WILLIAM R. BROWNING _Private, Company I. 149th O. V. I._ _Chillicothe, Ohio._ INCIDENTS While we were in camp at Chain Bridge we occupied the crest of a hill or ridge that sloped gradually to the south, making an ideal camping ground for the army. As night drew on camp fires were kindled and twinkled by thousands over the slope while the soldiers prepared their supper. Stories of their adventures and songs served to pass the evening. When the time came for “lights out,” a drum corps on the right began playing “The girl I left behind me.” A brass band in the centre struck up “Home Sweet Home.” These were all the tunes we recognized, for every band and drum corps in camp began playing. Pandemonium seemed to have broken loose, as the great volume of sound came up. Tunes could not be distinguished, the discord was terrific. It gradually died away as band after band ceased playing. A deep silence came over the plain, the stars blinked in the summer sky. The army was asleep. OBSERVATION ON THE MARCH. Once on our march toward Snickers Gap I saw a squad of soldiers taking a cow from a farm lot, they had tied a rope around her horns two were tugging at the rope, and others were pushing. The woman of the house and her children were crying and begging them to let her alone. The argument was still on as we marched along. On this same march we passed a field where a fight had taken place a day or two before. The dead had been buried and the wounded removed, but the field was full of dead horses. The stench from the swollen carcasses lying under the sweltering rays of the hot July sun was terrific. We hurried past as fast as possible, breathing a sigh of relief when we came again into the pure air of the mountains. HARPER’S FERRY. Harper’s Ferry was the gateway to the south. It was captured and retaken many times during the war by both Union and Confederate armies. Situated at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, with Loudon and Maryland Heights surrounding it, it was a natural fortress. The town was the target for both sides, and many of its homes carried the marks of shot and shell. The United States Arsenal which was burned early in the war, stood with roofless walls and tottering chimneys a silent monument of the ravages of the conflict.