by Burke Davis
Von Borcke was nervous, "being so far outside of our lines," and he and his companions did not unsaddle their horses, removing only their blankets. The Prussian lay down with his pistol and huge sword buckled at his waist. There was little time for sleep.
Not long after four A.M. there was a stir in the village. Cavalrymen were crossing the plank road about four hundred yards from the house where Stuart slept. A newcomer was first to wake up, one Gibson, a young man who had come from Federal prison with Mosby. Gibson roused Mosby.
"Cavalry on the road," he said. "And guns, too. It's probably Fitz Lee, but it might be Yanks."
Mosby shook Stuart, explained the unidentified troopers and said he would investigate with Gibson. The two young men mounted and Stuart walked to the farmyard fence, bareheaded, looking down the road after them.
The two Confederates soon halted; two troopers rode out of the village and fired pistols. Mosby and Gibson galloped back to the farmhouse. Stuart and his staff scattered. Jeb vaulted into his saddle and leaped a fence, leaving his hat, cloak and haversack.
Von Borcke saw his chief escape and ran for his own horse. A woman ran from the farmhouse, opened the gate, and von Borcke dashed through it into a ring of Federal horsemen. He disregarded a command to surrender, whirled his horse and went off under a hail of bullets, some of which cut his uniform. He outdistanced the enemy and at last got the horse under control. This, at least, was von Borcke's recollection of his escape.
Mosby saw it in another light: "A Prussian on Stuart's staff dashed through the front gate and went down the road ahead of us
as fast as his horse could carry him. We never overtook him.
He described an encounter he had with the Yankees that morning as more wonderful than the feat of St. George and the Dragon. We ran as fast as we could, but the Prussian ran faster. That was all the distinction he won."
Behind them the bluecoats made merry. Federal troopers tossed Stuart's hat about with sabers, laughing at the flopping plume. Captain Fitzhugh, who had been captured by the enemy, laughed at sight of Stuart and the staff escaping while the blue troopers played with his hat. The Federal commander was curious.
"Captain, who was that party?"
Fitzhugh saw that Stuart on his fleet "Skylark" would soon be safely beyond enemy reach.
"Do you really want to know who that was, Colonel?" "I do. Yes, yes."
"Well, it was General Stuart and his staff."
The Union officer exploded: "General Stuart! Quick. A squadron there! Fire on them. Pursue that party! Was that General Stuart?"
Fitzhugh yelled with laughter: "Yes! And he has escaped."
Stuart disappeared into the woods and the bluecoats did not press the pursuit. The Federal colonel recalled his men and went northward with Fitzhugh under guard.
Von Borcke described Jeb's return to the main army: "Stuart covered his head with his handkerchief as a protection against the sun, and we could not look at each other, despite our heat and indignation, without laughing heartily."
A sutler gave Stuart another hat from his wagon, but the story of the cavalryman's narrow escape and his loss spread through the army, and at every turn the infantrymen shouted, "Where's yer hat?"
When Stuart reported to headquarters the army's move ground to a halt. Without the cavalry thrust, the crossing of the river could not be undertaken—though Stonewall Jackson argued still for attack. The regiments settled to wait. Stuart was fiercely impatient, and in his report blamed Fitz Lee for failure of the maneuver against Pope. The army did not agree. The aggressive young cavalry lieutenant, it was thought, would surely have been in position if he had understood orders.7
There was no time for investigation. Fitz Lee was late by twenty-four hours because he had not seen the need for haste in his orders, which were apparently verbal. He had taken the troopers to Louisa Court House for food from their supply train, and then made his leisurely way toward the main army. When he arrived, it was too late.
General R. E. Lee had other troubles. The near-capture of Stuart was due to another vexing failure of command. When the cavalry did not come into position, Longstreet sent men of General Robert Toombs's brigade to guard the fords of the Rapidan. Toombs had been away when the order was carried out. With his return he angrily countermanded it and withdrew his men from the river-bank. That left open the fords for bluecoat cavalry and the party which chased Stuart had crossed the stream unchallenged. These raiders had, in fact, made an important capture. The papers Fitzhugh carried, including Lee's order to Stuart, were soon in the hands of General Pope, who was thoroughly frightened.
Pope only now saw through Lee's plan and moved to safety. He reported to Washington that Lee's order "made manifest the disposition of the enemy and their destination to overwhelm the army and my command before it could be reinforced by any portion of The Army of The Potomac." It was an accurate summary.
Confederate headquarters ended August nineteenth in frustration. Longstreet had Toombs under arrest, but the fiery Georgian made rebellious speeches to his cheering troops and refused to lay aside his sword. He was finally ordered back to Gordonsville, to remain under arrest until the army went into battle.
Amid this comedy of errors in command Robert Lee rode to the top of Clark's Mountain with Longstreet. Old Pete wrote of the scene as the enemy wagons moved in the distance toward the safety of the Rappahannock crossing, the clouds of dust marking the loss of a rare opportunity for Lee: "Watching without comment till the clouds grew thinner as they approached the river and melted into the bright blaze of the afternoon sun, General Lee finally put away his glasses, and with a deeply-drawn breath said, 'General, we little thought that the enemy would turn his back upon us thus early in the campaign.'"
The commander issued new orders for the chase of Pope. When he had come down from the mountain, Lee wrote Stuart of the enemy's retreat and ordered:
You will therefore have to bear well to your right after crossing the Rapidan, unless you can get other information. I propose to start the troops at the rising of the moon tomorrow morning, which will give the men and horses a little rest. ... If you can get information of the route of the enemy, you will endeavor to cut him off; otherwise, make for Kelly's Ford over the Rappahannock. ... If you can get off earlier than the time I have appointed to advantage, do so.
Stuart spent the rest of the day in preparation, as if determined that the cavalry would not again fail the army. He was ready to move before dawn, but found time to write Flora, still in a jovial mood:
I am greeted on all sides with congratulations and "Where is your hat?" I intend to make the Yankees pay for that hat.
He began to exact payment near daylight of August twentieth. General Lee had the infantry divided into two big corps: Long-street would cross the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford and vicinity; Jackson would cross to the west, at Somerville Ford. The cavalry went out first.
Fitz Lee's brigade preceded Longstreet to Kelly's Ford on the Rappahannock, where it drove in a small force of Federal cavalry.
The gray infantry was not far behind and camped around the ford late in the day.
Stuart rode with the rest of the cavalry corps to the west, toward the village of Stevensburg through open, rolling country. In the afternoon they came upon the enemy, five regiments under Stuart's old friend, General Bayard.
Von Borcke was stirred by the welcome from villagers, who had seen nothing but Federal troops in recent days: "Men, women and children came running out of all the houses with loud exclamations of delight, many thanking God on their knees for their deliverance. ... A venerable old lady asked permission to kiss our battle flag . . . and blessed it with tears." The cavalry went through with old men and boys straggling after it with a variety of household guns; they hung on despite the pleas of officers to go back to their homes, determined to help drive off the invaders.
Stuart rode through boiling dust clouds to find Grumble Jones and the 7 th Virginia pecking away at the enemy. The bluecoats la
y in a mile-long line at the edge of a woodland. Stuart sent Robertson with three regiments on a sweep at the Federal flank, and a courier was sent to bring up Fitz Lee.
The first unit met by the Confederates was the 2nd New York, the Harris Light, which had captured Mosby. This regiment had been mustered in by the famous horseman, Colonel Alfred Duffie, who harangued his recruits in Napoleonic vein: "Volunteers to ride into the cannon's mouth—step forward!" His entire regiment had stepped out, and come south for glory.8
Today Stuart's first rush broke the New Yorkers and they had milled in confusion until a stand on the hilltop united Bayard's command. For a few moments, then, the massed troopers seemed invincible, but at last Robertson galloped up with his regiments.
Stuart had not forgotten the drama of the scene when he wrote his official report, much later:
I knew the country and considered it necessary to advance along the road. . . . The remaining regiments were hurled in rapid succession in column of fours upon the enemy's main body. It was perfectly plain that the enemy's force was superior in number to ours; but as Pope had evidently with his main body reached the other side of the Rappahannock, it was not probable that a fierce onset of such cavalry as ours, animated by such incentives and aspirations, could be withstood.
Stuart saw that he was right: "Sure enough, before the clash of their sabers could make havoc in his ranks, he turned in flight."
The Federal regiments ran for the river in the rear and the plain soon filled with scattered little fights. Stuart sent 64 prisoners to the rear, many of them wounded. His own loss was small, three killed, thirteen wounded.
The chase halted at the river. Stuart wrote: "The remainder of the day was devoted to rest."9
It had been a stirring day for von Borcke, who recorded a rather heroic role for himself in bringing up Robertson's men: "I reached the regiment and with a loud voice commanded them, in the name of their General, to move forward at a gallop. As I was well known to every man in the division, the order was at once obeyed. I arrived to dash onward with the wild Virginia yell to the rescue. The enemy received us with a rattling volley, which emptied several saddles; but a few seconds more and we were in the midst of them, and their beautiful lines had broken into flight. I had the satisfaction here of saving my life by a magnificent blow upon one of my antagonists who, at the very moment of firing at me, received my full right-cut on the lower part of the neck, severing his head nearly from his body."
Von Borcke won Stuart's acclaim in orders for leading "an important flank attack." And Captain Redmond Burke, "that brave and venerable patriot animated with the fires of youth," also won mention for his courage, and for the severe leg wound which would keep him out of action for some weeks.
Stuart ended the day with kinder feeling for Robertson and wrote: "General Robertson had cause to be proud of the command which his superior discipline, organization, and drill had brought to the stability of veterans." There was even greater praise for Grumble Jones, with whom Stuart had so long been at odds: "Colonel Jones, whose regiment bore the brunt of the fight, behaved with marked courage and determination. The enemy, occupying woods and hedge rows with dismounted men, armed with long range carbines, were repeatedly dislodged by his bold onslaughts."
Even so the day ended with little gained. Stuart was still impatient for major action. He had none of the satisfaction von Borcke had at the finish: "I had a happy feeling riding out of the battle and wiping the blood from my sword on my horse's mane. I was complimented by General Stuart most warmly."
The cavalry camped for the night on the field. Sleep was interrupted by the arrival of Confederate infantry. The next day passed in brief skirmishes, with Stuart urging General Lee to permit a big cavalry raid in the Federal rear.
Before daylight of August twenty-second, he got the order he had longed for: Lee approved a strike at Pope's communications. Stuart was to move immediately, in such force as he thought necessary.
Jeb set to work with glee to carry out "my proposition." His troopers were ready within two hours.
He took a raiding party of 1,500 men and two guns.
At ten A.M. they were off upriver, their target the railroad bridge over Cedar Run at Catlett's Station, far in the Federal rear. As they left Captain Mosby had a glimpse of Stuart.
"I'm going after my hat," Jeb called, laughing.
The column poured unchallenged over the upper Rappahannock at Waterloo Bridge and Hart's Ford, and turned back to the northeast. Some five miles beyond the river crossings they reached Warrenton, where women crowded about Stuart with tears of joy.
The troopers rested an hour, allowing the rear of the column to close up. The general had a pretty visitor, a Miss Lucas, a young woman of the town who had a joke that appealed to Stuart.
She had wagered a bottle of wine with a boastful Federal captain that he would not be in Richmond "within thirty days." She was confident that Pope would soon be defeated, but the Federal captain, of Pope's quartermaster department, had only laughed at her.
"Now, General Stuart," Miss Lucas said, "if you will only capture that captain, why he will win his bet with me, for he'll surely be in Richmond as a prisoner soon. And if you'll bring him by here, I will pay him his bottle of wine. Won't that be too funny for anything?"
Stuart gave a laughing order: "Blackford, take his name and look out for him."
The column pushed on. Before dark a sudden storm burst upon it, rain fell in sheets, filling roads and bogging artillery. Night came down early. "The darkest night I ever saw," Stuart said.
A guide was almost providentially at hand. Someone approached in the dark, singing loudly. Jeb called for quiet: "Carr— eeee me back to Ole Virginny!" There was a drumming of a tin bucket in accompaniment to the song, and a trooper soon led a frightened Negro to Stuart. When the man made out the general's features he recovered from his fright. He said he remembered Stuart from a camp of last fall in Berkeley County. He could lead them to General Pope, he said, for he knew the place well. He served one of the Federal officers. Under threat of death if he betrayed them, the Negro was mounted behind a trooper, with others riding on either side.10
Jeb also sent Blackford around the camp, disguised in an oilcloth cloak. The captain found only a party of pickets lying carelessly at a crossroad. The big camp was almost unguarded. Stuart sent up Rosser with a few men and the pickets were quietly taken; Confederates were put in their places. From prisoners Jeb got a welcome bit of news: General Pope's own tent was nearby, full of headquarters baggage. Revenge was at hand.
Stuart ordered an attack. At the bugle sound the lead regiment would dash for the railroad station, the next would turn to Pope's camp, burning, looting and taking prisoners. The enemy tents came in sight—big, well-furnished tents with lamps hanging over the heads of officers who were drinking whisky before turning to their suppers. Odors of coffee and food crept from the camp, which was lighted "bright as day."
One clever Rebel trooper left the column, edged up to a Federal supper table, and began a quiet meal with the enemy, with no questions asked him.
In one tent Federal officers listened idly as an old army veteran who had known Stuart in frontier days warned them: "This is something like comfort. I hope Jeb Stuart won't disturb us tonight."
Not far away Stuart called to his chief bugler: "Sound the charge, Freed." The bugles gobbled and a chorus of Rebel yells burst out.
The prophetic Federal officer banged his fist on a table: "There he is, by God!" Table and glasses were abandoned as fury burst on the camp. Lights went out at the first shot.
The lead regiment plunged through one volley from a waiting line of Pennsylvania troopers and broke resistance with a saber attack. Men jumped into the depot and fell among the supplies.
Random pistol shots scattered Federals in the camp itself. Blackford saw: "supper tables kicked over and tents broken down in the rush to get out, the tents catching them sometimes in their fall like fish in a net."
Ten
ts and wagons began to burn, and hundreds of horses, mules and prisoners were herded together. A train puffed by the depot. Blackford ordered the engineer to halt, and when he refused shot him from the throttle. Blackford's horse stumbled and the train rolled toward Washington with an empty engine. Blackford turned to the cutting of telegraph lines with a small crew of men. A seventeen-year-old trooper shinnied up a pole under fire and hacked wires with his saber.
Federal soldiers hid in the tents and behind bushes, under horses. The rain "fell in buckets," Blackford recalled. "Whole regiments of horses would rear and wheel around to get their backs to the storm." Most of the animals escaped. Union soldiers followed suit. One lightning flash would show a road filled with them, and the next would reveal it empty, the bluecoats vanished into the night.
Raiders in the main camp piled wagons full of spoils, chests and papers, food, drink, clothing.
But there was trouble at the railroad bridge. The torches would not ignite the wet timbers, and after a delay to find axes, it was found impossible to cut the double-hung beams. Federal fire broke out from across the stream and drove off some of the axemen.
Stuart abandoned the attempt. It was near midnight, streams in the rear were already rising, and the men were worn with long marching. He left with the greatest reluctance, and wrote General Lee: "The commanding General will, I am sure, appreciate how hard it was to desist from the undertaking, but to any one on the spot there could be but one opinion—its impossibility. I gave it up."
He took them back over the same route and reached Warrenton at daylight. Pope's quartermaster was among the prisoners, and he reported Pope had narrowly escaped capture by going on a brief visit just before the attack. Among the loot was Pope's personal and official baggage: Clothing, money chest, papers. There was about $350,000 in the money chest. Even more important was the dispatch book, with copies of letters which made clear Pope's plans and his fears of being attacked before help could reach him. Stuart sent these documents to General Lee.
