Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/359

This page has been validated.
CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
333

missing. Since Jackson met him at Cedar run, he had lost 30,000 men, 30 pieces of artillery, and military stores and small-arms worth millions in value and many thousands in number. This great victory of Groveton Heights cost Lee 8,000 men, mostly in Jackson's command, including many of his noblest and bravest officers.[1]

A deluge of rain followed the great battle, such as had followed most of those that had preceded it; but through that, and the mud that followed it, Stuart rode in the early morning of Sunday, August 31st, across Bull run to learn what had become of Pope. He found the reinforcements, that had the day before come up from Washington, holding the formidable intrenchments at Centreville bristling with artillery. Informed of this delay in Pope's retreat, Lee ordered Jackson, who was on his left and nearest Centreville, to cross Bull run and march to the Little River turnpike, which enters the Alexandria road near Fairfax Court House, turn Pope's right and cut off his retreat to Washington. The rain and mud made the march a difficult one for Jackson's weary and battle worn surviving veterans; but they, instinctively, divined their important mission and eagerly followed their great leader. When Pope learned of Jackson's new flanking movement, although he had in hand 20,000 fresh troops who had not fired a gun, he hastened in retreat to Fairfax Court House, after placing Reno's corps across the two converging turnpikes covering the approaches to Fairfax Court House from Centreville and Chantilly, with orders to keep back the irrepressible Confederates. Jackson, by continuing his march well into the night, took position across the Little River turnpike, at Ox hill, in front of Chantilly. In the midst of a terrific storm of driving rain, with almost continuous thunder and lightning, on Monday, September 1st, he met and repulsed a Federal advance under Reno, ordering the use of bayonets when informed that the rain-soaked ammunition could not be used. Heintzelman supported

  1. The losses of Longstreet's corps, August 23-30, were reported as 663 killed, 4,016 wounded, and 46 missing; total, 4,725. Jackson reported his losses from the Rappahannock to the Potomac, at 805 killed, 3,547 wounded, and 35 missing; total, 4,387. The Federal loss, in the campaign from the Rappahannock to the Potomac, has been stated by Northern authority, approximately, at 1,747 killed, 8,452 wounded, and 4,263 captured or missing; total, 14,462.