It was a complicated plan, depending upon quickness, courage and
continued success. Yet the mind of Grant, though operating afterward
on fields of greater numbers, was never clearer or more vigorous.
They went into camp again after dark, knowing that Jackson was but a
short distance away, and they expected to attack early in the morning.
Dick carried another dispatch to Sherman, who was only a little more than
two miles from them, and on his way back he joined Colonel Winchester,
who, with Warner, Pennington and a hundred infantry, had come out for a
scout. The dismounted men were chosen because they wished to beat up a
difficult piece of wooded country.
They went directly toward Jackson, advancing very cautiously through the
forest, the mounted officers riding slowly. The night was hot and dark,
moon and stars obscured by drifting clouds. Pennington, who was an
expert on weather, announced that another storm was coming.
"I can feel a dampness in the air," he said. "I'm willing to risk my
reputation as a prophet and say that the dawn will come with rain.
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