nearly noon
In truth , all of them were , but no one spoke of halting or complained in any manner . At sunrise they stopped in dense forest at the banks of a creek , and watered their horses . They cooked what food they had left , and after eating rested for several hours on the ground , most of them going to sleep , while a few men kept a vigilant watch . When Dick awoke it was nearly noon , and he still felt sore from his exertions . An hour later they all mounted and rode again toward Nashville . Near night they boldly entered a small village and bought food . The inhabitants were all strongly Southern , but villagers love to talk , and they learned there in a manner admitting of no doubt , that the Confederate army was retreating southward from the line of the Cumberland , that the state capital had been abandoned , and that to the eastward of them the Union army , under Buell , was advancing swiftly on Nashville .