have thrown the balance of strength upon our side. Others
claimed that the whole campaign had been sadly mismanaged by a commander
who had, as they insisted, never seen his army fight; who had invariably
found employment elsewhere than on the field of battle when fighting was
to be done, and whose character as a soldier was made up of doubts and
hesitancies.

Six weeks of camp life, dreary, sickly and monotonous, succeeded our
arrival at Harrison's Bar.

Our corps proceeded to the work of throwing up strong intrenchments and
mounting guns. Our Third brigade, Second division, constructed an
extensive fort, in which several very heavy guns were mounted; each of
the regiments taking their turn at the labor. In our front the forests
were slashed for a great distance, and thousands of sturdy wood-cutters
plied their heavy blows, sweltering under the burning rays of the sun.

Sickness became almost universal. The men were worn out with the
tremendous labors which they had performed since their arrival on the
Peninsula; they were burned by almost unendurable heat; they were nearly
devoured by the countless myriads of flies and other annoying insects;
and they were forced to drink impure and unwholesome water. It was not
strange that hundreds died in camp, and that hundreds more, with the
seeds of death implanted in their constitutions, went to their homes in
the north to breathe out their lives in the midst of their friends, or
languished in the large government hospitals at Washington, and other
cities.

Leaves of absence were given freely, and thousands availed themselves of
the opportunity of visiting their homes and recruiting their health. The
men, with the patience which none but soldiers ever exhibit, went
quietly to work to render their situation as tolerable as possible.
Wells were dug in the camps, from which they procured better water than
they were able to get at first, and small pines were brought and set
among the tents, by which some degree of protection was afforded against
the burning sun. On the morning of the 8th of July, the monotony was
broken by the arrival of President Lincoln. The booming of artillery
announced his coming, and the heartfelt cheers of the soldiers assured
him of a welcome.

The President, after spending a few hours at the head-quarters of the
army, proceeded to review the various corps. He was accompanied by
General McClellan, and many officers of note. Everywhere he received an
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