Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 19.djvu/186

 180 Southern Historical Society Papers.

division, was taken sick and was sent up to his home at Culpeper or to Richmond, and I was ordered to report to Major General Hill for duty, while one of the regimental commissaries was ordered to report to General Branch in my stead.

Out of this movement against the enemy the Second Manassas and Maryland campaign developed in rapid succession, and I found myself loaded with the responsibility of providing for a family of about fifteen thousand, and daily widening the distance between us and our base of supplies. It was near Fredericktown that another ocunence of misidentity led to the discomfiture of the misidentifier. We were breaking camp at early dawn in fact, before dawn. Our wagons, with the headquarter wagon driver by a noble son of the Emerald Isle, were to take the lead on the road. The General was in his ambulance, probably intending to take his saddle at daylight. The ambulance driver wanted to pass the headquarter wagon, and the Irish driver of the wagon, being a little contrary, would not move out of the way of the ambulance, and signified his unwillingness to the ambulance driver in terms more emphatic than elegant. The first thing he knew General Hill leaped out of the ambulance and gave him several severe raps across the shoulders with the flat of his sword, which brought a loud " Big yer pardon, Gineral; big yer pardon, Gineral! Didn't know you were in the ambulance." " That will learn you to give way to any ambulance wanting to pass you," said the General, quietly seating himself in the ambulance, which now had all the way that Pat could possibly give it.

HOW HE SERVED A "NON-COMBATANT."

While at Harper's Ferry I went to his office in an upper room where he was paroling the prisoners for instructions as to the distri- bution of the immense stock of hard bread and other supplies cap- tured there. A man wearing a rusty cavalry uniform of the Federal army came in and asked General Hill for a pass to go over into Lou- doun, claiming to be a non-combatant resident of that county who had been caught at the Ferry when it was surrounded.

" What are you doing with those clothes on? " said General Hill.

" I bought them," said the man.

"You are lying," said the General. " Get out of here, you

scoundrel." And grabbing the fellow by the shoulders he pushed him to the head of the stairs and started him down with all the momentum a vigorous kick from his military boot would impart to him.