r; and this, the main body, accordingly crossed back, leaving
but one corps north of the river. Such was now the very peculiar
situation of the two armies. General Lee was moving steadily in the
direction of Warrenton to cut off his adversary from Manassas, and
that adversary was moving back into Culpepper to hunt up Lee there.
The comedy of errors was soon terminated, but not so soon as it
otherwise would have been but for a _ruse de guerre_ played by
Generals Rosser and Young. General Rosser had been left by Stuart near
Brandy, with about two hundred horsemen and one gun; and, when the
three infantry corps and the cavalry division of General Meade moved
forward from the river, they encountered this obstacle. Insignificant
as was his force. General Rosser so manoeuvred it as to produce the
impression that it was considerable; and, though forced, of course, to
fall back, he did so fighting at every step. Assistance reached him
just at dusk in the shape of a brigade of cavalry, from above the
court-house under General Young, the same officer whose charge at the
Fleetwood fight had had so important a bearing upon the result there.
Young now formed line with his men dismounted, and, advancing with a
confident air, opened fire upon the Federal army. The darkness proved
friendly, and, taking advantage of it, General Young kindled fires
along a front of more than a mile, ordered his band to play, and must
have caused the enemy to doubt whether Lee was not still in large
force near Culpepper Court-House. They accordingly went into camp to
await the return of daylight, when at midnight a fast-riding courier
came with orders from General Meade.

These orders were urgent, and directed the Federal troops to recross
the river with all haste. General Lee, it was now ascertained, had
left an insignificant force in Culpepper, and, with nearly his whole
army, was moving rapidly toward Warrenton to cut off his adversary.

III.

A RACE BETWEEN TWO ARMIES.

The game of hide-and-seek--to change the figure--was now in full
progress, and nothing more dramatic could be conceived of than the
relative positions of the two armies.

At midnight, on Monday, October 12th, Lee's army was near Warrenton
Springs, ready to advance in the morning upon Warrenton, while three
of the four corps under General Meade were half-way between the
Rappahannock and Culpepper Court-House, expecting battle there. Thus a
choice of two courses was present