It was vague in some particulars, but it was
definite enough in others to tell that the armies of Rosecrans and Bragg
were approaching each other. All eyes turned to the West. A great
battle could not be long delayed, and a powerful division of the Army of
Northern Virginia under Longstreet had been sent to help Bragg.
Harry found himself late at night once more in that very room in which
the map had disappeared so mysteriously. The two colonels, St. Clair and
Langdon, and one or two others had drifted in, and the older men were
smoking. Inevitably they talked of the battle which they foresaw with
such certainty, and Harry's anxiety about it was increased, because he
knew his father would be there on one side, and the cousin, for whom he
cared so much, would be on the other.
"If only General Lee were in command there," said Colonel Talbot, "we
might reckon upon a great and decisive victory."
"But Bragg is a good general," said Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire.
"It's not enough to be merely a good general. He must have the soul
of fire that Lee has, and that Jackson had. Bragg is the Southern
McClellan. He is brave enough personally, but he always overrates the
strength of the enemy, and, if he is victorious on the field, he does
not reap the fruits of victory.
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