Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

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[271] batteries were visible in great number, in and out of the woods, in all directions. Beyond, through the open and cultivated country in the neighbourhood of Richmond stretched the camp of the enemy. Wooded heights overlooked them, and the numerous tents of the army, the vast trains of wagons, the powerful park of artillery, together with the fleet of steamers and transports, presented a striking contrast to the usually quiet country.

The mere circumstance of McClellan's proximity to Richmond was, to the vulgar mind of the North, an indication of his success. The fact that his army had marched unopposed to within a few miles of the city excited the hopes of the ignorant masses. Rumour each day in New York announced the fall of Richmond. Nor was there any great feeling of security in the Confederate capital. There were alarm and excitement in the mixed and restless population of Richmond; and the popular feeling found but little assurance in the visible tremour of the authorities. The Confederate Congress had adjourned in such haste as to show that the members were anxious to provide for their own personal safety. President Davis sent his family to North Carolina, and a part of the Government archives were packed ready for transportation. At the railroad depots were piles of baggage awaiting transportation, and the trains were crowded with women and children going to distant points in the country, and escaping from the alarm and distress in Richmond.

But the panic, like all excitements of this sort, was soon subdued on reflection, and shamed by the counsels of the brave and intelligent. The newspapers rebuked it in severe terms. The shop-windows were filled with caricatures of the fugitives. Much of the alarm was turned into ridicule. A meeting of citizens, assembled on the 15th of May, in the City Hall, were addressed by Gov. Letcher and Mayor Mayo, and applauded the sentiment that Richmond should be reduced to ashes before it should become a Yankee conquest.

The Legislature of Virginia acted with singular spirit, and led in the work of the restoration of public confidence. On the 14th of May it adopted the following resolution, which, indeed, deserves to be committed to history as an example of heroic fortitude and patriotic sacrifice:

“4 Resolved, by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the General Assembly hereby expresses its desire that the capital of the State be defended to the last extremity, if such defence is in accordance with the views of the President of the Confederate States, and that the President be assured that whatever destruction and loss of property of the State or individuals shall thereby result, will be cheerfully submitted to.”

To this exhibition of the spirit of Virginia, President Davis responded in lively terms. He stated to a committee of the Legislature, which called upon him to ascertain his views, that he had never entertained the thought