s. At last the officer commanding got the
men halted some little distance up the road; a semblance of a line
formed, men cocked their guns and peered anxiously through the cracks
of the rail fence, expecting to see an enemy behind every tree. A
great giant, a sergeant from the mountain section, who stood six feet,
three inches in his stockings, and as brave as he was big, his face
flushed with excitement, his whole frame trembling with emotion, in
his shirt sleeves and bareheaded, rushed to the middle of the road,
braced himself, as waiting for some desperate shock, and stood like
Horatio Cockles at the Bridge, waving his gun in the air, calling out
in defiant and stentorian voice, "Come on, I'll fight all of you; I'll
fight old Lincoln from here to the sea." Such a laugh as was set up
afterwards, at his expense! The amusing part of it was the parties who
fired the shots at the time the stampeding was going on with us,
were running for dear life's sake across the fields, worse scared, if
possible, than we ourselves. They were three of a scouting party, who
had eluded our pickets, and seeing our good, easy, and indifferent
condition, took it into their heads to have a little amusement at
our expense. But the sound of their guns in the quiet surrounding, no
doubt excited the Yankees as much as it did the Confederates. This was
an adventure not long in reaching home, for to be shot at by a real
live Yankee was an event in every one's life at the time not soon to
be forgotten. But it was so magnified, that by the time it reached
home, had not the battle of Bull Run come in its heels so soon, this
incident would no doubt have ever remained to those who were engaged
in it as one of the battles of the war. The only casualty was a
hole shot through a hat. I write this little incident to show the
difference in raw and seasoned troops. One year later such an incident
would not have disturbed those men any more than the buzzing of a bee.
Picket duty after this incident was much more stringent. Two men were
made to stand on post all night, without relief, only such as they
gave each other. Half of the company's reserve were kept awake all
night. Orders were given that the utmost silence should prevail, the
men were not even to speak above a whisper, and on the approach of
anyone they were to be hailed with the command, "Halt, who comes
there?" If a satisfactory answer was given, they were allowed to pass.
If not, to remain standing,