CHAPTER XXlll
 

T THE beginning of 1863 Hooker's Army
was lying securely situated between the
Rappahannock and the Potomac, threat¬
ening Richmond and defending Washing¬
ton. It was Lee's plan of campaign to maneuver
him out of his strong position and to bring him
to battle in Franldin or Adams County, Pennsyl¬
vania, transferring the seat of war into the enemy's
country and carrying his own army where subsist¬
ence could be obtained in abundance without dis¬
tressing his own people. A victory in Pennsyl¬
vania, he believed would cause the evacuation of
AVashington and would end Grant's operations on
the Alississippi. Accordingly at the beginning of
June there was a general movement towards the
Potomac. Lee's Army at that time consisted of
about 60,000 men, weU equipped and flushed with
victory. It was such an army as deemed itself
■unconquerable. Its discipiline was of the highest
order and its equipment better perhaps than the
army of Northern Virginia possessed before or af¬
terwards. On June 3, Longstreet was ordered
to move toward Culpepper. Ewell followed at the
head of Jackson's old troops. A. P. Hill was loft
with one corps between Hooker and Richmond.
Ewell went forward to drive Milroy out of the
valley. On the 14th of June he encountered him
at AVinchester and captured a large number of
prisoners, Alilroy-retiring towards Harper's Ferry
and leaving the valley free from Northern troops.
On the 16th of June a brigade of Confederate cav¬
alry under Gen. Jenkins reached Chambersburg
having crossed at Williamsport the day before;
Ewell next crossed the Potomac^ Longstreet follow¬
ed and Hill joined in the movement after the Ar¬
 

my of the Potomac had moved northward. By
the 17th of June the Confederate line of march
extended from Culpepper County, Virginia, all the
way to Chambersburg, Pa. Ewell had crossed the
Potomac near Shepherdstown. One of his divis¬
ions had reached Hagerstown and was encamped
there. Another division was bivouacked near
Sharpsburg and the third was approaching Shep¬
herdstown from the South. Hill crossed at Shep¬
herdstown on the 18th and Longstreet crossed on
June 25th at Williamsport. Stuart's Cavalry of
6,000 men w-as hovering along the wings of Hook¬
er's army which was moving northward on a line
parallel with Lee, crossing the Potomac east of
the Blue Ridge into Frederick County. By the
27th Stuart had gotten to the east of the Federal
army and crossed the Potomac at Seneca creek
between Hooker and AA^ashington. On June 28
four corps of the Army of the Potomac had con¬
centrated at Frederick and three were at Middle-
town. At tins time Hooker received an order
from Washington relieving him from the command
and putting Gen. George Meade at the head of
thfe great army now charged with the work of de¬
fending the North from the invaders. And so it
came to pass that in June 1863 the whole of
Washington County was within the Confederate
lines. In this forward movement the discipline
of Lee's army was admirable, there were no dep¬
redations upon private property and any individual
outrages were severely punished. Indeed when
Lee reached Chanlbersburg on June 27 he issued a
general order from that to"wn which contained
the following: "It must be remembered that we
make war only upon armed men and we cannot