Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 32.djvu/177

 Governor Z. B. Vance. 165

used stage road, which left the city at that time by what is known as St. Mary's street, and ran due north from the Hillsboro street road. It is now known as the " Upper Durham road," and comes back into the Hillsboro road again at a point some fifteen miles from the city. I say that I had repeately warned General Hampton of the existence of this road, fully expecting that Kilpatrick would have flanked us, though, strange to say, he did not, and seems to have been in ignorance of it. Not so, however, the commissioners, Governors Graham and Swain! Returning from their mission to Sherman, and finding the army of General Johnston had fallen back on Hillsboro, they proceeded by the old stage road, known, of course, to them, and did successfully flank both armies, and actually caught up with us at the point where the roads forked.

GENERAL HAMPTON.

We had stopped for the night at Strayhorn's, nine miles from Hillsboro. This was a long, low farm house on the south side of the Hillsboro road, the stables, barns and lot being on the north side of the road. Here the staff horses were being fed and attended to, the officers of the staff doing their own feeding and such rub- bing as the horses got. My servant, " Lambert Owens," who had followed me faithfully throughout the war, and was as good a Con- federate soldier as we had, though the blackest negro I ever saw, was engaged with my horses, which was the reason I was able to be sitting on the veranda of the Strayhorn residence and talking to the chief. Raising my eyes, and looking up the road, I exclaimed:

"Yonder comes the commissioners!" when General Hampton rose from his seat to walk out to the front gate, saying simply, " In- troduce me." I went out with him as they drove up and did as he had requested. The conversation that ensued was of an ordinary character. It was evident, however, that Governor Graham, who was spokesman, was detailing the facts of his recent visit to Sherman with a reserve, and I, who had known and honored them both from my boyhood, could easily guess what it was. He did not tell Gen. Hampton of what had passed at his interview with Sherman. They drove on, and we returned to our seat on the porch, when General Hampton, turning to me with a puzzled expression, asked "what do you think of all this?" I answered, laughingly, that I had " expected him to have asked them in! " He instantly exclaimed, suspiciously, " What do you mean?" I replied, " Why, couldn't