In 1859 he resigned his commission in the Army and returned
to Virginia and located on his estate in the county of New Kent. In
1861, when the Southern tocsin sounded and Virginia's voice was heard
calling for troops, he raised a cavalry company and joined the Army of
Northern Virginia. He rose gradually from captain to major-general of
cavalry; was wounded in the terrific engagement between the Confederate
and Federal cavalry at Brandy Station on the 9th day of June, 1863; was
captured at Hanover Court-House, and was confined at Fort Monroe and
Fort Lafayette until March, 1864, when he was exchanged, and repaired to
his command, and served until the flag which he loved was furled forever
at Appomattox.
From that time forward he cultivated his large estate with much care,
serving one term in the senate of his State, declining a renomination.
In 1886 he was elected to the Fiftieth Congress from the Eighth
Congressional district of Virginia, and again in 1888 to the Fifty-first
Congress, and still again in 1890 to the present Congress.
It was my privilege and pleasure to form his acquaintance in the army
and to watch his flashing blade amid the carnage of battle, observe his
cool courage and intrepid bearing and the love and confidence of his men
upon more than one sanguinary field.
Pages:
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46