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encamped, general?” Harper’s face crimsoned as he replied, “Excuse mefrom giving information.” Harney smiled, and said politely, “Pardon mefor asking an improper question, hut I had forgotten I was a prisoner.” Hewent on to Richmond , was treated with marked courtesy, and in a day ortwo proceeded to Washington.
In a few days our forces began to increase by the arrival of fresh volunteercompanies. Being only a captain, I was kept very busy in trying to get mybattery into the best condition. We had no caissons and but insufficient har-ness. For the latter I sent to Baltimore , purchasing on my private credit. In thesame way I ordered from Richmond red flannel shirts and other clothing forall my men, our uniforms being too fine for camp life. The governor subse-quently ordered these bills to be paid by the State treasurer. We found atthe armory a large number of very strong horse-carts. In my battery werethirty or more excellent young mechanics. By using the wheels and axlesof the carts they soon constructed good caissons, which served us till afterthe first battle of Bull Run.
We had no telegraph line to Richmond except via Washington, and thetime of communication by mail was two days. General Harper found it sodifficult to obtain needed munitions and supplies, that about the last of Aprilhe decided to send me to the governor, who was my intimate friend, with arequisition for all we needed, and verbal instructions to make to him a fullstatement of our necessitous and defenseless condition, in case General Robert
Patterson,who was re-ported with a Federalforce at Chambers-burg, should moveagainst us. When Iarrived in Richmond ,General Robert E. Lee had been placed incommand of all theVirginia forces by thegovernor, and by anordinance every mi-litia officer in theState above the rankof captain had beendecapitated, and the
The railway bridge was destroyed by tlie Confederates on the 13th of June, 1861. srovprrmraiifl hi« mil-Two days later, on the approach of Union forces under General Robert Patter- gGVtiiiiui diiu mb mii-son, near Williamsport , and under Colonel Lew'Wallace at Romney (see foot- itary Council had beennote page 127), General Joseph E. Johnston (who had succeeded Colonel Jack- S .
son in command on the 23d of May), considering the position untenable, with- authorized to fill Va-drew the Confederate army to Winchester. . ,, , ,
cancies thus created.
This was a disastrous blow to “ the pomp and circumstance of glorious war” atHarper’s Ferry . Militia generals and the brilliant “ staff ” were stricken down,and their functions devolved, according to Governor Letcher’s order ofApril 27 th, upon Thomas J. Jackson , colonel commandant, and James W.