I think they wanted to annoy us, but they
paid the price."
"Inevitably. Our general is as dangerous in retreat as in advance.
I fancy that General Meade will not bring up his lagging forces until
we near the Potomac."
"They say it's rising, sir, and that it will be very hard to cross."
"That creates a difficulty but not an impossibility. Ordinary men yield
to difficulties, men like our commander-in-chief are overcome only by
impossibilities. But the further we go, Harry, the more reconciled I
grow to our withdrawal. I have seen scarcely a friendly face among the
population. I would not have us thrust ourselves upon people who do not
like us. It would go very hard with our kindly Southern nature to have
to rule by force over people who are in fact our brethren. Defensive
wars are the just wars, and perhaps it will be really better for us to
retire to Virginia and protect its sacred soil from the tread of the
invader. Eh, Hector?"
"Right, as usual, Leonidas. The reasons for our retirement are most
excellent. We have already spoken of the fact that Philadelphia might
prove a Capua for our young troops, and now we are relieved from the
chance of appearing as oppressors. It can never be said of us by the
people of Pennsylvania that we were tyrants.
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