Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1873-07-18


ton Of my own. X i = 1t is clear
to me that we shall both be exposed to a
common danger at the time indicated. :"
Having but little faith in the almost
forgotten and altogether repudiated sci
ence of astrology, I took little heed of
either his scheme of nativity or his let
ter, regarding the former as ingenious,
but as merely proof of an ardent and
somewhat enthusiastic temperament, while
| little imagined, at that time that the
rather unpublished and rugged exterior of
Lieut. Jackson concealed a character
destined to become famous among his
countrymen.
served in the army in 1961-2-3 until
after the battle of Charlottesville, par
ticipating in all its important engage
mcnts, and, the greater part of the time,
commanding a brigade. At the battle
above named, | was an involuntary wit
ness of an event WHICH had an Important
bearing on the issue of the war, and
which has been the subject of prolonged
controversy. | refer to the death of
Stonewall jackson. The circumstances
under which I acquired the right to give
testimony in the matter were somewhat
remarkable, and / here give full state
ment of them.
The left of my brigade line lay near
the plank road at Charlottesville, and
after night had fallen | rode forward, ac-
cording to my invariablc habit. to inspect
my picket line The moon had risen and
partially Illuminated the woods. / began
my inspection on the right of the picket
line, progressing gradually to the left,
where | stopped to rectify the post of a
sentinel not far from the plank road.
While thus engaged, heard the sound
OF hoofs from the direction Of the enc
my's line, and paused to listen. Soon a
cavalcade appeared approaching US. The
foremost horseman detached himself from
the main body, which halted not far from
us, and riding cautiously nearer seemed
to try to pierce the gloom. lie was so
close to us, that the soldier nearest me
leveled his rifle for a shot at him, but |
forbade him, as | did not wish to have
our position revealed and it would have
been useless to kill the man, whom |
Judged to be staff officer making a re-
connoisance.
Having completed his observations,
this person rejoined the group in his rear,
and all returned at gallop The CHATTER
of hoofs soon ceased to be audible, and
the silence of the night was unbroken,
save by the melancholy cries of the whip
poor-will, which were heard in one con-
tinued wall, like spirit voices, when the
horizon was lighted up by sudden flash
in the direction of the enemy, succeeded
by the wcll-known rattle of volley of
musketry from at least battalion. A
second volley quickly followed the first,
and heard cries in the same direction.
Fearing that some of our troops might
be in that locality, and that there was
danger of our firing upon friends, / left
my orderly and rode toward the Confed-
crate lines
A riderlcss horse dashed past mo to-
ward our lines, and reined up in pres
ence of group of several persons gath
cred around man lying on the ground,
apparently badly wounded. ] saw at
once that these were Confederate officers,
and visions of Libbey began to fit through
my mind; but rejecting that | had on
the great coat of private soldier, such
as was worn by both parties, ! sat still
regarding the group in silence, but pre-
pared to use either my spurs or my sabre
as occasion might demand. The silence
was broken by one of the Confederates,
who appeared to regard me with aston
ishment; then, speaking in tone of au-
thority, he ordered me to ;'ride up there
and see what troops those were," indica-
ting the rebel position. instantly made
a gesture of assent, and rode slowly in
the direction indicated, until out Of sight
of the group then made a circuit around
it and returned within my own lines
Just as | had answered the challenge of
our picket, the section of our artillery
posted on the plank road began firing,
and | could plainly hear the grape crash
ing through the trees near the spot occu-
pied by the group Of Confederate officers.
About fortnight afterward, saw n
Richmond newspaper which came to Fall
mouth, in which were detailed the cir
cumstances of the death of Stonewall
jackson. These left no doubt in my own
mind that the person had seen lying on
the ground was that officer, and that his
singular prediction, mentioned previous
ly, had been verified The following is
an extract from the newspaper account ::
General jackson having gone some
distance in front of bis line ON Saturday
evening, was returning about s o'clock,
attended by his staff. The cavalcade
was, in the darkness, mistaken for body
of the enemy's cavalry, and fired on by
regiment of his own corps" Then,
after detailing what took place after the
general fell from bis horse the account
proceeds: 1.-THE turnpike was utterly de-
serted, with the exception of Captains
Wilbourn and Wynn, but in the skirting
Of the thicket on the left some person
was observed by the side of the wood,
sitting bis horse motionless and silent. -
The unknown individual was clad in a
dark dress which strongly resembled the
Federal uniform but it seemed impossi-
bic that he could have penetrated to that
spot without being discovered. and what
followed seemed to prove that he belong
ed to the Confederates. Capt. Wilbourn
directed him to ride up there and see
what troops those were-the men who
fred on Jackson-and the stranger rode