About noon
A nice Christmas celebration ! Well , I have been in the saddle all day . It rained and froze to sleet on the snow , and the horses slipped and slid most unpleasantly . About noon we passed our pickets . I was half frozen . When we got a bit further , the old colonel pulled up on a hillside and began to ask me questions , how far was that bridge , and could I see their pickets , and where did that cross-road go to . The aide was apparently ornamental and did not do anything but guess .