St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-07-26
The Fitz John Porter Case.

LIE re-OpcnluS OF zen. F1tZ JOIn
Porter's case at West Point calls to
mind one of the most disastrous cam
paigns of the war, now just sixteen
years past. McClellan's peninsular cam
paign had just ended in failure, and a
new experiment in military administra-
tion was being tried by placing Halleck
in chief command in an office at Wash
ingtOn, while Gen. Pope was brought
from the West to command the "army
of Virginia." then holding the line of
the Rapidan. The army of the Potomac
was moving back up that stream by
transports from its disastrous expert
ences on the Chickahominy. Maj-Gen.
Pope in taking command issued brag-
gadOciO address to the army, bOasting
how at the West ''we have always seen
the backs of our enemies" and sneering
at ''lines of retreat" and "bases of sup
plies" He had under him three corps
commanded by Sigel, Banks and Nc
DOwell, with about $4,000 men. He
began active operations about August
!, in order to call off Gen. Lee from the
pursuit of Mcclellan, and on the 9th
had imprudently crowded Gen. Banks
forward into an attack on a vastly su-
periOr force, well posted, at Cedar
mountain, commanded by Gen. Jack
son, where the federal forces lost heav-
lily.
A raid of Stuart's cavalry in the rear
of Gen. Pope's lines destroyed a con-
siderable quantity of stores at Catlett's
station and disclosed the necessity of a
careful watching of the lines of COM
munication Oh Washington. Pope urged
Halleck, who had just been made COM
mander-in-c chief, to strengthen this line
with McClellan's forces as soon as pos
sible, suppOsing that Franklin's division
and Others would be in position to
cover the lines and watch the gaps in
the western hills, the Bull Run noun
tains running parallel with the Blue
Ridge.
In the meantime Lee had determined
to strike this very line. On the 25th
Jackson slipped away from Banks's front
to the west and turned north behind
the hills toward the Potomac. Long
street followed more slowly. The first
night jackson encamped at Salem, be-
fore the Thoroughfare gap; the next
night he had turned eastward through
the mountains and struck POpe's chief
railway line at BristOw station. At 8
o'clock telegraphic communication be-
tween Gen. Pope and Washington was
suddenly interrupted. Before morning
Jackson had pushed on seven miles
further to Manassas junction, the federal
base of supplies, captured the small
garrison and immense stores. Of course
everything was given to the flames,
thousands of barrels of flour, beef and
bacon, and an immense amount of for
age and supplies, us well as the rolling
stock of the railroad. The next morn
ing Pope first realized the game and
started in pursuit. The 9th was occu-
pied in marching his corps from the
Rapidan to the vicinity of Manassas.
He determined to strike jackson before
LOngstreet could come up. This was
happy idea, and on the evening of the
9th the federal forces were well dis
posed to prevent a junction of the two
rebel corps, Mcdowell holding Gaines
vile Oh the road over which LOngstreet
must come up through Thoronghfare
gap. Pope, however, was no match for
the willy jackson, and the latter, after
retiring with his main force to strong
position on the old battlefield of Bull
Run, sent Hill's division off to the east
to menace Centerville. Pope was COM
pletely deceived, and spent the night of
the 9th and the 2Sth in drawing his
army in that direction, completely up-
covering the Gainesville road and leav-
ing LOngstreet free to come up. Gen.
FItz John Porter commanded two di-
visions at WarrentOn junction, whence
on the 9th he could easily have reach
ed Gainesville, but he had been order
ed IN the other direction by night
march, and on the morning of the 29th
was at Manassas, whence he was order
ed back again to Gainesville, to fall
upon JacksOn's right before Longstreet's
arrival. As matter of fact Longstreet
was already "up," having reached a
supporting distance by 9 o'clock in the
forenoon of the 29th.
Inc great mystery of the battle of
the 29th between Pope and jackson
was: Where was Porter and why did
ne not attack ? Pope i'm his official re-
port said:
so FAR as know, he made no effort
whatever to comply with my orders or
/ to take any part in the action. | be-
iieVe,-ln fact L am pOsitive,-that at 5
O'Clock on the afternoon of the Doth,
zen. Porter had in his front no consid-
cradle body of the enemy. l believed
Ohen, as am sure now, that it was
easily practicable for him to have turn
ed the right flank of Jackson and to
have fallen upon his rear; that if he
had done so we should have won de-
clslve victory over the army under
jackson, before he could have been
joined by any of the forces of Long
street.
The evidence of history is now con-
elusive that Gen. Pope was entirely
mistaken. His orders to Porter did not