Get to the rear.
At the
battle of Cedar Mountain,
General Prince was captured and taken to
General Hill, just in rear of the
Confederate line, where the minnie balls were flying briskly around.
General Prince said: ‘General, the fortunes of war have thrown me in your hands.’
Hill with impetuosity said: ‘D——n the fortunes of war, General; get to the rear; you are in danger here.’
Hill's duties required him to undergo the exposure, but he could not bear the idea of having even an enemy unnecessarily exposed.
Breaking camp at Castleman's Ferry, in November, we moved up the
Valley, crossed the
Blue Ridge by the turnpike from
Newmarket to
Gordonsville, and marched toward
Fredericksburg, which we reached (or the vicinity of it) about December 1, 1862.
At this time I was relieved of duty by the return of
Major Hill, and went back to my brigade, which had lost its beloved
Branch at
Sharpsburg, and was now under command of
Brigadier-General James H. Lane, who had earned his promotion while in command of the Twenty-eighth North Carolina, one of the regiments of that hard-fought brigade.
