Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 40.djvu/49

Rh south of Richmond, beyond his reach. Having to protect a front of ever twenty miles he only learned that Hooker was moving, and was crossing the Rapidan, when he was already upon his flank. At the same time, Sedgwick, with two army corps and a third in reserve, was crossing the Rappahannock in his front. If he moved to meet Hooker, Sedgwick had the road open to Richmond and could destroy his communications. Stoneman, with a cavalry force three times as large as Stuart, was already on the way to destroy the railroads in his rear. The situation was full of peril and might well appall the stoutest heart. That General Lee was able to meet it successfully proved him to be a master in the art of war, and made it his greatest triumph. In the midst of his first success, when Hooker had been routed at Chancellorsville and Lee was preparing to follow him, Sedgwick suddenly appeared in his rear, and he found himself between the two. It was a stroke of genius to hold Hooker at bay and turn upon Sedgwick, while Early in turn took Sedgwick in rear, and the positions of the combatants became reversed. This unique situation is believed to be without a precedent, and is only approached by what occurred at Lodz in December, 1914, during the present war, where a Russian army was hemmed in between two German columns and a fourth column, this time Russian, appeared upon the German flank.

The unusual conditions which developed in this short campaign called for the exercise of all the best qualities which belong to a Captain in war. They afforded, as no other battlefield did, the opportunity for the display of Lee's masterfulness in grappling with new and unexpected emergencies, while they exhibited at the same time his wonderful poise, and his fighting tenacity, and his heroic courage. It has been said that General Lee won through the mistakes of his enemy, but it is only the wise Captain who can see and profit by the mistakes of an enemy, and it might be added perhaps with more truth, that General Lee won in spite of the mistakes of those under him.

While a great deal has been written about this battle, it is believed to be less generally understood than any battle of the Civil War. The official reports on both sides are full of