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


ms uiiFestBy icstuls Htitit HIS btAsiisiS sstt
Ell over The rocky heights which were me
last refuge OF the wreck of the [ nion army.
But when men say this they only mean that
we had but one Jackson and one Stnart,a and
tina. they left no one to fill their places.
Very probably if Stuart could have been in
front and rear of Hooker at the same time or
! if we had two Stuarts the battle would have
gone differently. In his expedition Stuart
had accomplished all that had been expected
of him. | shall not speak of the immense
amount of public property and stores he
captured and destroyed and the consterna-
| ton his presence created both in the FEEDER
al capital and Northern cities, for they are
| in military point of view of but secondary
importance. l shall only speak of this move
ment of the Union army and the battle it
fought.
DID MEADE KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON:
No one can read the dispatches between
Generals Meade and Halleck, and Generals
| Meade and Couch at Harrisburg, without
being surprised at Meade's ignorance of the
movements and whereabouts of the Confed-
crate army. | attribute this to the fact that
being impressed with the idea that lie would
have to fight Lee on the Susquehanna, he
was confirmed in this opinion by Stuari's
column passing on his right in that airec-
tion Hence he sent two of his divisions of
cavalry after Stuart keeping only two bri-
gades under Brfars between him and Lee
or his left. lhQSe two hrigaacs contented
themselves wish occupying Gettysburg.
without pushing their reconnaissance far
ther to the front. Here they were discover
ed by General Heth on the 1st OF July, when
he went into Gettysburg. Here Buford
fought two hours before any infantry sup
port came to him. General Meade was evil
IDENTIFY much embarrassed by his Geographic
and railroad communications being broken
up by Stuart. As late as June 80 4.30 p.
M, he sends a dispatch to Halleck, saying
II shall push tomorrow in the direction of
Hanover junction and Hanover, when |
ton with Baltimore by telegraph and rail to
RENEW supplies He also says: ''Our re-
ports seem to place Ewell in the vicinity OF
York and Harrisburg" Now at this very
moment Lees columns were conyerging on
Gettysburg, where there was nothing but Blu
iord's two brigades Of cavalry. They were
marching away from the Sllsquehanna. On
July l, a. M, Meade sends dispatch to
Haleck, saying ''The point of Lees con-
centration, and the nature OF the country
when ascertained, will determine whether
Iattack him or not. Shall advise you fur
ther to-day when satisfied that the enemy
have fully withdrawn from the Susqnehan-
ma Thirty-siX hours, then. after Lee had
ordered the concentration CT his army at
Gettspurs, General Meade was still expect
ing to fight him on the Susquelianna. |
maintain that all this confusion and uncer-
tainty in General Meade's mind had been
produced by Stuart's marching toward the
Su>quehanna, and the further fact that he
kept nearly all his cavalry on his right and
did not have an adequate force to push re-
connoissahce on his left toward Lee. Now
this uncertainty of General Meade where to
find his enemy was the reason that on July
|, the day the battle began, his army was so
widely scattered over the county. He
seemed to be just as blind as Lee was with
his ewes put out But for this want of
knowledge Gil the part OF General Meade OF
the whereabouts OF the Confederate army,
he never would have been caught IN dehcto,
as he was by Lee on his first days fight.
when Lee crushed two of his army corps
before any support could come up. Now as
the dispersion of Meade various army corps
was mostly caused by Stuart's appearance
on his right flank breaking up his commune
| ications, while Lees army was on his left, l
claim for Stuart full share of the glory
| won on that day by the Confederate arms.
What have written has been dictated by
no desire to depreciate the merits of any
man, but to vindicate the fame of the great
leader of the Southern cavalry. have only
awarded him the credit that is due to his
| heroic deeds of arms. ''And Ajax asks no
more.''
COLONEL -TAYLoR's MISTAKE.
Since the above was written my attention
| has been called to statement in Colonel
Taylor's book, page 1l3, that, ''thc brigades
under Generals Jones and Robertson, which
had been left 10 guard the passes Of the
| Blue Ridge, did not rejoin the army until
| the 81 of July" Colonel Taylor was prob
ably mised by General Lees report, in
| which he says that General Stuart was left
to guard the passes Of the mountains and OBJ
serre the movements of the enemy, whom he
was instructed to harass and impede as much
as possible should he attempt to cross the
Potomac Now any man who has the
least acquaintance with the uses and opera
lions of cavalry ought to know that General
Lee did not mean by this that the cavalry
was to sit down in the gaps of the mountain
and wait for the enemy to come. Tie fact
is that Stuart never was near the mountain
during the week he was guarding the gaps
in Virginia, except the night Of the 2lst
when he was driven there by Pleasonton
At this time General Lee with two corp OF
infantry was in the Shenandoah Valley.an
there was reason to hold the passes. The
reason for it ceased when Generals Lee and
Hooker both had crossed the Potomac. The
way LliCll bllIL G-pCCtCo w sSuoiN
the gaps was simply to keep between them
, and the enemy. 1t will be observed thai
Colonel Taylor speaks of the cavalry being
; left ito guard the passes of the Blue Rtdge,'
while Gen. Lee says it was left Ito guart
/ the passes of the mountains" The range .
5 mountains called the sBlud Ridge" which
: crossing the Potomac at Harper's Ferry
e runs northward, is known north OF the rive
| as ssSouth mountain" As Gen. Lee ha'
: advanced into Pennsylvania on line about
: parallel to this range OF mountains ant
: some TWENTY-FIVE miles to the west of it, h
i obviously meant the cavalry he had left BIZ
:, hind was to check the reconnaissance OF fli
It enemy through the South mountain passei
e This could only be done by our caviar
h crossing the river US soon as Hooker wa
n over and moving aloHg the base Of Sont