form two sides, and an elevated plateau in rear of the town the third. The position is exposed to enfilade and reverse fires from the lofty ridge across the Potomac, known as Maryland Heights, and could easily be turned by the enemy crossing above or below. In addition to all this, Harper's Ferry was twenty miles from the great route into the valley, by which Patterson would advance; and if he continued to hold it, General Johnston saw that he would be out of position to defend the valley; unable, in case of emergency, to join General Beauregard, and would, himself, be exposed to serious danger by a movement of the enemy on his rear.

These considerations determined him to evacuate a position which it "perfectly suited the enemy's views" to have him occupy, and retired to Winchester, his true base of operations, where all the great highways converged. Thence he could oppose the columns advancing from the northwest and by way of Williamsport; had the valley to fall back along, if necessary, and, better than all, the way was open to Beauregard, who might need his assistance at Manassas. From a veritable trap General Johnston would emerge into an open field, where he could advance or retire at will, free as a rauger of the prairie to strike, stand on the defensive, or retreat; and this new position, offering so many advantages, he determined at once to occupy.

The movement, however, was not then made. The military authorities at Richmond regarded the continued occupation of Harper's Ferry as indispensable, and Johnston "determined to hold it, until the great objects of the Government required its abandonment." To guard against surprise, in the meanwhile, and deceive the enemy as to his intention, he directed Major Whiting, his chief engineer, to mount a few heavy guns on Furnace Ridge, above the town, and otherwise strengthen the position. The important duty of picketing the river, above and below, was entrusted to the cavalry under Colonel Stuart.

This officer, styled by Johnston "the indefatigable Stuart,"

* This ambiguous sentence is taken from General Johnston's official report.

here inaugurated that energetic system of cavalry tactics which afterwards on a wider field accomplished so much, and secured for its originator his great and justly-earned reputation. Bold, ardent, and "indefatigable" by mental and physical organization, the young Virginian-for he was not yet twenty-eight years of age-concentrated all his faculties upon the task before him, of watching for the enemy's approach and penetrating his designs. Educated at West Point, and trained in Indian fighting on the prairie, he brought to the great struggle, upon which he had now entered, a thorough knowledge of arms, a bold and fertile conception, and a constitution of body which enabled him to bear up against fatigues which would have prostrated the strength of other men. Those who saw him at this time are eloquent in their description of his energy and the habits of the man. They tell how he remained almost constantly in the saddle; how he never failed to take to one side and specially instruct every squad which went out on picket; how he was everywhere present, at all hours of the day and night, along the line which he guarded; and how, by thus infusing into the raw cavalry his own untiring activity and watchfulness, he was enabled, in spite of the small force which he commanded-about three hundred men-to observe the whole front of the Potomac from the Point of Rocks east of the Blue Ridge to the western part of Berkeley. His personal traits made him a great favorite with all who knew him, and contributed to his success with volunteers. His animal spirits were unconquerable, his gayety and humor unfailing; he had a ready jest for all, and made the forest ring with his songs as he marched at the head of his column. So great was his activity, that General Johnston compared him to that species of hornet called a "yellow jacket," and said that "he was no sooner brushed off than he lit back again." When the General was subsequently transferred to the West, he wrote to Stuart: "How can I eat, sleep, or rest in peace without you upon the outpost?"

The anticipated advance of the Federal forces soon began. On the 13th of June, information reached General Johnston that the town of Romney, about thirty-seven miles west of Winches

ter, was occupied by 2,000 Federal troops, supposed to be the advance force of General McClellan, and that General Patterson was moving from Chambersburg on Williamsport. On receiving this intelligence, Johnston sent Colonel A. P. Hill with three regiments to check the advance of the force at Romney, and made immediate preparations to evacuate Harper's Ferry, and fall back upon Winchester. Active steps had already been taken in anticipation of the necessity of this movement. The valuable machinery for manufacturing muskets and rifles had been removed to Richmond, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, and every arm serviceable and unserviceable secured. All that now remained to be done was to send the heavy baggage and public property still there to Winchester.

This was done, and on the morning of June 14th, the long railroad bridge over the Potomac and the public buildings were set on fire. The spectacle was magnificent. The buildings and bridge were soon wrapped in flame, clouds of lurid smoke darkened the landscape, and the troops gazing upon the scene felt that the war had commenced in earnest.

On the morning of the 15th, Johnston fell back from the place, and, passing through Charlestown, where the troops were warmly received, bivouacked in the woods beyond. On the 16th he moved by his right flank across the country to Bunker Hill, on the Winchester and Martinsburg turnpike, and was thus in front of General Patterson, who had thrown a force across at Williamsburg, but now withdrew it, finding that Johnston's main body was ready to meet any advance. As soon as the enemy were known to have disappeared from his front, General Johnston retired from Bunker Hill, and concentrated his whole force, including Hill's command, which had returned at Winchester.

CHAPTER IX.

THE "AFFAIR AT FALLING WATERS."

EVERY thing remained quiet, after these movements, during the month of June. Stuart was, as usual, in command of the front, and "his increasing activity and vigilance," says General Johnston, "were relied on to repress small incursions of the enemy, to give intelligence of invasions by them, and to watch, harass, and circumscribe their every movement." Johnston, then occupied in throwing up earthworks at Winchester, depended upon this officer for prompt warning of any movement on the part of General Patterson; and this warning soon came. Stuart sent word that the enemy were moving, and, on the 20th of June, Jackson was despatched with his brigade to the neighborhood of Martinsburg, with orders to send such of the rolling stock of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as could be removed to Winchester, destroy the rest, and when the enemy appeared, act as a support to the cavalry. He was not, however, to make a decided stand, but feel his adversary, and, if hard pressed, retire toward Winchester.

The high-spirited young men of the First Brigade received the order to march against the enemy with enthusiasm, and this sentiment was not unshared by their commander. Jackson's love of movement, action, and conflict has not been sufficiently dwelt upon by the writers who have described the man and his career. To the last he was impatient of the inactive life of the camp, and, in the fall of 1862, expressed a strong desire to accompany General Stuart in his expedition around McClellan, in Maryland, as a volunteer cavalry man. In June, 1861, the order to advance and "feel the enemy," was received by him with unalloyed satisfaction. This was more than shared, as we have intimated, by his troops. They were proud to have been selected

for this first collision, upon the result of which so much was apt to depend, and prepared with ardor for the march.

Jackson was soon at Martinsburg, from which place he sent a number of locomotives back to Winchester, drawn by teams of horses over the turnpike. About forty engines and three hundred cars were burned, and the brigade then advanced to support the cavalry between Martinsburg and Williamsport. This was the first occasion upon which Jackson and Stuart, afterwards so closely associated, acted together in face of the enemy. Common recollections of "old times in the Valley," became a bond of union between them subsequently, and their friendship remained warm and constant to the last. When Jackson fell at Chancellorsville, his thoughts at once turned to Stuart as his successor, and he murmured, "Tell him to act upon his own judgment, and do what he thinks best; I have implicit confidence in him;" and when the news came of his death, tears gushed into Stuart's eyes, and he said, in a broken voice, "It is a national calamity; Jackson's loss is irreparable."

These officers were now to act together in front of the invading force under Patterson, and their skill, enterprise, and courage gave promise of favorable results. Stuart with his cavalry, and Jackson with his infantry, formed a dangerous combination. The one, living in the saddle and watching with lynx-eyed vigilance, was sure to discover every movement of his adversary, and promptly meet it; the other, lying in wait, was ready to advance and try of what mettle the invading column was composed.

Jackson encamped in the neighborhood of the little village of Hainesville, on the road to Falling Waters and Williamsport, the camp of Colonel Stuart being a little in advance of that point in the same direction. Such was the position of the Confederates when, on the 2d of July, the Federal army crossed the Potomac at Williamsport. They were commanded by General Patterson in person, and Jackson immediately advanced to receive their attack-Colonel Stuart having moved with about one hundred cavalry by a circuitous road to attack their flank