Why should they be allowed to ride about so calmly?
His heart fairly ached for the attack. McClellan said that fifty
thousand men were there, and that Jackson was coming with fifty thousand
more, but Shepard, who always knew, said that they did not number more
than twenty thousand. What a chance! What a chance! He almost repeated
Colonel Winchester's words, but he was only a young staff officer and it
was not for him to complain. If he said anything at all he would have
to say it in a guarded manner and to his best friends.
The Winchester regiment went into camp in a pleasant grove at the
northern end of the Union line. Dick and his two young comrades had no
fault to find with their quarters. They had dry grass, warm air and the
open sky. A more comfortable summer home for a night could not be asked.
And there was plenty of food, too. The Army of the Potomac never lacked
it. The coffee was already boiling in the pots, and beef and pork were
frying in the skillets. Heavenly aromas arose.
Dick and his comrades ate and drank, and then lay down in the grove.
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