National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-01-24
Wra,entor TIE NATIONAL RnrunncAN.

70 DO fnuCn ulBRrunJleuh Nv bno tVho "i"N'
cral of my recent letters in The REPUB-
LIcAN, and, in fact, havc received let
tiers there anont which might DO termed
abusive. Say they: mo matter what
may havo been the shortcomings OF the
confederate authorities, military or civil,
IL is unbecoming for confederate sol-
der to expose them" Now, 1 did not
begin to write those articles in any such
spirit. The deeds of the confederate
armies need no bolstering up or CLOSING
over from mo or any other man who
,erved in their ranks, and Ii there were
faults committed-aud there were many
both on the part of the civil and military
authorities who were directing tho con-
test In conjunction Il had almost said in
opposition. for 1t occasionally amounted
to that)-it is proper that they should
now be commented upon. L am not one
of those who look upon tho confederate
leaders as demi-gods. In fact, am per-
meated with very iconoclastic spirit
sometimes when | sit down to write of
the gross mistakes made in tho conduct
of tho war-mistakes which were pal
pable to, and were resented by, tho hum
blest "high private In tho rear rank" at
the time Of the happening.
DON'T CARE A CONTINENTAL
picayune for adverse criticism, but at tho
same time i would like to have my mo.
,tives understood by my old comrades in
arms. So much by way of answer to.tho
letter-writers and fault-fnders.
About the middle Of June, 1861, Gen.
Beauregard, who then had his headquar-
ters at Manassas Junction, pushed for
ward as an outpost, Gen. Bonham's
brigade of South Carolinians to Fairfax
Court House, and accompanying them
were Capt. Delaware Kempor's battery, Of
Alexandria, and fvo or six companies of
cavalry for advanced vidette aud scouting
duty. At that time l don't think any of
the Virginia brigades had been formed,
and very few regiments, tho companies
acting singly under their names as Or
CARNATIONS, such us Fairfax Rifles, Gooch-
land Troop, &C., and therefore IL was
that tho South Carolinians, being fully
organized, were placed in the van. |
make this explanation to show why the
Virginians were not placed at tho fore on
their own soil. Some time before the ad-
vent Of Bonham's men-in fact, the
morning after the night the federal
troops took possession of Alexandria
the writer. as u volunteer in a squad
commanded by Capt. Alfred Moss, of the
IalIlhN Niuhlhg DlOttGuCu w
Vienna on the Loudon and Hampshire
railroad for the purpose of running out OF
the way Of the enemy, whose immediate
advance to that point was expected, sew
eral trains of cars which were standing
on the side tracks at that point As nc
locomotives were available, with the as
sistance of citizens and railroad laborer:
We managed to got the trains on u down
grade; it is down grade all the way from
Vienna to Difficult Run, q distance Of
four miles, and we run them when started
over the bridge ON that creek,
AFTERwARD BURNING THE BRIDGE.
Now, Vienna itself, and the country i'm
mediately about it had been settled
chiefly by northern men who were gene
rally hostile to the confederacy, although
some of them, under stress OF circum
stances, had voted for the ordinance o
secession. When the "home guard" a
the time mentioned called for assistanc,
in getting of the trains they met will
solid opposition and oven abuse from tn
men in the village, and particularly from
one DR.. Boyd, who was leader, and tina
day proved himself very unfriendly to thu
writer, whom he stigmatiZed as "a stuck
upyoung rebel spa W." and who believ
was only deferred from forcible reslstanc,
to tho getting off of the cars by the display
of a revolver pointed at his head.
After Bonham's men came to the court
house Vienna was not held as an out
post by the confederates, only au occa
sional scouting party being sent there t,
see what was going on and whether TIN
federals had taken possession of ii. On
day, about tho latter part Of June, in
formation was received by Gen. Bonhan
that the federal general at Alexandra
had ordered detachment of troops t.
proceed to Vienna and to threw up forti
flcations for q permanent outpost, from
which the confederate line at Flint Hill
Falls Church, &C., could BIO CONSTANT.
menaced, Bonham Immediately ordere
one of his regiments, three guns of KEN
per's battery two 6-pounders and a IL
FOUNDER howit2or) aud squadron G
cavalry to march to Vienna, and, if pos
sible,
TO AMBUsCADE THE FEDERAL COLUMN
At that time the writer belonged to II
organization, being engaged in raising
company Of artillery, and knowing tn
country well about Vienna l sough
and obtained permission to accompany tn
detached column. My primary object i
going along was not to see the fight [
had never been in fight where artiller
was engaged up to this timo), but to &c
even with DIR. Boyd and his partisan
who, although blatant and wide mouthe
against "robels," and "Virginia rebels
especially, had hitherto managed to evad
arrest. The policy Of the confederat
government at this period, as we'll a
thereafter, was the same old donkeyfe
bystem Of playing the waiting game
and the conciliatory dodge, when ever
consideration of circumstances and col
Lad 10 aka
gressive action, with all the power q
ated within the very camps the presenC
of those who were veritable allies Of III
enemy.
1t will be recollected that the corr,
spondents of northern newspapers in thei
fluctuations gave vivid account of til
horrible destruction wrought by
CONFEDERATE MASKED BATTERIES"
on the federal lines, and wrote as
masked batteries" were the peculiar il
vention of tho southern leaders. In ia,
masked batteries were for some time
this epoch the betes HOirS of the union so
diery. And IL will be recOlleCted, to-
that after the first battle Of Bull Run ii
territiC charges of the inVinCible (sul
posed) "Black Horse" were made tOpi'
Of noto, whom the fact was that the "BlaC
Horse" was single company Of cavalr
from Fauquier county, Va, and the
didn't charge at all on that eyentful da
but were held in reserve.
The detached column started fro
Fairfax Court House after noon ON IL
day above stated, and arrived in I'll
vicinity of Vienna about o'clock. Whe
within couple of miles
the place the column was halle
and the leaders had counc
of war to determine whether or not the
should take up position, in view of ii
fact that ii was almost certain that in
neighborhood in which nearly ever
man, woman, and child was disailected
to the southern cause, the enemy woul
be notified of every point in iull time
take advantage thereof. Finally it WI
determined to conceal the infantry al
nrtillnru in tho MINI. Ilinns uhinh mRMn