Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 22.djvu/324

 312 Southern Historical Society Papers.

avoided them. He was never dilatory or belated in execution of an order. He never clamored for reinforcements when he knew there were none to send. He detached troops obediently, without com- plaint, when he knew the peril to which it subjected him. He was never chided, reproved or blamed by his superiors.

No better fighing was ever done than that of Early at Winchester; no more brilliant plan was ever conceived than that at Cedar Creek. Nothing could have shown more boldness than Early 's giving battle at Winchester, nor more cool deliberation than his steady retirement. "He deserves," says Pond, the Federal historian, "the credit of great vigor and skill in fighting the battle forced upon him, and in moving his trains and his army out of the ruin his opponent had prepared for him." (Page 172.)

That he rallied so speedily after Fisher's Hill, and struck so splen- didly at Cedar Creek, and that he always came back with unrelent- ing and elastic courage is as true a picture of a great man struggling with the storms of fate as the heroic tragedy of human nature has ever presented.

THE ODDS AGAINST EARLY.

In reviewing his campaigns we realize the truth of General Lee's saying, " That it will be difficult to make the world believe the odds against which we fought," and the wisdom of Early's philosophy of the war, when he declined to "speculate on the causes of Confede- rate failure, finding abundant reason for it in the tremendous odds brought against us." Everything about his campaign has been exaggerated; his numbers, his defeats, his losses, the prisoners taken, and the extent of his disasters.

i. I have said that Sheridan's army was larger than Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, with Early's and Beauregard's troops included.

Here is the proof in Sheridan's return of his muster-roll for August, 1864 (see Serial 90 of the War Records, page 974), showing 1 73, 624 aggregate, present and absent; 114,501, present; and 94.026, present for duty, with 736 seige-guns, and 397 field pieces.

This was more than Lee had all told.

Many of Sheridan's men were at Washington, Baltimore and Chambersburg. But here is the return of what he had actually in the field with him, showing 62,740, aggregate, present, with 37,752 infantry, 14,734 cavalry, and 4,691 artillerymen, aggregate, 57,177 for duty. (See Serial 90, War Records, page 974.)