CAMPAIGNING WITH MAX. 109 



himself and his horse no evidence of his mili- 

 tary character that could not be unbuckled and 

 dropped with his sword-belt in case of impend- 

 ing capture. He was vacillating in his orders, 

 and a little anxious in his demeanor, but he had 

 shown himself cool and clear-headed under fire, 

 and seemed resolutely bent on the destruction of 

 the last vestige of Forrest's troublesome army. 

 It would be tedious to tell all the adventures of 

 our forward expedition ; how we marched in three 

 columns over different roads, each for himself, 

 and with only a vague notion where and how 

 we should meet, and how we should support 

 each other. As it afterward proved, the details 

 of the order of march had been given to the com- 

 manders of the other brigades, while I had been 

 forgotten] so that the whole advance was vexed 

 with cross-purposes and with the evidences of a 

 hidden misunderstanding. The contretemps that 

 thus came about were annoying, and, in one 

 instance, came near being serious : as we were 

 going into camp at Prairie Station, my advance 

 reported having come in sight of the camp-fires 



