ugh a division of Longstreet's
corps bivouacked in a piece of woods. Our road lay across a high range
of hills, from beyond which the sound of cannonading greeted us. By
three o'clock that afternoon, when we reached the summit of the hills,
the firing ahead had developed into the roar of a battle, and we pushed
forward on the down-grade. The valley below, through which we passed,
was thickly settled, and soon we began to meet prisoners and our
wounded, whose numbers rapidly increased as we advanced, and at the same
pump by the roadside we frequently saw a group of Federal and
Confederate soldiers having their wounds bathed and dressed by Northern
women, kind alike to friend and foe. When we reached the field, about
sundown, the battle was over. This was July 1 and the first of the three
days of terrific fighting which constituted the battle of Gettysburg.

CHAPTER XXII

ON THE WAY TO GETTYSBURG--BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG--RETREAT

Before proceeding farther let us consider briefly the condition of the
two armies, and which had the better grounds to hope for success in the
great conflict now impending. With the exception of one--Sharpsburg--which
was a drawn battle, the Confederates had been victorious in every general
engagement up to this time. Scant rations, deprivation, and hardships of
every kind had made them tired of the war; and the recent abundance had
not only put them in better fighting condition than ever before, but made
them long to enjoy it permanently at home.

The Federal army had changed commanders after every defeat, and the
present one--General Meade--who had just been appointed, was not an
officer to inspire special confidence. With all this in favor of the
Southerners, all else seemed to conspire against them. On the morning of
June 30, the day before the battle, Pickett's division was at
Chambersburg, thirty miles from Gettysburg; Hood's and McLaw's (the
other two divisions of Longstreet's corps) fifteen miles nearer
Gettysburg; Hill's corps at Cashtown, nine miles from Gettysburg;
Rodes's division of Ewell's corps at Carlisle, thirty miles distant;
Johnson's at Greenville, and Early's near York. General Early levied for
and obtained from the city of York several thousand pairs of shoes and
socks and a less number of hats for his men, and $26,000 in money.

The different portions of the Federal army at this time were spread out
over a large area, south and east of Gettysburg. To the absence o