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AUTOBIOGRAPI-fY 


EPPA  HUNTON 


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Lyrasis  IVIembers  and  Sloan  Foundation 


http://www.archive.org/details/autobiographyofeOOhunt 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


This  is  a  limited  edition  of 
one  hundred  copies.  The  type 
has  been  distributed. 


This  copy  is  No.    l .  |. .  .. 


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BRIGADIER  GENERAL,  C.  S.  A. 
Taken  in  Richmond  during  the  Winter  of  1863/4. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

OF 
EPPA    HUNTON 


1933 
THE  WILLIAM  BYRD  PRESS,  Inc. 

RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA 


ViKGINiA 
STATE  Lib 


tmmmmmammmitm 


FOREWORD 

My  wife  and  son  have  urged  me  to  add  a  few  notes  to  the 
autobiography  of  my  father  and  to  have  a  few  copie§  printed 
for  my  immediate  family  and  for  a  few  intimate  friends,  as  a 
part  of  the  unwritten  history  of  the  impor>tant/ «iven|^f  the 
period  in  which  he  figured.  Accordingly,  I  have  had  printed 
this  edition  of  one  hundred  copies,  and  in  it  all  rights  literary 
or  otherwise  are  reserved  to  myself.  No  copy  will  be  sold, 
and  none  has  been  given  away,  but  when  advisable  a  copy 
may  be  loaned  to  a  friend  who  may  desire  to  read  it. 

I  make  these  somewhat  unusual  reservations  for  the  follow- 
ing reasons: 

(i)  In  the  preface  to  the  autobiography  my  father  stated: 
"I  have  written  this  little  unpretentious  volume  for  them"  (my 
children)  "and  for  them  only."  This  will  explain  the  many 
intimate  family  incidents  in  these  pages  that  are  intensely  in- 
teresting to  his  children,  but  have  no  place  in  a  book  intended 
for  general  circulation. 

(2)  There  are  many  facts  in  the  book,  and  especially  some 
relating  to  the  war,  which  would  probably  lead  to  bitter  and 
acrimonious  controversy  that  I  would  deeply  regret. 

I  feel  it  my  duty,  however,  to  preserve  the  facts  for  future 
generations. 

My  father  dictated  this  autobiography  in  his  eighty-second  year 
while  living  in  the  retirement  of  his  old  age  at  our  home,  8  East 
Franklin  Street,  Richmond,  Virginia. 

March,  1929. 

Eppa  Hunton,  Jr. 


DEDICATION 

To  MY  TWO  DEAR,  DEAR  CHILDREN,  EpPA  AND  JiNCIE, 

who  have  contributed  so  much  to  my  comfort 
and  happiness,  who  are  the  props  on  which  i 
lean  in  my  old  age,  and  who  will  so  well  fill 
the  place  i  shall  soon  leave  vacant,  this  volume 
is  most  affectionately  inscribed  by 
The  Author. 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  been  very  reluctant  to  write  anything  concerning  my 
own  life.  It  has  been  one  of  continual  struggle  from  early 
orphanage.  I  know  that  I  have  figured,  more  or  less,  in  the 
most  trying  scenes  of  the  country — that  I  have  been  an  actor 
in  military  and  civil  strife — that  I  endeavored  to  do  my  duty 
in  every  position  I  have  ever  filled.  In  reviewing  my  long  life, 
I  feel  that  it  has  fallen  far  short  of  what  it  ought  to  have  been, 
and  a  poor  recital  of  its  leading  events  will  interest  no  one  except 
my  children.  They  have  insisted  so  strongly  on  this  autobiog- 
raphy, I  have  reluctantly  yielded.  They  are  the  dearest  and 
most  affectionate  children  in  this  world. 

I  have  written  this  little  unpretentious  volume  for  them  and 
for  them  only.  The  arduous  labors  of  professional  and  political 
life  since  the  war  have  blotted  from  my  memory  many  impor- 
tant events  of  my  life,  and  all  the  little  incidents  calculated  to 
make  my  Biography  interesting. 

I  hope  I  shall  leave  a  reputation  for  integrity,  patriotism  and 
honor,  and  that  my  children  will  never  blush  at  mention  of 
their  father's  name. 

God  bless,  protect  and  prosper  them. 

Richmond,  June  14,  1904. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

My  birth 3 

Genealogy  of  my  parents 3 

Father  died  in  1830 4 

My  brothers  and  sisters 5 

Was  educated  at  New  Baltimore  Academy 5 

Taught  school  and  studied  law  three  years 6 

Licensed  and  settled  at  Brentsville 6 

Elected  Commonwealth's  Attorney  twice 6 

Married  Lucy  C.  Weir 7 

Genealogy  of  wife's  parents 7 

Purchased  home  in  Brentsville 7 

Mrs.  Clara  B.  Weir 7 

Again  elected  Commonwealth's  Attorney 8 

Daughter  Lizzie  born 8 

My  son  Eppa  born 8 

Delegate  to  National  Convention 9 

Sectional  excitement 9 

Lincoln  elected  President 10 

Secession  of  Cotton  States 10 

Jeff  Davis  President  Confederate  States 11 

Virginia  Secession  Convention  OF  which  I  WAS  A  member    .    .  11 


CHAPTER  11. 

The  convention 13 

Peace  Congress 15 

Lincoln's  call  for  soldiers 16 

Ordinance  passed 17 

The  Ordinance 17 

Signed  by  all  loyal  Virginians  in  the  convention    ....  20 

Many  friends  in  convention 21 

Patriotism  of  Whig  party 21 

xi 


xii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Eppa  and  the  Yankee  boy 22 

Resigned  as   Brigadier  General  of   Militia   and  appointed 

Colonel  of  8th  Virginia  Infantry  Regiment      ....  22 

Organization  of  8th  Regiment  at  Leesburg,  Virginia    ...  23 

Killing  of  Jim  Jackson 25 

My  duties  in  command  at  Leesburg 26 

Hemorrhages       26 

Gaither's  sensational  reports 27 

4TH  South  Carolina  Regiment  and  Col.  Evans 28 

CHAPTER  in. 

The  invading  army  under  General  McDowell 31 

Confederates  under  Beauregard 31 

Johnston  in  Valley 31 

1ST  Battle  of  Manassas 32 

Ordered  to  Manassas 32 

Skirmish  of  i8th  July 33 

Gave    Beauregard    information    of    flank    movement    of 

McDowell 33 

McDowell's  plan  of  battle 33 

Beauregard's  order  miscarried 35 

McDowell's  defeat  overwhelming  and  panic  greatest  ever 

witnessed 38 

Warder  and  Catlett's  compliment 39 

Beauregard's  compliment 40 

Visited  my  wife  and  son 42 

Antonia  Ford  and  others 43 

Returned  to  Loudoun — Camp  Berkeley 44 

General  Evans  and  3  Mississippi  Regiments 45 

My  attack  of  fistula 45 

Battle  of  Leesburg  or  Ball's  Bluff 47 

E.  V.  White 48 

LiGE  White  and  Chas.  Berkeley 53 

Fifty  of  my  men  volunteer  to  go  down  and  capture  all 

remaining  soldiers 54 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xiii 


PAGE 

Captured  325  prisoners 55 

Orders  to  attack  Gorman  at  Edwards  Ferry  countermanded  .  56 

Retreat  to  Carter's  Mill 57 

Evans  had  in  fight  1500 — The  enemy  lost  over  2000    ...  57 

Hummer  and  Peyton 59 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Ordered  to  join  my  Brigade  at  Centreville 61 

Royal  reception  there 61 

General  Philip  St.  George  Cocke 61 

Went  to  Richmond  for  operation 62 

Evacuation  of  Manassas  and  Centreville 62 

General  Scott  retired  and  General  McClellan  put  in  com- 
mand OF  Federal  Army 63 

McClellan  goes  to  Yorktown 63 

Evacuation  of  Manassas — I  moved  my  wife  and  son  to  Lynch- 
burg AND  joined  my  ReGIMENT 63 

General  Johnston  goes  to  Yorktown 64 

The    Confederate    forces    reorganized — Lieut.    Col.    Tebbs 

DEFEATED — CoL.  NoRBORNE  BERKELEY  IN  HIS  PLACE — ThRIFT 

Major 65 

Pickett  assigned  to  our  Brigade 65 

Battle  of  Williamsburg 66 

Retreat  continued  to  Chickahominy 66 

i  was  granted  sick  leave 66 

Battle  of  Seven  Pines 66 

Thrift  mortally  wounded,  succeeded  by  Edmund  Berkeley  .  67 
General  Johnston  wounded,  succeeded  by  General  Robert  E. 

Lee 67 

Jackson  in  the  valley 67 

Left  Lynchburg  to  join  my  regiment  on  June  25,  1862 — 

Still  sick 68 

Battle  of  Mechanicsville  June  26 68 

Gaines  Mill  June  27 69 

Battle  of  Frazer's  Farm 72 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Battle  of  Malvern  Hill 73 

i  was  granted  sick  leave 74 

Battle  of  Slaughter's  Mountain 75 

Battle  of  Second  Manassas 76 

Maryland  campaign 79 

Battle  of  Boonsborough  Gap 80 

Battle  of  Sharpsburg 80 

Lee  crosses  back  to  Virginia 81 

Pickett  promoted — Col.  Corse  promoted  and  assigned  to  my 

Brigade 81 

Corse  assigned  to  another  Brigade  and  I  was  again  in  command  81 

BuRNsiDE  succeeds  McClellan 82 

Battle  of  Fredericksburg 83 

General  R,  B.  Garnett  assigned  to  our  Brigade 84 

Garnett's  Brigade  in  North  Carolina 84 

burnside  removed  and  hooker  succeeded  him 85 

Battle  of  Chancellorsville 85 

Jackson  mortally  wounded 85 

Pennsylvania  campaign 86 

I  WAS  IN  command  of  Brigade — Interview  with  General  Lee 

IN  Clarke 86 

Left  Chambersburg  on  2nd  July 87 

Fighting  on  ist  July  a  great  success 88 

Meade  in  command  of  Federal  Army 89 

Little  Round  Top  occupied  by  enemy 89 

Charge  of  Pickett's  Division  on  July  3 — I  was  wounded   .    .  90 

CHAPTER  V. 

Reflections  on  Gettysburg 93 

North  Carolinians  did  not  reach  enemy's  line 93 

General  Lee  on  absence  of  Jackson 94 

Longstreet  to  blame  for  loss  of  Gettysburg 94 

General  Gordon  on  Longstreet 95 

Did  Pickett  charge  with  his  Division? 98 

Joined  my  wife  and  son loi 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PAGE 

Returned  to  duty — was  commissioned  Brigadier  General  .    .  103 

Took  Brigade  to  Chaffin's  Farm 103 

Regimental  commands 103 

My  Staff 104 

Charles  Linthicum — chief 104 

My  wife  and  son  joined  me 105 

My  sister  Mary  Brent  later 105 

Eppa  appointed  staff  officer 105 

Christmas  dinner  at  Chaffin's 106 

Eppa  promoted  by  Militia  Regiment 107 

Butler  appeared  below  Richmond 108 

Grant  in  command  of  army  of  Potomac 108 

Battle  of  Mine  Run  and  Wilderness — Spottsylvania  Court 

House 108 

Sheridan's  raid  on  Richmond 108 

General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  killed 108 

I  WAS  SENT  TO  REINFORCE  CAVALRY  BUT  ORDERED  BACK  TO  FORTIFICA- 
TIONS         108 

Joined  main  army  at  Hanover 109 

My  wife  and  son  returned  to  Lynchburg 109 

They  lived  on  rations no 


CHAPTER  VII. 

32ND  Regiment — Col.  Montague in 

Battle  OF  Cold  Harbor  June  3,  1864 iii 

Capt.  Linthicum  killed 112 

Grant  crossed  THE  James  AND  INVESTED  Petersburg 113 

Beauregard  abandoned  him  at  Howlett  House  to  defend 

Petersburg 114 

Forced  march  of  Pickett's  DIVISION  to  take  HIS  place  ....  114 

Splendid  charge  to  recover  Beauregard's  line 114 

General  Lee's  undignified  order 114 

Major  Drewry  on  this  charge 115 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PAGE 

Remained  below  Howlett  House 117 

Siege  of  Petersburg 117 

Battle  OF  Five  Forks 118 

Battle  of  Gravelly  Run 118 

My  clothes  riddled  with  bullets 119 

i  made  forced  march  to  reinforce  pickett ii9 

Petersburg  and  Richmond  evacuated 120 

Retreat  of  General  Lee 120 

Battle  of  Sailor's  Creek 121 

Kindness  of  General  Custer  to  me  after  my  capture  ....  123 

Carried  to  City  Point 125 

General  Ewell's  bad  conduct 125 

General  Lee's  surrender 126 

Pickett  dismissed  from  army 126 

Sick — sick  at  heart,  sick  every  way 128 

Lincoln  assassinated  the  night  we  left  Washington    .    .    .  130 

Reached  Fort  Warren 130 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Execution  of  Mrs.  Surratt 131 

Retrospect  of  the  war  and  some  of  its  Generals 132 

General  Turner's  kind  offer  to  my  wife 134 

My  Brother  Silas  took  my  wife  and  son  to  Culpeper   .    .    .  135 

Death  of  General  Gordon 138 

Kindness  of  the  Salters  and  Cliffords 138 

Released  from  Prison 139 

Our  stay  with  Clifford 139 

Started  home — my  arrival 141 

CHAPTER  X. 

I  attended  court  on  1ST  Monday  in  August,  1865,  in  dear  old 

Prince  William 143 

Located  in  Warrenton  in  September 143 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xvii 

PAGE 

roomkeeping i44 

Practice  became  quite  large 145 

Purchased  Home  from  W.  H.  Gaines 145 

Eppa  went  to  Holcombs  School  and  afterwards  to  University 

OF  Virginia 146 

My  mother  died  in  1866 146 

My  wife's  mother  died 147 

Conduct  of  negroes  during  and  just  after  war 147 

Reconstruction 147 

Underwood  convention 149 

CHAPTER  XL 

i  became  a  candidate  for  congress i5i 

8th  District — counties  composing  it 151 

Nominated  and  elected  to  43RD  Congress  in  1872 151 

Attempt  to  pass  Force  Bill 152 

Democratic  majority  in  House 154 

Kerr  elected  speaker 154 

My  assignment  to  Committees 154 

Virginia  Representatives  in  44TH  Congress 154 

Investigation  of  James  G.  Blaine 154 

Mulligan  Letters 157 

Difficulty  with  Fry 159 

Blaine  elected  to  Senate 161 

Blaine's  probable  guilt 161 

TiLDEN  and  Hayes  Presidential  candidates  1876 162 

TiLDEN  elected — BUT  DISPUTED 162 

CHAPTER  XIL 

Efforts  of  Republicans  to  secure  the  disputed  states  for 

Hayes 163 

Congress  met — S.  J.  Randall  speaker 163 

Committee  appointed  by  each  House 164 

Bill  agreed  on  reported  and  passed 164 


xviii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Conference  of  Democrats  on  the  Bill 167 

My  speech .  167 

Member  of  Commission  selected 168 

The  commission — State  of  Florida 171 

The  Florida  decision 173 

Justice  David  Davis 175 

Justice  Bradley 175 

Precedents  for  our  contention 176 

Reflections  on  Florida  case 178 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

State  of  Louisiana  before  commission 179 

Returning  Board  not  legal  because  not  full — authorities 

cited 184 

Two  OF  Hayes  electors  held  offices 185 

Offer  to  sell  to  Tilden  vote  of  Louisiana 185 

What  General  Grant  said  about  Louisiana 185 

George  F.  Hoar  in  McClure's  Magazine 186 

It  is  NOT  true 186 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

State  of  Oregon  before  Commission 189 

Laws  of  Oregon 190 

Case  of  South  Carolina 191 

Offer  of  proof  by  Democrats 191 

House  voted  to  sustain  minority 192 

roscoe  b.  conklin  in  louisiana  case i92 

TiLDEN's  WANT  OF  NERVE I93 

Hayes  declared  Tilden  was  elected 194 

Result  better  than  WAR 194 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xix 
CHAPTER  XV. 

PAGE 

Nominated  and  elected  2d  and  3RD  times  to  Congress  ....  197 

My  contest  with  Barbour 197 

Democrats  again  carried  the  House 198 

Samuel  J.  Randall  speaker — His  bad  conduct  to  me  .    .    .    .  198 

Mr.  John  Goode  for  speaker 199 

Changes  in  form  of  government  of  the  District  of  Columbia  202 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Bessie  Marye  Hunton,  now  Mrs.  Charles  Catlett    ....  205 

Purchased  new  residence 205 

Eppa  returns  from  University 206 

Becomes  my  partner 206 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Candidate  for  46TH  Congress — opposed  for  nomination  by 

Chap.  Neal 207 

I  WAS  nominated  by  acclamation 207 

Had  two  competitors — carried  every  precinct  except  three   .  207 

46TH  Congress — Chairman  of  District  Committee    ....  208 

My  conduct  as  such  Chairman 209 

My  wife  in  Washington 211 

I  opened  law  office  in  Washington  with  Jeff  Chandler    .    .  212 

McGarahan  case 212 

Appointed  Senator 214 

Elected  to  fill  unexpired  term 216 

Succeeded  for  long  term  by  T.  S.  Martin 217 

Tariff  Bill  in  Senate 219 

Cleveland's  letter  to  Wilson 221 

Currency  question 222 

Bryan  and  Free  Silver 223 

Party  divided  and  Bryan  defeated 223 

McKlNLEY  ELECTED 224 


XX  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PAGE 

Eppa  married  Erva  W.  Payne 227 

She  died  October  9,  1897 227 

About  dear  Erva .  228 

I  was  confirmed 230 

My  wife  died  September  4,  1899 230 

About  dear  Lucy 230 

Eppa  in  1901  married  Virginia  S.  Payne 231 

About  dear  Jincie 231 

Eppa  elected  to  convention 231 

Partnership  in  Richmond 231 

Sold  my  Warrenton  property 232 

Eppa's  law  firm 233 

My  health 233 

Addendum 235 


APPENDICES 

I.  Address  at  Reunion  of  8th  Virginia  Regiment  October 

21,  1895 239 

II.  Correspondence  with  Columbus  Alexander 253 

III.  Address  of  Judge  James  Keith  presenting  portrait  of 
General  Eppa  Hunton  to  Lee  Camp  Confederate 
Veterans 263 


THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 
CHAPTER  I. 


I 


WAS  born  on  the  22nd  day  of  September,  1822,  on  my 
father's  farm,  "Springfield,"  on  the  road  from  New  Baltimore 
to  Thoroughfare,  in  Fauquier  County,  Virginia. 

My  father,  Eppa  Hunton,  was  the  son  of  James  Hunton,  and 
a  grandson  of  William  Hunton,  both  of  said  County  of  Fau- 
quier.   He  was  born  January  30,  1789. 

The  Virginia  branch  of  Huntons  came  from  England  and 
settled  in  Lancaster  County  in  the  early  history  of  the  Virginia 
colony  about  the  year  1700.  In  the  first  half  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century  William  Hunton  and  two  brothers  left  Lancaster 
County,  One  brother  settled  in  Albemarle  County,  one  in 
Madison  County  and  William  settled  at  "Fairview,"  near  New 
Baltimore,  in  said  County  of  Fauquier.  He  married  Judith 
Kirk,  and  from  them  sprung  many  of  the  citizens  of  Fauquier 
County.  "Fairview"  has  always  remained  in  the  possession  of 
their  descendants,  and  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Joseph  G. 
Hunton,  a  grandson — an  old  bachelor  about  eighty  years  old. 
My  grandfather,  James  Hunton,  was  their  eldest  son  and  resided 
at  "The  Valley"  adjoining  "Fairview." 

James  Hunton  married  Hannah  Logan  Brown  of  King 
George  County,  and  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters.  My 
father,  Eppa,  was  the  second  son.  He  taught  school  for  several 
years  in  a  school  house  near  Old  Broad  Run  Church,  Fauquier 
County.  He  purchased  "Springfield,"  and  married  Elizabeth 
Marye  Brent. 

My  father  was  a  very  active  business  man,  of  the  quickest  per- 

3 


4  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

ception  and  promptest  action.  He  was  very  popular  and  was 
twice  elected  to  the  Legislature.  He  was  a  prosperous  man  and 
at  his  death  owned  three  good  farms:  "Springfield,"  "Mount 
Hope"  and  a  farm  in  Prince  William  County.  He  possessed 
military  qualifications  of  a  high  order,  and  was  an  officer  in 
the  War  of  1812.*  He  was  at  Bladensburg  and  Craney  Island 
and  was  a  brigade  inspector  of  the  Virginia  militia.  He  pur- 
chased "Mount  Hope"  that  he  might  be  a  mile  nearer  to  New 
Baltimore,  where  there  was  a  fine  academy  for  both  boys  and 
girls.    He  died  on  the  8th  of  April,  1830,  aged  41  years. 

The  Huntons  of  Virginia  were  remarkable  for  their  intel- 
ligence, hospitality,  integrity  and  good  conduct.  The  records 
of  the  courts  will  be  searched  in  vain  to  find  any  proceeding 
against  one  of  the  name  for  any  breach  of  law  and  order. 

My  mother  was  the  daughter  of  William  Brent.  He  lived  in 
Dumfries,  and  married  Hannah  Neal.  Soon  after  his  marriage 
the  Revolutionary  war  began.  He  raised  a  company  and  was 
made  its  Captain.  Fearing  trouble  to  his  family  from  the 
incursions  of  the  British  up  the  Potomac  River,  he  purchased 
a  farm  in  Fauquier  County,  near  Bealeton,  and  moved  his 
family  there.    On  this  farm  my  mother  was  born,  and  married. 

The  Brents  came  to  America  with  Lord  Baltimore,  and  settled 
in  Maryland — said  to  be  cousins  of  Lord  Baltimore.  Two  of 
them  crossed  the  river  and  settled  in  Stafford  County,  Virginia. 
One  purchased  "Richland,"  and  the  other  "Woodstock,"  on  the 
Potomac,  both  very  fertile  farms.  My  mother  descended  from 
the  Woodstock  Brent. 

The  Brent  family  is  one  of  the  most  numerous  in  the  United 

*He  was  First  Lieutenant  of  Captain  William  R.  Smith's  Troop  of 
Cavalry,  from  Fauquier  County,  attached  to  the  command  of  Major 
Thomas  Hunton,  Virginia  Militia,  according  to  the  records  of  the  Adju- 
tant General,  U.  S.  Army. 


awv 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  5 

States.  Its  members  will  be  found  in  Virginia,  Maryland, 
Kentucky,  Ohio,  Missouri  and  many  other  States.  They  have 
been  noted  for  intelligence  and  patriotism. 

My  father  had  eleven  children,  to-w^it:  Virginia  Freedonia; 
Hannah  Neale;  John  Heath;  Judith  Ann;  Silas  Brown;  James 
Innis;  myself;  Elizabeth  Marye;  George  William;  Mary  Brent 
and  Charles  Arthur.  The  oldest  and  youngest  died  in  infancy. 
The  others  grew  to  maturity — some  of  them  to  old  age — and 
became  useful  and  highly  reputable  citizens.  My  sister,  Mary 
Brent,  the  widow  of  Thomas  R.  Foster,  and  myself,  are  the 
only  surviving  children.  My  father's  estate  wound  up  badly. 
It  took  all  his  personalty,  and  his  Prince  William  Farm,  to  pay 
his  debts. 

My  mother,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years,  was  left  with  nine 
children,  none  of  them  grown,  and  comparatively  poor.  She 
was  the  most  anxious  and  devoted  mother  I  ever  saw,  and  ap- 
plied herself  to  rearing  and  educating  her  children  with  a  single- 
ness of  purpose  and  unselfishness  never  equalled.  She  was  a 
model  mother,  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  saw  all  her  children 
(except  the  two  who  died  in  infancy),  become  useful  and 
reputable  men  and  women. 

I  was  educated  almost  entirely  at  the  New  Baltimore  Acad- 
emy. It  was  a  most  excellent  institution  of  learning  for  that 
day,  presided  over  by  the  Rev.  John  Ogilvie.  I  was  ambitious 
from  early  boyhood  to  become  a  lawyer,  and  desired  to  obtain 
a  very  good  Latin  and  English  education;  but  my  funds  gave 
out  and  I  had  to  borrow  money  to  go  to  school  the  last  year, 
1839.  I  completed  my  English  course,  and  then  commenced  my 
Latin  the  ist  of  September,  1838,  and  finished  the  full  course 
of  Latin  by  the  end  of  1839. 

In  1840 1  taught  school  for  Richard  Rixey  and  Sylvester  Welsh 
at  a  log  school  house  on  the  road  leading  from  Warrenton  to 


6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

The  Plains,  near  the  latter  town.  I  devoted  my  leisure  time 
during  this  year  to  the  study  of  history,  and  was  especially  in- 
terested in  the  history  of  England,  from  which  I  learned  its 
feudal  system,  on  which  the  great  system  of  the  Common  Law 
is  founded. 

The  next  year  I  opened  a  public  school  at  Buckland,  Prince 
William  County,  Virginia.  This  was  in  the  neighborhood  of 
John  Webb  Tyler,  who  afterwards  became  Judge  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  that  circuit.  He  sent  five  boys  to  me,  and  gave  me 
instruction  in  law  gratuitously,  and  furnished  me  with  the 
books  to  read.  I  taught  there  during  the  years  1841  and  1842, 
and  in  June,  1843,  I  obtained  a  license  to  practice  law. 

During  the  period  of  my  stay  at  Buckland  I  boarded  with  my 
brother,  Silas  B.  Hunton,  whose  wife,  Margaret,  formerly  Mar- 
garet Rixey,  was  as  kind  to  me  as  my  own  sister.  Both  promoted 
my  comfort  in  every  possible  manner,  and  both  remained  till 
their  death  most  affectionate  brother  and  sister. 

After  getting  a  license  to  practice  law,  under  the  advice  of 
John  Webb  Tyler  I  determined  to  settle  at  Brentsville,  the  county 
seat  of  Prince  William  County,  which  was  a  small  town.  There 
was  not  a  great  deal  of  law  business  in  that  county,  but  there 
were  very  few  lawyers,  and  Mr.  Tyler  advised  me  to  go  there 
and  learn  to  practice,  and  then  to  move  to  some  place  where 
business  was  better.  I  found  but  one  lawyer  at  Brentsville — 
Daniel  Jasper — though  there  were  two  or  three  others  in  the 
county,  and  the  Warrenton  lawyers  always  attended  the  courts. 

I  was  slow  in  getting  business  in  Prince  William.  Daniel 
Jasper  had  preceded  me  nearly  a  year;  he  was  a  very  active 
man  and  a  very  sprightly,  smart  fellow,  and  got  most  of  the 
business  for  a  year  or  two. 

In  the  winter  of  1847-48,  John  Webb  Tyler  was  elected  Judge 
of  the  Circuit  Court.  Mr.  Jasper  and  I  were  candidates  to  succeed 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  7 

him  as  Commonwealth's  Attorney.  At  that  time  the  County 
Court  consisted  of  twenty  or  thirty  magistrates,  who  elected  the 
Commonwealth's  Attorney.  The  race  between  Mr.  Jasper  and 
myself  was  a  very  close  one.    I  was  successful. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  1848, 1  married  Lucy  Caroline  Weir,  of 
"Hartford,"  Prince  William  County,  Virginia.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Clara  Boothe  Weir.  Her  father  was 
of  a  highly  reputable  Scotch  family;  was  for  many  years  a 
merchant  of  Tappahannock,  Virginia;  later  in  life  he  purchased 
and  occupied  the  "Hartford"  farm  in  Prince  William  County. 
He  died  about  1840,  leaving  his  widow,  three  daughters  and 
two  sons  surviving  him. 

My  wife's  mother  was  a  Miss  Smith,  of  Williamsburg — a 
granddaughter  of  Judge  Benjamin  Waller,  who  was  also  the 
grandfather  of  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  one  of  Virginia's 
most  distinguished  men  and  most  popular  Governors.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  John  Smith  and  Sarah  Waller. 

This  marriage  was  a  most  happy  one.  My  wife  was  in  every 
respect  an  affectionate,  loving  help-mate. 

We  remained  with  Mrs.  Weir  during  the  balance  of  the  year 
18^8.  The  farm  "Hartford"  was  sold  during  the  year,  posses- 
sion to  be  given  the  ist  of  April,  1849.  I  purchased  a  com- 
fortable home  in  Brentsville,  and  went  to  housekeeping  the  first 
of  January,  1849.  On  the  ist  of  April  following,  when  Mrs. 
Weir  gave  possession  of  "Hartford,"  she  and  her  two  daughters, 
Bettie  and  Martha,  came  to  us  and  made  our  house  their  home. 
We  were  a  happy  family,  and  after  adding  to  my  house  in 
Brentsville  I  had  a  very  comfortable  and  beautiful  home,  which 
was  destroyed  by  the  Union  soldiers  in  1862. 

Mrs.  Weir  was  one  of  the  nicest  and  most  charming  old  ladies 
I  ever  knew.  I  have  often  said  that  I  had  two  of  the  best  mothers 
any  man  ever  had.  She  was  devoted  to  me  and  died  in  my  arms 


8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

in  Warrenton,  in  1870.  Martha  died  at  my  house  in  1882.  Bettie 
remained  with  me  till  the  death  of  my  wife.  She  is  now  with 
her  nieces  in  Clarke  County,  Virginia. 

In  1852  a  new  Constitution  was  adopted  by  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, which  aflected  all  the  offices  and  made  most  of  them — 
Commonwealth's  Attorney  among  them — elective  by  the  people. 
Jasper  and  myself  were  again  candidates  for  the  position  of 
Commonwealth's  Attorney.  It  was  a  long,  arduous  and  exciting 
contest,  resulting  in  my  election  by  a  large  majority.  I  carried 
every  precinct  in  the  county.  I  retained  this  office  until  my 
absence  from  the  county  in  the  Confederate  Army,  in  186 1. 

In  1848  I  was  elected  Colonel  of  the  Militia  Regiment  of 
Prince  William  County,  and  in  1857  was  elected  Brigadier- 
General  of  Militia,  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1853,  my  daughter  Elizabeth  Boothe 
was  born.  She  was  as  beautiful  and  sweet  as  a  daughter  could 
be.  The  second  summer,  so  fatal  to  children,  took  her  from  us. 
We  carried  her  to  "Mount  Hope,"  my  mother's  residence,  for 
a  change  of  air.  She  improved  notably.  We  returned  to  Brents- 
ville  in  September,  and  on  the  30th  day  of  that  month,  1854, 
God  took  her  to  Himself.  It  seemed  that  he  had  loaned  her  to 
us  to  brighten  our  home  and  cement  our  love.  She  was  named 
after  her  two  grandmothers,  and  was  much  petted  by  them. 
We  grieved  bitterly  for  the  dear  child.  She  was  our  only 
daughter. 

On  the  14th  of  April,  1855,  my  son  Eppa  was  born.  His 
birth  tended  to  moderate  our  grief  for  dear  little  Lizzie.  My 
son  was  named  after  my  father  and  me.  He  still  lives  and  has 
been  the  greatest  comfort  to  his  mother  and  to  me.  He  has 
never  given  me  an  hour's  trouble,  except  in  smoking  cigarettes. 
He  has  become  a  lawyer  of  distinction,  and  is  loved  by  all  who 
know  him.    I  cannot  be  thankful  enough  for  the  gift  of  my 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  9 

son.  He  has  ever  been  affectionate  and  kind  to  me,  and  his 
devotion  to  his  mother  was  beautiful  and  touching.  His  life 
has  been  interwoven  with  mine  more  closely  than  is  usual  with 
father  and  son,  and  he  will  be  often  mentioned  in  this  biography. 

I  was  a  Democrat  from  my  earliest  youth.  My  father  before 
me  was  a  Democrat.  All  of  the  Hunton  name  were  Democrats. 
I  took  an  active  interest  in  politics  from  the  time  I  was  grown, 
and  was  put  upon  the  stump  by  my  party  in  every  presidential 
canvass  from  1840. 

In  1856  I  was  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  National  Convention 
at  Cincinnati.  Franklin  Pierce  was  President,  and  I  favored  his 
renomination,  though  my  ultimate  choice  was  R.  M.  T.  Hunter, 
of  Virginia.  Mr.  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
nominated  and  elected. 

During  this  period,  up  to  i860, 1  had  practiced  my  profession 
at  Brentsville,  with  some  success.  I  got  a  good  practice  and 
accumulated  property.  Excitement  sometime  before  had  begun 
to  run  very  high  between  the  North  and  the  South.  The  ques- 
tion of  slavery  was  the  exciting  cause.  The  North  had  the 
largest  territory  and  the  greatest  population,  and  became  very 
violent  against  the  South  on  the  question  of  slavery.  Seward, 
one  of  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  North,  declared  that  this 
Union  could  not  exist  one-half  slave  and  the  other  half  free. 
Scenes  of  turmoil  and  violence  occurred  in  both  houses  of  Con- 
gress, and  the  patriotic  and  peace-loving  man  looked  forward 
with  the  utmost  dread  to  the  future. 

In  i860,  the  Democratic  Party,  which  had  been  a  unit  up  to 
that  time  and  had  always  managed  to  hold  the  balance  of  power, 
was  divided  upon  the  "free-soil"  question.  The  Party  met  in 
convention  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  April  23,  i860,  and 
was  divided  between  Douglas  and  Breckinridge — Douglas  rep- 
resenting the  Northern  "Free-Soil"  wing,  and  Breckinridge  the 


10  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

"States-Right"  wing  of  the  Party.  Violent  scenes  occurred  in  the 
convention,  and  finally  it  was  disrupted.  Then  two  conven- 
tions were  held,  one  in  Baltimore,  which  nominated  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  of  Illinois,  and  the  other  in  Richmond,  which  nomi- 
nated John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky.  The  old  Whig 
Party  in  convention  nominated  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee.  The 
Republicans  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois. 

These  candidates  were  all  men  of  great  ability.  Lincoln  was 
a  rough  man,  and  was  called  the  "Illinois  Rail  Splitter."  He  was 
one  of  the  most  vulgar  men  that  ever  attained  high  position  in 
the  United  States. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  there  was  great  danger  of  the 
election  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  owing  to  the  division  in  the 
Democratic  Party.  This  increased  the  intense  feeling  between 
the  sections.  The  people  in  many  of  the  Southern  States  de- 
clared in  convention  assembled  that  they  would  not  remain  in 
the  Union  if  the  country  elected  a  sectional  president.  I  was 
elector  on  the  Breckinridge  ticket  and  actively  canvassed  the 
State  of  Virginia  in  the  interest  of  that  wing  of  the  Democratic 
Party. 

At  that  time  my  wife  became  ill.  She  seemed  to  be  suffering 
with  neuralgia  of  the  liver,  and  subject  to  violent  attacks  of  pain. 
These  attacks  continued  with  more  or  less  violence  until  1862. 
They  interfered  a  good  deal  with  my  activity  in  politics.  I  was 
very  devoted  to  my  wife,  and  she  to  me,  and  when  she  was  ill 
I  wanted  to  be  with  her,  and  she  desired  my  presence. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected  on  November  6,  i860.  Although 
he  got  only  a  minority  of  the  popular  vote  he  got  a  majojrity 
of  the  electoral  vote.  The  country  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio 
Grande  was  at  once  convulsed  with  excitement.  Several  of  the 
"Cotton  States"  took  early  action  for  secession.  James  Buchanan 
was  the  President.    He  was  a  good  man,  but  timid.    After  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  ii 

"Cotton  States"  had  all  withdrawn  from  the  Union  they  formed 
the  Confederate  States  government  at  Montgomery,  Alabama, 
with  Jefferson  Davis  as  President,  and  sent  Commissioners  to 
Washington  to  treat  with  the  Buchanan  administration  for 
recognition  as  a  nation.  Mr.  Buchanan  promised  time  and  again 
that  he  would  recognize  them,  but  his  timidity  interfered,  and 
he  postponed  it  until  his  term  as  President  expired. 

In  the  meantime  Virginia  had  not  taken  any  steps.  Up  to 
the  ist  of  January,  1861,  she  had  made  no  movement  towards 
secession.  Soon  thereafter  the  Legislature,  then  in  extra  ses- 
sion, passed  a  law  calling  for  a  convention  to  determine  the 
course  of  Virginia  in  the  premises.  The  election  was  to  take 
place  February  4,  1861.  I  declared  myself  a  candidate  for  this 
convention.  Mr.  Allen  Howison,  a  very  estimable  Whig  gentle- 
man of  the  county,  was  a  candidate  against  me.  I  was  for 
immediate  secession.  Mr.  Howison  was  unconditionally  for 
the  Union.  I  published  a  card  in  which  I  took  the  ground  that 
I  was  for  immediate  secession  for  the  sake  of  the  Union. 
Elaborating  my  position  I  argued  that  if  Virginia  would  go  out 
of  the  Union,  at  once,  followed  by  some  of  the  border  states, 
the  movement  would  be  so  formidable  that  the  United  States 
Government  would  not  make  war  upon  the  Confederate  States, 
but  that  the  doctrine  which  was  held  by  a  great  many  Northern 
people,  to  "Let  the  erring  sisters  go  in  peace,"  would  be  adopted 
even  by  the  Lincoln  Administration;  and  that  when  war  was 
avoided  reconstruction  would  take  place  between  the  North 
and  the  South  on  terms  satisfactory  to  both  sides,  and  perma- 
nent. Of  course  my  theory  was  but  a  theory,  but  I  have  always 
thought  that  if  war  could  have  been  avoided  by  an  early  secession 
of  all  the  Southern  States,  reconstruction  would  have  taken  place 
satisfactory  to  both  sides  and  permanent.  I  was  elected  to  the 
Convention  by  a  large  majority  over  Mr.  Howison. 


CHAPTER  II. 


I 


ATTENDED  the  Convention,  and  reached  Richmond  the 
day  before  the  session  began  on  February  13th,  and  found  the 
city  in  an  uproar.  Everybody  was  excited.  The  women  and 
the  clergy  were  a  unit  for  secession.  I  never  saw  anything  to 
equal  it. 

The  morning  I  went  to  the  convention,  which  was  held  in 
the  Mechanics'  Institute,  a  building  on  Ninth  Street  near  Main.* 
I  found  the  lower  room  crowded  with  ladies.  We  had  to  pass 
through  this  room  to  get  to  the  convention  hall  above.  We 
found  it  impossible  to  pass.  I  made  an  appeal  to  the  ladies  to 
let  me  get  by,  explaining  that  unless  the  members  of  the  con- 
vention could  get  upstairs  there  could  be  no  convention.  One 
of  these  ladies  said  to  me,  "Are  you  a  secessionist?"  I  replied, 
"If  I  had  my  way  I  would  vote  the  State  out  of  the  Union  to- 
morrow morning  before  breakfast."  She  exclaimed,  "Ladies, 
let  him  pass;  he'll  do!"  They  made  a  way  for  me  to  pass,  and 
I  went  up  to  the  convention. 

I  have  often  thought  that  if  we  could  have  seceded  the  next 
morning  before  breakfast,  how  much  better  it  would  have  been 
than  to  waste  the  time  from  February  until  the  17th  of  April 
in  useless  debate.  How  much  preparation  could  have  been  made 
in  that  time  to  meet  the  troubles  ahead  of  us!  But  it  was 
not  to  be. 


*It  was  used  because  the  Capitol  was  being  used  for  the  extra  session 
of  the  Legislature.  It  was  later  occupied  by  the  War  Department  of  the 
Confederate  States  and  was  burned  at  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  in 
April,  1865. 

13 


14  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

The  Convention  met  and  elected  Mr.  John  Janney,  of 
Loudoun,  President,  over  Mr.  V.  W.  Southall,  of  Albemarle, 
by  a  vote  of  70  to  54.  Both  of  them  w^ere  Union  men,  but  the 
secessionists  favored  Mr.  Southall  because  he  wsls  considered  less 
opposed  to  secession  than  Mr.  Janney. 

The  convention  was  dominated  by  the  old  Whig  Party,  most 
of  w^hom  were  Union  men.  The  Democrats  had  had  control 
of  the  State  of  Virginia  for  many  years.  When  the  call  for  a 
convention  was  made  by  the  Legislature  the  Democratic  can- 
didates as  a  general  thing  took  ground  for  immediate  secession. 
The  Whigs,  with  more  policy,  took  the  ground  that  they  were 
for  the  Union,  and  desired  to  preserve  it,  but  if  the  time  came 
when  secession  was  a  necessity  they  were  for  secession.  They 
did  not  believe  Virginia  would  secede  and  they  set  to  work  to 
revive  the  old  Whig  Party,  which  had  so  long  been  in  the 
minority  in  the  State.  It  was  represented  by  the  grandest  men 
of  the  party,  and  as  grand  men  as  any  in  the  State.  They  were 
led  by  such  men  as  John  Janney,  of  Loudoun ;  Robert  E.  Scott, 
of  Fauquier;  Robert  Y.  Conrad,  of  Frederick;  John  B.  Baldwin, 
of  Augusta;  A.  H.  H.  Stuart,  of  Augusta;  Judal  A.  Early,  of 
Franklin,  and  many  others. 

I  felt  very  much  provoked  at  the  conduct  of  these  gentlemen. 
I  felt  that  the  time  which  ought  to  be  devoted  to  preparation 
was  being  wasted ;  but  nothing  could  move  them. 

The  secession  party  was  in  a  comparatively  small  minority. 
It  was  led  by  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  State,  such  as  ex- 
President  Tyler,  Professor  James  P.  Holcombe,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Montague,  Henry  A.  Wise,  John  Goode,  Jere  Morton 
and  many  others.    We  were  all  for  immediate  secession. 

Henry  A.  Wise  had  an  idea  that  we  ought  to  make  our  fight 
in  the  Union,  and  while  he  acted  with  us  he  always  advocated 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  15 

his  doctrine  of  fighting  in  the  Union.  I  never  could  exactly 
understand  how  we  could  do  it.*" 

Just  previous  to  the  meeting  of  this  convention  there  was  a 
Peace  Congress  held  in  the  City  of  Washington,  called  at  the 
instance  of  Virginia,  the  object  of  which  was  to  try  if  possible 
to  harmonize  the  differences  between  the  two  sections  of  this 
country.  It  was  composed  of  some  of  the  best  and  ablest  men 
of  the  North  and  the  South,  but  resulted  in  absolute  failure. 
When  the  Secession  Convention  met  in  Richmond,  our  delegates 
to  the  Peace  Congress,  among  whom  were  ex-President  John 
Tyler,  of  Charles  City  County,  and  George  W.  Summers,  of 
Kanawha  County,  now  West  Virginia,  had  just  returned 
therefrom. 

Soon  after  the  Secession  Convention  opened,  George  W. 
Summers  made  a  submission  speech.  He  was  for  submitting  to 
any  terms  that  the  Northern  people  might  impose  upon  us, 
rather  than  to  secede.  He  was  replied  to  by  John  Tyler,  who 
told  me  afterwards  that  when  he  commenced  his  speech  he  did 
not  think  he  would  live  to  finish  it,  on  account  of  the  feeble- 
ness of  old  age.  He  spoke  three  days,  and  got  better  and  better 
as  he  went  along,  making  one  of  the  finest  speeches  in  defence 
of  the  South  and  secession  that  it  was  my  fortune  to  hear  from 
any  source. 

The  leading  speech  after  Mr.  Tyler's,  in  favor  of  secession,  was 
made  by  Professor  James  P.  Holcombe,  of  Albemarle,  who  had 
long  been  one  of  the  professors  of  law  at  the  University  of  Vir- 


*JefJerson  Davis  expresses  the  same  inability  to  understand  how  this 
could  be  done.  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederate  States,  p.  255.  John 
Marshall,  however,  suggested  it  as  a  possibility  while  advocating  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  before  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1788. 
Elliott's  Debates. 


i6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

ginia.  It  was  one  of  the  finest  speeches  ever  deUvered  in  the 
State  of  Virginia.  It  was  received  with  rapturous  applause  by 
the  secessionists  on  the  floor  and  the  audience  in  the  galleries, 
and  gave  immense  pleasure  to  the  people  of  the  City  of  Rich- 
mond and  to  the  secessionists  throughout  the  State.  The  ladies 
for  days  banked  his  desk  with  beautiful  flowers,  and  he  was  the 
hero  of  the  convention  for  a  long  time.  He  was  replied  to  by 
John  B.  Baldwin,  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  Union  side.  He 
made  a  fine  speech,  taking  the  ground  that  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  the  right  of  secession ;  that  if  the  time  ever  came  for  the 
South  to  resist,  it  would  have  to  be  by  revolution  and  not  by 
secession.  This  was  the  general  doctrine  of  the  Whig  Party 
of  the  State.  His  speech  occasioned  intense  pleasure  to  the 
Union  side  of  the  convention,  but  fell  very  flat  in  the  City  of 
Richmond.  There  wasn't  a  lady  of  Virginia  who  sent  him  a 
flower.  There  were  three  ladies  wintering  at  the  Exchange 
Hotel  in  Richmond,  from  Massachusetts.  They  favored  his 
sentiments  and  sent  him  flowers. 

For  some  time  after  the  Convention  met  it  was  doubtful 
whether  the  United  States  would  make  war  on  the  seceding 
states.  There  was  a  strong  feeling  in  the  Lincoln  administra- 
tion, and  to  some  extent  among  the  Northern  people,  to  "Let 
the  erring  sisters  go  in  peace."  At  this  time  the  Northwestern 
Governors,  headed  by  Oliver  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  came  to 
Washington  and  insisted  upon  war  upon  the  South,  and  the 
administration  was  committed  to  that  course. 

On  April  15,  Lincoln  called  for  75,000  troops  to  coerce  the 
seceding  states  back  into  the  Union,  and  the  question  pro- 
pounded to  the  Virginia  Convention  was  whether  Virginia 
should  furnish  her  quota  to  fight  against  the  South,  or  secede 
and  fight  for  the  South.  The  feeling  of  secession  took  possession 
of  the  Virginia  Convention.     These  old,  able  and  patriotic 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  17 

Whigs,  who  had  so  violently  opposed  secession,  now  became 
earnest  advocates  of  it,  and  after  a  few  days  debate  in  secret 
session  the  ordinance  of  secession  was  passed,  on  the  17th  day  of 
April,  1861,  by  a  good  majority,  88  to  55,  and  was  finally  signed 
by  every  member  of  the  Convention  except  a  few  from  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  State  which  is  now  West  Virginia. 
These  left  the  Convention  upon  the  passage  of  the  ordinance 
of  secession,  and  became  violent  Unionists  in  the  war. 
The  Ordinance  of  Secession  is  in  the  following  words: 

Ordinance  of  Secession 
An  Ordinance  to  Repeal  the  Ratification  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  of  America  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  and 
to  resume  all  the  rights  and  powers  granted  under  said 
Constitution. 


The  people  of  Virginia,  in  their  ratification  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  adopted  by  them  in  conven- 
tion on  the  25th  day  of  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1788, 
having  declared  that  the  powers  granted  under  the  said  Con- 
stitution were  derived  from  the  people  of  the  United  States  and 
might  be  resumed  whensoever  the  same  should  be  perverted  to 
their  injury  and  oppression,  and  the  Federal  Government  having 
perverted  said  powers,  not  only  to  the  injury  of  the  people  of 
Virginia,  but  to  the  oppression  of  the  Southern  slaveholding 
States: 

Now,  therefore,  we,  the  people  of  Virginia,  do  declare  and 
ordain.  That  the  ordinance  adopted  by  the  people  of  this  State 
in  convention  on  the  25th  of  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1788, 
whereby  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America  was 
ratified,  and  all  acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State  ratify- 


i8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

ing  or  adopting  amendments  to  said  Constitution,  are  hereby 
repealed  and  abrogated;  that  the  union  between  the  State  of 
Virginia  and  the  other  States  under  the  Constitution  aforesaid 
is  hereby  dissolved,  and  that  the  State  of  Virginia  is  in  the  full 
possession  and  exercise  of  all  the  rights  of  sovereignity  which 
belong  and  appertain  to  a  free  and  independent  State. 

And  they  do  further  declare.  That  the  said  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  of  America  is  no  longer  binding  on  any  of 
the  citizens  of  this  State. 

This  ordinance  shall  take  effect  and  be  an  act  of  this  day, 
when  ratified  by  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  people  of  this 
State  cast  at  a  poll  to  be  taken  thereon  on  the  fourth  Thursday 
in  May  next,  in  pursuance  of  a  schedule  hereafter  to  be  enacted. 

Done  in  convention  in  the  City  of  Richmond,  on  the  17th  day 
of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1861,  and  in  the  eighty-fifth 
year  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia. 

W.  M.  Ambler  James  Barbour 

E.  M.  Armstrong  Ed.  N.  Chambers 

W.  B.  AsTON  George  Blow,  Jr. 

John  B.  Baldwin  James  Boisseau 

George  Baylor  Peter  B.  Borst 

Miers  W.  Fisher  Wood  Bouldin 
Wm.  Hamilton  Marginborg    William  W.  Boyd 

Hugh  M.  Taylor  James  C.  Bruce 

Johnson  Orrick  Benjamin  W.  Byrne 

Logan  Osburn  Thos.  Stanhope  Fleming 

Sam  M.  Garland  William  M.  Forbes 

George  W.  Richardson  John  T.  Seawell 

Henry  A.  Wise  Geo.  P.  Taylor 

J.  T.  Martin  Wm.  M.  Tredway 

Alfred  M.  Barbour  Benj.  F.  Wysor 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


19 


Hervey  Deskins 
Geo.  W.  Hull 
w.  t.  sutherlin 
Jas.  W.  Hoge 
Robert  C.  Kent 
R.  C.  Grant 
Richard  H.  Cox 
Stephen  A.  Morgan 
James  Marshall 
A.  F.  Caperton 
William  C.  Parks 
Wm.  Ballard  Preston 
Wm.  Campbell  Scott 
W.  M.  Speed 
John  T.  Thornton 
Sam'l  Woods 
John  I.  Kindred 
Harry  L.  Gillespie 
F.  M.  Cabell 
S.  L.  Graham 
Thos.  Maslin 
Edw.  D.  McGuire 
John  A,  Robinson 
C.  J.  P.  Cresap 
James  B.  Dorman 
Jubal  a.  Early 
Napoleon  B.  French 
Colbert  C.  Fugate 
Peyton  Gravely 
Fendall  Gregory,  Jr. 
Addison  Hall 
Cyrus  Hall 


J.  B.  Miller 
Horatio  G.  Moffett 
Donald  Pugh 
Peter  Saunders,  Jr. 
V.  W.  Southall 
John  Tyler 
Ro.  H.  Whitfield 
James  G.  Holladay 
Henry  H.  Masters 
Jeremiah  Morton 
Thomas  F.  Goode 
George  William  Brent 
Wm.  H.  B.  Custis 
W.  T.  Cooper 
Robt.  E.  Cowan 
Wm.  L.  Goggin 
John  Goode,  Jr. 
FiELDEN  L.  Hale 
Thos.  Branch 
W.  P.  Cecil 
John  A.  Campbell 
John  B.  Chambliss,  Sr. 
Saml.  a.  Coffman 
R.  M.  Conn 
C.  B.  Conrad 
Ross  G.  Conrad 
John  Cutchen 
Saml.  Price 
Timothy  Rives 
Charles  R.  Slaughter 
Alex.  H.  H.  Stuart 
Robert  H.  Turner 


20 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


James  H.  Cox 
Samuel  G.  Staples 
James  W.  Sheffey 
Geo.  W.  Randolph 
James  Lawson 
Andrews  Parks 
John  Janney, 

President  of  the  Convention  and 
delegate  from  Loudoun, 

Leonard  S.  Hall 
Lewis  E.  Harvie 
Peter  C.  Johnston 
Paul  M.  Noel 
Edmund  Taylor  Morris 
John  Q.  Marr 
Edward  Waller 
Marmaduke  Johnston 
Algernon  S.  Gray 
Angus  R.  Blakey 
Burwell  Spurlock 
James  P.  Holcombe 
John  N.  Hughes 
Lewis  D.  Isbell 
Walter  D.  Leake 
Chas.  K.  Mallory 
L  B.  Mallory 


John  L.  Marye 

R.  E.  Scott 

J.  D.  Sharp 

James  MacGruder  Strange 

Wm.  C.  Wickham 

Wm.  H.  Dulany 

John  Armistead  Carter 

M.  R.  H.  Garnett 

Manilius  Chapman 

G.  W.  Berlin 

Thomas  Sittington 

Franklin  P.  Turner 

J.  M.  Heck 

Eppa  Hunton 

Allen  C.  Hammond 

Alpheus  F.  Heymond 

John  I.  Kilby 

Robert  L.  Montague 

S.  W.  D.  Moore 

Wm.  S.  Neblett 

Saml.  C.  Williams 

Wm.  White 

Jas.  V.  Brooke 

Jno.  Echols 

J.  B.  Young 


One  hundred  and  forty-three  delegates  of  the  convention 
signed  this  ordinance.  All  those  who  had  opposed  secession, 
except  those  from  the  immediate  northwest,  united  in  signing  it, 
and  when  both  sides — Secessionists  and  Unionists — united  in 
signing  the  ordinance,  it  was  a  virtual  and  absolute  surrender 
of  the  doctrine  maintained  by  the  Whig  Party  prior  thereto  that 
there  was  no  right  of  secession  in  the  State. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  21 

When  these  distinguished  and  patriotic  Whigs  who  had 
opposed  secession,  signed  this  ordinance  reciting  that  Virginia 
had  the  right  to  secede,  and  that  there  had  been  abundant  cause 
given  by  the  Northern  government,  for  secession,  the  doctrine 
of  secession  was  thoroughly  estabhshed  in  the  State.  It  cannot 
be  imagined  that  these  distinguished  gentlemen  would,  by 
signing  the  ordinance,  commit  themselves  to  political  principles 
which  they  believed  to  be  unsound.  I  occasionally  meet  with 
a  Virginian  who  says  there  was  no  such  thing  as  the  right  of 
secession.  I  point  him  to  this  ordinance  of  secession  and  say 
it  is  too  late  for  anybody  to  maintain  that  doctrine  after  the 
best  men  in  the  State  not  only  agreed  to  the  doctrine,  but  acted 
upon  it. 

I  would  like  to  give  more  in  detail  the  proceedings  of  that 
Convention,  but  they  really  consisted  of  useless  debate  up  to 
the  time  the  ordinance  was  passed,  and  any  interesting  incidents 
of  a  personal  character  that  occurred  have  faded  from  my 
memory. 

Although  the  old  Whig  Party  generally  opposed  secession, 
when  the  ordinance  passed  that  Party  was  as  patriotic  and  as 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  secession  as  those  of  us  who  had  been 
originally  secessionists.  There  was  scarcely  an  exception,  and 
practically  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  Virginia  united  in 
supporting  the  State  of  Virginia  against  the  Northern  Army. 

The  Ordinance  of  Secession  by  the  terms  in  which  the  con- 
vention was  called  had  to  be  submitted  for  ratification  to  the 
people  of  the  State.  This  was  done  in  the  midst  of  preparation 
throughout  the  State  for  war  and  a  large  portion  of  the  vote 
upon  its  ratification  was  taken  in  the  camps  of  the  Confederate 
soldiers.  It  was  ratified  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  May 
23,  1861. 

While  a  member  of  that  convention  I  made  friends  of  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  State.    I  felt  greatly  com- 


22  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

plimented  by  their  friendship,  and  shall  always  think  of  it  with 
pleasure.  Among  these  were  Mr.  President  Tyler;  William 
Ballard  Preston;  Allen  Caperton;  Lieutenant-Governor  Monta- 
gue (who  was  President  of  the  Convention  after  Mr.  Janney 
resigned);  John  Baldwin;  John  Goode;  Thomas  F.  Goode; 
Professor  Holcombe;  Jere  Morton,  and  many  others. 

My  wife  and  son  were  with  me  during  the  session  of  the 
Convention,  and  we  boarded  at  the  Exchange  and  Ballard 
Hotel.  At  this  sarne  hotel  some  Massachusetts  ladies  boarded, 
and  they  had  a  little  boy  a  little  older  and  larger  than  my  son 
Eppa.  This  little  Massachusetts  boy  was  a  violent  Unionist, 
and  my  son  a  violent  Secessionist.  They  used  to  fight  every  day. 
Eppa  most  always  got  the  advantage  in  the  fight,  but  one  day 
I  was  crossing  the  bridge  which  spanned  the  street  between 
the  Exchange  and  Ballard  House  and  found  them  in  a  fight; 
Eppa  had  kicked  at  the  little  Yankee,  and  the  Yankee  caught 
his  foot  and  had  Eppa  hopping  up  and  down  in  a  pretty  bad 
way.  I  passed  on  and  did  not  release  him,  but  he  finally  released 
himself  and  got  the  better  of  the  boy. 

I  felt  I  could  not  hold  a  militia  office,  and  I  sent  my  resigna- 
tion to  John  Letcher,  who  was  then  Governor,  as  soon  as  the 
Ordinance  of  Secession  was  passed.  I  was  always  very  much 
gratified  at  the  fact  that  every  member  of  the  convention  accessi- 
ble at  that  time  (those  from  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State 
having  withdrawn  from  it)  signed  a  petition  to  the  Governor  to 
appoint  me  a  Colonel.*  This  petition  was  carried  around  the 


*WhiIe  helping  my  father  in  preparing  his  notes  for  this  autobiography 
it  was  suggested  to  me  that  perhaps  the  original  petition  to  Governor 
Letcher  could  be  found  in  the  Governor's  papers  in  the  State  Library. 
I  spent  several  hours  going  through  the  letters  and  documents  of  this 
period,  but  was  unable  to  locate  it  in  the  State  Library.  Within  a  month 
after  my  search  of  the  records,  the  original  petition  was  sent  to  my 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


23 


convention  by  my  distinguished  friend,  Ballard  Preston.  The 
Governor  sent  word  to  me  that  he  would  have  plenty  of  work 
for  me  as  Brigadier-General  of  Militia,  and  refused  to  accept  my 
resignation.  I  sent  again  a  peremptory  resignation,  informing 
him  that  if  he  would  not  appoint  me  a  Colonel,  I  intended  to 
resign  as  Brigadier-General  of  Militia  and  go  into  the  ranks  as 
a  private.  A  few  days  thereafter  I  strolled  up  to  the  Fair 
Grounds  (now  Monroe  Park)  and  was  sitting  on  the  fence 
watching  the  V.  M.  I.  cadets  drill  the  recruits.  I  was  greatly 
depressed  and  disappointed  at  not  getting  my  appointment  as 
Colonel  when  Mr.  Ballard  Preston  walked  up  to  me  and  saluted 
me  as  "Colonel  Hunton."  Governor  Letcher  had  appointed  me 
Colonel  of  the  Eighth  Virginia  Infantry.  I  was  very  much 
gratified. 
Immediately  after  my  appointment  as  Colonel  of  the  Eighth 

mother  in  December,  1929,  by  Mrs.  William  R.  Castle,  Jr.,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  a  friend  of  hers  whom  she  had  known  for  several  years  while 
staying  at  the  Hot  Springs,  with  the  following  note: 

"I  hope  you  will  be  glad  to  have  this  note.  I  found  it  where  it 
should  not  have  been  as  it  seems  to  me  it  belongs  to  Mr.  Hunton 
and  to  your  son.    I  take  great  pleasure  in  sending  it  to  you. 

(Signed)     Margaret  Castle." 

Mr.  Castle  was  at  one  time  Ambassador  to  Japan  and  is  now  (1932) 
and  for  some  years  has  been  Under  Secretary  of  State  in  the  adminis- 
trations of  Presidents  Coolidge  and  Hoover. 

The  petition  to  Governor  Letcher  follows: 

"Richmond.    May  ist,  1861. 
Gov.  Letcher: 

Dear  Sir:  The  undersigned  having  understood  that  the  friends 
of  Genl  Eppa  Hunton  of  Prince  William  will  present  his  name  to 
your  Excellency  for  some  Field  appointment  under  the  ordinances 
recently  adopted  by  the  Convention,  beg  leave  to  recommend  him 
most  cordially  to  your  favorable  consideration.    From  an  acquaint- 


24 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


Virginia  Regiment,  I  asked  and  was  granted  a  leave  of  absence 
from  the  Convention,  and  left  Richmond  to  organize  my  regi- 
ment in  Leesburg,  Loudoun  County,  Virginia,  and  to  take 
the  field. 

I  had  by  the  time  the  ordinance  of  secession  was  ratified  eight 
companies  at  Leesburg,  and  two  were  added  thereafter.  It  was 
composed  of  six  companies  from  the  county  of  Loudoun,  com- 
manded respectively  by  Captains  William  N.  Berkeley; 
Nathaniel  Heaton;  Alexander  Grayson;  William  Simpson; 
Wampler,  and  John  R.  Carter;  one  company  from  Prince 
William,  commanded  by  Captain  Edmund  Berkeley ;  two  from 

ance   with   him    in    the    Virginia   Convention,    we    feel    no    hesi- 
tation in  expressing  the  opinion  that  his  appointment  would  be 
peculiarly  fortunate  for  the  public  interests. 
Respectfully  &c 


Jeremiah  Morton 
R.  B.  Borst 
George  Wm.  Brent 
John  Q.  Marr 
G.  W.  Randolph 
W.  P.  Cecil 
Thos.  G.  Fleming 
Lewis  E.  Harris 
Jno.  Goode,  Jr. 
Samuel  G.  Staples 
John  T.  Seawell 
Wm.  L.  Goggin 
Wm.  H.  Macfarland 
Saml  A.  Coffman 
Henry  Deskins 


Robert  H.  Turner 
C.  R.  Slaughter 
Jas.  M.  Speed 
W.  C.  Scott 
G.  W.  Richardson 
Ro.  L.  Montague 
R.  E.  Scott 
J.  R.  Chambliss 
Alfred  M.  Barbour 
Sam  M.  Garland 
F.  M.  Cabell 
Thomas  F.  Goode 
Jno.  Echols 
Geo.  P.  Taylor 
Jno.  M.  Forbes 


B.  Wilson 

L.  D.  Isbell 

W.  M.  Ambler 

F.  Gregory,  Jr. 

A.  S.  Gray 

Jas.  Lawson 

Edm'd  T.  Morris 

J.  M.  Strange 

W.  D.  Leake 

Jas.  G.  HoUaday 

John  T.  Thornton 

John  Tyler 

A.  R.  Blakey 

Sam'l  Woods 

Wm.  Ballard  Preston. 


Mr.  Castle,  in  a  subsequent  letter,  told  me  that  in  reading  the  cata- 
logue of  an  autograph  dealer  he  was  attracted  by  an  item  listed  as  an 
autograph  of  President  Tyler.  From  reading  further,  he  found  that  the 
item  was  the  petition  to  Governor  Letcher,  and  purchased  the  same 
for  us. 

Eppa  Hunton,  IV. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  25 

Fauquier,  commanded  respectively  by  Captains  R.  H.  Carter 
and  R.  Taylor  Scott;  and  one  from  Fairfax  commanded  by 
Captain  James  Thrift. 

Captain  Thrift  did  not  join  my  regiment  with  his  company 
until  the  23rd  of  July,  and  Captain  Scott  about  ten  days  after- 
wards, so  that  at  the  Battle  of  Manassas  I  had  only  eight  com- 
panies in  my  regiment. 

On  May  24th,  the  evening  of  the  day  after  the  Ordinance 
of  Secession  was  ratified,  a  regiment  of  United  States  troops 
marched  into  Alexandria.  The  Marshall  House,  one  of  the 
hotels  of  that  city,  was  kept  by  James  Jackson,  who  was  a  violent 
secessionist,  and  had  a  secession  flag  flying  from  the  top  of  his 
hotel.  He  had  pledged  himself  that  he  would  kill  any  man 
who  cut  that  flag  down.  When  this  regiment  of  United  States 
soldiers  marched  into  town  and  were  informed  that  this  secession 
flag  was  flying,  the  Colonel  of  the  regiment,  Elmer  E.  Ellsworth, 
of  the  First  Zouave  Regiment,  New  York  Militia,  detailed  three 
men  and  at  their  head  marched  up  to  the  top  of  the  Marshall 
House  and  cut  the  flag  down.  As  he  returned  down-stairs 
Jackson  killed  him,  and  his  squad  immediately  killed  Jackson. 
This  was  the  first  blood  of  the  war  in  Virginia. 

Besides  my  own  regiment  I  had  in  my  command  at  Leesburg 
the  Loudoun  Cavalry,  commanded  first  by  Captain  Shreve,  and 
afterward  by  Captain  Meade;  and  a  Loudoun  battery  com- 
manded by  Captain  Rodgers. 

A  little  later  a  Maryland  company  commanded  by  Captain 
George  Gaither,  reported  to  me  at  Leesburg,  and  became  tem- 
porarily a  part  of  my  command.  This  was  a  very  fine  company 
of  soldiers,  but  its  commander  was  absolutely  worthless  as  a 
military  man,  being  excitable,  emotional  and  unreliable  in  his 
reports. 

I  devoted  myself  with  great  assiduity  to  arming,  equipping 


26  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

and  drilling  my  regiment,  and  soon  found  that  I  had  under 
my  command  a  body  of  as  good  men  as  could  be  picked  in 
the  State. 

Not  a  great  while  after  I  went  to  Leesburg  and  formed  my 
regiment,  the  United  States  forces  appeared  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  under  the  command  of  General  C.  P.  Stone,  of 
Washington  City.  This  increased  my  labor  in  guarding  the 
approaches  to  the  county.  I  had  to  keep  a  guard  at  all  the 
fords  and  ferries  of  the  Potomac  River  within  the  County  of 
Loudoun. 

General  Stone  was  a  very  superior  man — a  man  of  fine 
intelligence  and  military  attainments.  He  was  a  gentleman,  and 
conducted  the  war  in  the  most  gentlemanly  manner.  He  would 
not  allow  his  soldiers  to  cross  the  river  surreptiously  and  steal 
property  from  the  people  of  Loudoun,  and  if  he  found  out  any 
such  case  he  made  them  return  the  property.  This  did  not  suit 
the  excited  indignation  of  the  Northern  people  and  those  in 
high  command  in  the  army.   General  Stone  became  unpopular. 

Sometime  early  in  June  there  was  a  fight  gotten  up  between 
my  men  and  Stone's  men  across  the  river,  neither  party  at- 
tempting to  cross.  This  was  some  distance  up  the  river  from 
Leesburg,  and  as  soon  as  I  heard  the  firing  I  mounted  my  horse 
and  went  to  it.  There  were  no  casualties,  and  I  soon  discovered 
it  was  nothing  but  a  desultory  firing  across  the  river,  and  re- 
turned to  Leesburg.  I  was  a  little  tired.  My  general  health  was 
very  poor.  I  laid  down  upon  the  lounge  in  my  office  and  had  a 
very  severe  hemorrhage  of  the  throat.  This  was  followed  by 
many  others,  some  of  them  quite  copious. 

When  the  Federal  Army  took  possession  of  Alexandria  it 
captured  all  the  cars  and  locomotives  on  the  railroad  from 
Alexandria  to  Leesburg,  except  one  train.  This  consisted  of  a 
very  fine  locomotive  and  a  large  number  of  freight  cars,  and 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  27 

was  at  the  Leesburg  Depot.  General  Lee,  who  was  then  on 
duty  in  Richmond,  directed  me  to  burn  these  cars  and  destroy 
the  locomotive,  so  that  the  Union  forces  could  not  use  them  in 
case  they  got  possession  of  that  country.*  I  took  the  liberty  of 
separating  the  freight  cars  from  the  locomotive  and  arranging 
them  so  that  they  could  be  fired  and  burned,  at  a  moment's 
notice,  and  instead  of  destroying  the  locomotive  I  dismantled  it, 
and  sent  some  of  its  important  pieces  into  the  mountains.  I 
reported  to  General  Lee  what  I  had  done  and  he  approved  it. 
Before  the  Union  Army  took  possession  of  that  country,  this 
locomotive  was  hauled  across  the  country  and  put  upon  the 
Manassas  Gap  Railroad  at  Piedmont  (now  Deleplane).  It  took 
twelve  yoke  of  oxen  to  move  it,  and  it  was  used  by  the  Con- 
federates all  during  the  war.  I  felt  gratified  that  I  had  not 
destroyed  it. 

Captain  Gaither,  with  his  fine  Maryland  company,  was 
stationed  at  Edwards'  Ferry  to  prevent  any  crossing  from  the 
other  side  on  the  part  of  the  Union  soldiers.  One  night  in 
June  about  12  o'clock  I  received  a  dispatch  from  Gaither  that 
the  enemy  was  preparing  to  cross  the  river  at  Edwards'  Ferry 
in  large  force.  I  instructed  him  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  and 
advise  me  if  there  was  any  real  effort  made  to  cross  the  river. 
I  received  a  sensational  dispatch  from  him  every  half  hour,  in 
which  he  said  that  the  force  was  very  large  and  was  prepared 
to  embark  across  the  river.  At  last  he  reported  that  the  force 
was  crossing  the  river  in  large  numbers,  and  he  was  about  to  be 
surrounded  and  captured. 

I  could  not  conceive  that  all  this  was  untrue,  and  I  prepared 
my  command  to  fight  or  retire,  according  to  circumstances ;  set 
fire  to  the  freight  cars,  according  to  General  Lee's  orders,  and 

*0.  R.,  vol.  2,  p.  917. 


28  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

marched  to  the  edge  of  the  town,  towards  Edwards'  Ferry. 
This  was  not  long  before  day-break. 

I  heard  nothing  further  from  the  enemy;  Captain  Gaither 
presently  appeared  with  his  company  unhurt.  I  concluded  these 
reports  were  untrue;  sent  to  the  river  and  found  there  had  not 
been  a  single  effort  to  cross;  no  preparation  to  cross,  and  evi- 
dently no  idea  on  the  part  of  General  Stone  of  crossing  the 
river.  I  was  very  much  provoked  and  deeply  indignant  and 
mortified.  I  sent  Gaither  with  his  company  away,  and  he  re- 
ported to  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  at  Harpers  Ferry.  I  went 
back  into  camp  and  resumed  my  regular  duties. 

I  was  criticized  for  this,  especially  by  the  "Fire-side  Generals," 
who  said  that  I  had  become  panic-stricken  in  Leesburg  and 
burnt  up  the  cars.  I  never  heard  that  any  military  man  criticized 
me.  Every  officer,  however  small  his  command  may  be,  is 
obliged  to  rely  upon  reports  from  those  who  occupy  the  position 
of  pickets.  I  had  no  reason  to  doubt  Captain  Gaither  in  any 
particular  and  up  to  this  time  had  thought  very  highly  of  him. 

About  the  ist  of  July  the  4th  South  Carolina  Regiment  was 
sent  to  Leesburg,  and  with  it  came  Col.  N.  G.  Evans,  of  South 
Carolina.  The  regiment  was  commanded  by  Col.  Sloane. 
Evans  was  sent  along  to  take  command  of  all  the  forces  in 
Loudoun.  The  South  Carolinians  boasted  very  strongly  of  what 
they  were  going  to  do.  They  said  they  had  come  there  to  fight 
the  war  and  to  conquer  a  peace.  They  did  not  want  the  Vir- 
ginians to  do  any  of  the  fighting,  but  just  to  stand  back  and  look 
on  and  furnish  them  with  bread  and  meat.  They  would  win 
the  independence  of  the  Confederacy. 

This  talk  was  very  captivating  to  the  outsiders — especially  to 
the  young  ladies  who  had  up  to  that  time  been  very  attentive  to 
the  young  men  of  my  regiment,  but  they  deserted  us  and  went 
over  to  the  South  Carolina  boys  bodily.    They  went  so  far  as  to 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  29 

call  mine  the  "Cornstalk  Regiment,"  Our  boys  were  "cast 
down,  but  not  dismayed."  They  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  their 
way,  became  very  efficient  in  drill,  and  anxious  to  do  their  duty 
as  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy. 

About  the  15th  of  July  Col.  Evans  was  ordered  to  take  the 
South  Carolina  Regiment  back  to  Manassas,  and  I  was  left 
again  in  command  of  the  forces  in  Loudoun. 


CHAPTER  III. 


T 


HE  command  of  the  Union  forces  organizing  to  make  war 
on  the  Confederacy  in  Virginia,  was  given  to  General  Winlield 
Scott,  a  renegade  Virginian.  He  was  old,  about  75,  and  infirm, 
and  could  not  take  the  field.  He  designated  General  Irvin  Mc- 
Dowell to  take  command  of  the  army  that  was  being  collected 
south  of  the  river,  opposite  Washington,  in  order  to  commence 
the  war. 

While  McDowell  was  collecting  his  army  near  Washington, 
the  Confederate  Army  was  gathering  at  Manassas  under  the 
command  of  General  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard.  It  was  very  appar- 
ent when  McDowell  made  his  movement  the  objective  point 
would  be  Richmond,  and  that  he  would  strive  to  reach  Rich- 
mond by  going  along  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad 
(now  the  Southern)  to  Gordonsville,  and  thence  by  the  Central 
(now  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio)  Railroad,  to  Richmond. 

This  was  very  obvious,  because  otherwise  they  could  not  have 
gotten  their  supplies.  Manassas,  therefore,  became  a  strategic 
point,  and  it  was  apparent  that  the  first  struggle  would  be  for 
the  possession  of  Manassas  Junction.  At  that  point  the  Manassas 
Gap  Railroad  left  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  and  went 
through  the  Manassas  Gap  into  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  It  was, 
therefore,  an  important  point,  and  as  fast  as  our  troops  reached 
Richmond  they  vv^ere  sent  to  Manassas. 

While  McDowell  was  preparing  his  army  of  invasion  near 
Washington,  Gen.  Robert  Patterson  was  put  in  command  of 
the  Union  forces  in  the  extreme  lower  valley;  and  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  in  command  of  the  Confederates  at 
Winchester,  with  some  8,000  or  9,000  men  to  meet  Patterson. 

31 


32  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Johnston  sought  to  bring  Patterson  to  a  fight,  and  in  the  mean- 
time McDowell  got  ready  to  move. 

McDowell  reached  Fairfax  Courthouse  about  the  loth  or  12th 
of  July.  Our  forces  had  occupied  that  point,  and  on  the  ap- 
proach of  McDowell  fell  back  to  Manassas.  In  a  few  days 
McDowell  moved  his  whole  force  to  Centreville.  The  strength 
of  his  army  was  estimated  by  Beauregard  in  his  report  of  the 
Battle  of  Manassas,  at  over  50,000  men. 

McDowell  was  an  accomplished  soldier  and  a  brave  man,  and 
had  under  him  such  men  as  General  Tyler,  General  Hunter, 
General  Miles  and  General  Heintzelmann.  All  of  these  reached 
distinction  in  the  subsequent  years  of  the  war.  This  was  a 
formidable  force,  commanded  by  superior  military  men,  almost 
every  one  of  whom  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point. 

To  meet  this  force  Beauregard  had  at  Manassas  from  12,000 
to  15,000  men.  General  Johnston  had  under  his  command  at 
Winchester  about  8,000  men.  It  was  arranged  that  Johnston 
was  to  deceive  Patterson  in  the  Valley  and  bring  his  forces  to 
Manassas  and  unite  with  those  of  Beauregard.  This  would  give 
Beauregard  a  force  of  upwards  of  20,000  men. 

Beauregard  was  a  fine  soldier  and  in  the  Battle  of  Manassas 
he  had  under  him  General  Ewell,  General  "J^b"  Stuart,  General 
Early,  General  Longstreet  and  General  Kirby  Smith.  All  of 
these  attained  to  high  rank  in  the  succeeding  years  of  the  war. 
I  was  ordered  to  take  my  regiment  and  cavalry  and  artillery 
down  to  Manassas.  We  left  Leesburg  on  the  i8th  of  July.  One 
of  my  companies  in  passing  through  the  town  put  corn-stalks 
in  their  muskets  to  remind  the  girls  that  they  called  us  "The 
Corn-stalk  Regiment."  Everybody  knew  that  we  were  going 
down  to  fight,  and  the  girls  were  very  sorry  for  what  they  had 
said  and  wept  sorrowfully  about  it.  We  reached  Orris  Buckner's 
house  on  the  evening  of  the  18th,  and  spent  the  night  there. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  33 

The  next  morning  we  heard  of  the  fight  that  had  taken  place 
at  McLean's  Ford. 

I  had  been  a  resident  of  Prince  WiUiam  County  for  eighteen 
years  preceding  the  war,  and  knew  of  the  bUnd-road  that  led 
from  Centreville  to  Sudley,  and  concluded  that  McDowell  might 
use  that  road  in  a  flank  movement  on  Beauregard's  left.  I  sent 
a  picket  of  five  mounted  men  some  distance  on  this  road.  On 
the  morning  of  the  21st  this  picket  was  driven  in,  and  reported 
to  me  the  advance  of  McDowell's  army  by  this  blind-road.  I 
immediately  reported  it  to  General  Beauregard;  and  I  believe 
that  this  was  the  first  information  he  had  of  McDowell's  flank 
movement. 

General  McDowell's  first  plan  was  to  flank  Beauregard  on 
his  right.  Examination  of  the  broken  ground  on  Beauregard's 
right  about  Union  Mills,  satisfied  McDowell  that  this  was  im- 
practicable. He  then  formed  a  plan  of  battle  of  a  most  admirable 
character,  as  follows: 

A  large  force  under  the  command  of  General  Tyler  was  to 
march  up  the  turnpike  from  Alexandria  to  Warrenton  to  the 
Stone  Bridge  across  Bull  Run,  without  attempting  at  that  time 
to  pass. 

General  Heintzelmann  was  to  march  to  the  Farmers'  Ford 
two  miles  above,  without  attempting  to  pass. 

McDowell,  with  Hunter  in  command,  marched  on  this  blind- 
road  that  led  from  Centreville  to  Sudley  through  a  dense  forest 
known  only  to  the  people  of  the  immediate  neighborhood.  His 
plan  was  to  march  to  Sudley  and  then  down  Bull  Run,  uncover 
the  force  at  Farmers'  Ford,  join  McDowell's  main  body,  drive 
the  Confederates  from  the  Stone  Bridge  and  allow  General 
Tyler  to  cross  and  unite  with  McDowell,  and  then  with  his 
whole  force  march  on  Beauregard  at  Manassas.  A  compara- 
tively small  portion  of  his  force  was  left  at  Centreville. 


34 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


Nobody  can  doubt  that  this  was  a  most  admirable  plan  of 
battle,  Beauregard  divined  McDowell's  first  plan  to  attack  him 
on  the  right,  and  most  of  his  force  was  upon  that  part  of  the 
line.  Early  was  down  there;  Ewell  was  there;  Longstreet  was 
there — only  a  small  portion  of  his  command  was  up  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Stone  Bridge,  and  none  further  to  his  left  than 
the  Stone  Bridge. 

Beauregard  did  not  divine  the  change  of  the  plan  of  attack 
on  the  part  of  McDowell  until  advised  by  me  of  the  latter's 
advance  in  that  direction,  but  still  looked  for  him  to  attack 
his  right. 

McDowell's  orders  to  his  subordinates  were  to  move  at  2 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  to  reach  Sudley  and  the  Stone 
Bridge  by  daylight.  There  was  great  delay  in  the  movement 
of  McDowell's  troops.  Tyler  did  not  get  to  the  Stone  Bridge 
until  half-past  9  o'clock.  McDowell  did  not  get  to  Sudley  until 
about  10. 

Early  in  the  morning  Beauregard  discovered  this  change  on 
the  part  of  McDowell  and  made  his  arrangements  to  meet  it. 
I  was  stationed  near  the  Lewis  House,  where  I  at  once  lost  my 
cavalry  and  artillery,  which  were  placed  in  other  portions  of 
Beauregard's  army. 

I  bivouaced  near  the  Lewis  Ford  of  Bull  Run  on  the  Lewis 
farm,  with  the  49th  Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  William 
Smith.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  be  near  this  gallant,  heroic 
man.  He  was  well  stricken  in  years,  but  was  always  ready  for 
a  fight.  He  was  afterwards  made  Governor  of  Virginia  for  the 
second  time  and  Major-General  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and 
always  was  a  man  of  great  distinction  in  whatever  position  he 
was  placed. 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st,  finding  that  McDowell  had 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  35 

changed  his  plan,  Beauregard  determined  that  he  would  cross 
the  run  on  his  right  and  attack  McDowell's  left  and  rear  at 
Centreville.  He  sent  an  order  to  General  Ewell,  the  ranking 
officer,  to  make  the  movement  at  once.  By  some  means  never 
yet  accounted  for,  the  order  did  not  reach  General  Ewell. 
Beauregard  waited  for  the  movement  to  take  place,  until  he 
finally  heard  that  no  order  had  reached  Ewell,  and  that  it  was 
too  late  then  to  make  the  move.  He  had  to  meet  McDowell's 
flank  movement  on  his  left.  He  hurried  up  his  forces  as  best 
he  could.  Colonel  Evans,  with  Sloane's  South  Carolina  regi- 
ment and  Wheat's  Louisiana  Tigers,  was  placed  at  the  Stone 
Bridge  and  successfully  defended  that  place  against  the  passage 
of  General  Tyler. 

General  Johnston  had  gotten  to  Manassas  on  the  night  of  the 
20th,  and  ranking  Beauregard  was  entitled  to  the  command, 
but  with  great  generosity  he  told  Beauregard  that  as  he  had 
formed  the  plans  for  the  fight  he  might  execute  them.  He  as- 
sisted Beauregard  throughout  the  day  and  gave  him  very  ef- 
ficient aid.  Some  of  his  forces  from  Winchester  also  reached 
Manassas  on  the  night  of  the  20th.  Quite  a  number  of  them — 
more  than  half — did  not  get  there  until  the  next  day,  on  account 
of  an  accident  on  the  railroad. 

I  will  not  undertake  to  describe  in  detail  this  Battle  of 
Manassas.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  was  conducted  throughout 
most  of  the  day  with  varying  fortunes.  The  Union  force  out- 
numbered the  Confederates  more  than  two  to  one.  The  heaviest 
fighting  was  around  the  Henry  and  the  Robinson  houses,  made 
famous  in  the  history  of  the  fights.  These  houses  were  taken 
and  retaken  twice  or  three  times  during  the  day. 

My  regiment  was  stationed  behind  a  piece  of  woods,  in  reserve, 
with  Colonel  Wade  Hampton  and  his  South  Carolina  regiment 


^^  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

near-by.  The  object  of  this  was  that  we  might  be  carried  to  any 
point  that  was  most  threatened,  especially  to  defend  the  Lewis 
ford  and  the  Stone  Bridge. 

When  I  reached  Manassas  I  was  put  into  the  brigade  com- 
manded by  General  Philip  St.  George  Cocke.  This  brigade 
consisted  of  my  regiment,  the  8th;  the  i8th  under  Colonel 
Withers;  the  19th  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Strange;  the  28th 
under  Colonel  Robert  Preston;  but  although  we  were  brigaded 
we  fought  entirely  separately  during  the  whole  of  the  battle. 

General  Cocke  ordered  me  to  take  a  position  in  reserve.  I 
felt  that  I  was  no  manner  of  use,  and  was  deeply  mortified  that 
I  was  held  in  sound  of  the  fighting  and  not  allowed  to  take  part. 
I  sent  word  to  General  Cocke  three  times  to  let  me  go  to  the 
front.  He  replied  that  I  must  hold  my  position  at  all  hazards; 
that  it  was  a  very  important  one.  I  could  not  see  the  importance 
of  it  at  the  time.  Colonel  Smith,  of  the  49th  Regiment,  rode 
by  and  when  he  saw  me  said:  "What  on  earth  are  you  doing 
here?"  I  replied,  "Nothing  in  the  world,  and  I'm  exceedingly 
anxious  to  go  to  the  front,  but  General  Cocke  won't  allow  me. 
He  ordered  me  to  stay  here  and  hold  this  position  at  every 
hazard."  "Well,"  said  Colonel  Smith,  "General  Beauregard 
wants  you  at  the  front."  I  replied,  "I  want  to  go  and  will  be  a 
thousand  times  obliged  if  you  will  report  me  to  General  Beaure- 
gard and  get  him  to  give  me  orders  to  go  to  the  front."  He 
said  he  would  do  it,  and  off  he  went. 

At  that  time  the  Federal  forces  had  been  reinforced  and  had 
made  a  desperate  charge  to  recover  the  plateau  on  which  the 
Henry  and  Robinson  houses  stood,  and  were  successful. 

The  Henry  House  after  it  was  first  taken  by  the  Federal  forces 
was  defended  by  Rickett's  Battery  and  Griffin's,  and  other  guns 
besides.  Rickett's  Battery  was  probably  the  finest  in  the  United 
States,  and  it  was  taken  and  retaken  two  or  three  times  during 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  37 

the  day,  but  when  our  people  first  took  it  they  disabled  the  guns 
and  killed  the  horses  and  it  was  of  no  use  to  the  Federal  soldiers 
when  they  recovered  possession  of  it ;  but  they  had  captured  the 
Henry  House  pla':eau  for  the  second  or  third  time.  Just  at  that 
time  General  Beauregard  sent  a  staff  officer  to  me  and  ordered 
me  to  the  front  at  the  Henry  House.  When  I  got  there  the 
Federal  soldiers  were  in  possession  of  the  plateau  in  large  force, 
but  with  Harper  and  Hampton,  and  a  large  number  of  others, 
we  charged  upon  the  Federal  forces,  carried  the  place,  drove 
them  entirely  from  the  field,  and  held  possession  there  for  the 
balance  of  the  day.    This  was  my  first  experience  under  fire. 

Beauregard  was  very  much  aided  by  Kirby  Smith,  who  had 
been  delayed  in  his  passage  from  Winchester  to  Manassas  by 
this  railroad  accident,  but  when  he  reached  Gainesville  on  the 
2ist — which  was  on  the  same  'pike  leading  from  Centreville  to 
Warrenton,  and  through  the  battlefield  of  Manassas,  he  heard 
the  guns  and  instead  of  going  on  to  Manassas  he  made  a  forced 
march  down  the  turnpike,  and  struck  McDowell  in  his  right 
flank,  and  aided  very  materially  in  winning  the  victory  of  the 
day. 

McDowell's  men  never  rallied  after  this  last  repulse  from 
the  Henry  House.  A  panic  spread  upon  them,  and  such  a  scene 
of  confusion  has  never  been  witnessed  on  a  battlefield.  They 
threw  down  their  guns,  refused  to  obey  the  orders  of  their  of- 
ficers, and  ran  pell-mell,  each  man  going  the  same  route  by 
which  he  came. 

After  I  had  united  in  this  charge  at  the  Henry  House  and 
had  repulsed  the  enemy,  I  drew  my  men  back  into  a  ravine 
to  protect  them  from  stray  bullets  that  were  still  flying  over  the 
battlefield,  and  rode  up  on  the  hill  where  Beauregard  and  several 
of  his  officers  were  discussing  the  movement  of  the  enemy  over 
at  the  Pittsylvania  House,  some  distance  from  us  to  the  north. 


38  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

The  question  they  were  discussing  was  whether  it  was  a  retreat 
or  a  movement  on  our  right.  The  enemy  at  that  point  was 
moving  in  beautiful  style.  It  was  that  portion  of  the  Federal 
Army  which  had  the  regulars  in  it.  They  had  not  broken  at 
that  moment  and  were  marching  in  very  fine  order.  After 
discussing  whether  it  was  a  movement  on  our  right  or  a  retreat, 
Beauregard  said  "It  is  a  movement  on  our  right  and  I  must  form 
my  lines  back  to  the  rear  of  my  present  line."  He  turned  to  me 
and  ordered  me  to  take  my  regiment  at  a  double-quick  and 
interpose  between  him  and  this  approaching  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  to  hold  it  in  check  as  long  as  possible  until  he  could  form 
his  line  in  the  rear. 

It  was  a  very  ugly  order  for  one  regiment  of  eight  companies 
to  hold  that  force,  but  I  put  my  men  at  a  double-quick  and 
found  the  best  position  I  could;  formed  my  line  of  battle,  and 
went  to  a  higher  point  still  to  see  what  had  become  of  this 
marching  column.  To  my  infinite  delight  I  found  it  had  broken 
all  to  pieces  and  was  running,  like  the  balance  of  McDowell's 
army. 

I  had  up  to  that  time  passed  with  my  soldiers  for  an  exceed- 
ingly pious  man,  but  I  lost  my  reputation  as  such,  then  and 
there.  After  I  discovered  that  this  force  that  I  thought  I  would 
have  to  fight,  had  broken  into  pieces,  I  was  extremely  relieved 
and  galloped  back  to  my  regiment,  only  a  hundred  yards  off; 
and  they  said,  and  proved,  that  I  proclaimed  with  a  hearty  oath 
that  the  Yankees  were  running  like  dogs.  I  was  utterly  uncon- 
scious of  using  an  oath,  but  have  no  doubt  I  did.  They  proved 
it  on  me  conclusively,  and  I  never  recovered  my  reputation  for 
piety  during  the  war. 

The  retreat  of  McDowell  exceeded  anything  I  have  ever  seen 
or  read  of.  His  men  threw  down  their  guns,  broke  ranks, 
wagons  were  in  full  speed  going  towards  Centreville  and  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  39 

Stone  Bridge  was  crowded  with  fugitives.  A  wagon  broke 
down  on  the  bridge  and  it  became  blocked.  This  increased  the 
confusion.  Our  cavalry  came  to  the  front  then  and  pursued  the 
enemy  almost  to  Centreville,  rendering  very  effective  and  valiant 
service. 

No  army  ever  fought  more  valiantly.  No  soldiers  ever  showed 
more  heroism  than  the  Confederates  under  Beauregard  at 
Manassas.  We  had  no  regular  troops.  They  were  all  raw. 
None  of  them  had  ever  participated  in,  or  witnessed  a  battle, 
and  yet  no  regular  soldiers  ever  performed  such  feats  of  valor 
as  Beauregard's  men  on  that  occasion.  There  is  no  instance  that 
ever  reached  me  of  any  one,  whether  he  was  officer  or  private, 
who  did  not  fight  as  if  his  very  existence  depended  upon  success. 
They  were  fighting  for  their  homes;  they  were  fighting  for  their 
firesides;  they  were  fighting  for  their  rights,  their  wives  and 
their  children. 

I  was  very  proud  of  the  conduct  of  my  regiment.  When  I 
received  the  order  of  Beauregard  to  go  to  the  front,  every  man 
sprang  to  his  feet  with  alacrity.  We  went  at  "double-quick," 
and  every  man  in  the  regiment  fought  like  a  hero. 

In  an  account  of  the  battle,  written  by  T.  B.  Warder  and 
James  Catlett,  soon  after  it  took  place,  they  said: 

"The  8th  Virginia,  Colonel  Hunton,  bivouaced  on  the  Lewis 
Farm  on  the  preceding  night,  and  took  position  on  the  morning 
of  the  2ist  by  a  strip  of  woods  skirting  a  small  branch  running 
along  the  west  side  of  the  Lewis  hill  and  emptying  into  Bull 
Run  above  the  Lewis  ford,  and  within  a  thousand  yards  of  the 
mouth  of  Young's  Branch.  From  this  position  it  was  held  in 
readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's  notice  to  the  support  of  the 
regiment  stationed  at  Beale's,  or  Lewis'  ford,  should  the  enemy 
undertake  to  cross  at  either  of  these  points.  The  enemy  having 
withdrawn  from  those  fords,  Col.  Hunton  marched  his  regiment 


40  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

directly  into  the  fight,  drew  them  up  into  line  immediately  in 
front  of  the  enemy  occupying  the  Henry  hill,  and  charged  with 
other  regiments  engaged,  directly  towards  the  Henry  House, 
driving  the  enemy  from  its  position  on  the  hill  back  into  the 
road,  continuing  the  charge,  passing  on  either  side  of  the  Henry 
House,  until  the  enemy  were  completely  routed  and  fled  in  all 
directions. 

"The  coolness,  courage  and  bravery  evinced  by  these  men  is 
worthy  of  all  praise,  and  is  a  sure  guarantee  that  in  all  future 
conflicts  with  the  enemy  they  will  secure  fresh  laurels,  and  an 
increased  portion  of  their  country's  gratitude." 

General  Beauregard,  in  his  admirable  report  of  the  battle*, 
says: 

"Colonels  Harper,  Hunton  and  Hampton,  commanding  regi- 
ments of  the  reserve,  attracted  my  notice  by  their  soldierly  ability, 
as  with  their  gallant  commands.  They  restored  the  fortunes  of 
the  day,  at  a  time  when  the  enemy  by  a  last  desperate  onset, 
with  heavy  odds,  had  driven  our  forces  from  the  fiercely  con- 
tested ground  around  the  Henry  and  Robinson  houses.  Veterans 
could  not  have  behaved  better  than  these  well  led  regiments." 

I  felt  very  proud  of  my  dear  boys,  and  believe  they  felt  proud 
of  me.    I  hope  so. 

While  the  cavalry  was  pursuing  the  enemy  and  bringing  in 
prisoners  and  horses,  guns  and  artillery,  the  alarm  was  started 
that  an  advance  was  being  made  upon  our  right  at  the  town  of 
Manassas.  I  was  ordered  immediately  to  march  with  my  regi- 
ment to  Manassas  to  meet  this  new  movement.  It  was  a  false 
alarm,  and  when  I  arrived  everything  was  quiet.  There  was 
no  more  fighting  that  night. 

Beauregard's  victory  on  the  21st  of  July  demoralized  the 

*0.  R.,  vol.  2,  p.  500. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  41 

Federal  Army  absolutely  and  entirely,  and  the  question  arose, 
and  has  never  been  satisfactorily  answered,  why  Beauregard 
did  not  pursue  the  enemy  and  take  Washington  City?  There 
was  scarcely  an  organized  command  in  the  retreat.  Those  that 
had  the  spirit  to  fight  were  broken  down.  It  is  said  that  General 
McDowell  was  in  the  saddle  thirty-two  hours  consecutively  and 
when  he  reached  Fairfax  and  attempted  to  write  a  dispatch  to 
Washington  he  fell  asleep  while  writing  it.  I  mention  this  to 
show  that  there  was  nobody  left  that  could  fight,  and  it  was 
apparent  to  my  mind  that  if  they  had  been  pursued  with  any- 
thing like  diligence  and  push  we  would  have  gone  into  Wash- 
ington City  without  the  loss  of  many  men. 

The  streets  of  Alexandria  were  thronged  with  stragglers,  with- 
out officers  and  without  organization,  and  it  was  said,  I  don't 
know  how  truly,  that  the  administration  was  packing  up  its 
archives  and  getting  ready  to  leave  in  case  of  attack  made  by 
Beauregard. 

It  was  said  that  our  commanding  officers,  Generals  Johnston 
and  Beauregard,  did  not  make  the  pursuit  because  they  did  not 
have  the  transportation;  but  that  was  a  wholly  insufficient  reason. 
I  judge  the  balance  of  the  army  very  much  by  my  own  regiment. 
We  would  have  marched  to  Washington  without  a  mouthful 
to  eat,  and  without  a  wagon  to  carry  anything  for  us,  and  the 
temper  of  the  army  was  like  the  temper  of  my  regiment.  They 
would  have  gone  without  a  whisper  of  objection,  and  without 
the  slightest  hesitation.  I  know  a  good  portion  of  Beauregard's 
army  was  more  broken  down  than  my  regiment,  because  they 
had  fought  longer  during  the  day,  but  still  they  could  have 
gotten  a  little  sleep  and  followed  us  in  time  to  have  appeared 
before  Washington  the  next  morning.    But  it  was  not  to  be. 

Our  boys  who  had  fought  so  valiantly  and  won  such  a  glorious 
victory,  concluded  that  the  war  was  over,  and  every  man  of 


42  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

them  wanted  to  go  home.  A  victory  is  demoralizing,  as  well  as 
a  defeat,  and  it  was  sometime  before  we  could  reduce  the  Con- 
federate Army  at  Manassas  to  order  and  discipline.  The  soldiers 
did  not  believe  that  there  would  be  any  more  fighting. 

When  the  State  of  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union  we  be- 
lieved that  we  had  a  perfect  right  to  withdraw,  and  had  no 
intention  in  the  w^orld  of  disturbing  the  Union  forces,  or  inter- 
fering with  the  United  States  Government  in  any  way;  and  if 
they  had  remained  on  the  north  side  of  the  Potomac,  we  would 
have  kept  our  place  on  the  south  side,  and  there  would  have 
been  no  shedding  of  blood.  All  that  Virginia  asked  was  to  be 
let  alone,  to  pursue  her  course  under  the  new  order  of  things 
brought  about  by  secession. 

When  the  Federal  Government  invaded  the  State  of  Virginia 
without  provocation,  and  undertook  to  drive  our  people  away 
by  violence  and  force,  and  opened  their  guns  upon  us,  to 
slaughter  them  by  w^holesale,  there  is  no  wonder  that  our  people 
fought  with  desperation. 

I  wished  to  embrace  this  opportunity  to  pay  a  visit,  however 
short,  to  my  wife  and  son  at  Brentsville,  only  five  miles  away. 
When  I  applied  to  Beauregard  he  refused  positively  to  let  me 
go.  I  said  I  wanted  to  see  my  wife.  He  said  "There  are  no 
such  things  as  wives  now;  you  are  wedded  to  the  Confederate 
cause."  I  applied  again  the  next  day,  and  he  gave  me  four  hours. 
I  made  the  quickest  time  on  record,  on  my  splendid  war  horse 
"Morgan,"  and  spent  two  hours  and  a  half  with  my  wife  and  son. 

My  wife's  health  had  been  very  poor.  She  had  suffered  very 
much  from  disease,  and  still  more  from  anxiety  for  her  husband 
and  her  country.  She  was  in  sound  of  the  fighting  of  the  21st, 
and  laid  down  and  put  a  feather  pillow  over  her  head  to  keep 
out  the  sound,  but  she  heard  the  firing — not  only  the  artillery 
but  the  musketry — all  day  long,  and  knew  that  I  was  in  the  fight. 
Her  anxiety  can  be  better  imagined  than  described. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  43 

When  we  went  down  from  Leesburg  to  the  light  at  Manassas 
Major  Norborne  Berkley,  afterwards  Colonel  of  the  Regiment, 
insisted  upon  taking  a  daguerrean  saloon,  an  old-time  photo- 
graph gallery  on  wheels,  as  my  headquarters.  I  reluctantly 
agreed  to  it,  and  with  four  horses  we  got  the  saloon  down  to 
Manassas.  After  the  fight  was  over  and  I  moved  my  regiment 
to  the  little  town  of  Manassas,  I  occupied  the  saloon  as  my  head- 
quarters. It  rained  heavily  the  next  day  after  the  fight,  and  the 
old  saloon  leaked  dreadfully.  It  was  supposed  by  the  victorious 
army  of  Beauregard  to  be  an  enterprise  of  some  daguerrean 
artist,  and  hundreds  of  soldiers  came  to  my  headquarters  to 
have  their  pictures  taken  to  be  sent  home  to  their  wives,  their 
sisters,  their  mothers  or  their  sweethearts.  I  was  very  much 
annoyed  by  it,  and  on  our  return  to  Leesburg  the  old  saloon  gave 
out  and  broke  dov/n  about  every  five  miles,  and  v/e  had  to  incur 
a  delay  to  repair  it ;  but  we  finally  got  it  back,  to  my  very  great 
relief.  I  never  fooled  with  a  daguerrean  saloon  as  headquarters 
during  the  balance  of  the  war. 

There  is  a  romance  connected  with  the  Battle  of  Manassas. 
When  General  Beauregard  had  his  army  at  Fairfax  Courthouse 
there  were  there  four  noted  rebel  girls.  They  were  very  beau- 
tiful, attractive  and  violent  in  their  declarations  of  loyalty  to  the 
Confederacy.  They  could  not  tolerate  the  bare  mention  of  a 
Yankee  soldier.  When  Beauregard  retired  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Federal  army  these  four  girls  became,  strange  to  tell,  as 
great  belles  with  the  Yankee  officers  as  they  had  been  with  the 
Confederate  officers.  They  were  Antonia  Ford ;  Florence  Brent; 
Dollie  Waters  and  Miss  Zimmerman  of  Alexandria.  Before 
the  war  ended  all  four  had  married  Yankee  officers.  They 
had  not  only  forgotten  to  hate,  but  learned  to  love  a  "Yankee." 

The  most  noted  of  the  four  was  Antonia  Ford.  She  was  so 
much  admired  by  the  Yankee  officers  and  had  so  much  influence 
over  at  least  one  of  them,  that  she  obtained  their  military 


44  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

secrets — learned  their  plans  and  when  they  meant  to  attack 
Beauregard  at  Manassas.  She  was  then  still  a  "stout  Rebel." 
She  made  her  way  through  the  lines  and  met  General  }.  E.  B. 
Stuart  with  his  gallant  cavalry,  and  disclosed  to  that  valiant 
soldier  the  Yankee  plans.  General  Stuart,  with  the  gallantry 
that  distinguished  him,  appointed  her  on  his  staff. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  she  became  homesick.  In  attempting 
to  pass  the  Federal  lines  she  was  captured  and  sent  to  the  old 
Capitol  prison  as  a  spy.  Major  J.  E.  Willard,  of  the  Commissary 
Department,  saw  her;  fell  violently  in  love  with  her,  procured 
her  release,  and  married  her.  He  was  rich  then,  and  became 
afterward  enormously  wealthy.  She  died  early,  leaving  one 
son,  Joseph  E.  Willard,  who  was  raised  by  his  mother's  family. 
He  has  always  resided  in  Virginia — has  become  one  of  its  best 
citizens,  is  now  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  a  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor. He  has  inherited  his  father's  immense  wealth  and  fills 
with  ability  all  the  positions  assigned  to  him. 

We  made  our  march  to  Leesburg,  the  citizens  all  along  the 
road  greeting  the  victorious  soldiers  with  tumultuous  joy,  and 
welcoming  their  safe  return  to  the  County  of  Loudoun. 

We  stopped  on  the  south  side  of  Goose  Creek,  at  Ball's  Mill. 
I  named  my  camp  "Camp  Berkeley."  This  was  in  compliment 
to  four  brothers:  Norborne  Berkeley,  who  was  the  Major  of  the 
regiment;  Captain  Edmund  and  Captain  William  Berkeley,  and 
Lieutenant  Charles  F.  Berkeley.  They  were  four  of  the  bravest, 
noblest,  most  patriotic  and  unselfish  men  I  met  in  the  war.  They 
were  always  ready  for  any  duty  they  were  called  upon  to  per- 
form, and  always  did  it  with  alacrity,  courage  and  efficiency. 
I  have  always  been  thankful  that  the  four  brothers  survived  the 
war.  One  of  them,  Charles  F.  Berkeley,  died  soon  after  the  war 
ended,  with  consumption. 

After  remaining  at  Camp  Berkeley  a  while  I  moved  my  regi- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  45 

ment  to  Claggett's  field,  near  the  town  of  Leesburg.  We  were 
all  perfectly  delighted  to  get  back  to  dear  old  Loudoun,  and  the 
people  were  all  delighted  to  see  us.  They  were  amongst  the  best 
people  I  ever  saw.  A  portion  of  them  were  disloyal  to  the  Con- 
federacy, but  these  were  Germans  and  Quakers.  Their  religious 
belief  put  them  in  opposition  to  the  war,  and  finally  put  them 
on  the  other  side  in  hostility  to  the  Confederate  forces.  With 
the  exception  of  these  the  people  of  Loudoun  were  a  unit  in 
support  of  the  Confederate  cause,  and  sent  as  many  troops,  in 
proportion  to  the  population,  as  any  other  part  of  the  State. 

I  was  then  again  in  command  of  that  portion  of  the  country 
embracing  Loudoun  County  and  the  Potomac  River  from 
Harper's  Ferry  to  Drainesville.  Not  long  afterward  General 
Beauregard  sent  to  Leesburg,  under  the  command  of  General 
N.  G.  Evans  (who  behaved  so  gallantly  as  Colonel,  in  the  Battle 
of  Manassas,  and  for  which  he  was  promoted),  the  13th,  17th 
and  1 8th  Mississippi  Regiments.  These  regiments  had  recently 
arrived  at  Manassas,  and  very  many  of  the  soldiers  were  laid  up 
with  the  measles.  They  were  sent  to  Leesburg  to  increase  the 
force  there,  and  to  give  the  sick  soldiers  a  chance  to  get  well  in 
that  fine  country.  Evans,  now  General,  was  then  in  command 
of  these  Mississippi  Regiments,  my  own  regiment,  a  portion  of 
cavalry,  and  one  battery  of  the  Richmond  Howitzers. 

Soon  after  this  I  was  taken  with  a  violent  attack  of  fistula. 
I  suffered  from  this  trouble  during  the  entire  war,  and,  although 
I  was  operated  on  several  times,  it  never  healed  until  after  the 
war.  I  suffered  intensely,  and  was  laid  up  in  Leesburg  for  some 
time  while  my  regiment  was  six  or  eight  miles  to  the  west  of  the 
town.  I  was  attended  by  Dr.  Armistead  Mott,  of  Leesburg. 
Under  his  advice,  about  the  loth  of  October  I  borrowed  a  spring 
wagon  from  Mrs.  George  Carter,  of  Oatlands,  hitched  my  war 
horse,  old  "Morgan,"  to  it,  and  went  down  to  my  brother's, 


46  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Silas  B.  Hunton,  at  "Mt.  Hope."  I  had  to  put  my  camp  bed  into 
this  wagon,  and  was  carried  there  on  the  bed.  I  found  my  dear 
wife  and  son,  my  dear  mother,  and  my  youngest  sister,  Mary 
Brent,  with  my  brother  and  his  wife.  I  was  attended  while  there 
by  Dr.  Edgar  Moss,  who  married  my  cousin  Mildred  Hunton 
and  lived  two  miles  away,  at  the  old  Hunton  residence — the  resi- 
dence of  the  first  Hunton  that  ever  located  in  that  county. 

I  did  not  get  any  better,  I  suffered  very  severely  the  whole 
time.  It  was  a  satisfaction  to  be  with  my  wife  and  son,  and 
mother,  brother  and  sisters.  About  the  17th  or  i8th  of  October  I 
became  satisfied  that  there  was  a  movement  on  foot  in  the  army, 
and  a  fight  impending.  I  announced  my  determination  to  re- 
turn to  my  regiment.  It  was  violently  opposed,  but  I  felt  it  to 
be  my  duty  to  make  an  effort  to  go  with  the  brave  boys  who  had 
stood  so  nobly  by  me  at  Manassas.  I  put  my  bed  in  my  wagon 
and  took  leave  of  them  all,  and  lying  down  made  my  trip  to 
Leesburg.  General  Evans  had  become  afraid  of  a  flank  move- 
ment up  the  Aldie  Turnpike,  which  ran  from  Alexandria,  by 
Fairfax  Courthouse  and  Aldie,  to  the  Snickersville  Gap  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  Mountains.  To  avoid  the  danger,  as  he  believed, 
arising  from  this  flank  movement,  he  retreated  to  Carter's  Mill, 
about  five  miles  from  Leesburg.  As  soon  as  he  reported  this 
movement  to  General  Beauregard,  Beauregard  wrote  him  a 
strong  letter  in  which  he  told  Evans  that  Leesburg  must  be  held 
at  all  hazards,  and  that  he  must  return  to  Leesburg  or  send  force 
enough  there  to  hold  the  place. 

It  was  evident  to  Beauregard  at  that  time  that  General  Stone, 
who  was  still  in  command  across  the  river,  wanted  to  force  or 
maneuver  Evans  from  Leesburg,  join  a  force  sent  up  the 
Aldie  Turnpike,  and  flank  Johnston  and  Beauregard  at  Centre- 
ville  and  Manassas ;  and  for  this  reason  Beauregard  was  exceed- 
ingly anxious  that  Evans  should  hold  Leesburg.  Upon  receiving 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  47 

this  letter  from  Beauregard,  General  Evans  moved  his  force 
back  to  Leesburg.  He  put  the  three  Mississippi  regiments  down 
between  the  Burnt  Bridge,^  which  was  a  bridge  over  Goose  Creek, 
on  the  Little  River  Turnpike,  and  Edwards'  Ferry. 

On  the  evening  of  the  19th  when  I  reached  Leesburg,  I  found 
my  regiment  camped  in  Claggett's  field  where  I  had  left  it. 
I  can  hardly  describe  the  joy  of  my  soldiers  at  my  return.  At 
that  time  they  didn't  feel  like  they  could  fight  under  anybody 
but  myself,  but  they  soon  learned  to  fight  willingly  and  gallantly 
under  any  leader.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tebbs,  who  had  been 
assigned  to  the  regiment  sometime  before  the  Battle  of  Man- 
assas, was  considered  by  them  too  excitable  for  a  safe  com- 
mander. They  had  trusted  and  tried  me  at  First  Manassas; 
I  had  managed  them  well,  and  taken  care  of  them,  and  under 
my  guidance  they  had  been  highly  complimented  by  Beauregard 
in  his  report. 

The  next  morning,  on  the  20th,  we  were  ordered  to  the  Burnt 
Bridge  over  Goose  Creek.  This  was  intended  by  General  Evans 
to  meet  the  movement  of  General  McCall,  who  was  reported  to 
be  advancing  with  a  large  force  of  the  enemy  up  the  Little  River 
Turnpike,  and  whose  heavy  cannon  we  could  hear  at  intervals. 

It  turned  out  that  this  movement  of  McCall's  was  a  mere 
reconnaissance  in  force. 

In  the  meantime.  Stone  sent  across  the  river  at  Edwards'  Ferry 
a  regiment,  or  brigade,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Gorman. 
The  three  Mississippi  Regiments  were  placed  to  meet  this  force. 

It  developed  that  Stone's  plan  was  to  make  this  demonstra- 
tion at  Edwards'  Ferry,  while  he  crossed  a  larger  force  at  Har- 
rison's Island,  where  he  expected  to  find  but  little  opposition, 
and  when  he  had  overcome  the  small  force  at  Harrison's  land- 
ing, or  Ball's  Bluff  (as  the  place  on  the  Virginia  side  was  called), 
he  would  march  down  the  river,  attack  the  Confederates  in  the 


48  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

left  flank,  at  Edwards'  Ferry,  while  Gorman  took  them  in  front, 
and  drive  Evans  and  his  command  away  from  that  country.* 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  a  portion  of  Colonel  Deven's 
15th  Massachusetts  Regiment  crossed  the  river  at  Harrison's 
Island  and  undertook  to  find  out  what  force  General  Evans 
had  around  Leesburg.  They  encountered  Duffs  company  of 
the  17th  Mississippi,  and  were  badly  used  by  Captain  Duff. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Jennifer,  with  four  companies  of  infantry — 
one  from  the  13th,  one  from  the  17th  and  two  from  the  i8th 
Mississippi  Regiments,  and  three  companies  of  cavalry,  went 
to  the  support  of  Captain  Duff.  He  then  had  a  force  of  about 
325  men  under  him.  Colonel  Devens  had  also  been  reinforced, 
and  his  command  amounted  to  about  800  men. 

There  was  heavy  skirmishing  between  the  two  opposing 
parties  for  about  an  hour,  when  Colonel  Devens  retired.  The 
Federal  force  was  then  increased  by  the  20th  Massachusetts 
under  Colonel  Lee;  the  42nd  New  York  under  Colonel  Cogs- 
well (called  the  Tammany  Regiment);  the  ist  Rhode  Island 
Artillery,  consisting  of  two  smooth  bore  and  one  rifle  cannon — 
all  under  the  command  of  General  Baker.  This  swelled  Gen- 
eral Baker's  force  to  about  2,000  men.  They  were  posted  in  a 
strong  position  on  the  further  side  of  a  small  clearing  in  a  large 
body  of  woods.  I  was  ordered  to  leave  one  company — Capt. 
Wampler's — at  Burnt  Bridge  and  meet  this  force.  I  ordered  my 
gallant  regiment  to  advance  in  line  of  battle  through  the  woods; 
found  there  were  no  Confederates  in  my  front,  and  threw  out 
a  line  of  skirmishers.  This  line  of  skirmishers  soon  struck  the 
enemy.  I  pushed  my  regiment  on  as  vigorously  as  possible,  and 
struck  Baker  in  line  of  battle  at  the  further  end  of  the  woods. 


♦See  Appendix  I,  p.  237. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  49 

This  was  a  strong  position.  It  was  at  the  crest  of  a  hill.  The 
ground  ascended  up  to  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  descended 
from  it  across  a  small  open  field  of  about  ten  acres. 

I  charged  this  line  of  battle  with  the  Confederate  yell,  and 
although  nearly  four  times  as  strong  in  numbers  as  my  com- 
mand, after  a  hard  fight  we  drove  them  from  this  strong  posi- 
tion and  occupied  it  myself.  General  Baker  retired  his  com- 
mand to  the  farther  part  of  this  little  cleared  field.  His  men 
fought  very  gallantly,  and  his  three  pieces  of  artillery  played 
upon  us,  though  with  but  little  effect,  during  the  whole  of  the 
fight  for  this  position. 

I  was  assailed  repeatedly  during  the  day  and  had  to  fight  hard 
to  maintain  this  position,  but  it  was  a  very  strong  one  and  a  very 
well  protected  one  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  when  we  would 
fight  and  drive  them  back  I  would  retire  my  line  of  battle  some 
twenty  yards,  and  obtain  the  protection  not  only  of  the  woods, 
but  of  the  crest  of  the  hill. 

The  fight  kept  up  between  Baker  and  my  regiment  for  several 
hours.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Jennifer  with  his  cavalry  occupied 
a  position  on  my  left  and  made  me  feel  safe  against  any  flank 
movement  in  that  direction.  He  did  little  or  no  fighting  after 
I  reached  the  ground.  A  Company  of  the  Richmond  Howitzers, 
as  gallant  and  skillful  a  body  of  men  as  ever  met  the  enemy, 
were  of  no  use  because  we  were  fighting  in  the  woods  and 
there  was  no  position  which  they  could  take  to  reach  the  enemy, 
so  I  had  to  receive  the  artillery  fire  of  the  enemy,  without  any 
return  artillery  fire  from  us. 

E.  V.  White,  a  private  in  Captain  Mason's  company  of 
cavalry,  then  on  the  river  near  Harper's  Ferry,  soon  reported  to 
me  for  any  duty  he  could  perform.  I  found  him  most  valuable, 
intelligent,  efficient  and  brave.    He  was  the  owner  of  a  farm 


50  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

at  White's  Ferry,  a  few  miles  above  Ball's  Bluff,  and  knew  every 
foot  of  the  country  intimately.  I  made  very  much  use  of  him 
during  the  day. 

About  half -past  two  o'clock  I  felt  certain  that  the  enemy  was 
being  reinforced  and  I  sent  E.  V.  White  (known  to  all  of  us  as 
"Lige"  White)  to  General  Evans  to  send  me  reinforcements, 
the  three  Mississippi  Regiments  still  being  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Edwards'  Ferry.  "Lige"  White  came  back  with  a  message 
from  General  Evans,  "Tell  Hunton  to  fight  on."  I  did  fight  on, 
but  it  soon  became  apparent  that  Gorman,  at  Edwards'  Ferry, 
did  not  mean  to  join  the  fray.  He  was  evidently  placed  there 
to  act  when  Baker  had  carried  Ball's  Bluff.  My  ammunition 
was  getting  low,  and  I  sent  Major  Berkeley  twice  or  three  times 
to  General  Evans  for  a  supply.  I  got  none  at  all,  and  no  excuse 
for  the  failure  to  send  it.  At  3:30  I  again  sent  "Lige"  White  to 
General  Evans  to  inform  him  that  my  ammunition  was  ex- 
hausted, and  unless  I  was  reinforced  and  supplied  with  am- 
munition I  would  be  unable  to  hold  my  position.  General  Evans 
replied,  "Tell  Hunton  to  hold  the  ground  till  every  damn  man 
falls." 

As  I  have  stated,  when  I  met  the  enemy  at  the  edge  of  the 
woods  and  repulsed  them  on  several  occasions,  I  retired  my 
regiment  some  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  for  the  protection  of  the 
ground  and  the  woods.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tebbs  and  a  portion 
of  the  regiment  misunderstood  one  of  these  orders  and  when 
I  ordered  them  to  retire  to  this  protected  position  they  thought 
it  was  an  order  to  retreat,  and  Colonel  Tebbs  and  a  large  portion 
of  the  regiment  left  the  ground.  I  was  not  apprised  of  it.  No 
company  retreated  in  full — only  portions  of  certain  companies 
retreated.  When  "Lige"  White  was  returning  to  me  with  the 
message  from  Evans  to  fight  until  "the  last  man  fell,"  and  with 
the  further  information  that  he  would  send  me  the  17th  and 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  51 

i8th  Mississippi  as  reinforcements,  he  found  Colonel  Tebbs  and 
those  of  the  8th  Regiment  that  had  retreated  with  him,  some 
four  or  five  hundred  yards  in  rear  of  the  line  of  battle.  He 
asked  Colonel  Tebbs  what  was  the  matter — if  I  was  whipped. 
Colonel  Tebbs  said  that  he  didn't  know,  but  that  he  under- 
stood me  to  order  a  retreat.  It  looks  a  little  curious  that  this 
portion  of  my  regiment  should  leave  the  fight,  and  leave  more 
than  three-fourths  of  it  behind  and  believe  that  I  had  ordered 
a  retreat;  but  still,  Colonel  Tebbs  was  a  highly  honorable  man; 
I  had  no  reason  to  doubt  his  courage,  and  I  determined  to  ac- 
cept his  statement. 

"Lige"  White  immediately  galloped  up  to  me  to  know  what 
was  the  meaning  of  Colonel  Tebbs  and  these  men  being  out 
there  at  the  rear,  and  if  I  had  ordered  a  retreat.  I  said,  "No,  go 
and  bring  them  right  back  to  the  line  of  battle."  "Lige" 
galloped  back  to  Colonel  Tebbs,  and  as  soon  as  he  convinced 
him  that  I  was  still  fighting,  and  not  retreating.  Colonel  Tebbs 
and  a  portion  of  the  men  with  him  returned  to  the  line  of  battle. 
Some  of  them  went  home,  but  not  many. 

Colonel  Burt,  of  the  i8th  Mississippi,  came  up  on  my  right 
and  formed  his  line  of  battle  about  three  hundred  yards  from 
me.  Before  he  reached  the  ground  I  had  determined  to  charge 
the  enemy.  Many  of  my  soldiers  were  without  a  cartridge. 
I  made  them  divide  up  so  as  to  give  each  man  one,  and  deter- 
mined to  charge  and  rely  on  the  bayonet.  It  was  a  most  gallant 
and  splendid  charge.  We  drove  the  enemy  before  us  with  great 
gallantry,  and  pushed  them  into  the  woods  that  skirted  and 
concealed  the  bluff  just  above  the  bank  of  the  river. 

I  halted  my  regiment  for  the  purpose  of  giving  them  a  chance 
to  breathe.  They  had  been  fighting  from  half-past  twelve 
o'clock  till  night  and  were  nearly  exhausted.  In  the  meantime. 
Colonel  Featherstone,  of  the  17th  Mississippi,  had  formed  his 


52  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

line  of  battle  between  me  and  the  i8th  Mississippi.  The  i8th 
Mississippi  charged  the  enemy  with  great  gallantry,  led  by 
Colonel  Burt,  one  of  the  best  men  of  the  Mississippi  regiments. 
They  were  met  by  a  galling  fire  from  a  portion  of  the  enemy 
behind  a  natural  earthwork,  and  at  the  first  fire  the  i8th  Missis- 
sippi Regiment  suffered  very  heavily — indeed  suffered  all  of  its 
losses  in  that  one  fire.  Colonel  Burt  himself  was  mortally 
wounded. 

When  I  halted  my  regiment  I  found  that  the  17th  Mississippi 
had  formed  their  line  of  battle  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  I 
rode  back  and  said,  "Colonel  Featherstone,  for  God's  sake  charge 
the  enemy  and  drive  them  down  the  bluff."  He  said,  "I  don't 
know  the  ground."  I  said,  "I  will  lead  you."  He  said,  "I  don't 
want  anybody  to  lead  us ;  I  want  a  guide."  "Lige"  White  appeared 
at  that  moment,  as  he  always  did  when  he  was  most  needed, 
and  I  said,  "Lige,  my  boy,  lead  these  men  into  the  fight."  He  said, 
"With  the  greatest  pleasure."  He  placed  himself  in  front  of 
the  17th  Regiment,  and  Colonel  Featherstone  gave  the  order  to 
charge,  and  they  made  an  exceedingly  gallant  charge.  The 
17th  and  1 8th  together  drove  the  enemy  in  front  down  the  bluff, 
and  the  fight  was  over.  It  was  then  nearly  dark  and  my  regi- 
ment had  been  fighting  from  half-past  twelve  to  nearly  six 
o'clock,  after  a  forced  march  from  the  Burnt  Bridge. 

My  regiment  was  a  small  one,  and  under  orders  from  General 
Evans  I  left  one  company  under  the  command  of  the  gallant 
Wampler,  to  watch  the  Stone  Bridge  in  case  there  should  be  any 
advance  up  the  Little  River  Turnpike.  Wampler  was  dread- 
fully mortified  at  not  being  allowed  to  go  with  us  to  the  fight ; 
so  that  my  regiment  consisted  of  only  nine  companies.  I  thought 
it  probable  that  there  might  be  another  force  across  the  river 
above  me  on  my  left,  and  I  sent  Captain  R.  H.  Carter  with  his 
company,  guided  by  the  intrepid  "Lige"  White,  to  ascertain  if 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  53 

there  was  any  organized  force  to  my  left.  This  duty  was  well 
performed,  and  Captain  Carter  reported  that  there  was  no  or- 
ganized force  on  my  left. 

I  detailed  Lieutenant  Charles  Berkeley,  with  fifteen  men,  to 
guard  the  bluff;  directed  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tebbs  to  retire  the 
regiment  to  the  open  ground  in  rear  of  the  woods  in  which  we 
had  fought,  so  that  they  might  get  some  rations  and  rest.  I  had 
not  laid  eyes  on  General  Evans  from  the  time  I  passed  him  at 
Fort  Evans,  till  the  fight  ended.  He  was  not  in  sight  of  the  line 
of  battle  during  the  day. 

It  may  be  very  well  understood  that  in  my  state  of  health, 
I  was  in  no  condition  to  stand  the  fatigues  of  the  day.  Afflicted 
as  I  was  and  scarcely  able  to  ride,  I  was  in  the  saddle  or  fighting 
line  from  half -past  twelve  to  near  six  o'clock.  I  was  nearly  dead. 
Mr.  Smart,  from  Leesburg,  drove  out  to  the  battlefield  with  a 
little  spring  wagon,  took  me  in  his  wagon  and  carried  me  to  his 
house  in  Leesburg,  where  I  spent  the  night. 

The  losses  in  this  fight  were  remarkably  small.  The  13th 
Mississippi  was  kept  in  front  of  Gorman  at  Edwards'  Ferry, 
and  lost  none  on  the  21st.  The  17th  Mississippi  Regiment  lost 
very  few.  The  loss  of  the  i8th  Mississippi  was  the  largest,  and 
that  was  all  in  the  one  fire  from  the  enemy  from  behind  this 
natural  breastwork.  It  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  more  than 
any  other  regiment  engaged.  My  loss  was  very  small,  owing  to 
the  protection  that  I  gave  my  men  behind  the  crest  of  the  hill, 
and  the  woods. 

The  enemy's  loss  was  much  larger.  In  the  fight  the  heaviest 
loss  fell  upon  the  ist  California  Regiment.  In  the  charge  made 
by  the  17th  and  i8th  Mississippi,  quite  a  number  of  the  enemy 
were  captured.  That  night  "Lige"  White  was  with  Charles  Berke- 
ley picketing  the  bluff,  and  they  determined  that  they  would 
go  down  to  the  river  bank  to  see  what  was  going  on.    They 


54 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


found  quite  a  number  of  men  there  of  Baker's  command,  in  a 
thoroughly  disorganized  condition,  their  transportation  to  and 
from  Harrison's  Island  consisting  of  a  few  little  boats;  some  of 
them  from  overcrowding  had  sunk,  the  officers  deserted  their 
men;  and  there  was  scarcely  anybody  but  privates  on  the  Vir- 
ginia bank  of  the  river  when  "Lige"  White  and  Lieutenant 
Berkeley  got  upon  the  ground;  but  they  were  endeavoring  to 
get  back  to  Harrison's  Island  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  many 
of  them  in  their  efforts  to  return  to  the  Island  were  drowned. 
Lieutenant  Berkeley  and  "Lige"  White  concluded  that  a  very 
small  force  could  capture  the  whole  party  on  that  part  of  the 
river.  They  went  back  to  Col.  Tebbs  and  asked  him  to  march 
his  regiment  down  to  the  water's  edge  and  capture  all  that  were 
there.  Col.  Tebbs  replied  that  the  men  had  been  fighting  all 
day  long,  and  were  too  much  worn  out  to  be  ordered  to  do 
further  duty,  but  that  if  there  were  any  willing  to  volunteer  he 
would  give  his  consent;  and  thereupon  fifty  men  volunteered. 
Their  names  ought  to  go  down  to  history,  and  I  will  try  to 
give  them: 


Captain  Edmund  Berkeley 
Captain  William  N.  Berkeley 
Lieut.  Robt.  H.  Tyler 
Lieut.  L.  B.  Stevenson 
Lieut.  Robert  Coe 


Sergt.  F.  Wilson 


A.  S.  Adams 

F.  A.  Boyer 

G.  Grill 
William  Donch 
G.  R.  Griffin 


Sergt.  J.  O.  Adams 
Sergt.  P.  S.  Gouchnouer 
Corp.  B.  West 
Corp.  W.  Fletcher 
Corp.  B.  Hutchinson 
Corp.  William  Thomas 


Privates: 

B.  L.  Hickson 
J.  F.  1st 

W.  C.  Thomas 
J.  M.  McVeigh 
M.  H.  Lockett 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


55 


R.  O.  Carter 

George  Roach 

Howard  Trussel 

J.  R.  Adams 

J.  L.  Ginn 

B.  S.  Townes 

G.  Insor 

John  George 

T.  W.  Hutchinson 

R.  I.  Smith 

J.  W.  Tavenner 

L.  W.  Lockett 

A.  M.  O'Bannon 

Rev.  Chas.  F.  Linthicum 

E.  Nalle 


D.  Bouke 

T.  E.  Tavenner 
F.  Tinsman 
T.  K.  Weil 
V.  R.  Axtell 
Wilham  McGrath 

E.  Harmon 

P.  Gouchnouer 
T.  H.  Austin 
C.  Fox 

V/ilmer  J.  ElHs 
J.  N.  McCannihan 
R.  Juhan 
C.  D.  Lockett 


They  promptly  volunteered  to  follow  Lieutenant  Berkeley  and 
"Lige"  White.  When  they  reached  the  river  bank  and  made 
a  demonstration,  they  demanded  a  surrender.  There  was  but 
one  officer  among  them  and  he  wanted  to  know  who  was  in 
command,  and  Captain  William  N.  Berkeley  replied  General 
White  was  in  command.  The  officer  said,  "General  White, 
what  terms  will  you  give  my  men?"  "Lige"  replied,  "I  will 
give  them  the  terms  of  war."  "Lige"  at  that  time  was  not  very 
much  up  in  military  technicalities.  After  a  few  moments  he 
accepted  "Lige's"  terms  of  war,  and  the  whole  party  surrendered, 
and  were  sent  into  Leesburg.  The  prisoners  thus  captured  num- 
bered 325. 

A  very  curious  incident  occurred  during  the  fight.  Charles  B. 
Wildman,  of  Leesburg,  was  either  permanently  or  temporarily 
upon  General  Evans'  staff.  He  was  a  very  gallant,  fine  fellow, 
but  addicted  to  intemperance.  He  was  quite  under  the  influence 


56  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

of  liquor  that  day.  In  riding  around  he  came  across  a  body  of 
the  enemy  and  mistook  them  for  Confederate  soldiers.  He  rode 
up  to  them  and  pointing  out  a  body  of  Confederates  in  the 
distance  he  ordered  them  in  the  most  peremptory  manner  to 
charge.  They,  believing  that  he  was  a  staff  ofi&cer  of  General 
Baker,  obeyed  the  order  and  made  the  charge,  losing  quite  a 
number  of  their  men  in  the  repulse  which  followed.  Charles 
Wildman  escaped  injury. 

General  Evans  left  Fort  Evans  after  the  fight  was  over  and 
went  to  the  hotel  at  Leesburg,  where  he  was  reported  to  be  very 
drunk.  It  was  said  that  he  was  drinking  freely  during  the  day. 
The  next  morning  General  Evans  put  Captain  Singleton,  of  the 
17th  Mississippi,  with  his  company,  in  charge  of  the  prisoners 
to  take  them  to  Manassas.  They  were  encamped  at  a  mill  below 
Leesburg,  and  next  morning  General  Evans  sent  an  order  to 
Captain  Singleton  to  tie  the  prisoners,  and  sent  out  three  or 
four  plow  lines — not  more  than  enough  to  tie  a  dozen.  This 
was  a  very  unusual  and  unjustifiable  order,  especially  so  far  as 
the  officers  were  concerned.  The  officers  that  were  captured  in 
that  fight,  embracing  two  colonels — Cogswall  and  Lee — were 
exceedingly  gallant  men,  and  were  entitled  to  all  the  best  usages 
of  prisoners  of  war.  They  ought  to  have  been  paroled  and 
marched  with  the  other  prisoners  under  parole  as  they  pleased. 
Captain  Singleton  refused  to  obey  the  order  to  tie  the  prisoners, 
and  marched  them  with  as  much  humanity  as  he  could,  down 
to  Manassas  and  turned  them  over  to  General  Beauregard. 

General  Evans  gave  orders  the  next  morning  that  we  were 
to  sleep  upon  the  battlefield  that  night — that  is,  the  night  of 
the  22nd — and  attack  Gorman  at  Edwards'  Ferry  at  daylight  on 
the  23rd.  I  was  delighted  to  receive  this  order,  and  I  knew 
that  the  whole  of  Evans'  force  could  capture  with  but  very  little 
loss,  a  force  that  was  held  up  all  of  the  21st  by  one  of  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  57 

Mississippi  regiments.  To  be  in  place  to  make  this  attack  on 
the  morning  of  the  23rd  at  dayUght,  as  poorly  as  I  was  I  went 
out  and  slept  with  my  men  on  the  ground.  I  waited  impatiently 
for  the  order  to  march  and  attack  this  force  under  Gorman,  and 
at  sunrise  Evans  ordered  a  retreat.  I  never  was  so  mortified  in 
my  life.  We  were  ordered  to  retreat  to  Carter's  Mill,  under 
the  delusion  that  he,  Evans,  was  being  flanked  up  the  Little 
River  Turnpike. 

I  shall  never  forget  my  feelings  in  going  through  the  town 
of  Leesburg.  I  stopped  and  took  breakfast  with  Mr.  Fadely 
and  could  scarcely  look  the  ladies  of  the  family  in  the  face. 
I  felt  that  we  were  cowardly  giving  up  the  people  of  the  good 
town  of  Leesburg  to  the  ravages  of  the  enemy,  without  any 
sufficient  justification. 

Instead  of  retreating  to  Carter's  Mill,  six  miles  from  Leesburg, 
I  stopped  my  regiment  at  the  Sigolin,  about  two  miles  from 
Leesburg,  and  reported  to  General  Evans  that  I  had  camped 
there.  There  was  no  effort  to  pursue  us.  A  most  dreadful  storm 
set  in  that  day.  It  blew  down  almost  all  my  tents.  I  sent  one 
of  my  men  who  was  familiar  with  the  ground,  to  see  what  had 
become  of  Gorman's  force  at  Edwards'  Ferry.  He  reported  that 
the  river  was  exceedingly  rough  owing  to  this  high  wind  storm, 
and  that  Gorman's  force  was  trying  as  hard  to  cross  the  river 
as  ever  people  did  in  the  world.  Their  transportation  was  very 
limited,  and  that  was  comparatively  useless  on  account  of  the 
rough  condition  of  the  water.  It  was  thus  developed  that  while 
Evans  was  running  away  from  Gorman,  Gorman  was  trying  to 
run  away  from  Evans,  and  if  we  had  made  an  attack  on  Gorman, 
with  Evans'  whole  force,  we  would  have  captured  his  command 
with  very  little  loss,  and  then  the  victory  would  have  been  com- 
plete. As  far  as  it  went,  it  was  the  most  complete  victory  of  the 
war,  considering  the  numbers  engaged  in  it.    Evans  had  in  his 


58  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

three  regiments  that  participated  in  the  fight,  not  over  1,500 
muskets,  and  the  enemy  in  killed,  wounded  and  captured,  lost 
fully  2,000.  It  is  almost  unexampled  that  a  body  of  troops  kill, 
wound  and  capture  more  men  than  they  themselves  number. 
Quite  a  number  of  these  Federal  soldiers  were  drowned.  One 
or  more  floated  down  as  far  as  Washington  City. 

The  death  of  General  Baker  created  a  good  deal  of  consterna- 
tion in  Washington.  He  was  a  great  favorite  with  Lincoln.  His 
body  was  carried  to  Washington  and  laid  in  state  at  the  White 
House  for  several  days.  It  was  understood  to  be  the  design  of 
the  military  authorities  that  if  Baker  had  succeeded  in  captur- 
ing Leesburg  he  would  have  been  put  in  very  high  command. 
It  would  have  been  a  great  mistake.  He  showed  little  or  no 
military  genius  in  the  fight  at  Ball's  Bluff.  He  lost  his  first 
position — which  was  a  very  fine  one,  and  from  which  I  could 
not  have  dislodged  him  if  he  had  managed  the  fight  properly. 
He  was  a  man  of  fine  talent;  stood  high  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  and  I  think  was  a  brave  man.  I  saw  him  during  the  day 
attempting  to  lead  his  forces  to  the  fight. 

I  cannot  close  the  account  of  this  remarkable  victory  without 
specially  mentioning  E.  V.  White,  familiarly  called  "Lige" 
White.  He  did  not  belong  to  any  organization  engaged  in  the 
fight,  but  happened  to  be  there,  and  from  early  morning  until 
late  that  night  he  was  constantly  occupied  in  carrying  orders, 
conducting  the  troops  and  leading  them  in  the  fight.  His  con- 
duct on  that  occasion  was  so  fine  that  his  friends  predicted  for 
him  a  brilliant  career  in  the  war.  This  prediction  was  fulfilled. 
He  afterwards  raised  a  Company  and  was  made  its  Captain; 
increased  it  to  a  Battalion,  and  was  made  its  Major;  increased 
it  to  a  Regiment,  and  was  made  its  Colonel ;  and  if  the  war  had 
lasted  a  few  months  longer  it  is  believed  he  would  have  been 
a  Brigadier-General,  and  would  have  really  been  entitled  to  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  59 

rank  which  Captain  Wilham  N.  Berkeley  assigned  to  him  when 
he  demanded  a  surrender  on  the  night  of  the  21st  of  October. 
No  man  in  the  Confederate  army  stood  higher  for  bravery,  dash 
and  patriotic  devotion  to  the  cause  than  Colonel  "Lige  White." 
I  cannot  fail  to  mention  also,  William  H.  F.  Hummer.  He 
was  a  private  in  the  Loudoun  Cavalry.  On  my  march  to  First 
Manassas  I  sent  him,  Henry  Peyton  and  three  others  as  a  picket 
on  the  blind  road  from  Centreville  to  Sudley.  When  they  were 
driven  in  and  brought  to  me  the  report  of  the  flank  movement 
of  General  McDowell,  I  kept  Peyton  and  Hummer  with  me 
during  the  balance  of  the  fight.  Both  distinguished  themselves 
for  their  courage.  Peyton  was  taken  by  Beauregard  on  his  staff, 
and  Hummer  was  transferred  from  his  company  to  a  company 
in  my  regiment,  and  remained  by  my  side  until  after  the  Battle 
of  Gettysburg.  No  matter  how  fierce  the  fight — no  matter  how 
much  danger  surrounded  me — Hummer  was  always  by  my  side 
and  ready  to  do  any  service  that  I  called  upon  him  to  perform. 
After  I  was  promoted,  he  remained  with  Colonel  Berkeley  to 
the  end  of  the  war.  When  Cleveland  was  elected  President, 
Hummer  had  become  poor.  I  went  to  Colonel  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  told  him  of  the  relations  be- 
tween Hummer  and  myself,  and  said  that  I  would  feel  disgraced 
if  I  did  not  get  Hummer  some  position  under  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. Lamar  thought  so  too,  and  put  Hummer  in  the  Patent 
Office.  This  was  in  1885  and  Hummer  by  his  good  conduct  in 
the  office  still  holds  his  position  and  is  protected  by  civil  service 
rules.* 


*The  official  report  of  Col.  Hunton  on  the  Battle  of  Ball's  Bluff  will 
be  found  in  O.  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  367.    Those  of  other  officers,  pp.  289-372. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

i30METIME  in  the  month  of  November,  General  Johnston 
decided  to  brigade  his  troops  according  to  the  States  from  which 
they  came.  With  this  view  he  sent  two  Mississippi  Regiments 
to  Leesburg  to  make,  with  the  three  already  there,  a  Mississippi 
Brigade  under  General  Evans,  and  ordered  me  to  join  my  brigade 
at  Centreville.  This  brigade  was  commanded  by  Gen.  Phillip 
St.  George  Cocke  and  was  composed  of  the  following  regiments : 
Eighth  Virginia,  Col.  Eppa  Hunton;  Eighteenth  Virginia,  Col. 
Robt.  E.  Withers;  Nineteenth  Virginia,  Col.  J.  R.  Strange; 
Twenty-eighth  Virginia,  Col.  Robert  T.  Preston. 

It  was  a  trial  to  me  to  leave  the  dear  old  county  of  Loudoun. 
I  had  received  nothing  but  kindness  at  the  hands  of  its  people, 
but  I  had  to  go.  I  had  the  finest  transportation  that  any  regi- 
ment ever  had  in  time  of  war.  When  we  got  ready  to  march 
I  found  I  had  28  wagons.  Some  of  my  Captains  said  it  would 
be  impossible  to  move  if  they  did  not  have  more  transportation. 
My  long  line  of  wagons  created  infinite  amusement  at  Centre- 
ville. We  had  a  royal  reception  when  we  reached  Centreville. 
General  Cocke,  with  the  other  three  regiments  of  his  brigade, 
marched  out  to  receive  us  with  military  honors,  and  the  whole 
army  greeted  us  as  the  heroes  of  Ball's  BluflF.  I  was  invited  that 
day  to  dine  with  General  Cocke.  While  going  to  his  tent  he  was 
in  absolute  silence  for  some  distance,  he  then  struck  his  forehead 
two  heavy  blows,  exclaiming,  "My  God!  My  God!  My  country!" 

I  was  very  much  astonished,  and  felt  that  his  mind  was  a  little 
off,  which  was  sadly  verified  by  his  suicide  a  month  or  two 
later.  He  was  a  good  man,  a  brave  man,  and  an  earnest  patriot; 
but  he  was  not  a  military  man. 

61 


62  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

I  still  suffered  intensely  with  my  fistula.  It  got  worse,  instead 
of  better.  My  friends  in  the  Army  insisted  I  should  go  to  Rich- 
mond for  an  operation.  I  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  that 
purpose,  and  put  myself  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Gibson,  Assistant 
Surgeon-General  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  underwent  the 
usual  operation  for  fistula.  The  wound  did  not  heal.  I  stayed 
in  Richmond  until  I  satisfied  myself  it  was  not  healing,  and  then 
I  went  to  my  home  at  Brentsville,  to  which  my  wife  and  son 
had  returned.  I  reported  twice  for  duty  at  Centreville.  My 
surgeon  declared  I  was  unfit  for  duty.  I  felt  I  was.  Everything 
was  quiet.  The  Federal  Army  after  its  repulses  at  Manassas 
and  Ball's  Bluff,  remained  quiet  until  the  spring,  and  I  agreed 
to  go  back  to  Richmond.  There  my  wound  was  cauterized 
regularly  by  Dr.  Gibson,  but  still  did  not  heal.  I  staid  there 
sometime,  and  then  went  to  my  home  at  Brentsville.  In  a  week 
or  ten  days  I  reported  again  for  duty,  at  Centreville.  I  was  again 
pronounced  unfit  for  duty,  and  sent  back  to  my  home.  I  re- 
mained there  until  the  evacuation  of  Centreville  and  Manassas, 
in  March,  1862.  This  was  a  trying  period  to  me.  I  felt  that  I 
was  not  fit  for  duty — I  feared  I  never  would  be  and  yet  I  felt 
anxious  to  render  further  service  to  the  Confederate  cause — 
but  it  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  be  with  my  family.  My  wife 
had  suffered  for  a  long  time  with  neuralgia  of  the  liver — not 
constant  suffering,  but  spells  of  intense  pain.  She  was  attended 
by  several  eminent  surgeons  from  the  army,  but  was  not  relieved. 
I  was  very  unhappy  about  her.  She  was  a  devoted  wife  and 
bore  the  hardships  and  sufferings  and  separation  from  me 
incident  to  the  war,  with  real  heroism.  My  son,  Eppa,  who  was 
then  nearly  seven  years  old,  was  a  great  comfort  to  her.  He 
was  a  manly,  fine  fellow,  and  has  always  been  the  greatest  com- 
fort to  his  mother,  in  her  lifetime,  and  to  me  up  to  the  present 
moment. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  63 

General  Winfield  Scott  was  physically  and  mentally  broken 
down,  and  the  old,  degenerate  son  of  Virginia  was  forced  to 
retire  from  the  command  of  the  Federal  Army.  General  George 
B.  McClellan  was  selected,  and  a  most  splendid  commander  he 
proved  to  be.  Soon  after  the  Battle  of  Manassas  he  addressed 
himself  earnestly  to  the  reorganization  and  the  increase  of  his 
army.  He  was  a  cautious  man — probably  too  cautious  for  a 
brilliant  commander.  He  made  no  attempt  to  move  after  the 
Battle  of  Ball's  Bluff  until  the  spring  of  1862,  when  he  had  a 
perfectly  magnificent  army — ^not  only  in  discipline  and  equip- 
ment, but  in  its  vast  numbers. 

The  roads  were  so  bad  that  McClellan  was  unable  to  move 
until  sometime  in  March,  1862,  and  then  instead  of  pursuing 
McDowell's  route  to  Richmond  he  determined  to  go  by  York- 
town,  and  sent  the  bulk  of  his  army  by  water  down  to  Fortress 
Monroe  and  its  vicinity. 

General  Johnston  was  apprised  of  this  movement  of  Mc- 
Clellan, and  determined  to  evacuate  Centreville  and  Manassas. 
It  was  very  sad  to  me,  and  to  all  of  us  from  that  country,  to  give 
it  up  to  the  invaders,  but  we  had  to  do  it.  I  was  at  home  sick. 
I  could  not  make  preparations  to  give  up  my  home,  or  to  save 
any  of  my  property.  I  moved  my  wife  and  son  to  Bristow,  the 
nearest  station — my  wife  on  a  bed  in  a  wagon — where  we  stayed 
all  night  to  take  the  early  train  the  next  morning.  I  left  behind 
me  my  slaves,  household  and  kitchen  furniture,  and  a  crop  of 
wheat  which  I  had  just  threshed,  a  pair  of  fine  horses  and  a 
buggy.  Of  course  all  this  property  was  soon  swept  by  the  Fed- 
eral Army,  and  my  horses  carried  away.  The  next  morning 
we  took  the  train — the  last  train  that  went  out.  My  wife  suf- 
fered intensely  on  the  way.  I  feared  at  times  that  she  might  die 
on  the  train.  My  object  was  to  locate  my  wife  and  son  in  Lynch- 
burg for  the  war,  but  when  we  reached  Gordonsville  there  was 


64  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

a  train  blockade,  and  we  were  kept  there  three  days.  We  then 
went  to  Charlottesville,  where  we  met  another  blockade.  I  was 
very  anxious  to  get  back  to  my  regiment,  and  I  determined  I 
would  locate  them  in  Charlottesville.  I  had  just  made  arrange- 
ments to  board  them  with  a  Mrs.  Sinclair,  just  outside  of  the 
town  of  Charlottesville.  She  was  the  sister  of  Mr.  Belt,  who 
had  been  one  of  my  faithful  soldiers  at  Leesburg,  in  the  Cavalry. 
She  readily  agreed  to  board  them,  and  would  have  taken  first 
rate  care  of  them,  but  when  I  returned  to  Charlottesville  I  found 
that  we  could  get  to  Lynchburg,  and  as  I  thought  that  was  the 
safest  place  I  determined  to  take  them  there.  I  located  them 
with  a  Mrs.  Robert  Brown,  who  kept  a  female  boarding  school 
in  a  very  large  building  in  Lynchburg,  and  went  back  to  my 
regiment.* 

I  met  my  regiment  with  the  army  in  Orange  County,  near 
the  Courthouse.  I  was  received  with  great  delight,  but  was  not 
fit  for  duty,  but  I  concluded  that  I  was  as  fit  for  duty  as  I  ever 
would  be,  and  determined  to  stay  with  my  regiment.  After 
remaining  a  few  days  at  Camp  Taylor,  on  the  plank  road  below 
Orange  Courthouse,  General  Johnston  started  his  army  through 
Richmond  to  the  Peninsula,  to  meet  the  army  of  General  Mc- 
Clellan,  below  Yorktown. 

It  was  a  dreadful  march.  The  roads  were  worse  than  I  ever 
saw  them,  but  we  finally  made  the  trip.  The  Confederate  forces 
in  the  Peninsula  had  been  under  the  command  of  General  John 
Bankhead  Magruder,  who  was  a  very  brilliant  man,  but  unfor- 
tunately addicted  to  intemperance.  Of  course  General  Johnston 
assumed  command.  Magruder's  line  was  along  a  small  water- 
way that  extended  almost  across  the  peninsula  at  its  narrowest 
point,  its  left,  resting  on  the  York  River  at  Yorktown.   This  was 


*She  was  the  mother  of  Bishop  William  Cabell  Brown  of  Virginia. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  65 

a  very  strong  position  and  was  not  seriously  assailed  by  Mc- 
Clelian.  Several  heavy  skirmishes  occured  at  different  points 
along  this  line,  but  no  general  engagement.  General  McClellan 
w^as  preparing  to  pass  his  battleships  up  the  York  River,  and 
put  a  large  force  in  Johnston's  flank  and  rear.  We  w^ere  not 
prepared  to  resist  this  movement,  and  General  Johnston  pre- 
pared to  evacuate  the  Peninsula. 

A  day  or  two  before  the  retreat  from  Yorktown  the  Virginia 
forces  were  reorganized  under  a  law  of  Congress.  All  the  regi- 
mental officers  were  elected — the  field  officers  by  the  subordinate 
officers,  and  the  company  officers  by  the  privates.  I  was  elected 
without  opposition.  Major  Norborne  Berkeley  was  made  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel in  place  of  Colonel  Charles  Tebbs,  and  Captain 
James  Thrift  was  made  Major. 

McClellan  pressed  Johnston  very  hard  on  this  retreat  up  to 
Williamsburg.  At  that  historic  old  town  Johnston  was  obliged 
to  turn  and  give  McClellan  battle.  I  was  very  uneasy  about  the 
result  of  the  fight,  because  of  the  recent  reorganization  of  the 
army — so  many  of  the  old  officers  had  been  retired.  The  brigade 
was  then  under  the  command  of  General  George  E.  Pickett, 
who  was  assigned  to  the  command  soon  after  the  melancholy 
death  of  General  Cocke. 

General  Pickett  came  to  the  brigade  with  a  fine  reputation. 
He  was  from  the  old  army,  and  a  graduate  of  West  Point. 
Our  brigade  had  passed  through  Williamsburg  on  the  retreat. 
I  was  still  suffering  with  my  affliction  and  sick  besides.  I  got 
permission  from  General  Pickett  to  spend  the  night  with  Mrs. 
Tucker,  in  Williamsburg.  She  was  the  sister  of  the  wife  of 
my  friend  Captain  William  N.  Berkeley.  When  I  left  I  exacted 
a  promise  from  General  Pickett  that  if  there  was  any  movement 
in  the  night  he  was  to  send  someone  to  Mrs.  Tucker's  and 
notify  me,  that  I  might  take  command  of  my  regiment.    Not  a 


66  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

great  while  afterwards  Pickett's  brigade  was  ordered  back,  and 
Hummer  was  about  to  obey  my  directions  and  notify  me. 
General  Pickett  refused  to  allow  him.  He  said  I  was  not  fit  to 
go  into  the  fight.  I  knew  nothing  of  the  fight  until  the  next 
morning. 

The  Battle  of  Williamsburg  was  a  very  hard-fought  battle. 
McClellan  pressed  Johnston  very  hard.  The  Confederate  sol- 
diers fought  with  great  gallantry,  and  notwithstanding  the  re- 
cent reorganization  they  showed  the  pluck  that  characterized 
them  at  Manassas  and  Ball's  Bluff.  McClellan  was  driven  back, 
and  the  next  morning  we  leisurely  pursued  our  retreat  towards 
Richmond. 

I  was  suffering  very  much,  and  was  very  sick,  and  while 
riding  at  the  head  of  my  regiment  I  fainted  and  fell  off  my  horse. 
I  would  have  been  badly  hurt  but  that  soldiers  walking  near  me 
caught  me  and  broke  my  fall. 

We  continued  our  march  until  we  reached  a  position  near 
the  Chickahominy,  where  we  halted  and  General  Johnston 
made  preparations  to  defend  Richmond  from  that  point.  I  had 
to  ask  for  sick  furlough,  and  was  granted  an  indefinite  leave 
of  absence,  and  went  to  Lynchburg  where  my  wife  and  son  were. 
At  that  time  they  were  comfortably  situated  with  Mrs.  Brown, 
and  I  remained  there  some  time. 

In  the  meantime  the  Battle  of  Seven  Pines  was  fought, 
May  31-June  I,  1862.  This  was  a  hotly-contested  fight. 
Although  we  held  our  own  and  drove  the  enemy  back  some 
distance,  no  substantial  results  followed  from  our  victory.  Gen- 
eral Johnston,  who  was  always  in  the  fiercest  of  a  fight,  was 
wounded  about  dusk  on  the  evening  of  May  31.  The  fight 
lasted  two  days.  On  the  second  it  was  not  very  severe,  but  on 
the  first  it  was  terrific,  and  my  regiment  was  hotly  engaged. 
It  was  under  the  command  of  my  gallant  Lieutenant-Colonel 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  67 

Norborne  Berkeley,  and  all  hands  behaved,  as  usual,  with  gal- 
lantry. Major  Thrift,  the  newly  elected  Major,  was  mortally 
wounded,  and  was  afterwards  succeeded  by  Captain  Edmund 
Berkeley. 

The  next  day  because  of  the  disability  of  General  Johnston, 
that  grandest  of  men,  that  noblest  of  patriots,  that  greatest  of 
military  chieftains.  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  army,  then  called  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia. 

McClellan  was  drawing  his  immense  army,  like  the  coils  of 
an  anaconda,  around  the  City  of  Richmond,  and  General  Lee 
planned  the  boldest  campaign  known  to  military  history  to  rid 
Richmond  of  the  siege.  The  two  armies  were  very  unequal  in 
numbers.  General  McClellan  held  his  line  of  battle  from  the 
James  River  up  to  the  little  town  of  Mechanicsville,  to  the  north- 
east of  Richmond,  with  a  large  force  of  the  Federal  Army  at 
Fredericksburg  under  General  McDowell.  The  administration 
at  Washington  was  afraid  to  allow  this  force  to  unite  with 
McClellan  for  fear  of  a  dash  upon  the  Federal  Capitol.  This 
apprehension  always  weighed  upon  the  administration  at  Wash- 
ington and  kept  from  our  front  often-times  a  large  part  of  their 
army  to  defend  the  capital. 

Jackson  had  won  world-wide  fame  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 
He  won  three  battles,  over  greatly  superior  numbers  each  time, 
in  three  days,  and  drove  the  enemy  down  towards  Harper's 
Ferry.  When  General  Lee  determined  to  attack  McClellan,  he 
gave  orders  to  Jackson  to  move  secretly  and  swiftly  across  the 
Ridge  and  attack  McClellan  on  his  right.  General  Lee's  general 
plan  of  battle  was  to  cross  the  Chickahominy,  leaving  a  small 
portion  of  his  army  (two  divisions,  Huger's  and  Magruder's) 
on  the  Richmond  side  of  the  river,  disperse  McClellan's  forces 
under  Fitz  John  Porter  on  the  north  side  and  draw  the  rest  of 


68  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

his  forces  from  their  protected  position  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river.  The  boldness  of  the  attack  consisted  in  the  fact  that  if 
McClellan  had  been  equally  bold  when  General  Lee  crossed  the 
Chickahominy  leaving  only  a  small  portion  of  his  army  to  de- 
fend Richmond,  McClellan  might  have  marched  into  Rich- 
mond.   But  he  did  not. 

I  was  still  sick  in  Lynchburg.  Dr.  Taylor,  my  physician,  came 
to  see  me  on  the  24th  of  June,  1862.  I  told  him  that  I  was 
satisfied  there  was  a  fight  on  hand  and  I  was  going  to  my  regi- 
ment the  next  day.  He  laughed  at  the  idea  and  said  I  must  not 
think  of  such  a  thing.  The  next  morning  he  came  to  see  me, 
and  I  had  gone.  At  Farmville  the  train  was  delayed  awhile, 
and  two  or  three  of  my  friends  came  out  and  learning  I  was 
on  my  way  to  my  regiment,  and  seeing  my  condition,  proposed 
to  take  me  by  force  from  the  train.  I  absolutely  refused  to  leave, 
and  went  on. 

I  joined  my  regiment  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  then 
camped  on  the  Mechanicsville  Turnpike.  My  boys,  as  usual, 
were  glad  to  see  me.  The  brigade  had  been  strengthened  at 
that  time  by  the  addition  of  the  56th  Virginia  Regiment  under 
the  command  of  William  D.  Stuart,  and  consisted  all  through 
the  war  of  the  8th,  i8th,  19th,  28th  and  56th  Regiments. 

The  right  flank  of  McClellan  was  attacked  that  day  at 
Mechanicsville  by  A.  P.  Hill's  forces  supported,  toward  the 
close  of  the  action  by  D.  H.  Hill  and  Longstreet,  and  repulsed. 
General  McClellan  had  taken  up  a  very  strong  position  at  Gaines 
Mill — sometimes  called  the  "Watt  Farm."  The  first  line  of  the 
enemy  was  in  a  washout  made  by  the  water  in  times  of  freshet. 
It  was  probably  four  feet  deep  and  five  feet  wide,  and  made  a 
most  excellent  cover  for  the  Federal  soldiers.  One  hundred 
yards  back  on  the  ground  which  commenced  to  rise  from  this 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  69 

ravine  was  another  line  fortified  by  cutting  down  and  piling 
up  logs  and  trees.  One  hundred  yards  further,  and  still  higher, 
the  ground  rising  rapidly,  was  another  line  fortified  in  the  same 
way,  and  beyond  this  was  an  open  field  where  the  artillery  was 
located. 

On  the  27th  of  June,  General  Lee  determined  to  assail  Mc- 
Clellan  at  Gaines'  Mill.  At  this  point,  where  we  fought,  General 
Brockenbrough's  brigade  was  put  in  and  driven  out.  Then 
General  Pryor  was  put  in,  and  repulsed.  General  Lee  called  on 
Longstreet  for  a  brigade  that  could  carry  that  point,  and  Long- 
street  ordered  Pickett  up.  In  the  Brigade  it  was  said  and  insisted 
upon  that  when  General  Lee  called  on  Longstreet  for  a  brigade 
that  would  carry  this  formidable  position,  Longstreet  said,  "I 
have  a  brigade  that  will  carry  it,  but  it  has  been  in  the  thickest 
of  all  the  fights  and  has  lost  heavily.  I  don't  like  to  send  it  in." 
Lee  said,  "This  is  no  time  for  sentiment,  I  must  carry  the  place." 
The  8th  and  i8th  had  been  put  into  a  little  body  of  woods  to 
clear  it  of  the  enemy.  The  other  three  regiments  were  in  line 
of  battle  in  the  field,  in  front  of  the  woods,  protected  by  the  crest 
of  the  hill.  From  that  point  to  the  first  line  of  McClellan  some 
200  to  250  yards,  the  ground  descended  very  rapidly,  so  that 
there  was  a  descent  on  both  sides  to  this  ravine.  To  make  the 
charge,  the  charging  column  was  exposed  to  the  fire  from  all 
three  of  these  fortified  lines.  It  was  a  fearful  position,  chosen 
with  great  skill  by  General  McClellan,  and  was  defended  by 
General  Porter  with  a  large  force. 

Pickett  ordered  the  8th  and  i8th  Regiments  to  march  out 
from  the  woods  and  when  on  the  line  with  the  balance  of  his 
brigade  the  whole  line  was  to  charge  the  enemy.  This  was 
done  with  the  rebel  yell.  As  soon  as  the  brigade  showed  them- 
selves over  the  crest  of  this  hill,  the  three  fortified  lines  of  Fitz 


70  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

John  Porter,  commanding  the  corps  of  McClellan's  army,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Chickahominy  River,  opened  up  on  us  with 
the  most  terrific  fire  I  ever  witnessed,  except  at  Gettysburg. 

By  a  misunderstanding  of  an  order  of  Colonel  Withers,  of 
the  i8th  Regiment,  our  brigade  halted,  but  only  for  a  few 
moments.  This  halt  came  near  being  fatal  to  us.  When  we 
started  in  the  charge,  Pryor's  men,  who  had  been  repulsed,  were 
running  through  our  lines.  All  hands  made  efforts  to  arrest 
their  retreat  and  take  them  back  into  the  charge.  Colonel 
Withers  was  particularly  active  in  this  work,  and  ordered  them 
to  halt.  His  regiment  misunderstood  the  command  and  thought 
the  order  of  Colonel  Withers  was  to  his  own  regiment  to  halt. 
This  caused  the  halt  of  the  i8th,  and  the  balance  of  the  line. 
Colonel  Withers  saw  the  terrible  mistake  his  men  had  made, 
and  acted  with  the  greatest  heroism  to  get  his  men  off,  this 
galling  fire  in  the  meantime  cutting  down  our  men  in  great 
numbers.  We  started  again  in  the  charge,  Colonel  Withers  with 
great  gallantry  actually  leading  his  regiment. 

In  this  charge  down  the  hill  the  gallant  Withers  was  fear- 
fully, and  it  was  believed  for  a  long  time,  mortally  wounded. 
He  had  nearly  reached  the  first  line  when  he  fell,  still  leading 
his  men.  General  Pickett  was  also  wounded  in  going  down 
the  hill,  and  our  loss  was  fearful.  The  command  of  the  brigade 
devolved  on  me  as  senior  Colonel.*  Our  brigade  then  carried 
the  three  lines  in  the  most  beautiful  style  I  ever  saw.  This  charge 
was  witnessed  by  Colonel  George  W.  Randolph,  Secretary  of 
War,  and  many  others.  They  all  said  it  was  brilliant.  General 
Brockenbrough  said  it  was  the  most  beautiful  sight  he  ever  saw. 

*In  a  sketch  of  my  father  in  Vol.  3,  p.  605,  of  "Confederate  Mihtary 
History,"  edited  by  General  Clement  N.  Evans,  of  Georgia  (written  by 
Dr.  Mason  Graham  Ellzey,  Surgeon  of  8th  Virginia  Regiment),  it  is 
stated:     "At  the  battle  of  Gaines  Mill  where  Pickett's  brigade  made  a 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


71 


After  carrying  the  three  Hnes  we  came  upon  this  large  body 
of  artillery  in  the  open  field  beyond  the  woods.  Its  fire  had  been 
very  destructive  to  us.  My  regiment  was  a  little  in  advance  of 
the  other  regiments  of  the  brigade,  and  I  halted  it  a  moment 
until  they  came  up.  We  then  resumed  the  charge,  captured 
the  artillery,  and  just  after  that,  Jackson's  men  who  had  been 
fighting  on  our  left,  came  up  somewhat  obliquely  on  our  left. 
We  were  met  by  a  charge  of  cavalry.  I  have  never  seen  saddles 
emptied  so  fast  in  my  life,  and  we  soon  dispersed  the  cavalry 
in  our  front,  and  the  fight  ended. 

When  the  fighting  was  over  I  marched  the  brigade  back 
beyond  this  ravine  which  separated  the  two  armies,  where  we 
rested  for  the  night.    The  losses  on  both  sides  were  very  heavy. 

This  was  a  great  victory,  and  I  think  one  of  the  hardest  fights 
I  was  in,  except  Gettysburg.  It  reflected  as  much  credit  upon 
Pickett's  Brigade  as  any  fight  of  the  war,  except  Gettysburg. 

General  Lee's  operations  against  McClellan  were  very  much 
aided  by  the  march  of  Stuart  and  his  cavalry  around  McClellan's 
rear.  He  marched  entirely  around  McClellan,  going  past  his 
right  and  coming  out  upon  his  left,  June  12th  to  15th.  He  de- 
stroyed immense  stores  of  provisions  at  Tunstall's  Station,  and 
with  the  loss  of  but  one  single  man  (the  gallant  Captain  Latane), 
returned  to  General  Lee's  lines.    The  information  thus  obtained 

brilliant  assault,  and  carried  the  three  fortified  lines  of  the  enemy,  before 
the  assistance  from  Jackson  came  up,  Pickett  was  wounded  early  in  the 
assault  and  Hunton  as  senior  Colonel  carried  on  the  successful  action, 
which  was  never  officially  reported  owing  to  Pickett's  severe  wound  and 
General  Hunton's  continued  ill  health  on  account  of  which  he  was  sent 
back  to  Lynchburg  by  General  Longstreet." 

An  account  of  the  battle  of  Gaines  Mill  is  also  given  in  the  address  of 
my  father  at  the  first  reunion  of  the  survivors  of  the  8th  Virginia  Regi- 
ment on  the  34th  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff,  October  21, 
1 861,  published  as  an  appendix  to  this  book. 


72  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

enabled  General  Lee  to  form  with  more  accuracy  his  plans  of 
attack  on  McClellan,  and  General  Stuart  deserves  great  credit 
for  the  information  thus  imparted  to  General  Lee.  He  was  an 
exceedingly  valuable  cavalry  officer. 

After  the  loss  of  Gaines'  Mill  and  the  destruction  of  his  com- 
munications at  White  House  by  Stuart,  McClellan  determined 
to  change  his  base,  make  for  Harrison's  landing  on  the  James 
River  and  obtain  the  protection  of  the  gun  boats,  which  could 
ascend  James  River  as  far  as  Drewry's  Bluff. 

General  McClellan  determined  to  seek  Harrison's  Landing 
by  the  Long  Bridge  and  Quaker  Roads  which  led  from  the 
White  Oak  Swamp  down  to  the  James  River  about  Harrison's 
Landing.  This  Quaker  Road  was  crossed  nearly  at  right  angles 
by  several  roads  leading  from  Richmond  down  the  peninsula. 
General  Lee  gave  strict  orders  that  the  movements  of  McClellan 
should  be  watched,  that  his  future  plans  might  be  developed 
as  soon  as  possible.  McClellan  really  started  his  movement  to- 
wards Harrison's  Landing  on  the  night  of  the  27th.  It  was 
not  communicated  to  General  Lee  until  the  evening  of  the  28th. 
This  was  loss  of  time  which  would  have  been  exceedingly  valu- 
able to  General  Lee.  As  soon  as  he  heard  that  McClellan  was 
retreating  by  the  Quaker  Road,  he  formed  a  plan  for  the  battle 
of  Frazier's  Farm — I  think  the  best  planned  battle  of  the  war. 
He  ordered  Longstreet  and  A.  P.  Hill  with  their  divisions  to 
march  rapidly  through  the  southeastern  outskirts  of  Richmond, 
and  down  one  of  these  peninsula  roads  until  he  got  on  the  flank 
of  McClellan.  This  he  accomplished  at  Frazier's  Farm.  Gen- 
eral Huger  was  to  march  down  another  one  of  these  peninsula 
roads,  the  Charles  City  road,  and  attack  McClellan  in  the  flank. 
General  Jackson  was  to  cross  White  Oak  Swamp  and  attack 
General  McClellan  in  the  rear,  while  Holmes  and  Magruder  at- 
tacked nearer  the  river. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  73 

These  orders  unfortunately  were  not  carried  out,  or  McClellan 
never  would  have  reached  Harrison's  Landing  or  Malvern  Hill. 
Longstreet  reached  his  position  in  front  of  McClellan  at  Frazier's 
Farm.  He  was  ordered  to  withhold  his  attack  until  he  heard 
the  guns  of  Huger.  He  waited  from  early  morning  to  late  after- 
noon for  Huger's  guns,  but  Huger  never  fired  upon  the  enemy 
at  all.  Longstreet  determined  to  make  the  attack.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  stubborn  fights  I  was  in  during  the  war.  We  were 
reinforced  by  a  portion  of  Hill's  Division.  We  drove  the  enemy 
steadily,  but  slowly.  We  fought  until  nine  o'clock  at  night, 
and  had  gained  no  very  decided  advantage  except  in  the  capture 
of  a  good  deal  of  artillery.  Huger,  as  I  have  said,  never  fired 
on  the  enemy  at  all,  and  Jackson  for  the  first  and  only  time  in 
his  life  failed  to  do  his  part.  He  had  some  difficulty  in  crossing 
White  Oak  Swamp,  and  his  men  who  had  made  forced  marches 
from  the  Valley  had  been  fighting  for  a  day  or  two,  needed, 
with  their  commander,  some  rest.  Jackson  laid  down  for  a  very 
short  nap,  his  orders  being  to  wake  him  at  a  given  time.  His 
staff,  with  mistaken  kindness,  determined  to  let  him  sleep  on, 
and  when  he  awoke  the  time  for  action  had  passed ;  Jackson  was 
greatly  distressed,  and  moved  on  with  great  rapidity,  but  it  was 
too  late  then. 

That  night,  which  was  the  night  of  the  30th,  McClellan 
withdrew  his  troops  from  Frazier's  Farm  to  Malvern  Hill.  This 
was  a  remarkably  strong  position,  and  on  the  ist  of  July  General 
Lee  attacked  him  there.  The  first  day's  fight  was  very  destruc- 
tive to  our  men;  the  enemy's  artillery  was  splendidly  posted, 
and  did  very  destructive  work  on  our  advancing  line.  We  car- 
ried McClellan's  right,  but  it  was  recovered,  and  the  battle  of 
the  day  terminated  then.  General  Lee  made  arrangements  to 
renew  the  fight  early  next  morning,  but  in  the  darkness  Mc- 
Clellan withdrew,  and  reached  Harrison's  Landing,  where  he 


74  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

was  protected  by  the  gun  boats.  Lee  decided  that  it  would  be 
impohtic  and  hazardous  to  attempt  to  dislodge  McClellan,  and 
withdrew  his  army  back  towards  Richmond  for  rest  and  re- 
organization. 

It  was  a  marvelous  campaign.  General  McClellan,  with  a 
large  army — much  larger  than  General  Lee's* — had  marched 
up  within  a  few  miles  of  Richmond,  creating  the  greatest  alarm 
in  that  city,  and  causing  a  very  decided  sentiment  to  remove 
the  capitol  from  Richmond.  In  seven  days  General  Lee  had 
routed  the  besieging  army,  driving  it  many  miles  from  the  city, 
restored  the  confidence  of  the  inhabitants,  and  then  rested  his 
army  for  sometime.  It  is  difficult  to  find  in  military  history  the 
parallel  of  this  short  campaign. 

I  suffered  dreadfully  from  pain  and  physical  exhaustion  in 
these  fights  and  more  than  once  fell  from  exhaustion  on  the 
battlefield.  General  Longstreet,  who  was  always  kind  and  con- 
siderate of  me,  was  apprised  of  my  condition  and  voluntarily 
gave  me  sick-leave  to  repair  to  my  family  in  Lynchburg  and 
remain  till  I  was  fit  for  duty.  I  found  my  dear  wife  and  dear 
son  well  but  very  unhappy  about  me.  I  remained  some  time 
in  Lynchburg  and  returned  in  better  physical  condition  to  my 
command,  then  encamped  at  Roper's  Mill,  below  Richmond.  It 
was  very  trying  to  part  from  my  wife  and  son.  They  did  not 
know  how  soon  I  would  die  from  disease,  or  fall  on  the 
battlefield. 

McClellan  reorganized  his  army  and  called  upon  the  gov- 
ernment at  Washington  for  reinforcements  that  he  might  ar- 
range his  attack  upon  Richmond  from  Harrison's  Landing. 
They  were  beginning  to  send  them  in.  General  Lee  also 
strengthened  his  army.    While  these  preparations  were  being 

*The  Federal  forces  numbered  105,000  at  the  beginning  of  the  cam- 
paign; the  Confederate,  80,000  to  90,000. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  75 

made  on  the  James  River,  General  John  Pope  appeared  in  Wasli- 
ington.  He  was  a  western,  bragging,  incompetent  mihtary 
leader,  who  made  a  fine  impression  on  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  told 
Mr.  Lincoln,  "If  you  will  give  me  100,000  men,  I  will  not  only 
march  to  Richmond,  but  I  will  go  to  New  Orleans.  I  come 
from  the  western  army,  that  is  not  in  the  habit  of  seeing  any- 
thing but  the  backs  of  its  enemies" — and  said  his  headquarters 
would  be  in  the  saddle. 

Pope  was  given  50,000  men,  and  started  up  the  railroad  by 
Manassas  to  Culpeper  County,  intending  to  take  the  same  route 
to  Richmond  that  McDowell  determined  on.  General  Lee  dis- 
patched Jackson  with  11,000  men  to  Orange  County,  to  look 
after  Pope,  who  was  then  at  Culpeper  Courthouse,  and  was 
advancing  to  the  Rapidan.  Jackson  determined  to  fight  him, 
crossed  the  Rapidan,  and  took  position  on  Slaughter's  Moun- 
tain. Pope  assailed  him  there  with  great  vigor,  with  a  large 
portion  of  his  army,  but  was  driven  back  in  the  finest  style  by 
Jackson  and  his  small  army,  with  very  great  loss. 

As  soon  as  this  was  known  to  General  Lee,  with  his  usual 
military  acumen  he  decided  that  the  best  way  to  get  rid  of 
McClellan  at  Harrison's  Landing  and  to  meet  Pope  was  to  send 
D.  H.  Hill  up  to  Orange  to  support  Jackson,  well  knowing  that 
the  timidity  of  the  administration  in  Washington  concerning 
the  safety  of  the  capital  would  withdraw  McClellan  from  Har- 
rison's Landing  as  soon  as  Jackson's  and  Hill's  presence  was 
known  on  the  road  to  Washington. 

This  battle  of  Slaughter's  Mountain  (or  Cedar  Mountain, 
as  it  was  sometimes  called)  occurred  on  the  9th  of  August.  On 
the  loth  of  August  I  was  ordered  to  take  my  brigade  to  Gordons- 
ville  and  report  to  Jackson.  Jackson  ordered  me  to  bivouac  at 
Gordonsville.  General  Lee's  army  was  soon  gathered  in  Orange 
County,  and  he  at  once  began  to  press  Pope  back.  As  it  turned 


76  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

out,  General  Lee  saw  Pope's  back,  oftener  then  Pope  saw  the 
back  of  General  Lee  or  his  soldiers. 

The  alarm  in  Washington  became  great,  and  McClellan  was 
ordered  to  reinforce  Pope,  and  keep  Lee  out  of  Washington. 
Jackson,  by  a  rapid  movement,  passed  Pope's  right,  and  the  first 
thing  Pope  knew  of  his  advance  Jackson  had  captured  Manassas 
and  destroyed  immense  quantities  of  army  supplies  at  that  point. 
Pope  at  once  determined  that  he  would  bag  Jackson  before 
Longstreet  could  come  to  his  support,  and  ordered  all  of  his 
troops  to  concentrate  about  Manassas;  and  to  keep  Longstreet 
away,  he  occupied  Thoroughfare  Gap  with  a  large  force.  Long- 
street,  under  General  Lee's  immediate  supervision,  followed  the 
same  route  that  Jackson  had  taken,  and  when  he  reached  The 
Plains  he  halted.  The  next  day  about  twelve  o'clock  Lee 
ordered  Longstreet's  advance  to  Gainesville.  When  we  reached 
Thoroughfare  Gap  we  found  it  was  held  by  the  enemy.  For- 
tunately for  us,  the  heavy  forces  had  been  withdrawn  to  aid  in 
the  capture  of  Jackson,  and  there  was  left  only  a  brigade  to 
defend  it.  General  Lee  not  knowing  the  force  that  held  the 
Gap  directed  me  to  take  the  brigade  which  I  was  still  command- 
ing, out  of  the  line  of  march,  and  go  through  Lambert's  Gap 
(the  next  gap  south  of  Thoroughfare),  and  flank  the  enemy  out 
of  the  gap.  I  was  selected  for  this  duty  because  I  was  born  and 
raised  near  Lambert's  Gap  and  knew  the  country.  I  had  gotten 
my  brigade  nearly  out  of  the  line  when  General  Lee  counter- 
manded the  order  and  directed  us  to  march  directly  upon  the 
gap.  Before  I  reached  the  gap  another  brigade  had  filed  in 
before  me,  and  a  sharp  fight  ensued  between  the  Federal  forces 
holding  the  gap,  and  this  brigade.  The  enemy  was  finally 
driven  away.  One  brigade  could  not  hold  Thoroughfare  Gap; 
it  required  at  least  a  division.  I  slept  in  the  gap  that  night,  and 
early  the  next  morning  we  resumed  our  march  to  Gainesville. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  77 

We  reached  Gainesville  about  twelve  o'clock  in  the  day.  Jack- 
son meantime  had  retired  from  Manassas  to  a  position  between 
Sudley  and  Gainesville,  occupying  the  line  of  the  independent 
Manassas  Railroad  from  Gainesville  to  Alexandria  (which  had 
been  commenced,  but  not  completed).  When  Longstreet 
reached  Gainesville  Jackson  was  very  hard-pressed.  They  had 
held  this  position  against  vastly  overwhelming  numbers,  fight- 
ing from  the  cuts  and  behind  the  fills  of  this  branch  railroad, 
for  several  hours,  and  Pope  with  great  gallantry  making  his 
attack  time  after  time.  Jackson  sent  to  Lee  for  reinforcements. 
Longstreet  then  occupied  a  line  at  an  angle  with  Jackson's  line. 
Lee  ordered  Longstreet  to  reinforce  Jackson.  In  galloping  to 
the  front,  Longstreet  got  a  view  of  the  battlefield  and  instead 
of  sending  troops  to  Jackson,  he  moved  out  his  whole  corps  and 
attacked  Pope  somewhat  in  the  flank. 

The  effect  of  this  attack  upon  Pope  was  instantaneous.  The 
fighting  occurred  upon  very  much  the  same  ground  where  the 
first  battle  of  Manassas  was  fought,  and  when  Longstreet 
ordered  his  charge  Pickett's  Brigade,  under  my  command,  Vv^as 
posted  on  the  right  of  Hood.  In  our  charge  we  repulsed  the 
enemy  in  my  front  very  promptly  and  were  in  pursuit.  Hood 
met  with  more  resistance  on  my  left  from  the  Zouaves  of  the 
Federal  Army,  and  after  I  had  dispersed  the  enemy  in  my  front, 
he  was  still  fighting  in  the  same  position.  There  was  a  most 
admirable  place  there  for  a  change  of  front  of  my  brigade,  and 
to  attack  the  enemy  a  little  in  the  flank  and  a  little  in  the  rear. 
I  had  reached  a  ravine  down  which  flowed  a  little  stream  of  water 
from  the  Chinn  House.  I  was  thoroughly  protected  from  the 
fire  and  the  view  of  the  enemy.  I  determined  I  would  change 
front  and  make  an  attack  to  relieve  Hood.  I  gave  the  command 
in  a  very  loud  voice,  which  was  heard  by  the  Colonels  of  the 
extreme  regiments,  right  and  left.   To  be  satisfied  that  all  knew 


78  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

of  my  design,  I  sent  a  message  to  each  Colonel  and  told  him  what 
I  was  going  to  do.  Colonel  R.  C.  Allen,  of  the  28th  Regiment, 
said  that  "if  Colonel  Hunton  wanted  him  to  obey  an  order  he 
must  send  it  in  writing,"  and  refused  to  obey  the  order.  Sup- 
posing that  the  brigade  had  changed  its  marching  order  I  placed 
myself  at  the  head  of  the  56th  Regiment,  which  was  the  directing 
regiment  in  the  change  of  front,  and  when  I  got  to  the  point 
where  we  would  front  and  charge  over  the  hill  right  upon  the 
enemy,  I  looked  around  and  found  that  no  other  regiment  was 
following.  Colonel  Allen,  being  next  to  the  56th,  refused  to 
follow,  and  the  other  regiments  could  not. 

This  broke  up  my  plan  of  attack.  I  thought  then,  and  think 
now,  that  if  my  orders  had  been  carried  out  we  would  have 
captured  most  of  the  troops  that  were  fighting  Hood,  and  it 
would  have  been  the  most  brilliant  effort  in  my  military  career. 
I  was  humiliated  and  deeply  mortified  at  the  failure.  My  regi- 
mental commanders  did  not  understand  it  and  blamed  me,  but 
three  days  afterward  they  came  to  me  in  a  body  (except  Allen) 
and  said  that  while  they  had  blamed  me  for  the  failure  of  that 
movement  they  had  learned  the  facts  and  had  come  to  apologize 
to  me  and  to  express  their  appreciation  of  the  movement  that 
I  was  trying  to  make. 

I  ought  to  have  court-martialed  Colonel  Allen.  It  was  a 
great  mistake;  but  I  did  not  do  it.  I  was  only  colonel-com- 
manding. He  lost  his  prestige  with  the  brigade;  his  regiment 
became  dissatisfied  with  him,  and  General  Garnett  thought 
seriously  of  disbanding  the  regiment,  but  at  Gettysburg  Allen 
led  his  regiment  with  heroism,  and  was  killed  in  that  great 
battle. 

Hood  was  assisted  by  Colonel  Corse,  commanding  Kemper's 
brigade,  and  soon  after  routed  the  enemy  in  his  front.    A  panic 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  79 

seized  the  Federal  Army,  and  the  rout  was  only  second  to  that 
which  we  witnessed  at  first  Manassas. 

The  battle  was  fought  pretty  much  on  the  same  ground  as 
the  first  Manassas,  with  the  positions  of  the  two  armies  reversed. 
Pope  retired  to  Centreville,  where  he  was  joined  by  McClellan 
and  some  of  his  forces  from  Harrison's  Landing  rapidly  coming 
to  reinforce  Pope,  some  of  whom  had  gotten  there  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  second  battle  of  Manassas.  This  battle  was 
fought  on  the  21st  of  August,  1862.  General  Lee  did  not  feel 
that  it  was  prudent  to  attack  McClellan  at  Centreville  with  his 
reinforced  army,  but  gave  him  a  little  brush  at  Chantilly,  and 
then  started  into  Maryland. 

We  passed  through  Loudoun.  How  glad  I  was  to  see  the 
dear  people  of  that  old  county,  and  they  were  just  as  glad  to  see 
me  and  the  soldiers  of  the  8th  Regiment.  We  crossed  the 
Potomac  at  White's  Ferry,  and  entered  Maryland.  At  this  time 
General  Richard  B.  Garnett  was  temporarily  assigned  to  the 
command  of  Pickett's  Brigade,  and  I  returned  to  the  command 
of  the  8th  Virginia  Regiment.  General  Lee  pressed  on  to  Fred- 
erick City,  where  he  remained  some  days.  Harper's  Ferry  was 
occupied  by  Colonel  Miles  with  about  10,000  men.  This  was 
on  the  left  and  rear  of  General  Lee.  He  dispatched  Jackson  to 
capture  Harper's  Ferry,  and  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of 
Maryland,  in  which  he  expressed  his  sympathy  for  their  situa- 
tion, his  admiration  for  what  he  believed  to  be  their  patriotic 
desire  to  free  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment, and  invited  them  to  take  arms  and  come  to  help  him 
to  gain  the  liberties  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

This  address  was  very  coolly  received,  and  while  we  had  a 
great  many  gallant  Marylanders  in  the  army,  from  the  early 
period  of  the  war,  very  few  united  with  us  on  this  occasion. 


8o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

After  remaining  at  Frederick  a  few  days  to  give  Jackson  time 
to  reduce  Harper's  Ferry,  General  Lee  started  by  the  National 
Turnpike  to  cross  the  mountain  at  Boonsborough  Gap,  and  go 
to  Chambersburg,  intending  to  give  battle  to  McClellan  at  that 
point,  after  being  joined  by  Jackson.  Unfortunately,  General 
Lee's  order  to  his  Division  Commanders  detailing  his  plans, 
v^as  allow^ed  by  one  of  his  Major-Generals  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  McClellan.  As  soon  as  McClellan  found  what  the  plans  of 
General  Lee  were,  he  pressed  him  with  great  energy,  and  Gen- 
eral Lee  found  in  order  to  give  Jackson  time  to  reduce  Harper's 
Ferry  he  woud  have  to  fight  McClellan  at  Boonsborough  Gap. 
Longstreet's  corps  had  reached  Chambersburg  before  General 
Lee  decided  upon  the  necessity  of  fighting  McClellan  at  Boons- 
borough Gap.  We  were  ordered  to  double-quick  back  to  Boons- 
borough, and  we  had  a  most  unsatisfactory  fight  at  that  point, 
by  reason  of  the  forced  march.  In  this  fight.  Colonel  J.  B. 
Strange,  commanding  the  19th  Virginia  Regiment,  was  mortally 
wounded.    That  night  General  Lee  withdrew  to  Sharpsburg. 

The  Battle  of  Boonsborough  was  on  the  14th  of  September, 
1862.  At  that  time  General  Lee,  including  Jackson's  force  at 
Harper's  Ferry  had  55,000  men,  and  McClellan  had  87,000.  On 
the  17th  of  September,  the  great  battle  of  Sharpsburg  ensued. 
General  Lee's  small  forces  heroically  held  their  position  until 
Jackson's  men  arrived.  Jackson  in  the  meantime  had  captured 
Harper's  Ferry  and  12,500  men,  and  all  the  stores,  ammunition, 
artillery  and  baggage  that  Colonel  Miles  had. 

With  the  aid  of  Jackson's  men,  General  Lee  drove  McClellan 
back  at  Sharpsburg.  Night  came  on  and  the  battle  ceased.  The 
advantage  of  the  fight  was  with  Lee,  because  McClellan  made 
the  assault  and  Lee  repelled  it.  General  Lee  expected  McClellan 
to  attack  him  again  the  next  day,  and  waited  until  nearly  one 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  8i 

o'clock.  Finding  that  McClellan  did  not  intend  to  attack,  and 
was  being  heavily  reinforced,  General  Lee  retired  across  the 
river  into  Virginia,  unmolested  by  McClellan. 

The  only  company  of  Marylanders  that  reported  to  General 
Lee  during  this  campaign  was  turned  over  to  me  the  night  of 
the  Battle  of  Sharpsburg.  I  told  them  to  lie  down  on  the  ground 
near  us,  and  the  next  morning  I  would  arm  and  equip  them  for 
service.  The  next  morning  I  went  to  look  for  my  company  of 
Marylanders,  and  the  last  one  of  them  had  gone  home.  I  saw 
no  more  of  them. 

While  at  Culpeper,  Colonel  M.  D.  Corse,  who  was  my  junior 
in  rank  and  had  seen  fewer  fights  than  I  had,  was  made  a 
Brigadier  General  and  assigned  to  Pickett's  Brigade,  Pickett 
having  been  made  a  Major-General.  This  was  mortifying  to  me 
and  the  other  Colonels  of  the  brigade  and  they  resented  it.  They 
came  to  me  in  a  body  and  insisted  that  all  of  us  ought  to  tender 
our  resignations  because  of  this  injustice  to  me.  I  thanked  them 
for  resenting  this  great  injustice  to  me,  which  I  felt  very  keenly, 
but  said  to  them,  "I  did  not  come  into  this  war  for  military 
glory,  but  to  fight  honestly  wherever  I  could  for  the  cause  that 
I  loved  so  well,"  and  declined  to  resign  myself,  and  advised  them 
to  give  up  all  idea  of  resigning.  In  consequence  of  this  they  all 
gave  up  the  idea  of  resignation.  The  dissatisfaction  in  the 
brigade  was  so  great  that  another  brigade  was  formed  and  Gen- 
eral Corse  assigned  to  it. 

I  was  again  in  command  of  the  brigade.  I  felt  mortified  after 
having  commanded  the  brigade  as  senior  colonel  so  long,  that 
I  was  not  thought  worthy  to  be  promoted  to  be  its  Brigadier 
General.  I  met  President  Davis  after  the  war,  in  Alexandria, 
and  he  apologized  to  me  for  his  failure  to  promote  me  earlier. 
He  said  that  the  reports  about  my  health  were  so  alarming  that 


82  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

he  didn't  think  it  was  proper  to  put  me  in  command  of  a 
brigade;  but  I  thought  if  I  could  command  it  as  Colonel  I  was 
equally  competent  to  command  it  as  Brigadier  General. 

McClellan  had  fallen  into  disgrace  with  the  Washington  ad- 
ministration, and  was  relieved  of  the  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  at  Warrenton,  and  Gen.  Ambrose  E.  Burnside 
placed  in  command.  Burnside  was  junior  in  rank  to  Sumner, 
Sedgwick  and  Meade.  These  three  distinguished  Federal  Gen- 
erals were  very  much  hurt  at  the  promotion  of  Burnside  over 
them  and  (it  was  thought  by  some)  never  yielded  to  Burnside 
a  very  hearty  support.  Lincoln  went  to  Warrenton  and  had  a 
consultation  with  Burnside,  and  it  was  decided  that  instead  of 
attacking  General  Lee  in  Culpeper  that  they  would  march  di- 
rectly for  Richmond  by  way  of  Fredericksburg,  and  having  the 
inside  line,  and  a  start  of  two  days,  they  believed  they  would  be 
able  to  pass  Fredericksburg  before  General  Lee  could  make  any 
attack.  General  Lee,  as  soon  as  he  knew  of  the  movement  of 
Burnside,  left  Culpeper  on  the  24th  of  November  and  made  a 
forced  march  towards  Fredericksburg.  I  never  shall  forget  that 
march.  Many  of  the  soldiers  were  barefooted,  and  while  at 
Culpeper  General  Lee  had  ordered  that  moccasins  be  made  out 
of  the  hides  of  the  beeves  slaughtered  for  the  army.  These  were 
worn  with  the  hair  next  to  the  foot,  and  the  naked  skin  of  the 
beef-hide  on  the  ground.  I  thought  this  a  most  admirable  plan, 
and  very  many  of  the  soldiers  of  my  brigade  were  shod  in  this 
way,  but  on  the  march  to  Fredericksburg  it  rained  and  snowed, 
the  ground  became  very  slippery,  and  the  moccasins  caused  the 
soldiers  to  slip  and  fall  in  the  mud.  The  result  was  that  most 
of  them  threw  the  moccasins  away  and  marched  barefooted  to 
Fredericksburg. 

Burnside  delayed  his  crossing  of  the  Rappahannock  to  await 
the  arrival  of  his  pontoon  bridges,  when  he  could  readily  have 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  83 

crossed  the  river  at  any  of  the  fords  above  Falmouth.  This  delay 
enabled  General  Lee  to  reach  Fredericksburg  with  his  whole 
army  before  Burnside  attempted  the  passage  of  the  river. 

On  the  13th  of  December,  1862,  Lee  with  60,000  men  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Rappahannock,  at  Fredericksburg,  confronted 
Burnside  with  100,000  on  the  Stafford  side.  The  pontoon  bridges 
having  come,  Burnside  forced  a  passage  across  the  river  at  two 
points — one  at  Fredericksburg  and  one  about  two  miles  below — 
the  first  by  Sumner's  corps  and  the  second  by  Franklin's. 
Franklin's  passage  was  not  disputed.  The  gallant  Barksdale 
defended  the  passage  of  Sumner  at  Fredericksburg  for  a  long 
time.  Finally  the  whole  of  Burnside's  army  was  across  the 
Rappahannock.  Longstreet  occupied  Lee's  left,  embracing 
Marye's  Heights,  and  Jackson  occupied  his  right,  along  the  rail- 
road. My  brigade  was  stationed  on  Longstreet's  extreme  right. 
I  had  a  splendid  position,  but  Pickett  was  ordered  by  General 
Lee  not  to  assail  the  enemy  unless  assailed.  I  never  was  so  anxi- 
ous in  my  life  to  be  attacked.  My  position  was  a  very  strong 
one,  and  I  felt  that  I  could  have  done  great  service  if  allowed 
to  participate  in  the  fight — I  was  not  attacked.  Franklin's  corps 
attacked  Jackson  on  my  right.  At  first  he  drove  Jackson's  first 
line  back,  but  Jackson  soon  recovered  his  ground  and  drove 
Franklin  back  to  the  river.  I  thought  if  Pickett's  Division  had 
been  ordered  to  attack  Franklin  on  his  right  flank  when  he  was 
fighting  Jackson,  the  disaster  to  Franklin  would  have  been  very 
much  more  serious. 

In  the  meantime  Sumner  had  marched  through  Fredericks- 
burg and  assailed  Longstreet  at  Marye's  Heights.  To  do  this 
they  had  to  pass  over  an  open  space  between  Fredericksburg  and 
Marye's  Heights  of  some  three  or  four  hundred  yards.  This 
assault  was  made  with  exceeding  great  gallantry.  Charge  after 
charge  was  made,  and  repulsed,  with  immense  slaughter  each 


84  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

time  from  Marye's  Heights.  Finally  the  whole  of  Burnside's 
army  was  driven  back  to  the  river's  edge,  and  that  night  re- 
crossed  the  river  into  Stafford.  I  have  never  seen  on  any  battle- 
field the  dead  lay  so  thick  as  they  did  in  front  of  Marye's 
Heights.  It  was  assailed  with  very  great  gallantry,  and  de- 
fended with  great  heroism.  It  has  been  said  that  Jackson  advised 
Lee  to  make  a  night  attack  on  Burnside;  but  this  is  a  mistake. 
Jackson  himself,  in  his  lifetime,  denied  it.  But  Lee  expected  an 
attack  the  next  day.  Burnside,  however,  recrossed  the  river  and 
Lee  with  his  diminished  force  was  unable  to  assail  him. 

Thus  ended  the  Battle  of  Fredericksburg.  It  was  a  glorious 
triumph  of  the  Confederate  arms.  My  only  regret  was  that  I 
was  not  allowed  to  participate  actively  in  bringing  about  this 
result. 

Fredericksburg  suffered  intensely  during  the  fight.  Burnside 
had  300  guns  on  the  Stafford  Heights,  and  for  twenty-four  hours 
bombarded  Fredericksburg  and  Lee's  position.  The  town  was 
dreadfully  injured  by  this  cannonade.  After  the  fight  General 
Lee  withdrew  his  army  some  five  or  six  miles  south  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, and  passed  the  winter  there,  Burnside  making  no 
further  efforts  to  go  to  Richmond. 

After  the  fight.  General  Richard  B.  Garnett  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  our  Brigade.  General  Garnett  was  a  graduate 
of  West  Point,  a  member  of  the  distinguished  Garnett  family 
of  Essex  County,  Virginia,  and  while  he  was  not  a  man  of  much 
mental  force,  he  was  one  of  the  noblest  and  bravest  men  I  ever 
knew.  Although  the  brigade  was  dissatisfied  that  I  was  not 
promoted,  we  all  soon  became  very  fond  of  General  Garnett. 
We  loved  him  and  followed  him  with  implicit  confidence  until 
his  lamented  death  at  Gettysburg. 

In  February,  1863,  General  Pickett  was  sent  into  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Garnett's  Brigade  was  sent  down  below  Tarboro  to  get 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  85 

out  corn  and  bacon  from  eastern  North  Carolina.  We  had  but 
httle  fighting,  but  great  success  in  getting  corn  and  bacon.  We 
returned  and  joined  Pickett  near  Suffolk.  In  riding  with  Pickett 
along  his  lines,  with  his  staff,  we  came  to  an  exposed  position, 
and  to  my  surprise  General  Pickett  and  his  staff  laid  flat  down 
on  their  horses'  necks.  I  felt  surprised  at  this,  and  thought 
his  example  to  his  soldiers  was  exceedingly  bad,  and  I,  probably 
imprudently,  rode  along  with  him  bolt  upright  in  my  saddle. 

In  the  meantime  Burnside  had  been  removed  from  the  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  General  Joseph  Hooker 
placed  in  command.  General  Hooker  determined  to  cross  the 
Rappahannock  at  the  United  States  Ford,  some  twelve  miles 
above  Fredericksburg.  His  plans  became  known  to  General  Lee 
and  he  was  there  to  meet  him. 

I  had  not  returned  from  North  Carolina  and  was  not  present 
at  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville  on  May  2-4,  1863.  This  was 
another  brilliant  success  for  General  Lee.  His  army  was  prob- 
ably not  as  large  as  Hooker's  by  one-third.  The  victory  was 
dearly  bought.  Jackson  was  mortally  wounded  on  May  2nd, 
and  died  a  week  later.  He  was  making  a  flank  movement  on 
Hooker  and  had  met  with  brilliant  success  when  night  came 
and  stopped  the  movement.  In  order  to  prosecute  it  intelli- 
gently the  next  day,  Jackson  that  night  went  out  in  his  front 
to  reconnoitre.  Coming  back  to  his  lines  he  was  fired  upon 
accidentally  by  his  own  men,  with  the  disastrous  result  above 
stated. 

The  army  could  not  have  felt  the  loss  of  any  man  so  severely 
as  that  of  Jackson,  except  General  Lee  himself.  He  had  won 
a  reputation  scarcely  equalled  by  any  man,  by  his  brilliant 
victories  in  the  Valley,  and  his  great  assistance  to  Lee  in  winning 
the  fights  at  ist  and  2nd  Manassas,  Sharpsburg,  Fredericksburg 
and  Chancellorsville.    It  has  been  said  that  Jackson  planned 


86  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

this  flank  attack  on  Hooker,  but  that  is  a  mistake.  General  Lee 
and  Jackson  were  in  consultation,  and  Lee  said  to  him,  "How 
shall  we  meet  these  people?"  Jackson  said,  "That  is  for  you 
to  determine.  Whatever  you  order  me  to  do  I  am  ready  to 
try  it."    Then  Lee  ordered  this  flank  movement. 

Some  put  Jackson  as  a  military  man  above  Lee;  but  this  is 
a  mistake,  also.  I  think  Lee  was  the  greatest  commander  to 
plan  a  campaign,  and  Jackson  was  the  greatest  lieutenant  to 
execute  it — that  Lee  and  Jackson  formed  a  combination  which 
has  never  been  equalled  in  military  warfare.  General  Lee  never 
failed  when  he  had  Jackson  to  execute  his  orders.  He  often 
failed  after  Jackson's  death,  for  want  of  his  presence. 

After  the  victories  of  Lee  at  Fredericksburg,  and  Chancellors- 
ville,  he  determined  to  go  into  Pennsylvania,  and  Garnett's 
Brigade,  with  Pickett's  Division,  was  ordered  to  Culpeper  about 
the  24th  of  June.  Soon  after  reaching  Culpeper  we  started  on 
our  march  to  Pennsylvania.  We  went  through  upper  Fauquier 
and  Loudoun,  passed  through  Snicker's  Gap  and  Berryville.  We 
had  to  wade  the  river.  Garnett's  Brigade  was  sent  back  to 
support  the  cavalry  on  this  side  of  the  ridge  and  we  had  to  wade 
the  river  three  times.  In  marching  through  Clarke  County, 
Virginia,  I  was  in  command  of  the  brigade,  Garnett  having  been 
injured  in  the  foot  by  some  accident  and  had  to  be  carried  in  the 
ambulance.  As  I  rode  in  front  of  the  brigade  General  Lee  rode 
up  by  my  side.  He  was  passing  from  the  rear  to  the  front.  We 
had  a  half  hour's  conversation.  I  expressed  to  him  my  disinclina- 
tion to  the  movement  into  Pennsylvania.  I  told  him  that  I  was 
afraid  that  if  we  had  a  disaster  in  Pennsylvania  it  would  be  very 
serious,  and  difficult  for  him  to  get  his  army  back  into  Virginia. 
General  Lee  replied  that  the  movement  was  a  necessity;  that 
our  provisions  and  supplies  of  every  kind  were  very  nearly  ex- 
hausted in  Virginia,  and  that  we  had  to  go  to  Pennsylvania  for 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  87 

supplies.  He  believed  that  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  v^ould 
be  a  great  success,  and  if  so,  it  would  end  the  war,  or  we  would 
have  rest  for  sometime  to  come.  General  Lee  was  so  enthusiastic 
about  the  movement  that  I  threw  away  my  doubts  and  became 
as  enthusiastic  as  he  was. 

Our  army  was  in  splendid  fighting  trim,  but  without  shoes, 
without  clothes,  and  without  blankets.  It  was  right  sad  to  see 
Lee's  ragged  soldiers  marching  through  the  abundant  country 
in  Pennsylvania.  His  army  was  60,000  strong,  and  such  was 
his  confidence  in  it,  resulting  from  the  great  victories  he  had 
achieved  with  it,  that  he  believed  his  army  could  whip  any- 
thing on  the  planet. 

We  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport,  and  marched  di- 
rectly to  Chambersburg.  Here  Pickett's  Division  was  held  for 
a  day  or  two  to  destroy  the  railroad  and  public  property  in  the 
town.  I  was  assigned  to  the  duty  of  tearing  up  the  road,  de- 
stroying the  turntable,  and  battering  down  the  railroad  houses. 
While  I  was  engaged  in  this  work,  a  man  came  out  to  me  and 
asked  me  if  I  would  spare  his  property,  which  was  in  one  of 
the  cars.  I  told  him  certainly,  that  we  were  not  there  to  make 
war  on  private  individuals.  He  was  very  grateful,  and  invited 
me  and  half  a  dozen  others  into  his  house  to  take  a  drink.  While 
we  were  in  the  dining-room  taking  a  drink,  his  wife  came  in, 
in  a  perfect  fury,  and  said  to  him,  "How  dare  you  to  bring  rebels 
into  my  house  to  take  a  drink  ?  I  will  see  that  you  are  punished 
for  this."  But  notwithstanding  her  rage,  we  all  took  our  drink. 

I,  in  command  of  Garnett's  Brigade,  started  on  the  morning 
of  the  2nd  of  July  for  Gettysburg.  Just  out  of  the  town  we  passed 
the  house  of  Mr.  Alexander  K.  McClure.  The  ladies  of  his 
family,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  neighbors,  all  came  out  to  the 
gate  to  see  the  soldiers  pass,  and  they  did  not  taunt  us  with  any 
insults,  or  look  unkindly  upon  us.    I  was  sorry  to  hear  that  later 


88  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

in  the  war  his  house  and  all  of  his  property  was  destroyed,  and 
his  farm  devastated.  He  was  a  real  good  man,  and  notwith- 
standing the  injuries  he  received  at  our  hands,  spent  years  of  his 
time  after  the  war,  personally  and  through  the  newspaper  which 
he  edited,  in  trying  to  bring  back  good  feeling  between  the 
North  and  the  South.  I  met  him  more  than  once  and  was  so 
much  pleased  with  him  that  I  expressed  my  great  regret  that 
his  property  had  been  destroyed  by  our  soldiers."*  We  marched 
very  rapidly  towards  Gettysburg,  making  twenty-three  miles 
that  day — probably  one  of  the  longest  marches  of  the  war.  We 
soon  heard  of  the  fighting  that  had  taken  place  at  Gettysburg 
on  the  I  St  of  July.  Our  success  had  been  very  great.  The  action 
was  brought  on  without  General  Lee's  orders.  His  intention 
was  to  fight  at  Cash  Town,  six  miles  southeast  of  Gettysburg 
and  on  this  side  of  South  Mountain,  but  Ewell  had  accidentally 
encountered  quite  a  force  of  the  enemy  at  Gettysburg,  the  fight 
commenced,  reinforcements  on  both  sides  were  brought  up, 
and  a  heavy  battle  ensued.  This  resulted  entirely  in  our  favor. 
We  drove  the  enemy  and  captured  six  to  seven  thousand 
prisoners.    General  Gordon  says  that  he  was  driving  the  enemy 


*My  father  and  Major  Taylor  Scott  were  on  a  train  coming  from 
Washington  to  Richmond  to  the  unveiHng  of  the  Pickett  monument  in 
Hollywood.  They  were  discussing  the  Gettysburg  campaign  and  my 
father  was  trying  to  recall  the  name  of  the  owner  of  this  house  near 
Gettysburg.  The  gendeman  in  the  seat  ahead  of  them  turned  and  very 
courteously  asked  their  pardon  for  listening  to  their  conversation,  but 
said  he  was  so  much  interested  he  could  not  help  it.  He  said  that  he 
was  the  owner  of  that  house  and  he  was  Alexander  K.  McClure.  This 
distinguished  and  influential  Northern  man,  the  editor  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Times,  was  going  to  Richmond  to  avail  himself  of  this  oppor- 
tunity to  try  to  diminish  the  intense  feeling  of  hostility  between  the  sec- 
tions. My  father  spent  much  of  his  time  while  in  Richmond  with  him 
and  I  have  frequently  heard  father  speak  with  enthusiasm  of  this  charm- 
ing and  delightful  gentleman,  this  patriotic  American. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  89 

from  Seminary  Ridge  when  he  was  ordered  by  Ewell  to  retire. 
He  disobeyed  the  first  order,  but  had  to  retire  when  he  got  the 
second.  He  said  that  if  left  alone  he  would  have  driven  the 
enemy  from  the  ridge  and  occupied  it  himself. 

The  next  morning — the  2nd  of  July — ^Longstreet  was  ordered 
at  an  early  hour  of  the  day  to  make  an  attack  on  the  left  of 
General  George  Gordon  Meade,  who  had  been  put  in  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  place  of  Hooker.  Longstreet 
delayed  the  attack  until  late  in  the  day.  The  objective  point  in 
the  attack  was  "Little  Round  Top."  Our  forces  drove  the  enemy 
from  the  Peach  Orchard,  and  started  to  take  possession  of 
Round  Top.  This  was  resisted,  and  a  violent  struggle  ensued 
for  its  possession.  Finally  the  enemy  prevailed  and  Longstreet's 
troops  were  driven  from  Round  Top. 

This  was  a  great  calamity,  which  might  have  been  avoided 
if  Longstreet  had  moved  early  in  the  morning.  Round  Top 
commanded  General  Meade's  lines,  and  it  would  have  been  dif- 
ficult to  hold  them  with  our  army  in  possessioii  of  Round  Top, 
with  a  proper  complement  of  artillery. 

Pickett's  Division,  including  Garnett's  Brigade,  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Gettysburg  about  night  on  the  2nd,  very  much  worn 
down  by  the  march.  General  Lee  ordered  Longstreet  to  take 
Pickett's  Division  to  unite  with  the  rest  of  his  corps  on  the  right 
of  our  army,  and  as  I  have  said,  he  ordered  him  to  make  this 
move  early  in  the  morning.  Garnett's  Brigade,  still  under  my 
command,  marched  at  an  early  hour  and  gained  the  desired 
position  before  eight  o'clock.  Longstreet  was  ordered  by  Gen- 
eral Lee  to  make  the  attack  at  an  early  hour  with  the  whole 
of  his  corps  (which  embraced  four  divisions)  and  a  part  of 
Hill's  corps,  and  all  of  it,  if  necessary.  About  twelve  o'clock 
in  the  day  we  were  ordered  into  line  of  battle  just  behind  Semi- 
nary Ridge,  and  were  to  a  great  extent  protected  from  the 


90 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


artillery  fire  of  the  enemy.  Between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  our 
artillery,  consisting  of  250  guns,  opened  on  the  enemy.  It  was 
replied  to  by  Meade's  300  guns,  the  greatest  artillery  duel  that 
ever  occurred  on  the  continent.  It  was  ordered  that  General 
Alexander,  who  was  in  command  of  our  artillery,  should  keep 
up  the  cannonade  until  the  enemy  were  demoralized  by  it,  and 
then  Longstreet  was  to  make  his  charge. 

After  a  cannonading  of  about  three  hours  Alexander  reported 
that  if  the  charge  was  to  be  made,  then  was  the  time  to  make  it, 
and  Pickett's  Division  and  Pender's  Division  of  North  Caro- 
linians started  in  this  charge. 

Pickett's  Division  consisted  of  only  three  small  brigades — 
Kemper's,  Garnett's  and  Armistead's.  Corse,  with  his  brigade, 
was  left  at  Hanover  Junction.  Just  before  the  order  to  charge 
was  given,  the  heroic  Garnett  appeared  on  horse-back  to  talce 
command  of  his  gallant  brigade.  He  was  not  fit  for  the  fray, 
but  could  not  be  restrained.  Instead  of  charging  with  his  whole 
corps  and  with  a  part  of  Hill's,  Longstreet  charged  with  these 
two  small  divisions,  Pickett's  and  Heth's. 

The  North  Carolina  Division  had  been  engaged  in  a  furious 
fight  the  day  before,  and  had  lost  heavily,  and  of  course  was 
not  in  high  feather.  The  annals  of  history  will  be  searched  in 
vain  for  a  charge  as  heroic  as  that  of  Pickett's  men.  They 
charged  from  half  a  mile  to  three-quarters  before  they  reached 
the  enemy's  line.  All  the  way  they  were  under  a  furious  can- 
nonade from  the  front  and  from  Little  Round  Top,  and  soon 
were  in  reach  of  the  musketry  fire  from  Meade's  lines.  The 
attack  was  made  upon  Meade's  left  center,  which  General  Lee 
believed  (and  correctly  believed)  was  the  weakest  point  in  his 
line.  After  going  about  two-thirds  of  the  way  Kemper,  who 
was  on  horse-back,  was  shot  down,  supposed  to  be  mortally 
wounded.    Early  in  the  charge  I  was  shot,  through  the  right 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  91 

leg,  and  my  horse  mortally  wounded,  though  able  to  take  me 
to  the  rear.*  My  first  impulse  was  to  get  another  horse  and 
go  on  in  the  charge.f  I  was  on  horse-back  because  I  was  not 
physically  able  to  make  the  charge  on  foot.  I  was  suffering 
intensely  with  my  fistula,  and  could  not,  if  my  life  depended 
on  it,  have  made  that  charge  on  foot.  Garnett  was  on  horse- 
back and  was  shot  down.  The  division  went  forward  heroically, 
its  ranks  being  thinned  every  moment,  but  immediately  supplied 
by  those  from  the  rear.  About  the  time  I  was  wounded,  I  looked 
to  the  left  to  see  what  was  being  done  by  the  North  Carolina 
Division.  It  was  then  disintegrating,  and  according  to  the  best 
information  never  got  up  to  the  enemy's  lines.  Pickett's  three 
brigades  rushed  gallantly  forward.  Garnett  was  killed  when 
near  the  first  line  of  the  enemy,  gallantly  leading  his  men.   They 

*Hummer,  my  father's  courier,  who  was  ever  at  his  side  when  there 
was  danger,  saw  that  Father  was  wounded  and  his  horse  also.  He  took 
the  horse  by  the  bridle  and  led  him  to  the  rear.  Before  he  got  beyond 
the  range  of  the  musketry,  he  assisted  Father  from  the  horse  and  shot 
the  horse  to  put  him  out  of  his  agony.  He  finally,  after  much  difficulty, 
got  an  ambulance  to  take  Father  to  the  field  hospital,  where  his  wound 
was  dressed. 

Some  years  after  the  war,  Dr.  Clayton  Coleman,  Kemper's  Brigade 
Surgeon,  told  me  that  after  Father's  wound  had  been  dressed  he  insisted 
upon  getting  another  horse  and  going  back  into  the  battle  with  his  men. 
This  is  confirmed  by  Hummer.  My  father  had  never  told  me  of  this 
incident,  and  I  asked  him  to  give  me  the  details.  He  said  that  because 
of  the  excitement  of  the  battle  and  his  suffering  from  his  wound,  he 
could  not  recall  the  details,  but  he  did  know  that  he  tried  to  go  back  to 
his  men,  and  that  his  weakness  from  loss  of  blood  made  it  impossible 
for  him  to  do  so. 

fGeneral  Lee  issued  an  order  that  all  officers  should  go  into  this 
charge  on  foot,  so  as  to  expose  themselves  as  little  as  possible.  I  have 
been  told  that  only  four  officers  went  into  the  charge  on  horseback,  the 
three  named  above,  of  whom  Garnett  was  killed,  Kemper  desperately 
wounded,  and  my  father  wounded  and  his  horse  killed.  The  fourth 
was  a  Colonel  whose  name  I  do  not  recall. 


92  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

got  up  to  within  a  few  yards  of  the  first  line  of  the  enemy,  and 
the  gallant  Armistead  with  his  hat  on  his  sword,  ordered  his 
men  to  follow  him,  and  he  and  the  few  survivors  of  the  three 
Brigades  captured  the  first  line  of  the  enemy,  but  Armistead  was 
killed.  At  this  time  Federal  reinforcements  came  up,  and  the 
few  gallant  men  who  had  captured  the  line  were  themselves 
either  killed  or  captured. 

Thus  ended  the  charge  of  the  3rd  of  July — a  charge  that  will 
go  down  in  history  as  the  most  gallant  ever  made  by  any  army. 


CHAPTER  V. 


I 


T  is  beyond  dispute,  it  seems  to  me,  that  if  Longstreet  had 
made  that  attack  earher  in  the  morning,  even  with  Pickett's 
Division  and  the  North  CaroHna  Division,  he  must  have  cap- 
tured Meade's  position  and  driven  him  from  Cemetery  Ridge. 
It  seems  equally  clear  that  if,  when  he  did  make  the  attack  late 
in  the  day,  he  had  supported  Pickett  by  the  rest  of  his  corps 
consisting  of  two  divisions,  and  by  a  part  of  Hill's  corps — or  all 
of  it,  if  necessary — even  at  that  late  hour  he  would  have  pene- 
trated and  held  the  lines  of  Meade;  and  General  Lee's  idea  was 
that  if  he  could  divide  Meade's  army  by  penetrating  the  line  at 
the  left  center,  he  would  drive  him  in  confusion  from  his  posi- 
tion, and  the  Confederate  Cavalry  on  the  right  and  left  of  his 
flanks  would  follow  up  the  advantage,  and  he  would  gain  a 
glorious  victory,  which  as  he  told  me  on  the  march  in  Clarke 
County,  would  probably  result  in  the  independence  of  the  Con- 
federate Government. 

It  is  very  sad  to  contemplate  our  failure  at  Gettysburg.  It  is 
sad  to  think  of  the  loss  of  so  many  heroes  as  fell  at  Gettysburg, 
even  if  their  death  accomplished  a  great  victory ;  but  when  their 
death  accomplished  nothing,  it  makes  the  reflection  still 
more  sad. 

The  North  Carolinians  maintain  that  their  division  also 
reached  the  line  of  the  enemy,  but  from  the  evidence  on  the 
subject  that  is  a  mistake.  The  North  Carolinians  were  very 
brave  and  heroic  in  the  war,  and  I  would  not  derogate  from 
their  bravery  for  any  consideration,  but  still  it  is  a  truth  of 
history  that  they  gave  way  before  Pickett's  men  got  to  the 
enemy's  lines,  and  left  Pickett's  three  depleted  brigades  entirely 
without  support. 

93 


94 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


Before  I  was  wounded  and  left  the  field,  I  saw  that  the  North 
CaroHna  Division  under  Pettigrew  was  disintegrating,  and  there 
is  no  question  at  all,  in  my  mind,  that  these  North  Carolinians 
never  reached  the  enemy's  line. 

Gettysburg  was  thus  lost  to  us,  and  what  a  loss  it  was!  The 
hopes  of  General  Lee  and  of  his  gallant  army,  and  of  the  Con- 
federacy generally,  were  excited  to  a  high  pitch  of  enthusiastic 
expectation  of  the  results  flowing  from  a  victory  at  Gettysburg. 
Lee  and  his  victorious  army  had  won  all  the  battles  that  he  had 
fought.  He  went  into  Pennsylvania  with  an  army  of  60,000 
men,  that  he  thought  was  the  best  army  on  the  planet  and  could 
successfully  meet  any  army  that  could  be  brought  against  it. 
His  views  were  very  clearly  expressed  in  an  interview  with  Rev. 
J.  William  Jones  sometime  after  the  war,  which  Mr.  Jones 
gives  in  his  "Personal  Reminiscences  of  General  R.  E.  Lee," 
at  page  156: 

"In  speaking  of  Jackson  one  day  not  long  before  his  own 
fatal  illness,  and  of  the  irreparable  loss  the  South  sustained  in 
his  death.  General  Lee  said,  with  emphasis:  Tf  I  had  had 
Stonewall  Jackson  at  Gettysburg,  we  should  have  won  a  great 
victory.  And  I  feel  confident  that  a  complete  success  there 
would  have  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  our  independence.' " 

It  is  pretty  well  settled  as  a  fact  that  a  victory  for  Lee  at  Gettys- 
burg would  have  resulted  in  recognition  of  the  Confederate 
States  by  the  European  powers,  and  been  speedily  followed  by 
a  treaty  of  peace. 

The  charge  of  Pickett's  Division  was  the  admiration  of  all 
who  saw  it,  and  is  now  the  wonder  of  the  world. 

Now  who  was  to  blame  for  the  loss  of  Gettysburg  ?  It  is  very 
well  settled  as  a  historical  fact  that  General  Longstreet,  by  his 
failure  to  execute  with  promptness  and  cordiality  the  orders  of 
General  Lee,  was  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  Gettysburg.    On  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  95 

2nd  of  July  General  Lee  ordered  Longstreet  to  make  an  attack 
on  Meade's  left  and  capture  Little  Round  Top.  Instead  of 
making  the  attack  early  in  the  morning  Longstreet  delayed  the 
attack  until  nearly  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  when  he 
marched  up  to  take  Round  Top  he  was  met  by  Sickel's  Corps. 
A  desperate  battle  ensued  for  its  possession,  and  ended  by  leaving 
Little  Round  Top  with  the  enemy.  This  was  a  serious  loss  to 
General  Lee.  It  was  apparent  to  anybody  who  has  looked  over 
that  battlefield  that  Little  Round  Top  commanded  Meade's 
line  of  battle,  and  the  possession  of  it  by  General  Lee  would 
have  made  Meade's  lines  untenable;  but  it  was  lost  to  us  by  the 
failure  of  Longstreet  to  take  it  early  in  the  morning,  which  he 
could  have  accomplished  probably  without  the  loss  of  a  man. 
When  he  attempted  to  take  it  in  the  afternoon  he  lost  4,000  men. 

General  Lee  determined  to  attack  Meade's  left  center,  and 
gave  the  order  to  Longstreet  to  make  the  attack  with  his  whole 
corps,  and  half  of  Hill's  corps,  or  all  of  it  if  he  needed  it.  General 
Gordon  in  his  "Reminiscences  of  the  Civil  War,"  at  page  160, 
says: 

"It  now  seems  certain  that  impartial  military  critics  after 
thorough  investigation  will  consider  the  following  as  estab- 
lished :  That  General  Lee  distinctly  ordered  Longstreet  to  attack 
early  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  and  if  he  had  done  so, 
half  of  the  largest  corps  of  Meade's  army  would  not  have  been 
in  the  fight;  but  Longstreet  delayed  the  attack  until  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  thus  lost  his  opportunity  of  occupying 
Little  Round  Top,  the  key  to  the  position,  which  he  might  have 
done  that  morning  without  firing  a  shot  or  losing  a  man. 
Second,  that  General  Lee  ordered  Longstreet  to  attack  at  day- 
break on  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  and  that  he  did  not 
attack  until  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  artillery 
opening  at  one.    That  General  Lee  according  to  the  testimony 


96  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

of  Colonel  Walter  Taylor,  Colonel  C.  S.  Venable  and  General 
A.  L.  Long,  who  were  present  when  the  order  was  given, 
ordered  Longstreet  to  make  the  attack  on  the  last  day  with  the 
three  divisions  of  his  corps  and  two  divisions  of  A.  P.  Hill's 
corps,  and  that  instead  of  doing  so  he  sent  14,000  men  to  assail 
Meade's  army  in  his  strong  position  and  heavily  entrenched. 
Fourth — That  the  great  mistake  of  the  battle  on  the  first  day 
would  have  been  repaired  on  the  second,  and  even  on  the  third 
day,  if  Lee's  order  had  been  vigorously  executed;  and  that 
General  Lee  died  believing  (the  testimony  on  this  point  is  over- 
whelming) that  he  lost  Gettysburg  at  last  by  Longstreet's  dis- 
obedience of  orders." 

The  error  committed  on  the  first  day,  alluded  to  by  General 
Gordon  above,  was  committed  by  Ewell.  Our  success  was  very 
great  on  the  first  day,  and  General  Gordon  was  driving  the 
enemy  from  Cemetery  Ridge.  He  had  gotten  them  almost 
into  a  panic  when  General  Ewell  ordered  him  to  retire.  General 
Gordon  disobeyed  this  order  and  went  on  in  pursuit.  General 
Ewell  ordered  him  a  second  time  to  retire.  General  Gordon 
was  so  impressed  with  the  importance  of  his  movement  that  at 
two  o'clock  at  night  he  went  to  General  Ewell  and  begged  for 
permission  to  make  a  night  attack  and  secure  Cemetery  Ridge. 
He  told  General  Ewell  that  he  could  hear  distinctly  that  the 
enemy  were  entrenching  all  night  long  on  Seminary  Heights, 
but  Ewell  declined  to  give  him  permission  to  make  the  attack. 

Col.  Henderson,  of  the  British  Army,  who  wrote  the  splendid 
"Life  of  Jackson,"  says  in  criticism  of  Longstreet's  book  on 
Gettysburg,  that  Longstreet  went  into  Pennsylvania  against  his 
wishes,  and  did  not  give  Lee  generous  support  during  the  cam- 
paign. How  sad  it  is  to  reflect  that  General  Longstreet,  who 
had  been  so  honored  by  the  Confederate  Government,  and  was 
trusted  by  General  Lee,  should  have  dashed  the  hopes  of  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  97 

Confederacy  by  his  failure  to  execute  the  orders  of  his  superior 
oflEcer.  It  is  pretty  well  established  that  President  Davis  wanted 
to  court-martial  Longstreet,  but  Lee  said,  "No,  Longstreet  has 
a  large  number  of  friends  in  the  army,  and  if  he  is  court-mar- 
tialed and  dismissed  it  will  cause  dissatisfaction  among  them, 
and  we  are  too  few  in  numbers  to  alienate  the  feelings  of  any 
portion  of  our  army." 

But  Gettysburg  was  lost!  It  was  unquestionably  the  high- 
water  mark  of  the  war.  Success  at  Gettysburg  meant  independ- 
ence for  the  Confederacy.  Failure,  as  it  was  demonstrated  after- 
wards, meant  success  for  the  Union,  and  death  to  the  Con- 
federacy. It  is  sad  to  look  back  and  think  of  the  lives  that  were 
sacrificed  at  Gettysburg  by  reason  of  the  failure  of  General 
Longstreet  to  carry  out  General  Lee's  order.  It  is  perfectly 
plain  to  anybody  that  if  Pickett's  Division  had  been  supported 
by  the  other  two  divisions  of  Longstreet,  and  by  the  two  divi- 
sions of  Hill,  that  these  four  divisions  with  Pickett  and  the 
North  Carolinians  under  Pettigrew,  would  have  swept  Meade 
from  Cemetery  Ridge,  defeated  and  destroyed  his  army,  and  put 
Baltimore  and  Washington  at  the  mercy  of  General  Lee. 

General  Ewell,  whose  blunder  on  the  first  day  caused  the 
failure  to  take  Cemetery  Ridge,  succeeded  the  immortal  Jack- 
son in  command  of  his  corps.  Ewell  was  a  very  peculiar  but  a 
very  gallant  man.  He  was  a  very  fine  officer  up  to  the  second 
battle  of  Manassas,  where  he  lost  his  leg.  He  had  in  early  life 
addressed  a  young  lady,  who  discarded  him  and  married  a  Mr. 
Brown.  She  came  to  him,  a  widow,  when  he  was  wounded, 
and  nursed  him.  He  renewed  his  addresses.  They  were  ac- 
cepted, and  they  were  married.  He  always  referred  to  her  as 
his  wife,  Mrs.  Brown. 

I  never  thought  General  Ewell  was  a  valuable  officer  after 
the  loss  of  his  leg,  and  the  acquisition  of  a  wife.    He  told  me 


98  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

in  person  at  Fort  Warren,  where  both  of  us  were  in  prison  for 
three  months  after  the  surrender  of  General  Lee,  that  it  took  a 
dozen  blunders  to  lose  Gettysburg,  and  he  had  committed  a 
good  many  of  them.* 

Did  Pickett  go  with  his  division  in  the  charge  ?  The  evidence 
is  pretty  strong  on  both  sides  of  that  question.  No  man  who 
was  in  that  charge  has  ever  been  found,  within  my  knowledge, 
who  saw  Pickett  during  the  charge.  One  of  my  soldiers  whom 
I  met  here  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Jeff.  Davis 
monument  in  Monroe  Park,  told  me  that  he  was  detailed  to 
carry  water  to  Pickett  and  his  Staff  during  the  fight  at  Gettys- 
burg. I  asked  him  where  were  Pickett  and  his  Staff  ?  He  said 
they  were  behind  a  lime-stone  ledge  of  rocks,  about  lOo  yards 
in  the  rear  of  the  position  that  we  held  just  prior  to  the  charge. 
This  ledge  of  rocks  was  as  safe  a  place  as  if  he  had  been  lOO 
miles  from  the  battlefield.  I  understand  a  Confederate  surgeon 
says  that  he  had  his  field  hospital  behind  this  ledge  of  rocks, 
and  that  Picket  was  there  during  the  charge  of  his  division.f 

Another  strong  argument  on  that  side  of  the  question  con- 
sists in  the  fact  that  neither  Pickett  nor  any  of  his  Staff  was 
killed  or  wounded,  and  not  one  of  their  horses  was  killed  or 
wounded,  whereas  every  man  who  was  known  to  have  gone  into 
that  charge,  on  horse-back,  was  killed  or  wounded,  or  had  his 
horse  killed.  Kemper  was  on  horse-back  and  was  dreadfully 
wounded.  I  was  on  horse-back  and  was  wounded,  and  my  horse 
killed.    Garnett  was  on  horse-back  and  was  killed;  and  it  is,  I 

*My  father  has  frequently  told  me  that  the  married  men  in  the  army 
made  as  good  soldiers  as  the  unmarried  men,  but  that  his  observation 
was  that  whenever  a  man  married  during  the  war  he  became  a  less 
efficient  soldier. 

tl  was  told  by  General  L.  L.  Lomax,  the  Confederate  representative 
on  the  Gettysburg  Commission,  that  the  ledge  of  lime-stone  rock,  al- 
though frequently  referred  to,  had  never  been  found  or  located. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


99 


think,  impossible  to  find  a  man  who  went  into  that  charge  on 
horse-back  who  was  not  either  killed  or  wounded;  and  it  seems 
the  most  improbable  of  events  that  Pickett  and  his  Staff  could 
have  gone  into  that  charge  on  horse-back  and  all  of  them  escape, 
without  wounds  themselves  and  without  their  horses  having 
been  killed  or  wounded.* 

On  the  other  hand,  several  of  his  Staff  say  that  he  did  go  into 
the  charge.  But  how  far  he  went,  or  how  near  he  was  to  his 
division,  they  have  not  informed  us;  General  Lee  met  General 
Pickett  after  the  charge  and  said,  "You  and  your  division  have 
covered  yourselves  with  glory" ;  I  leave  this  question  to  be  deter- 
mined according  to  the  feelings  and  judgment  of  every  man  who 
reads  what  I  have  said. 

The  losses  in  Pickett's  Division  were  fearful.f  Every  field 
officer  was  shot  down,  except  one.  Col.  C.  S.  Peyton,  of  the 
19th  Regiment,  who  had  lost  his  arm  in  a  previous  battle  was 
the  only  field  officer  left,  and  he  was  in  command  of  the  brigade. 
My  dear  old  regiment  was  commanded  by  a  Lieutenant.  It 
laid  down  under  fire  during  the  artillery  duel  205  strong.  Five 
of  them  were  killed  in  the  artillery  duel,  and  200  responded 
promptly  and  bravely  to  the  order  to  charge.  After  the  charge 
was  over  I  had  improvised  a  pair  of  crutches  and  hobbled  out 
to  see  who  was  left  of  my  faithful  and  gallant  regiment.  Only 
10  of  those  who  went  in  responded  to  the  roll  call — 190  out 
of  200  were  gone. 

It  nearly  broke  my  heart  to  look  over  the  10  surviving  mem- 
bers of  the  gallant  8th  Regiment,  that  had  stood  by  me  in  so 

♦Because  of  these  statements  I  had  the  monument  over  my  father's 
grave  in  Hollywood  inscribed  "Wounded  in  the  charge  of  Pickett's 
Division  at  Gettysburg,"  rather  than  "Wounded  in  Pickett's  charge." 

t232  killed;  1157  wounded;  1499  missing.  Vol.  29,  Part  II,  Official 
Records,  pp.  329-30.  A  total  of  2,888  casualties  out  of  6,405  present  for 
duty  at  Fredericksburg,  May  20,  1863. 


100  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

many  battles  and  obeyed  my  orders  with  so  much  alacrity. 
I  put  back  into  the  ranks  of  the  8th  Regiment  the  detailed  men 
(the  cooks  and  the  ambulance  men),  and  it  made  the  regiment 
about  25  strong. 

I  have  frequently  been  invited  to  go  over  the  battlefield  of 
Gettysburg,  but  I  never  could  summon  the  courage  to  do  so. 
If  I  w^ere  to  go  over  the  line  of  our  charge  I  w^ould  say,  "Here 
fell  Captain  Green";  "Here  fell  Captain  Bissell";  "Here  fell 
Captain  Grayson";  "Here  fell  Captain  Ayres" — and  a  host  of 
others.  It  would  nearly  kill  me  to  see  where  so  many  brave 
men  fell — all  of  them  among  the  best  friends  I  ever  had. 

While  we  were  charging  down  towards  Cemetery  Ridge  we 
passed  Will  Adams,  a  gallant  soldier  of  my  regiment,  who  was 
wounded.  He  looked  into  my  face  and  said,  "Colonel,  I'm  hit." 
I  shall  never  forget  his  appealing  look,  and  the  confidence  in 
me  which  it  seemed  to  evidence.  It  seemed  to  say  to  me  that  I 
would  see  that  he  was  properly  cared  for  and  his  wound  dressed. 
If  he  had  died,  that  look  would  have  haunted  me  as  long  as 
I  lived.  I  called  to  a  soldier  and  told  him  to  take  Adams  from 
the  field.  I  thank  God  he  lived,  and  is  now  a  prosperous  mer- 
chant in  Middleburg,  Loudoun  County.* 

The  Berkeleys  were  all  wounded,  and  three  of  them  captured. 
They  were  among  those  gallant  men  of  my  regiment  who 
charged  with  Armistead  to  the  second  line  of  Meade's  fortifica- 


*My  father  has  frequently  told  me  that  as  he  was  going  into  the  battle 
he  saw  Major  Spessard  of  the  28th  Regiment  sitting  on  the  ground 
holding  a  youth's  head  in  his  lap.  As  Father  approached,  Major  Spessard 
looked  up  and  said,  "Look  at  my  poor  boy,  Colonel."  He  must  have 
been  dead  then,  for  in  a  short  time  Father  saw  him  kiss  him  tenderly 
and  gently  lay  his  head  on  the  ground.  Then  the  Major  rose  to  his 
feet,  put  his  sword  to  his  shoulder,  and  ordered  "Forward,  boys!"  and 
continued  in  the  charge.  Could  there  be  greater  heroism,  or  a  more 
pathetic  and  touching  scene? 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  loi 

tion.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Edmund  Berkeley  was  wounded,  but 
not  seriously,  and  made  his  escape. 

Meade  expected  another  charge  from  General  Lee.  Colonel 
Norborne  Berkeley,  who  was  captured,  afterwards  told  me  that 
the  first  inquiry  made  of  him  when  he  was  captured,  by  the 
officers  on  the  other  side,  was,  "Will  General  Lee  charge  again?" 

General  Lee  was  in  no  condition  to  make  another  charge, 
but  he  was  ready  to  repel  any  attack  that  Meade  might  make. 
Meade  conducted  the  fights  of  the  three  days  with  great  skill 
and  judgment,  and  his  soldiers  fought  well.  While  he  repulsed 
Lee,  his  army  was  very  much  shattered  by  the  three  days'  fights, 
and  he  felt  in  no  condition  to  renew  the  fight  by  an  attack  on 
Lee  the  next  day. 

I  sent  out  and  "impressed"  a  buggy,  and  put  my  war-horse 
"Morgan"  to  it — I  was  not  riding  Morgan  in  the  charge — and 
the  next  morning  Colonel  Berkeley  and  myself  in  the  buggy  com- 
menced our  return  to  Virginia  with  the  wagon  train.  General 
Lee  commenced  his  retreat  the  same  day,  was  not  pressed  by 
General  Meade,  and  took  his  army  safely  across  the  Potomac 
into  Virginia.  Although  our  loss  was  very  severe,  and  the  loss 
of  the  battle  in  its  consequences  fatal  to  us.  General  Lee  brought 
off  with  him  ten  or  twelve  thousand  prisoners,  and  some  material 
of  war  captured.  Colonel  Berkeley  and  I  made  our  way  to  Clarke 
County.  He  stopped  with  his  friend  John  Smith,  and  I  stopped 
for  a  few  days  with  my  brother-in-law,  James  V.  Weir.  I  soon 
started  to  join  my  dear  wife  and  my  dear  son,  who  were  then  at 
New  Glasgow,  in  the  County  of  Amherst,  boarding  with  my 
friend  Mr.  P.  D.  Lipscombe  and  his  wife. 

I  believed  that  General  Kemper  was  dead.  I  heard  they  were 
making  his  coffin  when  I  left  Gettysburg.  When  I  passed 
through  Madison  Courthouse  (his  home)  I  heard  a  rumor  that 
he  still  lived,  and  after  awhile  he  came  back  to  the  City  of  Rich- 


102  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

mond,  and  though  unable  to  do  field  duty,  rendered  valuable 
service  to  the  Confederacy. 

When  I  reached  the  station  three  or  four  miles  from  New^ 
Glasgow,  there  vv^ere  several  other  wounded  Confederates  there, 
and  no  conveyance.  We  could  not  walk,  and  we  had  to  wait 
until  we  could  send  to  the  town  for  a  wagon.  The  news  soon 
reached  my  wife  and  son  that  I  was  at  the  depot,  and  my  little 
boy,  then  eight  years  old,  ran  with  young  Lipscombe  almost 
down  to  the  depot  to  meet  me.  My  wife  was  soon  in  my  arms. 
She  had  suffered  all  the  privations  of  war,  with  a  heroism  equal 
to  the  soldier  in  the  field,  and  up  to  that  time,  and  to  the  end 
of  the  war,  I  never  heard  a  complaint  from  her. 

I  was  about  six  weeks  absent  from  my  regiment,  by  reason 
of  my  wound,  but  as  soon  as  I  felt  able  to  do  duty,  I  returned 
to  it. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


I 


HAD  not  been  long  with  my  regiment  before  I  received 
my  commission  as  Brigadier-General,  dating  from  Gettysburg. 
I  was  directed  to  take  my  brigade,  which  had  been  almost  anni- 
hilated in  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  down  to  Chaffin's  Farm, 
about  eight  miles  below  Richmond,  and  rest  and  recuperate 
and  reorganize  it.  General  Henry  A.  Wise  had  occupied  that 
position  for  a  long  time  previous,  and  had  built  very  com- 
fortable log  cabins  for  his  brigade,  so  that  my  weary,  gallant 
men  of  the  8th,  i8th,  19th,  28th  and  56th,  as  well  as  the  32nd 
Regiments,  went  right  into  these  cabins  prepared  by  General 
Wise. 

I  made  my  headquarters  at  the  overseer's  house  of  Mr. 
Chaffin.  It  was  a  small  house — probably  not  over  a  story  and 
a  half  high — with  four  or  five  rooms,  but  made  very  com- 
fortable headquarters.  At  this  time  Colonel  Norborne  Berkeley 
had  been  made  Colonel  of  the  8th  Regiment;  his  brother, 
Edmund,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  his  brother  William,  Major, 
while  Charlie  was  a  Captain.  It  was  called  "The  Berkeley 
Regiment." 

The  i8th  Regiment  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Henry 
Carrington,  a  man  of  great  gallantry  and  efficiency. 

The  19th  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Henry  Gaunt. 

The  28th  was  commanded  by  Colonel  William  Watts,  of 
Roanoke,  a  very  gallant  man  but  not  much  of  a  tactician,  and 
one  of  the  warmest  friends  of  my  life. 

The  56th  was  commanded  by  Colonel  William  E.  Green, 
of  Charlotte  County,  who  succeeded  Colonel  William  D.  Stuart, 
who  was  mortally  wounded  at  Gettysburg. 

103 


104  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

The  32nd,  which  had  been  temporarily  assigned  to  my 
Brigade,  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Edgar  Montague,  a 
splendid  man  and  officer. 

These  were  all  splendid  regimental  commanders. 

My  Staff  consisted  of  Charles  F.  Linthicum,  Adjutant- 
General;  J.  Simpkins  Jones,  Aide-de-Camp;  Edward  Fitzhugh, 
Assistant  Adjutant;  George  Jones,  Quarter-Master,  and  J.  R. 
Hutchinson,  Commissary. 

Charles  Linthicum  was  one  of  the  best  and  bravest  men  I 
ever  knew.  He  was  a  Northern  Methodist  preacher,  and  be- 
cause of  that  I  would  not  invite  him  to  my  house  when  he 
preached  on  the  Brentsville  Circuit  prior  to  the  war.  The  next 
year,  1861,  he  was  sent  to  Middleburg,  and  when  the  militia 
regiment  was  ordered  out,  at  some  alarm  at  Leesburg,  he  took 
the  place  of  one  of  his  members  who  had  a  large  family,  and 
came  with  this  militia  regiment  to  Leesburg.  He  soon  left  the 
militia  and  joined  the  8th  Regiment.  Whenever  there  was  a 
call  for  volunteers  for  hazardous  duty,  Charlie  Linthicum  was 
the  first  man  to  step  to  the  front. 

At  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  just  before  we  went  into  the 
fight,  he  asked  my  permission  to  pray,  which  I  gladly  gave  him. 
He  made  a  very  earnest  prayer  for  our  success  and  safety,  and 
I  do  not  think  my  boys  fought  any  the  worse  by  reason  of  it. 
He  behaved  gallantly  in  that  fight,  and  when  it  was  over  I 
detailed  him  as  Chaplain  of  the  Regiment,  and  then  got  him 
a  commission  as  such. 

When  Pickett  was  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill,  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  brigade  devolved  on  me,  I  detailed  Linthicum  as 
my  Adjutant-General.  He  was  very  efficient  and  became  very 
fond  of  the  duty,  and  after  Garnett  was  assigned  to  the  brigade 
he  obtained  for  Linthicum  his  commission  as  Adjutant-General; 
when  I  succeeded  Garnett,  Linthicum  was  retained  as  my  Adju- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  105 

tant-General.  He  was  perfectly  fearless.  He  could  undergo 
more  fatigue  than  most  any  man  I  ever  knew.  He  was  always 
ready  to  obey  my  orders.  He  had  the  confidence  of  every  man 
in  the  brigade,  and  nobody  ever  failed  in  obedience  to  the  orders 
because  conveyed  by  Charlie  Linthicum.  He  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  second  Cold  Harbor,  June  3,  1864,  and  I  have  never 
ceased  to  grieve  for  the  loss  of  my  dear  friend. 

At  the  time  I  was  ordered  to  Chaffin's  Farm,  my  wife  and 
son  were  still  at  Mr.  Lipscombe's.  I  found  I  could  make  them 
comfortable  at  Chaffin's  Farm  in  my  headquarters  in  the  over- 
seer's house  and  invited  them  down  to  spend  the  winter  with 
me.  They  gladly  accepted  the  invitation  and  as  soon  as  possible 
came  to  me.  My  sister  Mary  Brent,  now  Mrs.  Foster,  came 
afterwards  and  stayed  until  Christmas. 

This  was  an  exceedingly  pleasant  winter,  notwithstanding  the 
war,  to  my  wife  and  son.  I  appointed  Eppa  on  my  Staff.  He 
believed  the  appointment  was  a  legal  one,  and  it  was  very  in- 
teresting to  see  how  he  carried  my  commands  around.  I  had 
brigade  drills  every  few  days,  and  on  one  occasion  I  sent  an  order 
by  Eppa  to  Colonel  Edmund  Berkeley  of  the  8th  Regiment.  He 
started  off,  riding  the  horse  that  my  body-servant  used,  in  full 
uniform,  and  provided  with  spurs  on  his  bare  feet.  He  delivered 
the  order  and  as  soon  as  the  soldiers  saw  the  spurs  on  his  bare  feet 
they  began  to  yell  at  him,  "Come  out  of  them  spurs,"  "I  see  your 
ears  sticking  out,"  and  many  similar  remarks.  Soon  his  horse 
became  very  excited  and  restless  and  Eppa's  legs  were  too  short 
to  keep  the  spurs  out  of  his  sides  and  the  horse  ran  away,  and 
the  whole  line  of  the  brigade  cheered  him.  I  was  in  agony  for 
the  safety  of  my  son,  who  was  only  eight  years  old;  but  I  did  not 
budge  from  my  position.  Eppa  sat  and  managed  his  horse 
admirably,  but  he  could  not  stop  him  until  he  ran  into  the  stable 
some  distance  from  the  parade  grounds.    After  he  had  been 


io6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Captain  on  my  Staff  a  month,  he  undertook  to  draw  his  pay, 
but  failed.  For  the  first  time  he  found  that  he  was  not  legally  a 
Staff  officer  of  my  brigade.  His  mother  used  to  teach  him  in  the 
day  reading,  writing  and  spelling,  and  I  taught  him  arithmetic 
at  night.  All  that  I  had  before  the  war  was  gone,  and  I  was 
afraid  that  if  I  was  killed  my  boy  would  have  no  education,  and 
one  night  I  put  him  in  long  division.  His  mind  was  so  thor- 
oughly taken  up  with  the  brigade  that  I  could  not  get  him  to 
think  about  his  arithmetic,  and  I  whipped  him,  and  before  bed- 
time he  could  do  any  sum  in  long  division.  But  I  felt  very 
unhappy  about  it,  and  determined  then  and  there  that  I  never 
would  give  him  another  "lick"  during  the  war.  I  did  not  want 
him  to  think  of  it  in  case  I  was  killed.  He  knew  more  men  in 
the  brigade  by  name,  than  I  did.  He  was  riding  around  one 
day  and  passed  the  Guard  House  where  I  had  just  put  three 
prisoners  for  some  disobedience,  and  they  saw  him  coming. 
One  of  them  called  to  him,  "Are  you  as  mean  a  man  as  your 
father?  If  you  are,  they  had  better  kill  you  now."  He  came 
to  the  house  the  maddest  boy  that  I  ever  saw.  I  did  not  mind 
it  at  all,  believing  the  poor  fellow's  resentment  at  the  punish- 
ment was  natural. 

When  Christmas  Day  came  somebody  sent  me  a  turkey,  and 
my  wife  and  myself  determined  we  would  give  a  little  dinner 
party.  Simpkins  Jones,  who  was  the  most  unselfish  and  gener- 
ous man  I  ever  knew  (except  Norborne  Berkeley),  sat  at  the 
foot  of  the  table.  By  the  time  dinner  was  announced  Simpkins 
was  drunk,  and  when  drunk  he  couldn't  talk.  It  was  very 
amusing  to  see  him  bowing  to  the  guests  to  know  if  they  would 
have  a  piece  of  turkey,  without  being  able  to  utter  a  word. 
I  laugh  over  it  every  time  I  think  of  it.  But  he  was  a  gallant, 
good  man,  and  was  very  badly  wounded  at  the  second  battle 
of  Cold  Harbor,  where  poor  Linthicum  was  killed. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  107 

While  I  was  at  Chaffin's  Farm  there  were  two  raids  on  Rich- 
mond which  were  very  alarming,  and  I  was  ordered  with  my 
brigade  to  the  defence  of  the  city  on  both  occasions.  The  first 
time  my  wife  and  son  went  with  me  to  Richmond  and  stayed  at 
the  house  of  a  relative  of  hers,  Mrs.  Harvey.  I  was  two  or  three 
miles  in  front  of  the  city,  near  the  place  where  The  Brook 
crosses  Brook  Turnpike,  guarding  against  this  raid,  and  my  wife 
started  Eppa  with  a  basket  of  provisions  for  me,  prepared  by 
herself  and  some  ladies  of  Richmond.  He  didn't  know  where 
I  was — didn't  know  in  what  direction  to  seek  me,  and  nobody 
whom  he  met  could  tell  him,  but  notwithstanding  that  I  got  my 
basket  of  provisions  and  enjoyed  it  very  much.*  The  next  time 
I  was  ordered  out  to  meet  this  raid  my  place  at  Chaffin's  was 
taken  by  a  brigade  of  home  guards  formed  of  the  Department 
Clerks  in  Richmond.  My  wife  and  son  were  left  at  Chaffin's 
under  the  care  of  the  commanding  officer.  The  commandant 
soon  discovered  Eppa  and  found  that  he  was  a  Captain  on  my 
Staff.  He  immediately  gave  him  promotion,  making  him 
Major,  with  a  star  on  his  collar — a  most  unfortunate  thing  for 


*When  this  occurred  I  was  about  eight  years  old.  I  had  with  me  a 
colored  boy  of  about  the  same  age.  We  set  out  on  foot  early  in  the 
morning,  carrying  our  basket.  We  finally  reached  a  picket  who  refused 
to  let  us  go  farther  to  the  front.  I  asked  him  to  send  me  to  the  com- 
manding officer,  which  he  did.  When  I  told  the  officer  my  errand,  he 
told  me  I  could  go  no  farther,  and  that  I  was  then  too  far  to  the  front, 
but  that  if  I  would  leave  the  basket  with  him  he  would  send  it  by  one 
of  his  Staff  officers  to  Father.  I  evidently  showed  in  my  face  my  un- 
willingness to  give  up  the  basket  and  my  apprehension  my  father  would 
never  see  it.  He  answered  my  look  by  assuring  me  that  my  father  should 
certainly  receive  it.  I  finally  delivered  the  basket  to  him  and  my  father 
did  receive  it,  with  everything  in  it,  including  the  bottle  of  whiskey,  un- 
touched. He  has  frequently  told  me  how  much  he  enjoyed  it.  I  regret 
I  do  not  remember  this  officer's  name.  He  was  so  nice  to  me  and  so 
faithful  in  executing  the  trust  which  I  had  reluctantly  confided  to  him. 


io8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

the  boy,  for  when  my  brigade  returned  to  Chaffin's  Farm  the 
men  all  called  him  a  militia  Major,  and  it  nearly  killed  him. 
He  wished  a  thousand  times  that  the  star  had  never  been  put 
on  his  coat  collar. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1864  Butler  made  his  appearance 
with  a  large  army  between  Fortress  Monroe  and  Richmond. 
Meade  was  superseded  in  chief  command  by  General  Grant. 

Grant  retained  Meade  as  second  in  command,  and  the  com- 
bination was  a  very  strong  one — Grant  with  his  obstinacy  in 
fighting,  and  Meade  with  his  strategy.  Meade  had  moved  out 
his  army  into  the  southern  part  of  Orange  County,  and  General 
Lee  met  him  at  Mine  Run.  This  was  a  pretty  hard  fight,  with- 
out any  special  advantage  to  either  side. 

Then  followed,  between  the  5th  and  20th  of  May,  the  battles 
of  the  Wilderness  and  Spottsylvania  Courthouse.  These  were 
terrific  battles.  Lee  had  only  a  part  of  his  army,  most  of  Long- 
street's  forces  being  in  North  Carolina.  Meade  had  more  than 
three  to  one,  and  yet  General  Lee  repulsed  him,  with  heavy 
loss,  in  each  fight. 

While  Grant  was  fighting  these  battles  Sheridan  made  his 
famous  raid  on  Richmond,  and  this  was  one  of  the  raids  that 
I  was  called  from  Chaffin's  Farm  to  meet.  Sheridan's  cavalry 
had  become  a  very  formidable  body.  The  Federal  Cavalry  for 
the  first  half  of  the  war  was  of  little  use,  but  Sheridan's  cavalry 
was  composed  of  picked  men  from  the  whole  army,  and  con- 
stituted a  splendid  body  of  horsemen. 

"Jeb"  Stuart  immediately  started  out  to  intercept  Sheridan, 
and  in  a  very  considerable  fight  at  the  Yellow  Tavern  he  was 
mortally  wounded,  and  died  the  next  day  at  the  home  of  his 
brother-in-law  on  Grace  Street  near  Monroe,  Richmond,  Va. 

My  brigade  in  the  meantime  was  in  the  trenches  around 
Richmond — what  was  called  the  "outer  fortifications."    I  was 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  109 

ordered  a  mile  or  two  up  the  Brook  Turnpike  to  assist  the 
cavalry  in  resisting  this  raid.  I  found  a  Colonel  Wilson  of  North 
Carolina  in  command.  I  took  command  of  the  infantry  and 
cavalry  and  formed  my  line  of  battle,  with  the  cavalry  on  my 
left,  and  was  just  about  to  charge  the  enemy  when  General 
Braxton  Bragg,  then  acting  as  military  adviser  to  the  President, 
sent  a  peremptory  order  to  me  to  return  to  the  fortifications. 
He  was  paralyzed  with  apprehension  that  Sheridan  would  get 
by  me  and  into  Richmond  before  he  could  be  resisted.  I  was 
deeply  mortified  at  being  recalled,  and  felt  confident  that  I  could 
have  captured  the  whole  party.  Indeed  prisoners  told  me  after- 
ward that  they  were  on  the  eve  of  surrendering,  and  were  about 
to  shoot  their  horses.  When  I  retired  Sheridan  made  his  escape 
across  the  Chickahominy,  at  a  ford  defended  by  Colonel  Robert 
Randolph,  of  Warrenton,  who  lost  his  life  in  a  gallant  defense 
of  the  crossing  at  that  ford. 

Poor  General  "J^b"  Stuart !  What  a  magnificent  man  he  was. 
He  was  the  finest  cavalry  leader  this  continent  ever  saw.  Forrest 
was  his  equal  in  fighting,  and  his  equal  in  strategy,  but  was  not 
his  equal  as  an  outpost  commander.  "J^b"  Stuart  was  the  best 
"eyes  and  ears"  that  the  army  ever  had.  He  has  had  no  equal 
as  a  commander  of  cavalry  since  the  field  marshals  of  Napoleon. 
He  was  a  warm,  merry-hearted  man,  always  ready  to  sing  or 
dance  or  fight,  and  General  Lee  could  not  supply  his  place. 

I  returned  to  Chaffin's  Farm.  Butler  was  coming  up  the 
Peninsula  with  a  large  force.  I  was  constantly  called  on  from 
Richmond  to  report  Butler's  movements,  and  every  day  I  had 
to  send  down  my  devoted  and  gallant  Adjutant,  Charlie  Lin- 
thicum,  to  reconnoitre.  It  became  evident  that  Grant  would  try 
to  flank  Lee  and  get  into  Richmond.  This  made  it  necessary 
for  Lee  to  have  all  the  troops  which  he  could  bring  to  his  army. 
I  was  ordered  to  join  him  at  Hanover  Junction.    My  wife  and 


no  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Eppa  returned  to  Lynchburg.  My  good  wife  went  without  a 
murmur.  She  was  a  brave  woman  and  well  fitted  for  the  wife 
of  a  soldier.  Confederate  money  had  depreciated  to  such  an 
extent  at  that  time  that  my  pay  would  not  support  my  wife, 
Eppa  and  myself.  I  had  to  draw  rations  partly  in  the  army  and 
partly  in  Lynchburg,  and  they  lived  on  these  rations.  On  one 
occasion  they  were  reduced  to  a  single  beef  bone.  My  wife  put 
it  on  to  boil  for  a  pot  of  soup  for  dinner,  and  going  out  to  visit 
a  neighbor  in  the  house  left  Eppa  to  mind  the  soup,  with  strict 
injunctions  not  to  touch  the  pot;  but  boylike  he  thought  he 
must  stir  the  soup,  and  in  doing  so  turned  it  over  and  spilled 
every  drop.  Their  last  chance  for  dinner  was  gone,  and  my 
wife  did  not  have  a  mouthful,  but  she  was  able  to  give  Eppa 
some  bread  and  molasses. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


I 


WENT  to  Hanover  Junction  on  the  23rd  of  May,  1864, 
where  I  united  with  the  balance  of  Pickett's  Division,  and  joined 
the  main  army  of  General  Lee.  The  32nd  Regiment  had  been 
from  some  cause  assigned  to  my  brigade,  and  the  i8th  to  Corse's. 
At  Hanover  Junction  the  32nd  Regiment  was  returned  to  Corse 
and  the  i8th  Regiment  to  me. 

The  32nd  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Edgar  Montague,  an 
uncle  of  our  present  Governor.  He  was  a  splendid  soldier  and 
splendid  man,  and  while  his  regiment  was  very  small  it  was 
composed  of  the  very  best  material.  We  were  sorry  to  part  from 
the  32nd  Regiment  and  its  members  sorry  to  leave  us. 

General  Grant  soon  after  our  arrival  at  Hanover  Junction 
made  his  appearance  on  the  north  side  of  the  North  Anna  River. 
General  Lee  was  prepared  to  meet  him,  but  Grant  made  no  fight 
at  this  point,  but  moved  to  Cold  Harbor  near  our  old  battlefield 
of  Gaines'  Mill. 

On  the  3rd  of  June,  1864,  the  battle  of  second  Cold  Harbor 
was  fought.  It  was  one  of  the  bloodiest  and  hardest  fought 
battles  of  the  war.  The  Federal  loss  was  13,000;  General  Lee's 
loss  was  1,000.  This  loss  of  Grant's  was  incurred  in  distinct 
and  separate  charges  of  different  corps.  He  became  impatient 
and  ordered  a  general  charge  along  the  whole  line.  His  soldiers 
with  one  accord  refused  to  make  the  charge.  I  have  never  seen 
dead  bodies  lay  as  thick  as  in  front  of  our  breast-works  at  second 
Cold  Harbor.  I  got  into  a  terrible  place  there.  My  brigade  was 
ordered  to  send  its  smallest  regiment  to  fill  up  a  space  in  the  line, 
and  to  hold  the  rest  in  reserve.  Being  held  in  reserve  always 
means  trouble.   You  are  sure  to  be  sent  to  the  worst  place  along 

III 


112  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

the  line.  Accordingly,  in  a  short  time  I  was  ordered  down  to 
the  right,  some  half  a  mile  or  three-quarters.  The  enemy  had 
occupied  a  swamp  which  crossed  our  line  of  entrenchments  some 
hundred  yards  wide.  They  enfilladed  our  line  and  killed  a  good 
many  of  our  men.  I  was  ordered  to  protect  that  part  of  the 
line.  When  I  reached  there  I  found  General  Clingman,  of 
North  Carolina,  occupying  the  line  to  the  right  of  this  swamp, 
but  not  up  to  it.  I  filled  up  that  gap  with  my  brigade,  and  the 
balance  I  formed  at  right  angles  down  this  swamp.  My  men 
were  picked  off  by  sharp-shooters  from  two  directions.  General 
Clingman  sent  word  to  General  Hoke,  who  was  in  command 
of  that  part  of  the  line,  that  if  he  did  not  drive  the  enemy  from 
his  front  he  would  vacate  the  line.  General  Hoke  sent  word 
to  me  to  drive  the  enemy  from  Clingman's  front.  I  replied 
that  I  would  not  do  it;  that  I  would  unite  with  Clingman  in 
a  common  movement  and  drive  the  enemy  from  his  front  and 
mine.  General  Hoke  then  sent  me  word  to  arrange  for  a  joint 
movement  with  Clingman,  and  drive  the  enemy  away.  Cling- 
man's line  was  protected  from  sharp-shooters  by  traverses.  I 
sent  my  dear  friend  and  gallant  Adjutant  Charlie  Linthicum, 
to  Clingman  to  arrange  for  this  joint  assault  on  the  enemy. 
In  going  around  one  of  these  traverses  he  was  shot  through  the 
head  and  instantly  killed. 

How  I  deplored  his  loss!  I  never  supplied  his  place.  He  was 
the  best  Adjutant-General  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 
Captain  Ed.  Fitzhugh  succeeded  him. 

I  abandoned  this  joint  movement  with  Clingman  and  went 
down  to  see  General  Hoke  on  my  left  about  three  hundred  yards. 
My  men  were  falling  all  around  me.  I  never  made  better  speed 
in  my  life.  I  arranged  with  General  Hoke  that  he  should  send 
out  a  strong  skirmish  line  and  attack  the  enemy  in  this  swamp, 
on  its  right  flank,  and  that  I  would  detail  every  other  man  of  my 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  113 

brigade,  who  would  unite  in  this  attack  upon  their  position  upon 
hearing  his  guns.  This  was  executed  splendily  and  we  got  rid 
of  the  sharp-shooters  in  the  swamp.  That  night  I  received 
orders  from  Hoke  that  upon  hearing  from  Chngman  before 
day  the  next  morning,  we  were  to  vacate  that  line  and  retire 
to  a  line  that  had  been  constructed  in  the  rear.  I  waited  most 
anxiously  for  an  hour  or  two  before  day  for  the  message  from 
Clingman.  I  at  last  discovered  the  first  streaks  of  dawn,  and 
hearing  nothing  from  Clingman  I  sent  to  him  to  know  if  it  was 
not  time  for  him  to  move.  To  my  surprise  and  indignation  he 
had  vacated  the  line  and  retired  without  notifying  me,  leaving 
our  whole  front  open  to  the  enemy.  I  retired  my  brigade  quietly 
and  safely  back  to  the  new  line.  It  was  reported,  and  I  expect 
truly,  that  when  General  Grant's  men  refused  to  make  the  gen- 
eral charge,  he  reported  to  Lincoln  that  his  men  had  refused  to 
fight  and  he  must  treat  for  peace.  Swinton,  the  army  corre- 
spondent of  Grant's  Army,  was  called  in  to  write  a  peace 
preparatory  to  a  treaty  of  peace.  Before  this  was  done  Lincoln 
determined  that  he  would  off -set  Lee's  victories  with  Johnston's 
defeats  in  Georgia.  I  don't  know  that  this  is  true,  but  it  was 
told  by  an  army  officer  to  General  Heth  not  very  long  after 
the  war. 

General  Lee  expected  to  fight  Grant  at  Malvern  Hill  and 
gathered  his  army  there.  He  had  sent  most  of  his  cavalry 
around  to  Petersburg  and  could  not  at  that  time  get  informa- 
tion of  the  movements  of  Grant.  It  was  said  that  General  Lee 
was  in  a  furious  passion — one  of  the  few  times  during  the  war. 
When  he  did  get  mad  he  was  mad  all  over.  He  was  mad 
because  he  could  not  find  out  what  Grant  was  doing.  He  was 
soon  informed,  however,  that  Grant  had  crossed  the  James  River 
and  was  marching  on  Petersburg,  and  that  Beauregard,  who 
had  been  defending  the  line  between  Richmond  and  Petersburg 


114  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

against  the  advance  of  General  Butler,  had  abandoned  his  lines, 
and  hastened  to  the  defense  of  Petersburg. 

On  the  i6th  of  June,  1864,  General  Pickett  was  ordered  to 
march  his  division  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  save  Drewry's  Bluff. 
This  was  across  the  James  River  from  Chaffin's  Farm,  and  I  was 
familiar  with  all  the  byroads,  etc.  I  was  ordered  to  take  the 
lead  and  go  through  woods  and  cross  the  country  without  regard 
to  roads,  and  get  to  Drewry's  Bluflf  as  soon  as  possible.  I  think 
my  march  on  that  occasion  was  the  fastest  on  record.  We 
crossed  the  James  River  on  a  pontoon  bridge,  and  found 
Drewry's  Bluff  safe.  We  marched  on  down  the  Richmond  and 
Petersburg  Turnpike  a  mile  or  two  below  Drewry's  Bluff  where 
we  struck  the  enemy. 

General  Butler  in  the  meantime  had  taken  possession  of 
Beauregard's  abandoned  works  and  turned  them  on  us.  I  was 
in  front  and  when  I  struck  the  enemy,  I  ordered  my  brigade  to 
left-face  and  charge.  I  have  never  seen  anything  done  so  hand- 
somely. We  drove  the  enemy  past  Beauregard's  abandoned 
works,  and  in  their  own  line,  and  turned  our  works  upon  them. 

The  other  brigades  of  the  division  followed  mine,  and  they 
fought  on  my  right  and  left,  and  before  night  we  had  recaptured 
the  whole  of  Beauregard's  abandoned  line. 

General  Lee  was  perfectly  delighted  at  our  success,  and  pub- 
lished the  only  undignified  order  that  he  ever  issued,  in  the 
following  words: 

"Cult's  House,  5-1/2  P.  M. 
17  June,  1864. 
Lieutenant-General  R.  H.  Anderson, 

Commanding  Longstreet's  Corps. 
General: 

I  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you  my  congratulations 
upon  the  conduct  of  the  men  of  your  corps.    I  believe  that  they 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  115 

will  carry  anything  they  are  put  against.    We  tried  very  hard 
to  stop  Pickett's  men  from  capturing  the  breast-works  of  the 
enemy,  but  could  not  do  it.    I  hope  his  loss  has  been  small. 
I  am,  with  great  respect. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

R.  E.  Lee, 
General." 
Major  Drewry,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  neighborhood, 
witnessed  the  charge  of  my  brigade  on  that  occasion  and  never 
ceases  to  speak  of  it  wherever  he  sees  me.  He  said  that  every 
man  in  my  brigade  seemed  to  know  his  duty — exactly  what  to 
do — and  did  it  with  a  gallantry  he  had  never  seen  equalled. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


w, 


E  remained  in  this  fortified  line  for  a  long  time.  General 
Butler's  troops  were  opposed  to  us.  Our  skirmish  lines  were 
within  35  yards  of  each  other  at  one  time,  and  dear  old  General 
Lee  rode  around  the  lines  with  me  on  one  occasion,  and  said, 
"Who  are  those  people  out  yonder?"  I  said  it  was  the  Yankee 
skirmish  line.  He  said,  "What  are  they  doing  there  ?  We  are 
in  the  habit  of  believing  this  country  belongs  to  us.  Drive  them 
away,  sir;  drive  them  away."  I  told  him,  "All  right."  That 
night  I  made  a  night-attack  on  their  skirmish  line  and  did  drive 
it  away,  some  distance  back. 

In  the  meantime  Grant  laid  siege  to  Petersburg,  and  while 
he  was  not  a  brilliant  military  man,  he  was  the  first  to  conceive 
the  best  mode  of  subjugating  the  South.  He  saw  that  we  could 
not  supply  the  loss  of  our  men,  while  he  could  get  recruits  to 
any  number.  He,  therefore,  determined  that  he  would  wear 
Lee  out  by  attrition,  and  if  he  lost  ten  men  to  Lee's  one,  he 
saw  that  the  end  was  certain,  and  that  Lee  must  eventually 
surrender.  Acting  on  this  idea,  he  extended  his  line  until  Gen- 
eral Lee's  line  became  so  thin  it  was  hardly  able  to  resist  attack. 
General  Lee's  line  at  this  time  extended  from  in  front  of  Rich- 
mond beyond  Petersburg — a  distance  of  nearly  35  miles. 

Three  brigades  of  Pickett's  Division,  which  had  been  relieved 
by  Mahone,  were  on  the  south  side  of  James  River;  while  my 
brigade  returned  to  the  north  side.  In  March,  1865,  General 
Lee  had  35,000  men,  and  Grant  about  150,000.  Pickett  was 
ordered  to  Five  Forks  to  meet  the  extended  line  of  General 
Grant.  I  was  ordered  to  report  to  General  Lee  on  Hatcher's 
Run.   General  Pickett  had  a  good  force  of  infantry  and  Fitz- 

117 


ii8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

hugh  Lee's  and  William  H.  F.  Lee's  cavalry.  He  drove  the 
enemy  back  to  Dinwiddie  Courthouse. 

While  Pickett  was  fighting  near  Dinwiddie  Courthouse,  on 
March  31,  1865,  I,  with  two  other  small  brigades  was  ordered 
out  on  the  road  which  led  to  Five  Forks,  with  the  view  of  keep- 
ing communication  with  Pickett  open.  We  had  hardly  formed 
our  line  of  battle  when  a  division  of  Warren's  Fifth  corps 
marched  upon  us.  We  had  no  orders  to  attack,  and  my  idea 
was  to  hold  our  ground  and  receive  the  attack  from  the  enemy ; 
but  a  Lieutenant  in  the  iSth  Regiment  named  Holland  who 
had  been  promoted  for  gallantry,  rushed  out  in  front  of  his  com- 
pany and  waving  his  sword  said,  "Follow  me,  boys!"  This  was 
all  the  order  that  the  three  brigades  had  to  charge,  but  they  did 
charge,  in  magnificent  style,  and  drove  this  division  back  to 
Gravelly  Run,  nearly  a  mile. 

I  think  every  man  in  my  brigade  acted  heroically  in  that 
charge,  only  a  short  time  before  the  surrender.  As  we  were 
driving  the  enemy.  Captain  E.  C.  Fitzhugh,  my  Adjutant,  who 
had  succeeded  poor  Linthicum,  was  struck  in  the  forehead  and 
down  he  fell.  Colonel  Green,  of  the  56th  Regiment,  said, 
"Poor  Fitz!  Forward,  Boys!"  and  on  we  went;  but  not  long 
afterwards  we  were  joined  by  Fitzhugh,  who  was  only  stunned, 
and  he  continued  in  the  charge. 

General  Lee  was  delighted  at  our  success  and  sent  word  to 
me  to  hold  my  position,  if  possible,  and  sent  Wise's  brigade  to 
extend  my  line  on  the  left. 

Warren  sent  out  another  division.  I  ordered  my  men  to 
hold  their  fire  until  they  came  close.  The  order  was  obeyed, 
and  when  we  opened  upon  this  fresh  division,  the  line  of  the 
enemy  gave  way  and  one-third  of  them  broke  and  ran.  The 
other  two-thirds  stood  under  fire,  reorganized  their  line,  and 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  119 

charged  us  with  great  gallantry.  If  we  had  not  retired  in  great 
haste  all  of  us  would  have  been  captured.  I  have  rarely  seen 
more  gallantry  than  was  displayed  by  Warren's  division  on  that 
occasion. 

We  went  back  to  the  fortifications  at  Hatcher's  Run.  I  had 
three  bullet  holes  through  my  clothes  in  the  fight.  One  bullet 
went  through  my  flannel  shirt.  Its  direction  was  changed  by 
my  sword  belt  which  it  pierced.  Another  struck  my  scabbard 
and  bent  it  nearly  double.  When  I  reported  to  General  Lee, 
he  looked  at  my  clothes  all  torn  by  the  bullets,  and  said:  "I  wish 
you  would  sew  those  places  up.  I  don't  like  to  see  them."  I 
said,  "General  Lee,  allow  me  to  go  back  home  and  see  my  wife 
and  I  will  have  them  sewed  up."  He  said,  "The  idea  of  talking 
about  going  to  see  wives ;  it  is  perfectly  ridiculous,  sir" ;  and  was 
rather  amused  at  it.* 

Pickett  was  driven  back  from  Dinwiddle  Courthouse  to  Five 
Forks.  Sheridan  was  reinforced  by  Warren's  corps  which  I 
had  intercepted,  and  Pickett  suffered  a  terrible  repulse.  His 
command  was  all  scattered  in  every  direction.  I  was  ordered 
by  General  Lee  to  go  to  his  support,  and  to  cross  the  fields,  with- 
out regard  to  roads.  He  furnished  me  with  a  guide.  We  made 
a  very  rapid  march.   When  I  reached  the  rear  of  Pickett's  posi- 

*Dr.  Mason  Graham  Ellzey,  my  father's  brigade  surgeon,  thus  speaks 
of  him  on  the  retreat,  in  his  unpublished  book,  "The  Cause  We  Lost 
and  the  Land  We  Love": 

"Just  then  our  Brigade  came  in  flushed  with  victory,  and  march- 
ing in  proud  array,  that  other  grand  man  and  war-seasoned  soldier, 
General  Eppa  Hunton,  riding  at  their  head  his  old  war  steed  which 
had  borne  him  on  so  many  hard  fought  fields;  the  General's  coat 
ripped  across  the  breast  and  shoulder  by  a  fragment  of  shell,  and 
the  scabbard  of  his  sword  bent  nearly  double  by  a  minnie  ball;  the 
joy  of  battle  lighting  his  noble  countenance,  he  too  appeared,  as 
he  was,  one  of  the  noblest  and  grandest  of  men." 


120  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

tion  at  Five  Forks — I  could  not  hear  where  Pickett  or  his  men 
were,  but  I  did  meet  with  some  portion  of  Fitz  Lee's  cavalry. 
I  was  joined  that  night  by  Bushrod  Johnson  with  two  brigades, 
and  we  were  under  his  command.  He  was  a  Major  General.* 
The  next  day  we  heard  the  melancholy  news  that  Petersburg 
and  Richmond  had  been  evacuated,  and  we  began  the  mourn- 
ful retreat  towards  Appomattox  Courthouse.  Fitzhugh  Lee's 
cavalry  was  with  us.  It  was  several  days  before  I  met  with  and 
joined  Pickett's  Division.  The  enemy  pressed  us  very  hard, 
and  once,  at  least,  I  had  to  form  line  with  my  brigade  for  the 
cavalry  to  reorganize  behind  it.  Bushrod  Johnson  became 
demoralized,  and  I  told  Fitzhugh  Lee  that  he  must  take  com- 
mand of  the  cavalry  and  infantry  or  we  would  all  be  captured. 
Lee  did  so  and  conducted  the  retreat  very  well. 

*This  interesting  incident  occurred  during  the  retreat.  General  G.  W. 
C.  Lee  was  President  Davis'  military  aide  during  most  of  the  war.  He 
was  very  restless  in  this  position  and  anxious  to  be  in  the  field,  and  it 
is  said  that  he  only  remained  with  Mr.  Davis  because  his  father  urged 
him  to  do  so.  However,  a  short  time  before  the  end  he  resigned  his 
position  and  went  into  the  field.  During  the  retreat  it  happened  that  his 
brigade  and  my  father's  were  close  to  each  other  and  there  were  no  other 
troops  near.  General  Lee,  who  was  a  major  general,  when  he  learned 
that  these  two  brigades  were  the  only  troops  in  that  section,  sought  my 
father  and  said,  "General  Hunton,  you  and  I  are  the  only  generals  here, 
but  I  outrank  you  and  am  entitled  to  the  command  of  these  troops;  but 
it  would  be  absurd  for  me  with  my  limited  experience  in  the  field  to 
be  your  superior  officer,  with  your  experience  and  brilliant  and  splendid 
record  during  the  entire  war,  and  I  insist  upon  your  taking  command 
of  both  brigades."  My  father  of  course  declined  to  do  as  General  Lee 
requested  him.  The  incident,  however,  shows  the  inherent  modesty, 
generosity  and  chivalry  of  this  knightly  gentleman  and  gallant  soldier 
who  bore  himself  superbly  while  in  command  of  a  brigade  for  a  short 
time  before  the  end  came.  It  is  the  universal  belief  of  General  Lee's 
friends  that  if  he  had  not  yielded  to  his  sense  of  duty  and  remained 
with  Mr.  Davis  he  would  have  made  a  brilliant  record,  a  record  com- 
mensurate with  the  promise  he  gave  when  he  graduated  first  in  his 
class  at  West  Point. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  121 

We  came  to  a  very  deep  stream,  with  a  bridge  across  it,  the 
enemy  pressing  us  very  hard.  I  v^as  ordered  by  General  Fitz- 
hugh  Lee  to  hold  the  enemy  until  all  the  command  (both 
infantry  and  cavalry)  had  passed  over  the  bridge,  and  when 
I  attempted  to  cross,  I  had  to  fight  on  three  sides.  I  had 
flankers  out  on  each  side,  and  a  skirmish  line  in  the  rear. 

Captain  Charles  U.  Williams,  who  was  on  General  Corse's 
Staff,  witnessed  this  crossing,  and  he  never  ceased  to  talk  about 
it.  He  said  that  I  formed  a  hollow  square  and  crossed  the  bridge 
in  that  formation,  fighting  on  four  sides.* 

We  united  with  Pickett's  Division  and  marched  on  towards 
Appomattox.  At  Sailor's  Creek  we  were  guarding  a  wagon 
train,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek  Colonel  Huger  had 
been  attacked  and  lost  some  of  his  artillery.  Pickett's  Division 
was  ordered  across  the  creek  to  recapture  this  artillery.  We  did 
recapture  a  portion  of  it,  and  formed  our  line  of  battle  to  resist 
Custer's  cavalry.  Custer  made  very  many  gallant  charges  upon 
our  line  with  his  cavalry,  but  we  had  no  trouble  in  repelling 
them.  But  every  time  we  would  face  to  the  right  and  resume 
our  retreat,  Custer  would  charge  us,  and  we  would  have  to 

*During  this  retreat  an  incident  happened  which  General  Mat  Ransom, 
who  for  many  years  was  U.  S.  Senator  from  North  Carolina,  used  fre- 
quently to  relate: 

He,  General  Wise,  my  father  and  possibly  others,  were  watering  their 
horses  at  a  trough  and  General  Wise  began  to  criticize  General  Lee  for  not 
ending  the  war,  the  result  of  which  he  said  was  inevitable,  and  could  only 
result  in  the  further  sacrifice  of  life.  He  finally  said  that  General  Lee 
would  be  guilty  of  the  murder  of  every  soldier,  who,  after  that  time,  was 
killed.  General  Ransom  said  my  father  rose  in  his  stirrups  and  said, 
"General  Wise,  you  are  a  damned  traitor."  General  Ransom  said  he  ex- 
pected pistols  to  be  drawn  at  once  and  the  firing  to  begin,  but  that  to  his 
infinite  surprise  and  pleasure  General  Wise  turned  to  him  with  a  smile, 
and  said,  "Ransom,  all  the  damned  fools  have  not  been  killed  yet."  The 
jesting  manner  in  which  General  Wise  dealt  with  the  matter  ended 
pleasantly  what  at  one  time  promised  to  be  serious. 


122  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

turn  and  fight.  This  was  done  that  the  infantry  might  sur- 
round us. 

My  line  was  very  thin — a  single  line — and  the  men  not  very 
near  together.  My  dear  and  gallant  friend  General  Terry  rode 
up  and  asked  me  to  lend  him  a  regiment  to  extend  his  line.  I 
told  him  I  could  not  spare  one.  He  said  if  he  did  not  get  a  regi- 
ment he  would  be  flanked.  I  sent  him  the  8th  Regiment — the 
smallest  I  had — and  had  to  increase  the  space  between  my  sol- 
diers to  fill  up  the  gap  left. 

While  we  were  fighting  General  Custer,  I  reported  to  General 
Pickett  and  to  General  Anderson  that  the  enemy  were  sur- 
rounding us  with  infantry — I  caught  the  gleam  of  their  bayonets 
through  a  gap  in  the  woods.  When  it  was  too  late,  General 
Anderson  issued  the  order  to  Pickett,  that  his  men  should  cut 
their  way  out  the  best  they  could ;  but  every  time  we  attempted 
to  move  forward  Custer  would  charge,  and  we  would  have  to 
turn  and  fight. 

While  this  was  going  on,  some  six  or  eight  troopers  of  Custer's 
had  gotten  in  our  rear.  They  made  a  charge  on  our  line.  This 
charge  happened  to  be  where  General  Pickett  and  his  Staff  were 
located,  on  horse-back.  They  all  ducked  their  heads  down  by 
their  horses'  necks  and  galloped  ingloriously  to  the  rear.  Gallant 
General  Corse,  who  was  always  ready  on  such  an  occasion, 
faced  one  of  his  companies  to  the  rear  and  killed  the  last  man 
of  them.* 


*General  Fitz  Lee,  without  knowing  that  I  had  heard  this  story  from 
my  father,  told  me  of  the  incident  and  that  he  had  ordered  General  Corse 
to  about-face  one  of  his  companies  and  fire  on  them. 

Judge  Wallace  of  Fredericksburg,  without  knowing  that  I  had  heard  the 
story  before,  told  me  again  of  the  occurrence,  and  said  he  was  one  of  the 
squad  of  Corse's  Brigade  which  fired  upon  Custer's  men  and  emptied 
every  saddle. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  123 

I  saw  no  more  of  Pickett  until  long  after  the  war. 

Very  soon,  the  enemy's  infantry  appeared  in  our  rear,  and 
my  gallant  brigade,  fighting  front  and  rear,  was  compelled  to 
surrender;  and  to  show  the  splendid  metal  of  my  dear  soldiers, 
most  of  them  broke  their  guns  rather  than  surrender  them. 
I  surrendered  to  one  of  Custer's  Staff  officers,  and  when  he 
demanded  my  sword  I  threw  it  as  far  as  I  could  into  the  sassafras 
bushes.  It  may  be  in  that  spot  today.  This  Staff  officer,  whose 
name  I  do  not  recall  (I  wish  I  could),  ordered  me  to  double- 
quick  to  the  rear.  I  told  him  I  could  not.  I  was  too  ill  and 
exhausted  to  be  able  to  double-quick.  He  said,  "You  must." 
I  said  I  would  not,  that  I  could  not  double-quick  if  my  life 
depended  on  it.  He  said,  "Well,  I  only  wanted  to  get  you  out 
of  the  range  of  these  stray  bullets  that  are  flying  over  the  field. 
I  don't  want  you  to  be  killed  while  a  prisoner  in  my  hands." 
I  told  him  it  was  very  kind  of  him,  but  I  could  not  do  it.  Just 
then  one  of  the  Federal  soldiers  passed  by  on  an  old  Confederate 
horse — the  hardest  looking  animal  you  can  possibly  imagine — 
as  poor  as  a  snake — with  a  blind  bridle  on  and  an  old  saddle 
without  a  girth.  The  Staff  officer  dismounted  the  Federal  sol- 
dier, put  me  on  the  horse,  and  in  that  condition  I  went  to  the 
rear.  Soon  afterwards  Colonel  Huger  was  brought  up,  and 
this  Staff  officer  turned  us  over  to  two  soldiers,  and  told  them 
that  we  were  not  to  be  restrained  in  anything  except  a  desire 
to  escape. 

It  was  a  very  cold  night — although  on  the  6th  of  April — 
and  Huger  and  myself  went  down  to  where  the  balance  of  the 
brigade  was,  to  share  a  blanket  with  some  of  the  soldiers.  Soon 
after  getting  there,  General  Custer  sent  for  me  and  for  Colonel 
Huger.  We  went  to  his  headquarters.  He  had  heard  that  I  was 
sick.    I  had  chronic  diarrhea  and  had  been  ordered  by  my 


124 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


brigade  surgeon  to  leave  the  army  on  sick  leave.  This  with  my 
fistula  made  my  time  hard  indeed,  and  when  I  was  captured, 
I  took  it  for  granted,  if  sent  to  prison,  I  would  die.  General 
Custer,  upon  hearing  that  I  was  sick,  sent  his  physician  to  me 
with  a  bottle  of  imported  French  brandy,  and  furnished  me 
with  a  hair  mattress  to  sleep  on.  He  was  as  kind  as  a  man 
could  be,  and  I  shall  never  forget  his  generous  treatment.* 

Thus  ended  my  military  career — on  the  6th  day  of  April, 
1865,  three  days  before  the  end  came  at  Appomattox.  I  had 
been  in  command  of  the  8th  Regiment,  and  successively  Pickett's 
Brigade,  Garnett's  Brigade  and  my  brigade  (named  after  its 
several  commanders),  and  no  man  in  the  army  ever  had  a  better 
brigade  than  mine  was. 

At  the  same  time,  on  this  memorable  6th  of  April,  1865, 
Ewell's  corps  also  was  captured  with,  I  think,  seven  general 
officersjt  very  many  subordinate  officers  and  a  very  large  number 
of  privates.  The  next  day  we  were  sent  to  Nottoway  Junction — 
the  junction  of  the  Richmond  and  Danville  and  Norfolk  and 
Western  Roads.  It  was  snowing,  although  the  7th  of  April. 
We  were  conducted  to  a  big  log  fire  at  General  Grant's  head- 
quarters.   Grant  was  at  the  front,  but  quite  a  number  of  his 


*My  father  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1872,  and  took  his  seat  in  1873, 
and  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs. 
Charges  were  brought  against  General  Custer,  the  nature  of  which  I  do 
not  recall;  but  I  know  my  father  thought  they  were  inspired  by  the  fact 
that  Custer  was  a  Democrat.  The  charges  were  referred  to  the  Military 
Committee.  He  put  his  defense  and  all  his  papers  in  my  father's  keeping. 
I  never  saw  him  more  deeply  and  earnestly  interested  than  in  Custer's  de- 
fense. I  think  nothing  came  of  the  investigation  and  that  the  charges 
were  never  pressed. 

tLt.  Gen.  Richard  S.  Ewell,  Maj.  Gen.  Joseph  B.  Kershaw,  Maj.  Gen. 
G.  W.  C.  Lee,  Brig.  Gen.  Eppa  Hunton,  Brig.  Gen.  Seth  W.  Barton,  Brig. 
Gen.  Dudley  M.  Du  Bose,  Brig.  Gen.  Montgomery  D.  Corse. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  125 

staff  officers  were  present.  We  had  not  been  there  long  before 
hot  whiskey  punch  was  handed  around.  At  night  a  residence 
in  the  Httle  village  was  taken  by  one  of  Grant's  staff  officers  and 
all  the  captured  general  officers  were  sent  to  this  house  for  the 
night.  I  found  the  house  was  occupied  by  Withers  Waller,  a 
very  old  and  intimate  friend  of  mine  from  Stafford  County, 
who  had  refugeed  with  his  family  to  this  point. 

The  next  day  we  started  for  City  Point.  The  general  officers 
were  provided  with  ambulances,  but  we  had  very  often  to  get 
out  and  walk  and  let  the  foot-sore  soldiers  and  subordinate  of- 
ficers ride.  It  was  a  weary,  doleful,  mournful  march.  General 
Ewell  was  the  ranking  officer  in  this  group  of  those  who  were 
captured.  We  had  not  gone  very  far  before  we  were  halted 
by  a  squad  of  Grant's  army,  in  which  Ewell  met  some  of  his 
West  Point  acquaintances  of  the  Federal  army.  He  seemed 
bent  on  making  himself  popular  with  them.  He  told  the  of- 
ficer he  was  talking  with,  that  our  troops  had  devastated  Yankee 
territory  more  than  the  Yankees  had  devastated  ours.  I  said, 
"General  Ewell,  you  know  that  is  not  true.  Will  you  tell  me 
what  Yankee  territory  we  devastated  more  than  the  Valley  of 
Virginia  was  devastated  by  the  Federal  forces?"  He  turned  off 
without  a  reply.  The  next  squad  we  met  General  Ewell  told 
them  that  he  admitted  that  our  government  had  been  cruel  to 
the  Yankee  prisoners.  I  told  him  that  he  knew  that  was  not 
true;  that  while  Yankee  prisoners  had  fared  very  badly  at  our 
hands,  they  fared  just  as  well  as  our  own  soldiers;  that  we 
had  called  upon  the  Federal  Government  over  and  over  again 
to  exchange  them.  The  fact  that  they  were  prisoners  on  our 
hands  was  due  to  the  refusal  of  the  Federal  Government  to 
exchange  prisoners.  It  was  a  part  of  Grant's  policy  to  keep  out 
of  the  Confederate  army  every  man  that  he  could.    I  was  very 


126  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

indignant  with  General  Ewell.  He  was  thoroughly  whipped 
and  seemed  to  be  dreadfully  demoralized. 

While  we  were  making  our  dreary  march  towards  Peters- 
burg, the  melancholy  news  reached  us  early  on  the  loth  of 
April  that  General  Lee  had  surrendered  on  the  9th,  at 
Appomattox. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  describe  my  feelings.  I  rejoice  that 
I  was  not  at  Appomattox  and  did  not  see  dear  old  General  Lee 
riding  through  the  ranks  of  his  soldiers  after  the  surrender, 
with  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks;  it  would  almost  have 
killed  me. 

There,  upon  that  field  at  Appomattox,  the  Star  of  the  Con- 
federacy set  forever. 

General  Pickett  had  lost  cast  entirely  with  General  Lee.  I 
cannot  tell  exactly  what  the  trouble  was.  It  is  reported  that 
he  abused  and  criticized  General  Lee  on  the  retreat  for  not 
surrendering,  and  condemned  him  severely  for  continuing  the 
war.  I  cannot  say  that  this  is  true,  or  whether  General  Lee 
was  visiting  discipline  upon  Pickett  for  his  loss  of  Five  Forks 
and  Sailor's  Creek ;  but  he  unquestionably  relieved  Pickett  from 
duty  with  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  and  ordered  him  to 
report  to  President  Davis  wherever  he  could  find  him.  Davis 
at  that  time,  with  his  cabinet,  was  on  retreat  through  lower  Vir- 
ginia, or  North  Carolina. 

I  never  heard  of  this  dismissal  of  Pickett  for  twenty-five  years 
after  the  war,  and  when  I  did  hear  of  it  I  did  not  believe  it. 
I  mentioned  the  matter  to  General  Fitz  Lee  last  year  [1903]  and 
gave  him  the  source  of  my  information.  He  had  never  heard 
of  it,  and  said  he  did  not  believe  it.  I  said,  "General,  you  can 
find  out  whether  it  is  true  or  not,  by  writing  to  Walter  Taylor, 
General  Lee's  Adjutant-General,  and  tell  him  exactly  what  I 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  127 

have  told  you,  and  ask  him  if  it  is  true."  General  Lee  told  me 
he  did  write  the  letter,  and  that  Walter  Taylor  replied  that 
what  I  had  told  him  was  exactly  true.*  It  is  very  curious  that 
Pickett  should  go  down  in  history  as  the  hero  of  Gettysburg, 
and  finally  lose  his  reputation  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  dis- 
missed from  the  army. 

Pickett  was  a  gallant  man.  Up  to  the  time  he  was  married, 
I  had  the  utmost  confidence  in  his  gallantry,  but  I  believe  that 
no  man  who  married  during  the  war  was  as  good  a  soldier 
after,  as  before  marriage.  It  was  a  singular  fact,  because  those 
men  who  came  into  the  war  as  married  men  were  as  good 
soldiers  as  the  single  ones,  but  marriage  during  the  war  seemed 
to  demoralize  them. 

I  first  heard  of  this  dismissal  of  Pickett  from  Colonel  Mosby, 


*Colonel  Taylor,  in  his  reply  to  General  Lee's  letter,  stated  that  he  wrote 
the  order  a  few  days  before  the  surrender  dismissing  General  Pickett  from 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  and  directing  him  to  report  to  President 
Davis.  Colonel  Taylor  also  said  in  his  letter  that  General  R.  E.  Lee  signed 
the  order,  but  that  in  the  confusion  incident  to  the  approaching  surrender, 
he  (Colonel  Taylor)  could  not  say  with  certainty  that  the  order  was  ever 
delivered  to  General  Pickett.  General  Fitz  Lee  brought  Colonel  Taylor's 
letter  to  my  house  and  showed  it  to  my  father  and  my  wife.  Subsequently 
he  brought  it  to  my  office  and  showed  it  to  me. 

Colonel  Mosby,  in  a  newspaper  interview,  gave  an  account  of  a  visit  of 
General  Pickett  to  General  Lee  on  the  8th  of  March,  1870.  Colonel  Mosby 
says  on  that  date  he  unexpectedly  met  General  Lee  and  his  daughter,  Miss 
Agnes,  at  the  Exchange  &  Ballard  House,  and  he  went  to  General  Lee's 
room  and  chatted  with  him  for  some  time.  After  he  left  General  Lee  he 
met  General  Pickett  in  the  Hotel  and  told  him  that  he  was  just  from 
General  Lee's  room.  General  Pickett  said  "if  I  would  go  with  him,  he 
would  call  and  pay  his  respects  to  General  Lee,  but  that  he  did  not  want  to 
be  alone  with  him."  Colonel  Mosby  consented  to  go  with  General  Pickett, 
although  he  had  just  come  from  General  Lee's  room.  Colonel  Mosby 
says  the  meeting  between  the  two  Generals  "was  cold  and  formal — both 
were  under  constraint."  These  statements  and  the  quotations  are  from  a 
letter  of  Colonel  Mosby  to  me  dated  March  25th,  191 1. 


128  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

who  had  just  returned  from  Charlottesville  to  Warrenton.  He 
said  Colonel  Venable,  one  of  the  professors  at  the  University 
and  who  was  on  General  Lee's  staff,  told  him  of  it,  and  said 
he  saw  the  order  of  General  Lee  dismissing  Pickett.  The  late 
Norman  Randolph,  of  Richmond,  told  me  that  he  knew  it  to  be  a 
fact ;  and  this  was  confirmed  by  Walter  Taylor's  letter  to  General 
Fitz  Lee.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  an  indisputable  fact;  and 
yet  how  few  people  know  it  at  this  day. 

I  went  on  with  the  other  prisoners  and  reached  Petersburg. 
While  there,  sitting  in  the  ambulance,  a  Federal  officer  rode 
up,  followed  by  a  courier  with  a  led  horse.  The  officer  rode 
to  the  ambulance  and  asked  if  General  Custis  Lee  was  there. 
I  said  yes,  and  pointed  to  him.  The  officer  said,  "General  Lee, 
I  am  directed  to  inform  you  that  your  mother  is  dying  in  Rich- 
mond; I  have  brought  you  your  parole  and  you  are  ordered  to 
mount  this  horse  and  go  to  her  immediately."  Custis  Lee  was 
unselfish  and  generous-hearted.  He  said  he  could  not  leave  his 
fellow  prisoners,  but  must  share  the  hardships  of  their  prison 
life  with  them.  We  said  to  him  at  once,  "General,  don't  hesitate 
to  leave  us.  Go  to  your  ill  mother."  He  finally  mounted  the 
horse  and  went  to  his  mother,  saying  that  he  would  join  us  as 
soon  as  his  mother  was  better.  It  turned  out  that  his  mother 
was  not  more  indisposed  than  usual,  and  that  it  was  a  generous 
device  on  the  part  of  some  of  his  old  army  friends  and  West 
Point  classmates  to  avoid  sending  him  to  prison. 

I  was  sick  with  chronic  diarrhea  and  suffering  from  fistula, 
and  also  sick  at  heart  over  the  failure  of  the  dear  lost  cause. 
We  reached  City  Point  and  were  put  on  board  a  vessel  for 
Washington.  General  Ewell  had  provided  himself  with  five 
or  six  hundred  dollars  in  gold,  and  had  it  about  him  at  the 
time.    He  knew  I  was  sick.    I  had  to  lie  down  on  the  floor 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  129 

where  the  Yankee  guard  had  spit  their  tobacco  juice,  and  eat 
the  rations,  sick  as  I  was.  General  Eweli  went  to  the  table  and 
slept  in  a  bed,  and  never  offered  to  help  me  at  all.  This  was 
the  more  remarkable  because  he  and  I  had  known  each  other 
almost  from  my  boyhood.  In  the  early  part  of  the  war  he  had 
been  kind  to  me.  He  was  a  splendid  soldier  until  he  lost  his 
leg,  and  married  his  wife.  I  don't  think  he  was  valuable  after- 
wards. He  seemed  to  be  possessed  with  the  idea  that  the  property 
of  his  wife  "Mrs.  Brown,"  would  be  confiscated.  It  was  very 
large. 

We  started  for  Washington.  On  the  way  up  the  river,  a 
stranger  came  to  me  and  said,  "I  understand  you  are  sick  and 
without  money."  I  told  him  that  unfortunately  both  were 
true.  He  pulled  out  three  ten  dollar  greenbacks,  gave  me  one, 
another  sick  man  one,  and  kept  one  himself.  This  was  Major 
(I  regret  I  have  forgotten  his  name)  of  Missouri.  He  was  a 
Quartermaster  in  the  Army.  After  the  war  was  over  I  made 
every  effort  to  find  out  where  he  was,  that  I  might  return  the 
ten  dollars.  At  the  White  Sulphur  Springs  on  one  occasion 
I  related  the  circumstances  to  Dr.  Carter,  of  Clarke  County, 
and  said  I  would  give  anything  if  I  could  find  that  man.  He 
said  "He  lived  in  my  neighborhood,  in  Clarke  County."  He 
had  married  at  the  Tuilleries,  in  Clarke,  had  settled  in  Clarke 
County  after  the  war  and  was  dead.  I  gave  Dr.  Carter  the  ten 
dollars  and  requested  him  to  pay  it  over  to  the  poorest  member 
of  the  family. 

When  we  reached  Washington,  we  were  taken  to  the  Provost- 
Marshal's  office.  I  asked  permission  to  go  out  and  get  some 
medicine.  The  Provost  called  one  of  his  guard  and  told  him  to 
go  with  me.  We  got  the  medicine  and  the  guard  wanted  me 
to  go  into  every  drinking  establishment  he  could  find.    He 


130 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


wanted  to  exhibit  a  Rebel  Brigadier  prisoner.  I  returned  to 
the  office  and  found  a  very  fine  lunch  set  out  for  the  prisoners. 
Mrs.  Bryant,  the  mother  of  Herbert  Bryant  of  Alexandria,  who 
was  on  General  Corse's  staff,  came  in.  She  thought  her  son 
was  captured,  and  had  brought  him  clothes  and  money.  Herbert 
was  not  captured.  He  had  made  his  escape,  and  she  divided 
the  clothes  and  money  among  his  friends.  I  got,  I  think,  five 
dollars,  and  with  that  and  the  ten  dollars  above  mentioned,  I 
felt  I  was  beginning  to  get  rich. 

We  left  Washington  for  Fort  Warren,  Boston  Harbor,  that 
night  at  dusk,  and  Lincoln  was  assassinated  the  same  night  at 
half-past  nine  o'clock.  The  news  met  us  as  we  were  crossing 
Jersey  ferry.  General  B.  F.  Butler  was  reading  a  paper  in 
mourning.  I  asked  what  it  meant,  and  was  informed  that 
Lincoln  had  been  assassinated  the  night  before.  The  officer 
who  had  charge  of  the  prisoners — thirteen  general  officers  of 
the  Confederate  Army — was  a  first-rate  man.  He  gave  us  a 
fine  breakfast  in  New  York.  We  started  for  Boston.  At  every 
depot  an  effort  was  made  to  raise  a  mob  to  hang  us.  One  man 
jumped  on  the  train,  and  rode  sixty  miles,  just  to  jump  out  at 
every  station  and  cry  "Hang  them."  If  it  had  not  been  for  my 
wife  and  son,  I  would  not  have  cared  very  much  if  they  had 
hung  me.  When  we  were  approaching  Boston,  the  officer  in 
charge  of  us,  feeling  apprehensive  of  our  safety,  telegraphed 
ahead  to  have  hacks  in  readiness,  and  we  were  rushed  into  these 
hacks  and  driven  at  full  speed  to  the  wharf,  where  we  took  a 
boat  and  were  landed  at  Fort  Warren. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


T, 


HE  death  of  Lincoln  was  a  further  blow  to  the  South. 
He  was  essentially  a  vulgar-minded  man,  but  a  man  of  great 
ability  and  great  kindness  of  heart.  If  he  had  lived  he  would 
have  been  able  to  control  and  would  have  controlled  to  some 
extent  the  hostile  sentiment  of  the  North,  and  reconstruction 
would  have  been  comparatively  easy.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-President,  from  Tennessee. 

Johnson  was  suspected  (improperly),  of  complicity  in  the 
assassination  of  Lincoln.  In  order  to  show  that  he  had  no 
sympathy  with  Lincoln's  assassins,  during  the  first  years  of  his 
administration,  he  did  everything  in  his  power  (to  use  his  own 
words),  "to  make  treason  odious,  and  to  punish  traitors,"  and 
intensified  the  Northern  mind  in  its  hatred  of  the  South. 

Booth,  the  assassin  of  Lincoln,  was  an  ardent  and  fanatical 
friend  of  the  South.  He  had  with  great  deliberation  formed  a 
plan  to  abduct  President  Lincoln  and  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  President  Davis.  This  plan  was  made  abortive  by  the 
surrender  of  General  Lee,  and  then  it  was  that  he  formed  the 
sudden  resolve  to  assassinate  him.  He  was  pursued  (with  a 
broken  leg)  across  the  river  into  Caroline  County,  Virginia, 
and  was  shot  and  killed  in  a  barn.  Mrs.  Surratt  was  charged 
with  complicity  in  the  assassination.  This  was  wholly  unjust. 
She  had  a  hand  in  the  plan  to  abduct  him,  but  only  to  the 
extent  of  allowing  the  conspirators  to  meet  in  her  house.  She 
knew  nothing  of  the  plan  to  assassinate  the  President,  but  was 
tried  by  a  court-martial,  and  on  the  flimsiest  sort  of  evidence 
was  condemned  and  executed,  together  with  the  male  con- 
spirators who  had  been  captured.  This  execution  of  an  innocent 

131 


132  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

woman  will  always  be  a  blot  upon  the  Government  of  the 
United  States. 

I  was  in  prison,  sick,  and  had  abundant  time  to  look  back 
over  the  past  four  years.  Just  four  years  before  I  had  gone 
into  the  Confederate  Army  with  the  highest  hopes  of  success. 
We  had  wonderful  success  on  the  field  of  battle.  We  had 
won  the  two  battles  at  Manassas,  Ball's  Bluff,  Mechanicsville, 
Gaines'  Mill,  Frazier's  Farm,  the  Wilderness,  Chancellorsville, 
Spottsylvania  Courthouse,  first  and  second  Cold  Harbor,  the 
fights  below  the  Howlett  House — down  to  the  siege  of  Peters- 
burg. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  a  failure;  the  battle  of  Seven 
Pines  was  hardly  a  success ;  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg  was  pretty 
much  of  a  drawn  battle.  Notwithstanding  these  brilliant  suc- 
cesses of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  the  resources  of  the 
South  had  given  out.  Our  soldiers  were  bare-footed,  almost 
naked,  and  almost  starved.  General  Grant  when  he  found  that 
he  could  not  meet  Lee  with  success  in  the  open  field,  deter- 
mined upon  the  very  best  course  to  end  the  war.  He  was  a  man 
without  any  brilliant  military  attainments,  but  essentially  a 
man  of  hard,  common,  practical  sense.  He  saw  that  he  could 
lose  ten  men  to  Lee's  one,  and  still  succeed.  His  losses  could 
be  supplied  not  only  from  the  populous  North,  but  from  the 
world  at  large.  General  Lee's  army  had  exhausted  the  re- 
sources (both  in  men  and  supplies)  of  the  Confederacy.  We 
had  been  many  times  charged  in  northern  papers  with  "robbing 
the  cradle  and  the  grave"  to  fill  our  army. 

General  Grant,  therefore,  determined  upon  the  tactics  of 
attrition  to  wear  Lee  out.  It  proved  to  be  successful,  and  the 
Star  of  the  Confederate  States  went  down  at  Appomattox. 

General  Lee  and  Jackson,  as  I  have  said,  formed  the  best 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  133 

combination  of  a  great  commander  and  his  right-hand  that 
the  world  ever  saw.  He  had  very  many  other  valuable  officers 
under  him.  Longstreet,  who  ranked  by  seniority  General 
Jackson,  I  must  believe  from  the  evidence,  lost  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  and  the  independence  of  the  Confederacy.  Before 
Gettysburg,  and  after,  he  rendered  most  valuable  and  brilliant 
service  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

Soon  after  the  war  Longstreet  went  into  the  Republican 
party,  and  turned  his  back  on  all  his  old  friends  of  the  Con- 
federacy. This  has  produced  a  great  prejudice  against  him  in 
the  South,  and  he  will  not  be  mourned  as  much  as  other 
Confederate  Generals. 

He  was  always  kind  to  me.  I  was  in  his  command  through- 
out the  entire  war.  I  never  received  a  harsh  word  from  him, 
but  very  many  acts  of  kindness.  I  shall  strive,  therefore,  to 
think  of  him  with  kindness.  He  died  at  the  very  last  of  the 
year  1903. 

General  John  B.  Gordon,  in  my  opinion,  ranked  in  brilliant 
service  in  the  Infantry  next  to  Jackson.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  men  in  battle  that  General  Lee  had  in  his  army. 
He  was  always  ready  for  a  fight  and  always  conducted  it  with 
great  ability,  and  most  always  with  success.  It  is  unquestion- 
able, as  I  have  said  before,  that  if  he  had  been  allowed  by 
Ewell  to  carry  on  his  attack  on  the  first  day  at  Getttysburg, 
he  would  have  driven  the  Federal  Army  from  Cemetery  Ridge 
and  Gettysburg  would  have  been  won. 

General  Ewell  was  a  Lieutenant-General.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  West  Point,  and  a  native  of  Prince  William  County,  Vir- 
ginia. He  rendered  valuable  service  to  the  army  up  to  and 
including  the  second  battle  of  Manassas,  where  he  lost  his  leg. 
He  was  nursed  by  Mrs.  Brown,  of  Tennessee,  who  had  been 


134 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


his  early  love.  They  renewed  their  courtship  and  were  married. 
She  was  a  woman  of  very  large  fortune. 

I  would  like  to  speak  of  other  officers  in  General  Lee's  army, 
but  it  would  consume  too  much  space.  But  there  never  was 
an  army  in  the  history  of  the  world  that  was  so  well  officered, 
or  composed  of  such  gallant,  splendid  material  in  the  ranks. 

I  felt  very  gloomy  in  prison.  For  some  time  I  did  not  hear 
from  my  wife.  I  believed  she  was  in  Lynchburg  without  a 
dollar  except  Confederate  money.  I  felt  exceedingly  anxious 
to  get  out  of  prison  and  go  to  work  to  support  my  wife  and 
educate  and  raise  my  son.  When  the  war  began  I  collected  all 
the  money  I  could  that  was  due  me,  and  invested  it  in  Virginia 
State  Bonds,  and  gave  them  to  my  wife  for  safe-keeping.  On 
my  last  visit  to  her  in  Lynchburg  the  winter  of  1864-65,  I  said 
to  her  "if  the  worst  came  we  had  those  Virginia  Bonds,"  and 
to  my  deep  regret  she  said  that  she  had  traded  them  for  Con- 
federate Bonds.  This  was  the  last  property  we  possessed:  but 
I  knew  she  had  done  it  for  the  best,  and  did  not  make  any 
comment  upon  it. 

Major  General  John  W.  Turner,  of  the  Federal  Army,  and 
myself  had  been  opposite  to  and  fighting  each  other  for  months, 
below  the  Howlett  House.  We  knew  each  other,  though  we 
had  never  met.  He  was  the  first  Federal  officer  to  go  into 
Lynchburg  after  the  surrender  of  General  Lee.  As  soon  as  he 
heard  that  my  wife  and  son  were  in  the  town  and  in  very 
destitute  circumstances,  he  sent  one  of  his  staff  officers  to  my 
wife  to  tender  to  her  General  Turner's  purse  and  his  services. 
I  had  then  been  captured  and  the  only  information  my  wife 
had  of  me  was  a  statement  published  in  some  newspaper  that 
I  had  been  wounded,  probably  mortally,  and  captured.  I  was 
ill,  but  had  not  been  wounded.    She  was  a  thoroughly  loyal 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  135 

Confederate,  as  were  almost  all  the  women  of  the  South,  and 
was  at  that  time  especially  bitter  to  the  Yankees,  and  sent 
General  Turner  a  curt  refusal  to  accept  his  offer,  and  to  others 
said  that  she  and  her  son  would  starve  before  she  would  accept 
assistance  from  him.  I  was  delighted  at  the  spirit  she  showed, 
but  felt  very  grateful  to  General  Turner  for  his  magnanimity. 
After  years  of  inquiry,  I  found  out  where  he  was  and  wrote  him 
the  nicest  letter  I  could  frame,  to  which  he  replied  in  very 
pleasant  terms. 

I  could  not  hear  from  my  wife  for  some  time  after  reaching 
Fort  Warren,  nor  did  she  hear  from  me.  We  wrote  frequently, 
but  the  Confederate  mail  routes  had  been  discontinued  and 
those  of  the  U.  S.  Government  had  not  been  established.  My 
wife  had  united  herself  to  the  Episcopal  Church  during  the 
war  and  was  very  much  attached  to  her  minister  in  Lynch- 
burg, Mr.  Kinkle.  He  was  a  most  excellent  man  and  an  ardent 
Confederate.  He  soon,  however,  introduced  into  his  service 
the  prayer  for  the  President  of  the  United  States.  When  this 
prayer  was  used,  my  wife  and  son  always  rose  from  their  knees — 
they  were  not  then  and  never  were  reconstructed. 

The  banks  of  Lynchburg  on  the  approach  of  the  Federal 
Army,  after  the  surrender  of  General  Lee,  loaned  out  their 
gold  to  people  of  character  without  security,  taking  notes  from 
the  borrowers.  My  wife  through  Mr.  James  H.  Reid  (our 
faithful  friend)  obtained  a  loan  of  $50.00.  On  this  she  lived 
until  relief  came. 

As  soon  as  it  was  practicable,  my  brother  Silas  went  to  Lynch- 
burg and  took  my  wife  and  son  to  the  home  of  my  sister,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Morehead,  in  Culpeper  County.  She  was  the  wife 
of  Lieutenant  Morehead  of  the  Confederate  Cavalry,  who  com- 
manded his  company  at  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff.    They  re- 


136  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

mained,  with  my  sister  and  my  mother  and  my  single  sister 
Mary  Brent,  until  I  was  released  from  prison.* 

*Our  trip  from  Lynchburg  to  Culpeper  was  quite  remarkable.  Our 
party  consisted  of  my  Uncle  Silas,  my  mother  and  myself,  and  two  faithful 
slaves,  one  with  an  infant  in  arms.  We  left  Lynchburg  in  a  train  and  went 
as  far  as  Tye  River.  The  bridge  over  this  stream  had  been  destroyed.  We 
disembarked  and  went  down  a  precipitous  embankment  and  were  ferried 
across  the  river.  There  we  found  a  hand  car.  There  were  two  partitions 
put  across  the  middle  of  it,  forming  a  stall.  The  passengers  were  put  in 
front  of  this  stall,  the  baggage  behind  it.  We  had  no  idea  what  the  stall 
was  for,  but  we  soon  discovered.  The  baggage  and  passengers  having 
been  transferred  across  the  stream,  a  mule  was  hitched  to  the  car  and  we 
were  pulled  as  long  as  we  were  on  an  upgrade.  When  we  reached  a  down- 
grade we  stopped  and  the  mule  was  put  into  the  stall  in  the  car  and  we  pro- 
ceeded by  gravity,  making  much  better  time  than  when  the  mule  was 
pulling  us.  We  reached  North  Garden  (I  think  it  was)  about  night-fall, 
and  the  railroad  was  in  operation  no  further.  My  Uncle  Silas  arranged 
for  us  to  spend  the  night  at  a  farm  house  and  hired  a  farm  wagon  to  take 
us  to  Charlottesville,  which  we  reached  the  next  day,  and,  worn  out  with 
our  trip,  went  to  a  hotel  to  rest  before  resuming  our  journey.  We  had 
hardly  gotten  ready  to  go  to  bed  before  Major  George  Jones,  who  was  on 
my  father's  staff,  having  learned  we  were  there,  came  in  to  see  us  and  in- 
sisted we  should  go  with  him  to  his  home  and  rest.  This  we  did,  and  I 
shall  never  forget  my  impression  of  the  luxury  of  this  home.  Major  Jones 
was  a  hospitable  and  splendid  man,  and  he  and  my  father  were  devoted 
to  each  other.  In  a  day  or  two  we  resumed  our  journey.  The  bridge  over 
the  Rivanna  River  was  gone  and  Major  Jones  drove  us  across  the  river, 
which  was  fordable,  where  we  found  a  train  upon  which  we  embarked. 
Its  progress  was  very  slow,  and  frequently  it  became  necessary  to  stop  the 
train  and  dig  the  grass  out  of  the  tracks.  I  have  forgotten  how  far  we 
went  by  train,  but  it  stopped  some  time  before  we  reached  Culpeper  Court 
House,  and  we  were  compelled  to  take  a  hand  car  again.  While  we  were 
on  the  latter  a  terrific  rain  came  up  from  which  we  had  no  protection  and 
we  were  all  drenched,  but  we  reached  Culpeper  that  night.  We  were,  I 
think,  the  first  after  the  war  to  attempt  the  trip  north  from  Lynchburg, 
and  I  feel  that  a  brief  account  of  it  will  give  an  idea  of  the  conditions  of  the 
time,  and  its  hardships. 

There  was  but  one  other  party  who  left  Lynchburg  on  this  trip  with  us. 
It  was  a  family  who  had  relatives  in  the  north  whom  they  were  going  to 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  137 

I  soon  heard  in  prison  that  my  splendid  war  horse  "Morgan," 
had  been  saved,  and  was  carried  by  Captain  Fitzhugh  of  my 
StafI,  to  my  brother  James,  near  the  Warrenton  Junction,  in 
Fauquier  County.  He  was  one  of  the  finest  horses  I  have  ever 
seen ;  was  well  known  in  the  army ;  was  stolen  twice  and  recog- 
nized by  my  friends,  and  brought  back. 

Our  mess  at  Fort  Warren  consisted  of  seven:  General  Ewell; 
General  Kershaw;  General  Corse;  General  Barton;  General 
Wilson;  General  DuBose  and  myself.  Six  other  prisoners 
(among  them  General  Cabell,  of  Arkansas,  but  a  native  of 
Virginia)  were  there,  and  had  access  to  our  room.  One  day 
I  was  asleep  on  my  bed  in  my  room,  when  I  was  aroused  by 
an  unusual  commotion,  and  found  that  the  twelve  Confederate 
officers  were  holding  a  meeting.  I  inquired  what  it  meant  and 
was  surprised  and  indignant  to  learn  that  it  was  a  meeting  called 
by  General  Ewell  to  declare  by  resolution  that  they  had  no 
complicity  in  the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  deplored 
the  act.  I  was  very  much  excited  about  it,  and  opposed  to  it 
with  all  my  might.  I  asked  them  if  they  thought  it  becoming 
for  thirteen  gentlemen  who  were  thought  worthy  to  wear  the 
stars  of  general  officers  of  the  Confederate  Army  to  declare 
to  the  world  that  they  were  not  assassins.  By  great  exertions, 
and  the  efforts  of  several  who  came  to  my  aid,  the  resolution 
was  defeated.  I  asked  General  Ewell  where  the  leg  he  lost  at 
second  Manassas  was  buried;  that  I  wished  to  pay  honor  to 

see.  I  either  never  knew  or  had  forgotten  their  names.  When  I  was  at 
the  University  of  Virginia  a  number  of  us  had  gathered  in  CharUe  Slaugh- 
ter's room,  and  for  some  reason  I  gave  an  account  of  this  trip.  In  the 
midst  of  my  account  CharHe  Slaughter  jumped  up  and  exclaimed  that  his 
father  and  mother  and  himself,  and  probably  others,  constituted  the  other 
party  on  this  trip,  and  that  he  had  frequently  wondered  who  his  traveling 
companions  were. 


138  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

that  leg,  for  I  had  none  to  pay  to  the  rest  of  his  body.  He 
repUed  that  he  didn't  know  where  it  was. 

(The  gallant  General  John  B.  Gordon  died  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly  the  first  of  the  year  1904.  He  was  to  be  buried 
in  Atlanta  this  very  day  (January  13,  1904).  The  whole  South- 
land is  in  grief  over  his  death.  I  feel  deeply  distressed.  I  loved 
John  Gordon,  and  the  people  all  loved  him.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  magnetic  men  I  ever  met.  He  was  twice  elected 
Governor  of  Georgia,  and  twice  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  I  served  with  him  a  portion  of  his  last  term. 
He  was  a  fine  orator,  a  good  friend,  a  true  patriot,  and  a  good 
man  in  every  respect.) 

To  resume  my  narrative,  I  begun  to  improve  at  Fort  Warren. 
The  change  of  climate  and  of  diet  acted  very  beneficially  upon 
my  constitution.  My  chronic  diarrhea  was  getting  well  and 
I  begun  to  increase  in  weight.  Two  families  in  Boston  were 
exceedingly  kind  to  us — one  of  them  (Clifford  by  name)  sent 
us  something  to  eat  two  or  three  times  a  week.  I  regret  I  have 
forgotten  Mr.  Clifford's  first  name.  He  had  a  daughter  who 
frequently  visited  in  Richmond  before  the  war.  The  whole 
family  earnestly  sympathized  with  the  South  and  were  just  as 
kind  to  us  as  it  was  possible  to  be.  The  other  family  was  that 
of  Dr.  Salter,  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Colonel  Joseph  C.  Ives, 
who  was  on  Mr.  Davis'  Staff.  Soon  after  getting  into  com- 
munication with  Clifford,  we  received  mysteriously  a  letter  with 
a  fictitious  signature.  It  expressed  the  kindest  feelings  to  us. 
We  called  a  council  to  prepare  a  reply  and  to  decide  how  it 
should  be  addressed.  This  reply  somehow  reached  the  Salters 
and  they  were  very  kind  to  us  during  our  imprisonment.  After 
being  in  Fort  Warren  for  sometime,  we  received  a  letter  from 
a  little  daughter  of  the  Salter  family,  in  which  she  addressed 
us  as  her  "dear  Rebel  friends,"  and  said,  "I  am  going  down 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  139 

the  Bay  on  Thursday,  and  shall  look  out  for  my  Rebel  friends 
at  Fort  Warren  and  wave  my  handkerchief  to  them;  and  oh, 
if  I  could  only  take  you  all  aboard  and  carry  you  with  me  to 
liberty,  how  happy  I  would  be."  When  Thursday  came  we 
spent  the  day  upon  the  ramparts  watching  every  vessel  that 
passed  down  the  harbor.  Toward  the  close  of  the  afternoon, 
we  spied  a  vessel  coming,  and  when  opposite  to  us  we  saw 
the  little  handkerchief  fluttering  in  the  hands  of  the  dear  little 
child.  We  gave  her  as  fine  a  "Rebel  yell"  as  ever  was  heard. 
Each  one  of  us  took  a  copy  of  the  letter. 

I  used  to  lie  on  my  bed  at  Fort  Warren  and  study  law  with- 
out any  books.  It  was  very  curious  to  note  how  my  professional 
knowledge  came  back  to  me.  I  think  when  I  left  the  prison 
I  was  a  better  lawyer  than  when  the  war  began. 

Fort  Warren  was  commanded  by  a  Colonel  Wilson  (a  North 
Carolinian)  of  the  old  army,  who  declined  to  resign  and  go  to 
his  State  when  she  seceded.  We  never  recognized  him,  but 
were  on  terms  of  very  great  kindness  with  the  other  officers 
of  the  Fort.  The  soldiers  were  all  very  kind  to  us.  The  first 
information  we  had  of  our  release  was  when  we  heard  a  great 
noise  in  the  soldiers'  room  (which  was  just  above  our  case- 
mate), when  one  of  them  exclaimed  "Bully,  Boys!  The  Rebel 
Generals  are  released." 

The  next  morning  we  got  a  letter  from  Mr.  Clifford,  our  Bos- 
ton friend,  in  which  he  said  that  if  our  mess,  consisting  of  the 
seven  above-named,  did  not  come  to  his  house  when  we  were 
released,  he  would  take  it  almost  as  an  insult.  We  accepted  the 
invitation.  When  we  reached  the  wharf  to  take  the  boat  for 
Boston,  we  shook  hands  with  everybody  until  we  came  to  the 
Commander,  Colonel  Wilson,  and  skipped  him.  We  were  not 
willing  to  recognize  a  man  who  fought  against  his  own  State. 
We  got  to  Mr.  Clifford's  about  night,  and  were  entertained  in 


140 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


the  most  hospitable  manner.  The  seven  Rebel  Generals  who 
went  there  occupied  the  whole  house,  and  Cliiiford  and  his 
family  went  to  a  neighbor's  to  sleep.  Several  gentlemen  who 
were  sympathizers  with  the  South,  came  in  to  see  us.  One  in 
particular  was  very  enthusiastic  over  us.  He  came  in  two  or 
three  times,  and  each  time  would  shake  hands  all  around,  with 
both  hands,  and  say  "You  don't  look  like  bad  men.  I  know 
you  ain't  bad  men,  and  I  wish  to  God  you  had  succeeded,  and 
if  I  could  see  General  Lee  I  would  be  willing  to  lie  down  and 
die."    This  was  strange  language  to  hear  in  Boston. 

The  next  morning  our  friend  Cliflford  had  two  nice  hacks  at 
the  door,  and  the  seven  released  prisoners  and  Mr.  Clifford 
filled  them.  He  took  us  all  around  Boston  and  its  suburbs. 
We  went  to  the  Elm  Tree  where  Washington  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  Continental  Army.  We  went  to  Mt.  Auburn, 
one  of  the  handsomest  cemeteries  in  the  United  States.  We 
stopped  to  see  our  friends,  the  Salters.  While  there  wine  and 
cake  were  handed  around,  and  a  very  handsome  young  lady — 
Miss  Salter — who  afterwards  married  the  younger  brother  of 
Aleck  Stevens,  our  Vice-President,  asked  me  if  I  would  drink 
a  toast  with  her.  I  said,  "Certainly."  I  was  pretty  thirsty  and 
was  willing  to  drink  a  toast  with  almost  anybody — especially 
with  this  handsome  young  lady.  She  said,  "Here's  to  Cousin 
Sally  Ann."  I  said,  "My  dear  Miss,  I  don't  know  your  Cousin 
Sally  Ann,  but  if  she  is  a  cousin  of  yours,  here's  to  her."  She 
laughed  heartily  and  said,  "You  don't  know  Cousin  Sally  Ann  ?" 
I  said,  "No  indeed."  She  laughed  again  and  then  said,  "Don't 
you  know  'C.  S.  A.'  ?"  The  whole  thing  dawned  on  me  at  once. 
"C.  S.  A."  was  the  Confederate  States  Army.  It  was  the  plan 
adopted  by  our  sympathizers  in  the  North  of  drinking  with 
safety  to  the  Confederate  States  Army,  and  talking  about  the 
achievements  of  the  Confederate  States  Army  as  Cousin  Sally 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  141 

Ann.  We  went  into  Mrs.  Salter's  chamber  by  invitation,  and 
the  walls  were  decorated  with  the  photographs  of  Confederate 
Generals.  This  seemed  strange  in  Boston.  We  returned  and 
had  a  fine  dinner  at  Mr.  Clifford's,  and  then  started  for  home, 
dear  old  Virginia  for  me! 

I  had  transportation  to  Culpeper  Courthouse,  near  which 
point  my  wife  and  son  were  staying.  I  shall  never  forget  my 
feelings  when  I  crossed  the  Long  Bridge  at  Washington  and 
breathed  once  more  the  air  of  my  dear  old  native  State.  My 
horse  "Morgan"  was  at  my  brother  James'  near  the  Warrenton 
Junction.  I  left  the  train  at  that  point,  went  to  my  brother's 
and  found  that  Morgan  was  barefooted.  I  had  to  wait  until  he 
was  shod,  and  then  started  for  my  wife  and  son,  against  the 
earnest  entreaty  of  my  dear  brother  and  his  affectionate  wife, 
who  wanted  me  to  spend  the  night  there.  The  whole  country 
was  open;  fences  all  gone,  and  when  I  approached  the  town 
of  Warrenton,  apprehending  that  I  should  be  met  by  my  friends 
and  acquaintances  there  and  prevented  from  reaching  my  wife 
that  evening,  I  cut  across  the  country  and  struck  the  Culpeper 
Road  about  half  a  mile  beyond  the  town.  I  caught  up  with  old 
Mr.  Phil  Johnson  going  to  his  home,  which  is  now  occupied 
by  John  Hooe.  He  said  he  believed  that  God,  in  His  mysterious 
providence,  would  yet  bring  about  in  some  way  the  independ- 
ence of  the  Confederate  States.  I  thought  it  was  the  sublimest 
exhibition  of  faith  that  I  had  ever  known. 

I  pushed  on  to  Culpeper.  My  brother-in-law.  Lieutenant 
Morehead,  lived  in  a  place  that  was  difficult  to  find  even  in  the 
daytime,  and  still  more  so  in  the  night,  which  had  overtaken 
me.  I  met  an  acquaintance  and  obtained  the  best  information 
I  could  as  to  the  road;  but  soon  got  lost.  I  wandered  into  his 
farm  and  shouted  as  loud  as  I  could  to  attract  the  attention  of 
himself  and  family.   A  servant  came  out  with  a  lighted  lantern, 


142  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

which  was  a  guide  to  me  in  my  efforts  to  reach  the  house. 
They  concluded,  however,  that  it  was  some  drunken  man  who 
had  lost  his  way,  and  that  the  light  would  bring  him  to  the 
house.  They  put  the  lantern  out.  After  a  long  struggle,  I 
reached  the  house  and  was  once  more  in  the  arms  of  my  dear 
wife  and  my  dear  son,  my  dear  mother,  and  my  two  dear  sisters. 


CHAPTER  X. 


I 


T  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  pleasure  of  meeting  them 
after  so  long  and  so  sad  a  separation.  I  reached  them  the  last 
of  July.  The  first  court  in  Prince  William — the  county  of  my 
residence  prior  to  the  war — was  held  on  the  first  Monday  in 
August.  I  attended  it.  My  friends  all  rallied  around  me  with 
great  kindness.  I  met  a  man  from  Washington,  who  had  some 
litigation  there  and  retained  me.  He  gave  me  a  twenty  dollar 
gold  piece  as  retainer.  It  looked  to  me  as  big  as  a  cart  wheel, 
and  I  carried  it  back  to  my  wife  and  told  her  to  put  it  away 
and  save  it,  if  possible,  for  a  rainy  day,  if  one  should  come. 
After  a  week  or  ten  days  I  hired  a  wagon,  and  Lucy  and  Eppa, 
the  two  servant  girls  (who  belonged  to  us  and  who  had  been 
in  Lynchburg  during  the  war)  and  myself,  started  up  to  Clarke 
County  to  visit  my  wife's  brother,  James  V.  Weir.  I  rode 
Morgan.  I  told  these  two  girls  (one  of  whom  I  bought  to  save 
her  from  going  to  the  traders  and  being  separated  from  her 
family)  that  they  were  free,  and  when  I  got  to  Clarke,  I  paid 
their  stage  and  car  fare  to  Alexandria,  where  their  parents  had 
gone  during  the  war. 

While  there,  I  went  to  the  first  court  in  Loudoun  County, 
and  determined  that  that  should  be  one  of  the  counties  in  which 
I  would  practice.  As  six  of  my  companies  of  the  old  8th 
Regiment  were  Loudoun  men,  and  the  whole  county  looked 
on  me  with  kindness  during  the  war,  I  felt  sure  that  I  would 
get  a  good  practice  in  Loudoun.  I  determined  that  I  would 
locate  at  Warrenton.  I  went  there  in  September  and  opened 
an  office.  From  that  time  on,  I  attended  the  courts  of  Fauquier, 
Prince  William  and  Loudoun  with  great  regularity.    My  prac- 

143 


144  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

tice  began  to  increase,  and  I  got  money  enough  for  my  wife 
and  son  and  myself  to  live  on.  Twice  when  I  was  going  to 
court  I  had  to  borrow  this  twenty-dollar  gold  piece,  but  was 
fortunate  each  time  and  returned  it  to  my  wife. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  I  brought  my  wife  and  son  to 
Warrenton.  I  was  not  able  to  go  to  housekeeping,  but  went 
to  room-keeping,  which  was  then  quite  fashionable  with  the 
poor  Confederates.  This  was  late  in  the  year  1865 — I  rented 
four  rooms  from  Mrs.  Day,  on  Culpeper  Street.  My  brother 
Silas  (always  affectionate  and  kind  to  me,  as  well  as  his  dear 
wife  Mag),  had  saved  some  tobacco  which  he  bought  during 
the  war,  and  had  sold  it  after  the  war  for  a  very  large  price. 
I  borrowed  a  thousand  dollars  from  him  to  set  up  our  room- 
keeping.  We  furnished  our  rooms  comfortably.  We  lived 
there  in  great  happiness  until  August,  1867. 

In  1866,  a  gentleman  from  Bedford  County,  who  had  made 
a  fortune  during  the  war,  came  to  Warrenton  and  was  very 
much  attracted  by  my  horse  "Morgan."  He  offered  me  $500 
in  greenbacks  for  him.  It  was  a  great  temptation.  I  thought 
if  I  could  get  $500  in  greenbacks  my  fortune  was  made;  but  I 
hated  to  part  from  Morgan.  I  told  him  I  would  give  him  an 
answer  in  an  hour.  I  went  to  our  rooms,  called  a  council  of 
war  consisting  of  my  wife,  my  son  and  myself.  I  laid  the  matter 
before  them,  and  we  voted  unanimously  to  stand  by  old  "Mor- 
gan" if  we  starved.    I  was  always  glad  I  did  not  sell  him. 

On  my  next  visit  to  Loudoun,  I  found  that  a  very  rich  old 
man  had  brought  two  suits  for  large  amounts,  and  to  save  a 
fee  had  put  them  in  the  hands  of  a  Yankee  lawyer,  at  $2.50 
apiece.  He  was  met  by  a  plea  of  usury,  which  at  that  time 
forfeited  the  principal  as  well  as  the  interest  on  a  debt,  and 
Randolph  Tucker,  who  had  located  at  Middleburg,  and  who 
was  one  of  the  eminent  lawyers  of  the  State,  and  Mathew 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  145 

Harrison,  were  employed  by  the  defendants  to  make  good  this 
plea  of  usury.  The  plaintiff  was  in  great  distress.  He  could 
not  trust  the  trial  of  the  cases  to  this  Yankee  lawyer,  and  at 
last  was  persuaded  to  employ  me.  I  won  the  first  case  without 
much  trouble.  The  second  case  was  one  of  the  hardest  fights  I 
ever  had  at  the  bar.  Mr.  Tucker  and  I  stood  up  and  fought 
each  other  over  every  inch  of  the  ground.  I  finally  secured  a 
verdict.  Mr.  Tucker  moved  for  a  new  trial.  I  resisted  it,  and 
won  again.  I  then  carried  my  client  down  to  a  room  he 
selected,  to  receive  my  pay.  My  fee  was  a  good  retainer,  and 
a  large  contingent  one,  and  he  paid  me  every  dollar.  After 
I  started  home  Mr.  Tucker  renewed  his  motion  for  a  new  trial, 
and  in  my  absence  it  was  granted.  The  second  trial  was  a  harder 
fight  than  the  first,  but  I  won  again.*  This  established  me  as  a 
lawyer  in  Loudoun  County,  and  no  non-resident  ever  got  a 
finer  practice  than  I  had  in  Loudoun. 

We  had  a  fine  bar  at  Warrenton.  General  William  H.  Payne 
was  a  brilliant  lawyer,  and  so  was  James  V.  Brooke;  Murray 
Forbes;  Howard  Shackelford  and  Taylor  Scott,  besides  others 
of  less  note. 

From  1865  to  1872  I  had  all  the  business  I  could  attend  to. 
My  income  was  a  very  fine  one;  and  in  1867 1  purchased  a  house 

*Mr.  Tucker  and  my  father  were  devoted  friends,  and  after  this  case, 
they  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  every  important  case  in  the  county.  The 
simplicity  of  the  Ufe  at  that  time  is  well  illustrated  by  their  manner  of 
living.  Neither  of  them  had  an  office  in  Leesburg.  When  attending  court 
they  occupied  the  same  room  in  a  boarding-house.  Once  when  I  as  a  boy, 
rode  on  horseback  from  Warrenton  to  Leesburg  with  Father,  I  was  put 
in  the  same  room  with  these  distinguished  gentlemen.  When  a  client  de- 
sired to  confer  with  either,  the  other  one  was  asked  to  leave  the  room. 
Mr.  Tucker  was  subsequently  made  professor  of  law  at  Washington  and 
Lee,  and  was  then  elected  to  Congress,  and  he  and  my  father  served  to- 
gether, and  always  lived  at  the  same  boarding  house  in  Washington,  and 
their  friendship  grew  and  strengthened. 


146  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

from  William  H.  Gaines,  and  moved  into  it.  My  wife's  mother 
and  her  daughters,  who  had  lived  with  me  since  our  marriage 
(except  during  the  war),  returned  to  us.  My  son  went  to  school 
in  Warrenton  for  several  years.  Then  I  sent  him  to  "Bellevue," 
the  Holcombe  School,  in  Bedford  County,  Va.,  to  be  prepared 
for  the  University  of  Virginia.  This  school  was  conducted  by 
Professor  James  P.  Holcombe,  formerly  a  professor  of  law 
at  the  University  of  Virginia,  who  had  been  a  very  prominent 
member  of  the  Secession  Convention.  My  plan  was  to  give 
Eppa  a  first-class  education,  and  to  make  him  an  A.  M.  of  the 
University.  I  did  not  believe  I  could  accumulate  anything  for 
him,  and  I  thought  his  A.  M.  would  be  equal  to  a  fortune  of 
twenty  thousand  dollars.  Before  going  to  Holcombe's  school, 
I  told  him  if  he  would  abstain  from  tobacco,  whiskey  and  cards 
until  he  was  21,  I  would  give  him  the  handsomest  watch  and 
chain  I  could  procure.  He  said  he  would  not  make  a  bargain, 
but  he  would  try  to  do  as  I  asked  him,  and  if  he  did  he  would 
get  the  watch.  He  lived  up  to  it  for  a  year  or  two.  I  gave  him 
the  watch — a  very  handsome  one — which  he  wears  now.  He 
was  then  at  the  University  of  Virginia.  The  next  vacation, 
when  he  came  home,  he  gave  the  watch  up  to  his  mother.  I 
asked  him  what  it  meant,  and  found  that  he  had  been  smoking. 
I  was  very  much  annoyed,  but  concluded  that  it  was  best  if  I 
could  get  him  through  the  University  without  gambling  and 
drinking.  I  took  smoking  out  of  the  arrangement  and  returned 
him  the  watch.  He  lived  up  to  his  promise  and  after  he  left 
the  University,  I  gave  him  the  chain  which  he  now  wears. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1866,  my  dear  old  mother  died. 
She  was  72  years  of  age ;  had  a  hard  life  in  rearing  nine  children, 
and  was  one  of  the  best  mothers  that  ever  lived.  She  had  made 
up  her  mind  that  when  I  was  settled  she  would  spend  the 
remainder  of  her  days  with  me,  and  I  would  then  have  with 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  147 

me  my  mother  and  my  wife's  mother — two  of  the  nicest  and 
dearest  old  ladies  I  ever  met.    But  it  was  not  to  be. 

In  1868  or  '69,  my  wife's  mother  died.  She  was  older  than 
my  mother;  was  very  devoted  to  me,  and  died  in  my  arms. 

When  I  first  came  home  from  prison,  I  and  others  similarly 
situated,  were  not  allowed  to  vote.  We  had  no  voice  in  the 
government.  The  darkeys  were  all  free,  but  when  I  got  home 
from  prison,  they  were  just  as  polite,  and  just  as  well  behaved 
as  when  they  were  slaves.  I  have  often  said  that  there  never 
was  a  race  of  people  that  behaved  as  well  as  the  slaves  did  during 
that  war.  They  knew  as  well  as  we  did  that  if  the  Federal 
Government  succeeded,  they  would  be  free.  If  we  succeeded, 
they  would  be  slaves.  We  had  to  leave  our  wives  and  daughters 
and  sisters  and  mothers  in  the  protection  of  these  slaves,  and 
there  is  not  an  instance  on  record  where  this  trust  was  betrayed 
by  violence.  It  is  a  wonderful  record  for  the  race.  They  were 
free  and  getting  wages,  but  there  was  no  other  difference. 
Many  of  them  in  and  around  Warrenton  called  me,  as  they 
always  did,  "Marse  Eppa."  But  soon  after  the  Freedmen's 
Bureau  sent  one  of  its  officers  to  Warrenton  (as  they  did  all 
through  the  South).  He  put  enmity  between  the  races.  He 
vacated  all  the  contracts  of  labor  between  the  farmers  and  the 
colored  people,  and  made  them  all  come  to  Warrenton — (some 
of  them  thirty  miles  distant) — and  enter  into  a  contract,  which 
he  signed  as  witness;  and  very  soon,  under  the  influence  of  this 
man,  there  was  political  enmity  between  us  and  our  former 
slaves. 

We  went  through  a  terrible  period  of  reconstruction.  We 
were  all  disfranchised  by  the  Federal  Government,  and  Vir- 
ginia was  put  into  a  military  district  called  "Military  District 
No.  I."  Fortunately  for  us,  the  commanders  of  this  district 
were  good  men — not  disposed  to  oppress  us — and  we  had  for 


148  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

several  years  a  fairly  good  military  government  in  Virginia. 
Our  judges  were  military  appointees;  our  sheriffs  and  all  the 
oflEcers  in  this  State  ovi^ed  their  appointment  to  the  Military 
Governor  of  Virginia. 

Our  military  judge  w^as  Lysander  Hill.  We  had  great  ap- 
prehensions of  him  as  our  circuit  judge  when  he  took  the  place 
of  Judge  Henry  W.  Thomas,  of  Fairfax,  but  Hill  turned  out 
to  be  a  first  rate  man  and  a  fine  judge.  He  was  the  best  listener 
I  ever  addressed  on  the  bench.  His  decisions  were  able  and 
generally  satisfactory.  He  certainly  was  not  influenced  in  the 
slightest  degree  by  politics  on  the  bench.  He  held  his  first  court 
in  Warrenton,  and  the  first  thing  that  came  up  before  him  was 
a  motion  to  remove  the  military  sheriff,  who  was  a  bad  man 
in  every  respect,  and  had  given  a  straw  bond  as  sheriff.  He 
heard  the  case  like  a  good  judge  and  did  not  hesitate  five  minutes 
to  remove  him. 

This  Lysander  Hill  became  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Wash- 
ington after  he  left  the  bench  of  our  circuit.  He  determined 
after  a  long  practice  in  Washington  to  remove  to  Chicago. 
Before  he  left  Washington,  he  was  offered  a  brilliant  partner- 
ship in  Cincinnati,  the  income  of  which  was  guaranteed  to 
him  to  be  $60,000  a  year,  the  firm  consisting  of  three  members. 
Hill  declined  the  offer  and  came  to  me,  and  said,  "I  will  put 
you  in  that  firm  if  you  will  accept  the  place."  I  was  not  willing 
to  leave  Virginia,  and  declined  the  offer. 

We  got  along  fairly  well  under  Hill  as  our  Judge,  and  Gen- 
eral Schofield  as  our  Military  Governor.  Schofield  was  really 
a  good  man.  He  tried  in  every  way  to  mitigate  the  hardships 
of  our  situation,  and  gave  us  the  best  government  that  was 
possible  under  the  circumstances.  He  afterwards  became 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  United  States  Army,  and  it  gave  me 
infinite  pleasure  as  Senator  from  Virginia  to  vote  for  the  con- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  149 

iirmation  of  his  appointment,  and  to  speak  in  his  praise  as  our 
Governor.  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  him  in  Washington,  and  very 
often  called  him  "Governor  Schofield,"  which  pleased  him 
very  much.* 

Our  chief  trouble  after  the  war  was  the  14th  and  15th  Amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  which  had  been 
proposed,  but  not  quite  enough  States  had  ratified  them  to 
make  them  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  These  amendments  gave 
the  colored  people,  our  former  slaves,  the  right  to  vote.  We 
were  forced  to  accept  and  ratify  these  amendments  in  order  to 
get  rid  of  the  military  government,  and  the  former  slaves  of  the 
seceding  states  all  became  voters. 

We  had  to  call  a  Constitutional  Convention  in  order  to  adopt 
these  amendments.  This  convention  was  composed  largely  of 
colored  men,  and  was  presided  over  by  John  C.  Underwood, 
one  of  the  meanest  "scalawags"  of  that,  or  any  age.  The  con- 
stitution, which  was  adopted  by  the  convention,  and  sent  out 
to  the  people  for  ratification,  was  dreadful.  It  would  have  been 
difficult  for  us  to  live  under  it,  but  through  the  action  of  General 

*The  rules  of  the  Senate  when  a  Senator  moved  to  go  into  Executive 
Session  forbade  the  Senator  to  state  for  what  purpose  the  Executive  Session 
was  desired.  My  father  has  told  me  that  when  General  Schofield's  nomi- 
nation was  sent  to  the  Senate,  he  immediately  arose  and  said,  "I  desire  par- 
ticularly to  have  an  executive  session  this  evening  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
firming the  nomination  of  General  Schofield.  He  was  commander  of 
Military  District  No.  i,  which  was  that  in  effect  he  was  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia and  he  has  left  behind  him  none  but  friends  in  my  State.  I  desire 
to  show  my  appreciation  of  the  promotion  to  the  high  grade  to  which  he 
has  been  nominated  by  confirming  him  at  the  very  first  moment  we  can." 
Cong.  Rec.  Vol.  XXVII  pt.  Ill  p.  1898.  The  Senate  did  go  into  Executive 
Session  and  General  Schofield  was  immediately  confirmed  as  Lieutenant- 
General.  My  father  received  a  splendid  letter  from  him  in  which  he 
expressed  his  appreciation  of  his  action  and  said  that  he  had  been  fre- 
quently told  that  the  Virginians  thought  he  had  been  fair  and  just  to 
them,  but  that  this  was  the  first  official  recognition  of  it. 


150  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Grant,  who  was  then  President  of  the  United  States,  we  were 
allowed  to  vote  out  from  this  constitution  some  of  its  worst 
features,  and  adopted  the  rest,  and  lived  under  it  until  the  last 
Constitution,  which  was  adopted  in  1902.  Under  this  Under- 
wood constitution  and  laws  of  Congress,  all  of  the  white  people 
of  Virginia,  and  of  the  South  generally,  were  disfranchised, 
who  had  any  connection  with  the  Confederacy,  and  who  filled 
an  office  before  the  war  which  required  them  to  take  an  oath 
to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  and  these  par- 
ties, under  this  disability,  were  never  allowed  to  vote  or  hold 
office  until  their  disabilities  were  removed  by  a  law  of  Congress. 
Notwithstanding  the  terrible  condition  of  the  country  during 
this  period  of  reconstruction,  the  business  of  the  country  went 
on.  My  practice  was  very  large.  I  had  a  fine  practice  in  Fau- 
quier where  I  lived;  in  Prince  William,  where  I  lived  before 
the  war,  and  in  Loudoun  County,  from  which  came  six  of  the 
ten  companies  of  my  dear  8th  Regiment.  My  practice  in  the 
three  counties  was  very  remunerative.  I  had  purchased  a  resi- 
dence in  Warrenton,  on  Rappahannock  Street,  and  paid  for  it. 
It  was  a  very  comfortable  home.  I  had  purchased  eight  or  ten 
acres  of  land  just  outside  of  the  town,  for  a  pasturage  for  my 
horse  and  cow.  I  was  doing  very  well  indeed,  but  unfortunately 
I  went  into  politics.* 


*While  my  father  was  attending  Loudoun  Court  and  without  his 
knowledge  and  consent,  he  was  nominated  for  the  State  Senate  to  repre- 
sent Fauquier  and  Rappahannock  Counties.  He  was,  of  course,  still  under 
disability,  and  knew  that  if  elected  he  could  not  take  his  seat;  but  he  ac- 
cepted the  nomination  and  made  the  canvas.  I  do  not  know  the  result  of 
the  election,  but  I  am  sure  a  very  large  majority  of  the  votes  were  cast  for 
him;  although  it  was  known  he  could  not  take  his  seat  if  elected.  I  do  not 
know  what  year  this  was. 


CHAPTER  XL 


M 


,Y  friends  wanted  me  to  run  for  Congress,  and  I  was 
not  unwilling.  The  district  at  that  time  was  composed  of 
Alexandria  City  and  County,  Fairfax,  Loudoun,  Fauquier, 
Culpeper,  Orange,  Rappahannock,  Madison  and  three  Valley 
counties,  Clarke,  Warren  and  Frederick.  I  was  still  under  dis- 
ability and  could  not  take  my  seat  in  Congress  unless  the  dis- 
ability was  removed,  but  I  believed  it  soon  would  be  and  I 
became  a  candidate  for  Congress. 

Opposed  to  me  for  the  nomination  was  Samuel  J.  C.  Moore, 
of  Clarke  County;  James  Barbour,  of  Culpeper;  General  (after- 
wards Governor)  Kemper,  of  Madison,  and  James  G.  Field, 
also  of  Culpeper.  There  was  a  combination  between  Barbour, 
Kemper  and  Field  to  pool  their  strength  against  me,  and  to 
put  up  first  Barbour,  then  Field  and  then  Kemper.  The  rule 
in  the  district  was  that  the  successful  nominee  of  the  Democratic 
Party  had  to  receive  two-thirds  of  the  votes  of  the  nominating 
convention.  When  this  convention  assembled,  I  was  the  lead- 
ing candidate  from  the  start,  but  did  not  for  sometime  command 
two-thirds.  Barbour  was  put  up,  and  broke  down.  Field  was 
put  up  and  broke  down.  There  was  a  very  unpleasant  feeling 
engendered  between  those  three  men.  Each  one  believed  that 
the  others  did  not  behave  generously  and  fairly  toward  him. 
Owing  to  this  unpleasant  state  of  affairs,  when  Field  broke 
down,  Kemper  was  not  put  up,  and  I  had  no  other  competitor 
then  but  Mr.  Moore,  of  Clarke,  and  after  a  few  more  ballots 
I  obtained  two-thirds  of  the  convention  over  him  and  was 
nominated. 

I  was  opposed  by  a  Republican  and  northern  man  who  had 

151 


152  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

settled  in  Fairfax  County  at  "Gunston,"  George  Mason's  estate. 
I  was  elected  over  him  by  a  vote  of  11,782  to  9,178.  My 
friends  vi^ould  not  allow  me  to  meet  him  in  discussion,  as  they 
did  not  think  it  was  becoming  to  enter  into  a  discussion  with 
a  northern  man,  who  aspired  to  represent  our  people  in  Con- 
gress. He  turned  out  afterwards  to  be  a  very  good  man  indeed; 
assimilated  himself  to  our  people  and  our  customs,  and  finally 
joined  the  Democratic  Party.    His  name  is  E.  Daniels. 

I  was  elected  in  November,  1872.  My  term  commenced  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1873,  and  I  took  my  seat  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  on  the  ist  Monday  in  December,  1873. 

The  House  of  Representatives  in  that  Congress  was  nearly 
or  quite  two-thirds  Republican.  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine, 
was  elected  Speaker.  He  gave  me  a  position  on  the  Committee 
on  Military  Affairs,  and  was  exceedingly  nice  and  kind  to  me 
during  the  whole  of  that  Congress. 

Just  before  the  second  session  of  that  Congress  began,  it  be- 
came apparent  that  the  Republican  majority  in  the  House  would 
attempt  to  pass  a  "Force  Bill,"  and  accordingly  one  was  in- 
troduced when  the  second  session  assembled  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  December,  1874.*  This  was  the  short  session,  terminat- 
ing by  law  on  the  4th  of  March,  1875.  It  was  very  apparent 
that  this  effort  of  the  Republicans,  if  successful,  would  result 
in  the  ruin  of  the  South.  It  would  have  held  us  down  under 
negro  rule  as  long  as  that  law  existed.  It  was,  therefore,  of  the 
utmost  importance,  to  defeat  it,  and  when  it  came  up  in  the 
House  rather  late  in  the  session,  the  Democratic  north  and  south 
united  to  filibuster  against  that  bill.  We  had  enough  Demo- 
cratic members  to  force  a  roll  call,  and  by  dilatory  motions,  we 

*This  Bill  provided  for  the  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  cofpus  in 
certain  Southern  States.  It  will  be  found  in  full  in  the  Congressional 
Record  Feb.  24,  1875,  p.  1748. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  153 

hoped  to  defeat  the  passage  of  this  bill,  or  else  postpone  its 
passage  so  long  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  it  through 
the  Senate. 

Samuel  J.  Randall,  from  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  was  the 
leading  member  of  the  Democratic  minority.  He  was  a  man 
of  fine  intellect;  he  had  been  in  Congress  ever  since  the  war, 
and  was  thoroughly  up  in  parliamentary  tactics.  At  the  preced- 
ing session  of  the  Congress  Mr.  Randall  was  very  dissipated — 
but  when  the  second  session  met  he  had  reformed  and  did  not 
touch  a  drop,  and  there  never  was  a  minority  led  with  more 
skill  than  the  minority  he  led  in  that  fight  against  the  Force 
Bill.  By  dilatory  motions,  we  fought  off  the  final  vote  on  the 
bill  for  a  long  period,  but  we  had  very  few  more  votes  than 
enough  to  demand  the  calling  of  the  ayes  and  noes.  It  was, 
therefore,  important  that  all  the  Democrats  should  be  in  place. 
We  sat  up  two  nights  and  two  days  without  adjourning,  the 
Republican  majority  trying  to  wear  out  the  Democratic 
minority.  Toward  the  last  part  of  this  period,  it  was  arranged 
among  the  Democrats  that  a  certain  number  could  go  to  their 
homes  in  the  city  and  get  some  sleep.  The  second  night  it  was 
my  time  to  go.  My  wife  and  I  lived  at  the  National  Hotel. 
I  went  down  to  get  this  nap  of  sleep.  I  fixed  up  a  clean  shirt 
ready  to  put  on  at  a  moment's  notice  and  went  to  bed.  I  had 
not  gotten  to  sleep  before  a  messenger  from  the  House  came 
in  great  haste  to  inform  me  that  my  presence  was  essential  at 
the  House.  I  partially  dressed,  in  a  great  hurry,  and  went  down 
the  Avenue  toward  the  Capitol  Building  completing  my  toilet 
as  I  ran,  and  reached  the  House  in  time. 

We  were  advised  by  our  friends  in  the  Senate  that  if  we 
would  keep  this  bill  in  the  House  up  to  a  certain  day,  that  they 
could  filibuster  against  it  successfully  till  the  session  terminated 
on  the  4th  of  March.    By  the  rules  of  the  Senate  there  was  no 


154  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

limit  to  the  filibuster  except  the  ability  of  the  minority  to  hold 
out  in  speaking.  When  we  had  accomplished  our  purpose  and 
sufficiently  delayed  this  bill  in  the  House,  we  allowed  it  to  pass, 
the  4th  of  March  being  near  at  hand.  The  Republicans  never 
attempted  to  take  it  up  in  the  Senate. 

A  Democratic  wave  swept  over  the  country  in  1874,  and  sent 
to  the  House  of  Representatives  quite  a  large  majority  of 
Democrats.  The  House,  which  in  the  previous  Congress  was 
nearly  two-thirds  Republican,  was  very  largely  Democratic  in 
the  44th  Congress.  A  caucus  was  held  of  the  Democrats  of 
the  House,  and  Mr.  Kerr,  of  Indiana,  was  nominated  for 
Speaker.  I  preferred  Mr.  Kerr  to  Mr.  Randall,  who  was  his 
competitor,  but  did  not  feel  like  I  could  vote  against  the  man 
who  had  led  us  so  persistently  and  ably  in  the  filibuster  against 
the  Force  Bill,  and  I  voted  for  Mr.  Randall  in  the  caucus.  Not- 
withstanding my  vote  for  Randall  in  the  caucus,  Mr.  Kerr  was 
very  generous  and  kind  to  me.  He  made  me  Chairman  of  the 
Military  Pension  Committee;  second  on  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee, and  third  on  the  Committee  to  revise  the  laws  in  regard 
to  the  election  of  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States.    I  was  very  much  pleased  with  my  assignments. 

In  the  43rd  Congress  Virginia  had  but  one  other  Democratic 
Representative.  In  the  44th  Congress  we  had  from  Virginia 
John  Randolph  Tucker;  John  Goode;  George  C.  Cabell; 
General  Terry;  Gilbert  C.  Walker;  Beverley  D.  Douglas;  John 
T.  Harris,  and  myself — I  think  the  best  delegation  that  Virginia 
ever  had  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  the  Democrats  had  a  big  job 
before  them  in  investigating  the  frauds  and  corruption  of  the 
Republicans  in  and  out  of  Congress.  It  was  not  long  after  the 
session  opened  when  I  was  appointed  Chairman  of  a  sub-com- 
mittee of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  to  investigate  Mr.  James  G. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  155 

Blaine,  the  Speaker  of  the  last  Congress  and  several  preceding 
ones.  My  relations  with  Blaine  had  been  very  good.  He  had 
in  the  County  of  Loudoun  probably  fifty  relations.  His  grand- 
mother, who  was  a  Miss  Gillespie,  was  a  Loudoun  lady,  and 
I  recollected  (and  so  did  most  of  the  Democrats),  gratefully, 
the  rulings  of  Mr.  Blaine  while  Speaker  of  the  last  Congress, 
by  which  we  were  enabled  to  filibuster  successfully  against  the 
Force  Bill.  He  lost  cast  with  his  party,  and  when  he  made  his 
farewell  speech  to  the  43rd  Congress,  he  was  more  applauded 
by  the  Democratic  side  than  the  Republican,  and  I,  with  most 
of  the  Democrats,  bade  him  a  very  cordial  farewell.  It  was 
averred  that  he  had  been,  while  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives (but  further  back  than  the  preceding  session) 
guilty  of  corruption  in  getting  some  railroad  bill  through.  A 
resolution  to  investigate  him  was  offered  and  passed  in  the 
House,  and  referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  of  which  I 
was  a  member.  Proctor  Knott,  of  Kentucky,  was  Chairman 
of  that  Committee.  He  appointed  a  sub-committee  consisting 
of  myself  as  Chairman,  Mr.  Thomas  S.  Ashe,  a  North  Carolina 
Democrat,  and  Judge  William  Lawrence,  an  Ohio  Republican, 
to  conduct  this  investigation. 

Before  the  sub-committee  met,  Mr.  Blaine  took  me  into  his 
committee  room  to  talk  with  me  about  the  investigation.  He 
said,  "I  presume  the  Democrats  on  the  sub-committee  have  no 
feeling  against  me?"  I  made  no  reply.  He  went  on,  and 
afterwards  again  said,  "I  presume  the  Democrats  on  that  sub- 
committee have  no  feeling  against  me?"  I  said,  "Mr.  Blaine, 
you  have  said  that  twice.  I  did  not  reply  to  it  when  you  first 
said  it,  but  I  cannot  let  your  second  remark  pass  without  a  reply." 
I  continued,  "When  I  came  to  the  43rd  Congress  you  were 
Speaker.  You  were  very  nice  and  kind  to  me.  I  appreciated  it 
very  highly.    I  recollect  very  distinctly  your  fair  rulings  in  the 


156  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Chair  enabled  us  to  defeat  the  Force  Bill.  You  know,  as  well 
as  I  do,  that  when  the  Congress  adjourned  the  Democrats  took 
leave  of  you  with  more  cordiality  and  kindness  than  the  Repub- 
licans." He  said,  "I  know  all  that,  and  it  was  very  gratifying 
to  me."  I  said,  "You  know,  Mr.  Blaine,  when  you  returned  to 
the  44th  Congress,  when  the  House  was  Democratic,  the 
Democrats  met  you  with  great  cordiality,  and  among  the  most 
cordial  greetings  you  received  mine  was  the  most  cordial."  He 
said,  "I  recollect  it  with  great  pleasure,  sir."  "But,"  I  said,  "Mr. 
Blaine,  this  session  of  Congress  had  scarcely  opened  when  you 
made  the  most  virulent,  violent  and  uncalled  for  speech  on  the 
Disability  Bill  that  I  have  heard  from  anybody.  Your  attack 
on  JeflF.  Davis  was  virulent.  It  raked  up  all  the  trouble  between 
the  North  and  South,  which  we  wanted  to  see  pacified.  You 
could  not  expect  me  to  feel  towards  you  after  that  speech  as  I 
did  before  it  was  delivered."  Mr.  Blaine  said,  "The  Democrats 
ought  not  to  take  exceptions  to  that  speech  of  mine.  By  my 
rulings  in  the  last  Congress,  which  enabled  you  all  to  defeat  the 
Force  Bill,  I  lost  cast  with  my  party.  I  had  to  make  that  speech 
in  order  to  regain  it."  I  said,  "That  might  be  good  politics, 
Mr.  Blaine,  but  it  was  not  statesmanship.  At  any  rate,  it  was 
striking  us  in  a  vital  point,  and  I  could  not  tell  you  that  I  had 
no  feeling  against  you ;  but  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  the  investiga- 
tion before  the  sub-committee  of  which  I  am  chairman,  shall 
be  as  fair  a  one  as  has  ever  been  given  to  a  man  in  Congress." 
We  parted,  and  the  investigation  began. 

Mr.  Blaine  had  devoted  friends.  He  was  probably  the  most 
brilliant  man  I  ever  met  in  public  life — a  splendid  presiding 
officer,  a  very  fine  debater,  and  exceedingly  magnetic.  His 
colleague,  Mr.  Fry,  from  Maine,  and  his  friend,  William  E. 
Chandler,  from  New  Hampshire,  and  others,  attended  the 
meetings  of  the  sub-committee  every  day,  and  were  his  close 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  157 

friends  and  advisers.  The  investigation  went  quietly  along  until 
James  Mulligan  (I  think  of  New  Jersey)  was  put  upon  the 
stand.  I  had  never  seen  Mulligan  before.  I  had  no  idea  what 
he  would  testify  to,  and  was  conducting  him  along  very  quietly 
and  getting  out  of  him  everything  that  I  could  draw  from  him, 
when  he  said:  "Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  got  some  letters  that  I 
desire  to  put  in  evidence  before  this  Committee."  Immediately 
Mr.  Blaine  whispered  to  Mr.  Lawrence,  the  Republican  member 
of  the  sub-committee,  "Move  an  adjournment."  I  heard  him 
say  it.  Lawrence  moved  the  adjournment,  and  the  Committee 
adjourned  to  meet  the  next  morning  at  10  o'clock. 

The  next  morning  at  10  o'clock  the  Committee  met;  Mr. 
Blaine  and  his  friends  were  present,  and  James  Mulligan  took 
his  position  on  the  witness  stand.  I  said,  "Mr.  Mulligan,  proceed 
with  your  narrative."  He  replied,  "Mr.  Chairman,  before  I 
commence  my  narrative  I  have  got  a  personal  explanation  to 
make."  I  said,  "Proceed  with  it."  He  said,  "When  the  Com- 
mittee adjourned  yesterday,  I  went  down  to  my  hotel — the 
Riggs  House — and  very  soon  after  getting  there  received  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Blaine,  asking  me  to  come  to  his  house.  I  replied 
declining  to  go.  I  got  a  second  letter  urging  me  to  come  to  his 
house.  I  still  declined.  In  a  short  time  Mr.  Blaine  came  to  the 
Riggs  House  and  told  me  he  wanted  to  see  me  in  my  room. 
We  went  to  my  room  and  Mr.  Blaine  said,  "James,  I  want  those 
letters  you  referred  to  today  on  the  stand."  I  said,  "Mr.  Blaine, 
I  shall  not  give  them  up;  I  am  going  to  file  them  with  my 
evidence  before  that  sub-committee."  Mulligan  said  Mr.  Blaine 
begged  and  entreated,  and  he  still  refused.  Blaine  got  on  his 
knees,  shed  tears  and  said,  "James,  if  you  don't  give  me  those 
papers  I'm  a  ruined  man,  and  not  only  am  I  ruined,  but  my 
wife  and  children  will  be  disgraced."  Mulligan  said  that  he 
told  Blaine  he  must  refuse  to  surrender  the  letters.  After  much 
further  entreaty,  Mr.  Blaine  said,  "James,  let  me  see  those 


158  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

letters.  I  want  to  look  over  them,  and  I  pledge  you  my  word 
of  honor  I  will  return  them  to  you."  "Under  that  pledge," 
said  Mulligan,  "I  gave  the  letters  to  Mr.  Blaine.  He  read  them, 
and  returned  them  to  me."  "He  then  said,  ']2Lmcs,  let  me  look 
at  those  letters  again  a  few  minutes.'  Supposing  he  was  taking 
them  under  the  same  pledge  to  return  them  to  me  I  handed  them 
to  him.  As  soon  as  he  got  them  in  his  hands  he  put  them  in 
his  pocket  and  said,  'Now  they  are  mine.  I  don't  mean  to 
return  them,'  and  he  went  off  with  them." 

I  never  was  so  shocked  and  surprised  in  my  life.  I  could  not 
believe  that  James  Mulligan  was  telling  the  truth.  I  waited 
impatiently  to  hear  Mr.  Blaine  pronounce  it  a  lie,  but  there  he 
sat,  and  did  not  open  his  lips.  Amid  the  dead  silence  that 
ensued,  Mr.  Blaine  asked  through  his  political  friend,  Mr. 
Lawrence,  that  the  Committee  adjourn.  The  Committee  did 
adjourn  but  Blaine  never  returned  the  letters.  He  tried  his  best 
to  save  himself  before  the  House  by  ruining  me.  He  charged 
me  with  conducting  a  most  unfair  investigation,  with  coaching 
this  witness,  and  doing  a  great  many  things  which  a  fair-minded 
chairman  of  a  committee  ought  not  to  do.  Mr.  William  E. 
Chandler,  his  poHtical  friend  whom  I  alluded  to  above,  said, 
and  maintained  (I  have  heard  him  say  it  a  dozen  times,  and 
he  would  say  it  again  today,  if  asked)  that  I  was  the  fairest 
chairman  of  a  committee  he  had  ever  seen.  Mr.  Blaine  attacked 
me  most  violently  upon  the  floor  of  the  House.  I  replied,  stat- 
ing all  the  facts  as  I  have  stated  them  above,  and  said,  "Now, 
Mr.  Speaker,  this  unworthy  conduct  of  Mr.  Blaine  affects  this 
House.  I  am  only  the  organ  of  the  House,  as  the  Chairman 
of  one  of  its  committees" — and  I  made  what  was  considered 
by  my  friends  not  only  a  good  defense  of  myself,  but  a  very 
thorough  castigation  of  Blaine.* 

*A  substantially  similar  account  is  given  in  James  Ford  Rhodes'  History 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  159 

I  was  followed  by  Proctor  Knott  in  a  fairly  good  speech  and 
his  speech  and  mine  were  published  in  pamphlet  form  and  cir- 
culated as  a  campaign  document,  in  the  next  presidential 
election. 

It  came  very  near  causing  a  personal  difficulty  between  Mr. 
William  P.  Fry,  Mr.  Blaine's  personal  friend  and  political 
admirer  from  the  State  of  Maine,  and  myself.  Fry  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Judiciary  Committee.  He  and  I  had  become  very 
good  friends.  He  was  a  manly  man,  and  did  not  bear  any 
resentment  towards  Southern  people  who  participated  in  the 
Confederate  war.  Proctor  Knott  and  Fry  got  into  a  violent 
altercation  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  They  had  also  been  warm 
friends.  In  the  course  of  this  debate  Fry  said,  "There  is  not  a 
member  of  that  sub-committee  that  has  a  shadow  of  a  shade 
of  doubt  as  to  Blaine's  innocence."  He  was  speaking  in  the  time 
of  his  colleague,  Mr.  Hale,  of  Maine,  who  had  yielded  the  floor 

of  the  United  States,  Volume  VII,  pages  200-206,  sustained  by  citations  to 
records  of  Congress. 

Of  this  speech,  Mr.  John  Goode  says  in  his  book  "Recollection  of  a  Life- 
time," at  page  1 1 1,  the  following: 

"Mr.  Blaine  was  the  recognized  leader  on  the  Republican  side,  and  was 
undoubtedly  a  man  of  exceptional  talent  and  parliamentary  skill.  He  was 
remarkably  quick  and  alert,  and  excelled  all  the  men  I  have  ever  heard  in 
what  is  known  as  a  running  debate.  While  he  was  under  investigation  by 
the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House  he  exhibited  extraordinary  audac- 
ity, and  a  stranger  sitting  in  the  galleries  and  observing  his  bearing  would 
have  supposed  that  the  committee  were  the  defendants  and  he  was  the 
prosecutor.  With  head  aloft,  eyes  aflame  and  nostrils  dilated,  he  left  his 
seat  on  the  Republican  side,  charged  down  the  aisle,  shook  his  fist  at  the 
Democratic  side,  and  exclaimed,  in  stentorian  terms,  'Sixty  odd  of  you  sit 
there  by  the  grace  and  clemency  of  this  great  Government,  and  if  you  had 
your  deserts  you  would  all  be  hung  as  high  as  Haman!'  It  is  proper  to  say 
that  this  assault  was  successfully  met  by  Eppa  Hunton  of  Virginia,  who 
added  very  materially  to  his  well-earned  reputation  as  a  strong,  ready,  and 
able  debator." 


i6o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

to  him.  When  Fry  made  this  statement,  I  immediately  arose 
and  said,  "Mr.  Speaker,  the  gentleman  from  Maine  has  said 
that  there  was  not  a  member  of  that  sub-committee  who  had  the 
shadow  of  a  shade  of  doubt  as  to  Mr.  Blaine's  innocence" — Mr. 
Fry  jumped  up  and  said,  "Mr.  Speaker,  I  meant  'any  honest 
member'  of  that  committee." 

I  was  very  much  surprised  at  what  was  a  direct  intimation 
on  the  part  of  Fry  that  I  was  not  an  honest  member.  He 
thought  I  was  going  to  say  that  Blaine  was  guilty,  in  my  opinion. 
I  asked  Mr.  Fry  if  he  meant  to  intimate  by  that  remark,  that 
I  was  not  an  honest  man.  He  did  not  reply.  I  repeated  the 
question,  and  he  still  did  not  reply.  I  then  started  a  sentence 
of  denunciation,  saying  "Then  I  pronounce — "  when  Hale,  in 
whose  time  I  was  speaking,  seeing  that  trouble  was  ahead,  im- 
mediately resumed  the  floor,  stating  he  had  not  yielded  it  to 
me  for  any  such  purpose.  I  struggled  very  hard  to  keep  my 
position  on  the  floor,  but  the  Speaker  ruled  that  I  had  to  give 
way  to  Mr.  Hale.  I  started  to  denounce  Fry  in  the  bitterest 
terms  that  I  could  employ,  but  before  I  got  the  floor  after  Hale 
finished,  Mr.  Fry  apologized  and  said  he  did  not  mean  to  imply 
that  I  was  not  an  honest  man.  I  said,  "Then  I  will  proceed 
to  state  what  I  started  to  state  when  I  was  interrupted  by  the 
gentleman  from  Maine.  The  gentleman  from  Maine  said  that 
'he  did  not  suppose  there  was  a  member  of  that  sub-committee 
who  had  the  shadow  of  a  shade  of  doubt  of  Blaine's  innocence.' 
I  was  the  chairman  of  that  sub-committee,  occupying  a  quasi- 
judicial  position.  I  had  striven  hard  to  avoid  making  up  an 
opinion  as  to  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  Mr.  Blaine  until  all  the 
testimony  was  in.  It  was  not  all  in  at  that  period,  and  there- 
fore, I  had  not  concluded  as  to  his  guilt  or  innocence."  Fry 
thought  I  was  going  to  say  I  believed  him  guilty.  If  he  had 
known  what  I  was  going  to  say  he  would  not  have  inter- 
rupted me. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  i6i 

Tucker,  Goode,  Cabell  and  myself  were  boarding  at  the  same 
house  on  G  Street.  It  was  Sunday  following  this  debate,  I  think, 
and  a  very  warm  day.  I  went  to  church — ^the  Church  of  the 
Epiphany — and  when  the  morning  services  were  over,  it  was  so 
warm  that  I  determined  to  go  to  my  quarters  and  see  if  I  could 
keep  cool.  At  the  door,  I  met  a  man  in  great  distress,  who  asked 
me  if  Dr.  Barnes  was  in  the  church.  I  told  him  he  was,  and 
called  up  one  of  the  officers  of  the  church  and  asked  him  to 
get  Dr.  Barnes  out.  I  asked  the  man  what  was  the  matter, 
and  he  said  Blaine  had  fallen  in  a  fit  in  a  church  a  hundred 
yards  away.    Dr.  Barnes  came  out  and  I  went  to  my  room. 

Blaine  had  a  very  severe  and  protracted  spell.  A  great  many 
people  thought  it  was  not  real,  and  that  he  affected  to  be  sick 
in  order  to  avoid  this  investigation.  I  thought  he  was  sick. 
Before  he  was  well  enough  to  come  before  the  Committee,  he 
was  elected  to  the  Senate.  He  did  not  appear  in  the  House  any 
more,  but  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  This  ended  the  investiga- 
tion in  the  House,  because  Blaine  was  no  longer  a  member  of  it. 

So  far  as  the  evidence  taken  in  that  investigation  went,  apart 
from  these  letters  there  was  nothing  to  convict  Blaine  of  cor- 
ruption, but  it  must  be  that  he  thought  those  letters  would 
convict  him,  if  made  public  through  the  Committee.  He  would 
not  have  made  all  this  effort  before  James  Mulligan,  at  the 
Riggs  House,  to  get  these  letters — he  would  not  have  told  Mul- 
ligan that  these  letters  would  disgrace  not  only  him  but  his  wife 
and  children — he  would  not  have  violated  an  implied  pledge 
when  he  took  those  letters  and  put  them  in  his  pocket — if  he  had 
thought  otherwise ;  and  so  far  as  I  know,  nobody  has  ever  seen 
those  letters  since  Blaine  in  this  improper  mode  got  possession 
of  them.  It  is  true  that  he  professed  to  read  these  letters  to  the 
House,  the  last  time  he  appeared  in  the  House  before  his  election 
to  the  Senate.  It  is  customary  when  a  member  has  a  document 
of  that  sort  to  be  put  on  record  in  the  House,  to  send  it  to  the 


i62  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Clerk  to  be  read.  Blaine  declined  to  do  that,  but  read  these 
letters,  or  professed  to  read  them,  himself.  Now  whether  they 
were  read  truly  or  not  I  cannot  say.  Mulligan  said  they  were 
not  truly  read,  and  from  the  conduct  of  Blaine  in  regard  to  those 
letters,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  Blaine 
was  guilty  of  the  corruption  with  which  he  was  charged. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  convened  in  Cincinnati 
soon  after  this,  and  Blaine  was  a  candidate  for  nomination  for 
President  of  the  United  States.  They  were  afraid  to  nominate 
him  after  this  exposure,  and  Hayes  was  nominated  in  his  stead. 
But  for  this  exposure  it  is  almost  certain  that  Blaine  would  have 
been  the  nominee. 

This  was  the  first  session  of  that  Congress,  which  lasted  late 
into  the  year  1876 — the  Presidential  year.  The  Republicans 
nominated,  as  I  have  just  said,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio. 
The  Democrats  nominated  Samuel  }.  Tilden,  of  New  York. 
It  was  a  very  exciting  canvass,  and  Tilden  was  elected  by  quite 
a  large  majority.  The  Republican  National  Committee  was 
presided  over  at  that  time  by  Zachary  Chandler,  of  Michigan. 
A  little  after  midnight  following  the  day  of  election,  this  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  said,  "Gentlemen,  Samuel  J.  Tilden  is 
elected  President  of  the  United  States,"  and  went  to  bed — drunk, 
very  drunk.  William  E.  Chandler,  who  was  not  a  relative  of 
Zack  Chandler,  was  on  the  Committee,  said,  "I  don't  give  it 
up" ;  and  he  telegraphed  Republican  papers  in  the  United  States 
to  claim  in  its  next  morning's  issue,  that  Rutherford  B.  Hayes 
had  so  many  electoral  votes  and  was  elected  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  he  (Hayes)  had  carried  the  States  of 
Florida,  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina— which  States  had  voted 
for  Tilden  by  a  very  large  majority. 


■^ 


EPPA  HUNTON 
Taken  in  1877  while  a  Member  of  the  Electoral  Commission. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


T. 


HIS  contention  on  the  part  of  the  Republicans  that  Hayes 
was  elected,  created  great  excitement  throughout  the  country, 
and  the  RepubHcans  set  to  work  in  the  three  disputed  States  of 
Florida,  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  to  make  the  returns 
show  that  Hayes,  and  not  Tilden,  carried  these  States. 

In  each  one  of  these  States  the  Returning  Board  and  the 
Governor  v/ere  Republicans,  and  both  parties  tried  earnestly  to 
make  good  their  claims  that  their  respective  candidates  had 
carried  these  three  States.  Leading  Republicans  visited  these 
States  and  the  greatest  frauds  under  their  manipulation  were 
practiced  by  the  Returning  Boards,  especially  of  Florida  and 
Louisiana.  These  frauds  were  fully  established  by  the  friends 
of  Mr,  Tilden.  Their  exposure  makes  it  perfectly  plain  that 
Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  under  the  constitution  and  laws  of  Con- 
gress and  of  the  States  respectively,  elected  President  of  the 
United  States  in  November,  1876.  The  Democrats  placed  this 
contention  on  the  early  legal  returns  which  had  been  reversed 
by  the  corrupt  Returning  Boards.  The  Republicans  contended 
that  the  Returning  Boards  had  decided  and  the  Governor  cer- 
tified and  their  decision  was  a  finality.  The  whole  country 
was  in  a  state  of  greatest  excitement. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs,  Congress  met  on  the  ist  Monday 
of  December,  1876 — less  than  a  month  after  the  election.  The 
Senate  was  Republican,  and  the  House  Democratic.  It  was 
easy  to  foresee  that  the  Senate  would  declare  Hayes  elected, 
and  that  the  House  would  declare  Tilden  elected.  President 
Grant,  who  was  President  at  that  time,  was  collecting  a  large 
body  of  United  States  troops  at  the  capital,  and  apprehensions 
were  felt  by  the  best  men  of  the  country  (in  and  out  of  Con- 

163 


164  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

gress)  that  unless  some  steps  were  taken,  confusion  and  prob- 
ably bloodshed  would  ensue.  One  or  the  other  of  the  two 
parties  had  to  recede  from  their  claims.  Neither  one  seemed 
disposed  to  do  so,  and  the  duty  devolved  upon  the  two  houses 
of  Congress  to  adopt  some  measure  which  would  settle  this 
disputed  presidential  election  and  avoid  bloodshed.  It  was  be- 
lieved (and  is  still)  that  a  firm  stand  taken  by  Mr.  Tilden — 
a  declaration  from  him  that  he  was  elected  and  intended  to  be 
inaugurated — would  have  settled  the  dispute.  He  would  not 
make  it. 

Samuel  J.  Randall,  of  Philadelphia,  was  the  Speaker  of  the 
House,  and  Senator  Ferry,  of  Michigan,  was  the  President  pro 
tem  of  the  Senate,  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  Wilson  having  died. 
It  was  very  soon  apparent  that  the  two  parties  had  sent  to  the 
President  of  the  Senate  their  electoral  returns — the  Democrats 
claiming  and  reporting  that  the  Democratic  electors  had  cast 
the  true  vote  of  these  three  States  for  Mr.  Tilden — the  Repub- 
licans contending  that  the  electors  of  these  three  States  had  cast 
the  true  votes  of  the  States  for  Mr.  Hayes. 

A  resolution  was  introduced  and  adopted  by  the  House,  and 
a  similar  one  by  the  Senate  to  appoint  a  Committee  of  each 
House  to  consider  the  result  of  this  presidential  election,  and 
to  report  some  measure  by  which  it  might  be  carried  into  opera- 
tion without  bloodshed.  The  Committee  of  the  House  was  com- 
posed of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Payne,  of  Ohio,  as  the  Chairman,  and 
four  other  Democrats,  I  being  one  of  them.  There  were  four 
Republicans  upon  this  Committee.  This  Committee  met  and 
went  earnestly  and  honestly  to  work  to  solve  this  dispute,  and 
agreed  unanimously  upon  a  bill  by  which  an  Electoral  Com- 
mission was  to  be  appointed,  which  should  consider  the  ques- 
tions involved  in  the  disputed  States,  decide  which  was  the  true 
electoral  vote,  and  report  to  Congress  their  decision.  The  deci- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  165 

sion  of  this  Commission  was  to  settle  the  question,  unless  it  was 
reversed  by  the  united  action  of  both  houses  of  Congress.  The 
Bill  framed  by  this  Committee  of  the  House  was  a  fair  one. 
It  was,  and  is  now  conceded,  if  passed  into  a  law,  Mr.  Tilden 
would  have  been  inaugurated.  It  was  not  reported  to  the  House 
and  can't  be  found  and  copied. 

After  the  House  Committee  had  acted  and  agreed  upon  this 
bill,  it  met  the  Senate  Committee,  and  thereafter  the  two  Com- 
mittees held  joint  meetings. 

The  Senate  Committee  had  adopted  a  most  outrageous  bill, 
by  the  main  features  of  which  the  Presidency  could  be  decided 
by  chance.  Mr.  Payne,  the  Chairman  of  the  House  Committee, 
moved  to  substitute  the  bill  prepared  by  the  House  Committee 
for  that  prepared  by  the  Senate  Committee.  This  motion  was 
lost  by  a  tie  vote;  and  then  the  Democrats  of  the  two  Com- 
mittees addressed  themselves  to  the  task  of  improving  the  bill 
of  the  Senate  Committee.  It  was  very  much  improved.  Its 
main  features  are  as  follows: 

"Section  2nd.  That  if  more  than  one  return,  or  paper  pur- 
porting to  be  a  return  from  a  State  shall  have  been  received 
by  the  President  of  the  Senate  purporting  to  be  certificates  of 
Electoral  votes  given  at  the  last  preceding  election  for  President 
and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  in  such  State  (unless 
they  shall  be  duplicates  of  the  same  return)  all  such  returns 
and  papers  shall  be  opened  by  him  in  the  presence  of  the  two 
Houses  when  met  as  aforesaid  and  read  by  the  tellers;  and  all 
such  returns  and  papers  shall  thereupon  be  submitted  to  the 
judgment  and  decision  (as  to  which  is  the  true  and  lawful 
electoral  vote  of  such  State)  to  an  electoral  commission  con- 
stituted as  follows: 

.  "During  the  session  of  each  House  on  the  Tuesday  next 
preceding  the  first  Thursday  in  February,  1877,  ^^^^  House 


i66  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

shall  by  viva  voce  vote  appoint  five  of  its  members,  v^^ho  with 
the  five  associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  (to  be  ascertained  as  hereafter  provided)  shall  constitute 
a  commission  for  the  decision  of  all  questions  upon  or  in  respect 
to  such  double  returns  named  in  this  Section — On  Tuesday  next, 
preceding  the  first  Thursday  in  February  A.  D.  1877,  or  as 
soon  thereafter  as  may  be,  the  associate  Justices  of  Supreme 
Court  of  United  States  now  assigned  to  the  First,  Third,  Eighth 
and  Ninth  Circuits,  shall  select  in  such  manner  as  a  majority 
of  them  deem  fit  another  of  the  associate  Justices  of  said  Court 
which  five  persons  shall  be  members  of  said  commission.  *  *  * 
All  the  certificates  and  papers  purporting  to  be  certificates  of 
the  electoral  vote  of  each  State  shall  be  opened  in  alphabetical 
order,  as  before  provided  in  Section  one,  and  where  there  shall 
be  more  than  one  such  certificate  or  paper,  as  the  certificates 
or  papers  from  such  State  shall  be  opened,  they  shall  be  read 
by  the  Tellers  and  thereupon  the  President  of  the  Senate  shall 
call  for  objections,  if  any — Every  objection  shall  be  made  in 
writing.  *  *  * 

"When  all  such  objections  so  made  to  any  certificate  vote  or 
paper  from  a  State  shall  have  been  received  and  read,  all  such 
certificates,  votes  and  papers  so  objected  to,  and  all  papers  ac- 
companying the  same,  together  with  such  objections  shall  be 
forthwith  submitted  to  such  commission  which  shall  proceed 
to  consider  the  same  with  the  same  power,  if  any,  now  possessed 
for  that  purpose  by  the  two  Houses  acting  separately  or  together, 
and  by  a  majority  of  votes  decide,"  etc. 

Then  it  provides  that  the  two  Houses  shall  again  meet  and 
upon  objections  to  the  decision  made,  as  therein  provided,  the 
two  Houses  shall  again  separate  and  unless  both  Houses  acting 
separately  shall  order  otherwise,  the  decision  of  the  commis- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  167 

sion  shall  stand  and  the  vote  be  counted  in  conformity  there- 
with. 

The  Committees  were  acting  behind  closed  doors  and  while 
maturing  this  bill,  each  member  was  pledged  to  secrecy.  To 
our  surprise  and  indignation,  after  the  bill  was  nearly  perfected 
and  agreed  upon,  one  of  the  New  York  papers  published  the 
bill  almost  verbatim  as  agreed  upon.  This  caused  the  greatest 
excitement.  Many  members,  especially  Democrats  of  the  House, 
declared  they  would  see  war  in  preference  to  the  settlement 
under  this  bill.  A  conference  of  the  leading  Democratic  mem- 
bers of  the  two  Houses  was  called.  Samuel  J.  Randall,  Speaker, 
was  called  to  the  Chair  and  explained  that  the  meeting  was 
called  to  advise  whether  the  Democrats  should  accept  or  reject 
this  bill.  Randall  made  a  war  speech — so  did  Watterson,  of 
Kentucky;  Sparks  and  Springer,  of  Illinois.  They  declared 
they  were  ready  for  war  and  its  consequences  rather  than  submit 
to  the  settlement  of  the  Presidential  question  under  that  bill. 
Thurman  and  Bayard  made  conservative  speeches  advising  ac- 
ceptance of  the  bill. 

I  spoke  last  and  friends  said  if  I  lived  a  hundred  years,  I 
would  never  make  another  speech  to  compare  with  that — I 
said  in  part,  that  I  came  to  Washington  at  the  beginning  of 
the  session  convinced  that  Tilden  was  lawfully  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  That  all  I  had  seen  and  heard  since 
had  deepened  that  conviction.  That  I  was  willing  to  go  as  far 
as  any  man  to  carry  out  the  will  of  the  people.  But  we  must 
look  into  the  condition  of  affairs  candidly  before  we  resolve 
upon  a  course  which  would  probably  bring  the  country  into  war. 
I  said  that  it  was  apparent  without  this  or  some  other  law, 
the  House  would  declare  Tilden  President  and  the  Senate  Hayes. 
That  Grant,  then  President,  was  collecting  the  Federal  army  in 


i68  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Washington.  That  on  4th  March,  under  the  declaration  of  the 
Senate,  Hayes  would  be  escorted  by  his  political  friends  and 
Federal  bayonets  to  the  capitol — deliver  his  inaugural,  and  be 
similarly  escorted  to  the  White  House.  That  on  the  following 
day,  he  would  send  his  cabinet  appointments  to  the  Senate  and 
he  would  be  in  the  White  House  as  President  with  a  cabinet — 
in  command  of  the  Army  and  Navy — and  appropriations  to 
last  till  30th  of  June.  To  remove  Hayes  and  put  Tilden  in, 
we  must  fight.  Are  we  ready  for  such  a  war?  It  must  be 
understood  that  the  South  could  not  initiate  such  a  fight.  They 
could  only  reinforce  our  northern  friends — who  promised  aid  to 
us  in  our  late  struggle  and  then  (many  of  them)  fought  against 
us.  Now  you  gentlemen  of  the  north  must  inaugurate  this  war 
and  conduct  it  to  success.  If  unsuccessful,  the  Southern  States 
would  again  be  reduced  to  Military  Districts  and  remain  so 
indefinitely.* 

I  said  further — There  is  not  a  northern  State  that  has  a 
Democratic  organization  in  both  its  executive  and  Legislative 
Departments.  You  cannot  expect  any  northern  State  to  send 
an  army,  however  small,  to  fight  for  the  rights  of  the  people. 
Reliance  must  be  entirely  on  volunteers.  Then  turning  succes- 
sively to  those  who  had  made  war  speeches,  I  asked — How  many 
men  from  your  State  can  you  put  in  the  field?    Where  will 


*My  father  has  told  me  that  in  addition  to  what  he  has  stated  above,  he 
said  in  his  speech  that  he  had  had  some  experience  in  war,  a  war  upon 
which  the  South  had  entered  with  the  assurance  of  support  from  Northern 
Democrats,  a  support  which  was  never  given  and  which  if  given  would 
have  changed  the  result  of  our  war.  He  was  familiar  with  the  desolation, 
the  horrors,  the  agony  of  an  unsuccessful  war,  but  that  he  was  perfecdy 
willing  to  go  into  another  war  in  defense  of  his  people  if  he  had  reasonable 
assurances  from  the  Northern  Democrats  of  troops  and  munitions  suffi- 
cient to  give  hope  of  success,  as  the  South  alone  and  unaided  was  mani- 
fesdy  unequal  to  the  conflict. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  169 

you  obtain  the  money  to  pay  them?  Where  will  you  obtain 
arms  and  ammunition?  Where  Commissary  and  Quarter- 
master supplies?  These  are  important  questions  and  I  pause 
for  a  reply. 

Not  one  of  them  opened  his  mouth.  Watterson  said,  "Mr. 
Chairman,  I  see  there  is  to  be  no  fight — I  retreat  in  good  order." 
The  others  said  the  same  in  substance.  From  that  time  on  the 
leading  Democrats  agreed  that  it  was  the  chances  under  the 
Electoral  Bill,  or  the  certainty  of  Hayes.  I  felt  sanguine  if  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  the  bill  were  carried  out  Tilden  must  be 
seated.  I  had  not  much  confidence  in  the  Republicans  of  the 
Committee  from  either  House,  but  I  could  not  believe  that  of 
the  three  Republican  Justices  one  could  not  be  found  to  rise  above 
party  and  do  justice. 

Senator  Morton,  Republican,  of  Indiana,  of  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee, refused  to  sign  the  report.  I  held  out  against  the  report 
for  several  days.  The  Committee  informed  me  that  at  the  next 
meeting  I  must  sign  the  report,  or  it  would  be  made  to  the  two 
Houses  without  my  signature.  I  sought  Mr.  Pelton,  the  nephew 
of  Mr.  Tilden,  who  was  in  Washington  representing  his  uncle, 
and  asked  him  what  his  uncle's  views  were  about  this  bill.  He 
said,  "His  uncle  wanted  a  better  bill."  I  said,  "So  do  I";  but 
I  had  exhausted  all  my  efforts  to  get  a  better  bill,  and  it  was 
this  bill  or  none,  and  I  desired  to  know  from  him  what  Mr. 
Tilden  thought  about  it.  He  replied  again  that  "His  uncle 
wanted  a  better  bill."  I  said,  "If  that  is  all  the  information 
you  can  give  me,  I  will  sign  the  report,"  which  I  subsequently 
did. 

This  bill,  reported  from  the  joint  committee  of  the  two 
Houses,  passed  and  became  a  law.  It  then  devolved  upon  the 
two  Houses  to  select  their  members  of  this  Commission.  My 
friends  insisted  that  I  should  be  a  candidate  for  the  caucus 


170  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

nomination.  Mr.  Tucker's  friends  insisted  that  he  should  be. 
It  was  very  certain  that  two  Virginians  could  not  go  on  the 
Commission,  and  that  if  both  were  candidates  both  would  be 
defeated,  and  the  friends  of  Mr.  Tucker  and  myself  insisted 
that  there  must  not  be  any  controversy  between  us  for  the  place; 
that  we  had  been  warm  personal  friends  too  long  to  let  this 
struggle  cause  an  alienation.  It  was  finally  agreed  between 
Mr.  Tucker  and  myself  that  he  and  I  would  name  friends,  who 
would  decide  which  of  us  would  seek  nomination  for  member- 
ship on  the  Commission.  Our  friends  met  and  failed  to  agree, 
and  then  without  the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Tucker  or  myself,  they 
determined  to  decide  the  question  by  lot,  and  I  won.*    I  sup- 


*My  father  told  me  that  the  committee  after  many  conferences  had  been 
unable  to  reach  any  agreement  and  were  about  to  adjourn  when  some  one 
proposed  that  they  should  draw  straws  to  see  who  should  be  the  candidate. 
This  was  agreed  upon  and  Mr.  Benjamin  H.  Hill  held  the  straws.  Mr. 
Henry  Watterson  represented  Mr.  Tucker  and  Mr.  J.  S.  C.  Blackburn  rep- 
resenting my  father  drew  the  winning  straw. 

Mr.  John  Goode  in  his  book  "Recollections  of  a  Lifetime,"  at  page  157, 
gives  the  following  account  of  the  manner  in  which  my  father  was  selected 
as  a  member  of  the  Electoral  Commission. 

"Before  closing  it  may  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  refer  to  an  incident  con- 
nected with  the  formation  of  the  Electoral  Commission.  It  having  been 
intimated  to  the  Virginia  delegation  in  Congress  by  members  of  the 
Democratic  caucus  that  our  State  might  be  honored  with  a  place  on  the 
Commission,  provided  we  could  agree  on  a  candidate  to  be  presented,  we 
were  unable  to  decide  between  Eppa  Hunton  and  John  Randolph  Tucker. 
Whereupon  it  was  determined  that  the  matter  should  be  decided  by  lot. 
Benjamin  H.  Hill  of  Georgia,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  orators  and  states- 
men whom  it  has  ever  been  my  good  fortune  to  meet,  held  the  straws,  and 
Hunton  was  the  winner.  Mr.  Tucker  rendered  valuable  and  conspicuous 
service  as  one  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Tilden  electors  before  the  Com- 
mission, and  fully  sustained  his  great  reputation  as  a  learned  lawyer  and 
eloquent  advocate.  General  Hunton,  as  a  member  of  the  Commission, 
dignified  and  adorned  the  high  station  by  his  admirable  judicial  temper, 
and  delivered  opinions  in  the  Florida,  Louisiana,  Oregon,  and  South 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  171 

posed  then  that  the  struggle  between  Mr.  Tucker's  friends  and 
mine  was  over,  but  when  the  caucus  met  a  mode  of  proceeding 
was  adopted  which  I  had  never  seen  practiced  before,  or  since. 
There  were  to  be  no  nominating  speeches,  but  each  man  in  the 
caucus  was  to  cast  his  ballot  for  his  preference.  I  always  be- 
lieved that  this  mode  was  adopted  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of 
Mr.  Tucker's  friends,  that  though  he  was  ruled  out  by  our 
agreement,  yet  he  might  be  voted  for  in  this  manner  in  the 
House  caucus.  Accordingly,  when  the  caucus  met  and  this 
mode  was  adopted,  quite  a  number  voted  for  Mr.  Tucker.  It 
was  also  urged  against  me  that  it  would  not  do  to  elect  a  Con- 
federate Brigadier  to  settle  this  contested  presidential  election, 
and  this  too  probably  lost  me  some  votes.  I  was  largely  in  the 
majority  over  Mr.  Tucker,  but  did  not  have  a  majority  of  the 
caucus  by  reason  of  the  votes  given  to  Mr.  Tucker. 

Mr.  Payne  was  selected  on  the  first  ballot.  A  second  ballot 
was  had  and  I  was  selected.  On  the  third  ballot  Josiah  G.  Aboott, 
of  Boston,  was  selected.  The  Republicans  in  the  caucus  nomi- 
nated George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Mr.  James  Gar- 
field, of  Ohio.  In  the  Senate,  which  was  Republican,  they  had 
three  Republicans:  George  F.  Edmunds,  of  Massachusetts; 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  and  Frelinghuysen,  of  New 
Jersey;  and  two  Democrats:  Thurman,  of  Ohio,  and  Bayard, 
of  Delaware.  The  Judges  were  ClifTord,  Field,  Bradley,  Strong 
and  Miller.  Mr.  Justice  Clifford  was  the  President  of  the  Com- 
mission, by  reason  of  his  seniority  over  the  other  Justices. 

At  the  appointed  time  the  two  Houses  proceeded  to  count 

Carolina  cases  which  will  long  stand  as  monuments  to  his  wisdom,  learn- 
ing and  patriotism. 

"It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  this  as  in  every  great  crisis  of  the  country's 
history  the  sons  of  the  Old  Dominibn  proved  themselves  in  every  respect 
worthy  of  her  hereditary  renown  and  her  pristine  glory." 


172  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

the  presidential  vote  and  determine  and  declare  whether 
Tilden  or  Hayes  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States.  No 
controversy  arose  until  the  State  of  Florida  was  reached — the 
States  being  called  alphabetically.  When  that  State  was  reached, 
the  President  of  the  Senate  laid  before  the  two  Houses  three 
certificates  of  electoral  vote — two  of  them  declaring  that  the 
State  had  voted  for  Tilden,  and  one  declaring  that  it  had  voted 
for  Hayes.  The  Republicans  had  to  have  every  vote  from  those 
three  disputed  States,  and  the  one  disputed  vote  from  Oregon, 
in  order  to  elect  Hayes  by  one  single  vote. 

These  certificates  of  the  electors  from  the  State  of  Florida, 
and  the  accompanying  papers,  were  referred  to  this  Commis- 
sion. The  two  Houses  separated  and  adjourned,  and  the  Com- 
mission met.  It  appeared  that  the  State  of  Florida  by  a  small 
majority  had  cast  its  electoral  vote  for  Samuel  J.  Tilden.  The 
returns  sent  in  from  the  different  precincts  and  counties  showed 
this  beyond  controversy.  The  Returning  Board  met  and  de- 
clared that  the  vote  of  the  State  had  been  cast  for  Tilden's 
electors  by  a  small  majority.  One  member  of  that  board,  who 
did  not  attend  the  meeting,  organized  another  returning  board, 
and  in  the  night  time  went  to  the  Clerk's  Office,  procured  the 
papers  of  the  first  Board,  and  without  the  slightest  evidence 
or  excuse  discarded  enough  Democratic  votes  to  give  the  State 
to  Hayes  by  a  small  majority.  When  asked  if  they  had  any 
evidence  upon  which  they  based  this  action,  a  member  of  the 
Board  replied,  No,  but  they  had  an  impression  that  there  was 
fraud  and  intimidation  at  some  of  the  precincts,  and  fraud  in 
others. 

Stearns  was  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Florida  at  the  time, 
a  violent  Republican,  who  at  the  same  election  was  candidate 
for  re-election  as  Governor;  and  the  same  Returning  Board 
which  gave  the  certificate  to  the  Hayes  electors  certified  that 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  173 

Stearns  was  elected  Governor.     The  Board  which  first  met 
declared  Drew  (Democrat)  elected. 

This  action  of  the  second  returning  board  caused  intense 
excitement  and  indignation  throughout  the  State  of  Florida.  An 
effort  was  set  on  foot  at  once  to  right  the  wrong  that  was 
being  perpetrated.  The  Tilden  electors  sued  out  a  writ  of  quo 
warranto  to  test  before  the  courts  which  set  of  electors  had  been 
chosen  in  Florida.  This  was  before  the  electors  met.  The  case 
was  very  vigorously  fought  on  both  sides,  and  the  Court  with- 
out hesitation  decided  that  the  Tilden  electors  were  the  true 
electors  of  the  State  of  Florida.  There  was  an  appeal  from 
this  decision,  which  was  never  tried.  Drew,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor,  against  Stearns,  sued  out  a  writ  of  quo 
warranto  to  settle  the  question  as  to  who  was  Governor  of  the 
State.  The  Court  decided  that  Drew  was  elected  Governor, 
and  on  the  ist  day  of  January,  he  took  his  seat  as  Governor. 
The  Legislature  of  Florida  assembled  at  the  same  time,  and 
was  Democratic.  They  passed  a  law  authorizing  another  canvass 
of  the  vote  of  Florida  by  a  new  canvassing  Board.  This  Board 
met,  canvassed  the  vote,  and  certified  that  the  Tilden  electors 
had  been  duly  elected,  and  this  was  certified  by  the  Governor, 
and  was  one  of  the  papers  laid  before  the  Electoral  Commission. 
The  Legislature  also  passed  a  law  declaring  that  the  Tilden 
electors  were  the  true  electors  of  the  State  of  Florida.  Thus  the 
State  through  its  Legislative,  Executive  and  Judicial  Depart- 
ments, declared  that  it  had  voted  for  Tilden  as  President  of  the 
United  States. 

When  these  three  certificates  were  laid  before  the  Commis- 
sion, the  Democratic  managers  and  counsel  offered  to  prove 
these  facts  as  stated  above,  and  after  a  very  hard  fight,  lasting 
through  many  days,  the  Electoral  Commission  by  a  vote  of 
8  Republicans  to  7  Democrats  decided  that  the  certificate  which 


174  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Stearns  as  Governor  issued  to  the  Hayes  electors,  was  conclusive 
evidence  of  their  election,  and  that  the  Commission  would  not 
receive  any  evidence  to  meet  that  conclusion.  The  Democrats 
contended  it  was  only  prima  facie  and  might  be  shown  to  be 
false. 

This  decision  of  the  Commission  was  reported  to  both  Houses 
of  Congress.  The  House  by  quite  a  good  majority  declared 
that  the  decision  of  the  Commission  should  not  stand,  and  that 
the  vote  of  the  State  should  be  counted  for  Tilden.  The  Senate 
in  its  session  declared  that  this  decision  of  the  Commission 
should  stand,  and  that  the  vote  of  the  Hayes  electors  should  be 
counted  for  Hayes. 

The  two  Houses  having  disagreed,  under  the  provision  of  the 
bill  the  decision  of  the  Commission  stood  as  the  law  governing 
the  count,  and  the  four  electoral  votes  of  Florida  were  counted 
for  Hayes. 

This  was  a  thorough  outrage  upon  the  rights  of  the  State  of 
Florida.  There  was  no  man  of  intelligence  who  had  looked 
into  the  case,  who  did  not  recognize  the  fact  that  the  State  of 
Florida  had  voted  for  Tilden,  and  there  was  no  evidence  at  all 
to  show  that  there  was  any  fraud,  intimidation  or  force  used 
to  carry  this  majority  for  Mr.  Tilden.  Indeed  the  election  ma- 
chinery was  in  the  hands  of  the  Republicans — Republican  Gov- 
ernor, Republican  Returning  Board,  and  a  majority  of  the 
Republican  Judges  of  Election  throughout  the  State;  and  yet 
notwithstanding  these  circumstances  the  State  voted  for  Tilden 
and  it  was  so  declared  by  the  first  meeting  of  the  Returning 
Board. 

The  decision  of  the  Commission  giving  the  vote  of  Florida 
to  Hayes  was  a  surprise  to  the  Democrats  of  the  Commission. 
It  was  not  expected  that  the  Republicans  of  the  House  and 
Senate  would,  under  any  circumstances,  vote  to  seat  Tilden. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  175 

It  was  hoped  the  Republican  Justices  of  Supreme  Court  would 
act  as  judges  and  rise  above  partisan  politics.  It  was  confidently 
believed  this  v/as  true  of  Justice  Bradley.  He  was  selected  by 
the  other  four  Justices  who  were  designated  by  their  circuits 
and  in  this  selection  of  the  fifth  Justice  they  should  have  regard 
to  his  "impartiality  and  freedom  from  bias."  It  was  understood 
and  conceded  that  Justice  David  Davis  would  be  the  fifth 
Justice.  He  was  an  independent  Republican  without  partisan 
prejudices;  had  been  frequently  spoken  of  as  the  candidate  of 
the  Democratic  party  for  President.  His  appointment,  it  was 
believed,  would  have  seated  Tilden.  The  Republicans  (always 
shrewd  and  shifty)  determined  to  keep  Davis  from  the  com- 
mission. He  was  elected  United  States  Senator  from  Illinois 
by  a  Republican  legislature  and  persuaded  if  he  would  steer 
clear  of  this  commission,  he  would  be  President.  He  declined 
to  serve  and  was  never  mentioned  for  President  afterwards. 
It  was  agreed  that  Bradley  more  nearly  approached  "impartiality 
and  freedom  from  bias"  than  any  other  associate  Justice  after 
Davis.  The  Democrats  of  the  commission  firmly  believed  that 
he  was  with  us  until  he  voted  against  receiving  any  evidence  to 
right  the  wrong  of  Governor  Stearns'  certificate.  During  the 
progress  of  this  case  before  the  Commission,  Bradley  had  as- 
sociated with  the  Democrats.  He  had  told  Justice  Field  on  the 
Sunday  before  the  commission  first  sat  that  his  opinions  agreed 
with  Field's.  The  case  had  been  so  thoroughly  discussed  in  the 
newspapers  that  every  phase  of  it  was  well  known  before  the 
commission  was  appointed.  Republican  pressure  was  too  strong 
and  he  yielded.  We  knew  nothing  of  this  change  in  his  opinion 
until  he  voted  to  exclude  all  evidence  aliunde  and  consider 
as  exclusive  and  binding  the  certificate  of  Stearns,  the  governor, 
of  the  election  of  Hayes  electors.  Mr.  Justice  Field  was  so 
indignant  at  this  conduct  of  Bradley's,  he  refused  to  speak  to 


176  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

him  for  eighteen  months.  I  have  stated  here  what  Justice  Field 
told  me  and  probably  many  others.  How  utterly  untenable  was 
the  position  of  Bradley  and  the  seven  who  voted  with  him! 
They  maintained  the  commission  could  do  nothing  but  inspect 
and  count  the  votes  as  cast  by  the  electors  certified  by  the  Gov- 
ernor to  be  elected.  Then  why  this  commission?  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate  could  have  done  the  same  and  saved  the 
debauching  of  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

The  mode  of  counting  and  declaring  the  votes  for  President, 
etc.,  under  the  Constitution  was  always  a  vexed  question  when 
it  involved  who  would  be  President  and  the  power  to  count  by 
the  Vice-President  was  denied.  If  the  two  Houses  have  no 
rights  in  this  counting  of  electoral  votes,  they  have  on  many 
occasions  been  guilty  of  gross  usurpation  of  power.  By  reference 
to  House  Doc.  13  of  45th  Congress  (page  46)  it  will  be  seen  that 
doubts  arose  in  18 17  about  the  right  of  electors  to  cast  the  vote 
of  Indiana.  In  1821  of  Missouri  (page  51)  and  in  1837  of 
Michigan  (page  72).  In  each  of  these  cases  the  votes  were 
counted  in  alternative. 

In  1865  the  votes  of  the  seceded  States  were  rejected  by  both 
Houses  in  the  count  (page  229).  In  1869  the  vote  of  Louisiana 
was  objected  to  on  the  ground  of  fraud.  It  was  considered  and 
counted  (page  238).  In  1873  there  were  two  certificates  and 
seven  objections  to  the  vote  of  Louisiana.  The  vote  was  not 
counted  (page  301).  Other  precedents  might  be  cited,  but 
these  will  suffice  to  show  when  the  Electoral  Bill  of  1877  was 
enacted  these  precedents  existed  and  showed  that  this  power 
was  claimed  and  exercised  when  it  was  necessary.  That  no 
power  resided  in  the  Vice-President  to  count  a  vote  when  dis- 
puted. This  law  of  1877  was  passed  to  create  a  tribunal  whose 
duty  was  to  do  what  the  two  Houses  had  power  to  do  in  count- 
ing the  vote.   It  cannot  be  successfully  maintained  on  precedent 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  177 

and  authority  that  the  law  of  1877  created  this  commission 
merely  to  add  up  and  report  the  votes  of  electors  having  the 
Governor's  certificates.  If  so,  then  by  a  conspiracy  between  the 
Governor  of  a  State  and  his  party,  a  forged  certificate  of  votes 
could  be  sent  to  the  Vice-President  with  the  Governor's  cer- 
tificate, and  under  the  contention  of  the  eight  commissioners, 
these  votes  must  be  counted.  This  actually  happened,  as  I  will 
show  when  the  vote  of  Louisiana  is  reached. 

In  addition  to  the  above  offers  of  proof,  it  was  offered  to  prove 
that  one  of  the  so-called  Hayes  electors — Mr.  Humphreys — held 
an  office  of  trust  and  profit  under  the  United  States  Government 
at  the  time  of  his  alleged  appointment.  The  constitution  of  the 
United  States  says  (Article  2— Sect,  i)  "Each  State  shall  ap- 
point electors  .  .  .  but  no  Senator  or  Representative  or  person 
holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States  shall 
be  appointed  an  elector." 

The  right  to  appoint  electors  is  not  an  original  State  right. 
None  such  existed  till  conferred  by  the  constitution  forming  the 
union.  Being  a  right  conferred,  it  must  be  exercised  according 
to  the  terms  by  which  it  was  conferred.  If  Humphreys  was 
ever  appointed  an  elector  (which  was  denied)  he  was  appointed 
on  the  day  of  election.  Proof  was  offered  to  show  on  that  day 
he  held  an  office  of  trust  and  profit  under  the  United  States, 
and  it  was  maintained  that  all  such  votes  cast  for  him  were 
void  and  he  was  not  and  could  not  be  elected.  The  Republican 
managers  contended  that  no  such  proof  was  admissable  and 
that  Humphreys  had  resigned  his  office  of  trust  before  the  elec- 
toral college  met  and  was  appointed  one  of  its  members  by  the 
other  members  of  the  college.  What  a  shallow  pretension.  The 
law  gave  the  college  the  right  to  fill  vacancies,  but  if  the  election 
of  Humphreys  was  void,  there  was  no  vacancy.  There  was  the 
appointment  of  three  electors.    The  right  of  the  State  to  the 


178  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

fourth  was  not  exercised.  In  the  Presidential  count  of  1837  this 
question  was  raised.  Rhode  Island  had  voted  for  a  Postmaster 
as  elector.  The  question  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which 
Felix  Grundy,  Silas  Wright  and  Henry  Clay  were  members. 
This  committee  in  its  report  fully  sustained  the  contention  of 
the  Democratic  managers,  but  the  vote  of  Rhode  Island  was 
not  necessary  to  a  decision  of  the  question,  and  no  action  was 
had  on  the  report.  The  question  came  up  again  in  Rhode  Island 
in  1876  when  a  centennial  commissioner  claimed  to  be  appointed 
as  elector.  The  Government  referred  this  question  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  State.  The  opinion  of  the  court  fully  sus- 
tained the  position  of  the  Democrats.  This  case  will  be  found 
in  i6th  American  Law  Register  N.  S.  page  15. 

Suppose  the  State  of  Florida  had  attempted  to  appoint  her 
two  Senators,  and  two  Representatives,  her  four  electors ;  it  will 
hardly  be  contended  that  this  action  would  be  sustained  even 
if  their  election  was  certified  by  the  Governor  of  Florida. 

Upon  reason  and  authority,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Commis- 
sion to  receive,  consider  and  act  on  such  proof  as  was  offered. 
Like  the  other  offers  of  proof  and  for  like  reason,  this  offer  of 
proof  was  rejected  by  the  same  vote — 8  to  7. 

The  action  of  Bradley  in  this  Florida  case  foreshadowed  his 
course  in  other  States,  and  we  felt  very  much  discouraged  after 
this  decision.  I  received  a  telegram  from  Loudoun  County 
signed  "Chas.  H.  Lee  and  100  others"  demanding  that  I  should 
leave  the  commission  and  break  it  up.  I  felt  obliged  in  honor 
to  refuse  obedience  to  this  request  of  my  honored  constituents 
of  dear  old  Loudoun.  I  felt  I  would  dishonor  myself  and  them 
if  I  repudiated  this  mode  of  settlement  which  we  had  adopted 
after  finding  we  should  lose.  My  Loudoun  friends  were  mad 
with  me  till  I  spoke  to  them  and  explained  the  situation  and 
said,  "Now,  my  fellow  citizens,  if  I  had  acted  as  you  desired 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  179 

and  war  had  come,  defeat  would  have  been  our  portion,  the 
Southern  States,  including  dear  old  Virginia,  would  have  been 
reduced  to  Military  Districts  and  no  one  before  me  could  hope 
to  live  to  see  them  States  again,  and  you  ought  to  have  hanged 
me  to  the  first  tree  this  side  the  Long  Bridge."  When  I  con- 
cluded, a  resolution  approving  my  course  was  offered  and 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  meeting. 

We  still  hoped  to  make  a  case  in  Louisiana  (our  strongest 
case)  that  would  compel  some  one  of  the  eight  to  see  the  error 
of  his  way. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

X  HE  two  houses  of  Congress  proceeded  with  the  votes  of 
the  States,  alphabetically,  until  the  State  of  Louisiana  was 
reached.  From  that  State  there  had  been  three  returns  made — 
two  giving  the  vote  of  the  State  to  Hayes,  and  one  giving  it  to 
Tilden.  According  to  the  returns  that  came  into  New  Orleans 
from  the  various  precincts  in  the  State,  Louisiana  gave  8,000 
majority  for  Tilden,  and  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Gover- 
nor, and  these  returns  all  went  into  the  hands  of  the  returning 
board.  Under  the  laws  of  Louisiana,  this  board  had  no  au- 
thority to  look  into  and  correct  returns,  unless  these  returns 
were  accompanied  by  a  statement  signed  by  three  witnesses 
under  oath  that  there  was  fraud,  intimidation  and  violence  at 
the  polls,  sufficient  to  deter  a  number  of  people  from  voting 
on  the  day  of  election.  No  such  certificates  had  accompanied 
the  returns  from  any  precinct  in  this  State,  and  the  board  was 
therefore,  without  jurisdiction  to  look  into  the  question  of  votes 
in  the  State.  Their  sole  duty  was  to  tabulate  the  votes  and  count 
them,  and  decide  for  whom  the  State  had  voted. 

When  this  case  came  before  the  Commission,  the  counsel 
managing  the  Tilden  side  of  the  case  offered  to  show  that  these 
returns  thus  made  to  the  returning  board,  were  without  the  ac- 
companying evidence  necessary  to  authorize  the  returning  board 
to  inquire  into  the  returns.  They  offered  to  prove,  also,  that 
this  returning  board  which  by  law  should  consist  of  five  mem- 
bers, one  of  which  at  least  must  belong  to  the  minority  party  in 
the  State,  had  only  four  members,  all  belonging  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  who  refused  to  fill  the  vacancy  by  the  appointment 
of  a  Democrat  to  act  with  them.  They  offered  to  prove  that 
this  board  was  corrupt  and  offered  to  sell  the  vote  of  the  State 


i82  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

to  the  Tilden  electors.  They  also  offered  to  prove  that  this  board 
usurped  jurisdiction  to  look  into  the  returns  from  the  different 
counties  of  the  State,  and  by  a  system  of  fraud,  corruption  and 
perjury  threw  out  from  the  returns  ten  thousand  votes  that  were 
cast  for  the  Tilden  electors,  thus  giving  the  State  to  Hayes  by 
two  thousand  majority.  They  offered  to  prove  also  that  two  of 
the  electors  on  the  Hayes  ticket  were  ineligible  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  they  held  offices  of  trust  and  profit  under  the  United 
States  Government.  This  returning  board  certified  to  Kellogg, 
the  acting  Governor,  that  the  Hayes  electors  were  duly  chosen, 
and  he  gave  them  the  usual  certificate.  The  counsel  offered 
also  to  prove  that  Kellogg,  the  acting  Governor,  was  one  of  the 
electors,  and  maintained  that  he  could  not  certify  his  own 
election. 

There  was  another  certificate  from  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
which  certified  that  the  Tilden  electors  were  chosen.  This  cer- 
tificate was  signed  by  McEnery,  who  in  the  same  election  was 
elected  Governor,  by  the  same  majority  cast  for  the  Tilden 
electors.  These  certificates  Vv^ere  forwarded  to  the  acting  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate. 

There  were  two  certificates  certifying  the  election  of  the 
Hayes  electors.  They  were  numbered  i  and  3.  It  was  de- 
veloped in  the  next  Congress,  by  means  of  the  Potter  Committee 
which  was  appointed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  to  in- 
vestigate the  frauds  of  the  Presidential  Election  of  1876,  that  the 
second  certificate  of  the  election  of  the  Hayes  electors.  No.  3,  was 
forged.  The  first  certificate  of  the  election  of  the  Hayes  electors, 
No.  I,  was  sent  by  the  Electoral  College  to  Washington  by  one 
of  the  smartest  fellows  I  have  ever  met,  and  one  of  the  biggest 
scoundrels  and  liars.  After  delivering  the  certificate  to  the  Vice- 
President,  they  talked  over  the  action  of  the  Electoral  Board  in 
Louisiana,  and  it  was  developed  in  this  conversation  that  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  183 

Hayes  electors  had  signed  but  one  certificate,  that  is,  a  cer- 
tificate in  which  the  vote  was  certified  both  for  Hayes  as  Presi- 
dent, and  for  Wheeler  as  Vice-President. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  expressly  requires  that 
there  shall  be  separate  certificates — one  for  the  President  and 
one  for  the  Vice-President.  A  consultation  was  had  between 
the  acting  Vice-President,  Ferry,  and  the  leaders  of  the  Repub- 
lican Party,  upon  this  state  of  affairs,  and  it  was  decided  that  they 
would  send  this  man  back  to  reconvene  the  Republican  Electoral 
College  and  conform  to  the  Constitution  by  making  two  sepa- 
rate certificates.  This  man  repaired  promptly  and  hastily  to 
New  Orleans,  and  when  he  got  there  he  found  that  the  Hayes 
electors  were  scattered  and  could  not  be  convened  in  time  to 
make  the  two  separate  certificates.  This  scoundrel,  therefore, 
drew  the  certificates  according  to  the  constitutional  require- 
ments, obtained  the  signatures  of  several  of  the  electors  to  each 
one  of  them,  and  forged  the  names  of  the  other  electors.  He 
brought  these  certificates  back  and  put  them  into  the  hands 
of  the  Vice-President;  and  it  was  upon  this  certificate,  thus 
forged  with  certificate  No.  i  which  was  unconstitutional,  that 
the  Commission,  refusing  to  hear  any  evidence  or  any  objection, 
declared  that  the  State  of  Louisiana  had  voted  for  Hayes,  by  a 
vote  of  8  Republicans  against  7  Democrats. 

This  vote  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  was  reported  by  the 
majority  of  the  Commission  to  the  two  Houses  of  Congress, 
was  rejected  in  the  House  and  received  in  the  Senate  and  under 
the  provision  of  the  law  became  the  vote  of  Louisiana.  The 
count  proceeded,  counting  the  votes  of  Louisiana  for  Hayes  and 
Wheeler.  This  action  of  the  Commission  was  the  crowning 
outrage  of  its  brief  existence.  By  it  the  right  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana  to  cast  its  vote  as  its  people  had  declared  was  denied 
and  her  vote  was  cast  for  Hayes  under  the  certificate  of  a  Repub- 


184  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

lican  Board  and  of  Governor  Kellogg  procured  by  conspiracy, 
fraud,  forgery  and  perjury  unexampled  in  this  or  any  other 
country.  The  Democratic  managers  offered  to  prove  this  con- 
spiracy. They  offered  to  show  under  the  laws  of  Louisiana  that 
this  Board  had  no  jurisdiction  to  do  more  than  tabulate  and 
count  the  returns,  and  that  this  Board  without  jurisdiction  pro- 
cured fraudulent  evidence  and  perjured  afl&davits  upon  which 
to  found  their  action  and  in  many  of  their  high-handed  acts 
without  even  such  evidence  as  this.  Affidavits  of  the  conduct  of 
election  in  distant  parishes  were  received,  made  by  men  in  New 
Orleans  who  were  not  present  at  the  election  and  had  never  been 
in  the  parishes.  There  was  a  conspiracy  regularly  entered  into 
before  the  election  by  Carpet-bag  Republicans  in  New  Orleans 
to  certify  the  vote  of  the  State  for  Hayes  without  regard  to  the 
vote  cast.  This  Board  which  usurped  authority  was  not  even 
a  legal  Board.  The  law  of  Louisiana  prescribed  it  should  con- 
sist of  five  members,  with  one  of  its  members  from  the  minority 
party.  It  consisted  of  only  four,  all  Republicans,  who  per- 
sistently refused  to  appoint  a  Democrat  to  fill  the  vacancy.  They 
were  urged  to  fill  this  vacancy,  but  refused  on  the  ground  they 
did  not  want  a  Democratic  witness  to  their  proceedings.  The 
authorities  established  that  where  the  law  requires  an  act  of 
a  public  nature  to  be  done  by  a  certain  number,  that  number 
must  be  present  or  have  the  opportunity  to  be  present.  This  is 
especially  true  when  the  Board  is  to  consist  of  representatives 
of  different  parties.  This  doctrine  is  well  sustained  in  Went- 
worth  vs.  Farmington,  49  New  Hamp.  p.  129,  and  many  other 
cases.  Its  most  elaborate  endorsement  was  by  Mr.  Justice  Miller 
(a  Republican  member  of  this  commission)  in  an  able  opinion 
delivered  in  Schenck  vs.  Peay  found  in  ist  Woolworth's  Circuit 
Court  Reports  p.  175.  Other  authorities  might  be  quoted,  but 
these  were  enough  to  satisfy  the  mind  of  any  fair  man — espe- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  185 

cially  of  Judge  Miller  of  the  Commission.  Miller  on  the  bench 
was  put  against  Miller  on  the  Commission.  The  Democratic 
managers  also  offered  to  prove  that  two  of  the  pretended  Hayes 
electors,  A.  B.  Levissee  and  O.  B.  Brewster,  held  offices  of  trust 
and  profit  under  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  their  election 
and  that  the  votes  cast  for  them  were  absolutely  void  and  of 
no  effect.  I  refer  to  my  remarks  on  this  subject  in  the  Florida 
case  and  only  wish  to  add  that  the  provision  of  the  constitution 
prohibiting  their  election  in  its  application  to  this  case  means 
that  the  State  of  Louisiana  may  appoint  eight  electors  but 
Levissee  and  Brewster  shall  not  be  appointed.  Any  attempt  to 
appoint  them  is  unconstitutional  and  void  and  that  the  State 
appointed  only  six  electors.  No  vacancy  was  created  by  this 
failure  to  elect  because  the  places  were  never  filled.  Congress 
provided  for  just  such  cases  in  the  Act  of  1808,  which  authorized 
the  State  to  provide  for  filling  the  vacancy  by  a  subsequent 
popular  election.  In  no  event  could  more  than  six  votes  from 
Louisiana  be  counted  for  Hayes.  By  this  count  Tilden  was 
elected. 

It  would  exceed  the  limits  of  this  biography  to  dwell  longer 
upon  this  action  of  the  eight  Republicans  of  the  Commission. 
The  certificates  Nos.  i  and  3  on  which  they  declared  the  eight 
votes  for  Hayes  were  procured  and  upheld  by  a  system  of  fraud, 
perjury  and  forgery  unexampled  in  this  or  any  other  country 
and  makes  true  the  assertion  that  although  Tilden  was  fairly 
and  legally  elected,  the  Republican  party  determined  per  fas 
aut  per  ne  fas  to  inaugurate  Hayes. 

The  vote  of  the  Returning  Board  in  Louisiana  was  offered  to 
the  friends  of  Tilden  for  $200,000.  The  offer  was  declined. 
If  it  had  been  accepted  the  Republicans  would  have  given  a 
larger  sum.  But  it  is  further  evidence  of  the  damnable  cor- 
ruption of  that  Board.    Long  after  this  General  Grant  said  to 


i86  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

George  W.  Childs  and  Anthony  J.  Drexel  that  he  always  sup- 
posed from  the  beginning  of  the  controversy  that  the  vote  of 
Louisiana  would  be  counted  for  Tilden. 

In  an  article  in  McClure's  Magazine  for  May,  1904,  contrib- 
uted by  Joseph  M.  Rogers,  he  embodies  a  statement  of  Hon. 
George  F.  Hoar  which  I  think  does  gross  injustice  to  our  Demo- 
cratic members  of  this  Commission.  Mr.  Hoar  is  made  to  say 
(page  84) :  "So  of  the  eight  Democrats  who  sat  on  the  com- 
mission (though  there  were  but  seven  Democrats  at  any  one 
time),  four  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  majority  were  right." 
The  four  Democrats  named  by  Mr.  Hoar  are  Thurman  and 
Bayard,  Abbott  and  Kernan.  Kernan  took  Mr.  Thurman's  place 
(who  was  taken  very  sick).  He  did  not  become  a  member  of 
the  Commission  till  the  last  disputed  State  (South  Carolina) 
was  before  the  Commission.  I  have  no  recollection  of  any 
views  he  expressed  on  the  point  of  going  behind  the  Governor's 
certificate.  When  the  motion  of  Commissioner  Morton  to  de- 
clare the  Commission  had  no  power  to  receive  evidence  aliunde 
was  offered,  Justice  Field  offered  a  substitute  declaring  that  evi- 
dence was  admissable  to  sustain  the  Tilden  contentions.  Com- 
missioner Kernan  voted  for  Field's  substitute  with  the  other  six 
Democrats.    He  also  voted  against  Morton's  resolution. 

Commissioners  Thurman,  Bayard  and  Abbott  were  during 
the  many  sessions  of  the  Commission  pronounced  advocates  for 
the  right  and  duty  of  the  Commission  to  hear  evidence  to  correct 
the  illegality  and  fraud  by  which  Hayes  electors  were  declared 
and  certified  to  be  elected.  They  not  only  voted  consistently  to 
carry  out  this  Democratic  contention,  but  by  their  motions  and 
speeches  emphasized  their  convictions.  I  was  very  much  sur- 
prised at  this  statement  and  am  satisfied  Mr.  Hoar  has  done 
injustice  to  these  gentlemen.  They  were  among  the  highest 
gentlemen  of  this  country — honorable  and  high-toned.     It  is 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  187 

not  possible  that  they  held  the  opinion  that  the  Commission 
had  no  power  to  go  behind  the  Governor's  certificate  and  per- 
sistently voted  to  do  that  very  thing.  They  spoke  and  voted 
according  to  their  convictions.  They  are  all  dead.  I  hardly 
think  Mr.  Hoar  would  have  made  this  statement  if  they  were 
alive. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


T 


HE  next  State  reached,  whose  vote  was  disputed,  was 
Oregon.  This  State  had  given  a  small  majority  for  the  Hayes 
electors.  One  of  them  named  Watts  was  a  postmaster,  and  by 
the  terms  of  the  Constitution  he  was  prohibited  from  being 
made  an  elector.  When  the  votes  were  returned  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  who  with  the  Governor  constituted  the  returning 
board  of  Oregon,  they  decided  that  Watts,  being  ineligible,  the 
votes  for  him  could  not  be  counted,  but  the  next  highest  man, 
Mr.  Cronin,  was  the  duly  appointed  third  elector.  On  the  day 
appointed  by  law,  Cronin  met  and  invited  the  other  two  Repub- 
lican electors  to  act  with  him  and  form  an  electoral  board. 
They  declined  to  act  with  him,  and  he  filled  the  vacancy  by 
appointing  two  other  Republicans,  and  this  board,  thus  con- 
stituted, gave  two  votes  to  Hayes  and  Wheeler  and  one  vote  to 
Tilden.  The  other  two  electors  who  had  received  a  majority, 
met  as  an  electoral  board,  and  Watts,  the  ineligible  candidate, 
resigned  his  place  as  elector  and  his  position  as  postmaster,  and 
was  appointed  by  the  other  two  as  one  of  the  electoral  college, 
and  they  cast  the  three  votes  of  Oregon  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler. 
The  Governor  certified  the  election  of  Cronin  and  the  two 
Republicans,  which  certificate  was  attested  by  the  Secretary  of 
State  who  attached  the  seal  of  the  State. 

Now  in  the  case  of  Florida  and  Louisiana,  the  majority  of 
the  Commission  had  decided  that  they  would  not  go  behind 
the  Governor's  certificate,  and  we  urged  strenuously  that  the 
doctrine  they  applied  to  Louisiana  and  Florida  should  be  applied 
to  Oregon,  and  that  one  of  the  votes  of  Oregon  ought  to  be 
counted  for  Tilden.  I  took  the  ground  that  the  State  of  Oregon 
had  voted  Republican,  and  that  we  had  no  right  to  cast  either 

189 


190 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


one  of  its  electoral  votes  for  Mr.  Tilden,  but  that  there  were  only 
two  Republican  electors  elected  and  that,  therefore,  there  ought 
only  to  be  two  votes  from  the  State  of  Oregon  counted  for 
Mr.  Hayes.  The  Republican  electoral  board  cast  its  three  votes 
for  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  and  they  were  certified  by  the  Secretary 
of  State;  but  notwithstanding  the  action  of  the  majority  of  the 
Commission  in  the  States  of  Florida  and  Louisiana,  those  same 
members  of  the  Commission  decided  in  the  case  of  Oregon  that 
the  certificate  of  the  Secretary  of  State  was  conclusive,  and 
would  not  stand  up  to  their  doctrine  theretofore  proclaimed, 
that  the  certificate  of  the  Governor  only  was  conclusive;  and 
counted  the  three  votes  of  that  State  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler. 
The  decision  of  the  Commission  was  reported  to  the  two  Houses 
of  Congress;  the  vote  of  Oregon  was  counted  for  Hayes  and 
Wheeler,  and  the  count  proceeded. 

I  wish  to  be  a  little  more  specific  about  the  State  of  Oregon. 
By  its  laws  the  vote  cast  for  electors  in  each  county  was  to  be 
forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  was,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Governor,  required  to  canvass  the  vote  and  then  make 
duplicate  lists  of  all  persons  chosen  as  electors  and  put  the  State 
seal  thereto.  Such  lists  shall  be  signed  by  the  Governor  and 
Secretary. 

The  Governor  and  Secretary  of  State  decided  that  Watts  was 
ineligible  and  certified  to  the  election  of  Cronin  the  next  highest 
candidate  for  elector.  Afterward  the  Secretary  of  State  alone 
certified  the  election  of  the  three  Republican  electors  including 
Watts.  The  very  consistent  eight  members  of  the  Commission 
who  had  (in  spite  of  fraud,  perjury  and  usurpation)  declared  in 
the  cases  of  Florida  and  Louisiana  that  the  Governor's  certificate 
was  conclusive,  now  claimed  and  decided  that  the  certificate  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  was  conclusive  even  against  the  certificate 
of  the  Governor  and  the  Secretary  of  State. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  191 

It  only  demonstrates  what  I  have  before  declared  to  be  my 
opinion  that  the  eight  Republican  members  of  the  Commission 
were  carrying  out  their  plan  to  seat  Hayes  without  regard  to 
fraud,  perjury,  forgery  and  without  regard  to  their  own  con- 
sistency. 

The  next  State  reached,  about  which  there  was  a  dispute, 
v/as  South  Carolina.  The  returns  in  South  Carolina  gave  the 
State  by  a  small  majority  to  Hayes  and  Wheeler.  The  Demo- 
cratic counsel  offered  to  prove  before  the  Commission  that  the 
Constitution  of  South  Carolina  provided  that  there  should  be  a 
registration  of  all  the  voters  of  the  State,  as  the  first  qualification 
to  vote.  The  legislature  of  South  Carolina  made  no  provision 
for  this  registration,  and  there  was  none  in  the  State,  and  there- 
fore, no  legal  voter  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  This  was 
one  of  the  grounds  upon  which  it  was  sought  to  exclude  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  from  the  count. 

Another  ground  was  that  there  was  no  republican  government 
in  South  Carolina.  In  the  month  of  October  preceding  the  elec- 
tion, the  President  of  the  United  States  had  sent  General  Reuger 
to  South  Carolina  with  a  portion  of  the  Federal  army,  with  in- 
structions to  call  for  more  troops  if  more  were  necessary.  General 
Reuger  reported  to  the  President  that  everything  was  quiet  in 
the  State,  and  that  no  more  troops  were  necessary;  but  notwith- 
standing this,  just  before  the  election,  quite  a  large  portion  of 
the  Federal  army  was  sent  down  to  South  Carolina.  Federal 
soldiers  surrounded  the  polls;  the  State  militia  surrounded  the 
polls ;  there  were  thousands  of  deputy-sheriffs  appointed — all  of 
the  Republican  party.  There  were  thousands  of  deputy-marshals 
appointed — all  of  the  Republican  party.  The  Federal  and  State 
troops,  the  deputy-sheriffs  and  the  deputy-marshals  were  guilty 
of  the  greatest  outrages  all  through  the  State,  so  that  the  election 
in  that  State  became  a  farce — or  a  tragedy,  whichever  you  may 


192  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

choose  to  call  it.  People  were  shot  down,  driven  from  the  polls, 
and  the  negroes  emboldened  by  the  presence  of  the  troops  and 
the  marshals,  committed  all  sorts  of  outrages  upon  the  people; 
and  the  election  in  that  State,  as  I  have  said,  became  a  farce,  or 
a  tragedy. 

For  these  reasons  the  Democratic  managers  moved  to  exclude 
the  State  of  South  Carolina  from  the  count;  but  the  majority  of 
the  Commission — the  same  eight  Republicans — voted  that  the 
election  was  all  right,  decided  that  the  votes  should  be  counted 
for  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  reported  this  decision  to  the  two  Houses 
of  Congress,  and  the  vote  was  counted  for  the  Republican  can- 
didates for  President  and  Vice-President. 

The  House  of  Representatives  was  Democratic;  the  Senate 
was  Republican,  and  when  either  of  these  four  States  was  re- 
ported the  House  sided  with  the  minority  of  the  Commission 
and  the  Senate  with  the  majority.  Under  the  terms  of  the  bill, 
unless  both  Houses  decided  against  the  majority  of  the  Commis- 
sion, the  report  should  rule ;  and  although  in  every  instance  the 
House  voted  to  sustain  the  minority  of  the  Commission,  the  vote 
of  the  majority  of  the  Commission  was  sustained,  because  both 
Houses  did  not  concur  in  reversing  it. 

When  the  case  from  Louisiana  was  before  the  Commission,  it 
was  very  well  understood  that  Roscoe  B.  Conkling,  Senator  from 
the  State  of  New  York,  would  vote  with  the  Democrats  to  reverse 
the  decision  of  the  Commission  in  that  case,  and  that  enough 
Republican  Senators  from  the  Southern  States  would  follow 
Conkling  to  convert  the  Democratic  minority  into  a  majority 
of  the  Senate.  All  this  was  thoroughly  understood.  The 
Republican  Senators  who  would  follow  Conkling  were  known 
and  named,  and  it  looked  as  if  in  the  State  of  Louisiana  we 
would  reverse  the  action  of  the  Commission. 

The  greatest  efforts  were  made  to  induce  Conkling  to  stand 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  193 

by  his  party  friends  in  the  Senate.  He  was  very  determined, 
and  no  effort  was  made  that  was  successful  until  they  brought 
the  influence  of  Mrs.  Sprague  to  bear  upon  him.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase,  and  the  wife  of 
Governor  Sprague  of  Rhode  Island  and  a  very  beautiful  woman. 
It  was  said,  and  believed,  that  she  induced  Conkling — after 
failing  to  get  him  to  vote  with  the  Republicans — to  leave  the 
Senate  Chamber  when  the  Louisiana  count  came  up.  These 
Southern  Senators,  who  were  to  follow  Conkling,  having  lost 
their  leader,  went  back  to  their  party,  and  the  majority  of  the 
Senate  voted  to  sustain  the  action  of  the  Commission. 

The  count  of  the  electoral  vote  proceeded  by  the  two  houses 
of  Congress,  and  by  counting  Florida,  Louisiana,  the  one  vote 
from  Oregon,  and  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  Hayes  and 
Wheeler  were  declared  elected  by  one  majority. 

This  action  of  the  Commission  was  the  most  thorough  out- 
rage. There  was  not  a  man  of  them  on  that  Commission  who 
did  not  know  that  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Constitution 
and  the  law,  Tilden  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  rare  now  that  you  meet  a  candid  Republican  who  will  not 
agree  that  Tilden  was  elected  President. 

This  Electoral  Commission  ought  never  to  have  been  a  neces- 
sity, and  if  Mr.  Tilden  had  been  a  man  of  nerve  (after  the  order 
of  Andrew  Jackson),  it  never  would  have  been  necessary.  It 
was  very  apparent  that  if  the  Democrats  had  stood  up  and  main- 
tained their  rights  in  the  premises,  with  a  bold  front,  the  Repub- 
licans would  have  backed  down. 

But  the  result  was  dreadful.  It  required  all  the  votes  from 
Florida;  all  the  votes  from  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina,  and 
all  the  votes  from  Oregon,  to  elect  Hayes,  and  that  gave  him 
but  one  majority.  There  could  be  no  doubt  about  it  that  the 
States  of  Florida  and  Louisiana  had  voted  for  Tilden.    There 


194  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

could  be  no  doubt  that  the  State  of  South  Carohna  ought  not  to 
have  been  counted  at  all.  And  yet,  in  the  face  of  this  plain 
election  of  Tilden,  Hayes  became  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  day  after  the  election  Hayes  declared  that  Tilden 
was  elected.  He  said,  "I  don't  care  so  much  for  myself,  but  I 
am  sorry  for  the  poor  negro";  and  yet  in  the  face  of  this  declara- 
tion of  Hayes,  in  the  face  of  fraud  and  perjury  that  were  re- 
sorted to  to  carry  these  States  for  Hayes,  and  although  Tilden 
was  unquestionably  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  he 
was  not  seated. 

Bad  as  it  was,  it  was  better  than  war,  as  the  country  had  just 
emerged  from  a  four  years'  war.  My  portion  of  the  country  had 
been  devastated  and  ruined.  The  people  were  just  beginning 
to  recover  from  the  effects  of  that  war.  It  would  have  been 
more  than  the  Southern  country  could  stand  to  go  through 
another,  and  although  we  lost,  I  never  regretted  the  course  that 
I  pursued  in  favoring  an  electoral  commission  as  the  means  of 
settling,  in  peace,  the  disputed  presidential  election,  and  which 
I  believed  would  result,  and  certainly  ought  to  have  resulted,  in 
declaring  Tilden  President. 

Mr.  Hoar  says  in  Roger's  article,  before  referred  to,  that  his 
course  as  a  member  of  the  Electoral  Commission  has  been 
endorsed  by  many  Democrats  and  that  he  would  be  willing  to 
submit  his  vindication  to  the  Democratic  party.  This  statement 
deserves  as  much  consideration  as  his  statement  about  Thurman, 
Bayard,  Kernan  and  Abbott  and  no  more.  I  think  candid 
Republicans  all  over  the  country  agree  that  Tilden  was  fairly 
and  lawfully  elected  and  should  have  been  inaugurated. 

It  was  very  curious  after  the  Electoral  Commission  counted 
the  vote  of  Louisiana  for  Mr.  Hayes,  that  Mr.  Hayes  himself 
recognized  the  Democratic  Governor  of  Louisiana.  Mr.  Tilden 
and  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  received  exactly 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  195 

the  same  vote,  and  if  the  State  voted  for  the  Democratic  Gover- 
nor, it  as  certainly  voted  for  Mr.  Tilden  as  President,  and  yet 
the  Electoral  Commission  gave  the  State  to  Hayes  by  8,000,  and 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  was  elected  by  8,000.  But 
it  was  a  great  relief  to  those  people  to  get  rid  of  the  scalawag 
government  in  Louisiana,  and  it  was  one  of  the  advantages 
growing  out  of  the  Electoral  Commission.  Soon  after  this. 
Governor  Hampton  was  recognized  as  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina.  In  the  State  of  Florida,  which  was  reported  to  be 
2,000  for  Mr.  Hayes,  by  the  fraudulent  certificate  of  Governor 
Stearns,  the  same  majority  was  given  for  Drew,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor.  When  the  Democratic  Electors  sued 
out  their  quo  warranto  to  determine  whether  they  or  the  Hayes 
electors  were  the  true  electors  of  the  State,  the  Governor  sued  out 
his  quo  warranto  to  test  whether  he  or  his  competitor,  Mr. 
Stearns,  was  the  Governor  of  Florida. 

Stearns  was  the  acting  Governor,  and  a  candidate  for  re- 
election, and  he  helped  to  get  up  the  devilment  about  the  Hayes 
electors.  The  Court  of  Florida  decided  that  Mr.  Drew,  the 
Democratic  candidate,  was  elected  Governor.  He  was  inau- 
gurated as  such,  and  served  his  term,  and  Florida  presented  the 
curious  spectacle  of  electing  a  Democratic  Governor  by  a  ma- 
jority of  2,000,  and  according  to  the  decision  of  the  commission 
giving  the  same  majority,  or  about  the  same,  to  the  Hayes  elec- 
tors. Although  we  lost  Mr.  Tilden  for  our  President,  the  three 
States  of  Florida,  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  were  rid  forever 
of  carpet-bag,  scalawag  governments. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


I 


N  the  meantime  I  had  been  nominated  and  elected  to  Con- 
gress for  the  second  time.  My  competitor  for  the  nomination  in 
1874  was  James  Barbour,  of  Culpeper.  He  made  a  very  hard 
fight  for  the  delegates,  and  at  two  or  three  of  the  precincts  his 
friends  withdrew  from  the  meeting  and  sent  contesting  delega- 
tions to  the  district  convention. 

When  this  convention  met,  there  was  quite  a  majority  of  un- 
contested delegates  for  my  nomination.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  pass  upon  the  contested  delegations.  My  friends  were 
admitted  as  the  true  delegates,  and  this  gave  me  two-thirds  of 
the  convention,  and  the  nomination. 

Before  the  nomination  was  made,  Mr.  James  Barbour's  friends 
by  preconcert  (as  I  learned  afterward),  withdrew  from  the  con- 
vention, and  Mr.  Barbour  declared  himself  an  independent  can- 
didate against  me.  The  contest  between  us  was  very  warm  and 
somewhat  close.  He  was  warmly  supported  by  Colonel  John 
S.  Mosby,  who  was  in  harmony  with  the  Federal  administration 
of  President  Grant,  and  through  Colonel  Mosby  hundreds  of 
people  throughout  the  district  (especially  in  the  County  of 
Fauquier)  were  promised  office  if  they  would  vote  for  Barbour. 
The  Republican  party  and  the  negro  vote  were  almost  solid  for 
Barbour.  Mr.  Barbour's  brother,  John  S.  Barbour,  was  president 
of  the  railroad  which  passed  through  the  district.  This  road  and 
its  Manassas  branch  passed  through  Alexandria,  Alexandria 
County,  Fairfax,  Loudoun,  Fauquier,  Culpeper,  Orange  and 
Warren.  By  the  influence  of  John  S.  Barbour,  as  president  of 
this  road,  almost  all  the  employes  of  the  road  voted  for  his 
brother,  James.    Barbour  men  were  given  free  passes  to  ride  on 

197 


ipS  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

the  railroad  all  over  the  district  and  electioneer  and  hurrah 
for  Barbour. 

We  met  in  discussion  in  every  county  of  the  district.  Mr. 
Barbour  was  a  poor  stump  speaker,  and  made  no  capital  on 
the  stump.  In  his  own  County  of  Culpeper  there  was  almost 
a  reign  of  terror,  and  persons  were  afraid  to  vote  for  me;  their 
business  was  threatened,  their  official  position  was  endangered, 
and  the  County  of  Culpeper  gave  an  overwhelming  majority 
to  Mr.  Barbour  according  to  the  returns. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  is  very  wonderful  that  I  was 
elected.  My  own  County  of  Fauquier,  under  the  influences  that 
I  have  just  mentioned,  became  very  close,  and  I  carried  it  by 
a  small  majority.  Loudoun  County  gave  me  a  large  majority 
of  some  1,300  or  1,400.  The  three  Valley  counties — Clark,  War- 
ren and  Frederick — gave  me  over  2,000  majority,  and  the  vote 
in  the  district  summed  up  a  majority  of  518  for  me — 9,809  to 
9,291. 

Mr.  Barbour  talked  for  some  time  about  contesting  my  elec- 
tion. But  for  the  trouble  and  expense,  I  would  have  been  very 
glad  to  have  had  a  contest.  I  have  always  felt  satisfied  that  the 
large  majority  reported  for  him  in  the  County  of  Culpeper  was 
not  correct,  and  I  wanted  to  ventilate  it,  but  he  finally  abandoned 
all  idea  of  a  contest. 

I  was  again  elected  in  1876  over  J.  C.  O'Neal,  a  Republican, 
by  a  vote  of  16,660  to  10,175. 

A  majority  of  Democrats  were  elected  to  the  45th  Congress. 
As  I  said  before,  Samuel  }.  Randall  was  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
in  the  preceding  Congress,  and  was  a  candidate  for  election  in 
the  45th  Congress.  He  had  managed  the  House  so  well  during 
the  preceding  Congress  in  the  contested  election  between  Tilden 
and  Hayes  that  I  felt  anxious  to  see  him  re-elected.    There  was 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  199 

quite  a  number  of  members  of  the  House  elected  to  this  Con- 
gress, and  who  were  in  the  preceding  Congress,  that  opposed 
Mr.  Randall  because  of  his  tariff  views.  Mr.  Randall  was  not 
a  thorough  tariff  reformer.  He  was  very  much  opposed  to  the 
Republican  tariff,  but  he  was  not  as  much  of  a  reformer  as  I  was, 
or  as  very  many  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  were. 
Most  of  these  opponents  of  Mr.  Randall,  on  account  of  his  tariif 
views,  were  anxious  to  defeat  him  for  the  Speakership.  They 
applied  to  John  Goode,  of  Virginia,  to  run  against  him.  Mr. 
Goode  hesitated  to  run,  and  finally  wrote  a  circular  letter  to  his 
colleagues  from  Virginia,  Mr.  Tucker,  Colonel  Cabell  and  my- 
self among  the  number.  In  this  circular  letter  he  asked  our 
opinion  as  to  whether  he  should  run  or  not,  and  stated  that  he 
would  not  run  unless  it  met  the  approbation  of  his  colleagues. 
It  developed  that  we  all  replied  to  the  same  effect,  that  we 
thought  it  was  impossible  that  he  could  be  elected,  and  advised 
against  his  running,  but  each  one  of  us  told  him  that  if  he  ran 
we  would  vote  for  him.  John  T.  Harris,  the  member  of  Con- 
gress from  the  Valley  District,  was  for  Sam  Randall  over  Goode. 
After  these  letters  to  Mr.  Goode,  I  took  it  for  granted  we 
should  hear  no  more  of  his  candidacy  for  the  Speakership.  I 
was  in  the  City  of  Washington  some  two  or  three  weeks  before 
Congress  met,  and  met  Mr.  Randall  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, no  one  being  on  the  floor  of  the  House  except  him  and 
myself.  We  had  a  long  and  a  full  conversation.  We  went 
over  the  proceedings  of  the  last  session,  which  was  made  famous 
by  the  Presidential  contest.  He  told  me  that  he  had  submitted 
all  difficult  questions  (and  some  of  them  were  perplexing  ones) 
to  me  for  solution ;  that  although  Proctor  Knott  was  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Judiciary  Committee  he  preferred  to  be  guided  by 
me,  the  second  man  on  that  Committee,  and  said  he,  "in  look- 


200  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

ing  over  the  fight  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  advice  you 
gave  me  on  all  occasions.  I  cannot  recall  an  instance  in  which 
I  was  led  astray  by  your  advice." 

This  was  a  very  high  compliment,  and  I  was  very  much 
flattered  by  it.  I  said  to  Mr.  Randall  that  Mr.  Goode  had  talked 
about  running  for  Speaker,  and  told  him  about  the  letters  we 
had  written  to  him.  I  said,  "I  suppose  that  Mr.  Goode  will  not 
now  be  a  candidate,  but  if  he  is  a  candidate,  Mr.  Randall,  being 
a  colleague  and  a  life-long  friend,  I  will  feel  obliged  to  vote  for 
him;  but  I  hope  he  will  not  be  a  candidate,  and  I  think  you 
deserve  a  re-election." 

Mr,  Randall  expressed  himself  as  entirely  satisfied  with  my 
position.  He  said  he  did  not  see  how  I  could  vote  against  my 
own  colleague.  He  said  what  troubled  him  most  about  the 
speakership  was  what  to  do  with  John  T.  Harris,  of  Virginia. 
John  T.  Harris,  as  I  have  said  before,  was  for  Mr.  Randall  over 
Mr.  Goode.  He  said,  "Mr.  Harris  wants  to  go  on  the  Judiciary 
Committee.  He  was  Chairman  of  the  Election  Committee  in 
the  last  House,  and  I  hardly  think  he  is  fit  for  that  place;  but 
I  don't  feel  like  I  could  give  him  a  position  on  the  Judiciary 
Committee."  He  expressed  himself  as  very  much  embarrassed, 
and  seemed  to  wish  me  to  give  my  views  on  the  matter.  I  said 
to  him,  "Mr.  Randall,  I  feel  that  you  are  in  a  delicate  position 
with  regard  to  Mr.  Harris.  He  has  declared  for  you  over  his 
own  colleague,  and  is  the  only  one  from  Virginia  who  has  so 
declared.  I  agree  with  you  that  he  is  not  fit  for  the  position  he 
has  held  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Elections.  I  certainly 
don't  think  he  ought  to  be  put  upon  the  Judiciary  Committee, 
and  I  should  regret  very  much  to  see  Mr.  Harris  put  upon  that 
Committee,  to  the  exclusion  of  myself." 

I  told  Mr.  Randall  that  I  thought  the  best  way  out  of  his 
difficulty  with  Mr.  Harris  was  to  keep  him  where  he  was,  and 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  201 

to  make  him  again  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Elections. 
He  acquiesced  in  this  view,  and  we  parted,  I  went  home,  and 
about  a  week  before  the  meeting  of  the  House,  John  Goode,  to 
the  surprise  of  his  friends,  opened  headquarters  in  Washington 
as  a  candidate  for  Speaker.  I  was  satisfied  he  could  not  be 
elected,  but  I  felt  bound  to  vote  for  him.  I  went  down  to 
Washington  a  day  or  two  before  Congress  met.  Mr.  Randall 
had  his  headquarters  at  the  National  Hotel.  I  called  to  see  him 
and  again  explained  my  position  to  him;  he  said  it  was  entirely 
satisfactory.   The  caucus  nominated  Randall  by  a  large  majority. 

Congress  met  on  the  first  Monday  in  December.  Randall  was 
elected  Speaker,  and  after  the  usual  time  taken  to  make  up  the 
Committees  they  were  announced  to  the  House.  To  my  sur- 
prise, and  the  equal  surprise  of  all  my  friends,  I  was  taken  from 
the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  John  T.  Harris  put  in  my  place. 
I  was  made  third  on  the  District  of  Columbia  Committee,  and 
second  on  the  Committee  to  revise  the  laws  in  regard  to  the 
election  of  President  of  the  United  States.  I  was  very  much 
shocked  and  mortified  at  my  treatment.  Mr.  Goode  as  a  com- 
petitor of  the  successful  candidate  for  Speaker,  under  the  usage 
of  the  House,  was  given  a  good  Chairmanship,  and  while  he 
gained  by  his  candidacy,  he  hurt  his  friends,  and  especially  hurt 
me.  I  thought  very  hard  of  Mr.  Goode  for  his  course.  So  did 
my  friends.  I  felt  that  he  had  pursued  a  course  which  helped 
him  and  hurt  his  friends  who  supported  him  against  their 
judgment. 

A  good  many  of  my  friends  came  to  me  the  next  day  after 
the  Committees  were  announced,  and  asked  me  what  was  the 
trouble  between  me  and  Mr.  Randall,  and  why  he  had  treated 
me  so.  I  told  them  that  there  was  no  trouble  between  us  that 
I  knew  of,  and  recited  a  good  deal  of  what  I  have  written  above. 
I  never  fully  forgave  Mr.  Randall  for  this  treatment.    He  and 


202  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

I  had  been  exceedingly  intimate.  He  had  confided  in  me  to  the 
fullest  extent,  and  made  me  his  adviser  instead  of  Proctor  Knott, 
the  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  I  had  always 
supported  him  for  the  Speakership.  He  visited  me  in  Warren- 
ton.  I  broke  ofl  friendly  relations  with  him.  Soon  after  the 
session  began,  he  gave  a  dinner  and  invited  me  as  one  of  his 
guests.  I  declined  to  accept  the  invitation,  and  told  him  why. 
Although  I  was  thus  subordinated  in  the  Committee  assign- 
ments, I  went  to  work  on  the  Committees  to  which  I  had  been 
assigned,  and  worked  as  diligently  to  promote  the  business  of 
those  Committees  as  if  they  had  been  the  Committees  of  my 
choice.  My  work  was  mainly  devoted  to  the  Committee  on  the 
District  of  Columbia.  I  had  no  wish  to  be  a  member  of  that 
Committee.  It  was  a  very  troublesome  committee  of  very  hard 
v/ork,  but  still  a  very  important  committee  to  the  people  of 
Washington  City.  The  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  whose 
name  I  do  not  now  recall,  soon  died,  and  Joseph  S.  C.  Black- 
burn, of  Kentucky,  the  second  on  the  Committee,  became  its 
Chairman. 

The  government  of  the  District  of  Columbia  was  an  uncertain 
one.  It  was  at  that  time  in  the  hands  of  a  governor  and  council 
elected  by  the  people.  The  appropriations  for  the  benefit  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  were  sporadic.  Occasionally  a  good  ap- 
propriation would  be  made,  and  then  for  several  years  very 
small  appropriations.  The  City  was  languishing  for  a  better 
government,  and  more  constant  and  equal  appropriations. 
Colonel  Blackburn  and  myself  determined  we  would  make  an 
effort  to  change  the  government  of  the  District,  and  after  a  great 
deal  of  labor  we  formulated  the  present  government.  There 
were  three  Commissioners,  two  of  whom  were  appointed  by  the 
President  from  civil  life,  and  one  detailed  from  the  Engineering 
Department  of  the  Army,  and  they  were  to  be  divided  between 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  203 

the  two  political  parties  of  the  country.  It  provided  that  these 
Commissioners  should  annually  make  out  a  list  of  appropria- 
tions needed  for  Washington  City.  This  was  to  be  submitted 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  as  far  as  approved  by  him 
reported  to  Congress,  and  the  appropriation  was  to  be  equally 
borne  by  the  people  of  the  District  and  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. We  made  this  distribution  of  the  appropriation  because 
the  Federal  government  owned  about  as  much  property  in  the 
City  of  Washington  as  the  citizens  of  the  District.  The  three 
commissioners  were  to  be  the  Governors  of  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

The  Committee  on  the  District  adopted  our  plan,  and  we 
reported  it  to  the  House.  After  a  long  and  fierce  fight,  we 
carried  our  scheme  through  the  House  with  slight  modifications. 
It  afterwards  passed  the  Senate,  was  signed  by  the  President, 
and  became  a  law. 

Under  this  system  of  government  the  City  of  Washington  has 
improved  year  by  year,  until  it  has  now  become  the  handsomest 
city  of  the  continent.  Liberal  appropriations  are  made  every 
year,  and  only  one-half  paid  by  the  people  of  the  District.  I  felt 
then,  and  have  felt  ever  since,  that  it  was  the  best  government 
that  could  be  organized  for  the  District,  and  it  has  proved  to  be 
so;  and  I  have  always  felt  that  Colonel  Blackburn  and  myself 
did  m.ore  in  Congress  for  the  people  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
than  any  two  men  ever  did  since  the  war. 

The  city  at  the  time  we  inaugurated  this  change  of  govern- 
ment, was  filled  with  negroes,  most  of  whom  were  voters,  and 
the  government  of  the  city  was  practically  in  the  hands  of  the 
negro  voters.  Under  our  system  of  government  the  people  had 
no  voice  in  the  government  at  all.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  provided  that  that  portion  of  the  country  ceded 
to  the  Government  for  its  capital  should  be  governed  by  Con- 


204  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

gress,  and  we  successfully  maintained  that  Congress,  under  that 
constitutional  provision,  had  a  right  to  govern  the  District  of 
Columbia,  through  these  Commissioners.  The  people  of  the 
District  seem  to  be  thoroughly  satisfied  vv^ith  their  government, 
and  well  they  may  be,  and  I  hope  that  it  will  never  be  changed. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


I 


N  March,  1877,  my  sister-in-law,  the  widow  of  my  brother 
James,  died  leaving  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  without  any 
means  of  support.  Before  her  death  she  exacted  a  promise  from 
my  good  wife  to  take  and  raise  her  daughter  Bessie  Marye  Hun- 
ton,  named  after  my  dear  mother.  The  sons  sought  and  obtained 
employment  mainly  from  my  brother-in-law.  Major  Thomas  R. 
Foster,  who  had  married  my  sister  Mary  Brent  for  his  second 
wife.  He  was  one  of  the  best  of  men.  On  the  death  of  my 
sister-in-law,  Bessie  came  to  us.  My  wife  and  I  raised  her  as 
our  own  daughter.  We  gave  her  a  fine  education.  She  com- 
pleted her  education  at  the  Episcopal  Institute  in  Staunton, 
presided  over  by  the  widow  of  that  splendid  and  heroic  General 
of  Cavalry,  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart.  When  her  education  was 
completed,  Bessie  became  assistant  in  the  school  and  formed 
a  friendship  for  Mrs.  Stuart  which  will  endure  as  long  as  they 
live.  Bessie  afterward  married  Charles  Catlett  of  Staunton,  one 
of  the  best  of  men  and  husbands.  They  have  two  living  chil- 
dren— the  best  I  ever  saw.  The  youngest  died.  She  was  one 
of  the  sweetest  children  I  ever  knew.  Bessie  developed  into  a 
first-rate  woman  and  has  amply  repaid  us  for  the  care  and 
expense  of  her  maintenance  and  education.  Mr.  Catlett  is  doing 
very  well  in  his  business  as  mineralogist.  They  live  comfortably 
and  happily  in  their  own  house  in  Staunton. 

In  March,  1877,  ^  purchased  from  Colonel  John  S.  Mosby  for 
eight  thousand  dollars  a  very  fine  residence  on  Main  Street  in 
Warrenton,  some  distance  from  the  Courthouse.  I  built  a  fine 
woodhouse  with  two  lumber  rooms  above  it,  also  a  barn,  stable, 
cowhouse  and  carriage-house  all  in  one  building.  I  owned  four 
acres  in  the  lot  on  which  this  house  stood  and  afterwards  added 

205 


2o6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

thirteen  acres  adjoining.    It  made  a  charming  home  and  we 
Hved  for  many  years  there  in  happiness. 

In  the  summer  of  1877  my  dear  son  finished  his  course  at  the 
the  University  of  Virginia.  He  graduated  in  law  and  other 
studies.  After  he  was  rested,  I  took  him  into  co-partnership 
under  the  firm  name  of  Hunton  &  Son.  I  paid  him  for  some 
time  fifty  dollars  a  month.  My  service  in  Congress  had  ruined 
my  fine  practice.  Eppa  kept  together  a  portion  of  it,  and  soon 
became  a  good  and  popular  lawyer. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


I 


WAS  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  the  46th  Congress.  My 
nomination  was  opposed  with  great  vigor  by  S.  Chapman  Neale, 
of  Alexandria.  He  was  a  young  man  of  a  good  deal  of  spright- 
liness,  but  very  little  talent.  He  had  command  of  a  large  amount 
of  money,  and  he  spent  this  money  with  great  freedom  in  trying 
to  secure  the  nomination.  It  was  a  hard  fight,  but  when  the 
convention  assembled  I  had  such  a  decided  majority  over  Neale 
that  he  withdrew  from  the  contest,  and  I  was  nominated  by 
acclamation. 

This  was  the  fourth  time  I  was  nominated  for  Congress  and 
I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  not  be  a  candidate  again. 
I  had  not  disclosed  my  intention  to  anybody — not  even  to  my 
wife  and  son — and  when  I  was  sent  for  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion, I  commenced  my  speech  by  saying,  "For  the  fourth  and 
the  last  time  I  appear  before  you  to  accept  your  nomination  for 
Congress."  It  took  the  convention  by  surprise,  and  I  was  im- 
portuned all  over  the  district  to  withdraw  my  declaration.  I 
declined  to  do  it.  My  service  in  Congress,  including  the  term 
for  which  I  was  just  nominated,  would  be  eight  years.  I  had 
saved  very  little  money;  part  of  what  I  had  saved  I  spent  in 
politics;  I  felt  that  the  time  would  come  when  I  would  have  to 
leave  politics  and  go  back  to  my  profession,  and  if  I  was  ever 
to  go  back  to  my  profession,  it  was  time  to  go. 

I  had  two  competitors  in  the  canvass.  One  was  Mr.  Cochran, 
a  Republican  in  Culpeper.  The  other  was  John  R.  Carter,  a 
Greenback  Democrat  in  the  County  of  Loudoun,  who  had  been 
one  of  my  Captains  in  the  8th  Virginia  Regiment  during  the 
war.    I  carried  every  precinct  in  Culpeper  against  Mr.  Cochran. 

207 


2o8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

I  carried  every  precinct  in  Loudoun  against  Captain  Carter.  I 
only  lost  three  precincts  in  the  whole  district.  I  would  not  have 
lost  any,  except  for  the  universal  belief  that  my  election  was 
assured,  and  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  my  friends  to  turn 
out.  My  vote  was  5,772  as  against  1,119  ^^r  Carter  and  506 
for  Cochran. 

I  felt  very  much  gratified  that  I  had  gotten  to  such  a  stopping 
place  in  politics:  elected  four  times  by  the  best  constituency  in 
the  world — three  times  by  overwhelming  majorities — and  wind- 
ing up  by  carrying  every  precinct  in  the  district  except  three. 
I  felt  that  I  never  again  could  reach  a  place  so  suitable  for  retire- 
ment.* 

When  Congress  convened  Samuel  J.  Randall  was  again  elected 
Speaker,  and  I  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the 
District  of  Columbia.    I  worked  very  hard  for  the  people  of  the 


*Dr.  Mason  Graham  Ellzey,  my  father's  brigade  surgeon,  in  his  unpub- 
lished book,  "The  Cause  We  Lost  and  the  Land  We  Love,"  gives  the 
following  account  of  him  in  a  political  campaign: 

"Soon  after  this,  General  Eppa  Hunton  was  brought  out  there  to 
canvass  that  District  (the  9th),  and  proved  to  be  the  most  effective  man, 
and  best  vote  getter  who  had  yet  spoken  there.  He  held  no  joint 
debates,  but  spoke  to  his  own  meetings,  and  the  effect  of  his  canvass  was 
long  felt  there.  He  was  particularly  effective  with  the  popular  masses, 
the  voters  who  were  not  office  holders  nor  office  seekers. 

"The  man  who  has  the  ear  of  those  people  is  always  the  most  successful 
of  vote  getters.  Virginia  had  at  that  time  more  showy  and  brilliant  men, 
but  she  had  no  sounder,  no  truer  citizen,  nor  braver,  nor  better  man,  in 
all  relations  of  human  life.  The  writer  knows  well  how  high  an  estimate 
this  is,  but  he  feels  that  he  has  had  every  opportunity  to  know  whereof  he 
speaks.  He  has  considered  well  what  he  is  saying,  and  believes  it  is 
perfectly  just  and  true.  He  is  the  author  of  the  sketch  of  the  life  and 
services  of  General  Hunton,  published  in  General  Clement  A.  Evans' 
Encyclopedia  war  records,  at  the  request  of  General  Evans,  and  collected 
from  authentic  sources  all  the  facts  of  his  life  work,  upon  which  such  an 
estimate  is  based." 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  209 

District.  I  found  that  there  were  very  many  people  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  very  many  corporations,  that  were  not 
paying  their  taxes.  I  took  the  ground  in  the  Committee  (and 
the  Committee  sustained  me),  that  no  one  should  come  before 
the  Committee  for  any  purpose,  who  had  not  paid  his  taxes. 
The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  owed  over  $100,000.  The 
Baltimore  and  Potomac  owed  a  large  sum.  Other  corporations 
were  very  much  in  arrears.  Mr.  Corcoran  (as  good  a  man  as  he 
was),  was  not  paying  his  taxes.  Judge  Wiley  did  not  pay  his. 
As  soon  as  the  position  of  the  Committee  was  known,  these  cor- 
porations commenced  paying  up,  and  all  paid  except  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad.  The  District  government  sued  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  finally  made  that  corporation  pay. 
I  wrote  a  letter  to  Judge  Wiley,  in  which  I  told  him  that  I  was 
surprised  to  find  that  he  was  not  paying  his  taxes;  that  he,  who 
was  daily  in  the  habit  of  enforcing  the  law  upon  others,  was 
daily  in  the  habit  of  violating  it  himself  by  a  failure  to  pay 
his  taxes. 

It  was  rather  an  impudent  letter  to  write  to  a  Judge.  I 
knew  him  very  well.  In  antebellum  days  he  was  at  Prince 
William  Court  at  a  time  when  there  was  the  first  candidate  for 
President  on  the  Abolition  ticket.  It  was  rumored  at  Prince 
William  Court  that  Wiley  was  a  supporter  of  the  candidate  for 
the  Abolition  Party,  and  serious  talk  was  indulged  in  on  the 
court  green  of  lynching  him.  I  took  him  down  to  my  house  in 
Brentsville,  and  put  him  on  my  horse  at  my  back  door  and 
started  him  to  the  depot  and  saved  all  trouble.  He  was  very 
grateful  to  me  for  it  ever  afterward,  and  always  treated  me  with 
the  utmost  politeness.  The  morning  after  he  received  my  letter 
as  Chairman  of  the  District  Committee,  he  came  down  to  see 
me  before  breakfast  at  the  Arlington  Hotel,  where  I  was  board- 
ing.   He  was  as  mad  as  he  well  could  be.    I  expected  to  have 


210  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

trouble  with  him.  He  was  unquestionably  a  brave  man.  He 
said,  "Why  did  you  write  me  that  letter?"  I  said,  "Because  I 
thought  you  deserved  it,  sir."  Then  I  told  him  that  I  felt  morti- 
fied to  think  there  was  a  Judge  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  who 
was  put  there  to  enforce  the  law,  and  who  was  daily  in  the  habit 
of  violating  it.  We  talked  on  for  a  considerable  time.  His  anger 
cooled,  and  he  finally  said,  "I  know  I  am  not  doing  right,  but 
the  truth  of  it  is,  I  am  not  able  to  pay  my  taxes  here  without 
depriving  my  family  of  some  of  the  comforts  of  life.  I  have 
large  property  in  Chicago,  but  I  cannot  sell  it.  I  will  try  to  sell 
that  property,  and  as  soon  as  I  can  sell  it  I  will  pay  my  taxes  in 
the  District  of  Columbia."  I  told  him  that  was  entirely  satis- 
factory; and  in  the  course  of  four  or  five  months  he  did  pay  his 
taxes.  All  the  people  of  the  District  who  had  declined  to  pay 
their  taxes  from  that  time  on  became  regular  tax-payers;  and 
I  felt  that  I  had  done  a  big  work  for  the  District  government.* 


*Subsequently  my  Father  supported  an  assessment-enforcement  bill, 
which  facilitated  the  District  of  Columbia  in  the  collection  of  its  taxes. 
During  his  canvass  for  renomination  to  Congress  in  1878,  a  man  named 
Columbus  Alexander  published  a  card  in  which  he  stated  that  he  found 
in  Baltimore  Sun,  Alexandria  Gazette,  Washington  Star  and  several  other 
papers  a  report  of  a  speech  made  by  my  father  in  which  he  says  that  my 
father  made  statements  about  this  bill  which  were  untrue,  and  which  he 
believes  he  knew  were  false  when  he  made  them.  My  father  wrote  to 
Alexander  and  sent  the  letter  by  a  friend,  and  told  him  he  could  not  find  in 
the  Alexandria  Gazette  anything  like  the  statements  attributed  to  him  by 
Alexander  in  his  card,  but  that  his  statements  were  exactly  in  accord  with 
the  debate  as  quoted  by  Alexander  from  the  Congressional  Record,  and 
demanded  of  Alexander  a  withdrawal  of  the  offensive  language  of  his  card. 

Instead  of  complying  with  this  demand,  Alexander  published  another 
equally  offensive  card.  By  the  law  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  it  was  a 
penitentiary  offense  to  carry  a  challenge.  My  father  wrote  him  a  letter 
telling  him  this  and  as  Alexander  had  stated  he  was  a  Virginian  requested 
him  to  "indicate  some  place  beyond  the  reach  of  the  District  police,  where  a 
demand  for  reparation  which  Virginians  accord  in  such  cases  can  be  made 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  211 

The  Engineer  Commissioner  of  the  District  of  Columbia  was 
a  very  good  man,  and  he  and  I  planned  the  filling  of  the  flats 
in  the  Potomac  River.  It  will  be  recollected  that  in  the  middle 
of  the  river  under  the  Long  Bridge,  and  above  and  below  it, 
there  was  a  very  large  marsh  which  breeded  noxious  vapors  and 
injured  the  health  of  the  City.  He  and  I  planned  to  fill  up 
this  marsh  by  dredging  the  bottom  of  the  river,  and  leaving  a 
narrow  channel  on  the  Washington  side,  and  a  wider  and 
deeper  channel  on  the  Virginia  side.  This  great  work  was  not 
undertaken  while  I  was  in  Congress,  but  it  was  agitated  from 
that  time  until  it  was  finally  accomplished  some  few  years  ago, 
and  now  that  marsh  is  solid  ground.  This  also  is  recognized 
to  be  a  wonderful  improvement  for  the  City  of  Washington. 

I  served  out  that  term  and  retired  from  politics.  During  the 
whole  of  my  Congressional  career  my  wife  had  spent  each 
winter  in  Washington  with  me,  and  was  a  great  comfort  to  me 
then,  as  at  all  times  during  our  married  life.  She  was  very 
popular,  especially  with  the  younger  people.  A  right  funny 
incident  occurred  on  one  occasion  when  she  went  to  Wash- 
ington to  remain  the  balance  of  the  winter  with  me.    I  had 

upon  you."  This  was  sent  to  him  by  registered  mail  and  he  was  wired  to 
call  at  the  post  office  for  a  registered  letter.  Alexander  published  this 
letter  and  another  offensive  card.  My  father  published  the  entire  corre- 
spondence in  a  handbill  addressed  "To  the  Public"  and  they  were  sent 
broadcast  over  the  District.    This  handbill  concluded  as  follows: 

"I  have  given  this  individual  the  opportunity  to  show  that  he  is  a  gentle- 
man and  a  man  of  courage,  but  he  has  not  done  me  the  justice  of  the  one 
or  been  willing  to  accord  me  the  redress  of  the  other.  He  refuses  to  come 
from  the  protection  of  the  police  he  affects  to  despise  and  I  can  not  reach 
him  without  exposing  friends  to  the  penitentiary.  I  therefore  proclaim 
him  a  malicious  liar,  a  vulgar  blackguard  and  an  irresponsible  coward. 
The  public  is  assured  I  shall  take  no  further  notice  of  Columbus  Alexander 
or  any  publication  from  him." 

This  handbill  is  reprinted  herein  in  full  as  Appendix  II,  p.  253. 


212  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

gone  down  the  first  of  December,  and  she  was  to  join  me  after 
the  Christmas  holidays.  I  had  more  room  in  my  trunk  than 
I  could  fill  with  my  wardrobe,  and  she  put  a  good  many  of  her 
own  clothes  in,  especially  some  underclothes.  The  morning 
after  she  reached  Washington,  as  I  was  going  to  the  House  she 
asked  me  for  the  key  to  my  trunk.  When  I  got  back  from  the 
House  she  laughed  and  told  me  that  she  had  been  very  mad. 
She  said  she  went  into  the  trunk  and  the  first  thing  that  met  her 
vision  was  a  woman's  underclothes.  She  had  forgotten  entirely 
that  she  had  put  her  own  there,  and  she  said  she  was  mad  to 
find  a  woman's  underclothes  in  my  trunk,  but  before  I  got  back 
she  had  worked  it  out  and  found  they  were  hers. 

After  I  had  served  my  term  out,  the  question  was  where  I 
should  open  an  office.  I  felt  satisfied  there  was  not  business 
enough  for  my  son  and  myself  in  Warrenton,  and  that  one  of 
us  must  look  for  business  elsewhere. 

After  careful  deliberation  and  consultation  with  my  wife  and 
son,  I  decided  that  he  was  to  be  the  lawyer  in  Virginia  and  I 
would  open  a  law  office  in  Washington.  I  got  a  very  good  prac- 
tice, and  after  the  first  year  formed  a  partnership  with  Jeff 
Chandler,  a  very  fine  lawyer,  one  of  the  finest  jury  lawyers  in  the 
city.  Before  I  formed  this  partnership,  a  friend  of  mine  came 
to  me  and  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to  become  the  attorney  for 
Wm.  McGarahan.  He  had  a  claim  before  Congress — a  very 
large  claim — and  it  had  been  a  good  deal  talked  about.  There 
was  an  intimation  that  it  was  not  a  fair  claim.  I  told  this  friend 
I  must  look  into  the  matter  before  I  gave  him  an  answer  whether 
I  would  take  the  claim  or  not.  I  went  to  Jerry  Wilson,  a  very 
prominent  lawyer  in  Washington,  who  had  served  one  term  in 
the  House  with  me,  from  one  of  the  western  States.  I  told  him 
that  I  was  asked  the  question  whether  I  would  take  the  case 
or  not,  and  that  I  had  hesitated  because  I  was  afraid  that  it  was 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  213 

not  a  just  claim.  I  knew  he  had  been  counsel  for  it,  and  I  wanted 
him  to  say  whether  it  was  a  just  claim,  and  why  he  gave  it  up. 
He  said,  "You  need  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  go  into  that  case. 
It  is  a  perfectly  just  claim,  and  I  gave  it  up  because  I  had  not 
the  time  to  attend  to  it." 

William  McGarahan  was  a  merchant  in  San  Francisco,  and 
he  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  in  California  with  a  quicksilver 
mine  on  it.  It  was  taken  possession  of  by  a  company  who, 
though  mere  squatters,  claimed  to  have  gotten  title  to  it.  Their 
title  was  not  worth  a  cent,  and  McGarahan's  title  was  as  good  in 
equity  as  any  man  ever  had  to  a  foot  of  his  land.  I  agreed  to 
take  the  case.  His  claim,  if  paid  by  the  Government,  would 
amount  to  millions,  and  he  agreed  to  pay  me  $250,000  if  I  was 
successful  with  his  claim.  I  worked  very  hard  for  it,  until  I  went 
to  the  United  States  Senate.  I  got  it  through  the  Senate  once, 
and  through  the  House  once,  but  not  during  the  same  Congress. 
It  passed  in  an  omnibus  bill,  through  both  Houses,  and  Mr. 
Cleveland  vetoed  it,  not  so  much  on  account  of  this  claim  as 
for  the  French  Spoilation  Claims  that  were  in  the  same  bill. 
When  I  went  into  the  Senate  I  knew  that  I  would  have  to  take 
the  "laboring  oar"  in  pushing  this  claim.  I  did  not  want  to  have 
it  said  by  any  Senator  on  the  floor  that  I  was  speaking  for  my 
own  benefit,  so  I  surrendered  my  contract, 

I  got  it  through  the  Senate  twice.  The  first  time  it  was  vetoed 
by  Mr.  Cleveland,  as  I  have  said,  and  the  last  time  it  passed  the 
Senate  and  was  about  to  be  taken  up  in  the  House  when  the 
poor  old  man  died.  He  had  no  near  relatives  who  would  take 
the  case  up.  I  had  no  further  interest  in  it,  and  the  claim  died. 
He  was  one  of  the  worst  treated  claimants  I  have  ever  known 
who  had  a  claim  before  Congress.  He  never  lost  his  character 
as  an  honest  upright  man.  He  died  at  the  Providence  Hospital. 
He  had  sent  for  me  two  or  three  times.   I  had  just  returned  from 


214  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

home  and  as  soon  as  I  heard  he  was  ill,  I  went  to  the  hospital  to 
see  him.  He  told  me,  "Next  week  my  claim  will  be  up  in  the 
House,  and  it  will  certainly  pass."  I  said,  "Mr.  McGarahan,  I 
presume  you  want  me  to  do  some  writing  for  you."  He  said, 
"Yes,  that  is  what  I  want  with  you."  I  meant  to  write  his  will. 
I  said,  "I  am  ready  to  do  it" ;  and  he  called  on  one  of  the  nurses 
to  bring  him  pen,  ink  and  paper,  but  before  I  started  to  write 
for  him  he  lost  consciousness,  and  died  in  thirty  minutes. 

Senator  Teller  was  also  his  warm  friend,  and  before  I  left  the 
hospital  Senator  Teller  came  in.  We  sent  for  an  undertaker 
and  told  him  to  give  Mr.  McGarahan  a  decent  burial  and  we 
would  be  responsible  for  the  pay.  Before  the  day  of  burial  came, 
his  acquaintances  and  friends  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
especially  in  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  came  forward  and 
volunteered  to  contribute  to  his  burial  expenses.  Before  he  was 
buried  I  had  enough  money  in  my  hands  to  give  him  an  exceed- 
ingly genteel  burial  and  erect  a  monument  over  his  grave.  I 
thought  it  was  the  finest  tribute  to  the  old  man's  character  I 
had  ever  known. 

The  practice  of  Chandler  and  myself  became  very  large  and 
we  v/ere  doing  a  very  fine  business,  which  promised  to  increase 
rather  than  diminish.  He  was  a  very  peculiar  man,  but  as  high 
a  gentleman  as  ever  lived.  During  our  partnership  of  three  years 
or  more  there  never  was  a  cross  word  between  us:  there  was 
never  any  difference  of  opinion  as  to  questions,  and  he  deferred 
to  my  legal  opinions  with  great  generosity.  Our  partnership  has 
never  been  legally  dissolved.  In  his  peculiar  style  of  doing  busi- 
ness he  took  himself  off  to  St.  Louis,  without  telling  me  he  was 
going,  or  that  he  was  going  to  break  up  the  partnership.  We 
parted  on  the  most  friendly  terms,  and  our  relations  have  been 
very  kindly  and  intimate  ever  since. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  1892,  P.  W.  McKinney,  Governor  of  Vir- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  215 

ginia,  appointed  me  a  Senator  to  represent,  with  John  W.  Daniel, 
the  State  of  Virginia  in  the  United  States  Senate.  This  was  to 
fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Honorable  John  S.  Barbour.* 

*The  following  newspaper  article  was  written  by  "Savoyard",  which 
was  the  nom  de  plume  of  Henry  Watterson,  Editor  of  the  Louisville 
Courier-] ournal.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  during  the  Tilden  and 
Hayes  contested  presidential  election  and  came  in  close  contact  with  my 
Father  and  pays  him  this  glowing  tribute  upon  his  appointment  to  the 
United  States  Senate: 

"There  is  nobody  in  Washington  who  does  not  hail  with  delight  the 
appointment  of  Gen.  Eppa  Hunton  to  the  vacancy  in  the  Federal  Senate 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  the  late  Mr.  Barbour.  Gen.  Hunton  is  a  typical 
Virginian  of  the  old  school.  And  what  a  race  was  that!  The  Old  Domin- 
ion gave  to  the  world  Washington  and  Jefferson  and  Lee.  For  seventy 
years  Virginia  ideas  maintained  in  the  councils  of  the  Nation,  The  Vir- 
ginia gentleman  is  the  gentlest,  the  bravest,  the  simplest  of  human 
creatures. 

"Honest  and  credulous  himself,  he  suspects  no  guile  in  others.  The 
back-bone  of  the  rebellion  of  seventy-six,  the  back-bone  of  the  rebellion  of 
sixty-one,  more  luster  clusters  about  the  name  Virginia  than  any  other 
name  pronounced  by  Americans.  The  grand  Old  Dominion  splendidly 
illustrates  all  that  her  brilliant  sons  conceived  in  the  couplet: 

'The  glory  that  was  Greece, 

And  the  grandeur  that  was  Rome.' 

Forty  years  ago  Eppa  Hunton  was  the  humblest  and  most  modest 
struggling  young  lawyer  at  the  bar  of  Eastern  Virginia.  As  a  boy  he  had 
killed  squirrels  and  trapped  rabbits  on  the  ground  that  was  afterward  to 
become  historic  as  Bull  Run's  bank  and  Manassas'  Cross  Road.  He  loved 
Virginia  as  the  chivalry  that  fell  at  Pavia  loved  France;  he  loved  her  sterile 
sands  as  the  peasant  of  Aisne  loves  the  soil  of  France.  When  Virginia 
cast  her  fortunes  with  the  South  Hunton  entered  her  armies  a  private,  and, 
four  years  later,  at  Appomattox,  he  surrendered  a  Brigadier-General's 
commission.  In  all  those  four  years  of  blood  and  iron,  whether  in  the 
ranks,  or  in  the  field,  he  was  always  where  duty  called  him,  illustrating  the 
courage,  the  fortitude,  the  heroism  of  Virginia  chivalry,  as  steadfast  as  the 
most  fanatic  Puritanism.  After  all  was  over  he  returned  to  his  law  office 
and  began  life  anew.  Soon  he  was  sent  to  Congress,  and  that  body  he 
illumined  by  his  splendid  intellect  and  his  profound  knowledge  of  the 


2i6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

When  I  retired  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  John  S. 
Barbour  succeeded  me.  When  he  died  I  succeeded  him  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  At  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia following  my  appointment  to  the  Senate,  I  was  elected  to 

law.  So  conspicuous  was  he  for  legal  attainments  that  the  Democrats 
chose  him  as  one  of  the  Electoral  Commission;  but  his  sound  opinions  fell 
on  deaf  ears,  organized  as  the  tribunal  was  to  find  a  fradulent  judgment. 
Of  that  commission,  composed  of  eight  Republicans  and  seven  Democrats 
six  Democrats  survive  and  five  Republicans  are  dead. 

"It  must  be  consoling  to  every  Republican  that  the  ground  of  the 
opinion  declaring  Hayes  elected  was  the  'Right'  of  the  States,  and  it  car- 
ried the  doctrine  of  'States  Rights'  to  a  length  that  would  have  made  swim 
the  head  of  lohn  C.  Calhoun  and  the  Breckinridge  that  drafted  the  Reso- 
lutions of  'Ninety-eight.' 

"In  the  Forty-fourth  Congress  General  Hunton  was  a  member  of  the 
Judiciary  Committee  and  had  charge  of  the  investigation  of  those  interest- 
ing epistles  of  Jim  the  Penman,  known  as  the  Mulligan  letters.  A  few 
months  before  Blaine  had  gained  all  Southern  hearts  by  defeating  the  Force 
bill,  evolved  out  of  the  boundless  malignity  of  Ben  Butler;  but  a  few  weeks 
before  Blaine  had  cancelled  the  obligation  by  waving  the  bloody  shirt  as 
no  one  ever  waived  it  before  or  since.  When  the  Mulligan  letters  came 
out  and  Congress  set  about  construing  them,  Blaine,  with  an  effrontery 
that  might  well  have  extorted  applause  from  the  devil  himself,  threw  off 
the  role  of  the  culprit  and  assumed  that  of  the  prosecutor,  and  in  John 
Gilpin  style  he  played  it.  Congress  sat  staring  like  a  stuck  pig  while 
Blaine  read  it  and  its  Judiciary  Committee  a  lecture  on  honesty,  morality 
and  decency.  This  was  the  scene  or  one  of  the  scenes.  Bob  IngersoU  had 
in  his  fancy  when  he  spoke  of  plumed  Knights  and  shining  lances  and 
things  in  the  Cincinnati  convention  of  1876  just  before  the  lights  went  out. 
But  there  was  one  calm,  sedate,  imperturbable  lawyer  on  the  Judiciary 
Committee  that  Blaine's  bluster  and  bullying  operated  on  as  a  sprinkle 
on  a  duck's  back.  He  rose  as  soon  as  Blaine  concluded  and  in  a  few  plain, 
blunt,  simple  sentences  gave  the  House  a  piece  of  his  mind  that  convinced 
it  there  was  something  rotten  in  Denmark  and  made  it  necessary  for 
Blaine  to  have  a  sunstroke  next  day.  That  grim  old  lawyer  was  Eppa 
Hunton,  and  he  has  raised  the  standard  of  the  United  States  Senate  in 
both  manhood  and  intellectuality.  May  he  be  in  the  councils  of  the  nation 
many  years  to  come. 

Savoyard." 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  217 

fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  Mr.  Barbour.  This  legislature  also 
elected  the  Senator  for  the  long  term.  I  was  unanimously 
elected  to  fill  out  Mr.  Barbour's  term,  which  expired  March  3, 
1895,  and  Thomas  S.  Martin  was  nominated  and  elected  to 
succeed  me. 

I  was  not  a  candidate  for  the  long  term  when  the  caucus  met. 
I  had  been  a  candidate  with  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  and  Thomas 
S.  Martin.  My  son  was  in  the  legislature  and  conducted  my 
canvass.  Of  course  it  was  conducted  upon  the  highest  plane. 
He  became  satisfied  that  I  would  not  be  nominated,  and  with 
my  approbation  withdrew  me  from  the  contest,  believing  at  that 
time  that  General  Lee  would  be  nominated. 

It  was  a  curious  condition  of  affairs  which  exhibited  so  much 
strength  for  Thomas  S.  Martin  in  the  legislature  of  Virginia. 
He  was  absolutely  unknown  to  the  people  at  large.  He  had 
been  a  railroad  lobbyist  in  Richmond  every  winter  for  many 
years,  and  in  that  way  became  very  well  known  to,  and  popular 
with  members  of  the  legislature.  I  heard  a  gentleman  say  that 
he  was  discussing  Tom  Martin's  popularity  with  a  friend  of 
Mr.  Martin's,  in  one  of  the  towns  of  the  State,  and  he  said: 
"Tom  Martin  isn't  known.  The  representative  from  this  city 
voted  for  him  and  he  hasn't  five  constituents  who  know  who 
Tom  Martin  is."  Martin's  friend  denied  it,  and  they  agreed  to 
take  a  position  on  the  most  frequented  thoroughfare  of  the  city, 
and  test  which  was  right — as  to  that  city.  Large  numbers  of 
the  citizens  passed  by,  and  they  asked  each  one,  "What  do  you 
think  of  the  nomination  of  Thomas  S.  Martin  for  the  Senate" — 
and  the  reply  was  unvarying,  "Who  is  Tom  Martin  ?  I  never 
heard  of  him." 

Martin  was  running  for  the  Senate  against  General  Fitzhugh 
Lee,  the  nephew  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  had  been  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  and  a  very  popular  one,  and  was  one  of  the 


2i8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

most  popular  of  the  Major-Generals  of  the  Confederate  Army 
in  the  cavalry  arm.  It  was  very  curious  that  Thomas  S.  Martin 
should  be  selected  for  the  United  States  Senate  over  Fitzhugh 
Lee.  I  believe  he  v^^as  nominated  in  caucus  by  a  majority  of  only 
one.  T.  C.  Pilcher,  of  my  own  County  of  Fauquier,  was  very 
warmly  for  me,  until  my  withdrawal.  After  I  was  withdrawn, 
my  friends  continued  their  separate  organization,  every  one  of 
them  being  supposed  to  be  for  Fitzhugh  Lee  after  I  retired. 
Among  them  was  this  T.  C.  Pilcher.  He  created  the  impression 
with  all  of  them  that  after  my  withdrawal  he  was  for  Fitzhugh 
Lee;  and  carried  messages  to  different  parties  about  the  canvass 
of  Fitz  Lee.  To  the  amazement  and  indignation  of  my  friends, 
Pilcher  voted  for  the  nomination  of  Martin.  He  was  at  once 
denounced  as  a  traitor  by  General  William  H.  Payne  and  Colo- 
nel Thomas  Smith,  of  the  County  of  Fauquier,  who  were  in 
Richmond  primarily  in  my  interest,  but  after  my  withdrawal 
were  earnest  advocates  of  the  election  of  Fitzhugh  Lee. 

Colonel  J.  C.  Gibson,  who  represented  the  County  of  Cul- 
peper,  was  instructed  to  vote  for  me,  and  did  support  me  up  to 
the  time  of  my  withdrawal.  It  was  thoroughly  understood  by 
the  friends  of  Fitzhugh  Lee  and  myself  that  after  my  with- 
drav/al  Colonel  Gibson  was  for  General  Lee.  To  the  surprise 
of  the  friends  of  General  Lee,  Colonel  Gibson,  when  his  name 
was  called  in  caucus,  refused  to  vote. 

I  might  give  other  and  stronger  reasons  to  show  how  it  was 
that  Tom  Martin  beat  Fitz  Lee;  but  I  forbear. 

Soon  after  my  appointment  to  the  Senate,  in  May,  1892, 
Grover  Cleveland  was  nominated  as  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  the  Presidency.  He  had  been  elected  in  1884;  was  defeated 
in  1888,  and  again  nominated  in  1892.  Harrison  was  the 
Republican  President,  and  nominee  for  re-election.  It  was  a 
very  earnest  party  conflict  between  these  two  men.    Cleveland 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  219 

was  elected  and  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March,  1893.  At  that 
time  the  Democrats  had  the  Presidency  and  a  majority  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress.  This  was  the  first  time  it  had  happened 
since  the  war.  In  the  first  administration  of  Cleveland  the 
Senate  was  Republican. 

When  the  Democratic  Congress  met  in  December,  1893,  there 
existed  a  most  villainous  tariff  law;  protective  duties  ranged 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  per  cent.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  a  good 
tariff  reformer,  and  his  message  to  the  two  Houses  of  Congress 
took  very  strong  ground  in  favor  of  tariff  reform.  The  bill  had 
to  originate  in  the  House,  as  all  revenue  measures  do,  and  Wil- 
liam L.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  House,  had  charge  of  the  tariff  bill 
in  that  House. 

William  L.  Wilson  was  one  of  the  best  men  I  ever  met  in 
public  life — pure,  upright  and  able.  He  was  not  fitted  for  party 
leadership.  He  was  more  on  the  order  of  a  professor  and 
obtained  the  right  position  for  himself  after  he  left  Congress, 
to-wit.  President  of  Washington  and  Lee  University,  which  he 
filled  until  his  death. 

He,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  re- 
ported to  the  House  of  Representatives  a  very  good  tariff  bill 
and  after  a  very  protracted  fight  the  House  passed  the  Wilson 
tariff  law  very  much  as  reported  from  the  Committee.  The 
House  had  a  large  majority  of  Democrats,  and  they  were  all 
good  tariff  reformers. 

When  this  bill  came  over  to  the  Senate  and  was  referred  to  the 
Finance  Committee  of  that  body,  it  very  soon  became  apparent 
that  we  could  not  unite  the  Democratic  majority  of  the  Senate 
for  that  bill.  It  was  soon  made  to  appear  that  if  that  bill  was 
not  changed,  it  could  not  pass  the  Senate.  Very  soon  after  the 
bill  came  to  the  Senate,  John  G.  Carlisle,  of  Kentucky,  formerly 


220  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Speaker  of  the  House,  afterwards  United  States  Senator,  and 
then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Mr.  Cleveland,  wrote  to 
the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Finance  (Mr.  Vorhees  of 
Indiana)  stating  that  the  Wilson  Bill  as  it  had  passed  the  House 
would  not  support  the  Government,  and  changes  in  the  bill  must 
be  made.  The  Committee  of  the  Senate  went  to  work  upon  it 
and  finally  reported  the  bill  with  a  great  many  amendments  to 
the  Senate.  It  was  not  a  very  good  tarii?  bill  as  reported  by  the 
Senate  Committee.  It  did  not  suit  real  tariff  reformers.  It  did 
not  suit  me,  who  learned  my  tariff  views  from  James  K.  Polk, 
and  Robert  J.  Walker.  It  was  found  that  the  Democrats  were 
not  a  unit  for  this  bill,  as  reported  by  the  Senate  Committee,  and 
without  amendments  it  could  not  go  through  the  Senate.  I  felt 
in  deep  distress  over  it.  I  thought  if  the  Democrats  could  not 
pass  a  tariff  bill  when  they  had  both  Houses  of  Congress  and  the 
Presidency,  that  there  was  very  little  use  in  working  for  a 
Democratic  victory.  I  felt  that  we  could  not  go  before  the 
country  and  ask  for  a  Democratic  victory  in  the  face  of  a  failure 
to  pass  a  tariff  reform  bill. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Senate,  Arthur  P.  Gorman, 
Senator  from  Maryland,  the  leader  of  the  Democratic  majority 
on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  and  Chairman  of  the  Democratic 
Caucus,  called  a  meeting  of  the  Democrats  of  the  Senate  in 
caucus.  When  this  caucus  met  Mr.  Gorman  called  someone  to 
the  Chair  and  addressed  the  Democrats  of  the  Senate.  He  was, 
like  myself,  very  much  distressed  at  the  idea  of  a  failure  to 
pass  a  tariff  reform  bill.  He  was  not  as  good  a  tariff  reformer 
as  I,  but  still  he  was  very  earnestly  in  favor  of  reforming  the 
existing  tariff  law.  He  deplored,  as  I  did,  the  divisions  in  the 
Democratic  party,  and  he  said  there  was  but  one  way  to  pass  a 
tariff  reform  bill,  and  that  way  he  had  embodied  in  a  resolu- 
tion, which  he  read.    This  resolution  pledged  each  member  of 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  221 

the  caucus  to  support  any  amendment  that  the  Democrats  of  the 
Finance  Committee  might  offer,  and  to  vote  against  any  amend- 
ments which  that  majority  opposed.  In  this  way,  if  the  Demo- 
crats would  unite,  we  would  get  a  tariff  bill — probably  not  such 
as  all  of  us  would  like,  but  very  much  better  than  the  one  in 
existence. 

This  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Democratic  caucus.  I 
voted  for  it  with  pleasure,  because  I  could  follow  the  Democrats 
on  the  Finance  Committee,  who  were  pretty  near  as  good  tariff 
reformers  as  I  claimed  to  be.  They  were  Jones,  of  Arkansas; 
Harris,  of  Tennessee,  and  Vorhees,  of  Indiana,  last  named 
Chairman. 

While  we  were  fighting  hard  for  union  upon  the  tariff  in  the 
Senate,  I  was  amazed  one  morning  to  find  in  the  papers  a  letter 
from  Grover  Cleveland,  the  President,  to  William  L.  Wilson, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  House. 
In  this  letter  he  denounced  the  Democrats  of  the  Senate  as  guilty 
of  treachery  to  the  Democratic  Party  because  they  would  not 
pass  the  Wilson  tariff  bill  without  amendment.  I  was  very 
indignant  when  I  read  this  letter.  Most  of  the  Democrats  of 
the  Senate  were  as  good  tariff  reformers  as  Grover  Cleveland. 
I  was  a  tariff  reformer  when  Grover  Cleveland  hardly  knew 
what  a  tariff  was.  I  considered  his  letter  to  Wilson  the  greatest 
outrage  that  ever  was  perpetrated  by  a  Democratic  President 
upon  his  Party  in  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  the  government.  This 
letter  denounced  the  Democrats  of  the  Senate  because  they  did 
not  pass  the  Wilson  bill  without  amendment,  when  his  own 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  informed  the  Finance  Committee 
that  it  must  be  changed  or  there  would  not  be  revenue  enough  to 
support  the  government.  Notwithstanding  the  indignation  that 
followed  the  publication  of  Cleveland's  letter  to  Wilson,  the 
Democrats  labored  very  hard  to  get  through  a  tariff  bill  at  least 


222  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

fairly  good.  The  Democrats  of  the  Senate  Hved  up  to  the  Gor- 
man resolution  in  the  caucus.  They  followed  these  well-known 
tariff  reformers  of  the  Finance  Committee,  and  after  a  fight  last- 
ing for  months  the  Senate  passed  the  bill  loaded  down  with 
amendments  adopted  by  the  Senate.  These  amendments  had 
to  be  adopted  in  order  to  get  the  bill  through  the  Senate.  It 
then  went  back  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  House 
refused  to  concur  in  the  amendments  of  the  Senate;  conference 
committees  were  appointed  by  the  two  Houses,  and  after  a  con- 
ference between  these  two  committees  lasting  for  a  month,  a 
tariff  bill  was  agreed  upon  and  adopted  by  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress and  signed  by  the  President. 

This  tariff  law,  as  I  have  said  before,  was  not  what  I  would 
like  to  have  had  it,  but  it  was  the  very  best  that  could  be  passed 
at  the  time.  It  went  into  operation  and  proved  to  be  a  first-rate 
tariff  law.  The  revenues  under  it  proved  to  be  sufficient  for  the 
government,  and  the  protection  of  American  manufacturers  at 
the  expense  of  the  people  was  very  much  diminished.  It  re- 
mained in  operation  until  the  Republicans  obtained  control  of 
the  government  and  was  replaced  by  what  is  known  as  the 
"Dingley  Tariff  Bill" — which,  with  some  modifications,  is  in 
operation  now  (1904). 

The  only  other  question  of  very  great  interest  that  came  up  in 
the  Senate  during  my  time  of  service  was  the  currency.  Under 
the  law  in  existence  then  (known  as  the  Sherman  law)  Con- 
gress had  to  purchase  and  coin  a  certain  quantity  of  silver  every 
year.  The  question  came  up  in  the  Senate  of  repealing  the  pur- 
chasing clause  of  that  bill.  I  was  at  that  time,  always  had  been, 
and  am  now,  a  free  silver  man.  I  was  opposed  to  repealing  this 
clause  in  the  Sherman  Bill,  but  was  assured  by  Vorhees,  from 
the  Finance  Committee,  that  if  that  was  repealed  there  would 
be  at  once  introduced  from  that  Committee  into  the  Senate  a 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  223 

bill  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  i.  Under 
this  assurance  I  voted  to  repeal  the  purchasing  clause  of  the 
Sherman  law;  but  the  free  silver  bill  promised  by  Vorhees  was 
not  reported,  and  was  of  course  never  acted  on. 

This  brought  about  the  fight  for  free  silver  in  the  next 
Democratic  Convention  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency. The  convention  was  apparently  controlled  by  the  old 
leaders  who  were  opposed  to  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  i.  William  J.  Bryan,  who  had  been 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Nebraska,  and 
made  the  leading  speech  in  the  House  in  favor  of  the  Wilson 
tariff  bill,  was  a  member  of  the  Democratic  convention  that  as- 
sembled in  1896.  He  was  an  ardent,  earnest  and  honest  advocate 
for  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  i. 
He  took  the  floor  in  behalf  of  his  doctrine  as  a  part  of  the  plat- 
form of  his  party ;  carried  the  convention  with  him  almost  like 
a  whirlwind,  and  free  silver  became  the  leading  feature  of  the 
Democratic  platform. 

But  this  was  after  I  left  the  Senate.  My  term  of  service  in 
the  Senate  expired  on  the  4th  of  March,  1895.  Cleveland  con- 
tinued to  make  himself  very  disagreeable  to  his  Party,  and 
divided  it.  John  G.  Carlisle,  who  had  been  the  most  thorough- 
going advocate  for  free  silver  in  all  the  land,  was  made,  as  a 
member  of  Cleveland's  Cabinet,  to  take  violent  ground  against 
free  silver.  Cleveland  took  ground  against  it.  Almost  all  of  his 
Cabinet  took  ground  against  it.  The  Democratic  Party  of  the 
country  seemed  to  be  for  it,  but  by  reason  of  the  division  created 
by  the  conduct  of  Cleveland  and  his  Cabinet  the  Democratic 
prospect  in  the  country  did  not  seem  to  be  as  bright  as  we  had 
hoped  it  would  be. 

Mr.  Cleveland  was  a  man  of  very  great  ability.  I  think  he  was 
a  thoroughly  honest  man.    But  he  was  the  most  obstinate  man 


224  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

I  ever  encountered.  A  man  had  to  go  his  way,  or  part  company. 
There  was  no  compromise  in  his  spirit.  His  pohcy  was  "Rule 
or  Ruin."  This  had  not  developed  fully  until  his  second  admin- 
istration, but  it  was  woeful  during  his  second  term,  and  caused 
such  a  division  in  the  Democratic  Party  that  Bryan,  who  seemed 
to  be  the  idol  of  the  people,  was  defeated  for  the  Presidency,  and 
McKinley,  of  Ohio,  was  elected.* 


*The  following  glowing  and  splendid  tribute  to  my  father,  published 
in  Virginia  newspapers  when  his  term  in  the  Senate  ended,  was  written 
by  his  life-long  friend  General  William  H.  Payne,  my  father-in-law: 

General  Eppa  Hunton 


"The  Old  Order  Changeth,  Yielding  Place  to  the  New." 
Editor  Times:  By  the  retirement  of  General  Eppa  Hunton  today  the 
country,  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  his  colleagues,  loses  the  services  of 
one  of  its  most  useful  Senators,  and  the  State  of  Virginia  parts  with  one 
of  her  truest,  bravest,  wisest  sons.  From  his  advent  into  public  life,  now 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  General  Hunton  has  been  a  commanding 
figure.  On  entering  Congress  when  Grant  was  on  the  throne  and  Blaine 
was  in  the  Speaker's  chair,  his  practical  wisdom,  rugged  force  and  domi- 
nating will,  his  iron  tenacity  and  dauntless  courage  won  the  confidence 
of  his  associates  and  impressed  his  strong  personality  upon  all  who  were 
thrown  in  contact  with  him.  Soon  after  his  entrance  into  the  lower 
house,  he  a  Confederate  soldier,  with  the  blood  of  battle  hardly  dry  upon 
his  garments,  was  placed  upon  the  Military  Committee,  composed  of 
officers  against  whom  he  had  been  but  recently  fighting.  It  is  authentic 
tradition  in  Washington  that  before  the  first  session  had  passed  the  chair- 
man of  that  committee  pronounced  him  the  fairest,  the  frankest,  the  most 
industrious  and  useful  member  upon  it.  When  the  country  was  brought 
to  the  verge  of  civil,  not  sectional,  war,  when  the  crisis  was  so  imminent 
and  the  prospect  of  conflict  so  appalling  that  stump  orators,  "Leading 
editors,"  political  traders  and  all  the  vermin  that  infest  peaceful  politics, 
either  cowered  from  sight  or  were  impatiently  swept  by  an  alarmed  nation 
into  obscurity,  this  man,  this  Confederate  soldier,  was  selected  as  one  in 
whose  hands  could  be  trusted  the  peace  of  a  continent,  the  honor  of  a 
party  and  the  disposition  of  a  crown. 
"His  rise  to  the  Senate  v^as  not  less  honorable,  and  his  career  there  has 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  225 

been  not  less  creditable  and  useful  than  it  was  in  the  lower  house.  The 
same  stainless  integrity,  sound  judgment,  blunt  honesty  and  veracity  of 
character  won  from  his  new  associates  the  same  respect  which  had  been  be- 
stowed by  his  old  colleagues  of  the  House.  In  Virginia  we  have  all  looked 
upon  this  gentleman  as  a  'man  to  tie  to.'  He  never  failed  a  friend  or 
shrunk  from  a  foe.  No  unclean  money  has  ever  been  suspected  of  cling- 
ing to  his  hands.  The  vile  spectre,  calumny,  which  haunts  so  many  lives, 
has  never  soiled  his  name.  He  never  traded  in  politics  or  sought  office  by 
devious  paths. 

"Whatever  he  would  highly 
that  he  would  holily." 

"Place  my  candidacy  on  the  highest  plane  and  keep  it  there,"  was  his 
message  to  his  son  when,  for  the  first  time  in  Virginia's  history,  a  shadow 
hung  over  a  senatorial  election.  The  retirement  of  such  a  man  from 
public  life  is  an  event  to  be  felt  and  should  be  noticed.  When  Cornelia 
counts  her  jewels,  one  of  her  purest  should  not  be  omitted  from  the  shin- 
ing circle.  He  is  one  of  her  sons  who  has  never  brought  a  blush  to  the 
cheek  nor  a  pang  to  the  heart  of  the  mother  he  loved  and  served  so  well. 
The  gray-haired  veterans  who  toiled  and  fought  and  suffered  for  Virginia 
are  well  aware  that — 

"Some  perter  age 

Has  come  tittering  on  to  shove 

them  from  the  stage." 

May  we  when  we  come  to  "bow  and  walk  beyond  the  stars"  leave  this 
theatre  as  Hunton  does,  with  all 

"That  should  accompany  old  age, 
As  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops 
of  friends." 

A  Friend  and  Comrade. 

(March  4,  1895)  (W.  H.  Payne.) 

The  telegram  from  my  father  to  me  is  not  quoted  by  General  Payne  in 
full.    It  was  as  follows: 

"Place  my  candidacy  on  the  highest  plane  and  keep  it  there.    Do 
nothing  which  can  ever  bring  a  blush  of  shame  to  your  cheek." 

On  April  30th,  1898,  when  my  father  was  76  years  old,  he  wrote  to 
President  McKinley,  his  friend  and  whose  counsel  he  had  been  before  a 


226  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Democratic  House  when  his  seat  was  contested,  the  following  letter  tend- 
ering his  services  to  his  country  in  the  pending  war  with  Spain: 

"37  Corcoran  Building, 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  30,   1898. 
His  Excellency, 

William  McKinley, 

President  of  the  United  States. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  am  anxious  to  render  service  to  my  country  in  the  pending  war  with 
Spain.    My  age  probably  unfits  me  for  duty  in  the  field,  but  I  may  be  able 
to  render  other  service  equally  valuable.    You  know  me  well  and  can  de- 
termine if  my  services  are  needed.    They  are  cordially  tendered. 
Yours  very  respectfully, 

Eppa  Hunton." 

To  which  he  received  the  following  reply: 

"Executive  Mansion 

Washington, 

May  2,  1898. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Your  favor  of  the  30th  ultimo  has  been  received  and  the  President  has 
read  it  with  pleasure. 

Permit  me  to  assure  you  that  the  President  appreciates  highly  your  cor- 
dial and  patriotic  tender  of  services  and  will  be  very  glad  to  bear  it  in 
mind. 

With  respect  and  esteem,  believe  me, 

Very  truly  yours, 

John  Addison  Porter, 
Secretary  to  the  President. 
Hon.  Eppa  Hunton, 

37  Corcoran  Building, 
Washington,  D.  C." 


EPPA  HUNTON 
Taken  at  the  time  this  Autobiography  was  being  written.    Age  82. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


M 


Y  son  continued  to  grow  in  his  profession,  and  in  1884 
he  felt  able  to  support  a  wife.  In  November  of  that  year  he 
married  Erva  Winston  Payne,  the  oldest  daughter  of  General 
William  H.  Payne.  This  was  an  exceedingly  agreeable  mar- 
riage on  both  sides.  General  Payne  and  myself  had  always 
been  the  most  intimate  friends,  and  this  connection  between  our 
families  was  most  agreeable  to  each  of  us.  They  lived  with  me 
almost  all  of  their  married  life.  I  loved  her  dearly  as  my 
daughter,  and  so  did  my  wife,  and  she  was  as  affectionate  to 
both  of  us  as  if  she  were  our  own  child.  She  was  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  women  of  her  day.  She  was  splendidly  educated 
at  Hochelaga  Convent,  Montreal,  Canada;  spoke  French  very 
fluently,  was  a  beautiful  musician,  and  had  a  lovely  voice.  She 
played  on  the  harp  and  the  piano,  and  sang  beautifully.  Unfor- 
tunately her  health  was  poor.  She  scarcely  saw  a  well  month 
from  the  time  she  was  married.  She  and  Eppa  were  devoted 
to  each  other,  and  he  was  the  most  attentive  husband  to  a  sick 
wife  I  ever  saw.  He  never  tired  in  his  attentions  to  her;  never 
failed  to  do  anything  that  could  be  suggested  to  restore  her 
health ;  he  took  her  to  all  the  Springs  in  Virginia ;  to  a  hospital 
in  Baltimore,  and  to  Narragansett  Pier,  Rhode  Island.  She  made 
friends  wherever  she  went.  At  Narrangansett  for  one  or  two 
years  she  met  Mrs.  Jefferson  Davis,  who  became  devoted  to  her. 
Tliey  went  to  housekeeping  after  living  with  us  for  ten  or 
twelve  years,  and  fitted  up  a  beautiful  little  establishment  next 
to  General  Payne's;  but  Erva's  health  became  worse.  She  went 
to  Narragansett  and  there  her  health  failed  very  perceptibly. 
Eppa  was  scarcely  able  to  get  her  home  where  she  lingered 
awhile  and  died  October  9,  1897. 

227 


228  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

I  never  saw  such  attention  as  was  paid  to  her  while  living, 
or  so  much  respect  to  the  dead.  The  largest  concourse  attended 
her  funeral  that  had  been  seen  in  Warrenton  since  the  war. 
The  flowers  sent  had  to  be  transported  to  the  cemetery  in  wagons. 
Eppa  was  almost  heart-broken  by  her  death,  and  for  months 
could  hardly  be  aroused.  I  was  afraid  at  one  time  that  he  could 
not  be  gotten  back  to  his  professional  work.  My  wife  and  myself 
were  perfectly  devoted  to  Erva,  and  she  to  us,  and  we  felt  the 
loss  as  if  she  had  been  our  own  child.  Our  Episcopal  rector, 
Rev.  George  W.  Nelson,  one  of  the  best  and  noblest  of  men,  was 
thoroughly  devoted  to  her.  He  wrote  her  obituary,  and  I  beg 
to  speak  of  her  by  an  extract  from  that  obituary,  which  I  very 
fully  and  cordially  endorse: 

"Beautiful  in  person;  beautiful  in  mind;  beautiful  in  heart; 
Heavenly  'treasure  in  an  earthen  vessel' — but  the  vessel  was 
beautifully  moulded  and  polished.  She  had  faithfully  cultivated 
her  extraordinary  talents,  so  that  she  was  as  a  rare  gem  in  an 
exquisite  setting.  Her  voice  was  one  of  the  sweetest  ever  heard; 
her  conversation  always  had  the  charm  of  music,  and  her  pure, 
rich  soprano  was  the  finest  I  ever  heard  in  song.  It  was  a 
delight  to  listen  to  her  in  our  little  church,  where  (whenever 
able),  she  loved  to  sing  the  songs  of  Zion.  Mrs.  Jefferson  Davis, 
upon  hearing  of  her  death,  wrote,  'It  seems  to  me  that  even  the 
music  of  Heaven  must  be  sweeter  for  Erva's  voice.' 

"When  twenty-three  years  old  she  married  the  man  of  her 
choice — choice  of  her  heart  and  of  her  mind — thirteen  years  have 
passed,  making  and  closing  a  record  of  wedded  life  for  which 
this  poor  world  of  ours  is  surely  richer. 

"Her  health  soon  became  poor;  to  the  day  of  her  death  she 
was  a  great  sufferer,  with  intervals  of  comparative  ease  and 
health;  in  these  intervals  she  shone  out  marvelously,  charming 
all  she  was  thrown  with ;  and  to  those  who  knew  her  intimately, 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  229 

disclosing  unmistakably  the  higher  work  of  the  divine  hand, 
the  Father  perfecting  through  suffering  His  gifted  and  beloved 
child.  It  is  natural  in  sickness  and  in  pain  to  be  absorbed  in 
self,  but  she  seemed  to  become  more  and  more  unselfish ;  alw^ays 
thinking  of  others  and  for  others;  striving  to  give  pleasure  and 
to  help;  her  smile  and  gracious  v^^ord,  and  helping  hand  v^^ere 
ready  for  all." 

Her  death  seemed  to  create  a  void  in  our  family.  My  son 
broke  up  housekeeping  and  came  back  to  us,  but  he  seemed 
unable  to  rally,  and  still  staggered  under  his  great  loss. 

The  health  of  my  wife  had  been  failing  for  some  time.  Her 
efforts  to  discharge  her  duties  as  a  Senator's  v^^ife  were  too 
onerous  for  her.  She  undertook  to  entertain  in  Washington, 
and  it  was  more  than  she  could  endure.  I  procured  the  best 
medical  advice  in  Washington  City,  and  the  best  in  Fauquier. 
The  doctors  did  not  seem  to  know  what  was  the  exact  trouble 
in  her  case.  They  persuaded  me  to  take  her  to  the  seashore, 
and  in  1896  I  took  her  to  Cape  May.  The  trip  was  as  much 
as  she  could  stand.  The  stay  at  Cape  May  did  not  improve  her 
perceptibly.  I  determined  that  I  would  stop  (on  my  return) 
in  Philadelphia,  and  get  the  best  medical  advice  I  could,  and 
I  consulted  Dr.  Weir  Mitchell  and  Dr.  DaCosta.  They  gave 
her  the  most  careful  examination  for  two  successive  days.  I  do 
not  think  they  formed  a  decided  opinion  as  to  her  disease,  and 
she  received  no  decided  benefit  from  their  treatment. 

The  next  year,  1897,  ^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^  '^he  Hot  Springs,  in  Virginia, 
and  there  I  met  Dr.  DaCosta,  who  practiced  on  her  there.  In 
the  winter  of  1898  I  persuaded  her  to  go  to  Washington  and 
spend  the  winter  there,  and  we  were  made  very  comfortable  at 
the  Ebbitt  House.  Her  physician  in  Washington  was  Dr.  Z.  T. 
Sowers.  In  February,  1899,  while  we  were  at  the  Ebbitt  House, 
we  had  the  terrific  blizzard,  but  we  were  very  comfortable.  The 


230  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Ebbitt  House  was  warm,  and  the  landlord  and  the  servants  as 
kind  and  good  to  us  as  it  was  possible  for  them  to  be. 

Dr.  Sowers  became  very  uneasy  about  my  wife,  and  very 
anxious  that  she  should  get  home;  and  early  in  the  spring  I 
procured  a  private  car  and  with  great  difficulty  got  her  into  it  and 
took  her  to  Warrenton.  After  getting  her  home  she  rallied  con- 
siderably, and  I  felt  hopeful  that  she  might  get  well. 

She  was  very  much  gratified  that  I  joined  the  church  in  1899. 
I  was  baptized  by  our  rector,  dear  Mr.  George  Washington 
Nelson,  and  confirmed  by  Bishop  Gibson.  I  was  anxious  to 
have  my  adopted  daughter  Bessie,  and  my  son,  and  my  wife, 
as  witnesses  at  my  baptism.  Bessie  came  over  a  day  or  two 
before,  but  Eppa  was  engaged  in  the  trial  of  two  important  will 
cases  in  Harrisonburg.  I  was  satisfied  that  he  would  not  be 
able  to  get  home,  and  was  very  much  concerned  at  not  having 
him  there,  but  Saturday  night  he  finished  the  argument  of  his 
cases,  won  them  both,  and  at  nine  o'clock  jumped  into  a  buggy 
and  drove  to  Staunton,  twenty-odd  miles;  took  the  cars  in 
Staunton  at  one  o'clock  A.  M.,  reached  Warrenton  Junction 
about  sun-rise,  hired  a  buggy,  and  was  home  to  breakfast,  and 
my  wife  and  my  two  children  witnessed  my  baptism,  and  were 
present  at  my  confirmation. 

I  was  a  little  surprised  that  my  wife  was  able  to  go  through 
the  service,  but  she  did.  She,  however,  remained  quite  delicate 
until  the  fall  of  the  year,  when  it  became  evident  that  I  would 
have  to  give  up  my  wife,  and  on  the  4th  day  of  September, 
1899,  she  left  her  happy  home  in  Warrenton,  for  a  happier  home 
in  Heaven.  ^ 

No  man  ever  had  a  better,  more  faithful  and  affectionate  wife. 
She  had  a  right  hard  life  of  it,  especially  during  the  war.  I  felt 
very  much  gratified  at  a  conversation  we  had  not  long  before 
her  death.    I  said  to  her  that  I  did  not  recall  that  she  had  ever 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  231 

expressed  a  wish  that  I  did  not  gratify,  except  during  the  war. 
She  thought  a  moment,  and  said,  "You  need  not  except  the 
war" — and  that  speech  of  hers  has  afforded  me  great  comfort 
ever  since  her  death.  But  during  the  war  her  Ufe  was  a  very 
hard  one.  I  was  all  the  time  at  the  front  and  in  all  the  fights. 
Our  home  was  in  the  enemy's  territory  the  second  year  of  the 
war,  and  was  destroyed,  and  she  and  my  son  were  moved  about 
from  place  to  place  during  the  three  remaining  years  of  the  war — 
toward  the  last  of  the  war  dependent  upon  rations  for  a  living. 

She  and  I  were  both  very  anxious  for  Eppa  to  marry  again. 
She  did  not  want  him  to  marry  for  two  years  after  the  death  of 
Erva.  It  looked  very  much  for  a  long  time  as  if  he  would  never 
marry  again,  but  in  190 1  he  married  his  present  wife,  Virginia 
Semmes  Payne,  a  sister  of  Erva. 

This  was  a  most  agreeable  match  to  me.  His  mother  was 
gone,  and  Eppa  and  myself  lived  together  in  our  home  at  War- 
renton,  my  sister,  Mrs.  Foster,  being  with  us  most  of  the  time. 
I  was  perfectly  delighted  when  he  told  me  that  he  was  going 
to  be  married  to  Virginia  Payne.  Of  course  I  had  known  her 
most  intimately  as  the  sister  of  my  daughter  Erva,  and  knew 
her  to  be  one  of  the  sweetest  girls  in  the  country,  and  it  was  alto- 
gether a  most  agreeable  announcement.  The  year  Eppa  was 
married  to  Virginia  Payne,  April  24,  1901,  he  was  a  candidate 
for  the  Consitutional  Convention.  He  had  a  very  stiff  fight 
for  the  nomination  with  James  P.  Jeflress,  but  wound  up  with 
a  triumphant  majority,  and  soon  after  his  marriage  he  came 
to  Richmond  to  attend  the  Convention. 

He  stood  very  high  in  the  Convention;  was  given  the  best 
position  on  committees  by  Mr.  John  Goode,  the  President  of  the 
Convention,  and  made  a  great  deal  of  reputation  as  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Judiciary  Committee.  While  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Convention  Mr.  E.  Randolph  Williams  and  Mr.  Henry  W. 


232  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Anderson  came  to  him  and  proposed  a  partnership  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Richmond,  of  which  Mr.  B.  B.  Munford  was  also 
to  be  a  member.  Eppa  would  not  give  them  an  answer  until  he 
had  consulted  with  me.  He  came  home  and  laid  the  matter 
before  me,  and  I  said  to  him,  "Have  you  given  up  all  idea  of 
politics?"  He  said,  "Yes,  absolutely."  "Then,"  I  said,  "you 
may  form  a  law  partnership  in  Richmond;  but  if  you  mean  to 
go  into  politics,  Warrenton  is  a  better  place  for  you  than  Rich- 
mond." He  said  he  had  no  idea  of  going  into  politics.  Then 
he  said,  "Will  you  go  with  me  to  Richmond?"  I  said  that  was 
another  matter.  He  said,  "Well,  unless  you  go  with  me  to  Rich- 
mond, I  will  not  consider  the  proposition." 

It  was  a  right  sore  thing  to  me  to  give  up  my  home  in  Warren- 
ton, where  I  had  lived  in  happy  married  life  for  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years.  It  was  still  harder  for  me  to  break  up  what  I  con- 
sidered a  brilliant  partnership  for  my  son.  The  practice  in 
Fauquier  and  the  surrounding  country  was  very  small,  very  few 
large  cases,  and  although  Eppa  made  a  right  large  income  every 
year,  it  was  by  going  some  distance  from  home  into  the  sur- 
rounding country.  I  felt  that  it  would  be  to  his  interest  to  go  to 
the  City  of  Richmond,  and  I  agreed  to  go  with  him.  I  sold  my 
property  in  Warrenton  for  $10,000,  and  turned  the  money  over 
to  Eppa  to  help  him  buy  a  home  in  Richmond.  We  rented  at 
316  East  Grace  Street  until  my  son  bought  and  fixed  up  the 
house  in  which  we  live  now.  No.  8  East  Franklin  Street. 

I  have  been  living  with  my  son  and  his  wife  since  they  were 
married.  His  wife  Virginia  is  to  me  a  daughter  as  affectionate, 
kind  and  good  as  if  she  were  my  own  flesh  and  blood.  There  is 
nothing  she  will  not  do  to  promote  my  comfort;  no  trouble  she 
will  not  take  that  is  necessary  for  my  happiness.  She  has  fine 
sense  and  fine  taste.  She  has  fitted  up  our  new  home  very  beau- 
tifully.   I  feel  greatly  blessed  in  having  such  a  son  and  such  a 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  233 

daughter.  I  have  never  ceased  to  miss  my  dear  wife,  but  if  good 
children  can  atone  for  the  loss  of  a  wife,  mine  come  as  near  to  it 
as  children  can  come. 

July  5,  1902,  my  daughter  presented  to  husband  and  father 
a  beautiful  daughter.  My  daughter  was  very,  very  ill  and  the 
dear  little  child  after  being  baptized  and  christened  Mary 
Winter,  died.  The  death  of  the  child  was  a  great  blow  and 
caused  much  grief  to  us  all,  but  especially  to  its  mother.  It  was 
the  only  grandchild  I  ever  had,  and  I  was  very  proud  to  have 
one.  God  loaned  the  dear  baby  to  us  for  a  brief  time  then  took 
her  to  Himself  to  be  an  angel  in  Heaven.  I  strive  to  meet  her, 
dear  Lucy  and  dear  Erva  there.  I  have  not  despaired  of  other 
grandchildren,  and  pray  they  may  live  to  comfort  their  parents, 
as  mine  have  comforted  me. 

Eppa's  firm  is  doing  a  splendid  business  in  Richmond  and 
surrounding  country.  The  partnership  has  proven  even  more 
brilliant  than  was  anticipated.  The  firm  gets  as  much  business 
as  its  members  can  attend  to  and  the  income  is  large  and  satis- 
factory— Eppa  stands  so  very  high  both  as  a  lawyer  and  gentle- 
man. No  one  in  Richmond  stands  higher.  The  move  to  Rich- 
mond was  very  judicious.  I  fear  he  has  more  work  than  he  can 
stand  and  that  his  health  will  fail.  At  present  time  he  looks 
well  and  seems  to  be  in  good  health. 

My  health  is  very  good  for  my  age.  When  I  came  to  Rich- 
mond I  was  subject  to  spells  of  vertigo.  I  had  them  two  or  three 
times  a  week.  If  I  could  not  sit  down  or  lie  down,  I  fell  down. 
I  had  been  to  all  the  doctors  up  in  my  country,  to  Dr.  Sowers, 
and  Dr.  Johnson,  of  Washington;  Dr.  Hicks  and  Dr.  Frost, 
of  Fauquier.  They  did  me  no  good.  When  I  came  to  Richmond 
I  put  myself  under  the  care  of  Dr.  George  Ben  Johnston.  He 
gave  me  a  most  careful  examination,  and  said,  "I  will  either 
cure  you  of  these  attacks,  or  I  will  greatly  modify  them."    I 


234  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

have  not  had  one  since  February,  1902,  and  since  I  have  gotten 
rid  of  these  attacks  of  vertigo  my  health  has  been  remarkably 
good,  for  a  man  in  his  82nd  year. 

I  am  doing  no  work  nov/,  except  to  give  some  attention  to  a 
iew  old  cases  I  have  in  Washington.  If  I  live,  I  think  I  vi^ill  wind 
them  up  this  year,  and  then  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  except  to 
prepare  for,  and  await  my  summons  to  another  world.  We  have 
a  beautiful  home  fitted  up  by  my  dear  daughter,  who  has  de- 
veloped into  a  splendid  housekeeper.  We  live  in  great  happi- 
ness and  I  try  to  be  sufficiently  grateful  for  the  blessings  of  the 
best  children  man  ever  had.  God  bless  and  prosper  them  and 
save  them  in  Heaven  at  last. 


ADDENDUM 

Made  in  my  83rd  year,  September  28,  1905. 

Since  my  biography  was  closed,  my  dear  daughter  presented  to 
her  husband  and  me,  on  31st  July,  1904,  a  dear  little  "man-child." 
I  was  in  Warrenton  when  this  happy  event  occurred.  I  came  at 
once  to  Richmond  to  see  the  dear  little  stranger  and  found  him  all 
I  could  desire.  He  was  at  once  named  Eppa  IV,  and  was  after- 
wards so  christened  in  St.  James'  Church,  Warrenton,  by  Bishop 
Randolph,  assisted  by  Mr.  Laird,  the  Rector. 

In  this  dear  old  church  his  two  grandmothers  were  members,  his 
father  and  mother  confirmed,  and  his  grandfather  baptized  and  con- 
firmed.   It  was  the  proper  place  for  baptism  of  Eppa  IV. 

When  I  came  to  Richmond  to  see  him  a  few  days  after  his  birth, 
I  presented  him  with  my  handsome  gold  watch  which  was  given 
to  me  by  Eppa  and  dear  Erva.  I  made  a  most  eloquent  presentation 
speech,  which  was  received  without  applause  from  him. 

I  hope  he  will  grow  to  be  a  good  and  great  man  and  reflect  credit 
on  the  name  he  bears.  I  hope  he  will  always  love  and  defend  the 
Confederate  cause  for  which  his  grandfathers  fought  and  bled.  I 
hope  he  will  avoid  the  use  of  profane  language,  gambling  and  intem- 
perate use  of  intoxicants,  and  be  in  all  respects  as  good  a  man  as 
his  father  is. 

God  bless  and  prosper  my  dear  little  grandson. 

Eppa  Hunton. 


235 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I. 

Address  of  General  Eppa  Hunton  at  the  First  Reunion  of  the 
8th  Virginia  Regiment  after  the  War,  at  Leesburg,  the  2ist  Octo- 
ber, 1895,  the  34TH  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Ball's  Bluff: 

My  dear  Comrades — 

Survivors  of  the  8th  Virginia  Infantry — 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

Thirty-four  years  ago,  early  in  May,  1861,  I  was  commissioned  by 
His  Excellency,  John  Letcher,  Governor  of  Virginia,  Colonel  of  the 
8th  Regiment,  and  ordered  to  Leesburg  to  organize  it. 

I  entered  at  once  on  this  duty,  and  appropriated  what  was  then 
the  fair  grounds  just  north  of  the  town,  as  my  camp.  It  was  com- 
posed of  six  companies  from  Loudoun,  commanded  by  Capt.  Heaton, 
Capt.  Berkeley,  Capt.  Wampler,  Capt.  Simpson,  Capt.  Grayson  and 
Capt.  Hampton,  two  from  Fauquier  commanded  by  Capt.  Carter 
and  Capt.  Scott;  one  from  Fairfax  commanded  by  Capt.  Thrift; 
one  from  Prince  William  commanded  by  Capt.  Berkeley. 

All  of  us  were  more  or  less  green  in  the  organization  of  a  regi- 
ment, but  it  was  soon  apparent  that  the  8th  Regiment — rank  and 
file — was  composed  of  the  very  best  material  in  the  State. 

I  was  warmly  supported  by  all  the  officers  and  soon  had  a  regiment 
of  splendid  soldiers,  commanded  by  intelligent  and  gallant  officers 
of  the  line — Charles  B.  Tebbs  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  and  Norborne 
Berkeley  was  Major,  both  of  Loudoun, 

The  main  duty  of  the  regiment  (aided  by  Capt.  Shreve's  company 
of  cavalry  and  Capt.  Rogers'  battery)  was  to  guard  the  Potomac,  up 
to  the  first  battle  of  Manassas.  This  was  the  bloody  baptism  of  the 
regiment.  Its  behavior  was  conspicuous  for  gallantry,  and  was 
especially  mentioned  and  compHmented  by  Gen.  Beauregard  in  his 
report  of  that  glorious  battle.  This  was  the  21st  of  July,  '61.  Two 
days  after,  it  was  ordered  back  to  Leesburg  to  guard  this  grand  old 

239 


240  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

county  from  the  ravages  of  the  enemy.  Soon  after  we  were  rein- 
forced by  three  Mississippi  regiments  and  several  companies  of 
cavalry — all  under  command  of  Gen.  Evans. 

I  became  disabled  and  was  sent  to  my  mother's  home  in  Fauquier, 
on  a  bed  in  a  spring  wagon.  After  a  short  stay  there,  and  before  I 
was  fit  for  duty,  I  became  satisfied  there  was  a  battle  impending,  and 
against  the  protests  of  wife,  son,  mother  and  friends,  I  started  back 
to  my  beloved  regiment.  I  found  it  encamped  in  what  was  then 
Dr.  Clagett's  triangular  field.  They  all  knew  a  battle  was  at  hand, 
and  I  shall  never  forget  the  joy  with  which  I  was  received  by  officers 
and  men,  and  how  glad  they  seemed  to  be  that  I  was  to  be  with  them 
and  to  lead  them  in  the  approaching  fight.  Their  devotion  to  and 
confidence  in  me,  brought  tears  to  my  eyes.  I  resolved  then  and 
there,  that  by  the  help  of  God  I  would  fulfill  the  expectations  of  these 
heroic  men. 

We  have  met  here  today  on  the  21st  of  October  in  our  first  reunion 
to  commemorate  the  34th  anniversary  of  that  battle. 

I  was  ordered  first  to  Goose  Creek  Bridge  to  meet  a  body  of  the 
enemy  advancing  up  the  pike.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  this  was  a 
reconnoitering  party  and  did  not  mean  an  attack.  In  the  meantime 
the  enemy  in  strong  force  under  Gen.  Baker  was  crossing  at  Harri- 
son's Island  to  Ball's  Bluff,  opposite  to  and  about  three  miles  from 
Leesburg.  I  was  ordered  to  leave  one  company,  commanded  by 
the  gallant  Capt.  Wampler,  to  guard  the  bridge  and  go  at  once  to 
meet  the  enemy  at  Ball's  Bluff.  The  enemy's  force  across  the  river 
was  reported  by  Gen.  Evans  to  be  eight  thousand  strong,  and  con- 
sisted mainly  of  Massachusetts  men. 

On  our  side  we  had  the  17th  and  i8th  Mississippi,  commanded  by 
Colonels  Burt  and  Featherstone,  and  the  8th  Virginia  Infantry,  some 
cavalry  under  Lieut.  Col.  Jennifer,  and  two  batteries  of  artillery. 
The  artillery  was  not  engaged  and  but  little  fighting  was  done  by 
the  cavalry.  So  that  the  fight  fell  largely  on  the  8th  Virginia  and 
the  two  Mississippi  Regiments.  The  8th  had  400  men  engaged  and 
the  total  number  on  our  side  was  1,700. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  241 

The  1 8th  Mississippi  was  ambuscaded  in  the  beginning  of  the  fight 
and  driven  back  with  very  heavy  loss,  including  CoL  Burt,  their 
gallant  commander. 

The  8th  took  position  in  the  edge  of  a  wood.  The  enemy  was 
posted  across  a  small  piece  of  open  land  also  in  a  body  of  woods,  with 
several  pieces  of  artillery  in  the  open  field  near  the  enemy's  line.  They 
charged  us  several  times,  but  each  charge  was  gallantly  repulsed  by 
the  8th  Regiment.  The  fight  lasted  several  hours.  Baker  fell  mor- 
tally wounded.  Your  ammunition  was  about  exhausted  and  several 
efforts  to  secure  more  were  ineffectual.  I  determined  to  charge  the 
enemy  and  by  dividing  up  the  cartridges,  each  man  had  one  round. 
The  charge,  mainly  with  the  bayonet,  was  as  gallant  as  any  made 
in  the  war.  The  8th  was  a  little  later  on  reinforced  by  Col.  Feather- 
stone  of  the  17th  Mississippi.  This  Regiment  also  behaved  with 
great  gallantry.  The  enemy  was  completely  routed  and  thoroughly 
demoralized.  They  were  driven  from  the  field  and  down  the  Bluff 
to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  Darkness  stopped  the  fight,  I  was 
perfectly  prostrated  by  the  day's  fight  and  my  infirmity.  I  had  to  be 
hauled  from  the  field  in  a  wagon. 

After  the  fighting  had  ceased  and  the  enemy  were  thought  to  have 
retired  across  the  river,  Lieut.  Charles  F.  Berkeley  was  put  in  com- 
mand of  a  picket  of  seventeen  men  of  the  8th  Virginia  regiment, 
to  picket  the  battlefield  and  E.  V.  White  was  requested  to  remain 
with  him.  The  17th  and  i8th  Mississippi  regiments  had  been  sent 
back  to  their  camps  and  the  8th  Virginia  regiment  sent  to  Fort  Evans. 
Lieuts.  Berkeley  and  White  were  succouring  the  wounded  when 
they  discovered  some  1,500  Yankees  under  the  bluf?  between  the  bank 
of  the  river  and  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  who  were  crossing  back  to  the 
island  by  two  large  boats  and  two  smaller  ones.  Lieut.  White  was 
dispatched  to  the  8th  regiment  for  100  men  to  capture  this  force, 
and  on  reaching  Fort  Evans  found  Lieut.  Col.  Tebbs  in  command, 
I  having  been  sent  to  town  suffering  greatly.  Upon  preferring  the 
request  to  Lieut.  Col.  Tebbs  for  100  men,  the  latter  refused  to  order 
the  men  on  such  an  expedition,  as  they  had  been  exposed  to  such 


242  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

a  terrible  strain  as  to  be  completely  broken  down,  but  consented  to 
let  any  go  who  should  volunteer.  Upon  this  forty-eight  men  and 
three  officers  under  Capts.  W.  N.  Berkeley  and  Edmund  Berkeley, 
were  conducted  by  E.  V.  White  down  to  the  Bluff,  with  orders  at  a 
given  signal  to  fire  their  guns  in  the  air,  while  the  main  body,  led 
by  E.  V.  White,  should  descend  and  mix  with  the  enemy  below  and 
call  on  them  to  surrender.  This  was  accordingly  carried  out  and 
when  some  of  the  enemy  inquired  to  whom  they  should  surrender, 
they  were  told  Gen.  White  was  in  command.  The  number  of 
prisoners  taken  on  this  occasion  was  about  400  and  was  effected 
entirely  by  E.  V.  White,  and  the  officers  and  men  of  the  8th  Virginia 
regiment.  This  same  E.  V.  White  who  displayed  so  much  gallantry 
on  this  occasion,  was  afterwards  made  Captain  of  a  cavalry  company 
and  by  his  heroism  rose  to  the  rank  of  Colonel.  He  was  one  of  the 
heroes  of  the  war. 

We  captured  710  prisoners,  all  their  artillery,  and  a  large  supply  of 
arms,  and  ammunition,  with  small  loss  to  the  8th  regiment.  The 
enemy's  loss  was  1,300  killed,  wounded  and  drowned,  and  710  cap- 
tured, as  reported. 

For  the  force  engaged  on  each  side,  this  was  the  most  complete 
victory  of  the  war.  We  had  not  more  than  1,700  muskets  in  the 
fight.  A  Baltimore  paper  which  fell  into  our  hands  a  few  days 
afterwards,  placed  the  Federal  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  captured, 
at  2,250.  They  lost  more  men  than  we  had  muskets,  a  result  un- 
exampled in  war.  A  flank  movement  by  the  Little  River  Turnpike 
was  apprehended,  and  I  was  ordered  to  retreat  to  the  Sycolin. 

No  pen  can  describe  the  feelings  of  the  men  of  the  gallant  8th, 
mostly  citizens  of  Loudoun,  as  they  marched  through  Leesburg  and 
abandoned  it  to  the  enemy.  I  felt  dishonored,  and  was  sure  there 
was  no  need  for  this  hasty  retreat,  but  orders  had  to  be  obeyed.  For- 
tunately, the  enemy  was  too  badly  whipped  to  take  advantage  of  our 
retreat,  and  Leesburg  was  at  that  time  spared  from  the  ravages  of 
the  foe. 

The  gallant  conduct  of  the  8th,  and  the  complete  victory  at  Ball's 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  243 

Bluff,  gave  the  regiment  a  splendid  reputation  which  was  increased 
in  every  battle  it  was  in  during  the  war. 

Soon  after  this  fight  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  join  the  main 
army  at  Centreville,  that  it  might  be  brigaded  with  other  Virginia 
regiments.  A  public  reception  was  given  us  when  we  reached  Centre- 
ville, and  you  were  everywhere  recognized  as  the  heroes  of  Ball's 
Bluff. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  wonder  excited  at  Centreville  by  our  wagon 
train.  It  consisted  of  twenty-five  wagons,  and  complaint  was  made 
by  you  that  you  did  not  have  more.  When  this  wagon  train  reached 
Centreville  it  drew  out  a  large  portion  of  Gen.  Johnson's  army.  No 
one  would  believe  it  belonged  to  one  regiment. 

The  next  day  one-half  of  it  was  taken  away.  As  the  want  of 
transportation  became  greater  during  the  progress  of  the  war,  our 
transportation  was  still  further  reduced  till  we,  who  started  with 
25  wagons,  were  reduced  to  one,  to  carry  the  cooking  utensils  of  the 
whole  regiment.  It  is  impossible  in  a  short  address  to  follow  the 
8th  Regiment  through  the  whole  war,  and  to  describe  its  conduct  in 
all  the  battles  in  which  it  was  engaged. 

We  fought  at  Seven  Pines,  2nd  Manassas,  South  Mountain, 
Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Williamsburg,  Gaines'  Mill,  Frazier's 
Farm,  Malvern  Hill,  Gettysburg,  Howlett  House,  Gravelly  Run  and 
Sailor's  Creek. 

These  were  our  principal  battles,  but  there  were  a  great  many 
smaller  ones. 

I  must  not  fail  to  speak  of  two  or  three  of  these  great  battles,  and 
to  describe  somewhat  at  length  our  action  in  each. 

One  of  the  hardest  of  the  Seven  Days'  fight  was  Gaines'  Mill. 
Mechanicsville  was  fought  the  day  before  and  resulted  in  a  victory 
for  the  Confederate  arms,  but  with  heavy  loss.  The  enemy  took 
up  a  very  strong  position  at  Gaines'  Mill.  They  had  three  fortified 
lines.  The  first  was  in  a  ravine  about  five  feet  deep;  about  a  hundred 
yards  in  rear  of  the  first  line  was  another,  posted  behind  temporary 
jjr east-works,  and  still  another  some  hundred  yards  in  rear  of  the 


244  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

last  also  protected  by  temporary  cover.  These  two  last  lines  were  on 
the  hillside  so  that  all  three  lines  could  fire  on  the  advancing  Con- 
federate line.  Brockenbrough's  brigade  had  charged  this  position  of 
the  enemy  and  was  repulsed.  Pryor's  brigade  was  put  in  and  driven 
back.  Then  Pickett's  brigade,  consisting  of  the  8th,  i8th,  19th,  28th 
and  56th  Virginia  Regiments,  was  ordered  to  charge  this  formidable 
position.  We  charged  down  a  steep  hill  and  were  exposed  to  the 
terrible  fire  of  these  three  well  protected  lines  of  the  enemy.  There 
was  never  a  more  gallant  charge  than  this,  Gettysburg  excepted.  We 
carried  all  three  hnes  in  beautiful  and  splendid  style,  took  a  large 
part  of  artillery  in  rear  of  the  third  line.  At  this  point  we  were 
joined  by  a  portion  of  Jackson's  forces,  who  had  come  in  obliquely 
on  our  left  and  then  we  met  a  charge  of  cavalry,  which  soon  scattered. 
Our  charge  at  Gaines'  Mill  was  the  admiration  of  all  who  saw  it, 
and  was  attended  with  a  severe  loss  while  charging  down  the  hill 
and  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  hostile  lines. 

I  have  alluded  to  this  because  our  brigade  and  our  regiment  never 
behaved  with  more  gallantry,  and  because  our  conduct  has  been 
greatly  misrepresented  by  the  biographer  of  General  Jackson,  who 
makes  us — whom  he  styles  Pickett's  Veterans — lie  down  while  Jack- 
son's men  charged  over  us  and  carried  the  lines. 

In  truth  we  did  not  see  Jackson's  men  until  we  had  carried  all 
three  of  the  lines  and  captured  the  artillery. 

Doubtless  Jackson's  men  carried  all  before  them,  but  we  alone 
carried  the  lines  in  front  of  us. 

How  shall  I  describe  the  charge  of  Pickett's  Division  (of  which 
we  formed  a  part)  at  Gettysburg. 

The  8th  took  position  just  behind  our  artillery  with  205  men  in 
its  ranks.  It  had  been  greatly  reduced  by  its  brilliant  participation  in 
the  preceding  battles  of  the  war.  The  country  which  furnished  its 
brave  men  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  In  consequence  we  did 
not  get  many  recruits.  The  regiment  was,  therefore,  very  small. 
Five  men  were  killed  in  the  artillery  duel,  and  when  the  order  to 
charge  was  given,  two  hundred  heroes  of  the  8th  regiment  went  in 
a  charge,  the  most  brilliant  and  heroic  in  the  annals  of  war. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  245 

I  was  wounded  at  the  red  barn,  a  little  more  than  half-way  in 
the  charge.  Gen.  Garnett,  our  heroic  Brigade  Commander,  was 
killed  cheering  on  his  men.  Gen.  Armistead  was  killed  while  actually 
leading  his  brigade  with  his  hat  on  his  sword.  Gen.  Kemper  was 
badly  wounded.    Our  men,  rank  and  file,  fell  by  the  thousands. 

But  the  heroes  of  Pickett's  Division  charged  on  and  onward  with 
almost  resistless  fury;  until  they  had  driven  the  enemy  from  its  first 
line  behind  a  stone  fence.  By  this  time  nearly  all  had  been  killed  or 
wounded,  and  the  enemy  seeing  how  small  our  numbers  were,  rallied, 
and  with  fresh  troops,  killed,  wounded  or  captured  the  small  remnant 
of  this  heroic  band.  Thus  ended  the  most  brilliant  charge  of  that 
or  any  other  war. 

The  failure  was  not  due  to  want  of  heroism,  but  to  disparity  of 
numbers  and  of  position.  And  thus  ended  the  high  hopes  of  our 
immortal  leader,  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  believed  the  most  impor- 
tant results  would  follow  success  at  Gettysburg. 

The  8th  Virginia  Regiment,  that  carried  into  this  charge  an  even 
two  hundred  men,  as  brave  as  ever  carried  musket — lost  in  killed, 
wounded  and  captured,  one  hundred  and  ninety. 

Only  ten  men  returned  unhurt,  who  went  into  that  fatal  charge, 
with  a  determination  to  "do  or  die"  for  the  cause  we  all  loved  so 
well.  After  the  charge  of  your  regiment  the  command  devolved  on 
a  Lieutenant — all  above  him  in  rank  were  either  killed,  wounded 
or  captured.  This  was  July  3,  1863,  and  was  the  high  tide  of  the 
war.  We  all  felt  that  the  future  of  the  Confederate  States  might 
hang  on  the  result  at  Gettysburg. 

I  was  promoted  to  Brigadier  General  from  Gettysburg  and  the 
command  devolved  on  Col.  Norborne  Berkeley,  a  gallant  officer 
worthy  to  command  any  regiment,  even  the  8th  Virginia. 

Though  taken  from  your  immediate  command,  the  dear  old  8th 
was  still  a  part  of  my  Brigade  and  remained  with  me  until  the  war 
closed. 

Our  regiment  with  the  rest  of  the  Brigade  was  ordered  to  Chaffin's 
Farm  to  rest  and  recruit  after  our  severe  labors  and  losses.  We 
joined  the  main  army  at  Hanover  Junction  in  the  spring  of  1864  and 


246  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

participated  in  the  memorable  battles  of  that  campaign,  the  most 
masterly  ever  conducted  by  Gen.  Lee  or  any  other  Military  Chieftain. 

In  these  fights  the  Federal  losses  were  greater  than  Gen.  Lee's 
whole  army.  These  losses  were  immediately  supplied.  Ours  could 
not  be.  While  Gen.  Lee  was  preparing  to  fight  over  the  battle  of 
Malvern  Hill,  Grant  was  changing  his  base  from  the  North  to  the 
South  side  of  James  River.  Beauregard  had  to  abandon  his  fortified 
line  below  the  Howlett  House  and  hasten  to  the  defense  of  Peters- 
burg. This  line  embraced  Drewry's  Bluff,  and  extended  down  the 
James  towards  its  junction  with  the  Appomattox.  It  was  vital  to 
the  defense  of  Richmond.  General  Lee  ordered  Pickett's  Division  to 
hasten  to  the  defense  of  this  important  line. 

My  Brigade  was  third  in  line  when  this  march  began.  We  had 
become  familiar  wdth  all  the  cross  roads  and  by-paths  of  the  interven- 
ing country  while  at  Chaffin's  Farm.  For  this  reason  I  was  ordered 
to  detach  the  Brigade  from  the  rest  of  the  Division,  and  make  a 
forced  march  to  save  this  abandoned  line.  No  troops — not  even  the 
foot  cavalry  of  the  immortal  Jackson — ever  made  better  time.  The 
enemy  had  occupied  Beauregard's  line  and  turned  it  against  us.  I 
was  ordered  to  march  down  the  Petersburg  pike  till  I  struck  the 
enemy,  and  retake  the  line.  The  8th  was  sent  forward  as  a  skirmish 
line  and  soon  struck  the  enemy.  The  Brigade  was  ordered  to  left 
face  and  charge.  What  a  magnificent  charge  it  was.  We  drove  the 
enemy  into  and  beyond  the  abandoned  line,  which  was  re-established 
and  greatly  strengthened.  The  other  Brigade  of  the  Division  also 
after  a  brilliant  charge,  took  position  in  this  line  on  our  right  and 
left.  This  heroic  conduct  delighted  our  dear  old  commander.  General 
Lee,  and  drew  from  him  the  only  undignified  order  he  ever  issued. 
He  said,  after  complimenting  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  Pickett's 
Division,  he  believed  "Pickett's  men  would  take  anything  they  were 
put  against." 

Last  summer  I  met  Major  Drewry  at  the  White  Sulphur  Springs. 
He  witnessed  this  charge  of  ours,  and  said  when  I  gave  the  order, 
"Left  face,  charge,"  he  never  saw  anything  so  splendid  and  beautiful. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


247 


He  said  everyone  in  the  bridage,  from  its  commander  to  the  last 
private,  seemed  to  know  exactly  what  to  do  and  did  it  in  a  manner 
unequalled  in  the  history  of  the  war.  He  seemed  very  fond  of  telling 
of  this  heroic  conduct  of  the  brigade,  and  I  was  not  averse  to  hearing 
it.  I  think  he  must  have  repeated  it  five  or  six  times  in  my  presence, 
to  different  audiences. 

From  this  time  on  it  became  apparent  that  the  fortunes  of  the 
Confederacy  were  on  the  wane.  Victory  had  generally  followed  our 
banner  under  Lee,  but  our  resources  of  men  and  supplies  were  grow- 
ing less  every  day,  while  the  enemy's  was  increased.  There  was  the 
same  gallantry  of  the  men;  but  our  Httle  army  could  not  fight  the 
whole  world.  To  illustrate  this  unending  gallantry,  you  will  recollect 
that  while  Pickett  with  the  rest  of  his  division  was  fighting  Sheridan 
at  Five  Forks,  and  was  advancing  on  Dinwiddle  Courthouse,  Gen- 
eral Lee  ordered  our  Brigade  (then  reduced  to  less  than  1,500  mus- 
kets), with  two  Gulf  States  Brigades,  fully  as  small,  to  form  on  the 
road  leading  from  his  main  line  to  Five  Forks,  to  keep  open  the  com- 
munication with  Pickett.  We  had  hardly  formed  when  a  full  divi- 
sion of  Warren's  corps  marched  down  upon  us  on  its  way  to  reinforce 
Sheridan  at  Five  Forks.  We,  with  our  three  little  brigades,  attacked 
this  division  and  in  the  most  gallant  style  drove  it  back  more  than 
a  mile  and  a  half  to  Gravelly  Run. 

Our  great  Commander  was  highly  pleased  and  wanted  us  to  hold 
this  Hne.  In  this  charge  just  before  Richmond  was  abandoned  and 
our  last  sad  retreat  begun,  and  when  the  end  at  Appomattox  was 
close  at  hand,  in  this  last  regular  fight  we  had  in  the  war,  the  noble, 
gallant  soldiers  of  Hunton's  Brigade  behaved,  each  one,  as  a  hero. 

I  was  ordered  next  day  to  reinforce  Pickett,  who  had  been  routed, 
driven  from  Five  Forks,  and  his  command  badly  demoralized  and 
scattered.  We  were  not  able  at  that  time  to  find  General  Pickett, 
and  were  joined  by  two  other  brigades,  all  under  command  of 
Gen.  T.  Bushrod  Johnson.  Under  him  we  commenced  our  mourn- 
ful retreat.  Our  brigade  brought  up  the  rear  with  Gen.  Fitz  Lee's 
cavalry  behind  us. 


248  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

This  was  a  heart-sickening  retreat.  We  all  knew  the  end  was  not 
far  off,  and  still  my  men,  including  the  battle-scarred  veterans  of  the 
8th,  were  ready  to  do  all  in  their  power,  and  to  die  for  the  dear  cause 
we  loved  so  well.  At  one  point  on  this  retreat  we  had  to  cross  a 
bridge  over  a  deep  stream.  The  duty  was  assigned  me  of  guarding 
this  bridge  until  the  rest — infantry  and  cavalry — had  crossed.  When 
it  came  to  our  turn  to  cross  we  were  fighting  the  enemy  in  strong 
force  on  three  sides.  I  had  flankers  to  the  right  and  left  and  skir- 
mishers in  the  rear.  But  we  crossed  in  safety  and  continued  to  bring 
up  the  rear  till  we  united  with  the  rest  of  Pickett's  Division.  Our 
rations  failed  entirely.  The  brigade  was  halted  at  a  corn  house  by 
the  roadside  and  ears  of  corn  distributed  as  rations  to  the  brigade. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1865,  as  we  approached  Sailor's  Creek,  the 
enemy  attacked  Huger's  artillery  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek. 
Pickett's  Division,  my  Brigade  in  front,  went  to  its  rescue  and  retook 
the  artillery.  The  Division  was  in  line  of  battle,  attenuated  to  the 
last  degree.  Terry's  Brigade  on  my  right.  Corse  and  George  H. 
Stuart  on  my  left — each  effort  on  our  part  to  continue  the  retreat  was 
met  by  a  gallant  charge  from  Custer's  cavalry,  and  while  we  were 
thus  prevented  from  retreating,  the  Federal  infantry  was  surrounding 
us.  When  surrounded,  and  not  till  then,  I,  with  the  heroes  of  my 
Brigade,  surrendered.  I  had  sent  the  8th  to  Terry  to  extend  his  line, 
and  most  of  them  escaped  capture.  Thus  ended  our  part  in  the  war. 
Three  days  later  on,  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  General  Lee  surrendered 
his  army  to  Grant  at  Appomattox  amid  the  tears  and  groans  of  a 
dying  nation. 

I  would  like  to  mention  the  names  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
8th  who  particularly  distinguished  themselves,  but  where  almost  all 
behaved  gallantly,  it  would  seem  invidious  to  mention  but  a  few. 
I  will  be  excused  for  mentioning  the  gallantry  of  the  four  Berkeley 
brothers.  They  were  all  brave  men  and  good  soldiers.  When  I  was 
made  Brigadier  General,  Norborne  was  made  Colonel  of  the  8th; 
Edmund,  Lieut.  Colonel;  William,  Major;  and  Charles  was  senior 
Capt.     It  was  called  the  Berkeley  Regiment.     There  were  four 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


249 


Hutchison  brothers  and  four  Presgrave  brothers,  excellent  private 
soldiers,  and  strange  to  say  the  four  Berkeleys  and  the  four  Hutchi- 
sons and  the  four  Presgraves,  survived  the  war  and  most  of  them 
are  yet  alive.  I  cannot  forbear  to  mention  G.  W.  F.  Hummer,  who 
was  a  private  in  the  Loudoun  Cavalry,  which  I  took  to  the  first  battle 
of  Manassas,  I  detailed  him,  and  four  others  of  his  company,  as  a 
picket  to  guard  the  blind  road  from  Centreville  to  Sudley.  This  was 
most  fortunate,  as  this  was  the  road  pursued  by  General  McDowell, 
and  there  would  have  been  a  complete  surprise  but  for  this  picket. 
When  driven  in  they  brought  me  the  news  of  this  flank  movement. 
I  at  once  communicated  it  to  Beauregard  and  prevented  a  complete 
surprise  and  enabled  him  to  prepare  in  some  slight  degree  to  meet  it. 
I  kept  Hummer  with  me;  and  a  braver,  truer  man  I  never  knew.  At 
the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff  my  horse  (old  Morgan)  ran  off  with  me. 
I  feared  that  my  brave  boys  would  think  it  was  I  that  was  running. 
I  lost  my  hat  and  pistols,  but  soon  took  Morgan  up.  I  hardly  re- 
gained control  of  my  horse  before  Hummer  was  at  my  side  with  hat 
and  pistols.  When  I  was  wounded  at  Gettysburg  and  my  horse  shot, 
he  was  by  my  side,  took  my  horse  by  the  bridle  and  led  him  to  the 
rear.  My  horse  lived  long  enough  to  take  me  back  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  another;  but  soon  I  became  faint  from  loss  of  blood  and 
was  carried  by  Hummer  to  the  field  hospital.  He  was  by  my  side 
in  every  place  of  danger,  and  was  as  true  and  gallant  as  any  man  in 
General  Lee's  army.  I  procured  for  him  an  office  under  Cleveland's 
first  administration;  by  great  exertion  managed  to  keep  him  in 
through  Harrison's  administration  and  he  is  there  now.  His  absence 
today  diminishes  the  pleasures  of  this  reunion.  Long  may  he  live  to 
think  of  his  gallantry  and  devotion  to  the  lost  cause  and  to  me. 

I  hardly  regretted  my  absence  at  Appomattox.  The  trials  of  that 
day  would  have  overcome  me.  The  spectacle  of  dear  General  Lee, 
when  he  rode  through  our  lines  on  his  return  from  the  McLean 
house,  where  the  terms  of  surrender  had  been  agreed  upon  and 
signed,  with  the  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks,  would  have  been 
more  than  I  cared  to  endure.    He  was  the  grandest  character  of  the 


250  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

war  and  the  greatest  military  chieftain  of  any  age.  May  we  all  strive 
to  emulate  his  virtues  and  revere  his  name  and  fame.  Our  failure 
was  not  due  to  want  of  splendid  military  leaders — Lee,  Jackson  and 
Johnston  were  masters  of  the  art  of  war — our  soldiers  were  as  brave 
as  any  on  earth — but  the  enemy  numbered  in  the  war  2,700,000, 
while  we  had  600,000.  Their  losses  were  immediately  supplied — 
ours  could  not  be.  They  had  the  best  of  commissary  and  quarter- 
masters' supplies — ours  was  the  poorest.  When  these  odds  and  dis- 
advantages are  considered,  the  fight  we  made  for  four  years  must  be, 
and  is,  the  wonder  of  the  19th  century, 

I  returned  from  prison  the  last  of  July,  1865,  and  found  the  country 
desolated,  as  many  of  you  found  your  homes  destroyed  and  nothing 
left  you  but  the  blue  sky  above  and  the  naked  earth  beneath  you. 
And  yet  no  people  in  the  world's  history  ever  went  to  work  as  you 
did  to  rebuild  your  homes  and  to  take  care  of  the  dear  ones  who 
held  up  your  hands  during  the  war. 

The  present  condition  of  Loudoun,  Fauquier,  Prince  WilUam  and 
Fairfax  show  how  well  you  have  succeeded. 

The  war  ended  thirty  years  ago;  during  the  whole  of  that  period 
this  Government  has  had  no  citizens  more  peaceful  and  law-abiding 
than  we.  We  have  filled  the  role  of  good  citizens,  who  desired  to  see 
this  Government  "the  best  the  world  ever  saw."  But  while  this  is 
true,  and  while  we  expect  to  live  and  die  as  loyal  citizens  of  the 
Government  we  tried  to  overturn,  does  any  one  of  you  regret  the  part 
he  took  in  the  war?  Does  any  one  of  you  wish  to  blot  out  from 
his  history  the  part  he  bore  in  it  ?  Does  any  one  of  you  ever  say  I  am 
glad  we  failed?    God  forbid. 

It  would  take  from  you  the  glory  and  renown  you  achieved,  and 
which  belongs  not  only  to  you  but  to  your  children  when  you  are 
gone.  How  it  grieves  me  to  see  a  Confederate  soldier  go  back  on 
the  cause  he  loved  so  well.  I  hope  there  is  none  such  here,  and  there 
never  vsdll  be  any  of  the  8th  Regiment  who  will  so  reflect  on  his 
gallant  history  from  '61  to  '65.  If  any  have  thoughtlessly  or  from 
resentment  or  from  any  other  cause,  so  forgotten  himself,  let  him  at 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  251 

once  pause,  and  let  us  all  be,  as  long  as  our  lives  shall  be  spared,  as 
united  as  when  the  gallant  soldiers  of  the  8th  were  "touching  elbows," 
and  when  as  one  man  we  determined  to  "do  or  die"  in  behalf  of  our 
dear  lost  cause. 

God  bless  each  one  of  you.  May  the  balance  of  your  lives  be 
tranquil  and  happy,  and  when  the  end  comes  may  each  one  of  the 
dear  old  8th  be  gathered  in  peace  to  his  Father's  and  around  God's 
throne  unite  with  dear  companions  of  their  Regiment  who  sur- 
rendered their  life's  blood  on  the  battlefield  for  the  dear  cause  we 
loved  so  well. 

Farewell,  my  brave  men,  survivors  of  the  "Bloody  Eighth."  We 
shall  never  ALL  meet  again  in  this  world. 

Think  kindly  of  your  old  Commander.  Forgive  his  many  short- 
comings, and  always  believe  he  did  the  best  he  could  for  the  cause 
and  for  you.   Farewell. 


APPENDIX  II. 

This  hand-bill  was  spread  broadcast  throughout  the  Eighth  Con- 
gressional District. 

TO  THE  PUBLIC! 

On  the  night  of  the  loth  of  July,  1878,  in  a  discussion  with  Mr. 
S.  C.  Neale,  in  the  City  of  Alexandria,  I  stated  in  substance  that  the 
Hon.  William  M.  Springer  made  a  motion  (looking  to  the  defeat 
of  the  assessment  enforcing  bill)  at  the  instance  of  Columbus  Alex- 
ander and  others.  While  at  my  home  in  Warrenton,  I  was  surprised 
to  find  the  following  card  from  this  man  Alexander  in  the  Alexandria 
Gazette  of  the  13th  instant: 

Washington,  D.  C,  July  12,  1878. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Alexandria  Gazette: 

I  find  in  the  Baltimore  Sun,  the  Washington  Star,  and  several  other 
papers,  a  report  of  a  speech  made  by  Hon.  Eppa  Hunton  last  Tuesday 
night,  at  Alexandria,  in  which  he  asserts  that  the  infamous  assessment 
enforcing  bill,  passed  by  the  House  on  the  morning  of  the  i8th  of  June 
last,  upon  motion  of  Mr.  Hendee,  and  for  which  he  (Mr.  Hunton) 
voted,  "had  been  brought  to  him  endorsed  by  Commissioner  Bryan, 
Judge  Wylie  and  Columbus  Alexander." 

Now  in  all  due  respect  to  the  gentleman,  I  hereby  denounce  that 
statement,  not  merely  as  entirely  untrue,  but  in  view  of  the  recorded 
facts,  which  I  shall  state  hereafter,  as  even  ridiculous.  Nay,  I  go 
further,  and  openly  express  it  as  my  honest  opinion  that  the  honor- 
able gentleman  himself  must  have  known  at  the  time,  when  he  made 
that  statement,  that  it  was  not  true. 

That  bill,  now  universally  recognized  as  one  of  the  worst  and  most 
unjust  ring  measures,  passed  the  Senate  on  the  nth  of  June  in  the 
absence  of  that  true  friend  of  our  people.  Senator  Bayard,  and  upon 
the  motion  of  that  great  ring  advocate.  Senator  Sargent,  of  California, 
as  a  substitute  to  quite  a  different  bill,  of  which  latter  the  title  only 

253 


254  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

was  retained.  Five  days  later  Senator  Bayard  made  an  attempt  to 
recall  that  bill  from  the  House,  but  it  was  then  too  late  under  the 
rules  of  the  Senate. 

On  the  morning  of  the  i8th  June  the  substituted  bill  was  called 
up  in  the  House  by  the  ring  advocate,  Hendee,  from  Vermont,  and 
it  passed  the  House  whilst  not  half  a  quorum  was  present.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  I  and  a  few  other  citizens,  feeling  greatly 
chagrined  at  the  passage  of  this  outrageous  bill,  succeeded  in  inducing 
Mr.  Springer,  of  Illinois,  to  make  a  motion  to  prevent  the  bill  from 
becoming  a  law.  But  I  will  now  quote  verbatim  from  the  Congres- 
sional Record  of  June  19,  page  52 : 

"Mr.  Springer.  When  the  House  met  this  morning  there  were 
but  few  members  present,  and  a  motion  was  made  at  once  I  believe 
by  a  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  (My  Clymer),  that  the  House 
should  adjourn;  but  it  was  stated  that  there  were  some  matters  of  local 
importance  that  might  be  transacted,  and  that  this  could  be  done  if 
there  was  no  objection  thereto;  and  thereupon  the  House  proceeded 
to  consider  whatever  measures  might  be  brought  up  by  members, 
against  which  it  was  understood  no  objections  were  to  be  urged. 

"The  gentleman  from  Vermont  (Mr.  Hendee)  among  others  called 
up  a  bill  entitled  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  revision  and  correction  of 
assessments  for  special  improvements  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  for  other  purposes.  That  title  is  perfectly  fair  and  harmless 
upon  its  face,  and  attracted  no  attention  on  the  part  of  the  members 
of  the  House.  Objection  was  made  by  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee 
(Mr.  Atkins)  to  the  bill,  for  the  reason  that  he  did  not  understand  it. 
He  was  then  assured  that  the  bill  had  received  the  uanimous  approba- 
tion of  the  Committee  for  the  District  of  Columbia  of  this  House, 
and  he  then  withdrew  his  objection,  and  thereupon  the  bill  was 
passed.    There  was  not  a  quorum  present. 

"Shortly  afterward  I  met  some  prominent  citizens  of  the  City  of 
Washington  who  are  interested  in  these  matters — I  am  not,  for  I 
own  no  property  here  at  all — who  informed  me  that  the  bill  which 
had  passed  this  morning  was  one  that  the  people  of  this  District  had 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  255 

been  resisting  for  many  months;  that  it  was  one  of  great  outrage  and 
oppression  to  them;  that  they  did  not  beheve  that  this  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives would  impose  a  measure  of  that  kind  upon  the  people 
of  the  District  intentionally  and  knowingly,  I  stated  that  I  was 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  but  if  a  wrong  had 
been  done — 

"Mr.  Hunton.  Who  were  these  friends  of  yours  that  called  upon 
you? 

"Mr.  Springer.  I  will  state  them:  Columbus  Alexander  was  one 
of  them  (laughter) ;  Hon.  Mr.  Ingersoll,  formerly  a  member  of  this 
House,  was  another;  Mr.  Schade,  of  this  city,  was  another.  I  was 
also  shown  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Bryan,  one  of  the  present  Com- 
missioners of  the  District,  in  reference  to  these  assessments,  and  I 
now  ask  that  the  letter  be  read  by  the  clerk. 

"  'Mr,  Hendee.   Is  the  five  minutes  out  yet.'  " 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Hunton  must  have  known  that  he 
stated  a  falsehood  last  Tuesday  night  at  the  Alexandria  meeting  when 
he  maintained  that  I  had  endorsed  that  bill.  He  himself  had  been 
the  cause  that  Mr.  Springer  mentioned  my  name,  and  he  had  quietly 
afterwards  listened  to  the  diatribes  of  his  ring  friend,  Hendee,  against 
me,  and  probably  'enjoyed  the  fun'  of  hearing  an  old  Democratic 
fellow-citizen  abused  by  certainly  one  of  the  worst  Radicals  in  the 
House.  I  never  shall  forget  the  spectacle  I  witnessed  from  the  gal- 
leries, of  Mr.  Hunton  running  up  and  down  the  Democratic  aisles 
assuring  the  Democrats  that  that  ring  bill  was  all  right,  and  that, 
therefore,  Mr.  Springer's  motion  should  be  voted  down. 

As  to  ex-Commissioner  Bryan  and  Judge  Wylie  having  endorsed 
that  bill,  I  will  only  state  that  I  know  from  the  letter  of  Commissioner 
Bryan  to  the  Senate  Committee,  read  on  that  occasion  by  Mr,  Springer 
in  the  House,  and  from  a  decision  of  Judge  Wylie,  promulgated  from 
the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  District,  that  both  entertain 
the  same  opinion  in  relation  to  the  special  assessments,  which  this 
bill  enforces,  as  I. 

I  remain,  sir,  most  respectfully  yours, 

Columbus  Alexander. 


256  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Although  there  was  evidence  in  the  card  of  an  exceedingly  malicious 
spirit  and  a  craving  eagerness  for  notoriety,  I  did  not  doubt  that  its 
author,  on  being  informed  of  his  mistake,  would  instantly  correct  it, 
and  make  a  prompt  withdrawal  of  his  offensive  language.  I  accord- 
ingly addressed  him  the  following  letter: 

Warrenton,  July  14,  1878. 
Columbus  Alexander,  Esq.: 

Sir:  The  Alexandria  Gazette  of  yesterday  contains  a  card  over  your 
signature,  in  which  the  following  statement  appears:  "I  find  in  the 
Baltimore  Sun,  the  Washington  Star,  and  several  other  papers  a  report 
of  a  speech  made  by  the  Hon.  Eppa  Hunton,  last  Tuesday  night,  in 
Alexandria,  in  which  he  asserts  that  the  infamous  assessment-enforc- 
ing bill,  passed  by  the  House  on  the  morning  of  the  i8th  of  June  last, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Hendee,  and  for  which  he  (Mr.  Hunton)  voted, 
had  been  brought  to  him,  endorsed  by  Commissioner  Bryan,  Judge 
Wyhe,  and  Columbus  Alexander";  and  then  the  said  card  proceeds: 
"Now,  in  all  due  respect  to  the  gentleman,  I  hereby  denounce  that 
statement  not  merely  as  entirely  untrue,  but  in  view  of  the  recorded 
facts,  which  I  shall  state  hereafter,  as  even  ridiculous — nay,  I  go 
further,  and  openly  express  it  as  my  honest  opinion  that  the  honor- 
able gentleman  himself  must  have  known  when  he  made  that  state- 
ment that  it  was  false." 

I  have  seen  no  report  of  my  speech  in  Alexandria  containing  the 
language  quoted  above  from  your  card.  I  have  just  examined  care- 
fully the  report  of  my  remarks  in  the  Alexandria  Gazette,  and  can 
find  nothing  like  it.  What  I  did  say  was  in  exact  accordance  with 
the  debate,  as  quoted  in  your  card  from  the  Congressional  Record,  in 
substance,  that  the  Hon.  William  M.  Springer  made  his  motion  (look- 
ing to  a  defeat  of  the  bill)  at  the  instance  of  Columbus  Alexander 
and  others. 

When  you  saw  the  report  of  my  speech  to  which  you  allude,  com- 
mon justice  required  at  your  hands  an  inquiry  of  me  whether  I  used 
the  language  imputed  to  me.    I  have  made  a  plain  statement  of  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  257 

fact,  and  now  demand  at  your  hands  a  withdrawal  of  the  offensive 
language  of  your  card  in  the  columns  of  the  Alexandria  Gazette, 
which  published  it. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Eppa  Hunton. 

Instead  of  availing  himself  of  the  opportunity  offered  by  this  letter, 
Alexander  published  the  following  communication  to  the  Alexandria 
Gazette,  beginning  with  my  letter  to  him,  as  above: 

Gen.  Hunton  and  the  Washingtonians. 

Washington,  D.  C,  July  16,  1878. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Alexandria  Gazette: 

Sir:   The  following  letter  was  handed  to  me  yesterday: 

Because  the  Alexandria  Gazette  omits  to  report  that  part  of  the 
gentleman's  speech,  the  latter  thinks  it  a  splendid  opportunity  of 
getting  himself  out  of  the  dilemma  in  which,  unhappily  for  him 
he  is  placed.  But  that  will  not  do!  Before  I  wrote  my  letter  to  the 
Gazette  I  went  down  to  Alexandria  for  the  very  purpose  of  inquiring 
personally  into  the  matter,  and  there  I  was  assured  by  many  personal 
friends  who  had  been  present  at  that  meeting  that  the  remarks  of 
Mr.  Hunton,  as  reported  in  the  Baltimore  Sun  and  Washington  Star 
were  correct. 

Mr.  Hunton  will  not  deny  that  he  used  the  names  of  Judge  Wylie, 
Commissioner  Bryan,  and  myself,  and  that  he  did  not  say  "Columbus 
Alexander  and  others."  Among  those  "others"  he  certainly  could  not, 
as  he  attempts  in  his  new  version,  have  included  Messrs.  Bryan  and 
Wylie,  because  none  of  the  gentlemen  had  anything  to  do  with  Mr. 
Springer's  motion,  or  even  knew  of  it  at  the  time  it  was  made. 

Mr.  Hunton  must  have  a  small  opinion  of  his  Alexandria  con- 
stituents, or  else  he  would  not  have  thought  it  possible  that  five  days 
could  have  been  sufficient  to  wipe  from  their  memory  his  eloquent 
words  spoken  to  them  as  late  as  last  Wednesday. 


258  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Let  him  first  correct  the  reports  in  the  Star  and  Sun,  certainly  two 
reliable  newspapers,  and  the  first  one  especially  friendly  to  him,  and 
then,  having  myself  been  convinced  that  he  was  incorrectly  reported, 
he  will  have  no  cause  of  trying  to  "bulldoze"  me,  as  evidently  seems 
to  be  his  intention  in  the  above  letter. 

General  Hunton  sent  his  letter  to  me  through  a  Captain  F.  C. 
Sheppard,  of  Warrenton,  Va.,  one  of  his  many  appointees  in  the 
Territorial  building,  on  Four-and-a-half  street,  the  seat  of  our  Radical 
District  government.  That  gentleman  evidently,  too,  was  under  the 
impression  that  a  little  swagger  would  bring  me  down.  But  General 
Hunton  at  least  should  have  known  that  a  man  who  for  years  has 
almost  single-handed  fought  the  Washington  ring,  who  has  been 
made  the  object  of  their  special  hatred,  so  that  they  even  planned 
against  him  that  safe-burglary  rascality,  and  who,  a  Virginian  him- 
self, never  gives  up  as  long  as  he  knows  he  is  in  the  right,  cannot  be 
"bulldozed"  by  General  Hunton  or  any  of  his  District  appointees. 
If  General  Hunton  is  wrongly  reported,  I  shall  do  him  justice.  At 
present  I  have  no  proof,  however,  that  such  has  been  the  case. 

In  conclusion,  I  think  it  proper  to  state  to  my  Virginia  friends  that 
I  am  positive  that  General  Hunton  has  always  been  friends  to  the 
Radical  ring  of  this  District,  and  helped  them  to  get  through  bills 
of  the  character  of  that  infamous  assessment-enforcing  act,  which 
passed  the  House  March  18  last.  He  has  on  that  account  been  re- 
warded with  considerable  District  patronage,  of  which  the  above 
Mr.  Sheppard  is  a  living  specimen.  For  that  reason  the  Democrats 
of  the  Eighth  Virginia  Congressional  District  will  really  have  per- 
formed a  charitable  act  toward  the  poor  people  of  this  District  if  they 
should  keep  the  General  from  the  field  at  the  next  election.  If  they 
have  any  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  my  assertions,  that  doubt 
will  be  removed  by  the  fact  that  every  ring  paper  in  the  District, 
Radical  and  Democratic,  from  the  National  Republican  down,  works 
for  the  re-election  of  General  Hunton. 

I  am,  sir,  most  respectfully  yours, 

Columbus  Alexant>er. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 


259 


It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  card  that  Alexander  not  only  refused 
to  withdraw  the  offensive  language  of  his  first  card,  but  reiterated  it 
and  gave  to  the  public  the  name  and  residence  of  the  gentleman  who 
bore  my  letter  to  him.  This  made  it  improper  for  me  in  pursuing 
this  matter  to  expose  any  friend  to  the  severe  penalties  of  the  law  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  which  inflicts  the  punishments  of  confine- 
ment in  the  penitentiary  on  the  bearer  of  a  challenge. 

No  alternative  was  now  left  me  but  to  reach  Mr.  Alexander  in 
some  mode  which  would  imperil  no  one  but  myself.  I  therefore 
addressed  him  the  following  letter: 

Alexandria,  July  16,  1878. 

Columbus  Alexander,  Esq.: 

Sir :  I  addressed  you  a  letter,  giving  you  an  opportunity,  of  which 
you  should  have  availed  yourself,  to  correct  an  error  into  which  you 
had  fallen.  Instead  of  doing  this  you  have  replied  offensively  through 
the  press,  and  been  guilty  of  such  allusions  to  my  friend,  Capt. 
Sheppard,  as  justify  the  apprehension  that  you  would  avail  yourself 
of  the  police  of  the  District  to  subject  any  friend  of  mine  to  arrest 
under  certain  circumstances. 

I  am  thus  constrained  to  resort  to  the  mail  as  the  only  safe  method 
of  communicating  with  you.  Relying  on  your  declaration  in  your 
second  card,  that  you  are  a  Virginian,  I  ask  that  you  will  indicate 
some  place  beyond  the  reach  of  the  District  police,  where  a  demand 
for  the  reparation  which  Virginians  accord  in  such  cases  can  be 
made  upon  you. 

To  be  sure  you  receive  this,  I  send  it  as  a  registered  letter.  An 
answer  addressed  to  me  at  this  place  will  reach  me. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Eppa  Hunton. 

This  letter  was  placed  in  the  Alexandria  Post  Office  and  registered 
at  10  o'clock  A.  M.  The  earliest  mail  leaving  Alexandria  for  Wash- 
ington was  at  12  o'clock  M. 


26o  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

The  following  telegram  was  also  sent  to  him: 

Alexandria,  July  17,  1878. 

Columbus  Alexander,  Washington,  D.  C: 

Call  at  Post  Office  for  registered  letter  from  me. 

(Signed)    Eppa  Hunton. 

The  operator  in  Washington  telegraphed  that  the  above  message 
was  delivered  at  10:45  A.  M.  on  the  17th  of  July. 

I  received  no  reply  to  this  letter,  but  in  the  Alexandria  Gazette 
this  evening,  Mr.  Alexander  published  the  following  card: 

Washington,  D.  C.,  July  18,  1878. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Alexandria  Gazette: 

Sir:  I  regret  to  be  compelled  to  trouble  you  so  often.  Yesterday 
morning  I  received  a  telegram  from  Gen.  Eppa  Hunton,  in  which 
he  informed  me  that  he  had  mailed  to  my  address  a  registered  letter. 
That  registered  letter  I  could  not  obtain  until  this  morning,  July  i8th. 
Here  is  an  exact  copy  of  it: 

My  answer  to  Gen.  Hunton  is  this: 

You  publicly,  in  a  speech,  published  in  the  Baltimore  Sun  and 
Washington  Star  grossly  insulted  me  by  saying  that  the  most  in- 
famous ring  measure  ever  passed  through  Congress,  and  for  which 
you  voted,  "had  been  brought  to  you  endorsed  by  Commissioner 
Bryan,  Judge  Wylie,  and  Columbus  Alexander."  I  felt  compelled 
to  show  from  the  Record  that  your  statement  was  false. 

Instead,  however,  of  writing  to  these  papers  and  correcting  the 
wrong  done  me,  you  send  me,  through  one  of  your  appointees  under 
the  Radical  District  government,  a  letter  in  which  you  attempt  to 
"bulldoze"  me.    Well,  that  you  cannot  do. 

I  am  a  free  citizen,  and  I  shall  always  avail  myself  of  the  great 
privilege  of  such  a  citizen,  to-wit :  to  defend  myself  and  fellow-citizens 
and  our  property  against  such  infamous  and  confiscating  Ring  acts  as 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  261 

the  one  in  question,  and  for  which  you  not  merely  voted,  but  for  the 
passage  of  which  you  exerted  yourself  personally,  something  which 
you  dare  not  deny.  That  it  is  a  Ring  act  of  the  most  atrocious  char- 
acter is  shown  by  the  recent  opinion  of  District  Attorney  Riddle,  who 
cannot  help  excusing  himself  for  the  hard  features  of  that  law  by 
exclaiming  that  he  did  not  make  the  law!  You  have  been  our  enemy, 
and  for  that  reason,  and  no  other,  we  ask  the  Virginia  Democracy  not 
to  return  you  to  Congress. 

There  is  nothing  in  my  letter  that  should  induce  you  and  your 
friend,  Captain  Sheppard,  to  believe  that  I  ever  intended  to  use  the 
police  against  the  latter,  though  I  must  confess  that  his  visits  were 
frequent  and  annoying,  one  of  them  being  made  on  Sunday  night, 
about  ID  o'clock,  after  I  had  retired  to  bed.  It  is  not  customary  in 
polite  society  for  strangers  to  make  calls  in  such  manner  and  at 
such  times. 

You  seem  to  have  an  ungrounded  fear  of  our  District  police,  though 
you  ought  to  know  that  it  is  under  the  control  of  your  Radical  Ring 
friends,  who  will  certainly  see  that  no  harm  shall  be  done  you.  In 
that  you  have  even  the  advantage  over  me,  as  that  very  police  stood 
guard  over  and  directed  the  hired  burglar  to  my  house  on  the  night 
when  the  Ring  scoundrels  were  trying  by  their  infamous  conspiracy 
to  ruin  me  and  my  family.    No,  you  need  not  fear  that  police! 

Most  respectfully, 

Columbus  Alexander. 

I  have  thus  given  this  individual  the  opportunity  to  show  that  he 
is  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  courage,  but  he  has  not  done  me  the 
justice  of  the  one  or  been  willing  to  accord  me  the  redress  of  the  other. 
He  refuses  to  come  from  the  protection  of  the  police  he  affects  to 
despise,  and  I  cannot  reach  him  without  exposing  friends  to  the 
penitentiary.  I  therefore  proclaim  him  a  malicious  liar,  a  vulgar 
blackguard,  and  an  irresponsible  coward. 

The  public  is  assured  I  shall  take  no  further  notice  of  Columbus 

Alexander  or  any  publication  from  him.  -r,        ,t 

•'  ^  Eppa  Hunton. 

Alexandria,  July  18,  1878." 


APPENDIX  III. 

Address  of  Judge  James  Keith,  President  of  the  Supreme  Court 
OF  Appeals  of  Virginia,  presenting  portrait  of  General  Eppa  Hun- 
ton  to  Lee  Camp  of  Confederate  Veterans,  Richmond,  Virginia, 
April  25,  1902. 

Comrades  and  Friends: 

I  congratulate  myself  upon  being  permitted  to  participate  in  this 
most  interesting  occasion. 
It  is  a  privilege  to  be  once  more  with  men 

"That  ever  with  a  froUc  welcome  took 
The  thunder  and  the  sunshine," 

who  faced  every  danger  with  courage,  bore  every  privation  with 
fortitude,  who  won  victories  upon  many  a  field  which  will  be  famous 
in  story  while  men  cherish  honor  and  women  love  courage;  but 
reserving  to  the  last  act  in  the  great  tragedy  the  highest,  the  noblest 
proof  of  the  true  temper  of  their  souls,  went  down  in  defeat,  returned 
to  their  homes,  became  good  citizens  as  they  had  been  good  soldiers, 
cheerful  and  steadfast  amidst  ruin  and  desolation  because  our  great 
leader  had  said  that  we  carried  with  us  "the  consciousness  of  duty 
faithfully  performed,"  and  what  he  said  was  to  us  as  though  it  had 
been  declared  by  the  oracles  of  God.  I  speak  it  reverently,  oh,  my 
comrades!  for  his  lips  could  not  utter  aught  save  the  truth. 

You  felt  that  having  done  great  deeds  it  was  your  duty  to  preserve 
the  memory  of  them,  and  to  hand  down  to  coming  generations 
memorials  of  your  labors  and  the  effigies  of  these  who  bore  a  distin- 
guished part  in  them.  This  and  the  care  of  those  who  need  assistance 
are,  I  believe,  the  pious  objects  of  this  Association. 

I  bring  to  you  tonight  the  portrait  of  one  who  is  worthy  to  be 
placed  by  the  side  of  the  noblest  and  the  best  of  those  whose  pictures 
adorn  your  walls.    I  have  for  forty  years  been  proud  to  call  him  my 

263 


264  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

friend — not  because  he  has  in  that  time  played  many  parts,  and 
played  them  well,  upon  almost  every  stage  of  human  action — but 
because  he  has  ever  been  brave,  truthful  and  just  in  all  his  dealings 
with  and  relations  to  his  fellowmen,  and  has  always  borne 

"without  abuse, 
The  grand  old  name  of  gentleman." 

General  Eppa  Hunton  was  born  and  educated  in  the  County  of 
Fauquier,  but  upon  being  licensed  to  practice  law  he  went  to  Prince 
William  County  where  he  prosecuted  his  profession  successfully  and 
had  in  1861  passed  into  the  front  rank  of  the  bar  of  that  section,  when 
events  took  place  which  closed  the  courts  and  silenced  the  law  for 
many  a  weary  day. 

There  had  been  signs  and  portents  of  a  coming  storm.  The 
presidential  election  of  i860  had  shown  how  profoundly  men  were 
moved  by  the  issues  discussed  in  that  campaign.  The  hand  of  a 
master  has  recently  given  a  vivid  picture  of  the  mighty  conflict  of 
opinion  that  preceded  the  appeal  to  arms:  "About  every  fireside 
in  the  land,  in  the  conversation  of  friends  and  neighbors,  and  deeper 
still,  in  the  secret  of  millions  of  human  hearts,  the  battle  of  opinion 
was  waging;  and  all  men  felt  and  saw — with  more  or  less  clearness — 
that  an  answer  to  the  importunate  question.  Shall  the  nation  live? 
was  due,  and  not  to  be  denied." 

General  Hunton  was  named  as  an  elector  on  the  Breckenridge 
ticket  and  maintained  his  cause  with  abiUty  against  the  advocates 
of  Bell  and  Douglas.  Lincoln  was  elected.  State  after  State  seceded. 
Virginia  called  a  convention  to  consider  what  course  she  should  pur- 
sue, and  in  that  crisis  the  people  of  Prince  WiUiam  County  wisely 
turned  to  General  Hunton.  I  shall  not  stop  to  state  his  position.  In 
that  fierce  tide  no  man  could  hold  a  position  for  two  consecutive  days. 
Men  were  swept  along  by  a  force  as  little  to  be  resisted  as  is  the  earth- 
quake when  it  hurls  the  ocean  upon  the  land,  or  heaves  mountains 
upon  some  smiling  plain. 

The  convention  met,  and  after  the  manner  of  their  kind  they 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  265 

debated,  they  talked  more  or  less  wisely  and  well.  They  appointed 
committees  and  the  committees  reported.  They  sent  embassies,  and 
their  diplomacy  came  to  naught;  and  suddenly  the  tempest  burst 
upon  us  in  all  its  wrath  and  fury. 

Then  it  was  that  Virginia  did  a  thing  as  noble  as  history  records. 
Indeed,  in  its  sublime  unselfishness,  in  its  utter  and  absolute  self- 
eflFacement,  it  is  without  a  parallel.  It  will  stand  for  all  time  as  the 
best  and  purest  sacrifice  ofTered  by  the  spirit  of  chivalry  at  the  behest 
of  honor — the  spirit  which  gives  all  and  asks  for  nothing  in  return. 
The  people  of  Virginia  loved  the  Union  which  they  had  done  so 
much  to  create.  It  was  flesh  of  their  flesh,  and  bone  of  their  bone. 
Her  great  men  guided  the  councils  and  led  the  armies  which  won 
our  independence;  the  blood  of  her  children  had  flowed  upon  every 
battlefield  of  the  Revolution;  her  sons  had  framed  the  institutions 
under  which  they  then  lived  and  had  influenced  their  growth  and 
development.  The  history  of  Virginia  was  indissolubly  interwoven 
and  blended  with  that  of  the  United  States.  She  knew  that  upon 
her  bared  bosom  contending  armies  would  meet  in  shock  of  battle; 
but  neither  the  tender  and  glorious  memories  of  the  past,  nor  the 
dread  ordeal  which  loomed  in  her  path,  gave  her  one  moment's  pause. 
She  drew  the  sword  and  flung  away  the  scabbard,  and  from  her  soil 
sprung  a  throng  of  armed  men,  as  though  it  had  been  strewn  with 
the  teeth  of  the  fabled  dragon. 

General  Hunton  was  commissioned  as  Colonel  of  the  8th  Virginia 
Infantry.  Need  I  tell  you  what  the  8th  Virginia  Infantry  did  ?  When 
I  look  around  these  walls  and  see  the  faces  of  so  many  gallant  gentle- 
men, many  of  whom  have  passed  from  us;  when  I  recall  that  with 
each  of  these  pictures  was  given  the  story  of  their  lives  in  a  manner 
more  worthy  of  the  theme  than  I  can  hope  to  do;  and,  above  all, 
when  I  look  into  your  faces,  the  survivors  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  and  the  inheritors  of  so  much  glory,  I  feel — I  know — that 
it  is  in  truth  an  idle  thing  to  tell  you  about  the  8th  Virginia  Infantry. 
Was  it  not  a  part  of  Pickett's  Division — the  first  division  in  Long- 
street's  Corps — the  first  corps  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia? 


266  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

Did  not  Hunton  lead  it  at  Manassas  and  at  Ball's  Bluff,  and  win  for 
it  and  for  himself  imperishable  glory  on  these  famous  fields,  not  only 
as  a  brave  soldier,  but  as  a  ready,  capable  and  resourceful  officer? 
Was  he  not  with  them  at  Cold  Harbor,  and  upon  a  hundred  other 
fields  of  less  renown,  but  which  were  attended  by  feats  of  arms  and 
gallant  deeds  more  than  enough  to  adorn  the  annals  of  more  modern 
wars?  Was  he  not  at  the  charge  at  Gettysburg?  Was  human 
courage  and  fortitude  ever  put  to  a  sterner  test?  Did  human  virtue 
ever  more  nobly  respond  to  the  call  of  duty?  In  the  midst  of  that 
charge,  unsurpassed  in  the  annals  of  war,  General  Hunton  and  his 
heroic  band  pressed  right  on  to  the  enemy's  line  until  overwhelmed 
by  the  force  massed  in  front  of  them,  the  greater  part  of  his  people 
having  been  either  killed  or  wounded,  the  survivors  were  compelled 
to  retire.  For  gallant  conduct  on  that  fatal  day  Colonel  Hunton, 
who  had  been  sorely  wounded,  was  made  a  Brigadier  General.  Think 
of  it!  It  was  not  a  small  honor  to  be  able  to  do  one's  duty  as  a 
private  soldier  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  but  to  be  promoted 
for  gallantry  in  Pickett's  charge  at  Gettysburg,  that  was  an  honor 
indeed! 

General  Hunton,  though  greatly  afflicted  by  a  painful  malady 
which  would  have  justified  his  absence  from  the  field,  remained  with 
his  brigade  throughout  the  war,  participated  in  the  campaign  of  1864, 
rendered  distinguished  service  in  front  of  Richmond,  on  the  retreat 
fought  with  his  accustomed  courage  and  tenacity,  and  was  finally 
made  a  prisoner  a  day  or  two  before  Appomattox. 

After  the  war  he  made  his  home  in  Warrenton  and  practiced  law 
in  Fauquier  and  the  neighboring  counties.  He  was  the  peer  of  such 
men  as  Brooke,  Forbes  and  Payne,  Harrison,  Thomas  and  Tucker. 

Any  man  of  industry  and  good  sense  can  make  a  good  argument 
before  a  court.  A  trial  before  a  jury  calls  into  action  all  of  a  lawyer's 
resources.  It  perhaps  ought  not  to  be  so,  but  the  character  of  the 
lawyer  has  great  weight  before  a  jury.  General  Hunton  had  com- 
manded a  regiment  drawn  in  large  part  from  the  circuit  in  which  he 
practiced.    They  were  men  of  character  and  intelligence,  and  there 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON  267 

was  rarely  a  jury  upon  which  some  of  them  did  not  appear.  He  had 
shared  with  them  the  privation  of  the  camp,  the  fatigue  of  the  march 
and  the  danger  of  battle.  Small  wonder  was  it  then  that  they  looked 
to  him  for  the  facts,  rather  than  to  the  witnesses,  and  for  the  law 
rather  than  to  the  court.  War  is  the  great  touchstone  of  character. 
Soldiers  know  each  other  as  men  can  never  do  in  other  walks  of  life. 
What  higher  tribute  could  be  paid  General  Hunton  than  the  un- 
swerving devotion  to  him  in  peace  of  those  who  served  with  him 
in  war. 

In  1872  he  was  elected  to  Congress  where  he  served  his  constituents 
ably  and  faithfully  for  eight  years.  During  this  time  he  encountered 
in  debate  the  "plumed  knight"  from  Maine  and  suffered  no  dis- 
advantage; and  such  was  the  position  achieved  by  him  among  his 
colleagues  that  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Electoral  Commission 
in  1876.  After  he  retired  from  Congress  he  practiced  law  for  some 
years  and  upon  the  death  of  our  honored  and  lamented  friend  and 
leader,  John  S.  Barbour,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Senate  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  afterwards  elected  by  the  General  Assembly  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term.  He  served  his  State  ably  and  acceptably,  and  retired 
from  public  Hfe  at  the  end  of  his  term  enjoying  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  all  men. 

He  has,  indeed,  played  many  parts  in  the  drama  of  life.  His  career 
embraces  a  great  era  in  the  world's  history.  We  are  "a  part  of  all 
that  we  have  met."  General  Hunton  was,  as  I  have  already  said,  a 
man  of  strong  sense,  brave,  truthful,  honest,  sincere,  and  faithful  by 
nature.  Think  of  his  varied  experience  acting  upon  and  influencing 
such  natural  quaUties.  Every  high  thought,  every  noble  impulse, 
every  generous  emotion,  every  kindly  action,  leaves  its  impress  upon 
us.  We  are  "a  part  of  all  that  we  have  met,"  and  so  by  degrees  I  have 
seen  my  dear  old  friend,  softened  and  refined  by  time,  grow  gentle 
and  tender  as  a  woman  until  ripe  and  mellow,  he  has  about  him  "all 
that  should  accompany  old  age,  as  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops 
of  friends." 

He  is  with  us  yet,  and  I  trust  will  be  with  us  for  a  long  time. 


268  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  EPPA  HUNTON 

I  love  to  see  his  good  gray  head,  and  his  face  shines  upon  me  Uke  a 
benediction :  and  when  in  the  fulness  of  time  he  is  taken  from  us  he 
will  leave  us  an  example  worthy  of  all  emulation. 

I  have  already  trespassed  too  long  upon  your  time,  but  I  beg  you 
to  pardon  me  one  word  more.  A  lifetime  has  passed  since  the  great 
events  in  which  we  shared.  I  sympathize  as  deeply  with  our  soldiers, 
I  love  them  as  dearly,  I  am  as  proud  of  their  glory  and  as  jealous  of 
their  renown  today  as  when  we  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  arms 
in  our  hands;  but  I  realize  now,  my  comrades,  as  I  did  not  in  those 
days,  that  the  federal  soldier  was  a  patriot  who  fought  in  a  great 
cause.  What  might  have  been,  had  the  result  been  other  than  it  was, 
it  is  bootless  to  inquire;  but  this  I  do  know,  my  friends  and  others, 
that  the  government  under  which  we  live  is  the  best  that  the  sun  shines 
on,  and  that  under  it  the  rights  of  all  are  protected.  It  is  not  only  the 
best,  but  the  greatest  of  all  the  governments  of  the  earth,  and  is  yet, 
I  devoutly  believe,  only  at  the  threshold  of  its  destiny.  It  too  is  "a 
part  of  all  that  it  has  met."  The  mightiest  event  in  its  history  is  the 
war  in  which  we  bore  a  part.  The  influence  of  that  titanic  struggle 
is  ineradicable.  The  deeds  of  the  Confederate  soldier  are  mingled 
in  the  very  web  and  woof  of  our  national  being,  and  in  all  our  history 
there  is  no  brighter,  no  nobler  page,  than  that  which  records  his  undy- 
ing fame.  Men  may  hke  it  or  not,  but  it  is  there.  In  the  heat  and 
fury  of  that  conflict  we  were  fused  into  a  nation,  a  nation  composed 
of  all  its  former  parts,  yet  the  whole  differing  essentially  from  any 
part.  We  went  into  the  war  citizens  of  the  States;  we  made  peace 
as  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Free  citizens  of  a  free  country,  let  us 
cherish  its  institutions  and  instill  into  our  children  the  same  love  of 
country,  the  same  fervid  patriotism,  that  inspired  us  in  our  youth! 
So  we  shall  obey  the  parting  order,  follow  the  example,  and  honor 
the  memory,  of  our  immortal  Lee. 

Where  shall  we  find  one  whose  life  has  more  faithfully  interpreted, 
more  nobly  illustrated,  this  teaching  than  that  of  our  friend  and 
comrade  whose  portrait  I  now  confide  to  your  keeping. 


"tr: 


'Trrnea.f?c4.,Va.  Wed."Dtfc.l«,l8M. 

!(,iNti:\r    i-UKt  11    Ai'  <JI-1TY  •'lU  lu;. 

I  ,.s    will    rofall    thiit' 

1  piil>lisheil    a    st;if»' 

..lit    III  im<>t  ^;ioiiHi,! 

'W  .leoii^c    i:.     I'lik«-n 

^•H,'  whi-ii    his    .Uvlslon 

..,  ...1.     •  -.  ..i    ..     .  harge   on    tin-    llut'l 

•    ,,      ,:  .,  -'•wrr..    and    th:it   ho    was    n.-i 

■  tli-l|'atit    In    wh;it    tlu-    <  >'ii. 

:     !ia;s    lH>en    stat<Ml    that     ihr 

.     hiH    :  tapr    hail    nu>t     lur.-    in 

,1    within   ttu'   lust   »Jay   or  two   to 

rh"  slaleii  eiU.  an<l  v.  i'  have  bet'ii 

■.ish<<l    l.y    them       with   a       stalrni.nl 

'..1    r>>     them,    \\h\ch    wf    V)i  int    b*-low. 

:^jL       i^        «i.-.w.,l    l.v        Atrtior