War Diary and Letters of Stephen Minot Weld.

July 12. — Sunday, and therefore a day to expect a battle. We did not have it, however. Our corps started in the morning with orders to hold Funkstown Heights. The weather was sultry and disagreeable and, although we had not more than three or four miles to march, we found it quite fatiguing. The Eleventh Corps got ahead of us, and we had to wait about three hours for them. Just before entering Funkstown, we found the enemy’s rifle-pits, which they evacuated last night. The town is just like all Maryland towns. After entering the village, we turned to the right, and crossed the Antietam on the Hagerstown pike. We formed our line on the left of the Eleventh Corps, which formed our extreme right resting on Antietam Creek. On our left we joined the Sixth Corps. Our men built rifle-pits all along the line, and were prepared for an attack, although these measures were merely precautionary. Our line was a very strong one indeed, running parallel for a long distance to the Hagerstown and Sharpsburg pike, and then crossing it on the left, and running towards the river. The enemy’s line was not much over 1000 yards from ours, the skirmishers of both parties being sharply engaged almost all the time. The general was sick to-day, and in the afternoon General Wadsworth assumed command of the corps. I rode into town to get some supper, and met Secretary Cameron and General Reynolds’s brother, at a house in town. We had a severe thunder shower in the afternoon.