Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/313

 /V.x7 ,;//,/ /,,/>/ /A/y.s- nf tin HV. 807

ing .ill around her house. Thus reassured, she quickly dried her tears, .UK! ran hack into the house. Alter a short and sharp skirmish we moved on, and the next morning reached the courthouse. We parsed Wise's Hrigade, drawn up in line, on the road just before we reached the village, and one of our men jokingly said: "Oh, you need not be forming line there, we could break through you." The old General, who heard the remark, exclaimed in that deep voice of his: "Try it, sir;" and the cavalry gave the old man a hearty cheer, for they knew how often the exultant enemy had tried in vain to break those lines on that march.

Reaching the village, I beheld the first signs of dissolution of that grand army which had endured every hardship of camp or march with unshaken fortitude, and, with immortal daring, wrestled with its giant antagonist on every field of battle from Manassas to Peters- burg, when, looking over the hills, I saw swarms of stragglers mov- ing in every direction.

Whilst the command rested there I rode over to my old home, which lay near the road (farther on) over which we were retreating. There I filled my haversack, and was resting when I heard the thun- der of exploding magazines of ammunition. I knew but too well what this meant, and, bidding a hasty adieu to my relatives, who till then had known nothing of " war's rude alarms " save the echoes from distant fields, soon rejoined my command. At Amelia Springs we fought and drove the enemy's cavalry, who had broken in on our wagon-train near Flat Creek, burned many wagons, and scat- tered Lamkin's mortars, which were being transported in wagons along the road. The familiar occupation of Lamkin and his boys was gone, but they readily dropped into other arms of the service as they had changed from field to mortar battery before, and faced the enemy again on the last day at Appomattox.

IMMORTAL FOOT CAVALRY.

At Amelia Springs young James ^Rutherfoord, assistant inspector- general on the staff of General Dearing, was killed, and I saw his bleeding body brought past, lying across his saddle, followed and supported by one of his brother staff-officers, weeping bitterly over the limp form of his young friend. That night, as I lay upon the ground with a few dying embers close by, and was trying to get to sleep, but could not on account of the thoughts that kept crowding my mind, those inspired by the momentous events then passing.