John D. Billings, The history of the Tenth Massachusetts battery of light artillery in the war of the rebellion

[168] impatiently forward, another settles stubbornly back. or remains passive, and each time the caisson has sunk deeper than before: so the struggle continues, varied by a turn to the right or the left, until at last the horses, as if themselves wearied of this boys' play, at the word, give a spring together, taking the caisson from its miry cushion in a twinkling, and move steadily on till another slough repeats the scene and extracts so much more vitality from men and horses. At last higher ground gave us a harder road, and after having been sent two or three miles out of our way, we came up with the column at Jacobs Mill Ford at dark. The infantry of our corps crossed at this place.¹ During this day's march Gen. Meade caused a despatch to be read announcing Grant's great victories at Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, and stating that he had taken 20,000 prisoners. This, by the by, is a good specimen of such despatches. The actual number officially reported by Grant was 6,142.

But we were destined to move on and cross the river at Germania Ford, a few miles lower down, and being now in the rear, partly through loss of time in the mire, and partly from misdirection, we were condemned to the misery of waiting for those in advance to cross.² And it was misery without any discount. The column would move on a few steps and halt. Thereupon cannoneers would seek some tolerably comfortable position on the carriages