Marching through Front Royal: The 160th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Campaign, Episode 1

Early on the morning of June 4^th, 1863, Union Major General Joe Hooker was sitting around a campfire having breakfast when he was interrupted by his Intelligence chief bearing important dispatches from the Federal Balloon Corps. (Depicted here from Library of Congress Photo). Union observation balloons monitoring the southern banks of the Rappahannock had crafted an urgent update for the commander. The balloons had been keeping a close watch on the scattered array of Confederate cooking fires. The wood smoke that had wreathed the treetops and smothered the valley was thinning. In its place, something else was in the air—dust, not smoke. To the Federal commander, this meant one thing – Something was afoot with General Lee. The Confederate army was stirring.

Immediately after his victory at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee quietly prepared the Army of Northern Virginia for the Confederacy’s second invasion of the United States. After the death of Stonewall Jackson, he reorganized his forces into three corps of three divisions each and placed them under command of Lieutenant Generals James Longstreet, Richard S. Ewell, and A. Powell Hill. The Army of Northern Virginia numbered about 75,000 officers and men. They were all seasoned veterans and were cloaked in an aura of invincibility having won their last two battles.

Lee knew the Federal army was preparing for a new thrust toward Richmond. The South would gain nothing from another battle in the Fredericksburg area, so Lee decided on a bold move that would transfer the scene of hostilities north of the Potomac River. A Confederate sneak attack northward could accomplish several things. For starters, it would disrupt Union campaign plans for the rest of 1863. It would also: remove Federal forces from the Shenandoah Valley, obtain desperately needed supplies, undermine civilian morale in the north, and encourage anti-war sentiment already trumpeted by the Democratic Party. Much was at stake with this endeavor.

In the teachings of Sun Tzu: “All warfare is based on deception.” Lee’s deception plan was multi-faceted. He left General A.P. Hill’s Corps to guard the approaches to Richmond around Fredericksburg so the Federals would believe Lee was still encamped. Meanwhile he stealthily moved the preponderance of his force westward around Culpeper where JEB Stuart’s cavalry had assembled for the march north. Misinformation regarding Confederate intentions successfully reached their target audience in the Lincoln Administration. On June 7^th, Colonel George Sharp, head of the Bureau of Military Information, reported to Hooker that JEB Stuart was preparing for a large cavalry raid but Lee’s infantry was withdrawing south to defenses around Richmond. The ruse was working.

On 9 June, Union cavalry probed Confederate cavalry positions in the battle of Brandy Station near Culpeper. This engagement confirmed the Confederate cavalry’s strength but did not include intelligence of the looming Confederate invasion. In fact, just prior to the cavalry clash at Brandy Station, General Ewell’s Corps had slipped away from Culpeper and was moving westward through the Blue Ridge Mountain passes. A few days later the Southerners were marching north through Front Royal. The invasion was on.

Although the Northern leadership would not grasp the true gravity of Lee’s intentions for a couple more weeks, the townspeople of Front Royal knew something was up. Prior to the arrival of Ewell’s advance guard, hundreds of Confederate cavalry under General Albert Jenkins poured through the town on their way towards Winchester. They immediately cut all telegraph wires eastward to ensure secrecy.

The following day on 12 June, the townspeople of Front Royal were treated to a spectacle of power. The vanguard of Lee’s legions was greeted with cheers as Ewell’s regiments marched through the streets followed by processions of canon, caissons, and logistical wagons several miles long. This was no normal raiding party. It took all day for the 20,000 plus corps and their supply trains to file through Front Royal. Just when the townspeople thought all had passed, another regimental flag would emerge onto Chester Street.

As the spearhead of the Army of Northern Virginia, General Ewell was tasked with clearing all Federals from the Shenandoah Valley and foraging for provisions and equipment for the follow-on forces. Two days after passing through Front Royal, Ewell’s legions surrounded Winchester and cut all communications before reducing the Federal forces to surrender. Captured supplies greatly lengthened his wagon trains. The path was cleared for the remainder of the Confederate forces to roll northward.

Meanwhile, the War Department in Washington was perplexed by rampant rumors and conflicting intelligence reports. Spies and reconnaissance efforts could no longer account for most of Lee’s army. They still believed Lee was defending the Confederate capital but were baffled by the lack of communication with their forces in the Shenandoah Valley. Rumors were swirling at Hooker’s headquarters too. Having been outfoxed by Lee a few weeks earlier, he hurriedly dispatched the army’s cavalry arm along present-day Highway 50 westward to get eyes on the valley. Union leadership simply could not fathom that Lee would leave the Confederate capital unguarded.

JEB Stuart’s Confederate Cavalry assembled in mass to impede Hooker’s reconnaissance effort. The Union and Confederate cavalry battled it out over a 5-day series of engagements from Aldie, through Middleburg, and Upperville from 17-21 June. Stuart’s defense in depth concluded just shy of the Blueridge gaps west of Upperville on 21 June. The Union did not breach the gaps in the Blue Ridge and so remained blinded to Lee’s intentions.

While JEB Stuart was defending the passes along Hwy. 50, the townspeople of Front Royal were treated yet again to front row seats of Lee’s invasion force. General A.P. Hill’s Corp slipped away from the Fredericksburg area and was last in the line of march. His forces cut through the mountain gap to Front Royal to follow in General Ewell’s footsteps. (From the original painting Covered with Glory by Mort Künstler © 1999 Mort Künstler, Inc., www.mkunstler.com)

By the time the 26^th North Carolina infantry marched down Chester Street with the rest of General A.P. Hill’s corps the euphoria and jubilation of the people was at its peak. Mort Kunstler wrote, “Led by their heralded band, the troops of the 26^th North Carolina passed by as if on review. Most of the townspeople were appraised of war news and were quite cognizant of the famous North Carolina Regiment. Women waved their handkerchiefs, children ran and marched alongside the soldiers, and all cheered the gray uniformed sons of the south. The residents of Front Royal had been under constant threat of the enemy for two years and they welcomed General Lee’s forces.”

Mr. Mort Kunstler commemorated this event in the painting above entitled, “Covered with Glory.” It depicts the heralded North Carolina 26^th Infantry Regiment and their band marching along Chester Street in front of the present day ‘Samuels Apartments’ across from the Virginia Beer Museum. As a side note, the 26^th North Carolina were considered General A.P. Hills’ shock troops and enjoyed the fame associated with their accomplishments at the recent victory at Chancellorsville and the many campaigns of 1862. Sadly, most of the soldiers honored in this print would not retrace their steps through Front Royal. The regiment suffered 85% losses at Gettysburg, more than any other regiment during the war.

Now back to the overall scheme of things. By the time General Hooker discerned Lee’s purpose, the entire Confederate army had passed beyond Front Royal and lead elements were north of the Potomac River marching into Maryland and headed towards Pennsylvania. Alarm bells were sounding everywhere in the north. The counties in Maryland and Pennsylvania were panicking and inundating the Washington offices with alarms that the whole Confederate army was invading. Many citizens fled north from the advancing Confederates. On June 25th, the Army of the Potomac broke camp and began moving into the Frederick, Maryland area. Although General Hooker issued orders for the army to pursue Lee, he continued to badger Washington to attack Richmond instead of following the Southerners northward.

Hooker’s argument was sensible in that the Confederate capital was inadequately defended and crushing Lee’s base of supplies and routing the Southern government would hastily end the war. Alternatively, Lincoln believed Lee was the South’s center of gravity and believed defeating Lee’s army would essentially defeat the South. Politically, Lincoln didn’t give it a second thought. He had to defend the Union from the invading Southern forces. Allowing Lee to ravage northern cities unopposed was unthinkable. With that in mind, all seven Corps of the Army of the Potomac set out in pursuit of the Confederates.

While his armies hurried northward, President Lincoln decided to trade up commanders. General Joe Hooker was relieved of Command three days before both sides smashed into each other in Pennsylvania. General Meade, a Pennsylvania man, was informed while in the saddle, that he was the new commander of the entire Army of the Potomac. Now it was up to him to find and stop ‘Bobby Lee.’ This was not an enviable position. The previous two Union commanders had been embarrassed by General Lee. Two days later, Meade would be riding through the night to the sound of the guns. Game on in Gettysburg!

Gettysburg was fought during the first 3 days of July in 1863. It was the largest battle in the Civil War and the largest battle ever fought in the United States. There were over 50,000 casualties. This year is the 160^th Anniversary of that momentous battle.