face he glanced at the dodging crowd, who
were bowing politely to the missiles as they
passed overhead, and asking what chances
there were of a cup of coffee, ordered the
negroes to mend the fire and prepare some.
Then observing me for the first time, he
greeted me heartily, and congratulated me
on the warmth of my reception, for at that
moment the firing became hotter than
ever, causing the negro servants, whose
business it was to get breakfast, to scatter
in all directions. A quarter-master from
the rear now galloped up to General
Longstreet for instructions, and scarcely had he
reined in his horse than a shell passed
under the animal's belly, and crashed into
a shanty close by. Both the brute and the
rider were somewhat astonished at this, the
one leaping into the air and snorting with
terror, and the other staring round him
with such a scared expression of comical
wonderment that we all burst out laughing.
"I reckon this is no place for quarter-
masters," was all he said, and away he
went quicker than he came.

And then was fought the battle of
Chicamaugha, probably more decisive in its
immediate results than any other victory
achieved by the Confederates, but unfortunately
for the South, the general commanding-
in-chief seemed incapable of appreciating
the full extent of his success. The
shattered columns of the enemy, instead of
being followed up, were allowed to rally on
Chattanooga, where, in a short time, they
made themselves impregnable, and the
war, instead of being nearer its end, was
only prolonged.

On reporting to General Bragg, General
Longstreet had been appointed to the
command of the left wing of the army,
composed entirely of troops from the forces of
Northern Virginia, men whom he had led to
victory a dozen times on the blood-soddened
soil between the Rapidan and the Potomac.
During the night I have mentioned, the
general had perfected his line with the
corps of Polk and Hardie, which formed
the right. Early in the morning Longstreet
attacked the Federals, driving them steadily
through the woods in his front. The battle-
ground was in a thick growth of forest that
formed the crest of Missionary Ridge, and
some of the incidents of the day's fighting
were perfectly appalling. At first it was
next to impossible to use artillery, there
being no practicable roads, and the struggle
began with a steady infantry fight of regiment
to regiment, and brigade to brigade,
through a dense undergrowth that masked
Federal from Confederate, till they were
close on to each other. When the field
batteries did get a chance of working into
position, and shelling the woods in front,
the autumn dryness of the chaparal caused
it to take fire, and the wounded were left
to be burnt, or rather roasted, where they
fell. The shrieks rising from the licking
flames, that snapped, and crackled, and
roared even above the din of musketry,
were frightful to listen to, and as neither
side could render help, they went on fighting
across these streams of fire,
endeavouring to drown by their shouts and rifles
the piteous yells of agony that rose from
the charred and seething mass. Finally,
the victory was to remain with the
Confederates, who, in one huge wave,
overlapping either flank of the retiring columns
of the enemy, swept forward and drove
the Northern forces pell-mell through the
passes which led down to the valley of the
Tennessee river, on which stood the town
of Chattanooga. Now guns were rapidly
brought to the front, and as the retreating
Federals got jammed in the narrow
openings of the hills, they were worked with
deadly effect. At length the retreat grew
into a panic, and entire brigades, herding
like frightened sheep through the passes,
threw aside their arms, and made the best
of their way into Chattanooga.

Early in the action, a very dear friend of
mine, a young Englishman who had taken
service with the South, was wounded, and
I saw him made comfortable and carried to
the rear. At the close of the battle, when
the last gun had been fired, and what
seemed to be a dead silence had succeeded
to the thundering din of the day, I determined
to seek him, the more so as his
wound appeared serious, and there might
be last messages and wishes to communicate
to people far away in England. After
a hasty meal of hard biscuit soaked in
whisky, which formed the supper of
Longstreet and those of his staff who were left
in a condition to eat, I turned my horse up
the rough slopes of the ridge, down which
we had driven the Federals. The whole of
the valley of the Tennessee was in darkness,
save where the bivouac fires of the
victorious army glimmered in a semicircle
round Chattanooga. The hum of the
thousands of Northern soldiers clustered in that
town, and busily engaged in strengthening
their position, came in waves of sound like
the murmur of a sea breaking on a distant
shore, and this grew more distinct as I
rode upwards to the plateau, on which the
battle had been fought. The moon now
rose above the forest-covered heights, and