ime from the direction
of Alexandria. Lee was watching General McClellan when intelligence of
the new movement reached him. Remaining, with a portion of his troops,
near Richmond, he sent Jackson to the Rapidan. The battle of Cedar
Mountain resulted in the repulse of General Pope's vanguard; and,
discovering at last that the real danger lay in the direction of
Culpepper, Lee moved thither, drove back General Pope, flanked him,
and, in the severe battle of Manassas, routed his army, which was
forced to retire upon Washington.

Two armies had thus been driven from the soil of Virginia, and the
Confederate commander had moved into Maryland, in order to draw the
enemy thither, and, if practicable, transfer the war to the heart of
Pennsylvania. Unforeseen circumstances had defeated the latter of
these objects. The concentration on Sharpsburg was rendered necessary;
an obstinately-fought battle ensued there; and, not defeated, but
forced to abandon further movements toward Pennsylvania, Lee had
retired into Virginia, where he remained facing his adversary. This
was the first failure of Lee up to that point in the campaigns of the
year; and an attentive consideration of the circumstances will show
that the result was not fairly attributable to any error which he
had committed. Events beyond his control had shaped his action, and
directed all his movements; and it will remain a question whether the
extrication of his small force from its difficult position did not
better prove Lee's generalship than the victory at Manassas.

The subsequent operations of the opposing armies indicated clearly
that the Southern forces were still in excellent fighting condition;
and the movements of Lee, during the advance of General McClellan
toward Warrenton, were highly honorable to his military ability.
With a force much smaller than that of his adversary, he greatly
embarrassed and impeded the Federal advance; confronted them on the
Upper Rappahannock, completely checking their forward movement in that
direction; and, when they moved rapidly to Fredericksburg, crossed the
Rapidan promptly, reappearing in their front on the range of hills
opposite that city. The battle which followed compensated for the
failure of the Maryland campaign and the drawn battle of Sharpsburg.
General Burnside had attacked, and sustained decisive defeat. The
stormy year, so filled with great events and arduous encounters, had
thus wound up with a pitched battle, in