I rode an hour once to find a general whose headquarters
were in the saddle, and did n't find him after all.
When, then, this great general had shown us how the rebels were to
be whipped, he went out to take command of his army. And again there
was great blowing of horns and beating of drums. And when he had got
his headquarters firmly established in the saddle, he invited the
enemy to come forward and get whipped. And the enemy came forward in
all their strength,--fierce and earnest, and a great and bloody
battle was fought on the plains of Manassas. And when they had
fought for three days General Pope declared his new method of
carrying on the war was a great success; that he had got the rebels
just where he wanted them, and would have them all in his trap for
us to-morrow. We all threw up our caps and felt so happy at this
good news. But our hopes were dashed to the ground again, and it
turned out that our Pope had made a slight mistake. It was the
rebels who had got him just where they wanted. The saddle was not a
good place from which to see what the enemy were doing. And as Pope
had given no heed to his rear, General Lee very wisely took the
responsibility of giving that important position his attention.
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