| My story begins in England while serving as an officer in the 10th Hussars, I was called into my Commanders office and informed that I had been given an unusual assignment. I was to proceed to Richmond, CSA and act as a British observer on the Confederate side. My orders stated that I was not to get involved directly but to take note of how the war was progressing, observe tactics used and the effectiveness of weapons. I was to report my findings as often as I thought necessary and include anything, which I thought, would be beneficial to my country. |  |
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I arrived in August 1861 after an interesting passage in a British frigate. Richmond was full of talk of the success of Manassas and soon I was invited to many parties, I think it was my accent that interested them, especially the ladies. Soon the parties were over and it was down to business I travelled far and wide over the next couple of months, observing minor skirmishes and filing my reports as requested. |
| The first major battle I observed was The Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7th 1862, I had attached myself to the 8th Texas Cavalry, "Terry's Texas Rangers", they were one of the toughest mounted units in the South and wore a silver star in their hats. The battle that was fought over those two days I shall never forget, it was bloody and fierce, the Yankee Army seemed to have an endless amount of fresh troops which they kept sending in wave after wave. The Confederate Army fought with passion and earned my respect that day. In the end we had to retreat or be overrun. That battle changed my life forever. |  |
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I had continually reported to my government that they should aid the CSA by sending an Army and Navy but this had obviously fallen on deaf ears and England continued to sit on the fence. I was so frustrated with them that I resigned my commission and offered my services to the Confederate Army. I had made a lot of friends during my stay and my passage through the Military Institute at Vicksberg was swift and I was assigned the 6th (Grey Ghost) Brigade, Black Labrador Cavalry Division, III Corps "The Swamp Legion", Army of Northern Virginia. |
| You can imagine my shock when I walked into the Officers Mess and came face to face with my kid brother, who I had not seen in over a year, not only that but I had to call him Sir! That night our brother officers looked on bemused as two Englishmen attempted to drink the bar dry. |
