May 9, 1862
Monterey, Virginia
General Fremont's Mountain Division has met with a setback in its campaign to wrest the Valley of Virginia from the enemy's grasp. A week ago, General Milroy was leading the Army towards Staunton, Virginia, and the advanced scouts had reached as far as Rodger's Toll House, on the Staunton-Parkersville Turnpike, when a strong enemy column forced them to retreat to the main column. Before retreating the scouts determined that General Johnson's Confederate Army had been reinforced by General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's Army. Gen'l Jackson, as our readers may recall, gained his "nom de guerre" during the Battle of Bull Run, when his brigade was said to have "stood like a stone wall" on the top of Henry House Hill. His soldiers were less successful during the recent Battle of Kernstown, when General Banks' men repulsed their attack and they retired up the Valley of Virginia towards Staunton. Nothing was known of Gen'l Jackson's further movements until his men encountered our scouts along the Turnpike. Alarmed by these developments, General Milroy decided the best course of action was to withdraw to McDowell, where he could wait upon a reinforcing column led by General Schenck.
The next day, May 8, this reporter joined the Army in its camps in McDowell . Upon arrival it was noted that the Bull Pasture Mountains east of the town were not secured, but Gen'l Milroy explained that artillery could not be hauled up the steep slopes of the mountain.
The citizens of McDowell do not demonstrate any great loyalty to the Union. In fact, two citizens were apprehended skulking about General Milroy's headquarters and were shackled to a tree. The women of the town are unfriendly to our troops and avert their eyes when walking by them. This aversion did not, however, extend so far as to prevent them from applying to Gneral Milroy's commissary officer, Lt. Ephraim Zook, for an issue of Army rations! These women have also sorely tried the patience of the Provost, Lt. Josiah Hurd, with their shenanigans. For instance, one of them insisted upon parading through town with a fowling rifle! When Lt. Hurd inquired as to the reason for this the woman had the temerity to reply that it was for her protection! Lt. Hurd was quick to point out to her that the Union troops in the town had been sent all the way from Ohio to protect her and others of the town from the danger created by roving bands of semi-disciplined troops of the States presently in rebellion against the lawful government of these United States. The woman had nothing to say in response to Lt. Hurd and was sent along her way, sans fowling rifle!
Unfortunately, the Provost had to deal with some of our men's misbehavior as well. A certain Private Drew Gruber was standing on a tree stump, performing the manual of arms with a shovel while I was visiting Gen'l Milroy's headquarters. Apparently, Pvt. Gruber had been less than diligent in his duties that morning, allowing two comely young ladies to talk him into letting them sell their wares in town without directing them to the Provost.
In connection with rations, it should be noted that the commissary is having great difficulty procuring fresh meat for the men. It seems that most of the local inhabitants have driven their sheep and beeves high up onto the mountains to prevent their requisition. It seems that they are distrustful of the honesty of our men and do not believe that they would receive compensation for requisitioned animals.
The men's rations appeared to be of good quality. The bread ration was of fresh-baked bread (baked by local inhabitants whose loyalty to the Union apparently was rejuvenated by the sight of Union currency), and a freshly-slaughtered cow was being butchered for the men, so the Commissary achieved some success in obtaining animals from the local inhabitants, whether with their cooperation or not.
Some of our soldiers appeared to be in need of new clothing. They complain of shoddy workmanship and also say they have received no clothing issue of any type for some four months, depending on packages from home for shirts and socks. The charges of shoddy goods being supplied our troops should be investigated and remedied if found to be true.
Later that day, much to the surprise of General Milroy, a group of mounted enemy soldiers were spotted atop Sittlington Hill, one of the higher peaks of the Bull Pasture Mountains. The general quickly sent a regiment to chase them away, but when they reached within a few hundred yards of the crest they encountered enemy troops who had reached the crest ahead of them. It seemed as though our men would have a fight ahead of them if they wanted to take and hold Sittlington Hill. To make matters worse, it was discovered that our artillery pieces could not be elevated sufficiently to hit targets on the mountain top, even when trenches were dug for their trails. Despite his earlier statement that no artillery could be brought to the top of Sittlington, General Milroy suddenly seemed to be concerned that the enemy might possibly be able to do just that. All of the private soldiers this reporter spoke to were sure that if the enemy did get artillery up there, their position in the town would be untenable. From the general on down, our Army gathered its strength for the fight to take and hold Sittlington Hill.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., General Milroy directed Col. Nathaniel C. McLean to take his brigade and attack the enemy on Sittlington Hill. Leading his brigade, consisting of the 25th 32, and 75th Ohio and 3rd Virginia, Loyal, Col. McLean led his men over the Bull Pasture River. The 3rd Virginia was detailed to guard the Turnpike from any surprise attack by the enemy. The rest of the brigade advanced along a trail that paralleled the river for several hundred yards, and then went up a ravine to their left, which led them up the hill. The pop-pop-pop of skirmishers soon told us that the enemy had spotted our men. Soon, the hearty yells of our men and crashing volleys told us that a severe engagement had begun.
While at first meeting with some success, our men's attack stalled and then came to a halt. It was at this time that General Schenk's reinforcements arrived and were soon added to the battle by an obviously relieved General Milroy. The 82 nd Ohio was ordered up the hill, to the left of Col. McLean's brigade, with the hopes of flanking the enemy. The 3rd Virginia, Loyal, left the Turnpike at this time and joined the 82nd Ohio in its climb up the steep slopes of Sittlington Hill. Deciding to accompany this column, I joined them in the climb up the rugged and precipitous slopes.
Two companies had been detailed as skirmishers and soon reported the unwelcome news that the enemy had also been reinforced, and was now present to the front of the 82nd and 3rd. Nevertheless, General Milroy decided to order an attack. To his credit, the two regiments were able to launch a coordinated attack, despite the difficulty of the terrain. Striking at the enemy's line near the crest of the hill, it was a stirring sight to see our men attack up a very steep slope, with spirit. The national colors waved in the billowing clouds of black powder as the lines charged up the hill. But alas! The enemy was in strength and heavy volleys cut grievous holes in our battle lines. Due to the fact that the enemy was silhouetted at the crest of the hill, however, our men were able to take a heavier toll of them in return.
Nevertheless, our men were forced to fall back. After retiring some 100 yards, the men reformed their lines and began sending heavy volleys of their own in answer to the enemy's. Seeing many of them falling, General Milroy ordered another charge, which was done, again with spirit. But even with what must have been heavy losses, the enemy proved strong still and once again our men were stopped.
This time the men retreated to their original starting point and it was clear that they were not strong enough to take the crest of the hill. Hearing that Col. McLean's men were meeting with a similar lack of success, General Milroy wisely ordered the men to build breastworks, in anticipation of a counter charge by the enemy. This, in fact, soon came, but our men stood up to it magnificently. Their volleys cut wide swaths in the enemy's lines, and they retreated back up the hill. When the smoke cleared, the ground could be seen to be littered with the enemy's dead and wounded.
It was apparent that neither side was strong enough to dislodge the other, but it was equally apparent that the enemy had in fact been able to begin bringing artillery up to the crest of the hill. Seeing this, Gen'l Milroy had no choice but to order a general retreat from Sittlington Hill, and , in fact, the army retreated from McDowell that night, leaving the field of battle completely in the enemy's hands. It was a bitter pill for our men, but they have nothing to be ashamed of in regards to their performance in the battle. It was all that their officers could have hoped for, but the enemy had gained a commanding position and could not be dislodged from it. Unfortunately, this battle will no doubt be a serious setback to General Fremont's campaign and will embolden the enemy and perhaps free him to turn and attack General Banks' army in the Valley of Virginia. Time will tell. Meanwhile, some 250 Union soldiers have fallen in the Battle of McDowell.
As the army was marching out of town that night, some of the women of the town, no longer bothering to disguise their disloyalty to the Union, began catcalling at the men, even having the temerity to call out to General Milroy, "Just keep going out of town", to which General Milroy grimly replied, "Thanks for the beef, ladies," referring to the beeves which the town of McDowell "donated" to our Commissary Department, and which would not be gracing the tables of these disloyal women!
The facts about the Battle of McDowell used in this story were obtained from Blue and Gray Magazine, Summer 2003, "The Battle of McDowell May 1862".
