Okay, welcome to William Ramsey Investigates. This is William Ramsey. This will be episode seven of my reading of the book, My Confession, Recollections of a Rogue by Samuel Chamberlain.

And you can listen to the other ones on my podcast or go to Rockfin or Rumble.

They're all there in their entirety.

So I'm just trying to get this finished.

I think there's about 40 chapters, so I'm on Chapter 23.

I'm going to try to get them done today.

So this is Chapter 23, Virginia Hospitality.

Colonel Hamtrank and the officers of the First Virginia volunteers gave a dinner to General Wool and staff on Monday, July 5th, 1847.

This was shortly after my return from Monterey, while I was on extra duty as standing orderly to Lieutenant Sittgreaves, topographical engineer.

The banquet was held in the old ranch halfway between Camp and Saltio.

When the general arrived, there was a large number of officers waiting who rushed forward

to receive us with true Virginia hospitality.

A lieutenant who had had considerable to drink, if not more so, grasped my hand and

dubbed me major, but looked very stupid when Sitgreaves ordered the major to lead the horses

into the shade and not leave them. Dinner call sounded, the officers marched into the casa,

leaving a dozen or so poor devils of orderlies to see to the horses and kill flies, while we listened

to the music of knives and forks, within the regaled ourselves and regaled ourselves, with the

savory odors of the highly seasoned dishes of good things inside.

This state of affairs did not suit me. I persuaded an artillery orderly to look out for

my charge as well as his own, and I would go of foraging. I made a flank movement on the dining

room and gained a good position commanding the kitchen. An aged darky with snow white whiskers

who looked strangely familiar was in charge of this important place, and I judged his

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