Battle of South Mountain

McClellan, having captured the Lost Order the day before, advanced towards South Mountain on September 14th, 150 years ago today. He know knew the position of the Confederate columns, but standing in his way was South Mountain. Running north south it was held by D. H. Hill's division. Lee had not expected to have to hold the mountain, as McClellan had been advancing slowly. But with the discovery of Lee's plans McClellan took more initiative than he was wont and began an attack on the mountain.

D. H. Hill

There were three main gaps in which fighting took place. Hill held only the two north most, Turner's and Fox's, but he still had only 5,000 to defend these positions separated by two miles. Further south was Crampton's Gap, held by a small force from McLaw's division. McClellan assaulted Turner's and Fox's gaps with his main army, while Franklin attacked Crampton's Gap with his corps in an attempt to raise the siege of Harper's Ferry.

Jesse Reno

McClellan advanced cautiously, as he did not know the small numbers of rebels holding the gap. Confused and fierce fighting continued throughout the day. Jesse Reno, commander of the 9th Corps made an attempt to Fox's gap. Hill sent in Samuel Garland's brigade, but Garland commanded inexperienced troops, and they were confused. The Federals were able to slowly push back the Confederates. Both Garland and Reno fell in the fighting. The Federal advance was halted by the timely arrival of Confederate reinforcements under John Bell Hood.

D. H. Hill went up to a lookout station and saw

the vast array of McClellan spread out before me. The marching columns extended back as far as eye could see in the distance; but many of the troops had already arrived and were in double lines of battle, and those advancing were taking up positions as fast as they arrived. It was a grand and glorious spectacle, and it was impossible to look at it without admiration. I had never seen so tremendous an army before, and I did not see one like it afterward.

Hooker's 1st coprs attacked Turner's gap. His preparations for the attack were slow, and by the time he attacked at 4 pm, Longstreet's men were arriving to bolster Hill's thin line. Rufus Dawes of the Iron Brigade, one of Hooker's most famous units, wrote:

From Turner's gap in our front, and along the right on the summit of the mountain, the artillery of the enemy was firing, and we could see the shells bursting over and amoung our advancing troops. For nearly an hour we laid upon the grassy knoll, passive spectators of the scene. The sun was sinking behind the mountain, when our order came to move forward. ... For half a mile of advance, our skirmishers played a deadly game of 'Bo-peep.' hiding behind logs, fences, rocks and bushes. ... Our skirmishers ... encountered the enemy in force and were behind a fence. ... Suddenly the seventh Wisconsin halted and opened fire, and we could see a rapid spitting of musketry flashes from the woods above and in front of us, and wounded men from the sevent began to hobble by us. ... Our whole line was slowly advanced up the mountain, the men shouting and firing. ... The rebels fell back from the woods, but stuck to the stone wall. The hostile lines had approached each other closely and the fire was deadly. It was dark and our only aim was by the flashes of the enemy's guns.

Down at Crampton's Gap, Franklin had attained more success. He broke through the Confederate defenders, capturing the gap in the afternoon. But he would be too late to aid Harper's Ferry. The delays in the attacks meant that although Lee had lost key positions on South Mountain, the siege had not been relieved or the army destroyed. The Confederates would have another day to concentrate to avoid destruction.

Dawes

Battle of Harper's Ferry - Day 1

Dixon Miles

The Union officer commanding garrison at Harper's Ferry was Colonel Dixon Miles. A veteran of the Mexican War, he had fought at Bull Run but then, being accused of drunkenness, was sent to Harper's Ferry on garrison duty, a post of less responsibility. But now with his 14,000 he was under attack by converging Confederate columns under the famed Stonewall Jackson. Miles's orders were to hold the town, and he took those orders very strictly. He placed most of the men in the town itself, but the town was indefensible without holding the high ridges surrounding it. On Maryland Heights, across the Potomac River, he did place Colonel Thomas Ford with four regiments. Several batteries were on the heights as well, but they were useless as they were positioned to meet an attack from a different angle.

Brig. Gen. Lafayette McLaws, commanding the Confederate column advancing on the Maryland side of the Potomac, encountered Ford's troops on the Heights near evening on the 12th, and halted for the night. Kershaw's South Carolina brigade attacked at 6:30 am on the 13th, 150 years ago today. The rebel plan was for Kershaw to attack directly at the Federal breastworks while Barksdale's Mississippi brigade worked around the Union right. At first Ford's green troops held their own. They met Kershaw's attacks from the front, but when the Mississippi troops were seen on their flank, they panicked and ran precipitously off the mountain and across the river, to the supposed safety of the town. With this small force driven back, Miles had lost one of the three keys to the defense of Harper's Ferry. But although his officers pleaded with him to launch a counterattack, he refused. Maryland Heights would remain in Confederate hands.

Harper's Ferry with Maryland Heights on the left and Loudon Heights on the right

While McLaws pushed the Federals off Maryland Heights, the other Confederate columns were arriving in position. Brig. Gen. John Walker found Loundon Heights across the Shenandoah River on the east of Harper's Ferry unoccupied, and occupied it. To the west of Harper's Ferry, Jackson's column occupied Bolivar Heights, astonished that Miles had left this position undefended as well. Holding the high ground, all the Confederates had to do was bring up their artillery and without a doubt Harper's Ferry would soon fall.

Harper's Ferry from Maryland Heights

Miles continued to reject proposals to retake Maryland Heights. He put his troops in position opposite Jackson on Bolivar Heights, and told his subordinates, "I am ordered to hold this place and God ---- my soul to hell if I don't." He did, however, send out 10 cavalry troops which found McClellan and informed him of the situation at Harper's Ferry. McClellan had what he needed to out general Lee – Special Order 191, the Lost Order. He assured Miles,

"You may count on our making every effort to relieve you. You may rely upon my speedily accomplishing that object. Hold out to the last extremity. If it is possible, re-occupy the Maryland heights with your whole force."

This order would never arrive, for before a courier could find a way in to beleaguered Harper's Ferry, the town would fall to the rebels.

McClellan Discovers Special Order 191

On September 9th Lee had written Special Order 191, which explained his plan for the campaign. He ordered three columns under the overall direction of Stonewall Jackson to converge on Harper's Ferry and capture it. This would open the Shenandoah Valley and eliminate a force in the Confederate rear. At that point Lee could move north into Pennsylvania with his rear secure. However, it would be a dangerous maneuver, splitting his army into several separate columns while McClellan was still moving to pursue. The order said this:

Special Orders, No. 191
Hdqrs. Army of Northern Virginia
September 9, 1862

… The army will resume its march tomorrow, taking the Hagerstown road. General Jackson's command will form the advance, and, after passing Middletown, with such portion as he may select, take the route toward Sharpsburg, cross the Potomac at the most convenient point, and by Friday morning take possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, capture such of them as may be at Martinsburg, and intercept such as may attempt to escape from Harpers Ferry.

General Longstreet's command will pursue the same road as far as Boonsborough, where it will halt, with reserve, supply, and baggage trains of the army.

General McLaws, with his own division and that of General R. H. Anderson, will follow General Longstreet. On reaching Middletown will take the route to Harpers Ferry, and by Friday morning possess himself of the Maryland Heights and endeavor to capture the enemy at Harpers Ferry and vicinity.

General Walker, with his division, after accomplishing the object in which he is now engaged, will cross the Potomac at Cheek's Ford, ascend its right bank to Lovettsville, take possession of Loudoun Heights, if practicable, by Friday morning, Key's Ford on his left, and the road between the end of the mountain and the Potomac on his right. He will, as far as practicable, cooperate with General McLaws and Jackson, and intercept retreat of the enemy.

General D. H. Hill's division will form the rear guard of the army, pursuing the road taken by the main body. The reserve artillery, ordnance, and supply trains, &c., will precede General Hill.

General Stuart will detach a squadron of cavalry to accompany the commands of Generals Longstreet, Jackson, and McLaws, and, with the main body of the cavalry, will cover the route of the army, bringing up all stragglers that may have been left behind.

The commands of Generals Jackson, McLaws, and Walker, after accomplishing the objects for which they have been detached, will join the main body of the army at Boonsborough or Hagerstown.

Each regiment on the march will habitually carry its axes in the regimental ordnance—wagons, for use of the men at their encampments, to procure wood &c.

By command of General R. E. Lee
R.H. Chilton, Assistant Adjutant General

The order

On September 13th, 150 years ago today, the order was being executed, although it was going slower than planned. However, at about 10:00 am Corporal Barton W. Mitchell of the 27th Indiana, which was camping on a rebel camp ground of a few days before, found a piece of paper wrapped around three cigars. Opening it, he found a copy of Special Orders 191. Two orders had been written for D. H. Hill, and through a staff oversight one was mislaid and dropped at camp, where it was found by this Indiana corporal. Mitchell recognized the document's importance and turned it over to his sergeant. It proceeded up to Corps Commander Alpheus S. Williams, who had a staff officer who recognized the handwriting of that of Richard Chilton, Lee's adjutant, as he remembered his signature from before the war. This proved that the order was genuine, and it was sent up to McClellan himself.

McClellan was overcome with joy when he read the order. It gave him the Confederate plans, and now he only had to push over South Mountain and then fall upon the scattered Confederate columns and destroy them. He told an officer, "Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home." this paper was the key to the campaign. The providential loss of the order would result in the failure of Lee's plans for invasion, instead turning the campaign into a desperate effort to save his army.

Lee Invades Maryland

150 years ago today, Robert E. Lee crossed the Potomac into Maryland, beginning his first invasion of the north. He expressed the reasons for it in a letter to president Jefferson Davis:

Mr. President: The present seems to be the most propitious time since the commencement of the war for the Confederate Army to enter Maryland. The two grand armies of the United States that have been operating in Virginia, though now united, are much weakened and demoralized. Their new levies ... will take some time to prepare for the field. If it is ever desired to give material aid to Maryland and afford her an opportunity of throwing off the oppression to which she is now subject, this would seem the most favorable. The army is not properly equipped for an invasion of an enemy's territory. It lacks much of the material of war, is feeble in transportation, the animals being much reduced, and the men are poorly provided with clothes, and in thousands of instances are destitute of shoes. Still, we cannot afford to be idle, and though weaker than our opponents in men and military equipments must endeavor to harass if we cannot destroy them. I am aware that the movement is attended with much risk, yet I do not consider success impossible, and shall endeavor to guard it from loss.

There were several other important factors that Lee did not mention. Most Confederates saw the path to victory through foreign intervention. They hoped a European nation would join the war on their side and turn the ballance in their favor. It was hoped with an invasion of the north they would be able to induce nations to join them, as they had demonstrated that they were militarily viable. He would be coordinating with Braxton Bragg in his invasion of Kentucky. The Confederates would be able to be resupplied from the untouched resources of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Maryland was a slave state, and it was hoped that Lee's army would liberate them and induce them to join his army. And lastly, there was always the hope that they would be able to gain military sucess, capture Washington, and dictate terms to the enemy.

In the coming campaign Lee would be facing an opponent who was both new and old. John Pope, after his decisive defeat at the battle of 2nd Manassas, was removed from command and treated essentially with military exile, in an appointment to quell an Indian uprising (the subject of a future post.) He was replaced with George B. McClellan, who Lee had defeated in the Seven Days. Lincoln's cabinet was very much against this change, as McClellan had demonstrated his reluctance to work actively against Lee. Lincoln replied:

"We must use what tools we have. There is no man in the Army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops of ours into shape half as well as he. If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."

Lee Pursues Pope

After defeating Pope in the Battle of 2nd Manassas, Lee mounted a pursuit, hoping to destroy Pope's entire army and achieve a victory like Kirby Smith's in Kentucky. Pope and his subordinates believed that it was time to retreat to the Washington defenses, but Henry Halleck in Washington sent him a message ordering him to advance on Lee. Lincoln and Halleck didn't want Pope to fall back because he had simply lost his nerve. Pope, however, was still in great danger from Lee. Jackson had been sent out again on another great flanking march, moving around Pope's position at Centerville, VA, while Longstreet remained in position at Manassas. As Pope's men slept on August 31st, Jackson's men were nearby, just three miles to the northeast, on the verge of getting around Pope's flank.

Battle of Richmond

Kirby Smith

On the same day Lee was fighting with Pope on the fields of Manassas, the Confederates invading Kentucky were fighting as well. Kirby Smith, who had set out ahead of another army under Braxton Bragg, encountered a Federal force near Richmond, Kentucky, on August 29th. Cavalry skirmishing throughout the morning was ended when Federal infantry and artillery arrived and pushed back the rebel troopers. The next morning, August 30th, Kirby Smith ordered his vanguard, under Patrick Cleburne, to attack. An artillery duel began at 7:00 am, and after forming up his troops, Cleburne sent them against the Union left. The Federal commander, Mahlon D. Manson, thought his left was weak so he reinforced it from his right. However, the Confederate division of Thomas Churchill was moving towards the Union right, hidden in a ravine. When they charged, the green Union troops were not able to stand up to the rebels. The right was collapsing from Churchill's attack, the left soon fell back under Confederate pressure, although Cleburne himself had been wounded in the jaw and had to retire from the field.

Manson

Although the withdrawal was in bad order, Manson was able to rally his men around 11 am. However, Kirby Smith ordered Churchill to attack on the right and he was successful again, in thirty minutes shattering Manson's new line and sending the Yankees retreating back to the town of Richmond.

Nelson

The chief Federal commander, William “Bull” Nelson, arrived on the field and put whatever troops he could in a cemetery just outside of Richmond. Smith again attacked the right flank and collapsed the Union line, driving the defeated Federals through the streets of Richmond. Kirby Smith had sent the cavalry under Colonel John Scott to cut the Federal retreat, and these troops now struck them on the march just after dark, two miles north of Richmond. The tired Federals, thrice defeated, were no match for the southern horsemen. They were captured in droves, and few Federals made their escape.

Cleburne

Of about 7,000 Yankees engaged, 200 were killed, 850 wounded and the rest were captured, except for 500 men, including Nelson, who were able to make their escape. The Confederates lost 80 killed, 370 wounded and only 1 missing. This was the most complete battlefield victory achieved during the war. Throughout the war the goal was always not only to defeat and drive back the enemy, but to capture so many men that the opposing army would cease to exist, as Hannibal had famously achieved at Cannae. This was the closest any commander came to achieving that Cannae. The Federal force ceased to exist, and the way to invasion was opened.

Battle of 2nd Manassas – Day 3

The Deep Cut of the Unfinished Railroad, Jackson's position

The battle was renewed on August 30th. The last of Longstreets' men arrived early in the morning, and the Confederates remained in their strong position, prepared to defend against an attack. On this hill between the two corps of Jackson and Longstreet, the Confederates positioned 18 cannon under Stephen D. Lee. Here they were in a position to be able to have a clean field of fire on the Federals attacking Jackson. John Pope held a council of war at 8 am. His subordinates attempted to convince him to be more cautious than on the preceding days. The first reconnaissance in the morning told them Jackson was still in position. However, somehow later groups had failed to find Jackson. Pope decided to attack again, clinging onto the belief that the Confederate army was retreating. He hoped to catch them with Porter attacking on the left and Ricketts, Kearny, and Hooker on the right.

Throughout the morning the battlefield was calm, as the Federal troops were not prepared to attack. The Confederates began to think that there would be no battle that day, but after noon Pope's troops moved forward. It took a long time to maneuver 10,000 men into the proper position. They faced a difficult assignment. They had to march across several hundred yards of open fields, and then attack the Confederates in the unfinished railroad. Although they took heavy casualties in the advance, their attack achieved some success. Charging across the field they drove back the Confederate infantry holding the line. Troops including the Stonewall Brigade were rushed forward to stem the breech, and the fighting was very fierce around the unfinished railroad. The Confederates in several units fired all their ammunition, but they still clung to their line, throwing down stones on the Federals rather than give up their position. A soldier of the Stonewall Brigade wrote:

It was one continuous roar from right to left. My brigade was in a small cut, with a field in front sloping down about four hundred yards to a piece of wood. The enemy would form in the woods and come up the slope in three lines as regular as if on drill, and we would pour volley after volley into them as they came; but they would still advance until within a few yards of us, when they would break and fall back to the woods, where they would rally and come again.

Although they were holding for the moment, their position was far from safe. Lee sent a message to Longstreet ordering him to send a division to reinforce Jackson. Instead, Longstreet ordered that the artillery be opened. Firing into the Federal flank, they soon decimated their formations and sent them running to the rear. They day was saved. Longstreet ordered his men forward, and with a rebel yell they charged, their left guarded by Jackson's tired men. Driving through the Federal troops, they encountered stiffer resistance from McLean's brigade on Chinn Ridge. McLean had only 1200 men, but he held out against two assaults. However, on the third charge he was overpowered and his men were forced to fall back.

Although they had been forced back, Pope had been given more time to organize a defense. The Confederates continued their assaults, and were able to drive back the Federals from their positions, although at a large cost of blood and time. Lee ordered the reserve, Richard Anderson's division, in an attempt to finish off the battle. Anderson's attack created a gap in the Federal battle line, but he did not exploit it, possibly because of the coming darkness. During the night Pope ordered the Federals to fall back. Unlike First Manassas, they retreated in an orderly fashion.

Lee's army had failed to achieve a complete destruction of Pope's army, but he had still won a great victory. The Confederates had defeated Pope decisively. He had been soundly out generaled by Lee. He blamed the failure on Fitz-John Porter, who was courtmarshaled and found guilty of disobedience. However, fifteen years later he was exonerated of all charges, and it was acknowledged that by his reluctance to attack he prevented an even worse defeat. Pope himself should have borne the blame for his defeat. He lost 1,716 killed, 8,215 wounded and 3,893 missing. Lee had lost 1,305 killed and 7,048 wounded.