General Early took no further notice of
General Wallace, but started at once for the defenses of Washington.
And there was nothing to oppose him until he reached them; and
nothing then but some cannon, and some men who did not know how to
fire them.
When it got rumored round that the late General Early was not only
aiming to besiege Washington, but was not far away from the
defenses, there was considerable of a stir made in official circles.
Timid people tried to keep their courage up in various ways. Heroes,
who had never been out of Washington, now talked like very heroes;
and it was intimated that the Treasury Guard would come out, and
take the field. Those who had no taste for fighting, and they were
many, found it very uncomfortable, because there was no way of
getting out of the city.
During the war, my son, I frequently noticed that when a battle was
going on at the front there was sure to be a large number of heroes
in uniform doing promenade duty on the Avenue. Their number seemed
to have increased prodigiously just at this time. It was noticed
also that they walked at a more rapid pace than usual, did an
uncommon amount of eating and drinking, and had a large number of
friends they were always ready to discuss the last battle with.
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