MCCLELLAN IN IVEST VIRGINIA.
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and energy of his first campaign made the disappointment and the l’eactionmore painful, when the excessive caution of his conduct in command of theArmy of the Potomac was seen. But the Rich Mountain affair, whenanalyzed, shows the same characteristics which became well known later.There was the same overestimate of the enemy, the same tendency to inter-pret unfavorably the sights and sounds in front, the same hesitancy to throwin his whole force when he knew that his subordinate was engaged. IfGarnett had been as strong as McClellan believed him, he had abundant timeand means to overwhelm Morris, who lay four days in easy striking distance,while the National commander delayed attacking Pegram; and had Morrisbeen beaten, Garnett would have been as near Clarksburg as his opponent,and there would have been a race for the railroad. But, happily, Garnettwas less strong and less enterprising than he was credited with being.Pegram was dislodged, and the Confederates made a precipitate retreat.
When McClellan reached Buckhannon, on the 2d of July, the rumors heheard of Garnett’s strength, and the news of the presence of General Wisewith a considerable force in the Great Kanawha Valley , made him concludeto order a brigade to that region for the purpose of holding the lower partof the valley defensively till he might try to cut off Wise’s army after Gar-nett should be disposed of. This duty was assigned to me. The brigadewhich I had organized had all been taken for his own campaign, except the11th Ohio (only five companies present), but the 12th Ohio , which was stillat Camp Dennison, was ordered to report to me, and these two regimentswere to be sent by rail to Gallipolis as soon as the railways could furnishtransportation. At Gallipolis we should find the 21st Ohio militia, and the1st and 2d Kentucky volunteers were also to join me there, coming by steam-boat from Cincinnati. The two Kentucky regiments had been organized inCincinnati , and were made up chiefly of steamboat crews and “longshore-men ” thrown out of employment by the stoppage of commerce on the river.There were in them some companies of other material, but these gave thedistinctive character to the regiments as a whole. The colonels and part ofthe field-officers were Kentuckians, but the organizations were Ohio regi-ments in nearly everything but the name. The men were mostly of a roughand reckless class, and gave a good deal of trouble by insubordination; butthey did not lack courage, and, after they had been under discipline for awhile, became good fighting regiments.
The troops moved the moment transportation could be furnished, andthose going by rail were at Gallipolis and Point Pleasant (the mouth of theGreat Kanawha ) on the 10th. My only artillery was a section of 2 bronzerifles, altered from smooth 6-pounders, and my only cavalry some 30raw recruits, useful only as messengers. Meanwhile, my orders had beenchanged, and in accordance with them I directed the 2d Kentucky to landat Guyandotte, on the Ohio, about 70 miles below the Kanawha , the