USA > New York > History of the Ninth Regiment N.Y.S.M. -- N.G.S.N.Y. (Eighty-third N. Y. Volunteers.) 1845-1888 > Part 15
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Thus was brought to a close the second engagement in which the NINTH took part, and Major Rutherford displayed such skill and judgment in handling the regiment as to make every man feel confident that no mistakes or blunders would occur while he was at the head.
When daylight of the roth appeared it was discovered that the enemy had quietly slipped away. Jackson had no desire to try conclusions with Pope's entire army, and he fell back across the Rapidan to await the reenforcements coming from Richmond. The NINTH rejoined the brigade and stacked arms in a corn-field, while a detail was sent after the knap- sacks. At eleven o'clock a heavy rain-storm began, which lasted all day. At noon Colonel Stiles rejoined the regiment, having been relieved from duty at Warrenton.
Major Rutherford. who had charge of the detail sent to the field to bury the dead, reported that the Confederate burial party, when they found that their army had fallen back, left in such a hurry that their work was but partly done, and a num- ber of their wounded fell into our hands. Towards evening camp was laid out and tents pitched for the night.
On the 11th the command moved forward, passing over portions of the late battle-field. Carcasses of horses lying about, and the many newly made graves were a sad reminder of the bloody work. The garden near a dwelling house had
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1 been turned into a cemetery and was filled with graves. The occupants of the house had courageously remained in the cel- lar during the battle, but had been terribly scared by a shell which forced its way into their hiding-place. Fortunately it did not explode. On the 12th the regiment moved a short distance, camp was laid out and the usual round of guard and picket duty resumed.
On the 14th, the divisions of Generals Jesse L. Reno and Isaac I. Stevens, numbering about eight thousand men, of the Ninth corps, reported to General Pope. The Army of Vir- ginia now held the line of the Rapidan, from the base of the Blue Ridge on the right to Raccoon Ford on the left.
At eight o'clock on the morning of the 15th the regiment was again in motion, moving towards the Rapidan. On the road, just west of Cedar Mountain, a dozen or more dead bodies were noticed, which had probably been carried there for burial just after the battle. Their black and bloated appearance was, at the time, popularly supposed to be caused by the whiskey mixed with powder, which the Confederate troops were credited with drinking, just before entering an engagement. Like many other camp stories, this, of course, was a pure invention, and was not believed by intelligent soldiers. The bodies of men who met a violent death on the battle-field, especially during hot weather, rapidly decomposed, and the condition of those just mentioned was due to perfectly natural causes. Towards evening the regiment went into camp near the river, and pickets were posted along the north- ern bank.
Nothing of importance occurred on the 16th. On the 17th the band left for home, under orders from the War Depart- ment, reducing the number to one for each brigade. Five days' rations were issued here and, besides this load, each man was required to carry sixty rounds of ammunition, forty in his cartridge box, and the balance in his haversack or pocket.
When General Lee found that McClellan's army was to evac- uate Harrison's Landing, he began moving his troops towards the Rapidan, hoping to be able to overwhelm Pope before
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sufficient reinforcements could reach him. As early as the 13th, Longstreet's corps was ordered to Gordonsville, where it arrived a day or two afterwards, and when General Lee appeared about the 16th, the Confederate Army numbered nearly sixty thousand men. Pope had not more than forty thousand. The Confederate commander proposed moving at once upon Pope, but, owing to some delay caused by the strategical movements of a portion of Pope's force, and which deceived Lee, the movement was delayed until the 18th.
Active operations in the field rendered it often impossible -- or impracticable-to hold special religious services, and this gave rise to a custom peculiar to the NINTH. At the conclusion of dress-parade the regiment would be formed into a hollow square, then Chaplain Phillips, advancing to the cen- ter, would read a selection from the Bible, offer a brief prayer, closing with the Lord's Prayer, in which the regiment joined audibly ; then the band would play " Old Hundred " and the command join in the doxology, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." This would be followed by the apostolic ben- ediction and the parade was dismissed.
One of the special duties of army life, and one which re- quired more courage, nerve, and skill to execute than even the average brave soldiers possessed, was that connected with the Secret Service. There was little glory to be derived from the service of playing the spy, and yet it was an essential part of military duty. To be wounded or killed, and have his name spelled wrong in the Gazette, was not even accorded to the majority of these men who thus, in a double sense, took their lives in their hands and penetrated the enemies' lines, for their mission was always a secret, even to their own comrades. A man was called to the General's quarters, remained awhile and departed, his comrades knew not where, and was never, seen again in their ranks. After a reasonable time he was probably marked on his company muster-rolls as dead, or miss- ing, or, more likely, as a deserter.
There were many Nathan Hale's on both sides during the war, and while one side employed men in that most perilous
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of undertakings, so not only on account of its danger, but much more on account of the horrible fate that awaited the discovery of a spy within the lines. Neither side was willing to recognize the poor unfortunate as having any rights under the code of warfare. The following account, taken from "The Washington Artillery of New Orleans," of the fate of one such hero, will serve to illustrate :
On the morning of August 21st, as the troops were marching towards Stevensburg, a mounted man, clad in gray uniform, rode up to General D. R. Jones, commanding division, and told him that General Jackson had sent him to say that he was to halt his column where it then was. As Jones was under orders of General Longstreet, he couldn't understand why Jackson should send him orders of any kind, especially as it was known that Jackson was a long distance in advance. Suspicion being aroused. the man was ordered to dismount, his person examined, and a memorandum book found containing an account of all our movements since we had advanced beyond
Gordonsville. A cipher alphabet was also found. * Further examination of the man's clothing showed the uniform not to be of the Confederate regulation, the cuffs and collar of his jacket were black instead of yellow. His underclothing, boots and spurs were unmistakably those furnished the enlisted men of the United States Army. A drum-head court-martial was convened, circumstantial evidence was against him, and he was condemned to be hung as a spy. He took his sentence quite coolly. He was marched into the woods, placed on a mule, a rope looped around his neck, and its end thrown over a limb of a tree, when a stalwart courier, with a heavy stick, by striking the mule upon the rump, caused him to surge ahead, and the spy was left swinging. When dead, a grave by the roadside was dug and he disappeared from the face of the earth.
Another instance will show the successful performance of such hazardous work. There lies before the Editor a pam- phlet containing properly attested copies of letters, now on file in the War Department, written by Generals Pope, McDowell, and Sigel, setting forth the valuable service rendered by a pri- vate in an Indiana Cavalry regiment during this campaign. While encamped at Sperryville, on the 21st of July, this man was sent for by General Sigel and directed to make his way within the enemy's lines, obtain all the information possible respecting the number and position of troops, and report back in three weeks. He was furnished with a citizen's outfit, an unbranded horse and a little money. He had hardly entered the enemy's territory before he was arrested on suspicion of being a spy. After various experiences he was sent to Rich-
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mond and while not confined in prison there, was placed un- der surveillance and ordered to report each day to a Provost Marshal. At this time Mcclellan's army had been driven from before Richmond, and the Union soldier was a witness to the rejoicings of the people and of the Confederate Army over the event. The three weeks within which Sigel was to hear from him had more than passed, and knowing that Pope would be in great danger from the united Confederate Army, the spy was doably anxious to reach the Union lines. When Long- street's troops left Richmond to join Jackson, he managed obtain permission to accompany them :
We were nearing the Rapidan and as night came on a great body of soldiers moved secretly up the river. * * When morning dawned the vast army was en- camped under Clark's Hill. It was a capital position, as the ridge, extending along the right bank of the river, protected us from view of the Union outposts. It was Sun- day. I had not yet learned to an absolute certainty the plan of further operations. I lingered about General Hill's headquarters, speculating as to what the morrow would bring forth, and fearing much. I was lying on the ground with my eyes half shut. when I became suddenly conscious that a considerable number of generals had con- gregated at General Hill's tent. I was close enough to catch the conversation that passed among them. Pope was to be surprised. The detachment that had proceeded up the river the night before, was to cross over early in the morning, and, regardless of consequences, attack the Union Army; while thus engaged, Lee was to cross at Raccoon Ford, and, getting in Pope's rear, surprise him. My cup was full, yet I dozed on. I saw no chance of getting away. The day wore away, and the next morning. the 18th, dawned. While at breakfast with a number of officers, at a house near General Hill's headquarters, a Rebel cavalryman, without hat or coat, rushed in and reported that a squad of Yankee cavalry had crossed the river and attacked the signal station nearest us, very nearly capturing the officers.
Two regiments were at once sent out, and, as I had been detailed with the hospital squad, I joyfully followed, for now was my opportunity ! I lagged behind the column until it was out of sight, and then broke for the river. The sun was high and the day fast advancing ; perhaps I would be too late ! No shrubbery, no undergrowth, could stay my flight. My skin was scratched and the blood came, but I heeded it not. I threw away my coat and vest as I went. It was now or never ! Already Lee's hosts might be crossing Raccoon Ford to make the fatal attack ! Even now they might be attacking Sigel up the river. Before I could reach Pope's tent it might be too late. yet hope was alive in my bosom and I sped on !
I reached the river at a point where the banks were high and steep on both sides, and the stream narrow. I fastened my boots about my neck, and putting my papers under my hat, grasped an overhanging bush and lowered myself without a splash into the water. Noiselessly as a shadow I swam across. My heart beat with joy as I came to the Union outpost, and caught sight of a gallant boy in blue. I told what I had to say quickly, and, on being furnished with a horse and guard, went with all po-
ยท
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sible speed to General Buford's headquarters, about two miles distant, then with a new horse went galloping on to General Reno's headquarters, where I also found Generals Pope and McDowell ; on showing my credentials and telling my story not a moment was lost by General Pope in ordering a rapid retreat behind the Rappahannock.
Important dispatches from General Lee were also found upon a captured Confederate officer, which fully corroborated the reports of spies and scouts, and thus General Pope was warned in time of the enemy's plans.
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1 RETREAT TO THE RAPPAHANNOCK.
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CHAPTER IX.
POPE'S CAMPAIGN (concluded).
BATTLE OF SECOND BULL RUN.
Retreat to the Line of the Rappahannock .- General Muster .- A Weary March .- Major Rutherford's Picket .- Rappahannock Station .- Stuart's Raid, and Capture of One of the NINTH .- Colonel Stiles in Command of the Brigade .- The Situation on the Evening of the 26th .- Jackson's Flank Movement .- Ricketts' Division at Thoroughfare Gap .-- Back to Gainesville .- Bristoe Station .- Headed for Grove- ton .- The Sound of the Battle .- Morning of the 30th .- The Enemy's Line .- Pope Orders a " Pursuit " of the Enemy .- Position of Union Troops .- Opening of the Battle .- The NINTH Sent to the Left .- " Pursuit " Changed to Defence .- Longstreet's Flank Attack. - The Defence of Bald Hill. - The Union Left Turned .- The Henry Hill .- The NINTH Under Fire .- Driven Back .- After Dark .- Extracts from Reports .- Battle of Chantilly .- Death of Generals Kearny and Stevens .- Letters.
THE NINTH began the march about noon of the 18th, halt- ing at Mitchell's Station, when a general muster took place. Late in the afternoon the troops were formed in line of battle ; the cavalry pickets left at the Rapidan had reported the enemy in force on the opposite side, and it was feared they would attempt a crossing, but the Confederates merely estab- lished a line of pickets on their side. About midnight the column moved. Night marches are a soldier's bugbear, whether towards or from the enemy, and when the poor unfor- tunates are in the rear of the column, and the road ahead blocked with artillery and baggage wagons, the annoyance is increased. Hartsuff's brigade found itself in this condition. Culpeper and Brandy Station were passed during the night, a bright moon serving to mitigate, somewhat, the dreariness of the slow and tedious march. Shortly after daylight the command halted. At ten o'clock the march was resumed, and by "fits and starts" the column reached the Rappahannock, at the railroad crossing, late at night. The trains crossed at the ford
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below, while the infantry went over the bridge, the crossing being effected early on the morning of the 20th. The march had been a severe one, not so much on account of the distance travelled, as of the constant worry and fatigue caused by the frequent halts, in line, on the road. After standing a few moments the men would drop down by the roadside, and about the time they had got comfortably seated, the column would
move on again, perhaps for half a mile, and then halt for another five or ten minutes. It was plain, too, that the march was in retreat, but the men knew nothing of the immediate cause, and in the face of Pope's recent address, the move- ment was strange and inexplicable. Pope was freely criti- cised and many of the men felt disappointed and disheart- ened at the turn affairs appeared to be taking.
When the column left Mitchell's Station, Major Ruther- ford was at the Rapidan in command of the picket line, con- sisting of about four hundred cavalry and infantry ; he was not notified of the rearward movement, and when, at daylight, he repaired to the late brigade headquarters for instructions, he found that he was left alone, and in a somewhat precarious position. Hurrying back to his command he succeeded in calling in the men, and, with a strong line of skirmishers for a rear guard, and flankers to guard against an ambuscade, he slowly made his way after the army. The enemy crossed the river and followed closely behind the Major's command, and considerable firing took place between them before Brandy Station was reached. Except two regiments of the brigade which had been sent with Matthew's battery to Kelly's Ford, to watch the crossing there, the whole of the division, after crossing at Rappahannock Station, moved to the high ground back from the river, in support of the batteries which were planted to command the southern bank, and the NINTH, with a few slight changes of position, remained there all day and night of the 20th. About noon of the 21st, Matthew's battery, which had returned from Kelly's Ford, and the Eleventh Penn- sylvania were sent over to the south side, the better to protect
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the bridge ; later in the day the NINTH also went over. At Kelly's Ford, General Stevens, with a portion of his division of the Ninth corps, crossed the river on a reconnaissance, and drove the enemy's advance troops back some distance. At Waterloo bridge, a few miles up the river from Rappahannock Station, the Confederate General Early crossed to the north side with his brigade, in an attempt to turn the right flank of Pope's army.
On the 22nd, the balance of Hartsuff's brigade crossed over to the south side of the river, upon a temporary bridge built during the night, and were drawn up in support of Thomp- son's battery, which was posted behind some hastily-con- : structed earthworks at the head of the railroad bridge, the enemy meanwhile opening fire from some of their rifled guns ; several of their shells burst uncomfortably near but did no damage. During the day quite a little diversion was created by the stampede of a drove of cattle belonging to the enemy, and which approached the Union lines ; the enemy endeav- ored to head them off, but the Union skirmishers opened fire and drove their men back; the herd of cattle were captured, and shortly afterwards served to regale the hungry stomachs of the Union soldiers.
In the morning General J. E. B. Stuart, the Confederate Cavalry leader, had crossed at Waterloo, and, making a detour around the right flank of the Union army, struck Catlett's Station in the evening, capturing a few prisoners, General Pope's headquarters baggage, the dispatch book, and many val- uable papers, and effected his retreat without serious loss. Three members of the NINTH, Privates Smith Ferguson and S. C. Roof of Company A, and John J. Coffey of Company H, who were on detached service as clerks at army headquarters, had been sent with the trains to Catlett's Station, and arrived there just a few minutes before Stuart. Ferguson started off for water to make coffee, while the other two proceeded to pitch the tent and make a fire. After completing their labors they waited a while for Ferguson, wondering what kept him so long, when, suddenly, the well known "rebel yell," accom-
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panied by a discharge of small-arms, was heard, and at once the camp was in an uproar. Stuart's force amounted to about twelve hundred, and the small train-guard stood not upon the order of their going but " got " as rapidly as possible, the dark- ness favoring the escape of nearly all. It seems that Ferguson, on reaching the spring, stumbled upon the enemy, some of whom were concealed there ; he was quietly captured and sent to Richmond.
During the evening General Pope telegraphed General Halleck that one of two things must be done by daylight the next morning-either to fall back and meet the reinforcements coming from the Army of the Potomac, or cross the river with his whole force and attack the enemy's right flank and rear. . It had been noticed that large bodies of their troops had been moving up the river, and Pope thought that a serious blow might be delivered: At eleven o'clock Halleck replied, advis- ing Pope to cross and give the enemy battle.
During the night a heavy rain-storm began, and when day- light of the 23rd appeared, the river was so high that the fords were rendered impassable, and the bridges in danger of being carried away. The trestle bridge erected above the railroad bridge gave way, and the floating timbers threatened to carry away the piers of the other. Pope was compelled to abandon his plan of crossing to attack the enemy, but expected to cap- ture Early, who had been on the north side since the 21st. As soon as Pope heard of Early's movement he determined to bag the bold Confederate, but thinking Early's force much larger than the reality, deemed it prudent to order up nearly the whole army. This took time, and it was not until the 23d that the advance of the Union troops approached the supposed position of Early, only to find that he had made his escape to the other side, over a temporary bridge crected by the inde- fatigable Jackson during the stormy night.
Hartsuff's brigade had, up to the morning of 23d, held their position on the south bank ; it was now recalled, and at a later date highly complimented by Ricketts, in general orders, for their untiring exertions during those two days. No
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ONCE MORE TO THE REAR.
sooner had the brigade evacuated their position than it was occupied by General N. G. Evans' brigade of General D. R. Jones' division of Longstreet's corps, and eleven pieces of artillery, among which were seven guns of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans. Their guns opened fire at once, and were replied to by the Union batteries, the latter, also, poundett away at the bridge, which had been fired when the troops crossed, and it was destroyed. A few casualties oc- cured in the brigade. Captain Stevens was the only one in- jured in the regiment, and he, by concussion, as he stood too near one of the guns. At nine o'clock the troops began the march towards Warrenton. The firing heard further up the river was occasioned by Sigel's troops who had gone in search of Early, but, as has been stated, they found he had made his escape. After marching about eight miles the NINTH biv- ouacked in a thicket of pines, a heavy shower meanwhile giving all a good drenching.
Daybreak of the 24th the men were on the march again, about the same distance being covered as on the previous day, and when the regiment halted they found a pleasant camp site in an orchard belonging to a Confederate colonel.
Owing to the sickness of General Hartsuff Colonel Stiles assumed command of the brigade the next day-the 25th. Warrenton was passed on the right, and after a twelve-mile march the command halted near the Waterloo road, pitching their shelter tents on a hillside. The wagon train had not followed the column, but had taken the line of the railroad to- wards Warrenton Junction and Catlett's Station, and the men, having exhausted their supply of rations, were obliged to scour the country in search of food, but the supply was unequal to the demand. During the forenoon of the 26th cannonading was heard in the direction of Sulphur Springs, and the column marched about two miles back towards that point, and then re- turned to the former bivouac, where the night was spent.
It may be well to state the position on the evening of the 26th, of the various commands composing Pope's army : Buford's cavalry was on the extreme right at Waterloo, while
-
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Ricketts' division, as indicated by the movement of the NINTH, was between that point and Warrenton. King's division of McDowell's corps was on the road between Warrenton and Sulphur Springs. General Reynold's division of Pennsylvania Reserves was at Warrenton, and Sigel with his First corps was near there, while Banks was in the vicinity of Fayetteville. Heintzehnan's corps, Army of the Potomac, was near Warren- ton Junction. Stevens' division of the Ninth corps bivouacked near the railroad, about midway between Warrenton and the Junction, while Reno's division was near the Junction. Part of General Fitz-John Porter's corps-Army of the Potomac- was at Kelly's Ford, and Sykes' division about five miles northeast of that point. Pope's headquarters were at War- renton Junction.
And what of the enemy ? During the night of the 24th, Jackson began one of his remarkable movements. Stevens' division of the Ninth corps had been watching him from the north bank of the Rappahannock in the evening, but when daylight of the 25th opened he was gone. The Union signal officers soon reported him moving up along the west side of the Bull Run Mountains, evidently with the intention of pass- ing through one of the gaps and striking at the rear of the Union Army. Either Pope did not credit this report, or, if he did, supposed that the troops coming from the Army of the Potomac would be sent by Halleck to guard the gaps, and protect his rear ; but Jackson passed through Thoroughfare Gap on the morning of the 26th, and in the evening was at Bristoe Station with his whole corps. He began at once the destruction of such stores as he found there, meanwhile dis- patching a force to Manassas Junction, where an immense quantity of quartermaster and commissary stores were soon after destroyed. Cars were burned, track torn up, and the telegraph line destroyed. Longstreet's corps, with General Lee accompanying it, was still demonstrating on the south bank of the Rappahannock, but ready to follow on Jackson's track as soon as Pope should begin to fall back from the river to meet the fire in his rear.
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