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Chapter 6: the campaign in West Virginia.
General Lee was in
Richmond during the operations at
Manassas, and contributed his humble part by the organization and equipment of the army, as well as in the selection of the battlefields.
He was not dazzled by the blaze of victory which glistened from the tips of the
Southern bayonets, or filled with undue elation.
He was one among the very few in the
South who always felt the contest would be obstinate and prolonged.
No one knew better than he the great resources of one of the combatants, as well as the determination and courage of both.
Six days after the battle he writes
Mrs. Lee from
Richmond, July 27, 1861: “That, indeed, was a glorious victory, and has lightened the pressure upon us amazingly.
Do not grieve for the brave dead, but sorrow for those they left behind-friends, relatives, and families.
The former are at rest; the latter must suffer.
The battle will be repeated there in greater force.
I hope God will again smile on us and strengthen our hearts and arms.
I wished to partake in the former struggle, and am mortified at my absence.
But the
President thought it more important that I should be here.
I could not have done as well as has been done, but I could have helped and taken part in a struggle for my home and neighborhood.
So the work is done, I care not by whom it is done.
I leave to-morrow for the army in
western Virginia.”
As no immediate hostile advance now threatened the
Federal or Confederate capitals, other sections began to receive attention.
Northwest Virginia lies between the
Alleghany Mountains and the
Ohio River.
It is a rough, mountainous district, with only a few passable
