Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-12-02


 IVY WY mac and the Army of North ern Virginia still confronted each other on the Rappahannock line not far from their camping grounds of the year before. Tn 1863 the little river Rapidan was the barrier between the men in blue and the men in gray; in December, 1862, the barrier had been the Rappahannock at fredericksburg. Under Meade the northern soldiers gazed eagerly if indeed dubiously to- ward the faroff goal of their efforts, Richmond, on the James; under Lee the southerners stood sullenly at bay. After what was called the Mine run f1asco, which culminated the first week in December in the retirement of Meade's troops to winter quarters along the Rappahannock and Rapidan, all idea of decisive. battle to close the year was abandoned alike by chief tain and private soldier. Battles are felt in the air like the weather in the bones of sensitive people. Had either | Meade or Lee been minded for finish fight the waters of Mine run would have turned to blood Nov. 30 or Dec. 1, the first named day by Meade's initiative and the second by Lees. When Lee saw that Meade had divid- ed his army on the 3Oth for the pur- pose of combined direct and flank attack, yet was too cautious to risk battle against the breastworks which had grown up across his pathway in n night, he debated for the moment falling upon the Federal fankfng tcol- ann with Jacksonville swoopH and getting his revenge for defeat at Get. tysburg. But the time had come for Lee to play waiting game and cling to the defensive.
 Both of the antagonists in the mighty struggle over Richmond had learned something from the expert ences at Fredericksburg. Lee defend ed the crossing of the Rappahannock at that point in December, 1862, with lit tie effort, and the Army of the Po- tomac under Burnside failed, with frightful loss, to make the passage and seize the road to Richmond. But later that same army under Hooker crossed the Rappahannock above Fred ericksburg and turned the flank of the formidable heights which had checked Burnside. Having learned the way across above the town and the ad- vantages of that route, the Federals would never again be so blind as to run against the stone wall of Maryes heights. Lee therefore took the les- son given by Rockers successful strat- egy, abandoned the upper Rappahan- mock without struggle to the Fed erals and planted his lines on the Rap idan to block the road. to Richmond
 The south bank of the Rapidan was an ideal resting camp for the defend CTS of Richmond as the game stood at the close of 1868. The region had es- capped the ravages of war, good roads connected 1t with Richmond, southern and southwestern Virginia and the Shenandoah valley, that granary of the Confederacy, not yet wholly de- spoiled. With his hooks planted there, Lee was hard to get at and dislodge, as was shown by the Mine run fasco. From there he could strike out to the north again should he see his opportu- nifty and, best of all for the part he was playing, launch his whole. com- mand forth in day and block the roads from the Rappahannock to Rich mond.
 Lees soldiers were sadly in need of the resting spell they were to have on the Rapidan for the months that lay ahead of than. Over year had pass ed since they were welcomed to the shores of Maryland. My Maryland" with the greeting from the lips of an enthusiastic gray haired dame. ."God bless your dirty, ragged, hungry soulsr' The twelve months thereafter, com pr1sing Antietam, Charlottesville and Gettysburg, had not improved things, and they were dirty, ragged and hun gry still. The Virginfans were Fur loughed to their homes to recuperate, thus relieving the commissary of so many hungry mouths and leaving more for the far down southerners. The Confederate cavalrymen owned their own mounts, and the Virginia troop CTS took their steeds home to fatten up for the spring yides. Tn this way men could do picket and outpost duty against the Federals and still be en- toying the comforts of home. Thus the ''eyes of Lee" Stuart's Virginia squadrons, were never shut to the do- ings of the enemy.
 Having the tragic end of the conflict to bear and playing, as they we'll knew in 1863, losing game, it might be sup posed that the men in gray were gloomy lot, but snch was far from the truth. They could laugh over a menu of corncob meal and molasses, for to- bacco, that eternal and tnexhaust1ble solace of the camp idler, grew on every bush, as it were, in the sacred soil of old Virginia. And the leaf was legal tender across the lines. A regular con- traband traffic was kept up with the Yankee outposts. and tons of northern hard bread, coffee and sugar passed by the underground system" to the huts of the ta attarad hutternut battalions on