Seven days in the saddle, from Chapel Hill to Richmond.

May 5—Ride fifteen miles to Richmond. Telegraph to Mary. Seven days in the saddle, from Chapel Hill to Richmond. Had not heard a word from my family yet. I think those had been the happiest seven days of my life up to that time. “Praising my Savior all the day long.” When I knelt at sun-set in the woods and prayed for the Chaplains, the soldiers, my country and my family, my soul was so happy. That telegram must have gladdened the heart of the little wife, who could not know where the husband was. She expected me to cross James River above Richmond, and did not write to me there.