rough at the base. All
at once I saw a Johnny coming down through the wood. He was coming
directly toward me, coming along quietly, glancing now to the right, then
to the left. I let him approach to within about three or four rods of me
when I ordered him to drop his gun. He dropped it and came in. He was a
big six-footer with a big, black beard eight or ten inches long. I took
him back to headquarters, turned him over to the officer of the day and
went back to my post again. This was great luck for me. In two consecutive
days I had, entirely alone and unaided, captured three Johnnies,--two at
one time and one at the other; and they were the only men I captured
unaided during the whole war.

May 27. Some of our boys had a little fun with some Johnnies that morning.
The Johnnies shot across the river and killed a cow that belonged to a
farmer living nearby. Then they stripped off their clothes and swam the
river, intending to have a good cut of beef for dinner. As soon as they
were over the river our boys appeared, took them prisoners and marched
them off to headquarters just as they were. The armies had both gone. We
were the pickets of the rear guard. We had been keeping very quiet in the
wood, and the Johnnies probably thought we had all gone. Well, they did
not have meat for dinner and we did. About noon we left the North Anna and
followed on after the army. The 28th we marched all day and most of the
night, but during the night the marching was less steady, the artillery
that was ahead of us was obliged to repair the roads in two or three
places which caused delays. During those halts the boys would, every one
of them in two minutes after the halt was made, be lying beside the road
fast asleep. On a long, hard march there is always more or less straggling
and those fellows once behind may have quite a little trouble in finding
their regiments again; but they go straggling along inquiring for their
regiments, brigades or perhaps their army corps, etc. Well, that night as
we were lying beside the road asleep, an officer came along--a very
important and very arrogant fellow--he woke up Tom and asked what regiment
that was. Tom rubbed his eyes, looked about and shouted loud enough to be
heard a quarter of a mile, "The 279th Rhode Island." A little way off
another fellow piped up, "That is a blasted lie, this is the 119th
Ireland;" the officer made no reply but moved on.

In this campaign there is firing going on somewhe