Never Call Retreat - Civil War 03 by William R. Forstchen, Newt Gingrich Read Free Book Online Page A

down until something is in place to hedge his bet with."
    "What about France?" Beauregard asked. "I heard that you said their intervention is all but certain."
    Beauregard, proud of his French heritage, was always promoting the idea that France would eventually come to their side, as she did back during the First Revolution.
    Judah smiled.
    "Not a direct quote, sir," Judah replied with a cagey smile, "but close enough. Yes, Emperor Napoleon the Third will come in, but will that impact us here over the next month or two? I doubt it. If he sorties with his fleet to try to break the blockade at Wilmington, Charleston, or even at the mouth of the Chesapeake, I dare say the Yankee navy and heavy ironclads will make short work of them.
    "No, the French, as always, will play their own game to their own advantage. They will not help directly, only indirectly, and that will be along the coast of Texas, in support of their mad affair in Mexico. Even if they did break the blockade there, even if they broke the blockade at New Orleans, it would be long months before that impacted this front here.
    "And frankly, gentleman, as secretary of state, though I wish for their help now, I certainly do not look forward to cleaning up the mess when we finally win and then have to kick them back out, because once involved on our side they will demand payment of some kind or another."
    "So you don't see any change that will affect us here and now?" Beauregard asked. There was a trace of sadness in his voice.
    "No, sir. And Lincoln knows that, too. Sorry, gentlemen, but don't look to France for any major changes in the situation you now face here in Maryland"
    "Back to the original issue then," Lee said, "the here and now of this moment. For all these reasons, what do you think Grant will do, Mr. Secretary?"
    "Wait you out."
    "Sir?"
    "Just that, General Lee. I heard the report you received but yesterday that a colored division had joined Grant's army. If he waits you out another two weeks, might he not gain another few divisions of colored troops, perhaps a few more battalions of artillery, more supplies, a few more brigades of remounts for cavalry? Might he not actually repair the rail line in the Cumberland Valley clear down to Hagerstown and thus give himself even more mobility? Might he not wait and force you to take the initative and in so doing choose the ground? Perhaps, sir, might he not just simply bypass you completely and march down the valley, cross into Virginia, and march on Richmond?"
    "It is hard for me to see him doing that," Lee replied slowly, sipping again at his refilled glass of lemonade. "Moving on Richmond or waiting."
    "Your views, sir?" Judah asked.
    "If I were Grant, I would attack now, and with everything I have. My army has endured two months of hard campaigning; we took heavier-than-expected losses in our last action."
    He could not help but raise his head for a few seconds and gaze again at Pickett, who stood silent, frozen in place.
    "Five of the original nine divisions that started this campaign two and a half months ago have taken grievous losses. My sense of Grant is that he will come straight on, hoping to catch us exhausted, perhaps still strung out on a march back to Baltimore. Force us then to turn and fight.
    "That is why I ordered this forced march today, no matter how painful it is for the men out there."
    He gestured toward the road, where the weary columns continued to march by, and felt a wave of pity for his men. As they passed they undoubtedly knew that, yet again, he was deciding their fate. He had to do what was right for his country, and what was right for them, too. Dozens, perhaps a hundred or more, might die today during this march, but through their sacrifice all could rest in Baltimore, and by tomorrow the situation would be clearer. He pitied the thousands of wounded whom he had ordered to be loaded on ambulances and evacuated by any means possible back to the city. Their ordeal would be horrific