Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 31.djvu/21

 Imboden's Dash Into Charlestown. 13

to be ordered to the lower valley of Virginia. They used to speak of it as the "land where the flowers always bloomed and the birds always sung." They never failed to meet a warm and cordial wel- come there from the noble women who were so devoted to the cause we were fighting for. Every may from that section able to carry arms was in the Confederate army. Some belonged to the Stone- Brigade, some to Stuart's Cavalry, and some to Chew's celebrated Battery of Horse Artillery. There were two companies of cavalry the Clark Cavalry, Company D, 6th Virginia, and Baylor's Com- pany, Company B, I2th Virginia. Most of the men in these two companies were from the counties of Clark and Jefferson, sons of well-to-do farmers, who from early boyhood were accustomed to riding and handling the fine horses for which that section was cele- brated. On one occasion I heard a distinguished Confederate offi- cer say of them that he did not believe there were ever two finer bodies of mounted men on earth.

Our advance arrived in Berry ville late in the evening of the lyth of October, and drove a scouting party of the enemy out of town. We did not find Stuart there, as we expected, our scouts reporting that he could not cross the Shenandoah river on account of high water. The General decided to attack Charlestown alone, if he could find out what was there. A council of war was held and Ma- jor Davis volunteered to go to the vicinity of Charlestown and find out. To this the General agreed, and went into camp to take a short rest before his return. The Major knew two renegade South- erners who lived within a mile of the place, and he aroused one of them about midnight and demanded the information he desired. The man told him that his brother (who held a position under the bogus Yankee Virginia Government), was in the town and that the (loyal) people there were very much incensed against him and that he was afraid he would be handled roughly if he was captured. But he said that if the Major would allow him to get his brother out he would give him the information he desired. This was agreed to, and the Major obtained the necessary information, and returned to camp in time for us to get to Charlestown by daybreak.

The rays of light from the approaching day began to peep over the Blue Ridge and a long stretch of fog hung over the Shenandoah like a lake reaching toward the ferry. The landscape around the town was dotted with handsome country residences, for Charlestown is in the midst of a rich farming country. The town lay sleeping before us, the inhabitants little dreaming that their friends and deliv-