We all returned to camp after his farewell address considerably out of humor, for we wanted to go with him wherever he went, and be immediately under his eye, and especially to the Valley, as our homes were there.
Nothing of interest transpired in camp, except every few days some private belonging to the brigade would come into camp with a long yarn, that he heard such and such officers say that our brigade had orders to report to General Jackson. But they all proved to be "false alarms," until one day, about a month after he left us, such an order did come, and we were ordered to "strike tents" and be ready to march the next morning. Then there was joy in the camp, and the excitement kept up until the next morning, when the 2d, 6th and 27th Regiments marched off to Manassas Junction and took the cars for Strasburg, about fifty miles away.
For want of transportation, my regiment and the 4th had to wait until the next day. We then marched to the railroad, but the trains had not returned, and we anxiously waited all day. It then commenced raining, but we could not put up our tents, for we did not know what moment the trains would return; so we had a glorious night in the rain and mud.
About one hour before day the cars came, when we loaded on our baggage, boarded the trains and away we went, as merry a set of fellows as ever rode. We had a gay time that day, waving our hats and cheering every lady we saw, and, in due time, arrived at Strasburg.
Several of our companies were from that neighborhood, and their friends and relatives came to meet them, and brought them cooked food and many delicacies. It was quite an affecting scene for a short time, for some were overjoyed with meeting their husbands, brothers and lovers, while others were bathed in tears for their husbands, brothers, sons or lovers who had fallen on the bloody plains of Manassas.
We then marched about one mile from town on the road to Winchester, and camped in an old barn.
The next day we marched toward Winchester, eighteen
