82 



ARMY OPERATIONS. 



my assistance last July, their timely, decisive arrival, 

 and for their conspicuous steadiness and gallantry on 

 the field of battle. 



Those of their comrades of both corps, and of all arms 

 of the army of the Potomac, not so fortunate as yet to 

 have been with us in conflict with our enemy, I leave 

 with all confidence that on occasion they will show them- 

 selves fit comrades for the men of Manassas, Bull Run, 

 and Ball's Bluff! G. T. BEAUREGARD, 



General Commanding. 



Twelve months had now nearly passed since 

 the first soldiers of the Confederate army took 

 the field, and their term of enlistment was about 

 to expire. This fact is not only referred to in 

 the address of Gen. Beauregard, but it was made 

 the occasion of the following address by Gen. 

 Johnston, now in command of the same forces: 



HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OP NORTTTKRN VIRGINIA, | 

 February 4, 1862. \ 



SOLDIERS : Your country again calls you to the de- 

 fence of the noblest of human causes. To the indomit- 

 able courage already exhibited on the battle field, you 

 have added the rarer virtues of high endurance, cheer- 

 ful obedience, and self-sacrifice. Accustomed to the 

 comforts and luxuries of home, you have met and 

 borne the privations of camp life, the exactions of 

 military discipline, and the rigors of a winter campaign. 

 The rich results of your courage, patriotism, and un- 

 faltering virtue are before you. Intrusted with the 

 defence of this important frontier, you have driven 

 back the immense army which the enemy had sent to 

 invade our country, and to establish his dominion over 

 our people by the wide-spread havoc of a war inau- 

 gurated without a shadow of constitutional right, and 

 prosecuted in a spirit of ruthless vengeance. By your 

 valor and firmness, you have kept him in check, until 

 the nations of the earth have been forced to see us in 

 our true character not dismembered and rebellious 

 communities, but an empire of confederate States, with 

 a constitution safe in the affections of the people, 

 institutions and laws in full and unobstructed opera- 

 tion, a population enjoying all the comforts of life, and 

 a citizen soldiery who laugh to scorn the threat of 

 subjugation. 



"i our country now summons you to a noble and a 

 greater deed. The enemy has gathered up all his 

 energies for a final conflict. His enormous masses 

 threaten us on the west ; his naval expeditions are 

 assailing us upon our whole southern coast ; and upon 

 the Potomac, within a few hours' march, he has a 

 gigantic army, inflamed by lust and maddened by 

 fanaticism. But the plains of Manassas are not for- 

 gotten, and he shrinks from meeting the disciplined 

 heroes who hurled across the Potomac his grand army, 

 routed and disgraced. He does not propose to attack 

 this army so long as it holds its present position with 

 undimimshed numbers and unimpaired discipline ; but, 

 protected by his fortifications, he. awaits the expira- 

 tion of your term of service. He recollects that his 

 own ignoble soldiery, when their term of service ex- 

 pired, "marched away from the scene of conflict to the 

 sound of the enemy's cannon," and he hopes that at 

 that critical moment Southern men will consent to 

 share with them this infamy. Expecting a large por- 

 tion of our army to be soon disbanded, he hopes that 

 his immense numbers will easily overpower vour gal- 

 lant comrades who will be left here, and thus remove 

 the chief obstacle to his cherished scheme of Southern 

 subjugation. 



The Commanding General calls upon the twelve 

 months' men to stand by their brave comrades who 

 have volunteered for the war, to re-volunteer at once, 

 and thus show to the world that the patriots engaged 

 in this struggle for independence will not swerve from 

 the bloodiest path they may be called to tread. The 

 enemies of your country, as well as her friends, are 

 watching your action with deep, intense, tremulous 

 interest. Such is your position that you can act no 

 obscure part. Your decision, be it for honor or dis- 



honor, will be written down in history. You cannot, 

 you will not, draw back at this solemn crisis of our 

 struggle, when all that is heroic'in the land is engaged, 

 and all that is precious hangs trembling in the balance. 

 JOS. E. JOHNSTON, Major-General C. S. A. 



It was not the purpose of Gen. McClellan 

 while commander-in-chief to move on Centre- 

 ville, but by the lower Chesapeake upon Rich- 

 mond. His object was to capture and hold Chat- 

 tanooga, Tenn., before the army of the Potomac 

 advanced. In this, however, he was overruled 

 by the President, who, on the 27th of January, 

 issued an order, as above stated, for a general 

 advance of all the armies on the 22d of Febru- 

 ary. This order was thus undoubtedly prema- 

 ture ; and while it served to present the Presi- 

 dent before the country as anxious for a move- 

 ment, it was really of no benefit to the cause, 

 but, on the contrary, an actual injury. Previous 

 to its issue a change had been made in the head 

 of the War Department. Secretary Simon 

 Cameron had resigned and was succeeded by 

 Edwin M. Stanton ; neither was a man of mili- 

 tary education or experience. 



The effects upon the Confederate States of 

 the movements made in consequence of this 

 order were thus described at Richmond: "Had 

 not the impatience of the Northern people and 

 the pressure of the European Cabinets forced 

 the hand of McClellan, and had he been able 

 to assemble and arrange his troops and stores 

 in the position he desired, without a conflict to 

 arouse the attention of the Southern people to 

 what was going on, our condition in April and 

 May would have been tenfold more dangerous 

 than it now is. The disasters we have suffered 

 are mortifying to us and exhilarate our enemies ; 

 but they have startled without crippling the 

 Confederacy. Had it lain still two months more, 

 with the army dwindling daily under the fur- 

 lough system, disgusted with the inaction of sta- 

 tionary camps, while the Government was squab- 

 bling with the Generals and the people sinking 

 into indifference, we would have been overrun 

 between the 15th of April and the 1st of May/' 



Gen. Lander having cleared his department 

 of the forces of the enemy, a movement was 

 now commenced lower down the Potomac by 

 a portion of Gen. Banks's command. On the 

 24th of February the 28th Pennsylvania regi- 

 ment, Col. Geary, crossed the Potomac from 

 Sandy Hook and took possession of Harper's 

 Ferry. The object of this movement upon 

 Harper's Ferry was to cover the reconstruction 

 of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and at the 

 same time to draw the attention of the Confed- 

 erates to their left flank, which was threatened 

 by the movement. The operations of crossing 

 the Potomac and the occupation of Harper's 

 Ferry and Charlestown were superintended by 

 Gen. McClellan in person. The bridges were 

 thrown over the Potomac by Capt. J. C. Duane, 

 TJ. S. engineers, on the 26th of February, and 

 on the same day Gen. Banks occupied Harper's 

 Ferry permanently, and the advance took pos- 

 session of Bolivar Heights. On the 27th recon- 

 noissances were pushed forward to Charles- 



