“We were greatly astonished to find the ground we marched over deserted…,”–Diary of Josiah Marshall Favill.

April 16th. Had a fine night’s sleep, due to the luxury of a soft bed Seth made for me, out of pine needles stripped from the branches; glorious morning; in fact, the weather is enchanting, although yet early spring. After breakfast, sat in the open air in my shirt sleeves at the desk, making various reports and official documents. At two P. M. the regiment was inspected in full marching order and subsequently engaged in battalion drill. Before the drill was over an aide rode up and directed the colonel to strike tents and be ready to march at a moment’s notice; within half an hour we were en route, with the rest of the brigade directly towards the front. We were greatly astonished to find the ground we marched over deserted, the immense number of troops that were in front of us having disappeared. We marched into the batteries and earthworks, stacked arms, and pitched tents just in rear of the works. A few shells came over from the rebel guns, but did not hurt us; one, however, burst so close that my horse reared and plunged and started to run away, directly toward the enemy’s lines. Luckily, I soon had him under control. We all turned in at eight o’clock, expecting lively times at daylight.