cent. General Smith himself directed
our progress, and everything seemed propitious. By noon we had
accomplished twelve miles almost without fatigue, and took our noonday
rest (for under an officer who understood himself, this essential was not
tabooed) in the shade of the woods which fringed one of the mountain
passes, eagerly seeking information about the battle, which we now learned
was in progress, and this time our information was from authentic sources.
About three thousand paroled prisoners (principally of the first corps of
the Army of the Potomac, captured in the first day's fight at Gettysburg,
and released on the Carlisle road, because the rebels had too much on hand
to look after prisoners), passed us during the day, in a steady stream;
and from them we learned that we were but one day's march from the
battlefield, and would probably be able to turn the scale of victory if we
arrived in time.

So eagerly were we engaged in discussing the chances of the battle, and
seeking to reconcile the different accounts we received, that no one
noticed a change in the weather, until the rapid drift of black clouds
overhead, and the dull sighing of the trees, warned us that rain was close
at hand; in the midst of hurried preparations it came--not a rain, but a
deluge. Hour after hour, in steady perpendicular sheets, the rain
descended. In vain were all the ingenious contrivances of leaves and
boughs; in five minutes overcoats were soaked; in ten, shelter tents
sheltered nothing but small lakes; in fifteen, even rubber blankets were
useless; and in less than half an hour all were united in the common
misery of a thorough ducking. In an incredibly short time, the whole scene
was changed: what was formerly the road had been converted, by a stream
from the hills, into a torrent mid-leg deep, through which the released
prisoners trudged with all the coolness of veterans; the woods,
banks--everything, was flooded with lakes and waterfalls; and in front,
bridges rendered insecure, and fords impassable, showed what old Aquarias
could do when he set fairly to work.

One or two brigades in the advance, suspecting what was coming, pushed on
and crossed the ford over Yellow Breeches creek before the worst had come;
but by the time our brigade was ready to follow their example, the creek
was no longer fordable, and we were obliged to wait some time before it
was safe to attempt to get over; and even though the men eventually
crossed,