Aug 31 1862 (Sunday)

The 25,000 men in the corps of William Franklin and "Bull" Sumner arrive in the early morning hours. After their arrival, John Pope wires Henry Halleck in Washington: "I think it would perhaps have been greatly better if Sumner and Franklin had been here three or four days ago....I should like to know whether you feel secure about Washington should this army be destroyed." Unable to decide if he should keep the Union Army of Virginia in the fortifications around Centreville or retire his battered army closer to Washington, Pope asks Halleck for instructions.

WASHINGTON, August 31, 1862-- 11 a.m. - Major-General POPE: - MY DEAR GENERAL: You have done nobly. Don't yield another inch if you can avoid it. All reserves are being sent forward....Can't you renew the attack...? I am doing all in my power for you and your noble army. God bless you and it. Send me news more often if possible. H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief.

Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson ride out to inspect the Federal position near Centreville. The formidable earthworks, built by Joe Johnston's army last year, and the rain swollen Bull Run convince Lee that a direct pursuit of Pope's army is unwise. Instead, he orders Jackson to march his troops up the Little River Turnpike towards Fairfax Court House and attempt to cut Pope's line of retreat to Alexandria.

AUGUST 16-SEPTEMBER 2, 1862.--Campaign in Northern Virginia. No. 127.--Reports of General Robert E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding Army of Northern Virginia, of operations August 13--September 2. - General S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector General, Richmond, Va. The prevalence of a heavy rain, which began during the night, threatened to render Bull Run impassable and impeded our movements. Longstreet remained on the battlefield to engage the attention of the enemy and cover the burial of the dead and the removal of the wounded, while Jackson proceeded by Sudley Ford to the Little River turnpike to turn the enemy's right and intercept his retreat to Washington. Jackson's progress was retarded by the inclemency of the weather and the fatigue of his troops, who, in addition to their arduous marches, had fought three severe engagements in as many days.Respectfully submitted. R. E. LEE, General.

Several days ago, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard rejoined the war. Fully rested and cured of the ailments which drove him to seek relief at Bladon Springs, "Old Bory" accepts command of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia, headquartered at Charleston, South Carolina. When asked why he accepted such a low profile assignment, Beauregard responds: "[I] am tired of forming armies for others to fight, hence I prefer Charleston." Beauregard's assignment upsets the current commander in the department, Pennyslvania-born John C. Pemberton.

HDQRS. DEPT. OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA, Charleston, S.C., August 31, 1862. - General S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector General: - GENERAL: I have just received Special Orders, No. 202...from your office. I most earnestly entreat that I may be ordered into the field for active service....Having occupied this position since the early part of March last, it will be humiliating in the extreme to me to be now— almost at the moment of anticipated attack by the enemy— reduced to a subordinate position in this command. I beg that it may be understood that I do not even intend to express a wish not to be superseded by General Beauregard, who I doubt not is far more capable of filling satisfactorily the responsible position I have so long held. I only ask that I may be transferred myself to some other point where I may not be useless; and if I may be allowed a preference, I would say to Virginia. J. C. PEMBERTON, Major-General, Commanding.

Kirby Smith's advance into Kentucky threatens the state capital city of Lexington.

LOUISVILLE, KY., August 31, 1862. - President LINCOLN: News grows worse from vicinity of Lexington. Many of our troops captured. Rebels on the Lexington side of Kentucky River. Lexington will be in their possession to-morrow. We must have help of drilled troops unless you intend to turn us over to the devil and his imps. J. T. BOYLE, Brigadier-General, Commanding.

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Sep 01 1862 (Monday)

With his cavalry "completely broken down, so that there are not five horses in the company that can raise a trot," Pope sends out a two brigades of infantry towards Little River Turnpike "in order to...ascertain whether the enemy is making any movement toward Fairfax Court House." Fully cognizant of the demoralized nature of his army, Pope then wires Halleck in an attempt to secure his permission to withdraw the army into the fortifications around Washington. In his dilemma, Pope seeks the advice of the oft-criticized Fitz-John Porter. Telling him: "He has been pushed to the front against his will--and had been compelled to conduct a campaign contrary to his views." Like McClellan before him, Pope complains that the "responsibility for the failure of the campaign...lay in Washington." However, in a dispatch to Henry Halleck, Pope blames the generals in the Army of the Potomac for his defeat.

CENTREVILLE, September 1, 1862-- 8.50 a.m. - Major-General HALLECK: I think it my duty to call your attention to the unsoldierly and dangerous conduct of many brigade and some division commanders of the forces sent here from the Peninsula. Every word and act and intention is discouraging, and calculated to break down the spirits of the men and produce disaster. One commander of a corps[Porter], who was ordered to march from Manassas Junction to join me near Groveton, although he was only 5 miles distant, failed to get up at all, and, worse still, fell back to Manassas without a fight, and in plain hearing, at less than 3 miles' distance, of a furious battle, which raged all day. It was only in consequence of peremptory orders that he joined me next day. One of his brigades, the brigadier-general of which [Griffin] professed to be looking for his division, absolutely remained all day at Centreville, in plain view of the battle, and made no attempt to join....You have hardly an idea of the demoralization among officers of high rank in the Potomac Army, arising in all instances from personal feeling in relation to changes of commander-in-chief and others. These men are mere tools or parasites, but their example is producing, and must necessarily produce, very disastrous results. You should know these things, as you alone can stop it. Its source is beyond my reach, though its effects are very perceptible and very dangerous. I am endeavoring to do all I can, and will most assuredly put them where they shall fight or run away. My advice to you-- I give it with freedom, as I know you will not misunderstand it-- is that, in view of any satisfactory results, you draw back this army to the intrenchments in front of Washington, and set to work in that secure place to reorganize and rearrange it. You may avoid great disaster by doing so. I do not consider the matter except in a purely military light, and it is bad enough and grave enough to make some action very necessary. When there is no heart in their leaders, and every disposition to hang back, much cannot be expected from the men.... JNO. POPE, Major-general.

Halleck responds quickly to Pope's telegram: "I suggest ...drawing in...your army to Fairfax Court House, Annandale, or, if necessary...toward Alexandria." To further assist the troubled Pope, Abraham Lincoln asks George McClellan, as "a special favor" to the president to telegraph "Fitz-John Porter, or some other...friends" who may not be "co-operating with and supporting General Pope."

Washington, September 1, 1862. - Major-General PORTER: I ask of you, for my sake, that of the country, and the old Army of the Potomac, that you and all my friends will lend the fullest and most cordial co-operation to General Pope in all the operations now going on. The destinies of our country, the honor of our arms, are at stake, and all depends now upon the cheerful co-operation of all in the field. This week is the crisis of our fate. Say the same thing to my friends in the Army of the Potomac, and that the last request I have to make of them is, that for their country's sake they will extend to General Pope the same support they ever have to me. I am in charge of the defenses of Washington, and am doing all I can to render your retreat safe, should that become necessary. GEO. B. McCLELLAN.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon Jackson's troops, after completing a rain soaked twenty-mile flank march, are within three miles of their objective when they are attacked by Federal forces near the Chantilly plantation.

HEADQUARTERS EWELL'S DIVISION. - CAPTAIN: AFFAIR AT OX HILL, NEAR CHANTILLY, AND MARCH INTO MARYLAND. Capt. A. S. PENDLETON, Assistant Adjutant-General. - SIR: On reaching Ox Hill in the afternoon, where the Ox road crosses the turnpike, indications of the approach of the enemy on the turnpike from Centreville [were] observed....As we moved into position the enemy opened with artillery, firing into the woods where we were posted, and in a short time afterward infantry firing commenced in front....I heard a very considerable musketry fire, but as the woods were very thick and it was raining hard at the time, I could see a very short distance....Captain Brown, of the Twelfth Georgia, commanding Trimble's brigade, was killed, and one or two regiments of it were thrown into some confusion, but the brigade held its position....Very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. A. EARLY, Brigadier-General, Commanding Division.

Fighting in a driving rainstorm, amidst flashing lightning and rolling thunder, the Union division led by Isaac Stevens crashes into "Stonewall's" men south of the Little River Turnpike. Stevens is killed early in the confusing battle, but when his troops bog down they are bolstered by the hard charging division of the one-armed Phil Kearny. Without bothering to reconnoiter, Kearny throws his troops into the battle. Kearny comes upon a shadowy group of soldiers and demands: "What troops are these?" "49th Georgia," is the response and Kearny wheels his horse in an attempt to escape capture. Several of the soldiers shout: "That's a Yankee officer! Shoot him!" As the general gallops away "Indian style," a dozen shots ring out. One bullet "traverses his body from the base of the spine to the chest," and Kearny is killed instantly.

HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, THIRD CORPS, Camp Fort Lyon, Va. - 1862. - Lieut. Col. CHAUNCEY MCKEEVER, Assistant Adjutant-General, Third Corps. - SIR: The division reached Chantilly at about 5 o'clock p.m....Under orders from Major-General Kearny I...to the front....I successively took forward the One hundred and first New York, Third Maine, Fortieth and First New York. These regiments held the enemy, and sustained unflinchingly the most murderous fire from a superior force. At this juncture General Kearny reached the field with Randolph's battery, and, placing it in position, aided my brigade by a well-directed fire. I pointed out to the general a gap on my right, caused by the retiring of Stevens' division, and asked for Berry's brigade to fill it. He rode from me to examine the ground, and dashing past our lines into those of the enemy, fell a victim to his gallant daring. I sent forward the Thirty-eighth New York and Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania to complete our victory. They advanced gallantly, and night closed in, leaving my brigade in full possession of that portion of the battle-field in which we were engaged....I am, colonel, your obedient servant, D. B. BIRNEY. Brigadier-General, Commanding First Division.

The loss of two of their bravest generals takes most of the fight from the rain soaked Union soldiers. However, their stout resistance allows the bulk of the Union Army of Virginia to retreat in safety. As another opportunity to destroy Pope's army slips away, James Longstreet remarks to "Stonewall" Jackson: "Your men don't appear to work well today."

Kirby Smith's advance in Kentucky causes a panic in Cincinnati. To deal with the crisis, Lew Wallace, recently exiled after his poor performance at Shiloh, is selected to organize a defense of the city. He immediately declares martial law, outlaws the sale of alcoholic drinks, and conscripts every able-bodied male to either "labor on the defensive works or enroll in the militia."

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, Lexington, Ky., September 1, 1862. - Maj. Gen. LEW. WALLACE, Cincinnati, Ohio: If you have not left Cincinnati please remain there and take command of the troops there and arriving there. H. G. WRIGHT, Major-General, Commanding.

Frank Armstrong, riding at the head of 1,600 grey clad cavalrymen, is trying to cut U.S. Grant's supply line in northern Alabama. Armstrong, who fought for the North at First Bull Run, has taken his recently organized cavalry brigade from Baldyn to Holly Springs and is heading towards the Mississippi Railroad at Bolivar.

MIDDLEBURG, TENN., Five miles south of Bolivar, Tenn., September 1, 1862. - Major SNEAD, Assistant Adjutant-General. Just finished whipping the enemy in front of Bolivar; ran in town. I believe they will leave the country. West Tennessee is almost free of the invaders. All needed is advance of the infantry....There are strong works in rear of Bolivar, and I did not enter the town, as it would only cause them to shell it without giving me any advantage. FRANK G. ARMSTRONG, Brigadier-General.

Casualties for the day: Union 1,300 Confederate 800

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Sep 02 1862 (Tuesday)

Despite the demoralized state of his army, Pope is thankful for the "untiring zeal and energy" that has been displayed by "Generals McDowell, Banks, Reno, Heintzelman, Hooker, and Kearny."

FAIRFAX COURT-HOUSE, September 2, 1862—7.30 a.m. (Received 8.20 a.m.) - Major-General HALLECK: We had another pretty severe fight last night....The enemy massed his force to turn our position by breaking through at Fairfax, but so far without success....The straggling is awful in the regiments from the Peninsula. Unless something can be done to restore tone to this army it will melt away before you know it....You had best at once decide what is to be done. The enemy is in very heavy force and must be stopped in some way. These forces under my command are not able to do so in the open field, and if again checked I fear the force will be useless afterwards....The enemy from the beginning has been throwing his rear toward the north, and every movement shows that he means to make trouble in Maryland. Wherever I have attacked him he is in greatly superior force. I would attack to-day, but the troops are absolutely unable. JNO. POPE, Major-General, Commanding.

Fearing for the safety of the nation's capital, George McClellan is given command of the "fortifications of Washington and all the troops for the defense of the capital." General Pope is directed to withdraw his army to Washington "without unnecessary delay."

THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN, VIRGINIA March 17-September 2, 1862. No. 1.--Report of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, U. S. Army, commanding Army of the Potomac. - Brig. Gen. LORENZO THOMAS, Adjutant-General U. S. Army. - SIR: On the morning of the 2d the President and General Halleck came to my house, when the President informed me...our affairs were in a bad condition; that the army was in full retreat upon the defenses of Washington; the roads filled with stragglers, &c. He instructed me to take steps at once to stop and collect the stragglers, to place the works in a proper state of defense, and to go out to meet and take command of the army when it approached the vicinity of the works; then to place the troops in the best position--committing everything to my hands....In the afternoon I crossed the Potomac and rode to the front, and at Upton's Hill met the advance of McDowell's corps, and with it Generals Pope and McDowell.....I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, GEO. B. McCLELLAN, Major-General, U.S. Army.

General Amiel Whipple, commanding at Robert E. Lee's old home, Arlington House, is given orders to have "all the occupants of houses in front and near your lines" to be sent to the rear and to prepare to "burn any houses that many afford cover to the enemy." With the city of Washington in a state of panic, further measures are taken to strengthen its defenses.

SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 218. - HDQRS. OF THE ARMY, ADJT. GEN'S OFFICE, Washington, September 2, 1862. - By direction of the President all the clerks and employees of the civil Departments and all employees on the public buildings in Washington will be immediately organized into companies...and will be armed and supplied with ammunition for the defense of the capital.By command of Major-General Halleck: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.

With Kirby Smith advancing quickly northward, Don Carlos Buell finds himself locked in a race with Braxton Bragg for control of middle Tennessee.

NASHVILLE, TENN., September 2, 1862--1.55 p.m. - Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK, General-In-Chief: My whole force will be at Murfreesborough on the 5th....I believe Nashville can be held and Kentucky rescued....I propose to move with the remainder of my army rapidly against the enemy in Kentucky. The movements of the enemy from Chattanooga are still somewhat obscure, screened as they are by the mountains between us. That Bragg crossed the river with a force of 45,000 or 50,000 men is beyond question....Some circumstances however justify the suspicion that he is moving up the valley, with the object of going into Kentucky....D.C. BUELL, Major-General.

When the telegraph operator at Lexington reports that "the enemy is within 3 miles at 7 this evening," Governor O.P. Morton knows that it is only a matter of time before his capital city falls. "The loss of Lexington is the loss of the heart of Kentucky and leaves an open road to the Ohio River."

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF KENTUCKY, Lexington, Ky. - General S. COOPER, A. and I. G. C. S. Army, Richmond, Va. - GENERAL: I pushed on toward this place...and entered it with a portion of my infantry on the 2d. The cavalry I sent forward in pursuit of the enemy, who had retreated by the Frankfort road. It would be impossible for me to exaggerate the enthusiasm of the people here on the entry of our troops. They evidently regarded us as their deliverers from oppression and have continued in every way to prove to us that the heart of Kentucky is with the South in this struggle. They are rapidly rallying to our flag, and my especial object in writing this letter is to urge upon the Confederate Government to support the people of this State in the present movement by rapidly throwing to our aid men and arms. If Bragg occupies Buell we can have nothing to oppose us but raw levies....Although the people about here are rapidly enrolling their names, yet without some immediate aid from the Government we can hardly hope to resist successfully the hosts that are preparing to meet us. Hoping that this matter will receive the prompt attention its importance demands, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. KIRBY SMITH, Major-General, Commanding.

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Sep 03 1862 (Wednesday)

With Pope's army "having retired to the protection of the fortifications around Washington and Alexandria, " Robert E. Lee heads his army towards Leesburg. His next move will be across the Potomac River and into Maryland.

HEADQUARTERS ALEXANDRIA AND LEESBURG ROAD, Near Dranesville, September 3, 1862. - His Excellency President DAVIS, Richmond, Va.: - Mr. PRESIDENT: The present seems to be the most propitious time since the commencement of the war for the Confederate Army to enter Maryland. The two grand armies of the United States...are much weakened and demoralized.....If it is ever desired to give material aid to Maryland and afford her an opportunity of throwing off the oppression to which she is now subject, this would seem the most favorable.....The army is not properly equipped for an invasion of an enemy's territory. It lacks much of the material of war, is feeble in transportation, the animals being much reduced, and the men are poorly provided with clothes, and in thousands of instances are destitute of shoes. Still, we cannot afford to be idle, and though weaker than our opponents in men and military equipments, must endeavor to harass if we cannot destroy them. I am aware that the movement is attended with much risk, yet I do not consider success impossible, and shall endeavor to guard it from loss. As long as the army of the enemy are employed on this frontier I have no fears for the safety of Richmond....If the Quartermaster's Department can furnish any shoes, it would be the greatest relief. We have entered upon September, and the nights are becoming cool. I have the honor to be, with high respect, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, General.

John Pope knows that his time as an army commander is running out. He sends a message to Henry Halleck's Assistant Adjutant General Colonel John Kelton: "I do not know my status here. Will you ask the general, so I may know?" In a final attempt to remain in command Pope offers to "renew the offensive."

While confusion reigns in the Union high command, reports are coming in that "there are strong indications that the enemy intend to cross the Potomac River...and cut off Harper's Ferry."

UPTON'S HILL, VA.;September 3, 1862--4.35 p.m. - GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN, Major-General, Commanding: Lieut. Byron Schermerhorn, Company D, Twenty-first New York Volunteers, has just arrived, having made his escape from the enemy. He reports the main rebel army as lying on the Little River pike, about 4 miles from Fairfax Court-House. Last night they received orders to cook three days' rations. Their artillery train is said to be very large. The wagon train is parked near the position of the troops, in rear. The soldiers all speak of marching to Washington. JNO. P. HATCH, Brigadier-General.

Flushed with success, Kirby Smith asks for arms to supply the new Kentucky volunteers that are soon to join his command.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF KENTUCKY, Lexington, Ky., September 3, 1862. - General BRAXTON BRAGG, Commanding Army of the West.GENERAL: Our column is moving upon Cincinnati. The country is rising in arms, and all that is needed to accomplish the objects of the campaign is to have our left in communication with your right. If I am supported and can be supplied with arms 25,000 Kentucky troops in a few days would be added to my command....I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. KIRBY SMITH, Major-General.

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Sep 04 1862 (Thursday)

Despite the spectacular success he has enjoyed in northern Virginia, straggling and desertion are hurting Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

General ORDERS No. 102. - HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, Leesburg, Va., September 4, 1862. This army is about to engage in most important operations, where any excesses committed will exasperate the people, lead to disastrous results, and enlist the populace on the side of the Federal forces in hostility to our own....A provost guard...will follow in rear of the army, arrest stragglers, and punish summarily all depredators, and keep the men with their commands....Stragglers are usually those who desert their comrades in peril. Such characters are better absent from the army on such momentous occasions as those about to be entered upon. They will..., as useless members of the service and as especially deserving odium, come under the special attention of the pro-vost-marshal, and be considered as unworthy members of an army which has immortalized itself in the recent glorious...and will be brought before a military commission to receive the punishment due to their misconduct....By order of General R. E. Lee: R. H. CHILTON, Assistant Adjutant-General.

Daniel Harvey Hill, his division recently recalled from the Richmond defenses, leads Lee's army across the Potomac into Maryland. It is the first time than the Army of Northern Virginia has entered into a Union controlled state.

HEADQUARTERS DIVISION, ------,1862. - Gen. R. H. CHILTON, Assistant Adjutant-General. - GENERAL: On the 4th, Anderson's brigade was sent to fire on the Yankee trains at Berlin, and, with two brigades, we drove away the Yankee forces near the mouth of the Monocacy, and crossed the Potomac. That night [was] spent in destroying the lock and canal banks. The aqueduct could not be destroyed for want of powder and tools. Respectfully submitted. D. H. HILL, Major-General.

Detachments of cavalry sent out by Kirby Smith are "within 16 miles" of Cincinnati and are also pushing towards Louisville.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF KENTUCKY, Lexington, Ky., September 4, 1862. - Col. JOHN S. SCOTT, Commanding Cavalry: - COLONEL: The general commanding directs that you push on as near as practicable to Louisville....He especially enjoins upon you to impress upon your men that it is by their conduct to the people that the latter are to see whether we come as the friend or as the enemy of Kentucky. The general has just received reliable information that Buell is pushing rapidly up toward Kentucky. It is therefore of first importance that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad should be effectually destroyed....Very respectfully, your obedient servant, JNO. PEGRAM, Colonel and Chief of Staff.

Albert Jenkins is leading his 500 man cavalry brigade on a 500 mile raid through western Virginia. Having successfully crossed Rich Mountain "by a mere bridle path" he finds his command in an area lightly guarded by Union troops. At "an hour before sunset" he crosses the Ohio River and enters the Buckeye State.

HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY BRIGADE, Camp on Kanawha, W. Va. - Lieut. Col. H. H. FITZHUGH, Assistant Adjutant-General. - COLONEL: The excitement of the command as we approached the Ohio shore was intense, and in the anxiety to be the first...to reach the soil...it became almost a universal race....In a short time all were over, and in a few minutes the command was formed on the crest of a gentle eminence and the banners of the Southern Confederacy floated proudly over the soil of our invaders....I proceeded with my command into the State of Ohio....It was a subject of the very greatest interest with me to observe the state of feeling in Ohio....I may say in brief that the latter was characterized by the wildest terror-so much so that but for the pity for the subjects of it one could only view it as an absurdity. Women inquired for officers...and, having found them, begged them not to permit them to murder them. Others came out of their dwellings and urged as a reason for our not burning them that they contained invalids too much afflicted to be removed....On more than one occasion, however, our presence produced a different effect, and the waving of handkerchiefs showed that the love of liberty and the right of self-government had still some advocates in a land of despotism. It was a curious and unexpected thing to hear upon the soil of Ohio shouts go up for Jeff. Davis and the Southern Confederacy....I am, colonel, very respectfully, yours, &c., A. G. JENKINS, Brigadier-General of Cavalry.

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Sep 05 1862 (Friday)

After being ordered to have his command "ready to march," John Pope again wires Washington asking: "Please inform me what is my command and where it is?"

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF VIRGINIA, September 5, 1862. - Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK, General-in. Chief: DEAR GENERAL: I must again ask your attention to the condition of things in this army. By the present arrangement you are doing me more injury than my worst enemy could do. It is understood...that I am deprived of my command, and that it is assigned to McClellan. An order defining his exact status here as well as my own is necessary at once. I send you an official protest against his action....Either I have conducted badly or I have not. If I have, I am prepared to shoulder the blame, but if, as both you and the President inform me, my course has met your entire approval, I am entitled to be shielded from unjust censure. I am sure you will cheerfully admit this. I feel equally confident that you will repair it. Very truly, yours, JNO. POPE, Major-General

Henry Halleck's official response to Pope's query is quick and to the point. The armies of the Potomac and Virginia are being consolidated. Pope is relieved of command and George McClellan is, once again, given command of the main Union army in the east. In addition, Generals Fitz-John Porter, William Franklin, and Charles Griffin are ordered to go before a Court of Inquiry to investigate their behavior in the recent campaign. In an unofficial communication, Halleck tries to soften the blow to the ousted General Pope.

UNOFFICIAL.- WASHINGTON, Sept 5, 1862. - Major-General POPE, Arlington: - MY DEAR GENERAL: You will excuse me for not answering yours, official, of this morning....The troops at present are under McClellan's orders, and it is evident that you cannot serve under him willingly. Moreover, your testimony is required by the Court of Inquiry ordered on Generals Porter, Franklin and Griffin....We think you did your best with the material you had. I have not heard any one censure you in the least. The differences and ill-feeling among the generals are very embarrassing to the administration, and unless checked will ruin the country....We must do what seems best to reconcile the differences which exist in the two armies. I will explain to you more fully as soon as you come over to report. Yours, truly, H. W. HALLECK, General-in-Chief.

Reports from picket posts indicate that Lee's army is crossing the Potomac. "The enemy crossed the Potomac at Nolands Ferry...After firing off their ammunition, passed...en route to Frederick." A.P. Hill's division crosses "about 3 miles from Point of Rocks."

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, Leesburg, Va., September 5, 1862. - His Excellency President DAVIS, Richmond, Va.: - Mr. PRESIDENT: This army is...entering Maryland, with a view of affording the people of that State an opportunity of liberating themselves. Whatever success may attend that effort, I hope, at any rate, to annoy and harass the enemy. The army being transferred to this section, the road to Richmond, through Warrenton, has been abandoned as far back as Culpeper Court-House, and all trains are directed to proceed by way of Luray and Front Royal from Culpeper Court. House to Winchester....I have the honor to be, with high respect, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, General.

With Union forces gathering at Louisville and Cincinnati, Kirby Smith again requests that additional arms be sent to Kentucky.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF KENTUCKY, Lexington, Ky., September 5, 1862. - Maj. Gen. JOHN P. McCOWN, Commanding Department of East Tennessee: - GENERAL: Major-General Smith desires that you will collect all the arms and ammunition in and around Knoxville and Clinton, not in the hands of troops and not needed by them, and send them on here as soon as the opportunity of a good escort offers. Kentucky is rising en mass and arms are needed....If the arms were here we could arm 20,000 men in a few days. There are at least 5,000 arms and accouterments with ammunition in and around Knoxville and Clinton....I am, sir, your obedient servant, JNO. PEGRAM, Colonel and Chief of Staff.

Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn, commanding the only Confederate armies in the west not advancing north, cannot agree upon a strategy that will unite their forces.

HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF THE TENNESSEE, Tupelo, Miss., September 5, 1862. - Maj. Gen. EARL VAN DORN, Comdg. District of the Mississippi, Jackson, Miss.: - GENERAL: I...regret very much that you cannot move in this direction at once. I feel that General Bragg's instructions...compel me to keep near the line of this road....General Bragg's orders also compel me to keep a close watch upon Rosecrans, and I hear that he is now at Iuka and crossing his army at Eastport. I am therefore pushing my army slowly forward, and shall remove my own headquarters to Guntown on Sunday. I shall then determine by what route to advance....I am, general, very sincerely, your friend and obedient servant, STERLING PRICE, Major-General.

Captain Henry Wirtz, working on the staff of General John Winder, the commandant of Belle Isle and Libby prisons, issues orders regarding the selling of pies to prisoners at Belle Isle.

C. S. MILITARY PRISONS, Richmond, Va., September 5, 1862. - Capt. N. MONTGOMERY: Will you be so kind as to give such orders as will exclude everybody (women not excepted) from selling pies, fruit and other things to prisoners under your charge, as this has been a source of trafficking in money, &c. The commissary at the island will be the only one allowed to trade. Your obedient servant, H. WIRZ, Captain, Commanding.

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Sep 06 1862 (Saturday)

Colonel Thornton Brodhead of the 1st Michigan Cavalry was mortally wounded at Lewis Ford during the final stages of the Bull Run debacle. As he lay dieing, Brodhead writes a letter charging that General Irvin McDowell is guilty of treason. "I have fought manfully and now die fearlessly. I am one of the victims of Pope's imbecility and McDowell's treason. Tell the President that to save our country he must not give our flag to such hands." These dramatic last words from a dying hero cannot be ignored.

WASHINGTON, September 6, 1862. - His Excellency the PRESIDENT: I have been informed by a Senator that he had seen a note, in pencil, written by a colonel of cavalry mortally wounded in the recent battle, stating, among other causes, that he was dying a victim "to McDowell's treachery," and that his last request was that this note might be shown to you. That the colonel believed this charge, and felt his last act on earth was a great public service, there can be, I think, no question. This solemn accusation from the grave of a gallant officer, who died for his country, is entitled to great consideration; and I feel called on to endeavor to meet it as well so general a charge, from one now no longer able to support it, can be met. I therefore beg you to please cause a court to be instituted for its investigation....I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, IRVIN McDOWELL, Major-General, Commanding Third Army Corps, Army of Virginia.

While "Little Mac" establishes an "interior line of works" in Washington, the town of Frederick, Maryland is evacuated by Captain W.T. Faithful. "After having seen everything safely off, I then ordered the telegraph operator to detach his instruments and leave." Near Martinsburg, Virginia, Colonel D.S. Miles reports that his communications with Baltimore and Washington have been cut off.

HEADQUARTERS, Harper's Ferry, September 6, 1862. - Brigadier-General WHITE, Martinsburg, Va.: I authorized the provost-marshal to exact the oath of allegiance to all persons who desired passes and to stop the many Belle Boyds of Martinsburg from carrying news, as it was the grand focus and starting point for Southern mails by females. General A. P. Hill, with his division, is encamped at Lovettsville, about seven miles from here, and intrenching. I shall expect by to-morrow he will commence hammering at me. Frederick is occupied by the enemy in force. A report has reached me that a column is marching around somewhere to take Williamsport. Look out for squalls. D. S. MILES, Colonel Second Infantry.

Robert E. Lee explains his rational for crossing into Maryland. In addition to his military goals, Lee hopes that the many Southern sympathizers in the border state will rally to the Confederate flag he plans to unfurl in their midst.

Operations in Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.--September 3-November 14, 1862. No. 10.--Reports of General Robert E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding Army of Northern Virginia, of operations September 2-November 15. - HEADQUARTERS. - General S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector General, Richmond, Va. - GENERAL: It was decided to cross the Potomac east of the Blue Ridge, in order, by threatening Washington and Baltimore, to cause the enemy to withdraw from the south bank, where his presence endangered our communications and the safety of those engaged in the removal of our wounded and the captured property from the late battlefields. Having accomplished this result, it was proposed to move the army into Western Maryland, establish our communications with Richmond through the Valley of the Shenandoah, and, by threatening Pennsylvania, induce the enemy to follow, and thus draw him from his base of supplies. With great respect, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, General.

"Stonewall" Jackson distributes his men in and around "Frederick City." Ewell's and Hill's divisions guard the railroad bridge over the Monocacy River and Jeb Stuart prevents a dispatch rider from being captured.

HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY CORPS. - Col. R. H. CHILTON, Chief of Staff, Army of Northern Virginia. - COLONEL: The main army moving to Frederick..., the cavalry resumed their march on the flank, halting at Urbana, Hampton's brigade in advance. The advance guard had the good fortune to rescue from a member of the enemy's signal corps a bearer of dispatches from President Davis to General Lee. The dispatches, fortunately, by the discreetness of the bearer, had not fallen into the hands of the enemy, and were eventually safely delivered....J. E. B. STUART, Major-General.

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