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May 18th, 1864.
W. B. certainly captured.
I thank God for it, as the least of casualties.
Generals Lee and
Grant still fighting.
On the south side,
Beauregard has driven
Butler to Bermuda Hundreds, where he is under shelter of his gunboats.
Oh! when will this fearful state of things end?
May 23d, 1864.
Our young relative,
Lieutenant G., a member of
General Stuart's staff, who was always near his person, has just been giving us a most gratifying account of
General Stuart's habits.
He says, that although he considered him one of the most sprightly men he has ever seen, devoted to society, particularly to that of the ladies, always social and cheerful, yet he has never seen him do any thing, even under the strongest excitement, unbecoming his Christian profession or his high position as a soldier; he never saw him drink, or heard an oath escape his lips; his sentiments were always high-minded, pure, and honourable, and his actions entirely coincided with them.
In short, he considered him, whether on the field or in the private circle, the model of a Christian gentleman and soldier.
When speaking of his gallantry as an officer,
Lieutenant G's admiration knows no bounds.
He speaks of the devotion of the soldiers to him as enthusiastic in the extreme.
The evening before his fatal wound, he sent his troops on in pursuit of
Sheridan, under the command of
General Fitz Lee, as he was unavoidably detained for some three or four hours.
General Lee overtook the enemy, and a sharp skirmish ensued, in which
Sheridan's rear suffered very much.
In the mean time,
General Stuart determined to overtake
General Lee, and, with his staff, rode very rapidly sixteen miles, and reached him about nightfall.
They were halting for a few moments, as
General Stuart rode up quietly, no one suspecting he was
