About eleven o'clock the division was marched about two miles down the pike and halted, when coffee and crackers were issued, and we soon got our fires burning. This was a perfect god-send to us, every mouthful of coffee we drank seeming like so much life passing into us. We remained here a couple of hours, when we marched back to Centreville, and halted until near dark, and had salt beef served up to us, it being the second time we had meat during sixteen days. Just before dark our division. was sent out to relieve General Reno, who occupied the position of Cub Run, our artillery shelling the woods as we advanced. Our position was on a range of high hills, covered with heavy woods and dense undergrowth, in which we rested on our arms all night, the enemy not disturbing us, excepting for a while when we were taking our position, when they sent their little bees humming around our ears. It was a long night of watching for our wearied men, through the rain, but at last the welcomed morning came and we were relieved and marched back beyond Centreville. As we came in we passed hundreds of ambulances and army wagons going to the field after the wounded, a flag of truce being arranged for that purpose.

That morning, September the 1st, we were mustered for pay by Captain James N. Byrnes, upon whom the command of the regiment devolved, he being the senior officer; all our field officers being wounded. The day before was the proper day, but it was impracticable.

It having been ascertained that the enemy were attempting to turn our right, and cut off our communications with Washington, by moving a large force on the Little river or Aldie turnpike, towards Fairfax Court House, our army was stretched along the Warrenton and Alexandria pike, from Centreville to beyond the Court House. At noon we moved off down the pike, marching on the fields along the sides of the road which was filled with continuous strings of wagons, moving both ways. A little before sunset, just as our division

had passed in front of Chantilly, an attack was made by the enemy on the troops in our rear, and we were put in position in a large open field in reserve. The battle raged furiously for some time, the shot and shell falling among us, but doing little damage to our division. In the midst of it a terrific thunder storm occurred, and it appeared as if heaven and earth were contending for the mastery. But the darkness of night terminated the conflict, the enemy was driven entirely back from our front, but the gallant Generals Kearney and Stevens fell. We then moved off, a short distance and bivouacked on the outskirts of Fairfax Court House, it continuing to rain all night.

The next morning our appetites were sharpened by the sight of several beeves driven in to our butchers, but before the hides were fairly taken off of them orders. were received to march, but the boys cut some good slices from them and took along. Marching down the road, we passed through Fairfax to Anandale, where we turned to the left, and after a halt of an hour we moved on past Ball's cross roads to near Arlington Heights, where we bivouacked for the night. On the road we passed large numbers of wagons, artillery and fresh troops. The new regiments were easily distinguished by their white faces and full knapsacks, the one of which Old Sol had tanned for us, and the other we had learned to do without.

During the day there was some artillery fighting in the direction of Vienna, but before nine o'clock at night, all the command was inside the intrenchments of Washington, excepting three corps on the Vienna and Chain Bridge roads, that did not arrive until the next day.

It may as well be stated here that General Banks was stationed along the railroad, charged with the safety of the wagon and railroad trains, and as during no time on the 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st of August, the road was interrupted between Bristoe Station and Alexandria they were withdrawn with very little loss.

The next morning, the 3d, we moved about three miles to near the Arlington House, the late residence of the Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, where we laid in the woods until four o'clock the next afternoon, when we marched to Upton's Hill.

Here terminated our campaign with the army of Virginia, under General Pope, which, though short, was arduous and severe, and its failure is not to be attributed to the want of generalship on the part of the commanding general or his subordinates. The conduct of General Fitz John Porter, on the 29th, when the golden opportunity of crushing a divided foe was lost, proved fatal to the army the next day, and so clear a case was made out against him, by General Pope in his report, as to leave no doubt upon the subject. He was subsequently dismissed from the service by a court-martial, and disqualified from ever holding any office of honor or trust under the Government.

It may seem impossible to some that General Porter could be guilty of so dark a crime, but it must be remembered that the heart of man is now governed by the same impulses it ever has been from the earliest record, and that history furnishes many instances of men sacrificing their fortunes, lives, souls and even country, to avenge an insult their pride could not brook, and the only explanation we know, of the conduct of Porter, was the unfortunate address to the Army of Virginia, issued by General Pope upon assuming command of it, in which he indirectly insulted General McClellan and his counsellors of the Army of the Potomac.

General Pope estimated his forces on the morning of the 30th as follows: "McDowell's corps, including Reynold's division, twelve thousand men; Sigel's corps, seven thousand men; Reno's corps, seven thousand; Heintzelmen's corps, seven thousand men; Porter's corps, which had been in no engagements, and was, or ought to have been, perfectly fresh, I estimated at about twelve thousand men, including the brigade of Piatt,

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which formed a part of Sturgis' division, and the only portion that ever joined me. But of this force the brig ades of Piatt and of Griffin, numbering, as I understood, about five thousand men, had been suffered to march off at daylight on the 30th to Centreville, and were not available for operations on that day This reduced Porter's effective force on the field to about seven thousand men, which gave me a total force of forty thousand men. Banks' corps, about five thousand strong, was at Bristow Station, in charge of the railroad trains, and of a portion of the wagon trains of the army still at that place."

Of these the general says: "As may be supposed, our troops, who had been so continually marching and fighting for so many days, were in a state of great exhaustion. They had had little to eat for two days previous, and the artillery and cavalry horses had been in harness and saddled continually for ten days, and had had no forage for two days previous. It may easily be imagined how little these troops, after such severe labor, and after undergoing such hardships and privations, were in condition for active and efficient service."

In our regiment early on the 29th, it was well known that some trouble existed between Generals Pope and Porter, and that the latter would not render a cordial cooperation. This was the common conversation among the officers and men, who had gathered it upon the field, and we may here remark that among old troops it is almost a matter of impossibility to conceal the object of any extraordinary movements from them. There are always among the many thousand eyes that are watching, some who can divine the truth.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CROSSING THE POTOMAC. MARCH THROUGH MARYLAND. BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. REMARKABLE INCIDENT.

THE army having been withdrawn to the defences of Washinton, General McClellan was assigned to the command of it on the 2d of September. It soon after being ascertained that the enemy intended to cross the Upper Potomac into Maryland, our army was put in motion to again meet them.

On the 6th, company G, Captain Reitzel, rejoined us, they having marched down the Peninsula with the wagon trains, and the same night about nine o'clock we fell in and marched off through the woods to the pike, passing a long line of ambulances, carriages and wagons filled with our wounded from the late field, and passing over to Washington on the Long Bridge, we proceeded through the city to its outskirts on the Leesboro road where we laid down about two o'clock A. M. After a short repose, we were up and moved soon after light to Leesboro, ten miles distance, where we laid in a scrub woods until noon on the 9th, when we marched through Mechanicsville to near Brookville, and bivouacked about sunset. We were forced to leave at Leesboro, under charge of a guard, all our ammunition, rations and baggage, as our wagons were unloaded and taken to Washington, ostensibly for clothing, and did not rejoin the regiment until after Antietam.

About noon the next day we moved to the head waters of the Patuxent river and bivouacked, and the next day to near Poplar springs. We were now approaching the neighborhood of the enemy, a company of whom were at the springs the night before. There, and all through Maryland where they had been, we found they had taken whatever they wanted, leaving the