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The next morning, the 3d, we moved about three miles to near the Arlington House, the late residence of the Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, where we laid in the woods until four o'clock the next afternoon, when we marched to Upton's Hill.

Here terminated our campaign with the army of Virginia, under General Pope, which, though short, was arduous and severe, and its failure is not to be attributed to the want of generalship on the part of the commanding general or his subordinates. The conduct of General Fitz John Porter, on the 29th, when the golden opportunity of crushing a divided foe was lost, proved fatal to the army the next day, and so clear a case was made out against him, by General Pope in his report, as to leave no doubt upon the subject. He was subsequently dismissed from the service by a court-martial, and disqualified from ever holding any office of honor or trust under the Government.

It may seem impossible to some that General Porter could be guilty of so dark a crime, but it must be remembered that the heart of man is now governed by the same impulses it ever has been from the earliest record, and that history furnishes many instances of men sacrificing their fortunes, lives, souls and even country, to avenge an insult their pride could not brook, and the only explanation we know, of the conduct of Porter, was the unfortunate address to the Army of Virginia, issued by General Pope upon assuming command of it, in which he indirectly insulted General McClellan and his counsellors of the Army of the Potomac.

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General Pope estimated his forces on the morning of the 30th as follows: "McDowell's corps, including Reynold's division, twelve thousand men; Sigel's corps, seven thousand men; Reno's corps, seven thousand Heintzelmen's corps, seven thousand men; Porter's corps, which had been in no engagements, and was, or ought to have been, perfectly fresh, I estimated at about twelve thousand men, including the brigade of Piatt,

which formed a part of Sturgis' division, and the only portion that ever joined me. But of this force the brigades of Piatt and of Griffin, numbering, as I understood, about five thousand men, had been suffered to march off at daylight on the 30th to Centreville, and were not available for operations on that day This reduced Porter's effective force on the field to about seven thousand men, which gave me a total force of forty thousand men. Banks' corps, about five thousand strong, was at Bristow Station, in charge of the railroad trains, and of a portion of the wagon trains of the army still at that place.'

Of these the general says: "As may be supposed, our troops, who had been so continually marching and fighting for so many days, were in a state of great exhaustion. They had had little to eat for two days previous, and the artillery and cavalry horses had been in harness and saddled continually for ten days, and had had no forage for two days previous. It may easily be imagined how little these troops, after such severe labor, and after undergoing such hardships and privations, were in condition for active and efficient service."

In our regiment early on the 29th, it was well known that some trouble existed between Generals Pope and Porter, and that the latter would not render a cordial cooperation. This was the common conversation among the officers and men, who had gathered it upon the field, and we may here remark that among old troops it is almost a matter of impossibility to conceal the object of any extraordinary movements from them. There are always among the many thousand eyes that are watching, some who can divine the truth.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CROSSING THE POTOMAC. MARCH THROUGH MARYLAND. BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. REMARKABLE INCIDENT.

THE army having been withdrawn to the defences of Washinton, General McClellan was assigned to the command of it on the 2d of September. It soon after being ascertained that the enemy intended to cross the Upper Potomac into Maryland, our army was put in motion to again meet them.

On the 6th, company G, Captain Reitzel, rejoined us, they having marched down the Peninsula with the wagon trains, and the same night about nine o'clock we fell in and marched off through the woods to the pike, passing a long line of ambulances, carriages and wagons filled with our wounded from the late field, and passing over to Washington on the Long Bridge, we proceeded through the city to its outskirts on the Leesboro road where we laid down about two o'clock A. M. After a short repose, we were up and moved soon after light to Leesboro, ten miles distance, where we laid in a scrub woods until noon on the 9th, when we marched through Mechanicsville to near Brookville, and bivouacked about sunset. We were forced to leave at Leesboro, under charge of a guard, all our ammunition, rations and baggage, as our wagons were unloaded and taken to Washington, ostensibly for clothing, and did not rejoin the regiment until after Antietam.

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About noon the next day we waters of the Patuxent river and next day to near Poplar springs. We were now approaching the neighborhood of the enemy, a company of whom were at the springs the night before. There, and all through Maryland where they had been, we found they had taken whatever they wanted, leaving the

farmers almost destitute, paying for the articles in Confederate money and quartermaster's orders that were not worth the paper they were written on.

On the 12th, at the urgent request of His Excellency Governor Curtin, General Reynolds was detached from the command of the Reserves, and ordered to Pennsyl vania for the purpose of organizing the militia of the State and preparing them for armed resistance to the enemy, and General Meade was ordered to assume his position. On the morning of the same day we marched, and striking the Baltimore and Frederick turnpike passed through Ridgeville and New Market, bivouacking about four miles beyond the latter place. All along the route we heard the complaints of the inhabitants of the plundering operations of the "Liberating Army," that came to free "My Maryland" from the "oppressor's heel," and bring back into "their" old Union all the States. Their liberating operations, however, seemed to partake much of the nature of the vultures, coveting and devouring.

The next morning we marched about four miles, crossing the Monocacy and halting for the day and night on its banks. A brisk artillery skirmish took place during the day about eight miles from here on the side of the mountains, where we could plainly see the smoke of the guns. The day before a skirmish took place here, the enemy trying to blow up the turnpike bridge over the Monocacy, but were frustrated in their design by our cavalry. They were also driven out of Frederick, where there was a smart little street fight. While in possession of the city, the "Liberators" ordered all the stores to be opened, which they soon emptied of their contents, paying for the same in their worthless trash. They also opened a recruiting office, but did not do a very thriving business.

On our march from Washington, Lieutenants Black, Company E, and Manton, Company B, were taken sick,

and with others of the regiment were sent back to the hospitals.

Our army, which had been slowly moving through Maryland in five columns between the Potomac river and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, covering both Washington and Baltimore, was now concentrated near Frederick following closely the retiring foe. During the march the progress of reorganization, rendered necessary after the demoralizing effects of the disastrous campaign upon the Virginia side of the Potomac, rapidly. progressed, the troops regaining their confidence and spirit, and being anxious to again meet the enemy.

BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN, SEPTEMBER 14TH.-On Sunday, the 14th of September, the reveille was sounded at three o'clock, and after coffee and crackers we took up our march, passing through Frederick, whose inhabitants were hardly up, yet we found many flags waving and bright eyes peering from the windows. We moved on the National road winding up the Catoctin Mountains past Fairview to Jerusalem on the summit, where the day before an artillery fight had taken place much to the discomfort of the enemy, one of whose caissons was exploded. This mountain separates the valley of the Monocacy from that of Catoctin, and the scenery on both sides is magnificent, equalling almost any of the kind we ever saw. Beyond was the South Mountains from whose side issued puffs of smoke from guns of the enemy, whose reports came booming over the valley. About noon we marched through Middletown, a pretty and thriving place, whose inhabitants turned out en masse to welcome us and cheer us on our way to battle. Never was a more cordial welcome given to troops than was given to us. Bread, cakes, milk, water, fruit and tobacco, were freely given by the good people who crowded the doors and windows and lined the pavements, and flags and handkerchiefs were waved and flowers thrown as we passed. We felt then, for the first time during the war, we were fighting among friends.

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