Terry, I'm aware that the troops felt betrayed. I know what Lee thought but this action developed over an entire day with the La troops on skirmish watching the buildup and certainly reporting back. I have read of the acoustic shadow and such but surely Early must share in this for not pressing Lee. Early tends to glorify his own position in this and accepted no responsibility whatsoever. What really was bad though is that it was an extremely poor place defensively. These were Yankee fortifications on the north bank just turned around. There was a very poor field of fire for infantry or artillery due to the lay of land in their front and the artillery on the south side could not support them at all. That is why so many men of the VI Corps could advance on the works virtually undetected. Lee chose to send the NC brigade instead of withdrawing. He definitely got fooled, actually there and at Kelly's Ford. The very fact that the lay of the land did not permit an adequate knowledge of the enemy troops in their front might have signaled caution. It was just a very poor place to try and defend. Sorry for the Monday morning quarterbacking. Well the 1st La Brigade would regroup and fight many more battles and distinguish themselves repeatedly.

If you happen to run across that newspaper again I would surely appreciate knowing of its origin and such. After the reverses and losses at Gettysburg and Rappahannock Station this is just remarkable morale. Thanks very much.