ollowed him to our new camp ground. He stayed there a half an hour or
an hour talking with the officers and men. He told us we could stay there
a while and get rested, then rode away.

The reason for this act of kindness toward the old regiment by General
Burnside I have never been able to fully account for. He may have known
that General Reno regarded it with special favor and General Reno had just
been killed at South Mountain. Brigade after brigade had been sent in to
take the bridge at Antietam but it remained for the old 2d Brigade to
accomplish the work. The 21st was the only New England regiment in the 2d
Brigade, and he being a Rhode Island man, may have had something to do
with it. At any rate, it made the boys feel mighty good to have the old
general come over and show a personal interest in the regiment. The
capture of the Stone Bridge by the old 2d Brigade deserves special mention
for more reasons than one. One reason is the following: Charles Carlton
Coffin, war correspondent of the Boston Journal, was an eye witness of the
affair. He wrote home to his paper an account of the battle. In that
account he spoke in such enthusiastic terms of the charge of the old 2d
Brigade at the capture of the bridge that a special edition of the paper
appeared a few days later containing it. In that article he declared, "The
heroism of the assault upon the bridge by the three regiments was
unsurpassed either on the Rebel or Union side, in the annals of the war."

October 1. We moved down into Pleasant Valley and went into camp. We
remained there until the 27th, resting, drilling, and being supplied with
clothing, shoes, shelter tents, etc.

The 3d. President Lincoln visited the army and there was a grand review. A
review at that time of the Army of the Potomac, just at the end of
McClellan's service with it, showing his great organizing ability at its
best, was a spectacle of exceptional interest. The Army of the Potomac
numbered at that time about 145,000 men. It moved in formation by company
front, double quick time, regiment after regiment, brigade after brigade,
division after division, army corps after army corps, infantry, cavalry
and artillery, tramped, surged and poured past the reviewing party, at the
head of which sat the President. It was a formidable spectacle and must
have pleased Mr. Lincoln. The President, it must be conceded, made a
peculiar impression as he sat on his horse, his long legs almost dangling
on