On this
memorable morning the van of his columns wakened from their brief
repose but a short distance from the Federal bivouac. Both parties
were unconscious of their nearness, for with the exception of a
few clearings the dense growth restricted vision to a narrow
range. The Union forces were directed in their movements by the
compass, as if they were sailors on a fog-enshrouded sea; but they
well knew that they were seeking their old antagonist, the Army of
Northern Virginia, and that the stubborn tug-of-war might begin at
any moment.
When Captain Nichol shook off the lethargy of a brief troubled
sleep, he found that the light did not banish his gloomy
impressions. Those immediately around him were still slumbering,
wrapped in their blankets. Few sounds other than the voices of the
awakening birds broke the silence. After a little thought he drew
his notebook from his pocket and wrote as follows:
"MY DARLING HELEN--I obey an impulse to write to you this morning.
It is scarcely light enough to see as yet; but very soon we shall
be on the move again to meet--we known not what, certainly heavy,
desperate fighting.
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