From somewhere in front came the strains
of a regimental band playing:
"The hour was sad, I left the maid,
A lingering farewell taking,
Her sighs and tears my steps delayed,
I thought her heart was breaking.
In hurried words her name I blessed,
I breathed the vows that bind me
And to my heart in anguish pressed
The girl I left behind me."
It was a favorite air of the Southern bands, and, much as it stirred
Harry now, he was destined to hear it again in moments far more
thrilling. He presented his order from General Beauregard to a sentinel,
who passed him to an officer, who in turn told him to go about a quarter
of a mile westward, where he would find the regiment of Colonel Talbot
quartered.
"It's a mixed regiment," he said, "made up of Virginians, South
Carolinians, North Carolinians, and a few Kentuckians and Tennesseeans,
but it's already one of the best in the service. Colonel Talbot and his
second in command, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, have been thrashing
it into shape in great fashion. They're mostly boys and already they
call themselves 'The Invincibles.' You can see the tents of their
commanding officers over there by that little creek.
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