David Emmons Johnston, 1845-1917 "The Story of a Confederate Boy in theCivil War"   Highlights | About | Collections | Authors | Titles | Subjects | Geographic | Classroom | New Additions The Story of a Confederate Boy in the Civil War:Electronic Edition.Johnston, David Emmons, 1845 -1917Funding from the Library ofCongress/Ameritech National DigitalLibraryCompetition supported the electronic publication of thistitle.Text scanned (OCR) byJessica MathewsonText encoded byJordan Davis and Natalia SmithFirst edition, 1998.ca. 500KAcademic Affairs Library, UNC-CHUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1998. © This work is theproperty of the University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.Call number 973.78 J72s 1914 (Davis Library, UNC-CH) The electronic edition isa part of the UNC-CHdigitization project, Documentingthe American South, or, The Southern Experience in19th-century America. Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line. All quotation marks andampersand have been transcribed asentity references. All double right and leftquotation marksare encoded as " and "respectively. All single right and leftquotation marks are encoded as ' and ' respectively. Indentation in lines hasnot been preserved. Running titles have notbeen preserved. Spell-check andverification made against printed text using Author/Editor (SoftQuad) and Microsoft Word spell check programs.Library of Congress Subject Headings, 19th edition, 1996LC Subject Headings:Johnston, David E. (David Emmons), 1845-1917.Confederate States of America. -- Army. -- Virginia InfantryRegiment, 7th. -- Company D.Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personalnarratives.Soldiers -- Virginia -- Biography.Soldiers -- Confederate States of America -- Biography.Confederate States of America. -- Army -- Military life.United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personalnarratives, Confederate.United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimentalhistories.1998-10-07, Celine Noel and Wanda Guntherrevised TEIHeader and created catalog record for the electronic edition.1998-07-20, Natalia Smith, project manager, finished TEI-conformant encoding and final proofing.1998-06-01, Jordan Davisfinished TEI/SGML encoding1998-05-23, Jessica Mathewsonfinished scanning (OCR) and proofing.   The Story of a Confederate Boyin the CivilWarByDavid E. Johnstonof the 7th Virginia Infantry RegimentAuthor of"Middle New RiverSettlements"With Introduction byRev. C. E. Cline, D. D.A Methodist Minister and Chaplain of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, U. S. A. Copyright, 1914BYDAVID E. JOHNSTONPUBLISHED BYGLASS & PRUDHOMME COMPANYPORTLAND, OREGON Page iiiPreface Some twenty-eight years ago I wrote andpublished a small book recounting mypersonal experiences in the Civil War, but this bookis long out of print, and the publication exhausted.At the urgent request of some of my old comradeswho still survive, and of friends and my own family,I have undertaken the task of rewriting andpublishing this story. As stated in the preface to the former volume,the principal object of this work is to record, largelyfrom memory, and after the lapse of many years(now nearly half a century) since the termination ofthe war between the states of the Federal Union,the history, conduct, character and deeds of themen who composed Company D, Seventh regimentof Virginia infantry, and the part they bore in thatmemorable conflict. The chief motive which inspires this undertakingis to give some meager idea of the Confederatesoldier in the ranks, and of his individual deeds ofheroism, particularly of that patriotic, self-sacrificing, brave company of men with whose fortunes and destiny my own were linked for four long years of blood and carnage, and to whom during that period I was bound by ties stronger than hooks ofsteel; whose confidence and friendship I fullyshared, and as fully reciprocated. Page iv To the surviving members of that company, to the widows and children, broken-hearted mothers, and to gray-haired, disconsolate fathers (if such still live) of those who fell amidst the battle and beneath its thunders, or perished from wounds or disease, this work is dedicated. The character of the men who composed that company, and their deeds of valor and heroism, will ever live, and in the hearts of our people will be enshrined the names of the gallant dead as well as of the living, as the champions of constitutional liberty. They will be held in grateful remembrance by their own countrymen, appreciated and recognized by all people of all lands, who admire brave deeds, true courage, and devotion of American soldiers to cause and country. For some of the dates and material I am indebtedto comrades. I also found considerable informationfrom letters written by myself during the war to afriend, not in the army, and not subject to militaryduty, on account of sex; who, as I write, sits by me,having now (February, 1914), for a period of morethan forty-six years been the sharer of my joys,burdens and sorrows; whose only brother, GeorgeDaniel Pearis, a boy of seventeen years, and amember of Bryan's Virginia battery, fell mortallywounded in the battle of Cloyd's Farm, May 9,1864.DAVID E. JOHNSTON.Portland, Oregon, May, 1914. Page vIntroduction The author of this book is my neighbor. He wasa Confederate, and I a Union soldier. Virginia born,he worked hard in youth. A country lawyer, amember of the Senate of West Virginia,Representative in Congress, and Circuit Judge, hislife has been one of activity and achievement.Blessed with a face and manner which disarmsuspicion, inspire confidence and good will, hemakes new friends, and retains old ones. Judge Johnston (having through life practiced thevirtues of a good Baptist), is, therefore, morallysound to the core. He has succeeded, not by luck orchance, but because of what he is. Withal, he hascultivated the faculty for hard work; in fact, throughlife he has liked nothing so well as hard work. A vast good nature, running easily into joculartalk, with interesting stories, in which he excels. heis able to meet every kind of man in every rank ofsociety, catching with unerring instinct the temperof every individual and company where he is. He is thoroughly American, and though havingtraveled extensively in Europe and the East, he isnot spoiled with aping foreigners, nor "rattled" bytheir frivolous accomplishments. He is likewise anexperienced writer, being the author of the historyof "Middle New River Settlements, and Page viContiguous Territory," in Virginia and West Virginia, awork of great value, which cost the author years ofpersistent research. This volume, "The Story of a Confederate Boy," iswritten from the heart, with all his might, and all hishonesty, and is characterized throughout by fertility,sympathy, and magnanimity, in recording his ownpersonal experiences, and what he saw.C. E. CLINE.Portland, Oregon. Page viiContentsI. Pre-election Statement as to Mr. Lincoln. - ThePresidential Election in November, 1860. - Fear and Anxiety. - At School with Rev. J. W.Bennett in Winter 1860 and Spring 1861. - Debating Society. - Some Recollections ofColonel Chambers and Others. - Strong StateRights Ideas. - Desire to Become a Soldier. - TheAnticipation and the Reality. - ReturnHome. - War Talk andFeeling . . . 1II. Giles County, Its Formation and Early Settlers. - Its Geographical Position, Topography andPopulation in 1860. - State of PoliticalParties. - Election of Delegate tothe Convention . . . 9III. What Will Not Be Attempted Herein. - How theSouthern People Viewed the Situation. - Virginiaas a Peacemaker. - The Peace Conference and ItsFailure. - Geographical, TerritorialPosition. - Assembling of the Convention and ItsAction. - Mr. Lincoln's Attitude and Call forTroops. - Adoption of the Ordinance ofSecession. - Preparations forDefense . . . 15IV. Organization of Volunteer Forces. - Giles Not Behind Her Sister Counties. - A Company Organized atPearisburg with James H. French as Captain;Eustace Gibson, First Lieutenant; William A.Anderson, Second Lieutenant; Joel Blackard,Second Junior Lieutenant, and Captains James D.Johnston and R. F. Watts on the Committee toPurchase Page viiiUniforms, etc. - The Ladies of theTown and Country. - In Barracks and onDrill. - Anecdote. - Dixie. - Our March toWolf Creek. - Presentation of Bible andFlag . . . 25V. The Election for the Ratification of the Ordinance of Secession Was Held on the Fourth Thursday of May - the 23rd. On that DayMembers of the House of Delegates, andPerhaps Other Officers, Were to BeElected. - Our Departure. - Lynchburg andto Manassas Junction . . . 39VI. Stay at the Junction. - Organization of 24thRegiment as Afterwards Completed. - March to Camp Davis Ford. - First Night onPicket. - Alarm. - March to the Town ofOccoquan and Back Again. - A War ofWords. - Serious Fight Imminent. - Leavingthe 24th Regiment. - Camp Tick Grove anda Personal Difference. - A More PerfectUnion. - Camp Wigfall. - Blondeau'sShot. - How We Cooked, Ate andSlept. - Shannon's Bob. - Rumors Afloat ofPending Battle. - Three Days' RationsCooked . . . 47VII. - Breaking Camp at Wigfall. - The March tothe Battlefield. - General Beauregard andHis Appearance and Advice. - First CannonShot. - Battle of Bull Run - TheAdvance. - The Charge. - TheWounded. - Isaac Hare and John Q.Martin. - Retreat of the Enemy. - SevereArtillery Duel. - The Dutchman and HisChunk of Fat Bacon. - Casualties . . . 61VIII. Night's Experience on Our FirstBattlefield. - The Dead and Cries of theWounded. - Occurrences on theField. - Sunday, July 21. - Shelled by theEnemy. - March to the Field by the Sound ofBattle. - The Battle. - Page ixCasualties. - The Pursuit. - To the Outposts. - Incidents. - Winter at Centerville . . . 69IX. Our Daily Duties. - In Camp. - Among theLast Rencounters. - Lieutenant Gibson,Corporal Stone and Others Hold a Council ofWar and Determine to Advance and DriveMcClellan from Arlington Heights. - Marchto the Outposts. - Graybacks. - ReligiousExercises. - Incidents of Camp. - Depletionof the Army. - Re-enlistments andFurloughs. - Retreat from Manassas Behindthe Rappahannock. - Albert andSnidow. - Gordonsville . . . 83X. The Stay Near Gordonsville. - The March toRichmond and Journey to Yorktown. - Inthe Trenches. - Skirmishing and NightAlarms. - Reorganization. - The Retreatfrom Yorktown. - The Old Lady's Prayer. - Battle of Williamsburg. - The Killed andWounded. - Forces and Numbers Engagedand Losses. - Retreat Up the Peninsula. - Battle of Seven Pines. - Casualties . . . 93XI. Preparations for Active Field Service. - Dress Parade and Speeches of General Kemperand Colonel Patton. - Battles AroundRichmond. - Gaines' Mill or Cold Harbor. - Frazier's Farm and Malvern Hill. - Testing aMan's Courage. - Casualties. - In Pursuit ofthe Enemy. - In Camp Near the Chickahominy. - Sickness and Death. - Threatening Attitude of the Enemy in Northern Virginia. - Concentration of the Confederate Army on theRappahannock. - Pope's Bravado. - Lieutenant Hugh M. Patton Succeeds Starkas Adjutant, and Sergeant Parke AppointedSergeant-Major, Succeeding George S. Tansill . . . 107 Page xXII. General Jackson With His "Foot Cavalry." - On the Flank and in the Rear of GeneralPope's Army. - Longstreet's DivisionDiverting the Enemy's Attention on theRappahannock. - March ThroughThoroughfare Gap. - Haymarket to theRelief of Jackson's Men. - The Fight on the29th. - Battle of August 30, 1862. - KemperCommands Division, Corse Leads theBrigade. - Pope Defeated. - Casualties. - Rainstorm and March ThroughLeesburg to White's Ford. - Crossing thePotomac. - The Cry "Back to Washington"and not "On to Richmond." - "Maryland, MyMaryland," "Bonnie Blue Flag." - Halt atMonacacy Bridge . . . 123XIII. A Soldier's Equipment. - Washing HisClothes. - How He Ate and Slept. - MarchThrough Frederick. - Middletown. - Hagerstown. - A Soldier in Active Service in the Field. - What He Possesses. - Indications of Southern Sympathy. - The Return from Hagerstown. - Battle of Boonsboro and Casualties.- Retreat to Sharpsburg . . .135XIV. Number of Men for Action in Kemper'sBrigade. - General D. R. Jones' Division. - Confederate Cavalry. - General Lee PlayingBluff with McClellan. - The Opening of theBattle. - Burnside's Attack and Repulse. - Casualties. - Re-crossing the Potomac . . .145XV. From Winchester to Culpeper. - Reorganization of the Army. - What Happened at Culpeper. - To Fredericksburg and Battle There. - In Winter Quarters. - Incidents ofthe Camp . . . 163XVI. Leaving Camp. - March ThroughSpottsylvania. - Louisa. - Hanover, Petersburg. - First North Carolina Campaign. - Heavy Snowfall and Battle. - Accident to Anderson Page xiMeadows Near Chester. - Camp NearPetersburg. - Gardner Exchanges Hats. - Lieutenant Stone in a Box. - To Weldon, Goldsboro and Kinston. - At Suffolk, Virginia; Return via Petersburg, Chester, Richmond, to Taylorsville. - John, the Drummer Boy. - Professor Hughes, Frank Burrows, and Others. - Across the Pamunky, Return and to Culpeper . . . 177XVII. Pennsylvania Campaign of July, 1863. - Culpeper and Snicker's Gap. - Fording thePotomac. - Shooting a Deserter. - PennsylvaniaInvaded. - Chambersburg. - My Dream. - Willoughby Run. - Roll Call . . . 191XVIII. Finishing Roll Call. - March to the Field. - Inspection of Arms. - Fearful ArtilleryDuel. - The Charge. - Killed and Wounded. - Army Retires. - Crosses the Potomac . . .199XIX. Sketches and Incidents While a WoundedPrisoner. - How Long in the Field Hospital.- The Walk to Gettysburg and KindnessShown Me By a Federal Captain. - In BoxCars and Ride to Baltimore. - What Occurred in Baltimore. - To Chester, Pa. - Dr. Schafer and Another. - Paroled and Back to Dixie . . . 221XX. Return to My Command. - Long Stay atTaylorsville in November and December,1863, and Part of January, 1864. - Dr.Blackwell's Address. - Our Second NorthCarolina Campaign. - General and Mrs.Pickett and Baby George. - Back inVirginia. - The Advance to Newbern. - Capture and Execution of Deserters. - In Camp at Goldsboro. - Shooting a Confederate Deserter. - The Shoemaker's Letter. - Wilmington and Mouth of Cape Fear. - Return and to Tarboro. - The Capture of Plymouth, N.C. - Page xii To Washington and Newbern. - Return toVirginia . . . 231XXI. Battle of Dreury's Bluff. - The Forces Engaged. - Casualties. - The Pursuit of General Butler's Troops. - Bombardment at Howlett's House. - The Wounding of Lieutenant John W. Mullins. - His Death. - Withdrawal from Howlett's House . . .247XXII. To Richmond. - Captured Flags. - Affair atMilford. - Tom Yowell's Yarn. - HanoverJunction. - North Anna. - Cold Harbor. - John A. Hale and His Prisoner. - MalvernHill . . .259XXIII. From Malvern Hill to the South of theJames. - Engagement at Clay's House. - Bermuda Hundred Line. - ChristmasDinner. - Our Southern Women. - Close of1864 . . . 267XXIV. Religion in the Army. - Doctors Pryor, Fontaine, Stiles. - General Pendleton. - Young Men's Christian Association. - Frazier, our Preaching-Fighting Chaplain . . . 285XXV. From January, 1865, to Close of Battle of Five Forks. - Gloomy Outlook at the Opening of theYear. - The Peace Commissioners. - Spirit of theArmy. - A. L. Fry as Regimental Clerk andHistorian. - Trouble in Company D. - ActivityWithin the Federal Lines. - General Pendleton'sSpeech. - Early's Small Force Defeated atWaynesboro. - Sheridan's Raid . . . 297 XXVI. South of the James. - Battles of Dinwiddie and Five Forks . . . 307XXVII. The Retreat. - Battle of Sailor's Creek. - Captured . . . 321 Page xiiiXXVIII. To Prison at Point Lookout, Maryland. - Prison Life. - Release. - Home . . . 335XXIX. The Conclusion. - War Ends. - The Return to Civil Pursuits. - The Confederate Soldier . . .349 Page xivPortraitsDavid E. Johnston, 16 years old, in Confederateuniform and off for the war . . .FrontispieceCaptain James H. French . . .32Lieutenant Eustace Gibson . . . 64Captain Robert H. Bane . . .80Lieutenant Elisha M. Stone . . . 112Lieutenant John W. Mullins . . .144Corporal Jesse B. Young . . . 208Lieutenant Thomas S. Taylor . . . 240Rev. J. Tyler Frazier . . .272David E. Johnston, Brigadier-General, ConfederateVeterans, and David E. J. Wilson,Captain and Aide-de-Camp . . .304 Page 1Chapter I Page 2Pre-election Statement as to Mr. Lincoln.The Presidential Election in November, 1860.Fear and Anxiety.At School with Rev. J. W. Bennett, in Winter1860 and Spring 1861.Debating Society.Some Recollections of Colonel Chambers andOthers.Strong State Rights Ideas.Desire to Become a Soldier.The Anticipation and the Reality.Return Home.War Talk and Feeling. Page 3 AS A BOY, but little more than fifteen yearsof age, I heard and learned much ofthe pre-election news, as well as readnewspapers, by which I was impressed with thethought that Mr. Lincoln was a very homely,ugly man, was not at all prepossessing, some ofthe newspapers caricaturing him as the "IllinoisApe," "Vulgar Joker of Small Caliber," and muchother of the same kind of silly rubbish was saidand published. Some of the negroes inquired ifhe was sure enough a black man. They hadheard him spoken of as a "Black Republican." At the election in November, 1860, Mr. Lincoln,the Abolition-Republican candidate, waschosen President, which caused great anxietyand alarm throughout the Southern states - infact, in other parts of the country. This fear wasintensified later by Mr. Lincoln's utterances inhis inaugural address, of which more will be saidin later chapter. Late in the Fall of 1860, and in the early Springof 1861, I was at school on Brush Creek, in theCounty of Monroe, Virginia, under the preceptorshipof Rev. James W. Bennett, a ripe scholarand genial Christian gentleman. I do not thinkI progressed as rapidly as I might, most probably Page 4on account of some things that tended to distract my attention from my studies. Toward theending of the school there was much talk aboutsecession and war; in fact, it was the theme ofevery-day conversation. Even the boys in theschool talked learnedly about the questions, andwere divided in opinion much in the same proportion as their fathers, guardians and neighbors. As day after day passed and something newwas constantly happening, the feeling and excitement became more intense. As the war cloudsbegan to arise and seemingly to overshadow us,the mutterings of the distant thunder could beheard in the angry words of debate and discussionin the councils of the country, and at home amongthe extreme advocates of secession on the onehand, and those holding extreme views opposedto the principle and policy of secession on theother. This was not confined to the men alone,but, as before stated, the school boys were would-be statesmen, and in Mr. Bennett's school organized a debating society, in which was most frequently discussed the question, "Shall VirginiaSecede from the Union?" - the question beinggenerally decided in the negative. The meetings of the society were frequently attended by some of the men of the neighborhood,and among them were Col. William Chambers, Page 5Major Arnett, and Captain Shue. Colonel Chambers was a fierce, bold, determined, and uncompromising Union man, opposed to secession in any and every form or name in which it could be presented, while Major Arnett and Captain Shuewere much of the same way of thinking, but moreconservative in their utterances. These men andothers frequently took part in the debate and sometimes sat as judges. When I took part in the discussion it was generally on the affirmative, in favor of secession,my sentiments and convictions leading me in thatdirection, though as a matter of fact my ideaswere very crude, as I knew little of the matter, nothaving at that time attained my sixteenth year.I had only caught from my uncle, Chapman I.Johnston, who had been educated and trained inthe State Rights school of politics, some faintideas of the questions involved in the threatenedrupture. Naturally following my early impressions, Ibecame and was a strong believer in and an advocate of State Rights, and secession, without faircomprehension of what was really meant by theterms. My youthful mind was inspired by thethought that I lived in the South, among a southern people in thought, feeling and sentiment, thattheir interests were my interests, their assailants Page 6and aggressors were equally mine, their countrymy country, - a land on which fell the rays of asouthern sun, and that the dews which moistenedthe graves of my ancestors fell from a southernsky; and not only this, but the patriotic songs, andthe thought of becoming a soldier, with uniformand bright buttons, marching to the sound ofmartial music, a journey to Richmond, all animated and enthused me and had the greatest tendency to induce and influence me to become asoldier. Grand anticipations! Fearful reality! When thinking of this, I am reminded of thestory of Bill Douthat of our Company, who,after trying the realities of war and soldier lifefor a part of one year, returned home, and beingstrictly inquired of as to what war was, what itmeant, or how he liked it, answered, "Well, gentlemen, I have seen the elephant; don't want tosee him any more." And after having tried it,I think I can truthfully say that Bill expressedfully our views on the subject. Leaving school about the last days of Marchor the first days of April, I returned to myuncle's house. Although Virginia had not yet seceded, therewas an abundance of war talk, and some of thepeople were rapidly coming to the conclusion thatwar was inevitable, and that the only way the Page 7controversy could or would be settled was byresort to arms, an appeal to the King of Battles, - a submission to the arbitrament of the sword. Volunteer military organizations already existed in various parts of the state; perhaps therewas scarcely a county or city in the Commonwealth that did not have at least one organizedvolunteer company. Many overzealous persons declared their purpose to unite their fortunes with the states whichhad already seceded, whatever the course of Virginia might be, and many of these zealots wereso much afraid that there would be no war, ornone in Virginia, that they hurried south; however, the ardor of at least some of them becamesomewhat frigid as the war became flagrant, until it is believed it fell below the freezing point,and some of them going over to the enemy; helpedstir up the strife, then ran away, and let theother fellows do the fighting. Page 9Chapter II Page 10Giles County, its Formation and Early Settlers.Its Geographical Position, Topography andPopulation in 1860.State of Political Parties.Election of Delegate to the Convention. Page 11 GILES COUNTY, named for Hon. William B. Giles, once Governor of Virginia, was created in 1806out of the territory of Montgomery, Tazewell, andMonroe counties; the county town or seat ofjustice, Pearisburg, being named in honor of Col.George Pearis, a soldier of the AmericanRevolution, who donated to the county the land onwhich the town is located. Colonel Pearis was adescendent of a French Hugenot, and was born inthe State of South Carolina, February 16, 1746. In abattle with the Tories at Shallow Ford of theYadkin, North Carolina, on the 14th day ofOctober, 1780, he was wounded in the shoulder,which disabled him for further military service,and on reaching Virginia sought shelter with somerelations on the New River, at a place sinceknown as Pepper's Ferry. The settlement of what is now the territory ofGiles County began at a period anterior to theAmerican Revolution, perhaps as early as 1755, ifnot a few years before that date. Among the earlysettlers of Giles County were the Lybrooks,Snidows, Harmans, Halls, Napiers, McComas',Clays, Pearis', Peters,' Hales, McKenseys, Chapmans, Frenches, Johnstons, Shumates, Hatfields, Page 12Adkins', Hares, Pecks, Hughes', Wilburns,Shannons, and Banes, who were of Scot-Irish,German, Hugenot and English blood, many of themsuffering much from Indian incursions. The population of this county, in 1860, was 6816, ofwhom 6038 were free white persons. The county issituate in the midst of the great Appalachian chainor range of mountains, distant from Richmond somethree hundred miles. Its length, thirty, by a meanwidth of twenty miles. New River flows through it ina northwest direction, the chief tributaries of which,in Giles County, are the Sinking, Walker's, Wolf, BigStony, and Little Stony creeks. Its principalmountains, Walker's, Sugar Run, Angel's Rest, WolfCreek, East River, Peters' and Salt Pond, which arehigh, rugged, and precipitous. The streams are rapid,and the surface of the country, other than the riverand creek bottoms, generally rough and broken, butthe soil rich and fertile. The population in 1861 wasmade up of sturdy, liberty-loving, hardymountaineers, engaged chiefly in agriculturalpursuits, where brave men are bred, accustomed tothe chase and the use of firearms, which fitted themfor the hardships and privations of soldier life. Politically, in 1860 and the early part of 1861, the county was fairly evenly divided between the Page 13democratic and whig parties, with perhaps a slightpreponderance in favor of the democrats, the greatbody of whom, with the State Rights whigs, beingintensely southern in character, but opposed toextreme measures, or hasty action. In January, 1861, the legislature ordered anelection for delegates to a convention to considerthe critical condition of the country, said election tobe held on the 4th day of February, at which inGiles County Mr. Manilius Chapman was electedover Mr. Charles D. Peck by a small majority. Theconvention assembled in Richmond on the 13th ofFebruary, of which more hereafter. Page 15Chapter III Page 16What Will Not Be Attempted Herein. How the Southern People Viewed the Situation.Virginia as Peace Maker. The Peace Conference and Its Failure. Geographical, Territorial Position.Assembling of the Convention and Its Action.Mr. Lincoln's Attitude and Call for Troops.Adoption of the Ordinance of Secession.Preparations for Defense. Page 17 IT IS not herein attempted to record the causeswhich led to the withdrawal of the SouthernStates from the Federal Compact of Unionframed by the Deputies of twelve of the ThirteenOriginal States, in the City of Philadelphia on the 17th day of September, 1787, afterwards acceded toand ratified by the states acting by and throughconventions of the sovereign people of the statesentering into and forming the Compact. Neither willit be discussed whether Secession is a violation ofthe Constitution, nor whether it is or is not prohibitedto the states and no power granted or delegated tothe Federal agent to prevent it. It seems no longer apractical question, hence no good purpose could besubserved by a discussion thereof. Some of thearguments, however, of the Southern people arereproduced to show how they viewed the questionat the period of which I am writing, - especially whatVirginia people said and thought on the subject. In his inaugural address, Mr. Lincoln haddeclared his purpose to repossess the forts whichhad been seized by troops of the seceded states,reading to the Virginia Commissioners on April 13tha paper setting forth his views declaring his purposeto coerce the seceded States. By the Page 18Southern people this declaration by Mr. Lincoln wasconstrued as a purpose to wage immediate war ofsubjugation against the South; in fact, no othermeaning could be given to what he said. Many of the Southern states did not want to leavethe Union, abhored war, and especially was this trueof Virginia. She therefore hesitated before taking thestep which was to separate her from that Union shehad contributed so much to create. Virginia,therefore, made overtures to the government atWashington for an amicable and peaceful solution ofthe questions agitating the country, which, if notadjusted, would soon plunge the nation into thedreadful war to which we were rapidly drifting.Virginia took the lead in the matter of pacification, bya resolution of her legislature passed early in themonth of January, 1861, recommending each of thestates to appoint commissioners to a convention, theobject of which should be "to adjust the presentunhappy controversies." This proposition met theapproval of President Buchanan. Most of the states,save those which had then seceded, responded byappointing delegates. In pursuance of this call, theconvention met in Washington, February 4, 1861, choosing John Tyler of Virginia, chairman of theconvention. After some three weeks' deliberation,this "Peace Congress" submitted Page 19a number of propositions, amendments tothe Constitution. These propositions, together withmost, if not all overtures, came to naught, wererejected by the congress and the party then incontrol of affairs at Washington. On December 20th the State of South Carolinahad seceded from the Union, affirming and claimingthat she, with her sister Southern states, could nolonger live on equal terms and in peace in that Unionand under that Constitution which many of theNorthern states did not hesitate to violate wheneverit suited their interests; and further insisting thatthere had been a powerful party organized in theNorth, upon principles of ambition and fanaticism,whose purpose was to divert the FederalGovernment from the external, and turn its powerupon the internal interests and domestic institutionsof the Southern states; that they had thus in theNorthern states a party whose avowed object notonly threatened the peace but the existence of nearlyone-half of the states of the Republic; that this sameparty in the North proposed to inaugurate apresident, at the head of the Army and Navy, withvast powers, not to preside over the commoninterests and destinies of all the states alike, but uponpartisan issues of avowed hostility, with relentlesswar to be waged Page 20upon the rights and peace of half the states of theUnion. This is but a faint picture of what awaited theSouthern states, as they saw it, upon the coming intopower of a sectional party, with Mr. Lincoln aschief magistrate, whose inaugural address clearlyforeshadowed war. After repeated demands made by South Carolina, and after several ineffectual attempts bynegotiation for the surrender of Fort Sumter, and aFederal fleet had sailed and was then off the harborof Charleston, for the reinforcing and provisioningof the garrison, it is claimed that treachery andduplicity of the Federal government had been usedto deceive the state authorities of South Carolina asto the surrender of the fort. It was therefore decided to reduce the fort;hence, on the 12th day of April, 1861, thebombardment commenced, the news of which firedthe Northern heart, notwithstanding the well knownprinciple that it is not always he who strikes the firstblow that is the aggressor, but he who by hisconduct or act forces that blow to be given.However, the shot had been fired which aroused thewhole country to the highest pitch of excitement,with seemingly no way to allay it. The war was on. Page 21 Let us return to the Virginia convention whichassembled in Richmond February 13th. These weremomentous days. This historic body, composed ofthe ablest and best men from the Commonwealthof Virginia, carefully considered the grave issuesinvolved, the fearful consequences of civil strife.Upon the best authority it is averred that two-thirdsof the men composing this convention were opposedto secession, and preferred to remain in the Union. A committee on Federal Relations was appointed,which, on the 10th day of March, reported fourteenresolutions, as follows: protesting against allinterference with slavery; declaring secession to bea right; defining the grounds on which Virginiawould feel herself to be justified in exercising thatright, namely: the failure to obtain guarantees; theadoption of a warlike policy by the government ofthe United States, or to reinforce, or recapture theSouthern forts. These resolves clearly defined the attitude of Virginia at this critical moment. After seriousdiscussion pro and con, all but the last of theseresolves had passed the convention, when the newswas received that the bombardment of Fort Sumterhad begun. Virginia was still for peace and the Union,endeavoring by every means within her power to Page 22avert the awful calamity of civil war. Her territoriallimits were extensive, reaching from the northeastpoint of North Carolina northwestward nearly fivehundred miles to a point within about one hundredmiles of Lake Erie, practically separating the easternfrom the western states of the Union; hence hergeographical position entitled her to and gave hergreat power and influence toward a settlement of theimpending trouble. It was then claimed, - which wasno doubt true, - that the Federal Administration wasanxious to see her shorn of her power, which in ameasure was accomplished by her dismemberment,by the formation of West Virginia out of her territory,and this by the aid of the Federal power. Virginia's son was foremost in fanning the flamesof revolution, leading to the overthrow of Britishtyranny and the establishment of Americanindependence. Her son had written the Declarationof Independence. Her son had led the Continentalarmies during the Revolution, and her son was activein the framing and ratification of the FederalConstitution. Virginia had been among the first tosuggest and to assist in creating the compact ofunion. To the Confederated states and in the spirit ofpatriotism and confidence in the continuance ofgood will, she had given to the Union her northwest Page 23territory, an empire within itself, out of whichsix or more states have been formed. She hadfurnished seven presidents to the Republic. It was on the 15th day of April that Mr. Lincolnissued his call for seventy-five thousand troops.Virginia's quota, 2400, were to rendezvous at pointsin Virgina, thus placing armed soldiers in herterritory, though still in the Union, her convention afew days previous having refused to secede by avote of 89 to 45. This act of Mr. Lincoln wasconstrued by our people as an act of war, andwithout authority, that power being vested inCongress alone. Thus it will be seen that all the efforts made byVirginia to preserve the Union and peace had beendefeated, Mr. Lincoln having pronounced secessionunlawful and void. Virginia was a Southern state, insympathy with her sister states of the South, andcould not be induced to make war on them, nor onthe Northern states of the Union. The conduct ofthe Federal Administration had not only forced herout of the Union, but to take sides in the impendingcrisis. It was not a Southern Confederacy that Virginia sought or her people fought for, but to uphold and maintain the integrity and sovereignty of the state,and this necessarily meant separate government.I am sure at no time did the people of Virginia Page 24think of becoming the aggressors upon the rights ofthe other states of the Federal Union. The issue was, therefore, squarely presented.Virginia must decide on which side she would stand."Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," was thealternative. There was no middle ground, no neutralposition, no evading the issue. Against her persistentattachment to the Union, the strongest appeals andbitterest denunciations, Virginia remained unmoved. When her voice and her pleadings were no longerheard, the news of the bombardment of FortSumter, and Mr. Lincoln's call for troops, reachedthe convention, the supreme moment had come.The die was cast. There could be no furtherhesitation. On April 17th the Ordinance ofSecession, amid anguish and tears, was adopted bya vote of 81 to 51. The call for troops by the President brought animmediate change in the current of public opinion inVirginia from the mountains to the sea. The Ordinance of Secession was ratified by thepeople on the 23d day of May by a majority of96,750 out of a total vote of 161,018. Virginians having now made their decision todefend themselves and their state, hastened to armswith ardor and a determined spirit of resistance. Page 25Chapter IV Page 26Organization of Volunteer Forces.Giles Not Behind Her Sister Counties.A Company Organized at Pearisburg, with JamesH. French as Captain; Eustace Gibson, FirstLieutenant; William A. Anderson, SecondLieutenant; and Joel Blackard, Second JuniorLieutenant; Captains James D. Johnston and R. F.Watts on the Committee to Purchase Uniforms, etc.The Ladies of the Town and Country.In Barracks and on Drill.Anecdote.Dixie.Our March to Wolf Creek.Presentation of Bible and Flag. Page 27 ON LEARNING of the adoption of the Ordinance of Secession by the convention,the country was ablaze with the wildestexcitement, and preparations for war began inearnest. Volunteer organizations of troops wereforming all over the state. Why and wherefore, maybe asked. Not to attack the Federal Government, tofight the Northern states, but only to defend Virginiain the event of invasion by a Northern army. Therewas at this time in the county, already organized andfairly drilled, the volunteer company of Capt.William Eggleston, of New River White SulphurSprings. Pearisburg and the region roundabout in themost part received the news of the secession of thestate with apparent relief and gladness, andimmediately James H. French, Esq., of Pearisburg,a lawyer and staunch, bold Southern man in education, sentiment and feeling, assisted by others,commenced the enlistment of a company ofvolunteer infantry to serve for the period of twelvemonths from the date of being mustered intoservice, believing that war, if it should come, wouldnot last longer than one year. Enlisting men for warwas something new; people are always ready to trysomething new, and as our people were Page 28possessed of a martial spirit, this, together with theexcitement and enthusiasm of the occasion, made itno difficult matter to enroll a full company in anincredibly short time. Names were readily obtained,among them my own. I had to go with theboys, - my neighbors and schoolmates, little thinking,or in the remotest degree anticipating, the terriblehardships and privations which would have to beendured in the four years which followed. The ideathen prevalent among our people was that we werenot to be absent a great while; that there wouldprobably be no fighting; that Mr. Lincoln was notreally in earnest about attempting to coerce theseceded states, and if he was, a few Southern menwould suffice to put to rout the hordes ofYankeedom. If, however, the Northern people wereintent upon war, our people were ready to meetthem, because thoroughly aroused. Our people had by this time arrived at the conclusion that war was inevitable; no settlement onpeaceable and honorable terms could be had. Theyhad therefore left the Union, which seemed to themthe only alternative. Consequently we felt obliged toappeal to the sword for the settlement of questionswhich statesmanship had failed to solve; yet alwayswilling to make a child's bargain with the Northernpeople, - "You leave Page 29us alone and we will leave you alone." Extravagantutterances and speeches were made as to Southernprowess. It was even said that one Southern mancould whip five Yankees; that the old women of thecountry with corn-cutters could drive a host ofYankees away; but the people who made theseassertions knew little of what they were saying, forere the war had long progressed we found we hadour hands full, and it soon became evident that wemight like to find someone to help us let go. The organization of the company whichafterwards became Company D, 7th Virginiaregiment, took place April 25, 1861. The only contestfor office worth relating was for the captaincy,which was between James H. French and AndrewJ. Grigsby, and resulted in the election of theformer. The following is a complete roster of thecompany, with dates of enlistment, rank, etc., to befollowed later by a tabulated statement of losses inbattle, by disease, desertion, discharge, etc.:ROSTER OF COMPANY D, 7TH VIRGINIAINFANTRY.Date of enlistment. Name. Rank.1861 - April James H. French. . . .Captain1861 - April Eustace Gibson . . . .First Lieutenant 1861 - April W. A. Anderson,. . . .Sec. Lieutenant1861 - April J. Blackard,. . . .Second Jr. Lieutenant Page 301861 - April Allen C. Pack. . . .First Sergeant1861 - April John W. Mullins,. . . .Second Sergeant1861 - April Joseph C. Hughes,. . . .Third Sergeant1861 - April Wm. D. Peters. . . .Fourth Sergeant1861 - April Hamilton J. Hale,. . . . Fifth Sergeant1861 - April Allen L. Fry. . . .First Corporal1861 - April Elisha M. Stone,. . . .Second Corporal1861 - April T. N. Mustain. . . .Third Corporal1861 - April John W. Hight. . . .Fourth Corporal1861 - April David C. Akers. . . .Private1861 - August George W. Akers. . . .Private1861 - August William R. Albert. . . .Private1861 - August Daniel Bish. . . .Private1861 - August Allen M. Bane. . . .Private1861 - August Robert H. Bane. . . .Private1861 - April Joseph E. Bane. . . .Private1861 - August Jesse Barrett. . . .Private1861 - April Alexander Bolton. . . .Private1861 - August Travis Burton. . . .Private1861 - August William H. Carr. . . .Private1861 - August James M. Collins. . . .Private1861 - April John R. Crawford. . . .Private1863 - March William Crawford. . . .Private1861 - April James B. Croy. . . .Private1861 - April James Cole. . . .Private1865 - January D. E. Dulaney. . . .Private1861 - April M. J. Dulaney. . . .Private1861 - August Tim P. Darr. . . .Private1861 - April John S. Dudley. . . .Private1861 - April William H. Douthat. . . .Private1861 - April Thomas Davenport. . . .Private1861 - August David Davis. . . .Private1861 - April Elbert S. Eaton. . . .Private1861 - April Elisha D. East. . . .Private1861 - April John W. East. . . .Private1861 - April Joseph Eggleston. . . .Private1861 - April James H. Eggleston. . . .Private1861 - April Francis H. Farley. . . .Private Page 311861 - April William C. Fortner. . . .Private1861 - April James H. Fortner. . . .Private1861 - April Jacob Tyler Frazier. . . .Private1861 - April William Frazier. . . .Private1861 - August Creed D. Frazier. . . .Private1861 - April William A. French. . . .Private1861 - April John S. W. French. . . .Private1861 - August Andrew J. French. . . .Private1861 - April James H. Gardner. . . .Private1861 - August Francis M. Gordon. . . .Private1861 - April Andrew J. Grigsby. . . .Private1861 - April Charles A. Hale. . . .Private1861 - April John A. Hale. . . .Private1861 - April John D. Hare. . . .Private1861 - April Isaac Hare. . . .Private1861 - April James B. Henderson. . . .Private1861 - August John Henderson. . . .Private1861 - Mar. 1862 Baldwin L. Hoge. . . .Private1861 - April 1861 James Hughes. . . .Private1861 - April James J. Hurt. . . .Private1861 - April George W. Hurt. . . .Private1861 - April John F. Jones. . . .Private1861 - April Manelius S. Johnston. . . .Private1861 - August George Johnston. . . .Private1861 - April David E. Johnston. . . .Private1861 - April George Knoll. . . .Private1861 - April Charles N. J. Lee. . . .Private1861 - April Joseph Lewy. . . .Private1861 - April Henry Lewy. . . .Private1861 - April William H. Layton. . . .Private1861 - April James Lindsey. . . .Private1861 - April Patrick H. Lefler. . . .Private1861 - August Anderson Meadows. . . .Private1861 - August Ballard P. Meadows. . . .Private1861 - April John Meadows. . . .Private1861 - April Newton J. Morris. . . .Private1862 - March Christian Minnich. . . .Private1861 - April George A. Minnich. . . .Private Page 321861 - April John H. Minnich. . . .Private1861 - April Absalom D. Manning. . . .Private1861 - April Raleigh Merricks. . . .Private1861 - April Tapley P. Mays. . . .Private1861 - April John Q. Martin. . . .Private1861 - April John H. Martin. . . .Private1861 - August Wiley W. Muncey. . . .Private1861 - August George C. Mullins. . . .Private1862 - March James J. Nye. . . .Private1861 - April John Palmer. . . .Private1861 - August Charles W. Peck. . . .Private1861 - April John W. Sarver. . . .Private1861 - April Demarcus L. Sarver. . . .Private1861 - April Josephus Southern. . . .Private1861 - April Samuel B. Shannon. . . .Private1861 - April Joseph C. Shannon. . . .Private1861 - April William H. H. Snidow. . . .Private1861 - April John P. Sublett. . . .Private1861 - April William T. Sublett. . . .Private1861 - April Lewis R. Skeens. . . .Private1861 - April Alexander Skeens. . . .Private1861 - April Joseph Skeens. . . .Private1861 - April Amos L. Sumner. . . .Private1861 - August Thomas J. Stafford. . . .Private1861 - August William H. Stafford. . . .Private1863 - January Ralph M. Stafford. . . .Private1861 - April Andrew J. Thompson. . . .Private1861 - August Adam Thompson. . . .Private1861 - August Alonzo Thompson. . . .Private1861 - April Thomas S. L. Taylor. . . .Private1861 - April Lee E. Vass. . . .Private1861 - April Washington R. C. Vass. . . .Private1861 - April Elijah R. Walker. . . .Private1861 - April Lewis N. Wiley. . . .Private1861 - April Gordon L. Wilburn. . . .Private1861 - April Ballard P. Watts. . . .Private1861 - April Hugh J. Wilburn. . . .Private1861 - August William I. Wilburn. . . .Private Page 331861 - April Edward Z. Yager. . . .Private1861 - April Thomas J. Young. . . .Private1861 - August Isaac Young. . . .Private1861 - April Jesse B. Young. . . .PrivateWhole number of enlisted officers and men, 122. Upon the company being organized, a committee was appointed by the county court to purchase uniforms and blankets. This committee, which was composed, as now recollected, of Captains James D. Johnstonand R. F. Watts, acted promptly, and the materials for the uniforms were soon on hand. The ladies of the town and surrounding country went to work in earnest and with energy to make our outfits. Herculean as was the task, they accomplished it in an incredibly short time, and we soon donned our bright new clothes, with nice brass buttons, and began to think ourselves soldiers in fact. We occupied as barracks the large frame building on the southeast side of the town, the same lately owned and occupied by Capt. James D. Johnston as a residence. While here we usually had daily squad and company drill, conducted by the accomplished Captain W. W. McComas, then a practicing physician, who had been a soldier in the Mexican War, and who, after the departure of our company, raised and organized a company of which he was made captain. He fell at his post in the Page 34forefront of the battle of South Mills, NorthCarolina, April 19, 1862. He, like many others, died toosoon for his country's good, and his friends weregreatly grieved and distressed over his untimelydeath. During the period which elapsed between theorganization and departure for Lynchburg, thedesignated place of rendezvous, and while inbarracks, "the boys," as we were wont to callourselves, played many pranks upon each other, oneof which is worth relating. A sham or mock electionwas held for the election of a fifth Lieutenant, thechoice falling on a very credulous member of thecompany, who, after the announcement of hiselection, became quite anxious to know what theduties of his office required of him, - which we,also ignorant of military duties, were unable toanswer. With his consent, it was agreed to refer thesolution of the matter to Lieutenant Anderson, whowas always full of wit and humor, ever ready withanswer, and always enjoyed a good joke. Upon thearrival of the Lieutenant, the question was promptlyreferred to him, and without pausing he promptlyanswered, "His duties are to carry water and catchfleas out of the soldiers' beds." This seemedsatisfactory to the newly elected Lieutenant, anddoubtless, as was afterwards demonstrated - for Page 35he always obeyed orders and did his duty - hewould have proceeded to perform his prescribedduties as explained by Lieutenant Anderson, had notsome one told him that it was all a joke and a sell. Early in May we were invited to a dinnerprepared for us by the good people living at andnear the mouth of Wolf Creek, whither wemarched, partook of a bountiful repast, and returnedto our barracks. During our stay in barracks atPearisburg, as before stated, we were frequentlydrilled by Captain McComas, who attempted toteach us to keep the step and to cheer, or huzzah.The latter was no easy task, for in fact we never didlearn uniformity in the "huzzah," but gradually driftedinto that wild "rebel yell," as it was called, which sooften sent a thrill of horror into the Yankee ranks,and the memory of which brings a cold chill overthose fellows yet! "Dixie," "Bonnie Blue Flag" andother patriotic songs, sung by the choir of thecompany, greatly enthused us, but "Dixie" had moremusic in it than all others put together, and it hasever been so, even to this good day. As all people of all lands are more or less fond of"flag worship," it was altogether fit and proper thatthe company should have a suitable emblem or flag,and the women, always first in every Page 36good work, determined to present to the company aflag and a Bible. Both were soon ready, and it wasdetermined to have a formal presentation of each.Miss Mary Woodram, now the widow of Dr. JamesO'Keiffe, presented the flag, and the pupils ofPearisburg Academy the Bible, which was placedin the custody of Jacob Tyler Frazier, who hadbeen selected as chaplain, the flag being deliveredto Joseph Edward Bane, the company's ensign. J.Smoot Dennis, a boy of only seven years of age, apupil of the school, presented the Bible, in thefollowing little speech: "The teachers and pupils of Pearisburg Academybeg leave to present this copy of the HolyScriptures to our magnificent 'Mountain Boomers'as an expression of our confidence in theirChristian faith and patriotism." To which the chaplain responded: "On behalf of the 'Mountain Boomers' I acceptthis book, knowing it to be the Word of God. I shallread it with care and diligence, and on all suitableoccasions will endeavor to explain and enforce itsclaims. Should any of our band fall sick in camp,or be wounded on the field, then from the greattreasure of its precious promises I will bring balmfor the suffering, and point them to Him whosemission to earth was to bind up the broken-heartedand save that which was lost. Page 37If the Pale Horse and his Rider should overtakeany of us in a distant land, we will rest in hope ofthe glorious appearing of Him who is theResurrection and the Life, and with whom weshall be gathered into that land which no foeinvades, and where friends are parted no more." Page 39Chapter V Page 40The Election for the Ratification of theOrdinance of Secession Was Held on the FourthThursday of May, the 23d. On That Day Membersof the House of Delegates, and Perhaps OtherOfficers Were to be Elected.Our Departure.Lynchburg and to Manassas Junction. Page 41 THE total vote (1033) in Giles County was cast in favor of the ratification of theOrdinance of Secession. Captain WilliamEggleston was elected to the House of Delegatesover Dr. John W. Easley by a majority of 234 votes.Our departure for the rendezvous was delayed forthe purpose of giving such members of thecompany as were entitled to vote the opportunityto do so. To avoid delay and to furnish means tocarry us to the railway station twenty-one milesaway, preparations were made in advance totransport us in wagons. The day arrived at last. It was a lovely Maymorning; the sun shone in all his splendor, thebirds sang, all nature seemed to smile, and therewas nothing to indicate that this should be the lastfarewell for many noble Giles County boys tohome, friends, and loved ones. We seemed to begoing on a holiday journey, to return in a few days.But alas! when the time of departure arrived, whata change of scene! The town was being filled withpeople, - the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters,wives, relatives, friends and lovers of the men andboys who were starting on the errand of war. Herewas a fond and loving mother clinging to her babyboy, weeping, sobbing, Page 42praying the Father of all Mercies to protectand preserve the life of her darling child, amidstthe fury and storm of battle. There stood thepatriotic, gray haired father, the tears tricklingdown his cheeks, giving to his beloved son words ofcomfort, begging that he act the man, be brave, dohis duty, refrain from bad habits, and to shun allappearance of evil. A loving sister might be seenwith her arms around a brother's neck, remindinghim of her love and attachment, and her grief andsorrow at parting from one with whom she hadbeen associated from childhood's days, upon whomshe had leaned for protection, and upon whom herfondest hopes for the future rested, and whose faceshe was, in all probability, gazing upon for the lasttime. Ears were not deaf to the mutual promisesand plighted faith of lovers, of what they hoped oneday should be realized. Nor were eyes dim to theparting glances and silent tears, for scarcely couldbe found an eye that was not bathed in tears onthis occasion. It was weeping, shaking of hands,"goodbye," and "God bless you;" and thus the scenecontinued until the long train of wagons drove usaway. On reaching the residence of that hospitablegentleman, Thomas Shannon, ten miles away, wefound in his orchard near the spring a long table Page 43on which was spread a splendid dinner. Afterpartaking thereof, and resting a short time, weresumed our journey towards Dublin, arrivingthere at sunset. Assembling near the station, wewere addressed by Colonel Pogue and Mr. FrankWysor, whose speeches were well timed andpatriotic, which, together with the good supperfurnished us, had the effect to dispel in some degreethe gloom and sadness of the morning. At eleveno'clock P. M. we boarded the train for Lynchburg,arriving there at sunrise next morning. With uswere Robinson and Hurt, drummer and fifer, whokept us well supplied with music during that longnight's ride. Crowded closely in the coaches,unaccustomed to riding on the cars, and sleepingnone, we found ourselves on reaching Lynchburgpretty badly used up. Falling into line at thestation, we marched up Bridge street to Main, thento a back street above, going into quarters in atobacco warehouse, where we remained but a dayand night; then to the fair grounds, or CampDavis, as it was called. There we were joined byCaptain Eggleston's company, the Mercer companyunder Captain Richardson, with several companiesfrom the counties of Franklin, Henry, Patrick,Floyd, Montgomery, and Carroll, which laterformed the 24th Virginia regiment of infantry,commanded by Colonel, afterwards Page 44Lieutenant-General Jubal A. Early, PeterHairston, Lieut.-Col., and J. P. Hammett asMajor. Colonel Early was not in camp with us atLynchburg and did not join us until we reached Manassas. The camp was in charge of Lieut.-Col.Hairston, a tall, slender, sandy-haired, blue-eyedman, good natured, but, as we then thought,evidently better qualified to manage his farm downin Henry County than a green military forcecomposed of Virginia gentlemen, unused as theywere to restrictions or restraints upon theirpersonal liberty, and not to be broken into harness,so to speak, in a few days. Our quarters were rude plank sheds withinclined rough floors; our bedding not of feathers,but of a little straw and blankets. As no one in thecompany knew anything of the art of cooking, whatlittle was done as a matter of course was badlydone; the cooking vessels consisting of a tin cup,camp kettle, and frying pan. Bread was generallyfurnished from the bakers' shops of the city, whilemeat, rice, beans, peas, etc., had to be dumped intoa camp kettle and boiled together - so that itrequires no strong stretch of the imagination onthe part of the reader to realize that we had a realmess. However, "necessity, the mother ofinvention," compelled us to learn how to cook, andwe were right apt scholars. Page 45 In a few days after taking up quarters at CampDavis, there were issued and delivered to usSpringfield muskets, bayonets, scabbards,cartridge boxes, but no ammunition. With thesemuskets we performed quarter guard, the chiefobjects of which seemed to be to keep the men outof the city, and to give us some knowledge as to thehandling of arms. In accomplishing the firstnamed purpose it was vain; the guards hadmuskets, but no powder and ball, therefore ifanyone were desirous of passing the lines into thecity, he had only to wait until the sentry turned onhis beat to walk away, then glide quickly acrossthe line; but when the sentry did catch a fellow, heusually made him stand at the point of hisbayonet, marking time, until the corporal of theguard could answer the call and conduct theprisoner to the guardhouse. Consequently adifferent remedy was resorted to by the officers,viz.: The frequent call of the roll, by which theabsentees were readily ascertained. This had theeffect of lessening the practice of going into the citywithout permission. We remained in Lynchburg eight days,breaking camp at Camp Davis Friday the 31st dayof May, 1861, and departing that evening in freightcars over the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, forManassas Junction, a distance of one hundred Page 46miles or more. After a long, tiresome, all-nightride, we reached Manassas at sunrise on themorning of June 1st, the morning on whichoccurred, at Fairfax Court House, a skirmishbetween the Federal and Confederate outposts, inwhich Capt. John Q. Marr, of Fauquier, was killedand Major Ewell wounded. The Confederate post atManassas was named "Camp Pickens" in honor ofGovernor Pickens of South Carolina. Page 47Chapter VI Page 48Stay at the Junction.Organization of Twenty-fourth Regiment asAfterwards Completed.March to Camp Davis Ford.First Night on Picket.Alarm.March to the Town of Occoquan and Back Again.A War of Words.Serious Fight Imminent.Leaving the Twenty-fourth Regiment.Camp Tick Grove, and a Personal Difference.A More Perfect Union.Camp Wigfall.Officers of the Seventh Virginia Regiment.Blondeau's Shot.How We Cooked, Ate and Slept.Shannon's Bob.Rumors Afloat of Pending Battle.Three Days' Rations Cooked. Page 49 THE day, or second day, after arriving atManassas, began the organization of the24th Virginia Regiment of Infantry, withcompanies from the counties of Carroll, Floyd,Montgomery, Henry, Franklin, Patrick, Mercerand Giles, including our company, the regimentnumbering about one thousand men. In ourcompany were J. Tyler Frazier, the companyChaplain, Thomas S. Taylor, James B. Henderson,the Eggleston boys, and perhaps others not nowrecalled, whose custom and habit was not to retireat night until they had held devotional exercises,thanked God for His past mercies and blessings,and asked His care and protection during thenight. This they had not failed to do since leavinghome. Taps were sounded at nine o'clock, when alllights must be extinguished. One night atManassas taps sounded while the boys were attheir devotions. Colonel Hairston, seeing the lightin their tent still burning, had the boys marchedto the guard house; but they were soon released. After two or three days at the Junction, wemarched seven or eight miles to Davis' Ford on theOccoquan river, a stream formed by the junctionof Cedar Run, Broad Run, and Bull Run, Page 50where we went into camp, pitching tents in a fieldon the right of the road, behind a skirt of pineswhich lined the northeast bank of thestream. The Occoquan here is small, with highbanks. The field where we camped was barren, noteven covered with grass. Our beds were motherearth, our rations were cooked in frying pans andcamp-kettles, and we had to wash our own clothes,often without soap. Company drill was our dally avocation, andwhen well and closely followed was quite irksome,especially in warm, sultry weather. We alsoperformed quarter guard and did picket duty, thelatter by detachments from the various companies,under the command of a commissioned officer,arranged by alternate service. The picket post wasnearly a mile in advance of the camp, the smallstream flowing between. No one but a soldier can form any properconception of the feelings and imaginations of agreen boy performing his first night's picket dutyon the outpost, and in order to give some meageridea of such a situation, the writer will here relatehis personal experience during his first night onthe outpost. It must be kept in mind that the private soldieris supposed to be a mere machine, which, if not inworking order, may somewhere along the line produce Page 51friction. This machine is supposed to knownothing but his duty and obey orders, - theinstructions of his superiors. If placed on outpostduty and told that there is nothing in front of himbut the enemy, to keep a sharp lookout, and towarn of the approach of danger, he is not expectedto ask questions. My time came to go on duty atten o'clock at night. The night was cloudy anddark, but pleasant. I was placed on the road bywhich it was supposed the enemy might come, andgiven the countersign. From ten o'clock to twelve,midnight, was the time I had to remain, unless theenemy captured or ran me away. What a long twohours! The silence was oppressive. I stood peeringthrough the darkness, away a half a mile or morefrom any human being, so far as I knew,imagining that every noise or bush shaken by thepassing breeze was a veritable foe. The long two hours had nearly passed away,when - hush! in the distance, on the hard beatenroad, not two hundred yards away, came thesound of approaching hoof-beats. Yankees, ofcourse! Who else could they be? I had noinformation that any of our troops were on the roadin front of us. What should I do? To fire beforechallenging and alarm the camp would be highlyimproper; to run away without challenging orfiring would be an act of cowardice. So, nerving myself Page 52as well as I could under the circumstances,remembering the instructions and countersign, Iawaited the coming of the party with all thecourage I then seemed to possess. Supposing themto have approached to within some fiftyyards, - though it was most likely a hundredyards - I challenged the party, and was answered,"Friends, with the countersign." Then therejoinder, "One of you dismount, come forward andgive the countersign," which was quickly done, andthe party passed on; and you, gentle reader, maybe assured there was one on his first night's picketduty who breathed with more ease. The spell wasbroken, - thereafter I had less trouble when on theoutpost. A few nights after this occurrence, the soldier onduty at this same post discharged his musket,which aroused the camp nearly a mile away. Suchexcitement was scarcely ever witnessed. The longroll sounded, officers cried out, "Fall in! Fall in!The enemy is coming!" Had this been true, there islittle doubt that in the confusion and darkness ofthe night there would have been a stampede. On the 10th of June we struck tents, taking upthe line of march for the village of Occoquan, inthe direction of the Potomac River. Our march wasonly about twelve miles, - hot, dry and dusty, througha country scarce of water. Many Page 53a scuffle at wells that we passed took place amongthe men famishing for water. Our march by theroute step was rapid, much too rapid for troopsunused to marching and carrying guns,accouterments, knapsacks, blankets and canteens,which, together, weighed from fifty to seventy-fivepounds, and which, with our heavy, close fittingcoats, made the march burdensome and cruel inthe extreme; this in part because the commandantrefused to halt for rest or to allow the men to getwater. About sunset camp was reached, all handsbroken down and exhausted. Next day we marchedback, our boys in disgust, some of them quotingthe King of France, who with fifty thousand menmarched up the hill and then marched down again. On the tramp to Occoquan occurred a difficultybetween Lieutenant Hairston and our LieutenantGibson, the two high bloods squaring themselvesin the road for battle, but the prompt interventionof Major J. P. Hammett of the regiment preventedthe trouble, which threatened to involve not onlythe two officers but their respective companies,and which difficulty was the cause of the transferof our company from the 24th to the 7th Virginiaregiment. We rested for a few days in camp in a grove ofpines not far from Manassas, to which we gave Page 54the name of "Camp Tick Grove," from the fact ofour being nearly eaten up by the seed-ticks thatinfest that region. Nothing of interest transpiredwhile in this camp further than that the writerhad a small personal difference with a great burlyfellow, which but for the timely interference of acomrade might have resulted in somebody gettingthreshed. It was a trifling affair, soon over andforgotten. Our transfer to the 7th Virginiaregiment being duly effected, we left the "camp ofterror" and at Camp Wigfall formed a more perfectunion with our new regiment, commanded byColonel James L. Kemper of Madison County; ofwhich regiment Lewis B. Williams of Orange waslieutenant-colonel, and W. T. Patton, of Culpeper,major. This regiment was formed of ten companies, twofrom Madison, two from Rappahannock, one fromAlbemarle, one from Greene, one from Orange, onefrom Washington, D. C., one from Culpeper, andone from Giles - designated by letters as follows:Co. A, Capt. John Welch, Madison County.Co. B, Capt. Thos. B. Massie, RappahannockCounty.Co. C, Capt. John C. Porter, Culpeper County.Co. D, Capt. James H. French, Giles County. Page 55Co. E, Capt. John Taylor, Culpeper and OrangeCounties.Co. F, Capt. F. M. McMullen, Greene County. *Co. G, Capt. Austin Walden, Rappahannock County.Co. H, Capt. William Cleary, District ofColumbia.Co. I, Capt. Isaac Winn, Albemarle County.Co. K, Capt. William Lovell, Madison County.Dr. C. Bruce Morton, Surgeon.Rev. Mr. Bocock, Chaplain.Rev. Mr. McCarthy, Chaplain.Rev. Mr. J. Tyler Frazier, Acting Chaplain.Captain Crisler, Quartermaster.Captain Graves, Quartermaster.Captain J. W. Green, Commissary. The adjutants who served in the 7th Virginiawere:Charles C. Flowerree, 1861 to April, 1862.E. B. Starke, April, 1862, to June 30, 1862.Hugh M. Patton, - , 1862, to August 30,1862.John H. Parr, September, 1862, to April, 1865. Sergeant-Majors:George S. Tansill, to June 30, 1862. - Park, to August 30, 1862.* This company joined the regiment on the morning ofthe day of first battle of Manassas. Page 56David E. Johnston, from November, 1862 toApril, 1865. * Camp Wigfall was situate on a beautiful uplandgrass plot, a short distance southeast of Manassas,and not far from Bull Run. Here we spent the timerather pleasantly, engaging in daily company andbattalion drill and doing picket duty on two oldcountry roads leading in the direction of Bull Run. Blondeau, the Frenchman, belonging toCompany H, caused quite a stir and excitementone night by firing his gun at an imaginary foe,which turned out to be a cow browsing in thebrush near him. The long roll was sounded, thecamp aroused, the regiment put into line, butbefore this was accomplished the camp was in anuproar, one had lost his boots, another histrousers, another his gun, etc. On the companiesreaching their positions in regimental line, tenrounds of ammunition were ordered given eachman, and non-commissioned officers directed tomake the distribution. It was often told of ourCorporal Stone that while dealing out ammunition,on the occasion referred to, one of the menremarked* I recall the names of some of the officers who came inlater as well as men, to wit: Captains W. O. Fry, ThomasFry, F. McMullen; J. W. Almerid, Thos. Harris, Phil S.Ashby, Thos. G. Popham, Jas. G. Tansill; LieutenantsPorter, Jas. Brown; Sergeants Wm. Aylor, Apperson,Parrott, Billy Fray, H. C. Burrows and Frank Burrows. Page 57to him that he was giving him more than ten caps,to which the Corporal replied in quick, sharp tone,"Oh, it's no time to count caps now!" Of course noone knowing the Corporal attributed his remark toa want of courage, for no cooler, truer, braver manbelonged to the company. Such signification as ithad was simply that men unused to "war'salarms," aroused from slumber at the dead ofnight, would, despite themselves, become excitedand impatient, and especially so when theymomentarily expected the enemy to pounce uponthem; but no enemy came. We, however, rested onour arms the remainder of the night; and thoughno foe appeared, some of the men were creditedwith having seen some in the distance - on thehills, in the open fields, but on the coming of lightthey were found to be merely harmless bushes. Onsuch occasions the imagination is naturally fertile. The camp becoming quiet, we settled down to oldhabits. Rations were abundant, more thrown awaythan we consumed. Inaction was not good for us,and numbers of men became sick and were sent tohospital. Our soldiers, like other people, loved tosleep. If their rest was broken or disturbed atnight, by picket, quarter guard, duty, or otherwise,they were sure to take a nap the next day, if theflies, of which there were swarms, Page 58would allow them to snooze. If they failed to gettheir nap during the day they were pretty sure tohave their nocturnal slumbers disturbed by gnatsand mosquitos, especially during the warm nights. Two members of our company, Samuel B. andJoseph C. Shannon, sons of Thomas Shannon, hadwith them a negro servant, Bob, as their cook. Bobwas noted for his propensity for laughing, andwhen in a good glee he could be heard half a mile.He was very patriotic, and declared his purpose togo into battle with his young masters; that hecould and would fight as well as we, and shoot asmany Yankees. In this Bob was in earnest, as hebelieved; but ere long his courage was to be put toa practical test, for rumors were already afloat inthe camp that the enemy was advancing and abattle impending. The private soldier knows little of what takesplace, other than that which comes under hisimmediate observation. His general was supposedto keep his own counsels, not allowing his lefthand to know what he intended to do with hisright. Later on, the private soldier of the Civil Warbecame often as wise about what was on hand ashis superior. An order came to cook three days' rations, packhaversacks, and be ready to move at a moment's Page 59notice. From this, we knew something wasup. Just what, we could not tell; however, welearned that the enemy was advancing, and abattle to be fought. All was now activity andpreparation in the camp, and the men in highspirits and ready for the fray. Page 61Chapter VII Page 62Breaking Camp at Wigfall.The March to the Battlefield. General Beauregard and His Appearance and Advice. First Cannon Shot. Battle of Bull Run. The Advance. The Charge. The Wounded.Isaac Hare and John Q. Martin. Retreat of the Enemy. Severe Artillery Duel.The Dutchman and His Chunk of Fat Bacon. Casualties. Page 63 BREAKING camp at Wigfall Wednesdaynoon, July 17, the 7th regiment marched in the direction of McLean's ford on Bull Run, halting on the high land nearly a mile from the Run, and going into bivouac, or rather lying down in an uncultivated field, where we restedquietly during the night. Moving next morning a short distance, we halted on an eminence, overlooking Mitchell's, Blackburn's and McLean's fords, and the country beyond, whence about noonwe observed clouds of dust to the north. Very soon after this came the sound of brisk skirmish firing, and the roar of cannon from the directionof Mitchell's ford. The 24th Virginia, 7th Louisiana, and 7th Virginia regiments constituted a brigade commanded by Col. J. A. Early. Longstreet's brigade, holdingMitchell's ford, against which the enemy directed his principal attack, consisted of the 1st, 11th and 17th Virginia regiments. The 7th Virginia moved towards the firing along a narrow country road and over a field which had been planted in corn, in which field near the road, in charge of a guard, was a Federalprisoner. We eyed him closely, Bob, the Page 64colored cook, especially observing him withinterest. At McLean's gate, as we passed, stood GeneralBeauregard, the commander of the Confederateforces, - slim, strong shouldered, five and a halffeet high, of swarthy complexion, and lightishmustache. He appeared calm, and collected, sayingas we passed, in a quiet, low tone: "Keep cool, men,and fire low; shoot them in the legs." I am reminded to state here that in the earlierbattles of the war I have seen men in theirexcitement fire their muskets into the air at anangle of probably forty-five degrees, and others solowering their guns that the ball would strike theground but a few feet in front of them. This,however, was soon corrected, and the men tookgood aim. Pushing forward from this point some twohundred yards, we halted on the left of the road under cover of a belt of pines, which sheltered usfrom the view of the enemy. Soon came the boom ofa cannon, the ball whizzing and buzzing over ourheads. All eyes turned in the direction of the noiseof the ball, which struck the house near whereGeneral Beauregard was standing. A second shotcame, the ball cutting away an apple tree near thehouse referred to, causing a team of horses to takefright and run away, as well as the Page 65colored man, Bob, who, musket in hand, hadhalted at the house, and the last seen of him thatday he was making rapid speed for Manassas. Bobnever expressed any regret for the run he hadmade, satisfied with his experience. The rattle ofmusketry in our front made strange music,affecting some of the men very peculiarly,especially John W. East, of our company, who, onaccount of a severe pain in the region of hisstomach, clasped both hands across that locality,becoming almost doubled, which wholly disabledhim for the fight. The order for the advance came, and forward wewent along the narrow country road, through thepines, with a wild yell, and at double quick,accompanied by a section of the Washington(Louisiana) artillery, commanded by LieutenantSquires. Meeting on the way some wounded men ofthe 1st Virginia regiment, pale and bleeding, hadany other than a pleasant and happy effect uponour nervous systems, tending somewhat to dampenthe ardor. Emerging into an open field two hundred yardsfrom Bull Run, by a movement by the right flank,we were in line advancing towards the stream, thebanks of which were covered with timber, theopposite bank sloping from the stream, high andprecipitous. Within one hundred yards Page 66of the stream, from the opposite bank the enemypoured into our ranks, or rather at us, a volley ofmusketry, which, thanks to his badmarksmanship, went high, doing little or nodamage, but causing us, by common impulse, as isusual with soldiers in their first battle, to fall flaton the ground, and down we went. On the side nextthe enemy, in front of Isaac Hare, was John Q.Martin, who sprang over Ike, leaving him next theenemy. Ike, with a curse and threatening gesture,compelled Martin to resume his former position.The men of the regiment were immediately upontheir feet. As they rose, Lieutenant Squires, whosesection of artillery had unlimbered immediately inour rear, gave the command, "Fire!" whichcommand, being mistaken by our men for that ofour own officer, caused us to let fly a terrific volleyat the enemy in the woods in our front, and thiswas followed by a rush with fixed bayonets for thestream, behind which the enemy was posted,forcing him to retreat in confusion, leaving hisdead and wounded, knapsacks, haversacks, hatsand part of his small arms. Reaching the bank ofthe stream, the regiment lay down, and therefollowed for more than an hour a fierce artilleryduel between the Federal batteries and theConfederate, the latter under Lieutenant Squires,which resulted in the withdrawal of the Page 67former. During this bombardment, shell, shot andshrapnel fell around and among us, wounding afew men of the regiment, but all were quiet, andcontinued to hug the ground. This was about fiveo'clock in the afternoon. George Knoll, "Dutchman," as we usually calledhim, being in his characteristic mood, but hungry,took from his haversack a chunk of fat bacon,stuffing himself while the artillery fire was inprogress. Quiet now reigning, we began to look after thewounded and prepare for spending the night inbattle line in front of the enemy, who had retiredfrom our immediate front, but still hovered nearby. The troops engaged on the Confederate side, savethe artillery mentioned, were principally the 1st,11th and 17th Virginia of Longstreet's brigade, withthe 7th Virginia of Early's. The losses inLongstreet's regiments, as reported, were: Killedand mortally wounded, 15, and slightly wounded,53. Of these casualties 40 were of the 1st Virginia.Seven were wounded in the 7th Virginia of Early'sbrigade, one killed and five wounded of theartillery. In Company D of the 7th regiment IsaacHare and James H. Gardner were slightlywounded by spent balls. H. C. Burrows of ECompany got a musket ball through his hand; a Page 68man of B Company had his hand or fingersmangled by a piece of shell. The Federal force that attacked us wasRichardson's brigade, of Tyler's division, consistingof the 1st Massachusetts, 2d and 3d Michigan, and12th New York regiments; Ayers' battery, andBrackett's cavalry. The Federal loss, as reported,was 19 killed, 38 wounded, and 26 missing. Page 69Chapter VIII Page 70Night's Experience on Our First Battlefield.The Dead and Cries of the Wounded.Occurrences on the Field. Sunday, July 21.Shelled by the Enemy. March to the Field by the Sound of Battle. The Battle. Casualties.The Pursuit. To the Outposts. Incidents.Winter at Centerville. Page 71 RETURNING to the battle line, we foundourselves groping around in the dark.Knowing the enemy to be close by, wequietly went to work throwing up temporarybreastworks of logs. The cries of the Federalwounded, and the groans of the dying, theoccasional volleys of musketry fired by some of ourtroops at imaginary foes, with the hooting of owls,made the night hideous and weird, deeplyimpressing the nature of a lot of young Virginiaboys reared in Christian homes. The regimentbehaved, however, with great coolness during theentire night, encouraged by the example, presenceand good conduct of our brave Lieutenant-ColonelWilliams, then in command, Colonel Kemper beingabsent on public service. With the coming of daylight, the Confederatescouts crossed the Run, brought in the Federalwounded, and quite a number of muskets,knapsacks, blankets, canteens, cartridge boxes,and hats, thrown away or dropped by the enemy inhis flight. By an examination of the dead in frontof our regiment, it was ascertained that we hadfought the 1st Massachusetts regiment. This action of the 18th was preliminary to thereal battle which came on Sunday the 21st, but on Page 72different ground, seven or eight miles northwest ofthe engagement of the 18th as just described.During Friday and Saturday all was quiet, theConfederate line of battle extending from UnionMills to Stone Bridge, several miles in length; theenemy in the meantime keeping up a showing offorce, threatening our front at McLean's,Blackburn's and Mitchell's fords, while his maincolumn was moving or preparing to movenorthwest to strike the Confederate battle line inflank and reverse on its extreme left. Our regiment remained Friday night and untillate Saturday evening at the same place at whichit had halted on Thursday; being then relieved byother troops, retired to a pine thicket close by,where we received a bountiful supply of rations,some in boxes from home, - a thing that makesglad the heart of a homesick boy. On Saturday evening we were joined by ColonelKemper, the commander of the regiment. Atsunrise on Sunday morning, July 21, theenemy's batteries near Blackburn's opened fire, onaccount of which we marched to the cover of thepines, between McLean's and Blackburn's fords,remaining but a short time. Our regiment,together with the 7th Louisiana, crossed the Runat McLean's ford for the purpose of attacking theenemy's batteries, which were annoying us, occasionally Page 73throwing shots into our ranks, without,however, doing any serious damage. It will berecalled by those present that while lying downbehind the pines a shot struck near the center ofour company, scattering dust and dirt over us. While getting into battle line, preparatory toassault upon the batteries, an order came toretrace our steps to the cover of the pines. Thiswas near 12 M. By this time we distinctly heardthe roar of heavy guns far to our left, and the greatBattle of First Manassas was on. Near one o'clock P. M., we moved by a rapid gaitwith the head of the column directed northwest,guided by the sound of the battle. The distancefrom our starting point, McLean's, by the route wemarched to the extreme Confederate left, was fullyeight miles, which distance was covered in twohours, notwithstanding the scorching rays of thesun, stopping not for rest or water, for want ofwhich we suffered. The three regiments of ColonelEarly's brigade, 7th Louisiana, 7th Virginia, and13th Mississippi, (the latter substituted for 24th Virginia) passed to the extreme Confederate left,reaching there at near 3:20 P. M., findingthemselves face to face with the foe at the Chinnhouse and in open ground. Approaching the scene of action, a wild cheerwas heard, following which a man on horseback Page 74at full speed, hatless, face flushed, covered withperspiration and dust, brandishing his sword overhis head, and shouting, "Glory! Glory! Glory!" roderapidly by. In answer to inquiry as to what wasthe matter, he said, "We have captured Rickett'sbattery and the day is ours." This was the firstglad news we had received, and all were thrilledwith new courage. Cheering wildly, the menpressed forward at double quick. Passing in rearand beyond a wood into which Smith's Confederatebrigade had just entered, we encountered the fire ofthe enemy, mostly United States Regulars. The7th Virginia here formed quickly, the 7thLouisiana and 13th Mississippi forming on the left,thus completing the battle line with threeregiments front. Nor had we arrived a moment toosoon, for the enemy was pressing our left flanksorely. There they were, in full view on our front,and to the left of us on the higher ground. HereColonel Early * ordered us not to fire,saying thatthey were our friends: a grievous blunder upon hispart, the result of misinformation not easilyexplained. Captain Massie, whose company wasarmed with rifles, called out, "Colonel, they may beyour friends, but they are none of ours. Fire, men!"and fire they did.* See Colonel Early's Report, Rebellion Records,Series 1, Vol. II, pp. 555-6. Page 75 As we formed, the enemy at long range kept upan irregular fire, inflicting upon our menconsiderable loss in killed and wounded, and allthis while we were too far away from them to pay themback in their own coin. As we pushed forwardtowards the enemy, they retreated pell-mell, wechasing them over the hill towards Bull Run,considerably in advance of the general Confederatebattle line forming across a peninsula created by asharp curve on Bull Run between Stone Bridge andthe mouth of Catharpin creek. Up to this time we had little realization of theutter defeat of the Federal army, the evidence ofwhich we saw a few days after, when, following hisline of retreat, we found guns, caissons, muskets,ambulances, spades, picks and knapsacksabandoned in his flight. The only reason seeminglythe enemy had for running as he did was becausehe could not fly. The casualties in the 7th Virginia for the limitedtime it was under fire were severe - nine killed andthirty-eight wounded, our Company D losingJoseph E. Bane, a brave and gallant soldier, killed;Robert H. Bane, A. L. Fry, Manelius S. Johnston,Charles N. J. Lee, Henry Lewy, John P. Sublett,and Samuel B. Shannon wounded. The loss of theConfederates in the battle was 387 killed, 1582wounded, and 13 captured. Page 76 The Federal loss was 2896 men, of which 460 werekilled, 1124 wounded, and 1312 captured or missing,besides 26 pieces of artillery, 34 caissons and sets ofharness, 10 battery wagons and forges, 24 artilleryhorses, several thousand stand of small arms,many wagons and ambulances, large quantities ofarmy supplies of all kinds. The Confederate army remained on the fieldafter the battle for two days, amidst a terrificrainstorm; then marching beyond Centerville, sixmiles to the east, went into camp in a body ofwoods, where we remained for some weeks; thencemoved a short distance beyond Fairfax CourtHouse. Here we laid out our camp and pitchedtents, which was barely done when the long rollsounded and we were quickly on the march in thedirection of Alexandria and Washington, whitherwe should have been pushing the day after thebattle; for if vigorous pursuit had been made,Washington would have fallen into our hands. The march referred to took us to Munson's hill;learning on the way that a brisk skirmish betweenthe enemy and some Confederate troops hadoccurred during the day, which had only endedwith the approach of darkness. Halting nearMunson's hill, an order was given to loadmuskets, and again we moved forward. John W. Page 77East, from sheer cowardice - constitutional - hecould not avoid it - fell at full length in the road.John turned up in camp a few days after, in fairhealth and clothed in his right mind. Theregiment passed on a few hundred yards to thebase of the hill, going into camp. The followingmorning, Company K, together with Company D,under Captain Lovell, on the right and front of thehill had quite a sharp skirmish with the enemy.Next morning, Saturday, August 30, MajorPatton, with Companies B and D, advanced toBailey's Corners, three-quarters of a mile or so,where they engaged in quite a fusillade with aportion of the Second Michigan regiment, in whicha lieutenant of B Company was wounded, and oneman of the Michigan regiment was mortallywounded. In a few days after the skirmish just described,we returned to our camp, where we found peaceand plenty. Lieutenant W. A. Anderson, who atCamp Wigfall had been detailed to go back homeand secure additional men to fill up the loss in theranks, caused by sickness, had returned with thefollowing men, to wit: George W. Akers, WilliamR. Albert, David Davis, Creed D. Frazier, A. J.French, Francis M. Gordon, John Henderson,George Johnston, P. H. Lefler, Anderson Meadows,Ballard P. Meadows, Winton Page 78W. Muncey, George C. Mullins, Charles W. Peck,Thomas J. Stafford, William H. Stafford, AdamThompson, Alonzo Thompson, William I. Wilburnand Isaac Young. With the exception of company and regimentaldrill, some picket duty, and quarter guard, we didlittle but cook, eat, write letters and sleep. Theweather was hot, the water bad; this, with anoverabundance of rations, and insufficientexercise - in fact, a life of almost entire inactivity - were the fruitful sources of disease, and many ofthe men were sick, a number of them finding theirway to the hospital; among them, Allen C. Pack,Ed Z. Yager, William Sublett, John Henderson,William Frazier, H. J. Hale, and doubtless others,not now recalled. Frazier, Henderson, Sublett andHale died, as did Alonzo Thompson, whose deathsand loss were much regretted. Strange, yet true,that many of our strongest men fell victims todisease, while those apparently much weaker stoodthe service well. While on picket duty at Fall's Church, aCaptain Farley, with smooth face, fair skin andblue eyes, claiming to be - and was - a SouthCarolinian, and an independent scout, approachedour outpost and proposed that some of the men gowith him into the timber in front of the picket andrun the Yankees out. Our boys regarded Page 79this as preposterous, and on went Farley. He hadnot been in the woods long till firing began, and hesoon returned with blood streaming from his ear:he had a close call. During the months of August and September weserved on frequent picket duty at Munson's,Upton's and Mason's hills, and at Annandale. Ourlines were fairly well connected. The enemy, notbeing able to discover by their scouts what we weredoing - what movements we were making, or whatforce we had, resorted to the use of balloons. Onone occasion our people fired at a balloon withcannon shot, and down came the balloon. A shortwhile after this, the balloon was up again, whenour boys concluded to at least give the man in thebasket - Professor Lowe - a scare; so, rigging upthe rear gears of a wagon with a stovepipe, ran theimprovised artillery to the hilltop, in full view ofthe aeronaut, pretending to load. The Professordescended quickly, only to appear again at a saferdistance. On one of our tramps to picket we went toAnnandale and remained a day or so with CaptainHarrison's Goochland Dragoons, which did outpostduty during the day and we at night. We livedlargely, while on picket, on green corn, potatoes,and sometimes other vegetables, a relief Page 80from fresh beef, bacon and hardtack, theregular diet of camp life. As the enemy perfected his lines, he becamebolder, pressing closer. This led to frequentcollisions between the troops on outpost duty.These conflicts were by general orders discouraged,and called petty warfare. Nor were these withouttheir casualties - if not caused by the enemy,sometimes by accident, or mistake - carelesshandling of firearms in passing through the brush,carrying of arms at a trail and catching thehammers against some obstacle. One suchaccident is recalled by which a man by the name ofLink, of Captain Eggleston's Giles company, losthis life. During the sojourn at Fairfax, a detachmentunder Lieutenant Allen of the 28th Virginia, wassent to the station on the railway to guard somebaggage and stores deposited there. Of thisdetachment was John R. Crawford, of ourcompany, who for true physical courage, braveryand self-possession, had scarce an equal; indeed, itwas often said of him that he knew no fear - didnot know what it meant - never dreamed norimagined what danger was; that he felt as much atease in the storm of battle as when resting quietlyin the camp. The reader doubtless has heard ofthe "Louisiana Tigers," who in the first Page 81battle of Manassas, when closing with the enemy,threw down their muskets and rushed upon theenemy with their bowie-knives. They were adangerous, blood-thirsty set - at least so reputed.It was two of these same "Tigers" who foundCrawford on guard over the baggage and storesabove referred to, which they proposed toappropriate. Crawford warned them to stand offand go away. They paid no heed to the warnings,but persisted in their purpose. Crawford thenreversed his musket and downed the mannearest to him, who fell trembling and bleeding athis feet; whereupon his companion quicklyadvanced to his rescue, but Crawford's belligerentattitude caused him to beat a hasty retreat. The Winter of 1861-1862 was spent at Centervillein camp, our quarters being constructed of loghuts with wooden chimneys. The Winter was coldand dreary, and we had some difficulty in keepinga supply of rations, which had to be transportedfrom the junction six miles away by wagons overa road deep in mud and mire. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing ourVirginia state flag from many flags of other statescarried by the enemy in the battle of Manassas,whereby we had been threatened with seriousconsequences, such as occurred with our ownbrigade on that field: it became necessary Page 82to have a flag uniform in design for all the Confederate army. Such a flag was designed byColonel Miles, of South Carolina, and presented byGeneral Beauregard to the army. This flag wasabout twenty-two inches square, the field red,with blue stripes from corner to corner at rightangles, with thirteen white stars; and was everafter our battle flag. Again we were on picket, Crawford on outpost,with instructions to keep a sharp lookout, as theenemy was near, but not to shoot without calling"halt" the usual three times, and if no halt made,to shoot. Shortly after Crawford took post, his criesof "Halt! Halt! Halt!" were heard, and bang! wenthis gun. The corporal ran to see what was thematter: he found Crawford standing quietly at hispost as if nothing had happened - a stray fat hoghad wandered to the post and had not halted atCrawford's command, consequently was dead.Crawford's only explanation was, "I obeyed orders."The hog was roasted, with many compliments forCrawford, and all had a feast. Page 83Chapter IX Page 84Our Daily Duties. In Camp.Among the Last Rencounters.Lieutenant Gibson, Corporal Stone and Others Hold a Council of War and Determine to Advance and Drive McClellan from Arlington Heights.March to the Outposts. Graybacks.Religious Exercises. Incidents of Camp. Depletion of the Army. Re-enlistments and Furloughs.Retreat from Manassas Behind the Rappahannock.Albert and Snidow. Gordonsville. Page 85 OUR duties in camp during the Winter were notonerous, save quarter guard inclement weather, especially rain and extremecold, for it will be remembered that we had noshelter on quarter guard post - that is, none whileon post and on the beat, as a guard must always bein the open, both as to weather and to the foe. Theguards were divided into three reliefs: the firstwent on at 9 o'clock A. M., the second at 11, thethird at 1. This order was observed during thetwenty-four hours. When off post we were requiredto remain at the guard house, unless by specialpermission of the officer of the guard. The quarterguard were supposed to be the special custodians ofthe quiet and safety of the camp. The mode ofplacing guard on post was as follows: A sergeant orcorporal commenced at the top of the roll, thenumber of men being equal to the number of posts.Beginning with post number one, we marchedaround the entire camp, relieving each sentinelwith a new man. When this was to be performed atnight, the countersign (a pass word adopted atarmy headquarters and transmitted to the varioussubordinates) was delivered in a whisper to theguards by the officers thereof, so that as the Page 86sergeant with the relief guard approached thesentry, he was required to halt and give thecountersign. Colonel Kemper, still a member of the GeneralAssembly of Virginia, was absent for the greaterpart of the Winter. Lieutenant-Colonel L. B.Williams, a rigid disciplinarian, who was left incommand, endeavored by watchfulness, to haveeverything done in strict military style; frequentlyvisiting the guard house, having the officer turnout the guard, call the roll, and woe to the manabsent or out of line when his name was called.Punishment was sure to follow in the way ofdouble duty or otherwise. On one occasionLieutenant Anderson and W. H. Layton, havingboth imbibed too freely, took a jaunt to the guardhouse, where they had no business, and hereColonel Williams, on one of his visits, found them.Layton was placed in the guard house and thelieutenant in arrest. During this stay in Winter quarters, PrivatesMays, Farley, Thompson and John W. East had analtercation, the last (save two) which occurred inthe company. It was not an uncommon thing forthe soldiers to discuss the conduct of the war, theremissness and failure of commanders, theprobabilities and improbabilities of success, peace,the plan of battles, and the war policy, offensive Page 87and defensive. A discussion of this kind is wellremembered as having occurred betweenLieutenant Gibson, then officer of the day; CorporalStone, Sergeant Peters, Sarver, Hare and others,in the quarters of my mess, while at Centerville. Itwas at night; the boys had gotten in a littlestimulant. Lieutenant Gibson dropped in, and withthe others, imbibing freely, began in a very seriousway the discussion of the surest and quickest wayor mode of ending the war, and restoring peace toour distracted country. After much discussion proand con, which lasted practically throughout thenight, Corporal Stone submitted a plan to which allreadily assented, and which was as follows: To"attack immediately General McClellan's army,drive it from Arlington Heights, capture theFederal capital, then propose an armistice andcongress of the states." Stone was for starting thatnight, for prompt and aggressive action, but Petersfavored postponement until morning, which was bythis time at hand. Just then the long roll soundedto arms, and a march toward Washington, sureenough, began, but with only our regiment. And,oh! such headaches as Stone, Peters, Gibson andthe others in the war council had, and howformidable and impregnable now appearedArlington, which a few hours before was to thembut a mole Page 88hill. Our mission was to relieve a Louisianaregiment then on picket near Fairfax, where weremained for a week, occupying the quarters justvacated by the Louisianians. Here it was that weformed our first acquaintance with the"graybacks," which filled our clothing andblankets, much to our discomfort. Oh! the diggingunder the shirt collar, under the arm pits, andevery point where the cruel pest found the flesh ofthe poor soldier. It was a difficult matter to ridourselves of them - they seemed over anxious toremain with us. Nothing short of boiling themhard in water got rid of them. The next Summeron the peninsula, in the swamps of theChickahominy, and around Richmond, we hadthem in abundance, the boys often saying that theyhad stamped upon their backs the letters, "I. F.W.," which, interpreted, meant "In for the war." During our stay in Winter quarters atCenterville, there was little, if any, preaching orreligious exercises, as there was no place to havepublic services, and the weather was too severe tohold services in the open. The mess of J. TylerFrazier, in which were Thomas S. Taylor, JamesB. Henderson, F. H. Farley, John F. Jones,William C. Fortner, Joseph Eggleston, JamesEggleston, and perhaps others, never neglectedtheir Page 89religious duties, and in quarters invariably read achapter of the Bible, sang a hymn, and prayedbefore retiring at night. These men, by theirupright conduct, observance of their religiousduties, their Christian character and conversation,had great influence over their comrades, andespecially upon the conduct and morals of thecompany. The expiration of the term of service, twelvemonths, of most of the men was rapidlyapproaching; the ranks having been much depletedby sickness, death and other causes. No adequateprovision had yet been made for the retention ofthose already in the field, or for the filling of theranks. It was evident that if the war was to beprolonged, and the contest maintained, we musthave an army. With one year's service many weresatisfied; the fever had worn off, enthusiasm wason the wane. The government, to induce re-enlistment, was offering fifty dollars bounty andthirty-day furlough. Quite a number availedthemselves of an opportunity to go home byaccepting the bounty and re-enlisting. Someeighteen of Company D took advantage of the offer,among them E. M. Stone, John D. Hare, J. W.Mullins, A. L. Fry, J. W. Hight, John W. East, R.H. Bane, J. B. Young, Tom Young, W. H. Layton,Tom Davenport, John Page 90Palmer, and the writer. Tom Young, Davenport,Layton and Palmer never returned - deserted. On our return to the army we were accompaniedby Christian Minnich, who enlisted in the company,having two sons therein. The question of re-enlistment was soon settled by an act of Congress,which placed every man in the Confederate statesbetween the ages of 18 and 35 in the army for threeyears, or until the close of the war, retaining all thatwere under 18 and over 45 for ninety days,continuing the organizations then existing, with theright to elect regimental and company officers. March 1, or thereabouts, in 1862, the enemybegan to push his lines closer up, and to make morefrequent reconnaissances, and to extend his linestoward Aquia Creek on the Potomac, on the rightflank of the Confederate army, causing ourcommander uneasiness, no doubt, as to thetenableness of our position, and hence on or aboutthe 10th of the month orders were issued to cookrations, and be prepared to march. The movementbegan three days later, with the head of the columndirected toward Warrenton and the RappahannockRiver, which was crossed the second or third day.At Centerville we left burning immense quantities ofprovisions and army Page 91supplies, of which later we stood in dire need, theinadequacy of transportation being the excuse forthe destruction. At a point either in Culpeper or Rappahannock,near where we one night encamped, was adistillery, of which some of our men tookpossession, procuring Old Man Riley Albert tomake a run of applejack, with which they tanked up,then filled their canteens, with no way to transportthe residue. Harry Snidow and others from anearby store procured jars, with which they trudgedalong until the jars were emptied. No one wasdrunk, but the boys were happy and jolly. Gordonsville, in Orange County, near the junctionof what was then the Central and Orange andAlexandria railroad, was reached, where we wentinto camp. Page 93Chapter X Page 94The Stay Near Gordonsville. The March to Richmond and Journey to Yorktown. In the Trenches.Skirmishing and Night Alarms.Reorganization. The Retreat from Yorktown. The Old Lady's Prayer. Battle of Williamsburg. The Killed and Wounded. Forces and Numbers Engaged and Losses. Retreat up the Peninsula. Battle of Seven Pines. Casualties. Page 95 OUR stay in the vicinity of Gordonsville was ofshort duration - only for a few days - for on orabout April 1 we set out for Richmond, distant aboutseventy-five miles. The route taken lay through thecounties of Louisa, Hanover and Henrico, a low,flat, swampy territory, and in March and April kneedeep in mud. The people along this march wereunaccustomed to seeing large bodies of armed menmarching. The negroes, especially, gazed upon uswith seeming astonishment. How long we weremaking this march to the capital city is not nowrecollected, but as we carried heavy burdens at thatday, it is probable we did not reach Richmondbefore the 8th or 9th of April. On the 10th of the month last mentioned, the 7thregiment left Richmond aboard a steamer on theJames River, disembarking at King's Landing, tenmiles from Yorktown, inland, whither we marchedthe evening of our debarkation. We took position inand near the trenches for the purpose of preventingthe Federal army from marching up the peninsula.Now and then a brisk skirmish would occur onsome part of the lines, scarcely a night passingwithout picket firing and alarms; one of whichoccurred during Page 96a heavy rainstorm, in which the men stood to theirguns throughout the night and were thoroughlydrenched by the rain. The time for reorganization of the army hadarrived, and this was accomplished quietly onSaturday, April 26, 1862, in the face of the enemy.Before giving in detail the result of thereorganization, will state that a very decidedchange had taken place among the men as to theirestimates of the character and ability of theirofficers, field and company. Many were moved bytheir dislikes and prejudices, engendered by contactin their first year's service, against officers who hadendeavored to enforce obedience and strict militarydiscipline, prompted by no other motive than thegood of the service; yet these acts, done inaccordance with military law, and inspired bypatriotism, were often misconstrued by men bornfreemen, wholly unaccustomed to having restraintsplaced upon their personal liberty; such acts, theexercise of such authority, being regarded by ourvolunteer citizen soldiery as tyrannical.Consequently those who had been foremost inrushing to the country's rescue in the early days ofher peril, bravely leading their men to the forefrontof the battle, were displaced, to the detriment of theservice; but patriotic and good men are oftentimesonly Page 97human. The organization was, however, effectedapparently without injury to the public service. Captain James H. French, of my company, wastaken sick on the march from the Rappahannock,and was left in Richmond; consequently he was notpresent at the reorganization, and perhaps was nota candidate for re-election. Had he been present anda candidate, it is more than probable he would havebeen again chosen captain without opposition, as noone could have had any personal grievance againsthim. He had proven himself a man of unflinchingcourage, and as much in this respect could be saidof the other company officers. Save one, LieutenantJoel Blackard, all were displaced. Blackard, in thereorganization, was elected captain; Sergeant R. H.Bane, first lieutenant; Orderly Sergeant John W.Mullins, second lieutenant; Corporal E. M. Stone,third lieutenant. The non-commissioned officerselected were: A. L. Fry, first sergeant; W. H. H.Snidow, second sergeant; William D. Peters, thirdsergeant; Joseph C. Shannon, fourth sergeant; thisscribe, fifth sergeant; A. J. Thompson, firstcorporal; Daniel Bish, second corporal; George C.Mullins, third corporal, and J. B. Young, fourthcorporal. Comment as to the choice of the men will nothere be made, nor the character of the new officers, Page 98as ample opportunity will be afforded inthese pages to judge their conduct. It suffices tosay now that the company had no cause for regret. Of the regimental officers, Colonel James L.Kemper was chosen to succeed himself; Major W.T. Patton was elected lieutenant-colonel; AdjutantC. C. Flowerree, major; Lieutenant Starke wasappointed adjutant; George S. Tansill, sergeant-major. Dr. C. B. Morton was regimental surgeon,with Dr. Oliver assistant, and upon the promotionof Dr. Morton to brigade surgeon, Dr. Oliverbecame regimental surgeon, with Dr. Worthingtonas assistant. As recollected, Company H, from the District ofColumbia, having served its one year, for which ithad enlisted, disbanded shortly afterreorganization. Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis B. Williams, thanwhom no braver man wore the gray, was electedcolonel of the 1st Virginia regiment. Prior to thebattles of Bull Run and Manassas, the 7thregiment had been brigaded with the 24th Virginiaand 7th Louisiana, under Colonel J. A. Early. Afterthese battles, we were commanded by GeneralEwell. Subsequently, the 1st, 7th, 11th and 17thVirginia regiments formed General Longstreet'sbrigade. On reaching Yorktown, Page 99Brigadier-General A. P. Hill became ourbrigade commander, General Longstreet havingbeen made a major-general, to whose division ourbrigade was attached. At this juncture we were still at Yorktown, withthe enemy bold and threatening in our front. Itwas evident, therefore, that a collision wasimminent, either where we were or near by. Theorder came to move on Saturday evening, May 3.W | |
