The Confederate prisoners and colored people being on foot, our marches were necessarily made short, and with frequent halts also, but they too suffered considerably from the heat and dust, though at times the prisoners were relieved by being mounted on the horses of some of our regiments, the owners meantime marching on foot.

Where all the colored people came from and what started them was inexplicable, but they began joining us just before we reached Trevillian--men, women, and children with bundles of all sorts containing their few worldly goods, and the number increased from day to day until they arrived at West Point.

Probably not one of the poor things had the remotest idea, when he set out, as to where he would finally land, but to a man they followed the Yankees in full faith that they would lead to freedom, no matter what road they took.
On the morning of the 20th, at an early hour, we resumed our march, and as the column proceeded sounds of artillery were heard in the direction of the White House, which fact caused us to quicken the pace.

We had not gone far when despatches from General Abercrombie, commanding some fragmentary organizations at the White House, notified me that the place was about to be attacked.

I had previously sent an advance party with orders to move swiftly toward the cannonading and report to me by couriers the actual condition of affairs.