and is beautifully illustrated in an army fighting
without orders. I am told, my son, on very good
authority, that these “first principles,”
as applied to fighting battles, never were better
developed than at Chancellorville. I am afraid,
my son, we shall never get a complete and accurate
history of that extraordinary battle, for the reason
that no historian will be found capable of describing
it. It is certain that the battle had not raged
long when our army was in a state of uncertainty and
confusion. Sometimes the fight was between different
brigades or divisions of our own troops, who were
as often brought face to face. The enemy liked
this, for it helped him to fight the battle without
reinforcements, and saved him a deal of trouble and
loss. When we had got a great many men killed
in this way, and a great many more severely hurt,
the great question arose as to who had won the battle,
and who got whipped. There can be little doubt
as to the impression made on General Lee’s mind
on this point. General Hooker was sure he had
gained a great victory, and yet he was not so sure.
I say he was not so sure, since he found it necessary,
before settling the question, to withdraw his army
to his old quarters on the other side of the river.
It is clear that the general’s reflections would
be less disturbed in his old quarters, and, with a
river separating him from the enemy, he could form
a more correct judgment as to whether he had beaten
the enemy, or the enemy had beaten him. Feeling,
however, that it would not do to let it get out that
the enemy had beaten him, he resolved that it must
be true that he had beaten the enemy. This was
about the most accommodating settlement he could arrive
at. But, accepting this in good faith, I never
could see the necessity for our haste to get back to
our old quarters on the hills, notwithstanding the
general’s friends said it looked like rain,
and he was anxious to get his army over before the
shower came on. I have noticed, also, that the
rebel army, when beaten, generally fell back in the
direction of Richmond. In this instance, however,
he held his positions, beat his drums, blew his horns,
fluttered his flags, and was altogether the most defiant
of vanquished enemies. I noticed, also, that
this vanquished enemy packed his knapsacks, put his
ammunition in order, and marched off, not backwards,
in the direction of Richmond, but forward, in the
direction of the North.
Yes, my son, the enemy marched defiantly into Pennsylvania,
and sent the peaceable Dutchmen in that remote part
of the country into a state of great alarm. And
this I accept as the best proof that the rebels were
not beaten at Chancellorville. I am sure, also,
that General Hooker had sufficient reason to share
this opinion with me. He always had the rebels
just where he wanted them, and yet I observed that
he failed to bring them to a stand before they got
on the free soil of Pennsylvania. Every honest
Dutchman in the State was convinced in his own mind
that General Hooker, if he had been the general he
ought to be, should have driven the enemy into some
remote corner of Virginia, and kept him there.