He ordered Carroll, one of his brigade commanders, to burn the bridge across the Shenandoah, in certain contingencies. This order was, it was alleged, countermanded by McDowell. At any rate, the bridge was not burned. Jackson crossed the river, and severely handled the troops opposed to him.
Speaking of this occurrence, General Gates, an officer in high command under Stonewall Jackson and later a U. S. Congressman, stated at the reception of the Shields statue in Washington: "Had General Shields' orders been obeyed, there was no escape for Jackson." In the same connection, Jefferson Davis wrote of Shields and his division as being superior in efficiency to the entire corps of General Howard.
President Lincoln showed his appreciation of Shields' achievements in the valley, by promoting him to Major General of Volunteers, and appointing him a brigadier general in the regular army. The Senate, on political grounds, it is said, failed to confirm the latter nomination. It is authentically stated that the President informally tendered to General Shields the command of the Army of the Potomac after McClellan had failed, but that the position was declined, owing to the general's strained relations with Secretary Stanton. For this, and other reasons, Shields resigned from the army March 28, 1863, returned to California, and settled in San Francisco.
On some accounts the Pacific coast did not satisfy General and Mrs. Shields as a place of residence. After the close of the war, in 1866, he returned to the Mississippi valley, via steamer and New York City. Mrs. Shields, ever on the alert for her husband's welfare, persuaded him to retire to a farm, hoping that the quiet, restful life would restore his health so sadly shattered by his brilliant, though exacting, service to his adopted country. The general climate, fertile soil, and newborn prosperity of Missouri appealed to them. On an exploring expedition, the general happened to meet, at Carrollton, Missouri, an old friend and supporter in the Illinois legislature, Judge George Pattison, who so impressed him with the beauties and prospects of that region, that he decided to make that his future home. The place selected, still pointed out as the
