ad a
suspicion that I was giddy, and full of the devil, and I have thought he
had an idea I would sacrifice the whole army to perpetrate a practical
joke, and he also maintained that I would lie, if a lie would help me
out of a scrape. I never knew how such an impression could have been
created. The colonel said he would try and get along without me, the
adjutant didn't want any more of my mathematics in his reports and the
brigade commander said he would carry the brigade colors himself rather
than have me around, as I would bring headquarters into disgrace some
way. So I had to serve as a private in my own company, which was very
hard on a man who had tasted the sweets of official position. O, if my
commission did not come soon I was lost. After we had marched a couple
of days it began to look as though we were liable to have a fight on our
hands. Every little while there would be firing in advance, or on the
flanks, and things looked blue for one who did not want to have any
trouble with anybody. One morning when we were cooking our breakfast
beside a pitch pine log, a little Irishman, who was a friend of mine,
as I always lent him my tobacco, said: "There will be a fight today, and
some wan of the byes will sleep cold tonight."

A cold chill came over me, and I wondered which of of the "by's" would
draw the ticket of death. The Irishman noticed that I was not feeling
perfectly easy, and he said, "Sorrel top, wud yez take a bit of advice
from the loikes of me?" I did not like to be called sorrel top, but if
there was any danger I would take advice from anybody, so I told him to
fire away. He told me that when we fell in, for the march of the day,
to arrange to be No. 4, as in case we were dismounted, to fight on foot,
number four would remain on his horse, and hold three other horses, and
keep in the rear, behind the trees, while the dismounted men went into
the fight. Great heavens, and that had never occurred to me before. Of
course number four would hold the horses, in case of a dismounted fight,
and I had never thought what a soft thing it was. It can be surmised by
the reader of profane history, that when our company formed that morning
I was number four. We marched a long for a couple of hours, when there
was some firing on the flanks, and a couple of companies were wheeled
into line and marched off into the woods for half a mile, and the order
was given to "prepare to fight on foot." It was a momentous occasion