arper's Ferry, and Fremont and
Shields were converging on his rear; second, when he lay in the woods
near Groveton, with no news from Longstreet, and Pope's army all
around him; third, when he was marching by the Brock road to strike
Hooker's right, and Sickles' column struck in between himself and
Lee. But it was at such junctures as these that his self-possession
was most complete and his skill most marked. The greater the peril,
the more fixed became his purpose. The capacity of the opponent,
moreover, cannot be accepted as the true touchstone of generalship.
"The greatest general," said Napoleon, "is he who makes the fewest
mistakes," i.e. he who neither neglects an opportunity nor offers one.

Thus tested Jackson has few superiors. During the whole of the two
years he held command he never committed a single error. At
Mechanicsville, and again at Frayser's Farm, the failure to establish
some method of intercommunication left his column isolated; this,
however, was a failure in staff duties, for which the Confederate
headquarters was more to blame than himself. And further, how sure
and swift was the retribution which followed a mistake committed
within his sphere of action! What opportunity did Jackson miss? His
penetration was unerring; and when, after he had marked his prey, did
he ever hesitate to swoop? "What seemed reckless audacity," it has
been well said by one of the greatest of Southern soldiers, "was the
essence of prudence. His eye had caught at a glance the entire
situation, and his genius, with marvellous celerity and accuracy, had
weighed all the chances of success or failure. While, therefore,
others were slowly feeling their way, or employing in detail
insufficient forces, Jackson, without for one moment doubting his
success, hurled his army like a thunderbolt against the opposing
lines, and thus ended the battle at a single blow."* (* General J.B.
Gordon, Commanding 2nd Army Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
"Jackson," says one of his staff, "never changed an order on the
battlefield when he had once given it. I have seen Ewell, Early, A.P.
Hill, and even Lee send an aide with an order, and in a few minutes
send another messenger to recall or alter it." Letter to the author.)

But if Jackson never failed to take advantage of his opponent's
blunders, it might be said that he sometimes laid himself open to
defeat. Grant and Sheridan, had they been in place of Shields and
Fremont, would hardly have