Ashby Is Here!

Spring finally came to the Shenandoah Valley. The Confederate soldiers of Jackson's command enjoyed flowering trees and birdsong in the warm sunshine. They had spent an unpleasant winter at Winchester and were ready for warm, dry weather and the campaign season that came with it. With the Shenandoah Mountains to the west and the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east, farmers were busy planting crops in the valley's fertile soil - crops that would feed the armies of the South in its struggle for independence. This spring of 1862 would not be idyllic, though, because Yankees were in the valley, and someone would have to deal with them. These gray-clad soldiers, under the command of Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, began the spring campaign with hopes of victory in this second year Ashby Is Here!... Turner Ashby's tiny cavalry force bedeviled 60,000 Federal troops in fhe Shenandoah Valley, keeping them from attacking Richmond by MAJ Patrick J. Cooney Portrait by SPC Jody Harmon of the war. There were initially fewer than 1. OOO of them, but they would make history by keeping 60,000 Union soldiers busy - soldiers who would otherwise be attacking the Confederate capital, Richmond. To accomplish this feat, Jackson would need the help of Turner Ashby. Turner Ashby knew this part of Virginia. He had grown up at "Rose Bank" in Fauquier County. As one of six children, Turner received his education from his mother and at Major Ambler's Academy. Like N. B. Forrest in the West, he possessed no formal military training, but had learned about the War of 1812 by reading his father's diary. His grandfather had fought in the War for Independence, and his great-grandfather had fought in the French and Indian War. The most valuable lessons, ones that would serve him well in the coming conflict, were not learned in a classroom; they were learned on horseback in hurdle races, fox hunts, and tournaments, activities in which Turner excelled. These contests developed his mastery of horsemanship, audacity, and innovativeness, as well as his ability to think and act independently. After the death of his father, when Turner was six years old, Turner and his brothers, Thomas and Richard, helped run the family farm at "Rose Hill." In the late 1850s, railroad gangs pushed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through Fau-quier County, and their rowdiness got out of hand. Turner and Richard organized a group of local riders to restore order and maintain the peace. This group became the nucleus of what was later known as Ashby's Rangers. When Ashby received word of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, in October 1859, Ashby ARMOR - September-October 7989 25

The Shenandoah Valley 0 Fredericksburg called his men to action. They rode to Harpers Ferry, only to find Brown already in jail. They remained to perform picket duty along the Potomac River to prevent any abolitionist attempt to rescue Brown. After Brown's hanging, the group stayed together as Ashby's Mountain Rangers. War came to Virginia in April 1861, when the state declared its secession from the Union. Angus McDonald, a West Point graduate and a veteran Indian fighter, offered his services to Jefferson Davis. He received a colonelcy of cavalry and instructions to form a regiment. McDonald had in mind a partisan border war - raids on lines of communication and supply routes along the Potomac River. Turner, Richard, and their men were among the first to join McDonald's new regiment, which became the Seventh Virginia Cavalry. This opportunity was what the Ashbys had been waiting for. As the Ashbys set about their mission of disrupting Union lines of communication, McDonald saw immediately the natural leadership abilities of Turner and wrote to the Confederate secretary of war requesting Turner's promotion to lieutenant colonel. "I need not speak of his qualities, for already he is known as one of the best partisan leaders in the service. Himself a thorough soldier, he is eminently qualified to command." The Ashbys and their men became the scourge of the BStO Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. They cut telegraph lines and interrupted east-west traffic by destroying tracks, bridges and docks. Ashby soon added combined arms muscle to his cavalry, a three-gun battery of mobile horse artillery, commanded by 18-year-old Robert Chew, a VMI graduate. Cap- 26 ARMOR - Septernber-October 7989 tain Chew’s battery was the first horse artillery unit formed in the Civil War. In late summer, during a raid on the B&O, Richard ran into a Federal patrol. In trying to escape, Richard’s horse stepped into a cattle guard and threw him. The Federal horsemen set upon him. They shot and bayoneted him several times, leaving him for dead. Turner found his brother a few hours later and carried him to a house owned by a grandson of George Washington, where he died eight days laler. Contemporaries said that from that moment on, Turner had only revenge in his heart. From one of Ashby’s officers, John Estes Cooke, we get a picture of Turner as, “a man rather below the middle height, with an active and vigorous frame, clad in plain Confederate gray. His brown felt hat was decorated with a black feather; his uniform was almost without decorations: his cavalry boots, dusty or splashed with mud, came to the knee; and around his waist he wore a sash and leather belt, holding pistol and saber.” Another observer noted that “As he leaped a stream, both horse and rider moved as one, and the only visible movement in the rider was the settling of Ashby’s cape as he landed on the other side.” Not long after forming the regiment, McDonald’sage and ill health made him turn command over to Ashby as lieutenant colonel. In November 1861, Jackson, hero of the First Battle of Bull Run, assumed command of the Army of the Shenandoah. He mustered about 4,000 men, 600 of whom were Ashby’s. cavalrymen. Almost immediately, Jackson and Ashby were at odds with each other. Jackson was a stern disciplinarian; Ashby was at the other end of the scale, believing that personal ex- “Jackson was a stern disciplinarian; Ashby was at the other end of the scale, believing that personal example and leadership made up for,, any lack of drill and discipline. ample and leadership made up for any lack of drill and discipline. But Jackson’s cavalry consisted of troops under the command of J. E. B. Stuart as well as those under Ashby. Together, Ashby and Stuart kept a screen flung wide around Jackson’s positions at Harpers Ferry. Their mission was to give Jackson warning of any Federal movement in his direction. Soon, Jackson tried to unify command of all his cavalry under Stuart, but Ashby refused to be subordinate to Stuart and threatened to resign his commission. Jackson, realizing the effect of Ashby’s resignation on the morale of the cavalry, backed down. His position now secure, Ashby responded to Jackson’s orders to gather as much information as possible about the Federal positions across the Potomac. On one occasion, he borrowed a homespun suit and a swaybacked horse and, passing himself off as a country veterinarian, moved freely through the Union camps, treating their animals and gathering valuable information. Federal forces finally made their move, crossing the Potomac in late February 1861 and moving south to protect the railroad and canal from further harassment. Countermoves by other Confederate forces in the area left Jackson in an exposed position at Winchester. He began an orderly withdrawal from Winchester in the face of 23,000 men under the command of Union General Nathaniel Banks. Ashby screened the rear of the army. Another 11,OOO men under General Shields joined Banks, bringing the Union strength to a total of 40,000 men. As the first elements of the Union forces entered Winchester, they saw Ashby, sitting on his white Arabian in the middle of the Loudon Street. He was the last to leave town, making certain his soldiers had reached the safety of the Confederate lines. According to one story, two blue riders rode around through side streets to cut him off. Ashby either did not see the maneuver or chose to ignore it because he sat there calmly until the last possible moment. An eyewitness described what happened next. “Here was an opportunity to vent his spleen; and charging the two mounted men, he was soon upon them. One fell with a bullet through his breast; and coming opposite the other, Ashby seized him by the throat, dragged him from his saddle, and putting spur to his horse, bore him off.‘’ Jackson moved south, with Ashby screening his rear. Ashby’s mission was now twofold: he had to prevent the enemy from striking the main body of Jackson’s army, and he had to keep Jackson informed of the enemy situation. Jackson needed to know not only that the enemy was coming, but also the enemy’s strength, his direction, and how much time it would take him to get there. Ashby’s men performed their screen with incomparable skill. They knew every country road, every town and village, and had ARMOR - September-October 7989 27 friends everywhere. It was the intelligence Ashby provided that enabled Jackson to make his organized withdrawal against overwhelming odds, while planning his next move. The Union army followed Jackson up the valley at a respectful distance as far as Woodstock, then sent cavalry to penetrate Ashby’s screen. Unable to do so, or to locate the main Rebel force, the Union cavalry erroneously reported that Jackson had left the valley, and Shields returned to Winchester with his division. Banks began his move to the east on March 20 to reinforce McClellan. Jackson could not allow this to happen. He had orders to keep as many bluecoats tied up in the valley as possible. On March 21, Ashby informed Jackson that the Federals were turning north and he was hot on their heels. The next day Ashby probed the Federal positions near Kernstown and flushed one Union regiment of infantry and some artillery. He told Jackson that the Federal position was weak. Jackson made a 25-mile forced march to arrive in front of the Union position at 1 p.m. on March 23. For the first and only time, Ashby’s intelligence was wrong. It soon became apparent that the entire Federal division was present, not the few battalions that Ashby had thought. The Yankee force was more than twice as strong as Jackson’s. A vicious battle followed, forcing the Confederates to retreat and leave the field in Union hands. Kernstown was a tactical defeat for Jackson - he lost a quarter of his army, but it was an important strategic victory. Banks halted his move eastward, returning to the valley, and Lincoln ordered McDowell to remain at Manassas Junction with his force to protect Washington. Jackson had succeeded in tying down more than 50,000 Union soldiers. Jackson resumed his movement up the valley after Kernstown, free of any effective Union pursuit. Jackson described Ashby’s value to the withdrawal. “I retreated in the direction of Harrisonburg. My rear guard - comprising Ashby’s cavalry, Captain Chew’s battery, and from time to time other forces, was placed under the direction of Col. Turner Ashby, an officer whose judgement, coolness and courage eminently qualified him for the delicate and important trust.” Jackson was not the only one who knew where Ashby was. A Yankee soldier wrote, ”It seems that the enterprising and clever Ashby, with his two light pieces of artillery, was amusing himself.... He is light, active, skillful, and we are tormented by him like a bull with a gadfly.... Vacillation is our name. We cannot take Jackson.... My admiration and sympathy go with the gallant Ashby, and the indefatigable and resolute Jackson.” At the end of March, Jackson withdrew through Harrisonburg to Conrad’s Store. Banks again followed at a cautious distance. During one six-day period, 19,000 Federals faced 600 gray cavalrymen across a creek. When Lincoln demanded to know what was hold- 28 ARMOR - September-October 7989 ing him up, Banks replied with three words that echoed ominously through the halls of Washington: "Ashby is here." Banks sat at Woodstock for two weeks, giving Jackson and Ashby a much-needed chance to rest and refit. Tales of life in Ashby's cavalry had spread through the army, and many soldiers left their units and came to join Ashby, drawn by the taste for glory and the absence of drill. This cult of personality swelled his ranks to more than 2,000 men, with only one other field grade officer to help Ashby control them. When in range of Ashby's piercing voice on the battlefield, his men never failed to follow his commands, but at any one time, there might be only about 100 men within earshot. When there was a lull in the action, many went off to enjoy the hospitality of the local citizens and to reap the fruits of their hero status. Additionally, when a Confederate cavalryman lost his horse, there were no reserve mounts, as in the Union Army. The only solution was to go off in search of another horse. On a given day then, Ashhy could count only about half of his assigned strength as present for duty. Concerned about the lack of control in the cavalry, Jackson attempted to divide the troops between two commanders who would be subordinate to Ashby. This left Ashby commanding in name only, and he again threatened resignation. Other officers interceded in Ashby's behalf, and Jackson cancelled the order. On April 17, the standdown came to an end. Banks moved to seize New Market. Ashby, across the river, watched the enemy make his move. Jackson's adjutant, Henry Kyd Douglas, witnessed what occured: "I observed the Confederate cavalry return and cross the bridge. I knew the Federals were close at hand. In a few minutes, a heavy dust announced their approach, a regiment of cavalry in blue, with sabers glistening in the sun, came galloping in columns of fours into view, led, apparently, by an officer on a milk-white horse.... It was Ashby. He seemed to be leading the regiment that was after him." Ashby cut down a Yankee who was upon him, and reached his own lines, but not before a bullet grazed his leg and mortally wounded his horse. Douglas recalled, "The bighearted Cavalier bent over him, stroked his mane, stooped down, and gazed affectionately into his eyes.... Thus the most splendid horseman I ever knew lost the most beautiful warhorse I ever saw." Up and down the valley they went, Jackson playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Federal forces, while Ashby screened every movement from the eyes of the enemy. They drove the Yankees all the way back to Harpers Ferry and threatened the Federal lines of communication with Washington. On May 25, however, the lack of discipline among Ashby's horsemen cost Jackson's army an excellent chance to destroy the Union Army. Ashby was on another part of the battlefield in pursuit of some Federal troops when most of his men fell upon the Union supply trains. Tempted by their first spoils of war, Ashby's men stopped to plunder the train, instead of exploiting the tactical situation. The Union retreat had turned into a rout, and there was no one available to pursue them. "Never was there such a chance for cavalry. Oh that my cavalry was in place," Jackson lamented in his report. While the Union noose tightened around the Valley Army, Jackson quietly slipped through it. Ashby did such an excellent job of screening the army's movements that for ten days in May, Union commanders had no idea where the Confederates were. Terror took possession of the North. Governors of thirteen states called on their militias to come to the defense of Washington, and Lincoln called for more troops. More importantly, Jackson had struck a massive blow against McClellan's campaign to take Richmond from the Peninsula. Of Ashby, Cooke wrote, "On every hill, in every valley, at every bridge, he swore to hold his ground or die. He played with death and dared it everywhere." Douglas recalled that on the first day of June, "Ashby called and took supper with us. He was in a placid good humor. He had that day received his appointment as Brigadier General, and it was hoped that as commander of a brigade, he would expose his person less recklessly than he had done while a colonel...." On June 5, Jackson passed through Harrisonburg and turned east toward Port Republic. He was about to escape once again from the Union forces closing on three sides. Ashby maintained constant contact with the enemy. The next day, Fremont, who had come from the west, closed cautiously on Harrisonburg, and Ashby retired in good order. Skirmishing was continuous, while the Federals probed to find a weakness. One Union captain, captured June 6, confessed that he had saved Ashby's life by deflecting the rifles of three Union sharpshooters. The captain recognized Ashby and ARMOR - September-October 7989 29

In his official action report, Jackson said, "An official report is not an appropriate place for more than a passing thought Ashby was too brave a man to die that way. "Hear ye that solemn word, Accent of dread... Ashby our bravest one! Ashby is dead!" During the afternoon of June 6, the skirmishing grew more fierce, and Ashby sighted Federal troops approaching along a road. Ashby quickly organized all the units in the vicinity and drove the Federals back. Toward dusk, more Federal troops approached in strength. Ashby planned to stop them with a combined force of cavalry and infantry, but the plan failed when the infantry blundered into an ambush and fell apart. Ashby tried to rally the infantry, but his horse was shot from under him. He tried again to rally them on foot, yelling, "Charge, men! For God's sake, charge!" The men responded, and drove the enemy back, with heavy casualties. When the smoke cleared, Ashby lay dead, a bullet through his heart. Only perhaps the death of Jackson couId have had a greater impact on the soldiers of the Army of the Shenandoah. James Avirett, chaplain of Ashby's cavalry, remembered the scene that night: "All night long, there was a slow current of sorrowful hearts to this spot.... Each felt that he had lost one who had honored him with his friendship, and affection paid its tribute in scalding tears. His troopers would come in and take their last look at their idolized leader, and then hurry away, while through their sobs might be heard. 'Noble Ashby! Gone!"' Jackson wrote an order that night to one of his commanders on the margin of a newspaper. As a postscript, he wrote, "Poor Ashby is dead. He fell gloriously... I know you will join with me in mourning the loss of our friend, one of the noblest men and soldiers in the Confederate army." Jackson remained beside Ashby's body for several hours, wanting only to be left alone. dead, but the close relations which General Ashby bore to my command... will justify me in saying that as a partisan officer I never knew his superior. His daring was proverbial, his power of endurance almost incredible, his tone of character heroic, and his sagacity almost intuitive in delving the purposes and movements of the enemy." General Robert E. Lee may have never met Ashby, but in a letter to the secretary of war he wrote, "I grieve at the death of General Ashby." In tribute to his reputation, not only his comrades expressed admiration of Ashby. Even his enemies somehow felt a loss in Ashby's death. Perhaps the most fitting tribute came from the pen of an officer on Fremont's staff, who wrote that Ashby was "The brilliant leader of the enemy cavalry, a man worth to them regiments, a blast upon whose horn was worth a thousand men. When we found the brave Ashby was slain, there was no rejoicing in our camps." Ashby was only a man, but he became a legend in the valley of the Shenandoah River, the subject of poetry and song. He exhibited the qualities of medieval knighthood in fighting modern war. Through leadership and personal example, he inspired thousands of men to fight valiantly for their beliefs, and contributed to the stories that cavalry life was where the glory lies. Ashby's personal courage and skill in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign enabled Jackson's army to march 170 miles in fourteen days, rout an army of 12,500 men, threaten the North with invasion, draw McDowell from Fredericksburg, seize hospitals and supply depots at Front Royal, Winchester, and Martinsburg, and, surrounded on three sides by 60,000 men, extricate a huge convoy without losing a single wagon. Two days after Ashby was killed, Jackson slipped from the valley and joined in the defense of Richmond. A poem by Jackson's sister-in-law, "Hear ye that soleitiit word, Accent of dread... Ashbv oiir bravest one! Ashby is dead!" Mary Preston, contains these lines. Turner Ashby rests today in Winchester's Stonewall Cemetery in the Valley of the Shenandoah River; amidst the echoes of bugles and the ghosts of his troopers. But he left us a classic study in economy of force, knowledge of the terrain, and ability to see the battlefield that is unsurpassed in value to today's AirLand Battle commander. Major Patrick J. Cooney was commissioned in Armor from the USMA in 1974. He served in the 1st Training Bde. and 194th Armored Bde. at Fort Knox; commanded HHC, 1st AD; and has served in public affairs assignments in 1st AD and USMA. He is a graduate of and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas. He has been editor-in-chief of ARMOR since June 1987. 30 ARMOR - September-October 7989