This wedding was a grand affair, and took place in a camp which was very prettily decorated, being picturesquely arranged among pine trees—just the most romantic place imaginable for such an event.
A little before noon the guests began to arrive in large numbers. Among them were Generals Hooker, Sickles, Carr, Mott, Hobart, Ward, Revere, Bartlett, Birney, and Berry.
The troops, looking their very best, formed a hollow square, in the center of which a canopy was erected, and an altar formed of drums.
As the generals marched into the square—General Hooker leading the van—and grouped themselves on each side of the altar, the bands struck up “Hail to the Chief,” and on the appearance of the bridal party the “Wedding March” was played.
The day was cold and windy, with a few snow-flakes interspersed, which made the ladies in attendance look very much like “blue noses”; but the blushing bride bore the cold and the admiring glances of the soldiers like a martyr, and retained her dignity and self-possession throughout the ceremony worthy of a heroine, as she was.
To add to the dramatic effect of the scene, a line of battle was formed by the remaining troops in that section, a short distance from camp, to repel an expected attack of the enemy.
The ceremony having been performed, dinner was announced, and all partook of the good things provided for the occasion.
After dinner, came numerous toasts, speeches, songs, and music from the bands, and, to close up the day in good style, a regular military ball was held, and fireworks exhibited in the evening—“and on the whole,” a newspaper correspondent says, “it entirely eclipsed an opera at the Academy of Music.”
I have before alluded to the vindictive spirit manifested by the women of Virginia toward our soldiers. I will illustrate this fact by an incident which took place in one of the hospitals just after a severe battle.
Many wounded soldiers, both Union and Confederate, were brought into the town of Winchester, and placed in the churches and court-house side by side.