s no difficult matter to piece out a blanket of ordinary
length, and a long place made by the uneven stretching of the largest
sized circular tent, was readily found. His own testimony may give to
the reader a hint with regard to the degree of demoralization to which
these men had passed after nearly a year of military deprivations:

"When their ranks had been thinned by capture and death, and they had
passed through all the corrupting tendencies and temptations of their
new life for nearly a year, I saw them in their tents in the heart of
Virginia, and nightly from the six tents went up the voice of song and
prayer as they bowed themselves around their family altars."

His visit was truly a pleasant one for Company C, and having proved his
genuine interest in them, he bade them adieu, feeling, undoubtedly, a
deep regret that he was not privileged to share their fortunes through
the whole service.

[Sidenote: Bivouac on the Levels.]

Not long, however, were the troops allowed to remain quiet, when a man
of so much life as Gen. Lander possessed, was at their head. On the 5th
of February they moved down the railroad to French's Store, and from
that point marched through the long night in a tedious, plodding manner,
over mountains and through streams, towards a point on the road between
Romney and Winchester, to intercept the rebels at the former place. By
noon of the next day the men, excessively wearied, found it even a
pleasure to throw themselves down upon the snow in the freezing rain, to
rest their exhausted forms. It was a fruitless raid. The foe had fled;
and at 3 P. M., with joy the men heard the order "About, face!" It was a
sweet rest that was enjoyed during that night after they halted on the
banks of the Little Cacapon. What added to it, were two stacks of wheat,
which were very soon converted into beds. The command moved back early
in the following morning to a high table land of the adjacent mountain,
where it remained seven days without tents or cooking utensils, and with
only one blanket to each man. Strong winds prevailed through these days,
which were the coldest of the whole winter. The snow was two thirds of a
foot deep where the men made their brush beds, and they had no
protection from the weather but loose brush sheds. The log fires in
front of these sheds soon consumed ten acres of thick pine forest. One
Irish ditching spade was the only cooking utensil which Co. C was able
to secure, and even