STONEWALL JACKSON’S BRIDGE-BUILDER.
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.”