uld be induced to follow me until I
should be reinforced." That Pope, had he been left to his own
judgment, would have crossed the Rapidan is certain. "The enemy," he
reported, "has retreated to Gordonsville...I shall move forward on
Louisa Court House as soon as Burnside arrives." He was restrained,
however, by the more wary Halleck. "Beware of a snare," wrote the
Commander-in-Chief. "Feigned retreats are 'Secesh' tactics." How wise
was this warning, and what would have been the fate of Pope had he
recklessly crossed the Rapidan, the next chapter will reveal.

CHAPTER 2.16. GROVETON AND THE SECOND MANASSAS.

During the summer of 1862 the stirring events in the Western
hemisphere attracted universal attention. All eyes were fixed on
Richmond. The fierce fighting on the Chickahominy, and the defeat of
the invaders, excited Europe hardly less than it did the North. The
weekly mails were eagerly awaited. The newspapers devoted many
columns to narrative, criticism, and prediction. The strategy and
tactics of the rival armies were everywhere discussed, and the fact
that almost every single item of intelligence came from a Northern
source served only as a whet to curiosity. The vast territory
controlled by the Confederacy was so completely cut off from the
outer world that an atmosphere of mystery enveloped the efforts of
the defence. "The Southern States," it has been said, "stood in the
attitude of a beleaguered fortress. The war was in truth a great
siege; the fortress covered an area of more than 700,000 square
miles, and the lines of investment around it extended over more than
10,000 miles." Within the circle of Federal cannon and Federal
cruisers only the imagination could penetrate. At rare intervals some
daring blockade-runner brought a budget of Southern newspapers, or an
enterprising correspondent succeeded in transmitting a dispatch from
Richmond. But such glimpses of the situation within the cordon did
little more than tantalise. The news was generally belated, and had
often been long discounted by more recent events. Still, from
Northern sources alone, it was abundantly clear that the weaker of
the two belligerents was making a splendid struggle. Great names and
great achievements loomed large through the darkness. The war at the
outset, waged by ill-trained and ill-disciplined volunteers,
commanded by officers unknown to fame, had attracted small notice
from professional soldiers. After the Seven Days' batt