11th corps, and as it turned out, its presence would have been more important to Hooker, even than Stuart's to Lee at Gettysburg. The news that Hooker and his army had recrossed the Rappahannock was received at the north with incredulity and consternation, second only to what occurred after the battle of Bull Run. Horace Greely, Editor of the New York Tribune, rushed into his office with the latest telegram in his hand, exclaiming "My God! it is horrible! horrible! Think of it. 130,000 magnificent soldiers cut to pieces by less than 60,000 half starved ragamuffins." These "ragamuffins" were described by a correspondent of the London Times who witnessed the return of Anderson's division on the Plank road on May 5th as, "splashing through the mud, in wild, tumultuous spirits, singing, shouting, jesting, heedless of soaking rags, drenched to the skin, and burning again to mingle in the mad revelry of battle."
DAVID GREGG McINTOSH,
February 23, 1915.
