Facing Southern Thunder

by The Prancing Red Pony

Chapter 6

*2 Days Later, Night*

"General sir I have information from General Stuart" Major Taylor said entering Lee's tent. General's Longstreet, Jackson, A.P. Hill, Wilcox, Hood, Taliaffero, D.H. Hill, Mahone, Pickett, Anderson, and Field all looked at the Major instantly from the battle map Lee still looked over the map his eyes darting back and forth. Slowly Lee removed his glasses and looked at his subordinate.

"Oh Thank You Major Taylor" Lee said as he walked over to Taylor and took the sheet of parchment paper from the Major. Lee looked over at the map in silence. Finally he spoke again "Is that all?" Lee asked.

"Yes sir" Major Taylor said with a salute which Lee responded with. Taylor then left the tent and Lee walked back over to the table. The table had many intricate markings detailing the specific movements of Lee's Army and that of the Army of the Whitetail Woods. The Generals looked at Lee in earnest over what J.E.B. Stuart had found.

"Well what does it say?" asked Mahone. Lee put back on his spectacles and cleared his throat.

"Found enemy position. Heavily fortified. Many intricate breastworks and fortifications. Stretches around the entirety of the forest. Frontal Attack would be suicidal. Possible preliminary attack by sending in snipers and saboteurs. Three specific locations: Weapons store, Lookout Towers, and Observatory Balloon. Littered with many groups of tents and sentry's. Any sort of disturbance of main body will be disastrous. Regards, General J.E.B. Stuart. Commander of Calvary Army of Northern Virginia."

The Generals pondered over the note. Lee looked back and forth at the note and circled specific spots that were mentioned. Stonewall Jackson was asleep. Lee looked up.

"General Wilcox please awake General Jackson he has fallen asleep again" Lee said. Wilcox nudged Jackson awake who sleepily yawned and rubbed his eyes. Lee pondered further.

"Snipers.... Snipers..." Lee kept saying to himself he then turned to General Longstreet. "Who is in commanded of that Sniper Battalion under your command?" Lee asked Longstreet.

"I believe it is Major W.S. Dunlop sir" Longstreet said. Lee turned back towards the map and thought for a short while. The other Generals murmured among themselves. Lee then turned back to Longstreet.

"Can you bring the Major to me immediately General" Lee asked. General Longstreet saluted and exited the tent towards his Corps camp. Then Lee thought about saboteurs. "Saboteurs where could I find sab....General Hill isn't General Joseph O. Shelby in your camp recently come from Edmund Kirby Smith's sector I believe?" asked Lee to A.P. Hill.

"That is correct general he just arrived the other night. Apparently he captured over 200 pounds of supplies from one of the Equestrian Armies near Kirby Smith's area" Hill said. Lee was impressed.

"Can you bring the General over to my tent immediately" Lee asked. General Hill saluted and exited the tent towards his Corps camp. Lee sat down in his desk chair and rubbed his eyes. The rest of the Generals stared down at the map or at Lee. Jackson was asleep yet again.

"Jackson does this all the time. General Wilcox awake Jackson again" Lee asked. Wilcox nudged Jackson awake who was slightly startled upon being woke up.

"What shall we *yawn* do General Lee? Can't we pull a flanking maneuver on the enemy possibly driving all their forces to one side and then smashing them on the other" Jackson asked. Lee shook his head.

"Nope to heavily fortified that's why I asked Longstreet and Hill to get Dunlop and Shelby maybe they can help us with this" Lee said stroking his forehead. The other generals stood in silence.

"Thank god Stuart was here and I didn't assault head on the Whitetail Woods" Lee said finally. Soon, Longstreet and Hill returned with Dunlop and Shelby.

"It's an honor to meet you General Lee" Dunlop and Shelby said in unison with a salute. General Lee returned the salute.

"It is great to meet you as well. I have a conundrum if you will come and look at this map" Lee said to the men. The men gathered around and looked over the map. Lee gave Dunlop and Shelby the letter from J.E.B. Stuart. "So gentlemen you see that the only way to successfully defeat the Army of the Whitetail Woods is to send in saboteurs and snipers. A frontal attack would lead to a massive loss of life" Lee said with slight worry. Both Dunlop and Shelby talked for a short while and looked, pointed, and marked positions on the map.

"Well General Lee you are correct that saboteurs and snipers are necessary for this kind of mission. But, there is one problem how do we get successfully into the middle of the camp where the supplies and weapons are. Stuart noted that many pickets and sentry's litter the many entrances to the forest. There has to be a safe way to maneuver without being spotted by at least 20 pickets?" Dunlop asked. Lee thought for a short while and then stood up.

"As you can see gentlemen that the enemy's Army is felling trees to build up its fortifications. I suggest you use the trees as cover and fire upon the pickets. I both trust you are quite experienced at what you do gentlemen but, be wary do not get within a fire's long gaze and consistently move after shooting or slitting a throat" Lee said pointing at the map and the fortifications. Dunlop and Shelby watched on in silence. "Secondly, General Shelby if you can remove some of the enemies cannon along with the survey balloon and weapons depot. It could greatly benefit us" Lee said again. Shelby nodded in agreement. "Lastly, Major Dunlop I need your snipers and General Shelby your saboteurs to work in unison watch each others flanks and help the other. The main attack will occur at dawn so I recommend you gentlemen do not diddle with your objectives" Lee finished. Dunlop and Shelby agreed with Lee's plans. They both made note on their own maps of the enemy's weapons depot, survey balloon, and fortifications. Lee then went on to discuss with the other generals the attack that would follow up after the sabotaging mission. Just as General Shelby and Major Dunlop were about to leave Dunlop turned back to Lee.

"We will not fail you General Lee and if somehow something goes awry may the blood of a million men be forever engraved in our hands"

Author's Note:

Well guys here is the latest chapter. I'm terribly sorry it took so long for me to write another chapter for this story. It seems that the Confederates are preparing for some sabotaging right under Celestia's nose! Wow! You better be confident to pull something like that off especially after such a large victory at the Gorge. Will General Shelby and Major Dunlop be able to fulfill their mission? Will the Army of Whitetail Woods find out about the saboteurs and stop Lee's juggernaut in time and maybe pull of a victory? We Will See.

If you find any grammar mistakes please P.M. me or comment below since it really helps with my writing. Thanks a bunch!

The Map has changed so that no northern half of the US exist's but it's just the Southern Half of the US (Civil War Era).