Riding recklessly down a rocky slope he raised
himself in his stirrups, and waving his cap in the direction of the
retreating foe, shouted to his officers to "Press forward to the
Potomac!" Elzey's, the reserve brigade, was ordered to take up the
pursuit; and within the town, where the storehouses had been already
fired, the battle was renewed. The Federal regiments, with the
exception of the 2nd Massachusetts, lost all order in the narrow
streets.* (* Banks' aide-de-camp, Colonel Strother, says, "For
several minutes it looked like the commencement of a Bull Run panic.
The stragglers," he adds, "rapidly increased in numbers, and many
threw down their arms." Harper's Weekly. See also Jackson's Report,
O.R. volume 12 part 1 page 706.) The roar of battle followed close;
and with the rattle of musketry, the crash of shells, and the loud
cries of the victors speeding their rapid flight, the Northern
infantry dispersed across the fields. As the Confederates passed
through the town, the people of Winchester, frantic with triumph
after their two months of captivity, rushed out from every doorway to
meet the troops; and with weeping and with laughter, with the
blessings of women and the fierce shouts of men, the soldiers of the
Valley were urged forward in hot pursuit.
Pages:
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607