disorganization in some of the commands, that I did not consider it proper to renew the attack that day.”

With this battle the invasion of Maryland terminated, but it was not the battle alone which caused this termination. The unforeseen delay caused by the necessity of taking Harper's Ferry, and especially the enormous gaps produced in the Southern army by the unusual number of stragglers, had so much deranged Lee's projects, that he could no longer think of succeeding in a campaign in Maryland. The fate of the campaign, therefore, was really decided before the Battle of Sharpsburg, and Lee's only wish in accepting battle, was to arrest MacClellan's march, and reunite the scattered divisions of his own army.

In this Maryland campaign both adversaries had given proof of great military talent. After the Northern defeat at Manassas, MacClellan had assembled an army with marvellous rapidity, thanks chiefly to the influence of his own name, had conducted it against Lee and succeeded in stopping him, thus not only affording safety from invasion to the fertile province of Pennsylvania, but also disarranging, for the time, the plan which Lee had formed for the capture of the Federal capital. It is not, therefore. an exaggeration to say that he had saved the Northern cause, for to defend Washington there was only his own army, and if Lee had been able to get the better of it, Washington or Philadelphia would have been at his mercy, enabling him to dictate peace, and secure the acknowledgment of Southern independence. All hope of seeing this magnificent project realised, vanished before the rapid march and prompt attack of MacClellan. In a few hours, on an autumn day, the triumphant march of the Confederates was arrested on the borders of the Antietam. Let us, therefore, do justice to the Federal general's skill.

But Lee's merit was no less, and his want of success was due to circumstances over which he had no control. His plan now, as always, had been maturely considered and perfectly combined. But three causes, which he could not foresee, spoiled everything. The

first, his great loss of men, caused partly by his rapid movements and an uninterrupted succession of conflicts; the second, the reluctance of the Marylanders to come to his ranks; and the third, and most important, the finding by MacClellan of that unlucky despatch, which revealed to him all Lee's plan. From that moment the Northern commander advanced so rapidly, that he gave no time to the Southern stragglers to rejoin the army. The gaps in the Confederate ranks, therefore, could not be filled up, and Lee was obliged to retreat, in order not to be too far away from Jackson, who was retained by the unexpected resistance at Harper's Ferry. Hence the impossibility of finding his way to Hagerstown, the forced concentration at Sharpsburg, and consequently the necessity of delivering battle in its neighbourhood.

The loss of Lee's despatch to Hill was a true fatality which exercised a preponderating influence over following events. It cannot, therefore, be said that the Southern chief was responsible for the failure of the Maryland campaign: he had, as far as possible, provided for everything. He was right to hope for great reinforcements, whether in Maryland or in Virginia; thus his flanks would have been protected, and he would have been able without delay to invade Pennsylvania. Contrary to his expectations, he was obliged to retire and give battle at Sharpsburg. Here, again, he revealed talents of the first order. The enemy, at least twice as numerous as his own army, never displayed more energy and eagerness at any period of the war. If the Federals were repulsed, it must be attributed to Lee's skill and his soldiers' valour. He manoeuvred his army with admirable rapidity and precision, multiplying his soldiers at the most exposed points. Indeed, at Sharpsburg, the precision of view and promptitude of action of which the Confederate commander gave proof, were most remarkable. An undecided or unforeseeing general would have experienced a complete defeat, for at the beginning of the action the Confederate left wing numbered but 4000 men, while

M

the columns that rushed on it consisted of 18,000, and afterwards of 40,000 men. To resist such masses not only was there wanting to the soldiers courage to be relied on, but also great skill and extraordinary rapidity in the management of troops to the general.

CHAPTER X.

STUART'S RAID INTO PENNSYLVANIA.-BURNSIDE SUPERSEDES MACCLELLAN.—BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, DECEMBER 13TH, 1862.

GENERAL LEE's first care, on arriving at Winchester, was to procure his soldiers shoes and clothing. The citizens of Richmond on their part hastened to contribute to the needs of their heroic defenders. Stragglers were likewise looked up. They came in from all sides, well rested and recovered from their fatigues. In less than a fortnight the army was increased by 30,000 new men, The district in which they were was admirably adapted to restore to the soldiers health of body and elasticity of mind. Rest, mountain air, abundance of food, brought back life to these warriors, exhausted by the glorious fatigues of the two preceding campaigns. In the evening, after the day's drill, numerous groups were often seen, assembled under the trees, singing some religious hymn, a recollection of their infancy and family. The young chaplain talked in convincing terms of his holy mission, then another hymn was heard, and, by the glare of the half-extinguished torches, the groups of soldiers dispersed, silent and reflecting.

The Confederates, far from being discouraged by later events, acquired an increase of faith in themselves, looking reasonably on the battle of Sharpsburg, where the enemy was so superior in numbers, as a feat of arms altogether honourable. Their confidence in their officers, especially in General Lee, was

much augmented. Thanks to this sentiment, which, later, was developed to a point unheard of, Lee did extraordinary things. His men felt that he was a man to bear no matter what test, and in such cases the soldier is rarely deceived: he judges for himself. Lee had already been able to inspire them with a profound admiration for his military talents; his goodness, the care which he took of them, his simplicity soon caused him to be adored. In all this campaign not an impatient word had escaped him. Always in the front rank, indifferent to danger, he displayed a paternal sweetness towards all his subordinates; his soldiers regarded that firm and upright form with a constantly increasing feeling of affection, robed in its simple uniform of grey, that quiet countenance, that expression full of dignity and serenity, impassive alike amid the tiresomeness of the march and in the tumult of battle. "There is Uncle Robert," they would exclaim one to another, as he passed, crowding round him, cheering him, and shaking his hands.

The country generally shared this feeling. Everywhere where he pitched his camp the neighbours came in crowds to see him. An English officer who passed some time in the Confederate camp near Winchester, speaks of it thus :

"In visiting the head-quarters of the Confederate generals, but particularly those of General Lee, any one accustomed to see European armies in the field cannot fail to be struck with the great absence of all the pomp and circumstance of war in and around their encampments. Lee's head-quarters consisted of about seven or eight pole-tents, pitched with their backs to a stake fence, upon a piece of ground so rocky that it was unpleasant to ride over it, its only recommendation being a little. stream of good water, which flowed close to the general's tent. In front of the tents were some three four-wheeled waggons, drawn up without any regularity, and a number of horses roamed loose about the field. The servants, who were, of course, slaves, and the mounted soldiers, called couriers, were unprovided with