"This statement I at once repeated to Mr. Davis, General
Johnston, and yourself, whom I found seated around your
table--Mr. Davis at the moment writing a dispatch to General
Cooper.
"As soon as I had made my report, Mr. Davis with much animation
asserted the necessity for an urgent pursuit that night by
Bonham, who, with his own brigade and that of Longstreet, was in
close proximity to Centreville at the moment. So I took my seat
at the same table with you, and wrote the order for pursuit,
substantially at the dictation of Mr. Davis. But, while writing,
either I happened to remember, or Captain Alexander himself--as
I am inclined to believe--called me aside to remind me that his
informant was known among us of the old army as ---- ----,
because of eccentricities, and in contradistinction with others
of the same name. When I repeated this reminder, Mr. Davis
recalled the _sobriquet_, as he had a precise personal knowledge
of the officers of the old army. He laughed heartily, as did all
present.
"The question of throwing General Bonham forward that night,
upon the unverified report of Captain ----, was now briefly
discussed, with a unanimous decision against it; therefore, the
order was not dispatched.
"It is proper to add in this connection that, so far as I am
aware--and I had the opportunity of knowing what occurred--this
was the only instance during Mr.
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