n heavy
marching order with all possible despatch. Here was a "state of things."
Was it ever so dark, and did it ever rain harder? Not in my
recollection. But that order left no time for cogitations. Into boots,
clothing, and gum blanket, out to the colonel's tent with the order,
then with his orders to all the companies, the sounding of the long
roll, the forming line, and away to brigade head-quarters in that inky
blackness and drenching rain was the work of less than fifteen minutes.
General Kimball complimented us as being the first regiment to report,
and we were honored with the head of the column which was to support
Hancock at Halltown. French's division had been ordered out as supports,
and Kimball's brigade had the advance.

We marched rapidly up the valley of the Shenandoah, now as black as
Erebus. But soon the rain ceased, the clouds broke away, and the stars
appeared, completely transforming the scene, and except for the mud and
our wet and uncomfortable condition it would have been an enjoyable
march. After going about six miles we were directed into a woods to rest
until morning. Inside the woods it was inky dark again, and we made
headway with much difficulty. Men and horses stumbled and floundered
over fallen logs and through brush at imminent peril of limbs, until a
halt was made, and after details for picket had been sent out we were
allowed to rest until daylight.

It was now about three o'clock. But to rest, soaking wet, almost covered
with mud, in a woods that had been so drenched with rain that everything
was like a soaked sponge, that was the problem. No fires were allowed,
for no one knew how near the enemy might be. However, the men were tired
enough to sleep, most of them, even under those conditions. I well
remember the weary walking and stamping to keep warm until the sunshine
came to our relief. But daylight revealed a condition of things relative
to our position that, had the enemy known, we might again have been made
an easy prey. Our details for water, after going out some distance, as
they supposed in our rear, suddenly found themselves uncomfortably near
the enemy's outposts, and hurried back to camp with the information. It
was found that in the darkness our picket line had actually gotten
turned around, so that our rear had been carefully guarded, whilst our
front was left wholly exposed. The denseness of the woods and the
darkness of the night had been our salvation. We shortly lea