SURKY EAGLE S NEST LIBRARY Un,* t k.n Of CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ *4irr>* LVD e:.< 'SORRY OF EAGLEMESI fHE MEMOIRS OF A STAFF-OFFICER SERVING IN VIRGINIA EDITED, FROM THE MSS. OF COLONEL SURRY Br JOHN ESTEN COOKE (ll OF FAIRFAX," ' HILT TO HILT." "MOHTJN," "OUT OF THB * H^MMXI AND RAPIEB/' KTC., BTO U. A. DONOHUE & COMPANY CHICAGO NEW YORK Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, Br BUNCE & HUNTINGTON, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, BY G. W. DILLINGHAM, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1894, BY G. W. DILLINGHAM, ID the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washintfto: Made in U. S. A. STJRRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. i. THE SURRYS. HAVING returned to " Eagle VNest," and hung up a dingy gray uniform and battered old sabre for the inspection of my descendants, I propose to employ some leisure hours in record ing my recollections, and describing, while they are fresh in my memory, a few incidents of the late Revolution. This will not be a task, my dear, unknown reader rather an amusement ; for nothing delights more your old soldier returned from the wars than to fight his battles o'er again, boast of his exploits, and tell the children and grandchildren, clustering in fancy around his knees, what wonders he has seen, and how many heroic deeds he has performed. I think those dear, coming grandchildren will take an interest in my adventures. They will belong to the fresh, new genera tion, and all the jealousies, hatreds, and corroding passions of the present epoch will have disappeared by that time. Simple curiosity will replace the old hatred ; the bitter antagonism of the partisan will yield to the philosophic interest of the student, and the events and personages of this agitated period will be calmly discussed by the winter fireside. How Lee looked, and Stuart spoke how Jackson lived that wondrous life of his, and Ashby charged upon his milk-white steed of this the coming generations will talk, and I think they will take more interest in such things than in the most brilliant arguments about secession Therefore, good reader, whom I will never see in the flesh, - am going to make some pictures, if I can, of what I have seen. 1* 10 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. Come! perhaps as you follow me you will live in the stormy days of a convulsed epoch, breathe its fiery atmosphere, and see its mighty forms as they defile before you, in a long and noble tine. To revive those days, surround you with that atmos phere, and reproduce those figures which have descended into the tomb, is the aim which I propose to myself in writing these memoirs. I foresee that the number of "IV I shall employ will be enormous, and beyond a peradventure you will call me egotis tical ; but how can the use of that stiff, erect character be done away with in an autobiography ? Be magnanimous, therefore, kindly reader, and regard me as a friend who is telling you his adventures, not as an author composing a feigned history. It is only a poor "prisoner on parole" who is talking: leavo him that one resource to while away the time that single con solation. "We sit on the old porch at Eagle's Nest; yonder i-ows the Rappahannock ; the oaks sigh ; the sunshine laughs so 1 begin. I always heard that the first of the Surrys in Virginia was Philip, the son of Philip, and that he took refuge here when the head of Charles I. went to the block. This Cavalier was a gay gallant, the family legend says, and did much hard riding and fighting under Prince Rupert ; but the royal banner drooped, the Roundhead pikes carried the day; and, collecting such money and jewels as he could lay his hands on, Colonel Philip Surry repaired to the head-quarters of Cavalierdom, Virginia. Here everything suited him. Cavalier faces were seen everywhere, land was cheap, and foxes abounded ; so he built this house of " EagleVNest " below Port Royal, on a hill above the Rappa hannock, gave it the name of the family estate in England, ana, collecting a number of thorough-breds, and a pack of hounds, married and settled down. All I have heard of him thereafter may be stated in a few words : he went with Richard Lee to see Charles II., then in exile at Breda, where he offered to proclaim the youth King of England and Virginia at Williamsburg. When his offer was not accepted, he returned to Eagle's-lSTest, where he dedicated his energies to fox-hunting and raising THE SURRYS. 11 Mood horses for the remainder of his life. His portrait hangs on the wall here a proud, handsome face, with blue eyes, pointed beard, black mustache, and broad shoulders covered with Venice lace falling over a hauberk of steel ; in the hand is a hat with a black, trailing feather. There is Colonel Philip Surry, dead thia many a day. He left in his will the curious injunction that the eldest son of the family in every generation should sign his name, "Surry of Eagle's-Nest;" so my father always called himself, and I have followed the family habit. My father was the fifth or sixth in descent from Philip I., and bore his name. He was the soul of benevolence and kindness. Intellectually, he was the greatest man I ever knew. At the bar of the Court of Appeals of Vir ginia he ranked with the old race of lawyers, Marshall, Wirt, Wickham, and Leigh all his intimate friends; but as his hair had grown gray he had retired from the profession, and spent his days at home in the country. He has died since the beginning of the war, but his portrait is yonder, a tall and stately figure, with a noble countenance, clear loyal eyes, and a smile of exqui site sweetness. He is gone now, like all the Surrys of the past, but his memory still lives. His intellect was so powerful, his temper so sweet and kind, that the first men of his age saluted him with respect, and I never knew a lady or a child not to love him. He belonged to that old generation of Virginians who have disappeared, and the sun to-day, I think, shines nowhere on his like. I shall only add to this family sketch the statement that my dear mother, who died in my boyhood, was Mary Annesley, of Princess Anne, and that she had but two children besides myself. One of these was my sister Annie, about sixteen years of age when the war began ; and the other, my younger brother, was only nineteen at that time, but a graduate of West Point, and a lieutenant in the United States army. Such was the origin of the writer of the present memoirs, and from this point of vi^w he looked upon the struggle whicl was approaching. 12 SUERY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. II. IN WHICH THE WRITER OMITS A NUMBER OF THINGS. I HAVE not the least intention of inflicting upon the reader an account of my childhood, boyhood, or early manhood, spent at u Eagle's-Nest." It would not interest deeply that life of a child who ran laughing and singing through the grounds of an old house, or conned his lessons at his dear mother's knee who lis tened to the murmur of the Rappahannock flowing past the lofty hill, and dreamed his idle dreams of far-off lands who rode all the colts he could catch, and was thrown by them, spun his top, tore his clothes, and drew down the denunciations of his gray- haired "mammy." Nor would the life of the youth and man prove more interesting. All these details would be charming, my dear reader, if Colonel Surry was anybody a great warrior, statesman, or gen eral and was dead. But he is none of these, and fortunately still lives; so all these particulars of his youth are omitted. The flowers bloomed brighter then, and the song of the birds was sweeter; but that was in my childhood, not in yours, reader. Mine for myself yours for you, friend. Let us dream of the dead days sometimes, as the comedy of life plays before us and the voices laugh we will never see those days any more, except in dreams ! I spent one session at the Virginia Military Institute ; studied law at the University ; commenced the practice in Essex and the surrounding counties and in 1861, at the age of twenty-five, saw the country about to be plunged into war. ******** Fill that hiatus with the hundred octavo volumes which will be written on the causes of what our friends across the border call the * Great Rebellion." In the present memoirs I intend to weary neither myself nor the reader with that discussion. Let others trace back the torrent to its source laboriously demon strating how 1861 was the logical result of 1820 and show how HOT BLOOD. 13 Cue antagonism of race and opinion became the antagonism of the bayonet. This is not the place for that logomachy. I who writa am as firm to-day in my conviction of the right of secession as yesterday, or five years ago. But the question has been tried the issue is dead, for the present, and let it rest. Besides, you know all that story now, reader mine how the whole North roared at the wicked South, and John Brown with the pike carried out what Helper wrote with the pen. In 1860 the beginning of the end came. The "Republicans" triumphed: the Gulf States de clared that the Union was dissolved and, asserting their right to shape their own destiny, prepared to support their action with the sword. Where was Virginia? it may be asked. I reply that she was trying to command the peace, vainly supposing that this storm could be hushed. I blamed her then, when my blood was hot now I think that she acted with her ancient courage and dignity. The Virgin of her shield would not lightly touch the sword, be cause, when once she drew it, she meant to throw away the scabbard. Whether she kept that resolution, let the blood and tears and desolation of four terrible years, in which she never shrank be fore her foe, declare. III. HOT BLOOD. RICHMOND, which I visited at this stormy period, waa the fiery, heart from which flowed the blood of Revolution. What a change had passed over the quiet old place ? In past years the city was the picture of repose. The white walls of th? Capitol rose from the deep-green foliage, silent, except when some aspiring young legislator thundered in his maiden speech : the falls of James River sent upon the air their soft and lulling mur. : the birds sang in the trees of the Capitol Square: children H SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. pJayed there : the clouds floated : Richmond was all good -nature and repose. Now this was a tradition a lost page in her history. Fierce agitation had replaced the old tranquillity ; and in the streets, the hotels, the drawing-rooms, nothing was heard but hot discussion. Men's pulses were feverish. Neighbors of opposite views scowled fiercely at each other. Young ladies wore the Southern colors, and would turn their pretty backs upon an admirer who was not for secession. The cockade of South Carolina a red rosette with a palmetto tree upon it was everywhere worn ; and upon the wearers the advocates of the old order of things looked with ill- concealed hostility. Meanwhile, the Convention, of which my father was a mem ber, thundered on from day to day : the press poured forth its lava : the stump resounded with denunciations : and society was evidently approaching one of those epochs when, having ex hausted the powers of the tongue, the human animal has re course to the sword. Altogether, the period was jovial and inspiring ; and I declare to you, reader, that I would like to live it over, and hear the bands play "Dixie " again, under the " bonnie blue flag!" The hot current dragged me, and I speedily had a rencontre which was not without importance in its bearing on my future. I was sitting in the public room of my hotel, on an afternoon of April, when a party of young men came in, and among them I recognized a former acquaintance at the University, named Baskerville. I had never liked him, and he was generally un popular, in consequence of his arrogance the result, it was said, of very great wealth. As I glanced at him now, his appearance did not falsify the report. His costume was dazzling ; his shirt bosom sparkled with diamond studs ; his hands were encased in yellow kid gloves; and he carried a small ratan with a golden head. Baskerville was about twenty- six, tall, straight, and ex ceedingly handsome but as arrogant in his bearing as a patrician among the common people. It was overpowering ! Such was the figure which came into the room where I wa." sitting, and began talking politics. HOT BLOOD. 15 His denunciations of secession and secessionists were bitter a,d violent ; and his laughing companions seemed to be urging him on. From secession, the abstract, he passed to the cockades, the concrete ; and denounced their wearers as " shallow-brained traiu>rs, who would suffer for their folly." As I was wearing a cockade, though it was invisible to the speaker, I did not much relish this, but I controlled my temper when all at once Basker- ville uttered some words which I could not possibly pass over. " I heard a speech in the Convention to-day which deserves the halter," he said arrogantly. " Who delivered it ?" asked another of the party. " That old traitor Surry !" When he said that, I got up and went to the place where h blood, but not so evident that he welcomed the prospect of a fair and open contest. With his small keen eyes, his thin lips, and overhanging brows, I should have set him down for one wno would prefer doing away with an enemy by treachery and afterward I came to know that this estimate of the man was entirely correct. It was evidently the snake opposed to the tiger not so bold, but equally dangerous. The preliminaries were soon arranged. The secoimd were evidently old practitioners, and their proceedings were matter-of- fact and business-like. "This spot, I think, is suitable," said one of them, "except for that ugly object there." And he pointed to a newly-dug grave. "It is a matter of indifference to us, sir," returned the other second, "as the fire will naturally be across the line of the swa/* " That is just, sir, and if entirely agreeable to you, we will now proceed." His associate bowed, and they proceeded to measure off the ground. The sound of pistols striking against their case was then heard, and the click of the triggers as they were tried. A short pause then followed they were loading the weapons. When this was accomplished, they were handed to tne principal* One of the seconds then said : 1(2 SURRY OF " Gentlemen, I shall give the word, which will be, ' Are yon ready? Fire! One, two, three ' the fire to be delivered after the word 'one' and before the word 'three.'" The principals listened in silence, standing half-faced to the right and left, the weapons pointed toward the gronnd. " Before, however, this affair proceeds further," continued the speaker, " I consider it my duty to make a statement in the hearing of all. I was called oi> last night by Mr. Fenwick, with whom I have only a slight acquaintance," and the speaker turned inward the individual pursued and overtaken on the Brook road " who requested that I would act for him in an affair to take place this morning. I consented with pleasure, but to my sur prise was informed by Mr. Fenwick that he could not state the cause of the meeting he could only assure me that it was un avoidable. I need not say, gentlemen, that such a state of things is awkward. The affair is wholly informal. No correspondence can hereafter be published, and both principals and seconds may be placed in a most disagreeable position. I yielded to Mr. Fenwick's representations that he was an entire stranger and knew scarcely any one besides myself; but I again ask that the grounds of the present meeting may be stated, in order that the affair may be honorably arranged, or, in case it unfortunately is obliged to proceed, that none of the parties may be placed in a false position." The speaker ceased, and a brief pause followed. It was broke* by the deep voice of Fenwick's adversary. "I reply, sir, that the affair cannot be arranged," he said. u You will pardon me for asking why ?" 'For reasons which cannot be now explained." The second looked doubtful. 44 1 am not convinced, sir " he began, when the man of the bronzed face, with a fierce glow in his eyes, interrupted him. " Well, sir," he said, in a voice so cold and menacing that it sent a thrill through me, " I will endeavor to convince you that valid grounds exist for the encounter about to take place as take place it will, with or without witnesses. Suppose, sir, that one human being has sworn agaicst another that oath THE VENDETTA. 23 of vengeance which, in Corsica, is called the vendetta! No matter what may be the reason it may be a family feud, descending from generation to generation, or it may be for an offence, personal to the individual the origin of it is nothing to the point ! Well, suppose, sir, that you are the person who has registered that oath ! Say it is your soul that cries out for the blood of this adversary, and that, after long years spent in searching for and awaiting him, you find him ! Say that you discover him at the moment when he is skulking in the dark ! when he is plotting against your country as the secret agent of her enemies!" "Impossible, sir!" exclaimed the second, almost recoiling as he spoke. U A moment, sir I have not yet finished," said the deep Voice. " Suppose that you pursue this man and he flies, tearing up the paper which is the proof of his guilt ! Suppose that, mastered by a weak and silly deference to the so-called code of honor, you offer this man a fair combat instead of putting him to death ! suppose, lastly, sir, that the adversaries are placed face to face the pistols loaded, the hopes of long years of wait ing about to be realized suppose that, sir ! place yourself in that situation and then tell me if you imagine that the man who has lived for this alone that I I, sir! will forego my private vengeance!" There was something so cold and threatening in the deep tones of the speaker his eyes burned with a fire so dark and lurid that the person whom he had addressed seemed overcome and unable to find a word of reply. At last he raised his head, and I could see upon his counte nance an expression of utter bewilderment. "A stranger affair I never took part in !" he muttered ; " and If my principal is the man he is represented to be " The quick ear of the swarthy personage caught the mattered words. "Oh! understand me, sir!" he said; " I do not charge your principal with any thing infamous. I am a gentleman by birth, and am ready to meet him. You may, therefore, act for him." 24 SUBBY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. One moment, sir," was the reply " I wish to see Mr. Fen- wick." And, making a sign to his principal, he walked some paces apart. Fenwick had listened to the words of his adversary with sullen and lowering brow with eyes cast down, but lips closely set. Unable or unwilling to reply, he had evidently resolved to let the affair take its own course. He was absent for about ten minutes, conversing with his second, when they returned, and the latter said : " I shall continue to act for Mr. Fenwick and now withdraw all my objections." His associate bowed, and in a moment everything was ready. The word was given : two pistol shots followed, like a single report; and the man of the bronze face remained unmoved. Then I looked at Fenwick. For a moment he stood erect, then, uttering an imprecation, he fell forward on his face. The seconds hastened to him, and one of them muttered : "Shot through the lungs he will be dead in five minutes!" A hasty consultation was then evidently being held, and, from the words "gate-keeper's house," I had no doubt of their inten tion to leave the dying man there. My glance then fell on the man whose bullet had produced this tragedy. He was standing motionless, with folded arms the smoking pistol in his hand and in his dark, cold features I thought I read that his vengeance was not even yet satisfied. I was gazing at him still, when a signal was made to one of the hack-drivers, and the vehicle ascended the hill. The dying man was placed in it ; his second followed and then the other prin cipal and second slowly descended the hill on foot, and entered their carriage, which rapidly disappeared. The whole scene had vanished ; and I gloomily took my way back to the city. On the next morning I read among the "local items" in one of the journals the following paragraph : " MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR. Yesterday morning a fatal rencontre took place at Hollywood Cemetery, the particulars of which are et shrouded in mystery. About sunrise, the gate-keeper, who THE VENDETTA. 25 occupies a small house at the entrance of the cemetery, heard the discharge of pistols, and, hastening in the direction of the sound, met two hacks returning, one of which contained a gentleman mortally wounded. He was conveyed to the gate-keeper's, and subsequently to his hotel, where he now lies at the point of death. The name of the gentleman is Fenwick that of his opponent we have not been able to discover." On the next day an additional paragraph appeared, headed, "The Affair at Hollywood." " This mysterious affair," wrote the sensation journalist, " con tinues painfully to excite the curiosity of the public. But as yet no new developments have been made. The seconds and princi pals all but Mr. Fenwick have disappeared, and the causes which led to the meeting are entirely unknown. Mr. Fenwick was yesterday somewhat easier, and may possibly recover, his physicians say. If the bullet of his adversary had passed the one-thousandth part of inch nearer to the femoral artery, the wound would have instantly proved fatal. We expect to be able, in a day or two, to throw additional light upon this singular affair." Three days afterward the public were inundated with this Additional light. "We are now able to explain the affair at Hollywood," wrote the journalist. "The meeting resulted from a violent scene which took place between Mr. Fenwick and a noted abolitionist and tool of the Yankees, who has lately been lurking in this city. Mr. Fenwick arrested him, and discovered the proofs of his guilt, but, misled by a false sense of honor, accepted his challenge. The unhappy result is known ; but we are still unable to give the name of the other party in the duel. Mr. Fenwick, we are happy to say, is steadily improving, and his physicians declare that he will soon be able to leave his bed." Such was the flood of dazzling light poured on this "mysteri ous affair." This paragraph, as I learned long afterward, never met the eye of the person against whom it was directed, or his second, as they had left the city on the inori^ng succeeding the encounter. 2 26 SUPwRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. I dropped the paper, and asked myself, for the hundredth time, the meaning of the whole affair. Who was that man with the ihin, cunning lips, and the eye of the snake? who that dark per sonage with the hlack eyes and the face of bronze, who had sworn the vendetta against his adversary ? The curtain fell upon the mystery, and all was dark. VII. MY COMMISSION. ON the floor of the Convention the advocates and opponnte of secession meanwhile thundered on from day to day, and in the committees the leaders grappled furiously, as though in a breast-to-hreast struggle for life or death. The shifting phases of that great contest will some day be de lineated by the historian. They will not be followed here. These memoirs hurry on to other scenes, and cannot dwell upon those fierce battles of the tongue preluding the conflict of bayo nets. I will here record, however, my conviction that I, for one, did injustice to many who opposed the adoption of the Ordinance of Secession. I then thought they were untrue to the honor of the Commonwealth. I now think that they only differed with their opponents upon the expediency of secession at the moment. They thought that Virginia would be able to mediate between the extremes of both sections that she could " command the peace " and that her voice would be heard across the storm. Vain hope I All at once these mists of delusion were divided by the lightning flash. President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand men to coerce the Gulf States, and Virginia was di rected to furnish her quota. from that moment all opposition to immediate secession ended. Its advocates triumphed its opponents were paralyzed, or, rather, acknowledged that no other course was left. The choice wan now between fighting with and fighting against the Southers States, and the Convention no longer hesitated. MY COMMISSION. 27 It was on the 18th day of April, I think, that, hastening to ward the Capitol, whither I had been attracted by a sudden rumor, I saw the Confederate flag rise in the place of the stara and stripes. The Convention had just adjourned for the day, and I met my father in the throng. His countenance glowed, and in his earn est look I read deep feeling. Many of the members' faces ex hibited traces of tears. At my ardent expression* of joy, my father smiled rather aadly, I thought. "We have done our duty, my son," he said; "and you know I have advocated this step from the beginning, when I think the war might have been prevented. Now it is a fixed fact. What do you propose to do? 1 ' "To return at once to King William, and set about raising a company. If they choose me to command them good. If not, I will serve in the ranks." My father walked on in silence, evidently reflecting. u Wait two or three days," he said; "there will be time enough." And we continued our way. Three days afterward he came into my chamber, and said, with a smile : " Good morning, Captain." I laughed, *nd replied : " You give me my title in advance." " No ; I have addressed you properly." And he handed me a large envelope, upon one corner of which were stamped the Virginia arms. I tore it open, and found that it contained my appointment as captain in the Provisional Army of Virginia, with orders to report to Colonel Jackson, command ing at Harper's Ferry ! Never did lover greet more rapturously the handwriting of his mistress. I rose to my full height, waved the paper round my head, and uttered a "hurrah!" which shook the windows. Turn ing with flushed face and sparkling eve* toward mf 28 SUKRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. father, I saw him looking at me with inexpressible tenderness and sweetness. I addressed myself to the task of procuring my equipment!? with an ardor which I now look hack to with a satirical smile. Ah, those good days of the good year 1861 ! How anxious we all were to get to horse and march away under the bonnie blue flag! How fearful we were that a battle would be fought be fore we arrived ; that we would not have an opportunity of reaping the glory of having our heads carried off by a cannon ball! That romance soon passed, and the war became a "heavy affair " but then it was all illusion and romance. At the end of a week I had procured my uniform and equip* ments. The first consisted of a suit of gray, the sleeves of the coat profusely decorated by my fanciful tailor with the gold braid of a captain : the latter of a light sabre, pistol, saddle, and single blanket, strapped behind. My slender wardrobe was carried in the valise upon the horse of my servant, an active young negro, who had figured as my body servant, and was de* lighted at " going to the wars." I bade my friends good-by, and then went to have a last in terview with my father. I still see his noble face, and hear his grave, sweet accents. There were tears in his eyes as he pressed my hand, and I think my own were not dry. I got into the saddle, waved my hand, and, followed by ray servant, set out upon the untried future. VIII. THE LONELY HOUSE. IT was the end of April when I commenced my journey toward the Potomac. The weather was charming, the birds sang in the trees, and the face of nature lay before me. all smiles and sun shine, her form clothed in that ten^e" green with which she salutes the spring. THE LONELY HOUSE. 29 was the fine and pleasant season when the writer of the memoir, clad in Southern gray, with his horseman's boots, and gayly-clattering sabre, set out for the wars, his mind full of rosy dreams, his pulse thrilling with anticipations of adventure. To-day he seems quite a stranger to the old battered soldier, whose pulse rarely thrills, and who is tired of romance and ad- : venture or almost. ( I made about thirty miles the first day, and stopped that night in the neighoorhood of Beaver Dam, at the house of the hospit able Colonel , who gave me a cordial reception. On the next morning I again set out, turning my horse's head toward Raccoon Ford, on the Rapidan. The country through which I now passed was thinly inhabited, and toward the afternoon I began to feel convinced that I had missed my road. This, I soon ascertained from a wayfarer, was the fact ; I had inclined the child slid down, and disappeared. We then continued our ride, conversing as before, and I found my companion a very delightful talker. He was perfectly mod est and unassuming, but a man of excellent sense. I should have classed him with those persons who are described by the phrase " they would not hurt a fly " but at times his brown eyes flashed, and a chivalric glow lit up his dark face, as we spoke of the coming contest. When we reached a cross-road, not far from the river, and r checking his white horse, the stranger informed me that he must leave me, to pay a visit to a friend, I really regretted the part ing. "I hope, however, to see you again, captain," he said, address ing me by the title which my uniform indicated. " My house is on your road, and I shall be at home to-morrow. I live at Mark- ham's, near Manassas Gap, and trust you will make use of my house to-night. My name is Turner Ashby, and my brother Richard is at home. I shall expect to see you when I reach home to-morrow morning." I accepted this obliging offer with many thanks, as my day's journey would terminate in the vicin ity of Markham's ; and, with a friendly pressure of the hand, my travelling companion disappeared at full speed on his white horse. I fully intended to make my way to his house, but, as the reader will soon see, was prevented from doim? p* by " circumstance* which I hd no control. " SORRY OF XIII. THE OWNER OF THE HANDKERCHIEF. FOBBING the Rappahannock near the little hamlet of Orleans, I stopped to dine and feed my horses at the hospitable mansion of Mr. M - ; and then continued my way, drawing nearer and nearer to the long blue wave of the Ridge. I lost no time, as heavy banks of clouds piled up on the hori zon indicated an approaching storm ; and the thunder already began to mutter in the dtstance. The declining sun, threatening and bloody, poured its crimson light upon field and forest as I hastened on; and from time to time vivid flashes of lightning lit up the dark masses slowly gathering overhead. Then all at once, without warning, and ere I dreamed of its approach, rushed down from the mountains a veritable hurricane. Never before had I encountered anything like this sudden tor nado. It blinded me, and took my breath away. Roaring as it came, like a thousand wild beasts unloosed, it tore across the fields, whirled amid the boughs of the forest, and carried every thing before it. I had entered a belt of woods, through which the road ran, ere I realized the extent of the hurricane ; and now went on at full speed, to escape the dangerous vicinity of crashing boughs and tree trunks. The air was filled with limbs torn from the trees, and more than once, as I passed beneath, I narrowly escaped being struck by them. All at once, as I went on at full gallop, I saw a horse shoot out from a side road, a hundred yards in front of me, and a second glance told me that the rider was a young lady. Her hair was flowing in heavy curls upon her shoulders, from beneath the coquettish little hat and feather ; her habit streamed like a meteor ; and, with head thrown back, and slender form erect in the saddle, she seemed to be enjoying the hurly-burly of the storm. Behind ner came a servant^ urging his horse violently witb F THE HANDKERCHIEF. 43 hand and heel as perfect a specimen of terror as his young mistress was of "game." I was charmed with the enticing figure which sped on before me, and pushed my horse to his utmost speed, not only to escape the storm, but also to keep up with the young lady. As I did so, the hurricane increased in intensity. The air was full of fly- mg boughs : twice I was obliged to leap trees which had crashed down between myself and the young lady: finally my enjoyment of her splendid horsemanship came suddenly to an end. The storm came on with a roar which surpassed all its former fury , a huge limb above me snapped the next moment I was struck violently upon the head, and hurled from my horse to the ground. I must have been completely stunned for some moments. "When I opened my eyes and came to my senses, I saw the young lady kneeling beside me, and felt her arm under my head. At ten paces the frightened servant held her horse. The storm raged as furiously as before, but the young lady seemed perfectly indifferent to it. Suddenly I recognized in the face close to my own something familiar; then a thrill ran through my frame. It was the owner of the handkerchief which I had picked up, on that moonlight night, in the grounds of the Capitol at Richmond ! There was no sort of doubt about the identity of the young lady. There were the same beautiful lips, as red as carnations ; the same waving chestnut hair ; the same eyes, half haughty and half languishing great violet eyes, which had haunted me ever since that evening ! I must have looked at her fixedly, for a slight rose-color cam* to the cheeks. Then it faded, and she said, with the most per fect calmness : "Are you much hurt, sir? Your arm seems to be broken." " I do not know," I murmured. " I am ashamed to trouble you!" "You do not trouble me at all, sir," was the reply of the young lady. " I will assist you to rise." Was anything ever less romantic ? Instead of rescuing the 44 SURRY Ox EAGLE'S-NEST. young girl, of whom I had dreamed so long, here she was coming to my own succor and rescuing me ! Rising faintly to my feet, with a sort of vertigo in my brain, I managed to mount my horse, which was led up at the moment, and the young lady, too, got into the saddle. "You must not ride rapidly: I fear you are seriously hurt," she said. " I am in no haste, and will accompany you until you feel stronger, sir." And she calmly rode on by my side. She was in no haste ! and yet the forest was a whirlpool of falling limbs and crashing trees, as the storm roared on with unabated fury! My fair companion exhibited not a single evidence of fear her face was as calm and cold as before. You would have said that she was riding pensively along on a tranquil May morning. We soon issued from the forest. " Will you come to my father's house, sir, until the storm is over?" my companion now said. " I think you need some rest before riding further." "Thanks!" I murmured, in a sort of dream, as I listened to that voice. And she led the way into a by-road which ran in the direction of a house which I saw rising from the woods upon a distant hill. Still stunned, bewildered, and scarcely realizing my situation, I rode on by the side of the young lady, who seemed not to ob serve the rain which now drenched her chestnut curls and her riding habit. She did not again open her lips ; and I was too faint and weak to address her. In a quarter of an hour we reached a large white gate, ascended a grassy hill, and stopped before the portico of an old mansion of very considerable size, overshadowed by mag nificent oaks. I remember some dogs were lying upon the portico, and a peacock was cowering with wet plumage beneath one of the trees. Memory is a curious faculty and deals in trifles. I had dismounted, with the vague feeling that I ought to assist A FOLLOWER OF CALHOUN. 45 the young lady from the saddle, when a gentleman, with long gray hair falling upon his shoulders, came out and approached us. After that, I don't remember much more. My arm seemed on fire ; a mist passed before my eyes, and, only dimly realizing that the arm of the gray-haired gentleman was around me, I lost consciousness. Again, my dear reader, can you possibly imagine any incident less " heroic " than this first meeting with the lady of the handkerchief? XIV. A FOLLOWER OF CALHOUN. 1 HAVE no intention now of drawing a vivid and affecting pic ture of an amiable family turned topsy-turvy and running to and fro. Here is what I saw when I opened my eyes : an old lady in a white cap, busily bandaging my broken arm ; an old gentleman with long gray hair, who was superintending the operation ; and a young lady with chestnut curls, who reclined in a chair oppo site, and did not seem greatly interested in the scene. Five minutes after regaining consciousness, I had the satisfac tion of knowing that I was not among strangers at all, but was the guest of Colonel Beverley of " The Oaks," one of my father's oldest and most intimate friends. " M. B.," on the handkerchief I had picked up, stood for Miss May Beverley, his daughter. On the evening of the same day, my arm felt perfectly easy ; and I was talking politics with my host. He was really a character. Imagine, my dear reader, a tall, thin gentleman, nearly seventy years of age, with long gray hair falling in elf-locks on his shoulders ; eyes as keen and piercing as those of an eagle ; but a smile so soft and sweet that no woman's ever exceeded it in suavity. In every movement of my host was the elegance and distinction of the old race of cavaliers ; 4:6 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. anng, my dear reader, as you doubtless know ; and before 1 heard May Beverley, I thought no woman could sing it. She made the music magical, and I still hear that strain, echoing forever in my memory. Was it her own heart speaking in the mournful music ? Had she ever bidden farewell to any love in those wild access ? I knew not I only knew that her voice produced an indescribable effect upon me, and that, on that day, I did not ask her to sing again. I pass on from that period of enchantment. It was only for a moment, now and then, that the violet eyes glowed, the cheeks filled with color. The young lady remained as obstinately chill as before; and yet a little incident at the time seemed to indicate that she possessed deep and earnest feelings. There was a young Charley Beverley, her brother, who had been off on a yisit somewhere, but returned now to "The Oaks " to get his equipments and join the forces on the Potomac. 52 SURRY OP EAGLE'S-NEST. Charley was a gay youngster, of about seventeen, with only one )assion in the world to ride unbroken colts : only one ambi tion to shoulder a musket and go and fight "the Yankees. 7 * He was a favorite with all, but his sister May seemed his special adorer. She hung around the youth with the deepest fondness and devotion; sewed night and day at his articles of clothing; c*ukl not bear, apparently, to have him out of her sight, and, when he was leaving her, covered his face with passionate kisses, and burst into an agony of tears. As the youth disap peared, she passed by a certain gentleman with an air of utter unconsciousness of the fact of his existence, and, going to her chamber, did not reappear again until the next morning. She then made her appearance, as cold and haughty as before. All traces of emotion had vanished from her face ; her tones were calm and indifferent ; her walk as measured, stately, and queenlike as before. Altogether, I came to the conclusion that Miss May Beverley was a singular character, and I only regretted that I had been so unfortunate as to become the victim of her beautiful eyes. Things are in a desperate condition with a wooer, my dear reader, when he is sorry that he ever met "her." If you are f oung and susceptible, I strongly advise you to avoid the fillet iu movrbre. Sunshine and roses are much better than the gray *kies of winter, when the shining flowers seem destined never to !>loom again! XVI. THE GUEST WHO DID NOT COME. Two or three more scenes will terminate those days at "The Oaks." I shall now ask the reader to be present at a granc 1 linner which the hospitable Colonel Beverley gave in honor of dis chance guest. Here is the company seated at the broad table, in the large dining-room, through which go and come, with shining faces, the ebon subjects of the well-known "irrepressible conflict." THE GUEST WHO DID NOT COME. 53 After the dessert is finished, the ladies disappear Mrs. Bever ley bland and smiling, her daughter silent and distraite. The old Colonel then begins to talk politics. He has sur rounded himself with a Spartan phalanx of " original secession ists," every one of whom i a passionate admirer of the great Calhoun, and the unanimity of the company, upon politics, is almost painfully perfect. It is hard to find points of difference sufficient to afford discussion ; but the Colonel manages to pick out an old gentleman who injudiciously "doubts if the views of Mr. Calhoun were entirely practicable" and then the storm begins. Let us close our ears to it, reader, and remain quiet ; it will soon expend its wrath. Listen! it is already over, and Colonel Beverley is addressing your humble servant. ''Captain Surry," he says, bowing and drinking a glass of Ma deira to my good health, " you are here in the midst of the lead ing traitors and chief gentlemen the two being the same of the County of Fauquier. There is not a single neighbor of mine absent to-day yes, one is not here, but no invitation ever tempts him." " Who is your hermit, Colonel?" " You may well give him that name. I sent him a pressing invitation to meet you to-day, but he very politely refused/' I began to laugh. " I am more anxious than ever to hear who he is as not even the charms of my society can move him." " His name is Mordaunt." "I do not know him." "But surely you must have heard of him?" "Not in the least. We are too good Virginians down there on the Rappahannock, to hear of, or care for, anybody out of our own county." The old Colonel laughed and replied : " Well, that accounts for it ; but I must tell you about Mor daunt. He is one of our celebrities, though few people have ever seen him. In one word you hav* inscribed him he is an absolute hermit." " And where does he live ?" 54 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. " On a spur of the Blue Ridge, a few miles from this plaee, His life of seclusion is only a part of the singularity about him." " You excite my curiosity more and more, Colonel." " Well, I'll try and gratify it, though I really know little, of my own knowledge, in regard to him. There is something mys- terious about the man and his history a somewhat doubtful re commendation you will say but our Mordaunt is unquestionably a gentleman. He is still a young man, between thirty-five and forty at least ; but is known to have served against the French in Algiers, where he fought for many years, taking the side of the Arabs. It is even said that he became a leading chief among these wild bands, and was as active against their enemies as if he had been a good Mussulman." " That is a curious story, Colonel." " Is it not ? But the man and his surroundings are even more singular. I have met him two or three times purely by acci dent and can describe him to you. He is tall and dark in fact, burnt nearly black by the sun of the tropics ; but his manner is very distinguished, and it is impossible not to see that he is a gentleman born and bred. Now, as to his mode of living. It is said that his house, which is situated in a secluded part of the country, near the mountain, is full of tiger skins, strange weapons, and a hundred outlandish mementos of travel in distant lands. An ample estate enables him to gratify every whim, but he is eaid to live very simply, spending most of his time in his study. When not thus engaged, he is huntir/g, or taking long and solitary rides among the mountains. All the old hunters know him, and look upon him as a demi-god. He prefers their society, appa rently, to that of all other persons though he scarcely ever opens his lips, it is said, except to speak in Arabic to a Moorish attend ant he has brought with him from Algiers. Is not all that rather curious ?" " A real chapter from the pages of romance, Colonel ; but what is the mystery of his life ?" " I really do not know nor does anybody. He came to live in this country a few years ago, but he goes nowhere, discourages visitors, and it was only by accident that I made his acquaintance. THE "LAST RlbET TOGETHER." 55 I have invited him to come and see me, two or three times, but he always sends a cool, though perfectly courteous, refusal. 1 thought I could tempt him to break his rule to-day but you see I have failed." " I am sorry, for I really should like to meet your singular hermit." And the conversation glided to other topics. Soon afterward the company rose, and, hearing the piano, I went into the draw ing-room and found Miss May Beverley singing the " Tempests del mio cor." Was there really a storm raging in the heart of that statue ? I had never seen her look colder, or less repellant in her manner, though the music of Verdi had brought a faint rose-tint to the beautiful cheeks. She ceased singing as I entered, and strolled carelessly to th window. " It is a very fine day," she said, beating a tattoo on the pane. "Superb," I replied, " and I am sorry that the company to-day prevented the ride you promised to take." " Yes I think I should have enjoyed it." "Will you ride to-morrow, then?" " If you wish, sir." "What were you playing?" "Nothing." And she strolled away languidly, preferring her own thoughts, apparently, to my society. Pygmalion sighed his statue seemed i>ver destined to glow with human feeling. XYIL THE "LAST RIDE TOGETHER." THERE is a piece in Browning called " The Last Ride Together." *Md you ever meet with it, my dear reader? It is worth your notice. Read that wonderful extravaganza, that supreme cry of passion from a heart that fails in the struggle, and you will 56 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. have some idea of the feelings of a friend of yours when he took his last ride with May Beverley. The month of flowers had come now May had bloomed in all its glory and the girl who bore the name of this month of months seemed blooming too. The balmy breezes blew against her cheeks just tinted with the rose, made the ribbons of her bodice flutter gayly, and just stirred the bright waves of her chestnut hair, in which nestled a single flower of spring. Th lips, pensive and half parted, had the ripe red of the carnation the great dreamy eyes were as blue as the sky above us. Then I knew what the poet meant when he made his unfor tunate hero utter that prayer, that he might "ride forever, for ever ride " by the side of the woman he adored. The young lady had promised to conduct me to a lofty bill, from which there was a superb view, and we were soon flying along through fields and forests toward the Blue Ridge. In half an hour we reached the hill, and I saw far beneath me the green slopes of Fauquier, crowned with white mansions, embowered in the young spring foliage. To the right, and in rear of us, rose the shaggy, pine-clad sides of the Blue Ridge. She checked her horse, and, leaning her cheek upon her hand, murmured, as she gazed at the beautiful landscape : "What a contrast to the tedium and sameness of society!** Then looking at me with her large, pensive eyes: "I believe I will turn hermit," she added. " Like the Solitary of the Blue Ridge ? He must have inocn lated you with his enthusiasm for retirement." "I have never seen him," was her reply. "And you do not know where he lives?" "No, I have never heard." And she relapsed into silence. I see her now as I saw her then leaning her fair cheek languidly upon the delicate gauntlet, and gazing pensively toward the blue horizon* She word a brown habit which revealed every outline of the exquisite figure slender, and swaying like the reed, or the lily ; the plume in her riding-hat just shaded he* white forehead, and against the snowy neck shone the glossy THffi "LAST RIDE TOGETHER. 11 57 ttaids of her hair. There, sitting upon her docile bay, in the bright spring afternoon, May Beverley was " a sight to make an old man young." You fancy, perhaps, that the spring sunshine had at lait thrilled her pulses, and that the marble statue had become a happy girl. Listen ! "Life is a dull affair," she murmurs; "nature the only solace, and even that is not very gay. Come, sir, you must be tired of j waiting. Let us ride on." So we descended the hill, and rode in the direction of another. Pausing to enjoy every new view, the young lady did not seem to observe the lapse of time. The light slowly faded, darkness approached, and we found ourselves many miles from "The Oaks," in a wild and unknown region. "We had better return," T said. "But do you know the country?" She looked round carelessly, and replied : " Not in the least, sir?" " Then I really think we had better lose no time in retracing our steps before the light entirely disappears." She bent her head indifferently, and turned her horse into a road which led through a belt of woods. u This is the direction to ' The Oaks,' " she said. " I know by the mountain." And she tranquilly rode on ; but I was by no means satisfied. We were in a wild and rugged country I knew how easily a road is lost and night was now upon us. We had entered what resembled an interminable forest, and soon the winding charac* ter of the road we pursued rendered it almost certain that we were not proceeding in the direction of "The Oaks." " I am very sorry to inform you, Miss Beverley," I said at last, :< that we have lost our way. This a slight affair to myself, but the air is growing cold, and you are very thinly clad." " It is nothing," she replied coolly ; " I never take cold, and we can inquire at the first house we find." But none appeared still stretched on and on the interminable forest. 3* 58 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. It was then that I thought of the "Last Ride" of Browning. If we never reached "The Oaks" any more forever, but con tinued thus to ride, side by side! would that destiny be hard? I would have accepted it. But suddenly a light glimmered through the foliage to the left, and we soon reached a tall gate, which evidently led into the grounds of a dwelling-house. We passed through it, rode on through an avenue of magnificent trees, and, ascending a gentle slope, found ourselves in front of a low, brick mansion, with extensive wings, over which drooped the arms of some enormous black oaks. I dismounted, and at the first sound of the knocker I remember it was a scowling face, in bronze, like the mask of the old trage dians the door opened, and a singular figure presented itself. It was that of .a young Moor, about eighteen apparently, with a slender frame, swarthy face, and sparkling black eyes. He wore an ornamented caftan, a braided jacket, and around his waist was tied a shawl by way of girdle. I briefly explained the object of my visit, but the young Moor shook his head, evidently to indicate that he did not understand my words. I was about to repeat my attempt to make him com prehend me, when all at once my eyes encountered an object which drove ererything else from my mind. The door leading into an apartment on the right of the entrance was open ; a chandelier hanging from the centre of the oeiling Jit up a strange scene of furs, weapons, and pictures ; but what at once r'rveted my gaze was a portrait hanging on the wall of the apartment, full in the light of the chandelier. That portrait was the most exact likeness of the young lady 1 had encountered at the house in the Wilderness Violet Grafton. I gazed at it with very great astonishment. Why was that picture hanging here ? Could the Solitary of the Mountains for this was plainly the house of Mordaunt know the girl buried yonder in that obscure mansion ? Here plainly was her portrait ; what relation did she bear to him ? I was still gazing, lost in astonishment, at the beautiful faee> with its mild eyes peering out from the golden ringlets, wnen THE "LAST RIDE TOGETHER." 59 the hoof-strokes of a horse resounded on the avenue, and the young Moor, who had remained standing by me motionless, at once hastened to the door. A man riding a powerful black horse had halted there, and across the pommel of his saddle I saw the dead body of a bear, still bleeding from a deep gash in the throat. The light then fell upon the features of the horseman. I recognized the un known adversary of Fen wick in the duel at Hollywood Cemetery. Mordaunt for the reader no doubt understands that this was the solitary saluted Miss Beverly with profound but ice-like courtesy. Then he bestowed a bow of the same description upon me. I hastened to break the awkward pause by an explanation of the object of our visit. Mordaunt replied in a tone of formal politeness that he would send a servant to guide us back mean, while, QS Mies Beverley must be fatigued, would she honor him by dismounting ? When this proposal was declined, the formal personage uttered three words in Arabic, to the young Moor, and in a few minutes a mounted servant was ready to accom pany us. Mr. Mordaunt was evidently accustomed to talk little and to be served promptly. He did not utter another word, and his formal air mingled with deep gloom had not changed for an instant. "You have a magnificent bear there," I said as I mounted; "was he killed in the mountain, sir?" " Yes, sir," was the brief reply; "he gave me a hard fight, but I mastered him." A slight color came to the swarthy cheek. The recollection of his combat seemed to please the stranger. But he seemed to have little desire to describe it or to prolong the interview. Hia manner was perfectly polite, but no ice could be colder ; and, thanking him for the guide, I set out with the young lady for "The Oaks." A ceremonious bow from the tall, gloomy figure a slight movement of Miss Beverley's head in return so we parted. "Well, what do you think of the hermit?" I said, laughing, as we rode on. 60 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. "He is very cold in Ms manners," was her indifferent rejn/. * Something in his past life must have made him melancholy." In an hour we had reached " The Oaks." XYIII. THE ALGERINE. ON the next morning I mounted my horse, and, following the road by which we had returned on the preceding night, soon found myself again in sight of Mordaunt's house. The object of my visit is easily explained. I had never ceased to remember the cold and yet passionate tones of that deep voice which had resounded before the duel in Hollywood Cem etery ; and I know not what it was that told me, that some great tragedy had darkened this man's life some mortal poison im- bittered a character grand, noble, and magnanimous. I could read that great nature in the clear bold eyes, the proud curl of the lips, and the dignity of his most passionate utterances. Now, this man, in whom I took an irresistible interest, was about to be the victim of a plot devised by his bitter adversary. The young lady whose portrait was hanging on his wall his friend or his kinswoman was the object of the dark designs of Fen- wick, as I had ascertained that morning in the Wilderness. It was certain that these designs were unknown to Mordaunt. Was it not absolutely incumbent upon me, as a man of honor, to put him on his guard by revealing them ? It did not take me very long to decide that question ; and the result was my visit. I entered the tall gate, passed between the long rows of trees, through the extensive grounds, and, dismount* ing, grasped the scowling knocker, and let it fall. This time a negro answered my summons, and, showing me into the room on the right, containing the portrait, went to announce my visit to bis master. The apartment in which I found myself was curious. It was evidently the private sitting-room of the owner of the mansion ; THE ALGERINE. 61 and, as I afterward discovered, I had been shown into it by mistake. Nothing more outre than the appearance of this room, can possibly be imagined. The furniture was antique, with gro tesque ornaments carved upon the wood ; and, in place of a car pet, the floor was covered with the most magnificent skins, pre serving the outlines of the animals from which they had been torn. Here were the shaggy spoils of the lion of Morocco ; the mottled and tawny skins of the Bengal tiger ; and the brilliant fur of the East India leopard, as soft as and more pliable than the finest velvet. With these were mingled other rich furs ; and the peculiarity which struck me was the extreme care taken to pre serve the appearance of the animals. The eyes were replaced by dazzling globes of agate ; the teeth grinned threateningly be neath the curled lips ; and the sharp claws seemed ready to tear any one who approached. On two sides of the apartment the walls were covered with books in every language. The opposite wall was filled with pic tures, representing combats on foot or horseback ; encounters between French Zouaves and Arabs in white burnous ; hunting scenes, and every species of conflict with man or animal. Be tween the pictures hung, crossed as trophies, weapons of every description, including beautiful specimens of the Moorish yata ghan, the Turkish scimetar, the deadly crease of the Malays, and, by way of grim jest apparently, one of the long rude pikes used by John Brown and his followers when they invaded Virginia. On the table lay pipes of every form, chibouques, hookahs, nar- ghils, meerschaums carved into grotesque or beautiful figures, and the plain but excellent Powhatan pipe of Virginia. In porcelain jars beside them were a dozen varieties of tobacco the pale Latakia; the dark Shiraz; the Peerrique from New Or leans, black, fibrous, and powerful ; and the milder brown, that which is raised on the south side of James River. Across an open volume of Hugo's "Les Muerdblet" which had then just appeared, lay a black meerschaum, which ita owner Seemed to have been lately smoking. Such was this curious apartment ; and it was impossible not to {peculate upon the character of the individual whose tastes it 62 SURRY 01- EAGLE'S-NEST. seemed to reflect. Here were the spoils of war and the chase , the best books of all languages ; and pictures which seemed to start from the walls as you gazed upon them. Was my host, then, a mixture of the soldier, the hunter, the student, and the amateur of art? One thing was very plain that he nad little taste for female beauty : not a picture of the entire collection contained a single female figure. The portrait of Miss Grafton was the sole recognition of the existence of her sex. I was gazing intently at this portrait, whose resemblance to my beautiful young hostess of the Wilderness struck me still more forcibly than before, when the door opened, I heard a step be hind me, and the owner of the mansion entered. His manner, as he greeted me, was characterized by the same cold yet perfect politeness which I had observed on the preced ing evening. But in this there was no affectation whatever. It seemed never to have occurred to him that he ought to ask, "To what am I indebted, sir, for the honor of this visit ?" That is a phrase, my dear reader, which is used only in novels, or by charlatans. Mr. Mordaunt's bearing was gloomy, but that of a Virginia gentleman welcoming a guest. He was evidently a man of the world, however, and, like the Black Douglas, " his hand was his own." He was perfectly polite seemed to regard my visit as a courtesy bestowed upon him but there everything ended. Behind the host was the man and with that personage Mr. Mordaunt evidently thought that I had nothing to do. His voice, as he conversed upon the events of the day, was deep, measured, and sonorous : his manner, although gloomy, was high-bred, and what we call, for want of a better word, " distin guished." In half an hour I saw plainly that this hermit of my imagination was not only a deep and powerful thinker, but a trained and self-collected man of the world. From the fugitive topics of the moment, the conversation passed to art, and I said, as I pointed to the picture of Miss Graf- ton: '* 1 was admiring that fine head when you entered. Mr. daunt. It is a portrait, is it not ?" *' Fes sir." was his **eply, in a voice of perfect coolness THE ALGERINE. 63 -*I think I know the original. 1 ' " The original ! " he said, with a sudden glow upon his swarthy face ; " you know the original ? That is impossible, sir she is dead." 44 Dead 1" I exclaimed, in my turn, 'why, that is impossible! I saw her only a few days ago." My host greeted this statement with a look of unmistakable astonishment. He did not speak for a moment ; and then said, coolly, in his deep, measured voice : " You have doubtless met some lady who resembles this por trait, sir. I repeat, that the original is long since dead." "Are you certain, Mr. Mordaunt?" "Perfectly certain, sir." And I saw something like a shadow pass over his broad fore head. "Your statement fills me with the utmost astonishment," I said. " Then you do not know a young lady named Violet Graf- ton?" * I have never heard of her, sir." I looked at my host. It was impossible to believe that this man, with the proud and loyal look, the deep, earnest voice, and the bearing so cold and grave, could be deceiving me. And yet it was utterly impossible that this portrait was not intended for Miss Grafton. The likeness was positively startling. Curiosity had now mastered me and absorbed every other sen timent. I determined to penetrate, if possible, that armor of re serve in which my singular host had encased himself. "You have never heard of Miss Grafton, Mr. Mordaunt?" I said. "Well, at least, you know a Mr. Fenwick, do you not?" The question struck home. The head, which had drooped as though bowed down t)y some gloomy recollection, suddenly rose erect, and Mordaunt gazed at me with a glance so piercing that the dark eyes seemed straining to penetrate my inmost soul. Then the head sank again, and he replied, in tones more cold and formal than I had yet heard from his lips : " Yes, I know a person named Fenwick, sir." " This person, at least, is alive, is he not?" 64 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. "I believe so," he said; and a flash of unmistakable hatred lit up his black eye. u Well, I know it, Mr. Mordaunt." " You are, then, acquainted with him ?" was his cold interrog atory. " I have never exchanged a word with him, but I have seen him twice, and under somewhat peculiar cirsumstances. On the first occasion he was engaged in a duel on the second, he was plotting against the peace of a young lady." Mordaunt looked at me fixedly, and said : " Where did that duel take place, sir ?" "In the grounds of Hollywood Cemetery, at Richmond." He did not reply for a moment, and his dark eye still remained fixed upon my own. Then he said, with perfect coolness : " I really do not see how your presence, upon that occasion, could have escaped me, sir. I thought that the principals and seconds in the affair were the only persons who witnessed the meeting you refer to." In ten words, I recounted everything. Mordaunt listened with out interrupting me, and, when I had finished, said, with cool indifference : " Well, that was really curious ; and your explanation shows that, in this world, many things pass us by without attracting our notice. I thought the parties in that affair were the only persons present." " You thought, also, that your adversary was dead, Mr. Mor daunt but he is not. He is not only alive, but at this very moment is engaged in a conspiracy against a young lady who, if not the original, is the exact image of the portrait hanging yon der on your wall." And I briefly informed my host of that encounter with Fen wick, at the house in the Wilderness ; repeating the words which I had heard him utter on the steps. Mordaunt listened with close attention, and seemed especially struck with my description of Miss Grafton. "The image of my portrait!" he muttered; "that is very (strange these singular resemblances !" THE ALGERINE. 65 His eye wandered to the picture as he thus muttered to him self, and he seemed to pass in gloomy thought to other scenes. His brows contracted, his lips became rigid ; then something like a b'uter smile came to them. Suddenly he seemed to realize my presence, and his glance was lowered. His face resumed all at once its former expression of impenetrable coldness. " You will pardon my absence of mind, sir," he said, in his formal tone. " I am almost a recluse here, and the habit grows upon me. Thanks for your visit, and this information in regard to that person and his plots. You know more of my relations with him than I thought you could ; but I am sorry to say that circumstances of a private nature will not permit me to explain an enmity which must appear somewhat singular to you. You heard the words I addressed to my adversary's second, when he attempted to stop that affair. Thus you know in what light 1 regard this person. I have sworn the vendetta against him, Cap tain Surry," continued my host with a flash of the dark eyes which resembled lurid lightning, " and I will keep that oath ! There is something more sure and fatal than the instinct of the bloodhound: it is the eye and hand of the man who has sworn to have his vengeance!' 1 "I tell you this, sir," he said, more coldly, after pausing for a moment, "because you are a gentleman of mind and discretion, who will feel no temptation to repeat my words. So much for the relations which exist between myself and that wretch. Of this Miss Grafton, I declare to you again, that I know nothing. If she resembles this portrait, as you seem to think, the resem blance is purely accidental. As to the plot of that person, and the danger she is exposed to, I shall only say that I hope soon to remove all possibility of annoyance from that quarter." There was no mistaking the meaning of these words, so cold and full of menace ; but the speaker seemed to suppress, by a powerful effort of his will, any further exhibitions of enmity, and plainly wished to change the topic. " My servant has shown you into my private study, sir," he bow said with his former air of courteous reserve r *' and these 6t> SURRY OF EAQLE'S-NEST. decorations, no doubt, appear to you eccentric. They are th rubbish of travel, and were intended for no eye but my own." "They interest me much," was my reply. "You have visited Europe?" " Yes, I spent some years there." " In Algiers." "Ah! you discover that from my pictures and weaponi." 44 No, I heard it before I ever saw you." ""Well, gossip is right for once, sir." "You served against the French." * Yes, I took part with the Arabs." "And have brought back one of the faithful." "You mean my Moor, Achmed?" "Is that his name?" " Yes. The youth took a fancy to me when he ir as a mere child, and, since the death of his father, who fell in battle, has remained with me. I am very much attached to him, and I believe that he would lay down his life for me." " Were you often engaged with the French ?" "Frequently they are the best troops in the world. I did not rank myself on the side of the Arabs from any dislike of their enemies, but because their soil was invaded." " The same principle will, doubtless, lead you to offer your sword to the South." "Assuredly." u You, then, think of entering the army?" "I never thought upon the subject. I am a Virginian I fight therefore, as a matter of course." * 1'ou are right, Mr. Mordaunt. And what branch of the ser- irice, may I ask, do you intend to enter?" " The cavalry it is that with which I am most familiar. I have already raised a company, and it is nearly ready for the field. The men are all mountaineers of this region, excellently mounted, and have done me the honor to choose me for their captain, from having heard, I suppose, that I am not entirely a novice in military matters. But I am indulging in egotism. Will you smoke ? Here arc several sorts of pipes and varieties THE ALGKKIN^E. 67 of tobacco, sent me from Europe. I prefer a plain meerschaum, and the Lynchburg in that jar near your hand: you will find it excellent." I declined, and, pointing to the volume upon which his own pipe rested, said : "I see you are reading ' Les MiaerdblesS It absorbed me, in Richmond, where I found a copy. Do you like it ?" "It is a mournful book," replied Mordaunt, "and at times affects even as rough a husk as my own. It is rather too long, perhaps ; but then the subject is an inexhaustible one, the history of the wretched' " "It is the story of humanity." " You are right," said my host, " a tragedy, that is to say." "Are all lives tragic?" " When they are not dull. Life is a poor affair, to my thinking Captain Surry, and the shadow predominates. But we are growing didactic. Are you fond of arms ? I have a tolerable collection." And taking down weapon after weapon, Mordaunt pointed out, with evident interest in the subject, their various merits. "Man is a blood-thirsty animal," he said, "and cudgels his brains to invent improved instruments of death. But after all, this mediaeval bludgeon, studded with points of steel, is as effec tive as the last invention. My own favorite is the light French sabre, pliable and pointed. Held at tierce-point, with the horse at a gallop, it easily pierces through from breast to back." And he passed to other weapons. When they were exhausted, he called my attention to the pictures. When, an hour afterward, I parted with my host, I felt that I fiad been conversing with a remarkable man. Beneath the cold exterior I could easily see the traces of a powerful organization ; in the flash of the dark eye there was a latent force and passion which would make this man equal to the most desperate \mder takings. Such should have been the commander of the French cuirassiers who charged the living volcanoes of English infantry at Waterloo : such the officer at the head of the " Six Hundred " who rode through the Russian fire at Balaklava. Something told m? that, iu work like this, the stern and passionate spirit 68 StTRRT OF I LOU T. tinder that mask !;'<>( nil the drc;uns in \\hich I had in dttlgt'd V M \\'H. !"d diilv call,,' I t\ < liictnncc, for it \vjis pbiin now flint ir.y uit \va* hopoh".'. If i not .Mil njrrceahle ooTlfcss'jon. 1'ilf I :un roin- Ml8 May 1 , . m ! 10 <"!- no TJI.H-O I'.u- IIK> 'ii flu' l:i-f t!:;u> oil flic fr. \igit. I go f'lf- Mii.l SMV flint I fl.ink slu- c:\n m*. 1 li.-iil l( i>! IK r liMinlKi un en Ilia '. iti- 'H w* rt*d ii ii<>\-i^. i!\\ abtufd d^d thit (< .1 |'!Ttf\ l;)fl<> lr;nna \\ it upon flu 1 r-ador \\\ ilio g:o < . sco llu' \vonnd 1.: flf. fl... of fcDgtT) dis:ip]x>inf nicnt. outrjijrcd pride, woundso poisonous distil llic lunn.T. . u lu>l('smnc, :tnd to my happiness t tlu> tiino. AVhon *n<> dav 1 nnnoutiocd mv intention to sot out for tho Votoinno on tho noxl morning, 1 fVnnd (ho ("oloncl ^ Hov<>rlM- nuioli nmn 1 dcoplv itnprdMMQ hy tlint import .j nut sf:Hi ni<>nt than llu 1 \oun>.: \-.n\\ ; and indeed it seomod t(> bc^ a matter of |)o.rfc'rl indifVonMu^c to hor >vhothor I stayed or went awny. I found myself alone with lior that evening on the stepi of th THE STATUE SPEAKS. 69 portico, and it is impossible to imagine any thing more coolly indifferent than her demeanor Disappointment, anger, mortified pride! see an alluaion above to the feelings of one of the parties to that interview. The moon was shining, and the dreamy splendor lit np the beautiful head with the waving hair and the great violet eyes. J had never known May Beverley look so beautiful, but there was an expression upon her face which I had never seen there In-fore. Pride, weariness, and a sort of scornful despair alJ were written in those eyes, and upon those lips, in characters that could not be mistaken. I could scarcely extract a word from her : she seemed brooding over something, and from time to ti7iie looked furtively toward me, instantly withdrawing her eyes when they met mine. " What does all this mean!" I said to myself, with a sort of gloomy surprise. u Mademoiselle seems dintraite to-night, and with something on her mind. Well, Til try and see if I can't her. 1 ' And, suppressing a bitter laugh which rose to my lips, I said; "This is a charming night! It reminds me of one in lli'-h- nif.nd riot long since on the Capitol Square, where the musio was playing." She did not seern to hear me, but I saw her face flush and then grow pale. ''I saw you there that night," I went on; " did I never tell you I saw you ? That day in the storm was not our first meet ing." She turned and looked at me. u You saw me !" she said, in a low tone. "Certainly! I had that great pleasure; and yon don't think it possible that I should forget it ?" She must have observed my bitterness, for a strange expression name to her face. u You were walking with Mr. Baskerville : is that gentleman a friend of yours?" A lurid light came to her eyes, and her roses all fad"l. Looking me straight in the eyes, she remained silent for T' 70 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. eral minutes, and I could see her face in the moonlight flush crimson. Then this was succeeded by a pallor so deadly that I thought she was about to faint; she placed her hand on her heart, and, still looking straight at me, murmured hoarsely : "I am engaged to Mr. Baskerville!" The blow I had received from that falling limb in the forest was nothing to those words. I gazed at the speaker with an air, I am convinced, of imbecile wonder, and in vain attempted to utter some reply. She must have seen, or fancied she saw, an expression of scorn upon my pale face, for suddenly her brow flashed again, and she haughtily exclaimed : " You seem exceedingly surprised, sir ! Do you find any thing very extraordinary in this announcement? Yes, sir I repeat that I am engaged to be married to Mr. Baskerville !" "What could I reply ? There are moments when all language fails, and the very blood seems to stagnate. I remained thus dumb and bewildered, looking at the person who had uttered these words ; and then slowly came the full conviction of my misery slowly, as the gloomy moon rises, blood-red and men acing, over some battle-field covered with the dead. This, then, was the end of all my romantic dreams ! this was the mortal blow which had struck me to the very heart May Beverley was to marry Ba&keroille ! As I muttered that name audibly, in a tone of inexpressible scorn, the young lady uttered a hoarse moan, and exclaimed, with cruel sarcasm : "One would really suppose, sir, that you did not approve of the match, and were going to refuse your consent to it!" Those words revived me, like a bitter tonic. They aroused all my pride, and made me a man again. Suppressing every exhibi tion of emotion, I said, in a tone as cold and measured as I could assume at the moment : *' I beg that Miss Beverley will pardon any thing in my manner which is offensive or disagreeable to her. She must be aware that my approval or disapproval of any course she may pursue amounts to nothing whatever ; and I am quite sure that my opinions even are a matter of complete indifference to her. 1 THE STATUE SPEAKS. 71 did fancy, at one time, that there was something like friendship between us; but that, too, is scattered to the winds at this moment. I will not intrude further upon your presence, Mis Beverley." And, with bitterness at my heart, I rose and was about to leave her. She retained me with a single movement of her hand the other was twitching convulsively at the gold chain around her neck. She had turned her head away she now looked at me, and her eyes were full of tears. " Pardon me," she said, in a low voice, " I did not mean to offend you. I have known you but a short time, but I would not willingly forfeit your regard. I am very wretched, sir ! No one seems to care for me. You think me cold, my temper dis dainful do not deny it, sir, I have read it in your eyes. I am very proud, sir I do not value the good opinion of everybody but I would do much to retain yours." She paused : her voice trembled ; but I saw in her eyes the light of a determined resolution. She had evidently made up her mind to pursue some course from which her feelings recoiled. "I have informed you of my engagement, sir do you know why ? I am about to utter words which no woman should speak lightly, without a good reason." She stopped again then her cheeks were covered with blushes, and she said, hurriedly : "You are attached to me I could not avoid seeing it! You are an honorable gentleman, and I should have despised myself forever if I had suffered you to be deceived to remain in igno rance of what I have told you ! I have resolved many times to tell you I had not the courage. Every day I formed that reso lutionevery day it has been broken ! I have tried to discourage you I have made myself very disagreeable. I have been cold, satirical, even bitter when I would have given worlds to have appeared in my natural character, and won your friendship ! You know all now I am very unhappy, sir but I am a proud person, and I acted honorably, did I not ? This avowal is almost killing me, sir ! but I must go on until I have finished ! It has made me sick at heart to reflect that you regarded me as a young SURKY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. *ady whose hand was disengaged, when I was the victim of a formal contract. Yes, victim! I say victim!" she exclaimed, in a voice of inexpressible anguish ; " the victim of a hateful, an intolerable engagement! You shall know all, sir jou must know it! My father was the friend of Mr. Baskerville a e father he is dead now and an agreement was made between them that when Mr. Frederick Baskerville and myself grew up, we should be married. He came to see me when he was a child, and continued to do so as he grew older. I was educated in the idea that I was some day to marry him I admired him a*s a boy, for his grace and ease of manner and, when I was but fifteen, engaged myself to him. His father, who was very fond of me, died soon afterward, rejoicing that the marriage would now surely take place ; and my own father, who is the slave of his word, declares that I am doubly bound, first by his promise to his friend who is dead, and again by my word to Mr. Basker ville!" Again she paused ; her voice had a cold and desolate intona tion now, which jarred upon the ear. I pitied her, but at the name of Baskerville all my rage and misery overflowed. 44 You do not speak!" she murmured in a piteous tone, * k per haps I weary you." "Your words tear my heart!" I said. " Why do yon utter them? Why not simply say 'Go! I care nothing for you!' Your confidence honors me but I scarcely understand ite ob ject I" "Yon shall soon understand?" she exclaimed bitterly. "I mean that I am engaged to be married to Mr. BaakerTille, and that I cannot bear him! that for years past, since I have dis covered his real character, I have shuddered at that contract ! that my life is imbittered by the very thought of marrying him ! and yet nothing I can do or say will change my father's purpose, or prevent him from insisting upon this marriage with a man I actually loathe!" It was a wail of despair I listened to the cry of a broken heart I forgot my own anguish as I listened to that voice, and would have given all I hoped to possess of fame or wealth or THE STATUE SPEAKS. 73 happiness to Lave drawn the poor girl to me and sheltered he* in my arms. Setting my teeth together, I could only mutter : "When is this marriage to take place?" "When I am twenty-one," she murmured. "And you will marry that man?" '* I must." The words sounded like a knell. What was there to reply* I looked at her as she held down her head, crying silently. "Do you remember that moonlight night in Richmond ?" "Yes." " Here is your handkerchief, which I picked up I return it to you." And I placed it in her hand. " I saw you for the first time that night and now that my dream ie over now that you deny me all hope, and have resolved upon this marriage with a man you abhor I can now tell you calmly, and will tell you that I loved you from that mo ment! that I love you now as a man loves with his blood and his heart I I did not know your name when I saw you that night I never expebced to meet you again and yet that day in the storm I opened my eyes to see you bending over me ! I thought that Good Fortune smiled upon me then but you stead ily grew colder from that hour. To-day, I know why, and I honor you I You are a noble girl ! The misery of miseries is, that you are going to marry this man, whom you despise. You are right he is a poor creature ! pardon me ! there is some thing here at my heart that fills me with bitterness it is the thought that you are to be the wife of that person! That re& olution disarms me I have no strength to contend against it ! What can I do ? Kill him ? Would you marry me then ? I arn conquered unless you do what you have a right to do before God and man! refuse to fulfil that contract! Will you re fuse?" "I cannot!" came in a low moan from the girL "Then farewell." Both rose at the same moment. Eer face was as white as * 4 74 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. sheet, and the hand she gave me as cold as ice. She placed th other over her eyes and retired, without uttering a sound, to her chamber. On the next morning she did not appear, and I left "The Oaks " without again seeing her. XX. THE RUINED CHURCH AND THE STRANGER. I ENTERED the great Valley of Virginia through Ashby's Gap, on a May morning which rendered the scene inexpressibly lovely. The Shenandoah glided away beneath the mottled arms of the huge sycamores upon its banks, with a murmur as soft and sweet as the distant tinkling of silver bells; green fields extended on every side ; and in the west rose the blue ramparts of the Massinutton and Great North Mountains, as beautiful and tran quil as some happy dream. It was hard to realize that war would ever stamp his red hoof upon this Arcady, all loveliness and repose ; or that the day would come when the threat of a Federal commander would nearly be carried out, that " a crow flying over the region should be obliged to carry his own ra tions." And now as I enter upon new scenes of my memoirs, I beg leave to notify the kindly reader that I shall endeavor hereafter to entertain him with something more interesting than my pri vate feelings. Why should I inflict upon that amiable personage a long and lachrymose paragraph all about the heavy heart which a friend of his bore away from " The Oaks " or describe the tragic emotions of that unfortunate individual at the pros pect of seeing his sweetheart marry his rival ? Alas ! human life is so full of these unlucky affairs, that I think the less we hear of them the better! I am therefore obdurately "resolved to be gay," and am reso lutely determined that, if possible, not a single wail of anguish shall be heard from the hero of these memoirs. Is not life a THE RUINED CHURCH. 75 comedy, and the music lively ? Reader mine ! I who write have eeen both good and bad fortune in my time; and it has alwayg seemed best to me to bear the first with a modest, the latter with a courageous heart. So we pass away now from those days at " The Oaks." From the mast the long streamers wave farewell to the little bark that glided across our course, and has disappeared. Bon voyage ! fair May Beverley ! May the sea be sinoolh before you ! You and I go different ways ! Turning to the right at Berry's Ferry, I passed a mansion pic turesquely perched upon a hill with a background of woods, around the portico of which, I remember, some young ladies were trailing a sweetbrier rose in full blossom. All this was the very opposite of war and yet I lived to witness a hot fight upon that very lawn, and to see the spring grass dyed with blood. My horses were fresh, and I expected to reach the neighbor hood of Harper's Ferry before evening, but, when in the vicinity of Charlestown, I found the sky, which had long been threatening, suddenly indicate the approach of a storm. A huge bank of black cloud, against which, from time to time, vivid flashes of lightning shone, like a fiery crack in the dark mass, admonished me of the wetting which awaited me unless I found shelter ; and very soon those heavy drops, which are the skirmishers thrown out by an advancing tempest, began to patter on the leaves. I looked round for some shelter, but saw no house anywhere. In a clump of trees, however, a few hundred yards from the road, rose the ruins of an old church ; and to this I hastened, dismount ing and taking refuge within, just as the storm burst. The ruin was almost roofless ; but a projection over the altar-place fur nished some protection from the rain ; and to this spot I hurried. All at once I stopped. A man was kneeling there, with his forehead buried in his hands ; and at the same moment I heard the neigh of his horse, which was tethered to a bough behind the ruin, and had escaped my notice. The falling rain and the rumble of the thunder must have drowned the noise of my approach ; for the kneeling man re- 7 sr KKY OF BAG : Bfl NKST. mtuned in the same posture, aud perfectly motionless for at lea* a quarter of an hour. At tho end of that time, tho clatter - threat it tooideatallv -,:,>-.,;, a-.-iiiM a fallen stone, attracted hi* attention, and, slowly rising, tho stranger tnrnod toward ino. Ho was H man apparently about forty years of age, tall, gaunt, and ji\\ kward looking. His board and mustache, worn tolerably full, were of a reddish brown, inclining to blaok ; and his eye* woro dark, piercing, and with a poonliar glittor in them. Tl* tranpor woro H plain gray unifonu, ontirolv without doiH>ratloiMS %iul his foroho.ul was ooTered bv tho rim of % aiuall otdei-c.tp. pulUni low ilv>wn, witli the top tr.T Tho expression of the stranger's eountensinoe was mild, benevo- lent, H\d , is he grtnted me witli an air of sim ple courtly, very winning. "I am afraid I interrupted vour ilovv'tiors sir," 1 now said, u and I pray yon will pardon me." " I had finished, or very nearly," was his reply, in H voioe of poeuliar abruptness, but nnmistakable eourt> ^ . >nn is t^rjr violent, wr." u And our pUuv of refage very dilapidntod " . H," ho said, smiling; "but (hero seems great fitness in taking roftigo in this holy place. 1 * <% I understand. You mean lhat the ohun (rtnu the storms of life. I am not a Christian myself, hu: will not find mo ditVer with you upon that point, k< 1 am truly glad to hear it," was his simple reply, in tho same brief voioo. %% God has proscribed but one reAige, and the chief duty he ineuleates is prtyer." l*lere was soniotliing simple and noble in the man's bearing M ho sp,ko , :uivl his worvls sovino*i tho mo-i ratiinal atul natural in the world so little of tho professional air of the preacher, so to speak, did I discern in them. You belong U the army, sir?" I now said, glancing at his luiform. ' ' > > -. -- ." \\asS his reply. u M have ever servtHl before f n TII i; i; ii i N ID on i; I;<:H -All/ in i.l.n i.i-.i. WM. Thun YM\ immt hnvn mmii Hditit "X WM ttfc < I' MIII I. ii-..-.. . < 'l,.-.|.nll.-|,.-.-. ,,n,l oil,,-, I Y.HI am I. -.Inn , ,,..-,. I,,, ,,. ! ,! I " I -,,,.' <;.M! .I|.III.M| ,,..-.," wil-i III* rnply, ill Ilin mil.." IIU ny wniulonMl UN IM-, ipoko, in.. I !.. ..r.-iii.-.l I-. I..-, l.liinl ,li l.lio Minn. I. i i. Mil.-. I nl...v. M..-. MUM,.. I Mi.,-.,- I, Ull. -,.-.. win. I* Int. I MMMII|I|.M| il " I wfiii iiiniiy Mm.-, in n. I. . j ,., i. . I ,' ' I..-, rulilnd, ' lillt '" ",,.i, Vr ()Ux until |I!M fcltiio oonidN. It WIIM ll> . > > I ).!.. -,,,,,: il,.. .'vlini.'lil.y, mi, Mi 1 1 I .-.li...i|.| I..- i|iftrt'(l fill MIP-HMI ...nlli-l" " Ai.'l r-.u .l..nhiln"' H" i>rwiml . "Hi- '.I .? I III. Mill Ml.'. l|... Il III.'. .,| J.I.-.I.- .-.Illllll ..... " ii.iti w..i.i 14 inn.-ii i.i.iiMod, wlr," rtipii' -.I MM- '-.iTAngtr gr'>>' ...... i Htn "i IXHI..U. ii- Wiui .-mi I..II wli.-n Ii.-. u.ll . -.'. 'I I,.-, l.nll.-l. whirli i<> In nl.riU ,.> .1 ... . .. 1.1.17 n.. A i,,-. ..,., 1. 1., I, ,u..l I ni.n i-.ll in Mi Hrnt nklrtiiUh -^f I "m7 pu.irt tliron^li ' l"n.l...l I.I.H..I/ bftttlM IIHI..H. i.-'l If I am to full now, I Am to fall If yean btmot, not until tbtn .1 M-V.-I, n-y.-, ' II l-M.vi.l,,,.-,- I,,,.: .|.,,,-.| Mmf. I nl.llll llin il, III |HM|, niiroly MM- mn-inv iiinml liiirin IIH- " " YottWtrlKbt, Mir," I Mtiil, .-.i. i.iti.- ,,,.,v.-,l i. y n,. .:,,, - ; toniM of th N|NNikr. " All i ..i,.,.,., i .... n i,. -i, .-,.-. ,,. M,.- .! ..i..,,,.- rly .1, || iifil IV. -n Will'/' 1 II No, lr, l,y no Rlttftni I btlUvO in H'"', j'it M tr.,. i'.nl. wr. lniir.li ii|,..n II,.- pi . ,|, ,.i nd.-,.,! of nil .) n.-.-.l ionn If. in I,-M.. i toobtf thtn to M 1 ""- 11 "" i ' >'"- i" MiniiT.ii.iuiii Ui(ipri6pt f 1 l...v.- .,,m mioMmr, 11 il II..-. .1. Thin,-., i.l li.-r. will iii. d pr^li-nl in lion ar/i (lillii nil .!" 41 Li> oo MOtbur I ' ' I w(ii in line, with Stuart in front of them. A more ludicrous spectacle I never witnessed. Every man's face resem bled a yellow mask, every mustache dripped, every beard disap peared in masses of honeycomb. Stuart burst into uncontrollable laughter, and when the officer, whom he had hastily ordered to gallop forward and ascertain the truth of the reported advance, returned and announced that it was a false alarm, the young cavalier leaned back in his saddle, and there issued from beneath his heavy mustache a " guffaw " which made the air ring. The men were ordered to unsaddle their horses, and were soon securing the remainder of the honey, but all the life and spirit were gone. The laugh was turned on them, and they soon dis appeared in the direction of their quarters. I never heard an explanation of the alarm. Whether it was brought by some excited picket who took u trees moving " for Yankees, or was a practical joke gotten up by some wag of the command, I never learned. It is certain that Stuart enjoyed it too much to make very rigid inquiry, and I never before saw such intense relish for a practical joke displayed by any human being. He often mentioned this incident to me afterward, styl ing it "The Raid of the Bee-gum," and never without laughter.* I soon afterward took leave of my gay host, and set out on my return, promising to visit him again whenever I could do so. 1. made my report to Colonel Jackson, and when he asked me how I liked Stuart, I declared myself delighted with him. Jackson smiled at my enthusiasm. Yes," he said, "Stuart is an excellent companion. He U more : he is a remarkable roan." * An actual occurrence. FIRST SIGHT OF THE BLUE-COATS. 95 XXVI. MY FIRST SIGHT OP THE BLUE-COATS. IN the latter part of May additional troops reached Harper'i Ferry, and General Joseph E. Johnston arrived, and assumed command. This soldier, since so eminent, was a man of about sixty, with gray hair, piercing eyes, and the stiff carriage of the West- Pointer. His manner was phlegmatic, his voice grave and for mal, and he wore his uniform with the air of a man born in it. Johnston vigorously continued the organization which Jackson had commenced. The latter had been assigned to the command of a brigade raised in the Valley. They were entirely Virginia troops; but the Georgians and South Carolinians, under the brave General Bee, were now mingled with them in the little army. All was life, bustle, and activity : the news came from Bethel about this time, and cheer after cheer indicated the en thusiasm of the troops. Then the words passed from lip to lip in the small army, 'Patterson is advancing!" This intelligence was soon con firmed, and Johnston promptly broke up his camp to go and meet him. The surplus stores were burned, the arsenal de stroyed, and, setting fire to the fine railroad bridge over the Poto mac, the Confederate commander fell back toward Charlestown. The spectacle, as I gazed upon it from a hill, was superb. The flames were roaring and crackling, the long bridge a sheet of fire, and the walls of the arsenal fell in one after another. On the right and in front, Loudoun and Maryland Heights, with their huge rocks and shaggy evergreens, were illuminated by the glare of the waving flames. The Shenandoah glowed in the iight of the great conflagration ; the Potomac was completely hidden by the lurid smoke, and through this murky cloud one of the hottest suns I ever experienced plunged its burning rays. It was the first time I had realized the full meaning of the word War. The column fell back through Charl^stown, wH$re crowds of 96 SURRT OF EAQLE'S-NEST. beautiful girls filled the streets, waving their white handkerchiefs. Bivouacking in the woods just beyond the town, on the next da/ we moved by the right flank through country roads, and emerged upon the Winchester and Martinsburg turnpike. Here the army faced Patterson, advancing toward Williams- port, and soon it was announced that his column had reached the river. Jackson had been sent with his brigade to support Stuart, in advance of Martinsburg, and one morning, at daylight, we received intelligence that Patterson was over, with a large army. When this dispatch reached Jackson his face actually glowed. Hitherto I had looked upon him as almost a non-combatant, but from that moment I knew that he loved fighting for its own sake. The gaudium certaminis flamed in his regard. The grave and serious Presbyterian was almost gay. A reply was sent to Stuart's dispatch, but, remembering soon afterward an important point which he had omitted, Jackson sent me to find Stuart and give him the message. I set out at once, and passed Falling Waters before I could hear any thing of him. I soon encountered, however, a detach- ment of cavalry falling back before the enemy, whose dark masses infantry, cavalry, and artillery were plainly seen in front, and from the officer in command learned that Stuart was moving with his main body on the right flank of the Federal column. Taking a bridle path which led in the direction indicated, I soon found him with a squadron, dogging the enemy's move ments, and gave him my message. " Thank you, Captain," he said, his eyes glowing with ardor ; " I will do as Colonel Jackson wishes. Remain with me a short while ; I wish to send a message by you. Look at that column ! Their force must be at least two divisions." And, leaving his command, Stuart galloped straight toward the Federal column. We approached so close that their words were distinctly audible, and I was endeavoring, as far as possible, to ascertain their force, when Stuart suddenly pointed to a field in our immediate front. I followed the direction of his finger, and FIRST SIGHT OF THE BLUE-COATS. 97 saw a company of infantry flankers, who had advanced ahead of the column, and were lying down resting until it came up. * I am going to capture that party, and I wish you to help me. Do you see that clump of trees yonder? Bring my squadron round through them bring it like lightning,* Surryl" 1 instantly obeyed the order, and moved the squadron at a rapid trot by the route indicated. Then instructing the commanding officer where to bring it, I pushed ahead, and rejoined Stuart just as he galloped up to the fence behind which the infantry flankers were lying. There was a pair of bars in the fence, and Stuart rode straight up to them, commanding one of the Federal soldiers to "take down those bars!" His blue undress coat doubtless deceived the man, though this was certainly no part of his design. The infantry-man touched his hat respectfully, hastened to remove the obstacle, and then, again making the military salute, stood erect, awaiting further orders. Stuart passed through the gap with one bound of his horse, and thundered : "Throw down your arms, or you are dead!" At the same moment his squadron was seen approaching at a gallop, and the whole company forty-four, if I remember rightly, in number not only threw down their arms, but fell prone upon their faces.t In ten minutes Stuart had hastened away with his prisoners, and I speedily rejoined Colonel Jackson. 'ihe engagement at Falling Waters followed. This brief but spirited affair need not be here described, though its issue had an undoubted effect upon the morale of the troops discouraging the enemy, and inspiring the Confederates with confidence. Jackson met the advancing column with the Fifth Virginia Infantry, and one gun of Captain Pendleton's battery, and, *This was Stuart's favorite expression in any emergency. t General Stuart mentioned this incident to me more than once, and seemad greatlj amused by It. t 98 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. deploying his three hundred and eighty men the exact number-* held his ground for some time with great stubbornness. His thin line was, however, forced to fall back to avoid a flamt attack ; and, as a column of Federal cavalry advanced to charge it, the artillery was used for the first time in the action. Captain Pendleton, who had been an Episcopal preacher, gave the characteristic order, " Aim low, men, and may the Lord have mercy on their souls !"* the piece was discharged and the shot struck the head of the cavalry column, which recoiled ana retreated behind the infantry again. The Federal artillery immediately opened in reply, and for the first time I witnessed in Jackson that perfect coolness for which he was afterward so celebrated. While he was seated beneath a tree, writing a dispatch to General Johnston, a round shot tore the trunk above him to atoms, and covered him with splin ters. He did not move a muscle, but finished his note with entire coolness it was hard, indeed, to realize that he had observed the incident. He continued steadily falling back, and, rejoining his main body, retreated through Martinsburg, which the enemy pressed on and occupied. That night, the brigade bivouacked at "Big Spring," about two miles from the town, on the road to Winchester ; and an odd incident marked the occasion. About midnight, the weary troops were disturbed in their slumbers by a dusky figure which moved among them, stumbling over the sleepers. Many an imprecation greeted this unceremo nious personage ; but, when the men afterward ascertained who the intruder was, their anger gave way to laughter and admira tion. The figure was Jackson's, and his errand was simple. General Patterson had captured some of his tents, made by the young ladies of Jefferson; and when he stumbled over the sleepers, Jackson was looking for Colonel Allen, of the Second Virginia, to order out his regiment, attack Patterson, and recapture the tents. His words. THE ENCHANTMENTS OF BOGY! 99 What induced him to abandon this scheme I do not know ; but it was a characteristic idea to attack two divisions with a single regiment !* Falling back still farther to the little village of Darkesville, Jackson drew up his brigade, and determined to retreat no far ther. " Here I am ready for Patterson, whenever he comes," he said. " I want my brigade to feel that they can whip his whole army ; and I believe they can do it!"* Johnston had moved forward from Winchester to Bunker's Hill, about midway between that place and Martinsburg ; but General Patterson did not advance. Events were, however, hastening on the great struggle about to begin. XXYII. THE ENCHANTMENTS OF BOGY! ONE morning I went to see Stuart, who held the front with his cavalry toward Martinsburg, and found him lying, as usual, on his red blanket, under a tree, waiting for the enemy. He was listening to a report from our friend Corporal Hagan, who, with a beard longer, mustache shaggier, and a voice more closely resembling thunder than before, gave the particulars of the capture of two or three prisoners he had just brought in. " We charged 'em, Colonel," continued Hagan, after bestowing upon me a punctilious salute, " and they run like the very old devil was after 'em. I come up with this young man here," pointing to one of the blue-coats, " and I jest grabbed hold of him by the nape of his neck, and says I, * Young man, the Judg ment-Day is come, and you are unprepar'd.' He give right up, without making any row ; and I really do believe, Colonel, he thought I was the old devil himself ha ! ha 1" * Historica! 100 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. When Hagan laughed, the ground seemed to shake. His mer riment was Olympian, and partook of the earthquake. " I got his weep-on, Colonel," continued the giant, exhibiting u fine carbine, " and I thought, as I had the dead wood on him, I would go through him, and take his boots. But then I remem bered that that was ag'inst your orders. Ain't that the truth ? Speak to the Colonel !" thundered Hagan, and he scowled in a truly terrific manner at the prisoner. The unfortunate individual confirmed every particular ; and then commanding a About face!" Hagan marched off his prisoners, grave and solemn to the last. " Hurrah for Hagan ! He is a character," I said, laughing. " True," said Stuart ; " and, if you will ride with me to-day, I will make you acquainted with another." " Who is that?" " My dear Surry, a good soldier never asks any questions come 1 ril show you a real curiosity, and give you an excellent dinner. Bo you accept?" " Do I accept! when I have been living on hard bread for a whole week !" " Agreed, then. But who is that yonder ?" "General Johnston and Colonel Jackson." Stuart rose and went to meet them, receiving and returning the salute of the two officers. " So we have nearly caught the indefatigable Stuart * nap ping!" Such was General Johnston's greeting, as he shook hands with the commander of his cavalry. " Not quite, General ; but I was not expecting an advance on my rear." "Well, Colonel, we are going to the front. Will you ride with us?" Stuart replied by getting into the saddle, and the whole party set forward for the front. A complete reconnoissance wae made, the ground thoroughly examined, and then, as the sun began to * 8e Johnston 1 * report of operations in the Valley THE ENCHANTMENTS OF BOGY! 101 decline, the heads of the horses were turned again toward Darkesville. I began now to think of that famous dinner which had been promised me, greatly fearing that the visit of the two command ers would interfere with it. Stuart solved this interesting prob lem, however, in the most agreeable manner. He invited them to accompany him, highly extolling the cuisine and the hospitality of his friend and they accepted. Generals are just like the rest of us, my dear reader : they get hungry. So we set out for the head-quarters of the " real curiosity." His name, I soon heard, was Captain Bogy ; and we found the worthy intrenched beside a limpid spring, in a glade of the woods. Horses were picketed near, for Captain Bogy was a cav alry-man. The canvas cover of a wagon was visible through the bushes ; not far off, a sable individual was seen busily cooking ; and in the foreground, beneath a mighty tree, some planks, stretched across saplings, which rested in turn on forks driven into the ground, formed a rustic table. Such were the preparations for the entertainment ; but how shall I describe the host ? Imagine Falstaff in an old cavalry uni form, his mighty paunch encircled by a sword-belt half buried from sight ; his legs cased in enormous horseman's boots, with spurs of fabulous proportions, which jingled as he moved. The Captain appeared only about forty -five, but his hair was grizzled and his mustache gray. A lurking smile seemed ever upon his features; and it was plain that the worthy loved the good things and the good jokes of life better than all the glories of arms. Bogy greeted his guests with the ease of an old soldier, declar ing himself much honored by their visit ; and then, as though in matters so serious as eating and drinking there was no time to spend in idle talk or ceremony, he applied himself assiduously to the great work before him. His whole soul was evidently in the matter of dinner, and he had secured an able staff-officer in the person of the old negro, who presided at the fire with an air as grave and serious as his master's. From that fire oame the soothing music of frying meat and a savory odor invaded the nostrils of the guests. 102 SURRY OF E AGLE 'S-NEST. Soon the golden moment came when all was done to a turn ; and then, directed by Bogy, who was solemn and preoccupied, the dilapidated African staff-officer made his appearance with a pile of plates. My attention was attracted by them. They were china, snow-white, and richly gilt ! Had Bogy, then, discarded the military tin-platter, and did he revel habitually in this gorgeous service ? The idea was incredi blebut there they were ! The white plates were succeeded by shining knives with ivory handles, and then every eye stared Bogy had silver forks ! Gilt plates and silver forks ! ! ! Bogy was modest, unassuming ; he would not observe the gen eral wonder and admiration. He made some innocent jests ; he coughed slightly, and disappeared in the direction of the wagon. What does Bogy return with? Is it not a brace of bottles? It is a brace of bottles, with rich labels and green seals. Bogy gets them on the table all eyes admire ! His aid brings him mint and ice from the spring a glass dish of white sugar from the wonderful wagon ; and then behold ! a long row of rich cut-glass goblets ! The guests cease to wonder farther ; they gaze in silence at the great magician. He responds to that look by another, serene and smiling. He seems to say, " Have confidence in your host, my friends ; he is equal to the present great occasion!" Bogy draws a cork a rich bouquet of Otard brandy, old and mellow, is inhaled. Some young officers who have joined the company look faint. That odor overcomes their sensitive nerves. Old Otard on the outpost ! "With the hand of the master, Bogy mixes his liquids, and be hold, a long row of cut-glass goblets full of julep, from whose Alpine heights of ice springs the fragrant mint ! As the contents of those bright goblets disappear down the throats of the guests, their eyes close, and Bogy towers before them, the greatest of mortals. This is the preface only, however. Bogy now opens the vol ume. Dinner is ready, and is placed upon the board. At the head is a Virginia ham, which Lucullus might envy ; at the foot THE ENCHANTMENTS OF BOGY! 103 a saddle of mutton ; at the sides, chickens, cutlets, and steaks, interspersed with all the esculents of the season ! By the side of each plate the sable aid places three wine glasses, and these are filled with Rhine wine, Champagne, and Madeira!!! The guests take their seats they proceed from enchantment to enchantment. The entrees are followed hy ice-cream in a silver holder! Almonds, raisins, English walnuts, olives, and Havana cigars! ! Coffee with condensed cream, served in small gilt cups, with spoons of solid silver! ! ! No allusion.! are made ; we are too well bred. Bogy enjoya his triumph without interruption. He is the model of a host. He gently urges his guests to renewed attacks on the viands. Under his urging they perform wonders. Nor does the great master allow the conversation to flag. He keeps the ball in motion, and his anecdotes are so pithy and so richly humorous that every face relaxes into a smile. Stuart stimulates and seconds him, laughing loudly as the en tertainment proceeds. At last it draws to a conclusion, and Stuart raises his coffee-cup. "I wish to offer a toast!" says the gay cavalier. Captain Bogy looks gratified, modest he smiles sweetly. It is Falstaff just after dinner. u To the health of your friend, who has sent you 'a small box,' Bogy ! The present company honors him, and long may he wave!" Bogy bows his head with the air of a girl who is overcome and blushing at a declaration. " I will write to him and tell him of your good wishes, Colo nel. He will then immediately send me another." " In which case everybody will be happy to dine again with you," said Stuart. " But you have omitted one thing." "What is that, Colonel?" exclaimed Bogy, with a sudden look of anxiety. "To tell us the name of your friend." "His name, Colonel?" "Yes." 104 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. %i Hum ! I really have forgotten it "- " Then perhaps I can assist you." "You! Colonel?" "Shall I try?" Bogy smiled. That smile was evidently a challenge. "Well, here goes for a guess, Bogy," said Stuart, laughing. " Your friend's name is Patterson is it not ? Don't deny it !" And he pointed, with a loud laugh, to the wagon in the bushes. Upon the side of the vehicle all now saw a large "U. S." Bogy's head slowly drooped ; he swallowed a glass of wine. Then rising to his feet, he spoke as follow s : " It is impossible, Colonel, to hide any thing from yonr knowl edge, and from this moment Bogy don't mean ever to attempt it. That individual now throws himself upon the mercy of the court, and confesses that he really has received all these good things from the individual whose honored name has just been pronounced by my friend upon the right. That wagon was cap tured in a little raid last night, and its contents were soon found to be varied and extensive. What could Bogy do, gentlemen ? What better use could he put those contents to than to feast his commander and his friends ? That is his plea in bar of sentence and he appeals to the quality of his brandy in justification ! What head-quarters has he rifled and made desolate by this cap ture? who can tell? perhaps the mess of General Patterson himself I We have appreciated, however, his selection of wines, and his coffee and cigars have been favorably criticised. I would have wished that his Madeira had been a little older ; that his cayenne pepper had been stronger; the pair of boots that I found in the wagon, about four sizes larger. But the great mis take in life is being too fastidious. It is the place of a soldier to put up with inconveniences, to make the best of his lot, and to suppress all discontent. With these few remarks, Colonel, unac customed as I am to public speaking, I beg leave to conclude by offering this honorable company : " The good health of our friend over the way, who is dining out to-day ! and may he soon send another little present to his comrades!" THE ENCHANTMENTS OF BOGY! 105 ** He was cursing you awfully when I left him, Captain." All started as these words resounded behind us ; and every eye was turned in the direction of the sound. There stood a gay youngster of about eighteen or nineteen, tall, handsome, and elegantly dressed. The features of the youth were lit up by a smile, and he sustained the looks levelled at him with a species of joyous pride and insouciance. " Why, where did you come from, my young friend ?" ex claimed Bogy ; " you appear to have started from the earth !" "I came through the lines, Captain," was the reply of the gay young man, as he saluted with a movement full of graceful free dom. " I am from Maryland, and yesterday I was at the head quarters of a Major Somebody in the Yankee army. He was cursing and swearing at the loss of his wagon, and I rather think, Captain, that you have fallen heir to it 1 " There was so much gay courtesy in the air of the young man, and his face was illuminated by a smile so bright and glad, that I could not help admiring him. In reply to our questions, he briefly explained that he had come over to join the Southern army. His name was Harry Saltoun; he had many Maryland friends in Stuart's Cavalry. Among others, Captain Brien, who could vouch for his loyalty. " Will you have me, Colonel ?" he asked, turning to Stuart ; " I would rather fight under you as a private than have a com mission I" I saw from Stuart's smile that the words had won his heart. "All right 1" was his gay reply, as he made room for the young man by him. "That's the way I like a soldier to talk!" The gueste soon rose, and Bogy made a last address. I shall not attempt to record it : what great orator was ever correctly reported ? Imagine Falstaff, my dear reader, doing the honors of his own table, and you will have formed some idea of the re marks of the great Bogy ! When we left him, I think it was the opinion of everybody that his equal, as a host, was not to be found in the whole uni verse. 106 SURRY OF F-^QLE 'S-NBST. So we returned to Big Spring, and thence I rode back witk "ackson. The young Marylander had remained with Stuart. XXVIII. THE COUNCIL OF WAR. OH the next day, a council of war assembled at General Johnston's head-quarters, near Bunker's Hill. An advance of the enemy was expected at any moment. Every thing made such a movement probable. The enemy already had armies in the field when the Confederacy had only detachments ; and news had just arrived of two affairs in which they had struck a heavy blow at the dawning hopes of the South. General Pe- gram had been compelled to surrender at Rich Mountain, and General Garnett was defeated and killed at Carrick's Ford, in Western Virginia the enemy rode upon the summit of the wave of success. They would undoubtedly, now, push forward with their two armies at "Washington and in the Valley. Stuart had harassed their foraging parties and pickets incessantly with his three hundred cavalry, and Johnston had faced them in line of battle every day; but it was very plain that, when once their great forces were in motion, every resource of generalship would be needed to oppose their predominance in numbers. Above all, a thorough co-operation must be secured between the column under Johnston and that under Beau regard at Manassas. I rode with Colonel Jackson to head-quarters, and waited, conversing with the staff as usual, while the council of war took place. While thus engaged, I was summoned to attend General Johnston. I found him seated at a table, surrounded by his chief officers in full uniform, and wearing their sabres. Jackson was quietly examining a map ; Stuart was drumming upon the table, and reflecting. THE CAVALRY PICKET. 107 I saluted, and waited to be addressed. " Captain," said General Johnston, in his measured voice, " you /re suggested as a competent person to carry an important com munication to General Beauregard at Manassas, and explain to frim the situation of affairs here. Have you a good horse ?" " Yes, sir." "When can you set out?" " In half an hour." u At daylight will do, but lose no time on the road. Here it the dispatch it embraces the main points. I depend upon your good sense and judgment to reply accurately to General Beaure- gard's questions." I bowed and took the dispatch. "Any farther instructions, General?" " That is all." I saluted and withdrew. Half an hour afterward Jackson came out and mounted his horse, holding in his hand a large envelope, which evidently covered an " official document." It seemed to embarrass him, and he said : "Captain, will you carry this?" I took it, but said: " I may forget and take it to Manassas with me, Colonel, when, in case it is important" 4t It is not important. You may read it." I opened the paper, and glanced at it. It was Jackson's ap pointment as Brigadier-General. He was riding on absently, in deep thought. XXIX. THE CAVALRY PICKET. AT daylight I was in the saddle and on the road to Manassas. My horse was fresh, the weather fine ; and, passing to the left of Millwood, I forded the Shenandoah, and rode rapidly through Ashby's Gap. 108 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST . At Paris, a little village perched on the eastern slope of the mountain, I looked toward the south. Two or three hours, at the farthest, would take me to "The Oaks!" and, as the thought occurred to me, something like a thrill passed through me. Then, as the novelists say, any one who had been present " might have seen " a bitter smile distort my lip. Why should I go there to covet my neighbor's wife, and groan for the amusement of the future Mrs. Baslcerville. I pushed on. Soon the bixterness dis&ppeared from my heart, " Poor thing 1" I muttered that was all. Passing successively through Upperville, Middleburg, and Aldie, I turned, late in the afternoon, into a road leading by way of Sudley Ford to Manassas. Darkness gradually descended, and I had seen no human being for more than an hour, when, as I approached Bull Run, I sud denly heard the quick " Halt!" of a picket. "Friend!" was my reply; and "Advance friend, and give the countersign!" came back. " I have no countersign," I responded, fording the stream as I spoke. " I am carrying a dispatch to General Beauregard, and am your prisoner. "Where is your officer?" The carbine of the cavalry-man was lowered at these words, and, calling a comrade, he announced who I was. I was then conducted forward, and soon descried, through the boughs, the glimmer of a light, which issued from a camp-fire in front of a small tent. At ten paces from the tent, as I approached, I saw a dark figure about to mount a powerful horse in the shadow of the trees. w Here is a prisoner, Captain," said my escort, saluting. *' Bring him up," was the reply, in a deep voice which I re cognized. And, turning round, the person about to mount approached the fire. The light fell on his features, and I saw before me the dark face and powerful form of Mordaunt. THE STONE HOUSE AT MANASSAS. 109 XXX. THE STONE HOUSE AT MANASSAS. HE met me with a cordiality which really surprised me. His jfece was gloomy still, and his voice as deep arid measured ; but the weary air of the reclase had yielded to the martial ardor of the soldier. At the door of the tent stood the young Moor, Achmed, who evidently filled something like the position of a confidential body- servant near my host. At sight of me, the young Moor saluted courteously ; and then, at a sign from Mordaunt, busily set about preparing some supper for me. This was set out upon a camp- chest, by a negro, under the Moor's orders and soon I tasted once more that bitter black coffee, which revived my weary frame like some eliscir vita. As I supped, Mordaunt conversed; and I had soon put him in possession of the situation in the Valley. In return he explained the state of affairs at Manassas, and informed me, in brief words, that he had been with General Beauregard since May. As he spoke I could see more than ever the change in him. He evidently enjoyed the life of -the bivouac far more than that of the library. His gloomy air of languor and cynical disdain had disappeared; and, although his melancholy seemed too deeply rooted to be eradicated, he was altogether a different individual. As I listened to his sonorous voice, and looked at his large and muscular frame, I was confirmed in my former conviction, that action and not meditation was the forte of this powerful organ ization. When I had finished my supper, and my horse had ground between his teeth the last handful of a plentiful supply of corn, I rose and informed Mordaunt that I must go on to General Bean- regard. "I will ride with you a portion of the way," was his reply. " I was just going on my rounds to inspect the pickets, but J will show you your road, and take my ride when I return." 110 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. I accepted this friendly offer, and, mounting our horses, we eoon reached Sudley Ford, where Mordaunt passed me through his interior picket. We then rode on through the darkness, which had become intense. 41 1 never saw a blacker night in all my life," I said. "It is dark enough," replied my companion, "but I know the road." "Is this country familiar to you?" "Naturally, as I have been picketing it." " But you never were here before the breaking out of the war?" My companion did not reply for a moment. He then said : "Yes." There was a sudden gloom in his tone as he uttered this mono syllable, which I could not avoid observing. "Then we can't lose our way," I replied, as we rode on. I am fortunate in having you to show me the road, as I really can not see my hand before me. What a country ! I don't see any signs of an inhabitant. Are there any houses near us?" "There is one not far off," was Mordaunt's gloomy reply, "but it is not occupied." "A deserted house ah!" I said, with a laugh. "Well, that 5s exactly in keeping with the funereal landscape. One would really say that this country was intended for some bloody battle field to become the scene of suffering and death! It is as lugubrious as the grave, and your deserted house must re semble a spectre. Come, relate some ghostly story connected with the place, and the influence of the landscape will be com plete." Mordaunt did not seem to participate, in any degree, in my merriment. For some moments he preserved silence, and when he spoke his voice was as gloomy as death itself. " I have no story to tell," was his brief response ; but this only piqued my curiosity. "Come, acknowledge," I said, laughing, "that there is some mysterious and tragic affair in your memory ! Confess that this spectral mansion you refer to was the scene of it and that no THE STONE HOUSE AT MANASSAS. Ill human being can be induced again to set foot inside of its ae* cursed walls !" " You are right, sir," said Mordaunt, suddenly, in tones as cold as ice, "the place is accursed! trebly accursed!" So abrupt was his reply, and his accents were so filled with gloomy menace, that I started in spite of myself. Before I could make any reply, he seemed to have realized his indiscretion, and, uttering a harsh laugh, added coolly : " You see, I partake of your superstitious feelings. I agree with you, that these 'haunted houses,' as they are called by children, produce a singular effect upon the imagination you see that thia one has had that effect upon me." He spoke with perfect coolness, but his nonchalance did not deceive me. His exclamation had been far too gloomy to be at tributable to any mere sentiment such as he described. His reply was an evasion I was sure of that his former speech the out burst of some hidden tragedy. We rode on, however, without further reference to the topic, and soon I saw before me a dark object, which was doubtless the house in question. It was a gloomy-looking building, of dark stone, near the intersection of the Warrenton and Sudley-Brents- ville roads, and in the very heart of the subsequent battle. Thou sands of my readers will, no doubt, remember it as the "Old Stone House at Manassas." " That is your spectral mansion, I suppose," was my comment. " Well, you did not exaggerate in describing it as looking accursed. The very owls seem to have deserted it!" "Yes," came briefly from my companion. Then he suddenly checked his horse, and said, in a low tone : "That is strange!" "What?" I said. "I see a light yonder!" I looked, and, in fact, a light was seen glimmering through what seemed to be a window or doorway in the house. "That is singular," I said, "as you say the place is not occu pied ; but doubtless some straggling soldiers have made their dea there." 112 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. "It is probable." But the low tones appeared to say, "It is not probable. 7? As Mordaunt spoke, the light moved, disappeared for an in stant, and then reappeared, moving along the ground in rear of the house. Some one seemed to be carrying a lantern. My companion remained motionless for some moments, gazing at this weird will-o'-the-wisp : then he touched his horse with the spur, and rode straight toward the house. " We have stumbled upon something very much like an ad venture," he said, with a harsh laugh. "Come! it is very little out of our way let us ride by, and see what is going on !" I followed without a word, and we rode on through a field in the direction of the house. It looked inexpressibly dreary, a? the gloomy gable loomed out indistinctly against the dark back' ground of the sky. It was ink upon ink: the gloomy thing seemed to rise up before the eyes like some monstrous animal ; to approach and weigh upon the chest. Fifty yards from the sombre mansion, a thick hedge of Osage orange arrested us. Through this, however, the light was still seen to glimmer stationary now upon the ground and I could make out, around it, a desolate and weed-encumbered garden, containing only a few stunted fruit-trees. Under one of these trees stood a man and a woman. In the shadow of the tree, a third figure, apparently that of a femaie, was dimly visible. On the ground was a coffin beside a newly- dug grave. Mordaunt did not utter a word, but I heard his low breathing at my ear. " Look !" I muttered in a whisper. " I told you this spot had something ghostly about it. They are burying a dead body!" My companion did not reply, but a ray from the light fell upon his face, and its expression was startling. I never saw a deeper pallor on the human countenance ; and his singular expression of stupefied surprise astonished me. What connection could Mordaunt have with this scene, and why did it move him so ? I thought my eyes must have deceived me ; but the next moment served to explain a part of the mystery. THE STONE HOUSE AT MANASSAS. 113 Th man at the grave turned round, and the light fell upon his face. I recognized Fenwick and at the same instant made out the face of his companion. It was the woman Parkins; The third figure I could not see, as ehe shadow of the tree- trunk soncealed it. Mordaunt laid his hand on my arm, and said, in a low, set tone, as cold as ice : " You recognize that man, do you not ?" " Certainly. It is Fen wick." "And that woman" " I know her too." "It is well," said Mordaunt, through his clinched teth, u What devil's errand they have come upon, I do not know, oi why they should be here burying anyone but I know that the hour I have long looked for has come." There was a concentrated hate in the low tones of his voice, winch made further words unnecessary. "Let us wait," he added, coolly, " and see the comedy out." And, leaning forward on his horse's neck, he seemed to de vour with his eyes the movements of the figures in the gar den. Fenwick had, meanwhile, hung the lantern on a bough of the stunted tree under which the grave had been dug ; and now, with the assistance of the woman Parkins, inserted ropes be neath the coffin. Without further delay, or any burial service, It was lowered into the grave, and Fenwick seized a spade lying near. A harsh and grating sound was then heard it was the dirt falling on the coffin. Fenwick worked with great energy and rapidity, and the grave was soon filled. Throwing the last spadeful on the hillock, he wiped his forehead, exchanged some hurried words, apparently with the woman Parkins, and, taking down the lantern, proceeded with rapid steps, followed by his two companions, toward the house. I was leaning close beside Mordaunt, and could see his face. It was paler even than before, and there was a deadly meaning in his eyes. " Well," I said, gloomy in spite of myself at this nocturnal 114 SURRY OF EAGLE 'S-NEST. adventure, " we have seen the play through. What is the after piece ?" " Follow me, and you will see," said my companion. As ha spoke, I heard the click of his pistol as he tried the barrel. His roice was so cold and steady that the hand must be equally so, *' This time, Fen wick is a dead man," I thought. XXXI. WHAT TOOK PLACE AT THE STONE HOUSE. LATINO his hand upon my arm, Mordaunt drew me away from the hedge, and, moving carefully over the turf, which muf fled the sound of the horses' hoofs, made a detour, reaching thus the front of the house. Before it stood a light one-horse wagon, which had, doubtless, served to convey the dead body * beyond this, a riding horse was standing beneath a tree. " Listen," said Mordaunt, in a whisper. " I know this house and the grounds perfectly. There is no means of exit from that garden, except a small gate close against the gable end of the house. Do me the favor to take your place there, and allow n? one to pass." " You are going into the house ?" "Certainly." " To find Fenwick ?" " Ah ! you have guessed that?" "It don't require much penetration. But take care." 4 'Of what?" " He is a treacherous animal there may be many persons MI that den." "It is nothing." "If so, call ine promptly." " Thanks but it is not ten men, or one hundred, that can keep me from driving iny sword's point through that man'a heart." This rapid dialogue had taken place in a low tone, and Mor- SCENES AT THE STONE HOUSE. 115 daunt had quickly dismounted, throwing his bridle over the fence. I imitated him, and ran to the gate, just as the interior of. the house was illuminated, and the sound of footsteps upon the creaking floor indicated that the party had entered by the door in the rear. A rapid inspection told me that the side gate was securely fastened, and, finding it unnecessary to guard it, I hastened to follow Mordaunt, who had rushed into the house. The scene which greeted me was long engraved upon m> memory. The apartment was bare, desolate-looking, and re pulsive. The window-panes were broken, the fireplace full of soot and ashes, and the walls were festooned with cob webs. These details I made out by the light of the lantern, which had been placed upon a dilapidated pine table, sole fur niture of the mansion. By the fireplace stood the woman Parkins, grim and lowering, with contracted brows, and still holding the spade which she had brought into the house* Opposite Mordaunt I saw Fenwick, pale and desperate ; and, as I entered the doorway, his hand clutched and drew a revolver from his belt. What followed did not occupy thirty seconds. Mordaunt rushed upon his adversary, Fenwick's pistol was raised and discharged, the ball whistling past my head when suddenly, before he could fire a second time, the form of a woman interposed itself between the combatants. It was Violet Grafton, with the same golden ringlets, the same delicate, earnest face, and the same wonderful likeness to the portrait in Mordaunt's study. The effect which her appearance produced upon him was ter rible. He recoiled, as though he had seen a ghost, his sword's point fell with a clattering sound to the floor, and, with his eye glaring upon the young lady, he turned so ghastly pale that I thought he was going to faint. From this stupor, however, he was aroused in a manner equally sudden and disagreeable. Disappointed in his first aim, Fenwick had deliberately raised bis pistol, aimed at Mordaunt's heart, and fired. The result 116 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. would have been fatal but for Miss Grafton. She struck up th weapon as it was discharged ; the bullet buried itself in the wall ; and in an instant Mordaunt would have driven his sword through his adversary's breast, when all at once the whole sceno was plunged in darkness. I 3nwick, by a quick movement, had extinguished the light; h* igure was seen for an instant as it passed through the open iwjdow; and a moment afterward the hoof-strokes of ahorse departing at full gallop were heard upon the ground without. With one powerful bound Mordaunt passed through the door way, threw himself upon his horse, and followed the retreating horseman with the fury of a tiger despoiled of his prey. I was close upon the heels of his flying animal for an irre sistible desire mastered me to be present at the execution of his vengeance. " Do you hear him?" I said. "I think so," was the hoarse reply. And the speaker continued his headlong pursuit. We went on at a furious speed for more than half an hour then all sounds in front had ceased. Fenwick seemed to have vanished. Taking some by-road known only to himself, he had escaped, A mile further, Mordaunt uttered something like the growl of a wounded lion, and drew rein. For some moments he listened then he said through his clinched teeth : " He has got off! The devil takes care of his own 1" And I heard his teeth grinding together as he spoke. Without further words, he turned the head of his horse, and we rode slowly back. On the way, Mordaunt did not utter a. aingle word, and I did not intrude upon his thoughts. Soon the gloomy Stone House again appeared before us, and we rode toward it. No light was visible now, and the wagon, we ft nd, had also disappeared. Miss Grafton and her companion k I vanished like Fenwick. The Stone House resembled a gigan ii. , tomb and was as dreary, mournful, and deserted. BEAUREGARD. 117 XXXII. BEAUREGARD. I HAD scarcely come to realize that Miss Grafton hnd disap* peared, when my attention was attracted by the noise of horses' hoofs coming from the direction of Stonebridge. " Halt ! who goes there ?" was Mordaunt's quick summons. "Friends," said a firm and sonorous voice. "What picket i& this?" "It is General Beauregard," Mordaunt said to me, and he added : " Advance, General I am Captain Mordaunt." "Ah! an amateur picket?" said General Beauregard, riding up, followed by a staff officer and an orderly. " I have been the rounds, and am glad to find rou on the qui vive. Captain but that you always are. I wish tvie infantry were as vigilant. The picket at Stonebridge has actually allowed a wagon with two women to pass to-night toward Alexandria, contrary to all my orders." Then Miss Grafton and her companion had gone in that direc tion. After a few words more, Mordaunt presented me to General Beauregard, and, declaring that he must return to inspect his pickets, took leave of us. In a moment he had disappeared, and I turned to General Beauregard, who had greeted me with grave courtesy. "I have a dispatch, General." And I handed it to him. " Thank you, Captain ; I will read it at once." And, making a sign to his orderly, he soon had a light. As the wind was near putting it out, he dismounted and entered the deserted house, where, leaning against the old table, he read General Johnston's note. As he did BO, I looked with much interest at the "Man of Sumter." His appearance was decidedly French, and realized 118 SURRY OF EASLE'S-NESl my conception of Napoleon's marshals. He was apparently about forty-five or fifty years of age ; of medium height ; gaunt, square built, and wearing the blue dress-coat of the United States Army, buttoned to the chin, on each side of which rose the points of a stiff white collar. The forehead, half covered by a Zouave cap, was broad, with thin, dark hair at the temples ; the com plexion sallow and brunette ; the eyes large, black, and thought ful ; the thin lips nearly concealed by a heavy black mustache. The powerful jaw indicated hard "fight" in its possessor, and in the slumberous eye I read something of the dormant fire of the bloodhound. The face was wholly un- Virginian rather a creole, tropical countenance ; but there was a noble simplicity in its expression, and a vigor in the poise of the head which made a strong im pression upon me. A single glance told me that this man pos sessed military genius. " I have read the dispatch you were good enough to bring, Captain," said the General, issuing forth and mounting his horse, " and I will be glad if you will be my guest for a day or two. I wish both to ask you a great many questions, and to ride over and show you the ground here. It is desirable that General Johnston should have an officer near him who has examined it as you doubtless understand." I bowed ; assured the General that I was entirely at his or ders; and rode back with him to Manassas, where he had hit head-quarters in a small farm-house. An hour afterward I was shown to an apartment containing a comfortable pallet; but the singular events which I had wit nessed at the Stone House kept me awake until Jong past mid* night. Finally I sank to sleep. THE LINES. 119 XXXIII. THE LINES. ON the next, morning I had just risen from my straw pallet wfcec General Beauregard entered and saluted me with grave courtesy. " I will be glad if you will ride with me this morning, Cap tain," he said, ''and I will explain the position of affairs here.* I bowed, and informed the General that I was at his order*. After a plain breakfast, we mounted and set out for a ride along the entire lines. General Beauregard had taken up a strong position along Bui- Run, a small watercourse, with thickly wooded banks, running around Manassas, and emptying into the Occoquan. Three miles in front was Centreville ; three miles in rear, Manassas. From Union Mills, the extreme right of the line, to Stonebridge, the extreme left, was about seven or eight miles. Mitchell's Ford, on the main road from Manassas to Centreville, was the Confed erate centre. "The enemy will attack here first," said General Beauregard; " but I have the advantage of position. If they strike with their main body at either flank, it will lay them open to an attack in return." "We passed on, following the earthworks along the high banks of the stream. The position appeared impregnable the troops defending it, in excellent spirits. In front of Stonebridge a heavy abatis of felled trees, commanded by artillery, defended the approach by the Warrenton road. Passing near the afterward celebrated Henry House, Genera) Beauregard said that, if the enemy succeeded in crobsing on the left, the battle would be there. 14 The battle of Bull Run," he said in a low tone, as if to him' " That is rather an unclassic name, General." "It is as good as 'The Cowpens,' Captain."* * Rlivorda, ISO SUEBY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. And the white teeth shone under the black mustache. After a long ride, in which General Beauregard pointed out every detail of the ground, we rode back to head-quarters, where A good sapper awaited us. On the next morning the ride was repeated, and this time we visited Fairfax Court-House, where General Bonham was in command of the advance force. "Th enemy are about to move," said General Beauregard on the way back. " Now is the time for General Johnston to put himself in motion." "At your orders, General." <; "Do not go until the morning. I wish to send the last news from the front." I was aroused at three in the morning by an orderly, who said : " Captain, General Beauregard would like to see you." In a moment I had buckled on my sword and was in the pres ence of the General. XXXIV. THE HEROINE OF MANASSAS. THE first person I saw was Mordaunt. That iron calmness which habitually characterized his dark features was unchanged, but I could see black marks under his eyes, and his pallor was frightful. As I afterward ascertained, he had brought General Beaure gard a detailed statement of the numbers and composition of the Federal forces, which one of his scouts had arrived with, an hour before. The same scout had brought the additional in telligence that the enemy had begun their advance. General Beauregard had not slept, having been up all night receiving reports and sending orders. His face was sallower than ever, but his black eyes were undimmed. He handed me a paper in an envelope, and said : " I will be glad, Captain, if you will immediately return to General Johnston with this dispatch, and inform him that the nemy's column is 'n nrotion to attack me." THE HEROINE OF MANASSAS. 121 I bowed, and waited to hear any thing further. " That is all, Captain except that you can tell General John- ton that, if he wishes to help ine, now is the time."* I was leaving the apartment when the voice of the General arrested me. " Upon reflection, you had better remain until daylight. I ex pect to hear from the front soon, and you can carry the last intelligence. As he spoke, an orderly entered, and said : " Here is a prisoner, General a woman." " From whom ? " General Ewell, sir." " I will see her at once." The door opened, and suddenly I saw Mordaunt's eye flash. I turned quickly, and looked toward the door. On the threshold stood the prisoner. It was Violet Grafton. She wore a long dark riding-skirt, and in her right hand carried a small whip. Her manner was perfectly composed two red spots burning in the centre of her cheeks, otherwise pale from fatigue and want of sleep, were the only evidences of emotion which she exhibited. The General rose, and gravely saluted her. " Are you the prisoner mentioned, madam ?" "I suppose so, sir," was her reply, in the calm sweet voice I knew so well. "General Ewell sent you?" " Yes, sir." Suddenly, as she looked around the apartment, the young iady's eyes encountered my own. She made a step forward, and, holding out her hand with that inexpressible gTace and frankness which characterized her, said -. " Captain Surry, I am very glad you are here ! They insist upon regarding ine as a spy and a prisoner, when I have ridden until my strength is broken down to bring important news. If this is General Beauregard, tell him that you know me, and thai I am worthy of credit. It is hard, after all my trouble and ex- * His words. 122 STJRRY OF EAGLETS-NEST. posure a girl riding by herself at night through an army it i very hard to be considered a spy." A few words from myself at once placed the young lady in her proper light, and she made her statement. It was important. She had passed through the Confederate lines a day or two before, she said, on her way to Alexandria, when, on reaching Annandale, she and her travelling companion received the intel ligence that the enemy were advancing. Before they could leave the place, the Federal column had entered it, and the house at which Miss Grafton had stopped was taken as the head quarters of one of the Generals, whose division encamped in the adjoining fields. The Federal General seated himself, with out ceremony, at breakfast with the family, and indulged in many jests at the expense of General Beauregard and the Con federates. " They knew all about his lines on Bull Run, 1 ' said the Federal officer ; " they had no intention of attacking the centre, opposite Manassas nor the right. The attack would be against the left of the rebel line above Stonebridge, and they would be run out of their holes before they knew it." Miss Grafton had listened attentively to all this, not, however, with out some expression of disdain upon her countenance. The Federal officer now added that he was supplied with a number of Confederate flags, which he intended to make use of to de ceive the rebels ; and Miss Grafton asked, if he was not afraid to speak so freely before every one. " Pshaw!" was his laugh ing reply, " you can't get through our lines. Before you could arrive, even if you did, we'll have the rebels in full retreat on Richmond." Ten minutes afterward, an order came for the division to march ; it moved on and Miss Grafton hastened to present herself before General McDowell in person. She in formed him that the advance had caught her at Annandale, and asked for a pass to return to her friends in the country near. This was granted she rode alone through the crowding Fede ral camps between long lines of red Zouaves pushed her horse to a gallop, and, travelling all night, came into Genera] Swell's lines toward morning.* * A real incidw I RETURN THE PACKAGE. 123 44 That is all, General," said Miss Grafton ; " it may nof oe very Important, but I am sure from the manner in which the Federal officer spoke that he was in earnest." u Your communication is very important indeed, madam,'* said the General, with a thoughtful salute, " and you have done the South good service. Now you must be fatigued. I beg that you will repose yourself." And, summoning an old dame, the owner of the mansion, the General intrusted Miss Grafton into her hands, holding open the door, and again saluting with profound courtesy, as she retired. " I believe that is their plan," I heard him mutter; " yes, the left ! Captain Mordaunt, let us examine the papers brought by your scout, once more." In the midst of the consultation I left the room, and sent to request a few minutes' private conversation with Miss Grafton. XXXV. I RETURN THE PACKAGE. MY object was to return the package which had been so mys- ieriously deposited in my pocket at the house in the Wilderness. For more than two months, now, I had constantly carried it about with me, trusting to find some opportunity to return it, but none had presented itself. I had heard of no one travelling toward the Wilderness, and I knew of no post-office. The pack age threatened to wear out in my pocket, when all at once chance threw me once more with Miss Grafton, and I could rid myself of the unpleasant responsibility. To my request for a brief private interview she gave a prompt assent, and in a few moments I found myself alone with the youttj lady, in a plain sitting-room, lit by a single tallow candle. " I am afraid I am keeping you from your rest, Miss Grafton," 1 said, " but I trust you will excuse me. I expect to set out for the Valley in half an hour, and am anxious, before I go, to ask your assistance in an affair which has not a little annoyed me." 124 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. I then explained the origin of the package, which I drew from my pocket, and stated my belief that it belonged to the white lady. It had no direction. I could not venture to open it; would Miss Grafton return it, or, if the owner was dead, dispose of it in such manner as seemed best to her ? At those words, "if the owner is dead," the young lady, who had listened with drooping head, suddenly looked up. " I see you know all," she said, in a low tone. u Yes, the person we buried the other night, at that desolate spot, was my poor cousin your acquaintance, sir, in the Wilderness." "Poor thing!" " Yes, she was truly to be pitied. Something pressed upon her heart, and it killed her. After your visit she did not leave her bed, and, a few days since, she died." Such was the dry, bare statement of the young girl. It was plain that she did not design more confidential communica tion. I was to remain in ignorance still of the meaning of the strange scene at the Stone House. Between the impassive cool ness of Mordaunt and the gentle reserve of my companion, my curiosity threatened to be crushed. " And you really believe that my poor cousin placed this in your pocket, sir," said the young lady, pensively. " I am sure of it, Miss Grafton." She sighed unconsciously, and glanced at the worn and dis colored envelope. " ' Read these when I am dead, and think of your own Fran ces /' " 8he murmured. " Yes, her name was Frances." And, as she gazed at the delicate handwriting of the dead woman, her eyes filled with tears. " Captain Surry," she said, passing her handkerchief over her yes, and speaking with calm sadness, " you became connected with some very sorrowful persons by stopping, that night, in the Wilderness. It is annoying even painful to me, to appear to you ever surrounded with mystery for mystery is generally discreditable but I cannot help it. Some day you may know all. Now I must go on and do my duty as I can not speaking of affairs which do not concern me." I RETURN THE PACKAGE. 125 14 You will pardon me, Miss Grafton, for asking if you design returning to the Wilderness." " Never, sir." " Have you a protector ?" "None." " You pain and shock me," was my earnest reply. " Who will watch over and guard you in these troubled times?" " God, sir," was the calm reply. I looked with pity and admiration at the beautiful girl who spoke so calmly. There was something inexpressibly revolting in the idea that she had no protector from Fenwick actually no roof over her head. Here was a delicate girl of seventeen, without friends, relatives, or home and yet so calm and confi dent, that you felt that such confidence could not be mis placed ! I begged the young lady to accept a home at my father's house, but she declined. " Where was she going?" " She did not know." As she spoke, a knock was heard at the door, and Mordaunt made his appearance, pale and gloomy. He bowed low, and said with freezing coldness : " I shall have the honor to conduct Miss Grafton, as soon as she has rested, to a place of safety. This house may be exposed to the enemy's fire in the battle about to be fought, and General Beauregard wishes Miss Grafton to proceed to the rear." What could have induced Mordaunt, the cynical woman- hater, to accept such a commission ? I vainly puzzled my mind to solve the question. Miss Grafton rose. Her perfect calmness had not altered in. the least. " I do not feel at all sleepy, sir," she said, "and am ready to set out whenever you wish." "I will, then, order Miss Grafton's horse," was Mordaunt's reply in the same cold tone ; and with another inclination he left the apartment. I took advantage of his absence to utter a few parting words. 126 SUBRY OF EAGLE'S-tfEST. 44 Your fate is a singular one," I said, " to be thus tossed to and fro in these dangerous times. Where are you going?" 44 1 do not know," was her calm reply. 41 And yet you are not disquieted?" u Why "should I be, sir?" " You do not know Captain Mordaunt you do not know whither he is about to conduct you and yet you are perfectly composed!" I said, with a sort of admiration. "Allow me to say, Miss Grafton, that your equanimity is something wonder ful." She looked at me with her large, thoughtful eyes for an instant, and replied with unmoved calmness: 44 God will watch over me, and I shall find friends." I could say no more. In presence of this supreme resigna tion and reliance upon a higher power than man's, I stood abashed. Mordaunt entered. 44 Miss Grafton 's horse is at the door." 44 1 am ready, sir." u I trust Miss Grafton will not be alarmed by the darkneaa/' be said with grim courtesy. 44 By the darkness, sir?" she said. 44 It is heavier than before, madam." 44 1 rode by myself all night," she replied simply. 44 Miss Grafton may rely upon my exertions to make her ride as agreeable as possible," came from Mordaunt in the same cold tone. 44 1 am sure of it, sir," was her calm reply, as she gave him her hand with an air of confiding simplicity which struck me. Something like a slight color came to the swarthy cheeks of Mordaunt as he took it and assisted her to mount at the door. He then got into the saddle and took his place at her side. I exchanged a grasp of the hand with him, and turning to Miss Grafton : 44 You will not forget me, I hope, or cease to remember me as your friend," I said. ' I shall gladly think of you as such," was her reply, with A A RIDE IN THE DOG-DAYS. 127 courteous little inclination of her head. And leaning down, she paid in a low tone, as her horse moved : 44 I think I have discovered for whom the package of papers was intended." A glance of the large blue eyes, which I long remembered a pressure of the small ungloved hand and Violet Grafton disappeared with her escort in the darkness. XXXVI. A BIDE IN THE DOG-PAYS. I HASTENED back to General Beauregard. His horse was at th door, and he was preparing to mount. In his measured voice ne gave me my last instructions. They were, to return as rapidly as possible to General Johnston ; inform him that the Federal army was advancing; and urge the necessity of a prompt junction of Xbe Army of the Shenandoah with that of the Potomac. " The enemy's force is now ascertained to be about fifty-five thousand men," he added ; " mine is somewhat less than twenty thousand effective. I do not doubt my ability to hold thi position, but more troops are necessary for ulterior opera tions." I clearly understood this allusion. It pointed to the project ed movement of Johnston's force, by way of the Little River turnpike, against the Federal right flank. 44 That is all, I believe, Captain the dispatch you bear will convey the rest. Are you well mounted ?" " Yes, General." 44 If your horse fails, impress the first you find. Your mes sage must arrive to-day." 44 It shall, sir." General Beauregard gave me his hand, mounted, and set off at a rapid gallop for the front, followed by his staff. 128 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. In ten minutes I left Manassas, at full speed, following th road to Thoroughfare Gap. The first light of dawn glimmered in the east as I looked in the direction of the Stone House. I almost fancied I could see it weird and desolate in the dim light. What was th mystery, I asked myself, hidden beneath the sombre curtain, a corner of which I had just lifted? What tragedy was this in which Mor- daunt, Miss Grafton, Fenwick, and the woman Parkins were all mixed up and what had that lugubrious stone mansion to do with the history of all these lives ? All speculation was vain I pushed on. My roan was in excellent order, and moved under me like a bundle of steel springs. The distance I had to go was only about fifty miles ; I expected to accomplish it in six hours. But I had not calculated upon the oppressive heat of the weather. Passing through Thoroughfare Gap, I reached White Plains soon after sunrise, and then, leaving the main road to Salem, struck across toward Rectortown and Paris. The sun became burning hot, and my roan was as wet as if he had just swum a river. His speed was undiminished, however; and, finally, the Blue Ridge drew near. At Paris there was a group of loungers upon the tavern porch. "What news?" they shouted, as I passed at full gallop. "Nothing," I replied. As 1 left the town, I heard a Dutch-looking farmer say : "That officer is riding his horse to death." It was true. Going up the mountain, my roan began to toss his head and wheeze : I allowed him for the first time to walk, and thus reached the "Big Poplar," but there I resumed the gallop. Two miles further I forded the Shenandoah, looking with cov etous eyes upon the cool green turf of the banks, shaded by the giant sycamores reaching their mottled arms over the current. The cool bath and long draught of the fresh water gave my horse new life ; but the scorching sun poured down all the hotter as we entered again upon the interminable, blazing turnpike. The heat seemed to descend to rise from the earth in quivering THE FLANK MOVEMENT. 129 stearn and the very pun% of air which came at times resembled the breath of a furnace. The dust filled the air, motionless as fog ; the minute particles burned the face and choked the throat. Beyond Millwood my horse began to stagger. His jaws were reeking with foam, his eyes glaring and bloodshot. Pressing him steadily with the spur, I reached and passed the Opequon, came im sight of Winchester, and saw across the fields General Johnston's head-quarters tent. A hundred yards from it my roan reeled and fell. I saw Gen eral Johnston in his tent, and hastened to him. " Ah ! Captain," he said, " what news ? Are you from Ma- nassas to-day ? It is not possible ! " " To-day, General : the news is important. The enemy are advancing. By this time they are not far from Bull Run." " And General Beauregard ?" " Says, if you wish to help him, now is the time." And I handed him the dispatch. Johnston read it, asked me a few questions, and then sum moned his adjutant-general. " Any thing further, General ?" "Nothing, Captain. Thanks for your promptness." I saluted and went to look after my horse. He was dead.* XXXVII. THE FLANK MOVEMENT. I HAD arrived at the crisis. Patterson was extending his left to cut Johnston off from Ashby's Gap, and in twelve hours the Confederate General would have found it impossible to evacuate the Valley without a battle, if at all. Those twelve hours I had gained by killing my horse. Rapid arrangements were made to move through Ashby's Gap, and in a very few hours the whole army was in motion. * A true incident. 6* ISO 8UKRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. Stuart picketed the rear so admirably from toward Bunket Hill, by Smithfield, to Eippon and the Shenandoah, that a mouse could not get through ; and, aafely moving within this magic cor don, which kept off all intruders, Johnston's column left Win chester, passed through Millwood, forded the Shenandoah at Ber ry's Ferry, and defiled through the Gap. The men were crazy with delight, singing and dancing as they went along. The prospect of a battle seemed to intoxicate them. Stuart brought up the rear, passing last through the Gap ; and then pushed on to the front. The movement by the Little River turnpike was found imprac ticable, and at Piedmont Station, on the Manassas Gap Railroad, the bulk of the infantry took the cars ; the rest were to follow. Jackson's brigade went by the first train ; we disembarked in the evening at Manassas, and the column was marched to a wood of pines in rear of Mitchell's Ford. The roar of artillery which greeted us as we approached indi- cated that the adversaries were face to face, and the dcisiv struggle about to begin. XXXVIII. TWO BROTHERS. SHALL I tell you, my dear reader, what I saw of the battle of Manassas? It possesses a perennial interest; but then it is so familiar! Still I can't well omit some notice of it in these me moirs of my times. Those who know it all by heart can turn th> leaf. It was about three in the morning, on the famous 21st, that k was waked by General Jackson as I lay under a tree, and sm with a message to General Johnston. Your toilet is not a heavy affair on the eve of a battle : I had only to take my riding-cape, buckle on my belt, and rub my eyes. Then I mounted, and set out for the farm-house where Jolmstoa and Beauregard had established their joint head-quarters. TWO BROTHERS. 131 The place was in a great bustle. To the fences and the bougLj of the trees were affixed the horses of the staff and couriers, ready saddled ; and mounted men constantly went and came. 4 sullen gun, at intervals, from the front, mingled with the clatter of sabres and the sound of horses' hoofs. The two Generals were closeted in an inner room. My name was sent in, and in ten minutes I was informed that I could enter. Generals Johnston and Beauregard were seated at a table, upon which was spread a topographical map of the region, and the former rested his finger upon Stonebridge. " This is the key of the position," he said. "I think the at tack will be here, General." I saluted, and was about to deliver my message, when a dis patch was brought in. Beauregard read it with attention. " The enemy are moving in heavy force to the left," he said, in a low tone. " Captain Mordaunt's scouts report the main body massing between Centreville and Stonebridge." As he spoke his face glowed. " Now is the time, General," he said. u Ewell and Bonham ;an strike their flank and rear before sunrise." Johnston inclined his head. " Then, no time is to be lost, General." This was the authorization for which Beauregard evidently waited. In an instant he had ordered couriers, and was ardently dictating orders to his adjutant. I could not help hearing them. The orders directed the officers commanding the right and centre to hold themselves ready to advance at a moment's notice, and attack the Federal rear at Centreville. Meanwhile, I had delivered my message, which referred to the disposition of the artillery, and, receiving the orders of General Johnston, hastened to return. I had scarcely reached camp, an~ communicated the result of my mission, when the roar of artil lery was heard from the direction of Stonebridge ; and Jackson ordered his brigade to be gotten under arms. Orders soon came for him to move and re-enforce Longstreet, at Blackburn's Ford, below. Before the troops had reached thai 132 SUREY OP EAGLE'S-NEST. point, new orders arrived, directing him to go to the assistance of General Cocke, near Stonebridge. As the column approached this point the sun rose, and from the extensive plateau in front came the sharp crack of musketry. The roar of artillery from beyond the stream had continued steadily. " This must be only a demonstration," muttered Jackson r and, turning round, he directed me to ride toward Sudley Ford r and ascertain if any movement was taking place in that direc tion. I hastened to obey, and, striking across into the Sudley-Brents- ville road, was soon at the ford, where I found Mordaunt sullenly falling back, and disputing the ground inch by inch, with an over whelming column advancing rapidly from the woods beyond. As I joined him, a storm of bullets came hissing from a dark line rapidly advancing, and a portion of the cavalry came back at a gallop. Mordaunt's face flushed hot, and, drawing his sabre, he thundered : " I will kill the first man who attempts to pass me ! Form line. I am falling back I am not running!" His voice had its effect ; line was formed facing the enemy, and the men slowly fell back fighting. " Well, Surry," said Mordaunt, with entire coolness, " tilings tire going on badly in this part of the field, and, unless General Beauregard hurries troops here, he will be flanked and driven out of his defences on Manassas. There is nothing to check th& enemy. I will die here, if necessary ; but it is perfectly useless, What can I do with one company ? That column advancing numbers at least thirty thousand. I have sent courier after courier, but yet no reply." " I will see that General Johnston knows the extent of the danger." And I went back rapidly to report it. Reaching Colonel Evans first, near Stonebridge, I informed him of the state of affairs, and he instantly put his command abont one regiment in motion, and advanced to check the enemy. Then I found General Jackson, and gave him the intelligence, He at once sent a staff officer, on a fresh horse, to Jofmstou : TWO BROTHERS. 133 and at that moment a long roar of musketry beyond the hill an nounced that Evans had engaged the enemy. It steadily increased in intensity, but did not recede or ap proach. Evans was evidently holding his ground. In an hour, however, it drew nearer, and the meaning of this was unmistak able. Then all at once the glitter of bayonets was seen behind us, and Bee and Bartow appeared, rapidly moving to the threat ened point. The troops pressed on with cheers they were seen to form line of battle on the Henry House hill then they disappeared beneath the crest, and the redoubled roar of musketry told that Bee had engaged the enemy. The firing from that moment became incessant, and indicated a desperate conflict. It continued for more than an hour. Then it rapidly approached, and the cheers of the Federal troopa echoed among the hills. Bee was evidently falling back. Jackson listened with an unmoved countenance, but a glitter of the eye, which indicated much in him. All at once the roar of triumph drew nearer Bee's men began to appear, straggling over the hill. "Attention!" came in Jackson's curt tones, and the men, who had been lying down, rose to their feet and formed line of battle. " Ride to General Bee, Captain, and inform him I am coming tore-enforce him," said Jackson. And I hastened, at a gallop, toward the firing. A regiment was forming line of battle along the Warrenton road; just to the right of the Stone House. "What command is this?" I asked of one of the men. " Th Hampton Legion." "What number?" " Six hundred muskets." I rode on rapidly, passing hundreds of stragglers. The roar of guns was now near at hand incessant, obstinate; and Bee was falling back in utter confusion. His broken lines were torn by shell, canister, and musketry the struggle was over the triumphant enemy were pressing forward with wild cheers. 134: SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NE3T. Suddenly, I heard the sharp crack of Hampton's skirmishers on the right, and Bee rode up, breathing heavily, covered with dust and sweat, and holding in his hand his drawn sword, with which he had been rallying his men. I knew him very well, and at once delivered my message. " Thank God ! " he replied, hoarsely. " They have broken my line to pieces by pure weight of numbers. Men never fought better. What troops are those, Captain, in the road, yonder?" " The Hampton Legion." " Oblige me by telling Colonel Hampton he must hold his position until entirely flanked to the very last." I obeyed, and reached Hampton just as a heavy column pressed down from the direction of Red House Ford and opened fire upon him. "Present my respects to General Bee," said Colonel Hampton, a tall and fine-looking man, with an air of entire coolness, "and tell him that I hope to give a good account of the force in my front. This position will soon be flanked, however, and I shall be compelled to fall back." A volley from the enemy came as he spoke, and he ordered his men to rise and fire. The effect was decisive. The six hundred muskets were dis charged almost like a single piece, and the Federal line in front broke, and retreated under cover of the high ground in their rear. I hastened back, and found Bee making desperate efforts to rally his men. Sword in hand, he rode among them, beseeching them by all they held dear to re-form their line. His voice was scarcely heard in the roar of battle, and the enemy pressed on, driving the Southern lines back in utter disorder. Finally, they reached the ground near the Stone House I had visited with Mordaunt, and planted their artillery in the road, forcing Hampton to fall back. Then there was nothing further to resist their advance, and Bee, with a look of despair, galloped in the direction of Jackson. I was with him, and heard the brave Carolinian groan out, as they came face to face : "General, they are beating us back !" TWO BROTHERS. 135 Jackson looked for an instant toward the enemy, his lip* moved, and he said, coolly : u Sir, we will give them the bayonet." Bee seemed to gather new resolution from these words, and, galloping toward his straggling lines, shouted : " Look ! Yonder stands Jackson, like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer!" Jackson had, meanwhile, turned to me, and said, with his hab itual coolness : " Captain, go to the colonels of all my regiments, and teli them that my instructions are, as soon as the enemy gets close enough, say within fifty yards, to charge with the bay onet."* This order I conveyed to the different colonels, as they formed their lines along the eastern crest of the Henry House hill. The men were ordered to lie down, two pieces of artillery were thrown forward and opened fire, and under their protection Bee formed his shattered line in a ravine on Jackson's right. In face of this new line of battle the enemy did not imme diately advance. They were checked, and the day was saved. I was looking across the hills to the left, where Mordaunt's cavalry was seen falling back to take position on the flank, when Jackson called me and said : " General Johnston must know exactly the condition of things here. Present my compliments to him, and tell him that the enemy are checked, but I must have re-enforcements. If this hill is lost, all is lost. I am going to seize and hold it ; but 1 must be supported. Bee is overwhelmed. Hampton is driven back. If the enemy fortify yonder, all is over. Explain this, and lose no time." In half an hour I was at Johnston's head-quarters, still at the farm-house opposite Mitchell's Ford. He and Beauregard were in the saddle, anxiously listening to the continuous fire from th< left. " Well, Captain," came from Beauregard, the more ardent of the two. * His orders. 136 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. I saluted, and explained the state of tilings near Stone, bridge. It evidently produced a deep impression upon both officers. "All now depends upon the movement of the right and centre," muttered Beauregard, looking in the direction of Centre- ville. " Why don't the firing commence ?" " I fear it is too late," was Johnston's cool reply. At the same moment, a staff-officer came up, his horse foam- Ing. "Well, Major?" exclaimed Beauregard. " general Ewell never received your order, sir, and General Bonham only just now." Beauregard made a gesture in which it was impossible to say whether anger or disappointment predominated. " We must fight it out on the left," said Johnston. " Counter mand the orders to Ewell and Bonham, Geaeral, and let us ride to where the fight is going on." In five minutes, the two generals were proceeding at full gal^ lop toward the scene of action. They arrived at the moment when the enemy had gained pos* session of the Henry House hill, and were pressing forward to at tack Jackson, whose two pieces of artillery were steadily nring in front of his line. The attention of the two generals was immediately turned to the disordered ranks of Bee. Johnston seized the colors of a Southern regiment, and, leading the men forward, re-formed their line in face of a heavy fire. Beauregard meanwhile galloped up and down the lines, his swarthy face glowing, his eyes flashing, his sonorous voice calling upon the men to stand thoir ground. He presented at this moment a splendid picture. The fire of the born soldier flamed in his regard, and his martial spirit rode, as it were, upon the wave of battle, rejoicing in the storm. Under the passionate appeals of the two commanders, the men speedily rallied, and line of battle was at once formed. Other regiments and additional artillery had hurried forward, and, thanks to the bold stand made by Jackson, time had been given for something like an adequate force to arrive. It amounted, as TWO BROTHERS. I afterward discovered, to only about six or seven thousand men ; but this was enough to show fight until re-enforcements came. The enemy had now formed a long and heavy line of battle, upon the Henry House hill, and their artillery crowned every knoll. They continued to pour a heavy fire of all arms upon the Southern line, and the only response was from two or three bat~ teries, under Colonel Pendleton, in Jackson's immediate front. These were just under the crest, and engaged the Federal batte ries at close range. Jackson was riding up and down behind them, watching the fire. u I expect these boys will all be killed," he muttered ; " but the occasion demands the sacrifice." As he spoke, a fragment of shell struck him in the hand, and I saw the blood flow. " You are hurt, General," I exclaimed. " It is nothing, r he said, wrapping his handkerchief around it ; and, seeing that the attention of the men had been called to it, he rode up and down the line, repeating quietly, "Steady, bo^s, steady! all's well!" The fire now became very heavy, and the enemy were steadily advancing. All at once an officer galloped up, and said, in great agitation : " General, the day is going against us." Such things peculiarly displeased Jackson. He gave the offi cer a quick glance from beneath his old faded cap such a glance as I for one should not have liked to encounter and said, in his curtest and gruffest tones : u If you think so, sir, you had better say nothing about it !" The officer turned away, with a sndden flush upon his coun tenance. At the same moment, a loud cheer on the left attracted our attention, and we saw Colonel Gumming, commanding one of the regiments of the brigade, charge and capture a Federal battery. Jackson's face glowed, and he uttered an exclamation which proved that all the soldier was aroused in him. But the triumph was short-lived. Gumming could not hold the battery in face of 138 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. the w itheriog fire directed upon him, and we saw him slowly fall back, as the enemy's whole line swept forward. It was at this moment that I discerned for the first time in Jackson the supreme attributes of the man of military genius. He seemed to rise under pressure, and to grow cooler and more invincible as peril drew near. The air was full of balls, the whole scene was one glare of musketry and cannon, and on all sides were heard groans, cheers, and shouts of triumph or despair ; but it was impossible to discern upon his face any traces whatever of emotion. It was like a mask of bronze ; and his movements were as calin and measured as if upon parade. In three minutes now the shock must come, I saw plainly ; but Jackson appeared as indifferent as though perfectly certain of the result. The lor,g, dark line pressed on, blazing from end to end, and the artillery was withdrawn at a gallop. It passed around the right of the line, and then I knew that the moment had come for the decisive struggle. Rushing forward with triumphant cheers, the Federal line was within about seventy-five yards, when I heard Jackson command, 64 Charge with the bayonet !" The men responded with the wildest ardor, delivered a stag gering volley as they rose to their feet, and then rushed up the slope. This movement was executed with such suddenness and deter mination, that the Federal line recoiled and gave way as th Southerners dashed upon them. The fire which greeted them was frightful, but the charge was not checked ; and in five min utes Jackson had pierced the Federal centre, and his troops were figkting on the ground near the Henry House. The men never fought better ; and, as one after another fell, the ranks closed up, and the troops kept to their work like vet erans instead of recruits. The boys were even more ardent than the men ; and, as I was carrying an order to the right, I heard the voice of young Charley Beverley, with whom I had become well acquainted, though I have not before mentioned the fact, call ^t to me in great glee : " Look, Captain, look ! We are driving 'em 1" TWO BROTHERS. 139 The young fellow fired his musket as he spoke ; but the next moment I heard him utter a groan, and saw him stagger. "What's the matter, Charley ?" " Only a scratch," he replied, turning pale, and trying to smile. I had just time to throw myself from my horse and catch him in my arms before he fell. He had been shot through the arm. Two men whom I called carried him to the rear. I had no time to attend to him further. Remounting my horse, I hastened to find Colonel Hampton, near the Henry House. As I went on, some men were bearing off General Bee. I had no time to speak to the mortally wounded officer ; but I heard him, as I passed, murmur, u Tell my men not to give up the field !" Colonel Hampton was rushing forward at the head of his men, when, just as I reached him, he was struck and fell. The great Carolinian attempted to rise, but strength failed him, and, waving his sword for his line to press on, he was borne from the field. At the same moment I fek my horse stagger then he fell. A ball had pierced his chest, and I found myself on foot. The close roar of musketry drowned every other sound, and officers and men were falling all around me. All at once I saw, not far from me, one of the companies of the brigade which was entirely unomcered, and began to waver. I ran in the direction of it, and found the men only wanted some one to lead them. At a word they closed up, and advanced unbroken, on the Federal line, then rapidly pushing forward. So close were the opposing lines at this critical moment, that, in spite of the dense smoke, I could see almost the " whites of their eyes." Suddenly a chill, like that of death, passed through my frame, and my blood ran cold : in the officer leading a com pany of Federal infantry directly in front of me, I recognized my younger brother Will. He was on foot in front of the line, waving his sword and cheering wildly. All at once, as the smoke drifted, his eyes en countered my own; and I saw, in an instant, that he had recog nized me. He turned pale, and his sword sank. The cry died away on 140 StJRRY OP EAGLETS-NEST. his lips. At that instant, I felt a sharp pain in my breast, and a sort of cloud passed before my eyes. When I opened them, I aw that the federal line had swept past me, driving back the company I had commanded ; and bending over me I saw the pale face of my brother. He supported my head upon his shoulder, and with his right hand was holding a white handkerchief to iuy breast, which was bleeding profusely. "Brother!" exclaimed the boy, for he was hardly more, "God forgive me ! you are shot mortally wounded and by my own men!" I tried to smile. "I'm afraid they've done for me, Will," was all I could say, for the faint feeling came back, and my voice died away. " How could I know ! to think that we should meet thus! to kill you, brother," he used my old name, " when I love you more than the whole world! when I would die for you !'' And I heard a choking sob, mingled with a groan, as, straining me close to his bosom, he pressed to my cheek his face wet with tears. Strange meeting of two brothers after years of separation ! But the interview quickly terminated. The battle had roared on, and the storm of balls swept over us, as, thus lost in the bloody gulf of conflict, we had spoken with the old love and tenderness to each other. Now we were to be torn asunder again. The Federal line, which had advanced triumphantly a moment before, was now driven back. The long crash of musketry from Jack- eon's line filled the air; and suddenly my brother's company was seen retreating in disorder. He wrung his hands, and uttered a sob of agony. "What can I do, brother!" he exclaimed. "If I stay here, I am a prisoner worse still, disgraced ! But I would rather die than leave you dying here!" I rose upon one arm and pointed to his men. " Go, Will," I said: " a Surry can't desert his colors. It's not your fault that I am shot. Go! in a moment you will be a prisoner!" A sort of convulsion passed over the youthful face, and hi.' ELM COTTAGE AND ITS INMATES. bosom shook. He enclosed me in his arms, and kissed me as he had done when we were children. "You are right, brother," he said, gloomily. "Farewell! I am going yonder to die!" With these words he left me, and his figure disappeared ami the smoke. All that I remember after this was a frightful commingling pf cheers, yells, groans, and dying cries, over which rose the heavy roar of artillery and the long, deafening roll of musketry. For nearly an hour, the opposing lines seemed staggering to and fro on the extensive plateau, in a breast-to-breast struggle for its possession. All that I could make out distinctly was, that the Southern lines still held their ground. Then a quicker and heavier fire came from the flanks ; it ad vanced ; wild cheers rose from the men of Jackson near, and I knew that our re-enforcements had arrived, and that the enemy were giving way. The roar around me redoubled, and all the furies seemed to be let loose. It was no longer a battle, but a sort of Pandemonium. But the wild turmoil of battle steadily receded westward ; the Southern lines were seen sweeping for ward like a huge wave ; and then I knew that the Federal line of battle was broken from end to end of the great field. I half rose, and, clutching the bloody handkerchief which Will had dropped, tried to wave it above me and cheer. As I did so, the blood gushed over my bosom a cloud passed before my eyes, and, falling heavily back, I lost consciousness. That is all I remember, my dear reader, of this famous battle. XXXIX. ELM COTTAGE AND ITS INMATES. I HAD afterward a faint recollection of being lifted in the arms of some one, and then of travelling somewhere in a carriage, and being carried into a house through a porch covered with flowers. I thought it was all a dream when I saw bending 142 SURRY OF EAGLE' S-NEST. over me, with flushed cheeks, a figure which resembled that of May Beverley. It was that young lady in person. Not to weary you with long explanations, my dear reader, I was at Elm Cottage, near White Plains, a small vine-embowered mansion belonging to Mrs. Fitzhugh, an excellent old lady, and a sister of Mrs. Beverley, of The Oaks. The entire family from The Oaks had come down to be near Charley, in case he was wounded in the battle about to be fought ; the Colonel had speedily discovered him, and the youth had been promptly moved- As the carriage was leaving the field, Charley saw me lying beneatli the tree to which I had been carried, cried out that I had been his friend, and no urging was necessary to induce the old Colonel to take charge of me. So I was to be nursed by the gentle hands of women, and not by "detailed men" in a hospital. I am not going to bore the reader with my experiences of the effect of a gunshot wound. Everybody, including the surgeon who attended me, thought I would certainly die, but I did not. I had a burning fever, and, I have no doubt, got at one time to the very brink of the grave but there the clutch of the Death Angel relaxed. My wound began to heal. There were some incidents connected with this fever, however^ which were far from unpleasant. I could not for the life of me determine, at the moment, whether I dreamed them or they actually occurred. The figure of May Beverley haunted me, and I thought that she was almost constantly sitting by my bed, holding my thin hand, and looking at me with tears in her eyes. When she disap peared, her place was taken by Violet Grafton; and her silken ringlets in turn faded away to be replaced by the tender face of my young sister Annie and the mild eyes of my father. When I grew stronger, and the fever left me, I knew that all these figures were real. Violet Grafton had been conducted to Mrs. Fitzhugh 's by Mordaunt, on the night when they left Beau- regard's head-quarters, and my father had hastened with Annie from Eagle's- Nest. It was surrounded by all these kind faces that I slowly began ELM COTTAGE AND ITS INMATES. 143 to .recover. Charley was nearly well already, went about with his arm in a very handsome sling, and distributed his jokes, anecdotes, and warlike reminiscences on every side, especially in the direction of Miss Annie Surry, between whom and th youth seemed to exist the very best understanding. It really did appear at one time that relations equally pleasing were going to be established between two other persons. May Beverley was much changed, and I longed, but was afraid, to ask whetner she had broken her repulsive contract. You have seen her, my dear reader, during those days at The Oaks. She was now a very different person. Surely something had oc curred to make her future less threatening ! In her eyes, her smile, every movement of her person, there was an exquisite gayety which I had never seen before. Her glance at times was full of such sweetness, that it very nearly intoxicated the poor invalid who met it. He watched every motion of the slender and graceful figure her voice was like music to him : his state of mind was imbecile in the very highest degree ! If her smile dis appeared, it was to give way to tears at some pathetic story or some incident of heroism. Then her bosom heaved, her cheeks filled with blushes, and a pensive languor seemed to weigh down the beautiful head. "When, drying her eyes, she turned and looked at ine with a smile, those great violet orbs made my pulses leap. I was a thousand times more enthralled than be fore. It is the ' old story of a man and a woman " which I am re lating, you see, reader. Has the fable never been narrated of you f My little drama was played, however, under somewhat peculiar circumstances. Did you ever lie upon a sofa, my dear reader, while recovering from a gunshot wound, and pass the hours listening to a musical voice reading to you the voice of the woman you loved, but who, unfortunately, was engaged to another individual? The sensation is peculiar. You feel in a delightful state of uncertainty as to your status in the eyes of the fair damsel. That voice is exquisitely musical, but it is probably going soon to say "I will," where that reply is called for in the Form for the Solemnization 144 SURRY OF EAGLE 'S-NEST. of Matrimony, and you are not going to be the individual to make the other responses. Those eyes are charming, and look at you at times in a manner which makes your heart beat ; but they may have a richer light still to bestow upon that hateful person age known in pathetic love-songs as "Another." Those lips, so red and soft, which thrill you, at certain moments, with their sweet and tender smile, you think, with a groan of rage and jealousy, to what uses they may be put, and mutter, if you are poetically inclined : " Dear as remembered kisses after death, And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned, On lips that are for others" That obstinate "Another" thus thrusts himself in, you see, on all occasions. You are called upon to decide upon you* eourse with the promptness of a general in face of the enemy. Will you brace yourself against a "hopeless attachment," and u tear her image from your heart " (see numerous romances), or will you accept the goods provided by the kind immortals, close your eyes to the past and future, and, seeing nothing but the face beside you, let your bark drift on wherever the waves may bear it ? I drifted. So, amid the songs of birds and the perfume of a thousand flowers, with May Beverley reading "old romances" to me, 1 passed the happy hours of my convalescence. But the cloud was coming the storm approached. Suddenly one day, all the sunny light disappeared from May Beverley's face ; her girlish happiness and abandon vanished : the beautiful brow of the young lady was overclouded, and the fair Hebe "stiffened into stone." There had come to the vine-embowered cottage of Mrs. Fitz- hugh a superbly clad officer, in a new uniform all shining with gold braid and this officer was Captain Frederick Baskerville, Volunteer Aide-de-Camp to some general of Beauregard's army. In regard to Captain Baskerville, Volunteer A. D. C., the reader knows that I am not a fair witness. But others said that he never would go into action. The taunts, even before him, of the young ladies of the country, whose brothers were in the ELM COTTAGE AND ITS INMATES. 145 army, had induced him to seek his easy position, it was said j but he was always sick or on furlough. Jealousy! envy\ illiberality ! I hear my readers exclaim. Doubtless for who ever could see any merit in a rival ? It was curious, however, that nobody that knew this man could bear him. The person who liked him least of all, apparently, was May Beverley. She trea-ted him with unmistakable coldness but I wish to guard the reader from supposing that she was much more cordial in her demeanor toward another person. From that unlucky moment when Captain Baskerville made his ap pearance, all the young lady's sunny smiles disappeared ; the thaw stopped ; she froze again. No sickness lasts forever, and you finally recover, even from a bullet through the lungs. Soon after the appearance of Bas kerville at Elm Cottage, the Beverleys returned to The Oaks, and very soon thereafter I set out with my father and sister in the rickety old family carriage for Eagle's-Nest. I have said nothing of Violet Grafton, and yet she had beeiv like a ministering angel to me in my illness. She had become a decided favorite with Mrs. Fitzhugh, a woman of great warmth of heart and strength of character, who liked or disliked you vigorously, and " spoke her mind " on all occasions ; and this excellent lady now declared that Violet should not leave her. " She is a perfect darling," said the old lady, busily knitting, " and never shall want a home as long as I have one." So the beautiful girl seemed moored in a serene port at last, secure from etorms. There was but one other member of the household, Miss Henrietta Fitzhugh, niece of the old lady, and a perfect witch of gayety and abandon. Scarcely sixteen, she already be gan to "make eyes" at the male sex, and had the contagious playfulness of a kitten. I cannot speak further of Miss Henrietta at this time ; she will probably reappear on the scene. I bid all these kind friends farewell, enter the old carriage, and, tra versing Fauquier and Stafford, we cross the Rappahannock and Are safely landed at Eagle's- Nest. SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. XL. A CHAPJER ENTIRELY WITHOUT INCIDENT. IT was already autumn when we reached Eagle's-Nest, aad tht September days had begun to tint the woods with the rich col ors of the fall. The old house, perched upon its lofty hill above the Rappahannock, seemed to hold out arms of welcome ; and I greeted all the old familiar scenes and sights with the ardor of an exile coming home, once more, after years of absence. The sight of the ancient mansion, buried in its trees, was " Welcome as the hand Of brother In a foreign land," is says the sweetest and most musical to my ear, at least of all *he Northern poets; and I know not what emotion of boyish yearning came to me as I entered the old hall, and murmured, '* After all, there is nothing like home!" The old pointer on the porch came forward frisking to re ceive my salutation ; the portraits seemed to smile upon me ; and AS I passed the picture of Philip Surry the cavalier, I thought the eyes followed and spoke to me. My wound was slow in healing, and I was driven to my books for amusement. What, a world of thought and emotion lies open at the feet of the student^ Books are the depositories of the thoughts of the great and these thoughts, more than all else, stimulate the intellect. I have known some men, whose minds were a very thin soil indeed, but who had read so much that a very good crop was the result! When the soil is naturally strong, the culture of the student makes the intellectual giant. Unfortunately, the present writer read only for amusement, and had an "ill-regulated mind." It was the honey that I sought, not the fruit ; and in the sunny mornings, in my chair upon the portico, it was a volume of romance or poetry, not history o* philosophy, which enabled me to pass the hours so pleasantly. Sometimes the open book lay for hours almost on my knee, and I mused upon a hundred things upon my visit to the WD- A CHAPTER WITHOUT INCIDENT. 147 derness, Violet Grafton, Mordaunt, May Beverley, the meeting with Will, and then came the gay laugh of Stuart breaking on the silence, and heard almost with the material ear. The trees rustled in the fresh September airs ; Annie ran to place in ray button-hole a bunch of autumn flowers; the great river flowed below the hills a ribbon of silver on a tissue of emerald ; and Eagle's-Nest, and all thereunto appertaining, was a lazy, tranquil picture of an old Virginia home. With the advent of October I grew stronger, and finally ven tured out with my gun after the partridges. Then, enamored of the glorious days, I fitted up my boat, and went duck-shooting on the Rappahannock. One day, when I had gotten thoroughly wet at this sport, I returned with a hot feeling about the head. On the next morning I could scarcely get out of bed, and that evening had a burning fever. It lasted me almost until spring, and brought me to death's door. During my illness I heard little of politics or war. I only knew that the North had determined to carry on hostilities with greater energy than ever, and that immense armaments were marshal ling by land and sea to force the South back into the Union. Johnston and Beauregard remained at Centreville, facing the Fed eral army, now commanded by General McClellan ; and Jackson had been appointed Major-General, and, proceeding to Winches ter, had made an expedition against the enemy on the Upper Po tomac, which had resulted in their retreat from that region. I had received a letter from him, enclosing an official document, and this had proved to be my appointment as Major, which, I had no doubt, his friendship had secured for me. Among the figures which peopled my musings, you will no doubt understand, my dear reader, that a certain young lady had a prominent place. I have not insisted upon raving about her, but she was seldom out of my mind. I always got back, how ever, after my extensive trains of reflection, to the point from which I started that my best plan was, to stay away from her. "It is for every young lady to decide her own destiny," I mut- terad with gloomy pride ; " and she has decided to marry that 148 SURRY OF EAGLE' S-NEST. man. I would like to go and cut his throat, but that would not mend matters!" And, turning over in my bed, I would try to think of something else. In February I left my bed, and by the first of March had nearly regained my strength. My purpose was to return at the earliest possible moment to my duties, and, thanks to my father, I was supplied with a good horse to replace those which I had lost. My servant had followed me from Manassas to Elm Cottage, and from Elm Cottage to Eagle's-Nest. He responded with grins to my announcement that I was ready to return to camp, the lazy life of which the sable individual dearly loved ; and in the first week of March I set out to rejoin General Jackson. This time I had not the sign of an incident upon the way, and I did not stop at The Oaks. Crossing the Blue Ridge at Ashby's Gap, and passing through the little village of Millwood without drawing rein, I was directed to, and on a raw March evening reached, General Jackson's head- quarters near Winchester. XLI. THE DISPATCH FROM RICHMOND. WHEN I entered his tent, Jackson was reading his Bible, which rested on his knees. At sight of me, he closed the volume, and, rising, cordially pressed my hand, offering, after his habitual fashion, to take my hat. " I am pleased to see you again, Captain, or Major, as I must now call you," he said, smiling; "your escape has been truly providential." " Thanks, General, for your good wishes, and my appointment, which I suspect I owe to your friendship. Are you well of your own wound ?" " Entirely ; it was a trifle. I have reason to be thankful, when so many brave men fell. Did you receive a message by flag of truce from your brother? I mean Lieutenant Surry, of the Unitod States Army. 1 " THE DISPATCH FROM RICHMOND. 149 " Thank you, General yes ; and replied to it." A fact of which I have neglected to speak. Will announced that he was unhurt : and I had written from Eagle's-Nest. Jackson shook his head, and said : " This is a most unhappy conflict ; and the enemy seem bent npon our complete destruction. But the South must do her duty and trust in Providence. I shall try to hold this region ; but my force is wholly inadequate." " I do not ask your plans, General, but would like to know the etate of affairs." " It is simple : the army is reorganizing a bad arrangement , and my plan is to put on as bold a front as possible, until the troops are in a condition to take the field. What I desire is, to hold my ground until we can advance then ; with God's bless ing, let us make thorough work of it !"* "What force has the enemy, General?" " Nearly fifty thousand men. General Banks is at Charlestown with about thirty-five thousand. General Kelly, succeeding Lan der at Paw-paw, with about eleven thousand ; and others are dis tributed along the Potomac." " Why, that is sufficient to swallow us !" " I do not eel discouraged ; and we may now look for war in earnest.* I have long ago made up my mind on the point, Major. If this Valley is lost, all is lost !* And, in defending it, I gratify my own feelings. It contains the homes of my brave soldiers;* and, with God's blessing, I intend to hold every foot of it, whatever may be the force that is brought against me!" I listened in silence, and more than ever admired this deter mined leader. "It is incredible to me, General," I said, " that the Govern* rnent does not send you more troops. They must understand an well as you do that, if the enemy gain the upper Valley. Rich mond will be seriously threatened." The General shook his head. * His word* 150 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " I don't think they have a great deal of confidence in me, Ma jor," he said ; " and I must do what I can with the force 1 have.* "Nearly fifty thousand to four thousand! It is monstrous, General!" " Our place is to fight, not to count numbers. I intend to oppose the advance of the enemy by every means in my power : the rest I leave in the hands of Providence." Soon afterward, I rose to take my leave. " To-morrow, if you have nothing for me to do, I will ride over and see my friends in the First Brigade, General," I said. Jackson smiled. " You must not call it the First Brigade, Major." " Why not, General ?" " Do you remember General Bee's exclamation at Manassas, as he was rallying his men ?" " Perfectly, sir : he pointed to you, and compared you to a stone wall." " I see you remember the very word. Well, the men insist upon giving me the nickname of Stonewall ; and they call the old brigade the ' Stonewall Brigade.' " "They deserve the name." " True ; they are a noble body of men. The name belongs to them, not to me ; and, after this war, the survivors will be proud to say, 'I was a member of the Stonewall Brigade,' to their children."* So it was the " Stonewall," not the u First," Brigade, I visited next day, to greet my many old friends there. The aspect of the amps at this time wae inexpressibly dreary. They were situated in the great fields north of the town, where the March winds had full sweep ; and, on the morning of my visit, a gust came which prostrated the small " A " tents of a whole regiment. Every thing was bare, bleak, chill, and gloomy. When I reflected that Jackson's only dependence was the small and ragged force shiver ing in these dilapidated tents, whose torn canvas fluttered drearily in the wind, my heart sank. * His words. THE DISPATCH FROM RICHMOND. 151 The troops, however, were in perfectly good spirits. I never saw men more ragged or merrier. The smoky canvas dens resounded with songs and I well remember the gay group aronnd the smouldering sticks in front of oar tent, listening to ^ song whose burden was : "Oh 1 be was the boy with the auburn hair, And his name it waa MacElroy." It was sung by a brave youth of the Second Virginia, who af terward passed gallantly through nearly every battle fought in Virginia ; became orderly sergeant of his company ; and, when it was swept away nearly to the last man, continued to call the roll regularly every morning, going conscientiously over the names of the dead and absent. The "Here!" which he uttered, when calling his own name, was often the sole response to this angular roll-call. After passing some hours with my friends, I left them, and rode forward to look at the ground north of Winchester, where the enemy would probably make their attack. I was riding along the chill, dreary, and wind-swept turnpike, whose pulverized particles rose with every gust and blinded the eyes, when a courier appeared, coming at full speed from the direction of Martinsburg, and soon reached me. "What news?" I said. "The enemy are advancing, Major." "From Martinsburg?" "And Charlestown, both." " Who are you from?" I called after him as he receded. "Colonel Ashby." The next moment he disappeared in a dust-cloud. I at once turned my horse's head, and rode back to General Jackson. When I arrived I found him calmly engaged in issuing orders for the disposition of his forces. The staff were soon riding in every direction, and I assisted in the transmission of the orders disposing the regiments as directed, and returning toward nightfall. So rapid had been the enemy^s advance that their infantry 152 SURRY OF E AG-LE'S-NEST. were now engaged with our cavalry only a few miles from th town. The firing was rapid and continuous, and it was soon evident that the cavalry required support. A force of infantry was accordingly sent forward to their assistance, and Jackson then drew up his entire command in line of battle, evidently letermined to give battle, whatever force was brought against him. I was riding with him about nightfall, when the firing in front had ceased, and he said, with that quick glitter of the eye which always showed that he was aroused : "I do not intend to leave Winchester without a fight. With the blessing of Providence, I believe I can check, if not drive back, the enemy's force. At all events, Major, I am going to try." He soon afterward rode back to head -quarters, drank a glass jf milk, and said to me : "I am going into Winchester, Major. If you would like to jccoinpany me, I will make you acquainted with a most estimable amily, and we can talk upon the way." " I will be very glad to go, General," was my reply, and we tet forward. Jackson stopped before a neat house, on one of the side streets, and, fixing his bridle to the fence, entered the house, where he was received and greeted with great cordiality by a clerical-look ing gentleman arid his family. Our host was in fact the Rev. Mr. G , of the Presbyterian Church, and those who knew the preference which Jackson always exhibited for the society of clergymen will not be sur prised at hearing that Mr. G was his chosen friend. An hour then passed in friendly conversation, and Jackson then said: " With your permission, Mr. G , I will now read a chapter in the Bible, and offer a prayer." u I will be glad if you would, General." The books were brought ; Jackson read a chapter with great solemnity, and then all knelt, and he offered up a fervent prayer. When he rose his features were slightly flushed, and I observed an animation in his eyes which was unusual THE DISPATCH FROM RICHMOND. 153 He stood for a moment looking in silence at the family, who were great favorites with him, and then, with a martial smile mpon his features, suddenly said : " Would you like me to tell you a secret, my friends ? " 'What is it, General?" " And yet it will be against all military rules." Expectation was in every eye. "I am going to attack the enemy to-night." A nutter ran through the auditory. " My force is small," he continued with animation, " but it will be doubled by the suddenness of the attack. Shall I prove my self a very bad General by telling you exactly what I design ? Well, I am going to flank them on the Martinsburg road, in one hour from this time ! You see that unless you can pass my pickets within that time, and warn them, no harm is done by this disclo- eure. Yes ! " he added, with something almost like joy in his face, " I shall attack suddenly with my whole force I shall drive them back and our dear old Winchester will not be at their mercy!" After a few more words, uttered in the same animated tone I had never before seen him so elated the General bade them good-night, and we left the house.* Passing the telegraph office on Loudoun street, he called to the courier on duty there for any dispatches. "This has just this moment arrived, General." And a paper was handed him, which he read by the light streaming through the window. S iddenly I saw his brows knit together, and something like gloom overspread his features. He crumpled up the paper in his hand, dropped it, after his habit, and, growling in the curtest tones, "Very good!" rode on, without uttering another word. As we approached head-quarters he said curtly, in the stiffest of military tones: " Major Surry, direct General Garnett and the other command ers to provide the troops immediately with three days' cooked rations, and hold themselves in readiness to more." * Historical. 7* 154 SURETY OP EAGLE'S-NEST. I saluted, and Jackson added in the same tone : " Then ride on to Colonel Ashby you will find him on the Martinsburg road and direct him to hold himself in readiness to withdraw his command through Winchester. I wish this movement to be deliberate I will have no stampeding." I set off rapidly, and, having transmitted the orders to the infantry commanders, rode on to the front, in search of Colonel Ashby. I had some curiosity to see this officer. During my visit to the First Brigade the conversation had turned upon his character, and I had found my friends quite enthusiastic on the subject. They seemed never to tire in relating his exploits. He was unresting, a sleepless war-machine, ready night and day for a raid, an attack, a battle any thing, so that it had "fight " in it. While others slept, he was in the saddle. Seen to-day at one point on his swift white horse to-morrow he would be at another place, sixty or seventy miles distant, inspecting his pickets, gaining information, and seeing that all was well. Utterly reckless in action, and liking most to "come to the sabre," he was represented as the sonl of courtesy and kindness. His men idolized him he was their beau ideal of chivalry, and the whole army chanted his praises. It is not surprising, therefore, that I was glad of an opportunity to make the acquaintance of the Colonel. The opportunity was at hand. In the extensive fields on each side of the road were seen through the darkness the long lines of Ashby's cavalry in line of battle every man in the saddle. There was always something especially picturesque and war like, to my eyes, in this spectacle of cavalry at night, drawn up to await or make an attack. While the infantry sleep, the dark figures on their black horses are watching. Only the clank of a sabre now and then, or the shrill neigh of some impatient animal, proves that the long line, silent there in the gloom, is not composed of phantoms. But I had no time to indulge in thoughts of the picturesque. I inquired for Colonel Ashby ; was directed to a tree, oa a neigh boring hill, where a small fire glimmered like a star, and soon reached it. ASHBY. 155 XLII. ASHBY. A FIGUEE wrapped in a cloak was lying by the small fire, which the chill March night made far from uncomfortable. I conld see, as I approached, that this personage was reading in a email volume, and, as he raised his head, and the firelight fell upon his face, something on his cheek glittered. As he rose, I recognized my travelling companion on the way to the Valley, who had carried before him the weak beggar-girl, and given me so cordial an invitation to visit him. His beard vras blacker and heavier ; his face more swarthy ; his expression deeply sorrowful. But in the cavalry colonel of low stature, clad ia gray, with sabre at side, and wearing a hat with a dark feather, I easily recognized my former companion. "Colonel Ashby?" I said. " Yes, sir." " A message from General Jackson, Colonel. I am glad to see you again, but am afraid you don't remember me." I drew nearer as I spoke, into the circle of light. " Perfectly, Captain," he said, with much courtesy. "At first the darkness prevented me." And, with frank and soldierly grace, he extended his hand, hastily turning aside as he did so, and passing his other hand across his eyes. The voice of the speaker was profoundly sad ; but in his air I observed the same high-bred courtesy and kindness. In reply to my message, he now said : "Then the General intends evacuating Winchester? I am sorry we are to do so without a fight, and I received orders to prepare for action in an hour. The General's directions will be observed, Captain I beg your pardon Major: I think I can promise that my command will fall back in good order." " I have no doubt of it, Colonel. I am glad to see you in com mand of so fine a body of men." 156 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " Yes, they are gallant fellows, but I fear I am no discipline rian." I had thrown my bridle over a bough, and was warming my fingers at the fire. My host gave me a seat beside him upon his cloak. " I am afraid I disturb you in your reading," I said. "Oh! not at all." " What book absorbed you so ?" " I was reading in the Bible," he said, simply, but with his former sadness of tone ; " it is the best resource for the unfortu nate." "Do you class yourself with such, Colonel?" I said. "I should think that, with so fine a command as yours, and your constitutional gayety which I well remember you showed upon our ride last April you would regard yourself as any thing but unfortunate." " My * constitutional gayety ' ?" he murmured. " I have none left." The accent of the speaker, as he uttered these words, was so mournful, that for an instant I did not reply. "Pardon me," I said, at length, "if I have touched some chord which jars. Had I supposed that my words would wound you" " It is nothing," he said, sadly ; " but I am much changed since I saw you. I have lost my brother." "Your brother? but pardon me again. We will speak of something else." i " It does not pain me," he replied, with settled sadness. " At times it is a relief to speak of our sorrows to a friend if you will let me call you such, sir." I bowed with as much respect as sympathy, for the voice of this man went to my heart. "When I saw you in April, Major," he said, in a low tone, "I had never had any thing to distress me, and doubtless I ap peared to you gay enough. I lived at that time near MarkhamX with my brother Richard, and we passed our liTes together. I had no other friend. You should have known him : he was not * ASHBY. 157 l, plain-looking man, like myself, but tall and imposing, with the eye of an eagle, and a soul that was the very mirror of truth and honor. A braver spirit never breathed a kinder heart never beat in human bosom. I weary you but I loved my "brother," faltered the speaker, " he was all I had. You see now w'ny I am not so gay as when we met down yonder. I cannot help it my poor brother is dead." A flush came to the swarthy features of the speaker, and the fire-light glittered on a tear which trembled in his eye. 'They killed him yonder, on the Potomac," he added, in a low voice, " where his company wap scouting. He had only a few men with him, and was overpowered. He would not surrender 1 never intend to, Major but fell back, fighting a whole squadron. In crossing the railroad, his horse fell into one of those openings called 'cattle- stops' before he could rise, they were upon him; and can you guess what happened?" said the speaker, in a lower tone than before. 'Tell me." ** They beat him to death literally ; riddling his breast with bullets as they did so."* The tears were burnt up in the fire which blazed from Ash- by'e eyes as he spoke. "I came up at the moment," he continued, more calmly, but with gloomy feeling in his voice, " and charged with a few men, killing eleven but my brother was dead. We buried him on the banks of the Potomac. I am a strong man, but nearly fainted at his grave. Then I came back to my work." The deep-toned and sorrowful accents died away. I under stood all, and realized what a lady afterward said to me " Ash', by is now a devoted man." He preserved silence for some moments, gazing into the fire-, and then, drawing a long breath, as though to relieve himielf of some weigh* upon his breast, made an evident effort to banish his gloom. His former air of gentleness returned, and he said, with an attempt to smile : "Pardon all this egotism, Major. The unfortnp" f e are too * Historical 158 SURRY OF EAOLE'S-NEST. prone to cry out at times, and try to make others share their burden. It is hard to bear alone the weight of that ' perilous stuff that weighs upon the heart.' " " Your words have affected me deeply," was my reply. " But I should have spared you this recital. The world would l>e a gloomy place if every unlucky fellow insisted upon retailing his misfortunes to his friends." " Sympathy, at least, is something." u It is much almost all that is worth living for. Life is not a very gay affair in fact, I am rather tired of it. But let me cease this unprofitable talk. It would astonish the rough, brave fel lows yonder, who think I am laying some plan to entrap the enemy. So we are to withdraw, and without a fight!" " You will have charge of the rear." " Of course; and I promise you that, if they press too hard, they shall feel my teeth. But I expected a regular battle. Well, that must come, too, before long." I rose to go, and said, laughing : " You are one of the few men I have met with who look for ward with pleasure to a battle." " I have never seen one I was not at Manassas^" he replied, gently. il It is very poor amusement, Colonel, I assure you." " But exciting " " Too much so." ''Can any excitement be too great?" was his sad repiy, as 1 got into the saddle ; "it enables us to forget." And, saluting me with a movement full of friendly grace, tb* colonel of cavalry resumed his place by the fire, and re>mmenc*d reading his Bible. 1 WILL NEVER LEAVE, ETC. 159 XLIII. ..WILL NEVER LEAVE WINCHESTER WITHOUT A FIGHT NEVER, NEVER 1" WHEN I returned to head-quarters it was nearly midnight. The General was absent, and ascertaining that he had ridden into Winchester ten minutes before, I followed and came up with him on Loudoun street. To my brief report, his only reply was, " Good." Then he rode on in silence. I had never seen him look more gloomy and de jected. Supposing that he was going to pay some private visit, I said : " Any thing further for me to do, General ?" He shook his head. "I will, then, return to head-quarters." " Wait a moment we will ride back together/- And turning out of Loudoun street, he stopped before Mr. G 's again. " Gome in," he said, in his brief voice. I entered with him, and, as I had expected, found that no one had retired. The announcement of the intended attack upon the enemy had evidently banished sleep from every eyelid. Jackson advanced into the apartment, looking so cast down, that his expression threw a gloom over every face. His heavy boots seemed to drag over the floor ; his sabre clanked drearily. " I have come to tell you good-by," he said, with drooping head. ' " Good-by ! You are going to leave us, General ?" "Yes, yes, my dear friends," was his reply. "Since I left you, I have received an order by telegraph to evacuate Winches ter." " From Richmond?" He nodded, and I saw his eye glitter. "They know best or think they do." 160 SURRY Of EAGLE 1 S-NEST. These words were uttered so quietly, that it was difficult w perceive the sarcasm under them. "I am ordered to fall back," he continued, with great dejec tion ; " and perhaps it is best. The attack I intended might coafr too much. I cannot sacrifice my men." " Oh, General ! you are going to leave us to the \ankees. "Imus,. Jackson' j ^I^M sun^ upon his breast. Then it suddenly rose, his cheeks flushed hotly, his eye flashed, and, clutching the hilt of his sabre, he drew it a foot from the scabbard, and, rising tc his fufl height, exclaimed : " I will never leave Winchester without a fight never, never ! ' At that moment the appearance of the soldier was superb, His tall figure towered above the group, his eyes darted lightning, his huge nostrils expanded like those of a war-horse "snuffing the battle from afar." But the unwonted excitement did not last long ; the color died away from the cheeks, the fire from the eyes. The head of the General again sank, his dejected expression returned, and, driving back his sabre with a clash which rang out harshly in the silence, he said in a gloomy voice : " No, I must obey orders I cannot sacrifice my men. I must go without fighting." And he bade farewell to all, grasping the hands of one after the other.^ " Farewell," he saiu, u and may Providence watch over you." x bade our kind host and his family good-by in my turn, and, riding with General Jackson, who was silent and gloomy still, returned to head-quarters.* At daylight, the enemy were in front of the town, and I ex-, pected every moment to see Jackson put his army in motion, in obedience to his orders from Richmond, and retire before them. He seemed, however, to have no intention of doing any such thing. Instead of falling back, he advanced in full view of the enemy, and manned his breastworks on the Martinsburg and ' Tihii Meu* is historical. I WILL NEVER LEAVE, ETC. 1C1 Berry ville roads. Had the General changed his mind? Was he going to fight in defiance of orders, and could there be some truth in the views of those who called him " fool Tom Jackson," and declared that he was "crack-brained"? In his immediate front was a force of thirty thousand men, ready to advance and crush his small force of about four thousand; and, instead of taking steps to retire before them, as the bravest general in the world might have done without imputation on his nerve, he seemed de termined to fight them, and die where he was. I scanned the countenance of the General curiously, as he rode along the line of earthworks, to ascertain, if possible, what he designed. But no mask could have been more immovable. His face was inscrutable, and never relaxed its expression of calmness and gravity. The lines of earthworks now bristled with bayonets ; firing was heard in front from the cavalry skirmishers ; and I ex pected every moment to see Ashby retire, and a general battle commence. T was speedily to comprehend, however, the design of all this mano3uvring and from that time, the "crack-brained" theory of the General's character never presented itself to my mind. All at once, at a preconcerted signal, the infantry formed in column, silently withdrew from the trenches, and, moving quietly along the bottom of a sort of ravine in rear of the works, where they were completely concealed from the view of the enemy, took up the line of march westward, and around Winchester. The " Round Hill," as an eminence in rear of the town is called, was encircled by the long lines of bayonets, still unseen by the ene my the little army advanced steadily, and, again obliquing, struck into the Valley turnpike, about a mile and a half south of the town. Jackson had evacuated Winchester, and was completely out of the clutch of his adversaries, at the moment when they were preparing to charge him in his earthworks north of the place. The infantry had thus disappeared and soon the cavalry were sfeen falling back slowly, in a long, dark line through the town their rear skirmishing with the advancing enemy. 162 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. XLIV. A FEAT OF HORSEMANSHIP. IN falling back, Jackson left absolutely nothing behind for his adversary. Every thing was removed, and the laughing infantry greeted with jests and cheers an enormous railway engine, which, drawn by a long string of horses, moved on with the rest. Jackson remained last, and his critical eyes peered in every direction, to discover whether any thing had been forgotten. "Is every thing removed, Major?" he said to his chief quar termaster, Major Harman. "Every thing, General." " No commissary stores whatever are left?" "None, General." " And those broken cars at the depot ?" " They can not be moved." "Burn them, Major." "I will, at once, sir." 14 And the telegraph wire?" "Is cut, sir." "But is it removed?" "No, General." " Remove it, Major." Jackson then added: "Take your time. I am in no hurry to kave Winchester."* Soon, the broken cars were burning, the wire was rolled up and placed in wagons, and the work was complete. "Very good," said Jackson, when the report was brought to him ; and he sat down under a tree, and, folding his hands across his breast, fell quietly asleep. He had been up all night, and never was able to go without sleep. The steady approach of the firing now indicated that the enemy * His words. A FEAT OF HORSEMANSHIP. 163 were pressing Ashby closely, near the northern suburbs of the town. I rode in that direction, and, reaching the rising ground at the head of Loudoun street, where the remains of the old fort, built by Major George Washington, about 1756, may still be seen, encountered the cavalry, falling back in good order before the Federal advance. The rear-guard, under personal command of Ashby, who was mounted on a snow-white horse, was dispu ting obstinately every foot of ground ; the main column mean while defiling through the streets, to form in line south of the town. I had just reached this point, when a sudden rush of the Fed eral cavalry broke through the rear-guard, and before I knew it, almost, I was by Ashby's side, in the midst of a squadron of blue-coats, banging away with their pistols, and slashing with their sabres. The sweep of Ashby's weapon was magnificent, and he seemed to launch himself from the saddle at every blow. Never had I seen more imperial horsemanship. He and his splendid animal seemed one, and it is impossible to describe his face. It was on fire the eyes blazed he looked happy. I had no time to bestow upon him more than a glance, how ever. A sabre-cut nearly unseated me, and the blue cordon was all around us, when a determined charge from one of Ashby's squadrons drove back the enemy, and he chased them two hun dred yards north of the place. " Rather close quarters, Major," said Ashby, whose face glowed hotly. " I don't like to be ' crowded ' " And, placing himself at the head of his men, he waved his sword, and cried in a clear, calm voice, strikingly in contrast with his irate appearance : u Follow me!" Those clear accents seemed to thrill the men. They responded with a wild cheer ; and, driving his white horse to furious speed, Ashby burst upon the Federal line like a tornado. Before that furious onslaught, so sudden and desperate, the enemy's cavalry gave way. Ashby was in front of his line, cut ting right and left with the sabre ; and when, a few minutes after ward, he came back, his white horse dancing on all four feet, as 164 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. the nervous hand reined him in amid a shower of balls, his face was calmer : for the moment he seemed satisfied. He continued to retire slowly, and reached the suburbs of the town. The enemy did not at once move forward. The Confed erate cavalry passed through, and it was not until I reached the southern suburbs that I missed Ashby. Turning, I saw him seated on his white horse in the middle of Loudoun street, looking quietly at the Federal cavalry and infan try pouring into the place. It is impossible to conceive any thing more calmly indifferent than his attitude. He seemed to have taken his place there to witness some peaceful pageant, and to regard the advance of the Federal masses, now nearly in contact with him, with languid curiosity. All at once, some shots were fired at him, but he took RO no- tice of them. This seemed to enrage the enemy, and a detach ment charged him at full gallop, firing as they came. Ashby waved his hat around his head, uttered a cheer, and - en, drawing his revolver, galloped off, firing as he went. He had nearly reached the suburbs, when suddenly I saw two ^.ederal cavalrymen issue from a side street, and post themselves in the middle of the street to intercept him. I rode rapidly for ward to warn him of his danger ; but it was not necessary. He turned, saw them, and charged the two men, with a glow of un mistakable pleasure upon his features. One fell, shot through the heart; then, his barrels being all emptied, he seized the second by the throat. I then witnessed one of those spectacles which are supposed to be confined to romances. Borne on at a furious speed upon his powerful white horse, Ashby dragged his adversary clear out of the saddle, never relaxed his clutch, and in a moment was beyond pursuit, still dragging his prisoner by the side of his horse.* A cheer rose from his men as Ashby released the prisoner, and eoolly looked to the disposition of his command. His face was again calm; the sad expression had come back; and when he said, " Well, Major, they are laughing at us yonder, I suppose, * Historical. THE "FOOT CAVALRY/' 165 by this time," his voice was as sweet and geut)e as when speak ing of his dead brother. XLV. THE "FOOT CAVALRY." ' I HAD seen Jackson advance and fight : I was now to see him retreat. The world at large, which judges of every thing super ficially, undervalues the art of "falling back;" but it is one of the surest evidences of soldiership. Jackson's method of retiring was cool, deliberate, and extorted my admiration. More than ever, I saw in him those resources which make the great soldier. Ashby's cavalry brought up the rear, and he had under him a battery of horse artillery, commanded by that gallant young offi cer, Captain Chew. The roar of these guns was never hushed. It saluted the ears of the infantry, as they lay down in their bivouacs to snatch a few hours of slumber, and was their reveille when they opened their eyes at dawn. Mingled with the sullen roar of the guns was heard incessantly almost the sharp crack of carbines, showing that the cavalry skirmishers were engaged. The enemy pressed hotly on the rear ; but Ashby met them with a coolness and an indefatigable vigilance which defeated all their attempts to throw the army into disorder. I was ranch with him in those days, and more than ever ad mired the great soldier for such was this man. It was impos sible to be with him without experiencing both admiration for his great qualities and affection for him personally. He was truly the flower of chivalry, and was as winning by the camp- fire as he was utterly fearless in the field. He was one of those men who seem inaccessible to the emotion of fear. I have often seen him sitting quietly on his milk-white horse, gazing from a hill upon the advancing enemy, who poured upon him a storm of balls when it was impossible to believe, from his appearance, that he realized his danger. I have seen others do this from 166 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. bravado but it did not so impress you in Asliby. He seme4 to be thinking of something else but at times the spirit of "fight" came to bis face, and he would pace slowly up and down on his white horse, the mark of a hundred bullets, with his face turned disdainfully over his shoulder ; or rein in his animal, and, like an equestrian statue, remain in face of the hot fire, completely motionless. These scenes were generally followed by a charge, and the flash of Ashby's sabre, as he led it in person. When he fell back after such rencounters, he was quieter than ever. A certain amount of fighting every day seemed necessary to his peace of mind. I am not writing a romance, or inventing a hero, worthy reader. Such was Ashby as he lived and moved before me. Thus, incessantly fighting with his rear-guard, Jackson con tinued his retreat up the Valley ; and ere long the enemy seemed to grow weary of the pursuit their assaults gradually less determined finally they stopped. They had fallen back to Strasburg ; thence, as scouts reported, to Winchester ; and soon it became obvious to those who had means of acquiring accurate information, that the Federal authorities had determined to give up the idea of an advance by way of the Valley, and concentrate their forces near Fredericksburg, and on the Peninsula, for an advance upon Richmond. Accurate information came on the very day the army ceased retreating, near Newmarket. The weary troops had scarcely gone into camp when a courier came at full gallop from Ashby, who held the front toward Strasburg. Jackson read the dispatch which he brought with great atten tion ; reflected as much, probably, as half a minute, and then directed orders to be issued to have the troops ready to march at daylight. In their exhausted condition, I thought this utterly impossible but at dawn the little army of about four thousand men was under arms. Jackson rode along the column, looking keenly from under his faded cap ; and then, placing himself at the head of the troops, took the direction of Winchester. THE VALUE OF TEN MINUTES. 167 Without relaxation stopping for nothing and at last, accom panied by only a portion of his force, the rest having broken down from the enormous rapidity of the march, he reached, at three or four o'clock on a raw March evening, the little village of Kernstown, within two or three miles of Winchester. XLYI. THE VALUE OP TEN MINUTES. THE troops were so utterly broken down that I did not dream of any further movement that day. The men would stagger, and even fall, if they accidentally placed their feet upon a rolling stone ; they lay down in the road at every momentary cessation of the advance ; and their haggard faces, more than all else, betrayed the immense prostration of the whole command. Under these circumstances, I did not deem it credible, although Ashby had found the enemy in our immediate front, that an attack would be made that day. I did not know Jackson. u Major," he said, with great coolness, " the troops seem somewhat tired." " They are broken down, General." " But they retain their good spirits ?" 'Admirably, sir." "Well, I am going to attack." As he spoke, Ashby appeared, approaching at full speed, and soon checked his horse and saluted. "Any news, Colonel?" " Very important, General. I have just received intelligence from one of my scouts, who is entirely reliable, that a column of about fifteen thousand men, under General Williams, has passed the Blue Ridge, and is making in the direction of the Rappahannock." Jackson's eye glittered under his cap, and he moved his head up and down in a way common with him. "Any thing further, Colonel?" 168 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-FEST. "I am fighting them in front, and the force here seems large} than we supposed. I think a shell wounded one of their general officers perhaps my glasses deceived me, however." Jackson nodded gravely again, looked thoughtfully toward Winchester, and said : "Continue to press them on the turnpike, Colonel, and send me prompt intelligence of any movement. I am going to attack." u I am glad to hear it, General I was afraid the troops were too much exhausted." " They are very much so but any delay will give the enemy time to bring up re-enforcements. Besides, the advance of the column under Williams must be arrested." Ashby bowed. u You desire me, then, to make a determined attack?" "I will be glad if you will do so, Colonel. My line of battle will be formed here." Ashby saluted again, disappeared at full gallop, and soon the rapid and continuous firing in front showed that he had attacked with ardor. Line of battle was now rapidly formed, and, exhausted as they were, the troops were full of alacrity. The force numbered three thousand muskets, and, I think, about four or five batteries. Jackson was rapidly making his dispositions, when a courier from Ashby announced that the enemy were moving to flank his left. The General's quick nod indicated that he had expected this ; and Fulkerson's Brigade, of two regiments, supported by the Stonewall Brigade, was immediately moved rapidly in that direction. Other forces were pushed forward under heavy fire from the Federal guns on a hill in front, and the rattle of musketry on the left soon indicated that the action had begun. The battle of Kernstown was fought between the turnpike and the North Mountain, on rolling ground, partly ploughed, partly wooded, and the rest overgrown with broom-straw. The fields were divided by worm-fences and stone walls that ever- recurring feature of the landscapes of the Valley. Jackson hastened to form his line on an elevated piece of ground, and, calling my attention to a heavy stone wall which extended in front of his left, said : THE VALUE OF TEN MINUTES. 169 " Tell Colonel Fulkerson to secure that wall." I had soon reached the point indicated and delivered my mes sage, which was followed by an instant advance of Fulkerson'a two regiments to gain the desired cover. I had not arrived a moment too soon. As his line advanced from the woods into the field, through the centre of which the Vail ran between him and his adversaries, the United State* lag was suddenly seen in the edge of the woods on the opposite fide ; a long surging line of blue coats appeared ; and, like their opponents, they rushed forward to gain the wall. The field was several hundred yards in width, and both lines had a race for the prize. The spectacle was exciting. The opposing flags flaunted defiance as their bearers rushed on the long lines crackled with musketry as they rolled forward and for a moment it was impossible to decide which would reach the wall first. My heart was in my throat it was a question of life or death to many a brave fellow that he should gain that cover with straining eyes I followed the headlong race. Suddenly I rose in the saddle and shouted. Fulkerson had gained the wall when the Federal line was within thirty yards of it ; and, dropping on their knees, the men rested muskets on the stonework, and delivered a staggering volley in the very faces of their opponents. Then rose a wild cheer. I saw the Federal flag go down. The next moment their whole line broke and retreated, leaving the ground strewed with dead. I went to carry the intelligence to Jackson, and found him leading a charge of his centre, composed of the Stonewall brigade a mere handful to be called by the name and other troops. It was now obvious that the Federal force in his front $ as considerable ; and, in fact, it was afterward ascertained to number eleven thousand men, of whom about eight thousand were probably engaged. Jackson's force " up " was three thousand and eighty-seven, of which number two thousand seven hundred and forty-two were engaged.* *8e Jackson's report 170 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. The sun was now declining, and the blood-red rays began to pour their crimson stream upon the woods, and across the fields of broom-straw waving in the melancholy wind. The battle was raging furiously from end to end of the field, and charge after charge was made by the Federal and Confederate lines each in turn while the shell from the opposing batteries raced overhead, crashing amid the timber, or descending on the heads of the combatants in iron showers. I never saw a more deter mined struggle, and the men of the South fought that day with heroic gallantry. To see raw volunteers maintain their ground with such unflinching nerve was a grand and noble specta cle ; and the long crash of musketry, rising and falling on the wind, was like the determined and steady fire of veterans up holding upon some world-famous field the destinies of a nation. And they were all Virginians, if you leave out twenty or thirty Marylanders. The men who fought here were the youths of the Valley, in sight almost of their homes. It was this which must have made them stand so obstinately, and charge with that fierce enthusiasm which nothing could overcome. Three times I saw the Federal banner fall ; and once, as the long gray line rolled forward, blazing everywhere with musketry, I thought, and still think, that the enemy were on the point of giving way. The victorious Southerners were carrying every thing before them then, when suddenly a fresh Federal regiment, which had been lying down behind a crest, rose up and met them with a yell. They were forced back by this fresh and thoroughly- ammunitioned line. They slowly retired ; and I remembered the occurrence afterward, when a Federal officer said that the stand made by one of their regiments " alone saved them." Thus the battle reeled to and fro upon the bleak fields, and the shades of night began to descend each line moving still toward the left to outflank its opponents. A sort of fury seemed to inspire the combatants they fought like tigers. Meanwhile, the thunder of Ashby's guns came in a long, continuous roll from the extreme right on the turnpike, where they were pressing him hard ; and on the extreme left the ince?*ant crash of musketry told how fierce the fight was there. THE VALUE OF TEN MINUTES. 171 It was at this critical moment, when the opposing lines had grappled breast to breast, that the old Stonewall Brigade, which had borne the brunt of the fight, was seen to waver and retire. Jackson's eyes darted lightning as he galloped to the spot, and, seizing a drummer boy, he growled : "Beat the rally!" The drum rolled, and the line re-formed. The brave Gar- nett had only ordered it to retire a short distance, as the ammu nition of the men was entirely expended, and the brigade was re-formed without difficulty under the hot fire. But the battle was lost the enemy's numbers swept every thing. They were closing in rapidly on both flanks, and driving the centre. The day was decided. What the eye saw then by the last light of day was an army falling slowly and sullenly back, with a victorious enemy closely pressing them. Jackson was thus fairly beaten but here is a strange fact : I was retreating like the rest, when a cavalry-man, crossing the field at full gallop, recognized me, and asked for General Jackson. " A dispatch from Ashby?" " Yes, sir." I seized and opened it. There was just light enough in the sky to read it by. It was in these words, hastily traced with a pencil ; " GENERAL : Hold your ground only ten minutes longer, and the enemy will fall back. I have captured a courier from General Shields. His line is ordered to retire. u ASHBY." In five minutes I had found Jackson, and given him the note. He was sitting his horse in the midst of the retreating troops, without exhibiting emotion of any sort ; and read the note from Ashby without moving a muscle in his face. " I thought so," was all he said in his curtest tones, as be crumpled up and dropped the paper. " It is too late." 172 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. And he turned his horse's head and rode on with the retiring forces. We were approaching Newtown, about five miles from the field, when the voice of Major Harman, chief quarter master, was heard in the darkness. " Where is your train, Major ?" was Jackson's brief question. " Gone to the rear, General." " Bring it back." Major Harman bowed and was moving off. " See that rations are issued to the men they will camp here to-night."* And he rode on. Darkness had now fully descended, and the enemy, who had steadily followed, came to a halt. They seemed to fear the presence of reserves and upon this Jackson, no doubt, counted. He certainly betrayed no sort of intention to hurry away from the dangerous proximity, and the men were soon ordered to halt, build fires, and cook rations. It was a picturesque spectacle the long lines of twinkling fires far down the turnpike, and the dusky groups laughing and jesting around them. Jackson sat down by a fire, so near the enemy that we could hear the men talking around their fires. Here he dictated his orders : these directed the troops to move at daylight. Whl\Q thus engaged, some intrusive personage, who had strolled up, said : " A bad day, General." " I feel very well,"t was the curt response, accompanied by a look which checked all further words. The General then went on munching a piece of corn-bread, which he had taken from his pocket, and giving his orders. Having finished, he picked up an armful of corn which was lying in the road, and, carrying it to a fence corner where his horse was standing, gave it to the animal. Here some rails had been collected and a fire kindled ; and saying to Major Pendleton, his adjutant-general, " wake me up at four in the morning, Major," he wrapped himself in his blanket, stretched himself upon the ground, and immediately fell asleep.]: * Historical. t His words. $ Historical THE WOUNDED OFFICER. 173 Before daylight he had mounted his horse, and the forces were in motion, retreating up the Valley. Such was the battle of Kernstown a hard fight, and fair defeat. " But such was the discipline of Jackson's forces," saya General Shields in his report, " that at no time during the fight or retreat did they give way to panic." XLYII. THE OFFICER WHOM ASHBY HAD WOUNDED. I WAS riding by General Jackson, when he suddenly reined in his horse, and for a moment seemed lost in reflection. " I do not like to leave my wounded," he said, " and my dead unburied." He looked toward Winchester, and added, turning all at once to me : " I wish you wouid attend to this, Major." " I any way you indicate, General." " Well, suppose you try if they will let you remain under a flag of truce. General Shields may consent to it. You can appeal to our friends among the citizens to do what I cannot." I saluted, and was going. "Stay,"I will give you your credentials." And, tearing a sheet from his notebook, he wrote in pencil : " GENEKAL : The bearer, Major Surry, of my staff, is sent to superintend the burial of my dead in the action yesterday, and look after the wounded. I have the honor to request that he may be permitted to pass your lines for that purpose. He will give any parole you require. " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, "T. J. JACKSON, . Maj.-GerCl Coring C. S. Force*." "I think that will answer, Major." " Any further instructions, General?' 174: SURRY OP EAGLE 'S-NEST. "None. I rely upon your good judgment and discretion. " He held out his hand, gave mine a friendly grasp, and, adding, "I shall expect you back soon," rode on toward Stras* turg. I turned my horse's head toward Winchester, and rode through the dim light in the direction of the enemy, whose camp-firea were glimmering upon the hills in front. Ere long I encountered the dark masses of Ashby's cavalry, drawn up across the road in line of battle to cover the rear of the retreating army. Their commander was in the saddle, on the turnpike, listening for any movement. "Well, Major," he said, in his gentle voice, "this is rather an ugly business, but we gave them a good hard fight" Yes it is a pity we could not have held our ground a little longer." " I see you read my dispatch." "Yes." " Shields would have fallen back in a few minutes. I know this to be so."* " Well, he is going, instead, to follow us up ; but I don't ex^ pect to be with you this time." ' Why ?" "I am sent back if I can get through the Federal line." And I explained my orders. "It is day," was Ashby's reply, as he looked up; "you car go to their picket without danger. I will pass you through mj own." And he rode with me through his own picket, until we were in sight of that of the enemy, where, with a grasp of the hand, we parted. Waving a white handkerchief, I approached the Federal picket, and was halted by the vedette, who passed the vord to his offi cer. I explained my object to the officer, who was a very courteous person, and, not *o weary the reader with the various personage* * His words. THE WOUNDED OFFICER. 175 whom I was carried before in succession, was conducted to a house some miles in the rear. Here I found General Shields lying upon a sofa, with his arm in a bandage. "Major Surry, I believe," was his formal greetmg. "Yes, General." " From General Jackson?" I bowed. " Your object in coming into my lines is to superintend inr burial of your dead, and the care of the wounded ?" I bowed again. " If not contrary to your views, I would be glad to secure that permission, General." He evidently hesitated, but at last said : " "Well, I shall grant General Jackson's request, sir, though the whole affair is irregular. One of my staff will accompany and assist you." And he sent an orderly for the officer. " Were you in the action yesterday, Major ?" " Yes, sir." " It was a hot affair. I confess I should like to know, as a toatter of pure curiosity, what numbers you had engaged." I began to laugh. " Oh 1 that would not interest you, General." " I see you refuse to tell me. I asked from pure curiosity, and only wished to know if I was right in estimating the fony> at fifteen thousand." To this I made no reply. "General Jackson is a hard fighter," he continued; "and Gen eral Ash by, of your cavalry, handles mine rather roughly. I am indebted to him for this wound." Here the staff officer who had been sent for entered and aluted the General, who instructed him to ride with me to the battle-field, and render me any assistance, returning with me in the evening to his head-quarters. " Major Surry will not be allowed to communicate with any one," he added, "except upon the subject of his mission." I bowed, and was leaving the room, when the General said: 176 SURKY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " By the by, Major, what did General Jackson think of yester day's fight? Does he acknowledge himself fairly whipped?" The temptation was irresistible to fire a parting shot : "He has some curious ideas about the action, General." u What are they?" " He believes, among other things, that, if he had held his ground a little longer, you would have retreated from the field." "Ah! ah!" " And even that you had actually issued the order for your line to fall back." The General uttered a constrained laugh. " What could have put such an absurd idea in anybody's head, Major? But I am detaining you." * As he spoke, the sound of firing came from the front the long roll of the opposing batteries. "I must go there," muttered the General, as I left the apart ment. Accompanied by my elegantly dressed companion, a young officer of the staff, I now rode toward the scene of the late action the firing m front growing heavier, but gradually re ceding as we went along. XLVIII. THE DEATH-TRENCHES. A SHORT ride brought us to the battle-field of the preceding day. The scene which greeted my eyes was heart-rending. The citizens of Winchester had already been at work, and long trenches had been dug to receive the Confederate dead. They were still busily at work ; and near at hand were detach ments of Federal soldiers engaged in the same duty toward their own. The blustering March wind blew, chill and cutting, over the great fields of broom-straw, which gare forth a rustling sigh, like that from some host of invisible mourners; the sky was THE DEATH-TRENCHES. 177 oyercast by a curtain of dark clouds, through which the dim light of day scarcely struggled ; and on all sides, to render the depressing influence of the scene complete, were the wound#d, thy dying, and the dead. There was one feature of the spectacle, however, which affected me more than all the rest. With the mayor and citizens of Winchester, there had com forth to the battle-field a number of ladies. Their object was to seek for friends or relatives among the corpses for Jackson's forces were almost wholly from the Valley ; and these mourners now passed from group to group of bodies, trying to recognize *ome husband, father, or brother among the dead. As the corpses were brought up, carried by two men holding the feet and shoulders, to be deposited in the death -trench, the veiled figures bent down, peering with deep sobs in the faces of the dead ; and, as some relative or friend was identified, a wail would rise upon the air, which sent a thrill even through the Federal officers who were present. I was standing with my companion, the young staff-officer, near the death-trench, superintending the work, when suddenly a beautiful girl, of not more than fifteen or sixteen, with profuse auburn curls and a figure as fragile as a blossom, rushed forward from the group, and, throwing herself upon her knees beside the corpse of a boy just brought up, burst into such an agony of weeping, that her heart seemed about to break. U O brother!" she exclaimed, "they have killed you! I thought you were spared 1 O God, they have killed my bro ther!" And with both arms round the bodj of the boy, whose lips were smiling even in death, she drew the cold face close to her own, and covered it with passionate kisses. " Oh, I will never see him any more!" sobbed the girl in an agony of grief; u he will never more speak to me! My dear, dear brother, that I loved so ! Oh, my heart will break ! Bro ther! brother! Oh, my poor dead brother!" And, half- fainting on the corpse, she seemed about to expire from excess of grief. 8* 178 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. My companion, the young staff-officer, put his handkerehief to his eyes : " This is terrible, Major," he said. And stepping forward, he said to the young \ady : "Don't cry so you cannot bring him back!" The girl raised her wet face, over which fell the disordered curls all dabbled in tears; but, at sight of the officer in his elegant Federal uniform, her cheeks suddenly filled with blood, and her eyes flashed. Rising with a bound almost to her feet, her figure gre^v rtifl and erect as an arrow, and she exclaimed with passionate vehemence : "What right have you to speak to me! You killed mou But for you, he would be alive to love me now !" The young officer almost recoiled before this outburst. " Yes, you killed him 1" exclaimed the girl. " Why did yom people invade oar country, and kill him for defending iti But you will never conquer us ! We will never yielu We will shed the last drop of our blood before you shall trample on us!" As she uttered these words, the girl was superb in her passion ate grief and scorn. Her eyes blazed through the hot tears, and the red lips, half-parted, showed the small white teeth close set together. Never shall I forget that face. She was led away by her friends ; my young companion lookec after her with a troubled glance, which indicated how much her grief had moved him ; and the work of burying the dead proceeded as before.* By sunset the bodies were all interred those of soldiera related to families in the vicinity having been removed for pri N vate interment and the wounded were all in hospital at Win* Chester. I accordingly bade my friend the mayor and his as sistants farewell, and returned with my companion to General Shields's head-quarters, where, however, I did not find him. The Jady of the house supplied me with a comfortable supper and bed ; and on the next day an orderly brought a note from Gene* * These scenes are historical THE SECOND RETREAT. ral Shields, summoning the young officer and myself to Stras- burg. As we approached that place, we encountered the Federal army slowly falling back toward Winchester, and an officer from General Shields informed me that I was free to return to Gene ral Jackson. I rode along the blue line, my gray uniform subjecting me to numerous gibes, and at last found myself alone on the turnpike. From a hill I looked back. Heavy detachments of Federal sol diers were felling trees, dragging them to the road, and barri cading the turnpike in the rear of their column.* XLIX THE SECOND RETREAT. REJOINING the Confederate column near Woodstock, I made my report, with which the General seemed well satisfied, and then informed him of the barricades erected in the enemy's rear. He smiled grimly. " Then we are not so badly defeated, after all, Major." " It seems they fear, at least, that you will return." *' I accomplished my object. General Williams has coma bacl^ with fifteen thousand men, to the Valley." "What force did you fight at Kernstown, General?" "About eight thousand, I think. Scouts report eleven thou sand in all at Winchester before the action." " Well, that gives an aggregate of twenty-six thousand, kept here by an attack from three thousand. I think it was worth what it cost." And the conversation turned upon something else. The array continued its retreat until it reached Rude's Hill, a lofty elevation near Mount Jackson, and here it went into carp and rested. * Historical 180 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. About the middle of April, information came developing the Federal plan of campaign for the coming spring. Richmond was to be attacked from every quarter. General McGlellan, with an army of more than one hundred thousand men, was to advance from the Peninsula, between the James and York ; General Mc- Powell was to march from Fredericksburg, with forty thousand men, and unite with McClellan's right on the Chickahominy ; and in the Valley, not less than three heavy columns were to assail Jackson. General Milroy was to advance from the mountain! vest of Staunton ; General Fremont from the northwest ; and, General Banks, from Winchester, straight up the Valley. Uniting near Harrisonburg or Staunton, these three column* were to drive Jackson before them, pursue him to the low coun try, and, joining General McDowell's right, as he had joined Mc- Clellan. encircle the Confederate capital with a cordon of bayo nets. Then exit the Confederacy. This plan became developed, as I have said, about the middle of April, when Jackson received intelligence that Generals Mil roy, Fremont, and Banks were all in motion. The first was approaching from Monterey ; the second pressing toward Rom- ney ; and General Banks was rapidly advancing with a heavy force from Winchester. ' They seem determined to drive me from the Valley, Major," said Jackson, when this intelligence came; "but, with God's blessing, I hope to hold my ground, if not drive them back." The hope seemed desperate to me and yet it did not. I had begun to believe in Jackson, like his men. In spite of the un doubted defeat which he sustained at Kernstown, the troops had onceived the very highest admiration for him. Whenever he appeared on his old sorrel, in his dingy uniform, they cheered him wildly ; and an officer told me that, on the day after the battle, the men " went crazy about him."* From Kernstown dated that ardent personal attachment of the troops to their leader a fact which I never could explain. Many among the officers who had been with General Loring con- * Historical THE CHASE AFTER MILROY. 181 tinned to sneer at him as "crack-brained ;" but the men would not be persuaded. They cheered him obstinately whenever h appeared. General Banks now pressed forward. His column reached the little village of Edinburg ; and Jackson broke up his camp at Rude's Hill, and crossed into Elk Run Valley. Here he couldj face all his enemies, and retreat, if necessary, upon Richmond. But that I knew he intended to do only in the last resort. THE CHASE AFTER MILROY. I HAD gone to carry a message to Colonel Ashby, and spent the night with him on the outpost, when on my return I found the infantry in motion, and soon discovered that Jackson, now re-enforced by General Ewell's division from Johnston's army, was going, with a portion of his army, to attack General Milroy, who had already crossed the Shenandoah Mountain, west of Staunton, to form a junction with General Banks at Harrisonburg. The column was moved with great rapidity by railway, partly and, advancing steadily westward, reached, on a bright even ing, the slope of the Bull Pasture Mountain the enemy retiring before them. Here General Milroy 's advance force was met and driven back, and on the next morning Jackson rapidly advanced into the aawow defile on the western side of which was the Valley of McDowell, occupied in force by his adversary. The battle of McDowell upon which I shall not dwell long was an obstinate struggle for the possession of Sutlington's Hill, a lofty eminence on the southern side of the gorge, and com manding the valley in which General Milroy was posted. The quick eye of Jackson sayt the wall was instantly torn down, and the whole detach* ment scrambled over, and pressed forward as hotly as before. All at once a by-road, leading into the woods, appeared \n iont, and we struck into this at a headlong gallop. "Halt! who goes there!" suddenly cried a voice in front- which I recognized as Ashby's. "Friends!" And, reaching his side, I pointed to the Federal cavalry abott. two hundred yards behind. Ashby recognized the General, understood all at a glance, and, fey a movement as quick as thought, drew up his small escort on ihe side of the road, beneath the shadow of the trees. The next moment the Federal cavalry thundered by, and, as &eir rear passed him, Ashby gave the ringing order : " Charge!" A volley was poured into the Federal detachment, throwing jrnem into the wildest disorder Ashby charged them sabre in .iand and in three minutes the whole party were captured. Jackson seemed to have forgotten the whole affair in a moment after tne cessation of the firing. "General," he said, with great animation, "the enemy are re- Treating rapidly toward Winchester. Get your entire command x>gether, and move towar J Middletown, on the left of the main Dody. Major, is your hotse fresh ?" " Perfectly, General." " Go back and tell my column to move forward at once ! 1 ,vish General Ewell to advance by the Newtown road the rest by the way we came to-night. Lose no time ! General, get your cavalry here quickly!" I have rarely seen Jackson more animated. I went at full speed to carry the order, and, at the same moment, Ashby 'e couriers were seen scattering in every direction to concentrate the cavalry at the point ordered. The General's directions were promptly sent to the different commanders, and in an hour the whole army was in motion- one column, under Ewell, advancing as ordered, by the road to JTewtown the other directly toward Middletown. 190 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. % Jackson took personal command of tne latter, and at daylight reached the hill which we had reconnoitred from during the night. The road in front was black with General Banks's army in full retreat. Jackson had struck the columns in tranxitu. till. JACKSON RETURNING TO "HIS PROPERTY." AP.TILLERY was immediately hurried forward, and a furious fire opened on the column. The scene which followed was striking. At one moment the turnpike was black with the long lines of Federal cavalry and artillery moving rapidly toward Winchester and then, as the cannon suddenly opened their grim mouths, and the shell tore through the Federal column, the cavalry broke in a panic, scattered in every direction, and the dark figures disappeared like flying phantoms in the woods. Where an instant before had been seen the long dense column, you could now discern only horses writhing in the agonies of death, and the forms of the dead and dying. The Federal artillery and infantry, which brought up the rear, was cut off, and made vain efforts to defend itself. The guns took position and opened furiously, but Taylor's infantry charged them ; they were hastily limbered up, and then were seen thun dering, at full gallop, back toward Strasburg, from which place they escaped with the infantry to the western mountains. Ashby had now advanced with his whole cavalry, and was in hot pursuit of the disordered Federal horse and the wagon train. The scene which ensued was one of wild disorder. The men stopped to ransack the heavily laden wagons in rear ; and the consequence was, that the long trains in front were enabled to make good their escape. Worse still, this delay enabled the Federal commander to organize a rear-guard ; and, when Jack* son's infantry pressed on, it #&j saluted with a heavy fire of artillery. JACKSON'S "PROPERTY." The General was furious, and hot words passed between him and Ashby now Brigadier-General, and responsible for the conduct of all the cavalry. " But for this shameful conduct," exclaimed Jackson, " General Banks would have reached Winchester without a wagon train, if not without an army."* Ashby made a haughty reply, which I did not hear and for- many days the rupture between them was not healed. Driving before him the Federal rear-guard, Jackson now con tinued to press forward with his infantry the column moved all night, fighting at every step and at daylight on the next morn ing the roofs of Winchester wore seen shining in the sunlight. General Banks occupied the town, and, finding that he was determined to make a stand on the higli ground in the suburbs, Jackson made instant dispositions for an assault. Ewell waa directed to attack on the right, from the Front Royal road, and, taking command in person of his left wing, Jackson threw for ward a heavy line, supported by a determined fire of artillery, and charged the Federal forces occupying the high ground west of the town. Nothing stops troops who believe that they are driving before them a demoralized enemy. The Federal forces made a resolute stand, and their first line, behind a stone wall, bravely held that position, although the stones were dashed into a thousand pieces by round shot. But the Southern line carried every thing before it. It swept down the slope in front advanced at a double- quick across the intervening space, under a furious fire from the enemy's artillery, and, mounting the opposing slope, charged the Federal line with the bayonet. For an instant I could make out nothing through the smoke no sound was heard but the dull roar of artillery, and the sharp rattle of musketry. Then a loud cheer rose from the hill, and, a* the smoke drifted, I saw the Federal forces in full retreat, pur sued by their opponents. At the same moment, wild shouts arose on the right, where * This expression was afterward used in Jackson'* report. SUKRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST." Ewell had been thundering with his artillery. I saw his line sweep forward, with glittering bayonets, driving the Federal infantry from a heavy stone wall and other cover ; and, galloping forward, I entered the town just as the two columns united, and the Federal forces scattered, and hastened in full retreat through the streets. The spectacle was exciting, fhe streets were full of men, women, and children, who seemed wild with joy. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that they appeared crazed for the moment They ran to and fro, shouting, cheering, laughing every window waved with handkerchiefs, fluttering in the hands of ladies and such was the crowd of these latter in the streets that the advance of the Southern troops was actually impeded by them. They seemed to pay not the least attention to the balls whistling around them ; and many persons witnessed, and can testify to the curious fact, that a detail of men had to be sent in advance, to make the groups of girls give way, in order that the platoons might deliver their fire. Never before or afterward did I see Jackson so much carried away as upon this occasion. As men, women, and children flocked around him, grasping his hand, touching his clothes, and saluting him with cheers and exclamations, his face flashed, his eyes sparkled, and, waving his old cap in the air, he uttered a cheer the first and last I ever heard from his lips. Then he pushed ahead of the crowd ; followed at full gallop the retreating enemy ; and was soon so close that, fearing they would turn and fire on him, I said : "Don't you think you are exposing yourself too much, Gen eral?" "No, Major!" he exclaimed, "they can't hurt me! Go back and tell the army to press right on to the Potomac!"* The enemy were pursued for some miles beyond Winchester by the infantry, and then the cavalry continued to harass them intil they crossed the Potomac, near Martinsburg. General Banks was thus driven completely from the Valley, and * His word* CAPTAIN BOGY'S LITTLE IDEA. 193 uch was the haste of his departure that he left behind him immense stores, which fell into Jackson's hands. The troops ransacked the sutlers' stores, which their owners had fled and abandoned and the citizens of Winchester still relate with faughter the story of a fat old Dutchman who lost his all. He knew that Jackson was coming back, he said ; he had heard * horn blowing beyond Fort Royal, then at Middletown, then near Winchester ; and this horn said plainly, louder and louder is it came, "Who's been here since I's been gone?" That horn was Jackson's, and he it was who was demanding in his terrible voice who had intruded on his property. So, exit Mynheer in the direction of Martinsburg from which place he returned after the withdrawal of the rebels, to find only empty boxes in his store-rooms, and to exclaim in despair, with hands uplifted, "Who's been here since /'s been gone?" The Federal troops, who saw all, shared this feeling, that the region around Winchester belonged to Jackson, and that he was coming back to take possession of "his property." More than once I heard that groups of lounging soldiers had suddenly started and risen to their feet when some practical-joke-loving individual exclaimed, "Jackson is coming!" and one had fallen backward from a lofty stool at this announcement, convinced that the fearful clutch of the blood-thirsty Stonewall was on his shoulder. That awful cannibal had now come back, made a meal on General Banks, and entered into possession of his property. Unfortunately, however, his tenure of it was to be very brief. LIY. A LITTLE IDEA OF CAPTAIN BOGY'S. BEFOBE proceeding with the rapid narrative of the great cam paign, of which I have given only the main historic outlines, I shall invite the reader's attention to one of those comic scenes wnich so often appear amid the carnage of war, and afford him 9 194: SURRY OP EAGLE'S-NEST. a glimpse of an old acquaintance, wellnigh forgotten, I fear, in the rush of events and the crowd of personages on the imposing theatre of the war. I had been sent to the front with an order from Jackson, and was returning to Winchester, when, just as I debouched into the main highway between that place and Martinsburg, I descried a singular cortege. A long line of Federal prisoners were marching on foot over the dusty high road to Winchester, accompanied by a guard of cavalry; and each one of the blue-coats carried in his arms & negro child !* They toiled along through the hot sunshine, carrying the squalling young Africans, and, as I approached, imprecations greeted my ears, mixed with laughter from the guard, who seemed to enjoy intensely the disgust of their late adversaries at this compulsory dry-nursism. I was about to ride on, when all afc once I recognized in the commander of the cavalry escort my old acquaintance, Captain Bogy, with whom I had dined, in company with Johnston, Jack son, and Stuart, just before the battle of Manassas, I knew that the jovial Captain had joined Jackson with his company when Ewell re-enforced us just before McDowell, but, in the rush of official engagements, had not been able to visit him. Bogy was, if any thing, fatter, rounder, and more jovial than before. His sabre-belt sunk deeper into his enormous body ; his jackboots were heavier; his face more ruddy, and his smile still more unctuous. He recognized me at once, and saluted me with a wheezy deep-seated, contagious laugh. "You see I am going back, Major," he said, "with a few of the spoils of victory !" " In the shape of prisoners and contrabands!" "Yes, that is a little device of mine, and I don't mind saying I'm rather proud of it. Rather a neat idea, eh, Major?" "Making the prisoners carry the darkey?" * Historical but this derice was invented by the gallant Captain A , not by Captain Bogy. CAPTAIN BOGY'S LITTLE IDEA. 195 " Why not ? They enticed them away, and were carrying off ft their wagons whole families of these monkey-beings. They Are savage on their General Banks, and swear that it was all hia doing. They charge him with leaving behind his own wounded f;o make room in his wagon for the ebo-shins."* "It is not possible!" " Don't know ; but I know they were carried off in shoals to Martinsburg, and, as I captured 'em, I thought they ought to bd brought back by the same people who took them there. It must be a pleasing occupation to tote 'em they love 'em so!" And, turning to a sullen-looking fellow among the Federal prisoners, who carried in his arms an uncommonly dirty, chubby, and squalling negro baby, Captain Bogy asked, with an air of great interest, whether he was not " glad to have that close to his bosom one of the poor down-trodden Africans?" The reply of the Federal prisoner was brief but expressive : "D - the down-trodden African!" he growled. "I wisl the whole concern of 'em was in - !" And he mentioned a place unnamable to ears polite. Bogy burst into laughter, and the baby set up a squalL "Hug him! hug the little darling to your bosom, my friend P said the Captain, " I don't myself admire the peculiar odor of the African, but there's no accounting for difference of taste!" And, amid the muttered curses of the burly nurse, who looked M if he would very much like to strangle his burden, Bogy rods on laughing. " General order number one!" he called out as we passed on; " if any prisoner drops his baby, give him two 1" And, shaking all over, Bogy turned to me and said : " A glorious campaign, Major ! a perfect stifler on Commis sary-General Banks !" " That's the nickname given him by the men. They say that he is Old Jack's commissary and quartermaster too. Wagons, rations, sutlers' stores he has provided every thing." * Such was the charge brought by the Federal troops against General Banks at the time. 196 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " Very true, my dear Captain, and Fin much mistaken if so old a soldier as yourself has not looked out for his mess." 1ft?/" exclaimed the Captain. "Oh, I never think of good Bating, Major!" And the Captain chuckled. 44 Remember that day I dined with you." " Was the bill of fare good ? Delighted to hear it." 44 It was miraculous ; and I'll bet you will dine as well to-day." "No, no, I fear not." And Bogy sighed. u Come, confess, my dear Captain, didn't you secure some email, unpretending wagon, which no one else would notice, and yet whose contents were a real Arabian Night's Entertainment ?" Bogy looked modest, and was silent. "Cornel you look guilty! Confess, confess!" Captain Bogy inserted one finger beneath his hat, scratched his head, and replied, in an innocent voice : "Well, I did get a small, a very small wagon, Major." "I could have sworn it! And now confess again! It was a 'head-quarters wagon.'" " Well, I believe it was." " Whose, my dear Captain?" The Captain looked still more innocent. " I think it was General Banks's," he replied, with lamb-nxe simplicity. 1 began to laugh, and asked if its contents were satisfactory. " Eminently so, my dear Major, as you will have an oppor tunity of seeing, if you will come and dine with me to-morrow. To-day is lost ; I have dined on a cracker," and Bogy sighed; "but to-morrow! Ah! that's different! 'To-morrow I shal) really dine ! Come and let us reconnoitre the wagon together. I have already tried the brandy ; it is genuine Otard : the wine ii not so good, and I wish these Yankee generals would cultivate a purer taste. They rarely have what suits my palate. But the sauces are excellent ; I have tried them : and the cheese very passable. Come, Major! come! Lucullus dines with Lucullui to-morrow; drop in ! I will send you word where to find me!' ; THE TRAP. Such was the hospitable invitation of Captain Bogy, and 1 accepted it provisionally if I could come. Unfortunately, to anticipate, I was unable to be with the gallant Captain. I left him riding gravely in front of his cortege, occasionallj issuing a stentorian order when the nurses flagged in their march or exhibited symptoms of rebellion at their burden. That spectacle kept me laughing for many miles. LY. THE TRAP " TELL the army to press right on to the Potomac!" h*d cated Jackson's entire programme. He was always in favor Ot following up his successes, and pressing a defeated enemy re morselessly: his object now was to paralyze, if possible, the entire Federal force in the region. General Banks's column was driven beyond the Potomac, but a force was at Charlestown, and at Harper's Ferry a very considerable garrison. Jackson's col umn was immediately pushed forward in that direction to finish the work. We afterward heard that his approach was telegraphed to Washington, and caused such apprehensions there that the Gov ernors of the Northern States were called upon for troops to defend the Capital. It will soon be seen that formidable efforts were meanwhile being made to cut off and destroy thu great gladiator, whose movements were so sudden, rapid, and threaten- ing. To return to my rapid outline of events. General Charles Winder pressed on toward Charlestown with the Stonewall Brigade, opened upon the forced with his cavalry before they suspected his presence, and, driving them before him, reached the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, where, on the next day, Jackson joined him with the main body. An attack was instantly determined upon, and a regiment waa sent to occupy Loudoun Heights east of the place ; fire had jup4 198 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. been opened ; all was ready for the attack, when news came which put an end to further proceedings. A rumor seemed to come, blown on the wind, that a storm was brewing in the rear, and Jackson entered the cars at Charlestown to return to Winchester. He had scarcely done so, when a courier rode up at full speed. "What news?" said Jackson, curtly. The courier fumbled for his dispatch. " The enemy are at Front Royal." "Good!" said Jackson. "Colonel Connor is cut off and captured." " Very good."* " Fremont is at Wardensville. Here is the dispatch, General." Jackson read it with perfect calmness, crumpled up and dropped it, and then rapidly wrote an order directing his entire command to return from Harper's Ferry to Winchester. Having done so, he bent forward, leaned his head upon the back of the seat in front of him, and fell asleep.t The cars moved on, and in half an hour he awoke. "Are we near Winchester, Major?" " Yes, General." " I can get there first I mean to Strasburg." "The march will be hard." " Yes, if Fremont is at Wardensville and McDowefl at Front KoyaL, as that dispatch announced." "I don't like to croak, General," I said, "but it appears to me that if any time is lost we are cut off." " You are right : that would be unfortunate after capturing such valuable stores. Only one course would remain for me." " What is that, General?" " To fall back upon Maryland for re-enforcements. "J We reached Winchester, and the captured stores were hastily loaded upon the wagons. The enormous trains were then sent forward with the long column of Federal prisoners, twenty- three hundred in number, toward Strasburg, escorted by a regi- - His word*. t Historical. J His words. THE TRAP. 199 ment of infantry, under the brave Colonel Cunningham, after- ward killed at Cedar Mountain. The army was then rapidly concentrated at Winchester; and without losing a moment, or waiting for the Stonewall Brigade, which had held the front at Harper's Ferry, the column hastened toward Strasburg. There was something both gallant and grotesque in the spec tacle of the men limping along over the hard stones of the turn pike, laughing and jesting as they did so. The oddest remarks came to my ears as I rode along the column, glittering, with its burnished bayonets, like some huge serpent with silver scales, as it undulated in the sunshine. "Old Jack ain't cut off yet," seemed the most popular view of the situation ; and the critical condition of affairs seemed to be regarded as a good joke. Sol diers are like children, reader but for that matter, what men are not? Your emperors, kings, presidents, and statesmen they are all overgrown children. Jackson's situation was one of very extreme peril. Two heavy Federal columns were closing in upon his rear, toward Strasburg that under General Shields from the east, and that under General Fremont from the west. The former is known to have amounted to twenty thousand men, from President Lin coln's order to General McDowell to "move twenty thousand men " on the line of the Manassas Gap Railroad, "to capture or destroy Jackson," General Fremont's force was probably about as numerous. Thus, without counting the forces at Harper's Ferry, Williams- port, and elsewhere on the Potomac, which would immediately follow upon his rear, Jackson had in his front about forty thousand troops, through which it appeared he would certainly be compelled to cut his way. His own force was fifteen thousand effective men.* If he was cut off at Strasburg, this force would speedily be en closed by a cordon of three armies, under Fremont, Shield*, and Banks, amounting to about seventy thousand men. * Jackson's statement at the time. 200 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. Jackson rode at the head of his column, and I could not dis cern any unusual emotion in his countenance. His astonishing nerve enabled him to look calmly in the face of peril whict would certainly have excited most generals, however courage ous. "Move on with the column," came from the calm lips fron* time to time, and soon the towering wave of the Masst nutton Mountain rose before us. Suddenly firing was heard it front. Jackson pushed on and entered Strasburg, when a staff- office! from Ashby galloped up. " What news ?" " The enemy are advancing, General." " Fremont's column ?" " Yes, sir. They are in sight.' " Tell General Ashby to hold them in check as long ae possl> ble." The officer saluted and darted off. At the same raonient a, courier appeared coming from the direction of Front Royal. " Well?" said Jackson curtly. " The enemy are within three miles, General." " Infantry or cavalry ?" " Cavalry." " Good." And turning to me, the General, said : " Present my- compliments to General Ewell, and tell him to attack Fremont'* column, at once." I was riding off. l Wait a moment." I turned my horse's head. " Tell him to hold his ground until he is cut to pieces. * This cheering order I speedily delivered to General Ewell, who laughed grimly as he threw his division into line of battle. I returned to Jackson, who was trying to eat a cracker as hard as iron, as he sat his horse. " Major, ride up to the top of the hill, and see if jam can se 4 or hear any thing of the Stonewall Brigade. I intead to eta here until it arrives." THE TRAP. 201 | rode up and reconnoitred, reaching the hill-top just as the i>ng roll of musketry west of Strasburg indicated that Ewel] dad engaged Fremont. As far as the eye could see, the turnpike was deserted. No jigns of the missing brigade were seen, and I reported the fact to Jackson. "Very good." And he rode forward to where Ewell was fighting. He was fceavily engaged with General Fremont's advance force, which bad passed ahead of the main body. At sight of Jackson, a loud cheer rose from the men, and the Ine, instead of merely standing and receiving the enemy's attack, mshed forward. Forgetting every thing else, Jackson galloped on with the line, encouraging the men, and, before the impetuous rush of the Southerners, General Fremont's line fell back. Jackson halted, and wiped his forehead. As he did so, a cou- /ier hastened up with a dispatch from General Winder. The Stonewall Brigade would arrive in half an hour. " Tell the General to lose no time. I am waiting for him.'* " Yes, sir." " Well, General," he said to JEwell, " we will soon move now. &eep your command well together; I will withdraw in an hour." In twenty minutes the flag of the Stonewall Brigade appeared jpon the hill above Strasburg, and the line of glittering bayonets fyound down the declivity. They had made an enormous march, but were at last up ; and in an hour, as he had notified Ewell, Jackson put his entire column in motion, just as dispatches from the right and the ieft announced that the forces under Shields and Fremont vere pouring forward, and would soon be upon him. The wagon train and the prisoners had gone ahead, and thd long column of infantry now followed. Last came Ashby's column of cavalry. As the rear of the column cached the high ground beyond the town, the enemy rushed into Strasburg, Jackson had extricated himself from the trap. 9* 202 SJRRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. LYI. PALLING BACK. THE .ecreat which followed was one long battle. General Fremont was pressing Jackson's rear on the mam Valley road ; General Shields was hurrying by a parallel route up the Luray Valley, to cut him off at Newmarket. Jackson had taught his adversaries topography. They were playing against him the same game which had been so fatal to General Banks. That commander's woes had all originated from the unfortunate existence of the Luray Valley. Might not Jack son become the victim of a flank movement by that route, in his turn? So General Shields hurried by Luray toward Newmarket, and General Fremont followed in his adversary's rear. Desperate attempts were made to break through Ashby's rear guard of cavalry, infantry, and artillery ; and the Federal cavalry charged with very great gallantry. They were repulsed by the free use of canister, and by the en ergy of Ashby, who seemed to delight in the performance of the duty assigned to him. It was Ashby who fought that long battle I have mentioned, from Strasburg up the Valley. At Woodstock, Edinburg, Mount Jackson on every hill and in every valley of this beautiful re gion he fought, with shell, canister, the carbine, and the sabre. A certain amount of fighting every day seemed now to have become necessary to the man ; and such untiring energy and ac tivity had he displayed, that Jackson, who had long since become as warmly attached to him as ever, placed the whole rear of the army under him. It was thenceforth in Ashby's power to order into action as much infantry as he wished ; but his cavalry and horae artillery continued to be sufficient. I was with him nearly all the time during this famous retreat oen never think of it without seeing Ashby on his milk-white ASHBY'S WHITE HORSE. 203 horse again and always his noble form and face rise up and illustrate the page which speaks of those events. I see him as he passed before me then, and shall ever see him. I loved and admired him as the pearl of honor, the flower of chivalry. But how I should have treasured up every word, and been beside him always, had I known his days were numbered that even then his last sands of life were running through the LYII. ASHBY'S WHITE HOESE. THE army reached and crossed the Shenandoah near New market : it was Ashby's duty now, when his cavalry had passed, to destroy the bridge behind him. Having carried him the message conveying Jackson's wishes as to the time and manner of destroying it, I was a witness of the scene which followed. The wagons, prisoners, and infantry had all defiled over the bridge, the enemy following closely on their rear, and it required Ashby's most vigorous efforts and utmost skill in disposing his cavalry, with the fire of the artillery from the hill south of the river, to keep back the pursuing force long enough to enable every thing to get over. At last, however, this important object was achieved; notice was given that the last brigade was over, and Ashby began to cross with his cavalry and artillery. A strong rear-guard still faced the on-pressing enemy, skir mishing hotly as they slowly fell back ; and under cover of this force, commanded by Ashby in person, the cavalry column and gims clattered over the bridge. Ashby now fell slowly back with the rear-guard, obstinately contesting every step; and never shall I forget the chivalric spectacle which he presented, mounted on his superb white horse, as fearless amd defiant as himself. The swarthy face, with its heavy black beard, glowed witn martial ardor; in the flash- leg eyes might be read the joy of conflict ; and, with drawn SURRY OP EAGLE'S-NEST. bre, on his spirited animal, he re8embled some knight of th Aliddle Ages, asking nothing better than an opportunity to meet all comers. The rear-guard was finally across, and, ordering the column to move rapidly on and join the main body, Ashby selected eight men, and proceeded rapidly to set fire to the wood-work of the bridge. In this, however, he was suddenly met by a serious obstacle. The timbers were saturated by the recent rains, and it was found impossible to kindle the combustibles which had been collected. To his inexpressible chagrin, Ashby saw the Federal cavalry coming at headlong speed down the turnpike on the opposite aide of the bridge ; and in an instant a storm of bullets whistled round the heads of the working party, who exhibited unmistaka ble signs of "demoralization." Ashby ordered them, hotly, to attend to the work before ihem ; but the Federal cavalry had now dashed on, and were jhundering over the bridge, which had just kindled. In spite of Ashby's stern and passionate orders, the men ran p their horses, and another volley whistled among them, com pleting their panic. In an instant they were in the saddle, and disgracefully fled, without thinking of their commander. I found myself alone Beside General Ashby, who sat his white horse with wrathful sountenance half resolved, it seemed, to charge the whole federal column, and die sword in hand rather than fly. A single moment only was now left in which to decide upon our course. The enemy were nearly across the bridge, charging with loud cheers, and firing as they came. "Let us give them a shot at least, Surry," he said. And levelling his revolver, he emptied, in succession, every Barrel, and I imitated him. Then nothing was left but flight or capture ; and an exciting jace commenced. We were pursued by a whole detachment, who followed us loud orders to halt. " I am sorry my pistol is emptied," said Ashby, looking grimly ASHBY'S WHITE HORSE. 205 ever his shoulder ; " but if it comes to the sabre, JA try fto give a good account of some of them." We galloped on at full speed, followed closeiy by our pursuers, who were excellently mounted. 44 Those must be stolen horses," said my companion coolly. " See that tall fellow on the black it is a superb animal." 11 Which ?" I said, laughing, " the man or the horse?" As I spoke, a bullet grazed my neck, bringing the blood. " Pay for your jest," was Ashby's reply. " Look out, the whola party are going to fire!" A volley followed, and the next moment I heard Ashby uttei something like a growl. "Look!" he said, pointing to his horse's side. I saw that a bullet had inflicted a deep wound, from which the blood was streaming. " Some one shall suffer for that!" And the moment for carrying out the threat speedily came. Weary of the ineffectual chase, the cavalry all stopped with the exception of two, who continued the pursuit, apparently from mere bravado. The time had arrived for Ashby 's revenge. Wheeling suddenly round, his sabre flashing at the same in- stant from his scabbard, he charged straight upon the two cavalry men, and with one whirl of his weapon nearly severed the head of one of them from the body. Out completely out of the saddle, the man fell, inert as a corpse, in the road and at the same moment a ball from the rear-guard of cavalry, which we had nearly reached, penetrated the breast of the second, who also fell from his seat.* Ashby then returned his sabre to the scabbard, and coolly rode n to the head of his column. i The infantry had halted, and, on reaching the point where they were drawn up, my companion found that his white horse could go no further. He dismounted, and, gazing in silence upon the noble animal which had borne him safely through so many bloody encounters, seemed as much grieved as if he were abou* to part with some valued friend. * Historical. 206 SURRY OP EAGLE'S-NEST. The wound was mortal, and caressing gently, for a few mo ments, the arched neck of his favorite, Ashby turned away in silence. The horse was led off by one of the men; and never shall I forget the superb appearance of the wounded charger &e he passed along the line of infantry. Panting with his hard run, foaming at the mouth, and covered with sweat his splendid head carried proudly erect his eyes full of fire he seemed in spired with human hatred for the enemy, and to defy them to the last. I could see in the eyes of the men, as he paced before them with the bleeding wound in his side, how much they pitied and admired him.* LYIII I AM CAPTURED, v THB river was passed, Newmarket reached, and Jackson's column swept on to Harrisonburg. His cavalry had destroyed the bridge over the South Fork of the Shenandoah, leading into the Luray Valley; his flank was thus safe still and soon Harri- tonburg was reached. Thence, without pausing, he pushed on toward Port Republic, where, with his back to Brown's Gap, he could stand at bay, and bid defiance both to Fremont and to Shields. But could he reach that point? On the summit of the southern shoulder of the Hassinutton, which here subsides into the Valley, could be seen the fluttering of our signal flags; and these said, "Shields is ii; eight, and rap-'dly advancing toward Port Republic." All now depended upon the rapidity of Jackson's movements and the resources of his strategy. Pressed in rear by the heavy column under General Fremont, and with that under General Shields rapidly advancing to intercept him, he was in a position of very great peril ; and I followed, with absorbing interest, ths * See acconnts of tnis s*ene in newspapers of the time. I AM CAPTURED. 207 movements of the great gladiator thus encircled by his dangerous foes. An untoward incident now occurred, however, which threat ened to prevent me from taking part in the coming struggle. We were steadily falling back from Harrisonburg on Port Re public, when the incident I refer to took place. General Fremont was pressing closely on the rear-guard under Ashby, which was incessantly engaged, and having by this time formed a strong personal affection for the great cavalry commander, I was with him whenever I could spare the time from my duties. I often look back now to those days with a longing desire to live them over again, and hear the friendly voice of the great spirit which has passed away. It was a life all excitement and romance which we lived at that epoch days of fighting, of in cident, of adventure; nights of hasty slumber, in rude bivouac under the forest trees, or of long, confidential talks by the smouldering camp-fire ; all day long the crack of carbines, and the roar of artillery keeping back the enemy; and then, with the great soldier who had moved in front of his cavalry, ever ready to come to the sabre, those sad, memorial recollections which are the luxury of friends, who exchange their memories as they fall asleep after or on the eve of battle. Often now those days come back to me I seem to see his face and hear his voice and peace, amid friends and in the good old home, seems not so wholly charming as I thought it would be, then. Peace hath her vie- tories and her laurels ; but the flowers are not so fresh, nor tipped with such fiery dew, as when they bloom amid the hot atmos phere of war. I wander from my theme but those old times beguile me. Again the winds of other days blow on my forehead, and I live in the hours that are dead. To come to the actual occurrences of that time I was with the cavalry rear-guard between Harrisonburg and Cross Keys, some miles from Port Republic, at which point the infantry was concentrating, when a dust, rising upon the flank, attracted my attention, and / toR A^hby that I would go and ascertain what it meant. 208 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. "Take care, Surry," was his reply; '"the enemy are close behind us, and you will be captured." "I reckon not." " Well, keep a good look-out. The Federal advance-guard is commanded by Sir Percy Wyndham, an English officer, who has eworn, I am informed, that he will 4 bag ' me. I should be sorry to have him catch one of my friends." "I defy him!" And, with that spirit of pride which so often precedes a fall, I put spur to my horse, and went at full speed in the direction of the dust, following a narrow forest-road. Unfortunately, Ashby's fears were speedily realized. I had not gone a quarter of a mile, when a detachment of cavalry flankers debouched quietly into the road behind me, and, levelling their carbines, ordered me to surrender. It was the coolest and most business-like affair I had ever witnessed, reader. No ill-bred hurry no excitement no "vio lent language," or unpleasant collision. Within twenty steps of me were twenty carbines, cocked and aimed at rny breast the officer at the head of the men commanded, " Surrender, or you are dead " and, with bitterness in my heart, I surrendered. u You are an officer, sir?" he said, riding up. "lam." "What command?" " The Confederate States Army." "Rather a considerable force in our front, Lieutenant," said the officer, who seemed to be something of a humorist ; " send the prisoner, under guard, to Colonel Wyndham." The lieutenant touched his hat I remember he was a villian- ous-looking fellow and three men separated themselves from the column and took charge of me. " Kill him, if he tries to escape," said the humorous officer. The men cocked their carbines, and rested them across their pommels ; and 1 with this pleasing escort, I was conducted, by a winding road through the woods, to a house near the main road, *hich I had remembered passing on the preceding evening. Here superbly equipped horses were seen tethered to th SIR PERCY WYNDHAM. 209 boughs and fences couriers went and came and my escort conducted me into the presence of Sir Percy Wyndham, com manding the cavalry advance-guard of the Federal forces. LIX. I MAKE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF SIR PERCY WYNDHAM. I FOUND myself in the plain sitting-room of a small farm-house. On a table were spread maps and papers ; and a bottle of win* raised its slender neck, flanked by glasses. Lolling in a split-bottomed rocking-chair was a tall, fine look ing personage, clad in a superb uniform, and wearing a sabre with a magnificently chased hilt, which rattled against fine French cavalry boots, decorated with enormous spurs. The countenance of this officer was ruddy, handsome, and full of pride. His hair was light, long, and worn in curls. It was a military Adonis I saw before me in the person of Sir Percy. When I entered, he was talking with a sleek personage, clad in citizen's dress, who had on his knees a portfolio, in which lay some loose sheets of paper covered with writing. Upon my ap pearance, this gentleman seized a pen, dipped it in the ink, and held it poised above his paper, with the air of a man who is going to report a public speech. '" A prisoner, Colonel," said my escort. The Colonel wheeled round in his chair amd looked keenly *t me. 4i When were you captured ?" 41 Half an hour ago." "You are an officer a major, I see. What command?" " I have already replied to that question." " To whom ?" " The officer who captured me." * Well, sir, you can, no doubt, favor me with a repetition of your reply." I replied that I belonged to the Confederate States Army. 210 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. "Close, Colonel!" here interposed the sleek gentleman it black, who had hastily scratched away at his paper as this dia logue took place. "A perfect trap!" exclaimed the Colonel, lolling carelessl) back in his chair ; " but I have never known a single rebel offi cer who had not this exaggerated idea of the importance of secrecy in every thing. Now, I make no mystery of my move ments none." il You are going to 'bag Ashby,' Colonel, and that's a fact,' came, with a laugh, from the sleek personage. " I swear I will! At least you can tell me, sir," he added, turn ing to me, " whether you know General Ashby." * k Intimately, sir." " Ah ?" and the Colonel rose in his chair. *' I have been with him throughout the retreat though I ana not attached to his command." These words seemed to attract the Colonel's attention and ex cite his interest. " Take a seat, Major," he said. <; I did not hear your name" k< Surry." " An English name. You Virginians come of the genuine English stock and ought to fight well." " We try to do the best we can, Colonel." " And you do it devilish well, Major. Ashby has given me a world of trouble." u He will be delighted to hear it, when I get back." 44 Ha ! but I am not going to part with you so aoon, my deal dr. Let ns talk a little first." " Willingly, Colonel." "I have sworn to capture Ashby." %t Don't you think it is a difficult undertaking?" 44 Well, he is cool and watchful enough, but I wiH get the bettet if him yet. I thought I had him the other day at the bridge." ' Over the Shenandoah ?" " Yes did you witness the chase after him f 44 1 was with him." ** Ah ! then you were the other officer we ran ?" SIR PERCY WYNDHAM. 2H 4 Tee, Colonel : but your pursuing party went a little too far.* 'How?" * Ashby cut down one with his sabre, and the other was The Colonel frowned. " And that's a fact, Sir Percy," said the sleek gentleman, scrib bling away. "I saw the bodies as we passed." "Curse what you saw, sir!" was the growling reply. U I wouldn't take any thing for that incident, Colonel !" ex claimed the newspaper correspondent for such he evidently was: "rapid retreat of rebels, pursued by victorious Union ists bridge burning in their rear Ashby on white charger, * re tiring* at full gallop unfortunate fate of two of his pursuers, who, surrounded by a whole brigade of rebel cavalry, fought their way nearly out, but were finally killed by treacherous blows from behind: it will be splendid, Colonel!" A careless laugh from tlie Colonel greeted this magnificent pic ture, and, at the same moment, an officer galloped up and en tered. "Well?" said the Colonel. " The enemy are falling back again, sir the road is clear in front." "Entirely?" " Nothing seen, sir, but a detachment of cavalry, commanded by General Ashby." "How do you know that?" " I saw him distinctly through my glass, and know him per fectly." The Colonel started up. "Order a squadron of picked men to report to me here, m fifteen minutes," he said to a staff-officer on the porch of the farm-house. Then, turning to the newspaper correspondent, he said : "Do you wish to secure material for a fine paragraph?" "I would go through fire and blood to do so!" exclaimed the correspondent, in a martial tone, and brandishing his pen. - 44 You like amusement?" 212 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. * I ain devoted to it, Colonel." "Well, come with me, and you will see some fan." " What is your design, Colonel?" "To bag Ashby."* And the Colonel twirled his mustache with joyful ardor. A quick thrill ran througn me, and, assuming a careless tone, 1 turned to Sir Percy, and said : U I really should like to be present at that little affair, Colonel." "You!" " I can ride in the rear, under guard, and, in either event, there will be small danger of my escaping." "In 'either event!' My dear sir, I intend to capture your General Ashby as surely as the sun shines. As you doubt it, have your wish, and come and see me do it." "And I, Colonel," said the correspondent. " Of course ! You are the historian to hand me down to posterity." As the Colonel, now in high good-humor, turned away, I saw a grimace upon the countenance of the correspondent. He was evidently a philosopher, and estimated the element of failure in all human affairs. /n ten minutes we were all in the saddle the Colonel riding at the head of the squadron at a trot, on the straight road to Cross Keys LX. HOW ASHBY WAS NOT " BAGGED" BY SIR PERCY. THE column had not advanced half a mile when cavalry pickets appeared in front, reconnoitring from a hill. The vedettes held their ground until the column was nearly upon them when they galloped off. The same ceremony was repeated at the next hill, and as * HiB words. See the newspapers of the day, containing the correspondent's letter. . ' ASHBY NOT "BAGGED." 213 Colonel Wyndham continued to advance without flankers, my heart began to beat and my hopes to rise high. I knew how dangerous it was to trifle with an adversary like Ashby, and the incautious method of advancing adopted by the Federal Colonel subjected him, I knew, to imminent peril of capture. In thirty minutes, events took place which fully supported my view of the subject. Reaching a point where the road traversed some low grounds, between two low ranges of hills on either side, Colonel Wynd ham saw in front of him, at the distance of about four hundred yards, a small body of cavalry, which slowly retired as he ap peared. The Colonel greeted the spectacle with unmistakable pleasure. " Now for it! 1 " I heard him call out to his friend, the corre spondent, who had prudently withdrawn to the side of the road. " Look out for some fun !" x\nd, placing himself in front of his column, the Colonel drew his sabre, and gave the order to " charge !" The column rushed forward at the word but oh ! disastrous event! occurrence ever to be deplored! no sooner had the horses of the Federal cavalry-men run thrice their length, than the crest on the right of the road, in their rear, suddenly bristled with sabras and a squadron, led by Ashby in person, thundered down, and fell, with shouts, upon the Federal rear. At the same instant, the detachment in front, which had served as a decoy, charged the enemy full tilt and, caught between this double fire, cut off, surrounded, dumb-foundered, the Federal cavalry-men threw down their arms and surrendered.* I was recaptured, and now found myself by Ashby's side, face to face with Colonel Wyndham. The newspaper correspondent had glided into the woods and escaped. I shall never forget the expression of the Federal Colonel's countenance at that moment. If ever rage, mortification, and astonishment were depicted on the human face, his displayed them. * Historical. 21* SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. When he caught my eye, he glanced at me like a tiger, and turned abruptly away. Ashby treated his prisoner with that calm courtesy which characterized him, but the Colonel would not be mollified. Hii face was flushed, his eyes full of lurid light wrath had mastered him. The few words he blurted out had something savage in them ; and when he was conducted to the rear, through the lines of infantry, I heard that his wrath exploded. Some one among the men greeted him, I heard, with the words: "Just look at the Yankee Colonel!" when his long pent-up anger burst forth like a torrent. His peculiar abhor rence, it is said, was to be considered a "Yankee" and this was the straw that broke the earners back. Ashby captured sixty-four men, if my memory serves me, by this ambush ; and these were now sent to the rear. " Your luck is extraordinary, my dear Surry," he said, "to be captured and recaptured both in one day. I am truly glad to see you again. Come, tell me about it." I narrated all that occurred, and my companion said, with a smile: " The worst of all possible habits in a commander is to boast of what he is going to do." " Especially when he doesn't do it.'* And we rode on. LXI. ASHBY AMONG HIS MEN. ON the same night, I went to carry a message to Ashby, and found him seated at the bivouac fire, in the midst of a circle of hie men, with whom he was conversing like one of their own comrades. His sword and pistoli were buckled around his waist; his horse stood ready saddled near ; his swarthy face, with its heavy black beard, shone in the fire-light ASHBY AMONG HIS MEN. 215 >vns made for me at the fire, my message delivered, ancl the conversation went on between Ashby and his men. The scene was striking and picturesque. All around the rude bivouac the horses were picketed to the trees, and beyond the circle of fire-light dusky figures came and went like phantoms. The great tree-trunks rose all around ; the heavy foliage of June drooped above; and, scattered in groups around the brushwood fire, upon which some rails from an adjoining fence had been thrown, were the rudely-clad figures of the cavalry-men. It was impossible to discover in Ashby's demeanor toward his men the least consciousness of his superior rank. His man- ner was the perfection of unassuming simplicity : you would have said that the party were a band of huntsmen, of whom he was one. A thousand witticisms were uttered a thousand adventures related. Ashby listened with a smile, and, with " Well, boys," by way of commencement, took his part in the story-telling. Then some one began to sing. It was a wild and plaintive air, like the sigh ol the wind through the trees overhead, or the low sound of the pines in the breezes of autumn. It commemorated the exploits of Ashby; and, I remember every verse wound uj> with the chorus : "Strike, freemen! for your country, Sheathe your swords no more, While remains in arms a Yankee, On Virginia's shore P The words were rude and destitute of poetic merit, but the air was wild and touching. The men listened in silence, joining, however, with full voices in the chorus. When the singer had finished, Ashby rose and said : " Well, boys, it is getting late, and you had better go to sleep. We may have tough work to-morrow perhaps to-night." And he mounted his horse, which one of the men led for ward. " Good night, General," came from the group, who stood p; and we rode back to a point where a small fire had beer 216 SURRY OP EAGLE'S-NEST. kindled b> the General's servant for himself and his staff. They were all asleep, and, sitting down by the fire, we talked for a few moments. Ashby was unusually silent and sad. " What is the matter ?" I said ; " has that doleful air we heard put you in bad spirits ?" " Oh ! no," was his reply. " Perhaps it is that owl I hear, with its melancholy tu-whoo. Fie! man General, to be low-spirited without reason!** 41 You may laugh, my dear Surry, but I do feel oppressed to Bight. Do you know that a curious fancy has taken possession of my mind?" -What is that?" "That iny end is approaching my days on earth numbered." u Pshaw 1 this is mere moonshine. You are sick." u I never was in better health, and my arm was never stronger." His voice was sadder than ever, as lie added in a law tone : U I have been thinking to-night of my brother Richard." " And went yonder to dissipate your gloom?" "Yes." For some moments he remained silent. Then he said : u Mine has been a sad life for the last few months. I never got over that blow. Why r did this cruel war come to make me miserable ? I would cheerfully have given my own uoor life but not my brother's." " Your own has been worth much to the country you can not be ignorant of that." My companion smiled faintly and shook his head. " Don't let your friendship induce you to flatter me. I am not much. It would puzzle you to find any sort of accomplishment in me except the art of riding. I believe I am a good rider -I ought to be, as I have been in the saddle, riding over the hilla of Fauquier, since my childhood ; but that is all. I am not intellectual, as Richard was, and I can hardly write at all. As to my soldiership, Surry, I am a mere partisan with good eyes and ears, not an educated officer." "ASHBY AMONG HIS MEN. 217 "Is West Point every thing?" " I confess it does not make a great soldier, but I sadly need training. Well, I have done what I could. Little as it is, it was iny best, and no man can do more. I can say. if I fall, ' I gave my country all I possessed.' " " No one can say more." " It is my pride to be able to declare as much. I did not go into this war to receive military renown, or gain rank. God knows I would have laid down my life to prevent it. But what could I do? Our soil was invaded; I was a Virginia gentle man ; I should have died of shame had I remained at home. For the proud, hard-riding Ashbys to have proved laggards was impossible. So I took my part and then came that heavy blow which you know of. I confess that it made me bitter, and has added force to many a blow of my sabre. I have killed many. I pitied these people sometimes when my men were cutting them to pieces, but then I seemed to hear a voice in my ears, * Remember Richard!' The thought made me merciless, and steeled ray heart. I have no doubt that yonder in the North they represent me as a bandit and ruffian, but I appeal to my life to confute their charges. I have fought fairlj and openly ; I have never oppressed the weak, or ill-treated a prisoner. In Winchester, some ladies from the North came to me and said, ' General Ashby, we have nothing contraband in our baggage or on our persons. You can search us.' I bowed to them and said, 4 1 am a Virginia gentleman ; we do not search the trunks or persons of ladies here, madam.' You see I boast but I am proud to remember that I have never done any thing which was unworthy of my father's son. I have carried on hostilities, in this struggle which my whole heart approves, as a Virginia gentleman should. That consolation, at least, remains." " And it ought to be supreme." " It is. I have no self-reproach no regrets. If I could have done more for old Virginia, I would." " It is something at least to have lived in the saddle, watchH day and night, and risked your life every hour " ' " Risked my life ? Is that much to risk ?" 10 218 SURRY OF EAGLE'S- NEST. " It is to raost men." "It is not to me." "I understand since your great misfortune. But he died like a Southern gentleman, fighting to the last." "Well, I hope to do so, too." And, making an evident effort to banish his gloom, Ashby began to converse upon the events of the morning. I drew as grotesquf a picture as possible of the confident Sir Percy, and the sleek newspaper-correspondent, to make him laugh, but I could no* succeed. His sadness seemed beyond the power of words. Taking my leave at last, with that grasp of the hand we besto* npon friends in time of war friends whose faces we may never see again I mounted my horse, and set out on my return. Fifty yards from the bivouac fire, I chanced to turn my head Ashby was upon his knees, praying. LXII. "VIRGINIANS, CHARGE 1" GENEBAL FKEMONT continued to press forward from Harrieoo- burg upon Jackson's rear, while General Shields hastened up to intercept him between Port Republic and the Blue Ridge. The rear of the army was near Cross Keys, when, as I was riding along with General Jackson, a courier came from Ashbj with a dispatch. Jackson read it, and then, handing it to me, said : "Major, ascertain what force of infantry General Ashby re* quires, and see that he gets it." As I went to execute this order, I read the note. Ashby stated that one or two regiments of Federal infantry were press ing forward incautiously ahead of their column, and that with a email force he felt convinced he could flank and capture them. To obtain General Jackson's sanction of this movement was th object of his note. I found Ashby on the summit of a hill, pointing out, witb "VIRGINIANS, CHARtfEv 219 animated gestures, to General Ewell, the peculiarities of the ground, and its adaptation to a battle. He had completely lost all his sadness of the preceding night ; his swarthy face was fu of ardor ; his eyes brilliant with the thought of the approaching contest. So striking was this animation in every gesture and movement, that, as I passed the First Maryland Regiment, drawn up on the eide of the road near at hand, I saw its commanding officer, Colonel Bradley Johnson, point to the two Generals, and heard him say : "Look at Ashby enjoying himself."* I saluted and informed General Ashby of Jackson's response to his note. He could have any force he desired. " Two regiments will do," was his quick reply. " I will take the First Maryland and the Fifty-eighth Virginia yonder though it is a mere handful. Look at them! "he exclaimed, with his arm extended at full length, " look 1 they are coming on as if w were chaff to be scattered to the winds !" And he pointed out a dark column on the road ahead, tipped with burnished bayonets. Preparations were rapidly made for the projected attack. Ashby's design was to make a circuit to the right with his in.- fantry, while his cavalry remained in the road before the a<] vancing column, as a decoy ; and at the moment when the Fed< ral infantry came opposite to him, exposing its flank, to make a sudden and determined attack upon it. But for one of those unforeseen incidents which interpose in all human affairs, this skilful conception would have been crowned with complete success. What defeated it will now be related. Ashby hastened to the spot where the two regiments were drawn up under arms, and rapidly issued his orders. The troopa were concealed from the enemy by the hill, on which the cavalrj were drawn up, and there was no difficulty in moving them, without discovery, in the direction proposed. They were promptly in motion, and, exclaiming, " Come, Surry 7 * His words. 220 SUKRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. and see me attack them !" Ashby galloped ahead, followed at a rapid pace by the infantry. We had ridden about half a mile, when suddenly the report of a gun came from a body of woods in front of us, and a bullet whistled by our heads. "What can that be?" exclaimed Ashby, riding coolly ahead-, "there can be nothing here." " Can the enemy have conceived the same plan as yours and got thus far?" "It is hardly possible." Suddenly, in a dense skirting of undergrowth which ran along a fence on the edge of the woods, I sa\v the glitter of bay onets. "Take care! There is their line!" I exclaimed. As I spoke, a blaze ran along the fence, and a storm of bullets whistled around us. Ashby turned and galloped back to his infantry. " Forward! double-quick!" was his ringing order, and, rapidly communicating with the Colonels, he gave his directions. The Fifty-eighth Virginia was to charge the enemy in front, while the First Maryland, formed upon its left, was to turn the Federal right, pour a cross-fire upon them, and then charge with the bayonet. In three minutes line of battle was formed, and every thing ready for the attack. Ashby placed himself, still on horseback, at the head of the Fifty-eighth Virginia, which resembled a small battalion rather than a regiment, and Colonel Johnson gallantly advanced at the head of the Marylanders on the left. I shall never forget the appearance of the landscape at this moment. In front was a wheat field waving with ripe grain, over which rippled long shadows as the wind swept it; and beyond extended the heavy foliage of the woodland, mellowed by the golden light of the calm June evening. The sun was slowly sinking behind a bank of orange clouds : the serene canopy of soft azure, touched with gold, stretched overhead. It was hard to believe that this beautif al landscape, where seemed to "VIRGINIANS, CHARGE! 17 221 teign the very genius of repose, was about to become the theatre of a fierce and sanguinary conflict. That conflict was not delayed. Ashby found his plan of flank ing and surprising the enemy completely thwarted but there they were before him they had thrown down the challenge and he was not the man to refuse it. Stern, obstinate *' fight " was in his bronze face and sparkling eyes, as he rapidly threw forward his line toward the fringe of bushes on the edge of the woods, where the enemy were con cealed ; and, in an instant, the action commenced. It speedily began to rage with extraordinary fury. The Fifty- eighth Virginia poured volley after volley into the undergrowth, where, lying behind a fence, the Federal line awaited their at tack; and from the left was heard the hot fire of the Maryland- ers, rapidly advancing to turn the Federal flank. They now saw their danger, and opened a rapid and destructive fire both upon the Virginians and Marylanders, in front and flank. The undergrowth blazed with musketry; a continuous roar reverberated through the woods; and the enemy the Pennsylvania "Bucktails," Colonel Kane met the attack upon them with a gallantry which proved that they were picked troops. Ashby continued to advance on horseback at the head of the Virginians, waving his sword and cheering them on ; and Colonel Johnson pressed forward, pouring a hot fire into the enemy's flank. The latter had now gotten so close, and was in so favor able a position for a final charge, that Ashby saw the moment had come for the bayonet. At that instant his appearance was superb. He was riding a bay horse the same ridden by Jackson at the first battle of ( Manassas * and as he reined in the escited animal with on hand, and pointed with the sword in his other to the enemy, his dark face was full of the fire of battle, his eyes blazed, and in his voice, as clear and sonorous as the ring of a clarion, spoke, as it were, the very genius of battle. * Historical This horse was the property of Lieutenant James Thomson, W tfc* Horse Artillery one of the bravest spirits of the war. 222 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. I think of him often as I saw him at that moment, charging; with unconquerable spirit, at the head of his men. The Marylanders were almost in contact with the enemy when Ashby ordered the men of the Fifty-eighth to cease their fire, and close upon the enemy with the bayonet. "Virginians, charge!"* came ringing from his lips, when a bullet suddenly pierced his horse's chest, and, advancing a few yards, the animal reeled and fell. Ashby was upon his feet in a moment, and, pointing with his sword to the Federal line, now not more than fifty yards distant, continued to cheer on the men when all at once I saw him stagger. A bullet had penetrated his breast, and I caught him in my arms, just as he was falling. " You are wounded !" I exclaimed. "I am done for, Surry," he replied, faintly; then extending his arm, while I saw the pallor of death overspread hii features, he murmured : " Tell my Virginians to press them with the bayonet!" His head fell back as he spoke, and I laid him on the ground^ supporting his shoulders upon my breast. U I told you last night but it is a good death!" he mur mured. At that instant the shouts of the Southerners told that they had driven the enemy before them, and were hotly pursuing them through the woods. "What is that?" exclaimed Ashby, half rising, with a flush upon his face. " The enemy are flying." A sudden light flashed from his eyes, he tried to rise, but feL back in my arms. 'Tell them I died in harness, fighting to the last!" he ex^ claimed and, as the words left his lips, he expired. Such was the death of Ashby, " the Knight of the Valley.'* *His CUT OFF. 223 LXIII. CUT OFF. WITH Ashby seemed to pass away all the splendor, the glory, the romance of the war. I could scarcely realize that the whole scene which I had witnessed was not some hideous dream some nightmare of the hours of darkness. Dead ? he who had passed unscathed through so many bloody encounters who had seemed to possess a charmed life which no enemy's ball or blade could touch ? Ashby, the hero of such romantic adventures, splendid achievements, and heroic exploits, dead, like a common, every- day mortal, and never more to lead his men, with flashing sabre, in the charge? The idea seemed monstrous incredible. But slowly came the realization of the truth. He was gone the dauntless cavalier, the noble gentleman r the charming and winning companion. Who could supply his place ? Under whom would the horsemen of the Valley fight so recklessly ? and what other leader could inspire them with that spirit which overthrows all obstacles ? i asked myself that question, and then came another thought where will you find another friend like this pure spirit ? who C9*L take his place with you ? I cannot draw the great outline of this splendid chevalier in my hasty memoirs ; some abler hand will trace it some more eloquent voice speak of his virtues. For me, I loved and will ever love him, as the perfect flower of chivalry. When he dis appeared, the bloom seemed to pass away from the summer flowers, the azure from the calm June sky. Brave men were left, and the future was to be as glorious as the past but, with this gentle heart, this perfect chevalier, seemed to fade the splen c dor and romance of the fresh dewy morning of the war. Thence forth, it was a thing of sweat and blood and toil under a burning eky. I come back to the narrative of events. 224 SURRY OF The column under General Fremont was now pressing hotly upon Jackson's rear, between Harrisonburg and Port Republic ; and that under General Shields was hastening rapidly to place itself between him and Brown's Gap the avenue of exit from the Valley. Jackson must retreat, if he retreated at all, by that Gap, as the panic-stricken citizens had destroyed the bridges above Harrisonburg ; and, if General Fremont could only delay his adversary sufficiently long to enable General Shields to come up, the fate of the Confederate commander seemed decided. ) From this moment commenced that admirable game of strategy by which Jackson aimed to crush his adversaries in detail. He had destroyed the bridge over the Shenandoah at Conrad's Store, thereby preventing a junction between the two Federal columns ; and, establishing his head-quarters in the town of Port Republic, prepared, with his main body, to attack General Shields, while Ewell remained in front of General Fremont, and held him in check. Shields once defeated, Jackson intended to recross to the west bank of the Shenandoah, re-enforce Ewell, and, falling upon General Fremont, decide every thing by a pitched battle. \ shall not stop here to speak of General Jackson's emotion when he received intelligence of the death of Ashby. His opinion of that officer was afterward expressed in his report. " An official report," wrote Jackson, "is not an appropriate place for more than a passing notice of the distinguished dead; but the close relation which General Ashby bore to my command, for most of the previous twelve months, will justify me in saying that, as a partisan officer, I never knew his superior. His daring was proverbial ; his powers of endurance almost incredible ; his tone of character heroic ; and his sagacity almost intuitive in divining the purposes and movements of the enemy." Such was the epitaph of Ashby, traced by the hand of Jackson. It will live in the memories of the people of Virginia when bronze has rusted away and the hard marble crumbled into dust. Jackson's head-quarters had been established, as I have said, at Port Republic with his own division just opposite the town, on the western bank of the Shenandoah, and Ewell at Cross Keys, a few miles distant toward Harrisonburg when r early on CUT OFF. 225 the morning of the 8th of June, a company of cavalry, which had been sent down the Luray Valley, came galloping panic-stricken into the town, announcing the rapid approach of Shields. j The truth of the report was soon exhibited hi a manner fat from agreeable. The enemy's advance force of cavalry and artillery thundered Into the town ; a gun was unlimbered and placed in battery near the bridge over the Shenandoah, so as completely to command and Jackson was cut off from his army ! He had hastily mounted, as the few scattering shots indicated the rapid advance of the enemy ; and, as he saw the federal artillery unlimber at the bridge, his face flushed. " We are cut off, General ! " exclaimed one of the staff. "Yes! "came curtly from the General, "but lam no\ yoing to remain cut off." And he rode, with perfect coolness, toward the bridge. I followed, with an internal conviction that the whole party would soon be enjoying an interview with General 8hieds, as his prisoners. "What followed, took place in the space of two minutes. Jackson rode straight toward the piece of artillery, whose grim muzzle was pointed so as to rake the bridge in front of it^ with every cannoneer at his place. When he was within twenty yards of the gun, he coolly rose in his stirrups, and called out, in the calmest possible manner : " Who ordered this gun to be placed, here ?" I did not hear the reply of the officer in command of the piece, but he evidently mistook Jackson for some general or colonel 4>f the Federal forces, and approached him with a deferential salute. "Bring the gun over here!" the General called out. And, as the men hastened to obey, he set spurs to his horw and darted at full gallop upon the bridge. The whole scene had taken but a moment. At one instant the colloquy with the Federal officer was taking place at the next we were clattering across the wooden flooring of the bridge. Hooked back as w wert the cannoneers were running to 1C 226 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. their gnn ; they were seen rapidly to load ; and then a roar was beard, and a shell screamed over our heads. Another and another followed, so close that we felt the wind which they made ; but (suddenly we reached ground which afforded cover and Jackson was safe.* He still continued his way at full speed, and, reaching the camps of his division, which had been suddenly aroused by the firing, caught his cap from his head, and, waving it, exclaimed: "Beat the long roll!" The drums rolled ; the troops fell into line ; and, rushing hia artillery into position, Jackson opened a rapid fire upon the enemy in the town. Taliaferro's brigade now hastened forward ; one of his regi ments charged across, capturing the gun which had fired upon us; and the enemy's cavalry, with the infantry supports in their rear, hastily retreated from the town, and were pursued down the river. Such was the narrow escape made by Jackson. LXIY. FREMONT CHECKED. THIS incident immediately preceded the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic. I am not writing a history, my dear reader, and I refer you to the " official reports " of these great occurrences for the move ments of the various bodies, the names of the regiments and brigades, and the exploits of this or that commander. I write from memory and memory is so treacherous ! You forget almost all that is " important," and recall only some trifle which chanced to attract your attention. I picked up a black lace veil when we captured McClellan's depot at the ;t White * The gun here mentioned belonged, as I afterward heard, to Captain Robinson's , from Portsmouth, Ohio. He was m command at the time. FREMONT CHECKED. 227 House," and I remember it perfectly, though I have nearly for gotten that great conflagration. At Fredericksburg, a girl's slipper, dropped in the street as she ran from the enemy's shell, interested me more than the long rows of bullet-riddled houses and the bloody action ! The advance force of General Shields had hardly been driven from Port Republic, before General Ewell became hotly engaged with Fremont at "Cross Keys. 1 ' Cross Keys ia a locality about four or five miles from Port Republic, where a tavern with such a sign used to stand, I am informed. I could only see a stream, woods, and a red hill, upon which our artillery was in position. On both flanks were woods in front the road approached through open fields. The enemy advanced and opened a hot artillery fire about ten in the morning, and kept it up for some hours. Then, as though this had grown tedious, their infantry was marshalled in heavy lines, and a furious attack was made upon General Trimble, who held E well's right. He waited until the Federal line had mounted the crest of a hill within close range, and then a blaze ran along the Southern lines, and the crash of musketry followed. This sudden and determined fire produced a decisive effect. The Federal line gave way, fell back rapidly ; and seeing a bat tery coming into position in his front, Trimble charged it, and chased the whole force more than a mile. Ewell now threw forward his whole line, attacked with vigor, and the enemy retired before him. They largely out numbered him, as was ascertained from captured documents, and I could never account for this easy victory until I discovered th composition of the troops. They were nearly all Dutch. At nightfall, Ewell had driven the enemy some distance, es tablished his lines considerably in advance, and then awaited further orders. 228 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. LXV. EXEUNT OMNES, JACKSON had returned to his head-quarters in Port Republic^ and was up receiving reports and attending to business all night. I never saw him cooler or more collected. EVenta wer* ?ush- Ing on, and the decisive moment had at last arrived , oat, instead of becoming flurried and excited, he grew more calm. His designs now became clearly developed. Orders were dis patched to General Ewell to move his main force, during the night, into Port Republic; leaving a small body of troops only in General Fremont's front: and, an hour or two afterward, Colonel Patton, left in command of this force, came to General Jackson's head-quarters to obtain specific instructions. The ground he was to fall back over, if hard pressed, the Colonel declared to be exceedingly unfavorable for such a movement ; and he desired to ascertain exactly the General's wishes. " Hold your position as long as possible," was Jackson's reply, " only retiring when you cannot maintain your ground. Then fall back slowly, fighting at every step, and, by the blesauig of Providence, I hope to be with you before ten o'clock to-mor row."* The General's design was thus obvious. nd I laid down to snatch an hour's sleep, before the attack on General Shields. I was aroused at daylight. Jackson had already put his forces in motion. The long column defiled through the town of Port Republio, crossed the South River Fork of the Sh*nandoah on some wagon-bodies sunk in the stream, and soon the firing in front began. "Come, Major!" And Jackson rapidly got into the saddle. "Winder ia engaged," he said, as we rode along, ****"*t I am afraid the enemy's force is too great for him." * Hia wordi. EXEUNT OMNES. 229 We reached the field, about three miles from the town, juat before sunrise, and events soon occurred which fully justified the General's fears. The river here makes a hend in the shape of a crescent ; and the ground thus enclosed was waving with a magnificent wheat crop, glowing in the fair June morning. On the right was an elevated piece of ground and here the enemy were posted in heavy force. Their long lines stretched, dark and menacing, across the wheat field ; the high ground on their left was crowned with artillery ; and the United States flag rippled proudly in the breeze. The banner of the Stonewall Brigade the Virgin of Virginia- advanced defiantly to meet it, and, with a roar like thunder from the opposing batteries, the battle began. The advantage derived by the enemy from the commanding position on their left now became fatally obvious. The ranks of the Stonewall Brigade were torn by a deadly fire of shell and canister; and, taking advantage of this circumstance, the Fed eral right and centre rushed forward, charged the Southern artillery, and, pouring a destructive fire into the infantry, forced both to fall back in disorder. The action seemed about to be decided at a blow. The Federal infantry, dark against the golden wheat, was pouring on in one continuous etream, firing as it came ; and our artillery went off 4t a gallop to escape capture. "Bad, very bad!" came curtly from Jackson, as he hurried to the spot. " Major, tell General Ewell to hurry up ; no time is to be lost." I found General Ewell approaching with his column, and de livered the message. Jackson's order was promptly responded to. Two Virginia regiments were advanced at a double-quick : Jackson placed himself at their head and galloped forward : then came the long roar of musketry, as they suddenly fell with fury on the flank of the triumphant enemy. Their advance was instantly checked, but the heavy batteries upon the right still raked tne field with a fire so destructive that no troops could sustain it. The shell, round shot, canister, and 230 SURRY OF E AG-LE'S-NEST. grape tore the ranks to pieces, and it was obvious that, as long as those guns held their position, nothing could be effected. The Federal infantry, for a moment checked, now re-formed their line, and were evidently preparing for a more determined charge. Soon it came. The batteries on the high ground redoubled their thunders; the plain was swept as by a hurricane and then the Federal flag was seen pointing forward, its folds rippling as it came, and beneath it the long line rushed on, with shouts and volleys which seemed to shake the ground. So determined was this charge that the Southern lines gave back before it the enemy rushed on the battle seemed lost. I was by General Jackson's side at this moment, and never shall forget the stern, immovable resolution of his iron face. The heavy jaws were locked together ; the cheeks flushed ; from the keen eyes lightning seemed to dart. " Those batteries must be silenced," he said, briefly, to Ewell, who was by his side. At that moment General Taylor rode hastily up. " General," said Jackson, in the briefest of tones, " can you take that battery?" " I think I can, sir," was Taylor's cheerful response. " It must be taken, or the day is lost."* A chivalric flash darted from Taylor's eyes, and, wheeling his horse, he galloped to his command, which had just formed line of battle on the right, near the ground where Jackson stood. Taylor's sword flashed out, he rose in his stirrups, and, pointing with the weapon toward the Federal artillery, he called out, in hie ringing voice . " Louisianians ! can you take those guns?" * A wild cheer rose from the brigade for sole reply. "Forward, then!" was Taylor's sonorous order. "Charge the battery, and take it !"* His line swept forward at the word, on fire with enthusiasm, and, rushing through the tangled undergrowth, was seen ihe * His word*. EXEUNT OMNES. 231 *ext moment rapidly mounting a slope beyond. The ranks had been broken by the rough ground over which they had advanced, but Taylor was now seen, with drawn sword, in front of them the straggling lines re-formed, in close order, for the charge and, steadily, unmoved by the heavy fire poured upon them from the Federal batteries, they continued to advance. What followed could be plainly seen from the position which we occupied. Between Taylor and the Federal guns now intervened only a skirt of woods and a little valley. Beyond this valley was the crest, flaming like a crater. For a moment the gray line did not reappear beyond the skirt of woods. Jackson's face filled with blood. He evidently feared that the men had recoiled in face of the certain death which awaited a charge upon this volcano. All at once, a ringing shout was heard from the woods ; the Federal artillery directed upon the point a rapid and deadly fire then Taylor's line was seen to emerge from cover and rush down the hill. The next moment it began to ascend the opposite slope, straight upon the muzzles of the Federal guns. The fire which greeted the charge was frightful. The guns were discharged so rapidly that the sound resembled volleys of artillery ; and directly in the faces of the men was launched a tempest of grape, canister, and shell. The spectacle was sublime ; not for an instant did they recoil. The lines were literally hurled back as the iron storm swept through them, mangling and tearing men to pieces but the ranks closed up again ; the shouts of the Louisianians rang, clear and defiant, above the roar; and then they were seen to dash upon the guns, and strike their bayonets into the flying cannoneers. Taylor had taken the Federal guns whose fire was so destruc tive, but he was not to hold them without a terrible struggle. The enemy immediately concentrated a heavy infantry force in his front charged him with desperation and retook the pieces at the point of the bayonet. 232 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. Taylor fell back his men fighting desperately ; but suddenly the retrograde ceased, the opposing lines grappled almost in a breast-to-breast struggle ; then, with echoing cheers, the Louisi* anians again rushed forward, and recaptured the pieces. Three times they were lost and won, in this desperate struggle; but, at last, Taylor drove back the line in his front sufficiently far to bring off the pieces. Then he drew up his shattered com mand to sustain the final assault upon it. But his determined attack had changed the whole face of affairs. The enemy had been compelled to re-enforce their left by withdrawing troops from their centre and right, which had pressed so hard on Jackson ; and this, in turn, enabled Jackson to move his forces from the left to the right. Taylor thus found himself fully re-enforced; his men held their ground with new resolution ; and the opposing lines rushed together in a mortal struggle. It was soon decided. Attacked in front by Jackson's infantry,, and subjected to a heavy fire from his batteries on the left, the Federal lines began obviously to waver. The musketry fire re doubled ; the Southern lines rushed forward with cheers ; and, giving way in disorder, the enemy retired in confusion from the field. They were followed with a heavy fire pursued for miles' and, when the infantry were too weary to go further, the cavalry took up the pursuit. At this moment a new actor appeared upon the scene. Suddenly, a furious roar came from the western l>ank of the Bhenandoah, opposite Port Republic and General Fremont's forces appeared upon the elevated ground, and his artillery opened fire upon the parties engaged in burying the Federal and the Confederate dead. It was too late Shields was defeated, and Fremont could not cross. Jackson had ordered the force in his front near Cross Keys to fall back and burn the bridge this had been done and now General Fremont was subjected to the mortification of see ing hia brother general crushed before his eyes, without the power of coming to his assistance. TAKEN TO TASK. 233 I have always considered this the most u dramatic " scene, as Ihe French say, of the war : General Shields flying in disorder, hotly pursued; General Fremont gnashing his teeth upon the opposite bank of the river ; and Jackson looking calmly on, with the grim smile of the victor. On the next day, General Fremont retreated down the Valley, Wid Jackson remained undisputed master of the country. LXYI. tJf WHICH THE WRITER OF THESE MEMOIRS IS TAKEN TO TASK. AFTER writing the preceding chapter, my dear reader, I rose, walked to the window, and, looking out upon the tranquil Rap- pahannock, so vividly in contrast with the hurrying scenes I had been describing, muttered : " It appears to me that my memoirs are becoming a pure and simple history of the war in Virginia." Now, worthy reader, however noble and dignified the Muse or' History may appear in her stately robes, I have always had a preference for the gay little Muse of Comedy, with her caprices, witcheries, and "wanton wiles." She is not half so solemn and imposing as her grave sister, but she is more interest ing. If anybody laughs or cries, she finds it out, and tella you all about it nay, she cries herself with the disconsolate nes, and laughs with the mirthful. There is not a smile or a tear that she will not share she is the Mu?e, not of History, but simply of Oomedy, you see. She aad been tugging at my skirts all this time, while I have been relating the events of the Valley campaign, and whisper ing in my ear, " I am growing tired of all these great generals and bloody battles. I wish to hear about some other personages whom you have introduced to me. There is Captain Mordaunt, that mysterious personage ; and May Beverley, and Violet Graf' ton, and others. "Vfhere is Btuans, the peerless cavalier, Sweeny, 234 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. the banjo-player, Hagan, the giant corporal, and all the rest? What's become of Fenwick, the serpent, and his cheerful com- panion, Mrs. Parkins ? Has Captain Baskerville been wounded in any action, and what of Will Surry, of the United States Army? Ar modest-looking, and covered with dust, came from the front. His blue eyes flashed, his firm lips gave evidence of an uncon^ ouerable spirit. "This is Captain Pelhain, General," said Stuart; "he has fought with one gun that whole battalion on the hill, at point- blank range, for nearly an hour." Jackson held out his hand, and the young artillerist took it with a low bow. blushing * he did so, like a girl.t *His words. t Historical 236 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. The battle had now begun to rage with fury, and, as Jackson rode to and fro, in the great field by the Old Cold Harbor House, courier after courier came and went, bringing him in telligence. His calm expression had not left him; but uivder his cap rirn the dark eyes blazed. A staff-officer galloped up. "General Hood directs me to say, General, that his line ig enfiladed by a battery of thirty-pound Parrotts, which are decimating his men, and making it impossible for him tc advance." Jackson rose in his stirrups and said : " Give my compliments to General Hood, and tell him to hold his position. I will silence the battery. Mr. Douglas," he added, to one of his staff, " go back and get fifteen or eighteen guns, attack that battery, and see that the enemy's guns are either wlenced or destroyed."* In twenty minutes a tremendous fire was opened from the left upon the Federal battery, and then Hood's men were seen to rush forward, charging, with loud cheers. At this stage of the action, I was sent by General Jackson with a message to one of his generals ; and only mention the incident to record my first meeting with one whom I afterward knew well a very brave and remarkable person. I had delivered my message, and was galloping back, when I saw a regiment almost torn to pieces by the horrible fire of the artillery and infantry on the crest in front. This fire was so appalling that the men could not endure it, and were seeking everywhere in the low, swampy ground, for some shelter from the hurricane of canister which swept it. I regarded it as my duty to attempt to rally the men, knowing, As I did, that, if the line was broken at that point, Jackson's whole position would be seriously endangered ; and I accordingly endeavored to induce the stragglers and scattered detachments to rally again around their colors, and charge the artillery, which was flaming in front. His words. LEE STRIKES. 237 This is one of the most disagreeable portions of a staff-officer's auty; for if the immediate commanders of troops thair cap tains and colonelscannot control them, it is still more difficult for an unknown officer to do so. It was, nevertheless, my duty to make the attempt, and I did so, hut with small results. The stragglers paid little heed to me every one was "sick," or "wounded,'' or in equally had plight. In plain words, the fire was so deadly that they were unwilling to charge in face of it. HI success had put me in something like a rage, as, with drawn sword, I galloped up to a man separated from the regiment, and ordered him, in a hot and imperious tone, to rejoin his com mand. He turned and looked at me with a cool air of surprise, and. as he had just loaded and capped a peculiar double-barrelled English rifle which he held in his hand, he took deliberate aim at a Federal officer, visible upon a hill near, and fired. The officer fell, and as the personage with the rifle turned round I had a good view of him. He was a young man, apparently about twenty-five or six, lithe, ereot, and vigorously knit. He wore top-boots, a long blue coat, with a belt, containing a pistol, strapped around his waist ; and over his forehead fell a brown hat, decorated with a black feather. His face was handsome and intelligent; his eye dark and soft ; his complexion sunburnt ; and his mild-looking lips were surmounted by a delicate black mustache. There was an air of immovable calmness and repose about this man, even at the instant when he brought down his enemy, which was very striking. " Did you speak te me ?" he said, in a courteous voice, very low-toned and mild. I was in a rage at my ill success with the stragglers. "Yes! Join your regiment there! Everyman must be ia his place!" "I do not belong to that regiment," he said, as coolly as before. "To what, then?" " I am a staff- afEcer, sir Captain Farloy, ol General Stuart's staff." 238 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. I saw the error into whicli my haste and hot blood had be trayed me, and hastened to beg Captain Farley's pardon. "No harm done, Major," was his smiling reply, in his low. peculiar voice. " I suppose you are trying to get the men up but you cannot do it. The line here is so thin, and the Yankees in such a powerful position yonder, that nothing can be done with out re-enforcements." I saw the justice of these words, after reconnoitring the Federal position. " We will whip them,' 1 said Captain Farley, philosophically. " I went in with that regiment, as an amateur, the cavalry not being engaged , and have been trying to blow up some caissons, with explosive balls but have had no luck. I have, however, killed three officers." And the speaker quietly reloaded his empty barrel with a peculiar-looking cartridge, which he took from a fine English satchel made for the missile. He seemed entirely unconscious of the hail-storm of bullets which hissed around him, cutting twigs from the trees, during this operation ; and, as I galloped oif, I saw him again taking deliberate aim at an officer waving his sword in front of the Federal line upon the hill before us.* In consequence of the intelligence I brought, Jackson immedi ately moved a brigade to re-enforce the line where it threatened to give way ; and the battle raged more and more furiously. Half an hour passed ; and them a courier from General D. H. Hill brought a dispatch, saying that he was hard pressed and re* quired re-enforcements. " Where is the Stonewall Brigade ?" asked Jackson, briefly. "Just behind that hill, General," replied one of the staff, pointing to a wooded acclivity. "Order it to advance to the support of General Hill." The officer galloped off, disappeared in the woods, and vwy soon the long line of glittering bayonets emerged from the foJi- age the red battle-flag in front. Jackson's eyes flashed. LEE STRIKES. 239 * Good!" be saiJ; "we will have good news in a few minutes aow!"* The Stonewall Brigade rapidly crossed the wide field, plunged into the woods, and then was heard the long, steady, continuous roll of the musketry, as they came to the support of Hill. From that moment, the battle was a mortal struggle on the enemy's part, to defend the bristling crest, frowning with triple lines of breastworks; and on the part of the Southerners, to storm and carry the works with the bayonet. The sun slowly iank amid a haze of smoke, dust, and, you would have said, of blood, so fiery was its drapery of cloud. Jackson was talking with Stuart, his eyes glaring now, and sucking his lemon, when a staff-officer galloped up and said : " General Ewell directs me to say, sir, that the enemy do not give way in his front." Jackson rose in his stirrup* until his form wag as stiff and erect as an arrow. His eyes blazed his teeth were ground together. Stretching out his hand containing the lemon, he aid: " Tell General Ewell, if they stand at sunset, to press them witk the bayonet!"* General Stuart exclaimed : u The officer may be shot! send another, too, General." "Right!" said Jackson; and, turning to one of his couriers, he said : "F an officer : * Hit word*. LEE STRIKES. 241 **I hear tnat some persons say General Lee is stow. He is not slow. I have known him for five and twenty years, and he is the only man I would follow blindfold!' 1 * It was on the field of Cold Harbor that I first saw General Robert E. Lee ; and I have never seen a nobler type of manhood than this brave old cavalier then known to very few i* f * r one of the immortals. Here is his outline : Fancy, my dear reader, a man apparently about fifty years of age ; tall in stature, erect as an arrow, and with a certain air of simplicity and grandeur in every movement of his person. His hair was gray, like his beard and mustache ; his eye clear, pene* trating, benignant, and yet full of that latent fire which betrays a powerful organization. His uniform was plain, and somewhat faded the riding cape, upon his shoulders, evidently an old friend and his brown felt hat was wholly without decoration. But it was impossible to mistake the general. His calm and collected air ; his grave and measured courtesy without abandon ; his perfect seat in the saddle, for he had been a cavalry officer all pointed out the commander-in-chief. I have seen the noblest figures of the war, but none can be compared to that of our old captain. In every movement of his person, every tone of his voice, every glance of his honest eye, was the perfect grace, the sweet and yet stately courtesy of the old Virginia gentleman. Health, happiness, and length of days to our old hero ! His glory is beyond the reach of hostile hands; and to-day, ten thousand and ten thousand, who would have died with him, take otf their hate and salute him as the flower of truth and honor 1 * His word*. 8URRY OF EAGLE 'S-NEST. LXTIII. PAST THE RAPIDAN. JACKSON'S corps had decided the fate of the day at Cold Harbor, as his brigade had turned the tide at Manassas. When he arrived, A. P. Hill was retiring, torn and bleeding Longstreet unable to advance. The flank attack of the Valley-men decided all. These veteran troops were now to bear the brunt of battle against a new adversary. Leaving the hot woods of Charles City, they took up the line of march toward the Rapidan ; and soon the long blue wave of the Ridge gladdened their eyes. Jackson advanced without pausing, and, on the 9th of August, attacked and defeated General Pope at Cedar Mountain. We had heard the most glowing accounts of this commander how he had arrived at his head-quarters in a special car, decked out with flags and streamers how he had penned an order, pro mising his array that he would never retreat, or seek that " rear " where, he said, "lurked shame and disaster,"* and how he had declared that hitherto he had " seen only the backs of his ene mies." In the midst of the wild plunder of the inhabitants which he permitted, he suddenly met Jackson face to face, on the slopes of Culpepper. Cedar Mountain was a hard fight, and a vigorous charge drove pur left wing back in disorder. But Jackson placed himself at the head of the men a great shout, " Stonewall Jackson ! Stone wall Jackson!" rose and the enemy were swept back. Then Ewell closed in on the right ; the whole Southern line advanced with cheers ; and the forces of Pope gave way, and rapidly re treated, pursued by their adversaries. The troops slept on ground in advance of the battle-field, under the brilliant August moon. * See General Pope's order on taking command. AN ADVENTURE OF STUART'S. Jackson had fouglit at Cedar Run thirty-two thousand Federal troops, with less than half that number. General Pope concen trated his whole army now in our immediate front, and Jackson fell back. He was met near Orange by the main body of the army under General Lee. "Forward!' 1 was now the word; and all was soon ready for a decisive trial of strength with General Pope. LXIX. AN ADVENTURE OF STUART'S. IF the reader will now lose sight of all these great events the mighty stepping-stones in the history of a nation and consent to fix his attention upon the personal movements of the humble author of these memoirs, I will conduct him to a distance from the embattled hosts fast gathering on the banks of the Rapidan, and, descending that stream, penetrate with him the wooded country which stretches around the little village of Verdiersville. I was the bearer of a message from General Jackson to General Stuart, then concentrating his cavalry on the right flank of the finny; and I expected to find the commander of the cavalry omewhere in the vicinity of Verdiersville. Good fortune attended me. I had scarcely reached the point where the Richmond or Antioch Church road debouches into the main highway below Verdiersville, when I heard a voice in the woods trolling lustily a camp-song, of which the jolly burder " If you vant to have a good time, Jine the cavalry ! Bully boys, hey !" and in a few moments Stuart appeared at the edge of the woods with his staff, coming from the south. I have outlined Colonel Jeb. Stuart, of the First Virginia 244 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. Cavalry, with his blue blouse-coat of the U. S. Army, his Zouave cap, and floating " havelock." Let me now give some idea of Major- General Jeb. Stuart, commanding the cavalry of General Lee't army. Imagine a figure stouter and more athletic than before ; a face fuller and ruddier, and decorated with a longer and heavier mus tache and beard ; an eye more laughing, and a voice even more ringing and sonorous. This figure was clad in a gray "double- breasted " jacket, worn open, with the edges folded back and buttoned on each side the sleeves heavily braided and with a buff collar ornamented with three stars encircled by a wreath. A gray waistcoat reached to the throat ; top-boots with shining brass spurs extended to the knees ; and over the high forehead, with its clear blue eyes, drooped a brown felt hat, looped up with a golden star, and decorated with a black feather. At the side of this martial figure, which advanced with one leg thrown carelessly over the pommel of the saddle, rattled a light French sabre, balanced on the opposite side bj a pistol in a black holster ; and, as he came, the gay chevalier played negli gently with one of his long buckskin gauntlets, keeping time to his song. u If you want to have a good time Jin the cavalry I" rung out clear and joyous, echoing through the woods; and then the quick glance of Stuart he never forgot anybody had evidently recognized me. u Hey !" was his laughing exclamation ; " here's our wandering cavalier ! How are you, Surry, and how did you leare old Stone wall ?"* " Perfectly well, General, and thirsting for the blood of Pope.' 7 The next moment I had exchanged a grasp of the hand with the General, and my friends on the staff only a portion of whom were present. " Who would have expected to find you at this out-of-the-way place?" exclaimed the gay commander. "Some of these days * Stuart's familiar namo for Jackson. AN ADVENTURE OF STUART'S. 245 be ambushed by the Yankee cavalry, and then good-by fcoSurryl" " I am not afraid. What news, General?" " None do you bring any ?" " Only a message from General Jackson." And I delivered it. " All right," was Stuart's response. " I had thought of that, and Fitz Lee is ordered to this point. I expect him to arrive to night. Is the army moving ?" " It will advance to-morrow." "Good! the cavalry will be in place! And now come on, and tell me all the news. You can't go back to-night. That old house would be a good head-quarters, "he added, pointing to a deserted tenement at the mouth of the Antioch road, "but I believe I will go on to Verdiersville. Come, Surry!" And resuming his sonorous advice to " Jine the cavalry!" the General rode on, with the staff and myself. Passing the little skirt of pine-trees where, I remember, he afterward had his quarters al fresco and tentless, in the cold December of 1863, and when General Lee, riding by, said, "What a hardy soldier!" as he saw Stuart thus bivouacking " under the canopy," in the chill nights we pushed on, and about nightfall reached the little village of Verdiersville. "I am going to stop here," said Stuart, drawing rein before a small deserted house, the first on the right as you enter the vil lage from the west. " I ought to hear from Fitz Lee very soon now." " This is the rendezvous ?" "Yes, and in the morning I shall be in the saddle, ready to advance if the Yankees don't make a descent and capture us to-night." "Have they any force in this vicinity?" " Two or three regiments. They are scouting along the Rapidan at this moment, and may take a fancy to prowl iu this direction." " And you have no force ne?r ?" "None within ten miles." 246 SUKRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. " My dear General," I said, laughing, " don't you think there is some danger that the Confederacy will be deprived of your valuable services ?" kt Well," was his laughing reply, " we can't guard against all the chances of war." " You ought at least to have a picket out." u True, but I have only one or two couriers with me, and they are as tired as I am." " And you are going to sleep here, without even a vedette ?" " I'll risk it." And lightly throwing himself from his horse, the gay cavalier led him into the small yard in front of the house, threw the bridle over the palings, and, taking from his satchel some ham and biscuits, invited me to sup with him. The staff imitated him ; and when the meal was finished Stuart rose. " It is singular that I don't hear from Fitz Lee," he said, and, turning to Major Fitzhugh of his staff, he added : ' Major, I wish you would take a courier, and ride back to the mouth of the Richmond road, and look out for Fitz Lee. Tell him to move on, and join me here without delay." The Major promptly obeyed, and was soon out of sight, followed by the courier. We were not to see him again for many a long day. u Come, Surry," Stuart then said, "let us get some sleep. 1 have been riding all day." And, spreading his riding cape upon the little porch in front of the house, he almost instantly fell asleep. I wrapped myself in my blanket, and lay down beside him. At dawn, the sound of steps on the porch woke me, and, rising, I saw the General walking bareheaded toward the. *' Strange I don't hear from Fitz Lee !" he said. " What can "be the matter?" At that moment, the distant tramp of cavalry was heara, approaching from the direction of the Richmond road. "Ah! here he is at last!'' exclaimed the General, as the AN ADVENTURE OF STUART'S. 247 head of the column appeared through the pines beyond the till. Then, as he turned, Stuart suddenly looked again in the direc tion of the column. It was impossible to make out the figures clearly, but some instinct seemed to warn him that all was not right. "Captain, "he said to an officer near, "ride down the road and see what that column is." The officer mounted, and spurred toward it. " It must be Fitz!" muttered Stuart, " and yet" At that moment shots were heard in front. The officer who had ridden in the direction of the approaching cavalry came back at a gallop, pursued by a detachment in blue uniforms, firing at him as he ran ; and the mystery vvus solved. The column was not Confederate, but Federal cavalry ; and in an instant they were thundering forward, and had nearly reached the house. There was no time to parley or to hesitate. The pursuers catne on with loud shouts of "Halt! halt!" and in an instant were opposite the house. I got hastily into the saddle, and finding all egress barred by way of the narrow gate, leaped the palings just as Stuart did likewise. He had not had time to get his hat or riding-cape. I am not sure even that his horse was bridled, and believe that he rode only with the halter. At all events, his swift bay cleared the fence in gallant style ; and, pursued by furious orders to halt, accompanied with a shower of ballets, we crossed a field, and reached the cover of the woods. "Quick work!" exclaimed the General, his face fiery hot. "Just look at the rascals !" And, turning my head, I saw the Federal cavalry-men, who had only pursued the General and his staff a short distance, raising his riding-cape and hat upon the points of th,ir sabres, with shouts of laughter and triumph. We afterward ascertained that Major Titzhngh had gone as far 248 SURRY OF E AG-LE'S-NEST. aa the deserted house I have mentioned, and, after waiting for an hour or two for General Fitz Lee, h.^d lain down on the floor to take a short nap, leaving the courier posted at the mouth of the road, to announce the General's arrival. Instead of General Fitz Lee's column, it was that of a Federal colonel com, manding a brigade. The courier was captured ; and when Major Fitzhugh, hearing the tramp of horses near the house, rose to go and meet ' General Fitz Lee, he saw some blue-coats leading off his fine sorrel, which had been tied to a limb. Then they rushed in, seized him, and, after a struggle, made him prisoner, conducting him to the colonel. That officer acquired no infor mation from the Major's rough replies ; and, directing him to i-ide at his side as guide, proceeded toward Verdiersville. The reader knows what followed. Stuart and his staff retired with more rapidity than ceremony ; and the Federal colonel said to Major Fitzhugh : " What party was that ?" The Major saw that his general had escaped, and was laugh ing, overjoyed. He could not resist the temptation of making his captor u feel bad." "Did you ask what party that was which has just escaped, Colonel ?" said the Major. "I did, sir." , " Would you like to know very much ?" "I would." " Well, Colonel, that was General Stuart and his staff. " The words were like the explosion of a shell. " Stuart ! That was Stuart f Here a squadron ! follow that party, and kill or capture them. It is Stuart !" The squadron rushed forward on the track of the fugitives, and Stuart saw it coming. " Pshaw I" he said coolly, " they won't come far. But let us et out of their way, Major." And we galloped on. A few shots came, and we were pur sued a short distance. Then, as Stuart predicted, they ceased following us. The General turned his horse, and rode back toward Verdiersville. THE PURSUIT. 24* i " They will be afraid of a trap, and leave the place at once," he said. The event showed the justice of this surmise. As we came it sight of the small house from which we had retired so precipi tately, the Federal cavalry was seen rapidly moving in the direc tion of the Rapidan. " They have got my hat and cape," growled Stuart; "but I hope to get even with them." And we re-entered the village.* LXX. THE PURSUIT. WE had scarcely regained the house from which we had been chased with so little ceremony, when a courier announced that General Fitz Lee was approaching ; and very soon his column appeared, the General riding in front. " General Fitz," as his friends called him, was about twenty- six, of low stature, and with a stout and vigorous person. His face was ruddy and laughing, his eye bright, penetrating, and full of humor. A heavy brown mustache and beard half covered the gay and insouciant countenance. He wore a brown felt hat, looped up and decorated with a feather ; a gray dress coat, and elegant cavalry boots, against which rattled his long sabre. " General Fitz " seemed to enjoy the profession of arms to like movement, fun, and adventure and was evidently a great favor ite with Stuart, who was soon laughing gayly at his late esca pade. Not a moment, however, was lost in following the Federal column. Stuart, who had borrowed a hat from one of his men, took command hi person, and pushed after them in the direction of Locust Grove. u Come, Surry," he said, " you ought to be present when I have my revenge." * A real incident 11* 250 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST , "Bat what will General Jackson say, if I go scouting with the cavalry ? He will think that your adventurous life has demoral ized me." "Not a bit. Come! the army is moving, and we will join it sooner by crossing the Rapidan below." I only wanted an excuse to yield. The cavalry had " demor alized " me. After their gay life, so full of romantic scenes and incidents, the infantry seemed tame. I followed the General, and very soon we came upon the track of the retreating brigade. Stuart now pushed on rapidly, and an exciting chase commenced. Straight down the old turnpike toward Ohancellorsville swept the column, following the fresh footprints of the enemy's horsemen ; and soon I found myself once more in that strange country of the Wilderness, where was situated the house at which I had spent the night on my journey from Richmond to report to Jackson, in April, 1861. All at once, not far beyond Locust Grove, rapid shots were heard from the advance-guard, which had pushed some distance ahead, and Stuart went at a swift gallop to the front. "Here they are!" he shouted, and, rising in the stirrups, he cried, in his sonorous voice, as clear and ringing as a clarion : " Form fours ! draw sabre ! charge !" A yell rose from his column at the words ; and on they came, the sabres glittering in the brilliant sunshine. Then followed, my dear reader, that brief but animated spectacle, called a cavalry fight. Only the enemy did not make a good, obstinate stand ; they seemed to aim only at sretting off. Bang! slash! bang! bang! bang! And we were among them, cutting right and left. They did not stand long. In five minutes they were running, followed at full speed by the yelling Southerners. The chase continued as far as the river; and the Federal cavalry-men scrambled down the steep hill toward the ford. Stuart was about to follow, when a long dark line appear* ed on the high ground beyond; a piece of artillery "counter marched " at a gallop ; and then a puff of white smoke was THE PURSUIT. 251 seen, followed by the shriek of a shell, which fell in the verj centre of the pursuing column. Another came, then another* and, under cover of their artillery, the Federal cavalry crossed the river. Stuart ordered a halt, and, drawing up his column behind a hill, rode forward to reconnoitre. The Federal force on thfc opposite bank was ascertained to amount to at least a division of cavalry ; and finding that an assault was impracticable witl the small force which he then had, Stuart at once dispatched orders to his main body, which had not come up, to move on rapidly and join him. , "When they arrive," said the General, "I will show you, Surry, what my men can do in the way of charging across a river in the face of sharpshooters and artillery. I don't intend to let tbose fellows stop me. ' Do or die ' is my motto." And the General threw himself at full length under a tree, with no trace of ill-humor at his morning's adventure. From the bright surface of his splendid nature the breath of anger quickly passed. The long chase and the time lost at the river had consumed the day, and the sun now began to decline. Stuart had given up all idea of attacking until the next morning ; and, seeing that we were to be detained in our present quarters all night, mj thoughts persistently reverted to the fact that I was but a few- miles distant from that mysterious mansion in connection with which I had so many curious recollections. Were you ever haunted by one possessing thought, reader so that no effort could banish it ? In vain did I endeavor to fix my mind upon the events of the day the chances of the coming campaign the probable result of the fight on the morrow. Still came back to my mind the obscure mansion where I had met with such strange adventures. Who lived there now ? Not Violet Grafton, nor the poor White Lady, who was sleeping under the turf of Manassas. She would never await the coming of her " darling " any more, as on that night of my arrival. And the queenly girl who had loved and cherished her so tender ly was out of the clutches of Fenwick and the harridan, 252 SURR? OF EAGLE'S-NEST. evidently his accomplice beyond their reach, amid frienda would watch over her. But was the house in the Wilderness then deserted ? Had the human owls and night-hawks left the obscure nest and flown to some other region? Where was Fen wick, the secret foe, spy, plotter, and villain generally ? Would a visit to that house and a conversation with its possible inmates furnish any clue to hi whereabouts ? ' These thoughts incessantly recurred to my mind, and at last the temptation to go and satisfy myself by a personal " recon- noissance " became irresistible. I determined to take advantage of the opportunity thus thrown in my way to revisit the place ; and availing myself of a moment when General Stuart's atten tion was engaged for I wished to avoid explanations I mount ed my horse, and quietly took a road which I was tolerably sure Jed in the direction of the mansion. I soon found myself lost in the dense and lugubrious thicket, but from time to time noticed some traces of my former route then I came to the road which I had followed in April, 1861. The way w r as now plain. The house f knew was not a mile distant, and I pushed on over the winding road, between the impenetrable walls of thicket, vocal now, as before, with the melancholy cries of the whippoorwill. Ere long I saw the opening which I had expected ; and, as the last rays of the sun disappeared, and darkness slowly descended, came in sight of the obscure mansion on the pine-encircled knoll. This time I tied my horse to the thicket near the brushwood fence, and ascended the hill on foot, making no sound as I did THE HOUSE IN THE WILDERNESS. 253 LXXI. TEE HOUSE IN THE WILDERNESS, AND ITS OCCUPANTS. THE place seemed entirely' deserted, and had about it an inex pressible air of desolation. The gloomy-looking mansion posi tively oppressed my spirits as I drew near, and alone thus in the mysterious depths of this melancholy Wilderness I look ed around suspiciously, tried the lock of my pistol, and pre pared to defend myself against any foe who appeared. Why is it that some houses, and even regions of country, thu affect us? There are mansions which seem to smile and wel come us where sunshine reigns, and all is bright and joy out. Others appear to frown and receive yon with averted glances to bring up thoughts of dark and mysterious tragedies of blood and murder. " Some hideous crime must have been committed here!" you murmur, as you look upon the sullen walls; you feel that God has cursed the roof-tree, and set his seal upon the place. So with certain regions : they scowl at you, and op press the heart and such Was this melancholy Wilderness, in which was lost, like a leaf, this gloomy and apparently deserted house. All at once, however, as I approached, I saw a light glimmer through the closed shutters, and stopped. Something told me that the place was no longer occupied by hospitable women, but by enemies, whom it was necessary to approach with caution. I carefully secured my sabre in my left hand, so that the wea pon could not clatter against the ground, and, silently approach ing the house, looked through a chink in the closed shutter, into the apartment from which proceeded the light. Here is what I beheld in the apartment the same in which I had held my interview with Miss Grafton and the White Lady: Seated at the table, half turned from me, was the woman Parkins, in conversation with no less a personage than Fenwick. I saw before me the same grim face and lowering brow. Shd 254: SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. was unchanged. The eyes, cold, wary, and forbidding, were intently fixed upon her companion. From the woman, my glance passed to Fenwick. He was the same lithe, muscular, and vigorous figure as before; and his countenance, in which the dark eyes scowled disagreeably, wore the same sneering expression. The man looked as treacherous as a serpent ; and the keen flash of the eye showed that he waa as dangerous. He had evidently beeu drinking. On the table, between the worthies, was a black bottle, and Fenwick held in his hand a half-emptied tumbler of spirit. I saw from the slight color in his sallow cheeks that he had reached that point where men, under the influence of drink, grow voluble, boastful, and defiant prone to rude jest, and to indiscreet talking. Something told me that the hand of Providence had directed my steps to this obscure den; and, gluing my eyes to the aperture in the shutter, I preserved perfect silence, and disposed myself to listen. LXXII. ARCADES AMBO. FENWICK seemed to be, as I have said, in that condition which Induces men to talk of every thing or nothing. There was a defiant abandon in his manner which I had never seen before. " Come, my dear Madam Parkins," he said, with a harsh and discordant laugh, as he pushed the bottle toward the woman, " you don't drink, my dear. Fill, fill ! Let me see your coun tenance expand under the mollifying effects of this devil's elixir! It will much improve your appearance!" The woman seemed to take no umbrage at this unceremonious address. She coolly grasped the bottle, poured out some of the spirit, and raised it to her lips. But I observed that she did not drink. Then I caught a quick ARCADES AMBO. glance of her eye, toward her companion. She was fcratching him. u We are a jolly pairl" he exclaimed, emptying his glass and Jeaning back in his seat; "we resemble lovers eh, my dear creature ? We are here all alone and tete d tte, with no one vo disturb us. "We are revelling in the uninterrupted interchange of fond affection, and we never grow weary of each other's society." Nothing more sneering and disdainful than the air of the speaker, at that moment, can be imagined. " Come, let us find some method of passing the evening agree ably, my angel," continued Fenwick. "Tell mo a little love romance, my dear creature, or sing me a song!" "Don't you think," said the woman, in her harsh and forbid ding voice, "that you had better get away from here?" " And pray why, madam?" " The rebels are not far off. You heard the guns this eve ning." "Ha, ha! -and so you think, my dear, that Fenwick, the Yankee spy, blockade-runner, and secret agent, had better get off, eh?" " Yes," was the cool reply, " they say that Colonel Mordaunt a coming here ; and if he finds you " "Curse him!" suddenly exclaimed Fenwick ; "do you think I .'ear him? Woe to him, if we meet again !" The woman's face was distorted by a quick sneer, which in stantly disappeared, but not without attracting the attention of aer companion. " Aha I" he growled, * you are laughing at me, are you ? You are thinking of that sceno in the Stone House at Mana sas, when I did not stay to fight two well-armed men, Mor Jaunt and that cursed friend of his, Surry ! But I know what [ am about, madam. Do you think I am going to meet your Colonel Mordaunt in open fight, instead of taking him in* wares?" "You met him once at Richmond." A bitter scowl came to Fenwick's face. SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " I did," was his reply, " but under a compulsion which I need not explain, my dear madam." The woman nodded, as if the subject did not interest her, and Fenwick again had recourse to the bottle. I saw his cheeks grow ruddier, and his eyes sparkle. Soon his tongue was loos ened. * I will not tell you about my little arrangement for the benefit four dear friend Mordaunt," he said, with his sardonic laugh; 44 but, by way of passing the evening agreeably, I ought to let you know why I don't like that gentleman." " I know something, but not all ; tell me the Btory," said the woman, who still watched her companion, and evidently lost not a single word. "You really wish to hear all about that littte affair, my dear?" " Yes." Fenwick hesitated, and looked with a quick flash of the eye at his companion. It was the last struggle between his cunning and desire to talk. "After all, why shouldn't I tell you, most amiable Parkins?" he said, with a leer; "my life is a pretty little romance, which will amuse us this dull evening. But are you sure no one besides can hear us?" " There is not another soul within five miles of this place I" " Are you certain ?" "Yes." " Nevertheless, my dear, suppose I make entirely sure ?" And rising, Fenwick walked, with a perfectly steady step, t/j the door, from which he passed to the front door of the house, which he threw open. I shrank down in the shadow of the porch, within five feet of him. The darkness concealed me the door closed and, hear ing the sound of his feet in the apartment again, I returned to my place at the shutter. Fenwick had resumed his former seat, and prepared himself for his narrative by swallowing another glass of brandy, ARCADES AMBO. 251 u You really think it will interest you to know why I don't like the excellent Colonel Mordaunt?" he said. 14 Yes, I should like to know." 41 It will involve a long explanation, my dear one, but there hould be perfect confidence between us. Must I begin at the beginning, like a romance ?" The woman nodded, and looked at her companion whh the ame furtive glance. Fenwick did not observe it. "Now for the little romance!" he said. " I am listening," said the woman. Her companion leaned back and said : " Well, my dearly-beloved elderly Parkins, once upon a time there were two young men about twenty years of age, whose names, respectively, were Fenwick and Mordaunt. They lived in Fairfax County, in the State of Virginia, and were a perfect instance of Damon and Pythias. They could not hunt without each other, ride without each other, or pass a day out of each other's society. This heavenly state of things might, no doubt, have lasted, had not a woman appeared on the scene one of that angelic sex to which you, my charming one, belong." The woman remained silent and impassive. " Well, this pretty devil, who was to rend asunder the touch . Jng bonds of friendship between Damon Mordaunt and Pythias Fenwick, was a young lady named Carleton Frances Carleton. You have never heard of her?", "Yes, goon." " With delight, my elderly one. Well, Miss Carleton was the daughter of an English gentleman, who had come, with his wife, daughter, and only sister, to America, a few months before. The sister married Mr. Grafton, a clergyman, of Maryland; the brother, Miss Frances's father, settled, with his wife and daughter, in Fairfax County, renting a small estate near Manassas, upon which stood the picturesque Stone House, in which we recently had our pleasing little adventure. "Here Messrs. Fenwick and Mordaunt first knew Francei Carleton. She was a pleasing young female, with light auburn 258 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. hair falling in ringlets around her face, and 'as pure as tea angel,' everybody was fond of saying. So Fen wick and Mor- daunt immediately fell in love with her, and from that moment grew as cold as ice toward each other. I helieve there was some sickly attempt on Mordaunt's part to continue on friendly relations with his old companion, but that gentleman treated his proposition with deserved contempt; and soon events took place which made them open foes. Mordaunt curse him! was the handsomer of the two, and possessed a large estate. To make a long story short, he paid his addresses to Miss Garleton, and married her!" Fenwick grew livid as he uttered these words, and paused. "That made me his life-long foe!" he added, at length, with .bitterness ; " that is to say, it made my young friend, Mr. Fen- wick ! He had heard preachers prate about brotherly love, but never pretended to love the rival who carried off the woman he had been crazily in love with. From that moment he began to hate Mordaunt bitterly, and swore in his inmost soul that he would take vengeance on him. It was not a common, vulgar revenge he aimed at, a duel or affray, ending in mere blows and blood. No ! such a thing seemed silly and childish. What Fen- wick wanted, my dear madam, was not so much to shed his enemy's hearths blood, as to make his existence one long groan of misery. You, no doubt, feel shocked at this, madam, as you are a woman, but that is the way men hate when they hate in earnest." " I can understand it." " Very well all the better. It will save me from repeating over and over that the amiable Fenwick had a hatred for the respectable Mordaunt so bitter that it stopped at nothing in the way of its gratification. To reach his aim, Fenwick was obliged to have recourse to what is called treachery by fools, but strategy by military men. He did not quarrel with his beloved friend Mordaunt the coldness between them completely passed away and very soon young Mr. Fenwick was a regular visitor at the Stone House, where Mordaunt lived with his bride. He had be come the ' friend of the family,' you see, madam, and Mrs. Mor- daunt had unbounded confidence in him. ARCADES AMBO. 259 M For a long time no opportunity of avenging the affront pat OD him presented itself to Mr. Fen wick. Mordaunt and his wife were completely happy and the idea of sowing suspicion or producing any misunderstanding between them was simply ab surd. They * lived in a dream of felicity,' as says the poet, my dear madam ; and Mr. Fen wick was compelled to put off his little plan for the benefit of his dear friend Mordaunt. "Events, however, very soon occurred which seemed to favor his scheme. Mr. and Mrs. Carleton both died, within a few days of each other, and Mordaunt and his wife were left alone together in the Stone House. The only other inmate of the establishment was a most charming, respectable, and excellent person, of the euphonious name of Parkkis, who filled the position of house keeper. Have you ever heard of that lovely creature, madam ?" asked Fen wick, with a guttural laugh ; " she was the paragon of her sex," " Go on," was the response of the woman, who was evidently watching Fenwick closely, and waiting for him to come to some thing which had excited her curiosity. " The respectable Parkins," continued Fenwick, leaning upon the table, and looking at his companion witk a leer of affected admiration, " was in every way calculated to prove an ornament to her sex, and had only a single failing. Which of us is with out his peculiar weakness ? That of the worthy Parkins was a lore of money, and, not to weary you, my dear madam, with a prosy explanation Fenwick bought her. He gently insinuated into her not unwilling hand a bank note of the denomination of one thousand dollars, with the promise of more, and lo ! the virtuous Parkins was at his orders." " Go on," was the woman's sole reply. "With pleasure. Well, with the housekeeper thus bought, one great step was taken toward a little plan Mr. Fenwick had on foot. It had suddenly flashed upon him one day, when he visited the Stone House soon after Mr. Carleton's death, and he heard Mordaunt inform his wife that he would be compelled to go to England to attend to very important claims left by the young lady's father. A charming scene followed tears, fond 260 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. words, remonstrances, embraces, kisses ! Curse him ! " exclaimed Fen wick, " I could have killed him where he stood !" " Why didn't you?" asked the woman coolly. 41 For this good reason that I had a better plan in view. Listen now, and you shall hear how skilfully the youthful Fen- wick set about his little arrangements." The speaker touched his empty glass to his lips, as if from habit, looked with a sneer at the woman, and resumed his. monologue. LXXIII. MORDAUNT'S SECRET. " MOBDAUNT set out for London. He expected, he said, to be absent for about two months then he would return, never more to leave * what was dearer to him than all the world, his home. 7 Pathetic, you see ! I witnessed the parting they were locked for about ten minutes in each other's arms and then the young lady sank into a chair, sobbing and crying as if her heart would break. At that moment, with her auburn ringlets around her face, she looked 'like an angel.' Fenwick, you see, my dear madam, was the devil lurking near. " He continued to visit the house, as a friend, during Mor- daunt's absence; and the smiles of the young lady nearly turned him from his purpose. But those smiles became brighter and brighter as the days rolled by. One day she would be heard murmuring, 'It is only three weeks now!' Then, * To-morrow it is only eleven days!' She was counting the time, yon see,. before her husband would return and Mr. Fenwick grew crazy with rage at the thought. He would lie awake all night, and toss and rave at the pictures which his imagination drew of their meeting their kisses, embraces, fond words. And all tine might have been his ! This was to continue before his eyes all thi* happiness of his rival when he was writhing in agony? He- swore in his heart that he \vould have his vengeance and h* kept bis oath 1" MORDAUNT'S SECRET. 261 A gloomy shadow seemed to cross the speaker's face his eyes flashed. "Well, madam," he continued, "the plan of Fenwiek involved what is popularly known as forgery. He gave his instruction! to the excellent Parkins, and then proceeded to carry out hi design. One day, Mrs. Mordaunt received a letter from her jus- band hand-writing, post-mark, date, every thing complete announcing that he would be in New York on a certain day; and requesting, for reasons wlrich he would subsequently explain, that she would meet him there. His friend Mr. Fenwiek would, no doubt, take pleasure in escorting her, if asked to do so. In deed added the writer he had written to Mr. Fenwiek, by the same mail, requesting that he would accompany her to New York, and see to her safety. " She came with this letter in her hand, and, before she spoke, Fenwiek announced the receipt of a letter, requesting his escort for madam. That would have removed all suspicion but she had none. Her face glowed she trembled from head to foot with joy and excitement, and was ready, on the next morning, to commence the journey. Leaving the worthy madam Parkins to keep house in her absence^ she set out in her carriage with Mr. Fenwiek, who kindly consented to drive the small vehicle him self." The speaker paused and gulped down a mouthful of the raw spirit. It seemed only to make him gloomier and more mo rose. " They had a pleasant journey across the Potomac into Mary land," he continued, and stopped one evening at a house where Mr. Fenwiek had friends, or, rather, a friend. It was in a remote locality between wooded hills, and well suited to the design he had in view. This was to confine Mrs. Mordaunt, under the old hag your respectable aunt, madam until Mordaunt committed suicide, or died of misery; then to release her. Toward the young lady, Fenwiek had no ill-feeling he almost pitied her, and I swear to you he treated her with the deepest respect. It *-as her misfortune, not her fault, &at she was entangled in thia network of vengeance I" 262 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. He stopped something like a human expression touched the sneering mask : then it fled away. u Two days after her arrival," he said, relapsing into his cyni cal coldness, "she gave birth to a son." i " Ah ! and did the child live ?" " It died on the same evening." The .woman leaned back in her seat, with a look of unmis tekable disappointment. "Go on," she said. " Then you are interested in my pleasing little romance," said Fen wick. " Charming is it not, my dear madam? But I don't think I have entirely explained the plan of my dear friend Fen- wick. He was not a blood-thirsty monster, only a man who had sworn vengeance against an adversary. He had none to satisfy against the wife. It was Mordaunt whom he hated and that note of the value of one thousand dollars, with the promise of more, had been presented, as a small testimony of regard, to the beautiful Parkins, in order to induce her to poison Mordaunt 's mind upon his return. The little scheme was all arranged. When he appeared, the skilful Parkins was to rush forward, hair dishevelled, accents heart-broken, and convey the intelligence that Mrs. Mordaunt had deserted her husband's roof, in company with her old lover, Fenwick. It is true that the most devilish ingenuity was necessary to render this credible to Mordaunt but there was the fact of madam's absence, and Fenwick's also. That gentleman had sold his landed estate put the gold in his pocket and disappeared, along with madam. " You see how every thing tended to deceive Mordaunt ; but, in addition to this, some letters were handed to him. One was from his wife I wrote it announcing that she was about to leave him for ever, in company with the only person she had ever really loved. The other was from me I mean from Fenwick. madam and it contained only these words : * You were my successful rival. What are you now?' When those letters were given to Mordaunt, he no longer doubted. In one day, they said, he became ten years older. Then he commenced the hunt after the triumphant Fenwick ; but that gentleman mamaged to Have MORDAUNT'S SECRET. 263 bis name inserted in a list of passengers sailing for Europe, and saw that Mordaunt received the paper. That took him out of the country and he did not return for more than fifteen years. "Thus you will perceive, my dear madam," continued the speaker coolly, " that Mr. Fenwick may be said to have at last gecured a very pretty little vengeance. His rival was broken hearted and in exile his hate, and it was intense, was for the moment glutted. But, you will ask, what became of Mrs. Mor daunt? My dear madam, did you ever hear of that scourge called puerperal fever f The young lady was attacked by this malady upon the birth of her child, and lost her reason. I was sorry," muttered Fenwick. " I swear to you I was sorry, and all was done that could be done. She was sent to a public asy lum under her maiden name, and there she remained, uncured, until her cousin, Miss Grafton, now an orphan, discovered her. u My story's growing rather prosy eh! my dear madam?" continued Fenwick. " Well, it is nearly done. There was a curious end to all these adventures. Miss Grafton was the exact image of hr cousin, Frances Carleton, when she was a young lady fair complexion, golden ringlets, blue eyes, and all. So what must that admirer of the ladies, Mr. Fenwick, do, but fall in love with her ? He met her one day at the asylum and often thereafter. He formed the design of marrying her. But she was incessantly engaged in her duties as assistant at a school her father, the clergyman, having followed his wife to the grave, leaving the daughter nothing. Then one day, Fenwick said, ' I will give your poor cousin a quiet home, if you will come and take care of her, Miss Grafton;' and lo ! with the sweet Parkins for companion, the two ladies came to reside in the lively man sion we now occupy." The woman nodded ; and her companion coolly went on : " The plans of Fenwick had thus apparently been crowned wtth success. His hatred was gratified ; his rival miserable and m exile ; the young lady whom he loved as the living image of Frances Carleton, the light of his youth, was under his roof. But when was virtue really rewarded? The insane lady never even seemed aware of her benefactor's existence ; Miss Grafton 264 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. had evidently taken up a positive dislike to him; and presto I who should reappear upon the scene but Mordaunt, strong, dangerous, and thirsting for the amiable Fenwick's blood ! " That gentleman put himself to no trouble to meet Mr. Mor daunt, having other affairs to attend to ; but fate brought them together at Richmond, in April last year, and they fought, Mr. Fenwick receiving a bullet in his breast, which he purposes some day to return with interest to its owner. Soon afterward, in July of the same year, the rivals met again at the Stone House, near Manassas, when Mr. Fenwick was engaged in the pious task of burying the insane lady, in the spot where she had been so happy. This was in accordance, as you know, my dear madam, with her own request: we took the body there, and, when retiring from the grave, Mr. Fenwick was again assailed by his adversary. And for what ? Had he made the poor lady lose her mind ? Not at all. It was the fever. Had he produced her death ? No, she was treated with all kindness, for Mr. Fenwick really pitied her, and religiously obeyed her last request. " Thus you see, my dear madam, Mr. Fenwick was an ill- treated personage. Everybody tries to cut his throat, and Miss Grafton, on your late excursion to Alexandria to atteixl to some of your affairs there, leaves you on the road, doesn't wait to say good-by, and takes refuge with entire strangers, instead of returning, as she should have done, to this hospitable roof. When Mr. Fenwick puts himself to the trouble of discovering her retreat, and presents himself before her, she draws herself up with the air of a queen, declares that she never wishes to return to this lively abode in the Wilderness, and plainly inti mates to him that his visits are disagreeable, his addresses hate ful. Yes, hateful /" added Fenwick gloomily. u You were right in what you said to me one day she cannot bear me. And I I would cut off my right hand to win this girl I" For a moment there was silence. Then Fenwick broke into a harsh laugh. " Well, that's the little romance I promised yon, respected Madam Parkins!" he said. "Now, do you like it? Is it gay, cheerful, lively ; the sort of thing that makes an evening pass MORDAUNT'S SECRET. 265 denghtfally, and puts one to bed in a mood that brings on pleas ant dreams ? The recollection of these little occurrences is the chief happiness of my existence. You see, I am landless now and though I manage to scrape together a very respectable in come, and have many powerful friends although they never acknowledge my acquintance in public I cannot be said to have many sources of happiness except this. It is enough. The thought of Mordaunt wretched and broken-hearted suffices me ; and if my little affair with that gentleman has amused my dearest Parkins, I am more than happy!" With these ironical words Fenwick rose and yawned. "I am tired with my long ride," he added, "and shall now, madam, bid you, most respectfully, good-night. I must crosi the river before daylight at the old place, and be with my friend General Pope by sunrise, if possible. I have intelligence he will be glad to get." "From Richmond?" " Yes, we have many more friends, you know, down there, than people think ; and even among the employes of the War De partmentbut I am blabbing secrets. Where are my arms, most excellent Mrs. Parkins?" "On the mantel-piece." " I will take them to my room with me, for fear of accidents." And he made a step toward the mantel-piece. Before he reached it I had burst open the door with one blow of my heel, and was standing in the apartment, with a cocked pistol pointed at his heart. " You are iny prisoner!" I said. "Move a step, and you are dead." IS 266 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. LXXIY. THE SNAKE SCOTCHED. FEN WICK recoiled, and made a step to seize his pistol, which was lying in its holster on the mantel-piece. I raised my wea pon, directed it at his head, and said to him : " I give you my word of honor, sir, that if you move another foot, I will blow your brains out." He became livid, and uttered the hoarse growl of a tiger at bay. " Who are you ?" he cried, with a flash of fury in his blood shot eyes. "You know me perfectly well, as you have already met me- I see you remember." " Your purpose ?" "To arrest you." " And by what authority yes, sir ! by what authority is this intrusion on my premises this threat with a loaded pistol!" " By my own. I require no authority to arrest a spy and an infamous wretch. I know you thoroughly. Resist in the slightest degree, and, by heavens ! I will lay you dead on that floor!" Anger faded from the eyes cunning and treachery took its place. " f am at a loss to imagine the meaning of this scene, sir," he said, with alfected coolness ; "you say that you intend to arrest me : where and before whom am I to be carried ?" "Come with me, and you will see." " How am I to go at this hour of the night ? In the morning, if you insist, sir." No we are going to take a little ride to-night. You will accompany me instantly if you have no horse, you will walk." He must have seen that no wheedling would avail him. "I have a horse," he said hoarsely. "I will go and him." THE SNAKE SCOTCHEL 261 ' will accompany you." 'la r en if I give you my parole, sir, not to attempt to escape ?* 44 Even if you give me a hundred paroles." At this Vast insult his face grew livid. "Major Surry, you shall answer for this I" 44 Ah 1 you know me, I see." 14 1 do you shall know me, too !" And, grinding his teeth audibly, he left the room. I followw? /o a small stable behind the house, where a horse stood, and saw him saddled. "Mount!" I said, "and ride before me down that path." He obeyed, and we had soon reached the spot where my horse .mnn was pressing toward Centreville, directed me to find fttuetrt, and accompany him in a movement which he was making to the rear of the enemy. I was to ascertain the state of things 610 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. in that direction, and return as soon as possible with confidential intelligence from Stuart. My route led me by the Stone House, which my readers cannot have forgotten ; and I soon came in sight of it. The place was a mass of ruins. The walls had been shattered and overthrown by cannon-balls, the garden torn to pieces in the hot struggle ; and, reining in my horse, I could scarcely make out the stunted tree under which the unfortunate lady in white had been buried. The mansion was a melancholy ruin, charred and blackened It seemed to typify the life of the woman who had returned to this place, the scene of her former happiness, to sleep th sleep of death. Had Mordaunt passed near that spot ? I asked myself as I rode on ; and then a thousand thoughts chased each other through my mind. How singular were the circumstances which had put me in possession of this strange man's history! How sad that record ! How surprising had been the combination of events which threw him face to face, on that gloomy night, in this weird spot, with the living image of the woman whom he had loved! I could understand the profound emotion which had mastered the strong man, at seeing thus, as it were, the very face and eyes and hair of Frances Oarleton once more there be fore him, where she had smiled long years before and under stand too the poignant anguish which wrung his heart, when all his fancied wrongs and shame were thus brought back to mind, and traced, as it were, with a pen of flame upon his heart. And then a deeper admiration than before for this proud spirit inspired me for this man who, burying his grief and distress and bitter anguish, had borne up so bravely, and served his country with a ourage and devotion so conspicuous and splendid- Stuart had pressed on rapidly, and, before I had joined him, I heard the thunder of his horse artillery as he attacked the Federal forces near Fairfax Court-House. Pushing on, I reached the spot, and found the General superintending the fire of the guns, which were commanded by young Pelham, now his chief of artillery. " All goes well, Surry," said the General, when I had delivered TBE YOUNG SIGNAL-OFFICER. 311 i*,v message. '* I am crowding 'em with artillery ;* and, if Stowewall doesn't hurry up, there will be nothing for him to do.'* " rfe is coming right on, General." " And you have pushed on to * jine the cavalry ' ! Well, we have nad a little affair near Chantilly captured a whole com pany ot Yankee cavalry. Look! there is the captain !" And he pointed to an officer mounted upon a magnificent black horse, carrying before him on the pommel of his saddle a bril liant stars-and-stripes flag.t I looked at the officer and thought I recognized him, but could not remember where I had seen him. A second glance recalled the time and place. It was the humorous personage who had captured me near Cross Keys, and sent me to Sir Percy Wyndham with the laughing order to my guard to kill me if I attempted to escape. "We recaptured poor Hardeman Stuart's coat, too," added the General, with a sad expression in his bold face. " You lemem- ber him, do yon not my signal-officer?" "Remember him?" I said; "he is one of the best friends I have on your staff, General. It is impossible nor to love his gay, frank face, with its blue eyes and chestnut cur2s. I saw him just before the battle opened." u Ah ?" said Stuart, with the same half sigh. " Yes," was my reply. " I was riding over to to* right, when a dusty figure, without hat or coat, ran out from a house and hailed me. I could scarcely recognize Hardeman, who is the model of elegance, you know, in uniform and appearance. He called out, 'How d'ye, Major!' shook hands with me and then told me, laughing, that he had been attacked on the moun tain yonder, at his signal-station, and had lost his horse and coat. He said he intended to get another horse and rejoin you.'* " Poor boy!" sighed Stuart ; " he could not mount himself, and he was too brave and devoted to remain idle. He got a musket, fought with his old company from Mississippi, and was killed.'"' I felt deeply shocked at this intelligence. Hardeman Stuart * Stuart's expression. t EeaL 312 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. had been one of my greatest favorites, and I loved him, as every body did, for his sweet, frank temper and his gallant spirit. 44 Hardeman dead?" I said. " It is not possible, General!" "It is true, and the singular thing is that we have just recap tured his new uniform coat." 'His coat?" ** Yes, it was strapped to his saddle, and captured with his horse. This Yankee company of cavalry, surprised at Chantilly Lad it.* There it is." And he pointed to the coat strapped behind a courier. 44 Poor, poor Hardeman ! But he was buried ?" 44 Yes. Major Von Borcke saw his grave. But we are getting ad. Come, Surry, I am going to withdraw, and, as I expect in formation during the night, you had better remain until morn ing. Come with me, and I will provide you with lodgings." "Willingly." And I followed the General, who retired just at nightfall. LXXXVIII. ONE OF STUART'S "TIGHT PLACES." THE cavalry soon halted, and lay down in bivouac. Stuart rode on with his staff through the black darkness; and the sad story which he had just told me gradually disap- peared from his mind. This strong and exuberant nature could not long remain gloomy. Half an hour's ride brought us to a house near Frying-Paa Church, where we halted, and were received with the warmest hospitality by some young ladies, who seemed overjoyed at sight of our gray coats, and the General, who was evidently an ac quaintance and favorite. If you recall that evening, fair and harming 4t friends of the soldier," and this page meets your eye, receive the assurance of the unchanging regard and admiration * A real incident ONE OP STUART'S "TIGHT PLACES." 313 of one person who that night basked in the warm light of your smiles. If I were writing a romance, worthy reader, instead of my veritable memoirs, what a favorable opportunity would now be presented to make Stuart the hero of a "thrilling adventure!" Contemplate the situation, and observe its dramatic capabilities ! Stuart, the bold cavalier, asleep in a remote mansion near the nemy, far beyond his own pickets, without a single vedette out, and liable to be " caught napping " as at Verdiersville. What would be easier than to bring a whole Federal regiment of cavalry down on the gay cavalier, and narrate in the most ap proved and striking style the manner in which he engaged them single-handed, and overcame them all ! If necessary, Colonel Mordaunt or General Fitz Lee might come to his assistance ihe ghost of Fenwick might appear and indeed almost amy thing might be made to happen ! The present writer is much too conscientious, however, to in dulge in such "weak inventions." No such incidents occurred, therefore they cannot be narrated. Stern devotion to truth compels me to say that, in spite of the fact that we had not a Dingle vedette posted to give warning of an enemy's approach the night passed away I . perfect quiet ; the dawn appeared, and with it our fair hostesses, who gave us an excellent breakfast, and bade us God speed. Do not the prayers of women shield us often ? I think so. They prayed with all their hearts in the late revolution, and were angels to us all. The soldiers of the army and the women, did their duty ; h&d the rest done likewise, we might have been Uie founders of an empire ! So we left our sailing hostess and her friends, and again set out toward Chantilly. Jackson's column was already pressing forward, and when I joined him he was sitting n^on the ground, with his back against a tree, his chin upon liis breast, his hands crossed over his bosom, fast asleep. The enemy's sharpshooters were firing rapidly near by, but he slept tranquilly.* * Historic* * 314: SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. An hour or two afterward he had pressed on and attacked the enemy near Germantown, on the Oxhill road. There, the beaten army of General Pope, with reserves from Washington under Generals Franklin, Stevens, and Kearney, made a last stand, and fought with desperation to effect their retreat. The opposing lines were soon engaged, and to the roar of mus ketry and cannon was suddenly added that of a violent storm. The thunder drowned the noise of the guns, and the drenching rain which poured down threatened to put an end to the action. Jackson was calmly watching the contest, when a courier from one of his Generals came up and brought a message to the effect that the rain had made the powder w *,t, and his command could not continue the engagement. "Tell him to hold his ground," was Jackson's reply. "If it makes his powder useless, it will make the enemy's too !"* The result of the action was completely in favor of the Southern arms, but I did not witness the latter portion of it. I had been sent again to Stuart, who was moving aroand toward Flint Hill, an eminence north of the Court-House, to occupy it with artillery, and attack the enemy in flank. I joined Stuart just as he reached a narrow road leading up the hill. It was growing dark, and the storm was roaring down ; but the General did not give up his design. Leaving one regi ment at the mouth of the road to protect his rear, he advanced with another, and had soon reached the elevated ground above. Here the brave Colonel Wickham rode back from the advance- guard, which he commanded, and said : " General, I got near the Cross Roads, and find them heavily picketed with infantry." Stuart reflected a moment, and then calling " Captain Farley," whom the reader may remember at Cold Harbor, gave him a message to General Lee. Farley immediately rode back, and in a few minutes shots were heard in that quarter. At the same moment Colonel Wickham again rode up, and reported the enemy rapidly advancing in front * Bis words. ONE OF STUART'S "TIGHT PLACES." 315 Stuart's position was now critical. He was in the midst of the enemy's infantry, which hemmed him in in front and on his right ; night had descended, making any cavalry movement hazardous ; and there was but one avenue of retreat, the narrow road by which the column had ascended the hill. Now the firing had come from that direction. The enemy appeared to have closed in upon front and rear. I afterward remembered, with admiration, the coolness and nonchalance of Stuart. He sat with one leg thrown across the pommel of his saddle, drummed idly with his fingers upon hi knee, and seemed to be reflecting. It is impossible to imagine greater sang-froid than his appearance, at the moment, indicated.* "Well," he said, at length, "I have accomplished the object I had in view, and we'll go back." But the march back was in column of platoons, with drawn sabres ! Halfway down the narrow road, now as black as night, firing came from the advance-guard, and then a shout. The column pushed on shots hissed from the high banks on either side then the column debouched into the plain. "What was our astonishment at this moment to hear a bugle in front sound the " charge !" Colonel Lee, commanding the regiment left behind, took us for Federal cavalry, it seemed, and nothing but the presence of mind of an oificer, who shouted "Hold!" prevented a bloody catastrophe. The firing we had heard was directed at Captain Farley, who was also in great danger from his friends. So much for night operations with cavalry. They are always hazardous. I have recorded this little incident, however, as characteristic of Stuart's coolness and self-possession. I said to him, long afterward : " General, you did not seem to think your command in any danger that night at Flint Hill. I thought it in great dan ger." -This whole sketch is historical 316 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " You are right>" was his reply, in a low tone, with a short iaugh. " I tell you, Surry, that was a tight place I" * LXXXIX. IN WHICH THE WRITER GETS OVER A GREAT DEAL OF GROUND. AT nightfall Jackson had driven the enemy before him, with heavy loss, including two of their best officers Generals Kearney and Stevens; and at dawn on the next morning the troops advanced upon Fairfax Court-House. The enemy had retreated during the night, and the inhabitants received their deliverers with shouts of joy. Thus the work was ended for the present upon the soil of Vir ginia ; and General Lee immediately put his army in motion for Maryland. Four or five days afterward, the Southern column forded the Potomac near Leesburg, with the bands playing " Maryland, my Maryland," and the advance force pushed on and occupied Fred erick City. Maryland did not receive us with arms very wide open ; and few, very few, ranged themselves under the " bonnie blue flag." But let not that old bitterness make me unjust. It was the Union portion of the State which we entered. In the lower counties and on the Eastern Shore there was a different popula tion ! there they were friends, here they were neutrals or enemies. For the Maryland campaign in all its details, see the histories. Here is an outline : From Frederick City, Jackson was sent to make a detour, by way of William sport and Martinsburg, to the rear of Harper's Ferry, where there were about eleven thousand Federal troops and a large amount 6f artillery. The result is known. While General Lee was opposing the advance of McClellan at South *Hi word*. SHARPSBURG. 317 Mountain, Jackson was closely investing Harper's Ferry. When he had ringed it round with artillery and opened upon it from every side, the Federal commander lost heart, and surrendered his eleven thousand men and seventy-three guns. As the place fell, McClellan burst through to its relief. But it fwas too late. Jackson's heavy arm had fallen. The place was in his hands, and, leaving a portion of his force to hold it, he returned by a forced march to Sharpsburg, where General Lee had concentrated his whole available force to fight McClellan. You know, my dear reader, what followed. Thirty-three thou sand Southerners fought eighty-seven thousand there at Sharps- burg, on a September day, and repulsed, from morn to even ing, every assault. These figures are General Lee's for his own force General McClellan's for that of the Federals. Thus the Confederates fought nearly three to one at Sharpsburg. Jackson, on our left, sustained the brunt of the attack. See General McClellan's report, where he says his great assault was with his right wing. Had he given way, the result would have been wellnigh fatal. As it was, he drove General Hooker half a mile, and at night was rooted immovably in his first position. Lee remained in line of battle on the ensuing day, facing his great adversary. General McClellan says that the condition of his own army rendered a renewal of the battle impossible. On the next morning General Lee recrossed the Potomac, and, crowning the heights with his artillery, challenged them to at tempt to cross. The attempt was made, and in an hour the column was driven into and across the river again, with the bayonet. That was the first and last attempt which was made to follow General Lee. He collected his straggling and broken-down men, rested and provisioned his army, and, if the season had been June instead of October, would have advanced upon Pennsylvania. As it was, he rested. 318 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. xo. HAMPTON CHARGES, AND I "GO UNDER." I WD not witness the greater portion of the events just narrated fa brief outline, and for a reason which I will now proceed to give. At the moment when Jackson's column approached Williams^ port, on his inarch to Harper'8 Ferry, I was sent back to General Lee, then beyond the South Mountain, with a message. I found the army in motion by way of Boonsboro', in the direc tion of Hagerstown, and was informed that General Lee was with the cavalry rear-guard, then retiring from Frederick City, before the advance of General McClellan. A ride through the Boonsboro' Gap and Catoctin Mountain brought me to the cavalry, and I delivered my message to Gen eral Lee, which fortunately required no reply. Fortunately, I say, for I now found that my horse was com pletely broken down, and wholly unfit to take me back at once over the difficult mountain road. I accordingly looked about for an inviting farm-house, the abode of some good Marylander with Southern proclivities, where I could procure a feed, and soon discovered a promising-looking mansion. It was a fine old house, embowered in trees, on the eastern slope of the Catoctin Mountain ; and the ample barns seemed to say, "Come, there is plenty here, and to spare." Without further hesitation I rode up to the wide gate, entered * broad avenue, and soon found myself in front of a large por tico, upon which a hale old gentleman was standing. My wants were made known, and I met with the most friendly reception. " Your horse shall be attended to immediately, sir," was the smiling and hospitable reply. " Come in come in. These are terrible times, sir and you must be hungry, too." My host then called lustily for a servant, who speedily appear ed, gave him directions in reference to my horse, and then led the way into the house, where an inviting meal was soon spread HAMPTON CHARGES. by the hands of an old housekeeper. This elderly lady and my host seemed the only inmates of the mansion. "Terrible times, terrible times," repeated my host. "The enemy seem to be coming right on. General Lee is falling back, is he not?" I never liked to answer questions propounded by strangers that should be one of the first principles of a soldier, and much \nore of a staff officer. " The army is not far from this spot," I replied. The old gentleman smiled. " I see you are prudent," he said ; " but your caution is quite unnecessary. I am a Southerner, heart and soul, and have a son in your army." " I may know him, and be able to give you some news of him, sir." " It would greatly delight me. I fear something has happened to him, as he has not been here with the army. My name is Saltoun J M "Indeed! And is your son's name Harry, Mr. Saltoun?" "Yes, sir where is he?" asked the old gentleman, with acute anxiety. " You have no bad news to give me ?" " No, no. He is wounded, but it is a trifle. He is in the hands of friends." And, giving my name and position in the army, I informed Mr. Saltoun of the young man's wound and present whereabouts. He listened with anxious interest, and, when I had finished, exclaimed : " Thank God that he is safe." " He is perfectly so." " These are awful times, Major," added my good host. " Awful times ! "We never know whether our sons are alive or dead. Harry is the light of my eyes all I have left in my old age and it would break me down if he was killed. So you know him well, and say he is brave but I knew that. He was always fearless from his childhood ; and when the war broke out I could not keep him at home. Do you expect to see him soon ?" I replied that I doubtless should meet him again in a few weeks, on his return to his command whereupon the old gentleman asked if I could carry him his watch, which he had left behind him. 320 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " He values it greatly, " added Mr. Saltoun ; " and, if you will lake charge of it, he will be greatly obliged to you.' 1 " I will do so with great pleasure, and tell him that you ar well" " And wish to see him soon," added the old gentleman, heartily. " This is a terrible war a very terrible war, indeed, sir!" And the speaker shook his head in a most expressive manner, and, rising, unlocked a mahogany secretary, from which he took * handsome gold watch, set with jewels. This he intrusted to me, with many cautions against losing it. "Harry would not mind the mere value of the watch, sir," he said, " nor would I. But he has had this since his boyhood, and attaches a peculiar value to it." I had just assured my kind host that I would take especial care of the watch, when firing was heard in front, and I rose. My horse was soon brought, and I had scarcely bidden my host good-by, and mounted, when a long column of cavalry was seen to defile by the outer gate, in the direction of Frederick City, and at their head I recognized General Wade Hampton. I rode out and joined him. For this brave cavalier of South Carolina I had always experienced a very great respect and re gard, since the noble stand which he made at the first battle of Manassas; and I had enjoyed the satisfaction of receiving from him evidences of friendship in return. He had changed little. Before me was the same erect and courteous cavalier, with his flowing black mustache, and mild yet brilliant eyes. In his simple bearing, full of suavity and repose, you read no indica tions of the hard and stubborn spirit of " fight " which, in every ancounter, took him to the front, and made him charge, like a private soldier, and " come to the sabre." I was soon informed of the state of affairs. General Lee was retiring, and General McClellan pressing on. The enemy were already in Frederick City, and their artillery had opened upon the cavalry toward the Catoctin Mountain. "I am going to charge and capture it, Major," said General Hampton. " Will you see the charge?" " I would not misg it, General." HAMPTON CHARGES. 321 And we continued to advance, the enemy's artillery roaring sullenly in front. All at once, as the head of the column reached the summit of a hill, Frederick City appeared in front, the fields around swarming with the dark figures of the Federal soldiers. Above the mass rose the white smoke of the artillery, which was pouring a heavy fire upon the Southern rear-guard, falling back before the furious attacks of the Federal cavalry. Hampton turned and said a few words to the officer command ing his column. He was a young man of twenty-three or four, with sparkling black eyes, raven hair and mustache, and a bear ing which showed him every inch the soldier. " Do or die " spoke in the flashing eye, the laughing lip, and the firm clutch of the sabre. Such was the gay and gallant Georgian, P. M. B. Young, whose charge at Fleetwood afterward saved the fortunes of that desperate day, and covered the young cavalier all over with glory. "Colonel Young," said Hampton, "I am going to charge those guns at once." "Ready, sir!" was the answer; and, turning to his men, Young ordered : " Form fours ! draw sabre !" The column was ready and, sword in hand, General Hampton placed himself at its head. The admirable serenity of his countenance had not altered in the least degree. Under that courteous and tranquil glance was the stubborn will which would not bend. A moment's pause ; a few rapid orders ; a quick clash of steel, as hundreds of sabres flashed from their scabbards, and then, at a steady trot, which, in a few minutes, became a headlong gallop, the column rushed to the charge. The weight of the column, with Hampton leading, swept away the Federal cavalry in front, as leaves are swept by the wind ; and then, amid loud shouts and the incessant crack of carbines, the Southern horsemen closed in upon the very muzzles of the artillery. The sudden and desperate charge carried all before it. The men received without faltering the storm of canister hurled h* U* 322 SURRY OP EAGLE'S- NEST. their faces, rushed upon the guns, and in an instant they ha*nndow, I saw a gentleman and his family at supper. There was something familiar in the face of one of the young ladies, but I could not see her very distinctly. 1 soon had a better opportunity. Pelham had gone and knocked, and th eld gentleman rose and came to the door. As soon as he saw us he evidently comprehended the object of our visit, and very courteously invited us to come in to supper. We entered, and what was my surprise to see Will suddenly run forward, and, with all the abandon of a boy, throw his arms around the young lady whose face I thought I had recognized! The embrace was followed by an astounding explosion in the way of a kiss and then a grand tableau ! The young giri blushing to the whites of her eyes, a second damsel standing WITH WHOM I SUPPED 335 primly erect, the old gentleman utterly dumbfounded, the old lady holding up her hands, and a pretty little girl of about ten, with a quantity of bright curls, looking with eyes of wild amaze- jaent at the spectacle. Every historian owes his reader an explanation of whatever is dbscure. The meaning of all this scene will be better under- tfood if the kind reader will turn back to the chapter headed, *I chase and come up with a Federal officer." In ray conversa tion with Will on that occasion, he said : " What's leceme of Jenny Clayton f At the North still f Pshaw ! Why don't *h come home f n The young lady before us was Miss Jenny Clay ton, a remote cousin of ours, from Virginia, who had been Will's sweetheart when they were children. Her father, a timid man, of lukewarm feeling toward the Confederacy, had sent her to the North to be educated; she had come to visit a school mate, the daughter of Mr. Curtis, our host and so we all met t A few words explained every thing, and the old gentleman Jaughed heartily. "Come, sit down, sit down, gentlemen!" he said to Pelham and myself. " I am what you call a * Union man,' but I am not a churl on that account." And he hospitably busied himself in heaping up our plates with smoking "viands" seethe novelists. "Viands," on the present occasion, meant beef hash, hot bread, milk, butter, eaffee, preserves, and that succulent edible called "apple butter." That hash! that "apple butter!" that gorgeous, magical supper ! memory still returns to it, and dwells upon it witn the fond and lingering tenderness of a lover who remembers the bright hours of his happiness ! At last we rose, casting eloquent glances, illuminated by smiles each at each. Will sat down 6y Jenny Clayton, who was soon running on with him in the gayest manner, and Pelham had drawn to his side the pretty little fairy with the curls, who astounding event! declared herself an inveterate rebel! "That is true," said the old gentleman, laughing. "Carrfr oan't bear her own people, and runs to all the gray-coats." 336 SURRY OF EAGLE'S. NEST. " But I don't like your flag," said the little girl, "it looks M bloody!" And she shook her head sadly, looking with her great bine eyes, half covered with golden ringlets, at Pelham. That gaze was met by Pelham with a long, sad, yearning look, which I could not understand. The penetrating eyes had grown soft, the Daughter of the lips disappeared, an expression of longing tender ness relaxed the features of the young soldier and, without seeming aware of what he was doing, he drew the child toward him. His arm encircled the slender form, his lips were pressed to hers in a long, lingering kiss ; and then, as he turned aside his head, I saw tears in his eyes. " You are the very image of a little sister I have," he said, in a low voice, "far away in Alabama." The words were drowned in the laughter of Will and Miss Jenny Clayton, who seemed to have become better friends than ever. When finally we rose, and bade our hospitable entertainers good-night, I thought that Miss Jenny Clayton had quite sue* ceeded in effacing the image of Miss Henrietta Fitzhugh. I have remembered this evening ever since ; but nothing dwells more clearly in my recollection than that kiss bestowed by Pelham on the child, and the tender words he murmured as he pressed her to his heart. That night Will slept by my side at General Jackson's head quarters, or rather we spent the night together, talking of old iays, and friends at home. Why should I record tkat conver sation of tvro brothers? It would scarcely interest the reader. The chill winds of the September night, fanning the embers of the camp-fire, bore away the words. On the next day, as I have said, we remained in line of battle facing the enemy, defying General MeClellan to renew the attack. On the day after, General Lee was on the south bank of the Potomac leaving only, growled the New York Tribune, "the debris of lj|s late camps, two disabled pieces of artillery, a few hundred of his stragglers, perhaps two thousand of his wounded, FALLING BACK WITH STUART. 337 Mid as many more of his unburied dead not a sound field-piece, caisson, ambulance, or wagon. He takes with him the supplie* gathered in Maryland, and the rich spoils of Harper's Ferry." Will was back to his command. To spare him the tedium of a prison, I had succeeded in having his name added to the list f Federal prisoners captured at Harper's Ferry, and released npon parole not to serve until exchanged. With a close pressure of the hand we had parted. Such had been, from first to last, my experiences of the c< Maryland Campaign." XCIY. FALLING BACK WITH STUART. WE spent the beautiful month of October in the Valley. What is it makes these sad memorial days so charming? What influence descends upon the heart and brings back all the years that are dead their smiles and laughter, all their happy faces, the mirth and revelry, and joy ? Not the fairest May that ever shone, with budding leaves and flowers and grasses, moveii me like those slowly gliding hours, which take the golden splendor of the woods, the azure of the sky, the glitter of the sunshine for their drapery, and, filling heart and memory with the dear dead faces, it may be, of friends long gone into the dust, serenely lead us to the " days that are no more." Is this life of dreams among the fading glories of the rich October woods " unprofitable ?" Profit ! forever profit ! What w real in this world except your reveries and dreams, O friendly reader ? What secret of happiness is greater than to follow your illusions ? Life is so short and dull that there is little in it worth our notice, save its illusions ! so cold and sad that I, for my part, wonder we are not all dreamers ! But the narrative of Surry halts by the way. Marchons ! To horse and away, whatever reveries beckon ! whatever dreams enchain us ! Still, as we pass, let us cast a lingering glance, O kindly reader, 338 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. &n the gorgeous tints of autumn all along the wooded shores of the Opequon and the Shenandoah, gliding, with a musical niur- uiur, to the bosom of the Potomac ; on the old hall yonder, with its gay back-ground of many-colored foliage ; and upon the smiling fields, over which the "Yankee cavalry" will soon be sweeping. A parting glance at the fair panorama a pressure of the hand exchanged with all the kind good friends who have made the days so pleasant and then " to horse!" For General McClellau is moving ; his great adversary is hastening to intercept him on the Rappahannock ; the days of idleness and " sweet do- nothing" yield to day and night marches, and the shock ot battle. At the end of October, Jackson followed Longstreet, and ap proached the little village of Millwood. Stuart had already crossed the Blue Ridge, to guard the gaps, as the army moved and I accompanied him, by Jackson's permission, to capture, tf possible, a better horse than that of my Dutch prisoner. From that moment it was fighting, fighting, fighting! We charged a heavy picket at Mountsville, and dispersed or captured the whole party of about seventy-five. Then the column pushed on to Aldie. As we mounted the hill bang! bang! And, driving on, the head of the column, Fitz Lee's brigade, ran into Buford's cavalry, about five thousand in number. This was a species of hornet's nest, which buzzed in a manner more exciting than agreeable. Stuart fell back with his small force to the hill above, and, receiving intelligence that another column was closing in on his rear, opened with his horse artillery upon the enemy, and quietly withdrew, by a friendly cross-roadi to the town of Middleburg. At Mountsville, the officer commanding the picket, from the First Rhode Island, was wounded, and his watch taken in charge by a staff-officer. Months afterward it was returned to him by the hands of Captain Stone, a Federal prisoner.* *ReaJ. FALLING BACK WITH STUART. 339 So we marched into Middleburg, where a bevy of fair girls eame forth to meet the gallant Stuart, in a state of crazy joy at teeing the gray-coats, and the black feather of their favorite chieftain. Did the bold lips press some rosy cheeks without having them withdrawn? If so, will anybody blame the maidens? Not I. Thereafter, still fighting, fighting, fighting ! At Mountsville, at Union, at Bloomfield, at Upperville everywhere fighting. Here Colonel Wickham, that gallant cavalier, ever leading his men in the charge, was wounded; and, more than once, the guns of Pelham were in imminent danger of capture. I admired now, more than ever, the splendid genius for artil lery which this mere boy possessed. There is a genius for every thing Pelham's was to fight artillery. He was born for that, and found his proper sphere in command of Stuart's guns. With what unyielding obstinacy he fought ! with a nerve and courage how gay and splendid ! No part of the ground escaped his eagle eye no ruse could deceive him. He fought with the ardor of a boy and the stubborn obstinacy of gray hairs. Rush ing his guns into position upon every hill, there he staid until the enemy were almost at the muzzles and were closing in upon his flanks. Then, hastily limbering up and retiring, under a storm of bullets, he took position on the next elevation, and poured his canister into the advancing columns as before. Stuart slowly retired before the enemy, fighting at every step, until he reached the high ground below Paris. Here Pelham posted his artillery on the slope of the mountain, at sunset, and before these frowning war-dogs the enemy halted. * Meanwhile the whole command, except a trifling rear-guard, had moved toward Piedmont, to guard the trains then falling back. You see, my dear reader, I am not writing a series of " ro mantic incidents," for I have introduced a wagon-train, the an tipodes of romance. But this mention of the cavalry-train re calls one of those " trifles " which, I have warned you, I remem ber more vividly than all else. Stuart and his staff retired at nightfall to the little village of 340 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. Paris, where, after partaking of an excellent supper, we all oanie to a halt before the old wooden tavern, facing the main street, at the eastern terminus thereof. The house was bare and deserted, but a fire was speedily kindled in the fireplace, and pipes were produced by the staff. The General was stretched upon a bench, and seemed in the depths of despair. " What is the matter ?" I asked. "'Well, a blunder has occurred in the movement of my Column toward Piedmont, and my trains are in great danger." " That's enough to make any one blue, I confess, General." " As indigo," was the reply, in the tone of a man who has lost his last friend. And the General sank back, knitting hi brows. As he did so, something was said which produced a laugh and, to my great surprise, Stuart joined ia it heartily. " You are very gay for a man who has the blues," I said. "Well, the fact is, Major," was his gay reply, " I am so blue to-night, that I have to laugh to keep up my spirits, you see !"* And, throwing himself back, the General laughed again, yawned, and immediately fell asleep. My own eyelids were just drooping, when a cavalry-man rode up and waked the party. " Well, what news ?" asked Stuart, yawning. " Major Wooldridge says the enemy are advancing, General, and that you had better get away from hers." The General indulged in another yawn, stretched his limbs, ftad buckled on his sabre.t " I believe I will go and see old Stonewall," he said. The staff were soon ready; and mounting our horses, we fcmrned their heads toward Ashby's Gap. We had scarcely emerged from the little village, and began the ascent of the mountain road which leads through the Gap, when * His words. t In conversation with me, Colenel Surry said, with a laugh, that he knew this and many other scenes of his memoirs would appear too trifling and unimportant for record. " But I am tired of the noise of great battles," he added, " and amuse my self by travelling along the by-ways of my subject, and picking up the 'unon- trifles.'" A MORAL REFLECTION 341 rapid firing came from the rear, and then the clatter of hoofs was heard upon the street of the village. "They are crowding Wooldridge," said the General, u but he is one of my best officers, and will take care of himself. Come on, Major, we are losing time." And we pushed our horses into a rapid trot, which soon brought us to the river. Fording at the spot which I so well remembered on my hard ride from Manassas to Winchester in July, 1861, we went on to Millwood, and found General Jackson in his tent, under the trees of a forest near, reading his Bible, from which he looked up with a smile of pleasure as Stuart en tered.* Before daylight Stuart was again in the saddle and travelling rapidly toward Front Royal, to cross at the first gap he found unoccupied by the enemy, and take command of his column. I was with him. XCY. WHICH CONTAINS A VALUABLE MORAL REFLECTION. THE last words of the last chapter are easily explained. I was a short day's ride from May Beverley, and I could no tonger utter thosf, rebellious words, " I will not look again upon her face!" Alas for human resolution ! However hard the iron, there is a tire that will melt it ! however obstinate a man's will, it yields to the smile of a girl ! I had sworn not to go near May Beverley, and I was hastening to see her once more, ae fast as my horse would carry me ! Moral: Never trouble yourself by making good resolutions when the eyes of a woman are mixed up with them ! I had easily procured twenty-four hours' leave of absence from General Jackson, who evidently was in no haste to leave Mill- * General Stuart spoke of this incident more than once. 342 SURRY OF EAG-LE'S-NEST, wood ; and Betting out with Stuart, who had been joined by Hampton's Brigade, passed through White Post and Smoketown, and entered Manassas Gap. Beyond this gorge in the Blue Ridge was The Oaks, a little off the track of the advancing enemy. "Who are you going to see, Surry?" said Stuart, as, having tidden ahead of the cavalry, we wound along the mountain road toward Linden. " Going to see, my dear General ?" I echoed. " Why, the manner in which your cavalry is handled." Stuart laughed. " 4 Sweet Evelina! dear Evelina!* "he sang; "is her name Evelina, Surry, and where does she live ?" " Pshaw, General ! Your suspicion is enormous ! But I now remember there is a friend of mine in his region." "Aha I I thought so! I wish I could go with you." 41 She would be delighted to see you. You know all the girls are crazy to * follow your feather.' " " You make me gloomy to think what I miss. Well, "If you get there before I do, Oh 1 tell her I'm a-coming too !" And, as we came to a point where we had to separate, Stuar ried: " Success to you, Surry, and long may you wave!" With these words the gay cavalier put spur to his horse, at? galloped on to catch up with Rosser. I rode on rapidly toward The Oaks, which soon rose before me, on its wooded hill. From beyond came the clear crack of carbines, and from time to time the thunder of Pelham's guns, as he fell bk slowly K * Core the advancing enemy. A DREAM OF AUTUMN. 343 XOVi. A DREAM OF AUTUMN. AGAIW at The Oaks ! How many stirring scenes had I wit nessed, what vivid emotions had been mine, since first I ascended the steps of this old portico in April, 1861 ! Then I was a gay and ardent youth, on fire with the coming conflict, and revelling in dreams of glory and romance. Now I was a weary, dusty soldier, with clanking sabre, dingy uniform, and a settled conviction that the thing called war was a hard and disagreeable affair not at all a splendid series of adventures. I had seen much, felt more, reflected most of all and here I was within ten feet of her smile, the sheen of her hair, the haunting splendor of her eyes ! Oh, glory, fame, the long result of war ! what are all these when a girl looks at you, laughing with her eyes, and, blushing, murmurs : "You have come at last!" An hour after my arrival at The Oaks, I had answered all Colonel Beverley's questions agreed with him upon every sub ject and was walking with May Beverley across the hills. Very soon we lost our way. There are moments when, in losing our way, we find all that is worth having in this world of disappointments, sorrows, and regrets ! The afternoon was dreamy and memorial. The affluent glories of the splendid autumn burned away; and on every side the forests blazed with crimson, brae, and gold slowly fading now into the russet brown of winter. The mountain slopes were magical in their vivid coloring ; and you would have said the banners of all nations flaunted in the dreamy atmosphere. The sky was like the blue eyes of a girl, when, opening from bud to blossom, she expands into the perfect flower of womanhood ; the Hmpid waters of the streamlets near lapsed away as sweetly as the '* murmur of a dream ;" and over all the scene of shining stream, and deep blue sky, and azure mountain, drooped the mellow 344 SURRY OF EAOLE'S-NEST. haze of the mild Indian summer, rounding every outline, soften* ing every tint, and making of this lovely region a bright Arcady of love and poesy and dreams ? Such was the scene amid which I wandered with the woman I had loved so long ; and, like some magical influence, it melted deep into the hearts of those who gazed upon it. All the silver spangles of the ocean rippling in the wind, all the glitter of the stars, the murmur of the waves, the perfume of the breezes, and the dreamy splendor of the sky seemed here to mingle into one supreme and perfect whole of love and joy and beauty ! Only, yonder, not a mile away, is heard the thunder of the guns as Pelham drives the enemy back; and ever it draws nearer that grim sound which seems to desecrate the tranquil landscape. May Beverley does not seem to hear it. She is sitting now upon a mossy rock, beneath a little pine ; and, looking down, with cheeks suffused in blushes, plays with the tassel of her belt, or with an autumn flower, which she has plucked beside the rock. The other hand once she strove to withdraw it, but the effort had been soon abandoned. It trembled slightly, but rested in the clasp which encircled it. The pine-tree listened doubtless to the murmurs, mingling with the whisper of its tassels as the low breeze stirred them on that mild memorial afternoon. Did it hear a woman whisper, as her head sank on the bosom of a man who held her in his arms, clasped to his heart hear her murmur with a face full of tears and blushes : " Yes ! from the moment when you lay before me, pale and motionless, in the wood, that day!" " And never forgot me never lost sight of the poor soldier, liying only for you?" "Never! never!" O pine-tree, never whisper what you heard or saw ! There are things which the cold world laughs at, makes it cynical jest of, and so desecrates. Yet who shall dare to laugh at the spectacle of a proud and beautiful girl, long fettered by a hateful contract, shuddering at THE AWAXING. 345 a loathsome union with a man she despise* --who shall laugh when she gives way to her heart, and, falling weak and ove" 1 come into the arms of one who has loved her long and dearly, murmura, -'Take charge of m^ poor life direct iny fate | frave loved, and love you only 1" '" That was the confession which came in a murmur from ttT beautiful lips of the proud May Beverley, and she made it amid the thunder of the guns, her face hid in my breast, heart beating against heart. XCYII. THE AWAKING. WE had returned to The Oaks : the young girl had disappeared upstairs : I was having a " private conversation" with Colonel Beverley. A few words will place upon record all that is necessary to a comprehension of these memoirs. My host listened in silence and with evident pain to my avowal and demand of his daughter's hand. When I had finished, he hook his gray head sadly, and seemed too much moved to speak. Then he leaned over, took my hand, and said in his brave and loyal voice : " My dear young friend for I am very much older than your self, and may call you so you have given me more pain in the last ten minutes than words can express. You ask of me what it is out of my power to grant my daughter's hand. I appre ciate the sincerity of your feeling, and doubt not that my poor child is equally in earnest, and would to God I could consent to your union ! To have for my son the son of my oldest and dearest friend, would be an inexpressible delight to me ; it is almost beyond my power to deny you, but I must. My honor is pledged. I am bound irrevocably by a promise to the dead- Frederick Baskerville's father ; and I must add that my child is also bound by her promise to that young man. She must adhere 15* SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. to her pledge, and I to mine. Our hearts may break, but at least the honor of the Beverleys will remain untarnished !" The old man's cheeks flushed, his eyes filled with tears. " Would to God," he exclaimed gloomily, "that I had cut out my tongue, severed my right hand, before I uttered and re corded that promise ! I am no admirer of young Baskerville : had I known what his character would become but this is idle ! Do not think hard of me, Major Surry ! this marriage must take place ; let us end this painful interview, it is almost more than I can bear !" I rose. What is it that a proud man does when his heart is breaking? I think he remains calm and quiet, resolved not to shrink or bend, though the thunder smite him. I went to my chamber to get my arms. On the staircase I met May Beverley. She glanced at my pale face, and said : "Papa has refused you ?" "Yes." The color mounted to her beautiful face, and her head rose erect as that of an offended duchess. " I will never marry that person 1" she said naughtily. Then her head sank, and she burst into tears. Captain Baskerville would tave been displeased had he seen where the young girl's head then rested ; but then, Captain Baskerville's views or opinions were not important. This woman was not yet his property. Her lips were pressed to my own, and this is all that was eaid in ten minutes : "I love yon!" "I will never marry him ! no, never, never t" " And if there is any hope for me ? I shall be far away." "I will send you a flower like this !" And taking from her bosom an autumn primrose, the blushing girl held it out to me, remained a moment sobbing in my arms, id then disappeared. Ten minutes afterward I had left The Oaks. PELHAM'S HORSE ARTILLERY, 347 XCVIII. HOW PELHAM FOUGHT HIS HORSE ARTILLERY I TURNED my back upon The Oaks with a heavy heart, and the solitary ride I was about to take back over that ground, traversed so gayly in the morning, appeared inexpressibly dreary. I had reached a lofty hill at some distance from the house, when the last regiments of cavalry appeared falling slowly back, and Pelham's guns were seen bringing up the rear. On the long column of pieces, caissons, and mounted cannoneers, the red light of the setting sun was streaming splendidly, and in front was seen the slender form of Pelham, with his smooth, girlish face, and his brave, gay smile. The crimson light illu minated his figure, and fell around him like a glory. I would have avoided him, for I was in no humor then to speak with anybody ; but his first words as he recognized me gave me something like a thrill of satisfaction. " How are you, old fellow ?" was Pelham's friendly greeting. " Where did you come from ? You are just in time. We are going to have a thundering fight here before night!" And he grasped my hand with that cordial, kindly manner which made him so many friends. " Ah !" I said, u are they pressing you?" " Yes, in heavy force." " You don't seem in a hurry." " Well," was his reply in a tranquil tone, " I don't like to be hur ried, but they'll be here by the time I get into position yonder. ' And he pointed to the next hill. "The boys are in splendid spirits," he added gayly ; "listen i" In fact, the horse artillery were singing at the top of their uoicts : " Ain't you ain't you happy ? Anchor by-and-by ! Ain't you ain't you happy f Anchor by-and-by! Stand the storm, it won't be long! A.ucho* l.v-and-by!" 348 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. There was something stirring in the jovial voices, and Pelham''g /ace lit up as he listened. "There never were better cannoneers !" he said; " they wiD fight the Yankees to the very muzzles of the guns!" As he spoke, a French song resounded a gay and lilting air and he began to laugh. "That's my 'Napoleon detachment,'" said Pelham; "and Dominic the No. I. is leading." All at once, above the voices, was heard rapid firing from the small rear-guard, and a cavalry-man came on at full gallop, with the intelligence that the enemy were pressing forward rapidly to charge the guns. Pelham rode quietly to a point near, from which he could get a better view ; then he suddenly came back like lightning, and ordered : "Forward! gallop!" The column of pieces moved at the word, broke into a gallop, and, thundering across a flat, mounted the opposite hill. Pelham was beside them, and they were instantly placed in battery, and opened fire. It was not a moment too soon. A heavy force of Federal cavalry had charged the rear-guard, broken through it, and were now seen advancing at a headlong gallop to charge the pieces. All at once, the bronze war-dogs of Pelham opened their grim mouths, and a storm of solid shot tore through the Federal ranks, overthrowing men and horses ; and this was succeeded, as they still pressed on, by a deadly fire of canister. At the same moment, Gordon, that brave and noble North Carolinian, one of my best friends, charged them at the head of the "Old First," and, had it not been for a stone wall and ditch, would have swept them back at every point. As it was, Ms horses floundered in the deep ditch, the sharpshooters behind the wall poured in a destructive fwre, and Gordon was forced tv fall back to the hill.* See his report. PELHAM'S HORSE ARTILLERY. 349 The fine face of the North Carolinian was flushed with rage ; his eyes glared ; he could ill hrook such a repulse. Pelham met him with a calm smile : "Don't annoy yourself, Colonel," he said, "they won't rid OTer me." And, turning to an officer, he said coolly : "Double-shot all the guns with canister." As he spoke, the enemy, who had rapidly re-formed their dne, charged stra ; ght upon the pieces. Pelham sat his horse, looking coolly at the dark column as it swept upon him. He did not move a muscle, but his teeth were clinched beneath the thin lips, and the blue eyes blazed. The enemy were suffered to advance within less than a hundred yards of the guns, when Pelham rose in his stirrups, and in his ringing voice shouted : "Fire!" The ground shook ; a huge cloud for an instant obscured the scene ; then, as it drifted, the Federal ranks were seen to break in disorder and retreat, leaving the ground strewed with their dead. " All right !" said Pelham, coolly. " Reload with canister. The cannoneers sprang to the pieces, and they were soon ready again. But the enemy did not seem willing to renew the charge. They dismounted a heavy line of sharpshooters, ad vanced, and taking advantage of every species of cover, were evidently preparing to close in upon the guns. The bullets now began to fly thick and fast. Pelham sat his horse motionless, and gazing at the advancing line. "They will make a rush directly, Surry," he said coolly, " and I'll show you how my boys will mow them down." " They do seem determined to come to close quarters." " Why don't they do it, then ? They are after something I don't understand. What is it?" The reply came from our rear. Suddenly a loud cheer was heard directly in rear of the guns ; and a regiment, which the enemy had sent round through a clump of woods, charged tht pieces at full gallop. 350 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. "Action rear !" Pelham shouted, darting to his guns; and two pieces were whirled about, and opened upon the charging column. The fire raked the enemy with deadly effect ; and they wavered for an instant. Then they re-formed, and came on again head long. At the same moment the line of sharpshooters in front charged at a run, right up to the muzzles of the guns. We were surrounded ; and from that moment the fight became desperate. Pelham was everywhere, cheering on the men, with his drawn sabre flashing in the last rays of sunlight and as that blood -red light streamed on his slender figure, and countenance all ablaze with the fire of battle, his appearance was grand. The boy-artillerist was in his proper sphere fighting his guns to the very muzzle, determined to die where he stood, or drive the enemy back. More than one of the dismounted Federal cavalry charged up to the mouths of the pieces and were hurled back, torn to pieces with shell or canister ; and, as each deadly discharge swept their enemies back, the cannoneers uttered triumphant shouts, in which might be discerned the fierce joy of fighting which these veritable war-dogs experienced. Suddenly above the thunder of the guns resounded the loud, imperial Marseillaise, sung with a species of ferocious roar by the men of the "Napoleon detachment," as they worked the guns, driving back the charge upon the rear.* There was some thing in the voices of these men inexpressibly defiant and deter mined the martial chorus rang out splendid and triumphant ; it seemed to say, " Come ! we will die here, where we stand !" Above them, on his horse, towered the form of Pelham, and his voice made the men grow wild. Never have I seen such a fight. It was an episode from the wars of the Titans the conflict of the giants and the thunder bolts. The force in front was swept back, decimated, and completely routed. As thf*y gave way, Gordon charged and drove them with the sabre. At the aame moment the force in rear was seen to recoil. * Historical PELHAM'S HORSE ARTILLERY. 351 Then was presented a spectacle which made the heart leap, and brought a fierce cheer from the men. Right down on the enemy's flank hurst a column of Southern cavalry, and then followed the quick work of the sabre. A desperate combat followed but it did not last ten minutes. The enemy gave way the Southern horsemen pressed' them, cut ting right and left ; and as the scattered Federal cavalry darted over the hill, I saw in front of their pursuers the tall form of Mordaunt. At every sweep of his heavy sabre a man was cut out of the saddle; and not until he had struck their main body did he sheathe his weapon and slowly retire, with a firm and defiant front, which the enemy made no attempt to charge. "Well, P elhain," he said, as he rode up, "you have had pretty hot work, but I think they have got enough for the present." And he grasped the hand of Pelham,' whose face blushed proudly. When I took the hand of Mordaunt in my turn, something wet and clammy attracted my attention. " It is only blood," he said, laughing grimly ; " there is a good deal on my hands." The fighting was now evidently over for the day. Night had come, and the enemy would not attempt to renew the attack before morning. I woke to the consciousness, as the artillery limbered up and prepared to move on, that I was mounted on a weary horse, with night and a journey of about thirty miles before me. I was thinking of the dreary ride, when, all at once, the voice of Mordaunt said : " Come and sup with me, Surry we are not far from my house, and I must go there for an hour or two, to get some papers." To this I agreed, especially as the place was on my route. Pelham bade me farewell with a laugh. "Tell General Jackson that we are all right, Surry I" he said; "and come and see me soon." 352 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. With a pressure of the hcnd I parted with the brave boy, and he rode on. As the horse artillery took up the line of march, I heard the cannoneers again strike up the lilting chorus : "Stand the storm, it won't be long I Anchor by-and-by P XCIX. I DELIVER UP HARRY SALTOUN'S WATCH, AND MAKE A DISCOVERY. MORDAUNT had gone to give an order to his second in com mand, relating to the movements of the cavalry during his brief absence, when I was hailed by a laughing voice near me, and young Harry Saltoun rode up, with one arm im a sling, and held out his hand. He looked thin and pale, but his eye was as laughing, his smile as gay, and his bearing as gallant as ever. " How are you, Major ?" was his easy greeting. " Delighted to see you again ! Just to think of my missing the whole Mary land campaign!" " Your wound kept you away?" "Yes at that glorious Elm Cottage! Did you ever know- kinder people ?" \ " They are charming." "I believe you." " Did you like your young nurse ? I believe she took especial charge of you?" Harry Saltoun's face colored suddenly it was a veritable blush which came to his cheeks. "Oh, yes," he stammered, "we became very good friends. But tell me about Maryland. How sorry I am I did not go with the cavalry boys! They passed right by my father's near Frederick City." What did that sudden blush mean? Had Harry Saltoum HARRY SALTOUN'S WATCH. 353 fallen in love with Violet Graffcon, to whom he had carried Mor- daunt's note, soliciting her good offices for the youth, when he was wounded? 'You ought to have found out our house," he continued, laughing, " and made the old gentleman supply you with rations. They beat the Confederate article, I tell you !" " I can testify as much from personal experience," was my re ply, and, informing the young officer of my visit to his father, I drew from my breast and gave him his watch. At sight of it he exhibited the most unmistakable pleasure. "Thank you, Major! "he exclaimed; "you have done me a real favor ! When I left Maryland I left this behind, and, as I have always worn it, I felt as if not having it would bring me bad luck." 44 Take care, or some Yankee will get it." " Never I will die first. I never have been captured yet for, you see, I take care of myself!" " That is no doubt the reason you left Elm Cottage ?" " Precisely ! No sooner did I hear that McClellan was ad vanning than I fell back in good order, and here I am !" The boy's laughter was like a cordial, and almost made the gloomy Major Surry smile. 44 And you left all well? your fair nurse and everybody?" 44 Perfectly." And again, at the utterance of that word 44 nurse," Harry Sal- toun blushed unmistakably. The thing was perfectly plain. 44 Well, Major," he said, "good-by, now! Thank you again for bringing my watch. There is Colonel Mordaunt calling to you. Did you ever see or read of a more splendid fellow in a charge? His men adore him and I would rather have him say to me, 4 Well done!' than get another grade from the War Department." With these words the gay youth saluted with the easy grace which characterized him; and, joining Mordaunt, I rode with him toward the mountains. SUKRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. c. ACHMED J* IHOBT ride brought us to Mordaunt's house, buried in th depths of the woods, and, dismounting, we entered the same apartment, decorated with book-shelves, pictures, and tiger-skins, in which I had held my first interview with the singular man, who from a stranger had become a friend. On the table lay the identical copy of Hugo's " Les Miserables "" which I had noticed before. The same agate eyes glared at me from the tiger and leopard skins the same Arab horsemen hurled their javelins or wielded their ataghans in the pictures. On the threshold appeared Achmed the Moor, in his pictur esque costume, bowing low at sight of me, and a few words in Arabic evidently announced supper. It was spread in an apartment decorated with old mahogany furniture and long rows of family portraits, doubtless those of Mordaunt's ancestors. The dames and caveliers, in yellow lace, and doublets loaded with embroidery, looked down sedately up on their swarthy descendant in his gray uniform, with its braided sleeves on his brown hat, black plume, and heavy sabre. The supper was excellent, and was placed upon a service plain but rich. Mordaunt scarcely ate any thing, contenting himself with a light meal and <*ome bitterly strong coifee, after which he lit his short, black meerschaum, and led the way back to his library. I had eaten nothing. The depressing events of the day had told upon me. As I now, however, fixed my eyes upon Mordaunt, whos martial figure was stretched in a leathern chair opposite me, the reflection came, " What is your disappointment, compared to the aiisery which this man has suffered ? what right have you to com plain of a mere * cross in love,' when you see before one who, in spite of suffering which would break the hearts of most men, re tains his calmness and endures his agony without complaint ?" The immense trial which Mordaunt had thus met and overcome ACHMED. 355 by his iron resolution came to my memory, and the sight of his stern, brave face was like a tonic, giving me strength again after a moment of prostration. Of that dark passage in his life I had never spokem to him ; nor did he know that I had plucked out the heart of his mystery, I shrank from letting this proud spirit suspect rny knowledge of Ms history, and had never breathed a syllable to him of my ad venture with Fenwick. "You no doubt remember this apartment," said Mordaunt. " I have not been here for more than a year, but it remains as I left it. See, Hugo's 4 Les Miserables, ' which I remember we dis cussed, is lying there open at the page I was reading. And he pointed to the volume. " I see it is a story we never finish quite in this life, Mor daunt." "Ah! you philosophize, my guest!" he said, with his grim smile, " and you are right. The history of ' The Wretched ' is that of humanity, and it is rather long, as I once before said." What an infinitely mournful book that is! What a pathos! What a genius! Beside it, with all its tedium and surplusage, how small all other books of the epoch seem !" "You are right," replied Mordaunt; "but in a strong man the death of the old galley-slave would be unnatural. Look, here are the lines in which the author sums up his drama." And, taking the volume, he read aloud : u II dort. Quoique le sort f&t pour lui bien Strange II vivait. II inourut quand il n'eut pas son ange : La chose simplement d'elle-mfime arriva, Comine la nnit se fait lorsque le jour s'en va. M " If aH men died when they lost those who were their good angels," he said, " what a grave-yard the world would be ! The man who is strong bears his woe in silence if he is wronged, he avenges himself!" And I saw a stern, hard look in the swarthy face of Mordaunt. I knew he was thinking of Fenwick, and that his fierce spirit returned in thought to that scene near Elm Cottage. Then his face cleared up ; he resumed his tranquillity, and said : 356 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. u Jtut we are touching too much upon philosophy, Surry. Let us get to someting more cheerful. You were talking this evening with young Saltoun." " Yes ; he is a splendid boy." " As brave a fellow as ever drew sabre. He has just returned to his command." " And left his heart behind, if I am not mistaken, at Elm Cottage has he not ? 1 break no confidence he has told me nothing, and I speak to his friend but he is evidently in love with Violet Grafton." Mordaunt turned his head quickly, but immediately became as calm as before. " Ah ! you think that, do you ?" he said in a low tone. " Yes," I replied. " Well," was the cool response of Mordaunt, " he will make twar a very good husband." " You think she will marry him!" I exclaimed. " Why not ?" came as coolly as ever. " You astonish me, Mordaunt ! Yiolet Grafton marry this gay youngster ! Why, he would never suit her." " My dear Surry," was the cold reply, " do you think that women, when they love, inquire if the individual in question will ' suit them?' You are a novice if you think so, or imagine that like takes to like ! This young man, Harry Saltoun, is what the French call the ' flower of the peas ' all life, gay ety, and sunshine. Miss Grafton is tranquil, pensive, and serious. There is your marriage made at once !" And Mordaunt smiled ; but I could see that there was little gayety in his dark face. "Well," I said, "perhaps you know best; but there is an other circumstance which threatens to mix itself up with the affair." "What is that!" " The love of your protege Achmed for the same person." " Ah ! you have observed that, too ! You are discern ing." " It was made perfectly plain that night when he picked up ACHMED. 357 the young Jady's handkerchief, and by his burning glances direct ed toward her afterward." " Well," said Mordaunt indifferently, " I don't think Miss Grafton will ever unite herself with this young leopard ; but she would not thereby debase herself." ** Is it possible that you think so, Mordaunt I Miss Grafton marry your servant!" " Achmed is not my servant he is my friend. He is the son of a sheik, and, in his own country, ranks as a nobleman." " Still he waits upon you." " Yes, as a son : he does not follow me for gain, but from affec tion. Yon look incredulous stay 1 I will give you a proof of what I say." And. reaching out his hand, Mordaunt touched a small bell upon the table, which gave forth a single ringing note. Almost instantly the door opened without noise, and the young Moor stood before us. Mordaunt coolly drew from his pocket a heavy purse of gold, and, emptying its glittering contents upon the table, said some words to Achmed in a language which I did not understand. The effect which they produced was remarkable. The youth turned pale, and his lip trembled." " I informed him," said Mordaunt to me, " that I had no longer any need of his services, and offered him that gold as a parting gift." Then turning to Achmed, he uttered a few additional words, like the first, in Arabic. This time the effect was more remark able than before. Achmed trembled in all his limbs, his face flushed, tears rushed to his eyes, and, falling upon his knees before Mordaunt, he t-owed his face in his hands and burst into bitter sobs, mingled with accents so beseeching, that, ignorant as I was of the lan guage in which he spoke, I could not possibly misunderstand them. '* He prays me, by the memory of his father, and the grave of his mother," said Mordaunt coolly, " not to make his life wretched by banishing him from my presence. I am his life, the 358 SURRY OP E AGLE'S-NEST. poor boy says without me, he will die. I offer him when he would pour out his heart's blood for me !" Mordaunt made no reply to the Moor in his own tongue ; and this silence seemed suddenly to arouse all the pride of the son of the desert. He rose to his feet; folded his hands across hia bosom, and, letting his head fall, uttered a few words in a tone o proud and calm that it was plain he would say no more. " He says," explained Mordaunt, " ' It is well. Kill me ! The son of Barach will not disgrace his blood he does not fear death ! Kill me ! I will never leave you !' Are you satisfied, Sarry ?" " Yes," I replied, filled with admiration by the proud and reso lute countenance of the young Moor ; " he is a noble boy, and you are happy in having so devoted an attache ! " Mordaunt uttered a few words in Arabic, and again the boy threw himself upon his knees, but this time with extravagant in dications of joy. Seizing Mordaunt's hand, he covered it with kisses, and his eyes, as he raised them toward the face of his master, were resplendent. At a word from Mordaunt he retired, with a step as proud and graceful as that of a young lion in his native desert; and, turning to me, Mordaunt said : " You see that the boy is disinterested." " Yes, I no longer doubt." " But I do not mean that he would be a proper mate for a young lady of Virginia. Miss Grafton appears to me to have made a much more rational selection in Lieutenant Saltoun if such be her selection I know nothing. He is a gentleman, and there is no braver officer in this army." The words were uttered with perfect coolness not a muscle of the proud face moved ; and, knowing Violet Grafton's secret, I could not suppress a sentiment of deep sympathy for the beauti ful girl. To have placed her affections upon Mordaunt, that stern and haughty spirit, and to have done so, as his cold reference to tier probable marriage showed, with so little probability of in' spiring him with a similar feeling ! I thought I saw impending a tragedy as sorrowful as any in Hugo's .volume. From the fit of moody silence which those reflections occa- IN A CARRIAGE WINDOW. 359 sioned, I was aroused by the voice of my host, who rose and in formed me that he must return to his command, which was mov ing on. Would I not accompany him, or spend the night at his house ? These offers I declined, alleging my short leave, and at the door we mounted, to go different ways. With a grasp of his strong hand, Mordaunt hade me farewell ; and, touching his powerful horse with the spur, disappeared at full gallop in the darkness. My own road led in the opposite direction, and, gaining the Gap, I passed through, crossed the Shenandoah, and by santLse reached General Jackson's head quarter* n&at Millwood. or AiV A CARRIAGE MILLWOOD is a pleasant little village, dropped like a bird's in the midst of smiling fields and the foliage of aoble forests. The region around is charming all flowers and pretty iacea. So ft least it appeared to that bird of passage, Surry, who lightly touched and went ; but not so quickly as to miss seeing the bright- eyes of maidens, true as steel in blood and heart and soul to *ae cause of the South. McClellan had advanced, but Jackson had haltx? ' While the Federal commander was streaming toward the ivappahannock, Jackson remained idle near Millwood. What did it mepn ? did not know then, but now all is plain. With that dangerous foe upon his flank, and in a position to strike his rear, McClellan advanced with doubt and fear. Who could tell at what moment the formidable Stonewall Jackson would put his column in mo tion, hasten through Ashby's Gap, and strike the Federal rear, while Lee attacked in front ? General McClellan, however, continued to move southward, Lee everywhere facing him, when suddenly his head went to the block, and General Ambrose Burnside reigned in his stead. , 360 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. Thus made his final exit from the stage the greatest of the Federal commanders. " Off with his head ! So much for Buckingham ! " The days passed on, but we lingered still in this lovely land, the Valley of the Shenandoah. Slowly the glories of the autumn faded. The russet brown of winter came, and the trees, of late BO beautiful with their variegated trappings, began to be denuded by the chill blasts preluding winter. But still the sunshine slept serenely dim, memorial, and pensive on the yellow woods; the wild geese made the far depths of the November heavens musical with their plaintive cry ; and any one given to revery and dreams might have found still in the noble forests haunts full of quiet beauty, starred with wild autumn flowers, where hour after hour would glide by silently, and no sound would be heard but the murmur of the Shenandoah, flowing to the Potomac, its eternity. This land and this people Jackson loved more than all the rest ; and there was not a face that did not glow with pleasure, or an eye that did not look brighter at his coming. His corps was full of young men from this very region the Second Regiment, in deed, was almost made up of brave youths born here and their mothers, sisters, and cousins constantly visited the camps. With these, the famous General was an enormous favorite. All the world admired his great achievements, but the people of the Shenandoah Valley looked upon him as their own especial hero, their great defender and beloved chieftain. Not the strong men only, who had estimated coolly his grand military genius, nor the matrons who had recognized in him the perfect type of Christian manhood it was the girls who, more than all, grew wildly enthusiastic about the shy, retiring General Stonewall, in Ms dingy old coat, his faded cap, hii heavy boots a figure so unlike the young, flashing military heroes of the imagination ! I was riding with him in the neighborhood of Millwood one day, when we passed a carriage full of young girls ; and I remember how one of them looked at the famous soldier. As he approach ed, the maiden leaned through the window, her cheeks glowing, her ey8 sparkling, and, ever as General Stonewall came, leaned IN A CARRIAGE WINDOW. 361 further still and further, with the same long, ardent gaze, " all her soul in her eyes," until that look, as if by some irresistible magnetism, drew his eyes to her glowing face. What would you give to be looked at in that manner by a Virginia girl, good friend ? I think it would be better than to have a " brown-stone front " on Fifth or any other avenue. Jackson caught the flashing glance of the admiring eyes, col ored slightly, saluted, and rode on, followed bv those sparkling eyes. At least she had seen him ! From the woods below Millwood the General moved his head quarters to a picturesque spot called " The Glen," near an old house knowa as " Saratoga." Here, for a brief space, the white tents glittered on the greensward in the sunshine, and the quiet scene was full of couriers, noise, hoof-strokes, rattling sabres, and floating plumes. Then all this passed away. The tents disappeared, and silenoe again reigned in the secluded glen of " Saratoga." Jackson was on the march. The Federal army, under its new commander, General Burn- side, had continued to advance toward the Rappahannock. Soon vigorous attempts were made to cross the upper waters; but everywhere the blue column found in its path the serried ranks of Lee. To cross the river in face of the great captain was a hazardous affair; and Burnside changed the direction of his march, and turned the head of his column toward Fredericks- burg. When he reached the heights on the Rappahannock opposite that town, there was General Lee still facing h im. Such was the condition of things about the 1st of December, when any one who had been in the woods which cover the long crest of hills along the Massaponnax, near Fredericksburg, might have heard an echoing shout which rang for miles, and seemed to indicate the reception of some joyful intelligence by the men of Longstreet. The long-continued cheering was succeeded by the glitter of bayonets, the tramp of Jackson's veterans. He had marched from Millwood up the Valley, passed the IB 362 SURRY OF E AG-LE'S-NEST. Massinutton and Blue Ridge at Newmarket and Thornton's Gaps, descended from the mountains, and, traversing Orange, followed the plank road through the Wilderness to the woods of the Mas- saponnax. Taking his position on the right of Longstreet's corps, Jackson prepared for another conflict ; and it soon took place. flis presence meant combat and victory. on. FROM THE HILLS OF THE MASSAPONtfAX. THE region around the hospitable old town of Fredericksburg is charming in the spring and summer. Even when I saw it first, at the end of fall, it was beautiful and attractive. Come with me, worthy reader, and, instead of giving yon an " official account " of how the great battle was fought, I will point out to you some features of the landscape. We are standing on the long wooded crest which sweeps from the Rappahannock above, in front of the old town, and sinks into the plain near Hamilton's Crossing. In front of us is an ex tensive " bottom," traversed by a run, very deep, and with pre cipitous banks. Behind these banks the Federal infantry are going to take refuge from the Southern shot and shell. Beyond flows the river, and upon its southern bank you see the white spires and old-fashioned houses of Fredericksburg, soon to be torn by cannon-balls. Look now to the left. Yonder is Marye's Hill, which the Irish, Brigade is going to charge with reckless gallantry > strewing the ground with their dead, as the merciless canister is hurled upon them ; and below the hill, the low stone wall where Barksdale will re-form his line when the enemy cross ; and Generals Cobb and Cooke will fall at the same moment one of them killed, and the other dangerously wounded. Along the crest, from Marye's Hill eastward, you see the em battled lines of Longstreet, flanked with cannon. On his right, extending to Hamilton's Crossing, is the corps of Jack- THE HILLS OF THE MASSAPONNAX. 363 son, bristling with artillery, posted upon every hillock, especially above the crossing, where the battalions of "Walker wait, ready to sweep the plain, when General Franklin rushes forward to turn Lee\s right and drive him back. Still farther to the right you see the extensive plain which stretches along the Massaponnax, emptying below into the Rap- pahannock. The level roads are skirted by deep ditches and long rows of beautiful cedars. In those ditches the Federal sharpshooters are going to crouch, within one hundred yards of the muzzles of our cannon, and pick off the cannoneers in spite of all the canister which sweeps above them, tearing through the cedars. In the woods beyond, Stuart's cavalry will be drawn up, ready to take part in the battle, if the Southern flank is turned ; and in the great field on Jackson's right, Stuart will mass his artil lery, and debarred from charging with his horsemen by the yawning ditches show, by the stubborn, daring, and invincible handling of his pieces, that, if he were not the most famous of all cavalry commanders, he would be one of the greatest of artillerists. One feature of tke landscape we have not yet noted the heights beyond the river yonder. That house upon the hill, where the banner of the stars and stripes is rippling in the wind, is "Chatham" and some Federal general has taken it for hi head-quarters. Those blue specks upon the northern bank are "Yankee pickets." See that blue horseman riding along the crest it is an officer reconnoitring. On the llth of December was it not? the great struggle began. At daylight, the Federal pioneers, as busy as beavers, were heard putting together the pontoons, in the fog, opposite the town; and, in spite of a rapid fire from Barksdale's brave Mississippians, who held the town, the bridges were built, and a column was thrown across. Barksdale retreated, fighting from street to street ; and soon the thunder of artillery began. Shot and shell raked the streets of the town, tearing down the chimneys and riddling the 864 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. houses ; but Barksdale held his ground and it was not until an overpowering force of infantry assailed him that he doggedly retired behind the stone wall beneath Marye's Hill. All day the unfortunate town was heavily bombarded. More than one hundred guns was fired every minute. As night descended, the glare of burning houses, set on fire by shell, lit up the landscape ; and the sullen roar of an occasional gun seemed to indicate that the ire of the assailants was not gated. That bitter December night the roads were full of women, many of them with bare feet, who carried in their arms their infants. They had hastily fled T and, in the corners of fences, or beneath the bleak winter trees, shivered till morning. When the sun rose, the Federal army was drawn up upon the southern bank. General Le* had made no movement to prevent them from crossing. GUI. "IT IS WELL THIS IS SO TERRIBLE WE WOULD GROW TOO FOND OF IT!" BEFORE dawn on the morning of the great conflict, Jackson was in the saddle, and, joining General Lee, rode to the right to reconnoitre. He was dressed, on this day, in an entirely new suit. His overcoat was dark blue, lined with red ; his cap blazing with gold lace ; his uniform-coat, which Stuart had given him in the Valley, flaming with its new brass buttons. The troops scarcely knew him, and, when he had passed one of his regiments, a soldier was heard to say: "That finely-dressed officer Old Jack ? No, tir /" Below the Crossing we met Stuart, and the three generals rode down the " stage road," to reconnoitre. The enemy were already advancing through the fog, and very soon the whiz "IT IS WELL," ETC. 365 of bullete indicated that the Federal sharpshooters had descried the dusky figures. Stuart gave an order, and a piece of artillery was seen moving across the field to the right. Soon its thunders were heard, and a Federal battery in front replied. The three generals now rode to the top of the hill above Hamilton's Crossing. From the right came the steady and con tinuous roar of the single gun under Pelham sent thither by Stuart. About three batteries, a few hundred yards in its front, had opened upon it ; and an enfilading fire was raking the field from thirty-pound Parrotts across the river. But Pelham fought on. General Lee looked in the direction of the fire. "It is glorious to see such courage in one so young," he said. And, in his official dispatch, he immortalized the young Alaba- mian by speaking of him as " the gallant Pelham." To be the sole officer below the rank of Major-General mentioned by Lee and to be called " the gallant Pelham !" That is better than a scrawl from any war department ! As the dense fog lifted, and the sun shone through it, the dark Federal lines rushed forward across the plain, and charged Jackson's front with desperation. They were met with a murderous fire of musketry ; the guns ou the crest above opened all at once their iron mouths, and the battle began to rage with fury. The column which assailed the right wing, under Jackson, numbered fifty-five thousand men, under Generals Franklin Hooker, and others see their reports. At Sharpsburg, McClel- lan decided to overwhelm Lee's left, and was met by Jackson. At Fredericksburg, General Burnside decided to flank and drive back Lee's right, and found Jackson in his way. If that assault had succeeded, Lee's right would have been turned, his line forced back, and the enemy would have stormed his position. It failed. Jackson met it with his first Jine. This was broken through, and he met it with his second, which completely re pulsed the assault. D. H. Hill's reserve was not engaged. 366 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. Jackson's vrhole force in the fight was t ees than fifteen th* sand. This battle was a remarkable one. The Federal troops fought hard, but apparently without heart. At one time they seemed about to carry the hill but those who had rushed up the slope vfere driven back with the bayonet. Meanwhile Stuart, in the great field beyond the Crossing, was fighting about thirty pieces of artillery, with desperation. Pel- ham commanded under him, and fought like a veteran of a hun* dred battles. Behind the woods, near by, the long line of cavalry waited to take part in the action if the right was turned. Jackson had just brought up his second line to repulse the enemy, who had broken through his first, as 1 have said, when 1 was sent to General Lee with a message. I found him on the eminence in front of Longstreet's line, now known as " Lee's Hill," and was much impressed by his perfect calmness, as I have everywhere been. As I turned away after delivering my message, loud cheers came from the rigtit, and, looking across the plain, I saw the Federal line rapidly falling back, hotly pursued by Jackson's troops, firing volleys as they rushed forward. General Lee's face filled with blood, and his eye flashed. Turning to one of his generals, who stood near, he said, as he drew his old riding-cape around his shoulders : 44 It is well this is so terrible we would grow too fond of it!"* Those deep-toned words still ring in my ears. When I reached the crest above Hamilton's Crossing again, I found Jackson directing the fire of his artillery on the slope of the crest. I had never seen him more thoroughly aroused. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes glowed. The murderous fire of shot and shell which swept the crest from the crowd ing batteries of the enemy in front seemed to produce no effect upon him, although men and horses were falling evar> minute. * fFU words. "IT IS WELL," ETC, 367 is I made iny report, a shell crashed through a caisson, with in twenty yards, and it blew up with a noise like thunder. Jackson did not move a muscle. "Major," he said, in his brief accents, "present my compli* ments to General Stuart, and tell him I am going to advance and attack with the bayonet precisely at sunset. I wish him to advance his artillery as far as possible, and continue the fire. Desire him not to fire too much to the left he may injure my men."* I found Stuart in the great field, swept by a tempest of shell, superintending the fire of his artillery. The ditches in his immediate front were full of Federal sharp shooters, who kept up a galling fire upon the cannoneers, at close and deadly range. A bullet had cut off a lock of Stuart's hair and as I was speaking with him two others struck his saddle and military satchel. When I delivered my message his face glowed. I was about to ride off when a courier galloped up from Gene ral W. H. F. Lee, I think, and said something which I did not hear. Stuart's blue eyes flashed. "Tell the General all's well," he said, " and that I am going to crowd 'em with artillery !"t As I rode back, expecting at every instant to be hurled from the saddle by the round-shot which swept the plain, I saw the sun poised like a ball of fire upon the woods, and then to the right and left, from Jackson and Stuart, came the redoubled thunders of the charge. The artillery was charging as well as the infantry, and the dusky plains, upon which the shades of night began to descend, became the scene of a desperate and sanguinary struggle. It was soon decided. As night fell, the enemy retreated from Jackson's front, and Stuart pushed forward, "crowding 'em with artillery," as he had promised. Soon only a sullen gun at Intervals replied darkness descended, and the bloody fight had ended. * His word*. t His words. 368 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. \ In front of Marye's Hill, the Federal assault had been re pulsed, as upon the right and though for some reason which I never could clearly understand, Jackson did not make his intended charge with the bayonet and drive the enemy into the river, the victory was none the less perfect. General Lee had here thrown into action counting the forces fighting in every portion of the field less than twenty- five thousand men in all. Against his right alone, the enemy had thrown a column of fifty -five thousand men, under one of their ablest generals as the testimony of General Burnside before the Committee of Investigation shows. Why was a force so considerable unable to drive Jackson from his position ? I know not I only know that they did not. "When the sun went down upon the battle-field, General Lee regarded the attack as only the prelude of a more determined assault on the next morning his repulse of the Federal forces a mere incident of the drama. He had achieved a complete victory.* CIY. PELHAM AND JEAN. NIGHT had fallen, and the weary troops slept on their arms, awaiting the more decisive attack which they expected on the next day. Along the narrow and winding road which led in rear of the line of battle from Hamilton's Crossing to General Lee's head quarters, near the Telegraph road, couriers came and went, bear ing dispatches or orders. Jackson was up during the whole night ; and about midnight an orderly woke me, to say that the General wished to see me. I immediately repaired to his tent, and found him busily writing his candle having been carefully shaded, so as not to throw its light upon the eyes 01 a friend who that night shared his bed. * The Incidemts of this chapter are all historical PKLHAM AND JEAN. 369 Before the General had finished the sentence which ne was writing, the sound of horse's hoofs was heara \nthout, *nd the* orderly came to say that an officer wished to see him. "Come in," was the reply. And a young officer entered, and saluted. "General," he said, U I am sent by General Gregg, who was mortally wounded to-day, to say on his part, that in a recent letter he wrote you, which you considered disrespectful, he had no intention of wounding your feelings, but was actuated solely by what he believed to be the good of the service. He is ncm dying, and begs your forgiveness." The young man again saluted, and waited hat in hand. Jackson rose quickly, and his face exhibited strong feeling. " Tell General Gregg I will be with him immediately," he said ; and, summoning his servant, he ordered his horse to be saddled at once. As soon as the animal was ready he mounted, and, making a sign to me to follow him, rode rapidly, guided by the young officer, to General Gregg's head-quarters. Dismounting hastily in front of the tent occupied by the Bounded soldier, he entered it alone upon this interview I felt that no one should intrude. I only saw, as the tent-flap fell, a pale face, some bleeding bandages, and a weak hand held out, as Jackson, with flushed face, hastened to the sufferer's side.* Then the canvas fell. What took place on that dark night, between the great leader and the noble soldier who did not wish to die without his for giveness ? I know not. But, when Jackson at length came out, there were traces of tears in his eyes, and for some time lie rode on in silence. As he went on through the darkness, I saw him more than once raise his right arm aloft, with that singular ges ture habitual to him, and took upward, with lips moving. He was praying for the friend about to die. At last he seemed to banish these gloomy feelings, and by an effort of the will return to the hard routine of business. * Historical 370 SURRY OF EAGLE'S. NEST. "Major," he said, "I wisli you to ride to General Stuart's head- quarters, and request him to send Major Pelham to me. 1 have special need for him to-night, and I beg you will not return without him." I sainted, and immediately set out for " Camp No-Camp," the head-quarters of Stuart, on the Telegraph road, near General Lee's quarters. I was there informed that Major Pelham had not yet returned from the field, and that I would probably find him at the bivouac of his horse artillery, somewhere in the fields beyond Hamilton's Crossing. This was somewhat discouraging, as an additional ride of three or four miles on a freezing cold night was before me ; but it had to be taken, and, wrapping my cape around my face to shield it from the bitter wind, I rode on and soon reached the Crossing. Across the bare bleak fields, which had been so lately swept by a hurricane of shell, glimmered the dying light of camp-fires; and after much delay I succeeded in finding the spot where Pel- ham's artillery had camped that is, halted the pieces, and built fires of rails. Around one of these fires, which threw its ruddy glare on the grim cannon near, and the weary horses tethered to the wheels, was a group of rudely-dressed men, among whom I recognized Antonio, Rossini, Dominic, and other members of the " Napoleon Detachment," which had fought their Napoleon, singing the loud Marseillaise, that day of the attack near The Oaks. In the centre of the group I saw Pelham the fire clearly dghting up his slender figure and beardless face. He was kneel ing upon one knee and supporting upon his breast the bleeding form of a boy of fifteen, who had been nearly torn to pieces by a fragment. of shell, and was evidently dying. The poor boy was plainly suffering agonies from his mortal wound, which a surgeon had rudely bandaged ; and his exclama tions in French and broken English were touching. 44 Jew* Seigneur /" he exclaimed, in heart-rending accents, as I drew near, " I suffer ! how I suffer, mon capitaine /" KELHAM AND JEAN. 371 Ami raising his head, which rested upon Pelham's breast, he gazed on the young officer's face with a look so helpless and ap pealing, that the quick tears started to my eyes. "Try to bear it, Jean," said Pelham, in a low voice, "you are among your friends you know we love you " There he broke down, and, turning away his head, uttered a sob. The rude cannoneers around looked grimly on, silent be fore the scene. "Oh ! to die!" murmured the wounded boy, sinking back in Pelham's arms, "to die, and I so young! What will mother say? ma mere! it will kill her! You, too, mon capitaine f" he added sobbing, " you, too, will be sorry for the pauvre Jean, wili you not? I followed you from Alabama I have fought with you in so many battles! and one day holdl I die with that at my heart, mon capitaine! one day you said to me, 'Brave Jean /' Yes, you said that did you not?" And, half rising from the earth, the boy threw back his head, and clung with both arms around Pelham's neck. "You called me brave it is enough!" he murmured. "Tell ma mere I fought like a good soldier, mon capitaine! that you were satisfied with Jean ! He dies loving you the brave of braves his dear, his only friend ! When you go back to our home in Alabama, tell them all, that Jean fought under you, and did his duty. ' Brave Jean /' you said. mon Dieu ! I suffer so but -and I die in your arras, mon capitaine /" The head fell back, and the paie lips uttered their last sigh. But, even in death, the boy's arms clung around Pelham's neck ^-his face rested on his bosom. The rough group stirred and murmured. " Grand Dieu! he is gone!" muttered the swarthy Antonio. " II est mert /" echoed Rossini, making the sign of the cross. Pelham gently unclasped the cold arms of the boy, and laid the stiffening form upon the grass. His face was wet with tears, and, when some of the men spoke to him, he waved them off with his hand. For some moments he stood gazing into the fire, from which his glance would turn toward the body of Jean. 372 SURRY OF EAGLE'S- NEST. " Poor boy !" he murmured, passing his hand across his eyes, " he loved me. There was nobody braver !" There he stopped. But in a few moments he had mastered his emotion, and turned to me. I delivered my message, and, after giving directions for the burial of Jean, Pelham called for hi& horse. " Poor Jean !" I heard him murmur again ; " what can I say to his mother when I go back to Alabama!" All at once he went to where the body of the young cannoneer was lying, and, stooping down, cut off a lock of his light, curling hair, and carefully placed it in his breast-pocket. " It will be something," he said. And he mounted his horse and rode with me back to Jackson'a head- quarters. I recall still, and could easily repeat, our conversation as we rode on through the darkness ; but all do not take that loving interest in Pelham's memory which I do. Every word he uttered then, and always, is engraved upon my memory, and 1 recall, with a sad and longing sense of loss, a feeling of "bereavement which nothing can satisfy, the hours I passed with him his voice, his eyes, his smiles. We reached Jackson's head-quarters, and Pelham was received with that cordial pressure of the hand which the General be stowed upon those who were favorites with Mm. I knew the opinion which he had formed of Pelham, from their nrst meet ing on the day of Cold Harbor, and now saw that Jackson had a higher regard for him than ever. His object in sending for the young artillerist was a proof of this. He wished him to direct and superintend, in person, the fortification of his line for th next day's battle ; * and, as soon as he had possessed himself of the General's views, Pelham en ergetically applied himself to the work. Heavy details were placed at his orders ; he superintended and directed the work throughout the night, without farther orders; and at dawn the tack was finished. * Historical "CAMP NO-CAMP'." 373 "When Jackson inspected, in the morning, the defences which had thus arisen like magic, he said to General Stuart, who ac companied him : " Have you another Pelham, General ? If so, I wish you would give him to me !" * Those works saved hundreds of lives during the cannonade, which soon began ; but they were not to have their value tested by a charge of the enemy's infantry. That attack of the pre ceding day had been the decisive assault, and the Federal forces could not be brought up again. General Burnside directed a second attack, but his ablest and most determined major-generals went to him and protested against the order, declaring that the tioops could not be induced to make the assaults their morale was destroyed. See the testimony of General Burnside. All day on Sunday and Monday the dense masses of the Federal army remained in line of battle on the Southern shore of the Rappahannock, their bands playing, their flags floating; their artillery in position for a renewal of the assault. On Tuesday morning they had disappeared. Thus ended the campaign of 1862. cv. RECOLLECTIONS OF "CAMP NO-CAMP." WF spent the winter of 1862 at Moss Neck, an old mansion on the crest of hills which stretches along the Ptappahannock, several miles below Fredericksburg. Jackson's sojourn there will form a pleasant chapter in that life of him which, sooner or later, will be written by a competent person. He occupied first a small outbuilding a sort of office hung round with pictures of race-horses, game-cocks, and terriers tearing rats. One day when Stuart came to see the General, he said: V * His words. 374 SURRY OP EAGLE'S-NEST " I intend to have a drawing made of this room game-cocK% terriers, and all and label it, " View of the neon-quarters of tht famous Stonewall Jackson, showing the tastes and propensities oj the individual /" At these jests of the great cavalier, Jackson always laughed heartily. He had conceived & very great regard and affection tbl Stuart as a cavalry officer, he ranked him above all others ir that arm of the service. Does the reader remember that fine cap worn at the battle f Fredericksburg, with its band of gold lace ? It was soon denuded of its decoration. One day a little girl admired it, and, drawing her to him, Jackson tore off the rich braid, placed it like a coronet upon her curls, and enjoyed the delight which his gift occasioned the child. But these traits of the illustrious soldier will all, some day, be delineated fully. I am not writing a life of General Jackson, but the memoirs of Lieutenant-Colonel Surry. " Lieutenant- Colonel Surry?" I think I hear the reader exclaim: "Is there not a slight mistake?" Not at all, may it please the worthy reader. About this time General Jackson was made Lieutenant-General ; his staff went up one grade; and it seemed good to the War Department to send Major Surry the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel and A. A. G. than which rank he never got any further during the war. So, after all that hard marching of the year 1862, we were resting. It had been a memorable year, full of the thunder of artillery, the crash of small arms, the clatter of sabres, the cheers, yells, shouts, and groans of adversaries closing in the breast-to-breast struggle and I think that both sides were glang, jesting with his staff so passed the hours of winter with the brave cavalier at " Camp No-Camp." When weary of work or talk, he would mount one of his horses, "Lady Margaret" or "Star of the East," and set off to serenade some lady taking Sweeny along, with his banjo. For Sweeny was there ! Sweeny in all his glory with a new *' Yankee banjo," the spoil of some captured camp, which he forced to give forth now the gay songs of Dixie! It was '<' Thebonnie blue flag," and " We are the boys that rode around ffcOlellmn," and " I wish I was in Dixie," which Sweeny played and sang, with his sad and courteous face unmoved by the mirth; and these were always succeeded by "Sweet Eve lina," " Faded Flowers," " I lay ten dollars down," and the * Old Gray Hoss " perennial favorites with the denizens of " Camp No-Camp." You can see the worthy Sweeny can you not, rny dear reader ? sitting there at the corner of the fireplace in the large ient, his banjo on his knee, his fingers flying over the strings, bis foot keeping time, and only the ghost of a smile upon his face as he advises you, " if you want to have a good tima," to 44 jinft the cavalry!" "CAMP NO-CAMP." 377 And look J at the door yonder ! Is not that gigantic figure, with the flowing black beard, our old friend Hagan Corporal Hagan no longer, as his braid of a lieutenant shows? It is Hagan, now lieutenant of the escort, and behind him are the keen faces of Moonshine and Snakebug, couriers with the hawk look, keener even than Captain Bogy's for wagons, spoils, and plunder generally. Hagan advances, salutes the general and company with rigid military respect, and is soon engaged in parrying the thrusts of the general's wit. He relates as a pleasing incident with lurking humor in his eye and a voice like low thunder how Moonshine, in an absent moment, appropriated Snakebug's blanket; how Snakebug re covered his property in his friend's absence, and accidentally bore off Moonshine's boots, thereby " getting the dead-wood on Moonshine;" and then Hagan shakes all over with merri ment, the general laughs, Sweeny's banjo roars, a negro dances a breakdown, amid shouts of applause, and the cavalry head quarters are in a state of perfect enjoyment. There too was Pelham, now Stuart's chief of artillery ; and Farley, the celebrated partisan of South Carolina, one of his aides. Stuart! Pelham! Farley! How many memories do these words recall ! As I murmur them I seem to hear again the ac cents of the noble voices ; to press the friendly hands to greet the dear dead comrades sleeping their last sleep ! Pelham, the brave, the true, the kindly, gentle spirit I never knew a human being of more stubborn nerve, or shrinking mod esty. His blue eye never fell before the stare of peril, but often when you spoke to him. His color never faded in the hottest hours of the most desperate fighting ; but a word would often confuse him, and make him blush like a girl. A native of the great State of Alabama, he had the warm blood of the South in his young veins ; but I think he had come to loye Virginia and the faces here with a love as warm as that of her own children. Virginia certainly loved him, her boy defender ; but it was im possible to know him and not love him. In that light blue eye was the soul of truth and chivalry. The smooth, boyish face was the veritable mirror of high breeding, delicacy, and honor. 378 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. I never knew a comrade more attractive with a more delight ful gayety, naturalness, and abandon. Quick to resent an insult, or to meet defiance with defiance, lie was never irritable, and had the sweetness and good-humor of a child suspecting noth ing, and fearing no offence. His modesty did not change afte** Fredericksburg, and when the whole army rang with that mag nificent compliment paid to the boy by the Commander-in-chief, in calling him " the gallant Pelham." His spirit was too proud and noble to be touched by arrogance. He was still the modest, simple, laughing boy with his charming gayety, his caressing voice, and his sunny smile. On the slightest provocation, the smooth cheeks were covered with the blush of diffidence. He never spoke of his own achievements ; and you would not have known, had you been with him for a whole month, that he had ever taken part in a single action. In Maryland, an old farmer looked at his beardless face, his girlish smile, his slender figure, and said to General Stuart, " Can these lays fight ?" And yet this "boy," so young in years, was old in toils, IB marches, in hard combats, and desperate encounters. That light, blue eye had looked unmoved upon the bloody scenes of th* first Manassas, Williamsburg, Cold Harbor, the second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and those stubborn fights in which Stuart's cavalry unknown almost to the infantry were con stantly engaged. This boy had fought his guns, at both battle? of Manassas, till the enemy were at fheir very muzzles ; had held his ground with one Napoleon, at Oold Harbor, against the hur ricane of shot and shell poured on him from the batteries neat McGee's house ; had commanded all the artillery on the left at Sharpsburg; held the ford at Shepherdstown, driving back, hour after hour, the heavy masses of the enemy ; and at Freder- icksburg had fought with that stubborn persistence, that uncon< querable nerve, which made the silent and unexcitable com- mander-in-chief exclaim : " It is glorious to see such courage in one so young!" Such was his record such the career of this shrinking youth, who blushed when you spoke to him. Stuart loved hiisr tike a brother, and after his death, when I was speaking one daj -CAMP NO-CAMP." 379 of him, the tears came to the eyes of the great cavalier, and he turned away, unable to utter a word. He is dead now; his voice will never more be heard his laugh never sound again. He was nothing to yon, it may be, good reader you never heard of him, perhaps ; or his name was only that of a brave boy who fought his guns with dauntless courage upon many bloody battle-fields. To me he was more. It was a friend of my heart that passed away when Pelham fell a comrade whom I loved, and who loved me. When he passed from earth, amid that thunder of artillery which he loved, the world somehow seemed drearier, and the sunshine not so bright. The song of the birds was mu< sical no more ; the glory of existence seemed to fade ; Pelhara was dead, and there was no one left to take his place ! Observe how my memory leads me back to those old days, and makes me linger in the haunted domain of the past reviving the gallant figures, listening again to the brave voices, and living once more in the bright hours that are dead ! But what is left to us poor "paroled prisoners," except mem' ory ? Leave us that, at least, as we look upon the red battle- flag, drooping from its staff, after so many splendid victories ; leave us this poor consolation of recalling the grand figures and bright hours of the past ! Stuart, Pelham both are dead now ; and Farley, too, ha passed away, the bravest of the brave. I never saw his face be fore the war, nor until the spring of 1862 ; but often I had heard of a young man in the Army of the Potomac who had made him self famous by his fearless scouting, his cool self-possession in the hottest hours of battle, and his long, solitary expeditions into the enemy's lines. I figured to myself, as I heard of his strange adventures, his desperate combats, a rough, unpolished partisan, with the instincts of a tiger and the manners of a bear ; but when I came to know him upon General Stuart's staff here is what I saw : A young man of twenty-five or six, of medium height ; athletic, but graceful figure ; soft dark eyes, low musical voice, and girlish gentleness there was Farley. He wore a sort of surtout of dark cloth, around which was buckled constantly a belt contaia- 380 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. Ing his pistol ; handsome cavalry boots, and a brown hat with a black feather. Sometimes he donned a splendid suit of Federal blue shoulder-straps and all captured in the head-quarters of General Casey at " Seven Pines;" but this was only by way of amusement. His horse, his arms, his boots, his saddle, his belt, his gauntlets, his hat all were captured. He lived on the enemy despoiled them of all he needed : he had no commission, drew no pay, and was poor, like all of us ; but he wanted nothing. The enemy supplied him. ( When he needed any thing a horse, a pistol, an " officer's McClellan saddle " or when the repose of head-quarters had become tedious he set out by himself, or with a small detail of men, upon a private raid. Somewhere beyond the Rappahan- nock he was sure to find the enemy ; and he was as certain to attack them. The bang of revolvers, the clash of sabres, the cheer of defiance then Farley retired, laughing in his silent way, with his horses, arms, and saddles. He came back looking better satisfied ; and waited for the next occasion. But I am lingering too long. The memory of this brave and gentle cavalier leads me back to those old days when 1 knew him. At " Camp No-Camp " I first became his friend. It was impossible to imagine any one with a sweeter temper or a more winning address. The soft dark eyes were full of gentleness and candor ; the smile upon the lips, shaded with a black mustache, was charming ; and the low, measured voice like music to the ear. Often we wandered over the great fields of broom -straw eighing in the winds of winter ; and in these walks Farley toW me all his life. It was a brave, true heart which thus unfolded itself before me ; and under this modest exterior were the finest traits of the gentleman. As the old chivalric poetry came some times from his lips, and he repeated " Gayly bedight, A gallant knight Bode on through sun and shadow" he was himself the ideal of that gallant cavalier. Modest, kindly, brave as steel, and devoted to the South, his death was STUART AND I GO TO CULPEPPER. 381 another gap in the lives of those who loved him a Joss whioli nothing can supply. Do I weary you, kind reader, with my memories of Stuart, Pelham, Farley, and those days long gone into the dust ? I have done. It was the recollection of the hours I spent at " Camp No-Camp," with Stuart, which beguiled me. When these men passed away, with all their smiles, their laughter, their gay voices and brave faces, something like a shadow seemed to fall upon the landscape. I mourn them yet ; and sometimes think a portion of my heart is buried with them yonder, where they sleep in peace dead on the field of honor. CYI. I GO WITH STUART TO CULPEPPER. ONE day in March, when I visited General Stuart's head* quarters, I found him buckling on his sabre and pistol. The black satchel, in which he carried official papers, was already on. His face was serious and earnest. "My dear General," I said, "I am such a good staff-officer that I not only never ask any questions, but never even form a desire to know any thing. It is permitted, I hope, however, to make a simple remark, and I beg leave to say that you appear to me to be going somewhere." "You are the model of an aide," was Stuart's reply, "and such virtue ought to be rewarded. I won't tell you where I am going, but, if you are willing, I will take you with me." "That is a fair proposition." "You accept?" u Certainly but there is my General, who must be consulted." Stuart went to his desk and wrote a line, calling for a courier a he did so. The courier appeared at the moment when the General finished. "Does that express the idea?" asked the General. 382 .SUB BY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. And he handed me the paper. It was addressed to General Jackson, and contained only these words : u MY DEAR GENERAL : " "Will you lend me Colonel Surry for three or four days ? " Your friend, "J. E. B. S." . " It has the military brevity of Veni, nidi, vici, Genera]." And I returned the paper, which was intrusted to Moonshine, scout and courier, for delivery to General Jackson. In half an hour for our head-quarters were now within a mile of Stuart's, on the Massaponnax Moonshine returned with the answer. It was indorsed on the note, and in these words : "MY DEAR GENERAL: " Certainly. " Your friend, "T. J. J." "The General beats me in brevity," was Stuart's comment; tnd he put on his riding-cape. " Which route are we going ?" I asked. " We are going to take the train." " Ah ! the train ! you say the train ?" " There, you have asked no less than two indiscreet question*, Mr. Model Staff-Officer !" " But your staff, doubtless, know your route ?" " Not a bit, Surry they stay here." " Ah ! Then you make a stolen march ?" "Come and see." And we mounted and set out for Hamilton's Crossing, where sending back my horse by a courier I took the cars with Stuart. On the same evening we had travelled by Hanover Junction, Gordon sville, and Orange, to Culpepper Court-House. In front of the tavern, upon his gray mare " Nelly," we found STUART AND I GO TO uULPEPPER. 383 General Fitz Le a gallant figure, in full war-harness, with flowing beard and mustache, laughing face, and eyes sparkling with gayety beneath his brown hat and ebon feather. Behind him was Pelham, quiet, smiling, wearing his little artillery-jacket, with red collar, and seated upon a huge artillery horse, his knees drawn up by the short stirrups. 11 Well, Fitz ! what news ?" was Stuart's greeting, as he shook hands with General Lee. " Just heard from Randolph,* who is on picket at the bridge. Averill is opposite Kelly's Ford. 44 What force?" " About three thousand." Stuart leaned over. 44 What effective have you?" 44 About eight hundred," was the reply. 44 Good," said Stuart, 44 that will do." And they entered the tavern together. I had shaken hands with 44 General Fitz," and was talking with Pelham, who had been in Culpepper for several days on a visit of inspection. The " Stuart Horse Artillery " had grown from a battery to a battalion, with such officers as Breathed, Henry, McGregor, and others perfect tigers in a fight, and men after Stuart's own heart. I never knew Pelham to be more gay. He spoke of the "jolly times " he expected to have in the coming campaign, and seemed to look forward to the storm of battle, ready to burst forth, with all the ardor of a lover who sees the approach of hU Distress. His blue eyes sparkled ; his lips were wreathed with smiles ; his voice was gay ; his jest and laughter incessant. 44 Now Stuart has come, we'll have it!" was his exclamation. 44 There never was another man like Stuart, Surry!"t 44 Poor boy!" said the General to me a month afterward, 41 he loved me very muchl"J * CoptaiK of the ' Black Horse." t His words. 1 Hi.* word* 384 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. CYII. THE LAST CHARGE OF PELHAM. AT dawn we were aroused by the intelligence that the enemy were crossing the Rappahannock and making a determined attack upon the small force posted in the rifle-pits. Stuart had laid down without taking off his clothes or arms. He was speedily in the saddle General Fitz Lee having sent him a horse. I had procured one from Pelham, and we were soon riding rapidly in the direction of Kelly's Ford. As we passed Fleetwood Hill, where the great battle of the 9th of June was afterward fought, and approached Steveusburg, the dark column of Fitz Lee was seen moving steadily through the gray of morning in the direction of the Rappahannock ; and, riding on to the kead of the column, Stuart joined the General. The firing from the river in front was now rapid and con tinuous. " They have crossed," said Stuart anxiously. * Who com mands the force in the rifle-pits, Fitz?" I did not hear the answer. I only heard the words " re- enforced last night." As he spoke, the firing ceased, as if by magic. In the dim light I could see Stuart knit his brow. u They are captured as sure as fate !" he growled. The words were soon verified. A cavalry-man galloped up, and, to Stuart's quick demand of "What news?" replied in great excitement : " The enemy are across, General at least ten thousand \ The men in the rifle-pits are all captured !" " Where are you going?" said Stuart gruffly. " To find my company, General." " Here is a company you can join." And he pointed to Fitz Lee's column, in which the straggling cavalry-man reluctantly took his place. * Now, Fitz," said Stuart coolly, " there is only one thing to THE LAST CHARGE OF PELHAM. 385 doto fight them. We'll drive right at Averill, and find who ia Ihe best man." General Fitz Lee received this suggestion with a gay laugh. ''That's what I am going to do," was his reply. The column moved on steadily; the day slowly dawned; and as we approached Kelly's Ford we came upon the enemy, drawn up on the southern bank of the river, not less than three thou sand in the saddle. General Fitz Lee immediately made his dispositions for attack. 1 say General Fitz Lee,for Stuart had notified him that he would not assume command as long as every thing went on to his satisfaction. As the sun rose, the spectacle presented was imposing. Hanged in long lines, face to face, were seen the opposing lines of cavalry, drawn up for the charge ; and, as the masses moved to their allotted positions, the heavy tramp of hoofs, with the occa sional notes of the bugle, alone broke the stillness. In face of the three thousand cavalry of Averill, the eight hundred of Fitz Lee presented a painfully diminutive appear* ance. The array of force against the Southerners seemed over whelming but never have I seen troops more animated and eager for the fray. The eyes of the men sparkled ; they clutched the sword-hilt with an evident intention to make every cut bring down its man ; and when Stuart and Fitz Lee appeared, riding along the lines, a wild burst of cheers rose, saying, as plainly as any language, "We are ready! Give the word!" It was given. Suddenly the ringing bugles sounded the "Charge!" and Lee and Stuart, with drawn sabres whirling round their heads, led the line in a headlong charge. In a moment they had burst upon the enemy, drawn up be hind a ditch and heavy stone wall ; the carbines were cracking, aad the bitter struggle began in all its fury. It was to last from ff^rn to night from the rising to the set ting of the sun. I cannot describe it in its animated details ; some other hand must chronicle the splendid gallantry of the little band of Lee, fighting nearly four to one ; and tell, too, with what dash and courage Fitz Lee led his men. IT 386 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. " 5t was like a little dog jumping at the throat of a big mastiff!" said an old farmer afterward, in describing the action ; and all day long the plucky bull-dog, small, but " game," made thoe leaps, bringing blood from his huge adversary's throat. As the hours wore on, the struggle became desperate. From their cover behind the stone walls in their front, the ene my poured a deadly fire into the Southern horsemen ; but the obstacle was hurled down, the horses driven over with the spur, And the battle raged, hour after hour, with varying fortunes, in every portion of the field. The enemy's great numbers told at last, however. They opened with their artillery massed their column in front of our left, and, throwing all their weight there, turned the flank, and forced Fitz Lee back. He retired, fighting obstinately at every step, the enemy pressing on in triumph. But they could not throw his line into disorder. Instead of scattering, the horses, who had been more or less broken into detachments, now concentrated, and, showing thus an obstinate and determined front, Fitz Lee continued to fall back, under the fire both of carbines and artillery. All at once, from an eminence in rear, was heard the thun der of Pelham's guns ; and the shells, racing over the heads of the cavalry, burst in the enemy's line, throwing it into disorder, and checking its advance. Fitz Lee continued to retire, until he reached a body of woods, on the summit of a hill, with open land in front ; and here he massed his cavalry, formed line of battle, and prepared to fight to the last. The sun was now sinking, and the great orb, balanced like a ball of fire upon the woodland, seemed to be bathed in blood. Throughout the whole day, the little force had virtually held its ground ; and now, seeing that Averill continued to advance, Fita Lee determined to attack him. In our front was a great field intersected by fences ; but these were of wood, and could be torn down. On the high ground beyond was the Federal artillery. As far as the eye could reach, extended the dark masses of the Federal cavalry, motion less in line of battle. THE LAST CHARGE OF PELHAM. 387 Our bugles sounded the charge, and slowly the Southern lin advanced then it broke into a trot then, at a wild gallop, and with defiant cheers, it burst upon the enemy. From that moment the action became mad and desperate. The men discarded the pistol and carbine, and had recourse to the sabre. In an instant they had torn wide gaps in the fences, swept through, and were fighting hand to hand. Fitz Lee and Stuart were in front, fighting like private sol diers. Their presence gave new vigor to the men, and a better fight was not made in the war. Stuart was leading on the men when Pelham galloped up and made some report in relation to his artillery. I understood hi *a instant what had brought him he could not stay in the rear w'th his guns : he burned to be in the charge. As he turned away, a regiment swept by, right down upon the enemy, and Pelham 's sabre flashed from its scabbard. At that moment his appearance was superb. His cheeks were burning ; his blue eyes darted lightnings ; from his lips, wreathed with a smile of joy, rang "Forward!" as he cheered on the men. For an instant he was standing erect in his stirrups, his sabre flashing in his grasp ; for a moment his proud voice rang like a clarion which sounds the charge then I saw him hurled from the saddle, under the trampling hoofs of the horses. With a single bound of my horse I reached him. He lay with his smiling face turned upward, his eyes closed. A shell had burst above him ; a fragment struck him upon the head he was gone ! Gone at the moment when, before the headlong charge of Lee, the men of Averill gave way ; gone at that supreme instant when the long, hard day was won, and the baffled enemy were hastily retiring across the Rappahannock ! That spectacle was denied the heroic boy but he died the death he wished and is yonder, where the brave and true and faithful are rewarded ! At night the enemy were retiring, "badly hurt," as Stuart; telegraphed. He added : " We are after him. His dead men and horses strew the roaia r 388 SUKET ntf EAGL^'S-NEST. Before morning, Averill, with his three thousand horsemen, thus defeated by the eight hundred men of Lee, was rapidly re treating beyond the Rappahannock : a complete victory had crowned the Southern arms. But the death of a boy more than balanced this supreme suc cess. At midnight Pelham's lips had uttered their last sigh. His noble spirit was beyond the stare " Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing Could touch him further P CYIII. THE SPRING FLOWERS OF INCOGNITA. SUCH was the hard battle of Kelly's Ford, and such the death of Pelhara. The body of the young artillerist was carried back to Oul- pepper Court-House, and laid in its shroud, amid the sobs of women and the tears of bearded men. That cold, pale face was all that was left of one who had lived and died for Virginia and the South. I was looking at the pallid face, upon which a smile lingered, as if death had come to him a welcome guest, when a suppressed sound behind me attracted my attention, and, turning round, I saw Stuart standing near, gazing, with eyes full of tears, upon the dead boy's face. With a measured step, his black-plumed hat in his hand, he approached the body ; looked long and silently upon the smiling face ; then, stooping down, he pressed his bearded lip to the marble brow. As he did so, the breast of the great cavalier was shaken ; a sob issued from his lips, and a tear fell on the pale cheek of Pel- ham. Severing from his forehead a lock of the lipht hair as the boy had severed one from the head of poor Jea* -b turned THE SPRING FLOWERS. 389 away ; and as he did so I heard, in low, deep tones, which seemed to force their way through tears, the single word "Farewell!" It was Stuart's last greeting, on this earth, to the spirit of Per ham soon to meet his own again where the roar of battle neve! comes. On the day succeeding the battle, Stuart sent this dispatch to Richmond : "The noble, the chivalric, the gallant Pelham is no more. He was killed in action yesterday. His remains will be sent to you to-day. How much he was beloved, appreciated, and ad mired, let the tears of agony we have shed, and the gloom of mourning throughout my command, bear witness. His loss ia irreparable." * " He fell, mortally wounded," wrote Stuart afterward, in a general order, " with the battle-cry on his lips, and the light of victory beaming from his eye. " His eye had glanced over every battle-field of this army from the first Manassas to the moment of his death, and he was, with a single exception, a brilliant actor in all. " The memory of 'the gallant Pelham' his many virtues, his noble nature, and purity of character is enshrined as a sacred legacy in the hearts of all who knew him. " His record has been bright and spotless his career brilliant and successful. " He fell, the noblest of sacrifices, on the altar of his country !" Such was the wreath of fadeless laurel laid by Stuart on the grave of Pelham the young, the noble, the immortal ! His life had passed like a dream of glory and Stuart wept beside his tomb ! Nor was that all. Tears were shed for the dead boy which the world did not see there were sighs breathed, far away, which the world did not hear 1 I heard one, as it passed on the winds of spring, from the orange groves of the South- and the reader shall hear it too. Some months after the death of my dear, good friend, I wrote * To Mr. Cony, M. CL* fr*m Alabama, 390 SURRY OF EAGLE'S- NEST. and published, in a Southern journal, a paper upon his character and career. It was nothing a mere sketch the hasty lament of one comrade for another, as he passes on. My name was not printed with the sketch and yet the authorship was in some manner discovered. In the spring of 1864, I received a note, In the delicate handwriting of a young lady, from Georgia, and this note contained a small bunch of flowers heartsease, violet, and jessamine tied up with a tress of hair. The note Kes before me, with its faded flowers here it is : "For the sake of one who fell at Kelly's Ford, March ITth, '63, an unknown Georgian sends you a simple cluster of young spring flowers. You loved the 'gallant Pelham,' and your words of love and sympathy are * immortelles ' in the hearts that loved him. I have never met you, I may never meet yon, but you have a true friend in me. I know that sad hearts mourn him in Virginia, and a darkened home in Alabama tells the sor row there. My friendship for him was pure as a sister's love, or a spirit's. I had never heard his voice. " Your name is ever in my prayers 1 God bless you ! " N'lMPORTE." Such was the note of an unknown Georgia girl, which accom panied the flowers bound up with her hair. Does any one laugh, and mutter " romance !" " extravagance " ? I salute and honor her who wrote those words they are the true " immortelles " on the grave of Pelham. I have "never met her, I may never meet her," but it is something for a poor soldier to have the prayers of a pure heart ascend for him! Not in vain, it may be, O fair Incognita I have those prayers been breathed for the un known Virginian who, again to-day, in the hours of a sad peace, as yonder, amid the thunder on the Rapidan, reads your words of friendship, in their delicate tracery, and presses your flowers and your hair to his lips. The soul that you loved is gone from earth never more in arY future wars will his blue eye flash or his clear voice ring ; but H is something, if yonder, where his spirit hovers, he can know thai L '? memory is immortal in your heart. THE ADVERSARIES. 391 Do not weep for him it is we that remain " in the land where re were dreaming " who deserve your regret. Shed no tears for Pelham ! His death was noble, as his life was beautiful and beneficent. Fame crowned his boyish brow with that amaran thine wreath, the words of our great chieftain Lee ; and he died, as he lived, amid hearts who loved him as the pearl of chivalry and honor. The " gallant Pelham " cannot pass from the heart or the memory of the people of the South but there is some thing which his brave spirit would be touched and thrilled by more than all those laurels which enrich his tomb. It is the tears of Stuart, as he murmured, " Poor boy ! he loved me very much!" and the prayers of this "unknown Georgian," who had "never heard his voice!"* GIX. THE ADVERSARIES. THE advance of Averill was the prelude of the coming cam- paign. General Hooker, known as "Fighting Joe Hooker," had superseded General Burnside in command of the Federal army, and every thing pointed to" a determined and vigorous renewal of hostilities at the earliest moment which the season permitted. What was the comparative strength of the opposing column* facing each other on the shores of the Rappahannock in the month of April ? Here are the facts I place them upon record for the historian : The Federal army, according to the printed statement subse quently of Major-General Peck, U. S. A., numbered one hundred * Colonel Surry showed me the note of the young lady here referred to. The writing is vey delicate, and the flowers tied with a tress of auburn hair. He said that this little incident had sensibly touched him, and that he would have acknowl edged the receipt of the note if the young lady had given him her name. As it was, he feared she would think him very cold. Some day, .however, they might meet, and sue would discover her mistake. 392 SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NEST. and fifty-nine thousand three hundred men. General Lee'a force did not quite reach thirty-five thousand. The bulk of Long- street's corps had been sent to Suffolk, on the south side of James River, for subsistence. All that was left was Jackson's corps, and about ten thousand troops from Longstreet's. When the April sun began to dry the roads and render the movement of trains and artillery practicable, General Hooker confronted General Lee at Fredericksburg, with a force more than four times greater than that of his adversary. Such were the conditions under which the great collision, in the first days of May, was about to take place. The enormous disproportion between the opposing forces, you may possibly declare, good reader, must be established by something better than the statement of an obscure ofiicer of the C. S. Army. Be it so. Let my words go only for what they are worth now, when the theory is obstinately and persistently urged by ten thousand journals, of a certain class, that we of the South were overcome, not by numbers, but by superior generalship in the Federal lead ers superior fighting in the Federal troops. The day will come tf-hen every secret will be brought to light ; when the torch of truth shall illuminate every hidden recess of this misty epoch, and defy the power that tries to extinguish it. When that day comes, the South will have full justice done to her; her victories over enormous odds will be traced to their true origin a nerve and courage which only numbers could overwhelm. Then the world will understand the meaning of the words .'* It was im possible for us to conquer we have struggled !" OX. THE NIGHT-HAWKS FLOWK ABOUT the middle of April I was sent with A confidential message to General Stuart, who had broken up hi& head-quarters at " Camp No-Gamp," and transferred them to the neighborhood of Culpepper Court-House. THE NIGHT-HAWKS FLOWN. 393 This mission was far from unwelcome to me ; for the brilliant sun of April, after the dreary days of winter, had the effect of the bugle-note that sounds to horse. The wooing airs invited to active movement and adventure ; and, strapping behind thte saddle my single blanket, in its oil-cloth, I set out, gay and joy ous, for Culpepper, taking the road by Chancellorsville and Ely's Ford on the Rapidan. Do you think the words " gay and joyous " rather curious as applied to a discarded lover ? Was it natural that the personage who had Mdden a long farewell to the only woman he had ever loved, and never expected to look upon her face again was it natural that this unhappy personage should be " gay and joyous " under any provocation, and not pass his whole existence tearing his hair and exhibiting other evidences of the gloom which wrapped his soul ? Alas ! human nature is a poor affair after all, I think ! Men will not sigh always broken hearts mend slowly ; or, rather, should we not say that hope never completely deserts us ? Was it the April sunshine, the grass starred over with the first pale flowers what was it, that said, "Do not despond it is better to laugh than be sighing!" In this gay and philosophic mood I set out on my journey, arid, following the Mine road by Tabernacle Church, struck into the main highway, and reached Chancellorsville. Scarcely glancing at this old brick edifice which had then never been heard of out of the immediate vicinity, I turned to the right toward Ely's Ford and soon found myself in that country of dense thickets the famous Wilderness in whose depths stood the lonely house I knew so well. As I rode on, the bearing of the country told me that I could not be far from this house ; and, yielding to a caprice which 1 sould not resist, I turned my horse's head in the supposed di rection of the place, and, after half an hour'i ride through narrow bridle-paths, came upon the spot. Leaping the low brush-fence, and ascending the knoll upon which the house stood, I checked my horse before the door, and hallooed. No reply came, and, dismount) ug, I opened the decured door, and entered. 17* 894: SURRY OF E AGLE'S-NES'T. The place was deserted. There was no trace of a human being ; but all at once a sound from beneath my feet, as it were, attracted my attention, and I saw, protruding from a flight of steps which led into a cavernous region beneath, the head of an cfld black hag, with blear eyes, gray hair, twisted into kinks, and toothless mouth, from which issued a sort of growl. The growl demanded what I wanted, and, when I asked if any one but herself was at home, another growl conveyed the infor mation that no one but herself lived there. "Where is Mrs. Parkins?" " Gone this long time," from the hag. "And Mr. Fen wick?" " Dead." These words terminated the interview, for the head of the old hag disappeared ; and, having nothing further to detain me, I issued forth and remounted my horse. So these night-hawks had disappeared dead or gone to other regions. Like some poisonous exhalation, they had vanished before the gay sunshine, which poured upon me now as I con tinued my way toward the Rapidan. Crossing at Ely's Ford, I pushed on by Stevensburg, and in the afternoon reached General Stuart's head-quarters, near Culpepper Court-House. CXI. HOURS AT "CAMP PELHAM." THE picturesque head-quarters of General Stuart are before ihy eyes as I write these lines. They were situated upon a wooded slope west of the little pillage, and great trees extended their arms above. Under a ''fly" that is to say, the canvas cover of a tent were the General's desk, chair, and conch spread on the ground. In a clump of pines near by the couriers bad pitched their tents d/dbri. Beyond were the horses, picketed among the trees. In front of the head-quarters, on the grassy knoll, beneath the great trees, HOURS AT' 'CAMP PELHAM." 395 the blood-red flag of Stuart flickered like a dazzling flame in the April sunshine a veritable " giant of battle " rose, the General's favorite flower. Here at " Camp Pelham " for so Stuart had called his head quarters I spent two or three days ; and I now recall them as among the most pleasant I have ever passed. The smile of Pel- ham and the glad light of his friendly eyes no longer shone amid the group ; but others were there Farley, witli his low, musical voice, his narratives of wild adventure; and Channing Price, that brave and lovely spirit, with his frank, young face, his charming manner, and his smile like sunshine a sunshine which, alas ! was soon to disappear, as the voice of Farley was to be silenced, in the lurid smoke, amid the tragic roar of the fast- coming conflict. Pardon me, reader, if I linger as before among these good companions if I dwell for a moment on the days spent at "Camp Pelham," as at "Camp No-Camp." As I go back to those times, again the blood-red battle-flag floats proudly in the dazzling sunshine again I hear the ready laughter, or the sono rous voice of Stuart, as he sings at his work again the eyes of Farley, Price, and that brave spirit Fontaine, doomed like his comrades, shine upon me and bring back the hours that are gone! But at that time all was joy and merriment. Our old friend Sweeny played his banjo gayly, making the woods of Culpepper ring, like the pine thickets of Spottsylvania, with the " Old Gray Hoss," and "Sweet Evelina," and "Jine the Cavalry;" Hagan went and came, with huge hand smoothing down his mighty beard; and more than once came bevies of fair girls from the adjoining village, to sit beneath the trees, and laugh with the General, while the ped flag rippled, the bugle sounded gayly amid the trees, and Sweeny's banjo filled the air with its uproar. It was the poetry of war this life of the cavalry on the out post the romance of the hard career of arms. I have forgotten many hot conflicts, but remember still those gay days at Camp Pelham, in the spring of 1863. Stuart was nevr in higher spirits, or in finer trim for fighting, 3% SURRY OF EAGLETS-NEST: and more than ever I admired this immense war-machine, this hair-trigger organization, ready day or night to meet the enemy. It was ail the same to him whether the day was brilliant or drenched in storms he was what the Duke of Wellington called a "two o'clock in the morning man," ready at any moment, and his spirits defied the atmosphere. That gayety and superb abandon never left him war seemed mirth, and he delivered his great blows with laughter. One morning during my visit, a re port came that a regiment of Federal cavalry had crossed near Kelly's Ford, and Stuart hastened down in person. As he ap proached the point, an officer came to meet him at a gallop, and announced that they were drawn up on the Southern bank. " Well," was his answer, with a laugh, as he rode on, " tell Colonel Beale to lick into 'em, and jam 'em right over the river!"* Did you ever hear of a more unromantic or " undignified " order, reader ? It is just what Stuart said, and the order was obeyed the enemy forced to hastily recross. One word more in regard to this great cavalier. There were many silly persons who believed him frivolous, because he laughed easily, and said that he neglected his work to dance and amuse himself with young ladies. Most stupid and unjust oi calumnies ! A more enormous capacity for work, a more sleep less vigilance than Stuart's cannot be imagined. His daily toil was incredible, his concentration of every faculty upon the task of guarding the line of the Rappahannock unrelaxing. Not an avenne of approach was left unguarded scarce a picket was un- visited by him. Day and night he was ready. That he thought profoundly, and saw deep into the future, a single opinion, expressed to me about this time, will show. 44 The next battle will be fought near Chancellorsville."t Such was the far-seeing prediction of a man who was thought by many to be frivolous. His daring was proverbial, his name illustrious ; but, besides the troops who fought under and idolized him, there were only two men in the Southern army who ap* * Hie word* t His word*. THE SUMMONS. 397 predated him regarding him as a born master of the art of war. But the names of these two men were Lee and Jackson. CXII. THE SUMMONS. GOING back to my narrative, from which the recollection of this illustrious figure has diverted me, I proceed to record an event enforcing very powerfully the good philosophy of hoping against hope. I was about to get into the saddle and set out on my return to Fredericksburg, when Stuart, who had bidden me good-by, sud denly said : " By the by, there is a letter for you, Surry." And he looked among the papers on his desk. " A letter, General." " Yes, brought last night by one of my scouts from over the river. Oh, here it is! and in the most delicate female hand writing!" I extended my hand, recognized May Beverley's writing in the address, and tore open the letter. It contained not a syllable ! But there amid the scented folds of the paper was a flower like that which she had taken from her bosom at our parting, with that promise ! This talisman meant " Come !" and I think the blood must have rushed to my face as I gazed upon it, for suddenly I heard a tremendous burst of laughter from the General. "Good!" was his exclamation, when he could catch his breath ; " here's our sly Surry getting letters full of flowers from young ladies, and blushing like a girl to boot! Look, Farley!" And I found myself the centre of laughing faces, all enjoying my confusion. "Pshaw!" my dear General, I said, as I put the letter in my 398 SURRY OF EAGLE'S-NEST. pocket, and uttered a sort of laugh which redoubled the mirth, 4i you are eternally suspecting something. I am sure you have got a dozen letters like this in your desk there." "Do you think so ? But they never made me blush as yours does you 1" " That arises from the fact that I rarely receive such ; this is merely from a friend." " Well ! as my scout goes back to-morrow, you can send an acknowledgment before you set out for Fredericksburg, to your friend." u Thank you, General, I don't propose to set out for Fredericks- burg this morning." "Indeed!" " I have changed my mind. Will you lend me a courier and a slip of paper?" " Certainly what for ?" "I am going to telegraph to General Jackson for two or three days' leave of absence to make a scout beyond the Rappahan- nock." At this statement Stuart threw himself upon his couch, and uttere