y were they absorbed in the
reflections that the time and circumstances produced.

Thus on to the Long Bridge that spans the great water highway between
the Nation's Capital and the "Old Dominion." The tread of a thousand
cavalry horses did not serve to shake its mile of solid superstructure.
It seemed a long journey from one end to the other. Above, the scurrying
clouds, below, the angry river, all around, the drizzling storm, it was
a sorry scene; and a sullen welcome to the soil of Virginia, that was
then as often before and afterwards, a slippery, sticky mud.

Halting at daylight, the column was reinforced a few miles out, by the
Fifth Michigan cavalry. Resuming the march, the two regiments passed
through Alexandria, looking with interest, of course, at the spot where
the chivalric Ellsworth was shot the year before. What a dilapidated
town, its whole face marred and scarred by the ravages of war!

It took till dusk to reach Centerville, and the rain never stopped long
enough to catch its breath, but kept at it, all day long. Such a first
night out as that was! The men slept, or rather stood in the rain all
night for sleep was out of the question. No wood could be procured, so
no fires were built and there was no hot coffee. It was a unique
experience for cavalrymen and they had not yet learned how to forage. I
wandered around in the rain and finally stumbled upon the quarters of
some infantry officers who were stationed near and had a tent and a
fire. They kindly permitted me to stay with them till morning. But for
this, it seemed to me that I should have perished, though the sequel
proved that it was possible to get through a worse night without food or
shelter.

In the morning at six o'clock, three more regiments, the Fifth New York,
the First Virginia, and the Eighteenth Pennsylvania, joined, and the
force, thus augmented to about two thousand men, pushed on towards
Warrenton, Sir Percy Wyndham in command. This officer was an Englishman,
an alleged lord. But lord or son of a lord, his capacity as a cavalry
officer was not great. He had been entrusted with one or two independent
commands and was regarded as a dashing officer. He had no sooner assumed
command of our force than he started off at a rapid pace through that
part of Virginia that was between Washington and Falmouth--that is, in
rear of Hooker's army, and where there was no enemy, unless it might
have been small bands of guerrillas. During the day he