The National tribune., 1906-03-08
ADVANCE AND RETREAT.

meritS were my two small prigaueSJ,
and drove our gallant fellows back over
u portion of the hard-won field. What
we had won, however, was not relin-
quished without q desperate struggle,
homes the horrors OF war, l urge the
and here, up the hills and down,
through the woods and the standing
corn, over the plowed land and clover,
the line of fire swept to and fro as one
side or the other gained temporary
advantage
Hood was now fighting with his
right toward the main line of the enc
N.Y. for Gen. Hooker had swept round
so far. that, as we have said, his line
was almost at right angles with Its
original position. Hood threw himself
into the action with great gallantry, and
says in his report: Here l witnessed
the most terrible clash of arms by far
that has occurred during the war. The
two little giant brigades of my COM
mand wrestled with the mighty force,
and although they lost hundreds OF
their officers and men, they drove them
from their position, and forced them
10 abandon their guns on our left. one
of these brigades numbered only s54
men,"
The following morning / arose before
dawn and rode to the front, where, just
after daybreak. Gen. Jackson came pac-
ing up on his horse, and instantly ask
eO. t1OOu, nave Iiey SolS. "hSh 4
answered in the negative. he replied, i
hoped they had" and then passed on
TO look after his brave but greatly
exhausted command.
The subjoined letter, l have no doubt,
obtained my promotion about this pc
riod. / had no knowledge of its exist
ence until after the close of the war,
when 1t was handed to me in New York
by Mr.. Meyer, TO whom l am indebted
for the favor. He was at the time OF
the surrender clerk in the War Ofhce,
al Richmond, and, in consideration of
the unsettled condition of affairs, placed
st among his papers for preservation:
Headquarters, V. Dist, Sept "a,
1852.
General: / respectfully recommend
that Brighten. ]. b. Hood be promoted
TO the rank of & Major-General. He was
under my command during the engage
ments along the Chickahominy, COM
mencing on the 27th of June last, whe::
he rendered distinguished service.
Though not of my command in the re-
Gently hard-fought battle near Sharps-
burg, Md, yet for a portion of the day
! had occasion to give directions re-
specting his operations, and Il gives me
pleasure to say that his duties were dis
charged with such ability and zeal as TO
command my admiration ] regard him
as one of the most promising officers of
the army.
81 am, General, your sbedient SER
want,
"(Signed) 7. J. Jackson, Major Gen
eral.''
"Gen. S. Cooper, Adjutant and Inspec-
tor-General, c $. A.
Endorsed, New York, Nov. 9, 1856"
1.-The inclosed letter from Gen. Jack
son to Gen. Cooper was handed to Gen.
Hood by Mr.. Meyer Ga former clerk in
the War Department at Richmond), at
the Southern Hotel In this city. The
letter is the original, and preserved by
Mr. Meyer.
"(Signed) F. S. Stockdale."
The foregoing letter is doubly kind in
its tenor, inasmuch as l was not serv-
ing in Gen. Jackson's Corps at the time.
Retreat Across the Potomac.
During the 18th the Confederate army
remained in possession of the field, bur-
led the dead, and that night crossed
near Shepherdstown to the south side
of the Potomac. Soon thereafter my
division marched to point north of
Winchester, and passed pleasant
month in the beautiful Valley of the
Shenandoah. My arrest, which Gen.
Lee, just prior to the battle of Boons-
boro Gap, had been gracious enough to
suspend, was never reconsidered; the
temporary release became permanent,
and, In lieu of being summoned to a
eourt-martial, / was shortly afterwards
promoted TO the rank of Major-General,
with the command of two additional
brigades.
The accession of Benning's and An
derson's Brigades, which had already
taken part in a number of battles, COM
posed a division which any General
might justly have felt honored to COM
mand. The former brigade had been
t11yl laJ hui he OF
burg. 1 experienced much interest in
training these troops, as i endeavored
TO excite emulation among them and
thoroughly arouse their pride, in ac-
cordance with the system of education
] had pursued with the 4th Tex, Laws,
and my original brigade. Under the
unfortunate organization of brigades by
States, l lost the 18th Ga. and Hamp-
tons Legion, to both of which COM
mands, /, as well as my Texas troops,
had become warmly attached. The
former had served with me longer than
The latter. and in every emergency had
proved itself bold and trusty; 1t styled
itself. from feeling of brotherhood, the
80 Tex.
Whilst / lost these two excellent
bodies of men, 7 gained the Sd Ark, a
large regiment, commanded by Col. Van
Manning, brave and accomplished SOL
dier, who served with distinction, and,
III higher anu II
larger command. i also lost the 9Th y.
g, 9Th and 18th Miss, which, after long
and gallant service in Laws Brigade,
were also transferred to other COM
mands; thus, unfortunately. were sew
cred relations which had been engen-
dered and strengthened by common
trials and dangers.
Back to the 2aTpakannock.
The latter part OF October McCIel-
iaI3's movements determined Gen. Lee
90 withdraw from the Valley OF the
Shenandoah. leaving his cavalry in rear
and to return to the Valley of the Rap
pahannock. Accordingly, my division
took its place, about the 26th, in tho
marching columns of Longstreet'S
Corps, which moved In the direction oi
the latter point. During the previous
month of quiet and rest the troops had
received a supply of shoes and clothing
and had improved in drill and disci-
pline. This splendid corps, therefore
exhibited a very different appearance,
from that which 1t presented in is
ragged and bare-fOoted condition 8
short period before I'm Maryland.
We halted in the vicinity of Culpepe.
Court House, where shortly afterward,
intelligence was received that McClel-
Ian had been superseded by the ap'
pointment of Burnside. This Genera
promptly made a demonstration on tbs
Upper Rappahannock, as he moved to-
ward Fredericksburg. Gen. Lee crossed
10 the south side of the Rapidan, and
by the latter part OF November tn;
Federal and Confederate armies agaiT
pnnfronted one another az ErederfcLs q