Not only was the infantry utterly
exhausted, but the horses of the artillery were worn out; and about
five miles out of Winchester the troops were ordered to halt and
bivouac.* (* The greater part of the troops had marched over thirty
miles in thirty hours, during which time they had been almost
continuously engaged.) The Federals, relieved from the pressure of
the hostile fire, gradually reformed their ranks; and Jackson,
notwithstanding the extraordinary exertions he had demanded from his
troops, his own skilful manoeuvres, and the high spirit of his men,
saw his opportunity pass away. His impatience was almost
uncontrollable. His staff was dispatched in all directions to urge
forward the remainder of the batteries. "We must press them to the
Potomac!" "Forward to the Potomac!" Such was the tenor of every
order; and at length, as the Federals disappeared in the far
distance, he ordered the artillery teams to be unhitched, and the
gunners, thus mounted, to pursue the enemy. But before this strange
substitute for cavalry had moved out, the lagging squadrons arrived,
and with a few fiery words they were sent at speed down the Valley
turnpike. But it was too late.
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