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The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030907830 
 
A SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO 
 CHARMING NELLIE 
 
Charming NkIvWE 
 
 FRONTISPIECB 
 
A Soldier's Letters to 
 Charming Nellie 
 
 BY 
 
 J. B. POLLEY 
 
 qf Hood's Texas Brigade 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 New Yobk and Washinotoit 
 
 THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 1908 
 
 
COPYBIGHT, 1908, BY 
 
 THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 
 n 
 
 "V 
 
 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 chapter pase 
 
 Inteodtjction 9 
 
 I. Eablt Expebiences in Camp .... 15 
 
 II. HuMOBOtrs Incidents 23 
 
 III. Abound Yobktown 32 
 
 IV. Battle op Seven Pines 44 
 
 V. Gaines' Mnx 52 
 
 VI. Battle of Second Manassas .... 61 
 
 VII. Second Manassas, Oontinued .... 70 
 
 VIII. Cbossing ovee into Mabyland .... 80 
 
 IX. Incidents at Fbedebicksbubq . . : . 88 
 
 X. In and Abound Richmond 98 
 
 XI. AlTEE Ohancellobsvillb Ill 
 
 XII. Hood's Texans in Pennsyi.vanl4. . . . 119 
 
 XIII. Getttsbubg 130 
 
 XIV. Reminiscences of Chickamauga . . . 140 
 
 XV. FOBAGINQ FOB HOG MEAT 150 
 
 XVI. A Battle " Above the Clouds " . . . . 164 
 
 XVII. Stbenuous Times in Tennessee . . . 175 
 
 XVIII. The Powee of the Fiddle and the Bovt . 184 
 
 XIX. Some "Escape" Stoeies 195 
 
 XX. A Flight to Asms 209 
 
 XXI. A Thiety-dat Fuelouqh 220 
 
vl CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXII. Texas in the Battle or the Whjoebnbss . 230 
 
 XXIII. Fun in the Tbenohes 240 
 
 XXIV. Texans in Vibginia 249 
 
 XXV. Hot Skibmishinq — ^Wounded .... 258 
 
 XXVI. Ltjxdbiating in Feasts and FeathebBeds 270 
 
 XXVII. Adventtibes en Route to Texas . . . 280 
 
 XXVIII. FouBTH Texas at Gaines' Mnx .... 293 
 
PORTRAITS 
 
 Chaeming Keucje Frontispiece 
 
 Mks. Maud J. Toung Facing page 50 
 
 Albebt Polk Bhown and Ltodbgus 
 
 McNeal Bbowh " 56 
 
 L. A. Daitan " 60 
 
 B. P. Fuu-EB " 68 
 
 F. B. Chilton " 74 
 
 D. O. Fabmeb " 78 
 
 R. W. Mubbat " 80 
 
 ISdwabd Buckley " 84 
 
 B. S. Jemison " 86 
 
 W. N. NOBWOOD " 114 
 
 J. C. Mueeat " 134 
 
 Me. AND Mes. W. a. Watson .... " 166 
 
 J. B. POLLET " 186 
 
 J. F. LowN " 240 
 
 E. F. KiNDBED " 276 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Such preface as the following pages require 
 is furnished by the first letter. An introduction, 
 however, will not be amiss. 
 
 The body of troops known in the Army of 
 Northern Virginia as Hood's Texas Brigade, as 
 originally organized, was composed of the First, 
 Fourth, and Fifth Texas regiments, the Eight- 
 eenth Georgia Regiment and Hampton's South 
 Carolina Legion. In 1862 the Eighteenth Geor- 
 gia and Hampton's Legion were transferred to 
 other brigades, the Third Arkansas Regiment 
 taking their place in the Texas Brigade, and con- 
 tinuing a part of it until the close of the war 
 between the States. One and perhaps two com- 
 panies of the First Texas got to Virginia in time 
 to participate in the first battle of Manassas, or 
 Bull Run, as it is called by the Federals. Its 
 other companies arrived in Virginia after that 
 battle, and the regiment was organized with 
 Louis T. Wigfall as colonel, Hugh McLeod as 
 lieutenant-colonel, and A. T. Rainey as major. 
 The companies composing the Fourth and Fifth 
 Texas regiments reached Virginia in September, 
 1861, the Fourth being organized with John B. 
 Hood as colonel, John Marshall as lieutenant- 
 colonel, and Bradfute Warwick as major; the 
 Fifth with Jas. J. Archer as colonel, J. B. Rob- 
 
10 INTRODUCTION 
 
 ertson as lieutenant-colonel, and Q. T. Quattle- 
 baum as major. 
 
 Wigfall was a politician " to the manner born," 
 and an " original secessionist." Like many 
 others of his kind, instead of seeking " the bubble 
 reputation, even in the cannon's mouth," he 
 sought it in the civic walks of life. 
 
 McLeod had been a valiant soldier in the army 
 of the Texan revolutionists of 1836, one of the 
 leaders of the ill-fated Santa F6 expedition of 
 1841, and one of the Perote prisoners. He died 
 at Dumfries, Virginia, in the latter part of 1861. 
 
 Eainey was a prominent lawyer of Texas, his 
 home being in Palestine. 
 
 John B. Hood was a graduate of West Point, 
 and had more than once distinguished himself in 
 service upon the Texas frontier. A native of 
 Kentucky, he had invested in Texas lands prior 
 to the war, and by virtue thereof claimed to be 
 a Texan. 
 
 Marshall was a newspaper man, a gentleman 
 and a scholar, but without a qualification for 
 command, save his courage. 
 
 Warwick was a wealthy young Virginian who 
 had won a commission from Garibaldi, the Ital- 
 ian patriot, by his coolness in battle. Although 
 at first the Fourth complained of his appoint- 
 ment, because he was not a Texan and was so 
 young, it soon discovered his merit. He was 
 mortally wounded at Gaines' Mill, just as he 
 sprang in front of the regiment to lead it in a 
 charge upon a death-dealing battery. 
 
 Jas. J. Archer was also a graduate of West 
 
INTRODUCTION 11 
 
 Point, and, like Hood, came to us direct from the 
 old U. S. Army. He remained in command of 
 the Fifth but a short time, being then promoted 
 to the rank of brigadier-general and given com- 
 mand of a brigade of Tennesseeans, who under 
 him did magnificent service. 
 
 Robertson was a Kentuckian by birth, a Texan 
 by adoption. As captain of a company from 
 Owensboro, Kentucky, he came to Texas in 1836, 
 and, although too late to take part in the battle 
 of San Jacinto, joined in the pursuit of the 
 routed Mexicans, and remained in the Texas 
 army until 1837, when his company was dis- 
 banded. In 1839-40 he commanded a regiment 
 raised to repel Mexicans and Indian invaders 
 of the Republic of Texas. 
 
 Of Quattlebaum little is known save that he, 
 too, was a West-Pointer. He remained with the 
 Fifth but a few months. 
 
 When the three Texas regiments were bri- 
 gaded with the Eighteenth Georgia and Hamp- 
 ton's Legion, Wigfall was made a brigadier- 
 general and given command of the brigade. In 
 January, 1862, however, he was elected to rep- 
 resent the State of Texas in the Congress of the 
 Confederate States, and on his resignation 
 Hood was made brigadier-general, announcing 
 his promotion and taking command of the Texas 
 Brigade at Fredericksburg in March, 1862. 
 
 Until after the battle of Sharpsburg the Texas 
 Brigade and Whiting's brigade formed a divi- 
 sion under the command of its senior brigadier- 
 general, Whiting. Whiting's brigade was then 
 
12 INTRODUCTION 
 
 composed of the Fourth Alabama, the Sixth 
 North Carolina, and the Second and Eleventh 
 Mississippi regiments. After Sharpsburg, Hood 
 was made a major-general. Whiting transferred to 
 another field of duty, E. M. Law made brigadier- 
 general, and assigned to the command of Whit- 
 ing's old brigade, J. B. Robertson of the Fifth 
 Texas made a brigadier-general and given com- 
 mand of the Texas Brigade, Benning's and An- 
 derson's brigades of Georgians attached to the old 
 Whiting division, and Hood assigned to the com- 
 mand of the division thus organized. 
 
 After the battle of Chickamauga, in which 
 Hood lost a leg, he was promoted to a lieutenant- 
 generalcy and placed in command of a corps in 
 the army of General Joseph E. Johnston, General 
 0. W. Field being, in February, 1864, promoted 
 to a major-generalcy and given command of 
 Hood's old division. About the same time Gen- 
 eral Eobertson was relieved of duty with the 
 Texas Brigade and ordered to Texas, General 
 John Gregg taking his place as commander of 
 the Texas Brigade. 
 
 Space will not permit mention of the original 
 captains and lieutenants of the thirty-two com- 
 panies of Texans in the brigade, or of the numer- 
 ous changes made in regimental and company 
 commanders. As usual, the fatalities among of- 
 ficers were greater in proportion to numbers than 
 among privates. Disabling wounds sent many 
 honie early in the war, but only one of the orig- 
 inal captains, prior to being disabled for in- 
 fantry service, sought and obtained service in 
 
INTRODUCTION 18 
 
 another field of duty. Of the officers hereinbe- 
 fore named, General E. M. Law only is living. 
 
 Whether written in camp, in hospital, or in 
 hospitable home, the letters tell a plain, unvar- 
 nished, and true story of the observations and 
 experiences, the impressions and feelings, of a 
 soldier whose only personal regret is that he 
 could not be one of those whose paroles at Ap- 
 pomattox are patents incontestable that they 
 fought for the right as they saw it, as long as 
 there was a hope to encourage them. Though 
 not intended as history, they are historical in 
 the respect that they narrate actual occurrences 
 in camp, on the march, and in the battle. The 
 lady to whom all but the last were addressed was 
 no more a myth from 1861 to 1865 than now, 
 when, a gray-haired wife, mother, and grand- 
 mother, she presides with the grace and dignity 
 of the truest womanhood over the home made 
 for her by the gallant officer of the Tennessee 
 Army, her first and only beloved, whom she 
 wedded shortly after the close of the war. To 
 her soldier correspondent she was the friend of 
 one more than a friend. It was not until March 
 of 1865 that they ever met. Her letters kppt him 
 so well-advised of all that was transpiring in 
 Texas, and were so friendly, entertaining, and 
 altogether " charming," that, without leave or 
 license, he substituted that adjective for the con- 
 ventional " Miss " to which she was entitled. 
 
 The Authoe. 
 
eaelt experiences in camp 
 
 Winter Quarters op Fourth Texas, 
 Near Dumfries, Va., January 3, 1862. 
 
 Your cordial and flattering acknowledgment 
 of our introduction at long range is both gratify- 
 ing and encouraging. It is not only evidence of 
 the deep interest the ladies of the South take 
 in our glorious cause, but it also proves that the 
 humblest Confederate soldier is not friendless, 
 and thus furnishes him with additional incen- 
 tives to meet the inevitable trials and dangers 
 of war with uncomplaining fortitude and cour- 
 age. While not vain enough to appropriate the 
 compliment of your letters entirely to myself, I 
 shall try to deserve them as well, because the 
 correspondence will be a great pleasure to me, as 
 for the reason that by showing myself worthy I 
 may, I trust, count on having a friend "at 
 court." In that capacity you may prove yourself 
 of immense service, and earn my warmest grati- 
 tude. While it may be true that " absence makes 
 the heart grow fonder," I fear the statement 
 applies only to the absent organ, not to the 
 deserted. • • • 
 
 All things considered, our winter quarters are 
 quite comfortable. They may lack symmetrical 
 
 15 
 
16 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 proportions, furniture, and now and then doors 
 and roofs, but we have expended so much muscu- 
 lar energy upon them, and have taxed our com- 
 bined architectural abilities so enormously, that 
 we are both proud of them and glad to be re- 
 lieved, from further strain of mind. The re- 
 sponsibility for the cabin which shelters my 
 mess was impartially and judiciously distributed 
 among its members. To the Veteran, Mr. Wil- 
 liam Morris, whose service in the Mexican War 
 entitles him to that distinction, was intrusted 
 the planning and general supervision; to Floyd, 
 Sneed, and Dansby, the cutting and hauling of 
 the timbers and the riving of the clapboards 
 for the roof; and to Brahan and your humble 
 servant, the digging of a level foundation on the 
 side of the hill. Then, when the frame was built, 
 the pickets set in place, and the roof finished, 
 there was a reapportionment. The Veteran vol- 
 unteered to build the stick chimney, and I to 
 make and carry the mud (mortar) ; Sneed and 
 Floyd took charge of the interior furnishing and 
 decorating, and Brahan and Dansby daubed up 
 the cracks. The product of our joint labors is 
 a most elegant structure ; but, unfortunately for 
 the Veteran and Dansby, the former made such 
 a miscalculation of the space required for six 
 men that, to punish him for his carelessness, he 
 and Dansby have, by unanimous vote of the 
 four for whom there is room, been condemned 
 to sleep in a tent. It is hard on Dansby, I ad- 
 mit, but he has no business to have a bedfellow 
 so poor at figures. ♦ » » 
 
EARLY EXPERIENCES IN CAMP 17 
 
 The weather has been terribly cold and rainy 
 for the last three weeks. I have suffered from it 
 perhaps more than anybody else in the company ; 
 for, to please Brahan's fastidious taste as to sol- 
 dierly appearance and to keep even with him, I 
 weakly yielded before we left Eichmond, to his 
 suggestion that we buy caps, and then foolishly 
 gave the splendid hat I brought from Texas to a 
 darky. The top of the cap tilts to the front at an 
 angle of forty-five degrees, and thus carries water 
 over a visor just big enough to catch hold of 
 with the thumb and forefinger, down on the 
 point of my nose, and the back of it follows the 
 slope of the occiput, and conveys every drop of 
 rain or flake of snow that falls, down my spinal 
 column. Brahan, orderly sergeant; I, a humble 
 private; he stays in camp, while I stand guard, 
 do fatigue duty, and otherwise expose myself. 
 And thus, you see, although I have kept even 
 with him so far as presenting a soldierly appear- 
 ance goes, he does not near keep even with me in 
 the way of discomfort. 
 
 If there is anything else that I have a right to 
 complain of in common with every member of 
 the brigade, it is of the vagaries and hallucina- 
 tions of the brilliantly astute politician now in 
 command of the brigade. They have been so 
 frequent as to become monotonous. Old Sam 
 Houston must have known whereof he spake when 
 he dubbed him " Wiggletail." Whether it be due 
 to constitutional nervousness, or to that pro- 
 duced by the apple-jack and kindred liquid re- 
 freshments of which he is said to be so fond, he 
 
18 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 has kept us for the last month, and particularly 
 since the Christmas holidays began, in a state of 
 almost constant apprehension. He sees a Yankee 
 in every shadow, hears one approaching in every 
 breeze that rustles and clinks together the ice- 
 incrusted boughs of the pine trees under which 
 the cabin selected for brigade headquarters 
 stands, and no sooner sees or hears one than he 
 takes alarm and orders the long roll sounded by 
 the drummer he keeps close at hand for just such 
 emergencies. The roll, I must inform you, is not 
 the spasmodic rat-a-tat you are accustomed to 
 hear when a company of home guards are drill- 
 ing in the vicinity of your prairie home, but is a 
 continuous, ear-splitting tat-tat^at. It is only 
 ordered when danger is too imminent to permit 
 of a moment's delay, and its effect on sleeping 
 soldiers is always startling, and often ludicrous 
 in the extreme. It means that every man must 
 get to the color line without even an instant's de- 
 lay, fully prepared to resist an attack. The 
 first time I heard it, it awoke me from the pro- 
 foundest slumber of my life so suddenly, and 
 scared me so badly, that for two minutes I looked 
 under my bed for my gun and out of doors for 
 my pantaloons. 
 
 As the First Texas has its .winter quarters 
 within a quarter of a mile of the doughty Gen- 
 eral and his drummer, it has been more fre- 
 quently robbed of sleep and inspired to profanity 
 than any other regiment of the brigade. Since 
 the first two or three flurries. Colonels Archer 
 and Hood have wisely waited for verbal orders 
 
EARLY EXPERIENCES IN CAMP 19 
 
 before arousing their commands. Previous to 
 that, Colonel Archer once led the Fifth Texas 
 half way to Cockpit Point before he learned he 
 was on a wild-goose chase. Thank the Lord, say 
 I, — and I know the whole brigade joins me in the 
 thanksgiving, — it is pretty well settled that Wig- 
 fall will not long remain in command of us. We 
 are willing to fight the Yankees, but not phan- 
 toms ; that was Hamlet's task, you know, and my 
 recollection is that he succeeded ill at the busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Barring guard and fatigue duty and the depri- 
 vation of female society, our time passes very 
 pleasantly visiting friends in other companies 
 and regiments and playing checkers, chess, and 
 cards. Whist and euchre are the games most 
 indulged in, but poker has many devotees, and is 
 the favorite with a couple of messes of our com- 
 pany which occupy cabins on opposite sides of 
 the company street and at the lower end of it. 
 Each gives a peculiar but well-recognized notice 
 of its readiness for a game. When the supper 
 
 dishes are washed and put away Dick S 
 
 steps outside, and cries in his deep bass voice, 
 " Char-c-o-a-l ! char-c-o-a-l ! char-c-o-a-1 ! " in 
 exact imitation of the venders of that commodity 
 in the large cities. Following him, or perhaps 
 preceding him, the musical tenor of Walter 
 
 B is heard singing the first stanza of an old 
 
 song known as " Old Mother Flannagan," and 
 ten minutes after either call the dining-table of 
 the mess from which it proceeds is surrounded by 
 as many players as can find room to sit and the 
 
20 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 cash to venture. No great amount of money is 
 ever won or lost, for our amateur gamblers have 
 not yet acquired the nerve of professionals, and 
 never go beyond " cent ante." 
 
 The dailies of Eichmond reach us every even- 
 ing, and from them we learn much that otherwise 
 would remain concealed from us. The great cry 
 and hope is for recognition of the Southern Con- 
 federacy by France and England. Every item, 
 argument, and expression on that subject is lis- 
 tened to with an avidity that gives the lie to 
 the loud-mouthed declarations of our fire-eaters, 
 that they are thirsting for Yankee gore, and 
 would be ashamed to go home without a smell of 
 the powder of battle. It may convict me of 
 cowardice, but nevertheless I frankly confess 
 that I would be glad to get home without a single 
 taste or memento of conflict. I am strictly bu- 
 colic in temperament, you see; not in the least 
 warlike. Satisfied that 
 
 " The chance of war is equal, 
 And the slayer oft Is slain," 
 
 and, warned by that truth, I have no desire to 
 experience 
 
 " The stem joy which warriors feel. 
 In foemen worthy of their steel." 
 
 Still, I propose to take chances with my com- 
 rades, and, if there be fighting, do my duty to my 
 country as conscientiously as my legs will per- 
 mit. 
 
 It is really amusing to note the eagerness of 
 some men to hear news. One old fellow of Com- 
 
BARLT EXPERIENCES IN CAMP 21 
 
 pany F has a habit of listening open-mouthed to 
 what is being told, and then placing a hand to 
 his left ear and saying, " Please tell that over 
 again, will you? " and the boys find great fun in 
 manufacturing sensational news and playing 
 upon his curiosity and credulity. The professor 
 of Latin for Company F calls him a quidnunc, 
 but whether as a term of reproach or compliment 
 is beyond my ken. • • ♦ 
 
 You were kind to wish we had a "merry, 
 merry Christmas." Every mess had its egg-nog, 
 or a first-class substitute for it, the first thing in 
 the morning, and something better than common 
 for dinner, while after supper, the Veteran says, 
 the whole company became " tangle-footed." But 
 he must be mistaken ; the fellow that is drunkest 
 always claims to be the soberest man in the 
 party. Anyhow, he and I were at Captain Cun- 
 ningham's quarters until midnight, and when we 
 left them I found no difficulty in reaching my 
 own. The Veteran attributes the circumstance 
 wholly to the fact that I went down-hill, but I 
 scorn the base imputation. The next day head- 
 aches were both epidemic and contagious, and I 
 admit that I caught one. 
 
 You must pardon the dullness and egotism of 
 this letter. Only the most trivial incidents oc- 
 cur in these days of waiting and watching. Had 
 you acquaintances in the regiment, I might en- 
 tertain you by relating some of their ups and 
 downs. Deprived of that foundation for gossip, 
 one has to be more egotistic than is in good taste. 
 Sentiment would be dangerous, I fear, in this 
 
22 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 stage of our acquaintance, even were it not inter- 
 dicted by loyalty to " our mutual friend." If the 
 war continues — ^which I hope and pray it may 
 not — I will likely find many incidents to relate 
 that will be entertaining to as ardent a Eebel 
 as yourself. 
 
II 
 
 humobous incidents 
 
 Camp, Neak Feedbeicksbtjeg, Va., 
 
 April 5, '62. 
 
 YoTJE long delay in answering my letter written 
 at Dumfries last January deserves punishment, 
 and I can imagine none more severe than to com- 
 pel you to read a lengthier communication. 
 
 January and February passed with but two 
 little breaks in the dull monotony of camp life. 
 One was the desperate but successful resistance 
 made on the Occoquan, quite near the enemy's 
 lines, by a party of Texas scouts to the attack of 
 a regiment of Federals. There were only nine 
 of the Texans, and, although the house in which 
 they sought refuge was surrounded, they held 
 the assailants at bay for several hours, and after 
 killing and wounding quite a number, fright- 
 ened the survivors away by a stratagem which 
 ought not to have deceived a schoolboy. 
 
 I shiver at the mere remembrance of the other 
 incident. CJompany F was sent on a two days' 
 tour of picket and fatigue duty to Cockpit Point, 
 on the Potomac, where an effort was being made 
 to establish a masked battery to play upon ship- 
 ping on the river. Brahan has become ac- 
 quainted with my inborn and cultivated aversion 
 to handling pick, shovel, and spade, — in fact, do- 
 ss 
 
24 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 ing any kind of manual labor, — and I shall al- 
 ways believe he arranged with Captain Cunning- 
 ham the deceptive scheme to call for volunteers 
 from the company for the picket duty that was 
 to be done. Anyhow, such a call was made as 
 soon as we reached the Point, and, glad of an 
 opportunity to escape hard labor, and beguiled 
 to my undoing by a seemingly friendly wink from 
 Brahan, I was one of the first to step to the front 
 in response. For the first six hours I had no 
 reason to regret my rashness. After three 
 months' camp life it was positively a recreation 
 to sit and inhale the salt atmosphere of the tide- 
 water, listen to its music, as, stirred by gentle 
 breezes, it broke in little waves upon the shore; 
 gaze up, down, and across the broad Potomac, 
 and enjoy the life apparent everywhere. Then 
 suddenly and most calamitously a stray norther 
 came sweeping down from the Arctic regions, the 
 hitherto bright sun hid himself behind threat- 
 ening clouds, and rain, sleet, and snow, in turn, 
 began to beat upon my face and drip unceasingly 
 down the front and rear of my cap. Under these 
 distressing circumstances I awoke to the error of 
 my ways, the foolishnesj^'of my choice, and as 
 cheerfully as King Richard would have bartered 
 his kingdom for a horse, I would have given a 
 horse for a man to take my place and let me sneak 
 back to the huge fires which my comrades — who, 
 on account of the rain, had been relieved from 
 their task— had built, and were enjoying in a 
 sheltered place a hundred yards from the river- 
 bank. Convinced that the Yankees would never 
 
HUMOROUS INCIDENTS 25 
 
 choose such weather for an attack, I found solace 
 in the fancy that the pickets would also be re- 
 lieved, but that straw of comfort was too fragile 
 to lean upon. 
 
 When dreary night had wrapped its impene- 
 trable mantle over all things mundane the Cap- 
 tain came trudging through the snow to my post, 
 and, with a disgustingly obvious pretense of 
 compassion, informed me that until daylight 
 the safety of the Confederate army would be 
 entrusted wholly to the vigilance of Charley 
 Brown, Berman Gabbert, and myself; and that, 
 as it would be very inconvenient for an of&cer to 
 tramp from the fire to the post every two hours 
 to relieve us in regular military style, we were 
 expected to sleep near enough to the post to wake 
 each other. 
 
 " Bu-bu-but, Gabtain," chattered Gabbert, who 
 is a Dutchman, and was then on post, " how — 
 how — how vill ve know ven der zwei hours is 
 oop.? " 
 
 " Oh, you can guess at them, I reckon ! " re- 
 sponded the officer, who turned on his heel and 
 made what he thought. was a bee-line for camp. 
 
 Neither of the shivering monuments of man's 
 inhumanity to man whom he left behind felt in 
 the least inclined to apprise him that he was pro- 
 ceeding in the wrong direction, and he had not 
 gone fifty yards when he stumbled over a hidden 
 log and fell headlong into a muddy branch. 
 Rising to his feet, he sputtered entreatingly, 
 " Say, boys! which way is the camp from here? " 
 
 " Oh, you can guess at it, I reckon ! " I an- 
 
26 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 swered instantly, repeating his own words of a 
 minute before. 
 
 But Gabbert, more tender-hearted, shouted: 
 " Go up mit der grick, Gaptain, und yer fin's her 
 purty quick, by tarn ! " 
 
 Then we arranged a programme. A bed was 
 made down, to be occupied by the two not on 
 duty, while the third kept watch for an hour, as 
 nearly as he could calculate the time — Brown to 
 wake me, I to wake Gabbert, and Gabbert, in his 
 turn, to wake Brown. Fair and equitable as the 
 plan appeared, there was too much guesswork in 
 it to be wholly satisfactory, and that was the 
 longest, coldest, and most wretched night I ever 
 lived through. Each of us went on duty thirteen 
 times before daylight; but if there was any mis- 
 calculation it was by Gabbert, for Brown and I 
 were positive we made a liberal estimate on each 
 hour we were on post. The Dutchman, however, 
 declared stoutly : " Mine Gott in Himmel ! boot 
 by tam! I schust stand oop effer time more as 
 von hour und a halluf." 
 
 About the 1st of March a rumor went flying 
 broadcast through the camp that some grand 
 movement of the army was in contemplation, but 
 " old Joe " deemed it wholly unnecessary to in- 
 form us that it was to be a retreat until the morn- 
 ing of the 8th, and of our departure for this place. 
 « « « * « 
 
 There is a member of my company whom I 
 shall dub Jack, lest, by revealing his identity, 
 the tale I relate should cling to him longer and 
 closer than did that of his overcoat. Looking 
 
HUMOROUS INCIDENTS 27 
 
 more to his own comfort and sense of the fitness 
 of things than to uniformity of dress and the 
 consequent soldierly appearance for which my 
 friend Brahan is such a stickler, Jack disdain- 
 fully rejected the munificent offer of the Confed- 
 erate States Government to furnish him a gray 
 and strictly military overcoat for $5 on a credit, 
 and expended $25 in the purchase of one of a 
 quality and fashion to commend itself to the most 
 fastidious aristocrat. The first night out from 
 Dumfries the weather was so intensely cold that 
 he decided not to remove any of his garments, 
 and so, wrapping himself in a couple of blankets, 
 he laid down very close to a huge log fire, where, 
 lulled by the genial warmth, he soon fell soundly 
 asleep and began to snore at his liveliest and 
 merriest gait. About midnight Bob Murray's 
 acutely sensitive olfactory nerves were offended 
 by the scent of burning cloth. He had only to 
 look once to discover that as the fire had burned 
 lower and lower. Jack had edged his back nearer 
 and nearer to it, and at last a stray coal had 
 lighted a fiame that was playing sad havoc with 
 his blanket and coat. Aroused by Bob's shouts, 
 Jack did some rapid hustling around, but alas! 
 too late to preserve the anatomy, the pristine 
 symmetrical tout ensemble, of the cherished gar- 
 ment, and prevent its transformation from an 
 elegant frock into a nondescript, altogether too 
 open at the back to be comfortable, and with two 
 pointed tails hanging in front, instead of in the 
 rear — ^in short, in two sections, whose only bond 
 of union was the velvet collar. Next morning 
 
28 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 the crestfallen owner sought to repair the dam- 
 age by sewing the burned edges together, but 
 that heroic remedy, while reducing the tails to 
 one, and that pointing in the right direction, ren- 
 dered it impossible to button up the front, and 
 kept him so busy during the day answering ques- 
 tions that when night came he was too hoarse to 
 talk. 
 
 A few days ago General Sickles, not content 
 with the fame won in his quarrel with Barton 
 Key, decided to 
 
 " Seek the bubble reputation 
 Even in the cannon's mouth," 
 
 and with this laudable object marched his 
 brigade of negroes in the direction of Fredericks- 
 burg. Barker, of Company G, Fourth Texas, 
 one of the first Confederates to discover the 
 movement, came near paying dearly for the in- 
 formation. While on a scout in the vicinity of 
 Dumfries he caught sight of a couple of darkies 
 in blue uniform, armed and equipped for battle. 
 Never a slave-owner but always wishing to be, 
 he decided then and there to make use of his op- 
 portunities and capture and confiscate both of 
 the likely fellows, and immediately began a 
 stealthy approach. But, like the milkmaid with 
 her basket of eggs, — ^vide Webster's " Elementary 
 Spelling-Book," last page, — ^who counted her 
 chickens before they were hatched. Barker 
 counted his " niggers " before they were caught; 
 for, when he got within fifty feet of them, and 
 stepping from behind a tree, called on them to 
 
HUMOROUS INCIDENTS 29 
 
 surrender, they instantly dropped their guns, 
 and took to their heels. Afraid to shoot, lest he 
 should depreciate the value of the chattels, 
 Barker set off in chase, and, stimulated by 
 thought of the prize at stake, gave his whole 
 mind to the race to such purpose that he was 
 reaching out his hand to grasp the collar of one 
 fellow, when pursuer and pursued entered open 
 ground, upon which, fifty yards distant, was 
 Sickles's guard detail, and two hundred yards be- 
 yond that, the camp of his brigade. Taking in 
 the situation at a glance. Barker came to an 
 abrupt halt, while the officer of the guard 
 shouted, " Turn out the guard ! turn out the 
 guard ! " as loudly as he could. The darkies 
 were too badly frightened by the appearance of 
 a Eebel in hot chase of their comrades, to obey 
 orders, and Barker took advantage of the general 
 confusion to regain his breath. Then, just as 
 order began to resolve itself out of chaos, he 
 saluted, in exact imitation of an officer of the 
 day, and saying, politely, " Never mind the 
 guard, sir," turned on his heel and was soon out 
 of sight. 
 
 General Hood — our late colonel, you must 
 know, has been promoted to the rank of briga- 
 dier-general — no sooner heard that Sickles was 
 on the war-path, than he determined to gratify 
 the gentleman's bellicosity, and at the same time 
 win honors for himself and the Texas Brigade. 
 The members of the command, rank and file, 
 manifested a spirit and zeal largely due, I fear, 
 to the report circulated by some mischievous 
 
30 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 fellow that all prisoners taken were to be held 
 as the private property of their respective cap- 
 tors. At any rate, on the march toward Dum- 
 fries there was not a single laggard, and so rapid 
 was our advance that we reached the ground 
 where Barker had discovered the darkies, about 
 two o'clock in the afternoon of the day we 
 started. But, alas! Greatly to our regret and 
 disappointment, the doughty Sickles and his 
 " nigger " compatriots were non est inventus. 
 Whether frightened by Barker's impetuous 
 charge and cool retreat, or terror-stricken when 
 notified of the approach of our Texas regiments, 
 they had ingloriously fallen back to a point 
 nearer the Potomac and reinforcements than, 
 reckless and anxious to confiscate a batch of con- 
 trabands as we were, we dared to go. Properly 
 supported by other troops, we could easily have 
 marched ten miles farther in pursuit of laurels 
 and Ethiopians, and not a man have fallen lame : 
 wholly unsupported, though, and without hope 
 of either glory or plunder, privates and officers 
 alike became foot-sore and weary. And to add 
 to our woes, snow began to fall, and by night lay 
 three inches deep on the ground. It was on the 
 bleakest hillside in the whole country that we 
 sought to rest our tired bodies that night. Gen- 
 eral Hood said we were bivouacking, but if our 
 experiences that night are fair samples of that 
 performance, I beg to be excused from further 
 indulgence in the pastime — camping will be more 
 to my taste and comfort. Next morning, stand- 
 ing little on the order of our going, so only we 
 
HUMOROUS INCIDENTS 31 
 
 went, we straggled back to our camp near Fred- 
 ericksburg. Some of the boys disobeyed orders, 
 and seduced by the thirst produced by intense 
 cold, halted in Falmouth long enough to be cap- 
 tured by the provost-guard. As a result, they 
 are each wandering up and down the color line, 
 toting a rather heavy log. I was too high-toned 
 to risk such a punishment. But as one of my 
 messmates not only was not, but evaded capture, 
 I had no lack of liquid refreshments to com- 
 plain of. 
 
 I am much obliged to you for the hint I read 
 between the lines of your last letter. But it will 
 do me little good, I am afraid, as long as that 
 cavalry company is allowed to stay out of dan- 
 ger. Observation has already taught me how at- 
 tractive the uniform of an officer is to the ladies. 
 Privates are nobodies up here, when a fellow 
 with bars on his collar and " chicken-fixens," as 
 the boys call them, on his arms, comes in view. 
 But I'll not despair ; my lady's last letter was all 
 it should be. Optimism is a fellow's best hold 
 when his patriotism denies him certainty. 
 
 Note 1 — In common with most of his comrades, the author 
 implicitly believed the report, originating, he supposes now, 
 in the mind of some reckless wag, that General Sickles com- 
 manded a brigade of negroes. The scout Barker insisted 
 that he chased negroes, and when he had run them into their 
 camp was confronted by negroes. Whether his assertions 
 were true or false, they corroborated the report We were 
 as credulous then in respect to the Northern people as they 
 were with regard to us. As a historical fact, negroes were 
 not organized into military commands until late in the year 
 1862. If Barker really chased negroes, they were probably 
 mere individuals of the race who had been permitted to 
 enlist veith a white company. 
 
Ill 
 
 abound yoektown 
 
 Camp Near Kiohmond, Va., 
 
 May 19, 1862. 
 
 Arkivbd at Yorktown, we camped about a mile 
 and a half to the rear and right of that dilapi- 
 dated old town. It was here, you know, that 
 Cornwallis surrendered. The embankments 
 thrown up during the Kevolutionary War are 
 yet in a fair state of preservation, and would 
 likely have been exceedingly interesting to me had 
 not the present war — in the shape and terror of 
 bombs from a Federal battery — furnished a more 
 practical and exigent subject for reflection. 
 Some of my comrades grew quite enthusiastic 
 over the fact that we were on historic ground, 
 made sacred by Washington's great victory, and 
 eloquently insisted that the scene should inspire 
 us with extra courage and patriotism. Suspect- 
 ing that the larger part of their enthusiasm 
 originated in the canteen of whisky they bought 
 from a blockade runner, I tasted it, but it 
 aroused no corresponding sentiments in my pa- 
 cific bosom. * ♦ « 
 
 About two o'clock on the morning of May 4th 
 the pleasing information was communicated to 
 the Texas Brigade that to it had been granted 
 
 32 
 
AROUND YORKTOWN 33 
 
 the proud distinction of serving as the rear-guard 
 of the Confederate army in a retreat from the 
 Peninsula. In fact, all the other troops of our 
 army had already folded their tents, and, without 
 giving us the slightest hint of their intention, had 
 hours ago marched away toward Richmond, and 
 under these circumstances even the compliment 
 paid the brigade by giving it the post of honor 
 failed to relieve us of a feeling of lonesomeness 
 and insecurity. Just as day appeared we took 
 up the line of march, and anxious to put as 
 much ground as possible between us and the 
 presumably fast following Yankees, stepped out 
 in our very liveliest manner. But either because 
 they knew that Texans were the rear-guard, and 
 feared to attack such desperadoes, or were not 
 fleet enough of foot to overtake us, we went 
 peacefully on our way and overtook the main 
 body of our army about four miles from the old 
 colonial town of Williamsburg — with the proud 
 and inspiring consciousness thrilling our pa- 
 triotic bosoms of duty well performed by heroic 
 efforts to get beyond reach of a dastardly enemy. 
 Yet although terribly tired by the rapid march 
 over eight miles of the muddiest road imaginable, 
 we halted not an instant, and leaving Williams- 
 burg to our left, hurried rapidly on toward York 
 River. We were in good luck, for after an hour 
 or two of tramping, the roar of artillery and the 
 roll of musketry— fortunately many miles behind 
 us — smote upon our unaccustomed ears, and we 
 could reflect exultingly, that while the honor and 
 glory of having been the rear-guard was ours 
 
34 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 beyond dispute, we had yet escaped all the dan- 
 gers of that distinguished position. General 
 Hood neither halted, changed the course of 
 the march, nor furnished us with a single par- 
 ticular as to his intentions, but hastened us on 
 with a speed which appeared to indicate so 
 strong a desire to reach a haven of complete 
 safety that the proceeding met our most hearty 
 approval and co-operation; not a man straggled 
 — not one lagged in the rear. As a result of 
 this unanimity of purpose we were soon beyond 
 recall and sound of the battle and made camp 
 that night in the heavy timber about four miles 
 from Eltham's Landing. 
 
 Here we remained until the 7th, when at dawn 
 we advanced nearer to the landing and the en- 
 emy. General Hood and his staff were a hun- 
 dred yards in advance of the Fourth, Company 
 P next to the leading company, and we were ap- 
 proaching a large deserted house situated on an 
 eminence overlooking the wide valley of York 
 Eiver. 
 
 Between us and the mansion were some 
 cavalry pickets, who, like veritable dummies, had 
 sat on their horses and permitted a company of 
 Yankee infantry to shelter itself behind the 
 building. Hood reached the picket post scarcely 
 a hundred yards from the house, and immedi- 
 ately a squad of bluecoats stepped out in plain 
 view and poured a volley into us — doing no 
 greater damage, however, than to give us a ter- 
 rible scare. We had been marching at will and 
 in column, and except that of John Deal of Com- 
 
AROUND TORKTOWN 35 
 
 pany A, not a gun was loaded. It was a com- 
 plete surprise. We were in a newly cleared field 
 full of pine stumps, and, with the instinct of self- 
 preservation suddenly aroused, every man except 
 Deal — who immediately knelt, fired and mortally 
 wounded the sergeant of the attacking force — 
 hastily sought the protection of a stump, load- 
 ing his gun as he ran. Hood came dashing back, 
 shouting to the regiment to fall into line, and as 
 every stump I made for was appropriated by a 
 quicker man, and I had managed to load my gun, 
 no option was left me but to be among the first 
 to obey orders and place myself in approved 
 battle array. 
 
 Not half a minute elapsed, though, before 
 every man of the regiment was in ranks, and 
 then came the order to charge. Rushing bravely 
 and furiously to the crest of the eminence, 
 we were overjoyed at seeing the enemy flee- 
 ing across an open field to a skirt of timber 
 half a mile away — their precipitate flight avail- 
 ing them little, however, for not a man of the 
 fifty or more in sight and range escaped wound- 
 ing or death. 
 
 To the right of the house grew heavy timber, 
 and there after we had deployed into skirmish line 
 a number of Yankees were killed and captured. 
 After a while the brigade moved forward across 
 the field into the woods beyond, but the enemy 
 was driven back so rapidly by our skirmishers 
 that not a single one capable of doing duty came 
 within my view. I made no complaint, and as 
 long as I kept out of their sight was thoroughly 
 
36 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 content. The other two Texas regiments — the 
 First and the Fifth— had hot fights which they 
 won by gallant charges, and in two hours or so 
 the Yankees were forced to take refuge in trans- 
 ports protected by gunboats, which shelled the 
 woods until night. 
 
 Thus, Charming Nellie, began and ended your 
 friend's first experience under fire. He did not 
 distinguish himself, it is true, but he finds great 
 consolation in the fact that neither did the enemy 
 nor the Virginia cavalry, who, by their careless- 
 ness, almost caused the Fourth Texas to show 
 " the white feather " in its first engagement. 
 Here I looked for the first time on the dead and 
 wounded of a battle. After the fighting was over. 
 Jack Sutherland and I went to a poor fellow 
 who was mortally wounded, and filling his can- 
 teen with water did what else we could to make 
 him comfortable. He admitted being from Wis- 
 consin, but absolutely refused to name the par- 
 ticular command to which he belonged, saying 
 it was against orders. He was just about my 
 age, and it was not a pleasant thought that some 
 day soon I might, like him, be mortally wounded 
 and left in the hands of the enemv. I do not 
 often indulge in such grim fancies, but in his 
 presence could not avoid them. « * • 
 
 Three days' rations were issued to us the day 
 before we left Yorktown, and on the molrning of 
 the 8th, our haversacks being again empty, four 
 ears of corn were dealt out to each man. When 
 parched it was not at all bad eating to hungry 
 soldiers, and we soon became genuine Oornfeds. 
 
AROUND YORKTOWN 37 
 
 About two o'clock on the morning of the 9th the 
 regiment was aroused and informed that it was 
 to be carried out of very dangerous quarters, 
 right under the noses of the enemy, and that the 
 most profound silence must be maintained, and 
 not even a cup suffered to rattle. Thus en- 
 joined, we marched out of camp as quietly and 
 stealthily as Arabs, taking the road to Kichmond 
 through an open country enveloped by a dense 
 fog. 
 
 To the right and very near the line of march 
 could be distinguished the shadowy forms of 
 horses and their riders, standing silent and 
 motionless — cavalry pickets, whose close prox- 
 imity to the road should, according to military 
 usage, have indicated that the enemy was but a 
 short distance away; when, however, it was 
 learned that the pickets were , our fears in- 
 stantly subsided, for we felt confident the gal- 
 lant sabreurs of that State would keep too care- 
 ful a lookout for their own safety to permit an 
 enemy to approach within shooting distance. 
 Nevertheless, the speed of the march suffered no 
 abatement until broad daylight, and the lifting of 
 the fog furnished ocular demonstration of safety. 
 Then I drew a long and heartfelt sigh of relief, 
 being philosopher enough to derive much com- 
 fort from that soul-inspiring sentiment of the 
 poet, 
 
 " He who fights and runs away 
 Will live to fight another day." 
 
 At ten o'clock A. M. we passed the White House, 
 
38 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 the home of the Lee family, and the place where 
 General Washington "caught a Tartar" by 
 marrying the widow Custis. But as no member 
 of the brigade cared just then to make any his- 
 torical researches, we pushed on and on until 
 fully assured that half of the Confederate army 
 lay between us and the Yankees, and then — 
 about noon — won our most appreciated laurels 
 by camping in a thicket of those shrubs. In 
 truth, we deserved them, for little gallantry as 
 we displayed at Eltham's Landing, the Yankees 
 displayed less, and our bold front had prevented 
 the debarkation of Franklin's corps and the cap- 
 ture of our immense wagon trains. 
 
 What do you think? After going into camp in 
 the laurel thicket I witnessed the performance 
 of a strange feat by a sleeping man — ^he caught 
 a live rabbit with his hands. It is a solemn, un- 
 deniable fact which can be proved by a hundred 
 men who failed to capture the little animal. It 
 was this way : The rabbit jumped out of a hol- 
 low stump which some soldier wanted for fire- 
 wood, and the moment it was seen an immense 
 shout went up and half a thousand men began 
 chasing and grabbing at it. It ran hither and 
 thither, and finally jumped squarely on Dansby's 
 breast just as his hand, moved unconsciously, de- 
 scended to rest on the breast. The two acts — 
 that of the rabbit and that of the man — were so 
 nearly simultaneous that the rabbit evidently 
 imagined it had found a hiding place, and made 
 no effort whatever to escape. Dansby drew a 
 long breath, opened his eyes in astonishment. 
 
ABOUND TORKTOWN 89 
 
 looked a moment at the captive, and then sprang 
 to his feet, saying with a smile of delight, " By 
 gum, boys, but I'm hungry ! " In less than five 
 minutes the trusting little rabbit was stewing on 
 the fire, and ten minutes later Dansby was eat- 
 ing it. 
 
 What a long letter I am writing — or rather 
 have already written! Luckily I am at no ex- 
 pense for postage, having, in common with mem- 
 bers of V Congress, the franking privilege. You 
 may find the reading a sore tax on your patience, 
 but I must bring my story up to date, neverthe- 
 less. 
 
 There is no telling how long we will remain 
 here or when I will again be as comfortably 
 fixed for annoying you. I have driven four stakes 
 into the ground in proper position to hold a 
 board, covered by a blanket, at the right height 
 to allow me to make a chair of Mother Earth. 
 Another reason for not closing and marking at 
 the bottom " to be continued " is that I may not 
 live to do the continuing. Ever since I received 
 your last letter the child's prayer paraphrased 
 to read " If I should die before I write " has been 
 ringing in my head. I am not silly enough to 
 fancy it a premonition, I assure you. On the 
 contrary, I feel certain of escaping death. But 
 I know that is a possibility, and so, holding a 
 letter received as an obligation to be honorably 
 met only by a full and complete answer, I will 
 trespass on your endurance and fortitude a while 
 longer. 
 
 We rested in the laurel thicket several days, 
 
40 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 during which the recruiting officers who left us 
 at Dumfries rejoined the brigade with batches 
 of raw recruits and many letters from home 
 folks. When the order at last came to march it 
 was raining heavily and it continued to do so 
 until midnight. Troops had been passing for 
 five or six hours before we moved, and we began 
 to fear that General Johnston intended to make 
 us the rear-guard again. It was a great relief 
 therefore to be marched a half mile farther from 
 the enemy, even if then left standing in mud and 
 water for two full hours. After that we began 
 a system of alternate marching and standing 
 still, which continued until after midnight. Or- 
 der and discipline came to an end, and it was 
 " every man for himself and old Nick for the 
 hindmost." 
 
 Nobody could say who was next to him, the 
 different commands of the army having be- 
 come inextricably intermixed in the darkness, 
 rain and mud. Officers on horseback rode back 
 and forth along the road begging, praying, and 
 ordering the men to move forward as fast as pos- 
 sible and get across the Chickahominy, and de- 
 termining that if that was all they wanted me to 
 do, it should be done, I resolved myself into an 
 independent command and set out for the bridge. 
 Near it and stretching across the road was an 
 immense and apparently unfathomable mudhole. 
 Some provident fellow had hung a lantern to the 
 limb of a tree, and its light disclosed not only 
 the length and breadth of the obstruction but a 
 narrow and dry way around it, and that way 
 
AROUND YORKTOWN 41 
 
 was being taken by the soldiers. General Whit- 
 ing and I reached the loblolly aboat the same 
 time. I was much the wiser man of the two, 
 though ; I followed the current, he endeavored to 
 change it. " Wade right through that mud, 
 men," he commanded ; " it is not deep." Where- 
 upon a fellow who was marching in single file in 
 the narrow way around, said in the sarcastic 
 tone so easily adopted by the most timid man in 
 a darkness and confusion which prevents identi- 
 fication, " You go through it yourself, Mr. Little 
 Man, if you're so sure it ain't deep." " Do you 
 know, sir, you are talking to General Whiting? " 
 angrily demanded that officer. " Maybe so," re- 
 sponded the unknown, now almost around the 
 mudhole, and at any rate too far away to be 
 identified, " but d — — d if I believe a word of it. 
 You are more likely one of his couriers, taking 
 advantage of this dark night to play the general 
 and order your betters around. Anyhow, if you 
 are a general, you are a d d small one." " Ar- 
 rest that insolent fellow ! " shouted Whiting furi- 
 ously — so beside himself with rage that he 
 spurred his horse into the mudhole and was 
 splashed from head to foot with its contents. 
 " Oh, dry up, you d d old fool ! " came echo- 
 ing back through the black darkness into which 
 the daring fellow plunged; and in a moment 
 more Whiting was laughing heartily at the ridic- 
 ulous position and plight in which his hastiness 
 had placed him. 
 
 While this colloquy was taking place I was 
 tramping around the mudhole, and a few minutes 
 
42 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 later arrived at the bridge. " Get across at once, 
 men, and get out of the road," was the constantly 
 reiterated order of the field officer who stood 
 there, and obeying it I marched across, then 
 turned out to one side, and half a mile farther 
 on dropped down on the first moderately dry 
 spot I could locate by guessing. ■ When I awoke 
 the sun was shining upon thousands of men who, 
 like myself, had sunk down exhausted. Within 
 three feet of me lay Brahan fast asleep. Neither 
 of us could tell who got there first, or where any- 
 body else was. But the still forms around us at 
 last began to move, order to resolve itself out of 
 confusion, and by ten o'clock the Fourth Texas 
 was again a regiment under control of its officers. 
 That was day before yesterday, and on the same 
 day we made this camp. Yesterday I received 
 your letter and one from my mother, and having 
 already answered hers, have only the conscience 
 to add to this a postscript. « • ♦ 
 
 A great deal is being said in the papers about 
 England and France recognizing the Confeder- 
 acy. I do not admit being less brave and patri- 
 otic than others, but I frankly acknowledge that 
 if recognition will bring peace and give me the 
 privilege of going home, the announcement of the 
 fact will be the sweetest music on earth to my 
 ears. A little while back I was foolish enough 
 to nurse in my bosom a few dreams of military 
 glory and distinction, but hard rubs against the 
 realities of soldiering have reduced them into the 
 thinnest and most unsubstantial nothingness. If 
 permitted, I shall go home resolved to be con- 
 
AROUND YORKTOWN 43 
 
 tent, hereafter and forever more, with such tri- 
 umphs as are to be won in " the piping days of 
 peace." Chief among these, and that which will 
 most contribute to my happiness, will be the win- 
 ning of a wife in the person of our mutual friend. 
 
 Note 2 — It was on the 8th of March, 1862, that the Texaa 
 Brigade abandoned its winter quarters and joined in the 
 retreat of the Confederate forces from the lines they had 
 held since the battle of First Manassas to the line of the 
 Rappahannock. Three days later it established camp near 
 the city of Fredericksburg. Here remaining until April 8, it 
 began on that day a long and tiresome march down to York- 
 town on the Peninsula, arriving there, I think, on the 13th 
 of April, 1862. 
 
IV 
 
 BATTLE OP SEVEN PINES 
 
 In Camp Somewhekb, June 24, 1862. 
 
 Hood's Texas Brigade and Jackson's troops 
 are lost in the wild, tangled wilderness surround- 
 ing Ashland, the birthplace of Henry Clay. We 
 have been here a couple of days, but when and 
 where we are going next, only the Lord and Gen- 
 eral Jackson can form any definite idea. There 
 may be free agency in religious matters, but ex- 
 perience teaches a private soldier there is none in 
 military affairs — to him. He is an automaton, 
 guided, directed, and controlled by wires pulled 
 by superiors. » ♦ ♦ 
 
 While never confronted by a body of the 
 enemy, the Fourth Texas was actively engaged 
 during the better part of the two days' battle of 
 Seven Pines, dodging Minie and cannon balls and 
 shells fired by the Yankees. Webber, a German 
 of Company F, was the only man of the regiment 
 who actually refused to duck his head at every 
 invitation. " Vat for doadge ? " he would say. 
 " Ven ze time coom, ve die any vay — ^ven ze time 
 no coom, ze ball, he mees." However, we were 
 double-quicked back and forth from one end of 
 the battleground to the other, in futile effort to 
 reach the enemy. The ground was low and 
 
 44 
 
BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES 45 
 
 swampy, the rain fell in torrents, and when night 
 came he was a lucky man who found a rail or 
 log on which to sleep and keep out of mud and 
 water. 
 
 During the engagement, the Sixty-first Penn- 
 sylvania was driven so hurriedly out of its well- 
 appointed camp as to leave all of its baggage 
 and commissary stores. Fortunately for the 
 Texans, the troops who did the driving were de- 
 nied time to take possession of the captured 
 property, and it was promptly confiscated to our 
 use and benefit. Someone looted the tent of 
 Major G. F. Smith of the aforesaid Sixty-first, 
 and seized upon his commission and a bundle of 
 letters — ^among them one of recent date from his 
 sister. In the division of the spoils this fell to 
 me, and was so charming and homelike that I 
 read it over and over again, and then, lest it 
 should fall into unappreciative hands, burned it. 
 Judging from the letter, the writer is a highly 
 accomplished young lady — a daughter of a mem- 
 ber of the Legislature from West Chester County, 
 Pennsylvania. It differed essentially from the 
 others I read from Northern ladies, for it con- 
 tained but one allusion to the Rebels, and that 
 by no means bitter. It would please the gallant 
 Major, no doubt, if he survived the discomfiture 
 of his regiment, as well as his lovely and lively 
 sister, to be assured of my gratitude for the pleas- 
 ure afforded me; the Major, by a hasty retreat, 
 and the lady, by writing a letter so interesting, 
 newsy, and humorous as to charm a stranger and 
 Rebel and remind him of his own loved ones in 
 
46 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 far-off Texas. While perusing it the Rebel sat 
 on a chunk of wood at the foot of a tall pine tree, 
 with his feet in the water. A heavy shower had 
 just fallen, and dry places were not easily to be 
 found. Every now and then a cannon ball or 
 shell, fired from a Federal gun, would crash 
 through the top of the tree ; but he was inside of 
 the range of the gun, and any damage done by it 
 was to people far back in the rear. 
 
 On the eleventh of this month the Texas Bri- 
 gade was ordered to Staunton to reinforce Stone- 
 wall Jackson. The day after reaching Staunton, 
 however, it marched back across the Blue Ridge 
 toward Charlottesville. Early in the day Gen- 
 eral Hood halted each regiment in turn, and 
 gave his orders. To the Fourth he said, " Sol- 
 diers of the Fourth : I know as little of our desti- 
 nation as you do. If, however, any of you learn 
 or suspect it, keep it a secret. To everyone who 
 asks questions, answer, ' I don't know.' We are 
 now under the orders of General Jackson, and I 
 repeat them to you. I can only tell you further, 
 that those of you who stay with the command on 
 this march will witness and participate in grand 
 events." 
 
 Such an address, such orders, and such a pre- 
 diction, not only astonished the soldiers, but in- 
 flamed their curiosity to the highest pitch. Many 
 were the conjectures — some sensible, some ludi- 
 crous, but none probably near the truth. There 
 were many stills in the sequestered nooks of 
 the mountains, and by noon quite a number of 
 the men were in an exceedingly good humor — ^a 
 
BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES 47 
 
 few staggering — and apple-jack and peach 
 brandy could be had out of hundreds of canteens. 
 To prevent the men from getting liquor, Gen- 
 eral Hood authorized a statement, which was 
 industriously circulated and really believed, 
 that smallpox was raging among the citizens. 
 Whether true or not, it had a good effect; I did 
 not straggle. 
 
 Riding along by himself, half a mile in rear of 
 the brigade, General Hood discbvered, lying in 
 the middle of the road and very drunk, a soldier 
 of the Fourth. Checking his horse, the General 
 asked, " What is the matter with you, sir.!" WTiy 
 are you not with your company? " The stern 
 and peremptory voice sobered the man a little, 
 and rising to a sitting posture and looking at the 
 General with drunken gravity, he said, " Nossin' 
 much, I reckon. General — I just feel sorter 
 weak and no account." " So I see, sir," said 
 Hood; "get up instantly and rejoin your com- 
 pany." The victim of John Barleycorn made 
 several ineffectual attempts to obey, and some 
 men coming along just then, Hood ordered them 
 to take charge of him and conduct him to his 
 company. But as they approached with intent 
 to carry out the order, the fellow found voice to 
 say between hiccoughs, " Don't you men that 
 ain't been vaccinated come near me — I've got the 
 smallpox — tha's wha's the masser with me." 
 
 The men shrank back in alarm, and the Gen- 
 eral, laughing at the way his own chickens had 
 come home to roost, said, " Let him alone, then 
 — some teamster will pick him up," and rode on. 
 
48 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 General Jackson gave strict orders against dep- 
 redating on private property. Apples were plen- 
 tiful, and it was contrary to nature not to eat 
 them. Jackson saw a Texan sitting on the limb 
 of an apple tree, busily engaged in filling his 
 haversack with the choicest fruit. He reined in 
 his old sorrel horse, and in his customary curt 
 tone, asked, " What are you doing in that tree, 
 sir.? " " I don't know," replied the Texan. 
 " What command do you belong to.'' " " I don't 
 know." " Is your command ahead or behind 
 you? " " I don't know." And thus it went on — 
 the same " I don't know " given as answer to 
 every question. Finally, Jackson asked, "Why 
 do you give me that answer to every question? " 
 " 'Cause them's the orders our Gineral gin 
 us, this mornin', an' he tole us he got 'em that 
 er way, straight from ole Jackson,'.' replied the 
 man in the tree, and disgusted with a too literal 
 obedience to his own commands, but yet not car- 
 ing to argue the point. General Jackson rode on. 
 
 Our camp is in an extensive grove of oak and 
 pine. Far as one's eyes can reach are standing, 
 sitting, recumbent, and moving men, with not a 
 woman in sight to relieve the sameness and ex- 
 ercise a softening influence. Within a hundred 
 feet of me religious services are being held. Look- 
 ing at the portly, well-fed body of the chaplain 
 officiating, and remembering my fondness for 
 chicken, I am tempted often nowadays to wish 
 I were a Methodist preacher myself. Honestly, 
 I have not had a chance at a chicken in a month 
 of Sundays. I used to prefer it in the shape of 
 
BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES 49 
 
 pie, but would take it now in any style that came 
 handy to the cook. However proverbial Virginia 
 hospitality, it draws the line, according to my 
 observation, at that kind of poultry. At any 
 rate, at every house whose surrounding premises 
 have come under my inspection, all feathered 
 bipeds are kept under lock and -key at night. 
 Otherwise, my mouth would not be watering at 
 the mere thought of a Methodist preacher, for, 
 though I am yet too high-toned to rob a hen 
 roost myself, I have a messmate of venturesome 
 spirit, and, when favorable opportunities fall in 
 his way, few scruples. But revenons a nos 
 moutons — the mutton, or subject, being the 
 aforesaid preacher, and my mind being called 
 back to him by the loudness of the prayer he is 
 now offering in behalf of the sinners of the bri- 
 gade. He appears to have forgotten that he him- 
 self is the greatest sinner of the crowd. 
 
 As perhaps you know, Mrs. Mollie J. Young 
 recently succeeded in raising thirty thousand dol- 
 lars in gold for the purpose of establishing an 
 exclusively Texas hospital in Richmond. But 
 just when every arrangement was made with the 
 Catholic sisters in charge of the Infirmary of St. 
 Francis de Sales to take care of our sick and 
 wounded exclusively, and nothing remained but 
 to sign the papers, this same loud-mouthed chap- 
 lain became a stumbling-block. Going to the in- 
 firmary one day, after many of our sick had been 
 sent or transferred to it, he had the shameless 
 effrontery to hold a Methodist service there, 
 without the consent of the Sisters and against 
 
50 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 their indignant but polite protest. It was such 
 an insult to the faith of the Sisters and the 
 Eoman Catholic Church, that although assured 
 the chaplain should be muzzled, the bishop in 
 charge of the diocese absolutely refused to con- 
 sider the project any longer. As a result of this 
 overbearing Methodism, more men will die for 
 lack of the careful nursing of the Sisters than 
 will ever become professors of religion under the 
 ministrations of the chaplain. Men go to hos- 
 pitals to save their bodies, not their souls. The 
 Sisters would not have objected to any private 
 religious talks the chaplain chose to make, but 
 they had a right to forbid any public service not 
 sanctioned by their Church. 
 
 To take the bitter taste of this incident out of 
 my memory, I must go to Texas in thought, if 
 not in person. I regret that your kind invitation 
 to attend the ball and dance with you came too 
 late for acceptance, even had my superiors con- 
 sented to the long absence necessary. It reached 
 me just after General Hood had assured us that 
 grand events were impending and near at hand. 
 While at the time I had no greater real hanker- 
 ing for a fight than the old farmer had for the 
 crow he ate in order to prove to his hired hands 
 that he could eat anything set before him, I was 
 so anxious to witness grand events that I deter- 
 mined to risk being compelled to take an active 
 and perilous part in any battle necessary for 
 their accomplishment. Hence, I made no appli- 
 cation for a furlough to Texas. That I now wish 
 I had, only shows how near approach to danger 
 
Mrs. Maud J. Young 
 
 OUR FRIBND IN NKBD 
 
 FACING 
 
 50 
 
BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES 51 
 
 — it is in the air, that the Yankees are close at 
 hand and waiting for us — dissipates enthusiasm, 
 dampens courage and weakens the patriotism 
 that would gladly die for its country. The 
 " light, fantastic toe " having already been 
 " tripped," it will be in order, I reckon, to express 
 a hope that the cavalry present enjoyed it more 
 than they would a battle. But while I felicitate 
 them, my heart is full of regret; my bosom, of 
 envy. With nothing to do and a horse to do it 
 on; with every delicacy to tempt the appetite, 
 and with starched linen to wear; with a servant 
 to wait on him, and, while he takes a post-pran- 
 dial siesta, fan the flies off his noble brow and 
 away from his soft, white hand; with ladies to 
 look at and walk with, listen to and talk to, and 
 dance with and make love to, and with only a 
 lazy gunboat in the hazy distance to affright his 
 heroic soul by an occasional shell — ^who, oh who, 
 wouldn't gladly risk his life in arduous service 
 on the Texas coast .f* Show me the man who 
 wouldn't, and I'll shoot him. But, alas, a stern 
 and unaccommodating fate denies the crown to 
 my ambition that such a service would be; it is 
 only here in Virginia I may hope to win laurels. 
 
GAINES^ MILL 
 
 Camp near Eichmond, July 12, 1862. 
 Crossing the railroad at Ashland on the morn- 
 ing of June 26, a large force of skirmishers was 
 sent forward. I was one of them, and the dis- 
 tinction cost me the hardest day's work I ever 
 did. We were formed in line, twenty feet apart, 
 and admonished to keep the line well dressed, to 
 maintain the intervals between us, and to keep 
 a sharp lookout for the Yankees. You can imag- 
 ine how difficult this was in the wilderness of 
 pine timber and matted undergrowth into which 
 we plunged. The most important duty seemed 
 to me to keep watch on my front for the enemy, 
 and if I gave my whole mind to that, I was cer- 
 tain to get behind or ahead of my comrades, or to 
 join forces with the man to my right or left. I 
 managed somehow, though, not to get lost, and to 
 be on hand about 11 o'clock a. m., to assist in 
 driving an outpost of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry 
 from its camp in such haste that it left cooking 
 utensils, provisions, and forage. Luckily, a halt 
 was called here, and we made good use of the 
 time dining at the enemy's expense. A cup of 
 well-cooked rice and the best half of a ham fell 
 to me in the distribution of eatables. The rice 
 
 53 
 
GAINES' MILL 53 
 
 had just been taken from the fire, and was too 
 warm to carry in my haversack, and as the last 
 thing a Confederate soldier can afford to do is 
 to waste provisions, I immediately sat down and 
 downed the rice. 
 
 Then noticing a party of men sitting on their 
 horses in the road near me, I sauntered down to 
 interview them. I was on the point of making 
 some impertinent remark — inspired by the con- 
 tempt infantry soldiers feel for cavalry — ^to a 
 particularly seedy, sleepy-looking old fellow, 
 whose uniform and cap were very dirty, and who 
 bestrode a regular Eosinante of a horse, when an 
 officer, all bespangled with lace, came up in a 
 gallop and, saluting, addressed my man as Gen- 
 eral Jackson. At first I was disposed to doubt, 
 but being convinced by the deference paid him 
 that it was really old Stonewall, I congratulated 
 myself for not disturbing his meditations as I 
 had intended. No one offered to introduce us to 
 each other, and, as we were both bashful, we 
 lost the best chance of our lives to become ac- 
 quainted. » • » 
 
 That night we camped within hearing distance 
 of musketry and artillery firing on both right 
 and left; that on the left being between Ewell 
 and the eneiiy, and that on the right, away off 
 in the direction of Mechanicsville. Friday morn- 
 ing, June 27, we again advanced. The Yankees 
 fell back until they reached a strong, almost im- 
 pregnable position on the ground in the vicinity 
 of Gaines' Mill. They occupied a ridge overlook- 
 ing the Chickahominy and between us and that 
 
54 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 stream, their artillery being massed behind three 
 lines of breastworks so constructed along the 
 side of the ridge next to us that firing from one 
 could be done over the heads of the troops in the 
 other. All the force of the enemy on our side of 
 the Chickahominy was concentrated to check the 
 advance of Jackson. The Confederates began 
 their assaults on this position about noon, but 
 were constantly beaten back. Brigade after bri- 
 gade had been ordered to charge. They had 
 charged and met repulse before Whiting's di- 
 vision — ^which consists, you know, of Law's bri- 
 gade and ours — reached the scene of action at 4 
 o'clock in the evening. • ♦ ♦ 
 
 Said General Whiting to General Hood, point- 
 ing to a battery that was doing tremendous exe- 
 cution in the Confederate rank, " That battery 
 ought to be taken. General." " Then why has it 
 not been done?" asked Hood. "Because the 
 position is too strong," answered Whiting. " My 
 brigade is composed of veterans, but they can do 
 nothing with it." " I have a regiment that will 
 capture it," said Hood; and, galloping to the 
 Fourth Texas, dismounted and called it to atten- 
 tion. Then marching it by the flank to an open 
 field, he gave the orders to bring it into line of 
 battle, and shouted, " Forward ! " 
 
 Shot and shell began to come thick and fast 
 as, surmounting the rise of the hill, we arrived 
 in plain view of the Yankees, and half way across 
 the field men began to drop, wounded or dead, 
 from the ranks. We passed over two regiments 
 — said to have been Virginians — who, protected 
 
GAINES' MILL 55 
 
 by a depression of the ground, were lying down, 
 apparently afraid either to advance or retreat. 
 At the crest of the hill Hood shouted rapidly 
 the orders, " Fix bayonets ! Make ready ! Aim ! 
 Fire! Charge!" The timber between us and 
 the enemy hid them from view, but we pulled 
 triggers nevertheless, and rushed down the hill 
 into and across the branch, at the Yankees in 
 the first line of breastworks. They waited not 
 for the onset, but fled like a flock of sheep, carry- 
 ing with them their supports in the second and 
 third lines. Eeaching the road which ran along 
 the summit of the hill beyond the branch, and 
 looking to our left, we could see large bodies of 
 the enemy in full retreat, but they were so far 
 behind us that, mistaken for our own troops, not 
 a shot was fired at them. * • • 
 
 Just across the road from us was an acre lot 
 inclosed by a rail fence. In its center stood a log 
 stable, and from behind this an armed Yankee 
 peeped out. Stringfleld, of Company A, saw him, 
 and mounting the fence in hot haste, ran toward 
 the stable^ determined to capture the fellow. 
 Lieutenant Hughes, of Company F, — a mild-man- 
 nered gentleman who never really takes the name 
 of the Lord in vain, but comes perilously near it 
 sometimes — sang out, " Go it, Stringfleld, go it ! 
 Kill him, dod dam him, kill him ! " But just as 
 he reached the stable Stringfleld was confronted 
 by the muzzle of a loaded gun, and had it not 
 been for Wolfe, of Company F, who instantly 
 aimed, flred, and killed the Yankee, would have 
 been killed. • ♦ • 
 
56 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 The regiment had more work to do, and gal- 
 lantly did it. Hood formed the remnant of the 
 command in an old apple orchard while exposed 
 to a terrific fire from the batteries, and once more 
 gave the order to charge. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Warwick sprang to the front, shouting, " Wait, 
 General, until I get ahead of them," and fifty 
 yards farther fell mortally wounded. The Fourth 
 rushed down into a ravine and up the steep bank 
 to find that instead of one battery, there were 
 three so disposed as to attack from the front and 
 on the fiank. The enemy made no stand at the 
 first, but supporting the second were eight com- 
 panies of the Second United States Cavalry — 
 among them the very company in which Hood 
 had served as a lieutenant. A squadron of this 
 command charged upon the Fourth, but more 
 than half of it were killed and wounded, and the 
 balance forced to retire in disorder. This was 
 the last organized resistance, the third battery 
 being easily captured and the enemy driven a 
 mile beyond it. Then night came on and human 
 slaughter ceased. « « » 
 
 After the fighting I was surprised to learn 
 how little of it I had really seen and partici- 
 pated in. It is only the General, who stands 
 back in the rear and directs the movements of 
 an army, who is able to take note of all that 
 occurs. We privates look only to our immediate 
 front, right, and left, and are not permitted to 
 stand on eminences which overlook the whole 
 field of battle. Therefore you must bear in mind 
 that much of what I relate comes from the lips 
 
Ai^BERT Polk Brown 
 
 Sergeant, Co. A, Fourth Texas Regiment 
 
 lyYCURGus Mc^EAL Brown 
 
 Private, Co. A, Fourth Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 
 5^ 
 
GAINES' MILL 57 
 
 of others. Caesar could say, " Vent, vidi, vici," 
 but the privates of his army had to speak in the 
 first person plural, and say, " We came, we saw, 
 vye conquered." 
 
 General Hood kept the promise made to us 
 when he was promoted to be brigadier-general, 
 and commanded the Fourth in its first fight. He 
 exposed himself most recklessly, but was not 
 harmed. The Veteran said to me yesterday. " I 
 tell you what, Joe, I got mighty nervous and 
 shaky while we were forming in the apple or- 
 chard to make that last desperate charge on the 
 batteries. But when I looked behind me and saw 
 old Hood resting on one foot, his arm raised 
 above his head, his hand grasping the limb of a 
 tree, looking as unconcerned as if we were on 
 dress parade, I just determined that if he could 
 stand it, I would." 
 
 The Texans feel very proud, for they have been 
 complimented from all sides. In general orders 
 the credit of being the first to break the enemy's 
 lines on the 27th has been given to the Fourth. 
 Yet, elated as we are by that fact, we willingly 
 admit that either the First or Fifth Texas would 
 have done as well if the same opportunity had 
 been theirs. Why the troops failed to take the 
 position earlier in the day is very strange to me, 
 for, judging from the speed with which the 
 Yankees fled at our approach, they would have 
 been equally courteous to any other Confederates 
 who made a determined dash upon them. 
 
 The Fifth Texas captured two whole regiments 
 of Yankees — the Fourth New Jersey, raised in 
 
58 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Newark, and the Eleventh Pennsylvania, raised 
 in Philadelphia — ^whose officers insisted on sur- 
 rendering their swords, in a body, to Colonel Up- 
 ton, and were so prompt in the duty that he was 
 compelled to lay down the frying pan which he 
 carries in place of a sword and hold the weapons 
 presented in his arms. Just when the Twentieth 
 was being rendered to him, he noticed a commo- 
 tion at the far end of the captured regiments. 
 That was near the timber, and a squad of the 
 prisoners were making an effort to pass by " Big 
 John Ferris," of Company B, who stood there 
 unaided endeavoring to intercept them. Spring- 
 ing upon a log, the armful of swords dangling 
 about in all directions, Upton shouted, "You 
 
 John Ferris ! What in h and d are you 
 
 trying to do now? " " I'm trying to keep these 
 
 d d fellows from escaping," returned Big 
 
 John, in a stentorian voice. " Let them go, 
 you infernal fool," shouted back Upton. 
 
 " We'd a d d sight rather fight 'em than 
 
 feed 'em. ♦ • « 
 
 That was my first real experience of battle. 
 Charming Nellie. As you know, I have been un- 
 der fire on the picket and skirmish lines, and 
 with my regiment several times, but on this oc- 
 casion there was genuine fighting to be done — 
 enemies in plain sight to shoot at and to be shot 
 by. I frankly admit that when I first knew we 
 were going in I trembled, and my heart seemed 
 to be palpitating away down in the region of my 
 boots. I was in the same condition of mind as 
 the Tennesseean at Manassas. As his regiment 
 
GAINES' MILL 59 
 
 advanced on the enemy a little cotton-tail rabbit 
 ran through the Confederate lines and sped away 
 to the rear. The Tennessee man watched it a 
 moment or two, and then exclaimed, in accents 
 which betokened heartfelt sincerity, " Eun, cot- 
 ton-tail, run! If I had no more reputation to 
 maintain than, you have, I'd run, too." When I 
 got fairly on the way I felt that it was either 
 fight or run, and as soon as the orders to fire 
 and charge were given, dragged my heart up 
 from its hiding-place to its proper position. This 
 done, I became a trifle anxious to return the 
 compliments our blue-coated friends showered 
 incessantly upon us, and lost all sensation of 
 fear, although fully conscious of the danger. The 
 most singular sensation I experienced was when 
 my comrades to the right and left began to drop, 
 dead or wounded. Then a strange curiosity as- 
 sailed me to know how soon a bullet would hit 
 me, what part of my body it would strike, and 
 how I should feel as I sank to the ground. My 
 curiosity was fully gratified a little later. Some- 
 thing, which I thought to be a ball, struck me 
 fairly in the center of the forehead and sent 
 me backward, flat on the ground and uncon- 
 scious. In the instant between blow and uncon- 
 sciousness, though, I had time to think that it 
 was death. I had been kneeling, and just behind 
 me crouched Lieutenant Barziza, of Company C, 
 both of us waiting for the command to go for- 
 ward. When I came to, my first act was to feel 
 for the hole I was sure was in my head, and 
 Barziza's first remark was, " They would have 
 
60 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 got you that time, PoUey, if your head hadn't 
 been so hard." It was only a splinter, however, 
 from a rail struck by a solid shot, but it placed 
 me hors de comhat for the balance of that day, 
 and will leave a scar that I fear will mar the 
 beauty of my frontispiece. 
 
 I will not distress your gentle heart by an ac- 
 count of the horrors of the battlefield after the 
 fighting was over and it was occupied by the 
 wounded, the dying, and the dead. In time, per- 
 haps, I will grow accustomed to such scenes, or 
 perhaps in the very next battle may become one 
 of the horrors myself. Who knows but God.'' 
 But, understand, I do not expect to be killed, 
 and am not going to be if I can honorably avoid 
 it; too much happiness awaits my return to 
 Texas " when this cruel war is over " — that is, 
 provided I am not anticipated by the cavalry. 
 
FACING 
 
 L,. A. Daffan 
 Private, Company G, Fourth Texas Reerimeiit 
 
VI 
 
 battle op second manassas 
 
 Camp neae Winchester, Va., 
 
 October 8, 1862. 
 
 My last letter to you was mailed at Richmond, 
 some time in July. Since then we have been so 
 steadily on the go that I have only been able to 
 write the briefest of notes to inform friends of 
 my continued existence and good health. From 
 the newspapers you will by this time have 
 placed yourself au coura/nt with all important 
 events. To relate my personal experiences and 
 observations will require a longer letter than I 
 usually have the heart to inflict, even upon a 
 lady. * • • 
 
 I overtook the command on the south side 
 of the Eappahannoek — ^the five regiments in 
 bivouac, side by side, on an open hill, and all out 
 of tobacco. So too was I within five minutes, 
 for not suspecting the condition of affairs, I en- 
 tered camp smoking, and was at once relieved of 
 my superabundance of Zarvona, and even of the 
 small sack of Lone Jack which in a moment of 
 aristocratic extravagance I had purchased in 
 Richmond for almost its weight in Confederate 
 money. But about sundown Commodore Dunn 
 appeared with a whole wagon load of the weed, 
 and then happiness prevailed and clouds of frag- 
 
 61 
 
62 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 rant smoke ascended in spiral wreaths toward 
 the blue heavens. 
 
 At two o'clock of the 26th day of August we 
 began the longest and most fatiguing march 
 we have ever made. All that evening, all that 
 night and all the next day until sundown, it 
 was trampi — tramp — tramp. Jackson was up 
 at Manassas Junction, had captured an im- 
 mense amount of commissary and quarter- 
 master supplies, but was about to be surrounded 
 and wanted help. * • « 
 
 A couple of hundred yards from the road the 
 body of a man dressed in the uniform of a Con- 
 federate officer swung from the limb of an oak 
 tree. The story, as I heard it, was this : A mes- 
 sage, purporting to be from General Longstreet, 
 was delivered by an of&cer to General 
 
 Obeying it, the latter instantly halted his com 
 mand, but, suspecting treachery and seeing Long- 
 street approaching, detained the messenger, 
 " Why have you halted, sir? " demanded Long- 
 street angrily. " By your order, sir? " replied 
 
 General . " Who delivered the order? " 
 
 " That officer on the sorrel horse." " Who au- 
 thorized you to deliver the order, sir? " demanded 
 Longstreet of the officer. " General Longstreet," 
 replied he without a moment's hesitation, and 
 looking Longstreet full in the face. " Do you 
 know General Longstreet? " " I do, sir." "Is he 
 present? " " He is not, sir." " Arrest that man," 
 said Longstreet, turning quickly to the officer 
 in command of his bodyguard ; " then detail an 
 officer and six privates to carry him to that tree 
 
BATTLE OF SECOND MANASSAS 63 
 
 over yonder and hang him — ^he is a spy." The 
 fellow acknowledged that he was a Federal oflfi- 
 cer and had been offered an immense sum of 
 money if he would delay the march of Long- 
 street's corps long enough to enable Pope to cap- 
 ture Jackson. He had played for a big stake and 
 lost, but, asking neither trial nor mercy, met his 
 fate like a man. • « ♦ 
 
 On the evening of the 28th we passed through 
 Thoroughfare Gap, and at sundown camped on 
 the side of an open hill. Near the top of it the 
 commissaries were busy issuing hard tack. Some 
 idlers gave a couple of empty barrels a twirl and 
 a kick that sent them racing down the hill with 
 a racket like the charge of a regiment of cavalry, 
 and instantly, while many of our men sprang 
 for the guns stacked on the color line, hundreds 
 sprang to their feet intent on seeking safety in 
 flight. I did neither, I am proud to say. Hap- 
 pening to be standing close to the only tree 
 within three hundred yards, I stood my ground 
 like a man. "It's nothing but barrels, you 
 fools ! " shouted some cool, observant fellow, and 
 thus checked an incipient stampede. 
 
 At daylight of the 29th we were awakened by 
 the noise of musketry and artillery firing. It 
 was several miles away, but still loud enough to 
 convince us that a terrible battle was in progress 
 between Jackson and Pope. At sun-up we were 
 on the way to relieve old Stonewall, the brigade 
 marching in column, but with skirmishers — ^your 
 humble servant one of them — under Colonel Up- 
 ton, in advance. No enemy appearing to check 
 
64 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 US, we made rapid progress, and about ten 
 o'clock in the morning took position on Jackson's 
 right, a mile or more from the scene of the matu- 
 tinal battle — ^the regiment lying comfortably and 
 at ease in line on one edge of a narrow skirt of 
 timber, the skirmishers standing behind and ar- 
 dently hugging the trees on the other edge. In 
 front was a gently undulating meadow, probably 
 a quarter of a mile wide, stretching to right as 
 far as the eye could reach, and to the left to the 
 railroad cut from which Pope had been trying 
 all the morning to drive Jackson's men. On the 
 opposite side of the meadow from us was another 
 skirt of timber, and here were posted Yankee 
 skirmishers. But as neither they nor we were so 
 desirous of cultivating an intimate acquaintance 
 with each other as to make ourselves conspicu- 
 ous, the day passed with but occasional inter- 
 changes of hostile compliments. 
 
 Indeed, Yankee thirst for gore was so fully 
 and early satiated by Jackson's brave Louis- 
 ianians and Virginians, that both armies ap- 
 peared to have regained their good humor and to 
 be enjoying an interregnum of what Caesar, 
 Cicero, or some other great and famous Eoman, , 
 denominates as " otium cum dignitate." Deceived ■ 
 into carelessness by these apparently amicable 
 relations. Jack Sutherland and I, about three 
 o'clock in the evening, were finding ease for our 
 weary limbs at the foot of a tall tree at the ex- 
 treme outer edge of the timber; he, resting his 
 head against its trunk; I, sitting crosslegged a 
 few feet from him; our guns held in our 
 
BATTLE OF SECOND MANASSAS 65 
 
 Jack was at the most interestingly philosophical 
 part — to him — of a long dissertation on social 
 etiquette, when the boom of a cannon broke upon 
 our ears. The sound came from the right, and, 
 looking in that direction, we became witnesses of 
 a seemingly desperate cavalry battle, but at such 
 a distance from us that we were unable to dis- 
 tinguish Confederates from Federals. Dense 
 black clouds of dust and smoke marked the 
 points where charges and countercharges were 
 made and repulsed, lurid flashes of fire from the 
 mouths of cannon leaped now and then into sight 
 beneath the overhanging pall, while an incessant 
 rattle of small arms and roar of artillery greeted 
 our ears. Wholly absorbed in watching that 
 scene, it was startling to hear the simultaneous 
 crash of a dozen batteries on our left. This lat- 
 ter demonstration was an effort of General Pope 
 to demoralize Jackson's troops preparatory to 
 charging and driving them in confusion from 
 their position in the railroad cut. This was not 
 more than half a mile long, but running diag- 
 onally across our line of vision, we could only see 
 the red banks of clay behind which crouched the 
 defiant Confederates. The Federals, however, 
 forming in battle array, and with flags waving 
 proudly in the breeze, moved forward, a dark 
 and threatening line of blue, in plain view. Ad- 
 vancing to the crest of the hill within a hundred 
 yards of the cut, they halted a second, as if to 
 perfect their alignment, and then, as if moved 
 by a single impulse, sprang forward, with a long- 
 drawn " huzzah " ringing from their ten thou- 
 
66 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 sand throats. On they went until half the dis- 
 tance to the cut was covered, and then the smoke, 
 flash and roar of four thousand well-aimed guns 
 burst from the Confederate intrenchment, and 
 a wild, reckless, and terrifying Southern yell 
 echoed and re-echoed over the hills and hollows 
 and through the woodlands. And scarcely had it 
 ceased to reverberate, when the smoke lifted and 
 disclosed the survivors of that murderous volley 
 fleeing for dear life back to their own lines, its 
 victims lying, dark blots on the greensward, 
 writhing and struggling, dead, dying and 
 wounded. That infantry struggle lasted scarcely 
 five minutes, but a thousand men were killed 
 and more than twice as many more wounded! 
 The cavalry flght on our right continued an hour, 
 but only five men were killed and seventeen 
 wounded. No wonder all want to " jine the 
 cavalry " ! 
 
 Three such assaults were made on the railroad 
 before the Yanks, on that part of their line, de- 
 cided they had enough. About the time they 
 reached this wise conclusion, half a dozen bullets 
 pattered on the ground and against the trees 
 around me and Jack. Someone said, " Jack, you 
 and Joe had better get behind a tree; those fel- 
 lows are shooting at you two."" The advice 
 seemed so sound that I immediately sought the 
 protection of an adjacent tree. Being much 
 lazier than I, Jack did not move as quickly. But 
 when, half a second after he had summoned up 
 energy to let his head drop forward toward his 
 knees, a ball struck the tree on the very spot 
 
BATTLE OF SECOND MANASSAS 67 
 
 where his cranium had rested, he displayed an 
 activity truly wonderful! 
 
 Ten minutes afterward, orders came to the 
 skirmishers to drive the Yankees out of the tim- 
 ber beyond the meadow. Casting a look behind 
 to assure ourselves that our respective regiments 
 would follow closely enough to enable us to give 
 them prompt warning of danger, we moved for- 
 ward, the light of battle in our eyes — I reckon — 
 and the fear of it in our hearts — I know. 
 
 Much to our delight, the enemy was as swift 
 in fetreat as we in advance. They did not even 
 fire on us as we crossed the meadow, and once in 
 the timber, our courage returned in full vigor. 
 It is really surprising how comfortable even a 
 sapling is to a fellow on a skirmish line. But 
 by this time it was getting dark, and before I 
 reached the open field beyond the timber it was 
 not only quite dark, but the skirmish line had 
 melted into utter nothingness. There was no 
 severe fighting going on anywhere, so far as sight 
 and hearing enabled me to judge, but I was alone, 
 not a friend near to advise me, and bullets were 
 whistling around me in such threatening super- 
 abundance and from so many directions, that I 
 felt very much as I used to when my mother com- 
 pelled me to sleep in a room all by " my lone 
 self." Besides, I was getting yery tired of dodg- 
 ing. 
 
 Just when my patriotism had sunk to the low- 
 est ebb, I heard the command, " Forward, 
 Eleventh Mississippi ! Guide center ! " and saw 
 a long, straight and dark line moving, apparently 
 
68 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 sidewise, down the hill in the direction of where 
 I supposed the enemy to be. Following it, I 
 soon overtook the rash fellows, and when the 
 regiment halted at the bottom of the hill to re- 
 cover the breath it had lost in descending, placed 
 myself in position to support its right flank. I 
 thought the colonel in command would be too 
 wise to proceed farther. But again his hoarse 
 voice shouted " Forward ! " while a captain close 
 behind me declared he would shoot the first man 
 who attempted to skulk. Thus you see. Charm- 
 ing Nellie, danger not only confronted me, but 
 lurked in my rear. Eapid thought was a neces- 
 sity. The Fourth Texas was certainly entitled 
 to the credit of any gallantry I might accident- 
 ally or otherwise display. Knowing that I was 
 not with the regiment, Colonel Carter would nat- 
 urally conclude I was at the front, and would 
 come immediately to my relief with the whole 
 regiment at his back. Obviously the Eleventh 
 Mississippi was going into danger, and it was bet- 
 ter to risk the captain's pistol than the thousand 
 and tens of thousands of guns which would be 
 turned against me if I went forward. Thus rea- 
 soning, I permitted my Mississippi compatriots 
 to proceed without me. The captain immediately 
 rushed at me, pistol in one hand and drawn sword 
 in the other, shouting, " Move forward, sir — move 
 forward ! " so fiercely that I was almost tempted 
 to take him at his word. But better counsel pre- 
 vailed. " I belong to the Fourth Texas, Colo- 
 nel," I explained hastily; whereupon, cajoled 
 by my flattery into returning it, he exclaimed, 
 
B. p. FlTLI,ER 
 Captain, Fifth Texas Regiment 
 
BATTLE OF SECOND MANASSAS 69 
 
 " That's all right then, Captain — nobody would 
 be so far in front but a Texan." 
 
 My trust in Colonel Carter was speedily justi- 
 fied by the approach of the Fourth. But we had 
 not gone a hundred yards after I dropped into 
 the ranks of Company F, when we heard the re- 
 port of half a hundred muskets in our rear. 
 Halting and looking back, we saw a line of camp 
 fires spring up as if by magic on the top of the 
 hill at the edge of the woods, while the tall sil- 
 houettes of many men and horses flitted around 
 them and between them and us. Half an hour 
 later the brigade faced to the left, and the First 
 Texas leading, marched toward the lights. Sud- 
 denly a loud voice cried " Halt ! " a single gun- 
 shot rang out on the still night air, and the 
 command came whispered back, " Silence ! we 
 are surrounded by the enemy." 
 
VII 
 
 SECOND MANASSAS, CONTINUED 
 
 (Letter of October 8, 1862, continued.) 
 
 " Silence ! " We could well observe the com- 
 mand. " Surrounded by the enemy ! " It was a 
 pretty tale to be told on Texans, who had come 
 two thousand miles to capture the Yankee na- 
 tion and force it to terms, that they had care- 
 lessly walked into a trap and surrendered with- 
 out firing a gun in defense of the flags they had 
 sworn to bathe in floods of glory. Chagrined 
 and mortified, Texas pride humbled into the 
 dust, who wanted to talk.? These were, of course, 
 first thoughts; second ones embraced the diffi- 
 culties and exigencies of the situation and the 
 chances of escape, but were far from pleasant 
 and comforting. 
 
 But the humiliation we felt was self-inflicted, 
 the fears idle, the difficulties imaginary. Within 
 an hour General Hood found a gap in the cir- 
 cumvailing lines; then he rode, first to Long- 
 street's headquarters, and next to Lee's, and 
 asked leave to remain where he was, and begin 
 the attack at daylight. He argued that the 
 enemy, imagining they had cooped up only one 
 regiment, would be demoralized, and easily 
 routed when attacked by two such brigades as 
 his and Whiting's. Overruled by his superiors, 
 
 70 
 
SECOND MANASSAS, CONTINUED 71 
 
 howcTer, he returned to the command, which, 
 led by him, marched in darkness, with bated 
 breath, and without the rattle of a cup or a 
 canteen, between two Federal brigades, and at 
 daylight confronted the foe whose clutches it 
 had so narrowly escaped, in the same position it 
 had occupied the day before. 
 
 Had I been consulted previous to learning of 
 the getting out place, I should certainly have 
 indorsed Hood's plan ; but not after the avenue 
 of escape was not only pointed out, but we had 
 availed ourselves of it. Then I Joined most 
 heartily with my comrades in congratulating 
 ourselves on having, as an illiterate fellow said, 
 so skillfully " unsurrounded " ourselves. 
 
 The day and night's work cost us the slight 
 wounding of a few men and the capture of Bill 
 Calhoun, of Company B, Fourth Texas. This 
 Bill Calhoun is an oddity of whom we are very 
 proud. Always sad of countenance, there yet 
 dwells in the recesses of his bosom a spirit of 
 constantly effervescing drollery which now and 
 then, and when least expected, bubbles over and 
 explodes. His messmate and bedfellow is Dav- 
 idge. Carrying out their plan of an equitable 
 division of labor, Davidge, on the day we passed 
 through Manassas Gap, was intrusted with the 
 blankets, while Bill charged himself with the 
 transportation of the provisions and limited cul- 
 inary apparatus. Davidge straggled, and, when 
 camp was reached at night was non est inventus. 
 Confident he would come soon. Bill prepared sup- 
 per, and, Davidge still not appearing, ate it all 
 
72 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 himself, lighted his pipe, smoked and chatted 
 awhile ; and, then remarking that Davidge would 
 be along soon, stretched himself out on the bare 
 ground to rest. But here in Virginia the nights 
 are cool enough even in July to make covering 
 acceptable, and though Bill endured the hard- 
 ness of his couch and the chilliness of the night 
 with unbroken placidity until midnight, he could 
 stand it no longer. Rising and standing erect 
 in the midst of five thousand recumbent forms 
 darkening the moonlit hillside, he broke into 
 magniloquent apostrophe : " O Davidge, Dav- 
 idge! friend of my bosom and possessor of my 
 blanket, where art thou, Davidge, this cold and 
 comfortless night? Art thou indeed false to thy 
 many professions — false to the sacred obliga- 
 tions of true and loyal friendship thou hast 
 sworn — oblivious of duty, and forgetful of the 
 friend who hath confided to thee even the blanket 
 on which he dependeth for protection from the 
 chilling blasts of winter? Art thou now reclin- 
 ing peacefully and blissfully on some hospitable 
 feather bed dreaming of the joys that will come 
 when this * cruel war is o'er,' or art thou, beguiled 
 and betrayed by the demon of intemperance and 
 a damnable thirst for apple-jack, wallowing like 
 a hog in the dust before the door of some dis- 
 reputable mountain stillhouse; while I, thy 
 friend and messmate, thy boon companion in 
 happiness and adversity, stand here alone — ^a 
 homeless, houseless orphan, his wandering foot- 
 steps guided only by the pale light of yonder 
 refulgent orb of night, his shivering body covered 
 
A Gen]|ine S01.DIER Boy of 1861 
 
 16 YeaVs Old 
 (Taken in Richmond, Va., 1861) 
 
 F. B. ChiIvTon 
 
 Company h; Fourth Texas Regiment, Hood's Texas Brigade, 
 Army of Northern Virginia ; later Captain C. S. A. 
 
A Confederate Veteran of 1907 
 
 62 Years Old 
 (Taken in Houston, Texas, 1907) 
 
 Captain Frank Bowden Chilton 
 
 Houston. Texas 
 
 President Hood's- Texas Brigade Monument Committee 
 Monument to be erected on Capitol Grounds, at Austin, Texas. 
 
 FACING 
 
 74 
 
SECOND MANASSAS, CONTINUED 73 
 
 only by the blue canopy of the sky, and his rest- 
 less slumber watched over only by the myriads 
 of twinkling stars that shine in the heavens above 
 me? Alas! Davidge, thou trusted friend, com- 
 panion, and confidant of my youth and manhood, 
 thou hast been weighed in the balance and found 
 wanting. The surrounding and circumambient 
 circumstances are proof strong as Holy Writ that 
 I have been duped, deceived, outwitted, and un- 
 gratefully left to encounter the slings and ar- 
 rows of misfortune alone and unsustained by 
 any human aid." And dropping from the sub- 
 lime to the ridiculous, Bill nudged the nearest 
 man with his foot and said in a voice of entreaty 
 that would have melted the hardest heart, " Say, 
 Val Giles, let me get under the blanket with you ; 
 if you don't, I'll be a standing monument, before 
 morning, of man's inhumanity to man." 
 
 I have told you this story to prepare you for 
 that of Bill's capture, as related by a Confed- 
 erate who was near enough to see and hear every- 
 thing, but laid low and kept dark lest he, too, 
 should be captured. It is so in keeping with 
 Bill's unique character that no one doubts it. 
 Bill was on the skirmish line, and, like myself, 
 lost sight of his Confederate friends, and got too 
 far to the front. Carrying his gun in both hands, 
 with a finger on the hammer ready to cock it at 
 the first glimpse of an enemy, he was suddenly 
 brought to a halt by the harsh and totally unex- 
 pected command, " Surrender, you d d Eebel ; 
 
 throw down your gun and surrender ! " Such lan- 
 guage, followed as it was by the threatening click 
 
74 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 of half a dozen gunlocks, was not to be treated 
 lightly. Bill's fingers simultaneously released 
 their grip on his Minie rifle, and it dropped, 
 clanging to the hard, stony ground; then he 
 looked to his right and saw, behind a clump of 
 bushes he had almost passed, a squad of Yankees. 
 They were within twenty feet of him, and one of 
 them stood with cocked and leveled gun pointed 
 directly at his breast. Bill was no fool; the 
 enemy had the drop on him, and any appearance 
 of hesitation on his part might be unhealthy. 
 Therefore, he made haste to say, in a voice 
 pitched at a key plainly to be heard, " Of course, 
 I surrender. Who the devil is talking about not 
 surrendering.? " The celerity with which the gun 
 was dropped, the odd manner of surrendering, 
 and the absurd question asked, set the Yankee to 
 laughing at such a rate that he forgot to lower 
 his weapon, but kept it pointing in the general 
 direction of the captive as warningly as his shak- 
 ing sides would permit. Noticing this. Bill pro- 
 tested earnestly, " See here, mister ; please quit 
 p'inting that gun at me. I've done surrendered, 
 and the darned thing might go off unbeknownst 
 to you." " Oh," answered the Yankee between 
 bursts of laughter, but still failing to lower his 
 gun, " I ain't a-goin' ter shoot you." " Mout as 
 well shoot a feller at once as to scare him to 
 death with a wobblin' gun," rejoined Bill. 
 
 "D d if I wasn't always afeard of a 
 
 wobblin' gun; it's just as apt to hit as to 
 miss." ♦ « ♦ 
 
 It was not until four o'clock on the evening of 
 
SECO>rD MANASSAS, CONTINUED 75 
 
 the 30th that our brigade again sought the foe. 
 The same meadow was to cross, the same skirt 
 of timber to pass through. As the Fourth 
 emerged from the latter, the Fifth New York 
 Battery, commanded by Captain Curran, and 
 stationed on a commanding eminence on the 
 other side of a deep hollow, devoted its whole 
 attention to us, and to show our appreciation of 
 the courtesy, we made directly for it. A Fed- 
 eral regiment between us and the battery fired 
 one volley at us and fled as fast as legs could 
 carry them. Another regiment that had been 
 placed in a pine thicket immediately in rear of 
 the battery as a support to it, followed suit, but, 
 undismayed, gallant Captain Curran fired his 
 guns until every artillerist was shot down, and 
 he himself fell as he was in the very act of send- 
 ing into our huddled ranks a charge of grape 
 and canister that would have sent the half of 
 us to kingdom come. A braver spirit than his 
 never dwelt in the breast of man. " You would 
 never have captured my battery," said he, as at 
 his request a Texan laid him under one of the 
 guns and placed a knapsack under his head, 
 " if my supports had been men instead of cow- 
 ards." We fully agreed with him. * • * 
 Looking up the hill, a strange and ghastly spec- 
 tacle met our eyes. An acre of ground was lit- 
 erally covered with the dead, dying, and wounded 
 of the Fifth New York Zouaves, the variegated 
 colors of whose peculiar uniform gave the scene 
 the appearance of a Texas hillside in spring, 
 painted with wild flowers of every hue and color. 
 
76 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Not fifty of the Zouaves escaped whole. One 
 of their lieutenants, who had lost an arm, told 
 me that they were in the second line of the breast- 
 works which the Fourth Texas had carried at 
 Gaines' Mill a month before; that in the mad 
 retreat of the first line of Federals they had been 
 swept away, and that, on learning the position 
 in the Confederate line occupied by our brigade 
 here at Second Manassas, they had made a spe- 
 cial request of General Pope to be permitted to 
 confront us on the 30th, and regain the laurels 
 lost at Gaines' Mill. There they met the Fourth 
 Texas and suffered ignominious defeat — here, 
 they came face to face for a minute only with 
 the Fifth Texas — and suffered practical anni- 
 hilation. 
 
 The Zouaves, it seems, were posted just under 
 the crest of the hill, and a hundred feet from 
 the edge of the timber, and fired the moment the 
 heads of the Texans showed above the crest. Of 
 course they aimed too high, and before they could 
 reload the Texans poured such a well-directed 
 and deadly volley into their closely formed ranks 
 that half of them sank to the ground, and the 
 balance wheeled and ran. Not waiting to reload, 
 the Texans rushed after the fugitives, and, club- 
 bing their muskets, continued the work of de- 
 struction until every enemy in sight was left 
 prone upon the ground. Then, as General Hood 
 said, the Fifth Texas " slipped its bridle and 
 went wild." Had they not been recalled, they 
 would have gone right on to the Potomac. That 
 night I was aroused from deep slumber by the 
 
SECOND MANASSAS, CONTINUED 77 
 
 sound of merriment. Eising to a sitting posture, 
 I asked my disturber, "What in the name of 
 common sense are you laughing about at this 
 
 ungodly hour, Jim?" "About those d d 
 
 Zouaves," said he. "You know that Belgian 
 rifle with a bore almost as big as a cannon that 
 I showed you this morning.? Well, I was with 
 the Fifth when it struck those fancy-dressed fel- 
 lows. I didn't shoot when the balance did, but 
 just waited until the scoundrels got well hud- 
 dled together as they ran down the hill, and, 
 getting about twenty of them in line, I put my 
 gun to the back of the nearest one, and pulled 
 
 the trigger; and d d if I don't believe I killed 
 
 the whole posse comitatus." Honestly, I shud- 
 dered with horror and disgust. The idea of such 
 bloodthirstiness as would permit a man to laugh 
 over the slaughter of so many men is repulsive. 
 I am not writing history, Charming Nellie; 
 only endeavoring to paint a few scattering lights 
 and shadows of this terrible war. The anecdote 
 I have just told is a darker shadow than usual; 
 so let me lighten it by another. Jim Ferris, of 
 the Fifth Texas, found himself at Second Ma- 
 nassas in a dilapidated condition externally. 
 The legs of his pants lacked several inches of the 
 proper length, and in the absence of a pair of 
 socks his ankles had been sadly lacerated by the 
 briars and brambles throiigh which he had been 
 compelled to scramble in skirmishing. While 
 running wild with his regiment when it slipped 
 the bridle on the 30th, it occurred to his mind 
 that he might supply deficiencies in his raiment 
 
78 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 by administering on the estate of some dead 
 Yankee. A pair of leggins to button around the 
 calves of his legs would answer his purposes 
 admirably, he thought, and he resolved to have 
 them. It was midnight, though, before he began 
 operations. Being a very large man himself, 
 only the body of a large man could be depended 
 upon to supply Jim's need; and in the search 
 for such a one he wandered to and fro over the 
 silent field of the dead until, awed by the solem- 
 nity of his surroundings, cold chills began to 
 run down his back at the least noise; and he 
 expected every minute to encounter a ghost. 
 Finally he found a corpse of apparently suitable 
 size, and, hastily turning back from its legs 
 the oilcloth which covered it from head to foot, 
 began with no gentle hand to unbutton a leggin. 
 At the first jerk the supposed deadest of all the 
 many dead flung the oilcloth from his head, and, 
 rising to a sitting posture, exclaimed, " Great 
 God alive, man ! Don't rob me before I am dead, 
 if you please ! " In horrified amazement, Jim 
 sprang twenty feet at one bound, but, knowing 
 no ghost would speak so sensibly, natural po- 
 liteness prompted instant apology. " Indeed, 
 Mr. Yankee," said he, in the most gentle and 
 winning tone he could assume, " I hadn't the 
 least idea you were alive, or I never would have 
 been guilty of the discourtesy of disturbing you. 
 Please pardon me, and let me know what I can 
 do to make amends for my rudeness." " I would 
 like a drink of water," said the revived corpse. 
 " Take my canteen, sir," rejoined Jim, instantly 
 
D. C. Farmer 
 
 Captain, Fifth Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 
 7ii 
 
SECOND MANASSAS, CONTINUED 79 
 
 offering it, " and please oblige me by keeping it ; 
 I can easily get another." 
 
 After this experience Jim decided that, rather 
 than risk waking another corpse, he would do 
 without leggins ; but on his way to camp he came 
 across a stalwart form lying at full length on the 
 ground, and at the very first glance saw that here 
 could be obtained the needed articles. No mis- 
 take must be made, though; and so, laying his 
 hand on the shoulder of the Yankee, he gave him 
 a shake, and asked, " Say, Mister, are you dead 
 or alive.'' " There was no response, and next 
 morning Jim Ferris strutted about the camp in 
 a magnificent pair of linen leggins. * ♦ * 
 
 Note 3 — Following Gaines' Mill, Hood's brigade was under 
 heavy fire at Savage Station, Fraser's Farm, and Malvern 
 Hill, but not being actively engaged, its casualties were tri- 
 fling. A few days after the last of these engagements it 
 went into camp near Richmond, where it rested for some- 
 thing over a month. Marching thence about the 10th of Au- 
 gust, it participated in fierce skirmishes at Kelly's Ford and 
 Freeman's Ford and in a sharp battle at Hazel River, losing, 
 however, few men. These actions are not mentioned in any 
 ■of the letters for the double reason that the author was not 
 then with the brigade, and the engagements in themselves 
 were unimportant. At Thoroughfare Gap, mentioned in Let- 
 ter 6, but two regiments of the brigade did any fighting of 
 consequence — the Fourth Texas, fortunately, doing none. 
 
VIII 
 
 CROSSING OVEE INTO MARYLAND 
 
 (Letter of October 8, 1862, continued) 
 
 "Ugh-igh!" exclaimed Bob Murray on the 
 morning of September 5, with an emphatic cre- 
 scendo inflection on the last syllable. " Darned 
 if I don't believe all the ice houses in western 
 Maryland were emptied into this river last night." 
 We were wading the Potomac, bent on effacing 
 the print of the " despot's heel " from " Mary- 
 land's shore," and Bob had just stumbled over 
 a rock in the middle of the channel and gone 
 under, head and ears. With less reason than he, 
 I was of the same opinion. The coldness of the 
 water, however, was more than equaled by the 
 frigidity of the welcome extended. Not even the 
 dulcet strains of " Maryland, My Maryland," 
 evoked from half submerged instruments by Col- 
 lins' band aroused the enthusiasm of the people ; 
 no arms opened to receive, no fires blazed to 
 warm, and no feast waited to feed us, as wet, 
 shivering and hungry, we stepped out of the 
 water and set our feet on Maryland's soil. 
 * ♦ • * • 
 
 That day Jack Sutherland and I straggled; he, 
 because of a sore heel, and I to escape the heat 
 and dust I should encounter if I remained in the 
 ranks. Next morning, on our way to rejoin the 
 
 80 
 
R. W. Murray 
 
 Private, Company F, Fourth Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 
 80 
 
CROSSING OVER INTO MARYLAND 81 
 
 command on the Monocacy, near Frederick City, 
 we ran across three Georgians butchering a 
 beef. Being totally ignorant of the deliciousness 
 of a cowboy's tidbits, the sweetbread and mar- 
 rowgut, they generously consented to our ap- 
 propriation of those rare and dainty gastronomic 
 delicacies. * ♦ » 
 
 On this occasion, if never before, Jack was a 
 trifle too greedy, and, to use a bit of slang, the 
 singularly exhaustive expressiveness of which 
 justifies a departure from the rules of rhetoric, 
 " cut off more than he could chaw." The marrow- 
 gut is never over three feet long — the art in 
 securing it consisting of knowing where to begin 
 and where to stop. Much practice when I was 
 a cowboy, which I wish I was now, has made me 
 an adept in the art. Jack is not an adept, but 
 as he insisted on doing the carving, I had to let 
 him do it. He began with commendable discre- 
 tion, and, having stripped out about eighteen 
 inches of the entrail, bade me take hold of the 
 end of it, and proceeded with his carving. At 
 what I judged to be three feet, I suggested a halt. 
 "Dry up!" said he testily; "don't you s'pose 
 I know what I'm about? " Figuratively extin- 
 guished, I stood mute, and Jack continued cut- 
 ting until he reached the six-foot mark. Whack- 
 ing it off there and rising to his feet with his 
 end firmly clutched between his fingers, he asked 
 how we should divide it. " Just cut it in two in 
 the middle," said I, knowing that thus only could 
 I hope to get the only eatable part. He did so, 
 and then, each of us taking half the sweet-bread. 
 
82 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 and smacking our lips in anticipation of the 
 treat in store for us when we reached the frying- 
 pan of our respective messes, hastened on to 
 camp. But, alas! while neither I nor my mess 
 had the least cause for complaint, Jack and his 
 did, and he was denounced by his messmates in 
 terms more forcible than elegant for his careless- 
 ness in both selection and division. 
 
 Leaving the Monocacy on the 9th, we moved 
 on to Hagerstown, and encamped on the grassy 
 banks of a beautiful clear stream of water 
 * * * With trembling pen and an 
 ashamed heart, I must confess that at that par- 
 ticular juncture in my career as a soldier I was, 
 according to the polite but graphic language of 
 our camp Chesterfields, " quite insectuous." 
 Only persons who have been similarly afflicted 
 can realize the joy I felt when a happy chance 
 — an apparently providential interposition in 
 my behalf — furnished me, from the crown of my 
 head to the soles of my feet, with a change of 
 raiment. The clear stream of water came in 
 then most handily for the extensive and laborious 
 ablutions rendered obligatory by my keen sense 
 of the fitness of things. 
 
 Being in a portion of Maryland never before 
 depredated on by an army, rations were abun- 
 dant, even if evidences of the good will of the 
 people were few and far between. Willingly 
 would we have remained longer at Hagerstown, 
 but it was not to be. " Grim visaged war " again 
 showed " his wrinkled front," and blew his blasts 
 in our ears. The sound of cannon back in the 
 
CROSSING OVER INTO MARYLAND 83 
 
 direction of Frederick City proclaimed that 
 " Little Mac " was coming after our scalps, and 
 within an hour our brigade was on the march 
 to Boonesboro Gap. 
 
 The desire of General " Shank " Evans to 
 have his brigade of South Carolinians assigned 
 to Whiting's division, on the day after the enemy 
 was routed at Second Manassas, was, at first 
 blush, a compliment; we had no objection to 
 sharing the honors of the future with a brigade 
 which had gained renown at Ball's Bluff. But 
 the desire appeared so soon to be wholly self- 
 serving that we regretted our complaisance, and 
 would willingly have foregone the flattery. 
 Evans's commission as brigadier-general ante- 
 dated that of Hood, and this gave him command 
 of the division in the absence of General Whit- 
 ing. When, therefore, Evans's first act of au- 
 thority was an unwarranted demand on Hood 
 to turn over to Evans's quartermaster a lot of 
 nice ambulances Texas scouts had captured, and 
 which had been appropriated to our use and 
 benefit, and when Hood, refusing, was placed 
 under arrest by Evans and deprived of command, 
 the indignation of the Texans was all the deeper 
 because of the necessity of suppressing it. Nor 
 did it find audible expression until the sound 
 of the enemy's guns on the 14th of September, 
 and the sight of our beloved General riding, with 
 bowed head, in the rear of the men who trusted 
 him, emphasized the outrage, and forced an ap- 
 peal to supreme authority. General Lee sat on 
 his horse by the side of the road, almost within 
 
84 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 reach of the enemy's guns, and each Texan as 
 he passed joined in the meaning refrain to the 
 deep-seated resolve, " If there's any fighting to 
 be done by the Texas Brigade, Hood must com- 
 mand it." Understanding the full significance 
 of the demand, Lee raised his hat courteously, 
 and replied laconically, "You shall have him, 
 gentlemen," and immediately dispatched an aid 
 to inform Hood of his release from arrest. The 
 men began to cheer, but when our gallant Gen- 
 eral, his head uncovered and his face proud and 
 joyful, galloped by to his rightful place at the 
 head of the column, the cheers deepened into a 
 roar that drowned the volleys of the hundred 
 cannon that were even then vengefully thunder- 
 ing at the Gap. * * • 
 
 Mounted on a good horse, I turned short to 
 the right, and, after riding all night, crossed the 
 Potomac at Williamsport, whence I proceeded 
 up the Shenandoah Valley to Staunton. Having 
 so far devoted this letter exclusively to " feats 
 of broil and battle," "little would I grace my 
 cause " by descending to a monotonous story of 
 traveling among a friendly and hospitable peo- 
 ple. Indeed, the trivial incidents of that journey 
 would afford but slight entertainment, even were 
 this a time of peace, much less when every South- 
 ern heart is enlisted in the great and glorious 
 cause for which our soldiers are laying down 
 their lives. Nor shall I attempt any description 
 
 of a battle in which I did not participate. 
 « « • « « 
 
 When I rejoined the brigade, it was encamped 
 
FACING 
 
 84 
 
 Edward Bucki,ey 
 
 Private. Company "L,, First Texas Regiment 
 
CROSSING OVER INTO MARYLAND 85 
 
 here near an immense spring of clear, cold water. 
 Looking about me for the faces of men endeared 
 to me by common suffering and danger, I missed 
 many. Some of them were killed outright at 
 Sharpsburg; many were wounded, and of a few, 
 the best and worst that could be said was that 
 they had been reported as " missing." 
 
 The brunt of the battle on that part of the 
 Confederate line occupied by Hood's brigade at 
 Sharpsburg fell upon the First Texas, and they 
 bore it like the heroes they are. Even if they 
 did lose their flag — their color-bearer being 
 killed at a time when the enemy was pressing 
 the regiment too vigorously for its members to 
 attend to any duty but shooting — they proved 
 by their unflinching gallantry that, given the 
 same opportunities, either one of our Texas regi- 
 ments could be depended upon to do all that 
 mortals may to win victory and punish a foe. 
 Using the expressive nomenclature of camp, I 
 may say that at Gaines' Mill it was the " Hell- 
 roaring Fourth " that carried off the honors ; 
 at Second Manassas it was the " Bloody Fifth," 
 and at Sharpsburg it was the " Kagged First." 
 
 Anent the matter of that lost flag. It was a 
 long, lean private of the Sixth North Carolina 
 who administered a retort courteous to a 
 would-be wag of the First Texas. The regiments 
 were passing each other, two or three days after 
 the battle, and the representative of the Lone 
 Star State, with more wit than discretion, sang 
 out of the Sixth, " Halloa, fellers ! Have you a 
 good supply of tar on your heels this morning.? " 
 
86 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 " Yes," answered the long, lean man pleasantly, 
 but too pointedly to be misunderstood, " and it's 
 a real pity you'uns didn't come over and borrow 
 a little the other day; it mout have saved that 
 flag o' your'n." 
 
 Nearly two months of incessant marching and 
 battling in heat, dust, mud, and rain, and of ex- 
 posure to all the perils of active campaigning in 
 front of a largely outnumbering enemy, have 
 made this rest at Winchester a very pleasant one. 
 We have little to do but eat, drink, sleep, and talk. 
 The officer who would suggest drilling the vet- 
 erans of the brilliant campaign just ended would 
 
 merit summary dismissal from the service. 
 
 * « « « * 
 
 Their fond mothers are sensible in keeping 
 your friend and his cousin John so near home 
 as to be constantly within reach. While those 
 two bravest of the brave were dancing attendance 
 on the ladies, eating fried chicken, and drinking 
 pure coffee three times a day, sleeping under 
 mosquito bars at night, and taking noonday 
 siestas in hammocks, with a darky on either side 
 to brush away the flies, I footed it from Eich- 
 mond to Manassas, and from Manassas to Ha- 
 gerstown, carrying an average weight of forty 
 pounds, sleeping on the ground, often wet to the 
 skin, sometimes choked by dust, always hungry, 
 generally tired, and on various occasions gave 
 the Yankees, whom they so bitterly hate, every 
 opportunity to kill me that a fairly expert 
 marksman could ask. But, while I have not 
 yet " shuffled off this mortal coil," there is no tell- 
 
CROSSING OVER INTO MARYLAND 87 
 
 ing when I may, and it seems to me I would take 
 the risk twice as willingly if Tommie and Johnnie 
 were only here to share it. My experiences are not 
 singular; every man in Lee's army has done as 
 much, and the majority of them a great deal 
 more in the matter of hard and dangerous serv- 
 ice, than I. Pray, do not mention what I have 
 said to the gentlemen named. They might think 
 me envious of their good luck, and I am. Can't 
 you persuade the one my lady likes the 'better 
 to exchange places with me? Should the other 
 choose to follow, I have a messmate as willing 
 as myself to get back to Texas. But I must close. 
 Some movement is in contemplation, for aides 
 and orderlies are hurrying in all directions. 
 
 Note 4 — From Winchester, where the foregoing letter is 
 dated, and where it remained fully four weeks. Hood's bri- 
 gade marched across and to the eastern slope of the Blue 
 Ridge, camped near Culpeper Court House a couple of 
 weeks, moved on to the south side of the Rapidan and 
 camped there three weeks, and then proceeded to Freder- 
 icksburg, arriving but a few days before the battle fought 
 there. 
 
IX 
 
 incidents at ffiedeeicksbueg 
 
 Camp near Fkedeeicksburg, Va., 
 
 December 20, 1862. 
 
 An hour before daylight on the 11th of this 
 month the thundering boom of two heavy guns 
 awoke the sleeping Confederate army. Scarcely 
 had its echoes ceased to reverberate through the 
 wooded hills and hollows south of the Rappa- 
 hannock Eiver when every Southern soldier was 
 on his feet, armed and equipped to meet the 
 enemy whose coming it announced. Not a 
 thought of defeat disturbed the minds of the 
 tried veterans who had driven McClellan's vast 
 and well-appointed army from the gates of 
 Richmond, routed Pope's at Second Manassas, 
 and sent it a mass of demoralized fugitives to 
 the shelter of the intrenchments around Wash- 
 ington City, and had held their own at Sharps- 
 burg against the doubly outnumbering forces 
 commanded by McClellan " redivwus." The bat- 
 tle had been promised by Burnside to the North- 
 ern people; Lee counted on, and made arrange- 
 ments for it, and not a brigadier-general of the 
 Confederates but knew his place in the lines of 
 defense. 
 
 When the dense fog that laid low over the 
 
 88 
 
E. S. JEMISON 
 
 Captain, First Texas Reg-iment 
 
 Taken durinsr the war 
 
K. S. JKMISON 
 Cap tain, 'First Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 
 86 
 
INCIDENTS AT FREDERICKSBURG 89 
 
 wide, level valley on the south side lifted on the 
 morning of the 12th, and the sun of a cloudless 
 sky touched the earth with its sheen of light, 
 the scene had changed. The ground next to the 
 river, which the day before was yellow with the 
 stubble of grass and grain, was now blue with 
 Yankee uniforms, the monotony relieved only 
 by the glistening of burnished arms and the 
 bright colors of a hundred flags. Massed be- 
 tween railroad and river, division behind divi- 
 sion, artillery in front, cavalry in rear, and in- 
 fantry in the center, and protected by the heavy 
 siege guns planted on the low range of hills 
 crowning the north bank of the stream. Burn- 
 side's army was an imposing, awe-inspiring spec- 
 tacle. • • « Marye's Hill is a spur 
 of high land that approaches within half a mile 
 of the river and terminates in a bluff overlook- 
 ing the little city nestling between it and the 
 stream. At the foot of this bluff runs a narrow 
 wagon road parallel with the river, and on the 
 side of the road next to the city is a low fence 
 built of stone. 
 
 At nine o'clock on the morning of the lith 
 the battle began in earnest. On the top of the 
 hill, and close to the edge of the bluff there was 
 a battery, and behind the stone fence crouched 
 Cobb's brigade of Georgians — one of the regi- 
 ments being the gallant Eighteenth, which, when 
 in our brigade, complimented us by its willing- 
 ness to be known as the Third Texas. * • * 
 To assault this position was a desperate under- 
 taking, and it would seem that the calculating. 
 
90 'SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 death-fearing, simon-pure Yankees shrank from 
 it with a dread that even unlimited supplies of 
 whisky could not abate. Foreigners, though, 
 were plentiful in the Federal army, and the loss 
 of a few thousand more or less would break no 
 Yankee hearts; therefore, I imagine, Meagher's 
 Irish Brigade was selected for the sacrifice. But 
 even Irish hearts had to be tempered for the 
 ordeal, and to this end it was necessary not only 
 to appeal to their love for "ould Ireland," but 
 to imbue them with a supplemental fictitious 
 courage. Only when a sprig of arbor vitse, stolen 
 from the deserted yards of the town, was pinned 
 upon their caps to remind them of the shamrock 
 of their native Isle, their throats moistened lib- 
 erally and their canteens filled with liquor, did 
 they become ready to move forward as an initia- 
 tory forlorn hope. 
 
 Between the last houses of the town proper 
 and the stone fence stretched a piece of level, 
 open ground about two hundred yards wide. 
 Entering this, the Federals halted a second or 
 two to reform their lines; and then, some shout- 
 ing, " Erin go bragh ! " and others the Yankee 
 huzzah, they rushed impetuously forward against 
 a storm of grape and canister that, as long as 
 the guns on the hilltop could be sufficiently de- 
 pressed, tore great gaps in their ranks. But, 
 wavering not, they closed together and rushed 
 onward until within fifty yards of the stone 
 fence, when in one grand, simultaneous burst 
 of light, sound, and death, came the blinding 
 flash, the deafening roar, the murderous destruc- 
 
INCIDENTS AT FEEDBRICKSBURG 91 
 
 tion of two thousand well-aimed rifles, the wild, 
 weird, blood-curdling Confederate yell, and two 
 thousand Irishmen sank down wounded or dead, 
 and a cowed and demoralized remnant sought 
 safety in inglorious flight. 
 
 Seven assaults were made on the stone fence 
 during the day, and five thousand men were sent 
 to eternity before Burnside convinced himself 
 that the position was impregnable. Only two 
 regiments of our division were engaged in any 
 undertaking that might be called a battle. These 
 were the Fifty-seventh and Fifty-fourth North 
 Carolina regiments, composed of conscripts — 
 young men under twenty and old men — all 
 dressed in homespun, and presenting to the fas- 
 tidious eyes of us veterans a very unsoldierly 
 appearance. But we judged hastily. Ordered to 
 drive the enemy back, they not only charged with 
 surprising recklessness, but kept on charging 
 until, to save them from certain capture. General 
 Hood peremptorily recalled them. As they 
 passed our brigade on their return, one old fel- 
 low halted, wiped the powder grime from his 
 weather-beaten face with the sleeve of his coat, 
 and wrathfuUy exclaimed, " Durn ole Hood, 
 anyhow! He jes' didn't have no bus'ness ter 
 stop us when we'uns was ah-whippin' the durn 
 blue-bellies ter h— 11 an' back, an' eff we'uns 
 hadder bin you Texicans, he'd never o' did it," 
 
 It was, I think, on the 14th that our brigade 
 was lying — ^presumably on its arms — in a for- 
 est of tall timber, but near enough to the front 
 to get into line at a moment's notice. A blanket 
 
92 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 had been spread on the ground and four or five 
 men were seated around it playing poker. A 
 hand was dealt and Bill Smith felt happy; he 
 held four sixes. Two of his companions were 
 also lucky, and when one of them bet fifty beans 
 — they were playing cent ante — the other raised 
 him two hundred. Confident of winning — for 
 two hands of fours are seldom held in the same 
 deal — Bill, with a fine pretense of bluffing, looked 
 over his cards long and anxiously and finally 
 said, in a trembling voice, " I see your bets, gen- 
 tlemen, and go you five hundred better." Scarcely 
 were the words out of his mouth, when a shell 
 from a long-range cannon struck the dead limb 
 of a tree near by and sent a piece of it against 
 Bill's breast with such force as to knock him 
 backwards to the ground, the cards flying from 
 his hands, each in a different direction. Jump- 
 ing to his feet and glaring wrathfully on every- 
 body in sight, he exclaimed, " D d if I can't 
 
 whip the cowardly whelp who threw that chunk ! 
 Now's his time to cheep, if he's got any sand in 
 his craw." But nobody " cheeped." Bill meant 
 every word he said, and was well known as a 
 man who could not be insulted with impunity. 
 And it took quite a while, and considerable ar- 
 gument, to persuade him that the person re- 
 sponsible for his loss was on the other side of 
 the Rappahannock, fully two miles away. 
 
 The battle of Fredericksburg has been no ex- 
 ception to the rule in furnishing us with a feast 
 — lots of pure coffee and unlimited quantities 
 of desiccated vegetables. Soup made of the lat- 
 
INCIDENTS AT FRBDBRIOKSBURG 93 
 
 ter has been the first, last, and sometimes middle 
 course of every meal I have eaten for a week. 
 « • » « » 
 
 Confident that the Yankees will be in no hurry 
 to risk a repetition of the drubbing they have 
 received, we are making preparations for the 
 winter. Snow has fallen to the depth of several 
 inches, but wood is plentiful — ^and most of us 
 drew an extra supply from the Yankees in the 
 way of blankets. I sleep in a tent with our 
 adjutant, but mess with my German friend, 
 Webber. He is not only a good and economical 
 cook, but is willing to act in that capacity with- 
 out relief, and this last consideration appeals 
 strongly to my keen sense of the fitness of things. 
 While our alliance as messmates began only a 
 few days ago, our friendship dates from the re- 
 treat from Yorktown. He is the happy possessor 
 of a huge pipe as German as himself, the bowl 
 of which, lined with iron, holds fully an eighth 
 of a pound of tobacco. For facilities of trans- 
 portation as well as because he loves the weed, 
 the pipe is always hanging from his mouth on 
 the march, and within reach of it when he lies 
 down to sleep. Coming up from Yorktown, ev- 
 erybody's tobacco except Webber's got wet, and 
 Webber refused peremptorily to divide with sev- 
 eral who at different times applied to him. It 
 was a case of wet or dry tobacco with me, and I 
 schemed. Catching the old fellow off to himself, 
 I said, " Give me some dry tobacco, Webber, 
 please; mine is wet and won't Sinoke." ' He 
 glanced around at me quickly and suspiciously 
 
94 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 and answered gruffly, " I giffs not mooch tubacca 
 avay." " I know you don't," said I, " and I 
 don't blame you for refusing to divide with every- 
 body; but give me some now, and when we get 
 to our knapsacks I'll give you half of mine." 
 "Veil, den," he replied, opening his heart and 
 tobacco pouch simultaneously, and beaming 
 upon me with the first smile I ever saw on his 
 face, " dat vash goot." And not only then, but 
 until I had a chance to dry my own tobacco, 
 Webber's pouch was constantly at my command. 
 Of course, I made my word good when I got to 
 my knapsack, and since then tobacco is common 
 property between us. 
 
 " Why did you join the Confederate Army, 
 Webber? " I asked one day. " It vash my beez- 
 ness," replied he. " I vas been a solcher in Char- 
 many all ze time." " You would have joined the 
 Northern Army, then, if you had been in the 
 North, wouldn't you? " I asked again. " Oh, 
 yah," he answered. "Vot ish der def ranee? 
 Vat ish got to coom, vill coom anyvay, und to be 
 a solcher vash my beezness." 
 
 While I write, some of my comrades are ex- 
 changing compliments with half a regiment of 
 cavalry that is marching by, which incident re- 
 minds me of another. One day on the trip from 
 Winchester, while our brigade was encamped 
 near Culpeper Court House, a lone Virginia cslv- 
 alryman came wandering in an offensively lordly 
 way through the camp. Had he come afoot, lit- 
 tle attention would have been bestowed on him 
 and he would likely have been suffered to depart 
 
INCIDENTS AT FREDERICKSBURG 95 
 
 in peace and happiness. Presumptuous enough, 
 however, to bestride a gallant steed, whose hoofs 
 stirred up more or less dust, he promptly became 
 the cynosure of all eyes. About the strongest 
 feeling infantry and cavalry have for each other 
 is that of contempt. Down in the bottom of his 
 heart the foot soldier nurses an idea that his 
 mounted comrades lack a great deal of doing 
 their whole duty in killing and taking the chances 
 of being killed, while from his elevation on the 
 back of a horse your cavalryman feels himself 
 a superior being, and looks down with an air 
 of humiliating pity upon an arm of the service 
 which must depend on its own legs for transpor- 
 tation. When, therefore, it appeared that this 
 particular gentleman had no other object in view 
 than to gratify an idle and impertinent curios- 
 ity concerning a people of whom he had heard 
 the most wonderful tales, the Texans, not being 
 in holiday attire or in the humor to be closely 
 inspected by strangers, determined to trade a 
 little upon their reputation for bloodthirstiness. 
 A fair opportunity was given them, for it hap- 
 pened that for the purpose of solving some doubt 
 which a cursory view failed to settle or remove, 
 the visitor came to a temporary halt in the mid- 
 dle of the camp and proceeded to look, at his 
 leisure, on the strange surroundings. Imme- 
 diately encircled by a dozen or more Texans, 
 several of them with their guns, others with pis- 
 tols belted around their waists, and all wearing, 
 either naturally or intentionally, the most reck- 
 less and dare-devil airs imaginable, he suddenly 
 
96 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 lost his look of unconcern, and began to glance 
 uneasily around in search of an avenue of escape 
 from his admirers. One fierce-looking fellow 
 stepped to the side of his horse, and, assuming 
 the manner of a sick man just out of the hos- 
 pital, laid his hand on the Virginian's scabbard, 
 and, in a whining voice, asked, " Couldn't you 
 pull your jobber out for a minute. Mister, just to 
 please a sick man? " The laugh that followed the 
 request caused a flush of anger to overspread the 
 countenance of the horseman, and he was about 
 to make an angry reply, when his attention was 
 arrested by a colloquy between two of his en- 
 tertainers, which, although not at all personal 
 in character, was not calculated to reassure its 
 hearer and object — the tone, manner, and looks 
 of the speakers indicating something more than 
 mere idle banter. 
 
 " How much is it, Tuck," asked the one, with 
 a significant glance at the Virginian, " that Long- 
 street offers for the body of a dead Virginia 
 cavalryman.? " " A thousand dollars in gold," 
 answered Tuck, "and if a feller wasn't partick- 
 erly squeamish, it'd be powerful easy to git the 
 body." "Why, Tuck," protested the first 
 speaker, "you wouldn't think of killing this 
 feller, would you.'' " " Why not? " replied Tuck, 
 looking at his gun, apparently to see if it was 
 capped. " That's the only way I know of to git 
 the money, fur none of these d d cavalry fel- 
 lers ever git close enough to a live Yankee to be 
 killed." 
 
 The gallant Virginian lost not a word or a 
 
INCIDENTS AT FREDERICKSBURG 97 
 
 movement of the participants in this conversa- 
 tion, and, knowing Texang only by repute, 
 deemed it prudent to work himself and steed to 
 the edge of the crowd, experiencing just enough 
 difficulty in this undertaking to increase his very 
 natural apprehensions of bodily harm. Once 
 there, he bestowed a hurried but tremulously 
 polite " Good-mawnin', gentlemen," on the party 
 assembled in his honor and went off at a brisk 
 trot. He was allowed to reach the outskirts 
 of the grove without molestation — then a gun 
 cap snapped behind him, and even his iron nerve 
 could not restrain him from glancing back, and 
 — when he discovered Tuck on his knees, gun in 
 hand, hurriedly fumbling in his cap-box for an- 
 other cap — from clapping both spurs and whip 
 to his steed and disappearing in a cloud of dust, 
 amid the derisive shouts and jeers of the brigade. 
 
IN AND ABOUND EIOHMOND 
 
 Falling Ceeek, Va., March 20, 1863. 
 It was with deep regret and a noticeable tem- 
 porary increase of profanity that the Texas 
 Brigade moved out of its winter quarters at 
 Fredericksburg. Eudely fashioned and half- 
 finished in many respects as they were, they of- 
 fered comforts and conveniences that were not 
 only restful, but made us feel just a little as 
 though we were " sorter at home." Having an 
 idea that the order to abandon them, and come 
 down here to bivouac in the near vicinity of 
 Richmond, emanated more from the silly fears 
 of the original secessionists who so much prefer 
 legislating for the Confederacy to defending it 
 from its enemies, we found a large measure of 
 appositeness in the words that Shakespeare puts 
 in the mouth of one of the characters in King 
 Lear — 
 
 " Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar 
 And the creature run from the cur ; there, 
 There, thou mlght'st behold the great image of authority ; 
 A dog's obeyed in office." 
 
 We left Fredericksburg on one of the coldest 
 days in February, coming by railroad to Rich- 
 mond, and thence, meandering from one side of 
 the road to the other, out to this camp, four miles 
 
 98 
 
IN AND AROUND RICHMOND 99 
 
 from the city. I use the word " meandering " 
 advisedly. You may be able to guess why, when 
 informed that, since a learned justice of the 
 peace decided that our military authorities had 
 fractured the constitutions of both the State of 
 Virginia and the Confederacy when they pro- 
 hibited the sale of ardent liquors by the drink, 
 saloons have become plentiful in Richmond, and 
 the man with the cash need not long remain 
 thirsty. Let me forestall, however, the unkindly 
 suspicion which may creep into your mind that 
 I was one of the meanderers, by stating on my 
 soldierly honor that I went astride of a horse, 
 and that, given a loose rein, the sagacious animal 
 swerved neither to right nor left, but carried me 
 straight to camp. 
 
 Whatever the alarm that brought us down here, 
 it subsided the moment it was known in the city 
 that two divisions, Hood's and Pickett's, had 
 come to defend the Capital and the trembling 
 lawgivers assembled there. The Union forces 
 which had disturbed the serenity of these states- 
 men retired in haste, and much to our delight 
 we have had but one tramp since arrival at our 
 present quarters. That was out to Ashland. 
 Some timid cavalryman had come on an almost 
 exhausted horse to Richmond with the report 
 that the Yankees were moving in force toward 
 that place, and to meet them and drive them back 
 ere they approached near enough to the city to 
 prevent our Congressmen from continuing their 
 weighty deliberations on the conscript act which 
 was to force every man of the South except 
 
100 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 themselves and their kind into the army, we 
 pulled down the few tents we had, and loading 
 them on the wagons, marched rapidly to the 
 probable theater of hostilities. But it proved 
 a false alarm, and, halting in a veritable wilder- 
 ness of pine, we sought a much-needed rest. 
 Next morning we set out on the return march 
 in a blinding snowstorm that held on all day. 
 Its demoralizing effect, however, was first visible 
 only when we reached the city. Then, in a man- 
 ner, the brigade disintegrated, every man of it, 
 save the small minority of teetotallers, making 
 a flank movement, and going in search of warm- 
 ing liquid refreshments. So sudden, surprising, 
 and inexplicable was the depletion in the ranks 
 that when General Robertson, our present com- 
 mander, looked back through the darkening mist 
 of falling snow, and down the long, straggling, 
 and attenuated line of shadowy, moving figures, 
 he could only give expression to his consterna- 
 tion by exclaiming, " Where in h — 11 is the Texas 
 Brigade? " He was about to send details in 
 search of the absconders, but luckily General 
 Hood, who was riding near enough to overhear 
 all that was said, and who, although a West- 
 Pointer, is fairly well acquainted with the Texas 
 and Arkansas temperament and taste, thought- 
 fully interposed, " Never mind. General — never 
 mind," he said ; " you'll get them all back in the 
 morning, or at any rate in time to lead them into 
 the next fight." 
 
 The fact that General Hood and I were that 
 night both the guests of Mr. John James of San 
 
IN AND AROUND RICHMOND 101 
 
 Antonio, Texas, a warm and highly valued friend 
 of my father, must serve to avert any suspicion 
 that I was one of the absconders. Mr. James 
 brought me letters from my home folks, and a 
 fairly good and much-wished-for, but not really 
 needed, supply of cash. He also secured permis- 
 sion from General Hood for me to stay with him 
 at the hotel during the few days he remained 
 in Eichmond. Boarding at a stylish hotel was 
 a novel experience to me, and as Mr. James 
 kindly paid all the bills I made the most of the 
 picnic by indulging my appetite to its limit. A 
 hearty eater is usually an excellent listener. 
 A Virginia officer who sat near me one day in 
 the dining-room related an anecdote that so 
 amused me, and so well illustrates the unwilling- 
 ness of some people to confess themselves the 
 victim of a practical joke, that I must repeat 
 it. Colonel M., commanding a regiment in Pick- 
 ett's old brigade, is an excessively dignified gen- 
 tleman. But, though a brave and capable officer, 
 he is to the rank and file of his regiment what 
 the representative of the Confederacy to the 
 Court of St. James (for all the good he has done 
 us, or is likely to do us) might as well be to the 
 English Government, that is, persona non grata. 
 His war-horse is his wife's favorite buggy-horse, 
 and was named by her Ossawatomie. The Colo- 
 nel was one day informed that on the next he 
 was expected to ride at the head of his regiment 
 through the principal streets of Eichmond, and, 
 as that was the home of himself and most of the 
 men, and he desired his command to appear at 
 
102 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 its best, he notified the company officers of the 
 intended movement in ample time for all need- 
 ful preparations. That very night some grace- 
 less reprobate shaved Ossawatomie's tail, leav- 
 ing not a hair on it. At the hour when Colonel 
 M. was informed of the shearing it was too late 
 for him to secure another mount, and he had, 
 perforce, to ride the bob-tailed steed. The laugh- 
 ing and raillery of the riff-raff, the street gamins 
 and adult idlers, he met with disdain, not ap- 
 pearing to notice them. His wife, however, had 
 rights which ten years of matrimony had taught 
 him it was not wise to deny. The estimable lady 
 stood among a crowd of distinguished people, 
 and no soon&r discovered the disfigurement of 
 the horse than at the top of her voice and in the 
 shrillest of its tones, she cried, " Why, Eobert, 
 my dear, who in the world shaved Ossawatomie's 
 tail off that way? " 
 
 To have such a question asked at such a time 
 and place was horribly embarrassing to the 
 doughty officer, and for two seconds he remained 
 silent. Then, casting a sternly reproachful look 
 at the partner of his joys and sorrows, he re- 
 plied, " It was done by my order. Madam — it 
 was done by my order." 
 
 In my haste to tell you the reasons for our 
 change of base and what has transpired since 
 we arrived here, I have omitted to mention the 
 great snowball battle in which practically the 
 whole of Longstreet's corps participated. It 
 occurred at Fredericksburg, the day after a very 
 heavy fall of snow. What company or regiment 
 
IN AND AROUND RICHMOND 103 
 
 initiated the affair, I do not know. Tlie first 
 intimation given me of its progress came in the 
 shape of a snowball that, judging from the way 
 it hurt me, must have been left out in the cold 
 so long as to become solidified. It was thrown 
 by a little bandy-legged Georgian of Benning's 
 brigade, whose good marksmanship was doubt- 
 less due to the practice indulged down in the 
 " Goober Grabbling State " of knocking chickens' 
 heads off with rocks. To add insult to the injury 
 done to the back of my head by the first snow- 
 ball, the impudent fellow threw another, twice 
 as hard, which hit me in the same place. Do 
 not imagine I was running, though, for I was 
 not — I was only taking longer and faster strides 
 than usual. In self-defense, as soon as I re- 
 gained my feet and saw he was preparing to con- 
 tinue the contest, I dived into the adjutant's 
 tent, and within its protecting walls adminis- 
 tered a soothing rubbing to the fast swelling 
 bump on my occiput. The battle was a long and 
 hard-contested one, and lasted nearly all day. 
 Field, staff, regimental, and company officers, as 
 well as privates, figured conspicuously in it, and 
 even a general or two took a hand. Although no 
 serious wounds were inflicted, black eyes, bloody 
 noses, ragged ears, and sadly disfigured phys- 
 iognomies were abundant after hostilities ceased. 
 The Texas Brigade, as usual, was in the thickest 
 of the fray; that is, all of it except myself and 
 a few others who, because of the inclemency of 
 the weather, and after the first few volleys, 
 deemed it imprudent to remain outside of a tent. 
 
104 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Such, indeed, was the din and racket created, so 
 loud and long-continued was the shouting and 
 the yelling, that imagining our army preparing 
 for an immediate advance, the officer in com- 
 mand of the Yankee cavalry doing picket duty on 
 Stafford Heights ordered his men into the 
 saddle. » ♦ « 
 
 One of my comrades, whom for convenience I 
 will call Jack, has great faith in Providence. 
 Ask him when he is hungry and his haversack 
 empty, where he expects to get his next meal, 
 and he invariably answers, " Providence will 
 provide." He has aired that faith and said those 
 words so often that he is becoming known to 
 some of the boys as " Old Providence." A few 
 days ago he was entirely out of meat, and had 
 been for the better part of two days, having de- 
 voured the three days' rations issued to him in 
 one. The five dollars in Confederate money that 
 yet lingered in his pocket, a sad and lonely rem- 
 nant of the twenty-two in the same currency that 
 was paid him the day after we got to this camp 
 in compensation for two months' service, could 
 purchase nothing for him in a camp where there 
 was nothing to sell, and going to Kichmond was 
 out of the question, for he had exhausted for a 
 long while his right to a pass. While endeavor- 
 ing to allay the cravings of his inner man by 
 tightening his belt, he gave his mind to reflec- 
 tion, and judging from the alacrity with which 
 he donned his cartridge-box and shouldered his 
 gun, and the speed at which he struck off down 
 the railroad track, a more than usually brilliant 
 
IN AND AROUND RICHMOND 105 
 
 idea had illumined his mind. Half an hour later 
 he returned to camp, a smile of triumph on his 
 hitherto gloomy countenance and half a side of 
 bacon dangling from the bayonet end of his gun. 
 But not a word did he utter till he had hung the 
 meat on a limb, set the gun against a tree, and 
 divested himself of the cartridge-box. Then, 
 turning to the envious comrades who in surprise 
 had gathered near and silently watched his 
 every movement, Jie said, 
 
 " Haven't I told you, boys, time and again, that 
 if you_would only cultivate the proper kind of 
 faith, Providence would provide all that you 
 needed.? Indeed, I have, and as many times you 
 have laughed at and derided me, and held me up 
 to scorn. But, gentlemen and fellow-soldiers in 
 the holy cause of the South, there is the proof 
 that I knew whereof I spake," and with the air 
 of a conqueror he pointed to the bacon. " If 
 there is one among you who doubts its being a 
 genuine article of fat, juicy, sugar -cured, and 
 hickory-smoked bacon, he is at liberty to smell 
 it and be forever convinced." 
 
 " Where did you get it. Jack, and by what 
 peculiar modus operandi? " instantly asked Bill 
 Calhoun. " That is the burnin' question that is 
 most fiercely and voraciously agitatin' the moral 
 and intellectual faculties of this present enthu- 
 siastic gathering of your friends and well- 
 wishers." 
 
 " I got it out in the woods yonder, and just as 
 easy as falling off a log," replied Jack, as with 
 deft strokes of a sharp knife he began to cut 
 
106 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 thick rashers from the middling. " If a man 
 wants Providence to help him, he must put 
 himself in the way of Providence. That's what 
 I did, and this meat is the result. Feeling hun- 
 grier and having less to eat than usual, I set off 
 down the railroad with my gun, hoping that by 
 some fortunate chance I might get a shot at a 
 rabbit or a squirrel, or, perhaps, run across a 
 terrapin. But the squirrels were all asleep, the 
 rabbits visiting distant neighbors, and the terra- 
 pins non est inventus. Feeling that luck had 
 deserted me, I sat down at the foot of a tree, and 
 bless God, hadn't been there more than a minute 
 when a darky came along with a big middling 
 of bacon. Thinking it a special interposition of 
 Providence in favor of a starving man, I pro- 
 posed to buy a piece of the meat, and the darky 
 willingly sold me the half of the middling for 
 five dollars." 
 
 " Willingly, Jack — willingly? " queried Cal- 
 houn, a suspicion of doubt apparent in tone and 
 look. " Did I hear you use the word ' willingly,' 
 my boy? " 
 
 " Of course you did," replied Jack, as he care- 
 fully laid a couple of slices of bacon, each a foot 
 long, into the half of a canteen which served the 
 purpose of a frying-pan. " But I would have 
 come nearer the mark had I said ' gladly,' for 
 the poor devil was actually staggering under the 
 weight of the whole middling, and was really 
 glad to sell me half of it at so fair a price." 
 
 " Ah, me — ah, me ! " sighed Calhoun, his eyes 
 dreamily wondering. " Ah, me, boys, when, after 
 
IN AND ABOUND RICHMOND 107 
 
 lis'ning to our beloved and respected comrade in 
 arms, and hearing him use the word ' willingly ' 
 in connection with his sudden acquisition of a 
 piece of bacon that can't weigh a pound less'n 
 forty poun's averdepaws, an' also an' likewise 
 hearin' him insist he oughifcer of said 'gladly,' 
 I take a squint at the tablets of memory an' see 
 norated on 'em in shinin' letters that 'cordin' 
 to this mornin's papers the partikalar kin' of 
 internal refreshments our afo'said comrade is a 
 statin' he give five dollars fur the whole she- 
 bang of, is sellin' at sixty cents a poun', an' 
 mighty little to sell at that, my overweenin' an' 
 trustin' faith in human natur* sorter weakens 
 an' gits sour, an' I feel like sayin' with the poet, 
 
 " ' Can such things be 
 And overcome us like a summer's cloud, 
 Without our special wonder? ' " 
 
 Jack had continued too intent on a speedy 
 appeasement of his ravenous appetite to listen 
 to Calhoun's remarks. Conscious of this and 
 knowing I must have heard all he said, Calhoun 
 came over to where I sat against a tree, about 
 thirty feet distant from Jack, and in an aggrieved 
 tone said, 
 
 " The only time a feller has a God-given right 
 to tell a darn no such a thing, Joe, is when he's 
 jus' got to tell it, or go to the guard-house. 
 Then it's natteral an' proper, 'cause it's self- 
 defense, an' you know the Bible says, ' All a man 
 hath will he give fur his life,' or words to that 
 effeck. But a feller hasn't got any business lyin' 
 
108 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 to his comrades. What sits most uneasily on my 
 sensations of morality in Jack's story is his 
 sorter recltless use of the words ' willingly ' and 
 ' gladly/ fur there wan't a bit o' willingness an' 
 gladness in the poor nigger's bosom after he 
 run afoul of our high-minded and distinguished 
 fellow-soldier. Jack seen him first, an' knowin' 
 he'd robbed some ole citizen, got the drop on 
 him with his gun, an' commanded him sternly 
 an' vociferously to surrender. Then, Jack 
 whacked the middlin' in two, give him the five 
 dollars, an' choosin' the bigges' half, toted it into 
 camp. That's the truth, the whole truth, and 
 nothin' but the truth, so help me Moses, an' all 
 the holy prophets and disciples ! " 
 
 I declined to express any opinion on the sub- 
 ject — it was none of my business, I thought; 
 besides, I felt sure Jack would invite me to sup- 
 per or breakfast. My faith in his hospitality was 
 not misplaced, and I do not mind confessing 
 that the bacon, which proved the main staple of 
 the meal, tasted sweet enough to have been first 
 stolen by the darky, and then confiscated by my 
 
 host. 
 
 • • « * • 
 
 All the odd characters in the Texas Brigade 
 are not members of the Fourth Texas, by any 
 means. The " Eagged First " has many on its 
 muster roll, and among them, a tall, powerfully 
 built and red-faced corporal whose name escapes 
 me at this moment. The corporal was on the 
 picket line one day down at Yorktown, and, be- 
 ing both hungry and ragged, decided to venture 
 
IN AND ABOUND RICHMOND 109 
 
 beyond the line in search of something he might 
 eat or wear. He had not gone fifty yards to 
 the front when he discovered the body of a well- 
 dressed and splendidly equipped Yankee lying 
 behind a little thicket of sassafras which con- 
 cealed it from the view of anybody in the 
 trenches. That he might the more exhaustively 
 and leisurely administer on the dead man's es- 
 tate, the corporal carried the body and all its 
 attachments and belongings to the shelter of the 
 breastworks. The inventory justified the rash 
 venture of the self-appointed administrator, the 
 cotpse yielding a pair of extra good shoes, a suit 
 of first-class clothing, a well-filled haversack, 
 sixty dollars in gold, and, best of all, a canteen 
 two-thirds full of excellent whisky. Having 
 swallowed a good four fingers of the whisky, the 
 corporal wiped his lips with the sleeve of his 
 coat, put on a long, solemn face, and, looking 
 down at the corpse, said in mournful accents, 
 " Poor fellow, poor fellow ! Like the many of 
 your tribe that have gone before, their departure 
 from this vale of tears hastened by well-aimed 
 Confederate bullets, you have gone to your 
 eternal home in the lowest depths of that other 
 world whose fires are never less than red hot. 
 But, though I mourn your untimely demise, it 
 is not with a grief that is without consolation. 
 That you were a gentleman and not a vagabond 
 is evident — ^your boots and your coat, your pants 
 and your liberal supply of filthy lucre, in short, 
 your whole tout ensernble, stamping you as that 
 beyond any controversy. But, had I a shadow 
 
110 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 of a doubt of your being a gentleman in every 
 sense of the word, the quality of the liquor in 
 your canteen would resolve it in your favor by 
 an overwhelming majority. So here's to you, 
 Yank! Living, though an enemy of my country 
 and therefore deserving of death, you must have 
 been a jolly good fellow — dead, you'll soon re- 
 turn to the dust whence you sprang, and that you 
 may the sooner do the returning act, my com- 
 rades and I will lay you under the sod of old 
 Virginia just as soon as we have emptied your 
 canteen." 
 
 The corporal was as good as his word, and, 
 assisted by his comrades, dug a grave in the sand 
 and buried the body. * » • 
 
 Note 5 — ^The Texas Brigade remained at Falling Creek 
 until about the 1st of April. Thence it went to Petersburg 
 and camped in that vicinity three or four days, when, taking 
 the Jerusalem Road, it passed through the town of the 
 same name, and crossing the Blackwater River, arrived at 
 Suffolk about the 6th day of April. Here it and the other 
 forces along under command of Longstreet pitted them- 
 selves against gunboats, big and little, holding the Federals 
 closely within their lines until a large amount of quarter- 
 master and commissary stores could be hauled out of the 
 country south of the city. At the time Longstreet was noti- 
 fied that a battle was impending at Chancellorsville all his 
 wagon-trains were away on foraging expeditions, and it was 
 impossible to recall them in time to enable him to reach Lee 
 and take part in the battle of Chancellorsville. The troops 
 under his command, however, recrossed the Blackwater, 
 going north on the day or may be the day after that battle 
 was fought and won, passing through Petersburg and Rich- 
 mond again, and in the vicinity of Orange Court House and 
 near the Rapidan rejoining the main army between the 10th 
 and 20th days of May. 
 
XI 
 
 AFTEE CHANCELLOESVILLE 
 
 Camp near Eichmond, May 10, 1863. 
 The battle of Chancellorsville has been fought 
 and won, but it has cost us the life of Stonewall 
 Jackson. It is the only great battle General Lee 
 has fought without Longstreet. McClellan, 
 Pope, McClellan again, Burnside, and Hooker 
 have each been pitted against our peerless chief- 
 tain. Who will be the next is both an interest- 
 ing and vexed question with us Confederates. 
 Confident of the superiority of our commander 
 over the very best material the Yankees can find, 
 we prefer that he should meet a foeman worthy 
 of his steel. But while there is little credit to 
 be gained, either by army or commander, in op- 
 posing such vainglorious boasters as Pope, Burn- 
 side, and Hooker, there are more rations, and 
 these are getting to be a consideration of no 
 small importance. Why we cannot be better and 
 more regularly supplied, is a problem beyond 
 our solution. Perhaps we are expected to live 
 off of the enemy ; if so, we protest. When fight- 
 ing ceases to be a matter of pure, self-sacrificing 
 patriotism, and degenerates into a mere business, 
 we Texans will ask discharges. We are getting 
 homesick, anyway, and nothing in the world 
 
 111 
 
112 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 increases the severity of that complaint more 
 than hunger. Apropos to nothing, apparently, 
 except the communings of his own inner man, a 
 comrade said the other day, " I wish to God I 
 was at home." " Oh, yes," I replied, " you want 
 to see the girl you left behind you, don't you? " 
 " No, indeed," he blurted out, " but I want some- 
 thing to eat," and, hungry myself, I unanimously 
 acquiesced in the sentiment. 
 
 It is not so much at the quantity of rations 
 we grumble, as at the intolerable sameness of 
 bread and meat. Such a limited variety gives 
 us, by the rule of permutation, only two changes ; 
 if coffee were added to the menu, we could have 
 nine, and if sugar also, no less than twenty-four. 
 As Bill Calhoun says, " This thing of having 
 bread for the first course one day, and meat the 
 next, and so on, vice versa and alternately ad in- 
 finitum et nauseam, has an excessively depress- 
 ing effect upon a fellow's patriotism." 
 
 Writing of Bill reminds me of his generosity 
 at Suffolk, where, in order to accomplish any 
 good, our men would have had to be amphibious. 
 One day while the brigade was there. General 
 Hood halted for a moment at the Fourth's camp 
 to speak about some matter to Colonel Key. 
 While talking, the General noticed Bill standing 
 a little way off, and, knowing his character, with 
 a view to sport, said in a voice loud enough to be 
 heard by the whole regiment, " Detail an officer 
 and twenty-five of your best men. Colonel, and 
 order them to report to me at once at my quar- 
 ters. I have set my heart on one of those gun- 
 
AFTER CHANCELLORSVILLB 113 
 
 boats down on the river, and I know that many 
 men of the Fourth can easily get it for me." 
 
 Bill heard and accepted the challenge. Step- 
 ping to the side of Hood's horse and laying one 
 hand on the animal's neck, while with the other 
 he touched the brim of his hat in respectful sa- 
 lute to the rider, he said : " Now look ah-here, 
 General, if you've just got to have a gunboat, 
 whether or no, speak out like a man and the 
 Fourth Texas will buy you one, but we don't pro- 
 pose to fool with any of them down yonder in the 
 river. They say the darned things are loaded, 
 and, besides, there's only a few of us fellers can 
 swim." 
 
 Not being with the brigade at Suffolk, I can 
 tell you little of its performances there. I was 
 more pleasantly engaged hunting for rations and 
 forage in the section of North Carolina lying 
 near the coast between the Pasquatank and 
 Chowan rivers, where the only obstacle to rap- 
 turous enjoyment of life was the invariable mo- 
 notonous diet of salted shad. Intensely Southern 
 in sentiment, and within the Yankee lines quite 
 long enough to delight in the sight of a Confed- 
 erate soldier, the people were lavish in their hos- 
 pitality to us, and the young ladies everything 
 that was kind and charming. But, while at first 
 almost captivated, the exclusive fish diet de- 
 manded such watchfulness and operated so ad- 
 versely against any indulgence of a naturally 
 aesthetic temperament, that I insensibly acquired 
 the habit of looking more carefully for bones 
 than for aught else. Indeed, toward the last I 
 
114 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 not only began to feel fishy, but imagined that 
 my entertainers regarded me with fishy stares. 
 These, however, may have been caused by my 
 strict and undeviating adherence to the soldierly 
 principle of eating everything in sight — ^a course 
 in which, by the way, I was ably seconded, if not 
 outdone, by my comrades for the time being. Cap- 
 tains Jimmie Littlefield, Jimmie Bust and Wal- 
 ter Norwood, each of whom, and especially the 
 last named, is a trencherman of unsurpassed ca- 
 pacity, spirit and persistence. ♦ * « 
 
 Where we are going now is a question concern- 
 ing which a private soldier can only surmise. 
 Camp rumor saith that the time has come to offer 
 the Marylanders another chance to flock to the 
 Confederate standard, but of the truth of the 
 report or even of the probability of a movement 
 at all, I must absolutely refuse to vouch. While 
 protesting vigorously against the inaction which 
 denies me access to the Federal commissary, de- 
 partment, I have long ago gratified my once in- 
 ordinate thirst for gore and glory. Sometimes 
 I feel inclined to echo the desire expressed by 
 Jackson's man, who, reprimanded by his General 
 for running out of the fight " like a baby," broke 
 into a big boohoo and exclaimed between sobs: 
 " I don't care what you say, sir, but I wish I was 
 a baby, and a gal baby at that ! " Not for the 
 world would I cast the faintest shadow of a slur 
 upon the manly characters of my comrades here 
 in the Army of Northern Virginia, but we are all 
 human beings, and I honestly believe there is a 
 whole lot of the bravest and most gallant of them 
 
\V. N. Norwood 
 
 Captain and A. Q. M., Fifth Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 
 114 
 
AFTER CHANCELLORSVILLB 115 
 
 who would at times be glad of a chance to return 
 to babyhood, even at the risk of a change of sex. 
 With their easy access to Europe, the plagued 
 Yankees have such an ability and habit of out- 
 numbering us, that we are not prompt to join in 
 any severe censure of the Fifth Texas Irishman, 
 who, sent out on the skirmish line, came back on 
 a treble quick, and when told by his lieutenant, 
 " I'd rather die, Mike, than run out of a fight in 
 such a cowardly manner," fixed upon the officer 
 a witheringly sarcastic look and replied, " The 
 hail you would, Leftenent — the hail you would, 
 sor, whin there was only a skimmish line of us 
 boys, an' two rigiments and a batthery of thim ! " 
 Still, their numbers furnish a certain class of 
 our soldiers with grand opportunities for killing. 
 Charley Hume, of the Fifth, tells an amusing 
 story about a member of that regiment, whose 
 name he will not mention, but whom I shall call 
 Dick. Dick is something of a braggart and is 
 wonderfully assisted at times by a vivid imagina- 
 tion. On the day after the Yankees recrossed 
 the Eappahannock at Fredericksburg, Hume 
 found him snugly and safely ensconced behind a 
 huge rock on the south side of the river, appar- 
 ently busy in death-dealing warfare. " What 
 are you doing here, Dick ? " inquired Hume. 
 " Doing.!' " repeated Dick, as if surprised at be- 
 ing asked so foolish a question, " what am I do- 
 ing? Well, sir, I'm killing Yankees, if you must 
 know. Don't you see those fellows over yonder 
 on the side of that hill.'' I've just set here by my 
 lone self and killed every son of a gun of 'em." 
 
116 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Hume looked, and, sure enough, there on the hill- 
 side, half a mile away, were twenty or more 
 bodies dressed in blue, lying silent and still. But 
 while he was wondering at such wholesale de- 
 struction of human life and framing a suitable 
 compliment to the fell destroyer at his side, first 
 one and then another of the presumed dead rose 
 to his feet, and, picking up gun and accouter- 
 ments, sauntered carelessly up the hill without 
 once glancing behind to indicate that he was 
 aware of having been shot at. Hume's wonder 
 and admiration evaporated instanter, but when 
 he turned to apprise his companion of the fact 
 and suggest that the corpses were a little too 
 lively to be those of dead men, Dick was out of 
 sight and hearing. 
 
 To make honors easy between me and Dick, I 
 must relate a joke that I can now laugh at, but 
 for obvious reasons, personal to myself, have 
 carefully concealed from my comrades. While 
 moving from Winchester to Fredericksburg last 
 fall, I straggled one morning, and about nine 
 o'clock knocked at the front door of a handsome 
 residence on the Orange Plank road. It was 
 opened by a hospitable old lady whose first in- 
 quiry was whether I had been to breakfast. Con- 
 science prompted an affirmative and truthful 
 answer, but appetite overruled it, and I replied 
 in the negative, and for reward was ushered into 
 a spacious dining-room and delivered over to the 
 tender mercies of two young ladies, while my 
 hostess gave necessary orders to the cook. One 
 of these girls was a Texan, and both were so en- 
 
AFTER CHANCELLOESVILIiE 117 
 
 tertaining and witty that I was at once put fairly 
 on my mettle, joining forces with the fair Texan 
 in defense of our State against the jocular but 
 vigorous attacks of the equally fair Virginian. 
 After a long, lingering breakfast of fried chicken, 
 hot biscuit, fresh butter, and potato coffee, we 
 adjourned to the sitting-room, where two old 
 gentlemen — the host and a visitor — were keeping 
 themselves warm before a bright wood fire. 
 Texas being still the subject of conversation, the 
 right of the Southern States to secede was inci- 
 dentally adverted to, and, strengthened wonder- 
 fully by the breakfast, encouraged by the pres- 
 ence and bright smiles of my Texas compatriot, 
 and foolishly presuming upon the ignorance of 
 the gentlemen, I boldly asserted that Texas had 
 a right to secede superior to that of any other 
 State, 
 
 " Ahem ! " said the host, straightening himself 
 up in his chair and looking at me with the air of 
 a man ready for an argument. " Upon what 
 fact, sir, do you base that claim.? " Surprised 
 by the prompt challenge and disconcerted by the 
 intelligent look of my interrogator, I forgot the 
 reason generally advanced — that Texas was an 
 independent republic when she entered the 
 Union — ^and answered, " Upon the well-known 
 fact, sir, that when Texas became a State of the 
 Union she expressly reserved the right to secede 
 whenever she chose." I spoke so confidently 
 that the Texas girl gave me an admiring look 
 and an encouraging smile. But, to my dismay, 
 my antagonist returned to the charge. " Ahem ! 
 
118 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 ahem ! " said he. " Really, sir, I fail to recall 
 any such reservation, although I was a member 
 of Congress from the time annexation was first 
 proposed until it was consummated." And then, 
 as if determined to rout me " horse, foot and dra- 
 goon," he turned to the other old fellow, saying, 
 " You were my colleague in Congress, Judge ; do 
 you recollect any such reservation.? " " No, sir, 
 I do not," replied the Judge emphatically. " I 
 recall nothing of the kind. Our young friend is 
 certainly mistaken, for I distinctly remem- 
 ber " But I was too utterly vanquished to 
 
 care to listen to reminiscences, especially when 
 the Virginia girl seemed to take keen delight in 
 my discomfiture, and the Texas maid to have 
 lost faith in me; so, seizing my hat and bidding 
 the party a rather hasty and awkward adieu, I 
 made my exit, vowing to myself never again to 
 take part in a political discussion without first 
 learning how many of the persons present had 
 been members of Congress. 
 
XII 
 
 HOOD^S TBXANS IN PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Neae Fredericksbueg^ July 30, 1863. 
 " Geim - viSAG^D war hath smoothed her 
 wrinkled front " temporarily, and I am sitting 
 in a chair and writing on a table to-day, Charm- 
 ing Nellie, under the grateful shade of a wide- 
 spreading maple and amid surroundings so pleas- 
 antly peaceful that the scenes recently witnessed, 
 the adventures experienced, and the hardships, 
 privations, and dangers undergone, seem like 
 
 " Dreams which, beneath the hovering shades of night, 
 Sport with the ever restless minds of men." 
 
 But alas! the present can only be an interlude 
 between the acts of this terribly real and bloody 
 tragedy of war. Another day may never come 
 to me, and, to make the most of this, I devote a 
 part of it to your entertainment. Don't imagine 
 that because I am so happily situated I am not on 
 duty; for I am. Ostensibly, I am protecting the 
 premises of an F. F. V. — a gentleman of the old 
 school, the paternal ancestor of a pretty and viva- 
 cious daughter, and the host of a prettier and 
 more vivacious friend of the daughter. Under 
 the humanizing influence of the fragrant roses 
 that bloom in the yard and those animate flow- 
 ers who, flitting from room to room and from 
 
 119 
 
120 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 piazza to porch of the house, come within range 
 of my greedy eyes whenever I raise them from 
 the table, my warlike spirit has been tamed into 
 the peacefulness and timidity of " Mary's little 
 lamb," and, were it not for the conflict between 
 obligations that distresses my tender conscience, 
 would be as sportive. 
 
 The trouble is this: In exchange for three 
 substantial daily meals, and the blessed privilege 
 of flirting ad libitum with the young ladies and 
 sleeping at night in the front yard, I am expected 
 to protect my host's roasting-ears, watermelons, 
 pumpkins, apples, and the like from the depre- 
 dations of my comrades, encamped three miles 
 away in the direction of Fredericksburg. At the 
 same time, my duty to these comrades is to afford 
 them every possible opportunity to follow the 
 advice of Jim Sanders of the Fifth. Catching 
 sight of a terrapin one day, he captured it, say- 
 ing, " A man orter vairegate his eatin' every 
 chance he gits." Considering that Jim has been 
 a man of mark ever since he awarded to the En- 
 field rifle the palm of superiority over the Mis- 
 sissippi Yager, on the sensible ground that the 
 " chronic " ball carried by the former was much 
 more destructive than the round ball of the lat- 
 ter, the Texans are not to be censured for follow- 
 ing his wise counsels. This granted, I do not 
 feel called upon to be an obstacle to "vairega- 
 tion" as long as I can keep myself out of the 
 sight and hearing of the boys. * ♦ « 
 
 Crossing the Potomac on a pontoon bridge, at 
 noon we halted in the outskirts of the town of 
 
HOOD'S TBXANS IN PENNSYLVANIA 121 
 
 Williamsport, Md., and, mirabile dictu, drew 
 rations of whisky. There was only about a gill 
 to the man, but as the temperance fellows gave 
 their shares to friends, the quantity available 
 was amply sufficient to put fully half the brigade 
 not only in a boisterously good humor, but in 
 such physical condition that the breadth of the 
 road over which they marched that evening was 
 more of an obstacle to rapid progress than its 
 length. At an early hour John Brantley, of 
 my company, became so exhausted by his lati- 
 tudinarian tendencies as to prefer riding to walk- 
 ing, and perceiving that Colonel Key was in an 
 excellently good-natured condition, took advan- 
 tage of a momentary halt to approach that gal- 
 lant officer, and, slapping him familiarly on the 
 leg, remark, " Say, Kunnel ! I'm jes' plum' broke 
 down; can't you walk some an' lemme ride a 
 while.!" " Bending forward over his horse's neck 
 and grasping the pommel of his saddle with both 
 hands to steady himself, the old Colonel looked 
 pityingly down at Brantley and, between hic- 
 coughs, replied, " I'd do it in a minute, ole feller, 
 d — — d if I wouldn't, but I'm tired as h my- 
 self, ah-sittin' up here an' ah-hol'in' on." 
 
 Just after crossing the boundary line into 
 Pennsylvania, I went to a farmhouse in sight of 
 the road and inquired if the owner had any 
 bacon for sale. Answered in the affirmative, I 
 asked the price, and was told " fifteen cents a 
 pound." Eeflecting that in Virginia the price 
 was two dollars a pound, and bacon almost im- 
 possible to buy at that, I determined to lay in 
 
122 SOLDIEE'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 a good supply. So selecting from his well-filled 
 smoke-house two sides which weighed exactly 
 eighty pounds and were streaked with lean and 
 fat in exactly the right proportion to be exceed- 
 ingly toothsome, I tied them together with a 
 piece of old rope, and, throwing them across the 
 loins of my horse, handed the farmer a twenty- 
 dollar Confederate bill. " Oh ! " said he, as he 
 took it gingerly between thumb and forefinger, 
 and eyed it as if suspicious it were unclean, " I 
 can't pass this kind of money here in Pennsyl- 
 vania." " Yes, indeed you can, my dear sir," 
 said I, speaking with the fervor of absolute con- 
 viction. " Can't you see from the army passing 
 by that we intend to take possession of this 
 little neck of the woods? You will need our 
 money to pay taxes and for many other purposes, 
 and you had better begin to get hold of it." 
 "But I can't change this bill, for I haven't got 
 any of the same kind," he whined. " Oh ! that's 
 a small matter," said I; "just give me green- 
 backs — I ain't afraid of them." " I'll see what I 
 can do," he answered, after a moment's hesita- 
 tion, and walked into the house. In less than 
 a minute I heard the shrill voice of an angry 
 woman scolding vigorously, and, guessing that 
 the farmer was encountering opposition that 
 might interfere with the trade, deemed it prudent 
 to mount my steed and be prepared for emergen- 
 cies. I had scarcely settled myself in the saddle 
 when the farmer appeared, and, extending the 
 bill toward me, said, " Here, Mister, give me back 
 that ar bacon and take your money — I can't 
 
HOOD'S TEXANS IN PENNSYLVANIA 123 
 
 make the change, for I ain't got eight dollars 
 in the house." Fully equal to the imperative 
 demands of the occasion, and, assuming the most 
 lordly Southern air of which I was capable, I 
 said, " Then just keep the change, sir," touched 
 my weather-beaten hat with the politeness of a 
 Chesterfield, and, giving free rein to my horse, 
 soon overtook a wagon and unloaded my prize 
 into it. 
 
 There are men in the Fourth Texas endowed 
 with as keen a scent for food as any animal, 
 and Dick Skinner, of Company F, is one of them. 
 Excepting the driver, whom I swore to absolute 
 secrecy, not a soul saw me put that bacon into 
 the wagon, and yet, within twenty minutes after 
 we went into camp near Greencastle, Dick ap- 
 proached me with as bland a smile as he wears 
 when asking a comrade to hold his gun while 
 he takes a drink of water, and said, " See here, 
 Joe, I hain't had a bite to eat for three days, and 
 I'm gettin' too weak to serve my country. Can't 
 you lend me about ten pounds of that bacon you 
 got this evening.? I'll make it even with you 
 within the week." Devoting one minute to won- 
 dering how in the world Dick had learned of my 
 purchase, I gave another to rapid reflection. 
 While the fellow lied like a trooper about his 
 starving condition, he was obviously too hungry 
 to be a good Christian and obey all of Cod's ten 
 commandments, and especially those against 
 covetousness and stealing; therefore, solely out 
 of regard for his moral welfare, I placed temp- 
 tation out of his reach by lending him the bacon. 
 
124 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 But, although I adjured him with tears in my 
 eyes not to think of making things even until 
 he could buy as I had, I am satisfied that when, 
 two or three days later, he settled the account 
 by sending me a couple of fat chickens, some- 
 body's henroost had been robbed. 
 
 * * ♦ • * 
 
 Horses were needed to move the artillery, 
 and, to obtain them, the non-combatants of the 
 Q. M. Department were ordered to scout through 
 the country and pick up as many as possible. 
 Always ready to serve our country in its time 
 of need, we set out as blithely as schoolboys on 
 a frolic, our cheerfulness wonderfully increased 
 by timely information that we would not be 
 expected to penetrate the mountain fastnesses 
 where guerrillas were supposed to be lying in 
 wait for the unwary, but, on the contrary, were 
 to confine our researches to the open country 
 between Longstreet's corps and Swell's, then 
 far up the Susquehanna toward Harrisburg. 
 Shortly after noon of the first day's scout we 
 caught sight of two colts feeding on a hill a mile 
 to the right of the road. Knowing their dams 
 must be near them, we cut across the country, 
 and, tied to a hedge, found two splendid young 
 mares. I took the bay, while Captain Cussons 
 (or Cozzens), of General Law's staff, who had 
 joined our party, took the sorrel. The poor ani- 
 mals kept up such 3. constant and increasing 
 racket over the separation from their offspring 
 that when night came, and we encamped in a 
 grove some distance away from any road, an 
 
HOOD'S TBXANS IN PENNSYLVANIA 125 
 
 expert at milking was in demand. Far away 
 from the protection of friendly infantry, in an 
 enemy's country and armed only with pistols, 
 we felt unpleasantly lonesome, insecure, and 
 forlorn. It was recklessly imprudent, therefore, 
 to run the risk of having our presence betrayed 
 to passing foes, as it might be, unless the uneasi- 
 ness of our captives was speedily allayed. Hav- 
 ing graduated in the art of milking when a boy, 
 I lost no time in practicing it on the animal 
 chosen by me. Captain Cussons, however, had 
 more difficulty. It was his first essay as a milk- 
 maid, and, although under my laughing tuition 
 he finally succeeded, it was at the cost of in- 
 finite travail and labor, and he carried away in 
 his eyes and mouth, and on his face, long flowing 
 beard, and new uniform far more milk than fell 
 upon the ground. 
 
 An old Dunkard gave us such an early break- 
 fast next morning that when at noon we halted 
 before a large and elegant mansion, surrounded 
 by beautiful grounds, we were as hungry as bears. 
 It fell to my lot to ask for entertainment, and, 
 dismounting, I rapped gently at the front door. 
 Waiting a reasonable time and hearing no sound 
 from within, I rapped again a little more vigor- 
 ously than before, and, after another interval of 
 absolute quiet, a third time. Then a well-pre- 
 served lady of fifty opened the door, and, her 
 face as white as a sheet, looked silently at me. 
 Eaising my hat in acknowledgment of her pres- 
 ence, I stated my errand. Not a word fell from 
 her lips until she had looked at me from head to 
 
126 SQLDIEB'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 foot, and glanced in the direction of my compan- 
 ions, then she said, in a tremulous voice, "You 
 are Kebels, are you not? " " That is what you 
 call us, Madam, I suppose, but we call ourselves 
 Confederates," I explained. " Orders have been 
 published," said she, "prohibiting citizens from 
 giving any aid or comfort to the Confederates." 
 " I shall regret very much. Madam," I rejoined, 
 " to have the orders obeyed in our particular 
 case, for in that event we will have to ask else- 
 where for food, and we are quite hungry, I assure 
 you." " That alters the case," she replied 
 quickly, smiling for the first time. " The Bible 
 commands us to feed the hungry, and it is of 
 higher authority than the orders of man. Ask 
 your friends in — I will give you dinner." The 
 smile and the spirit of genuine Christian hospi- 
 tality which spoke in the lady's sweet voice and 
 shone in her still bright eyes captivated me, and 
 I suggested carrying my party around the house 
 to the back door, rather than have them tramp 
 through the spotlessly clean hall. She smiled 
 again, gratefully this time, saying, " Thank you, 
 sir. You have been trained by a careful mother, 
 I see. It will please me very much to have your 
 friends conducted directly to the back porch — 
 they will find water, towels, and a comb and 
 brush there, should they need them." 
 
 To make a long story short, within half an 
 hour eight Confederates sat around a long table 
 in a spacious dining-room, eating huge slices of 
 light bread, cold ham, corned beef, and roast 
 mutton, interspersed liberally with sweet pick- 
 
HOOD'S TBXANS IN PENNSYLVANIA 127 
 
 les, jam, jelly, and apple butter, drinking genu- 
 ine coffee and the richest of milk, and, between 
 sups and bites, chatting as merrily with our 
 hostess, her three handsome daughters, and an 
 old gentleman whom the girls called "Uncle 
 John," as if they were acquaintances of long 
 and intimate standing. Stray whithersoever he 
 might in the delightful fields of literature, prose, 
 poetry, the arts, and the drama, the disputa- 
 tious, critical, and sarcastic Captain Joe Wade, 
 of the Fourth Texas, found his match in the 
 well-informed, bright-minded elder sister; for 
 every one of our many crude essays at wit or 
 humor. Captain Walter Norwood, of the Fifth, 
 and your humble servant, the writer, received 
 an ample quid pro quo from the next in age of 
 the girls, and Captain Mills, of the First — a 
 Chevalier Bayard sans peur et sans reproche, 
 although quite an old bachelor — and the others 
 of the visitors, found ample entertainment in 
 lively, laughing converse with our hostess, her 
 youngest daughter, and " Uncle John." 
 
 We sat there fully three hours; then Captain 
 Mills suggested departure, and, calling me to 
 one side, quietly dropped a treasured five-dollar 
 gold piece into my hand, saying in a low voice, 
 " Here, Joe, pay for our dinner with this. They 
 have been too kind to us to be offered Confed- 
 erate money." Turning to the hostess, I offered 
 the coin and asked if it would satisfy her for 
 her trouble. " Yes, sir, it would, were I willing 
 to accept pay," said she, drawing back rather 
 indignantly. " But I am not. We have heard 
 
128 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 horrible stories of the treatment we might ex- 
 pect from Confederates, but if all are gentlemen 
 like yourselves, I will make them as welcome to 
 my house and table as you have been. Won't you 
 stay longer? It is early yet." The invitation 
 declined, each of us expressed our thanks for her 
 hospitality and took leave. It was my youthful 
 appearance, I reckon, that gained me the com- 
 pliment, but when I said good-by, she clasped 
 my hand warmly, and, looking at me with eyes 
 that reminded me of my own good mother in far- 
 away Texas, said, " Good-by, my dear boy, and 
 remember if you get sick or are wounded, and 
 will only let us know where you are, you shall 
 be brought here and nursed until you are well 
 again." » * * 
 
 Eejoining the brigade late that night at its 
 camp near Chambersburg, and being very tired, 
 I laid down near the wagons and went to sleep. 
 Awakened next morning by Collins's bugle, and 
 walking over to the camp, I witnessed not only 
 an unexpected but a wonderful and marvelous 
 sight. Every square foot of half an acre of 
 ground not occupied by a sleeping or standing sol- 
 dier was covered with choice food for the hungry. 
 Chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese squawked, 
 gobbled, quacked, cackled, and hissed in in- 
 harmonious unison as deft and energetic hands 
 seized them for slaughter, and scarcely waiting 
 for them to die, sent their feathers flying in all 
 directions; and scattered around in bewildering 
 confusion and gratifying profusion appeared im- 
 mense loaves of bread and chunks of corned beef, 
 
HOOD'S TEXANS IN PENNSYLVANIA 129 
 
 hams, and sides of bacon, cheeses, crocks of ap- 
 ple-butter, jelly, jam, pickles, and preserves, 
 bowls of yellow butter, demijohns of buttermilk, 
 and other eatables too numerous to mention. 
 The sleepers were the foragers of ihe night, rest- 
 ing from their arduous labors — the standing 
 men, their messmates who remained as camp- 
 guards and were now up to their eyes in noise, 
 feathers, and grub. Jack Sutherland's head 
 pillowed itself on a loaf of bread, and one arm 
 was wound caressingly half around a juicy-look- 
 ing ham. Bob Murray, fearful that his captives 
 would take to their wings or be purloined, had 
 wound the string, which bound half a dozen fry- 
 ing chickens, around his right big toe; one of 
 Brahan's widespread legs was embraced by two 
 overlapping crocks of apple butter and jam, 
 while a tough old gander, gray with age, 
 squawked complainingly at his head without in 
 the least disturbing his slumber; Dick Skinner 
 lay flat on his back — with his right hand holding 
 to the legs of three fat chickens and a duck, and 
 his left, to those of a large turkey — fast asleep 
 and snoring in a rasping bass voice that chimed 
 in well with the music of the fowls. * ♦ • 
 The scene is utterly indescribable, and I shall 
 make no further attempt to picture it. The hours 
 were devoted exclusively to gormandizing until, 
 at 3 P. M., marching orders came, and, leaving 
 more provisions than they carried, the Texans 
 moved lazily and plethorically into line — their 
 destination, Gettysburg. 
 
XIII 
 
 GETTYSBUEG 
 
 (Letter of July 30, 1863, Continued) 
 
 Heretofore, Charming Nellie, it has been my 
 privilege and delight to boast of victory — ac- 
 knowledged and glorious victory. I know the 
 Northern people claim that Lee's army met de- 
 feat at Sharpsburg — ^Antietam, they call it — ^but 
 the calm, unbiased judgment of the future will 
 never sanction the claim. Considering that the 
 Federal army outnumbered ours fully two to 
 one, that Lee held his ground against all as- 
 saults, that he stood ready to receive an attack 
 for one whole day, and then retired slowly, de- 
 liberately, without molestation and without ad- 
 ditional loss, certainly only the partisan swayed 
 and blinded by prejudice, passion, and pride can 
 refuse to him the laurels of the victor. An army 
 knows when it is whipped, and when, after a 
 hard-fought battle, brave men still wear confi- 
 dent smiles and cheer their general as he passes 
 — ^as Lee's army did him the day after its return 
 to Virginia soil — it is because they know they 
 have won the fight. But, alas! Sharpsburg fur- 
 nishes but little of compensation for Gettysburg, 
 for here defeat — bloody, terrible, and disastrous 
 defeat — stared us in the face at the beginning 
 
 130 
 
GETTYSBURG 131 
 
 of the conflict, and swept down on us, an over- 
 whelming pall of gloom, at its ending. At Sharps- 
 burg McClellan attacked, and Lee held his 
 ground; at Gettysburg, Lee made the assault, 
 and Meade, the successor of McClellan, held his 
 ground. At the one place the Federals met 
 withering, deadly repulse — at the other, the Con- 
 federates. 
 
 While at Gettysburg the Confederates fought 
 heroically; while Pickett's charge on Cemetery 
 Heights has never been equaled in vigor, dash, 
 and reckless daring; while every division, bri- 
 gade, and regiment of the Southern army did its 
 duty nobly and well, the odds, both in numbers 
 and position, were against us — ^the God of War 
 hostile, and inevitable, crushing defeat fell to 
 our lot. Nor did it come at Gettysburg only, 
 for on the same day Pemberton surrendered, 
 Vicksburg fell — the news of that companion dis- 
 aster reaching us almost simultaneously with 
 the knowledge of our own misfortune. 
 
 That a mistake was made at Gettysburg is 
 admitted by all ; who made it it is now too late 
 to inquire. The cavalry out of place and reach. 
 General Lee lacked the exact information requi- 
 site to successful generalship. Fighting where 
 we did — assaulting heights defended by supe- 
 rior numbers and difllcult to scale even by un- 
 armed and unopposed men — it seems now im- 
 possible to have won. Had we moved to the right 
 across the Emmitsburg road, and, selecting our 
 position, awaited the attack Meade would have 
 been compelled to make, the result might have 
 
132 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 been different, the Confederates now singing the 
 songs of victory instead of doing their best to 
 keep out of the slough of despond. 
 
 Why we did not move to the right, General 
 Lee only knows, and defeat — novel and humiliat- 
 ing as it is — has not shaken our confidence in 
 him and his subordinate commanders. The rank 
 and file of the army did its whole duty and ab- 
 solutely refuses to admit that, either through 
 carelessness or intention, its generals did less. 
 We are not such hero-worshipers as to believe 
 even Lee infallible, especially when we remember 
 his noble and magnanimous words, " It is all my 
 fault, men, it is all my fault." Self-respect would 
 have prohibited that admission had it been 
 wholly untrue. 
 
 Butler says in Hudibras: 
 
 "In all the trade of war, no feat 
 Is nobler than a brave retreat." 
 
 That is biting, subtle irony in the connection 
 in which it appears, but might be written seri- 
 ously and truly of the retreat from Gettysburg 
 — of the endurance of the Confederate army, the 
 brave front ever turned upon the pursuing 
 enemy, and the generalship of Lee. Beaten and 
 crushed, decimated by death and wounds, 
 gaunted by hunger and footsore with marching 
 as was that army, Meade, although elated by 
 victory, dared neither to follow it closely nor 
 attack it when, like a lion in his path, it stood 
 at bay ; and at Hagerstown it lay in defiant but 
 restful security long enough to build pontoon 
 
GETTYSBURG 133 
 
 bridges, send across them its immense train of 
 wagons, and follow at its leisure. Let the Yan- 
 kees boast as much as they please over this their 
 first success. We have met repulse, but, God 
 willing, will yet win freedom, independence, and 
 separate nationality. Given a fair field, our dis- 
 aster will be retrieved, and the Yankee nation 
 taught that " one swallow does not make a 
 summer." 
 
 I can tell you little of the battle of Gettys- 
 burg, for, luckily or unluckily — ^just as one 
 chooses to regard it — I was not a participant. 
 In the attack, on July 2, on Little Round Top 
 the brigade was exposed to a terrific fire of shot, 
 shell, and canister, and lost many of its best 
 men. 
 
 Among the many daring acts of which the 
 boys speak in warm admiration is that of 
 George Branard, color bearer of the First Texas, 
 who bore his flag so far and gallantly to the 
 front that ' the Yankees, in recognition of his 
 bravery, shouted to each other, " Don't shoot 
 that color bearer — ^he is too brave ! " It appears 
 that in the unavoidable confusion incident to an 
 attack by several brigades upon a common point, 
 the colors of several Georgia regiments and 
 those of the First Texas came so near together 
 behind a natural breastwork of rocks that they 
 not only drew the concentrated fire of the enemy, 
 but made it difficult to determine which fiag was 
 farthest in advance. To settle the question be- 
 yond dispute, Branard called upon his color 
 guard to follow him, and, mounting the rocks. 
 
134 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 dashed forward toward the Yankee lines. It was 
 here the Federal infantry sought to spare him; 
 their artillery, however, could not be so mag- 
 nanimous, and the bursting of a shell carried 
 away all but the lower part of the flagstaff, and 
 laid Branard unconscious upon the ground. At 
 first it was thought he was killed, but that waS 
 a mistake. He revived in a few minutes, and, if 
 his friends had let him, would have attempted 
 to whip the whole Yankee nation by himself — he 
 was so mad. « ♦ ♦ 
 
 It is only of the lights and lesser shadows of 
 this cruel war I care to write; its horrors I 
 avoid, as well because, soldier-like, I try to for- 
 get them, as because it is unkind to shock your 
 womanly sensibilities with things so revolting 
 and gruesome. But, fortunately, there are few 
 amusing incidents to record of the battle, and 
 to delay saying, " Farewell ! Othello's occupa- 
 tion's gone," and closing this already lengthy 
 epistle before the boys from camp have had time 
 to make their daily raid on the corn patch, I 
 must perforce descend to egotism; so " revenons 
 d, nos moutons" — which means, translated un- 
 der stress of the present emergency, let us return 
 to our wagons. 
 
 After night descended on the 4th day of July 
 and concealed our movements from the enemy, 
 they were loaded with those of the wounded who 
 could stand rough transportation, and ordered 
 across the Potomac. It rained heavily all night 
 long, and right gladly would I have crawled be- 
 neath the sheets of a wagon and found protection 
 
J. C. Murray 
 Private, Company F. Fourtli Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 
 134 
 
GETTYSBURG 135 
 
 from the storm. But my steed refused to lead 
 and I was forced to take the rain and be con- 
 tent with such cat-naps as occasional halts per- 
 mitted. Just before daylight I called at a house 
 by the roadside, and, although the sour and for- 
 bidding countenance of the proprietor indicated 
 no anxiety to cultivate amicable relations, per- 
 suaded him to fortify my inner man with two 
 cups of coffee and a proportional share of bread 
 and butter. 
 
 Daylight brought with it the dread fear of 
 pursuit, and the teams were pushed rapidly 
 on. But, on arriving at Williamsport, what 
 was our surprise and consternation to find the 
 Potomac conspiring with the enemy, and so 
 swollen as to be impassable in the absence of 
 pontoons!' To add to the Iliad of our woes, the 
 Yankee cavalry came swooping down on us at 
 noon, and the dire and deplorable misfortunes of 
 capture and captivity stared us broadly and un- 
 winkingly in the face. Still, just as a mouse 
 will fight when cornered, so will commissaries, 
 quartermasters, and their immediate subordi- 
 nates, and the small cavalry force escorting the 
 train was at once reinforced by a body of men 
 who, however non-combatant ordinarily, on this 
 occasion faced danger gallantly and — although 
 sadly out of practice — ^used the few weapons to 
 be had with a deadly skill that soon put the foe 
 to fiight. 
 
 Fortunately, too, just when the Yankees were 
 fairly on the run. General Imboden came 
 creeping up with a brigade of Confederate cav- 
 
136 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 airy, and, without a blow to win them, coolly 
 appropriated all the honors of the engagement. 
 I am glad he was so generous and considerate; 
 the last thing the gentlemen officiating in various 
 capacities in the quartermaster and commissary 
 departments desire is a reputation for courage; 
 that fastened upon them, they might have more 
 fighting to do. 
 
 While endeavoring to keep out of the reach of 
 death-dealing missiles at Gettysburg, and at the 
 same time watch the progress of the battle, I 
 took advantage of a lull in the firing to ride down 
 the main street of the little town. Discovering 
 a lot of shoes — cloth gaiters such as ladies wear 
 — scattered in confusion over the muddy floor of 
 a cellar and, without apparent ownership, I se- 
 lected a pair of No. 3's and brought them away 
 with me. Eeally, I had as little idea what I 
 wanted them for as the soldier had with respect 
 to the grindstone he stole. However, I soon 
 learned there was a demand for just such arti- 
 cles. 
 
 On my way to Staunton with the wounded 
 I espied three persons — a mother, father, and 
 daughter — standing in the doorway of a resi- 
 dence plose to the highway, whose surroundings 
 and air of elegance pronounced it the abode of 
 wealthy and refined people. An uncontrollable 
 desire to smoke immediately assailed me, and, 
 dismounting at the gate, I filled my pipe, and, 
 approaching the party, requested a light. While 
 a little darky was bringing a coal of fire, the 
 ladies and I fell into conversation. 
 
GETTTSBTJRG 137 
 
 While thus pleasantly engaged, an ambulance, 
 to the roof of which were tied a half dozen sets 
 of hoops, such as you ladies use, came within 
 view. Catching sight of them, the two ladies 
 left me in the lurch, and, accosting the driver 
 of the vehicle, insisted that he should sell them 
 at least one set. But, although they offered 
 an extravagant price, and to pay in gold, silver. 
 Confederate money, or greenbacks, the driver 
 remained faithful to his trust — the articles be- 
 longing, he said, to Dr. , who was send- 
 ing them to lady relatives near Staunton. 
 Tears, prayers, and entreaties were alike wasted 
 upon his obdurate heart, and the would-be pur- 
 chasers returned empty-handed, angry, and the 
 younger actually in tears. " The mean old 
 thing ! " began the old lady, and was proceed- 
 ing to give vent to her wrath and " Hail Colum- 
 bia " to the driver, when her daughter reminded 
 her by a glance that a stranger was present. 
 Then she explained that hoops had been abso- 
 lutely unobtainable since the war began, and 
 would have furnished me a long list of facts 
 concerning the deprivations her sex was sub- 
 jected to, had I not fortunately remembered and 
 mentioned the pair of shoes then in my knap- 
 sack and on the way up the Valley. Thus far, 
 I had been merely a private soldier — entitled 
 as such to kindness, but not to any special con- 
 sideration — but the possession of a pair of 
 shoes, number threes, lifted me at once out of 
 the vale of obscurity and made me a personage 
 of high and mighty consequence; the young 
 
138 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 lady just must have them — ^they were her exact 
 number, and a man like me had no use in the 
 world for them. What could I do, Charming 
 Nellie? My right to the shoes questionable, con- 
 science forbade their sale, while economy prohib- 
 ited an absolute giving away. The gentle zephyrs 
 which floated through the wide hall wafted to 
 my keen-scented olfactory nerves the delightfully 
 appetizing and tempting odors of a frying 
 chicken,; the red lips of the fair pleader seemed 
 not less inviting and tantalizing; a piano, vis- 
 ible through the open windows of an elegantly 
 furnished parlor, promised music. All things 
 considered, the quickly formed wish to strengthen 
 my corporeal system by a square meal, gratify 
 my taste for sweets by a kiss, and please my 
 ears with dulcet strains of melody, were not, I 
 hope, a boldness and impudence for which a poor 
 soldier all the way from Texas should be cen- 
 sured. 
 
 But, whatever it was, I got a good din- 
 ner, enjoyed the most deliciously entrancing 
 music, but, too diffident to suggest osculatory 
 exercise in the presence of the old folks, com- 
 promised on permission to lace the gaiters on 
 the lady's feet. "Why, that's nothing, MoUie," 
 said the sensible mother, when her daughter, 
 startled by the proposal, would have refused. 
 " You never object to clerks tying your shoes, 
 do you? " Under such willing maternal sanc- 
 tion, a fair and positive bargain was made; and 
 I reckon would have been consummated and the 
 lovely maiden now be wearing the gaiters, had 
 
GETTTSBURG 139 
 
 the old lady been at home when I returned from 
 Staunton, instead of three angular and squeam- 
 ish aunts — all old maids. As it was and is, I 
 have the shoes yet, and, for all I know, the young 
 lady is going barefooted. 
 
 Note 6 — Even when assured, as was claimed after the 
 battle of Grettysburg, that " the backbone of the Rebellion 
 had been broken," Gen. Meade, who continued in command 
 of the Federal Army until succeeded by Grant, did not deem 
 it prudent to again offer battle to Lee during the year 1863. 
 Though he followed Lee into Virginia, it was at a respect- 
 ful distance, and the march of Longstreet's corps south was 
 leisurely. The Texas Brigade rested from the march for a 
 week or more at Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan, and thence 
 proceeding toward Fredericksburg, arrived in the vicinity 
 of that city about the 25th of July, remaining in camp there 
 until about the last of August, when it moved down to Port 
 Royal, some twenty miles below, on the Rappahannock. 
 Thence, with McLaws' division and under command of Long- 
 street, it went to the aid of Bragg's army, joining that army 
 in time to participate in the two days' battle of Chicka- 
 mauga. 
 
XIV 
 
 EEMINISOENCES OP CHIOKAMAUGA 
 
 Chattanooga, Tbnn., October 1, 1863. 
 
 I WROTE to you last from Fredericksburg, Va. 
 Then I sat in a chair by the side of a table and 
 under the shade of a maple — sore and downcast 
 over disastrous defeat, but doing my best to 
 "keep a stiff upper lip," and make light of it; 
 now, elated by a glorious victory, I sit in the 
 shadow of Lookout Mountain, with my back 
 against a tent post, writing on a wide board 
 held on my lap. ♦ ♦ • 
 
 With the details of the long and tiresome jour- 
 ney in boxcars from Virginia, I will not weary 
 your patient soul — remarking, however, by way 
 of parenthesis, that somewhere on the route I 
 not only lost my knapsack, but also the pair of 
 No. 3 cloth gaiters which, as I wrote you, I 
 refused to give to the young lady in the Shen- 
 andoah Valley. You may think it just retribu- 
 tion, but I impute the happening to the meanness 
 of the fellow who did the stealing. • • ♦ 
 
 The battle of Chickamauga was fought, as you 
 know, on the 19th and 20th days of last month. 
 The Texas Brigade got into position early on 
 the morning of the 19th, and, during the bal- 
 ance of that long and struggling day, the boom- 
 ing of artillery and the roar of small arms on 
 
 140 
 
REMINISCENCES OF CHICKAMAUGA 141 
 
 its right and left was incessant and terrific. 
 Judging alone from the noise, it appeared to us 
 that every man of both armies must soon be 
 wounded or killed, and we wondered much why 
 the sound of the firing seemed neither to recede 
 nor advance, and why there was none of the yell- 
 ing to which we had been accustomed in Vir- 
 ginia. And when at last it was learned that 
 the opposing lines were simply standing two 
 or three hundred yards apart, firing at each 
 other as fast as guns could be loaded and trig- 
 gers pulled, comments were many and ludicrous 
 — ^the consensus of opinion being that such a 
 method of fighting would not suit troops which 
 in Virginia were accustomed to charge the enemy 
 at sight. One brave fellow said, and voiced the 
 sentiment of all, " Boys, if we have to stand in 
 a straight line as stationary targets for the Yan- 
 kees to shoot at with a rest, this old Texas Bri- 
 gade is going to run like h — ^U ! " 
 
 It is said that when Longstreet, on this sec- 
 ond day, heard the shouts of his men as the 
 Yankees were being driven back, suggested to 
 Bragg that a general and simultaneous attack 
 should be made all along the lines. " But I have 
 no assurance that the enemy has begun to re- 
 treat," objected Bragg. " Well, I know he has," 
 replied Longstreet, " for I hear my men yelling, 
 and can tell from it that they are driving the 
 enemy before them." But Bragg was skeptical 
 and waited for actual reports from the front, 
 and these came too late for a movement which 
 would have forced Kosecrans beyond the Ten- 
 
142 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 nessee Eiver and given us possession of Chat- 
 tanooga almost without a struggle. As it is, the 
 Lord only knows when, how, or whether we shall 
 ever capture it; for there is no rainbow of prom- 
 ise yet in the sky of war that points in the direc- 
 tion of that "devoutly to be wished" consum- 
 mation. * « ♦ 
 
 The part of the lines around Chattanooga oc- 
 cupied by us begins at a point half a mile from 
 the foot of Lookout Mountain; the picket line, 
 as first established, resting its right on Chat 
 tanooga Creek, and stretching across a wide bend 
 to that stream again. General Hood's loss of 
 a leg at Chickamauga has devolved the command 
 of our division upon Brigadier-General Jenkins, 
 whose brigade of South Carolinians joined us at 
 Chickamauga. This brigade is composed of a 
 magnificent body of men whose brand-new Con- 
 federate uniforms easily distinguish them from 
 the members of other commands. 
 
 I was lucky enough to be on picket duty a few 
 nights ago with my friends Will Burges and 
 John West, of Companies D and E of the Fourth, 
 each of whom is not only a good soldier, but a 
 most entertaining companion. As the night ad- 
 vanced, it became cold enough to make a fire 
 very acceptable, and, appropriating a whole one 
 to ourselves, we had wandered from a discus- 
 sion of the war and of this particular campaign 
 that was little flattering to General Bragg, into 
 pleasant reminiscences of our homes and loved 
 ones, when someone on horseback said, " Good- 
 evening, gentlemen." Looking hastily up, we 
 
REMINISCENCES OF CHICK AMAUGA 143 
 
 discovered that the intruder was General Jen- 
 kins, alone and unattended by either aide or 
 orderly, and were about to rise and salute in 
 approved military style, when, with a smile 
 plainly perceptible in the bright moonlight, he 
 said, " No, don't trouble yourselves," and, let- 
 ting the reins drop on his horse's neck, threw 
 one leg around the pommel of his saddle and 
 entered into conversation with us. 
 
 Had you been listening for the next half hour 
 or so. Charming Nellie, you would never have 
 been able to guess which of us was the General, 
 for, ignoring his rank as completely as we care- 
 less Texans forgot it, he became at once as pri- 
 vate a soldier as either of us, and talked and 
 laughed as merrily and unconcernedly as if it 
 were not war times. I offered him the use of 
 my pipe and smoking-tobacco. Surges was 
 equally generous with the plug he kept for chew- 
 ing, and West was even polite enough to regret 
 that the whisky he was in the habit of carrying 
 as a preventive against snake bites was just 
 out ; in short, we were beginning to believe Gen- 
 eral Jenkins of South Carolina the only real 
 general in the Confederate service, when, to our 
 surprise and dismay, he straightened himself up 
 on his saddle, and, climbing from " gay to grave, 
 from lively to severe," announced that at mid- 
 night the picket line would be expected to ad- 
 vance and drive the Yankees to the other side 
 of the creek. We might easily have forgiven 
 him for being the bearer of this discomforting 
 intelligence had that been the sum total of his 
 
144 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 offending; but it was not; he rode away with- 
 out expressing the least pleasure at having made 
 our acquaintance, or even offering to shake 
 hands with us — ^the necessary and inevitable con- 
 sequence of such discourtesy being that he de- 
 scended at once in our estimation to the level 
 of any other general. But midnight was too near 
 at hand to waste time in nursing indignation. 
 Instant action was imperative, and, resolving 
 ourselves into a council of war with plenary 
 powers, it was unanimously decided by the three 
 privates there assembled that our recent guest 
 was an upstart wholly undeserving of confidence; 
 that the contemplated movement was not only 
 foolish and impracticable, but bound to be dan- 
 gerous ; and that, if a single shot were fired at us 
 by the enemy, we three would just lie down and 
 let General Jenkins of South Carolina do his 
 own advancing and driving. Being veterans, we 
 knew far better than he how easy it was at night 
 for opposing lines to intermingle with each other 
 and men to mistake friends for enemies, and we 
 did not propose to sanction the taking of such 
 chances. 
 
 All too soon the dreaded and fateful hour ar- 
 rived ; all too soon the whispered order " For- 
 ward" was passed from man to man down the 
 long line, and, like spectral forms in the ghastly 
 moonlight, the Confederate pickets moved slowly 
 out into the open field in their front, every mo- 
 ment expecting to see the flash of a gun and 
 hear or feel its messenger of death, and all awed 
 by the fear the bravest men feel when confront- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF CHICKAMAUGA 145 
 
 ing unknown danger. Not ten minutes before, 
 the shadowy forms of the enemy had been seen 
 by our videttes, and if the line of the creek was 
 worth capturing by us, it surely was worth hold- 
 ing by the Yankees. But all was silent and still ; 
 no sight of foe, no tread of stealthy footstep, 
 no sharp click of gunlock — not even the rus- 
 tling of a leaf or the snap of a twig came out 
 of the darkness to relieve our suspense and quiet 
 the expectant throbbing of our hearts. Under 
 these circumstances, West, Burges, and your 
 humble servant, like the brave and true men they 
 are, held themselves erect and advanced side by 
 side with their gallant comrades until the terra 
 incognita and impenetrability of the narrow but 
 timbered valley of the stream suggested ambush 
 and the advisability of rifle-pits. Working at 
 these with a will born of emergency, we managed 
 to complete them just as the day dawned, and 
 jumping into them with a sigh of inexpressible 
 relief — our courage rising as the night fled — 
 waited for hostilities to begin. But the Yan- 
 kees had outwitted us, their withdrawal, by some 
 strange coincidence, having been practically 
 simultaneous with our advance — they taking just 
 start enough, however, to keep well out of our 
 sight and hearing. West remarked next morn- 
 ing, " It's better to be born lucky than rich," 
 but whether he referred to our narrow escape, 
 or to that of the Yankees, he refused to say. 
 * * * Soon afterward, a truce along 
 the picket lines in front of the Texans was ar- 
 ranged; that is, there was to be no more shoot- 
 
146 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 ing at each other's pickets — the little killing and 
 wounding done by the practice never compensat- 
 ing for the powder and shot expended, and the 
 discomfort of being always on the alert, night 
 and day. 
 
 But the South Carolinians, whose picket line 
 began at our left, their first rifle-pit being within 
 fifty feet of the last one of the First Texas, could 
 make no terms whatever. The Federals charge 
 them with being the instigators and beginners 
 of the war, and, as I am informed, always ex- 
 clude them from the benefit of truces between 
 the pickets. It is certainly an odd spectacle to 
 see the Carolinians hiding in their rifle-pits 
 and not daring to show their heads, while, not 
 fifty feet away, the Texans sit on the ground 
 playing poker, in plain view and within a hun- 
 dred yards of the Yankees. Worse than all, the 
 palmetto fellows are not even permitted to visit 
 us in daylight, except in disguise — ^their new 
 uniforms of gray always betraying them wher- 
 ever they go. One of them who is not only very 
 fond of, but successful at, the game of poker, 
 concluded the other day to risk being shot for 
 the chance of winning the money of the First 
 Texas, and, divesting himself of his coat, slipped 
 over to the Texas pit an hour before daylight, 
 and by sunrise was giving his whole mind to the 
 noble pastime. 
 
 An hour later a keen-sighted Yankee sang 
 out, " Say, you Texas Johnnies ! ain't that 
 fellow' playing cards, with his back to a sap- 
 ling, one of them d d South Carolina se- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF CHICKAMAUGA 147 
 
 cessionists? Seems to me his breeches are newer'n 
 they ought to be." This direct appeal for in- 
 formation placed the Texans between the horns 
 of a dilemma; hospitality demanded the protec- 
 tion of their guest — prudence, the observance of 
 good faith toward the Yankees. The delay in 
 answering obviated the necessity for it by con- 
 firming the inquirer's suspicions, and, exclaim- 
 ing, " D n him, I just know it is ! " he raised 
 
 his gun quickly to his shoulder and fired. The 
 South Carolinian was too active, though; at the 
 very first movement of the Yankee, he sprang 
 ten feet and disappeared into a gulch that pro- 
 tected him from further assault. • ♦ • 
 
 Jack Smith, of Company D, is sui generis. A 
 brave and gallant soldier, he is yet an inveterate 
 straggler, and is, therefore, not always on hand 
 when the battle is raging, but at Chickamauga 
 he was, and, singularly enough, counted for 
 two. 
 
 Another member of Company D is constitution- 
 ally opposed to offering his body for sacrifice on 
 the altar of his country, and, when he cannot get 
 on a detail which will keep him out of danger, 
 is sure to fall alarmingly sick. Jack determined 
 to put a stop to this shirking, so, early on the 
 morning of the 19th, he took the fellow under 
 his own protecting and stimulating care, and, at- 
 tacking him in the most vulnerable point, to the 
 surprise of everybody, carried him into and 
 through the fight of that day. " Come right 
 along with me, Fred, and don't be scared a par- 
 ticle," Jack was heard to say in his coaxing, 
 
148 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 mellifluous voice as we began to advance on the 
 enemy, " for I'll shoot the head off the first man 
 who points a gun at you. You stick close to me, 
 fire at everything you see in front of you, and 
 I'll watch out for your carcass, and after we 
 have whipped the Yanks you an' me'U finish 
 them bitters in my haversack." "But I don't 
 like bitters," protested Fred in a trembling voice. 
 "I know that, ole feller, an' I don't generally 
 like 'em myself, but these are made on the old 
 nigger's plan — the least mite in the world of 
 cherry bark, still less of dogwood, and then fill 
 up the bottle with whisky." 
 
 Needless to say that after the battle was over 
 and Jack had brought his prot6g6 safely through 
 its perils, quite a number of comrades looked 
 longingly at the bottle. In vain, however; Jack 
 was loyal to his promise, and he and Fred 
 were the merriest men in Company D that 
 night. 
 
 Discussing the subject on the picket post the 
 night General Jenkins interviewed us, and Just 
 before he did, Burges insisted that the influence 
 which carried Fred into the engagement was a 
 spirit of patriotism newly awakened in his 
 bosom, and I gave the credit to Jack Smith's 
 personal magnetism. But when West insisted 
 it was the bitters, Burges and I instantly " ac- 
 knowledged the corn," Burges saying, with a 
 wink at me, 
 
 "You ought to know. West, I reckon, better 
 than either of us — ^you carry the same kind of 
 bitters yourself, don't you? " 
 
REMINISCENCES OF CHICKAMAUGA 149 
 
 Then, not to be outdone in courtesy, West 
 modestly " acknowledged the corn " himself, and 
 thus gave us a chance to repeat our acknowledg- 
 ments and hope he would never die while he con- 
 tinued as good a judge of liquor, and as liberal 
 in sharing it with his comrades. That was the 
 reason General Jenkins failed to secure an invi- 
 tation to drink. 
 
XV 
 
 FORAGING FOB HOG MEAT 
 
 Chattanooga, Tenn., October 23, 1863. 
 Amid the many "hair-breadth 'scapes i' the 
 imminent deadly breach " that have fallen to 
 my lot, one that occurred the other day was so 
 amusing, and brought with it such a sense of 
 triumph, that I must relate it. It will prove to 
 you my right to echo the boast of Henry VI., 
 that, 
 
 " Thus far our fortune keeps an upward course, 
 And we are grae'd with wreaths of victory." 
 
 When I read those lines to Bill Calhoun yes- 
 terday, he fell into improvisation, saying, 
 
 "Yes, 'twas a victory In the shape of a hog. 
 That you brought into camp, suspended from a log, 
 And was so big and so fat, so juicy and greasy, 
 As your conscience and stomach, both to make easy." 
 
 Appetite comes with eating, to the gourmand, 
 but to the Texans in Bragg's army it comes with 
 fasting. Blue beef and musty corn meal have 
 not only become monotonous, but, as the boys 
 say, "We have soured on 'em." Anyhow, Jim 
 Somerville and I, while on picket together, de- 
 cided it was a duty we owed ourselves and the 
 Confederacy to " varigate our eatin'," and on the 
 following day we went five miles to the rear, and 
 engaged in a diligent search for quadrupeds of 
 
 150 
 
FORAGING FOR HOG MEAT 151 
 
 the porcine persuasion. Lacking acquaintances 
 among the citizens, as well as money or credit, 
 we proposed as a dernier ressort a secret impress- 
 ment, and to effect our purpose with due dis- 
 patch one carried a belduque and the other a 
 gun. Luck favored us in the search, for about 
 the middle of the afternoon we found ourselves 
 in a secluded glade and in near proximity to a 
 couple of fair-sized and well-fed hogs. Face to 
 face with the brutes, my conscience grew ten- 
 der, and I suggested to my companion that we 
 should wait for them to begin hostilities — it was 
 my first experience in that kind of foraging, you 
 know. But Somerville was built of sterner 
 stuff, and crying " Damfido," took careful aim 
 at the larger and fatter of the two porkers, and 
 pulled the trigger. 
 
 But, alas, for his hopes! How true it is that 
 " the best laid schemes of men and mice gang 
 aft agley." The cap upon which so much de- 
 pended failed in our time of greatest need, and, 
 to our chagrin and mortification, neither of us 
 could find another, look and feel as diligently 
 as we might in the recesses of our well-worn gar- 
 ments. Truly it was an exasperating predica- 
 ment for two hungry Texans to be standing 
 within twenty feet of the very game for which 
 they had hunted so long, minus the one thing 
 needful — a, gun-cap. Even the hogs laughed at 
 us — that is, if a constant turning up of dirty 
 noses and a succession of seemingly contemptu- 
 ous grunts may be called laughing. Notwith- 
 standing the spasm of honesty which had 
 
152 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 prompted me to suggest delay, I felt the dis- 
 aster so keenly that I lost my temper and began 
 reproaching Somerville for not coming better 
 provided with ammunition ; but, paying no heed 
 to me and silent as a sphynx, he continued me- 
 chanically the search of his person. Suddenly 
 a rapturous smile lighted up his homely features, 
 and he exclaimed, 
 
 " By the great holy Moses, Joe, if I haven't 
 found a cap way down in the corner of this old 
 shirt-pocket, I'll be everlastin'ly derned!" 
 
 And so, indeed, he had, and in less than half 
 a minute the body of the larger hog lay lifeless 
 on the sward, and twenty minutes later its car- 
 cass, skinned except as to head and feet, was 
 tied up in a linen tent-cloth, and, suspended 
 from a pole, was on the way to camp. 
 
 Before setting out on the expedition we had 
 agreed upon our respective qualifications and 
 the part each of us was to perform. Somerville's 
 natural and acquired hog-sense specially 
 adapted him to command in all matters pertain- 
 ing to search, capture, and transportation. On 
 the other hand, my glibness of tongue and my 
 acquaintance with the ways and habits of the 
 enemy in the case — Captain Scott's provost 
 guard — pointed to me as leader and spokesman 
 in saving the bacon and its captors from con- 
 fiscation, arrest, and court martial — the last be- 
 ing, now that we were under Bragg, a fate well 
 worth dreading. So when at last the hog was 
 lifted on to our shoulders, Somerville retired to 
 a subordinate position, and I assumed the direc- 
 
FORAGING FOR HOG MEAT 153 
 
 tion of affairs, and " dressed in a little brief 
 authority," immediately proceeded to commit a 
 grave and inexcusable blunder. Instead of 
 boldly selecting a highway on which to travel, I 
 let timidity govern, and chose a little-traveled 
 route. 
 
 As a result, while all went well for a couple 
 of miles, at the first open ground a dozen or more 
 shining bayonets slowly sinking out of view be- 
 hind a hill over which the road ran, gave warn- 
 ing of danger. As these indicated the presence 
 of provost guards, no sooner did I catch sight 
 of them than I ordered a halt, and, assisting 
 Somerville to deposit our capture on a log, said 
 to him, " What do you think we'd better do, old 
 fellow.'' " But he was tired, and, having done 
 his part of the directing, was unwilling to as- 
 sume further responsibility, and between whiffs 
 of his pipe only replied, " Damfiknow." A long 
 silence followed this comforting announcement, 
 and then I asked, " Do you reckon any of those 
 infernal guards saw us?" Eising slowly to his 
 feet, and with a far-away expression in his blue 
 eyes, gazing at the sun just then gliding down 
 behind Lookout Mountain, Somerville again re- 
 plied, " Damfiknow." 
 
 Thus abandoned to my own resources, I de- 
 cided to stay right there until the provost con- 
 tingent got out of the way. But when, half an 
 hour afterward, we resumed our journey, we did 
 not cover a mile ere, rounding a point of tim- 
 ber, as unsuspectingly as " the babes in the 
 woods," our little procession ran plump into a 
 
154 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 squad of the enemy. This wholly unlocked for 
 encounter was terribly demoralizing,! and at my 
 wit's end for the moment, I cast an appealing 
 glance across the hog at the stolid countenance 
 of my partner in trouble, but all the reward I 
 got came in a wink which said as plainly as 
 words, " I told you so." Again thrown back 
 upon my own resources, the emergency restored 
 my composure. Eecognizing the sergeant of the 
 squad as a First Texas man I had once be- 
 friended, I gave him an admirable opportunity 
 to reciprocate. He was not an ingrate, for, after 
 inspecting the pass I handed him, and, although 
 knowing it was a borrowed one, he announced 
 his satisfaction and allowed us to proceed. 
 Much relieved, we stepped out for camp at our 
 liveliest lick, and for a while rapidly increased 
 the distance between us and the leisurely mov- 
 ing guard. 
 
 Suddenly, though, the sergeant put life into 
 his long legs, and overtaking us, pointed at the 
 swinging carcass, and in a tone of mingled au- 
 thority and apology said, 
 
 " See here, fellows — isn't that hog skinned? 
 If it is, I'll have to take you in out of the wet, 
 or those darned Georgians with me will report 
 me for failing to do my duty." 
 
 "Can't you see it isn't skinned?" I asked, 
 pointing to the exposed head and feet, and still 
 relying a little on the sergeant's gratitude. 
 
 I was leaning on a broken staff, though. The 
 Georgians had come within hearing, and the 
 sergeant was not in the mind to exchange a soft 
 
FORAGING FOR HOG MEAT 155 
 
 berth as a member of the provost guard for hard 
 service in the ranks of his company, and, with a 
 provoking smile and in a tone that convinced 
 me of the necessity of an instant change of 
 front, he replied, 
 
 " You can't work a game of that kind on me, 
 my friend, and you needn't try to. I have got 
 to make sure by an examination." 
 
 " Well," said I, " as I don't propose either to 
 lie or to have my pork flavored with dirty hands, 
 I'll acknowledge straight out that it is skinned. 
 It takes time to heat water, and we had none to 
 spare for any such foolishness, even though the 
 man we bought from offered to help us." 
 
 " I'll have to arrest you, then," said the ser- 
 geant. " My orders are to arrest every man we 
 catch toting skinned meat." 
 
 "All right," I replied with lofty unconcern, 
 " obey your orders, then ; but, if you want to 
 reach quarters before midnight, you and your 
 fellows must do a little of the toting yourselves." 
 
 My first thought, when the climax of arrest 
 came, was to purchase relief by the surrender of 
 half the hog. But, while debating in my mind 
 how to broach the subject to the sergeant, I 
 heard one of his men smack his lips and say to 
 another, " Great Jiminy, Tom, but won't we fel- 
 lers waller in good eatin' an' grease to-night! " 
 Action, look, and speech were so unctiously glut- 
 tonous and revolting that I resolved to carry my 
 prize to camp if lying and assurance could win. 
 Therefore, the moment we reached the provost 
 guard quarters, I requested Lieutenant Shot- 
 
156 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 well, as good and brave a soldier as ever lived, 
 not only to prohibit any interference with the 
 hog, but to accompany me and Somerville at 
 once to the quarters of General Jenkins, a hun- 
 dred yards distant. The General sat before a 
 fire in front of his tent, reading by the light of 
 a lantern, and as we approached looked up with 
 a pleasant smile. Stepping in front of Shot- 
 well, and respectfully saluting the General, look- 
 ing boldly and unflinchingly into his eyes — car- 
 ing not that my hat was torn and slouched, my 
 trousers greasy, and that my big toe protruded 
 conspicuously from the right shoe — ^anxious, as 
 never before in my life, to combine a respectful 
 suaviter in mode with a convincing fortiter in re, 
 I began my plea for liberty, saying, 
 
 " General, Mr. Somerville and I are members 
 of Company F, of the Fourth Texas, and every 
 officer of that regiment, from the colonel of it 
 down to a corporal, will corroborate my asser- 
 tion that we are soldiers who never shirk duty 
 in camp, on the march, or in battle. Yet, sir, 
 Lieutenant Shotwell holds us under arrest on 
 the charge of depredating on the property of 
 citizens, the evidence against us being that we 
 have been found in the possession of a partly 
 skinned hog. We come to you for release, sir. 
 When a gentleman — ^and although we are but 
 privates, each of us claims to be that — ^buys a 
 hog and pays for it, he has a right to skin or 
 scald it, whichever process he finds most con- 
 venient." At this juncture Colonel Harvey Sel- 
 lers, the adjutant-general of the division, stepped 
 
FORAGING FOR HOG MEAT 157 
 
 from a tent and approached the fire, and, taking 
 instant advantage of the circumstances, I con- 
 tinued, " Although not personally known to Colo- 
 nel Sellers, sir, I am sure he knows my people 
 and will testify to their standing, even if he 
 cannot as to mine." Then, turning to that gen- 
 tleman, I said, " Colonel, my name is Polley, 
 and my father, an old Texan, used to live in 
 Brazoria County, Texas." 
 
 "I knew him well," said the Colonel, extend- 
 ing his hand with the utmost cordiality. " And 
 I am glad to make the personal acquaintance 
 of a son of his, whose reputation I know to be 
 that of a gallant and deserving soldier." 
 
 Blushing more at this flattering reception 
 than at the bareface attempt in which the Colo- 
 nel, soldier, gentleman, and Texan to the core, 
 that he was, appeared willing to join, to "pull 
 the wool " over the commanding officer's eyes, I 
 presented such a touching and pathetic picture 
 of modest merit and suffering innocence, that 
 to put me at my ease the General hastened to 
 say, 
 
 " I regret exceedingly, Mr. Polley, that you 
 have been subjected to the indignity of an ar- 
 rest for an offense of which I am satisfied you 
 are innocent. But to refute the oft-repeated 
 charge that Hood's division is depredating on 
 the citizens, right and left, I shall request you 
 and your companion to remain with Lieutenant 
 Shotwell until morning, and then to go with 
 him and show him the party from whom you 
 purchased the hog." 
 
158 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 For a second I was fairly cornered; then, 
 gathering my wits together, I replied, "An- 
 other day in the country. General, would be very 
 pleasant, but present acceptance of Lieutenant 
 Shotwell's hospitality, sir, would not only com- 
 pel us to sleep without blankets or discommode 
 him, but would, also, under the peculiar! cir- 
 cumstances of the case, affect the reputations of 
 myself and Mr. Somerville as good soldiers. The 
 Lieuetnant will excuse me, I know, for suggesting 
 that a stay in his camp is not considered a dis- 
 tinction worth seeking for. Besides, sir, our 
 comrades are hungry, pork is both scarce and 
 high-priced, and that we have will, I am afraid, 
 spoil unless cut up and salted to-night." 
 
 " Oh, well," said the General, after a hearty 
 laugh, " take the meat to camp at once, then, and 
 save your bacon ; but come back in the morning 
 and save the good name of the division in the 
 way I have suggested." 
 
 It is rarely that a soldier's conscientious 
 scruples interfere with his eojoyment of the 
 fruits of a comrade's enterprise. The advent 
 of that hog marked an epoch in the annals of 
 Company F, and was so timely that, while frying, 
 broiling, boiling, and roasting it, the boys loosened 
 their purse-strings, and in less than half an hour 
 handed me a hundred dollars of Confederate 
 money to be used in satisfying the owner, if he 
 could be found. Next morning at daylight I 
 laid the facts before Captain Kindred, then serv- 
 ing on the staff of " Aunt Pollie," which, you 
 know, is our pet name for General Eobertson. 
 
FORAGING FOR HOG MEAT 159 
 
 The Captain went immediately to General Jen- 
 kins, and, after long wrestling and prayer, ar- 
 gued and persuaded him into a reasonably 
 lenient frame of mind; that is, Somerville and 
 I must find the owner of the hog, pay a fair 
 price for it, and deliver the receipt to Lieutenant 
 Shotwell. That suited us exactly, and, after a 
 long and pleasant ramble, we found the right 
 man and paid him twice the amount he de- 
 manded. Then each feeling 
 
 "A peace above all earthly dignities — 
 A still and quiet conscience," 
 
 we returned to camp to be heartily congratulated 
 upon the fortunate and hunger-satisfying issue 
 of the adventure. 
 
 But both the congratulations and our self- 
 felicitations were " a little too previously pre- 
 mature," as Bill Calhoun took occasion to 
 remark next day. For stimulated to bold and 
 daring deeds by the sight and smell of our hog- 
 meat, he and Holden suffered themselves to be 
 caught by the provost guard, toting a scrawny, 
 insignificant, lean, and lank skinned shoat 
 toward camp. Unable to convince anybody of 
 their innocence, the shoat, too small to divide, 
 and the boys too timid to tackle Jenkins as I 
 had, their plunder was confiscated, and they 
 themselves were sent to camp under guard, for 
 their blankets, and these obtained, carried back 
 to the provost guard-house. Nor was this the 
 sum total of the misfortunes of the day. Gen- 
 eral Jenkins was " riding a high horse," terribly 
 
160 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 indignant at this second offense by members of 
 the Fourth Texas, and the guards had orders to 
 rearrest me and Somerville. 
 
 Next morning Captains McLaurin and Kin- 
 dred had a lengthy and stormy interview with 
 the irate General. That distinguished officer's 
 confidence in human nature was at its lowest 
 ebb, and, deeply to my regret, I was the scape- 
 goat on whom he vented the bitterest of his 
 wrathful spleen. McLaurin and Kindred, how- 
 ever, finally talked him into a good humor, and, 
 after admitting he was most humiliated and ex- 
 asperated at being so completely taken in by 
 me, he washed his hands of both transgressions 
 and delivered the four offenders over to General 
 Eobertson with the request that he should admin- 
 ister proper punishment. Aunt Pollie was no 
 sooner made acquainted with the facts and Gen- 
 eral Jenkins's request, than he put on the stern- 
 est look his mild and benevolent countenance 
 was capable of wearing, and turning on us, de- 
 manded, 
 
 " If you want hog-meat, boys, and must have 
 it, why in the name of common sense and hon- 
 esty don't you buy it like gentlemen.? " 
 
 "Now, look here. General," blurted out Bill 
 Calhoun, stepping up closer and looking him 
 squarely in the face, " if you know or can invent 
 any way for a private in this Confederate army 
 to be a gentleman and buy his grub, when he 
 hasn't got the wherewith to pay for a settin' 
 hen, and when the keen pangs of a never-dyin' 
 appetite is a-feedin' on his vitals like a drove of 
 
FORAGING FOR HOG MEAT 161 
 
 red ants on a grasshopper, it's your duty to your 
 Texas constituents, sir, to make her public, and 
 give 'em a show." 
 
 His public spirit thus appealed to, instead of 
 his question answered. Aunt PoUie forgot both 
 the request of his commanding officer and the 
 grave offenses with which the members of his 
 little audience were charged, and began to abuse 
 our Confederate Congress for its miserable 
 makeshift legislation on monetary affairs. I am 
 something of a politician myself — at any rate, I 
 became, then, very politic. I followed the Gen- 
 eral's lead, and for a wonder agreed with him 
 on every point, and in a few minutes the old 
 fellow was in the best humor imaginable. Then 
 Calhoun put in his oar again, saying, 
 
 " Look here. General, isn't it about time we 
 was sorter 'tendin' to the imperative business of 
 the occasion?" 
 
 " Business — business ? " repeated Aunt Pollie 
 in an absent-minded way. " Oh, yes — I had for- 
 gotten all about the hog-meat. Well, if Jenkins 
 and Longstreet and old Bragg think I am go- 
 ing to punish any of my men just for killing a 
 hog now and then, they'll find themselves mis- 
 taken. You boys go right back to camp and 
 behave yourselves, and the next time you run 
 across the infernal provost guard, flank the 
 
 d d cusses, or the next time you are caught 
 
 I'll have the last one of you court-martialed." 
 
 Now, Charming Nellie, please don't draw any 
 unkind and uncharitable inferences from the fact 
 that Aunt Pollie had that very morning break- 
 
162 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 fasted on broiled spareribs — an officer of high 
 rank deems it beneath his dignity to inquire 
 where the delicacies which appear on his table 
 come from, and I am sure Captain Kindred was 
 too shrewd a man to volunteer information on 
 the point. As for General Jenkins, Captain Mc- 
 Laurin says that, while that officer was most 
 bitter in his denunciations of your humble serv- 
 ant, he eyed with a look of regretful disgust 
 some exceedingly diminutive and wretchedly 
 spare spareribs then being roasted for his break- 
 fast at a near-by fire. Whether he was mentally 
 comparing them with those which a confiscation 
 of mine and Somerville's meat would have fur- 
 nished his table had I made an earlier confes- 
 sion, is a question I hesitate to decide. Of 
 course, considering that Bill Calhoun's pork was 
 confiscated, his opinion is entitled to little 
 weight, but, when I told him what McLaurin 
 said, he remarked, 
 
 " Oh, yes — Mr. General South Carolina Jen- 
 kins wanted to confiscate your hog like he did 
 mine, and he'd have done it, too, if you hadn't 
 lied out of it so magnificently. He's in cahoot 
 with the provost guard, I reckon, and his share 
 of the little shoat I brought in wasn't half greasy 
 and juicy enough to suit the fastidious epi-epi- 
 epicurism of his high-mighty-mightiness, and 
 that's what made him look so sour ! " 
 
 All things considered, it was a grave breach 
 of politeness on my part, not to offer Jenkins 
 a mess of fat pork. Human nature is pretty 
 much the same, in whatever garb it be clothed. 
 
FORAGING FOR HOG MEAT 163 
 
 A thick, juicy sparerib, tendered in the proper 
 spirit, has a wonderfully softening effect on an 
 obdurate heart, and in an army whose highest 
 officers are on short commons. 
 
 Bill Calhoun did me a wrong when he praised 
 my magnificent lying. As you will see from the 
 foregoing veracious account, I never told Jen- 
 kins a single time that I had bought and paid 
 for my hog. That was an inference of his own, 
 as he frankly acknowledged in his interview with 
 the two captains. 
 
XVI 
 a battle "above the clouds" 
 
 Camp neae Cleveland, Tenn., 
 November 16, 1863. 
 
 A PRIVATE on picket duty, under orders to 
 allow no one to pass inside the Confederate lines 
 without giving the countersign, was approached 
 by his brigadier-general, who asked, 
 
 " What would you do, sir, were you to see a 
 man coming up that road toward you? " 
 
 " I should wait. General," said the private, 
 " until he came within twenty feet of me, and 
 then halt him and demand the countersign." 
 
 " Very good, very good," commented the Gen- 
 eral; "but suppose twenty men approached by 
 the same road, what would you do then? " 
 
 "Halt them before they got nearer than a 
 hundred feet, sir, and, covering them with my 
 gun, demand that the officer in command ap- 
 proach and give the countersign." 
 
 " Ah ! my brave fellow," began the General in 
 his most flattering voice, " I see you are remark- 
 ably well posted concerning your duties. But 
 let me put still another case. Suppose a whole 
 regiment were coming in this direction, what 
 would you do in that case? " 
 
 " Form a line immediately, sir," answered the 
 private unhesitatingly, and without a smile. 
 
 " Form a line? form a line? " repeated the 
 
 164. 
 
A BATTLE "ABOVE THE CLOUDS" 165 
 
 officer, in his most contemptuous tone. "What 
 kind of line, I should like to know, could a sin- 
 gle man form? " 
 
 "A bee-line for camp, sir," explained the 
 picket. 
 
 Your pictures of Texas home life are so at- 
 tractive as to almost persuade me to " form a 
 line" myself, but with Texas as the objective 
 point, instead of a hateful camp. Joyfully, in- 
 deed, would I say farewell to 
 
 " All quality, 
 Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war," 
 
 could I do it without desertion and disgrace. 
 After reading your letter I was for a while in- 
 clined to think there was both sense and phi- 
 losophy in the behavior of a Confederate at 
 Chickamauga. When the battle was at its height 
 and the bullets flying thickest, he stepped be- 
 hind a tree, and, while protecting his body, ex- 
 tended his arms on each side and waved them 
 frantically to and fro, up and down. 
 
 "What in the dickens are you doing, Tom?" 
 asked an astonished comrade. 
 
 " Just feeling for a furlough," replied Tom, 
 without a blush, and continuing the feeling 
 process as if his life depended upon it. 
 
 While few soldiers actually seek wounds of 
 any character, fewer still regard a parlor wound 
 — that breaks no bones, yet disables one tem- 
 porarily, and requires time, rest, and nursing to 
 heal it — ^as any very serious misfortune. Such 
 accidents necessitate furloughs, and these the 
 
166 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 ladies of the South, by their kindness to both 
 the sick and the well, have made blessings to be 
 hoped for, prayed for, and — ^within safe and pa- 
 triotic limits — struggled for. 
 
 "Why, sir, that handsome widow and her 
 curly-haired daughter couldn't have been kinder 
 to a son or a brother. They gave me the pleas- 
 antest room in the house, brought my meals to 
 it, fed me on chicken and sweet cream with their 
 own hands, dressed my wound half a dozen times 
 a day, and were always ready to play and sing 
 for me, or read and talk to me. I wanted to stay 
 a month longer, but my darned old finger healed 
 in spite of me." That, and a great deal more to 
 the same purport, was said by Lieutenant 
 
 L when he returned to duty after losing 
 
 half the nail of his little finger at Sharpsburg, 
 getting a furlough on the strength of it, and, 
 fortunately, falling into the hands of a wealthy 
 and patriotic Virginia lady. Can you blame a 
 poor fellow if, after listening to such a story, he 
 
 is little inclined to " feel for a furlough "? 
 
 • • • • * 
 
 Only Longstreet knows certainly where we are 
 bound, but general opinion favors Knoxville as 
 the objective point, Burnside as the victim. 
 Should these surmises prove correct, you, may 
 hear from me next in good old Virginia, for it 
 is whispered confidentially that Bragg and Long- 
 street are at outs, and that this movement is 
 intended to make their separation permanent. 
 
 I have often boasted that the Fourth Texas 
 never showed its back to an enemy, but I am 
 
A BATTLE "ABOVE THE CLOtTDS " 167 
 
 more modest since that little affair of October 
 28, known as the battle of Raccoon Mountain. 
 There the regiment not only showed its back, 
 but stampeded like a herd of frightened cattle, 
 it being one of those cases when " discretion is 
 the better part of valor " ; and, instead of be- 
 ing ashamed of the performance, we are merry 
 over it. Raccoon and Lookout Mountains, you 
 must know, are separated by Lookout Creek. 
 Between the creek and Raccoon are half a dozen 
 high, parallel ridges, who^e tops are open and 
 level enough for a roadway, and whose thickly 
 timbered sides slope at angles of forty-five de- 
 grees into deep, lonely hollows. Hooker's corps, 
 of the Federal army, coming up from Bridge- 
 port to reinforce Rosecrans, camped on the night 
 of the 28th in the vicinity of Raccoon. Imag- 
 ining that here was an opportunity to win dis- 
 tinction. General Jenkins proposed to Long- 
 street to march Hood's division to the west side 
 of Lookout Mountain, and by a night attack 
 capture " Fighting Joe Hooker " and his corps. 
 Longstreet, of course, offered no objections; suc- 
 cess would place as brilliant a feather in his 
 cap as in that of Jenkins, while the blame of 
 defeat would necessarily rest upon the projector 
 of the affair. As for us poor devils in the ranks, 
 we had no business to be there if we hesitated to 
 risk our lives in the interest of commanding 
 officers. 
 
 The plan of operations appears to have been 
 for Benning's, Anderson's, and Jenkins's bri- 
 gades to cross Lookout Creek two miles above 
 
168 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 its mouth, and, forming in line parallel with the 
 Tennessee River, force the Yankees to surrender 
 or drive them into deep water; while Law's 
 and the Texas brigades should occupy positions 
 west of the creek, at right angles with the river, 
 and prevent them from moving toward Lookout 
 Mountain and alarming Bragg's army. What 
 became of the Third Arkansas and First Texas, 
 I cannot say, every movement being made at 
 night, but the Fifth Texas guarded the bridge, 
 across which the Fourth marched and thence 
 proceeded in the direction of Raccoon Mountain, 
 climbing up and sliding down the steep sides 
 of intervening ridges, until brought to a halt on 
 the moonlit top of the highest, and formed in 
 line on the right of an Alabama regiment. Here, 
 in blissful ignorance of General Jenkins's plans, 
 and unwarned by the glimmer of a fire or the 
 sound of a snore that the main body of the enemy 
 lay asleep in the wide and deep depression be- 
 tween them and Raccoon, the spirits of the gal- 
 lant Texans rose at once to the elevation of 
 their bodies, and, dropping carelessly on the 
 ground, they proceeded to take their ease. But 
 not long were they permitted thus to dally with 
 stern and relentless fate. A gunshot away off 
 to the left suddenly broke upon the stillness 
 of the night, and was followed by others in rapid 
 succession, until there was borne to our unwill- 
 ing ears the roar of desperate battle, while the al- 
 most simultaneous beating of the long roll in the 
 hitherto silent depths below us, the loud shouts 
 of officers, and all the indescribable noise and 
 
A BATTLE "ABOVE THE CLOUDS" 169 
 
 hubbub of a suddenly awakened and alarmed 
 host of men, admonished us that we stood upon 
 the outermost verge of a human volcano, which 
 might soon burst forth in all its fury and over- 
 whelm us. 
 
 The dolce far niente to which, lulled by fan- 
 cied security and the beautiful night, we had 
 surrendered ourselves, vanished as quickly as 
 the dreams of the Yankees. The emergency 
 came unexpectedly, but none the less surely. 
 Scouts dispatched to the right returned with the 
 appalling intelligence that between the regiment 
 and the river, half a mile away, not a Confeder- 
 ate was on guard; skirmishers sent to the front 
 reported that the enemy was approaching rap- 
 idly and in strong force. To add to the dismay 
 thus created, the thrilling whisper came from 
 the left that the Alabamians had gone " hunt- 
 ing for tall timber " in their rear. Thus de- 
 serted, in a solitude soon to be invaded by a 
 ruthless and devouring horde, the cheerless 
 gloom of an exceedingly great loneliness fell 
 upon us like a pall — grew intense, when, not 
 twenty feet away, we heard the laborious strug- 
 gling and puffing of the Yankees as, on hostile 
 thoughts intent, they climbed and pulled up the 
 almost precipitous ascent, and became positively 
 unbearable when a dozen or more bullets from 
 the left whistled down the line and the mild 
 beams of the full moon, glinting from what 
 seemed to our agitated minds a hundred thou- 
 sand bright gun-barrels, revealed the near and 
 dangerous presence of the hated foe. Then and 
 
170 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 there, Charming Nellie — deeming it braver to 
 live than to die, and moved by thoughts of home 
 and the loved ones awaiting them there — the 
 officers and privates of the gallant and hitherto 
 invincible Fourth Texas stood not upon the or- 
 der of their going, but went with a celerity and 
 unanimity truly remarkable, disappeared bodily, 
 stampeded nolens volens, and plunged recklessly 
 into the umbrageous and shadowy depths behind 
 them, their flight hastened by the loud huzzaing 
 of the triumphant Yankees and the echoing vol- 
 leys they poured into the tree tops high above 
 the heads of their retreating antagonists. 
 
 Once fairly on the run down the steep slope, 
 voluntary halting became as impossible as it 
 would have been indiscreet. Dark as it was 
 among the somber shadows, the larger trees 
 could generally be avoided, but when encoun- 
 tered, as too frequently for comfort they were, 
 invariably wrought disaster to both body and 
 clothing; but small ones bent before the wild, 
 pell-mell rush of fleeing humanity as from the 
 weight and power of avalanche or hurricane. 
 The speed at which I traveled, let alone the 
 haunting apprehension of being gobbled up by a 
 pursuing blue-coat, was not specially favorable 
 to close observation of comrades, but, neverthe- 
 less, I witnessed three almost contemporaneous 
 accidents. One poor unfortunate struck a tree 
 so squarely and with such tremendous energy 
 as not only to flatten his body against it and 
 draw a sonorous groan from his lips, but to send 
 his gun clattering against another tree. As a 
 
A BATTLE "ABOVE THE CLOUDS" 171 
 
 memento of the collision, he yet carries a face 
 ragged enough to harmonize admirably with his 
 garments. Another fellow exclaimed, as, step- 
 ping on a round stone, his feet slipped from un- 
 der him and he dropped to the ground with a 
 resounding thud, " Help, boys, help ! " and then, 
 with legs wide outspread, went sliding down the 
 hill, until, in the wholly involuntary attempt to 
 pass on both sides of a tree, he was brought to 
 a sudden halt — a sit-still, so to speak. But ad- 
 venture the third was the most comical of all. 
 The human actor in it was a Dutchman by the 
 name of Brigger, a fellow nearly as broad as he 
 is long, who always carries a huge knapsack on 
 his shoulders. Aided by this load, he struck a 
 fair-sized sapling with such resistless momentum 
 that the little tree bent before him, and, strad- 
 dling it and exclaiming, " Je-e-e-sus Christ and 
 God Almighty ! " with long-drawn and linger- 
 ing emphasis on the first syllable of the first 
 word, he described a parabola in the air and 
 then dropped to the ground on all fours, and con- 
 tinued his downward career in that decidedly 
 unmilitary fashion. His was the novelty and 
 roughness of the ride, but, alas! mine was all 
 the loss; for, as the sapling tumbled him 
 off, and essayed to straighten itself, it caught 
 my hat and flung it at the man in the moon. 
 Whether it ever reached its destination, I 
 am unable to say, for time, inclination, and 
 ability to stop were each sternly prohibited by 
 the accelerating influence of gravitation, and 
 the exigency of the occasion. Anyhow, I am 
 
172 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 now wearing a cap manufactured by myself 
 out of the nethermost extremity of a woolen 
 overshirt, and having for a frontispiece a gen- 
 erous slice of stirrup leather. Colonel Bane 
 well deserves the loss he has sustained; he is 
 not only careless about his saddle, but of his 
 head as well, on which he still bears a reminder 
 of the battle of Raccoon Mountain in the shape 
 of a very sore and red bump. 
 
 I enclose some drawings, which, if not artistic, 
 certainly have the merit of being so graphic as 
 to leave much to the imagination. In my salad 
 days at Florence, Alabama, I persuaded Pro- 
 fessor Pruskowski to organize and teach a class 
 in perspective drawing. While refusing to 
 charge for his services, he reserved the right to 
 dismiss any member of the class whom he found 
 lacking in talent. I was the first to advocate 
 this privilege, also the first and only one of the 
 class to be dismissed. Then I was satisfied that 
 he judged correctly, but now I am doubtful. 
 
 But, to return to my story. Although I lost 
 my hat, I neither lost physical balance nor col- 
 lided with a tree sufficiently sturdy to arrest a 
 fearfully swift descent, as did many of my com- 
 rades. The scars imprinted upon the regimental 
 physiognomy by large and small monarchs of 
 the forest are yet numerous, and in some in- 
 stances were at first so disguising that the wear- 
 ers were recognizable for the next day or two 
 only by their melodious voices. " Honors were 
 so easy" in that respect between the members 
 of the command, ofiBcers as well as privates, that 
 
A BATTLE "ABOVE THE CLOUDS" 173 
 
 when they at last emerged from the darkness of 
 the woods, and, taking places in line, began to 
 look at each other and recount experiences, the 
 shouts of laughter must have reached old Joe 
 Hooker. 
 
 One poor fellow, though, was too sore, down- 
 cast, and trampled upon to be joyful. He was 
 
 a litter-bearer named D , six long feet in 
 
 height, and Falstaffian in abdominal develop- 
 ment. His position in the rear gave him the 
 start in the retreat, and his avoirdupois enabled 
 him to brush aside every obstacle to rapid de- 
 scent. But his judgment was disastrously at 
 fault. Forgetting a ditch which marked the 
 division line of descent of one hill and ascent 
 of the other, he tumbled into it broadcast. The 
 fall knocked all the breath out of him, and he 
 could only wriggle over on his broad back and 
 make a pillow for his head of one bank and a 
 resting place for his number twelve feet of the 
 other, so that his body appeared as the trunk of 
 a fallen tree. Scarcely, however, had he as- 
 sumed this comfortable position, when Bill Cal- 
 houn came plunging down the hill with a ve- 
 locity that left a good-sized vacuum in the air 
 behind him. Noticing the litter-bearer's body, 
 and taking it to be what it appeared. Bill took 
 the chances of its spanning the ditch, and made 
 such a tremendous leap that he landed one huge 
 foot right in the middle of the unfortunate re- 
 cumbent's corporosity. The sudden compression 
 produced as sudden artificial respiration, and 
 giving vent to an agonized grunt, D sang 
 
174 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 out, " For the Lord Almighty's sake, man, don't 
 make a bridge of a fellow ! " 
 
 Bill was startled, but never lost his presence 
 of mind, and shouting back, " Lie still, old fel- 
 low, lie still ! The whole regiment's got to cross 
 yet, and you'll never have such another chance 
 to serve your beloved country," continued his 
 flight with a speed but little abated by the ris- 
 ing ground before him. 
 
XVII 
 
 STRENUOUS TIMES IN TENNESSEE 
 
 Bean's Station, Tbnn., December 21, 1863. 
 
 So much has occurred since my letter from 
 Cleveland that two problems confront me : what 
 to mention, and what to leave untold. Skim- 
 ming over the surface of events — ^as I must, to 
 keep within the limits of paper supply and your 
 patience — I intentionally omit many things of 
 interest and forget others. » • • 
 
 Crossing on pontoons to the north side of the 
 Tennessee Eiver, near Loudon, on the 14th day 
 of November, the Texas Brigade marched 
 and countermarched, advanced, retreated, and 
 halted, much as if a game of "hide and seek" 
 were being played between it and the enemy. 
 From Loudon to Campbell's Station the Yan- 
 kees offered a very determined opposition to 
 Longstreet's advance, but after complimenting 
 his little army with a few challenging shots from 
 artillery at the last-named place, deemed it pru- 
 dent to make haste to shelter themselves behind 
 their breastworks at Knoxville. While the Tex- 
 ans had but occasional skirmish fighting to do, 
 their experiences were far from agreeable. The 
 weather had turned bitterly cold; little or no 
 clothing had been issued to them at Chattanooga, 
 
176 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 and all were thinly clad and many almost, and 
 some wholly, barefooted. You can easily con- 
 ceive their joy, then, when at Lenoir's Station, 
 late one evening, they were marched into win- 
 ter quarters just vacated by the enemy, and a 
 rumor, which had every appearance of truth, 
 fairly flew about that they were to spend the 
 winter there. When I saw the neat, well-framed, 
 and plastered huts, each of a size to cozily ac- 
 commodate two men, and was led to believe that 
 within one of them I was to find shelter from 
 wintry blasts, and comfort and rest for my poor, 
 hunger-gaunted corpus, my heart filled with 
 gratitude to my adversaries, and had they come 
 unarmed and with peaceful intent I would gladly 
 have " fallen upon their necks and wept." 
 
 Lieutenant Park and I managed to pre-empt 
 one of the most elegant of the cabins, and with 
 almost undignified haste set about to make our- 
 selves thoroughly at home. About nine o'clock 
 in the evening we were sitting on benches before 
 a pile of hickory logs that, blazing merrily in 
 the fireplace, warmed our chilled bodies and 
 brightened up the walls, and had just lighted 
 our pipes and begun talking of home, when the 
 long roll sounded. "Ah! then there was hur- 
 rying to and fro," and if not " mounting in hot 
 haste," a prompt " getting into line " — an end 
 to quiet smoking and earnest talk of loved ones, 
 as hurriedly grasping sword, gun, blankets, can- 
 teens, and haversacks, we rushed from a para- 
 dise into a frozen inferno; from warmth into 
 bitter, stinging cold; from cheering, homelike 
 
STRENUOUS TIMES IN TENNESSEE 177 
 
 firelight, into that of glittering and unsympa- 
 thizing stars. Little stomach as I have for fight- 
 ing, I have faced the enemy with far less of re- 
 luctance than I left that comfortable little hut; 
 and, worse than all, I never saw its interior 
 again, for, resting upon our arms the balance 
 of the night, we took up the line of march next 
 morning at daylight for Campbell's Station. 
 
 " Oh ever thus from childhood's hour 
 I've seen my fondest hopes decay." 
 
 One may be ever so philosophical, and yet — 
 especially if he be a Confederate soldier — there 
 will come times when philosophy utterly fails 
 to give strength to bear with becoming fortitude 
 " the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." 
 This was just such a time to me. I stood man- 
 fully in arms that livelong, dreary night, con- 
 soled by the thought that morning would carry 
 me back to the little log cabin; but when the 
 order to march gave the lie to hope, fortitude 
 deserted me, and I wished I were a baby, so that 
 I might cry with a show of decency. Nor have 
 I recovered my good spirits altogether yet. And 
 if any one of those gallant warrior friends of 
 yours, whose featherbed patriotism has hitherto 
 bound him irrevocably to the defense of Texas 
 against invasion by water, who stands far in- 
 land and gazes fearlessly at the dangerous men 
 of war in the distant offing, who even mocks at 
 danger, and demonstrates his desperate and un- 
 quenchable valor by drinking several cups of 
 burning hot coffee in the long intervals between 
 
178 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMIN(S NELLIE 
 
 the flash of the enemy's cannon and the passage 
 of its shell over the intervening five or six miles 
 of water and land — if any one of these, I say, 
 nurses a fond desire for a more active life, for 
 closer quarters with the enemy, just send him 
 right here ; I will cheerfully and even gladly ex- 
 change with the gentleman. He shall have my 
 gun and all of its attachments, my haversack 
 and all its varied contents, even the gay and 
 fashionable garments that adorn my manly per- 
 son. ^ Indeed, I should insist on his taking the 
 clothing, for it would furnish him with some 
 incentives to prompt and vigorous action that, 
 report says, are yet lacking in Texas. And I 
 will trade "sight unseen," too; for, while I 
 should "admire" to do the balance of my sol- 
 diering in a neighborhood where there are fair 
 ladies to sympathize with me in my hardships 
 and privations, any part of the Texas coast is 
 preferable to this part of Tennessee. 
 
 Since encountering the Western men who fight 
 under the " star-spangled banner," Longstreet's 
 corps has somewhat modified its estimate of what 
 Bragg " might have done " in the way of whip- 
 ping them. The Yankees who fled before us at 
 Ohickamauga had as little grit and staying 
 power, apparently, as any we were in the habit 
 of meeting in Virginia ; but Burnside had troops 
 at Knoxville who not only stood well, but also 
 shot well. The hardest and most stubbornly 
 contested skirmish fighting I ever witnessed took 
 place there, and our lines needed to be frequently 
 reinforced. On the 23d of November first one 
 
STR«3NU0US TIMES IN TENNESSEE 179 
 
 company and another of the Fourth went for- 
 ward, and finally the turn of Company F came. 
 To reach the line we had to pass around a point 
 of rocks and up the side of a steep ridge, in plain 
 view of and under a galling fire from the enemy. 
 * * * Jim Mayfleld and Jack Suther- 
 land, more venturesome than others, sat down 
 behind trees twenty feet farther to the front and 
 began exercising their skill as marksmen. May- 
 fleld grew careless, and, exposing a foot and 
 part of a leg, received a ball which lodged be- 
 tween the bones of the latter just above the 
 ankle. " What will you give me for my fur- 
 lough, boys ? " he exclaimed when the shot struck 
 him. " What will you give me for my furlough, 
 boys.'' " he asked again, as he came limping hur- 
 riedly back, using his gun for a crutch., It was 
 only a " parlor wound," he thought, and, think- 
 ing the same, several of us would willingly have 
 changed places with him; I know I would. But 
 there was little time to envy him. The enemy 
 was pressing us hard, and we had forgotten him 
 and his " parlor wound," when, an hour later, 
 a litter-bearer returned from the fleld hospital 
 with the sad intelligence, " Jim Mayfleld is dead, 
 boys; he took lockjaw." 
 
 On the evening of November 28 Company F 
 was detailed for picket duty. Three inches of 
 snow lay on the ground and an icy wind, from 
 whose severity we could flnd little protection, 
 chilled us to the marrow. I went on duty about 
 nine o'clock, my post being at the edge of a high 
 bluff overlooking Knoxville and the valley oppo- 
 
180 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 site me, and a half mile away I could see lights 
 moving back and forth in the enemy's fort on 
 College Hill. I was growing numb and sleepy 
 with the intense cold, when the flash and report 
 of a rifle, followed by a scattering and then a 
 continuous roar of small arms, awoke and in- 
 formed me that an attempt was being made by 
 the Confederates to capture the fort. Out of 
 the line of firing entirely, I watched the battle 
 from beginning to end with a strange mingling 
 of delight and foreboding. Night attacks are 
 seldom successful, and the fort was not only 
 well manned, but protected by wire netting and 
 chevaux de frise. But if terrible while in prog- 
 ress, it was awful when, having been repulsed 
 with great slaughter, Barksdale's brigade was 
 forced to withdraw and leave hundreds of its 
 wounded upon the. field, too close to the fort 
 to be carried off by their friends. After so des- 
 perate a night attack it was impossible to ar- 
 range a truce, and while many of the hurt man- 
 aged to crawl to help, many more laid where 
 they fell and froze to death. All through the 
 long night their voices could be heard calling 
 for help, both from the Yankees and their 
 friends, and often screaming with agony as they 
 
 essayed to move themselves within reach of it. 
 
 * « * 
 
 About daylight we learned that an advance 
 would be made that day on our (the east) side 
 of the river, and immediately began to congrat- 
 ulate ourselves that, being pickets. Company F 
 would escape the fighting. But it was a mis- 
 
STRENUOUS TIMES IN TENNESSEE 181 
 
 take, for at sun-up we were relieved by Geor- 
 gians, and not only ordered to the regiment, 
 but, when the advance began, placed on the skir- 
 mish line. It was so cold that, even after run- 
 ning up hill half a mile, the men had to warm 
 their fingers at the fires left by the Yankees 
 before they could reload their guns. Both the 
 weather and the battle grew warmer as the sun 
 climbed higher in the sky. The Federals had 
 made only a slight resistance to the capture of 
 their picket line, but now showed such a bold 
 front against farther advance of the Confeder- 
 ates that it was decided not to attempt it, and 
 until noon we kept our blood in circulation only 
 by incessant sharpshooting. » » • 
 
 Old Eeub Origler, the second lieutenant of 
 Company F, never goes into a fight without a 
 gun and a chosen supply of cuss words to fling 
 
 at the Yankees when he shoots. " There, d n 
 
 you ! see how you like that," or " Take that, you 
 infernal son of a gun ! " fell from his lips that 
 day with an unction and regularity not at all 
 complimentary to the intended victims of his 
 wrath. Captain Martin, though, of Company 
 K of the Fourth, neither draws a sword nor bears 
 a gun in battle, but rubs his hands together and 
 smiles as merrily as if it were the greatest fun 
 imaginable. Not even when he came near me 
 that day and said, his voice choking and the 
 tears standing in his eyes, " They have killed 
 brother Henry, Joe," did the movement of his 
 hands cease or the smile disappear from his 
 countenance. 
 
182 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 That evening the Texans learned, as Long- 
 street had two or three days before, of the defeat 
 of Bragg at Chattanooga, and many were the 
 anathemas hurled against that incompetent, or at 
 least singularly unfortunate, officer by the self- 
 constituted generals and statesmen in the ranks. 
 Of course, he ought to have held the ground 
 against whatever odds, for, given ten days 
 longer, we would have forced Burnside to sur- 
 render. But facts were facts, and none less 
 stubborn appeared to Longstreet than the rapid 
 approach from the direction of Chattanooga of 
 two Federal army corps, and the advisability, 
 if he would avoid being caught between two fires, 
 of passing around Knoxville and moving up 
 toward Bristol, Virginia, through the fertile 
 country lying between the Holston and French 
 Broad rivers. The adoption of this course was 
 largely influenced, no doubt, by the considera- 
 tions that it would insure a permanent separa- 
 tion from Bragg, give Longstreet a longer term 
 of independent command, and enable him to re- 
 join Lee in Virginia. The last of these appealed 
 so strongly to the Texans that, after getting be- 
 yond danger of pursuit on the 4th of December, 
 hundreds of them joined in the chorus, " Oh, 
 carry me back to ole Virginia, to ole Virginia's 
 shore ! " with a will and a volume of sound that 
 made the echoes ring for miles around. My 
 melodious voice, however, went up with the men- 
 tal reservation that I should be privileged to 
 stop this side of the seacoast. Salted shad pos- 
 sesses no allurement to me. • • ♦ 
 
STRENUOUS TIMES IN TENNESSEE 183 
 
 Lest in recounting "the battles, sieges, for- 
 tunes, that I have passed " ; lest in speaking 
 
 " Of most disastrous chances, 
 Of moving accidents by flood and field, 
 Of hairbreadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach," 
 
 I have harrowed your gentle heart to the point 
 of swearing 
 
 " 'Twas strange, 'twas passing strange, 
 'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful," 
 
 and expending upon me more sympathy than I 
 deserve, permit me to remark that at this par- 
 ticular juncture in my career I am really " in 
 clover." For — if because of the curtailment of 
 one leg of my pants, because my toes protrude 
 conspicuously from dilapidated and disrepu- 
 table shoes, and my cap is stained with dirt and 
 grease, my ensemble is scarcely stylish enough 
 to give me a right to the feminine society so 
 liberally and lavishly bestowed on the Toms, 
 Dicks, and Harrys who infest the Texas coast — 
 my canteen is, nevertheless, bulging with the 
 nicest strained honey, my tobacco-pouch and 
 haversack with the very choicest smoking- 
 tobacco; the sweetening being the munificent 
 reward of a moonlight tramp last night over 
 the mountains to Clinch Kiver, the tobacco the 
 product of a raid by Brahan and myself, day 
 before yesterday, on a kind-hearted old farmer. 
 My present state is, in short, the naturally in- 
 evitable result of physical satiety, mental and 
 moral plethora, exemption from any duty, writ- 
 ing to you, and a philosophical mind. 
 
XVIII 
 
 THE POWEE OF THE FIDDLE AND THE BOW 
 
 MoEEiSTOWN, Tenn., December 30, 1863. 
 
 The Texas Brigade left Bean's Station on 
 the morning of the 22d. Jack Sutherland, 
 Green Griggs, and your humble servant deter- 
 mined to do a little foraging, and if possible se- 
 cure what Bill Calhoun calls the " concomitant 
 ingregents " for a Christmas dinner. Strag- 
 gling off on a by-road, we tramped about the 
 country all day, slept in a house that night, and 
 next morning — our haversacks filled to overflow- 
 ing with the good things of life — wended our 
 way, in the best humor imaginable, toward Mor- 
 ristown. Of course we kept a sharp lookout for 
 provost guards, and were not surprised to come 
 upon one of those despised but lordly individuals, 
 complacently standing in the road ahead of us. 
 
 Jack and Green proposed to " flank the en- 
 emy," but having great confldence in the powers 
 of persuasion and argument which had extri- 
 cated me from many a predicament, I flnally 
 induced them to join me in a bold advance. Giv- 
 ing the fellow no time to make inquiries, I stated 
 to him that we had just been relieved from guard 
 duty, and asked to be directed to the camp of 
 the Texas Brigade. But while politely and 
 
 184 
 
THE POWER OP THE FIDDLE AND THE BOW 185 
 
 promptly furnishing the desired information, he 
 most unkindly arrested us as stragglers. 
 
 " We are not stragglers," I insisted. " We 
 left the command yesterday, guarded a private 
 house last night according to orders, and must 
 return to camp at once." 
 
 " Maybe so," said the guard, with a provoking 
 smile. " I ain't a-disputin' nothin', but we can't 
 let you pass; orders are to stop everybody that 
 hain't got a pass." 
 
 " Call your corporal, then," said I, and that 
 officer appearing, I exercised upon him every 
 blandishment and argument at my command; 
 but alas, without in the least softening his ob- 
 durate heart. 
 
 " Carry us to the officer of the guard," I de- 
 manded ; " I reckon he will have a little common 
 sense." 
 
 " It isn't common sense or any other kind 
 he's got to have — ^he has simply got to obey or- 
 ders," responded the corporal as he led the way 
 to the huge guard fire. 
 
 By this time Jack was mad as a hornet, his 
 glances at me lowering, savage, contemptuous; 
 once he sidled up to me and remarked in a tone 
 of withering scorn, " Now, darn your old hide, 
 you've got us in a of a pickle by your con- 
 founded faith in your ability to out-talk people." 
 
 " Wait a while, old fellow," I replied, " no 
 telling what may happen." But I had more 
 misgivings than my words indicated, and I had 
 still more when the lieutenant politely but posi- 
 tively refused to release us. 
 
186 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 When the ultimatum fell on his ears, Jack 
 dropped down before the fire with a surly groan, 
 Green looked blue and smiled in a sickly man- 
 ner, and I felt that my last hope was departing. 
 But "nil desperandum" is my motto whenever 
 I get into trouble; I entered at once into con- 
 versation with the lieutenant, and learning that 
 he was a Georgian, complimented the soldiers of 
 his State, and especially those of the Eighteenth 
 Eegiment, so extravagantly yet judiciously, as 
 to persuade him into a real good humor, and 
 was wondering how to utilize my advantage, 
 when, on the other side of the fire, partly con- 
 cealed by a blanket, I espied a fiddle and a bow. 
 Like a flash the inspiration came; I stepped 
 around the fire, boldly seized the instruments, 
 and handing them to Jack, said in the most 
 cheery tone imaginable, " Give us some music, 
 old boy." 
 
 You never in your life saw such a sudden 
 change as occurred then and there in Jack's 
 countenance. Every shadow and trace of ill- 
 humor disappeared in an instant, and a smile 
 that was absolutely charming irradiated his 
 homely features. He grasped the fiddle and be- 
 gan to tune it, with an eagerness that was sur- 
 prising, for he is much more fastidious ordi- 
 narily about the violin he plays on, than about 
 his eating; neither the landlord nor the quality 
 of the food affects his appetite, but he has an 
 unutterable horror of drawing the bow across 
 the strings of any except his own violin. That 
 has such a sweet and powerful tone, and Jack 
 
J. B. PoivLKY 
 
 Private, Company F, Fourth Texas Regiment 
 
 1862 to 1865 
 
 FACING 
 186 
 
THE POWER OF THE FIDDLE AND THE BOW 187 
 
 makes such delightful music on it, that Colonel 
 Winkler carries it with his private baggage in 
 order to have it always at hand when its owner 
 is in the humor to play. 
 
 Little music as I have in my benighted soul, 
 I discovered at his first scrape of the bow that 
 it was a miserable apology for a fiddle. It did 
 not seem to matter with Jack, though; whether 
 he felt the need of music just then to soothe his 
 own savage breast, or imagined he might use it 
 as a means of securing release from " durance 
 vile," he handled the bow with a deftness and 
 heartiness that made the hills and hollows of 
 East Tennessee echo and re-echo with delicious 
 strains. He put his whole mind to the business 
 as if there was nothing else in the world worth 
 doing, kept time with one foot, wagged his head 
 from side to side for the half beats, and never 
 once forgot to keep his hard-favored countenance 
 illumined with a smile that was both a plea to his 
 captors and a totally unexpected charm to his 
 fellows in misfortune. 
 
 The Georgians expected only a little amateur 
 sawing, but Jack had not got halfway through 
 " The Devil's Dream " ere they realized that a 
 master-hand wielded the bow and the highest 
 order of musical genius directed the hand. En- 
 tering fully into the spirit of the occasion, some 
 of them began to pat, others to shuffle their feet, 
 and all to nod their heads and show their teeth 
 with delight. Jack was not so overcome by 
 the divine afflatus as to be unconscious of sur- 
 roundings, and marking the impression made on 
 
188 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 his auditors, played, told and acted "The Ar- 
 kansas Traveler " — changing his Toice to mimic 
 first the strong one of the traveler, and then the 
 weak, piping tones of the chill-stricken set- 
 tler, and question and answer given, making 
 the woods ring with melody from the violin. 
 * * * You could even hear the traveler 
 ask, "Where does this road go to, sir?" then 
 the reply of the settler, " Tain't gone nowhere, 
 stranger, since we'uns bin livin' in these woods." 
 Then the first part of the tune — the only part 
 the settler knew — would be played over and 
 over again until, interrupted by another ques- 
 tion, Jack would stop sawing long enough to an- 
 swer and then begin again. It is a long story 
 you know, for you must have heard some old 
 darky play and act it; but Jack not only told 
 all of it I ever heard, but a good deal more. 
 Finally, reaching the place where the traveler 
 asks, "Why don't you play the balance of that 
 tune? " Jack, as he repeated the question, 
 handed me the fiddle and bow, and then answer- 
 ing it, " 'Ca'se I ain't never heard it, stranger — 
 kin you play it? " personated the traveler by 
 reaching for the instrument and playing the bal- 
 ance of the tune with a spirit that made a final 
 conquest of our Georgia captors. 
 
 From the " Arkansas Traveler " Jack switched 
 off suddenly to " Gray Eagle," and as he played, 
 called all the turns of start, backstretch, home- 
 stretch and finish of the grand Kentucky race 
 that was the inspiration of the author in com- 
 posing the music. Indeed, it was a revelation 
 
THE POWER OF THE FIDDLE AND THE BOW 189 
 
 of genius, of the wonderful power of a master 
 to extract the sweetest music from an old, 
 weatherbeaten and warworn fiddle, and of his- 
 trionic and pantomimic talent, which held the 
 auditors breathless and spellbound. 
 
 A radical metamorphosis had taken place in 
 the performer. Generally, we have to beg Jack 
 to play, and, when he consents, it is with the 
 lordly, far-away manner of one who feels he is 
 " casting pearls before swine." He rebukes any 
 request for a particular tune by a forbidding 
 frown or a curt, gruff remark that the instru- 
 ment is not in tune for it, which says to the of- 
 fender more plainly than words, " What do you 
 know about music that warrants your presump- 
 tion in selecting a tune for me to play? " But 
 now no longer surly of voice and crusty of man- 
 ner, he was the most mild-tempered and accom- 
 modating of mortals, and let the strings down or 
 screwed them up, at the slightest hint of choice 
 on the part of our hosts, and played every tune 
 called for with an alacrity which demonstrated 
 that it was the very one he was most anxious to 
 play. 
 
 How long the music lasted, I cannot say, for 
 captors and captured forgot time, the world 
 and all its sordid cares, as they sat around the 
 big log fires. At last, however, there was a lull, 
 a hush, a silence. Jack laid the fiddle and the 
 bow tenderly on a blanket, brushed from his 
 eyes the tears evoked either by the smoke or 
 the exalted condition of his mind, and reached 
 out for a coal with which to light his pipe; the 
 
190 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Circean spell that enthralled minds and hearts 
 was broken, and the auditors, drawing long 
 breaths of sorrow, became once more human be- 
 ings, " of the earth, earthy." 
 
 My tumble from supernal realms was not so 
 precipitate as to drive from my mind the dire- 
 ness of our extremity. With the genius of a 
 great captain, I laid instant hold on the favor- 
 able impression made by the music, and rising 
 to my feet, ready equipped for departure, looked 
 the lieutenant full in the face with a confident 
 smile, saying, " Well, gentlemen, we must be 
 getting on to camp." 
 
 Jack looked up at the words, astonishment 
 depicted in every line of his rugged face; but 
 when the gallant Georgian smiled kindly back 
 at me and said, " Yes — ^you fellows go up the 
 hill behind the fence to that skirt of timber yon- 
 der, then follow the timber down to the road 
 and you'll get to camp all right ; — ^but of course, 
 if you are caught again, you will not give us 
 away," — the astonishment vanished to be re- 
 placed by a look of inexpressible relief. 
 
 Little conversation was indulged in until, all 
 points of danger safely passed, Jack turned to 
 me, and with a disgustingly self-complacent air 
 said, 
 
 "You ain't worth a , Joe. You can al- 
 ways rely on me, though, to get out of a bad 
 scrape. We would be on our way to Captain 
 Scott's quarters now if I hadn't dazed that lieu- 
 tenant with the music I gave him." 
 
 I felt outraged that the prominent part I had 
 
THE POWER OF THE FIDDLE AND THE BOW 191 
 
 taken in the happening of the last few hours 
 should be so conceitedly ignored. " The devil 
 you say ! " I retorted. " You did draw a good 
 bow, but you lacked the wit, either to hunt 
 for the fiddle, or, after the battle was won, to 
 take advantage of success. It was my unpar- 
 alleled and sublime conception to pretend that 
 we were mere visitors whose departure would 
 not be opposed. You and Green would have 
 begged for release — I was the Napoleon who 
 seized the golden opportunity and trotted you 
 fellows out of danger into our present safety — 
 wasn't I, Green?" 
 
 Thus appealed to. Green looked as wise as an 
 owl, and weighing each word as carefully as if 
 giving an opinion on a question of law, said, 
 " Well, boys, it strikes me this way : Jack can 
 beat all creation a-scrapin' o' catgut, and Joe 
 
 is when it comes to workin' them jaws of 
 
 his, and sticking the words in pointedly. Be- 
 twixt fiddling and chin music, you fellows got 
 aTvay with the lieutenant." 
 
 Green's judicious administration of soft soap 
 restored amity. 
 
 The first tents of the regiment approached 
 were those of the band. Pausing here to over- 
 look the camp and get its geography, I glanced 
 to the right, and there, fifty yards away, stood 
 Colonel Winkler and Sergeant-Ma j or Brown, 
 looking straight at us. * * * 
 
 I picked the old hen and rooster which had 
 fallen to my share, and salted them down for 
 cooking the next day. Just as I finished the job. 
 
192 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Brown sauntered up near me and I asked him 
 what Colonel Winkler said when he saw us com- 
 ing in. " He just asked where you fellows had 
 been," said Brown, "and I told him you were 
 returning from guard duty." " Did he swallow 
 the lie.? " I asked. " Of course not," said Brown, 
 "he is no fool — ^you got in too late in the day 
 to be mistaken for men relieved of guard 
 duty." ♦ • • 
 
 Christmas morning I invited Lieutenant 
 Brahan of Company F — then acting adjutant of 
 the regiment — and Mr. Bunting, the chaplain 
 of the Terry Eangers, to take dinner with me. 
 I promised them a chicken pie, and anxious that 
 it should be a masterpiece of its kind, gave my 
 whole mind to its preparation. I had carried 
 operations to the point where the least careless- 
 ness would be ruinous to hopes and pie, when 
 Brahan walked hastily down from the Colonel's 
 quarters, and stopping a hundred yards from 
 me, called out loudly, " Joe, Colonel Winkler 
 wants you to report to him immediately." 
 
 Truly, I was in a nice predicament. A fat 
 hen and rooster in the skillet on a hot fire, just 
 at that stage of cookery which required the ut- 
 most delicacy of management, and I, the only 
 living person thoroughly capable of giving it, 
 called away at the very culmination of the crit- 
 ical moment. It was enough to provoke a saint 
 — especially when it was a question whether he 
 would be permitted to return to his pie, or be 
 sent to the guard-house. 
 
 Judging from their countenances. Jack and 
 
THE POWER OF THE FIDDLE AND THE BOW 193 
 
 Green felt the same consternation I did. Jack 
 kindly volunteered to take care of the pie, but 
 knowing he had already eaten up his share of 
 plunder, I distrusted him, and requested " Joe 
 Bowers " of Company D, whose true name is 
 John Baker, to watch it. Then in fear and 
 trembling, I went to the Colonel's tent. As I 
 entered, he rose from the adjutant's desk, and 
 saying, " I wish you would sit down here, Joe, 
 and copy this application," handed me three 
 closely written pages of foolscap. 
 
 " I'll do it with the greatest pleasure, Colonel," 
 said I, relieved of every apprehension except for 
 the pie ; " but see here — I have a couple of chick- 
 ens on the fire, and I am afraid they will get 
 burnt — can't I do your work after dinner? " 
 
 " No," said he, " it is an application to trans- 
 fer our three Texas regiments to Texas, and a 
 staff officer is waiting at Longstreet's head- 
 quarters to carry it to Eichmond. You copy 
 it at once, and I'll go down and see after the 
 chickens." 
 
 " I'll do the work at once then. Colonel," said 
 I hastily, "but you needn't bother about the 
 chickens — they are in charge of Joe Bowers — 
 the only man in the regiment who won't steal." 
 
 The Colonel laughed heartily at my evident 
 doubt of his good faith, and I copied the appli- 
 cation in a hurry, and then flew on the wings of 
 hunger and apprehension, to my mess of pottage. 
 The crust was a little burned, the gravy had a 
 flavor of smoke, but the pie was still a toothsome 
 delicacy to hungry Confederates. Better than 
 
194 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 all, neither Jack Sutherland, Green Griggs, nor 
 I have been punished for an offense exactly sim- 
 ilar to that which has caused half a dozen of 
 our comrades to promenade the color line with 
 a log on their shoulders, for two hours a day, 
 and will keep them engaged in the pleasant pas- 
 time for at least eight days longer. 
 
XIX 
 
 SOME "escape" stories 
 
 M'OEEISTOWN, Tenn., January 15, 1864.' 
 While in the early morn of New Year's Day 
 I was doing my level best to find both savor and 
 repletion in the three days' rations of blue beef 
 and flour made of sick wheat just issued to us, 
 an order came for the detail of the best-shod 
 man of each company in the brigade to report at 
 once to Captain Thrasher of the Third Arkan- 
 sas. As I happened to be the lucky man of my 
 company whose footwear was most unimpeach- 
 able, the choice fell upon me. Nothing could 
 have better suited my taste^ Four inches of 
 snow, white, glittering and frozen, lay on the 
 ground, a stiff breeze, straight " from Green- 
 land's icy mountains," or some other hyperborean 
 region, gave a snap and a thrill to the atmos- 
 phere that was inspiring and invigorating, and 
 the sky was cloudless. In truth, it was ideal 
 weather for a tramp, and in the exuberance of 
 my joy at release from camp monotony, I turned 
 over my share of the rations just issued to my 
 messmates, and when on reporting to Captain 
 Thrasher he informed me that his orders were to 
 take a detachment of forty men across the 
 French Broad River and turn them loose to 
 wander broadcast over the country as a pro* 
 
 195 
 
196 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 tection to foraging parties of quartermasters and 
 commissaries, I was glad I had been so gener- 
 ous. • • • 
 
 Crossing the river an hour before sunset, we 
 sought a first night's shelter in a large barn, a 
 quarter of a mile distant from the dwelling 
 house of its owner — a Unionist, and therefore 
 conspicuous by his absence. The house prom- 
 ised the more comfort to a now ravenously hun- 
 gry soldier, and no sooner after arrival at the 
 barn had I lent the blanket I would not need 
 to a comrade, and placed my gun and accouter- 
 ments in his charge, than, sure that Captain 
 Thrasher was yet in the barn and was not look- 
 ing, I made an adroit flank movement and 
 strolled in the direction of the dwelling. Lest, 
 however, the Captain sltould see me and deem 
 me a little premature in turning myself loose 
 on the country, I pursued a devious route. That 
 proved my undoing, for unfortunately it was the 
 longer way. That plagued Arkansas captain 
 not only got to the house first, but ere I came and 
 put up an eloquent petition for board and lodg- 
 ing for the night, had secured for himself and 
 three members of his regiment all the spare ac- 
 commodations of the house and every place at 
 the table ; and I had to go back to the barn sup- 
 perless and with little idea where I was to get 
 breakfast next morning. ♦ • » 
 
 To describe the good time I had would beggar 
 my powers of description and then leave the half 
 untold. ♦ ♦ • ^ small and select 
 party of us went thirty miles down the country 
 
SOME "ESCAPE" STORIES 197 
 
 to the deserted home of Nick Swann, a noted 
 Unionist then commanding a regiment in the 
 Federal Army. All I got for my tramp, though, 
 was a chunk of delicious dried beef that we found 
 in a dark corner of the smoke-house. Next we 
 went over to Pigeon River, to the house of 
 Colonel Jack of the Confederate Army, and 
 while being entertained with music, vocal and 
 instrumental, by his fair daughters, met a strag- 
 gling party of the Terry Eangers. While the 
 infantry under Longstreet's command have been 
 enjoying their rest in winter .quarters in the 
 neighborhood of Morristown, the Rangers and 
 other cavalry have been fighting day and night 
 to keep the Yankees off of them. ♦ • ♦ 
 
 I have so little of skirmish and battle to write 
 about that I must perforce resort to story-tell- 
 ing. • « ♦ 
 
 A member of the Seventeenth Mississippi re- 
 lated an incident to me the other day that hap- 
 pily illustrates the spirit of the Virginia women 
 as well as the rather rough humor in which a 
 soldier sometimes indulges. The Seventfeenth 
 was marching down a street of the historic old 
 town of Williamsburg, seemingly endeavoring 
 to escape the dangers of the battle Longstreet 
 was making against the Federals on the 4th of 
 May, 1862. "A maiden rare, with golden hair," 
 rushed out of a house into the street, and com- 
 ing to a halt near the moving troops, cried, 
 
 " Turn back. Southerners — turn back ! Don't 
 you hear the shouts of the captains and the roar 
 of the murderous cannon they and their brave 
 
198 SOLDIER'S LETTERS i TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 compatriots; are facing? Turn back, I beseech 
 arid implore you ! " 
 
 But unmoved by i her eloquence, the wearied 
 men trudged stolidly on. Undiscouraged, she 
 took; a fresh hold on her, voice and shouted, 
 
 " Turn back, men — .for the sake of the women 
 Of the South and all you hold dear and precious, 
 turn back and fight ■ the dastardly Yankees as 
 our forefathers did the red-coats during the 
 Eevolution! If your captain won't lead you, 
 I will." 
 
 Just at this critical juncture the command 
 ran down the line, " Halt — .About face— r-Double 
 quick ! " and as they were being obeyed, a wild, 
 Eebel yell sounded high above the din of the dis- 
 tant battle. Imagining she was being taken at 
 her word and that her appeal had been the cause 
 of the halt and about-facing, the lovely would- 
 be Joan of Arc, her face all ablaze with high 
 and desperate resO^lve, rushed to the head of the 
 column, i evidently intending to lead it. But 
 alas, "pride goeth before a fall!" Her ardor 
 and enthusiasm, fiercely burning as they were, 
 cooled in i the next second, and halting in her 
 trafcks, she stood mute, motionless and abashed, 
 for having caught her eye, one of the boys said 
 in the tone of one chiding a little sister, 
 
 " Don't go with us, Sissie — don't think of 
 
 going; you might tear your dress." 
 
 « ♦ « » • 
 
 Not many of our brigade have ever been cap- 
 tured, and the majority of those that have been 
 havp.had the luck either to. get a quick exchange 
 
SOME "ESCAPE" STORIES 199 
 
 or to effect an escape. When Bill Givens of 
 my company, returned to the command after a 
 sojourn of two months' duration in Fort Dela- 
 ware, he told an interesting as well as amusing 
 story of this escape. That; prison, asj you likely 
 know, is: in the middle of Delaware Bay, some 
 distance below the city of Philadelphia. Getting 
 tired at last of 'f durance vile," Bill concluded 
 to risk a swim to the northern shore of the bay, 
 the southern shore being too closely guarded 
 for him to venture in . that ^ direction. Once 
 landed,! he intended to hide in the tall, grasses 
 of th& marshes for a day or two, and then make 
 his way around. Philadelphia. His voyage from 
 fort to shore had to be made in the night-time 
 on; .account of the risk of discovery by the many 
 passing vessels. So, one very dark night he 
 evaded the vigilance of the prison guards, pro- 
 cured a plank six. feet long and as many inches 
 wide,i idropped into; the water and struck out for 
 dry land and liberty, and as long as the star- 
 light; lasted made, good headway; and continued 
 hopeful. After midnight, though, a fog came up 
 and ihe lost his bearings, not being able from 
 the- surface of the bay even to see the lights that 
 shone in. the fort. This was disheartening,' but 
 he; kept up' his; paddling, consoling himself with 
 the reflection' that even should he be heading for 
 the. Atlantic Ocean, he -was at any rate getting 
 further from a hated prison. So on and on 
 he swam, until dayt beginning to dawn and the 
 fog 1 lifting somewhat, he ■ discovered a vessel 
 within half a mile of him. 
 
200 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 " Then, sir," said Bill, " my heroic soul rose 
 to a square level with the direful emergency of 
 the occasion. Never doubting that I was yet 
 in the middle of the cussed old bay, and hopeless 
 of escaping the watchful eyes of the sailors on 
 the deck of the vessel, I resolved, rather than 
 be recaptured, to ' shuffle off this mortal coil,' — 
 in short, to die, to just let myself sink into the 
 vasty depth of the blue waters, and drown. But 
 I wasn't going to be a fool and pass in my checks 
 in advance of discovery. While waiting for 
 that, I remembered having read or heard that 
 drowning was actually a pleasant method of dy- 
 ing, and that the deeper the water the more de- 
 lightful the sensation, the more comfortable and 
 easy the exit from this vale of tears and trouble. 
 This set me to wondering whether the bay at 
 that point was deep enough to make drowning 
 the picnic it was cracked up to be, and what my 
 first sensations would be. Only by experiment 
 could the weighty problem be solved, and I de- 
 cided to make it-^that is, to sink as deep in the 
 water as I could and stay under long enough to 
 do more or less strangling. Pushing the plank 
 from under me, I pointed the foot end of my 
 corpus toward the center of the earth, and sank. 
 Down, down, down, I expected and intended to 
 go, but I didn't, for the water wasn't even waist 
 deep, let alone deep enough to drown a fellow. 
 I was so amazed and exasperated at finding it 
 too shallow for the test, that for two seconds and 
 a half I forgot to be grateful for my good luck. 
 Then knowing the shore must be near by, I stood 
 
SOME "ESCAPE" STORIES 201 
 
 up long enough to take a look around me, and 
 discovered land not a hundred yards distant. 
 That I made for it in a hurry you may well 
 imagine — not on my feet though, but, lest I be 
 seen from the vessels, swimming like an alli- 
 gator, my nose and eyes only out of water. For- 
 tunately I was not seen, and now, thank God, 
 I am here, safe and sound. But I had a mighty 
 close call, boys, for if I hadn't touched bottom 
 I'd have made a martyr of myself, sure, and 
 instead of being able to eat three times the ra- 
 tions I get, would be floating, a cold, pulseless, 
 emaciated and fish-nibbled skeleton, on the blue 
 waters of the ever-heaving Atlantic Ocean." 
 
 Here Bill paused, and with his sleeve wiped 
 away the big tear that had stolen down his left 
 cheek. Eespecting such evidently genuine emo- 
 tion, no one spoke for a minute or more. 
 Dansby, always a doubting Thomas, and often 
 irreverent, broke the silence, asking: 
 
 " Honest Injin, now. Bill Givens, would you 
 really have had the nerve and the grit to drown 
 yourself.? " 
 
 Bill's rugged lineaments instantly lost the 
 look of exaltation they had worn, and speaking 
 with a solemnity rather at variance with the 
 savage glance he cast at Dansby, he replied, 
 
 " Yes, sir, honest Injun I would have had the 
 nerve and the grit. I was in exactly the frame 
 of mind when life as a prisoner of the infernal 
 Yankees had lost every charm; death, every 
 terror." 
 
 " Not a doubt of it," said Dansby, in a tone 
 
202 SOLDIER'S : LETTERS : TO- CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 of irony; ''but go on -with your story i and tell us 
 how you circumlocuted around Baltimore? " 
 
 " Not. to-day---not to-day," said Bill, his voice 
 shaking withi emotion. " When I remember the 
 small margin of time that was between me and 
 a briny. grave, my heart gets too full for utter- 
 ance. . If you don't stop talking to me I'll go to 
 downright! boohooing." 
 
 In the. story of the escape from the same prison 
 of Jim Logging of Company G of the Fourth 
 Texas there is a tincture of romance, a flavor of 
 narrowly averted . tragedy. Jim ' is an exceed- 
 ingly handsome young fellow, and his pulchri- 
 tude and captivating ways won him the favoring 
 regard of a beautiful Philadelphia maiden, a 
 constant . visitor to. the fort, and a pronounced 
 Southern sympathizer. By her he was informed 
 that I if he could; manage to. outwit his guards, 
 geti intoiEhiladelphia and call on a certain Dr. 
 
 B there, that gentleman would^ befriend 
 
 him, and send him back to Dixie's Land by the 
 underground route, i How he got out of the 
 clutches of the guards I do not know, Jim being 
 very reticent in regard to that part of the ad- 
 venture. But he got out some way or other, 
 entered the city, and made the call. Fortu- 
 nately, Dr. B was alone in his office, and 
 
 the fugitiverhad only to say he was a Confeder- 
 ate,! to enlist the services of a good Samaritan 
 in his behalf. 
 
 '* Sit right down here in my office and wait 
 until I return," said the old fellow. " I will 
 step up the street and buy you a suit of citizen's 
 
SOME "ESCAPE" STORIES 203 
 
 cloth.es, and when you have got inside of them, 
 I'll take you to my house and let our mutual 
 
 friend, Miss -, know of your arrival." 
 
 The voice w9,Si friendly and cheering, and it 
 fell most soothingly on Jim's ears. Still, he did 
 not like to be left lalone quite so soon, and would 
 much have preferred a bold tramp on the streets 
 by the side of his newly found friend. Dr. 
 
 B , however, insisted he should remain in 
 
 the office, and ste,y he did. But to diminish the 
 chance of -being: identified by; some caller as an 
 escaped Rebel, he placed his chair in the darkest 
 corner of i the room,; and seizing on a book pre- 
 tended to be engaged in its perusal. On his way 
 to the clothing store. Dr. B met a com- 
 patriot ini the person of Dr. Doe,, and believing 
 he could safely rely on his discretion, (.whispered 
 to him, " I left a Eebel in my office who has just 
 escaped from > prison. Go and keep him com- 
 pany until I return." 
 
 : Delighted by the opportunity! to serve a Con- 
 federate, Dr. Doe rushed into the office where 
 Jim sat trembling with nervous dread of some 
 adverse happening, and noticing that no atten- 
 tion was paid his coming, instantly decided to 
 indulge an inherent fondness for practical jok- 
 ing. Stepping silently to the corner where Jim 
 sat, he laid his hand on the young fellow's shoul- 
 der, and in his Sternest voice said, "You are my 
 prisoner,! sir." 
 
 The joke missed fire, its intended victim not 
 being at: that moment in the frame of mind to 
 appreciate* its humor. Dr.! B 's kindness had 
 
204 SOLDIER'S LETTBES TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 inspired him with hopes that the heavy hand 
 and stern voice of the newcomer blasted. Re- 
 solving to die then and there, rather than ab- 
 jectly surrender and be returned to an intoler- 
 able captivity, Jim sprang to his feet and be- 
 tween Dr. Doe and the door, and raising a heavy 
 chair threateningly over the bald head of the 
 would-be jokist, exclaimed, 
 
 "Make the first motion, you infernal Abo- 
 litionist hound, to lay a hand on me, and by the 
 holy Moses, I'll smear the floor with your 
 brains ! " 
 
 Not a movement made Dr. Doe, nor thought 
 of making one — the moment did not seem; auspi- 
 cious. The resolute tone and look, the uncon- 
 querable bearing of the young Eebel, spoke 
 whole volumes of menace, and standing there 
 trembling, he realized that he had sadly mis- 
 taken his game. As soon as fright permitted 
 him to use his tongue again, he sought to ex- 
 plain: he was not only an intimate friend of 
 Dr. B , he said, but was himself a true Con- 
 federate ; he had come to the office at Dr. B 's 
 
 request, and had only intended to play an inno- 
 cent little joke, and much more to the same pur- 
 port. 
 
 " Well," began Jim, half convinced of Dr. 
 Doe's friendliness, but still indignant at being 
 selected as the butt of such a joke, " if you are 
 as friendly to me and the cause I serve as you 
 make yourself out to be, I reckon you know now 
 that you picked a poor time to play pranks." 
 
 "Yes, I know I did," replied Dr. Doe; "and 
 
SOME "ESCAPE" STORIES 205 
 
 I humbly beg your pardon for being so thought- 
 less and inconsiderate. But I'll just step out 
 of doors and see if Dr. B is anywhere near." 
 
 " Not by a jugful will you step out and do 
 any such thing," quickly interposed Jim. " You 
 will just stay right here in this office till Dr. 
 
 B comes back. Then, if I find you have lied 
 
 to me, I'll kill you with as little mercy as I 
 would a snake." 
 
 And with this possibility staring him in the 
 face. Dr. Doe had no option but to remain ; more- 
 over, when Dr. B at last returned and de- 
 manded an explanation of the obviously strained 
 relations between the fugitive and the gentleman 
 sent to keep him from being lonesome. Dr. Doe 
 had not only to furnish that explanation, but 
 also to accept with meekness a larger measure 
 of chaffing and scolding than such a grave and 
 dignified old gentleman was at all accustomed 
 to. But "all's well that ends well." By the 
 combined assistance of the two physicians and 
 
 Miss , Jim slipped through the lines and 
 
 is now on duty with his company. 
 
 The sun is yet an hour high, I am comfortably 
 fixed for writing, and whether or not you have 
 the patience to read it, have both the time and 
 the inclination to relate the story of another 
 escape. It was told me yesterday, and it is my 
 duty to keep it agoing. The lucky man is a 
 member of the Fifth Texas — ^his name, I think, 
 Simpson ; but whether it be or not, I will call 
 him that. On our way to Maryland in 1862 his 
 chum and messmate. Bob Eddy, said to him: 
 
206 SOLDIER'S' LETTERS! TOi OHARHIING NELLIE 
 
 " See here, old fellow, you are so venturesome 
 tlat you are going to be captured somei of these 
 dAjsr If i you should be, andean get into the 
 City of New York; go straight to my -father and 
 he will help you in ' any way he can. I have 
 written to him about you. Here' is his name and 
 address on- this cardJ' 
 
 Simpson took! the card and dropped it into 
 his haversack. Shortly afterward, while out 'on 
 a scout, the Yankees gobbled him up' audi sent 
 him to a prison on the Delaware coast.' A month 
 later he escaped, boarded a train, and proceeded 
 to New York City. There his troubles began. 
 His captors had ' relieved him of his haversack 
 and all its contents, and belabor his memory as 
 he might, he could ionly remember that the name 
 of his messmate's father was E. G. Eddy. 
 When, however^ he had recourse to the Oity Di^ 
 rectory which: he fdund in a leading hotel, and 
 ascertained! ' that two • E. G. Eddys resided on 
 Chestnut i street, he easily identified tha,t as the 
 street • named on: the ■- card. One Eddy, though, 
 lived at 1217, the other at 1310 — to which should 
 hte go? At one or : the other, assistance awaited 
 him— at one or the other, the peril of recapture. 
 Thus far, no notice had been taken of him; Td 
 make inquiries, though, would be to acknowledge 
 himself a stranger in the city,' and perhaps ex- 
 citC' the curiosity of some unfriendly person. 
 Sbj. jotting ddwn the two addresses, he decided 
 to call' first at 1217. In ante-bellum idays toler- 
 ably familiar with the city, he ■ had little difS- 
 culty in '/finding, unaidedj! both: street and num* 
 
SOME "ESCAPE" STORIES 207 
 
 ber. Tripping lightly up the steps, he rang the 
 bell,' and' inot caring to attract the attention of 
 any of the many persons of both sexes then on 
 their way to church, the moment a servant girl 
 opened thei door sufficiently he -stepped inside 
 and asked for Mr. Eddy. That gentleman hap- 
 pened to be coming down a flight of stairs which 
 landed in the' hall, and, noticing this, the girl 
 .retired. Kindness showed in his countenance, 
 andhe looked enough like the Confederate Eddy 
 to convince a visitor as sorely in need of help 
 as was Simpson that he was the father of that 
 young man, and feeling' that at last " his lines 
 had fallen in pleasant places," Simpson freely 
 unbosomed himself of his story. Imagine his 
 dismay whfen the old gentleman's face' lost its 
 look of benevolence and he said coldly and 
 sternly, 
 
 "'You' have made a great mistake, sir — ^yon 
 have come to the wrong place. I am not, thank 
 God, the father of the Eebel Bob Eddy, but of a 
 son who is a captain in- the Union Army. All 
 my ' sympathies are with the Union cause, and 
 if I do my duty I will have you immediately ar- 
 rested." 
 
 Poor Simpson ! A moment ago his heart beat 
 lightty and buoyantly, now it throbbed slowly 
 and despairingly, and falling back against the 
 wall, unable without its support to stand erect, 
 he stood silent and hopeless. For a minute that 
 seemed an age to him, not a word was said ; then 
 Mr. Eddy spoke again, saying, 
 
 " Yes, it is my duty to have you arrested. But 
 
208 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 I can't do as mean a thing as to take advantage 
 of your mistake in coming here. Just come 
 along upstairs with me, and we'll see what can 
 be done." 
 
 An hour later Simpson's most intimate friend 
 would not have recognized him, such was the 
 transformation that a bath, a clean shave, and 
 a through change of linen and outer garments 
 had effected in his appearance. And, mirabile 
 dictu, as many will say who believe that a North- 
 ern man cannot be as generous as a Southern, 
 Mr. Eddy also handed the fugitive a hundred 
 dollars in greenbacks, and when the latter would 
 have protested, said, 
 
 " It's all right, young man — it's all right, and 
 don't you bother. I haven't any business to 
 be helping you at all, but as long as I am doing 
 it, I am ' going the whole hog ' on it. If help- 
 ing you is treason, I want the treason to be re- 
 spectable. But it is time you were going. Bob 
 Eddy's father lives at 1310 on this street, and 
 in your present disguise you can safely visit him. 
 But remember, please, that should you and I 
 meet again it must be as perfect strangers. As 
 a true lover of my country I ought to wish you 
 recaptured — as a man, I hope you'll not be." 
 
 From the other K. G. Eddy, the father of Bob 
 Eddy, Simpson received as cordial a welcome 
 as could safely be given. He spent a month in 
 the city, frequently meeting his Union benefac- 
 tor, and then went over into Canada, whence he 
 made his way back to the South. 
 
XX 
 
 A FLIGHT TO ARMS 
 
 Bull's Gap, Tenn., March 25, 1864. 
 
 Once upon a time, but only by a masterly 
 stratagem, a ragged private secured a seat at a 
 table on which was spread a bountiful dinner 
 which had been specially prepared for a pompous 
 Confederate general. The officer made no ob- 
 jection, but wishing to make sure of the soldier 
 knowing in what distinguished company he was 
 dining, very condescendingly asked, 
 
 " Do you know, sir, with whom you are din- 
 ing." » 
 
 " Indeed, I do not," replied the private as 
 he helped himself to half of a roasted chicken; 
 " I used to be very particular about such mat- 
 ters, but nowadays, so the dinner is good and 
 abundant and the company not too fond of blow- 
 ing his own horn, I don't care a d n who eats 
 
 with me." 
 
 You would have complimented me on my re- 
 semblance to that private had you seen me hob- 
 nobbing with General Jenkins, at present com- 
 manding the division, last Christmas Eve. There 
 was a symposium that night at his quarters — a 
 feast of reason and flow of soul, under the exhila- 
 rating influences of unlimited supplies of apple- 
 jack, and the colonel and inspector-general, for- 
 
 209 
 
210 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 merly the captain of my company, invited me 
 and a few others to attend. Although the so- 
 ciety promised was higher and more be-barred 
 and be-starred than we were accustomed to, we 
 were not such churls as to sulk in our tents while 
 such festivities were in progress. Not presum- 
 ing to speak for others, I can only say* that after 
 the third drink a brigadier-general sank in my 
 estimation to the level of a private, and I sought 
 and obtained an introduction to my host. Gen- 
 eral Jenkins. He treated me with distinguished 
 consideration, talked with me until I became 
 sober enough to be ashamed of much I had said 
 to him, and as we parted invited me to call again. 
 During the conversation I alluded to a former 
 interview I had had with him at Chattanooga 
 concerning a hog that had met death and de- 
 struction at my hands, but he waived all discus- 
 sion of the subject, saying with a kindness for 
 which I am now grateful, " That was official in- 
 tercourse, sir — this is social and friendly." 
 
 Aside from the amusement these incidents may 
 afford you, I have an object in view. Admitting 
 my resemblance to the private in the matter of 
 indifference to the company I dine with, I must 
 also confess that so she is young and pretty, I 
 don't care a copper what woman appeals to me 
 for aid — she is going to have all that is in my 
 power to offer. It is to call your attention to 
 the differences between the oflBcial and the purely 
 social and friendly that I have mentioned what 
 General Jenkins said to me. Hitherto, my let- 
 ters to you have been quasi-official, and might 
 
A FLIGHT TO ARMS 211 
 
 be read by anybody you chose to let do so. This 
 communication, though, I wish you to consider 
 confidential, for if our mutual friend gets wind 
 of the adventure I am going to relate, a jealous 
 wrath may tempt her to retaliate. A more pru- 
 dent person than I might hesitate to reveal it to 
 a living soul, but having the utmost confidence 
 in your discretion and friendship, and feeling 
 that I must tell somebody from whom I may 
 secure a needed sympathy, I will even take the 
 risk. 
 
 Three weeks ago and while we were at New 
 Market, Lieutenant Crigler was ordered to take 
 a force of twenty-five picked men and make an 
 effort to capture some Federals who were dep- 
 redating on our side of French Broad Eiver. 
 Obeying orders, he set out at sunrise, and by 
 3 o'clock p. M. arrived at a point a couple of 
 miles from the river. There, Crockett and 
 Pengra were sent ahead with instructions not 
 to show themselves, or attack the enemy, and 
 to return as soon as they learned the position 
 of affairs. Giving them twenty minutes start, 
 the rest of us proceeded leisurely forward. 
 About a quarter of a mile from the river, hearing 
 nothing from the scouts, we deployed into a skir- 
 mish line with its center on a road that led to 
 the ferry the Federals were in the habit of using, 
 and advanced slowly and cautiously. 
 
 To the right of the road, on a hill, and about 
 a hundred yards from the water's edge, stood a 
 large, roomy house inclosed by a plank fence. 
 My position in the line was such that, going 
 
212 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 straight forward and maintaining proper inter- 
 vals between myself and comrades to my right 
 and left, I marched directly toward the back 
 door of the house. When within fifty feet of 
 the fence and twice as far from the door, and 
 while I was deliberating whether to go around 
 or through the house, the sound of two rifle shots 
 at the river broke upon my ears. Within a 
 second a volley was fired from the opposite bank, 
 and several of the balls striking the house, and 
 a woman screaming, I sprang forward to the res- 
 cue. It was up-hill, though, and speed was as 
 impossible as it was unnecessary, for I had not 
 gone ten feet when a handsome girl of eighteen 
 rushed out of the open door crying, " Save me, 
 save me ! " and running to the fence, climbed it 
 with utter and alarming disregard for the plank- 
 ing and other unmentionables, and still crying 
 to be saved, sped down the hill, straight and 
 swift as an arrow, toward me. 
 
 You can imagine the predicament I was in. 
 Charming Nellie, as well as I can describe it; 
 but woman that you are, you can never expe- 
 rience or conceive my feelings. Only twenty- 
 three years of age, far away from home and kin- 
 dred, a sweetheart back in Texas, embarrassed 
 by a gun I dared not drop, and my footing on the 
 rocky and uneven hillside somewhat precarious, 
 I was never in my life as pleased and frightened 
 at one and the same time as when I realized the 
 lovely creature's aim and my duty in the prem- 
 ises. But the faintness of spirit that came over 
 me like a summer breeze, was as short-lived. A 
 
A FLIGHT TO ARMS 213 
 
 soldier from another State might have taken to 
 his heels, or at least cleared the way for the 
 girl to fall in another man's arms. But to me, 
 a Texan by birth, who had sworn to do his part 
 in maintaining the reputation for gallantry and 
 self-sacrificing heroism bequeathed as a priceless 
 heritage to his State by the patriots who at the 
 Alamo fought and died that their compatriots 
 might fight and win at San Jacinto, such un- 
 manly behavior would have been a disgrace. 
 Here was the opportunity of my life, both to per- 
 form a duty that I owed to the chivalry of my 
 nature and to secure temporary possession, at 
 least, of a " thing of beauty and a joy forever," 
 and I vowed to myself that it should not pass 
 unimproved. Therefore, I stood my ground 
 firmly, resolutely, and unflinchingly, until with 
 a momentum which nearly carried me off my 
 feet that one hundred and twenty-five pound in- 
 carnation of " the true, beautiful and good," in 
 the guise of exquisitely handsome womanhood, 
 ran fairly and squarely into arms which opened 
 to receive the precious and bewitching deposit 
 as instinctively as they closed to make sure of 
 it when, coming within their circle,, the terror- 
 stricken maiden threw her own around my neck. 
 " Save me, save me ! " she continued to cry, 
 even while she clung to me with a tenacity that 
 would have been alarming had it not been so 
 comfortably thrilling; and more than willing to 
 save her, I bent every energy, art, and accom- 
 plishment to the task, and drawing her close to 
 my chivalrous bosom, assured her, again and 
 
214 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 again, that she was absolutely safe as long as 
 she stayed right where she was. Evidently she 
 believed me — presumably she found as much re- 
 lief from her fright in clinging to me, as I, com- 
 fort and happiness in being stay, support, and 
 protector, for we stood there in close com- 
 munion — I, at any rate, unconscious of the pas- 
 sage of time, the proximity of the enemy, or of 
 anything else less heavenly than the contents of 
 my arms — until the Yankees retired beyond gun- 
 shot and the firing ceased. 
 
 The one obstacle and drawback to supreme 
 felicity was my gun. Too well-trained a soldier 
 to drop the weapon while an enemy was near at 
 hand, much as I wanted both hands free I clung 
 to it to the last. Still, while I might have han- 
 dled it so awkwardly that it would have puzzled 
 a military expert to say who held it, or in what 
 direction it pointed, I am positively sure it was 
 never between me and my fair companion; it 
 would have been too much in the way. I frankly 
 confess. Charming Nellie, that the occasion was 
 the one time in my career as a soldier when the 
 enemy's retreat was too precipitate — the one 
 time when I prayed fervently that the battle 
 should continue; for as long as it lasted the 
 maiden seemed to find content, shelter, and 
 safety within the clasp of my arms, and I for- 
 got my country and, almost, the loyalty I owe 
 to our mutual friend. Unluckily, and more to 
 my regret and disappointment than anything 
 that has happened to me individually since this 
 never-ending war began, my prayers availed me 
 
A FLIGHT TO ARMS 215 
 
 not. The enemy retreated, the firing ceased, 
 and the occupant of my arms, alas, awakened to 
 a sense of conventional proprieties and the fact 
 that I was a stranger, and without the least as- 
 sistance from me, released herself, and left me 
 holding only the cold, insensate, and inanimate 
 gun. 
 
 But although she blushed charmingly as she 
 stepped out of my reach, she was no bashful 
 and awkward country miss. The moment she 
 got far enough from me to prohibit whispering, 
 she said, 
 
 "Please excuse my behavior, sir. I was so 
 frightened by the shooting that I didn't know 
 what I was doing, and I fear I have not only 
 shocked you by a seeming boldness but also given 
 you a great deal of trouble." 
 
 " Pray do not distress yourself by imagining 
 you have done either," I hastened to reply, bow- 
 ing with a grace that Chesterfield might well 
 have envied. " The incident has given me a 
 delight I would gladly enjoy again." Then 
 noticing she found it difficult to preserve her bal- 
 ance on the steep hillside, I laid my gun down, 
 and pretending a great solicitude, asked, "Are 
 you sure you no longer need support.?" — at the 
 same time stepping toward her with extended 
 arms. 
 
 " Thank you, but I do not need to trespass 
 again on your gallantry and endurance," she 
 replied, glancing roguishly at me, but blushing 
 like a rose and waving her little hand in further 
 prohibition. " But will you not go to the house 
 
216 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 and let me introduce you to my mother and sis- 
 ters and tell them of your kindness to me. I 
 don't know that the latter is necessary, however, 
 for Sis Mary looked out of the door while you 
 had your arms — I mean, while I was most fright- 
 ened." 
 
 I had not seen Sis Mary, for the maid to whom 
 I was giving my whole attention had come at 
 me with such speed that her momentum swung 
 me around and placed me with my back to the 
 house. But still game, I said, "You must in- 
 troduce me as your lover, then, for that I am, 
 now and forever. You are the captive of my 
 arms, please remember, and I'll not waive a 
 single right or privilege due me as such." 
 
 She was of good pluck, too. Her black eyes 
 flashing with mischief, she answered at once, 
 " Well, let us go to the house, at any rate — ^we 
 can discuss and settle there any rights and 
 privileges you may claim." 
 
 As we walked slowly up the hill toward the 
 house, she bore to the right, obviously intending 
 to go around the yard to the front gate. I de- 
 murred and suggested returning by the way she 
 had come. But she shook her head in protest, 
 saying, 
 
 " No, indeed. Alarmed as I was when I 
 scurried out of the house, I got over the fence 
 with more speed than gracefulness, I fancy. 
 But now that all danger has passed, I will not 
 make another such essay, thank you." 
 
 By the time we entered the house — it took us 
 twenty minutes to get to the front door, though 
 
A FLIGHT TO ARMS 21T 
 
 — we learned each other's name and all con- 
 straint had vanished. I was duly introduced 
 to the mother and sisters, and they proved to 
 be nice and intelligent ladies, and the wife and 
 daughters of a Baptist minister by the name of 
 Scruggs. But although Sis Mary smiled a 
 trifle significantly as she gave me her hand and 
 the erstwhile tenant of my arms showed her 
 colors charmingly, I do not remember that I felt 
 or betrayed any special embarrassment. But 
 as about that time several of my comrades came 
 in, no reference was made in the general con- 
 versation that followed to the recent close en- 
 gagement between me and Miss Eva. But, alas, 
 time pressed and orders had to be obeyed, even 
 if to obey them almost broke my heart. Much 
 against inclination, I said good-by; not, how- 
 ever, without extending to their late occupant a 
 pantomimic invitation to return to my arms, 
 at which Sis Mary laughed merrily and Miss Eva 
 blushed temptingly, and, I thought, just a little 
 regretfully. Having been too intent on war to 
 learn of my good fortune, my comrades looked 
 puzzled and exchanged wondering glances. Too 
 sad of heart to enlighten their ignorance and 
 thus cause each of them to wish he had been as 
 lucky, I gave Miss Eva's little hand one fond 
 and lingering squeeze, picked up my gun, and 
 with a sigh returned to the stern realities of a 
 soldier's life. 
 
 Eemember, please, that I relate this incident 
 for your entertainment alone. With naught but 
 a friendly feeling subsisting between us, I know 
 
218 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 I can trust you not to communicate it to my 
 lady. While I have not seen Miss Eva since it 
 occurred, and bound as we are now, if reports 
 be true, for old Virginia, never expect to see her 
 again; and, while I could not with proper re- 
 gard for my sex and the innate chivalry of my 
 own nature have done less than I did, my lady 
 might discover disloyalty in it, and if not con- 
 tent with merely raking me over the coals of her 
 virtuous wrath, give me the grand bounce. 
 Eeally and truly, it is only the second adven- 
 ture I have had since this cruel war began, in 
 which a pretty woman has figured. I often 
 wonder if that lady in the Shenandoah Valley 
 has yet succeeded in securing either a hoop skirt 
 or a pair of shoes. I wish I had given her the 
 gaiters instead of losing them as I did. As a 
 gift she might have thought them worth a grate- 
 ful thought — as a loss, they are a disappoint- 
 ment. But she was not as pretty as Miss Eva, 
 who was in truth and in fact the most thrilling 
 incident that ever fell to my arms. Hope holds 
 the word of promise to my lady that the future 
 will afford me one even more thrilling, but — 
 well, as there is no saying when or whether I 
 will get home, I ought to be excused if occasion- 
 ally I act on the theory that " a bird in the hand 
 is worth two in the bush." I will bet you the best- 
 gaited saddle pony to be found in west Texas that 
 your Tennessee correspondent does likewise when- 
 ever opportunity offers. According to my observa- 
 tion and information, not to say experience, the 
 average Tennessee girl is not only quite handsome, 
 
A FLIGHT TO ARMS 219 
 
 but is likewise a firm believer in a woman's right 
 to make opportunities, and your fellow is not a 
 man likely to neglect any that come in his way. 
 Fortunately for his and my peace of mind, 
 though, Texas girls are denied the facilities 
 which so abundantly bless the maiden world 
 this side of the Father of Waters. Thanks to 
 the valiancy and watchfulness of the gallant 
 Coast Catamounts, no blustering Yankees are 
 suffered to wander broadcast over the land to 
 frighten timid maidens out of their wits and 
 compel them to " fly to arms " for protection. 
 
XXI 
 
 A THIETY-DAY FTJELOUGH 
 
 Charlotte, N. C, April 23, 1864, 
 CoMFOETABLY reclining within the ample 
 depths of a cane-bottom armchair before a cozy 
 little fire, a mahogany table and writing mate- 
 rials within easy reach, a carpet under my feet, 
 wearing neatly blacked shoes lately imported 
 from England, and a stiffly starched calico shirt 
 that cost, exclusive of the laundry bill, all of 
 a ten-dollar Confederate bill^ conscience clear, 
 mind untroubled, digestion excellent, and full 
 justice recently done to a first-rate dinner — I 
 feel myself every inch a gentleman. Over my 
 head a neatly papered ceiling, around me walls 
 with bookcases filled with elegantly bound litera- 
 ture, looking admonishingly down upon me from 
 their rosewood frames the portraits of half a 
 dozen ladies and gentlemen long since dead, a 
 couple of windows opening into the street, 
 through which I catch glimpses of well-dressed 
 people as they pass and repass, on business and 
 pleasure intent, and a sweet, well-trained voice 
 in an adjoining room singing to the accompani- 
 ment of a piano, " Ever of thee I'm fondly 
 dreaming " — I have to pinch myself to be sure 
 I am really the same fellow who, a month ago, 
 wrote you from East Tennessee. Then, ragged, 
 
 380 
 
A THIRTY-DAY FURLOUGH 221 
 
 dirty, and unkempt, I sat on the ground, had 
 no shelter but the blue sky, wrote on a board 
 held in my lap, warmed by a fire that filled my 
 eyes with smoke, looked only upon men as 
 wretchedly garbed as myself, and heard only 
 their harsh voices and the martial blare, clang, 
 and beat of Collin's band. • ♦ ♦ 
 
 While encamped on Mossy Creek, down in East 
 Tennessee, the members of the Texas Brigade 
 were invited to enlist " for an' indurin' of the 
 war." In sober and unvarnished truth, it was 
 enlist or be conscripted, and not the generous 
 and considerate offer Henry V. made when — • 
 according to the well-thumbed volume of Shake- 
 speare, which, in the absence of other literature, 
 I have occasionally borrowed, and from which 
 I have excerpted the poetic gems with which I 
 have ornamented my letters — he proclaimed: 
 
 " He which hath no stomach for this fight. 
 Let him depart ; his passport shall be made." 
 
 Had it been, it is doubtful whether a single 
 one of the furloughs — one to every tenth man — 
 offered as rewards to those re-enlisting, would 
 have found a taker, but, under the peculiar 
 circumstances — the adroit mingling of moral 
 suasion with an implied threat of compulsion — 
 every mother's son of us stepped patriotically 
 into line and swore to serve our beloved country, 
 Providence permitting, for the balance of the 
 war, last as long as it may. Conscription, you 
 know, is not a reputable method of earning the 
 privilege of fighting for one's home and fireside. 
 
222 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Then came the drawing of lots for the fur- 
 loughs, in which I was unlucky, for of the two 
 going to my company I drew neither, but schem- 
 ing and a modicum of filthy lucre accomplished 
 what chance refused. One of the fortunate com- 
 rades found all of his comfort, happiness, and 
 delight in the fascinating game of poker, and, in 
 consideration of the wherewithal to enable him 
 to follow his bent, he readily transferred his 
 right to a furlough to me. When, after a long 
 time, the papers finally reached us, the impor- 
 tant question of where to go arose, for I had no 
 citizen friends east of the Mississippi outside 
 of the Federal lines, except in Virginia, and, 
 judging from past experiences there, it was not 
 likely I could find a place far enough away from 
 the seat of war to be thoroughly pleasant. I 
 remained in a quandary but a short while, for 
 Aleck Wilson, of Company . D, proved himself 
 " a friend indeed " by being " a friend in need," 
 and invited me to come with him to this place, 
 where he has numerous wealthy relatives. Thus 
 it happens that to-day I am an honored guest in 
 the house of Judge Wilson, an occupant for the 
 time being of his library, and an eager and 
 charmed listener to the delicious vocal and in- 
 strumental music of his lovely daughter, whom 
 to her face and to others I call " Miss Annie," 
 but in the gratitude of my heart for her unvary- 
 ing sympathetic kindness think of only as " Gen- 
 tle Annie." To her humanizing influence, more 
 than to aught else, I am indebted for the larger 
 part of my self-respect and respectability. 
 
A THIRTY-DAY FUBLOUGH 223 
 
 Accustomed all our lives to the simple usages 
 and habits of western Texas people, Aleck and 
 I find it rather difficult to keep ourselves up to 
 the full standard of these North Carolina gen- 
 tlefolks. There are " F. F's." of North Caro- 
 lina, just as there are of Virginia. Determined 
 to have all the fun and frolic possible to be en- 
 joyed in our thirty-days' leave of absence, and 
 yet unwilling to cut entirely loose from the ex- 
 clusive circles of the literary and polished peo- 
 ple among whom the relationship of one and the 
 good fortune of the other have thrown us, we 
 lead double lives: one day minding our p's and 
 q's, eating with our forks, punctiliously careful 
 to observe all the proprieties and requirements 
 of the most refined and cultured society — in 
 short, whether walking, dancing, talking, or si- 
 lent, behaving ourselves absolutely and fault- 
 lessly en regie; the next day consorting with 
 plain, old-fashioned people, eating with our 
 knives, unmindful of phraseology, romping, 
 dancing, and flirting with the prettiest girls, and 
 as forgetful of prim, mirth-restraining etiquette 
 as a couple of schoolboys. Ample opportunity 
 for the doubleness is afforded, since two other 
 members of the Fourth Texas are here, and their 
 folks, fortunately for us, belong to the great 
 unwashed middle class of people who take life 
 as they find it. Our indulgence of democratic 
 proclivities meets with no direct rebuke, so far 
 as I am individually concerned. Hitherto wholly 
 unknown, I am not likely hereafter to be spe- 
 cially remembered and grieved over as a lost 
 
224 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 sheep; but Aleck, poor fellow, catches it on all 
 sides from his half-dozen or more handsome lady 
 cousins, each of whom deems it her special duty 
 and privilege to rake him over the coals for 
 every one of his social transgressions. "Where 
 were you last night, Aleck? " one of them will 
 suddenly inquire, looking at him meanwhile 
 with a cousinly tenderness which forbids the 
 least approach to deceit, and drags the truth 
 from him nolens volens; and then the sweet 
 creatures pitch into him at a lively rate, and, 
 although pretending to make their remarks en- 
 tirely confidential, give me the full benefit of 
 them, in spite of the fact that, on hearing the 
 first question, I make a point of engaging the 
 Judge in an argument, from which I invariably 
 
 emerge outrageously worsted. 
 
 « « « • « 
 
 When my furlough came to me in East Ten- 
 nessee, I looked forward to the many and great 
 pleasures anticipated with the keen longing of 
 one to whom for nearly three years social enjoy- 
 ments have been almost wholly lacking, and the 
 thirty days given seemed to stretch out inter- 
 minably. Now, looking back at the twenty odd 
 already a part of the past, they seem only so 
 many short and fleeting hours. Only a mere 
 taste of pleasure has come to me, just enough to 
 teach me its flavor and to whet a sharp edge on 
 an always craving and apparently insatiable 
 appetite. Seven days are all that remain of the 
 thirty, and within them I must compress fun 
 and frolic enough to last until the end of the 
 
A THIRTY-DAY FURLOUGH 225 
 
 war, however distant and uncertain that may 
 be. I will hardly have the luck to receive a 
 " parlor wound." The Yankees began shooting 
 at my head, and will probably continue the pas- 
 time until by some lucky mischance they per- 
 forate that member of my body, and thus make 
 it useless as a seat of thought. 
 
 Counting up the days of my stay here, and 
 making each give an account of itself, it is easy 
 to calculate in what particulars I have been im- 
 provident or neglectful, and failed to extract 
 all the pleasure possible from the best of op- 
 portunities and the most favorable surround- 
 ings. Retrospection, however, does little good. 
 Time will not " turn backward in its flight," do 
 what I may in the way of praying and grieving. 
 It is not here as in Texas, you know. There, 
 you ladies find masculine game in such super- 
 abundance that you have only to choose which 
 you will permit to fall into your traps and nets. 
 Here, though, it is a case of one or two mar- 
 riageable men a month, and from fifty to a hun- 
 dred pining maids and widows all the time — 
 the widows, of course, when they are young and 
 pretty and not too largely encumbered with prat- 
 tling responsibilities, having much the advan- 
 tage over their fair rivals. I have no right to 
 complain that either class has bestowed many 
 alluring smiles on me. Whatever may have been 
 my hopes and intentions at the outset, of adding 
 a spice of long-wished-for variety to life, they 
 were nipped in the bud by the treachery of my 
 friend Aleck. To make himself the more enter- 
 
226 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 taining to the maid he liked best, he not only 
 informed her that I corresponded regularly with 
 a Texas girl, but when cross-examined was mean 
 enough to deny that I corresponded with any 
 other. This, I suppose, made the conclusion 
 irresistible that I am engaged, monopolized, and 
 appropriated beyond break or recovery; at any 
 rate, while the girls listen kindly to my senti- 
 mentalities, they refuse to believe them serious 
 enough to justify even a flirtation with me. 
 
 Discussing the situation with Aleck, he sug- 
 gested I should let one of the darlings read your 
 last letter, and promised, if I would, to confess 
 he was lying when he said I corresponded with 
 anybody but you. That, however, would not do 
 at all, for that particular last letter was the 
 first in which you have acted the part of a true 
 " friend at court," and told me all that I have 
 to hope and fear with respect to our mutual 
 friend. 
 
 I wish you would send me a likeness of your- 
 self. There is no telling when I may get a 
 final quietus, and prior to such a distressing 
 event I should like to look once, at least, at the 
 face of the charming correspondent I have never 
 seen in the flesh. Besides, I wish to show the 
 picture to my friend. Lieutenant Grizzle of Com- 
 pany C, to whom I have sometimes read portions 
 of your letters. He swears that he knows you 
 are the prettiest girl in all Texas, and that if 
 he survives the war he will lay his heart at your 
 feet a week after he gets home. I am sure the 
 gallant captain in Bragg's army, whom I sus- 
 
A THIRTY-DAT FURLOUGH 227 
 
 pect of liaving the first and choicest place in 
 your regard, will not object either to my hav- 
 ing the likeness, or to my showing it to the 
 lieutenant. On the contrary, he will likely be 
 glad to have your thoughts drawn away from the 
 stay-at-homes now infesting the Texas coast and 
 slyly but persistently seeking to poach on his 
 preserves. If he is like me, it is the rival who 
 remains always tangible to his sweetheart that 
 he fears — not a poor devil who is taking his 
 chances at a front where fighting is the rule and 
 not the exception. 
 
 No words at my command can express the 
 comfort and company that the likeness of our 
 mutual friend is to me. I have had it so long, 
 looked at it so often, and thought and dreamed 
 so frequently of the lady it represents, that it 
 has become a part of myself — an almost constant 
 consciousness. It has been with me in camp 
 and on the march, in every vigil on the picket- 
 post, and in every skirmish and battle, standing 
 between me and every danger that threatened. 
 Although not battle-scarred, it is war-worn, for 
 it has heard the roar of artillery, the rattle of 
 musketry, and the bursting of shells at Eltham's 
 Landing, Seven Pines, Gaines' Mill, Thorough- 
 fare Gap, Second Manassas, Boonesboro Gap, 
 Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Gettysburg, Chicka- 
 mauga. Raccoon Mountain, . Knoxville, Bean's 
 Station, and many minor engagements and 
 skirmishes that will never find place on the 
 pages of history. Of how many more it will be 
 able to speak, God only knows, but, unless we 
 
228 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 make better headway this year than we did last, 
 and unless the men in blue continue the poor 
 marksmen they have hitherto shown themselves, 
 the number will be doubled, or even trebled. 
 Should the time ever come, as I pray it may, and 
 that very soon, when its original shall fill its 
 place, I am going to put it in a glass case, place 
 beneath it a list of the battles in which it has 
 participated and the marches it has made, and 
 set it where it may be a constant reminder of 
 the past to me and my lady and such little folks 
 as may develop an interest in their father's ca- 
 reer as a soldier of the Confederacy. 
 
 I have but three days longer to stay here if 
 I would escape punishment for overstaying the 
 time set by my furlough. The parting from 
 the kind friends I have met sits the more heav- 
 ily on my mind because of the fact that I will 
 have to begin soldiering again the moment I 
 board the train. Counting up my supply of 
 Confederate currency this morning, I discovered 
 that I have not enough left to pay any hotel 
 bills on my way back to the command. Consid- 
 ering that I left my blanket at camp, the sleep- 
 ing out of doors I will have to do has not a prom- 
 ising look. I have nobody to blame but myself, 
 though — I ought to have been more economical. 
 
 Speaking of economy reminds me of Bill Cal- 
 houn's last bon-mot. When Hood was made a 
 brigadier-general, the Texas Brigade raised a 
 large sum of money, and investing it in the finest 
 horse to be found in the State of Virginia, pre- 
 sented the animal to him. When he lost a leg 
 
A THIRTY-DAT FURLOUGH 229 
 
 at Chickamauga, the brigade raised more money 
 and purchased for him the best artificial limb 
 to be had in the South. When Bill was called 
 upon for his mite toward the last purchase, he 
 fished it slowly and hesitatingly from the cav- 
 ernous depths of his pocket, then removed a quid 
 of tobacco from his mouth, drew a long, solemn 
 breath, and remarked, 
 
 " I ain't got a stingy bone in my body, an' you 
 fellers all know it; but twined round every 
 fiber and filament of my mental caliber is a 
 never-dyin' sperriet o' rigid and uncompromis- 
 ing economy, an' I want yer ter tell ole Hood 
 that hereafter he must slip a curb on the impetu- 
 osity of his bravery, and stay farther to the 
 rear. Ole as he is, he oughter know he can't 
 do any good by gettin' close 'nough ter the 
 blamed Yanks ter be shot at. Ef he keeps on 
 doin' like he's been erdoin', it'll bust this ole 
 brigade er-buyin' bosses an' legs fur the ole cuss." 
 
 But I must close; not, though, because I want 
 to, but only because Miss Annie is calling on me 
 to come into the parlor and help her entertain 
 a squad of maidens who have just called. 
 
XXII 
 
 TEXAS IN THE BATTLE OF THE WILDEENESS 
 
 In the Trenches near Petersbueg, 
 
 July 6, 1864. 
 A LONG, weary time, full of hardship, depriva- 
 tion, and danger to Lee's army has intervened 
 since I wrote from Gordonsville. Since then I 
 have written several letters, but I fear they were 
 the shadows of a despondent mind — the only 
 comfort in them to the recipients being the as- 
 surance that I was yet living. The present life 
 in the trenches is the nearest approach to rest 
 we have had since May 6. Bill Calhoun calls 
 it " a rest between roasts " ; such, he says, as 
 the unrepentant are sometimes allowed in the 
 next world. There is much in the situation and 
 surroundings to warrant the comparison, saying 
 nothing of the hot sun, whose beams beat re- 
 lentlessly upon our devoted heads through an 
 atmosphere as motionless as that said to hover 
 over the Dead Sea, and of the never-ceasing 
 " pish," " pish," of bullets, that admonish us 
 against stiffness of neck and high-headedness. 
 The Federals are supposed to be undermining 
 our breastworks, as likely immediately beneath 
 us as anywhere else. Any day or hour the mine 
 may be sprung which will send us Texans far- 
 ther heavenward than many of us ever expect 
 
 230 
 
TEXAS IN THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 231 
 
 to get otherwise, and certainly farther than any 
 of us ever have been. And, yet, were there a 
 certainty — aye! even the half of a hope — that 
 the law of gravitation and the weight of sin 
 with which we are burdened would not interfere, 
 and, arresting our ascent, teach us that " facilis 
 decensus Averno est" we are just tired enough 
 of this soldiering, this almost insufferable sus- 
 pense and monotony, to welcome the change. 
 
 Of the battle of the Wilderness I can tell you 
 little beyond what occurred in my own regi- 
 ment; the character of the ground forbade a 
 general view, even by officers highest in rank. 
 The Texas Brigade broke camp at two o'clock 
 on the morning of the 6th, and, by double-quick- 
 ing the last two miles, reached the scene of 
 action at sun-up. Filing to the right, and march- 
 ing a quarter of a mile down the plank road, it 
 formed into line of battle and loaded. Then, 
 advancing in a gradual right wheel, it was 
 brought to front the enemy, whose lines stretched 
 across the road. Our position was on an open 
 hill immediately in rear of a battery. Within 
 three hundred yards were the Yankees, and, but 
 for intervening timber, we would have been ex- 
 posed to their fire. Here General Lee, mounted on 
 the same horse (a beautiful dapple-gray) which 
 carried him at Fredericksburg in 1862, rode up 
 near us and gave his orders to General Gregg, 
 adding, " The Texas Brigade always has driven 
 the enemy, and I expect them to do it to-day. Tell 
 them. General, that I shall witness their conduct 
 to-day." Galloping in front. General Gregg de- 
 
232 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 livered the message, and shouted, "Forward, 
 Texas Brigade!" Just then Lee rode in front 
 of the Fifth Texas, as if intending to lead the 
 charge, but a shout went up, " Lee to the rear! " 
 and a soldier sprang from the ranks, and, seizing 
 the dapple-gray by the reins, led him and his 
 rider to the rear. The Yankee sharpshooters 
 soon discovered our approach, and some of our 
 best men were killed and wounded before a 
 chance was given them to fire a shot. At three 
 hundred yards the leaden hail began to thin our 
 ranks perceptibly; four hundred yards and we 
 were confronted by a line of blue, which, how- 
 ever, fled before us without firing a single volley. 
 Across the plank road stood another line, and 
 against this we moved rapidly. The storm of 
 battle became terrific. The Texas Brigade was 
 alone; no support on our right, and not only 
 none on the left, but a terrible enfilading fire 
 poured on us from that direction. Crossing the 
 road, we pressed forward two hundred yards 
 farther, when, learning that a column of Fed- 
 erals was double-quicking from the left and 
 would soon have us surrounded. General Gregg 
 gave the order to fall back. General Lee's ob- 
 ject was gained, his trust in the Texans justified, 
 for the ground from which two divisions had 
 been driven was recaptured by one small bri- 
 gade of whose men more than one-half were 
 killed and wounded. The Fourth Texas carried 
 into the action two hundred and seven men, and 
 lost one hundred and thirty, thirty of whom 
 were killed outright, or died of their wounds. 
 
TEXAS IN THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 233 
 
 " Nothing, except a battle lost, can be half 
 so melancholy as a battle won," some writer 
 has said. At sun-up two hundred and seven 
 strong men stand in line of battle ; half an hour 
 afterward all but seventy-seven of them are dead 
 or wounded — mangled, torn, and dismembered 
 by bullets, round shot, and shell. Some of the 
 wounded walk back without aid to the field hos- 
 pital, others are being carried there on litters 
 or in the arms of their friends, and still others 
 are lying on the field of battle, too near the 
 enemy to be safely reached by their compatriots. 
 The dead need neither help nor immediate at- 
 tention, but next day are buried side by side, 
 as they fought, in a wide, shallow trench, the 
 name of each carved on a rude headboard, while 
 close by the great grave at the side of the plank 
 road is nailed to a wide-spreading, stately oak 
 another board, bearing the simple but eloquent 
 inscription : " Texas Dead — May 6, 1864." 
 
 The color-bearer of the Fourth Texas was 
 wounded and sank to the ground, yet he held 
 the fiag aloft long enough to hand it to Durfee, 
 of Company B, a brave Irishman, who carried 
 it to a point within a hundred and fifty yards 
 of the enemy's breastworks. There, his hip 
 shattered by a ball, he gave it to Sergeant-Major 
 Charles S. Brown, who, disabled at the moment 
 of receiving it, before sinking to the ground 
 passed it to a fourth man, who held it out of 
 the dust and carried it floating proudly and de- 
 fiantly in the air back with the regiment. Dur- 
 fee and Brown, companions in misfortune, 
 
234 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 crawled to the foot of the same tree, Durfee 
 sitting on the side next to the Confederates, 
 Brown on that facing the Federals. In one of 
 the lulls of the battle Austin Jones crept out 
 to them on his hands and knees and offered to 
 carry Brown in his arms to a place of safety. 
 The wounded hero refused, saying, " Durfee and 
 I were wounded together and must leave the 
 field together." Ten minutes later, when Jones 
 returned with two litters and their bearers, Dur- 
 fee was living, Brown dead. He had been shot 
 in the head, and with it drooped upon his breast 
 sat there as if sleeping. 
 
 The dangers of a battle, and even the presence 
 of death, never utterly destroy a soldier's sense 
 of the ludicrous. Among the first men of the 
 Fourth to be wounded was Jim Summerville. A 
 bullet struck the buckle of his belt and barely 
 penetrated the skin, but one's stomach is very 
 sensitive. Jim dropped his gun, folded his arms 
 across the front of his corporosity, and, whirl- 
 ing around a couple of times, gave vent to a long- 
 drawn, emphatic groan with all the variations 
 of the gamut in it, which provoked a roar of 
 laughter from the regiment. It was not insensi- 
 bility to suffering or lack of sympathy which 
 caused the merriment, but an irresistible desire 
 to extract a little comedy out of deadly tragedy. 
 In such critical emergencies men have no time 
 to waste in bewailing what has happened; what 
 may happen is far more important. Sympathy 
 given every unfortunate would unnerve those on 
 whose coolness and presence of mind depend the 
 
irBXAS In tsb battle of the wilderness 235 
 
 fate of battle. The wounded soldier has taken 
 his risk and lost; that of his comrade is yet to 
 be run, and who knows but that it may be death? 
 Bob Murray has a pair of remarkably careless 
 legs, and they often carry him into danger. On 
 this occasion one of them tried conclusions with 
 a Yankee bullet and got the worst of it, being 
 broken below the knee. Two days before, he 
 and I, sitting astride a pine log, were play- 
 ing our one hundred and thirty-fifth game of 
 "seven-up," and, with characteristic impudence, 
 he " begged," and I " gave him one," when he had 
 " high, low. Jack, and the game " in his hands. 
 It was such an abuse of a friend's confidence 
 that I quit the game in disgust. Now, in iden- 
 tically the same tone in which he " begged " 
 then, he cried out to me : " Dad gum it, Joe, I 
 beg; you and ' Ole Pap ' help me to the rear! " 
 Indignation swelled high in my bosom for an 
 instant, and as quickly subsided — the rear was 
 just then infinitely more attractive than the 
 place we were. Placing Bob between us, an arm 
 over each of our shoulders, the Veteran (who is 
 ilso known as " Ole Pap," because of his age 
 md fatherly ways) and I made for the rear with 
 iim. Although not a large man by any means, 
 the venerable comrade has an immense amount 
 jf energy, and displayed it on this occasion by 
 in impetuous rush over all the obstacles of un- 
 iergrowth and fallen timber, Bob's broken limb 
 iangling about with a " go-as-you-please " move- 
 nent, and wrapping itself around the small 
 )ushes, and your humble servant kept altogether 
 
236 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 too busy watching out for his feet to hang on to 
 his sombrero. " Hold on, Morris, and let me get 
 my hat ! " I sang out, as a branch caught and 
 captured that useful article. " A great time to 
 pick up a hat ! " he responded, without halting. 
 But he had to stop for breath at the plank road, 
 and there I found and appropriated a straw hat 
 which some other unfortunate had lost. Next 
 day, though, it was claimed by a wounded man, 
 and if Bob had not been generous I would have 
 been compelled to administer on the estate of a 
 deceased Yankee or go hatless. 
 
 The 7th was a day of comparative rest and 
 quiet; also the 8th, on the evening of which day 
 the brigade moved toward Spottsylvania Court 
 House and took position behind hastily erected 
 breastworks. On the evening of the 10th the 
 Yankees attacked, and, having given no notice 
 of their intentions, captured and held for a short 
 time a portion of the line, but were repulsed with 
 great slaughter. After the fighting ceased, which 
 was not until sundown, it became necessary to 
 establish a line of pickets in our front. Details 
 of two men were accordingly made from each 
 company, the Veteran Morris and Pokue going 
 from Company F, and the whole squad being 
 under command of Captain Mat Beasley. Pokue 
 is a magnificent specimen of the physical man 
 — six feet and four inches in height, weighing 
 nearly two hundred pounds — and noted at home 
 for courage in personal difficulties. Here in the 
 army and as a soldier he wins no laurels. While 
 he keeps in line as long as the advance is con- 
 
TEXAS IN THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 237 
 
 tinuous and artillery is not used against us, he 
 never fires a gun. If a shell or round shot hurtles 
 over or through the commands, he lets all holds 
 go and drops broadcast to Mother Earth. If 
 there is a halt, he is so fond of exercise that he 
 runs. 
 
 In short, Pokue is as much a noncombat- 
 ant as any member of Stokes's cavalry. That 
 is a notorious command which pretends to serve 
 the Federals, but dares not fire on Confederates, 
 except from the safety of inaccessible hilltops. 
 Once, when Forrest had surrounded Nashville 
 and was about to open fire on the Union troops 
 holding it, he sent a message to the mayor to 
 remove Stokes's cavalry and the women and 
 children, as he did not want to fire on noncom- 
 batants. 
 
 That part of the line at Spottsylvania oc- 
 cupied by the Texas Brigade ran along a high 
 ridge, and the dense undergrowth in its front 
 had been so cut down and trimmed as to give 
 a tolerably unobstructed view for a hundred and 
 fifty yards. Beyond this clearing forbiddingly 
 frowned a forest of heavy timber and small 
 growth, a dark and dangerous terra incognita, 
 somewhere in whose depths the enemy was pre- 
 sumed to be concealed. Deployed as skirmish- 
 ers, the pickets made all haste to the cover of 
 these woods, but, arrived there, prudence de- 
 manded the greatest caution. It was growing 
 quite dark, not even a guess could be made as to 
 the enemy's whereabouts, and an ambuscade was 
 a thing to be dreaded. Still, it was important to 
 
238 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 establish the picket line as near that of the Yan- 
 kees as possible, and slowly and silently the 
 Confederates threaded their way into the ob- 
 scurity. But someone was careless, and suffered 
 the trigger of his full-cocked gun to be caught 
 by a twig. A loud report broke the awe-inspir- 
 ing stillness, and a ball came whistling threaten- 
 ingly down the Confederate line. Coming from 
 the front, it would have been expected and re- 
 turned; coming from the flank, its meaning was 
 serious and demoralizing. " Flanked, boys, 
 flanked!" shouted a soldier of known bravery, 
 and every man, except Beasley and the Veteran, 
 who happened to be near each other, made a rush 
 to the open ground and the breastworks. 
 
 Beasley and the Veteran shouted, " Halt ! 
 halt ! " but there was none ; and, deciding it was 
 useless to stay there alone and run the risk of 
 capture, they, too, took to their heels, still shout- 
 ing " Halt ! " as they ran. Few men can beat 
 the Veteran in a foot race, and, as on this occa- 
 sion he put his whole soul in his legs, he gained 
 rapidly on his retreating comrades, and espe- 
 cially on Pokue, who, however willing and prac- 
 ticed in the art of retreat, is remarkably slow of 
 foot. Hearing the cry of " Halt ! " immediately 
 behind him, Pokue, in his agitated condition of 
 mind, imagined it came from a Yankee. Then, 
 just as he looked over his shoulder and caught a 
 glimpse of the Veteran, gun in hand, in swift 
 pursuit, his foot caught under a root and he tum- 
 bled headlong to the ground. Eolling quickly 
 over on his back and raising his hands in sup- 
 
TEXAS IN THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS 239 
 
 plication, he cried, " I surrender, Mr. Yankee ! 
 I surrender, sir ! " And such was the poor fel- 
 low's confusion and fright that not until the 
 light of a campfire shone upon his captor's smil- 
 ing face did he realize that he had surrendered 
 to one of his own company. 
 
XXIII 
 
 FUN IN THE TRENCHES 
 
 (Letter of July 6, 1864, Continued) 
 
 Just as I had finished the foregoing, I was 
 handed your letter of June 15, and had scarcely 
 read it, when a sergeant notified me that my 
 turn had come for a little practice at the enemy. 
 The hostile lines are so near each other that 
 picketing is impossible, and, in self-defense, one- 
 third of our command is on watch night and 
 day. Were powder and lead as abundant with us 
 as with the Yankees, we should, like them, keep 
 up a continuous fire during the day, for, while 
 practically useless it would give us employment. 
 Simply peeping over the breastworks, at the risk 
 of our lives, is not the most pleasant pastime 
 in the world. As a compromise between econ- 
 omy and consequent monotony on the one side, 
 and desire for sport on the other, we do shoot 
 some; but rarely except when there is a chance 
 to kill. All through the night firing is main- 
 tained from both sides — the Yankees shooting, 
 both to prevent an unexpected attack, and to 
 hide their mining operations; but we, mainly 
 to prevent sudden assault. 
 
 Your most amusing account of the fright 
 recently given to the gallant defenders of the 
 
 uo 
 
J. F. 1,0 WN 
 Private, Company H, Fourth Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 240 
 
FUN IN THE TRENCHES 241 
 
 Texas coast, reminds me of an anecdote told on 
 Eoddy's cavalry, a regiment said to be always 
 more ready to run than to fight. Whether there 
 be any truth in this imputation — that particular 
 command serving in the Western army — I sim- 
 ply tell the story as I heard it. It appears that 
 a railroad train passing through Alabama car- 
 ried a large number of soldiers. One at the front 
 end of a car rose to his feet, gun in hand, and 
 inquired in a loud voice if there was any mem- 
 ber of Roddy's regiment on board. No one an- 
 swering, he repeated the inquiry with a solici- 
 tude that demanded response, and immediately 
 a little fellow at the other end of the car arose, 
 and modestly acknowledged himself a member 
 of the regiment. " That's all right, then," said 
 the inquirer, with an air of great relief, as he 
 cocked his gun and poked the muzzle out the 
 window. " I just wanted to tell you not to be 
 scared, honey, for I ain't a bit mad; I'm only 
 gwine ter pop a cap." 
 
 But, honestly, Charming Nellie, when I think 
 of those poor Confederate soldiers quartered in 
 the stores and warehouses at Galveston, each 
 mess occupying a room to itself, and their offi- 
 cers boarding around in private families, my ten- 
 der heart fairly dissolves in its overflow of sym- 
 pathy. They have a rough time, even if the ra- 
 tions furnished them are supplemented by the 
 daily contributions of citizens, friends, and rela- 
 tives; and, because of the manly fortitude with 
 which they endure such grievous and dishearten- 
 ing hardships, deserve the plaudits of a grateful 
 
242 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE3 
 
 country. Should we fellows up here in Vir- 
 ginia and down in Georgia and Tennessee ever 
 succeed in winning Southern independence, they 
 may rely confidently upon me — always provided 
 I am not called upon to be a martyr — to do 
 all in my power to secure them their just deserts. 
 After pampering and petting them so long and 
 assiduously, it would be criminal in the Confed- 
 erate Government not to continue it. They are 
 not inured to danger and hardship as we are, 
 and should be placed in no position to incur 
 either. Ladies deserve consideration, too, for, 
 if the war continues much longer, there will be 
 an appalling scarcity of men physically capable 
 of bearing their ends of the marriage yoke. 
 
 A queer character is Jordan, of Company I, 
 a fast friend of Pokue. He is not a coward by 
 any means, but he is utterly and indescribably 
 lazy. Since the incident of Pokue's capture, both 
 Pokue and Jordan have been objects of intense 
 interest and solicitude to the whole brigade, and 
 scarcely a day has passed that they have not 
 received proof of it. To relieve in some measure 
 the dull monotony of life in the trenches, it has 
 become a custom to call upon them daily for 
 an exhibition of their prowess and marksman- 
 ship. Men are only children grown up, you 
 know, and must have amusement. Suddenly 
 the cry arises, " Jordan ! Jordan ! Pokue ! 
 Pokue ! Jordan and Pokue ! " and, although it 
 starts from one or two, it is taken up by others, 
 until it becomes a volume of sound and an im- 
 perative demand upon the parties named. Car- 
 
FUN IN THE TRENCHES 243 
 
 ing nothing for ridicule, and remarkably good- 
 natured, Jordan sits still and irresponsive. No 
 amount of talking will persuade him to his feet, 
 but, when on them, with a cocked gun laid across 
 the breastworks in easy reach, he always finds 
 the energy to take deliberate aim and pull the 
 trigger; and then, woe betide the bluecoat at 
 whom he shoots ! His aim is unerring. 
 
 Pokue, however, needs no urging, for he is too 
 proud when out of danger to willingly betray 
 his cowardice. Waiting until Jordan has per- 
 formed his part of the programme and laugh- 
 ing as heartily as anyone at him, Pokue, with a 
 great show of alacrity and desire to please, lays 
 his gun across the breastworks at an angle that 
 will carry the ball high over the heads of the 
 Yankee in the neighboring works ; and, let alone, 
 he shoots at that angle. Our friends across the 
 way are ever on the alert, and send a compliment 
 in the shape of a Minie ball at every head that ex- 
 poses itself above the safety-line. Pokue is never 
 let alone, but receives cautions and advice from 
 all sides. " Lower the muzzle of your gun, 
 Pokue," one will say ; " for you will hit nothing 
 but a quartermaster or commissary that way, 
 and they ain't worth killing." " Take good aim, 
 old fellow," another cries ; " ammunition is 
 mighty scarce in these here Confederate States." 
 " But don't wait to see if you get your man," 
 chimes in a third ; " it's dangerous." And, anx- 
 ious to demonstrate his profound appreciation 
 of these and a hundred or more similar remarks, 
 Pokue hugs his gun to his shoulder, and bobs 
 
244 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 his head and the muzzle of the weapon alter- 
 nately up and down, lite the ends of a seesaw, 
 until, in a sudden access of courage or despera- 
 tion, rising high enough to catch a glimpse of 
 the top of the enemy's breastworks, he pulls the 
 trigger and sinks back, exhausted, pale, and per- 
 spiring, into the arms of his friends, ready to 
 receive their laughing congratulations. 
 
 It is not likely you have any definite idea of 
 the trenches. Imagine a ditch eight feet wide 
 and three or four deep, the dirt from which is 
 thrown on the side next to the enemy and forms 
 an embankment just high enough for a man to 
 stand erect and look over. This embankment is 
 the breastworks which protects us from the shots 
 of the Yankees. The ditch extends for miles 
 to the right and left, or, at any rate, as far as 
 there is a necessity for protection. Leading 
 back from the main ditch at acute or obtuse 
 angles, according to the nature of the ground 
 and situation of the enemy's works, and with the 
 dirt likewise thrown on the side next to the 
 enemy, are smaller ditches, called traverses, in 
 which the soldiers sleep and do their cooking, 
 washing, starching, and ironing. Here at Pe- 
 tersburg we found the lines of defense already 
 prepared for occupancy, but until we reached 
 those about Richmond we had to do our own dig- 
 ging; sometimes, too, in an emergency so great 
 that resort was had to bayonets and tin cups, 
 in the absence of spades, shovels, and picks. 
 
 Often there was neither time nor inclina- 
 tion to construct traverses, and then men 
 
FUN IN THE TRENCHES 245 
 
 who objected to sleeping in the main trench, to 
 be run over and annoyed by wanderers, dug 
 square, shallow holes in the ground just back 
 of the main line. At Cold Harbor our brigade 
 worked all night with only bayonets, cups, two 
 or three picks, and as many shovels to throw 
 up a breastwork, and next day several of us 
 excavated sleeping-places in the rear. When 
 night came on, in a cloud of almost palpable 
 darkness, I groped my way out to mine, and 
 in a little while was fast asleep— if one can be 
 that while dreaming. Whether the fancies which 
 flitted through my passive mind were grave or 
 gay, tender or savage, of home or of war, has es- 
 caped my memory ; but I do know that " a 
 change came o'er the spirit of my dream " with 
 alarming suddenness when a belated straggler 
 going up the line landed one of his huge feet 
 fairly and squarely on the side of my head. My 
 first thought was that it was one of the immense 
 hundred-pound shells which the Yankee gun- 
 boats occasionally shoot at us, and, expecting 
 an instant explosion, and strangely unwilling 
 to be buried in a grave of my own digging, I 
 sprang to my feet with a celerity not at all usual 
 with me. Then, discovering the truth, I gave 
 a loud and appropriate expression to my 
 wounded feelings in language not fitting, I am 
 sorry to say, to be repeated to a lady. But, 
 seemingly conscious he had offended beyond 
 hope of forgiveness, my assailant waited not to 
 apologize. On the contrary, he went stumbling 
 on up the long line of sleeping soldiers; and, 
 
246 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 judging from the innumerable cuss words that 
 for the next ten minutes broke the silence of 
 the night, and even attracted the attention of 
 our Yankee friends across the way, must have 
 made stepping-stones of the heads and bodies of 
 every man along his tortuous route. The print 
 of a nail that was in the heel of the shoe which 
 dropped down upon me shows yet on my left ear. 
 
 Bill Calhoun always finds some compensation 
 for an injury inflicted upon him by the Yankees 
 in a joke on a Confederate. Some weeks ago a 
 bullet buried itself in the fleshy part of his thigh, 
 and, after gouging it out with his fingers, he 
 limped back to the rear. There encountering 
 a surgeon new in the business of attending to 
 gunshot wounds — ^in fact, a gentleman whose 
 practice at home had ceased to be lucrative 
 enough to support him, and who had recently 
 decided to take pay from the Confederate Gov- 
 ernment for the exercise of his limited abilities 
 — Bill thought it prudent to have the wound ex- 
 amined. The surgeon probed here and cut a 
 little there, until patience, fortitude, and silence 
 ceased to be virtues. 
 
 " What the are you carving me up so for, 
 
 doctor? " inquired the victim. 
 
 " I am searching for the ball," explained the 
 doctor. 
 
 " Searching for the ball? " exclaimed Bill 
 with inimitably sarcastic inflection of voice, as, 
 diving with one hand into a pocket, he produced 
 a battered piece of lead and held it out. " Here 
 it is, if that's all you want." 
 
FUN IN THE TRENCHES 247 
 
 Proud of being a Texan, I rejoice exceedingly 
 that I am " to the manner born," a native Texan. 
 Being that, I am foolish enough to arrogate to 
 myself an extra modicum of consequence when 
 I remember that the impress of a star was first 
 used as the seal of an independent nation at 
 the house of my father in Brazoria County. 
 Governor Henry Smith — a near neighbor, by the 
 way — ^happened to be there on the day he signed 
 the first official document which required such 
 an authentication. Whether it was at his own 
 or the suggestion of another person, I know not, 
 but it is a fact that he detached from his coat 
 a button on which was stamped in relief a five- 
 pointed star, and with it and old-fashioned seal- 
 ing-wax furnished the design for the seal, first 
 of the Eepublic and then of the State of Texas. 
 
 Yet, proud as I am of these mere accidents, I 
 am more proud of being a member of a brigade 
 which, inspired by the memory of the Alamo 
 and San Jacinto, has added luster to the " lone 
 star " on many a hard-fought field of battle, but 
 never displayed greater soldierly qualities than 
 at Bermuda Hundred on the 17th of last month. 
 Occupying an old and abandoned line of works 
 in a hollow, the privates of the brigade discov- 
 ered that by an immediate attack they could 
 recover from the Yankees a portion of the line 
 from which, that morning, the Confederates had 
 been driven ; and, waiting not for orders, sprang 
 forward with one simultaneous impulse and ac- 
 complished the undertaking. " Now's our time, 
 boys," shouted a private, so unconsciously and 
 
248 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 involuntarily that not a soul remembers who it 
 was, and then away the boys went. Halfway 
 between the two lines Colonel Winkler did man- 
 age to overtake them and cry " Forward ! " but 
 it was a useless expenditure of breath; every 
 man of the brigade was already running forward 
 at the top of his speed. Beaching the works, it 
 was discovered that the Yankees had leveled 
 them almost to the ground, and that to be ten- 
 able they must be reconstructed. Scarcely two 
 hundred yards beyond frowned a Federal fort, 
 and the gaping mouths of twenty or more huge 
 cannon, and from sundown until twilight deep- 
 ened into, the blackest of darkness, round shot, 
 grape, canister, and shells rained upon us so 
 fast and furiously that " we wished we hadn't." 
 And when the terrible and demoralizing fire 
 ceased, and orders came for us, the gallant cap- 
 tors, to do the reconstructing, the wail of regret 
 for our hastiness would have melted even the 
 war-calloused hearts of your gallant coast-guard 
 friends, Tom and Johnnie, could they have 
 heard it; for the order meant not only the most 
 laborious toil, but working in the dark — the 
 Yankees would not suffer lights used. There 
 was no escape, and, putting our whole souls 
 into the business, we finished the job by day- 
 light. Then, just as we began to feel good over 
 the day's rest certainly in store for us, the order 
 came to march, and that day, the 18th, we came 
 to Petersburg, the sleepiest and weariest set 
 of " Cornfed " mortals imaginable. 
 
XXIV 
 
 TBXANS IN VIEGINIA 
 
 Phillips House, Va., September 27, 1864. 
 Just now we are on the north side of the 
 James, about eight miles below Eichmond, tak- 
 ing onr ease something in the manner of the old 
 planter's darkies down in Alabama. When they 
 came from the field to dinner, he was accus- 
 tomed to say to them, " Now, boys, while you 
 are resting, suppose you hoe the garden." Thus 
 General Lee said to us when we reached this 
 place, " Now, gentlemen, while you are resting 
 at the Phillips House, suppose you watch Beast 
 Butler's negroes." At any rate, that is what we 
 are doing, and not grumbling at the task, either 
 — the darkies, so far, appearing devoid of bel- 
 ligerent propensities, and picket duty, conse- 
 quently, being very light. It breaks in somewhat 
 upon our otium cum dignitate and dolce far 
 niente, but it would not only be unmilitary and 
 insubordination to refuse, but dangerous in the 
 double sense of exposing us to a court-martial 
 and to being suddenly and unexpectedly gobbled 
 up by Mr. Butler and his Ethiopian cohorts. 
 We have well earned the small privileges 
 granted, for from May 1- of this year until ar- 
 rival here the brigade has been constantly on 
 
 Si9 
 
250 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 duty — marching, fighting, and, what is Infinitely 
 worse, lying in the trenches under a broiling sun, 
 and starving. 
 
 In some of the days to come, when peace has 
 spread her white wings over the land and I have 
 pacified the craving of my inner man with a 
 "God's lavishment" of good and wholesome 
 food, I may be able to find pleasure in the rec- 
 ollection of the hunger experienced at Peters- 
 burg. Not that rations enough were not issued 
 to keep body and soul together and maintain 
 strength at a maximum, but the quantity was so 
 distressingly disproportioned to the appetites 
 and capacities of the recipients. As three days' 
 rations for fifteen men the commissary-sergeant 
 of the company usually drew seven pounds of 
 rancid bacon. You would have been amused to 
 see him distribute it. Impossible to do it fairly 
 by weighing on scales — which marked only 
 pounds and fractions of pounds, and not 
 ounces and pennyweights — ^he would cut it up 
 into as nearly equal shares as possible, and then, 
 requesting a comrade to turn his head, call upon 
 him to say who should get this or that pile. I 
 said it would have amused you, but I retract the 
 assertion. We are used to such tragedies, and 
 can laugh and joke over them; but you, a ten- 
 der-hearted woman, would have cried, for you 
 would have seen behind the laugh and the joke, 
 and detected the almost ravenous hunger of the 
 gaunt and ragged men, who, like dogs for a 
 bone, waited and watched so earnestly for their 
 portions. The sole relief was in imagination, 
 
TBXANS IN VIRGINIA 251 
 
 half a dozen of us getting together and describ- 
 ing the dinner we should like to have. 
 
 The morning we left the trenches at Peters- 
 burg I got a twenty-dollar gold piece from my 
 good old mother in far-away Texas. Three of 
 us — Brahan, Wiseman, and I — determined to 
 have a feast, and had it in the shape of apple 
 dumplings and a sauce made of sugar and but- 
 ter, buying the ingredients in Petersburg at a 
 cost, all told, of eighty-seven dollars (Confed- 
 erate). And we had Colonel Bane to dine with 
 us, too, for nowadays regimental officers of the 
 highest rank are on the same footing as privates 
 with respect to rations ; and the Colonel was not 
 only as nearly famished as either of us, but 
 also out of money. My gold I sold for four hun- 
 dred dollars in Confederate money, and now it 
 is all in the hands of the hucksters. As long as 
 it lasted I bought everything I could find that 
 was eatable and for sale. Now, since it is gone. 
 I manage to live on the rations issued by the 
 commissary. I ought not to have spent it so 
 lavishly, you think.? Why, Charming Nellie, 
 what lease had I on life? To be a little Irish, 
 I should feel like a fool were I killed with money 
 in my pocket; shroud, coffin, and funeral cost 
 nothing up here in Virginia; one's friends, 
 should they find you and have time, will always 
 bury you in a shallow grave ; and, if they don't, 
 perhaps the enemy will. No, no, the only sure 
 way for a soldier in Lee's army — one of " Lee's 
 miserables " — to get the full worth of his money 
 is to spend it for grub and eat what he buys in 
 
252 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 a hurry. Diogenes made light of his rags as 
 long as people kept out of his sunshine, but he 
 found no comfort in philosophy for an empty 
 stomach, and neither can I. 
 
 Delighted as we were to escape the breast- 
 works at Petersburg, we came near " jumping 
 from the frying-pan into the fire," for the very 
 next morning after the dumpling banquet the 
 brigade was ordered around to the left of our 
 line to support Hoke's division in an assault 
 upon a Yankee fort. Most fortunately, there 
 was a change of plan, and we had only a ter- 
 rific shelling to endure for an hour or more. 
 During this General Beauregard, and one of his 
 staff whose spick and span, brand-new uniform 
 shone resplendent with gold braid, sat down in 
 a shallow ravine very near a pine tree, the safe 
 side of which I was hugging. "A fellow feel- 
 ing " — especially of fear — " makes one wondrous 
 kind," and notwithstanding his rank and finery, 
 the aide kindly lent his cigar to light the pipe 
 of a ragged Texan who sat near him. Embold- 
 ened by this act of condescension, the Texan 
 asked what command would support us when 
 we moved forward. This was a step too far, 
 and with freezing hauteur the officer replied, 
 " That's the business of your commander, sir ; 
 not yours," and turned to the General as if for 
 commendation. And he got it, but as the boys 
 say, " over the left"; for, casting a stern glance 
 at him and saying, " That is not the way to 
 answer veteran soldiers, Captain; they have 
 a right to know the truth on an occasion like 
 
TEXANS IN VIRGINIA 253 
 
 this," General Beauregard courteously gave the 
 desired information, and then entered affably 
 into conversation with the inquirer. Two hours 
 afterward we boarded the cars, and by sundown 
 were camped in the pine woods five miles north 
 of Kichmond. Between daylight and sunrise 
 next morning we heard the loud explosion at 
 Petersburg which announced that the Yankees 
 had at last sprung their much-talked-of mine. 
 Supposing it was dug beneath the part of the 
 line so recently vacated by us, expressions of 
 mutual congratulations were frequent and ear- 
 nest. Bill Calhoun voiced the sentiment of all 
 
 when he said, " Well, fellers, it's a d d sight 
 
 more comfortabler to be standing here on good 
 old Virginia terror firmer than to be dangling, 
 heels up and head down, over that cussed mine, 
 not knowing whether you'd strike soft or hard 
 ground." We expected for a time to be recalled 
 to Petersburg, but in the evening learned that 
 the projects built upon the mine had resulted in 
 a grand and ridiculous fiasco and that the Yan- 
 kee loss had been far in excess of ours. 
 
 My admiration for General Wade Hampton 
 was always large, and became immense when, 
 taking the place of Stuart, he adopted the tac- 
 tics of General Forrest and transformed the 
 Virginia cavalry into mounted infantry. The 
 two legs of a man are difficult enough to manage 
 on the battlefield, but when they are supple- 
 mented by the four of a horse, the six have a 
 singular tendency to stray absolutely beyond 
 control. Liking, however, changed to dislike 
 
254 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 when, one of the warmest days of August, he 
 persuaded us to hold the bag while he drove a 
 brigade of Yankee cavalry into its open mouth. 
 The trouble was the Yankees were too wary to 
 fall into the trap, and in our efforts to induce 
 them to do so the location of the bag had to 
 be changed so often that our infantry lost more 
 men by sunstroke than Hampton's cavalry did 
 by fighting. Still, just before sundown, we not 
 only got within range of the Federal rear-guard, 
 but cornered them as well, and killed and 
 wounded a few, captured quite a number, and 
 drove the balance into the Chickahominy 
 Swamp; and of those who unwisely sought that 
 miry refuge we captured a dozen or more, pull- 
 ing them and several splendid horses out of bog- 
 holes into which they had sunk until only their 
 heads were visible. 
 
 On the evening of August 18 the brigade was 
 at New Market Heights, occupying a line of 
 breastworks from which it could look down with 
 lofty contempt, scorn, and defiance upon the 
 enemy in the open valley below. To prevent the 
 force in our immediate front from dispatching 
 reinforcements to their troops on the left, then 
 being pressed by Hampton's cavalry, several 
 Confederate batteries were brought forward, and 
 began a vigorous shelling. Two guns were 
 placed within fifty feet of where I sat with my 
 back against the breastworks, writing in my 
 journal. Well accustomed to such small dem- 
 onstrations, and securely protected from danger, 
 I felt neither curiosity nor fear. But Lieutenant 
 
TEXANS IN VIRGINIA 255 
 
 Eli Park and Pat Penn, of Company F, having 
 nothing else to occupy their minds, stood up and 
 peeped over the works to watch the effect of the 
 shells, Pat almost touching me, and Park just 
 beyond him. The firing continued perhaps ten 
 minutes, when Pat stepped back, ejaculating, 
 " Oh, pshaw ! " in such a peculiar tone as to at- 
 tract my attention. Looking up, I saw that 
 Park's head had dropped forward and rested 
 on the top of the embankment, some sharp- 
 shooter away off on our right having sent a ball 
 through it. It was a sad and most unexpected 
 ending of a vigorous and promising young life. 
 He had applied for a transfer to Texas, in order 
 to be near his widowed mother, and not half an 
 hour before the fatal shot, spoke of his applica- 
 tion and expressed a wish that it might come 
 back, approved, before the detail for picket duty 
 was made, for he knew he would be the officer 
 detailed. Although he made but the one appli- 
 cation, two transfers came " approved " before 
 the sun set — one from an earthly commander to 
 Texas, the other from his God to another world 
 — the last, alas! first. 
 
 Dr. Jones, the surgeon of the Fourth, is from 
 west Texas. When first appointed assistant sur- 
 geon of the regiment the boys said it was a 
 shame — he was entirely too young either to pre- 
 scribe for the sick, or carve and saw on the 
 wounded; and, besides, he neither looked nor 
 acted like a doctor. At Eltham's Landing the 
 objectors were altogether too excited to notice 
 where he was; at Seven Pines they didn't get 
 
256 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 enough in danger to care where he was; but at 
 Gaines' Mill, our first baptism of fire, when it 
 was discovered that he followed close behind the 
 line into the very thick of the battle, and, reck- 
 less of his own peril, remained suflaciently cool 
 and collected to bind up a wound, stanch the 
 flow of blood, and to do the right thing at the 
 very moment it was most needed, the sentiment 
 changed, and to-day Dr. J. 0. Jones is the 
 standby and dependence of both the sick and 
 wounded of the Fourth. Asked once why he did 
 not stay farther in the rear, he answered, " Be- 
 cause it is the duty of a regimental surgeon to 
 go where he can do the most good. Many a brave 
 man has died from loss of blood, which by a 
 minute's work at the critical time a surgeon 
 could have arrested." 
 
 The Fourth Texas was the happy recipient 
 the other day of a box of clothing sent by the 
 ladies of middle Georgia, the section of the State 
 from which came the Eighteenth Infantry. An 
 open-air meeting of the regiment was immedi- 
 ately called, Colonel Winkler elected to the 
 chair, and a committee of five, of whom I was 
 proud to be " one of which," appointed to draft 
 resolutions expressive of our gratitude. The 
 committee repaired to the spring, and its mem- 
 bers, stretching themselves at full length around 
 upon the green grass, proceeded to discuss the 
 work before them. Scarcely, however, was a 
 general outline of it agreed upon, when Jim 
 Cossgrove and Bill Burges drifted ofE into an 
 argument concerning the battle of Waterloo; 
 
THXANS IN VIRGINIA 257 
 
 and, as Burrel Aycock and Lieutenant Grizzle 
 at once became deeply interested in the dispute, 
 the manufacture of the resolutions devolved 
 wholly upon your humble servant, who " gave 
 his whole mind to it " as completely as did the 
 dandy to the tying of his cravat. He fell short, 
 I fear, of literary excellence, yet contrived to 
 frame half a dozen resolutions that were warmly 
 applauded and accepted without amendment. 
 Then my friend Grizzle sidled up to me and in 
 a confidential way asked me to write some spe- 
 cial resolutions for him to one of the ladies, as 
 he was engaged to her, and she had sent him a 
 lot of nice things in addition. 
 
XXV 
 
 hot skiemishing — wounded 
 
 Howard Grove Hospital, Eiohmond, Va., 
 
 November 10, 1864. 
 When I was devoting my whole mind and 
 more spare time than I knew what to do with 
 to the composition of my letter to you from the 
 Phillips House, down below Richmond, it never 
 once occurred to me that just nine days later 
 I would fight my last battle for the Confeder- 
 acy. It has so happened, though, for unless per- 
 suaded by the song, " If you want a good thing, 
 jine the cavalry, jine the cavalry," into tender- 
 ing my services to that branch of the service, 
 my career as a soldier is ended. Through " our 
 mutual friend," to whom I wrote as soon after 
 I got here as I was able to hold a pen, you have 
 doubtless learned that I am a cripple for life, 
 having lost my right foot in an engagement with 
 the enemy on the 7th of October. Whether or 
 not I should regard the loss as in the least de- 
 gree a misfortune, depends entirely on the way 
 one looks at it. My enjoyment of the only fur- 
 lough I have had since I left Texas was marred 
 by the thought that I must soon return to the 
 front and offer myself as food for powder, but 
 I could not help remaining a combatant. Now, 
 
HOT SKIRMISH— WOUNDED 259 
 
 however, being Tiors de cornbat as far as service 
 in the infantry is concerned, I am inclined to be 
 a noncombatant in the largest sense of the word. 
 While the cause of the South is inexpressibly 
 dear to me — more so than ever, since I have 
 made this sacrifice for it — my whole being yearns 
 for the safety, the rest, and the happiness which 
 misfortune and love promise me — the latter held 
 out to me in a letter I read half a dozen times 
 a day to convince me it is a reality and not a 
 dream. It is human nature, I reckon, and I 
 do not think I need be ashamed of it. That I 
 do not deserve any very great amount of hap- 
 piness, I am only too well aware, but now that 
 it seems to be coming my way, why should I 
 refuse to accept it.? 
 
 That letter from the Phillips House was dated 
 the 27th of September and finished the 28th. I 
 remember the dates distinctly, for, while writ- 
 ing on the 28th, the Veteran came in from the 
 picket line and intimated a suspicion that some 
 movement was on foot among the Yankees. Be- 
 ing an optimist, and knowing him to be fond 
 of looking on the gloomy side of everything, I 
 laughed scornfully at the idea. Next morning, 
 however, when he came with a triumphant " I 
 told you so!" I acknowledged him a true 
 prophet. Hostilities had begun on the picket 
 line at three o'clock, and at daylight the Texas 
 Brigade, in position behind half-dismantled 
 works running across the valley of a little creek, 
 was busily engaged in slaughtering negroes for 
 breakfast. All that could be seen through the 
 
260 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 dense fog enveloping us was what appeared to 
 be a moving black wall a hundred feet away; 
 yet in five minutes' time the four regiments of 
 the brigade killed one hundred and ninety-four 
 non-commissioned ofl&cers and privates, and 
 twenty-three commissioned officers. Those are 
 the figures given by the New York Herald of the 
 next day, which is very creditable work, I think, 
 for a brigade numbering scarcely six hundred, 
 all told. Besides, quite a number of the darkies 
 who " played possum " to escape our fire sur- 
 rendered after the retreat of their comrades. 
 Given the choice of going to the Libby or saying 
 "master" to their respective captors, most of 
 the poor devils chose the latter alternative, and 
 while I remained with the regiment I had a 
 likely young negro always at my beck and call. 
 We had barely recovered our breath after this 
 little flurry, when an order came to double- 
 quick to the right if we would save Fort Harri- 
 son from capture, and ourselves from being cut 
 off from Richmond. Simply to rescue the fort 
 we would not likely have made much of an effort, 
 but to be cut off from the Confederate capital 
 was to be forced to surrender or " die in the 
 last ditch," and Texas pride and manhood re- 
 volted at either alternative. So, girding up our 
 loins, we set out for the fort, which was a mile 
 and a half away, at as lively a gait as appre- 
 hension, legs, and patriotism could carry us. 
 Luck was against us; the Yanks got there first, 
 and all we could do was to move around its 
 rear and take position behind a line of works 
 
HOT SKIRMISH— WOUNDED 261 
 
 half a mile nearer Eichmond, and, defended only 
 by a battery of heavy artillery in Fort Gilmore. 
 Here, by dint of racing up and down the trenches 
 to meet the partial and desultory attacks of the 
 enemy, we managed, unaided, to hold the enemy 
 in check until the middle of the afternoon 
 brought us reinforcements from the south side, 
 and put a quietus to General Ord's " On to 
 Eichmond ! " Had he moved forward early in 
 the morning with his whole force, the city must 
 inevitably have been lost. The Yankee papers 
 admit he had a force of forty thousand under 
 his command; and, until reinforcements came, 
 the Texas Brigade, Benning's brigade, half a 
 regiment of cavalry, and the artillerists in Fort 
 Gilmore — not exceeding two thousand in all — 
 were the only Confederate troops which stood in 
 his way. 
 
 A brigade of negroes, supported — or, rather, 
 urged forward — ^by white troops, made an as- 
 sault on Fort Gilmore, but the artillerists there 
 were game, and, by the help of half a hundred 
 Georgia and Texas infantry, easily repelled 
 the attack. Death in their rear as surely as in 
 their front (the prisoners taken declaring that 
 they would have been fired upon by their sup- 
 ports had they refused to advance), the poor 
 darkies came oH, for a while, with a steadiness 
 which betokened disaster to the Confederates. 
 But suddenly the line began to waver and twist, 
 and then there was a positive halt by all, except 
 perhaps a hundred, who rushed forward and, 
 miraculously escaping death, tumbled headlong 
 
262 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 and pell-mell into the wide and deep ditch sur- 
 rounding the fort. 
 
 " Surrender, you black scoundrels ! " shouted 
 the commander of the fort. 
 
 " S'rendah yo'seff, sah ! " came the reply in a 
 stentorian voice. " Jess wait'll we uns git in 
 dah, eff you wanter." Then they began lifting 
 each other up to the top of the parapet, but no 
 sooner did a head appear than its owner was 
 killed by a shot from the rifles of the infantry. 
 
 " Less liff Cawpul Dick up," one of them 
 suggested ; " he'll git in dah suah " ; and the cor- 
 poral was accordingly hoisted, only to fall back 
 lifeless with a bullet through his head. 
 
 " Daw now ! " loudly exclaimed another of his 
 companions ; " Cawpul Dick done dead ! What 
 I done bin tole yer? " 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding the loss of Corporal 
 Dick, it was not until the inmates of the fort 
 threw lighted shells over into the ditch that the 
 darkies came to terms and crawled, one after 
 another, through an opening at the end of the 
 ditch, into the fort. » * * 
 
 Alford is a good soldier, but is a trifle weak- 
 minded. Tried in Texas once for the abduction 
 of a slave, riding behind whom on the same 
 horse he was caught within ten miles of the Eio 
 Grande, the lawyer defending him found little 
 difficulty in convincing the jury that the negro 
 was the abductor, Alford the abducted. A loyal 
 friend and messmate of Ed Crockett, who was 
 on picket the night of the 28th, Alford deemed 
 it his bounden duty to bring from the Phillips 
 
HOT SKIRMISH— WOUNDED 263 
 
 House a quart cup half full of beans intended 
 for his friend's breakfast. Not once during all 
 the danger and excitement of the day did he 
 release his hold on the cup, for to set it down 
 and turn his head away for a half minute was 
 to risk its confiscation. Cooked beans are as 
 much contraband of war to a hungry Confeder- 
 ate, as the negro to the Yankees. As a necessary 
 consequence, Alford for the first time shirked 
 duty, and until noon remained a non-combatant. 
 Then a large body of the enemy advanced, and 
 we began firing at them. Noticing that Alford 
 hung back in the rear, doing nothing. Lieutenant 
 Brahan ordered him to take his place in the 
 ranks. Too good a soldier to disobey this posi- 
 tive command, Alford stepped forward, set the 
 cup on top of the breastworks within six inches 
 of his face, and cocked his gun and leveled it at 
 the enemy. But alas! before he could take aim 
 and pull the trigger there was an ominous clat- 
 ter. A ball had struck the side of the cup, over- 
 turned it, and splashed its savory contents over 
 its owner's bearded face. It was the straw too 
 much for the poor fellow's fortitude. Uncock- 
 ing his gun and stepping back to the middle of 
 the trench, the beans dripping from his huge 
 beard in a saffron-red stream, he looked reproach- 
 fully at Brahan, pointed impressively at the un- 
 fortunate quart cup, and in a voice faltering 
 with genuine emotion exclaimed, " There now, 
 Lieutenant! just see what you have gone and 
 
 done, sir! Crockett's beans is all gone to , 
 
 an' he'll swar I eat 'em up." 
 
264 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Pat Penn, whom I mentioned in relating the 
 manner of Lieutenant Park's death at New 
 Market Heights, was one of the noblest and 
 most gallant soldiers of the regiment. If he 
 had faults, they were contempt of danger and 
 recklessness in exposing himself to it. When 
 other men stooped their heads he held his erect, 
 and laughed at the suggestion that he might be 
 killed. Being detailed for picket duty on the 
 night of the 29th, his messmate said to him, 
 " Come along, old fellow, and help us." 
 
 Pat shook his head in refusal. 
 
 " Oh, come along ! " urged the other, " and 
 don't be so lazy. We'll have a heap of fun driv- 
 ing the Yankees back." 
 
 " Well, I believe I'll go then," said Pat, rising 
 to his feet; and, going, he went to his death. 
 While half bent over a stump, incautiously peer- 
 ing into the gathering darkness to locate the 
 position of a fellow who appeared to have a 
 special spite against him, a bullet struck him 
 in the top of the shoulder; and, although he 
 walked back to the field hospital laughing, next 
 day he was a corpse. 
 
 The newspapers mentioned the affair of Oc- 
 tober 7 on the Darbytown road, and history will 
 likely call it a reconnaissance in force; but to 
 me and fifty or a hundred others of the Texas 
 Brigade who lost their lives or were wounded, 
 it was a desperate assault by a small force upon 
 well-manned earthworks, approachable only 
 through open ground, and protected by a 
 chevaux-de-frise made of felled timber. Hoke's 
 
HOT SKIRMISH— WOUNDED 265 
 
 division was to have supported us by engaging 
 the enemy on our right, but they made such a 
 poor job of it that the Yankees had abundant 
 leisure and opportunity to concentrate their 
 strength against us. The fire from the works 
 was terrific, and in climbing under, over, and 
 around the tree-tops our folks lost their align- 
 ment and scattered. A bullet struck my gun, 
 and, glancing, passed between the thumb and 
 forefinger of my left hand, barely touching the 
 skin, but, nevertheless, burning it; another bored 
 a hole in the lapel of my jacket. Catching sight 
 of the Fifth Texas fiag to my left and fifty yards 
 or so ahead of me, and taking it for that of the 
 Fourth, I made for it with all possible dispatch. 
 But before I reached it its bearer cast a look 
 behind him, and, finding himself alone in the 
 solitude of his own impetuosity and bravery, 
 prudently sought protection from the storm of 
 lead behind a tree scarcely as large around as 
 his body, and within sixty yards of the breast- 
 works. First one and then another of the 
 Fourth and Fifth dropped in behind him, until 
 seven or eight of us were strung out in single file, 
 your humble servant, as last comer, standing at 
 the tail-end. Discovering that I gained no bene- 
 fit from the tree, that our little squad could not 
 hope to capture the breastworks without aid, 
 and that our comrades in the rear seemed loath 
 to reinforce us, I hurriedly stated the last two 
 conclusions to my companions, who, without a 
 dissenting voice, sensibly agreed that an instant 
 and hasty retreat must be made. In this move^ 
 
266 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 ment my place at the tail-end of the file gave' 
 me the start of the others, but I had not gone 
 thirty feet when a bullet struck me in the foot, 
 which at that critical moment was poised high 
 in the air, and I dropped to the ground with a 
 thud which I thought resounded high above the 
 roar of battle. 
 
 " 'Twas ever thus since childhood's hour 
 I've seen my fondest hopes decay." 
 
 If either wounded or killed, I always wanted 
 it to be in a big battle. Wounded there, I could 
 boast of it in this world; killed there, the fact 
 might give me a standing in the other, superior 
 to that which I can now hope will be accorded 
 me. 
 
 " Help me out, Jack ! " I shouted, as Jack 
 Sutherland, the adjutant of the regiment, was 
 about to pass me in his stampede to the rear. 
 Not abating his speed in the least, he pointed 
 expressively to a bleeding shoulder. 
 
 " Help me out. Ford ! " I shouted to that val- 
 iant member of Company B. Never hearing the 
 plaintive cry, he plunged into a tree-top, whence 
 he emerged half a minute later minus the tail of 
 his long, light-colored coat. 
 
 Thus abandoned, I did some rapid thinking. 
 If I lay there I was sure to be shot again, for 
 the enemy's bullets were striking the ground 
 on both sides of me with dangerous viciousness. 
 If I rose to my feet, the risk would be increased. 
 While many balls struck the ground close to me, 
 the air above was resonant with the music they 
 
HOT SKIRMISH— WOUNDED 267 
 
 made. That was the dilemma between the horns 
 of which I wavered, for say, half a minute; 
 and then, patriotically resolving either to die for 
 my country or live for it, — but infinitely pre- 
 ferring the latter alternative, — I sprang to my 
 feet, and, my heart in my mouth and every ounce 
 of my energy in my legs, ran for the regiment, 
 a hundred yards away. Much to my surprise, 
 the wounded foot made no protest until I got 
 within twenty feet of Colonel Winkler. , He im- 
 mediately ordered a litter brought forward, and 
 in less than five minutes I was being carried 
 to the ambulances upon the broad and high 
 shoulders of Wallingford, Aus Jones, and Jim 
 Cosgrove, and the equally broad, but one foot 
 lower, shoulders of my friend the Veteran — 
 three corners of the litter high in the air, and 
 the other so low that I had to cling with a death- 
 grip to its side-bars in order to avoid being 
 spilled out. I was never so scared in all my life 
 as on that little jaunt. Six feet above the 
 ground, lying with my head to the enemy, and 
 the bullets still whistling vengefully around me, 
 I begged imploringly to be laid on the ground 
 until the firing ceased. While I knew no guns 
 were being aimed at us, every shot at the brigade 
 endangered our lives. But the Veteran would 
 hear to no such foolishness, and you may well 
 believe I drew a sigh of relief when at last we 
 got behind the walls of a fort, where the am- 
 bulances were. 
 
 When a fellow is helpless kindly acts touch 
 him deeply. I shall never forget or falter in 
 
268 SOLDIER'S LETTERS Tp CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 my sincere gratitude to the comrades who be- 
 friended me that day. Wallingford, Jones, Cos- 
 grove, and the Veteran; Buchanan, the am- 
 bulance driver, who, in carrying me to the field 
 hospital and then to Howard Grove Hospital, in 
 Richmond, was so solicitous for my comfort; 
 Will Burgess, of Company D, who made me a 
 pallet at the ordnance wagons and walked a 
 mile for morphine to allay my pain; Dr. Jones, 
 who humored my wish to take chloroform before 
 the wound was probed, and amputated the foot 
 so skillfully that I have had little suffering to 
 endure; and last, but not least, Charley Warner 
 and his fellows of the band, who, after the opera- 
 tion, carried me to their tent, placed me on a 
 pile of blankets, and, after I awoke from the 
 sleep into which I instantly fell, gave me a 
 cup of pure, delicious, invigorating coffee — each 
 and every one of them will be gratefully remem- 
 bered as long as I live. Honestly, I doubt if 
 any wounded general ever received more gen- 
 uine and timely kindness and consideration than 
 was extended to me, a private. 
 
 I know you will pardon the seeming egotism 
 of this letter. Although we have never looked 
 into each other's faces, I am sure that our long 
 continued correspondence has served to make 
 you my friend, and that you take an interest in 
 all that concerns my welfare. 
 
 I want to go home as bad' as ever one did in 
 the world, but the surgeon tells me I cannot for 
 two or three months — that I must take a fur- 
 lough, and go out in the country where I can 
 
HOT SKIRMISH— WOUNDED 269 
 
 recuperate my wasted strength and let the work 
 of healing complete itself. My friend Mrs. 
 Allen, a lady whose folks live near us in Texas, 
 and who married a Virginia lawyer and came 
 here with him at the beginning of the war, has 
 kindly invited me to spend my furlough at the 
 home of her father-in-law. Judge Allen, with 
 whom she lives, and I am going to do it. Be- 
 fore I can leave Virginia I must apply for re- 
 tirement, and as that will take more or less 
 time I will hardly be ready to start to Texas 
 until about the first of March of next year. 
 Once on the way, nothing but sickness, high 
 water, or other unavoidable calamities will stop 
 me. I ought to deliver myself first to my 
 good and loving mother, but knowing she will 
 pardon me, I shall make the first delivery by 
 submitting myself to the tender mercies of a 
 lady who says she will marry me if only I take 
 to her " body enough to contain my soul." For- 
 tunately, I have not only body enough for that, 
 and to spare, but also a pair of arms that are 
 longing for exercise, and a pair of lips that are 
 hungering for the toll due by your friendship 
 and her love. Verium sat sapienti. 
 
XXVI 
 
 LUXUEIATING IN FEASTS AND FEATHER BEDS 
 
 Botetourt County, Va., December 20, 1864. 
 
 Is it a dream, or have I really been a soldier 
 for the last four years? is a question I frequently 
 ask myself nowadays; for here in this old Vir- 
 ginia country home of genuine kindness and 
 hospitality — where I take my place three times 
 a day at a bountifully provided table; sleep on 
 a feather bed, between clean, white sheets; hear 
 the chatter and laughter of little children; and 
 may, when I choose, listen to the low, sweet 
 voices of refined and cultured women, or to the 
 music evoked by skillful fingers from a melodious 
 piano — there is little to remind me of the cruel 
 war except a pair of crutches, my missing limb, 
 and the empty sleeve of my genial host. Captain 
 John J. Allen. The crutches are " out of mind 
 as soon as out of sight"; my wound has healed 
 nicely and gives no pain; the Captain is post- 
 quartermaster at Buchanan, and always there 
 during the day — ^and so, whether talking with 
 the ladies in parlor or library or (he taking 
 snuff and I smoking a long-stemmed pipe) sit- 
 ting with Judge Allen, of the Court of Appeals 
 of the State, in his cozy little law office in the 
 yard, and thinking lazily of a future that is al- 
 
 270 
 
FEASTS AND FEATHER BEDS 271 
 
 ways to be happy, I can easily — too easily, per- 
 haps — forget my comrades of brigade, regiment, 
 and even company, who are struggling and suf- 
 fering in the cause of the South. 
 
 It is the most selfish of selfishness, but I can 
 not help it. This peace and plenty, rest and 
 content, are too pleasant and soothing to mind 
 and body to be disturbed by thoughts of either 
 my own past or the hardships of my dearest 
 friends. 
 
 " Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant ! 
 Let the dead Past bury its dead ! 
 Act, act in the living present! 
 Heart within and God o'erhead ! " 
 
 may have been, when written, good advice to 
 the civilians of that day, but is not applicable 
 in its entirety to a fellow in my situation. " Let 
 the dead past bury its dead " is doctrine to which 
 I willingly submit, but / must trust the future, 
 for in it lie all my hopes and ambitions. As for 
 acting " in the living present," that is so dia- 
 metrically opposed both to bodily condition and 
 to feelings that I absolutely refuse to obey the 
 injunction. I want and I need repose, and no- 
 where can I find it in such perfection as among 
 these kind and thoughtful friends here in the 
 mountains of Virginia. I speak of home so sel- 
 dom that young Mrs. Allen expressed surprise 
 the other day at my apparent apathy. 
 
 "Why, Miss Lizzie," said I, addressing her 
 by the name I used to call her when, as a callow 
 youth two years her junior, and she a young 
 lady out in society, I claimed her as a sweet- 
 
272 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 heart, "I am so sure of going home that I am 
 just luxuriating in the first feeling of certainty 
 permitted me since June, 1861 ! " 
 
 " That statement is not very complimentary 
 to your sweetheart," said she. " Don't you 
 want to see her? " 
 
 The question placed me fairly on the horns 
 of a dilemma — the one, natural gallantry; the 
 other, regard for truth. To add to my em- 
 barrassment. Miss Eva, the Captain's sister, en- 
 tered the room in time to hear the question, but 
 not the prelude to it, and she also insisted on 
 an answer. I hemmed and I hawed, tried the 
 ef&cacy of a joke I have never known to fail, and 
 went off at a tangent on half a dozen other sub- 
 jects, but all in vain; the ladies held me relent- 
 lessly to the inquisitorial rack, and in self- 
 defense, and to escape a lie, I had to reply, " No ; 
 not a bit more than to see my mother and sisters. 
 She is as much a certainty as they." 
 
 " Maybe not," mischievously remarked Miss 
 Eva ; " ladies change their minds sometimes." 
 
 " My sweetheart is not of that sort," I proudly 
 replied. Don't you think I am right? 
 
 Whether because of previous long fasting or 
 the keen, invigorating air of these mountains, 
 my appetite has become a veritable tyrant, so 
 insatiate in its' demands as almosit to ignore 
 the law of physics that no two bodies can occupy 
 the same space at the same time. In camp my 
 grievance was not getting enough to eat; here, 
 it is inability to eat enough of the plenty I get, 
 either to satisfy the cravings of the corporeal 
 
FEASTS AND FEATHER BEDS 273 
 
 system or the hospitable solicitude of entertain- 
 ers. As the last forkful of meat on my plate 
 starts to reinforce its predecessors the Judge 
 lifts another slice of ham, corned beef, or turkey 
 from the dish, and, if not warned to desist, lays 
 it silently before me. The other folks at the 
 table are equally attentive. 
 
 Just before I left Richmond to come up here 
 the Veteran came to see me, and, as he had been 
 considerate enough to bring his rations along, 
 I could afford to ask him to dinner. Ravenous 
 as was my appetite, the provender furnished by 
 the hospital was barely sufl&cient for one grown 
 man, let alone two. We had a jolly day of it, 
 for he brought both the latest news and the lat- 
 est jokes from camp. One of the jokes was 
 on Jim Cosgrove, who helped me off the field 
 on the day I was wounded. Cosgrove is fond of 
 fun and excitement, plays a practical joke on a 
 comrade whenever he can, and is always making 
 himself heard. One day when rations were 
 slenderest and he hungriest, he said to his mess- 
 mate, " I would eat anything in the world — 
 snails, frogs, grasshoppers, dogs, rats; anything 
 but cats. I draw the line at those cussed, sharp- 
 clawed, treacherous creatures." 
 
 " I helped eat a cat once," remarked Babe 
 reminiscently, with a far-off look in his hungry 
 eyes, " and it was good too ; and I shouldn't ob- 
 ject to the leg of one right now." 
 
 " But I would," protested Cosgrove. " Just 
 remember that, please; and if you ever have cat 
 for breakfast, dinner, or supper, count me among 
 
274 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 the missing. Why, I'd— I'd eat a buzzard 
 sooner than a cat, any day." 
 
 Babe made no reply, but a bright idea struck 
 him; Cosgrove would be on picket that night, 
 and when he came back next day was sure to be 
 too famished to be inquisitive, and he might be 
 taught that cat was not bad eating, after all his 
 antipathy to it. Luckily for Babe's plans, an 
 old bachelor citizen lived near camp, whose most 
 cherished pet was a half-grown, fat, and sleek 
 pussy, that was in the habit of taking a nightly 
 stroll through the camp. That night Babe lay 
 in wait for it, and next morning its remains 
 swung from the rafters of its captor's little cabin, 
 and later in the day became the principal in- 
 gredient of a " rabbit " pie, so called in defer- 
 ence to Cosgrove. The intended joke would be 
 too good for one man, besides Babe didn't care 
 to be alone with Cosgrove when the truth was 
 revealed to him, and so he invited a friend to 
 dine with them. 
 
 " What have you got in the skillet to-day, old 
 man.? " asked Cosgrove when, released from 
 duty, and standing before the mess fire, he 
 caught a whiff of savory odors. 
 
 " The fattest little cotton-tail rabbit you ever 
 saw," responded Babe, with a childlike smile. 
 
 " It smells good, anyhow," remarked Cos- 
 grove approvingly. " Isn't it most done? " 
 
 " Yes," answered his messmate ; " get off your 
 traps, and take a fair start with us." 
 
 Soon the three were seated around the skillet, 
 busily consuming its contents. 
 
FEASTS AND FEATHER BEDS 275 
 
 "Umph!" grunted Cosgrove as he closed his 
 teeth on a juicy morsel; "if this isn't good 
 enough eatin' for General Lee! Where'd you 
 get it, Babe? " 
 
 " Out of a hollow stump," answered his com- 
 rade, with his mouth almost too full for utter- 
 ance. 
 
 The skillet was soon sopped clean enough to 
 bake a cake in. Then, with his feet high up on 
 the jamb of the fireplace, Jim folded his hands 
 across his corporosity and said in his mellowest 
 tone, "Lord! Lord! Lord! how good that mess' 
 was, and how peaceful I feel! Why, Babe, a 
 five-year-old child could play with me now, and 
 I could be amiable even to a Yankee." 
 
 Babe looked at Jim a moment, took his stand 
 in the doorway, and, discovering that retreat 
 was possible, remarked, "I thought you didn't 
 like cat, Jim.? " 
 
 "Cat?" shouted that suddenly surprised gen- 
 tleman ; " cat? Is it a cat I've been eatin' ? " 
 
 " Of course it is," said the guest ; " and it's 
 powerful good eatin' too." 
 
 Cosgrove turned pale as a ghost, and en- 
 deavored to get rid of the portion of the animal 
 he had appropriated, but in vain. His digestion 
 had not been worked to its limit for a long time, 
 and it clung successfully to its prey. Then he 
 got mad, but Babe Metcalf was out of sight and 
 hearing, and the guest could not be held re- 
 sponsible for any deception, and so poor Cos- 
 grove had to stomach both the cat and the joke, 
 
 " But," said the Veteran, " you'd better not 
 
276 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 say ' cat' to him when you meet; he has already 
 thra,shed one fellow within an inch of his life 
 for just mewing like one." 
 
 As you will perceive, I have made a change 
 in my quarters since inditing the foregoing. 
 Dry Kindred, the Captain of my company, had 
 the good fortune while I was at Charlotte to 
 persuade a very handsome lady into double har- 
 ness with him, whose father, a wealthy Balti- 
 morean, has an elegant home at this place and 
 insists on keeping his daughter with him until 
 the war is over. Wounded the same day I was, 
 the Captain got out of the hospital as soon as 
 he could, and flew "on the wings of love" up 
 here, to be nursed and petted by his wife. Not- 
 ing how kindly and unwearyiugly she does it, 
 and how the Captain seems to enjoy it, I feel 
 like kicking myself for not being a Benedict 
 myself. I might get a course of the same medi- 
 cine. * » ♦ 
 
 While I do not feel as much at home here as 
 I did at Judge Allen's, — ^young Mrs. Allen being 
 so nearly kinfolks to me, — I get along tolerably^ 
 well, considering. The genuine Virginia girl de- 
 lights in being a sister to every wounded South- 
 ern soldier lucky enough to get within her reach, 
 and as there are three of them here who have 
 got beyond short dresses, I get more sistering 
 than somebody in Texas might behold with 
 equanimity. All of them are refugees from the 
 
 lower Shenandoah Valley. Miss Laura K is 
 
 a beautiful girl whose black curls hang below her 
 waist; but as she is mourning the fall of the 
 
B. F. Kindred 
 
 Captain Company F, Fourth Texas Regiment 
 
 FACING 
 276 
 
FB3ASTS AND FEATHER BEDS 277 
 
 cavalryman to whom she was engaged, she is 
 not as sisterly to me as her sister, Ida, and her 
 cousin, Sallie Sowers. Neither of these over 
 eighteen, and both high-spirited, frolicsome, and 
 most pleasantly compassionate, it would amuse 
 you to hear them quarreling over which one of 
 them shall sit next to me on the sofa and do the 
 most for me. To balance the sofa problem equi- 
 tably, I usually crowd myself in between them 
 and extend my arms along the back of the seat. 
 They never let me use my crutches at all in the 
 house, — they wear out the carpet, they say, — 
 and so I do all my moving about, inside doors, 
 between the girls, an arm around the neck of 
 each. It is certainly a pleasanter method of 
 locomotion than hobbling around on a pair of 
 inanimate sticks. When I showed them some- 
 body's picture and warned them I was pre- 
 empted, — ^which I did, I assure you, the day after 
 I got here, — they said they were glad of it — 
 that they had been actually pining for a fellow 
 in my fix on whom to expend their sur- 
 plus sweetness without risk of being flirted 
 with. * ♦ • 
 
 Talking over some of the incidents of our 
 long stay at the Phillips House, Captain Kin- 
 dred explained the cause of an alarm down there, 
 for which I never could account. In order to 
 be near her husband, a field officer in the bri- 
 gade, Mrs. , a six months' bride, was stay- 
 ing at the house of a bachelor uncle of hers, 
 half a mile in rear of our regiment. That day. 
 the 20th of September, she took a notion about 
 
278 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 10 o'clock A. M. to have a swim in an immense 
 bathtub on the place. The darkies filled it 
 nearly full of water from a spring that is icy 
 even in the heat of summer. Not dreaming how 
 cold it was, but longing for instant refreshment, 
 the lady no sooner got rid of every garment that 
 a wetting would endanger, than she tumbled 
 broadcast into the tub with an abandon that 
 submerged her, head, foot and corpus — ^the cor- 
 pus weighing fully a hundred and sixty pounds 
 and being as plump as a partridge. Rising to 
 the surface, she gave vent to the emotions of her 
 shivering anatomy by a scream that reached our 
 camp, and made such a hasty, ill-considered ef- 
 fort to climb out of the tub that it tilted com- 
 pletely over, and not only submerged her again, 
 but caught her lower limbs beneath it. Then 
 of course she screamed again and again. Such 
 a yelling you never heard, especially as it was 
 immediately joined in by the lady's maid, and 
 a negro man who thought the Yankees had come. 
 The moment it was heard at camp there was a 
 hurrying to and fro, a grabbing at guns, haver- 
 sacks and canteens, and the regiment was al- 
 most in line and ready to rush to the rescue, 
 when the news came that the whole rumpus was 
 caused by a lady finding the water in a bathtub 
 too cold for her to stay in. * * • 
 
 This letter, I reckon, will close my corre- 
 spondence with you from Virginia. Of course 
 we may write to each other many times here- 
 after, but a part of the charm and romance to 
 me will be gone. Never having seen you, and 
 
FEASTS AND FEATHER BEDS 279 
 
 a description of your personality as persistently 
 denied me as a picture of yourself, I have had to 
 depend on imagination entirely, and have often 
 wondered whether your eyes are black or blue — 
 your hair, red or brown — your nose, Eoman, 
 straight, or with a heavenward tilt — ^your hand 
 and foot, small or large, and whether you are 
 short or tall, angular or plump, fleshy or bony. 
 That you are graceful in every movement, good- 
 natured and with ample variety of mood and 
 manner to make you as charming and fascinating 
 as your letters have always been to me, I am 
 sure. But once we have met, I will have no 
 more fun guessing how you look. Besides, when 
 I leave Virginia I will leave behind me all the 
 exciting and amusing incidents of the camp and 
 the march, the skirmish and the battle, that have 
 furnished me subjects. ♦ • ♦ 
 
XXVII 
 
 adventuees en eoute to texas 
 
 Fannin House, Houston, Texas, 
 
 March 23, 1865. 
 Dear Dick: Condemned by high water to 
 a three days' delay at this dead old town, and 
 too near homefolks that are and homefolks soon 
 to be, to write to them, I have decided to inflict 
 upon you the letter I promised. While I hope 
 it will entertain you, I am not writing as much 
 for that purpose as to rid myself of the 
 " ongwee " of which Bill Calhoun is so fond of 
 complaining, when his spirit is too dull to afford 
 a witticism. I have it bad, hence resort to my 
 pen for relief — that much of a camp habit still 
 clinging to me. I never knew how much I 
 loved you boys of the company, regiment, and 
 brigade until I had told you all good-by, and 
 remembered that to some of you it was a last 
 good-by. Just to stay with you and share your 
 hardships and risks, and hear you jest and laugh 
 in the midst of all the dangers and trials of 
 soldiering under Lee, I would cheerfully have 
 destroyed my retirement papers but for the con- 
 viction that a cripple would be a burden to you. 
 As it is, I am here in Texas, on my way to home 
 and happiness — feeding high, dressed as com- 
 fortably if not as stylishly as these Trans- 
 
 280 
 
ADVENTURES EN ROUTE TO TEXAS 281 
 
 Mississippi fellows, sleeping on mattresses under 
 rain-proof roofs, and free to go wherever high 
 water and mud will permit me — while you fel- 
 lows are yet in Virginia, and though ragged, 
 hatless, shoeless, starving and freezing day and 
 night, and sleeping in huts and dug-outs, are 
 still undauntedly and resolutely facing a well- 
 fed, well-equipped Federal army outnumber- 
 ing you three to one. If it is patriotism that 
 holds the Yankees in the field, how much more 
 noble, self-sacrificing, and enduring must be 
 the conviction which keeps the Confederates 
 there? ♦ » * 
 
 I stopped at Charlotte, as I promised Aleck 
 Wilson I would, and Miss Annie, his sweet little 
 cousin, cried over my crippled and emaciated 
 condition as though I had been her brother. 
 When the time came to take the train again, she 
 walked to the depot with me, and when I had 
 told her good-by and was on the car, had a 
 darky, who unknown to me had followed us, 
 pass up to me a basket containing a ham, a 
 turkey, a bottle of scuppernong wine, and as 
 much bread as could be crammed in it. I had 
 wanted to kiss her before that, but dared not. 
 But when the basket was handed me, I got right 
 off the train and not only dared, but succeeded, 
 taking her completely unawares. She blushed 
 charmingly, but to show she was not offended, 
 said, 
 
 " You might have done that before you got on 
 the train, bu — ^bu — but you didn't seem to care 
 to." 
 
282 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 " To show you how much mistaken you 
 are," said I, hobbling toward her, "I'll take 
 another." 
 
 " No, sir," said she, retreating. " The picture 
 you carry proves you have a sweetheart, and 
 as I have one too, I can't afford to risk the jeal- 
 ousy of both — it'll be double poaching, you 
 
 know." 
 
 « » ■ ♦ • ♦ 
 
 At Branchville it was reported that a part of 
 Sherman's army had torn up the track ahead of 
 us, and no train would be run to Augusta. So 
 Hugh Davis and a Virginian on his way to 
 marry a Georgia girl, tempted no doubt by the 
 basket of grub Miss Annie gave me, went back 
 with me to Orangeburg. There a couple of good 
 Samaritans in the guise of old maids hunted 
 up a darky who for a large consideration agreed 
 to haul me and the plunder of the party as far 
 as we could go in three days. • • • 
 
 As it would have been barbarous to make the 
 old darky haul me any farther, Hugh and the 
 Virginian impressed a horse for me, and on him 
 I rode five miles to the railroad, where we found 
 a hand-car in good running order. Confiscating 
 it, we ran it down the road about six miles. 
 Then Hugh and the Virginian gave out. For- 
 tunately, a carriage driven by a darky came 
 along in the nick of time, and we impressed it 
 and were carried to its owner's home. Thence, 
 next morning, we were sent into Aiken, where 
 we learned that communication between it and 
 Branchville had not been interrupted and that 
 
ADVENTURES EN ROUTE TO TEXAS 283 
 
 had we remained but an hour longer at Branch- 
 ville we might be now half way to the Mis- 
 sissippi. • * • 
 
 Coming within five miles of the wide swath of 
 destruction marking the passage of Sherman 
 and his army of marauding patriots (?), I had 
 to take a stage, and as the inside of the 
 vehicle was jammed and crammed with women 
 and babies, climbed up to a seat by the driver. 
 All night long and for thirty odd miles we 
 traveled through a once thickly settled and pros- 
 perous country without seeing a house standing, 
 and without getting out of sight of the charred 
 and often still burning timbers of comfortable 
 homes from which the inmates — ^women and chil- 
 dren and an occasional old man only — had 
 been driven, in many instances in their night 
 clothes, and refused permission to take even bed- 
 ding for their sick ones. Could General Lee 
 have foreseen such inhumanity, I doubt if he 
 would have made us behave so well in Pennsyl- 
 vania. Thank God, though, we Confederates 
 have never warred on women and children, and 
 n^ver will. * • • 
 
 At Montgomery I had to wait two days for a 
 boat to carry me down the river to Selma, and 
 there I had a startling adventure. The night 
 before I left, the clerk at my hotel told me that 
 an old gentleman at another hotel would be glad 
 to have me call on him. Not dreaming who it 
 was, I went, and to my surprise and consterna- 
 tion found it was the very respectable but stiff- 
 mannered gentleman who, if he behaves himself 
 
284 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 and a certain dear one does not go back on her 
 promise, will in the near future have the honor 
 of being my daddy-in-law. His bearing toward 
 me was so distant— caused, I reckon, by a well- 
 founded suspicion that I contemplated robbing 
 him of the one precious ewe-lamb of his flock — 
 that I could not at once muster courage to in- 
 form him of the honor I designed him. And 
 alas, before I did, he let his emotions affect his 
 breathing to such an extent that he was com- 
 pelled to bid me a hasty good night and go to 
 bed for relief. 
 
 I would have been glad to sound his views 
 with respect to his daughter and myself, but, 
 as the boat started at an early hour next morn- 
 ing, was compelled to defer the undertaking. 
 However, I called at his hotel on my way to 
 the landing, and told the clerk to explain the 
 whys and wherefores, and express my regrets 
 and condolences. It would be funny, though, 
 if the old gentleman held the latter to refer to 
 the future. ♦ ♦ ♦ 
 
 From Selma I came to Jackson, and thence to 
 Hazlehurst, the present terminus of the railroad. 
 There I fell in with Isaac Stein of Company B, 
 our regiment. He minus an arm, and I, a foot, 
 we formed an alliance, offensive and defensive — 
 he to do all the walking — I, all the hugging that 
 might be necessary to speed our journey. Hir- 
 ing a darky to drive us to Dr. January's in a 
 wagon drawn by a couple of scrawny little 
 mules, we advanced six miles and broke an axle. 
 A noble-hearted citizen, Dr. Applewhite, came 
 
ADVENTURES EN ROUTE TO TEXAS 285 
 
 to our rescue, kept us all day Sunday, and on 
 Monday sent us on to a Mr. Duncan's in his 
 carriage. Mr. Duncan, though, could only obey 
 the first half of Sage Homer's rule, "Welcome 
 the coming, speed the parting guest," and so we 
 were compelled to impress the good old doctor's 
 team, carriage and driver, for transportation 
 twelve miles farther. * • » 
 
 Learning that every skiff in ten miles of us, 
 and its darky owner, had been pressed into the 
 service of the cavalry, we went down to the place 
 where they were. Having but one arm, and all 
 his earnings as a sutler invested in the silver 
 watches and spoons with which his valise was 
 crowded. Stein hesitated to make the fifth man 
 in a boat. I did not, though. • • ♦ 
 
 In the skiff were the oarsman, three cavalry- 
 men, each holding the reins of a swimming horse, 
 and myself. Thus overloaded, our progress 
 across was painfully slow. Twice a horse ceased 
 swimming, and to inspire him to renewed exer- 
 tion had to be ducked, at the risk of capsizing 
 the frail craft and tumbling its cargo into the 
 water. When we were a little more than two- 
 thirds of the way across, a gunboat rounded a 
 bend two miles above us, and came puffing down 
 toward us, and, inspired by the emergency, the 
 darky oarsman bent to his oars with such a will 
 and energy as threatened to break them, but 
 nevertheless carried us to the shore in a hurry. 
 The margin of lowland, fifty feet or more wide, 
 between water's edge and the levee, was a bog 
 strewn with drift, large and small ; but driven to 
 
286 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 haste by fear of capture, I plunged into and 
 through the mud and mire, and over huge logs 
 and piles of drift, with a speed and recklessness 
 which took me behind the levee just as the gun- 
 boat got abreast of me. » • • 
 
 Half a mile from my landing-place I came to 
 a rail causeway which spanned a narrow, shal- 
 low part of Bruin Lake, and gave access to the 
 island. At the farther end of the causeway, the 
 beams of the setting sun shining upon his 
 gray wool and bringing his weazened ebony face 
 into bold relief, sat an ancient darky astride 
 of as ancient a mule, whose ears, also gray 
 and touched by the sunlight, seemed to be tip- 
 ping me a cordial welcome. Approaching this 
 strangely harmonious pair, I asked the distance 
 to the house. 
 
 " Jest up hyar, a li'P piece, Master," 
 replied the liuman being, as, removing his bat- 
 tered old hat, he descended with an effort from 
 the back of his patient confrere. " Just git up 
 on dishyere old mewel o' mine, suh, an' hit'll 
 fetch yer dar, suh, 'mejitly." 
 
 Black though his skin was, his heart was that 
 of a gentleman, and though as well able to walk 
 as he, I accepted his offer rather than pain him 
 by refusal. * « » 
 
 On the broad piazza of the dwelling, busily 
 engaged cutting out garments for the darkies, 
 stood a middle-aged lady, and near her sat a 
 personage in blue uniform, who no sooner saw 
 me than he hurried out to the gate, and, extend- 
 ing his hand, said. 
 
ADVENTURES EN ROUTE TO TEXAS 287 
 
 "My name is Johnson, sir — Captain Johnson, 
 of the United States Navy." 
 
 Convinced by his uniform and insignia of rank 
 that he was what he claimed to be, and deter- 
 mined not to disgrace my colors by denying them 
 even if I had fallen among Unionists, I grasped 
 his hand with every appearance of pleasure and 
 replied, 
 
 "And mine, sir, is Polley — Private PoUey, 
 late of the Confederate States Army under Gen- 
 eral Eobert E. Lee, but now retired on ac- 
 count of wounds and on my way to Texas. Can 
 I find quarters for the night with you.? " 
 
 " I am but a guest at this hospitable man- 
 sion," he answered. "You will have to con- 
 sult the lady of the house, who is now on the 
 piazza; but I shall be glad, if it becomes neces- 
 sary, to add my entreaties to yours, for as you 
 are just from the seat of war you can probably 
 
 give us later news than any we have." 
 
 * « • « • 
 
 Later in the evening mine host kindly gratified 
 my curiosity concerning Captain Johnson. It 
 appears that a week or so ago General Dick 
 Taylor wanted a gunboat worse than General 
 Hood did down at Suffolk when Bill Calhoun 
 sat down on him. Doubting his ability to se- 
 cure one by capture, he decided to follow Bill's 
 plan as proposed to Hood, and buy one, and 
 immediately entered into negotiations with 
 Captain Johnson, then in command of one of 
 the best on the Mississippi Eiver. But while 
 willing to betray the trust reposed in him by the 
 
288 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Federal Government, the Captain must liave 
 managed badly. At any rate, after the trade 
 was made and all details arranged as to time 
 and place of delivery, he let his purpose be sus- 
 pected by his subordinate oflSlcers. Learning 
 that his intended treachery had been reported, 
 to avoid arrest he took advantage of a dark 
 night to climb over the side of the vessel, drop 
 into a boat, and deliver himself to General 
 Taylor. But although crazy for a gunboat, that 
 officer had no use for a naval commander of the 
 Captain's kind, and hence the traitor is now 
 hiding from the Federals, and under suspicion 
 
 by the Confederates. 
 
 • • * « • 
 
 My favorite steed at home being a spirited 
 calico, I took the paint pony, hoping he would 
 be as spirited, paying for him and a buzzard- 
 nest old saddle fourteen hundred dollars in Con- 
 federate promises to pay after the war. Mount- 
 ing him, and taking Stein's valise — ^it did not 
 weigh less than seventy pounds, I am sure — 
 up on the saddle before me, I started, Stein 
 walking. 
 
 After five miles whipping and kicking to make 
 the lazy beast keep pace with Stein, I came 
 to the conclusion that he had far the best end 
 of the bargain — ^his walking being easier than 
 my riding, and no huggings, so far, having come 
 to me, or being in sight, this side of Texas. But 
 I held to the horse and his valise until night 
 found us at a plantation on the Tensas. There 
 he bought a horse, and managed somehow to ride 
 
ADVENTURES EN ROUTE TO TEXAS 289 
 
 him, carry his valise, and keep ahead of me, and 
 my Lazy Eosinante. » • • 
 
 At Alexandria we had the luck to overtake 
 Captain Haggerty and an Irish beef-drover 
 named Murphy, who was well acquainted with 
 the route ahead of us. Together, we set out for 
 Mr. Taylor's, thirty miles distant. Murphy be- 
 guiling the way by recounting Mr. Taylor's ad- 
 ventures and exploits as a Confederate scout. 
 You may judge of my surprise when, arriving 
 at his house, I discovered him to be a quadroon, 
 his wife the same, and the couple free, and own- 
 ers of twenty odd coal-black niggers — Taylor, 
 it is said, never buying any other kind than the 
 coal blacks. At our meals Taylor, his wife, and 
 daughters, waited on us; when we had eaten 
 they sat down to the same table and were waited 
 on with every show of deference by their slaves. 
 It was an odd condition of affairs, I thought. 
 Murphy, who knows General Dick Taylor well, 
 told me that he and our host were half brothers, 
 and except in color looked the counterpart of 
 each other. » • • 
 
 At Lewis' Ferry on the Angelina Eiver my 
 steed came to the end of his row, and I gave him 
 and the saddle to a man who furnished me a 
 tiptop animal to ride to Livingstone in Polk 
 County, and on Trinity Eiver. There I took stage 
 to Liberty. Ten miles out the team ran away, 
 and for a mile I wondered if I had gone through 
 a dozen battles just to come back to Texas 
 and be killed by a pair of mules. At Liberty I 
 boarded a steamboat which carried me to Galves- 
 
290 SOLDIER'S LETTEES TO CHARMING NBIiLIB 
 
 ton. There I ran afoul of Ireland's company of 
 Hobby's regiment. Theirs is indeed a sad fate. 
 Although empty store and dwelling-houses are 
 abundant, no private is given a room to him- 
 self, but is compelled to share that assigned him 
 with the members of his mess ; and they have to 
 live on ham and eggs, fish, oysters, turtle soup, 
 poultry, pure coffee, and a whole lot of other 
 things so new in my experience that I came near 
 foundering myself just tasting them to see if 
 they were good. • • • 
 
 I got here at noon day before yesterday, and 
 found John Wheeler of Company B, who is 
 minus an arm, you know, delayed by high water. 
 That evening as he and I sat in front of the 
 hotel. Colonel Gaines, of Brazoria County, sat 
 down between us and inquired our names and 
 where we were from, etc. When we had told 
 him and conversed a while, he opened a pocket- 
 book crammed with five-dollar gold pieces, and 
 holding it out to us told us to help ourselves to 
 all we needed. "You have been fighting for 
 me, boys," he said. " Give me a right to feel 
 that I have been working for you." 
 
 " Your age excuses you for not being in the 
 army, sir," said Wheeler, his voice trembling, 
 " and your offer is proof that you have been 
 doing all you could to aid us. If I needed money 
 I would take it as willingly from you as from 
 a father— not needing it, I must decline taking 
 any." 
 
 " I think as my comrade does. Colonel," said I. 
 "We take the will for the deed, sir." And so 
 
ADVENTURES EN ROUTE TO TEXAS 291 
 
 the matter ended. But the old fellow actually 
 went away hurt by our refusal to either take as 
 a gift or borrow from him. 
 
 A while later, looking over the hotel register, 
 
 I discovered that Miss Dora P of Richmond, 
 
 Texas, was stopping here. She was the last 
 woman to tell me good-by in 1861, and resolv- 
 ing she should be the first to welcome me back 
 to the State, I sent up my card, and five minutes 
 later had her little hand in mine. If — ^but that 
 is a contingency so improbable that it is not 
 worth mentioning, and I will content myself 
 with the remark that she is pretty and charm- 
 ing enough to heal the broken heart of any gen- 
 tleman she takes the right kind of liking for. 
 Next morning a note was handed me by the 
 clerk from a Miss Emma M — — that was, a Mrs. 
 Scott that is, a wife of three months' experi- 
 ence. The first time I ever saw her she was up 
 a peach tree under which I was about to pass. 
 I do not know what caused me to look up, but 
 I remember distinctly that she had not then ar- 
 rived at the dignity of long skirts, and that T 
 got from under the tree and out of sight in one 
 time and movement. In the note she asked me to 
 call on her and her widowed sister, Pheny, whom 
 I had once tilted into my arms by suddenly 
 running the wheels on her side of the buggy 
 up on to an elevation. Of course I went, and 
 being so well-known to both, got a kiss from the 
 wife, but none from the widow. I tell you these 
 incidents in which ladies figure, just for revenge 
 — to harrow your feelings. I have not forgot- 
 
292 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 ten how you and Captain Jim Hunter appro- 
 priated two girls each, up in the Valley, and 
 would not introduce me to either. « ♦ • 
 Give the old boys a heart full of love from me. 
 Tell Jim Cosgrove that if his fondness for cats 
 continues to hurt him he had better come here 
 to Houston as soon as he can. We have what 
 is called rabbit pie, for dinner, every day at this 
 hotel, but as there is an abundance of cats run- 
 ning round, I think it is cat pie. • ♦ • 
 Yours as ever, 
 
 J. B. POLLET. 
 
XXVIII 
 
 POUBTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILL 
 
 Mablin, Tex., June 27, 1903. 
 The following paper by General J. B. Polley 
 was read this afternoon: 
 
 No braver soldiers fought in the war between 
 the States than the Virginia Confederates; their 
 survivors are good fellows — none better. The 
 perfection of human nature, though, has not yet 
 been attained by them, for some of these good 
 fellows have betrayed an undue greed for mili- 
 tary laurels. Not satisfied with hailing from a 
 State distinguished as the birthplace of Wash- 
 ington, Jefferson, Stonewall Jackson, and that 
 grandest of all the grand, Robert E. Lee; not 
 content with the glory won at Gettysburg by Vir- 
 ginians in a charge whose equal in soldierly dar- 
 ing and heroic endeavor the world has never wit- 
 nessed, these yet hungry ones made the startling 
 discovery, thirty-six years after the event, that 
 to Pickett's brigade belonged the honor of being 
 the first Confederate command to break the 
 Union lin^ at Gaines' Mill, on the 27th day of 
 June, 1862. 
 
 A tardy but clamorous champion of that re- 
 nowned brigade, Adjutant Cooper, entered the 
 
 393 
 
294 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 controversial lists in the October number, 1898, 
 of the Confederate Veteran. In succeeding is- 
 sues of that admirable publication the conten- 
 tion waxed warm. Comrades Vidor, Schadt 
 and Todd of the First Texas, other Confeder- 
 ates, and one or more Federals who participated 
 in the engagement and believed they knew " who 
 struck Billy Patterson " the first crushing blow, 
 came generously and gallantly to the aid of the 
 Fourth Texas Eegiment of Hood's Texas Bri- 
 gade — laying on most doughtily not only with 
 quotations from the official reports of distin- 
 guished Confederate generals, but as well with 
 their own personal recollections of the events of 
 that memorable day, forty-one years ago. Al- 
 though prompt to take notice of the controversy 
 and not unwilling to " fight the battle over " on 
 paper, I did not get ready to do any firing until 
 the incident seemed, in diplomatic parlance, " to 
 be closed." 
 
 It should remain closed, but for the fact that 
 many persons have read only the Virginia side 
 of the case and are so constituted as to accept 
 loudness of assertion as convincing evidence of 
 statements not specifically denied and disproved. 
 Such people are so plentiful that each member 
 of the Fourth Texas may well exclaim : 
 
 " I see my reputation at stake ; 
 My fame Is shrewdly gor'd." 
 
 For, if Adjutant Cooper and his corporal's 
 guard of followers are in the right — if Pickett's 
 brigade and not the Fourth Texas was first to 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 295 
 
 break the Federal lines at Gaines' Mill and 
 convert what was almost a disastrous defeat of 
 the Confederate Army into a glorious victory — 
 the concurrent, contemporaneous statements of 
 Lee, Jackson, Hood and Whiting, each of whom 
 gave the credit to the Fourth Texas, are untrue, 
 and the stories which members of the Texas 
 brigade have told their sweethearts, wives, and 
 children are figments of the imagination, base- 
 less dreams, memories unsupported by any foun- 
 dation of fact. If Pickett's brigade is entitled 
 to the honor, the Fourth Texas never was, and 
 its survivors and those of its companion Texas 
 regiments should bend their mighty minds, im- 
 mediately, to the reconstruction of the long and 
 lovingly cherished legend that as between the 
 three regiments " honors are easy " ; since, al- 
 though the " H — U-roaring Fourth " was the 
 first Confederate regiment to break the Union 
 lines at Gaines' Mill, the " Bloody Fifth " routed 
 and practically annihilated the Zouaves at Sec- 
 ond Manassas, and the " Ragged First " held the 
 cornfield at Sharpsburg against Hancock's whole 
 corps, losing in that heroic achievement more 
 heavily than any other regiment, Confederate or 
 Federal, did at any one battle during the four 
 years of war. 
 
 Texans might safely rely upon the statute of 
 limitations to bar the claim of Pickett's brigade. 
 However little they are inclined " to want the 
 earth and the fullness thereof," it is unreason- 
 able to suppose Virginians would wait thirty- 
 six years to present a just claim. If they ever 
 
296 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 had a shadow of right on their side, it is charit- 
 able to presume they would have sought to es- 
 tablish their pretensions while it was possible 
 to amend official reports. Instead of doing that 
 they remained silent — so silent, indeed, that un- 
 til Adjutant Cooper raised his voice not even 
 well-informed Confederates of his own State 
 dreamed of the existence of such pretensions. 
 At any rate, when in 1896 Mr. Corbin Warwick 
 and Colonel Maury of Eichmond, Virginia, 
 kindly accompanied me to the battlefield of 
 Gaines' Mill, neither of them mentioned it. 
 Both had been Confederate soldiers and had 
 participated in the seven days' fighting— Colonel 
 Maury having commanded a Virginia regiment 
 and Mr. Warwick being the brother of Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Warwick of the Fourth Texas, 
 who was mortally wounded on the field. Not- 
 withstanding we discussed the battle, and, old 
 soldier-like, I boasted, time and again, that the 
 Fourth Texas was the first command to break 
 the Union lines there, not a word did they say 
 about Pickett's brigade, except, perhaps, to men- 
 tion that it fought half a mile to the right of the 
 Texans. 
 
 In the agitation of mind produced by a long 
 delayed and startling presumed discovery, Ad- 
 jutant Cooper and his party have overlooked the 
 topography of the ground and the situation as 
 it was on the day of the battle. The Federal 
 line of intrenchments along the south side of 
 Powhite Creek was several miles in length. The 
 Watts house — ^behind and to the left of which 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 297 
 
 the artillery, captured by the Fourth Texas, was 
 posted — stood about the middle of the line; and 
 the Federals had artillery not only behind the 
 Watts house, but also at other points, and each 
 battery or section of artillery was likely sup- 
 ported by cavalry. In truth and fact, the Fed- 
 erals employed enough artillery and cavalry that 
 day for both Pickett's brigade and the Fourth 
 Texas to have captured cannon and repulsed 
 mounted enemies. To this abundance as well 
 as to the passage of time and a natural, if not 
 altogether excusable, forgetfulness of details is 
 largely due, no doubt, this controversy be- 
 tween Confederate commands. The survivors of 
 Hood's Texas Brigade cannot in justice to them- 
 selves and their posterity afford to ignore the 
 claim made by the Virginians, and by silence 
 acquiesce in its justice. The past, and what- 
 ever of honor it gave the Lone Star, should be 
 held by secure and unimpeachable title, not a 
 breath of suspicion or boast tarnishing its luster. 
 To remove the last lingering shadow of that cast 
 by Adjutant Cooper and his party is the pur- 
 pose of this paper. 
 
 The following facts, all of them undisputed, 
 I think, should be borne in mind. The final and 
 successful attack upon the enemy's works at 
 Gaines' Mill began at 7 o'clock p. M. The sun 
 set that day in the latitude of Virginia at 7.30. 
 In the assault the Confederates moved to the 
 southeast, the Federals faced to the northwest, 
 and Powhite Creek ran between the two armifes, 
 a triple line of breastworks, each occupied by 
 
298 SOLDIER'S LETTERS yO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Federal infantry, skirting the southeastern bank 
 of that stream. 
 
 Having, as already stated, revisited the battle- 
 field at a time when it presented a strictly peace- 
 ful aspect — when the only music to be heard 
 was the lowing of cattle and the songs of birds, 
 and when no death-dealing missiles hurtled 
 through the air to the disturbance of one's com- 
 posure — I can speak with approximate accuracy 
 concerning the distances between salient points. 
 From the crest of the ridge immediately north 
 of Powhite Creek it is barely a quarter of a mile 
 to the Watts house. From the Watts house 
 to the artillery it is about three-eighths of a 
 mile. 
 
 Most of the statements made by the Virginia 
 writers concerning the movements of Pickett's 
 brigade on the day in question may be accepted 
 as absolutely correct. At present, let us follow 
 the Fourth Texas. All day long, Porter's brave 
 men had held the Confederates at bay at Gaines' 
 Mill. To break their lines here meant over- 
 whelming disaster to the Union arms, glorious 
 victory to the Confederate. General W. C. 
 Whiting, who commanded the division composed 
 of his own and the Texas brigade, approached 
 Hood and said to that gallant officer, pointing 
 in the direction of the guns in rear of the Watts 
 house, 
 
 " General, those guns over there ought to be 
 silenced, but I have tried to do it and failed." 
 
 " I have a regiment that can do it," replied 
 Hood. 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 299 
 
 " Try it then," ordered Whiting, and imme- 
 diately Hood took pergonal command of the 
 Fourth Texas and led it forward. 
 
 Halting in a stretch of low ground a hundred 
 yards short of the crest of the ridge, long enough 
 to form line of battle, the Fourth Texas without 
 further delay advanced to the crest, passing 
 over, just before reaching it, a long line of pros- 
 trate Confederates who had sought shelter from 
 the infantry fire of the Federals in a kind of 
 swag extending along the north side of the ridge. 
 At the crest the regiment came within sight and 
 range of the Federal infantry occupying the 
 triple line of breastworks beyond the creek — 
 these breastworks, by the way, so constructed 
 along the hillside that one line fired over the 
 heads of another. Eeckless, though, of the storm 
 of bullets which decimated its ranks, the Fourth 
 Texas neither wavered, hesitated nor halted, but 
 fixing bayonets at the command of the gallant 
 Hood, rushed down the slope of the ridge, into 
 and across the little stream at its foot, through 
 timbered bottom and chevaux de frise, and at the 
 enemy in the first line of entrenchments. Dis- 
 mayed, apparently, by the impetuosity and vigor 
 of the attack upon them, these stood not upon 
 the order of their going, but fied at top speed, 
 carrying the two lines of soldiery in their rear 
 with them. Following fast and furiously, load- 
 ing and shooting as they went, the Texans pushed 
 on directly up the slope of the ridge on that side 
 of the stream and never came to an instant's 
 halt in the resolute and rapid advance until 
 
300 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 the last armed Federal infantryman in their 
 immediate front was either killed, captured, or 
 driven out of sight in the lowlands of the Ohicka- 
 hominy valley. 
 
 The pursuit carried the Texans a hundred 
 yards or so beyond the Watts house, the left of 
 the regiment, in its advance, almost brushing the 
 walls of that historic building. They halted, 
 for the first time, on the eastern edge of a peach 
 and pear orchard, where they reformed their 
 line, facing, now, diagonally to the left in such 
 a manner as to front the fourteen pieces of ar- 
 tillery stationed in rear of the Watts house, 
 which were then hurling round shot and shell, 
 grape, canister and shrapnel by the wholesale 
 at the daring band. The halt, therefore, was 
 not a long one; in the face of such a fire, even 
 the bravest desire to move quickly. The line 
 reformed — and not five minutes was consumed 
 in the effort — Hood ordered the charge, and at 
 the word and by common impulse, the Texans 
 swept forward and captured the guns, in their 
 charge upon them descending a slope which led 
 into a deep ravine, and after struggling across 
 the ravine, climbing a steep ascent to the top of 
 the elevation on which the guns were posted. 
 Quite a while after they seized the guns they 
 were attacked by a squadron of cavalry, one of 
 its companies being that in which Hood had 
 served as a second lieutenant in Texas, previous 
 to the beginning of hostilities between North 
 and South. Its captain — Ohambliss, I think his 
 name was — ^was severely wounded, and General 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 301 
 
 Hood hunted him up and saw that he received 
 surgical attention. 
 
 Placed hors de combat at a point west of the 
 Watts house, the writer failed to reach the peach 
 and pear orchard. Yet, although worse fright- 
 ened than hurt, and possessed of a yearning 
 longing for the peace and safety of the rear, he 
 distinctly remembers seeing the Fourth Texas 
 in line at the edge of the orchard, General Hood 
 standing a few paces in its rear, holding aloft 
 in his right hand a sword whose bright blade 
 reflected the level beams of a sun still above the 
 horizon. 
 
 He recalls with the same distinctness that 
 when Austin Jones and himself — Mr. Jones had 
 also been wounded — faced northwest on their 
 way to the rear, the sun shone in their faces. 
 Tiese recollections are sustained by the testi- 
 mony of the majority of his regimental comrades 
 with whom he has had an opportunity of talking 
 on the subject. Those who remember anything 
 about the sun declare emphatically that it yet 
 shone above the horizon when the Fourth Texas 
 reformed for the culminating desperate charge 
 upon the artillery, and that it was yet shining 
 when the guns were seized and silenced. Add 
 to such statements that of General Stephen D. 
 Lee in the letter which follows, and the proof 
 appears positive that the Texans had possession 
 of the guns at sunset. 
 
 Every presumption and probability favors the 
 contention. The general advance of the Confed- 
 erates began, according to the official reports, at 
 
302 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 seven o'clock in the evening. It is a fair pre- 
 sumption that, having been selected as a forlorn 
 hope to silence those terrible guns, the Texans 
 were given a slight precedence in point of time. 
 Other commands to its right and left must nat- 
 urally have waited a little while to see what the 
 Fourth Texas accomplished. At quite a leisurely 
 gait men can cover five-eighths of a mile — eleven 
 hundred yards — in a half hour. The emergen- 
 cies of the occasion, though, not only invited 
 but imperatively demanded rapidity of move- 
 ment. Hood was as ambitious as he was brave 
 and daring. The stars of a major-generalship 
 hung in the near perspective. Like Henry of 
 the Wyand in the combat between the clans 
 Chattan and Quhile, he " fought for his own 
 hand." 
 
 Not a Texan there, whether by birth or adop- 
 tion, but shared his spirit and resolved to main- 
 tain the reputation for bravery won for the 
 "Lone Star" by the heroes who at the Alamo 
 fought and died that their compatriots might 
 at San Jacinto fight and win. Therefore, they 
 moved rapidly — so rapidly, indeed, that ere the 
 sun set they had accomplished the undertaking 
 they had set out to perform, and had silenced 
 and taken possession of the artillery in the rear 
 of the Watts house. 
 
 Where was Pickett's brigade all this while; 
 when did it begin its advance, and when did 
 it drive the enemy from the breastworks in its 
 front? According to General Longstreet, it oc- 
 cupied a position in the Confederate line to the 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 303 
 
 right of that occupied by Anderson's brigade. 
 That position placed its left flank at least half 
 a mile to the right of the Fourth Texas. The 
 Virginia writers do not state at what time it 
 began the advance, but they do fix the time at 
 which it made the assault upon the breastworks 
 — it was after sunset. Adjutant Cooper says, in 
 the October (1898) Veteran: 
 
 " The sun shone brightly and the atmosphere 
 was clear, and every move that Lee's troops made 
 could be plainly seen by the enemy. Pryor's 
 line advanced to the attack, and in a short time 
 was almost annihilated. Pickett, with his five 
 regiments, went in on a double-quick, and, being 
 hid by the smoke of the battle, approached to 
 within thirty or forty yards of the first line of 
 intrenchment, where in the intense heat and the 
 dense smoke they involuntarily threw them- 
 selves fiat upon the ground and commenced fir- 
 ing. The roar of musketry was so terrific that 
 it was impossible to hear anything else. The 
 men knew, however, that heavy work was in- 
 tended, as each man had his eighty rounds of 
 ammunition. This continuous firing was kept 
 up, neither side knowing the proximity of the 
 other on account of the smoke. Finally the fir- 
 ing of the enemy somewhat slackened, and the 
 sun set, as it were, in blood, with neither side 
 having gained any advantage. At the slight 
 lull in the enemy's fire. General Pickett or- 
 dered a charge, to which his brigade responded 
 promptly." 
 
304 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Such explicitness of detail is commendable. 
 From it we learn that after Pryor's brigade was 
 almost annihilated, and while the sun shone 
 brightly, Pickett's brigade went in on a double- 
 quick, and, hid, most fortunately, by the smoke 
 of battle, approached within thirty or forty 
 yards of the enemy and " involuntarily threw 
 themselves flat upon the ground," and that they 
 remained thus flatly recumbent until " the sun 
 set, as it were, in blood." Add to these facts 
 the signiflcant circumstance mentioned, that 
 each man carried a double supply, or eighty 
 rounds, of ammunition, and the inference in the 
 absence of positive denial by an oflcer presumed 
 to know the truth, is as plain as irresistible, that 
 General Pickett's object was not to carry the 
 works in his front, but simply to pour such a 
 continuous and heavy flre upon the Federals 
 there as might prevent them from reinforcing 
 other points of their line. Troops ordered to 
 assault and capture a strong position do not 
 ordinarily carry an extra supply of ammunition. 
 But be that as it may, the fact stands out in 
 bold relief that not until after sunset did Pick- 
 ett's brigade carry the fortiflcations in its front. 
 That true, and it also true that the Fourth 
 Texas carried the works in its front before sun- 
 set, and stood in line of battle in the peach 
 and pear orchard while the sun was still shining, 
 how was it even possible for the Virginia com- 
 mand to precede the Texans in the capture of 
 the guns in rear and to the left of the Watts 
 house? 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 305 
 
 To say that the Texans waited for the Vir- 
 ginians — ^that they stood passive, inactive, until 
 after sunset, under such a fire as fourteen well- 
 handled guns could pour upon them from an 
 elevation not seven hundred yards distant, is an 
 absurdity. To say that the Virginians, late as 
 they started, overtook and actually passed the 
 Texans, is nonsense. To do that Pickett's bri- 
 gade must have been endowed with race horse 
 speed and have wheeled to the left and passed 
 squarely across the front, commanded by An- 
 derson's South Carolinians. That gallant com- 
 mand, though, has never complained that its 
 advance was retarded by such a maneuver; nor, 
 although it was just to the right of the Fourth 
 Texas, and for that reason might with greater 
 plausibility than Pickett's brigade claim, at 
 least, to have aided in the capture of the guns, 
 it has never done so- in the writer's knowledge. 
 If, as claimed and believed, the guns were cap- 
 tured by the Texans before sunset, their capture 
 from the Federals by Pickett's brigade was an 
 impossibilily — that command was not ubiqui- 
 tous. It could not have engaged in the capture 
 of artillery while it lay recumbent, a good long 
 mile away, and waited for the enemy's fire to 
 slacken. 
 
 Time is an important consideration in mili- 
 tary movements. Minutes and even seconds 
 count when a battle is on. The official reports 
 and the testimony of the living support the con- 
 tention that the Confederate advance began at 
 seven o'clock p. m. Almanacs will show that in 
 
306 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 the latitude of Virginia the sun set on the 27th 
 day of June, 1862, at 7.30 p. M. The Texans 
 made no halt whatever before penetrating the 
 Federal lines — the Virginians did halt within 
 thirty or forty yards of those lines, and not only 
 halted, but " threw themselves involuntarily flat 
 upon the ground," and waited for the firing in 
 the front to slacken. That this did not take 
 place until the Texans had broken through the 
 lines in their own front and gained the crest 
 of the ridge south of Powhite Creek is evident 
 from the circumstance that when they got that 
 far and glanced back to their right and left 
 rears they saw the Federals in those directions 
 just beginning to retreat. Whether those to our 
 right were moved by the expenditure of the 
 eighty rounds of ammunition the Virginians had 
 supplied themselves with, or, seeing that the 
 Texans had broken the lin^s, made a change of 
 base from motives of expediency, is an open 
 question. Those in our left rear delayed their 
 retreat simply because, owing to the nature of 
 the ground over which the Eighteenth Georgia, 
 Hampton's Legion, and the First and Fifth 
 Texas struggled, it was impossible for those 
 commands to keep abreast of the Fourth Texas. 
 While disclaiming the least desire to rob 
 Pickett's division of a single one of its justly 
 won laurels, let me condole with it in its mis- 
 fortunes, the chief of which, in my humble opin- 
 ion, is such a reckless eulogist as Adjutant 
 Cooper. One who rushes into print, thirty-six 
 years after an event, should have better founda- 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 307 
 
 tions for his assertions concerning it than his 
 own memory. Company and regimental officers 
 and the privates they command see little of a 
 battle except that immediately before them. 
 General officers have opportunity for more ex- 
 tended observation. Stonewall Jackson, W. H. 
 O. Whiting, and John B. Hood wrote history in 
 their official reports, and elsewhere, as accu- 
 rately as it was made by the troops they com- 
 manded. 
 
 Stonewall Jackson wrote : " In this charge, in 
 which upward of a thousand men fell, killed 
 and wounded, before the fire of the enemy, and 
 in which fourteen pieces of artillery and nearly 
 a regiment were captured, the Fourth Texas, 
 under the lead of General Hood, was the first 
 to pierce these strongholds and seize the guns." 
 
 General Whiting wrote : " The battle was 
 very severe, hotly contested, and gallantly won. 
 I take pleasure in calling special attention to 
 the Fourth Texas regiment, which, led by Briga- 
 dier-General Hood, was the first to break the 
 enemy's lines and enter his works." 
 
 General Hood, after stating that he took com- 
 mand of the Fourth Texas and led it in the 
 charge, says : " At quickened pace we continued 
 to advance, without firing a shot, down the slope, 
 over a body of our soldiers lying on the ground, 
 to and across Powhite Creek, when, amid the 
 fearful roar of musketry and artillery, I gave 
 
308 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 the order to fix bayonets and charge. With a 
 ringing shout we dashed up the steep hill, 
 through the abatis and over the breastworks, 
 upon the very heels of the enemy. The Federals, 
 panic-stricken, rushed precipitately to the rear 
 upon the infantry in support of the artillery. 
 Suddenly the whole joined in flight toward the 
 valley beyond. I halted in an orchard beyond 
 the works and dispatched every officer of my 
 staff to the main portion of the brigade in the 
 wood to the left, instructing them to bear the 
 glad tidings that the Fourth Texas had pierced 
 the enemy's lines, and to deliver orders to push 
 forward with the utmost haste. » • ♦ 
 Meantime, the long line of blue to the right and 
 left wavered, and finally gave way as the Eight- 
 eenth Georgia, First and Fifth Texas, and 
 Hampton's Legion gallantly moved forward 
 from right to left, thus compelling a grand left 
 wheel of the brigade into the very heart of the 
 enemy. Simultaneously with this movement 
 burst forth a tremendous shout of victory, which 
 was taken up along the whole Confederate line. 
 I rode forward and found the Fourth Texas and 
 Eighteenth Georgia had captured fourteen pieces 
 of artillery, while the Fifth Texas had charge 
 of a Federal regiment which had surrendered 
 to it." 
 
 I have not access to the official report of Gen- 
 erals Lee and Longstreet, but as the latter, in 
 1866, complained that Lee had overlooked his 
 report of the battle of Gaines' Mill, and been 
 
FOUKTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 309 
 
 guided by that of Jackson, it is safe to presume 
 that Lee was so guided. For other obvious 
 reasons, it is equally safe to assert that in writ- 
 ing " The Memoirs of Eobert E. Lee," the 
 author. General A. I. Long, Lee's military sec- 
 retary, was guided by Lee's report when he 
 wrote : 
 
 " The day was now drawing to a close, and 
 Lee decided to end the conflict by a charge of 
 the whole line. The word ' charge,' as it 
 passed along the line, was responded to by a 
 wild shout and an irresistible rush on the Fed- 
 eral position. The Texas Brigade, led by the 
 gallant Hood, was the first to penetrate the Fed- 
 eral works." 
 
 President Davis, in his book, " Kise and Fall 
 of the Confederacy," says of the battle : " The 
 dead and wounded marked the line of their in- 
 trepid advance, the brave Texans leading, closely 
 followed by their no less daring comrades." 
 
 General Stephen D. Lee has written as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " Columbus, Miss., May 27, 1899. 
 
 " GENEEAL J. B. POLLEY : 
 
 " My Dear Combade : I have your letter of 
 May 22, with reference to Hood's Texas Brigade 
 breaking the Federal lines at Gaines' Mill, June 
 27, 1862. In reply, will state your recollection 
 of the conversation at Houston, Texas, is in the 
 main correct, excepting as to my being with 
 
310 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 General Lee. I will state the facts as I recall 
 them. It is the first time I have ever heard that 
 any command other than Hood's Texans broke 
 the Federal lines about sundown at Gaines' Mill, 
 nor do I believe that any such claim can for a 
 moment be sustained. On the afternoon of the 
 day the lines were broken I was across the 
 Chickahominy on what was known as the Nine- 
 Mile road out of Richmond, and had some guns 
 at the Garnett House overlooking the field on 
 the other side of the creek, and the great battle 
 in progress, distant some two and a half miles 
 or thereabouts. Just before sundown I was on 
 the top of the house with my glass, and Presi- 
 dent Davis (not General Lee) was in the yard, 
 a most anxious observer, and asking questions 
 as I reported progress. General D. R. Jones 
 also came up about that time on the housetop. 
 I reported our lines advancing and carrying the 
 Federal lines. General Jones took my glasses 
 and in an instant, in a joyous voice, reported, 
 ' Yes, our troops have driven the Yankees, and 
 they are fiying in great disorder towards the 
 Chickahominy.' 
 
 " The President was delighted and overjoyed. 
 Soon after, and before he left, messengers came 
 across the river and said Hood's Texans had 
 swept everything before them, piercing the lines 
 and driving the enemy before them in the great- 
 est disorder. Of course, I could not distinguish 
 at the distance what troops did the work, but 
 the messengers said the Texans had done it. I 
 heard nothing else to the contrary till your let- 
 
FOUETH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 311 
 
 ter was received. I feel sure the ofScial reports 
 will sustain the fact that the honor belongs to 
 the Texans. I have always so stated it myself, 
 as I did to your Texas Brigade at Houston. 
 
 " I have not the time now, but if you will ex- 
 amine the reports the matter can be cleared up 
 without the shadow of a doubt, in my opinion. 
 If I can further aid you it will give me pleasure. 
 My post oflce address is Columbus, Miss. 
 
 "Yours truly, 
 
 " S. D. Lee." 
 
 Judge John H. Eeagan, the sole surviving 
 member of the Confederate Cabinet, has written 
 as follows: 
 
 " Austin, Texas, June 6, 1899. 
 
 "GENEEAL J. B. POLLBY, 
 
 " Floresville, Texas. 
 
 " Deae Gbneeal : I am in receipt of your 
 letter of 3d instant, in which you call my atten- 
 tion to the claim which has been made that to 
 Pickett's brigade of Virginians, and not to the 
 Fourth Regiment of Hood's Texas Brigade, be- 
 longed the credit of being the first Confederate 
 soldiers to break the enemy's lines at Gaines' 
 Mill on the evening of June 27, 1862. 
 
 " As I was not on the field of battle I can only 
 speak from hearsay and the current understand- 
 ing at that time and since, and from having more 
 than once, soon after that battle, gone over the 
 battlefield with officers who were in the battle. 
 My information and understanding was then, 
 and has been at all times since, that General 
 
312 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Lee had ordered our troops forward once or 
 oftener, and that they had fallen back under the 
 fire of the enemy; and that when Hood's bri- 
 gade came up tiiey moved forward, and that 
 the Fourth Texas Eegiment went through the 
 abatis on the creek and drove the enemy from 
 their partially fortified lines on the steep hill- 
 side, and drove the enemy's artillery from the 
 crown of the hill, passing on to a depression in 
 the field beyond where a Federal cavalry bri- 
 gade charged them and was repulsed, and going 
 a little farther on they captured a battery of 
 artillery. In the mean time, the Fifth Eegiment 
 of Texans, Hood's brigade, commanded by Colo- 
 nel J. B. Eobertson, broke through the Federal 
 lines, to the left of where they were broken by 
 the Fourth Texas, and that together they re- 
 turned to find the Federal lines closed behind 
 them by a New Jersey regiment, which they 
 made prisoners. 
 
 " I have always understood that the Fourth 
 Texas Eegiment of Hood's brigade was the first 
 to break through the enemy's lines at Gaines' 
 Mill, and I think the charge of that regiment 
 on that occasion one of the most remarkable in 
 the history of wars, taking into consideration 
 the strength of the enemy's position, the abatis 
 to be passed through, the three lines of infantry 
 to be driven from their partially fortified lines, 
 protected by artillery which crowned the hill 
 beyond them, going into the battle with about 
 eight hundred men and coming out of it with 
 less than two hundred and fifty, its colonel killed, 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 313 
 
 its major mortally wounded, and its lieutenant- 
 colonel badly wounded in the early part of the 
 engagement. " Yours respectfully, 
 
 " John H. Eeagan." 
 
 General Longstreet, Lee's " Old War Horse," 
 tried and true, and, in the writer's judgment, 
 more " sinned against " than " sinning," has 
 been persona non grata to Virginians since he 
 dared to doubt the infallibility of a chief not 
 less mortal than himself. As, however, he of- 
 fered a crumb of comfort to them in a letter 
 addressed to me in 1899, which I have mislaid, 
 I quote it from memory. I wrote to him asking 
 what command first broke the lines at Gaines' 
 Mill. He replied with a brevity that was non- 
 committal : " The victory at Gaines' Mill was 
 won by the combined efforts of the Texas, Ander- 
 son's, and Pickett's brigade." That was all he 
 wrote. Against it, read the following from 
 Volume III. of Confederate Military History, 
 beginning on page 290, prepared by Major Jed. 
 Hotchkiss, a Virginian himself, and, therefore, 
 not likely to fail in giving a Virginia command 
 its every due: 
 
 " The forests and the condition of the country 
 occupied by Lee's lines prevented the use of 
 much artillery in this battle of Gaines' Mill, 
 but braver, daring, and more heroic endeavor 
 was never made by patriotic soldiers than on 
 that day, all along the lines, especially by Hill's 
 North Carolinians and Virginians, Lawton's 
 
314 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 Georgians, and memorably by Hood's Texans, 
 who stormed the heights of Turkey and Mc- 
 Gehee's hills, sweeping across fences and 
 ditches, through fallen timber and abatis, and 
 over intrenchments which blazed with sheeted 
 fire from infantry and artillery from the entire 
 Federal front, leaving well-nigh half of their 
 comrades dead or wounded on the way, and roll- 
 ing back in a sullen tide of defeat both the regu- 
 lars and the volunteers of Porter's corps, and 
 becoming masters of the heights they had so 
 bravely stormed. As it ever did, Jackson's 
 ' Stonewall Brigade ' pushed into the thickest 
 of the fight, across the path of Ewell, and bore 
 its full share in winning this glorious victory." 
 
 Comment is almost superfluous. Major Hotch- 
 kiss is too just a man, not to say too loyal a 
 Virginian, to suffer himself influenced while 
 writing history by any bias or prejudice. Had 
 Pickett's Virginians taken any notable or con- 
 spicuous part in that grand flnal charge of the 
 day, the fact that it belonged to Longstreet's 
 division would not have prevented the Major 
 from giving it its proper meed of praise. But he 
 not only does not mention it, but emphasizes that 
 omission by special mention of the Virginians 
 under Hill and Jackson who fought to the left 
 of the ^Texans. 
 
 And why should he say " memorably Hood's 
 Texans," if they did not in some way distinguish 
 themselves? When he was writing the lines 
 quoted it is not likely he was engaged in show- 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 315 
 
 ering bouquets around indiscriminately and 
 without regard to merit. 
 
 Holding Adjutant Cooper as the accredited 
 representative and spokesman of Pickett's bri- 
 gade — ^his gallantry and efficiency as a soldier, 
 his merits as a gentleman, sans peur et sans re- 
 proche, having been vouched for by his old com- 
 mander, now, alas, gone to join the great 
 majority — I have not deemed it necessary to 
 notice statements made by others in behalf of 
 that command. Each of the other writers patted 
 the Adjutant on the shoulder and encouraged 
 him in his heroic but audacious effort to cast 
 discredit on the statements of Lee and Jackson 
 and to reverse the long-rendered verdict of his- 
 tory, that the Fourth Texas was the first Con- 
 federate command to break the enemy's lines 
 at Gaines' Mill. No other command, brigade, 
 or regiment aided in that — the Eighteenth Geor- 
 gia overcoming the difficulties in its path only 
 in time to assist the Fourth in the capture of 
 the fourteen guns. Possibly one or two more 
 companies of the right wing of the Eighteenth 
 went through the line abreast of the Fourth — 
 the ground in their front being also quite open. 
 Doubtless, too, there was a sprinkling of Ala- 
 bamians, Mississippians, North and South Caro- 
 linians, and even Tennesseeans, moving along 
 with the Texans. If so, they were adventurous 
 spirits who, surmising that Hood would give the 
 regiment of which he had once been the colonel 
 the first opportunity to win distinction, strag- 
 gled to the front. 
 
316 SOLDIER'S LETTERS TO CHARMING NELLIE 
 
 But if any of Pickett's brigade went forward 
 with the Fourth Texas, or got with it in time 
 to assist in the capture of the guns, they came 
 from the line of recumbents over which the 
 Fourth passed before attaining the crest of the 
 ridge and getting under fire. 
 
 What troops these were, was then and has 
 ever since been a profound mystery. General 
 Whiting said of them that " he didn't know who 
 they were, and didn't want to know." Some 
 of them claimed to be Virginians, and consider- 
 ing only Adjutant Cooper's admission that his 
 brigade sought safety on the very bosom of 
 Mother Earth, previous to making an assault 
 upon the breastworks, this might appear plausi- 
 ble. Not so, though, when it is remembered that 
 the Adjutant carries his command within thirty 
 or forty yards of the works before the involun- 
 tary prostration began. These troops were fully 
 two hundred yards from the works. Besides, 
 Pickett's brigade fought half a mile to the right 
 of the Fourth Texas. 
 
 No special mention is made of Hampton's 
 Legion, and the First and Fifth Texas, comrade 
 regiments of the Fourth Texas in the brigade. 
 It would be in bad taste to apologize for the 
 omission, since neither will feel aggrieved. 
 Given the same opportunity, either would have 
 done as well as the Fourth Texas — denied it, 
 not one of them begrudges, or ever has be- 
 grudged, to the Fourth the honors it so gallantly 
 and fairly won. Their advance was across 
 heavily timbered and marshy ground, and it was 
 
FOURTH TEXAS AT GAINES' MILLS 317 
 
 therefore impossible for them to keep abreast 
 of the Fourth Texas. Besides, it is not likely 
 they began their advance quite as early as that 
 regiment, for it took time to communicate or- 
 ders in the dense undergrowth of swampy Vir- 
 ginia woodlands, especially in the month of 
 June, when every tree and shrub was in full 
 foliage. 
 
 END