Wednesday, 20th–The first thing this morning was to finish drying our clothing, after which we cleaned up and burnished our guns. There are several thousand troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery here in camp. The barracks are ordinary frame structures and built around the drill ground. The Eleventh Iowa is located on the west side of [...]

WEDNESDAY 20 Another fine day, much as yesterday. The great event of the day is the Grand Review which took place at Balls X roads some six or eight miles from the River in V.A. 75000 men or eighty Regts of Infantry, seven of Cavalry, and twenty Batteries of Artillery or 120 pieces. The Prest [...]

NOVEMBER 20th.—I had a protracted and interesting interview to-day with a gaudily dressed and rather diminutive lieutenant, who applied for a passport to the Mississippi River, via Chattanooga, and insisted upon my giving him transportation also. This demand led to interrogatories, and it appeared that he was not going under special orders of the adjutant-general. [...]

Bird’s Point, November 20, 1861 Part of Pitt’s (Col. W. Pitt Kellogg’s) cavalry are here. We are glad to see them as it will relieve us of considerable picket duty. But otherwise cavalry are of not much service in this brushy, swampy country. That fox of a Jeff Thompson that we chased down to New [...]

20th.–This morning we received marching orders to Bailey’s, to have a grand review of the whole army. Very few had any confidence in that part of the order announcing the purpose–a review. All believed it was to take Fairfax, and then perhaps to move forward on Centreville and Manassas ; but all were disappointed. It [...]

November 20th.–To-day a grand review, the most remarkable feature of which was the able disposition made by General McDowell to march seventy infantry regiments, seventeen batteries, and seven cavalry regiments, into a very contracted space, from the adjoining camps. Of the display itself I wrote a long account, which is not worth repeating here. Among [...]