Chapter 32:
- Webster's expedition. -- his Gallantry. -- a stormy passage. -- a mysterious package. -- treason discovered and punished.
It was Christmas morning, in Washington, and the bells were ringing merrily throughout the city. The sun was just peeping over the hills, and lighting up the winter landscape with a beauty and brilliancy that would defy the skill of an artist. Washington was alive with soldiers. Throughout the city the military was the predominating element, and for miles around the country was dotted with the white tents that marked the encampments of the country's defenders. Thousands of muskets gleamed in the morning light, as with the rattle of the drum or the shrill blast of the bugle, the reveille awoke the hills and valleys from the deathlike silence and slumber of the night. The Union army was encamped around the capital, and General McClellan was in command. For months the process of drilling and disciplining the volunteer troops had been going on under his watchful eye and masterful hand, and the Army of the Potomac was rapidly approaching a degree of
