The effective force of this corps rose, within three months, from twenty-five to thirty-three thousand men. The resources of the whole of Virginia were collected together for the purpose of provisioning the army and forming dépôts capable of securing its subsistence that of Guiney's Station especially became of great importance. The arsenals of the Confederacy redoubled their activity, the blockade-runners made some happy ventures, and the Southern soldiers received a large number of new arms, as well as ammunition in sufficient quantity, while their equipments were likewise much improved. Important reforms, in short, were introduced in the personnel of the army.

All the batteries of artillery, which until then had been independent of each other, were united into one single corps and placed under the command of General Pendleton. This corps was composed of eight battalions, comprising thirty-eight mounted batteries, besides one battalion of horse artillery and one of reserve artillery.

The general staff was organized so as to constitute a special corps. Finally, Lee formed a regiment of engineers, similar to those existing in the Army of the Potomac.

Promotions were granted to those who had particularly distinguished themselves at Fredericksburg. To Jackson was awarded the rank of lieutenant-general, which he had long deserved. The independent division of D. H. Hill was added to his corps, which was thus made to comprise one half of the army, the other half forming that of Longstreet. Hill having been called to a territorial command in North Carolina, his division was given to Rodes, a valiant officer. Jackson's old division was commanded by Trimble, and that of Ewell by Early, who had distinguished himself in all the battles in which he had been engaged.

Lee occupied the right bank of the Rappahannock, and extended his cantonments so as not to encumber his troops and to guard the principal passes of the river. Works were constructed at all the important positions from Banks' Ford, above Fredericksburg, as far as the neighborhood of Port Conway, where the Rappahannock becomes an obstacle almost insurmountable.

The left wing, formed of the two divisions of Longstreet's corps, occupied the country around Fredericksburg and all the

locality of the late battle as far as Hamilton's Crossing; the task of guarding the lower course of the river fell to Jackson.

The two armies remained thus for three long months in the presence of each other, watching without striking a blow. The experience so dearly bought on both sides had not been thrown away. Hooker was not blamed for his inaction during the rainy season, as McClellan had been the preceding year, and at the end of those three months he found himself at the head of an army much more homogeneous, better disciplined, and consequently more manageable, than that of his two predecessors. On the other side, General Lee, favored by the season, by the natural and artificial strength of the positions he occupied, and by the prestige which rendered the ensanguined heights of Fredericksburg impregnable in the eyes of both parties, was enabled to devote himself to the instruction of the valiant bands which up to that time had only learned to manoeuvre under the fire of the enemy. Full of solicitude for the soldiers of whom he might at any moment ask the sacrifice of their lives, he neglected nothing to secure their welfare and keep up their confidence. He might be seen, either alone or accompanied by Jackson, who was actuated by the same earnest zeal and the same religious sentiments as himself, visiting the bivouacs, encouraging his men by words always full of kindness without descending to familiarity, and giving them an example of devotion as simple as it was sincere.

In the mean time, the season which paralyzed the movements of large armies did not condemn to the same inactivity those small corps of mounted troops which, not being dependent for their subsistence upon the intricate machinery of heavy supply-trains, did not, like the infantry, find any insurmountable obstable in the mud of Virginia. The Confederate cavalry, scattered among the counties that are watered by the Rapidan, and as far as the foot of the Alleghanies, for the purpose of gathering the forage of which they stood in need and to enforce the application of the conscription laws before the Federals should come to interrupt it, was commanded by officers of too enterprising a character to be satisfied with such a rôle; the progress which the cavalry of the Union had lately made compelled their adversaries, moreover, to

be doubly vigilant in order not to lose the superiority they had acquired during the early days of the war. Thus left to themselves, being no longer compelled to follow the marches of a large army in order to watch and cover it, these bold champions of the South were able, during that period, to carry on what we might properly call a fancy war. Stationed among the villages of Virginia, where each of them contended for the honor of having such defenders of the Confederate cause, feasted everywhere, and surrounded by those attentions which compensate the soldier for many months of suffering and privations, they availed themselves of the inauspicious weather in order to rest and prepare for new conflicts. When the sun reappeared the sound "To horse!" was heard, and they were quickly in the saddle, ready to manoeuvre before some of their favorite chiefs, Stuart, Jackson, or Lee; at times a division of infantry would even be called to witness their evolutions. And again, when some of the thousands of volunteer spies who overran the Federal lines pointed out some new bold stroke to be dealt, a detachment more or less strong according to the importance of the enterprise received in the evening the order for marching. From early dawn all the windows of the village would be crowded with women, who cheered the dashing raiders on their departure, while the latter rushed gayly into the country occupied by the enemy.

Stuart possessed the rare gift of communicating to those serving under him the ardor which burnt in his own bosom, and of moulding their character after his own. In achieving, within the space of one year, the high position he occupied, and a military reputation which justified it in the eyes of all men, he had lost none of the brilliant qualities which had attracted public notice from the commencement of his career. Passionately fond of his profession, always endeavoring to instruct and perfect himself in the great art of war, he had preserved all the dash of the young cavalry-officer joyfully going forth for the first time to the field of battle. Exemplary in his conduct, warmly attached to his family, sincerely religious, and of strictest sobriety, he found no relaxation during the intervals of his campaigns except in the society of young women, differing widely in this respect from Jackson, who, it was said, only found pleasure in the company of

old ladies or the ministers of his religious faith. His handsome face, the elegance of his attire, his taste for feathers, embroideries, and brilliant scarfs, his exquisite gentlemanly address, in short, that suavity of temper which never forsook him, everything in this young general of twenty-eight was calculated to captivate the imagination of the beautiful women of Virginia whenever he appeared in their villages or in their half-deserted homes surrounded by the prestige of his exploits. As to his soldiers, what they especially admired in him was his imperturbable presence of mind in the midst of danger and the turmoil of battle, and that wonderful vigor which enabled him to retain the full use of all his intellectual faculties when his companions were either overcome by fatigue or prostrated by privations.

Stuart's regular force was composed of three brigades, commanded by General Wade Hampton and the son and nephew of the commander-in chief, Generals W. H. F. Lee and Fitzhugh Lee, who worthily bore that illustrious name. It is proper to add to this force the brigade of General Jones, who was waging hostilities west of the Blue Ridge in the Valley of Virginia, but who, notwithstanding his distance, was under Stuart's command.

Moreover, wherever the Federals had any outposts there was a small detachment of Confederate cavalry always engaged in watching and harassing them, while Mosby and his followers watched for an opportunity to strike at some points of the railroads or the dépôts which supplied the enemy's army with provisions. These skirmishes, which it would be impossible to enumerate here, show that the Confederate partisans were wide awake at all points in Virginia, resorting alternately to cunning and audacity in order to conceal the inferiority of their numbers. At Williamsburg, for instance, on the field of battle where so much blood had been shed the preceding year, they resorted to an expedient against their adversaries which was susceptible of frequent application. By means of false information conveyed to the Federal garrison of Yorktown, on the 7th of February, 1863, a squadron of the enemy was enticed into a narrow road bordered on both sides by a thick forest. The Unionists, who were advancing cautiously, suddenly espied a small band of Confederates, who, after firing a few shots, fled rapidly. A

charge was immediately ordered, and the squadron rushed forward in pursuit. But they had scarcely broken into a gallop when they encountered a multitude of telegraph-wires reaching from tree to tree across the road. The horses stumble over each other, the men, entangled by this simultaneous breakdown, are unable to extricate themselves, and become exposed in this defenceless condition to the fire of the Southerners, who take leisurely advantage of the success of their ambuscade. This exploit cost the Federals thirty-five men. A month later, on the 8th of March, Mosby signalized himself by a bold stroke of extraordinary audacity. The reader will probably remember that the Virginia attorney, having landed on the 4th of August, 1862, at Aiken's Landing, was the first to carry to Lee the news of Burnside's departure for Alexandria: he was then returning, after an exchange of prisoners, from the Northern prisons, where he had expiated, during two months, the crime of having once slept too soundly near the Federal outposts. Since then he had thought of nothing but to revenge himself for his mishap, and to catch in his turn some Unionists in flagrante delicto of profound sleep. But his victims must be officers of high rank; he determined to go in search of them in the very centre of the Federal quarters, at Fairfax Court-house, between Washington and Hooker's army. Several regiments were encamped around this village, where the head-quarters of Colonel Wyndham, a brigade commander, and those of Colonels Stoughton* and Johnson, were located. Favored by darkness, Mosby, with twenty-nine men, slips between these camps, surprises and gags one guard, penetrates into the village, disposes of his soldiers so that they may seize the principal officers of the enemy, and goes himself to pay a visit to Colonel Stoughton, with whose quarters he was fully acquainted. He had the great pleasure of finding him asleep and of waking him up in person. The colonel, indignant at such familiarity, threatens to have the intruder arrested.

* Stoughton was promoted from colonel of the Fourth Vermont Infantry to brigadier-general Nov. 5, 1862, but not being confirmed, his appointment expired by constitutional limitation March 4, 1863. When captured, March 9, 1863, he probably had not received notification of his non-confirmation, and was practically still a brigadier-general, the vacancy in the Fourth Vermont having been filled.-ED.