o, was relieved from duty with
the Nineteenth Corps, and four other batteries joined it from the
reserve park at Washington. Of these Taft's 5th New York was
assigned to the First division, Bradbury's 1st Maine, an old friend,
to the Second division, Lieutenant Chase's D, 1st Rhode Island and
Miner's 17th Indiana to the Artillery Reserve, commanded at first
by Captain Taft, afterward by Major Bradbury.

Crook led the way across the Potomac at Harper's Ferry on the
evening of the 5th of August, Emory followed the next morning, and
Ricketts with the Sixth Corps brought up the rear. Averell with
the cavalry, as will be remembered, was still far away, engaged in
the long chase after McCausland. Hunter took up his position
covering Halltown and proceeded to strengthen it by entrenchments.
Crook's left rested on the Shenandoah, Emory extended the line to
the turnpike road, and Wright carried it to the Potomac.

On the very day Grant left City Point, Early marched north from
Bunker Hill, meaning to cover McCausland's retreat and to destroy
Hunter, and so, curiously enough, it happened that Early's whole
army actually crossed the Potomac into Maryland at Martinsburg and
Shepherdstown a few hours before Crook passed over the ford at
Harper's Ferry into Virginia; and, still more curiously, while,
ten days before, the groundless apprehension of another invasion
by Early had thrown the North into a fever and the government into
a fright, here was Early actually in Maryland on the battle-field
of Antietam without producing so much as a sensation. As soon as
Early got the first inkling of what was going on behind him, he
tripped briskly back to Martinsburg, and finding Hunter at Halltown
resumed his old position at Bunker Hill.

Grant had already proposed to unite in a single command the four
distinct departments covering the theatre of war on the Shenandoah
and on the upper Potomac; as the commander he had first suggested
Franklin and afterward Meade. Now, since no action had followed
either suggestion, he sent up Sheridan, meaning to place him in
command of all the active forces of these four departments, for
the purpose of overthrowing Early or expelling him from the
Shenandoah. Upon learning this, Hunter, to remove the difficulty,
asked to be relieved; and thus, on the 7th of August, Grant gained
his wish, and an order was issued by the War Department, creating
the Middle Military Division, to include Washington, Virgin