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Show I fflP COMEDY g" ERRORS THAT SAVED AN ARMY I If rwFr ' jUjwOW' the Disobedience of Two Confederate Generals Averted Disaster to Pope's Forces M If MV I wfe Open Secret of 'the Civil-War y$ I !Mwfc3 5 AGs i photo br Sgk frSw&y 2 Richardson $V wHSX'' Colonel John S. Mosby, ,.; The. Last of the Famous Confederate Leaders BY JOHN S, MOSBY. (CopTilKht. 1011. by tin .Sen York Hcrild Co. All rlshls rtrTod.l ' T Is an open secret Hint In August. 1SG2, the dlso- '.' W bedlcnce of two Confederate minerals saved Tope's army In Virginia from ruin and nunrly resulted in the capture of the Confederate chief of cavalry But ; historians have been strangely silent about it. As j; 1 had a part in the piny I take more pleasure in telling II about It now tlinu 1 did when I was an actor in the great drama. In war there arc lights mingled with 1: shadows. In the retrospect we see a great deal of the h humor of comedy where once all seemed to be tragedy Shakespeare presents in one scene the fiery Hotspur and the pufling Falstnff. To property understand the point of my story a knowledge of the military situation at that time is necessary. The Seven Days' battles arouud Richmond, that closed on July 1, were succeeded by several weeks of calm. McClellan bad shifted his bate from the Pa-j Pa-j munkey to the James, and both armies rested ror an other collision. If McClellan had possessed the Intui-; Intui-; Hon of Grant he would not have halted on the bnnk of the river, but would have crossed and seized the communications com-munications of the Confederate capital. I General McClellan was skilful In tho science of war !Li 1'inean In applying mechanical principles where the results can be calculated. But he was without ln-;l ln-;l tuition and slow to take chances; and chance cannot I be eliminated from tlicjiroblems of war.., Now. while I scientific knowledge Is "useful to a general it does H not Inspire great actions and lakes no account of ft emotions that decide events. The great masters of the art of war are as little governed by, maxims nnd formulas as Homer was when he composed the Immortal Im-mortal hymns that were sung at the banquets of the Ionian princes. It was not pure reason but Inspiration Inspira-tion that led Lee and Jackson to believe that a Hank march at Chanccllorsville that had no precedent but the audacity that stole the fire of the gods would 1 create a panic; and I will add there was no reason then for the panic but imagination a largo factor in war- The two great soldiers who dared the enterprise enter-prise took Into account the effect of a collision of moral as Avell as physical forces and won. I will tell an anecdote that illustrates Jackson's Instincts and Is a key to his character as a soldier. There was a heavy rain during the fight at Chantilly. A general sent a despairing message to Jackson that ho could not hold his ground. It was mining so hard nts guns wouldn't go off. Jackson instantly replied: "Tell him to hold his ground. If his guns won't go ofT the enemy's won't." That settled it the general held his ground. The same instinct of genius carried Hannibal across the Little St. Bernard and made him for sixteen years master of Italy. This anecdote of Jackson was told to me soon after the event by the officer who carried the message. By orders from Washington, but against his pro'tcst, .McClellan's army was transferred to the line of the Rappahannock. lie hnd lain for six weeks at Harrison's Harri-son's Landing under cover of the gunboats, waiting for an opportunity ttiat never came. Just as McClel--in's star began to wane another appeared In the northern ky. Tope was called from the West and given the command of an army (hat was organized for him by uniting a number of divisions that wore scat-. scat-. tcrcd In Virginia Fremont, a division commander, was offended because his Junior in rauk was put over him nnd asked to be relieved. Ills request w;is granted and he went out of sight. His campaign against Stonewall Stone-wall Jackson In the Shenandoah Valley had not commended com-mended him to favor in Washington. The army under Pope was charged with the duty of covering Washington and at the s'lnctlmc demonstrating demonstrat-ing In Virginia while .McClellan was evacuating the Peninsula. Lee's army was between McClellan and Pope. But he could not move against Pope while Mc-r Mc-r -'!lellnn was near Richmond Jnekson Avas detached and . :ent to Gordonsvllle. on the C. and O. Railroad, about .-Ighty miles west of Richmond, to observe Pope. He irrlvcd there on July j. p0pe hud a sanguine temper , nd a great deal of audacity, but was greatly lacking u discretion. lie was not content with the defensive 'ole that had been assigned him and was anxious to take the initiative against Jackson, but FIaleck'8 prudence pru-dence restrained him. Judging by what occurred when .he collision ciime. it is fair to Infer that an offensive uoveuient would have been a failure. The descent to Vvornus is easy; the difficulty is In returning. ' Discord in Pope's Staff. Pope was not In harmony with his subordinates, aor had tie the right to expect it, uuleox he thought lhat hunnui nnliiiu had reached a state of perfection. But lido mot think there Is a shadow of ground for any complaint of their loyalty. M'hcu tnklng command l'kmittlrthed n bombastic manifesto in which ho accwcmjiarisoii between the army in the Wcdt and ttotfltfluiffcloi.jyjjrUila, to the disparagement of the 'atter. pBntCifoXWBHl think, unjustly censured at , 'MSlffictlug that his army should 1 sinmiSie couutrg That was ho novelty, but.n I rigj5?latj(ieia atUyarwlt Is Just ns fair and more S huuHS&,W4K! or destroy the supplies of an enemy as "to klJjlW'ipture him. As a snhordlntte, no doubt. Pope was a good soldier, but ho was as little fitted for his position as Don Quixote was to be a colonel of cavalry. John C. Ropes, of Boston, a reliable historian, says: "ne Issued to his army on the 14 th of July one of the most extraordinary addresses of which we have record In military history. 'Ia;t us,' he says, 'understand each other. I have come from the West, whore wo havj always .seen the backs of our enemies; en-emies; from an army whose business It was to seek the enemy and to beat him when he was found; whose policy has been attack and not defence.' " This was a reflection on the army of which he had Just taken command and a self-assertion that could only be excused after winning a buttle. General Pope's duty was a defensive one. This general order naturally provoked criticism and produced friction. 1'opo was. however, unjustly ridiculed because somebody some-body reported that he had $aid that his headquarters would be In the saddle. It Is said that even so grr.ve a person as General Robert E. Lee made a humorous remark re-mark about It Pope never said any such thing, but people in Virginia as religiously bollevo it as they do the legend of Pocahontas. This order was of great significance sig-nificance to me. It was a revelation of possibilities of which I had scarcely dreamed. The order said: "I hear constantly of taking strong positions and holdiug them, of lines of retreat nnd bases of supplies. Let us discard such Ideas. Let us study the probable lines of retreat of our opponents and leave our own to take care of thi'inselves. Let us look before us and not behind" Such a manifesto was in striking contrast With the modest deportment of the great soldier, who afterward after-ward came from the West to finish the war In Virginia, At the time of which I speak I was at the cavalry headquarters, in Hanover couuty, about ten miles from Richmond. When I read what Pope said about looking only to his front and letting his rear tako caro of Itself I saw thai the opportunity for which I had longed hnd come, ne had opened a promising field for partisan warfare and had Invited, or rather dared, anybody to take advantage of it. The cavalry at Richmond was doing nothing but picket duty and quiet to quick bosoms is a hell. So I determined to go over and take care of Pope's rear for him, nud I proposed to General Stuart, as the cavalry was Inactive, to give me a detail of men to reap the harvest where the laborers were few. I had reason to thluk that Stuart was well disposed toward me: he had spoken well of me in his report of his ride around ilcCIellau on the Chickahomlny a few weeks before, and General Leo had also mentioned men-tioned mc In his general order announcing it to the army. I had served the first year of tho war In a regiment of cavalry in tho region that was now In Pope's department and hnd a general knowledge of the country. I was sure then I am surer now that 1 could make Pope ay as much attention to his roar as to his front, aud that I could compel him to detach most of his cnvnlry to guard his long lino of communications com-munications or turn his commissary department and transportation over to mc, which would have boon perfectly satisfactory to ine. There never was afterward after-ward such a field for partisan war In Virginia. Breaking Break-ing communications Is the chief work for a partisan. It defeats plans and creates confusion by destroying bupplies. In this way the offensive strength of an army Is diminished. ( The Letter to Jackson. Stuart told me that he was getting his cavalry ready for the active campaign soon to begin, but that he would give me a letter to Gcncrnl Jackson, who, no doubt, would let me have the men 1 wanted. So I took Stuart's letter and started on the afternoon of July 10 with one companion, who was club footed and exempt from military Service, la poo Jackson. I- had ns firm a fnltli In my mission as Fnuicla Xavicr's when he went to preach the gospel in the Indies. Vlowqd In the light of what I nf terwanl did, it looks strange -that I should have had to beg for the prlvllego of striking the enemy in a vulnerable point. It lsilmply n repetition of the story of evcr3 pioneer. What was possible seems plain enough now it didn't then. If the detail had been given to me I would have started directly to cross the Rapldan and Hank Tope, and my partisan war would have begun then. It was postponed by an adventure which 1 shall now relate. We spent the night with a farmer near Beaver Dam station, on what Is now tho Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. As I was Impatient lo get work, I concluded con-cluded to let my companion load my horse, while 1 would take the train, go on to Jackson and be ready when he arrived. Colonel Scud's was not more sanguine san-guine about making a fortune by selling his eye water to sore eyed Arabs than I was about the sensation I would create behind Pope, for "Who can contemplate Kame though clouds unfold, Tho star which rlss o'er her stoop, nor climb." I was sitting In the depot had laid down my pistols and haversack that had the letter to Jackson rthc man loading my horse had scarcely gotten out of sight, when somebody exclalmedi, Ilei'e they are.' A regiment regi-ment of blue cavalry was .not a huudrcd yards away, coining up at a trot. I ran, but they caught mcand got my pistols nnd haversack. My hopes were now apparently appar-ently blasted, but, fortunately, a cartel for the ox-change ox-change of prisoners was agreed upon the next day. This affair Is an example of what Burns says about the fate of the best laid plans of mice and men. It was a Xew York regiment the Harris cavalry that captured capt-ured me. It had ridden all-night lo cut the communications communi-cations between Lee and Jackson. The men did not wait for the train. I told (hem it would be loaded with infantry. It was not true, buj, 1 suppose I was justified by the code of war I was taken to General King's headquarters at Fredericksburg und very kindly treated. treat-ed. He let me write a letter to my family, which he scut through the lines. Some letters were captured at the depot. General King read one aloud: everybody laughed. It was from a Richmond girl to her country cousin. I remember four lines. 1 hope they won't shock people who read (hem now: "Jeff Davis Is our President, Lincoln Is a fool. Jeff Davis rides a white horse, Lincoln rides a mule." A history of the Harris cavalry says: "At six o'clock on the evening of July 19 the Harris Light was set in rapid motion almost directly south. By means of a forced march through the night at gray dawn of morning we descended upon Beaver Dam depot on the- Virginia Central ilke so many ravenous wolves. During our affray we captured a young Confederate Con-federate olllcer wlm gave his name as Captain John S. .Mosby. By his sprightly appearance and conversation conver-sation lie nttractexl considerable attention. He Is hllght but well formed, has a keen blue eye and a florid complexion and displays no small amount of Southern bravado In his dress and manners. 11 is gray plush hat Is surmounted by a waving plume which he tosses as he speaks iu real Prussian style. He had a letter In his possession from General Stuart recommending hlni to the- kind regards of General Jackson." This letter is printed in the War Records and was published In the newspapers. I was a prisoner about ten days and exchanged in time lo take part In the campaign against Pope, but not in the lending position I had hoped. McClellan was leaving the James und General Lee was concentrating con-centrating on the Rapldan. So I went home, got my horse and arrived in Orange on August 17, Just In time to meet Stuart, who had come by rail from Richmond, Rich-mond, lie told mc he was going to meet Fllz Leo, who would be at Verdlorvllle with the cavalry that night- He had Just hail a conference with General Lee and had received his final Instructions. He did not say what they were, but the coming event cast Its shadow before us. I had no arms had lost mv pistols when I was captured but trusted to luck to get another pair No Cavalry There. On the way to meet FItz Lee we parsed Loncstrect's camps. The soldiers instinctively knew a movement was on foot and were cooking and singing ' Each heart recalled a different name, but all sang 'Annie Luurie.' " We reached the appointed rendezvous that nlgliL It was a deserted village no signs of oavalrv wore there. Stuart was greatly worried. I did no't then suspect how much depended on meeting the '.'cavalry and how much was lost by its absence. It . was the crucial point of the campaign. A staff olllcer, Major Fitz-Uugh, went in search of FItz Lee. and wc tied our hordes and lay down to sleep on the porch of a house by the road. Reforc sunrKo I was uwak-ened uwak-ened by a young man. Gibson, who hnd Just como with mo unarmed from prison. He said Hint he heard the tramp of cavalry down the plank rOad; that it was probably Fltz Lee but might be Yankee cavalry. Although Ave Avcro -nonr-tbe Rapldan we thought that Ave were insldo of Longsrroct's ploltot line, but I did not want in b i-nmrht lmnphit; nir.iln So I nwnko Stuart and told him what we'had heard and that Gibson Gib-son aud I would ride down the road to see what Avas there. We soon soav a body of cavalry that had stopped nt a house a few hundred yards aAvay. A heavy fog made It impossible to distinguish blue from gray. So we halted, uncertain whether they were friends or foes. But wo were soon relieved of doubt two cavalrymen cav-alrymen saw us and rode forward. When they got In pistol range they opened fire that settled it. We kucAv then they were not our friends. As Gibson and I had no arms there was nothing for us to do but wheel and run. v hich we did. The firing saved Stuart. He heard it, mounted his horse, bareheaded, leaped a fence In the back yard nud got away. Before Gibson nnd I got to the houso where We had slept a ' - -"riV " -ih-r-rr - .-, , . - - - - hmhim in i OTfWMMMirMMrwWWTTTTTTBW'TrMMMMMTrT"! There Was Nothing for Ua to Do but Wheel and Run, Which We Did Prussian on Stuart's staff dashed through the front gale and went down the road ahead of us as fast ns- his horse could carry him. Wo never overtook him. After the Avar he published n lot of fables in Blackwood in which ho described an encounter he had Avlili the Yankees Hint morning as more Avondcrful than the feat of St. George and the Dragon. Now, uelthor Gibson nor 1 claimed to be a hero that day. Our ambition was to escape. We ran as fast as we could, but the Prussian run faster. That Is all the distinction he won. Pope had advanced to the line of the Rapldan with his army stretched across the Orange and Alexandrl? Railroad, which Avas his line of supply. It was massed near the river. Lee. with Jackson nnd Longstrcet, was In Orange county, a few miles in his front. Our cavalry picketed the south bank of the river. Pope did not know as late as the 17th. tho evening before he rotronted In such a hurry, that Lee had arrived Avlth Longstrcet lie thought Jackson Avas at Gordons-ville, Gordons-ville, twenty miles south. He spoke of crossing the river and making a demonstration townrd Richmond, and told I In Hock, "Our position Is strong and It will be A'ery dllllcuit to drive us from it." A worse position posi-tion for an army could not have been selected for him by an enemy. He urged Hallcck to let him cross the river aud take Uie offensive. General Loo never again had such an opportunity to destroy :u) army. It would have been that day easy lo pass around under cover of Clarke's Mountain, that is on the south bank of the Rapldan, and cross at the fords bolow and strike Pope both in flank and roar at the same time. It wns particularly so, ns Pope had said ho Avould look only to his front Tho fact Is, as the railroad turns enst at such an angle In Culpeper that after crossing the river below Pope Lee's army would have been nearer the Rappahannock bridge than Pope's army, his railroad communications with Washington Avould have been seized and reinforcements rein-forcements cut off from McClellan. According to Pope's despatches that day to Halleck there was no sign of a movement to cross the Rapldan. He Avas anxious to attack Jackson; "AJax asked no more." From this dreani of security Pope by an accident aabs rudely invakened and narrowly escaped the doom of the Assyrian: "Like the loaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, that host on the morrow lay withered and strewn." John C. Ropes, of Boston, says: "nonce, when he saw him quietly occupying the Hue of the Rapldan Leo at once suav his opportunity. lie ordered Ixingstreet and Jackson to cross the river by Raccoon and Soiner-ville Soiner-ville fords and to move on Culpeper Court House, while the cuvalry of Stuart, crossing further to the east at Morton's Ford, Avas lo make Itappnhnnnock station, destroying the bridge there, and then, turning off in the left, form the right of Lougstreet's corp. Pope would have been attacked lu rear and tlank and his communications severed in tho bargain. Doubtless, ho would have made a strenuous fight, but he could hardly have oscaicd defeat, and defeat under such circumstances cir-cumstances might well have been ruin. From this disaster dis-aster fortune saved Pope through the capture of Stuart's staff otlicer." I Lee's Disobedience. I have stated that Stuart had sent Major Fitz-Hugh to look for Fitz Lee, whose orders- required him to be at Yerdlervllle Hie night of the ISth. It Is a few miles south of the Rapldan. Daybreak on the ISth avus the time fixed for crossing the river. But Fitz Lee, as appears ap-pears from Stuart's report, nfter leaving Hanover, Instead In-stead of marching, as ho was ordered, directly to the vicinity of Raccoon Ford, changed his course aud turned back to follow his wagons that had been sent by Louisa Court House for provisions. By this dolour he was a day Into In reaching his destination. Tho delay de-lay was fatal to General Lee's plan and wived I'ope. General Lee would not make the movement without this cavalry, but Jackson wauted to go on without it-Major it-Major Filz-Uugh, while looking for Flu Lee, was capturod on the night of the 17th by a body of cavalry that hud been -sent over that river on a scourt. II was the same body that came so near catching us the next morning. They got Leo's letter to Stuart that dis-clpsed dis-clpsed his plan to cross on tho morning of tho lSUi and llauk Pope. Tho despatch Avas sent In hot hnsle lo headquarters and created as much astonishment as Hie news at the ball at Brussels that .Wipoleon had crossed the Saiiibre General Pope In his report speaks of the capture of this letter as the cause of his hnsty nnd unpremeditated unpre-meditated retreat Ho says the Rivalry expedition ho sent out capturod the adjutant general of General ' Sfunrt and was near capturing thalT olllcer himself! Sinniii- llip nnnpr tnUioi from IllHI WII all alltO- A War Time Photograph ofColoncljohn S. Mosby , IH graph letter of General Robert 15. Lee to General M Stunrt, "which made manifest the disposition and fl force of tho enemy and their determination to over- whelm the army under my command before it could bo reinforced by any portion of the Army of the'- M Potomac." jl But Fitz. Lee was not nlono responsible for General M Lee's failure to envelop Pope. General Longstrcet says that, as Hie cavalry had not come up on the H 17th. he ordered two regiments of Toombs' brigade H to be sent to guard tho Rapldan fords. Toombs had H ridden off from his headquarters when the order H came, and his next iu rank ordered the detail to be lH sent. When Toombs learned what had been done iH without asking hlni he ordered the reg'ments back IH to their camp. So the fords were unguarded and M Pope's cavalary crossed without giving any alarm, cap- H tured Stuart's staff officer with General" Lee's order H and saved Pope's army. Longstrcet put Toombs H under arrest, but Fitz Leo avus not lelievcd. In the I midst-of the battle of Manassas a few days after ' H Toombs rode up to Longstrcet and begged to lead H his brigade, Longstrcet relented, and Toombs led H his men to the battle. M So it seemed that General Pope was saved by a H comedy of errors. General Lee had to wait for" his H cavalry to come up. but when they came the oppor- H tun It' was gone. , H If Toombs had not wIHidraAvn the pick-els from' the H Rapidan the I'nion cavalry could not have crossed; if IH Fltz Lee had obeyed orders, even If the cavalry had H crossed, thoy Avould have been caught. P.v this" com- f IH binhtion of errors Pope got Avarning and lost no time In ' H getting away. I rode with Stuart to the signal station '" fM on Clark's Mountain andsaAv long trains scudding back ' IH from the Rapidan to the Rappahannock. General IH George Gordon, who was Avitli Pone, savs: "Without IH delay the retreat began. By rail and along the road- ' H Avnys, In cars and in baggage wagons, from Mitchell's Li H Station and from Culpeper (Court House) rait stores B IH of subsistence, forage and ammunition streamed out 'iH for the loft bank of the Rappahannock. - Tho IH Confederates Avore du.appolntod; many of them scolded IH bitterly. Rarely had a better opportunity offered for IH the destruction of an army " IH Dabney, a staff officer of Jackson, in an account ol IH the campaign Avritteu Avhen it was fresh in his meinorv, H .snys the plan of the Commander-in-Chief was for the H movement to begin at dawn of the ISth. but was do- H feated by dilatory subordinates, and that he "overruled I H the eagerness of Jackson and postponed it until th H L'Oth." "It was then," says General Gordon, "mos H fortunate that Jackson was not in command." H Some years ago I received a letter from Captain W H B. Cifry. of Windsor, Conn., who said lhat he Avas witi H the Fifth Now York Cavalry on the morning of An gust IS, 1SCJ, Avhen General Stuart and I came- so neat M being captured; that he got a letter of Stuart's that H I left behind In my hurry. Captain Gary Informed mc J that the letter Avas deposited in the National Musoum H I Avent there nnd found It in as good condition as it H Avas the morning I lost it. The whole is in Stuart's H handwriting. A photographic copy was given to me. H It Is as follows: M "Hd. Qrs. Cnvnlry Brigade, "June 20th, 1&2. H "Hon. Geo. W. Randolph. H "Sec. of War, H "General. M "Permit me to present to you Jno. S. Mosby, who , M for mouths past lias rendered time and again ser- vices of the most important and valuable nature, ex- t H posing himself regardless of danger, and, in my est I- H ma Hon. fairly Avon promotion. H "I am anxious that he should set the Captaincy of j H a Company of Sharpshooters In my brigade, but the IH muster-rolls have not yet been sent in. I commend H him to your favorable notice. I H "Most Jtespectfnlly, General, , H "Your Obedient Servant, H "J. E. B. Stuart. H "Brigadier-General Commanding Cavalry." H How Stuart Got Even. M General Stuart lost his bat; the Yankees picked it H up and carried It off as a trophy. But Stuart got H even with them. A few days afterward he went on H a raid to Catlctt Station and captured Pope's head- H quarter wagons, with his hat, his plume and his coat. H Pope bpcaks of it In his report. I remember thai . H Stuart galloped by me on the march and remarked jH that he wns going after his hat. He got a better H hat and a feather to boot. It Is a remarkable coin- H cidencc that two persons who, on the night of that H rnid were on opposite sides, should a few years after- H ward have represented in succession the United , H States ns Consuls at Hong Kong, and lhat both H should have been captured in Pope's campaign. H Stuart's report says: "As day dawned. 1 found H amongst the great number of prisoners Pope's field H quartermaster. Major Colliding, and ascertained thai H the elicit quartermaster and Pope's aide do camp H Colonel L. II. Marshull, narrowly escaped 'the sdnx H fate. The men of the command hnd secured Pope'; , H uniform, his horses nnd equipment, money ehost.s aud i IH a groat variety of uniforms nnd personal baggage." -H Major Gouldlng. the quartermaster, Avas made Con H sul nt Hong Kong and 1 was appointed Consul then H some years afterward He told me a groat luan.i H amusing stories about Pope. The Nemesis that allow H fortunes to men provided for Gouldlng; he Joined H the Salvation Army. Colonel Louis Marshall, aide (If ' H camp on Pope's staff, of Avhom Stuart speaks, wai H a nephew of General Robert E. Leo, A lady in H Virginia who got a pass at that Hide to go to Haiti- IH more told me that she called to see Louis Marshall'r mother, who was her relative and an invalid. H The lady Avas enthusiastic iu praise of General Lea IH the world was rebounding with hLs fame. She re- i IH marked to Mrs, Marsha II, "You ought to h" so proud IH lo hnA-e .such a brother." Her reply avus. "But. oh, II JH he wasn't tlghUng against the Union!" Then, parsing nnd remembering other days, nature assorted Itse)f, lH nnd she exclaimed -with deep emotion, "But thoy can'i ) jH whip Robert." It Avas to this sister Hint General Lef H Avrolo lhat pathetic letter on the day ho resigned lib H commission in the United States army the last lettei J H ho ever wrote her In which he lamented that he bar! ' to choose between drawing his sword against the gov- I H ernment he had served or against his- family, his H neighbors and his home- In such a convulsion there ! H reau le no guldo but- conscience, nnd men obey the t IH higher law of tim Uuuaau heart tf nioiit sacr-u.uf. olli' IH |