Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/304

 298 Sotl rn Histnrn-nl Sn,-iety Papers.

at Centreville, next to the enemy. Near there I met again some of my old Lexington friends, McLaughlin, Poague, and others of the Rockbridge Artillery, those splendid cannoneers, who afterwards became so famous in the Army of Northern Virginia.

TESTING THE SENTINELS.

Camp life at Centreville was not without its amusing incidents. I remember quite vividly putting the lieutenant-colonel commanding our regiment (John Bowie Strange) in the guard-house one night. A favorite pastime with him was "testing the sentinels," as he termed it. He would go through the lines at night, and then try to pass back by the sentinels without giving the pass-word. They, knowing who he was, and being green, sometimes suffered him to pass into the camp without the word. He would overawe and bull- doze them if he could. So one night, I being the officer of the guard, he tried his old game on one of my sentinels. I had carefully instructed them all not to let him pass under any circumstances with- out first giving the pass-word, but to arrest him and call for the cor- poral of the guard, making him mark time until the corporal arrived. About 12 o'clock I heard one of the sentinels calling for the corporal, and I could hear Strange' s voice, pitched in a high and peremptory key, demanding that he let his colonel pass, but the man ordered him to halt and mark time, which he promptly did. I ordered the corporal to go and bring the colonel into the' guard-tent. Presently the colonel was marched in, his sabre clanking and rattling as he strode along in charge of the corporal. When he got inside I asked the corporal who his prisoner was, and held the lantern up to the colonel's face, pretending that I did not know him. " Oh! " said I, " this is Colonel Strange! " " Well, sir, what are you going to do with me now?" said he, in his gruffest tone. "Well, Colonel," said I, " you can go to your tent and go to bed." He replied, " I am glad to see you know your duty, sir," and a broad smile spread over his face as he strode out to the music of his rattling sabre and the suppressed tittering of the boys.

Only a few cavalry pickets and scouts were between us and the enemy, and, being apprehensive of a night attack, we had a strong guard around the camp. One night after this, when it again came my turn to be officer of the guard, and I had about forty men under me, quite an exciting episode occurred. Alarms had not been infrequent, and all were on the qui vive.