St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-10-05

the distance. At five in the afternoon
on that l4th of June the corps reached
Stafford Court House, and halted for
five hours, when the tramp was re-
sumed. All through the night the
column crept on at snaifs pace, the
men keeping ever sharp lookout for
the bright camp-fires which would an
nOunce the approaching bivouac. But
no camp-fires were lighted that night,
and morning found the command at
Aqua creek, where a halt was made
for breakfast. But not for rest! Not
yet. just few moments in which to
breathe after swallowing their coffee,
and then Forward !" once more on
the interminable road.
The sun rose bright and clear, and
a sultry day ensued. Like magic the
mud dried and crumbled under the
multitude of feet and choking cloud
of dust arose and settled in volume on
every perspiring face and hand. 1t
penetrated everywhere-eyes, nose,
mouth and lungs, all were filled ;
thirst became intolerable, but water
was not to be had. Even if by good
fortune little spring or stream was
discovered, in a moment the banks
were trampled and the water all too
soon lost its purity and became mere
liquid mud from the struggles of the
rushing hundreds who swarmed about
it, eager only to touch a fingers tip in
the cool mass if it was no longer pOssi-
bic to moisten the parching throat
with the undrinkable mixture.
They marched till Dumfries was
raacha1 at nnnp onl baltal on a SnntI,
sloping hillside, where on the parch-
ed ground in the terrible glare of the
sun the men threw themselves to sleep,
glad of even that opportunity. AT
midnight the march was resumed, and
in this manner Fairfax was reached,
and there and ut Centerville several
days were passed. Some troops which
had been doing duty in the fortifica-
tions there were relieved, and the we'll
worn soldiers saw them march toward
the front with the expectation of re-
naming i'll their places; but the next
day the veterans were likewise on the
road, in driZZling rain that made
their clothes as damp as their spirits.
This was the Goth of June, and the Both
found them at Manchester on the
Pennsylvania border, having moved by
way of Edwards ferry and Westmins-
ter, following the cavalry on the eX-
treme right of the army. This had
been continuous marching at the rate
of some twenty-five miles a day, with
alternate rain and heat telling severely
upon the jaded men.
Here, then, was the 9th corps, at the
point from which it was to make one
of the most remarkable marches known
to history, not fresh for the effort, but
well exhausted by a month of almost in
cessant skirmishing and marching.
The LIST of July, after a general brush
ing up and inspection was devoted to
rest. All the afternoon came the roar
of cannon far to the northwest, but
that was familiar sound and only
evoked the remark that the cavalry
were having another brush. AS dusk
fell many of the men were asleep, for
they were still weary, when the clatter
of hoofs, the hurried dash of staff Off
GERS, the hustle of preparation at head
quarters and the vigorous command to
"Pack up and fall in ~ drove away in
Il moment all hope of Il refreshing
nights sleep. Before the slower men
are i'll their places, even, the column is
in the road and sweeping back in the
direction whence it came the previous
evening. There is a hope which is
more than half belief that the desti-
nation may be Westminster, which is
but ten miles away, and the men move
out with cheerful step. Presently Il
kind-hearted farmer, who is giving
each boy i'll blue a cup of milk, an
nounces that battle has been in pro-
gress at Gettsyburg, nearly forty miles
away, and it is natural to suppose that
the destination of the corps.
"AbOW forty miles-he said it was
forty miles-and what did he call the
name of the town ~ goes from lip to
lip, and the step which had been light
becomes heavy and mechanical, and
the soldiers are transformed into mere
machines, to plOd on as steadily as
possible all the interminable night.
There is no moonlight and only n pale
glimmer of the stars, half .Obscurei by
clouds but the long column presses
forward and never halts, for if it stops
the men will drop into heavy slumber
and may be left behind in the darkness.
The night is well advanced, and the
leading brigade has been toiling for
miles along a narrow road, when a
shouting aide presses through the
struggling fOOtmen. "Make way here,
make way, for Gods sake you are all
wrong I" Then reaching the head of a
regiment: "Halt your men, colonel
you are on the wrong road !" Present
ly the head of the column comes slowly
back, those who have dropped asleep
are reused, the regiment countermarch
es and plods back over the three or
four miles that have taken so much of
the soldiers vital force all in vain. Two
or three hours have been lost and six
or eight miles of ground covered that
the general historian will make no ac-
count of when he tells the story of the
night.
Morning lights the east dawn flush
es the sky; day comes in its full glory
but the column does not halt. At last
the advance brigade turns from the
highway, and a hundred little fires for
the preparation of coffee flash up in
moment. The water comes from
generous brook in the valley, and how
grateful after the intense hunger is
partly satisfied it will be to bathe the
heated face and blistered feet in the
cool stream Vain hope J Even be-
fore the coffee is made the bugle rings
ont its unwelcOme call and the weary
procession is resumed. The half-made
coffee is swallowed on the march or
carefully poured into the canteen, for
in many cases it is the only food or
drink the soldier can hope to taste that
day. Gen. Meade has just taken COM
mand of the army, and by an unfortu-
nate change in the method of issuing
rations the haversaeks everywhere
were empty on that day, and the sup
ply was very insufficient for several
days after, especially among the wound
ed. Far ont on either flank of the