49 °

THE SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN.

The exact losses in this battle I am unable to give, as the reports fromcorps commanders only indicated the aggregate losses since August 22d, butthey were very heavy. [See “ Opposing Forces,” p. 497.— Editors.]

Before leaving the field I sent orders to General Banks , at Bristoe Station,where the railroad was broken, to destroy the cars and such of the storesas he could not take off in the wagon trains, and join me at Centreville. Ihad previously sent him instructions to bring off from Warren ton Junctionand Bristoe Station all of the ammunition and all of the sick and woundedwho could bear transportation, throwing personal baggage and property outof the regimental trains, if necessary, for the purpose.

At no time during the 29th, 30th, or 31st of August was the road betweenBristoe and Centreville interrupted by the enemy. The orders will show conclu-sively that every arrangement was made in the minutest detail for the securityof our wagon train and supplies; and General Banks ’s subsequent report tome is positive that none of the wagons or mules were lost. I mention thismatter merely to answer the wholly unfounded statements made at the time,and repeated often since, of our loss of wagons, mules, and supplies.

I arrived personally at Centreville about 9 or 10 o’clock that night [the30th]. The next morning the various corps were posted in the old intrench-ments in and around Centreville, and ammunition trains and some supplieswere brought up during the day and distributed. We spent that whole dayresting the men and resupplying them with ammunition and provisions asfar as our means permitted.

Franklin’s corps arrived at Centreville late on the afternoon of the 30th;Sumner’s the next day. What was then thought by the Government of ouroperations up to this time is shown in the subjoined dispatch:

I noticed all the prominent generals of that army. Itwas a long one, and apparently not over-pleasant, ifone might judge of it by the expressions on the faces ofthe officers when they separated. The information itdeveloped, however, was that the enemy was betweenthe Army of the Potomac and Washington; that Kearnywas then engaged with him at Chantilly, and that wemust fall back toward the defenses of the city. Dejec-tion disappeared, activity took the place of immobility,and we were ready again to renew the contest. Butwho was to be our leader! and where were we to fight!Those were the questions that sprang to our lips. Wehad been ordered to keep our camp-fires burningbrightly until ‘ tattoo ’; and then, after the rolls hadbeen called, we stole aw'ay—out into a gloomy night,made more desolate by the glare of dying embers. Noth-ing occurred to disturb our march; we arrived at Fair-fax Court House early on the morning of the 2 d ofSeptember. At this point we weTe turned off on the roadto Washington, and went into bivouac. Here all sortsof rumors reached us; but, tired out from the wearynight march, our blankets were soon spread on theground, and we enjoyed an afternoon and night of com-parative repose.

“About 4 o’clock on the next afternoon, from a prom-inent point, we descried in the distance the dome of theCapitol. We would be there at least in time to defendit 1 Darkness came upon us and still we marched. As thenight wore on, we found at each halt that it was moreand more difficult to arouse the men from the sleep intowhich they would fall apparently as soon as they touchedthe ground. During one of these halts, while ColonelBuchanan, the brigade commander, was resting a littleoff the road, some distance in advance of the head of

the column, it being starlight, two horsemen came downthe road toward us. I thought I observed a familiarform, and, turning to Colonel Buchanan, said:

“‘Colonel, if I did not kuow that General McClellan had been relieved of all command, I Rhould say that hewas one of that party/ adding immediately, ‘ I do reallybelieve it is he! ’

“‘Nonsense,’ said the colonel; ‘wliat would GeneralMcClellan be doing out in this lonely place, at this timeof night, without an escort! *

“ The two horsemen passed on to where the men of thecolumn were lying, standing, or sitting, and were soonlost in the shadowy gloom. But a few moments hadelapsed, however, when Captain John D. Wilkins, ofthe 3d Infantry (now colonel of the 5th) came runningtoward Colonel Buchanan, crying out:

“ ‘ Colonel! Colonel! General McClellan is here! ’

“ The enlisted men caught the sound! Whoever wasawake aroused his neighbor. Eyes were rubbed, andthose tired fellow's, as the news passed down the column,jumped to their feet, and sent up such a hurrah as theArmy of the Potomac had never heard before. Shoutupon shout went out into the stillness of the night; andas it was taken up along the road and repeated by regi-ment, brigade, division, and corps, we could hear theroar dyingawayin thedistance. Theeffectof thisman’spresence upon the Army of the Potomac—in .sunshineor rain, in darkness or in daylight, in victory or defeat—was electrical, and too wonderful to make it worthwhile attempting to give a reason for it. Just two weeksfrom this time this defeated army, under the leadershipof McClellan, w r on the battles of South Mountain andAntietam, having marched ten days out of the twoweeks in order to do it,”

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