shold,
with the sword in one hand and the torch in the other. Not only thus
confronted, they were at the mercy of four or five millions of
negro slaves, waiting for freedom, as only a people could after two
centuries of slavery. The enemy was ready and willing to excite these
otherwise harmless, peaceful, and contented negroes to insurrection
and wholesale butchery. But be it said to the everlasting credit
and honor of the brave women of the South, that they never uttered
a reproach, a murmur, or a regret at the conditions in which
circumstances had placed them. But the negro, faithful to his
instincts, remained true, and outside of an occasional outburst of
enthusiasm at their newly found freedom, continued loyal to the end to
these old masters, and looked with as much sorrow and abhorence upon
this wanton destruction of the old homestead, around which clustered
so many bright and happy memories, as if they had been of the
same bone and the same flesh of their masters. Notwithstanding the
numberless attempts by Federal soldiers now spread over an area of
fifty miles to excite the negro to such frenzy that they might insult
and outrage the delicate sensibilities of the women of the South,
still not a single instance of such acts has been recorded.

Such were the feelings and condition of the country when Kershaw's
Brigade, now under General Kennedy, boarded the train in Richmond,
in January, 1865. We came by way of Charlotte and landed in Columbia
about nightfall. The strictest orders were given not to allow any
of the troops to leave or stop over, however near their homes they
passed, or how long they had been absent. In fact, most of the younger
men did not relish the idea of being seen by our lovely women just
at that time, for our disastrous valley campaign and the close
investiture of Richmond by Grant--the still closer blockade of our
ports--left them almost destitute in the way of shoes and clothing.
The single railroad leading from our State to the capital had about
all it could do to haul provisions and forage for the army, so it
was difficult to get clothing from home. We were a rather ragged lot,
while the uniforms of the officers looked shabby from the dust and mud
of the valley and the trenches around Richmond. Our few brief months
in winter quarters had not added much, if any, to our appearance.
By some "underground" road, Captain Jno. K. Nance, of the Third, had
procured a spick and span new uniform, and