of this belief among the negroes. He
further assures me that he is informed that the negroes in North
Carolina entertained the same belief.

Among those who were thus fleeing from bondage, were two fine boys, each
about twelve years of age and from the same plantation. Each gave his
name as John, and as they were both remarkably bright little fellows,
they were at once adopted into our head-quarters family. Their sprightly
manners, their ready wit and their kindly good nature soon brought them
into general favor. We were very early one morning startled by an
extraordinary commotion in front of head-quarters, where the two Johns
stood swinging their hats, leaping and dancing in most fantastic manner,
and screaming at the top of their voices the wildest exclamations of
delight. Looking in the direction to which their attention was turned,
we saw a group of eight or ten negro women and small children
accompanied by an aged colored patriarch. One of the Johns suddenly
forgetting his ecstacy of delight, rolling up the whites of his eyes and
holding his hands above his head, exclaimed with impressive gravity, "Oh
my Lor a massa! What'l ole missus do now?"

The party consisted of the mothers and younger brothers and sisters of
the two boys with their grandfather. Forgetting for a moment their joy
at the escape of their friends from slavery, the boys were overpowered
with the vision of "ole missus" left desolate, without a slave to
minister to her many wants.

On the morning of the 6th of August, we were astonished to find the camp
of our neighbors of the Fifth Vermont deserted, and their picket line
occupied by a regiment from the Third division. The surprise was still
greater when we learned that the whole of the Second brigade had been
ordered to New York city to guard against any resistance which might be
offered to the enforcement of the draft. The order had reached the
brigade after midnight, and at three o'clock it was on its way to the
north. Thus the Third brigade was now all that was left of the Second
division of the Sixth corps. Up to this time General Howe had kept the
division, except the two regiments on picket, hard at work at division
drills. It is safe to say that no division in the army performed more
labor in drills than Howe's during the time that it was under command of
that officer. The whole division was encamped in one of those charming
localities which make this part of Virginia more beautif