June 12, 1862

June 12, 1862:

Brig. Gen. James Ewell Brown Stuart, CSA

Gen. Stuart’s Wild Ride - On this date, Brig. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, with 1,200 troopers, begins his ride into the Federal rear areas to gather intelligence, capture supplies, and wreak havoc on the Federal communications and supply lines. His men were the 1^st Virginia Cavalry (under Col. Fitzhugh Lee, nephew to Robert E. Lee), the 9^th Virginia (under Col. Rooney Lee, the general’s son), additional troops of the 4^th Virginia, and a couple of squadrons of the Jeff Davis Legion, plus a two-gun section of his horse artillery. This "light brigade" set off north before 3:00 AM, through Yellow Tavern and on to Ashland. He then turns east along the south bank of the Pamunkey River, and stops at Hanover Court House. Just west of Hanover, they encounter troopers from the 6^th U.S. Cavalry, who in turn withdraw. The Union cavalry officer informs his superiors that it is only a squadron of Rebels and nothing to worry about.

Route of Stuart's Raid

—Once again, Pres. Lincoln orders Gen. McDowell’s I Corps to move east and south and join McClellan for what he hoped was the big push to capture Richmond. However, Fremont and Banks are worried about Jackson’s growing strength. Fremont believes Jackson to have 35,000 against his own 14,000.

—Gen. Jackson again moves into the Valley and pushing north. His cavalry, now under Col. Mumford, begins harrassing Fremont and his rear guard.

—George Templeton Strong, of New York City, expresses frustration at McClellan’s lack of aggression:
But Richmond—McClellan!!!??? There is the critical position. Success there kills the rebellion, or leaves it only a feeble life, like that of a decapitated hornet, able to sting careless fingers but sure soon to perish innocuously if left alone. Can we hope for the "crowning mercy" of victory there? People are not sanguine about it. They think McClellan too slow and fear Joe Johnston (or G.W. Smith, for they say Joe Johnston was badly wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks) has been largely reinforced. . . . Time will tell. By why does not McDowell move down from Fredericksburg with his 40,000 men, more or less? And why does he visit Washington so often? . . .

—Mary Boykin Chestnut of South Carolina writes in her diary:
Sixteen more Yankee regiments have landed on James Island. Eason writes, "They have twice the energy and enterprise of our people."
Is answered: "Wait awhile. Let them alone until climate and mosquitoes and sand flies and dealing with negroes take it all out of them.". . .

General Scott on Southern soldiers. He says we have élan, courage, woodcraft, consummate horsemanship, endurance of pain equal to the Indians, but that we will not submit to discipline. We will not take care of things or husband our resources. Where we are, there is waste and destruction. If it could all be done by one wild, desperate dash, we would do it. But he does not think we can stand the long blank months between the acts—waiting! We can bear pain without murmur, but we will not submit to be bored, &c&c&c.
Now for the other side. They can wait. They can bear discipline. They can endure forever—losses in battle nothing to them, resources in men and materials fo war inexhaustible. And if they see fit they will fight to the bitter end. . . .

After all this—tried to read Uncle Tom. Could not. Too sickening. A man send his little son to beat a human being tied to a tree? It is bad as Squeers beating Smike in the hack.* Flesh and blood revolts. You must skip that—It is too bad—or the pulling out of eyeballs in Lear. [*This occurs in Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby.]

—Col Rutherford B. Hayes, future president of the United States, is on duty with his regiment in western Virginia, and writes home to his wife, and gives her an account of the tedium of camp life:
A day’s life runs about thus: — At 5 A. M., one or the other of our two Giles County contrabands, Calvin or Samuel, comes in hesitatingly and in a modest tone suggests, "Gentlemen, it is ‘most breakfast time." About ten minutes later, finding no results from his first summons, he repeats, perhaps with some slight variation. This is kept up until we get up to breakfast, that is to say, sometimes cold biscuits, cooked at the hospital, sometimes army bread, tea and coffee, sugar, sometimes milk, fried pork, sometimes beef, and any "pison" or fraudulent truck in the way of sauce or pickles or preserves (!) (good peaches sometimes), which the sutler may chance to have. After breakfast there is a little to be done; then a visit of half an hour to brigade headquarters, Colonel Scammon’s; then a visit to division ditto, General Cox’s, where we gossip over the news, foreign and domestic (all outside of our camps being foreign, the residue domestic), then home again, and novel reading is the chief thing till dinner. I have read "Ivanhoe," "Bride of Lammermoor," and [one] of Dickens’ and one of Fielding’s the last ten days.

P. M., generally ride with Avery from five to ten miles; and as my high-spirited horse has no other exercise, and as Carrington (Company C boy) is a good forager and feeds him tip-top, the way we go it is locomotive-like in speed. After this, more novel reading until the telegraphic news and mails, both of which come about the same hour, 5:30 P. M. Then gossip on the news and reading newspapers until bedtime — early bedtime, 9 P. M. We have music, company drills, — no room for battalion drills in these mountains, — and target practice with other little diversions and excitements, and so "wags the world away."

. . . Write as often as you can. I think of you often and with so much happiness; then I run over the boys in my mind — Birt, Webb, Ruddy. The other little fellow I hardly feel acquainted with yet, but the other three fill a large place in my heart.

Keep up good heart. It is all coming out right. There will be checks and disappointments, no doubt, but the work goes forwards. We are much better off than I thought a year ago we should be. — A year ago! Then we were swearing the men in at Camp Chase. Well, we think better of each other than we did then, and are very jolly and friendly.

"I love you s’much." Love to all.
Affectionately,
R,