They would have won the victory then if it had not been for
Stonewall Jackson. If he had not been there the war would have been
ended on that sanguinary summer day.
But Jackson was in front of them now, and they had him fast. Lee and
Jackson had thought to trap Pope, but Jackson himself was in the trap,
and they would destroy him utterly. His admiration for the great
Southern general had changed for the time into consuming rage. They must
overwhelm him, annihilate him, sweep him from the face of the earth.
They mounted again and moved back, but did not go far.
"Get down, Dick," said Colonel Winchester. "Here's food for us, and hot
coffee. I don't remember myself how long we've been in the saddle and
how long we've been without food, but we mustn't go into battle until
we've eaten."
Dick was the last of the officers to dismount. He, too, did not remember
how long they had been in the saddle. He could not say at that moment,
whether it had been one night or two. He ate and drank mechanically,
but hungrily--the Union army nearly always had plenty of stores--and then
he felt better and stronger.
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