Stuart got the horses.
In order to engage
McClellan's attention and gather a supply of fresh horses from the farmers of
Pennsylvania, on the 10th of October
Lee dispatched the gallant and raid-loving
Stuart, with 1,800 horsemen, across the
Potomac into
Pennsylvania, and by noon of the 12th of October he again recrossed the
Potomac, not only with a fresh supply of much-needed horses, but with full information as to
McClellan's movements.
This bold and daring ride so irritated and excited the
Federal Government that it peremptorily ordered
McClellan to choose a line of attack and move against
Lee in
Virginia.
This meant the second cry, ‘On to
Richmond!’
The experiences of the
Federal forces in the great Valley, both in
Virginia and
Maryland, did not give them confidence to undertake a new campaign in that already famous region, and
McClellan determined to draw
Lee from the
Valley by crossing to the east of the
Blue Ridge and then following along its eastern foot.
Crossing the
Potomac on October 23d,
McClellan successfully occupied, with detachments, the gaps of the
Blue Ridge, and made demonstrations towards the
Shenandoah, thus guarding his flanks as his army marched southward.
