October 7 — We renewed our march this morning, still moving down the Valley. We passed through Turleytown, a little hamlet buried in the foothills of North Mountain just above Brock’s Gap. We struck the North Fork of the Shenandoah two miles below Brock’s Gap, then moved down the river to Timberville, a little village six miles west of New Market. At Timberville we left the river, turned to the left, and moved down through a section known in this part of the Shenandoah Valley as the Forest country. We passed through Forestville, struck across fields, and through woods to Mount Clifton. We are camped to-night near Mount Clifton, in Shenandoah County, about six miles northwest of Mount Jackson. We are close to the Yanks now, for our cavalry had a running fight with them this afternoon on the Howard’s Lick pike between Mount Jackson and Mount Clifton. This evening I saw some dead and wounded soldiers dressed in blue. Captain Koontz, a gallant officer of the Seventh Virginia Cavalry, was killed this afternoon. The Yankees are burning all the mills and barns in this part of the Shenandoah Valley; I saw a hundred barns burning to-day. Just at dusk this evening I saw a Federal soldier lying on the field; from all appearances he was mortally wounded. He was piteously lamenting his condition and said, “Oh, I want to see mother; I wish I would have stayed at home.” I wished so too, but I did not let him hear me wish. He was from Vermont.
