CHAPTER II.
AHORSE WITH SHERBURNE Harry was glad that General Jackson had detailed him for this task.
He missed his comrades of the staff, but Sherburne was a host in himself, and he was greatly attached to him.

He rode a good horse and there was pleasure in galloping with these men over the rolling country, and breathing the crisp and vital air of autumn.
They soon left the forest, and rode along a narrow road between fields.
Their spirits rose continually.

It was a singular fact that the Army of Northern Virginia was not depressed by Antietam.

It had been a bitter disappointment to the Southern people, who expected to see Lee take Baltimore and Philadelphia, but the army itself was full of pride over its achievement in beating off numbers so much superior.
It was for these reasons that Sherburne and those who rode with him felt pride and elation.

They had seen the ranks of the army fill up again.
Lee had retreated across the Potomac after Antietam with less than forty thousand men.