A useful man to Stonewall Jackson was old Miles, the Virginia
bridge-builder. The bridges were swept away so often by floods or
burned by the enemy that Miles was as necessary to the Confederate army
as Jackson himself. One day the Union troops had retreated, and burned
a bridge across the Shenandoah. Jackson, determined to follow them,
summoned Miles.
“You must put all your men on that bridge,” said he; “they must work
all night, and the bridge must be completed by daylight. My engineer
will furnish you with the plan, and you can go right ahead.”
Early next morning Jackson, in a very doubtful frame of mind, met the
old bridge-builder.
“Well,” said the general, “did the engineer give you the plan for the
bridge?”
“General,” returned Miles slowly, “the bridge is done. I don’t know
whether the pictur’ is or not.”
From that time forth General Jackson allowed Miles to build the bridges
after his own fashion, without annoying him with “pictur’s.”