The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1910-02-24
HISTORY OF THE BOSSIER VOLUNTEERS
AND NINTH LOUISIANA REGIMENT.
BY CAPT. R. ]. HANCOCK.
Third Paper.


last week, after mentioning the return of
the Ninth Louisiana Regiment to Virginia
and its reorganization aggression was I'M
Intentionally made by the accidental trans
position of several pages of manuscript by
the compositor and events anticipated
from the movement of the reg ment from
Brandy Station to the Shenandoah Valley,
which carried the reader through mention
of all battles and engagements from Front
Royal in 1862 to Mine Run, November %,
1863, inclusive. We will now return to
where we left the reader before the begin
ming of Jackson's Valley Campaign
EDITOR BANNER.
Ewell's Division was organized at Brandy
Station, Culpeper County, Va. 1t was
composed of Dick Taylor's Brigade (the
Fifth. Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth
Louisiana Regiments and Wheat's Louisi-
ana Battalion) and Elzy's Brigade and
Trimble's Brigade.
We had hardly organized before Maj.
Kyd Douglas arrived from his hard ride
with orders from Gen. jackson to Gen.
Ewell to join him at Harrisonburg, Va.
This was April II, 1862, and the snow was
eight or ten inches deep. Gen. Ewell left
a cavalry regiment to keep the enemy in
check and started with his division over
the route that Maj. Douglas had come. He
marched to Gordonsville, thence to Stan
10
Swift Run Gap and across the beautiful
Valley of the Shenandoah. It was the first
time our men had ever seen this valley.
The snow had disappeared and the grass
lighted.
Gen. Taylor says in his "Destruction
and Reconstruction" that the first time he
ever saw Stonewall Jackson was near Har-
risonburg, Va. That Jackson was sitting
on fence sucking lemon. Taylor asked
him where he should 60 into camp, and
Jackson pointed to hill nearby. The
men filed past, and when they staked arms
the brass band began to play q familiar
waltz. About 500 men in new uniforms
and white leggings locked arms and began
to waltz on the green sod. Jackson, al
though rigid Presbyterian and fatalist,
dropped his lemon, threw up both hands
and laughed with delight. He saw they
were the kind of stuff that he wanted. Men
who could dance after long march over
the Blue Ridge Mountains would certainly
fight when called upon. He never forgot
it. Whenever he was hard pressed he
would generally call upon the Louisiana
ians-"The Iron-Clad Brigade ''-as he
would call them.
Jackson was a wonder. He held to his
religious faith, but he was ever ready for
fght-it did not matter with him if it was
the Sabbath day-and he always whipped
the enemy or held his ground against any
odds. If he found the enemy too strong
for him he would hold his position until
night. Then he would burn every fence
in reach after dark to make as many camp
fires as possible, to make the enemy think
he was receiving reinforcements, then he
would retreat to a stronger position. He
was hard task master and had little to
say to any one, even to Gen. Ewell, who
was second in command. AS soon as he
had matters Slaughtered out at Harris
burg he started on a march and passed
around the south end of Massanutton
Mountain and entered the Luray Valley "a
part of the Systematically swept past the
town of Luray and struck the enemy at
Front Royal and scattered them like chaff
He turned west to Middletown, twelve miles
distant, and found the enemy in full re-
treat. He pursued them all night and cap
tured lot of soldiers and pontoon bridge.
The boats of the bridge were filled with
bacon, which was very much to Jackson's
liking, and which he issued to his men. He
harrassed the enemy all night and next
Sunday morning he was in front of Win
chester, Va. He found Banks drawn up
in line of battle south of the town and q
big battery Immediately in front of the
Lousianians. He rode up to Gen. Taylor,
who was sitting where the men could hear
him, and asked Taylor if he thought his
men could take the battery. Taylor re-
piled in an audible voice, Eyes; but it will
be the devil to get those d-n boys to stop
this side of the Potomac" Gen. jackson
touched him on the shoulder and remarked,
"Sir, am afraid you are wicked fellow"
Soon the order to charge was given and
Banks was sent through Winchester like
big hurricane