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^kyw'lynyv'q oyCEDAR MOUNTAIN
Scale of OneMile
)■ t FirstPosition—©— Position ofAitack
Note on the Battle of Cedar Mountain On the13th of July, the regular command of Jackson, consist-ing of the divisions of Ewell and Winder, inarched fromMechanicsville, on the Chickahominy, under orders todispute the advance of Pope ’s army south of the Rapi-dan. The column reached Gordonsville on the 19th, andJackson, on learning that Pope ’s forces outnumberedhis own, remained inactive until reenforced early inAugust by the division of A. P. Hill . Pope was now onthe Upper Rappahannock, with the corps of Banks andSigel, the former at Culpeper, the latter at Sperryville.The outposts of infantry and cavalry under Generals8. W. Crawford and George D. Bayard were along theRapidan, covering the approaches to Culpeper andSperryville [see map, p. 450]. On the 8th Bayard’spickets discovered the enemy crossing at Barnett’s Fordin large force, and retired along theOrange Court Houseroad toward Culpeper.
Jackson’s object was to strike Banks at Culpeperbefore the latter could be reenforced. On Jackson’sapproach, Pope ordered Banks ’s corps forward to CedarMountain, about eight miles beyond Culpeper, where itarrived in detachments, being in hand by noon of the0th, in two divisions, numbering about 8000 men, underGenerals C. C. Augur and A. S. Williams. General J. B.Ricketts’s division, of McDowell’s corps, was coming upas support. The Confederate divisions of Generals C.S. Winder and R. S. Ewell were now disposed alongthe northern base of the mountain, the brigades ofGeneral I. R. Trimble, Colonel H. Forno, and GeneralJ. A. Early, of Ewell’s division, on the right, with thoseof General W. B. Taliaferro and Lieutenant-Colonel T. 8.Garnett, of Winder’s division, on the left, and Winder’s“Stonewall” brigade, under Colonel C. A. Ronald, inreserve. The brigades of Generals L. O’B. Branch,J. L. Archer, and E. C. Thomas, of A. P. Hill ’s division,were within call, the entire command under Jacksonon the field, numbering at least 20,000. The Confederatesopeued the battle, sending forward Early and Taliaferroat 3 o’clock, but moving with caution. [See p. 496.]
Banks’s line was formed in thevalley of Cedar Run, and over-lapped the Confederate left. Gearyand Prince, advancing, encoun-tered Early and Taliaferro on thebroad cultivated plateau south ofthe Culpeper road, while Craw-ford closed in from the north onthe enemy’s left. The advantagewas with Banks . At 6 o’clock thebattle was at its height; Garnettstruck the fiank of Crawford, andthe fresh brigades of Hill ’s divis-ion were led against Prince andGeary. The extreme right ofBanks ’s line, the brigade of Gen-eral G. H. Gordon (Williams’s divis-ion), now charged up to the pointwhere Crawford had gone in, andGeneral G. S. Greene’s brigade(Augur’s division) moved to theaid of Prince and Geary. Mean-while, Banks ’s artillery havingbeen forced back by tlie guns onthe mountain-sides, Ewell threwforward his brigades on the right,Thomas (Hill ’s division) came for-ward into tlie gap between Earlyand Forno, and the battle was de-cided by tlie repulse everywhere ofBanks ’s troops. The last chargewas made by Bayard’s cavalry onthe extreme Union right. The ad-vance of Branch brought freshmuskets against Bayard, andthe successes of Jackson all alongtlie line closed the day. Afterdark Banks withdrew to his firstposition north of Cedar Creek andwas there met by Ricketts’s divis-ion and by General Pope in person.
The journal of General L. O’B. Branch, written August13th, contains the following description of the battle:“ General Jackson came to me and told me his left wasbeaten and broken, and the enemy was turning him andhe wished me to advance. I was already in line ofbattle and instantly gave the order, ‘Forward, march.’I had not gone 100 yards through the woods before wemet the celebrated Stonewall Brigade, utterly routed andfleeing as fast as they could run. After proceeding ashort distance farther we met the enemy pursuing. Mybrigade opened upon them and quickly drove the enemyback from the woods into a large field. Following upto the edge of the field, I came in view of large bodiesof the enemy, and having a very fine position, I openedupon them with great effect. The enemy’s cavalryattempted to charge us in two columns, but the fire soonbroke them and sent them fleeing across the field inevery direction. The infantry then retreated also.Advancing into the field, I halted near the middle of it,in doubt which direction to take. Just at that momentGeneral Jackson came riding up from my rear alone. Ireported my brigade as being solid, and asked for orders.My men recognized him and raised a terrific shout as herode along the line with his hat off. He evidently knewhow to appreciate a brigade that had gone through a hotbattle and was then following the retreating enemywithout having broken its line of battle, and remainedwith me . . . until the pursuit ceased.”
General S. W. Crawford gives this account of the flankmovement attempted by his brigade: “Onward theseregiments charged, driving the enemy’s infantry backthrough the wood beyond. . . . But the reserves ofthe enemy were at once brought up and thrown uponthe broken ranks. The field-officers had all been killed,wounded, or taken prisoners; the support I looked fordid not arrive, and my gallant men, broken, decimatedby that fearful fire, that unequal contest, fell hack againacross the space, leaving most of their number upon thefield.” Crawford’s brigade lost 494 killed or wounded,and 373 missing, out of a total of 1767 engaged.— Editors.