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Jackson on the Move
About 10 a.m. on May 2, 1863, Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's flanking column approached this then-cleared ridge on the Furnace Road. Union infantrymen perched in trees at Hazel Grove, three-quarters of a mile to the northwest, spotted the Confederates. Federal artillery opened fire, compelling Jackson's troops to hurry past this exposed spot. The general ordered his artillery and wagon trains to take a safer road, further south.
The harassing Union fire did little to disrupt Jackson's column. Had you been here that day, you would have seen a much narrower road packed with troops four abreast moving steadily at a slow tramp. For six hours a continuous stream of soldiers moved by. The passage here alerted the Federals to Jackson's movement but not to his destination. They would soon respond in more substantial form - at Catharine Furnace, a half-mile to the west.
"The men had been in winter quarters and had accumulated much...to carry, but the day was a warm one.... Many of these poor fellows...jerked off their knapsacks or bundles, hastily selected a few precious things and abandoning their cherished possessions ran on to resume their places."
-- Lieutenant Frederick Colston, Confederate staff officer. |