Page:The woman in battle .djvu/326

290 however, about the expediency and propriety of this course, and no one was willing to take the responsibility of doing the necessary talking. As no one else would undertake the task of interviewing Longstreet on the subject, I resolved to represent the situation to him myself. After the arrival of his corps in Charlotte I watched for a good opportunity, and at length espied him engaged in conversation with General Jenkins. I therefore went up, and, making a salute, stated to General Longstreet that a number of officers who were ordered to join their regiments immediately were unable to proceed for lack of transportation, and asked if we might not go on with him; for, if we did not, great inconvenience would be caused to ourselves and to the army. The general hesitated somewhat, but after asking me several questions about who we were, how many there were of us, where we were going, &c., he acceded to my request. I made known the success of my mission to the rest, and so, jumping on board the train, we managed to get through.

I was determined, however, that in case Longstreet refused, I would wait until the very last minute, and then jump on the engine or tender, believing that, in an emergency like this, the best plan is to take the law into one's own hands. It is true that, had I attempted this, I might have been put off; but I did not think this very likely, but rather thought that I would probably win the favor of the general, by showing him that I was bent upon getting to the front at the earliest possible moment. At all events, I was willing to have taken the chances of getting through in proper style.

On reaching Atlanta, I had the gratification of receiving a number of letters from relatives from whom I had not heard for many months. There were two from my father, one from my sister in Matanzas, and one from my brother, in the trans-Mississippi department. This was the first time in nine months I had heard from my brother, and it was the first intimation I had that he was in the army. It was a great delight for me to receive these letters, as, though I had been long separated from my relatives, they were often in my thoughts, and I remembered them with the tenderest affection. I was, as may be supposed, particularly well pleased to learn that