ARMY OPERATIONS. 



101 



Gettysburg was occupied by a force from Ha- 

 gerstown on the 26th ; and at noon on the 27th, 

 the same force had reached the Northern Cen- 

 tral railroad, at a point between York and 

 Hanover Junction. This was about fifty miles 

 north of Baltimore, and thirty miles south of 

 Harrisburg. The same evening, York was oc- 

 cupied without resistance, and several bridges 

 on the Northern Central railroad were de- 

 stroyed. On the 28th, this advance continued 

 to the Susquehanna, opposite Columbia. The 

 bridge across the river here consisted of twen- 

 ty-eight spans, and was a mile and a quarter 

 in length. It was burned fey the order of the 

 officer in command.of the Federal force at Co- 

 lumbia Col. Frick. The Confederate cavalry 

 and artillery were close upon the structure 

 when it was fired. On the same day, the ad- 

 vance from Carlisle approached within four 

 miles of Harrisburg, where some skirmishing 

 took place. 



On the previous day, Gen. Lee, at Chambers- 

 burg, issued the following order to his army : 



General Order No. 27. 



HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, ) 

 CHAMBERSBPRG, PA., June 21th, 1863. ) 



The Commanding General has observed, with marked 

 satisfaction, the conduct of the troops on the march, 

 and confidently anticipates results commensurate with 

 the high spirit they have manifested. No troops could 

 have displayed greater fortitude, or better performed 

 the arduous marches of the past ten days. Their con- 

 duct m other respects has, with few exceptions, been 

 in keeping with their character as soldiers, and enti- 

 tles them to approbation and praise. 



There have, however, been instances cf forgetful- 

 ness, on the part of some, that they have in keeping 

 the yet unsullied reputation of the army, and that the 

 duties exacted of U3 by civilization and Christianity 

 are not less obligatory in the country of the enemy 

 than in our own. 



The Commanding General considers that no greater 

 disgrace could befall the army, and through it our 

 whole people, than the perpetration of the barbarous 

 outrages upon the innocent and defenceless, and the 

 wanton .destruction of private property, that have 

 marked the course of the enemy in our own country. 

 Such proceedings not only disgrace the perpetrators 

 and all connected with them, but are subversive of the 

 discipline and efficiency of the army, and destructive 

 of the ends of our present movement. It must be re- 

 membered that we make war only upon armed men, 

 and that we cannot take vengeance for the wrongs our 

 people have suffered, without lowering ourselves in the 

 eyes of all whose abhorrence has been excited by the 

 atrocities of our enemy, and offending against Him to 

 whom vengeance belongeth, without whose favor and 

 support our efforts must all prove in vain. 



The Commanding General therefore earnestly ex- 

 horts the troops to abstain with 'most scrupulous care 

 from unnecessary or wanton injury to private proper- 

 ty ; and he enjoins upon all officers to arrest and bring 

 to summary punishment all who shall in any way of- 

 fend against the orders on this subject. 



R. E. LEE, General. 



On the 28th, the Confederate force at York 

 made a demand on the authorities for $100,000 

 in United States Treasury notes, 200 barrels of 

 flour, 40,000 pounds of fresh beef, 30,000 bush- 

 els of corn, 1,000 pairs of shoes, socks, &c. On 

 that day also, the enemy captured a train of 

 one hundred and seventy-eight wagons and 



one thousand mules, between Rockville and 

 Tenallytown, a few miles from Georgetown, 

 D. 0. Also a number of Federal officers, on 

 the way to join their commands, were cap- 

 tured near Rockville, by a body of Confederate 

 cavalry which had crossed the Potomac near 

 Seneca, in the rear of Gen. Hooker's army; 

 and at Edwards's Ferry, fifteen barges loaded 

 with government stores were captured and 

 burned by a body of Confederate cavalry. 

 On the same day, this force of cavalry 

 appeared at numerous points in Montgomery 

 county, and seized horses. Some came as 

 near to "Washington as Silver Spring, on the 

 Seventh-street road. No individuals were 

 seized, but passes were given to them to go 

 through their lines. These were portions of 

 cavalry under Gen. Stuart. On the advance of 

 Gen. Lee, Gen. Stuart was left to guard the 

 passes of the mountains, and to observe the 

 movements of the Federal army, with instruc- 

 tions to harass and impede as much as pos- 

 sible any attempt by it to cross the Potomac. 

 With this view he followed its movements, 

 and advanced as far east as Fairfax Court 

 House. He then crossed the river at Seneca, 

 and marched through Westminster to Carlisle. 

 At this time the army of Gen. Lee was situated 

 as follows: the main body, embracing the 

 corps of Gens. Longstreet and Hill, were at 

 and near Chambersburg, where Gen. Lee also 

 was. The divisions of Gens. Rhodes and John- 

 son, of Gen. Ewell's corps, were in the vicinity 

 of Carlisle and Harrisburg. The division of 

 Gen. Early, of the same corps, was at York, 

 where it was joined on the 27th by the brigade 

 of Gen. Gordon. The cavalry under Col. White, 

 had advanced to the Susquehanna. 



But the extreme point of the Confederate 

 advance had been reached. On the 28th, or- 

 ders were issued for both lines of advance of 

 Gen. Ewell's corps to fall back on Gettysburg, 

 to which point Gens. Longstreet and Hill were 

 moving by the Chambersburg turnpike. The 

 reason of this was the approach of the Army 

 of the Potomac. Gen. Lee had made prepa- 

 rations to march upon Harrisburg, but on the 

 night of the 27th information was received by 

 him that the Fefleral army had crossed the Po- 

 tomac, and was advancing northward, and that 

 the head of the column had reached South moun- 

 tain. As his communications with the Poto- 

 mac were thus menaced, he resolved to prevent 

 the further progress of the Federal army in 

 that direction by concentrating his forces on 

 the east side of the mountain. 



On the 22d, the army of Gen. Hooker occu- 

 pied the line of the Potomac on the Virginia 

 side of the river, up to and beyond Leesburg. 

 At the same time it held all the gaps of the 

 Bull Run range. By Saturday, the 27th, they 

 had advanced, and lay at and in the vicinity of 

 Frederick, Maryland. On that day, an order 

 was issued by the War Department to Gen. 

 Hooker, to transfer the command of the army 

 to Maj.-Gen. Meade, who commanded the fifth 



