Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-05-13

. iiGAO- MS dSSulilD DllOO or DeneI, II 70
: ter really believed If. we have seen wa
d entirely contrary to the facts. At th
. very hour Porter turned back towar
/ | Manassas Kearney and Hooker wer
= rolling the enenv's left back uD0n hi
right, upon which Porter's splendid re
serve was expected every moment to b
Precipitated. At no other time in tn
day had our fortunes been more pros
porous.
But had Porter's assumption been cor
rect It would still have afforded him n,
| apology. It would only have magnifiec
MS guilt by strengthening the reason.
against his disObedience Of orders. Tt
march his splendid corps away from oul
army when it was being threatened will
a defeat that would have endangered
the national Capital, andto thus abandon
his comrades-in-arms and his country tc
the consequences of an appalling disas-
ter. makes the worst case for him pos
sible.
Porter's second pretext for his imbe-
Gle. and treacherous if not cowardly be
havior was that he believed the enemy
to be in heavy force in front of him, and
that the advancing masses of dust
showed the enemy to be coming in
/ force. But even if this had been the
case it was no apology for his withdraw
al to Manassas. He had been positive
/ ly ordered to push forward immediately
into action, and that order, whatever the
enenly's force, it was his duty to obey
The attack, for aught he knew, may
have been meant to create diversion of
the enemy's force from other parts of our
line, a supposition the more reasonable
on Porter's own theory that our forces
on his right were losing ground. In the
order directing him to attack instruc-
tions were given covering the very con
ungency of his Tepulse and hence, by
the. strongest implication, requiring him
to push into action whatever the force in
his front.
But it so happens that Porter's appre-
tensions of being confronted by a su-
Perior enemy were quite as groundless
as his opinion that our army on his
right was being worsted. Of this we
have very conclusive evidence in the
official reports Of the operations of the
rebel forces Immediately preceding and
including the battle Of Groveton. Cen
eral ]. z. B. Stuart, who commanded the
cavalry with Stonewall Jackson and was
this day on Jackson's right, in his report
of the movements of his command says
The next morning, C29th). in pursuance OF
General JackSOn'S wishes, 1 set out again
with Longstreet, from whom he had re-
ceiYed favorable report the night brfure. |
e met with the head OF General
aud Gainesville, and there Communicated
to the commanding General General Jack
sons position and the eneIny's. then !
passed the cavalry through the column so |
as to place 1t on LongsbreeGs right flank |
and advanced directly toward Manassas, |
ken q
PIKE to join General JHcksOn's right. 1 Sc !
tected a fine position for a battery on the |
right, and Que having been sent to me 7
fired q felC shots at the enemy 8 supposed pO- |
sitiOn, which induced him to shift his pO- t
sition. General Robertson, who, with his /
command was sent 10 Eetonno1ter IurJnt-F
down the road toward Manassas, reported /
the enemy IN his front. Upon repairing to
the front found that Rossers regiment was /
engaged vii b the enemy to the left of the l
Oad, and RObertSou's Videttes had found
the enemy approach ing from tse direction Of
Bristo5U Station tOGO0Td SltdIey. The proIoug-
a. lion of his line of march would have pass
I'd through my position, which was q very
fine one for tie a. tillery as well as Obs-rYa-
ton, and struck LOngstreet in the flank. 1 |
waited his approach long enough 10 ascer-
tain that there was at least an army corps,
(Fitz John POrier's) = at the same time keep
ing detachnleats Of cavalry dragging brush
'tO1Clp The road from the direction Of Gutn esUtte
so as to deceiUe the enemy, "a ruse which POr-
ter'S letter TO Mcdowell shows was sueeess-
Iull, ana notlhe9 ne comm li nandlng S1ensTai.
L, .ngstTeet' S flank and rear were serionsls-t
the ridge I then held Immediately upon
recei pt of that Intelligence, Jenkins, Ks-ln-
per's and ID. B. Jones' brigades, and several /
pieces of artillery were ordered to me nv
General Longstreet, and being placed in po-
my's advance. z4fteT erch1aglag q Jetg shots
lCjth RITE pieces, this corps (Porters) aetdre1C
tO1c0Tds Manassas, tedCtng 0TtflteTy and sup
ports to hold The position until night. =" :"
J.E. B. STUART,
Major General Commanding Cavalry.
The interpretations are our own.
1t thus appears that when Porter
reached his most advanced position there
was nothing in front of him but a few
brigades of cavalry; that the 'advanc-
ing masses of dust from which he as
sumed that the enemy was advancing in
heavy force. was created by few caval-
rymen dragging dust down the turnpike
that POrter's line of march led him di-
rectly upon the flank and rear of the
enemy; and that when Longstreet was
notified of Porter's approach, he could
spare and actually sent but three brigades
to hold the position which Stuart says
was SO important.
These statements are corroborated by
General Longstreet's own report, which
says:
At late hour in the day, Major General
J
in heavy columns against my extreme
right. 1UitholTelO General Wftc0E aO5tH has
three bTigddesf from the left, and placed his
t. position to support Jones in
case of an attack against my right. After
some fen shots The ene7ly l0tt5afeto ms Jorces
moving them around towards MS mont ana
about % clock in the afternoon began to /
press forward against General Jackson's /
position. Wtleox's brigades were moved /
back to their former position, and HOODS /
two brigades supported by Evans, were /
quickly pressed forward to the attack. At |
fha WilCOX'g three DFlQa0HR
made a like advance, as also Hunton's bril- /
gade. of Kemper's COMMAND.
Lieutenant General Com0'ading
From this it appears that as soon as
Porter withdrew toward Manassas Long
street withdrew the three brigades he had |
detached to resist the advance against |
his right and hurled them upon that por- |
ton Of our army for the defeat of which |
Porter had such solemn apprehensions. |
As to the condition of the rest of the |
rebel army during these transactions we
have the testimony of Stonewall Jackson |
from his official reportl, as follows:
After some desultory skirmishing and |
heavy cannnnadtng- during the-dsayEs- etEe I
Federal infantry, ABOUT Ionr o.ei9ek ~ IN IN % the |
evening, moved from under cover OF the i
engaginK the right, but soon extending its |
attack to the center and left In lew mo- /
m PntS enGlrS line WAS euBdR6u Al u
ferce and sans uiuary struggle with the en- |
emy As one line was repuised, another
took it's place, and pressed forward as II de-
ternined by force Of numbers and fury of
assaI1lt to drive Us from our position. so
inoDetuous and we'll sustained were these
onsets as to induce to send 10 the Command
SU General for REIN lfOrceneHEs, but the ftIlaetU
S1,ii Gallant advance Of Gen. LollGStreet. on the
5-f0hi relieved nly troops from the pressure Of
o1'ey-1Chel Ginning numbers, and gave Co Lnose
brave men the chances of more eqnal
eonfIict As Longstreet pressed upon the
Tfsht. the FEDERAL advance was checked,
and soon a general advance Of my whole
line was ordered. Eagerly and nerceiy dlQ
81 ~, brigade press forward, exhibiting In
S1e1fs ~ fhe fieId scenes of close encounter
and rnurderous strife not witnessed often
in the turmoil of battle. The Federals gave
yav before cur troops, fell back in disorder3
and fled Drecipitate1N, leaving the dead and
wounded on the field. During their retreat
the arffIIerv opened with destructive pow
eT On the fugitive masses. The infantry
followed until darkness put an end to the
7. J. JACKSON,
Lieutenant General.
Here we have Jackson's testimony
that he was so hardly beset by the gall
I + 70. Na