Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1891-01-29
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
WHY JOHNSTON FELL BACK.
How Two Picket Guns Retired a Whole
Army.

blockade batteries on the south bank,
cutting off all navigation by the river,
and thus forming a complete blockade Of
navigation. At the time General Joseph
f. Johnston was in command Of the
rebel army and General Mcclellan was
in command of the Army Of the Po-
tOmac. The capital of the nation was
threatened and its water communica-
tons cut of. General Hooker was sta
toned on the north. or Maryland bank
OF the river, opposite the blockade bat
teries, with division Of about 5000
men, TO watch the movements of John
ston's army at that point.
The threatening attitude Of Johnston's
army, both as against Washington and
in crossing the Potomac river during the
entire winter, had put the Government
into unpleasant straits. Foreign repre-
sentatives at Washington urged the
Government that il il could not get tho
enemy away from its own capital and
keep open its lines OF communication,
then their Governments had no alterna-
tive except to recognize the Confed-
eracy and give is the Same standing
among nations that they gave the United
States.
The President and Secretary of War
urged Mcclellan TO attack and push
Johnston's army back and thus relieve
this pressure both from foreign powers
and from homo influences. McClel-
Ian would not move His views were
that the State Department should take
care of the foreign relations, the Presi-
dent of home affairs. and he would take
care of the army in the manner he
thought best. As whole matters were
in bad shape for the Government; in
deed, about IS bad as they could well
be, for at that time, in a military sense,
the Confederacy was decidedly ahead of
the United states in nearly every par
ticular
Tho First Regiment OF Now York
Light Artillery was in the camp of in
struction at Washington during the win
ter. There we're in the regiment twelve
light batteries. As each battery was
thought to be sufficiently drilled TO take
the field il was sent to the front Some
went to one part OF the army and others
10 other parts. March 3 1862, battery u
was sent to General Hooker, opposite tho
rebel blockade batteries 1t reached its
camp on the 4th: on the 9TH it was or
dered To send one section of two guns 10
do picket duty on the banks of the river
facing the heavy mounted forts on she
south side. The river was Just one mile
road The officers and men Of the bat
terry were as green as new officers aud
men can we'll be in all things which APP
pertain to active service in the field
that is. while the officers and men had
learned to drill and take care Of their
battery they had not yet learned that no
demonstration should bc made against
the enemy without direct orders from
the commanding general.
This was Sunday a beautiful and
clear spring day. No hostile demonstra-
tions were being made on either side,
and with the field-glasses the rebel Of
fcers and men could be seen by the
young artillery officers walking about
on the parapets of their heavy forts
purely for amusement The artillery
officers, with their two little three
inch rihed field pieces, concluded to
wake up the rebs by seeing how accur-
ately they could throw shells into the
blockade forts. About o'clock in the
afternoon one of the little guns threw
she'll across the river, 1t fell little
short. Another was fired with a little
more elevation and it went over. A
third was fired at medium elevation
and went square into one Of the forts
and exploded among the men.
Imagination can hardly picture the
effects that she'll produced in those forts.
The lines of blockade batteries stretch
ing half mile along the bank Of the
river were heavily mounted with siege
guns OF from 20 IL inch caliher, and i'm
about a minute the whole lot Of them
opened ON those two little field pieces.
These immense shells tumbled around
exploded about the field guns for some
time at the rate Of about two a minute.
1t was what might be called emphatical-
ly hot for the men of Battery d For
tunately not a man At the two guns was
lost but there was some mighty close
shaving done. While this firing was
going on staff otfcor from General
Hooker dashed into the battery and or
dered the firing stopped
Now as to the result Of the foolish es-
eapade The next day Johnston aban-
doned the blockade batteries and his en-
tire position in front of Washington.
and the Confederate army fell back be-
hind the Rappahannock river McClel-
Ian moved out with his army Of 100. 600
men To occupy the country Johnston had
occupied all winter the Potomac river
was opened to navigation, and the for
eign nations gave in that the United
States had gained bloodless but sub
stantial victory. But oauthority outside
OF General Hooker knew Of the little af-
fair at Posey's Landing on the lower
Potomac. Indeed it was not thought
worth mentioning, but Mcclellan got
great glory.
No one in tho North knew or suspect
cd why Johnston fell back until he
wrote the history OF his campaigns. In
that he says that on the 5th OF March
the Federal army commenced demon
STATIONS against the blockade batteries
on the lower Potomac or, in his own