arts of States remaining at that time in rebellion. He
had long before the battle of Antietam contemplated taking this
action, and hence had prepared this proclamation, and promised
himself to issue it on the Union Army winning a victory. The
driving of Lee's army out of Maryland, and thus relieving Washington
from further menace, was accepted by him as a fulfilment of the
self-imposed condition.

McClellan was relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac
while at Orleans, Virginia, November 7, 1862, and Burnside became
his successor. McClellan never again held any command.

Burnside moved the army to Falmouth, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg,
on the Rappahannock. Though only urged to prepare for the offensive,
he precipitated an attack on the Confederate Army, then strongly
intrenched on the heights of Fredericksburg. He suffered a disastrous
repulse (December 14, 1862) and next day withdrew his army across
the Rappahannock to his camps.

Burnside was relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac
January 25, 1863, and Major-General Joseph Hooker succeeded him.

The battle of Chancellorsville was fought, May 1 to 5, 1863, in
the Wilderness country, south of the Rapidan, and resulted in the
defeat of the Union Army and its falling back to its former position
at Falmouth.

The defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville led to a general
belief that another invasion of the North would be made by Lee's
army. Such an invasion involved Milroy's command at Winchester,
then in the Middle Department, commanded by Major-General Robert
C. Schenck, whose headquarters were at Baltimore.

This much in retrospect seems necessary to give a better understanding
of the events soon to be mentioned.

Soon after Chancellorsville, the Confederate forces in the upper
Shenandoah Valley became more active, and frequent indecisive
conflicts between them and our scouting parties took place. Our
regular scouts, who generally travelled by night in Confederate
dress, brought in rumors almost every day of an intended attack on
Winchester by troops from Lee's army. In May I was given special
charge of these scouts. So uniform were their reports as to the
proposed attacks that I gave credence to them, and advised Milroy
that unless he was soon to be largely reinforced it would be well
to retire from his exposed position. He refused to believe that
anything more than a cavalry raid into the Valley or against him
would