field of White Oak Swamp, fought on
June 30. Along the march from Cold Harbor we had passed several Federal
field-hospitals containing their sick, some of them in tents, some lying
in bunks made of poles supported on upright forks. These and their old
camps were infested with vermin--"war bugs," as we usually called
them--which, with what we already had after two weeks of constant march,
with neither time nor material for a change, made us exceedingly
uncomfortable.

CHAPTER X

GENERAL JACKSON COMPLIMENTS THE BATTERY--MALVERN HILL--MY VISIT TO
RICHMOND

On July 1 we passed near the battlefield known as Frazier's Farm, also
fought on June 30 by the divisions of Magruder, Longstreet, and others,
and arrived early in the day in front of Malvern Hill. For a mile or
more our road ran through a dense body of woods extending to the high
range of hills occupied by the enemy. At a point where another road
crossed the one on which we had traveled, and where stood two old
gate-posts, we were ordered to mount the caissons and limbers and trot
on toward the firing already begun. This order can be attributed to the
reputation our battery had made, and is a matter of record, which I
quote: "At Malvern Hill the battery was openly complimented by General
Jackson in connection with Carpenter's battery. When Gen. D. H. Hill
asked General Jackson if he could furnish him a battery which would hold
a certain position, from which two or three batteries had been driven by
the galling fire of the enemy, he said, 'Yes, two,' and called for
Carpenter and Poague, and General Hill ordered Captain Poague to bring
up his battery at once."

Taking the road to the left, we soon emerged from the woods into a
wheat-field, the grain standing in shocks. While seated on a caisson,
driving down this road at a trot, I was suddenly seized with a
presentiment that I was to be killed in this battle, the only time such
a feeling came over me during the war. Finding myself becoming rapidly
demoralized, I felt that, in order to avoid disgrace, I must get down
from that seat and shake the wretched thing off. So down I jumped and
took it afoot, alongside of the gun, as we passed down a little ravine
which was being raked from end to end by the enemy's shells. The
diversion worked like a charm, for in two minutes the apprehension toned
down to the normal proportions of "stage fright." We were soon in
position with our six guns ablaze. The enemy's batterie