Chapter 25 - On The March

CHAPTER XXV

ON THE MARCH

The morning dawned at length and we were aroused from our slumbers by the stirring strains of martial music.  Falling in for roll call was next in order, after which Orderly Parks detailed two men, App Solomon and Garman Yankee, for fatigue duty.

This last order created considerable growling on the part of the entire company.  After the growling had reached its height, Parks changed it in the twinkling of an eye, by informing the detailed men that they were to report at Regimental head-quarters and to accompany the regimental detail to the wagon train, for the rations which had come up daring the night.

Soon after the men had left our hearts were gladdened by the sight of them re­turning, loaded down with boxes of hard-tack, salt pork, coffee and sugar.

The sight of the rations dispelled every particle of the deep gloom and ill nature which had so deeply settled over the a members of the entire Brigade and Di­vision.

Sergeant Stuck who was acting com­pany commissary Sergeant, never moved about smarter in his life, he did not even take time to whistle “Kennel’s reel.”

In less time than we can express it, the rations were divided out and the air was soon filled with the delightful aroma of boiling coffee and had it not been for the fumes of frying pork and burning crackers, we might have imagined that we were encamped amidst the coffee groves of Arabia.

After we had dispatched our breakfast, we were called into ranks by the Division bugler, seconded by the Brigade Bugler sounding the advance.

This was now the 17^th of the month, we having been on the march just one week.  Our surprise may well be imagined when we first discovered that we were counter marching and that instead of push­ing forward, we were going back over the same route that we had advanced on the previous day.  Conjecture was rife as to the cause of the retrograde movement and as to our probable destination, which proved to be about as near correct as such rumors generally were.

We reached our rainy camping quar­tets at Cock-pit Point in time for dinner, thus traveling as far in half-a-day as we had on the previous day, showing the decided advantage of marching with a full stomach over that of an empty one.

While resting here we first received authentic information of the results of the battle of Fredericksburg, which we obtained from Washington papers which were sold by a news agent who had come out from Washington.

In looking over the lists of the killed and wounded we discovered the names of number of Snyder county soldiers among them Captain George W. Ryan, Lieutenant John Gardener, &c., and we felt exceedingly thankful that our company had been fortunately permitted to be held in reserve and in this way to escape the startling casualties which were visited upon the various commands who participated in the battle.

We were allowed a short rest after dinner, and then started on the march.

Just as the sun was beginning to set himself in the western horizon, we reached Wolf Run Shoals, or Occoquan, had now marched as far in the one day, as we had on the two preceding days.