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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 11, 1962)
O A MONDAY. JUNE 11. 1962 MEDFOHD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON TStS CI VIL WAR 'I, Stuart's Great 'Ride Around' By MERTON T. AKERS UPI Correspondent On June 10, 1862, Gen. Rob ert E. Lee called to his head quarters north of Richmond, Va., the Army's dashing 29-year-old cavalry leader-Brig. Gen. James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart. It was imperative (or Lee to know how strongly Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Federal troops held the terri tory north of the Chickahom iny river. McClellan's 100,000 man Army of the Potomac was laying siege to the Con federate capital. Lee was new , on the jcb. Only 10 days be fore he had taken command of the Confederate army be cause of the wounding of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in the battle of Seven Pines. To break McClellan's grad ually tightening hold on the city, Lee had to strike before the Federals. Even discount ing McClellan's well known caution, time was running out, But before Lee could attack, he had to have Information. That was where Stuart came in. Lee ordered him to moke a cavalry reconnaissance on the right flank of the Federal army. The young cavalry com mander caught fire as Lee outlined his plan for the ma neuver three times he call ed it an "expedition," a word which Stuart would stretch to its limit. Much Imagination Sluart was a leader with much imagination. Later he wrote that he had suggested to Lee that he "pass around" the Federal army. His mind probably raced ahead of Lee's; Perhaps he could "ride around" the enemy, even de stroy its supply base and force a retreat. That would be one for the history books. S Lee's reaction is not record ed but he never was one to discourage enterprise. The next day Stuart receiv ed his orders and picked his troops. The 1st Virginia Cavalry, commanded by Col. Fitzhugh Lee, the general's nephew, would lead. Four companies of the 4th Virginia were add ed. Lee's second son, "Roo ney" (W.H.F.) would lead part of his 0th Virginia and the rest of the 4th. The best of the Jeff Davis Legion and the South Carolina Boykin Ran gers were Included. Lt. Jim Brealhcd, a protege of Stuart, would command the two-gun artillery force. All told, 1,200 men with scouts and staff. The expedition started on June 12, riding 22 miles north of Richmond to Winston Farm, near Tayorsvllle, Va. The next day, when the. col umn turned cast toward Han over Courthouse, the troopers had their first brush with the Federals. Cavalry Sighted Scouts sighted the Federal cavalry just outside of town. Fitz Lee led his regiment around the village. Stuart waited until Lee got into posi tion and then ordered a charge. The column swept into the villnge and the Federals, about 150, fled south. One of Stuart's stuff offi cers was LI. John Esten Cooke, a cousin by marriase and a part time novelist. Cooke described his com mander that day: ". . . He was a gallant fig ure to look at. The gray cont buttoned to the chin; the light French sabre balanced by his pistol In its black holster; the cavalry boots above the knee, and the brown hat with its black plume floating above the bearded features, the bril liant eyes and the huge mous tache, which curled with laughter at the slightest prov ocation these made Stuart the perfect picture of a gay cavalier. . . ." Later in the day the gray troopers clashed with part of the 5th U. S. Cavalry near Haw's Shop, seven miles southeast of Hanover C. H. All the Federals escaped ex cept a few guards and dis mounted men. About 3 p.m. Stuart ran Into more serious trouble. At Old Church, about four miles southwest of Haws Shop, his troopers attacked Federal cavalry, estimated to be about a regiment, charg ing straight along the road from the north. The fight lasted only a few minutes but it was a hot one. Expected More Troublt Old Church was the cross roads for Federal wagon trains supplying the far right wing of the Army of the Po tomac and Stuart had expect ed more trouble. Col. Fitz Lee pursued and burned the Fed eral camp. Among the loot was a keg of hospital whiskey destined to serve as more than a beverage. Then Stuart broke the news to his officers that he pro posed to "ride around" Mc Clellan's army. He quietly called them off the road and explained that the expedition had obtained information that the right flank of the Union army was lightly held along the Pamunkey river and that this was the intelligence Gen eral Lee desperately needed. They now had two choices, he explained. One was to re turn the way they came with ; chances good that the aroused ; Federals would cut mem on. i The other was to continue i across the Chickahominy riv- cr and then west along the James river back to Richmond. That route would complete ly encircle the Federal army and, he reasoned, Union cav alry would not be looking lor the expedition to go thai way. Might Deal Blow Furthermore, at Tunstall'j Station, nine miles ahead, they would hit the York river rail road, one of McClellan's chief arteries of supply. To tear up , a section of the line and halt j supplies, even for a short time, might deal a severe blow to the enemy. The officers were skeptical i but all said thoy would follow. J The expedition hit Tunstall's j Station shortly before dark, scattering a few Federal guards. By 8:30 p.m. the expedition arrived at Talleyvillc, a four house hamlet five miles south of Tunstall's Station. Here the Federals had a big hospital but the Confederates rode by without molesting it. A sutler's store did not fare so well. It was cleaned out by the famished troopers who had not eaten much In two days. Now the expedition rode in the bright moonlight toward the Chickahominy, seven miles away, 'there, if any where, would come the test. Federal cavalry now was aroused. It was commanded by Gen. Philip St. George Cooke, father-in-law of Stuart and uncle of Lieutenant Cooke. Unless Stuart's timing was precise, relative might be fighting relative on the Chick ahominy. Stuart's forces arrived at the river at dawn on June 14. A scout had said that a ford at Sycamore Springs was a short cut the Federals would overlook but the river there waa too high for crossing. Only a few daring ones made it. Stuart seemed worried for the first time and dispatched I courier to General Lee, ask ing that a demonstration be made to divert pursuit. Then he ordered his force a mile downstream to the ruins of Forge Bridge. There they tore down an old ware house and laid a shaky bridge across the river on the piers of an earlier span. The job took three hours of feverish work by all the troopers, laboring under the lash of expected Federal pur suit. Appearance of a consid erable Union force would have meant failure. As the last Confederates crossed the makeshift bridge and set it afire. Federal cav alry caught up and opened fire too late. The expedition was safe. His work done, Stuart turn ed the command over to Fitz Lee and started (or Richmond, 35 miles away. Information Obtaintd He rode alone the rest of the day and all night, stop ping three times for coffee. He reported to General Lee on June IS that he and his troopers had ridden all the way around McClellan's army and had obtained the informa tion Lee wanted all this in three days and about 100 miles, with one casualty. For Stuart, the "ride around" put him in the mili tary textbooks until gasoline engines replaced horseflesh. For Lee, the expedition gave him the information he needed to trigger the Seven Days' battle and save Rich mond. For the troopers, one "lib erated" keg of hospital whis key, a prize for lifting one of the expedition's guns out of a mudhole. and the plaudits of the Confederacy. 71-STROKE HOLE Cocorro, N. M. - (UPB -Fred Silva won the El Fuego Baca golf shoot Sunday with a 71 for one hole and don't scoff. The tee is on a 7,000 foot mountain and the green is in a valley, three miles away. Police Search for Masked Gunman Seattle - OITD - Police are searching for a masked gun man that robbed a supermar ket here Saturday of about $18,000. Randall West, 31, manager of the Food Giant store said the man forced him at gun point to remove the money from the store's sae. West told police the man apparently had hidden in the store until it closed, and then made his bid for the money. A security guard and an other store employee were forced into a large refriger ator by the bandit. Second Escapee Is Arrested Saturday Tacoma - UPB - The second of three escapees from the Yakima county jail was ar rested here Saturday. Don L. Southern, 28, was picked up by police acting on a tip Southern was trying to pass a stolen money order. Police said Southern was carrying a .38 caliber revol ver when he was arrested. It was not determined if the weapon was the same one stol en by the trio when they es caped last week. Southern admitted stealing a car in Salem, police said. Another of the trio, Earl Taylor, 22, was arrested last Monday while hitchhiking nnrth nf Yakima. The third escapee, James Leroy Cooper, 32. has not yet been apprehended. 100 FINANCING an All Service or Repair Work Drive in tor free eitimate or Cell 2-4208 WHITNEY OLDS 415 So. Riverside. PREPARE YOURSELF TO LIVE BETTER SUMMER scHoni Wv 9oS Practical Office Skills Can Raise Your Payl Put your Summer month to flood ute. Prepare tor e J business potition. 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