The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

WlTir GENERAL SHERIDAN. 209
At FrcdcricksbuiL,^ there was no use for horsemen, and very
few crossed tlie Rapi)ahannock chirini^ the eni^at^enient. General
l^ayard niatle a reconnoissance with his I)ri!^ade on the jjlains
where hVankhn was, on the left, but he could do no f^ood where
the enemy could sec his every movement and he could see no
enemy ;
and,
after this gallant young general was killed, the
brigade was withdrawn to the north bank of the ri\'er.
After Fredericksburg, General Hooker lifted the cavalry over
the stile by consolidating it. A cavalry corps was formed, and
General Stoncman was assigned to the command ;
and then for
the first time it was realized what a capital mounted force there
was. Superb regiments seemed to creep out of every defile
within the lines of the army. Three divisions were organized
under Generals IMcasonton, Averell, and Gregg, and General
Huford commanded the brigade of regulars. When President
Lincoln came down to the army for a grand review, nobody
was more astonished than the trof)ps themselves when they
saw the face of the country swarm with cavalry, and apparently
an endless stream of horsemen pouring from every avenue
leading to the parade-ground. The enemy, regarding the
magnificent mass from the heights of St. Marie across the
river, must have felt a slight reaction from the victorious glow
of h'redericksburg, seeing that the Yankees were not all
dead }et.
Averell's division made a very handsome dash across Kelly's
Ford on St. Patrick's day, and then came Stoneman's raid, and
Chancellorsville. Success at the great battle was nccessar\' to
Stoneman's success ; failure at the battle rendered .Stoncinan's
best efforts futile; for he was dispatched to the rear of Lee
to annoy him as he retreated, to destroy his communications, to
block up the roads, to get bc^twc n the beaten eneni}- antl his
capital, and, in the words of the ortlers given General .Stone-
man, to " fight, fight, fight." Cutting loose from the arm\-, he
followed his instructions as well as he could; but the otlur programme
as laitl down was not enlircl)' executed, owing to unfore-
seen circumstances, and in a week or more General Stoncman