CHAPTER V. SECESSION.

While Vincent had been occupied with the affairs of Tony and his wife,

public events had moved forward rapidly. The South Carolina Convention

met in the third week in December, and on the 20th of that month the

Ordinance of Secession was passed. On the 10th of January, three days

after Vincent returned home from his expedition, Florida followed the

example of South Carolina and seceded. Alabama and Mississippi passed

the Ordinance of Secession on the following day; Georgia on the 18th,

Louisiana on the 23d, and Texas on the 1st of February.

In all these States the Ordinance of Session was received with great

rejoicing: bonfires were lit, the towns illuminated, and the militia

paraded the streets, and in many cases the Federal arsenals were seized

and the Federal forts occupied by the State troops. In the meantime the

Northern Slave States, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky,

and Missouri, remained irresolute. The general feeling was strongly in

favor of their Southern brethren; but they were anxious for peace, and

for a compromise being arrived at. Whether the North would agree to

admit the constitutional rights of secession, or whether it would use

force to compel the Seceding States to remain in the Union, was still

uncertain; but the idea of a civil war was so terrible a one that the

general belief was that some arrangement to allow the States to go their

own way would probably be arrived at.

For the time the idea of Vincent going to West Point was abandoned.

Among his acquaintances were several young men who were already at West

Point, and very few of these returned to the academy. The feeling there

was very strongly on the side of secession. A great majority of the

students came from the Southern States, as while the sons of the

Northern men went principally into trade and commerce, the Southern

planters sent their sons into the army, and a great proportion of the

officers of the army and navy were Southerners.

As the professors at West Point were all military men, the feeling among

them, as well as among the students, was in favor of State rights; they

considering that, according to the constitution, their allegiance was

due first to the States of which they were natives, and in the second

place to the Union. Thus, then, many of the professors who were natives

of the seven States which had seceded resigned their appointments, and

returned home to occupy themselves in drilling the militia and the

levies, who were at once called to arms.

Still all hoped that peace would be preserved, until on the 11th of

April General Beauregard, who commanded the troops of South Carolina,

summoned Major Anderson, who was in command of the Federal troops in

Fort Sumter, to surrender, and on his refusal opened fire upon the fort

on the following day.

On the 13th, the barracks of the fort being set on fire, and Major

Anderson seeing the hopelessness of a prolonged resistance, surrendered.

The effect of the news throughout the United States was tremendous, and

Mr. Lincoln at once called out 75,000 men of the militia of the various

States to put down the rebellion--the border States being ordered to

send their proportion. This brought matters to a climax. Virginia, North

Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri all refused to furnish

contingents to act against the Southern States; and Virginia, North

Carolina, and Kansas a few days later passed Ordinances of Secession and

joined the Southern States. Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware were

divided in their counsels.

The struggle that was about to commence was an uneven one. The white

population of the Seceding States was about 8,000,000; while that the

Northern States were 19,614,885. The North possessed an immense

advantage, inasmuch as they retained the whole of the Federal navy, and

were thereby enabled at once to cut off all communication between the

Southern States and Europe, while they themselves could draw unlimited

supplies of munitions of war of all kinds from across the Atlantic.

Although the people of Virginia had hoped to the last that some peaceful

arrangement might be effected, the Act of Secession was received with

enthusiasm. The demand of Mr. Lincoln that they should furnish troops to

crush their Southern brethren excited the liveliest indignation, and

Virginia felt that there was no course open to her now but to throw in

her lot with the other Slaves States. Her militia was at once called

out, and volunteers called for to form a provisional army to protect the

State from invasion by the North.

The appeal was answered with enthusiasm; men of all ages took up arms;

the wealthy raised regiments at their own expense, generally handing

over the commands to experienced army officers, and themselves taking

their places in the ranks; thousand of lads of from fifteen to sixteen

years of age enrolled themselves, and men who had never done a day's

work in their life prepared to suffer all the hardships of the campaign

as private soldiers.

Mrs. Wingfield was an enthusiastic supporter of State rights; and when

Vincent told her that numbers of his friends were going to enroll

themselves as soon as the lists were opened, she offered no objection to

his doing the same.

"Of course you are very young, Vincent; but no one thinks there will be

any serious fighting. Now that Virginia and the other four States have

cast in their lot with the seven that have seceded, the North can never

hope to force the solid South back into the Union. Still it is right you

should join. I certainly should not like an old Virginian family like

ours to be unrepresented; but I should prefer your joining one of the

mounted corps.

"In the first place it will be much less fatiguing than carrying a heavy

rifle and knapsack; and in the second place, the cavalry will for the

most part be gentlemen. I was speaking only yesterday when I went into

Richmond to Mr. Ashley, who is raising a corps. He is one of the best

riders in the country, and a splendid specimen of a Virginian gentleman.

He tells me that he has already received a large number of applications

from young volunteers, and that he thinks he shall be able without any

difficulty to get as many as he wants. I said that I had a son who would

probably enroll himself, and that I should like to have him in his

corps.

"He said that he would be glad to put down your name, and that he had

had many applications from lads no older than yourself. He considered

that for cavalry work, scouting, and that sort; of thing age mattered

little, and that a lad who was at once a light weight, a good rider,

and a good shot was of as much good as a man."

"Thank you, mother. I will ride into Richmond to-morrow morning and see

Ashley. I have often met him at one house or another, and should like to

serve under him very much. I should certainly prefer being in the

cavalry to the infantry."

Rosie and Annie, who were of course enthusiastic for the South, were

almost as pleased as was Vincent when they heard that their mother had

consented to his enrolling himself. So many of the girls of their

acquaintance had brothers or cousins who were joining the army, that

they would have felt it as something like a slur upon the family name

had Vincent remained behind.

On the following morning Vincent rode over and saw Mr. Ashley, who had

just received his commission as major. He was cordially received.

"Mrs. Wingfield was speaking to me about you, and I shall be glad to

have you with me--the more so as you are a capital rider and a good

shot. I shall have a good many in my ranks no older than you are. Did I

not hear a few months since that you bought Wildfire? I thought when I

heard it; that you would be lucky if you did not get your neck broken in

the course of a week. Peters, who owns the next estate to mine, had the

horse for about three weeks, and was glad enough to get rid of it for

half what he had given for it. He told me the horse was the most savage

brute he ever saw. I suppose you did not keep it many days?"

"I have got it still, and mean to ride it with you. The horse was not

really savage. It was hot-tempered, and had, I think, been badly treated

by its first owner. Who-ever it had belonged to, I found no difficulty

with it. It only wanted kindness and a little patience; and as soon as

it found that it could not get rid of me, and that I had no intention of

ill-treating it, it settled down quietly, after running away a few times

and giving me some little trouble at starting. And now I would not

change it for any horse in the State."

"You must be a first-rate rider," Major Ashley said, "to be able to tame

Wildfire. I never saw the horse, for I was away when Peters had him, but

from his description it was a perfect savage."

"Are we allowed to bring a servant with us?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, if you like. I know that a good many are going to do so, but you

must not make up your mind that you will get much benefit from one. We

shall move rapidly, and each man must shift for himself, but at the same

time we shall of course often be stationary; and then servants will be

useful. At any rate I can see no objection to men having them. We must

be prepared to rough it to any extent when it is necessary, but I see no

reason why at other times a man should not make himself comfortable. I

expect the order to-morrow or next day to begin formally to enroll

volunteers. As I have now put down your name there will be no occasion

for you to come in then. You will receive a communication telling you

when to report yourself.

"I shall not trouble much about uniform at first. High boots and

breeches, a thick felt hat that will turn the edge of a sword, and a

loose coat-jacket of dark-gray cloth. That is the name of the tailor who

has got the pattern, and will make them. So I should advise you to go to

him at once, for he will be so busy soon that; there is no saying when

the whole troop will get their uniforms."

Upon his return home Vincent related to his mother and sisters the

conversation that he had had with Major Ashley.

"Certainly you had better take a servant with you," his mother said. "I

suppose when you are riding about; you will have to clean your horse,

and cook your dinner, and do everything for yourself; but when you are

in a town you should have these things done for you. Who would you like

to take?

"I should like to take Dan, mother, if you have no objection. He is very

strong and active, and I think would generally be able to keep up with

us; besides, I know he would always stick to me."

"You shall have him certainly, Vincent; I will make him over formally to

you."

"Thank you, mother," Vincent said joyfully; for he had often wished that

Dan belonged to him, as he would then be able to prevent any

interference with him by the overseer or any one else, and could, if he

liked, give him his freedom--although this would, he knew, be of very

doubtful advantage to the lad as long as he remained in the South.

The next morning the necessary papers were drawn up, and the ownership

of Dan was formally transferred to Vincent. Dan was wild with delight

when he heard that Vincent was now his master, and that he was to

accompany him to the war. It had been known two days before that Vincent

was going, and it seemed quite shocking to the negroes that the young

master should go as a private soldier, and have to do everything for

himself--"just," as they said, "like de poor white trash;" for the slaves

were proud to belong to an old family, and looked down with almost

contempt upon the poorer class of whites, regarding their own position

as infinitely superior.

Four days later Vincent received an official letter saying that the

corps would be mustered in two days' time. The next day was spent in a

long round of farewell visits, and then Vincent mounted Wildfire, and,

with Dan trotting behind, rode off from the Orangery amid a chorus of

blessings and good wishes from all the slaves who could on any pretext

get away from their duties, and who had assembled in front of the house

to see him start.

The place of meeting for the regiment was at Hanover Courthouse--a

station on the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railway, close to the

Pamunkey River, about eighteen miles from the city.

The Orangery was a mile from the village of Gaines, which lay to the

northeast of Richmond, and was some twelve miles from Hanover

Courthouse.

A month was spent in drill, and at the end of that time the corps were

able to execute any simple maneuver. More than this Major Ashley did not

care about their learning. The work in which they were about to engage

was that of scouts rather than that of regular cavalry, and the

requirements were vigilance and attention to orders, good shooting and a

quick eye. Off duty there was but little discipline. Almost the whole of

the men were in a good position in life, and many of them very wealthy;

and while strict discipline and obedience were expected while on duty,

at all other times something like equality existed between officers and

men, and all were free to live as they chose.

The rations served out were simple and often scanty, for at present the

various departments were not properly organized, and such numbers of men

were flocking to the standards that the authorities were at their wit's

end to provide them with even the simplest food. This mattered but

little, however, to the regiment, whose members were all ready and

willing to pay for everything they wanted, and the country people round

found a ready market for all their chickens, eggs, fruit, and vegetables

at Hanover Courthouse, for here there were also several infantry

regiments, and the normally quiet little village was a scene of bustle

and confusion.

The arms of the cavalry were of a very varied description. Not more than

a dozen had swords; the rest were armed with rifles or shot-guns, with

the barrels cut short to enable them to be carried as carbines. Many of

them were armed with revolvers, and some carried pistols so antiquated

that they might have been used in the revolutionary war. A certain

number of tents had been issued for the use of the corps. These,

however, were altogether insufficient for the numbers, and most of the

men preferred to sleep in shelters composed of canvas, carpets,

blankets, or any other material that came to hand, or in arbors

constructed of the boughs of trees, for it was now April and warm enough

to sleep in the open air.

In the third week in May the order came that the corps was to march at

once for Harper's Ferry--an important position at the point where the

Shenandoah River runs into the Potomac, at the mouth of the Shenandoah

Valley. The order was received with the greatest satisfaction. The

Federal forces were gathering rapidly upon the northern banks of the

Potomac, and it was believed that, while the main army would march down

from Washington through Manassas Junction direct upon Richmond, another

would enter by the Shenandoah Valley, and, crossing the Blue Ridge

Mountains, come down on the rear of the Confederate army, facing the

main force at Manassas. The cavalry marched by road, while the infantry

were despatched by rail as far as Manassas Junction, whence they marched

to Harper's Ferry. The black servants accompanied the infantry.

The cavalry march was a pleasant one. At every village through which

they passed the people flocked out with offerings of milk and fruit. The

days were hot, but the mornings and evenings delightful; and as the

troops always halted in the shade of a wood for three or four hours in

the middle of the day, the marches although long were not fatiguing. At

Harper's Ferry General Johnston had just superseded Colonel Jackson in

command. The force there consisted of 11 battalions of infantry, 16

guns, and after Ashley's force arrived, 300 cavalry. Among the regiments

there Vincent found many friends, and learned what was going on.

He learned that Colonel Jackson had been keeping them hard at work. Some

of Vincent's friends had been at the Virginia Military Institute at

Lexington, where Jackson was professor of natural philosophy and

instructor of artillery.

"He was the greatest fun," one of the young men said; "the stiffest and

most awkward-looking fellow in the institute. He used to walk about as

if he never saw anything or anybody. He was always known as Old Tom, and

nobody ever saw him laugh. He was awfully earnest in all he did, and

strict, I can tell you, about everything. There was no humbugging him.

The fellows liked him because he was really so earnest about everything,

and always just and fair. But he didn't look a bit like a soldier except

as to his stiffness, and when the fellows who had been at Lexington

heard that he was in command here they did not think he would have made

much hand at it; but I tell you, he did. You never saw such a fellow to

work.

"Everything had to be done, you know. There were the guns, but no horses

and no harness. The horses had to be got somehow, and the harness

manufactured out of ropes; and you can imagine the confusion of nine

battalions of infantry, all recruits, with no one to teach them except a

score or two of old army and militia officers. Old Tom has done wonders,

I can tell you. You see, he is so fearfully earnest himself every one

else has got to be earnest. There has been no playing about anything,

but just fifteen hours' hard work a day. Fellows grumbled and growled

and said it was absurd, and threatened to do all sorts of things. You

see, they had all come out to fight if necessary, but hadn't bargained

for such hard work as this.

"However, Jackson had his way, and I don't suppose any one ever told him

the men thought they were too hard worked. He is not the sort of man one

would care about remonstrating with. I don't know yet whether he is as

good at fighting as he is at working and organizing; but I rather expect

a fellow who is so earnest about everything else is sure to be earnest

about fighting, and I fancy that when he once gets into the thick of it

he will go through with it. He had such a reputation as an oddity at

Lexington that there were a lot of remarks when he was made colonel and

sent here; but there is no doubt that he has proved himself the right

man so far, and although his men may grumble they believe in him.

"My regiment is in his brigade, and I will bet any money that we have

our share of fighting. What sort of man is Johnston? He is a fine

fellow--a soldier, heart and soul. You could tell him anywhere, and we

have a first-rate fellow in command of the cavalry--Colonel Stuart--a

splendid dashing fellow, full of life and go. His fellows swear by him.

I quite envy you, for I expect you will astonish the Yankee horsemen.

They are no great riders up there, you know, and I expect the first time

you meet them you will astonish them."

Here he suddenly stopped, stood at attention, and saluted.

Vincent at once did the same, although, had he not been set the example

by his friend, he would never have thought of doing so to the figure who

passed.

"Who is it?" he asked, as his companion resumed his easy attitude.

"Why, that's Old Tom."

"What! Colonel Jackson!" Vincent said in surprise. "Well, he is an

odd-looking fellow."

The figure that had passed was that of a tall, gaunt man, leaning

awkwardly forward in his saddle. He wore an old gray coat, and there was

no sign of rank, nor particle of gold lace upon the uniform. He wore on

his head a faded cadet cap, with the rim coming down so far upon his

nose that he could only look sideways from under it. He seemed to pay

but little attention to what was going on around him, and did not enter

into conversation with any of the officers he met.

The brigade commanded by Jackson was the first of the army of the

Shenandoah, and consisted of the 2d, 4th, 5th, and 27th Virginians, to

which was shortly afterward added the 33d. They were composed of men of

all ranks and ages, among them being a great number of lads from fifteen

and upward; for every school had been deserted. Every boy capable of

carrying a musket had insisted upon joining, and among them were a whole

company of cadets from Lexington. The regiments selected their own

officers, and among these were many who were still lads. Many of the

regiments had no accouterments, and were without uniforms, and numbers

carried no better arms than a double-barreled shot-gun; but all were

animated with the same spirit of enthusiasm in their cause, and a

determination to die rather than to allow the invaders to pass on

through the fertile valleys of their native land.

Of all these valleys that of Shenandoah was the richest and most

beautiful. It was called the Garden of Virginia; and all writers agreed

in their praises of the beauties of its fields and forests, mountains

and rivers, its delicious climate, and the general prosperity which

prevailed among its population.

It was a pleasant evening that Ashley's horse spent at Harper's Ferry on

the day they marched in. All had many friends among the other Virginian

regiments, and their camp-fires were the center toward which men trooped

by scores. The rest was pleasant after their hard marches; and, although

ready to do their own work when necessary, they appreciated the

advantage of having their servants again with them to groom their horses

and cook their food.

The negroes were not less glad at being again with their masters. Almost

all were men who had, like Dan, been brought up with their young owners,

and felt for them a strong personal attachment, and, if it had been

allowed, would gladly have followed them in the field of battle, and

fought by their side against the "Yankees." Their stay at Harper's Ferry

was to be a short one. Colonel Stuart, with his 200 horse, was scouting

along the whole bank of the Potomac, watching every movement of the

enemy, and Ashley's horse was to join them at once.

It was not difficult for even young soldiers to form an idea of the

general nature of the operations. They had to protect the Shenandoah

Valley, to guard the five great roads by which the enemy would advance

against Winchester, and not only to save the loyal inhabitants and rich

resources of the valley from falling into the hands of the Federals, but

what was of even greater importance, to prevent the latter from marching

across the Blue Ridge Mountains, and falling upon the flank of the main

Confederate army at Manassas.

The position was a difficult one, for while "the grand army" was

assembling at Alexandria to advance against Manassas Junction, McClellan

was advancing from the northwest with 20,000 men, and Patterson from

Pennsylvania with 18,000.

In the morning before parading his troop, 100 strong, Ashley called them

together and told them that, as they would now be constantly on the move

and scattered over a long line, it was impossible that they could take

their servants with them.

"I should never have allowed them to be brought," he said, "had I known

that we should be scouting over such an extensive country; at the same

time, if we can manage to take a few on it would certainly add to our

comfort. I propose that we choose ten by lot to go on with us. They must

be servants of the troop and not of individuals. We can scatter them in

pairs at five points, with instructions to forage as well as they can,

and to have things in readiness to cook for whoever may come in off duty

or may for the time be posted there. Henceforth every man must groom and

see to his own horse, but I see no reason, military or otherwise, why we

shouldn't get our food cooked for us; and it will be just as well, as

long as we can, to have a few bundles of straw for us to lie on instead

of sleeping on the ground.

"Another ten men we can also choose by lot to go to Winchester; which

is, I imagine, the point we shall move to if the enemy advance, as I

fancy they will, from the other side of the Shenandoah Valley. The rest

must be sent home."

Each man accordingly wrote his name on a piece of paper, and placed them

in a haversack. Ten were then drawn out; and their servants were to

accompany the troop at once. The servants of the next ten were to

proceed by train to Winchester, while the slaves of all whose names

remained in the bag were to be sent home at once, provided with passes

permitting them to travel. To Vincent's satisfaction his name was one of

the first ten drawn, and Dan was therefore to go forward. The greater

part of the men evaded the obligation to send their servants back to

Richmond by despatching them to friends who had estates in the

Shenandoah Valley, with letters asking them to keep the men for them

until the troop happened to come into their neighborhood.

At six o'clock in the morning the troop mounted and rode to Bath, thirty

miles away. It was here that Stuart had his headquarters, whence he sent

out his patrols up and down the Potomac, between Harper's Ferry on the

east and Cumberland on the west. Stuart was away when they arrived, but

he rode in a few hours afterward.

"Ah! Ashley, I am glad you have arrived," he said, as he rode up to the

troop, who had hastily mounted as he was seen approaching. "There is

plenty for you to do, I can tell you; and I only wish that you had

brought a thousand men instead of a hundred. I am heartily glad to see

you all, gentlemen," he said to the troop. "I am afraid just at first

that the brightness of your gray jackets will put my men rather to

shame; but we shall soon get rid of that. But dismount your men, Ashley;

there is plenty for them and their horses to do without wasting time in

parade work. There is very little of that here, I can tell you. I have

not seen a score of my men together for the last month."

Vincent gazed with admiration at the young leader, whose name was soon

to be celebrated throughout America and Europe. The young Virginian--for

he was not yet twenty-eight years old--was the beau ideal of a cavalry

officer. He was singularly handsome, and possessed great personal

strength and a constitution which enabled him to bear all hardships. He

possessed unfailing good spirits, and had a joke and laugh for all he

met; and while on the march at the head of his regiment he was always

ready to lift up his voice and lead the songs with which the men made

the woods resound.

He seemed to live in his saddle, and was present at all hours of the

night and day along the line he guarded seeing that the men were

watchful and on the alert, instructing the outposts in their duty, and

infusing his own spirit and vigilance among them. He had been educated

at West Point, and had seen much service with the cavalry against the

Indians in the West. Such was the man who was to become the most famous

cavalry leader of his time. So far he had not come in contact with the

enemy, and his duties were confined to obtaining information regarding

their strength and intentions, to watching every road by which they

could advance, and to seeing that none passed north to carry information

to the enemy as to the Confederate strength and positions, for even in

the Shenandoah Valley there were some whose sympathies were with the

Federals.

These were principally Northern men settled as traders in the towns, and

it was important to prevent them from sending any news to the enemy. So

well did Stuart's cavalry perform this service, and so general was the

hostility of the population against the North, that throughout the whole

of the war in Virginia it was very seldom that the Northern generals

could obtain any trustworthy information as to the movements and

strength of the Confederates, while the latter were perfectly informed

of every detail connected with the intentions of the invaders.

The next morning Ashley's troop took up their share of the work at the

front. They were broken up into parties of ten, each of which was

stationed at a village near the river, five men being on duty night and

day. As it happened that none of the other men in his squad had a

servant at the front, Vincent was able without difficulty to have Dan

assigned to his party. A house in the village was placed at their

disposal, and here the five off duty slept and took their meals while

the others were in the saddle. Dan was quite in his element, and turned

out an excellent cook, and was soon a general favorite among the mess.