e ford two days.

Early in the morning of the 22d, we left Kelley's Ford, going up the
river. Soon we heard artillery firing ahead but it did not last long. We
soon passed through Rappahannock station where there were a lot of dead
horses lying about, probably the result of the firing we had heard early
in the morning. In the early morning of the 23d there was heavy artillery
firing at Rappahannock station again. The commissary stores there were
burned and I think the place had been evacuated. Clouds of dust may be
seen off on the southwest and western horizon; artillery and infantry
firing in front and to our left may be heard most of the time. We fired
off and cleaned our guns and reloaded them again. All the signs indicate
that we are drifting toward a battle.

August 24. We started on the march early, but after going a little way
turned into a pasture and halted, a fine steer was driven up and killed;
in an hour all the eatable part of that creature had been consumed. There
was a large field of corn nearby to which we helped ourselves, and we had
as good a breakfast as any fellow ever needed. About ten o'clock heavy
artillery firing opened in front of us. A squad of Confederate prisoners
passed us going to the rear. There is firing on three sides of us, in
front, to the left and in our rear. We are going slowly along now,
marching two or three miles, then halting for an hour or two.

We were ordered to support a battery that was firing across the river at a
Confederate battery. A lot of our sharpshooters along the river bank were
firing away too. Directly the Confederate guns were silenced but the river
was between us; it was high, there was no ford nearby and we were obliged
to leave the guns there. As we moved along during the afternoon, some
ambulances loaded with wounded men passed us going to the rear. "Where
were you hit?" asked one of the boys. "Passing the time of day with some
cavalry on the other side of the river," was the answer received. At night
we camped near our train and had some coffee, the first we had had since
leaving Kelley's Ford.

About eight o'clock the morning of the 25th we left camp, soon passing a
bridge across the river on fire, then a dead negro lying beside the road.
Some of the boys examined him and said his flesh was still warm. Those
clouds of dust are still visible off to the left. We passed through the
town of Warrenton about noon, then marched till midnight. How the boys
grow