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SCHEMES FOR OVERTURNING THE GOVERNMENT.

523

belief that, under instructions from Davis, he would attempt the seizure of Washington City before Congress should meet there, on the 4th of July. It was well known that the secessionists, then swarming in the Capital, were in continual communication with Beauregard, and it was believed that they were ready to act in concert with him in any scheme for overturning the Government. The consequence was, that credence was given to the wildest rumors, and the Government and the General-in-chief were frequently much alarmed for the safety of the Capital. It was during one of these paroxysms of doubt and dread that General Scott was constrained to telegraph to Patterson :-"We are pressed here. Send the troops I have twice called for, without delay."

The danger was, indeed, imminent. It is now known that, at about that time, a proposition was made to L. P. Walker, the so-called Secretary of War of the conspirators, to blow up the National Capitol with gunpowder, some time between the 4th and 6th of July, at a time when both Houses of Congress should be in session therein, and when Mr. Lincoln, it was hoped, would be present. This infernal proposition to murder several hundred men and women (for on such occasions the galleries of the halls of Congress were generally filled with spectators of both sexes) so pleased the conspirators, that directions were given for a conference between the assassin and Judah P. Benjamin, the so-called Attorney-General of the "Confederacy." Thus early in the conflict, the plotters against their Government were ready to employ agencies in their wicked work such as none but the most depraved criminals would use. The records of the war show that Jefferson Davis, and his immediate accomplices in the Great Crime of the Ages, were participants in plans and deeds of wickedness which every right-minded man and woman who was misled into an adhesion to their cause should be eager to disavow, and, by genuine loyalty to their beneficent Government, to atone for.

General Patterson was compelled to remain on the Maryland side of the Potomac until the beginning of July. In the mean time the General-in-chief had asked him to propose to him a plan of operations, without delay. He did so. He proposed to fortify Maryland Hights, and 1861. occupy them with about two thousand troops, provisioned for twenty days; to remove all of his supplies to Frederick, and threaten with a force to open a route through Harper's Ferry; and to send all available forces to cross the Potomac near the Point of Rocks, and, uniting with Colonel Stone at Leesburg, be in a position to operate against the foe in the Shenandoah Valley, or to aid General McDowell when he should make his proposed march, with the main army near Washington, on the insurgents at Manassas. This would have placed him in a better position to prevent Johnston, at Winchester, from joining Beauregard at Manassas, than if sta-. tioned between Williamsport and Winchester. These suggestions were not heeded; and a few days afterward, while Patterson was begging earnestly for cannon and transportation, to enable him to well guard the fords of the river, and take position on the Virginia side, he received a dispatch from the General-in-chief, directing him to remain "in front of the enemy, between Winchester and the Potomac," and if his (Patterson's)

@ June 20,

b June 25.

1 See the Proclamation of the President, April 15, 1861, on page 336.

2 See note 1. page 232.

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BATTLE AT FALLING WATERS.

force was "superior or equal" to that of Johnston, he might "cross and offer him battle." The conditions would not warrant a movement then, and

a June 27, 1861.

the disabilities were laid before the Chief. Two days afterward, Scott telegraphed to Patterson that he expected he was "crossing the river that day in pursuit of the enemy."

Patterson was eager to advance, notwithstanding his foe was greatly his superior in numbers and equipment; and when, on the 29th, harness for artillery horses arrived, he made instant preparations

June.

с 1861.

to go forward. A reconnoissance in force was made on the 1st of July, and on the 2d the whole army crossed the Potomac, at the Williamsport Ford, and took the road toward Martinsburg, nineteen miles northwest of Harper's Ferry. Near Falling Waters, five miles from the ford, the advance-guard, under Colonel John J. Abercrombie, which had crossed the river at four o'clock in the morning, fell in with Johnston's advance, consisting of about three thousand five hundred infantry, with cannon (Pendleton's battery of field artillery), and a large force of cavalry, under Colonel J. E. B. Stuart, the whole under the command of the heroic leader afterward known as "Stonewall" Jackson. Abercrombie immediately deployed his regiments (First Wisconsin and Eleventh Pennsylvania) on each side of the road; placed Hudson's section of Perkins's battery, supported by the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, in the highway, and advanced to the attack, in the face of a warm fire of musketry and artillery. A severe contest ensued, in which McMullen's Philadelphia company of Independent Rangers participated. It lasted less than half an hour, when Lieutenant Hudson's cannon had silenced those of the

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THOMAS J. ("STONEWALL") JACKSON.

insurgents, and Colonel George H. Thomas's brigade was coming up to the support of Abercrombie. Perceiving this, Jackson

fled, hotly pursued about five miles, to the

hamlet of Hainesville, where the chase was abandoned. Having been reenforced by the arrival of General Bee and Colonel Elzy, and the Ninth Georgia Regiment, Johnston had sent a heavy force out to the support of Jackson, and the Unionists thought it prudent not to pursue further. Jackson halted and encamped at Bunker's Hill, on the road between Martinsburg and Winchester. The skirmish (which is known as the Battle of Falling Waters) and the chase occupied about two hours. It was a brilliant little affair, for the insurgents considerably outnumbered the Union troops, and were sheltered by a wood in a chosen position; but by greater opera

July 8.

tions, that soon followed, it was almost totally obscured.

On the following day, General Patterson and his army entered Martinsburg, where he was joined on the 8th by the Nine

1 On that day a party of insurgents dashed into Harper's Ferry village, drove out the Union men there, destroyed what was left of the railroad bridge and trestle-work in front of the army, and crossed the river and broke up or carried away all the boats they could find there.

UNION TROOPS AT MARTINSBURG.

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4 July 9,

1861.

teenth and Twenty-eighth New York Regiments, under Colonel Stone, and on the following day by the Fifth and Twelfth New York Regiments, under General Sandford. Thus strengthened, Patterson immediately issued orders for an advance on Winchester, when it was found that the troops of Stone were too weary and footsore to be of efficient service. The order was countermanded, and on the following morning Patterson held a council of officers at his quarters, a small house in the village, when he was advised not to advance at the present. The wisdom of that advice will be apparent hereafter. Patterson acted in accordance with it, and remained almost a fortnight at Martinsburg, waiting for re-enforcement, supplies, and means for transportation.

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While these movements were in progress in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, others equally important were occurring elsewhere, and at points far distant from each other. In Missouri, the fires of civil war were blazing out; and in Western Virginia the opposing forces were carrying on quite an active campaign. Nearer Washington City blood began to flow. From their grand encampment at Manassas Junction the insurgents were continually sending out reconnoitering parties, all having reference to the seizure of the Capital. These were frequently seen along the line of the Potomac from Leesburg to the Chain Bridge, within five or six miles of Washington City; while others were establishing batteries below Alexandria for the blockade of the river.

PATTERSON'S QUARTERS AT MARTINSBURG.

At the middle of June the insurgents were hovering along the line of the railway between Alexandria and Leesburg, and on the 16th they fired upon a train of cars on that road, at the little village of Vienna, fifteen miles from Alexandria. General McDowell immediately ordered the First Ohio Regiment, Colonel A. McD. McCook, to picket and guard the road. These troops left their encampment near Alexandria on the 17th, accompanied by Brigadier-General Robert C. Schenck, and proceeded cautiously in cars and on trucks in the direction of Vienna. Detachments were left at different points along the road, one of which was the village of Falls Church, which became a famous locality during the earlier years of the war. When the train approached Vienna, only four companies, comprising less than three hundred men, were on the train, and these were on open platforms or trucks.

In the mean time a detachment of Beauregard's army was waiting for them in ambush. These consisted of six hundred South Carolina infantry, a company of artillery, and two companies of cavalry, under Colonel Maхсу Gregg. They had been on a reconnoissance up the Potomac region as far

1 Report of General Patterson to Lieutenant-General Scott. Report of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, volume ii.

2 Gregg was a leading member of the South Carolina Secession Convention (see pages 103 and 107). He entered the army, was promoted to brigadier-general, elected Governor of South Carolina, and was killed at Fredericksburg. Fort Gregg, on Morris Island, near Charleston, was named in his honor.

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as Dranesville, and, having come down to Vienna, had just torn up some of the railway and destroyed a water-tank, and were departing, when they heard the whistle of a locomotive engine below the village. They hastened to the curve of the railway, in a deep cut a quarter of a mile from the village, and there planted two cannon so as to sweep the road, and masked them.

Unsuspicious of danger, McCook and his men entered the deep cut. Contrary to orders, the engineer had run up to that point quite rapidly, and there had been no opportunity for reconnoitering. The engine was behind the train, and was pushing it up. When the whole train was fairly exposed to the masked cannon, they opened fire, and swept it from front to rear with grape and canister shot. Fortunately, the shot went high, and most of the soldiers were sitting. The frightened engineer, instead of drawing the whole train out of the peril, uncoupled the engine and one passenger-car, and fled with all possible speed toward Alexandria. The troops leaped from the train, fell back along the railway, and rallied in a grove near by, where they maintained so bold a front, under a shower of shell and other missiles, that the assailants believed them to be the advance of a heavier force near. With that belief they soon retired, and hastened to Fairfax Court House, leaving the handful of Ohio troops, whom they might have captured with ease, to make their : way leisurely back, carrying their dead and wounded companions on litters and in blankets. The Union loss was five killed, six wounded, and thirteen missing. That of the insurgents is unknown. The latter destroyed the portion of the train that was left in the deep cut, and captured a quantity of stores. When they ascertained that the National troops were not in force in that vicinity, they returned and took possession of Vienna and Falls Church Village. On that occasion, the flag of the "Sovereign State of South Carolina " was displayed, for the first time, in the presence of National troops out of that State.

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SOUTH CAROLINA FLAG.

ROBERT C. SCHENCK.

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We have observed that the insurgents were endeavoring to blockade the Potomac. Ten days after the affair at Vienna, there were some stirring scenes connected with that blockade at Matthias Point, a bold promontory in King George's County, Virginia, jutting out into the river, and giving it a short sharp turn. That point was covered with woods, and there the insurgents commenced erecting a battery which might completely destroy the

1 Report of General Schenck to Lieutenant-General Scott. Correspondence of the Louisville Courier, June 29, and New York Tribune, June 20.

2 The flag was composed of blue silk, with a golden Palmetto-tree on a white oval center-piece, and a silver crescent in the left upper corner. Partly surrounding the white oval were the words of the motto of the State: -" ANIMIS OPIBUSQUE PARATL" See picture of the Seal of South Carolina, on page 105.

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INSURGENTS AT MATTHIAS POINT.

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water communication with the Capital. Captain Ward, of the Potomac flotilla, was with the Freeborn, his flagship, below this point, when information of the presence of an insurgent force on the promontory reached him. He determined to

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and denude the Point of trees, so that there might be no shelter for the aggressors from the observation of cruisers on the river.

On the morning of the 27th, the Freeborn, with the boats from the Pawnee, went up to Matthias Point, when the former commenced firing shot and shell into the woods. Under cover of this fire, Lieutenant Chaplin and his party, with others from the Freeborn, landed at about ten o'clock. Captain Ward accompanied them. Skirmishers were thrown out, and these soon encountered the pickets of the insurgents, who fired and fled. Just then a body of four or five hundred of the foe were seen coming over a hill. Ward hastened back to the Freeborn, to renew the shelling, while Chaplin and his men took to their boats. The insurgents were checked, and, in the course of fifteen minutes, Chaplin was again ordered to land, and to throw up a breastwork of sand-bags. This was nearly ready for the guns that were to be sent ashore to arm them when a signal was given for him to retire, for the insurgents were too many for them. Before the men could reach their boats, the foe fired upon them with muskets. They safely embarked. Chaplin was the last to leave. The boats

b June, 1861.

1 This is a view of the ancient church which gives the name to the village, mentioned on page 526, as it appeared when the writer visited and sketched it, at the close of April, 1865. The church is a cotemporary with Pohick Church, near Mount Vernon, built before the Revolution, of brick, and in a style similar to the latter. It is about eight miles north of Alexandria, and the same distance west of Washington City. The village that has grown up around the church was built chiefly by Massachusetts people who had settled there, but the congregation of this church (Episcopalians) were chiefly native Virginians, and were nearly all secessionists. Their rector, a secessionist, afraid to pray for the President of the United States or for Jefferson Davis, when the war broke out, took the safe course of praying for the Governor of Virginia. The church is now (1865) a ruin, made so by the National troops, who took out all of its wood-work for timber and fuel, and had commenced taking the brick walls for chimneys to huts. The latter depredation was immediately checked.

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