n great glee,
while gray haired old men in piping tones cried "God bless our
soldiers." This unlooked for, and to us surprising ovation continued
until we had passed the limits of the city, and indeed did not cease
till we had left the station many miles behind. In the train, the men
kept up a continuous cheering; tears stood in the eyes of many, and the
most enthusiastic expressions passed from lip to lip.

The experience of our regiment was only that of others who passed
through this noble city, and often during our long campaigns, the
soldiers of different regiments would gather round their camp fires, and
relate to each other the kindnesses received by them in the City of
Brotherly Love.

We were cordially welcomed in Delaware, the people waving banners and
handkerchiefs, and when those were not at hand, newspapers or even
articles from the clothes lines answered to show their good will; and
the negroes in the fields swung their hats and their hoes with great
spirit.

We reached Baltimore in the evening, where we were kindly received,
furnished with supper and sent on our way. After many delays we reached
Washington at four o'clock Sunday morning, and were assigned to
temporary quarters near the station. Who would have suspected that it
was the Sabbath? Now we began to see something of the circumstance of
war. Horsemen were galloping in every direction; long trains of army
wagons rattled over the pavements at every turn of the eye; squads of
soldiers marched here and there; all was hurry, bustle and confusion.

It was night when we reached the ground for our encampment on Meridian
Hill. The men had suffered much from cold, and what at that time was
hardship. Not less than a hundred of them were sick. It was not long
before tents were up, and for the first time the regiment was under
canvas.

Our camp was pleasantly located, commanding a fine view of Washington,
the Potomac, Alexandria and other points of interest. We were surrounded
by the camps of other regiments, some arriving and some departing almost
daily. We had not been two days here when we began to get a taste of
camp rumors. One rumor declared that we were to have barracks erected,
and we were to go into winter quarters, while another assured us that we
were to have an immediate taste of actual warfare. These proved quite as
reliable as the thousands of rumors which during all our years of
service were afloat throughout the army, and acquired the exp