The National tribune., 1908-12-10
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BY JOHN McELR0Y.

ter, rode down the Rappahannock to
assist, with the Second Corps, under
the command of Gen. Warren, march
ing to Falmouth to support it. The
two vessels were found at Port Conway
and destroyed by artillery fire from
the opposite bank, whereupon the
troops returned to their quiet camps
under the spreading oaks of the plain
of Manassas.
To Crush ROsecrans.
Lee and Jefferson Davis kept them
selves well informed as to this deple-
ton OF the Army of the Potomac,
and Davis matured a plan to suddenly
reinforce Gen. Bragg, and, catching
Rosecrans's army tangled up in the
mountains around Chattanooga" crush
and destroy it and roll the tide of
invasion back to the Ohio. This was
success that would retrieve Gettys-
burg and Vicksburg, and restore the
morale of the Southern Confederacy.
Davis threw every energy into the
preparation for this achievement The
troops which had been surrendered to
Gen. Grant at, Vicksburg were declared
exchanged and ordered to Gen. Bragg,
the consSription law was put into even
more drastic operation to bring every
points on the Gulf coast were stripped
of their garrisons, and finally, it was
decided, in view of the quiescent dis
position of the Army of the Potomac,
to go to the length of detaching Gen.
Longstreets entire corps and sending
it thru by rail, post haste. At that
time such reinforcement looked
easy and practicable. The railroad
passing thru the camps on the Rapidan
r-ov f1,rrr ir1io ND CT
to Chattanooga, SO that Longstrest
could be rushed thru to Bragg before
Rosecrans could be reinforced over
the long line of single track railroad
from Cincinnati and Louisville by
which he had advanced on Chattanooga.
On the other hand, Gen. Burnside
was making the long delayed move
cut that railroad, and before Long
street was ready to start had actually
entered East Tennessee and gained
possession of the road. This compelled
Longstreet to make a long circuit
around thru the Carolinas to Augusta,
Ga, and then thru Atlanta to Dalton
and Ringgold. There were two roads
between Richmond and Augusta, but
only a single track from Augusta to
Orange Court House to Chattanooga
by the way of Bristol and Knoxville
was only $40 miles, and it was hoped
that the movement could be made in
four days. By the occupation of East
Tennessee by Burnside, and the cut
ting of that line, the distance by the
way of Petersburg, Wilmington,
Augusta and Atlanta was increased
to 925 miles, and required about eight
days travel.
HaIIeck Taken by Surprise.
Tho the Confederate reports are full
of complaints as to the tardiness with
which the movement of Longstreet to
Bragg was begun and carried out, yet
even the alleged clumsiness and slow
ness were too much for Halleck's
astuteness. One naturally thinks that
HaIIeck would have kept himself thoro-
within the Southern Con-
and that he should have been
on the lookout to prevent
the manner that Davis contemplated.
Tho every scout reported that Long
street had been detached from Lee,
Halleck placed no credence in these re-
ports, and at last Meade himself deter
mined to verify them by an offensive
to beat up Lees headquar-
ters and discover where he was and
who were with him.
The departure of Longstreet and the
numerous furIoughs which had been
granted had reduced Lees effective
force to about 10000. Meade received
news that he considered rehable OF
Longstreets departure on Sept. IL