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defer to that of those to whom alone we can look for support. I am sure that you wil. understand and appreciate my motives, and that no one will be more ready than yourself to acquiesce in any measures which the interests of the country may seem to require, regardless of all personal considerations. Thanking you for the fidelity and energy with which you have always supported my efforts, and for the courage and devotion you have ever manifested in the service of the country, I am, very respectfully and truly, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE, General.

Censure in the newspapers ran high against Gen. Early; but it must be remembered that this was at a time when the temper of the Southern people was irritable and exacting, impatient to be refreshed with what was now the rare experience of a victory. Gen. Early was not a popular man ; but he had had the reputation throughout the war of a hard, resolute fighter; and Gen. Lee's familiar designation of him as "his bad old man " suited the picture of a commander who garnished his speech with oaths, dressed in the careless, burly fashion of a stage-driver, and was famous for his hard, direct knocks in battle.* It was hinted in the newspapers that

* The following sketch of Gen. Early is from a graphic pen, and its fund of anecdote is amusing and characteristic :

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"He was a man past middle age, and of vigorous and athletic appearance. His stature approached if it did not reach six feet, and he seemed to be capable of undergoing great fatigue. His hair was black and curling, and just touched with gray; his eyes, dark and sparkling; his smile, ready and expressive, but somewhat sarcastic, as was the bent of his character. His dress was plain gray, with slight decoration. Long exposure had made the old coat which he wore quite dingy. A wide-brim hat overshadowed his sparkling eyes, his swarthy features, and grizzled hair. His face, set upon a short neck, joined to stooping shoulders, attracted attention from every one. In the dark eye you could read the resolute character of the man, as in his satirical smile you saw the evidence of that dry, trenchant, often mordant humour, for which he was famous. The keen glance drove home the sarcastic speech, and almost every one who ventured upon word combats with Lieut.-General Early sustained a 'palpable hit.' The soldiers of his army had a hundred jests and witticisms about him. They called him 'Old Jube,' sometimes' Old Jubilee.' They delighted to relate how, after the defeat of Fisher's Hill, when the troops were in full retreat, their commander had checked his horse, raised his arms aloft, and exclaimed, 'My God! won't any of my men make a rally around Old Jubal?' To which a philosophic foot-soldier, calmly seeking the rear, replied: 'Nary rally, General.' A similar anecdote, which may or may not be true, is even yet immensely relished by Early's old soldiers. He is said to have exclaimed, when he heard of Lee's retreat, 'Now let Gabriel blow his horn. It is time to die.' Everything about the soldier was characteristic and marked. Speaking slowly and with a species of drawl in his voice, all that he said was pointed, direct and full of sarcastic force. These 'hits' he evidently enjoyed, and he delivered them with the coolness of a swordsman making a mortal lunge. All the army had laughed at one of them. While marching at the head of his column, dusty in his dingy, gray uniform, and with his faded old hat over his eyes, he had seen leaning over a fence and looking at the column as it passed, a former associate in the Virginia Convention, who had violently advocated secession. This gentleman was clad in citizens' clothes-black coat and irreproachable shirt bosom-and greeted Early as he passed. The reply of the General was given with his habitual smile and sarcastic drawl: 'How are you?' he said. 'I think you said the Whigs wouldn't fight!' The blow was rude, and made the whole army laugh. Of this peculiar humour a better instance still is given. After Fisher's Hill, when his whole army was in complete retreat, and the Federal forces were press

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much of Early's disaster in the Valley was due to his alleged intemperance, and that there had been too much "apple-jack" in the campaign. But the charge of habitual intemperance was examined by a committee of the Confederate Congress, and disproved. It was not established indeed that Gen. Early was a believer in total abstinence-or as one of his Irish friends remarks, that the man was always "beastly sober"-but it was conclusively shown that in the line of his duty he was never under the influence of drink, and to no such imprudence could be attributed any misfortune of his military life.

The real character of Gen. Early's campaign appears in the narrative. Much of his disaster is to be fairly attributed to lack of numbers, his great disproportion to the enemy in this respect; but at the same time it is not to be denied that his loss of artillery was excessive and peculiar, and that in the field at Cedar Creek he had not shown the nerve and grasp of a great commander. His loss of artillery was so notorious, that wags in Richmond ticketed guns sent him "to Gen. Sheridan, care of Jubal Early." In a month he lost more than fifty guns. Briefly, it may be said that in the operations in the Valley Gen. Early committed no flagrant error, and did nothing to draw upon him a distinct and severe censure; yet, at the same time, he certainly did not display in this campaign the qualities of a great commander, never rose above mediocrity, and, with a superiour army upon him, went headlong to destruction.

The effect of the Valley campaign on the situation around Richmond may be almost said to have been decisive. The result of it, in this respect, was this that it released a powerful force and made it available for Grant, while Gen. Lee could only make use of, as a corresponding force, the small remnant of a dispirited army. One of the highest and most intelligent Confederate Generals has not hesitated to express the opinion that "the battle of Winchester was the turning-point of the fortunes of the war in Virginia." The view is not unreasonable when we consider what was the object of Early's campaign. A battle fought in the Valley with decisive results might have relieved Richmond. Such was the idea of Gen. Lee. Battles were fought, but with decisive results for the enemy; and Richmond fell.

ing him close, he was riding with Gen. Breckinridge. It might have been supposed that their conversation would relate to the disastrous events of the day, but Gen. Early did not seem to trouble himself upon that subject. In full retreat as they were, and followed by an enraged enemy, his companion was astounded to hear from Early the cool and nonchalant question: 'Well, Breckinridge, what do you think of the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, in its bearings upon the rights of the South in the Territories?' The man who could amuse himself with political discussions between Fisher's Hill and Woodstock on the 22d of September, 1864, must have been of hard stuff or peculiar humour. There were many persons in and out of the army who doubted the soundness of his judgment-there were none who ever called in question the tough fibre of his courage."

A general opinion prevalent at Richmond, and apparently strengthened by the experiences of the Valley campaign, was that the Confederate cavalry in Virginia had become very inefficient and unequal to its early reputation. The report is one of singular injustice, in view of the brilliant record of the cavalry for 1864, especially that part of it under the command of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, the compeer and successor of Stuart, a model of chivalry and a leader whose star ascended to the highest realms of glory in the war. We have elsewhere referred generally to the operations of the cavalry in Grant's early combination against Richmond. It is a fact based upon official testimony, that Fitzhugh Lee's command fought nine consecutive days, commencing the day Grant crossed the Rapidan, and in that time lost one-half of its numbers in killed and wounded, its loss in prisoners in the same time being not more than thirty! His command was composed of Virginians, save one gallant company from Maryland. The simple inscription of the fact we have related is an undying title of glory for the cavalry of Virginia, testifying as it does to a courage and devotion, the parallels of which are scarcely to be found out of the pages of fabulous history.

It is to be remarked that the disasters of the Valley campaign were in a great measure due to the extreme numerical inferiority of the Confederate cavalry to that of the enemy. The distribution of our cavalry at this time in Virginia is a curious study and excites criticism. Only two brigades of cavalry were sent to the Valley by Gen. Lee. Gen. Grant sent two large divisions of three brigades each. At Petersburg and Richmond, the numbers of our cavalry exceeded those of the enemy. But unfortunately, the country in this vicinity (especially in Dinwiddie county) was but little adapted for this superiority to be displayed, it being very wooded and traversed only by narrow roads.

Grant had Gregg's division of two brigades on his left flank on the south side of the James-and four regiments under Kautz on the north side, guarding his right flank. Confronting Kautz, the Confederates had Gary's brigade, and opposite to Gregg, Bulter's division (Hampton's old command) of three brigades, W. H. F. Lee's division, of two brigades, and a detached brigade under Dearing. Rosser's brigade was afterwards sent to the Valley, but not until the battle of Winchester had been fought.

The Valley was especially adapted for the operations of cavalry. It is universally admitted that a preponderating force of cavalry gives immense advantages in a country suitable for its employment; for cavalry can live on the lines of communication of the army opposed to it, easily avoiding any infantry sent after it. In the Valley, where cavalry could be used to advantage, the Federal superiority was some six or seven thousand. Around Petersburg, where cavalry could only fight dismounted, our numbers were

THE CONFEDERATE CAVALRY IN VIRGINIA.

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in excess of those of the enemy, but not, it is true, to the degree of the enemy's superiority in the other field of operations. If, however, the proportion had been to some extent reversed, and something like an equal match been made with the enemy's cavalry in the Valley, the result might have been different, or at least there have been one error and its consequences less in that campaign.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

GEN. GANT'S OPINION OF MANŒUVRING.-LEE HIS MASTER IN EVERY BRANCH OF GENERALSHIP.-THE FEDERALS GET POSSESSION OF THE WELDON RAILROAD.--ACTION AT REAMS' STATION.-OPERATIONS NORTH OF JAMES RIVER.-SURPRISE AND CAPTURE OF FORT HARRISON. ATTEMPT OF THE CONFEDERATES TO RETAKE IT DISCONCERTED AND DEFEATED – GRANT PLANS A GENERAL ADVANCE IN OCTOBER.-THREE CORPS OF THE ENEMY IN MOTION.—ATTEMPT TO TURN THE CONFEDERATE POSITION ON HATCHER'S RUN, AND SEIZE THE SOUTHSIDE RAILROAD.-DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY AND FRUSTRATION OF HIS PLANS.-PUBLIC ATTENTION DRAWN TO GEORGIA. SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA. HE RETURNS FROM GAYLESVILLE TO ATLANTA.-THE WORK OF DESTRUCTION COMMENCED AT ROMEBURNING OF ATLANTA.-MORE THAN FOUR THOUSAND HOUSES CONSUMED.-OUTLINE OF SHERMAN'S MARCH FROM ATLANTA.—THE COUNTRY IT TRAVERSES FULL OF SUPPLIES.--PILLAGE OF MADISON.-CONCENTRATION OF THE ENEMY'S FORCES AT MILLEDGEVILLE.— AN AFFAIR OF MILITIA AT GRISWOLDSVILLE.—KILPATRICK'S DEMONSTRATION ON AUGUSTA.—STATEMENT OF CONFEDERATE FORCES THERE.-SHERMAN'S MARCH TO MILLEN.—HE MEETS WITH NO RESISTANCE.-HIS DEVASTATION OF THE COUNTRY.-PROWESS OF HIS TROOPS IN PILLAGE AND VILLANY.-NOTHING BUT MILITIA AND HASTY LEVIES TO OPPOSE HIM.—SHERMAN'S APPROACH TO SAVANNAH.-FORT M'ALLISTER TAKEN BY ASSAULT.— GALLANTRY OF THE CONFEDERATE GARRISON.-GEN. HARDEE EVACUATES SAVANNAH.EXTENT OF SHERMAN'S CAPTURES.-HOW MUCH OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS WAS SIMPLE WASTE AND DESTRUCTION. -REVIEW OF THE GREAT MARCH."-ABSURD HISTORICAL COMPARISONS IN THE NORTH.-CHARACTER OF GEN. SHERMAN.-HIS CHARLATANISM.-HIS PROPER PLACE IN HISTORY.

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Ir is said that at the opening of the campaign on the Rapidan, Gen. Meade, in conversation with Gen. Grant, was telling him that he proposed to manœuvre thus and so; whereupon Gen. Grant stopped him at the word "manœuvre," and said, "Oh! I never manœuvre." We have seen that the famous Federal commander, who thus despised manoeuvring, had failed to destroy Lee's army by "hammering continuously" at it; had failed to take either Richmond or Petersburg by a coup de main. We shall now see that he was no longer unwilling to avail himself of the resource of manoeuvring; and we shall observe that in this resource also, he was overmatched by Lee, who showed himself his master in every art of war,

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