tzer Camp was to the right of the road, in the pine wood just
back of the ridge. Here, we had been on picket all the winter, helping
the infantry pickets to watch the enemy and guard the Ford.

One bright sunny morning, the 2d of May, 1864, a courier rode into the
Howitzer Camp. We had been expecting him, and knew at once that
"something was up." The soldier instinct and long experience told us
that it was about time for something to turn up. The long winter had
worn away; the sun and winds, of March and April, had made the roads
firm again. Just across the river lay the great army, which was only
waiting for this, to make another desperate push for Richmond, and we
were there for the particular purpose of making that push vain.

For some days we had seen great volumes of smoke rising, in various
directions, across the river, and heard bands playing, and frequent
volleys of firearms, over in the Federal Camp. Everybody knew what all
this meant, so we had been looking for that courier.

Soon after we reached the Captain's tent, orders were given to pack up
whatever we could not carry on the campaign, and in two hours, a wagon
would leave, to take all this stuff to Orange Court House; thence it
would be taken to Richmond and kept for us, until next winter.

This was quickly done! The packing was not done in "Saratoga trunks,"
nor were the things piles of furs and winter luxuries. The "things"
consisted of whatever, above absolute necessaries, had been accumulated
in winter quarters; a fiddle, a chessboard, a set of quoits, an extra
blanket, or shirt, or pair of shoes, that any favored child of Fortune
had been able to get hold of during the winter. Everything like this
must go. It did not take long to roll all the "extras" into bundles,
strap them up and pitch them into the wagon. And in less than two hours
after the order was given the wagon was gone, and the men left in
campaign "trim."

This meant that each man had, left, one blanket, one small haversack,
one change of underclothes, a canteen, cup and plate, of tin, a knife
and fork, and the clothes in which he stood. When ready to march, the
blanket, rolled lengthwise, the ends brought together and strapped, hung
from left shoulder across under right arm, the haversack,--furnished
with towel, soap, comb, knife and fork in various pockets, a change of
underclothes in one main division, and whatever rations we happened to
have, in the other,--hung on the left hip; t