A Virginia Girl in the Civil War, 1861-1865: being a record of the actual experiences of the wife of a Confederate officer — John Locke — John Shaqi
A Virginia Girl in the Civil War, 1861-1865: being a record of the actual experiences of the wife of a Confederate officer
John Locke · en
Winchester was the most difficult of all places for Southerners to pass
through at this time, and we could not possibly have gotten through
if we had been left to our own resources. Milroy was commandant, and
his name was a terror. He belonged to the Ben Butler of New Orleans
type. Some time near the middle of the day we drew up in front of
Milroy’s headquarters. Immediately behind us came the Jews and their
belongings. They did not go in with us, and I supposed they were
awaiting their turn. General Milroy was absent, off on a fight, and we
fell into the hands of his adjutant, a dapper little fellow. We heard
him talking to Goldsborough of the recent fight and victory, and heard
him making arrangements for our transportation.
Here we thought it proper to inform him that we were going to remain a
week in Winchester.
“You can not remain here,” he said. “You go on immediately.”
“Oh, no!” we said, “we’re not going on now. We are going to stop here
for a visit and until we are rested.”
“You are prisoners and under orders. You go at once--” he began bruskly.
“Oh, no!” we interrupted, eager to enlighten him, for we saw he had
made a very natural mistake. “_We_ are not prisoners. Those poor Jews
out there, _they_ are prisoners. We are going to stop here on a little
visit.”
“You don’t stop here an hour. This is Miss Oglesby’s destination, and
she stops, but the rest of you go on--now.”
He looked as if he thought us demented. Goldsborough kept making faces
at us, but we were so anxious to correct the adjutant’s mistake that we
had no attention to bestow elsewhere. We thought we had never seen so
stupid a man as that adjutant.
“_We_ are not the prisoners,” we insisted. “Those Jews out there----”
Here he told Captain Goldsborough to conduct “these prisoners”
down-stairs and into the ambulance provided for them. “You will not
go far before you meet a detachment of cavalry on their way to this
place,” he informed Captain Goldsborough, and then instructed him to
turn back of these a sufficient escort for our party.
We were in a perfect rage as Captain Goldsborough led us down-stairs.
We thought Milroy’s adjutant the very rudest and stupidest person we
had ever seen.
CHAPTER XVIII
WITHIN OUR LINES