He had now presented to him an opportunity of showing that he was a trained soldier, competent by his nerve and military ability to lead any arm of the service, and greeted the occasion with delight.  The men of Jackson had been accustomed to see that commander pass slowly along their lines on a horse as sedate-looking as himself, a slow-moving figure, with little of the “poetry of war” in his appearance.  They now found themselves commanded by a youthful and daring cavalier on a spirited animal, with floating plume, silken sash, and a sabre which gleamed in the moonlight, as its owner galloped to and fro cheering the men and marshalling them for the coming assault As he led the lines afterward with joyous vivacity, his sabre drawn, his plume floating proudly, one of the men compared him to Henry of Navarre at the battle of Ivry.  But Stuart’s spirit of wild gayety destroyed the romantic dignity of the scene.  He led the men of Jackson against General Hooker’s breastworks bristling with cannon, singing “Old Joe Hooker, will you come out of the Wilderness!”

This sketch will convey a correct idea of the officer who had now grasped the baton falling from the hand of the great marshal of Lee.  It was probable that the advance of the infantry under such a commander would partake of the rush and rapidity of a cavalry-charge; and the sequel justified this view.

At early dawn the Southern lines began to move.  Either in consequence of orders from Lee, or following his own conception, Stuart reversed the movement of Jackson, who had aimed to swing round his left and cut off the enemy.  He seemed to have determined to extend his right, with the view of uniting with the left of Anderson’s division under Lee, and enclosing the enemy in the angle near Chancellorsville.  Lee had moved at the same moment on their front, advancing steadily over all obstacles, and a Northern writer, who witnessed the combined attack, speaks of it in enthusiastic terms:  “From the large brick house which gives the name to this vicinity,” says the writer, speaking of Chancellorsville, “the enemy could be seen, sweeping slowly but confidently, determinedly and surely, through the clearings which extended in front.  Nothing could excite more admiration for the qualities of the veteran soldiers than the manner in which the enemy swept out, as they moved steadily onward, the forces which were opposed to them.  We say it reluctantly, and for the first time, that the enemy have shown the finest qualities, and we acknowledge on this occasion their superiority in the open field to our own men.  They delivered their fire with precision, and were apparently inflexible and immovable under the storm of bullets and shell which they were constantly receiving.  Coming to a piece of timber, which was occupied by a division of our own men, half the number were detailed to clear the woods.  It seemed certain that here they would be repulsed, but they marched right through the wood, driving our own soldiers out, who delivered their fire and fell back, halted again, fired, and fell back as before, seeming to concede to the enemy, as a matter of course, the superiority which they evidently felt themselves.  Our own men fought well.  There was no lack of courage, but an evident feeling that they were destined to be beaten, and the only thing for them to do was to fire and retreat.”