of the herds of our early Presidents, whose former estates
lie in this vicinity. With a triumphant air Ewell showed me his plunder.
I observed that the bull was a most respectable animal, but would hardly
afford much subsistence to eight thousand men. "Ah! I was thinking of my
fifty dragoons," replied the General. The joke spread, and doubtless
furnished sauce for the happy few to whose lot the bull fell.

Meantime, the cavalry force in our front had been withdrawn, and the
Federal pickets made their appearance on the north bank of the
Rappahannock, occasionally exchanging a shot with ours across the
stream. This served to enliven us for a day or two, and kept Ewell
busy, as he always feared lest some one would get under fire before him.
At length a fire of artillery and small arms was opened from the north
end of the bridge, near the south end of which my brigade was camped.
Ordering the command to move out, I galloped down to the river, where I
found Ewell assisting with his own hands to place some guns in position.
The affair was over in a few minutes. The enemy had quietly run up two
pieces of artillery, supported by dismounted horsemen, and opened fire
on my camp; but the promptness with which the men had moved prevented
loss, saving one or two brush huts, and a few mess pans.

The bridge had previously been prepared for burning, Ewell's orders
being to destroy all railway bridges behind him, to prevent the use of
the rails by the Federals. During the little _alerte_ mentioned, I saw
smoke rising from the bridge, which was soon a mass of flame. Now, this
was the only bridge for some miles up or down; and though the river was
fordable at many points, the fords were deep and impassable after rains.
Its premature destruction not only prevented us from scouting and
foraging on the north bank, but gave notice to the enemy of our purpose
to abandon the country. Annoyed, and doubtless expressing the feeling in
my countenance, as I watched the flames, Ewell, after a long silence,
said, "You don't like it." Whereupon I related the following from
Bugeaud's "Maxims": At the close of the Napoleonic wars, Bugeaud, a
young colonel, commanded a French regiment on the Swiss frontier. A
stream spanned by a bridge, but fordable above and below, separated him
from an Austrian force of four times his strength. He first determined
to destroy the bridge, but reflected that if left it might tempt the
enemy, whenever he moved, to neglect