lt, the
national troops had given way in all directions, and a panic had set in.
Getty's division with Lowell's cavalry held on at Middletown, but,
with this exception, the rout was complete. When Sheridan rode out of
Winchester, he met an already beaten army. His first thought was the
natural one to make a stand at Winchester and rally his troops about him
there. His second thought was the inspiration of the great commander. He
believed his men would rally as soon as they saw him. He believed that
enthusiasm was one of the great weapons of war, and that this was the
moment of all others when it might be used with decisive advantage. With
this thought in his mind he abandoned the idea of forming his men at
Winchester, and rode bareheaded through the fugitives, swinging his hat,
straight for the front, and calling on his men as he passed to follow
him. As the soldiers saw him, they turned and rushed after him. He had
not calculated in vain upon the power of personal enthusiasm, but, at
the same time, he did not rely upon any wild rush to save the day. The
moment he reached the field of battle, he set to work with the coolness
of a great soldier to make all the dispositions, first, to repel the
enemy, and then to deliver an attack which could not be resisted. One
division after another was rapidly brought into line and placed
in position, the thin ranks filling fast with the soldiers who had
recovered from their panic, and followed Sheridan and the black horse
all the way down from Winchester. He had been already two hours on the
field when, at noon, he rode along the line, again formed for battle.
Most of the officers and men then thought he had just come, while in
reality it was his own rapid work which had put them in the line along
which he was riding.

Once on the field of battle, the rush and hurry of the desperate ride
from Winchester came to an end. First the line was reformed, then the
enemy's assault was repulsed, and it was made impossible for them to
again take the offensive. But Sheridan, undazzled by his brilliant
success up to this point, did not mar his work by overhaste. Two hours
more passed before he was ready, and then, when all was prepared, with
his ranks established and his army ranged in position, he moved his
whole line forward, and won one of the most brilliant battles of the
war, having, by his personal power over his troops, and his genius in
action, snatched a victory from a day which began in