September 13.

This morning the artillery began firing in good earnest and the hills were covered with troops, especially new ones, to see them. During the day Massena and I washed our cloths in the river and were drying them on the bank when we heard the bugle sound to march, and we had to put them on wet. Pretty looking fellows we stopped marching. Dust stuck all over us.

We marched through Frederick City in good style and the ladies cheered us, and brought us water, and did everything a Union woman could do. But, of course there are a great many ‘secesh’16 in a slave state who looked at us as cross as a ‘hyena.’

We marched over the North Mountain and encamped at Middletown about 9:00 P.M. It was a hard march almost all up hill. We hardly stopped before we were on the lookout for water which we found shortly. Then came the want of something for supper which we found in the shape of chickens from a neighboring farmhouse. Many a farmer had his potato patch and hen-roost cleared that night.

An old farmer came out and caught us digging his potatoes. He looked rather ‘streaked’ and probably thought us as bad as the rebels especially if he was ‘Secesh.’ By the time we got our chickens picked and supper made, it was nearly 3 o’clock in the morning. Some dozen of us had a good meal while others were sleeping, but I think a good supper, or rather, breakfast, did us as much good as sleeping on cold damp ground without blankets or tents. After supper we lay down till morning when we were aroused by cannon firing.