The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1895-01-10
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE WASHINGTON c. THURSDAY

been stampeded and Scattered in the sur
prise of the morning. etc.
| / fail to see in the above extract any de-
sign or implied censure that could possibly
be construed into an act of injustice to Gen.
Crook, or the Army Of West Virginia, who
fully realized they had been surprised and
panic-stricken.
To evidence that Gen. Sheridan was
entirely free from such a spirit and that
| he had the utmost confidence in the effci-
| ency and bravery of Gen. Crooks troops, /
| beg to refer the reader to Sheridan's Memoirs,
Vol. 9, page SO, wherein Gen. Sheridan says,
after arranging his lines of troops for an
| attack upon the enemy:
when / reached the Valley pike, Crook
had reorganizcd his men, and as I desired
that they should take part in the fight, for
they were the very same troops that had
turned Early's flank at the Opequon and at
Fishers Hill, ordered them TO be pushed
forward, and the slacrity and celebrity with
which they moved on MiddletOwn demon
strated that their I'll fortune Of the morning
had not sprung from lack of valor."
These words of Sheridan should be sufi-
cient to fully establish the efficiency and
valor of Gen. Crook and his command-the
Army of West Virginia--in the minds of even
all military skeptics and constitutional
critics.
As to the picket-line controversy desire
to say that on the return of Sheridan's
army from Harrisonburg Oct. 1, having
driven Early's force out of the Valley
through Browns Gap, the main force moved
down the Shenandoah Valley to Middetown,
while my command (the Second Cavalry Di-
vision) moved down the Page and Luray
Valleys, lying between the Blue Ridge and
the MassanutteD Mountain, to Guard Hill,
at which point received orders Oct 13 to
camp my division on the north side of the
Shenandoah River near the confluence of
the north and south forks of the river, with
instructions to establish picket-line on the
north bank of the north fork of the river
from my camp to Buckton Ford, joining the
left of Gen. Merritt's picket-line
In the execution of this ordered Col. A.
S. Moore, 9Th Ohio Cav, commanding the
First Brigade in my division to establish and
maintain said picket-line, with his head
quarters at or near Buckton Ford. Thespace
between the latter point and the camp of
Gen. Crooks troops was at no time, previous
or subsequent under my jurisdiction to my
knowledge, officially or otherwise. Buckton
Ford lies southeast of Middletown about four
miles, and about the same distance west of
Guard Hill and east of Crooks camp.
Gen. Gordon may have seen Merritt's
picket-line on duty between Buckton Ford
and Crooks left on the 10Th before Merritt was
moved over to the right of the main line,
and Gen. Torbett may have extended Col.
Moore's picket-line to connect with Crooks
left without advising me, which l think
extremely doubtful.
Crook and Hayes never ceased to share In
my opinion that there was gap in the
picket-line created by Merritt's removal to
the right that was not filed from any
source, which, if supplied by my division, as
requested by Gen. Sheridan's dispatch from
the front, en- route to Washington (see Sheri-
dams Memoirs, Vol. 2, page 96) might have
prevented the experienced result of the
morning of the 10Th Of October.
have no desire or inclination to become
contumacious controversialist; but, in the
interest of truth and justice to loyal, brave,
and efficient men under the old flag in 1851
and 1S65-such as were Gen. Crook and the
Army of West Virginia, knowing their war
service and record as DOL feel it to be my
duty to defend them against unjust assaults,
such as have bsen inconsiderately made of
late.-W. Fl. POWELL, lBrgadier- General,
commanding Second Cavalry Division,
Shenandoah Valley, Va, 1864.