noon
Here , a little later he gave orders to his brigadiers . The Army of the Northwest would resume the march `` at early dawn . '' In the harsh coldness of the morning they retraced the road to Bath , a frightful road , a road over which an army had passed . At noon they came to Bath , but there was hardly a pause in the town . Beneath a sky of lead , in a harsh and freezing wind , the troops swung slowly into a narrow road running west through a meagre valley . Low hills were on either side -- low and bleak . Scrub oak and pine grew sparsely , and along the edges of the road dead milkweed and mullein stood gaunt above the snow .