. . ious night. Nobody ever saw anything like itbefore nor, probably, ever will again. The bugles had blown the l%tattoo. Most of the soldiershad crept into their lowly dwellings. The expiring campfiresflickered feebly, and around them a few were yet sitting, recount-ing the scenes of days and years gone by. The;, wondered whenthe war would be over. They felt that the Fourth corps hadfinished its work ; but when would come the close of the mightystruggle in the east, and with it the end of the conflict? Excepttheir low voices, all wa
. . ious night. Nobody ever saw anything like itbefore nor, probably, ever will again. The bugles had blown the l%tattoo. Most of the soldiershad crept into their lowly dwellings. The expiring campfiresflickered feebly, and around them a few were yet sitting, recount-ing the scenes of days and years gone by. The;, wondered whenthe war would be over. They felt that the Fourth corps hadfinished its work ; but when would come the close of the mightystruggle in the east, and with it the end of the conflict? Excepttheir low voices, all was quiet within the lines, save the tread ofthe sentinels, as they moved to and fro upon their beats aroundthe sleeping army. Suddenly the long roll sounded at division- headquarters. Itwas such a long roll as we had never heard before. The drum-mer beat his drum as if he were pounding for his very life. Inan instant the drums at the headquarters of each brigade took upthe sound, and the buglers began to blow their loudest blasts 1*550 A FURIOUS ROLL. 709. The startled sleepers kicked off their blankets, rushed out oftheir tents, hurriedly buckling oh their aceouterments, seizedtheir muskets, and at the Fall in! of the orderlies, companies in line in a moment. The bugles blew again, the compa-nies marched with hasty steps to the color-line, and the regimentswire formed ready for action. Everybody inquired breathlesslywhat the matter was. We had long since learned that suchalarms meant something. Hut for months, since the battle ofNashville, we had laid usdown and slept, and therehad been none to molest ormake us afraid. In ourbivouac in the wilds ofEast Tennessee, we did notimagine there was anyarmed force of the enemywithin a hundred miles ofus. It was natural to sup-pose, fn>ni the sudden tu-mult, that there was immi-nent prospect of an attack,but we vainly listened tocatch the sound of was heard exceptthe bustle of the assemblingtroops and the shouts o
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