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“U. S. Military Telegraph.(Received Aug. 26t3a 7 1862,fromWar Dep’t, 11 :45 a.m.)“Major-General Pope :—Not the slightest dissatisfac-tion has been felt in regard toyour operations on the Rap-pahannock. The main objecthas been accomplished in get-ting up troops from the Penin-sula, although they have beengreatly delayed by storms.Moreover, the telegraph hasbeen interrupted, leaving usfor a time ignorant of theprogress of the evacuation.. . . If possible to attack
the enemy in flank, do so, butthe main object now is toascertain his position. Makecavalry excursions for thatpurpose, especially towardFront Royal . If possible toget in his rear, pursue withvigor. H. W. Halleck ,
“ General-in-Chief.”
The movements of the enemy toward my right forced me either to abandonthe line of the Rappahannock and the communications with Fredericksburg,or to risk the loss of my army and the almost certain loss of Washington. Ofcourse between these two alternatives I could not hesitate in a choice. Iconsidered it my duty, at whatever sacrifice to my army and myself, to retard,as far as I could, the movement of the enemy toward Washington, until Iwas certain that the Army of the Potomac had reached Alexandria.
The movement of Jackson presented the only opportunity which hadoffered to gain any success over the superior forces of the enemy. I deter-mined, therefore, on the morning of the 27th of August to abandon the lineof the Rappahannock and throw my whole force in the direction of Gaines-ville and Manassas Junction , to crush any force of the enemy that had passedthrough Thoroughfare Gap, and to interpose between Lee’s army and Bull Run.Having the interior line of operations, and the enemy at Manassas beinginferior in force, it appeared to me, and still so appears, that with even ordi-nary promptness and energy we might feel sure of success.
In the meantime heavy forces of the enemy still confronted us at WaterlooBridge, \ while his main body continued its march toward our right, followingthe course of Hedgman’s River (the Upper Rappahannock). I accordinglysent orders, early on the 27th of August, to General McDowell to move rap-idly on Gainesville by the Warrenton pike with his own corps, reenforced byReynolds’s division and Sigel’s corps. I directed Reno , followed by Kearny’sdivision of Heintzelman’s corps, to move on Greenwich, so as to reach there
\On the afternoon of August 26th, Longstreet’s corps moved to Hinson’s Mill Ford, six miles above,leaving It. H. Anderson’s division (about 6000 effectives) at Waterloo Bridge.— Editors.
Orloan. /.§
Greenwich.
jSulplvurf Springs
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AUG. 26
1862 .