Year: 1863

STOuuuJ We were sui anu NiICu aLu SOLui sHu |
it was a great treat to be free to move about
as we-pleased once more, and to stretch our
selves.


We got orders to remain in this position all !
night and without FIRE, which would have
revealed our position to the enemy. This was /
rather hard for men as cold as we were, but
we set to work to make ourselves as COM
fortable as the. case would permit. There
were plenty of corn stalks and few old
cracker boxes lying about the field, and these
were gathered up and made beds of to keep
us off the ground a little Corporal Dick Zone
of the best men in the company, or in the
whole Regiment, by the way,} gave me part
of a cracker box, which 1 dissected and made
a bed Of, with my blankets and Oileloth.- Bat
it was cold sleeping, and about II o'clock
Chaying turned in before 81 I woke up, and
seeing everything quiet walked over to the
hospital to warm myself by some Of the nu-
merous fires kindled round it. The wounded
were so numerous that the house would not
hold half Of them, and many were laid by fires
on the ground, wrapped in blankets, where
they seemed to be sleeping as quietly as if
they were in comfortable beds There was
little or nothing which could be done for them
here, as it was only field hospital to which
they were brought from the field, and thence
taken to the general hospital some three miles
in the rear, for which purpose a constant
stream of ambulances were running all night,
so as to get them all removed before the bat
tie should be renewed in the morning. I
stayed until nearly 2 o'clock in the morning
around the hospital fire, by which time the
house was pretty well thinned out The
rooms. were warm and comfortable, and the
temptation to lie down and go to sleep was
almost irresistible, but if did so, cid not
know when would wake up and might lose
the regiment, and get "gobbled up (Which
is the fashionable phrase for captured } and so
I went over to my cracker box and turned in
again. Before got to sleep, however, orders
came to get the regiment up quietly and move
it back % Gen. HaskelIs headquarters. When
we got there and formed line it was nearly 3
o'clock, (New Years morning, and my com
pany was deployed some two hundred yards
in front as skirmishers and pickets. It was
bitter cold, and seemed a long time till day
light. About o'clock the Sergeant-Msjor
came out to tell me that the regiment had fall
len back up the railroad for short distance,
but for US to remain out as skirmishers until
recalled. By daylight they had fallen back
still farther to the new semi-circular line you
have seen mentioned in the papers, as formed
by Gen. .Rosecrans the night OF the 3lst, and
by some misunderstanding we failed to get
the word which was sent US. Soon after day
| light the enemy's skirmishers attacked point
Of woods on our right. Seeing no sign of our
regiment, or indeed Of any troops within sight
or supporting distance, we commenced falling
back. After going a short distance, we joined
the line of sIlirmishers from the 2lst brigade,
also falling back. The enemy not advancing
we halted, and then advanced again, nearly
back to our former position. Just at this point
our batteries opened on the point Of woods
the rebels had attacked and shelled it. We
soon after got an order to return to the regi-
ment, which we found in the rear of the new
line of battle, where we remained a day in re-
serve, not being, engaged at all, only little
while in the morning exposed to a rebel bat
terry.


In the evening we crossed over info cedar
thicket, where we might have fires and spend
the night comfortably. I spent half an hour
or so, cutting cedar, and made good bed with
fire at the foot fit, ate my supper and had
just got comfortably to sleep when we were
called up at half past eight and ordered to get
ready to moVe--as it turned out to go on
picket along the 'front.' This was another
night without much sleep, though we were
in the second line where we might have slept
| if it had not been so cold. I saw newspaper
statement, think, that it rained that night,
but it did not-not until the next. If it had
we could have slept, but was clear and cold.


Soon after daylight in the morning we were
sent to relieve a regiment in the front line in
support of a battery. The regiment was
placed in position on the crest of little rise
near the battery, and our company thrown
forward as few rods into the edge of a little
thicket a skirmishers. We had hardly got
into position when the most furious cannon
ade opened, I think ever heard. It seemed
as if all the guns of both armies must be en-
gagged in it. From our position-which was
on lower ground than the regiment, and shell
tered by the woods-we were comparatively
safe from its effects; entirely so as it proved,
none of US being hurt, and could see it all.
The air seemed full of shot and shells, all far
above our heads, though. Our battery was
disabled and had to be Withdrawn very soon,
though others on our. side took it up. It did
not last long, however, and the rest of the
day was very quiet up to 3Or4 o'clock in the
afternoon; only scattering fire from our
skirmishers on our right and left, disturbing
the quiet


Directly in front of US was an open field
perhaps four acres, (the fences all removed !;
at the farther side, the old fence row was mar
ked by row Of peach trees, and beyond that
another cleared field about twice as long, ex-
tended to thick wood in which the rebels
were, as they also were in the woods on the