nly cried, and a wild
cheer of relief burst from the Invincibles as they made a path. The
valiant Bee and Bartow, rushing to the sound of the great firing,
had come with nearly three thousand men and a whole battery. Never
were men more welcome. They formed instantly along the Southern front,
and the battery opened at once with all its guns, while the three
thousand men sent a new fire into the Northern ranks. Yet the Northern
charge still came. McDowell, Burnside, and the others were pressing it
home, seeking to drive the Southern army from its hill, while they were
yet able to bring forces largely superior to bear upon it.

The thunder and crash of the terrible conflict rolled over all the
hills and fields for miles. It told the other forces of either army
that here was the center of the battle, and here was its crisis.
The sounds reached an extraordinary young-old man, bearded and awkward,
often laughed at, but never to be laughed at again, one of the most
wonderful soldiers the world has ever produced, and instantly gathering
up his troops he rushed them toward the very heart of the combat.
Stonewall Jackson was about to receive his famous nickname.

Jackson's burning eyes swept proudly over the ranks of his tall
Virginians, who mourned every second they lost from the battle. An
officer retreating with his battery glanced at him, opened his mouth to
speak, but closed it again without saying a word, and infused with new
hope, turned his guns afresh toward the enemy. Already men were feeling
the magnetic current of energy and resolution that flowed from Jackson
like water from a fountain.

A message from Colonel Talbot, which he was to deliver to Jackson
himself, sent Harry to the rear. He rode a borrowed horse and he
galloped rapidly until he saw a long line of men marching forward at
a swift but steady pace. At their head rode a man on a sorrel horse.
His shoulders were stooped a little, and he leaned forward in the saddle,
gazing intently at the vast bank of smoke and flame before him. Harry
noticed that the hands upon the bridle reins did not twitch nor did the
horseman seem at all excited. Only his burning eyes showed that every
faculty was concentrated upon the task. Harry was conscious even then
that he was in the presence of General Jackson.

The boy delivered his message. Jackson received it without comment,
never taking his eyes from the battle, which was now raging so fiercely
in front of