there some fellow came riding toward us at full gallop. In an instant every piece was cocked and raised to the shoulder, and I only wonder some one did not shoot him. It proved that our equanimity had not been entirely restored. The man was frightened nearly out of his senses, and giving a confused and unsatisfactory account of himself, was taken into custody.
A drizzling rain kept falling through the night, and any one can easily imagine, as we blundered on, how fatiguing marching became. In the woods we were continually stumbling over brush and stumps or being caught by bushes and briers; in the ploughed fields we were compelled to carry an extra weight of clay with each step. It was actually a pleasure to enter a grain field, for the long straw tramped down prevented us from sinking in, and made a good road. We left a trail through them like that of some huge roller. Several of the farmers accompanied us on horseback acting as scouts, and every once in a while they would be sent ahead to reconnoitre the way. At such times when a halt was ordered, each man would drop down in his tracks and snatch a few moments slumber while awaiting the command to proceed.
The intention of the Colonel at first was to endeavor to reach the railroad somewhere in the neighborhood of Hanover, and a man was dispatched on horseback to telegraph for cars, but after travelling for some time in that direction, he learned the place was occupied by the rebels, so we turned toward York. The Lieutenant Colonel was sent to that city, and as we did not hear anything concerning him for several days, it was supposed he was captured. Some time during the night about a hundred of our men who were separated from the rest at the log, and had been wandering around through the woods since, by the greatest good fortune met with us. We
