Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara [124]
“I will leave the hand-to-hand to the men from now on, General. It is not a pleasant thing for an old man.”
They both were smiling, and Jackson stood stiffly, puzzled, did not share the joke.
“Come, gentlemen, if I may be assisted . . .” Marshall was there quickly, lifted Lee off the wagon, and he settled on the ground, arched his back, stretched slightly. “This wagon is not for comfort. Let us walk, gentlemen.”
The three men moved away from the horses and the staffs, walked out into a field, stubs of cornstalks, now pressed into drying mud. It was hot again, and they moved away from the shade trees.
Longstreet said, “The weather should break soon, cool things off.”
Lee adjusted his hat, turned now to face away from the sun. “General, do you believe General Pope will attempt another advance before spring?”
Longstreet kicked at a spot of hard ground, knocked thick mud off his boots. “General, I don’t believe we will see General Pope again, not in the spring, or ever.”
“You may be correct, General, but his army is still there, and now they are safe and so they will refit and resupply, and Mr. Lincoln will send them out again. The question is not so much who will lead them, but when they will come, and where.”
Jackson said, “We should have pressed them back to Washington. They were running. God sent the rain, to slow us. He wishes us to fight again, in a better place.”
“I don’t know if there is a much better place than this one,” Longstreet said. “That army left this field as quickly and as completely as any army ever has.”
Jackson tilted his head back slightly, looking at Longstreet. “But we did not destroy him. We must still destroy him.”
Lee nodded, looked at both men. “General Jackson, as much attention as I would like to devote to the Federal Army, we have a closer problem at hand, the condition of this army. I have been thinking . . . it’s about all I have been able to do. Our greatest need is to feed this army, and we can do that in either of two ways. We can withdraw, to the Shenandoah Valley, where the crops are still in good supply. That would expose this part of Virginia to occupation by the Federal Army yet again. While this army could restore its health in friendly country, the damage to the morale of the people could be great. It is also likely that President Davis would not approve of that move.”
Jackson shifted his feet. “Nor would I, sir. We would lose what we have gained by chasing the Federals back into Washington. You have a second plan, sir?”
“Yes, General. I propose we advance our army north, into Maryland. The farms there are plentiful and nearly untouched. With the fall harvest, we can feed our troops well. And there is one other consideration. The people of Maryland have expressed neutrality. It is my belief that the constant use of their land by Federal troops is felt as a hostile occupation. It is quite possible that our intervention there will be viewed as a liberation. We might receive a great deal of hospitality, and we might even receive a number of volunteers for service in the army.”
“General, if they have proclaimed neutrality,” Longstreet said, and paused, “would we not be seen as an army of occupation as well?”
“I don’t believe so, General. The invasion of Virginia, of the entire Confederacy, by Federal forces, made clear to any neutral party that the Confederacy is not the aggressor here. We did not bring this war, and we fight now only to free the South of Federal occupation. If Washington will end their side of the fighting, and recall their armies . . . General, this war will be over. And, gentlemen, that is another reason why I believe this plan can succeed. By moving into Maryland and strengthening our forces, we will then be in a position to push into Pennsylvania. If Mr. Lincoln sees that we are threatening to cause destruction against the northern cities, Philadelphia, even New York, there will be