130 



ARMY OPERATIONS. 



ing of the 8th they withdrew to another quar- 

 ter. The country on all sides was scoured for 

 horses, forage, provisions, and money. On the 

 8th. another party from Harpers Ferry en- 

 tered Hagerstown from Williamsport, and 

 again plundered the inhabitants and burned 

 some buildings. The enemy still occupied the 

 road to Frederick with their main body behind 

 Catoctin Mountain. In the evening of the 

 same day, Gen. Wallace withdrew with his 

 force from Frederick to Monocacy Junction. 

 At sunrise on the next morning, the 9th, the 

 enemy entered and levied a contribution on 

 the inhabitants. About 9 A.M. they advanced 

 against Gen. "Wallace, who occupied a position 

 on the east side of the Monocacy River, with 

 his batteries protecting the railroad and the 

 turnpike. The attack of the enemy was made 

 on his left under Gen. Ricketts, with varying 

 success for some hours, when it was forced to 

 give way. At the same time the right of Gen. 

 Wallace was outflanked by 'the enemy, who, 

 appearing in the rear, poured in a reverse fire 

 and swept off about six hundred men and offi- 

 cers, including Gen. Tyler. Gen. Wallace now 

 fell back, and the enemy pursued him some 

 miles toward Ellicott's Mills on the Baltimore 

 turnpike. His loss was about twelve hundred 

 men, with six cannon. The command under 

 Gen. Ricketts had been sent forward from 

 Petersburg by Gen. Grant. The force of the 

 enemy consisted of a column which crossed the 

 Potomac at Williamsport, and another which 

 had besieged Gen. Sigel for four days in Har- 

 per's Ferry. 



The disaster to Gen. Wallace created great 

 excitement in Washington and through the 

 Northern States. Washington appeared to be 

 in imminent peril, and reinforcements were 

 hurried forward. The 19th army corps, which 

 had been sent from New Orleans to reenforce 

 Gen. Grant, was at this time entering the Ches- 

 apeake Bay. It was at once sent to Washing- 

 ton. One corps of Gen. Grant's army the 

 6th, under Gen. Wright was detached from 

 the lines before Petersburg, and also sent to 

 Washington. Gen. Wallace, in command at Bal- 

 timore, was superseded by Gen. Ord. Mean- 

 time the enemy, after tearing up some of the 

 railroad from Frederick to Baltimore, sent 

 their main body south of it and detached a 

 cavalry force toward the Northern Central Rail- 

 road from Harrisburg, Penn., to Baltimore. This 

 cavalry expedition overran Eastern Maryland. 

 Twenty-five miles of the Northern Central 

 road were destroyed, and on Monday, the llth, 

 a force appeared on the Baltimore, Wilmington, 

 and Philadelphia road, and captured and set on 

 fire the trains at Magnolia station, seventeen 

 miles south of Havre de Grace. In one train 

 Maj.-Gen. Franklin was captured, but after- 

 wards made his escape. Some damage was 

 done to the track, and Gunpowder bridge was 

 partially burned. The cavalry, heavily loaded 

 with plunder, came within six miles of Balti- 

 more, then turning southward they joined the 



force near Washington, which had been sent 

 in that direction to guard against surprise. 

 Part of it halted before Fort Stevens, on Seven- 

 teenth Street. Toward evening their sharp- 

 shooters had become so annoy ing, and their pres- 

 ence at the Capital so humiliating, that an at- 

 tempt was made by Gen. Augur to dislodge 

 them. A brigade of veteran infantry was de- 

 tached along Seventeenth Street road, which 

 encountered them, and a sharp skirmish ensued. 

 The enemy were driven off, leaving about a 

 hundred dead and wounded on the field. The 

 Federal loss was between two and three hun- 

 dred. While this demonstration was made 

 before Washington, the rest of the enemy's 

 force were moving across the Potomac, and on 

 Wednesday morning the whole force was ap- 

 proaching the river and the invasion was ended. 

 On the retreat they were cautiously followed 

 by a column from Washington, under Gen. 

 Wright, consisting of the 6th corps and a division 

 of the 19th. He crossed the Potomac below 

 Edward's ferry and moved to Leesburg. At 

 the same time a portion of one train was cap- 

 tured by the cavalry under Gen. Crook, with 

 some of the teamsters and guard, and the 

 rear driven through Snicker's gap after a sharp 

 fight. The enemy, however, held the ferry 

 across the Shenandoah with two guns, and 

 checked the pursuit. On Monday, July 18th, 

 the command of Gen. Wright and the cavalry 

 under Gen. Crook, excepting a body sent to 

 guard Ashby's gap, passed through Snicker's 

 gap to the ferry. The infantry began to cross 

 below the ferry. The cavalry also crossed, and 

 forming a line with the brigade of Col. Wells on 

 the left, and that of Col. Thorburn on the right, 

 hotly engaged the enemy. As the latter were 

 concentrating on the right, Gen. Wright began 

 to cross the 6th corps to meet the enemy's 

 concentration. But they charged the line with 

 violence, and at length turned the right and 

 drove it with some confusion across the ford. 

 Finding the right giving way, Col. Wells with- 

 drew the left, and the troops recrossed the 

 river with a loss of three hundred. The force 

 sent to Ashby's gap drove the enemy through 

 the gap and across the river, but the latter 

 finding their* rear attacked, hurried back in 

 force and compelled the command to retire 

 with a loss of two hundred. The enemy now 

 leisurely moved toward Winchester and Stras- 

 burg, and the force of Gen. Wright crossed the 

 Shenandoah. They soon halted and recrossed, 

 returning to Leesburg, whence Gen. Crook 

 moved to Harper's Ferry, and Gen. Wright to 

 Washington. On the 19th, the same day on 

 which the enemy were overtaken at Snicker's 

 ferry, Gen. Averill moved from Martinsburg 

 toward Winchester, and encountered a cavalry 

 force near Darksville. On the next morning 

 he pressed toward Winchester, where he met 

 the enemy, and a contest ensued for three 

 hours, during which Gen. Averill captured 

 four guns, several hundred small arms, and 

 about two hundred prisoners. The total lose 



