Three Years in the Confederate Horse Artillery — George Michael Neese.

September 25 —This morning we were ordered up the Berryville pike. We went about three miles toward Berryville, then came right back to camp. After we got back we moved camp to Leetown, which is seven miles from Charlestown, on the Smithfield and Shepherdstown road.

September 23 — This evening at dusk we left our picket post and moved back to camp, which is in a wood four miles from Charlestown, on the Berryville pike.

September 22 — Still on picket. From our post we can see the white tents of an extensive camp of Yankees, way up on South Mountain in Maryland, just beyond Maryland Heights.

September 21 — This morning we moved to Charlestown, remained there about two hours, then went on picket a mile below town on the Harper’s Ferry road. This afternoon we had preaching at our picket post, by a minister from Charlestown.

September 20— It was ten o’clock this morning when we left camp. We moved up the Winchester pike to Bunker’s Hill, and remained there till dusk, when we moved to Smithfield and camped. We passed about two hundred army wagons on the road between Bunker’s Hill and Smithfield. There are a great many troops camped around Bunker’s Hill. The whole country around there was ablaze this evening with camp-fires.

September 19 — Last night our army commenced to retreat across the Potomac, and by nine o’clock this morning our whole force had left Maryland, my Maryland — that the bands played so much a few weeks ago — behind, and we stood once more on the friendly hills of Virginia. We were nearly the last to cross the river, and about an hour after we forded the Yanks came near the ford with artillery and opened fire on everything that happened to be in range of their guns or in sight on this side of the river. The batteries that were in position on the bluff on this side of the stream commanding the ford promptly opened a brisk fire on the Yankee guns, and a lively artillery duel ensued; when we left both sides were still firing. From Shepherdstown we went to Martinsburg, and from there we moved two miles up the Winchester pike to Snodgrass Spring, where we are camped to-night.

September 18 — Late yesterday afternoon some of the enemy’s shell set some buildings on fire in Sharpsburg and the flames threw a red glare on the sky that reflected a pale ghostly light over the battle plain strewn with the upturned faces of the dead. Early this morning we went about a mile to the right of the Shepherdstown road, or rather down toward the right of our line, on picket. This afternoon there was some firing between the sharpshooters around and near our picket post. We bivouacked near our picket post. The Yankees came over to-day under a white flag and asked permission to bury their dead.

September 17 — Early this morning the cannon commenced booming on the fields around Sharpsburg in Washington County, Maryland. Sharpsburg is about three miles from Shepherdstown, and from our camp we plainly heard the opening guns of the great battle that raged fearfully all day between General Lee’s forces and General McClellan’s whole army. At times the artillery fire was so fierce and heavy that it sounded like one continual roar of thunder rumbling and rolling across the sky. The musketry fire was equally severe and raged furiously, almost incessantly all day, and its hideous deathly crash vied with the deafening roar of the thundering artillery. It is utterly incomprehensible and perfectly inconceivable how mortal men can stand and live under such an infantry fire as I heard to-day. Judging from the way the musketry roared the whole surrounding air between the lines must have been thick with flying lead. This morning my gun was still in Martinsburg undergoing repairs, which circumstance alone kept us from the battle-field to-day, for twice during the day an urgent despatch came for us to hasten to the front and help to play in the bloody act that was in full glow and raging over the fields around Sharpsburg. About three o’clock this afternoon my gun arrived from Martinsburg ready for fight, and we started immediately for the fiery vortex of battle that was still raging with unabated fury. Our progress was necessarily slow, and the ford in the Potomac is rough and narrow and the river was full of wagons going and coming. The road all the way between the river and the battle-field was crowded with ordnance wagons and ambulances. Shepherdstown seemed to be full of our wounded when we passed through. We had to go a mile below town to ford the river. Below Shepherdstown there are high bluffs along the river on the Virginia side, and right at the ford I saw a battery of artillery in position on top of the bluff, which thoroughly commanded the ford and its approaches on the Maryland side, which is much lower than the Virginia bluff. It was nearly sunset when we arrived on the battle-field and the last firing for the day had just ceased. There were a great many of the wounded still on the field. We bivouacked just in rear of the battle-field and roughed it without blankets.

September 16— This morning we moved to within a quarter of a mile of Shepherdstown and camped. Shepherdstown is right on the bank of the Potomac in Jefferson County, about ten miles east of Martinsburg. We are camped on the farm near the residence of A. R. Boteler. Morgan Spring, a large and beautiful spring, is near his house.