Eleven hundred
superb young fellows, marching four abrest, with bayonets fixed, and
muskets at "right shoulder shift," strode up the bank after him and went
into line of battle at the top, where he made a short soldierly speech,
the drums rolled, the colors dipped, the men cheered, and the band
played "Star-spangled Banner" and "Dixie."

Three years later the two hundred survivors of this number returning
from their "Veteran furlough," without a band and with their tattered
colors carefully cased, came off a transport at the same place,
without uttering a word other than a little grumbling at the trouble of
disposing of some baggage, marched swiftly and silently up the bank, and
disappeared before any one fairly realized that they were there. So much
had Time and War taught them.

"Now our work may be said to be fairly begun." said the Colonel, turning
from the contemplation of his regiment, and scanning anxiously the tops
of the distant line of encircling hills, as if he expected to see there
signs of the Rebels in strong force. All the rest imitated his example,
and studied the horizon solicitously. "And I expect we shall have plenty
of it!" continued the Colonel.

"No doubt of that," answered the Major. "They say the Rebels are filling
Kentucky with troops, and going to fight for every foot of the Old Dark
and Bloody Ground. I think we will have to earn all we get of it."

"To-day's papers report," joined in Surgeon Denslow, "that General
sherman says it will take two hundred thousand troops to redeem
Kentucky."

"Yes," broke in the Colonel testily, "and the same papers agree in
pronouncing Sherman crazy. But no matter how many or how few it takes,
that's none of our affair. We've got eleven hundred good men in ranks,
and we're going to do all that eleven hundred good men can do. God
Almighty and Abe Lincoln have got to take care of the rest."

It will be seen that the Colonel was a very practical soldier.

"First think we know, the Colonel will be trying to make us 'leven
hundred clean out 'leven thousand Rebs," growled Abe Bolton.

"Suppose the Colonel should imagine himself another Leonidas, and us
his Spartan band, and want us to die around him, and start another
Thermopylae down her in the mountains, some place," suggested Kent
Edwards, "you would cheerfully pass in your checks along with the rest,
so as to make the thing an entire success, wouldn't you?"

"The day I'm sent below, I'll take a pile of