Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 28.djvu/298

 29*2 Southern Historical Society

April 30. The reorganization of the regiments under the con- scription act is working better than we feared, but the men have defeated almost every good officer, and elected privates and corpo- rals to their places.

If McClellan opens by land and water on Yorktown that place is obliged to fall. But don't tell this as coming from me.

May i. Poor Frank Cone was killed in the trenches to-day by a sharpshooter. He and Oscar Dawson came to see me last night. I mourn the loss of such men.

On the Chickahominy, May 10, 1862. We have been drawn up in line of battle all night, expecting an attack.

May 12. To every argument to reunite my legion, the President and General Lee replied with State reason of "military necessity," and now the cavalry is at Guinea depot, forty-five miles from Rich- mond, the artillery away, and the infantry with me.

May 13. Everybody is running away from Richmond. The de- struction of the Merrimac has dispelled all hope of saving the city.

Camp one mile from Richmond, May 23. I am again face to face with the enemy. Their camp fires are on the opposite line. They opened fire with six guns on one of our pieces this afternoon. Mr. Davis and General Lee had ridden over and we witnessed the duel without being within range. Some of the balls passed over their heads and the papers will no doubt make much ado about the Presi- dent being under fire.

May 30. For two days and nights my men have been ready awaiting an order to march. Stovall has resigned and Delony be- comes Major and Young, Lieutenant-Colonel; Williams and Ritch will be Captains in Delony 's Old Squadron; John Rutherford re- mains Adjutant of the Legion.

June 5. Since Johnston was wounded Lee is in command, and he is as reticent as Johnston.

June 10. The papers say that Andy Johnson has been killed. Righteous death ! And that Butler has been assassinated. Glorious if true ! Would that it were by the hand of a woman. Did you think I could ever rejoice in an assassination ? Yet it is true and I think I can meet my Maker with my justification.

Nine Mile Road, near Richmond, June 13, 1862. Seven generals have visited this point to-day and each brought his train and stayed from one to three hours. They were Lee, Hill, Magruder, McLaws, Jones, Toombs and Semmes. I don't like Hill, much to my sur- prise, for I was ready to love him for his Christian character. There