on, and their brave associates,
turned the fortunes of the day, and, when reenforcements subsequently
reached the field under General Kirby Smith and General Early, the
Federal troops retreated in great disorder toward Washington.

XI.

LEE'S ADVANCE INTO WESTERN VIRGINIA.

General Lee nowhere appears, as we have seen, in these first great
movements and conflicts. He was without any specific command, and
remained at Richmond, engaged in placing that city in a state of
defence. The works which he constructed proved subsequently of great
importance to the city, and a Northern officer writes of Lee: "While
the fortifications of Richmond stand, his name will evoke admiration;
the art of war is unacquainted with any defence so admirable."

Lee's first appearance in the war, as commander of troops in the
field, took place in the fall of 1861, when he was sent to operate
against the forces under General Rosecrans in the fastnesses of
Western Virginia. This indecisive and unimportant movement has been
the subject of various comment; the official reports were burned in
the conflagration at Richmond, or captured, and the elaborate plans
drawn up by Lee of his intended movement against General Reynolds,
at Cheat Mountain, have in the same manner disappeared. Under these
circumstances, and as the present writer had no personal knowledge of
the subject, it seems best to simply quote the brief statement which
follows. It is derived from an officer of high rank and character,
whose statement is only second in value to that of General Lee
himself:

"After General Garnett's death, General Lee was sent by the
President to ascertain what could be done in the trans-Alleghany
region, and to endeavor to harmonize our movements, etc., in that
part of the State. He was not ordered to take command of the
troops, nor did he do so, during the whole time he was there.

"Soon after his arrival he came to the decided conclusion that
_that_ was not the line from which to make an offensive movement.
The country, although not hostile, was not friendly; supplies
could not be obtained; the enemy had possession of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, from which, and the Ohio River as a base, he
could operate with great advantage against us, and our only chance
was to drive him from the railroad, take possession, and use it
ourselves. We had not the means of doing this, and consequently
co