Blogging Roller

Here is some Memorial day military history for you, courtesy of my great great grandfather and former Virginia State Senator John Newton Opie. This is an excerpt from Chapter XLIII of his book A Rebel Cavalryman.

After we returned from the Gettysburg campaign, the cavalry of both armies occupied our old ground in Culpepper County, until about the middle of September. We had a long rest here and no service except picket duty. Both sides, however, picketed in open country, with nothing between them. Our picket line ran along by Brandy Station, and immediately in our front, and in sight, was the Federal picket line. One day, being on picket, I waved a paper to a cavalry man on my front, and, hallooing to him to meet me half way, I rode out and he did likewise. We met and talked pleasantly for some time together, when, finally, I said, "Yank, got any Whisky?" Tapping his canteen, he said, "Yes, Johnny Reb." I pulled out some tobacco, and, in a minute, I had the whisky and he had the tobacco. This fellow amused me very much by saying that we did not fight fair. Upon my inquiring what he meant, he remarked, "The right way is to stand off and shoot, but you fellows run up on us." Well, I left my friend and rode back to my post, and pulled on my canteen frequently.

The chapter ends with Captain Opie spending three days in the brig, after riding into the Hampton Legion encampment and attempting to round the troops up for midnight review.