BANKS DRIVEN OUT OF THE VALLEY.

135

ketry, as the Rebels closed around | columns, each protected by an effithem, their artillery opening at day- cient rear-guard, and reached Marlight." tinsburg, 22 miles distant, in the course of the afternoon. Here a halt of two and a half hours was taken, to rest and refresh; our rear-guard leav

the Potomac, opposite Williamsport, 12 miles farther, in the course of the evening.

Gen. Geo. H. Stewart, with the Rebel cavalry, pursued so far as Martinsburg; but Jackson halted his infantry not far beyond Winchester; though he sent a brigade, three days later," to Charlestown, driving out a small Union force which held that place, and pursuing it to Halltown, which was occupied next day by the main body of his army.

Banks had now less than 7,000 men," opposed to more than 20,000, flushed with victory, and confident that the day would witness the cap-ing that town at 7 P. M., and reaching ture or destruction of our little army. Col. Geo. H. Gordon commanded our right; Col. Dudley Donnelly our left. Gen. Hatch, who had been cut off at Middletown, had just rejoined with his cavalry. Facing the enemy boldly, our men held their ground for five hours, inflicting and suffering considerable loss; until, Jackson's entire army having by this time been brought up, it was manifest that further resistance was madness, and could only result in our destruction. Our trains being by this time well on the road, the order to retreat was given, and our line of battle, under a withering fire of musketry from left, right, and center, broke into column of march and moved rapidly through Winchester, amid the deafening yells of their exulting pursuers, which were echoed with delirious frenzy by the Winchester Rebels." The 2d Massachusetts, Lt.-Col. Andrews, which, with the 3d Wisconsin, Col. Ruger, formed our rear-guard, halted, undismayed by the hideous din, in a street of the town, to re-form its line, and then resumed its rapid but steady march, sharply followed, but not seriously annoyed, by the eager foe. Our troops moved in three parallel

May 25.

Gen. Banks's official report says: "My own command consisted of 2 brigades of less than 4,000 men, all told, with 900 cavalry, 10 Parrott guns, and one battery of 6-pounders, smooth-bore cannon. To this should be added the 10th Maine regiment of infantry, and 5 companies of Maryland cavalry, stationed at Winchester, which were engaged in the action."

Gen. Banks admits a loss, in his hurried retreat for 53 miles, of 38 killed, 155 wounded, and 711 missing; total, 904; with 55 out of 500 wagons, and no guns. This of course does not include the losses by Col. Kenly's rout at Front Royal, nor the sick and wounded left in hospitals at Strasburg and Winchester. We lost also a large amount of quartermaster and commissary stores, most of which were destroyed. Jackson admits a total loss, including that at Front Royal, of 68 killed and 329 wounded; and claims to have captured 2 guns, 9,354 small arms, and about 3,050 prisoners, including 750 sick and wounded, whom he paroled and left in the hospitals when he retreated,

63 Gen. Gordon, in his official report, says: "My retreating column suffered serious loss in the streets of Winchester: males and females vied with each other in increasing the number of their victims by firing from the houses, throwing hand-grenades, hot water, and missiles of every description."

Yet Winchester was not burned when we retook it. 64 May 28.

CAPTURE OF COL. KANE.-DEATH OF ASHBY.

137

naked as possible, he left Franklin | of those in front of Shields. Passing next morning," the soldiers discard- through Harrisonburg," Jackson diing even their knapsacks, but taking verged from the great road leading five days' rations of hard bread; and southwardly to Staunton, moving thus, through constant rain, and over south-easterly, with intent to cross mountain roads that could be made the South Fork at Port Republic. barely passable, he crossed the Al- His rear was bravely and ably proleghanies and descended into the tected by the 2d and 6th Virginia Valley, reaching and occupying Stras- cavalry, Gen. Turner Ashby, who burg on the evening of June 1st, just that day repulsed a spirited charge in time to be too late to head Jack of our cavalry in advance, capturing son, who had retreated through that Col. Percy Wyndham and 63 men. place a few hours before. Next Being still sharply pressed, Ashby morning, Gen. Bayard," with the called for an infantry support; when cavalry advance of Shields's division, the brigade of Gen. Geo. H. Stewart reached that point. was promptly ordered up, and was soon hotly engaged with the Pennsylvania Bucktails, whose commander, Lt.-Col. Kane, was wounded and taken prisoner. The Rebel loss in this affair was numerically less than ours, being but 20 killed and 50 wounded; but among the killed was Ashby himself, whose loss was at least equal to that of a regiment. Always fighting at the head of his men, with the most reckless self-ex

Shields, however, pushed up the South Fork of the Shenandoah, on the other side of Massanutten Mountain, expecting to head Jackson at some point farther south; while Fremont followed him directly down the North Fork, by Woodstock and Mount Jackson, to Harrisonburg. The advance of each was greatly embarrassed by the many streams which make their way down from the mountains into either branch of the She-posure, his fate was merely a quesnandoah, and which were now swollen to raging torrents by the incessant rains; Jackson of course burning or breaking down the bridges as he passed them, and sending cavalry across to destroy the more important

"1 Gen. McDowell, in his testimony aforesaid, blames Gen. Ord, commanding one of his divisions, for lack of energy in pushing it on from Front Royal to Strasburg, and adds, that he sent forward Gen. Shields from Front Royal with express orders to go on the direct road to Strasburg, and not cross the North Fork of the Shenandoah until near that place." He adds: "After some time in getting Ord's, or rather Ricketts's, division together, I started out to the

front. I met one of Gen. Shields's aids-decamp coming in from Front Royal, and asked him how far out he had met Gen. Shields. He said

tion of time. For outpost and skirmishing service, he left no equal behind him in either army.

Being now within a few miles of Port Republic, where his trains and artillery must be taken over a

he had not met him at all. I told him he had
his way.
started to go out, and he said he must have lost
Without stopping to see what had
become of him, I took Bayard's cavalry brigade,
the only one ready to move, and sent it forward
by the direct road to Strasburg. I then went
to see where Gen. Shields was, and found him

over on the road toward Winchester. He had
sent his troops on that road, instead of on the
one I had ordered him to send them on.
said that he had received information from his

He

aid-de-camp that Jackson had fallen back, and
When I got
he had sent his troops this way.
up there, they were coming in. Well, it was
too late to get ahead of Jackson then."

72 June 5.

THE FIGHT AT PORT REPUBLIC.

139

The struggle that ensued was short: the Rebel attack being resisted with great gallantry by our men; but they were 3,000 at most, while their assailants were 8,000, with more behind them. We were even successful at first over Winder on our right; but to no purpose, since the odds against us were constantly increas

quite equal to his own pressing close- | Tyler received and replied to a ly on his rear, he must sometimes dispatch from Shields; but, before turn and fight, and thus permit the finishing his answer, he was apprised other hostile army, advancing on his that the Rebels were in his front, flank, to gain on him. He was at endeavoring to outflank his left. Port Republic during the conflict at Cross-Keys, preparing to cross, and watching for Shields, whose column, though delayed by burnt bridges and swollen streams, had reached Conrad's Store, only 15 miles distant, and whose advance of cavalry and artillery, under Col. Carroll, appeared that day." Carroll had been told that Jack-ing; and, at length, Dick Taylor's son's train was parked near Port Republic, with a drove of beef cattle; the whole guarded by some 200 or 300 cavalry; and he dashed into the village with his troopers and two guns, expecting to cross the bridge and make an easy capture of the aforesaid train and cattle. Had he comprehended the situation, he might have burned the bridge, and thereby exposed the enemy to serious loss, if not utter destruction. But Jackson was already there, with 2 infantry brigades and 3 batteries; by the fire of which Carroll was driven out in 20 minutes, falling back two miles and a half, upon Gen. Tyler's brig-in our retreat, which was admirably. ade of infantry, 2,000 strong.

Tyler, who, on hearing of trouble ahead, had been rapidly hurrying to the rescue, ought now to have retreated also; instead of which, he sent his men to bivouac, and went forward with Carroll to reconnoiter. His vedettes, at 4 A. M.," reported that there had been no advance of the enemy across the bridge during the night, and that only their pickets were visible. Returning to his camp,

TS June 8.
76 June 9.
Jackson's official report says:

"Three

Louisiana brigade, which had flanked our left by an unobserved advance through the forest, made so sudden and overwhelming a dash at Col. Candy's battery on our left, that it was captured; its horses having been killed or disabled. Exasperated rather than dismayed by this loss, Col. Candy, with the 5th and 7th Ohio, made a spirited counter-charge, and retook his battery; but was unable, for lack of horses, to bring it off," though he drove back the Rebel infantry and artillery, and actually captured one of their guns, which, with 67 prisoners, was brought off

covered by Col. Carroll. The Rebels pursued about 5 miles, capturing 450 prisoners and about 800 muskets. Disastrous as was its result, there is no battle whereof the soldiers of the | Union have more reason to be proud than that of Port Republic.

Fremont awoke that morning to find his enemy vanished, and to follow on his track to Port Republic; arriving just in time to find the last Rebel safely across the river and the

was this battery lost and won, in the desperate times and determined efforts to capture and recover it."