For four days I have been pretty busy, owing to the absence of Mr. Stanton, gone to confer with General Grant at City Point. Sheridan was here to see General Halleck day before yesterday, and reached his army on Cedar Creek yesterday. This morning he has been fighting a battle, with what result we don't know yet. Augur, at Rectortown, reports that at noon the cannonade had ceased, and that the sounds had not indicated any falling back of Sheridan's forces. You will hear the result by telegraph before this reaches you. Sheridan's sleeve-buttons reached me in time to send them to him just as he was getting into the cars to leave. They were very rich. I got them through George H. Boker, of Philadelphia, who has just written a splendid poem on Sheridan's glorification. It rather looks here as if Sherman might have caught Hood, but I know the difficulties of the country. Sherman seems to have waited a day for his wagons, when he might possibly have been fighting.It was only a few hours till the telegraph brought the news of Sheridan's complete victory over Early at Cedar Creek. His army had been surprised at dawn, attacked in flank, and driven pell-mell from its camps, but it had rallied of its own accord and formed a new line about two miles in the rear, and was ready to advance at the word. This was given as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made. Sheridan's victory was instant and complete. It was specially noticeable, not so much for the whirlwind promptitude with which it was gained, as for the fact that it was the only instance of the
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interest in his employment, but remained his friend to the end.
On October 19th Dana wrote me from the War Department as follows:
Harper and Brothers, New York and London, 1907.
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