s fortified and garrisoned. This done, it was believed that
the accumulating forces of the Union, which had become thoroughly
equipped and somewhat disciplined, ought to advance into the revolted
territory, scatter the defiant hosts of the enemy, and put a speedy end
to the slaveholders' Rebellion. But the hesitation and indecision which
prevailed in our military circles were becoming oppressive and
unendurable, and hence the cry of "On to Richmond!" was heard from the
Border States to the St. Lawrence, precipitating the first general
engagement of the war. Our defeat at Bull Run was a totally unexpected
disaster, which, for a time, it was feared, would chill the enthusiasm
and greatly weaken the energy of the North. But though the South was
much strengthened and emboldened by their victory, our defeat had its
own curative elements: it taught us that the enemy was determined and
powerful, and that to overcome him the ranks of the Union army must be
filled with something besides three months' men, or men on any very
limited term of enlistment. Other lessons were also gained: our men had
formed some acquaintance with the citizens and the country; they had
learned the importance of a more thorough discipline and organization;
and those who had gone forth as to a picnic or a holiday, sat down "to
count the cost" of "enduring hardness as good soldiers." The nation
discovered that this struggle for life was desperate and even dubious,
and it was thoroughly aroused.

Under the military regime of General Winfield Scott, the cavalry-arm of
the service had been almost entirely overlooked. His previous campaigns
in Mexico, which consisted mainly of the investments of walled cities,
and of assaults on fortresses, had not been favorable to extensive
cavalry operations, and he was not disposed at so advanced an age in
life materially to change his tactics of war. What few regiments of
cavalry we had in the regular army were mostly broken up into small
detachments for the purpose of ranging our Western frontiers, while a
few squads were patrolling between the outposts of our new army,
carrying messages from camp to camp, and pompously escorting the
commanding generals in their grand reviews and parades.

But the Black Horse Cavalry of Virginia, at Bull Run, unmatched by any
similar force on our side, had demonstrated the efficiency and
importance of this branch of the service, and our authorities began to
change their views. The sent