they were their own forces, who had taken up a new position. Several
walked into our lines, and found themselves prisoners of war.

Previous to that day I had witnessed several skirmishes, but this was
my first battle of importance. Distances seemed much greater than they
really were. I stood by the side of Captain Totten's battery as it
opened the conflict.

"How far are you firing?" I asked.

"About eight hundred yards; not over that," was the captain's
response.

I should have called it sixteen hundred, had I been called on for an
estimate.

Down the valley rose the smoke of Sigel's guns, about a mile distant,
though, apparently, two or three miles away.

Opposite Sigel's position was the camp of the Arkansas Division:
though it was fully in my sight, and the tents and wagons were plainly
visible, I could not get over the impression that they were far off.

The explosions of our shells, and the flashes of the enemy's guns, a
short distance up the slope on the opposite side of the creek, seemed
to be at a considerable distance.

To what I shall ascribe these illusions, I do not know. On subsequent
battle-fields I have never known their recurrence. Greater battles,
larger streams, higher hills, broader fields, wider valleys, more