Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 28.djvu/349

 The. Crenshaie Battery. 343

fought late in the evening even into the night a flag of truce had been displayed, which was a token of a cessation of hostilities in order that the dead might be buried and the wounded removed from the held: and now, right here occurred one of those ridiculous events in which confusion reigned supreme for a few moments. It happened somewhat in this way: In removing the wounded from the woods, some one, trying to secure as much plunder as he could carry oft, came across a wounded soldier a Yankee and attempted "to go through him," which resulted in his firing a gun, and which at once seems to have been taken up by others, resulting in the driv- ers of the wagons, which had been brought up in order that the ordnance might be distributed as well as the commissary wagons, turning around, perfectly frantic, whooping, and belaying their teams, which in turn, became unmanageable.

The woods, which at this time were filled with the wounded, were soon cleared, and every one that could walk, it would appear, was seen moving rapidly to the rear. Our guns, which lay a short dis- tance in the rear, were ordered forward and unlimbered, but did not fire a shot. It soon leaked out what was the cause, and there was much laughing over what at one time seemed to be so dangerous a thing.

But let us resume the march. After overcoming all obstacles in our front, the cavalry performing with remarkable faithfulness and diligence the double duty of protecting our flanks and screening us, as it were, from the enemy, we reached Paris, a little hamlet in Fau- quier county, where we were made the happy recipients of a beau- tiful

CONFEDERATE FLAG

by the charming ladies of that village, which flag is, I believe, now in the possession of Captain Thomas Ellett, the last commander of this battery. After leaving Paris we pushed on in a gallop and

reached

BRISTOW,

a station on the Manassas Gap railroad, where we had a pic-nic, for here it was that General Stuart, who was in the lead, after captur- ing the trains which were then approaching from Washington with provisions for General Pope, set fire to the commissary stores; and such a fire well, just think of lobsters, canned goods of all kinds, fruits, &c. , for boys who had been without anything to eat except green corn and green apples for several days, for we had no rear,