Luther W. Hopkins

From Seven Pines to Antietam.

"On that pleasant morn of early fall,
When Lee marched over the mountain wall."
"Over the mountains, winding down,
Horse and foot into Frederick town."

A part of Pope's army, under Banks, had been pushed forward as far as Cedar Run, about half way between Manassas and Gordonsville. Jackson met this force and scattered it like chaff, and then moved rapidly toward Manassas. He did not move in a straight line, but made a detour to the left, and by rapid marches placed his army in the rear of Pope at Manassas.

One day the army covered forty miles. Riding along the dusty highway, Jackson noticed a sore-foot, barefoot infantryman, limping along, trying to keep up with his command. Coming up to him, he dismounted and told the soldier to mount his horse, while he trudged along by his side. The next day the same soldier was found among the dead, with his face turned up to the sun, having given his life for the man who gave him a lift. It was this lift that had cost him his life; but for it, he would have been among the stragglers, too late for the battle.

My command, during the march, got in frequent touch with the enemy, and at one point, namely, Catletts Station, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, came very near capturing Gen. Pope himself. We got into his camp at night and into his tent, and took his boots and spurs, and papers that gave Jackson some valuable information.

As soon as Gen. Lee was satisfied that McClellan was well on his way toward Washington, he put his whole army in motion and moved rapidly to join Jackson, who would sorely need him in his attack upon Pope at Manassas; in fact, Jackson had halted after the battle of Cedar Run for a day or two to allow Gen. Lee to come up.

An event occurred during this battle around Richmond that brought sorrow to my home. My brother Howard was slightly wounded in the arm, taken to the hospital at Richmond, and died in a few days of a malignant fever, and was buried somewhere among the unknown dead around Richmond. The family made several attempts to locate his grave, but were unsuccessful.

"On fame's eternal camping ground,
His silent tent is spread;
While glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead."

His picture on the opposite page is from an old daguerreotype, taken just before entering the Confederate service.

This move of Jackson's to the rear of Pope at Manassas enabled him to capture many carloads of supplies and munitions of war, greatly assisting the armies of Lee and Jackson in their undertaking. A goodly portion of McClellan's army had embarked at Occoquan and marched across to the assistance of Pope. Notwithstanding this fact, the combined armies of Lee and Jackson were more than a match for Pope, and he was defeated and his army routed, leaving over 9000 of his dead and wounded on the field. His entire loss, as given by the "New Standard Encyclopedia," which included prisoners, was 20,000, while the Confederates', by the same authority, is placed at 12,000.

ROBERT HOWARD HOPKINS.

There fell into the hands of the Confederates 7000 prisoners, 30 cannon, 20,000 rifles. The captured stores, including two miles of loaded cars on the track, was enormous, much of which the Confederates had to burn.

This is called the Second Battle of Manassas to distinguish it from the first battle fought on the same ground, and called by the North the Battle of Bull Run, but by the South as the First Battle of Manassas.

Pope lost no time in getting behind his intrenchments at Washington. My command took part in the battle, and made a charge just as the sun was dropping behind the horizon. Lee did not follow Pope toward Washington, but moved in a straight line toward the Upper Potomac, leaving Washington to his right.

At this time my company was detached from the Sixth Regiment and made a bodyguard to Gen. Lee. We kept close to his person both night and day.

Part of the time Gen. Lee rode in an ambulance with both hands bandaged, his horse, "Traveler," having fallen over a log and crippled Lee's hands. This gave me a good opportunity of seeing the great soldier at close range.

I remember one afternoon, when toward sunset the army having gone into camp for the night, Gen. Lee's headquarters being established in a little farmhouse near Chantilla, I think in Loudoun county, the General went out with one of his staff officers for a walk into an apple orchard. They were gone perhaps an hour. While they were gone a guard had been set around the cottage with instructions to let none pass without an order from Gen. Lee.

When Gen. Lee returned with his aid by his side, he was halted by Frank Peak (a member of my company, now living in Alexandria, Va.). They both halted, and Peak said to them, "My instructions are to let none pass without an order from Gen. Lee." Gen. Lee turned to his aid and said, "Stop, the sentinel has halted us." The officer (I think it was Col. Marshall, who afterward lived in Baltimore, and died there not long ago) stepped forward and said, "This is Gen. Lee himself, who gives all orders." Peak saluted them, and they passed on.

Before day the next morning the army was in motion toward Maryland, Gen. Lee still riding in the ambulance, very much, no doubt, to the chagrin of "Traveler," who was led by a soldier, just behind the ambulance.

Owing to the hard-fought battles around Richmond, Cedar Run and Manassas (which followed each other in rapid succession), and the long, weary marches through the hot July days, often far into the night, many of Lee's soldiers, who were foot-sore and broken down, straggled from the ranks, being unable to keep up with the stronger men. So great was the number that it was said that half his army were straggling along the roads and through the fields, subsisting as they could on fruits and berries, and whatever food they could get from farmhouses.

As the army crossed the Potomac (four miles east of Leesburg) Gen. Lee had to make some provision for the stragglers. It would not do to let them follow the army into the enemy's country, because they would all be captured. He concluded to abandon his bodyguard and leave it at the river, with instructions to turn the stragglers and tell them to move toward Winchester, beyond the Shenandoah. This was the point, no doubt, that Gen. Lee had fixed as the place to which he would bring his army when his Maryland campaign was over.

It was with much regret that we had to give up our post of honor as guard to the head of the army to take charge of sore-footed stragglers. But a soldier's duty is to obey orders.

The army crossed the river into Maryland, and we were kept busy for a week sending the stragglers toward Winchester.

Some bore wounds received in the battles mentioned, and their bandages in many cases still showed the dried blood as evidence that they had not always been stragglers. Some were sick, and some too lame to walk, and it became necessary for us to go out among the farmers and procure wagons to haul the disabled. In doing so, it was my duty to call on an old Quaker family by the name of Janney, near Goose Creek meeting-house, Loudoun county, and get his four-horse wagon and order it to Leesburg. This I did in good soldier style, not appreciating the old adage that "Chickens come home to roost."

After seeing the wagon on the road, accompanied by friend Janney, who rode on horseback (the wagon being driven by his hired man), I went to other farms, doing the same thing. And thus the lame, sick and sore-footed and the rag-and-tag were pushed on, shoved on and hauled on toward Winchester.

Some years after this I had occasion to visit the same spot, in company with a young lady.

It was the Friends' quarterly meeting time at Goose Creek. We attended the services, and, of course, were invited out to dinner. It fell to our lot to dine at the home of friend Janney, from whom I had taken the wagon. I did not recognize the house or the family until I was painfully reminded of it in the following manner:

We were seated at a long table in the dining-room (I think there were at least twenty at the table), and several young ladies were acting as waitresses. I was quite bashful in those days, but was getting along very nicely, until one of the young waitresses, perhaps with no intention of embarrassing me, focusing her mild blue eyes upon mine, said, "I think I recognize thee as one of the soldiers who took our wagon and team for the use of Lee's army, en route for Maryland." I did not look up, but felt that twice twenty eyes were centered on me. I cannot recall what I said, but I am sure I pleaded guilty; besides, I felt that all the blood in my body had gone to my face, and that every drop was crying out, "Yes, he's the very fellow." It spoiled my dinner, but they all seemed to think it was a good joke on me.

Quakers, it must be remembered, were not as a rule in sympathy with the secession movement, which greatly intensified the discomfort of my position. My young friend, however, although a member of that society, never deserted me, and sometime afterward became more to me than a friend; she has been faithful ever since, and is now sitting by me as I write these lines.

Now I must go back to war scenes.

I cannot remember, of course, just the day, but while we were busy gathering up these stragglers we could distinctly hear the booming of the guns that told us the two armies had met and that there was heavy fighting on Maryland soil.

The first sounds came from toward Harper's Ferry, and we soon afterward learned the result.

Jackson had been detached from the main army, had surrounded and captured Harper's Ferry, taking 13,000 prisoners and many army supplies. Among the prisoners was A.W. Green of New York, who afterward became pastor of my church, St. John's, corner Madison avenue and Laurens street, Baltimore, Md.

Mr. Green says that when the prisoners were all lined up, Jackson rode along their front and tried to comfort them as best he could. He said, "Men, this is the fate of war; it is you today, it may be us tomorrow." After paroling his prisoners, Jackson hurried to rejoin Lee, who was being hotly pressed by McClellan at Antietam. Lee's united forces at this time could not have numbered over 40,000 men, while McClellan, who was still in command of the Union army, had a force of over 100,000.

McClellan made the attack, was repulsed with terrible loss, but the North claimed the victory, because Lee retired during the second night after the battle and re-crossed the Potomac, falling back to Winchester, where he was reinforced by the stragglers who had been gathering there for two weeks or more.

This series of battles, beginning with Richmond in the spring and ending at Antietam in the early fall, had so exhausted the armies that both sides were glad to take a rest. They had been marching and fighting from early spring all through the summer, and were thoroughly exhausted.

LEE'S ARMY IN A TRAP.

We have all heard of the famous lost dispatch that was picked up in the streets of Frederick, Md., after the place had been evacuated by the Confederates. It was called "Special Order No. 191." A copy of this order was sent by Gen. Lee to each of his generals. The one intended for Gen. A.P. Hill never reached him. It was dropped by a courier and fell into the hands of Gen. McClellan. This telltale slip of paper that might have ended the war was found wrapped around two cigars. It read as follows:

With this document in his hands and with Lee's army divided as it was McClellan felt that his hour had come. He sent the following dispatch to President Lincoln:

* * * "I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap. * * * General Lee's order to his army accidentally came into my hands this evening, and discloses his plan of campaign."

The destruction of Lee's army at this time would certainly have ended hostilities. Gen. Longstreet was opposed to the movement against Harper's Ferry. He said it was fraught with too much danger. It was rendered much more so when McClellan came into possession of Lee's plans. The exact number of prisoners captured at Harper's Ferry and in its environments were 12,520, together with 73 cannon, 13,000 rifles, several hundred wagons and large quantities of provisions and other army stores.