. . .Colonel Barbour was to meet me and deliver the dispatches which he and General Pennington wished to send back to General Foster, so saving me the trip out to get them.

I found the roads so filled with vehicles of all sorts, mingled with cavalry and foot soldiers, as to be almost impassable in any direction, and at places they were completely [Pg 17]obstructed, but by taking side paths I was able to keep my horse at a fair speed.

At four o'clock I was to meet Colonel Barbour at Willard's and in the meantime I had enough to do.

As soon as I reached the city I made my way to a restaurant for a nondescript meal, which might be called either a very late breakfast or an early dinner. From there I went to Willard's, where I took a room and a hot bath. Ever since I had decided to undertake the hazardous enterprise on which I was bent, I had had an intense desire to be off and avoid all delay, and it required more time than I cared to give to remove the. . . Read More