of the Mexican war, commander of the department of Oregon during the gold excitement, and experienced in mountain warfare, was assigned to the command of the Northwestern army. He was advised by General Lee that, in addition |to the forces he would find at Monterey under Jackson, Brigadier-General Floyd, with the brigade he had organized in southwest Virginia, had been directed to move to Covington, Brigadier-General Wise toward the same point, and Col. Angus McDonald with his cavalry legion from the south branch of the Potomac to Staunton. On the 2ist, the day of victory at Manassas, three Tennessee regiments, reaching Staunton, were put under General Loring's orders.
Loring reached Monterey July 24th, accompanied by an efficient staff, including Col. Carter L. Stevenson, adjutant-general, and Maj. A. L. Long, chief of artillery, and flushed with the assurance of success which pervaded the Confederate States immediately after the splendid triumph at Manassas. Jackson had found it unadvisable to attempt a direct attack upon the Federal fortifications at Cheat Mountain pass, a narrow gap approachable only by the Parkersburg turnpike, and fitted for effective defense. Col. Edward Johnson, with Anderson's battery, was stationed at Alleghany Mountain pass, supported by Rust's Arkansas and Baldwin's Virginia regiments; Colonel Lee's North Carolina regiment was advanced to Elk Mountain pass, supporting the Bath cavalry at Big Spring. Captain Marye's battery was sent forward to Colonel Lee, and 250 Pocahontas militia being mustered in, 80 of them were put on duty as scouts and guides. With Johnson at Monterey were Fulkerson's and Scott's Virginia regiments, Ramsey's First Georgia, Major Jackson's cavalry and Shumaker's battery. General Loring determined to flank the Federal position by way of the Valley mountain. He ordered Jackson's command over into the Greenbrier valley and made preparations for an advance from Huntersville. At the latter point were Maney's,
