s unnecessary to state, was faithfully obeyed. The roll was called
by the orderly, and the guards posted for the night. Did guard duty
from eight to ten, and from three to five. During the night, as the
sequel showed, the enemy, finding their design anticipated, and
perceiving the preparations on all sides to intercept them of so
thorough a character, abandoned their project on Hagerstown, and,
under the cover of darkness, quietly recrossed the Potomac, and
escaped safely into Virginia--horse, foot, and dragoons! Thus
virtually ended the militia campaign in Maryland.

_Sunday, September 21._ Moved our camp into a very desirable location
in the adjoining woods recently occupied by our skirmishers. As it
was now generally understood that all immediate danger was at an end,
signs of the relaxation of military discipline began to appear, and we
returned to the easy habits which had characterized our band of
civilian soldiery before it arrived in the vicinity of the late scene
of conflict between the hostile armies. The tents were leisurely put
up, and, the strain of the past two days being taken off, we prepared
to spend a pleasant day of rest in the cool shade of the woods. Some
of the members of an adjoining regiment began a promiscuous firing of
their pieces, which it was said came very nearly drawing down the fire
of General Couch's guns upon our peaceful camp, it being supposed for
the time being that some straggling bands of the enemy might still be
lurking in the neighborhood. The chaplain of the regiment held
religious services, while some of the men stretched themselves under
the trees, and others made haste to write letters home, giving
accounts of the perilous scenes through which they had passed. These
missives, as it turned out, they had the gratification of delivering
in person. The Quartermaster, with his accustomed forethought, had
made a requisition before daylight on a neighboring hen-roost, and
preparations for serving dinner had already been begun, when, at
eleven o'clock, marching orders for Greencastle, Pa., arrived. This
was an agreeable surprise, as it suggested a homeward journey. The
authorities evidently regarded the emergency for which we had been
called out as at an end, and since this fact was assumed, a longer
sojourn in Maryland appeared undesirable.

We now packed up our traps and moved up to our former camping ground
at the Agricultural Park, near Hagerstown, where the interrupted
dinne