it should be decided on, to what point the advance of the Confederate army should be directed. The river below Washington was guarded by gunboats, whilst an invasion of Maryland or Pennsylvania involved the risk of a movement in the presence of a superior army strongly entrenched on the flank. It could only be alleged in favour of such a proposal, that bold operations will oftentimes succeed when the right moment is seized, and that possibly the population of Maryland would be induced by the presence of the Confederate army openly to declare itself in favour of the South.

Such a march required some days for preparation, and whilst General Lee was collecting the necessary stores for a new campaign, General M'Clellan was as diligently engaged in reorganising his army. Several changes were made in the commanders of corps and divisions, and care was taken to intermingle the new regiments with those who had acquired the experience, if not the prestige, of more than one hard fought campaign.

CHAPTER VII.

CAMPAIGN IN MARYLAND.

FOR Some few days after the entry into Washington of General Pope's army, a variety of rumours purporting to indicate the destination of the Confederates were circulated through the city. The numbers under General Lee's command were very much exaggerated; and so greatly had he and his subordinates, especially General Jackson, risen in the opinion of their enemies, that no project was thought too extravagant, or enterprise too daring, for the adoption of such successful generals. Lee knew better his position, and the means at his disposal and at that of his Government; but even he, who hitherto had acted almost entirely on the defensive, having been driven in the last campaign to adopt offensive movements only as a means of protecting Richmond, was tempted to carry the war across the Potomac, and to endeavour to prove how far the reported enthusiasm of the Marylanders would urge them to rise in his favour and recruit his army, almost cut off as it then would be from communication with Richmond. Doubtless there would be some risk attending this movement. The strongly fortified city of Washington would be in close proximity to the right rear of the invading force, and almost between it and its base of operations. That city was garrisoned by an army already far larger than the force which Lee could

bring into the field, and one which was receiving daily reinforcements from the populous States of the North. The portion of Maryland most favourable to the South lay between the Potomac and the Chesapeake, and would therefore be removed from the immediate theatre of operations; whilst, by the movement across the Potomac, Lee's own army would be threatened by the garrisons of Washington and Baltimore on its right, and the thickly-populated State of Pennsylvania, strongly Union in its sentiments, on its left. Such were the dangers and difficulties of an advance into Maryland.

On the other hand, it could be alleged in favour of the plan, that the main army of the North was completely demoralised; that it was commanded by generals who did not possess the confidence of their men, and who had shown little military capacity; that after such a succession of victories the Confederate troops and people would be greatly disappointed and disheartened if the army should retreat to Richmond without accomplishing anything beyond the repulse of the enemy; that the siege of Washington could not be attempted with any prospect of success; and that, owing to the devastation of the country in its immediate vicinity, the army could not long remain in the position it at present occupied. It might also be urged, that so much had been said of the enthusiasm of the Marylanders for the South, and their hatred of the tyranny of the North, that now was the time to try whether that enthusiasm would be shown in deeds, as well as in words and patriotic songs; whilst, should the army be joined by large reinforcements from that State, the invasion of Pennsylvania might be attempted, and peace obtained more speedily by thus bringing home to the people of

the North the evils and misery of war than by acting entirely on the defensive, and trusting to her exhaustion by the successive repulse of her invading armies.

The time seemed favourable for converting a defensive into an offensive war. The West was not in a position to send reinforcements, trembling as she was lest the great city of Ohio should fall, and the Eastern States were thus left entirely to their own resources to fight their own battles. Influenced by these considerations, President Davis sanctioned an advance into Maryland, and General Lee, almost within sight of his own house on Arlington Heights, turned his horse's head northwards, and marched towards the fords* of the Potomac. One thing he does not appear to have sufficiently calculated, and that is the influence which the change of commanders would exercise on the troops. M'Clellan's name seems to have possessed at that time a peculiar power in raising the confidence of those under his command, whilst his talents were especially adapted for the organisation of an army. In a few days the army of Virginia regained in a great measure its morale, and afforded an additional proof how quickly American soldiers recover from the most disastrous defeats. Stringent orders respecting the sale of spirits were issued, strong provost-guards were organised, and every means taken to reform the army under its several brigade, division, and corps commanders. General M'Clellan was for some short time ignorant of the plans of his opponent; the Government still trembled for the safety of Washington; and, until the 6th of September, the army remained in close vicinity to the lines of fortification.

* Fordable in some places at this time of year.

In the meantime Lee had crossed the Potomac; his army still continued to be divided into three commands -viz. the corps of General Jackson, consisting of the divisions of Generals A. P. Hill, Ewell, and his own division;* and that of General Longstreet, composed of the divisions of Generals M'Laws, Walker, Anderson, and Hood, and a division under General D. H. Hill, which usually acted independently of either of the generals commanding corps. The cavalry, under General Stuart, continued to cover the advance of the army, and was generally attached to the corps of Longstreet and D. Hill, a small number only acting with Jackson. The scene of operations selected was the country between Washington and the range of hills bearing the name of South Mountain, and forming a continuation of the chain of the Blue Ridge on the northern side of the Potomac.

On the 5th September the army crossed the fords of the Potomac, and on the 6th Jackson's corps entered Frederick City (Maryland), situated on the right bank of the Monocacy River, a tributary of the Potomac. The march was in some degree one of triumph. The soldiers of the Confederate army fully believed in the enthusiasm of the whole of Maryland for the South, and looked forward to a campaign in a rich and friendly country. The song most popular in the ranks was that in which Maryland invoked Southern aid to free her from Northern tyranny, whilst the presence in the army of many of her sons appeared to afford proof of the truth of her professions. It was therefore with much disappointment that the men perceived that the people of the State whom they first encountered were content

* Commanded successively by General Starke and General Jones.