Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/89

 Ceremonies at Unveiling of Statue of General Lee. 83

the Confederate capital vanished, cowering, shattered and demoral- ized, at Harrison's Landing, on the James, under the protection of the powerful gunboats, which alone saved it from destruction.

It is a cold, historic fact that after deducting losses of the battles and stragglers, Lee with sixty-two thousand men pursued McClellan with ninety thousa7id to the banks of the James ; yet so had the handling of the Confederate force multiplied its numbers in the imagination of McClellan, that his dispatches informed his Govern- ment that he had been overwhelmed by an enemy not less than two hundred thousand strong !

Richmond was relieved and for the moment safe ; but the situation was full of peril.

The army of McClellan, resting in its impregnable position within a day's march of Richmond, reorganized and strengthened with rein- forcements, would, if left undisturbed, soon be in position to resume offensive operations. Meanwhile tiie Federal forces in the other direction had been placed under a new commander, Major-General John Pope, who, at the head of forty-three thousand men, was organ- izing a bold campaign to operate against Richmond in connection with McClellan.

Lee determined that the easiest way to remove McClellan from the James would be to threaten the inferior force of Pope, upon which the protection of Washington depended. Accordingly, he dis- patched Jackson with twelve thojcsand men in the direction of- Gor- donsville to threaten Pope. This left him with on\y fifty -eight thou- sand men to confront the ni7iety thotisand of McClellan; but the lat- ter General still remaining inactive, Lee, a week later, further depleted his force by sending A. P. Hill's division to reinforce Jack- son. Jackson, with his force of about eighteen thousa^id men, did not hesitate to attack Pope with thirty-seven thousand at hand, and more in easy reach, and won the victory at Cedar Run. This bold feat had the effect of checking all serious advance on the part of Pope, and of so alarming the Washington authorities for the safety of their capital, that they accomplished the very purpose of Lee, by ordering the transfer of McClellan' s army to the support of Pope. Ttiis enabled Lee to dispatch the rest of his own force in the same direction. McClellan' s forces were being rapidly transported to Alexandria and moving to the support of Pope. If suffered to com- plete their junction the force of the enemy would be overwhelmingly superior. The only hope was to annihilate Pope before the whole of McClellan' s force could reach him. To accomplish this, an attack