ral, and by troops equally able to march and
to fight. Lee consented, and Jackson at once made off. The country was
thickly covered with a forest of rather small growth, for it was a wild
region, in which there was still plenty of game. Shielded by the forest,
Jackson marched his gray columns rapidly to the left along the narrow
country roads until he got square on the flank of the Union right wing,
which was held by the Eleventh Corps, under Howard. The Union scouts got
track of the movement and reported it at headquarters; but the Union
generals thought the Confederates were retreating; and when finally the
scouts brought word to Howard that he was menaced by a flank attack he
paid no heed to the information, and actually let his whole corps be
surprised in broad daylight. Yet all the while the battle was going on
elsewhere, and Berdan's sharpshooters had surrounded and captured a
Georgia regiment, from which information was received which showed
definitely that Jackson was not retreating, and must be preparing to
strike a heavy blow.

The Eleventh Corps had not the slightest idea that it was about to be
attacked. The men were not even in line. Many of them had stacked their
muskets and were lounging about, some playing cards, others cooking
supper, intermingled with the pack-mules and beef cattle. While they
were thus utterly unprepared Jackson's gray-clad veterans pushed
straight through the forest, and rushed fiercely to the attack. The
first notice the troops of the Eleventh Corps received did not come from
the pickets, but from the deer, rabbits, and foxes which, fleeing from
their coverts at the approach of the Confederates, suddenly came running
over and into the Union lines. In another minute the frightened pickets
came tumbling back, and right behind them came the long lines of
charging, yelling Confederates. With one fierce rush Jackson's men swept
over the Union lines, and at a blow the Eleventh Corps became a horde of
panic-stricken fugitives. Some of the regiments resisted for a few
moments, and then they too were carried away in the flight.

For a time it seemed as if the whole army would be swept off; but Hooker
and his subordinates exerted every effort to restore order. It was
imperative to gain time, so that the untouched portions of the army
could form across the line of the Confederate advance. Keenan's regiment
of Pennsylvania cavalry, but four hundred sabres strong, was accordingly
sent full agai