and the roll of musketry; couriers from the rear,
galloping at top speed, reported that the trains had been attacked,
that the rear brigades had turned back to save them, and that the
enemy, in heavy strength, had already filled the gap which divided
the Confederate wings. But, though the army was cut in two, Jackson
cast no look behind him. The battle at the Furnace made no more
impression on him than if it was being waged on the Mississippi. He
had his orders to execute; and above all, he was moving at his best
speed towards the enemy's weak point. He knew--and none better--that
Hooker would not long retain the initiative; that every man detached
from the Federal centre made his own chances of success the more
certain; and trusting implicitly in Lee's ability to stave off
defeat, he rode northwards with redoubled assurance of decisive
victory. Forward was the cry, and though the heat was stifling, and
the dust, rising from the deep ruts on the unmetalled road, rose in
dense clouds beneath the trees, and men dropped fainting in the
ranks, the great column pushed on without a check.* (* There were
three halts during the march of fourteen miles. Letter from Major
Hotchkiss.)

2 P.M.

About 2 P.M., as the rear brigades, Archer and Thomas, after checking
Sickles, were just leaving Welford's House, some six miles distant,
Jackson himself had reached the plank road, the point where he
intended to turn eastward against the Federal flank. Here he was met
by Fitzhugh Lee, conveying most important and surprising information.

The cavalry regiment had halted when it arrived on the plank road;
all was reported quiet at the front; the patrols were moving
northward, and, attended by a staff officer, the young brigadier had
ridden towards the turnpike. The path they followed led to a wide
clearing at the summit of a hill, from which there was a view
eastward as far as Dowdall's Tavern. Below, and but a few hundred
yards distant, ran the Federal breastworks, with abattis in front and
long lines of stacked arms in rear; but untenanted by a single
company. Two cannon were seen upon the highroad, the horses grazing
quietly near at hand. The soldiers were scattered in small groups,
laughing, cooking, smoking, sleeping, and playing cards, while others
were butchering cattle and drawing rations. What followed is best
told in General Fitzhugh Lee's own words.

"I rode back and met Jackson. "General," said I, "if you will ride
with me,