REPORTS THE VICTORY TO LEE. 505 them. "See old Early," they said, "riding everywhere, without a single guard, among his enemies of yesterday. If it were one of our mutton-headed Generals, he must needs have half a regiment of cavalry at his heels, to gratify his pride, and defend him from unarmed men!" General Early saw them bury seven hundred corpses. How many were borne from the field by them during the progress of the battle, cannot be known. If they, like the Confederates, had five wounded for every one slain (the usual ratio), then their total loss was, at the least, four thousand six hundred. While the field of Indian corn was sprinkled over with dead, the most ghastly accumulation was in the stubble field and the brushwood in front of the Confederate left; which one of their own Generals (taking his metaphor from his own former trade) denominated "the slaughter-pens." The battle of Cedar Run, like all those where Jackson was the assailant, was remarkable for the narrowness of the front upon which the true contest was enacted. A space of a mile in width here embraced the whole of the ground upon which his centre and left wing had wrestled, for half a day, against thirty thousand When it is remembered that these were enough to man a line of battle, six miles long, this fact will appear a singular evidence of the incompetency of the Federal tactics,—that their boastful commander should have accepted defeat with all the advantage of his superior numbers, in an open country, without effecting any more extended development of his lines, or resort to the resources of manoeuvre. General Jackson, on his part, pronounced this the most successful of his exploits. But he announced it to his superior, General Lee, in these devout and modest terms: men. "AUGUST 11th, 6 A. M. "On the evening of the 9th instant, God blessed our arms with another victory. The battle was near Cedar Run, about six miles from Culpepper Court House. The enemy, according to statements of prisoners, consisted of Banks's, M'Dowell's and Sigel's commands. We have over four hundred prisoners, including Brigadier-General Price. Whilst our list of killed is less than that of the enemy, we have to mourn the loss of some of our best officers and men. Brigadier-General Charles S. Winder was mortally wounded whilst ably discharging his duty at the head of his command, which was the advance of the left wing of the army. We have collected about 1500 small arms, and other ordnance stores." Whilst General Jackson was engaged on the 10th, caring for his killed and wounded, he caused careful reconnoissances to be made under the care of General J. E. B. Stuart, who providentially visited his army on that day, on a tour of inspection. He was convinced by this inquiry, that the army of Pope was receiving constant accessions, and that before he could resume the offensive, it would be swelled to sixty thousand men. The bulk of the forces of M'Dowell, was upon the march to join the enemy, by a route which seemed to threaten his rear. He therefore determined that it was imprudent to hazard farther offensive movements. Having sent back all his spoils and his wounded, he retired from the front of the enemy the night of August 11th, and returned unmolested to the neighborhood of Gordonsville, hoping that Pope's evil star might tempt him to attack his army there, where the proximity of the railroad would enable him to receive adequate re-inforcements. A part of the leisure of his day of truce was employed in writing to Mrs. Jackson a letter, from which the following extract is taken. "On last Saturday our God again crowned our arms with REASONS FOR BATTLE OF CEDAR RUN. 507 victory, about six miles from Culpepper Court House. All glory be to God for his unnumbered blessings. "I can hardly think of the fall of Brigadier-General C. S. Winder, without tearful eyes. Let us all unite more earnestly in imploring God's aid in fighting our battles for us. The thought that there are so many of God's people praying for His blessing upon the army, which, in His providence, is with me, greatly strengthens me. If God be for us, who can be against us? That He will still be with us, and give us victory after victory, until our independence shall be established, and that He will make our nation that people whose God is the Lord, is my carnest and oft-repeated prayer. Whilst we attach so much importance to being free from temporal bondage, we must attach far more to being free from the bondage of sin." His report of the battle is closed with these words: "In order to render thanks to God for the victory at Cedar Run, and other past victories, and to implore His continued favor in the future, divine service was held in the army on the 14th of August." This battle was claimed by the Federalists, with their usual effrontery, as a victory; under the pretext that General Jackson had after two days retreated and recrossed the Rapid Ann. Had these measures on his part been caused by anything that was done upon the battle-field by the forces engaged against him August 9th, that pretext would have worn the color of a reason. But since his withdrawal was caused by the arrival of fresh troops in great numbers, after the battle was concluded, it might with as much truth be said that any other victory in history was a defeat, because the material resources of the two parties were afterwards modified or reversed. The opinion has been expressed that although Jackson fought well at Cedar Run, it would have been better not to have fought at all; because his victory, while glorious, was without other result; and thus the brave men lost were made a useless sacrifice. This criticism should be met by two answers. The battle was not without solid result, for it arrested the career of Pope until the army of Northern Virginia arrived, and prevented his gaining positions decisive of future operations. It must be remembered that on the 2nd of August, the vanguard of the invading army had crossed the Rapid Ann, and penetrated within twelve miles of Gordonsville. The troops which came to support Jackson did not move against the enemy from that place, until August 16th. What disastrous progress might not the invaders have made within that time, if Jackson had not arrested them by his timely blow? But second: designs, which must necessarily be made in advance, are entitled to be tried, when the question is of the wisdom of him who formed them, not by the strict rule of the actual event, but by the milder one of the probable result. General Jackson proposed to strike the enemy, not at Cedar Run, but at Culpepper Court House; and not upon the 9th, but the 8th of August. The space to be traversed to effect this, was not unreasonable, (but one day's rapid marching) and the blunder by which it was prevented was unforeseen. Had his wishes been attained, it is not unreasonable to say, that his victory would have been so much more complete as to silence every charge of fruitlessness. For we have seen that the supports which saved Pope from destruction only arrived at nightfall upon the 9th SECOND MANASSA'S. 509 CHAPTER XVI. SECOND MANASSA'S. THE battle of Cedar Run was but the prelude to a more bloody struggle, which was destined, by a strange coincidence, for the historic plains of Manassa's. General Jackson had scarcely returned to his encampment near Gordonsville, when the gathering of the hostile masses in larger volume began. General Lee, convinced that M'Clellan was incapable of farther aggression, and that the surest way to remove him finally from the peninsula would be to threaten Washington more violently, began to remove the remainder of his army from Richmond to the Rapid Ann, August 13th; proposing to leave only a small force for observation upon his lines there, until the success of his experiment was verified. On that day, General Longstreet commenced his march for Gordonsville, and the remainder of the troops were moved in the same direction, the division of General D. H. Hill bringing up the rear, near the end of the month. Halleck, the new Federal generalissimo, was also eagerly dictating the same movement to M'Clellan. He found the "Grand Army" divided into two widely separated fragments, and trembled before the activity of Jackson, and the danger of his Capital. M'Clellan accordingly broke up his camps at Berkeley on the 17th of August, and with sore reluctance shipped the decimated remains of his troops to Aquia Creck on the Potomac. Disease had been carrying on the work which the sword had begun, and |