Large bodies of rebel troops had been brought up to Leesburg after the battle, to defend that point, and to make an offensive movement, if deemed expedient. About four thousand Federals, under the command of General Stone, occupied the Virginia shore immediately opposite Edwards Ferry, and were in imminent danger of attack from the now rapidly increasing force of rebels threatening their front. Generals McClellan and Banks, who had repaired to Edwards Ferry, on the Maryland shore, and were ready to furnish large reinforcements in the event of a general engagement, watched with anxiety the rebel movements on the opposite side of the river. Becoming convinced that the means of transportation were entirely inadequate to properly reinforce General Stone’s command, the commander-in-chief ordered a withdrawal of all the Federal forces to the Maryland shore, which was safely accomplished on the night of the 23d.
Colonel E. D. Baker, whose death will make this battle-field immortal, was born in England, early left an orphan, and emigrated to this country. Few men have had a more eventful career, and few men have done so much to win the admiration of the people. He was, without question, one of the ablest speakers in the country; when he addressed public audiences he thrilled them with the electricity of his eloquence, and kindled them by his earnestness as a storm of fire sweeps over the prairie. For many years, whether at the bar, in the Congress of the nation, or before wild wood caucuses; in speaking to citizens, jurors, statesmen or soldiers; on the slope of the Atlantic, in the valley of the Mississippi, at the head of legions in Mexico, before the miners of California, or upon the banks of the Columbia, he held a place with the best men and finest orators in the land.
At the age of nineteen he was admitted to the bar in the State of Illinois. Subsequently he twice represented that State in the lower house of Congress. In 1846 he resigned in order to lead the Fourth Illinois regiment to Mexico. At Cerro Gordo, after the fall of General Shields, as senior Colonel he took command of the brigade, and fought through the desperate battle in a manner that drew an especial compliment from General Twiggs.
Returning home, he was, after his recovery from a severe wound received on the Rio Grande, again elected to Congress. Later in life he was connected with the Panama railroad; still later, in 1852, he removed with his family to Oregon, where he was elected United States Senator.
The struggle for the Union came, and he hastened to New York, where his fiery eloquence stirred the heart of its people. When they rushed impetuously to arms, he warned the country of the magnitude of the struggle, and was foremost in support of the Government. He was not, however, a speaker only, but a worker as well. In a little time he had gathered about him an effective regiment. Men from all States rushed to fill up the ranks. Refusing to resign his position in the Senate and be promoted to a Major-Generalship, he retained his simple title of Colonel, and died with no higher rank.
He was killed at the head of his brigade, and with his life’s blood sealed the vow he had made to see America a free and united people or die in the struggle. Courageous, upright, earnest, indomitable spirits like his can never be forgotten; they are the jewels of a nation, which brighten as they pass into eternity. In his own words, the words that from his eloquent lips rung over the grave of Broderick, let us give him to immortality.
“True friend and hero, hail and farewell!”
BATTLE AT CAMP WILD CAT, KY.
October 21, 1861.
On the same day that the disastrous battle at Ball’s Bluff, Va., was fought, and also the successful engagement of Colonel Plummer’s command at Frederickton, Mo., a spirited fight was maintained by a small force of Federal troops in Kentucky. They were successful in resisting the attack of a large body of the enemy under General Zollicoffer, who had made advances into that State from Tennessee, by the Cumberland Gap. The engagement was unimportant when viewed in reference to the numbers engaged, or the loss of life, but its moral effects were significant. It was the first battle thus far that had taken place upon the soil of Kentucky, and it was bravely fought by her own loyal sons.