The story of Ball’s Bluff would be sadly incomplete if the operations of the game old Colonel Barksdale[14] and his noble regiment, the Thirteenth Mississippi, were omitted, because only by their splendid work in holding Gorman’s brigade quiet at Edward’s Ferry was Confederate victory made possible at the Bluff, and at one time he had begun his march to aid the boys at that point. But for Evans’ recall order the Thirteenth would have been among the Federals on the left, and at that time only a thin skirmish line with a few vedettes was all there was in front of Fort Evans and four thousand Federal troops. In the early days of the war there was one peculiar terror which often prevented Federal commanders from performing brilliant deeds, easy enough with their superiority in “men and metal,” and that was the astonishing crop of “masked batteries” planted in Southern forests and corn fields, which imaginary spectre was very potent here with Gorman’s men, holding them to the river bank for two days until Barksdale’s boys showed them their rearward crossing on the 22d in an attack conducted with great skill and daring, under the artillery fire from both sides of the river, killing and wounding about forty men. Had Evans supported this battle of Barksdale with his whole force, we have every reason to believe that Gorman would have been forced to surrender. Another instance of battlefield literature after the fact, is General McClellan’s order of thanks to his troops engaged in this battle; which leads us to wonder if the writer of “official reports” could have foreseen how they would read after the “clouds rolled by,” would they not have been more careful as to what they wrote? There is no harm, however, in this particular order except the General’s estimate of the Confederate strength.
GENERAL ORDER NO. 32.) HD. ORS. ARMY OF THE POTOMAC “WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 1861.
“The Major General commanding the Army of the Potomac desires to offer his thanks, and to express his admiration of their conduct, to the officers and men of the detachments of the Fifteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts, First California, and Tammany regiments, First U. S. Artillery, and Rhode Island Battery, engaged in the affair of Monday last near Harrison’s Island. The gallantry and discipline displayed deserved a more fortunate result; but situated as those troops were, cut off alike from retreat and reinforcements, and attacked by an overwhelming force, 5,000 against 1,700, it was not possible that the issue could have been successful. Under happier auspices such devotion will insure victory. The general commanding feels increased confidence in General Stone’s division, and is sure that when they next meet the enemy they will retrieve this check, for which they are not accountable.