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[478] the brave officer who had the honor to succeed him was about to show himself worthy of being their leader. The Federals thought that the bloody conflict of Brandy Station would not allow Lee to extend his columns, and that he would hesitate to expose his flank to an adversary who had just crossed the Rappahannock in order to attack him near Culpeper. But he did not allow himself to be embarrassed for an instant by this demonstration. Stuart, with four of the brigades that had fought at Brandy Station, was directed to watch the enemy's cavalry. If he had intended to cross the Rappahannock, that project was abandoned: the task of masking the movements of the infantry was sufficient occupation for him, preventing a thought of undertaking a raid on his own account. Longstreet remained at Culpeper with his corps, to form the centre of the long column which was to extend from Fredericksburg to within sight of the Maryland mountains; and on the morning of the 10th, Ewell resumed his line of march. Two brigades of cavalry were ordered to clear his way. Imboden's brigade, which was already among the upper valleys of the Alleghanies above Romney, was instructed to cover his left and destroy the track of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, in order to prevent Milroy from receiving reinforcements from the West. Jenkins' brigade preceded the infantry into the valley of the Shenandoah, which it had left only a few days before. These two brigades, which had but recently been really attached to the Army of Northern Virginia,1 were admirably adapted for the performance of such a task: not only did every soldier know the ground he was about to travel over, but, as the event demonstrated, their presence caused no alarm to the Federals, who for many months past had been in the habit of coming in contact with them. Accustomed to marching, not burdened with heavy loads—for they carried only a blanket, some cartridges, and a little bread—sleeping in the open air, relying upon the resources of the country for food, Ewell's soldiers advanced rapidly toward the Valley of Virginia. His three divisions and twenty batteries, which had left Culpeper on the 10th, passed through Sperryville, Gaines'
Philadelphia, Jos. H. Coates and co., 1883.
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