Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 28.djvu/43

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request, delivered with his own hands a side of middling meat to my man, and we passed on.

As we reached the river, there was halted on this side, and out of the road so as not to interfere with the passage of the troops, the Yankee prisoners who had been captured on the route. I judged, from a rough estimate, that there were more than a thousand of them, and a sorry looking set they were. A good many of them carried large pieces of meat, sides of middling, such as that I had just drawn at the last issue of rations to the Army of Northern Virginia, but we had no time for conversation with them.

General Long crossed the river about that time, and knowing him very well, we crossed with him, and rode with him a short distance. In less time than an hour, I suppose, the army, prisoners and all, had passed over, and General Lee had given orders to burn the bridge behind us, which I think was done by Major Cook, one of his Inspectors, a gentleman who, after the war, became an Episcopal minister, and who had charge of a colored church in this place for many years.

On the hills beyond Farmville, there seemed to be a great deal of artillery halted, or parked, as I afterwards learned, and it was here (we know now, that which few knew then), that General Lee opened his first correspondence with Grant in reference to the surrender of the army; and it was a short distance further on that they seemed to be lightening the load of headquarter's wagons by destroying letters and papers from them. A young man named Morgan, from this city, who had belonged to the I2th Virginia, but who had been de- tailed as clerk in the medical department of General Lee's head- quarters, seemed entrusted with this duty. Here, for the last time, I saw Dr. Guild, General Lee's medical director, and Mrs. Guild, who was trying to make her escape with the army into friendly lines, and General Lee's carriage and horses, which I never saw him use, though I was told that he did ride in the carriage once or twice dur- ing the retreat. It was upon a road that had been evidently just cut through some pines, and the progress was very slow and tedious. Dr. Guild said to me: "You had better remain with us," and I thought so too, but something occurred to separate my party from his, and then came the usual daily and nightly order, "forward," and I saw him no more.

We moved on without incident of especial concern to us, until Saturday afternoon There were increased signs of demoralization and disintegration all along the roads. Soldiers, whom I knew had