one o'clock in the morning
We start in five minutes . '' Harry , a little dazed yet from sleep and the great honor that had been thrust upon him , ran , nevertheless , for his horse , and was ready with a minute to spare . `` Keep by my side , '' said Jackson curtly , and the two rode in silence from the camp , watched in wonder by the sentinels , who saw their general and his lone attendant disappear in the forest to the south . It was then one o'clock in the morning of a moonlight night , and the errand of Jackson was an absolute secret . Three or four miles from the camp a sentinel slipped from the woods and stopped them . He was one of their own pickets , on a far out-lying post , but to the amazement of Harry , Jackson did not tell who he was . `` I 'm an officer on Stonewall Jackson 's staff , carrying dispatches , '' he said .