And when he was borne to his last
resting place through the streets of the city, the sidewalks, the
windows and the housetops were a throbbing mass of weeping women and
men.
Jefferson Davis was perhaps the only man in the South in a position to
realize the enormous loss which the Confederacy had sustained in the
death of Lee's great lieutenant.
The Southern people who gloried in Jackson's deeds had as yet no real
appreciation of the services he had rendered. They could not realize
their loss until events should prove that no man could be found to take
his place.
The brilliant victory of Chancellorsville, following so closely on
Fredericksburg, had lifted the Confederacy to the heights.
In the West the army had held its own. The safety of Vicksburg was not
seriously questioned. General Bragg confronted Rosecrans with an army so
strong he dared not attack it and yet not strong enough to drive
Rosecrans from Tennessee.
Two campaigns were discussed with Davis.
The members of his Cabinet, who regarded the possession of Vicksburg and
the continued grip on the Mississippi River vital to the life of the
Confederacy, were alarmed at Grant's purpose to fight his way to this
stronghold and take it.
They urged that Lee's army be divided and half of it sent immediately to
reenforce Bragg.
Pages:
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473