Bureau of Ordnance, Richmond JanuGeneral Lee: I have the honor to present to you with this letter Mr. He drew out his reading glasses once more, set them on the bridge of his nose. "Sir, before you actually see the gun in action, as I just have, here is a communication from Colonel Gorgas in Richmond concerning "In matters concerning ordnance of any sort, no view could be more pertinent than that of Colonel Gorgas," Lee agreed. Now he drew out a sheet of paper, which he handed to Lee. He was, Lee reminded himself, only twenty-five or so, the youngest of all the staff officers. Will this by any chance have something to do with the, ah, unusual gun I heard fired just now?" "Yes, sir." Walter Taylor seemed to be holding on to military discipline with both hands. "I beg your pardon, sir." "Quite all right, Major Taylor. At the tent fly, Lee almost collided with one of his aides-decamp, who was hurrying in as he tried to leave. Then he put on a hat and got up to see what was going on. He took off his glasses and set down the pen. Then gunfire rang out again, an unbelievably rapid stutter of shots, altogether too quick to count and altogether unlike anything he had ever heard. He turned his mind back to the letter to President Davis. No Northern rifle he knew was a thirty-shooter. He had automatically kept count of the number of rounds fired. He frowned once more, this time in puzzlement, when silence fell. He frowned at the waste of precious cartridges-no Southern armory could easily duplicate them. A Federal weapon indeed, Lee thought: one of those fancy repeaters their cavalry like so well. Each report came closer to the one before than two heartbeats were to each other.
#Dig dug arrangement cabinet cracked
The gun cracked again and again and again. It had been an abrupt bark, not a pistol shot or the deeper boom of an Enfield rifle musket. But no sooner had the smile appeared than it vanished. One of his staff officers, most likely, shooting at a possum or a squirrel. Lee resumed: Genl Early is still in theA gun cracked, quite close to the tent. To hash it over once more would only seem like carping. President Davis, however, was as aware of all that as Lee could make him. He would have to cut the daily allowance again, if more did not arrive soon. they trickled up the Virginia Central and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad every so often, but not nearly often enough. The ration was down to three-quarters of a pound of meat a day, along with a little salt, sugar, coffee- or rather, chicory and burnt grain-and lard. His men were making their own shoes now, when they could get the leather, which was not often. Keeping the Army of Northern Virginia fed and clothed was a never-ending struggle. But I consider my presence here always necessary, especially now when there is such a struggle to keep the army fed & clothed. In view of the opinion expressed in your letter, I would go to North Carolina myself. Even without the boats, the plan he had devised was not actually a bad one, and President Davis reckoned the matter urgent. He had but small hope the attack would succeed, but the President had ordered it, and his duty was to carry out his orders as best he could. With a small sigh, he bent over the folding table once more to detail for President Davis the arrangements he had made to send General Hoke's brigade down into North Carolina for the attack on New Berne. New England weather, he thought, and wondered why God had chosen to visit it upon his Virginia. The winter had been harsh, and showed no signs of growing any milder. Despite flannel shirt, uniform coat, and heavy winter boots, he shivered a little. Lee paused to dip his pen once more in the inkwell. Without them, though the place may be captured, the fruits of the expedition will be lessened and our maintenance of the command of the waters in North Carolina uncertain. With their aid I think success would be certain. I regret very much that the boats on the Neuse & Roanoke are not completed. President: I have delayed replying to your letter of the 4th until the time arrived for the execution of the attempt on New Berne. Harry Turtledove - The Guns of the South Headquarters JanuMr.
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