But this is what the situation really was:

The movements of this campaign were more complicated than those of any other during the war, and it appears to have been carried on with less of definite plan and connected purpose on either side. It is not probable that its merits, if it had any merits, will ever be satisfactorily agreed upon. On the part of Pope's army, whether by his fault or not, it was a disastrous failure. On the part of Lee's, while it resulted in tactical successes, it did not seriously menace the safety of Washington, and it led him on to his first great failure in an attempted invasion of the North. It is only fair to give General Pope's last word on the subject, which we quote from his article in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War." "At no time could I have hoped to fight a successful battle with the superior forces of the enemy which confronted me, and which were able at any time to out-flank and bear my small army to the dust. It was only by constant movement, incessant watchfulness, and hazardous skirmishes and battles, that the forces under my command were saved from destruction, and that the enemy was embarrassed and delayed in his advance until the army of General McClellan was at length assembled for the defence of Washington. I did hope that in the course of these operations the enemy might commit some imprudence, or leave some opening of which I could take such advantage as to gain at least a partial success. This opportunity was presented by the advance of Jackson on Manassas Junction; but although the best dispositions possible in my view were made, the object was frustrated by causes which could not have been foreseen, and which perhaps are not yet completely known to the country."

RUINS OF THE STONE BRIDGE ON THE WARRENTON TURNPIKE.
(From a War Department photograph.)

From Capt. Henry N. Blake, of the Eleventh Massachusetts regiment, we have these interesting incidents of the campaign:

"Matches were very scarce upon this campaign, and a private who intended to light one gave public notice to the crowd, who surrounded him with slips of paper and pipes in their hands. Some soldiers were in a destitute condition, and suffered from blistered feet, as they had no shoes, and others required a pair of pants or a blouse; but all gladly pursued Jackson, and his capture was considered a certain event. The column cheered General Pope when he rode along, accompanied by a vast body-guard, and he responded: 'I am glad to see you in such good spirits to-day.' ... The stream was forded, and the graves and bones of the dead, the rusty fragments of iron, and the weather-beaten débris of that contest reminded the men that they were again in the midst of the familiar scenes of the first battle of Bull Run. The cannonading was brisk at intervals during the day. Large tracts of the field were black and smoking from the effect of the burning grass which the shells ignited, and a small force was occasionally engaged upon the right, but there was no general conflict. The brigade took the position assigned to it, upon a slope of a hill, to support a battery which was attached to Sigel's corps, and no infantry was visible in any direction, although the land was open and objects within the distance of half a mile were readily seen. There was no firing, with the exception of the time when the troops debouched from the road in the morning, and the soldiers rested until four P.M. At this moment the enemy opened with solid shot upon the battery, which did not discharge one piece in response. The drivers mounted their horses; all rushed pell-mell through the ranks of the fearless and enraged support, and did not halt within the range of the artillery from which they had so cowardly fled. A member of the staff, dressed like an officer of the day, immediately arrived and gave a verbal order to the brigade commander, after which the regiments were formed and marched, unmindful of the cannon-balls, toward the right of the line, and halted in the border of a thick forest in which many skirmishes had taken place. 'What does the general want me to do now?' General Grover asked the aide who again rode up to the brigade. 'Go into the woods and charge,' was the answer. 'Where is my support?' the commander wisely inquired, for there were no troops near the position. 'It is coming.' After waiting fifteen minutes for this body to appear, the officer returned and said that 'the general was much displeased' because the charge had not been made, and the order was at once issued: 'Fix bayonets.' Each man was inspired by these magical words; great enthusiasm arose when this command was 'passed' from company to company, and the soldiers, led by their brave general, advanced upon a hidden foe through tangled woods which constantly interfered with the formation of the ranks. 'Colonel, do you know what we are going to charge on?' a private inquired. 'Yes; a good dinner.' The rebel skirmishers were driven in upon their reserve behind the bank of an unfinished railroad, and detachments from five brigades were massed in three lines, under the command of Ewell, to resist the onset of the inferior force that menaced them. The awful volleys did not impede the storming party that pressed on over the bodies of the dead and dying; while the thousands of bullets which flew through the air seemed to create a breeze that made the leaves upon the trees rustle, and a shower of small boughs and twigs fell upon the ground. The balls penetrated the barrels and shattered the stocks of many muskets; but the soldiers who carried them picked up those that had been dropped upon the ground by helpless comrades, and allowed no slight accident of this character to interrupt them in the noble work. The railroad bank was gained, and the column with cheers passed over it, and advanced over the groups of the slain and mangled rebels who had rolled down the declivity when they lost their strength. The second line was broken; both were scattered through the woods, and victory appeared to be certain until the last support, that had rested upon their breasts on the ground, suddenly rose up and delivered a destructive volley which forced the brigade, that had already lost more than one-third of its number in killed and wounded, to retreat. Ewell, suffering from his shattered knee, was borne to the rear in a blanket, and his leg was amputated. The horse of General Grover was shot upon the railroad bank while he was encouraging the men to go forward, and he had barely time to dismount before the animal, mad with pain, dashed into the ranks of the enemy. The woods always concealed the movements of the troops, and at one point a portion of the foe fell back while the others remained. The forces sometimes met face to face, and the bayonet and sword—weapons that do not pierce soldiers in nine-tenths of the battles that are fought—were used with deadly effect in several instances. A corporal exclaimed in the din of this combat, 'Dish ish no place for de mens,' and fled to the rear with the speed of the mythical Flying Dutchman. In one company of the regiment a son was killed by the side of his father, who continued to perform his duty with the firmness of a stoic, and remarked to his amazed comrades, in a tone which showed how a strong patriotic ardor can triumph over the deepest emotion of affection: 'I had rather see him shot dead as he was than see him run away.' ... The victors rallied the fugitives after this repulse, and their superior force enabled them to assault in front and upon both flanks the line which had been contracted by the severe losses in the charge, and the brigade fell back to the first position under a fire of grape and canister which was added to the musketry. The regimental flag was torn from the staff by unfriendly limbs in passing through the forest, and the eagle that surmounted it was cut off in the contest. The commander of the color-company saved these precious emblems, and earnestly shouted, when the lines were re-formed: 'Eleventh, rally round the pole!' which was then, if possible, more honored than when it was bedecked in folds of bunting. General Grover, who displayed the gallantry throughout this action that he had exhibited upon the peninsula, waved his hat upon the point of his sword to animate his brigade and prepare for a renewal of the fight. Many were scarcely able to speak on account of hoarseness caused by intense cheering, and some officers blistered the palms of their hands by waving swords when they charged with their commands."

GATHERING UP DÉBRIS OF POPE'S RETREAT AFTER THE SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN.
(From a War Department photograph.)
GENERAL HANCOCK AND FRIENDS.
(From a war-time photograph.)

HARPER'S FERRY IN POSSESSION OF THE CONFEDERATE FORCES.