Evening star., 1944-08-13

Lcdl Oil tIlc AlCC. 1LcIIlcllUcl Lilt ollSeI
Wendell Holmes rhyme in the old school
readers?
knol0 1t Is a sin
For me to sit and grin
At him here;
But the old three-corner hat
And the breeches and all that
Are so queer.
But to get back to that day in City
Hall. had just been reading about
Jubal Early's campaign, and I well
eomed a story from one of the sur
vivors Of the skirmish at Fort Stevens.
The general had evidently read lot
about 1t, too.
- we were at Petersburg in the siege
of Richmond" he said. I'VE were all
surprised on the morning of July 10
when we were ordered to embark for
Washington at City Point, on the James
River.
I'VE went down to Hampton Roads
and up the Potomac under forced draft
It was not until the next morning that
we learned why we were going north
the rebels were in Maryland.
"You see, Early and his I'd Corps.
Stonewau Jackson's old command, had
left the army opposed to us, passed
back below Richmond and gone up the
James to Lynchburg, where they licked
Hunter on June l6.
Instead of falling back into the VAL
ley Of the Shenandoah, Hunter. no one
ever will know why, crossed the noun
tains into West Virginia.
After the war he wrote TO Lee and
asked him if he hadn't done the right
thing
He was 'gratifed' Lee answered.
that was his word-'gratified' that
Hunter took the course he did, leaving
the valley open for Early's advance into
MARYLAND. 1t served Hunter right for
being so stupid-stupid in exposing
the Capital and in writing to rebel
Familiar Terrain
One of the beauties of the Early cam
paign is that 1t was carried out on such
familiar terrain.
Any one vino has motored along the
Skyline Drive can understand 1t. The
motorist can see for himself that the
valley Is q broad corridor leading to
the Potomac north of Washington
When Hunter left the valley open, there
was nothing to stop Earlys force of
10000 to 10000 men from using that
corridor to enter Maryland northwest of
Washington. Grant had 900 men in
the Army OF Virginia, but the Blue
Ridge Mountains, now topped by the
scenic drive, cut them of from Early's
force marching north.
DO you know" the general said. sit
was not until July S when Early was
crossing the Potomac that Grant dis
covered he and his corps were no longer
in front Of LIS at Petersburg
The general was right. 1t Is hard to
understand why in those days Of the
telegraph and railroads. communications
should have been SO bad. A couple of
days later The Star referred to rumors
that they were at Hagerstown, Md, as
"scary Harrisburg report"
They were at Hagerstown all right.
Early was paid 5000 900 ransom for with
holding the torch.
But I had better let the general tell
the story. He put fire into it. To him
Early was leader possessed by Be-
elzebub, and his force a column of
rapine, pillage and arson descending on
the Capital. The generation (mine)
brought up in the days of handshakes
and mutual encampments Of the Blue
M hA nd 70
the fury of the period. The generals
had not deteriorated. He hated the
ConfederateS as traitors rebels and the
slayers of his companions. He made
Thad Stevens, the vindictive Pennsyl-
vania Congressman who championed
military rule and carpetbaggers for the
South. understandable.
The Generals Story
Gen. Lew Wallace of Indiana took
force of 2,50O conscripts and 100 day men
out from Baltimore to meet him." the
general said You've heard of Lew
Wallace. He wrote Ben Hur" years
after. They went out in Baltimore g.
Ohio trains and deployed on the near
side Of Monacacy Creek, just below
Frederick. where the railroad crosses.
we we're not the first ones to leave
City Point by steamer. Another part Of
our 9Th Corps under Rickett had left
the day before and gone up the Chesa-
peake to Baltimore. Gen. Rickett fol-
lowed Wallace out to the Monacacy.
Rickett had $500 Regulars with him and
he strung them to Wallace's left.
But Early crossed the Monocacy on
July 9 and forced them back along the
railroad to Baltimore. The road to
Washington was wide open'
Although Early reached Rockville, a
days march from the Capital, that night
there was no panic here. There had
been four summers of warfare WASH
ington residents were used to reports OF
raids. Moshy had penetrated to Fairfax
and nothing had happened.
The NTH columnists started to operate
almost openly They were called the
''Seceshes" (Secessionists). They issued
forth all smiles and assured their neigh
bors that Lincoln would soon be a
prisoner and the war over. Many of
them left Washington and Baltimore
and brought information and volun-
teered service to the enemy.
Rumors speeded the Confederates.
Earlys scouts were reported in George
town. The enemy was in Tenleytown in
force. Lincoln was brought in from the
summer White House ut Soldiers Home
right on the front lne-Sunday.
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