Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/137

 136 Southern Historical Society Papers.

sent back in a wooden box to his home, without a sprig of beard upon his face, but with a smile when he had given up his spirit to his God, having fallen with up-lifted arm in the far front of the battle.

On the evening of the 8th my brigade was in front, we had had a very severe fight, and had forced the enemy across Tom's Brook, in sight of their infanty camps; our loss had been considerable, on that very evening we had lost some of the very "seed corn," the very best boys in my regiment: Lieutenant Thomas D. Davis, Company D; Dick Oliver and Sandy White, Company C; Jim Cobbs, Com- pany G; Jim Singleton, Company I, were all killed at the creek all of them beardless boys.

That night the Fourth Virginia was left on picket, Captain Strothers's squadron at the creek, and the regiment near by support- ing, my own headquarters not a quarter of a mile from the ford. At the first dawn I was notified that the enemy was astir. Boots and saddles were sounded, and we were ready to move as soon as it was light. I notified Rosser, and sent several couriers and a staff officer, requesting him to come up to where I was. After repeated couriers had been sent, he came up, and in a vaunting manner asked me ' ' What was the matter ?' ' I replied, the enemy are moving up to attack us, and we can't hold this position against such odds. In the same tone and spirit he replied, " I'll drive them into Strasburg by ten o'clock." I then said they will turn your left said he, "I'll look out for that." I had been down to the picket and seen what was going on. We rode on during this conversation towards the picket, and I then pointed to the enemy, and we could see their masses in full view. A courier dashed up and said, " Captain Strothers says they are very near him." We had no time for fur- ther parley. The enemy had driven in the videttes across the ford. The picket of the Fourth was skirmishing. The reserve was near at hand. I moved the Third Virginia to its right and rear. The First Virginia and Second I moved up to the creek bank. The enemy, in considerable numbers, dismounted, were moving up to occupy the op- posite bank; but the enemy's command two full divisions stretched from the Valley Pike, and connected entirely across to our front. As they developed I endeavored to keep my right extending, to pre- vent being turned. While I was thus engaged on the right, Rosser, superintending the left, became heavily engaged at the ford, and I was skirmishing with their dismounted men in front of me all along on the line of the creek bank. Rosser repulsed the first attack at the