Stonewall Jackson in Campaign of 1862 - by the Late Colonel A. R. Boteler

Stonewall Jackson in Campaign of 1862 - by the Late Colonel A. R. Boteler

It will be remembered by those who are familiar with the history of military operations in the Valley of Virginia during the late Civil War that the Battle of Winchester, which was so successfully fought by Stonewall Jackson, on Sunday, the 25th of May, 1862, not only forced the Federal general, Banks, to seek safety for himself and followers beyond the Potomac and, in his precipitate flight, to abandon an immense amount of valuable stores of every description, but that it, likewise, caused such uneasiness among the authorities at Washington as to lead them to countermand their orders to McDowell, who at that time had an army of 40,000 men at Fredericksburg, with which to reinforce McClellan in front of Richmond, but, who, instead of doing that, was required to detach a portion of his command to the defense of the Federal capital, and with another part of it, consisting of 20,000 men, to march across the Blue Ridge to Front Royal for the purpose of intercepting the victorious Confederates. So that Jackson, by one and the same blow, effectually disposed of the force under Banks, furnished his own command with a superabundance of much-needed supplies, practically neutralized the fine army of McDowell and indefinitely postponed the plans of McClellan for the reduction of Richmond. But in securing these advantages, while he had diminished the dangers that threatened the Confederate capital, he had at the same time increased the perils of his own position, for the Federal government, as already intimated, being thoroughly frightened by his successes and supposing that his purpose was to advance on Washington, promptly put in motion all the available means in its power to check his progress and, if possible, to “crush or capture” his command. Two armies were, therefore, hastened forward from different directions to intercept him, and two others, within striking distance, were preparing to co-operate with them, so that he was menaced on every side by bodies of troops, the aggregate of whose effective force was more than three times greater than his own, and was, besides, encumbered with 3,000 prisoners and the vast accumulation of captured stores, which were then in Winchester. But, notwithstanding these embarrassing circumstances, he calmly pursued the even tenor of his way, and with characteristic pertinacity continued to carry out his original plan of keeping the Federal government in a state of anxious apprehension for the safety of its capital.

Consequently, after having allowed his little army two days' rest, he moved forward from Winchester on Wednesday, May 28th, by way of Summit Point to Charlestown, in the adjoining county of Jefferson, near which place some of the scattered fragments of Bank's army, reinforced with fresh troops from Harper's Ferry, had taken position, who, however, were speedily dislodged and put to flight by the “Stonewall Brigade,” under Winder, which was in advance, and which next day pushed on to Halltown, a small hamlet, three miles west of Harper's Ferry, the rest of the Confederate forces following leisurely in the same direction. So that on May 30th the most of Jackson's troops were at Halltown, twenty-eight miles beyond Winchester, while the Second Virginia Regiment had been sent across the Shenandoah to occupy Loudoun Heights, on the Virginia side of the Potomac, east of Harper's Ferry.

With this preliminary explanation it will be seen what was the state of affairs with Jackson on Friday, the fifth day after the battle of Winchester, and to one unacquainted with the genius of the man and with his purpose on this particular occasion, it would appear that he had wasted much precious time in securing the fruits of his victory, and had, likewise, by his last movements, placed himself no less needlessly than recklessly in a position from which it would be almost impossible for him to extricate himself. But the objects he had in view were too important to be neglected, notwithstanding the risks he encountered in their accomplishment, and being fully aware of the increasing dangers that surrounded him, he not only resolved, but felt himself to be competent to cope with and overcome them, as I shall now proceed to relate.

The source: Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. VII. Richmond, Virginia, January, 1879. No. 1.

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