n on Buck's
Hill; and when the two brigades of Tyler's First Division, commanded
by Generals Sherman and Schenck, crossed Bull Run river, over Stone
Bridge, at 1.30 P. M., there was not a rebel force of any description
on the north side of Warrenton road, west of Stone Bridge. At this
time victory was assured for the Union army. At the Stone Bridge was
Tyler's entire division, comprising fifteen regiments of infantry and
three batteries, the Fourth Division, General Runyon, with seven
regiments, Fifth Division, General Miles, eight regiments, and one
battery. Of these thirteen thousand men, only two brigades of the
First Division crossed the river in the afternoon, and they were
engaged only about one hour, namely, in the vicinity of the Henry
House, when they were repulsed by the enemy, whose forces were now
all concentrated at that point. Rickett's Regular battery (formerly
Magruder's stationed at Fort Adams previous to the war) was lost,
recaptured, and lost again. These two brigades of the First Division
retreated, panic stricken, and our reserve of twelve thousand men, at
Stone Bridge, retreated without firing a shot, while our Division,
the 2d, was holding the position we had gained in the morning. This
was the supreme moment, when a Sheridan or a Warren would have swept
the opposing forces from the field, or captured their entire army.
Colonel Burnside, seeing the aspect matters had assumed, formed his
troops into line and fell back to the Warrenton road, fearing he
might be cut off at Stone Bridge. Hunter's Division covered the
retreat and were the last troops that crossed the bridge, and was the
only Division of the army that occupied its former quarters, as these
did, at Centreville that night.

DAY AFTER THE BATTLE.

The day after the battle was a busy one in camp; men were straggling
in all day, some of them that we had left among the wounded at the
field hospital on our departure the evening previous, who had managed
to hobble along on the road, and after a while reached camp. Some of
these, owing to the darkness of the night, had taken the wrong road
from Fairfax and brought up at Alexandria, whence they set out anew,
reaching Long Bridge and the camp some hours later. Among these
latter was John Fludder, who did not arrive until Monday afternoon,
when he surprised us by bringing with him the regimental flag, which
we had supposed to have been lost when the regiment "straggled" at
Stone Bridge, as no