Marshal Stonewall Cogswell looked impudently around at this staff
officers gathered about the chart table. "Gentlemen," he said, "I
assume you are all familiar with the battle of Chancellorsville?"
No one bothered to answer and he chuckled. "I know what you are
thinking, that had any of you refrained from a thorough study of the
campaigns of Lee and Jackson, he would not be a member of my staff."
The craggy marshal traced with his finger on the great military chart
before them. "Then you will have noticed the similarity of today's
dispensation of forces to that of Joseph Hooker's Army of the Potomac and
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, on May 2, 1863." He pointed with his
baton. "Our stream, here, would be the Rappahannock, this woods, the
Wilderness. Here would be Fredericksburg and here Chancellorsville."
One of his colonels nodded. "My regiment occupies a position similar
to that of Jubal Early."
"Absolutely correct," the marshal said crisply. "Gentlemen, I repeat,
our troop dispensations, those of Lieutenant General McCord and
myself, are practically identical. Now then, if McCord continues to
move his forces here, across our modern day Rappahannock, he makes the
initial mistake that finally led to the opening which allowed
Jackson's brilliant fifteen-mile flanking march. Any questions, thus
far?"
There were some murmurs, no questions. The accumulated years of
military service of this group of veterans would have totaled into the
hundreds.
"Very interesting, eh?" the marshal pursued. "Jed, your artillery is
massed here. It's a shame that General Jack Altshuler has taken a
commission with Carbonaceous Fuel. We could use his cavalry. He would
be our J.E.B. Stuart, eh?"
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Warren cleared his throat unhappily. "Sir,
Jack Altshuler is the best cavalryman in North America."
"I would be the last to deny it, Paul."
"Yes, sir. And he's fought half his fracases under you, sir."
"Your point, Paul?" the marshal said crisply.
"He knows your methods, sir. For that matter, so does Lieutenant
General McCord. He's fought you enough."
There was silence in the staff headquarters, broken suddenly by
Cogswell's curt chuckle. "Paul, I'm going to recommend to the Category
Military Department, your promotion to full colonel on the strength of
that. You were the first to see what I have been getting to.
Gentlemen, do you realize what General McCord and his staff are doing
this very moment? I would wager my reputation that they are poring
over a campaign chart of the battle of Chancellorsville."
The craggy veteran bent back over the map again, his voice dropped all
humor and he stabbed with his baton. "Here, here, and here. They
expect us to duplicate the movements of Lee. Very good, we shall. But
the advances of Lee and Jackson, we will make feints. And the feints
made by Lee and Jackson will be our attacks in force. Gentlemen, we
are going to literally reverse the battle of Chancellorsville. Major
Mauser!"
Joe Mauser had been in the background as befitted his junior rank. Now
he stepped to the table's edge. "Yes, sir."
The marshal indicated a defile. "Were we actually duplicating the
Civil War battle, this would have been the right flank of Sedgwick's
two army corps. We're not dealing in army corps these days but only
regiments, however, the position is relatively as important. Jack
Altshuler's cavalry is largely concentrated here. When the action is
joined, he can move in one of three ways. Through this defile, is
least likely. However, if his heavy cavalry _does_ work its way
through here, I must know immediately. This is crucial, Joe. Any
questions?"
"No, sir."
The marshal turned his attention to his chief of artillery. "Jed, when
we need your guns, we're going to need them badly, but I doubt if that
time will develop until the second or third day of the fracas. Going
to want as clever a job of camouflage done as possible."