THE BIRTH OF THE SONG.
“That night, when her voice rang out the stanzas, the refrain rolled forth from every throat present without pause or preparation, and the enthusiasm communicated itself with such effect to the crowd assembled beneath our open windows as to endanger seriously the liberties of the party.
“A few weeks later it had become impossible to forward the supplies, of which we had still on hand several large trunksful.
“My brother was about to leave for the army and I concluded to risk running the blockade with him, taking my sister also, to furnish more plausible excuse for leaving Baltimore with a very undue amount of luggage.
“With some difficulty and not a little danger, our party was finally landed in dead of night on Virginia shores. My sister and I kept guard over the trunks while my brother scoured the vicinity in search of a conveyance to Stratford, a few miles distant from our point of landing, and the birthplace of our friend and kinsman, Gen. R. E. Lee.
“An old hay wagon, drawn by a very large ox and a very small mule (guided by ropes and goaded with a hickory pole) was finally secured, and in this striking conveyance we made our triumphal entry into the Confederate States.
“Up to this time I had worn on my person a flag bearing the Maryland coat of arms, and presented by Baltimore women to the Maryland troops in the Southern army. In addition to the discomfort of this unwonted article of apparel, I had suffered no small amount of anxiety lest the paint, which was quite fresh, should sustain some injury, therefore gladly shook its folds to the breeze the moment we were safe in Dixie.