This corresponds to what I learned recently about the five regiments of Cadmus Wilcox's Brigade. They went into winter camp near Lewis House on the Manassas battlefield on Dec. 26, 1861. It took weeks to build cabins because they had to haul lumber from a point six miles away, and the weather had made travel there and back quite difficult. If I understand, these cabins were burned when the army left the Centreville-Manassas area on March 8, 1862.

At least once a month each regiment in the brigade went out on picket duty. This routine began just after the brigade moved from Broad Run near Bristoe Station to Centreville on Sept. 21, 1861. For instance, the 11th Alabama went on picket near Annandale along Accotink Creek Oct. 10-15, 1861, being relieved by the 9th Alabama. The regiment went out again picket on Oct. 29th, relieving the 19th Mississippi at picket posts four miles north of Cub Run Bridge, and remaining out five days. From that time forward pickets seem to have been established at points two to four miles outside the main camp at Centreville.

While on picket, companies rotated from base camp where they were expected to rest and cook to duty on various picket posts. Normal activities while off duty came to include nightly excursions in search of food, entertainment and Virginia liquor. Of course men who participated in these excursions were obliged to evade their own pickets on departure and return to camp. Everyone seems to have known about them, and officers such as "Saint James" McMath took steps to apprehend the liquor scouts, but his pickets failed to capture any of them. Captain Field's journals record many a festive occasion following one of these forays into the Virginia countryside.

Notes on this period sometimes mention music or drumming being heard in Federal camps. Once or twice the men took notice of distant musketry or cannon fire. However, except for Union casualties encountered after Manassas and the 10th Alabama's ill-fated collision with Federal troops near Dranesville on Dec. 21st, few in the brigade could truthfully claim to have seen any enemy soldiers.