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ing mountains covered with the verdure of spring, the green sward smiling a welcome to the season of flowers, and the bright sun unclouded, lending a genial refreshing warmth, that army, equipped for the stern conflict of war, bent in humble praise and thanksgiving to the God of battles, for the success vouchsafed to our arms." During this scene, the artillery of the enemy rolled its threatening thunders from time to time through the gorges of the mountain; and if any there prayed, "from battle and murder and from sudden death, good Lord deliver us!" the words must have seemed to them exceedingly appropriate, and formed, as it were, for the occasion. Jackson stood as usual, motionless, with bent head and devout bearing, while the prayers were uttered by the chaplain; and the reader may fancy his erect figure either that of some pious cavalier, or devout Roundhead, performing his devotions on the field of battle.

This scene took place on the 14th of May, and on the same day Jackson marched his troops back to McDowell. On the next day he crossed the Shenandoah Mountain and halted at Lebanon Springs, where the army was permitted a brief rest from its fatigues, and an opportunity was afforded them to attend religious services, and observe the day appointed by President Davis as one of fasting and prayer. On the 17th the troops were again in motion, and Jackson proceeded in the direction of Harrisonburg.

General Banks had fallen back to Strasburg, eighteen miles from Winchester. This sentence sums up the results achieved by Jackson, in his advance against Milroy. The importance of the success at McDowell could scarcely be estimated too highly. General Banks had nearly consummated his plans to drive Jackson from the valley, and was nearly in sight of Staunton, with Milroy approaching from the west, when, at the moment of greatest peril for the Confederate cause, appcared suddenly the Deus ex machina. Jackson advanced swiftly upon Milroy, and struck a heavy blow at that portion of the programme. He then returned toward Harrisonburg to assail his more powerful adversary there; but General Banks did not await his coming.

He fell back to Strasburg, and even this distant point, it will be seen, was only the "half-way house" on his retreat to the Po

tomac.

CHAPTER IX.

JACKSON FLANKS HIS ADVERSARY.

THE designs of Jackson now required energy, nerve, rapidity of movement, and all the greatest faculties of the soldier. Upon him depended, in no small degree, the fate of the campaign in Virginia.

Events had hurried on. While he was marching and countermarching in the valley-advancing to attack his adversary, or retreating before him-the plans of the Federal Government in other portions of the field of operations had been urged on with the most untiring energy. The great outline of the Virginia campaign, devised in the closet at Washington, had been translated into action, and the Federal forces steadily pressed on toward Richmond. McClellan had forced Johnston to evacuate the Peninsula, and withdraw his army behind the Chickahominy; and when Jackson began to move in pursuit of Banks, the Northern forces were dark on the fields of New Kent. The narrow and insignificant current of the Chickahominy, at some points approaching within a few miles of Richmond, was all that now protected the front of Johnston from the attack of 156,000 Federal troops, under the ablest general of the United States Army.

This was only a portion of the peril. At Fredericksburg, General McDowell, who had displayed such good generalship in the great flank movement at Manassas, was stationed with about 40,000 troops, and his preparations were nearly complete for an advance upon Richmond from the north. McClellan only waited for his arrival on the Chickahominy, to unite his right wing with McDowell's left, when the great assault on the Confederate capi.

tal would follow. With nearly 200,000 troops hurled against it, the city, it was supposed, must be evacuated or destroyed, and the Rebellion" terminated.

To prevent this junction between the forces of McDowell and McClellan-to alarm President Lincoln, and induce him to withhold further reënforcements for the defence of his capitalsuch was now the design of Jackson. If he could drive General Banks before him across the Potomac, he would accomplish this; for the Federal authorities could not be at all sure that, in such an event, he would not cross into Maryland, and, taking advantage of the absence of McClellan's army, advance to the assault of Washington.

The Federal authorities seem to have realized their danger. President Lincoln's despatches teem with allusions to the suspected designs of the Confederate commander. On the 17th of May, when, having defeated Milroy, Jackson commenced his march upon Harrisonburg, Lincoln writes to General McClellan :

"In order, therefore, to increase the strength of the attack upon Richmond, at the earliest moment, General McDowell has been ordered to march upon that city by the shortest route. He is ordered-keeping himself always in a position to cover the Cavial them all possible attack—so to operate as to put his left wing in communication with your right.

The specific task assigned to his command, has been to provide

cow ang danger to the Capital of the nation. At your earliest. wall for reenforcements he is sent forward to coöperate in the redoction of Richmond, but charged, in attempting this, not to unwhy C Washington; and you will give no orders, either Awwww junction, which can put him out of position

On the 21st of May, Lincoln writes to McDowell, at Fredwidwing?

wopera. Nemont has been ordered by telegraph to move As wakin on Harrisonburg, to relieve General Banks, and ang sama ve visseryyy Jackson's or Ewell's forces. You are instructde punt the movement on Richmond, to put

twenty thousand men in motion at once for the Shenandoah, moving on the line or in the advance of the Manassas Gap Railroad. Your object will be to capture the forces of Jackson and Ewell, either in coöperation with General Fremont, or in case a want of supplies or transportation interferes with his movement, it is believed that the force with which you move will be sufficient to accomplish the object alone. The information thus received here makes it probable that, if the enemy operate actively against Banks, you will not be able to count upon much assistance from him, but may even have to release him. Reports received this moment are that Banks is fighting with Ewell eight miles from Winchester."

General McDowell replies, on May 24th:

"The President's order has been received-is in process of execution. This is a crushing blow to us." He adds, on the same day: "I beg to say that coöperation between Fremont and myself, to cut off Jackson or Ewell, is not to be counted upon, even if it is not a practical impossibility. Next, that I am entirely beyond helping distance of General Banks, and no celerity or vigor will avail, so far as he is concerned. Next, that by a glance at the map, it will be seen that the line of retreat of the enemy's forces up the valley is shorter than mine to go against him. It will take a week or ten days for my force to go to the valley by this route, which will give it good forage, and by that time the enemy will have retreated. I shall gain nothing for you there, and shall gain much for you here. It is, therefore, not only on personal grounds that I have a heavy heart in the matter, but that I feel it throws us all back, and from Richmond, north, we shall have all our large masses paralyzed, and shall have to repeat what we have just accomplished. I have ordered General Shields to commence a movement by to-morrow morning. A second division will follow in the afternoon."

Such was the position of the pieces on the great chessboard of war toward the end of May. General McClellan threatening General Johnston at Richmond, but incessantly calling for reën

forcements, without which he declared himself unable to move forward; President Lincoln in Washington, telegraphing General McDowell at Fredericksburg to stop his advance toward Richmond, and send 20,000 men to the valley, to protect the Federal capital by destroying the command of Jackson; General McDowell replying that to" cut of Jackson is a practical impossibility:" the Federal campaign embarrassed and everywhere halting in consequence of Jackson's daring and aggressive movements. The complicated movements of Generals McClellan, Banks, McDowell, Shields, Milroy, and Fremont were enough to puzzle the brain of the most thorough master of the art of war.

They do not seem to have disquieted or embarrassed Jackson, who saw his work plain before his eyes-to divert reënforcements from McClellan; and he advanced to the accomplishment of this object with the accuracy of a machine set in motion.

About the 20th of May he had arrived at Newmarket, where a junction was formed between his own troops and those of Ewell, who had marched from Elk Run Valley to meet him; and from this point his campaign against General Banks commenced. The Federal commander had reached Strasburg, and was fortifying there. To assail him in front would be just what he expected, and the species of attack against which he had provided; so to assault him on his flank, where he did not expect it, was the obvious policy of Jackson. A glance at the map of Virginia will be necessary to the right appreciation of the forward and retrograde movements of the Confederate forces, which were now to make the region famous. The village of Newmarket is situated on the valley turnpike in the county of Shenandoah, nearly forty miles from Strasburg. From this latter place to a point somewhat higher up than Newmarket runs the Massinutton Mountain, parallel to the Blue Ridge, which is separated from it by a narrow valley through which flows the south branch of the Shenandoah. Travelling north from Harrisonburg, and turning to the right at Newmarket, you pass the Massinutton at Newmarket Gap, reach Luray, in Page County, and thence approach Front Royal by a road along the narrow valley in question. Once arrived

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