night. Here we remained until the next afternoon, when our Colonel, anxious to join the division, solicited and obtained permission to attempt the hazardous task of running the gauntlet outside our picket line, and General Morell taking compassion on our craven stomachs, gave us a fine ox and his blessing, with which we departed on our way rejoicing. In a few miles we were outside the picket lines, pushing direct for our forces, through a section of country continually scoured by the enemy's cavalry. About dark we passed Bealton station, which is four miles from Rappahannock station, and moving one mile beyond bivouacked in a wood, and killing our ox, we enjoyed a hearty meal to which we had been strangers for some time past. That night we posted strong guards and pickets under Captain Connor and sleeping soundly were up before daybreak the next morning and off.

Being in entire ignorance of the country excepting the general directions, and the unreliable information we gathered from the few inhabitants we met, and having no knowledge of the location of our forces except that they were falling back, and that the rear guard of cavalry and artillery were engaged with the enemy in the direction of Warrenton, Sulphur Springs and Waterloo bridge, the booming of whose guns we could plainly hear, we felt exceedingly anxious to find our division. A regi. ment lost from its division, is like a soldier lost from his regiment, or a child from his home. Though it was excessively hot, and we had added to the length of our wearied march by a long detour in the early part of the day, the boys steadily pressed on over the hilly roads, with but few and short halts for rest or water. About four o'clock the spires of Warrenton were seen, and soon afterwards we passed through the town and moved about two miles down the Waterloo road, where we at length found our division, and bivouacked in a woods near the road, having marched twenty miles.

The next morning, the 27th, our wagons arrived, and

i

rations were again served out to us, but the heads of the beef barrels had hardly been stove in before we received orders to march. This was rather hard for the boys, as they had had but one ration of meat since 'the morning of the 16th. But there was no remedy, so the meat was packed in the wagons again, and we took up the line of march through Warrenton, past New Baltimore, and bivouacked at Buckland Mills, where Broad Run crosses the Alexandria and Warrenton turnpike.

The enemy during the preceding night having passed through Thoroughfare Gap, and cut the railroad in the neighborhood of Kettle Run, about six miles east of Warrenton Junction, were attacked on the afternoon of the 27th, by Hooker's division, about four miles west of Bristoe Station, and driven back along the railroad to Broad Run, where, at dark, he still confronted Hooker. The loss on each side was about three hundred killed and wounded, the enemy leaving his wounded, and much of his baggage on the battle-field. During the night Ewell retired to Manassas Junction.

CHAPTER XVII.

SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN. CONDUCT OF GENERAL FITZJOHN PORTER. THE ARMY FALLS BACK. BATTLE OF CHANTILLY. ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. UPTON'S HILL.

SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN, ON THE PLAINS OF MANASSAS, JULY 28TH, 29TH, AND 30TH, THE next morning, the 28th, we commenced our march at three o'clock, and upon arriving at Gainesville about ten, the head of the column was fired upon by a battery of artillery posted on an elevation to our front and left. The whole column was marvellously soon unwoven, and formed into line of battle and skirmishers advanced, but upon Cooper's rifled guns being brought to bear upon

them, they withdrew, but not, however, before some loss had been sustained on our side; the adjutant of the Eighth Reserve losing a leg, and one man being killed and five wounded. This was supposed to be merely a demonstration by the enemy to save a wagon train, which was seen moving off on the Sudley Springs road. We then resumed our march, striking across the country towards Manassas Junction, in the neighborhood of which a portion of the enemy's forces, under Generals Jackson, Ewell, and A. P. Hill, were posted, the object being to cut off this force to the east, from the main body under General Lee, who were advancing from the west, through Thoroughfare Gap.

About five o'clock in the afternoon, it being ascer tained the enemy had moved from Manassas towards. Centreville early in the day, we turned off to the left, near Bethlehem Church, and took the Sudley Spring road towards the Warrenton pike. About this time a heavy cannonading was heard, which continued until it grew into the thunder of a desperate battle. We had already marched many long and weary hours and miles, but tired and exhausted we pressed on until the musketry firing became distinct, the flashing was seen and the mingling voices of the combatants were heard. It was after nine o'clock that night, after a march of eighteen hours and twenty-eight miles, with many of the men without any thing to eat, that we arrived upon the battlefield, and stretched our wearied limbs upon the grass to sleep.

King's division of our Corps had encountered, near Groveton, Jackson's force, whom Kearney had in the afternoon driven out of Centreville, and who were retreating towards Thoroughfare Gap, to form a junction with the main army. About the same time Rickett's division became engaged with Longstreet's Corps, near Thoroughfare Gap, about eight miles further west. Both actions were severe, but not decisive for either side.

Early the next morning, the 29th, the Reserves were

We

formed and moved forward to meet the enemy. advanced some distance and passed through a woods into an open plain, where we were drawn up on the left of a vast mass of troops and pushed into a woods beyond. Soon we were ordered back, and then commenced a series of marches and countermarches through the hot sun and under a never-ceasing fire of shot and shell, until late in the afternoon, without pulling a trigger. The day was extraordinarily hard on the men of our regiment, who were worn out and weak, they having had but one ration of meat in thirteen days, and but little to eat the day before, and nothing this day.

The day was opened by Sigel attacking the enemy early in the morning, a mile or two east of Groveton. Jackson fell back several miles, but was so closely pressed, that he was compelled to make a stand. He accordingly took up a position with his left in the neighborhood of Sudley Springs, his right a little to the south of Warrenton turnpike, and his line covered by an old railroad grade which leads from Gainesville in the direction of Leesburg. His batteries, which were numerous. and some of them of heavy calibre, were posted behind the ridges, in the open ground on both sides of Warrenton turnpike, whilst the mass of his troops was sheltered in dense woods behind the railroad embankment. Heintzelman's corps occupied the right of our line, General Sigel the centre, and the Pennsylvania Reserves, under Reynolds, the extreme left, south of the Warrenton turnpike. A portion of Reno's force was in the line, and a portion held in reserve, in the rear of the centre.

Up to four o'clock very severe skirmishes occurred constantly at various points on our line, being brought on at every indication that the enemy made of a disposition to retreat, the object being to hold them until Porter and McDowell with the rest of his corps could turn their right and rear, when it was confidently expected we would be able to overwhelm or capture the larger portion of Jackson's forces before he could be

reinforced. At two o'clock, when Porter and McDowell should have been in the positions assigned them, they had not arrived, and peremptory orders were sent by General Pope to Porter, to advance and attack the enemy. At half-past five o'clock, when it was confidently expected that Porter was coming into action in compliance with orders, Generals Heintzelman and Reno, on the right, commenced an assault upon the enemy's left. The attack was made with great gallantry, and the whole of the left of the enemy was doubled back towards his centre, and our forces, after a sharp conflict of an hour and a half, occupied the field of battle, with the dead and wounded of the enemy. In this attack Grover's brigade broke through two of the enemy's lines and penetrated to the third before it could be checked. By this time General McDowell arrived on the field with the balance of his corps, which was pushed to the front along the Warrenton turnpike to fall upon the enemy, who was retreating towards the pike from the direction of Sudley Springs.

This attack was made by King's division at about sunset, but by that time the advance of the main body of the enemy, under Longstreet, had begun to reach the field, and he encountered a stubborn and determined resistance at a point about three-fourths of a mile in front of our line of battle.

While the attack was being made on the enemy's left, General Reynolds was ordered to threaten their right and rear, which he proceeded to do under a heavy fire of artillery from the ridge to the left of the pike. This battery of heavy guns it was determined to attempt to capture, for which purpose the First Reserves, Colonel Roberts, and our regiment, Colonel McCandless, were sent into a dense woods to the right from which we soon drove the enemy's skirmishers without any loss. Having advanced through the woods to the opening upon the opposite side, we displayed ourselves to attract the attention of the enemy, who soon opened upon us a