We made a narrow escape; at least, we have a respite. If the
Yankee army had advanced with its 200,000 men, they would not have encountered
more than 70,000 fighting Confederate soldiers between the Potomac and
Richmond. It was our soldiers (neither the officers nor the government) that
saved us; and they fought contrary to rule, and even in opposition to orders. Of
course our officers at Leesburg did their duty manfully; nevertheless, the
soldiers had determined to fight, officers or no officers.
But as the man in the play said, “it will suffice.” The
Yankees are a calculating people: and if 1500 Mississippians and Virginians at
Leesburg were too many for 8000 Yankees, what could 200,000 Yankees do against
70,000 Southern soldiers? It made them pause, and give up the idea of taking
Richmond this year. But the enemy will fight better every successive year; and
this should not be lost sight of. They, too, are Anglo-Saxons.
SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's
Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 87-8
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