Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-04-15

grasp of the enemy. The steep bank.
Of the Rapidan gave him a good line O
natural defense, but a superior force
might easily turn it and SO doing place
| itself between him and Washington
! That this was actually done, even at 4
| much later stage of the campaign, shows
how much more practicable it was now
and how great, consequently, the i'm
pending danger.
On the 18th it became evident that al
most the entire force of General Lee had
| assembled along the south side of the
Rapidan from Raccoon Ford to Liberty
Mills, and was about to make a bold
Fpush northward. General Pope now
gave the order for withdrawal behind
the Rappahannock, the line of which he
was under orders to defend. The i'm
mense trains of wagons were put in mo-
ton first and preceded the troops, those
of Reno moving by way of Stevens
burg to Kelly's Ford and those of Banks
and Mcdowell passing the Rappahan-
mock at the point where It IS crossed by
the Orange and Alexandra Railroad.
Sigel having occupied the most westerly
position was ordered to move by way of
CulPepper and Jefferson and cross the
Rappahannock at White Sulphur
Springs. By these different routes the
whole army now pursued its way to its
new defensive position.
At the beginning of this retrograde
movement, as during its continuance, it
was found that the extensive wagon
trains which the army had accumulated,
were great encumbrance. To keep
these out of the way of the rapid and
incessant movements of the different
columns and at the same time preserve
them from capture, required almost as
much forecast and skill as it did to move
the troops themselves. At best the num-
Der of vehicles required to carry the
necessary ammunition, supplies and
hospital stores of an army like this was
very large, and our troops had not yet
learned how to reduce their baggage to
the lowest practicable limit. AS long as
the army was advancing it was a very
easy matter to keep the trains out of the
way, but now that il was retrograding
and threatened on all sides, the great
question about transportation was, what
to do with it !?
All night of the 18TH the troops of
Milroy, who covered SigeTs movement,
waited for the trains to get well on the
march. Time and again through the
night they moved out of their bivouacs
expecting to set forth upon their journey,
and finding the road blocked went back
again to await the movement of the
sluggish and seemingly endless caravan.
The sun was just rising as Milroy's
command at length got fairly started
from its camps at Robertson river.
Along the line of march parties de-
tailed for the purpose carefully burned
every broken wagon or other article that
might indicate hasty or forced retreat.
Nothing was abandoned not destroyed,
or that might indicate that the move
ment was not made with the utmost de
liberation.
At noon Sigel's column reached the
Cedar Mountain battlefield, and at dusk
marched once more through the town of
Culpepper. The movement continued
far into the night and was resumed early
the following morning. The weather
continued fiercely hot, making the rapid
movement of the troops doubly exhaus-
tive. On the evening of the 10th Sigeps
Corps reached Warrenton Sulphur
Springs and here crossed the Kappa
hammock. Next morning It reversed its
course, in accordance with instructions,
and moved down the left bank of the
river until it joined the right Of McDow-
ellis Corps, which, in turn, connected
with General Reno who the day before
had safely crossed at Kelly's Ford. The
entire body of cavalry was sent to the
right of Sigel to watch the enemy's
and picket the line of the
Rappahannock, which is here but an in
considerable stream and affords no Sc
rious obstacle to the advance of an
army.
Early this same morning, (the 2oth),
the enemy, who had promptly pursued
Pope's movement, attacked and drove
in his pickets, but finding it imPractica-
BILE to force the passage of the river with
out severe loss contented himself with
heavy skirmishing and artillery dueling
throughout the day. By night the bulk
of his forces had been brought UP from
the Rapidan and confronted Pope's new
position from his extreme left at Kellys
Ford to a point beyond his extreme right,
which rested about three miles above
RapPahannock Station.
1t was now palpable that without large
or a new change of
position General Pope would be unable
to prevent the enemy from turning his
right by way of Sulphur Springs and
which place a good turnpike leads to
Washington. The enemy seeing his adj
vantage now commenced moving up the
river with evident intent to avail himself
of it.. General Pope being under orders
to keep himself in close communication
with Fredericksburg, to which point the
Army of the Potomac was being brought
from the peninsula and from whence it
had been expected to come to his relief,
found it impossible to extend his right
any farther without alternating his line
so that the enemy could at any point
break through it. He therefore tele-
graphed to Washington repeatedly for
aid and had received the following:
WASHINGTON, August Is, 1852.
GENERAL Pope: fully approve your
movement. hope o push a part of Burn
sides forces to near Barnett's Ford by to-
morrow night TO assist you in holding that
pass. stand firm on the line of the Kappa
hammock till can help you. Fight hard,
H. W HALLEcK,
Ge71eral-f!7- Chief
On the 2Ist came this
United States Military Telegraph.
General Pope: have telegraphed GEN
eral Burnside to know at what hour ne can
re-enforce Reno. Am waiting his answer.
Every effort must be made to hold the Rap
pahannock. Large forces viii be in to-
morrow. H. W. HALLEcK,
CfeneTdg-f7l- CHEZ.
And this:
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Wusht1lgtOTl. august q. 1862.
General Pope; have Just sent General
Burnside's reply. General Cox's forces are
coming in from Parkersburg, and will be
here Tomorrow and next day. Dispute
every inch of ground, and fight like the
devil, till we can re-enforce you. Forty
eight hours more and we can make you
strong enough. Don't yield an inch If you
can help it. II. w. HALLECKS
GeBeTdl-iEl- Chfef.
In accordance with these assurances
General Pope hazardously determined to
stick to his position for the present and
allow the enemy to cross at Sulphur
Springs if he chose, intending to make
a sudden night movement and fall with
his whole force upon any body of the
enemy that should develop itself upon
the Wauenton road. In accordance
with this plan Sigel, who was very ap-
/ preba0siNa ae he ba n orraa+ ,-a.,-1,~, e, -,