The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-03-31

scat not far from him. and being
somewhat fatigued from the long ride
l fell asleep. Waking With a start, l
turned and saw the General kneelinS
WIN his arms resting on the log. in
earnest prayer. j was profoundly I'M
pressed, and a feeling of great securi-
ty came over me. Surely this great
soldier, who held such close and con-
slant commu;lion with his Maker.
must certainly succeed in whatever
he undertook,
Presently the General, who was Sill
seated on the log. called me to his side
and ordered me to ride down the turn
pike as far as possible in the direction
of the enemy, and ascertain If any of
his pickets were stationed in the
direction facing our advance.
and to gather any other Information
It was possible to obtain
Taking one man with me, mounted
my horse and Eallopcd rapidly down
the road until I came within sight OF
the canp-fires OF the enemy. Dis
mounting. ] tied my horse in a thicket
near the road. advanced cautiously.
expecting every moment TO come in
contact with some outlying picket,
but met no enemy until / came TO an
opening in the woods overlooking a
large field. where / saw q sight most
amazing and unexpected. No less than
a vast force OF Federals in every con
ceivable state of disorder. without any
formation; several batteries of artil
iery unimbered; hundreds gathered
around the camp-fires. cooking, some
lying summing themselves in the bright
May sunshine as apparently uncon-
scious of danger as if they had been
encampcd around the environs of
Washington C;ty-no sentiDelS. no
pickets. no line of battle anywhere.
My heart bounded with e7Sultation
and I could have shouted for JOY.
Verify 1 said to myself. the God
of battles has this day delivered these
people into our hands" But ! had
time only for d. brief glance. Hurry
ing to where ! had tied my horse. I
mounted and rode with all possible
speed back TO where L had left the
General.
THE SILENT MARCH.
] made my report. Not a word cs-
capped his lips. He raised his eyes to
heaven and his lips seemed to muir
muir d prayer and then turning to
General Hill, said:
Order the whole line to advance
General Hill. but slowly. With great
caution. and without noise. -
order the whole line to advance,
slowly. silently, with no sound save
the occasional cracking of a stick
beneath the feet of the men: those
long grey lines stretching for into the
gloom Of the forest. pressed on: TWEEN
ty-five thousand veterans Of many a
hard-fougilt field. who had never NOV
ed save. IN the path Of victory: on and
on in the gathering evening. the sink
CT, 1,nll ind
them. the frightened birds twittering
and chir-ping as they flew from tree
TO tree. and an occasional bark of a
squirrel as he looked out startled at the
unwontcl scene. We're the only sounds
that interrupted the stiffness, solemn
and oppressive. Il strange. calm pre-
: ceding a storm, the like of which
has seldom been =chronicled ii the an
mails of war
When our line ofS.batilc dehouched
from the dense wood which effectually
concealed the advance, it came iml-lc-
diatcly upon the Federal encampment
9 and directly in the rear of their whole
line. The first intimation the enemy
had of our approach was the .chaTac-
tcristic Confederate Yell, which rolled
along the line. and rung out clear and
loud above the thunGerous clash Of
musketry and rc-cchocd through the
forest. which had until then been rs
silent rs the Sra:rc.
4 GREAT PANIC.
Never was surprise moro complete:
never was victory more easily won.
AS our lines swept like an avalanche
over the Federal camps, they, over
whclmed and outnumbcred at every
point. resistance was paralyzcd and
the panic which cnsucd is indcscriba-
bic. on the part of the enemy it was
not a. retreat, but the widest flight
a race for life.
At one time during The evening
young officer, wild with enthusiasm.
dashed up TO the General crying: Gen
cral, they are running too fast for us,
we can't come up with them They
never run too fast for me. sir was
the immediate response. And thus on
ward rushed pursuers and pursued.
down the road toward characteristics.
Now and then Jackson would press
his horse to a sallop and dash to The
front. and whenever he appeared the
troops would break ranks and rush
around him with the widest cheers I
ever heard from human threats. When
night closed upon the scene the vic
tory seemed to be complete. The in
tantry OF the enemy had disappeared
from our immediate front. falling back
.Inder cover Of several batteries OF ar
tillery which hating upon every emil
aence poured a furious fire of shot and
shell down the road upon our adj
vanciIIg columns. In order to avoid
this furious fire as much as possible
our men were formed in columns and
made 30 march up the edge of the
dense wood, and parallel with the
road This they were able to do by
the aid of tho moon. which shone
very brightly. rendering all objects III
our Immediate vicinity clearly distinct.
COUNCIL OF WAR.
About this time General A P Hill
rode up and Jackson and himself had
a conference of some length. l did not
hear all that was said, but both were
deeply absorbed, for shells from the
battery OF the enemy were bursting
all around us and blowing up the