The troops returned all at once. There was an enormous clatter of metal as men and women stomped through the camp to return to their tents. Yesterday, they had come back in waves, sounding like a din of percussion for hours. Today, however, it sounded like an explosion, like the battle was finding its way to the camp, far from the battlefield.

I stuck my head out of the tent to watch the silvery army march back. Horses and foot soldiers tromped between tents, dodging fire ...