our troops, but a few shots from one of our batteries soon silenced his guns. "After dark the enemy continued his retreat. Their loss in killed and wounded was very severe. Their retreat was by an almost impassable road, along which many wagons were left in the woods, and wagon loads of blankets, clothing and other equipments are piled up in all directions. During the evening many of the rebels were killed by shells from a battery of General Stahl's brigade. General Ashby, who covered the retreat with his whole cavalry force and three regiments of infantry, and who exhibited admirable skill and audacity, was among the killed."*

Brigadier-General Turner Ashby, of the Confederate service, who fell in this engagement, was a native of Fauquier county, Virginia, a farmer and politician, whose dashing exploits as a cavalry officer in the valley of the Shenandoah, from the beginning of the war to the present campaign, had made his name well known to the public.

moved down the slopes of three hills into the valley, and up the opposite ascents, which, at the summits were covered with woods. In these woods and in belts, and in the heavy timber beyond, the enemy were posted. General Stahl, on the left was first engaged. Generals Milroy and Schenck found the enemy soon after, and the battle almost immediately became general. General Stahl, after Schriver's battery had shelled the rebel position, advanced the 8th New York and 45th New York through the woods into the open field, on the other side of which the enemy's right wing was concealed in the woods. The 8th advanced gallantly under a heavy fire; but being so long unsupported by the 45th, and largely outnumbered, were finally forced to retire. Colonel Wutchel was severely wounded, and the whole regiment badly cut up, losing not less than three hundred men-more than half its strength. The enemy's pursuit was checked by artillery, and General Stahl finally withdrew his brigade to a stronger On Sunday, the 8th, General Fremont position, repulsing a flank movement, left Harrisonburg at six in the morning, and holding his wing firmly. General with about ten thousand men, in pursuit Milroy advanced his centre rapidly, the of Jackson's forces, and had advanced artillery fire compelling the enemy to about seven miles on the road to Staun- give ground. General Schenck, on the ton, when the enemy were discovered at right, twice drove back the rebels who Cross Keys, in a well selected position attempted to turn his position. Along in the woods to the left and front. The our whole line our artillery, under Colbrigade of Colonel Cluseret, the 60th onel Pilsen's direction, was served with Ohio and 8th Virginia, afterwards sup- great vigor and precision, and the final ported by the Garibaldi Guard, formed success was largely due to its effect. the advance, and commenced the battle The enemy suffered severely. One rebel by sharp skirmishing at nine in the fore- regiment lost two-thirds of its members noon. A line of battle was formed by in attempting to capture Wildrich's batthe Union forces extending two miles in tery, which cut them to pieces with canlength. At half-past twelve the whole ister at fifty paces. The rebel batteries line moved forward, General Milroy's were repeatedly silenced and forced to brigade in the centre, General Schenck abandon their position." The Union on the right, and Stahl in the advance forces encamped that night on the field on the left. General Blenker's, General of battle, with the expectation of renewBohlen's, and Colonel Steinwehr's bri-ing the fight at any moment. The night, gades, composed the reserve. "The line however, passed without further conflict,

*Dispatches of General Fremont to the war department. Harrisonburg, Va., June 7, 1862.

* Dispatch to the Associated Press. Harrisonburg, June 8, 1862.

BATTLE AT CROSS KEYS.

and in the morning the march against the enemy was renewed, when they were found to be in full retreat on Port Republic, five miles distant. The Union advance came upon their rear guard just as they had burnt the bridge over the Shenandoah at that place.

473

the advance of General Shield's division, which, coming from Front Royal by the Luray valley, was hastening to cut him off in that direction, and Colonel Carroll, in command of a brigade of about 1,600 men, of the 8th and 11th Pennsylvania, the 7th Indiana, and 1st Virginia, reached Port Royal on Sunday, the day of the battle at Cross Keys, and after a skirmish with the troops found there, occupied the town. Unfortunately, with a superior force of the enemy on the other side of the river, he did not destroy the bridge between them. At daylight on Monday morning, the 9th, Jackson, with his re

In a dispatch to the War Department on the 9th, the day after the battle, General Fremont estimated his loss at 125 killed, and 500 wounded. That of the enemy could only be conjectured. More than 200 of his dead were counted in one field, while others were scattered through the woods, and many had been buried. "I regret," adds General Fre-treating forces, was on the spot with his mont, "to have lost many good officers. General Stahl's brigade was in the hottest part of the field, which was the left wing. From the beginning of the fight the brigade lost in officers five killed and seventeen wounded, and one of his regiments alone-the 8th New York has buried sixty-five. The Garibaldi Guard, next after suffered most severely, and following this regiment, the 45th New York, the Bucktail Rifles, of General Bayard's and General Milroy's brigades. One of the Bucktail companies has lost all its officers, commissioned and non-commissioned. The loss in General Schenck's brigade was less, although he inflicted severe loss on the enemy, principally by artillery fire. Of my staff, I lost a good officer killed, Captain Nicholas Dunka. Many horses were killed in our batteries, which the enemy repeatedly attempted to take, but were repulsed by canister fire generally."

Captain Dunka was a young officer, a native of Wallachia, of Hungarian parentage, who had lately served with Garibaldi in his Sicilian and Neapolitan campaigns as a captain of cavalry. Attracted by the war in America, he had sought employment in the service of the Union, and had just received his commission in Fremont's army. An additional motive for Jackson's retreat, was the presence at Port Republic in his rear of

guns in position, commanding the bridge,
and opening fire on the small body of
national troops. It was too late then to
burn the bridge; the enemy crossed it
in safety, and greatly outnumbering Car-
roll's command, though reinforced by the
brigade of General Tyler, compelled the
whole force, after a spirited engagement,
to retreat to the main body of General
Shields' division up the valley. The
Union loss in the conflict shows that the
position was bravely contested, though
against largely superior numbers. The
return of casualties showed 67 killed, 361
wounded, and 574 missing, many of the
last being taken prisoners. The force
engaged was chiefly composed of Ohio
and Indiana troops. The 7th Indiana,
which is stated to have left Fredericks-
burg, eight hundred strong, arrived at
Port Republic with only 300, one half
of whom only could be mustered after
the fight. General Tyler, in his report
of the action, represents his entire force
at not exceeding 3,000, and estimates
that of the enemy at 8,000.
"The re-
treat," says he, "save the stampede of
those who ran before the fight was fairly
opened, was quite as orderly as the ad-
vance. The loss of our artillery we feel
almost as keenly as we should to have
lost our colors, yet it was impossible to
save them without animals to drag them
through the deep mud; the men could

not do it. While we deeply feel this loss, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we have one of theirs, captured by the 5th Ohio, and driven off in full view of their whole force, sixty-seven prisoners following it."

lic.", Subsequently reviewing the campaign, he recalled the condition of the troops at the time of the battle of Cross Keys. A council of officers was held the day before that engagement, when it was determined that only the prospect

battle gallantly, and upon their last ration lay down upon the hard-fought field, tired and hungry, and at daylight the next morning were again in pursuit of Jackson, who escaped only by means of the bridge which intervened between him and destruction. Further pursuit with this fatigued and isolated force was impossible, and, indeed, was forbidden by the President, who also telegraphed : Many thanks to yourself, officers, and men, for the gallant battle of last Sunday;' and who also did us the honor to say further, in a telegram explaining why additions could not be made to our corps, You fought Jackson alone and worsted him.'"*

6

This battle ended the pursuit of Jack-of an immediate action could justify a son in the valley of the Shenandoah. further advance, so exhausted were the The ground previously occupied by Gen- men by their marches, and the inadeeral Banks had been recovered, and the quate supply of provisions. The onward rebel forces been again driven across the movement was made, and the battle won. river to the eastward. General Fre-"They fought," says Fremont, "this mont falling back to Mount Jackson, and subsequently to Middletown, nearer his bases of operations, on the 13th of June, issued a general order, in which he desired "to thank the troops for their steadiness and good conduct in the numerous recent encounters with the enemy, and more especially to express his admiration of the obstinate and veteran courage and the instances of chivalric bravery displayed by them at the battle of Cross Keys. He thanks them warmly for their soldierly endurances, which enabled them in their vigorous pursuit of the enemy to meet the extraordinary hardship and fatigues of forced marches in the most inclement weather, and in the absence of the most ordinary supplies. He congratulates them upon their rapid and glorious march, in which they drove before them in precipitate retreat a greatly superior enemy, inflicted loss upon him in daily engagements, compelled him, after a hard fought battle, to retreat from his chosen ground, leaving his dead upon it, and abandoning two guns, and finally threw him across the Shenandoah with the parting admonitions of their well-served artillery."

He also issued stringent orders in regard "to the many disorders and excesses and wanton outrages upon property which had marked the line of march of the army from Franklin to Port Repub

were

New military arrangements being made for the army in Virginia. On the 26th of June, General Pope was called to the command of the army of Virginia, including Fremont's, Banks' and McDowell's corps. Unwilling, for various reasons, to be placed in this subordinate position, General Fremont requested to be relieved from his command. His resignation was accepted, and officially announced to the public, in an order from the War Department, of the 27th June, appointing Brigadier-General Rufus King in his place.

*Letter to the Evening Post, Feb. 9, 1863.

CHAPTER LXX.

GENERAL MCCLELLAN'S CAMPAIGN BEFORE RICHMOND-THE BATTLES OF SEVEN PINES AND FAIR OAKS, MAY-JULY, 1862.

AFTER the retreat from Yorktown, | the Confederate army gradually withdrew before the advance of the Federals to Richmond and its vicinity within the line of the Chickahominy, a sluggish stream commencing in the region northwest of the capital, threading a swampy region in this quarter, and pursuing a south-easterly course along the border of Charles City county to the James river, into which it empties. The York river and Richmond railway, running nearly due east and west, crossed the Chickahominy near Bottom's bridge, distant about eleven miles from the capital. As the Union army advanced by the line of the railway, on which it was dependent for supplies and keeping up communication with its base of operations on the York river, this point of its passage of the Chickahominy became necessarily of the utmost importance in the operations against Richmond. It was on the left bank of the river, and along the line of the railway, which separated from one another at an acute angle, with the apex at the bridge, that the several battles were fought which determined the fortunes of the campaign.

Stoneman, who took possession of the place, which became the next stage in the grand movement of the army, and was used as a permanent base for the landing of supplies during the campaign. It presently furnished one of the busiest scenes on the continent, as the river became thronged with various transports of all descriptions, pressed into the sudden service, and the the extemporized wharves in this hitherto peaceful locality resounded with the activities of some great shipping emporium, as the vast supplies and equipments of one of the most prodigally furnished armies on record were landed upon the shore. These necessary arrangements having been set on foot, on the morning of Monday, the 19th of May, the army bent its course westward in the direction of Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, from the capture of which so much was anticipated by the North, and, perhaps, with as much certainty feared by the South. It had resolute defenders, however, who knew its importance as a central position, the value of its communications with the rebel States, the advantages it possessed in the surrounding country to resist the On the 15th of May, ten days after the approach of an enemy, and, above all, surrender of Yorktown, General McClel- who were prepared at all hazards, and lan had gathered the several divisions with every resource of military ingenuity, of his army in the vast plain at Cumber- to oppose the progress of the invaders. land, on the south bank of the Pamun- The Union commander had found, as he key, where a huge encampment was acknowledged, the enemy for whom he formed, covering, it is said, 20 square had sighed in the beginning of his Virmiles. White House, some five miles ginia campaigns "worthy of his steel." above on the river, at the head of navi- Its master spirits at this time were the gation, with a railway connection with President of the Confederacy, however the York river road to Richmond, had silent, ever working with a steady purbeen abandoned by the enemy a few pose and energy, Johnston, upon whose days before, on the approach of General | skill and courage great reliance was