ny or more of Confederate
horse was also trotting into town. Both parties sounded the charge
simultaneously, and the carbines exploded in the very heart of the
village. For a minute or more a sabre fight ensued, alternated by the
firing of revolvers; but the defenders were overmatched, and several of
them having been slain, they turned to escape. At that moment, however,
our other squadron charged upon them, effectually blocking up the
street, and the whole party surrendered. A major, who exhibited some
obstinacy, was felled from the saddle by a terrible cut, which clove his
skull, and a very dexterous young fellow, who attempted to escape by a
side street, dodged a bevy of pursuers and saved his head by the loss of
both his ears. The disfigured corpses of those freshly slain were laid
along the sidewalk in a row; and after some invasion of henroosts and
private pantries, we remounted, and with fifty or more prisoners
crossed the Rapidan, and were welcomed into Culpepper with cheers. The
prisoners were lodged in the loft of the Court House, and their officers
were paroled, and boarded among the neighbors. They complied with the
terms of their parole very honorably, and bore testimony to the courtesy
of their captors. I talked with them often upon the tavern porch, but an
undue intimacy with any of them might have brought me into disrepute.
Although the larders of the village were supposed to be empty, savory
meals were nevertheless sent daily to these cavalry-men, and it was
evident that the people on all hands sympathized with their soldiery.

The stringent orders of Pope, relative to removing the disaffected
beyond his lines, were never enforced. I doubt if the veritable
commander himself meant to do more than intimidate evil doers; but I saw
frequent evidences of scrupulous humanity on the part of his general
officers.

One day, when I was negotiating with the Provost for the purchase of
some port wine, stored upon the premises of a village druggist, a
sergeant elbowed his way into the presence of the Marshal, and pushed
forward two very dirty lads, who gave their ages respectively, as ten
and thirteen years. They were of Hibernian parentage, and belonged to
the class of newsboys trading with the different brigades. The younger
lad was wiping his nose and eyes with a relic of a coat sleeve, and the
elder was studying the points of the case, with a view to an elaborate
defence. The sergeant produced a thick roll of b