nemy on the preceding days, they were in good condition.
The obvious course now was to place the troops in a position which
would enable them, in the event of Stuart's success in driving the
Federal right, to unite the left of Lee's line with the right of
Stuart, and so press the Federal army back on Chancellorsville and the
river. We shall now return to the left wing of the army, which, in
spite of the absence of the commanding general, was the column of
attack, which was looked to for the most important results.

In response to the summons of the preceding night, Stuart had come
back from the direction of Ely's Ford, at a swift gallop, burning with
ardor at the thought of leading Jackson's great corps into battle. The
military ambition of this distinguished commander of Lee's horse was
great, and he had often chafed at the jests directed at the cavalry
arm, and at himself as "only a cavalry-officer." He had now presented
to him an opportunity of showing that he was a trained soldier,
competent by his nerve and military ability to lead any arm of the
service, and greeted the occasion with delight. The men of Jackson had
been accustomed to see that commander pass slowly along their lines
on a horse as sedate-looking as himself, a slow-moving figure, with
little of the "poetry of war" in his appearance. They now found
themselves commanded by a youthful and daring cavalier on a spirited
animal, with floating plume, silken sash, and a sabre which gleamed in
the moonlight, as its owner galloped to and fro cheering the men and
marshalling them for the coming assault As he led the lines afterward
with joyous vivacity, his sabre drawn, his plume floating proudly, one
of the men compared him to Henry of Navarre at the battle of Ivry. But
Stuart's spirit of wild gayety destroyed the romantic dignity of the
scene. He led the men of Jackson against General Hooker's breastworks
bristling with cannon, singing "Old Joe Hooker, will you come out of
the Wilderness!"

This sketch will convey a correct idea of the officer who had now
grasped the baton falling from the hand of the great marshal of
Lee. It was probable that the advance of the infantry under such a
commander would partake of the rush and rapidity of a cavalry-charge;
and the sequel justified this view.

At early dawn the Southern lines began to move. Either in consequence
of orders from Lee, or following his own conception, Stuart reversed
the movement of Jackson, who ha