aded by General Longstreet in person, and
another division south along the line of the railroad in the direction
of the North Anna River, the other divisions of the corps remaining
stationary, awaiting developments. Jackson had not yet crossed the
Blue Ridge, and General Lee was only waiting and watching the move of
Burnsides before concentrating his army at any particular place. It
was unknown at this time whether the Federal commander would take the
route by way of Fredericksburg, or follow in a straight course and
make the North Anna his base of operations. The cavalry, making a
demonstration against the enemy's outposts, found the Union Army had
left and gone in the direction of Fredericksburg. Then Lee began the
concentration of his army by calling Jackson on the east side of the
Blue Ridge and Longstreet down on the south side of the Rappahannock.
We crossed the north fork of the Rappahannock at a rocky ford, two
miles above the junction of the Rapidan and just below the railroad
bridge, on a cold, blustery day, the water blue and cold as ice
itself, coming from the mountain springs of the Blue Ridge, not many
miles away. Some of the men took off their shoes and outer garments,
while others plunged in just as they marched from the road. Men
yelled, cursed, and laughed. Some climbed upon the rocks to allow
their feet and legs to warm up in the sun's rays, others held up one
foot for awhile, then the other, to allow the air to strike their
naked shins and warm them. Oh! it was dreadfully cold, but such fun!
The water being about three feet deep, we could easily see the rocks
and sands in the bottom. The men who had pulled off their shoes and
clothing suffered severely.

There was a man in my company who was as brave and as good a soldier
as ever lived, but beyond question the most awkward man in the army.
His comrades called him "mucus," as some one said that was the Latin
for "calf." This man would fall down any time and anywhere. Standing
in the road or resting on his rifle, he would fall--fall while
marching, or standing in his tent. I saw him climb on top of a box car
and then fall without the least provocation backwards into a ten-foot
ditch. But in all his falling he was never known to hurt himself, but
invariably blamed somebody for his fall. When he fell from the car,
and it standing perfectly still, he only said: "I wish the d----n car
would go on or stand still, one or the other." The road leading to
the