El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-15

A pilgrimage begins at Fredericks
burg on the south bSnk of the Kappa,
hannock. Behind is the river which
FURNISHES army crossed in the early
morning of a clear, cold Decem Der del
in 1862. Before the pill grim Is plalr
now partly covered with the a1ter.tne
war Fredericksburg, then an open helo
Beyond the field rise Marye's delgnts
steep, stonew allied, the position OF III
military commander would onoose =.
block the way OF an invading army
In from the bank of the river, oVei
the plain and to the heights, Burns1de'f
lines of battle came and melted. Ina'
was the ..frst Fredericksburg" the
first great s.ormiug charge o. tne war
and IL failed. The next day, says q
Fredericksburg, Virginia, correspond
ent of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat'
found the shattered army OF the foto'
mac across the river, and there IL re-
NAMED until spring, when q new com
mander, Hooker, began campaign
with the month OF May.
WHERE JACKSON DIED.
Profting by Burnside's experience,
Hooker crossed at several points ABOVE
Fredericksburg. Lee left his impreg-
nable position around the city and
marched west to get between dooKer
and the way to Richmond: Inc Pill
grim riding out of FREDERICKSBURG
along the Orange plank road, having
left behind him Marye's Heights
scarcely half a score OF miles, comes
to where Hooker and Lee faced each
other at Charlottesville in the spring
of 1863 and played a game OF war as
different as possible from that OF the
sfirst Fredericksburg" 1t was here that
jackson, leaving Lee squarely facing
Hooker, marched all day by long oe-
tour to the south through 1oreeE
fringed roads and at O'CLOCK In tne
afternoon came out into the open' iac
ing with his three lines OF battle tne
minimizing extreme right OF Hooker;
He had gone past the union army, had
turned and had come back. Before
dark an entire corps, HoWards, the
eleventh, bad been rolled up, changed
into q panic-stricken mob, and sent
flying down upon the rest OF the army,
making the most successful surprise OF
the whole war. But that same night
Lee sustained a loss greater tnan
Hooker 8. jackson, feeling about In
front of the line to prepare for the
morning movement, was shot by his
own men. The five or six days about
Charlottesville left two exhausted
armies, and Hooker, deciding not to 60
to Richmond by that route, withdrew
back across the Rappahannock.
ssTHE WILDERNESS.
The pilgrim passes right on west
ward by Chsncellorsvilie over this
same plank road. Hardly has he re-
covered as much of 1t IS the stretch
where Jackson formed his lines and
drove the eleventh corps pell nell to
the eastward, when he comes out
upon the wilderness" To the north
ward are open patches OF farms, walled
in by dense growth of timber and
brush. A few miles north are the
forks of the Rapisan, which is the
south forks of the Rappahannock. Al
ter the May days at Charlottesville
came another commander OF the army
Getsysburg WAS fought. By
December that same year. 1868. Meade |
had come down to the Rap dan on bis
way to Richmond. He crossed the |
Rapidan, had heavy skirmishing In the |
wilderness, went back and into winter |
quarters.
Then came Grant from the west, tax |
ing the command of the army OF the |
Potomac, a lieutenant-general, with |
Meade under him. In May, 1864, Grant |
crossed the Rapidan less than twenty
i've miles from where Burnside had |
fought his ''frst Fredericksburg" and |
within half the distance from where
Hooker, in May of 1868, had met Lee
It Charlottesville. Grant started for
Richmond. Burnside started for the
capital by way OF Fred
Hooker by way Of Chan
and Grant by way of the
Wilderness. The three starting points
we're on the east and west Line, less
han twenty-five miles long. But the
hree years of " ar had taught some
hing. The days of the impossible,
ike that storming of Marye's Heights,
lad gone by. So had the opportunities
or such paralyzing surprise as jack
on gave Howard at Charlottesville.
GRANTS MOVEMENTS.
Grant crossed the Rapidan I'm discov-
red, but within day Lee had started
by the turnpike and the
flank road leading from Orange Court
house 10 Fredericksburg. The Wild
rness is about half of the distance.
md there Grant, going south, and
Lee, coming east, had their initial |
Meeting the first week of May, 1864.
The pilgrim leaves the easterly
Ourse and turns southwark to follow
he route of the fortunes of war from
ne oth or May to the l4th OF that
Month. The new course is not due
outn. Il bears to the eastward con-
iderably. Its length is, perhaps, a
title more than twelve miles. Grant
'as ten days going that distance.
hose were momentous days. They
evealed to Lee the presence of man
' no did not turn back. They included
known to the strategy and
orror of war.
In history the period covers the bat
les OF the Wilderness and of Spottsyl-
ania. aMoving to the south ward,
rant was compelled to face westward
He made the twelve
niles by taking advantage of the lulls