George was sanguine, had great
confidence in the endurance of his army, and looked forward to the
future with faith and hope. He did not want to acknowledge that he
was beaten at Gaines's Mill; but the nation made up its mind that he
was. Indeed, the nation could not comprehend the principle of
generalship that claimed a victory, and at the same time made a
change of base necessary in the face of an advancing enemy. But
George got his army safe across the Chickahominy, though in some
confusion, and instead of driving the enemy to the wall, as he had
promised us he would do, the enemy began driving him to the James
River.
Like the Irishman who had twice got his head broken, but was
unwilling to say he was beaten, George continued to show General Lee
that our army was still full of pluck.
So he turned round and thrashed the enemy right soundly at Savage's
Station, at White Oak Swamp, and at Malvern Hill--just to show that
he could do it. These are places, my son, you shall read of in
history. And the glories of the battles fought at them shall become
brighter and brighter as we contemplate them; and new lustre will
shed on the names of the officers who fought them, and set such
noble examples of courage to their men.
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