In April, 1864, General Meade's headquarters lay north of the Rapidan. The
Signal Corps was kept busy transmitting the orders preliminary to the
Wilderness campaign, which was to begin May 5th. The headquarters are
below the brow of the hill. A most important part of the Signal Corps'
duty was the interception and translation of messages interchanged between
the Confederate signal-men. A veteran of Sheridan's army tells of his
impressions as follows: "On the evening of the 18th of October, 1864, the
soldiers of Sheridan's army lay in their lines at Cedar Creek. Our
attention was suddenly directed to the ridge of Massanutten, or Three Top
Mountain, the slope of which covered the left wing of the army--the Eighth
Corps. A lively series of signals was being flashed out from the peak, and
it was evident that messages were being sent both eastward and westward of
the ridge. I can recall now the feeling with which we looked up at those
flashes going over our heads, knowing that they must be Confederate
messages. It was only later that we learned that a keen-eyed Union officer
had been able to read the message: 'To Lieutenant-General Early. Be ready
to move as soon as my forces join you, and we will crush Sheridan.
Longstreet, Lieutenant-General.' The sturdiness of Sheridan's veterans and
the fresh spirit put into the hearts of the men by the return of Sheridan
himself from 'Winchester, twenty miles away,' a ride rendered immortal by
Read's poem, proved too much at last for the pluck and persistency of
Early's worn-out troops."
[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO THE FRONT