little too
successful, for it was evident that there were more infantry than wagons
in our front. The surgeons took possession of a house and hung out their
flag, a few hurried preparations were made, and the regiments moved
cautiously up, when the return of one of our scouts disclosed that the
supposed enemy was only some of the Brooklyn regiments, who had taken a
shorter road, and come in ahead of our brigade. Considerably disgusted at
this intelligence, we turned off into the fields which bordered the road,
hungry and tired enough, and slept in the long wet grass, till in the
early gray of the morning, we were ordered to "forward."

On reaching Newman's Gap, we found that Lee's rear-guard had passed
through, about eight hours before we got there, and that the fight, so
confidently expected at this point, was "off" for some time yet; but,
though disappointed in this respect, we were compensated by obtaining
something to eat; and in addition had the pleasure of having pointed out
to us, no less than six houses, in all of which Longstreet had died the
previous night, and two others, where he was yet lying mortally wounded.

On the 7th of July, after an unusually fatiguing march over muddy roads,
rendered almost impracticable by the passage of Lee's army, the division
went into camp at Funkstown. The place selected was a level piece of
ground in the midst of a beautiful grove, intersected by a rapid little
brook, the whole forming one of the most comfortable spots imaginable.
Rations had come up, and though we had to sleep on our arms for fear of an
attack from Stuart's cavalry, then in our neighborhood, we lay down in
first rate spirits and slept the sleep of the just.

During the night it rained heavily; but too tired to wake up for any
ordinary shower, we sheltered ourselves and our guns as best we might,
and slept on. At about three o'clock it seemed as though the very
fountains of the great deep had been broken up, and the rain came down in
solid sheets, compelling the most tired to rise; we could stand a good
deal, and, as one remarked, a common rain wasn't anything, but when the
water got so deep as to cover his nose, he woke up in disgust.

What a sight presented itself on rising! The beautiful grassy plain, level
as a billiard-table, on which we had lain down so cheerfully the night
before, was now a lake, beneath whose surface our guns, canteens, and
other paraphernalia, were slowly disappearing; the little b