was stirred and he exclaimed, while the tears trickled down
his cheeks, 'Poor old Virginia! poor old Virginia! that I
should have lived to see this day!'

"At dawn of the 4th the column resumed the pursuit. It is
needless for me to tell in detail how our cavalry destroyed
and burned over five hundred Confederate wagons on the 5th
and 6th, and how Ewell's command was defeated and captured
at Sailor's creek on the 6th. Our brigade having arrived at
Farmville on the afternoon of the 6th and encamped for the
night, some of the citizens poured forth pitiful tales to
our officers. They told how our cavalry had entered their
houses and ripped open their feather beds, how the rude
troopers had broken open bureaus and chests in search of
valuables, and how they had carried away with them what they
could find. Nothing of interest took place until the 8th,
which was noted for the forced march made by the brigade,
starting at daybreak and going into bivouac at twelve
midnight. The morning of the 9th broke calm and serene. It
was a lovely morning, the sun had not yet gotten above the
horizon when the brigade was on the march again, but it went
only a short distance when it was halted. To the right of
the road, in a clearing, was a portion of the Twenty-fourth
Corps, with arms stacked and the men cooking breakfast.
Sides of bacon at intervals hung from their bayonets.
Although the woods were full of our cavalry and three
divisions of our infantry were in close proximity, all was
as quiet as a Sabbath morning. One of our batteries, some
six hundred yards to the right, broke the stillness by
fitfully throwing a shell once in a while, but to a
looker-on all seemed inaction. Such was the situation at
Appomattox at sunrise on the morning of the 9th.

"Our brigade, after resting some thirty minutes, resumed the
march. It soon filed to the right. In a few minutes the
command was given--'Right shoulder, shift arms! double
quick, march!' Onward we went, the objective point being the
Lynchburg pike. Dismounted cavalry retreating from the front
broke through the column, saying as they passed us, 'Give it
to them, boys! they are too many for us!' In a few minutes
the head of the column reached the pike, when it halted and
faced to the front. The