Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/112

 106 Southern Historical Society Papers.

those who were bidden to wait for further orders. The captain ac- companied the detachment which went to the front. The firing in our front seemed to be drawing nearer to us as our boys got out of sight beyond a piece of woods, and we waited in breathless uncer- tainty to learn what was next to be done. Pretty soon the musketry- firing indicated to us inexperienced soldiers that a fierce conflict was going on between the infantry forces of the two armies; and presently the artillery was heard. We could conjecture only that it was our gun, and we exulted in the hope that our boys would get glory, but I suspect that the uppermost hope with most of us was that they would not be hurt. Our hopes were realized, as the gun did good service and none of the men who served it were hurt. It turned out that only one regiment (the Fifth, Colonel Harpers, i lost any men, and that regiment and part of another were all of Jackson's brigade who were engaged that day, besides the one detachment of our company.

On the return of this detachment to the company, the boys re- ported that our captain mixed his commands and his prayers some- what thus: " Aim low, corporal, and the Lord have meYcy on their souls. ' '

This was the battle or skirmish of " Hainesville," or "Falling Waters," on the east side of the horse-shoe made by the Potomac river, the toe of the shoe being at Williamsport. Company E of Stuart's cavalry captured at this skirmish about forty prisoners, and lost one man, Zack Johnson, mortally wounded.

As a part of the history of the battery, it ought to have been men- tioned that soon after the i8th June, the First brigade in the Army of the Shenandoah was formed by General J. E. Johnston, and that Brigadier-General Jackson was placed in command of it. The first regiments composing it were the Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Twenty- seventh Virginia infantry, and afterwards the Thirty-third, and the Rockbridge Artillery was a part of that brigade. At this time one battery was usually assigned as a part of each brigade.

The detachment, with the heavy six-pounder, rejoined the rest of the company, and we fell back before the advancing enemy, occa- sionally leaving the turnpike and taking a position as if awaiting an attack. These movements were probably designed to retard Gen- eral Patterson's advance at any rate his advance was slow and cautious. The rest of the brigade and cavarly fell back in like man- ner, the cavalry occasionally skirmishing with the cavalry of the Federals till we passed Martinsburg some two or three miles, when