the cavalry were better mounted, and many of his officers were better dressed.  He was not given to addressing his troops, either in mass or as individuals.  His praises he reserved for his official reports, and then he was generous.  In camp he was as silent as the Sphinx, and he never posed, except in action, as the commander of an army.  Off duty he was the gentlest and most unpretentious of men, and the most approachable of generals.  He was always scrupulously polite; and the private soldier who asked him a question might be sure of a most courteous reply.  But there was no man with whom it was less safe to take liberties; and where duty was concerned he became a different being.  The gentle tones grew curt and peremptory, and the absent demeanour gave place to a most purposeful energy.  His vigilance was marvellous:  his eye was everywhere; he let nothing pass without his personal scrutiny.  The unfortunate officer accused of indolence or neglect found the shy and quiet professor transformed into the most implacable of masters.  No matter how high the rank of the offender, the crime met with the punishment it deserved.  The scouts compared him with Lee.  The latter was so genial that it was a pleasure to report to him.  Jackson cross-questioned them on every detail, treating them as a lawyer does a hostile witness, and his keen blue eyes seemed to search their very souls.

“Nor did the men escape when they misbehaved.  Ashby’s cavalry were reprimanded in general orders for their indiscipline at Middletown, and again at Port Republic; and if either officer or regiment displeased the general, it was duly mentioned in his published reports.” (1 It is worth remark that Jackson’s methods of punishment showed his deep knowledge of his soldiers.  The sentence on the men who were tempted from their duty, during Banks’ retreat, by the plunder on the Winchester road was that they should not be allowed to serve with the advanced guard until further orders.  It was considered terribly severe.  O.R. volume 12 part 3 page 902.)

But the troops knew that their grave leader, so uncommunicative in camp, and so unrelenting to misconduct, was constantly occupied with their well-being.  They knew that he spared them, when opportunity offered, as he never spared himself.  His camaraderie was expressed in something more than words.  The hospitals constructed in the Valley excited the admiration even of the Federals, and Jackson’s wounded were his first care.  Whatever it might cost the army, the ambulances must be got safely away, and the sick and disabled soldiers transferred to their own people.  But, at the same time, the troops had long since learned that, as administered by Jackson, the military code was a stern reality.  They had seen men shot for striking their officers, and they knew that for insubordination or disobedience it was idle to plead excuse.  They had thought their general harsh, and even cruel; but as their experience increased they recognised the wisdom of