Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-12

pots, corrals, and some 9cavalrymen wait
ing for horses; all the workmen from the
navy yard shops, and sailors, hastily
brought from New York with Admiral
Goidsborough. All these were sent to the
trenches, ard all the clerks and workman
wore the regulation uniform. They maze
very numerous show in the trenches ana
exhibited great bravery in showing them
selves on the parapets of the mtrench-
ments between 18th street and tie Ieniey-
town pixies, a distance of about two miles.
l have read of the sacrifice of the hover
of the country in its young men, IN the
armies of both sides of our cruel war, ana
it will forever be to their praise that the
flower of Washington, in its brave young
men, went out to confront danger m
finitely greater than that which confronted
the veterans under General Grant at
Petersburg. for Lee dared not move
against them. This civilian and proms-
cuous force lay their arms In the
trenches for two days and nights guarding
the capital against an army that only
waited the order to rush on, slaughter the
men in the intrenchrents, and pass into
the city. Many of these clerks had never
fired 4 gun, and many of the veteran con-
valescents could, with difficulty, march. In
the forts there We're men who did not know
how to adjust to load, or to fire the guns
All this day the Secretary was uneasy, and
walked his room in dread, waiting for the
troops General Grant had advised General
Halleck were coming, and fearing that the
telegraph would any moment tell him that
Early had passed the intrenchments and
was coming down Tth street pike. / can
now see the Secretary waiting and looking
for news that the transports with troops
had come to the 18th street. landing. The
city was wild with excitement and fear.
and from the surrounding country people
We're fleeing in terror into the city. l had
in the large Liiley safe in the War Depart
ment 5000 in five-twenty bonds and about
$tU in gold from interest, belonging to Mrs
Stanton, and this Mr.. Stanton told me to
take home that uav and I hid IT within
bed. 1t was ell they had. That day Col
Arson Stager, who was superintendent of
the military telegraph, came into the Sec
rctary's room and asked him for leave to
go home for few days, to which the Sec
Ietary said: I'VE will all have to leave I'M
less relief CONES very SOON This was all
the answer, and the colonel did not go. l
can now see his pale, amiable face and blue
eyes. as he slowly turned in silence and
left the room. On that Sunday i heard 1t
said that the officers of the several banks
We're summoned in council to devise plans
for the hiding of their money, and that the
money in the Treasury Department was re-
moved from the vaults and hid notwith-
standing the building was barricaded and
guarded by the clerks.
The Sixth Corps.
At noon Monday, and few hours after
Early's appearance, the balance of the
sixth army corps, came up the Potomac from
Petersburg. and were hurried out to the
9TH street intrenchments, reaching there at
the close of the day, and great was the re-
lief in the War Department. Artilerists
enough to work the guns We're gathered in
TO the forts at 9TH street and at the Tenley-
town pixies, and all that night the firing
could be heard in the city, and in the heav
ems could be seen the Illumination from the
burning of the house of Postmaster General
Blair, little beyond the forts. While the
capture of Washington that day seemed in
l-r1n Of t,,
dications of flight by the Secretary. He
mad sent every officer from the department
to the front to keep him advised of the
danger, and from every point kilograms
We're pouring into the department of the
movements of the enemy and the weakness
of the defenses, yet the Secretary seemed
to have marvellous calmness of hope and
latin that rose above the presence of peril
and dread
The failure to make the assault that day
vas Ear!ys great mistake He had de-
termired to make it on the morning of the
nth, but IN the gray of that morning he
saw floating all along the parapets the
badge of the sixth army corps. The vete
rams of this corps We're fighters equal to his
own, and the sight of that badge was
power before which he cowed, while the
fate of Washington and the government
tiembled in the balance. I think Gen. Wal
lace had q far greater appreciation of the
inn ortance of defending Washington than
Early had of its capture. for Wallace gave
while Early was subdued by badge float
ing in silence on the poorly manned de-
fenses of the city. He had about 1000
cavalry, and there were a number of places
at which he could have dashed into the
city, put to flight the government officials
and set the city on fire in every direction.
There was no commander over all the
troops and deferses, and neither Gen. Hal
leck nor the President would give orders,
ard in this condition everything went on
for one week In a deplorable and fatal way.
Monday morning, the 18th, the GunpoWder
bridge was destroyed, SO that no aid could
come that way from the north for two
days. A portion of Early's cavalry force
went within three miles of the city of Bal
timore. and captured and overturned two
passenger trains, and burned the governors
house. In that city the alarm bells We're
sounded. and notices were read in all the
churches calling for the Union Leagues to
assemble for defense 1t was not until
Early was within forty rods of Fort Stew
ems and within few hours march of the
White House that the District militia was
CT dered cut; and 1t was not until near the
close of the 18th that Gen. Grant directed
the appointment Of Gen. Wright to COM
mard all the forces in and moving from
Washington or elsewhere against the then
retreating enemy. Only think that with the
army and the brilliant marshals Early had,
and with the city defenses extending thirty
seven miles, guarded only by odds and ends,
he could have brushed away at any mo-
ment and captured the prize he was sent
for. He retreated when there was no force
coming behind him at the time he went
away.
The sixth corps, only about 5000 strong
was the only reliable force in the defenses
or near the city, and these had to be kept
at Fort Stevens, on 18th street. which was
believed to be the point the enemy would
assault Early had fought less than 1000
of the sixth corps, under Wallace, at the
Monocacy and their fighting was like that
which characterized the Charge of the
Light Brigade" and he did rot want to
meet the balance Of that corps behind the
fortificatons.
Early's Retreat.
OF the enemy's retreat General Grant has
said: IF Early had been one day earlier
he might have entered the capital before the
arrival of the reinforcements 1 had sent
This was the one day Wallace saved, when,
from Frederick, he telegraphed Halleck that
he would cover the road to Washington and
give Early battle on the Monocacy, and
then marched all night to meet Ricketts, at
the bridge on the morning of the 9th.
While Professor Hewitt and his beautiful
daughter were singing the song, Maryland
My Maryland" in Baltimore, against north
ern invaders, Wallace was leading in the
darkness of the night the loyal sons of that
city, for its defense and for the defense of
Washington, against the rebel invading
army. If the enthusiasm which that melody
inspires in the young men and boys in the
galleries of our theaters means applause
for the efforts made to destroy this country