Wasn't that quote at the end in response to something in the Civil War? When a messenger from Lee got lost and the ensuing battle was then lost? Small events can have consequences but sometimes no matter how many small events occur the overall consequences remain unchanged. About the story I love it.
Author's response
Actually the quote comes from long before our civil war. It was an English nursery rhyme. My mother's line goes back to two retainers of 'William the Bastard' of Normandy (the Howard's and the Dodge's) and I understand it was used even then.
I have found that military truisms are usually correct, so it is entirely possible Lee used it. He was an intelligent and insightful General and would have thought of something like it. Lee would have grown up with such nursery rhymes, as his father, Henry Lee III, was raised in a prominently British influenced environment. During the revolutionary war, he served as a cavalry officer in the Continental Army and was later Governor of Virginia.
Glad you love it. Tell your friends.
Alorkin