The roads were sandy and the day was intensely hot, and the weight
of the saddle increased every mile. Soon we struck a column of
troops marching in the same direction as ourselves, and the men
began the usual chaff. “I say, Mister,” said one, “who stole your
horse?” Another, in an expostulatory tone of voice, rejoined: “Why
don’t you let him alone; don’t you see that the other man is going
to get up and ride?” Then again: “Come out of that saddle; it’s
no use to say you ain’t there; I can see your legs sticking out.”
One man very demurely stepped up to Captain Taylor, and said: “You
must not mind these boys, sir; they don’t mean any harm by it.” He
replied very courteously: “I don’t mind it all, my friend.” “Well,”
continued the man, “they don’t mean any harm, but they always carry
on in that way whenever they see a d--d fool come along.” This last
sally caused a shout all along the line; and we were glad enough to
part company with them.
That night we met with some of Captain Taylor’s friends, who gave
us supper; after which we had a bath in a creek near by, and,
rolled up in our blankets, had an excellent sleep.
In the morning we were on the road betimes; and I managed to
stow away my saddle in a wagon. There were all manner of rumors
concerning the whereabouts of Longstreet, and we kept on until
we reached the little village of Stevensburg. No positive
information could be obtained here; but we found a man who was
willing to let us have dinner. We enjoyed the meal thoroughly,
chatting merrily the while. Two or three citizens came into the
room and scrutinized us closely, but we paid no attention to
them. Presently, after whispering among themselves, one of them
approached me and said: “What battery do you belong to, sir?”
“None at all,” I replied; and went on with my dinner. Shortly he
returned, and said: “What State do you hail from, sir?” “None at
all,” I replied, “except a state of semi-starvation.” This seemed
to annoy him, and he tried me once more: “Where are you going to?”
“To General Longstreet’s head-quarters,” I answered. “What for,
sir?” questioned the stranger. In the meanwhile I had finished my
dinner, and feeling very comfortable, I turned to Captain Taylor
and said: “I have heard a great deal of the curiosity of Americans,
and I am disposed to gratify it as far as I can conveniently; but
this man is becoming a bore.” The inquiring citizens now took a new
turn, and asked Captain Taylor where he was going to. Whereupon he
told them that it was none of their business. We paid our bill,
and got up to leave the room, when one of the citizens quietly
closed the door, and said: “Men, you can’t leave here until you
show your papers!” “The devil we can’t!” said I. “What right have
you to ask for our papers?” The answer came sharply enough: “We
ask for your papers by the right that every true citizen has to
question men whom he suspects to be deserters or worse.” Both
Captain Taylor and I were rather high tempered. I had a great
idea of my own dignity as a Confederate officer, and I told our
inquiring friends at once that we positively refused to show any
papers or answer any more questions. They told us that they would
not allow us to depart until we did. Captain Taylor drew his
pistol, and I drew my Confederate-iron sabre, and a lively fight
of two to four was imminent. At this moment there was a violent
knocking at the door, and a cavalry officer with two or three
dismounted cavalrymen, came in. The citizens took him out and
talked with him; and when they returned the officer asked us where
we wanted to go to. Captain Taylor said he wanted to find General
Lee’s head-quarters; and that I wanted to find General Longstreet.
The officer told us very demurely that he was going along in the
right direction, and if we would accompany him he would show us
the road. We thought that we now had the best of the bargain; and
the citizens who had so tormented us smiled grimly as we rode
off. After riding for some distance without anything being said,
I asked our escort whether we were nearing the place to which we
were going, and he replied in the affirmative. Passing through a
thick skirt of woods, he suddenly wheeled to the right, and ordered
us to follow him. We did so; and a few paces further on we saw the
body of a man dangling from the bough of a tree; a halter having
been used instead of a rope, to swing the poor devil up by. Asking
what this meant, I was told that the dead man was a spy, and that
all spies were treated in that way in this army. I was glad to
receive the information, but did not see that it had any personal
application until we reached a tent in front of which a stern
looking man, in a General’s uniform, was lolling on the ground.
The officer dismounted, saluted, and said: “General, here are two
men who have been arrested by some citizens of Stevensburg on
suspicion of being spies.” “Ah, indeed,” said the General, rising
with some interest. “What proofs have you of this?” “No particular
proofs, General; but they refuse to show any papers, or to give
any account of themselves.” “Well!” said the General, “that’s the
best proof in the world. I have a short way of dealing with these
rascals.” Then turning to a courier who was standing by, he said:
“Tell Captain ---- to detail a non-commissioned officer and three
men to report to me immediately.” Turning to us he kindly said:
“Fine morning! men. Any message or any other little thing that you
would like to send to your friends in the North?” Captain Taylor
and I had been so completely taken aback that, up to this time, we
had said nothing; but the joke was becoming rather serious, and
I said frankly that Captain Taylor and I had refused to show our
papers because they had been asked for impertinently, and without
any authority; but that we had in our pockets our orders and our
passports, and that I had letters of introduction to General
Longstreet from General Randolph and Colonel Gorgas. The order for
the detail was countermanded as soon as our papers had been glanced
at; but our friend, the General, told us that it was a suspicious
circumstance, as we must admit, to find two officers of artillery
wandering about the country without any command, and on foot. I
suspect the nautical bearing of Captain Taylor, which his uniform
did not disguise, and my own fresh color and English accent, had
more to do with our trouble than the fact that we were dismounted
and alone. I really had some little difficulty in making myself
understood at Stevensburg. When I asked for water at the house, the
man hesitated until I had repeated the word two or three times; and
then asked if I meant “wat-ter.” We started off again, and I parted
from Captain Taylor, who went to General Lee’s head-quarters, while
I plodded along to Brandy Station. I had seen Captain Taylor for
the last time. He was killed in action soon afterwards.
Almost broken down, I was trudging wearily along the road when I
heard some one bawling out my name. Looking around I found that it
was Lieutenant McGraw, of the Purcell Battery. In a minute or two I
was in comfort and at ease in the midst of my old comrades. I had
not seen Captain Willie Pegram since the fight at Mechanicsville,
and we had a great deal of news to tell each other. The battery
was parked in the woods, and, although we had no supper, I slept
without waking. In the morning there was an artillery duel with
the enemy at the Rappahannock River, in which we lost one or two
men. Willie Pegram then lent me a poor old rip of a horse, with a
hole in his side, punched there at Gaines’ Mill by a piece of a
shell; and I sallied forth once more to find General Longstreet. By
this time I was about half starved, and I was very much disgusted
by a soldier whom I met at the roadside with a huge pile of
corn-dodgers, and who refused to sell me a piece of bread, although
I offered him $5 for it. But I found General Longstreet at last,
and was introduced by him to his Chief Ordnance Officer, Colonel
Peyton L. Manning, who directed me to return to Brandy Station,
where I should find the Ordnance train of the corps.
About night I found the train, and met with a cordial reception
at the hands of Lieutenants Leech and Duxberry. A good supper of
coffee, biscuit, and fried bacon was improvised, and I heartily
enjoyed the quiet luxury of a pipe.