August 25, 1861--Fairfax Court House, Va.

Since I last wrote, I have a new leader. I have joined the staff of 
Brigadier General James Longstreet, another South Carolinian, 
whom I met through Colonel Evans.  Longstreet commands a brigade 
of Virginians, one regiment of which, the 17th, includes many 
friends from Loudoun County. 

General Longstreet has given me honorary rank as Captain.  His 
staff includes mostly young men. In my mid-thirties, I am the 
"old man" among them.  They include Thomas Goree, (a rough-hewn 
young Texan), Moxley Sorrel (a bright and efficient former clerk 
from Georgia), and little Peyton Manning--he's only about 5 feet 
tall and weighs hardly a hundred pounds (a railroader and military 
school graduate from Mississippi). Manning loves to ride and I 
have loaned him Saltron on occasion. Manning is so small that I'm 
sure Saltron appreciates his light weight!
  
The General himself is a pleasant man, but one of few words. I am 
told by the others that he can be charming in a social setting, 
but he is strong willed and business-like on duty.

We just have moved forward here from Centreville, and some of our
outposts can see Washington on a clear day.  But we are not likely 
to make any big push to capture the city. Poor supplies and and 
transportation have left us almost as disorganized as the Yankees, 
and much less well equipped. 

The Yanks have a new commander, General George McClellan, a man of 
about my age.  The papers say he is West Pointer and former railroad 
man.  He did very well in defeating our forces in western Virginia 
in the spring and early summer. Almost all of the northwestern part 
of the state is now in the Yankee grasp because of McClellan. They 
are calling him "The Young Napoleon." 

Our staff did not eat or drink very well until I joined. We are not 
so far from home, so I sent over for good supplies from my fields, 
barns and cellars.  I have taken it upon myself to keep us all 
supplied with the Lord's good bounty. I have taken charge of the mess 
duties, and there are plenty of good wines, tobacco, beef, vegetables, 
and whiskey at hand, thanks to God and to Mary Jane's help at home.  
Some of the servants have come with me and are cooking marvelous meals.  
We are earning a reputation as the most sociable, well fed and well 
watered staff in the Army!  I will try to keep it that way, and seem 
to have found my place. 

And I have my bathtub!  I asked for it to be sent over with the
supplies.  Now I can resume my daily baths, and can live in some 
cleanliness and comfort.  A camp of men is a very dirty and smelly 
place, and I, at least, can now keep clean. The others joke that my 
tub looks like a tin hat, and I am subjected to their humor each 
morning while I am in the tub, taking my hot whisky toddy, and 
reading my Bible.  A bath tub is very rare in an Army in the field.