The National tribune., 1908-02-27

plan for another series of operations.
and submitteE 1t to the President with
the ultimatuR that either it or his res
| ignation shoufd be accepted. The Pres
| ident agreed to allow him to carry out
his plan. espgciallyEa pas the weather had
continued remarkably good, and 1t
seemed a pity to waste it and the fine
| condition of the roads IN idleness.
To iTurn Lees Left.
Burnside's plan was to make swift,
secret march to turn Lees left flank
by the way of, Banks's Ford, six miles
above Falmouth. AS the enemy was
closely observing all the crossings of
the Rappahannock, this movement re-
CURED for its success the greatest Sc
crecy and celebrity. Banks's Ford and
the rest of the crossings were no long
er fords, since the Fall rains had raised
the water and pontoons would have to
be used. Gen. Couch, with his battle
bruised and decimated Second Corps,
was to manuver down toward Frank
Inns Crossing to make show of re-
peating that operation, and Sigel, who
had been in the rear with the Eleventh
Corps. came up to the nights of Fal-
mouth to take position there and cover
the withdrawal of the other troops.
Roads were cut thru the timber to
reach the fords, positions were selected
for the artillery and rifle pits thrown
up out of sight of the enemy's pickets.
In the meanwhile the cavalry was
demonstrating for miles up as we'll as
down the river to confuse Lee as to-
what was contemplated. if anything.
The movement began with great skill
and secrecy Jan. 10, with the Grand
Divisions of Hooker and Franklin draw
ing out to where they could march by
parallel roads directly to the crossings.
The weather continued fine all the next
day, and night saw the pontoons, artil-
lery and the infantry all as near the
crossings as they dared go without at
tracing Lees attention.
1t really seemed that at last fortune
was smiling on Burnside, and that he
was on the eve of doing something to
atone for Marye's flights. Many of the
regiments and brigades were so enthu
siastic that they burned the Winter
quarters which they had built with
much labor. Had the weather continued
as it was, Jan. 81 would have seen
Franklin and Hooker across the Rap
pahannock on Lees left flank. and that
commander taken completely by sur
prise. since he had given no sign of
being aware of what was happening.
1t is idle to speculate on what would
have resulted if they had made the
crossing and gained a position where
Ltc Woulu nave DttIl oDilStu " ltetIt
his works and fight them.
A Wild Winter Storm.
But with the going down of the sun
of Jan. 20 there came one of those cata-
clysms of the elements for which Vir
| ginia Winters Are noted. The billiards
of Dakota. the "northers'' of Texas, and
the siroccos of Italy are represented in
| Virginia by these occasional whelming
| riots of wind and rain, which beat
everything down into the earth. In
| spite of this, however, the teamsters,
artillery drivers and pontopiers toiled
on desperately to accomplish their or
| ders and be ready for the crossing. The
guns were put in place, notwithstanding
| the pitchy darkness and the beating
| tempest. Every hour the roads became
| more impossible from the passage of
| the wheels over them. The Virginia
clay has the peculiarly of readily ab-
[sorbing the rain to an unusual depth
and becoming gluelike in its tenacity.
The struggles of the men and horses to
get the pontoons and cannons thru
were hard and heroic beyond descrip-
ton. When the morning came it was
found that only IS pontoons had been
| gotten to Banks's Ford where 20 were
necessary, and the other five were back
miles. with the teams worn out and the
wheels sunk IN the mud to the axles.
Worst of all, daylight had come upon
the movement but, half completed.
| Lee was now fully warned of what
was planned and was moving up his
men into advantageous positions to de-
fend the crossings. The thing was noW
so hopeless that the Confederate troops
on the opposite side of the river yelled
derisively at the men struggling with
the mule teams and caisson horses, Of
| fering to come over and help them cross
Il ~.
| self that he was whipped, and gave the
order TO the troops to return to their
| former camps Many of the wagons
| were SO hOpelessly mired that it was
impossible to .extricate them, and on
these an army wit put sign, "Stuck in
1.-THE mud.
| The event has passed into history as
Burnside's Mud March," and every sur
vivor recalls 1t as one of the most terri
| BILE experiences of the many vicissitudcs
in the long career of the Army of the
| Potomac.
i On Jan. % the whole army was back
in its former camps. it being generally
decided that operations for the year
were over, and the troops began max
| ing themselves as comfortable as posi-
bic in Winter quarters.
l Burnside Is Relieved.
4 while the army was settling back into
it's camps, Gen. Burnside sent the fol-
lowing dispatch to the President:
headquarters Army of the Potomac,
Jan. %, 1868; $50 p. m.
His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln,
President of the United States:
i II have prepared some very impor-
tant orders, and / want to see you be-
fore issuing them. Can | see you alone
if | am at the White House after mid
night? I must be back by o'clock to-
morrow morning.
"A f.. Burnside, Major Com
|, manding."
Gen Burnside's object in visiting
President Lincoln was to present the
following order which he offered with
the alternative of his resignation:
General Orders No. 8.
headquarters Army of the Potomac,
Jan. 23, 1863
q. Gen. Joseph Hooker, Major-Gen-
eral of Volunteers and Brlgadier-Gen-
eraI, U. S. Army, having been guilty OF
unjust and unnecessary criticisms OF
2 the actions of his superior officers and
of the authorities, and having, by the
: general tone of his conversation, en-
2 deavored to create distrust in the minds
of officers who have associated with
him, and having. by omissions and 9th
1 erwise, made reports and statements
+ which were calculated to create incor-