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Lee Takes the War into the North:
Intent on taking the war into the North after the crushing Confederate victory at Second Manassas, General Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River into Maryland in September 1862. The Confederacy wanted to encourage European powers to recognize it as a separate nation, crush northern morale, and force President Abraham Lincoln to sue for peace. Lee hoped to isolate Washington, DC from the west by destroying railroads and opening communications south through the Shenandoah Valley by forcing the evacuation of Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. Lee hoped these actions would draw the Army of the Potomac into battle on a field of his own choosing.
Excerpt from an Editorial in the Richmond Dispatch, Sept. 17, 1862:
"He [McClellan] has caused to us in Virginia a loss of at least thirty thousand negroes, the most valuable property a Virginian can own. They have no negroes in Pennsylvania. Retaliation must therefore fall upon something else, and let it fall upon everything that constitutes property. A Dutch farmer had no negroes but he has horses that can be seized, grain that can be confiscated, cattle that can be killed and houses that can be burnt."
Confederates Arrive in Frederick:
Lee's army was ragged, but after their victory at Manassas, they crossed into Maryland with high spirits believing that the Marylanders would rally to their flag. They were disappointed, however, with a cooler reception than they had anticipated; only 130 men were recruited.
As word spread that Confederates were on their way toward Frederick; citizens began to prepare. Farmers drove their stock into Pennsylvania and many citizens left town. Confederate sympathizer Catherine Markell, remarked in her diary, "Rumors of the approach of the Confederate army -- Federals are burning their stores and skadaddling."
Civil War Guessing Game:
General George B. McClellan moved the Army of the Potomac away from Washington, uncertain if the Confederate army was marching on Washington, Baltimore, into Pennsylvania or re-crossing the Potomac. He advanced with three columns to cover all potential movements. His scouts could not penetrate the Confederate cavalry who masked Lee's movements. In addition, General Henry Halleck, Union General in Chief, feared Lee might draw McClellan and the army away from Washington, then turn and attack the city.
"Never has the army been so dirty, ragged, and ill-provided-for as on this march."
-- General J.R. Jones, Commander of Jackson's division
"We were rather disappointed at our reception, which was decidedly cool, this wasn't what we expected."
-- Alexander Hunter, with Colonel Bradley Jefferson and the 2nd Maryland, CSA |