America’s Civil War: Major General John Pope’s Narrow Escape at Clark’s Mountain

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Early morning on August 18, 1862, found Major General J.E.B. Stuart and his staff resting fitfully on the front porch and lawn of a house in the tiny community of Verdiersville, Virginia. They had spent the night there waiting for Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry to arrive so that an attack on nearby Union forces could begin. Stuart was no doubt irritated by Lee’s tardiness–perhaps he was planning how he would greet Lee when he finally arrived.

When Stuart and his party made camp the night before, they could find no trace of Lee, who had been directed to have his troops in the area by that time. Residents had seen no cavalry, and Stuart and his men had settled in to wait. During the night, Stuart had sent his adjutant general, Major Norman Fitzhugh, to find Lee’s cavalry and hurry them on.

As Stuart lay on the porch in the early morning light, a group of cavalrymen approached. Thinking it was Lee’s force, he sent out two officers to greet them. In short order shots were fired, and the officers dashed back with the 5th New York and 1st Michigan Cavalry regiments close on their heels.

Leaving his coat, haversack and hat behind, Stuart ran to his horse and, along with his staff, scattered into nearby woods. The Union troopers broke off the pursuit, stopped to gather what they could at the house, including Stuart’s famous hat, and then rode back to the Union lines. Accompanying the Federals was Norman Fitzhugh, whom they had captured the night before. After reaching Union lines, they dispatched Fitzhugh and Stuart’s bag to Maj. Gen. John Pope, who, upon seeing a letter Fitzhugh was carrying that detailed Robert E. Lee’s plan of battle, decided to pull back his forces in time to save them from a crushing defeat. Anyway, that’s the oft-repeated story.

In truth, the captured letter had nothing to do with Pope’s decision to withdraw. At the earliest, the letter arrived in midafternoon on the 18th, long after the
decision had been made. Rather than luck, it was systematic intelligence gathering that saved Pope’s army and allowed it to escape the trap that Lee had set at Clark’s Mountain.

In the wake of the disastrous Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, Pope had taken up what he thought was a strong position in the triangle formed on the left by the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, on the right by the Rappahannock River and at the bottom by the Rapidan River. While awaiting reinforcements and pondering a move on Richmond, Pope separated his forces, positioning Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel’s division at the foot of Cedar Mountain, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell’s division north of Rapidan Station, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks’ division near Culpeper and Brig. Gen. Jesse Reno’s division near Raccoon Ford.

In doing so, Pope unwittingly presented Robert E. Lee with an unparalleled opportunity to crush his army. On August 15, Lee met with his corps commanders, Maj. Gens. James Longstreet and Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, at Gordonsville and developed a plan to take full advantage of Pope’s bad planning. Using Clark’s Mountain as a screen, Lee would bring his infantry into place on the southern side of the mountain by August 17. In addition to blocking Pope’s view of his approach, Clark’s Mountain provided a perfect location for Jackson’s signal corps to observe Union positions north of the Rapidan. Once the infantry was in place, Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry would cross the river at Raccoon Ford early on August 18 and burn the key railroad bridge over the Rappahannock River at Rappahannock Station, cutting Pope’s only supply line. After the bridge was destroyed, the infantry would ford the Rapidan, smash into the exposed left flank of the Union line, trap the Federals between the two rivers without supplies and dispose of them at will.

Jackson was enthusiastic and wanted to attack as soon as possible. Longstreet, somewhat more cautious, suggested delaying the attack until the 18th. He also wanted to strike the Union right, where his forces would be able to use the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to their advantage. Lee accepted the one-day delay but remained firm in his desire to attack the Union left.

The orders were cut on August 16, and initial preparations and troop movements began. While Robert E. Lee’s forces began to move into position, Stuart ordered Fitzhugh Lee to have his cavalry in place near Raccoon Ford by Sunday night, August 17. The elder Lee knew that surprise would be the key to success in the attack, but unbeknown to him the secrecy of his movement had been compromised by a Union spy, Sergeant Thomas O. Harter of the 1st Indiana Cavalry, who had infiltrated the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and marched with it toward Clark’s Mountain. Harter, dressed as a civilian, had been sent out in the direction of Staunton, Va., in late July but was arrested and sent to Richmond, where he gained his release by claiming that he had been looking for railroad work. Harter reached Gordonsville and fell in with the Confederate force on August 16, putting himself in a key position to learn the enemy’s plans.

On the morning of August 17, Stuart left Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry, returned to Robert E. Lee’s headquarters near Orange Court House and then traveled to Verdiersville to await the cavalry, which would pass by on its way to Raccoon Ford. Meanwhile, Pope, hearing numerous reports that Confederate troops were moving up from Richmond, began worrying about an attack on his exposed left flank and took measures to determine what was occurring there. He temporarily placed Brig. Gen. John Buford’s cavalry brigade under the command of Jesse Reno and ordered him to ‘push his cavalry forward on the other side of the Rapidan’ and to ‘use spies and scouts, without regard to expense, to keep yourself constantly advised of everything in your front as far as possible.’

In response, Reno dispatched the 1st Michigan and 5th New York Cavalry regiments on a scouting mission in the direction of Raccoon Ford and Louisa Court House. Leaving their camp south of Stevensburg at midday on the 17th, the Union horsemen crossed the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford, which had been left unpicketed, and headed toward Verdiersville.

While awaiting the cavalry’s return (and no doubt spurred on by the skirmishing that had taken place earlier with Confederate cavalrymen along the Rapidan), Reno summoned Lt. Col. Jacob Eugene Duryee of the 2nd Maryland Infantry to his headquarters tent late in the afternoon of the 17th. He ordered Duryee to take 250 of his men and raid a Confederate signal operation atop Clark’s Mountain early the next morning.

‘A topographical engineer will accompany you and if possible find out the enemy’s position and strength,’ said Reno. As Duryee was leaving, Reno stepped from his tent, pointed to Clark’s Mountain and said: ‘Young man, when you reach the top you will be a damned sight nearer the rebel army than your own, so look out. The rebel pickets have been exchanging shots with our troops along the Rapidan this afternoon.’ Little did Reno realize the full truth of his words, for those Rebel pickets were in fact the cavalry screen for the Confederate army hidden just behind the mountain. Leaving camp at 1 a.m., the detachment from the 2nd Maryland slipped out of camp, crossed the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford and began making its way to the summit of the mountain.

The morning of August 18 dawned with the Union troops at rest in their camps, unaware that almost the entire Confederate army was less than five miles away. In the Confederate camps near Clark’s Mountain, the soldiers anticipated orders at any moment to cross the Rapidan and attack. At Verdiersville, Stuart and his staff waited for Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry to arrive so that the attack could begin. On Clark’s Mountain, the 2nd Maryland detachment was about to attack the mounted troops manning the Confederate signal station.

The day’s events unfolded in a way that was vastly different from what has generally been portrayed by historians over the years. The first player to take the stage was Union spy Thomas Harter.

Realizing the importance of his knowledge of the Confederates’ plan, Harter left their camp on the morning of August 18, swam the Rapidan and found his way to Reno’s headquarters. Generals Pope, McDowell, Reno and others were present when he arrived. According to McDowell, Harter reported that ‘the enemy had
accumulated all his force, including several divisions just up from Richmond, behind the ridge [Clark’s Mountain] immediately beyond the river and opposite our extreme left.’ In addition, the spy reported that the Confederates’ artillery horses were harnessed and that the troops were ready to cross the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford to get in the rear of Pope’s army. Their movement into this position, according to McDowell, ‘had been completely hidden from our sight by the ridge, and even from that of our lookouts on the top of Thoroughfare Mountain, was one made in the direction which had been expected from the first, and had for its object the interposing of the whole of the enemy’s forces between our army and its re-enforcements.’ That information was timely and would be of use, said McDowell, ‘provided the enemy gave us the night and day the start.’ This was more than an understatement; Harter’s report to Pope may well have been the timeliest single product of espionage received by any Union commander during the entire war.

At sunrise on August 18, Colonel Duryee and 250 men of the 2nd Maryland Infantry reached the summit of Clark’s Mountain on their raid to disrupt the operations of the Confederate signal corpsmen, which was using the summit of the mountain as a signaling station. A short skirmish with the small Rebel force manning the post ensued, and two members of the 2nd Maryland were wounded. Two Confederates were taken prisoner. Also captured were several signal flags, code books and other papers. After securing the area, the Union detachment lingered long enough to allow a topographical engineer to make observations. The view from the mountain that morning presented an unpleasant surprise–Confederate troops so close that the raiders could hear drums in the camp below pounding out the ‘Long Roll.’

Observations completed, the detachment hurried back to their camp, spurred on by the knowledge that the Confederates would not be far behind. They stumbled on a shorter route via Somerville Ford that cut several miles off their march.

Recognizing the importance of the topographical engineer’s detailed observations, Duryee sent him ahead with an escort. According to Duryee, the following report was written and sent to Pope at about 7:30 a.m., after the engineer had reached Reno and before the remainder of the detachment, with prisoners in tow, had returned: ‘I sent, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Duryea [sic], Second Regiment Maryland Volunteers, a force of 250 men to break up the rebel signal station on Clark’s Mountain. The expedition left at 1 p.m. [a.m.] and arrived at the summit at day light next morning. A small mounted force was found there, and a slight skirmish took place in which several of the enemy were wounded and 2 captured. As soon as Colonel Duryea [sic] arrives I will send the prisoners to headquarters. They captured a signal flag and a memorandum book, from which it appears that Jackson’s Army is back of Clark’s Mountain, probably in the vicinity of Orange Court House. I send herewith the book and other papers. The cavalry has not yet returned.’

In addition to Harter, another Union spy, Richard Montgomery, had infiltrated the Confederate army. Leaving McDowell’s headquarters on the 17th, he spent the evening of the 17th and most of the 18th with the enemy force. He returned to the Union lines on the evening of the 18th. During his stay he learned that the Confederates had been reinforced and were about to make an attempt to cross the Rapidan upstream from the Union position.

Pope now found himself in a grave situation. What he and his superiors in Washington most feared had occurred. Freed from the necessity of engaging Maj. Gen. George McClellan on the peninsula, the Confederates had moved swiftly to reinforce Lee’s army. Worse than that, Lee’s force was at that moment less than five miles from Reno’s headquarters, and the attack was set to begin that very day. Pope needed no prodding. Harter’s information was clear. There was no alternative; he must pull back his troops immediately or face destruction. The decision to fall back was probably a hard one for Pope, particularly given his public comments about not turning his back to his enemies. But that was the choice he took, and it was the correct one, as was made abundantly clear by reports from the 2nd Maryland Infantry and Montgomery and by Lee’s captured order.

At about 10 a.m. on August 18, Pope ordered a full-scale retreat in the face of the enemy. He directed Reno to send his wagon trains toward Stevensburg by way of Kelly’s or Barnett’s fords. His whole corps would follow, and by night only cavalry would be left behind to screen the rear of the army.

At the same time that Pope’s orders for the withdrawal were sent out, Reno, drawing on Harter’s report as well as that of the 2nd Maryland, sent a dispatch to John Buford ordering him to make a cavalry scout: ‘The enemy are in strong force about 2 miles back of Clark’s Mountain, extending thence towards Raccoon Ford. I wish you to send a squadron of Cavalry near Raccoon Ford, and to scout from thence on the north side of the Rapidan as far as Germanna Ford. Let me hear as soon as your cavalry returns.’

The movement, ordered at 10 a.m., was underway by 1:30 p.m. After the withdrawal had begun, Pope informed his superior, General-in-Chief Henry Halleck, of his moves: ‘The enemy, heavily reinforced, is advancing on Raccoon Ford from Gordonsville, Louisa Court House and Hanover Junction. All the Richmond force has been thrown in this direction to turn my left….I have accordingly, in compliance with your instructions, started back all my trains to pass the Rappahannock tonight. My whole command will commence to fall back to that line.’

Meanwhile, Lee had been forced to postpone the attack from the 18th to the 20th because several of his units had not arrived at their assigned position. As Lee and his staff watched from atop Clark’s Mountain at midday on August 18, 1862, the Union camps looked quiet. But appearances were deceiving–the Union forces were preparing to withdraw. By midday on August 19 that truth was all too apparent.

Observing again from Clark’s Mountain as the last men and wagons of Pope’s Army of Virginia disappeared in ever shrinking clouds of dust into the Virginia countryside, Lee turned to Longstreet and said disappointedly, ‘General, we little thought that the enemy would turn his back upon us this early in the campaign.’

As the Union troops faded into the distance, the Confederate command had firm knowledge of only one reason for the withdrawal–the raid on Stuart’s signal station by the 2nd Maryland. J.K. Boswell, Jackson’s chief engineer, said of the raid, ‘On the morning of the 18th a body of the enemy drove our pickets from Clark Mountain, and found out the position of our troops, and on the 19th they commenced their retreat toward the Rappahannock.’

Tags: 19th Century, America's Civil War, American Civil War, Historical Conflicts, Historical Figures

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