omeone calling, "Sergeant Stillwell! Where is
Sergeant Stillwell?" I sprang to my feet, and answered, "Here! What's
wanted?" The speaker came to me, and then I saw that it was Lt.
Goodspeed, who was acting as adjutant of the regiment. He proceeded to
inform me that I was to take charge of a detail of three corporals and
twelve men and go to a point about a mile and a half east of
Burnsville, to guard a party of section men while clearing and
repairing the railroad from a recent wreck. He gave me full
instructions, and then said, "Stillwell, a lieutenant should go in
charge of this detail, but all that I could find made pretty good
excuses and I think you'll do. It is a position of honor and
responsibility, as there are some prowling bands of guerrillas in this
vicinity, so be careful and vigilant." I was then acting as first
sergeant, and really was exempt from this duty, but of course the idea
of making that claim was not entertained for a moment. I took charge of
my party, went to where the laborers were waiting for us with hand
cars, and we soon arrived at the scene of the wreck. A day or two
before our arrival at Burnsville a party of Confederate cavalry had
torn up the track at this point, and wrecked and burnt a freight train.
Some horses on the train had been killed in the wreck; their carcasses
were lying around, and were rather offensive. The trucks and other
ironwork of the cars were piled on the track, tangled up, and all out
of shape, some rails removed and others warped by heat, and things
generally in a badly torn-up condition. The main dirt road forked here,
one fork going diagonally to the right of the track and the other to
the left--both in an easterly direction. I posted three men and a
corporal about a quarter of a mile to the front on the track, a similar
squad at the same distance on each fork of the dirt road, and the
others at intervals on each side of the railroad at the place of the
wreck. The laborers went to work with a will, and about the time the
owls were hooting for day the foreman reported to me that the track was
clear, the rails replaced, and that they were ready to return to
Burnsville. I then drew in my guards, we got on the hand cars, and were
soon back in town. And thus ended my first, and only, personal
supervision of the work of repairing a break in a railroad.

I barely had time to make my coffee and toast a piece of bacon when the
bugle sounded "Fall in!" and soon (that being t