[394] it when the cord was cut that upheld the trap. The cord, knotted at the end, passed through a hole m the trap, through another hole in the cross beam, over the corner, and down the upright, to a hook near the ground, to which it was tied. Thus, the weight of a man being placed on it, when the cord near the hook was cut, the trap would fall at once.
The military parade.
At eight o'clock the troops began to arrive; and at nine the first company took position. Horsemen clothed in scarlet jackets were posted around the field at fifty feet apart, and a double line of sentries was stationed farther in. As each company arrived, it took its allotted position. The following diagram will explain the position of the military forces: |
| Public road: description of the field. A, Scaffold; B, Generals and Staff; C, Virginia Cadets; D, Cadet Howitzers, with cannon pointed at scaffold; E, Richmond Company; F, Winchester Continentals: G, Fauquier Cavalry; H, Company A of Richmond ; I, Alexandria Riflemen; K, Riflemen, and part of Capt. Ashby's Cavalry, to keep order in the small crowd. J, Hunter's Guard, at entrance gate, supported by a piece of Artillery under command of Lieut. Green of the United States Marines; L, Woods scoured by the Wood's Rifles, to have the first brush at the enemy, if approaching from Harper's Ferry; M M M, Pickets of the Fauquier Cavalry; N N N, Two lines of Sentries; O, Petersburg Grays, as Body Guard to prisoner in wagon. |
