Mountain the course of the north branch of the Shenandoah, this being a considerable but necessary détour.

The Federals have thus lost the opportunity of crushing Walker's brigade when it was isolated. While Ewell is making his dispositions, Ward has easily taken possession of Wapping Heights. But, instead of availing himself of this slight advantage, French, who sees the enemy's train lengthening itself in the direction of Strasburg, is hesitating anew. The line of Ward's division being broken by the march, he re-forms it on the left to avert an imaginary danger, and pushes forward the Second division under the command of General Prince, who is Humphreys' successor. When at length he moves forward the day is already far spent, and he still retards Prince's march by the exaggerated importance he gives to his skirmishing lines. Reaching the strong position of Walker, the Federals engage him with musketry, which, despite its being brisk, cannot be of any avail. French at length has had the Excelsior brigade formed into an attacking column. This experienced body is commanded by General Spinola, a new-comer, who follows more than he directs his soldiers; but the latter, knowing their profession, vigorously attack and dislodge the enemy. The losses are serious on both sides. Spinola has bravely redeemed his inexperience by two wounds. Walker has also been wounded, and all the superior officers of his brigade are hors de combat, as well as a seventh part of his effective force.

The day is on the decline. French, however, can still avail himself of his advantage. If he promptly debouches into the plain, the Fifth corps, which is deployed behind him, the Sixth, which is disposing itself in masses in the defile, will support him; similar forces will soon easily have the best of Rodes, throw him back to the Shenandoah, and close the valleys of both Milford and of Luray against the whole of Ewell's corps. They will then find it easy to precede him to Port Republic, and the Federals will perhaps obliterate on the battlefield of Cross Keys the sad souvenirs left there by Fremont in the preceding year. A prompt and vigorous action would be necessary; and yet French will engage only a brigade. He is uselessly feeling the position of O'Neal's skirmishers, and is overtaken by night before he has made an attack upon them.

Two Confederate brigades have thus detained a Federal corps during a whole day, at a cost of less than a hundred men killed and wounded. The Southern army has been pushing forward, whilst the Union troops were uselessly forming into masses in the Manassas gorges: before the end of the day the Fifth, and then the Sixth corps, have gone beyond Linden Station. Meade, who has committed the fault of not being present at this first essay of his new lieutenant, arrives too late to redeem his remissness. He does not even appear to have stimulated him, and therefore must share the responsibility of his fault. On the evening of the 23d he has three corps in the defile and two others within supporting-distance, and he trusts on the following day to attack with these forces the enemy's army, believing that it is still in large numbers on the north of Front Royal. He fancies that a single Confederate corps has passed through Chester Gap, and comes to the conclusion that the two others will not be able to escape him during the night without leaving this one exposed to the greatest dangers.

Our readers have foreseen the bitter deception which is in store for him. On the morning of the 24th, Longstreet and Hill are already on the south-eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, and pushing forward they are to encamp, the first at Culpeper Courthouse, the second at Newby's Cross-roads. During the Wapping Heights combat Early has received, at Cedarville, the orders of his chief, and has marched toward Strasburg. Finally, Ewell at the close of the day has brought both Rodes' division and Walker's brigade back to Front Royal, where he has reinforced Johnson. After having allowed his troops to rest near that town, on the 24th, at daybreak, he begins his march toward Luray. When, at the same hour, Meade marches toward Front Royal, looking for the enemy, whom he believes entirely in his power, he finds no one. Lee has escaped him, and he can no longer meet him in the Virginia Valley. The brilliant operation, the idea of which he has conceived from the plan formed by McClellan the preceding year, has utterly failed, not having been executed at the right moment. Nothing remains for him but to look for a suitable position for a new campaign. Warrenton Junction is the only point around which he can concentrate and supply his

army. While turning his back to Lee's army he marches the troops he has near him toward the south-east, between the Blue Ridge and Bull Run Mountain. After having stationed them on the Manassas Gap Railroad, they reach Warrenton Junction on the 25th and 26th.

In the mean time, the Confederate army was completing its inovement. Longstreet, coming down from Chester Gap to Flint Hill, and reaching from that place Newby's Cross-roads, arrived on the 24th at Culpeper. The march of the Third corps, which was following him on the same route, was to be, it seemed, more dangerous, for on the evening of the 22d, Sedgwick, bivouacking at Barbee's Cross-roads, was only seven miles and a half from that road, and Flint Hill was much more exposed than Front Royal to the blows of the enemy. Hill, fortunately, did not encounter the Federal cavalry. The latter, to cover the right flank of its marching army, had from the 24th strongly occupied the route from Barbee's Cross-roads to Waterloo.

While Buford was halting at Barbee's Cross-roads the two brigades which had been occupying Warrenton for a few days had come forward on the road to Thornton's Gap as far as Waterloo and Amissville. On learning in this village that one of the enemy's columns is within reach, the Federals move with a few guns to Newby's Cross-roads, where that column is to cross Thornton's River, an affluent of the Rappahanock. But they are too feeble to dispute the crossing, being held in check by Walker's brigade of Heth's division; then, attacked by. that of Mahone, they fall back at the moment when Benning, who has crossed before their arrival, returns to flank them. On the morrow Hill joins Longstreet at Culpeper.

Foreseeing that he could not maintain himself long in that position, Lee ordered Ewell, who by short marches was coming from Luray, to push on directly to Madison Court-house, seventeen miles from Culpeper, behind the principal branch of the Rapidan, called Robertson's River. The three divisions of the Second corps were assembled in this town on the 29th, but Early, pushing on, went to occupy Orange Court-house on the south of the Rapidan, which in case of a retreat was to become the base of the army's operations.

A

CHAPTER II.

BRISTOE STATION.

FTER fifty days' marching and fighting, the campaign which commenced on the 11th of June was at last brought to a close. The two adversaries, after having during all that time kept, as two wrestlers, in a close grapple, at last separated, returning very near to their respective starting-points to take breath. But this repose could not last long. The Federals, having the offensive, were compelled to keep it; they could either directly attack the Confederates at Culpeper or renew, with better chances of success, Burnside's march on Fredericksburg. But the New York riots, which we will relate in the next volume, had occasioned a profound sensation in the North. Far from sending reinforcements to Meade, the Federal government, compelled to concentrate a considerable number of troops in the large cities, was inclined to ask him for some, and he received on the 30th of July the order to limit himself to annoying his adversary by threatening demonstrations.

This order was executed with success. On the 1st of August Buford crossed the Rappahannock with his cavalry and advanced toward Culpeper, pushing before him Baker's Confederate brigade, which had vainly tried to stop him. Anderson's division, sent by Lee, encountered him on the west of Brandy Station. Buford, after a lively skirmish, fell back on the Rappahannock, and crossed it again shortly after. But this demonstration was sufficient to determine Lee to leave Culpeper-a poor situation. for a defensive rôle, to which he was again reduced, for, although much exposed, it covered neither Chancellorsville nor Fredericksburg. On the 2d of August he brought back his army behind the Rapidan, the cavalry being left on the Rappahannock to watch the Federals.

The latter felt but little inclined to attack. The regiments raised for nine months in the preceding year had been mustered out; the growing rate of bounties was retarding the enlistments, many waiting in the hope that the rise would continue. The operations of the conscription, interrupted for a while, had just been resumed. They had not yet given any result; on the contrary, they had weakened the active army, a great display of forces being necessary to protect them in the large cities. Gordon's division of the Eleventh corps embarked on the 6th of August at Alexandria for New York; all the other corps furnished important detachments for the same service.* The system of breaking up the army, which had been abandoned at the hour of greatest peril, was gradually regaining favor: a division was taken from the Army of the Potomac and despatched to South Carolina. The cavalry, which had suffered greatly in the last campaign, repaired successively by brigades to Washington to recuperate and supply themselves. Finally, numerous leaves of absence were granted, both to the officers and soldiers of all arms. The army itself, encamped under the beautiful shades of the green foliage of the Virginia forests, enjoyed in this warm season the beneficent repose which circumstances were allowing it. Therefore, during the whole month of August we have to signalize only an insignificant affair. It was, strange to say, a combined expedition of the navy and the cavalry. The Confederates having fallen unexpectedly upon two vessels in Chesapeake Bay, had hid them in the winding stream of the lower Rappahannock. Kilpatrick's division, then under the command of Custer, came to occupy the right bank of the river and cover two Union gunboats sent in quest of the Confederates. The Second corps, for a short time under the command of the gallant General Warren, marched to Falmouth to support the movement. The two vessels and crews were surprised at Port Conway by Custer and destroyed with artillery; but that insignificant result was not worth the risk run by the cavalry and the

* Gordon's division went to reinforce General Gillmore in the operations against Charleston, S. C. Later in the month about ten thousand men, selected from the various corps, under Generals Ayres and Ruger, were sent to New York.-ED.