he canteen, cup and plate,
tied together, hung on the right; toothbrush, "at will," stuck in two
button holes of jacket, or in haversack; tobacco bag hung to a breast
button, pipe in pocket. In this rig,--into which a fellow could get in
just two minutes from a state of rest,--the Confederate Soldier
considered himself all right, and ready for anything; in this he
marched, and in this he fought. Like the terrapin--"all he had he
carried on his back"--this _all_ weighed about seven or eight pounds.

The extra baggage gone, all of us knew that the end of our stay here was
very near, and we were all ready to pick up and go; we were on the eve
of battle and everybody was on the "qui vive" for decisive orders. They
quickly came!

="Marse Robert" Calls to Arms=

On the next day but one, the 4th, about 10 o'clock, another courier
galloped into camp, and, in a few moments, everybody having seen him,
all the men had swarmed up to the Captain's tent to hear the first news.
Captain McCarthy came toward us and said, very quietly, "Boys, get
ready! we leave here in two hours." Then the courier told us that "Grant
was crossing below us in the wilderness. That everything we had was
pushing down to meet him; and that Longstreet, lately back from
Tennessee, was at Gordonsville." The news telling was here interrupted
by Crouch sounding the familiar bugle call--"Boots and saddles," which,
to artillery ears, said, "Harness up, hitch up and prepare to move at a
moment's warning."

The fellows instantly scattered, every man to his quarters, and for a
few minutes nothing could be seen but the getting down and rolling up of
"flys" from over the log pens they had covered, rolling up blankets,
getting together of each man's traps where he could put his hands on
them. The drivers took their teams up on the hill to bring down the guns
from their positions. All was quickly ready, and then we waited for
orders to move.

It was with a feeling of sadness we thought of leaving this spot! It had
been our home for several months; it was painful to see it dismantled,
and to think that the place, every part of which had some pleasant
association with it, would be left silent and lonely, and that we should
see it no more.

While we waited, after each had bidden a sad "good-bye" to his house,
and its endeared surroundings, it was suggested that we gather once
more, for a last meeting in our log church. All felt that this was a
fitting farewell to the