Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 34.djvu/314

 306 Southern Historical Society Papers.

and healthy, still their limbs were so stiff that not one of them I tried could mount "Billie" from the ground. I managed to get two of my first cousins on the horse at different times from a high bank, but it affected the hip and leg so they took cramp and had to get off immediately. No wonder ! These were the legs that made up Stonewall Jackson's foot cavalry, and when you reflect what they had already done, how could they be any- thing else but stiff? The first night we camped on the battle- field of "Camp Bartow," twenty miles west of Hightown. Here it was Colonel Ed. Johnson defeated the Federals on the 3d day of October, 1861.

The next morning it was raining, and began to snow as we began to ascend that mighty barrier, Cheat Mountain. The snow fell fully six inches on the top of Cheat Mountain that day, and many of the men who were scantly dressed suffered fearfully from the cold. But we pushed on through the storm and reached Huttonsville, a distance of twenty miles from where we had camped the night before.

By this time it was fully known among the soldiers that Gen- eral William E. Jones, with his brigade of cavalry, was to ope- rate in conjunction with us and was to strike the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad near Martinsburg, and to go west, doing all the damage he could to the railroad, and we were to meet him somewhere near Clarksburg The fact that General Jones was on this raid gave General Imboden and his men greater courage and confidence in their own undertaking. General Jones was known to be a dashing cavalry officer, and a splendid fighter, and everybody felt that sure he would do his part. At Hut- tonsville we were within eleven miles of Beverley, and we knew the Federals had a strong force at this place, and that the town was strongly fortified and supplied with artillery. We also knew that we were ahead of all news and that the enemy had no idea of an approach. The night at Huttonsville was a fearful one on men exposed as we were. It rained all night, and did not cease until late in the afternoon on the next day.

WORK AHEAD OF THEM.

As soon after daylight as possible General Imboden had his