Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-06-27
The Retreat from. and the Re.OcCupation
OF Harpor's Ferry.
From the Richmond Enquirer, June q

We are now at liberty on the best authority tc
make public the true motives actuating Gen. John
! son. IN what the Northern and some of the South.
ern papers, have called the Evacuation of Harper's
| Ferry The General, like other military men OF
education, had long kno wn that Harper's Ferry in
Itself, is faulty and untenable, frem the facility with
which it can be turned 1t lies as it wers, in the
small end of funnel - the broader end of which
could with great ease, be occupied by the enemy.
The heads directing the operations of the Yankee
forces well aware of this fact but forgot that
there were fully astute heads on our side. The
minute and able investigation of Major Whiting,
Chief Engineer to Gen. Johnson, had satisfied our
Headers of the business of these views. 1t was well
! known that General SCOTS plan to turn Har
! per's Ferry by a column from Pennsylvans under
General Patterson effect junction Winches-
ter or Strasburg with another column of Mcclellan s
army passing through ROmney and cut off Deaure>
CARDS and Johnson armies from each other. This
plan was completely fooled and the enemy check
mated at their game, as we shall explain
Ca or about Thursday, the 10th inst, Gen. John
son having waited at Harper's Ferry long enough
to make the enemy believe that he intended to con
test that position the last and learning that they
were advancing Wllliamsport and Romney, sent
a portion of his force 10 Winchester by rail. On
Friday he continued this movement, sent back his
camp equippage and other heavy baggage, his sick
etc, etc, set fire to, and burned the railroad bridge
and such of the pubic buildings could be burned
without endaugering private property, spiked such
OF the heavy guns at HarpeT's Ferry could not be
removed. and on Saturday moved with his whole
army, ling on foot, in the direction OF Winchef-
ter, encamping about % miles Southwest Of Char
lestOwn. The enemy, taking this movement as il
intended they should take it. as a retreat cross
ed a Brigade of their advance division, commanded
by Gen. Cadwallader, (whO Joined their forces on
Saturday or Sunday mOrning) which was moved
forward towards harrisburg.
On Sunday morning. however, General Johnson
changed his line of march, at right angles. and
moved square towards Martinsburg, encamping at
Bunker Hill. on the Winchester and Martinsburg
turnpike twelve miles from Martinsburg, TO offer
battle there, or advance and attack if necessary.
this movement placed the enemy in a "predicament."
he had not crossed his whole force and if the op-
posing forces had closed ne must have been beaten
in detail. lie therefore "acknow lodged the corn
turned tall and retreated recrossed the river and
evacuated the Valley, retiring beyond Hagerstown.
A Lieutenant Colonel and another (members of the
Sth Pennsylvania VOlunteers) were taken prisoners
during this retreat
A day or two after this, Colonel Hill, 18th vir-
ginia Regiment, in command of part of the forces
who had Refreshed" from Harper's Ferry, and who
had been pushed forward towards Romney
as our readers have learned from our Satur-
days edition, sent forward towards New
Creek on the Potomac river, eighteen miles
west OF Cumberland four companies of Tennessee
and Virginia troops. under Col. VaughaR, OF Ten
nessee who found the Yankees posted the Mary
land side of the Potomac. Our brave fellows, in
the face of the enemy forded the stream waist deer
drove them off in the utmost confusion, captured
two pieces of LOADED artillery and stand of colors
destroyed the railroad bridge at that point and
turned to RomDey, making march Of thirty-six
miles and gaining a brilliant victory, within twenty
hours.
Our readers will thus see what Gen. Johnson's !
retreat from Harper's Ferry" has done. IL has |
thorogghy broken up General SCOTS paper pro- |
gramme, destroyed his whole Western combination |
and compelled him to remodel his whole plan. If !
sur retreats" do thus much. we wait with conf
dence TO see what our advances will do. In the |
we beg leave to recall to our readers |
recollection the old motto of this paper, Nous |
Nerrons."