d, or ever expect to hear, on earth. I never heard anything
like it in any other battle. Nothing could be seen, no movements of
troops, in sight, to distract attention, or rivet one's interest on the
varying fortunes of a battlefield. Only,--out of the dark woods, which
covered all from sight, rolled upward heavy clouds of battle-smoke, and
outward, that earth shaking thunder, now and then fiercely sharpened by
the "rebel yell,"--the scariest sound that ever split a human ear,--as
our men sprang to the death grapple.

We had pushed up along with the rest; but by and by our guns were
ordered to halt, to let the infantry go by. Here, while we waited for
them to pass, we saw the first effects of the fight. Just off the road
there was a small open field containing a little farmhouse and garden
and apple orchard, where the cavalry had been at work, that morning
before we came up. Around the house and in the orchard lay ten dead
Federal troops, three of our men, and a number of horses; all lying as
they had fallen. One of the Federals was lying with one leg under his
horse, and the other over him; both had, apparently, been instantly
killed by the same ball, which had gone clear through the heads of both
man and horse. They had fallen together, the man hardly moved from his
natural position in the saddle. Another had a sword thrust through his
body, and two others, in their terribly gashed heads, gave evidence that
they had gone down under the sabre. The rest of them, and all three of
our men, had been killed by balls. Not a living thing was seen about the
place.

We were called away from this ghastly scene by the guns starting again,
and we moved on rapidly to the front. As we went, at a trot, one of the
men, John Williams, who was sick with the heat and exhaustion of the
trying march, and was sitting on the trail of the gun, suddenly fainted,
and fell forward under the wheel. He was, fortunately, saved from
instant death by a stone, just in front of which he fell. The ponderous
wheel, going so rapidly, struck the stone, and was bounded over his
body, only bruising him a little. It was a close shave, but we were
spared the loss of a dear comrade, and good soldier.

=An Infantry Battle=

When we got up pretty close to the line of battle, we halted and then
were ordered to pull out beside the road and wait for orders. Here we
found a great many batteries parked, and we heard that it was, as yet,
impossible to get artillery