tipulated that he should wait for the sound
of our guns before making his attack. His officers said they waited
nearly fifteen minutes for our opening shot. They could look into the
Rebel camp in the valley of the stream, a few hundred yards distant.
The cooks were beginning their preparations for breakfast, and gave
our men a fine opportunity to learn the process of making Confederate
corn-bread and coffee. Some of the Rebels saw our men, and supposed
they were their own forces, who had taken up a new position. Several
walked into our lines, and found themselves prisoners of war.

Previous to that day I had witnessed several skirmishes, but this was
my first battle of importance. Distances seemed much greater than they
really were. I stood by the side of Captain Totten's battery as it
opened the conflict.

"How far are you firing?" I asked.

"About eight hundred yards; not over that," was the captain's
response.

I should have called it sixteen hundred, had I been called on for an
estimate.

Down the valley rose the smoke of Sigel's guns, about a mile distant,
though, apparently, two or three miles away.

Opposite Sigel's position was the camp of the Arkansas Division:
though it was fully in my sight, and the tents and wagons were plainly
visible, I could not get over the impression that they were far off.

The explosions of our shells, and the flashes of the enemy's guns, a
short distance up the slope on the opposite side of the creek, seemed
to be at a considerable distance.

To what I shall ascribe these illusions, I do not know. On subsequent
battle-fields I have never known their recurrence. Greater battles,
larger streams, higher hills, broader fields, wider valleys, more
extended camps, have come under my observation, but in none of them
has the romance exceeded the reality.

The hours did not crowd into minutes, but the minutes almost
extended into hours. I frequently found, on consulting my watch, that
occurrences, apparently of an hour's duration, were really less than a
half or a quarter of that time.

As the sun rose, it passed into a cloud. When it emerged, I fully
expected it would be some distance toward the zenith, and was
surprised to find it had advanced only a few degrees.

There was a light shower, that lasted less than ten minutes: I judged
it had been twenty.

The evolutions of the troops on the field appeared slow and awkward.
They were really effected with great promptness.

Ge