ey
might be, and where the results of such movements were not at all in
keeping with the loss of life incurred. This little sketch covers
somewhat such an occasion, where troops comparatively new in the service
were ordered to perform work which seemed uncalled-for and extra
hazardous, and of so little consequence that no record will ever be made
of it, although lives were lost in its accomplishment. An inside view is
simply given of the true feelings and actions of men at such times, and
necessarily lacks the glow of enthusiasm which is thrown around the
picture of the historic battle. But to the story.

If there was one feature in the South which annoyed the Federal
commanders more than another it was the railroad system. Through its
medium they were enabled to supply their armies from the great
plantation centres where war was unknown. With a railroad at the back of
each army, they were enabled to move with small wagon trains, and could
utilize troops that would otherwise have been detached as guards. By its
potent power, also, the troops were hurried from point to point of the
Confederacy, thus keeping the Federal armies so long outside the charmed
circle of the seceded States. With worn-out rails, scant supply of
carriage-material, and wheezy engines, they performed herculean labor
throughout the war. Consequently it became the favorite pastime and the
almost sole business of Union cavalry to destroy or attempt destruction
of railroad communication. Thousands upon thousands of valuable lives
were sacrificed in such movements, and without any material damage to
the fighting centre of the Confederacy.

Our department commander, becoming infatuated with this method of making
war upon the South, was urging his corps towards a well-known railroad
junction one clear, cool day in December, '62. We were some fifty miles
from our base, and bodies of the enemy were continually harassing our
line of march, sometimes meeting us in sharp conflict, and at all times
impeding our progress by road-obstruction. Already the killed and
wounded were counted by hundreds, and the coveted goal still far away.
As we plodded wearily along, wondering what would happen next, one of
the division staff dashed up to our brigadier and ordered him to detach
one of his regiments and send it to support cavalry that had seized a
bridge some miles to our right. It was the fortune of our regiment to be
detached for the service, and we marched into a w