[
372]
of the enemy escaped under cover of darkness, though the pursuit was pushed until late at night.
On the 15th, starting at 10 A. M.,
Rodes reached
Williamsport at dark and at once crossed three brigades and three batteries over the
Potomac.
The marches made by
Ewell's whole corps in this swoop upon
Milroy, and the fruits of victory secured, compare well with the work of the same corps under
Jackson 13 months before.
Early and
Johnson, advancing upon
Winchester, made 70 miles in three days.
Rodes speaks of his march to
Williamsport as—
‘the most trying march we had yet had; most trying because of the intense heat, the character of the road (stony and dusty) and the increased number of barefooted men in the command.’
He goes on to say:—
‘It was not until this day that the troops began to exhibit unmistakable signs of exhaustion, and that stragglers could be found in the line of march, and even then none but absolutely worn-out men fell out of the line.
The whole march from Culpeper to Williamsport, which was an extremely rapid one, was executed in a manner highly creditable to the officers and men of the division.
A halt at Williamsport was absolutely necessary from the condition of the feet of the unshod men. Very many of these gallant fellows were still marching in ranks with feet bruised, bleeding, and swollen.’
Of the fruits gathered by the victory,
Lee reports,—
‘More than 4000 prisoners, about 30 pieces of artillery, 250 wagons, 400 horses, 20 ambulances, and a lot of ammunition, etc.’
Besides these captures of military material, large quantities of cattle, provisions, and supplies of all kinds useful to the army were now to be collected in the fertile farming country, into which the army had penetrated.
Stringent orders were issued, forbidding the taking of private property except by duly authorized officers, giving formal receipts in all cases, that the owners might have no difficulty in establishing claims and receiving payment at fair prices.
On June 13, as
Ewell's corps approached
Winchester,
Longstreet being at
Culpeper, and
Hill still opposite
Fredericksburg,
Hooker put his army in motion from
Falmouth for
Manassas.
Before
Lee began his movement,
Hooker had anticipated it, and
