USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 > Part 15
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The result of this reconnaissance was two-fold, and proved very important to the Union commander. It crippled the enemy's cavalry in such a manner that it did not recover so as to be effec- tive in the campaign upon which it was about entering, giving an evil omen to its opening scene; and it disclosed the fact that
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two corps of the enemy, those of Ewell and Longstreet, were well on their way towards the Shenandoah Valley. It also demon- strated the very unpleasant fact that Lee's cavalry was at least a third stronger than Hooker's. Having abundant force to seize and hold all the fords of the river, the enemy was secure from attack while on the march, and when the valley was reached, by holding the passes of the Blue Ridge, he was completely protected by this great natural wall.
Convinced that the movement of the opposing army was not a feint, but the opening of a real campaign northward, on the morning of the 12th, Hooker ordered General Reynolds to assume command of the right wing of the Union army, consisting of the First, his own, Third, and Eleventh corps, and all the cavalry, and proceed with it along the line of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, to Manassas, a movement correspondent to that which the enemy was making, though upon an inner circle, with Wash- ington as a centre; and on the following day ordered the Second. Fifth, Sixth, and Twelfth corps into motion northward. The moment the Union forces disappeared behind the hills of Stafford, Hill withdrew from his position and followed Lee. Ewell, who was in the advance, had crossed the Shenandoah river at Front Royal and passed down behind the great mountain range which walls it in on the south; but Longstreet, seeing the Union army moving away from him, felt secure in marching by the more direct route on this side of the Blue range, and entered the valley by Snicker's Gap. Hill moved upon the track of Ewell. That his left flank might be protected from incursions from West Virginia, Lee sent Imboden with a body of cavalry towards Rom- ney, who destroyed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, effectually cutting off communication from Union forces operating in that direction.
The old counsel of keeping a force at Harper's Ferry to guard the mouth of the valley, and prevent incursions into Maryland and Pennsylvania, had been persevered in, and when the enemy's cavalry sent forward under Jenkins approached, closely followed by the infantry of Ewell, they found a Union force at Winchester of 7500 men under General Milroy, and another at Harper's Ferry under General Tyler of 10,000,-too many troops to throw
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away, and too few to cope with the numbers brought against them, enough to tempt to enterprise, and give zest to the play. Again was this the field of shame, disaster, and defeat. By a strange oversight, neither General Halleck nor the Secretary of War had informed General Milroy, who was first to be struck, that the rebel army was moving in force down the valley, and he had no intimation of the fact until the head of Ewell's column was upon him. He made such resistance as was possible, but was speedily routed, and all his guns and many of his men fell into the enemy's hands. On the night of the 14th, having ascer- tained that two corps of the rebel army, numbering 60,000 men, were upon his front, and being convinced that further resistance was useless, he had determined, in council of war, to cut his way out. He accordingly spiked his guns, and leaving all his trains which had not already been sent away, marched at two in the morning of the 15th ; but at a point four miles out on the Mar- tinsburg pike, he encountered a heavy column under Johnson posted to intercept him, and though making a gallant fight was unable to move the foe. His forces were broken, and while many of them escaped and made their way into the Union lines, the killed, wounded, and missing numbered more than half of his command.
That Lee should not out-manœuvre him, and by powerful demonstrations northward, suddenly turn and come in upon his rear, Hooker moved slowly, keeping himself constantly informed of the progress of the main body of his antagonist's force, and sending the Second corps to Thoroughfare Gap, and a division of cavalry supported by the Fifth corps, to Aldie. At this point a brisk action occurred with the cavalry of Stuart, wherein the latter was pushed back through Upperville into Ashby's Gap, by the division of General Gregg, supported by General Kilpatrick. "We took," says General Pleasanton, "two pieces of artillery, one being a Blakeley gun, together with three caissons, besides blowing one up. We also captured upwards of sixty prisoners, and more are coming in, including a Lieutenant-Colonel, Major, and five other officers, besides a wounded Colonel, and a large number of wounded rebels in the town of Upperville. They left their dead and wounded upon the field. Of the former I saw
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upwards of twenty, We also took a large number of carbines, pistols, and sabres. In fact, it was a most disastrous day for the rebel cavalry. Our loss has been very small both in men and horses. I never saw the troops behave better, or under more difficult circumstances."
It was now thoroughly apparent to Hooker that the rebel army was intent not merely on crossing the Potomac but on pushing the invasion as far north as the Army of the Potomac would allow. He had, on the 15th, six days before this latter engagement, telegraphed to the President : "I now feel that inva- sion is his settled purpose. If so, he has more to accomplish, but with more hazard, by striking an easterly direction after crossing than a northerly one. It seems to me that he will be more likely to go north and to incline to the west. He can have no design to look after his rear. It is an act of desperation on. his part, no matter in what force he moves." Hooker never appears to better advantage than in the few sentences here quoted, except it be in the manœuvres preliminary to Chancellors- ville. He seems as conversant with his adversary's plans and purposes as does that adversary himself, and his movements are timed with a skill unexampled to completely shield Washington, and to be in readiness to strike should the opportunity be pre- sented. This is now made apparent by General Lee's own report. " The position occupied by the enemy," he says, "opposite Fred- ericksburg, being one in which he could not be attacked to ad- vantage, it was determined to draw him from it. The execution of this purpose embraced the relief of the Shenandoah Valley from the troops that had occupied the lower part of it during the winter and spring, and, if practicable, the transfer of the scene of hostilities north of the Potomac. . .. In addition to these ad- vantages, it was hoped that other valuable results might be attained by military success."
What those valuable results were, may be inferred from the rumors which found their way into the Southern press, and were commented on in the most extravagant and visionary manner. The Richmond Whig, of July Ist, counting confidently on success, said : " If it be true that the Confederate forces occupy Harris- burg, the attention of the Commanding General will no doubt be
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directed to the coal-fields, which lie within forty or fifty miles of that city. His first aim will be to cut all the railroad connec- tions, and thus put a stop to the transportation of fuel. His next will be to destroy the most costly and not easily replaced ma- chinery of the pits. Whether he would stop at this is ques- tionable. He might set fire to the pits, withdraw the forces sent out on this special duty, and leave the heart of Pennsylvania on fire, never to be quenched until a river is turned into the pits, or the vast supply of coal is reduced to ashes. The anthracite coal is found in large quantities in no other part of the world but Pennsylvania. Enormous quantities are used in the United States navy, the countless workshops and manufactories of the North, in the river boats and even upon locomotives. It can- not well be replaced by any other fuel. The bituminous coal which is found near Pittsburg would not answer the purpose, even if it would bear the cost of transportation. Our troops already hold the railroads and canals leading from the Cumber- land coal-fields. All that is needed is to seize the anthracite fields, destroy the roads and machinery of the pits, set fire to the mines and leave them. Northern industry will thus be paralyzed at a single blow. These views may have induced General Lee to move upon Harrisburg. We doubt whether he would fire the mines, but the destruction of the Mauch Chunk Railroad and pit implements would be as legitimate as blowing up tunnels and aqueducts, or burning bridges. Of one thing we may be sure, that whatever is best to be done will be done by General Lee, and if he thinks proper to destroy the Pennsylvania mines they will certainly be destroyed."
Three days before this was written, General Lee records in his report : " Preparations were now made to move on Harrisburg," showing that the Richmond papers, though mistaken as to the result, were correctly informed of the purposes of the Confederate chieftain.
While the armies of Hooker and Lee were moving northward. only separated from each other by a mountain chain, the States north of the Potomac, which lay directly in their way, began to take the alarm. But a narrow section of Maryland had to be traversed before the southern border of Pennsylvania would be
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reached, a country luxurious with waving grain, plenteous flocks and herds, and orchards bending with mellow fruit, tempting the hand of the spoiler. For the defence of the border no prepara- tions had been made, and no power existed capable of arresting the march of the veteran army of the enemy, other than an equally strong and well disciplined force. The attempt to have kept a body of militia, or even of trained soldiers unskilled in battle, to guard it, would have been as impracticable as it would have been useless. But to prepare for temporary defence, and to succor the army of the Union in its grapple with its adversary. which was sure to come, was now the part of discretion; and accordingly, on the 9th of June, two military departments were erected, one embracing all that part of Pennsylvania east of Johnstown and the Laurel Hill range, with headquarters at Har- risburg, at the head of which Major-General Darius N. Couch was placed, and the other, the portion of the State west of that line, together with parts of West Virginia and Ohio contiguous, with headquarters at Pittsburg, and to the command of which Major- General William T. H. Brooks was assigned. These officers were charged with organizing troops within their respective districts, under the title of departmental corps. In this work they were powerfully aided by Governor Curtin, who issued his proclama- tion on the 12th, assuring the people of the danger impending. and urging them to enlist in the proposed organizations, and on the 14th, especially called upon citizens of African descent to rally around the standard of the State.
But little progress was made in the work of gathering troops. Men were slow to come. It was at a season of the year when every laboring man was needed to gather the maturing crops, and every walk of life had been already depleted to swell the ranks of the National armies. It would seem, too, that even those in authority were not impressed with the belief that an invasion by the whole rebel army was meditated. In his proclamation. Governor Curtin said : "Information has been obtained by the War Department, that a large rebel force, composed of cavalry. artillery, and mounted infantry, has been prepared for the pur- pose of making a raid into Pennsylvania ;" and General Couch. in his order announcing the formation of his corps: "To pre-
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vent serious raids by the enemy, it is deemed necessary to call upon the citizens of Pennsylvania to furnish promptly all the men necessary to organize an army corps of volunteer infantry, cavalry, and artillery, to be designated the Army Corps of the Susquehanna."
Unfortunately for getting an immediate strong force to act for the emergency, it was announced by General Couch that the troops " would be mustered into the service of the United States, to serve during the pleasure of the President, or the continuance of the war." The majority of men were deterred, by this condi- tion, from enlisting, who, to meet the emergency, if one really existed, would have come promptly forward. The inference derived from the language of Governor Curtin, and of General Couch, left the impression that no invasion in force was antici- pated, but that the General Government was desirous of taking advantage of the threatened rebel advance to obtain soldiers for the National armies. In the two foriner years, these rumors had been frequent, but had never resulted in any material harm to the State, and it was now scarcely credited that the enemy would be so adventurous as to come, with all his legions, upon Pennsyl- vania soil.
But the disposition of the enemy to advance became daily more apparent. On Sunday evening, June the 14th, affrighted contra- bands from the Shenandoah Valley commenced arriving in Green- castle, the first town in Pennsylvania over the border, and soon after reached Chambersburg, bringing intelligence of the route of Milroy, and the rapid advance of the head of the conquering rebel column. As it was known that at Winchester and Harper's Ferry there was a strong army corps, it was now perceived that the enemy was coming in earnest. "On Monday morning," says Mr. McClure, in an article published in the Chambersburg Repository, "the flood of rumors from the Potomac fully con- firmed the advance of the rebels, and the citizens of Chambers- burg and vicinity, feeling unable to resist the rebel columns, commenced to make prompt preparation for the movement of stealable property. Nearly every horse, good, bad, and indif- erent, was started for the mountains as early on Monday as possible, and the negroes darkened the different roads northward
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for hours, loaded with household effects, sable babies, etc., and horses, wagons, and cattle crowded every avenue to places of safety."
The hegira thus commenced received a fresh impetus at nine o'clock on that morning, by the arrival of the advance of Milroy's wagon train, which had escaped across the Potomac, and was making haste to put itself beyond the reach of the enemy. As the long dusky train wound through the town, and for hours con- tinued to wend its weary way, affright seized the inhabitants and spread wildly through the country. Valuable stock of all descrip- tions was put upon the road northward, and did not halt in its course until the Susquehanna had been left behind. The more common and less valuable was hurried away to the mountains and by-places. The great covered bridge across the Susquehanna at Harrisburg presented a scene of ceaseless activity, and never was such a toll business done there before. Milroy's train reached it first, and in its rear came an endless stream of human beings of every age and size, and beasts and four-footed things innu- merable. By night the steady tramp and rumble of the heavy teams lulled the senses of the weary, and through the long hours of the sultry June day, a cloud of dust rose constantly far down the valley, reaching forward and across the stream, as far in the opposite direction as the eye could penetrate. With the fine impal- pable particles settling down ceaselessly, rider and horse, vehicle and occupants, flocks, herds, all were enveloped, until thick folds wrapped them like a garment.
Not until the 15th did the General Government seem to be fully impressed with the seriousness of the situation, or realize that the predictions of Hooker, made ten days before, were the words of truth and soberness. On that day, the President issued a proclamation for 100,000 men from the States immediately menaced, to serve for six months, unless sooner discharged ; 50,000 from Pennsylvania, 30,000 from Ohio, and 10,000 each from Mary- land and West Virginia. Governor Curtin seconded the call by a proclamation, in which he said : "That it is the purpose of the enemy to invade our borders with all the strength he can com- mand is now apparent. Our only defence rests upon the deter- mined action of the citizens of our Commonwealth. I therefore
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call on the people of Pennsylvania, capable of bearing arıns, to enroll themselves in military organizations, and to encourage all others to give aid and assistance to the efforts which will be put forth for the protection of the State, and the salvation of our common country." Indications of mischief thickened so rapidly at Harrisburg, that preparations were commenced for removing the archives of the Government, and in the hours of a short summer night, the papers of all the departments, even to the 28,000 volumes of the State Library, and the fine old portraits of the Governors, were securely put upon cars and moved to Philadelphia. The excitement likewise ran high at Pittsburg. Fears were entertained that the rebel army, or at least a strong detachment, might bear westward, especially if, in a general battle, the enemy should prove victorious. Engineers were accordingly employed in locating and planning forts, and thou- sands of busy hands were at work in constructing them. The merchants and mechanics organized themselves into military companies for the defence of the city; business was suspended, all the bars, restaurants, and drinking saloons were closed, and the sale or giving away of liquors stopped.
On the 15th, General Jenkins crossed the Potomac, and cautiously made his way northward. The rebel army was in need of transportation and supplies, and Jenkins from the first kept a sharp look out for these. Greencastle was possessed with- out opposition, and in due time Chambersburg. Of his entrance to the latter place Mr. McClure, in the article above quoted, gives a facetious account, though it was to his own sore spoliation. " Jenkins," he says, "had doubtless read the papers in his day, and knew that there were green fields in the 'Green Spot ;' and what is rather remarkable, at midnight he could start for a forty-acre clover-patch belonging to the editor of the Repository without so much as stopping to ask where the gate might be found. Not even a halt was called to find it; but the march was continued until the gate was reached, when the order 'file right !' was given, and Jenkins was in clover. Happy fellow, thus to find luxuriant and extensive clover, as if by instinct. By the way of giving the Devil his due, it must be said that, although there were over sixty acres of wheat, and eighty acres of corn and oats,
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in the same field, he protected it most carefully, and picketed his horses so that it could not be injured. .. . For prudential reasons the editor was not at home to do the honors at his own table; but Jenkins was not particular, nor was his appetite impaired thereby. He called upon the ladies of the house, shared their hospitality, behaved in all respects like a gentleman, and expressed very earnest regrets that he had not been able to make the personal acquaintance of the editor. We beg to say that we reciprocate the wish of the General, and shall be glad to make his acquaint- ance personally-' when this cruel war is over.' . .. General Jenkins also had the fullest information of the movements of the editor of this paper. He told, at our house, when we had left, the direction we had gone, and described the horse we rode."
For nearly a week, Chambersburg and all the southern part of Franklin county was occupied by the rebel forces, busy in gather- ing horses, which were regarded as contraband of war, and in seizing whatever goods of every variety that could be of use to them, pretending payment by delivering in exchange their worth- less Confederate scrip. Though falling upon all this afflicted region with a crushing weight, yet in telling the story, their chronicler, Mr. McClure, yields to a grim humor. "True," he says, "the system of Jenkins would be considered a little informal in business circles ; but it's his way, and our people agreed to it perhaps, to some extent, because of the novelty, but mainly because of the necessity of the thing. But Jenkins was liberal- eminently liberal. He didn't stop to higgle about a few odd pennies in making a bargain. For instance, he took the drugs of Messrs. Miller, Spangler, Nixon, and Heyser, and told them to make out a bill, or if they could not do that, to guess at the amount and the bills were paid. Doubtless our merchants and druggists would have preferred greenbacks to Confederate scrip, that is never payable and is worth just its weight in old paper ; but Jenkins hadn't greenbacks, and he had Confederate scrip, and such as he had he gave unto them. Thus he dealt largely in our place. To avoid jealousies growing out of rivalry in busi- ness, he patronized all the merchants, and bought pretty much everything he could conveniently use and carry. Some people, with antiquated ideas of business, might call it stealing to take
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goods and pay for them in bogus money; but Jenkins calls it business, and for the time being what Jenkins calls business was business. . . Jenkins, like most doctors, don't seem to have relished his own prescriptions. Several horses had been captured by some of our boys, and notice was given by the General com- manding that they must be surrendered or the town would be destroyed. The city fathers, commonly known as the town Council, were appealed to in order to avert the impending fate threatened us. One of the horses, we believe, and some of the equipments were found and returned, but there was still a balance in favor of Jenkins. We do not know who audited the account, but it was finally adjusted by the Council appropriating the sum of $900 to pay the claim. Doubtless Jenkins hoped for $900 in 'greenbacks,' but he had flooded the town with Confederate scrip, pronouncing it better than United States currency, and the Council evidently believed him; and, desiring to be accommodating with a conqueror, decided to favor him by the payment of his bill in Con- federate scrip. It was so done, and Jenkins got just $900 worth of nothing for his trouble. He took it, however, without a mur- mur, and doubtless considered it a clever joke."
Of a piece with the above is the account of Jenkins himself : "He graduated at Jefferson College in this State, in the same class, we believe, with J. McDowell Sharpe, Esq., and gave promise of future usefulness and greatness. His downward career commenced some five years ago, when in an evil hour he became a Member of Congress from Western Virginia, and from thence may be dated his decline and fall. From Congress he naturally enough turned fire-eater, secessionist, and guerilla. He is of medium size, has a flat but good head, light brown hair, blue eyes, immense flowing beard, of a sandy hue, and rather a pleasant face. He professes to cherish the utmost regard for the human- ities of war, and seemed sensitive on the subject of his reputation as a humane military leader."
The sudden removal of horses, flocks, and herds, into the moun- tains, and across the Susquehanna before his arrival, greatly interfered with the purposes of Jenkins; yet he succeeded in sweeping together a vast body of plunder, which he hurried away to the Potomac, and into the folds of the main force. He came
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down upon the fairest and wealthiest portion of Franklin county, and, as he retired, separated into squadrons, which scoured every road and byway, spending some time at Greencastle, Waynes- boro, and Welsh Run, and at Mercersburg a detachment crossed Cove Mountain and penetrated to McConnellsburg, passing on down the valley from that point. It would appear that Lee had hoped by this demonstration to have induced Hooker either to rush forward and cross the Potomac, and thus uncover Washing- ton, or to have tempted him to attack the rebel army while on the march northward, when a rapid concentration would have been made, and a defensive battle fought, in which Lee felt con- fident of a victory. These purposes are plainly disclosed in Lee's report. He says : " With a view to draw him (Hooker) further from his base, and at the same time to cover the march of A. P. Hill, who, in accordance with instructions, left Fredericksburg for the valley as soon as the enemy withdrew from his front, Longstreet moved from Culpeper Court House on the 15th, and advancing along the east side of the Blue Ridge, occupied Ashby's and Snicker's Gaps. ... As these demonstrations (Jenkins') did not have the effect of causing the Federal army to leave Virginia, and as it did not seem disposed to advance upon the position held by Longstreet, the latter was withdrawn to the west side of the Shenandoah, General Hill having already reached the valley."
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