held in strength, expected to drive before them a few
squadrons of cavalry. But when several batteries opened a heavy fire,
and heavy columns advanced against their flanks, the men broke in
flight towards the bridge. The Confederate infantry followed rapidly,
and two Ohio regiments, which had just arrived from the Kanawha
Valley, were defeated with heavy loss. Fitzhugh Lee, who had fallen
back before the enemy's advance, was then ordered in pursuit. The
cars and railway bridge were destroyed; and during the day the
brigade followed the fugitives as far as Burke's Station, only twelve
miles from Alexandria.

This feeble attack appears to have convinced Jackson that his danger
was not pressing. It was evident that the enemy had as yet no idea of
his strength. Stuart's cavalry watched every road; Ewell held a
strong position on Broad Run, barring the direct approach from
Warrenton Junction, and it was determined to give the wearied
soldiers the remainder of the day for rest and pillage. It was
impossible to carry away even a tithe of the stores, and when an
issue of rations had been made, the bakery set working, and the
liquor placed under guard, the regiments were let loose on the
magazines. Such an opportunity occurs but seldom in the soldiers'
service, and the hungry Confederates were not the men to let it pass.
"Weak and haggard from their diet of green corn and apples, one can
well imagine," says Gordon, "with what surprise their eyes opened
upon the contents of the sutlers' stores, containing an amount and
variety of property such as they had never conceived. Then came a
storming charge of men rushing in a tumultuous mob over each other's
heads, under each other's feet, anywhere, everywhere, to satisfy a
craving stronger than a yearning for fame. There were no laggards in
that charge, and there was abundant evidence of the fruits of
victory. Men ragged and famished clutched tenaciously at whatever
came in their way, whether of clothing or food, of luxury or
necessity. Here a long yellow-haired, barefooted son of the South
claimed as prizes a toothbrush, a box of candles, a barrel of coffee;
while another, whose butternut homespun hung round him in tatters,
crammed himself with lobster salad, sardines, potted game and
sweetmeats, and washed them down with Rhenish wine. Nor was the outer
man neglected. From piles of new clothing the Southerners arrayed
themselves in the blue uniforms of the Federals. The naked were c