ered the entire surface of the ground to a
depth of two or three inches. No description of this unique article,
however, is necessary here. It is perhaps needless to say that our first
impressions of a soldier's life in the "Sunny South" were not altogether
favorable.

But this storm, like all others, came to an end, and the bright, warm
sunshine, together with the diligence of many busy hands, soon repaired
most of the damage; so that the regiment was able to appear on brigade
review in gallant style, on Tuesday, the twenty-eighth of October, the
fourth day after our arrival, before the venerable General Casey, in
whose division it had been brigaded.

One week was the length of our stay at Camp Chase, at the end of which
brief period we folded our tents and made a "Sabbath day's journey,"
although somewhat longer than that permitted by the Jewish economy on
that sacred day, to Fairfax Seminary. (I may remark in passing that
perhaps not the most scrupulous regard was had by most of the commanders
who conducted the operations of our armies, either to the Jewish or
Christian economy concerning the Sabbath day). This proved to be a
charming location, indeed. The land was high, overlooking the broad
Potomac for a long distance; the city of Alexandria, situated two miles
to the south, was in full view, while in the distance on our left was
the magnificent dome of the capitol at Washington. The land sloped in a
broad, undulating sweep towards the Potomac in front of us; the large
and dignified brick buildings of Fairfax Seminary, then used as a
hospital, were situated just to the north, in the rear, surrounded by a
stately grove of trees (which, sad to say, speedily succumbed to the
soldier's axe); several fine country residences were scattered about in
the immediate vicinity, evidently the recent homes of affluence and
luxury, but now abandoned to the tender mercies of strangers in arms,
being used mainly by general and field officers, with their staffs, for
headquarters. And although their owners were rebels fighting against the
Government, I must, nevertheless, confess to a strong feeling of
sympathy which I then had for them, and thousands like them, in the
untold and untellable distress, privation and suffering which they and
their families must have experienced in being driven as exiles from
their homes and firesides, their property appropriated to the use of
their enemies, and what they, in the main, honestly consider