Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-08-21

service. AS we hurried to the stables
we heard the long rolf sounded in
the infantry camp near us. by the
time the ASSEMBLY" sounded, the word
had gone through camp that the out.
posts on every road, on a circuit of ten
or more miles, had been driven in or
captured.
AS we rode out at trot we could see
infantry moving into the works on ev.
cry side, light batteries taking posi-
lions behind breastworks and men at
the heavy guns in the forts, while to.
ward series Of roads different from
that which we were approaching anoth.
err cavalry regiment was moving. In the
town we divided so as to reconnoiter
three roads to find out who and where
the enemy was. 1t did not take long
to get the desired information. a Con-
federate gun or two on each road sent
n shell or two to let us know where
they were, and dash Of skirmishers
at the gallop yielded two or three pris-
oners. who told us that the troops who
had caused the alarm were two corps
of Lees army.
Well, we had gained the information
for which we had gone in search, but
1t didn't please us at all. 1t foreshad-
owed a change of habit for us. Up to
that time we had been able with sin.
gle battalion to send flying back to
their camps any force that had ap-
preached the town. We could scarcely
expect to do so with the newcomers.
A single Confederate corps numbered
more than 10000 men; the entire force
at our post numbered less than 5000
There was nothing to joke about. Men
spoke to one another about the situa-
ton and reasoned about it. but in sen.
fences no longer or more sensible than
those above. Every one seemed labor.
ing under sense of personal affront-
affront which he was unable to resent
We went to camp, and the enemy
gent to terrifying. as we soon after.
ward learned when on one reconnois.
sance oranother we stumbled upon forts
and brcastworks where once had been
clear roadway and fields. Weeks aft
pers that Longstreet had been in our
ncighborhood for forage and food for
Lees army. Had General LongStreet
explained his purpose to us when he
came, great lot of Improbable worry
might have been spared. We might
even have complimented him on the
wisdom displayed in the selection of
the territory, for the country round
about lis was fertile and we'll titled and
had not been laid under contribution
by soldiers, except perhaps to the ex'
tent of a few sweet potatoes, chickens
and turkeys. BY driving in our pick.
cts LonCstreet got possession of two
railroad lines which gave him free com.
munica lion. barring the few miles with,
in our lines. between Richmond and
North Carolina.
But none Of these things did General
Longstreet explain to us. Whatever
may have been his own intentions a.
he meandered from farm to farm for
corn and bacon, his men acted as il
they would like to draw forage from
the commissary department Of our own
post and get anything else the town
might hold, ourselves included. If a
man doesn't want peaceable intentions
misconstrued. he shouldn't intrust
them 10 thousands of fellows with guns
in their hands. Such men always get
things mixed.
OF one thing we felt assured-the en-
envy could not cut our line Of retreat,
which also was the route of our sup
plies, for this was over causeways
through the Dismal Swamp. a dark,
deep, but friendly ally which could
have swallowed an army like Long
streets without more than whetting
its own appetite. The swamp was not
exactly mud, hut almost any part Of
it could be turned to mud in few min
utes by the tramp of "A few men. And
such mud rich. black ooZe of de-
cayed vegetation. into which. except in
midsummer or midwinter, the foot
would sink as into moss, while right
under the surface was a tangle of
roots which never tired of nlaying boot
jack for the pedestrian. To have ones
boot pulled off without warning Is
amazing. To afterward drag the same
boot from net full Of ooze into which
the other boot Is slowly sinking Is still
worse. One of Longstreet men got
through the swamp to the railroad
track and captured one Of our pickets,
but he admitted that he was sorry he
did it, He had trouble enough in re-
turning to wish he had only himself to
think Of. To get enough men through
to destroy our railroad track would
have been impossible.
So we could run away II the post be-
came too hot to hold us. and we
couldn't be starved. After thinking
this over the situation didn't seem so
eral Lee had sent US cavalry instead of
infantry TO fight. We were not accus-
toned to meeting infantry and might
make mistakes. Still, there was a
chance of improving our military edu-
cation under so able tutor as Long
street.
For the next few days our principal
duty was to find ont where the enemy
was. We always succeeded. We had
only to go a mile or two outside our
own lines to be loudly assured that il
was not necessary to 90 farther, and
the mounted skirmishers who dashed
in the direction of the first shots al
ways saw gray figures lying down In
shallow rifle pits, with breastWorks far