d compromise had been made by the
Border States Commissioners. The call upon Virginia, by President
Lincoln, for her quota of troops to aid in subjugating the South, had
settled the question, however, in the Convention; and in a few hours
after Governor Letcher's reply to that call, Virginia had virtually cast
her lot with the Gulf States, although two weeks elapsed before she
became a member of the Confederacy. I had visited, some months previous
to the secession of the State, many of the little villages in New
England, where I saw that the population were in terrible earnest. "Wide
awake," and other secret societies were organized; and inflammatory
harangues aroused the populace. The favorite theme of the orators was
the "martyrdom" of John Brown; the piratical and murderous raid of that
fanatic into the State of Virginia being exalted into a praiseworthy act
of heroism. When I returned to Virginia and contrasted the apparent
apathy and want of preparation there with the state of affairs at the
North, I trembled for the result. But when the State severed her
relations with the Union, the Governor acted with great vigor and
ability, and the most was made of the limited resources at his command.
Volunteers responded with alacrity to the call to defend the State from
invasion; and none responded more readily, or served more bravely, than
those who had opposed secession in the Convention. It seems invidious to
cite particular examples; but the "noblest Trojan of them all" will
point a moral, and serve as an exemplar for generations to come. Wise in
council, eloquent in debate, bravest and coolest among the brave in
battle, and faithful to his convictions in adversity, he still lives to
denounce falsehood and wrong. Truly the old hero, in all he says and
does, "gives the world assurance of a man."--I allude to Gen. J. A.
Early.

When Fort Powhatan was abandoned, I was ordered to the command of a
battery at Acquia Creek on the Potomac. Although situated upon the
frontier, few incidents occurred there to vary the monotony of our
lives. Occasionally some of the gunboats guarding the river would steam
in, and exchange a few shots with us; and we witnessed frequent
skirmishes between them and Walker's afterwards famous battery of flying
artillery; but ammunition being extremely scarce at that period in the
Confederacy, the orders to us were peremptory to be very sparing in the
use of it.[1]

The battery at Acquia Creek was co