e to one. How this is to be explained I never
understood, unless it be that most of the casualties were from exploding
shells. The minute fragments of a shell scatter very widely and wound,
whilst there are fewer of the large pieces which kill. For example, the
shell that exploded in the front of our second company, as it was
turning to enter the street leading out towards Marye's Heights,
previously described, knocked out ten men, only one of whom was
instantly killed. It is safe to estimate that of the nine thousand six
hundred reported as wounded, one-third died or were permanently disabled
therefrom.

To show how quickly troops can recover from such a shock as the disaster
of Fredericksburg, the Second Corps had a grand review back of Falmouth
the second week after the battle. Major-General Edwin V. Sumner,
commanding the right grand division, was the reviewing officer. I have
spoken before of this distinguished officer. This was his farewell to
the Second Corps, which he had long commanded and to which he was
greatly attached, a sentiment which was most cordially reciprocated by
the men. He was now probably the oldest in years of all the officers in
the army, yet still vigorous, intrepid, and efficient. He was relieved
from active command in the field and assigned to the command of the
Department of the Ohio, but a few months later died peacefully at his
home in New York. Is it not singular that this old hero should have
escaped the numberless missiles of death in all the battles through
which he had passed, so soon to succumb in the quietude of retirement?

Our regiment had present at this review but few over two hundred men,
and the other regiments were proportionally small, so that the corps was
scarcely larger than a good-sized division, yet it appeared in splendid
condition. Its depleted numbers and battle-scarred flags alone told the
story of its recent experiences. The following week our regiment was
detailed for a ten-days' tour of picket duty, and was encamped some
distance above Falmouth in a pretty grove. This change of service was a
welcome one to the men in many respects, for there was better foraging
opportunities, and there was also considerable excitement attending this
service in the presence of the enemy. The Rappahannock River was the
dividing line of the two armies, and their respective pickets lined its
banks. At this time the two lines were kept as far as possible concealed
from each other, t