The Way of All Soldiers (Gone For Soldiers)

by Jeffry S. Hepple

“Yes, sir.”

  “Did I congratulate you on your promotion?”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  McClellan read the orders again. “What would you do in my position?”

  Paul hesitated. “I’m a soldier, sir. I’d comply with the order.”

  McClellan nodded. “As will I – in spite of its foolishness.” He gave Paul a sly look. “Pope will be crushed, and when he is they’ll ask me to save Washington again.”

  Paul couldn’t think of an appropriate response.

  August 25, 1862

  The Rappahannock River, Virginia

  General Robert E. Lee looked across the flood-swollen river. “General McClellan has moved faster than I had anticipated. Crossing to disrupt him is going to be impossible with all this rain.”

  “Yes, sir,” Johnny agreed. “But he can’t cross to attack Richmond either.”

  “Unless he has modified those landing craft to fit through the locks,” Lee said. “Even so, if permitted to join General Pope, those people will soon outnumber us.”

  Johnny had become accustomed to Lee’s thinking aloud and just nodded.

  “We must split our army again and send half with Generals Jackson and Stuart at General Pope’s flank and keep the rest here to protect against an amphibious landing.”

  Johnny nodded, waiting.

  “If General Jackson can capture the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, we will disrupt General Pope’s support and his lines of communication. Then, when he withdraws, we will attack and destroy him while he’s on the move. Before General McClellan joins with him.”

  Johnny’s lead pencil was poised to write Lee’s orders.

  “Please tell General Jackson that I shall expect him to reach Salem by tonight.”

  ~

  General John Buford looked across the flooded river. “With all this damned rain we’re never gonna get across.”

  Colonel Paul Van Buskirk nodded. “But neither can Lee.”

  Buford nodded. “If he can’t hit McClellan’s forces while they’re all spread out he’ll come at our flank to try to disrupt us before McClellan’s in place.”

  “Do you suppose General Pope knows that?”

  “No. He’s so full of himself that he refuses to consult with his unit commanders. He says that war councils are for weak leaders.”

  “Lee’ll educate him soon enough. What should we do?”

  “Our orders are to patrol here and watch Lee.”

  “It’s Jackson that needs watching. Lee’s not going anywhere.”

  “When they make me a lieutenant general I’ll start tellin’ the major generals what to do. Until then I’ll do what they tell me to do.”

  “Only men with delusions of grandeur are ever promoted to major general,” Paul said.

  Buford laughed out loud. “You sound like me.”

  “Do I? Maybe I should ask for a transfer before you corrupt me entirely.”

  “Smart boy,” Buford chuckled. “Oh, that reminds me. I’ve been meaning to ask you what you told Halleck about your meeting with McClellan.”

  “I lied to him, of course,” Paul said. “If I’d told him the truth, either McClellan would be standing trial for treason right now, or I’d be in the stockade awaiting court martial.”

  “Probably the latter. McClellan has a way of getting away with saying and doing things that a mere mortal would be burned at the stake for.” He shook his head.

  Paul nodded. “McClellan predicted that Pope would be smashed by Lee and that he, McClellan, would be put in command of all armies.”

  “I fear that he may be right. I don’t really know Pope, but I know Lee, and taking Marse Lee for granted is a foolish thing to do.” He looked over his shoulder. “You ready?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  August 27, 1862

  Gainesville, Virginia

  On the night of August 26th, Jackson’s wing of the Army of Northern Virginia circumvented Pope’s right flank and struck the Orange and Alexandria Railroad at Bristoe Station, then marched on to capture the Union supply depot at Manassas Junction. Caught by surprise, Pope did what he had sworn to never do and retreated to his defensive positions along the Rappahannock.

  On the 27th, in a 10:00 AM telegram, General-in-Chief Henry Halleck ordered General McClellan to send General William Franklin’s VI Corps toward Manassas. McClellan replied that Franklin had been ordered to prepare to march with his corps, at once.

  A short time later McClellan received a copy of a telegram from Pope to Halleck requesting that all reinforcements be sent to Pope’s right, northwest of Manassas. McClellan telegraphed Halleck recommending that Edwin Sumner’s II Corps be transferred to Alexandria so that Sumner might accompany Franklin on his march to Manassas.

  Halleck approved.

  At noon, Halleck advised McClellan of Jackson’s position and once again reiterated his earlier order to send Franklin, and now Sumner, to cut off Jackson.

  McClellan responded with a string of telegrams asking Halleck’s opinion on numerous, inconsequential details and one telegram stating reasons why Franklin and Sumner could not be sent to reinforce Pope.

  Halleck replied: “As you must be aware, more than three-quarters of my time is taken up with the raising of new troops and matters in the West. I have no time for details. You will therefore, as ranking general in the field, direct as you deem best….”

  McClellan then decided it was best to keep Franklin and Sumner at Alexandria.

  At 6:00 PM, McClellan suggested to Halleck that the approximately thirteen-hundred-man, 1st Connecticut Artillery be retained for the defense of Washington. For some reason Halleck didn’t reply so McClellan held them back from Pope as well.

  Pope clashed with elements of Jackson’s army for most of the day and then, after sunset, Jackson marched north to an unfinished railroad grade below Stony Ridge, very near the Manassas battlefield, and dug in. Jackson knew that Lee had sent Longstreet to join him, but he was unsure when that might happen. Consequently, he chose his position to provide Longstreet with adequate roads to join him while giving himself an escape route to the Bull Run Mountains if Longstreet didn’t arrive in time. The railroad excavations that he’d chosen were also perfect entrenchments for the bulk of his army, while the woods above the Warrenton Turnpike provided concealment for his forward units.

  August 28, 1862

  Manassas, Virginia

  Pope awoke to find an empty battlefield, boasted to his men that they had the famous Stonewall Jackson on the run and then he sent a telegram to Halleck stating that same view.

  At about 10:00 AM, Pope began to execute a simultaneous attack on Jackson’s flanks with General Franz Sigel’s corps supported by General Phillip Kearney on the left and the combined corps of Fitz John Porter and Irvin McDowell on the right. Sigel attacked as planned but Kearney failed to come up in support. As a consequence, Sigel was forced to withdraw with heavy casualties.

  At the same time Jeb Stuart’s cavalry attacked the corps of General John Fitz Porter and General Irvin McDowell, who were on the Warrenton Turnpike. Having already discovered that he was badly outnumbered, Stuart broke off the engagement when a regiment of Union cavalry under the command of Colonel Paul Van Buskirk attacked his flank.

  Paul sent his regiment to follow Stuart and rode to confer with the two corps commanders, arriving at the same time as a messenger from Centreville.

  Porter and McDowell dismounted and signaled Paul to join them.

  “Thank you for chasing Stuart away, Pea,” Porter said, shaking Paul’s hand.

  “I didn’t chase him away, sir,” Paul said. “Stuart was already in over his head and he expected to see General Buford and the rest of the brigade behind me.”

  “Where is Buford?” Porter asked.

  “Keeping an eye on Longstreet, sir,” Paul replied.

  McDowell had been reading the orders from General Pope. “Listen to this,” he said. “‘You will please move forward with your joint commands toward Gainesvil
le. I desire that as soon as communications is established between this force and your own the whole command shall halt. It may be necessary to fall back behind Bull Run to Centreville to-night. I presume it will be so, on account of supplies.’” McDowell looked up to see if Porter and Van Buskirk were paying attention, then continued. “‘One thing must be had in view that the troops must occupy a position from which they can reach Bull Run tonight or tomorrow morning. The indications are that the whole force of the enemy is moving in this direction at a pace that will bring him here tomorrow night or the next day. If any considerable advantages are to be gained by departing from this order, it will not be strictly carried out.’ Signed, Major General John Pope, August 28, 10:00 AM.”

  “I don’t understand a word of it,” Porter grumbled.

  “I understood his reference to ‘the whole force of the enemy’ to mean Longstreet,” Paul said. “Didn’t you get our message of yesterday that Longstreet broke through Thoroughfare Gap? Or the message of this morning that Longstreet was moving through Gainesville to join Jackson?”

  “Yes,” Porter said. “We got both.” He looked at McDowell. “Did you send those to Pope?”

  McDowell nodded. “Seventeen regiments of infantry, one battery, and five hundred cavalry were moving through Gainesville at about 8:00 this morning.”

  “Did you say that it was Longstreet joining Jackson?” Porter asked.

  “I’m not sure,” McDowell replied. “I’d have to look at the carbon. But surely Pope would know who I meant.”

  “May I see that?” Porter asked, pointing to the message from Pope in McDowell’s hand.

  “Of course.” McDowell handed him the orders.

  Porter read it twice. “If we obey this, we’ll be attacking the center between Jackson and Longstreet, not Jackson’s flank as General Pope thinks.”

  “I’ll send another message to Pope explaining the current situation,” McDowell said.

  “I need to catch up to my regiment before they catch up with Stuart and get themselves mauled by Jackson,” Paul said. “Good luck.”

  ~

  General Robert E. Lee was waiting expectantly on the front porch of his headquarters as Colonel Johnny Van Buskirk rode up and dismounted. “Why do I not hear any sound of battle from General Longstreet’s wing?” Lee asked.

  Johnny stepped onto the porch. “General Longstreet reports that the divisions of Union Generals Reynolds and Schenck have extended their lines south of the Warrenton Turnpike and he requests that the attack be delayed.”

  Lee was clearly not pleased. “Have you seen General Stuart?”

  “Yes, sir. He was right behind me and should be here at any moment.”

  “Your fast Yankee horse,” Lee said with a hint of a smile.

  “He’s a Kentucky race horse with a bit of Texas mustang, sir,” Johnny replied. “He grew up in New York but he’d be insulted to be called a Yankee.”

  “Ah.” Lee pointed. “Here at last is General Stuart.”

  Stuart raced into the yard and hauled his horse to such an abrupt stop that the animal sat down on his hindquarters. Amid the cloud of dust, Stuart leapt from the saddle and came forward to salute. “I bring you good news, General Lee.”

  “Then by all means tell it.” Lee replied, returning the salute.

  “General Stonewall Jackson, true to his name, has held up to attack after attack on his left flank and General Longstreet has now taken position on his right.”

  Lee chose not to mention that he already knew the ‘good news’ and said, “What can you tell me of Federal Generals Reynolds and Schenck?”

  “They’re part of the combined corps of Fitz John Porter and Irvin McDowell, sir,” Stuart replied.

  “In your opinion, would a direct attack by General Longstreet on Generals Reynolds and Schenck be practical?”

  “Porter and McDowell’s forces facing General Longstreet are formidable, sir. We tangled with them briefly this morning on the Gainesville-Manassas Road.” He winked at Johnny. “I saw Pea in front of Buford’s guidon. He looks fit.”

  “Thank you for that information, General,” Johnny said.

  “You may tell General Longstreet that his request is approved,” Lee said to Johnny.

  “Yes, sir.” Johnny ran to his horse and vaulted onto the saddle.

  “He should be in the cavalry, sir,” Stuart said.

  “I need him here,” Lee replied. “Thank you, General. You may return to your division.”

  ~

  At about noon, McClellan, who had a clearer idea of what Pope was facing than Pope himself did, sent a telegraph message to Halleck advising that Pope should retreat to Washington. When Halleck received the wire, he realized, at last, that McClellan had not sent Franklin or Sumner and he immediately telegraphed Franklin directly ordering him to move his corps to Manassas Junction to drive the enemy away from the railroad.

  A few minutes later, McClellan replied that when Franklin could be started with a reasonable amount of artillery he would go.

  At 2:30, Halleck telegraphed: “Not a moment must be lost in pushing as large a force as possible toward Manassas, so as to communicate with Pope before the enemy is reinforced.”

  McClellan answered: “Your dispatch received. Neither Franklin nor Sumner’s corps is now in condition to move and fight a battle. It would be a sacrifice to send them out now.”

  ~

  At about 3:00 PM, Pope sent General Cuvier Grover’s brigade at Jackson. Once again, Kearny’s division failed to support the attack and Grover was forced to withdraw after a limited success. Pope, still unaware that Longstreet had joined Jackson, was also still expecting Porter to attack what he thought was Jackson’s right, and he sent General John F. Reynolds to attack south of the turnpike.

  Reynolds, after a bloody fight, reported to Pope that he’d run into Longstreet’s wing and that Porter was not on the field. Pope told Reynolds that he must have mistaken Porter’s corps moving to attack Jackson’s right flank for Longstreet.

  ~

  At 4:10 PM, McClellan telegraphed Halleck that Franklin might be ready to move by the next morning, and once again advised that Pope withdraw to Washington.

  ~

  At 4:30 PM, Pope finally became aware that Porter had not yet attacked and he sent him a new order. Then at 5:00 he launched Kearny at Jackson’s left, expecting Porter to attack the right. However, Pope’s aide, who happened to be his nephew, had become lost and did not deliver the message to Porter until after Kearny had been beaten back.

  At dusk, Lee ordered General Thomas Van Buskirk of John Bell Hood’s Texas Division, on a recon in force west on the turnpike to test McDowell’s strength. In response, Pope sent General John P. Hatch west on the turnpike. Van Buskirk and Hatch met at the Groveton crossroads and after an extremely violent and bloody battle, both withdrew after dark.

  Hatch reported to Pope that he had confronted a large Confederate force and had driven them off. Pope accepted this as proof that the Confederates were beaten and planning a general withdrawal. A short time later, when he learned from McDowell that Longstreet was really on the field, he dismissed it saying that Longstreet was simply there protecting Jackson’s retreat.

  ~

  At 7:40 PM, Halleck telegraphed McClellan: “There must be no further delay in moving Franklin’s corps toward Manassas. They must go tomorrow morning, ready or not ready. If we delay too long to get ready there will be no necessity to go at all, for Pope will either be defeated or be victorious without our aid.”

  At 10:00 PM, McClellan answered that Franklin’s corps had been ordered to march at 6:00 AM but that Sumner’s fourteen thousand infantrymen had arrived without artillery or cavalry and would be held awaiting further orders.

  August 29, 1862

  Manassas, Virginia

  At 3:00 AM, the rearguard of Longstreet’s command arrived at last and camped on a ridge near Groveton. When the sun rose the following morning, they discovered that they were too close to the enemy a
nd fell back to Longstreet’s actual position. When their withdrawal was reported to Pope, he saw it as further proof that the Confederates were on the run and, against the advice of his senior commanders, began planning a general attack.

  As Pope was planning his attack, Robert E. Lee was preparing for it by positioning nineteen cannons on the high ground where they had a clear field of fire upon the open ground at Jackson’s immediate front.

  ~

  At the same time, McClellan reported to Halleck that Franklin was marching toward Manassas. He also stated that he could not send any of Sumner’s Corps without stripping Washington of its defenses and asked Halleck what might be done to support Franklin’s weak force.

  At 10:00 AM, McClellan suggested to Halleck that Franklin ought not advance beyond Annandale, which was less than halfway to Manassas.

  Halleck objected strongly, stating he wanted Franklin to advance far enough to learn something about the enemy, adding that he was tired of guesses.

  ~

  At noon, Porter, Hatch and Reynolds were ordered by Pope to move west along the Warrenton Pike toward Jackson’s right while Ricketts, Kearny, and Hooker were to move toward Jackson’s left.

  General Daniel Butterfield would lead the attack on Jackson’s right with a division of five brigades, but his division needed to cross an open pasture to attack Jackson’s infantry, who were well positioned in the unfinished railroad trenches. Butterfield crossed the pasture under withering cannon fire and ran into a wall of musketry from the entrenched Rebels.

  Hatch’s division also needed to cross open ground and had the added complication of performing a slowly executed right wheel to position itself in front of the Confederate lines. Although Lee’s cannons on the high ground shredded his troops, Hatch was able to break through Confederate lines, routing the 48th Virginia Infantry and holding until he was pushed back by the Stonewall Brigade.

  Seeing the casualties mounting, Porter decided not to send forward the reserve division. That decision left the engaged brigades to retreat under fire without support. Observing the carnage and misunderstanding the situation, McDowell sent Reynolds’s division forward to support Porter.