October 17 — Last night was about as dark as they generally get in this country. I was on guard duty during the fore part of the night and it rained very hard all through my whole watch. We had no fire until after midnight, the ground, wood, and everything else being soaking wet; even the darkness felt like a wet blanket. I made my bed on top of a rock pile. It was a little hardish at first, but it was the driest place I could find and I had the sweet consolation of knowing that the ground all around the rock pile was soft.
Early this morning we were ordered to Summit Point to do picket duty. Summit Point is a station on the Winchester and Potomac Railroad, sixteen miles below Winchester. When we arrived at the station it was reported that the Yankees were advancing, and we put our guns in battery immediately and remained in battery until dusk, when we were ordered to Charlestown. We moved in that direction about two miles when the order was countermanded and we returned to Summit Point; camped. We heard cannon this afternoon in the direction of Martinsburg.
