of mud. The aspect of the men, as they painfully prodded the moist ground with sticky shovels or crouched around smoky and sputtering fires, was lugubrious in the extreme, and their feelings corresponded with their looks. Occasional shots were exchanged by the pickets, and one man of the regiment, while sitting near a fire, was wounded by a stray ,bullet.

CHAPTER XXIV.

AGAIN IN THE TRENCHES.

THE morning of October 2d was bright and clear, and the lines were soon formed for an advance. We moved forward about a quarter of a mile, to a point not far distant from the Boisseau house, where we fell to in earnest and began the construction of a line of works which were destined to be our protection for many weeks.

We were greatly annoyed during the forenoon by a sharpshooter, evidently posted in a tree, and by the raking fire of a battery, also screened by trees, which occasionally caused a lively scattering by sending a shell whizzing diagonally across our line. One of these burst in the ranks of Company K, wounding three men and killing two; one of the killed being Sergeant Daniel A. Burton. The fire from the battery slackened in the afternoon, but the "reb" sharpshooter kept at work so persistently that it seemed extremely desirable to put a stop to his fun. Accordingly, Colonel Draper detailed James Knowlton, of Company E, and Corporal Frank Bell, of Company F, two good shots, to relieve us from this annoyance if possible.

They crept out some distance beyond the picket line, found cover, and waited for indications. They had not long to wait, for soon the crack of a rifle was heard, and from a tree in the edge of the woods back of the enemy's picket line rose a telltale puff of smoke. Both took careful aim, fired, and to their delight saw a gray-clad Johnny come tumbling heels over head out of the tree. The next morning the rebel pickets told ours that the man shot was a lieutenant of sharp

shooters. After this successful shot the work in the trenches was pursued with more safety and peace of mind, and by nightfall a strong rifle-pit stood between us and the enemy, behind which we pitched our tents and sought repose with a pleasant consciousness of being once more "in camp."

The day had been full of work and interest. The part of the new line built by the Thirty-sixth was on open ground, while the rebel position was masked by thick woods, and the fire from unseen batteries and sharp-shooters was harassing in the extreme. During the morning General Meade, accompanied by a brilliant staff, passed along the line and halted in the rear of the regiment, probably furnishing an additional inducement to the rebel gunners to serve their pieces well. In the evening Major Barker, Captain Fairbank, Captain Burrage, and some of the men, went over the ground in front of our lines, under cover of the darkness, and buried our dead, whom the enemy had stripped of their clothing and left where they fell.

October 3d passed more quietly. Shots were occasionally fired on the picket line, but no hindrance was experienced in the work of strengthening the fortifications, which was the principal business of the day. Engineers were engaged in laying out forts, two of which, named Fort Fisher and Fort Welch, were in time completed, and formed a prominent feature of the defences, as the line here made an angle, the works to the left of these forts being the protection for the extreme left of the army of the Potomac.

October 4th. Comparative quiet prevailed until the afternoon, when there was a lively breeze on the picket line. In our immediate front, and held by our pickets, was a deserted house, to which reference has already been made, lately occupied by Dr. Boisseau. As this house stood on rising ground, and commanded a view of the enemy's line, it was surmised that it might be made the object of an attack. In anticipation of such an event, Captain Morse, with his company, was, on the 3d instant, detailed as a reserve picket force, and

took up a position in a small rifle-pit near the house a short distance to the rear of the picket line. The rebels had during the day kept up a desultory fire, which made the position of the few men stationed in the building somewhat uncomfortable; but nothing unusual was noted until about four o'clock, when the enemy attacked the picket line of the Second New York, of our brigade. The capture of this line let the enemy into the rear of the picket pits of the ThirtySixth, and those adjacent to the house were precipitately evacuated; but the reserve force held its ground until convinced that the enemy was present in superior numbers, when it fell back, leaving the house and a few men in his possession. Our loss was four men captured, -Corporals Charles Bottomley and George H. Mills, of Company C, and privates Reuben Jackson and Lyman McDowell, of Company E. Mills and Bottomley were shortly afterwards paroled; but Jackson and McDowell were fated to swell the ranks of that mighty army the story of which is sadly told by the words, "Died in rebel prisons. " The picket line was at once reinforced, and the captured posts were retaken. A second attack of the enemy was unsuccessful. After dark, in accordance with orders, Captain Burrage, who was brigade officer of the day, gave directions for the burning of the building. It was soon a mass of flame, and presented a brilliant spectacle, the weird effect being heightened by the sharp crack of the rifles as the outposts on both sides blazed away at random, each desirous to show to his antagonist that he was not to be caught napping. At daylight on the morning of the 5th the disputed property was a heap of ruins, and our pickets who had been drawn back, on account of the fire, took possession of their old pits without opposition.

We were now for several days kept busy in the construction of earthworks, and the regimental camp was twice moved; but by the 7th instant we were well settled, and were made happy by the ever-welcome appearance of the pay

master.

This day was also marked by the arrival of a new stand of colors. The old flags, which in the wanderings of over two years of active service had been borne in ten States of the Union, and in both victory and defeat had been zealously guarded as the emblems of our organization, State and National, were now returned to the care of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts. Stained by the elements and blood, and torn by shot and shell, with both staves shattered by rebel bullets, they gave silent but faithful testimony to the vicissitudes through which the men who followed them had passed.

During this month an unexpected loss befell the regiment, caused by the retirement from the service of LieutenantColonel Draper and Captain Morse, who left for home October 13th, to the great regret of their comrades of the Thirtysixth, whether officers or enlisted men. Although young men, both were veteran officers of tried courage and recognized ability, and we would gladly have retained them; but their term of service had now expired, both having served in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts before entering the Thirty-sixth. Lieutenant-Colonel Draper was soon after brevetted Colonel and Brigadier-General " for gallant and meritorious service."

Major Barker succeeded to the command of the regiment, and soon after received a commission as Lieutenant-Colonel, dating from October 12th, 1864. The command of Company C devolved upon First Lieutenant P. G. Woodward.

On the 14th inst. the regiment was for the first time in its history ordered out to witness a military execution. The condemned was a private of the Second Maryland, named Merlin, who by the division court-martial, of which Lieutenant-Colonel Draper was president, had been found guilty of an attempt to desert to the enemy. The division was formed in an open field on three sides of a square, in the centre of which the doomed man was seated, blindfold, on a coffin placed at the side of an open grave. Familiar with death as the spectators were, it was an impressive scene as the firing de