the Civil War, the one most marked at
once by daring and success was the pioneer invasion of the Northern
States, the notable Chambersburg raid of the most famous cavalry leader
of the Confederacy, General J. E. B. Stuart. This story of bold venture
and phenomenal good fortune, though often told, is worth giving again in
its interesting details.

The interim after the battle of Sharpsburg or Antietam was one of rest
and recuperation in both the armies engaged. During this period the
cavalry of Lee's army was encamped in the vicinity of Charlestown, some
ten miles to the southward of Harper's Ferry. Stuart's head-quarters
were located under the splendid oaks which graced the lawn of "The
Bower," whose proprietor, Mr. A. S. Dandridge, entertained the officers
with an open-hearted and genial hospitality which made their stay one of
great pleasure and enjoyment.

There were warriors in plenty who would not have been hasty to break up
that agreeable period of rest and social intercourse, but Stuart was not
of that class. He felt that he must be up and doing, demonstrating that
the Army of Northern Virginia had not gone to sleep; and the early days
of October, 1862, saw a stir about head-quarters which indicated that
something out of the ordinary was afoot. During the evening of the 8th
the officers were engaged in a lively social intercourse with the ladies
of "The Bower," the entertainment ending in a serenade in which the
banjo and fiddle took chief part. Warlike affairs seemed absent from the
thoughts of all, with the exception that the general devoted more time
than usual to his papers.

[Illustration: COLONIAL MANSION.]

With the morning of the 9th a new state of affairs came on. The roads
suddenly appeared full of well-mounted and well-appointed troopers,
riding northward with jingling reins and genial calls, while the cheery
sound of the bugle rang through the fresh morning air. There were
eighteen hundred of these horsemen, selected from the best mounted and
most trustworthy men in the corps, for they were chosen for an
expedition that would need all their resources of alertness, activity,
and self-control, no less a one than an invasion of Pennsylvania, a
perilous enterprise in which the least error might expose them all to
capture or death.

On reaching the appointed place of rendezvous, at Darksville, Stuart
issued an address in which he advised his followers that the enterprise
in which they were to engage