A last pang was to tear my heart. The sight before me was not enough, I had turned my horse to ride westward, throwing a parting glance upon the city, when suddenly the Virginia flag descended from the summit of the Capitol and the United States flag was run up.
I turned and shook my clenched hand at it.
“That is not my flag, and shall never be!” I exclaimed, aloud.
And taking off my hat as I passed the grave of Stuart, I rode on, thinking of the past and the present.
XXIV. — THE RETREAT.
Crossing James River, above the city, I pushed after the army, which I rejoined on the evening of the 4th, as it was crossing the Appomattox opposite Amelia Court-House.
It reached that village on Wednesday April 5th, and you could see at a glance that its spirit was unbroken. As to General Lee, his resolution up to that time had astonished all who saw him. Never had he seemed in more buoyant spirits.
“I have got my army safe out of its breastworks,” he said, “and in order to follow me, my enemy must abandon his lines, and can derive no further benefit from his railroads, or James River."{1}