annon are so placed as to shoot up
the road. Our regiment is to form on the left of the turnpike, and the
Dutch regiment on the right, in case the secession forces should be bold
enough to come down on us.

9. Moved from the Middle Fork of the Buckhannon river at seven o'clock
this morning, and arrived at Roaring creek at four P. M. We came over
the hills with all the pomp and circumstance of glorious war; infantry,
cavalry, artillery, and hundreds of army wagons; the whole stretching
along the mountain road for miles. The tops of the Alleghanies can now
be seen plainly. We are at the foot of Rich mountain, encamped where our
brothers of the secession order pitched their tents last night. Our
advance guard gave them a few shots and they fled precipitately to the
mountains, burning the bridge behind them. When our regiment arrived a
few shots were heard, and the bayonets and bright barrels of the
enemy's guns could be seen on the hills.

It clouded up shortly after, and before we had pitched our tents, the
clouds came over Rich mountain, settling down upon and hiding its summit
entirely. Heaven gave us a specimen of its artillery firing, and a heavy
shower fell, drenching us all completely. As I write, the sound of a
cannon comes booming over the mountain. There it goes again! Whether it
is at Phillippi or Laurel Hill, I can not tell. Certain it is that the
portion of our army advancing up the Valley river is in battle,
somewhere, and not many miles away.

We do not know the strength of our opponents, nor the character and
extent of their fortifications. These mountain passes must be ugly
things to go through when in possession of an enemy; our boys look
forward, however, to a day of battle as one of rare sport. I do not. I
endeavor to picture to myself all its terrors, so that I may not be
surprised and dumbfounded when the shock comes. Our army is probably now
making one of the most interesting chapters of American history. God
grant it may be a chapter our Northern people will not be ashamed to
read!

I am not confident of a speedy termination of the war. These people are
in the wrong, but have been made to believe they are in the right--that
we are the invaders of their hearthstones, come to conquer and destroy.
That they will fight with desperation, I have no doubt. Nature has
fortified the country for them. He is foolishly oversanguine who
predicts an easy victory over such a people, intrenched amidst mountains