When Pope had finished his job for us, and shown us what a hero he
was, the government, in the exercise of its wisdom, sent him into
the far West to fight the Indians, where he could, with propriety,
establish his headquarters in the saddle.
Franklin, who had been relieved of his command, for no one exactly
knew what, was now restored to it, to the great joy of the old Sixth
Corps. Soldiers fight better under a general they know and have
confidence in; and they are the best judges as to who is the most
competent to lead them. Franklin and his gallant corps fell in with
the enemy, posted in a strong position on the South Mountain, at
Crampton's Gap, and after a fierce fight, drove him from it and over
into the valley, sometimes charging up the steeps with the bayonet.
This was quite an important success, my son, since it checked the
enemy's advance, and caused him to fall back on the plains of
Antietam, and form his army in line of battle. Indeed, he so far
mistook this movement as to believe it an attempt to get in his
rear.
This gleam of success, gained by Franklin, inspired the nation with
new hope.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74