July 30, 1862
Hickory Heights
Annie and Miriam sat huddled together, reading two letters that had miraculously made their way through all the upheaval and all the blue and gray troops to Hickory Heights.
The first was from Laurence. He was safe and full of stories of Stuart and a miraculous ride they’d made around McClellan’s army near Richmond.
Dearest Mother,
I was saddened and worried to learn of the recent Union incursion into Fauquier, and hope to hear from you soon that all there are well. Please tell Annie to stay safely indoors when such happens—she will understand and I pray heed my instructions. Tell Jamie that I am counting on him to stand by and shield you sensibly. I am sure that the Union officers will not allow civilians to be harmed or starved. Always appeal to those in charge, Mother. The captured officers I meet seem to be scrupulous men.
Most importantly, be assured that we are doing everything we can here to relieve the pressure on you at home. I cannot help but believe that we will indeed win this war when I ride with Stuart. You may hear of his daring ere this letter reaches you, but I’d like to tell you of it myself, so that you do not worry so much.
You may have heard that General Johnston was gravely injured in the Battle of Fair Oaks, in the marshes east of Richmond. General Robert E. Lee has replaced him. I do not know the man, but his reputation is one of steadiness and courage. His nephew, Fitz Lee, leads my regiment under Stuart, and a finer horseman and colonel you’d be hard-pressed to find. General Lee asked Stuart and our men to scout out McClellan’s army, to ascertain the condition of the roads and the size of the Union forces facing us. Well, we certainly did that!
General Stuart chose his best scouts—John Mosby, Redmond Burke, William Farley (a Shakespeare scholar I’d much like to introduce to Annie)—and 1,200 riders, plus a twelve-pound howitzer. Around 2 A.M. on the twelfth of June, we were awakened and given orders to ride, we knew not where. Within ten minutes we were in our saddles, ready to go. We departed, guided only by moonlight. We rode all night and most of the next day. When we finally stopped and camped, no talking and no fires were allowed. We’d cooked three days of rations before we left on our scout, and we ate in silence—surprise being one of our weapons against the nearby Federals. We left before dawn the next day, and by midmorning we reached Hanover Courthouse. (Remember your history, Annie; this is where Patrick Henry first spoke out against the British to begin the Revolution. He once cried: “Give me liberty or give me death.” I know we Confederates believe the same. If only Lincoln could have understood our desire to govern ourselves and respected it and the Constitution’s guarantee of it, all this bloodshed could have been avoided.)
Here we had our first skirmish. Just beyond the courthouse, in a field of young corn, we spotted bluebirds. “Form fours! Draw sabers! Charge!” Stuart yelled, and we complied, pounding down the road and easily capturing most of the Union pickets and destroying a camp of the 5th United States Cavalry.
Strangest thing, Mother—there is so much of this in this war—we paused a long time to chat with our prisoners, as the unit was Fitz Lee’s old one, from his days in the Union army. He’d been a junior officer with them, and our prisoners laughed and greeted him quite happily. Fitz asked after all of them—who was the new sergeant, if particular men were still alive and well. The Union men cheered him as we finally rode off, wishing him Godspeed!
By that point we could see a huge encampment in the far distance, probably where McClellan himself sat. Our presence was no longer secret. Stuart had found McClellan, knew his strength and location, and could return to report all to General Lee. But rather than take that safe course, Stuart decided to press on to confuse the enemy, to return to Richmond by circling around the back side of the entire Union army.
He took us, Mother, right into the jaws of the enemy, 100,000 strong! I know you will think me insane when I tell you it was one of the most marvelous rides of my life. I was not out of my saddle from Thursday morning until Saturday noon, riding more than 100 miles. We burned two hundred Federal wagons, captured three hundred much-needed horses and mules, felled Union telegraph wires and bridges, attacked a Union troop train, and even managed to sink a large Federal transport.
All this while being chased by the Union cavalry!
We were all falling asleep in our saddles by the time we reached the final barrier to safety, the Chickahominy River, all swollen and raging from rains, rising like a wall to prevent our escape. The Federals were close behind us. There was no way to swim the river. We tried felling trees along its banks, but they did not extend to the other side. We were trapped against the river like a fox surrounded by hounds.
Our only chance was to quick build a footbridge to cross. Oh, Mother, if you could have seen how such tired men sprang to action. We found a skiff on the bank and floated it to the middle of the river and moored it with ropes. Then we stripped boards from an abandoned warehouse, placing the ends of the planks on the embankment and stretching them to the skiff, using it like a pontoon. We did the same from the skiff to the opposite shore. We crossed unsteadily, walking along the planks, carrying our saddles, sabers, guns, and bags in one hand and the reins of our horses in the other, steadying our poor steeds as they struggled to swim the currents. My horse, Merlin, was magnificent!
We could hear the enemy galloping along the road toward us as Fitz Lee was the very last to cross. As we set fire to our bridge, thousands of Federal cavalry thundered to the bank. We escaped by moments!
Despite the hail of their shots across the river, we all made it home to Richmond safely, Mother, except for one poor rider. But isn’t that something! Right around the enemy and back again with only one casualty. I swear, I think Stuart could somehow take on the Devil himself and either charm him or fool him!
“Saints preserve us,” Miriam muttered, and crossed herself superstitiously. “God forbid that Laurence becomes reckless. What could that General Stuart have been thinking about?”
Annie smiled and wondered. Stuart’s exploits only made her admire him the more. What dash!
“And what was the other letter, child?” Miriam asked.
It was an invitation to visit her school friend Charlotte in Warrenton. With all the fighting and with all the eligible young men off to war, Charlotte’s parents had decided to postpone Charlotte’s debutante ball. But they were gathering together a few friends to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Charlotte had not been the cleverest of students at the seminary, but she was certainly the most prestigious socially, living in the county seat of Fauquier. She was two years older than Annie and always wore the latest fashions, twisting and curling her dark hair into the most amazing coifs, studded with silver combs. Annie was flattered by her friendship and had been uncertain of her hold on Charlotte until Charlotte had laid eyes on Laurence. Annie knew that this invitation came mostly because she was Laurence’s sister, not because she was an especially great friend of Charlotte’s. But that was all right with Annie.
“Please, please, Mother, may I go?”
“Certainly not, child. Think of the dangers between here and there.”
“Oh, but Mother, the Pennsylvania troops have retreated all the way to Snicker’s Ferry. Most of the Union army is down toward Culpeper, way south of Warrenton. The roads will be clear. It would be such a lovely thing for me. I’m so tired and bored of—” Annie stopped short. She didn’t mean to hurt Miriam’s feelings.
“I know, my darling. Life hasn’t been very entertaining here of late. But I cannot let you ride into potential danger for the sake of a birthday party.”
Annie thought for a moment. Clearly, she needed another reason to convince Miriam. “You know, Mother, Jamie could escort me. It might be good for him to do some business in Warrenton. We do need more supplies. Our salt is low, and we’ll need much more when it comes time to slaughter the hogs for winter and preserve the meat. And I heard Isaac and Bob talking about how our remaining sheep are suffering for not having salt at all in this dry heat. No merchant in Middleburg has salt to sell now. Someone in Warrenton will, certainly. And Jamie really ought to sell that one horse that’s kicking at Angel. She’d be a good brood mare. She has beautiful conformation, just a horrible temperament for riding; even Gabriel said so. She’d get a much better price at Warrenton. Maybe as much as a hundred fifty dollars. And in gold maybe rather than Confederate paper.”
Inflation was becoming a horrible problem. Already a barrel of flour cost as much as forty dollars, when just last year the price was six dollars. In her common-sense way, Miriam wanted to use gold or even Federal greenbacks rather than Confederate paper money. And she had indeed been worrying about their salt supply. “We are going to need that salt if we’re to preserve meat for the winter,” she said more to herself than Annie. “I don’t know what we’ll do if we can’t buy some.”
But it was the thought of Jamie’s attitude that made her consider Annie’s proposal. “Maybe if Jamie realizes how much he’s needed to conduct the business of the farm, he will settle down and stop thinking of running off to fight. As a lady, I certainly can’t negotiate the sale of that horse at market; nor can you, dear….” Miriam’s voice trailed off and she rubbed her forehead. “Let me think on it, Annie.”
Annie could only stand to wait until dinner to ask again and again. By bedtime, she’d pestered Miriam into agreeing.