RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FIRST BULL RUN.
247
General McDowell had been instructed by his general-in-chief to pass theConfederate right and seize the railroad in our rear. But, learning that thedistrict to be passed through was rugged and covered with woods, and there-fore unfavorable to a large army, he determined, after devoting three days toreconnoissance, to operate on the open and favorable ground to his right,and turn our left. He had another object in this second plan, and an impor-tant one—that this course would place his between the two Confederate armies,and prevent their junction; and if it had been made a day or two sooner,this manoeuvre would have accomplished that object.
General McDowell marched from Centreville by the Warrenton Turnpikewith three divisions, sending a fourth division to deceive us by demonstra-tions in front of our main body. Leaving the turnpike a half mile from theStone Bridge, he made a long detour to Sudley Ford, where he crossed BullRun and turned toward Manassas . Colonel Evans, who commanded fourteencompanies near the Stone Bridge, discovered this manoeuvre, and moved withhis little force along the base of the hill north of the turnpike, to place itbefore the enemy near the Sudley and Manassas road. Here he was assailedby greatly superior numbers, which he resisted obstinately.
General Beauregard had joined me on Lookout Hill, and we could distinctlyhear the sounds and see the smoke of the fight. But they indicated no hostileforce that Evans’s troops and those of Bee, Hampton, and Jackson, which wecould see hurrying toward the conflict in that order, were not adequate to resist.
On reaching the broad, level top of the hill south of the turnpike, Bee,appreciating the strength of the position, formed his troops (half of his ownand half of Bartow’s brigade) on that ground. But seeing Evans strugglingagainst great odds, he crossed the valley and formed on the right and a littlein advance of him. Here the 5 or 6 regiments, with 6 field-pieces, held theirground for an hour against 10,000 or 12,000 United States troops,\ when, find-ing they were overlapped on each flank by the continually arriving enemy,General Bee fell back to the position from which he had moved to rescueEvans — crossing the valley, closely pressed by the Federal army.
Hampton with his Legion reached the valley as the retrograde movementbegan. Forming it promptly, he joined in the action, and contributed greatlyto the orderly character of the retreat by his courage and admirable soldier-ship, seconded by the excellent conduct of the gentlemen composing hiscommand. Imboden and his battery did excellent service on this tryingoccasion. Bee met Jackson at the head of his brigade, on the position he hadfirst taken, and he began to re-form and Jackson to deploy at the same time.
In the mean time I had been waiting with General Beauregard on LookoutHill for evidence of General McDowell’s design. The violence of the firing onthe left indicated a battle, but the large bodies of troops reported by chosenscouts to be facing our right kept me in doubt. But near 11 o’clock reportsthat those troops were felling trees showed that they were standing on the
\ General Fry (page 185) states that these troops Reckoning by the estimate of strength given bywere Andrew Porter’s and Burnside’s brigades, General Fry on page 194 these would have madeand one regiment of Heintzelman’s division, a total of about 6500 men.— Editors.