A useful man to Stonewall Jackson was old Miles, the Virginia bridge-builder. The bridges were swept away so often by floods or burned by the enemy that Miles was as necessary to the Confederate army as Jackson himself. One day the Union troops had retreated, and burned a bridge across the Shenandoah. Jackson, determined to follow them, summoned Miles.
“You must put all your men on that bridge,” said he; “they must work all night, and the bridge must be completed by daylight. My engineer will furnish you with the plan, and you can go right ahead.”
Early next morning Jackson, in a very doubtful frame of mind, met the old bridge-builder.
“Well,” said the general, “did the engineer give you the plan for the bridge?”
“General,” returned Miles slowly, “the bridge is done. I don’t know whether the pictur’ is or not.”
From that time forth General Jackson allowed Miles to build the bridges after his own fashion, without annoying him with “pictur’s.”
HOW CUSTER AND YOUNG TOOK DINNER.
Generals Pierce Young, of Georgia, and Custer were messmates and classmates and devoted friends at West Point. In the war they were major-generals of cavalry on opposing sides. One day General Young was invited to breakfast at the Hunter mansion in Virginia. The beautiful young ladies had prepared a smoking breakfast to which the general was addressing himself with ardor when a shell burst through the house. Glancing through a window he saw Custer charging toward the house at the head of his staff. Out of the window Young went, calling to the young ladies, “Tell Custer I leave this breakfast for him.” Custer enjoyed it heartily, and looked forward with pleasure to the dinner in the distance. In the meantime, Young, smarting over the loss of his breakfast and his hasty retreat, drove the Federal line back, and by dinner time was in sight of the Hunter mansion again. Custer, who was just sitting down to dinner, laughed and said: “That’s Pierce Young coming back. I knew he wouldn’t leave me here in peace. Here’s my picture; give it to him, and tell him his old classmate leaves his love with his excellent dinner.” And out of the window he went like a flash, while the Georgia general walked in and sat down to dinner.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Punctuation has been made consistent.