“For-ward—­MARCH!”

The dust is so dense that I can see nothing in the front, ... but we are moving.  Smith drops; Lewis falls to the rear; the ranks are thinning; elbows touch no longer ... our pace quickens ... a horrid impatience seizes me ... through the smoke I see the cannons ... faster, faster ...  I see the rebel line—­a tempest breaks in my face—­“Surrender, you damned Yankee!”

III

I BREAK MY MUSKET

     “And, spite of spite, needs must I rest awhile.”—­SHAKESPEARE.

I am running for life—­a mass of fugitives around me—­disorderly mob ...  I look behind—­nothing but smoke ...  I begin to walk.

The army was lost; it was no longer an army.  As soon as the men had run beyond gunshot they began to march, very deliberately, each one for himself, away from the field.  Companies, regiments, and brigades were intermingled.  If the rebels had been in condition to pursue us, many thousands of our men would have fallen into their hands.

In vain I tried to find some group of Company D. Suddenly I felt exhausted—­sick from hunger and fatigue—­and was compelled to stop and rest.  The line of the enemy did not seem to advance, and firing in our rear had ceased.

A man of our company passed me—­Edmonds.  I called to him, “Where is the company?”

“All gone,” said he; “and you’d better get out of that, too, as quick as you can.”

“Tell me who is hurt,” said I.

But he was gone, and I felt that it would not do for me to remain where I was.  I remembered Dr. Khayme’s encouraging words as to my will, and by great effort resolved to rise and run.

At length, as I was going down the slope toward the creek, I heard my name called.  I looked round, and saw a man waving his hand, and heard him call me again.  I went toward him.  It was Willis; he was limping; his hat was gone; everything was gone; in fact, he was hardly able to march.

“Where are you hit?” I asked.

“The knee,” he replied.

“Bad?”

“I don’t think it is serious; it seems to me that it don’t pain me as it did awhile ago.”

“Can you hold out till we find an ambulance?” I asked.

“Well, that depends; I guess all the ambulances are needed for men worse off than I am.”

Just then an officer rode along, endeavouring to effect some order, but the men gave no attention to him at all.  They had taken it into their heads to go.  By this time the routed troops before us were packed between the high banks of the roadway which went down toward the creek.  I was desperately hungry, having eaten nothing since five o’clock in the morning.

“Let’s stay here and eat something,” said I to Willis, “and let the crowd scatter before we go on.”

“No, not yet,” said he; “we need water first.  I couldn’t swallow a mouthful without water.  Whiskey wouldn’t hurt either.  Got any water in your canteen?”