) The 17th Virginia, for
instance, of Longstreet's command, took into battle 9 officers and 46
men; of these 7 officers and 24 men were killed or wounded, and 10
taken prisoners, leaving 2 officers and 12 men to represent a
regiment which was over 1000 strong at Bull Run. Yet as the men sank
down to rest on the line of battle, so exhausted that they could not
be awakened to eat their rations; as the blood cooled and the tension
on the nerves relaxed, and even the officers, faint with hunger and
sickened with the awful slaughter, looked forward with apprehension
to the morrow, from one indomitable heart the hope of victory had not
yet vanished. In the deep silence of the night, more oppressive than
the stunning roar of battle, Lee, still mounted, stood on the
highroad to the Potomac, and as general after general rode in wearily
from the front, he asked quietly of each, "How is it on your part of
the line?" Each told the same tale: their men were worn out; the
enemy's numbers were overwhelming; there was nothing left but to
retreat across the Potomac before daylight. Even Jackson had no other
counsel to offer. His report was not the less impressive for his
quiet and respectful tone.
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