in an exposed
position and that we should be ready to move at a moment's notice. During
the first part of the night I was on picket duty out on the old road above
referred to back of the house. I was lying flat on the ground behind a
rail fence. I saw a man approaching. He was coming up that old road. I
waited until he was about thirty feet from me, then I ordered him to
halt. He turned and ran like a deer. I fired, but I did not stop him. This
occurred at about ten o'clock. At eleven o'clock I was relieved from guard
duty and at about twelve o'clock we left there and before daylight the
next morning we were on the other side of the Rappahannock.

During the day (November 11), our brigade commander had discovered that we
were some four or five miles in front of the rest of the army and in a
dangerous position. Longstreet had evidently discovered this too, and
during the day his scouts were finding out how strong we were, etc. Had we
remained there another day we might have had an opportunity to show our
strength.

I cannot omit to mention an incident which occurred at the last minute
just as we left the old farmer's place. The farmer and I had been rather
friendly during our stay there, but he had never given me a piece of corn
bread to eat, or a class of milk to drink, and I was indignant, and I
determined to get square with him. As we were about to leave, I thought of
an apple tree out back of one of his buildings in which a small flock of
turkeys roosted nights; so three of us boys went around there and
succeeded in capturing two of them. They added somewhat to the weight of
our luggage, but we had not a long march to make and did not mind it. We
remained in camp all day the 12th, nothing occurring out of the ordinary.
On the afternoon of the 13th Billy, Tom and I had gone back into the woods
a little way out of sight of camp to engage in a little hunt for the
loathed but ever present gray-back. I had finished the campaign and was
resuming my clothing, Tom had entirely redressed, but Billy was still on
undress duty. Suddenly Billy, whose quickness of sight and hearing were
remarkable, shouted Rebs! Rebs! Down a cross-road along beside the woods
on our right, a squad of the enemies' cavalry hove in sight, they saw us
about the same time Billy saw them, and started for us. I was barefoot,
but I ran as best I could carrying my traps in one hand and holding up my
unbuttoned trousers with the other. Directly I heard a mu