I had two Yankee canteens exactly alike and I filled one with water and put a little whiskey on top, as you know they won’t unite. We both then went to the moonshiner and I gave him the counter-sign. He knew by this that I wasn’t going to betray him. I gave him the empty canteen and he went into the cellar and filled it. When he came out and gave it to me, I put it in my saddle pockets and gave him $5.00. He held up his ten fingers, signifying that I must give him more. I told him I was buying it for a Co. and they wouldn’t hear to such figures as that, and I’d just have to give him his whiskey back until I could see the men, but gave him my canteen of water with a little bit of whiskey on top instead of the canteen of whiskey. He gave me my $5.00 and took the canteen and emptied it into his barrel. I asked him to tell his wife to please fill the canteen with butter milk, if she could spare it, which she did, so I got my whiskey and butter milk, for which he’d accept no pay, and I won my $100. Of course the moonshiner lost nothing, but some fellow bought water in his whiskey after that. I wouldn’t take the $100. I had won, but we all enjoyed the joke.
Soldiers have to resort to many jokes and pranks, to keep up spirits, that they would never think of in private life.
We each took our turn picketing around Drainsville, a small town on the Loudon and Leesburg Turnpike. We made many friends in this section finding relatives of some of our county people. A whole company was sent out on picket for a three days period and we were given money to buy our ration while out, so we rather enjoyed the outing.
It was a hard winter, but the 8th of March soon rolled around and we were ordered to vacate winter quarters and go to Richmond. The whole army did not go as Ewell was ordered to Washington Junction and half of the 2nd Va. Cavalry was sent to keep up a vidette line from Manassas Junction to Strasburg.
Company C. was among the ones sent and our first order was to burn all the commissaries at Manassas Junction. Then the next was at Haymarket. The next burned supplies at Thoroughfare Gap. At this point a great many hogs were driven every year and butchered and there was a large mill, which had cost $2,000 and was being used as a packing house. The citizens told us that 600,000 lbs of bacon was stored in the building. We were ordered to burn this also, which we did and when the lard ran out into the creek it chilled and formed a dam across Broad Run. There was an acre lot about covered with barrels of flour at the point we had been getting our supplies from, and as it was feared the Yankees would get that also, we were ordered to knock the barrels to pieces and ride over the flour to destroy it. I was bitterly opposed to all this destruction but we had to carry out orders. We also had orders to blow up the big stone bridge, around which the first battle of Manassas was fought. It took 40 kegs of powder to destroy the bridge. It was destroyed in order to prevent the enemy from following us, as it was the main thoroughfare from Washington to the foot of the Blue Ridge.
We burned the depot also, destroying numbers of boxes sent to the soldiers, from home. We opened the boxes and got out any money that was in them, ate what we could of the provision, and took such clothing as we needed. We advanced the money on to the boys. We had to burn Loudon Station also, just on top of the Blue Ridge, and the last was at Front Royal. The boxes at both of these stations were ordered to be opened and, of course, we received some benefit from them but not near so much as if the soldiers in camp could have received them.
CHAPTER II.
SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR.
Ewell then fell back to Orange C. H., and we joined him there for future orders. Capt. Duchene and Capt. White, of Ewell’s division, married two young ladies in Fairfax Co. and brought them in a fine carriage driven by a white man, on up to Orange C. H. They were there at a private residence boarding and would often drive out to the camp and when we were tearing down tents and getting ready to go to the Valley, these ladies asked me if I’d seen the Captains but I hadn’t and we began inquiring and no one had seen them for a few hours, and we learned afterward that they had resigned their positions, put on citizens clothing and had gone to parts unknown. The ladies, of course had nothing to do but to return to their homes.
We crossed the Blue Ridge at Sneeger’s Gap in a down pour of rain and pitched our tents at Elk Run church. The rain ceased that night, so we were ordered to clean up the encampment next day which was Sat. Sun. dawned clear and calm and we all had the privilege of attending the church services. The afternoon was spent in sleep, or rather a part of it. We were aroused by screams from the east end of the encampment and we looked and saw men shooting out from under their tents and capsizing some of them in their mad rush. We inquired for the trouble and some said a snake had crawled over their faces, and others that the devil was in the tent. After a number of tents were overthrown and all the men awakened, nearly, we found that the trouble was a large black snake running over the men while asleep. He ran in a muskrat hole, so no one had the pleasure of killing him for breaking our rest.
We remained here a few days and scouting parties were sent out every day across the mountain, and as far down as Linden Station to see if the enemy was approaching.