inst the sour apple-tree.

We marched through the quaint old town of Harper's Ferry, whose
principal industry had been the government arsenal for the manufacture
of muskets and other army ordnance. These buildings were now a mass of
ruins, and the remainder of the town presented the appearance of a
plucked goose, as both armies had successively captured and occupied it.
We went into camp on a high plateau back of the village known as Bolivar
Heights. The scenic situation at Harper's Ferry is remarkably grand. The
town is situated on the tongue or fork of land at the junction of the
Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. From the point where the rivers join, the
land rises rapidly until the summit of Bolivar Heights is reached,
several hundred feet above the town, from which a view is had of one of
the most lovely valleys to be found anywhere in the world--the
Shenandoah Valley. Across the Potomac to the east and facing Harper's
Ferry rises Maryland Heights, a bluff probably a thousand feet high,
while across the Shenandoah to the right towers another precipitous
bluff of about equal height called Loudon Heights. Both of these bluffs
commanded Bolivar Heights and Harper's Ferry.

It was the sudden and unexpected appearance of Stonewall Jackson's
batteries upon both of these supposed inaccessible bluffs that ten days
before had forced the surrender of the garrison of ten thousand Union
troops which had been posted here to hold Harper's Ferry. It was said
that the rain of shot and shell from those bluffs down upon our forces
was simply merciless, and Jackson had cut off all avenues of escape
before opening his batteries. The cavalry, I believe, cut their way out,
but the infantry, after twenty-four hours of that storm of shot and
shell, were forced to hoist the white flag. How they could have lived
half that time in such a hell of fire is a marvel. Everything above
ground bore evidence of this fire. There were unexploded shells lying
about in great numbers.

An incident that might have been anything but funny occurred the day
after we encamped here. A new regiment joined the army and marched past
our division to a point farther up the heights and went into camp. They
were a fine-looking regiment, full in numbers, and with new, clean
uniforms. Their reception at the hands of the "vets" was very like our
own three weeks before. Our boys, however, were "vets" now, and joined
in the "reception" with a zest quite usual under such cir