This policy in so large a territory as intervened between Washington and Richmond amounted to little more than a game of hide and seek, so far as final victory is involved, and gave the defensive side all the advantage. When it was to be carried on by a commander whose imagination exaggerated the forces opposed, and whose caution magnified the danger to his rear, who never was willing to risk the use of all his army in an offensive battle, but thought it necessary to hold a large percentage in reserve against a possible reverse, the ineffectiveness of such operations is to be expected. Avoiding a direct advance upon the Confederate Army, the march began back through Maryland, over the South Mountains to the Potomac River at Berlin, Md. There the Army crossed the Potomac into the same section of Virginia in which the two battles of Bull Run had been fought and lost. Between the hostile forces the Blue Ridge interposed, and the passes were held by the Confederates. The advance was leisurely with frequent stops, the first at White Plains where we rested for three days. Here for the first time Colonel Upton's strict discipline began to be felt. He ordered a Court Martial to convene for the trial of certain offenders against military order, and several men were convicted and punished according to the decision of the court. In this proceeding he showed that he intended to enforce order, not by arbitrary personal authority, but in accordance with strict judicial procedure. It was this equitable dealing with them that made his men respect and honor him as a man, and readily obey him as an officer. He could not have won
