USA > Virginia > Under the stars and bars ; a history of the Surry Light Artillery > Part 6
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And so it did. Williams was delighted, and the men pressed his departure. The detail was as good as a furlough would have been for Williams, for he only wanted to get home for a little space. The detail was for five days, and promptly on the fifth day Williams returned to camp with ever so many bags of leaves- leaves of the so-called "sheep laurel" or lambkill, the Kalmia angustifolia of botany.
This was the plant. And a strong decoction of its leaves was to be the great "safe and certain" cure for the exasperating scabies militaris that had afflicted them so long, by day and by night.
Bright hopes were now in the ascendant. Speedily, several camp kettles, filled with water and leaves of the kalmia, were placed over the fires, and brought to a boil-for Williams had told them to make the de- coction strong. He really wanted it to eure, no doubt, and thought he was advising them for the best.
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And then the boys "prepared for action," as the ar- tillery phrase is. Stripping off their shirts, several of them at the same time-such was the haste to have the remedy working a cure-several of them at once began vigorously to apply the lotion that was to rid them for- ever of the detested scabies. But before the first ones that began to use it had proceeded even a little way, their physiognomies, before so bright and anticipative, began to change suddenly and wonderfully ! and some impromptu adjectives, not of the admiration class, be- gan to be uttered without rule or reason. And quickly their words grew louder, and faster and fiercer. The other boys who had just started in, paused for an ex- planation. But they did not have to wait to be told, for as soon as the tea began to act just a little, they knew how it was themselves, and they, too, joined in the outcry.
And soon there arose such an outburst that the "of- ficer of the day" heard it, and came forth to learn the cause of it. And Williams himself heard it, on his post in the Battery, for he was on guard duty that day, and he wondered what had occasioned the uproar. It began to trouble him.
And then some of the boys who had not yet tested the prescription, seeing how matters stood, began to laugh and halloo and jest at the suffering ones. But that did not stop the turmoil. The agony produced by that sheep-laurel tea, and the outeries and anger were almost alarming. The imprecations that descended on
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the head of Williams were loud and bitter, and if some of the men could have got hold of him just then, he might have fared badly. But he was on post, and none of them dare molest him then.
But, after awhile the pain abated a little. The tableau passed from the tragic to the comic. Good humor re-asserted itself. A better feeling began to pre- vail, and the cloud that had been raised passed by. Those kettles of tea were silently overturned, and no more has been made. The boys all declare they prefer the disease to the remedy, ten to one.
There are rumors that the Federal cavalry under Stoneman are attempting to turn Lee's flank above Fredericksburg-and also that another large body has been seen coming in this direction from the York river. We are expecting orders to march, and, in any event, we will not remain here much longer, as the spring is well advanced, and the weather mild and fine.
May the good angels guard and keep you and us from all harm.
Your friend, B.
[I have thought that this letter, relating how our comrade, Thomas H. Williams, studied out a plan to get home, at a time when neither permit nor furlough was granted to any one, though perhaps a little over- drawn in some particulars, would do to go in along
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with the rest. The occurrence did actually take place, and no doubt some of the survivors, those certainly who tried the tea, will recall some of the incidents. I think Comrade Williams never did stand in quite so well any more with some of the men. They always entertained a little grudge toward him, on account of that sheep- laurel tea. He certainly lost his reputation as a doctor, and some of the boys were so discourteous at times as to remind him of the well-known adage: Ne sutor ultra crepidam, let not the shoemaker go beyond his last. He was a good man and a good soldier. But he did finally return to his last, and got a detail to work in the Government shoemaking shop in Richmond. He died a few years after the close of the war at his home in Surry.
And still, in Mem'ry's hallowed halls, We'll sometimes pause to view The scenes that Friendship yet recalls, Of comrades tried and true.
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LETTER NINETEENTH.
Suffolk recaptured-Big siege guns-Marching orders-Destina- tion-The Home Guard-Note.
CAMP ROPER, VA., April 20, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- We learn here that a portion of Lee's army under Longstreet, has lately recaptured the town of Suffolk, and driven the Federals back several iniles toward Norfolk. Thus the Southside counties are freed again from the enemy that has been ravaging and despoiling, and in many cases, burning the homes of our people. Whether or not it is the purpose of our Gov- erinent to maintain an army at Suffolk, and keep the foe out of that part of the State, does not appear, but I sincerely trust that such is the case. It would put a stop to those raiding bands (perhaps most of them only lawless freebooters, in fact) that have been prowling around down there, stealing the horses, killing the cattle, robbing the hen-roosts, and burning the mills and the private dwellings of the people. How pleased the S. L. A. would be to be ordered into that part of the State! It would be going back home again. I was in Richmond when Longstreet's men passed through, on their way down to Suffolk. I trust it is the intention to hold that section permanently.
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Thus active operations for the summer have started. We have orders to be ready to march at a moment's notice, but in what direction we shall go, none of us yet know. Perhaps this will be the deciding year of the war, and reveal what the end is to be, if it does not bring the end itself. I hear that all is astir in the armies at Fredericksburg. The Northern Government has sent Burnside down, and put in "Fighting Joe Hooker" at the head of affairs. Perhaps Hooker thinks ยท it is about time for him to be hooking in General Lee and his men. The enemy's cavalry forces, now under a General Stoneman, seem to be trying a flank movement around Lee's army, in the direction of Louisa Court- house. Perhaps it is in that direction that we are to go.
I saw yesterday, at the Southern depot in Richmond, some of the largest cannon ever cast in the Confederate States. I was told they were 700-pounders, and I tell you they were rousers. I could have crawled into them easily. They were cast at the Richmond Iron Works, and are to go to Charleston, where the gallant Beaure- gard is still holding off the Federal fleet and army in- vesting that port. The Confederacy is not so badly off, after all, in the way 'of supplying her fortified posts with large guns and ammunition. It is a sight to a countryman to go through those shops and see the great piles of shot and shell, and other paraphernalia of war.
Well, we have marching orders. Our entire com- mand (Lightfoot's Battalion), and a large part of the
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City Defences, all under command of Colonel Rhett, are ordered to proceed without delay to Gordonsville and the vicinity. Colonel Rhett is a South Carolinian and said to be a rigid disciplinarian and determined fighter, and I suppose we are in for some rough ex- periences. If we meet the enemy, I feel sure that Rhett will fight them. But I do not know who is to defend the Capital, in case of a sudden foray of the enemy from the York or the James, when all these forces here are gone. I hear, however, that they have a pretty strong Home Guard here, and I suppose they will have to turn out and repel the foe if he comes.
The fact that there is a regularly organized and equipped Home Guard in both Richmond and Peters- burg, does not appear to be generally known. Nothing is ever said about it in the public press. Perhaps the head authorities wish to keep it a secret. And it may be better that it should be so. The body is made up of middle-age and old men and boys, mere lads, not yet old enough for service in the regular army. As they are the home people, those whose homes and every sacred tie are centred here, they may be counted upon to fight with resolution, if the pinch comes, notwith- standing the lack of military training and discipline. It is a sorry man that will not defend his own ingle and home.
Good-by. We are off at noon, and are to go by rail. So the necessity must be urgent. Hooker's cavalry have crossed the Rappahannock some distance above Fred-
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ericksburg, and are said to be advancing toward Gor- donsville. I will try to find opportunity to write to you from that place.
"Company Q" remains behind to nurse the sick, guard the camp, and "bring up the rear," in case of a sudden attack on the city while we are away.
May the angel guard camp around you, and us, and the city.
Your friend, B.
[For the enlightenment of the sons and daughters of the old Veterans, who, perhaps, may be curious to know about this Company Q," spoken of above, I will say that, in every body of soldiers, whether a single com- pany or more, there are, nearly always, a few men, more or less, who are partially sick or ailing, or in some way disqualified for full and active duty ; convalescents just out of the hospital; new recruits that have not been drilled; and some, maybe, who shirk and pretend to be sick; and, it is these who are classed as "Company Q." They are the unavailables, the ineffectives, those who cannot be counted upon to render aid or help, either in the hour of battle or in the performance of any very dis- agreeable duty. And while some of the very best and most reliable men are sometimes forced to be classed in this "company," it is not regarded as an altogether creditable parcel or body of soldiers to which they belong.
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And, as I am trying to write a truthful history, I must say that the S. L. A. had, nearly all the time, an indefinite number of men, generally few, sometimes many, of this class. How far, at any time, any of these might properly have been called shirks, it is beyond my province to say, but I think not many. It was a hard matter to play off continually, or frequently, so as deceive officers, doctors, and comrades, too.]
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LETTER TWENTIETH.
Gordonsville-Marching and counter-marching-The Stoneman raid-At Orange Courthouse-Scenery-Note.
ORANGE COURTHOUSE, VA., May 8, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- I take the first opportunity that I have had since our arrival in these parts, to write to you. Our Battalion, with many other forces, left Rich- inond on April 27th, and arrived at Gordonsville, over the C. & O. rail, at an early hour that night. The night was rainy, and, as we had no tents or shelter of any sort, we had rather a bad time of it until morning. But we had large fires, and some of the men managed to sleep a little.
Gordonsville is a long, straggling town, built up along the highway that has many angles and turns. It lies at the foot of the southwest hills, or mountains, a spur or outcrop of the Blue Ridge. As a railroad centre, it is a place of some importanee, and there are a number of shops and other industrial enterprises, or rather there were, until the war closed some of them.
We tarried at Gordonsville but a day or two, since which time our Battalion has been moving almost con- stantly, marching and counter-marching from place to place, seldom remaining more than a day anywhere, but
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hurrying from point to point, as the exigencies of the occasion, or the movements of the enemy, seemed to require. So far, we have not been brought in contact with the invaders, and have done no fighting. The 13th Virginia Cavalry, however, has been engaged once or twice within the past few days, and have brought in some prisoners. You know there are a great many Surry boys in that command. Both Company G and Company H of that Regiment, are from Surry.
We are told now that the enemy is falling back to his stronghold somewhere near the Rappahannock, and, of course, near the main body of Hooker's army. Stone- man, at the head of a large and formidable cavalry force, had attempted, by a circuitous flank movement, to get between General Lee's position and Richmond, and so destroy his communications and cripple his army. And it is said he came right near succeeding, in part, at least. For the very day we came up here, a part of his troops got within a mile or two of the railroad, and by a sudden dash, they might have cut the road, and perhaps have captured a part of us. Had Stoneman kept on with the vim he showed at first, he might have given a good deal of trouble, but he seemed soon to lose faith in his enterprise, and has withdrawn. Conse- quently we have had rest for several days.
We are now camped within a mile of the village of Orange Courthouse, reposing on a high ridge, with deep ravines on either side; in Orange, but not among oranges! And not much of anything else to eat in
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sight. In fact, rations up here afford no suspicion of abundance and more to come. Those of the men who have any Confederate scrip left, manage, by tramping around a good deal, to buy buttermilk, vegetables, etc., and thus eke out the short supply of corn bread. So we are comparatively content and happy.
The scenery up here is varied, picturesque and beau- tiful. From our camp we have a fine and extended view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance, and there are many delightful prospects all around us. This hilly country presents many elevated ridges and high knolls, fine for residences, and just the beau ideal posi- tions for artillery to play . upon an advancing army. But for a few things, I think I would love to live up here. And one of these is the formidable state of the roads, the clay, the endless beds of clay. It has rained several times recently, and the roads, unlike the varied scenery, are anything but beautiful. These red-clay
roads are "just awful" after a rain. If it rains but a little, the surface gets so soap-like and slick that every step one makes he is likely to slide back two, and wind up by falling down prone into the mud. And if it rains much, the clay gets like mortar, only more tena- cious, and every step you take, you stick fast in the mire or leave a shoe behind !
It is hard on the men's shoes, hard on the men, and as for the poor horses, they can barely drag the cannon through it at all. The guns and caissons have . been
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lightened of every disposable weight, but to little pur- pose. The mud encases the spokes and hubs until the wheels become huge plates of solid clay, and stops have to be made to shovel it off. I love Virginia, all of it. Yea!
"I love thee next to heaven above, Home of my fathers-thee I love; And rail thy sland'rers as they will With all thy faults, I love thee still ;"
but I am not intensely captivated with these red. hills and this Orange county clay. I much prefer our own Tidewater, with its long stretches of sand, and level roads, and gravelly hills. There are no mountains down there, it is true, and but little of varied and picturesque scenery ; and there is no red clay there, either-at least none like this clay up here. If there be anything in the world that "sticketh closer than a brother," un- doubtedly it is this Orange county mire.
For awhile adieu, and peaceful dreams.
Your friend, B.
[Before the above letter had been written, several great battles had occurred between different parts of the two armies at Fredericksburg; General Jackson had executed his splendid and famous flank movement, and struck Hooker's vast army a blow, from which it re- coiled in fatal confusion, and which gave another great victory. to Lee's matchless army; and Stoneman, too
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busy in aiding his chief in his retrograde across the river, found no opportunity to meddle further with Lee's communications with Richmond. There was, therefore, no further use for Colonel Rhett and his forces in Orange, and he was free to return. It was deemed advisable, however, to give the horses a good rest before the backward march was undertaken.
As I am writing this only for my immediate com- rades and their friends, and not for a critical public, I feel that I need make no excuse for having employed the word "raid" at the head of this letter. It is not altogether a well-established word for grave history. It carries the idea of a predatory incursion, for the purpose of robbing and devastating a country, rather than approved warfare; and perhaps General Stone- inan would object to the implication that he was bent on robbery. The term is a Scottieism, used by Sir Walter Scott in his admirable writings, but hardly yet sufficiently anglicized for use in grave composition.
But perhaps I have more need to apologize for the occasional use, in the course of these letters, of such decidedly rude expressions as "just awful," and some others. They were found in the original letters, and I did not deem it of importance enough to change them. But in every such case I have used the marks of quota- tion, to show that they are not well approved words.
The account that is given of the bad state of the roads, as we found them in the Piedmont country in
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May, 1863, is no exaggeration. In a country where stones seem to grow like bumps of stubbornness on every hillside and in every valley, it is a wonder that some of them had not been utilized a century ago in making hard roads. Good roads, if they had been general throughout Virginia, might have done something to save the Confederacy from final overthrow. The roads of Orange county were no worse than those of the other hilly districts. Bad roads cost the Confederacy millions. ]
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LETTER TWENTY-FIRST.
Conflicting reports-Wounded men and prisoners-Death of General Jackson-Honoring the remains-Orders to return- Note.
ORANGE COURTHOUSE, VA., May 14, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- There are no newspapers cireu- lating in the army up here, and nothing by which to form a definite idea of what is going on elsewhere, and the rumors and reports that we get from time to time are extremely conflicting and untrustworthy. First, we heard that Stuart's cavalry had been defeated by Stone- man's forces, and next we heard that Stuart had re- signed. Then we were told that Stonewall Jackson had been wounded, and that Stuart had been placed in command of Jackson's corps. Then we heard that the Federals had captured Fredericksburg, and got in be- tween Lee and Richmond, and that Lee was retiring to- ward Louisa Courthouse. And so, between one report and another, we did not know what to depend on. That a great battle had been fought, we felt sure, but of what the issue had been we were kept in profound ignorance for several days.
But the passing of many trains, conveying wounded men and prisoners, also captured arms and supplies, convinced us that the tide of battle had once more
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turned in our favor. The prisoners that came by this route, were captured mainly by Stuart's forces and the daring Mosby. Then we began to receive more definite accounts of Jackson's charge on Hooker's right flank, and that Jackson had been wounded.
But we were not prepared for the sad news that General Jackson had died of his wounds! Stonewall Jackson dead! The words were too distressing to be entertained ! But the arrival of orders for a section of our Battery to proceed to Gordonsville, for the pur- pose of firing a salute to the remains as they were being conveyed to their last resting-place, put an end to all doubt. It was indeed too true. The great chieftain, General Thomas J. Jackson, had been severely wounded near Chancellorsville on May 2d, and had died near Guiney's Station on the 10th.
As the train bearing his remains approached the sta- tion at Gordonsville, the section of our Battery that had been detailed for the purpose, discharged its guns in honor of the dead hero. It was a sad duty the boys had to perform. All felt and knew that a great leader among men had fallen-felt that our cause had sus- tained an irreparable loss-and that his place could never be entirely filled.
The sad event has occasioned great gloom throughout our army, and over all of the Confederacy. We have many able generals, but none just like Stonewall Jack- son. In his fall I believe that we lose even more than
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the fall of Richmond would be. May the God of battles defend our cause, and order the event to our good.
"Let us praise Him for victories past; Let us trust Him for all that's to come."
On yesterday afternoon, the 13th, orders were re- ceived for our return to Richmond, and I am writing this early this morning, before we take our departure. Accordingly, all the forces of Colonel Rhett's Command are about to take up the line of march, on the return trip. We will bid adieu to Orange, and Orange county mud, and proceed by easy stages via Gordonsville and Louisa Courthouse, and on through Hanover.
"The bright May morning's come again, With balmy airs and showers, - And through the wood, and in the glen, Is borne the breath of flowers."
When you approach the throne of grace, think of the soldier boys.
Your friend, B.
[It is out of the province of this humble history to speak extendedly of General Stonewall Jackson. Our command was in another part of the army, and we saw nothing of him. But we heard much. From the time he struck MeClellan's right flank at Mechanicsville, on that bright 26th of June, 1862, up to that glorious but too fatal day at Chancellorsville, we had heard
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many things of "Stonewall Jackson's way" of marching, and fighting, and defeating the enemy. And every man of the S. L. A. had learned to love him. And when he fell, we all felt and knew that it was an irreparable blow for the South. Sadness settled upon our camp and upon the hearts of the men. They spoke of his death with bated breath, and wondered why he had been taken from us in the way and manner that he had. Such a splendid victory ! Such an untimely and disastrous fall ! Even to this day, I cannot see the reason for it.]
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LETTER TWENTY-SECOND.
The plains of Virginia-Condition of agriculture-A pen sketch of Colonel Rhett-Arrival at Richmond-A new camp-Note.
CAMP LETCHER, VA., May 28, 1863.
My Dear Friend :- The section of the State over which we passed, on our return route, is a. level plain, known as the plains of Virginia. The scenery is varied, at times altnost picturesque, and one notable feature in the landscape for several miles after leaving the mountain country, is the presence of large isolated bowlders, or rocks, scattered about, one or two at a place, over the fields. Some of them are almost as large as a house, and all are too large to be moved by ordinary mechanical appliances, hence they have to remain where they lie. Such rocks, similarly placed, would be a notable feature for our Tidewater land.
The water of the plains is excellent, and there are many fine springs and small brooks and streams. And there is gold there, too, so they say, but I did not have time to look for any. Agriculture seemed to be in a depleted condition. There were some good fields of corn and wheat, and some cattle and sheep grazing in well-enclosed pastures. But many fields and farms lie fallow, and are growing up in bushes, and quite often
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the fences and buildings manifest neglect and the ab- sence of labor. Slaves, and in some cases, white men, were at work in some of the fields. But an air of aban- donment, painful to look upon, seems to rest over all the country.
Yet, in comparison with the Peninsula counties, it is still a fair and goodly land. There are no blackened ruins, marking the despoiler's path, and the people have not been driven from their homes to seek refuge in other parts. The churches and mills remain, and the appli- ances of agriculture are there yet, and the old men and the boys may labor in hope and peace. With its pro- ductive soil, and a climate almost bean ideal for health, it is one of the most desirable parts of the Old Dominion.
Nothing of particular interest occurred on the march back -- nothing that needs to be noted, save, perhaps, the presence of vast clouds of dust, that clung to the army, as it moved onward, in long lines of stifling misery. The volume of dust that is raised by an army, tramping slowly onward over a dry road, is a phenomenon. From front to rear of the line, the impalpable earth-powder, the floating soil-spray, winds its slow coils around every- thing. It penetrates everywhere, into the clothing and accoutrements, into the eyes and lungs of man and beast, into everything. It settles upon the foliage of all the trees, and floats off right and left over field and crops. There is no escaping it. The soldier has to trudge on in the moving wave, half suffocated, half
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