before the columns of the same General; and along that road they had pressed after General Banks when, routed at Winchester, he had hastened to recross the Potomac. Since those old days they had fought at Cross Keys, Port Republic, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Cedar Run, Bristoe, Manassas, Oxhill, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, Shepherdstown, and Kearneysville. Comrade after comrade had lain down to die upon those bloody fields-face after face had "gone into the darkness," amid the war-smoke hovering above the swamps of the lowland, the pines of Manassas, the Valley of the Antietam. They were still alive, and after all their wanderings had returned to the land where they first learned the art of war under their now illustrious chief -returned to it, too, at a season when the face of Nature is glorious with that beauty which seems to reach perfection just when it is passing when the fields and forest, with their tints of gold, and red, and yellow, are more lovely than the dreams of poets. Here, in the fine and beautiful Valley of the Shenandoah, on the banks of the Opequon, which murmurs under its tall trees, as it lapses gently toward the Potomac, the weary soldiers of the Stonewall Corps found rest and refreshment; and the bracing air, as we have said, made them boys again, filling every pulse with health and joy. The jest, the practical joke, the ready laugh passed round; and for a time the whole army of Northern Virginia was in extravagant spirits, cheering upon the least provocation like a party of boys, and permitting no occasion for indulging in laughter to escape them. We have a letter written by one of the corps about this time, which conveys a very accurate idea of the manner in which Jackson's men amused themselves; and its careless style and homely details may serve to interest the stay-at-home reader who is not familiar with the goings on" of an army. Here it is:

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"Cock-a-doodle-doo-oo!' sounded the shrill clarion' of a neighboring henroost before day this morning; a wakeful soldier caught up the strain, and he and a hundred others forthwith repeated bogus cock-a-doodle-doos, until they had effectually 'murdered sleep' throughout the entire regiment. To pass the time

until breakfast (!)—i. e., till some solid-shot biscuit' and leather steaks of lean kine be cooked-I will retaliate' on you and your readers.

"The campaign having apparently ended, there are no moving accidents by flood or field' of interest, and therefore nothing left to record but the routine of daily camp life; this shall be true to history, however, to let the old folks at home know how we live sure enough' while here. At this particular season, though, it is particularly dull

'No mail, no post,

No news from any foreign coast;

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member,

No shade, no sunshine, no butterflies, no bees,
November!'

"Our camps not being regulated by military rule, for want of material in tents, etc., are left to illustrate the variegated, architectural, and domestic tastes of the thousand different individuals concerned. Hence, although a wall tent or Sibley graces an occasional locality, the most of the men ensconce themselves in bush-built shelters of various shapes, in fence-corners, under gum-blankets, eked out by cedar boughs, or burrow semi-subterraneously like Esquimaux. If, as is said, the several styles of architecture took their origin from natural circumstances and climate, etc., as the curving Oriental roofs from the long reeds originally in use-the slanting Egyptians from the necessity of baking their unburnt bricks in the hot sun-the Corinthian from its own flowery clime, etc., etc.—an architectural genius might find enough original designs in this camp to supply a century to come.

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"The only useful occupation' of this brigade for some time past has been to destroy all the railroads in reach; apparently, too, for no better reason than the fellow had for killing the splendid anaconda in the museum, because it was his rule to kill snakes wherever found.' A soldier just said, 'Old Jack intends us to tear up all the railroads in the State, and with no

tools but our pocket-knives.' They have so far destroyed the Baltimore and Ohio, from Hedgesville to near Harper's Ferry, the Winchester and Potomac almost entirely, and now the Manassas Gap from Piedmont to Strasburg.

"It is when idle in camp that the soldier is a great institution, yet one that must be seen to be appreciated. Pen cannot fully paint the air of cheerful content, care-hilarity, irresponsible loungings, and practical spirit of jesting that obtains' ready to seize on any odd circumstance in its licensed levity. A cavalryman' comes rejoicing in immense top-boots, for which in fond pride he had invested full forty dollars of pay; at once the cry from a hundred voices follows him along the line: 'Come up out o' them boots!-come out !-too soon to go into winter quarters! I know you're in thar !—see your arms stickin' out!' A bumpkin rides by in an uncommonly big hat, and is frightened at the shout: 'Come down out o' that hat! Come down! "Taint no use to say you ain't up there; I see your legs hanging out!' A fancy staff officer was horrified at the irreverent reception of his nicely-twisted mustache, as he heard from behind innumerable trees: Take them mice out o' your mouth !—take 'em out!-no use to say they ain't thar; see their tails hanging out!' Another, sporting immense whiskers, was urged to come out of that bunch of har! I know you're in thar; I see your ears a working!' Sometimes a rousing cheer is heard in the distance-it is explained: Boys, look out!-here comes "Old Stonewall" or an old hare, one or t'other'-they being about the only individuals who invariably bring down the house.

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"But the whole day of camp life is not yet described; the night remains, and latterly it is no unusual scene, as the gloaming gathers, to see a group quietly collect beneath the dusky shadows of the forest trees- God's first temples'-whence soon arise the notes of some familiar hymn, awaking memories of childhood and of home. The youthful chaplain in earnest tones tells his holy mission; another hymn is heard, and by the waning light of the pine torches the weird-like figures of the grouped soldiers are seen reverently moving to the night's repose. The

deep bass drum beats taps-the sounds die out in all the camps, save at times the sweet strains from the band of the 5th Stonewall regiment in a neighboring grove, till they too fade away into the stilly night, and soon

'The soldiers lie peacefully dreaming,
Their tents in the rays of the clear autumn moon,
Or the light of the watch-fires are gleaming;

A tremulous sigh as the gentle night wind

Through the forest leaves slowly is creeping,

While the stars up above with their glittering eyes

Keep guard, for the army is sleeping.'

During these days Jackson had his headquarters near Bunker's Hill, and was often seen moving to and fro among his troops on his old sorrel horse, with the old uniform. He was always greeted with cheers by his men, and the phrase, "Jackson or a rabbit," became universal in alluding to these gay sounds heard in the distance. A hundred anecdotes were told, a hundred witticisms attributed to him.

In Martinsburg, where the ladies crowded around him, he said: "Ladies, this is the first time I was ever surrounded;" in spite of which, says a letter-writer, "they cut every button off his coat, commenced on his pants, and at one time threatened to leave him in the uniform of a Georgia colonel-shirt-collar and spurs."

After Sharpsburg, an old and hardened offender in D. H. Hill's division was brought before that commander for burning fence-rails; and despairing of producing any reform in him, General Hill sent him to Jackson, who asked him why he persisted in burning rails.

"Well, General," returned the reprobate, "you see I've been enlisted eight months now in General Hill's division, and in all that time I never could get a good look at you, so I thought I would steal some fence-rails; I knew they would take me up and then send me to you, so I would see you."

A grim smile greeted this impudent excuse, and reading his man at a glance, Jackson turned to an orderly and said:

"Take this man and buck him, and set him on the top of that empty barrel in front of my tent. The front is open, and he can look at me as much as he likes."

The order was obeyed to the letter, and for several hours, while Jackson was engaged upon his official correspondence, the rail-destroyer had an excellent opportunity of gratifying his curiosity.

This and the incident related by Colonel Ford at Harper's Ferry, with a hundred other anecdotes, true or imaginary, were repeated by the men, and "Old Jack," a name by which the General had become universally known among his troops, became immensely popular. We have already set forth the more solid grounds of popularity with the best men of his command, but these anecdotes made him a prime favorite with the mass of the troops. Certain it is that Jackson was never more popular than after the Maryland campaign; and this doubtless arose, in very great measure, from the huge satisfaction which his corps experienced in having secured the really solid results of the movement, in the capture of Harper's Ferry, with the great number of prisoners, small-arms, and pieces of artillery.

The writer of these pages scanned curiously in those days the appearance of the soldier, with whose praises the whole land was ringing. He wore his dingy old uniform, and cavalry boots, but the ladies of Martinsburg had robbed him not only of his buttons but his old cap. The individual in the tall black hat, with the brim turned down, quaker-wise all round, scarcely seemed to be the veritable Stonewall Jackson. But greater changes still were to ensue in his personal appearance. Prompted by admiration, regard, or the desire to clothe in more imposing garb the simple soldier, a distinguished officer, long united to him by the ties of affection and the recollection of many arduous toils in common, gave him a new coat, whose wreath and staff buttons appear in the engraving in front of this volume. It was suggested by one to whom the question was propounded whether Jackson would relish this present, that the soldier would undoubtedly appreciate such an evidence of regard,