Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-04-08
THE RAPPAHANNooK CAMPAIGN
AND THE BATTLE OF GROVE
TON.
CEDAR moUNrAIN.

CEDAR MOUNTAIN.
The sun shone blistering hot on that
memorable 9th day of August The be
lated columns of either army as they
pressed forward to their appointed rem
devious, marched through sufocating
/ clouds of dust which enshrouded the
troops and intensified the sweltering
heat. Of Stonewau Jackson's forces his
own old Division and A. P. Hills were
fastening up from Barnett's Ford and
Robertson's river, quiclzened in their
march by the sound of EwelFs guns at
Cedar Mountain. By three o clock the
| junction was effected, making Jackson S
| available force not less than twenty thou
sand men. His line encircledthe north
ern and western slopes of the mountain
on which his flanks rested and from
| whence his batteries, posted on the high
ground in rear of his infantry line, pour
/ ed an effective, plunging fire.
Meanwhile, as early as o:45 A. NJ,
/ General Banks, at CulpePper, had been
ordered to move to the front, his instruc-
! tons, delivered verbally by staff off
}
/ the time to writing, being as follows:
| General Banks will move 10 the front i'm
j 4mediately, assume command OF all the
/ forces IA the front, deplos his skirnishes If
/ theseneIny approaches, and aUtack him Inn
ms st4stl ely as soon sss ne approaches
This is General Banks version. The
officer who delivered the order says he
received it from his Chief and commu-
nicated 1t to General Banks as follows
GENERAL: The General commanding di-
rects that you move to the front and take
/ up a str"ng position near the position held
| by General Crawford's brigade; that you
Will not attack the enemy unl..ss it becomes
evident the enemy viii attack you ; thee,
attacking party, you viii attack with your
skirmishers thrown well 10 the 'front.'
Colonel Pelouze, Banks Adjutant
General, gives this still different phrase
biology:
General Banks viii move to the front inn
mediateIy ASST ume command OfaH the fnrce>
IN the Fl ont, deplOy his >kiTmlSberS if the
enemy approaches, and attack him iulne-
Giately as soon as he approaches.
It is not worth while to discuss the
mere verbiage of this order, or to waste
time in ascertaining the exact language
in which It was couched. What was its
spirit that IS the question.
Had General Pope desired to attack
the enemy in his chosen position and
drive him from it, the time was plainly
linnpportune and General Banks force,
/ only 5000, grossly inadequate to un-
dertakc It. Such an attack must neces-
s2rily bring on a general engagement,
and that before the army, excepting a
few divisions and brigades, had even
reached Culpepper The obvious thing
to be done was 10 hold the enemy in
check until the arrival of Sigel, Nc
! DowelI and King 1t IS but fairness to
/ General Pope to assume, m view of the
plain emergencies of the case, that this
was what he intended, and his order, ac-
cording to either phraseology given it,
does no violence to this assumption.
Take position and attack the enemy
as soon as he abbToaches" does not, by
any fair Construction of language, mean
to advance against andattack the enemy
! in his own chosen Judgement. .Andeven
| if that meaning could have been injected
/ into the order given, an intelligent un-
derstanding of the end sought and the
means to accomplish 1t would have led
to different line of conduct The de-
/ fensive-oHensive is the rational and usual
attitude of an inferior force commission
! ed to impede and retaTd a greatly super
/ the first attacks him with strong line of
sIirmishers, well deployed in order to
I make the greatest possible appearance
of numbers, the main body meanwhile
zcaiti1le- to be ATTACKED in the position of
its choice, or advancing, if at all, only
to spring upon its antagonist at some
i weak point or unlocked for moment.
This, in substance, General Pope
claims to have been the purport of his
order. He thinks the object in sending
Banks Corps to the front to take and
| hold strong position against the ad-
! vancing enemy, until Sigels Corps and
| Ricketts, Division of McDOweI's Corps
could be united in his Banks rear; was
too plain to be misunderstood. He
y thinks furthermore that Banks did nat
misunderstood it, and foTtifies his belief
with the fact that though he Pope re
4 ceived messages from General Banks at
intervals throughout the day the latter
on every occasion expressed the belief
that the enemy did not intend to attack
him, and at no time intimated that he
intended to attack the enemy.
On the other hand General Banks
claims, with what reason the reader will
Judge, to have believed himself instruct
ed to attack whatever hostile force he
might find in his front, and on that be-
; lief acted. Between one and two O clock
he arrived at the front with his com
mand, which he put in a strong position
a little tofthe rear of wide open plain
intervening between Crawford S line and
= that of the enemy. Beyond the opening
were dense woods, in which Jackson
infantry was adroitly concealed. At z:2s
Banks dispatched a courier to Pope with
this:
General Williams Division has taken po
SiIiOn on the pike, the right on heavy
body OF woods; General Augur on the left
? his lett resting on mountain occupied bl
= -lyirm iShers He will soon be in position
The enemy shows his cavalry, which u
strong, ortentatiousIv. No infantry seen
aud not much artiilery. Woods on left SAD
to be full of troops, A visit to the front doe
e MOI i'm press me that the enemy intends i'm
- mediate attack. He seems, however to b
y taking positions.
The artillery duel which had been go
ing on during the morning, now tha
Banks batteries were joined to those O
Crawford, broke out with redouble,
fury. 1t was not until a O'Clock, how
ever, that the infantry skirmishers ex
changed shots. At half-past four Gen
eral Banks commenced advancing hi
= right, which soon encountered Jackson
cid Division concealed in the thicl
II woods. This collision was sustained oi
} our side by re-enforcements, and at
o'clock the advance. became genera
our line moving across open fields com
pletely eniladed by the musketry an
Is artillery fire of the enemy, sheltered j
woods and ravines. Our troops tough
with the utmost gallantry though again:
!, every disadvantage of position and {
y numbers. General Banks conducted him
self with great intrepidity, exposing hi
8 person as freely as any one in his CON
mand. and in this respect was nobl