Chapter X

GALLANTRY OF LIEUTENANT O'BRIEN.--DEATH OF GENERAL LANDER.--THE SEVENTH ESCORT HIS REMAINS.--THE OCCUPATION OF WINCHESTER.

During the occupation of the country about Pau-Pau Station, the troops were kept active. Skirmishes were of frequent occurrence. One of them is deserving of mention. A reconnoissance was being made by Lieutenant O'Brien, of Lander's staff, accompanied by twenty or more cavalry, when they were met by a band of rebels, who immediately fired a volley; following which, they demanded the small party of Federals to surrender. O'Brien, riding to the front, declined, at the same time emptying the saddle of the foremost rebel with a revolver, which he had in his hand ready for use. The lieutenant soon after received a fatal wound in the shoulder, from the effects of which he died some weeks after. Seeing their leader disabled, the Union cavalry hurried him to the rear, at the same time presenting a determined front. When he had arrived at a safe distance they fell back, fighting as they went. They thus brought the gallant O'Brien safe to headquarters.

O'Brien was a writer of some note. Before the war he was a contributor to several periodicals, among which was the Atlantic Monthly. For these magazines he wrote many elegant things, which their readers will probably remember.

On the first day of March, the monotony of life in camp was broken by an order to march. We moved out of camp, followed by the entire division, on the road leading to Winchester. Towards evening we crossed the Big Cacapon River, and after ascending a spur of the Shenandoah Mountain, filed into a grove of pines, and remained till the following afternoon, when an order was given to fall back. On returning to our camp, we found that the retrograde movement was occasioned by the sudden death of General Lander. The brave soldier and able commander expired while his troops were moving on an important position of the enemy,--a campaign which his fertile brain had conceived, and which his daring and dash were to put into successful execution. No wonder, then, when the spirit of its leader took its flight, that the division was recalled. None were found competent to succeed him in the command of an expedition which had occupied his every thought while he had been connected with the department.

On Monday, March 3d, the Seventh regiment escorted his remains to the cars, in the presence of fifteen thousand troops, drawn up in line to pay their respects, for the last time, to all that was left of a commander whom they loved, and a soldier whom they admired. This slow, sad march of the Seventh, to the strains of a solemn dirge, was impressive. We returned to camp with the reflection that a master spirit had taken its departure.

After the death of General Lander, Brigadier-General Shields was given the command of his division. He arrived soon after.

The forces under General Banks, occupying the country in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, were ordered to make an immediate advance on Winchester, General Shields was directed to co-operate in this movement. He was ordered to move on Martinsburg, when General Banks crossed the Potomac.

Early in March the division moved down to the railroad, when on the same day it took the cars for Martinsburg. On arriving at Back Creek, ten miles east of Hancock, the bridge was found to be destroyed. The command now bivouacked, while a party was set at work repairing the bridge. The work progressed so slowly, that on the 10th the command moved on in advance of the train, passing through Martinsburg, and encamping some two miles out on the Winchester pike.

On the following morning the column pushed vigorously forward to assist General Banks in his attack on Winchester. The rebels, however, instead of giving battle, fled as the command approached the city. Shields, therefore, was ordered to encamp his troops before reaching Winchester. The camp of the Seventh was about three miles north of the town, on the Martinsburg road. The balance of the division encamped in the immediate vicinity.

Winchester had for a long time been occupied by the rebels. The extreme left of Beauregard's army, under command of General Johnston, had taken possession of the place, when the rebel troops first occupied Virginia. From this point, troops were immediately sent forward to occupy and destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, as well as to menace our lines in the direction of Harper's Ferry and Cumberland. The possession, therefore, of the place by the Union forces was of great importance. It not only resulted in the protection of this very important railroad, but so menaced the left of the rebel army as to require its commander to detach a large force to the Shenandoah Valley, and thus materially weakening his main army. Under a leader less able than Jackson, it would have greatly taxed his energies to hold the valley. But under this indomitable general the army was enabled to make a good show of resistance to the advance of the Federal forces.

Winchester, the county seat of Frederick County, is seventy-four miles west of Washington. The town is laid out in regular order, the streets crossing at right angles. The place possesses some little of historical interest. During the French and Indian War, Washington made it his headquarters; and he also mentions it as one of the points which he touched while on his mission to the French authorities on the Ohio River. After the engagement at Great Meadows, July 4, 1774, Washington returned to the place to recruit his regiment. It was also the base of operations for the forces engaged in the reduction of Fort Duquesne. During these wars a fort was built under the direction of Washington, and named Fort Landon. A part of it is to be seen at this day. While this fort was being constructed, Washington bought a lot in Winchester, had a blacksmith shop built on it, and brought his own smith from Mount Vernon to do the necessary iron-work for the fort. A well was sunk in this fort to the depth of one hundred and three feet, the water from which now runs over the top. The labor of erecting this fort was performed by Washington's own regiment. The famous General Morgan, the leader of the American forces at the battle of the Cowpens, is buried here.