Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 1

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[174] the speech of many a brave orator that fall while criticising the slowness of McClellan. Munson's Hill armed the “On-to-richmond” press with pithy paragraphs. But suddenly and unexpectedly the Confederates withdrew from Munson's Hill and our cavalry pickets found there only mock intrenchments and “Quaker guns” --i. e., logs cut and daubed with black paint to imitate cannon. The natural query was: “What will our enemy do next?” To ascertain this, reconnoissances were undertaken.

The divisions of McCall and W. F. Smith marched out westward on October 19th. McCall, farthest south, bearing off northwesterly, passed through the village of Dranesville, and finding no enemy kept on five or six miles beyond toward Leesburg. He delayed his return march from time to time to enable his staff to gather local knowledge and make sketches of the country. A. telegram to McClellan from Darnestown the next morning said: “The signal station on ‘Sugar Loaf’ telegraphs that the enemy have moved away from Leesburg.” Upon receiving this message McClellan caused to be telegraphed to General Stone, at Poolsville, Md. (upper Potomac): “General McCall occupied Dranesville yesterday and is still there; will send out heavy reconnoissances to-day in all directions from that point. . . . Keep a good lookout upon Leesburg to see if this movement has the effect to drive them away. Perhaps a slight demonstration on your part would have the effect to move them.”

This simple telegram was the primary cause of the battle of Ball's Bluff-and the death of Colonel Baker.

Being in the District of Columbia at the time of the Ball's Bluff disaster, I realized how deeply people there were affected by it. The President had known