Evening star., 1921-09-25

the Pc river. and north of that the Ny
river. These streams unite at
point thirteen miles south of Fred
err cksburg and close to Bowling
Green, near where. on the Garrett
blazing barn by Boston Corbett.
United. the Mat. Ia. Po and Ny rivers
become the Mattapony river.
over at the west edge of this his
toric ground where the old Virginia
Midland railraod skirts ii from Gull
army lay along the south shore OF
the Rapidan and for considerable
distance behind it. The Army of the
Potomac lay along the north side
That was in the winter of 1S63-64
and in the spring of 1864. South OF
named Clark mountain. and COnfNd-
crate lookout was kept there on thu
encampments north Of the river.
North of the Rapidan and between
the river and Culpeper is another
high mountain called Mount Pony.
Federal observers were there. though
the mountain is four miles from the
Rapidan. while Clark mountain, on
the Confederate side of the river.
slopes to the waters edge and it's
crest is not more than. two miles
away. and excellent points of OBJ
servation may be found on the heights
Of the mountain within a mile of the
river
Grant came to Virginia early in the
spring of 1864. In his memoirs, writ
ten in 1885. he tells of his plans for
the campaign Of 1864 and the prep
arations for carrying those plans into
execution. He was commissioned
lieutenant general March 9. 1854. and
on the following day visited Cen.
Meade. commanding the Army of the
pnff 1f hi hoa lnt vfa nd T.
station. north of the Rapidan. The
following paragraph from Grants
memoirs may interest you:
was a stranger to most Of the Army OF
the Potomac: I might say to all except the
officers OF the Regular Army who had served
changes ordered in the organization Of tlist
Amy before my promotion. One WAS the
consolidation Of five corps into three. thus
throwing some officers OF rank ont Of mp0r-
tant commands. Meade evidently thought l
might want to make still one more change not
yet ordered. He said to me that / might want
mentioning Sherman specifically. to take his
place. If so. he begged me not to hesitate
about making the change. He urged that the
work before US of such vast importance
to the whole nation that the feeling or the
wishes Of no one person should stand in the
way Of selecting the Fight for all posi-
tions. For himself. he would serve to the
best of his ability wherever placed. assured
one for him. As TO Sherman. he could not
be spared fiOm the west. This incident gave
me even more favorable opinion of Meade
than did his great victory at Gettysburg the
July before. Ii is men who wait to be Sc
lected. aud not those who seek. from whom
We may always expect the most efficient
service.
THE high-water mark of the Con-
federacy was reached at Gettys-
burg in July. 1868. The last draft
had brought all the white boys of
the south able to bear arms into the
military service. Nearly all the draft
animals within the Confederate lines
were doing military work. The
coasts had been long blockaded. A
EarinS blockade runner now and
then helped little, but not much.
The Mississippi river from St. Louis
to its mouth was under federal con-
troll All northwest of the Arkansas
river was held by federal troops
West Virginia was in federal hands.
dan and east of the Blue Ridge had
been conquered. The ports of Nor
! folk. New Bern. Beaufort. Port ROYAL
Fernandina. st. Augustine. Key West
and Pensacola were under the Union
| flag. The civil population within the
,, food. clothing and medicine. Prac-
tica!1y all able-bodied white men
and boys We're with the armies and
had been throughout the war. Such
food as was being grown was by the
colored people. who Loyalty work. ed
lilies to which they belonged or had
belonged. 1t was this devotion of
the old colored people to the white
women and children which makes
the bond of good will and even af-
fection between the OLD landholding
co1ored people and their children.
The winter of 1S63-64 was one of
great hardship and privation for the
Confederate Army of Northern Vir-
crate armies. The winter of 1896
was a Valley Forge winter for the
southern troops. Gen. E. NJ Law,
c. S. "A. writing of the wilderness
and Spotsylvania battles. said: THE
Army Of Northern Virginia had
winter 1s6s-6D and had never been
SO scantily fed and clothed. Equip
ment as to arms was good, but COM
missary and quartermaster supplies
were scarce and poor" He says that
nearly all the soldiers were ragged.
barefooted and half-starved, but the
morale of the army was high and
Grant knew that 1t was still a dan
gerous foe in battle
Grants plan of campaign was to
put all the armies of the Union,
east and west. into offensive opera
together scattered commands and
built up the Army of the Potomac
to strength which he believed
would overwhelm Lee, who faced him
across the Rapidan astride the
Orange and Alexandria railroad and
49, n =
and Fredericksburg railroad thirty
five miles to the east. Grant believed
that Lee had positions prepared on
all the natural defensive lines from
the Rapidan to the James. He
planned to wear down the Army of
Northern Virginia by successive
attacks with superior numbers and
it out Of one position after another.
The. greater size of the Army of the
Potomac made this practicable. AS
they faced each other from opposite
SIDES of the Rapidan, Grant planned
to cross the river below the Con-
federate right, strike south for
Richmond. and as the first point in
strong position he occupied south of
the Rapidan. Lee knew this.
AS part of the big plan Sherman
was ordered to move against john
ston and Atlanta. This move was
carried out. Gen. Crook in West
Virginia was ordered with cavalry
and artillery to move south and cut
the railroad passing from Virginia
to Tennessee. This vas done. Sigel.
in the valley of Virginia, was to
move up the valley, cover the mouth
Of the valley at Harpers Ferry and
keep watch against another Invasion
of the North. He started on this
mission, was whipped and driven
back. Butler was to advance by the
James river, threatening Richmond
and Petersburg. He advanced pretty