The river had rapidly risen from the effects of the storm.
Parts of the bridges had been carried away by the torrent. The ends of
the others were under water, and their entire structure was liable at
any moment to give way. It was not certain that Lee, fully aware of
these circumstances, would, for the moment, accept battle, as he might
judge it better to lure the Army of the Potomac away from the
possibility of victualling. Perhaps Sedgwick would be unable to cross
again so as to join the right wing. The Eleventh Corps might not be in
condition to count on for heavy service. The Richmond papers, received
almost daily through channels more or less irregular, showed that
communications were still open, and that the operations of the Cavalry
Corps had not succeeded in interrupting them in any serious manner.
On the coming Sunday, the time of service of thirty-eight regiments was
up. Many of these conditions could have been eliminated from the
problem, if measures had been seasonably taken; but they now became
critical elements in the decision to be made. And Hooker, despite his
well-earned reputation as a fighting man, was unable to arrive at any
other than the conclusion which Falstaff so cautiously enunciated,
from beneath his shield, at the battle of Shrewsbury, that "the better
part of valor is discretion.
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