or listened to her story so
patiently and kindly that she was overcome, and sat down and wept. It
was then too late in the season to go to McClellan's army, so she loaded
a railroad car with supplies and started for Culpepper Court-House, then
crowded with the wounded from the battle of Cedar Mountain. With a
similar car-load she was the first of the volunteer aid that reached
Fairfax Station at the close of the disastrous days that culminated in
the second Bull Run, and the battle of Chantilly. On these two
expeditions, and one to Fredericksburg, Miss Barton was accompanied by
friends, at least one gentleman and a lady in each case, but at last a
time came, when through the absence or engagements of these, she must go
alone or not at all.

On Sunday, the 14th of September, 1862, she loaded an army wagon with
supplies and started to follow the march of General McClellan. Her only
companions were Mr. Cornelius M. Welles, the teacher of the first
contraband school in the District of Columbia--a young man of rare
talent and devotion--and one teamster. She travelled three days along
the dusty roads of Maryland, buying bread as she went to the extent of
her means of conveyance, and sleeping in the wagon by night. After dark,
on the night of the sixteenth, she reached Burnside's Corps, and found
the two armies lying face to face along the opposing ridges of hills
that bound the valley of the Antietam. There had already been heavy
skirmishing far away on the right where Hooker had forded the creek and
taken position on the opposite hills; and the air was dark and thick
with fog and exhalations, with the smoke of camp-fires and premonitory
death. There was little sleep that night, and as the morning sun rose
bright and beautiful over the Blue Ridge and dipped down into the
Valley, the firing on the right was resumed. Reinforcements soon began
to move along the rear to Hooker's support. Thinking the place of danger
was the place of duty, Miss Barton ordered her mules to be harnessed and
took her place in the swift train of artillery that was passing. On
reaching the scene of action, they turned into a field of tall corn, and
drove through it to a large barn. They were close upon the line of
battle; the rebel shot and shell flew thickly around and over them; and
in the barn-yard and among the corn lay torn and bleeding men--the worst
cases--just brought from the places where they had fallen. The army
medical supplies had not yet