Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-12-14

~ on through lne gaps OF the south
mountain. and on the 9th confronted Gem
eral Lew Wallace. strongly posted with
General Tyler's troops from Baltimore
and Ricketts, Division Of the Sixth Corps,
on the banks OF the MoDocacy, between
six and seven thousand strong.
Right at this force Early hurled his
men. and after a fierce, decisive fighl that
reddened tho river for a hundred yards
with blood. hs drove Il from the field.
leaving It's dead and wounded and many
prisoners IN the Confederate hands. wal
lace lost ninety-eight killed. 573 wounded,
and l2s2 missing: total. 1859. The Con-
federaie loss was about 700 including a
number OF gallant officers. The classic
author OF Ben Hur had found an expert
ehce quito as thrilling. 70 doubt. 10 him,
as the famous chariot race ne has so
graphically described. and General Early
mas intmated that his report OF Mono
cacy Is not inferior 70 Ben Hur as a work
OF hction; but all the Felerals were see
ing Early in doubles and trebles about
that time. and l hardly think that Wal
lace surpassed the average redupllcating
view taken of him.
WASHINGTON, JULY 10. 1864.
While the alarm-bells were ringing in &
baltimore that Sunday morning. July 10Th.
Harvey Gilmore struck the Philadelphia
ana Wilmington railroad at Magnolia. and
captured Major-General Franklin, while
Bradley Johnson. with his brigade occu-
pied ToWsontown. Westminster. and
Reistertown. and tore up the North
ern Central railroad at Cockeysville. and
Early pushed on 10 Rockville.
AT IL o'clock, July llth. Eary's head Of
column. the SIXTY second Virginia (mount-
ed Infantry, under Colonel George smith.
and McClenahan's Battery. appeared IN
front Of Fort Stevens, on the es-e az
Washington. the National CAPITOL loom
Ing up in fun view At half-past 1
Hodes'5 skirmisheYs were deployed and
the big guns OF Fort stevens sent them
loud reception. While the sturdy in
fantry that had trudged from Cold Har-
Dor came struggling forward on the
dusty. sun-baked roads. Generals Early
and Rodes rode upon the field. Very dir
ferent scenes were transplring In tho
Federal lines. Down at the wharf Presi-
dent Lincoln was receiving the Sixth
Corps and part OF the Nineteenth Corps.
which was arriving by transports coming
up tho Potomac river As Generals Early
and Rodes, on horseback. surveyed the
situation. Il cloud Of dust beyond the
earthworks denoted the coming lines.
Presently a. line leaped over the work.
and as their skirmishers deploycd ia
| the open field. General Ro1es exclaimed.
They are no hundred-days' men. Gene
| raj council Of war was held that
| night between Early. Breckinrilge. Cor
| don. Rodes, and Ramseur. and II was
| resolved TO storm the lines at day
| break. unless the revelations Of the nieht
| should lead TO a change Of conclusion.
! Before dawn a message came from that
enterprising ollic r. General Bradley T.
| Johnson, who had pushed on 20 the
| suburbs Of Baltimore that two coips Il
! Grants army had arrived 1T Washi~r-
ton. and. reluctantly Early determined
| 10 with lraw. As he rctrelted D portion
| or the sixth Corps advanced T. affn-..
| while presid MT Lincoln ana some rr.''l-
| hers Of his Cabinet looked on from Fort
| stevens. This affair lost 10 General Bid
well. the United states officer IN CONF
Inand. 80 men, with a slight loss 10 Larry.
who now turned towards VirgInia.
| General \. l.. Long. thr chief II a~-
tillcry OF the expedition the gallant on-
GER who Notwithstanding tho loss of his
eyes.ght. spent his declining years in
writing n history OF this operation. I'm
which he took worthy part. says in
his memoir Of General r. r. Lee: This
campaign OF General Early's IS remari<a-
BE for acccmrli i-hing moro IN Proportion
10 the force employed aud for having
given less public satisfaction than any
other campaign OF the war. This is
entirely due TO the erroneous opinion that
the city Of WASHINGTON should have been
taken. and this may - passed over %
one Of the ahsurli.ics OF public ssntl-
ment on the conduct o. the war"
The popular impression that rlrl,
could have aTturel Washington s. onN
a case In which the Wisn was fath.r {,
the thought. The city was defended p,
= fD seige guns, ahatis Of trees had beer
: | placed before the carthwcrk-. tho hiei
! banks OF Rock Cree,1 formed q u4tlri
| fertilization, an1 a series ~ r5~'s r4i..t
: | ed with heavy guns covered all la. an
proaches, and were 80 ARRANGED .ua
II one were taken the others command a
1t. There was q surerubuu3auce of n.D
! batteries. for Grant had sent back In thr
, ! spring hundred guns which encumborc
his army. Early had but 5000 musknis
, | while there were over ~ i01 men I'm ia,
defences Of Washington-enoueh 10 defel
him before Wrights Corps end Emory
Division arrived. And here was the Ska
: | ana part OF the Nineteenth Corps o,
hand. II he had taken Washington Will
50 small force It would have beer
4 futile and short-liyed success on n
3 18th OF July carrying along with him ul
| the prisoners Of MonOcacy. Early march
I "a 70 the Potomac and on the llth. cross
Ing near Leasburg, was again "a old Vlr
gina.
-, THE THIRTY-DAY5' CAMPAIGN.
: 7 count this thlrty-days' campaign n
- one Of tho most brilliant Of our own O.
r any other war. Within that brief tim
: General Eary, with less than ll.cJO mer
$ | all told. had
e l. Driven out OF the field the army 0
=, Hunter. 1850 strong.
. p Bottled up Sisel at Uarper's Ferry
, | with a force Go00 strong.
=, g. Defeated Wallace at the Nonocac,
!. and sent him whirllns into Baltlmor
= | with an army Of 5000 TO 1000 strorg.
/. t. Diverted from Grants army the Sixt
; Corps and part Of the Nncteent
, Corps. which Just at this time. hsppn
. for Grant, was arriving at Fort Monr0
= from New Orleans.
4 8. Transferred the seat Of war fror
: Central and Piedmont Virginia, where
= menaced the rear Of Lee 20 the horde
!, | line Of Northern Virginia on the Potomac
n where it began three years befor,
4 | Counting the men in the Gefences O
Washington, Early had occupied fully GO
o00 men 20 oppose him. All the objects q
| the campaign were up 10 this time, round
= ly accomplished No doubt there wa
hope that Washington might possibly
captured, and that Grant. like Mcclellan
might be forced 10 abandon operations q
/
transferred 20 the northern border Bu
=. this hope was never either L design q
o | expectation.
n The march OF Early from Cold Harbo
II by Charlottesville. LyEchburg. Salem
: Stauntop, and winchester across the 20
:. tomac and the Monocacy and through th
n South Mountain passes 10 Washington
= and back 10 Virginia between the 18th 0
r June and the 18th of July. a distance o
e | go miles. an average Of sixteen miles
r day. is for length and rapidly. Tithou
J. n parallel IN our own or any modern wal
n | The fact that most OF his men covere
Is sixty miles from Charlottesville 10 Lyncf
IT | burg on the cars does not alter this state
ment. II took Sherman nearly thre
= months to get over 800 miles, from AZ
k anta 10 Savannah, with less proportions
n impediment Crawford's Division OF We
IS lington's army marched Y miles In twer
d ty-four hours 10 Talavera: but never di
r Wellington, StonewaIl Jackson. or that
s. have been able 10 discover. did Napoleo
e | Bonaparte, achieve so great n cOnsecutiv
- distance i'm SO brief a time. And. when
i IS remembered that Early had TO tnrea
- his path into hostile country. throus
II | the mesheS OF four opposing forces, tvs