This was about the most accommodating
settlement he could arrive at. But, accepting this in good faith, I
never could see the necessity for our haste to get back to our old
quarters on the hills, notwithstanding the general's friends said it
looked like rain, and he was anxious to get his army over before the
shower came on. I have noticed, also, that the rebel army, when
beaten, generally fell back in the direction of Richmond. In this
instance, however, he held his positions, beat his drums, blew his
horns, fluttered his flags, and was altogether the most defiant of
vanquished enemies. I noticed, also, that this vanquished enemy
packed his knapsacks, put his ammunition in order, and marched off,
not backwards, in the direction of Richmond, but forward, in the
direction of the North.
Yes, my son, the enemy marched defiantly into Pennsylvania, and sent
the peaceable Dutchmen in that remote part of the country into a
state of great alarm. And this I accept as the best proof that the
rebels were not beaten at Chancellorville. I am sure, also, that
General Hooker had sufficient reason to share this opinion with me.
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