And he did
this, and more than this. He cut Hunter's communications, and sent
him flying over a different road, to the Ohio River, in search of
supplies.
And it was now, my son, that the veritable Jubal, known to his old
classmates at West Point as the late Mr. Early, saw the road open,
and the great prize before him. Scorning, as it were, to pursue
Hunter, he marched directly for Washington by the most direct road.
It was early in July, then, when General Early, at the head of his
rebel hosts, reached and crossed the Potomac. And this movement sent
the people of Washington into a state of great alarm. The southern
sympathizers at the capital were in high feather at the prospect of
Washington being captured by their friends, the rebels. Magnificent
stories were set afloat, the government got into a state of great
confusion, and timid people went about shaking their heads, and
wondering what the War Department was doing. Everybody wanted to do
something, and yet nobody knew what to do. The Chief of Staff sat in
his easy chair, and issued orders by the dozen. The Secretary of War
ran about excited, and issued orders that conflicted with everybody
else's orders.
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