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Ferry surrendered, and Lee united the wings of his army beyond the Antietam before the final and general engagement was forced upon him. At my camp in front of Middletown, I received no orders looking to a general advance on the 14th; but only to support, by a detachment, Pleasonton's cavalry in a reconnoissance toward Turner's Gap.
As it was, Pleasonton's brigade was too weak to make head against Stuart's regiments; and Hooker could expect no early information of his enemy's movements. He thus found himself in the dilemma which a general on the defensive, if he be weak in cavalry, has almost invariably to face, especially in a close country.
Sturgis's halted not far from the western foot of the mountain, with corps headquarters near by. Pleasonton's cavalry was a little in advance of us, at the forks of the road where the old Sharpsburg road turns off to the left from the turnpike.
From all this it is very plain that if McClellan had hastened his advance on the 13th, the passes of South Mountain at Turner's and Fox's gaps would not have been occupied in force by the enemy, and the condition of things would have been what he believed it was on the morning of the 14th, when a single brigade had been thought enough to support Pleasonton's reconnoissance.
Best of all, the interval between the two wings twenty-six miles on the night of the 28th was now reduced to eleven miles by the plank road. Two things only were unsatisfactory: The absence of information. The fact that the whole movement had been observed by the Confederate cavalry. Pleasonton's brigade of horse had proved too weak for the duty assigned to it.
March through Washington Reporting to Burnside The Ninth Corps Burnside's personal qualities To Leesboro Straggling Lee's army at Frederick Our deliberate advance Reno at New Market The march past Reno and Hayes Camp gossip Occupation of Frederick Affair with Hampton's cavalry Crossing Catoctin Mountain The valley and South Mountain Lee's order found Division of his army Jackson at Harper's Ferry Supporting Pleasonton's reconnoissance Meeting Colonel Moor An involuntary warning Kanawha Division's advance Opening of the battle Carrying the mountain crest The morning fight Lull at noon Arrival of supports Battle renewed Final success Death of Reno Hooker's battle on the right His report Burnside's comments Franklin's engagement at Crampton's Gap.
By twelve o'clock Pleasonton's entire force had effected a union, after much severe fighting, on the left, and the engagement became general. The infantry fought side by side with the cavalry. There was some grand manoeuvring on that historic field, and feats were performed worthy of heroes. One incident should be particularized.
Then, having obtained the information he required, he moved across the Federal front, and routing one of Pleasonton's regiments in a night affair near Spotsylvania Court House, he had regained touch with his own army. The results of his manoeuvres were of the utmost importance.
Daring Deeds. Colonel Cesnola, Fourth New York Cavalry. Incidents. Victory. Advance to Ashby's Gap. Pleasonton's Official Report. Rebel Movements on Free Soil. Difficulties in the North. The Cavalry Corps Crosses the Potomac at Edward's Ferry. General Meade succeeds Hooker. Orders. Changes in the Cavalry. Movements. Kilpatrick's Fight with Stuart at Hanover Junction. Solemn and laughable Scenes.
Before morning on the 15th of September it became evident that Lee had used the night in withdrawing his army. An advance of the pickets at daybreak confirmed this, and Pleasonton's cavalry was pushed forward to Boonsboro, where they had a brisk skirmish with the enemy's rear-guard.
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