[August 29]
One of the beautiful features of a soldier’s life in active service is the love engendered for the flag, the symbol of what we fight for. In time it becomes to the regiment a fetish, and it would be ashamed of any of its men who would hesitate to go to its rescue, if it was certain death to do so, and I have yet to see a man of that sort. I have frequently seen tears come into the men’s eyes when the flag was waved aloft, and it is pleasant to think that there are at least in the army any number of men whom the Roman axiom, “dulcet et decorum est pro patria mourior,” is still applicable.
During the afternoon of this day, orders were received to hold the division in light marching order, with three days’ rations; we hear the enemy have sent a couple of gunboats up the Rappahannock, and that Kilpatrick, with his cavalry division, is moving down upon them. We were to march in support in case of emergency. It seems a novel proposition to attack ships with cavalry, but the Dutch fleet in January, 1794, was actually captured by Hussars of the French Republic, and so perhaps in these modern times we may be permitted to capture gunboats.
