Had the Confederates halted at Newtown or at
Bartonsville, the troops would doubtless have been fresher for the
next day's work, but the morning might have seen Banks far on his way
to the Potomac, or possibly strongly reinforced.
When the Confederate infantry had met and overthrown their enemy it
would be time enough to think of food and rest. So long as the men
could stand they were to follow on his traces. "I rode with Jackson,"
says General Taylor, "through the darkness. An officer, riding hard,
overtook us, who proved to be the chief quartermaster of the army. He
reported the waggon trains far behind, impeded by a bad road in the
Luray Valley. "The ammunition waggons?" sternly. "All right, sir.
They were in advance, and I doubled teams on them and brought them
through." "Ah!" in a tone of relief.
"To give countenance to the quartermaster, if such can be given on a
dark night, I remarked jocosely, "Never mind the waggons. There are
quantities of stores in Winchester, and the general has invited one
to breakfast there tomorrow." Jackson took this seriously, and
reached out to touch me on the arm. Without physical wants himself,
he forgot that others were differently constituted, and paid little
heed to commissariat.
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