ir position as slave-masters had bred in them an arrogant temper and
a reckless spirit. They were more practised at the rifle, better used
to horsemanship, and more familiar with field sports, than the men of
the North. And they fondly boasted that one Virginian could beat five
Yankees.

Indeed, the Southern States were so confident of their strength, that
they did not really believe the North would fight; they might protest,
they said, but that would be all.

But men who talked like this little understood the intense love of
country which burned in Northern hearts. The moment Fort Sumter fell,
Lincoln appealed to the country for seventy-five thousand soldiers, and
within three days nearly a hundred thousand men had volunteered.

Then the war dragged slowly on for four long, weary years.

At first the tide of battle ran full against the Federals. Their first
victory had encouraged the rebels. Then a battle of very much more
importance was fought close to a stream known as Bull's Run, and here
again the North was defeated. Then others joined the Confederates.

Several of the most brilliant soldiers and commanders, such as Lee and
Jackson, were Virginians and slave-holders, and these of course threw
in their lot with the South, and for some time the North had no men of
equal capacity to set against them. Thus for months and almost years
it seemed as if the Confederates would succeed, and that the fetters of
the slave would be fixed more firmly than ever.

But defeat and delay were in reality making leaders for the North. A
young engineer officer named M'Clellan was put in command at first.
His appointment appeared to be a fortunate one. He speedily organised
and placed in the field a splendid army, and it was fondly expected
that a few months with such troops as his would end the war. But
M'Clellan, though a brave soldier and an able man, was a
disappointment. Like the father of Frederick the Great, he was an
ideal drill-master, but an indifferent general. He was afraid to risk
his magnificent army, and while he dallied his foes snatched victory
after victory.

Those were dark days for the Northern States, yet through the darkness
they did not falter. They felt that their cause was just, and they
were prepared to suffer and die for it. At the head of the State was
the great and noble Lincoln, whose calm and indomitable spirit was
unbroken under the heaviest disaster.

On the first of July 1863, Gene