noon
I refer to this fact because of a pleasant incident which introduces a little light among the shadows , and suggests that soldiers are not such bad fellows after all , although inclined to be a little rough and profane . Our men suffered terribly from the heat , and some received sunstrokes . Many were obliged to fall out of the ranks , but managed to keep up with the column . At noon we were halted near a Vermont regiment that had just drawn a ration of soft bread and were boiling their coffee . As our exhausted men came straggling and staggering in , these hospitable Vermonters gave them their entire ration of bread and the hot coffee prepared for their own meal ; and when the ambulances brought in the men who had been sun-struck , these generous fellows turned their camp into a temporary hospital and themselves into nurses . `` I will now give you a glimpse of a different experience . Towards evening on the 19th a rain-storm began , and continued all night .