Uncle Daniel's Story Of "Tom" Anderson, and Twenty Great BattlesMcElroy, John
History
Uncle Daniel's Story Of "Tom" Anderson, and Twenty Great Battles
McElroy, John
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction
“Biggs now finding his forces flanked, and seeing the danger of being
cut off from a junction with Bertram, fled precipitately over the
mountains to Fayette. Rosenfelt finding that Biggs had retreated in such
hot haste, was deceived into the belief that Biggs had gone into Georgia
at or near Romulus, and on finding that Bertram had left Chatteraugus
with his command, concluded that the enemy were re-enforcing the rebel
army in the East, and therefore thought to push on with force enough to
attack and defeat him, at the same time holding the strong points in
the rear. So he sent Gen. Critsinger with his corps to Chatteraugus, and
with the rest of his force marched over the mountain into the valley,
intending to have the larger portion of Critsinger's Corps join him
in the valley, and then to move south. Instead, however, of Gen. Biggs
having sent any portion of his army to re-enforce the rebel army in
the East, he was concentrating all his forces at Fayette and quietly
awaiting re-enforcements from the East. Gen. Longpath, with a corps of
20,000 men, was moving on railroad cars as rapidly as possible to the
support of Biggs. Gen. Rosenfelt was now on the road between Bridgeton
and Fayette without any knowledge as to the whereabouts of Biggs, and
yet he was now within fifteen miles of him, and Biggs with somewhere
about 80,000 men was lying in wait for Rosenfelt's advance. During
this afternoon a lady came into camp and asked to be shown to Gen.
Rosenfelt's Headquarters. When she appeared to the General he at once
recognized Mrs. Houghton, who had made such a trip just before the
battle of Murphy's Hill, in order to give the General the movements of
the enemy on his right the night before the assault. The General was
exceedingly glad to see her. She was invited to partake of soldiers'
fare, and was very pleasantly entertained. As soon as she could get an
opportunity she said to the General:
“'Are yot going to meet Gen. Biggs with your army?'
“The General responded: 'Yes, if I can ever find him.'
“'Well, General, if you continue marching in the direction that you are
now going, you will find him to-morrow.'
“The General laughed and said, 'I hope so; but, my dear lady, he is near
Romulus.'
“'No, General, he is not; he is at Fayette.'
“'At Fayette?' said the General with astonishment. 'You say he is at
Fayette?'
“'Yes, sir, I do; I saw his camp this day; I was not in the camp, but
in sight of it. I have been at Smallwood, some fifteen miles south of
Fayette, and know that Gen. Long-path, with his corps from Gen. Law's
command in Virginia has joined Biggs. The last of these troops passed on
yesterday for Fayette, and I was told by a well-informed person that the
corps would increase Bigg's army to between eighty and ninety thousand
men.'
“'Impossible!' said Rosenfelt; 'he would not have more than sixty
thousand with these.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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