hat as soon as General Sherman had approached near enough, to abandon
the trenches at Petersburg, and, with the combined armies, turn and
fall upon his front, flank, and rear.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XLIII

From Smithfield to Greensboro--The Surrender.

The army took up quarters for a while around Smithfield. The troops
were as jolly and full of life as they ever were in their lives. Horse
racing now was the order of the day. Out in a large old field, every
day thousands of soldiers and civilians, with a sprinkling of the fair
ladies of the surrounding country, would congregate to witness the
excitement of the race course. Here horses from Kentucky, Tennessee,
Georgia, and North and South Carolina tried each others mettle.
They were not the thoroughbreds of the course, but cavalry horses,
artillery horses, horses of Generals, Colonels, and the staff--horses
of all breeds and kinds, all sizes and description--stood at the head
of the track and champed their bits with eagerness, impatient to get
away. Confederate money by the handfuls changed owners every day. It
was here that Governor Zeb Vance, of North Carolina, visited us, and
was a greater favorite with the soldiers than any man in civil life.
It was here, too, our old disabled commander, General James Connor,
came to bid us an affectionate farewell. General Kennedy formed the
brigade into a hollow square to receive our old General. He entered
the square on horseback, accompanied by General Kennedy and staff.
He had come to bid us farewell, and spoke to us in feeling terms. He
recounted our many deeds of valor upon the field, our sufferings
in camp and upon the march, and especially our supreme heroism and
devotion in standing so loyally to our colors in this the dark hour of
our country's cause. He spoke of his great reluctance to leave us;
how he had watched with sympathy and affection our wanderings, our
battles, and our victories, and then envoking Heaven's blessings upon
us, he said in pathetic tones, "Comrades, I bid you an affectionate
farewell," and rode away.

While in camp here there was a feeble attempt made to reorganize and
consolidate the brigade by putting the smaller companies together and
making one regiment out of two. As these changes took place so near
the end, the soldiers never really realizing a change had been made,
I will do no more than make a passing allusion to it, as part of this
history. The only effe