Vienna--Flint Hill--Duel Sports--July to October.
Much discussion has taken place since the rout at Manassas as to
reasons for not following up the victory so gloriously won, and for
not pushing on to Washington at once. It is enough to say the two
commanders at the time and on the field saw difficulties and dangers
sufficient in the way to rest on their spoils. The President, who was
in council with them, after due consideration was convinced of
the impracticability of a forward movement. In the first place, no
preparation had been made for such an event; that the spoils were
so out of proportion to their most sanguine expectations; that the
transportation for the troops had to be employed in its removal;
that no thought of a forward movement or invasion had ever been
contemplated; so there were no plans or specifications at hand. Then
again, the dead and wounded of both armies had to be attended to,
which crippled our medical department so as to render it powerless
should another engagement take place. And again, a large portion of
our people thought this total defeat of the enemy at the very outset
of the war would render the design of coercion by force of arms
impracticable. The South was conservative, and did not wish to inflame
the minds of the people of the Union by entering their territory or
destroying their capital. Knowing there was a large party at the
North opposed to the war, some of our leaders had reason to think
this shattering of their first grand army would so strengthen their
feelings and party that the whole North would call for peace. They
further hugged that fatal delusion to their breast, a delusion that
eventually shattered the foundation of our government and betrayed the
confidence of the troops, "foreign intervention." They reasoned that a
great victory by the South would cause our government to be recognized
by the foreign powers and the South given a footing as a distinct,
separate, and independent nation among all other great nations of
the earth. That the South would no longer be looked upon as an
"Insurrectionary Faction," "Erring Sisters," or "Rebellious Children."
Our ports had been ordered closed by the North, and an imaginary
blockade, a nominal fleet, stood out in front of our harbors. Our
people thought the world's desire for the South's cotton would so
influence the commercial and laboring people of Europe that the powers
would force the North to declare her blockade off. Such were some of
the feelings and hopes of a large body of our troops, as well as
the citizens of the country at large. But it all was a fallacy, a
delusion, an ignis fatuus. The North was aroused to double her former
fury, her energies renewed and strengthened, tensions drawn, her
ardor largely increased, her feelings doubly embittered, and the
whole spirit of the North on fire. Now the cry was in earnest, "On to
Richmond," "Down with the rebellion," "Peace and unity." The Northern
press was in a perfect blaze, the men wild with excitement, and every
art and device was resorted to to arouse the people to arms. The
stain of defeat must now be wiped out; a stigma had been put upon the
nation, her flag disgraced, her people dishonored. Large bounties were
offered for volunteers, and the recruiting was earnest and energetic.
Lincoln called for 300,000 more troops, and the same question was
asked at the South, "Where will he get them and how pay them?"
We were moved out near Centerville, and a few days afterwards took up
camp at Vienna, a small station on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
The day after our arrival all of the troops, with the exception of the
ordinary detail, were put to work tearing up the railroad track. It
being Sunday, loud complaints were made against this desecration of
the Lord's Day, but we were told there was no difference in days in
times of war. The railroad was a good one and well built on a roadbed
of gravel and chips of granite, with solid heart pine or chestnut
ties, laid with "T" rails. The cross-ties were piled in heaps, on
these were laid the rails, and all set on fire; then for miles and
miles up and down the road the crackling flames, the black smoke
twining around the trees and curling upward, shrouded the whole earth
with a canopy of black and blue, and told of the destruction that
was going on. Here the troops suffered as seldom during the war for
provisions, especially breadstuff. Loud murmurings were heard on all
sides against the commissary department, and the commissary complained
of the Quartermaster for not furnishing transportation. The troops on
one occasion here had to go three days and at hard work without one
mouthful of bread, except what little they could buy or beg of the
citizens of the thinly settled country. Meat was plentiful, but no
bread, and any one who has ever felt the tortures of bread hunger may
imagine the sufferings of the men. For want of bread the meats became
nauseating and repulsive. The whole fault lay in having too many
bosses and red tape in the Department at Richmond. By order of these
officials, all commissary supplies, even gathered in sight of the
camps, had to be first sent to Richmond and issued out only on
requisitions to the head of the departments. The railroad facilities
were bad, irregular, and blocked, while our wagons and teams were
limited to one for each one hundred men for all purposes. General
Beauregard, now second in command, and directly in command of the
First Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac, of which our brigade
formed a part, wishing to concentrate his troops, ordered all to
Flint Hill, three miles west of Fairfax Court House. General Johnston,
Commander-in-Chief, directed the movements of the whole army, but more
directly the Second Army Corps, or the Army of the Shenandoah. The
army up to this time had not been put into divisions, commanded
by Major Generals, nor corps, by Lieutenant Generals, but the two
commanders divided nominally the army into two corps, each commanded
by a full General--Brigadier General Beauregard having been raised to
the rank of full General the day after his signal victory at Manassas
by President Davis.
[Illustration: Brig. Gen. James Connor Adjt.]
[Illustration: Y.J. Pope, Acting Asst. Adjt. Genl. of
Kershaw's Brigade]
[Illustration: Brig. Gen. John D. Kennedy.]
[Illustration: Dr. Thos. W. Salmond Surgeon of Kershaw's Brigade.]
In the Confederate Army the grades of the Generals were different to
those in the United States Army. A brigade consisted of a number of
regiments joined together as one body and commanded by a Brigadier
General, the lowest in rank. Four, more or less, brigades constituted
a division, commanded by a Major General. Three or four divisions
constituted a corps, commanded by a Lieutenant General, and a separate
army, as two or more corps, was commanded by a General, the highest
in rank. Their rank is the same, but the Seniors are those whose
commissions had been granted first, and take precedence where two are
together. So it is with all officers in the army--age is not taken
into consideration, but the date of commission. Where a brigade,
from any cause, temporarily loses its commander, the Colonel with the
oldest commission takes the command; where a division loses its Major
General, the Senior Brigadier in that division immediately assumes
command; and the same way in the corps and the army. The Major General
takes command of the corps where its commander is absent, and in case
of absence, either temporary or permanent, of the Commander-in-Chief
of an army, the ranking Lieutenant General takes command until a
full General relieves him. In no case can an officer of inferior rank
command one of superior rank. Rank gives command whether ordered
or not. In any case of absence, whether in battle, march, or camp,
whenever an officer finds himself Senior in his organization, he is
commander and so held without further orders.
The soldiers had rather a good time at Flint Hill, doing a little
drilling and occasional picket duty out in the direction of Munson and
Mason Hill. The Commanding General wished to advance his pickets
to Munson Hill, a few miles from Washington, and to do this it was
necessary to dislodge the enemy, who had possession there. The
Second Regiment, under Colonel Kershaw, was sent out, and after a
considerable brush he succeeded in driving the enemy away. After this
one regiment at a time was sent out to do picket duty. When our South
Carolina regiments would go out orders were given to be quiet, and
during our stay at Mason and Munson Hill the utmost secrecy prevailed,
but when Wheat's Louisiana Battalion had to relieve a regiment we
could hear the beating of their drums, the loud shouts of the men on
their way out, and all would rush to the side of the road to see the
"tigers" pass. Down the road they would come, banners waving, the
swinging step of the men keeping time to the shrill notes of the fife
and the rattle of the drums. Their large flowing pants, their gaudy
striped long hose, made quite an imposing spectacle. This was a noted
band of men for a time, but their brave commander, Wheat, and almost
all of his men, were killed in the battles that followed around
Richmond. Major Wheat had been in the Turkish Army when that nation
was at war with Russia, and in several other foreign wars, as well as
the Mexican War. When his State seceded he returned to Louisiana
and raised a battalion of the hardest set of men in New Orleans.
The soldiers called them "wharf rats," "sailors," "longshoremen,"
"cutthroats," and "gutter snipes." They knew no subordination and
defied law and military discipline. While in camp here several of them
were shot at the stake. Major Wheat had asked to be allowed to manage
his men as he saw best, and had a law unto himself. For some mutiny
and insubordination he had several of them shot. Afterwards, when the
soldiers heard a volley fired, the word would go out, "Wheat is having
another tiger shot."
The fields were green with the great waving corn, just in roasting
ears, and it was a sight to see hundreds of men in these fields early
in the morning plucking the fine ears for breakfast. In most cases the
owners had abandoned their fields and homes, taking what was movable
to other places in Virginia. What was left the soldiers were at
liberty to "slay and eat." At first it was determined to protect the
stock, but the soldiers agreed that what the Southern soldiers left
the enemy would be sure to take. I remember the first theft I was
engaged in during the war. I say "first" advisedly. Now soldiers
have different views as to rights of property to that of the average
citizen. What he finds that will add to his comfort or welfare, or his
wants dictate, or a liability of the property falling into the hands
of the enemy, he takes without compunction or disposition to rob--and
more often he robs in a spirit of mischief. A few fine hogs had been
left to roam at will through the fields by the refugee farmers, and
orders were given not to kill or molest them, to eat as much corn
as we wished, but to spare the hogs. When the regiments were sent on
pickets, a detail was left in camp as guard, also to watch around the
fields to prevent trespass. While our regiment was on its three days'
picket, I was left as one of the detail to guard the camp. Some one
reported a fine hog in the yard of a house some distance away. It was
agreed to kill it, divide it up, and have a rare treat for the weary
pickets when they returned. How to kill it without attracting the
attention of the other guards was a question of importance, because
the report of a rifle and the proverbial squeal of a hog would be sure
to bring down upon us the guard. One of the men had a pistol, still
we were afraid to trust this. A cellar door stood temptingly open.
We tried to drive the hog into it, but with a hog's perverseness it
refused to be driven, and after rushing around the yard several times
with no results, it was decided to shoot it. The man claimed to be a
good shot, and declared that no hog would squeal after being shot by
him, but, as Burns says, "The best laid plans of mice and men aft'
gang a glee." So with us. After shooting, the porker cut desperate
antics, and set up a frightful noise, but the unexpected always
happens, and the hog took refuge in the cellar, or rather the basement
of the dwelling, to our great relief. We were proceeding finely,
skinning away, the only method the soldiers had of cleaning a hog,
when to our astonishment and dismay, in walked the much dreaded guard.
Now there something peculiar about the soldier's idea of duty, the
effects of military training, and the stern obedience to orders. The
first lesson he learns is obedience, and the longer in service the
more convinced he is of its necessity. While he may break ranks, pass
guards, rob roosts, or pilfer fruits and vegetables himself, yet put a
gun in his hand, place him on duty, order him to guard or protect
men or property, and his integrity in that respect is as unyielding,
inflexible, and stern as if his life depended upon his faithful
performance. The Roman soldiers' obedience to orders made them
immortal, and their nation the greatest on earth. But to resume the
thread of my story. When the guard came in we thought ourselves lost.
To be punished for hog stealing, and it published at home, was more
than our patriotism could stand. The guard questioned us about the
killing, said it was against orders to fire a gun within range of
camp, and furthermore against orders to molest private property. We
tried to convince the guard that it was contraband, that the owners
had left it, and to crown the argument, insisted that if we did not
take the hog the Yankees would. This was the argument always last
resorted to to ease conscience and evade the law. In this case,
strange to say, it had its effect. After some parleying, it was agreed
to share the booty equally between the guard and ourselves. They
helped us cut brush and cover it nicely, and after tattoo all were to
return and divide up. We did not know the guards personally, but knew
their command. And so we returned to the camp to await the return of
our pickets and night. It was soon noised in camp that there was
a fine fat porker to be distributed after tattoo, and no little
eagerness and inquisitiveness were manifested, as all wished a piece.
Armed with a crocus-sack, we returned to the house; all was dark and
still. We whistled the signal, but no answer. It was repeated, but
still no reply. The guard had not come. Sitting down on the door step,
we began our long wait. Moments passed into minutes, minutes into
hours, until at last we began to have some forebodings and misgivings.
Had we been betrayed? Would we be reported and our tents searched next
day? Hardly; a soldier could not be so treacherous. We entered the
cellar and began to fumble around without results, a match was struck,
and to our unspeakable dismay not a vestige of hog remained. Stuck
against the side of the wall was a piece of paper, on which was
written: "No mercy for the hog rogue." Such swearing, such stamping
and beating the air with our fists, in imitation of the punishment
that would be given the treacherous rascals if present; the atmosphere
was perfectly sulphurous with the venom spit out against the foul
party. Here was a true verification of the old adage, "Set a rogue
to catch a rogue." Dejected and crestfallen, we returned to camp,
but dared not tell of our misfortune, for fear of the jeers of our
comrades.
Measles and jaundice began to scourge the camp; the green corn, it was
said, did the army more damage than the enemy did in battle. Wagons
and ambulances went out daily loaded with the sick; the hospitals
were being crowded in Richmond and other cities; hotels, colleges, and
churches were appropriated for hospital service, and the good people
of Virginia can never be forgotten, nor amply rewarded for the
self-sacrifices and aid rendered to the sick soldiers. Private houses
were thrown open to the sick when their homes were far distant, or
where they could not reach it. The soldier was never too dirty or
ragged to be received into palatial homes; all found a ready welcome
and the best attention.
Generals Johnston and Beauregard had now concentrated all their forces
in supporting distance around Fairfax Court House, and were preparing
for a movement across the Potomac. Bonham's Brigade was at Flint Hill,
Cox's at Centerville, Jones's at Germantown, Hampton and Early on the
Occoquon, the Louisiana Brigade at Bull Run, and Longstreet at Fairfax
Court House. The troops were all in easy distance, and a gigantic plan
of General Beauregard, with the doubtful approval of General Johnston
and others, was for a formidable invasion of the North. General
Johnston evinced that same disposition in military tactics that he
followed during the war, "a purely defensive war." In none of his
campaigns did he exhibit any desire to take advantage of the enemy by
bold moves; his one idea seemed to be "defensive," and in that he was
a genius--in retreat, his was a mastermind; in defense, masterly. In
the end it may have proven the better policy to have remained on the
defensive. But the quick, impulsive temperament of Beauregard was ever
on the alert for some bold stroke or sudden attack upon the
enemy's weaker points. His idea coincided with Longstreet's in this
particular, that the North, Kentucky, Tennessee, or Maryland should
be the theatre of war and the battleground of the Confederacy. General
Lee, according to the ideas of one of his most trusted lieutenants,
was more in accordance with the views of General Johnston, that is,
"the South should fight a defensive war"--and it was only when in the
immediate presence of the enemy, or when he observed a weak point
in his opponent, or a strategic move, that he could not resist the
temptation to strike a blow. In several of his great battles it is
reported of Lee that he intended to await the attack of the enemy, but
could not control his impatience when the enemy began to press him;
then all the fire of his warlike nature came to the surface, and he
sprang upon his adversary with the ferocity of a wild beast. But Lee
in battle was not the Lee in camp.
The middle of summer the two commanding Generals called President
Davis to Fairfax Court House to enter a conference in regard to the
projected invasion. The plans were all carefully laid before him.
First a demonstration was to be made above Washington; then with the
whole army cross below, strike Washington on the east, crush the enemy
in their camps, march through Maryland, hoist the standard of revolt
in that State, make a call for all Southern sympathizers to flock to
their banners, and to overawe the North by this sudden onslaught. But
President Davis turned a deaf ear to all such overtures; pleaded the
want of transportation and the necessary equipment for invasion. It
was the feeling of the South even at this late day that much could yet
be done by diplomacy and mild measures; that a great body of the North
could be won over by fears of a prolonged war; and the South did not
wish to exasperate the more conservative element by any overt act. We
all naturally looked for peace; we fully expected the war would end
during the fall and winter, and it was not too much to say that many
of our leaders hugged this delusion to their breast.
While in camp here an incident occurred which showed that the men
had not yet fully recognized the importance of military restraint and
discipline. It is well known that private broils or feuds of any
kind are strictly forbidden by army regulations. The French manner
of settling disputes or vindicating personal honor according to code
duello was not countenanced by our military laws; still the hot
blood and fiery temper of the proud South Carolinians could brook
no restraint at this time when an affront was given or his honor
assailed. Captain Elbert Bland, of Edgefield, and Major Emett Seibles,
both of the Seventh Regiment, were engaged in a friendly game of
chess, a difference arose, then a dispute, hot words, and at last
insult given that could not be recalled nor allowed to pass unnoticed.
Challenge is offered and accepted, seconds appointed, pistols chosen;
distance, twenty paces; time, sunrise next morning on a hillside near
the outskirts of the camp. Early next morning a lone ambulance is seen
moving out of camp, followed by two surgeons, then the principals with
their seconds at a respectful distance. On reaching the spot chosen
lots were cast for choice of stations. This fell to Captain Bland.
The distance was measured with mechanical exactness, dueling pistols
produced, each second loading that of his principal. The regular
dueling pistol is a costly affair and of the very finest material.
Long slim rifle barrel with hammer underneath, the stock finely
chiseled and elaborately ornamented with silver or gold; the whole
about ten inches in length and carrying a bullet of 22 calibre. The
seconds took their places at an equal distance from each other and
midway between the principals. Captain Bland takes his position at
the west end of the field, and Major Seibles the east. Both stood
confronting each other, not fierce nor glaring like two men roused in
passion, or that either wished the blood of the other, but bold, calm,
and defiant; an insult to be wiped out and honor to be sustained. They
turned, facing the rear, hands down, with pistols in the right.
The seconds call out in calm, deliberate tones: "Gentlemen, are
you ready?" Then, "Ready, aim, fire!" "One, two, three, stop." The
shooting must take place between the words "fire" and "stop," or
during the count of one, two, three. If the principal fires before or
after this command it is murder, and he is at once shot down by the
second of his opponent. Or if in any case the principals fail to
respond at the hour set, the second promptly takes his place. But no
danger of such possibilities where two such men as Major Seibles and
Captain Bland are interested. There was a matter at issue dearer than
country, wife or child. It was honor, and a true South Carolinian of
the old stock would make any sacrifice, give or take life, to uphold
his name unsullied or the honor of his family untarnished. As the word
fire was given the opponents wheeled and two pistol shots rang out
on the stillness of the morning. Captain Bland stands still erect,
commanding and motionless as a statue. Major Seibles remains steady
for a moment, then sways a little to the left, staggers and falls
into the arms of his second and surgeon. A hasty examination is made.
"Blood," calls out the second of Major Seibles. A nod of satisfaction
is given and acknowledged by both seconds. Captain Bland retires on
the arm of his friend, while the Major, now bleeding profusely from
a wound in the chest, is lifted in the ambulance and carried to
his tent. It was many months before Major Seibles was sufficiently
recovered from his wound to return to duty. The matter was kept quiet
and no action taken. Major Seibles died the following year, while the
gallant Bland was killed at Chickamauga while leading as Colonel the
Seventh Regiment in battle.
While at Flint Hill, another stirring scene took place of quite a
different nature. In front of the Third Regiment was a beautiful
stretch of road, and this was selected as a course for a race to be
run between the horse of Captain Mitchell of the Louisiana Tigers and
that of the Colonel of a Virginia regiment of cavalry. The troops now
so long inactive, nothing to break the monotony between drills, guard
duty, and picketing, waited with no little anxiety the coming of the
day that was to test the metal of the little grey from the Pelican
State and the sorrel from the Old Dominion. Word had gone out among
all the troopers that a race was up, and all lovers of the sport came
in groups, companies, and regiments to the place of rendezvous. Men
seemed to come from everywhere, captains, colonels, and even generals
graced the occasion with their presence. Never before in our army
had so many distinguished individuals congregated for so trivial an
occasion. There was Wheat, fat, clean shaven, and jolly, his every
feature indicating the man he was--bold as a lion, fearless, full of
life and frolic as a school boy, but who had seen war in almost every
clime under the sun. There was Turner Ashby, his eyes flashing fire
from under his shaggy eyebrows, his long black beard and flowing
locks, looking more like a brigand than one of the most daring
cavaliers of the Confederate Army. Fitzhugh Lee, too, was there, with
colonels, majors, and captains without number. Nothing seemed farther
from the horizon of these jolly men than thoughts of the triumphs of
war. Captain Mitchell's horse was more on the pony order than a racer,
but it was said by those who knew that on more occasions than one
the pony had thrown dirt into the eyes of the fastest horse in the
Crescent City, and the Louisianans were betting on him to a man. The
wiry sorrel was equally a favorite with the Virginians, while the
South Carolinians were divided between the two. After a great amount
of jockeying, usual on such occasions, judges were appointed, distance
measured, horses and riders in their places, and hundreds of men
stretched along the side of the road to witness the heated race.
No little amount of Confederate money had been put upon the race,
although it was understood to be merely a friendly one, and for
amusement only. When the drum sounded, the two horses almost leaped
into the air, and sped away like the wind, "little grey" shooting
away from her larger adversary like a bullet, and came flying down the
track like a streak, about a length ahead of the Virginia horse. The
favorites on the Louisianan rent the air with their yells, hats went
into the air, while the friends of the Virginian shouted like mad to
the rider: "Let him out, let him out." When the distance was about
half run he was "let out;" the rowels went into the side and the whip
came down upon the flanks of the thoroughly aroused racer, and the
Virginian began forging to the front, gaining at every leap. Now he is
neck and neck, spur and whip are used without stint, he goes ahead and
is leaving the "grey" far in the rear; Captain Mitchell is leaning
far over on the withers of the faithful little pony, never sparing
the whip for a moment, but all could see that he was running a losing
race. When about the commencement of the last quarter the "grey"
leaves the track, and off to the right he plunges through the trees,
dashing headlong by the groups of men, till at last the Captain brings
him up with one rein broken. A great crowd surround him, questioning,
swearing, and jeering, but the Captain sat as silent, immovable, and
inattentive as a statue, pointing to the broken rein. It had been cut
with a knife. The Captain and his friends claimed that the friends of
the Virginian had, unnoticed by him, cut the leather to a bare thread,
while the friends of the other party, with equal persistency, charged
the Captain with cutting it himself. That when he saw the race lost,
he reached over and cut the rein about six inches from the bit, thus
throwing the horse out of the track and saving its credit, if not the
money. No one ever knew how it happened, but that there had been a
trick played and foul means employed were evident. A great many had
lost their money, and their curses were loud and deep, while the
winners went away as merry as "marriage bells."
* * * * *