PRIVATE D.W. ROBERTS,
_Co. G, 7th N.C. Reg't,
Branch's Brigade,
Gordonsville, Va._
I rose. "I must be going," said I, and walked off down the street. The
act, under the circumstances, did not seem to me entirely natural, but
it was the best I could do; these men, I hoped, would merely think me
an oddity.
In the next street I stopped at the brightest fire that I saw.
"This is not the Seventh, is it?" I asked.
"No," said one; "the Seventh is over there," pointing.
"What regiment is this?"
"Our'n," said he.
"Oh, don't be giving me any of your tomfoolery," said I.
"This is the Thirty-third," said another.
I went back toward the Seventh, passed beyond it, and approached another
group. A man of this group rose and sauntered away toward the left. I
followed him. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Hello, Jim! where
are you going?"
He turned and said, "Hello yourself, if you want anybody to hello; but
my name's not Jim."
"I beg your pardon," said I; "afraid I'm in the wrong pew; what regiment
is this?"
"The Twenty-eighth," said he, and went on without another word.
The nature of the replies given me by my friends of the Thirty-third and
Twenty-eighth made me feel nearly certain that all of Branch's regiments
were from one State. I was supposed to belong to the brigade; it was
needless to tell me the name of the State from which my regiment--from
which all the regiments--came. Had the brigade been a mixed one, the men
would have said, "Thirty-third North Carolina;" "Twenty-eighth North
Carolina"; that they did not trouble themselves with giving the name of
their State was strong reason for believing that all the regiments, as I
knew the Seventh to be, were from North Carolina.
I continued my walk, picking up as I went several envelopes, which I
thrust into my pocket. It must now have been about ten o'clock. The men
had become silent; but few were sitting at the fires. I believed I had
sufficient information as to the composition of the brigade, but I had
learned little as to its strength. I knew that there were five streets
in the encampment, and therefore five regiments in the brigade. But how
many men were in the brigade?
Behind the rear regiment was a small cluster of wall-tents, which I took
for brigade headquarters. At the head of every street was a wall-tent,
which I supposed was the colonel's. At the left of the encampment of
tents, and separated from the encampment by a space of a hundred yards,
perhaps, was a line of brighter fires than now showed in the streets.
The dying out of the fires in the streets was what called my attention,
by contrast, to these brighter fires. I walked toward the bright fires;
to my surprise I found troops in bivouac. I went boldly up to the
nearest fire, and found two men cooking. I asked for a drink of water.
"Sorry, neighbour, but we hain't got nary nother drop," said one.
"An' we don't see no chance to git any," said the other.
"Don't you know where the spring is?" I asked.
"No; do you?"
"I don't know exactly," said I, "but I know the direction; it's down
that way," pointing; "I've seen men coming from that way with canteens.
You are mighty late getting supper."
"Jest ben relieved; we tuck the places of some men this mornin', an'
they jest now got back an' let us loose."
"What duty were you on?"
"On guyard by that battery way over yander; 'twa'n't our time, but we
went. Say, neighbour, wish't you'd show me the way to that water o'
yourn. Dam'f I knowed the' was any water'n less'n a mile."
"I don't want to go 'way back there," said I; "but I'll tell you how to
find it."
"Well, tell me then, an' tell me quick. I reckin if I can git started
right, I'll find lots more a-goin'."
"Let me see," said I, studying; "you go over yonder, past General
Branch's headquarters, and go down a hill through, the old field,
and--let me see; what regiment is this?"
"This'n's the bloody Forty-fifth Georgy," said he; "we ain't no
tar-heels; it's a tar-heel brigade exceptin' of us, but we ain't no
tar-heels--no insult intended to you, neighbour."
"Oh, I don't mind being called a tar-heel," said I; "in fact, I rather
like it."
"Well, wher's your water?"
"You know where the old field is?"
"No, I don't; we've jest got here last night. I don't know anything."
"You know headquarters?"
"Yes."
"Well, just go on down the hill, and you'll find a path in the old
field"
The man picked up two canteens, and went off. I remained with his
messmate.
"What battery was that you were talking about? I haven't seen a battery
with the brigade in a week."
"Wher' have you ben that you hain't seed it?" he asked.
"Off on duty," said I.
"No wonder you hain't seed it, then; an' you mought ha' stayed with your
comp'ny an' not ha' seed it _then_; you hain't seed it becaze it ain't
for to be saw. They're put it away back yander."
"How many guns?"
"Some says six an' some says four; I didn't see 'em, myself."
"I don't understand why you didn't see the guns, if you were guarding
the battery; and I don't see why the battery couldn't do its own
guard duty."
"We wa'n't a-guyardin' no battery; we was a-guyardin' a house down _by_
the battery."
"Oh, I see; protecting some citizen's property."
"That's so; pertectin' property an' gittin' hongry."
"That's Captain Brown's battery, is it not?"
"No, sirree! Hit's Latham's battery, though some does call it Branch's
battery; but I don't see why. Jest as well call Hardeman's regiment
Branch's, too."
"Which regiment is Hardeman's?"
"Our'n; it's with Branch's brigade now, but it ain't Branch's regiment,
by a long shot."
"I hear that more troops are expected here," said I, at a venture.
"Yes, and I know they're a-comin'; some of 'em is at the Junction
now--comin' from Fredericksburg. I heerd Cap'n Simmons say so
this mornin'."
"We'll have a big crowd then," said I.
"What regiment is your'n?"
"'Eventh," said I, without remorse cancelling the difference between the
Eleventh Massachusetts and the Seventh North Carolina.
The man moved about the fire, attending to his cooking. The talk almost
ceased. I pulled an envelope from my pocket and began tearing it into
little bits, which I threw into the fire one by one, pretending mere
abstraction.