Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/309

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men coming up on tin- extreme It-it and rt-ar. and for some time did nut know \\hcther they wen- friends nr f<>es. We could see them passing a small opening in th<- timber, l>nt could not make them out. All at once above the .steady mil of musketry in our trout, there broke out the most awful blended mar of artillery and musketry. The earth fairly shook and trembled. Colonel Strange mistook the sound and thinking the enemy's cavalry were charging, from the shaking and trembling of the earth, threw the regiment into column of companies preparatory to forming squares. He never took his short-stemmed pipe out of his mouth, and was very cool, but we could see he was uneasy. In a few minutes an excited aide came tearing through the bushes in front of us and shouted out, " Bring your guns to the front, now, Captain Latham, and you can give 'em h-11." We afterwards learned that the cause of this terrible fire in the front was the advent of that column we had seen pass in on the left, which proved to be Kirby Smith's command hurrying to the field from the Manassas Gap railroad, guided by the sound of the guns. They poured in their fire both of musketry and cannon, as they wheeled into line, and the enemy replied, making their last desperate struggle to retain the fickle goddess on their side. Even this battle episode was not without its ludicrous incidents. I will relate only one. We had in our company a rather stupid fellow, whose father had sent along with him an old darkey with a hunch- back, known as " Uncle Jim," and who cooked for the mess of which this young fellow was a member. "Uncle Jim," of course, had gone back to the wagons along with numerous other darkies. Whilst we were lying down as before described, with the conflict raging fearfully just in front, and shot and shell occasionally plough- ing through our ranks, but mostly passing over us, this youth began to pray aloud. He seemed to be at a great loss what to say (I fear his early education had been neglected); so he began: "Oh, Lord, if Uncle Jim was here! Oh, Lord, send Uncle Jim to me!" And when that fearful roar came, in a perfect agony he exclaimed : "Oh, Lordy ! Oh, Lordy ! if Uncle Jim was just here !"

This incident reminds me of another that occurred in 1863, whilst I was in the cavalry. We were at Culpeper Courthouse, and the government was sending out conscripts to the various commands. One of these conscripts, who was over forty-five years of age the conscription being extended beyond that age was sent to us from Albemarle. He was a very quiet, respectable looking farmer, with iron-gray hair and beard, and he candidly told us that he was dread-