-your place is in the rear?" "No, sir," said a
long-backed individual of the party, in a copper colored raiment, who
seemed to have been making a study of the rules and regulations as
applying to his own department. "Not so. In the rear, I grant you, in
the advance; in the front, if you please, in a retreat" "So be it,"
said I. "In with you;" and in they went, nothing loth. The river was
swimming and the horses swam badly, making plunges to reach the
opposite bank, which, when they gained, was steep and treacherous, and
it was only after repeated efforts, and their riders getting off into
the river, that they made a landing. It was apparent that this could
not be the point that General Lee had crossed his division. Some one
turned up who led us right. About a mile farther up we found the ford
that he had crossed at, and got over without difficulty or
molestation; it was scarcely swimming to the smallest horse, and
directly opposite lay all of the Virginia cavalry to cover our
crossing, if pressed, while it was going on. We were the first
regiment that crossed; found some stacks of oats; halted, formed in
squadrons, fed our horses, ate what we had to eat, rested, and, as
usual, made the best of it.

After a rest of about an hour General Lee moved off, we following in
his rear, the Virginians ahead of us with General Lee destroying the
equanimity of the good people on their line of march by pressing
every horse found in their way. It seemed hard to come down so on our
own people, after all the sacrifices already made by them, but if the
horse was lost by our taking him, which was apt to be the result, the
proceeding mounted at least one of our own troopers; on the other hand
it gave a fresh horse to the enemy, and was equally lost to the
owner--and this was the view the Virginians usually took of it.
General Lee, being ahead of us, made a clean sweep as he went along,
leaving scarce a gleaning of horseflesh for us. After a while we came
upon the wagons and infantry again. It was not long before the ringing
of a volley and the roar of a piece of artillery let us know that an
attack had been made on our train again. We moved up to the firing at
a gallop, and as we passed along there came sweeping through the
woods, from the road running parallel with the one we were on, a body
of infantry in line, moving at a double quick upon the same point,
which was but a short distance ahead of us. They were what was left of
the famous