Duty, Honor, Tears
by Mort Kunstler

Long Branch, Millwood, VA, May 24, 1862

     On May 23, 1862, Capt. Hugh Mortimer Nelson traveled home for a brief overnight visit with his family while serving as the aide-de-camp for General Richard B. Ewell during “Stonewall” Jackson’s Valley Campaign. Nelson, the owner of Long Branch, one of the most elegant manors in Virginia, had longed for the embrace of his wife Adelaide. This courageous woman had remained on the property, despite the skirmishes and guerrilla warfare close by. There the Nelsons shared what would ultimately be their last visit together.