that an idea may be had of the difficulties we were likely to, and did have, simply in the mere act of crossing.)

The crossing of the Rappahannock preparatory to the battle of Fredericksburg was begun about three o'clock on the morning of December 13th. On the hills on our side artillery had been concentrated, bearing upon the foot of a street midway the town on the line of the river, and although there were discharges of shot and shell by complete batteries at a time, and for hour's duration, yet not a single boat could be laid Hundreds of men and officers on our side fell thick and fast as soon as they debouched from the gully on our side, down which the roadway for the pontoon-train had been made. The Confederate sharpshooters on the opposite bank behind the breast-works that I have spoken of as having been made apparently secure against our artillery, fired at any distance; and until four o'clock in the afternoon it did look as though it was a matter of sheer impossibility for the whole Army of the Potomac to cross against a mere handful of Confederate skirmishers; until finally maddened, some of our troops in charge of the pontoon-train shoved the boats into the river, and, jumping in, boldly pushed across, plying their rifles as they went. The landing of a few of these boats had more terror for the enemy than the entire artillery of the Army of the Potomac. One Confederate skirmisher could be seen springing up and hastily going to the rear as fast as his legs would carry him, behind houses and through the yards. Then could be seen squads scampering in a like manner to the rear.

In the meantime the success of these bold movements on our part being apparent, others of our troops having charge of the pontoons, likewise pushed off and crossed the river, and in an hour's time from the commencement of this ferrying across the river we had the entire front, both up and down the river, as far as the eye could see; and that afternoon and night bridges were laid at three different crossings; large bodies of troops were sent over, and occupied the first and second streets of the town running parallel to the river. Thus was accomplished the crossing to Fredericksburg.

The following morning our division (the First Division of the Second Corps, commanded by General Hancock), crossed early; the major portion of us were drawn up along a street fronting the river. From here

a number of details were made up for skirmisher's duty up the streets running right angles with the river. Other details were made to report crossing preparatory to the movement. Considerable difficulty was experienced in routing the enemy from the houses fronting the streets running at right angles with the river, and it was not until that evening that we could see that we had possession of the entire town on the bank, the Confederate skirmishers retreating to their hills back of the town.

The next morning, or the second day after our crossing, our division was moved up into the main street, running through the heart of the town parallel with the river; the river in front of Fredericksburg, running as nearly as I can judge east and west. After some two hours and a half rest, the officers of our division were called to General Hancock's head-quarters. There the intended movement against the enemy's position was explained to us, to wit: that the Second Division, I think it was, would go in first on our front, and get as near the Confederate hill as possible and then lie down, when the First Division was to go through the Second Division, and in turn get as near the enemy's position as possible; and the Third Division was in like manner to follow and go through us. The watchword was given to us "Scott," after General Scott. As we had considerable length of streets to go through before we reached the fields back of Fredericksburg, and that stretched some distance in front of the enemy's position, the line was broken up into brigades, and these, passing through the different streets, turned right and left on reaching the rear of Le town, and so joined on to one another. But this movement of our troops was not allowed to be perfected except under a terrible fire from the Confederate artillery, that seemed to have cannon particularly planted to sweep the streets through which we pushed forward; but luckily for our own particular brigade their range seemed to be either too high or too low.

In forming line, the second division having preceded us and gone a considerable distance, we made a rush forward over fences, around brick-kilns, down gullies, through ditches, but though out of breath, we never stopped until we had gained a rising ground, but within scarcely a hundred yards from the foot of the hills on which the Confederate artillery was posted. Here, my own particular observation, was some

half a dozen huge guns on the crest of the hill immediately in front of me. My orders to my own men were to direct their rifles at these guns, to keep down their fire so that they would be able to assist the coming up of the succeeding lines of our troops that were to follow us. This we kept up for fully one hour. In the meantime, some half a dozen lines of our troops came up behind us, but instead of going through us, according to the arrangement, they immediately came up the hill and threw themselves on the ground behind us, until their numbers became so great that there was a compact mass of soldiers behind our line, some twenty-five or thirty feet in width, and stretching right and left as far as the eye could see.

To me the wonder of the assault was that there were no generals to com mand the troops. This remark, though, would not apply to Hancock's division, for we had gone farther towards the Confederate position than it was expected we would be able to go. Having performed all that was asked of us to do and seeing that there was likely to be a movement of the other troops, I laid down on my back and gazed on the events taking place there, watching the swarms of wounded men staggering, hopping and limping to the rear.

While doing this I noticed a commotion at the head of the streets from which we had emerged, and presently there dashed out into the broad open field, General Hancock, on horse back, surrounded by his numerous staff, that made him a very conspicuous mark for all the artillery on the enemys hills, and, in less time than we could count ten, you could see the ground being ploughed by the cannon shot all around the road. Some idea may be given this thing: when, immediately following General Hancock's emergence from the head of the street, some of our artillery advanced and attempted replying to the cannon of the enemy on the hills, but the Confederates having a considerable down hill range, forced the artillery of ours to leave after firing scarcely a round. Such was the inspiration of the moment caused by Hancock's gallantry that if the command" forward" had then been given to all the troops, I have not the slightest idea but that all positions of the Confederate line on hills in our front capable of being climbed, would have been taken.

CHAPTER XI.

MRS. SURRATT.

VERY living American, North and South, likes

EV

to describe his special sensation at the time of

the news of the murder of Abraham Lincoln, at Washington, on the night of April 14th, 1865. No individual event ever created such a shock throughout the civilized world. The daily record of the death of great men, of suicides, murders, shipwrecks, steamboat explosions, and conflagrations, hardly affects us: but the sudden killing of the unpretending President of the United States affected mankind at the same moment with a matchless horror. I never met an American who could not tell some story connected with that tragedy, and some personal revelation of exactly at what time and place he heard of it.

I heard of it at Richmond, on Saturday, the 15th of April, 1865, where I had been sent by Mr. Lincoln a few days before, with letters to the General in command, directing me to go with him and see the editors of the city and induce them to re-organize their newspapers, and to encourage

them to support the restored authority of the United States. Among my traveling companions were the present Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, Hon. Samuel J. Randall, the Hon. Emanuel B. Hart, of New York, the late General George M. Lauman, of Pennsylvania, and several others. After this news we returned to Washington by the earliest conveyance. On Sunday we reached the national capital to find Vice-president Andrew Johnson, installed in the presidency, holding his receptions at the Kirkwood House, while the dead body of the martyr was lying in the Presidential mansion, preparatory to that marvellous funeral, extending through all the states between Washington, the national capital, and Springfield, the capital of Illinois.

The idea, if not the apprehension of assassination was more or less before the mind of Abraham Lincoln, from the day of his election, November, 1860, to the day of his death, on the 14th of April, 1865. He did not seem to fear death, but there was so much written against him, and so much said to do him injury, and there was such an ingenuity of invention among those who did not know or did not like him, that even a calmer philosopher than himself would have been forced to pay some attention to a consideration that was more or less forced before his own and present in other minds. The reader will perceive that from the time he left Illinois on