large force, and within a few miles of us, from the way of Front Royal, and Captain
Warden, of my regiment, who was out upon a scout, returned upon the day of the
evacuation and reported having seen this force in front, and when he came to my
headquarters I directed him to go down and report the fact to you, and I suppose you
recollect his so doing.
Question. Do you recollect what estimate he placed upon the force
of the enemy I
Answer. I do not. I recollect distinctly that he represented it to he a large force.
I told him that it was important that he should report it at once to you, and let you
have an opportunity to interrogate him. He left me, and returned shortly afterward,
and said he had done so.
Capt. SILAS F. RIGKBY, called by the Government, and sworn and
examined as follows :
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE :
Question. What position have you in the military service f
Answer. I am commanding a battery, the First Independent Indiana Battery.
Question. Were you present at Winchester on the occasion of its late
evacuation by General White ?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. You had a command there*
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. Are you personally acquainted with the manner in which
that evacuation was made I
Answer. Nothing more than my own observation. I saw the whole of it, up till I
left.
Question. Will you state to the Commission what amount of public
property was destroyed there, so far as it came to your knowledge !
Answer. That I could not state properly, as there was a great portion of it in
course of moving when I moved, and what was got away from there, I do not justly
know. There were four siege guns that were destroyed, and some ammunition j what
amount I cannot say. I was ordered to get my battery out and form on the Win
chester road, and head the column to a certain place. I did so. I then went backup,
and Captain Powell told me there were a couple of 20-pounder Parrott guns there,
with their caissons, that they wanted saved. I went to General White, and he also
told me that they should be taken along, and asked me if I could do it. I told him I
could. I took the lead horses of my guns, and forge, and battery wagons, and also
my extra horses ; I took them out and fitted them up, and took out the two guns and
formed them in my column.
Question. And carried them with you ?
Answer. Yes, sir. .
CHAP. XXIV.] EVACUATION OF WINCHESTER, VA. 773
By General WHITE :
Question. Do you remember that it was stated that the difficulty in
taking them away was the want of horses, and I told you you must
take your guns away with four horses ?
Answer. Yes, sir; and I did take my battery away with four horses to the carriage ;
and also the 20-po under Parrott guns with four horses to the carriage.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE :
Question. You do not know the amount of ammunition destroyed f
Answer. I do not.
Question. Or the amount of other stores and subsistence ?
Answer. I do not. The ammunition for my guns, some of it, was in the magazines,
and was taken out, and I supposed it was destroyed, until I got to Harper s Ferry,
when I found it there.
Question. At what hour did the evacuation begin ?
Answer. It was about dusk when I came up ; I think about 6 or 7 o clock, prob
ably about 7 o clock, when I received my orders.
Question. There was no notice given before to the force there?
Answer. None whatever that I knew of. I even did not know my destination until
I got to Bunker HiU.
Question. You say there were four siege guns destroyed ?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. Do you think they could have been saved ?
Answer. I think not.
Question. Was the evacuation conducted quietly or in a precipitate
manner?
Answer. It was very quiet, for I did not know it was an evacuation until some
time after I was in column ready to move. I did not know what the import of my
orders was to be. There was no noise ; everything was conducted with quietness.
Question. Did you see the cars loaded ?
Answer. I did not see any of them ; I was not in town.
By General WHITE :
Question. Did you haul those siege guns up from the cars ?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. Did it take several days to do it ?
Answer. I think some five days ; I think near five days.
Question. In how much less time, if any, could they have been taken
back aboard the cars ?
Answer. With the arrangements we had there to do it with, I do not think we could
take them back in any such time as that. The trucks sent out to take them up by,
broke down; were insufficient to haul them.
Question. Did you have any occasion to learn the character of those
guns as to efficiency ?
Answer. I saw nothing but the tests there.
Question. What did you learn from those tests of the value of the
guns ?
Answer. I considered them but of small importance for the position.
774 OPERATIONS IN N. VA., W. VA., AND MD. [CHAP. XXIV.
Question. Can you state what range was had at an elevation of 5
degrees of those guns, or 4 degrees, or somewhere thereabouts ?
Answer. At 3| degrees they fell short of 1,300 yards ; at 5 degrees they went proba
bly about 2,000 yards. They did not go over the town ; I think about a mile and a
quarter, probably.
Question. Would you have considered them at all reliable at, say.
2,500 yards !
Answer. I should not have liked to risk them. I would place no dependence upon
them. I never saw them, or any one of their tests and their range was taken every
morning and evening from the different bastions I never saw one carry up to the
distance they should for the elevation they had.
Question. Did you have occasion to observe my actions during that
afternoon and the night of the evacuation f
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. I will thank you to state whether there appeared to be any
improper excitement, or precipitancy, or trepidation.
Answer. Nothing. You appeared to be perfectly cool. Your conduct toward me
would indicate a forward movement rather than an evacuation. Everything was
done perfectly cool. You even told me to get the men out without any undue noise,
any excitement whatever ; to get them out in column.
By the JUDGE- ADVOCATE :
Question. What was done with those guns that were destroyed 9
Answer. I did not see them after they were disabled. I learned from Captain Powell
that he wedged balls in them, broke off, the trunnions, and cut off, the traverses.
By General WHITE :
Question. Do you know whether or not the enemy were present in
greater or less force about Winchester all the time 1 was there for a
month or more?
Answer. They were.
Question. Were attacks upon us frequent at night ?
Answer. Upon our pickets nearly every night.
Question. And frequent expeditions sent out to attack them !
Answer. I sent ont, about eight days before the evacuation, one section of a battery
to Middietown. I got it back, and the cavalry got between us and them, so that we
could see them two or three days before the evacuation.
Question. Have you any doubt of there being sufficient of the enemy
present within a half a dozen miles of Winchester to get possession of
any stores left there f
Answer. I think there were sufficient to take all the stores there. There was suf
ficient came in that night, as I learned from one of my lieutenants who was left there,
at 11 o clock at night. He said there were 1,200 came in town.
Question. Did you learn anything of a large force advancing across
Blue Eidge ?
Answer. I did.
Question. State what you learned.
Answer. I learned from one of my scouts, and also from one of my lieutenants, who
"wanted to go out, and was sent out, that there was quite a force advancing. There
was a force lying at Newtown, a supposed force of about 1,000, and there was a force,
of what amount I could not say, around us in parties every day. The demonstration
was such as to make me think there was considerable of a force menacing us. The
cry was that there were some 3,000 cavalry and some 7,000 infantry advancing over
the Blue Ridge.
CHAP. XXIV.] EVACUATION OF WINCHESTER, YA. 775
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE :
Question. They were not in sufficient force, or sufficiently near Win
chester, to make an evacuation of it necessarily hurried and precipitate,
were they I
Answer. That I cannot say. There were some there ; but all that was there we
could have held back. I think we could have held the position against all that men
aced us for some time, at all events.
By General WHITE :
Question. Do you know anything of the condition of the horses, of
what little cavalry there was there f
Answer. They were such that they were unfit for service, and almost disabled me
to furnish them horses.
Question. Were you called upon repeatedly for the use of your bat
tery horses for picket duty and scouting ?
Answer. There was scarcely a day for ten days but they called me to furnish
horses. They run me down until I kicked against it, and would not furnish them
any longer, as they would have disabled my battery.
Question. Was their cavalry force there sufficient to make a recon
naissance to any distance ; could they have gone any material distance
from the position without being overwhelmed by a force of the enemy f
Answer. No, sir ; that force was rather small.
Question. And the horses pretty well used up f
Answer. The horses were unfit for service.
The Commission then adjourned to 11 a. m. to-morrow.
WASHINGTON, D. 0., October 18, 1862.
The Commission met pursuant to adjournment.
*******
The Commission resumed the investigation in relation to the evacua
tion of Winchester by General White.
Capt. BENJAMIN F. POTTS, called by General White, and sworn and
examined as follows :
By General WHITE :
Question. What is your position in the military service 1
Answer. Commanding battery of light artillery.
Question. Were you at Winchester at the time of the evacuation of
that post I
Answer. I was.
Question. Will you state, if you please, what was the character of
that movement, whether it was precipitate or orderly ?
Answer. All I saw of the movement was orderly. I moved out according to orders,
and took my position in the line, and moved along very orderly from there to Harper
Ferry.
Question. Were there ample instructions and time given for the load
ing of the transportation and the securing everything that could be
saved 1
Answer. Yes, sir: between 2 and 3 o clock I had notice of it; we did not leave
until 8 or 9 o clock in the evening.
776 OPERATIONS IN N. VA., W. VA., AND MD. [CHAP. XXIV.
Question. Had you any means of information in regard to any forces
of the enemy being in that vicinity ?
Answer. I had not, only by rumor; I believe I was not outside the picket lines.
Question. Did you hear from any reliable source anything of any large
force on that day or shortly before ?
Answer. No, sir ; I did not.
Question. Was all the transportation connected with your command
loaded to its utmost capacity with public property ?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. Was this the case with the regiment to which you were
attached, so far as your observation extended ?
Answer. Yes, sir ; I think everything was transported belonging to the regiment.
Question. Was the line formed regularly on the turnpike, and proper
disposition made of the artillery, cavalry, and infantry before moving
at all?
Answer. I think so. I know nothing in regard to the rear, because I took my posi
tion, according to order, in the rear of the Sixtieth Ohio, which was the first regiment
of infantry in the advance.
By the JUDGKE- ADVOCATE :
Question. Do you know anything in regard to the amount of public
property destroyed there f
Answer. I have no knowledge of that.
Question. It did not come under your observation ?
Answer. No, sir ; I was not close to the fortifications. I was outside of them, and
moved out according to orders.
Question. And went direct to Harper s Ferry ?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. So far as the evacuation came under your observation, it
was conducted orderly and quietly ?
Answer. In a very quiet manner ; everything was quiet and orderly when I moved
out.
By the COURT :
Question. Did you save everything belonging to your battery ?
Answer. Everything except a few old ammunition chests. I had got new ammu
nition chests from the arsenal; I think there were eight or ten that I had no convey
ance for.
Question. Was all the ammunition taken out of them f
Answer. All except a little ; except some damaged ammunition.
Question. Do you know how many pieces of artillery were left behind ?
Answer. I do not.
Question. Or how much ammunition was left behind ?
Answer. I do not. I had no means of knowing.
Question. How long do you think it would have taken to have dis
mounted those large 32-pounders and taken them to the cars?
Answer. I should think it might have been done in ten or twelve hours; perhaps
it would have taken longer. I helped bring them up from the depot; we were a whole
night bringing up the guns, and there were some other things brought up during the
day. I should think that twelve or fifteen hours probably would have been sufficient.
CHAP. XXIV.] EVACUATION OF WINCHESTER, VA. 777
By General WHITE :
Question. Do you know whether the truck that was used for bring
ing up those guns was broken or sound ?
Answer. I do not know ; they could not be moved unless that was there ; we moved
the guns on the truck from the depot.
Question. Was it several days time from the time Captain Powell
commenced with Captain Kigby, and then with you, before these guns
were got into the works there ?
Answer. I think they commenced one day I do not know what time of day and
Captain Rigby worked until that evening. I went down during the night ; we brought
up everything during that night ; they were not all taken in the fort ; they were brought
up to the entrance.
Question. Not put into position then ?
Answer. No, sir. I think not.
Question. They were landed on top of the hill ?
Answer. Yes, sir; that is what I am speaking of.
Question. Do you know of there being frequent, almost daily, picket
firing, and skirmishing with the enemy there for some time?
Answer. Yes, sir; I am aware of that.
Question. Were there enough of the enemy in the immediate neigh
borhood to take possession of any stores left there, if we left any there ?
Answer. Yes, sir ; I think so ; our people were continually annoyed by some force
of the enemy. I do not know what they amounted to ; there was continual tiring there.
Question. Do you not think we could have held Winchester against
15,000 or 20,000 men I
Answer. I think we could have held the position against that number of men. I
regarded it as a very good position.
Question. When you say you think those heavy guns could have
been removed within twelve or fifteen hours, do you mean that they
could have been removed and loaded on the cars in that time?
Answer. They could have been taken down. I do not know as they could have
been loaded on the cars in twelve hours. I think, however, they could have been
loaded in fifteen hours, or something of that kind, with the amount of force we hud.
Maj. S. M. HEWITT, called by General White, and sworn and exam
ined as follows :
By General WHITE :
Question. What is your position in the service?
Answer. I am major of the Thirty-second Ohio Volunteers.
Question. Were you at Winchester at the time of the evacuation of
that post ?
Answer. I was.
Question. Did you leave with the troops?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. Will you be good enough to state to the court tbe character
of that movement, as to its having been done in good or bad order, with
due deliberation, or with precipitancy, as the case may be; your ge
eral impression of it, as to whether it was such as should have
executed or otherwise ?
778 ^ OPERATIONS IN N. VA., W. VA., AND MD. [CHAP. XXIV.
Answer. I received an order to have the Thirty-second Regiment in readiness for
marching at 8 o clock on the 2d of September. I made the necessary preparations;
moved out at the time
By the COURT :
Question. It is not necessary for you to tell what you did, but what
you observed there.
Answer. I observed nothing that was disorderly.
Question. That is, whether it was a hurried movement or whether it
was deliberate, and everything done that could be done !
Answer. It was done with due deliberation, I think.
By General WHITE :
Question. Were all the means of transportation, so far as you could
see, properly and fully made use of?
Answer. They were.
Question. Was the column formed on the turnpike in order and de
liberately, and moved off without confusion I
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. Had you knowledge, from personal encounter with the
enemy on one or more occasions, and from visiting pickets, of the
presence of the enemy constantly there for some weeks I
Answer. I had knowledge that the enemy were near us there, but, as to the amount
offeree, I had no knowledge of that.
Question. Do you suppose they were in sufficient force to have occu
pied the town after we evacuated it, and seized any stores that might
have been left there ?
Answer. Yes, sir.
By the JUDOE- ADVOCATE :
Question. Tour position in the service did not enable you to know
the amount of public stores which were destroyed there ?
Answer. I have no knowledge of that.
Question. The evacuation commenced at what hour in the night?
Answer. At 8 o clock.
By General WHITE :
Question. That is the movement out on the road you refer to ?
Answer. Out on the road, yes, sir.
By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE :
Question. From the hour in the morning at which the order to evac
uate was represented to have been received up to the departure of the
train for Harper s Ferry, was there not time for those siege guns to have
been got on the cars f
Answer. The first knowledge I had of the intention to move, or the order to move,
was as late as 5 o clock in the evening. I was engaged in a court-martial at that time,
and Colonel Ford was out of health, and I was in command of the regiment. I re
ceived an order, a written order, to have my regiment ready at such a time, and the
order of march was fixed in that order. I think it was about 5 o clock when I re
ceived this notice.
Question. You do not know the hour at which the order to evacuate
was received f
Answer. No, sir ; I do not. At 8 o clock in the evening we were ready to move,
CHAP. XXIV.] EVACUATION OF WINCHESTER, VA. 779
that is, from camp to the piko. We marched to the pike, and halted there until the
column was formed.
Question. And continued the march through that night!
Answer. Yes, sir ; we marched all night.
Question. Were you followed by the enemy at all?
Answer. Not that I am aware of.
Capt. CHARLES GOODMAN, called by Major-General White, and sworn
and examined as follows :
By General WHITE :
Question. What is your position in the Army ?
Answer. Assistant Quartermaster.
Question. Were you on duty at Winchester at the time of the evacu
ation of that post?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question.- Did you receive any orders from me in relation to the re
moval of public property at that time? If so, state what your orders
were.
Answer. I received orders on the 2d of September, about 3 o clock, I think, to pre
pare all the transportation that I could, and to see the railroad [agent] and get all
the transportation from him, which I did. I received all the transportation there and
removed all the public property from Winchester at the post. The agent furnished
me all the cars he had of every description, and I inquired of him to know whether
he could furnish any more by sending to Harper s Ferry. He said he could not until
the train was sent down to Harper s Ferry and returned; that there was no transpor
tation there.
By the JUDGE- ADVOCATE :
Question. Of whom did you inquire 1
Answer. Of the agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
By General WHITE :
Question. He said he could not get any from Harper s Ferry until the
train went down and back t
Answer. That he could not furnish any more cars, except those at Winchester,
until he sent down this train from Winchester to Harper s Ferry ; as I understood him,
they had no engines at Harper s Ferry to bring up anything from there. There were
two engines at Winchester.
Question. How long did it take to haul that train down to Harper s
Ferry !
Answer. The train I came down on?
Question. Yes, sir.
Answer. I left about a quarter of 12 o clock that night, and got into Harper s Ferry
about 9.30 the next day.
Question. How long would it have taken to have taken that train to
Harper s Ferry, unloaded it, and got it back to Winchester !
Answer. The usual time for the passenger trains to leave Harper s Jerry for Win
chester left there about 10 o clock and got to Winchester about 5.30 or 6 o clock.
The freight train is about three hours longer. It would have taken, 1 suppose,
from the time I received my orders to have sent that train down to Harper^
and return we would not have got the train back until the next day, m the afte
noon, very well.
780 OPERATIONS IN N. VA., W. VA., AND MD. [CHAP. XXIV.
Question. Was all the wagon transportation, the post transportation,
used in the removal of property ?
Answer. All the post transportation I had I sent out to camp to remove such pub
lic property out there as the limited means I had would permit.
Question. Just state, generally, what your judgment was in relation to
the evacuation, of the order to evacuate whether all the means that
could have been reasonably procured for the transportation of public
property were procured and used, and whether it^vas done deliberately
and systematically, or otherwise.
Answer. So far as that was concerned, I received my orders, as I say, about 3 o clock,
and I provided, with the assistance of the agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
all the transportation which it was in the power of the railroad to furnish. I fur
nished all I could myself in the way of wagons of every description, and had my
property loaded without any great haste and quietly, so much so that the citizens
of Winchester were not aware of what was going on. I had all the transportation
by 8 o clock in the evening. My cars were all loaded, and everything was ready. I
had 125 horses that I did not remove until about 9 o clock that night. I sent them out
of town, waiting for the movement of the army, whenever it should take place. I re
mained at the post for four hours, I think, three hours and a half after I was ready
to leave. My orders from General White were to prepare myself to evacuate the post
and to await further orders j I waited until nearly 12 o clock.
Question. Wait a moment. Do you recollect any reason I gave you
for not moving the train immediately 1 ?
Answer. The reason was that you possibly might not leave that night ; as I sup
posed, you were waiting further orders in regard to the movement.
Question. Were my orders to you to make it all plain, and explicit,
and full to the court were my orders to you delivered in person, and, if
so, were they or not directing you to procure every means of transporta
tion that could be had on that railroad, and every other means that could
be had or that could be employed by your department, to remove all the
public property that it was possible to remove ?
Answer. Your orders to me were to report to you in person, which I did at the time I
mentioned before, 3 o clock. You gave me your orders in person to procure nil the
transportation in my power, and you inquired of me what I could furnish. I believe
I stated to you what transportation I had at my command. You then suggested to me
to see the agent of the railroad and confer with him, and to obtain all the transpor
tation that was possible to be obtained from him, and I think you inquired of me
if it was possible to obtain any cars from Harper s Ferry; I told you I did not
know whether I could or not. I, of course, immediately afterward went to the city,
and conferred with the railroad agent and ascertained the facts that I have hereto
fore mentioned.
Question. Did you think there was any disposition on my part to dis
regard the public interests in the removal of property, or was it other
wise?
Answer. No, sir ; I think you were very anxious to save all the property there that
could be saved.
By the JUDGE- ADVOCATE :
Question. Have you any knowledge of the value of the property
which was destroyed there ?
Answer. I have not. I know the amount of property that was sacrificed in my
department. But there was considerable commissary stores that were destroyed. 1
have no idea of their amount.
Question. What amount in your department was destroyed ?