1862 May 7 Staunton, Va.

[from the diary of Joseph A. Waddell, former editor and owner of the Staunton Spectator and a civilian employee of the Quartermaster Dept.]

Wednesday night, May 7, 1862.

Jackson's army started to-day, all of the 1^st Brigade, ex

cept the 5^th Regiment, (which encamped west near the 

Cemetery last night) and the artillery passing through 

town and marching towards Buffalo Gap. I got a 

horse and rode out to get a view of the army, but there 

was no point at which the whole column could be seen. — 

We are at a loss to know the destination of the 

army, but presume that it will soon turn and move 

down the Valley. The force which has passed through 

since Sunday numbers at least 10,000. - - exclusive of Johnson's 

Brigade which is from 4000 + 5000 strong. The next excite-

ment, was the arrival of a Yankee officer, captured 

in a skirmish yesterday, below Harrisonburg. While 

we were at dinner, Lucy came in and told us that a 

company of cavalry was coming down the street. We 

went out to the porch, and found that a large body of 

 mounted men was passing. They were a portion of 

Ashby's command, about 800. Twelve hundred more 

are still in Rockingham. The 800 encamped on the 

Buffalo Gap road, near town, but expected to move on. 

Soldiers engaged in actual war present a very dif-

ferent appearance from those on holiday parades. There 

is no such thing as "uniform" — all sorts of coats, pants 

hats and caps, — but they are generally alike in dustiness, 

dirtiness and general shabbiness. Several dispatches 

from Richmond this evening state that a fight had oc-

curred near Williamsburg, in which we captured 900 men 

and 12 cannon. Reported that Johnson was at Shaw's 

Fork, Highland, last night — hardly probable. The dis-

tance is 23 miles from Johnson's camp at West View — 

too far to march in part of a day. And I am not 

satisfied yet that Jackson is going to cross the Shenan

doah mountain. The Judge thinks he is striking for 

the Baltimore + Ohio Railroad, at Grafton perhaps. It 

is generally supposed that we are sending a large force 

towards Winchester from East of the Blue Ridge. Ewell 

has 20,000 men now, it is said. Our authorities seem 

at last to have commenced an aggressive policy. Having 

withdrawn our forces from points where they have 

awaited an assault for many months, they may have[?] con-

centrated and pushed forward into Pennsylvania, to 

let the Northern people feel some of the effects of 

invasion. Report says that Jackson has under this in his 

 command 5000 cavalry. Young Lacy returned 

to- night, bringing his friend, a Mr. Brown. They are 

going to join Jackson's army.        

[transcription by the Valley of the Shadow project]

MSS 38-258