Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara [114]
“Yes, General, I see that.” He pushed through more of the clippings. “It seems that McClellan is no longer a priority with Mr. Lincoln. Certainly, his troops will begin to move, to unite with Pope’s.”
“Sir, they cannot be allowed to treat our civilians with such lack of respect.”
“There’s more to it than that, General.” Lee felt something, an uneasiness in his stomach, thought, Pope is a dangerous man, a man who will say anything to create a name for himself, who will say and do anything to rally support from Washington.
“General Stuart, please excuse me . . . you are dismissed.”
“But sir, I have . . . I have other details . . . troop positions—”
“It’s all right, General, we will talk in a little while. I just need a few moments.”
Stuart snapped to attention again, saluted, and left the room. Lee turned back to the window, thoughts rolling through his mind in waves. He took a deep breath, began to sort out a plan, thought, This is a great opportunity. We can use Pope’s own ego to trap him.
He pondered, watched the slow motion of the big trees, then turned, said in a loud voice, “Major Taylor,” and instantly Taylor was in the doorway. Lee looked at the bright face, said, “Major, send for General Jackson.”
BY LATE August, Pope’s army was centered in the area between the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers, north of Fredericksburg. Lee ordered Jackson’s troops north, to move between Pope and Washington, which would have the easily predictable effect on Lincoln, who would see Jackson’s move as a direct threat to the capital. Pope would certainly be called upon to move back to the northeast, removing his pressure on central Virginia. Lee also suspected that Pope would convince himself he had been given a glorious opportunity, that Jackson’s army by itself was no match for his superior numbers. By assuming correctly that Pope would focus completely on Jackson, Lee knew he could maneuver the rest of his army, under Longstreet, and bring the attack to Pope while he was exposed.
The move by Jackson’s troops also achieved a direct benefit for his own forces. Their sudden advance put them quickly at the Manassas Gap railroad junction, where Pope’s supplies were stored. The small number of troops guarding the depot were easily routed by Jackson’s surprise arrival, and so they not only disrupted the flow of material to Pope’s army, but found themselves awash in vast stores of food and equipment. Pope reacted as Lee had predicted, and began to move back up to crush the greatly outnumbered Jackson, with little regard for the rest of Lee’s army, which, unknown to Pope, had moved by a slightly different route, to unite with Jackson’s forces.
McClellan’s troops were indeed being withdrawn from the Virginia peninsula, and were moving up the Potomac to join with Pope. Thus, Lee knew his opportunity for meeting Pope on more even terms was a brief one. But Pope was in a hurry as well, would not sit and wait for the rest of his army to arrive while the ripe target of Jackson sat alone.
LEE AND Longstreet rode together, in front of the long columns, quietly, feeling the August heat. Out in front, nervous skirmishers, a handpicked squad of Texas sharpshooters, cleared the way of any Federal snipers and scouted the advance of the army for detachments of Federal troops who might have been sent to scout the Confederate positions. They were the only advance guard the two men had. Behind them, Hood’s division led the long column.
Lee rested his head, his hat pulled low, and appeared to be sleeping, but he was very awake, his mind focused on what might be ahead of them and where Jackson might be. They had received no word since last night, knew only that Pope’s army was scattered, the result of a hasty march, and that somewhere, up ahead, Jackson was preparing for the assault.
They had climbed a long hill, had crested the top, surrounded by the familiar signs of a bloody fight. It was Thoroughfare Gap, where General John Buford’s Federal cavalry