Theatrical and musical performances enlivened the
tedium of the long evenings; and when, by the glare of the
camp-fires, the band of the 5th Virginia broke into the rattling
quick-step of "Dixie's Land," not the least stirring of national
anthems, and the great concourse of grey-jackets took up the chorus,
closing it with a yell
That shivered to the tingling stars,
the Confederate soldier would not have changed places with the
President himself.
There was much social intercourse, too, between the different
headquarters. General Lee was no unfrequent visitor to Moss Neck, and
on Christmas Day Jackson's aides-de-camp provided a sumptuous
entertainment, at which turkeys and oysters figured, for the
Commander-in-Chief and the senior generals. Stuart, too, often
invaded the quarters of his old comrade, and Jackson looked forward
to the merriment that was certain to result just as much as the
youngest of his staff. "Stuart's exuberant cheerfulness and humour,"
says Dabney, "seemed to be the happy relief, as they were the
opposites, to Jackson's serious and diffident temper. While Stuart
poured out his 'quips and cranks,' not seldom at Jackson's expense,
the latter sat by, sometimes unprepared with any repartee, sometimes
blushing, but always enjoying the jest with a quiet and merry laugh.
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