jackets had crossed the border. But although the army had entered
Maryland without the slightest difficulty, the troops were not
received with the enthusiasm they had anticipated. The women, indeed,
emulating their Virginia sisters, gave a warm welcome to the heroes
of so many victories. But the men, whether terrorised by the stern
rule of the Federal Government, or mistrusting the power of the
Confederates to secure them from further punishment, showed little
disposition to join the ranks. It is possible that the appearance of
the Southern soldiery was not without effect. Lee's troops, after
five months' hard marching and hard fighting, were no delectable
objects. With torn and brimless hats, strands of rope for belts, and
raw-hide moccasins of their own manufacture in lieu of boots; covered
with vermin, and carrying their whole kit in Federal haversacks, the
ragged scarecrows who swarmed through the streets of Frederick
presented a pitiful contrast to the trim battalions which had
hitherto held the Potomac. Their conduct indeed was exemplary. They
had been warned that pillage and depredations would be severely dealt
with, and all requisitions, even of fence-rails, were paid for on the
spot. Still recruits were few. The warworn aspect and indifferent
equipment of the "dirty darlings," as more than one fair Marylander
spoke of Jackson's finest soldiers, failed to inspire confidence, and
it was soon evident that the western counties of Maryland had small
sympathy with the South.

There were certainly exceptions to the general absence of cordiality.
The troops fared well during their sojourn in Frederick. Supplies
were plentiful; food and clothing were gratuitously distributed, and
Jackson was presented with a fine but unbroken charger. The gift was
timely, for "Little Sorrel," the companion of so many marches, was
lost for some days after the passage of the Potomac; but the
Confederacy was near paying a heavy price for the "good grey mare."
When Jackson first mounted her a band struck up close by, and as she
reared the girth broke, throwing her rider to the ground.
Fortunately, though stunned and severely bruised, the general was
only temporarily disabled, and, if he appeared but little in public
during his stay in Frederick, his inaccessibility was not due to
broken bones. "Lee, Longstreet, and Jackson, and for a time Jeb
Stuart," writes a staff officer, "had their headquarters near one
another in Best's Grove. Hithe