May 31 was the crisis of his operations. On that morning, when the prisoners and the convoy marched out of Winchester, Shields was at Front Royal. But Shields was unsupported; Ord’s division was fifteen miles in rear, and Bayard’s cavalry still further east. Even had he moved boldly on Strasburg he could hardly have seized the town. The ground was in Jackson’s favour. The only road available for the Federals was that which runs south of the North Fork and the bridges had been destroyed. At that point, three miles east of Strasburg, a small flank-guard might have blocked the way until the main body of the Confederates had got up. And had Frémont, instead of halting that evening at Cedar Creek, swept Ashby aside and pushed forward to join his colleague, the Valley army might easily have effected its retreat. Winder alone would have been cut off, and Jackson had provided for that emergency.
When the embarrassments under which the Federals laboured are laid bare, the passage of the Confederates between the converging armies loses something of its extraordinary character. Nevertheless, the defeat of the Front Royal garrison and the loss of the bridges was enough to have shaken the strongest nerves. Had Jackson then burnt his convoy, and released his prisoners, few would have blamed him; and the tenacity with which he held to his original purpose, the skill with which he imposed on both Shields and Frémont, are no less admirable than his perception of his opponents’ difficulties. Well has it been said: “What gross ignorance of human nature do those declaimers display who assert that the employing of brute force is the highest qualification of a general!”
NOTE
POSITION OF THE TROOPS, MAY 29 TO JUNE 1
Night of May 29
| FEDERALS | CONFEDERATES | |
| McDowell Shields, 10,200, Rectorstown. Ord, 9,000, Thoroughfare Gap. Bayard, 2,000. Catlett’s Station. Frémont, 15,000, Fabius. Saxton, 7,000, Harper’s Ferry. Banks, 7,000, Williamsport. Geary, 2,000, Middleburg. |
Jackson’s Division, 7,200, Halltown. Ewell’s Division, 5,000, Halltown. Ashby. 800, Wardensville road. Taylor’s Brigade, 8,000, Berryville. 12th Georgia Regiment, 460, Front Royal. 2nd Virginia Regiment, 860, Loudoun Heights. |
Night of May 30
| FEDERALS | CONFEDERATES | |
| McDowell Shields, 10,200, Front Royal. Ord, 9,000, Piedmont. Bayard, 2,000, Thoroughfare Gap. King, 10,000, near Catlett’s Station. Saxton, 7,000, Harper’s Ferry. Banks, 8,600, Williamsport. Freémont, 15,000, Wardensville. Geary, 2,000, Upperville. | Army of Valley, 13,850, Winchester. Stonewall Brigade, 1,600, Halltown. 2nd Virginia Regiment, 380, Loudoun Heights. Ashby, 300, Wardensville Road. |
Night of May 31
| FEDERALS | CONFEDERATES | |
| McDowell Shields, Front Royal. Ord, Manassas Gap. King, Catlett’s Station. Bayard, Manassas Gap. Saxton, Harper’s Ferry. Banks, Williamsport. Frémont, Cedar Creek. Geary, Snicker’s and Ashby’s Gaps. |
Army of Valley, Strasburg. Stonewall Brigade, Newtown. Ashby, Cedar Creek. |
| FEDERALS | CONFEDERATES | |
| McDowell Shields, ten miles south of Front Royal. Ord, Front Royal. King, Haymarket. Bayard, Buckton. Saxton, Harper’s Ferry. Banks, Williamsport. Frémont, Cedar Creek. Geary, Snicker’s and Ashby’s Gaps. |
Army of Valley, Woodstock. Ashby, Tom’s Brook. |