Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 38.djvu/22

10 I ordered Tom to go in to rescue our belongings, and even threatened him with my sword, but the poor fellow, ashy colored, only said: "Oh! Massa Captain, I will do anything for you, but I can't go in dar," so I said to Burwell: "Life in this Confederacy is not worth having without my clothes or anything else, and I am willing to risk my life for my things." Bob cheerfully replied: "I am with you, Captain." We got a wagon and Bob drove it alongside the stalled one and our belongings were thrown from one into the other. Fortunately, the enemy's fire slackened, but never before was so much done in so short a time!

In these operatons our train had been broken up into detached fragments and our force was divided accordingly. Colonel Taylor stated that during one of these attacks the headquarter wagons were in danger of capture, and the men in charge burned the chest containing the headquarter archives, including order books, letter-copying books and other valuable documents, an irreparable loss and an unnecessary one, as the wagon was eventually saved. Late in the day I got to the ground overlooking Sailors' Creek, where there was a block, owing to the convergence of trains and a narrow passage over the creek on a rickety bridge. General Ewell was there and told me to make the wagons double up, saying: "If they don't get away from here they will all be captured." Warned by this, I went into my wagon and got out my best coat and a few other things. Just then the enemy appeared on the crest behind us and opened a heavy fire. There was a general "sawve qui peut," and we galloped down the hill. One man next to me was struck, the bullet making a loud whack. We crowded on the bridge and had to take it at a slow pace under the heavy fire. One officer, on a fine, black horse, thinking the bridge too slow, took to the stream, but got mired in it. This crossing was by the S. W. Vaughn house. When I got across I looked back and saw the enemy setting fire to our wagons. Thus I lost all of my treasures of the war, for which I had risked my life only a few hours before.

I was told by one of the officers at the War Records Office in Washington that the burning of those wagons was much