hame lurk in the rear."* (* O.R. volume
12 part 3 page 474.)

Even the Northern press made sport of Pope's "'Ercles vein," and the
Confederates contrasted his noisy declamation with the modesty of Lee
and Jackson. To the South the new commander was peculiarly obnoxious.
He was the first of the Federal generals to order that the troops
should subsist upon the country, and that the people should be held
responsible for all damage done to roads, railways, and telegraphs by
guerillas. His orders, it is true, were warranted by the practice of
war. But "forced requisitions," unless conducted on a well-understood
system, must inevitably degenerate into plunder and oppression; and
Pope, in punishing civilians, was not careful to distinguish between
the acts of guerillas and those of the regular Confederate cavalry.
"These orders," says a Northern historian, "were followed by the
pillaging of private property, and by insults to females to a degree
unknown heretofore during the war." But in comparison with a third
edict they were mild and humane. On July 23 Pope's generals were
instructed to arrest every Virginian within the limits of their
commands, to administer the oath of allegiance to the Union, and to
expel from their homes all those who refused to take it. This order
was preceded by one from General von Steinwehr, a German brigadier,
directing the arrest of five prominent citizens, to be held as
hostages, and to suffer death in the event of any soldiers being shot
by bushwhackers. The Confederate Government retaliated by declaring
that Pope and his officers were not entitled to be considered as
soldiers. If captured they were to be imprisoned so long as their
orders remained unrepealed; and in the event of any unarmed
Confederate citizens being tried and shot, an equal number of Federal
prisoners were to be hanged. It need hardly be added that the
operations north of Gordonsville were watched with peculiar interest
by the South. "This new general," it was said to Jackson, "claims
your attention." "And, please God, he shall have it," was the reply.

Nevertheless, with all his peculiar characteristics, Pope was no
despicable foe. The Federal cavalry were employed with a boldness
which had not hitherto been seen. Their outposts were maintained
twenty miles in advance of the army. Frequent reconnaissances were
made. A regiment of Jackson's cavalry was defeated at Orange Court
House, with a loss of 60 or 70 men, and scouting