White and his men crept back in the same noiseless manner to their horses, where they waited anxiously for the opening fire of the intended advance; but it was not made, or, if made, the Yankees had gone, and the ever-memorable campaign of seven days’ battle around Richmond was at an end; while with it ended the Northern policy of conducting the war according to the established rules of humanity recognized by civilized nations, for now McClellan, who had treated the citizens inside of his military lines humanely, and had respected their rights and protected their property, as far as possible, from the usual pillaging that attends the movements of every large army, was to give place to another who had nothing but his brutality to recommend him to the favor of the “greatest and best government the world ever saw,” which was now represented in Washington City by a crew of foul birds of the devil’s own hatching, whose names will make the cheeks of Americans crimson with shame as long as American history is read; and Gen. Pope, from his “headquarters in the saddle,” announced that henceforth the business of his army should be to investigate the color of the coat tails of the rebels, and that the time had arrived when a new era in military tactics should dawn upon the astonished world through the transcendent genius of “John the Pope,” and that under him the battles of Abolitiondom should be fought with fire and sword, according to the most approved rules laid down by the aborigines of North America, with all the improvements which the Spanish greasers of Mexico had been enabled to add from the familiarity of their fathers with the horrible scenes of the infernal inquisition; all of which had been revised and corrected within the sound of Mr. Seward’s little tinkling bell for special use in the Grand Army of “John the Pope,” and the world was assured that the war had commenced in earnest; while those whose attention had heretofore been called, by accident, to the career of Mr. Pope, and had formed their opinion therefrom, predicted that women and children would suffer now, for the chosen Sachem of the little-souled Yankee Nation was on the war-path, and the influence of the Northern people in whose hearts the God-given principle of chivalric forbearance towards the weak and helpless had an abiding place, was literally smothered to death in the smoky vengeance which the nigger crusaders had manufactured for crushing the rebellion—“vide” Brownlow, Stevens & Co.
CHAPTER VI.
For several days after the close of the seven days’ campaign the army lay quiet, and White’s people had a delightful camp at Meadow Bridge, about 7 miles from Richmond, on the Rail Road, from which they could send to the city daily for such luxuries as the markets afforded; and during this time there was not much to do in the way of carrying dispatches, so that there was little to do except rest. Here the company held an election for Orderly Sergeant, which resulted in the choice of C. M. C. Whaley, for that important position, and the list of non-commissioned officers was now full, viz: Edward S. Wright, 2d Sergt.; Benjamin F. Conrad, 3d Sergt.; John Dove, 4th Sergt.; and J. Mortimore Kilgour, 5th Sergeant and Quartermaster; John T. Tribbey, 1st Corporal; Daniel C. Pettingall, 2d Corporal; William Snoots, 3d Corporal; and Peter J. Kabrich, 4th Corporal.
About the 10th of July, Gen. Ewell marched his division to his old camp near Liberty Mills, on the Rapidan, where for some weeks he remained watching “Mr. Head-quarters-in-the-saddle,” who was prospecting towards Gordonsville, in the new “On to Richmond” movement of his own and father Abraham’s invention, and ravaging all the country inside of his lines in the barbarous manner which had been predicted of him from the beginning of his reign, which was as literally a “reign of terror,” to the defenseless people under his dominion, as ever was the bloody revolution to the citizens of Paris during the days when flame and murder held high carnival at command of the devils incarnate who ruled in France.
White’s company had now increased to nearly one hundred men, and the Captain spent much time in scouting in Madison County, which was just on the border of the “grand army,” and very much infested with its cavalry raiding parties.
On one occasion, with about thirty men, he drove a strong force of infantry and cavalry from Madison C. H., making the citizens imagine that they were once more free from the terrible dominion of Pope. And again, from the mountain top near Wolfton, he discovered a company of cavalry engaged in plundering a farm-house, and as rapidly as possible came down on them; but owing to the fact that some of his men had been seen by the enemy as they descended the mountain, he was only able to catch about half a dozen, chasing, however, the remainder out of their hats, and into their camp. About the last of July, Capt. White left camp at dark, and marching all night, with twenty men, reached a farm-house five miles from Stanardsville about daylight, and halting his command, he sent Lieut. Myers, with the citizen pilot who had volunteered to guide him, to look up the Yankees. On reaching the Conway river, about sunrise, they discovered seven Yankees on foot, going from a camp over the river to a citizen’s house for breakfast, and sending the guide with all haste to inform the Captain, the Lieutenant took a position at the gate, about one hundred yards from the house, to watch the “boys in blue” until the command could come up and get them.
After about an hour’s watching and waiting, which, to the lonely picket appeared like four hours, the Captain came up with a part of his squad, and before the Yankees knew it, the rebels were in the yard; when, hastily leaving the table, they each “took a tree,” and with their carbines attempted to fight it out; but it was too late, and with what grace they could command, the foragers had to “on to Richmond.”
The next expedition White made was for the purpose of bushwhacking a patrol of cavalry, which daily passed over the road from Robertson river to Madison C. H., and reaching the road in the evening, he dismounted his men and placed them in the woods alongside of it, sending Lieut. Myers, with Ferro and Spicer, up the road as a decoy, expecting the Yankees to chase these men past the ambuscade, when the others would open on them with their double-barrels and buckshot; but the
"Best laid schemes o’ mice and men,
Gang aft agley,"