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6 We Have Backed Out Enough
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6 We Have BackedOut Enough hile Jackson parried with 70,000 Union troops in and around th Shenandoah Valley, George B. McClellan with an armyof 110,000 wellsupplied and well-trained men moved closer to the Confederate capital. On May31, the Confederate commander of the army defending Richmond , Joseph E. Johnston, attempted to halt the Union advance at a place called Fair Oaks. The battle wasadraw,but Johnstonwaswounded and had to step down from command. He was replaced by Robert E. Lee, who promptlydrew up a new plan for defeating McClellan.Part of the plan involvedrecalling Jackson's army from the Valley and usingit to fall on McClellan'sexposed right flank northeast ofthe capital. This audacious strategy was possible because the Federal armies in the Shenandoah Valleyhad had enough of StonewallJackson for awhile. Following the battle of Port Republic, Fremont had retreated eighty miles down the Valleyto Strasburg and beyond. Meanwhile, Banks had slowlyinched hiswayback up the Valley,regaining the ground lost in his hasty retreat. Eventually, Banks,Fremont, and Shields linked up at Middletown , where they established a strong defensive line and waited for Jackson's next move. But Jackson had other plans. After allowing his army a week for rest and recuperation, he slipped away to join Lee and the newlydesignated Army of Northern Virginia.1 1. OR, 12,pt. 1:26, pt. 3:434, 583; Freeman,Lee's Lieutenants,1:465-69, 490-91. Banks reoccupiedWinchester on June 9,the same dayJackson bloodied Shields's nose at PortRepublic. W We Have Backed Out Enough 71 As Jackson deployed his troops before Richmond, Lincoln reorganized Union troops in northern Virginia to form the Army ofVirginia. Banks s command became the II Corps of the new army. Fremont and his troops from the Mountain Department constituted the I Corps, while Major General Irvin McDowell was named to command the III Corps, which was stationed just south of Washington. The army's new commander was Major General John Pope, fresh and confident from Union victories in the western theater. Althoughthe reorganization of Union troops in northeastern Virginia was needed, there wasa problem with Pope. Allthree ofhis corps commanders outranked their newcommander . Fremont was furious and resigned his commission in protest. The two others, Banks and McDowell,chose to stay.2 John Pope was as arrogant as he was confident.A peacock from West Point, Pope openly expressed his dislike for political generals. This attitude did not mean that he disliked politicians, for Pope was a darling of the radical Republicans in Congress. But politicians in Washington and politicians in the field were two different things, and Pope wasquick to blame Banks for the condition of the Union forces in the vicinity of Strasburg, which he described to McClellan as "much demoralized and broken down, and unfit for active service for the present." In addition, Pope did not like Bankss tendency to assume the defensive. "Dismiss any idea that there isany purpose whatever to retreat from the positions which you are instructed to take up," he admonished Banks, "or that there is any design whatever to awaitany attack ofthe enemy." Popewas trying to shame Banks into being an aggressive commander.3 Having pushed McClellan'shuge army back downthe peninsula in a series ofhard-fought battles over aperiod of seven days, Lee turned his attention to the threat posed by Pope's new armyto the north. OnJuly13, Lee ordered Jackson to start his men toward Gordonsville. Lee knew that Jackson did not have enough men to defeat Pope's army in open combat, but he promised to send A.P. Hill's strong division of six brigades from Richmondto Jackson's assistance. Even then, Jacksonwould 2. OR, 12, pt. 1:169; Mary Banks to Banks, June 27, 29, 30,1862, Banks Collection, LC; Strother, "Personal Recollections," 733-34. 3. Ofl, 11,pt. 3:295,12, pt. 3:472-74; T.HarryWilliams, Lincolnand the Radicals (Madison: University ofWisconsin Press,1941), 141-42. [54.197.64.207] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 21:56 GMT) 72 Pretenseof Glory not have more than half the troops that Pope had in the Army ofVirginia. To be successful, Jackson had to find an opening for the sort of hard, quick offensive thrust that was his trademark. Recalling the success he had enjoyed the month before at Cross Keysand Port Republic, Jackson decided to move rapidly to Culpeper and place himself between twoof the new Union army's three corps, hoping to defeat each separately.4 Jackson's...