rs off his track should a
warrant be issued against him. However, it mattered little which way
Jackson had gone, so that he had left the State. There was little chance
of his ever returning; for even when he learned that his confederate in
the business had been killed in the fight, he could not be certain that
the prisoner who had been taken was not aware of the share he had in the
business.

A fortnight later Vincent went down into Georgia and brought back Lucy
Kingston for a visit to his mother. She had already received a letter
from her father in reply to one she had written after reaching her
aunts' protection, saying how delighted he was to hear that she had
crossed the lines, for that he had suffered the greatest anxiety
concerning her and had continually reproached himself for not sending
her away sooner. He said he was much pleased with her engagement to
Captain Wingfield, whom he did not know personally, but of whom he heard
the most favorable reports from various Virginia gentlemen to whom he
had spoken since the receipt of her letter.

Lucy remained at Richmond until the beginning of March, when Vincent
took her home to Georgia again, and a week after his return rejoined the
army on the Rappahannock. Every effort had been made by the Confederate
authorities to raise the army of General Lee to a point that would
enable him to cope with the tremendous force the enemy were collecting
for the ensuing campaign. The drain of men was now telling terribly, and
Lee had at the utmost 40,000 to oppose the 160,000 collected under
General Hooker.

The first fight of the campaign had already taken place when Vincent
rejoined the army. A body of 3000 Federal cavalry had crossed the river
on the 17th of March, at Kelly's Ford, but had been met by General Fitz
Lee with about 800 cavalry, and after a long and stubborn conflict had
been driven back with heavy loss across the river. It was not until the
middle of April that the enemy began to move in earnest. Every ford was
watched by Stuart's cavalry, and the frequent attempts made by the
Federal horse to push across to obtain information were always defeated.

On the 27th of April General Hooker's preparations were complete. His
plan of action was that 20,000 men should cross the river near the old
battlefield of Fredericksburg, and thus lead the Confederates to believe
that this was the point of attack. The main body were, however, to cross
at Kelly's Ford, many miles hig