DUFFIÉ & THE MONUMENT TO HIS MEMORY
go to page [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] - TRADUCTION FRANCAISE par Jean-Philippe Chereul
Colonel Duffié was with Hooker's army during the disastrous
battle of Chancellorsville, but was not in action beyond some skirmishing with
the enemy General Hooker was not pleased with General Averill and relieved him
from duty with the Army of the Potomac, and Colonel Duffié took command of the
division. In the great cavalry battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863, Duffié
crossed the river at Kelley's Ford and led his division against the rebel cavalry,
driving them back in confusion through Stephensburg, with considerable loss
to the enemy in killed, wounded and prisoners. Near Stephensburg a force of
the enemy was found sup-porting a battery, upon which our battery opened fire,
and one of its shells took off one leg of Col. M. C. Butler, now United States
Senator from South Carolina. Duffié was rapidly forming his men for an attack
when an order came for a march back to Brandy Station. We marched along the
rear of the entire battle line of that day, recrossing the Rappa-hannock at
Beverly Ford several miles up the river from our crossing of that morning.
After this battle Duffié was removed from the com-mand of the division and sent
back to the regiment. There seemed to be some dissatisfaction with his conduct,
although it was never alleged that he did not obey his orders, and he was certainly
operat-ing against the enemy with great success when checked by orders to retire.
I have seen in some military papers that Duffié ought to have marched towards
the heavy firing at Brandy Station instead of pushing on towards Stephensburg,
but his orders were to drive the enemy out of Stephensburg, and I am inclined
to think that Duffié was made an ex-cuse for some other officer's blunder on
this hard--fought field.
Early in the morning of June 17, 1863, the following order was received:
Col. A. N. Duffié, First Rhode Island Cavalry:
"You will proceed with your regiment from Manassas Junc-tion, by the way of
Thoroughfare Cap, to Middleburg; there you will camp for the night, and communicate
with the head-quarters of the Second Cavalry Brigade. From Middleburg you will
proceed to Union; thence to Snickersville; from Snickersville to Percyville;
thence to Wheatland, and passing through Waterford to Nolan's Ferry, where you
will join your brigade."
The regiment, numbering then 280 strong, encountered troops of Gen. W. N. F.
Lee's brigade at Thoroughfare Gap under command of Col. J. R. Chambliss. This
brigade was at that time about 1,200 strong, and a force of the enemy larger
than our own was seen at the Gap, but they fell back as our men pressed boldly
forward, and the position was carried with no loss except that of a few horses
killed by rebel bullets. Leaving this force in his rear Duffié marched to Middleburg,
arriving at 4 P. M. where General Stuart had his headquarters, hav-ing with
him three companies as a body guard. The charge of our men was the first news
Stuart had of our movement, and he was driven out of the place in haste, narrowly
escaping capture. The order was to camp here for the night and communicate with
the headquarters of the Second Cavalry Brigade. Captain Frank Allen, with two
men, was sent to Aldie, with a dispatch stating the situation and asking for
reinforcements, and after several de-lays by encounters with the enemy, safely
delivered his message at 9 P.M., but no effort was made by our generals to send
troops forward. When we first occupied Middleburg, Aldie, five miles to our
rear, was held by Fitz Lee's brigade under command of Col. T. T. Munford, against
which Pleas-anton's cavalry corps had made charge after charge and been repulsed
with heavy losses. As soon as we forced Stuart out of Middleburg he sent orders
to Munford to fall back from Aldie and join him, and also ordered Chambliss
to march to Middleburg from Salem. General Stuart himself proceeded to Rector's
Cross Roads, eight miles west of Middleburg, where Robertson's brigade, 1,000
strong, was stationed, and immediately returned with it, so that upon our small
regiment Stuart's entire cavalry force was marching. At 7 A.M. Robertson's brigade
charged upon us and found no easy victory. Three times they were driven back,
but superior numbers at last prevailed, and Duffié was forced out of the town.
Duffié fell back two miles and halted for the night in some woods near Little
River, where with horses saddled and men under arms, he waited for daylight,
hoping for reinforcements. This was a fatal error. His only hope was to escape
from the enemy approaching from all directions by cut-ting his way out that
night; but he was a French man, felt he must obey his orders, and could not
take the responsibility of using his own judgment as a native-born officer would
have done in this des-perate situation. Afterwards he wrote: "I could certainly
have saved my regiment in the night, but my duty as a soldier and as Colonel
obliged me to be faithful to my orders. During those moments of re-flection,
and knowing that my regiment was being sacrificed, contemplating all this through
more than five hours, my heart was bleeding in seeing the lives of those men
whom I had led so many times sacri-ficed through the neglect and utter forgetfulness
of my superior officers; but in the midst of my grief, I found some consolation
beholding the manner in which the Rhode Island boys fought."
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