imagining two armies of equal strength operating against +each other under perfectly equal conditions except that one has +to move round the circumference of a circle while the other moves +to meet it along the shorter lines inside. The army moving round +the circumference is said to be operating on exterior lines, +while the army moving from point to point of the circumference by +the straighter, and therefore shorter, lines inside is said to be +operating on interior lines. In more homely language the straight +road beats the crooked one. In plain slang, it's best to have the +inside track. + +Of course there is a reverse to all this. If the roads, rails, +and waterways are better around the circle than inside it, then +the odds may be turned the other way; and this happens most often +when the forces on the exterior lines are the better provided +with sea-power. Again, if the exterior forces are so much +stronger than the interior forces that these latter dare not +leave any strategic point open in case the enemy breaks through, +then it is evident that the interior forces will suffer all the +disadvantages of being surrounded, divided, worn out, and +defeated. + +This happened at last to the South, and was one of the four +advantages she lost. Another was the hope of foreign +intervention, which died hard in Southern hearts, but which was +already moribund halfway through the war. A third was the hope of +dissension in the North, a hope which often ran high till +Lincoln's reelection in November, '64, and one which only died +out completely with the surrender of Lee. The fourth was the +unfounded belief that Southerners were the better fighting men. +They certainly had an advantage at first in having a larger +proportion of men accustomed to horses and arms and inured to +life in the open. But, other things being equal, there was +nothing to choose between the two sides, so far as natural +fighting values were concerned. + +Practically all the Southern "military males" passed into the +ranks; and a military male eventually meant any one who could +march to the front or do non-combatant service with an army, from +boys in their teens to men in their sixties. Conscription came +after one year; and with very few exemptions, such as the clergy, +Quakers, many doctors, newspaper editors, and "indispensable" +civil servants. Lee used to express his regret that all the +greatest strategists were tied to their editorial chairs. But +sterner feelings were aroused against that recalcitrant State +Governor, Joseph Brown of Georgia, who declared eight thousand of +his civil servants to be totally exempt. From first to last, +conscripts and volunteers, nearly a million men were enrolled: +equaling one-fifth of the entire war-party white population of +the seceding States. + +All branches of the service suffered from a constant lack of arms +and munitions. As with the ships for the navy so with munitions +for the army, the South did not exploit the European markets +while her ports were still half open and her credit good, +Jefferson Davis was spotlessly honest, an able bureaucrat, and +full of undying zeal. But, though an old West Pointer, he was +neither a foresightful organizer nor fit to exercise any of the +executive power which he held as the constitutional +commander-in-chief by land and sea. He ordered rifles by the +thousand instead of by the hundred thousand; and he actually told +his Cabinet that if he could only take one wing while Lee took +the other they would surely beat the North. Worse still, he and +his politicians kept the commissariat under civilian orders and +full of civilian interference, even at the front, which, in this +respect, was always a house divided against itself. + + +The little regular army of '61, only sixteen thousand strong, +stood by the Union almost to a man; though a quarter of the +officers went over to the South. Yet the enlisted man was +despised even by the common loafers who would not fight if they +could help it. "Why don't you come in?" asked a zealous lady at a +distribution of patriotic gifts, "aren't you one of our heroes?" +"No, ma'am," answered the soldier, "I'm only a regular." + +The question of command was often a very vexed one; and many +mistakes were made before the final answers came. The most +significant of all emergent facts was this: that though the +officers who had been regulars before the war did not form a +hundredth part of all who held commissions during it, yet these +old regulars alone supplied every successful high commander, +Federal and Confederate alike, both afloat and ashore. + +The North had four times as many whites as the South; it used +more blacks as soldiers; and the complete grand total of all the +men who joined its forces during the war reached two millions and +three-quarters. But this gives a quite misleading idea of the +real odds in favor of the North, especially the odds available in +battle. A third of the Northern people belonged to the peace +party and furnished no recruits at all till after conscription +came in. The late introduction of conscription, the abominable +substitution clause, and the prevalence of bounty-jumping +combined to reduce both the quantity and quality of the recruits +obtained by money or compulsion. The Northerners that did fight +were generally fighting in the South, among a very hostile +population, which, while it made the Southern lines of +communication perfectly safe, threatened those of the North at +every point and thus obliged the Northern armies to leave more +and more men behind to guard the communications that each advance +made longer still. Finally, the South generally published the +numbers of only its actual combatants, while the Northern returns +always included every man drawing pay, whether a combatant or +not. On the whole, the North had more than double numbers, even +if compared with a Southern total that includes noncombatants. +But it should be remembered that a Northern army fighting in the +heart of the South, and therefore having to guard every mile of +the way back home, could not meet a Southern one with equal +strength in battle unless it had left the North with fully twice +as many. + +Conscription came a year later (1863) in the North than in the +South and was vitiated by a substitution clause. The fact that a +man could buy himself out of danger made some patriots call it "a +rich man's war and a poor man's fight." And the further fact that +substitutes generally became regular bounty-jumpers, who joined +and deserted at will, over and over again, went far to increase +the disgust of those who really served. Frank Wilkeson's +"Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac" +is a true voice from the ranks when he explains "how the resort +to volunteering, the unprincipled dodge of cowardly politicians, +ground up the choicest seedcorn of the nation; how it consumed +the young, the patriotic, the intelligent, the generous, and the +brave; and how it wasted the best moral, social, and political +elements of the Republic, leaving the cowards, shirkers, +egotists, and moneymakers to stay at home and procreate their +kind." + +That is to say, it was so arranged that the fogy-witted lived, +while the lion-hearted died. + +The organization of the vast numbers enrolled was excellent +whenever experts were given a free hand. But this free hand was +rare. One vital point only needs special notice here: the +wastefulness of raising new regiments when the old ones were +withering away for want of reinforcements. A new local regiment +made a better "story" in the press; and new and superfluous +regiments meant new and superfluous colonels, mostly of the +speechifying kind. So it often happened that the State +authorities felt obliged to humor zealots set on raising those +brand-new regiments which doubled their own difficulties by +having to learn their lesson alone, halved the efficiency of the +old regiments they should have reinforced, and harassed the +commanders and staff by increasing the number of units that were +of different and ever-changing efficiency and strength. It was a +system of making and breaking all through. + + +The end came when Northern sea-power had strangled the Southern +resources and the unified Northern armies had worn out the +fighting force. Of the single million soldiers raised by the +South only two hundred thousand remained in arms, half starved, +half clad, with the scantiest of munitions, and without reserves +of any kind. Meanwhile the Northern hosts had risen to a million +in the field, well fed, well clothed, well armed, abundantly +provided with munitions, and at last well disciplined under the +unified command of that great leader, Grant. Moreover, behind +this million stood another million fit to bear arms and +obtainable at will from the two millions of enrolled reserves. + +The cost of the war was stupendous. But the losses of war are not +to be measured in money. The real loss was the loss of a million +men, on both sides put together, for these men who died were of +the nation's best. + + +CHAPTER III. THE NAVAL WAR: 1862 + +Bull Run had riveted attention on the land between the opposing +capitals and on the armies fighting there. Very few people were +thinking of the navies and the sea. And yet it was at sea, and +not on land, that the Union had a force against which the +Confederates could never prevail, a force which gradually cut +them off from the whole world's base of war supplies, a force +which enabled the Union armies to get and keep the strangle-hold +which did the South to death. + +The blockade declared in April was no empty threat. The sails of +Federal frigates, still more the sinister black hulls of the new +steam men-of-war, meant that the South was fast becoming a land +besieged, with every outwork accessible by water exposed to +sudden attack and almost certain capture by any good amphibious +force of soldiers and sailors combined. + +Sea-power kept the North in affluence while it starved the South. +Sea-power held Maryland in its relentless grip and did more than +land-power to keep her in the Union. Sea-power was the chief +factor in saving Washington. Seapower enabled the North to hold +such points of vantage as Fortress Monroe right on the flank of +the South. And sea-power likewise enabled the North to take or +retake other points of similar importance: for instance, Hatteras +Island. + +In a couple of days at the end of August, 1861, the Confederate +forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, were compelled to +surrender to a joint naval and military expedition under +Flag-Officer Stringham and Major-General B. F. Butler. The +immediate result, besides the capture of seven hundred men, was +the control of the best entrance to North Carolina waters, which +entailed the stoppage of many oversea supplies for the +Confederate army. The ulterior result was the securing of a base +from which a further invasion could be made with great advantage. + + +The naval campaign of the following year was truly epoch-making; +for the duel between the Monitor and Merrimac in Hampton Roads on +March 9, 1862, was the first action ever fought between ironclad +steam men-of-war. + +Eleven months earlier the Federal Government had suddenly +abandoned the Norfolk Navy Yard; though their strongest garrison +was at Fortress Monroe, only twelve miles north along a waterway +which was under the absolute control of their navy, and though +the Confederates', had nothing but an inadequate little untrained +force on the spot. Among the spoils of war falling into +Confederate hands were twelve hundred guns and the Merrimac, a +forty-gun steam frigate. The Merrimac, though fired and scuttled +by the Federals, was hove up, cut down, plated over, and renamed +the Virginia. (History, however, knows her only as the Merrimac.) +John L. Porter, Naval Constructor to the Confederate States, had +made a model of an ironclad at Pittsburgh fifteen years before; +and he now applied this model to the rebuilding of the Merrimac. +He first cut down everything above the water line, except the gun +deck, which he converted into a regular citadel with flat top, +sides sloping at thirty-five degrees, and ends stopping short of +the ship's own ends by seventy feet fore and aft. The effect, +therefore, was that of an ironclad citadel built on the midships +of a submerged frigate's hull. The four-inch iron plating of the +citadel knuckled over the wooden sides two feet under water. The +engines, which the South had no means of replacing, were the old +ones which had been condemned before being sunk. A four-foot +castiron ram was clamped on to the bow. Ten guns were mounted: +six nine-inch smooth-bores, with two six-inch and two seven-inch +rifles. Commodore Franklin Buchanan took command and had +magnificent professional officers under him. But the crew, three +hundred strong, were mostly landsmen; for, as in the case of the +Army, the men of the Navy nearly all took sides with the North, +and the South had very few seamen of any other kind. + +To oppose the Merrimac the dilatory North contracted with John +Ericsson the Swede, who had to build the Monitor much smaller +than the Merrimac owing to pressure of time. He enjoyed, however, +enormous advantages in every other respect, owing to the vastly +superior resources of the North in marine engineering, +armor-plating, and all other points of naval construction. The +Monitor was launched at New York on January 30, 1869., the +hundredth day after the laying of her keel-plate. Her length over +all was 172 feet, her beam was 41, and her draught only 10--less +than half the draught of the Merrimac. Her whole crew numbered +only 58; but every single one was a trained professional naval +seaman who had volunteered for dangerous service under Captain +John L. Worden. She was not a good sea boat; and she nearly +foundered on her way down from New York to Fortress Monroe. Her +underwater hull was shipshape enough; but her superstructure--a +round iron tower resting on a very low deck--was not. +Contemptuous eyewitnesses described her very well as looking like +a tin can on a shingle or a cheesebox on a raft. She carried only +two guns, eleven-inchers, both mounted inside her turret, which +revolved by machinery; but their 180-pound shot were far more +powerful than any aboard the Merrimac. In maneuvering the Monitor +enjoyed an immense advantage, with her light draft, strong +engines, and well-protected screws and rudder. + +On the eighth of March, a lovely spring day, the Merrimac made +her trial trip by going into action with her wheezy old engines, +lubberly crew, and the guns she had never yet fired. She shoveled +along at only five knots; but the Confederate garrisons cheered +her to the echo. Seven miles north she came upon the astonished +fifty-gun Congress and thirty-gun Cumberland swinging drowsily at +anchor off Newport News, with their boats alongside and the men's +wash drying in the rigging. Yet the surprised frigates opened +fire at twelve hundred yards and were joined by the shore +batteries, all converging on the Merrimac, from whose iron sides +the shot glanced up without doing more than hammer her hard and +start a few rivets. Closing in at top speed--barely six +knots--the Merrimac gave the Congress a broadside before ramming +the Cumberland and opening a hole "wide enough to drive in a +horse and cart." Backing clear and turning the after-pivot gun, +the Merrimac then got in three raking shells against the +Congress, which grounded when trying to escape. Meanwhile the +Cumberland was listing over and rapidly filling, though she kept +up the fight to the very last gasp. When she sank with a roar her +topmasts still showed above water and her colors waved defiance. +An hour later the terribly mauled Congress surrendered; whereupon +her crew was rescued and she was set on fire. By this time +various smaller craft on both sides had joined the fray. But the +big Minnesota still remained, though aground and apparently at +the mercy of the Merrimac. The great draught of the Merrimac and +the setting in of the ebb tide, however, made the Confederates +draw off for the night. + +Next morning they saw the "tin can on the shingle" between them +and their prey. The Monitor and Merrimac then began their +epoch-making fight. The patchwork engines of the deep-draught +Merrimac made her as unhandy as if she had been water-logged, +while the light-draught Monitor could not only play round her +when close-to but maneuver all over the surrounding shallows as +well. The Merrimac put her last ounce of steam into an attempt to +ram her agile opponent. But a touch of the Monitor's helm swung +her round just in time to make the blow perfectly harmless. The +Merrimac simply barged into her, grated harshly against her iron +side, and sheered off beaten. The firing was furious and mostly +at pointblank range. Once the Monitor fired while the sides were +actually touching. The concussion was so tremendous that all the +Merrimac's gun-crews aft were struck down flat, with bleeding +ears and noses. But in spite of this her boarders were called +away; whereupon every man who could handle cutlass and revolver +made ready and stood by. The Monitor, however, dropped astern too +quickly; and the wallowing Merrimac had no chance of catching +her. The fight had lasted all through that calm spring morning +when the Monitor steamed off, across the shallows, still keeping +carefully between the Merrimac and Minnesota. It was a drawn +battle. But the effect was that of a Northern victory; for the +Merrimac was balked of her easy prey, and the North gained time +to outbuild the South completely. + +Outbuilding the South of course meant tightening the "anaconda" +system of blockade, in the entangling coils of which the South +was caught already. Three thousand miles of Southern coastline +was, however, more than the North could blockade or even watch to +its own satisfaction all at once. Fogs, storms, and clever ruses +played their part on behalf of those who ran the blockade, +especially during the first two years; and it was almost more +than human nature could stand to keep forever on the extreme +alert, day after dreary day, through the deadly boredom of a long +blockade. Like caged eagles the crews passed many a weary week of +dull monotony without the chance of swooping on a chase. "Smoke +ho!" would be called from the main-topgallant cross-tree. "Where +away?" would be called back from the deck. "Up the river, +Sir!"--and there it would stay, the very mark of hope deferred. +Occasionally a cotton ship would make a dash, with lights out on +a dark night, or through a dense fog, when her smoke might +sometimes be conned from the tops. Occasionally, too, a foreigner +would try to run in, and not seldom succeed, because only the +fastest vessels tried to run the blockade after the first few +months. But the general experience was one of utter boredom +rarely relieved by a stroke of good luck. + +The South could not break the blockade. But the North could +tighten it, and did so repeatedly, not only at sea but by +establishing strong strategic centers of its own along the +Southern coast. We have seen already how Hatteras Island was +taken in '61, five weeks after Bull Run. Within another three +weeks Ship Island was also taken, to the great disadvantage of +the Gulf ports and the corresponding advantage of the Federal +fleet blockading them; for Ship Island commanded the coastwise +channels between Mobile and New Orleans, the two great scenes of +Farragut's success. Then, on the seventh of November, the day +that Grant began his triumphant career by dealing the +Confederates a shrewd strategic blow at Belmont in Missouri, +South Carolina suffered a worse defeat at Port Royal (where she +lost Forts Beauregard and Walker) than North Carolina had +suffered at Hatteras Island. Admiral S. F. Du Pont managed the +naval part of the Port Royal expedition with consummate skill, +especially the fine fleet action off Hilton Head against the +Southern ships and forts. He was ably seconded by General Thomas +West Sherman, commanding the troops. + +North Carolina's turn soon came again, when she lost Roanoke +Island (and with it the command of Albemarle Sound) on February +8, 1862; and when she also had Pamlico Sound shut against her by +a joint expedition that struck down her defenses as far inland as +Newbern on the fourteenth of March. Then came the turn of +Georgia, where Fort Pulaski, the outpost of Savannah, fell to the +Federals on the eleventh of April. Within another month Florida +was even more hardly hit when the pressure of the Union fleet and +army on Virginia compelled the South to use. as reinforcements +the garrison that had held Pensacola since the beginning of the +war. + +These were all severe blows to the Southern cause. But they were +nothing to the one which immediately followed. + +The idea of an attack on New Orleans had been conceived in June, +'61, by Commander (afterwards Admiral) D.D. Porter, of the U.S.S. +Powhatan, when he was helping to blockade the Mississippi. The +Navy Department had begun thinking over the same idea in +September and had worked out a definite scheme. New Orleans was +of immense strategic importance, as being the link between the +sea and river systems of the war. The mass of people and their +politicians, on both sides, absurdly thought of New Orleans as +the objective of a land invasion from the north. Happily for the +Union cause, Gustavus Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, knew +better and persuaded his civilian chief, Gideon Welles, that this +was work for a joint expedition, with the navy first, the army +second. The navy could take New Orleans. The army would have to +hold it. + +The squadron destined for this enterprise was commanded by David +Glasgow Farragut, who arrived at Ship Island on February 20, +1862, in the Hartford, the famous man-of-war that carried his +flag in triumph to the end. Unlike Lee and Jackson, Grant and +Sherman, the other four great leaders in the Civil War, Farragut +was not an American whose ancestors on both sides had come from +the British Isles. Like Lee, however, he was of very ancient +lineage, one of his ancestors, Don Pedro Farragut, having held a +high command under the King of Aragon in the Moorish wars of the +thirteenth century. Farragut's father was a pure-blooded +Spaniard, born under the British flag in Minorca in 1755. Half +Spanish, half Southern by descent, Farragut was wholly Southern +by family environment. His mother, Elizabeth Shine, was a native +of North Carolina. He spent his early boyhood in New Orleans. +Both his first and second wives came from Virginia; and he made +his home at Norfolk. On the outbreak of the war, however, he +immediately went North and applied for employment with the Union +fleet. + +Farragut was the oldest of the five great leaders, being now +sixty years of age, while Lee was fifty-five, Sherman forty-two, +Grant forty, and Jackson thirty-eight. He was, however, fit as an +athlete in training, able to turn a handspring on his birthday +and to hold his own in swordsmanship against any of his officers. +Of middle height, strong build, and rather plain features, he did +not attract attention in a crowd. But his alert and upright +carriage, keenly interested look, and genial smile impressed all +who ever knew him with a sense of native kindliness and power. +Though far too great a master of the art of war to interfere with +his subordinates he always took care to understand their duties +from their own points of view so that he could control every part +of the complex naval instruments of war--human and material +alike--with a sure and inspiring touch. His one weakness as a +leader was his generous inclination to give subordinates the +chance of distinguishing themselves when they could have done +more useful service in a less conspicuous position. + +Farragut's base at Ship Island was about a hundred miles east +from the Confederate Forts Jackson and St. Philip. These forts +guarded the entrance to the Mississippi. Ninety miles above them +stood New Orleans, to which they gave protection and from which +they drew all their supplies. The result of a conference at +Washington was an order from Welles to "reduce the defenses which +guard the approaches to New Orleans." But Farragut's own +infinitely better plan was to run past the forts and take New +Orleans first. By doing this he would save the extra loss +required for reducing the forts and would take the weak defenses +of New Orleans entirely by surprise. Then, when New Orleans fell, +the forts, cut off from all supplies, would have to surrender +without the firing of another shot. Everything depended on +whether Farragut could run past without too much loss. Profoundly +versed in all the factors of the problem, he foresaw that his +solution would prove right, while Washington's would as certainly +be wrong. So, taking the utmost advantage of all the freedom that +his general instructions allowed, he followed a course in which +anything short of complete success would mean the ruin of his +whole career. + +The forts were strong, had ninety guns that would bear once +fleet, and were well placed, one on each side of the river. But +they suffered from all the disadvantages of fixed defenses +opposed by a mobile enemy, and their own mobile auxiliaries were +far from being satisfactory. The best of the "River Defense +Fleet," including several rams, had been ordered up to Memphis, +so sure was the Confederate Government that the attack would come +from the north. Two home-made ironclads were failures. The +Louisiana's engines were not ready in time; and her captain +refused to be towed into the position near the boom where he +could do the enemy most harm. The Mississippi, a mere floating +house, built by ordinary carpenters, never reached the forts at +all and was burnt by her own men at New Orleans. + +Farragut felt sure of his fleet. He had four splendid new +men-of-war that formed a homogeneous squadron, four other sizable +warships, and nine new gunboats. All spars and rigging that could +be dispensed with were taken down; all hulls camouflaged with +Mississippi mud; and all decks whitened for handiness at night. A +weak point, however, was the presence of mortar-boats that would +have been better out of the way altogether. These boats had been +sent to bombard the forts,which, according to the plan preferred +by the Government, were to be taken before New Orleans was +attacked. In other words, the Government wished to cut off the +branches first; while Farragut wished to cut down the tree +itself, knowing the branches must fall with the trunk. + +On the eighteenth of April the mortar-boats began heaving shells +at the forts. But, after six days of bombardment, the forts were +nowhere near the point of surrendering, and the supply of shells +had begun to run low. + +Meanwhile the squadron had been busy preparing for the great +ordeal. The first task was to break the boom across the river. +This boom was placed so as to hold the ships under the fire of +the forts; and the four-knot spring current was so strong that +the eight-knot ships could not make way enough against it to cut +clear through with certainty. Moreover, the middle of the boom +was filled in by eight big schooners, chained together, with +their masts and rigging dragging astern so as to form a most +awkward entanglement. Farragut's fleet captain, Henry H. Bell, +taking two gunboats, Itasca and Pinola, under Lieutenants +Caldwell and Crosby, slipped the chains of one schooner; +whereupon this schooner and the Itasca swung back and grounded +under fire of the forts. The Pinola gallantly stood by, helping +Itasca clear. Then Caldwell, with splendid audacity and skill, +steamed up through the narrow gap, turned round, put on the +Itasca's utmost speed, and, with the current in his favor, +charged full tilt against the chains that still held fast. For +one breathless moment the little Itasca seemed lost. Her bows +rose clear out, as, quivering from stem to stern, she was +suddenly brought up short from top speed to nothing. But, in +another fateful minute, with a rending crash, the two nearest +schooners gave way and swept back like a gate, while the Itasca +herself shot clear and came down in triumph to the fleet. + +The passage was made on the twenty-fourth, in line-ahead (that +is, one after another) because Farragut found the opening +narrower than he thought it should be for two columns abreast, at +night, under fire, and against the spring current. Owing to the +configuration of the channel the starboard column had to weigh +first, which gave the lead to the 500-ton gunboat Cayuga. This +was the one weak point, because the leading vessel, drawing most +fire, should have been the strongest. The fault was Farragut's; +for his heart got the better of his head when it came to placing +Captain Theodorus Bailey, his dauntless second-in-command, on +board a vessel fit to lead the starboard column. He could not +bear to obscure any captain's chances of distinction by putting +another captain over him. So Bailey was sent to the best vessel +commanded by a lieutenant. + +The Cayuga's navigating officer, finding that the guns of the +forts were all trained on midstream, edged in towards Fort St. +Philip. His masts were shot to pieces, but his hull drew clear +without great damage. "Then," he says, "I looked back for some of +our vessels; and my heart jumped up into my mouth when I found I +could not see a single one. I thought they must all have been +sunk by the forts." But not a ship had gone down. The three big +ones of the starboard column--Pensacola, Mississippi, and +Oneida--closed with the fort (so that the gunners on both sides +exchanged jeers of defiance) and kept up a furious fire till the +lighter craft astern slipped past safely and joined the Cayuga +above. + +Meanwhile the Cayuga had been attacked by a mob of Mississippi +steamers, six of which belonged to the original fourteen blessed +with their precious independence by Secretary Benjamin, "backed +by the whole Missouri Delegation." So when the rest of the +Federal light craft came up, "all sorts of things happened" in a +general free fight. There was no lack of Confederate courage; but +an utter absence of concerted action and of the simplest kind of +naval skill, except on the part of the two vessels commanded by +ex-officers of the United States Navy. The Federal light craft +cut their way through their unorganized opponents as easily as a +battalion of regulars could cut through a mob throwing stones. +But the only two Confederate naval officers got clear of the +scrimmage and did all that skill could do with their makeshift +little craft against the Federal fleet. Kennon singled out the +Varuna (the only one of Farragut's vessels that was not a real +man-of-war), raked her stern with the two guns of his own much +inferior vessel, the Governor Moore, and rammed her into a +sinking condition. Warley flew at bigger game with his little +ram, the Manassas, trying three of the large men-of-war, one +after another, as they came upstream. The Pensacola eluded him by +a knowing turn of her helm that roused his warmest admiration. +The Mississippi caught the blow glancingly on her quarter and got +off with little damage. The Brooklyn was taken fair and square +amidships; but, though her planking was crushed in, she sprang no +serious leak and went on with the fight. The wretched little +Confederate engines had not been able to drive the ram home. + +The Brooklyn was the flagship Hartford's next-astern and the +Richmond's next-ahead, these three forming the main body of +Farragut's own port column, which followed hard on the heels of +the starboard one, so hard, indeed, that there were only twenty +minutes between the first shot fired by the forts at the Cayuga +and the first shot fired by the Hartford at the forts. Besides +the forts there was the Louisiana floating battery that helped to +swell the storm of shot and shell; and down the river came a +fire-raft gallantly towed by a tug. The Hartford sheered off, +over towards Fort St. Philip, under whose guns she took ground by +the head while the raft closed in and set her ablaze. Instantly +the hands on fire duty sprang to their work. But the flames +rushed in through the ports; and the men were forced a step back. +Farragut at once called out: "Don't flinch from the fire, boys. +There's a hotter fire than that for those who don't do their +duty!" Whereupon they plied their hoses to such good effect that +the fire was soon got under control. Farragut calmly resumed his +walk up and down the poop, while the gunners blew the gallant +little tug to bits and smashed the raft in pieces. Then he stood +keenly watching the Hartford back clear, gather way, and take the +lead upstream again. Every now and then he looked at the pocket +compass that hung from his watch chain; though, for the most +part, he tried to scan a scene of action lit only by the flashes +of the guns. The air was dense and very still; so the smoke of +guns and funnels hung like a pall over both the combatants while +the desperate fight went on. + +At last the fleet fought through and reached the clearer +atmosphere above the forts; all but the last three gunboats, +which were driven back by the fire. Then Farragut immediately +sent word to General Benjamin F. Butler that the troops could be +brought up by the bayous that ran parallel to the river out of +range of the forts. But the General, having taken in the +situation at a glance from a transport just below the scene of +action, had begun to collect his men at Sable Island, twelve +miles behind Fort St. Philip, long before Farragut's messenger +could reach him by way of the Quarantine Bayou. From Sable Island +the troops were taken by the transports to a point on the +Mississippi five miles above Fort St. Philip. + +After a well-earned rest the whole fleet moved up to New Orleans +on the twenty-fifth, turning the city's lines five miles +downstream without the loss of a man, for the simple reason that +these had been built only to resist an army, and so lay with +flanks entirely open to a fleet. General Lovell (the able +commander who had so often warned the Confederate Government of +the danger from the sea) at once evacuated the defenseless city. +The best of the younger men were away with the armies. The best +of the older men were too few for the storm. And so pandemonium +broke loose. Burning boats, blazing cotton, and a howling mob +greeted Farragut's arrival. But after the forts (now completely +cut off from their base) had surrendered on the twenty-eighth a +landing party from the fleet soon brought the mob to its senses +by planting howitzers in the streets and lowering the Confederate +colors over the city hall. On the first of May a garrison of +Federal troops took charge of New Orleans and kept it till the +war was over. + + +New Orleans was a most pregnant Federal victory; for it +established a Union base at the great strategic point where +sea-power and land-power could meet most effectively in +Mississippi waters. + +But it was followed by a perfect anti-climax; for the Federal +Government, having planned a naval concentration at Vicksburg, +determined to put the plan in operation; though all the naval and +military means concerned made such a plan impossible of execution +in 1862. Amphibious forces--fleets and armies combined--were +essential. There was no use in parading up and down the river, +however triumphantly, so long as the force employed could only +hold the part of the channel within actual range of its guns. The +Confederates could be driven off the Mississippi at any given +point. But there was nothing to prevent them from coming back +again when once the ships had passed. An army to seize and hold +strategic points ashore was absolutely indispensable. Then, and +only then, Farragut's long line of communication with his base at +New Orleans would be safe, and the land in which the Mississippi +was the principal highway could itself be conquered. + +"If the Mississippi expedition from Cairo shall not have +descended the river, you will take advantage of the panic to push +a strong force up the river to take all their defenses in rear." +These were the orders Farragut had to obey if he succeeded in +taking New Orleans. They were soon reinforced by this reminder: +"The only anxiety we feel is to know if you have followed up your +instructions and pushed a strong force up the river to meet the +Western flotilla." Farragut therefore felt bound to obey and do +all that could be done to carry on a quite impossible campaign. +So, with a useless landing party of only fifteen hundred troops, +he pushed up to Vicksburg, four hundred miles above New Orleans. +The nearest Federal army had been halted by the Confederate +defenses above Memphis, another four hundred higher still. + +There were several reasons why Farragut should not have gone up. +His big ships would certainly be stranded if he went up and +waited for the army to come down; moreover, when stranded, these +ships would be captured while waiting, because both banks were +swarming with vastly outnumbering Confederate troops. Then, such +a disaster would more than offset the triumph of New Orleans by +still further depressing Federal morale at a time when the +Federal arms were doing none too well near Washington. Finally, +all the force that was being worse than wasted up the Mississippi +might have been turned against Mobile, which, at that time, was +much weaker than the defenses Farragut had already overcome. But +the people of the North were clamorous for more victories along +the line to which the press had drawn their gaze. So the +Government ordered the fleet to carry on this impossible +campaign. + +Farragut did his best. Within a month of passing the forts he had +not only captured New Orleans and repaired the many serious +damages suffered by his fleet but had captured Baton Rouge, and +taken even his biggest ships to Vicksburg, five hundred miles +from the Gulf, against a continuous current, and right through +the heart of a hostile land. Finding that there were thirty +thousand Confederates in, near, or within a day of Vicksburg he +and General Thomas Williams agreed that nothing could be done +with the fifteen hundred troops which formed the only landing +party. Sickness and casualties had reduced the ships' companies; +so there were not even a few seamen to spare as reinforcements +for these fifteen hundred soldiers, whom Butler had sent, under +Williams, with the fleet. Then Farragut turned back, his stores +running dangerously short owing to the enormous difficulties of +keeping open his long, precarious line of communications. "I +arrived in New Orleans with five or six days' provisions and one +anchor, and am now trying to procure others . . . . Fighting is +nothing to the evils of the river--getting on shore, running foul +of one another, losing anchors, etc." In a confidential letter +home he is still more outspoken. "They will keep us in this river +till the vessels break down and all the little reputation we have +made has evaporated. The Government appears to think that we can +do anything. They expect, me to navigate the Mississippi nine +hundred miles in the face of batteries, ironclad rams, etc.; and +yet with all the ironclad vessels they have North they could not +get to Norfolk or Richmond." + +Back from Washington came still more urgent orders to join the +Mississippi flotilla which was coming down to Vicksburg from the +north under Flag Officer Charles H. Davis. So once more the fleet +worked its laboriously wasteful way up to Vicksburg, where it +passed the forts with the help of Porter's flotilla of +mortar-boats on the twenty-eighth of June and joined Davis on the +first of July. There, in useless danger, the joint forces lay +till the fifteenth, the day on which Grant's own "most anxious +period of the war" began on the Memphis-Corinth line, four +hundred miles above. + +Farragut, getting very anxious about the shoaling of the water, +was then preparing to run down when he heard firing in the Yazoo, +a tributary that joined the Mississippi four miles higher up. +This came from a fight between one of his reconnoitering +gunboats, the Carondelet, and the Arkansas, an ironclad +Confederate ram that would have been very dangerous indeed if her +miserable engines had been able to give her any speed. She was +beating the Carondelet, but getting her smoke-stack so badly +holed that her speed dropped down to one knot, which scarcely +gave her steerage way and made her unable to ram. Firing hard she +ran the gauntlet of both fleets and took refuge under the +Vicksburg bluffs, whence she might run out and ram the Union +vessels below. Farragut therefore ran down himself, hoping to +smash her by successive broadsides in passing. But the +difficulties of the passage wasted the daylight, so that he had +to run by at night. She therefore survived his attack, and went +downstream to join the Confederates against Baton Rouge. But her +engines gave way before she got there; and she had to be blown +up. + +Farragut was back at New Orleans before the end of July. On the +fifth of August the Confederates made their attack on Baton +Rouge; but were beaten back by the Union garrison aided by three +of Farragut's gunboats and two larger vessels from Davis's +command. The losses were not very severe on either side; but the +Union lost a leader of really magnificent promise in its +commanding general, Thomas Williams, a great-hearted, cool-headed +man and most accomplished officer. The garrison of Baton Rouge, +being too small and sickly and exposed, was withdrawn to New +Orleans a few days later. + +Then Farragut at last returned to the Gulf blockade. Davis went +back up the river, where he was succeeded by D.D. Porter in +October. And the Confederates, warned of what was coming, made +Port Hudson and Vicksburg as strong as they could. Vicksburg was +now the only point they held on the Mississippi where there were +rails on both sides; and the Red River, flowing in from the West +between Vicksburg and Port Hudson, was the only good line of +communication connecting them with Texas, whence so much of their +meat was obtained. + +For three months Farragut directed the Gulf blockade from +Pensacola, where, on the day of his arrival, the twentieth of +August, he was the first American to hoist an admiral's flag. The +rank of rear-admiral in the United States Navy had been created +on the previous sixteenth of July; and Farragut was the senior of +the first three officers upon whom it was conferred. + +Farragut became the ranking admiral just when the United States +Navy was having its hardest struggle to do its fivefold duty +well. There was commerce protection on the high seas, blockade +along the coast, cooperation with the army on salt water and on +fresh, and of course the destruction of the nascent Confederate +forces afloat. But perhaps a knottier problem than any part of +its combatant duty was how to manage, in the very midst of war, +that rapid expansion of its own strength for which no government +had let it prepare in time of peace. During this year the number +of vessels in commission grew from 264 to 427. Yet such a form of +expansion was much simpler than that of the enlisted men; and the +expansion of even the most highly trained enlisted personnel was +very much simpler than the corresponding expansion of the +officers. Happily for the United States Navy it started with a +long lead over its enemy. More happily still it could expand with +the help of greatly superior resources. Most happily of all, the +sevenfold expansion that was effected before the war was over +could be made under leaders like Farragut: leaders, that is, who, +though in mere numbers they were no more, in proportion to their +whole service, than the flag as mere material is to a man-of-war, +were yet, as is the flag, the living symbol of a people's soul. + +Commerce protection on the high seas was an exceedingly harassing +affair. A few swift raiders, having the initiative, enjoyed great +advantages over a far larger number of defending vessels. Every +daring raid was trumpeted round the world, bringing down +unmeasured, and often unmerited, blame on the defense. The most +successful vigilance would, on the other hand, pass by unheeded. +The Union navy lacked the means of patrolling the sea lanes of +commerce over millions and millions of desolate square miles. +Consequently the war-risk insurance rose to a prohibitive height +on vessels flying the Stars and Stripes; and, as a further +result, enormous transfers were made to other flags. The +incessant calls for recruits, afloat and ashore, and to some +extent the lure of the western lands, also robbed the merchant +service of its men. Thus, one way and another, the glory of the +old merchant marine departed with the Civil War. + +Blockade was more to the point than any attempt to patrol the sea +lanes. Yet it was even more harassing; for it involved three +distinct though closely correlated kinds of operation: not only +the seizure, in conjunction with the army, of enemy ports, and +the patrolling of an enemy coastline three thousand miles long, +but also the patrolling of those oversea ports from which most +contraband came. This oversea patrol was the most effective, +because it went straight to the source of trouble. But it +required extraordinary vigilance, because it had to be conducted +from beyond the three-mile limit, and with the greatest care for +all the rights of neutrals. + +By mid-November Farragut was back at New Orleans. A month later +General Banks arrived with reinforcements. He superseded General +Butler and was under orders to cooperate with McClernand, Grant's +second-in-command, who was to come down the Mississippi from +Cairo. But the proposed meeting of the two armies never took +place. Banks remained south of Port Hudson, McClernand far north +of Vicksburg; for, as we shall see in the next chapter, Sherman's +attempt to take Vicksburg from the North failed on the +twenty-ninth of December. + +The naval and river campaigns of '62 thus ended in disappointment +for the Union. And, on New Year's Day, Galveston, which Farragut +had occupied in October without a fight and which was lightly +garrisoned by three hundred soldiers, fell into Confederate hands +under most exasperating circumstances. After the captain and +first lieutenant of the U.S.S. Harriet Lane had been shot by the +riflemen aboard two cotton-clad steamers the next officer tamely +surrendered. Commander Renshaw, who was in charge of the +blockade, amply redeemed the honor of the Navy by refusing to +surrender the Westfield, in spite of the odds against him, and by +blowing her up instead. But when he died at the post of duty the +remaining Union vessels escaped; and the blockade was raised for +a week. + +After that Commodore H.H. Bell, one of Farragut's best men, +closed in with a grip which never let go. Yet even Bell suffered +a reverse when he sent the U.S.S. Hatteras to overhaul a strange +vessel that lured her off some fifteen miles and sank her in a +thirteen-minute fight. This stranger was the Alabama, then just +beginning her famous or notorious career. Nor were these the only +Union troubles in the Gulf during the first three weeks of the +new year. Commander J.N. Matt ran the Florida out of Mobile, +right through the squadron that had been specially strengthened +to deal with her; and the shore defenses of the Sabine Pass, like +those of Galveston, fell into Confederate hands again, to remain +there till the war was over. + +In spite of all failures, however, Farragut still had the upper +hand along the Gulf, and up the Mississippi as far as New +Orleans, without which admirable base the River War of '69. could +never have prepared the way for Grant's magnificent victory in +the River War of '63. + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE RIVER WAR: 1862 + +The military front stretched east and west across the border +States from the Mississippi Valley to the sea. This immense and +fluctuating front, under its various and often changed +commanders, was never a well coordinated whole. The Alleghany +Mountains divided the eastern or Virginian wing from the western +or "River" wing. Yet there was always more or less connection +between these two main parts, and the fortunes of one naturally +affected those of the other. Most eyes, both at home and abroad, +were fixed on the Virginian wing, where the Confederate capital +stood little more than a hundred miles from Washington, where the +greatest rival armies fought, and where decisive victory was +bound to have the most momentous consequences. But the River wing +was hardly less important; for there the Union Government +actually hoped to reach these three supreme objectives in this +one campaign: the absolute possession of the border States, the +undisputed right of way along the Mississippi from Cairo to the +Gulf, and the triumphant invasion of the lower South in +conjunction with the final conquest of Virginia. + +We have seen already how the Union navy, aided by the army, won +its way up the Mississippi from the Gulf to Baton Rouge, but +failed to secure a single point beyond. We shall now see how the +Union army, aided by the navy, won its way down the Mississippi +from Cairo to Memphis, and fairly attained the first +objective--the possession of the border States; but how it also +failed from the north, as the others had failed from the south, +to gain a footing on the crucial stretch between Vicksburg and +Port Hudson. One more year was required to win the Mississippi; +two more to invade the lower South; three to conquer Virginia. + + +Just after the fall of Fort Sumter the Union Government had the +foresight to warn James B. Eads, the well-known builder of +Mississippi jetties, that they would probably draw upon his +"thorough knowledge of our Western rivers and the use of steam on +them." But it was not till August that they gave him the contract +for the regular gunboat flotilla; and it was not till the +following year that his vessels began their work. In the meantime +the armies were asking for all sorts of transport and protective +craft. So the first flotilla on Mississippi waters started under +the War (not the Navy) Department, though manned under the +executive orders of Commander John Rodgers, U. S. N., who bought +three river steamers at Cincinnati, lowered their engines, +strengthened their frames, protected their decks, and changed +them into gunboats. + +The first phase of the clash in this land of navigable rivers had +ended, as we have seen already, with the taking of Boonville on +the Missouri by that staunch and daring Union regular, General +Nathaniel Lyon, on June 17, 1861. Boonville was a stunning blow +to secession in those parts. Confederate hopes, however, again +rose high when the news of Bull Run came through. At this time +General John C. Fremont was taking command of all the Union +forces in the "Western Department," which included Illinois and +everything between the Mississippi and the Rockies. Fremont's +command, however, was short and full of trouble. Round his +headquarters at St. Louis the Confederate colors were flaunted in +his face. His requisitions for arms and money were not met at +Washington. Union regiments marched in without proper equipment +and with next to no supplies. There were boards of inquiry on his +contracts. There were endless cross-purposes between him and +Washington. And early in November he was transferred to West +Virginia just as he was about to attack with what seemed to him +every prospect of success. He had not succeeded. But he had done +good work in fortifying St. Louis; in ordering gunboats, tugs, +and mortar-boats; in producing some kind of system out of utter +confusion,; in trusting good men like Lyon; and in sending the +then unknown Ulysses Grant to take command at Cairo, the +excellent strategic base where the Ohio joins the Mississippi. + +The most determined fighting that took place during Fremont's +command was brought on by Lyon, who attacked Ben McCulloch at +Wilson's Creek, in southwest Missouri, on the tenth of August. +Though McCulloch had ten thousand, against not much over five, +Lyon was so set on driving the Confederates away from such an +important lead-bearing region that he risked an attack, hoping by +surprise, skillful maneuvers, and the help of his regulars to +shake the enemy's hold, even if he could not thoroughly defeat +him. Disheartened by his repeated failure to get reinforcements, +and very anxious about the fate of his flanking column under +Sigel, whose attack from the rear was defeated, he expressed his +forebodings to his staff. But the light of battle shone bright as +ever in his eyes; he was killed leading a magnificent charge; and +when, after his death, his little army drew off in good order, +the Confederates, by their own account, "were glad to see him +go." + +On the twentieth of September the Confederates under Sterling +Price won a barren victory by taking Lexington, Missouri, where +Colonel James Mulligan made a gallant defense. That was the last +Confederate foothold on the Missouri; and it could not be +maintained. + +In October, Anderson, who had never recovered from the strain of +defending Fort Sumter, turned over to Sherman the very +troublesome Kentucky command. Sherman pointed out to the visiting +Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, that while McClellan had a +hundred thousand men for a front of a hundred miles in Virginia, +and Fremont had sixty thousand for about the same distance, he +(Sherman) had been given only eighteen thousand to guard the link +between them, although this link stretched out three hundred +miles. Sherman then asked for sixty thousand men at once; and +said two hundred thousand would be needed later on. "Good God!" +said Cameron, "where are they to come from?" Come they had to, as +Sherman foresaw. Cameron made trouble at Washington by calling +Sherman's words "insane"; and Sherman's "insanity" became a +stumbling-block that took a long time to remove. + +Grant, in command at Cairo, began his career as a general by +cleverly forestalling the enemy at Paducah, where the Tennessee +flows into the Ohio. Then, on the seventh of November, he closed +the first confused campaign on the Mississippi by attacking +Belmont, Missouri, twenty miles downstream from Cairo, in order +to prevent the Confederates at Columbus, Kentucky, right +opposite, from sending reinforcements to Sterling Price in +Arkansas. There was a stiff fight, in which the Union gunboats +did good work. Grant handled his soldiers equally well; and the +Union objective was fully attained. + + +Halleck, the Federal Commander-in-Chief for the river campaign of +'62, fixed his headquarters at St. Louis. From this main base his +right wing had rails as far as Rolla, whence the mail road went +on southwest, straight across Missouri. At Lebanon, near the +middle of the State, General Samuel R. Curtis was concentrating, +before advancing still farther southwest against the Confederates +whom he eventually fought at Pea Ridge. From St. Louis there was +good river, rail, and road connection south to Halleck's center +in the neighborhood of Cairo, where General Ulysses S. Grant had +his chief field base, at the junction of the Mississippi and +Ohio. A little farther east Grant had another excellent position +at Paducah, beside the junction of the Ohio and the Tennessee. +Naval forces were of course indispensable for this amphibious +campaign; and in Flag-Officer Andrew Hull Foote the Western +Flotilla had a commander able to cooperate with the best of his +military colleagues. Halleck's left--a semi-independent +command--was based on the Ohio, stretched clear across Kentucky, +and was commanded by a good organizer and disciplinarian, General +Don Carlos Buell, whose own position at Munfordville was not only +near the middle of the State but about midway between the +important railway junctions of Louisville and Nashville. + +Henry W. Halleck was a middle-aged, commonplace, and very +cautious general, who faithfully plodded through the war without +defeat or victory. He looked so long before he leaped that he +never leaped at all--not even on retreating enemies. Good for the +regular officework routine, he was like a hen with ducklings for +this river war, in which Curtis, Grant, Buell, and his naval +colleague Foote, were all his betters on the fighting line. + +His opponent, Albert Sidney Johnston, was also middle-aged, being +fifty-nine; but quite fit for active service. Johnston had had a +picturesque career, both in and out of the army; and many on both +sides thought him likely to prove the greatest leader of the war. +He was, however, a less formidable opponent than Northerners were +apt to think. He was not a consummate genius like Lee. He had +inferior numbers and resources; and the Confederate Government +interfered with him. Yet they did have the good sense to put both +sides of the Mississippi under his unified command, including not +only Kentucky and Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas, but the whole +of the crucial stretch from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. In this +they were wiser than the Federal Government with Halleck's +command, which was neither so extensive nor so completely +unified. + +Johnston took post in his own front line at Bowling Green, +Kentucky, not far south of Buell's position at Munfordville. He +was very anxious to keep a hold on Kentucky and Missouri, along +the southern frontiers of which his forces were arrayed. His +extreme right was thrown northward under General Marshall to +Prestonburg, near the border of West Virginia, in the dangerous +neighborhood of many Union mountain folk. His southern outpost on +the right was also in the same kind of danger at Cumberland Gap, +a strategic pass into the Alleghanies at a point where Kentucky, +Tennessee, and Virginia meet. Halfway west from there, to Bowling +Green the Confederates hoped to hold the Cumberland near Logan's +Cross Roads and Mill Springs. Westwards from Bowling Green +Johnston's line held positions at Fort Donelson on the +Cumberland, Fort Henry on the Tennessee, and Columbus on the +Mississippi. All his Trans-Mississippi troops were under the +command of the enthusiastic Earl Van Dorn, who hoped to end his +spring campaign in triumph at St. Louis. + + +The fighting began in January at the northeastern end of the +line, where the Union Government, chiefly for political reasons, +was particularly anxious to strengthen the Unionists that lived +all down the western Alleghanies and so were a thorn in the side +of the solid South beyond. On the tenth Colonel James A. +Garfield, a future President, attacked and defeated Marshall near +Prestonburg and occupied the line of Middle Creek. The +Confederates, half starved, half clad, ill armed, slightly +outnumbered, and with no advantage except their position, fought +well, but unavailingly. Only some three thousand men were engaged +on both sides put together. Yet the result was important because +it meant that the Confederates had lost their hold on the eastern +end of Kentucky, which was now in unrestricted touch with West +Virginia. + +Within eight days a greater Union commander, General G.H. Thomas, +emerged as the victor of a much bigger battle at Mill Springs and +Logan's Cross Roads on the upper Cumberland, ninety miles due +east of Bowling Green. The victory was complete, and Thomas's +name was made. Thomas, indeed, was known already as a man whose +stentorian orders had to be obeyed; and a clever young +Confederate prisoner used this reputation as his excuse for +getting beaten: "We were doing pretty good fighting till old man +Thomas rose up in his stirrups, and we heard him holler out: +'Attention, Creation! By kingdoms, right wheel!' Then we knew you +had us." + +There were only about four thousand men a side. But in itself, +and in conjunction with Garfield's little victory at Prestonburg, +the battle of Logan's Cross Roads was important as raising the +Federal morale, as breaking through Johnston's right, and as +opening the road into eastern Tennessee. Short supplies and +almost impassable roads, however, prevented a further advance. +One brigade was therefore detached against Cumberland Gap, while +the rest joined Buell's command, which was engaged in organizing, +drilling hard, and keeping an eye on Johnston. + +In February the scene of action changed to Johnston's left +center, where Forts Donelson and Henry were blocking the Federal +advance up the Cumberland and the Tennessee. + +On the fourth, Flag-Officer Foote, with seven gunboats, of which +four were ironclads, led the way up the Tennessee, against Fort +Henry. That day the furious current was dashing driftwood in +whirling masses against the flotilla, which had all it could do +to keep station, even with double anchors down and full steam up. +Next morning a new danger appeared in the shape of what looked +like a school of dead porpoises. These were Confederate +torpedoes, washed from their moorings. As it was now broad +daylight they were all successfully avoided; and the crews felt +as if they had won the first round. + +The sixth of February dawned clear, with just sufficient breeze +to blow the smoke away. The flotilla steamed up the swollen +Tennessee between the silent, densely wooded banks. Not a sound +was heard ashore until, just after noon, Fort Henry came into +view and answered the flagship's signal shot with a crashing +discharge of all its big guns. Then the fire waxed hot and heavy +on both sides, the gunboats knocking geyser-spouts of earth about +the fort, and the fort knocking gigantic splinters out of the +gunboats. The Essex ironclad was doing very well when a big shot +crashed into her middle boiler, which immediately burst like a +shell, scalding the nearest men to death, burning others, and +sending the rest flying overboard or aft. With both pilots dead +and Commander W.D. Porter badly scalded, the Essex was drifting +out of action when the word went round that Fort Henry had +surrendered: and there, sure enough, were the Confederate colors +coming down. Instantly Porter rallied for the moment, called for +three cheers, and fell back exhausted at the third. + +The Confederate General Tilghman surrendered to Foote with less +than a hundred men, all the rest, over twenty-five hundred, +having started towards Fort Donelson before the flag came down. +The Western Flotilla had won the day alone. But it was the fear +of Grant's approaching army that hurried the escaping garrison. +An hour after the surrender Grant rode in and took command. That +night victors and vanquished were dining together when a fussy +staff officer came in to tell Grant that he could not find the +Confederate reports. On this Captain Jesse Taylor, the chief +Confederate staff officer, replied that he had destroyed them. +The angry Federal then turned on him with the question, "Don't +you know you've laid yourself open to punishment?" and was +storming along, when Grant quietly broke in: "I should be very +much surprised and mortified if one of my subordinate officers +should allow information which he could destroy to fall into the +hands of the enemy." + +The surrender of Fort Henry, coming so soon after Prestonburg and +Logan's Cross Roads, caused great rejoicing in the loyal North. +The victory, effective in itself, was completed by sending the +ironclad Carondelet several miles upstream to destroy the +Memphis-Ohio railway bridge, thus cutting the shortest line from +Bowling Green to the Mississippi. But the action, in which the +army took no part, was only a preliminary skirmish compared with +the joint attack of the fleet and army on Fort Donelson. Fort +Donelson was of great strategic importance. If it held fast, and +the Federals were defeated, then Johnston's line would probably +hold from Bowling Green to Columbus, and the rails, roads, and +rivers would remain Confederate in western Tennessee. If, on the +other hand, Fort Donelson fell, and more especially if its +garrison surrendered, then Johnston's line would have to be +withdrawn at once, lest the same fate should overtake the +outflanked remains of it. Both sides understood this perfectly +well; and all concerned looked anxiously to see how the new +Federal commander, General Grant, would face the crisis. + + +Ulysses Simpson Grant came of sturdy New England stock, being +eighth in descent from Matthew Grant, who landed in 1630 and was +Surveyor of Connecticut for over forty years. Grant's mother was +one of the Simpsons who had been Pennsylvanians for several +generations. His family was therefore as racy of the North as +Lee's was of the South. His great-grandfather and +great-granduncle, Noah and Solomon Grant, held British +commissions during the final French-and-Indian or Seven Years' +War (1756-63) when both were killed in the same campaign. His +grandfather Noah served all through the Revolutionary War. +Financial reverses and the death of his grandmother broke up the +family; and his father, Jesse Grant, was given the kindest of +homes by Judge Tod of Ohio. Jesse, being as independent as he was +grateful, turned his energies into the first business at hand, +which happened to be a tannery at Deerfield owned by the father +of that wild enthusiast John Brown. A great reader, an able +contributor to the Western press, and a most public-spirited +citizen, Jesse Grant was a good father to his famous son, who was +born on April 27, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio. +Young Grant hated the tannery, but delighted in everything +connected with horses; so he looked after the teams. One day, +after swapping horses many miles from home, he found himself +driving a terrified bolter that he only just managed to stop on +the edge of a big embankment. His grown-up companion, who had no +stomach for any more, then changed into a safe freight wagon. But +Ulysses, tying his bandanna over the runaway's eyes, stuck to the +post of danger. + +After passing through West Point without any special distinction, +except that he came out first in horsemanship, Grant was +disappointed at not receiving the cavalry commission which he +would have greatly preferred to the infantry one he was given +instead. Years later, when already a rising general, he vainly +yearned for a cavalry brigade. Otherwise he had curiously little +taste for military life; though at West Point he thought the two +finest men in the world were Captain C.F. Smith, the splendidly +smart Commandant, and, even more, that magnificently handsome +giant, Winfield Scott, who came down to inspect the cadets. Some +years after having served with credit all through the Mexican War +(when, like Lee, he learnt so much about so many future friends +and foes) he left the army, not to return till he and Sherman had +seen Blair and Lyon take Camp Jackson. After wisely declining to +reenter the service under the patronage of General John Pope, who +was full of self-importance about his acquaintance with the Union +leaders of Illinois, Grant wrote to the Adjutant-General at +Washington offering to command a regiment. Like Sherman, he felt +much more diffident about the rise from ex-captain of regulars to +colonel commanding a battalion than some mere civilians felt +about commanding brigades or directing the strategy of armies. He +has himself recorded his horror of sole responsibility as he +approached what might have been a little battlefield on which his +own battalion would have been pitted against a Southern one +commanded by a Colonel Harris. "My heart kept getting higher and +higher until it felt as though it was in my throat. I would have +given anything then to have been back in Illinois; but I had not +the moral courage to halt and consider what to do. When we +reached a point from which the valley below was in full view . . +. the troops were gone. My heart resumed its place. It occurred +to me at once that Harris had been as much afraid of me as I had +been of him: This was a view of the question I never forgot." + +Grant's latent powers developed rapidly. Starting with a good +stock of military knowledge he soon added to it in every way he +could. He had the insight of genius. Above all, he had an +indomitable will both in carrying out practicable plans in spite +of every obstacle and in ruthlessly dismissing every one who +failed. Not tall, not handsome, in no way striking at first +sight, he looked the leader born only by reason of his square +jaw, keen eye, and determined expression. Lincoln's conclusive +answer to a deputation asking for Grant's removal simply was, "he +fights." And, when mounted on his splendid charger Cincinnati, +Grant even looked what he was--"a first-class fighting man." + + +Grant marched straight across the narrow neck of land between the +forts, which were only twelve miles apart. Foote of course had to +go round by the Ohio--fifteen times as far. His vanguard, the +dauntless Carondelet, now commanded by Henry Walke, arrived on +the twelfth and fired the first shots at the fort, which stood on +a bluff more than a hundred feet high and mounted fifteen heavy +guns in three tiers of fire. Grant's infantry was already in +position round the Confederate entrenchments; and when his +soldiers heard the naval guns they first gave three rousing +cheers and then began firing hard, lest the sailors should get +ahead of them again. Birge's sharpshooters, the snipers of those +days, were particularly keen. They never drilled as a battalion, +but simply assembled in bunches for orders, when Birge would ask: +"Canteens full? Biscuits for all day?" After which he would sing +out: "All right, boys, hunt your holes"; and off they would go to +stalk the enemy with their long-range rifles. + +Early next morning Grant sent word to Walke that he was +establishing the rest of his batteries and that he was ready to +take advantage of any diversion which the Carondelet could make +in his favor. Walke then fired hard for two hours under cover of +a wooded point. The fort fired back equally hard; but with little +effect except for one big solid shot which stove in a casemate, +knocked down a dozen men, burst the steam heater, and bounded +about the engine room "like a wild beast pursuing its prey." +Forty minutes later the Carondelet was again in action, firing +hard till dark. Late that night Foote arrived with the rest of +the flotilla. + +The fourteenth was another naval day. Foote's flotilla advanced +gallantly, the four ironclads leading in line abreast, the two +wooden gunboats half a mile astern. The ironclads closed in to +less than a quarter-mile and hung on like bulldogs till the +Confederates in the lowest battery were driven from their guns. +But the plunging fire from the big guns on the bluff crashed down +with ever increasing effect. Davits were smashed like matches, +boats knocked into kindling wood, armor dented, started, ripped, +stripped, and sent splashing overboard as if by strokes of +lightning. Before the decks could be resanded there was so much +blood on them that the gun crews could hardly work for slipping. +Presently the Pittsburgh swung round, ran foul of the Carondelet, +and dropped downstream. The pilot of the St. Louis was killed, +and Foote, who stood beside him, wounded. The wheel-ropes of the +St. Louis, like those of the Louisville, were shot away. The +whole flotilla then retired, still firing hard; and the +Confederates wired a victory to Richmond. + +Both sides now redoubled their efforts; for Donelson was a great +prize and the forces engaged were second only to those at Bull +Run. Afloat and ashore, all ranks and ratings on both sides +together, there were fifty thousand men present at the investment +from first to last. The Confederates began with about twenty +thousand, Grant with fifteen thousand. But Grant had twenty-seven +thousand fit for duty at the end, in spite of all his losses. He +was fortunate in his chief staff officer, the devoted and capable +John A. Rawlins, afterwards a general and Secretary of War. Two +of his divisional commanders, Lew Wallace and, still more, C.F. +Smith, the old Commandant of Cadets, were also first-rate. But +the third, McClernand, here began to follow those distorting +ideas which led to his dismissal later on. The three chief +Confederates ranked in reverse order of efficiency: Floyd first +and worst, cantankerous Pillow next, and Buckner best though +last. + +The Federal prospect was anything but bright on the evening of +the fourteenth. Foote had just been repulsed; while McClernand +had fought a silly little battle on his own account the day +before, to the delight of the Confederates and the grievous +annoyance of Grant. The fifteenth dawned on a scene of midwinter +discomfort in the Federal lines, where most of the rawest men had +neither great-coats nor blankets, having thrown them away during +the short march from Fort Henry, regardless of the fact that they +would have to bivouac at Donelson. Thus it was in no happy frame +of mind that Grant slithered across the frozen mud to see what +Foote proposed; and, when Foote explained that the gunboats would +take ten days for indispensable repairs, Grant resigned himself +to the very unwelcome idea of going through the long-drawn +horrors of a regular winter siege. + +But, to his intense surprise, the enemy saved him the trouble. At +first, when they had a slight preponderance of numbers, they +stood fast and let Grant invest them. Now that he had the +preponderance they tried to cut their way out by the southern +road, upstream, where McClernand's division stood guard. As Grant +came ashore from his interview with Foote an aide met him with +the news that McClernand had been badly beaten and that the enemy +was breaking out. Grant set spurs to his horse and galloped the +four muddy miles to his left, where that admirable soldier, C.F. +Smith, was as cool and wary as ever, harassing the enemy's new +rear by threatening an assault, but keeping his division safe for +whatever future use Grant wanted. Wallace had also done the right +thing, pressing the enemy on his own front and sending a brigade +to relieve the pressure on McClernand. These two generals were in +conversation during a lull in the battle when Grant rode up, +calmly returned their salutes, attentively listened to their +reports, and then, instead of trying the Halleckian expedient of +digging in farther back before the enemy could make a second +rush, quietly said: "Gentlemen, the position on the right must be +retaken." + +Grant knew that Floyd was no soldier and that Pillow was a +stumbling-block. He read the enemy's mind like an open book and +made up his own at once by the flash of intuition which told him +that their men were mostly as much demoralized by finding their +first attempt at escape more than half a failure as even +McClernand's were by being driven back. He decided to use Smith's +fresh division for an assault in rear, while McClernand's, +stiffened by Wallace's, should re-form and hold fast. Before +leaving the excited officers and men, who were talking in groups +without thinking of their exhausted ammunition, he called out +cheerily "Fill your cartridge boxes quick, and get into line. The +enemy is trying to escape and he must not be permitted to do so." +McClernand's division, excellent men, but not yet disciplined +soldiers, responded at once to the touch of a master hand; and as +Grant rode off to Smith's he had the satisfaction of seeing the +defenseless groups melt, change, and harden into well-armed +lines. + +Smith, ready at all points, had only to slip his own division +from the leash. Buckner, who was to have covered the Confederate +escape, was also ready with the guns of Fort Donelson and the +rifles of defenses that "looked too thick for a rabbit to get +through." Smith, knowing his unseasoned men would need the +example of a commander they could actually see, rode out in front +of his center as if at a formal review. "I was nearly scared to +death," said one of his followers, "but I saw the old man's white +moustache over his shoulder, and so I went on." As the line +neared the Confederate abatis a sudden gust of fire seemed to +strike it numb. In an instant Smith had his cap on the point of +his sword. Then, rising in his stirrups to his full gigantic +height, he shouted in stentorian tones: "No flinching now, my +lads! Here--this way in! Come on!" In, through, and out the other +side they went, Smith riding ahead, holding his sword and cap +aloft, and seeming to bear a charmed life amid that hail of +bullets. Up the slope he rode, the Confederates retiring before +him, till, unscathed, he reached the deadly crest, where the +Union colors waved defiance and the Union troops stood fast. + +Floyd, being under special indictment at Washington for +misconduct as Secretary of War, was so anxious to escape that he +turned over the command to Pillow, who declined it in favor of +Buckner. That night Floyd and Pillow made off with all the river +steamers; Forrest's cavalry floundered past McClernand's exposed +flank, which rested on a shallow backwater; and Buckner was left +with over twelve thousand men to make what terms he could. Next +morning, the sixteenth, he wrote to Grant proposing the +appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms of surrender. +But Grant had made up his mind that compromise was out of place +in civil war and that absolute defeat or victory were the only +alternatives. So he instantly wrote back the famous letter which +quickly earned him the appropriate nickname--suggested by his own +initials--of Unconditional Surrender Grant. + + + Hd Qrs., Army in the Field + Camp near Donelson Feb'y 18th 1882 + +Gen. S.B. Buckner, + Confed. Army. + +Sir: Yours of this date proposing armistice, and appointment of +Commissioners to settle terms of capitulation is just received. +No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be +accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works + + I am, Sir, very respectfully, + Your obt. sert., + U.S. GRANT + Brig. Gen. + +Grant and Buckner were old army friends; so their personal talk +was very pleasant at the little tavern where Buckner and his +staff had just breakfasted off corn bread and coffee, which was +all the Confederate stores afforded. + +Donelson at once became, like Grant, a name to conjure with. The +fact that the Union had at last won a fight in which the numbers +neared, and the losses much exceeded, those at Bull Run itself, +the further fact that this victory made a fatal breach in the +defiant Southern line beyond the Alleghanies, and the delight of +discovering another, and this time a genuine, hero in +"Unconditional Surrender Grant," all combined to set the loyal +North aflame with satisfaction, pride, and joyful expectation. +Great things were expected in Virginia, where the invasion had +not yet begun. Great things were expected in the Gulf, where +Farragut had not yet tried the Mississippi. And great things were +expected to result from Donelson itself, whence the Union forces +were to press on south till they met other Union forces pressing +north. The river campaign was then to end in a blaze of glory. + +Donelson did have important results. Johnston, who had already +abandoned Bowling Green for Nashville, had now to abandon +Nashville, with most of its great and very sorely needed stores, +as well as the rest of Tennessee, and take up a new position +along the rails that ran from Memphis to Chattanooga, whence they +forked northeast to Richmond and Washington and southeast to +Charleston and Savannah. Columbus was also abandoned, and the +only points left to the Confederates anywhere near the old line +were Island Number Ten in the Mississippi and the Boston +Mountains in Arkansas. + +But the triumphant Union advance from the north did not take +place in '62. Grant was for pushing south as fast as possible to +attack the Confederates before they had time to defend their +great railway junction at Corinth. But Halleck was too cautious; +and misunderstandings, coupled with division of command, did the +rest. Halleck was the senior general in the West. But the three, +and afterwards four, departments into which the West was divided +were never properly brought under a single command. Then +telegrams went wrong at the wire-end advancing southwardly from +Cairo, the end Grant had to use. A wire from McClellan on the +sixteenth of February was not delivered till the third of March. +Next day Grant was thunderstruck at receiving this from Halleck: +"Place C.F. Smith in command of expedition and remain yourself at +Fort Henry. Why do you not obey my orders to report strength and +positions of your command?" And so it went on till McClellan +authorized Halleck to place Grant under arrest for +insubordination. Then the operator at the wire-end suddenly +deserted, taking a sheaf of dispatches with him. He was a clever +Confederate. + +Explanations followed; and on the seventeenth of March Grant +rejoined his army, which was assembling round Pittsburg Landing +on the Tennessee, near the future battlefield of Shiloh, and some +twenty miles northeast of Corinth. + +Meanwhile Van Dorn and Sterling Price, thinking it was now or +never for Missouri, decided to attack Curtis. They had fifteen +against ten thousand men, and hoped to crush Curtis utterly by +catching him between two fires. But on the seventh of March the +Federal left beat off the flanking attack of McCulloch and +McIntosh, both of whom were killed. The right, furiously assailed +by the Confederate Missourians under Van Dorn and Price, fared +badly and was pressed back. Yet on the eighth Curtis emerged +victorious on the hard-fought field that bears the double name of +Elkhorn Tavern and Pea Ridge. This battle in the northwest corner +of Arkansas settled the fate of Missouri. + +A month later the final attack was made on Island Number Ten. +Foote's flotilla had been at work there as early as the middle of +March, when the strong Confederate batteries on the island and +east shore bluffs were bombarded by ironclads and mortarboats. +Then the Union General John Pope took post at New Madrid, eight +miles below the island, on the west shore, which the Confederates +had to evacuate when he cut their line of communications farther +south. They now held only the island and the east shore opposite, +with no line of retreat except the Mississippi, because the land +line on the east shore was blocked by swamps and flanked by the +Union armies in western Tennessee. + +On the night of the fourth of April the Carondelet started to cut +this last line south. She was swathed in hawsers and chain +cables. Her decks were packed tight with every sort of gear that +would break the force of plunging shot; and a big barge, laden +with coal and rammed hay, was lashed to her port side to protect +her magazine. Twenty-three picked Illinoisian sharpshooters went +aboard; while pistols, muskets, cutlasses, boarding-pikes, and +hand grenades were placed ready for instant use. The escape-pipe +was led aft into the wheel-house, so as to deaden the noise; and +hose was attached to the boilers ready to scald any Confederates +that tried to board. Then, through the heart of a terrific +thunderstorm, and amid a furious cannonade, the Carondelet ran +the desperate gauntlet at full speed and arrived at New Madrid by +midnight. + +The Confederates were now cut off both above and below; for the +position of Island Number Ten was at the lower point of a +V-shaped bend in the Mississippi, with Federal forces at the two +upper points. But the Federal troops could not close on the +Confederates without crossing over to the east bank; and their +transports could not run the gauntlet like the ironclads. So the +Engineer Regiment of the West cut out a water road connecting the +two upper points of the V. This admirable feat of emergency field +engineering was effected by sawing through three miles of heavy +timber to the nearest bayou, whence a channel was cleared down to +New Madrid. Then the transports went through in perfect safety +and took Pope's advanced guard aboard. The ironclad Pittsburg had +come down, through another thunderstorm, this same morning of the +seventh; and when the island garrison saw their position +completely cut off they surrendered to Foote. Next day Pope's men +cut off the greater part of the Confederates on the mainland. +Thus fell the last point near Johnston's original line along the +southern borders of Missouri and Kentucky. Just before it fell +Johnston made a desperate counterattack from his new line at +Corinth, in northwest Mississippi, against Grant's encroaching +force at Shiloh, fifteen miles northeast, on the Tennessee River. + +Writing "A. S. Johnston, 3d April, 62, en avant" on his pocket +map of Tennessee, the Confederate leader, anguished by the bitter +criticism with which his unavoidable retreat had been assailed, +cast the die for an immediate attack on Grant before slow Halleck +reinforced or ready Buell joined him. Johnston's lieutenants, +Beauregard and Bragg, had obtained ten days for reorganization; +and their commands were as ready as raw forces could be made in +an extreme emergency. They hoped to be joined by Van Dorn, whose +beaten army was working east from Pea Ridge. But on the second +they heard that Buell was approaching Grant from Nashville; and +on the third Johnston's advanced guard began to move off. Van +Dorn arrived too late. + +The march, which it was hoped to complete on the fourth, was not +completed till the fifth. The roads were ankle-deep in clinging +mud, the country densely wooded and full of bogs and marshes. The +forty thousand men were not yet seasoned; and, though full of +enthusiasm, they neither knew nor had time to learn march +discipline. Moreover, Johnston allowed his own proper plan of +attacking in columns of corps to be changed by Beauregard into a +three-line attack, each line being formed by one complete corps. +This meant certain and perhaps disastrous confusion. For in an +attack by columns of corps the firing line would always be +reinforced by successive lines of the same corps; while attacking +by lines of corps meant that the leading corps would first be +mixed up with the second, and then both with the third. + +In the meantime Grant was busier with his own pressing problems +of organization for an advance than with any idea of resisting +attack. He lacked the prevision of Winfield Scott and Lee, both +of whom expected from the first that the war would last for +years. His own expectation up to this had been that the South +would collapse after the first smashing blow, and that its +western armies were now about to be dealt such a blow. He was not +unmindful of all precautions; for he knew the Confederates were +stirring on his front. Yet he went downstream to Savannah without +making sure that his army was really safe at Shiloh. + +Pittsburg Landing was at the base of the Shiloh position. But the +point at which, by the original orders, Buell was to join was +Savannah, nine miles north along the Tennessee. So Grant had to +keep in touch with both. He had not ignored the advantage of +entrenching. But the best line for entrenching was too far from +good water; and he thought he chose the lesser of two evils when +he devoted the time that might have been used for digging to +drilling instead. His army was raw as an army; many of the men +were still rawer recruits; and, as usual, the recruiting +authorities had sent him several brand-new battalions, which knew +nothing at all, instead of sending the same men as reinforcements +to older battalions that could "learn 'em how." Grant's total +effectives at first were only thirty-three thousand. This made +the odds five to four in favor of Johnston's attack. But the +rejoining of Lew Wallace's division, the great reinforcement by +Buell's troops, and the two ironclad gunboats on the river, +raised Grant's final effective grand total to sixty thousand. The +combined grand totals therefore reached a hundred +thousand--double the totals at Donelson and far exceeding those +at Bull Run. + +After a horrible week of cold and wet the sun set clear and calm +on Saturday, the eve of battle. The woods were alive with forty +thousand Confederates all ready for their supreme attack on the +thirty-three thousand Federals on their immediate four-mile +front. Grant's front ran, facing south, between Owl and Lick +Creeks, two tributaries that joined the Tennessee on either side +of Pittsburg Landing. Buell's advance division, under Nelson, was +just across the Tennessee. But Grant was in no hurry to get it +over. His reassuring wire that night to Halleck said: "The main +force of the enemy is at Corinth. I have scarcely the faintest +idea of an attack (general one) being made upon us." But the +skirmishing farther south on Friday had warned Grant, as well as +Sherman and the vigilant Prentiss, that Johnston might be trying +a reconnaissance in force--the very thing that Beauregard wished +the Confederates to do. + +Long before the beautiful dawn of Sunday, the fateful sixth of +April, Prentiss had thrown out from the center a battalion which +presently met and drove in the vanguard of the first Confederate +line of assault. The Confederate center soon came up, overwhelmed +this advanced battalion, and burst like a storm on the whole of +Prentiss's division. Then, above the swelling roar of +multitudinous musketry, rose the thunder of the first big guns. +"Note the hour, please, gentlemen," said Johnston; and a member +of his staff wrote down: "5:14 A.M." + +Johnston's admirable plan was, first, to drive Grant's left clear +of Lick Creek, then drive it clear of Pittsburg Landing, where +the two Federal ironclads were guarding the ferry. This, combined +with a determined general assault on the rest of Grant's line, +would huddle the retreating Federals into the cramped angle +between Owl Creek and the Tennessee and force them to surrender. +But there were three great obstacles to this: Sherman on the +right, the "Hornet's Nest" in the center, and the gunboats at the +Landing. Worse still for the Confederates, Buell was now too +close at hand. Three days earlier Johnston had wired from Corinth +to the Government at Richmond: "Hope engagement before Buell can +form junction." But the troubles of the march had lost him one +whole priceless day. + +The Confederate attack was splendidly gallant and at first pushed +home regardless of loss. The ground was confusing to both sides: +a bewilderment of ups and downs, of underbrush, woods, fields, +and clumps of trees, criss-cross paths, small creeks, ravines, +and swamps, without a single commanding height or any outstanding +features except the two big creeks, the river, and the Pittsburg +Landing. + +At the first signs of a big battle Grant hurried to the field, +first sending a note to Buell, whom he was to have met at +Savannah, then touching at Crump's Landing on the way, to see Lew +Wallace and make sure whether this, and not the Pittsburg +Landing, was the point of attack. Arrived on the field of Shiloh, +calm and determined as ever, he was reassured by finding how well +Sherman was holding his raw troops in hand at the extremely +important point of Shiloh itself, next to Owl Creek. + +But elsewhere the prospect was not encouraging, though the men +got under arms very fast and most of them fought very well. The +eager gray lines kept pressing on like the rising tide of an +angry sea, dashing in fury against all obstructing fronts and +swirling round the disconnecting flanks. The blue lines, for the +most part, resisted till the swift gray tide threatened to cut +them off. Half of Prentiss's remaining men were in fact cut off +that afternoon and forced to surrender with their chief, whose +conduct, like their own, was worthy of all praise. Back and still +back the blue lines went before the encroaching gray, each losing +heavily by sheer hard fighting at the front and streams of +stragglers running towards the rear. + +Sherman, like others, gave ground, but still held his men +together, except for the stragglers he could not control. In the +center C.F. Smith's division, with Hurlbut's in support, and all +that was left of Prentiss's, defended themselves so desperately +that their enemies called their position the Hornet's Nest. Here +the fight swayed back and forth for hours, with ghastly losses on +both sides. C.F. Smith himself was on his deathbed at Savannah. +But he heard the roar of battle. His excellent successor, W.H.L. +Wallace, was killed; and battalions, brigades, and even +divisions, soon became inextricably mixed together. There was now +the same confusion on the Confederate side, where Johnston was +wounded by a bullet from the Hornet's Nest. It was not in itself +a mortal wound. But, knowing how vital this point was, he went on +encouraging his men till, falling from the saddle, he was carried +back to die. + +Grant still felt confident; though he had seen the worst in the +rear as well as the best at the front. Two of his brand-new +battalions, the very men who afterwards fought like heroes, when +they had learned the soldier's work, now ran like hares. "During +the day," says Grant, "I rode back as far as the river and met +General Buell, who had just arrived. There probably were as many +as four or five thousand stragglers lying under cover of the +river bluff, panic-stricken. As we left the boat Buell's +attention was attracted by these men. I saw him berating them and +trying to shame them into joining their regiments. He even +threatened them with shells from the gunboats nearby. But all to +no effect. Most of these men afterward proved themselves as +gallant as any of those who saved the battle from which they had +deserted." + +By half-past five, after twelve hours' fighting, Grant at last +succeeded in forming a new and shorter line, a mile behind that +morning's front, but without any dangerous gaps. There were three +reorganized divisions--Sherman's, McClernand's, and Hurlbut's, +one fresh division under Nelson, and a strong land battery of +over twenty field guns helping the two ironclad gunboats in the +defense of Pittsburg Landing. The Confederate effectives, reduced +by heavy losses and by as many stragglers as the Federals, were +now faced by five thousand fresh men on guard at the Landing. +Beauregard, who had succeeded Johnston, then stopped the battle +for the day, with the idea of retiring next morning to Corinth. +But, before his orders reached it, his battleworn right made a +desperate, fruitless, and costly attack on the immensely +strengthened Landing. + +That night the rain came down in torrents; and the Confederates +sought shelter in the tents the Federals had abandoned. They +found little rest there, being harassed all through the bleak +dark by the big shells that the gunboats threw among them. + +At dawn Grant, now reinforced by twenty-five thousand fresh men +under Buell and Lew Wallace, took the offensive. Beauregard, +hopelessly outnumbered and without a single fresh man, retired on +Corinth, magnificently covered by Bragg's rearguard, which held +the Federals back for hours near the crucial point of Shiloh +Church. + +Shiloh was the fiercest battle ever fought in the River War. The +losses were over ten thousand a side in killed and wounded; while +a thousand Confederates and three thousand Federals were +captured. It was a Confederate failure; but hardly the kind of +victory the Federals needed just then, before the consummate +triumph of Farragut at New Orleans. It brought together Federal +forces that the Confederates could not possibly withstand, even +on their new line east from Memphis. But it did not raise the +Federal, or depress the Confederate, morale. + + +Four days after the battle Halleck arrived at Pittsburg Landing +and took command of the combined armies. He was soon reinforced +by Pope; whereupon he divided the whole into right and left +wings, center, and reserve, each under its own commander. Grant +was made second in command of the whole. But, as Halleck dealt +directly with his other immediate subordinates, Grant simply +became the fifth wheel of the Halleckian slowcoach, which, after +twenty days of preparation, began, with most elaborate +precautions, its crawl toward Corinth. + +Grant's position became so nearly unbearable that he applied more +than once for transfer to some other place. But this was refused. +So he strove to do his impossible duty till the middle of July, +when his punishment for Shiloh was completed by his promotion to +command a depleted remnant of Halleck's Grand Army. It is not by +any means the least of Grant's claims to real greatness that, as +a leader, he was able to survive his most searching trials: the +surprise at Shiloh, the misunderstandings and arrest that +followed Shiloh, the slur of being made a fifth-wheel +second-in-command, the demoralizing strain of that "most anxious +period of the war" when his depleted forces were thrown back on +the defensive, and the eight discouraging months of Sisyphean +offensive which preceded his triumph at Vicksburg. No one who has +not been in the heart of things with fighting fleets or armies +can realize what it means to all ranks when there is, or even is +supposed to be, "something wrong" with the living pivot on which +the whole force turns. And only those who have been behind the +scenes of war's all-testing drama can understand what it means +for even an imagined "failure" to "come back." + +Corinth was of immense importance to both sides, as it commanded +the rails not only east and west, from the Tennessee to Memphis, +but north and south, from the Ohio to New Orleans and Mobile. +Though New Orleans was taken by Farragut on the twenty-fifth of +April, the rails between Vicksburg and Port Hudson remained in +Confederate hands till next year; while Mobile remained so till +the year after that. + +Beauregard collected all the troops he could at Corinth. Yet, +even with Van Dorn's and other reinforcements, he had only sixty +thousand effectives against Halleck's double numbers. Moreover, +the loss of three States and many battles had so shaken the +Confederate forces that they stood no chance whatever against +Halleck's double numbers in the open. All the same, Halleck +burrowed slowly forward like a mole, entrenching every night as +if the respective strengths and victories had been reversed. + +After advancing nearly a mile a day Halleck closed in on Corinth. +He was so deeply entrenched that no one could tell from +appearances which side was besieging the other. Towards the end +of May many Federal railwaymen reported that empty trains could +be heard running into Corinth and full trains running out. But, +as the Confederates greeted each arriving "empty" with tremendous +Cheers, Halleck felt sure that Beauregard was being greatly +reinforced. The Confederate bluff worked to admiration. On the +twenty-sixth Beauregard issued orders for complete evacuation on +the twenty-ninth. On the thirtieth Halleck drew up his whole +grand army ready for a desperate defense against an enemy that +had already gone a full day's march away. + +In the meantime the Federal flotilla had been fighting its way +down the Mississippi, under (the invalided) Foote's very capable +successor, Flag-Officer Charles Henry Davis. The Confederates had +very few naval men on the river, but many of their Mississippi +skippers were game to the death. They rammed Federal vessels on +the tenth of May at Fort Pillow, eighty miles above Memphis. +Eight of their fighting craft were strongly built and heavily +armored, though very deficient in speed. The Federal flotilla was +very well manned by first-class naval ratings, and was reinforced +early in June by seven fast new rams, commanded by their +designer, Colonel Charles Ellet, a famous civil engineer. + +At sunrise on the lovely sixth of June the Federal flotilla, +having overcome the Confederate posts farther north and being +joined by Ellet's rams, lay near Memphis. The Confederates came +upstream to the attack, expecting to ram the gunboats in the +stern as they had at Fort Pillow. But Ellet suddenly darted down +on the eight Confederate ironclads, caught one of them on the +broadside, sank her, and disabled two others. The action then +became general. The overmatched Confederates kept up a losing +battle for more than an hour, in full view of many thousands of +ardent Southerners ashore. The scene, at its height, was +appalling. The smoke, belching black from the funnels and white +from the guns, made a suffocating pall overhead; while the dark, +squat, hideous ironclad hulls seemed to have risen from a +submarine inferno to stab each other with livid tongues of +flame--so deadly close the two flotillas fought. When the awful +hour was over the Confederates were not only defeated but +destroyed; and a wail went up from the thousands of their +anguished friends, as if the very shores were mourning. + + +For the next month Grant held the command at Memphis. Then, on +the eleventh of July, Halleck was recalled to Washington as +General-in-Chief of the whole army; while Pope was transferred to +Virginia. The Federal invasion of Virginia under that "Young +Napoleon," McClellan, had not been a success against Lee and +Stonewall Jackson. Nor did it improve with Pope at the front and +Halleck in the rear, as we shall presently see; though Halleck +had declared that Pope's operations at Island Number Ten were +destined to immortal fame, and Pope himself admitted his own +greatness in sundry proclamations to the world. + +The campaign now entered its second phase. The Virginian wing (of +the whole front reaching from the Mississippi to the sea) was +checked this summer; and was to remain more or less checked for +many a long day. The river wing, under the general direction of +Halleck, had also reached its limit for '62 about the same time, +after having conquered Kentucky and western Tennessee as well as +the Mississippi down to Memphis. + +This river wing was now depleted of some excellent troops and +again divided into quite separate commands. Buell commanded the +Army of the Ohio. Grant commanded his own Army of the Tennessee +and Rosecrans's Army of the Mississippi. Buell's scene of action +lay between the tributary streams--Ohio, Cumberland, and +Tennessee--with Chattanooga as his ultimate objective. Grant's +scene of action lay along the southward rails and Mississippi, +with Vicksburg as his ultimate objective. + +The Confederates were of course set on recovering complete +control of the line of Southern rails that made direct +connections between the Mississippi Valley and the sea: crossing +the western tributaries of the St. Francis and White Rivers; then +running east from Memphis, through Grand Junction, Corinth, and +Iuka, to Chattanooga; thence forking off northeast, through +Knoxville, to Washington, Richmond, and Norfolk; and southeast to +Charleston and Savannah. Confederate attention had originally +been fixed on Corinth and Chattanooga. But General O. M. +Mitchel's abortive raid, just after Shiloh, had also drawn it to +the part between. The Federals therefore found their enemy alert +at every point. + +Braxton Bragg, Beauregard's successor and Buell's opponent, +basing himself on Chattanooga, tried to drive his line of +Confederate reconquest through the heart of Tennessee and thence +through mid-Kentucky, with the Ohio as his ultimate objective. +His colleagues near the Mississippi, Van Dorn and Sterling Price, +meanwhile tried to effect the reconquest of the Memphis-Corinth +rails that Grant and Rosecrans were holding. + +All main offensives, on both sides, ultimately failed in this +latter half of the river campaign of '62. So nothing but the bare +fact that they were attempted needs any notice here. + +In August, about the time that Lee and Jackson were maneuvering +in Virginia to bring on the Second Bull Run, Price and Bragg +began their respective advances against Grant and Buell. Buell +was at Murfreesboro, defending Nashville. Bragg, screened by the +hills of eastern Tennessee, made for the Ohio at Louisville and +Cincinnati. Pivoting on his left he wheeled his whole army round +and raced for Louisville. Buell enjoyed the advantage of rails +over roads and of interior lines as well. But Bragg had stolen +several marches on him at the start and he only won by a head. + +The Union Government, now thoroughly alarmed, sent Thomas to +supersede Buell. But Thomas declined to take over the command, +and on the eighth of October Buell fought Bragg at Perryville. +There was no tactical defeat or victory; but Bragg retired on +Chattanooga. The Government now urged Buell to enter east +Tennessee. He protested that lack of transport and supplies made +such a move impossible. William S. Rosecrans then replaced him. +Buell was never employed again. He certainly failed fully to +appreciate the legitimate bearing of statesmanship on strategy; +but, for all that, he was an excellent organizer and a good +commander. + +In the meantime Grant had been experiencing his "most anxious +period of the war." During this anxious period, which lasted from +July to October, Rosecrans defeated Price at Iuka. This happened +on the nineteenth of September. Van Dorn then joined Price and +returned to the attack but was defeated by Rosecrans at Corinth +on the fourth of October. The Confederates, who had come near +victory on the third, retired in safety, because Grant still +lacked the means of resuming the offensive. + +As soon as he had the means Grant marched his army south for +Vicksburg. There were three converging forces: Grant's from Grand +Junction, Sherman's from Memphis, and a smaller one from Helena +in Arkansas. But the Confederate General, J.C. Pemberton, who had +replaced Van Dorn, escaped the trap they tried to set for him. He +was strongly entrenched on the south side of the Tallahatchie, +north of Oxford, on the Mississippi Central rails. While Grant +and Sherman converged on his front, the force from Helena rounded +his rear and cut the rails. But the damage was quickly repaired; +and Pemberton retired south toward Vicksburg before Grant and +Sherman could close and make him fight. + +Then Grant tried again. This time Sherman advanced on board of +Mississippi steamers, with the idea of meeting the Union +expedition coming up from New Orleans. But Van Dorn cut Grant's +long line of land communications at Holly Springs, forcing Grant +back for supplies and leaving Sherman, who had made his way up +the Yazoo, completely isolated. Grant fared well enough, so far +as food was concerned; for he found such abundant supplies that +he at once perceived the possibility of living on the country +without troubling about a northern base. He spent Christmas and +New Year at Holly Springs, and then moved back to Memphis. + +In the meantime Sherman's separated force had come to grief. On +the twenty-ninth of December its attempt to carry the Chickasaw +Bluffs, just north of Vicksburg, was completely frustrated by +Pemberton; for Sherman could not deploy into line on the few +causeways that stood above the flooded ground. + +On the eleventh of January this first campaign along the +Mississippi was ended by the capture of Arkansas Post. McClernand +was the senior there. But Sherman did the work ashore as D. D. +Porter did afloat. + +Meanwhile Bragg had brought the campaign to a close among the +eastern tributaries by a daring, though abortive, march on +Nashville. Rosecrans, now commanding the army of the Cumberland, +stopped and defeated him at Stone's River on New Year's Eve. + + +The "War in the West," that is, in those parts of the Southwest +which lay beyond the navigable tributaries of the Mississippi +system, was even more futile at the time and absolutely null in +the end. Its scene of action, which practically consisted of +inland Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, was not in itself +important enough to be a great determining factor in the actual +clash of arms. But Texas supplied many good men to the Southern +ranks; and the Southern commissariat missed the Texan cattle +after the fall of Vicksburg in '63. New Mexico might also have +been a good deal more important than it actually was if it could +have been made the base of a real, instead of an abortive, +invasion of California, the El Dorado of Confederate finance. + +We have already seen what happened on February 15, 1861, when +General Twiggs handed over to the State authorities all the army +posts in Texas. On the first of the following August Captain John +R. Baylor, who had been forming a little Confederate army under +pretext of a big buffalo hunt, proclaimed himself Governor of New +Mexico (south of 34 degrees) and established his capital at +Mesilla. In the meantime the Confederate Government itself had +appointed General H.H. Sibley to the command of a brigade for the +conquest of all New Mexico. Not ten thousand men were engaged in +this campaign, Federals and Confederates, whites and Indians, all +together; but a decisive Confederate success might have been +pregnant of future victories farther west. Some Indians fought on +one side, some on the other; and some of the wilder tribes, +delighted to see the encroaching whites at loggerheads, gave +trouble to both. + +On February 21, 1862, Sibley defeated Colonel E.R.S. Canby at +Valverde near Fort Craig. But his further advance was hindered by +the barrenness of the country, by the complete destruction of all +Union stores likely to fall into his hands, and by the fact that +he was between two Federal forts when the battle ended. On the +twentyeighth of March there was a desperate fight in Apache +Canon. Both sides claimed the victory. But the Confederates lost +more men as well as the whole of their supply and ammunition +train. After this Sibley began a retreat which ended in May at +San Antonio. His route was marked by bleaching skeletons for many +a long day; and from this time forward the conquest of California +became nothing but a dream. + + +The "War in the West" was a mere twig on the Trans-Mississippi +branch; and when the fall of Vicksburg severed the branch from +the tree the twig simply withered away. + + +The sword that ultimately severed branch and twig was firmly held +by Union hands before the year was out; and this notwithstanding +all the Union failures in the last six months. Grant and Porter +from above, Banks and Farragut from below, had already massed +forces strong enough to make the Mississippi a Union river from +source to sea, in spite of all Confederates from Vicksburg to +Port Hudson. + + + +CHAPTER V. LINCOLN: WAR STATESMAN + +Lincoln was one of those men who require some mighty crisis to +call their genius forth. Though more successful than Grant in +ordinary life, he was never regarded as a national figure in law +or poli tics till he had passed his fiftieth year. He had no +advantages of birth; though he came of a sturdy old English stock +that emigrated from Norfolk to Massachusetts in the seventeenth +century, and though his mother seems to have been, both in +tellectually and otherwise, above the general run of the +Kentuckians among whom he was born in 1809. His educational +advantages were still less. Yet he soon found his true amities in +books, as afterwards in life, not among the clever, smart, or +sentimental, but among the simple and the great. He read and +reread Shakespeare and the Bible, not because they were the +merely proper things to read but because his spirit was akin to +theirs. This meant that he never was a bookworm. Words were +things of life to him; and, for that reason, his own words live. + +He had no artificial graces to soften the uncouth appearance of +his huge, gaunt six-foot-four of powerful bone and muscle. But he +had the native dignity of straightforward manhood; and, though a +champion competitor in feats of strength, his opinion was always +sought as that of an impartial umpire, even in cases affecting +himself. He "played the game" in his frontier home as he +afterwards played the greater game of life-or-death at +Washington. His rough-hewn, strong-featured face, shaped by his +kindly humor to the finer ends of power, was lit by a steady gaze +that saw yet looked beyond, till the immediate parts of the +subject appeared in due relation to the whole. Like many another +man who sees farther and feels more deeply than the rest, and who +has the saving grace of humor, he knew what yearning melancholy +was; yet kept the springs of action tense and strong. Firm as a +rock on essentials he was extremely tolerant about all minor +differences. His policy was to live and let live whenever that +was possible. The preservation of the Union was his +master-passion, and he was ready for any honorable compromise +that left the Union safe. Himself a teetotaller, he silenced a +temperance delegation whose members were accusing Grant of +drunkenness by saying he should like to send some of his other +generals a keg of the same whisky if it would only make them +fight. + +When he took arms against the sea of troubles that awaited him at +Washington he had dire need of all his calm tolerance and +strength. To add to his burdens, he was beset by far more than +the usual horde of officeseekers. These men were doubly ravenous +because their party was so new to power. They were peculiarly +hard to place with due regard for all the elements within the +coalition. And each appointment needed most discriminating care, +lest a traitor to the Union might creep in. While the guns were +thundering against Fort Sumter, and afterwards, when the Union +Government was marooned in Washington itself, the vestibules, +stairways, ante-rooms, and offices were clogged with eager +applicants for every kind of civil service job. And then, when +this vast human flood subsided, the "interviewing" stream began +to flow and went on swelling to the bitter end. These war-time +interviewers claimed most of Lincoln's personal attention just +when he had the least to spare. But he would deny no one the +chance of receiving presidential aid or comfort and he gladly +suffered many fools for the chance of relieving the sad or +serious others. Add to all this the ceaseless work of helping to +form public opinion, of counteracting enemy propaganda, of +shaping Union policy under ever-changing circumstances, of +carrying it out by coalition means, and of exercising civil +control over such vast armed forces as no American had hitherto +imagined: add these extra burdens, and we can begin to realize +what Lincoln had to do as the chief war statesman of the North. + +A sound public opinion is the best embattlement of any home +front. So Lincoln set out to help in forming it. War on a +national scale was something entirely new to both sides, and +especially unwelcome to many people in the North, though the +really loyal North was up at Lincoln's call. Then came Bull Run; +and Lincoln's renewed determination, so well expressed in +Whitman's words: "The President, recovering himself, begins that +very night--sternly, rapidly sets about the task of reorganizing +his forces, and placing himself in positions for future and surer +work. If there was nothing else of Abraham Lincoln for history to +stamp him with, it is enough to send him with his wreath to the +memory of all future time, that he endured that hour, that day, +bitterer than gall--indeed a crucifixion day--that it did not +conquer him that he unflinchingly stemmed it, and resolved to +lift himself and the Union out of it." + +Bull Run was only the beginning of troubles. There were many more +rocks ahead in the stormy sea of public opinion. The peace party +was always ready to lure the ship of state out of its true course +by using false lights, even when certain to bring about a +universal wreck in which the "pacifists" would suffer with the +rest. But dissensions within the war party were worse, especially +when caused by action in the field. Fremont's dismissal in +November, '61, caused great dissatisfaction among three kinds of +people: those who thought him a great general because he knew how +to pose as one and really had some streaks of great ability, +those who were fattening on the army contracts he let out with +such a lavish hand, and those who hailed him as the liberator of +the slaves because he went unwarrantably far beyond what was then +politically wise or even possible. He was the first Unionist +commander to enter the Northern Cave of Adullam, already infested +with Copperhead snakes. + +There he was joined by McClellan exactly a year later; and there +the peace-at-current-prices party continued to nurse and cry +their grievances till the war was over. McClellan's dismissal was +a matter of dire necessity because victory was impossible under +his command. But he was a dangerous reinforcement to the +Adullamites; for many of the loyal public had been fooled by his +proclamations, the press had written him up to the skies as the +Young Napoleon, and the great mass of the rank and file still +believed in him. He took the kindly interest in camp comforts +that goes to the soldier's heart; and he really did know how to +organize. Add his power of passing off tinsel promises for golden +deeds, and it can be well understood how great was the danger of +dismissing him before his defects had become so apparent to the +mass of people as to have turned opinion decisively against him. +We shall presently meet him in his relation to Lincoln during the +Virginian campaign, and later on in his relation to Lee. Here we +may leave him with the reminder that he was the Democratic +candidate for President in '64, that he was still a mortal danger +to the Union, even though he had rejected the actual wording of +his party's peace plank. + +The turn of the tide at the fighting front came in '63; but not +at the home front, where public opinion of the most vocal kind +was stirred to its dregs by the enforcement of the draft. The +dime song books of the Copperhead parts of New York expressed in +rude rhymes very much the same sort of apprehension that was +voiced by the official opposition in the Presidential campaign of +'64. + +Abram Lincoln, what yer 'bout? +Stop this war, for it's played out. + +Another rhyme, called "The Beauties of Conscription," was a more +decorous expression of such public opinion. + +And this, the "People's Sovereignty," +Before a despot humbled! +. . . . +Well have they cashed old Lincoln's drafts, +Hurrah for the Conscription! +. . . . +Is not this war--this MURDER--for +The negro, nolens volens? + +So, carrying out their ideas to the same sort of logical +conclusion, the New York mob of '63 not only burnt every +recruiting office they found undefended but burnt the negro +orphan asylum and killed all the negroes they could lay their +hands on. + +Public opinion did veer round a little with the rising tide of +victory in the winter of '63 and '64. But, incredible as it may +seem to those who think the home front must always reflect the +fighting front, the nadir of public opinion in the North was +reached in the summer of '64, when every expert knew that the +resources of the South were nearing exhaustion and that the +forces of the North could certainly wear out Lee's dwindling army +even if they could not beat it. The trumpet gave no uncertain +sound from Lincoln's lips. "In this purpose to save the country +and its liberties no class of people seem so nearly unanimous as +the soldiers in the field and the sailors afloat. Do they not +have the hardest of it? Who should quail while they do not?" But +the mere excellence of a vast fighting front means a certain loss +of the nobler qualities in the home front, from which so many of +the staunchest are withdrawn. And then warweariness breeds +doubts, doubts breed fears, and fears breed the spirit of +surrender. + +There seemed to be more Copperheads in the conglomerate +opposition than Unionists ready to withstand them. The sinister +figure of Vallandigham loomed large in Ohio, where he openly +denounced the war in such disloyal terms that the military +authorities arrested him. An opposition committee, backed by the +snakes in the grass of the secret societies, at once wrote to +Lincoln demanding release. Lincoln thereupon offered release if +the committee would sign a declaration that, since rebellion +existed, and since the armed forces of the United States were the +constitutional means of suppressing rebellion, each member of the +committee would support the war till rebellion was put down. The +committee refused to sign. More people then began to see the +self-contradictions of the opposition, and most of those "plain +people" to whom Lincoln consciously appealed were touched to the +heart by his pathetic question: "Must I shoot the simpleminded +soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of the +wily agitator who induces him to desert?" + +But there was still defection on the Union side, and among many +"plain people" too; for Horace Greeley, the best-known Union +editor, lost his nerve and ran away. And Greeley was not the only +Union journalist who helped, sometimes unwittingly, to pervert +public opinion. The "writing up" of McClellan for what he was +not, though rather hysterical, was at least well meant. But the +reporters who "wrote down" General Cox, because he would not make +them members of his staff in West Virginia, disgraced their +profession. The lies about Sherman's "insanity" and Grant's +"intoxication" were shamelessly excused on the plea that they +made "good stories." Sherman's insanity, as we have seen already, +existed only in the disordered imagination of blabbing old Simon +Cameron. Grant, at the time these stories were published, was +strictly temperate. + +Amid all the hindrances--and encouragements, for the Union press +generally did noble service in the Union cause--of an uncensored +press, and all the complexities of public opinion, Lincoln kept +his head and heart set firmly on the one supreme objective of the +Union. He foresaw from the first that if all the States came +through the war United, then all the reforms for which the war +was fought would follow; but that if any particular reform was +itself made the supreme objective, then it, and with it all the +other reforms, would fail, because only part of the Union +strength would be involved, whereas the whole was needed. +Moreover, he clearly foresaw the absolute nature of a great civil +war. Foreign wars may well, and often do, end in some sort of +compromise, especially when the home life of the opponents can go +on as before. But a great civil war cannot end in compromise +because it radically changes the home life of one side or the +other. Davis stood for "Independence or extermination"; Lincoln +simply for the Union, which, in his clear prevision, meant all +that the body politic could need for a new and better life. He +accepted the word "enemy" as descriptive of a passing phase. He +would not accept such phraseology as Meade's, "driving the +invader from our soil." "Will our generals," he complained, +"never get that idea out of their heads? The whole country is our +soil." + +He was a life-long advocate of Emancipation, first, with +compensation, now as part of the price to be paid for rebellion. +Emancipation, however, depended on the Union, not the Union on +it. His Proclamation was ready in the summer of '62. But to +publish it in the midst of defeat would make it look like an act +of despair. In September, when the Confederates had to recross +the Potomac after Antietam, the Proclamation was given to the +world. Its first effect was greater abroad than at home; for now +no foreign government could say, and rightly say, that the war, +not being fought on account of slavery, might leave that issue +still unsettled. This was a most important point in Lincoln's +foreign policy, a policy which had been haunted by the fear of +recognition for the South or the possibility of war with either +the French or British, or even both together. + +Lincoln's Cabinet was composed of two factions, one headed by +Seward, the Secretary of State, the other by Chase, the Secretary +of the Treasury. Both the fighting services were under War +Democrats: the Army under Stanton, the Navy under Welles. All +these ministers began by thinking that Lincoln had the least +ability among them. Seward and Welles presently learnt better. +Stanton's exclamation at Lincoln's death speaks for itself "Now +he belongs to the ages!" But Chase never believed that Lincoln +could even be his equal. Chase and the Treasury were a thorn in +the side of the Government; Chase because it was his nature, the +Treasury because its notes fell to thirty-nine cents in the +dollar during the summer of '64. Welles, hard-working and +upright, was guided by an expert assistant. Stanton, equally +upright and equally hardworking, made many mistakes. And yet, +when all is said and done, Stanton was a really able patriot who +worked his hardest for what seemed to him the best. + +Such were the four chief men in that Cabinet with which Lincoln +carried out his Union policy and over which he towered in what +became transcendent statesmanship--the head, the heart, the +genius of the war. He never, for one moment, changed his course, +but kept it fixed upon the Union, no matter what the winds and +tides, the currents and cross-currents were. Thus, while so many +lesser minds were busy with flotsam and jetsam of the +controversial storm, his own serener soul was already beyond the +far horizon, voyaging toward the one sure haven for the Ship of +State. + + +But Lincoln was more than the principal civilian war statesman: +he was the constitutional Commander-in-Chief of all the Union +forces, afloat and ashore. He was responsible not only for +raising, supplying, and controlling them, but for their actual +command by men who, in the eyes of the law, were simply his own +lieutenants. The problem of exercising civil control without +practicing civilian interference, always and everywhere hard, and +especially hard in a civil war, was particularly hard in his +case, in view of public opinion, the press, his own war policy, +and the composition of his Cabinet. His solution was by no means +perfect; but the wonder is that he reached it so well in spite of +such perverting factors. He began with the mere armed mob that +fought the First Bull Run beset with interference. He ended with +Farragut, Grant, and Sherman, combined in one great scheme of +strategy that included Mobile, Virginia, and the lower South, and +that, while under full civil control, was mostly free from +interference with its naval and military work--except at the +fussy hands of Stanton. + +The fundamental difference between civil control, which is the +very breath of freedom, and civilian interference, which means +the death of all efficiency, can be quite simply illustrated by +supposing the proverbial Ship of State to be a fighting +man-of-war. The People are the owners, with all an owner's +rights; while their chosen Government is their agent, with all an +agent's delegated power. The fighting Services, as the word +itself so properly implies, are simply the People's servants, +though they take their orders from the Government. So far, so +good, within the limits of civil control, under which, and which +alone, any national resources--in men, money, or material--can +lawfully be turned to warlike ends. But when the ship is fitting +out, still more when she is out at sea, and most of all when she +is fighting, then she should be handled only by her expert +captain with his expert crew. Civilian interference begins the +moment any inexpert outsider takes the captain's place; and this +interference is no less disastrous when the outsider remains at +home than when he is on the actual spot. + +Lincoln and Stanton were out of their element in the strategic +fight with Lee and Stonewall Jackson, as the next chapter +abundantly proves. But they will bear, and more than bear, +comparison with Davis and Benjamin, their own special "opposite +numbers." Benjamin, when Confederate Secretary of War in '62, +nearly drove Jackson out of the service by ordering him to follow +the advice of some disgruntled subordinates who objected to being +moved about for strategic reasons which they could not +understand. To make matters worse, Benjamin sent this precious +order direct to Jackson without even informing his immediate +superior, "Joe" Johnston, or even Lee himself. Thus discipline, +the very soul of armies, was attacked from above and beneath by +the man who should have been its chief upholder. Luckily for the +South things were smoothed over, and Benjamin learnt something he +should have known at first. Davis had none of Lincoln's +diffidence about his own capacity for directing the strategy of +armies. He had passed through West Point and commanded a +battalion in Mexico without finding out that his fitness stopped +there. He interfered with Lee and Jackson, sometimes to almost a +disabling extent. He forced his enmity on "Joe" Johnston and +superseded him at the very worst time in the final campaign. He +interfered more than ever just when Lee most required a free +hand. And when he did make Lee a real Commander-in-Chief the +Southern cause had been lost already. Lincoln's war statesmanship +grew with the war. Davis remained as he was. + +Lincoln had to meet the difficulties that always occur when +professionals and amateurs are serving together. How much +Lincoln, Stanton, professionals, and amateurs had to do with the +system that was evolved under great stress is far too complex for +discussion here. Suffice it to say this: Lincoln's clear insight +and openness of mind enabled him to see the universal truth, +that, other things being equal, the trained and expert +professional must excel the untrained and inexpert amateur. But +other things are never precisely equal; and a war in which the +whole mass-manhood is concerned brings in a host of amateurs. +Lincoln was as devoid of prejudice against the regular officers +as he was against any other class of men; and he was ready to try +and try again to find a satisfactory commander among them, in +spite of many failures. The plan of campaign proposed by General +Winfield Scott (and ultimately carried out in a modified form) +was dubbed by wiseacre public men the "Anaconda policy"; witlings +derided it, and the people were too impatient for anything except +"On to Richmond!" Scott, unable to take the field at seventyfive, +had no second-in-command. Halleck was a very poor substitute +later on. In the meantime McDowell was chosen and generously +helped by Lincoln and Stanton. But after Bull Run the very people +whose impatience made victory impossible howled him down. + +Then the choice fell on McClellan, whose notorious campaign fills +much of our next chapter. There we shall see how refractory +circumstances, Stanton's waywardness among them, forced Lincoln +to go beyond the limits of civil control. Here we need only note +McClellan's personal relations with the President. Instead of +summoning him to the White House Lincoln often called at +McClellan's for discussion. McClellan presently began to treat +Lincoln's questions as intrusions, and one day sent down word +that he was too tired to see the President. Lincoln had told a +friend that he would hold McClellan's stirrups for the sake of +victory. But he could not abdicate in favor of McClellan or any +one else. + +It was none of Lincoln's business to be an actual +Commander-in-Chief. Yet night after weary night he sat up +studying the science and art of war, groping his untutored way +toward those general principles and essential human facts which +his native genius enabled him to reach, but never quite +understanding--how could he?--their practical application to the +field of strategy. His supremely good common sense saved him from +going beyond his depth whenever he could help it. His Military +Orders were forced upon him by the extreme pressure of impatient +public opinion. He told Grant "he did not know but they were all +wrong, and he did know that some of them were." + +McClellan was not the only failure in Virginia. Burnside and +Hooker also failed against Lee and Jackson. All three suffered +from civilian interference as well as from their own defects. At +last, in the third year of the war, a victor appeared in Meade, a +good, but by no means great, commander. In the fourth year +Lincoln gave the chief command to Grant, whom he had carefully +watched and wisely supported through all the ups and downs of the +river campaigns. + +Grant's account of his first conference alone with Lincoln is +eloquent of Lincoln's wise war statesmanship + +"He stated that he had never professed to be a military man or to +know how campaigns should be conducted, and never wanted to +interfere in them . . . . All he wanted was some one who would +take the responsibility and act, and call on him for all the +assistance needed, pledging himself to use all the power of the +government in rendering such assistance . . . . He pointed out on +the map two streams which empty into the Potomac, and suggested +that the army might be moved on boats and landed between the +mouths of these streams. We would then have the Potomac to bring +our supplies and the tributaries would protect our flanks while +we moved out. I listened respectfully, but did not suggest that +the same streams would protect Lee's flanks while he was shutting +us up. I did not communicate my plans to the President; nor did I +to the Secretary of War or to General Halleck." + +Trust begot trust; and some months later Grant showed war +statesmanship of the same magnificent kind. McClellan had become +the Democratic candidate for President, to the wellfounded alarm +of all who put the Union first. In June, when Grant and Lee were +at grips round Richmond, Lincoin was invited to a public meeting +got up in honor of Grant with only a flimsy disguise of the +ominous fact that Grant, and not Lincoln, might be the Union +choice. Lincoln sagaciously wrote back: "It is impossible for me +to attend. I approve nevertheless of whatever may tend to +strengthen and sustain General Grant and the noble armies now +under his command. He and his brave soldiers are now in the midst +of their great trial, and I trust that at your meeting you will +so shape your good words that they may turn to men and guns, +moving to his and their support." The danger to the Union of +taking Grant away from the front moved Lincoln deeply all through +that anxious summer of '64, though he never thought Grant would +leave the front with his work half done. In August an officious +editor told Lincoln that he ought to take a good long rest. +Lincoln, however, was determined to stand by his own post of duty +and find out from Grant, through their common friend, John Eaton, +what Grant's own views of such ideas were. This is Eaton's +account of how Grant took it: + +"We had been talking very quietly. But Grant's reply came in an +instant and with a violence for which I was not prepared. He +brought his clenched fists down hard on the strap arms of his +camp chair. 'They can't do it. They can't compel me to do it.' +Emphatic gesture was not a strong point with Grant. 'Have you +said this to the President?' 'No,' said Grant, 'I have not +thought it worth while to assure the President of my opinion. I +consider it as important for the cause that he should be elected +as that the army should be successful in the field.'" + +When Eaton brought back his report Lincoln simply said, "I told +you they could not get him to run till he had closed out the +rebellion." + +On the twenty-third of this same gloomy August, lightened only by +the taking of Mobile, Lincoln asked his Cabinet if they would +endorse a memorandum without reading it. They all immediately +signed. After his reelection in November he read it out: "This +morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable +that this Administration will not be reelected. Then it will be +my duty to so cooperate with the President-elect as to save the +Union between the election and the inauguration, as he will have +secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save +it afterwards." He added that he would have asked McClellan to +throw his whole influence into getting enough recruits to finish +the war before the fourth of March. "And McClellan," was Seward's +comment, "would have said 'Yes, yes,' and then done nothing." + +Lincoln's reelection was helped by Farragut's victory in August, +Sherman's in September, and Sheridan's raid through the +Shenandoah Valley in October. But it was also helped by that +strange, vivifying touch which passes, no one knows how, from the +man who best embodies a supremely patriotic cause to the masses +of his fellow patriots, and then, at some great crisis, when they +scale heights which he has long since trod, comes back in flood +and carries him to power. + +Lincoln stories were abroad; the true were eclipsing the false; +and all the true ones gained him increasing credit. Naval +reformers, and many others too, enjoyed the homely wit with which +he closed the first conference about such a startlingly novel +craft as the plans for the Monitor promised: "Well, Gentlemen, +all I have to say is what the girl said when she put her foot +into the stocking: 'It strikes me there's something in it.'" The +army enjoyed the joke against the three-month captain whom +Sherman threatened to shoot if he went home without leave. The +same day Lincoln, visiting the camp, was harangued by this +prospective deserter in presence of many another man disheartened +by Bull Run. "Mr. President: this morning I spoke to Colonel +Sherman and he threatened to shoot me, Sir!" Lincoln looked the +two men over, and then, in a stage whisper every listener could +hear, said: "Well, if I were you, and he threatened to shoot me, +I wouldn't trust him; for I'm sure he'd do it." Both Services +were not only pleased with the "rise" Lincoln took out of a too +inquisitive politician but were much reassured by its model +discretion. This importunate politician so badgered Lincoln about +the real destination of McClellan's transports that Lincoln at +last promised to tell everything he could if the politician would +promise not to repeat it. Then, after swearing the utmost +secrecy, the politician got the news: "They are going to sea." + +The whole home front as well as the Services were touched to the +heart by tales of Lincoln's kindness in his many interviews with +the warbereaved; and letters like these spoke for themselves to +every patriot in the land: + + Executive Mansion, November 21, 1864. + +Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts. + +Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department +a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are +the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of +battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine +which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so +overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the +consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they +died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the +anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished +memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be +yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of +freedom. + + Yours very sincerely and respectfully, + Abraham Lincoln. + + +Nor did the Lincoln touch stop there. It even began to make its +quietly persuasive way among the finer spirits of the South from +the very day on which the Second Inaugural closed with words +which were the noblest consummation of the prophecy made in the +First. This was the prophecy: "The mystic chords of memory, +stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every +living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet +swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they +will be, by the better angels of our nature." And this the +consummation "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with +firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us +strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's +wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for +his widow and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish +a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." + + + +CHAPTER VI. LEE AND JACKSON: 1862-3 + +Most Southerners remained spellbound by the glamour of Bull Run +till the hard, sharp truths of '62 began to rouse them from their +flattering dream. They fondly hoped, and even half believed, that +if another Northern army dared to invade Virginia it would +certainly fail against their entrenchments at Bull Run. If, so +ran the argument, the North failed in the open field it must fail +still worse against a fortified position. + +The Southern generals vainly urged their Government to put forth +its utmost strength at once, before the more complex and less +united North had time to recover and begin anew. They asked for +sixty thousand men at Bull Run, to be used for a vigorous +counterstroke at Washington. They pointed out the absurdity of +misusing the Bull Run (or Manassas) position as a mere shield, +fixed to one spot, instead of making it the hilt of a sword +thrust straight at the heart of the North. Robert E. Lee, now a +full general in the Confederate Army and adviser to the +President, grasped the whole situation from the first and urged +the right solution in the official way. Stonewall Jackson, still +a junior general, was in full accord with Lee, as we know from +the confidential interview (at the end of October, '61) between +him and his divisional commander, General G. W. Smith, who made +it public many years later. The gist of Jackson's argument was +this: "McClellan won't come out this year with his army of +recruits. We ought to invade now, not wait to be invaded later +on. If Davis would concentrate every man who can be spared from +all other points and let us invade before winter sets in, then +McClellan's recruits couldn't stand against us in the field.--Let +us cross the upper Potomac, occupy Baltimore, and, holding +Maryland, cut the communications of Washington, force the Federal +Government out of it, beat McClellan if he attacks, destroy +industrial plants liable to be turned to warlike ends, cut the +big commercial lines of communication, close the coal mines, +seize the neck of land between Pittsburg and Lake Erie, live on +the country by requisition, and show the North what it would cost +to conquer the South." On asking Smith if he agreed, Smith +answered: "I will tell you a secret; for I am sure it won't be +divulged. These views were rejected by the Government during the +conference at Fairfax Court House at the beginning of the month." +Jackson thereupon shook Smith's hand, saying, "I am sorry, very +sorry," and, mounting Little Sorrel without another word, rode +sadly away. + +Jefferson Davis probably, and some of his Cabinet possibly, +understood what Lee, "Joe" Johnston, Beauregard, Smith, and +Jackson so strongly urged. But they feared the outcry that would +assuredly be raised by people in districts denuded of troops for +the grand concentration elsewhere. So they remained passive when +they should have been active, and, trying to strengthen each +separate part, fatally weakened the whole. + +Meanwhile the North was collecting the different elements of +warlike force and changing its Secretary of War. Cameron was +superseded by Stanton on the fifteenth of January. Twelve days +later Lincoln issued the first of those military orders which, as +we have just seen, he afterwards told Grant that the impatience +of the loyal North compelled him to issue, though he knew some +were certainly, and all were possibly, wrong. This first order +was one of the certainly wrong. McClellan's unready masses were +to begin an unlimited mud march through the early spring. roads +of Virginia on the twenty-second of February, in honor of +Washington's birthday. A reconnoitering staff officer reported +the roads as being in their proper places; but he guessed the +bottom had fallen out. So McClellan was granted some delay. + +His grand total was now over two hundred thousand men. The +Confederate grand total was estimated at a hundred and fifteen +thousand by the civilian detectives whom the Federal Government +employed to serve in place of an expert intelligence staff. The +detective estimate was sixty-five thousand men out. The real +Confederate strength at this time was only fifty thousand. There +was little chance of getting true estimates in any other way, as +the Federal Government had no adequate cavalry. Most of the few +cavalry McClellan commanded were as yet a mere collection of men +and horses, quite unfit for reconnoitering and testing an enemy's +force. + +McClellan's own plan, formed on the supposition that the +Confederates held the Bull Run position with at least a hundred +thousand men, involved the transfer of a hundred and fifty +thousand Federals by sea from Washington to Fortress Monroe, on +the historic peninsula between the York and James rivers. Then, +using these rivers as lines of communication, his army would take +Richmond in flank. Lincoln's objection to this plan was based on +the very significant argument that while the Federal army was +being transported piecemeal to Fortress Monroe the Confederates +might take Washington by a sudden dash from their base at +Centreville, only thirty miles off. This was a valid objection; +for Washington was not only the Federal Headquarters but the very +emblem of the Union cause--a sort of living Stars and +Stripes--and Washington lost might well be understood to mean +almost the same as if the Ship of State had struck her colors. + +On the ninth of March the immediate anxiety about Washington was +relieved. That day came news that the Monitor had checkmated the +Merrimac in Hampton Roads and that "Joe" Johnston had withdrawn +his forces from the Bull Run position and had retired behind the +Rappahannock to Culpeper. On the tenth McClellan began a +reconnoitering pursuit of Johnston from Washington. Having found +burnt bridges and other signs of decisive retirement, he at last +persuaded the reluctant Lincoln to sanction the Peninsula +Campaign. On the seventeenth his army began embarking for +Fortress Monroe, ten thousand men at a time, that being all the +transports could carry. For a week the movement of troops went on +successfully; while the Confederates could not make out what was +happening along the coast. Everything also seemed quite safe, +from the Federal point of view, in the Shenandoah Valley, where +General Banks commanded. And both there and along the Potomac the +Federals were in apparently overwhelming strength; even though +the detectives doing duty as staff officers still kept on +doubling the numbers of all the Confederates under arms. + +Suddenly, on the twenty-third, a fight at Kernstown in the +Shenandoah Valley gave a serious shock to the victorious +Federals, not only there but all over the semicircle of invasion, +from West Virginia round by the Potomac and down to Fortress +Monroe. The fighting on both sides was magnificent. Yet Kernstown +itself was a very small affair. Little more than ten thousand men +had been in action: seven thousand Federals under Shields against +half as many Confederates under Stonewall Jackson. The point is +that Jackson's attack, though unsuccessful, was very +disconcerting elsewhere. From Kernstown the area of disturbance +spread like wildfire till the tactical victory of seven thousand +Federals had spoilt the strategy of thirty times as many. Shields +reported: "I set to work during the night to bring together all +the troops within my reach. I sent an express after Williams's +division, requesting the rear brigade, about twenty miles +distant, to march all night and join me in the morning. I swept +the posts in rear of almost all their guards, hurrying them +forward by forced marches, to be with me at daylight." Banks, now +on his way to Washington, halted in alarm at Harper's Ferry. +McClellan, perceiving that Jackson's little force was more than a +mere corps of observation, approved Banks and added: "As soon as +you are strong enough push Jackson hard and drive him well beyond +Strasburg," that is, west of the Massanuttons, where Fremont +could close in and finish him. Lincoln had already been thinking +of transferring nine thousand men from McClellan to Fremont. +Kernstown decided it; so off they went to West Virginia. Still +fearing an attack on Washington, Lincoln halted McDowell's army +corps, thirty-seven thousand strong, on the march overland to +join McClellan on the Peninsula, and kept them stuck fast round +Centreville, near Bull Run. And so McClellan's Peninsular force +was suddenly reduced by forty-six thousand men. + +April was a month of maneuvers and suspense. By the end of it +McClellan, based on Fortress Monroe, had accumulated a hundred +and ten thousand men. The Confederates on the Peninsula, holding +Yorktown, numbered fifty thousand. McClellan sadly missed +McDowell, whose corps was to have taken the fort at Gloucester +Point that prevented the Federal gunboats from turning the +enemy's lines at Yorktown. McDowell moved south to +Fredericksburg, leaving a small force near Manassas Junction to +connect him with the garrison of Washington. The Confederates +could spare only twelve thousand men to watch him. Meanwhile +Banks occupied the Shenandoah Valley, having twenty thousand men +at Harrisonburg and smaller forces at several points all round, +from southwest to northeast, each designed to form part of the +net that was soon to catch Jackson. Beyond Banks stood Fremont's +force in West Virginia, also ready to close in. Jackson's +complete grand total was less than that of Banks's own main body. +Yet, with one eye on Richmond, he lay in wait at Swift Run Gap, +crouching for a tiger-spring at Banks. Virginia was semicircled +by superior forces. But everywhere inside the semicircle the +Confederate parts all formed one strategic whole; while the +Federal parts outside did not. Moreover, the South had already +decided to call up every available man; thus forestalling the +North by more than ten months on the vital issue of conscription. + +In May the preliminary clash of arms began on the Peninsula. The +Confederates evacuated the Yorktown lines on the third. On the +fifth McClellan's advanced guard fought its way past +Williamsburg. On the seventh he began changing his base from +Fortress Monroe to White House on the Pamunkey. Here on the +sixteenth he was within twenty miles of Richmond, while all the +seaways behind him were safe in Union hands. The fate not only of +Richmond but of the whole South seemed trembling in the scales. +The Northern armies had cleared the Mississippi down to Memphis. +The Northern navy had taken New Orleans, the greatest Southern +port. And now the Northern hosts were striking at the Southern +capital. McClellan with double numbers from the east, McDowell +with treble numbers from the north, and the Union navy, with more +than fourfold strength on all the navigable waters, were closing +in. The Confederate Government had even decided to take the +extreme step of evacuating Richmond, hoping to prolong the +struggle elsewhere. The official records had been packed. Davis +had made all arrangements for the flight of his family. And from +Drewry's Bluff, eight miles south of Richmond, the masts of the +foremost Federal vessels could be seen coming up the James, +where, on the eleventh, the Merrimac, having grounded, had been +destroyed by her own commander. + +But the General Assembly of Virginia, passionately seconded by +the City Council, petitioned the Government to stand its ground +"till not a stone was left upon another." Every man in Richmond +who could do a hand's turn and who was not already in arms +marched out to complete the defenses of the James at Drewry's +Bluff. Senators, bankers, bondmen and free, merchants, laborers, +and ministers of all religions, dug earthworks, hauled cannon, +piled ammunition, or worked, wet to the waist, at the big boom +that was to stop the ships and hold them under fire. The +Government had changed its mind. Richmond was to be held to the +last extremity. And the Southern women were as willing as the +men. + +In the midst of all this turmoil Lee calmly reviewed the +situation. He saw that the Federal gunboats coming up the James +were acting alone, as the disconnected vanguard of what should +have been a joint advance, and that no army was yet moving to +support them. He knew McClellan and Banks and read them like a +book. He also knew Jackson, and decided to use him again in the +Shenandoah Valley as a menace to Washington. Writing to him on +the sixteenth of May, the very day McClellan reached White House, +only twenty miles from Richmond, he said: "Whatever movement you +make against Banks, do it speedily, and, if successful, drive him +back towards the Potomac, and create the impression, as far as +possible, that you design threatening that line." Moreover, out +of his own scanty forces, he sent Jackson two excellent brigades. +Thus, while the great Federal civilians who knew nothing +practical of war were all agog about Richmond, a single point at +one end of the semicircle, the great Confederate strategist was +forging a thunderbolt to relieve the pressure on it by striking +the Federal center so as to threaten Washington. The fundamental +idea was a Fabian defensive at Richmond, a vigorous offensive in +the Valley, to produce Federal dispersion between these points +and Washington; then rapid concentration against McClellan on the +Chickahominy. + +The unsupported Federal gunboats were stopped and turned back at +the boom near Drewry's Bluff. McClellan, bent on besieging +Richmond in due form, crawled cautiously about the intervening +swamps of the oozy Chickahominy. McDowell, who could not advance +alone, remained at Fredericksburg. Shields stood behind him, near +Catlett's Station, to keep another eye on nervous Washington. + + +In the meantime Stonewall Jackson, still in the Shenandoah, had +fought no battles since his tactical defeat at Kernstown on the +twenty-third of March had proved such a pregnant strategic +victory elsewhere. But late in April he had a letter from Lee, +telling of the general situation and suggesting an attack on +Banks. Banks, however, still had twenty thousand men at +Harrisonburg, with twenty-five thousand more in or within call of +the Valley. Jackson's complete grand total was less than eighteen +thousand. The odds against him therefore exceeded five against +two; and direct attack was out of the question. But he now began +his maneuvers anew and on a bolder scale than ever. He had upset +the Federal strategy at Kernstown, when there were less than +eight thousand Confederates in the Valley. What might he not do +with ten thousand more? His wonderful Valley Campaign, famous +forever in the history of war, gives us the answer. + +He had five advantages over Banks. First, his own expert +knowledge and genius for war, backed by a dauntless character. +Banks was a very able man who had worked his way up from factory +hand to Speaker of the House of Representatives and Governor of +Massachusetts. But he had neither the knowledge, genius, nor +character required for high command; and he owed his present +position more to his ardor as a politician than to his ability as +a general. Jackson's second advantage was his own and his army's +knowledge of the country for which they naturally fought with a +loving zeal which no invaders could equal. The third advantage +was in having Turner Ashby's cavalry. These were horsemen born +and bred, who could make their way across country as easily as +the "footy" Federals could along the road. In answer to a +peremptory order a Federal cavalry commander could only explain: +"I can't catch them. They leap fences and walls like deer. +Neither our men nor our horses are so trained." The fourth +advantage was in discipline. Jackson habitually spared his men +more than his officers, and his officers more than himself, +whenever indulgence was possible. But when discipline had to be +sternly maintained he, maintained it sternly, throughout all +ranks, knowing that the flower of discipline is selfsacrifice, +from the senior general down, and that the root is due +subordination, from the junior private up. After the Conscription +Act had come into force a few companies, who were time-expired as +volunteers, threw down their arms and told their colonel they +wouldn't serve another day. On hearing this officially Jackson +asked: "Why does Colonel Grigsby refer to me to learn how to deal +with mutineers? He should shoot them where they stand." The rest +of the regiment was then paraded with loaded arms, facing the +mutineers, who were given the choice of complete submission or +instant death. They chose submission. That was the last mutiny +under Stonewall Jackson. Both sides suffered from straggling, the +Confederates as much as the Federals. But Confederate stragglers +rejoined the better of the two; and in downright desertion the +Federals were the worse, simply because their own peace party was +by far the stronger. The final advantage brings us back to +strategy, on which the whole campaign was turning. Lee and +Jackson worked the Confederates together. Lincoln and Stanton +worked the Federals apart. + +On the last of April Jackson slipped away from Swift Run Gap +while Ewell quietly took his place and Ashby blinded Banks by +driving the Federal cavalry back on Harrisonburg. Jackson's men +were thoroughly puzzled and disheartened when they had to leave +the Valley in full possession of the enemy while they ploughed +through seas of mud towards Richmond. What was the matter? Were +they off to Richmond? No; for they presently wheeled round. "Old +Jack's crazy, sure, this time." Even one of his staff officers +thought so himself, and put it on paper, to his own confusion +afterwards. The rain came down in driving sheets. The roads +became mere drains for the oozing woods. Wheels stuck fast; and +Jackson was seen heaving his hardest with an exhausted gun team. +But still the march went on--slosh, slosh, squelch; they slogged +it through. CLOSE UP, MEN!--CLOSE UP IN REAR!--CLOSE UP, THERE, +CLOSE UP! + +On the fourth of May Jackson got word from Edward Johnson, +commanding his detached brigade near Staunton, that Milroy, +commanding Fremont's advanced guard, was coming on from West +Virginia. Jackson at once seized the chance of smashing Milroy by +railing in to Staunton before Banks or Fremont could interfere. +This would have been suicidal against a great commander with a +well-trained force. But Banks, grossly exaggerating Jackson's +numbers, was already marching north to the railhead at New +Market, where he would be nearer his friends if Jackson swooped +down. Detraining at Staunton the Confederates picketed the whole +neighborhood to stop news getting out before they made their dash +against Milroy. On the seventh they moved off. The cadets of the +Virginia Military Institute, where Jackson had been a professor +for so many years, had just joined to gain some experience of the +real thing, and as they stepped out in their smart uniforms, with +all the exactness of parade-ground drill, they formed a marked +contrast to the gaunt soldiers of the Valley, half fed, half +clad, but wholly eager for the fray. + +That night Milroy got together all the men he could collect at +McDowell, a little village just beyond the Valley and on the road +to Gauley Bridge in West Virginia. He sent posthaste for +reinforcements. But Fremont's men were divided too far west, +fearing nothing from the Valley, while Banks's were thinking of a +concentration too far north. + +In the afternoon of the eighth, Milroy attacked Jackson with +great determination and much skill. But after a stern encounter, +in which the outnumbered Federals fought very well indeed, the +Confederates won a decisive victory. The numbers actually +engaged--twenty-five hundred Federals against four thousand +Confederates--were even smaller than at Kernstown. But this time +the Confederates won the tactical victory on the spot as well as +the strategic victory all over the Valley; and the news cheered +Richmond at what, as we have seen already, was its very darkest +hour. The night of the battle Jackson sent out strong working +parties to destroy all bridges and culverts and to block all +roads by which Fremont could reach the Valley. In some places +bowlders were rolled down from the hills. In one the trees were +felled athwart the path for a mile. A week later Jackson was back +in the Valley at Lebanon Springs, while Fremont was blocked off +from Banks, who was now distractedly groping for safety and news. + +The following day, the famous sixteenth, we regain touch with +Lee, who, as mentioned already, then wrote to Jackson about +attacking Banks in order to threaten Washington. This dire day at +Richmond, the day McClellan reached White House, was also the one +appointed by the Southern Government as a day of intercession for +God's blessing on the Southern arms. None kept it more fervently, +even in beleaguered Richmond, than pious Jackson in the Valley. +Then, like a giant refreshed, he rose for swift and silent +marches and also sudden hammer-strokes at Banks. + +Confident that all would now go well, Washington thought nothing +of the little skirmish at McDowell, because it apparently +disturbed nothing beyond the Shenandoah Valley. The news from +everywhere else was good; and Federals were jubilant. So were the +civilian strategists, particularly Stanton, who, though tied to +his desk as Secretary of War, was busy wire-pulling Banks's men +about the Valley. Stanton ordered Banks to take post at Strasburg +and to hold the bridges at Front Royal with two detached +battalions. This masterpiece of bungling put the Federals at +Front Royal in the air, endangered their communications north to +Winchester, and therefore menaced the Valley line toward +Washington. But Banks said nothing; and Stanton would have +snubbed him if he had. + +On the twenty-third of May a thousand Federals under Colonel +Kenly were sweltering in the first hot weather of the year at +Stanton's indefensible position of Front Royal when suddenly a +long gray line of skirmishers emerged from the woods, the +Confederate bugles rang out, and Jackson's battle line appeared. +Then came a crashing volley, which drove in the Federal pickets +for their lives. Colonel Kenly did his best. But he was +outflanked and forced back in confusion. A squadron of New York +cavalry came to the rescue; but were themselves outflanked and +helpless on the road against the Virginian horsemen, who could +ride across country. Kenly had just made a second stand, when +down came the Virginians, led by Colonel Flournoy at racing speed +over fence and ditch, scattering the Federal cavalry like chaff +before the wind and smashing into the Federal infantry. Two +hundred and fifty really efficient cavalry took two guns +(complete with limbers, men, and horses), killed and wounded a +hundred and fifty-four of their opponents, and captured six +hundred prisoners as well--and all with a loss to themselves of +only eleven killed and fifteen wounded. + +Ashby's cavalry, several hundreds strong, pushed on and out to +the flanks, cutting the wires, destroying bridges, and blocking +the roads against reinforcements from beyond the Valley. Three +hours after the attack a dispatchrider dashed up to Banks's +headquarters at Strasburg. But Banks refused to move, saying, +when pressed by his staff to make a strategic retreat on +Winchester, "By God, sir, I will not retreat! We have more to +fear from the opinions of our friends than from the bayonets of +our enemies!" The Cabinet backed him up next day by actually +proposing to reinforce him at Strasburg with troops from +Washington and Baltimore. Nevertheless he was forced to fly for +his life to Winchester. His stores at Strasburg had to be +abandoned. His long train of wagons was checked on the way, with +considerable loss. And some of his cavalry, caught on the road by +horsemen who could ride across country, were smashed to pieces. + +Jackson pressed on relentlessly to Winchester with every one who +could march like "foot cavalry," as his Valley men came to be +called. On the twenty-fifth, the third day of unremitting action, +he carried the Winchester heights and drove Banks through the +town. Only the Second Massachusetts, which had already +distinguished itself during the retreat, preserved its formation. +Ten thousand Confederate bayonets glittered in the morning sun. +The long gray lines swept forward. The piercing rebel yell rose +high. And the people, wild with joy, rushed out of doors to urge +the victors on. + +By the twenty-sixth, the first day on which Stanton's +reinforcements from Baltimore and Washington could possibly have +fought at Strasburg, the Confederates had reached Martinsburg, +fifty miles beyond it. Banks had already crossed the Potomac, +farther on still. The newsboys of the North were crying, DEFEAT +OF GENERAL BANKS! WASHINGTON IN DANGER! Thirteen Governors were +calling for special State militia, for which a million men were +volunteering, spare troops were hurrying to Harper's Ferry, a +reserve corps was being formed at Washington, the Federal +Government was assuming control of all the railroad lines, and +McClellan was being warned that he must either take Richmond at +once or come back to save the capital. Nor did the strategic +disturbance stop even there; for the Washington authorities +ordered McDowell's force at Fredericksburg to the Valley just as +it was coming into touch with McClellan. + +On the twenty-eighth Jackson might have taken Harper's Ferry. But +the storm was gathering round him. A great strategist directing +the Federal forces could have concentrated fifty thousand men, by +sunset on the first of June, against Jackson's Army of the +Valley, which could not possibly have mustered one-third of such +a number. McDowell arrived that night at Front Royal. He had +vainly protested against the false strategy imposed by the +Government from Washington, and he was not a free agent now. Yet, +even so, his force was at least a menace to Jackson, who had only +two chances of getting away to aid in the. defeat of McClellan +and the saving of Richmond. One was to outmarch the converging +Federals, gain interior lines along the Valley, and defeat them +there in detail. The other was to march into friendly Maryland, +trusting to her Southern sentiments for help and reinforcements. +He decided on the Valley route and marched straight in between +his enemies. + +His fortnight's work, from the nineteenth of May to the first of +June, inclusive, is worth summing up. In these fourteen days he +had marched 170 miles, routed 12,500 men, threatened an invasion +of the North, drawn McDowell off from Fredericksburg, taken or +destroyed all Federal stores at Front Royal, Winchester, and +Martinsburg, and brought off safely a convoy seven miles long. +Moreover, he had done all this with the loss of only six hundred, +though sixty thousand enemies lay on three sides of his own +sixteen thousand men. + +His remaining problem was harder still. It was how to mystify, +tire out, check short, and then immobilize the converging +Federals long enough to let him slip secretly away in time to +help Johnston and Lee against McClellan. Jackson, like his +enemies, moved through what has been well called the Fog of +War--that inevitable uncertainty through which all commanders +must find their way. But none of his enemies equaled him in +knowledge, genius, or character for war. + +The first week in June saw desperate marches in the Valley, with +the outnumbering Federals hotfoot on the trail of Jackson, who +turned to bay one moment and at the next was off again. On the +sixth the Federals got home against his rear guard. It began to +waver, and Ashby ordered the infantry to charge. As he gave the +order his horse fell dead. In a flash he was up, waving his sword +and shouting: "Charge, for God's sake, charge!" The Confederate +line swept forward gallantly. But, just as it left the wood, +Ashby was shot through the heart. His men avenged him. Yet none +could fill his place as a born leader of irregular light horse. + +Next morning the hounds were hot upon the scent again: Shields +and Fremont converging on Jackson, whom they would run to earth +somewhere north of Staunton. But on the eighth and ninth Jackson +turned sharply and bit back, first at Fremont close to Cross +Keys, then at Shields near Port Republic. Each was caught alone, +just before their point of junction, and each was defeated in +detail as well. + +Fully to appreciate Jackson's strategy we must compare the +strategical and tactical numbers concerned throughout this short +but momentous Valley Campaign. The strategic numbers are those at +the disposal of the commander within the theater of operations. +The tactical numbers are those actually present on the field of +battle, whether engaged or not. At McDowell the Federals had +30,000 in strategic strength against 17,000 Confederates; yet the +Confederates got 6000 on to the field of battle against no more +than 2500. At Winchester the Federal strategic strength was +60,000 against 16,000; yet the Confederate tactical strength was +every man of the 16,000 against 7500--only one-eighth of Banks's +grand total. At Cross Keys the strategic strengths were 23,000 +Federals against 13,000 Confederates; yet 12,750 Federals were +beaten by 8000 Confederates. Finally, at Port Republic, the +Federals, with a strategic strength of 22,000 against the +Confederate 12,700, could only bring a tactical strength of 4500 +to bear on 6000 Confederates. The grand aggregate of these four +remarkable actions is well worth adding up. It comes to this in +strategic strength: 135,000 Federals against 58,700 Confederates. +Yet in tactical strength the odds are reversed; for they come to +this: 36,000 Confederates against only 27,250 Federals. Therefore +Stonewall Jackson, with strategic odds of nearly seven to three +against him, managed to fight with tactical odds of four to three +in his favor. + + +While Jackson was fighting in the Valley the Confederates at +Richmond were watching the nightly glow of Federal camp fires. +McClellan had 30,000 men north of the Chickahominy, waiting for +McDowell to come back from his enterprise against Jackson, and +75,000 south of it. What could the 65,000 Confederates do, except +hold fast to their lines? TO RICHMOND 4 1/2 MILES: so read the +sign-post at the Mechanicsville bridge, and there stood the +nearest Federal picket. Johnston and Lee knew, however, that +McClellan's alarmist detectives swore to a Confederate army three +times its actual strength at this time; and there was reason to +hope that the consequent moral ascendancy would help the shock of +an attack suddenly made on one of McClellan's two wings while the +flooded Chickahominy flowed between them and its oozy swamps +bewildered his staff. + +Hearing that McDowell need not be feared, Johnston attacked at +daylight on the thirty-first of May. The battle of Seven Pines +(known also as Fair Oaks) was not unlike Shiloh. The Federals +were taken by surprise on the first day and only succeeded in +holding their own by hard fighting and with a good deal of loss. +A mistake was made by the Confederate division told off for the +attack on the key to the Federal front (an attack which, if +completely successful, would have split the Federals in two) and +the main bodies were engaged before this fatal error could be +rectified. So the surprised Federals gradually recovered from the +first shock and began to feel and use their hitherto unrealized +strength. On the second day (the first of June) Johnston, who had +been severely wounded, was plainly defeated and compelled to fall +back on Richmond again. + +On the morrow of this defeat Lee was appointed to "the immediate +command of the armies in eastern Virginia and North Carolina." +Davis was not war statesman enough to make him Commander-in-Chief +till '65--four years too late. Johnston did not reappear till he +tried to relieve Vicksburg from the determined attacks of Grant +in '63. + +The twelfth of June will be remembered forever in the annals of +cavalry for Stuart's first great ride round McClellan's host. +With twelve hundred troopers and two horse artillery guns he +stole out beyond the western flank of the Federals and reached +Taylorsville that evening, twenty-two miles north of Richmond. +Next day he rode right in among the Federal posts in rear, +discovering that McClellan's right stretched little north of the +Chickahominy, that it was not fortified, and that it did not rest +on any strong natural feature, such as a swampy stream. This was +exactly the information Lee required. So far, so good. The +Federals met with up to this time had simply been ridden down. +But now the whole country was alarmed and McClellan had forces +out to cut Stuart off on his return, while General Cooke +(Stuart's father-inlaw) began to pursue him from Hanover Court +House. + +Then Stuart took the boldest step of all, deciding to go clear +round the rest of the Federal army. At Tunstall's Station on the +York River Railroad he routed the guard, tore up the track, +destroyed the stores and wagons, cut the wires, burnt the bridge, +and replenished his supplies. Thence southeast, by the +Williamsburg road, his column marched under a full summer moon, +the people running out of doors, wild with joy at his daring. At +sunrise he reached the Chickahominy, only to find it flooded, +full of timber, and spanned by nothing better than a broken +bridge. But, using the materials of a warehouse to make a +footway, the troopers crossed in single file, leading their +chargers, which swam. Waving his hand to the Federals, who had +just arrived too late, Stuart pushed on the remaining thirty-five +miles to Richmond, rounding the Federal flank within range of +Federal gunboats on the James. + +This magnificent raid not only procured in three days information +that McClellan's civilian detectives could not have procured in +three years but raised Confederate morale and depressed the +Federals correspondingly. Moreover, it drove the first nail into +McClellan's coffin. For in October, just after another Stuart +raid, the following curious incident occurred on board the Martha +Washington when Lincoln was returning from an Alexandria review +which had cheered him up considerably, coming, as it did, after +Lee had failed in Maryland. By way of answering the very +pertinent question--"Mr. President, how about McClellan?"- +-Lincoln simply drew a ring on the deck, quietly adding: "When I +was a boy we used to play a game called 'Three times round and +out.' Stuart has been round McClellan twice. The third time +McClellan will be out." + +Stuart rode ahead of his troopers, straight to Lee, who +immediately wrote to Jackson suggesting that the Army of the +Valley, while keeping the Federals alarmed to the last about an +attack on the line of the Potomac, might secretly slip away and +join a combined attack on McClellan. Jackson, who had of course +foreseen this, was ready with every blind known to the art of +war. Even his staff and generals knew nothing of their +destination. The first move was so secret that the enemy never +suspected anything till it was too late, while friends thought +there was to be another surprise in the Valley. The second move +led various people to suspect a march on Washington--no bad news +to leak out; and nothing but misleading items did leak out. The +Army of the Valley moved within a charmed circle of cavalry which +prevented any one from going forward, ahead of the advance, and +swept before it all stragglers through whom the news might leak +out by the rear. On the twenty-third of June, only eight days +after Stuart had reported his raid to Lee, Jackson attended Lee's +conference at the same place, Richmond. The Valley Army was then +on its thirty-mile march from Frederick's Hall to Ashland, where +it arrived on the twenty-fifth, fifteen miles north. + +McClellan had over a hundred thousand men. Lee had less than +ninety thousand, even after Jackson had joined him. To attack +McClellan's strongly fortified front, with its almost impregnable +flanks, would have been suicide. But McClellan's farther right, +commanded by that excellent officer, FitzJohn Porter, lay north +of the Chickahominy, with its own right open for junction with +McDowell. So Lee, knowing McClellan and the state of this Federal +right, decided on the twenty-fourth to attack Porter and threaten +McClellan's communications not only with McDowell to the north +but with White House, the Federal base twenty miles northeast. +This was an exceedingly bold move, first, because McClellan had +plenty of men to take Richmond during Lee's march north, +secondly, because it meant the convergence of separate forces on +the field of battle (Jackson being at Ashland, fifteen miles from +Richmond) and, thirdly, because the Confederates were inferior in +armament and in supplies of all kinds as well as in actual +numbers. Magruder, who had held the Yorktown lines so cleverly +with such inferior forces, was to hold Richmond (on both sides of +the James) with thirty-five thousand men against McClellan's +seventy-five thousand, while Lee and Jackson converged on +Porter's twenty-five thousand with over fifty thousand. + +Then followed the famous Seven Days, beginning on the +twenty-sixth of June near the signpost at the Mechanicsville +bridge--TO RICHMOND 4 1/2 MILES--and ending at Harrison's Landing +on the second of July. On the twenty-sixth the attack was made +with consummate strategic skill. But it was marred by bad staff +work, by the great obstructions in Jackson's path, and by A.P. +Hill's premature attack with ten thousand men against Porter's +admirable front at Beaver Dam Creek. Hill's men moved down their +own side of the little valley in dense masses till every gun and +rifle on Porter's side was suddenly unmasked. No scythe could +have mowed the leading Confederates better. Two thousand went +down in the first few minutes, and the rest at once retreated. + +Porter fell back on Gaines's Mill, where, after being reinforced, +he took up a strong position on the twentyseventh. Again there +was failure in combining the attack. Jackson found obstructions +that even he could not overcome quickly enough. Hill attacked +again with the utmost gallantry, wave after wave of Confederates +rushing forward only to melt away before the concentrated fire of +Porter's reinforced command. + +But at last the Confederates--though checked and roughly +handled--converged under Lee's own eye; and an inferno of shot +and shell loosened and shook the steadfast Federal defense. Lee +and Jackson, though far apart, gave the word for the final charge +at almost the same moment. As Jackson's army suddenly burst into +view and swept forward to the assault the joyful news was shouted +down the ranks: "The Valley men are here!" Thereupon Lee's men +took up the double-quick with "Stonewall Jackson! Jackson! +Jackson!" as their battle cry. The Federals fought right +valiantly till their key-point suddenly gave way, smashed in by +weight of numbers; for Lee had brought into action half as many +again as Porter had, even with his reinforcements. On the +gallantly defended hill the long blue lines rocked, reeled, and +broke to right and left all but the steadfast regulars, whose +infantry fell back in perfect order, whose cavalry made a +desperate though futile attempt to stay the rout by charging one +against twenty, and whose four magnificent batteries, splendidly +served to the very last round, retired unbroken with the loss of +only two guns. Then the Confederate colors waved in triumph on +the hard-won crest against the crimson of the setting sun. + +The victorious Confederates spent the twentyeighth and +twenty-ninth in finding the way to McClellan's new base. His +absolute control of all the waterways had enabled him to change +his base from White House on the Pamunkey to Harrison's Landing +on the James. When the Confederates discovered his line of +retreat by the Quaker Road they pressed in to cut it. On the +thirtieth there was severe fighting in White Oak Swamp and on +Frayser's Farm. But the Federals passed through, and made a fine +stand on Malvern Hill next day. Finally, when they turned at bay +on the Evelington Heights, which covered Harrison's Landing, they +convinced their pursuers that it would be fatal to attack again; +for now Northern sea-power was visibly present in flotillas of +gunboats, which made the flanks as hopelessly strong as the +front. + +McClellan therefore remained safely behind his entrenchments, +with the navy in support. He had to his own credit the strategic +success of having foiled Lee by a clever change of base; and to +the credit of his army stood some first-rate fighting besides +some tactical success, especially at Malvern Hill. Nevertheless +the second invasion of Virginia was plainly a failure; though by +no means a glaring disaster, like the first invasion at Bull Run. + +McClellan, again reinforced, still professed his readiness to +take Richmond under conditions that suited himself. But the most +promising Northern force now seemed to be Pope's Army of +Virginia, coming down from the line of the Potomac, forty-seven +thousand strong, composed of excellent material, and heralded by +proclamations which even McClellan could never excel. John Pope, +Halleck's hero of Island Number Ten, came from the West to show +the East how to fight. "I presume that I have been called here to +lead you against the enemy, and that speedily. I hear constantly +of taking strong positions and holding them--of lines of retreat +and bases of supplies. Let us discard such ideas. Let us study +the probable line of retreat of our opponents, and leave our own +to take care of themselves." His Army of Virginia contained +Fremont's (now Sigel's) corps, as well as those of Banks and +McDowell--all experts in the art of "chasing Jackson." + +Jackson was soon ready to be chased again. The Confederate +strength had been reduced by the Seven Days and not made good by +reinforcement; so Lee could spare Jackson only twenty-four +thousand men with whom to meet the almost double numbers under +Pope. But Jackson's men had the better morale, not only on +account of their previous service but because of their rage to +beat Pope, who, unlike other Northerners, was enforcing the +harshest rules of war. His lieutenant, General von Steinwehr, +went further, not only seizing prominent civilians as hostages +(to be shot whenever he chose to draw his own distinctions +between Confederate soldiers and guerillas) but giving his German +subordinates a liberty that some of them knew well how to turn +into license. This, of course, was most exceptional; for nearly +all Northerners made war like gentlemen. Unhappily, those who did +not were bad enough and numerous enough to infuriate the South. + +Halleck, who had now become chief military adviser to the Union +Government, was as cautious as McClellan and had so little +discernment that he thought Pope a better general than Grant. +Lincoln, Stanton, and Halleck put their heads together; and an +order soon followed which had the effect of relieving the +pressure on Richmond and giving the initiative to Lee. Halleck +ordered McClellan to withdraw from Harrison's Landing, take his +Army of the Potomac round by sea to Aquia Creek, and join Pope on +the Rappahannock--an operation requiring the whole month of +August to complete. + +Lee lost no time. His first move was to get Pope's advanced +troops defeated by Jackson, who brought more than double numbers +against Banks at Cedar Run on the ninth of August. The Federals +fought magnificently, nine against twenty thousand men. After the +battle Jackson marched across the Rapidan, and Halleck wisely +forbade Pope from following him, even though the first of +Burnside's men (now the advanced guard of McClellan's army) had +arrived at Aquia and were marching overland to Pope. Then +followed some anxious days at Federal Headquarters. Jackson +vanished; and Pope's cavalry, numerous as it was, wore itself out +trying to find the clue. MeClellan was still busy moving his men +from Harrison's Landing to Fortress Monroe, whence detachments +kept sailing to Aquia. What would Lee do now? + +On the thirteenth he began entraining Longstreet's troops for +Gordonsville. On the fifteenth he conferred with his generals. +And on the seventeenth, from the lookout on Clark's Mountain, he +saw Pope's unsuspecting army camped round Slaughter Mountain +within fifteen miles of the united Confederates. Halleck had just +given Pope the fatal order to "fight like the devil" till +McClellan came up. Pope was full of confidence. And there he lay, +in a bad strategic and worse tactical position, and with slightly +inferior numbers, just within reach of Jackson and Lee. Pope was, +however, saved from immediate disaster by an oversight on the +part of Stuart. In ordering Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry brigade to +rendezvous at Verdierville that night Stuart forgot to make the +order urgent and the missing brigade came in late. Stuart, +anxious to see the enemy's position for himself, rode out and was +nearly taken prisoner. His dispatch-box fell into Pope's hands, +with a memorandum of Jackson's reinforcements. Jackson was for +attacking next day in any case and groaned aloud when Lee decided +not to, owing to the failure of cavalry combination in front and +the belated supplies in the rear. Pope retired safely on the +eighteenth, and on the nineteenth a thick haze hid his rear from +Lee's lookout, + +Lee was now in a very difficult position, apparently face to face +with what would soon be the joint forces of Pope, McClellan, and +probably another corps from Washington: the whole well fed, well +armed, and certainly more than twice as strong as the united +Confederates. But Jackson and Stuart multiplied their forces by +skillful maneuvers and mystifying raids, and presently Stuart had +his revenge for the affront he had suffered on the seventeenth. +On the tempestuous night of the twentysecond he captured Pope's +dispatches. On the twentyfourth, at Jefferson, Lee and Jackson +discussed the situation with these dispatches before them. Dr. +Hunter McGuire, the Confederate staff-surgeon, noticed that +Jackson was unusually animated, drawing curves in the sand with +the toe of his boot while Lee nodded assent. Perhaps it was +Jackson who suggested the strategic idea of that wonderful last +week in August. However that may have been, Lee alone was +responsible for its adoption and superior direction. + +With a marvelous insight into the characters of his opponents, a +consummate knowledge of the science and art of war, and--quite as +important--an exact appreciation of the risks worth running, Lee +actually divided his 55,000 men in face of Pope's 80,000, of +20,000 more at Washington and Aquia, and of 50,000 available +reinforcements. Then, by the well-deserved results obtained, he +became one of the extremely few really great commanders of all +time. + +The "bookish theorick" who, with all the facts before him, revels +in the fond delights of retrospective prophecy, will never +understand how Lee succeeded in this enterprise, except by sheer +good luck. Only those who themselves have groped their perilous +way through the dense, distorting fog of war can understand the +application of that knowledge, genius, and character for war +which so rarely unite in one man. + +Lee sent Jackson north, to march at utmost speed under cover of +the Bull Run Mountains, to cross them at Thoroughfare Gap, and to +cut Pope's line at Manassas, where the enormous Federal field +base had been established. Unknown to Pope, Longstreet then +slipped into Jackson's place, so as to keep Pope in play till the +raid on Manassas and threat against Washington would draw him +northeast, away from McClellan at Aquia. The final move of this +profound, though very daring, plan was to take advantage of the +Federal distractions and consequent dispersions so as to effect a +junction on the field of battle against a conquerable force. + +Jackson moved off by the first gray streak of dawn on the +twenty-fifth, and that day made good the six-and-twenty miles to +Salem Church. Screened by Stuart's cavalry, and marching through +a country of devoted friends on such an errand as a commonplace +general would never suspect, Jackson stole this march on Pope in +perfect safety. The next day's march was far more dangerous. +Roused while the stars were shining the men moved off in even +greater wonder as to their destination. But when the first flush +of dawn revealed the Bull Run Mountains, with the wellknown +Thoroughfare Gap straight to their front, they at once divined +their part of Lee's stupendous plan: a giant raid on Manassas, +the Federal base of superabundant supplies. The news ran down the +miles of men, and with it the thrill that presaged victory. Mile +after mile was gained, almost in dead silence, except for the +clank of harness, the rumble of wheels, the running beat of +hoofs, and that long, low, ceaselessly rippling sound of +multitudinous men's feet. Hungry, ill-clad, and worn to their +last spare ounce, the gaunt gray ranks strained forward, slipped +from their leash at last and almost in sight of their prey. So +far they were undiscovered. But the Gap was only ten miles by +airline from Pope's extreme right, and the tell-tale cloud of +dust, floating down the mountain side above them, must soon be +sighted, signaled, noted, and attended to. Only speed, the speed +of "foot-cavalry," could now prevail, and not a man must be an +inch behind. CLOSE UP, MEN, CLOSE UP!--CLOSE UP THERE IN +REAR!--CLOSE UP! CLOSE UP! + +By noon the head of the column had already crossed those same +communications which Pope had told his army to disregard in favor +of the much more interesting enemy line of retreat. Little did he +think that the man he had come to chase was about to burn the +bridge at Bristoe Station and thus cut the line between the +Federal front at Warrenton and the Federal base at Manassas. All +went well with Jackson, except that some news escaped to +Washington and Warrenton sooner than he expected. A Federal train +dashed on to Washington before the rails could be torn up. The +next two trains were both derailed and wrecked. But the fourth +put all brakes down and speeded back to Warrenton. Jackson +quickly took up a very strong position on the north side of Broad +Run, behind the burnt railway bridge, and sent Stuart's troopers +with two battalions of "foot-cavalry" to raid the base at +Manassas, replenish the exhausted Confederate supplies, and do +the northward scouting. + +The situation of the rival armies on the night of the +twentyseventh forms one of the curiosities of war. Jackson was +concentrating round Manassas Junction. Lee was following +Jackson's line of march, but was still beyond Thoroughfare Gap. +Between them stood part of Pope's army, the whole of which +occupied an irregular quadrilateral formed by lines joining the +following points: Warrenton Junction, Bristoe Station, +Gainesville, and Thoroughfare Gap. Thirty miles northeast were +the twenty thousand Federals who joined Pope too late. Thirty +miles southeast the rear of McClellan's forces were still massing +at Aquia. In Pope's opinion Jackson was clearly trapped and Lee +cut off. + +But when Pope began to close his cumbrous net the following day +Jackson had disappeared again. Orders and counter-orders +thereupon succeeded each other in bewildering confusion. +McClellan could be left out: and a very good thing too, thought +Pope, who wanted the victory all to himself, and whose own army +greatly outnumbered Lee's and Jackson's put together. But +Washington was nervous again; it contained the reinforcements; +and it had suddenly become indispensable to Pope as an immediate +base of supplies now that the base at Manassas had been so +completely destroyed. Pope's troops therefore mostly drew east +during the twentyeighth, forming by nightfall a long irregular +line, facing west, with its right beyond Centreville and its +extreme left held by Banks's mauled divisions south of Catlett's +Station. Meanwhile Jackson had slipped into place in the curve of +Bull Run, facing southeast, with his left near Stone Bridge, his +back to Sudley Springs, and his right open to junction with Lee, +who was waiting for daylight to force the Gap against the single +division left there on guard. + +During the afternoon, while Jackson's tired men were lying sound +asleep in their ranks, Jackson himself was roused to see captured +orders which showed that some Federals were crossing his front. +Reading these orders to his divisional commanders he immediately +ordered one to attack and another to support. If the Federals +concerned were exposing an unguarded flank they should be +attacked at a disadvantage. If they were screening larger forces +trying to join the reinforcements from Washington or Aquia, then +they should be attacked so as to distract Pope's attention and +draw him on before the Federal union became complete, though not +before Lee had reached the new Bull Run position the following +day. The attack was consequently made from the woods around +Groveton not too long before dark. It resulted in a desperate +frontal fight, neither side knowing what the other had in its +rear or on its flanks. Again the Federals were outnumbered: +twenty-eight against forty-five hundred men in action. But again +they fought with the utmost resolution and drew off in good +order. The strategic advantage, however, was wholly Confederate; +for Pope, who thought Jackson must now be falling back to the +Gap, at once began confusedly trying to concentrate for pursuit +on the twenty-ninth--the very thing that suited Lee and Jackson +best. + +Early that morning the two-days' Battle of Second Manassas (or +Second Bull Run) began with Pope's absurd attempt to pursue an +army drawn up in line of battle. Moreover, Jackson's position was +not only strong in itself but well adapted for giving attackers a +shattering surprise. The left rested on Bull Run at Sudley Ford. +The center occupied the edge of the flat-topped Stony Ridge. A +quarter-mile in front of it, and some way lower down, were the +embankments and cuttings of an unfinished railroad. On the right +was Stuart's Hill, where Lee was to join by sending Longstreet +in. The approaches in rear were hidden from the eyes of an enemy +in front. The cuttings and embankments made excellent field works +for the defense. And the forward edge of the Ridge was wooded +enough to let counter-attackers mass under cover and then run +down to surprise the attackers by manning the cuttings and +embankments. + +Sigel's Germans, supported by the splendid Pennsylvanians under +Reynolds, advanced from the Henry Hill to hold Jackson till Pope +could come up and finish him. The numbers were about even, with +slight odds in favor of Jackson. But the shock was delivered +piecemeal. Each part was roughly handled and driven back in +disorder. And by the time Reynolds had come to the front Lee's +advanced guard was arriving. Then eighteen thousand Federals +marched in from Centreville under Reno, Kearny, and "fighting Joe +Hooker," of whom we shall hear again. Pope came up in person with +the rest of his available command, rode along his line, and +explained the situation as founded on his ignorance and colored +by his fancy. At this very moment Longstreet came up on Jackson's +right. Reynolds went into action against what he thought was +Jackson's extended right but what was really Longstreet's left. +Meanwhile the Centreville troops attacked near Bull Run. But that +dashing commander, Philip Kearny, was held up by Jackson's +concentrated guns; so Hooker and Reno advanced alone, straight +for the railroad line. The Confederates behind it poured in a +tremendous hail of bullets, and the long dry grass caught fire. +But nothing stopped Hooker till bayonets were crossed on the +rails and the Confederate line was broken. Then the Confederate +reserves charged in and drove the Federals back. No sooner was +this seen than, with a burst of cheering, another blue line +surged forward. Again the Confederate front was broken, but again +their reserves drove back the Federals. And so the fight went on, +with stroke and counterstroke, till, at a quarter past five, +twelve hours after Pope's first men had started from the Henry +Hill, his thirty thousand attackers found themselves unable to +break through. + +Pope wished to make one more effort to round up Jackson's +supposedly open right. But Porter quite properly sent back word +that it was far too strong for his own ten thousand. In reply +Pope angrily ordered an immediate attack. But it was now too +dark, and the battle ended for the day. + +Strangely enough, Lee was also having trouble with his +subordinate on the same flank at the same time, but with this +difference, that Porter was right while Longstreet was wrong. Lee +saw his chance of rolling up Pope's left and ordered Longstreet +to do it. But, after reconnoitering the ground, Longstreet came +back to say the chance was "not inviting." Again Lee ordered an +attack. But Longstreet wasted time, looking for needlessly +favorable ground till long after dark. Meanwhile the Federals +were also feeling their way forward over the same ground to get +into a good flanking position for next day's battle. So the two +sides met; and it was past midnight when Longstreet settled down. +Lee wanted a sword thrust. Longstreet gave a pin prick. We shall +meet Longstreet again, in the same character of obstructive +subordinate, at Gettysburg. But he was, for the most part, a very +good officer indeed; and the South, with its scanty supply of +trained leaders, could not afford to make changes like the North. +The fault, too, was partly Lee's; for his one weak point with +good but wayward subordinates was a tendency to let his sensitive +consideration for their feelings overcome his sterner insight +into their defects. + +At noon on the fatal thirtieth of August, Pope, selfdeluded and +self-sufficient as before, dismayed his best officers by ordering +his sixty-five thousand men to be "immediately thrown forward in +pursuit of the enemy, "whose own fifty thousand were now far +readier than on the previous day. + +Then the dense blue masses marched to their doom. Twenty thousand +bayonets shone together from Groveton to Bull Run. Forty thousand +more supported them on the slopes in rear, while every Federal +gun thundered forth protectingly from the heights behind. The +Confederate batteries were pointed out as the objective of +attack. Not one glint of steel appeared between these batteries +and the glittering Federal host. To the men in the ranks and to +Pope himself victory seemed assured. But no sooner had that brave +array come within rifle range of the deserted railroad line than, +high and clear, the Confederate bugles called along the hidden +edges of the flat-topped Ridge; when instantly the great gray +host broke cover, ran forward as one man, and held the whole +embankment with a line of fire and steel. + +A shock of sheer amazement ran through the Federal mass. Then, +knightly as any hero of romance, a mounted officer rode out +alone, in front of the center, and, with his sword held high, +continued leading the advance, which itself went on undaunted. +The Confederate flank batteries crossed their fire on this +devoted center. Bayonets flashed out of line in hundreds as their +owners fell. Colors were cut down, raised high, cut down again. +But still that gallant horse and man went on, unswerving and +untouched. Even the sweeping volleys spared them both, though +now, as the Federals closed, these volleys cut down more men than +the cross-fire of the guns. At last the unscathed hero waved his +sword and rode straight up the deadly embankment, followed by the +charging line. "Don't kill him! Don't kill him!" shouted the +admiring Confederates as his splendid figure stood, one glorious +moment, on the top. The next, both horse and man sank wounded, +and were at once put under cover by their generous foes. + +For thirty-five dire minutes the fight raged face to face. One +Federal color rose, fell, and rose again as fast as living hands +could take it from the dead. Over a hundred men lay round it when +the few survivors drew back to re-form. Pope fed his front line +with reserves, who advanced with the same undaunted gallantry, +but also with the same result. As if to make this same result +more sure he never tried to win by one combined assault, wave +after crashing wave, without allowing the defense to get its +second wind; but let each unit taste defeat before the next came +on. Federal bravery remained. But Federal morale was rapidly +disintegrating under the palpable errors of Pope. Misguided, +misled, and mishandled, the blue lines still fought on till four, +by which time every corps, division, and brigade had failed +entirely. + +Then, at the perfect moment and in the perfect way, Lee's +counterstroke was made: the beaten Federals being assailed in +flank as well as front by every sword, gun, bayonet, and bullet +that could possibly be brought to bear. Only the batteries +remained on the ridge, firing furiously till the Federals were +driven out of range. The infantry and cavalry were sent in--wave +after wave of them, without respite, till the last had hurled +destruction on the foe. + +As at the First Bull Run, so here, the regulars fell back in good +order, fighting to the very end. But the rest of Pope's Army of +Virginia was no longer an organized unit. Even strong +reinforcements could do nothing for it now. On the second of +September, three days after the battle, its arrival at +Washington, heralded by thousands of weary stragglers, threw the +whole Union into gloom. + + +The first counter-invasion naturally followed. Southern hopes ran +high. Bragg's invasion of Kentucky seemed to be succeeding at +this time. The trans-Mississippi line still held at Vicksburg and +Port Hudson. Richmond had been saved. Washington was menaced. And +most people on both sides thought so much more of the land than +of the sea that the Federal victories along the coast and up the +Mississippi were half forgotten for the time being; and so was +the strangling blockade. Lee, of course, saw the situation as a +whole; and, as a whole, it was far from bright. But though the +counter-invasion was now a year too late it seemed worth making. +Maryland was full of Southern sympathizers; and campaigning there +would give Virginia a chance to recuperate, while also preventing +the North from recovering too quickly from its last reverse. Thus +it was with great expectations that the Confederates crossed the +Potomac singing "Maryland, my Maryland!" + +But Maryland did not respond to this appeal. The women, it is +true, were mostly Southern to the core and ready to serve the +Confederate cause in every way they could. But the men, +reflecting more, knew they were in the grip of Northern seapower. +Nor could they fail to notice the vast difference between the +warlike resources of the North and South. Northern armies had +been marching through for many months, well fed, well armed, and +superabundantly supplied. The Confederates, on the other hand, +were fewer in numbers, half starved, in ragged clothing, less +well armed, and far less abundantly supplied in every way. A +Northerner who fell sick could generally count on the best of +medical care, not to mention a profusion of medical comforts. But +the blockade kept medicines and surgical instruments out of the +Southern ports; and the South could make few of her own. So, to +be very sick or badly wounded meant almost a sentence of death in +the South. Eighteen months of war had disillusioned Maryland. The +expected reinforcements never came. + +Lee had again divided his army in the hope of snatching victory +by means of better strategy. On the thirteenth of September +Jackson was bombarding the Federals at Harper's Ferry, Longstreet +was at Hagerstown, and Stuart was holding the gaps of South +Mountain. + +The same day McClellan, whose whole army was at Frederick, +received a copy of Lee's orders. They had been wrapped round +three cigars and lost by a careless Confederate staff officer. +Had McClellan forced the gaps immediately, maneuvered with +reasonable skill, and struck home with every available man, he +might have annihilated Lee. But he let the thirteenth pass +quietly; and when he did take the passes on the fourteenth it +cost him a good deal, as the Confederate infantry had reinforced +Stuart. On the fifteenth Jackson took Harper's Ferry. On the +sixteenth he joined Lee at Antietam. And on the seventeenth, when +the remaining availables had also joined Lee, McClellan made up +his mind to attack. "Ask me for anything but time," said the real +Napoleon. The "Young Napoleon" did not even need the asking. + +Antietam (so called from the Antietam Creek) or Sharpsburg (so +called from the Confederate headquarters there) was one of the +biggest battles of the Civil War; and it might possibly have been +the most momentous. But, as things turned out, it was in itself +an indecisive action, spoilt for the Federals, first, by +McClellan's hesitating strategy, and then by his failure to press +the attack home at all costs, with every available man, in an +unbroken succession of assaults. He had over 80,000 men with 275 +guns against barely 40,000 with 194 guns of inferior strength. +But though the Federals fought with magnificent devotion, and +though the losses were very serious on both sides, the tactical +result was a mutual checkmate. The strategic result, however, was +a Confederate defeat; for, with his few worn veterans, Lee had no +chance whatever of keeping his precarious hold on a neutral +Maryland. + +October was a quiet month, each side reorganizing without much +interference from the other, except for Stuart's second raid +round the whole embattled army of McClellan. This time Stuart +took nearly two thousand men and four horse artillery guns. +Crossing the Potomac at McCoy's Ford on the tenth he reached +Chambersburg that night, destroyed the Federal stores, took all +the prisoners he wanted, cut the wires, obstructed the rails, and +went on with hundreds of Federal horses. Next day he circled the +Federal rear toward Gettysburg, turned south through Emmitsburg, +and crossed McClellan's line of communications with Washington at +Hyattstown early on the twelfth. By this time the Federal cavalry +were riding themselves to exhaustion in vain pursuit; while many +other forces were trying to close in and cut him off. But he +reached the mouth of the Monocacy and crossed White's Ford in +safety, fighting off all interference. The information he brought +back was of priceless value. Lee now learned that McClellan was +not falling back on Washington but being reinforced from there, +and that consequently no new Peninsula Campaign was to be feared +at present. This alone was worth the effort, risk, and negligible +loss. Stuart had marched a hundred and twenty-six miles on the +Federal side of the Potomac--eighty of them without a single +halt; and he had been fifty-six hours inside the Federal lines, +mostly within four riding hours of McClellan's own headquarters. + +This second stinging raid roused the loyal North to fury; and by +November a new invasion of Virginia was in full swing on the old +ground, with McClellan at Warrenton, Lee at Culpeper, and Jackson +in the Valley. + +But McClellan's own last chance had gone. Late at night on the +seventh he was sitting alone in his tent, writing to his wife, +when Burnside asked if he could come in with General C.P. +Buckingham, the confidential staff officer to the War Department. +After some forced conversation Buckingham handed McClellan a +paper ordering his supersession by Burnside. McClellan simply +said: "Well, Burnside, I turn the command over to you." The +eighth and ninth were spent in handing over; and on the tenth +McClellan made his official farewell. Next day he was entraining +at Warrenton Junction when the men, among whom he was immensely +popular, broke ranks and swarmed round his car, cursing the +Government and swearing they would follow no one but their "Old +Commander." McClellan, with all his faults in the field, was a +good organizer, an extremely able engineer, a very brave soldier, +a very sympathetic comrade in arms, and a regular father to his +men, whose personal interests were always his first care. The +moment was critical. McClellan, had he chosen, might have +imitated the Roman generals who led the revolts of Praetorian +Guards. But he stepped out on the front platform of the car, held +up his hand, and, amid tense silence, asked the men to "stand by +General Burnside as you have stood by me." The car they had +uncoupled to prevent his departure was run up and coupled again; +and then, amid cheers of mournful farewell, they let him go. + +General Ambrose E. Burnside was expected to smash Lee, take +Richmond, and end the war at once. He was a good subordinate, but +quite unfit for supreme command, which he accepted only under +protest. Moreover, he was not supported as he should have been by +the War Department, nor even by the Headquarter Staff. While +changing his position from Warrenton to Fredericksburg he was +hampered by avoidable delays. So when he reached Falmouth he +found Lee had forestalled him on the opposing heights of +Fredericksburg itself. + +The disastrous thirteenth of December was dull, calm, and misty. +But presently the sun shone down with unwonted warmth; the mists +rolled up like curtains; and there stood 200,000 men, arrayed in +order of battle: 80,000 Confederates awaiting the onslaught of +120,000 Federals. + +On came the solid masses of the Federals, eighty thousand strong, +with forty in support, amid the thunder of five hundred attacking +and defending guns. The sunlight played upon the rising tide of +Federal bayonets as on sea currents when they turn inshore. The +colors waved proudly as ever; and to the outward eye the attack +seemed almost strong enough to drive the stern and silent gray +Confederates clear off the crest. But the indispensable morale +was wanting. For this was the end of a long campaign, full of +drawn battles and terrible defeats. Burnside was an unpopular +substitute for McClellan; he was not in any way a great +commander; and he was acting under pressure against his own best +judgment. His army knew or felt all this; and he knew they knew +or felt it. The Federals, for all their glorious courage, felt, +when the two fronts met at Fredericksburg, that they were no more +than sacrificial pawns in the grim game of war. After much +useless slaughter they reeled back beaten. But they could and did +retire in safety, skillfully "staffed" by their leaders and close +to their unconquerable sea. + +Lee could make no counterstroke. The Confederate Government had +not dared to let him occupy the far better position on the line +of the North Anna, from which a vigorous counterstroke might have +almost annihilated a beaten attacker, who would have been exposed +on both flanks, beyond the sure protection of the sea. Thus fear +of an outcry against "abandoning" the country between +Fredericksburg and the North Anna caused the Southern politicians +to lose their chance at home. But without a decisive victory they +could not hope for foreign intervention. So losing their chance +at home made them lose it abroad as well. + +Burnside was dazed by his defeat and the appalling loss of life +in vain. But after five weeks of most discouraging inaction he +tried to surprise Lee by crossing the Rappahannock several miles +higher up. On the twentieth and twenty-first of that miserable +January the Federal army ploughed its dreary way through sloughs +of gluey mud under torrents of chilling rain. Then, when the pace +had slackened to a funereal crawl, and the absurdly little chance +of surprising Lee had vanished altogether, this despairing "Mud +March" came to its wretched end. Four days later Burnside was +superseded by one of his own subordinates, General Joseph Hooker, +known to all ranks as "Fighting Joe Hooker." + + +Fredericksburg, the spell of relaxing winter quarters beside the +fatal Rappahannock, and then the fatal "Mud March," combined to +lower Federal morale. Yet the mass of the men, being composed of +fine human material, quickly recovered under "Fighting Joe +Hooker," who knew what discipline meant. Numbers and discipline +tell. But disciplined numbers were not the only or even the +greatest menace to the South. For here, as farther west, the +Confederate Government was beginning to be foolish just as the +Federal Government showed signs of growing wise. Lincoln and +Stanton were giving Joe Hooker a fairly free hand just when Davis +and Seddon (his makeshift minister of war) were using Confederate +forces as puppets to be pulled about by Cabinet strings from +Richmond. Here again (as later on at Chattanooga) Longstreet was +sent away on a useless errand just when he was needed most by +Lee. Good soldier though he was in many ways he was no such man +as Stonewall Jackson; and, in this one year, he failed his +seniors thrice. + +It is true enough that the April situation of 1863 might well +shake governmental nerves; for Richmond was being menaced from +three points north, southeast, and south: Fredericksburg due +north, Suffolk southeast, Newbern south. Newbern in North +Carolina was a long way off. But its possession by an active +enemy threatened the rail connection from Richmond south to +Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah, the only three Atlantic +ports through which the South could get supplies from overseas. +Suffolk was nearer. It covered the landward side of Norfolk, +which, with Fortress Monroe, might become the base of a new +Peninsula Campaign. But Fredericksburg was nearest; nearest to +Richmond, nearest to Washington, nearest to the main Southern +force; and not only nearest but strongest, in every way strongest +and most to be feared. "Fighting Joe Hooker" was there, with a +hundred and thirty thousand men, already stirring for the spring +campaign that was to wipe out memories of Fredericksburg, make +short work of Lee, and end the war at Richmond. + +Yet Longstreet cheerfully marched off, pleased with his new +command, to see what he could do to soothe the Government by +winning laurels for himself at Suffolk. On the seventeenth, just +two weeks before the supreme test came on Lee's weakened army at +Chancellorsville, Longstreet reported to Seddon that Suffolk +would cost three thousand men, if taken by assault, or three +days' heavy firing if subdued by bombardment. Shrinking from such +expenditure of life or ammunition, Davis, Seddon, and Longstreet +fell back on a siege, which, preventing all junction with Lee, +might well have cost the ruin of their cause. + +Lee and Jackson then prepared to make the best of a bad business +along the Rappahannock, and to snatch victory once more, if +possible, from the very jaws of death. The prospect was grimmer +than before. Hooker was a better fighter than McClellan and wiser +than Burnside or Pope. Moreover, after two years of war, the +Union Government had at last found out that civilian detectives +knew less about armies than expert staff officers know, and that +cavalry which was something more than mere men on horses could +collect a little information too. Hooker knew Lee's strength as +well as his own. So he decided to hold Lee fast with one part of +the big Federal army, turn his flank with another, and cut his +line of supply and retreat with Stoneman's ten thousand sabers as +well. The respective grand totals were 130,000 Federals against +62,000 Confederates. + +So far, so good; so very good indeed that Hooker and his staff +were as nearly free from care on May Day as headquarter men can +ever be in the midst of vital operations. Hooker had just reason +to be proud of the Army of the Potomac and of his own work in +reviving it. He had, indeed, issued one bombastic order of the +day in which he called it "the finest on the planet." But even +this might be excused in view of the popular call for encouraging +words. What was more to the point was the reestablishment of +Federal morale, which had been terribly shaken after the great +Mud March. Hooker's sworn evidence (as given in the official +"Report of Committee on the Conduct of the War") speaks for +itself: "The moment I was placed in command I caused a return to +be made of the absentees of the army, and found the number to be +2922 commissioned officers and 81,964 non-commissioned officers +and privates. They were scattered all over the country, and the +majority were absent from causes unknown." + +On the twenty-eighth of April Stuart saw the redisciplined +Federals in motion far up the Rappahannock, while next day +Jackson saw others laying pontoons thirty miles lower down, just +on the seaward side of Fredericksburg. Lee took this news with +genial calm, remarking to the aide: "Well, I heard firing and was +beginning to think it was time some of your lazy young fellows +were coming to tell me what it was about. Tell your good general +he knows what to do with the enemy just as well as I do." On the +thirtieth it became quite clear that Hooker was bent on turning +Lee's left and that he had divided his army to do so. Jackson +wished to attack Sedgwick's 35,000 Federals still on the plains +of Fredericksburg. But Lee convinced him that the better way +would be to hold these men with 10,000 Confederates in the +fortified position on the confronting heights while the remaining +52,000 should try to catch Hooker himself between the jaws of a +trap in the forest round Chancellorsville, where the Federal +masses would be far more likely to get out of hand. It was an +extremely daring maneuver to be setting this trap when Sedgwick +had enough men to storm the heights of Fredericksburg, when +Stoneman was on the line of communication with the south, and +when Hooker himself, with superior numbers, was gaining Lee's +rear. But Lee had Jackson as his lieutenant, not Longstreet, as +he was to have at Gettysburg. + +Hooker's movements were rapid, well arranged, and admirably +executed up to the evening of the first of May, when, finding +those of the enemy very puzzling among the dense woods, he chose +the worst of three alternatives. The first and best, an immediate +counter-attack, would have kept up his army's morale and, if well +executed, revealed his own greater strength. The second, a +continued advance till he reached clearer ground, might have +succeeded or not. The third and worst was to stand on his +defense, a plan which, however sound in other places, was fatal +here, because it not only depressed the spirits of his army but +gave two men of genius the initiative against him in a country +where they were at home and he was not. The absence of ten +thousand cavalry baffled his efforts to get trustworthy +information on the ground, while the dense woods baffled his +balloons from above. On the second of May he still thought the +initiative was his, that the Confederates were retreating, and +that his own jaws were closing on them instead of theirs on him. + +Meanwhile, owing to miscalculations of the space that had to be +held in force, his right was not only thrown forward too far but +presented a flank in the air. This was the flank round which +Stonewall Jackson maneuvered with such consummate skill that it +was taken on three sides and rolled up in fatal confusion. Its +commander, the very capable General O.O. Howard, who perceived +the mistake he could not correct, tried hard to stay the rout. +But, as his whole reserve had been withdrawn by Hooker to join an +attack elsewhere, his lines simply melted away. The three days' +battle that followed (ending on the fifth of May) was bravely +fought by the bewildered Federals. Yet all in vain. Hooker was +caught like a bull in a net; and the more he struggled the worse +it became. At 6 P.M.. on the second the cunning trap was sprung +when a single Confederate bugle rang out. Instantly other bugles +repeated the call at regular intervals through miles of forest. +Then, high and clear on the silent air of that calm May evening, +the rebel yell rose like the baying of innumerable hounds, hot on +the scent of their quarry, with Jackson leading on. Nothing could +stop the eager gray lines, wave after wave of them pressing +through the woods; not even the gallant fifty guns that fought +with desperation in defense of Hazel Grove, where Hooker was +rallying his men. + +For two days more the tide of battle ebbed and flowed; but always +against the Federals in the end, till, broken, bewildered, and +disheartened, they retired as best they could. Lee was unable to +pursue. Longstreet's men were still missing; and so were many +supplies that should have been forwarded from Richmond. There the +Government clung to the fond belief that this mere victory had +won the war, and that pursuit was useless. Thus Lee's last chance +of crushing the invaders was taken from him by his friends. + +At the same time the Southern cause suffered another irreparable +loss; but in this case at the purely accidental hands of Southern +men. Jackson's staff, suddenly emerging from a thicket as the +first night closed in, was mistaken for Federal cavalry and shot +down. Jackson himself was badly wounded in three places and +carried from the field. He never heard the rebel yell again. Next +Sunday, when the staff-surgeon told him that he could not +possibly live through the night, he simply answered: "Very good, +very good; it is all right." Presently he asked Major Pendleton +what chaplain was preaching at headquarters. "Mr. Lacy, sir; and +the whole army is praying for you." "Thank God," said Jackson, +"they are very kind to me." A little later, rousing himself as if +from sleep, he called out: "Order A.P. Hill to prepare for +action! Pass the infantry to the front! Tell Major Hawks--" There +his strength failed him. But after a pause he said quietly, "Let +us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." +And with these words he died. + + + +CHAPTER VII. GRANT WINS THE RIVER WAR: 1863 + +We have seen already how the River War of '89 ended in a double +failure of the Federal advance on Vicksburg: how Grant and +Sherman, aided by the flanking force from Helena in Arkansas, +failed to catch Pemberton along the Tallahatchie; and then how +Sherman alone, moving down the Mississippi, was defeated by +Pemberton at Chickasaw Bayou, just outside of Vicksburg. + +Leaving Memphis for good, Grant took command in the field again +on the thirtieth of January. His army was strung out along +seventy miles of the Mississippi just north of Vicksburg, so hard +was it to find enough firm ground. The first important move was +made when, in Grant's own words, "the entire Army of the +Tennessee was transferred to the neighborhood of Vicksburg and +landed on the opposite or western bank of the river at Milliken's +Bend." + +Grant, everywhere in touch with Admiral D. D. Porter's fleet and +plentifully supplied with water transport of all kinds, thus +commanded the peninsula or tongue of low land-round which the +mighty river took its course in the form of an elongated U right +opposite Vicksburg. His farthest north base was still at Cairo; +and the whole line of the Mississippi above him was effectively +held by Union forces afloat and ashore. Four hundred miles south +lay Farragut and Banks, preparing for an attack on Port Hudson +and intent on making junction with the Union forces above. + +Two bad generals stood very much in Grant's way, one on either +side of him in rank--McClernand, his own second-in-command, and +Banks, his only senior in the Mississippi area. McClernand +presently found rope enough to hang himself. Our old friend +Banks, who had not yet learnt the elements of war, though +schooled by Stonewall Jackson, never got beyond Port Hudson, and +so could not spoil Grant's command in addition to his own. +Fortunately, besides Sherman and other professional soldiers of +quite exceptional ability, Grant had three of the best generals +who ever came from civil life: Logan, Blair, and Crocker. Logan +shed all the vices, while keeping all the virtues, of the lawyer +when he took up arms. Blair knew how to be one man as an +ambitious politician and another as a general in the field. +Crocker was in consumption, but determined to die in his boots +and do his military best for the Union service first. The +personnel of the army was mostly excellent all through. The men +were both hardy and handy as a rule, being to a large extent +farmers, teamsters, railroad and steamboat men, well fitted to +meet the emergencies of the severe and intricate Vicksburg +campaign. + +Throughout this campaign the army and navy of the Union worked +together as a single amphibious force. Grant's own words are no +mere compliment, but the sober statement of a fact. "The navy, +under Porter, was all it could be during the entire campaign. +Without its assistance the campaign could not have been +successfully made with twice the number of men engaged. It could +not have been made at all, in the way it was, with any number of +men, without such assistance. The most perfect harmony reigned +between the two arms of the Service. There never was a request +made, that I am aware of, either of the Flag-Officer or any of +his subordinates, that was not promptly complied with." And what +is true of Porter is at least as true of Farragut, who was the +greater man and the senior of every one afloat. + +Grant could take Vicksburg only by reaching good ground, and the +only good ground was below and in rear of the fortress. There was +no foothold for his army on the east bank of the Mississippi +anywhere between Memphis and Vicksburg. This meant that he must +either start afresh from Memphis and try again to push overland +by rail or cross the swampy peninsula in front of him and circle +round his enemy. A retirement on Memphis, no matter how wise, +would look like another great Union defeat and consequently lower +a public morale which, depressed enough by Fredericksburg, was +being kept down by the constant naval reverses that opened '63. +Circling the front was therefore very much to be preferred from +the political point of view. On the other hand, it was beset by +many alarming difficulties; for it meant starting from the +flooded Mississippi and working through the waterlogged lowlands, +across the peninsula, till a foothold could be seized on the +eastern bank below Vicksburg. Moreover, this circling attack, +though feasible, might depress the morale of the troops by the +way. Burnside's disastrous "Mud March" through the January +sloughs of Virginia, made in the vain hope of outflanking Lee, +had lowered the morale of the army almost as much as +Fredericksburg itself had lowered the morale of the people. + +Through the depth of winter the army toiled "in ineffectual +efforts," says Grant, "to reach high land above Vicksburg from +which we could operate against that stronghold, and in making +artificial waterways through which a fleet might pass, avoiding +the batteries to the south of the town, in case the other efforts +should fail." A wetter winter had never been known. The whole +complicated network of bends and bayous, of creeks, streams, +runs, and tributary rivers, was overflowing the few slimy trails +through the spongy forest and threatening the neglected levees +which still held back the encroaching waters. There was nothing +to do, however, but to keep the men busy and the enemy confused +by trying first one line and then another for two weary months. +By April, writes Grant, "the waters of the Mississippi having +receded sufficiently to make it possible to march an army across +the peninsula opposite Vicksburg, I determined to adopt this +course, and moved my advance to a point below the town." + +Meanwhile, far below, Farragut and Banks were at work round Port +Hudson: Farragut to good effect; Banks as usual. On the +fourteenth of March Farragut started up the river with seven +men-of-war and wanted the troops to make a demonstration against +Port Hudson from the rear while the fleet worked its way past the +front. But, just as Farragut was weighing anchor, Banks, who had +had ample time for preparation, sent word to say he was still +five miles from Port Hudson. "He'd as well beat New Orleans," +muttered Farragut, "for all the good he's doing us." + +Six of the vessels were lashed together in pairs, the heavier +ones next the enemy, the lighter ones secured well aft so as to +mask the fewest guns. This arrangement also gave each pair the +advantage of having twin screws. Farragut's flagship, the +Hartford, leading the line-ahead, suffered least from the dense +smoke on that damp, calm, moonless night. But the others were +soon groping blindly up the tortuous channel. The Hartford +herself took the ground for a critical moment. But, with her own +screw going ahead and that of the Albatross going astern, she +drew clear and won through. Not so, however, the other five +ships. Only the Hartford and Albatross reached the Red River. Yet +even this was of great importance, as it completely cut off Port +Hudson from all chance of relief. Farragut went on up the +Mississippi to see Grant, destroying all riverside stores on the +way. Grant was delighted, and, in the absence of Porter, who was +up the Yazoo, sent Farragut an Ellet ram and some sorely needed +coal. + +Grant's seventh (and frst successful) effort to get a foothold +(from which to carry out one of the boldest and most brilliant +operations recorded in the history of war) began with a naval +operation on the sixteenth of April, when Porter ran past the +Vicksburg batteries by night. Though Porter had the four-knot +current in his favor he needed all his skill and moral courage to +take a regular flotilla round the elongated U made by the +Mississippi at Vicksburg, with such a bend as to keep vessels +under more or less distant fire for five miles, aid under much +closer fire for nearly nine. At the bend the vessels could be +caught end-on. For nearly five miles after that they were subject +to a plunging fire. Porter led the way on board the flagship +Benton. He had seven ironclads, of which three were larger +vessels and four were gunboats built by Eads, a naval constructor +with orignal ideas and great executive ability. One ram and three +transports followed. Coal barges were lashed alongside or taken +in tow. Some of these were lost and one transport was sunk. But +the rest got through, though not unscathed. It seemed like a +miracle to the tense spectators that any flotilla should survive +this dash down a river of death flowing through a furnace. But +the ironclads, magnificently handled, stood up to their work +unflinchingly, fired back with regulated vigor, and took their +terrific pounding without one vital wound. + +Porter presently relieved Farragut, who went back to New Orleans. +From this time, till after the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, +Porter commanded three flotillas, each with a base of its own: +first, a flotilla remaining north of Vicksburg for work on the +Yazoo; secondly, the main body between Vicksburg and Grand Gulf; +thirdly, the Red River flotilla. This combined naval force +commanded all lines of communication north, south, and west of +Vicksburg, thus enabling Grant to concentrate entirely against +the eastern side. + +On the thirtieth of April Grant landed with twenty thousand men +at Bruinsburg, on the east side of the Mississippi, about sixty +miles below Vicksburg. A week later Sherman reinforced him to +thirty-three thousand. Before the fall of Vicksburg his total +strength reached seventy-five thousand. The Confederate total +also fluctuated; but not so much. There were about sixty thousand +Confederates in the whole strategic area between Vicksburg and +Jackson (fifty miles east) when Grant made his first daring move, +and about the same when Vicksburg surrendered. The scene of +action was almost triangular; for it lay between the three lines +joining Jackson, Haynes's Bluff, Rodney, and Jackson again. The +respective lengths of these straight lines are forty, fifty, and +seventy miles. But roundabout ways by land and water multiplied +these distances, and much fighting and many obstacles vastly +increased Grant's difficulties. + +An army, however, that had managed to reach Bruinsburg from the +north and west was assuredly fit for more hard work of any kind; +while a commander who had, left a safe base above Vicksburg and +landed below, to live on (as well as in) an enemy country till +victory should give him a new land line to the north, must, in +view of the resultant triumph, be counted among the master-minds +of war. Grant's marvelous skill in massing, dividing, forwarding, +and concentrating his forces over a hundred miles of intricate +passages between Milliken's Bend and Bruinsburg was only excelled +by his consummate genius in carrying out this daring operation, +forcing his way through his enemies, into full possession of +interior lines, between their great garrison of Vicksburg and +their field army from Jackson. He had to create two fronts in +spite of his doubled enemy and live on that enemy's country +without any land base of his own. + +Grant knew the country was quite able to support his army if he +could only control enough of it. Bread, beef, and mutton would be +almost unobtainable. But chickens, turkeys, and ducks were +abundant, while hard-tack would do instead of bread. +Bird-and-biscuit of course became unpopular; and after weeks of +it Grant was not surprised to hear a soldier mutter "hard-tack" +loudly enough for others to take up the cry. By this time, +however, he luckily knew that the bread ration was about to be +resumed; and when he told the men they cheered as only men on +service can men to whom battles are rare events but rations the +very stuff of daily existence. Coffee, bacon, beef, and mutton +came next in popular favor when full rations were renewed. So +when the Northern land line was reopened towards the end of the +siege, and friends came into camp with presents from home, they +found, to their amazement, that even the tenderest spring chicken +was loathsome to their boys in blue. + +Grant set to work immediately on landing. His first objective was +Grand Gulf, which he wanted as a field base for further advance. +But in order to get it he had to drive away the enemy from Port +Gibson, which was by no means easy, even with superior numbers, +because the whole country thereabouts was so densely wooded and +so intricately watered that concerted movements could only be +made along the few and conspicuous roads. On the first of May, +however, the Confederates were driven off before their +reinforcements could arrive. McClernand bungled brigades and +divisions out of mutual support. But Grant personally put things +right again. + +By the third of May the bridge burnt by the enemy had been +repaired and Grant's men were crossing to press them back on +Vicksburg, so as to clear Grand Gulf. Grant's supply train +(raised by impressing every horse, mule, ox, and wheeled thing in +the neighborhood) looked more like comic opera than war. Fine +private carriages, piled high with ammunition, and sometimes +drawn by mules with straw collars and rope lines, went side by +side with the longest plantation wagons drawn by many oxen, or +with a two-wheeled cart drawn by a thoroughbred horse. + +Before any more actions could be fought news came through that +the Federals in Virginia had been terribly beaten by Lee, who was +now expected to invade the North. The South was triumphant; so +much so, indeed, that its Government thought the war itself had +now been won. But Lincoln, Grant, and Lee knew better. + +Swiftly, silently, and with a sure strategic touch, Grant marched +northeast on Jackson, to make his rear secure before he turned on +Vicksburg. On the twelfth he won at Raymond and on the fourteenth +at Jackson itself. Here he turned back west again. On the +sixteenth he won the stubborn fight of Champion's Hill, on the +seventeenth he won again at Big Black River, and on the +eighteenth he appeared before the lines of Vicksburg. With the +prestige of five victories in twenty days, and with the momentum +acquired in the process, he then tried to carry the lines by +assault on the spot. But the attack of the nineteenth failed, as +did its renewal on the twenty-second. Next day both sides settled +down to a six weeks' siege. + +The failure of the two assaults was recognized by friend and foe +as being a mere check; and Grant's men all believed they had now +found the lookedfor leader. So they had. Like Lee and Stonewall +Jackson in Virginia, Grant, with as yet inferior numbers (but +with the immense advantage of sea-power), had seized, held, and +acted on interior lines so ably that his forty-three thousand men +had out-maneuvered and out-fought the sixty thousand of the +enemy, beating them in detail on ground of their own besides +inflicting a threefold loss. Grant lost little over four +thousand. The Confederates lost nearly twelve thousand, half of +whom were captured. + +The only real trouble, besides the failure to carry the lines by +assault, was with the two bad generals, McClernand and Banks. +McClernand had promulgated an order praising his own. corps to +the skies and conveying the idea that he and it had won the +battles. Moreover, he hinted that he had succeeded in the assault +while the others had failed. This was especially offensive +because Grant, at McClernand's urgent request, had sent +reinforcements from other corps to confirm a success that he +found nonexistent on the spot, except in McClernand's own words. +To crown this, McClernand had sent his official order, with all +its misleading statements, to be published in the Northern press; +and the whole army was now supplied with the papers containing +it. So gross a breach of discipline could not go unpunished; and +McClernand was sent back to Springfield in disgrace. + +Banks, unfortunately, was senior to Grant and of course +independent of Farragut; so he could safely vex them both--Grant, +by spoiling the plan of concerting the attacks on Port Hudson and +Vicksburg in May; Farragut, by continual failure in cooperation +and by leaving big guns exposed to capture on the west bank. But +things turned out well, after all. The guns were saved by the +naval vessels that beat off a Confederate attack on +Donaldsonville; and Grant's army was saved from coming under +Banks's command by Banks's own egregious failure in cooperation. +This failure thus became a blessing in disguise: a disguise too +good for Halleck, whose reprimand from Washington on the +twenty-third of May shows what dangers lurked beneath the +mighthave-been. "The Government is exceedingly disappointed that +you and General Grant are not acting in conjunction. It thought +to secure that object by authorizing you to assume the entire +command as soon as you and General Grant could unite." + +In the end the Confederates suffered much more than the Federals +from civilian interference; for the orders of their Government +came through in time to confuse a situation that was already bad +and growing worse. Between Porter afloat and Grant ashore +Vicksburg was doomed unless "Joe" Johnston came west with +sufficient force to relieve it in time. Johnston did come early +enough, but not in sufficient force; so the next best thing was +to destroy all stores, abandon Vicksburg, and save the garrison. +The Government, however, sent positive orders to hold Vicksburg +to the very last gasp. Johnston had meanwhile sent Pemberton (the +Vicksburg commander) orders to combine with him in free +maneuvering for an attack in the field. But Pemberton's own idea +was to await Grant on the Big Black River, where, with Johnston's +help, he thought he could beat him. Then followed hesitation, a +futile attempt to harmonize the three incompatible schemes; and +presently the, division of the Confederates into separated +armies, driven apart by Grant, whose own army soon dug itself in +between them and quickly grew stronger than both. + +Grant's lines, facing both opponents, from Haynes's Bluff to +Warrenton, were fifteen miles long, which gave him one man per +foot when his full strength was reached Pemberton's were only +seven; and his position was strong. both towards the river, where +the bluffs rose two hundred feet, and on the landward side, where +the slopes were sharp and well fortified. Grant closed in, +however, and pressed the bombardment home. Except for six 32- +pounders and a battery of big naval guns he had nothing but field +artillery. Yet the abundance of ammunition, the closeness of the +range, and the support of his many excellent snipers, soon gave +him the upper hand. Six hundred yards was the farthest the lines +were apart. In some places they nearly touched. + +All ranks worked hard, especially at engineering, in which there +was such a dearth of officers that Grant ordered every West +Pointer to do his turn with the sappers and miners as well as his +other duty. This brought forth a respectful protest from the +enormously fat Chief Commissary, who said he could only be used +as a saproller (the big roller sappers shove protectingly before +them when snipers get their range). The real sap-rollers came to +grief when an ingenious Confederate stuffed port-fires with +turpentined cotton and shot them into rollers only a few yards +off. But after this the Federals kept their rollers wet; and +sapped and burrowed till the big mine was fully charged and safe +from the Confederate countermine, which had missed its mark. + +While trying to blow each other up the men on both sides +exchanged amenities and chaff like the best of friends. Each side +sold its papers to the other; and the wall-paper newsprint of +Vicksburg made a good war souvenir for both. There was a steady +demand for Federal bread and Confederate tobacco. When market +time was over the Confederates would heave down hand-grenades, +which agile Federals, good at baseball, would heave uphill again +before they exploded. And woe to the man whose head appeared out +of hours; for snipers were always on the watch, especially that +prince of snipers, Lieutenant H.C. Foster, renowned as "Coonskin" +from the cap he wore. A wonderful stalker and dead shot he was a +terror to exposed Confederates at all times; but more +particularly towards the end, when (their front artillery having +been silenced by Grant's guns) Coonskin built a log tower, +armored with railway iron, from which he picked off men who were +safe from ordinary fire. + +On the twenty-first of June Pemberton planned an escape across +the Mississippi and built some rough boats. But Grant heard of +this; the flotilla grew more watchful still; and before any +attempt at escape could be made the great mine was fired on the +twenty-fifth. The whole top of the hill was blown off, and with +it some men who came down alive on the Federal side. Among these +was an unwounded but terrified colored man, who, on being asked +how high he had gone, said, "Dunno, Massa, but t'ink 'bout t'ree +mile." An immense crater was formed. But there was no practicable +breach; so the assault was deferred. A second mine was exploded +on the first of July. But again there was no assault; for Grant +had decided to wait till several huge mines could be exploded +simultaneously. In the meantime an intercepted dispatch warned +him that Johnston would try to help Pemberton to cut his way out. +But by the time the second mine was exploded Pemberton was +sounding his generals about the chances of getting their own +thirty thousand to join Johnston's thirty thousand against +Grant's seventyfive thousand. The generals said No. Negotiations +then began. + +On the third of July Grant met Pemberton under the "Vicksburg +Oak," which, though quite a small tree, furnished +souvenir-hunters with many cords of sacred wood in after years. +Grant very wisely allowed surrender on parole, which somewhat +depleted Confederate ranks in the future by the number of men +who, returning to their homes, afterwards refused to come back +when the exchange of prisoners would have permitted them to do +so. + +That was a great week of Federal victory--the week including the +third, fourth, and eighth of July. On the third Lee was defeated +at Gettysburg. On the now doubly "Glorious Fourth" Vicksburg +surrendered and the last Confederate attack was repulsed at +Helena in Arkansas. On the eighth Port Hudson surrendered. With +this the whole Mississippi fell into Federal hands for good. On +the first of August Farragut left New Orleans for New York in the +battle-scarred Hartford after turning over the Mississippi +command to Porter's separate care. + + +Meanwhile the Confederates in Tennessee, weakened by reinforcing +Johnston against Grant, had been obliged to retire on +Chattanooga. To cover this retirement and make what diversion he +could, Bragg sent John H. Morgan with twenty-five hundred cavalry +to raid Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Perplexing the outnumbering +Federals by his daring, "Our Jack Morgan" crossed the Ohio at +Brandenburg, rode northeast through Indiana, wheeled south at +Hamilton, Ohio, rode through the suburbs of Cincinnati, reached +Buffington Island on the border of West Virginia, and then, hotly +pursued by ever-increasing forces, made northeast toward +Pennsylvania. On the twenty-sixth of July he surrendered near New +Lisbon with less than four hundred men left. + +The Confederate main body passed the summer vainly trying to stem +the advance of the Army of the Cumberland, with which Rosecrans +and Thomas skillfully maneuvered Bragg farther and farther south +till they had forced him into and out of Chattanooga. In the +meantime Burnside's Army of the Ohio cleared eastern Tennessee +and settled down in Knoxville. + +But in the middle of September Longstreet came to Bragg's rescue; +and a desperate battle was fought at Chickamauga on the +nineteenth and twentieth. The Confederates had seventy thousand +men against fifty-six thousand Federals: odds of five to four. +They were determined to win at any price; and it cost them +eighteen thousand men, killed, wounded, and missing; which was +two thousand more than the Federals lost. But they felt it was +now or never as they turned to bay with, for once, superior +numbers. As usual, too, they coveted Federal supplies. "Come on, +boys, and charge!" yelled an encouraging sergeant, "they have +cheese in their haversacks!" Yet the pride of the soldier stood +higher than hunger. General D.H. Hill stooped to cheer a very +badly wounded man. "What's your regiment?" asked Hill. "Fifth +Confederate, New Orleans, and a damned good regiment it is," came +the ready answer. + +Rosecrans, like many another man who succeeds halfway up, failed +at the top. He ordered an immediate general retreat which would +have changed the hard-won Confederate victory into a Federal +rout. But Thomas, with admirable judgment and iron nerve, stood +fast till he had shielded all the others clear. From this time on +both armies knew him as the "Rock of Chickamauga." + +The unexpected defeat of Chickamauga roused Washington to +immediate, and this time most sensible, action. Grant was given +supreme command over the whole strategic area. Thomas superseded +Rosecrans. Sherman came down with the Army of the Tennessee. And +Hooker railed through from Virginia with two good veteran corps. +Meanwhile the Richmond Government was more foolish than the +Washington was wise; for it let Davis mismanage the strategy +without any reference to Lee. Bragg also made a capital mistake +by sending Longstreet off to Knoxville with more than a third of +his command just before Grant's final advance. The result was +that Bragg found himself with only thirty thousand men at +Chattanooga when Grant closed in with sixty thousand, and that +Longstreet was useless at Knoxville, which was entirely dependent +on Chattanooga. Whoever won decisively at Chattanooga could have +Knoxville too. Davis, as the highest authority, and Bragg, as the +most responsible subordinate, ensured their own defeat. + +Chattanooga was the key to the whole strategic area of the upper +Tennessee; for it was the best road, rail, and river junction +between the lower Mississippi and the Atlantic ports of the +South. It had been held for some time by a Federal garrison which +had made it fairly strong. But toward the end of October it was +short of supplies; and Hooker had to fight Longstreet at +Wauhatchie in the Lookout Valley before it could be revictualed. +When Hooker, Thomas, and Sherman were there together under Grant +in November it was of course perfectly safe; and the problem +changed from defense to attack. The question was how to drive +Bragg from his commanding positions on Missionary Ridge and +Lookout Mountain. The woods and hills offered concealment to the +attack in some places. But Lookout Mountain was a splendid +observation post, twenty-two hundred feet high and crested with +columns of rock. The Ridge was three miles east, the Mountain +three miles south, of Cameron Hill, which stood just west of +Chattanooga, commanding the bridge of boats that crossed the +Tennessee. + +The battle, fought with great determination on both sides, lasted +three days--the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth of +November. Sherman made the flank attack on Missionary Ridge from +the north and Thomas the frontal attack from the west. Hooker +attacked the western flank of Lookout Mountain. + +Thomas did the first day's fighting, which was all preliminary +work, by advancing a good mile, taking the Confederate lines on +the lower slopes of the Ridge, and changing their defensive +features to face the Ridge instead of Chattanooga. + +At two the next morning Giles Smith's brigade dropped down the +Tennessee in boats and surprised the extreme north pickets placed +by Bragg at the mouth of the South Chickamauga to cover the right +of the Ridge. By noon Sherman's men were over the Tennessee ready +to cooperate with Thomas. Sherman had hidden his camp among the +hills on the other side so well that his movements could not be +observed, even from the commanding height of Lookout Mountain. +The night surprise of Bragg's pickets and the drizzling rain of +the morning prevented the Confederates from hearing or seeing +anything of Sherman's attack in the early afternoon; so he found +himself on the northern flank of Missionary Ridge before Bragg's +main body knew what he was doing. When the Confederates did +attack it was too late; and the twenty-fourth ended with Sherman +entrenched against the flank on even higher ground than Thomas +held against the center. Sherman's cavalry had meanwhile moved +round the flank, on the lower level and much farther off, to cut +Bragg's right rear connection with Chickamauga Station, whence +the rails ran east to Cleveland, Knoxville, and Virginia. + +Hooker's work this second day was to feel the Confederate force +on Lookout Mountain while keeping the touch with Thomas, who kept +the touch with Sherman. Mists hid his earlier maneuvers. He +closed in successfully, handled his men to admiration, and gained +more ground than either he or Grant had expected. Having +succeeded so well he changed his demonstration into a regular +attack, which became known as the "Battle above the Clouds." Step +by step he fought his way up, over breastworks and rifle pits, +felled trees and bowlders, through ravines and gullies, till the +vanguard reached the giant palisades of rock which ramparted the +top. The roar of battle was most distinctly heard four miles +away, on Orchard Knob, where Grant and Thomas were anxiously +waiting. But nothing could be seen until a sudden breeze blew the +clouds aside just as the long blue lines charged home and the +broken gray retreated. Then, from thirty thousand watching +Federals, went up a cheer that even cannon could not silence. + +At midnight Grant sent a word of encouragement to Burnside at +Knoxville. He then wrote his orders for what he now hoped would +be a completely victorious attack. The twenty-fifth of November +broke beautifully clear, and the whole scene of action remained +in full view all day long. Fearful of being cut off from their +main body on Missionary Ridge the Confederates had left Lookout +Mountain under cover of the dark. But by destroying the bridges +across the. Chattanooga River, which ran through the valley +between the Mountain and the Ridge, they delayed Hooker till late +that afternoon, thus saving their left from an even worse +disaster than the one that overtook their center and their right. + +Sherman had desperate work against their right, as Bragg massed +every available gun and man to meet him. This massing, however, +was just what Grant wanted; for he now expected Hooker to appear +on the other flank, which Bragg would either have to give up in +despair or strengthen at the expense of the center, which Thomas +was ready to charge. But with Hooker not appearing, and Sherman +barely holding his own, Grant slipped Thomas from the leash. The +two centers then met hand to hand. But there was no withstanding +the Federal charge. Back went the Confederates, turning to bay at +their second line of defense. Here again they were overborne by +well-led superior numbers and soon put to flight. Sheridan, of +whom we shall hear again in '64, took up the pursuit. Bragg lost +all control of his men. Stores, guns, and even rifles were +abandoned. Thousands of prisoners were taken; and most of the +others were scattered in flight. The battle, the whole campaign, +and even the war in the Tennessee sector, were won. + +Vicksburg meant that the trans-Mississippi South would +thenceforth wither like a severed branch. Chattanooga meant that +the Union forces had at last laid the age to the root of the +tree. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. GETTYSBURG: 1863 + +On the fifth of May we left Lee victorious in Virginia; but with +his indispensable lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, mortally +wounded. + +Though thoroughly defeated at Chancellorsville, Hooker soon +recovered control of the Army of the Potomac and prepared to +dispute Lee's right of way. Lee faced a difficult, perhaps an +insoluble, problem. Longstreet urged him to relieve the local +pressure on Vicksburg by concentrating every available man in +eastern Tennessee, not only withdrawing Johnston's force from +Grant's rear but also depleting the Confederates in Virginia for +the same purpose. Then, combining these armies from east and west +with the one already there under Bragg, the united Confederates +were to crush Rosecrans in their immediate front and make +Cincinnati their great objective. Lee, however, dared not risk +the loss of his Virginian bases in the meantime; and so he +decided on a vigorous counter-attack, right into Pennsylvania, +hoping that, if successful, this would . produce a greater effect +than any corresponding victory could possibly produce elsewhere. + +On the ninth of June a cavalry combat round Brandy Station, in +the heart of Virginia, made Hooker's staff feel certain that Lee +was again going up the Valley and on to Maryland. At one time, +for want of supplies, Lee had to spread out his front along a +line running eighty miles northwest from Fredericksburg to +Strasburg. Hooker, on the keen alert, implored the Government to +let him attack the three Confederate corps in detail. Success +against one at least was certain. Lincoln understood this +perfectly. But the nerves of his colleagues were again on edge; +and no argument could persuade them to adopt the best of all +possible schemes of defense by destroying the enemy's means of +destroying them. They insisted on the usual shield theory of +passive defense, and ordered Hooker to keep between Lee and +Washington whatever might happen. This absurd maneuver was of +course attended with all the usual evil results at the time. +Equally of course, it afterwards drew down the wrath of the +wiseacre public on their own representatives. But wiseacre +publics never stop to think that many a government is forced to +do foolish and even suicidal things in war simply because it +represents the ignorance and folly, as well as the wisdom, of all +who have the vote. + +Yet both the loyal public and its Government had some good +reasons to doubt Hooker's ability, even apart from his recent +defeat; and Lincoln, wisest of all--except in applying strategy +to problems he could not fully understand--felt almost certain +that Hooker's character contained at least the seeds of failure +in supreme command. "He talks to me like a father," said Hooker, +on reading the letter Lincoln wrote when appointing him +Burnside's successor. This remarkable letter, dated January 26, +1863, though printed many times, is worth reading again: + +"I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of +course I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient +reasons, and yet I think it best for you to know that there are +some things in regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you. +I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which, of +course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your +profession, in which you are right. You have confidence in +yourself, which is a valuable, if not an indispensable, quality. +You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good +rather than harm; but I think that during General Burnside's +command of the army you have taken counsel of your ambition, and +thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong +to the country and to a most meritorious and honorable brother +officer. I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your +recently saying that both the army and the Government needed a +Dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that +I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain +successes can set up dictatorships. What I now ask of you is +military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The +Government will support you to the utmost of its ability, which +is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all +commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to +infuse into the army, of criticizing their commander and +withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall +assist you as far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor +Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an +army while such a spirit prevails in it. And now, beware of +rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward, and +give us victories." + +Then came Chancellorsville, doubts at Washington, interference by +Stanton, ill-judged orders from Halleck, and some not very +judicious rejoinders from Hooker himself, who became rather +peevish, to Lincoln's alarm. So when, on the twentyseventh of +June, Hooker tendered his resignation, it was promptly accepted. +With Lee in Pennsylvania there was no time for discussion: only +for finding some one to trust. + +Lee, as usual, had divined the political forces working on the +Union armies from Washington and had maneuvered with a +combination of skill and daring that exactly met the situation. +Throwing his left forward (under Ewell) in the Shenandoah Valley +he had driven Milroy out of Winchester on the fourteenth of June +and next day secured a foothold across the Potomac. Then the rest +of his army followed. It was so much stretched out (to facilitate +its food supply) that Lincoln again wished to strike it at any +vulnerable spot. But the Cabinet in general (and Stanton in +particular) were still determined that the Union army should be +their passive shield, not their active sword. On the +twenty-fourth Ewell was already beginning to semicircle +Gettysburg from the Cumberland Valley. On the twenty-eighth, the +day on which Meade succeeded Hooker in the Federal command, the +Confederate semicircle, now formed by Lee's whole army, stretched +from Chambersburg on the west, through Carlisle on the north, to +York on the east; while the massed Federals were still in +Maryland, near Middletown and Frederick, thirty miles south of +Gettysburg, and only forty miles northwest of nervous Washington. + +Hooker's successor, George G. Meade, was the fifth defender of +Washington within the last ten months. Luckily for the Union, +Meade was a sound, though not a great, commander, and his hands +were fairly free. Luckily again, he was succeeded in command of +the Fifth Corps by George Sykes, the excellent leader of those +magnificent regulars who fought so well at Antietam and Second +Manassas. The change from interference to control was made only +just in time at Washington; for three days after Meade's free +hand began to feel its way along the threatened front the armies +met upon the unexpected battlefield of Gettysburg. + +Lee in Pennsylvania was in the midst of a very hostile population +and facing superior forces which he could only defeat in one of +two difficult ways: either by a sudden, bewildering, and +unexpected attack, like Jackson's and his own at +Chancellorsville, or by an impregnable defense on ground that +also favored a victorious counter-attack and the subsequent +crushing pursuit. But there was no Jackson now; and the nature of +the country did not favor the bewildering of Federals who were +fighting at home under excellent generals well served by a +competent staff and well screened by cavalry. So the "fog of war" +was quite as dense round Lee's headquarters as it was round +Meade's on the first of July, when Lee found that his chosen +point of concentration near Gettysburg was already occupied by +Buford's cavalry, with infantry and some artillery in support. +The surprise--and no very great surprise--was mutual. The +Federals were found where they could stand on their defense in a +very strong position if the rest of their army could come up in +time. And Lee's only advantage was that, having already ordered +concentration round the same position, he had a few hours' start +of Meade in getting there. + +Each commander had intended to make the other one attack if +possible; and Meade of course knew that Lee, with inferior +numbers and vastly inferior supplies, could not afford to stay +long among gathering enemies in the hostile North without +decisive action. The Confederates must either fight or retreat +without fighting, and make their choice very soon. So, when the +two armies met at Gettysburg, Lee was practically forced to risk +an immediate action or begin a retreat that might have ruined +Confederate morale. + +Gettysburg is one of those battles about which men will always +differ. The numbers present, the behavior of subordinates, the +tactics employed, were, and still are, subjects of dispute. Above +all, there is the vexed question of what Lee should or should not +have done. We have little space to spare for any such +discussions. We can only refer inquirers to the original evidence +(some of which is most conflicting) and give the gist of what +seems to be indubitable fact. The numbers were a good seventy +thousand Confederates against about eighty thousand Federals. But +these are the approximate grand totals; and it must be remembered +that the Confederates, having the start, were in superior numbers +during the first two days. On each side there was an aggrieved +and aggrieving subordinate general, Sickles on the Federal side, +Longstreet on the other. But Sickles was by far the less +important of the two. In tactics the Federals displayed great +judgment, skill, and resolution. The Northern people called +Gettysburg a soldiers' battle; and so, in many ways, it was; for +there was heroic work among the rank and file on both sides. But +it most emphatically was not a soldiers' battle in the sense of +its having been won more by the rank and file than by the +generals in high command; for never did so many Federal chiefs +show to such great advantage. No less than five commanded in +succession between morning and midnight on the first day, each +meeting the crisis till the next senior came up. They were +Buford, Reynolds, Howard, Hancock, Meade. Hunt also excelled in +command of the artillery; and this in spite of much +misorganization of that arm at Washington. Warren was not only a +good commander of the engineers but a good all-round general, as +he showed by seizing, on his own initiative, the Little Round +Top, without which the left flank could never have been held. + +Finally, there is the great vexed question of what Lee should or +should not have done. First, it seems clear that (like Farragut +and unlike Grant and Jackson) he lacked the ruthless power of +making every subordinate bend or break in every time of crisis: +otherwise he would have bent or broken Longstreet. Next, it may +have been that he was not then at his best. Concludingly, it may +be granted to armchair (and even other) critics that if +everything had been something else the results might not have +been the same. + + +Lee, having invaded the North by marching northeast under cover +of the mountains and wheeling southeast to concentrate at +Gettysburg, found Buford's cavalry suddenly resisting him, as +they formed the northwest outpost of Meade's army, which was +itself concentrating round Pipe Creek, near Taneytown in +Maryland, fifteen miles southeast. Gettysburg was a meeting place +of many important roads. It stood at the western end of a branch +line connecting with all the eastern rails. And it occupied a +strong strategic point in the vitally important triangle formed +by Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Washington. Thus, like a magnet, +it drew the contending armies to what they knew would prove a +field decisive of the whole campaign. + +The Federal line, as finally held on the third of July, was +nearly five miles long. The front faced west and was nearly three +miles long. The flanks, thrown back at right angles, faced north +and south. Near the north end of the front stood Cemetery Hill, +near the south the Devil's Den, a maze of gigantic bowlders. +Along the front the ground was mostly ridged, and even the lower +ground about the center was a rise from which a gradual slope +went down to the valley that rose again to the opposite heights +of Seminary Ridge, where Lee had his headquarters only a mile +away. The so-called hills were no more than hillocks, the ridges +were low, and most slopes were those of a rolling country. But +the general contour of the ground, the swelling hillocks on the +flanks (Culp's Hill on the right, the Round Tops on the left) and +the broad glacis up which attackers must advance against the +center, all combined to make the position very strong indeed when +held by even or superior numbers. + +The first day's fight began when A.P. Hill's Confederates, with +Longstreet's following, closed in on Gettysburg from the west to +meet Ewell's, who were coming down from the north. Buford's +Federal cavalry resisted Hill's advanced brigades successfully +till Reynolds had brought the First Corps forward in support and +ordered the two other nearest corps to follow at the double +quick. Reynolds was killed early in the day; but not before his +well trained eye had taken in the situation at a glance and his +sure judgment had half committed both armies to that famous +field. + +The full commitment came shortly after, when Meade sent Hancock +forward to command the three corps and Buford's cavalry in their +attempt to stem the Confederate advance. Howard was then the +senior general on the field, having taken over from Doubleday, +who had succeeded Reynolds. But he at once agreed that such a +strong position should be held and that Hancock should proceed to +rectify the lines. This was no easy task; for Ewell's +Confederates had meanwhile come down from the north and driven in +the Federal flank on the already hard-pressed front. The front +thereupon gave way and fell back in confusion. But Hancock's +masterly work was quickly done and the Federal line was +reestablished so well that the Confederates paused in their +attack and waited for the morrow. + +The Confederates had got as good as they gave, much to their +disgust. Archer, one of their best brigadiers, felt particularly +sore when most of his men were rounded up by Meredith's "Iron +Brigade." When Doubleday saw his old West Point friend a prisoner +he shook hands cordially, saying, "Well, Archer, I AM glad to see +you!" But Archer answered, "Well, I'm not so glad to see YOU--not +by a damned sight!" The fact was that the excellent Federal +defense had come as a very unpleasing surprise upon the rather +too cocksure Confederates. Buford's cavalry and Reynolds's +infantry had staunchly withstood superior numbers; while +Lieutenant Bayard Wilkeson actually held back a Confederate +division for some time with the guns of Battery G, Fourth U. S. +Artillery. This heroic youth, only nineteen years of age, kept +his men in action, though they were suffering terrible losses, +till two converging batteries brought him down. + +He was well matched by a veteran of over seventy, John Burns, an +old soldier, whom the sound of battle drew from his little home +like the trumpet-call to arms. In his swallow-tailed, +brass-buttoned, old-fashioned coatee, Burns seemed a very comic +sight to the nearest boys in blue until they found he really +meant to join them and that he knew a thing or two of war. "Which +way are the rebels?" he asked, "and where are our troops? I know +how to fight--I've fit before." So he did; and he fought to good +purpose till wounded three times. + +Late in the evening Meade arrived and inspected the lines by +moonlight. Having ordered every remaining man to hasten forward +he faced the second day with wellfounded anxiety lest Lee's full +strength should break through before his own last men were up. +His right was not safe against surprise by the Confederates who +slept at the foot of Culp's Hill, and his left was in imminent +danger from Longstreet's corps. But on the second day Longstreet +marked his disagreement with Lee's plans by delaying his attack +till Warren, with admirable judgment, had ordered the Round Tops +to be seized at the double quick and held to the last extremity. +Then, after wasting enough time for this to be done, Longstreet +attacked and was repulsed; though his men fought very well. +Meanwhile Ewell, whose attack against the right was to +synchronize with Longstreet's against the left, was delayed by +Longstreet till the afternoon, when he carried Culp's Hill. + +This was the only Confederate success; for Early failed to carry +Cemetery Hill, the adjoining high ground, which formed the right +center, and the rest of the Federal line remained intact; though +not without desperate struggles. + +The third was the decisive day; and on it Meade rose to the +height of his unappreciated skill. This was the first great +battle in which all the chief Federals worked so well together +and the first in which the commander-in-chief used reserves with +such excellent effect, throwing them in at exactly the right +moment and at the proper place. But these indispensable qualities +were not of the kind that the public wanted to acclaim, or, +indeed, of the kind that they could understand. + +Meade was determined to clear his flanks. So he began at dawn to +attack Ewell on Culp's Hill and kept on doggedly till, after four +hours of strenuous fighting, he had driven him off. By this time +Meade saw that Lee was not going to press home any serious attack +against the Round Tops and Devil's Den on the left. So the main +interest of the whole battle shifted to the center of the field, +where Lee was massing for a final charge. The idea had been to +synchronize three cooperating movements against Meade's whole +position. His left was to have been held by a demonstration in +force by Longstreet against the Devil's Den and Round Tops, while +Ewell held Culp's Hill, which seemed to be at his mercy, and +which would flank any Federal retreat. At the same time Meade's +center was to have been rushed by Pickett's fresh division +supported by three attached brigades. But though the central +force was ready before nine o'clock it never stepped off till +three; so great was Longstreet's delay in ordering Pickett's +advance. Meanwhile the Federals had made Culp's Hill quite safe +against Ewell. So all depended now on the one last desperate +assault against the Federal center. + +This immortal assault is known as Pickett's Charge because it was +made by Pickett's division of Longstreet's corps supported by +three brigades from Hill's--Wilcox's, Perry's, and Pettigrew's. +The whole formed a mass of about ten thousand men. If they broke +the Federal line in two, then every supporting Confederate was to +follow, while the rest turned the flanks. If they failed, then +the battle must be lost. + +Hour after hour passed by. But it was not till well past one that +Longstreet opened fire with a hundred and forty guns. Hunt had +seventy-seven ready to reply. But after firing for half an hour +he ceased, wishing to reserve his ammunition for use against the +charging infantry. This encouraged the Confederate gunners, who +thought they had silenced him. They then continued for some time, +preparing the way for the charge, but firing too high and doing +little execution against the Federal infantry, who were lying +down, mostly under cover. Hunt's guns were more exposed and +formed better targets; so some of them suffered severely: none +more than those of Battery A, Fourth U.S. Artillery. This gallant +battery had three of its limbers blown up and replaced. Wheels +were also smashed to pieces and guns put out of action, till only +a single gun, with men enough to handle it, was left with only a +single officer. This heroic young lieutenant, Alonzo H. Cushing +(brother to the naval Cushing who destroyed the Albemarle), then +ran his gun up to the fence and fired his last round through it +into Pickett's men as he himself fell dead. + +Pickett advanced at three o'clock, to the breathless admiration +of both friend and foe. He had a mile of open ground to cover. +But his three lines marched forward as steadily and blithely as +if the occasion was a gala one and they were on parade. The +Confederate bombardment ceased. The Federal guns and rifles held +their fire. Fate hung in silence on those gallant lines of gray. +Then the Federal skirmishers down in the valley began fitfully +firing; and the waiting masses on the Federal slopes began to +watch more intently still. "Here they come! Here comes the +infantry!" The blue ranks stirred a little as the men felt their +cartridge boxes and the sockets of their bayonets. The calm +warnings of the officers could be heard all down the line of +Gibbon's magnificent division, which stood straight in Pickett's +path. "Steady, men, steady! Don't fire yet!" + +For a very few, tense minutes Pickett's division disappeared in +an undulation of the ground. Then, at less than point-blank +range, it seemed to spring out of the very earth, no longer in +three lines but one solid mass of rushing gray, cresting, like a +tidal wave, to break in fury on the shore. Instantly, as if in +answer to a single word, Hunt's guns and Gibbon's rifles crashed +out together, and shot, shell, canister, and bullet cut gaping +wounds deep into the dense gray ranks. Still, the wave broke; +and, from its storm-blown top, one furious tongue surged over the +breastwork and through the hedge of bayonets. It came from +Armistead's brigade of stark Virginians. He led it on; and, with +a few score men, reached the highwater mark of that last spring +tide. + +When he fell the tide of battle turned; turned everywhere upon +that stricken field; turned throughout the whole campaign; turned +even in the war itself. + +As Pickett's men fell back they were swept by scythe-like fire +from every gun and rifle that could mow them down. Not a single +mounted officer remained; and of all the brave array that Pickett +led three-fourths fell killed or wounded. The other fourth +returned undaunted still, but only as the wreckage of a storm. + +Lee's loss exceeded forty per cent of his command. Meade's loss +fell short of thirty. But Meade was quite unable to pursue at +once when Lee retired on the evening of the fourth. The opposing +cavalry, under Pleasonton and Stuart respectively, had fought a +flanking battle of their own, but without decisive result. So Lee +could screen his retreat to the Potomac, where, however, his +whole supply train might have been cut off if its escort under +the steadfast Imboden had not been reinforced by every teamster +who could pull a trigger. + + +Gettysburg and Vicksburg, coming together, of course raised the +wildest expectations among the general public, expectations which +found an unworthy welcome at Government headquarters, where +Halleck wrote to Meade on the fourteenth: "The escape of Lee's +army has created great dissatisfaction in the mind of the +President." Meade at once replied: "The censure is, in my +judgment, so undeserved that I most respectfully ask to be +immediately relieved from the command of this army." Wiser +counsels thereupon prevailed. + +Lee and Meade maneuvered over the old Virginian scenes of action, +each trying to outflank the other, and each being hampered by +having to send reinforcements to their friends in Tennessee, +where, as we have seen already, Bragg and Rosecrans were now +maneuvering in front of Chattanooga. In October (after the +Confederate victory of Chickamauga) Meade foiled Lee's attempt to +bring on a Third Manassas. The campaign closed at Mine Run, where +Lee repulsed Meade's attempted surprise in a three-day action, +which began on the twenty-sixth of November, the morrow of +Grant's three days at Chattanooga. + + +From this time forward the South was like a beleaguered city, +certain to fall if not relieved, unless, indeed, the hearts of +those who swayed the Northern vote should fail them at the next +election. + + + +CHAPTER IX. FARRAGUT AND THE NAVY: 1863-4 + +The Navy's task in '63 was complicated by the many foreign +vessels that ran only between two neutral ports but broke bulk +into blockade-runners at their own port of destination. For +instance, a neutral vessel, with neutral crew and cargo, would +leave a port in Europe for a neutral port in America, say, Nassau +in the Bahamas or Matamoras on the Rio Grande. She could not be +touched of course at either port or anywhere inside the +three-mile limit. But international law accepted the doctrine of +continuous voyage, by which contraband could be taken anywhere on +the high seas, provided, of course, that the blockader could +prove his case. If, for example, there were ten times as many +goods going into Matamoras as could possibly be used through that +port by Mexico, then the presumption was that nine-tenths were +contraband. Presumption becoming proof by further evidence, the +doctrine of continuous voyage could be used in favor of the +blockaders who stopped the contraband at sea between the neutral +ports. The blockade therefore required a double line of +operation: one, the old line along' the Southern coast, the +other, the new line out at sea, and preferably just beyond the +three-mile limit outside the original port of departure, so as to +kill the evil at its source. Nassau and Matamoras gave the coast +blockade plenty of harassing work; Nassau because it was "handy +to" the Atlantic ports, Matamoras because it was at the mouth of +the Rio Grande, over the shoals of which the Union warships could +not go to prevent contraband crossing into Texas, thence up to +the Red River, down to the Mississippi (between the Confederate +strongholds of Vicksburg and Port Hudson) and on to any other +part of the South. But what may be called the highseas blockade +was no less harassing, complicated as it was by the work of +Confederate raiders. + +The coast blockade of '63 was marked by two notable ship duels +and three fights round Charleston, then, as always, a great storm +center of the wax. At the end of January two Confederate gunboats +under Commodore Ingraham attacked the blockading flotilla of +Charleston, forced the Mercedita to surrender, badly mauled the +Keystone State, and damaged the Quaker City. But, though some +foreign consuls and all Charleston thought the blockade had been +raised for the time being, it was only bent, not broken. + +At the end of February the Union monitor Montauk destroyed the +Confederate privateer Nashville near Fort McAllister on the +Ogeechee River in Georgia. In April nine Union monitors steamed +in to test the strength of Charleston; but, as they got back more +than they could give, Admiral Du Pont wisely decided not to try +the fight-to-a-finish he had meant to make next morning. Wassaw +Sound in Georgia was the scene of a desperate duel on the +seventeenth of June, when the Union monitor Weehawken captured +the old blockade-runner Fingal, which had been converted into the +new Confederate ram Atlanta. The third week in August witnessed +another bombardment of Charleston, this time on a larger scale, +for a longer time, and by military as well as naval means. But +Charleston remained defiant and unconquered both this year and +the next. + +Confederate raiders were at work along the trade routes of the +world in '63, doing much harm by capture and destruction, and +even more by shaking the security of the American mercantile +marine. American crews were hard to get when so many hands were +wanted for other war work; and American vessels were increasingly +apt to seek the safety of a neutral flag. + +Slowly, and with much perverse interference to overcome in the +course of its harassing duties, the Union navy was getting the +strangle-hold that killed the sea-girt South. By '64 the North +had secured this strangle-hold; and nothing but foreign +intervention or the political death of the Northern War Party +could possibly shake it off. The South was feeling its practical +enislement as never before. The strong right arm of the Union +navy held it fast at every point but three--Wilmington, +Charleston, and Mobile; and round these three the stern +blockaders grew stronger every day. The Sabine Pass and Galveston +also remained in Southern hands; and the border town of Matamoras +still imported contraband. But these other three points were +closely watched; and the greatly lessened contraband that did get +through them now only served the western South, which had been +completely severed from the eastern South by the fall of +Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The left arm of the Union navy now +held the whole line of the Mississippi, while the gripping hand +held all the tributary streams--Ohio, Cumberland, and +Tennessee--from which the Union armies were to invade, divide, +and devastate the eastern South this year. + + +Several Southern raiders were still at large in '64. But the most +famous or notorious three have each their own year of glory. The +Florida belongs to '63, the Shenandoah to '65. So the one great +raiding story we have now to tell is that of the Alabama, the +greatest of them all. + +The Alabama was a beautiful thousand-ton wooden barkentine, built +by the Lairds at Birkenhead in '62, with standing rigging of +wire, a single screw driven by two horizontal three-hundred horse +power engines, coal room for three hundred and fifty tons, eight +good guns, the heaviest a hundred-pound rifle, and a maximum crew +of one hundred and forty-nine--all ranks and ratings--under +Captain Raphael Semmes, late U.S.N. Semmes was not only a very +able officer but an accomplished lawyer, well posted on +belligerent and neutral rights at sea. + +For nearly two years the Alabama roved the oceans of the Old +World and the New, taking sixty-six Union vessels valued at seven +million dollars, spreading the terror of her name among all the +merchantmen that flew the Stars and Stripes, and infuriating the +Navy by the wonderful way in which she contrived to escape every +trap it set for her. She was designed for speed rather than for +fighting, and, with her great spread of canvas, could sometimes +work large areas under sail. But, even so, her runs, captures, +and escapes formed a series of adventures that no mere luck could +have possibly performed with a fluctuating foreign crew commanded +by ex-officers of the Navy. Her wanderings took her through +nearly a hundred degrees of latitude, from the coast of Scotland +to St. Paul Island, south of the Indian Ocean, also through more +than two hundred degrees of longitude, from the Gulf of Mexico to +the China Sea. She captured "Yankees" within one day's steaming +of the New York Navy Yard as well as in the Straits of Sunda. +West of the Azores and off the coast of Brazil her captures came +so thick and fast that they might have almost been a flock of +.sheep run down there by a wolf. Finally, to fill the cup of +wrath against her, she had sunk a blockader off the coast of +Texas, given the slip to a Union manof-war at the Cape of Good +Hope, and kept the Navy guessing her unanswered riddles for two +whole years. + +Imagine, then, the keen elation with which all hands aboard the +U.S.S. Kearsarge heard at their berth off Flushing that the +Alabama was in port at Cherbourg on the Channel coast of France, +only one day's sail southwest! And there she was when the +Kearsarge came to anchor; and every Northern eye was turned to +see the ship of which the world had heard so much. The Kearsarges +hardly dared to hope that there would be a fight; for they had +the stronger vessel, and now the faster one as well. The Alabama +had been built for speed; but she had knocked about so much +without a proper overhaul that her copper sheathing was in rags, +while she was more or less strained. in nearly every other part. +The Kearsarge, on the other hand, was in good order, with +mantlets of chain cable protecting her vitals, with one-third +greater horse power, with fourteen more men in her crew, and with +two big pivot guns throwing eleven inch shells with great force +at short ranges. Moreover, the Kearsarge, with her superior speed +and stronger hull, could choose the range and risk close +quarters,. The Alabamas were also keen to estimate respective +strengths. But the French authorities naturally kept the two +ships pretty far apart; so the Alabamas never saw the chain +mantlets which the Kearsarges had cleverly hidden under a +covering of wood that appeared to be flush with the hull. + +The Kearsarges had a second and still more elating surprise when +they heard the Alabama was coming out to fight. Semmes was +apparently anxious to show that his raider could be as gallant in +fighting a man-of-war as she was effective in sinking merchant +vessels; so he wrote his challenge to the Confederate Consul at +Cherbourg, who passed it on to the U. S. Consul, who handed it to +Captain Winslow, commanding the Kearsarge. Still, four days +passed without the Alabama; and the Kearsarges were giving up +hope, when, suddenly, on Sunday morning, the nineteenth of June, +just as they had rigged church and fallen in for prayers, out +came the Alabama. The Kearsarge thereupon drew off, so that the +Alabama could not easily escape to neutral waters if the duel +went against her. Cherbourg, of course, was all agog to see the +fight; and many thousands of people, some from as far as Paris, +watched every move. An English yacht, the Deerhound, kept an +offing of about a mile, ready to rescue survivors from a watery +grave. Its owner, with his wife and family, had intended to stay +ashore and go to church. But, when they heard the Alabama was +really going out, he put the question to the vote around the +breakfast-table, whereupon it was carried unanimously that the +Deerhound should go too. + +When the deck-officer of the Kearsarge sang out, "Alabama!" +Captain Winslow put down his prayerbook, seized his +speaking-trumpet, and turned to gain a proper offing, while the +drum beat to general quarters and the ship was cleared for +action, with pivot-guns to starboard. The weather was fine, with +a slight haze, little sea, and a light west breeze. Having drawn +the Alabama far enough to sea, the Kearsarge turned toward her +again, showing the starboard bow. When at a mile the Alabama +fired her hundred-pounder. For nearly the whole hour this famous +duel lasted the ships continued fighting in the same way-- +starboard to starboard, round and round a circle from half to a +quarter mile across. Each captain stood on the horse-block +abreast the mizzen-mast to direct the fight. Semmes presently +called to his executive officer: "Mr. Kell, use solid shot! Our +shell strike the enemy's side and fall into the water" (after +bounding off the iron mantlets Winslow had so cleverly +concealed). The Kearsarge's gunnery was magnificent, especially +from the after-pivot, which Quartermaster William Smith fired +with deadly aim, even when three of his gun's crew had been +wounded by a shell. These three, strange to say, were the only +casualties that occurred aboard the Kearsarge. But at sea the +stronger side usually suffers much less and the weaker much more +than on land. The Alabama lost forty: killed, drowned, and +wounded. + +The Kearsarges soon saw how the fight was going and began to +cheer each first-rate shot. "That's a good one! Now we have her! +Give her another like the last!" The big eleven-inchers got home +repeatedly as the range decreased; so much so that Semmes ordered +Kell to keep the Alabama headed for the coast the next time the +circling brought her bow that way. This would bring her port side +into action, which was just what Semmes wanted now, because she +had a dangerous list to starboard, where the water was pouring +through the shot-holes. Kell changed her course with perfect +skill, righting the helm, hoisting the head-sails, hauling the +fore-trysail-sheet well aft, and pivoting to port for a broadside +delivered almost as quickly as if there had not been a change at +all. But at this moment the engineer came up to say the water had +put his fires out and that the ship was sinking. At the same time +a strange thing happened. An early shot from the Kearsarge had +carried away the Alabama's colors; and now the Alabama's own last +broadside actually announced her own defeat by "breaking out" the +special Stars and Stripes that Window had run up his mizzenmast +on purpose to break out in case of victory. A cannon ball had +twitched the cord that held the flag rolled up "in stops." + +Semmes sent his one remaining boat to announce his surrender; +threw his sword into the sea; and jumped in with the survivors. +The Deerhound, on authority from Winslow, had already closed in +to the rescue, followed by two French pilot boats and two from +the Kearsarge; when suddenly the Alabama, rearing like a stricken +horse, plunged to her doom. + + +Long before the Alabama's end the Navy had been preparing for the +finishing blows against the Southern ports. Farragut had returned +to New Orleans in January, '64, hoping for immediate action. But +vexatious delays at Washington postponed his great attack till +August, when he crowned his whole career by his master-stroke +against Mobile. Grant was equally annoyed by this absurd delay, +which was caused by the eccentric, and therefore entirely +wasteful, Red River Expedition of '64, an expedition we shall +ignore otherwise than by pointing out, in this and the succeeding +chapters, that it not only postponed the overdue attack on Mobile +but spoilt Sherman's grand strategy as well as Farragut's and +Grant's. Banks commanded it. But by this time even he had learnt +enough of war to know that it was a totally false move. So he +boldly protested against it. But Halleck's orders, dictated by +the Government, were positive. So there was nothing for it but to +suffer a well-deserved defeat while trying to kill the dead and +withering branches of Confederate power beyond the Mississippi, +in order to "show the flag in Texas" and say "hands off!" to +Mexico and France in the least effective way of all. + +During this delay the Confederate ram Albemarle came down the +Roanoke River, hoping to break through the local blockade in +Albemarle Sound and so give North Carolina an outlet to the sea. +Two attempts against Newbern, which closed the way out to Pamlico +Sound, had failed; but now (the fifth of May) great hopes were +set upon the Albemarle. At first she seemed impregnable; and the +Federal shot and shell glanced harmlessly off her iron sides. But +presently Commander Roe of the Sassacus (a light-draft, +pair-paddle, double-ender gunboat) getting at right angles to +her, ordered his engineer to stuff the fires with oiled waste and +keep the throttle open. "ALL HANDS, LIE DOWN!" shouted Roe, as +the throbbing engines drove his vessel to the charge. Then came +an earthquake shock: the Sassacus crashed her bronze beak into +the Albemarle's side. Both vessels were disabled; a shell from +the Albemarle burst the boilers of the Sassacus, scalding the +engineers. But the rest fought off the attempt made by the +Albemarles to board. Presently the furious opponents drifted +apart; and the Albemarle, unable to face her other enemies, took +refuge upstream. There, on the twenty-seventh of October, she was +heroically attacked and sunk by Lieutenant W.B. Cushing, U.S.N., +with a spar torpedo projecting from a little steam launch. +Cushing himself swam off through a hail of bullets, worked his +way through the woods, seized a skiff belonging to one of the +enemy's outposts, and reached the flagship half dead but wholly +triumphant. + + +Between the Albemarle's two fights Farragut took Mobile after a +magnificent action on the fifth of of August. There were +batteries ashore, torpedoes across the channel, the Tennessee ram +and other Confederate vessels waiting on the flank: three kinds +of danger to the Union fleet if one false movement had been made. +But Farragut's touch was sure. He sent his ironclads through next +to the batteries, which were only really dangerous on one side. +This protected the wooden ships against the batteries and the +ironclads against the torpedoes; for the Confederates had to +leave part of the fairway clear in order to use it themselves. +Through this narrow channel the four strongly armored monitors +led the desperate way, a little ahead and to starboard of the +wooden vessels, which followed in pairs, each pair lashed +together, with the stronger on the starboard side, next to Fort +Morgan. + +The Confederates in Fort Morgan, and in the small and distant +Fort Powell on the other side, hardly reached a thousand men. +Their force afloat was also comparatively small: the ironclad ram +Tennessee and three side-wheeler gunboats. But the great strength +of their position and the many dangers to a hostile fleet +combined to make Farragut's attack a very serious operation, even +with his four monitors, eight screw sloops, and four smaller +vessels. The Union army, which took no part in this great attack, +was over five thousand strong, and lost only seven men in the +land bombardment later on. + +Farragut crossed the bar in the Hartford at ten past six in the +morning with the young flood tide and a westerly breeze to blow +the smoke against Fort Morgan. All his ships ran up the Stars and +Stripes not only at the peak, as usual, but at each mast-head as +well. Farragut himself at first took post in the port main +rigging. But as the smoke of battle rose around him he climbed +higher and higher till he got close under the maintop, where a +seaman, sent up by Captain Drayton, lashed him on securely. + +All went well amid the furious cannonade till the monitor +Tecumseh, taking the wrong side of the channel buoy in her +anxiety to ram the Tennessee, ran over the torpedoes, was +horribly holed by the explosion, and plunged headforemost to the +bottom, her screw madly whirling in the air. Nor was this the +worst; for the Tecumseh's mistake had thrown the other monitors +out of their proper lineahead, athwart the wooden ships, which +began to slow and swing about in some confusion. The Confederates +redoubled their fire. Ahead lay the fatal torpedoes. For a moment +Farragut could not decide whether to risk an advance at all costs +or to turn back beaten. He was a very devout as well as a most +determined man; and his simple prayer, "O God, shall I go on?" +seemed answered by the echo of his soul, "Go on!" So on he went, +not in unreflecting exaltation, but in exaltation based on +knowledge and on skill. Like Cromwell, he might well have said, +"Trust in the Lord and keep your powder dry!" For he had done all +that naval foresight could have done to ensure success. And now, +in one lightning flash of genius, he reviewed the situation. He +knew the torpedoes of his day were often unreliable, that they +exploded only on a special kind of shock, that those which did +explode could not be replaced in action, that they were all fixed +to their own spots, and that if one ship was blown up her +next-astern would get through safely. + +The Brooklyn, his next-ahead, was in his way. So he ordered the +flagship Hartford and her lashedtogether consort, the +double-ender Metacomet, to use, the one her screw, the other her +paddles, in opposite directions, till he had cleared the +Brooklyn's stern. As he, drew clear and headed for the +danger-channel a shoutwent up from the Brooklyn's deck--"'ware +torpedoes!" But Farragut, his mind made up, instantly roared +back--"Damn the torpedoes!" Then, turning to the Hartford's and +Metacomet's decks, he called his orders down: "Four bells! +Captain Drayton, go ahead! Captain Jouett, full speed!" In answer +to the order of "four bells" the engines worked their very utmost +and the two vessels dashed ahead. Torpedoes knocked against the +bottom and some of the primers actually snapped. But nothing +exploded; and Farragut won through. + +Inside the harbor the Tennessee fought hard against the +overwhelming Union fleet. But her lowpowered engines gave her no +chance at quick maneuvers. Three vessels rammed her in +succession; and she was forced to surrender. + +After this purely naval victory on the fifth of August, General +Granger's troops invested Fort Morgan, which, becoming the target +of an irresistible converging fire from both land and sea on the +twenty-second, surrendered on the twenty-third. + +The next objective of a joint expedition was Fort Fisher, which +stood at the end of a long, low tongue of land between the sea +and Cape Fear River. Fort Fisher guarded the entrance to +Wilmington in North Carolina, the port, above all others, from +which the Confederate armies drew their oversea supplies. Lee +wrote to Colonel Lamb, its commandant, saying that he could not +subsist if it was taken. Lamb had less than two thousand men in +the fort; but there were six thousand more forming an army of +support outside. The Confederates, however, had no naval force to +speak of, while the Union fleet, commanded by Admiral Porter, was +the largest that had ever yet assembled under the Stars and +Stripes. There were nearly sixty fighting vessels of all kinds, +including five new ironclads and the three finest new frigates. +The guns that were carried exceeded six hundred. + +There was also a mine ship, the old Louisiana, stuffed +chock-a-block with powder to blow in the side of the fort. The +Washington wiseacres set great store on this new mine of theirs. +It was, of course, to end the war. But naval and military experts +on the spot were more than doubtful. On the night of the +twenty-third of December the Louisiana was safely worked in near +the fort by brave Commander Rhind, who fired the slow match and +escaped unhurt with his devoted crew of volunteers. A tremendous +explosion followed. But, as there was nothing to drive the force +of it against the walls, it simply resulted in an enormous flurry +of water, mud, sand, earth, and bits of flaming wreckage. + +Next morning the fleet bombarded with such success as to silence +many of the guns opposed to them. But on Christmas Day General +Weitzel reported that an assault would fail; whereupon General +Butler concurred and retreated, much to the rage of the fleet, +which thought quite otherwise. + +In a few days General Terry arrived with the same white troops +reinforced by two small colored brigades, making a total of eight +thousand men. To these Porter, strongly reinforced, added a naval +brigade, two thousand strong, that volunteered to storm the sea +face of Fort Fisher. These gallant men had only cutlasses and +pistols--except the four hundred marines, who carried bayonets +and rifles. They were a scratch lot, from the soldier's point of +view, never having been landed together as a single unit till +called upon to assault the most dangerous features of the fort. +Yet, though they were repulsed with considerable loss, they +greatly helped to win the day by obliging the defenders to divide +their forces. As Terry's army was, by itself, four or five times +stronger than Lamb's entire command the military stormers +succeeded in fighting their way through every line of defense and +compelling a surrender. They did exceedingly well. But their rear +was safe, because Bragg had withdrawn the supporting army for +service elsewhere; while, in their front, the enemy defenses had +been almost torn out by the roots in many places under the +terrific converging fire of six hundred naval guns for three +successive days. + +When Fort Fisher surrendered on the fifteenth of January (1865) +the exhausted South had only one good port and one good raider +left: Charleston and the Shenandoah. + + + +CHAPTER X. GRANT ATTACKS THE FRONT: 1864 + +On March 9, 1864, at the Executive Mansion, and in the presence +of all the Cabinet Ministers, Lincoln handed Grant the +Lieutenant-General's commission which made him Commander-in-Chief +of all the Union armies--a commission such as no one else had +held since Washington. On April 9, 1865, Grant received the +surrender of Lee at Appomattox; and the four years war was ended +by a thirteen months campaign. + + +Victor of the River War in '63, Grant moved his headquarters from +Chattanooga to Nashville soon before Christmas. He then expected +not only to lead the river armies against Atlanta in '64 but, at +the same time, to send another army against Mobile, where it +could act in conjunction with the naval forces under Farragut's +command. + +He consequently made a midwinter tour of inspection: southeast to +Chattanooga, northeast to Knoxville and Cumberland Gap, northwest +to Lexington and Louisville, thence south, straight back to +Nashville. This satisfied him that his main positions were +properly taken and held, and that a well-concerted drive would +clear his own strategic area of all but Forrest's elusive +cavalry. + +It was the hardest winter known for many years. The sticky clay +roads round Cumberland Gap had been churned by wheels and pitted +by innumerable feet throughout the autumn rains. Now they were +frozen solid and horribly encumbered by debris mixed up with +thousands upon thousands of perished mules and horses. Grant +regretted this terrible wastage of animals as much in a personal +as in a military way; for, like nearly all great men, his +sympathies were broad enough to make him compassionate toward +every kind of sentient life. No Arab ever loved his horse better +than Grant loved his splfndid charger Cincinnati, the worthy +counterpart of Traveler, Lee's magnificent gray. + +Summoned to Washington in March, Grant, after one scrutinizing +look at the political world, then and there made up his steadfast +mind that no commander-in-chief could ever carry out his own +plans from any distant point; for, even in his fourth year of the +war, civilian interference was still being practiced in defiance +of naval and military facts and needs, and of some very serious +dangers. + +Lincoln stood wisely for civil control. But even he could not +resist the perverting pressure in favor of the disastrous Red +River Expedition, against which even Banks protested. Public and +Government alike desired to give the French fair warning that the +establishment of an imperial Mexico, especially by means of +foreign intervention, was regarded as a semi-hostile act. There +were two entirely different ways in which this warning could be +given: one completely effective without being provocative, the +other provocative without being in the very least degree +effective. The only effective way was to win the war; and the +best way to win the war was to strike straight at the heart of +the South with all the Union forces. The most ineffective way was +to withdraw Union forces from the heart of the war, send them off +at a wasteful tangent, misuse them in eccentric operations just +where they would give most offense to the French, and then expose +them to what, at best, could only be a detrimental victory, and +to what would much more likely be defeat, if not disaster. + +Yet, to Grant's and Farragut's and every other soldier's and +sailor's disgust, this worst way of all was chosen; and Banks's +forty thousand sorely needed veterans were sent to their double +defeat at Sabine Cross Roads and Pleasant Hill on the eighth and +ninth of April, while Porter's invaluable fleet and the no less +indispensable transports were nearly lost altogether owing to the +long-foretold fall of the dangerous Red River. The one success of +this whole disastrous affair was the admirable work of Colonel +Joseph Bailey, who dammed the water up just in time to let the +rapidly stranding vessels slide into safety through a very narrow +sluice. + +Even the Red River lesson was thrown away on Stanton, whose +interference continued to the bitter end, except when checked by +Lincoln or countered by Grant and Sherman in the field. When +Grant was starting on his tour of inspection he found that +Stanton had forbidden all War Department operators to let +commanding generals use the official cipher except when in +communication with himself. There were to be no secrets at the +front between the commanding generals, even on matters of +immediate life and death, unless they were first approved by +Stanton at his leisure. The fact that the enemy could use +unciphered messages was nothing in his autocratic eyes. Nor did +it prick his conscience to change the wording in ways that +bewildered his own side and served the enemy's turn. + +When Grant took the cipher Stanton ordered the operator to be +dismissed. Grant thereupon shouldered the responsibility, saying +that Stanton would have to punish him if any one was punished. +Then Stanton gave in. Grant saw through him clearly. "Mr. Stanton +never questioned his own authority to command, unless resisted. +He felt no hesitation in assuming the functions of the Executive +or in acting without advising with him . . . . He was very timid, +and it was impossible for him to avoid interfering with the +armies covering the capital when it was sought to defend it by an +offensive movement against the army defending the Confederate +capital. The enemy would not have been in danger if Mr. Stanton +had been in the field." + +Stanton was unteachable. He never learnt where control ended and +disabling interference began. In the very critical month of +August, '64, he interfered with Hunter to such an extent that +this patriotic general had to tell Grant "he was so embarrassed +with orders from Washington that he had lost all trace of the +enemy." Nor was that the end of Stanton's interference with the +operations in the Shenandoah Valley. Lincoln's own cipher letter +to Grant on the third of August shows what both these great men +had to suffer from the weak link in the chain between them. + +"I have seen your despatch in which you say, 'I want Sheridan put +in command of all the troops in the field, with instructions to +put himself south of the enemy, and follow him to the death. +Wherever the enemy goes, let our troops go also.' This, I think, +is exactly right, as to how our forces should move. But please +look over the despatches you may have received from here, even +since you made that order, and discover, if you can, that there +is any idea in the head of any one here of "putting our army +SOUTH of the enemy," or of 'following him to the DEATH' in any +direction. I repeat to you it will neither be done or attempted +unless you watch it every day, and hour, and force it.' + +The experts of the loyal North were partly comforted by knowing +that Davis and his ministers had interfered with Jackson, that +during the present campaign they made a crucial mistake about +Johnston, and that they failed to give Lee the supreme command +until it was too late. But no Southern Secretary went quite so +far as Stanton, who actually falsified Grant's order to Sheridan +at the crisis of the Valley campaign in October. Here are Grant's +own words: "This order had to go through Washington, where it was +intercepted; and when Sheridan received what purported to be a +statement of what I wanted him to do it was something entirely +different." + +Nor was Stanton the only responsible civilian to interfere with +Grant. There was no government press censorship--perhaps, in this +peculiar war, there could not be one. So the only safety was +unceasing care, even in cases vouched for by civilians of high +official standing. When Grant was beginning the great campaign of +'64 the Honorable Elihu B. Washburne, afterwards United States +Minister to France, introduced one Swinton as the prospective +historian of the war. On this understanding Swinton accompanied +the army. One night Grant gave verbal orders to the staff officer +on duty. Three days later these orders appeared in a Richmond +paper. Shortly afterwards, in the midst of the Wilderness battle, +Swinton was found eavesdropping behind a stump during a midnight +conference at headquarters. Sent off with a serious warning, he +next appeared, in another place, as a prisoner condemned to death +for spying. Grant, satisfied that he was not bent on getting news +for the enemy in particular, but only for the press in general, +released and expelled him with such a warning this time that he +never once came back. + + +The Union forces at the front were about twice the corresponding +forces of the South: Sherman, who commanded the river armies +after Grant's transfer to Virginia, says: "I always estimated my +force at about double, and could afford to lose two to one +without disturbing our relative proportion." In Virginia the Army +of the Potomac under Meade and the new Army of the James under +Butler, both under Grant's immediate command, totaled over a +hundred and fifty thousand men against the ninety thousand under +Lee. These odds of five to three remained the same when a hundred +and ten thousand Federals went into winter quarters against +sixtysix thousand Confederates at Petersburg. But, when the naval +odds of more than ten to one in favor of the North are added in, +the general odds of two to one are reached on this as well as +other scenes of action. In reserves the odds were very much +greater; for while the South was getting down to its last +available man the North began the following year with nearly one +million in the forces and two millions on the registered reserve. +Thus, even supposing that half the reserves were unfit for active +service, the man-power odds against the South were these: two to +one in arms at the beginning of the great campaign, five to one +at the end of it, and ten to one if the fit reserves were all +included. The odds in transportation by land, and very much more +so by water, were even greater at corresponding times; while the +odds in all the other resources which could be turned to warlike +ends were greater still. + +The Southern situation, therefore, was not encouraging from the +naval and military point of view. The border States had long been +lost, then the trans-Mississippi; and now the whole river lea was +held as a base by the North. Only five States remained effective: +Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. These formed an +irregular oblong of about two hundred thousand square miles +between the Appalachians and the sea. There were a good eight +hundred Confederate miles from the Shenandoah Valley to Mobile. +But the three hundred miles across the oblong, even in its widest +part, were everywhere threatened and in some places held by the +North. The whole coast was more closely blockaded than ever; and +only three ports remained with their defenses still in Southern +hands: Wilmington, Charleston, and Mobile. Alabama was threatened +by land and sea from the lower Mississippi and the Gulf. Georgia, +was threatened by Sherman's main body in southeastern Tennessee. +The Carolinas were in less immediate danger. But they were +menaced both from the mountains and the sea; and if the Union +forces conquered Virginia and Georgia, then the Carolinas were +certain to be ground into subjugation between Grant's victorious +forces on the north and Sherman's on the south. + +Grant fixed his own headquarters with the Army of the Potomac at +Culpeper Court House, north of the Rapidan. Lee's Army of +Northern Virginia, was at Orange Court House, over twenty miles +south. Grant, taking his own headquarters as the center, regarded +Butler's Army of the James as the left wing, which could unite +with the center round Richmond and Petersburg. The long right +wing ran through the whole of West Virginia, Kentucky, and +Tennessee, clear away to Memphis, with its own headquarters at +Chattanooga. There Sherman faced Johnston, who occupied a strong +position at Dalton, over thirty miles southeast. The great +objectives were, of course, the two main Southern armies under +Lee and Johnston, with Richmond and Atlanta as the chief +positions to be gained. + +All other Union forces were regarded as attacking the South from +the rear. Wherever coast garrisons could help to tighten the +blockade or seriously distract Confederate attention they were +left to do so. Wherever they could not they were either depleted +for the front or sent there bodily. The principal Union field +force attacking from the rear was to have been formed by Banks's +forty thousand veterans in conjunction with Farragut's fleet +against Mobile. But the Red River Expedition spoilt that +combination in the spring and postponed it till August, when +Farragut did nearly all the fighting, and the cooperating army +was far too late to produce the distracting effect that Grant had +originally planned. + +General Franz Sigel was sent to the upper Shenandoah Valley, both +to guard that approach on Washington and to destroy the resources +on which Lee's army so greatly relied. General George Crook was +given a mounted column to operate from southern West Virginia +against the line of rails running toward Tennessee through the +lower end of the Valley. + +The most notable new general was Philip H. Sheridan, whom Grant +selected for the cavalry command. Sheridan was thirty-three, two +years older than his Southern rival, Stuart, and, like him, a +young regular officer who rose to well-earned fame the moment his +first great chance occurred. + +Sherman we have met from the very beginning of the war and +followed throughout its course. He was continually rising to more +and more responsible command; but it was only now that he became +the virtual Commander-in-Chief of all the river armies and the +chosen cooperator with Grant on a universal scale. He was of the +old original stock, his first American ancestors having emigrated +from England in 1634. An old regular, with special knowledge of +the South, and in the fullness of his powers at the age of +forty-four, he had developed with the war till there was no +position which he could not fill to the best advantage of the +service. + +Grant fixed the fourth of May for the combined advance of all the +converging forces of invasion. There were two weak points where +the Union armies failed: one in the farthest south, where, as we +have so often seen, Banks could not attack Mobile owing to his +absence at Red River; the other in the farthest north, where +Sigel was badly beaten and replaced by Hunter. Here, after much +disabling interference at the hands of Stanton, Hunter was +succeeded by Sheridan, whom Grant himself directed with +consummate skill. There were also two Confederate thorns in the +Federal side: Forrest's cavalry in Sherman's rear, Mosby's +cavalry in Grant's. Forrest roved about the river area, snapping +up small garrisons, cutting communications, and doing a good deal +of damage right up to the Ohio. Mosby, with a much smaller but +equally efficient force, actually raided to and fro in Grant's +immediate rear; and on one occasion nearly captured Grant himself +just on the eve of the opening move. As Grant's unguarded special +train from Washington pulled up at Warrenton Junction, where +there was only one Union official, Mosby's men had just crossed +the track in pursuit of some Federal cavalry. + +But neither these two Confederate thorns in the side nor the more +serious Federal failures could stop the general advance. Nor yet +could Butler's lack of success on the James. Butler had seized +and fortified. an exceedingly strong defensive position at +Bermuda Hundred on a peninsula, with navigable water on both +flanks and in rear, and a very narrow neck of land in front. The +only trouble was that it was as hard for him to surmount the +Confederate front across the same narrow neck as it was for the +enemy to surmount his own. He was, in fact, bottled up, with the +cork in the enemy's hands. He did send out cavalry from Suffolk +to cut the rails south of Petersburg. But no permanent damage was +done there. Petersburg itself, which at that time was almost +defenseless, was-not . taken. And in the middle of the month +Beauregard attacked Butler so vigorously as to make the Army of +the James rather a passive than an active force till it was +presently, absorbed by Grant when he arrived before Richmond in +June. + +Grant felt perfect confidence only in four prime elements of +victory: first, in his ability to wear Lee down by sheer +attrition if other means failed; next, in his own magnificent +army; then in Sherman's; and lastly in Sheridan's cavalry. His +supply and transport services were nearly perfect, even in his +own most critical eyes. "There never was a corps better organized +than was the quartermaster's corps with the Army of the Potomac +in 1864." His field engineering and his signal service were also +exceedingly good. At every halt the army threw up earth and +timber entrenchments with wonderful rapidity and skill. At the +same time the telegraph and signal corps was busy laying +insulated wires by means of reels on muleback. Parallel lines +would be led to the rear of each brigade till quite clear, when +their ends would be joined by a wire at right angles, from which +headquarters could communicate with every unit at the front. +Sherman's army was equally efficient, and Sheridan's cavalry soon +proved that sweeping raids could be carried out by one side as +well as by the other. + +Crossing the Rapidan at the Germanna Ford, Grant marched south +through the Wilderness on the fifth of May. The Wilderness was +densely wooded; the roads were few and bad; the clearings rare +and too small for large units. When Lee attacked from the west +and Grant turned to face him the fighting soon became desperate, +close, and somewhat confused. Neither side gained any substantial +advantage on the first day. Next morning Grant, preparing to +attack at five, was forestalled by Lee, who wished to keep him at +arm's length till Longstreet came up on the southern flank. Again +the opposing armies closed and fought with the greatest +determination for over an hour, when the Confederates fell back +in some confusion. Then Longstreet arrived and restored the +battle till he was severely wounded. After this Lee took command +of his right, or southern, wing and kept up the fight all day. +Meanwhile Sheridan had countered the Confederate cavalry under +Stuart, which had been trying to swing round the same southern +flank. The main bodies of infantry swayed back and forth till +dark, with the woods and breastworks on fire in several places, +and many of the wounded smothering in the smoke. + +On the seventh reassuring news came in from Sherman and Butler, +Sheridan drove off the Confederate cavalry at Todd's Tavern, and +the southward march continued. As Grant and Meade rode south that +evening, past Hancock's corps, and the men saw they were heading +straight for Richmond, there was such a burst of cheering that +the Confederates, thinking it meant a night attack, deluged the +intervening woods with a heavy barrage till they found out their +mistake. + +The race for Richmond continued on the eighth, each army trying +to get south of the other without exposing itself to a flank +attack. Grant had sent his wagon trains farther east, to move +south on parallel roads and keep those nearest Lee quite clear +for fighting. This movement at first led Lee to suspect a Federal +retirement on Fredericksburg, which caused him to send +Longstreet's corps south to Spotsylvania. The woods being on +fire, and the men unable to bivouac, the whole corps pushed on to +Spotsylvania, thus forestalling Grant, who had intended to get +there first himself. + +This brought on another tremendous battle in the bush. Lee formed +a semicircle, facing north, round Spotsylvania, in a supreme +effort to stem, if not throw back, Grant's most determined +advance. Grant, on the other hand, indomitably pressed home wave +after wave of attack till the evening of the twelfth. The morning +of that desperate day was foggy; and the attack was delayed. The +Federal objective was a commanding salient, jutting out from the +Confederate center, and now weakened by the removal of guns +overnight to follow the apparent Federal move toward the south. +The gray sentries, peering through the dripping woods, suddenly +found them astir. Then wave after wave of densely massed blue +dashed to the assault, swarming up and over on both sides, +regardless of losses, and fighting hand to hand with a fury that +earned this famous salient the name of Bloody Angle. Back and +still back went the outnumbered gray, many of whom were +surrounded by the swirling currents of inpouring blue. But +presently Lee himself came up, and would have led his +reinforcements to the charge if a pleading shout of "General Lee +to the rear!" had not induced him to desist. Every spare +Confederate rushed to the rescue. From right and left and rear +the gray streams came, impetuous and strong, united in one main +current and dashed against the blue. There, in the Bloody Angle, +the battle raged with everincreasing fury until the rising tide +of strife, bursting its narrow bounds, carried the blue attackers +back to where they came from. But they were hardly clear of that +appalling slope before they reformed, presented an undaunted +front once more, and then drew off with stinging resistance to +the very last. + +After five days of much rain and little fighting Grant made his +final effort on the eighteenth. This was meant to be a great +surprise. Two corps changed position under cover of the night and +sprang their trap at four in the morning. But Lee was again +before them, ready and resolute as ever. Thirty guns converged +their withering fire on the big blue masses and seemed to burn +them off the field. These masses never closed, as they had done +six days before; and when they fell back beaten the fortnight's +battle in the Wilderness was done. + +During it there had been two operations that gave Grant better +satisfaction: Sheridan's raid and Sherman's advance. As large +bodies of cavalry could not maneuver in the bush Grant had sent +Sheridan off on his Richmond Raid ten days before. Striking south +near Spotsylvania, Sheridan's ten thousand horsemen rounded Lee's +right, cut the rails on either side of Beaver Dam Station, +destroyed this important depot on the Virginia Central Railroad, +and then made straight for Richmond. Stuart followed hard, made +an exhausting sweep round Sheridan's flank, and faced him on the +eleventh at Yellow Tavern, six miles north of Richmond. Here the +tired and outnumbered Confederates made a desperate attempt to +stem Sheridan's advance. But Stuart, the hero of his own men, and +the admiration of his generous foes, was mortally wounded; and +his thinner lines, overlapped and outweighed, gave ground and +drew off. Richmond had no garrison to resist a determined attack. +But Sheridan, knowing he could not hold it and having better work +to do, pushed on southeast to Haxall's Landing, where he could +draw much-needed supplies from Butler, just across the James. +With the enemy aggressive and alert all round him, he built a +bridge under fire across the Chickahominy, struck north for the +Army of the Potomac, and reported his return to Grant at +Chesterfield Station--halfway back to Spotsylvania--on his +seventeenth day out. + +In the course of this great raid Sheridan had drawn off the +Confederate cavalry; fought four successful actions; released +hundreds of Union prisoners and taken as many himself; cut rails +and wires to such an extent that Lee could only communicate with +Richmond by messenger; destroyed enormous quantities of the most +vitally needed enemy stores, especially food and medical +supplies; and, by penetrating the outer defenses of Richmond, +raised Federal prestige to a higher plane at a most important +juncture. + +Meanwhile Sherman, whose own main body included a hundred +thousand men, had started from Chattanooga at the same time as +Grant from Culpeper Court House. In Grant's opinion "Johnston, +with Atlanta, was of less importance only because the capture of +Johnston and his army would not produce so immediate and decisive +a result in closing the rebellion as would the possession of +Richmond, Lee, and his army." Sherman's organization, supply and +transport, engineers, staff, and army generally were excellent. +So skillful, indeed, were his railway engineers that a disgusted +Confederate raider called out to a demolition party: "Better save +your powder, boys. What's the good of blowing up this one when +Sherman brings duplicate tunnels along?" + +Sherman had double Johnston's numbers in the field. But Johnston, +as a supremely skillful Fabian, was a most worthy opponent for +this campaign, when the Confederate object was to gain time and +sicken the North of the war by falling back from one strongly +prepared position to another, inflicting as much loss as possible +on the attackers, and forcing them to stretch their line of +communication to the breaking point among a hostile population. +Two of Sherman's best divisions were still floundering about with +the rest of the Red River Expedition. So he had to modify his +original plan, which would have taken him much sooner to Atlanta +and given him the support of a simultaneous attack on Mobile by a +cooperating joint expedition. But he was ready to the minute, all +the same. + +Dalton, Johnston's first stronghold, was cleverly turned by +McPherson's right flank march; where upon Johnston fell back on +Resaca. Here, on the upon the fifteenth of May, the armies fought +hard for some hours. But Sherman again outflanked the fortified +enemy, who retired to Kingston. Then, after Sherman had made a +four days' halt to accumulate supplies, the advance was resumed, +against determined opposition and with a good deal of hard +fighting for a week in the neighborhood of New Hope Church. The +result of the usual outflanking movements was that Johnston had +to evacuate Allatoona on the fourth of June. Sherman at once +turned it into his advanced field base; while Johnston fell back +on another strong and wellprepared position at Kenesaw Mountain. + +Grant, favored in a general way by Sherman and in a special way +by Sheridan, had meanwhile enjoyed a third advantage, this time +on his own immediate front, through the sickness of Lee, who +could not take personal command during the last ten days of May. +On the twenty-first half of Grant's army marched south while half +stood threatening Lee, in order to give their friends a start +toward Richmond. This move was so well staffed and screened that +perhaps Lee could not have seen his chance quite soon enough in +any case. But when he did learn what had happened even his calm +self-control gave way to the exceeding bitter cry: "We must +strike them! We must never let them pass us again!" On the +thirtieth he was horrified at getting from Beauregard (who was +then between Richmond and Petersburg) a telegram which showed +that the Confederate Government was busy with the circumlocution +office in Richmond while the enemy was thundering at the gate. +"War Department must determine when and what troops to order from +here." Lee immediately answered: "If you cannot determine what +troops you can spare, the Department cannot. The result of your +delay will be disaster. Butler's troops will be with Grant +tomorrow." Lee also telegraphed direct to Davis for immediate +reinforcements, which arrived only just in time for the terrific +battle of Cold Harbor. + +With these three advantages, in addition to the other odds in his +favor, Grant seemed to have found the tide of fortune at the +flood in the latter part of May. But he had many troubles of his +own. No sooner had half his army been badly defeated on the +eighteenth than news came that Sigel was in full retreat instead +of cutting off supplies from Lee. Then came news of Butler's +retreat from Drewry's Bluff, close in to Richmond. Nor was this +all; for it was only now that definite news of the Red River +Expedition arrived to confirm Grant's worst suspicions and ruin +his second plan of helping Farragut to take Mobile. But, as was +his wont, Grant at once took steps to meet the crisis. He ordered +Hunter to replace Sigel and go south--straight into the heart of +the Valley, asked the navy to move his own base down the +Rappahannock from Fredericksburg to Port Royal, and then himself +marched on toward Richmond, where Lee was desperately trying to +concentrate for battle. + +The two armies were now drawing all available force together +round the strategic center of Cold Harbor, only nine miles east +of Richmond. On the thirty-first Sheridan drove out the enemy +detachments there, and was himself about to retire before much +superior reinforcements when he got Grant's order to hold his +ground at any cost. Nightfall prevented a general assault till +the next morning, when Sheridan managed to stand fast till +Wright's whole corps came up and the enemy at once desisted. But +elsewhere the Confederates did what they could to stave the +Federals off from advantageous ground on that day and the next. +The day after--the fateful third of June--the two sides closed in +death-grips at Cold Harbor. + +On this, the thirtieth day of Grant's campaign of stern attrition +and would-be-smashing hammerstrokes at Lee, these were his orders +for attack: "The moment it becomes certain that an assault cannot +succeed, suspend the offensive. But when one does succeed, push +it vigorously, and, if necessary, pile in troops at the +successful point from wherever they can be taken." The trouble +was that Grant was two days late in carrying on the battle so +well begun by Sheridan, that Warren's corps was two miles off and +entirely disconnected, and that the three remaining corps formed +three parts and no whole when the stress of action came. + +At dawn Meade's Army of the Potomac (less Warren's corps) began +to take post for the grand attack that some, more sanguine than +reflecting, hoped would win the war. When it was light the guns +burst out in furious defiance, each side's artillery trying to +beat the other's down before the crisis of the infantry assault. +There was no maneuvering. Each one of Meade's three corps- +-Hancock's, Wright's, and Smith's (brought over from Butler's +command)--marched straight to its front. This led them apart, on +diverging lines, and so exposed their flanks as well as their +fronts to enemy fire. But though each corps thought its neighbor +wrong to uncover its flanks, and the true cause was not +discovered till compass bearings were afterwards compared, yet +each went on undaunted, gaining momentum with every step, and +gathering itself together for the final charge. + +Then, surging like great storm-blown waves, the blue lines broke +against Lee's iron front. In every gallant case there was the +same wild cresting of the wave, the same terrific crash, the same +adventurous tongues of blue that darted up as far as they could +go alive, the same anguishing recession from the fatal mark, and +the same agonizing wreckage left behind. In Hancock's corps the +crisis passed in just eight minutes. But in those eight dire +minutes eight colonels died while leading their regiments on to a +foredoomed defeat. One of these eight, James P. McMahon of New +York, alone among his dauntless fellows, actually reached the +Confederate lines, and, catching the colors from their stricken +bearer, waved them one moment above the parapet before he fell. + +Flesh and blood could do no more. Under the withering fire and +crossfire of Lee's unshaken front the beaten corps went back, +re-formed, and waited. They had not long to wait; for Grant was +set on swinging his three hammers for three more blows at least. +So again the three assaults were separately made on the one +impregnable front; and again the waves receded, leaving a second +mass of agonizing wreckage with the first. Yet even this was not +enough for Grant, who once more renewed his orders. These orders +quickly ran their usual course, from the army to the different +corps, from each corps to its own divisions, and from divisions +to brigades. But not a single unit stirred. From the generals to +the "thinking bayonets" every soldier knew the limit had been +reached. Officially the order was obeyed by a front-line fire of +musketry, as well as by the staunch artillery, which again gave +its infantry the comfort of the guns. But that was all. + +Thus ended the battle of Cold Harbor, the last pitched battle on +Virginian soil. Grant reported it in three short sentences; and +afterwards referred to it in these other three. "I have always +regretted that the last assault [i.e., the whole battle of the +third of June] was ever made. No advantage whatever was gained to +compensate for the heavy loss. Indeed, the advantages, other than +those of relative losses, were on the Confederate side." Even +these, however, were also on the Confederate side, as Grant lost +nearly thirteen thousand, while Lee lost less than eighteen +hundred. Cold Harbor undoubtedly lowered Union morale, both at +the front and all through the loyal North. It encouraged the +Peace Party, revived Confederate hopes, and shook the army's +faith in Grant's commandership. Martin McMahon, a Union general, +writing many years after the event, of which he was a most +competent witness, said: "It was the dreary, dismal, bloody, +ineffective close of the lieutenant-general's first campaign with +the Army of the Potomac." + + +Cold Harbor caused a change of plan. Reporting two days later +Grant said: "I now find, after thirty days of trial, the enemy +deems it of the first importance to run no risks with the armies +they now have. Without a greater sacrifice of human life than I +am willing to make all cannot be accomplished that I had designed +outside of the city [of Richmond]. I have therefore resolved upon +the following plan," which, in one word, involved a complete +change from a series of pitched battles to a long-drawn open +siege. + +The battles lasted thirty days, the siege three hundred. +Therefore, from this time on for the next ten months, Lee had to +keep his living shield between Grant's main body and the last +great stronghold of the fighting South, while the rising tide of +Northern force, commanding all the sea and an ever-increasing +portion of the land, beat ceaselessly against his front and +flanks, threw out destroying arms against his ever-diminishing +sources of supply, and wore the starving shield itself down to +the very bone. + +Grant's losses--forty thousand killed and wounded--were all made +good by immediate reinforcement; as was his other human wastage +from sickness, straggling, and desertion: made good, that is, in +the quantities required to wear out Lee, whose thinning ranks +could never be renewed; but not made good in quality; for many of +the best were dead. The wastage of material is hardly worth +considering on the Northern side; for it could always be made +good, superabundantly good. But the corresponding wastage on the +Southern side was unrenewed and unrenewable. Food, clothing, +munitions, medical stores--it was all the same for all the +Southern armies: desperate expedients, slow starvation, death. + +Consternation reigned at Richmond on the twelfth of June, the day +the fitful firing ceased around Cold Harbor. There was danger in +the Valley, where Hunter had won success at Staunton, and where +Crook's and Averell's Union troops were expected to arrive from +West Virginia. Sheridan, too, was off on a twenty-day raid. He +cut the Virginia Central rails at Trevilian, did much other +damage between Richmond and the Valley, and, toward the end of +June, rejoined Grant, who had reached the James nearly a +fortnight before. Always trying to overlap Lee's extending right, +Grant closed in on Petersburg with the Army of the Potomac while +the Army of the James held fast against Richmond. This part of +the front then remained comparatively quiet till the end of July. + +But the beleaguered Confederates made one last sortie out of the +Valley and straight against Washington. At the beginning of July +the Valley was uncovered owing to the roundabout flank march that +Hunter was forced to make back to his base for ammunition. The +enterprising Jubal Early took advantage of this with some veteran +troops and made straight for Washington. On the ninth Lew Wallace +succeeded in delaying him for one day at the Monocacy by an +admirably planned defense most gallantly carried out with greatly +inferior numbers and far less veteran men. This gave time for +reinforcements to pour into Washington; so that on the twelfth, +Early, finding the works alive with men, had to retreat even +faster than he came. + +In the meantime Grant's extreme right wing was steadily pressing +the invasion of Georgia, where we left Sherman and Johnston face +to face at Kenesaw in June. Here again the beleaguered +Confederates had been making desperate raids or sorties, trying +to cut Sherman off from his base in Tennessee and keep back the +Federal forces in other parts of the river area. "Our Jack +Morgan," whom we left as a prisoner of war after his Ohio raid of +'63, had escaped in November, fought Crook and Averell for +Saltville and Wytheville in May, and then, leaving southwest +Virginia, had raided Kentucky and taken Lexington, but been +defeated at Cynthiana and driven back by overwhelming numbers +till he again entered southwest Virginia on the twentieth of +June. Forrest raided northeastern Mississippi, badly defeated +Sturgis at Brice's Cross Roads in June, but was himself defeated +by A.J. Smith at Tupelo in July. + +Meanwhile Sherman had been tapping Johnston's fifty miles of +entrenchments for three weeks of rainy June weather, hoping to +find a suitable place into which he could drive a wedge of +attack. On the twenty-seventh he tried to carry the Kene saw +lines by assault, but failed at every point, with a loss of +twenty-five hundred--three times what Johnston lost. + +By a well-combined series of maneuvers Sherman then forced +Johnston to fall back or be hopelessly outflanked. Johnston, with +equal skill, crossed the Chattahoochee under cover of the +strongly fortified bridgehead which he had built unknown to +Sherman. But Sherman, with his double numbers, could always hold +Johnston with one-half in front while turning his flank with the +other. So even the Chattahoochee was safely crossed on the +seventeenth of July and the final move against Atlanta was begun. +That same night Johnston's magnificent skill was thrown to the +winds by Davis, who had ordered the bold and skillful but far too +headlong John B. Hood to take command and "fight." + +Five days later Hood fought the battle of Atlanta. Just as +Sherman was closing in to entrench for a siege Hood attacked his +extreme left flank with the utmost resolution, driving it in and +completely enveloping it. But Sherman was not to be caught. +Knowing that only a part of Hood's army could be sent to this +attack while the rest held the lines of Atlanta, Sherman left +McPherson's veteran Army of the Tennessee to do the actual +fighting, supported, of course, by the movement of troops on +their engaged right. McPherson was killed. Logan ably replaced +him and won a hard-fought day. Hood's loss was well over eight +thousand; Sherman's considerably less than half. + +On the twenty-eighth Hood attacked the extreme right, now +commanded by General O.O. Howard in succession to McPherson, +whose Army of the Tennessee again did most distinguished service, +especially Logan's Fifteenth Corps near Ezra Church. The +Confederates were again defeated with the heavier loss. After +this the siege continued all through the month of August. + +While Hood was trying to keep Sherman off Atlanta Grant was +trying to make a breach at Petersburg. Grant gave Meade "minute +orders on the 24th [of July] how I wanted the assault conducted," +and Meade elaborated the actual plan with admirable skill except +in one particular that of the generals concerned. Burnside was +ordered to use his corps for the assault, and he chose Ledlie's +division to lead. The mine was on an enormous scale, designed to +hold eight tons of powder, though it was only charged with four, +and was approached by a gallery five hundred feet long. On the +twentyninth Grant brought every available man into proper support +of Burnside, whose other three divisions were to form the +immediate support of Ledlie's grand forlorn hope. + +In the early morning of the thirtieth the mine blew up with an +earthquaking shock; the enemy round it ran helterskelter to the +rear; a crater like that of a volcano was formed; and a hundred +and sixty pieces of artillery opened a furious fire on every +square inch near it. Ledlie's division rushed forward and +occupied the crater. But there the whole maneuver stopped short; +for everything hinged on Ledlie's movements; and Ledlie was +hiding, well out of danger, instead of "carrying on." After a +pause Confederate reinforcements came up and drove the leaderless +division back. "The effort," said Grant, "was a stupendous +failure"; and it cost him nearly four thousand men, mostly +captured. + +August was a sad month for the loyal North. It was then, as we +have seen, that Lincoln had to warn Grant about the way in which +his orders were being falsified in Washington. It was then that +Sherman asked for reinforcements, so as to be up to strength +before and after the taking of Atlanta. And it was then that +Halleck warned Grant to be ready to send some of his best men +north if there should be serious resistance to the draft. Nor was +this all. Thurlow Weed, the great election agent, told Lincoln +that the Government would be defeated; which meant, of course, +that the compromised and compromising Peace Party would probably +be at the helm in time to wreck the Union. With so many of the +best men dead or at the front the whole tone of political society +had been considerably lowered--to the corresponding advantage of +all those meaner elements that fish in troubled waters when the +dregs are well stirred up. There were sinister signs in the big +cities, in the press, and in financial circles. The Union dollar +once sank to thirty-nine cents. To make matters worse, there was +a good deal of well-founded discontent among the selfsacrificing +loyalists, both at the home and fighting fronts, because the +Government apparently allowed disloyal and evasive citizens to +live as parasites on the Union's body politic. The blood tax and +money tax alike fell far too heavily on the patriots; while many +a parasite grew rich in unshamed safety. + +Mobile was won in August. But the people's eyes were mostly fixed +upon the land. So a much greater effect was produced by Sherman's +laconic dispatch of the second of September announcing the fall +of Atlanta. The Confederates, despairing of holding it to any +good purpose, had blown up everything they could not move and +then retreated. This thrilling news heartened the whole loyal +North, and, as Lincoln at once sent word to Sherman, "entitled +those who had participated to the applause and thanks of the +nation." Grant fired a salute of shotted guns from every battery +bearing on the enemy, who were correspondingly depressed. For +every one could now see that if the Union put forth its full +strength the shrunken forces of the South could not prevent the +Northern vice from crushing them to death. + +September also saw the turning of the tide on the still more +conspicuous scene of action in Virginia. Grant had sent Sheridan +to the Valley, and had just completed a tour of personal +inspection there, when Sheridan, finding Early's Confederates +divided, swooped down on the exposed main body at Opequan Creek +and won a brilliant victory which raised the hopes of the loyal +North a good deal higher still. + +Exactly a month later, on the nineteenth of October, Early made a +desperate attempt to turn the tables on the Federals in the +Valley by attacking them suddenly, on their exposed left flank, +while Sheridan was absent at Washington. (We must remember that +Grant had to concert action personally with his sub-commanders, +as his orders were so often "queered" when seen at Washington by +autocratic Stanton and bureaucratic Halleck.) The troops attacked +broke up and were driven in on their supports in wild confusion. +Then the supports gave way; and a Confederate victory seemed to +be assured. + +But Sheridan was on his way. He had left the scene of his +previous victory at Opequan Creek, near Winchester, and was now +riding to the rescue of his army at Cedar Creek, twenty miles +south. "Sheridan's Ride," so widely known in song and story, was +enough to shake the nerves of any but a very fit commander. The +flotsam and jetsam of defeat swirled round him as he rode. Yet, +with unerring eye, he picked out the few that could influence the +rest and set them at work to rally, reform, and return. Inspired +by his example many a straggler who had run for miles presently +"found himself" again and got back in time to redeem his +reputation. + +Arriving on the field Sheridan discovered those two splendid +leaders, Custer and Getty, holding off the victorious +Confederates from what otherwise seemed an easy prey. His +presence encouraged the formed defense, restored confidence among +the rest near by, and stiffened resistance so much that hasty +entrenchments were successfully made and still more successfully +held. The first rush having been stopped, Sheridan turned the +lull that ensued into a triumphal progress by riding bareheaded +along his whole line, so that all his men might feel themselves +once more under his personal command. Cheer upon cheer greeted +him as his gallant charger carried him past; and when the +astonished enemy were themselves attacked they broke in +irretrievable defeat. + +This crowning victory of the long-drawn Valley campaigns, coming +with cumulative force after those of Mobile, Atlanta, and Opequan +Creek, did more to turn the critical election than all the +speeches in the North. The fittest at the home front judged by +deeds, not words, agreeing therein with Rutherford B. Hayes (a +future President, now one of Sheridan's generals) who said: "Any +officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to +electioneer for a seat in Congress, ought to be scalped." + +The devastation of everything in the Valley that might be useful +to Lee's army completed the Union victory in arms; while +Lincoln's own triumph in November completed it in politics and +raised his party to the highest plane of statesmanship in war. + +From this time till the early spring the battle of the giants in +Virginia calmed down to the minor moves and clashes that mark a +period of winter quarters; while the scene of more stirring +action shifts once more to Georgia and Tennessee. + + + +CHAPTER XI. SHERMAN DESTROYS THE BASE: 1864 + +Sherman made Atlanta his field headquarters for September and +October, changing it entirely from a Southern city to a Northern +camp. The whole population was removed, every one being given the +choice of going north or south. In his own words, Sherman "had +seen Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans, all captured +from the enemy, and each at once garrisoned by a full division, +if not more; so that success was actually crippling our armies in +the field by detachments to guard and protect the interests of a +hostile population." In reporting to Washington he said: "If the +people raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will +answer that war is war, and not popularity seeking. If they want +peace, they and their relatives must stop the war." He also +excluded the swarms of demoralizing camp-followers that had +clogged him elsewhere. One licensed sutler was allowed for each +of his three armies, and no more. Atlanta thus became a perfect +Union stronghold fixed in the flank of the South. + +The balance of losses in action, from May to September, was +heavily against the South: nearly nine to four. The actual +numbers did not greatly differ: thirty-two thousand Federals to +thirty-five thousand Confederates. (And in killed and wounded the +Federals lost many more than the Confederates. It was the +thirteen thousand captured Confederates that redressed the +balance.) But, since Sherman had twice as many in his total as +the Confederates had in theirs, the odds in relative loss were +nine to four in his favor. The balance of loss from disease was +also heavily against the Confedates, who as usual suffered from +dearth of medical stores. The losses in present and prospective +food supplies were even more in Sherman's favor; for his +devastations had begun. Yet Jefferson Davis was bound that Hood +should "fight"; and Hood was nothing loth. + +Davis went about denouncing Johnston for his magnificent Fabian +defense; and added insult to injury by coupling the name of this +very able soldier and quite incorruptible man with that of Joseph +E. Brown, Governor of Georgia, who, though a violent +Secessionist, opposed all proper unification of effort, and +exempted eight thousand State employees from conscription as +civilian "indispensables." Then, when Sherman approached, Brown +ran away with all the food and furniture he could stuff into his +own special train; though he left behind him all arms, +ammunition, and other warlike stores, besides the confidential +documents belonging to the State. + +Brown had also weakened Hood's army by withdrawing the State +troops to gather in the harvest and store it where Sherman +afterwards used what he wanted and destroyed the rest. Yet Hood +kept operating in Sherman's rear, admirably seconded by Forrest's +and Wheeler's raiding cavalry. Late in October Forrest performed +the remarkable feat of taking a flotilla with cavalry. He +suddenly swooped down on the Tennessee near Johnsonville and took +the gunboat Undine with a couple of transports. Hood had +meanwhile been busy on Sherman's line of communications, hoping +at least to immobilize him round Atlanta, and at best to bring +him back from Georgia for a Federal defeat in Tennessee. + +On the fifth of October the last action near Atlanta was fought +thirty miles northwest, when Hood made a desperate attempt on +Allatoona with a greatly superior force. Twelve miles off, on +Kenesaw Mountain, Sherman could see the smoke and hear the sounds +of battle through the clear, still, autumn air. But as his +signalers could get no answer from the fort he began to fear that +Allatoona was already lost, when the signal officer's quick eye +caught the faintest flutter at one of the fort windows. Presently +the letters, C - R - S - E - H - E - R, were made out; which +meant that General John M. Corse, one of the best volunteers +produced by the war, was holding out. He had hurried over from +Rome, on a call from Allatoona, and was withstanding more than +four thousand men with less than two thousand. All morning long +the Confederates persisted in their attacks, while Sherman's +relief column was hurrying over from Kenesaw. Early in the +afternoon the fire slackened and ceased before this column +arrived. But Sherman's renewed fears were soon allayed. For +Corse, after losing more than a third of his men, had repulsed +the enemy alone, inflicting on them an even greater loss in +proportion to their double strength. + +Corse was still full of fight, reporting back to Kenesaw that +though "short a cheek bone and an ear" he was "able to whip all +hell yet." Sherman thanked the brave defenders in his general +orders of the seventh for "the handsome defense made at +Allatoona" and pointed the moral that "garrisons must hold their +posts to the last minute, sure that the time gained is valuable +and necessary to their comrades at the front." + +The situation at the beginning of November was most peculiar. +With the whole Gulf coast blockaded and the three great ports in +Union hands, with the Mississippi a Union stream from source to +sea, and with Sherman firmly set in the northwest flank of +Georgia, Hood made the last grand sortie from the beleaguered +South. It was a desperate adventure to go north against the +Federal troops in Tennessee, with Kentucky and the line of the +Ohio as his ultimate objective, when Lincoln had been returned to +power, when Grant was surely wearing down Lee in Virginia, and +when Sherman's preponderance of force was not only assured in +Georgia but in Tennessee as well. Moreover, Thomas, the "Rock of +Chickamauga," had been sent back to counter Hood from Grant's and +Sherman's old headquarters at Nashville on the Cumberland. And +Thomas was soon to have the usual double numbers; for all the +Western depots sent him their trained recruits, till, by the end +of November, his total was over seventy thousand. Hood's forty +thousand could not be increased or even stopped from dwindling. +Yet he pushed on, with the consent of Beauregard, who now held +the general command of all the troops opposed to Sherman. + +The next moves were even more peculiar than the first. For while +Hood hoped to close the breach in Georgia by drawing Sherman +back, and Sherman expected that when he went on to widen the +breach he would draw Hood back, what really happened was that +each advanced on his own new line in opposite directions, Hood +north through Tennessee, Sherman southeast through Georgia. So +firm was the grip of the Union on all the navigable waters that +Hood could only cross the Tennessee somewhere along the shoals. +He chose a place near Florence, Alabama, got safely over and +encamped. There, for the moment, we shall leave him and follow +Sherman to the sea. + + +The region of the Gulf and lower Mississippi being now under the +assured predominance of Union forces, Grant, with equal wisdom +and decision, entirely approved of Sherman's plan to cut loose +from his western base, make a devastating march through the heart +of fertile Georgia, and join the eastern forces of the North at +Savannah, where Fort Pulaski was in Union hands and the Union +navy was, as usual, overwhelmingly strong. + +Sherman's March to the Sea at once acquired a popular renown +which it has never lost. This, however, was chiefly because it +happened to catch the public eye while nothing else was on the +stage. For its many admirable features were those about which +most people know little and care less: well-combined grand +strategy, perfection in headquarter orders and the incidental +staff work, excellent march discipline, wonderful coordination +between the different arms of the Service and with all auxiliary +branches--especially the commissariat and transport, and, to +clinch everything, a thoroughness of execution which +distinguished each unit concerned. As a feat of arms this famous +march is hardly worth mentioning. There were no battles and no +such masterly maneuvers as those of the much harder march to +Atlanta. Nor was the operational problem to be mentioned in the +same breath with that of the subsequent march through the +Carolinas. Sherman himself says: "Were I to express my measure of +the relative importance of the march to the sea, and of that from +Savannah northward, I would place the former at one, and the +latter at ten--or the maximum." + +The Government was very doubtful and counseled reconsideration. +But Grant and Sherman, knowing the factors so very much better, +were sure the problem could easily be solved. Sherman left +Atlanta on the fifteenth of November and laid siege to Savannah +on the tenth of December. He utterly destroyed the military value +of Atlanta and everything else on the way that could be used by +the armies in the field. Of course, to do this he had to reduce +civilian supplies to the point at which no surplus remained for +transport to the front; and civilians naturally suffered. But his +object was to destroy the Georgian base of supplies without +inflicting more than incidental hardship on civilians. And this +object he attained. He cut a swath of devastation sixty miles +wide all the way to Savannah. Every rail was rooted up, made +red-hot, and twisted into scrap. Every road and bridge was +destroyed. Every kind of surplus supplies an army could possibly +need was burnt or consumed. Civilians were left with enough to +keep body and soul together, but nothing to send away, even if +the means of transportation had been left. + +Sherman's sixty thousand men were all as fit as his own tall +sinewy form, which was the very embodiment of expert energy. +Every weakling had been left behind. Consequently the whole +veteran force simply romped through this Georgian raid. The main +body mostly followed the rails, which gangs of soldiers would +pile on bonfires of sleepers. The mounted men swept up everything +about the flanks. But nothing escaped the "bummers," who foraged +for their units every day, starting out empty-handed on foot and +returning heavily laden on horses or mules or in some kind of +vehicle. If Atlanta had been a volcano in eruption, and the +molten lava had flowed to Savannah in a stream sixty miles wide +and five times as long, the destruction could hardly have been +worse, except, of course, that civilians were left enough to keep +them alive, and that, with a few inevitable exceptions, they were +not ill treated. + +The fighting hardly disturbed the daily routine. Sherman was +never in danger; though wiseacre Washington, supposing that he +ought to be, used to pester Lincoln, who always replied: "Grant +says the men are safe with Sherman, and that if they can't get +out where they want to, they can crawl back by the hole they went +in at." This seemed to allay anxiety; though the truth was that +Sherman's real safety lay in going ahead to the Union sea, not in +retracing his steps over the devastated line of his advance. + +On approaching Savannah a mounted officer was blown up by a land +torpedo, his horse killed, and himself badly lacerated. Sherman +at once sent his prisoners ahead to dig up the other torpedoes or +get blown up by those they failed to find. No more explosions +took place. Savannah itself was strongly entrenched and further +defended by Fort McAllister. Against this fort Sherman detached +his own old Shiloh division of the Fifteenth Corps, now under the +very capable command of General William B. Hazen. As the day wore +on Sherman became very impatient, watching for Hazen's attack, +when a black object went gliding up the Ogeechee River toward the +fort. Presently a man-of-war appeared flying the Stars and +Stripes and signaling, "Who are you?" On getting the answer, +"General Sherman", she asked, "Is Fort McAllister taken?" and +immediately received the cheering assurance, "No; but it will be +in a minute." Then, just as the signal flags ceased waving, +Hazen's straight blue lines broke cover, advanced, charged +through the hail of shot, shell, and rifle bullets, rushed the +defenses, and stood triumphant on the top. + +Before midnight Sherman was writing his dispatches on board the +U.S.S. Dandelion and examining those received from Grant. He +learned now, from Grant's of the third (ten days before), that +Thomas was facing Hood round Nashville and that the Government, +and even Grant, were getting very impatient with Thomas for not +striking hard and at once. A week later the Confederate general, +Hardee, managed to evacuate Savannah before his one remaining +line of retreat had been cut off. He was a thorough soldier. But +men and means and time were lacking; and the civil population +hoped to save all that was not considered warlike stores. Thus +immense supplies fell into Sherman's hands. Savannah was of +course placed under martial law. But as the wax was now nearing +its inevitable end, and the citizens were thoroughly +"subjugated," those who wished to remain were allowed to do so. +Only two hundred left, going to Charleston under a flag of truce. + +The following official announcement reached Lincoln on Christmas +Eve. + + Savannah, Georgia, December 22, 1864. + +To His Excellency President Lincoln, + Washington, D. C. + +I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, +with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, +also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. + W. T. Sherman, Major-General. + + +In the meantime Hood's desperate sortie had struck north as far +as Franklin, Tennessee. Here, on the last of November, General +John Schofield, commanding the advanced part of Thomas's army, +gallantly withstood a furious attack. On this the closing day of +a lingering Indian summer the massed Confederates charged with +the piercing rebel yell, and charged again; re-formed under cover +of the dense pall of stationary smoke; and returned to the charge +again and again. Many a leader met his death right against the +very breastworks. Another would instantly spring forward, only to +fall in his turn. Thirteen times the gaunt gray lines rushed +madly through the battle smoke and lost their front ranks against +the withering fire before the autumn night closed in. Schofield +then fell back on Brentwood, halfway on the twenty miles to +Nashville. He had lost over two thousand men. But Hood had lost +three times as many; and Hood's were irreplaceable except by a +very few local recruits. + +Hood now concentrated every available man for his final attack on +Thomas, who had odds of twenty thousand in his favor. Hood +marched his thirty-five thousand up to Nashville, where he +actually invested the fifty-five thousand Federals. By this time +even Grant was so annoyed at what seemed to him unreasoning delay +that he sent Logan to take command at once and "fight." But on +the fifteenth of December Thomas came out of his works and fought +Hood with determined skill all day. Having gained a decisive +advantage already he pressed it home to the very utmost on the +morrow, breaking through Hood's shaken lines, enveloping whole +units with converging fire, and taking prisoners in mass. After a +last wild effort Hood's beaten army fled, having lost fifteen +thousand men, five times as much as Thomas. + +The battle of Nashville came nearer than any other to being a +really annihilating victory. Out of the forty thousand men Hood +had at first in Tennessee not half escaped; and of the remainder +not nearly half were ever seen in arms again. As an organized +force his army simply disappeared. The few thousands saved from +the wreckage of the storm found their painful way east to join +all that was left for the last stand against the overwhelming +forces of the North. + + + +CHAPTER XII. THE END: 1865 + +By '65 the Southern cause was lost. There was nothing to hope for +from abroad. Neither was there anything to hope for at home, now +that Lincoln and the Union Government had been returned to power. +From the very first the disparity of resources was so great that +the South had never had a chance alone except against a disunited +North. Now that the North could bring its full strength to bear +against the worn-out South the only question remaining to be +settled in the field was simply one of time. Yet Davis, with his +indomitable will, would never yield so long as any Confederates +would remain in arms. And men like Lee would never willingly give +up the fight so long as those they served required them. +Therefore the war went on until the Southern armies failed +through sheer exhaustion. + +The North had nearly a million men by land and sea. The South had +perhaps two hundred thousand. The North could count on a million +recruits out of the whole reserve of twice as many. The South had +no reserves at all. The total odds were therefore five to one +without reserves and ten to one if these came in. + +The scene of action, for all decisive purposes, had shrunk again, +and now included nothing beyond Virginia and the Carolinas; and +even there the Union forces had impregnable bases of attack. When +Wilmington fell in January the only port still left in Southern +hands was Charleston; and that was close-blockaded. Fighting +Confederates still remained in the lower South. But victories +like Olustee, Florida, barren in '64, could not avail them now, +even if they had the troops to win them. The lower South was now +as much isolated as the trans-Mississippi. Between its blockaded +and garrisoned coast on one side and its sixty-mile swath of +devastation through the heart of Georgia on the other it might as +well have been a shipless island. The same was true of all +Confederate places beyond Virginia and the Carolinas. The last +shots were fired in Texas near the middle of May. But they were +as futile against the course of events as was the final act of +war committed by the Confederate raider Shenandoah at the end of +June, when she sank the whaling fleet, far off in the lone +Pacific. + +For the last two months of the four-years' war Davis made Lee +Commander-in-Chief. Lee at once restored Johnston to his rightful +place. These two great soldiers then did what could be done to +stave off Grant and Sherman. Lee's and Johnston's problem was of +course insoluble. For each was facing an army which was alone a +match for both. The only chance of prolonging anything more than +a mere guerilla war was to join forces in southwest Virginia, +where the only line of rails was safe from capture for the +moment. But this meant eluding Grant and Sherman; and these two +leaders would never let a plain chance slip. They took good care +that all Confederate forces outside the central scene of action +were kept busy with their own defense. They also closed in enough +men from the west to prevent Lee and Johnston escaping by the +mountains. Then, with the help of the navy, having cut off every +means of escape--north, south, east, and west--they themselves +closed in for the death-grip. + +By the first of February Sherman was on his way north through the +Carolinas with sixty thousand picked men, drawing in +reinforcements as he advanced against Johnston's dwindling forty +thousand, until the thousands that faced each other at the end in +April were ninety and thirty respectively. On the ninth of +February (the day Lee became Commander-in-Chief) Sherman was +crossing the rails between Charleston and Augusta, of course +destroying them. A week later he was doing the same at Columbia +in the middle of South Carolina. By this time his old antagonist, +Johnston, had assumed command; so that he had to reckon with the +chances of a battle, as on his way against Atlanta, and not only +with the troubles of devastating an undefended base, as on his +march to the sea. The difficulties of hard marching through an +enemy country full of natural and artificial obstacles were also +much greater here than in Georgia. How well these difficulties +could be surmounted by a veteran army may be realized from a +recorded instance which, though it occurred elsewhere, was yet +entirely typical. In forty days an infantry division of eight +thousand men repaired a hundred miles of rail and built a hundred +and eighty-two bridges. + +Sherman took a month to advance from Columbia in the middle of +South Carolina to Bentonville in the middle of North Carolina. +Here Johnston stood his ground; and a battle was fought from the +nineteenth to the twenty-first of March. Had Sherman known at the +time that his own numbers were, as he afterwards reported, +"vastly superior," he might have crushed Johnston then and there. +But, as it was, he ably supported the exposed flank that Johnston +so skillfully attacked, won the battle, inflicted losses a good +deal larger than his own, and gained his ulterior objective as +well as if there had not been a fight at all. This objective was +the concentration of his whole army round Goldsboro by the +twenty-fifth. At Goldsboro he held the strategic center of North +Carolina, being at the junction whence the rails ran east to +Newbern (which had long been in Union hands), west to meet the +only rails by which Lee's army might for a time escape, and north +(a hundred and fifty miles) to Grant's besieging host at +Petersburg. Sherman's record is one of which his men might well +be proud. In fifty days from Savannah he had made a winter march +through four hundred and twenty-five miles of mud, had captured +three cities, destroyed four railways, drained the Confederate +resources, increased his own, and half closed on Lee and Johnston +the vice which he and Grant could soon close altogether. +Nevertheless Grant records that "one of the most anxious periods +was the last few weeks before Petersburg"; for he was haunted by +the fear that Lee's army, now nearing the last extremity of +famine, might risk all on railing off southwest to Danville, the +one line left. Lee, consummate now as when victorious before, +masked his movements wonderfully well till the early morning of +the twenty-fifth of March, when he suddenly made a furious attack +where the lines were very near together. For some hours he held a +salient in the Federal position. But he was presently driven back +with loss; and his intention to escape stood plainly revealed. + +The same day Sherman railed down to Newbern over the line +repaired by that indefatigable and most accomplished engineer, +Colonel W. W. Wright, took ship for City Point, Virginia, and met +Lincoln, Grant, and Admiral Porter there on the twenty-seventh +and twenty-eighth. Grant explained to Lincoln that Sheridan was +crossing the James just below them, to cut the rails running +south from Petersburg and then, by forced marches, to cut those +running southwest from Richmond, Lee's last possible line of +escape. Grant added that the final crisis was very near and that +his only anxiety was lest Lee might escape before Sheridan cut +the Richmond line southwest to Danville. Lincoln said he hoped +the war would end at once and with no more bloodshed. Grant and +Sherman, however, could not guarantee that Davis might not force +Lee and Johnston to one last desperate fight. Lincoln added that +all he wanted after the surrender was to get the Confederates +back to their civil life and make them good contented citizens. +As for Davis: well, there once was a man who, having taken the +pledge, was asked if he wouldn't let his host put just a drop of +brandy in the lemonade. His answer was: "See here, if you do it +unbeknownst, I won't object." From the way that Lincoln told this +story Grant and Sherman both inferred that he would be glad to +see Davis disembarrass the reunited States of his annoying +presence. + +This twenty-eighth of March saw the last farewells between the +President and his naval and military lieutenants at the front. +Admiral Porter immediately wrote down a full account of the +conversations, from which, together with Grant's and Sherman's +strong corroboration, we know that Lincoln entirely approved of +the terms which Grant gave Lee, and that he would have approved +quite as heartily of those which Sherman gave to Johnston. + +Next morning the final race, pursuit, defeat, and victory began. +Grant marched all his spare, men west to cut Lee off completely. +He left enough to hold his lines at Petersburg, in case Lee +should remain; and he arranged with Sherman for a combined +movement, to begin on the tenth of April, in case Johnston and +Lee should try to join each other. But he felt fairly confident +that he could run Lee down while Sherman tackled Johnston. + +On the first of April Sheridan won a hard fight at Five Forks, +southwest of Petersburg. On Sunday (the second) Lee left +Petersburg for good, sending word to Richmond. That morning Davis +rose from his place in church and the clergyman quietly told the +congregation that there would be no evening service. On Monday +morning Grant rode into Petersburg, and saw the Confederate +rearguard clubbed together round the bridge. "I had not the +heart," said Grant, "to turn the artillery upon such a mass of +defeated and fleeing men, and I hoped to capture them soon." On +Tuesday Grant closed his orders to Sherman with the words, "Rebel +armies are now the only strategic points to strike at," and +himself pressed on relentlessly. + +Late next afternoon a horseman in full Confederate uniform +suddenly broke cover from the enemy side of a dense wood and +dashed straight at the headquarter staff. The escort made as if +to seize him. But a staff officer called out, "How d'ye do, +Campbell?" This famous scout then took a wad of tobacco out of +his mouth, a roll of tinfoil out of the wad, and a piece of +tissue paper out of the tinfoil. When Grant read Sheridan's +report ending "I wish you were here" (that is, at Jetersville, +halfway between Petersburg and Appomattox), he immediately got +off his black pony, mounted Cincinnati, and rode the twenty miles +at speed, to learn that Lee was heading due west for Farmville, +less than thirty miles from Appomattox. + +On Thursday the sixth, Lee, closely beset in flank and rear, lost +seven thousand men at Sailor's Creek, mostly as prisoners. The +heroes of this fight were six hundred Federals, who, having gone +to blow up High Bridge on the Appomattox, found their retreat cut +off by the whole Confederate advanced guard. Under Colonel +Francis Washburn, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and Colonel +Theodore Read, of General Ord's staff, this dauntless six hundred +charged again and again until, their leaders killed and most of +the others dead or wounded, the rest surrendered. They had gained +their object by holding up Lee's column long enough to let its +wagon. train be raided. + +Grant, now feeling that his hold on Lee could not be shaken off, +wrote him a letter on Friday afternoon, saying: "The results of +the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further +resistance." That night Lee replied asking what terms Grant +proposed to offer. Next morning Grant wrote again to propose a +meeting, and Lee answered to say he was willing to treat for +peace. Grant at once informed him that the only subject for +discussion was the surrender of the army. That evening Federal +cavalry under General George A. Custer raided Appomattox Station, +five miles southwest of the Court House, and held up four trains. +A few hours later, early on Sunday, the famous ninth of April, +1865, Lee's advanced guard was astounded to find its way disputed +so far west. It attacked with desperation, hoping to break +through what seemed to be a cavalry screen before the infantry +came up; but when Lee's main body joined in, only to find a solid +mass of Federal infantry straight across its one way out, Lee at +once sent forward a white flag. + +Grant, overwrought with anxiety, had been suffering from an +excruciating headache all night long. But the moment he opened +Lee's note, offering to discuss surrender, he felt as well as +ever, and instantly wrote back to say he was ready. Pushing +rapidly on he met Lee at McLean's private residence near +Appomattox Court House. There was a remarkable contrast between +the appearance of the two commanders. Grant, only forty-three, +and without a tinge of gray in his brown hair, took an inch or +two off his medium height by stooping keenly forward, and had +nothing in his shabby private's uniform to show his rank except +the three-starred shoulder-straps. When the main business was +over, and he had time to notice details, he apologized to Lee, +explaining that the extreme rapidity of his movements had carried +him far ahead of his baggage. Lee's aide-de-camp, Colonel Charles +Marshall, afterwards explained that when the Confederates had +been obliged to reduce themselves simply to what they stood in, +each officer had naturally put on his best. Hence Lee's +magnificent appearance in a brand-new general's uniform with the +jeweled sword of honor that Virginia had given him. Well over six +feet tall, straight as an arrow in spite of his fifty-eight years +and snow-white, war-grown beard, still extremely handsome, and +full of equal dignity and charm, he looked, from head to foot, +the perfect leader of devoted men. + +Grant, holding out his hand in cordial greeting, began the +conversation by saying: "I met you once before, General Lee, +while we were serving in Mexico . . . . I have always remembered +your appearance, and I think I should have recognized you +anywhere." After some other personal talk Lee said: "I suppose, +General Grant, that the object of our present meeting is fully +understood. I asked to see you in order to ascertain on what +terms you would receive the surrender of my army." Grant answered +that officers and men were to be paroled and disqualified from +serving again till properly exchanged, and that all warlike and +other stores were to be treated as captured. Lee bowed assent, +said that was what he had expected, and presently suggested that +Grant should commit the terms to writing on the spot. When Grant +got to the end of the terms already discussed his eye fell on +Lee's splendid sword of honor, and he immediately added the +sentence: "This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, +nor their private horses or baggage." When Lee read over the +draft he flushed slightly on coming to this generous proviso and +gratefully said: "This will have a very happy effect upon my +army." Grant then asked him if he had any suggestions to make; +whereupon he said that the mounted Confederates, unlike the +Federals, owned their horses. Before he had time to ask a favor +Grant said that as these horses would be invaluable for men +returning to civil life they could all be taken home after full +proof of ownership. Lee again flushed and gratefully replied: +"This will have the best possible effect upon the men. It will be +very gratifying and do much toward conciliating our people." + +While the documents were being written out for signature Grant +introduced the generals and staff officers to Lee. Then Lee once +more led the conversation back to business by saying he wished to +return his prisoners to Grant at the earliest possible moment +because he had nothing more for them to eat. "I have, indeed, +nothing for my own men," he added. They had been living on the +scantiest supply of parched corn for several days; and this +famine fare, combined with their utter lack of all other +supplies--especially medicine and clothing--was wearing them away +faster than any "war of attrition" in the open field. After +heartily agreeing that the prisoners should immediately return +Grant said: "I will take steps at once to have your army supplied +with rations. Suppose I send over twenty-five thousand; do you +think that will be a sufficient supply?" "I think it will be +ample," said Lee, who, after a pause, added: "and it will be a +great relief, I assure you." + +Then Lee rose, shook Grant warmly by the hand, bowed to the +others, and left the room. As he appeared on the porch all the +Union officers in the grounds rose respectfully and saluted him. +While the Confederate orderly was bridling the horses Lee stood +alone, gazing in unutterable grief across the valley to where the +remnant of his army lay. Then, as he mounted Traveler, every +Union officer followed Grant's noble example by standing +bareheaded till horse and rider had disappeared from view. + +Grant next sent off the news to Washington and, true to his +sterling worth, immediately stopped the salutes which some of his +enthusiastic soldiers were already beginning to fire. "The war is +over," he told his staff, "the rebels are our countrymen again, +and the best sign of rejoicing after the victory will be to +abstain from all demonstrations in the field." + +In the meantime Lee had returned to his own lines, along which he +now rode for the last time. The reserve with which he had steeled +his heart during the surrender gave way completely when he came +to bid his men farewell. After a few simple words, advising his +devoted veterans to become good citizens of their reunited +country, the tears could no longer be kept back. Then, as he rode +slowly on, from the remnant of one old regiment to another, the +men broke ranks, and, mostly silent with emotion, pressed round +their loved commander, to take his hand, to touch his sword, or +fondly stroke his splendid gray horse, Traveler, the same that +had so often carried him victorious through the hard-fought day. + + +North and South had scarcely grasped the full significance of +Lee's surrender, when, only five days later, Lincoln was +assassinated. "It would be impossible for me," said Grant, "to +describe the feeling that overcame me at the news. I knew his +goodness of heart, and above all his desire to see all the people +of the United States enter again upon the full privileges of +citizenship with equality among all. I felt that reconstruction +had been set back, no telling how far." "Of all the men I ever +met," said Sherman, "he seemed to possess more of the elements of +greatness, combined with goodness, than any other." + +On the very day of the assassination Sherman had written to +Johnston offering the same terms Grant had given Lee and Lincoln +had most heartily approved. Three days later, on the seventeenth, +just as Sherman was entering the train for his meeting with +Johnston, the operator handed him a telegram announcing the +assassination. Enjoining secrecy till he returned, Sherman took +the telegram with him and showed it to Johnston, whom he watched +intently. "The perspiration came out on his forehead," Sherman +wrote, "and he did not attempt to conceal his distress. He +denounced the act as a disgrace to the age and hoped I did not +charge it to the Confederate Government. I told him I could not +believe that he or General Lee or the officers of the Confederate +army could possibly be privy to acts of assassination." When +Sherman got back to Raleigh he published the news in general +orders, and experienced the supreme satisfaction of finding that +not one man in all that mournful army had to be restrained from a +single act of revenge. + +After much misunderstanding with Washington now in lesser hands, +the surrender of Johnston's and the other Confederate armies was +effected. Each body of troops laid down its arms and quietly +dispersed. One day the bugles called, the camp fires burned, and +comrades were together in the ranks. The next, like morning +mists, they disappeared, thenceforth to be remembered and admired +only as the heroes of a hopeless cause. + + +It was a very different scene through which their rivals marched +into lasting fame with all the pride, pomp, and circumstance of +war. On the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of May, in perfect +weather, and in the stirring presence of a loyal, vast, +enthusiastic throng, the Union armies were reviewed in +Washington. For over six full hours each day the troops marched +past--the very flower of those who had come back victorious. The +route was flagged from end to end with Stars and Stripes, and +banked with friends of each and every regiment there. Between +these banks, and to the sound of thrilling martial music, the +long blue column flowed--a living stream of men whose bayonets +made its surface flash like burnished silver under the glorious +sun. + + +Then, when the pageantry was finished, and the volunteers that +formed the vast bulk of those magnificent Federal armies had +again become American civilians in thought and word and deed, +these steadfast men, whose arms had saved the Union in the field, +were first in peace as they had been in war: first in the +reconstruction of their country's interrupted life, first in +recognizing all that was best in the splendid fighters with whom +they had crossed swords, and first--incomparably first--in +keeping one and indivisible the reunited home land of both North +and South. + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +Thousands of books have been written about the Civil War; and +more about the armies than about the navies and the civil +interests together. Yet, even about the armies, there are very +few that give a just idea of how every part of the war was +correlated with every other part and with the very complex whole; +while fewer still give any idea of how closely the navies were +correlated with the armies throughout the long amphibious +campaigns. + +The only works mentioned here are either those containing the +original evidence or those written by experts directly from the +original evidence. And of course there are a good many works +belonging to both these classes for which no room can be found in +a bibliography so very brief as the present one must be. + +"The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records +of the Union and Confederate Armies", 128 vols. (1880-1901), and +"Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War +of the Rebellion", 28 vols. (1894-), form two magnificent +collections of original evidence published by the United States +Government. But they have some gaps which nothing else can fill. +"Battles and Leaders of the Civil War"(1887-89), written by +competent witnesses on both sides, gives the gist of the story in +four volumes (published afterwards in eight). "The Rebellion +Record", 12 vols. (1862-68), edited by Frank Moore, forms an +interesting collection of non-official documents. "The Story of +the Civil War", 4 vols. (1895-1913), begun by J.C. Ropes, and +continued by W.R. Livermore, is an historical work of real value. +"Larned's Literature of American History" contains an excellent +bibliography; but it needs supplementing by bibliographies of the +present century. Inquiring readers should consult the +bibliographies in volumes 20 and 21 (by J.K. Hosmer) in the +American Nation series. + +There are many works of a more special kind that deserve +particular attention. General E.P. Alexander's "Military Memoirs +of a Confederate" (1907), the "Transactions of the Military +Historical Society of Massachusetts", Major John Bigelow's "The +Campaign of Chancellorsville" (1910), and J.D. Cox's "Military +Reminiscences", 2 vols. (1900), are admirable specimens of this +very extensive class. + +The two greatest generals on the Northern side have written their +own memoirs, and written them exceedingly well: "Personal Memoirs +of U.S. Grant", 2 vols. (1885-86), and "Memoirs of General W.T. +Sherman", 2 vols. (1886). But the two greatest on the Southern +side wrote nothing themselves; and no one else has written a +really great life of that very great commander, Robert Lee. +Fitzhugh Lee's enthusiastic sketch of his uncle, "General Lee" +(1894), is one of the several second-rate books on the subject. +Colonel G.F.R. Henderson's "Stonewall Jackson and the American +Civil War", 2 vols. (1898), is, on the other hand, among the best +of war biographies. Henderson's strategical study of the Valley +Campaign is a masterpiece. Two good works of very different kinds +are: "A History of the Civil War in the United States" (1905), by +W. Birkbeck Wood and Major J.E. Edmonds, and "A History of the +United States f from the Compromise of 1850", 8 vols. +(1893-1919), by James Ford Rhodes. The first is military, the +second political. Mr. Rhodes has also written a single volume +"History of the Civil War" (1917). "American Campaigns" by Major +M.F. Steele, issued under the supervision of the War Department +(1909), deals chiefly with the military operations of the Civil +War. + +The naval side of this, as of all other wars, has been far too +much neglected. But that great historian of sea-power, Admiral +Mahan, has told the best of the story in his "Admiral Farragut" +(1892). + +An interesting contemporary account of the war will be found in +the five volumes of Appleton's "American Annual Cyclopoedia" for +the years from 1861 to 1865. B.J. Lossing's "Pictorial History of +the Civil War", 3 vols. (1866-69), and Harper's "Pictorial +History of the Rebellion", 2 vols. (1868), give graphic pictures +of military life as seen by contemporaries. Personal +reminiscences of the war, of varying merit, have multiplied +rapidly in recent years. These are appraised for the unwary +reader in the bibliographies already mentioned. Frank Wilkeson's +"Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac" +(1887), George C. Eggleston's "A Rebel's Recollections" (1905), +and Mrs. Mary B. Chestnut's "Diary from Dixie" (1905) are among +the best of these personal recollections. + +The political and diplomatic history has been dealt with already +in the two preceding Chronicles. "Abraham Lincoln: a History", by +John G. Nicolay and John Hay, in ten volumes (1890), and "The +Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln", in twelve volumes (1905), +form the quarry from which all true accounts of his war +statesmanship must be built up. Lord Charnwood's "Abraham +Lincoln" (1917) is an admirable summary. To these titles should +be added Gideon Welles's "Diary", 3 vols. (1911), and, on the +Confederate side, Jefferson Davis's "The Rise and Fall of the +Confederate Government", 2 vols. (1881), and Alexander H. +Stephens's "A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the +States", 2 vols. (1870). The best life of Jefferson Davis is that +by William E. Dodd in the "American Crisis Biographies" (1907). +W. H. Russell's "My Diary North and South" (1863) records the +impressions of an intelligent foreign observer. + +The present Chronicle is based entirely on the original evidence, +with the convenient use only of such works as have themselves +been written by qualified experts directly from the original +evidence. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Captains of the Civil War, by Wood + diff --git a/old/cptcw10.zip b/old/cptcw10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9ef9483 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/cptcw10.zip |
