Wednesday, September 3: General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern
Virginia began moving to relieve Federal pressure on Virginia by
invading the North. The troops moved west toward Leesburg and
occupied Winchester. In Washington, Federal General John Pope
conferred with President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief
Henry W. Halleck. Pope delivered a report accusing General Fitz
John Porter of disobeying orders and General George McClellan of
failing to support him in the Battle of Second Bull Run. In the
Dakota Territory, Sioux Indians unsuccessfully attacked Fort
Abercrombie as part of their uprising against Federal authority.
In Kentucky, Confederates under General Edmund Kirby Smith
continued their invasion by occupying the state capital of
Frankfort. Thursday, September 4: Lee’s Confederates began
crossing the Potomac River into Maryland; the crossing continued
for three days. Various skirmishes ensued as politicians
conferred in Washington, Federals evacuated Frederick, Maryland,
and McClellan began reorg