Theraceofthefugitivescontinued。AtCenterville，theCongressmenpassedWade。SoonafterwardWadepassedthemforthesecondtime。AboutamileoutofFairfaxCourtHouse，“atthefootofalongdowngrade，thepikeonthenortherlysidewasfencedandranalongafarm。Ontheothersideforaconsiderabledistancewasawood，utterlyimpenetrableformenoranimals，largerthancatsorsquirrels。“HeretheWadecarriagestopped。Thecongressionalcarriagedroveupbesideit。ThetwoblockedanarrowwaywhereasinthecaseofHoratiusatthebridge，“athousandmightwellbestoppedbythree。“Andthen“bluffBenWade“showedthemettlethatwasinhim。The“oldSenator，hishatwellbackonhishead，“sprangoutofhiscarriage，hisrifleinhishand，andcalledtotheothers，“Boys，we’llstopthisdamnedrunaway。“Andtheydidit。Onlysixofthem，buttheylinedupacrossthatnarrowroad；presentedtheirweaponsandthreatenedtoshoot；seizedthebridlesofhorsesandflungthehorsesbackontheirhaunches；checkedapanic-strickenarmy；helditatbay，untiljustwhenitseemedtheywereabouttobeoverwhelmed，militaryreserveshurryingoutfromFairfaxCourtHouse，tookcommandoftheroad。Cool，unpretentiousRiddlecallstheepisode“Wade’sexploit，“andadds“itwasmuchtalkedof。“Thenewspapersdealtwithitextravagantly。[2]
Gallantastheincidentwas，itwasallthemilitaryservicethat“Ben“Wadeand“Zach“Chandler——forthustheyareknowninhistory-oversaw。ButonemaybelievethatithadalastingeffectupontheirpointofviewandonthatoftheirfriendLymanTrumbull。Certainitisthatnoneofthethreethereafterhadanydoubtsaboutputtingthemilitarymenintheirplace。AlltheerroroftheirownviewprevioustoBullRunwasforgotten。WadeandChandler，especially，whenmilitaryquestionswereindispute，feltthatnoonepossiblycouldknowmoreofthesubjectthandidthemenwhostoppedtheroutinthenarrowroadbeyondFairfax。
ThreeofthosepicnickerswhomissedtheirguessonBullRunSunday，Wade，ChandlerandTrumbull，weredestinedtoimportantpartsinthesternyearsthatweretocome。Beforethecloseoftheyear1861thethreemadeasecondvisittothearmy；andthistimetheykepttogether。Tothatsecondvisitmomentoushappeningsmaybetraced。Howitcameaboutmustbefullyunderstood。
Twoofthethree，WadeandChandler，weretemperamentallyincapableofunderstandingLincoln。Bothweremenoffiercesouls；eachhadbutaverylimitedexperience。WadehadbeenacountrylawyerinOhio；Chandler，aprosperousmanufacturerinMichigan。Theywerepartymenbyinstinct，blindtothefaultsoftheirownside，blindtothevirtuesoftheirenemies。Theywererabidforthecontrolofthegovernmentbytheirownorganizedmachine。
OfChandler，inMichigan，itwassaidthathe“carriedtheRepublicanorganizationinhisbreechespocket“；partlythroughcontroloftheFederalpatronage，whichLincolnfranklyconcededtohim，partlythrougha“judicioususeofmoney。“[3]