20. John B. Magruder Used Theatrics to Hold Back the Union
Confederate General John B. Magruder resorted to theatrics and display to put on a show and trick George B. McClellan into believing that he faced far stronger opposition than was the case. Taking advantage of the small Warwick River that separated him from the advancing federals, Magruder set out to convince McClellan that its 14 mile length on the opposite bank was heavily fortified and strongly garrisoned. The fortifications were real, but Magruder lacked the men to occupy them in any strength that could have stopped McClellan had he attacked.
Magruder ordered his men to raise a ruckus, with drum rolls and men cheering in woods behind the lines, to fool their foes into believing there were far more Confederates in the area than there actually were. He also used the same column of men over and over. He would march them within sight of the federals to take up positions on the defensive line, then have them slip away. Once out of the Union observers’ line of sight, he reassembled the column and marched it back to the defensive line to once again act like newly-arrived reinforcements.
