ble
degree the vast hosts of the Union.

And yet the Army of the Potomac had lost more than all the efforts of
the Government could replace. The Army of Virginia, on the other
hand, had acquired a superiority of spirit which was ample
compensation for the sacrifice which had been made. It is hardly too
much to say that Lee's force had gained from the victory an increase
of strength equivalent to a whole army corps of 80,000 men, while
that of his opponent had been proportionately diminished. Why, then,
was there no pursuit?

It has been asserted that Lee was so crippled by his losses at
Chancellorsville that he was unable to resume operations against
Hooker for a whole month. This explanation of his inactivity can
hardly be accepted.

On June 16 and 18, 1815, at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo, the Anglo-Dutch
army, little larger than that of Northern Virginia, lost 17,000 men;
and yet on the 19th Wellington was marching in pursuit of the French;
nor did he halt until he arrived within sight of Paris. And on August
28, 29, and 30, 1862, at Groveton and the Second Manassas, Stonewall
Jackson lost 4000 officers and men, one-fifth of his force, but he
was not left in rear when Lee invaded Maryland. Moreover, after he
had defeated Sedgwick, on the same night that Hooker was recrossing
the Rappahannock, Lee was planning a final attack on the Federal
intrenchments, and his disappointment was bitter when he learned that
his enemy had escaped. If his men were capable of further efforts on
the night of May 5, they were capable of them the next day; and it
was neither the ravages of battle nor the disorganisation of the army
that held the Confederates fast, but the deficiency of supplies, the
damage done to the railways by Stoneman's horsemen, the weakness of
the cavalry, and, principally, the hesitation of the Government.
After the victory of Chancellorsville, strong hopes of peace were
entertained in the South. Before Hooker advanced, a large section of
the Northern Democrats, despairing of ultimate success, had once more
raised the cry that immediate separation was better, than a hopeless
contest, involving such awful sacrifices, and it needed all Lincoln's
strength to stem the tide of disaffection.

The existence of this despondent feeling was well known to the
Southern statesmen; and to such an extent did they count upon its
growth and increase that they had overlooked altogether the
importance of improving a victory, should