War Diary and Letters of Stephen Minot Weld.

April 30. — General Benham went up to General Hooker’s in the morning and came back to breakfast, saying that he [Benham] had been accused of being drunk, and that that was the cause of the delay in laying the bridges. He asked all his staff what they thought, and received in answer that they considered him intoxicated. He asked me about it, and I had to tell him my opinion of the matter. He received an order in the afternoon to take two of his bridges up and go to Bank’s Ford, and lay them by daylight, at which time the enemy would have evacuated. On the way to General Hooker’s, he asked me why I had told Colonel McMahon that he was drunk. I gave him my reasons. At dusk we went down to the river, and had two bridges taken up, and started for Bank’s Ford with them, one train leaving at 11 P.M., and the other at 12.