But he was to be
guided in everything by his own discretion. He was free to accept
battle or refuse it, to attack or to defend, to select his own line
of retreat, to move to any quarter of the compass that he pleased.
For three days, from the morning of August 26 to the morning of
August 29, he had complete control of the strategic situation; on his
movements were dependent the movements of the main army; the bringing
the enemy to bay and the choice of the field of battle were both in
his hands. And during those three days he was cut off from Lee and
Longstreet. The mountains, with their narrow passes, lay between;
and, surrounded by three times his number, he was abandoned entirely
to his own resources.
Throughout the operations he had been in unusually high spirits. The
peril and responsibility seemed to act as an elixir, and he threw off
much of his constraint. But as the day broke on August 29 he looked
long and earnestly in the direction of Thoroughfare Gap, and when a
messenger from Stuart brought the intelligence that Longstreet was
through the pass, he drew a long breath and uttered a sigh of
relief.* (* Letter from Dr. Hunter McGuire.) The period of suspense
was over, but even on that unyielding heart the weight of anxiety had
pressed with fearful force.
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