Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 18.djvu/115

 Point Lookout. 115

infantry columns advancing from our rear and left. This forced our thin lines to retire from the dense masses in blue. Many of our men were not made aware that the enemy had passed them until they found themselves within their lines of battle and prisoners. I, among the latter, was firing at a column which was across our works, when some one called to me "the Yankees are passing us; look behind! " And sure enough, certainly two lines had already passed us, and the third was but a short distance off. I started to run be- tween these lines to get out, but was noticed, and found it impossible to get through alive. Seeing a pit where several wounded and scared Yankees were huddled together, I jumped in among them, they yelling at their men for God's sake stop firing. When the line reached us, I got up, and a very polite Federal stepped out of the ranks, saying, " Sergeant, allow me to escort you to the rear." His captain, however, told him, " You let him alone, he can find the way by himself"; but my new acquaintance insisted on taking my arm, and together we left the field of battle.

SERGEANT KEPLER.

Hearing some one behind me, I looked around, and there was my friend and comrade, Sergeant J. H. Kepler. On my remarking " Halloo Kep; they have got you, too," he replied, nearly breathless, "Yes; confound them, they have got me again." He had just come back to us from prison, having been captured at Gettysburg. That night we remained on the battle field of Dinwiddie Courthouse, where the dead of the 3ist of March were still lying unburied around. There were, perhaps, two thousand of us gathered together, captured in the day's battle. The next morning our march commenced towards Petersburg, and after a march of three days we reached City Point on the 4th, having nothing to eat until the night of the 3d. When near Petersburg we received a small amount of crackers and meat.

At City Point several transport steamers were lying, and we were ordered on board of them, each boat being packed with human freight to its full capacity.

UNWILLING PASSENGERS.

Some of the boats landed their unwilling passengers at Newport's News, while most of them, and the one I was on, reached Point Look- out on the morning of the 5th. Landing at the wharf, we were formed in open line for inspection ; that is, we had to empty our