t
it was on this occasion. At that time he was a member of the Tenth
Virginia Infantry, Jackson's division, and was camped near our battery.
Seeing General Lee and staff approach, he, with others, drew near to
have a look at them, and witnessed the meeting between father and son.
He also said that he had often told of the incident as illustrating the
peculiar composition of our army."

As we moved on over the battlefield that morning, the number of slain on
both sides was fully in proportion to the magnitude of the conflict of
the day preceding. In a piece of woods through which we passed, and
through which the battle had surged back and forth, after careful
observation I failed to find a tree the size of a man's body with less
than a dozen bullet-marks on it within six feet of the ground, and many
of them were scarred to the tops. Not even the small saplings had
escaped, yet some of the men engaged had passed through the battle
untouched. I was with my messmate, William Bolling, when he here
discovered and recognized the dead body of his former school-teacher,
Wood McDonald, of Winchester.

On the 28th we crossed the Chickahominy on Grapevine Bridge, the long
approaches to which were made of poles, thence across the York River
Railroad at Savage Station. As we moved along, fighting was almost
constantly heard in advance of us, and rumors were rife that the trap
was so set as to capture the bulk of McClellan's army. Near White Oak
Swamp we reached another battlefield, and, after night, went into
bivouac among the enemy's dead. About ten o'clock I, with several
others, was detailed to go back with some wagons, to get a supply of
captured ammunition. For four or five miles we jolted over corduroy
roads, loaded our wagons, and got back to the battery just before dawn
of the following morning. Scarcely had I stretched myself on the ground
when the bugle sounded reveille, and even those who had spent the night
undisturbed were with difficulty aroused from sleep. I remember seeing
Captain Poague go to a prostrate form that did not respond to the
summons, and call out, "Wake up, wake up!" But, seeing no sign of
stirring, he used his foot to give it a shake, when he discovered he was
trying to rouse a dead Yankee! Having been on duty all night I was
being left unmolested to the last moment, when Joe Shaner came to me, as
usual, and very quietly rolled up my blanket with his, to be carried on
his off-horse. This was the battle