stant vigilance, and the troops were continually on the alert lest a band of rebel guerillas which infested the region should make a sudden dash, destroy a portion of the road, and thereby seriously interrupt communication with the main army, encamped near Brandy Station. To guard against an incursion of this body, a strong picket force was stationed along the railroad, and a portion of the troops in camp were kept in readiness to repel an attack. The defences consisted of a formidable abatis surrounding the entire camp. The situation was very pleasant, and the daily duties and routine of camp were performed. On the 2d of May a large reconnoitring party was sent out, under command of Captain Holmes; but no trace of an enemy could be discovered.

10

CHAPTER XIII.

IN THE WILDERNESS.

ON the morning of the 4th all doubts as to our destination or the length of our stay at this point were removed by the receipt of an order from General Burnside for the corps to concentrate, and move forward to the Rapidan. At ten o'clock that forenoon the tents were struck, the line was formed, and we left our pleasant camp, little realizing the terrible scenes immediately awaiting us. In our march we followed the line of the railroad, and were joined at Catlett's Station by the command of Captain Morse. At noon a halt was made at Warrenton Junction, where the Second Division concentrated. Our brigade was now commanded by Colonel Zenas R. Bliss, of the Seventh Rhode Island, as Colonel Sigfried had been assigned to command a brigade of the colored division. The march was continued all the afternoon, and at nightfall we bivouacked at Bealeton Station, having marched thirteen miles.

On that day we received information of the resignation of our esteemed commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Goodell, in consequence of the wound he received at Blue Springs. His ability as a soldier and his reputation as a man were well established in the corps, and recognized by its commander, who desired him to remain in the service, and requested the Secretary of War to assign him to special duty. But the nature of his wound prevented him from rendering active service in the field, as he desired, and he was compelled reluctantly to resign.

At daylight of the 5th the command was in motion. At

nine o'clock we crossed the Rappahannock on a pontoon bridge. Here we saw the monument of wood, bearing the inscription, "Erected in memory of the brave sons of Maine who fell while gallantly charging these heights, November 7th, 1863. Fifth, Sixth, and Twentieth Maine." The monument bore the names of the fallen heroes, among which we read the names of several members of the Twentieth, our fellow-voyagers of the "Merrimac" in 1862.

As soon as the division had crossed the river the march was resumed over fields, through forests, and along dusty roads. The halts became less frequent, and the steadily increasing heat was severely felt. At noon we ate our dinner amid deserted camps, which but a day or two before were occupied by our comrades of the Army of the Potomac; and we knew that the terrible struggles of the past were soon to be renewed. Indeed, only an hour passed, and the deep booming of artillery was heard beyond the Rapidan. The lagging pace was now quickened, and dull hearts were stimulated to fresh life and courage. "Grant has found his objective!"

"Hark! There it is again!" "They're at it, boys!" Grant's found the Johnnies!" "Go it! We'll be in to-night! these and many like expressions were uttered by the men, excited for a moment at the sound of battle; while the clenched hands and compressed lips proved that the hour of great endeavor for victory or death-was near. No lagging now; no more halting for rest; but on-forward! The sounds of the battle grew louder and nearer, the din of musketry mingling with the roar of artillery. As we neared the conflict the spirits of the men seemed to grow lighter and more elastic and buoyant. The speed of the march was not abated until the Rapidan, at Germanna Ford, was reached, There, in the confusion of trains, artillery, and massing battalions, we were allowed a moment's rest. The halt, however, was brief. Soon the order - Forward! was given; and away we marched over the pontoon bridge, which swayed beneath our tread, with the sound of battle more appalling in front,

and the apparent confusion more startling in rear.

As we

crossed that sluggish stream, to many minds recurred the well-known lines:

"Part of the host have crossed the flood,

And part are crossing now!"

The regiment was now south of the Rapidan; and, upon halting, we had an opportunity of looking about, and many and earnest inquiries were made of every one coming from the front. We learned that the entire army had crossed the river the day before, the Fifth and Sixth Corps at Germanna Ford; the Second Corps, and the immense supply train of more than four thousand wagons, at Ely's Ford, six miles below; and that the whole army had pushed southward on the two available roads leading toward Spottsylvania, Grant's plan being to avoid the intrenchments of the enemy behind the Rapidan, turn his right, and by a rapid movement get between him and Richmond, and force him to retire, or fight a decisive battle on open and more advantageous ground.

Lee, from his signal-stations, observed the movement, offered no opposition to the passage of the river, but, instead of falling back, put his columns in motion by two parallel roads (the Orange and Fredericksburg Plank Road and Turnpike), to strike the Army of the Potomac at right angles with its line of advance, when it was well on its march through the tangled Wilderness. He moved from his works over roads and cart-tracks perfectly familiar to him, with the intention of assailing Grant's flank, separating the several corps, and then defeating them in detail.

The movement was a bold one, made with great celerity and with Lee's entire army; and General Grant was forced to accept battle in this unlooked-for place at the very commencement of the campaign. He did not expect, or rather did not desire, to be attacked in such a wilderness, and the order of march for this day, if executed, would have carried

his army beyond the Wilderness into the open country around Spottsylvania Court-House. But with characteristic promptness and resolution Grant faced to meet the enemy; the lines were pushed into the dense forests, and the terrible battle which will live in history as the "Battle of the Wilderness now raged around us.

This region, known as the Wilderness, was densely covered by a second growth of low, scraggy pines, scrub-oaks and hazel, a wild, uneven, tangled thicket, with but few openings that would permit the use of artillery, or clearings for formation and movement of troops. It is a region of gloom and the shadow of death. The advantage of position was entirely with the enemy, who were familiar with every ravine and ridge and cow-path throughout the dense jungle. Neither superiority of numbers nor the most skilful generalship could counterbalance the great advantages of the enemy. "In that horrid thicket lurked two immense armies, and there came out of its depths the crackle and roll of musketry like the noisy boiling of some hell-cauldron that told the story of death."

General Burnside ordered the division forward. We were worn and weary. Nearly twenty-five long miles lay between us and our resting-place of last night. The march had been severe and tedious, and yet with willing feet and hopeful hearts we pushed on, feeling the magic influence of that presence which, at Antietam, Campbell's Station, and Knoxville, had inspired the heroism of the men of the Ninth Corps. The march was continued for two miles over the narrow, dusty road, now crowded with wagons, guns, and troops; and just at dusk we filed to the right into the woods, and, after receiving orders to be in constant readiness to move, we stacked arms. Soon the groups gathered around little fires, kindled marvellously quick, attested the sharp appetites of the men. Although the march had been forced and exhausting but very few of the men had fallen out. Major Draper's quarters were established on the left flank,