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cavalry companies, and also the famous “Black horse cavalry,” a superb body of men and horses, under
Captains John Scott and
Welby Carter of
Fauquier.
By marching across the
Blue Ridge, they were to rendezvous near
Harper's Ferry.
Ashby had sent men on the night of the 17th to cut the wires between
Manassas Junction and
Alexandria, and to keep them cut for several days.
Our advent at the
Junction astounded the quiet people of the village.
General Harman at once “impressed” the
Manassas Gap train to take the lead, and switched two or three other trains to that line in order to proceed to
Strasburg.
I was put in command of the foremost train.
We had not gone five miles when I discovered that the engineer could not be trusted.
He let his fire go down, and came to a dead standstill on a slight ascending grade.
A cocked pistol induced him to fire up and go ahead.
From there to
Strasburg I rode in the engine-cab, and we made full forty miles an hour with the aid of good dry wood and a navy revolver.
At
Strasburg we left the cars, and before 10 o'clock the infantry companies took up the line of march for
Winchester.
I now had to procure horses for my guns.
The farmers were in their corn-fields, and some of them agreed to hire us horses as far as
Winchester, eighteen miles, while others refused.
The situation being urgent, We took the horses by force, under threats of being indicted by the next grand jury of the county.
By noon we had a sufficient number of teams.
We followed the infantry down the
Valley Turnpike, reaching
Winchester just at nightfall.
The people generally received us very coldly.
The war spirit that bore them up through four years of trial and privation had not yet been aroused.
General Harper was at
Winchester, and had sent forward his infantry by rail to
Charlestown, eight miles from
Harper's Ferry.
In a short time a train returned for my battery.
The farmers got their horses and went home rejoicing, and we set out for our destination.
The infantry moved out of
Charlestown about midnight.
We kept to our train as far as
Halltown, only four miles from the ferry.
There we set down our guns to be run forward by hand to Bolivar Heights, west of the town, from which we could shell the place if necessary.
