o'clock at night there poured upon us, untented and unprotected, a
furious storm of rain, sleet, and snow, making our condition almost
unendurable. We are now left in a bed of almost fathomless mire. None of
the men who flounder through these oozy roads, under the inclement sky,
will ever forget the "Muddy March." We had scarcely reached the
river-shore before we were compelled to return. In one instance a piece
of artillery with its horses had to be abandoned, submerged so deeply in
the mud that it was considered impracticable to extricate them. Men are
frequently compelled to assist one another, unable to proceed alone. The
ground is covered with snow, and yet the mud is so deep that it is
almost an impossibility to move artillery or supplies. All our forage
and rations are brought from Belle Plain on horses and pack-mules, all
wheeled vehicles being entirely shipwrecked.

The Rebels appear to understand what had been our designs, and know
fully the cause of our failure in the expedition. Consequently, to
tantalize us, they have erected an enormous sign-board on their side of
the river, but in full view of our pickets, bearing the inscription:
"Stuck in the mud!"

General Burnside, beset on every hand with misfortunes and disasters,
tendered his resignation, but was simply relieved, as at his own
request, from the command of the Army of the Potomac.

CHAPTER VIII.

ORGANIZATION OF A CAVALRY CORPS.

1863.--General Hooker assumes Command of the Army of the Potomac.
--Demoralization.--Reorganization.--A Cavalry Corps.--General
George D. Stoneman in Command.--Death of Sergeant May.--Forests of
the Old Dominion.--The Cavalryman and his Faithful Horse.--Scenes
in Winter Quarters.--Kilpatrick.--His Character.--Qualifications
of the True Soldier.--A New Horse.--A Mulish Mule.--Kilpatrick's
Colored Servants in Trouble.--Terrific Hail-Storm.--Major E. F.
Cooke Honored.--Colonel Clarence Buel.

On the twenty-sixth of January, General Joseph Hooker assumed command of
the Army of the Potomac, whose vicissitudes and defeats have well-nigh
broken its spirit and wiped out its efficiency. The patriotic fire is
burning dimly in shrines where it has blazed brightly before. The tide
of military life has possibly reached its lowest ebb, and the signs of
the times are ominous of ill. Desertions are reported to be fearfully
large. For this many of our friends at the North are responsible. Not
only