[
51]
wing, under
Ewell, through the
Blue Ridge at
Chester's Gap, and by way of
Front Royal it crossed the
Shenandoah River, and burst into the valley at
Strasburg like an avalanche.
That energetic leader moved with the divisions of
Early and
Edward Johnston rapidly down the
Valley pike, and arrived before
Winchester, where
General Milroy was in command of about ten thousand men, on the evening of the 13th,
having marched from
Culpepper, a distance of seventy miles, in three days. At the same time
Imboden, with his cavalry, was operating in the vicinity of
Romney, to prevent
Milroy from being re-enforced from the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railway.
This was a bold movement on the part of
Lee, for it made the actual line of his army, from
Hill at
Fredericksburg to
Ewell at
Winchester, full one hundred miles in length.
Although Milroy, since the first of the month, had felt a pressure from the foe stationed up the valley, and on the 12th had sent out strong reconnoitering parties to ascertain why it was increasing, it was not until the forenoon of the 13th that he was aware of any considerable force on his front.
The revelation of that force so near was astounding, and the assurance of its overwhelming numbers, given by scouts and prisoners, would have justified him in retreating at once.
But Milroy, brave even to rashness, resolved to fight before flying.
He called in his outposts.
Colonel McReynold's, with a brigade stationed at Berryville to watch the passes of the Blue Ridge and the fords of the Shenandoah, retreated before Rodes, and very soon Milroy had his forces, not more than seven thousand effectives, well in hand.
While awaiting an attack, his foe was accumulating force on his front and flank, and on the evening of the 14th, after some skirmishing, the Confederates substantially invested the city and garrison.
At one o'clock the next morning
Milroy, in compliance with the decision of a council of officers, resolved to retreat.
He spiked his cannon, drowned his powder, and was about to fly, when the
Confederates fell upon him. Then began an unequal struggle, and an equal race, toward the
Potomac.
The fugitives were swifter-footed than their pursuers, and might all have escaped, had not
Johnston's division, which had gained the rear of the post, stood in their way, four miles from
Winchester.
By these the flying troops were stopped, scattered, and many were made prisoners.
1 Most of those who escaped, crossed the
Potomac at
Hancock, and took refuge in
Bedford County, Pennsylvania; and others fled to
Harper's Ferry, where
Milroy's wagon-train crossed the
Potomac, and was conducted in safety to
Harrisburg, by way of
Hagerstown and
Chambersburg.
Milroy lost nearly all of his artillery and ammunition.
Alarmed by the approach of the
Confederates in such force, the garrison at
Harper's Ferry, under
General French, withdrew to
Maryland Heights.
The Shenandoah Valley was now clear of all obstacles to the march of the invading army.
Hooker, in the mean time, had been kept in the vicinity of the Rappahannock, partly by uncertainty concerning Lee's movements, and chiefly by directions from Washington;2 but the moment he was informed of the
