We had marched but a few miles when a large body of troops were observed in motion to our right, and as General Jackson had received no notice that any Confederates would move in that direction, he very naturally supposed them to be the enemy, and immediately prepared to receive them, for they were coming directly towards us. Still fearful there might be some mistake, he withheld his artillery fire, but threw an occasional shell in their midst to discover if possible who they were. At the first shot they deployed their skirmishers with the most beautiful precision, and advanced across the open field with great regularity, whilst the heavy columns of infantry moved upon us, closed _en masse_ under cover of a wood. A fearful tragedy was now about to be enacted, and was only averted by the daring of Lieutenant George Booth, acting Adjutant of the First Maryland. From the first he had maintained they were our troops, whilst most of the officers, including General Jackson, were of the opinion they were not. The uniforms of the skirmishers were darker than we had ever before seen, and most of them wore white gaiters, something entirely unknown in the army of Jackson. Nearer and nearer they approached, and in a minute more we knew the mass of infantry must debouche into the plain, when the hand of friend would unwittingly be raised against friend. At this moment Lieutenant Booth, unable longer to restrain himself, without orders, dashed spurs into his horse, and at the risk of being shot to pieces, rode at full speed in the direction of the advancing skirmishers. We watched him with breathless anxiety until he reached the line, where halting a moment in conference with one of the officers, he wheeled his horse and galloped back to inform us it was Branch’s division of North Carolinians, which had lost its way. It was a great relief, and we congratulated each other when we met upon the timely discovery. This affair, however, delayed us at least an hour, and we had no time to spare. Onward, then, we pressed, our advance occasionally skirmishing with the enemy, until we reached a dense pine forest, and here our troubles commenced. The guides were, or seemed to be, ignorant of the roads, and more than once we had to retrace our steps. Jackson was furious, and for the first time I saw him out of humor. Long before this he should have begun the fight, and here he was some distance from the field. Finally, however, we extricated ourselves, and soon after, about three o’clock in the afternoon, heavy skirmishing, and the occasional roar of artillery in our front, told us we were up with the enemy and developing his position.