For some weeks the Thirty-Fourth had remained in Washington, D. C., furnishing daily heavy details of neatly equipped men for guard duty; principally to be employed in guarding the Carroll and Old Capitol Prisons. During this time the general soldierly deportment of the rank and file, together with the fine appearance of the regiment on dress parade, attracted much attention and called forth many complimentary expressions from the residents of Washington.

But “marching orders” do not stop to take counsel of their subjects, and on a well-remembered evening in July, 1863, they turned our quiet barracks into a scene of bustle and confusion. A ride of a few hours over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad brought us into the immediate vicinity of Harper’s Ferry.

The activity which prevailed throughout our force on the morning of July 14th made it evident to all that a movement across the Potomac was intended. All needful preparations having been made, a lively cannonade was opened from the heights above, under cover of which our force embarked in pontoon boats that were near at hand, and crossing, passed through the deserted streets up to the higher ground beyond; dislodging a small body of the enemy which had been holding possession. As the afternoon advanced a considerable force of cavalry passed through the place, file following file in a seemingly endless succession, till the eye was wearied with attempting to take in the living current. Our occupation of Harper’s Ferry, begun under these circumstances, was destined to continue for many months, with the exception of an occasional brief visit to Martinsburg towards the close of winter.

Perhaps the most notable incident of our service during these months was a trip to Harrisonburg, about one hundred miles into Virginian territory, over that noble production of the road-maker’s art, the “Shenandoah Valley turnpike.” This demonstration, which was successfully and safely accomplished, was doubtless intended as a diversion in favor of the raid at that time being executed by Gen. Averill, with his much larger force. Although we were closely followed by a brigade of the enemy, in our rapid and forced march homewards; yet by the intervention of favorable events, the friendly shadow of the Maryland heights was reached with no loss from our hazardous attempt at “bearding the lion in his den,” as our adventure was described by the Richmond Examiner.

Our long stay in this town gave many opportunities for examining its objects of interest, including the Engine House, worthy of note as the fortress occupied by John Brown while he held possession, during the brief campaign destined to end so disastrously for those engaged in it. The ruins of Armory and other buildings made it very evident that an immense amount of property had been destroyed in the two years in which the spirit of war had held carnival there.

The climate, through the winter months we spent in this place, seemed to suggest some New England locality rather than a part of the “sunny South.” Snow storms and bleak, cold winds, find as congenial a home around those rocky heights as Massachusetts could offer them; at least, such was the impression made upon the mind of the writer. The sublimity and grandeur of Nature’s works here well repay any effort required to reach an eligible point of view; but it requires no effort to enable the mind nurtured “beneath New England’s sky” to dwell again, in thought, among its native hills.