... against Washington, through the Shenandoah Valley, had been set on foot and confided to an officer who was gallant and meritorious, but whose rank in the Confederate army was lower than that held by General Beauregard , and whose merit and experience as a strategist had not been tested. General Beauregard, though not openly cast aside, had been placed in an unworthy position, and was wasting his powers upon wor...