Skilful manoeuvring was more to his taste than the mere
bludgeon work of fighting at close quarters.
Two subalterns were required for the new battery. The position meant
much hard work, and possibly much discomfort. Magruder was restless
and hot-tempered, and the young officers of artillery showed no
eagerness to go through the campaign as his subordinates. Not so
Jackson. He foresaw that service with a light battery, under a bold
and energetic leader, was likely to present peculiar opportunities;
and with his thorough devotion to duty, his habits of industry, and
his strong sense of self-reliance, he had little fear of
disappointing the expectations of the most exacting superior. "I
wanted to see active service," he said in after years, "to be near
the enemy in the fight; and when I heard that John Magruder had got
his battery I bent all my energies to be with him, for I knew if any
fighting was to be done, Magruder would be "on hand."" His soldierly
ambition won its due reward. The favours of fortune fall to the men
who woo more often than to those who wait. The barrack-room proverb
which declares that ill-luck follows the volunteer must assuredly
have germinated in a commonplace brain.
Pages:
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93