Nevertheless, I shall not give
up my faith in General McClellan's soldiership until he is defeated, nor
in his courage and integrity even then.
Another of our excursions was to Harper's Ferry,--the Directors of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad having kindly invited us to accompany them on
the first trip over the newly laid track, after its breaking up by the
Rebels. It began to rain, in the early morning, pretty soon after we
left Washington, and continued to pour a cataract throughout the day; so
that the aspect of the country was dreary, where it would otherwise have
been delightful, as we entered among the hill-scenery that is formed by
the subsiding swells of the Alleghanies. The latter part of our journey
lay along the shore of the Potomac, in its upper course, where the margin
of that noble river is bordered by gray, over-hanging crags, beneath
which--and sometimes right through them--the railroad takes its way. In
one place the Rebels had attempted to arrest a train by precipitating an
immense mass of rock down upon the track, by the side of which it still
lay, deeply imbedded in the ground, and looking as if it might have lain
there since the Deluge.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164