The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-07


clear the valley of Confederates before
marching either on LynchburS or to JON
Sherman or Grant, as circumstances uic-
tated.
Finding that Gen Early had collected
| at Waynesboro some of his old force
| which, with the exception of two IN
| fantry brigades under Gen. G. {. W mar
ton had been scattered for tn" winter
Gen. Sheridan turned east after reaching
| Staunton the morning of March =
| with the purpose of bringing Early TO
| battle
| Early's handful arrayed itself for bat
tic on a ridge west of the town OF
| Wayncsboro. hoping TO hold off the RCD
| erals until night and escape with their
| guns to the mountains. Sheridan. with
| 1000 finely equipped CavalrH-some OF
| which on this occasion dismount"d and
| went into action as infantry-madc easy
| work of taking tho 100 men under
| Early. Envclopcd on either wing and
| charged in front by n solid line Of horse.
| the Confedcratcs saw the hopclcssncss
| of their position and tried to escape.
| Many of them. hungry and disheartcned,
, laid down their arms, glad the long
| struggle in tho valley was over.
Gen. Early. seeing his mon surrender
. ing and blaming them for not fighting
to the last. sought personal safety in
| flight
EarIy's DoRgcd TcnRrity.
Thus ended the valley campaign Of
| lss4-5. which is rated as ono of the
| greatest in the war Without dispara &C.
ment of tn" Federal leader it may be
said that not all the glory of this cam
paign was on the Federal side.
| Gen Early. with a force that after the
| first few WEEKS Of the fighting in 1854
| was never more than half Of that COM
| manded by Gen. Sheridan. had kept the
| Fedearls necessarily in action and had
! forced the employment by them of such
large force in tn" valley as TO mate
| rally affect Gen. Grants campaign be-
| fore Richmond.
| The Federal side Of the valley cam
! paign is often described. but never with
! due credit to Gen. Early for the logged
| tenacfty with which he fought superior
Federal numbers.
| 1t will be recalled that Early's corps.
! numbering about 12.Onh men. was de-
tached by Gen. Lee from his army in
.Tune. 1864. when he was hard pressed ny
/ Grant At Cold Harbor. and was sent
| rapidly by rail 20 LynchburC. where il
| turned back a Federal expedition under
Gen. David Hunter which had marched
on that place by way Of the valley.
Thence Early had marched on Wash
ington. But for the timely arrival there
of troops sent by Grant from Peters
burg by water, he might have taken
the city Early had next retired into
the valley. where hc had worried and
haffled the Federal forces sent after
him. that Grant had sent Sheridan L"
hunt him.
Arriving in tn" valley Early il August
Sheridan had remained at first the
defensive. He had then fought in sue
ctssion tho battles Of Winchester and
FISHERS Tiill and that Of Cedar Creek
,ociober ~. n which Early. after STAN
pedinC tho TcdcraIs from their camps
failed TO press on. unit! the -oforminC Of
/ -. Federal army. and rhe arrival Of
sheridan o. tn" field. had turned the
It'd" If hattie
Hardy Foe Worn Down.
RovIo1inr his own achievements in
his memoirs. Gcu. Early saws:
MARYLAND and Pennsylvania had heen
invaded. Washington threatened and
thrown into Il state of franti' alarm
and Grant had been compelled (" 6etaoh
TWO CORPS Of infantry and two divisions
Of cavalry from his army. Five or six
thousand prisoners had been captured
from the enemy and sent I" Richmond,
and according to published statement
killed and wounded after ne took COM
mand of it. Heavy losses had been in
ficted or that army by my command be-
fore Sheridan went to the valley and
the whole could not have been far from
double nv entire force"
While this ratio might BE- high. there
was no gainsa wing that Gen. Early had
proven a hard foe to conquer. Only the
devastation of the valley by the destruc-
I'll e har ,,,iI1 1,
enabled Sheridan finally to crush his
enemy. The result of this policy had be-
gun to show with the rigors Of winter.
Early had been obliged to scatter his
cavalry and artillery to prevent the
horses from starving.
On learning of Sheridan's advance
Early had sought to collect some cav
airy. hut only few hundred men re-
sponded. While they attempted to check
Sheridan's march. the infantry which
had wintered at Fishersville. near Staun-
ton. was moved to Waynesboro to cover
Rockfsh GAP. Early's sole avenue of
escape. The weather had been inClem-
ont. with rains and sleet. and the dis
Outraged Confederatcs had no heart to
fight.
Gen. Early thus describes his own cs-
cape: II now saw that everything was
lost. and after the enemy had got pc
tween the mountain and tn" position
Wh"r" | was and retreat was thus cut
off. ! rode aside into tn" woods. and in
that WAY ned capture. | went 10 the
top Of a hill to rcconnoiter. and had the
modification of seeing tn" greater part
Of my command being carried off a.
prisoners and a force of the enemy NOV
ing rapidly toward Rockish Gap. then
rode. with the greater part of my stan.
and fifteen or twenty others across the
mountain north Of the Gan"
Relieved Of Command.
G"u. Early hoped to reach Greenwood
Depot, or tn" other side of the noun
tains. where there were some stores. Ar
irving there near dark he found the Fed |
erals in possession. He then turned hack |
into the ice-clad mountains and camped |
in their dismal Businesses that night
On March he rode toward Char |