She had suddenly become secondary in her
uncle's thoughts. A phase of the war, like a sudden destructive
storm, had been witnessed; like a storm, he hoped that it and its
effects would pass away. The South was far from being subdued; the
issue of the conflict unknown. He was the last man in the
Confederacy to foresee and accept new conditions, especially when he
still believed the Southern cause would triumph.
As the confusion of his mind, after the battle, passed he began to
look around and consider what should be done, what could be saved
out of what at first appeared a wreck. When Dr. Ackley assured him
that the house and plantation would be rapidly abandoned as a
hospital, hope and courage revived, while to these was added the
spur of necessity.
He knew that he must "make his crops," or his fortunes would be
desperate. Remembering the value of timely labor in the spring
season, he was eager on this second day after the battle to put his
slaves to work again at their interrupted avocations.
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