The morning after my arrival at Richmond, I went down to the
head-quarters of General G. W. Smith, who was then in command of
the Department of Richmond, and asked his Adjutant-General for
leave of absence until I should be exchanged. The Adjutant-General,
who was no less a person than Major Samuel W. Melton, of South
Carolina, refused point blank to allow me to leave the city. The
officers and men who had been paroled could not, of course, rejoin
their commands until they should have been exchanged, and there
seemed to be no object in keeping them in Richmond. It was feared,
however, that if they were allowed to go home, some of them might
not return promptly; and for this reason no leaves were to be
granted. As usual in such cases, the many were to suffer for the
possible faults of the few. In my own case there was certainly no
reason to refuse a leave of absence, as if I had desired to leave
the service I could have done so at any time by resigning. The
Conscript law of course did not affect me, and it seemed rather
absurd to suppose that one who was in the Confederate service by
his own choice would keep away from the field of duty which he had
deliberately selected. I went to my friend, Colonel Gorgas, the
Chief of Ordnance, made my official report of the capture of the
trains at Williamsport, and through him obtained from the Secretary
of War permission to go down to Sussex, and remain there until the
completion of the exchange of the paroled prisoners.
After remaining at Petersburg a few days, I went on to Sussex, and
found my friends there in great distress. Mrs. Raines had died the
day before my arrival, and the loss to her husband and family
seemed irreparable. To me, also, it was a heavy blow, for Mrs.
Raines had been to me from the beginning a good and true friend. I
stayed awhile with Major Belsches, about two miles away, and then
went over to Oakland, where I had the complete rest and quiet I
so much needed. The change from the dreary confinement and brutal
treatment at Fort Delaware to the ease and abundance at Oakland was
sufficient to make any one happy.
The days passed swiftly by, and it was not until the latter part
of November that I was exchanged and free to return to the army.
A fresh horse was now necessary, and I bought in Petersburg, for
$400, a good-looking black charger, which turned out to be an
utterly good-for-nothing animal. From Petersburg, I rode, by way of
Richmond, to Fredericksburg, where General Longstreet now was. I
reported for duty on December the 6th, and set to work at once to
familiarize myself with the condition of my department. Lieutenant
Leech did not return to us, but was assigned to duty with General
Pickett as Chief of Ordnance of the division. Lieutenant Duxberry
I found at head-quarters in much the same condition as when I left
him at South Mountain. Very soon, the whole responsibility in the
Ordnance Department of Longstreet’s Corps devolved upon me. Colonel
Manning had no taste for anything but marching and fighting, and
Lieutenant Duxberry was too fond of pleasure and show to be of much
practical use.
I was under canvas at this time a few hundred yards from Guinea
Station. The weather was bitterly cold, but my tent was small, and
with the aid of a large stove I managed to keep reasonably warm.
There was, as yet, no particular deficiency in the Commissary
Department, but there was not much variety in the food. Bacon was
the great staple, with occasional rations of beef, so tough that
it deserved to be described, as it once was, as “the sinews of
war.” The fat of the bacon was used in place of lard, in making
bread and biscuits, so that when the bacon itself was served it was
particularly dry. There was so great a craving for a change in the
food that I ate often with relish a sauce composed of bacon fat and
brown sugar, which in these days is sickening to think of. One of
my men captured somewhere a keg of lard which proved to be a great
acquisition. I think I may safely say that it was not paid for.