Note Bene

What I have written in the preceeding pages
was intended for my own amusement and
gratification --- not for every idle brained
reader who in many cases is glad to find
an expression or opportunity to hint at the
vanity & self-importance of individuals in
their narratives --. I make no apoligy for
any sentence -- word or sentiment in the book--
I only regret that a false modesty restrained
me from mentioning many -- indeed most
of the scenes in which I took a prominent
part. Such a recountal would have been amu-
sing to myself, & have afforded satisfaction &
d8iversion for the children of the third generation!

Incident -- No. 2

In the battle of Cross Lanes (The first I ever participa-
ted in) very few of the officers were mounted. the Gen-
eral & staff with a few field officers were all that
entered the fight on horse-back: in consequence
of this, we were the especial marks for the enemy.
The excitement on the advance was intense. It
was the first time the General & our troops had
faced the fiery hail of war. The As the enemy's
pickets commenced firing, the men shouted for
joy-; The Old Floyd rode to the head of the column,
followed by Capt. Peters, Maj. Perry & myself.
The picket fire became more incessant, -- we were
drawing near the main body of the foe, when sud-
denly a man was seen in great trepidation
50 yards in advance, running across the
field towards a lot of cattle. The General
expressed a wish to catch him -- Capt. Peters
& myself immediately dashed ahead at full
gallup notwithstanding the constant fire of
the pickets. We found ourselves soon in a
few yards of the man, a fence separated
him from us. He immediately commenced
halloing at the cattle & driving them in
great haste. We were on the point of shooting
him, when he exclaimed "Don't shoot, I am
a citizen & driving my cows away from the
battlefield." We had no time to question him
further -- & spared him; We were fifty yards
in advance of the whole army. I never once
realized that danger threatened me, till while
at a halt near the fence the frequent taps on the
fence -- the new & peculiar whiz of minnies & The in-
structive uneasiness ^'of my horse' brought me to a sense of my
situation. A glance in front, & we beheld no less
'than Seven blue jacketed Yankees deliberately
firing at us. Swift as lighting, Falstaf's maxim
"Discretion is the better part of valor," sprang to
mind & the Capt. & myself discharged our
pistols & "fell back" in good order " to a safer
position at the head of the column -- for I was
stimulated by no desire to be the pioneer of
such an excursion. We gave full credence
to the Cow Driver's tale, & reported it ^'to' the General,
who complimented us highly for our daring.
Yankee Mentality & trickery never once occurred
to us, til the next day when inspecting the pris-
oners, to our astonishment the same smooth
tongued Driver made his appearance.
Smart Yankee! He was a picket, & to save his
life when surprised, adopted the above trick. to
He succeeded well & was too keen for the Capt.
& myself! We wondered at & admired the fellow's
sagacity, & vowed forever hereafter to shoot
all cow-drivers at the opening of battle!

Notes Omissions &c in narrative incident No. 1

On the evening of our arrival at Big Sewel on the
advance towards Gauly, Gen. floyd rode across the
mountain some miles ahead of the army. Major
Perry, Capt. Peters & myself accompanied him. We
were entirely ignorant of any of our men being
on the road before us. The enemy were reported in
the vicinity. About a mile beyond the base of
the mountain our party, keeping a vigilant look-
out, were quietly riding along. We felt rather un-
safe & ventured to suggest his imprudence to the
General. He insisted on proceeding further.
Suddenly the P the 1st set of fours of a cavalry
force made its appearance around the end of
the road 40 yds. in advance. Yankees! Yankees!
ran from mouth to mouth. the countenance of
each proclaimed better than words that our worst
fears were realized. Our General was with us--
Our number was four -- We must never Sur-
render -- Running wd. not save us. The road was
straight & the fire from the opposite party wd. certain-
ly be fatal at that distance. Both sides halted.
Then a moment of breathless suspense. We
raised our guns & chose our marks. The sup--
posed Yankees didn't fire, neither did we.
Were they friends or enemies was the ques-
tion. A moment longer & we would have
sent the missiles of death against to do their
work when suddenly Gen. Floyd never excited,
always cool & decisive threw himself in full
view of the men opposed & stormed as he only
can, "Who are you?" Our trigers were yielding
to our bent fingers when the reply came, "Friends!"
We lowered our guns - & felt safe. The "Friends", were
a company of Cavalry returning from a Scout-
ing expedition. Had they proved enemies, it
is probably that our glorious old General
& all of us would have been killed - but
not without some of their number first bi-
ting the dust; The general's presence of mind
preserved us -- our fire would have probably
have been returned. It This was the first
opportunity I had to test my metal, & candid-
ly speaking, had not the General been along,
I should have (I think) showed my coat-tail
& made tracks to the rear! But to run from
my General would have disgraced me, so I
stood my ground. the horrid doubt that
hung around me was worse than ^'could have been' the reality.
In our suspense we knew nothing & I could
exclaim with the poet "Uncertainty, fell
demon of our fears!" -- May I never come
so near shooting our own men! May I never mis-
take our men for Yankees! May the Yankees never
shoot me!!!!!!

post September 28, 1861

Maj. Perry -- Commissioned aid to the General
is a plain, matter of fact, modest, unass-
uming gentleman & withal of great intrep-
idity, with a great deal of the milk of
human kindness in his veins. He proved
a true friend to me.

P. R. Spracher secretary to ^'the' General is a very
nice young gentleman, polite & kind &
ever ready to confer a favor. He seemed
to a great to degree to make our time pass
agreeable -- He was not favored by a
chance to give the Yankees a chance
a display of his fighting qualities -.

Maj. Glass -- my mess-mate & ever faithful
friend, is editor of the Lynchburg Republican.
In him the qualities characteristic of the
gentleman & soldier are combined in a
eminent degree -- We have been the
beholders of many are a rare scene together
& have endured many a hardship.

He enjoyed the confidence of the General as
much, if not more than any other man in the
army & well deserved it.

A few days before he Gen. Floyd left with
his command to go South of New River -
I received letters from home urging me
to return immediately to the University -
couched in such language that duty
to my parents left me but one course to
pursue & that was to leave my old hero
& return home which accordingly I did -
The General expressed great regret at part-
ing with me & his last words to me, -
were- "Whenever you enter the army again
come directly here,you shall always
have a place on my staff right with
with me."

Robert Henry Glass, 1822-1896, father of long time Virginia Senator Carter Glass

post September 28, 1861

Moreover in all my intercourse
with the men, it was an extremely rare
occurence that an oath grated my ears.
In looking over my career for the three
months spent with Genl. Floyd I unhes-
itatingly pronounce them the very happiest
period of my life. Receiving the most flatter-
ing obedience & attention from those inferior
to me ^'in' rank, enjoying the respect and
confidence of my equals & superiors, with
plenty of work & some fighting to do, my
times glided away in a most charming
manner. Though ranking only as Captain
my privileges were far more desirable then
those of a Colonel. No dispatch arrived,
no intelligence was received, no plan was
adopted that was not confided to me,
while Colonels & "all lesser lights" stood
submissively in the back ground, most
grateful in many instances to receive a
little information from Capt. Woods.
No word ever fell unnecessarily from the lips
of the General to mar my feelings -- on the
contrary most flattering compliments
were bestowed upon me in the presence of my
fellow officers. My associates upon the
staff were men of the first order-eminent
for intelligence, bravery, & manly sentiments.
Captain Peters, our adjutant-General with
whom I spent a large portion of my time,
is an accomplished scholar -- having
graduated with distinction at Berlin, & has
since been professor of languages -- at William
& Mary College. He is a gentleman of endurance
energy & dignity -- & enjoyed the confidence &
esteem of all his acquaintances-.

post September 28, 1861

Moreover we captured one Yankee ourselves.
True we did it without much fighting, but
he was a Yankee & a very jolly one too.
Our servants were dispatched immediately
on our return, with a wagon to bring
in plunder. Then we were capitally
fixed & the Major & myself lived with
a right good will on Yankee beans -
& Yankee Coffee Cooked in Yankee plun-
der. Notwithstanding Gen. Lee's refusal to
permit to Gen. Floyd to execute his plan
in the 1st instance, the most ^'perfect' harmony
existed between them in every other respect -
for hours they Consulted together & spent
a large portion of the time n the most
friendly intercourse, indicating the most
implicit confidence on the part of one General
in the other. While camped on Sewell
Gen. Lee introduced the use of whiskey among
the soldiers which doubtless had the most
beneficial influence, being distributed
by the quarter Masters to the men individually.
A more temperate army was scarcely
ever collected than the army of the Ka.
especially that portion under Gen. Floyd.
I am confident that not 3 gallons of
liquor was consumed for the three
months previous to this time in our brigade.

post September 21, 1861

That day passed but no Yankees came. The
next day came & went & no Yankees came --
the next came & found us in our camp, resemble-
ing in many respects "patience on a Monument"
after being sold, for during the night the
bird had flown, the whole Yankee army
had disappeared & we were left in inglorious
possession of Sewell. Oh. Lee! Lee! Don't
expect the spider ^'fly' always to be enticed into
the Spider's web, or Yankees always to come
Leeward & Lee never go forward. Cavalry
was immediately dispatched by the flanking
road to intercept & harass their baggage
train, but the Cavalry with its usual circum-
spection, managed to keep a very respectful
distance from the Yankees. Gen. Floyd, Genl.
Lee, Major Glass & myself at once rode over
to ^'the' recent camp of the Yankees & we were almost
the first persons that reached the spot --
the whole ground for hundreds of yards
was strewn with coffee, beans, soap, boxes
& all manner of camp & cooking utensils,
which were of immense value. The General
by good fortune captured a splendid
saddle, Maj. Glass & myself who now
messed together laid up for ourselves
a splendid camp chest filled with every
conceivable convenience.

"Patience on a monument" a quote from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"