The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-10-30
Owning Stats dgui'raat.
MONDAY EVENING. OCT. 80. 1871.
[From the Capilal.1
THE DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON.


and Appomattox, where our armies faced
sent every abe-bodied soldier to the front.
The lines were holly contested, and every
foot of ground was gained by the expendi-
ture Of valor, treasure, and precious blood.
The rebel chief felt the iron hand Of destiny
closing slowly but surely upon him and
sent q winged bolt Of war to the unguarded
capital. Recently the commander of the
expedition has given his account Of it to
the public, and from it we get some impor-
tant data.
On the 18th of June, 1864, Jubal A.
Farley was detached from Lees army with
corps") and two battallions of artillery, and
reached Charlottesville on the 10th. iIcre
occurred his first interruption, for he had
to 90 to Lynchburg after Hunter, which
DELAYED his arrival at Staunton until the
2Gth. Thence he marched as rapidly as
possible down the Shenandoah Valley, dri-
wing Seigle before him and turning the
strong position at Harper's Ferry. On
ton, where General Lew Wallace met him
with a little army. composed mainly of
hundred-days men, invalids, reserves, &c.,
Otb WIN oidNCiy uiiIii Wiiell
General Wallace was compelled to fall back
TO protect panic-stricken Baltimore.
Nor was Washington less panic-stricken
than her sister city. True she was better
fortified, but where were her garrison?
All the old soldiers were with Grant. and
though General Augur mustered his brave
Veteran Reserves, and the citizens and
Government clerks rallied to the ramparts,
f,,.- , Ill
day on the 10th the news rolled in of the
i'll success Of Wallace's raw levies against
Early's veterans, and of the march of the
campcd at Rockville ON the night Of the
of the 1th were in front of Fort Stevens,
on the Scvcnth-street road.
Early says: ga short time after noon,
riding some distance ahead of my infantry,
got in sight of the Notifications of WASH
ington, into which force Of the cnemy's
cavalry had retired before nine. The
works were apparently feebly manned,
though they appeared to be strong in them
selves. My whole column was moving by
flank along the road, from the necessity of
the case, as the character of the country
would not permit movement in any other
the column for protection. sent for the
as rapidly as possible, and for the other d.
visions, except one to be left as q guard to
the trains, TO move out Of the column to
the front. This, of course, was work Of
time. Gen. Rhodes was ordered to have his
division brought into line as it came up, and
to move at once against the works. While his
Il I
front examining the works, and before his
first brigade could be formed into line we
saw cloud Of dust from the direction of
Washiag ton, and column Of infantry had
filed into the trenches on the right and left,
and a regiment was sent to the front as
skirmshers. We saw the men dcploy with
precision, and Rhodes remarked: 'They
are not hundred days men; they are old
forming he threw out sbirmishers, com
they had fired several houses i'll front of the
works, and he in person proceeded to make
as close an examination as possible"
The result Of the examination was that
General Rhodes reported against any at
Early, after making further examination
gave orders for an assault at daylight the
next morning-that of the 18th of July.
During the night, however, General Bradley
johnson sent him information that two
corps from Grants army had arrived in
Washington, and EARLY, to use his own
words, determined to retire on the night
of the 18th, after demonstrating in front
during the day."
rba Fort t,o Inf. ,.fl
ington at this critical juncture, and the re-
pulse of the enemy, is usually claimed for
the Sixth corps, particularly by Mcmahon
in the United States Savme Magazine, and
by DR.. Stevens in his admirable work.
The history of the Sixth corps, forming as
it does almost an epitome of the history of
the Army of the Potomac, and starred
with many an historic name, is filled with
glory. With the noble Sedgwick at its
head, it was the steadfast rock of the East
crn as Thomas was of the Western army.
Its measure is full enough to award all due
to its comrades in arms, and we believe
there is not man who wore the old Greek
cross who would wish to take single
laurel from another TO add to its own
crowded wreath.
Careful comparison of the narratives Of
llul anu A'tCfSIs oiiONS liidt tHC loiliCi
arrived in front of Fort Stevens at about
one o'clock. The Sixth corps reached the
wharf at two, marched up Seventh street,
and deployed into the groves in the rear of
Forts Slocum, Stevens, and DeRussy not
long before dark Now, what forces were
these which skirminished with Early,
burned the buildings before the fort, and
mo yed out and deployed with such precis-
ion as to convince Rhodes and Early that
they had veterans to deal with-all on the
afternoon Of the 18th, before the arrival of
the Sixth corps? The headstones in Fort
Stevens National Cemetery, and diary in
my possession, answer that question. They
were the Twenty-filth New York cavalry,
dismounted.
In the cemetery at Fort Stevens are five
headboards, bearing the names of sergcants
A. G. Starbird and Thomas Richardson,
and priyates Elijah Huftelin, Jeremiah Ma
loney and William Fray, all Of the Twenty
fifth New York cavalry, and all killed July
IL. The rest are marked as having been
killed in the fight on the 18th. Silent, but
potent, and indisputablc witnesses.
Cappee, in his "Grant and His Cam
paigns,n Swinton, in his "Army of the
Potomac" and Cooke, in his ''Life of
Lee," all concur in their appreciation of
the boldness of Lees plan, of its disastrous
alioct on tba TTninn ca,,cn had II haan enc.