The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-04-06
cropping his way from hour to hour.
STILL CARRYING THE nae

son nad gone towards Centerville Pom,
acsed with energy, but he made q NJ ~
.ake. He could not get rid of the ;da. il 90
I'M dnat jackson wanted to retreat tbronoi mol
Ihoroughfare Gap, and march bach +
ieJoin Lee ON the Rappahannock. and h,
hastened TO throw force between JaoL
son, and the Gap. Jackson was s;mnI,
LOOKING for position to await the arr;pa
OF Lee, and the icrco thrust between h; !" ~
and the Gap would presently find ;tsnI a.
between two Confederate armies pon,
had his plan to bag Jackson-Jacvsaprr
had his plan to hold Popc unt;I I"fo, ~
came up. In this determined attempt te
goDoIe Jackson, Pope ordered Mcdowell
TO TO close in. To obey he must leave
nhoroughiare Gap undefended. He took
the responsibility of detaching the diyis
ION OF King and ricketts, and leayinp
them behind, but rs soon as Lee made
his appearance these divisions retired
ana permitted him to pour through and
join Jackson. "''u
JAcKsoN's MISTAKE.
What is known as the battle of Ga;res
vile was brought about through a mic.
take OF Jackson. A Federal Column 90 on
lne march to new position was sup.
Posed by him to be in retreat, and be
gave orders tor an attack. The blue col.
umn wheeled into battle.line at the sound
OF the first gun, and for about three hours
the conflict was close and bloody. On
the Federal side Kings division alone
was engaged, and though opposed by su.
perior numbers, they could not be driven
single foot: When Jackson discovered
ms mistake he would have drawn off. but
this the Federals would not let him do.
THE BATTLE OF GRovEroN.
AS Gainesville was the mistake of
Jackson, so was Groyeton the mistake of
Pope. Still following up his theory that
ne could bag Jackson, he made the at
tack at Groveton on what he supposed
was Jackson's army, but which vas in
reality the entire Confederate force. Lee
having come up and been in line for
many hours. Porter was to come up on
Jackson's flank at Groveton, and WAS
court-martialed and cashiered for his
failure to do So And yet, when Porter
was ready to move, he found Longstreet
IN his front. Porter knew what Pope
had to learn hours after-that the Con.
federate army was all up. Porter held
10000 Confederates from pushing on to
Groveton. When the order was sent him
to move against Jackson, Lee was sun
posed to be still on the other side of the
Gap. Mcdowell interpreted the same
order to suit his own ideas, and no charge
was brought against him. King and
Ricketts, fell back from Thorouehfare
Gap against all orders, letting Lee in,
and yet they sat in judgment on Porter.
Siegel msinterpreted plain order by
which part of the troops had march
of nine miles for nothing, but his blum.
der was excused. Pope attacked like a
man who meant to win victory. and
when night fell the fields of Groveton
were heaped with dead and wounded.
That was all. Jackson was still there.
A GLORIOUS CHARGE.
Late in the afternoon, after several
hours of terrific fighting, and after Mill.
roy, Schenck, Reynolds and Schurz had
taken their commands in and fought
them until exhausted and obliged to fall
back, Pope saw that Jackson could not
be driven by any such fighting. The
Confederate center WAS protected by a
railroad embanknent. Pope determined
to mass crack brigade and hurl it upon
the center, and to follow it with divis-
ion. Hooker was to lead, and he select
ed Growers brigade Of FIVE regiments.
It was composed of regiments from Mas.
sachusetts, New Hampshire and Penn.
sylvania, and every man knew that des.
peratc fighting was in store for him.
With muskets loaded and bayonets fixed
the blue regiments advanced at steady
Confa1nrofa shall
the ranks, and grape and canister cut
wide gaps in the lines, but nothing
stopped the onward march. Now they
halt to deliver their fire, and then they
rush for Jackson's center with cheers
which are heard two miles away. After
that one volley they must depend on the
bayonet alone. They dashed into the
smoke, over the dead and wounded,
through the woods and thickets, and
Jackson's first line of battle WAS driven
from the embankment with cold steel at
their backs There was shock-.a crap.
ple-and that Federal wedge had entered
Jackson's center. Pausing only min
ute to reform, the blue brigade rushed at
the second line, bent it back upon the
third, and for minutes men ja5bed with
the bayonet, struck with clubbed mus
kets, and fired at such close range that
the flames of the powder seemed to follow
the bullets through the victims. Two
lines had been carried-the third was
fighting as regiments fight when they
realize that retreat means disaster to
whole army. Confederates who helped
to bury the dead at that point say that
scores of blue and gray clutched each
other as they wen: down in the agonies
of death. Dozens of men lay dead with
bayonets pinning the corpse to earth.
A USELESS SACRIFICE.
Growers brigade was to have been sup
ported by division, but that division
did not come. The wedge had pene'
trated-Jackson's third line could not
stand another blow, and yet not another
Federal advanced. Why? No need to
ask Pope-he had no explanations.
Longstreet was there Mt noon, and yet
when that charge was made, hours later,
Pope was seeking to bag Jackson and
ignorant that he had been reinforced.
Slowly the blue lines yielded, retreating
foot by foot, and when that brigade had
reached the Federal lines again it had
left 500 dead behind it. 1t had pene-
trated Jackson's center-it had left 800
corpses in its path-nothing more.
A GALLANT DEFENSE.
Pope could have advanced his whole
line as we'll as single brigade. History
is silent as to why he did not. he was
trying to bag Jackson. Did he expect
to do il by throwing him men to shoot
at? When Grover was driven back
bloodstained and defeated, Kearney was
..AarnL ~ trrr tho anna dash at another