ulse of the Confederates at Malvern Hill,
and the unmolested retreat of the Army of the Potomac to Harrison's
Landing, Lincoln cancelled his demand for troops from the West.) the
power and persistency of the North were revealed in all their huge
proportions.

But the disappointment of the Southern people in no way abated their
gratitude. The troops drank their fill of praise. The deeds of the
Valley regiments were on every tongue. The Stonewall Brigade was the
most famous organisation in the Confederacy. To have marched with
Jackson was a sure passport to the good graces of every citizen.
Envied by their comrades, regarded as heroes by the admiring crowds
that thronged the camps, the ragged soldiers of the Shenandoah found
ample compensation for their labour. They had indeed earned the rest
which was now given them. For more than two months they had been
marching and fighting without cessation. Since they left Elk Run, on
April 29, until they fell back to the capital on July 8, their camps
had never stood in the same spot for more than four days in
succession.

But neither they nor their general looked forward to a long sojourn
within the works round Richmond. The men pined for the fresh breezes
of their native highlands. The tainted atmosphere of a district which
was one vast battle-ground told upon their health, and the people of
Richmond, despite their kindness, were strangers after all. Nor was
Jackson less anxious to leave the capital. The heavy rain which had
deluged the bivouac on the Chickahominy had chilled him to the bone.
During the whole of the pursuit, from White Oak Swamp to Westover, he
had suffered from fever. But his longing for a move westward was
dictated by other motives than the restoration of his health. No
sooner had it become evident that McClellan's position was
impregnable than he turned his thoughts to some more vulnerable
point. He would allow the enemy no respite. In his opinion there
should be no "letting up" in the attack. The North should be given no
leisure to reorganise the armies or to train recruits. A swift
succession of fierce blows, delivered at a vital point, was the only
means of bringing the colossus to its knees, and that vital point was
far from Richmond.

Before the Confederate troops marched back to Richmond he laid his
views before the member of Congress for the Winchester district, and
begged Mr. Boteler to impress them on the Government. "McClellan's
army," he said,