The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-06
TILE OF
CEDAR CREEK
An Event That Has Not Been
Told About as Importance
Demands.
VIEWS
PARTICIPANTS
Tactics Employed by General
Early and the Results That
Followed.
-ditor Dispatch:

Editor Dispatch:
Sir.-I enclose for the Confederate
Column" an article on THE Battle Of
Cedar Creek, October 49, 1854 by Cap
tain j. S. AicNeily, OF EiclSsburg, Miss.
This gentleman, who now edits the Vicks-
burg Herald was q participant IN that
battle, and Is much respected by those,
who know him. IIe Is the son-in-laWs
Of Colonel Edmund Berkeley, formerly
Of the famous Eighth Virginia Infan-
try, succeeding General Eppa Hunton
in that honorable. command. He has
been a student OF our battles and bait
tlefelds, and is full of q sense Of jus-
tice. as well az; CT information and abil-
ity. was not at Cedar Creek because
disabled in a previous battle but have
long believed from my. knowledge OF
the pugnacity and energy Of General
Early, and of the great disparity of his
i forces to those Of his opponent, that
his critics were not apprecla tive OF the,
companies that environed him--crcunl-
stances which ere long swept away all
military resistance in Virginia. This
review by Captain NIcNeily Is conceived
IN LIE fsIJlllL ~
knows those and who shared
in the event which he SO ably analyzes.
Il / viii make no further comment at this
time, save to say that the high charac-
ter, intelligence, and experience OF the
author of the article gives 1t great
weight. Very respectfully, li3r
JOHN w. DANIEL.
4 No other engagement Of equal mag
nitude and consequence during the war
has been so scaItily and misleadlnSly
treated as Cedar Creek, fought Octo-s
Der 10, 1864. EederaE chroniclers have
slurred details out Of which pn,sruded
this central fact: hat their army or
$4,000 men was forced from 4 strongly
fortified position, leaving their canps
and supplies and half their artillery IN
the hands Of an attacking force OF no
more than half as manly Confederates
Il There was little credit In turning and
beating back such an enemy after be-
dng driven from successive positions and
pursued for some miles. On the other
hand, Confederate writers have dismiss
ed Cedar Creek as a victory thrown away
In disgraceful panic. While the battle
was all of thiss tr.was much more. Held
tnextricably-4 IN -eirxtnts powerful coils IN
front Of tho Confederate capital, and
realizing that unless he could break
the state of siege final defeat was only
Early with every man he could spare
to effect diversion on Was hington UP
the valley. II was an unpromisMg VEN
ture at best. as out OF his abundance
Grant easily spared an ample force to
oyerwhelm Early. Such as 1t was the
Is clrance was made absolutely desperate
after the defeats nt Winchester and
FISHERS HiI. But circunlstanced as he
was General Lee could not forego the
bare possibility of eXtrication from
fatal position Thus he wrote to Early
September 9Th: II very much regret
the reverses that have occurred but
trust they can be renedicd The return
OF Kershaw will add greatly to your
strength. - One victory will put all
things right You must DO all in your
power Mancllver TO keep the enemy
in check until you can strike with all
your strength. . The enemy must be
defeated and l rely upon you TO do IT.
$50 We are obliged TO fight against great
q odds"
An earnest, brave, single minded man.
set to an offensive campaign under such.
circumstance and against such odds,
should In his ensuing and almost inoYi-
table adversilies, have commanded the
respect and sincere sympathy of all brave
soldiers. Another vital incentive to take
big risks, WAS that il was Just before
the presidential election, and the most
would be a menace TO Washington, Such
were the compelling influences that cans-
ed Early to ;issst!l Sheridan At Cedar
Greek He literally stnkcd his all on the
cast Of die lie failed and paid the
usual penalty--from that day until his
DEATH he carried the load OF defeat.
charged up By the unthinklng and tEa
personally hostile 10 his incapaclty. And
auany years after his death one Of his
II suborlinates has sought TO destroy his
reputation and merit IN history. al
Jude OF course, TO the "Reminiscences OF
the War. by General Gordon, This
book has been cqnmqndcd through The
portsRt record for the student Of correct
history OF lie battle Of Cedar Creek, I,
sSta1ed concls6ly; the argument ofsthis
record, Is that. Early lost this battle,
St and by not following Gordon'e advice.
] would he untrue % convictions derived
from witnessing tlIat cStlurtpus field
confirmed bS reading all that INC war
record contains of It, if ! did not chal-
ltnge the statement, that Genera Cor
.lon's "reminiscences is correct his
tory Of Cedar Greek, San but wish
ana, the task led heen taken up by SoIpS
ono better Qualified by station and ahil
ity 20 give weight toftilG truth Of whiel
testify: concerning battle mat Gen
eral Gordon skates no other saYe Get
tssbutg has provoked such conflicting
and varied Comment.
Any account Of Cedar Greek calls p
a statement of Numbers 81 The W.
forces. Hero there is no little conflict
s IL. -. 4 AZ n