Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/114

 108 Southern Historn-ul ,sv,,-/V/// Papers.

spring, but they were rare, and very few streams crossed the pike. Canteens, which were in camp voted a nuisance, were in demand on that march.

Whilst at Darkesville on 3d July, William Hughes joined the com- pany, also Beverley R. Jones; and on the 5th, William G. William- son joined us; and on the 6th, Robert B. McKim, a student of the University of Virginia, on his way to his home in Baltimore.

We went into camp in the woods several miles north of Winches- ter, east of the Valley pike, and the camp was named Camp John- ston. Here, on the yth, we were joined by Joseph Packard, and on the gth by James P. Smith.

In a few days, about the i3th July, we marched to Winchester, and encamped northeast of the town, our battery in an apple orchard and the rest of our brigade near. Here, on the i4th, there joined us Richard C. M. Page; on the i5th, John J. Williams; on the i6th, James Gregory Clark; on the iyth, James M. Garnett, and George R. Bedinger, transferred from Second Virginia infantry, which he had joined the i5th of May at Harper's Ferry.

We had now several young men from Winchester in the battery, and this fact led to the forming of a pleasant acquaintance with many of the good citizens of that delightful old town.

When the order came about the iyth of July to prepare rations for three days, we went to work compounding our "flap-jacks," but many of us were fortunate enough to get our flour baked in the town, or to get baker's bread in exchange for flour, so that we were relieved of a great burden.

MARCH TO MANASSAS.

On the 1 8th, about noon, we got orders to march, and to our amazement and to the consternation of many of the citizens of Win- chester, we marched southward through a part of the town, and then took a road eastward in the direction of Millwood, on the road toward Ashby's gap, in the Blue Ridge How distinctly some of us remember that after marching several miles from Winchester we were halted in the road, and heard an officer, who had been sent there for the purpose of giving us General Johnston's order, read it in a loud voice, which order has been given by some of the his- torians of the times as follows: " Our gallant army, under General Beauregard, has been attacked by the enemy in overwhelming num- bers; the commanding-general hopes that his troops will step out