He would have
been glad to be under his command again, to feel that strong and sure
hand on the reins once more.
Dick stayed a while in Bowling Green, and he saw all his relatives in
the little city. They were mostly on the other side, but they could not
resist an ingenuous youth like Dick, and he passed some pleasant hours
with them. For his sake they also made Warner and Pennington welcome,
but they freely predicted a great disaster for the North. Bragg would
come out of East Tennessee with his veterans, and they would give
Rosecrans the defeat that he deserved. The boys held good natured
arguments with them on this point, but all finally agreed to leave it
to the decision of the war itself.
The great dryness had now passed so completely that it seemed impossible
such a thing ever could have been. The rains had been heavy and almost
continuous, and the earth soaked in water. But despite chill winds and
chill rains rumors of Southern activity came to them, and in the last
month of the year Rosecrans gathered his forces at Nashville in Tennessee.
Dick and his comrades enjoyed a few bright days here.
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