The east banks of the Rappahannock lifted quite above those occupied by the Confederates, giving advantageous position to the Union artillery fire, and offering no point above Kelly’s Ford to force a crossing.
When the left wing marched from Rappahannock Bridge, the enemy crossed a considerable force to the west bank, and covered it with a number of superior batteries well posted on the east side. To dislodge that force I put a number of batteries into action, including the Washington Artillery, and, later, part of the reserved battalion under Colonel S. D. Lee. The combat consumed much of the day of the 23d, when the enemy withdrew from that bank and burned some of the dwellings as he left.
Riding along the line of batteries during the combat, we passed a soldier-lad weeping over his brother, who had just been killed; just then a shell came screaming by, exploded, and dashed its fragments into the ground near enough to dust us a little. “Dad drat those Yankees!” he said; “if I had known that they were going to throw such things as that at a fellow, I would have stayed in Texas.” He had travelled a thousand miles to volunteer in the same company with his brother.
Assured of the transfer of McClellan’s forces from the James, General Lee called up the divisions of Generals D. H. Hill, McLaws, the half division under J. G. Walker, and Hampton’s cavalry from Richmond. Anderson’s division was marching from Orange Court-House as our reserve force.
On the 22d, Munford’s cavalry reported the Warrenton road open as far as the vicinity of General Pope’s head-quarters. General Stuart was ordered over, with parts of his brigades, to investigate and make trouble in the enemy’s rear. He crossed at Waterloo and Hunt’s Mill with fifteen hundred troopers and Pelham’s horse artillery, and rode to Warrenton. Passing through, he directed his ride towards Catlett’s Station to first burn the bridge over Cedar Creek.
Before reaching Catlett’s a severe storm burst upon him, bogging the roads and flooding the streams behind him. The heavy roads delayed his artillery so that it was after night when he approached Catlett’s. He caught a picket-guard and got into a camp about General Pope’s head-quarters, took a number of prisoners, some camp property, and, meeting an old acquaintance and friend in a colored man, who conducted him to General Pope’s tents, he found one of the general’s uniform coats, a hat, a number of official despatches, a large amount of United States currency, much of the general’s personal equipments, and one of the members of his staff, Major Goulding. He made several attempts to fire the bridge near Catlett’s, but the heavy rains put out all fires that could be started, when he sought axes to cut it away. By this time the troops about the camps rallied and opened severe fire against him, but with little damage. The heavy rainfall admonished him to forego further operations and return to the army while yet there was a chance to cross Cedar Creek and the Rappahannock before the tides came down. On the night of the 23d he reached Sulphur Springs, where he met General Jackson’s troops trying to make comfortable lodgement on the east bank, passed over, and resumed position outside General Lee’s left. The despatch-book of General Pope gave information of his troops and his anxiety for reinforcements, besides mention of those that had joined him, but General Stuart’s especial pleasure and pride were manifested over the possession of the uniform coat and hat of General Pope. Stuart rode along the line showing them, and proclaiming that he was satisfied with the exchange that made even his loss at Verdierville before the march; but the despatch lost at Verdierville was the tremendous blow that could not be overestimated.
All of the 23d was spent in severe artillery combat. General Jackson had gained the east bank at Warrenton (Sulphur Springs) crossing, and there seemed a fair prospect of making a permanent lodgement, but the tides from the severe storm of the day and night previous were coming down in torrents, threatening floods at all of the fords.
On the 22d, Pope had formed a plan of concentrating his forces to cross and attack Lee’s right by the lower fords, but the freshet had shut him off in that quarter; so he turned to the detachment of Jackson, on the east side, just cut off from support. Marching up the river bank, Jackson succeeded in so reinforcing his detachment as to defend it to an upper crossing till it found safe footing on the west bank. The high water cut off all operations by direct moves on the 24th. Meanwhile, General Pope had received the divisions of Kearny and Reynolds from McClellan’s army, forty-five hundred and twenty-five hundred respectively.
About this time a letter came to head-quarters of the right wing from General Toombs, expressing regret at his unfortunate mistake in relieving his troops from picket service, and asking to be released from arrest, that he might have the opportunity to show in the approaching conflicts his deep interest in the cause. The adjutant-general was instructed to say in reply that the chief of corps was pleased to know that the malefeasance was from want of experience, not intentional breach of authority, and that he would be more than welcome back by the general and the troops of his brigade.
