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+Project Gutenberg's Reminiscences of a Rebel, by Wayland Fuller Dunaway
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Reminiscences of a Rebel
+
+Author: Wayland Fuller Dunaway
+
+Release Date: January 17, 2008 [EBook #24341]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL
+
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's logo]
+
+
+BY
+
+THE REV. WAYLAND FULLER DUNAWAY, D.D.
+
+Formerly Captain of Co. I, 40th Va. Regt.,
+Army of Northern Virginia
+
+
+                                   "_Omnibus hostes
+     Reddite nos populis--civile avertite bellum._"
+                                         --_Lucan._
+
+
+[Illustration: logo]
+
+
+NEW YORK
+THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY
+1913
+
+
+Copyright, 1913, by
+WAYLAND FULLER DUNAWAY
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Notwithstanding the title of this volume, I do not admit that I was ever
+in any true sense a rebel, neither do I intend any disrespect when I
+call the Northern soldiers Yankees. The use of these terms is only a
+concession to the appellations that were customary during the war.
+
+It is my purpose to record some recollections of the Civil War, and
+incidentally to furnish some historical notices of the brigade to which
+I was attached. Here and there I have expressed, also, some opinions
+concerning the great events of that dreadful period, some criticisms of
+the conduct of battles and retreats, and some estimates of the abilities
+of prominent generals.
+
+The incentive to write is of a complex nature. There is a pleasure,
+especially to the aged, in reviving the memories of the past and
+narrating them to attentive hearers. Moreover, I hope that this book
+will furnish instruction to those who have grown up since the war, and
+entertainment to older persons who participated in its struggles,
+privations, and sorrows. And besides, the future historian of that
+gigantic conflict may perhaps find here some original contribution to
+the accumulating material upon which he must draw. He will need the
+humble narratives of inconspicuous participants as well as the
+pretentious attempts of the partial historians who have preceded him.
+The river flows into the sea, but the river itself is supplied by creeks
+and rivulets and springs.
+
+                                                             W. F. D.
+
+
+
+
+REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+     "Lay down the axe; fling by the spade;
+        Leave in its track the toiling plow;
+     The rifle and the bayonet-blade
+        For arms like yours were fitter now;
+     And let the hands that ply the pen
+        Quit the light task, and learn to wield
+     The horseman's crooked brand, and rein
+        The charger on the battle field."
+                                       --BRYANT.
+
+
+In the fall of the year 1860, when I was in my nineteenth year, I
+boarded the steamboat _Virginia_,--the only one then running on the
+Rappahannock river,--and went to Fredericksburg on my way to the
+University of Virginia. It was my expectation to spend two sessions in
+the classes of the professors of law, John B. Minor and James P.
+Holcombe, and then, having been graduated, to follow that profession in
+Lancaster, my native county.
+
+The political sky had assumed a threatening aspect. The minds of the
+Southern people had been inflamed by the insurrectionary raid of John
+Brown upon Harper's Ferry, especially because it had been approved by
+some Northern officials, and because the surrender of some fugitives
+from justice, who had taken part in that murderous adventure, had been
+refused by Ohio and Iowa. The election of Abraham Lincoln added fuel to
+the flame. Having been nominated by the Republican party, he was
+constitutionally chosen President of the United States, although he had
+not received a majority of the popular vote. The election was ominous,
+because it was sectional, Mr. Lincoln having carried all the Northern
+states but not one of the Southern. The intensest excitement prevailed,
+while passion blew the gale and held the rudder too.
+
+While I believed in the right of secession I deprecated the exercise of
+that right, because I loved the Union and the flag under which my
+ancestors had enjoyed the blessings of civil and religious liberty. I
+did not think that Lincoln's election was a sufficient cause for
+dissolving the Union, for he had announced no evil designs concerning
+Southern institutions; and, even if he had, he was powerless to put them
+into execution. He could have done nothing without the consent of
+Congress, and his party was in a minority both in the Senate and in the
+House of Representatives.
+
+Before Christmas South Carolina, not caring for consequences and blind
+to the horrible future, passed an ordinance of secession; and her
+example was followed in quick succession by Mississippi, Florida,
+Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These seven states organized the
+Southern Confederacy, of which Jefferson Davis was inaugurated
+President, February 18, 1861. In April Fort Sumter was captured, and on
+the 15th of that month President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling
+on the remaining states to furnish their quotas of an army of
+seventy-five thousand soldiers for the purpose of destroying the
+Confederate government. Two days later the Virginia convention passed an
+ordinance of secession. Being compelled to take sides, the Old Dominion
+naturally cast her lot with her Southern sisters. War had
+begun,--intestine war, of whose magnitude and duration no living man had
+any adequate conception.
+
+These events conspired with other causes to infuse in me a martial
+spirit. The conviction was growing in me that, as my native state was
+about to be invaded, I must have a place in the ranks of her defenders.
+I was influenced by speeches delivered by Governor Floyd, Professor
+Holcombe, and Dr. Bledsoe, and still more by the contagious example of
+my roommate, William H. Chapman, who had gone with a company of students
+to Harper's Ferry, and had returned. What brought the conviction to a
+head was a flag. One morning in the latter part of April, as I was
+walking from my boarding-house to the University I saw a Confederate
+banner floating above the rotunda. Some of the students during the
+night, surmounting difficulty and braving danger, had clambered to the
+summit and erected there the symbol of a new nation. I was thrilled by
+the sight of it as if by an electric shock. There it was, outstretched
+by a bracing northwest wind, flapping defiantly, arousing patriotic
+emotion. Unable longer to refrain, I went as soon as the lecture was
+concluded to Professor Minor's residence and told him I was going to
+enter the military service of Virginia. He sought to dissuade me, but,
+perceiving that he could not alter my rash decision, he gave at my
+request a written permission to leave his classes.
+
+But how to get home?--that had become a perplexing question. I could not
+go the way I had come, because the _Virginia_ fearful of capture had
+ceased to make trips from Fredericksburg to Lancaster, and there was no
+railroad to that part of the state. Knowing that my uncle, Addison Hall,
+was a member of the Convention, I determined to take a train to
+Richmond and seek his advice. I felt relieved when he informed me that
+he was going the next morning, and that I could go along with him. We
+took an early train to West Point, and being ferried across the
+Mattaponi river, obtained from one of his friends a conveyance to
+Urbanna. We hired a sloop to take us to Carter's creek, and thence we
+proceeded in a farm wagon to his home in the village of Kilmarnock. The
+next morning he sent me to the home of the Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Dunaway,
+my brother, and my guardian.
+
+In a few days I enlisted in a company that was being raised by Captain
+Samuel P. Gresham, who had been a student at the Virginia Military
+Institute. And thus the student's gown was exchanged for the soldier's
+uniform.
+
+Before we were regularly mustered into service an expedition was
+undertaken that indicated at once the forwardness of our people to
+engage the enemy and their ignorance of military affairs. The report
+having been circulated that a Federal gunboat was lying in Mill Creek
+in Northumberland county, its capture, or destruction, was resolved upon
+by about a hundred men, who had assembled at the county seat of
+Lancaster. With no weapons except an old smooth-bore six-pound cannon,
+and that loaded with scrap iron gathered from a blacksmith's shop, we
+proceeded to Mill Creek and unlimbered on the bank in plain view of the
+boat, and distant from it some two or three hundred yards. I have always
+been glad that we had sense enough to refrain from shooting, for
+otherwise most of us would have been killed then and there. Seeing the
+hopelessness of an unequal combat, we retired from the scene somewhat
+wiser than when we went. In that instance was not "discretion the better
+part of valor"?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+     War, war is still the cry, "War to the knife."
+                                                --BYRON.
+
+
+There was in the central part of the county a beautiful grove in which
+the Methodists were accustomed to hold their annual camp-meetings. On
+account of its location and the shelter afforded by its tents it was in
+1861 transformed into a rendezvous of a radically different nature, the
+military companies that had been raised in the county assembling there
+preparatory to going into the army. It was there that Captain Gresham's
+company, known as the Lacy Rifles, was formally enrolled by Col. R. A.
+Claybrook and Dr. James Simmonds. When they came to where I stood in the
+line of men they declined to enlist me because I appeared pale and weak
+on account of recent sickness. I said, "Do as you like, gentlemen, but I
+am going with the boys anyhow." "If you talk like that," they replied,
+"we will insert your name."
+
+Not many days afterward the company assembled at the court-house, and,
+having sworn allegiance to the Southern Confederacy, was duly mustered
+into its service. In vehicles of all sorts we drove to Monaskon wharf,
+where the schooner _Extra_ was moored to receive us and to convey us up
+the Rappahannock river. As the vessel glided along what a jolly set we
+were!--gay as larks, merry as crickets, playful as kittens. There was
+singing, dancing, feasting on the palatable provisions supplied by the
+loving friends we were leaving, with no thought of captivity, wounds,
+nor death. Ignorant of war, we were advancing toward its devouring jaws
+with such conduct as became an excursion of pleasure. The only arms we
+then possessed were two-edged daggers made of rasps in blacksmith shops,
+and with these we were going to hew our way to victory through the
+serried ranks of the invading army! Ah, well! we knew better what war
+was after we had become the seasoned veterans of many campaigns.
+
+When the vessel had proceeded up the river as far as Fort Lowry it
+rounded to, because a solid shot ricochetted before the bow, and we were
+transferred to the steamboat _Virginia_, which carried us to
+Fredericksburg. Passing along the streets, attracting attention by our
+neat gray uniforms, we marched out to the fair-grounds, and rejoiced to
+obtain the friendly shelter of the cattle stalls. They were not as
+comfortable as the chambers of our homes--but what of it? Were we not
+soldiers now? It is wonderful and blessed how human nature can
+accommodate itself to altered environments.
+
+We were supplied with smoothbore, muzzle-loading, Springfield muskets,
+small leather boxes for percussion caps, and larger ones for cartridges.
+For the information of the present generation let it be explained that
+the cartridge was made of tough paper containing powder in one end and
+the ounce ball of lead in the other; and the manner of loading was
+this: the soldier tore off with his teeth the end, poured the powder
+into the muzzle, and then rammed down the ball; this being done, a cap
+was placed on the nipple of the breech, and the gun was ready to be
+fired. That musket is antiquated now, but it did much execution in
+former days.
+
+Maj. J. H. Lacy, for whom the company was named, presented an elegant
+silk banner, which at Captain Gresham's request I received in the best
+language at my command. It was never borne in battle, for it was not
+companies but regiments that carried banners. There was but one flag to
+a regiment, and that was always carried in the center. Twice a day there
+was a course of drilling in tactical evolutions and in the handling of
+the muskets. At first I was hardly strong enough to sustain the fatigue,
+but I rapidly grew stronger under the combined influence of exercise,
+sleeping in the open air, and the excitement of a military life. The war
+did me harm in many ways, but it was the means of increasing my capacity
+for bodily exertion. During the encampment at Fredericksburg many of my
+spare moments were spent in reading the New Testament and Pollok's
+"Course of Time."
+
+We did not long remain in Fredericksburg; but being transported on cars
+to Brooke Station we marched up to camp Chappawamsic, near a Baptist
+church of that name. There the Lacy Rifles became Company F in the 47th
+regiment of Virginia Volunteers, commanded by Col. G. W. Richardson of
+Henrico county, who had been a member of the Virginia Convention that
+passed the ordinance of secession. He was a brave and patriotic
+gentleman, but unskilled in military affairs; and he did not long retain
+the command.
+
+From the summer of 1861 until the spring of 1862 we spent the time in
+company and regimental drill, and in picketing the shore of the Potomac
+river day and night, lest the enemy should effect a landing and take us
+unaware. During that time no shots were exchanged with the enemy,
+because no landing was attempted. The only fighting that we saw was at
+Dumfries where there was a Confederate fort, to which we marched to act
+as a support in case the Yankees came ashore. Three vessels of the
+Federal navy passed slowly down the river, between which and the fort
+there was a brief but lively cannonade; but so far as I know there was
+no resulting damage to either side.
+
+On Sunday, July 21, we heard the booming of the cannon at Bull Run,
+lamenting that we had no part in the battle. When we afterward heard how
+McDowell's army skedaddled back to Washington more rapidly than they
+came, we thought that the war would end without our firing a gun. So
+little did we understand the firmness of President Lincoln's mind and
+the settled purpose of the North!
+
+The winter was spent in comparative comfort, for we moved out of tents
+into cabins built of pine logs, each one having a wide arch and a
+chimney. At Christmas some good things were sent to me, among which was
+a dressed turkey, which I did not know how to prepare for the table, for
+even if I had possessed some knowledge of the culinary art there was no
+suitable oven. Fortunately a comrade by the name of John Cook,--an
+appropriate name for that occasion,--came to my relief and solved the
+problem in a most satisfactory manner. The bird was suspended by a
+string before the open fire, and being continually turned right and
+left, and basted with grease from a plate beneath, it was beautifully
+browned and cooked to a turn.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+     Drummer, strike up, and let us march away.
+                            --SHAKESPEARE'S _Henry VI_.
+
+
+In the spring of 1862 Gen. George B. McClellan with an army of 120,000
+men, thoroughly drilled and lavishly equipped, set out from Washington
+to capture Richmond from the north; but he had not proceeded far before
+he changed his mind about the line of advance. His forces were
+transported to Fortress Monroe with the design of approaching the city
+by the way of the peninsula that lies between the York and the James
+rivers. The correctness of his judgment was justified by subsequent
+campaigns; for the successive attempts of Pope, Burnside, Hooker, and
+Grant to take the Confederate capital from the north were all disastrous
+failures.
+
+In order to check the upward progress of McClellan's army, Gen. Joseph
+E. Johnston withdrew his forces from Manassas and the shore of the
+Potomac and concentrated them on the Peninsula. The 47th regiment
+marched from its winter quarters to Richmond, and was thence transported
+down the James to a wharf not far from Yorktown. During our brief stay
+in that vicinity, the companies were authorized to elect their officers;
+and I, who had been acting as Orderly Sergeant, was chosen Third
+Lieutenant.
+
+As the National army advanced, the Confederates fell back toward
+Richmond. Our regiment was not in the engagement that took place near
+Williamsburg on the 5th of May, but I saw then for the first time some
+wounded men and prisoners. The retreat was conducted somewhat rapidly,
+but in an orderly and skilful manner. I do not remember that we marched
+in darkness but once, and then we trudged all night long through
+shoe-deep mud. At times when the men in front encountered an unusually
+bad place those who were behind were compelled to come to a temporary
+halt. If I did not sleep while walking along I came as near to it as
+weary mortal ever did, and I am sure that I dozed while standing still.
+
+General Johnston posted his army between Richmond and the Chickahominy
+river, the 47th regiment being on the left, not far from Meadow bridge,
+and in the pestilential low-grounds of that sluggish stream. Swarms of
+mosquitoes attacked us at night and with their hypodermic proboscides
+injected poisonous malaria in our veins, to avoid which the sleeping
+soldier covered his head with a blanket. The complexion of the men
+became sallow, and every day numbers of them were put on the sick-list
+by the surgeons.
+
+The 47th regiment, commanded by Col. Robert M. Mayo, and having brigade
+connection with some regiments from North Carolina, had its first
+experience of real war in the battle of Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks),
+which was fought on the 31st of May. On that day General Johnston
+attacked the left wing of the Federal army, which had been thrown
+across to the southern side of the Chickahominy. To some persons the
+declaration may seem surprising, but it was with real pleasure that I
+went into the battle. It was the novelty of it, I suppose, that
+prevented me from being frightened by exploding shells and rattling
+musketry. The dread of these things came afterward when I saw fields
+scattered over with the wounded, the dying, and the dead, and among them
+some of my dearest friends. In that affair our Lieutenant-Colonel, John
+M. Lyell, was seriously wounded, and the regiment sustained a loss of
+about fifty men. Our chaplain, Mr. Meredith, of Stafford county, went
+into action with us, but while he did not do the like again, it is no
+impeachment of his courage. His duty lay in other directions; and it
+ought to be recorded in his praise that after every battle he might be
+found doing all he could to relieve and comfort the wounded.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+     In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
+     As modest stillness, and humility;
+     But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
+     Then imitate the action of the tiger;
+     Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
+                               --SHAKESPEARE'S _Henry V_.
+
+
+After the undecisive battle of Seven Pines the 47th regiment together
+with the 40th and the 55th Virginia regiments and the 22nd Virginia
+battalion was formed into a brigade, and this combination continued
+until the close of the war. It was known as the First Brigade of the
+Light Division, which was composed of six brigades, and commanded by
+Maj.-Gen. A. P. Hill. Why it was called the Light division I did not
+learn; but I know that the name was applicable, for we often marched
+without coats, blankets, knapsacks, or any other burdens except our
+arms and haversacks, which were never heavy and sometimes empty.
+
+On Thursday, June 26, the memorable but miss-called "battles around
+Richmond" began. Being on the left of the army, the First Brigade had
+the honor and the danger of being the first to cross the Chickahominy.
+Passing over Meadow bridge, we dispersed the enemy's outpost, only one
+man being wounded in the passage, and hurried on towards Mechanicsville
+and Beaver Dam, where was posted the extreme right of the Federal army.
+The contest raged for six hours. We failed to dislodge the enemy from
+its naturally strong and well-fortified position across Beaver Dam
+creek, and our loss was heavy,--heavier in some other brigades than in
+ours. The following morning, discovering that our antagonists had
+withdrawn, we crossed over Beaver Dam in pursuit.
+
+McClellan had decided to retreat! He called it a change of base; but if
+a change of base from the York to the James river was good strategy,
+why did he not do it before he was attacked? It looks very much as if he
+gave "a reason upon compulsion." It must be conceded that he managed the
+retreat with admirable ability, although, while inflicting severe
+punishment upon Lee's army, it involved the loss of 10,000 prisoners, 52
+pieces of artillery and 35,000 stand of small arms, besides immense
+stores of ammunition and provisions. But why retreat? Was it for this
+that he had led to the gates of Richmond a grand army of brave and
+disciplined men, at an enormous cost to his government? Having many
+qualities of a great commander, he lacked the _gaudium certaminis_ and
+the daring that assumes the hazard of defeat. In war the adage holds
+good with emphasis: "Nothing venture, nothing gain." The celebrated
+generals of all times, confiding in their own skill and the bravery of
+their soldiers, have been bold even to the degree of seeming rashness.
+Such was the spirit and conduct of Lee when with half the numbers he
+assaulted Hooker, and afterward Grant, in the Wilderness.
+
+McClellan's army being astraddle the Chickahominy, two courses of action
+were open to him when he was attacked.
+
+He might have concentrated on the north side of the river, leaving a
+sufficient force to guard the bridges in his rear, and then assumed a
+strong defensive position. Having abandoned Beaver Dam he withdrew to
+Gaines' Mill,--a place most favorable for defense,--still having 60,000
+men in striking distance across the river. If instead of vacating that
+position, or suffering a portion of his army to be driven from it, he
+had reënforced it by a half of those unoccupied 60,000 men, I do not
+believe he could have been dislodged by all the valor and dash of the
+Confederate army.
+
+The other line of action that he might have chosen was to concentrate on
+the southern side of the river, destroy the bridges, and then crushing
+the small army of Magruder, make a quick attack upon Richmond, while
+the forces of Lee and Jackson were on the other side. It seems to me
+that either course would have been better and nobler than the inglorious
+retreat to Harrison's Landing. It appeared that Lee was gaining victory
+after victory; but until the battle of Malvern Hill he was fighting only
+portions of McClellan's forces. In that engagement alone did the Union
+army contend with its undivided strength, and there it gained a victory.
+If it could hold its ground there after having suffered many losses,
+could it not much better have repulsed the Confederates at Gaines' Mill?
+
+When the First Brigade advanced to the charge at Gaines' Mill, on the
+27th of June, it emerged out of a wood into a large field, which
+declined toward a ravine through which a stream of water ran, and on the
+other side of which the ground rose somewhat precipitously to a
+considerable altitude. It had been wisely chosen for defense, and the
+opposite high ground was lined with infantry and crowned with
+batteries. As it was impossible to dislodge the enemy until some
+diversion should be created on one of his flanks, our men lay prone upon
+the ground, while bullets and shells hurtled among us and above us. At
+length seeing a brigade on our left rapidly advancing where the enemy's
+position was less formidable, we rose up and, with the inspiring "rebel
+yell," ran down the slope, crossed the little creek, clambered up the
+hill, and poured a volley into the retiring Yankees, some of whom were
+Duryea's Zouaves with their flaming uniforms. It was then that we more
+than repaid them for the loss they had inflicted upon us. On that day
+there fell some of my dearest friends, among whom was St. John F. Moody,
+who for three years had been my teacher, and afterward became my beloved
+companion. So patriotic and brave was he that if "_Dulce et decorum est
+pro patria mori_" ever was true of any hero it was of him.
+
+The next battle in which the brigade took part was that of Frazier's
+Farm, three days later. As we entered a field we saw before us a
+battery (which I believe was Randell's) supported by a firm line of
+infantry. In Wilson's history of the war he says: "One of the most
+brilliant charges of the day was made by the 55th and the 60th
+Virginia." The correct statement is that it was made by our brigade
+composed, as has been said, of the 40th, the 47th, the 55th, and the 22d
+Virginia. We rushed across the field, drove away the opposing infantry,
+and captured the battery. One of the gunners lying on the ground badly
+wounded jerked the lanyard of a loaded cannon just as we had almost
+reached the battery. Happily for us the discharge flew over our heads.
+He knew that he was in our power, for all his comrades were fleeing
+away, and he had no right to fire upon us. The deed was more like
+vengeful murder than honorable war; however, we did him no harm, for
+though his spirit was spiteful his pluck was commendable.
+
+It was late in the afternoon; and as we stood in line by the captured
+guns, ready to receive an expected countercharge, a lone horseman
+approached who proved to be Major-General McCall, who in the fading
+twilight had mistaken us for his own men. Hearing numerous cries to halt
+and seeing many muskets leveled at him, he dismounted and led his horse
+to where we stood. Being conducted before Colonel Mayo, he said, "For
+God's sake, Colonel, don't let your men do me any harm." Colonel Mayo
+was so indignant at the implied accusation that he used some cuss words,
+and asked him whether he thought we were a set of barbarians. If he had
+been captured in battle, I should have been glad; but, as it was, I felt
+sorry for him, and if I could have had the disposal of him I would have
+paroled him and turned him loose.
+
+The First Brigade did not again come under fire until we reached Malvern
+Hill, the 1st of July. There McClellan had skilfully stationed his
+entire army, and all the valorous efforts of Lee's army to storm the
+position were unavailing. One of our men addressed a North Carolina
+regiment as "Tarheels" and received for answer, "If you had had some
+tar on your heels, you would have stuck to that battery better than you
+did."
+
+McClellan, having for six days acted on the defensive, and in the last
+engagement having been virtually victorious, had an opportunity to
+assume the offensive; for in war as in the game of chess an unsuccessful
+attack invites defeat. On the 2d of July, if he had inspirited his
+regiments with the cry of "On to Richmond" and attacked the Confederates
+unprepared for so surprising a reversal, who can tell what might have
+been the result? Was it not worth the trial? And if he had failed, could
+he not then have fallen back to the cover of the gunboats? But he was
+bent on going to Harrison's Landing, and thither his army retreated all
+night over a muddy road. Thus ended the second attempt to capture the
+Confederate capital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+     When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war.
+                                       --NATHANIEL LEE.
+
+
+After the battle of Malvern Hill the First Brigade had a brief and
+enjoyable respite from marching and fighting, while it bivouacked in the
+pine forest near Savage Station.
+
+Gen. John Pope, with his "headquarters in the saddle," set out from
+Washington with a numerous force to capture Richmond, and was reënforced
+by the remains of McClellan's army that had been transported from
+Harrison's Landing to Acquia creek. Jackson's corps, of which Hill's
+Light Division was an important part, was dispatched to watch his
+movements and to check his progress. From the flat lands of the James
+and the Chickahominy we marched to the hill country, and for a few days
+remained near Orange Court House. On the 9th of August we forded the
+Rapidan in search of the enemy. A suffocating cloud of dust enveloped
+our toiling host, and so intense was the heat that a few of the men fell
+sunstruck in the road. During this march, as also on similar occasions,
+I saw packs of cards scattered along the highway; for though the soldier
+might play them for money or amusement when there was no prospect of an
+engagement, he did not relish the thought of their being found upon him
+if he should be killed. In the afternoon we encountered a portion of the
+National army under the command of General Banks and fought the battle
+of Cedar Run, in which our people were victorious. That night the
+hostile lines were so close that we could hear the Yankees talking, but
+could not distinguish the words. When daylight came they were far away.
+
+Toward the latter part of the month Pope's army occupied a position near
+Warrenton in Fauquier county, while across the North Fork of the
+Rappahannock river he was confronted by Lee's united army in Culpeper.
+
+To cross the river and force the Federal position by a front attack was
+plainly impracticable; but in some way the Yankees must be removed and
+compelled to fight on something like equal terms. The plan was formed
+that Jackson with his corps should by a forced circuitous march obtain
+the enemy's rear and thus, cutting the line of his communication, compel
+him to retire from his advantageous location, and that Lee with
+Longstreet's corp should rejoin Jackson and bring on an engagement with
+his entire army. To some military critics this division of the army in
+the face of an unchastised antagonist might seem to contradict the rules
+of sound strategy, but in the fertile minds of Lee and Jackson it was
+the dictate of consummate genius. Such a division occurred in Maryland,
+just before the battle of Sharpsburg, and again at Chancellorsville the
+following year, and each time it was advantageous to the Confederate
+arms. These two men had the utmost confidence in each other, and either
+felt safe while the other was making an independent movement. In the
+course of the years that have elapsed since the termination of the war I
+have frequently been asked, "Which was the greater general, Lee or
+Jackson?" After pondering this question for forty-five years I am yet
+unable to decide; and that reminds me of Abe Lincoln and the hats. When
+he became President, two enterprising merchants in Washington, desiring
+to secure his custom, each presented him with an elegant silk hat, and
+it so happened that they called at the same time to learn his opinion of
+their gifts. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "these hats mutually excel
+each other."
+
+On Tuesday, the 26th of August, the march of Jackson's corps began,
+every step of the onward way bringing us nearer to the Blue Ridge where
+it borders the county of Rappahannock, and causing us to guess that
+through some gap of the mountain we were going into the valley. We did
+not know what Old Jack, (as he was familiarly and affectionately
+called,) was up to, but it did not matter what was the objective,--so
+implicit was the confidence reposed in his military judgment. Passing
+out of Rappahannock and skirting the base of the Blue Ridge, we rested
+for the night at Salem, in Fauquier, a station of the Manassas Gap
+Railroad, the name of which has since been changed to Marshall. Betimes
+the next morning we were hurrying eastward through Thoroughfare Gap of
+Bull Run Mountain, and late in the evening we arrived at Manassas
+Junction,--between Pope's army and Washington. I had read that walking
+was an excellent form of exercise because it brought into play every
+muscle of the body, and having walked nearly sixty miles in two days I
+was convinced that the reason assigned was valid, for the muscles of my
+arms and neck were almost as sore as were those of my legs. The making
+of long marches unexpectedly and quickly was one of the secrets of
+Jackson's success. It may be supposed by the uninitiated that after such
+fatigue the soldier is not in good condition for fighting; but the
+sense of weariness is lost when the excitement of battle begins.
+
+The few Federal regiments on guard at the Junction were quickly
+dispersed, and trains of cars loaded with all sorts of army supplies
+were burned. A large building filled with commissary stores was also
+burned, but not before our empty haversacks had been replenished. By the
+light of the fires we supped plentifully on potatoes and beef and then
+lay down upon the ground, not to pleasant dreams, but to dreamless
+sleep.
+
+On the 28th our brigade with some others went toward Centerville, in
+Fairfax county, and thence turning away came back into Prince William
+and took position on a part of the ground whereon the first battle of
+Manassas had been fought. Ewell's division, which had been left behind
+to befog Pope's mind and retard his movements, joined us and completed
+the defensive line of Jackson's entire corps.
+
+The next day the Federal army began to press us vigorously, but the
+numerous attacks made upon us were repelled and followed by counter
+charges. Our Brigadier-General, Field, was wounded badly, and Company F
+lost some men, among whom was Lieutenant James Ball, who in the absence
+of Capt. William Brown was in command. By his death the control of the
+company was devolved upon me.
+
+Let me here relate an incident to show that between individuals of the
+opposing hosts there was no animosity. During a lull in the battle I
+left the regiment and circumspectly proceeded forward to reconnoiter. I
+found in a wood a Yankee captain dangerously wounded, a fine-looking man
+and handsomely dressed. In reply to the question whether I could do
+anything for him he asked for water, and I, kneeling down, held my
+canteen to his lips, for which kindness he made grateful
+acknowledgments. "And now," said I, "there is something you can do for
+me: you can give me your sword, but I will not take it unless you part
+with it freely." He replied that I was welcome to it, for he would never
+need it again. After I had taken it he said: "You had better retire,
+because our men will soon be here again." He was thirsty, and I gave him
+drink; I was in danger, and he gave me friendly warning.
+
+That sword had an unfortunate history: its beautiful scabbard, belt, and
+shoulder strap were ruined when my tent was burned the next winter; its
+hilt was shot off at Chancellorsville, and the naked blade was thrown
+away on that ensanguined field.
+
+I returned to where the regiment was standing prepared to receive
+another attack, which, however, was not made that day. When we were
+ordered to fall back to our first position, I caused to be brought with
+us the bodies of Lieutenant Ball and his most intimate friend, Mordecai
+Lawson, who, like him, had been shot in the forehead. With bayonets and
+hands a grave was dug, in which we laid them side by side, and spreading
+over them a soldier's blanket, we heaped above them the turf and clods.
+In neither army could there have been found two braver men. Boon
+companions in life, in death they were not divided.
+
+The next day, Saturday the 30th, witnessed the grand struggle that has
+become famous in history as the Second Battle of Manassas. After a
+separation of four days Longstreet's corps had come up and formed on
+Jackson's right, and General Pope was compelled either to retreat or
+fight on ground so skilfully selected by General Lee. The line of battle
+was nearly parallel with Bull Run, whereas in the first battle it was
+perpendicular to it.
+
+There was between the two armies a bed that had been graded for a
+railroad, but upon which no rails have ever been laid. It was the
+fortune of the First Brigade to fight on Friday over a shallow cut, and
+on Saturday over the deepest of all. Our line being formed in an oak
+forest and ordered to charge, we rushed from the wood into a large field
+across which the cut had been dug, not knowing it was there until we
+came close to it. The Federal soldiers on the other side made but feeble
+resistance, because they had already been hotly engaged with a brigade
+composed of the 60th Virginia and some regiments from Louisiana. That
+brigade was down in the cut, having exhausted their ammunition, and it
+would have been captured but for our timely arrival, which filled them
+with rejoicing. In that charge the saber was knocked from my uplifted
+hand, and falling it stuck in the ground some paces behind me.
+
+The brigade did not cross the cut, but a few of the men clambered over
+and I among them. There was a cannon over there which they pulled back
+with all the hilarity of college students, some riding astraddle the
+piece, cheering, and waving their caps.
+
+We had no sooner recrossed the cut and regained our places in the line
+than the grand spectacle of dense columns of Pope's army coming to the
+assault was witnessed. In perfect array, they kept step as if on dress
+parade, and bore their banners proudly. I looked for a terrific shock,
+but before they came to close quarters with us, the Confederate
+artillery, massed on high ground behind us, opened upon their closed
+ranks, and wrought such fearful destruction as, I believe, was not
+dealt in any other battle of the entire war. Shells burst among them so
+thick and fast that in a few minutes the field was literally strewn with
+the killed and wounded. They halted, they turned, they fled; and Lee's
+whole army assuming the offensive, rushed forward and won the battle.
+
+General Pope was going to hoist the Stars and Stripes above the capitol
+in Richmond, but he came no nearer to the city than Cedar Run. His men
+were brave, but from first to last he was mystified by Lee's superior
+strategy. A prisoner said to me, "If we had your Jackson, we would soon
+whip you." And I will express the opinion that if the Army of the
+Potomac had been commanded by generals who were the equals of Lee and
+Jackson the Southern Confederacy would have collapsed before April,
+1865; and sooner still if Lee and Jackson had led the Northern armies,
+while the Confederates were marshaled by leaders of Pope's caliber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+                       'Tis the soldiers' life
+     To have their balmy slumbers waked with strife.
+                                --SHAKESPEARE'S _Othello_.
+
+
+Our next encounter with the Yankees occurred on the first day of
+September at a place called Ox Hill, near Chantilly on the Little River
+turnpike, in which they sustained a heavy loss in the death of General
+Philip Kearney, one of their best and bravest commanders. Inasmuch as
+the action took place during a thunderstorm its awful impressiveness was
+increased, and it was difficult to distinguish between the
+reverberations of the heavens and the detonations of the mimicking
+artillery, sometimes alternating and sometimes simultaneous.
+
+That night, when all was still and darkness had settled upon the field
+where lay the victims of war, a soldier of the 40th regiment, an
+intrepid Irishman, George Cornwell by name, went out prowling for food
+and plunder, taking his musket with him. Unexpectedly meeting a Federal
+lieutenant and four men bearing a stretcher and searching for their
+wounded captain, he was asked to what regiment he belonged. With ready
+wit he named a New York regiment, and then learning their business and
+finding that they were unarmed, he leveled his musket, demanded their
+surrender, and brought them as prisoners within our lines. I myself did
+a little searching until I found a full haversack strapped to a man who
+would never use his teeth again. I was hungry, and chilled by the recent
+rain. I found in the haversack crackers and ground coffee mixed with
+sugar; and bringing into requisition my matches, tin cup, and canteen of
+water (which three things I was always careful to have about me), I soon
+had a pint of steaming beverage. I ate my supper, and then laid down to
+sleep. This was only one of many times that I slept in wet garments on
+the rain-soaked lap of earth without injury to my health; and the only
+reason I can give for the immunity is, that those were "War times."
+
+The National army returned to Washington, and together with all the
+forces in and around that city was again put under the command of
+General McClellan.
+
+From Chantilly we marched to the vicinity of Leesburg and went into camp
+near a beautiful spring, several feet deep, which was in a large square
+walled up with brick. The next day we came to the Potomac river, which
+was then about four feet deep, with its bottom covered with rounded
+stones of many sizes. We were not so favored as Joshua's host at the
+Jordan, but we just walked from shore to shore as if there were no water
+there. Beautiful was the scene. As I approached the river I beheld those
+who had crossed ascending the hill on the farther shore; in the water a
+double line of soldiers stretching from side to side, their guns held
+high above the current and gilded by the beams of the westering sun; and
+others behind them going down the declivity of the Virginia shore.
+There came unbidden to my mind some lines of one of Charles Wesley's
+hymns:
+
+
+     One army of the living God,
+       To his command we bow;
+     Part of the host have crossed the flood,
+       And part are crossing now.
+     E'en now to their eternal home
+       Some happy spirits fly;
+     And we are to the margin come,
+       And soon expect to die.
+
+
+From Bunyan's time onward, and I know not how long before, a river has
+been the Christian symbol of death.
+
+There was some expectation that when we came into Maryland many of her
+sons would rally to our banners, according to the prediction of a
+well-known song:
+
+
+     "She breathes, she burns, she'll come, she'll come,
+                Maryland, my Maryland;"
+
+
+but the cold fact is, she did not come; and in the light of subsequent
+events, it is well that she did not.
+
+From the Potomac the march was continued to the Monocacy river, near
+Frederick City. During our brief sojourn there we bought goods in the
+stores and paid for them in Confederate money, although, no doubt, the
+merchants would have preferred greenbacks or specie; and so far as I
+know nothing was taken without that remuneration.
+
+Again Lee's army was divided, Jackson's corps being detached and sent
+forward for the purpose of capturing Harper's Ferry. For three days
+during the westward march in Maryland no rations were issued, and our
+only food was ears of green corn roasted or boiled without salt. These
+served for supper and breakfast, but we had nothing for dinner, for if
+when we started in the morning we put the cooked corn in the haversacks
+it soured under the hot rays of the sun, and time was too precious to
+allow a halt for cooking a fresh supply at noon.
+
+Fording the Potomac again, we passed out of Maryland into Virginia at
+Williamsport and proceeded rapidly to Harper's Ferry. The Federal force
+occupying a very high hill which had been fortified by abattis and
+entrenchments, any attempt to storm it would have inflicted terrible
+loss upon the attacking party. With much difficulty our cannon had been
+placed on the Maryland Heights, on the Loudoun Heights, and on other
+eminences that overlooked the enemy's position; and when all was ready
+the order was given to the infantry to begin the assault. When we came
+to the foot of the little mountain occupied by the Yankees we discovered
+that trees had been cut so as to fall downward, and that their
+interlacing limbs had been trimmed and sharpened to a point. To advance
+upward through these innumerable spikes appeared impossible;
+nevertheless we began the ascent at the same time that our artillery on
+the mountains opened fire. The enemy, seeing our advance and being torn
+by plunging shots and shells from so many enfilading directions, were
+persuaded to surrender. As we were slowly struggling upward I looked and
+with a joyful feeling of relief saw the white flag flying, and a large
+one it was. This was on Monday, the 15th of September. So well was this
+affair planned by Jackson that without the loss of a man we captured
+11,000 prisoners, 13,000 stand of small arms, and 73 pieces of
+artillery.
+
+Having performed what was necessary to secure the fruits of this
+remarkable achievement, it was of the utmost importance that we should
+hurry away to reënforce Longstreet's corps, which was confronted by the
+northern army at Sharpsburg. Passing through Shepherdstown we waded the
+Potomac the third time. Our brigade did not reach the battle field until
+the evening of the 17th, when the most of the severe fighting of the day
+had ended. It was a drawn battle with very heavy losses on both sides.
+On the 18th the opposing hosts confronted each other without coming to
+blows. Did not McClellan blunder again? Having a much greater army, a
+part of which had not been engaged, ought he not to have renewed the
+battle in the attempt to crush the Confederates and drive them into the
+river? When he awoke on the 19th Lee's army was on the Virginia side.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+     The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife,
+     The morn the marshalling in arms, the day
+     Battle's magnificently-stern array.
+                                              --BYRON.
+
+
+On the 20th of September McClellan sent one of his divisions over into
+Virginia, with the purpose, I suppose, of making a reconnoissance in
+force. It was attacked by the Light Division and driven back to the
+Maryland side of the river, not a few of the men perishing in the water.
+On that occasion the 47th passed within a few paces of a Yankee regiment
+standing in line in a field and displaying their national banner. Not a
+musket was fired by either party; for they, being cut off from the
+river, were doomed to captivity, and we were going at double-quick
+against another force. When the engagement had ended and we were
+marching away, a solid shot from beyond the river ricochetted along our
+line and in unpleasant proximity to it. Though much of its force was
+spent, yet if it had struck our line it had sufficient momentum to have
+destroyed many lives. Here was a close call, which differed from many
+another in that the bounding ball was visible.
+
+The Maryland campaign being over, Jackson's corps retired to Bunker Hill
+between Winchester and Martinsburg, and there we had for more than two
+months an unusual season of rest and recuperation. I remember one day of
+special enjoyment. Obeying an order, I took a squad of men some seven or
+eight miles along the turnpike in the direction of Martinsburg to keep a
+lookout for the approach of the enemy. We halted where there was a grove
+on one side of the road and a dwelling-house on the other. We purchased
+a shoat from the matron of that domicile, who made us a stew that would
+have done credit to the Maypole Inn. After dinner,--the only meal worthy
+of that name that I had enjoyed for many months,--I took a musket, and
+leaving the men a short distance behind, took a stand in the middle of
+the road. No Yankee came in sight, but while I was there silently
+waiting and watching two large, beautiful wild turkeys walked with
+stately step across the road in easy range. Was I tempted to shoot? Yes.
+Did I do it? No; for I was particularly instructed that on no account
+must a gun be fired except on the enemy's approach. The report would
+have been repeated by squads in my rear, the camp would have been
+falsely alarmed, and I would have been justly court-martialed.
+
+The Army of the Potomac, 100,000 strong and commanded by General
+Burnside, once more took up the slogan,--"On to Richmond,"--but that was
+more easily said than done. Before it reached the northern bank of the
+Rappahannock river, opposite Fredericksburg, the ever-watchful Lee,
+having left the valley, had occupied the heights on the other side.
+Jackson's corps by rapid marches arrived at Fredericksburg on the 11th
+of December, none too soon for the impending conflict, and took
+position on Longstreet's right. Nearly five miles from the town our
+brigade formed the extreme right of the Southern Army, which was an
+assignment of honor; and the 47th held the right of the brigade. The
+other brigades of Hill's Light Division formed on our left, Gregg's next
+to ours, and between the two on higher ground twenty pieces of artillery
+looked out across the field. Lee's army had the advantage of position,
+and had the rare pleasure of fighting on the defensive. It occupied the
+high ground that borders the river flat, and which is close to the town,
+but, as it continues, recedes from the river, leaving an ever widening
+plain. On the morning of the memorable 13th that plain resounded to the
+martial tread of Burnside's army.
+
+Before the battle began General Lee, inspecting the disposition of his
+forces all along the line, rode up to where we stood, and dismounting
+from Traveller, handed the bridle-rein to an orderly. This was the first
+time that I saw him, and his appearance made an indelible impression
+upon my mind. What a noble man he was in form and face as well as in
+moral character! While he was examining the outlying field I had a
+conversation with the orderly, who spoke of the General's fondness for
+his horse.
+
+Having observed that a few men of the Confederate cavalry had brought up
+a piece of artillery in front of our right, I obtained permission of
+Colonel Mayo and ran forward to join them. Two Federal batteries came
+forward in a gallop and in a minute's time unlimbered and began firing
+against Hill's division, the twenty guns of which I have spoken giving
+them as good as they sent and a little better. The Yankees were so hotly
+engaged by the firing in front of them that they paid no attention to
+the little cavalry gun upon the flank. The first shot did no execution,
+but the next struck a caisson and exploded its contents.
+
+What more was done there I cannot say; for seeing that the Federal
+infantry were advancing to the charge, I hastily returned to my position
+in the regiment. Our men, lying in a railroad cut about two feet deep,
+waited until the Yankees were close upon them, and then rising up poured
+such volleys upon them as caused them to retire in confusion; but on our
+left Gregg's South Carolina brigade was broken through and he was
+killed. Being thereby severed from the rest of the army, we changed
+front and took the victorious Yankees in flank, causing them to lose
+their advantage and fall back to the railroad which they had crossed.
+Then occurred a pretty duel. The blue and the grey lines were about
+sixty yards apart and each was loading and firing as rapidly as
+possible. The Federal general and his two aides on horseback were urging
+their men to charge, as was evident from their gestures; but their men
+would not respond.
+
+Being an officer I had no weapons but sword and pistol, but I picked up
+the musket of one of our men, who had loaded it but was killed before he
+could discharge it, and called on some of our company to shoot down the
+horsemen. We took deliberate aim and fired; and down went horses and
+riders. "Now," said I, "shoot down the colors." Four times they fell,
+only to be quickly raised again. I would not affirm that the little
+group about me shot down the horsemen and the flag, for many others were
+shooting at the same time; I only know that we calmly did our best in
+that direction. After a while the enemy turned and fled; and I was glad,
+for they had inflicted on the 47th a loss of fifty men in killed and
+wounded. However, their loss greatly exceeded ours. The next day, when a
+truce prevailed for burying the dead and caring for the wounded, I was
+informed by some of the Union soldiers that the name of that general was
+Jackson. He was a brave man, deserving a better fate, and he fell while
+nobly performing what he believed was his duty to his country.
+
+It was the general and confident expectation that the battle would be
+renewed, and we were, therefore, surprised to discover on the morning of
+the 15th that the enemy had during the night recrossed to the northern
+side of the river. Their loss in the engagement was three times greater
+than ours. Burnside made the mistake of putting forth his greatest
+strength where the Confederates were strongest. If he had assailed our
+right as fiercely as he did our left, perhaps there might have been a
+different result.
+
+In a few days after the battle I was informed by Colonel Mayo that I was
+"for gallant and meritorious conduct promoted to be First Lieutenant and
+Adjutant of the 47th regiment." I had not thought of trying to make an
+exhibition of unusual gallantry among so many intrepid men, but, of
+course, the commendation and promotion were highly gratifying.
+
+
+     "The love of praise, howe'er concealed by art,
+     Reigns more or less, and glows in ev'ry heart."
+
+
+The campaign having come to an end, Lee's army went into winter quarters
+at camp Gregg, so named in honor of Brigadier-General Maxcy Gregg who
+was killed in the battle of Fredericksburg. It was near Moss Neck, the
+large and fertile farm of Mr. Richard Corbin. The Rappahannock river
+flowed between the Yankee and the Rebel armies, each picketing its own
+side of the stream. By common consent there was no shooting across the
+river, but on the other hand there was an occasional exchange of tobacco
+and coffee by means of little boats. We could hear them impudently
+singing: "O soldiers, won't you meet us." We had met them on fields of
+carnage, and expected to meet them again on the return of spring; but
+whether we should meet them "On Canaan's happy shore," or in some less
+pleasing locality in the eternal world, who could say?
+
+I distinctly remember one night when my turn came to go to the river on
+picket duty, and the earth was covered with snow several inches deep.
+When my watch was off and the opportunity to sleep was afforded the
+question was, where to lie down. I spread on the snow some boughs that I
+had cut from a cedar tree and laid a gum cloth upon them. Upon this
+pallet I lay down and covering myself head and all with a blanket
+enjoyed sweet, refreshing, and healthful sleep. The next morning the
+blanket above my head was stiff-frozen with the moisture from my breath.
+
+There was one man that should have been mentioned before this time,--a
+negro of my own age, whose name was Charles Wesley. We had grown up on
+the farm together, and had played, and boxed, and wrestled without
+respect to color. Not as a slave but as a friend he followed me to the
+war,--my launderer, my cook, and when I was sick, my nurse. Having
+orders to keep himself out of danger, he very willingly remained far in
+the rear when a battle was in progress, but when the firing ceased he
+faithfully sought me and reported for duty. While writing about Charles,
+I may anticipate a little and say that when we were in Pennsylvania I
+told him that we were on Yankee soil, and that he had the opportunity of
+deserting me and of remaining there as a free man. He replied that he
+already knew that, but that he was going to abide with me. And when I
+was captured at Falling Waters he had the intelligence and fidelity to
+ride my horse home and deliver him to my brother.
+
+It was while we were encamped at Moss Neck that I witnessed a military
+execution for the offense of desertion from the 47th regiment. The
+criminal was on his knees, blindfolded, with his hands tied behind him
+to a stake. A short distance in front of him was the line of twenty men
+detailed to do the shooting, and commanded by an officer especially
+appointed. No man could tell who did the killing, for the twenty muskets
+were handed to them, one-half of them being loaded with blank
+cartridges. The rest of the regiment was drawn up, one-half on the
+right, and the other on the left. At the word "Fire!" the report of the
+guns rang out and the deserter fell forward pierced by balls. Death was
+instantaneous. Although the crime was mortal, the scene was painfully
+sad.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+     Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a
+     battle won.
+                                                  --WELLINGTON.
+
+
+I did not serve long as the adjutant of the 47th regiment. In March,
+1863, Company I of the 40th regiment, having from one cause or another
+lost all its officers, unanimously desired that I should become their
+captain, and this desire was approved by Colonel Brockenbrough, who
+commanded that regiment, as well as by General Heth, who commanded the
+brigade. I was loath to sever connection from the regiment to which I
+had been attached since the beginning of the war, but I accepted the new
+position, because it was in the line of promotion, and the men of the
+company were from my native county and well known to me; moreover, I
+would still be in the same brigade with my old comrades of the 47th. My
+captain's commission was dated April 30, and was signed by James A.
+Seddon, Secretary of War.
+
+When the spring had come General Joseph Hooker, the successor of
+unfortunate Burnside, having crossed the Rappahannock river, took up a
+strong position at Chancellorsville, with an army numerically twice as
+strong as the available Confederate forces, and declared by him to be
+"the finest army on the planet." At the same time a powerful detachment
+under General Sedgwick crossed the river below Fredericksburg and made
+demonstrations of attack upon the Confederate lines. Never was General
+Lee confronted by a more perilous situation, and never did his military
+genius more brilliantly appear.
+
+In war so much depends upon the commander, that I advance the confident
+opinion that if the Confederates had been under the charge of Hooker and
+Sedgwick, and Lee and Jackson had had command of the Federal soldiers
+above and below Fredericksburg, the Confederate army would have been
+destroyed; and the Army of the Potomac would have walked straight into
+Richmond. That army would indeed have been "the finest on the planet,"
+if the skill and the courage of its commander had equaled its numbers,
+its aggressive power, and its opulent equipment.
+
+Hooker had a grand opportunity, but ingloriously failed to use it. He
+had conceived a good plan of action, and he successfully executed its
+initial movement; but when the decisive hour arrived his resolution
+failed. Instead of advancing aggressively on to Fredericksburg, as he
+had begun to do, he turned back and fortified his army with
+intrenchments. Did he mistrust himself, or his army, or both? His
+original scheme contemplated offensive tactics, and all its merit was
+sacrificed when he began to erect defensive fortifications.
+
+Let me here briefly describe Chancellorsville and its environments as I
+saw them during the battle. There was no village there, but only a large
+brick tavern with a few outbuildings, located immediately on the north
+side of the road that connects Fredericksburg and Orange. In the rear
+it was separated from the forest by a narrow field, while in front and
+across the road there was a large space of open land. In the direction
+of Orange the road and fields declined to a wooded ravine. On the
+slightly elevated land in front of the tavern the Yankees had unlimbered
+twenty Napoleon cannon, and along the side of the ravine they had
+erected breastworks of logs and earth.
+
+Late in the afternoon of Friday, May 1, our brigade had marched up from
+Fredericksburg and halted in striking distance of the Federal army. What
+could we expect but that in the morning we should be waging an assault
+upon its fortified position? Instead of that Jackson led us with the
+rest of his corps around the front of that position until we struck the
+road on the Orange side of Chancellorsville. We were now on Hooker's
+right flank, having marched quickly and silently fifteen miles over a
+rough and unfrequented road. The sun was sinking toward the western
+horizon when our lines of attack were formed on both sides of the road
+and at right angles to it. Immediately the onslaught began, silent,
+rapid, resolute, Heth's brigade being on the north or left side of the
+road. We had not proceeded far before we struck Howard's corps all
+unsuspecting and unprepared. Their fires were kindled for cooking
+supper, and dressed beeves were ready for distribution among the
+companies. They fled before us, strewing the ground with muskets,
+knapsacks, and other accouterments. Whoever censures them for running
+would probably have acted as they did, for our charge was as lightning
+from a cloudless sky. On the way we crossed a little farm, and as I
+passed the dwelling I saw several ladies who were wildly rejoicing.
+
+When we had come within half a mile of Chancellorsville daylight had
+faded into night. The moon had risen, but her rays were rendered
+intermittent by scudding clouds. The darkness, the tangled undergrowth
+of the forest, and the entrenchments and artillery of the enemy combined
+to arrest our progress. Those cannon of which I have spoken shelled the
+woods in which we lay, and what a cannonade it was! The trees and bushes
+trembled, the air was laden with sulphurous fumes, the very earth seemed
+to quake under the impulse of exploding shells. There was, however, more
+noise than execution; only one man of my company was struck, and his
+broken jaw was bound up by my handkerchief.
+
+From my position on the roadside I saw a few riderless horses running
+terror-stricken to the rear. These were, I believe, the animals that
+Jackson and his aides had ridden to the front. It is recorded that he
+was wounded by some soldiers of the 18th North Carolina regiment who
+were in the brigade of General James H. Lane. If this statement were
+made on less reliable authority it might be questioned; for I know that
+the Yankees were close to our front and that Jackson could not have
+ridden far beyond our line without encountering their volley. We did not
+hear until next morning that our peerless leader had been shot. Alas!
+As when Hector fell the doom of Troy was sealed, so with the death of
+Jackson the star of the Southern Confederacy declined.
+
+Late in the night the firing ceased, and the Gray and the Blue lay on
+their arms, catching brief snatches of troubled sleep, and abiding the
+renewal of hostilities with the coming morning.
+
+On the bright and pleasant Sunday that ensued no chiming bells nor
+melodies of sacred music were heard upon that famous field, but only the
+cries of antagonistic men and the horrid din of batteries and muskets.
+Our brigade being transferred to the right side of the road and drawn up
+in line of battle in the forest, it was not long before the renowned
+Stonewall brigade passed by us and charged upon the breastworks of the
+enemy. It was repulsed with heavy loss, the Yankees having
+preponderating advantage of position. Then Pender's intrepid brigade of
+North Carolinians had a similar experience. There were no braver
+soldiers in the army than the men composing these two defeated brigades.
+When, therefore, the command to charge was given to us, could we hope
+for a better result? As we advanced a shell struck the ground
+immediately before me, exploded and covered me with dirt, but
+providentially inflicted no wounds. Onward we rushed with the usual
+inspiriting Rebel yell. When we came in sight of those formidable rifle
+pits we were delighted to find them abandoned by our foes; and when we
+climbed over them and entered the field just beyond them we were no less
+glad to discover that those batteries that had so noisily shelled us the
+night before had been withdrawn.
+
+There in full view toward our left stood Chancellor's tavern, and the
+large field in front was literally filled with Federal soldiers in
+perfect array marching northward,--that is, to the rear. The retreat of
+Hooker's army had begun; they were not whipped but out-generaled.
+Passing across the road by the tavern and entering the forest behind it,
+they left not in sight a single blue coat, save that a battery in the
+tavern yard was firing upon us. Two Confederate batteries galloped up to
+our line, and, unlimbering, opened upon the battery in the yard at close
+range. There were in the Southern armies many soldiers in their teens,
+but here at one of the guns labored a boy who was, as I guessed from his
+size, not more than twelve years old. It was his part to fire the gun by
+pulling the lanyard, and as often as he did it he playfully rolled over
+backward. "Boys will be boys" even in the peril of battle. In the
+meantime Jeb Stuart, temporarily assigned to the command of Jackson's
+corps, came riding into the field, and in a spirit not unlike that of
+the boy was singing, "Old Joe Hooker, won't you get out the wilderness?"
+The Yankee battery withdrew; the battle was ended. The tavern was all
+ablaze, having been ignited by one of our shells,--the house that an
+hour before had been the headquarters of General Hooker. Our army was
+resting along the road in front of the burning building. As General Lee
+rode by, a waggish fellow of the 47th said, "General, we are too tired
+to cheer you this morning," and he pleasantly replied, "Well, boys, you
+have gotten glory enough for one day."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+     He that fights and runs away
+     May turn and fight another day.
+                                      --RAY.
+
+
+After the lamented death of General Jackson the divisions of the Army of
+Northern Virginia were organized into three corps, commanded,
+respectively, by Longstreet, Ewell, and A. P. Hill. General Heth was
+assigned to the command of the Light Division, and the senior colonel of
+the first brigade, John M. Brockenbrough took the command made vacant by
+Heth's promotion.
+
+In forming his staff Colonel Brockenbrough selected me to be his acting
+assistant adjutant-general. As this new sphere of duty required that I
+should have a horse, and as it was useless to search for one in the
+neighborhood of Fredericksburg, I sought and obtained a furlough in
+order that I might seek one in my native county. The time was limited to
+five days,--not long enough, as Colonel Brockenbrough knew; but there
+was an understanding between us that if I overstayed the limit nothing
+would be said about it.
+
+A tramp of a hundred miles was before me, but that was a matter of
+indifference to my buoyant body and practiced feet. It was my intention
+to cross the river at Tappahannock, and proceed down the Neck to my
+brother's home, but the southern bank was picketed by the 15th Virginia
+cavalry, which prohibited my passage. Walking back into the town and
+finding Colonel John Critcher, who was in command of the regiment, I
+explained my mission and requested the liberty of passing through his
+line. He informed me that on the other side the 8th Illinois cavalry
+were making a raid, and urged that I should not cross and run the risk
+of being captured. Telling him that I was familiar with the country and
+that I would avoid the enemy, I persisted in the request, being as
+desirous of a horse as was Richard III in his final battle. Having
+obtained his reluctant written permission I decided that instead of
+crossing at Tappahannock I would walk down as far as Owen Hill in
+Middlesex county and thence seek a passage over into Lancaster. A negro,
+whose service I secured in return for Confederate money, transported me
+in a canoe, and landed me at Morattico. During the passage I kept a
+sharp lookout up and down the wide river for Yankee gunboats, fearing
+that even if I should escape Scylla I might fall into Charybdis; and
+indeed some of the marauding bluecoats had but recently departed from
+the farm.
+
+Having dined with the hospitable family, I set out for my brother's home
+fifteen miles away, not knowing that one part of the enemy was encamped
+on his farm and another part in the yard. Being informed that the
+hostile invaders were traversing all parts of the county in search of
+booty, I sought to evade them by walking not upon the familiar roads but
+in the woods parallel with them. When I drew near the county-seat,
+instead of crossing the road as prudence suggested I thought I would
+walk the road a short distance and then pass over, for my shoes had
+become uncomfortably smooth by treading on the fallen foliage of the
+pines. Rash procedure!
+
+I had come into the road near what is called "the court-house mill
+hill," intending to go down, cross the bridge, and turn again into the
+woods in the rear of the village, scouting as I proceeded. When I had
+come nearly to the brow of the hill, I met a squadron of ascending
+Federal horsemen. If I had been two minutes earlier and they as much
+later we would have met as I was descending the hill; and then my
+capture would have been inevitable, because the steep banks on either
+side would have precluded all hope of escape. I heard the foremost
+riders say, "Here're the Rebels, boys; come on." I did not wait to see
+more than their heads and breasts as they were coming up the hill. I was
+in my full uniform, having a gray overcoat on my shoulder and a felt hat
+on my head. In the twinkling of an eye the coat was dropped, and the
+hat flew off as I made such a leap into the friendly forest as perhaps
+was never equaled by any athlete in the Olympic games. I had no time to
+become frightened, but I was angered by being pursued on my native soil
+by men who had no right to invade it. It is a wonder that they did not
+catch me. I heard them swearing, crying "Halt," and firing pistols.
+Three things favored me: the trees and undergrowth were coming into
+leaf, I was fleet of foot, and I took an unsuspected direction. Instead
+of running at right angles to the road, or obliquely backward, I ran
+obliquely forward, in the direction from which they had come. When I was
+nearly out of breath, I stopped to listen, and was glad to hear no
+sounds save those that were made by my thumping heart. The pursuit had
+ended, and I lay down to rest and to recover my wind,--not unlike the
+stag that had been chased by Fitz James' hounds.
+
+In a little while rising refreshed from my rest, I went onward and
+crossing the mill stream higher up than I had purposed, I arrived at the
+residence of my cousin Robert. I had been there but a few minutes when
+his wife, who had glanced up the lane, cried out, "Run, run; the Yankees
+are coming!" At the first utterance of the word "run," I was making
+rapid tracks for the forest in the rear of the house; but before I
+reached it she called me back. Two of the Yankees had been there before,
+and her excited imagination had mistaken a Rebel officer for two more.
+It was her brother-in-law, Ned Stakes, major of the 40th Virginia. He
+and I then set out for a place near Wicomico church, where, as he told
+me, a few Confederates were in hiding. Having spent the night with them
+in the forest, we were in the morning informed by a faithful negro, who
+had been acting as commissary, that the Yankees had all gone. Although I
+trusted his report, it was with circumspection that I traveled homeward.
+
+The departed Yankees had carried away teams and wagons loaded with
+plunder from meat-houses, barns, and cabins, and as many of the negroes
+as desired to take advantage of "the year of jubile?" which old Spencer
+said "had come." One girl, who refused to depart, was thus upbraided by
+her father: "You's a fool, gal, not to go where there's a plenty to eat
+and nothing to do." That regiment of cavalry had robbed my brother, and
+had treated many other peaceable citizens in the same way. Large was the
+booty they carried away, and long was the train of negroes, horses, and
+loaded wagons. It is said that "all things are lawful in war"; but this
+adage, like many others, sails under false colors. War is lawless, as
+Cicero observed: "_Silent leges inter arma_." There was neither
+constitutional nor statute law that justified the invasion of the South
+by armies from the North; none for the emancipation proclamation; none
+for the cruel and destructive deeds that were perpetrated by the Federal
+armies.
+
+My furlough had run out, and my object was yet ungained. The next day I
+found a bay horse to my liking, five years old, large, tall, and strong,
+named John. The owner sold him to me for Confederate money, knowing that
+the sale bore close resemblance to a gift. After a night's rest I set
+out for the army. Riding in the wake of the retiring sons of Illinois, I
+recrossed the river at Bowler's, and on the second day rejoined the
+brigade near Fredericksburg. After having been chased by the Yankees, a
+feeling of safety came over me as I mingled again with my veteran
+companions.
+
+That was not to be my last experience with the 8th Illinois. It was they
+who in less than two months afterward took me prisoner in Maryland. Some
+of them were riding horses that they had stolen,--no; impressed,--from
+my county. They showed me their repeating Spencer carbines, and asked
+that if I should be exchanged I would tell the 9th Virginia cavalry that
+they would be glad to meet them. The lapse of fifty years has made old
+men of them and me. I have forgiven the wrongs those brave fellows
+inflicted on my country, and I would be glad to meet them to talk over
+the stirring events of the past.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+     Hand to hand, and foot to foot;
+     Nothing there, save death, was mute;
+     Stroke, and thrust, and flash, and cry
+     For quarter, or for victory,
+     Mingled with the volleying thunder.
+                                      --BYRON.
+
+
+I come now to relate my experience of the disastrous invasion of
+Pennsylvania.
+
+The first week in June the commands of Longstreet and Ewell began the
+northward movement, but Hill's corps remained at Fredericksburg to
+deceive the Federal commander and watch his movements. It was not until
+the middle of the month that Hooker divined Lee's purpose and withdrew
+his army from our front, leaving us free to follow the rest of the army.
+Marching through Culpeper, we crossed the mountains through Chester's
+Gap and struck out for the ford of the Potomac at Williamsport. I had
+four times waded the river, but this time, being on horseback, I escaped
+a wetting by holding my feet high on the saddle. My spirits would not
+have been so light and gay, if I could have foreknown that I should not
+lay eyes on the river again until the war should be over. Nothing of
+moment occurred while we passed across Maryland into Pennsylvania.
+
+Tuesday night, June 30, our division bivouacked near Cashtown, about
+eight miles northwest of Gettysburg. The next morning Colonel
+Brockenbrough was informed that Pettigrew's brigade was on the way to
+Gettysburg to obtain shoes for the men, and was ordered to follow as a
+support in the contingency of need, none of us knowing that the advance
+of Meade's army occupied a strong position between us and the town. I
+was riding with Colonel Brockenbrough at the head of the column when we
+met Pettigrew and his men returning. He informed us that the enemy was
+ahead and that as he had not received orders to bring on an engagement
+he was coming back, to report. As to the source of his information I
+had no doubt, for by his side was a man on horseback, bearing an
+umbrella, and dressed in a suit of civil clothes. After a brief
+consultation between the commanders of the two brigades I was ordered to
+ride back quickly to Heth's headquarters, report the condition of
+affairs, and bring back his instructions. With a brusque manner, he
+said, "Tell General Pettigrew not to butt too hard, or he'll butt his
+brains out." I translated his command into politer terms, and we started
+again toward Gettysburg, knowing that Heth would follow with the other
+four brigades of the division.
+
+We found the enemy posted on a ridge just beyond Willoughby's Run, and
+deploying on both sides of the road we went into the engagement. We had
+the honor,--if honor it may be called,--of losing and shedding the first
+blood in one of the most famous battles of the world. In war things
+sometimes just happen: the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern
+Virginia came into collision at a place where neither commander
+designed a general engagement. Pender's division formed on the right of
+Heth's and both pressed forward in the face of volleying musketry and
+thundering cannon. We found out afterward that the opposing force
+consisted of the three divisions of the First Corps under the command of
+General Reynolds. Right bravely did they fight, and being driven from
+the ridge they formed again on Seminary Ridge, determined to hold it. As
+our men, on the other hand, were no less determined to take it, the
+contest became furious and slaughterous. Our loss was heavy, but did not
+equal that which we inflicted. At last they gave way, and we pursued
+them to the edge of the town, through the streets of which they hastened
+until they lodged among the rocky fastness of Cemetery Ridge. I was in
+all the great battles, from Seven Pines to Chancellorsville, but never
+had I witnessed a fight so hot and stubborn. On a field of battle the
+dead and mortally wounded are usually scattered promiscuously on the
+ground, but here I counted more than fifty fallen heroes lying in a
+straight line. They belonged, as well as I now remember, to the 150th
+Pennsylvania. When a regiment stands its ground until it suffers so
+great a loss, it deserves honor for its courage, for the wounded must
+have numbered as many as two hundred and fifty. It is a rare thing that
+a regiment loses so many men in one engagement.
+
+At the same time that we were struggling with the First Corps of Meade's
+army the divisions of Rhodes and Early on our left were driving the
+Eleventh Corps before them. But of the gallant part they bore in the
+battle I make no mention, inasmuch as I am not writing a general
+history, but only jotting down the things I saw, a small part of which I
+was.
+
+When the battle had ended and the brigade was standing in line close to
+the town, Colonel Brockenbrough and I occupied positions in rear of the
+line; and near us were Capt. Austin Brockenbrough and Lt. Addison Hall
+Crittenden. First one and then the other of these two gallant officers
+fell mortally wounded, although no Yankee was in sight. It was the work
+of sharpshooters concealed in a large wooden building on our left. I
+took the liberty of causing a company to fire a volley into the house
+and that put a stop to the murderous villainy.
+
+It was nearly midnight when the brigade fell back a short distance to
+seek some rest after the severe toils of the day; but notwithstanding
+the lateness of the hour and our tired condition I proposed to Colonel
+Brockenbrough that we should look up these two men who were especially
+dear to us, for Austin was his cousin and Addison was mine. We knew that
+they had been carried on stretchers from the place where they had been
+wounded. Our only guides as we slowly rode along in the dark were the
+fires that indicated the location of the improvised hospitals of the
+numerous brigades. Inquiring our way, we at last came to the hospital of
+our brigade where Mr. Meredith, chaplain of the 47th, conducted us to
+our friends who were lying upon pallets of straw. They knew that their
+wounds were mortal, but they faced "the last enemy" with the same
+intrepidity they had manifested on many a sanguinary field. If I had
+yielded to my emotions, I would have wept over Addison even as a woman
+weeps. He was named for my mother's only brother; he was pure in heart;
+and while he was gentle and sweet in manners and disposition, he was as
+brave as any man who followed Lee across the Potomac.
+
+By some critics General Lee has been censured because he did not
+continue the battle and attempt to capture Cemetery Ridge on the evening
+of the first day. I think that the criticism is unjust; for, in the
+first place, the attempt would have been of doubtful issue, and then if
+he had tried and succeeded, what advantage would have been gained? It
+was clearly Meade's rôle to act on the defensive and select the arena
+upon which the decisive contest must be waged. If Cemetery Ridge had
+been taken, instead of hurrying his other corps to that position to
+form a junction with the First and Eleventh, he would have retired
+behind Pipe Creek, or chosen some other ground as easily tenable as
+Cemetery Ridge. The state of things was such that Lee could not retreat
+without a general engagement, and he could not enter upon it except upon
+disadvantageous conditions. The tables were turned: as the Yankees had
+fought at Fredericksburg, so the Rebels had to fight in Pennsylvania.
+
+On the second day Heth's division was not engaged, but occupied the
+ground near that on which it had fought the day before, close by the
+seminary in which General Lee had his headquarters. In the afternoon
+while Longstreet's corps was furiously fighting to wrest Little Round
+Top from the enemy, he came unattended to where I was standing. Looking
+down the valley of Plum Run, which separated the armies, there could be
+seen the flashing of the guns under the pall of smoke that covered the
+combatants. Now and then making a slight change of position he viewed
+the scene through his field-glass. His noble face was not lit up with a
+smile as it was when I saw it after the victory at Chancellorsville, but
+bore the expression of painful anxiety. Ah, if only his men could seize
+and hold that coveted elevation! It was the key to the situation, and
+victory would have been assured. But that battle was lost, although the
+divisions of Longstreet performed prodigies of valor. Then and there the
+issue was decided.
+
+That night Heth's division moved farther to the right. Being directed by
+Colonel Brockenbrough to ride ahead and pick out a place for his
+brigade, I went forward in the darkness, ignorant of the lay of the
+land, until the command to halt was given to me in an undertone. I did
+not see the man, but was informed that I was just about to ride through
+the line of Confederate skirmishers, and was cautioned to ride back as
+quietly as I could, because the Yankee skirmishers were not far in
+front.
+
+On the morning of the 3d of July, although Ewell's corps on the left
+had waged a bloody but unsuccessful battle, not a shot was fired by
+Hill's corps in the center, nor by Longstreet's on the right; but the
+final struggle was yet to be made. More than a hundred cannon were
+placed in position, along the line of which lay the eighteen thousand
+men, who had been selected to make the assault upon Cemetery Ridge.
+Before the firing began Colonel Brockenbrough told me that when the
+cannonading should cease we should make the charge.
+
+About one o'clock the guns opened, and for two dreadful hours pounded
+the adversary's position, being answered by almost as many of his guns.
+There has never been such a war of artillery on the American continent.
+Surely this was an exhibition of the "Pride, pomp, and circumstance of
+glorious War." It was hoped that so terrible a bombardment would
+demoralize the enemy and thus prepare the way for a successful onslaught
+of the infantry. During its continuance we lay among the guns, and as
+soon as their clamor hushed sprang to our feet and began rushing toward
+the enemy. We had to descend the slope of Seminary Ridge, cross a
+valley, and ascend the steep slope of Cemetery Ridge, a distance of
+nearly a mile. If while we were crossing the valley the artillery behind
+us had been firing at the enemy over our heads, our task would have been
+less dangerous and more hopeful, but unwisely and unfortunately the
+caissons had become almost exhausted. As we were ascending the eminence,
+where cannon thundered in our faces and infantry four lines deep stood
+ready to deliver their volleys, I noticed that the line of the
+Confederates resembled the arc of a circle; in other words, the right
+and the left were more advanced than the center, and were, therefore,
+the first to become engaged. Brockenbrough's brigade formed the extreme
+left of the attacking column.
+
+The fame of Pickett's charge on the right has resounded through the
+world. The Virginians on the left achieved less glory, but they did
+their best. We came so close to the serried ranks of the Yankees that I
+emptied my revolver upon them, and we were still advancing when they
+threw forward a column to attack our unprotected left flank. I feel no
+shame in recording that out of this corner the men without waiting for
+orders turned and fled, for the bravest soldiers cannot endure to be
+shot at simultaneously from the front and side. They knew that to
+remain, or to advance, meant wholesale death or captivity. The Yankees
+had a fair opportunity to kill us all, and why they did not do it I
+cannot tell. Our loss was less than it was in the first day's battle. As
+in our orderly and sullen retreat we were ascending the ridge from which
+we had set out, I heard the men saying mournfully, "If Old Jack had been
+here, it wouldn't have been like this"; and though I said nothing I
+entertained the same opinion.
+
+Suppose he had been there to turn the enemy's left flank as he did at
+Gaines' Mill, and again at Chancellorsville!
+
+As I look back upon that final assault at Gettysburg, it seems strange
+to me that General Lee should have sent eighteen thousand men to
+dislodge a hundred thousand from a position much stronger than that
+which Wellington occupied at Waterloo. Perhaps he miscalculated the
+effect of the cannonade; perhaps he reposed too much confidence in his
+soldiers. When all was over he found no fault with them, but most
+magnanimously took the blame of defeat upon himself and endured great
+mental suffering. Adverse criticism is swallowed up in sympathy for that
+peerless man.
+
+It was a drawn battle. The Army of Northern Virginia had not been
+beaten, but it had failed in the attempt to beat the Army of the
+Potomac. All day long on the 4th of July it remained in view of Meade's
+army, but he dared not assail it.
+
+There was nothing left but to return to Virginia. On the night of the
+4th of July the army began to retreat, and on the 7th it halted near
+Hagerstown and offered battle, which Meade refused. It seems to me that
+he did not press the pursuit as closely and fiercely as he might have
+done; perhaps he was respecting the valor that he had lately witnessed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+     A prison is a house of care,
+     A place where none can thrive,
+     A touchstone true to try a friend,
+     A grave for men alive.
+       --_Inscription on the Old Prison of Edinburg._
+
+
+After falling back from Hagerstown the army took up a strong position
+near the Potomac, extending from Williamsport to Falling Waters. On the
+night of the 13th of July the retreat to Virginia began. The division of
+Heth and that of Pender, now commanded by Pettigrew, marched all night
+long in a drenching rain and over a very muddy road toward Falling
+Waters, where the engineers had constructed a pontoon bridge across the
+river. When the morning dawned we were about two miles from the river,
+and, so far as I know, there was no reason why we should not have kept
+on and followed the rest of the army over the bridge. Instead of that
+we halted and formed in line of battle across the road, facing
+northward, Heth on the right and Pettigrew on the left, well located for
+defense, being on rising ground and having a valley in front. It was
+supposed that our cavalry were between us and the enemy, (which was a
+false supposition,) and, contrary to well-established military rules, no
+skirmishers were sent to the front. The command was given to stack arms
+and rest, and the men exhausted by fatigue lay down on the wet ground
+behind the line of muskets and soon went to sleep. The guns were wet and
+muddy and many of them were either unloaded or unfit for action. Giving
+my horse to Charles to be held in the rear until called for, I too fell
+asleep. We were in no condition for anything except the surprise that
+startled us from our transitory slumbers.
+
+We were awakened by the firing of the enemy. By the time that the
+muskets could be retaken from the stack, squadrons of cavalry were upon
+us. These were easily repulsed, not, however, until riding down in
+front of our line they had mortally wounded General Pettigrew at the
+head of his division. General Heth, riding rapidly along behind our
+line, was crying out, "Keep cool, men, keep cool!" But judging from the
+tone of his voice and his manner of riding, he seemed to me to be the
+only hot man on the field.
+
+The color-bearer of the 47th exclaimed, "Come on, boys; it's nothing but
+cavalry," and ran forward into the valley, showing more bravery than
+intelligence or discipline, for infantry does not charge cavalry, and he
+had no right to advance without an order. The color-bearers of the other
+regiments of the brigades, not to be outdone, likewise advanced, and
+some of the bolder spirits followed their respective flags. This action
+was so unwise that I requested Colonel Brockenbrough to authorize me to
+recall these brave fellows to their original and better position; but,
+to my surprise, he directed me to order all the men to join their
+colors; and this I tried to do, but the men would not obey, saying that
+their muskets were unfit for action. However, I went myself, though
+Colonel Brockenbrough and many men of the brigade remained behind. I
+never saw him again.
+
+A spirited contest ensued, which I shall dignify with the name of the
+battle of Falling Waters, for a real battle it was, although it is not
+mentioned in the histories that I have read, and the number engaged was
+small. On one side were portions of the four regiments of
+Brockenbrough's brigade, with their bullet-pierced battle flags, and on
+the other side were dismounted men of the 8th Illinois cavalry regiment
+armed with their seven-shooting carbines. There were officers present
+who held higher rank than mine, but, as they knew me to be of the
+brigade staff, they permitted me to exercise authority over the entire
+force. For an hour we held the Yankees in check at close quarters.
+
+While the action was in progress I observed that one of our enemies was
+protected by a large tree in the field, from behind which he stepped
+frequently and quickly to fire upon us. As he seemed to be taking
+special aim at me, I requested one of our men, who had a beautiful
+Colt's rifle, to give me his gun, and I shot at the man the next time he
+emerged from behind his natural protection. He was not killed, but he
+darted back without shooting. I handed back the gun. Then, with my right
+arm around the man, I was with my left arm pointing out the enemy when
+he fired at us and broke the arm of my comrade that was pressed between
+us.
+
+Seeing another regiment of cavalry in front, hearing their bugle sound
+the charge, and knowing that our ammunition was nearly exhausted, I
+directed all the men to retire as quickly as possible to their former
+position. I had not once looked back, and I supposed that the two
+divisions were where we had left them; but they, taking advantage of our
+defense, had gone across the river. All of a sudden it flashed through
+my mind that we could neither fight nor run. Further resistance was
+vain; escape, impossible. I felt angry because we had been sacrificed,
+and chagrined because we were about to be captured. I had known all
+along that I might be killed or wounded, but it had never entered my
+mind that I might be made a prisoner. As we were scattered upon the
+field and the squadrons came charging among us, a group of men gathered
+about me were asking, "Captain, what shall we do?" "Stand still," I
+replied, "and cast your muskets upon the ground." At the same time I
+unbuckled my useless pistol and sword and cast them from me. After we
+had surrendered, I regretfully record that a cavalryman discharged his
+pistol in our midst, but fortunately no one of us was struck. An
+officer, indignant at an act so cowardly and barbarous, threatened him
+with death if he should do the like again. That day the Yankees captured
+on this field and in other places about thirty-five officers and seven
+hundred men.
+
+The prisoners were escorted to the rear, huddled together, and
+surrounded by a cordon of armed men. That night I slept with Lt. W.
+Peyton Moncure on the blanket of one prisoner and covered by that of
+the other. In the afternoon of the next day, as I was standing near the
+living wall that surrounded us engaged in conversation with Col. William
+S. Christian, of the 55th Virginia, and Capt. Lee Russell, of North
+Carolina, some Federal officers approached and began to talk with us.
+One of them was the colonel of a New York regiment, (I think it was the
+122d); another was the captain of one of his companies, and another was
+an officer on the staff of General Meade. The Colonel invited us to take
+supper with him and some of his friends, and the kind and unexpected
+proposal was gladly accepted, for recently we had had nothing but
+hard-tack to satiate our hunger. At sunset he sent a guard to conduct us
+to his tent, which was large and comfortable. We found the table well
+supplied with a variety of savory eatables, and we were struck by the
+contrast of the tent and the table with those of the Rebels.
+
+The Blue and the Gray gathered around that hospitable board as gleeful
+as boys, and as friendly as men who had been companions from childhood.
+The supper being ended, a polite negro who looked like an Old Virginia
+darky, and who acted in the two-fold capacity of cook and butler,
+cleared away the dishes and supplied their place with cigars and bottles
+of liquor of several varieties. More than once or twice the bottles
+passed from hand to hand, and in order to prevent drunkenness I was
+cautious to pour very sparingly into my tumbler. In the midst of this
+hilarious scene our Yankee host proposed a health to President Lincoln,
+which we of the Gray declined to drink; whereupon I offered to
+substitute a joint health to Abe Lincoln and Jeff. Davis, which they of
+the Blue rejected. I then proposed the toast, "The early termination of
+the war to the satisfaction of all concerned," and that was cordially
+drunk by all. It was nearly midnight when the Colonel told us that if we
+would promise to go back and deliver ourselves up, he would not call a
+guard to escort us; and we gave him our word, and bade him good night.
+There we were in the darkness, our limbs unfettered, our hearts longing
+for freedom, no Yankee eye upon us; and it is not strange that there
+flitted across our minds the temptation to steal away and strike out for
+Virginia; but though our bodies were for the moment free, our souls were
+bound by something stronger than manacles of steel,--our word of honor.
+We groped our way back, entered the circle of soldiers who were guarding
+our fellow-prisoners, and went to sleep on the ground, while our late
+entertainers reposed upon comfortable cots.
+
+The next morning, July 16, we were hurried along by an unfeeling cavalry
+escort to a station near Harper's Ferry, and there put into box cars
+strongly guarded. On our arrival in Washington we were conducted along
+the streets to the Old Capitol prison. "To what vile uses" had that
+building come! It was superintended by a renegade Virginian, whose name
+I am not sorry that I have forgotten; but let me do him the justice to
+say that he behaved courteously and gave us a plenty to eat. The guard
+of the prison was the 178th New York regiment, composed of insolent
+Germans, some of whom could not speak the English language. I came near
+losing my life by the bayonet of one of them, because he could not
+understand a request that I made of him. The house was infested by
+insects whose name I will not call; but the reader will recognize their
+nature when I characterize them as malodorous, and blood-sucking. We
+could expel them from our bunks, but not from the walls and the ceiling,
+from the holes and the cracks of which they swarmed at night, rendering
+sound sleep impossible.
+
+In a few days after having taken involuntary quarters in the Old Capitol
+I read with surprise and grief an article in the Baltimore _American_,
+headed "Meade _versus_ Lee." General Lee, misinformed by somebody, had
+reported that there had been no battle at Falling Waters, and that none
+of his soldiers had been captured except those who had straggled during
+the night or fallen asleep in barns by the roadside. When he published
+that statement he knew that there had been no engagement of his
+ordering, but he did not know that the gallant and accomplished
+Pettigrew had been wounded on the field, nor that some of his men had
+kept the enemy in check, while others were thereby afforded the
+opportunity of safely crossing the river. No; the men who were captured
+with me were not stragglers: they were taken on the field of battle, and
+they were as brave and dutiful as any that ever wore the gray. Neither
+was General Meade's report strictly correct, but it corresponded more
+closely with the facts. He did not capture a brigade, as he said, but he
+did take the flags of Brockenbrough's brigade, and enough men of other
+commands to form one.
+
+During the whole term of my imprisonment I anxiously longed to be
+exchanged, being willing any day to swap incarceration for the toils and
+dangers of active military service. In the early part of the war there
+were some partial exchanges, but as it was prolonged the government at
+Washington rejected all overtures for a cartel. Throughout the North
+there were raised loud and false reports that Federal soldiers in
+Southern prisons were being wantonly maltreated, while the National
+Government might have restored them to freedom and plenty by agreeing to
+the exchange of prisoners that was urged repeatedly by the Confederate
+Government. The refusal was an evidence of the straits to which the
+Union was pushed, and an act of injustice and cruelty to the prisoners
+of both sides. It was, moreover, an undesigned but exalted testimony to
+the valor of Southern soldiers, for it was as if Mr. Stanton, the
+secretary of war, had said to every man in the Federal armies: "If in
+the fortunes of war you should be captured, you must run the risk of
+death in a rebel prison. I will not give a Southern soldier for
+you,--you are not worth the exchange." Gen. Grant said: "Our men must
+suffer for the good of those who are contending with the terrible Lee;"
+and ignoring the claims of humanity and the usages of honorable
+warfare, he lowered the question to a cold commercial level when he
+declared that it was "cheaper to feed rebel prisoners than to fight
+them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+     But now we are in prison and likely long to stay,
+     The Yankees they are guarding us, no hope to get away;
+     Our rations they are scanty, 'tis cold enough to freeze,--
+     I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas.
+               Peas, peas, peas, peas,
+               Eating goober peas;
+     I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas.
+                                  --_Stanza of a Prison Song_.
+
+
+Only about two weeks did we abide in the Old Capitol, the officers being
+transported to Johnson's Island, and the privates to other prisons. Our
+route was by Harrisburg, and as the train was leaving the city it jumped
+the track, jolting horribly on the cross-ties, but inflicting no serious
+injury.
+
+The Sandusky river before it passes through its narrow mouth into Lake
+Erie widens into a beautiful bay about four miles wide. In this bay is
+situated Johnson's Island, low and level, and containing three hundred
+acres. It is not in the middle of the bay, but is on the north side,
+half a mile from the main land, while on the other side it is three or
+more miles from the city of Sandusky across the water.
+
+The prison walls enclosed a quadrangular space of several acres, the
+southern wall running along the margin of the bay and facing Sandusky.
+They were framed of wooden beams, on the outer side of which, three feet
+from the top, there was a narrow platform on which the guard kept
+continual watch. Thirty feet from the wall all around on the inside
+there was driven a row of whitewashed stobs, beyond which no prisoner
+was allowed to go on pain of being shot by the sentinels. At night the
+entire space within was illuminated by lamps and reflectors fixed
+against the walls.
+
+Within the walls there were eleven large wooden buildings of uniform
+size, two stories high. The first four were partitioned into small
+rooms, and were sheathed; the remaining seven had two rooms on each
+floor, and they afforded no protection against the weather except the
+undressed clapboards that covered them. In each house the upper story
+was reached by an outside flight of steps. In the larger rooms some
+sixty or seventy men were huddled together. Around the sides bunks were
+framed on pieces of scantling that extended from floor to ceiling,
+arranged in three tiers, so that a floor space of six feet by four
+sufficed for six men. My cotton tick was never refilled, and after doing
+service for many months it became flat and hard. Our quarters and
+accommodations were such as the Yankees thought good enough for rebels
+and traitors, but in summer we were uncomfortably and unhealthily
+crowded, and in winter we suffered from the cold, because one stove
+could not warm so large and windy an apartment. Many a winter night,
+instead of undressing, I put an old worn overcoat over the clothes I had
+worn during the day.
+
+At first I "put up" in block No. 9, afterward in No. 8, and toward the
+end of my imprisonment in No. 3, which was much more comfortable.
+
+In summer, water was obtained from a shallow well, but in winter, when
+the bay was frozen, a few men from each mess were permitted to go out of
+the gate in the afternoon and dip up better water from holes cut through
+the ice. On these occasions a strong guard extended around the prisoners
+from one side of the gate to the other.
+
+From the time of my capture until the fall of the year the rations were
+fairly good and sufficient, but then they were mercilessly reduced, upon
+the pretext of retaliation for the improper treatment of Union prisoners
+in the South. The bread and meat rations were diminished by a half,
+while coffee, sugar, candles, and other things were no longer supplied.
+We did our own cooking, the men of each mess taking it by turns, but the
+bread was baked in ovens outside and was brought in a wagon every
+morning. A pan of four loaves was the daily allowance for sixteen men.
+When I got my fourth of a loaf in the morning I usually divided it into
+three slices, of which one was immediately eaten and the others reserved
+for dinner and supper; but when the time came for the closing meal I had
+no bread, for hunger had previously claimed it all. But for some
+clothes, provisions, and money that were sent to me by kind friends
+residing in Kentucky and Maryland I think that I could not have lived to
+witness the end of the war. There was not enough nutriment in the daily
+ration to support vigorous health, and it was barely sufficient to
+sustain life. I believe that a few of the prisoners succumbed to disease
+and died because they had an insufficiency of nourishing food. Bones
+were picked from ditches, if perchance there might be upon them a morsel
+of meat. I was begged for bread, when I was hungry for the want of it.
+All the rats were eaten that could be caught in traps ingeniously
+contrived. When prejudice is overcome by gnawing hunger, a fat rat
+makes good eating, as I know from actual and enjoyable mastication.
+
+For a time we were permitted to obtain the news of the outside world
+through the New York _World_ and the Baltimore _Gazette_, but these were
+suppressed; and then we had to depend upon a little Sandusky sheet and
+the Baltimore _American_, which vilified the South and claimed for every
+battle a Union victory.
+
+How did we while the time away? Well, we organized a minstrel band,
+singing clubs, and debating societies; we had occasional lectures and
+exchanged books in a so-called reading room; we had two rival base-ball
+teams, and we played the indoor games of chess, checkers, cards, and
+dominoes. I spent much time in reading the Bible, besides some of
+Scott's novels and the charming story of Picciola.
+
+On Sunday there were Bible classes, and sometimes sermons by men who had
+gone from the pulpit into the army. Among them were a Methodist colonel
+from Missouri, a Baptist colonel from Mississippi, and a Baptist
+captain from Virginia. At one time evangelistic services were held in a
+lower room of block No. 5, and a number of converts confessed Jesus
+Christ as Lord and Saviour, and declared their denominational
+preference. Those who decided to be Baptists were permitted, under
+guard, to go out to the shore and were baptized in the bay by Captain
+Littleberry Allen, of Caroline county, Virginia; the rest could find
+within the walls as much water as they considered necessary for the
+ordinance.
+
+Block No. 6 was set apart for a hospital, into which a prisoner might go
+in case of sickness. It was superintended by a Federal surgeon, but a
+large part of the prescribing was done by Confederate officers who had
+been practicing physicians. The nursing was performed by the patients'
+more intimate friends, who took it by turns day and night. I have a
+sorrowful recollection of sitting up one night to wait on Captain Scates
+of Westmoreland county, and to administer the medicines prescribed by
+the doctors. The ward was silent save for occasional groans, the lights
+were burning dimly, and there was no companion watching with me. About
+midnight the emaciated sufferer died, passing away as quietly as when
+one falls into healthy slumbers. I closed his eyes and remained near the
+body until the grateful dawn of morning. Guarded by soldiers we went to
+the cemetery without the walls, and committed the body to the ground,
+far away from his family and native land.
+
+Nearly all the men confined on Johnson's Island were officers, of every
+rank from lieutenant to major-general, and numbering about twenty-six
+hundred. They represented all parts of the South and nearly every
+occupation, whether manual or professional. They were men of
+refinement,--ingenious, daring; and they were enclosed in this prison
+because it was secured no less by an armed guard than by the surrounding
+water.
+
+Every man was trying to devise some method of escape, but only a few
+succeeded, not only because the difficulty was great, but also because
+there were spies among us. Three men tunneled out from Block No. 1, only
+to find themselves surrounded by Yankee soldiers. Captain Cole, a portly
+man, became jammed in the passage, and was somewhat like Abe Lincoln's
+ox that was caught and held on a fence, unable to kick one way or gore
+the other. The incident furnished the theme of another minstrel song,
+with the chorus, "If you belong to Gideon's band."
+
+I had a secret agreement with Captain John Stakes, of the 40th Virginia,
+that if either saw a way of escape he would let the other know. Many a
+time with longing eyes we looked upon a sloop that used to tie up for
+the night at a wharf near the island. If we only could get to it! And so
+we began a tunnel under block No. 9, but finding that our labors were
+discovered by a spy, we were constrained to desist.
+
+Two men filed saw teeth on the backs of case knives, and on a rainy,
+dark, and windy night they crawled down a ditch to the wall on the bay
+shore, and cut their way out; but they were captured and brought back.
+
+There were a few successful escapes. One man, smarter than the rest of
+us, when we went to a vessel to fill our ticks with straw concealed
+himself under what remained in the hold and was carried back to
+Sandusky, whence he wended his stealthy flight. Colonel B. L. Farinholt,
+of Virginia, got away in a very artful manner, an account of which has
+been published. In January, 1865, when the thermometer registered 15°
+below zero and an arctic northwest wind was blowing furiously Captain
+Stakes took me aside and told me in whispers that he and five others
+were going out that night, and that they had agreed that I might go with
+them. I answered that if the Yankees were to throw open all the gates
+and grant permission, I would not in my feeble health and with clothes
+so insufficient, depart in such bitter weather. When the hour came those
+six men rushed to the wall, and setting up against it a bench, on which
+rungs had been nailed, climbed over. They were not shot at, perhaps
+because the sentries, not expecting such an attempt, had taken refuge
+from the cold in their boxes. On the thick ice that begirt the island
+they crossed over on the north side and gained the mainland. Captain
+Robinson, of Westmoreland, and three others with him, hiding in the
+daytime and traveling at night, after enduring many hardships arrived in
+Canada, where they were clothed and fed and supplied with money. Taking
+shipping at Halifax, they ran the blockade and landed in Wilmington,
+North Carolina. One of the six men was recaptured by a detective on a
+train in New York. My friend Stakes was overtaken the next morning and
+brought back so badly frostbitten that it became necessary to amputate
+parts of some of his fingers.
+
+By some means, I know not how, information was received in the prison
+that certain agents of the Confederate government in Canada would come
+to the island in steamboats captured on Lake Erie to release the
+prisoners. It was agreed that when they approached and blew a horn the
+prisoners would storm the walls and overpower the guards. We, therefore,
+organized ourselves into companies and regiments and waited anxiously
+for the sight of the boats and the sound of the horn. Though we had no
+arms, except such as the rage of the moment might supply, and did not
+doubt that some of us would be killed, we were ready to fulfil our part
+of the desperate contract; and we felt no doubt of success, for the
+Hoffman Battalion that composed our guard had never been in battle nor
+heard the rebel yell. The expected rescuers never came. There must have
+been some real foundation for the proposed movement, for very soon the
+guard was reinforced by a veteran brigade, and the gunboat _Michigan_
+came and anchored near the island and showed her threatening portholes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+     'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
+     Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
+     A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
+     Which seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
+                                                     --PAYNE.
+
+
+If one longs for home while roaming amidst pleasures and palaces, how
+much more intense, suppose you, must be the nostalgia of the soldier
+confined in a far distant prison?
+
+March 14, 1865, was one of the happiest days of my life. After a
+captivity of twenty months, I was led out of the prison with the three
+hundred others, conducted to a steamboat, and homeward bound transported
+to Sandusky. The thick ice that for three months had covered the bay was
+floating in broken pieces on the surface, through which the boat
+struggled with so much difficulty that I feared it would be necessary to
+put back to the island; but the trip was made at the expense of some
+broken paddles. Why we were selected rather than our less fortunate
+compatriots I cannot guess, unless it was to save the annoyance and the
+expense of burial, for some of our party had been wounded, others as
+well as myself, had recently recovered from serious sickness, and all
+were adjudged to be unfit for military service; or perhaps there was the
+same number in Southern prisons that for special reasons the Federal War
+Office desired to have exchanged.
+
+The train that was to convey us southward was made up of box-cars, upon
+the floors of which there was a thin covering of straw. We were so
+crowded that we all could not lie down at the same time. The sleepers
+lay with their heads at the sides of the cars, while their legs
+interlaced in the middle. We took the situation in good humor, and slept
+by turns, those who could not find room standing amidst entangled legs
+and feet. Thus we traveled several days and nights, our train being
+frequently switched for the passage of regular trains. Our route was by
+Bellaire to Baltimore, or rather to Locust Point, where we took passage
+on a steamboat for James river. Having landed the next day, we walked
+across a neck of land formed by a bend of the river to the wharf where a
+boat from Richmond was expected to meet us. A company of negroes made a
+show of conducting us across the neck, though a company of children
+armed with cornstalks would have been equally efficient.
+
+We had not long to wait until the smokestack of the Confederate
+steamboat could be seen winding along as she tracked the serpentine
+course of the river. As she neared the wharf the band on board struck up
+that sweetest of tunes,--"Home, Sweet Home." Some of my companions
+laughed, some threw their caps into the air, others hurrahed, while my
+own emotions were expressed only by tears of joy that coursed down my
+cheeks. When, however, the music glided into the exhilarating notes of
+"Dixie" I joined in the cheering that mingled with the strain.
+
+We arrived in Richmond on the 22d of March, the eighth day after we had
+started. I was pained to notice in the city so many signs of
+delapidation and poverty, and to learn that Confederate money had
+depreciated to the point of sixty for one. The captain's salary that the
+government owed me for two years was worth only about fifty dollars in
+specie, which a friend in the treasury department advised me to collect
+at once, inasmuch as he thought that the capital would be soon
+evacuated. I took him for a timorous prophet, and told him I would wait
+until I rejoined the army, when I should need it. I did not know, as he
+did, the impoverished and critical condition of the Confederacy.
+
+I was not exchanged, but "paroled for thirty days unless sooner
+exchanged." I set out for the Northern Neck in company with Lieutenant
+Purcell, of Richmond county, and Captain Stakes, of Northumberland. We
+rode on a train as far as Hanover and then struck out afoot across the
+country. Notwithstanding the fact that one of my companions limped on a
+leg that had been wounded at Gettysburg and the other was a little lame
+from frosted toes, it taxed all my powers to keep up with them. If I had
+rejoiced to see the James, I was happier still to set foot once more
+upon the bank of the Rappahannock. When we had crossed over we went to
+the home of Lieutenant Purcell, where we spent the night, and the next
+day, Monday, March 27, I arrived at home. I supposed that I should take
+them by surprise, but somehow they had received intelligence of my
+coming; and as I approached the house I found them all lined up in the
+yard, white and black. "And they began to be merry."
+
+I found John in the stable, having been ridden home by my faithful man,
+Charles Wesley, who supposed that he had left me dead at Falling Waters.
+
+On the 14th of April, Good Friday, when I was thinking of returning to
+Richmond to inquire whether I had been exchanged and was still hoping
+for the independence of the Southern Confederacy, I attended religious
+services at a church in the neighborhood. When these had been concluded
+and the congregation were talking as usual in the yard a messenger
+arrived with a newspaper, which the Yankees had sent ashore from one of
+their gunboats, and which contained the details of General Lee's
+surrender of his army five days previously at Appomattox. My heart sank
+within me. My fondest hopes were crushed. The cause for which I had so
+often exposed my life, and for which so many of my friends had died, had
+sunk into the gloomy night of defeat.
+
+I was thankful that out of the horrid conflict I had escaped with my
+life, a gray coat, and a silver quarter of a dollar. Although I had
+participated in all the battles that were fought by the Army of Northern
+Virginia, I was never seriously hurt. At Manassas one bullet struck my
+leg, and another forcibly wrenched my sword from my hand. At
+Chancellorsville a bomb exploded just in front of me, making a hole in
+the ground and covering me with dirt, the pieces flying away with
+discordant noises. Countless balls whizzed by my ears, and men fell all
+around me, some of them while touching my side. Am I not justified in
+appropriating the words of David addressed to Jehovah, "Thou hast
+covered my head in the day of battle?"
+
+Withdrawal from the Union was the right of the Southern States, as
+appears from the history of the making and adoption of the federal
+constitution; and great was the provocation to use it. It is not,
+however, always wise,--either for persons or communities,--to exercise
+their rights. Secession in the year 1860 was a hot headed and stupendous
+political blunder,--a blunder recognized by the majority of the people
+of Virginia, who refused to follow the example of her southern sisters
+until there was forced upon her the cruel alternative of waging war
+either against them or against the States of the North.
+
+Though secession was a grievous error, nevertheless the war that was
+waged by the Federal Government was a crime against the constitution,
+humanity, and God. But now, as we view the present and retrospect the
+past, who may say that all has not turned out for the best? We find
+consolation in the belief that the Lord's hand has shaped our destiny,
+and we meekly submit to his overruling providence.
+
+
+     "If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well
+     It were done quickly."
+
+
+But the war, like Duncan's murder, was not done after it was done. There
+supervened the unnecessary, vindictive, and malignant reconstruction
+acts of the Federal Congress.
+
+On the 14th of April, only nine days after Lee had surrendered, a great
+calamity befell the South in the foolish and infamous assassination of
+President Lincoln, who was the only man who could have restrained the
+rage of such men as Sumner in the Senate and Stephens in the House of
+Representatives. The hatred of the Northern politicians was intensified
+by the supposition that his death was instigated by Southern men, and it
+did not abate even after they were convinced that the supposition was
+unfounded.
+
+It is a singular fact that while the war was in progress the acts of
+secession were considered null and void, and the Southern States were
+declared to be parts of an indissoluble union, but when the war had
+ended they were dealt with as alien commonwealths and conquered
+territories. For four years Virginia was not a co-equal State in the
+Union but "Military District No. 1," governed by a Federal general, who
+appointed the local officers in the several counties. The affairs of the
+State were managed by carpetbaggers in close agreement with despicable
+scalawags and ignorant negroes. The elective franchise was granted to
+the emancipated slaves regardless of character or intelligence, while it
+was denied to many white men. In Lancaster county the negroes had a
+registered majority of a hundred voters; it was represented in a
+constitutional convention by a carpetbagger, and after the adoption of
+the constitution it was represented in the Legislature by a negro. To
+injury were added hatred and insult. It was not enough that the South
+was conquered, it must be humiliated by African domination!
+
+The Southern people did not go to war--war came to them. Not to gain
+military glory did they fight, although this meed must be awarded to
+them. Nor was the perpetuation of African slavery the object for which
+they took up arms, for in Virginia nineteen-twentieths of the citizens
+owned no slaves, and there was perhaps the same proportion in the other
+States of the Confederacy. Neither was it for conquest that they so long
+waged the unequal contest; for though they twice crossed the Potomac it
+was not to gain an acre of territory, but only to relieve their own
+beleaguered capital. From first to last it was a purely defensive
+struggle to maintain for themselves the freedom they cheerfully accorded
+to other communities, and to make good the inherited belief that "all
+just government derives its power from the consent of the governed."
+They simply resisted subjugation by a hostile government whose right to
+rule them they denied.
+
+As we review the history of that gigantic struggle we are not surprised
+that the South was subdued, the only wonder being that it was not sooner
+done. It required two and a quarter millions of soldiers four years to
+overcome one-third of that number. The South had no navy to open her
+ports, no commerce for her products, no foundries for the manufacture of
+arms. During the first year there were not muskets enough to supply her
+volunteers, though later on sufficient numbers were taken on the fields
+of battles, fifty-two cannon and thirty thousand small arms being
+captured in the battles around Richmond, besides the many thousands that
+were taken in subsequent engagements.
+
+That the South for so long a time resisted the attempts of her powerful
+enemy, and during that period gained so many remarkable victories, is
+attributable to the skill of her generals and the valor of her soldiers.
+In these respects only was the advantage on her side.
+
+The fame of her generals has spread throughout the world, and their
+campaigns enrich the text-books of the military students of Europe and
+Asia. They rank with the most famous commanders that ever led armies to
+victory. Their names are immortal, and their memory is enshrined not
+only in poetry and history, in marble and bronze, but also in the
+admiration of mankind and in the affections of the Southern people.
+
+But what could strategy have achieved unless there had been soldiers to
+make it effective? The men had confidence in their commanders and were
+responsive to their genius. In attack they exhibited impulsive courage,
+and in defense possessed unyielding firmness. They made days and places
+forever historic, when their pay was money in little more than name,
+their garments torn, their rations coarse and scant. Footsore they
+charged against the dense Blue lines, or made those rapid marches that
+bewildered opposing forces.
+
+When the end had come both officers and men surrendered as they had
+fought,--without mental reservation. Sadly they furled and yielded up
+the bullet-riddled battleflags they had carried so proudly. Now while
+they manfully accept the hard arbitrament of war, and yield unaffected
+loyalty to the United States, they make no confession of criminality.
+While the war continued they were asserting what they believed was a
+God-given right, and now they recall with pride the valor and victories
+of the Southern armies.
+
+Those armies are rapidly disappearing from the land they loved so well.
+Many of the men fell in battle, and many died in prisons and hospitals,
+and since the close of the war more of them have fallen asleep in
+peaceful homes. Those who have departed and those who survive will not
+want a eulogist while one remains; and when the last of the men who wore
+the gray shall have joined his comrades beyond the river of death,
+coming generations will celebrate their heroism and scatter flowers upon
+the mounds that mark the places where their ashes repose.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Reminiscences of a Rebel, by Wayland Fuller Dunaway
+
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+Project Gutenberg's Reminiscences of a Rebel, by Wayland Fuller Dunaway
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
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+
+
+Title: Reminiscences of a Rebel
+
+Author: Wayland Fuller Dunaway
+
+Release Date: January 17, 2008 [EBook #24341]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h1>REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL</h1>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/i002.png" width='150' height='151' alt="Publishers logo" /></div>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>REMINISCENCES OF<br />A REBEL</h1>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>THE REV. WAYLAND FULLER DUNAWAY, D.D.</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Formerly Captain of Co. I, 40th Va. Regt.,<br />Army of Northern Virginia</p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="center">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "<i>Omnibus hostes</i><br />
+<i>Reddite nos populis&mdash;civile avertite bellum.</i>"<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &mdash;<i>Lucan.</i></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/i003.png" width='108' height='120' alt="logo" /></div>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h3>NEW YORK<br />THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY<br />1913</h3>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h4>Copyright, 1913, by<br /><span class="smcap">Wayland Fuller Dunaway</span></h4>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the title of this volume, I do not admit that I was ever
+in any true sense a rebel, neither do I intend any disrespect when I
+call the Northern soldiers Yankees. The use of these terms is only a
+concession to the appellations that were customary during the war.</p>
+
+<p>It is my purpose to record some recollections of the Civil War, and
+incidentally to furnish some historical notices of the brigade to which
+I was attached. Here and there I have expressed, also, some opinions
+concerning the great events of that dreadful period, some criticisms of
+the conduct of battles and retreats, and some estimates of the abilities
+of prominent generals.</p>
+
+<p>The incentive to write is of a complex nature. There is a pleasure,
+especially to the aged, in reviving the memories of the past<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> and
+narrating them to attentive hearers. Moreover, I hope that this book
+will furnish instruction to those who have grown up since the war, and
+entertainment to older persons who participated in its struggles,
+privations, and sorrows. And besides, the future historian of that
+gigantic conflict may perhaps find here some original contribution to
+the accumulating material upon which he must draw. He will need the
+humble narratives of inconspicuous participants as well as the
+pretentious attempts of the partial historians who have preceded him.
+The river flows into the sea, but the river itself is supplied by creeks
+and rivulets and springs.</p>
+
+<p class="right">W. F. D.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<div class="index">
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h1>REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL</h1>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>"Lay down the axe; fling by the spade;</div>
+<div class="i1">Leave in its track the toiling plow;</div>
+<div>The rifle and the bayonet-blade</div>
+<div class="i1">For arms like yours were fitter now;</div>
+<div>And let the hands that ply the pen</div>
+<div class="i1">Quit the light task, and learn to wield</div>
+<div>The horseman's crooked brand, and rein</div>
+<div class="i1">The charger on the battle field."</div>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Bryant.</span></div></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the fall of the year 1860, when I was in my nineteenth year, I
+boarded the steamboat <i>Virginia</i>,&mdash;the only one then running on the
+Rappahannock river,&mdash;and went to Fredericksburg on my way to the
+University of Virginia. It was my expectation to spend two sessions in
+the classes of the professors of law, John B. Minor and James<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> P.
+Holcombe, and then, having been graduated, to follow that profession in
+Lancaster, my native county.</p>
+
+<p>The political sky had assumed a threatening aspect. The minds of the
+Southern people had been inflamed by the insurrectionary raid of John
+Brown upon Harper's Ferry, especially because it had been approved by
+some Northern officials, and because the surrender of some fugitives
+from justice, who had taken part in that murderous adventure, had been
+refused by Ohio and Iowa. The election of Abraham Lincoln added fuel to
+the flame. Having been nominated by the Republican party, he was
+constitutionally chosen President of the United States, although he had
+not received a majority of the popular vote. The election was ominous,
+because it was sectional, Mr. Lincoln having carried all the Northern
+states but not one of the Southern. The intensest excitement prevailed,
+while passion blew the gale and held the rudder too.</p>
+
+<p>While I believed in the right of secession<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> I deprecated the exercise of
+that right, because I loved the Union and the flag under which my
+ancestors had enjoyed the blessings of civil and religious liberty. I
+did not think that Lincoln's election was a sufficient cause for
+dissolving the Union, for he had announced no evil designs concerning
+Southern institutions; and, even if he had, he was powerless to put them
+into execution. He could have done nothing without the consent of
+Congress, and his party was in a minority both in the Senate and in the
+House of Representatives.</p>
+
+<p>Before Christmas South Carolina, not caring for consequences and blind
+to the horrible future, passed an ordinance of secession; and her
+example was followed in quick succession by Mississippi, Florida,
+Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These seven states organized the
+Southern Confederacy, of which Jefferson Davis was inaugurated
+President, February 18, 1861. In April Fort Sumter was captured, and on
+the 15th of that month President Lincoln issued a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>proclamation calling
+on the remaining states to furnish their quotas of an army of
+seventy-five thousand soldiers for the purpose of destroying the
+Confederate government. Two days later the Virginia convention passed an
+ordinance of secession. Being compelled to take sides, the Old Dominion
+naturally cast her lot with her Southern sisters. War had
+begun,&mdash;intestine war, of whose magnitude and duration no living man had
+any adequate conception.</p>
+
+<p>These events conspired with other causes to infuse in me a martial
+spirit. The conviction was growing in me that, as my native state was
+about to be invaded, I must have a place in the ranks of her defenders.
+I was influenced by speeches delivered by Governor Floyd, Professor
+Holcombe, and Dr. Bledsoe, and still more by the contagious example of
+my roommate, William H. Chapman, who had gone with a company of students
+to Harper's Ferry, and had returned. What brought the conviction to a
+head was a flag. One morning in the latter part of April, as I was
+walking from my boarding-house to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> University I saw a Confederate
+banner floating above the rotunda. Some of the students during the
+night, surmounting difficulty and braving danger, had clambered to the
+summit and erected there the symbol of a new nation. I was thrilled by
+the sight of it as if by an electric shock. There it was, outstretched
+by a bracing northwest wind, flapping defiantly, arousing patriotic
+emotion. Unable longer to refrain, I went as soon as the lecture was
+concluded to Professor Minor's residence and told him I was going to
+enter the military service of Virginia. He sought to dissuade me, but,
+perceiving that he could not alter my rash decision, he gave at my
+request a written permission to leave his classes.</p>
+
+<p>But how to get home?&mdash;that had become a perplexing question. I could not
+go the way I had come, because the <i>Virginia</i> fearful of capture had
+ceased to make trips from Fredericksburg to Lancaster, and there was no
+railroad to that part of the state. Knowing that my uncle, Addison Hall,
+was a member of the Convention, I determined to take a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> train to
+Richmond and seek his advice. I felt relieved when he informed me that
+he was going the next morning, and that I could go along with him. We
+took an early train to West Point, and being ferried across the
+Mattaponi river, obtained from one of his friends a conveyance to
+Urbanna. We hired a sloop to take us to Carter's creek, and thence we
+proceeded in a farm wagon to his home in the village of Kilmarnock. The
+next morning he sent me to the home of the Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Dunaway,
+my brother, and my guardian.</p>
+
+<p>In a few days I enlisted in a company that was being raised by Captain
+Samuel P. Gresham, who had been a student at the Virginia Military
+Institute. And thus the student's gown was exchanged for the soldier's
+uniform.</p>
+
+<p>Before we were regularly mustered into service an expedition was
+undertaken that indicated at once the forwardness of our people to
+engage the enemy and their ignorance of military affairs. The report
+having been circulated that a Federal gunboat was lying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> in Mill Creek
+in Northumberland county, its capture, or destruction, was resolved upon
+by about a hundred men, who had assembled at the county seat of
+Lancaster. With no weapons except an old smooth-bore six-pound cannon,
+and that loaded with scrap iron gathered from a blacksmith's shop, we
+proceeded to Mill Creek and unlimbered on the bank in plain view of the
+boat, and distant from it some two or three hundred yards. I have always
+been glad that we had sense enough to refrain from shooting, for
+otherwise most of us would have been killed then and there. Seeing the
+hopelessness of an unequal combat, we retired from the scene somewhat
+wiser than when we went. In that instance was not "discretion the better
+part of valor"?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>War, war is still the cry, "War to the knife."</div>
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Byron.</span></div></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>There was in the central part of the county a beautiful grove in which
+the Methodists were accustomed to hold their annual camp-meetings. On
+account of its location and the shelter afforded by its tents it was in
+1861 transformed into a rendezvous of a radically different nature, the
+military companies that had been raised in the county assembling there
+preparatory to going into the army. It was there that Captain Gresham's
+company, known as the Lacy Rifles, was formally enrolled by Col. R. A.
+Claybrook and Dr. James Simmonds. When they came to where I stood in the
+line of men they declined to enlist me because I appeared pale and weak
+on account of recent sickness. I said, "Do as you like, gentlemen, but I
+am<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> going with the boys anyhow." "If you talk like that," they replied,
+"we will insert your name."</p>
+
+<p>Not many days afterward the company assembled at the court-house, and,
+having sworn allegiance to the Southern Confederacy, was duly mustered
+into its service. In vehicles of all sorts we drove to Monaskon wharf,
+where the schooner <i>Extra</i> was moored to receive us and to convey us up
+the Rappahannock river. As the vessel glided along what a jolly set we
+were!&mdash;gay as larks, merry as crickets, playful as kittens. There was
+singing, dancing, feasting on the palatable provisions supplied by the
+loving friends we were leaving, with no thought of captivity, wounds,
+nor death. Ignorant of war, we were advancing toward its devouring jaws
+with such conduct as became an excursion of pleasure. The only arms we
+then possessed were two-edged daggers made of rasps in blacksmith shops,
+and with these we were going to hew our way to victory through the
+serried ranks of the invading army! Ah, well! we knew better what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> war
+was after we had become the seasoned veterans of many campaigns.</p>
+
+<p>When the vessel had proceeded up the river as far as Fort Lowry it
+rounded to, because a solid shot ricochetted before the bow, and we were
+transferred to the steamboat <i>Virginia</i>, which carried us to
+Fredericksburg. Passing along the streets, attracting attention by our
+neat gray uniforms, we marched out to the fair-grounds, and rejoiced to
+obtain the friendly shelter of the cattle stalls. They were not as
+comfortable as the chambers of our homes&mdash;but what of it? Were we not
+soldiers now? It is wonderful and blessed how human nature can
+accommodate itself to altered environments.</p>
+
+<p>We were supplied with smoothbore, muzzle-loading, Springfield muskets,
+small leather boxes for percussion caps, and larger ones for cartridges.
+For the information of the present generation let it be explained that
+the cartridge was made of tough paper containing powder in one end and
+the ounce ball of lead in the other; and the manner of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>loading was
+this: the soldier tore off with his teeth the end, poured the powder
+into the muzzle, and then rammed down the ball; this being done, a cap
+was placed on the nipple of the breech, and the gun was ready to be
+fired. That musket is antiquated now, but it did much execution in
+former days.</p>
+
+<p>Maj. J. H. Lacy, for whom the company was named, presented an elegant
+silk banner, which at Captain Gresham's request I received in the best
+language at my command. It was never borne in battle, for it was not
+companies but regiments that carried banners. There was but one flag to
+a regiment, and that was always carried in the center. Twice a day there
+was a course of drilling in tactical evolutions and in the handling of
+the muskets. At first I was hardly strong enough to sustain the fatigue,
+but I rapidly grew stronger under the combined influence of exercise,
+sleeping in the open air, and the excitement of a military life. The war
+did me harm in many ways, but it was the means of increasing my capacity
+for bodily exertion. During the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> encampment at Fredericksburg many of my
+spare moments were spent in reading the New Testament and Pollok's
+"Course of Time."</p>
+
+<p>We did not long remain in Fredericksburg; but being transported on cars
+to Brooke Station we marched up to camp Chappawamsic, near a Baptist
+church of that name. There the Lacy Rifles became Company F in the 47th
+regiment of Virginia Volunteers, commanded by Col. G. W. Richardson of
+Henrico county, who had been a member of the Virginia Convention that
+passed the ordinance of secession. He was a brave and patriotic
+gentleman, but unskilled in military affairs; and he did not long retain
+the command.</p>
+
+<p>From the summer of 1861 until the spring of 1862 we spent the time in
+company and regimental drill, and in picketing the shore of the Potomac
+river day and night, lest the enemy should effect a landing and take us
+unaware. During that time no shots were exchanged with the enemy,
+because no landing was attempted. The only fighting that we saw was at
+Dumfries where there was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> Confederate fort, to which we marched to act
+as a support in case the Yankees came ashore. Three vessels of the
+Federal navy passed slowly down the river, between which and the fort
+there was a brief but lively cannonade; but so far as I know there was
+no resulting damage to either side.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday, July 21, we heard the booming of the cannon at Bull Run,
+lamenting that we had no part in the battle. When we afterward heard how
+McDowell's army skedaddled back to Washington more rapidly than they
+came, we thought that the war would end without our firing a gun. So
+little did we understand the firmness of President Lincoln's mind and
+the settled purpose of the North!</p>
+
+<p>The winter was spent in comparative comfort, for we moved out of tents
+into cabins built of pine logs, each one having a wide arch and a
+chimney. At Christmas some good things were sent to me, among which was
+a dressed turkey, which I did not know how to prepare for the table, for
+even if I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> had possessed some knowledge of the culinary art there was no
+suitable oven. Fortunately a comrade by the name of John Cook,&mdash;an
+appropriate name for that occasion,&mdash;came to my relief and solved the
+problem in a most satisfactory manner. The bird was suspended by a
+string before the open fire, and being continually turned right and
+left, and basted with grease from a plate beneath, it was beautifully
+browned and cooked to a turn.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>Drummer, strike up, and let us march away.</div>
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Shakespeare's</span> <i>Henry VI</i>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1862 Gen. George B. McClellan with an army of 120,000
+men, thoroughly drilled and lavishly equipped, set out from Washington
+to capture Richmond from the north; but he had not proceeded far before
+he changed his mind about the line of advance. His forces were
+transported to Fortress Monroe with the design of approaching the city
+by the way of the peninsula that lies between the York and the James
+rivers. The correctness of his judgment was justified by subsequent
+campaigns; for the successive attempts of Pope, Burnside, Hooker, and
+Grant to take the Confederate capital from the north were all disastrous
+failures.</p>
+
+<p>In order to check the upward progress of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> McClellan's army, Gen. Joseph
+E. Johnston withdrew his forces from Manassas and the shore of the
+Potomac and concentrated them on the Peninsula. The 47th regiment
+marched from its winter quarters to Richmond, and was thence transported
+down the James to a wharf not far from Yorktown. During our brief stay
+in that vicinity, the companies were authorized to elect their officers;
+and I, who had been acting as Orderly Sergeant, was chosen Third
+Lieutenant.</p>
+
+<p>As the National army advanced, the Confederates fell back toward
+Richmond. Our regiment was not in the engagement that took place near
+Williamsburg on the 5th of May, but I saw then for the first time some
+wounded men and prisoners. The retreat was conducted somewhat rapidly,
+but in an orderly and skilful manner. I do not remember that we marched
+in darkness but once, and then we trudged all night long through
+shoe-deep mud. At times when the men in front encountered an unusually
+bad place those who were behind were compelled to come to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> temporary
+halt. If I did not sleep while walking along I came as near to it as
+weary mortal ever did, and I am sure that I dozed while standing still.</p>
+
+<p>General Johnston posted his army between Richmond and the Chickahominy
+river, the 47th regiment being on the left, not far from Meadow bridge,
+and in the pestilential low-grounds of that sluggish stream. Swarms of
+mosquitoes attacked us at night and with their hypodermic proboscides
+injected poisonous malaria in our veins, to avoid which the sleeping
+soldier covered his head with a blanket. The complexion of the men
+became sallow, and every day numbers of them were put on the sick-list
+by the surgeons.</p>
+
+<p>The 47th regiment, commanded by Col. Robert M. Mayo, and having brigade
+connection with some regiments from North Carolina, had its first
+experience of real war in the battle of Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks),
+which was fought on the 31st of May. On that day General Johnston
+attacked the left wing of the Federal army, which had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> thrown
+across to the southern side of the Chickahominy. To some persons the
+declaration may seem surprising, but it was with real pleasure that I
+went into the battle. It was the novelty of it, I suppose, that
+prevented me from being frightened by exploding shells and rattling
+musketry. The dread of these things came afterward when I saw fields
+scattered over with the wounded, the dying, and the dead, and among them
+some of my dearest friends. In that affair our Lieutenant-Colonel, John
+M. Lyell, was seriously wounded, and the regiment sustained a loss of
+about fifty men. Our chaplain, Mr. Meredith, of Stafford county, went
+into action with us, but while he did not do the like again, it is no
+impeachment of his courage. His duty lay in other directions; and it
+ought to be recorded in his praise that after every battle he might be
+found doing all he could to relieve and comfort the wounded.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>In peace there's nothing so becomes a man</div>
+<div>As modest stillness, and humility;</div>
+<div>But when the blast of war blows in our ears,</div>
+<div>Then imitate the action of the tiger;</div>
+<div>Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.</div>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Shakespeare's</span> <i>Henry V</i>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>After the undecisive battle of Seven Pines the 47th regiment together
+with the 40th and the 55th Virginia regiments and the 22nd Virginia
+battalion was formed into a brigade, and this combination continued
+until the close of the war. It was known as the First Brigade of the
+Light Division, which was composed of six brigades, and commanded by
+Maj.-Gen. A. P. Hill. Why it was called the Light division I did not
+learn; but I know that the name was applicable, for we often marched
+without coats, blankets, knapsacks, or any other burdens <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>except our
+arms and haversacks, which were never heavy and sometimes empty.</p>
+
+<p>On Thursday, June 26, the memorable but miss-called "battles around
+Richmond" began. Being on the left of the army, the First Brigade had
+the honor and the danger of being the first to cross the Chickahominy.
+Passing over Meadow bridge, we dispersed the enemy's outpost, only one
+man being wounded in the passage, and hurried on towards Mechanicsville
+and Beaver Dam, where was posted the extreme right of the Federal army.
+The contest raged for six hours. We failed to dislodge the enemy from
+its naturally strong and well-fortified position across Beaver Dam
+creek, and our loss was heavy,&mdash;heavier in some other brigades than in
+ours. The following morning, discovering that our antagonists had
+withdrawn, we crossed over Beaver Dam in pursuit.</p>
+
+<p>McClellan had decided to retreat! He called it a change of base; but if
+a change of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> base from the York to the James river was good strategy,
+why did he not do it before he was attacked? It looks very much as if he
+gave "a reason upon compulsion." It must be conceded that he managed the
+retreat with admirable ability, although, while inflicting severe
+punishment upon Lee's army, it involved the loss of 10,000 prisoners, 52
+pieces of artillery and 35,000 stand of small arms, besides immense
+stores of ammunition and provisions. But why retreat? Was it for this
+that he had led to the gates of Richmond a grand army of brave and
+disciplined men, at an enormous cost to his government? Having many
+qualities of a great commander, he lacked the <i>gaudium certaminis</i> and
+the daring that assumes the hazard of defeat. In war the adage holds
+good with emphasis: "Nothing venture, nothing gain." The celebrated
+generals of all times, confiding in their own skill and the bravery of
+their soldiers, have been bold even to the degree of seeming rashness.
+Such was the spirit and conduct of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> Lee when with half the numbers he
+assaulted Hooker, and afterward Grant, in the Wilderness.</p>
+
+<p>McClellan's army being astraddle the Chickahominy, two courses of action
+were open to him when he was attacked.</p>
+
+<p>He might have concentrated on the north side of the river, leaving a
+sufficient force to guard the bridges in his rear, and then assumed a
+strong defensive position. Having abandoned Beaver Dam he withdrew to
+Gaines' Mill,&mdash;a place most favorable for defense,&mdash;still having 60,000
+men in striking distance across the river. If instead of vacating that
+position, or suffering a portion of his army to be driven from it, he
+had re&euml;nforced it by a half of those unoccupied 60,000 men, I do not
+believe he could have been dislodged by all the valor and dash of the
+Confederate army.</p>
+
+<p>The other line of action that he might have chosen was to concentrate on
+the southern side of the river, destroy the bridges, and then crushing
+the small army of Magruder, make<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> a quick attack upon Richmond, while
+the forces of Lee and Jackson were on the other side. It seems to me
+that either course would have been better and nobler than the inglorious
+retreat to Harrison's Landing. It appeared that Lee was gaining victory
+after victory; but until the battle of Malvern Hill he was fighting only
+portions of McClellan's forces. In that engagement alone did the Union
+army contend with its undivided strength, and there it gained a victory.
+If it could hold its ground there after having suffered many losses,
+could it not much better have repulsed the Confederates at Gaines' Mill?</p>
+
+<p>When the First Brigade advanced to the charge at Gaines' Mill, on the
+27th of June, it emerged out of a wood into a large field, which
+declined toward a ravine through which a stream of water ran, and on the
+other side of which the ground rose somewhat precipitously to a
+considerable altitude. It had been wisely chosen for defense, and the
+opposite high ground was lined with infantry and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> crowned with
+batteries. As it was impossible to dislodge the enemy until some
+diversion should be created on one of his flanks, our men lay prone upon
+the ground, while bullets and shells hurtled among us and above us. At
+length seeing a brigade on our left rapidly advancing where the enemy's
+position was less formidable, we rose up and, with the inspiring "rebel
+yell," ran down the slope, crossed the little creek, clambered up the
+hill, and poured a volley into the retiring Yankees, some of whom were
+Duryea's Zouaves with their flaming uniforms. It was then that we more
+than repaid them for the loss they had inflicted upon us. On that day
+there fell some of my dearest friends, among whom was St. John F. Moody,
+who for three years had been my teacher, and afterward became my beloved
+companion. So patriotic and brave was he that if "<i>Dulce et decorum est
+pro patria mori</i>" ever was true of any hero it was of him.</p>
+
+<p>The next battle in which the brigade took part was that of Frazier's
+Farm, three days later. As we entered a field we saw before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> us a
+battery (which I believe was Randell's) supported by a firm line of
+infantry. In Wilson's history of the war he says: "One of the most
+brilliant charges of the day was made by the 55th and the 60th
+Virginia." The correct statement is that it was made by our brigade
+composed, as has been said, of the 40th, the 47th, the 55th, and the 22d
+Virginia. We rushed across the field, drove away the opposing infantry,
+and captured the battery. One of the gunners lying on the ground badly
+wounded jerked the lanyard of a loaded cannon just as we had almost
+reached the battery. Happily for us the discharge flew over our heads.
+He knew that he was in our power, for all his comrades were fleeing
+away, and he had no right to fire upon us. The deed was more like
+vengeful murder than honorable war; however, we did him no harm, for
+though his spirit was spiteful his pluck was commendable.</p>
+
+<p>It was late in the afternoon; and as we stood in line by the captured
+guns, ready to receive an expected countercharge, a lone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> horseman
+approached who proved to be Major-General McCall, who in the fading
+twilight had mistaken us for his own men. Hearing numerous cries to halt
+and seeing many muskets leveled at him, he dismounted and led his horse
+to where we stood. Being conducted before Colonel Mayo, he said, "For
+God's sake, Colonel, don't let your men do me any harm." Colonel Mayo
+was so indignant at the implied accusation that he used some cuss words,
+and asked him whether he thought we were a set of barbarians. If he had
+been captured in battle, I should have been glad; but, as it was, I felt
+sorry for him, and if I could have had the disposal of him I would have
+paroled him and turned him loose.</p>
+
+<p>The First Brigade did not again come under fire until we reached Malvern
+Hill, the 1st of July. There McClellan had skilfully stationed his
+entire army, and all the valorous efforts of Lee's army to storm the
+position were unavailing. One of our men addressed a North Carolina
+regiment as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> "Tarheels" and received for answer, "If you had had some
+tar on your heels, you would have stuck to that battery better than you
+did."</p>
+
+<p>McClellan, having for six days acted on the defensive, and in the last
+engagement having been virtually victorious, had an opportunity to
+assume the offensive; for in war as in the game of chess an unsuccessful
+attack invites defeat. On the 2d of July, if he had inspirited his
+regiments with the cry of "On to Richmond" and attacked the Confederates
+unprepared for so surprising a reversal, who can tell what might have
+been the result? Was it not worth the trial? And if he had failed, could
+he not then have fallen back to the cover of the gunboats? But he was
+bent on going to Harrison's Landing, and thither his army retreated all
+night over a muddy road. Thus ended the second attempt to capture the
+Confederate capital.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war.</div>
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Nathaniel Lee</span>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>After the battle of Malvern Hill the First Brigade had a brief and
+enjoyable respite from marching and fighting, while it bivouacked in the
+pine forest near Savage Station.</p>
+
+<p>Gen. John Pope, with his "headquarters in the saddle," set out from
+Washington with a numerous force to capture Richmond, and was re&euml;nforced
+by the remains of McClellan's army that had been transported from
+Harrison's Landing to Acquia creek. Jackson's corps, of which Hill's
+Light Division was an important part, was dispatched to watch his
+movements and to check his progress. From the flat lands of the James
+and the Chickahominy we marched to the hill country, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> for a few days
+remained near Orange Court House. On the 9th of August we forded the
+Rapidan in search of the enemy. A suffocating cloud of dust enveloped
+our toiling host, and so intense was the heat that a few of the men fell
+sunstruck in the road. During this march, as also on similar occasions,
+I saw packs of cards scattered along the highway; for though the soldier
+might play them for money or amusement when there was no prospect of an
+engagement, he did not relish the thought of their being found upon him
+if he should be killed. In the afternoon we encountered a portion of the
+National army under the command of General Banks and fought the battle
+of Cedar Run, in which our people were victorious. That night the
+hostile lines were so close that we could hear the Yankees talking, but
+could not distinguish the words. When daylight came they were far away.</p>
+
+<p>Toward the latter part of the month Pope's army occupied a position near
+Warrenton in Fauquier county, while across the North Fork<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> of the
+Rappahannock river he was confronted by Lee's united army in Culpeper.</p>
+
+<p>To cross the river and force the Federal position by a front attack was
+plainly impracticable; but in some way the Yankees must be removed and
+compelled to fight on something like equal terms. The plan was formed
+that Jackson with his corps should by a forced circuitous march obtain
+the enemy's rear and thus, cutting the line of his communication, compel
+him to retire from his advantageous location, and that Lee with
+Longstreet's corp should rejoin Jackson and bring on an engagement with
+his entire army. To some military critics this division of the army in
+the face of an unchastised antagonist might seem to contradict the rules
+of sound strategy, but in the fertile minds of Lee and Jackson it was
+the dictate of consummate genius. Such a division occurred in Maryland,
+just before the battle of Sharpsburg, and again at Chancellorsville the
+following year, and each time it was advantageous to the Confederate
+arms. These two men had the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>utmost confidence in each other, and either
+felt safe while the other was making an independent movement. In the
+course of the years that have elapsed since the termination of the war I
+have frequently been asked, "Which was the greater general, Lee or
+Jackson?" After pondering this question for forty-five years I am yet
+unable to decide; and that reminds me of Abe Lincoln and the hats. When
+he became President, two enterprising merchants in Washington, desiring
+to secure his custom, each presented him with an elegant silk hat, and
+it so happened that they called at the same time to learn his opinion of
+their gifts. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "these hats mutually excel
+each other."</p>
+
+<p>On Tuesday, the 26th of August, the march of Jackson's corps began,
+every step of the onward way bringing us nearer to the Blue Ridge where
+it borders the county of Rappahannock, and causing us to guess that
+through some gap of the mountain we were going into the valley. We did
+not know what Old Jack, (as he was familiarly and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>affectionately
+called,) was up to, but it did not matter what was the objective,&mdash;so
+implicit was the confidence reposed in his military judgment. Passing
+out of Rappahannock and skirting the base of the Blue Ridge, we rested
+for the night at Salem, in Fauquier, a station of the Manassas Gap
+Railroad, the name of which has since been changed to Marshall. Betimes
+the next morning we were hurrying eastward through Thoroughfare Gap of
+Bull Run Mountain, and late in the evening we arrived at Manassas
+Junction,&mdash;between Pope's army and Washington. I had read that walking
+was an excellent form of exercise because it brought into play every
+muscle of the body, and having walked nearly sixty miles in two days I
+was convinced that the reason assigned was valid, for the muscles of my
+arms and neck were almost as sore as were those of my legs. The making
+of long marches unexpectedly and quickly was one of the secrets of
+Jackson's success. It may be supposed by the uninitiated that after such
+fatigue the soldier is not in good condition for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> fighting; but the
+sense of weariness is lost when the excitement of battle begins.</p>
+
+<p>The few Federal regiments on guard at the Junction were quickly
+dispersed, and trains of cars loaded with all sorts of army supplies
+were burned. A large building filled with commissary stores was also
+burned, but not before our empty haversacks had been replenished. By the
+light of the fires we supped plentifully on potatoes and beef and then
+lay down upon the ground, not to pleasant dreams, but to dreamless
+sleep.</p>
+
+<p>On the 28th our brigade with some others went toward Centerville, in
+Fairfax county, and thence turning away came back into Prince William
+and took position on a part of the ground whereon the first battle of
+Manassas had been fought. Ewell's division, which had been left behind
+to befog Pope's mind and retard his movements, joined us and completed
+the defensive line of Jackson's entire corps.</p>
+
+<p>The next day the Federal army began to press us vigorously, but the
+numerous attacks made upon us were repelled and followed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> by counter
+charges. Our Brigadier-General, Field, was wounded badly, and Company F
+lost some men, among whom was Lieutenant James Ball, who in the absence
+of Capt. William Brown was in command. By his death the control of the
+company was devolved upon me.</p>
+
+<p>Let me here relate an incident to show that between individuals of the
+opposing hosts there was no animosity. During a lull in the battle I
+left the regiment and circumspectly proceeded forward to reconnoiter. I
+found in a wood a Yankee captain dangerously wounded, a fine-looking man
+and handsomely dressed. In reply to the question whether I could do
+anything for him he asked for water, and I, kneeling down, held my
+canteen to his lips, for which kindness he made grateful
+acknowledgments. "And now," said I, "there is something you can do for
+me: you can give me your sword, but I will not take it unless you part
+with it freely." He replied that I was welcome to it, for he would never
+need it again. After I had taken it he said: "You<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> had better retire,
+because our men will soon be here again." He was thirsty, and I gave him
+drink; I was in danger, and he gave me friendly warning.</p>
+
+<p>That sword had an unfortunate history: its beautiful scabbard, belt, and
+shoulder strap were ruined when my tent was burned the next winter; its
+hilt was shot off at Chancellorsville, and the naked blade was thrown
+away on that ensanguined field.</p>
+
+<p>I returned to where the regiment was standing prepared to receive
+another attack, which, however, was not made that day. When we were
+ordered to fall back to our first position, I caused to be brought with
+us the bodies of Lieutenant Ball and his most intimate friend, Mordecai
+Lawson, who, like him, had been shot in the forehead. With bayonets and
+hands a grave was dug, in which we laid them side by side, and spreading
+over them a soldier's blanket, we heaped above them the turf and clods.
+In neither army could there have been found two braver men. Boon
+companions in life, in death they were not divided.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p><p>The next day, Saturday the 30th, witnessed the grand struggle that has
+become famous in history as the Second Battle of Manassas. After a
+separation of four days Longstreet's corps had come up and formed on
+Jackson's right, and General Pope was compelled either to retreat or
+fight on ground so skilfully selected by General Lee. The line of battle
+was nearly parallel with Bull Run, whereas in the first battle it was
+perpendicular to it.</p>
+
+<p>There was between the two armies a bed that had been graded for a
+railroad, but upon which no rails have ever been laid. It was the
+fortune of the First Brigade to fight on Friday over a shallow cut, and
+on Saturday over the deepest of all. Our line being formed in an oak
+forest and ordered to charge, we rushed from the wood into a large field
+across which the cut had been dug, not knowing it was there until we
+came close to it. The Federal soldiers on the other side made but feeble
+resistance, because they had already been hotly engaged with a brigade
+composed of the 60th Virginia and some regiments from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> Louisiana. That
+brigade was down in the cut, having exhausted their ammunition, and it
+would have been captured but for our timely arrival, which filled them
+with rejoicing. In that charge the saber was knocked from my uplifted
+hand, and falling it stuck in the ground some paces behind me.</p>
+
+<p>The brigade did not cross the cut, but a few of the men clambered over
+and I among them. There was a cannon over there which they pulled back
+with all the hilarity of college students, some riding astraddle the
+piece, cheering, and waving their caps.</p>
+
+<p>We had no sooner recrossed the cut and regained our places in the line
+than the grand spectacle of dense columns of Pope's army coming to the
+assault was witnessed. In perfect array, they kept step as if on dress
+parade, and bore their banners proudly. I looked for a terrific shock,
+but before they came to close quarters with us, the Confederate
+artillery, massed on high ground behind us, opened upon their closed
+ranks, and wrought such fearful destruction as, I believe,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> was not
+dealt in any other battle of the entire war. Shells burst among them so
+thick and fast that in a few minutes the field was literally strewn with
+the killed and wounded. They halted, they turned, they fled; and Lee's
+whole army assuming the offensive, rushed forward and won the battle.</p>
+
+<p>General Pope was going to hoist the Stars and Stripes above the capitol
+in Richmond, but he came no nearer to the city than Cedar Run. His men
+were brave, but from first to last he was mystified by Lee's superior
+strategy. A prisoner said to me, "If we had your Jackson, we would soon
+whip you." And I will express the opinion that if the Army of the
+Potomac had been commanded by generals who were the equals of Lee and
+Jackson the Southern Confederacy would have collapsed before April,
+1865; and sooner still if Lee and Jackson had led the Northern armies,
+while the Confederates were marshaled by leaders of Pope's caliber.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div class="i10">'Tis the soldiers' life</div>
+<div>To have their balmy slumbers waked with strife.</div>
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Shakespeare's</span> <i>Othello</i>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Our next encounter with the Yankees occurred on the first day of
+September at a place called Ox Hill, near Chantilly on the Little River
+turnpike, in which they sustained a heavy loss in the death of General
+Philip Kearney, one of their best and bravest commanders. Inasmuch as
+the action took place during a thunderstorm its awful impressiveness was
+increased, and it was difficult to distinguish between the
+reverberations of the heavens and the detonations of the mimicking
+artillery, sometimes alternating and sometimes simultaneous.</p>
+
+<p>That night, when all was still and darkness had settled upon the field
+where lay the victims of war, a soldier of the 40th regiment,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> an
+intrepid Irishman, George Cornwell by name, went out prowling for food
+and plunder, taking his musket with him. Unexpectedly meeting a Federal
+lieutenant and four men bearing a stretcher and searching for their
+wounded captain, he was asked to what regiment he belonged. With ready
+wit he named a New York regiment, and then learning their business and
+finding that they were unarmed, he leveled his musket, demanded their
+surrender, and brought them as prisoners within our lines. I myself did
+a little searching until I found a full haversack strapped to a man who
+would never use his teeth again. I was hungry, and chilled by the recent
+rain. I found in the haversack crackers and ground coffee mixed with
+sugar; and bringing into requisition my matches, tin cup, and canteen of
+water (which three things I was always careful to have about me), I soon
+had a pint of steaming beverage. I ate my supper, and then laid down to
+sleep. This was only one of many times that I slept in wet garments on
+the rain-soaked lap of earth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> without injury to my health; and the only
+reason I can give for the immunity is, that those were "War times."</p>
+
+<p>The National army returned to Washington, and together with all the
+forces in and around that city was again put under the command of
+General McClellan.</p>
+
+<p>From Chantilly we marched to the vicinity of Leesburg and went into camp
+near a beautiful spring, several feet deep, which was in a large square
+walled up with brick. The next day we came to the Potomac river, which
+was then about four feet deep, with its bottom covered with rounded
+stones of many sizes. We were not so favored as Joshua's host at the
+Jordan, but we just walked from shore to shore as if there were no water
+there. Beautiful was the scene. As I approached the river I beheld those
+who had crossed ascending the hill on the farther shore; in the water a
+double line of soldiers stretching from side to side, their guns held
+high above the current and gilded by the beams of the westering sun; and
+others behind them going down the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>declivity of the Virginia shore.
+There came unbidden to my mind some lines of one of Charles Wesley's
+hymns:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>One army of the living God,</div>
+<div class="i1">To his command we bow;</div>
+<div>Part of the host have crossed the flood,</div>
+<div class="i1">And part are crossing now.</div>
+<div>E'en now to their eternal home</div>
+<div class="i1">Some happy spirits fly;</div>
+<div>And we are to the margin come,</div>
+<div class="i1">And soon expect to die.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>From Bunyan's time onward, and I know not how long before, a river has
+been the Christian symbol of death.</p>
+
+<p>There was some expectation that when we came into Maryland many of her
+sons would rally to our banners, according to the prediction of a
+well-known song:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>"She breathes, she burns, she'll come, she'll come,</div>
+<div class="i6">Maryland, my Maryland;"</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>but the cold fact is, she did not come; and in the light of subsequent
+events, it is well that she did not.</p>
+
+<p>From the Potomac the march was continued<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> to the Monocacy river, near
+Frederick City. During our brief sojourn there we bought goods in the
+stores and paid for them in Confederate money, although, no doubt, the
+merchants would have preferred greenbacks or specie; and so far as I
+know nothing was taken without that remuneration.</p>
+
+<p>Again Lee's army was divided, Jackson's corps being detached and sent
+forward for the purpose of capturing Harper's Ferry. For three days
+during the westward march in Maryland no rations were issued, and our
+only food was ears of green corn roasted or boiled without salt. These
+served for supper and breakfast, but we had nothing for dinner, for if
+when we started in the morning we put the cooked corn in the haversacks
+it soured under the hot rays of the sun, and time was too precious to
+allow a halt for cooking a fresh supply at noon.</p>
+
+<p>Fording the Potomac again, we passed out of Maryland into Virginia at
+Williamsport and proceeded rapidly to Harper's Ferry. The Federal force
+occupying a very high hill<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> which had been fortified by abattis and
+entrenchments, any attempt to storm it would have inflicted terrible
+loss upon the attacking party. With much difficulty our cannon had been
+placed on the Maryland Heights, on the Loudoun Heights, and on other
+eminences that overlooked the enemy's position; and when all was ready
+the order was given to the infantry to begin the assault. When we came
+to the foot of the little mountain occupied by the Yankees we discovered
+that trees had been cut so as to fall downward, and that their
+interlacing limbs had been trimmed and sharpened to a point. To advance
+upward through these innumerable spikes appeared impossible;
+nevertheless we began the ascent at the same time that our artillery on
+the mountains opened fire. The enemy, seeing our advance and being torn
+by plunging shots and shells from so many enfilading directions, were
+persuaded to surrender. As we were slowly struggling upward I looked and
+with a joyful feeling of relief saw the white flag flying, and a large
+one it was. This was on Monday, the 15th of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> September. So well was this
+affair planned by Jackson that without the loss of a man we captured
+11,000 prisoners, 13,000 stand of small arms, and 73 pieces of
+artillery.</p>
+
+<p>Having performed what was necessary to secure the fruits of this
+remarkable achievement, it was of the utmost importance that we should
+hurry away to re&euml;nforce Longstreet's corps, which was confronted by the
+northern army at Sharpsburg. Passing through Shepherdstown we waded the
+Potomac the third time. Our brigade did not reach the battle field until
+the evening of the 17th, when the most of the severe fighting of the day
+had ended. It was a drawn battle with very heavy losses on both sides.
+On the 18th the opposing hosts confronted each other without coming to
+blows. Did not McClellan blunder again? Having a much greater army, a
+part of which had not been engaged, ought he not to have renewed the
+battle in the attempt to crush the Confederates and drive them into the
+river? When he awoke on the 19th Lee's army was on the Virginia side.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife,</div>
+<div>The morn the marshalling in arms, the day</div>
+<div>Battle's magnificently-stern array.</div>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Byron</span>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On the 20th of September McClellan sent one of his divisions over into
+Virginia, with the purpose, I suppose, of making a reconnoissance in
+force. It was attacked by the Light Division and driven back to the
+Maryland side of the river, not a few of the men perishing in the water.
+On that occasion the 47th passed within a few paces of a Yankee regiment
+standing in line in a field and displaying their national banner. Not a
+musket was fired by either party; for they, being cut off from the
+river, were doomed to captivity, and we were going at double-quick
+against another force. When the engagement had ended and we were
+marching away, a solid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> shot from beyond the river ricochetted along our
+line and in unpleasant proximity to it. Though much of its force was
+spent, yet if it had struck our line it had sufficient momentum to have
+destroyed many lives. Here was a close call, which differed from many
+another in that the bounding ball was visible.</p>
+
+<p>The Maryland campaign being over, Jackson's corps retired to Bunker Hill
+between Winchester and Martinsburg, and there we had for more than two
+months an unusual season of rest and recuperation. I remember one day of
+special enjoyment. Obeying an order, I took a squad of men some seven or
+eight miles along the turnpike in the direction of Martinsburg to keep a
+lookout for the approach of the enemy. We halted where there was a grove
+on one side of the road and a dwelling-house on the other. We purchased
+a shoat from the matron of that domicile, who made us a stew that would
+have done credit to the Maypole Inn. After dinner,&mdash;the only meal worthy
+of that name that I had enjoyed for many months,&mdash;I took a musket, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>leaving the men a short distance behind, took a stand in the middle of
+the road. No Yankee came in sight, but while I was there silently
+waiting and watching two large, beautiful wild turkeys walked with
+stately step across the road in easy range. Was I tempted to shoot? Yes.
+Did I do it? No; for I was particularly instructed that on no account
+must a gun be fired except on the enemy's approach. The report would
+have been repeated by squads in my rear, the camp would have been
+falsely alarmed, and I would have been justly court-martialed.</p>
+
+<p>The Army of the Potomac, 100,000 strong and commanded by General
+Burnside, once more took up the slogan,&mdash;"On to Richmond,"&mdash;but that was
+more easily said than done. Before it reached the northern bank of the
+Rappahannock river, opposite Fredericksburg, the ever-watchful Lee,
+having left the valley, had occupied the heights on the other side.
+Jackson's corps by rapid marches arrived at Fredericksburg on the 11th
+of December, none too soon for the impending <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>conflict, and took
+position on Longstreet's right. Nearly five miles from the town our
+brigade formed the extreme right of the Southern Army, which was an
+assignment of honor; and the 47th held the right of the brigade. The
+other brigades of Hill's Light Division formed on our left, Gregg's next
+to ours, and between the two on higher ground twenty pieces of artillery
+looked out across the field. Lee's army had the advantage of position,
+and had the rare pleasure of fighting on the defensive. It occupied the
+high ground that borders the river flat, and which is close to the town,
+but, as it continues, recedes from the river, leaving an ever widening
+plain. On the morning of the memorable 13th that plain resounded to the
+martial tread of Burnside's army.</p>
+
+<p>Before the battle began General Lee, inspecting the disposition of his
+forces all along the line, rode up to where we stood, and dismounting
+from Traveller, handed the bridle-rein to an orderly. This was the first
+time that I saw him, and his appearance made an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> indelible impression
+upon my mind. What a noble man he was in form and face as well as in
+moral character! While he was examining the outlying field I had a
+conversation with the orderly, who spoke of the General's fondness for
+his horse.</p>
+
+<p>Having observed that a few men of the Confederate cavalry had brought up
+a piece of artillery in front of our right, I obtained permission of
+Colonel Mayo and ran forward to join them. Two Federal batteries came
+forward in a gallop and in a minute's time unlimbered and began firing
+against Hill's division, the twenty guns of which I have spoken giving
+them as good as they sent and a little better. The Yankees were so hotly
+engaged by the firing in front of them that they paid no attention to
+the little cavalry gun upon the flank. The first shot did no execution,
+but the next struck a caisson and exploded its contents.</p>
+
+<p>What more was done there I cannot say; for seeing that the Federal
+infantry were advancing to the charge, I hastily returned to my position
+in the regiment. Our men, lying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> in a railroad cut about two feet deep,
+waited until the Yankees were close upon them, and then rising up poured
+such volleys upon them as caused them to retire in confusion; but on our
+left Gregg's South Carolina brigade was broken through and he was
+killed. Being thereby severed from the rest of the army, we changed
+front and took the victorious Yankees in flank, causing them to lose
+their advantage and fall back to the railroad which they had crossed.
+Then occurred a pretty duel. The blue and the grey lines were about
+sixty yards apart and each was loading and firing as rapidly as
+possible. The Federal general and his two aides on horseback were urging
+their men to charge, as was evident from their gestures; but their men
+would not respond.</p>
+
+<p>Being an officer I had no weapons but sword and pistol, but I picked up
+the musket of one of our men, who had loaded it but was killed before he
+could discharge it, and called on some of our company to shoot down the
+horsemen. We took deliberate aim and fired; and down went horses and
+riders. "Now,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> said I, "shoot down the colors." Four times they fell,
+only to be quickly raised again. I would not affirm that the little
+group about me shot down the horsemen and the flag, for many others were
+shooting at the same time; I only know that we calmly did our best in
+that direction. After a while the enemy turned and fled; and I was glad,
+for they had inflicted on the 47th a loss of fifty men in killed and
+wounded. However, their loss greatly exceeded ours. The next day, when a
+truce prevailed for burying the dead and caring for the wounded, I was
+informed by some of the Union soldiers that the name of that general was
+Jackson. He was a brave man, deserving a better fate, and he fell while
+nobly performing what he believed was his duty to his country.</p>
+
+<p>It was the general and confident expectation that the battle would be
+renewed, and we were, therefore, surprised to discover on the morning of
+the 15th that the enemy had during the night recrossed to the northern
+side of the river. Their loss in the engagement was three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> times greater
+than ours. Burnside made the mistake of putting forth his greatest
+strength where the Confederates were strongest. If he had assailed our
+right as fiercely as he did our left, perhaps there might have been a
+different result.</p>
+
+<p>In a few days after the battle I was informed by Colonel Mayo that I was
+"for gallant and meritorious conduct promoted to be First Lieutenant and
+Adjutant of the 47th regiment." I had not thought of trying to make an
+exhibition of unusual gallantry among so many intrepid men, but, of
+course, the commendation and promotion were highly gratifying.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>"The love of praise, howe'er concealed by art,</div>
+<div>Reigns more or less, and glows in ev'ry heart."</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The campaign having come to an end, Lee's army went into winter quarters
+at camp Gregg, so named in honor of Brigadier-General Maxcy Gregg who
+was killed in the battle of Fredericksburg. It was near Moss Neck, the
+large and fertile farm of Mr. Richard Corbin.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> The Rappahannock river
+flowed between the Yankee and the Rebel armies, each picketing its own
+side of the stream. By common consent there was no shooting across the
+river, but on the other hand there was an occasional exchange of tobacco
+and coffee by means of little boats. We could hear them impudently
+singing: "O soldiers, won't you meet us." We had met them on fields of
+carnage, and expected to meet them again on the return of spring; but
+whether we should meet them "On Canaan's happy shore," or in some less
+pleasing locality in the eternal world, who could say?</p>
+
+<p>I distinctly remember one night when my turn came to go to the river on
+picket duty, and the earth was covered with snow several inches deep.
+When my watch was off and the opportunity to sleep was afforded the
+question was, where to lie down. I spread on the snow some boughs that I
+had cut from a cedar tree and laid a gum cloth upon them. Upon this
+pallet I lay down and covering myself head and all with a blanket
+enjoyed sweet, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>refreshing, and healthful sleep. The next morning the
+blanket above my head was stiff-frozen with the moisture from my breath.</p>
+
+<p>There was one man that should have been mentioned before this time,&mdash;a
+negro of my own age, whose name was Charles Wesley. We had grown up on
+the farm together, and had played, and boxed, and wrestled without
+respect to color. Not as a slave but as a friend he followed me to the
+war,&mdash;my launderer, my cook, and when I was sick, my nurse. Having
+orders to keep himself out of danger, he very willingly remained far in
+the rear when a battle was in progress, but when the firing ceased he
+faithfully sought me and reported for duty. While writing about Charles,
+I may anticipate a little and say that when we were in Pennsylvania I
+told him that we were on Yankee soil, and that he had the opportunity of
+deserting me and of remaining there as a free man. He replied that he
+already knew that, but that he was going to abide with me. And when I
+was captured at Falling Waters he had the intelligence and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> fidelity to
+ride my horse home and deliver him to my brother.</p>
+
+<p>It was while we were encamped at Moss Neck that I witnessed a military
+execution for the offense of desertion from the 47th regiment. The
+criminal was on his knees, blindfolded, with his hands tied behind him
+to a stake. A short distance in front of him was the line of twenty men
+detailed to do the shooting, and commanded by an officer especially
+appointed. No man could tell who did the killing, for the twenty muskets
+were handed to them, one-half of them being loaded with blank
+cartridges. The rest of the regiment was drawn up, one-half on the
+right, and the other on the left. At the word "Fire!" the report of the
+guns rang out and the deserter fell forward pierced by balls. Death was
+instantaneous. Although the crime was mortal, the scene was painfully
+sad.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.</div>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Wellington</span>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I did not serve long as the adjutant of the 47th regiment. In March,
+1863, Company I of the 40th regiment, having from one cause or another
+lost all its officers, unanimously desired that I should become their
+captain, and this desire was approved by Colonel Brockenbrough, who
+commanded that regiment, as well as by General Heth, who commanded the
+brigade. I was loath to sever connection from the regiment to which I
+had been attached since the beginning of the war, but I accepted the new
+position, because it was in the line of promotion, and the men of the
+company were from my native county and well known to me; moreover, I
+would still be in the same brigade with my old <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>comrades of the 47th. My
+captain's commission was dated April 30, and was signed by James A.
+Seddon, Secretary of War.</p>
+
+<p>When the spring had come General Joseph Hooker, the successor of
+unfortunate Burnside, having crossed the Rappahannock river, took up a
+strong position at Chancellorsville, with an army numerically twice as
+strong as the available Confederate forces, and declared by him to be
+"the finest army on the planet." At the same time a powerful detachment
+under General Sedgwick crossed the river below Fredericksburg and made
+demonstrations of attack upon the Confederate lines. Never was General
+Lee confronted by a more perilous situation, and never did his military
+genius more brilliantly appear.</p>
+
+<p>In war so much depends upon the commander, that I advance the confident
+opinion that if the Confederates had been under the charge of Hooker and
+Sedgwick, and Lee and Jackson had had command of the Federal soldiers
+above and below Fredericksburg, the Confederate army would have been
+destroyed; and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> Army of the Potomac would have walked straight into
+Richmond. That army would indeed have been "the finest on the planet,"
+if the skill and the courage of its commander had equaled its numbers,
+its aggressive power, and its opulent equipment.</p>
+
+<p>Hooker had a grand opportunity, but ingloriously failed to use it. He
+had conceived a good plan of action, and he successfully executed its
+initial movement; but when the decisive hour arrived his resolution
+failed. Instead of advancing aggressively on to Fredericksburg, as he
+had begun to do, he turned back and fortified his army with
+intrenchments. Did he mistrust himself, or his army, or both? His
+original scheme contemplated offensive tactics, and all its merit was
+sacrificed when he began to erect defensive fortifications.</p>
+
+<p>Let me here briefly describe Chancellorsville and its environments as I
+saw them during the battle. There was no village there, but only a large
+brick tavern with a few outbuildings, located immediately on the north
+side of the road that connects Fredericksburg<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> and Orange. In the rear
+it was separated from the forest by a narrow field, while in front and
+across the road there was a large space of open land. In the direction
+of Orange the road and fields declined to a wooded ravine. On the
+slightly elevated land in front of the tavern the Yankees had unlimbered
+twenty Napoleon cannon, and along the side of the ravine they had
+erected breastworks of logs and earth.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the afternoon of Friday, May 1, our brigade had marched up from
+Fredericksburg and halted in striking distance of the Federal army. What
+could we expect but that in the morning we should be waging an assault
+upon its fortified position? Instead of that Jackson led us with the
+rest of his corps around the front of that position until we struck the
+road on the Orange side of Chancellorsville. We were now on Hooker's
+right flank, having marched quickly and silently fifteen miles over a
+rough and unfrequented road. The sun was sinking toward the western
+horizon when our lines of attack were formed on both sides of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> the road
+and at right angles to it. Immediately the onslaught began, silent,
+rapid, resolute, Heth's brigade being on the north or left side of the
+road. We had not proceeded far before we struck Howard's corps all
+unsuspecting and unprepared. Their fires were kindled for cooking
+supper, and dressed beeves were ready for distribution among the
+companies. They fled before us, strewing the ground with muskets,
+knapsacks, and other accouterments. Whoever censures them for running
+would probably have acted as they did, for our charge was as lightning
+from a cloudless sky. On the way we crossed a little farm, and as I
+passed the dwelling I saw several ladies who were wildly rejoicing.</p>
+
+<p>When we had come within half a mile of Chancellorsville daylight had
+faded into night. The moon had risen, but her rays were rendered
+intermittent by scudding clouds. The darkness, the tangled undergrowth
+of the forest, and the entrenchments and artillery of the enemy combined
+to arrest our progress. Those cannon of which I have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> spoken shelled the
+woods in which we lay, and what a cannonade it was! The trees and bushes
+trembled, the air was laden with sulphurous fumes, the very earth seemed
+to quake under the impulse of exploding shells. There was, however, more
+noise than execution; only one man of my company was struck, and his
+broken jaw was bound up by my handkerchief.</p>
+
+<p>From my position on the roadside I saw a few riderless horses running
+terror-stricken to the rear. These were, I believe, the animals that
+Jackson and his aides had ridden to the front. It is recorded that he
+was wounded by some soldiers of the 18th North Carolina regiment who
+were in the brigade of General James H. Lane. If this statement were
+made on less reliable authority it might be questioned; for I know that
+the Yankees were close to our front and that Jackson could not have
+ridden far beyond our line without encountering their volley. We did not
+hear until next morning that our peerless leader had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> been shot. Alas!
+As when Hector fell the doom of Troy was sealed, so with the death of
+Jackson the star of the Southern Confederacy declined.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the night the firing ceased, and the Gray and the Blue lay on
+their arms, catching brief snatches of troubled sleep, and abiding the
+renewal of hostilities with the coming morning.</p>
+
+<p>On the bright and pleasant Sunday that ensued no chiming bells nor
+melodies of sacred music were heard upon that famous field, but only the
+cries of antagonistic men and the horrid din of batteries and muskets.
+Our brigade being transferred to the right side of the road and drawn up
+in line of battle in the forest, it was not long before the renowned
+Stonewall brigade passed by us and charged upon the breastworks of the
+enemy. It was repulsed with heavy loss, the Yankees having
+preponderating advantage of position. Then Pender's intrepid brigade of
+North Carolinians had a similar experience. There were no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> braver
+soldiers in the army than the men composing these two defeated brigades.
+When, therefore, the command to charge was given to us, could we hope
+for a better result? As we advanced a shell struck the ground
+immediately before me, exploded and covered me with dirt, but
+providentially inflicted no wounds. Onward we rushed with the usual
+inspiriting Rebel yell. When we came in sight of those formidable rifle
+pits we were delighted to find them abandoned by our foes; and when we
+climbed over them and entered the field just beyond them we were no less
+glad to discover that those batteries that had so noisily shelled us the
+night before had been withdrawn.</p>
+
+<p>There in full view toward our left stood Chancellor's tavern, and the
+large field in front was literally filled with Federal soldiers in
+perfect array marching northward,&mdash;that is, to the rear. The retreat of
+Hooker's army had begun; they were not whipped but out-generaled.
+Passing across the road by the tavern and entering the forest behind it,
+they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> left not in sight a single blue coat, save that a battery in the
+tavern yard was firing upon us. Two Confederate batteries galloped up to
+our line, and, unlimbering, opened upon the battery in the yard at close
+range. There were in the Southern armies many soldiers in their teens,
+but here at one of the guns labored a boy who was, as I guessed from his
+size, not more than twelve years old. It was his part to fire the gun by
+pulling the lanyard, and as often as he did it he playfully rolled over
+backward. "Boys will be boys" even in the peril of battle. In the
+meantime Jeb Stuart, temporarily assigned to the command of Jackson's
+corps, came riding into the field, and in a spirit not unlike that of
+the boy was singing, "Old Joe Hooker, won't you get out the wilderness?"
+The Yankee battery withdrew; the battle was ended. The tavern was all
+ablaze, having been ignited by one of our shells,&mdash;the house that an
+hour before had been the headquarters of General Hooker. Our army was
+resting along the road in front of the burning building. As General Lee
+rode by,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> a waggish fellow of the 47th said, "General, we are too tired
+to cheer you this morning," and he pleasantly replied, "Well, boys, you
+have gotten glory enough for one day."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>He that fights and runs away</div>
+<div>May turn and fight another day.</div>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Ray</span>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>After the lamented death of General Jackson the divisions of the Army of
+Northern Virginia were organized into three corps, commanded,
+respectively, by Longstreet, Ewell, and A. P. Hill. General Heth was
+assigned to the command of the Light Division, and the senior colonel of
+the first brigade, John M. Brockenbrough took the command made vacant by
+Heth's promotion.</p>
+
+<p>In forming his staff Colonel Brockenbrough selected me to be his acting
+assistant adjutant-general. As this new sphere of duty required that I
+should have a horse, and as it was useless to search for one in the
+neighborhood of Fredericksburg, I sought and obtained a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>furlough in
+order that I might seek one in my native county. The time was limited to
+five days,&mdash;not long enough, as Colonel Brockenbrough knew; but there
+was an understanding between us that if I overstayed the limit nothing
+would be said about it.</p>
+
+<p>A tramp of a hundred miles was before me, but that was a matter of
+indifference to my buoyant body and practiced feet. It was my intention
+to cross the river at Tappahannock, and proceed down the Neck to my
+brother's home, but the southern bank was picketed by the 15th Virginia
+cavalry, which prohibited my passage. Walking back into the town and
+finding Colonel John Critcher, who was in command of the regiment, I
+explained my mission and requested the liberty of passing through his
+line. He informed me that on the other side the 8th Illinois cavalry
+were making a raid, and urged that I should not cross and run the risk
+of being captured. Telling him that I was familiar with the country and
+that I would avoid the enemy, I persisted in the request, being as
+desirous of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> a horse as was Richard III in his final battle. Having
+obtained his reluctant written permission I decided that instead of
+crossing at Tappahannock I would walk down as far as Owen Hill in
+Middlesex county and thence seek a passage over into Lancaster. A negro,
+whose service I secured in return for Confederate money, transported me
+in a canoe, and landed me at Morattico. During the passage I kept a
+sharp lookout up and down the wide river for Yankee gunboats, fearing
+that even if I should escape Scylla I might fall into Charybdis; and
+indeed some of the marauding bluecoats had but recently departed from
+the farm.</p>
+
+<p>Having dined with the hospitable family, I set out for my brother's home
+fifteen miles away, not knowing that one part of the enemy was encamped
+on his farm and another part in the yard. Being informed that the
+hostile invaders were traversing all parts of the county in search of
+booty, I sought to evade them by walking not upon the familiar roads but
+in the woods parallel with them. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> I drew near the county-seat,
+instead of crossing the road as prudence suggested I thought I would
+walk the road a short distance and then pass over, for my shoes had
+become uncomfortably smooth by treading on the fallen foliage of the
+pines. Rash procedure!</p>
+
+<p>I had come into the road near what is called "the court-house mill
+hill," intending to go down, cross the bridge, and turn again into the
+woods in the rear of the village, scouting as I proceeded. When I had
+come nearly to the brow of the hill, I met a squadron of ascending
+Federal horsemen. If I had been two minutes earlier and they as much
+later we would have met as I was descending the hill; and then my
+capture would have been inevitable, because the steep banks on either
+side would have precluded all hope of escape. I heard the foremost
+riders say, "Here're the Rebels, boys; come on." I did not wait to see
+more than their heads and breasts as they were coming up the hill. I was
+in my full uniform, having a gray overcoat on my shoulder and a felt hat
+on my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> head. In the twinkling of an eye the coat was dropped, and the
+hat flew off as I made such a leap into the friendly forest as perhaps
+was never equaled by any athlete in the Olympic games. I had no time to
+become frightened, but I was angered by being pursued on my native soil
+by men who had no right to invade it. It is a wonder that they did not
+catch me. I heard them swearing, crying "Halt," and firing pistols.
+Three things favored me: the trees and undergrowth were coming into
+leaf, I was fleet of foot, and I took an unsuspected direction. Instead
+of running at right angles to the road, or obliquely backward, I ran
+obliquely forward, in the direction from which they had come. When I was
+nearly out of breath, I stopped to listen, and was glad to hear no
+sounds save those that were made by my thumping heart. The pursuit had
+ended, and I lay down to rest and to recover my wind,&mdash;not unlike the
+stag that had been chased by Fitz James' hounds.</p>
+
+<p>In a little while rising refreshed from my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> rest, I went onward and
+crossing the mill stream higher up than I had purposed, I arrived at the
+residence of my cousin Robert. I had been there but a few minutes when
+his wife, who had glanced up the lane, cried out, "Run, run; the Yankees
+are coming!" At the first utterance of the word "run," I was making
+rapid tracks for the forest in the rear of the house; but before I
+reached it she called me back. Two of the Yankees had been there before,
+and her excited imagination had mistaken a Rebel officer for two more.
+It was her brother-in-law, Ned Stakes, major of the 40th Virginia. He
+and I then set out for a place near Wicomico church, where, as he told
+me, a few Confederates were in hiding. Having spent the night with them
+in the forest, we were in the morning informed by a faithful negro, who
+had been acting as commissary, that the Yankees had all gone. Although I
+trusted his report, it was with circumspection that I traveled homeward.</p>
+
+<p>The departed Yankees had carried away<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> teams and wagons loaded with
+plunder from meat-houses, barns, and cabins, and as many of the negroes
+as desired to take advantage of "the year of jubile?" which old Spencer
+said "had come." One girl, who refused to depart, was thus upbraided by
+her father: "You's a fool, gal, not to go where there's a plenty to eat
+and nothing to do." That regiment of cavalry had robbed my brother, and
+had treated many other peaceable citizens in the same way. Large was the
+booty they carried away, and long was the train of negroes, horses, and
+loaded wagons. It is said that "all things are lawful in war"; but this
+adage, like many others, sails under false colors. War is lawless, as
+Cicero observed: "<i>Silent leges inter arma</i>." There was neither
+constitutional nor statute law that justified the invasion of the South
+by armies from the North; none for the emancipation proclamation; none
+for the cruel and destructive deeds that were perpetrated by the Federal
+armies.</p>
+
+<p>My furlough had run out, and my object<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> was yet ungained. The next day I
+found a bay horse to my liking, five years old, large, tall, and strong,
+named John. The owner sold him to me for Confederate money, knowing that
+the sale bore close resemblance to a gift. After a night's rest I set
+out for the army. Riding in the wake of the retiring sons of Illinois, I
+recrossed the river at Bowler's, and on the second day rejoined the
+brigade near Fredericksburg. After having been chased by the Yankees, a
+feeling of safety came over me as I mingled again with my veteran
+companions.</p>
+
+<p>That was not to be my last experience with the 8th Illinois. It was they
+who in less than two months afterward took me prisoner in Maryland. Some
+of them were riding horses that they had stolen,&mdash;no; impressed,&mdash;from
+my county. They showed me their repeating Spencer carbines, and asked
+that if I should be exchanged I would tell the 9th Virginia cavalry that
+they would be glad to meet them. The lapse of fifty years has made old
+men of them and me. I have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>forgiven the wrongs those brave fellows
+inflicted on my country, and I would be glad to meet them to talk over
+the stirring events of the past.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>Hand to hand, and foot to foot;</div>
+<div>Nothing there, save death, was mute;</div>
+<div>Stroke, and thrust, and flash, and cry</div>
+<div>For quarter, or for victory,</div>
+<div>Mingled with the volleying thunder.</div>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Byron</span>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I come now to relate my experience of the disastrous invasion of
+Pennsylvania.</p>
+
+<p>The first week in June the commands of Longstreet and Ewell began the
+northward movement, but Hill's corps remained at Fredericksburg to
+deceive the Federal commander and watch his movements. It was not until
+the middle of the month that Hooker divined Lee's purpose and withdrew
+his army from our front, leaving us free to follow the rest of the army.
+Marching through Culpeper, we crossed the mountains through Chester's
+Gap and struck out for the ford of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> the Potomac at Williamsport. I had
+four times waded the river, but this time, being on horseback, I escaped
+a wetting by holding my feet high on the saddle. My spirits would not
+have been so light and gay, if I could have foreknown that I should not
+lay eyes on the river again until the war should be over. Nothing of
+moment occurred while we passed across Maryland into Pennsylvania.</p>
+
+<p>Tuesday night, June 30, our division bivouacked near Cashtown, about
+eight miles northwest of Gettysburg. The next morning Colonel
+Brockenbrough was informed that Pettigrew's brigade was on the way to
+Gettysburg to obtain shoes for the men, and was ordered to follow as a
+support in the contingency of need, none of us knowing that the advance
+of Meade's army occupied a strong position between us and the town. I
+was riding with Colonel Brockenbrough at the head of the column when we
+met Pettigrew and his men returning. He informed us that the enemy was
+ahead and that as he had not received orders to bring on an engagement
+he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> was coming back, to report. As to the source of his information I
+had no doubt, for by his side was a man on horseback, bearing an
+umbrella, and dressed in a suit of civil clothes. After a brief
+consultation between the commanders of the two brigades I was ordered to
+ride back quickly to Heth's headquarters, report the condition of
+affairs, and bring back his instructions. With a brusque manner, he
+said, "Tell General Pettigrew not to butt too hard, or he'll butt his
+brains out." I translated his command into politer terms, and we started
+again toward Gettysburg, knowing that Heth would follow with the other
+four brigades of the division.</p>
+
+<p>We found the enemy posted on a ridge just beyond Willoughby's Run, and
+deploying on both sides of the road we went into the engagement. We had
+the honor,&mdash;if honor it may be called,&mdash;of losing and shedding the first
+blood in one of the most famous battles of the world. In war things
+sometimes just happen: the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern
+Virginia came into <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>collision at a place where neither commander
+designed a general engagement. Pender's division formed on the right of
+Heth's and both pressed forward in the face of volleying musketry and
+thundering cannon. We found out afterward that the opposing force
+consisted of the three divisions of the First Corps under the command of
+General Reynolds. Right bravely did they fight, and being driven from
+the ridge they formed again on Seminary Ridge, determined to hold it. As
+our men, on the other hand, were no less determined to take it, the
+contest became furious and slaughterous. Our loss was heavy, but did not
+equal that which we inflicted. At last they gave way, and we pursued
+them to the edge of the town, through the streets of which they hastened
+until they lodged among the rocky fastness of Cemetery Ridge. I was in
+all the great battles, from Seven Pines to Chancellorsville, but never
+had I witnessed a fight so hot and stubborn. On a field of battle the
+dead and mortally wounded are usually scattered promiscuously on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
+ground, but here I counted more than fifty fallen heroes lying in a
+straight line. They belonged, as well as I now remember, to the 150th
+Pennsylvania. When a regiment stands its ground until it suffers so
+great a loss, it deserves honor for its courage, for the wounded must
+have numbered as many as two hundred and fifty. It is a rare thing that
+a regiment loses so many men in one engagement.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time that we were struggling with the First Corps of Meade's
+army the divisions of Rhodes and Early on our left were driving the
+Eleventh Corps before them. But of the gallant part they bore in the
+battle I make no mention, inasmuch as I am not writing a general
+history, but only jotting down the things I saw, a small part of which I
+was.</p>
+
+<p>When the battle had ended and the brigade was standing in line close to
+the town, Colonel Brockenbrough and I occupied positions in rear of the
+line; and near us were Capt. Austin Brockenbrough and Lt. Addison Hall<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
+Crittenden. First one and then the other of these two gallant officers
+fell mortally wounded, although no Yankee was in sight. It was the work
+of sharpshooters concealed in a large wooden building on our left. I
+took the liberty of causing a company to fire a volley into the house
+and that put a stop to the murderous villainy.</p>
+
+<p>It was nearly midnight when the brigade fell back a short distance to
+seek some rest after the severe toils of the day; but notwithstanding
+the lateness of the hour and our tired condition I proposed to Colonel
+Brockenbrough that we should look up these two men who were especially
+dear to us, for Austin was his cousin and Addison was mine. We knew that
+they had been carried on stretchers from the place where they had been
+wounded. Our only guides as we slowly rode along in the dark were the
+fires that indicated the location of the improvised hospitals of the
+numerous brigades. Inquiring our way, we at last came to the hospital of
+our brigade where Mr. Meredith, chaplain of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> 47th, conducted us to
+our friends who were lying upon pallets of straw. They knew that their
+wounds were mortal, but they faced "the last enemy" with the same
+intrepidity they had manifested on many a sanguinary field. If I had
+yielded to my emotions, I would have wept over Addison even as a woman
+weeps. He was named for my mother's only brother; he was pure in heart;
+and while he was gentle and sweet in manners and disposition, he was as
+brave as any man who followed Lee across the Potomac.</p>
+
+<p>By some critics General Lee has been censured because he did not
+continue the battle and attempt to capture Cemetery Ridge on the evening
+of the first day. I think that the criticism is unjust; for, in the
+first place, the attempt would have been of doubtful issue, and then if
+he had tried and succeeded, what advantage would have been gained? It
+was clearly Meade's r&ocirc;le to act on the defensive and select the arena
+upon which the decisive contest must be waged. If Cemetery Ridge had
+been taken, instead of hurrying his other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> corps to that position to
+form a junction with the First and Eleventh, he would have retired
+behind Pipe Creek, or chosen some other ground as easily tenable as
+Cemetery Ridge. The state of things was such that Lee could not retreat
+without a general engagement, and he could not enter upon it except upon
+disadvantageous conditions. The tables were turned: as the Yankees had
+fought at Fredericksburg, so the Rebels had to fight in Pennsylvania.</p>
+
+<p>On the second day Heth's division was not engaged, but occupied the
+ground near that on which it had fought the day before, close by the
+seminary in which General Lee had his headquarters. In the afternoon
+while Longstreet's corps was furiously fighting to wrest Little Round
+Top from the enemy, he came unattended to where I was standing. Looking
+down the valley of Plum Run, which separated the armies, there could be
+seen the flashing of the guns under the pall of smoke that covered the
+combatants. Now and then making a slight change of position<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> he viewed
+the scene through his field-glass. His noble face was not lit up with a
+smile as it was when I saw it after the victory at Chancellorsville, but
+bore the expression of painful anxiety. Ah, if only his men could seize
+and hold that coveted elevation! It was the key to the situation, and
+victory would have been assured. But that battle was lost, although the
+divisions of Longstreet performed prodigies of valor. Then and there the
+issue was decided.</p>
+
+<p>That night Heth's division moved farther to the right. Being directed by
+Colonel Brockenbrough to ride ahead and pick out a place for his
+brigade, I went forward in the darkness, ignorant of the lay of the
+land, until the command to halt was given to me in an undertone. I did
+not see the man, but was informed that I was just about to ride through
+the line of Confederate skirmishers, and was cautioned to ride back as
+quietly as I could, because the Yankee skirmishers were not far in
+front.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the 3d of July, although<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> Ewell's corps on the left
+had waged a bloody but unsuccessful battle, not a shot was fired by
+Hill's corps in the center, nor by Longstreet's on the right; but the
+final struggle was yet to be made. More than a hundred cannon were
+placed in position, along the line of which lay the eighteen thousand
+men, who had been selected to make the assault upon Cemetery Ridge.
+Before the firing began Colonel Brockenbrough told me that when the
+cannonading should cease we should make the charge.</p>
+
+<p>About one o'clock the guns opened, and for two dreadful hours pounded
+the adversary's position, being answered by almost as many of his guns.
+There has never been such a war of artillery on the American continent.
+Surely this was an exhibition of the "Pride, pomp, and circumstance of
+glorious War." It was hoped that so terrible a bombardment would
+demoralize the enemy and thus prepare the way for a successful onslaught
+of the infantry. During its continuance we lay among the guns, and as
+soon as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> their clamor hushed sprang to our feet and began rushing toward
+the enemy. We had to descend the slope of Seminary Ridge, cross a
+valley, and ascend the steep slope of Cemetery Ridge, a distance of
+nearly a mile. If while we were crossing the valley the artillery behind
+us had been firing at the enemy over our heads, our task would have been
+less dangerous and more hopeful, but unwisely and unfortunately the
+caissons had become almost exhausted. As we were ascending the eminence,
+where cannon thundered in our faces and infantry four lines deep stood
+ready to deliver their volleys, I noticed that the line of the
+Confederates resembled the arc of a circle; in other words, the right
+and the left were more advanced than the center, and were, therefore,
+the first to become engaged. Brockenbrough's brigade formed the extreme
+left of the attacking column.</p>
+
+<p>The fame of Pickett's charge on the right has resounded through the
+world. The Virginians on the left achieved less glory, but they did
+their best. We came so close to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> serried ranks of the Yankees that I
+emptied my revolver upon them, and we were still advancing when they
+threw forward a column to attack our unprotected left flank. I feel no
+shame in recording that out of this corner the men without waiting for
+orders turned and fled, for the bravest soldiers cannot endure to be
+shot at simultaneously from the front and side. They knew that to
+remain, or to advance, meant wholesale death or captivity. The Yankees
+had a fair opportunity to kill us all, and why they did not do it I
+cannot tell. Our loss was less than it was in the first day's battle. As
+in our orderly and sullen retreat we were ascending the ridge from which
+we had set out, I heard the men saying mournfully, "If Old Jack had been
+here, it wouldn't have been like this"; and though I said nothing I
+entertained the same opinion.</p>
+
+<p>Suppose he had been there to turn the enemy's left flank as he did at
+Gaines' Mill, and again at Chancellorsville!</p>
+
+<p>As I look back upon that final assault at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> Gettysburg, it seems strange
+to me that General Lee should have sent eighteen thousand men to
+dislodge a hundred thousand from a position much stronger than that
+which Wellington occupied at Waterloo. Perhaps he miscalculated the
+effect of the cannonade; perhaps he reposed too much confidence in his
+soldiers. When all was over he found no fault with them, but most
+magnanimously took the blame of defeat upon himself and endured great
+mental suffering. Adverse criticism is swallowed up in sympathy for that
+peerless man.</p>
+
+<p>It was a drawn battle. The Army of Northern Virginia had not been
+beaten, but it had failed in the attempt to beat the Army of the
+Potomac. All day long on the 4th of July it remained in view of Meade's
+army, but he dared not assail it.</p>
+
+<p>There was nothing left but to return to Virginia. On the night of the
+4th of July the army began to retreat, and on the 7th it halted near
+Hagerstown and offered battle, which Meade refused. It seems to me that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>
+he did not press the pursuit as closely and fiercely as he might have
+done; perhaps he was respecting the valor that he had lately witnessed.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>A prison is a house of care,</div>
+<div>A place where none can thrive,</div>
+<div>A touchstone true to try a friend,</div>
+<div>A grave for men alive.</div>
+<div class="i1">&mdash;<i>Inscription on the Old Prison of Edinburg.</i></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>After falling back from Hagerstown the army took up a strong position
+near the Potomac, extending from Williamsport to Falling Waters. On the
+night of the 13th of July the retreat to Virginia began. The division of
+Heth and that of Pender, now commanded by Pettigrew, marched all night
+long in a drenching rain and over a very muddy road toward Falling
+Waters, where the engineers had constructed a pontoon bridge across the
+river. When the morning dawned we were about two miles from the river,
+and, so far as I know, there was no reason why we should not have kept
+on and followed the rest of the army over the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> bridge. Instead of that
+we halted and formed in line of battle across the road, facing
+northward, Heth on the right and Pettigrew on the left, well located for
+defense, being on rising ground and having a valley in front. It was
+supposed that our cavalry were between us and the enemy, (which was a
+false supposition,) and, contrary to well-established military rules, no
+skirmishers were sent to the front. The command was given to stack arms
+and rest, and the men exhausted by fatigue lay down on the wet ground
+behind the line of muskets and soon went to sleep. The guns were wet and
+muddy and many of them were either unloaded or unfit for action. Giving
+my horse to Charles to be held in the rear until called for, I too fell
+asleep. We were in no condition for anything except the surprise that
+startled us from our transitory slumbers.</p>
+
+<p>We were awakened by the firing of the enemy. By the time that the
+muskets could be retaken from the stack, squadrons of cavalry were upon
+us. These were easily <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>repulsed, not, however, until riding down in
+front of our line they had mortally wounded General Pettigrew at the
+head of his division. General Heth, riding rapidly along behind our
+line, was crying out, "Keep cool, men, keep cool!" But judging from the
+tone of his voice and his manner of riding, he seemed to me to be the
+only hot man on the field.</p>
+
+<p>The color-bearer of the 47th exclaimed, "Come on, boys; it's nothing but
+cavalry," and ran forward into the valley, showing more bravery than
+intelligence or discipline, for infantry does not charge cavalry, and he
+had no right to advance without an order. The color-bearers of the other
+regiments of the brigades, not to be outdone, likewise advanced, and
+some of the bolder spirits followed their respective flags. This action
+was so unwise that I requested Colonel Brockenbrough to authorize me to
+recall these brave fellows to their original and better position; but,
+to my surprise, he directed me to order all the men to join their
+colors; and this I tried to do, but the men would not obey, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>saying that
+their muskets were unfit for action. However, I went myself, though
+Colonel Brockenbrough and many men of the brigade remained behind. I
+never saw him again.</p>
+
+<p>A spirited contest ensued, which I shall dignify with the name of the
+battle of Falling Waters, for a real battle it was, although it is not
+mentioned in the histories that I have read, and the number engaged was
+small. On one side were portions of the four regiments of
+Brockenbrough's brigade, with their bullet-pierced battle flags, and on
+the other side were dismounted men of the 8th Illinois cavalry regiment
+armed with their seven-shooting carbines. There were officers present
+who held higher rank than mine, but, as they knew me to be of the
+brigade staff, they permitted me to exercise authority over the entire
+force. For an hour we held the Yankees in check at close quarters.</p>
+
+<p>While the action was in progress I observed that one of our enemies was
+protected by a large tree in the field, from behind which he stepped
+frequently and quickly to fire<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> upon us. As he seemed to be taking
+special aim at me, I requested one of our men, who had a beautiful
+Colt's rifle, to give me his gun, and I shot at the man the next time he
+emerged from behind his natural protection. He was not killed, but he
+darted back without shooting. I handed back the gun. Then, with my right
+arm around the man, I was with my left arm pointing out the enemy when
+he fired at us and broke the arm of my comrade that was pressed between
+us.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing another regiment of cavalry in front, hearing their bugle sound
+the charge, and knowing that our ammunition was nearly exhausted, I
+directed all the men to retire as quickly as possible to their former
+position. I had not once looked back, and I supposed that the two
+divisions were where we had left them; but they, taking advantage of our
+defense, had gone across the river. All of a sudden it flashed through
+my mind that we could neither fight nor run. Further resistance was
+vain; escape, impossible. I felt angry because we had been sacrificed,
+and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> chagrined because we were about to be captured. I had known all
+along that I might be killed or wounded, but it had never entered my
+mind that I might be made a prisoner. As we were scattered upon the
+field and the squadrons came charging among us, a group of men gathered
+about me were asking, "Captain, what shall we do?" "Stand still," I
+replied, "and cast your muskets upon the ground." At the same time I
+unbuckled my useless pistol and sword and cast them from me. After we
+had surrendered, I regretfully record that a cavalryman discharged his
+pistol in our midst, but fortunately no one of us was struck. An
+officer, indignant at an act so cowardly and barbarous, threatened him
+with death if he should do the like again. That day the Yankees captured
+on this field and in other places about thirty-five officers and seven
+hundred men.</p>
+
+<p>The prisoners were escorted to the rear, huddled together, and
+surrounded by a cordon of armed men. That night I slept with Lt. W.
+Peyton Moncure on the blanket<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> of one prisoner and covered by that of
+the other. In the afternoon of the next day, as I was standing near the
+living wall that surrounded us engaged in conversation with Col. William
+S. Christian, of the 55th Virginia, and Capt. Lee Russell, of North
+Carolina, some Federal officers approached and began to talk with us.
+One of them was the colonel of a New York regiment, (I think it was the
+122d); another was the captain of one of his companies, and another was
+an officer on the staff of General Meade. The Colonel invited us to take
+supper with him and some of his friends, and the kind and unexpected
+proposal was gladly accepted, for recently we had had nothing but
+hard-tack to satiate our hunger. At sunset he sent a guard to conduct us
+to his tent, which was large and comfortable. We found the table well
+supplied with a variety of savory eatables, and we were struck by the
+contrast of the tent and the table with those of the Rebels.</p>
+
+<p>The Blue and the Gray gathered around that hospitable board as gleeful
+as boys, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> as friendly as men who had been companions from childhood.
+The supper being ended, a polite negro who looked like an Old Virginia
+darky, and who acted in the two-fold capacity of cook and butler,
+cleared away the dishes and supplied their place with cigars and bottles
+of liquor of several varieties. More than once or twice the bottles
+passed from hand to hand, and in order to prevent drunkenness I was
+cautious to pour very sparingly into my tumbler. In the midst of this
+hilarious scene our Yankee host proposed a health to President Lincoln,
+which we of the Gray declined to drink; whereupon I offered to
+substitute a joint health to Abe Lincoln and Jeff. Davis, which they of
+the Blue rejected. I then proposed the toast, "The early termination of
+the war to the satisfaction of all concerned," and that was cordially
+drunk by all. It was nearly midnight when the Colonel told us that if we
+would promise to go back and deliver ourselves up, he would not call a
+guard to escort us; and we gave him our word, and bade him good night.
+There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> we were in the darkness, our limbs unfettered, our hearts longing
+for freedom, no Yankee eye upon us; and it is not strange that there
+flitted across our minds the temptation to steal away and strike out for
+Virginia; but though our bodies were for the moment free, our souls were
+bound by something stronger than manacles of steel,&mdash;our word of honor.
+We groped our way back, entered the circle of soldiers who were guarding
+our fellow-prisoners, and went to sleep on the ground, while our late
+entertainers reposed upon comfortable cots.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, July 16, we were hurried along by an unfeeling cavalry
+escort to a station near Harper's Ferry, and there put into box cars
+strongly guarded. On our arrival in Washington we were conducted along
+the streets to the Old Capitol prison. "To what vile uses" had that
+building come! It was superintended by a renegade Virginian, whose name
+I am not sorry that I have forgotten; but let me do him the justice to
+say that he behaved courteously and gave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> us a plenty to eat. The guard
+of the prison was the 178th New York regiment, composed of insolent
+Germans, some of whom could not speak the English language. I came near
+losing my life by the bayonet of one of them, because he could not
+understand a request that I made of him. The house was infested by
+insects whose name I will not call; but the reader will recognize their
+nature when I characterize them as malodorous, and blood-sucking. We
+could expel them from our bunks, but not from the walls and the ceiling,
+from the holes and the cracks of which they swarmed at night, rendering
+sound sleep impossible.</p>
+
+<p>In a few days after having taken involuntary quarters in the Old Capitol
+I read with surprise and grief an article in the Baltimore <i>American</i>,
+headed "Meade <i>versus</i> Lee." General Lee, misinformed by somebody, had
+reported that there had been no battle at Falling Waters, and that none
+of his soldiers had been captured except those who had straggled during
+the night or fallen asleep in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> barns by the roadside. When he published
+that statement he knew that there had been no engagement of his
+ordering, but he did not know that the gallant and accomplished
+Pettigrew had been wounded on the field, nor that some of his men had
+kept the enemy in check, while others were thereby afforded the
+opportunity of safely crossing the river. No; the men who were captured
+with me were not stragglers: they were taken on the field of battle, and
+they were as brave and dutiful as any that ever wore the gray. Neither
+was General Meade's report strictly correct, but it corresponded more
+closely with the facts. He did not capture a brigade, as he said, but he
+did take the flags of Brockenbrough's brigade, and enough men of other
+commands to form one.</p>
+
+<p>During the whole term of my imprisonment I anxiously longed to be
+exchanged, being willing any day to swap incarceration for the toils and
+dangers of active military service. In the early part of the war there
+were some partial exchanges, but as it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> prolonged the government at
+Washington rejected all overtures for a cartel. Throughout the North
+there were raised loud and false reports that Federal soldiers in
+Southern prisons were being wantonly maltreated, while the National
+Government might have restored them to freedom and plenty by agreeing to
+the exchange of prisoners that was urged repeatedly by the Confederate
+Government. The refusal was an evidence of the straits to which the
+Union was pushed, and an act of injustice and cruelty to the prisoners
+of both sides. It was, moreover, an undesigned but exalted testimony to
+the valor of Southern soldiers, for it was as if Mr. Stanton, the
+secretary of war, had said to every man in the Federal armies: "If in
+the fortunes of war you should be captured, you must run the risk of
+death in a rebel prison. I will not give a Southern soldier for
+you,&mdash;you are not worth the exchange." Gen. Grant said: "Our men must
+suffer for the good of those who are contending with the terrible Lee;"
+and ignoring the claims<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> of humanity and the usages of honorable
+warfare, he lowered the question to a cold commercial level when he
+declared that it was "cheaper to feed rebel prisoners than to fight
+them."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>But now we are in prison and likely long to stay,</div>
+<div>The Yankees they are guarding us, no hope to get away;</div>
+<div>Our rations they are scanty, 'tis cold enough to freeze,&mdash;</div>
+<div>I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas.</div>
+<div class="i6">Peas, peas, peas, peas,</div>
+<div class="i6">Eating goober peas;</div>
+<div>I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas.</div>
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<i>Stanza of a Prison Song</i>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Only about two weeks did we abide in the Old Capitol, the officers being
+transported to Johnson's Island, and the privates to other prisons. Our
+route was by Harrisburg, and as the train was leaving the city it jumped
+the track, jolting horribly on the cross-ties, but inflicting no serious
+injury.</p>
+
+<p>The Sandusky river before it passes through its narrow mouth into Lake
+Erie widens into a beautiful bay about four miles<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> wide. In this bay is
+situated Johnson's Island, low and level, and containing three hundred
+acres. It is not in the middle of the bay, but is on the north side,
+half a mile from the main land, while on the other side it is three or
+more miles from the city of Sandusky across the water.</p>
+
+<p>The prison walls enclosed a quadrangular space of several acres, the
+southern wall running along the margin of the bay and facing Sandusky.
+They were framed of wooden beams, on the outer side of which, three feet
+from the top, there was a narrow platform on which the guard kept
+continual watch. Thirty feet from the wall all around on the inside
+there was driven a row of whitewashed stobs, beyond which no prisoner
+was allowed to go on pain of being shot by the sentinels. At night the
+entire space within was illuminated by lamps and reflectors fixed
+against the walls.</p>
+
+<p>Within the walls there were eleven large wooden buildings of uniform
+size, two stories high. The first four were partitioned into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> small
+rooms, and were sheathed; the remaining seven had two rooms on each
+floor, and they afforded no protection against the weather except the
+undressed clapboards that covered them. In each house the upper story
+was reached by an outside flight of steps. In the larger rooms some
+sixty or seventy men were huddled together. Around the sides bunks were
+framed on pieces of scantling that extended from floor to ceiling,
+arranged in three tiers, so that a floor space of six feet by four
+sufficed for six men. My cotton tick was never refilled, and after doing
+service for many months it became flat and hard. Our quarters and
+accommodations were such as the Yankees thought good enough for rebels
+and traitors, but in summer we were uncomfortably and unhealthily
+crowded, and in winter we suffered from the cold, because one stove
+could not warm so large and windy an apartment. Many a winter night,
+instead of undressing, I put an old worn overcoat over the clothes I had
+worn during the day.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p><p>At first I "put up" in block No. 9, afterward in No. 8, and toward the
+end of my imprisonment in No. 3, which was much more comfortable.</p>
+
+<p>In summer, water was obtained from a shallow well, but in winter, when
+the bay was frozen, a few men from each mess were permitted to go out of
+the gate in the afternoon and dip up better water from holes cut through
+the ice. On these occasions a strong guard extended around the prisoners
+from one side of the gate to the other.</p>
+
+<p>From the time of my capture until the fall of the year the rations were
+fairly good and sufficient, but then they were mercilessly reduced, upon
+the pretext of retaliation for the improper treatment of Union prisoners
+in the South. The bread and meat rations were diminished by a half,
+while coffee, sugar, candles, and other things were no longer supplied.
+We did our own cooking, the men of each mess taking it by turns, but the
+bread was baked in ovens outside and was brought in a wagon every
+morning. A pan of four<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> loaves was the daily allowance for sixteen men.
+When I got my fourth of a loaf in the morning I usually divided it into
+three slices, of which one was immediately eaten and the others reserved
+for dinner and supper; but when the time came for the closing meal I had
+no bread, for hunger had previously claimed it all. But for some
+clothes, provisions, and money that were sent to me by kind friends
+residing in Kentucky and Maryland I think that I could not have lived to
+witness the end of the war. There was not enough nutriment in the daily
+ration to support vigorous health, and it was barely sufficient to
+sustain life. I believe that a few of the prisoners succumbed to disease
+and died because they had an insufficiency of nourishing food. Bones
+were picked from ditches, if perchance there might be upon them a morsel
+of meat. I was begged for bread, when I was hungry for the want of it.
+All the rats were eaten that could be caught in traps ingeniously
+contrived. When prejudice is overcome by gnawing hunger, a fat rat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
+makes good eating, as I know from actual and enjoyable mastication.</p>
+
+<p>For a time we were permitted to obtain the news of the outside world
+through the New York <i>World</i> and the Baltimore <i>Gazette</i>, but these were
+suppressed; and then we had to depend upon a little Sandusky sheet and
+the Baltimore <i>American</i>, which vilified the South and claimed for every
+battle a Union victory.</p>
+
+<p>How did we while the time away? Well, we organized a minstrel band,
+singing clubs, and debating societies; we had occasional lectures and
+exchanged books in a so-called reading room; we had two rival base-ball
+teams, and we played the indoor games of chess, checkers, cards, and
+dominoes. I spent much time in reading the Bible, besides some of
+Scott's novels and the charming story of Picciola.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday there were Bible classes, and sometimes sermons by men who had
+gone from the pulpit into the army. Among them were a Methodist colonel
+from Missouri, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> Baptist colonel from Mississippi, and a Baptist
+captain from Virginia. At one time evangelistic services were held in a
+lower room of block No. 5, and a number of converts confessed Jesus
+Christ as Lord and Saviour, and declared their denominational
+preference. Those who decided to be Baptists were permitted, under
+guard, to go out to the shore and were baptized in the bay by Captain
+Littleberry Allen, of Caroline county, Virginia; the rest could find
+within the walls as much water as they considered necessary for the
+ordinance.</p>
+
+<p>Block No. 6 was set apart for a hospital, into which a prisoner might go
+in case of sickness. It was superintended by a Federal surgeon, but a
+large part of the prescribing was done by Confederate officers who had
+been practicing physicians. The nursing was performed by the patients'
+more intimate friends, who took it by turns day and night. I have a
+sorrowful recollection of sitting up one night to wait on Captain Scates
+of Westmoreland county, and to administer the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>medicines prescribed by
+the doctors. The ward was silent save for occasional groans, the lights
+were burning dimly, and there was no companion watching with me. About
+midnight the emaciated sufferer died, passing away as quietly as when
+one falls into healthy slumbers. I closed his eyes and remained near the
+body until the grateful dawn of morning. Guarded by soldiers we went to
+the cemetery without the walls, and committed the body to the ground,
+far away from his family and native land.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly all the men confined on Johnson's Island were officers, of every
+rank from lieutenant to major-general, and numbering about twenty-six
+hundred. They represented all parts of the South and nearly every
+occupation, whether manual or professional. They were men of
+refinement,&mdash;ingenious, daring; and they were enclosed in this prison
+because it was secured no less by an armed guard than by the surrounding
+water.</p>
+
+<p>Every man was trying to devise some method of escape, but only a few
+succeeded,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> not only because the difficulty was great, but also because
+there were spies among us. Three men tunneled out from Block No. 1, only
+to find themselves surrounded by Yankee soldiers. Captain Cole, a portly
+man, became jammed in the passage, and was somewhat like Abe Lincoln's
+ox that was caught and held on a fence, unable to kick one way or gore
+the other. The incident furnished the theme of another minstrel song,
+with the chorus, "If you belong to Gideon's band."</p>
+
+<p>I had a secret agreement with Captain John Stakes, of the 40th Virginia,
+that if either saw a way of escape he would let the other know. Many a
+time with longing eyes we looked upon a sloop that used to tie up for
+the night at a wharf near the island. If we only could get to it! And so
+we began a tunnel under block No. 9, but finding that our labors were
+discovered by a spy, we were constrained to desist.</p>
+
+<p>Two men filed saw teeth on the backs of case knives, and on a rainy,
+dark, and windy night they crawled down a ditch to the wall<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> on the bay
+shore, and cut their way out; but they were captured and brought back.</p>
+
+<p>There were a few successful escapes. One man, smarter than the rest of
+us, when we went to a vessel to fill our ticks with straw concealed
+himself under what remained in the hold and was carried back to
+Sandusky, whence he wended his stealthy flight. Colonel B. L. Farinholt,
+of Virginia, got away in a very artful manner, an account of which has
+been published. In January, 1865, when the thermometer registered 15&deg;
+below zero and an arctic northwest wind was blowing furiously Captain
+Stakes took me aside and told me in whispers that he and five others
+were going out that night, and that they had agreed that I might go with
+them. I answered that if the Yankees were to throw open all the gates
+and grant permission, I would not in my feeble health and with clothes
+so insufficient, depart in such bitter weather. When the hour came those
+six men rushed to the wall, and setting up against it a bench, on which
+rungs had been nailed, climbed over.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> They were not shot at, perhaps
+because the sentries, not expecting such an attempt, had taken refuge
+from the cold in their boxes. On the thick ice that begirt the island
+they crossed over on the north side and gained the mainland. Captain
+Robinson, of Westmoreland, and three others with him, hiding in the
+daytime and traveling at night, after enduring many hardships arrived in
+Canada, where they were clothed and fed and supplied with money. Taking
+shipping at Halifax, they ran the blockade and landed in Wilmington,
+North Carolina. One of the six men was recaptured by a detective on a
+train in New York. My friend Stakes was overtaken the next morning and
+brought back so badly frostbitten that it became necessary to amputate
+parts of some of his fingers.</p>
+
+<p>By some means, I know not how, information was received in the prison
+that certain agents of the Confederate government in Canada would come
+to the island in steamboats captured on Lake Erie to release the
+prisoners. It was agreed that when they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>approached and blew a horn the
+prisoners would storm the walls and overpower the guards. We, therefore,
+organized ourselves into companies and regiments and waited anxiously
+for the sight of the boats and the sound of the horn. Though we had no
+arms, except such as the rage of the moment might supply, and did not
+doubt that some of us would be killed, we were ready to fulfil our part
+of the desperate contract; and we felt no doubt of success, for the
+Hoffman Battalion that composed our guard had never been in battle nor
+heard the rebel yell. The expected rescuers never came. There must have
+been some real foundation for the proposed movement, for very soon the
+guard was reinforced by a veteran brigade, and the gunboat <i>Michigan</i>
+came and anchored near the island and showed her threatening portholes.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,</div>
+<div>Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;</div>
+<div>A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,</div>
+<div>Which seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.</div>
+<div class="i18">&mdash;<span class="smcap">Payne</span>.</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>If one longs for home while roaming amidst pleasures and palaces, how
+much more intense, suppose you, must be the nostalgia of the soldier
+confined in a far distant prison?</p>
+
+<p>March 14, 1865, was one of the happiest days of my life. After a
+captivity of twenty months, I was led out of the prison with the three
+hundred others, conducted to a steamboat, and homeward bound transported
+to Sandusky. The thick ice that for three months had covered the bay was
+floating in broken pieces on the surface, through which the boat
+struggled with so much difficulty that I feared it would be necessary to
+put back to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> the island; but the trip was made at the expense of some
+broken paddles. Why we were selected rather than our less fortunate
+compatriots I cannot guess, unless it was to save the annoyance and the
+expense of burial, for some of our party had been wounded, others as
+well as myself, had recently recovered from serious sickness, and all
+were adjudged to be unfit for military service; or perhaps there was the
+same number in Southern prisons that for special reasons the Federal War
+Office desired to have exchanged.</p>
+
+<p>The train that was to convey us southward was made up of box-cars, upon
+the floors of which there was a thin covering of straw. We were so
+crowded that we all could not lie down at the same time. The sleepers
+lay with their heads at the sides of the cars, while their legs
+interlaced in the middle. We took the situation in good humor, and slept
+by turns, those who could not find room standing amidst entangled legs
+and feet. Thus we traveled several days and nights, our train being
+frequently switched for the passage of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> regular trains. Our route was by
+Bellaire to Baltimore, or rather to Locust Point, where we took passage
+on a steamboat for James river. Having landed the next day, we walked
+across a neck of land formed by a bend of the river to the wharf where a
+boat from Richmond was expected to meet us. A company of negroes made a
+show of conducting us across the neck, though a company of children
+armed with cornstalks would have been equally efficient.</p>
+
+<p>We had not long to wait until the smokestack of the Confederate
+steamboat could be seen winding along as she tracked the serpentine
+course of the river. As she neared the wharf the band on board struck up
+that sweetest of tunes,&mdash;"Home, Sweet Home." Some of my companions
+laughed, some threw their caps into the air, others hurrahed, while my
+own emotions were expressed only by tears of joy that coursed down my
+cheeks. When, however, the music glided into the exhilarating notes of
+"Dixie" I joined in the cheering that mingled with the strain.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p><p>We arrived in Richmond on the 22d of March, the eighth day after we had
+started. I was pained to notice in the city so many signs of
+delapidation and poverty, and to learn that Confederate money had
+depreciated to the point of sixty for one. The captain's salary that the
+government owed me for two years was worth only about fifty dollars in
+specie, which a friend in the treasury department advised me to collect
+at once, inasmuch as he thought that the capital would be soon
+evacuated. I took him for a timorous prophet, and told him I would wait
+until I rejoined the army, when I should need it. I did not know, as he
+did, the impoverished and critical condition of the Confederacy.</p>
+
+<p>I was not exchanged, but "paroled for thirty days unless sooner
+exchanged." I set out for the Northern Neck in company with Lieutenant
+Purcell, of Richmond county, and Captain Stakes, of Northumberland. We
+rode on a train as far as Hanover and then struck out afoot across the
+country. Notwithstanding the fact that one of my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>companions limped on a
+leg that had been wounded at Gettysburg and the other was a little lame
+from frosted toes, it taxed all my powers to keep up with them. If I had
+rejoiced to see the James, I was happier still to set foot once more
+upon the bank of the Rappahannock. When we had crossed over we went to
+the home of Lieutenant Purcell, where we spent the night, and the next
+day, Monday, March 27, I arrived at home. I supposed that I should take
+them by surprise, but somehow they had received intelligence of my
+coming; and as I approached the house I found them all lined up in the
+yard, white and black. "And they began to be merry."</p>
+
+<p>I found John in the stable, having been ridden home by my faithful man,
+Charles Wesley, who supposed that he had left me dead at Falling Waters.</p>
+
+<p>On the 14th of April, Good Friday, when I was thinking of returning to
+Richmond to inquire whether I had been exchanged and was still hoping
+for the independence of the Southern Confederacy, I attended religious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+services at a church in the neighborhood. When these had been concluded
+and the congregation were talking as usual in the yard a messenger
+arrived with a newspaper, which the Yankees had sent ashore from one of
+their gunboats, and which contained the details of General Lee's
+surrender of his army five days previously at Appomattox. My heart sank
+within me. My fondest hopes were crushed. The cause for which I had so
+often exposed my life, and for which so many of my friends had died, had
+sunk into the gloomy night of defeat.</p>
+
+<p>I was thankful that out of the horrid conflict I had escaped with my
+life, a gray coat, and a silver quarter of a dollar. Although I had
+participated in all the battles that were fought by the Army of Northern
+Virginia, I was never seriously hurt. At Manassas one bullet struck my
+leg, and another forcibly wrenched my sword from my hand. At
+Chancellorsville a bomb exploded just in front of me, making a hole in
+the ground and covering me with dirt, the pieces flying away with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>
+discordant noises. Countless balls whizzed by my ears, and men fell all
+around me, some of them while touching my side. Am I not justified in
+appropriating the words of David addressed to Jehovah, "Thou hast
+covered my head in the day of battle?"</p>
+
+<p>Withdrawal from the Union was the right of the Southern States, as
+appears from the history of the making and adoption of the federal
+constitution; and great was the provocation to use it. It is not,
+however, always wise,&mdash;either for persons or communities,&mdash;to exercise
+their rights. Secession in the year 1860 was a hot headed and stupendous
+political blunder,&mdash;a blunder recognized by the majority of the people
+of Virginia, who refused to follow the example of her southern sisters
+until there was forced upon her the cruel alternative of waging war
+either against them or against the States of the North.</p>
+
+<p>Though secession was a grievous error, nevertheless the war that was
+waged by the Federal Government was a crime against the constitution,
+humanity, and God. But now,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> as we view the present and retrospect the
+past, who may say that all has not turned out for the best? We find
+consolation in the belief that the Lord's hand has shaped our destiny,
+and we meekly submit to his overruling providence.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<div>"If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well</div>
+<div>It were done quickly."</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But the war, like Duncan's murder, was not done after it was done. There
+supervened the unnecessary, vindictive, and malignant reconstruction
+acts of the Federal Congress.</p>
+
+<p>On the 14th of April, only nine days after Lee had surrendered, a great
+calamity befell the South in the foolish and infamous assassination of
+President Lincoln, who was the only man who could have restrained the
+rage of such men as Sumner in the Senate and Stephens in the House of
+Representatives. The hatred of the Northern politicians was intensified
+by the supposition that his death was instigated by Southern men, and it
+did not abate even after they were convinced that the supposition was
+unfounded.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p><p>It is a singular fact that while the war was in progress the acts of
+secession were considered null and void, and the Southern States were
+declared to be parts of an indissoluble union, but when the war had
+ended they were dealt with as alien commonwealths and conquered
+territories. For four years Virginia was not a co-equal State in the
+Union but "Military District No. 1," governed by a Federal general, who
+appointed the local officers in the several counties. The affairs of the
+State were managed by carpetbaggers in close agreement with despicable
+scalawags and ignorant negroes. The elective franchise was granted to
+the emancipated slaves regardless of character or intelligence, while it
+was denied to many white men. In Lancaster county the negroes had a
+registered majority of a hundred voters; it was represented in a
+constitutional convention by a carpetbagger, and after the adoption of
+the constitution it was represented in the Legislature by a negro. To
+injury were added hatred and insult. It was not enough that the South
+was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>conquered, it must be humiliated by African domination!</p>
+
+<p>The Southern people did not go to war&mdash;war came to them. Not to gain
+military glory did they fight, although this meed must be awarded to
+them. Nor was the perpetuation of African slavery the object for which
+they took up arms, for in Virginia nineteen-twentieths of the citizens
+owned no slaves, and there was perhaps the same proportion in the other
+States of the Confederacy. Neither was it for conquest that they so long
+waged the unequal contest; for though they twice crossed the Potomac it
+was not to gain an acre of territory, but only to relieve their own
+beleaguered capital. From first to last it was a purely defensive
+struggle to maintain for themselves the freedom they cheerfully accorded
+to other communities, and to make good the inherited belief that "all
+just government derives its power from the consent of the governed."
+They simply resisted subjugation by a hostile government whose right to
+rule them they denied.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p><p>As we review the history of that gigantic struggle we are not surprised
+that the South was subdued, the only wonder being that it was not sooner
+done. It required two and a quarter millions of soldiers four years to
+overcome one-third of that number. The South had no navy to open her
+ports, no commerce for her products, no foundries for the manufacture of
+arms. During the first year there were not muskets enough to supply her
+volunteers, though later on sufficient numbers were taken on the fields
+of battles, fifty-two cannon and thirty thousand small arms being
+captured in the battles around Richmond, besides the many thousands that
+were taken in subsequent engagements.</p>
+
+<p>That the South for so long a time resisted the attempts of her powerful
+enemy, and during that period gained so many remarkable victories, is
+attributable to the skill of her generals and the valor of her soldiers.
+In these respects only was the advantage on her side.</p>
+
+<p>The fame of her generals has spread throughout the world, and their
+campaigns<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> enrich the text-books of the military students of Europe and
+Asia. They rank with the most famous commanders that ever led armies to
+victory. Their names are immortal, and their memory is enshrined not
+only in poetry and history, in marble and bronze, but also in the
+admiration of mankind and in the affections of the Southern people.</p>
+
+<p>But what could strategy have achieved unless there had been soldiers to
+make it effective? The men had confidence in their commanders and were
+responsive to their genius. In attack they exhibited impulsive courage,
+and in defense possessed unyielding firmness. They made days and places
+forever historic, when their pay was money in little more than name,
+their garments torn, their rations coarse and scant. Footsore they
+charged against the dense Blue lines, or made those rapid marches that
+bewildered opposing forces.</p>
+
+<p>When the end had come both officers and men surrendered as they had
+fought,&mdash;without mental reservation. Sadly they furled and yielded up
+the bullet-riddled battleflags<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> they had carried so proudly. Now while
+they manfully accept the hard arbitrament of war, and yield unaffected
+loyalty to the United States, they make no confession of criminality.
+While the war continued they were asserting what they believed was a
+God-given right, and now they recall with pride the valor and victories
+of the Southern armies.</p>
+
+<p>Those armies are rapidly disappearing from the land they loved so well.
+Many of the men fell in battle, and many died in prisons and hospitals,
+and since the close of the war more of them have fallen asleep in
+peaceful homes. Those who have departed and those who survive will not
+want a eulogist while one remains; and when the last of the men who wore
+the gray shall have joined his comrades beyond the river of death,
+coming generations will celebrate their heroism and scatter flowers upon
+the mounds that mark the places where their ashes repose.</p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h4>THE END</h4>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Reminiscences of a Rebel, by Wayland Fuller Dunaway
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+Project Gutenberg's Reminiscences of a Rebel, by Wayland Fuller Dunaway
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Reminiscences of a Rebel
+
+Author: Wayland Fuller Dunaway
+
+Release Date: January 17, 2008 [EBook #24341]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL
+
+
+[Illustration: Publisher's logo]
+
+
+BY
+
+THE REV. WAYLAND FULLER DUNAWAY, D.D.
+
+Formerly Captain of Co. I, 40th Va. Regt.,
+Army of Northern Virginia
+
+
+                                   "_Omnibus hostes
+     Reddite nos populis--civile avertite bellum._"
+                                         --_Lucan._
+
+
+[Illustration: logo]
+
+
+NEW YORK
+THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY
+1913
+
+
+Copyright, 1913, by
+WAYLAND FULLER DUNAWAY
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Notwithstanding the title of this volume, I do not admit that I was ever
+in any true sense a rebel, neither do I intend any disrespect when I
+call the Northern soldiers Yankees. The use of these terms is only a
+concession to the appellations that were customary during the war.
+
+It is my purpose to record some recollections of the Civil War, and
+incidentally to furnish some historical notices of the brigade to which
+I was attached. Here and there I have expressed, also, some opinions
+concerning the great events of that dreadful period, some criticisms of
+the conduct of battles and retreats, and some estimates of the abilities
+of prominent generals.
+
+The incentive to write is of a complex nature. There is a pleasure,
+especially to the aged, in reviving the memories of the past and
+narrating them to attentive hearers. Moreover, I hope that this book
+will furnish instruction to those who have grown up since the war, and
+entertainment to older persons who participated in its struggles,
+privations, and sorrows. And besides, the future historian of that
+gigantic conflict may perhaps find here some original contribution to
+the accumulating material upon which he must draw. He will need the
+humble narratives of inconspicuous participants as well as the
+pretentious attempts of the partial historians who have preceded him.
+The river flows into the sea, but the river itself is supplied by creeks
+and rivulets and springs.
+
+                                                             W. F. D.
+
+
+
+
+REMINISCENCES OF A REBEL
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+     "Lay down the axe; fling by the spade;
+        Leave in its track the toiling plow;
+     The rifle and the bayonet-blade
+        For arms like yours were fitter now;
+     And let the hands that ply the pen
+        Quit the light task, and learn to wield
+     The horseman's crooked brand, and rein
+        The charger on the battle field."
+                                       --BRYANT.
+
+
+In the fall of the year 1860, when I was in my nineteenth year, I
+boarded the steamboat _Virginia_,--the only one then running on the
+Rappahannock river,--and went to Fredericksburg on my way to the
+University of Virginia. It was my expectation to spend two sessions in
+the classes of the professors of law, John B. Minor and James P.
+Holcombe, and then, having been graduated, to follow that profession in
+Lancaster, my native county.
+
+The political sky had assumed a threatening aspect. The minds of the
+Southern people had been inflamed by the insurrectionary raid of John
+Brown upon Harper's Ferry, especially because it had been approved by
+some Northern officials, and because the surrender of some fugitives
+from justice, who had taken part in that murderous adventure, had been
+refused by Ohio and Iowa. The election of Abraham Lincoln added fuel to
+the flame. Having been nominated by the Republican party, he was
+constitutionally chosen President of the United States, although he had
+not received a majority of the popular vote. The election was ominous,
+because it was sectional, Mr. Lincoln having carried all the Northern
+states but not one of the Southern. The intensest excitement prevailed,
+while passion blew the gale and held the rudder too.
+
+While I believed in the right of secession I deprecated the exercise of
+that right, because I loved the Union and the flag under which my
+ancestors had enjoyed the blessings of civil and religious liberty. I
+did not think that Lincoln's election was a sufficient cause for
+dissolving the Union, for he had announced no evil designs concerning
+Southern institutions; and, even if he had, he was powerless to put them
+into execution. He could have done nothing without the consent of
+Congress, and his party was in a minority both in the Senate and in the
+House of Representatives.
+
+Before Christmas South Carolina, not caring for consequences and blind
+to the horrible future, passed an ordinance of secession; and her
+example was followed in quick succession by Mississippi, Florida,
+Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These seven states organized the
+Southern Confederacy, of which Jefferson Davis was inaugurated
+President, February 18, 1861. In April Fort Sumter was captured, and on
+the 15th of that month President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling
+on the remaining states to furnish their quotas of an army of
+seventy-five thousand soldiers for the purpose of destroying the
+Confederate government. Two days later the Virginia convention passed an
+ordinance of secession. Being compelled to take sides, the Old Dominion
+naturally cast her lot with her Southern sisters. War had
+begun,--intestine war, of whose magnitude and duration no living man had
+any adequate conception.
+
+These events conspired with other causes to infuse in me a martial
+spirit. The conviction was growing in me that, as my native state was
+about to be invaded, I must have a place in the ranks of her defenders.
+I was influenced by speeches delivered by Governor Floyd, Professor
+Holcombe, and Dr. Bledsoe, and still more by the contagious example of
+my roommate, William H. Chapman, who had gone with a company of students
+to Harper's Ferry, and had returned. What brought the conviction to a
+head was a flag. One morning in the latter part of April, as I was
+walking from my boarding-house to the University I saw a Confederate
+banner floating above the rotunda. Some of the students during the
+night, surmounting difficulty and braving danger, had clambered to the
+summit and erected there the symbol of a new nation. I was thrilled by
+the sight of it as if by an electric shock. There it was, outstretched
+by a bracing northwest wind, flapping defiantly, arousing patriotic
+emotion. Unable longer to refrain, I went as soon as the lecture was
+concluded to Professor Minor's residence and told him I was going to
+enter the military service of Virginia. He sought to dissuade me, but,
+perceiving that he could not alter my rash decision, he gave at my
+request a written permission to leave his classes.
+
+But how to get home?--that had become a perplexing question. I could not
+go the way I had come, because the _Virginia_ fearful of capture had
+ceased to make trips from Fredericksburg to Lancaster, and there was no
+railroad to that part of the state. Knowing that my uncle, Addison Hall,
+was a member of the Convention, I determined to take a train to
+Richmond and seek his advice. I felt relieved when he informed me that
+he was going the next morning, and that I could go along with him. We
+took an early train to West Point, and being ferried across the
+Mattaponi river, obtained from one of his friends a conveyance to
+Urbanna. We hired a sloop to take us to Carter's creek, and thence we
+proceeded in a farm wagon to his home in the village of Kilmarnock. The
+next morning he sent me to the home of the Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Dunaway,
+my brother, and my guardian.
+
+In a few days I enlisted in a company that was being raised by Captain
+Samuel P. Gresham, who had been a student at the Virginia Military
+Institute. And thus the student's gown was exchanged for the soldier's
+uniform.
+
+Before we were regularly mustered into service an expedition was
+undertaken that indicated at once the forwardness of our people to
+engage the enemy and their ignorance of military affairs. The report
+having been circulated that a Federal gunboat was lying in Mill Creek
+in Northumberland county, its capture, or destruction, was resolved upon
+by about a hundred men, who had assembled at the county seat of
+Lancaster. With no weapons except an old smooth-bore six-pound cannon,
+and that loaded with scrap iron gathered from a blacksmith's shop, we
+proceeded to Mill Creek and unlimbered on the bank in plain view of the
+boat, and distant from it some two or three hundred yards. I have always
+been glad that we had sense enough to refrain from shooting, for
+otherwise most of us would have been killed then and there. Seeing the
+hopelessness of an unequal combat, we retired from the scene somewhat
+wiser than when we went. In that instance was not "discretion the better
+part of valor"?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+     War, war is still the cry, "War to the knife."
+                                                --BYRON.
+
+
+There was in the central part of the county a beautiful grove in which
+the Methodists were accustomed to hold their annual camp-meetings. On
+account of its location and the shelter afforded by its tents it was in
+1861 transformed into a rendezvous of a radically different nature, the
+military companies that had been raised in the county assembling there
+preparatory to going into the army. It was there that Captain Gresham's
+company, known as the Lacy Rifles, was formally enrolled by Col. R. A.
+Claybrook and Dr. James Simmonds. When they came to where I stood in the
+line of men they declined to enlist me because I appeared pale and weak
+on account of recent sickness. I said, "Do as you like, gentlemen, but I
+am going with the boys anyhow." "If you talk like that," they replied,
+"we will insert your name."
+
+Not many days afterward the company assembled at the court-house, and,
+having sworn allegiance to the Southern Confederacy, was duly mustered
+into its service. In vehicles of all sorts we drove to Monaskon wharf,
+where the schooner _Extra_ was moored to receive us and to convey us up
+the Rappahannock river. As the vessel glided along what a jolly set we
+were!--gay as larks, merry as crickets, playful as kittens. There was
+singing, dancing, feasting on the palatable provisions supplied by the
+loving friends we were leaving, with no thought of captivity, wounds,
+nor death. Ignorant of war, we were advancing toward its devouring jaws
+with such conduct as became an excursion of pleasure. The only arms we
+then possessed were two-edged daggers made of rasps in blacksmith shops,
+and with these we were going to hew our way to victory through the
+serried ranks of the invading army! Ah, well! we knew better what war
+was after we had become the seasoned veterans of many campaigns.
+
+When the vessel had proceeded up the river as far as Fort Lowry it
+rounded to, because a solid shot ricochetted before the bow, and we were
+transferred to the steamboat _Virginia_, which carried us to
+Fredericksburg. Passing along the streets, attracting attention by our
+neat gray uniforms, we marched out to the fair-grounds, and rejoiced to
+obtain the friendly shelter of the cattle stalls. They were not as
+comfortable as the chambers of our homes--but what of it? Were we not
+soldiers now? It is wonderful and blessed how human nature can
+accommodate itself to altered environments.
+
+We were supplied with smoothbore, muzzle-loading, Springfield muskets,
+small leather boxes for percussion caps, and larger ones for cartridges.
+For the information of the present generation let it be explained that
+the cartridge was made of tough paper containing powder in one end and
+the ounce ball of lead in the other; and the manner of loading was
+this: the soldier tore off with his teeth the end, poured the powder
+into the muzzle, and then rammed down the ball; this being done, a cap
+was placed on the nipple of the breech, and the gun was ready to be
+fired. That musket is antiquated now, but it did much execution in
+former days.
+
+Maj. J. H. Lacy, for whom the company was named, presented an elegant
+silk banner, which at Captain Gresham's request I received in the best
+language at my command. It was never borne in battle, for it was not
+companies but regiments that carried banners. There was but one flag to
+a regiment, and that was always carried in the center. Twice a day there
+was a course of drilling in tactical evolutions and in the handling of
+the muskets. At first I was hardly strong enough to sustain the fatigue,
+but I rapidly grew stronger under the combined influence of exercise,
+sleeping in the open air, and the excitement of a military life. The war
+did me harm in many ways, but it was the means of increasing my capacity
+for bodily exertion. During the encampment at Fredericksburg many of my
+spare moments were spent in reading the New Testament and Pollok's
+"Course of Time."
+
+We did not long remain in Fredericksburg; but being transported on cars
+to Brooke Station we marched up to camp Chappawamsic, near a Baptist
+church of that name. There the Lacy Rifles became Company F in the 47th
+regiment of Virginia Volunteers, commanded by Col. G. W. Richardson of
+Henrico county, who had been a member of the Virginia Convention that
+passed the ordinance of secession. He was a brave and patriotic
+gentleman, but unskilled in military affairs; and he did not long retain
+the command.
+
+From the summer of 1861 until the spring of 1862 we spent the time in
+company and regimental drill, and in picketing the shore of the Potomac
+river day and night, lest the enemy should effect a landing and take us
+unaware. During that time no shots were exchanged with the enemy,
+because no landing was attempted. The only fighting that we saw was at
+Dumfries where there was a Confederate fort, to which we marched to act
+as a support in case the Yankees came ashore. Three vessels of the
+Federal navy passed slowly down the river, between which and the fort
+there was a brief but lively cannonade; but so far as I know there was
+no resulting damage to either side.
+
+On Sunday, July 21, we heard the booming of the cannon at Bull Run,
+lamenting that we had no part in the battle. When we afterward heard how
+McDowell's army skedaddled back to Washington more rapidly than they
+came, we thought that the war would end without our firing a gun. So
+little did we understand the firmness of President Lincoln's mind and
+the settled purpose of the North!
+
+The winter was spent in comparative comfort, for we moved out of tents
+into cabins built of pine logs, each one having a wide arch and a
+chimney. At Christmas some good things were sent to me, among which was
+a dressed turkey, which I did not know how to prepare for the table, for
+even if I had possessed some knowledge of the culinary art there was no
+suitable oven. Fortunately a comrade by the name of John Cook,--an
+appropriate name for that occasion,--came to my relief and solved the
+problem in a most satisfactory manner. The bird was suspended by a
+string before the open fire, and being continually turned right and
+left, and basted with grease from a plate beneath, it was beautifully
+browned and cooked to a turn.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+     Drummer, strike up, and let us march away.
+                            --SHAKESPEARE'S _Henry VI_.
+
+
+In the spring of 1862 Gen. George B. McClellan with an army of 120,000
+men, thoroughly drilled and lavishly equipped, set out from Washington
+to capture Richmond from the north; but he had not proceeded far before
+he changed his mind about the line of advance. His forces were
+transported to Fortress Monroe with the design of approaching the city
+by the way of the peninsula that lies between the York and the James
+rivers. The correctness of his judgment was justified by subsequent
+campaigns; for the successive attempts of Pope, Burnside, Hooker, and
+Grant to take the Confederate capital from the north were all disastrous
+failures.
+
+In order to check the upward progress of McClellan's army, Gen. Joseph
+E. Johnston withdrew his forces from Manassas and the shore of the
+Potomac and concentrated them on the Peninsula. The 47th regiment
+marched from its winter quarters to Richmond, and was thence transported
+down the James to a wharf not far from Yorktown. During our brief stay
+in that vicinity, the companies were authorized to elect their officers;
+and I, who had been acting as Orderly Sergeant, was chosen Third
+Lieutenant.
+
+As the National army advanced, the Confederates fell back toward
+Richmond. Our regiment was not in the engagement that took place near
+Williamsburg on the 5th of May, but I saw then for the first time some
+wounded men and prisoners. The retreat was conducted somewhat rapidly,
+but in an orderly and skilful manner. I do not remember that we marched
+in darkness but once, and then we trudged all night long through
+shoe-deep mud. At times when the men in front encountered an unusually
+bad place those who were behind were compelled to come to a temporary
+halt. If I did not sleep while walking along I came as near to it as
+weary mortal ever did, and I am sure that I dozed while standing still.
+
+General Johnston posted his army between Richmond and the Chickahominy
+river, the 47th regiment being on the left, not far from Meadow bridge,
+and in the pestilential low-grounds of that sluggish stream. Swarms of
+mosquitoes attacked us at night and with their hypodermic proboscides
+injected poisonous malaria in our veins, to avoid which the sleeping
+soldier covered his head with a blanket. The complexion of the men
+became sallow, and every day numbers of them were put on the sick-list
+by the surgeons.
+
+The 47th regiment, commanded by Col. Robert M. Mayo, and having brigade
+connection with some regiments from North Carolina, had its first
+experience of real war in the battle of Seven Pines (or Fair Oaks),
+which was fought on the 31st of May. On that day General Johnston
+attacked the left wing of the Federal army, which had been thrown
+across to the southern side of the Chickahominy. To some persons the
+declaration may seem surprising, but it was with real pleasure that I
+went into the battle. It was the novelty of it, I suppose, that
+prevented me from being frightened by exploding shells and rattling
+musketry. The dread of these things came afterward when I saw fields
+scattered over with the wounded, the dying, and the dead, and among them
+some of my dearest friends. In that affair our Lieutenant-Colonel, John
+M. Lyell, was seriously wounded, and the regiment sustained a loss of
+about fifty men. Our chaplain, Mr. Meredith, of Stafford county, went
+into action with us, but while he did not do the like again, it is no
+impeachment of his courage. His duty lay in other directions; and it
+ought to be recorded in his praise that after every battle he might be
+found doing all he could to relieve and comfort the wounded.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+     In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
+     As modest stillness, and humility;
+     But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
+     Then imitate the action of the tiger;
+     Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
+                               --SHAKESPEARE'S _Henry V_.
+
+
+After the undecisive battle of Seven Pines the 47th regiment together
+with the 40th and the 55th Virginia regiments and the 22nd Virginia
+battalion was formed into a brigade, and this combination continued
+until the close of the war. It was known as the First Brigade of the
+Light Division, which was composed of six brigades, and commanded by
+Maj.-Gen. A. P. Hill. Why it was called the Light division I did not
+learn; but I know that the name was applicable, for we often marched
+without coats, blankets, knapsacks, or any other burdens except our
+arms and haversacks, which were never heavy and sometimes empty.
+
+On Thursday, June 26, the memorable but miss-called "battles around
+Richmond" began. Being on the left of the army, the First Brigade had
+the honor and the danger of being the first to cross the Chickahominy.
+Passing over Meadow bridge, we dispersed the enemy's outpost, only one
+man being wounded in the passage, and hurried on towards Mechanicsville
+and Beaver Dam, where was posted the extreme right of the Federal army.
+The contest raged for six hours. We failed to dislodge the enemy from
+its naturally strong and well-fortified position across Beaver Dam
+creek, and our loss was heavy,--heavier in some other brigades than in
+ours. The following morning, discovering that our antagonists had
+withdrawn, we crossed over Beaver Dam in pursuit.
+
+McClellan had decided to retreat! He called it a change of base; but if
+a change of base from the York to the James river was good strategy,
+why did he not do it before he was attacked? It looks very much as if he
+gave "a reason upon compulsion." It must be conceded that he managed the
+retreat with admirable ability, although, while inflicting severe
+punishment upon Lee's army, it involved the loss of 10,000 prisoners, 52
+pieces of artillery and 35,000 stand of small arms, besides immense
+stores of ammunition and provisions. But why retreat? Was it for this
+that he had led to the gates of Richmond a grand army of brave and
+disciplined men, at an enormous cost to his government? Having many
+qualities of a great commander, he lacked the _gaudium certaminis_ and
+the daring that assumes the hazard of defeat. In war the adage holds
+good with emphasis: "Nothing venture, nothing gain." The celebrated
+generals of all times, confiding in their own skill and the bravery of
+their soldiers, have been bold even to the degree of seeming rashness.
+Such was the spirit and conduct of Lee when with half the numbers he
+assaulted Hooker, and afterward Grant, in the Wilderness.
+
+McClellan's army being astraddle the Chickahominy, two courses of action
+were open to him when he was attacked.
+
+He might have concentrated on the north side of the river, leaving a
+sufficient force to guard the bridges in his rear, and then assumed a
+strong defensive position. Having abandoned Beaver Dam he withdrew to
+Gaines' Mill,--a place most favorable for defense,--still having 60,000
+men in striking distance across the river. If instead of vacating that
+position, or suffering a portion of his army to be driven from it, he
+had reenforced it by a half of those unoccupied 60,000 men, I do not
+believe he could have been dislodged by all the valor and dash of the
+Confederate army.
+
+The other line of action that he might have chosen was to concentrate on
+the southern side of the river, destroy the bridges, and then crushing
+the small army of Magruder, make a quick attack upon Richmond, while
+the forces of Lee and Jackson were on the other side. It seems to me
+that either course would have been better and nobler than the inglorious
+retreat to Harrison's Landing. It appeared that Lee was gaining victory
+after victory; but until the battle of Malvern Hill he was fighting only
+portions of McClellan's forces. In that engagement alone did the Union
+army contend with its undivided strength, and there it gained a victory.
+If it could hold its ground there after having suffered many losses,
+could it not much better have repulsed the Confederates at Gaines' Mill?
+
+When the First Brigade advanced to the charge at Gaines' Mill, on the
+27th of June, it emerged out of a wood into a large field, which
+declined toward a ravine through which a stream of water ran, and on the
+other side of which the ground rose somewhat precipitously to a
+considerable altitude. It had been wisely chosen for defense, and the
+opposite high ground was lined with infantry and crowned with
+batteries. As it was impossible to dislodge the enemy until some
+diversion should be created on one of his flanks, our men lay prone upon
+the ground, while bullets and shells hurtled among us and above us. At
+length seeing a brigade on our left rapidly advancing where the enemy's
+position was less formidable, we rose up and, with the inspiring "rebel
+yell," ran down the slope, crossed the little creek, clambered up the
+hill, and poured a volley into the retiring Yankees, some of whom were
+Duryea's Zouaves with their flaming uniforms. It was then that we more
+than repaid them for the loss they had inflicted upon us. On that day
+there fell some of my dearest friends, among whom was St. John F. Moody,
+who for three years had been my teacher, and afterward became my beloved
+companion. So patriotic and brave was he that if "_Dulce et decorum est
+pro patria mori_" ever was true of any hero it was of him.
+
+The next battle in which the brigade took part was that of Frazier's
+Farm, three days later. As we entered a field we saw before us a
+battery (which I believe was Randell's) supported by a firm line of
+infantry. In Wilson's history of the war he says: "One of the most
+brilliant charges of the day was made by the 55th and the 60th
+Virginia." The correct statement is that it was made by our brigade
+composed, as has been said, of the 40th, the 47th, the 55th, and the 22d
+Virginia. We rushed across the field, drove away the opposing infantry,
+and captured the battery. One of the gunners lying on the ground badly
+wounded jerked the lanyard of a loaded cannon just as we had almost
+reached the battery. Happily for us the discharge flew over our heads.
+He knew that he was in our power, for all his comrades were fleeing
+away, and he had no right to fire upon us. The deed was more like
+vengeful murder than honorable war; however, we did him no harm, for
+though his spirit was spiteful his pluck was commendable.
+
+It was late in the afternoon; and as we stood in line by the captured
+guns, ready to receive an expected countercharge, a lone horseman
+approached who proved to be Major-General McCall, who in the fading
+twilight had mistaken us for his own men. Hearing numerous cries to halt
+and seeing many muskets leveled at him, he dismounted and led his horse
+to where we stood. Being conducted before Colonel Mayo, he said, "For
+God's sake, Colonel, don't let your men do me any harm." Colonel Mayo
+was so indignant at the implied accusation that he used some cuss words,
+and asked him whether he thought we were a set of barbarians. If he had
+been captured in battle, I should have been glad; but, as it was, I felt
+sorry for him, and if I could have had the disposal of him I would have
+paroled him and turned him loose.
+
+The First Brigade did not again come under fire until we reached Malvern
+Hill, the 1st of July. There McClellan had skilfully stationed his
+entire army, and all the valorous efforts of Lee's army to storm the
+position were unavailing. One of our men addressed a North Carolina
+regiment as "Tarheels" and received for answer, "If you had had some
+tar on your heels, you would have stuck to that battery better than you
+did."
+
+McClellan, having for six days acted on the defensive, and in the last
+engagement having been virtually victorious, had an opportunity to
+assume the offensive; for in war as in the game of chess an unsuccessful
+attack invites defeat. On the 2d of July, if he had inspirited his
+regiments with the cry of "On to Richmond" and attacked the Confederates
+unprepared for so surprising a reversal, who can tell what might have
+been the result? Was it not worth the trial? And if he had failed, could
+he not then have fallen back to the cover of the gunboats? But he was
+bent on going to Harrison's Landing, and thither his army retreated all
+night over a muddy road. Thus ended the second attempt to capture the
+Confederate capital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+     When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war.
+                                       --NATHANIEL LEE.
+
+
+After the battle of Malvern Hill the First Brigade had a brief and
+enjoyable respite from marching and fighting, while it bivouacked in the
+pine forest near Savage Station.
+
+Gen. John Pope, with his "headquarters in the saddle," set out from
+Washington with a numerous force to capture Richmond, and was reenforced
+by the remains of McClellan's army that had been transported from
+Harrison's Landing to Acquia creek. Jackson's corps, of which Hill's
+Light Division was an important part, was dispatched to watch his
+movements and to check his progress. From the flat lands of the James
+and the Chickahominy we marched to the hill country, and for a few days
+remained near Orange Court House. On the 9th of August we forded the
+Rapidan in search of the enemy. A suffocating cloud of dust enveloped
+our toiling host, and so intense was the heat that a few of the men fell
+sunstruck in the road. During this march, as also on similar occasions,
+I saw packs of cards scattered along the highway; for though the soldier
+might play them for money or amusement when there was no prospect of an
+engagement, he did not relish the thought of their being found upon him
+if he should be killed. In the afternoon we encountered a portion of the
+National army under the command of General Banks and fought the battle
+of Cedar Run, in which our people were victorious. That night the
+hostile lines were so close that we could hear the Yankees talking, but
+could not distinguish the words. When daylight came they were far away.
+
+Toward the latter part of the month Pope's army occupied a position near
+Warrenton in Fauquier county, while across the North Fork of the
+Rappahannock river he was confronted by Lee's united army in Culpeper.
+
+To cross the river and force the Federal position by a front attack was
+plainly impracticable; but in some way the Yankees must be removed and
+compelled to fight on something like equal terms. The plan was formed
+that Jackson with his corps should by a forced circuitous march obtain
+the enemy's rear and thus, cutting the line of his communication, compel
+him to retire from his advantageous location, and that Lee with
+Longstreet's corp should rejoin Jackson and bring on an engagement with
+his entire army. To some military critics this division of the army in
+the face of an unchastised antagonist might seem to contradict the rules
+of sound strategy, but in the fertile minds of Lee and Jackson it was
+the dictate of consummate genius. Such a division occurred in Maryland,
+just before the battle of Sharpsburg, and again at Chancellorsville the
+following year, and each time it was advantageous to the Confederate
+arms. These two men had the utmost confidence in each other, and either
+felt safe while the other was making an independent movement. In the
+course of the years that have elapsed since the termination of the war I
+have frequently been asked, "Which was the greater general, Lee or
+Jackson?" After pondering this question for forty-five years I am yet
+unable to decide; and that reminds me of Abe Lincoln and the hats. When
+he became President, two enterprising merchants in Washington, desiring
+to secure his custom, each presented him with an elegant silk hat, and
+it so happened that they called at the same time to learn his opinion of
+their gifts. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "these hats mutually excel
+each other."
+
+On Tuesday, the 26th of August, the march of Jackson's corps began,
+every step of the onward way bringing us nearer to the Blue Ridge where
+it borders the county of Rappahannock, and causing us to guess that
+through some gap of the mountain we were going into the valley. We did
+not know what Old Jack, (as he was familiarly and affectionately
+called,) was up to, but it did not matter what was the objective,--so
+implicit was the confidence reposed in his military judgment. Passing
+out of Rappahannock and skirting the base of the Blue Ridge, we rested
+for the night at Salem, in Fauquier, a station of the Manassas Gap
+Railroad, the name of which has since been changed to Marshall. Betimes
+the next morning we were hurrying eastward through Thoroughfare Gap of
+Bull Run Mountain, and late in the evening we arrived at Manassas
+Junction,--between Pope's army and Washington. I had read that walking
+was an excellent form of exercise because it brought into play every
+muscle of the body, and having walked nearly sixty miles in two days I
+was convinced that the reason assigned was valid, for the muscles of my
+arms and neck were almost as sore as were those of my legs. The making
+of long marches unexpectedly and quickly was one of the secrets of
+Jackson's success. It may be supposed by the uninitiated that after such
+fatigue the soldier is not in good condition for fighting; but the
+sense of weariness is lost when the excitement of battle begins.
+
+The few Federal regiments on guard at the Junction were quickly
+dispersed, and trains of cars loaded with all sorts of army supplies
+were burned. A large building filled with commissary stores was also
+burned, but not before our empty haversacks had been replenished. By the
+light of the fires we supped plentifully on potatoes and beef and then
+lay down upon the ground, not to pleasant dreams, but to dreamless
+sleep.
+
+On the 28th our brigade with some others went toward Centerville, in
+Fairfax county, and thence turning away came back into Prince William
+and took position on a part of the ground whereon the first battle of
+Manassas had been fought. Ewell's division, which had been left behind
+to befog Pope's mind and retard his movements, joined us and completed
+the defensive line of Jackson's entire corps.
+
+The next day the Federal army began to press us vigorously, but the
+numerous attacks made upon us were repelled and followed by counter
+charges. Our Brigadier-General, Field, was wounded badly, and Company F
+lost some men, among whom was Lieutenant James Ball, who in the absence
+of Capt. William Brown was in command. By his death the control of the
+company was devolved upon me.
+
+Let me here relate an incident to show that between individuals of the
+opposing hosts there was no animosity. During a lull in the battle I
+left the regiment and circumspectly proceeded forward to reconnoiter. I
+found in a wood a Yankee captain dangerously wounded, a fine-looking man
+and handsomely dressed. In reply to the question whether I could do
+anything for him he asked for water, and I, kneeling down, held my
+canteen to his lips, for which kindness he made grateful
+acknowledgments. "And now," said I, "there is something you can do for
+me: you can give me your sword, but I will not take it unless you part
+with it freely." He replied that I was welcome to it, for he would never
+need it again. After I had taken it he said: "You had better retire,
+because our men will soon be here again." He was thirsty, and I gave him
+drink; I was in danger, and he gave me friendly warning.
+
+That sword had an unfortunate history: its beautiful scabbard, belt, and
+shoulder strap were ruined when my tent was burned the next winter; its
+hilt was shot off at Chancellorsville, and the naked blade was thrown
+away on that ensanguined field.
+
+I returned to where the regiment was standing prepared to receive
+another attack, which, however, was not made that day. When we were
+ordered to fall back to our first position, I caused to be brought with
+us the bodies of Lieutenant Ball and his most intimate friend, Mordecai
+Lawson, who, like him, had been shot in the forehead. With bayonets and
+hands a grave was dug, in which we laid them side by side, and spreading
+over them a soldier's blanket, we heaped above them the turf and clods.
+In neither army could there have been found two braver men. Boon
+companions in life, in death they were not divided.
+
+The next day, Saturday the 30th, witnessed the grand struggle that has
+become famous in history as the Second Battle of Manassas. After a
+separation of four days Longstreet's corps had come up and formed on
+Jackson's right, and General Pope was compelled either to retreat or
+fight on ground so skilfully selected by General Lee. The line of battle
+was nearly parallel with Bull Run, whereas in the first battle it was
+perpendicular to it.
+
+There was between the two armies a bed that had been graded for a
+railroad, but upon which no rails have ever been laid. It was the
+fortune of the First Brigade to fight on Friday over a shallow cut, and
+on Saturday over the deepest of all. Our line being formed in an oak
+forest and ordered to charge, we rushed from the wood into a large field
+across which the cut had been dug, not knowing it was there until we
+came close to it. The Federal soldiers on the other side made but feeble
+resistance, because they had already been hotly engaged with a brigade
+composed of the 60th Virginia and some regiments from Louisiana. That
+brigade was down in the cut, having exhausted their ammunition, and it
+would have been captured but for our timely arrival, which filled them
+with rejoicing. In that charge the saber was knocked from my uplifted
+hand, and falling it stuck in the ground some paces behind me.
+
+The brigade did not cross the cut, but a few of the men clambered over
+and I among them. There was a cannon over there which they pulled back
+with all the hilarity of college students, some riding astraddle the
+piece, cheering, and waving their caps.
+
+We had no sooner recrossed the cut and regained our places in the line
+than the grand spectacle of dense columns of Pope's army coming to the
+assault was witnessed. In perfect array, they kept step as if on dress
+parade, and bore their banners proudly. I looked for a terrific shock,
+but before they came to close quarters with us, the Confederate
+artillery, massed on high ground behind us, opened upon their closed
+ranks, and wrought such fearful destruction as, I believe, was not
+dealt in any other battle of the entire war. Shells burst among them so
+thick and fast that in a few minutes the field was literally strewn with
+the killed and wounded. They halted, they turned, they fled; and Lee's
+whole army assuming the offensive, rushed forward and won the battle.
+
+General Pope was going to hoist the Stars and Stripes above the capitol
+in Richmond, but he came no nearer to the city than Cedar Run. His men
+were brave, but from first to last he was mystified by Lee's superior
+strategy. A prisoner said to me, "If we had your Jackson, we would soon
+whip you." And I will express the opinion that if the Army of the
+Potomac had been commanded by generals who were the equals of Lee and
+Jackson the Southern Confederacy would have collapsed before April,
+1865; and sooner still if Lee and Jackson had led the Northern armies,
+while the Confederates were marshaled by leaders of Pope's caliber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+                       'Tis the soldiers' life
+     To have their balmy slumbers waked with strife.
+                                --SHAKESPEARE'S _Othello_.
+
+
+Our next encounter with the Yankees occurred on the first day of
+September at a place called Ox Hill, near Chantilly on the Little River
+turnpike, in which they sustained a heavy loss in the death of General
+Philip Kearney, one of their best and bravest commanders. Inasmuch as
+the action took place during a thunderstorm its awful impressiveness was
+increased, and it was difficult to distinguish between the
+reverberations of the heavens and the detonations of the mimicking
+artillery, sometimes alternating and sometimes simultaneous.
+
+That night, when all was still and darkness had settled upon the field
+where lay the victims of war, a soldier of the 40th regiment, an
+intrepid Irishman, George Cornwell by name, went out prowling for food
+and plunder, taking his musket with him. Unexpectedly meeting a Federal
+lieutenant and four men bearing a stretcher and searching for their
+wounded captain, he was asked to what regiment he belonged. With ready
+wit he named a New York regiment, and then learning their business and
+finding that they were unarmed, he leveled his musket, demanded their
+surrender, and brought them as prisoners within our lines. I myself did
+a little searching until I found a full haversack strapped to a man who
+would never use his teeth again. I was hungry, and chilled by the recent
+rain. I found in the haversack crackers and ground coffee mixed with
+sugar; and bringing into requisition my matches, tin cup, and canteen of
+water (which three things I was always careful to have about me), I soon
+had a pint of steaming beverage. I ate my supper, and then laid down to
+sleep. This was only one of many times that I slept in wet garments on
+the rain-soaked lap of earth without injury to my health; and the only
+reason I can give for the immunity is, that those were "War times."
+
+The National army returned to Washington, and together with all the
+forces in and around that city was again put under the command of
+General McClellan.
+
+From Chantilly we marched to the vicinity of Leesburg and went into camp
+near a beautiful spring, several feet deep, which was in a large square
+walled up with brick. The next day we came to the Potomac river, which
+was then about four feet deep, with its bottom covered with rounded
+stones of many sizes. We were not so favored as Joshua's host at the
+Jordan, but we just walked from shore to shore as if there were no water
+there. Beautiful was the scene. As I approached the river I beheld those
+who had crossed ascending the hill on the farther shore; in the water a
+double line of soldiers stretching from side to side, their guns held
+high above the current and gilded by the beams of the westering sun; and
+others behind them going down the declivity of the Virginia shore.
+There came unbidden to my mind some lines of one of Charles Wesley's
+hymns:
+
+
+     One army of the living God,
+       To his command we bow;
+     Part of the host have crossed the flood,
+       And part are crossing now.
+     E'en now to their eternal home
+       Some happy spirits fly;
+     And we are to the margin come,
+       And soon expect to die.
+
+
+From Bunyan's time onward, and I know not how long before, a river has
+been the Christian symbol of death.
+
+There was some expectation that when we came into Maryland many of her
+sons would rally to our banners, according to the prediction of a
+well-known song:
+
+
+     "She breathes, she burns, she'll come, she'll come,
+                Maryland, my Maryland;"
+
+
+but the cold fact is, she did not come; and in the light of subsequent
+events, it is well that she did not.
+
+From the Potomac the march was continued to the Monocacy river, near
+Frederick City. During our brief sojourn there we bought goods in the
+stores and paid for them in Confederate money, although, no doubt, the
+merchants would have preferred greenbacks or specie; and so far as I
+know nothing was taken without that remuneration.
+
+Again Lee's army was divided, Jackson's corps being detached and sent
+forward for the purpose of capturing Harper's Ferry. For three days
+during the westward march in Maryland no rations were issued, and our
+only food was ears of green corn roasted or boiled without salt. These
+served for supper and breakfast, but we had nothing for dinner, for if
+when we started in the morning we put the cooked corn in the haversacks
+it soured under the hot rays of the sun, and time was too precious to
+allow a halt for cooking a fresh supply at noon.
+
+Fording the Potomac again, we passed out of Maryland into Virginia at
+Williamsport and proceeded rapidly to Harper's Ferry. The Federal force
+occupying a very high hill which had been fortified by abattis and
+entrenchments, any attempt to storm it would have inflicted terrible
+loss upon the attacking party. With much difficulty our cannon had been
+placed on the Maryland Heights, on the Loudoun Heights, and on other
+eminences that overlooked the enemy's position; and when all was ready
+the order was given to the infantry to begin the assault. When we came
+to the foot of the little mountain occupied by the Yankees we discovered
+that trees had been cut so as to fall downward, and that their
+interlacing limbs had been trimmed and sharpened to a point. To advance
+upward through these innumerable spikes appeared impossible;
+nevertheless we began the ascent at the same time that our artillery on
+the mountains opened fire. The enemy, seeing our advance and being torn
+by plunging shots and shells from so many enfilading directions, were
+persuaded to surrender. As we were slowly struggling upward I looked and
+with a joyful feeling of relief saw the white flag flying, and a large
+one it was. This was on Monday, the 15th of September. So well was this
+affair planned by Jackson that without the loss of a man we captured
+11,000 prisoners, 13,000 stand of small arms, and 73 pieces of
+artillery.
+
+Having performed what was necessary to secure the fruits of this
+remarkable achievement, it was of the utmost importance that we should
+hurry away to reenforce Longstreet's corps, which was confronted by the
+northern army at Sharpsburg. Passing through Shepherdstown we waded the
+Potomac the third time. Our brigade did not reach the battle field until
+the evening of the 17th, when the most of the severe fighting of the day
+had ended. It was a drawn battle with very heavy losses on both sides.
+On the 18th the opposing hosts confronted each other without coming to
+blows. Did not McClellan blunder again? Having a much greater army, a
+part of which had not been engaged, ought he not to have renewed the
+battle in the attempt to crush the Confederates and drive them into the
+river? When he awoke on the 19th Lee's army was on the Virginia side.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+     The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife,
+     The morn the marshalling in arms, the day
+     Battle's magnificently-stern array.
+                                              --BYRON.
+
+
+On the 20th of September McClellan sent one of his divisions over into
+Virginia, with the purpose, I suppose, of making a reconnoissance in
+force. It was attacked by the Light Division and driven back to the
+Maryland side of the river, not a few of the men perishing in the water.
+On that occasion the 47th passed within a few paces of a Yankee regiment
+standing in line in a field and displaying their national banner. Not a
+musket was fired by either party; for they, being cut off from the
+river, were doomed to captivity, and we were going at double-quick
+against another force. When the engagement had ended and we were
+marching away, a solid shot from beyond the river ricochetted along our
+line and in unpleasant proximity to it. Though much of its force was
+spent, yet if it had struck our line it had sufficient momentum to have
+destroyed many lives. Here was a close call, which differed from many
+another in that the bounding ball was visible.
+
+The Maryland campaign being over, Jackson's corps retired to Bunker Hill
+between Winchester and Martinsburg, and there we had for more than two
+months an unusual season of rest and recuperation. I remember one day of
+special enjoyment. Obeying an order, I took a squad of men some seven or
+eight miles along the turnpike in the direction of Martinsburg to keep a
+lookout for the approach of the enemy. We halted where there was a grove
+on one side of the road and a dwelling-house on the other. We purchased
+a shoat from the matron of that domicile, who made us a stew that would
+have done credit to the Maypole Inn. After dinner,--the only meal worthy
+of that name that I had enjoyed for many months,--I took a musket, and
+leaving the men a short distance behind, took a stand in the middle of
+the road. No Yankee came in sight, but while I was there silently
+waiting and watching two large, beautiful wild turkeys walked with
+stately step across the road in easy range. Was I tempted to shoot? Yes.
+Did I do it? No; for I was particularly instructed that on no account
+must a gun be fired except on the enemy's approach. The report would
+have been repeated by squads in my rear, the camp would have been
+falsely alarmed, and I would have been justly court-martialed.
+
+The Army of the Potomac, 100,000 strong and commanded by General
+Burnside, once more took up the slogan,--"On to Richmond,"--but that was
+more easily said than done. Before it reached the northern bank of the
+Rappahannock river, opposite Fredericksburg, the ever-watchful Lee,
+having left the valley, had occupied the heights on the other side.
+Jackson's corps by rapid marches arrived at Fredericksburg on the 11th
+of December, none too soon for the impending conflict, and took
+position on Longstreet's right. Nearly five miles from the town our
+brigade formed the extreme right of the Southern Army, which was an
+assignment of honor; and the 47th held the right of the brigade. The
+other brigades of Hill's Light Division formed on our left, Gregg's next
+to ours, and between the two on higher ground twenty pieces of artillery
+looked out across the field. Lee's army had the advantage of position,
+and had the rare pleasure of fighting on the defensive. It occupied the
+high ground that borders the river flat, and which is close to the town,
+but, as it continues, recedes from the river, leaving an ever widening
+plain. On the morning of the memorable 13th that plain resounded to the
+martial tread of Burnside's army.
+
+Before the battle began General Lee, inspecting the disposition of his
+forces all along the line, rode up to where we stood, and dismounting
+from Traveller, handed the bridle-rein to an orderly. This was the first
+time that I saw him, and his appearance made an indelible impression
+upon my mind. What a noble man he was in form and face as well as in
+moral character! While he was examining the outlying field I had a
+conversation with the orderly, who spoke of the General's fondness for
+his horse.
+
+Having observed that a few men of the Confederate cavalry had brought up
+a piece of artillery in front of our right, I obtained permission of
+Colonel Mayo and ran forward to join them. Two Federal batteries came
+forward in a gallop and in a minute's time unlimbered and began firing
+against Hill's division, the twenty guns of which I have spoken giving
+them as good as they sent and a little better. The Yankees were so hotly
+engaged by the firing in front of them that they paid no attention to
+the little cavalry gun upon the flank. The first shot did no execution,
+but the next struck a caisson and exploded its contents.
+
+What more was done there I cannot say; for seeing that the Federal
+infantry were advancing to the charge, I hastily returned to my position
+in the regiment. Our men, lying in a railroad cut about two feet deep,
+waited until the Yankees were close upon them, and then rising up poured
+such volleys upon them as caused them to retire in confusion; but on our
+left Gregg's South Carolina brigade was broken through and he was
+killed. Being thereby severed from the rest of the army, we changed
+front and took the victorious Yankees in flank, causing them to lose
+their advantage and fall back to the railroad which they had crossed.
+Then occurred a pretty duel. The blue and the grey lines were about
+sixty yards apart and each was loading and firing as rapidly as
+possible. The Federal general and his two aides on horseback were urging
+their men to charge, as was evident from their gestures; but their men
+would not respond.
+
+Being an officer I had no weapons but sword and pistol, but I picked up
+the musket of one of our men, who had loaded it but was killed before he
+could discharge it, and called on some of our company to shoot down the
+horsemen. We took deliberate aim and fired; and down went horses and
+riders. "Now," said I, "shoot down the colors." Four times they fell,
+only to be quickly raised again. I would not affirm that the little
+group about me shot down the horsemen and the flag, for many others were
+shooting at the same time; I only know that we calmly did our best in
+that direction. After a while the enemy turned and fled; and I was glad,
+for they had inflicted on the 47th a loss of fifty men in killed and
+wounded. However, their loss greatly exceeded ours. The next day, when a
+truce prevailed for burying the dead and caring for the wounded, I was
+informed by some of the Union soldiers that the name of that general was
+Jackson. He was a brave man, deserving a better fate, and he fell while
+nobly performing what he believed was his duty to his country.
+
+It was the general and confident expectation that the battle would be
+renewed, and we were, therefore, surprised to discover on the morning of
+the 15th that the enemy had during the night recrossed to the northern
+side of the river. Their loss in the engagement was three times greater
+than ours. Burnside made the mistake of putting forth his greatest
+strength where the Confederates were strongest. If he had assailed our
+right as fiercely as he did our left, perhaps there might have been a
+different result.
+
+In a few days after the battle I was informed by Colonel Mayo that I was
+"for gallant and meritorious conduct promoted to be First Lieutenant and
+Adjutant of the 47th regiment." I had not thought of trying to make an
+exhibition of unusual gallantry among so many intrepid men, but, of
+course, the commendation and promotion were highly gratifying.
+
+
+     "The love of praise, howe'er concealed by art,
+     Reigns more or less, and glows in ev'ry heart."
+
+
+The campaign having come to an end, Lee's army went into winter quarters
+at camp Gregg, so named in honor of Brigadier-General Maxcy Gregg who
+was killed in the battle of Fredericksburg. It was near Moss Neck, the
+large and fertile farm of Mr. Richard Corbin. The Rappahannock river
+flowed between the Yankee and the Rebel armies, each picketing its own
+side of the stream. By common consent there was no shooting across the
+river, but on the other hand there was an occasional exchange of tobacco
+and coffee by means of little boats. We could hear them impudently
+singing: "O soldiers, won't you meet us." We had met them on fields of
+carnage, and expected to meet them again on the return of spring; but
+whether we should meet them "On Canaan's happy shore," or in some less
+pleasing locality in the eternal world, who could say?
+
+I distinctly remember one night when my turn came to go to the river on
+picket duty, and the earth was covered with snow several inches deep.
+When my watch was off and the opportunity to sleep was afforded the
+question was, where to lie down. I spread on the snow some boughs that I
+had cut from a cedar tree and laid a gum cloth upon them. Upon this
+pallet I lay down and covering myself head and all with a blanket
+enjoyed sweet, refreshing, and healthful sleep. The next morning the
+blanket above my head was stiff-frozen with the moisture from my breath.
+
+There was one man that should have been mentioned before this time,--a
+negro of my own age, whose name was Charles Wesley. We had grown up on
+the farm together, and had played, and boxed, and wrestled without
+respect to color. Not as a slave but as a friend he followed me to the
+war,--my launderer, my cook, and when I was sick, my nurse. Having
+orders to keep himself out of danger, he very willingly remained far in
+the rear when a battle was in progress, but when the firing ceased he
+faithfully sought me and reported for duty. While writing about Charles,
+I may anticipate a little and say that when we were in Pennsylvania I
+told him that we were on Yankee soil, and that he had the opportunity of
+deserting me and of remaining there as a free man. He replied that he
+already knew that, but that he was going to abide with me. And when I
+was captured at Falling Waters he had the intelligence and fidelity to
+ride my horse home and deliver him to my brother.
+
+It was while we were encamped at Moss Neck that I witnessed a military
+execution for the offense of desertion from the 47th regiment. The
+criminal was on his knees, blindfolded, with his hands tied behind him
+to a stake. A short distance in front of him was the line of twenty men
+detailed to do the shooting, and commanded by an officer especially
+appointed. No man could tell who did the killing, for the twenty muskets
+were handed to them, one-half of them being loaded with blank
+cartridges. The rest of the regiment was drawn up, one-half on the
+right, and the other on the left. At the word "Fire!" the report of the
+guns rang out and the deserter fell forward pierced by balls. Death was
+instantaneous. Although the crime was mortal, the scene was painfully
+sad.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+     Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a
+     battle won.
+                                                  --WELLINGTON.
+
+
+I did not serve long as the adjutant of the 47th regiment. In March,
+1863, Company I of the 40th regiment, having from one cause or another
+lost all its officers, unanimously desired that I should become their
+captain, and this desire was approved by Colonel Brockenbrough, who
+commanded that regiment, as well as by General Heth, who commanded the
+brigade. I was loath to sever connection from the regiment to which I
+had been attached since the beginning of the war, but I accepted the new
+position, because it was in the line of promotion, and the men of the
+company were from my native county and well known to me; moreover, I
+would still be in the same brigade with my old comrades of the 47th. My
+captain's commission was dated April 30, and was signed by James A.
+Seddon, Secretary of War.
+
+When the spring had come General Joseph Hooker, the successor of
+unfortunate Burnside, having crossed the Rappahannock river, took up a
+strong position at Chancellorsville, with an army numerically twice as
+strong as the available Confederate forces, and declared by him to be
+"the finest army on the planet." At the same time a powerful detachment
+under General Sedgwick crossed the river below Fredericksburg and made
+demonstrations of attack upon the Confederate lines. Never was General
+Lee confronted by a more perilous situation, and never did his military
+genius more brilliantly appear.
+
+In war so much depends upon the commander, that I advance the confident
+opinion that if the Confederates had been under the charge of Hooker and
+Sedgwick, and Lee and Jackson had had command of the Federal soldiers
+above and below Fredericksburg, the Confederate army would have been
+destroyed; and the Army of the Potomac would have walked straight into
+Richmond. That army would indeed have been "the finest on the planet,"
+if the skill and the courage of its commander had equaled its numbers,
+its aggressive power, and its opulent equipment.
+
+Hooker had a grand opportunity, but ingloriously failed to use it. He
+had conceived a good plan of action, and he successfully executed its
+initial movement; but when the decisive hour arrived his resolution
+failed. Instead of advancing aggressively on to Fredericksburg, as he
+had begun to do, he turned back and fortified his army with
+intrenchments. Did he mistrust himself, or his army, or both? His
+original scheme contemplated offensive tactics, and all its merit was
+sacrificed when he began to erect defensive fortifications.
+
+Let me here briefly describe Chancellorsville and its environments as I
+saw them during the battle. There was no village there, but only a large
+brick tavern with a few outbuildings, located immediately on the north
+side of the road that connects Fredericksburg and Orange. In the rear
+it was separated from the forest by a narrow field, while in front and
+across the road there was a large space of open land. In the direction
+of Orange the road and fields declined to a wooded ravine. On the
+slightly elevated land in front of the tavern the Yankees had unlimbered
+twenty Napoleon cannon, and along the side of the ravine they had
+erected breastworks of logs and earth.
+
+Late in the afternoon of Friday, May 1, our brigade had marched up from
+Fredericksburg and halted in striking distance of the Federal army. What
+could we expect but that in the morning we should be waging an assault
+upon its fortified position? Instead of that Jackson led us with the
+rest of his corps around the front of that position until we struck the
+road on the Orange side of Chancellorsville. We were now on Hooker's
+right flank, having marched quickly and silently fifteen miles over a
+rough and unfrequented road. The sun was sinking toward the western
+horizon when our lines of attack were formed on both sides of the road
+and at right angles to it. Immediately the onslaught began, silent,
+rapid, resolute, Heth's brigade being on the north or left side of the
+road. We had not proceeded far before we struck Howard's corps all
+unsuspecting and unprepared. Their fires were kindled for cooking
+supper, and dressed beeves were ready for distribution among the
+companies. They fled before us, strewing the ground with muskets,
+knapsacks, and other accouterments. Whoever censures them for running
+would probably have acted as they did, for our charge was as lightning
+from a cloudless sky. On the way we crossed a little farm, and as I
+passed the dwelling I saw several ladies who were wildly rejoicing.
+
+When we had come within half a mile of Chancellorsville daylight had
+faded into night. The moon had risen, but her rays were rendered
+intermittent by scudding clouds. The darkness, the tangled undergrowth
+of the forest, and the entrenchments and artillery of the enemy combined
+to arrest our progress. Those cannon of which I have spoken shelled the
+woods in which we lay, and what a cannonade it was! The trees and bushes
+trembled, the air was laden with sulphurous fumes, the very earth seemed
+to quake under the impulse of exploding shells. There was, however, more
+noise than execution; only one man of my company was struck, and his
+broken jaw was bound up by my handkerchief.
+
+From my position on the roadside I saw a few riderless horses running
+terror-stricken to the rear. These were, I believe, the animals that
+Jackson and his aides had ridden to the front. It is recorded that he
+was wounded by some soldiers of the 18th North Carolina regiment who
+were in the brigade of General James H. Lane. If this statement were
+made on less reliable authority it might be questioned; for I know that
+the Yankees were close to our front and that Jackson could not have
+ridden far beyond our line without encountering their volley. We did not
+hear until next morning that our peerless leader had been shot. Alas!
+As when Hector fell the doom of Troy was sealed, so with the death of
+Jackson the star of the Southern Confederacy declined.
+
+Late in the night the firing ceased, and the Gray and the Blue lay on
+their arms, catching brief snatches of troubled sleep, and abiding the
+renewal of hostilities with the coming morning.
+
+On the bright and pleasant Sunday that ensued no chiming bells nor
+melodies of sacred music were heard upon that famous field, but only the
+cries of antagonistic men and the horrid din of batteries and muskets.
+Our brigade being transferred to the right side of the road and drawn up
+in line of battle in the forest, it was not long before the renowned
+Stonewall brigade passed by us and charged upon the breastworks of the
+enemy. It was repulsed with heavy loss, the Yankees having
+preponderating advantage of position. Then Pender's intrepid brigade of
+North Carolinians had a similar experience. There were no braver
+soldiers in the army than the men composing these two defeated brigades.
+When, therefore, the command to charge was given to us, could we hope
+for a better result? As we advanced a shell struck the ground
+immediately before me, exploded and covered me with dirt, but
+providentially inflicted no wounds. Onward we rushed with the usual
+inspiriting Rebel yell. When we came in sight of those formidable rifle
+pits we were delighted to find them abandoned by our foes; and when we
+climbed over them and entered the field just beyond them we were no less
+glad to discover that those batteries that had so noisily shelled us the
+night before had been withdrawn.
+
+There in full view toward our left stood Chancellor's tavern, and the
+large field in front was literally filled with Federal soldiers in
+perfect array marching northward,--that is, to the rear. The retreat of
+Hooker's army had begun; they were not whipped but out-generaled.
+Passing across the road by the tavern and entering the forest behind it,
+they left not in sight a single blue coat, save that a battery in the
+tavern yard was firing upon us. Two Confederate batteries galloped up to
+our line, and, unlimbering, opened upon the battery in the yard at close
+range. There were in the Southern armies many soldiers in their teens,
+but here at one of the guns labored a boy who was, as I guessed from his
+size, not more than twelve years old. It was his part to fire the gun by
+pulling the lanyard, and as often as he did it he playfully rolled over
+backward. "Boys will be boys" even in the peril of battle. In the
+meantime Jeb Stuart, temporarily assigned to the command of Jackson's
+corps, came riding into the field, and in a spirit not unlike that of
+the boy was singing, "Old Joe Hooker, won't you get out the wilderness?"
+The Yankee battery withdrew; the battle was ended. The tavern was all
+ablaze, having been ignited by one of our shells,--the house that an
+hour before had been the headquarters of General Hooker. Our army was
+resting along the road in front of the burning building. As General Lee
+rode by, a waggish fellow of the 47th said, "General, we are too tired
+to cheer you this morning," and he pleasantly replied, "Well, boys, you
+have gotten glory enough for one day."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+     He that fights and runs away
+     May turn and fight another day.
+                                      --RAY.
+
+
+After the lamented death of General Jackson the divisions of the Army of
+Northern Virginia were organized into three corps, commanded,
+respectively, by Longstreet, Ewell, and A. P. Hill. General Heth was
+assigned to the command of the Light Division, and the senior colonel of
+the first brigade, John M. Brockenbrough took the command made vacant by
+Heth's promotion.
+
+In forming his staff Colonel Brockenbrough selected me to be his acting
+assistant adjutant-general. As this new sphere of duty required that I
+should have a horse, and as it was useless to search for one in the
+neighborhood of Fredericksburg, I sought and obtained a furlough in
+order that I might seek one in my native county. The time was limited to
+five days,--not long enough, as Colonel Brockenbrough knew; but there
+was an understanding between us that if I overstayed the limit nothing
+would be said about it.
+
+A tramp of a hundred miles was before me, but that was a matter of
+indifference to my buoyant body and practiced feet. It was my intention
+to cross the river at Tappahannock, and proceed down the Neck to my
+brother's home, but the southern bank was picketed by the 15th Virginia
+cavalry, which prohibited my passage. Walking back into the town and
+finding Colonel John Critcher, who was in command of the regiment, I
+explained my mission and requested the liberty of passing through his
+line. He informed me that on the other side the 8th Illinois cavalry
+were making a raid, and urged that I should not cross and run the risk
+of being captured. Telling him that I was familiar with the country and
+that I would avoid the enemy, I persisted in the request, being as
+desirous of a horse as was Richard III in his final battle. Having
+obtained his reluctant written permission I decided that instead of
+crossing at Tappahannock I would walk down as far as Owen Hill in
+Middlesex county and thence seek a passage over into Lancaster. A negro,
+whose service I secured in return for Confederate money, transported me
+in a canoe, and landed me at Morattico. During the passage I kept a
+sharp lookout up and down the wide river for Yankee gunboats, fearing
+that even if I should escape Scylla I might fall into Charybdis; and
+indeed some of the marauding bluecoats had but recently departed from
+the farm.
+
+Having dined with the hospitable family, I set out for my brother's home
+fifteen miles away, not knowing that one part of the enemy was encamped
+on his farm and another part in the yard. Being informed that the
+hostile invaders were traversing all parts of the county in search of
+booty, I sought to evade them by walking not upon the familiar roads but
+in the woods parallel with them. When I drew near the county-seat,
+instead of crossing the road as prudence suggested I thought I would
+walk the road a short distance and then pass over, for my shoes had
+become uncomfortably smooth by treading on the fallen foliage of the
+pines. Rash procedure!
+
+I had come into the road near what is called "the court-house mill
+hill," intending to go down, cross the bridge, and turn again into the
+woods in the rear of the village, scouting as I proceeded. When I had
+come nearly to the brow of the hill, I met a squadron of ascending
+Federal horsemen. If I had been two minutes earlier and they as much
+later we would have met as I was descending the hill; and then my
+capture would have been inevitable, because the steep banks on either
+side would have precluded all hope of escape. I heard the foremost
+riders say, "Here're the Rebels, boys; come on." I did not wait to see
+more than their heads and breasts as they were coming up the hill. I was
+in my full uniform, having a gray overcoat on my shoulder and a felt hat
+on my head. In the twinkling of an eye the coat was dropped, and the
+hat flew off as I made such a leap into the friendly forest as perhaps
+was never equaled by any athlete in the Olympic games. I had no time to
+become frightened, but I was angered by being pursued on my native soil
+by men who had no right to invade it. It is a wonder that they did not
+catch me. I heard them swearing, crying "Halt," and firing pistols.
+Three things favored me: the trees and undergrowth were coming into
+leaf, I was fleet of foot, and I took an unsuspected direction. Instead
+of running at right angles to the road, or obliquely backward, I ran
+obliquely forward, in the direction from which they had come. When I was
+nearly out of breath, I stopped to listen, and was glad to hear no
+sounds save those that were made by my thumping heart. The pursuit had
+ended, and I lay down to rest and to recover my wind,--not unlike the
+stag that had been chased by Fitz James' hounds.
+
+In a little while rising refreshed from my rest, I went onward and
+crossing the mill stream higher up than I had purposed, I arrived at the
+residence of my cousin Robert. I had been there but a few minutes when
+his wife, who had glanced up the lane, cried out, "Run, run; the Yankees
+are coming!" At the first utterance of the word "run," I was making
+rapid tracks for the forest in the rear of the house; but before I
+reached it she called me back. Two of the Yankees had been there before,
+and her excited imagination had mistaken a Rebel officer for two more.
+It was her brother-in-law, Ned Stakes, major of the 40th Virginia. He
+and I then set out for a place near Wicomico church, where, as he told
+me, a few Confederates were in hiding. Having spent the night with them
+in the forest, we were in the morning informed by a faithful negro, who
+had been acting as commissary, that the Yankees had all gone. Although I
+trusted his report, it was with circumspection that I traveled homeward.
+
+The departed Yankees had carried away teams and wagons loaded with
+plunder from meat-houses, barns, and cabins, and as many of the negroes
+as desired to take advantage of "the year of jubile?" which old Spencer
+said "had come." One girl, who refused to depart, was thus upbraided by
+her father: "You's a fool, gal, not to go where there's a plenty to eat
+and nothing to do." That regiment of cavalry had robbed my brother, and
+had treated many other peaceable citizens in the same way. Large was the
+booty they carried away, and long was the train of negroes, horses, and
+loaded wagons. It is said that "all things are lawful in war"; but this
+adage, like many others, sails under false colors. War is lawless, as
+Cicero observed: "_Silent leges inter arma_." There was neither
+constitutional nor statute law that justified the invasion of the South
+by armies from the North; none for the emancipation proclamation; none
+for the cruel and destructive deeds that were perpetrated by the Federal
+armies.
+
+My furlough had run out, and my object was yet ungained. The next day I
+found a bay horse to my liking, five years old, large, tall, and strong,
+named John. The owner sold him to me for Confederate money, knowing that
+the sale bore close resemblance to a gift. After a night's rest I set
+out for the army. Riding in the wake of the retiring sons of Illinois, I
+recrossed the river at Bowler's, and on the second day rejoined the
+brigade near Fredericksburg. After having been chased by the Yankees, a
+feeling of safety came over me as I mingled again with my veteran
+companions.
+
+That was not to be my last experience with the 8th Illinois. It was they
+who in less than two months afterward took me prisoner in Maryland. Some
+of them were riding horses that they had stolen,--no; impressed,--from
+my county. They showed me their repeating Spencer carbines, and asked
+that if I should be exchanged I would tell the 9th Virginia cavalry that
+they would be glad to meet them. The lapse of fifty years has made old
+men of them and me. I have forgiven the wrongs those brave fellows
+inflicted on my country, and I would be glad to meet them to talk over
+the stirring events of the past.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+     Hand to hand, and foot to foot;
+     Nothing there, save death, was mute;
+     Stroke, and thrust, and flash, and cry
+     For quarter, or for victory,
+     Mingled with the volleying thunder.
+                                      --BYRON.
+
+
+I come now to relate my experience of the disastrous invasion of
+Pennsylvania.
+
+The first week in June the commands of Longstreet and Ewell began the
+northward movement, but Hill's corps remained at Fredericksburg to
+deceive the Federal commander and watch his movements. It was not until
+the middle of the month that Hooker divined Lee's purpose and withdrew
+his army from our front, leaving us free to follow the rest of the army.
+Marching through Culpeper, we crossed the mountains through Chester's
+Gap and struck out for the ford of the Potomac at Williamsport. I had
+four times waded the river, but this time, being on horseback, I escaped
+a wetting by holding my feet high on the saddle. My spirits would not
+have been so light and gay, if I could have foreknown that I should not
+lay eyes on the river again until the war should be over. Nothing of
+moment occurred while we passed across Maryland into Pennsylvania.
+
+Tuesday night, June 30, our division bivouacked near Cashtown, about
+eight miles northwest of Gettysburg. The next morning Colonel
+Brockenbrough was informed that Pettigrew's brigade was on the way to
+Gettysburg to obtain shoes for the men, and was ordered to follow as a
+support in the contingency of need, none of us knowing that the advance
+of Meade's army occupied a strong position between us and the town. I
+was riding with Colonel Brockenbrough at the head of the column when we
+met Pettigrew and his men returning. He informed us that the enemy was
+ahead and that as he had not received orders to bring on an engagement
+he was coming back, to report. As to the source of his information I
+had no doubt, for by his side was a man on horseback, bearing an
+umbrella, and dressed in a suit of civil clothes. After a brief
+consultation between the commanders of the two brigades I was ordered to
+ride back quickly to Heth's headquarters, report the condition of
+affairs, and bring back his instructions. With a brusque manner, he
+said, "Tell General Pettigrew not to butt too hard, or he'll butt his
+brains out." I translated his command into politer terms, and we started
+again toward Gettysburg, knowing that Heth would follow with the other
+four brigades of the division.
+
+We found the enemy posted on a ridge just beyond Willoughby's Run, and
+deploying on both sides of the road we went into the engagement. We had
+the honor,--if honor it may be called,--of losing and shedding the first
+blood in one of the most famous battles of the world. In war things
+sometimes just happen: the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern
+Virginia came into collision at a place where neither commander
+designed a general engagement. Pender's division formed on the right of
+Heth's and both pressed forward in the face of volleying musketry and
+thundering cannon. We found out afterward that the opposing force
+consisted of the three divisions of the First Corps under the command of
+General Reynolds. Right bravely did they fight, and being driven from
+the ridge they formed again on Seminary Ridge, determined to hold it. As
+our men, on the other hand, were no less determined to take it, the
+contest became furious and slaughterous. Our loss was heavy, but did not
+equal that which we inflicted. At last they gave way, and we pursued
+them to the edge of the town, through the streets of which they hastened
+until they lodged among the rocky fastness of Cemetery Ridge. I was in
+all the great battles, from Seven Pines to Chancellorsville, but never
+had I witnessed a fight so hot and stubborn. On a field of battle the
+dead and mortally wounded are usually scattered promiscuously on the
+ground, but here I counted more than fifty fallen heroes lying in a
+straight line. They belonged, as well as I now remember, to the 150th
+Pennsylvania. When a regiment stands its ground until it suffers so
+great a loss, it deserves honor for its courage, for the wounded must
+have numbered as many as two hundred and fifty. It is a rare thing that
+a regiment loses so many men in one engagement.
+
+At the same time that we were struggling with the First Corps of Meade's
+army the divisions of Rhodes and Early on our left were driving the
+Eleventh Corps before them. But of the gallant part they bore in the
+battle I make no mention, inasmuch as I am not writing a general
+history, but only jotting down the things I saw, a small part of which I
+was.
+
+When the battle had ended and the brigade was standing in line close to
+the town, Colonel Brockenbrough and I occupied positions in rear of the
+line; and near us were Capt. Austin Brockenbrough and Lt. Addison Hall
+Crittenden. First one and then the other of these two gallant officers
+fell mortally wounded, although no Yankee was in sight. It was the work
+of sharpshooters concealed in a large wooden building on our left. I
+took the liberty of causing a company to fire a volley into the house
+and that put a stop to the murderous villainy.
+
+It was nearly midnight when the brigade fell back a short distance to
+seek some rest after the severe toils of the day; but notwithstanding
+the lateness of the hour and our tired condition I proposed to Colonel
+Brockenbrough that we should look up these two men who were especially
+dear to us, for Austin was his cousin and Addison was mine. We knew that
+they had been carried on stretchers from the place where they had been
+wounded. Our only guides as we slowly rode along in the dark were the
+fires that indicated the location of the improvised hospitals of the
+numerous brigades. Inquiring our way, we at last came to the hospital of
+our brigade where Mr. Meredith, chaplain of the 47th, conducted us to
+our friends who were lying upon pallets of straw. They knew that their
+wounds were mortal, but they faced "the last enemy" with the same
+intrepidity they had manifested on many a sanguinary field. If I had
+yielded to my emotions, I would have wept over Addison even as a woman
+weeps. He was named for my mother's only brother; he was pure in heart;
+and while he was gentle and sweet in manners and disposition, he was as
+brave as any man who followed Lee across the Potomac.
+
+By some critics General Lee has been censured because he did not
+continue the battle and attempt to capture Cemetery Ridge on the evening
+of the first day. I think that the criticism is unjust; for, in the
+first place, the attempt would have been of doubtful issue, and then if
+he had tried and succeeded, what advantage would have been gained? It
+was clearly Meade's role to act on the defensive and select the arena
+upon which the decisive contest must be waged. If Cemetery Ridge had
+been taken, instead of hurrying his other corps to that position to
+form a junction with the First and Eleventh, he would have retired
+behind Pipe Creek, or chosen some other ground as easily tenable as
+Cemetery Ridge. The state of things was such that Lee could not retreat
+without a general engagement, and he could not enter upon it except upon
+disadvantageous conditions. The tables were turned: as the Yankees had
+fought at Fredericksburg, so the Rebels had to fight in Pennsylvania.
+
+On the second day Heth's division was not engaged, but occupied the
+ground near that on which it had fought the day before, close by the
+seminary in which General Lee had his headquarters. In the afternoon
+while Longstreet's corps was furiously fighting to wrest Little Round
+Top from the enemy, he came unattended to where I was standing. Looking
+down the valley of Plum Run, which separated the armies, there could be
+seen the flashing of the guns under the pall of smoke that covered the
+combatants. Now and then making a slight change of position he viewed
+the scene through his field-glass. His noble face was not lit up with a
+smile as it was when I saw it after the victory at Chancellorsville, but
+bore the expression of painful anxiety. Ah, if only his men could seize
+and hold that coveted elevation! It was the key to the situation, and
+victory would have been assured. But that battle was lost, although the
+divisions of Longstreet performed prodigies of valor. Then and there the
+issue was decided.
+
+That night Heth's division moved farther to the right. Being directed by
+Colonel Brockenbrough to ride ahead and pick out a place for his
+brigade, I went forward in the darkness, ignorant of the lay of the
+land, until the command to halt was given to me in an undertone. I did
+not see the man, but was informed that I was just about to ride through
+the line of Confederate skirmishers, and was cautioned to ride back as
+quietly as I could, because the Yankee skirmishers were not far in
+front.
+
+On the morning of the 3d of July, although Ewell's corps on the left
+had waged a bloody but unsuccessful battle, not a shot was fired by
+Hill's corps in the center, nor by Longstreet's on the right; but the
+final struggle was yet to be made. More than a hundred cannon were
+placed in position, along the line of which lay the eighteen thousand
+men, who had been selected to make the assault upon Cemetery Ridge.
+Before the firing began Colonel Brockenbrough told me that when the
+cannonading should cease we should make the charge.
+
+About one o'clock the guns opened, and for two dreadful hours pounded
+the adversary's position, being answered by almost as many of his guns.
+There has never been such a war of artillery on the American continent.
+Surely this was an exhibition of the "Pride, pomp, and circumstance of
+glorious War." It was hoped that so terrible a bombardment would
+demoralize the enemy and thus prepare the way for a successful onslaught
+of the infantry. During its continuance we lay among the guns, and as
+soon as their clamor hushed sprang to our feet and began rushing toward
+the enemy. We had to descend the slope of Seminary Ridge, cross a
+valley, and ascend the steep slope of Cemetery Ridge, a distance of
+nearly a mile. If while we were crossing the valley the artillery behind
+us had been firing at the enemy over our heads, our task would have been
+less dangerous and more hopeful, but unwisely and unfortunately the
+caissons had become almost exhausted. As we were ascending the eminence,
+where cannon thundered in our faces and infantry four lines deep stood
+ready to deliver their volleys, I noticed that the line of the
+Confederates resembled the arc of a circle; in other words, the right
+and the left were more advanced than the center, and were, therefore,
+the first to become engaged. Brockenbrough's brigade formed the extreme
+left of the attacking column.
+
+The fame of Pickett's charge on the right has resounded through the
+world. The Virginians on the left achieved less glory, but they did
+their best. We came so close to the serried ranks of the Yankees that I
+emptied my revolver upon them, and we were still advancing when they
+threw forward a column to attack our unprotected left flank. I feel no
+shame in recording that out of this corner the men without waiting for
+orders turned and fled, for the bravest soldiers cannot endure to be
+shot at simultaneously from the front and side. They knew that to
+remain, or to advance, meant wholesale death or captivity. The Yankees
+had a fair opportunity to kill us all, and why they did not do it I
+cannot tell. Our loss was less than it was in the first day's battle. As
+in our orderly and sullen retreat we were ascending the ridge from which
+we had set out, I heard the men saying mournfully, "If Old Jack had been
+here, it wouldn't have been like this"; and though I said nothing I
+entertained the same opinion.
+
+Suppose he had been there to turn the enemy's left flank as he did at
+Gaines' Mill, and again at Chancellorsville!
+
+As I look back upon that final assault at Gettysburg, it seems strange
+to me that General Lee should have sent eighteen thousand men to
+dislodge a hundred thousand from a position much stronger than that
+which Wellington occupied at Waterloo. Perhaps he miscalculated the
+effect of the cannonade; perhaps he reposed too much confidence in his
+soldiers. When all was over he found no fault with them, but most
+magnanimously took the blame of defeat upon himself and endured great
+mental suffering. Adverse criticism is swallowed up in sympathy for that
+peerless man.
+
+It was a drawn battle. The Army of Northern Virginia had not been
+beaten, but it had failed in the attempt to beat the Army of the
+Potomac. All day long on the 4th of July it remained in view of Meade's
+army, but he dared not assail it.
+
+There was nothing left but to return to Virginia. On the night of the
+4th of July the army began to retreat, and on the 7th it halted near
+Hagerstown and offered battle, which Meade refused. It seems to me that
+he did not press the pursuit as closely and fiercely as he might have
+done; perhaps he was respecting the valor that he had lately witnessed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+     A prison is a house of care,
+     A place where none can thrive,
+     A touchstone true to try a friend,
+     A grave for men alive.
+       --_Inscription on the Old Prison of Edinburg._
+
+
+After falling back from Hagerstown the army took up a strong position
+near the Potomac, extending from Williamsport to Falling Waters. On the
+night of the 13th of July the retreat to Virginia began. The division of
+Heth and that of Pender, now commanded by Pettigrew, marched all night
+long in a drenching rain and over a very muddy road toward Falling
+Waters, where the engineers had constructed a pontoon bridge across the
+river. When the morning dawned we were about two miles from the river,
+and, so far as I know, there was no reason why we should not have kept
+on and followed the rest of the army over the bridge. Instead of that
+we halted and formed in line of battle across the road, facing
+northward, Heth on the right and Pettigrew on the left, well located for
+defense, being on rising ground and having a valley in front. It was
+supposed that our cavalry were between us and the enemy, (which was a
+false supposition,) and, contrary to well-established military rules, no
+skirmishers were sent to the front. The command was given to stack arms
+and rest, and the men exhausted by fatigue lay down on the wet ground
+behind the line of muskets and soon went to sleep. The guns were wet and
+muddy and many of them were either unloaded or unfit for action. Giving
+my horse to Charles to be held in the rear until called for, I too fell
+asleep. We were in no condition for anything except the surprise that
+startled us from our transitory slumbers.
+
+We were awakened by the firing of the enemy. By the time that the
+muskets could be retaken from the stack, squadrons of cavalry were upon
+us. These were easily repulsed, not, however, until riding down in
+front of our line they had mortally wounded General Pettigrew at the
+head of his division. General Heth, riding rapidly along behind our
+line, was crying out, "Keep cool, men, keep cool!" But judging from the
+tone of his voice and his manner of riding, he seemed to me to be the
+only hot man on the field.
+
+The color-bearer of the 47th exclaimed, "Come on, boys; it's nothing but
+cavalry," and ran forward into the valley, showing more bravery than
+intelligence or discipline, for infantry does not charge cavalry, and he
+had no right to advance without an order. The color-bearers of the other
+regiments of the brigades, not to be outdone, likewise advanced, and
+some of the bolder spirits followed their respective flags. This action
+was so unwise that I requested Colonel Brockenbrough to authorize me to
+recall these brave fellows to their original and better position; but,
+to my surprise, he directed me to order all the men to join their
+colors; and this I tried to do, but the men would not obey, saying that
+their muskets were unfit for action. However, I went myself, though
+Colonel Brockenbrough and many men of the brigade remained behind. I
+never saw him again.
+
+A spirited contest ensued, which I shall dignify with the name of the
+battle of Falling Waters, for a real battle it was, although it is not
+mentioned in the histories that I have read, and the number engaged was
+small. On one side were portions of the four regiments of
+Brockenbrough's brigade, with their bullet-pierced battle flags, and on
+the other side were dismounted men of the 8th Illinois cavalry regiment
+armed with their seven-shooting carbines. There were officers present
+who held higher rank than mine, but, as they knew me to be of the
+brigade staff, they permitted me to exercise authority over the entire
+force. For an hour we held the Yankees in check at close quarters.
+
+While the action was in progress I observed that one of our enemies was
+protected by a large tree in the field, from behind which he stepped
+frequently and quickly to fire upon us. As he seemed to be taking
+special aim at me, I requested one of our men, who had a beautiful
+Colt's rifle, to give me his gun, and I shot at the man the next time he
+emerged from behind his natural protection. He was not killed, but he
+darted back without shooting. I handed back the gun. Then, with my right
+arm around the man, I was with my left arm pointing out the enemy when
+he fired at us and broke the arm of my comrade that was pressed between
+us.
+
+Seeing another regiment of cavalry in front, hearing their bugle sound
+the charge, and knowing that our ammunition was nearly exhausted, I
+directed all the men to retire as quickly as possible to their former
+position. I had not once looked back, and I supposed that the two
+divisions were where we had left them; but they, taking advantage of our
+defense, had gone across the river. All of a sudden it flashed through
+my mind that we could neither fight nor run. Further resistance was
+vain; escape, impossible. I felt angry because we had been sacrificed,
+and chagrined because we were about to be captured. I had known all
+along that I might be killed or wounded, but it had never entered my
+mind that I might be made a prisoner. As we were scattered upon the
+field and the squadrons came charging among us, a group of men gathered
+about me were asking, "Captain, what shall we do?" "Stand still," I
+replied, "and cast your muskets upon the ground." At the same time I
+unbuckled my useless pistol and sword and cast them from me. After we
+had surrendered, I regretfully record that a cavalryman discharged his
+pistol in our midst, but fortunately no one of us was struck. An
+officer, indignant at an act so cowardly and barbarous, threatened him
+with death if he should do the like again. That day the Yankees captured
+on this field and in other places about thirty-five officers and seven
+hundred men.
+
+The prisoners were escorted to the rear, huddled together, and
+surrounded by a cordon of armed men. That night I slept with Lt. W.
+Peyton Moncure on the blanket of one prisoner and covered by that of
+the other. In the afternoon of the next day, as I was standing near the
+living wall that surrounded us engaged in conversation with Col. William
+S. Christian, of the 55th Virginia, and Capt. Lee Russell, of North
+Carolina, some Federal officers approached and began to talk with us.
+One of them was the colonel of a New York regiment, (I think it was the
+122d); another was the captain of one of his companies, and another was
+an officer on the staff of General Meade. The Colonel invited us to take
+supper with him and some of his friends, and the kind and unexpected
+proposal was gladly accepted, for recently we had had nothing but
+hard-tack to satiate our hunger. At sunset he sent a guard to conduct us
+to his tent, which was large and comfortable. We found the table well
+supplied with a variety of savory eatables, and we were struck by the
+contrast of the tent and the table with those of the Rebels.
+
+The Blue and the Gray gathered around that hospitable board as gleeful
+as boys, and as friendly as men who had been companions from childhood.
+The supper being ended, a polite negro who looked like an Old Virginia
+darky, and who acted in the two-fold capacity of cook and butler,
+cleared away the dishes and supplied their place with cigars and bottles
+of liquor of several varieties. More than once or twice the bottles
+passed from hand to hand, and in order to prevent drunkenness I was
+cautious to pour very sparingly into my tumbler. In the midst of this
+hilarious scene our Yankee host proposed a health to President Lincoln,
+which we of the Gray declined to drink; whereupon I offered to
+substitute a joint health to Abe Lincoln and Jeff. Davis, which they of
+the Blue rejected. I then proposed the toast, "The early termination of
+the war to the satisfaction of all concerned," and that was cordially
+drunk by all. It was nearly midnight when the Colonel told us that if we
+would promise to go back and deliver ourselves up, he would not call a
+guard to escort us; and we gave him our word, and bade him good night.
+There we were in the darkness, our limbs unfettered, our hearts longing
+for freedom, no Yankee eye upon us; and it is not strange that there
+flitted across our minds the temptation to steal away and strike out for
+Virginia; but though our bodies were for the moment free, our souls were
+bound by something stronger than manacles of steel,--our word of honor.
+We groped our way back, entered the circle of soldiers who were guarding
+our fellow-prisoners, and went to sleep on the ground, while our late
+entertainers reposed upon comfortable cots.
+
+The next morning, July 16, we were hurried along by an unfeeling cavalry
+escort to a station near Harper's Ferry, and there put into box cars
+strongly guarded. On our arrival in Washington we were conducted along
+the streets to the Old Capitol prison. "To what vile uses" had that
+building come! It was superintended by a renegade Virginian, whose name
+I am not sorry that I have forgotten; but let me do him the justice to
+say that he behaved courteously and gave us a plenty to eat. The guard
+of the prison was the 178th New York regiment, composed of insolent
+Germans, some of whom could not speak the English language. I came near
+losing my life by the bayonet of one of them, because he could not
+understand a request that I made of him. The house was infested by
+insects whose name I will not call; but the reader will recognize their
+nature when I characterize them as malodorous, and blood-sucking. We
+could expel them from our bunks, but not from the walls and the ceiling,
+from the holes and the cracks of which they swarmed at night, rendering
+sound sleep impossible.
+
+In a few days after having taken involuntary quarters in the Old Capitol
+I read with surprise and grief an article in the Baltimore _American_,
+headed "Meade _versus_ Lee." General Lee, misinformed by somebody, had
+reported that there had been no battle at Falling Waters, and that none
+of his soldiers had been captured except those who had straggled during
+the night or fallen asleep in barns by the roadside. When he published
+that statement he knew that there had been no engagement of his
+ordering, but he did not know that the gallant and accomplished
+Pettigrew had been wounded on the field, nor that some of his men had
+kept the enemy in check, while others were thereby afforded the
+opportunity of safely crossing the river. No; the men who were captured
+with me were not stragglers: they were taken on the field of battle, and
+they were as brave and dutiful as any that ever wore the gray. Neither
+was General Meade's report strictly correct, but it corresponded more
+closely with the facts. He did not capture a brigade, as he said, but he
+did take the flags of Brockenbrough's brigade, and enough men of other
+commands to form one.
+
+During the whole term of my imprisonment I anxiously longed to be
+exchanged, being willing any day to swap incarceration for the toils and
+dangers of active military service. In the early part of the war there
+were some partial exchanges, but as it was prolonged the government at
+Washington rejected all overtures for a cartel. Throughout the North
+there were raised loud and false reports that Federal soldiers in
+Southern prisons were being wantonly maltreated, while the National
+Government might have restored them to freedom and plenty by agreeing to
+the exchange of prisoners that was urged repeatedly by the Confederate
+Government. The refusal was an evidence of the straits to which the
+Union was pushed, and an act of injustice and cruelty to the prisoners
+of both sides. It was, moreover, an undesigned but exalted testimony to
+the valor of Southern soldiers, for it was as if Mr. Stanton, the
+secretary of war, had said to every man in the Federal armies: "If in
+the fortunes of war you should be captured, you must run the risk of
+death in a rebel prison. I will not give a Southern soldier for
+you,--you are not worth the exchange." Gen. Grant said: "Our men must
+suffer for the good of those who are contending with the terrible Lee;"
+and ignoring the claims of humanity and the usages of honorable
+warfare, he lowered the question to a cold commercial level when he
+declared that it was "cheaper to feed rebel prisoners than to fight
+them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+     But now we are in prison and likely long to stay,
+     The Yankees they are guarding us, no hope to get away;
+     Our rations they are scanty, 'tis cold enough to freeze,--
+     I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas.
+               Peas, peas, peas, peas,
+               Eating goober peas;
+     I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas.
+                                  --_Stanza of a Prison Song_.
+
+
+Only about two weeks did we abide in the Old Capitol, the officers being
+transported to Johnson's Island, and the privates to other prisons. Our
+route was by Harrisburg, and as the train was leaving the city it jumped
+the track, jolting horribly on the cross-ties, but inflicting no serious
+injury.
+
+The Sandusky river before it passes through its narrow mouth into Lake
+Erie widens into a beautiful bay about four miles wide. In this bay is
+situated Johnson's Island, low and level, and containing three hundred
+acres. It is not in the middle of the bay, but is on the north side,
+half a mile from the main land, while on the other side it is three or
+more miles from the city of Sandusky across the water.
+
+The prison walls enclosed a quadrangular space of several acres, the
+southern wall running along the margin of the bay and facing Sandusky.
+They were framed of wooden beams, on the outer side of which, three feet
+from the top, there was a narrow platform on which the guard kept
+continual watch. Thirty feet from the wall all around on the inside
+there was driven a row of whitewashed stobs, beyond which no prisoner
+was allowed to go on pain of being shot by the sentinels. At night the
+entire space within was illuminated by lamps and reflectors fixed
+against the walls.
+
+Within the walls there were eleven large wooden buildings of uniform
+size, two stories high. The first four were partitioned into small
+rooms, and were sheathed; the remaining seven had two rooms on each
+floor, and they afforded no protection against the weather except the
+undressed clapboards that covered them. In each house the upper story
+was reached by an outside flight of steps. In the larger rooms some
+sixty or seventy men were huddled together. Around the sides bunks were
+framed on pieces of scantling that extended from floor to ceiling,
+arranged in three tiers, so that a floor space of six feet by four
+sufficed for six men. My cotton tick was never refilled, and after doing
+service for many months it became flat and hard. Our quarters and
+accommodations were such as the Yankees thought good enough for rebels
+and traitors, but in summer we were uncomfortably and unhealthily
+crowded, and in winter we suffered from the cold, because one stove
+could not warm so large and windy an apartment. Many a winter night,
+instead of undressing, I put an old worn overcoat over the clothes I had
+worn during the day.
+
+At first I "put up" in block No. 9, afterward in No. 8, and toward the
+end of my imprisonment in No. 3, which was much more comfortable.
+
+In summer, water was obtained from a shallow well, but in winter, when
+the bay was frozen, a few men from each mess were permitted to go out of
+the gate in the afternoon and dip up better water from holes cut through
+the ice. On these occasions a strong guard extended around the prisoners
+from one side of the gate to the other.
+
+From the time of my capture until the fall of the year the rations were
+fairly good and sufficient, but then they were mercilessly reduced, upon
+the pretext of retaliation for the improper treatment of Union prisoners
+in the South. The bread and meat rations were diminished by a half,
+while coffee, sugar, candles, and other things were no longer supplied.
+We did our own cooking, the men of each mess taking it by turns, but the
+bread was baked in ovens outside and was brought in a wagon every
+morning. A pan of four loaves was the daily allowance for sixteen men.
+When I got my fourth of a loaf in the morning I usually divided it into
+three slices, of which one was immediately eaten and the others reserved
+for dinner and supper; but when the time came for the closing meal I had
+no bread, for hunger had previously claimed it all. But for some
+clothes, provisions, and money that were sent to me by kind friends
+residing in Kentucky and Maryland I think that I could not have lived to
+witness the end of the war. There was not enough nutriment in the daily
+ration to support vigorous health, and it was barely sufficient to
+sustain life. I believe that a few of the prisoners succumbed to disease
+and died because they had an insufficiency of nourishing food. Bones
+were picked from ditches, if perchance there might be upon them a morsel
+of meat. I was begged for bread, when I was hungry for the want of it.
+All the rats were eaten that could be caught in traps ingeniously
+contrived. When prejudice is overcome by gnawing hunger, a fat rat
+makes good eating, as I know from actual and enjoyable mastication.
+
+For a time we were permitted to obtain the news of the outside world
+through the New York _World_ and the Baltimore _Gazette_, but these were
+suppressed; and then we had to depend upon a little Sandusky sheet and
+the Baltimore _American_, which vilified the South and claimed for every
+battle a Union victory.
+
+How did we while the time away? Well, we organized a minstrel band,
+singing clubs, and debating societies; we had occasional lectures and
+exchanged books in a so-called reading room; we had two rival base-ball
+teams, and we played the indoor games of chess, checkers, cards, and
+dominoes. I spent much time in reading the Bible, besides some of
+Scott's novels and the charming story of Picciola.
+
+On Sunday there were Bible classes, and sometimes sermons by men who had
+gone from the pulpit into the army. Among them were a Methodist colonel
+from Missouri, a Baptist colonel from Mississippi, and a Baptist
+captain from Virginia. At one time evangelistic services were held in a
+lower room of block No. 5, and a number of converts confessed Jesus
+Christ as Lord and Saviour, and declared their denominational
+preference. Those who decided to be Baptists were permitted, under
+guard, to go out to the shore and were baptized in the bay by Captain
+Littleberry Allen, of Caroline county, Virginia; the rest could find
+within the walls as much water as they considered necessary for the
+ordinance.
+
+Block No. 6 was set apart for a hospital, into which a prisoner might go
+in case of sickness. It was superintended by a Federal surgeon, but a
+large part of the prescribing was done by Confederate officers who had
+been practicing physicians. The nursing was performed by the patients'
+more intimate friends, who took it by turns day and night. I have a
+sorrowful recollection of sitting up one night to wait on Captain Scates
+of Westmoreland county, and to administer the medicines prescribed by
+the doctors. The ward was silent save for occasional groans, the lights
+were burning dimly, and there was no companion watching with me. About
+midnight the emaciated sufferer died, passing away as quietly as when
+one falls into healthy slumbers. I closed his eyes and remained near the
+body until the grateful dawn of morning. Guarded by soldiers we went to
+the cemetery without the walls, and committed the body to the ground,
+far away from his family and native land.
+
+Nearly all the men confined on Johnson's Island were officers, of every
+rank from lieutenant to major-general, and numbering about twenty-six
+hundred. They represented all parts of the South and nearly every
+occupation, whether manual or professional. They were men of
+refinement,--ingenious, daring; and they were enclosed in this prison
+because it was secured no less by an armed guard than by the surrounding
+water.
+
+Every man was trying to devise some method of escape, but only a few
+succeeded, not only because the difficulty was great, but also because
+there were spies among us. Three men tunneled out from Block No. 1, only
+to find themselves surrounded by Yankee soldiers. Captain Cole, a portly
+man, became jammed in the passage, and was somewhat like Abe Lincoln's
+ox that was caught and held on a fence, unable to kick one way or gore
+the other. The incident furnished the theme of another minstrel song,
+with the chorus, "If you belong to Gideon's band."
+
+I had a secret agreement with Captain John Stakes, of the 40th Virginia,
+that if either saw a way of escape he would let the other know. Many a
+time with longing eyes we looked upon a sloop that used to tie up for
+the night at a wharf near the island. If we only could get to it! And so
+we began a tunnel under block No. 9, but finding that our labors were
+discovered by a spy, we were constrained to desist.
+
+Two men filed saw teeth on the backs of case knives, and on a rainy,
+dark, and windy night they crawled down a ditch to the wall on the bay
+shore, and cut their way out; but they were captured and brought back.
+
+There were a few successful escapes. One man, smarter than the rest of
+us, when we went to a vessel to fill our ticks with straw concealed
+himself under what remained in the hold and was carried back to
+Sandusky, whence he wended his stealthy flight. Colonel B. L. Farinholt,
+of Virginia, got away in a very artful manner, an account of which has
+been published. In January, 1865, when the thermometer registered 15 deg.
+below zero and an arctic northwest wind was blowing furiously Captain
+Stakes took me aside and told me in whispers that he and five others
+were going out that night, and that they had agreed that I might go with
+them. I answered that if the Yankees were to throw open all the gates
+and grant permission, I would not in my feeble health and with clothes
+so insufficient, depart in such bitter weather. When the hour came those
+six men rushed to the wall, and setting up against it a bench, on which
+rungs had been nailed, climbed over. They were not shot at, perhaps
+because the sentries, not expecting such an attempt, had taken refuge
+from the cold in their boxes. On the thick ice that begirt the island
+they crossed over on the north side and gained the mainland. Captain
+Robinson, of Westmoreland, and three others with him, hiding in the
+daytime and traveling at night, after enduring many hardships arrived in
+Canada, where they were clothed and fed and supplied with money. Taking
+shipping at Halifax, they ran the blockade and landed in Wilmington,
+North Carolina. One of the six men was recaptured by a detective on a
+train in New York. My friend Stakes was overtaken the next morning and
+brought back so badly frostbitten that it became necessary to amputate
+parts of some of his fingers.
+
+By some means, I know not how, information was received in the prison
+that certain agents of the Confederate government in Canada would come
+to the island in steamboats captured on Lake Erie to release the
+prisoners. It was agreed that when they approached and blew a horn the
+prisoners would storm the walls and overpower the guards. We, therefore,
+organized ourselves into companies and regiments and waited anxiously
+for the sight of the boats and the sound of the horn. Though we had no
+arms, except such as the rage of the moment might supply, and did not
+doubt that some of us would be killed, we were ready to fulfil our part
+of the desperate contract; and we felt no doubt of success, for the
+Hoffman Battalion that composed our guard had never been in battle nor
+heard the rebel yell. The expected rescuers never came. There must have
+been some real foundation for the proposed movement, for very soon the
+guard was reinforced by a veteran brigade, and the gunboat _Michigan_
+came and anchored near the island and showed her threatening portholes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+     'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
+     Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
+     A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
+     Which seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
+                                                     --PAYNE.
+
+
+If one longs for home while roaming amidst pleasures and palaces, how
+much more intense, suppose you, must be the nostalgia of the soldier
+confined in a far distant prison?
+
+March 14, 1865, was one of the happiest days of my life. After a
+captivity of twenty months, I was led out of the prison with the three
+hundred others, conducted to a steamboat, and homeward bound transported
+to Sandusky. The thick ice that for three months had covered the bay was
+floating in broken pieces on the surface, through which the boat
+struggled with so much difficulty that I feared it would be necessary to
+put back to the island; but the trip was made at the expense of some
+broken paddles. Why we were selected rather than our less fortunate
+compatriots I cannot guess, unless it was to save the annoyance and the
+expense of burial, for some of our party had been wounded, others as
+well as myself, had recently recovered from serious sickness, and all
+were adjudged to be unfit for military service; or perhaps there was the
+same number in Southern prisons that for special reasons the Federal War
+Office desired to have exchanged.
+
+The train that was to convey us southward was made up of box-cars, upon
+the floors of which there was a thin covering of straw. We were so
+crowded that we all could not lie down at the same time. The sleepers
+lay with their heads at the sides of the cars, while their legs
+interlaced in the middle. We took the situation in good humor, and slept
+by turns, those who could not find room standing amidst entangled legs
+and feet. Thus we traveled several days and nights, our train being
+frequently switched for the passage of regular trains. Our route was by
+Bellaire to Baltimore, or rather to Locust Point, where we took passage
+on a steamboat for James river. Having landed the next day, we walked
+across a neck of land formed by a bend of the river to the wharf where a
+boat from Richmond was expected to meet us. A company of negroes made a
+show of conducting us across the neck, though a company of children
+armed with cornstalks would have been equally efficient.
+
+We had not long to wait until the smokestack of the Confederate
+steamboat could be seen winding along as she tracked the serpentine
+course of the river. As she neared the wharf the band on board struck up
+that sweetest of tunes,--"Home, Sweet Home." Some of my companions
+laughed, some threw their caps into the air, others hurrahed, while my
+own emotions were expressed only by tears of joy that coursed down my
+cheeks. When, however, the music glided into the exhilarating notes of
+"Dixie" I joined in the cheering that mingled with the strain.
+
+We arrived in Richmond on the 22d of March, the eighth day after we had
+started. I was pained to notice in the city so many signs of
+delapidation and poverty, and to learn that Confederate money had
+depreciated to the point of sixty for one. The captain's salary that the
+government owed me for two years was worth only about fifty dollars in
+specie, which a friend in the treasury department advised me to collect
+at once, inasmuch as he thought that the capital would be soon
+evacuated. I took him for a timorous prophet, and told him I would wait
+until I rejoined the army, when I should need it. I did not know, as he
+did, the impoverished and critical condition of the Confederacy.
+
+I was not exchanged, but "paroled for thirty days unless sooner
+exchanged." I set out for the Northern Neck in company with Lieutenant
+Purcell, of Richmond county, and Captain Stakes, of Northumberland. We
+rode on a train as far as Hanover and then struck out afoot across the
+country. Notwithstanding the fact that one of my companions limped on a
+leg that had been wounded at Gettysburg and the other was a little lame
+from frosted toes, it taxed all my powers to keep up with them. If I had
+rejoiced to see the James, I was happier still to set foot once more
+upon the bank of the Rappahannock. When we had crossed over we went to
+the home of Lieutenant Purcell, where we spent the night, and the next
+day, Monday, March 27, I arrived at home. I supposed that I should take
+them by surprise, but somehow they had received intelligence of my
+coming; and as I approached the house I found them all lined up in the
+yard, white and black. "And they began to be merry."
+
+I found John in the stable, having been ridden home by my faithful man,
+Charles Wesley, who supposed that he had left me dead at Falling Waters.
+
+On the 14th of April, Good Friday, when I was thinking of returning to
+Richmond to inquire whether I had been exchanged and was still hoping
+for the independence of the Southern Confederacy, I attended religious
+services at a church in the neighborhood. When these had been concluded
+and the congregation were talking as usual in the yard a messenger
+arrived with a newspaper, which the Yankees had sent ashore from one of
+their gunboats, and which contained the details of General Lee's
+surrender of his army five days previously at Appomattox. My heart sank
+within me. My fondest hopes were crushed. The cause for which I had so
+often exposed my life, and for which so many of my friends had died, had
+sunk into the gloomy night of defeat.
+
+I was thankful that out of the horrid conflict I had escaped with my
+life, a gray coat, and a silver quarter of a dollar. Although I had
+participated in all the battles that were fought by the Army of Northern
+Virginia, I was never seriously hurt. At Manassas one bullet struck my
+leg, and another forcibly wrenched my sword from my hand. At
+Chancellorsville a bomb exploded just in front of me, making a hole in
+the ground and covering me with dirt, the pieces flying away with
+discordant noises. Countless balls whizzed by my ears, and men fell all
+around me, some of them while touching my side. Am I not justified in
+appropriating the words of David addressed to Jehovah, "Thou hast
+covered my head in the day of battle?"
+
+Withdrawal from the Union was the right of the Southern States, as
+appears from the history of the making and adoption of the federal
+constitution; and great was the provocation to use it. It is not,
+however, always wise,--either for persons or communities,--to exercise
+their rights. Secession in the year 1860 was a hot headed and stupendous
+political blunder,--a blunder recognized by the majority of the people
+of Virginia, who refused to follow the example of her southern sisters
+until there was forced upon her the cruel alternative of waging war
+either against them or against the States of the North.
+
+Though secession was a grievous error, nevertheless the war that was
+waged by the Federal Government was a crime against the constitution,
+humanity, and God. But now, as we view the present and retrospect the
+past, who may say that all has not turned out for the best? We find
+consolation in the belief that the Lord's hand has shaped our destiny,
+and we meekly submit to his overruling providence.
+
+
+     "If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well
+     It were done quickly."
+
+
+But the war, like Duncan's murder, was not done after it was done. There
+supervened the unnecessary, vindictive, and malignant reconstruction
+acts of the Federal Congress.
+
+On the 14th of April, only nine days after Lee had surrendered, a great
+calamity befell the South in the foolish and infamous assassination of
+President Lincoln, who was the only man who could have restrained the
+rage of such men as Sumner in the Senate and Stephens in the House of
+Representatives. The hatred of the Northern politicians was intensified
+by the supposition that his death was instigated by Southern men, and it
+did not abate even after they were convinced that the supposition was
+unfounded.
+
+It is a singular fact that while the war was in progress the acts of
+secession were considered null and void, and the Southern States were
+declared to be parts of an indissoluble union, but when the war had
+ended they were dealt with as alien commonwealths and conquered
+territories. For four years Virginia was not a co-equal State in the
+Union but "Military District No. 1," governed by a Federal general, who
+appointed the local officers in the several counties. The affairs of the
+State were managed by carpetbaggers in close agreement with despicable
+scalawags and ignorant negroes. The elective franchise was granted to
+the emancipated slaves regardless of character or intelligence, while it
+was denied to many white men. In Lancaster county the negroes had a
+registered majority of a hundred voters; it was represented in a
+constitutional convention by a carpetbagger, and after the adoption of
+the constitution it was represented in the Legislature by a negro. To
+injury were added hatred and insult. It was not enough that the South
+was conquered, it must be humiliated by African domination!
+
+The Southern people did not go to war--war came to them. Not to gain
+military glory did they fight, although this meed must be awarded to
+them. Nor was the perpetuation of African slavery the object for which
+they took up arms, for in Virginia nineteen-twentieths of the citizens
+owned no slaves, and there was perhaps the same proportion in the other
+States of the Confederacy. Neither was it for conquest that they so long
+waged the unequal contest; for though they twice crossed the Potomac it
+was not to gain an acre of territory, but only to relieve their own
+beleaguered capital. From first to last it was a purely defensive
+struggle to maintain for themselves the freedom they cheerfully accorded
+to other communities, and to make good the inherited belief that "all
+just government derives its power from the consent of the governed."
+They simply resisted subjugation by a hostile government whose right to
+rule them they denied.
+
+As we review the history of that gigantic struggle we are not surprised
+that the South was subdued, the only wonder being that it was not sooner
+done. It required two and a quarter millions of soldiers four years to
+overcome one-third of that number. The South had no navy to open her
+ports, no commerce for her products, no foundries for the manufacture of
+arms. During the first year there were not muskets enough to supply her
+volunteers, though later on sufficient numbers were taken on the fields
+of battles, fifty-two cannon and thirty thousand small arms being
+captured in the battles around Richmond, besides the many thousands that
+were taken in subsequent engagements.
+
+That the South for so long a time resisted the attempts of her powerful
+enemy, and during that period gained so many remarkable victories, is
+attributable to the skill of her generals and the valor of her soldiers.
+In these respects only was the advantage on her side.
+
+The fame of her generals has spread throughout the world, and their
+campaigns enrich the text-books of the military students of Europe and
+Asia. They rank with the most famous commanders that ever led armies to
+victory. Their names are immortal, and their memory is enshrined not
+only in poetry and history, in marble and bronze, but also in the
+admiration of mankind and in the affections of the Southern people.
+
+But what could strategy have achieved unless there had been soldiers to
+make it effective? The men had confidence in their commanders and were
+responsive to their genius. In attack they exhibited impulsive courage,
+and in defense possessed unyielding firmness. They made days and places
+forever historic, when their pay was money in little more than name,
+their garments torn, their rations coarse and scant. Footsore they
+charged against the dense Blue lines, or made those rapid marches that
+bewildered opposing forces.
+
+When the end had come both officers and men surrendered as they had
+fought,--without mental reservation. Sadly they furled and yielded up
+the bullet-riddled battleflags they had carried so proudly. Now while
+they manfully accept the hard arbitrament of war, and yield unaffected
+loyalty to the United States, they make no confession of criminality.
+While the war continued they were asserting what they believed was a
+God-given right, and now they recall with pride the valor and victories
+of the Southern armies.
+
+Those armies are rapidly disappearing from the land they loved so well.
+Many of the men fell in battle, and many died in prisons and hospitals,
+and since the close of the war more of them have fallen asleep in
+peaceful homes. Those who have departed and those who survive will not
+want a eulogist while one remains; and when the last of the men who wore
+the gray shall have joined his comrades beyond the river of death,
+coming generations will celebrate their heroism and scatter flowers upon
+the mounds that mark the places where their ashes repose.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Reminiscences of a Rebel, by Wayland Fuller Dunaway
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