tting quite erect,
with an occasional bow forward or to the right or left, like the swaying
of a flag on a signal station, or like the careerings of a drunken man.
The horse of such a sleeping man will seldom leave his place in the
column, though this will sometimes occur, and the man awakes at last to
find himself alone with his horse which is grazing along some unknown
field or woods. Some men, having lost the column in this way, have
fallen into the enemy's hands. Sometimes a fast-walking horse in one of
the rear companies will bear his sleeping lord quickly along, forcing
his way through the ranks ahead of him, until the poor fellow is
awakened, and finds himself just passing by the colonel and his staff at
the head of the column! Of course, he falls back to his old place
somewhat confused and ashamed, and the occurrence lends him just
excitement enough to keep him awake for a few minutes.

It is seldom that men under these somnambulic circumstances fall from
their horses, yet sometimes it does happen, and headlong goes the
cavalier upon the hard ground, or into a splashing mud-puddle, while
general merriment is produced among the lookers-on. But as no one is
seriously injured, the "fallen brave" retakes his position in the ranks
and the column proceeds as though nothing had happened. We had all these
experiences in one form or another in our raid, and on reaching camp we
found that several men had lost their caps by the way.

The day following our arrival at camp the general in command issued his
complimentary message, namely:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF VIRGINIA,
Washington, July 21.

_To Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War_:

SIR: The cavalry expedition I directed General King to send
out on the nineteenth instant has returned.

They left Fredericksburg at seven P. M., on the nineteenth,
and after a forced march during the night made a descent at
daylight in the morning upon the Virginia Central Railroad at
Beaver Dam Creek, twenty-five miles north of Hanover Junction
and thirty-five miles from Richmond. They destroyed the
railroad and telegraph line for several miles, burned the
depot, which contained forty thousand rounds of other musket
ammunition, one hundred barrels of flour, and much valuable
property, and brought in the Captain in charge as a prisoner.

The whole country round was thrown into a great state of