The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-01-03

X t6 fGBtJdtt;sg 2tys M elfJ9B ~ enSt N '5t0%
| 1saags1 u,sd Joining o1sa main o,my. This
report was fol waraed BY General Lee to the
Confederate War Department without one
| word of dissent endorsed upon it, 1t bears
upon its face evidence Of having been care
| fully read by him, for there is memoran-
dunn in pencil In General Lee S Handwriting
signed ssR. E. I.,'' requesting that a GER
tain portion of it, in reference to aid re-
ceiyed from some citizens in Maryland, DC
suppressed in the event OF its publication.
This then shows concusively that there was
not a particle of truth in the report Whls-
pered in the army by Stuart's enemies ''that
er's wagon trains and General Lee did not
know where he had gone.n In his report
Of the battle General Lee says in reference
to the cavalry 'sNo report had been re-
ceived that the Federal army had crossed
the Potomac, and the absence of the caraby
rendered it impossible to obtain information.
On the night of the goth, nfor-
nation was received from 4 scout that the
Federal army, having crossed the Potomac,
was advancing northward and that the head
of the column had reached the South moun-
tain. AS our communications with the Po-
tomac were thus menaced it was resolved
| to prevent his further progress in that d.
rection by concentrating our army on the
east side of the mountain. The
march to Gettysburg was conducted more
! slowly than it would have been lad the
movements of the Federal army baea
known It was thus, more in sorrow
than anger. that the great commander OF
the Army of Northern Virginia complained
Of the absence of his cavalry. | have no
doubt that. he felt that the want of it was
the cause of the loss Of the campaign.
STUART NOT CENsURED.
Many have supposed that he intended, in
as mild q manner as possible, to cast the
blame upon Stuart. In my opinion wrong
Interpretation has been put upon his Ian
guage. In the first place he was incapable
of doing Stuart the injustice of censuring
him for what had been submitted to his own
Judgment and he had approved Of his do
ing. Secondly, if a sufficient body of caval-
ry had been left behind by Stuart with in
structions to do the very thing that General
Lee wanted done and which he complains
acas not done, then the reproach must be
borne by the person charged with the per-
formance Of that. duty. We have seen that,
when on the evening of the oath of June,
Hooker's front to go around his rear, he
left two cavalry brigades behind him Zones
and Robertson's) to do the very duty that
Stuart had been doing, that is, observing the
them to General Lee. Stuart says, that be-
fore he started General Lee wrote to him
s.achat instructions should be gicen the off,
Ger left IN command o. the t,eo brigades left
| in front of tie e,aemy.' Now, when Stuart
had gone off on detached service, and out
of communication with General Zee, the
officer whom he had left in command of the
cavalry in Hooker's ftont became, in his re-
/ lations to General Lees arny temporarily
his chief OF cavalry. These two cavalry
brigades must have been left there for some
purpose, and it is inconceivable that it was
for any other purpose than to keep he COM
handing general promptly advised OF Hook
er's movements. This cavalry force, as we
have seen, was under the command Of Brig
adler General Beverly Robertson; il it did
| not properly discharge the duty that deyolved
upon it, surely the dead hero who sleeps In
| Hollywood must not bear the blame OF it.
! That General Lee relied on this cavalry
force which Stuart had left between him
and Hooker Numbering, as l have been re-
Gently informed by an officer Of that COM
mand, about 5000 sabres) to communicate
can be no doubt, for he was too great SOL
dier to have knowingly marched blindfoided
into an enemy's country. Any other theo-
ry makes Lee consent to putting out his eyes,
for he knew that Stuart had gone where he
could not communicate with him. Early
ON the morning of the goth Iooker's whole
army was in motion for the Potomac, which
it crossed by night at Edwards Ferry. neal
Leesburg. After this the two cavalry bri-
gades, which Stuart had left about Middle.
burg, in Hooker's front, as he says. with
orders ito observe his movements, and tc
follow the enemy in case of withdrawal, ,
withdrew into Ashby's and Smokers gaps
of the Blue Ridge. Both the letter ant
to move on the enemy's flank toward the
Potomac. In what other way could they
''observe' and s'follow'' the enemy. Gen
eral Lee says that he did not hear until thu
night of the 10Th that the Federal army hal
crossed the Potomac. General Longstree
says the news was brought by a scout whom
he had sent into Hooker's lines when he wa
about leaving Culpeper. On the evening
of the Goth the column under Stuart rea chez
Westminster, Nd The two cavalry bri
sades which he had left behind were thel
lying in Ashby's and Smokers gaps in tn
Blue Ridge. in Virginia.
WHAT STUART ACCOM- LIsHED.
Meade's army had then got into Pennsyl
vania. General Lee then had no cavalry be
! tween his army and Hooker's and according
| to his report had heard nothing from til
cavalry he had left to .follow and match it
! 10 have carried out Stuart's instruction
(which suppose were the instructions give
; to Stuart by General Lee it would hay
been necessary for this cavalry under Gen
9 eral Robertson to have crossed the Potoma
$ somewhere near Harper's Ferry and marcl
I ed along the base of the South mountain ia
I extension of the Blue Ridge, keeping alway
4 between General Lee and Meade. This ca
y airy force was sufficiently strong to i;aN
: done so, as Stuart's movement had drawn a
i of Meade's cavalry except two brigades III
: der Buford, to his right wing. On the
+ ternoon of the 30th, Buford reached Getty
u burg; that evening General Robertson, wit
q his two bmgades, camped near Martinsbur
W. Va. On tile same day Stuart foug
Fitzpatrick at Hanover, Pennsylvania, viii
o Greg with his division had gone off in scar
l. os lin, RI WaStminStpr A cOmDliance thu