, the wild,
silly vaporings of a weak man.

I was sent with a detachment of the 3d Ohio to picket the road in
front of the enemy and in advance of the point from whence Rosecrans
had left it to ascend the mountain. My small force took up a
position less than one half mile from the enemy's fortified position,
driving back his pickets at the dawn of day through the dense timber
on each side of the road. About 9 A.M. a mounted orderly from
McClellan came galloping from camp carrying a message for Rosecrans,
said to be a countermand of former orders, and requiring him to
halt until another and better plan of movement could be made. The
messenger was, as he stoutly insisted, directed to overtake Rosecrans
by pursuing a route to the enemy's _right_, whereas Rosecrans had
gone to our _right_ and the enemy's _left_. Of this the orderly
was not only informed by me, but he was warned of the proximity of
the Confederate pickets. He persisted, however, in the error, and
presented the authority of the commanding General to pass all Union
pickets. This was reluctantly respected, and the ill-fated orderly
galloped on in search of a route to his _left_. In a moment or
two the sharp crack of a rifle was heard, and almost immediately
the horse of the orderly came dashing into our picket lines, wounded
and riderless. The story was told. The dispatch, with its bearer,
dead or alive, was in the enemy's hands. The orderly was, however,
not killed, but had been seriously hurt by a rifle ball. He and
his dispatch for Rosecrans gave Pegram his first knowledge of the
movements of the column to the mountain summit.

For reasons already stated, Pegram entertained no fear of an attack
on his left and rear, but was somewhat apprehensive that his right
was not equally secure, and hence, early on the 11th, he had sent
a small picket to near Hart's house and taken the further precaution
to have his right vigilantly watched. The message found on the
captured orderly informed Pegram that Rosecrans was leading a column
to his rear.( 5) The latter thereupon sent a strong reinforcement
under Captain Julius A. De Lagnel to the picket already on the
mountain summit. By reason of the expected approach of a force
around the right, breastworks were hastily thrown up and two pieces
of artillery put in position to repel an attack from that direction.
Pegram, in his uncertainty, concluded that Rosecrans might take a
still wider circuit around his r