But General Jubal A. Early was not the man for such an enterprise.
Washington was at his mercy, but fortunately for us he did not know
it, and let the opportunity slip. Even had he known it, I am of
opinion that he lacked the nerve to grasp the advantages of the
opportunity. On that Tuesday morning, Early was at Silver Springs,
enjoying the luxuries of a spacious headquarters, and within sight
of the grand old dome of the Capitol. What strange emotions the
sight of this dome must have excited in his bosom, what
reminiscences of happier days passed under its shadow must have
seared his thoughts as they passed in review, he alone can describe.
Perhaps it was the contemplation of those happier days that stayed
his hand and made him hesitate to grasp the prize at his feet.

No, my son, Jubal A. Early was of too phlegmatic a temperament for
such an undertaking. He was slow in every thing but name. And, as I
have informed you before, so notoriously cautious and slow was he to
act, even when a youth at West Point, that he gained the sobriquet
of "The Late Early," by which he is known at this day by his
intimate friends.

How sad it is for us, to-day, to contemplate that the safety of
Washington, the capital of this great country, should have depended
on the temperament of a general. Let the future historian do this
subject justice and elaborate it as it deserves. And let him
portray, if he can, the consequences of the rebel flag greeting the
rays of the rising sun on that morning victoriously from the dome of
the Capitol.