A minute later a huge shell burst near him, covering him with flying earth.

At first he thought he had been hit by fragments of the shell, but when he shook himself he found that he was all right.
He took yet a wider curve and before he was aware of the treacherous ground plunged into a swamp bordering one of the creeks.

He stood for a few moments in mud and water to his waist, but he knew that he had passed from the range of the Union fire.

Twigs and bark no longer fell around him and that most unpleasant whizz of bullets was gone.
He pulled himself out of the mire and ran along the edge of the creek toward the roar of the battle.

He knew now that he had passed around the flank of the Southern army and could approach the flank of his own.