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The courage, discipline, and devotion of the Confederate soldier is well known. But perhaps it was never put to a sterner test than during an incident that occurredon 30 June 1863, as reported by Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle, a British observer on the scene.

It seems that a considerable store of whiskey was discovered in Chambersburg. Since one of the reasons for the invasion of Pennsylvania was to lay in supplies for the army, a great deal of this was gathered up along with less exciting items like victuals and shoes. But not all of the whiskey could be taken. As leaving so much alcohol lying around might create a problem, a detail of Texans from Brig. Gen. Jerome B. Robertson's brigade were assigned to destroy it. The temptation was great, for the men had been marching for weeks and had had little opportunity to relax.

Nevertheless, as Fremantle put it, "they did their duty like good soldiers", in the face of a threat to their courage, discipline, and devotion as great as any ever offered by the Yankees.