returned to the field in
search of the horse that I had lost, for which I had great affection. The
scene was one of indescribable confusion, although there appeared to be no
fright or terror in the minds of the men who were leaving the field.
Officers seemed to have lost all identity with their commands, subalterns
and even colonels moving along in the scattered crowd as if their work was
over and they were wearily seeking the repose of their domiciles. The
scene was such as to remind one of that which can be seen daily in any
large manufacturing town or village, when the operatives, let loose by the
expiration of their hours of labor, all set out for their respective
homes. During working hours the system for work is maintained, but upon
the ringing of the bell, all depart according to their respective bents
and wills. So upon this field, the general impression seemed to be that
the day's work was done and that the next thing in order was repose. There
were a few notable exceptions. I remember well a large and powerful man, a
field officer of what I took to be a Maine regiment--at any rate he and
his men were uniformed in gray--using the most strenuous exertions to get
his men together. He coaxed, threatened and applied to them every epithet
that he seemed capable of, but all to no purpose. The idea of the men
seemed to be that their work was over for the day, and that they were
going home to rest, not realizing apparently, that whether on or off duty,
they were subject to the orders that their officers deemed best to give.

The bullets began to whistle uncomfortably thick, and I gave up the search
for my horse, and rejoined the battery, then moving along the road in good
order, in which condition it continued until the head of the column
reached the foot of the hill at the base of which flowed what is known as
Cub Run. Here was a bridge rendered impassable by the wrecks of several
baggage wagons. In the ford at the left was an overturned siege gun,
completely blocking up that passage, and the right ford was completely
filled with troops and wagons. Of course the leading team of the battery
had to halt, and it was impossible to stop the rear carriages on the steep
hill, so that the column became only a jumbled heap of horses, limbers,
caissons and gun carriages. To add to the confusion, just at this moment a
rebel battery in our rear opened fire, and it seemed as if every one of
their shots came down into our very midst