remained in reserve between Chancellorsville and the river, received orders to advance. In the woods, on the right and left we passed a great number of troops, massed without apparent order and filling all the small clearings. Soon we came out on the Fredericksburg road, in front of which stretched our line of battle. Berry's division, which had preceded ours, deployed in the open ground around the farm. As we turned to the right, to take position further on, the skirmishing fire told us that the enemy extended along our front, on the other side of some great woods, which concealed his movements from us. He had his batteries already in position on that side, for the shells and balls reached the troops while they were deploying. One struck a colonel of the Excelsior Brigade. We saw him fall from his horse, without letting go his bridle rein, although he was dead. His men hastened to him and carried off his body. To discover the enemy's movements, five or six daring men had climbed to the top of the highest trees, from which they had a view over the surrounding woods. The position was very dangerous, for they might become targets for the rebel sharpshooters. In order to guard against it as much as possible, they kept up a continual shaking of the trees in which they were; they could be seen thus balancing in the air more than a hundred feet above the ground, braving the double danger of the enemy's bullets and a fall — death in either event. Firing ceased a little after dark. The moon rose calm and smiling, and nothing troubled the tranquillity of the night. The next morning, May 2, an order was sent to the First Corps, to join us. Sedgwick then remained alone below Fredericksburg with the Sixth Corps and Gib bon's division of the Second; twenty-six to twenty-seven thousand men in all. At Chancellorsville our line was disposed in the following order: On the left, the Fifth Corps and Hancock's division extended from the vicinity of the river to the turnpike, facing towards Fredericksburg; in the centre, the Twelfth Corps, forming an obtuse angle with the left, and covering the road in front and parallel to which it stretched; then, in the same direction, Birney's division of the Third Corps; finally, the Eleventh Corps on the right. Two divisions of the Third Corps (Berry and Whipple) and one division of the Second Corps (French) were held in reserve. In the morning, the enemy contenting himself with attacking Hancock's pickets, without approaching his line, Hooker began to be troubled about what was passing in our front, beyond the curtain of woods, which limited our view in that direction. He sent forward the troops of the Twelfth Corps, who, being received by a deadly fire, could not force their way, and were compelled to fall back, leaving the general commanding in the same uncertainty as before. But almost immediately, through an opening in the woods before the Twelfth Corps, there appeared a column of rebels marching rapidly from the left to the right, and which consequently presented its flank to our whole line of battle. This movement threatened our right, which appeared to be unprepared for it. As it was the opposite side from that by which the enemy had advanced from Fredericksburg, less disposition was made against an attack there than elsewhere. The whole Eleventh Corps prolonged the general line parallel to the road. But a small brigade thrown back barred this road with two guns, resting on nothing, leaving our extreme right completely in the air. General Hooker had visited that part of the line in good season, without prescribing any change. Only, when the movement of the enemy revealed to him the possibility of an attack from that direction, he sent some additional instructions to General Howard, which had no other effect than to cause an advance of the pickets. There was no change made in the disposition of the troops. The fact is that General Hooker did. not believe in the danger of such an attack, and that he preferred to regard the movement as a retreat of the army of Lee on Gordonsville. Otherwise he would not have telegraphed a few hours later to General Sedgwick:-"Take Fredericksburg and everything you find there, and pursue the enemy vigorously. We know that he is in full retreat, endeavoring to save his trains. Two of Sickles' division are upon him." General Slocum was far from sharing that confidence. Towards noon I met him visiting our front to see how we were placed, and examining attentively the position of the Eleventh Corps. "Let me recommend you to fortify yourself as well as possible," he said to me. "The enemy is massing a considerable force on our right. In two or three hours he will fall on Howard, and you will have him upon you in strong force. You had better protect yourself as well as possible, at least by an abatis on your front." I was about to follow his advice when the division received orders to advance. We moved forward out of the woods, and crossed the open ground which extended in our front. It was an effort to cut in two the column of the enemy, which continued to defile before us, and to sweep away what must be his rearguard. Our advance was delayed in the woods. We had to build or rebuild some bridges over some brooks. We |