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that
General Early certainly would have found means to communicate with him; that
Lee had beaten
Hooker and his calm and self-reliant bearing clearly indicated that he felt himself to be master of the entire situation.
But Brother William would not be comforted or reassured.
General Lee had not been upon the spot and could not know; he had been and did know.
The very calmness of the general showed he did not appreciate the gravity of the situation.
While we were thus debating the matter,
General Lee finished with
McLaws, who at once started his division on the back track to reinforce
Early and help him take care of Sedgwick-and, true to his promise, Marse Robert now called for Brother William, and, as he approached, greeted him with a smile, saying:
Now what were you telling us about Major Sedgwick?
Brother William again told his tale of woe-this time with somewhat diminished intensity and less lurid coloring.
When he had finished the general thanked him, saying again:
I am very much obliged to you; the major is a nice gentleman; I don't think he would hurt us very badly, but we are going to see about him at once.
I have just sent General McLaws to make a special call upon him.
I did not, at the time, quite appreciate the marked peculiarity of
General Lee's allusion to
Sedgwick, but, as I now understand, the latter had been a major in the old service, of the regiment of which
Lee was colonel, and they had been somewhat intimate friends.
There is a decided difference of opinion, and that among both Federal and Confederate authorities, as to whether or not
Sedgwick heartily and vigorously supported and cooperated with
Hooker's plans in this campaign.
Both
Hooker and
Warren reflect seriously upon him for failure to do so, and
Early and
Fitzhugh Lee, on the
Confederate side, take a like view.
The two latter estimate
Sedgwick's force at thirty thousand troops, while
Early had only some ten thousand to oppose him.
Fitz says in substance that
Sedgwick's attacks were desultory, nerveless, and easily repulsed, even by our very inferior force, until the extreme weakness of our lines was discovered under flag of truce
