brigade, from which we had been separated at the fort. We marched through the town and about a mile and a half further to a wood on the left of the pike, where we pitched tents beside the others, thinking we would probably remain there a few days. We soon heard, however, that we were to start again in the morning, and a rumor was flying about that Meade had captured Lee's entire army at Williamsport, and we were going on to escort the prisoners back. We were very much pleased with the news, but the idea of making a double trip on foot across Maryland was not so agreeable. It turned out to be a canard, however.
(Tuesday, July 14th.) The camp was only a few rods from the railroad, and early in the morning I went to it to see what was the method of destroying the track. The rails were laid in heaps along the road, all of them across gutters or hollow places so that both ends were supported upon the bank. Then the sills were heaped underneath the centre and set on fire, and when the iron became hot and soft it bent from its own weight. In this way both sills and rails were rendered useless. In one place we saw some rails which while hot had been wound around a tree. We were told that the track was in this condition for seven miles, and that several thousand men were engaged in the work. How those fellows managed to make such long daily marches, and at the same time scour the country so effectually for miles and accomplish so much hard labor, was more than I could understand.
We had expected to leave at 4 A. M., but there was the usual amount of delay and ceremony, so that it was quite late before we received orders. Before starting the Colonel made a little speech to us, saying that we would then for the first time, march with the brigade, and from his acquaintance with our past performances he knew we
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