Produced by Eric Eldred Marvin A Hodgesand the Online Distributed Proofreading TeamMOHUNORTHE LAST DAYS OF LEE AND HIS PALADINSFINAL MEMOIRSOF ASTAFF OFFICER SERVING IN VIRGINIAFROM THE MSS OFCOLONEL SURRY OF EAGLES NESTBYJOHN ESTEN COOKEAUTHOR OF SURRY OF EAGLES NEST_Nec aspera terrent_PROLOGUEOn the wall over the mantelpiece here in my quiet study atEaglesNest are two crossed swords One is a battered old sabre wornat Gettysburg and Appomattox the other a Federal officers dresssword captured in 1863It was a mere fancy to place them there as it was a whim to hang uponthat nail yonder the uniform coat with its stars and braid whichStuart wore on his famous ride around McClellan in 1862 Under theswords hang portraits of Lee Jackson and Stuart Jackson wears hisold coat and his brow is raised as though he were looking out frombeneath his yellow old cadet cap Stuart is seated grasping his sabrewith his plumed hat resting on his knee His huge beard flows on hisbreast his eyes are clear and penetrating and beneath the picture Ihave placed a slip cut from one of his letters to me and containingthe words Yours to count on JEB Stuart Lastly the graycommanderinchief looks with a grave smile over his shoulder the eyesfixed upon that excellent engraving of the Good Old Rebel a privateof the Army of Northern Virginia seated on a log after the war andreflecting with knit brows on the past and the presentFrom this sketch of my surroundings worthy reader you will perceivethat I amuse myself by recalling the old times when the Grays and Blueswere opposed to each other Those two swords crossedthose pictures ofLee Jackson Stuart and the Old Rebelyou are certain to thinkthat the possessor of them is unreconstructed terrible word andstill a rebelBut is it wrong to remember the past I think of it without bitternessGod decreed itGod the allwise the allmercifulfor his ownpurpose I do not indulge any repinings or reflect with rancor uponthe issue of the struggle I prefer recalling the stirring adventurethe brave voices the gallant faces even in that tremendous drama of18645 I can find something besides blood and tears even here andthere some sunshineIn this last series of my memoirs I shall deal chiefly with thatimmense campaign In the first series which I trust the reader ofthese pages will have perused I followed Jackson through his hardbattles to the fatal field of Chancellorsville In this volume I shallbeg the reader first to go with Stuart from the great review of hiscavalry in June 1863 to the dark morning of May 11 1864 at YellowTavern Then the last days will followI open the drama with that fine cavalry review in June 1863 on thePlains of CulpeperIt is a pleasure to return to itfor Gettysburg blackened the sunshinesoon The column thundered by the gay bugles rang the greatbanner floated Where is that pageant today Where the old moons ofVillon Alas the strong hours work their will June 1863 is longdead The cavalry horses if they came back from the wars areploughing The rusty sabres stick fast in the battered old scabbardsThe old saddles are shabbyand our friends take them away from us Theold buttons are tarnished and an order forbids our wearing them Thebrass bands clash no more and the bugles are silent Where are thedrums and the bugles Do they beat the long roll at the approach ofphantom foes or sound the cavalry charge in another world They aresilent today and have long disappeared but I think I hear them stillin my dreamsIt is in June 1863 therefore worthy reader that I open my volumeUp to that time I had gone with Jacksons foot cavalry marchingslowly and steadily to battle Now I was to follow the gay andadventurous career of the Virginia RupertStuart the Knight of theBlack Plume If you are willing to accompany me I promise to show yousome animated scenes You will hear Stuart laugh as he leads thecharge or jest with his staff or sing his gay cavalry songs Butalas we shall not go far with him and when he leaves us a sort ofshadow will fall upon the landscape From that May 1864 laughter willseldom be heard The light which shines on the great picture will bered and baleful Blood will gush on desperate fieldsmen will falllike dry leaves in the winds of autumnThe crimson torrent will sweep away a whole generation almostand theRed Cross flag will go down in bloodThe current of events will drag us to Petersburg and those last monthswhich witnessed the final wrestle in this war of the giantsLet us bask in the sunshine before breasting the storm The pages ofblood and mourning will soon be openedmeanwhile we will laughIn this June 1863 faces smile still and cheers resound Bugles areringing swords clashing cannon thunderingLees old army is full of ardor and seventy thousand men shoutPennsylvania PennsylvaniaMOHUNORTHE LAST DAYS OF LEE AND HIS PALADINSBOOK IGETTYSBURGITHE CAVALRY REVIEWOn a beautiful day of June 1863 the plains of Culpeper in Virginiawere the scene of an imposing pageantStuarts cavalry was passing in review before Lee who was about tocommence his march toward GettysburgThose of my readers who were fortunate enough to be present will notforget that scene They will remember the martial form of Stuart at thehead of his _sabreurs_ how the columns of horsemen thundered by thegreat flag how the multitude cheered brightest eyes shone the merrybands clashed the gay bugles rang how the horse artillery roared asit was charged in mimic battlewhile Lee the gray old soldier withserene carriage sat his horse and looked onNever had the fields of Culpeper witnessed a spectacle moremagnificent The sunshine darted in lightnings from the long line ofsabres lit up beautiful faces and flashed from scarfs and wavinghandkerchiefs rosy cheeks and glossy ringlets All was life and joyand splendor For once war seemed turned to carnival and flowerswreathed the keen edge of the swordAmong the illustrious figures gazed at by the crowd two were theobserved of all the observersthose of Lee and StuartLee sat his