The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-08-07

vessels and the shore.
Day had barely dawned on the 18th,
when the report Of a cannon from one
Of the frigates lower down, gave notice
that all the boats should be hoisted out, i,
and the troops conveyed to land How
it came about | know not, hut in my
eagerness to reach terra frma, sprang,
with five dozen men, and one brother
officer, into broad-bowed punk, which
being supplied with no more than a
couple ofoars. moved against the stream
at the rate Of half mile per hour.
The point of rendezvous had, however,
been named: it was St. Benedicts, a
village distant, as have already stated.
eight long miles from our place Of an
chOrage. We had, therefore,, Il gloomy
prospect before us-that of sixteen
hours voyage under broiling sun;
and the prospect, at one period. seemed
not unlikely to be realized. Boat after
boat, and barge after barge, passed us
by, without bestowing upon us any
other notice than volley Of jokes. or
repeated peals of laughter; till at last
a worthy midshipman took pity upon
us, and threw us line. Under his
towage we made way at tolerabley
rapid rate: and having quilted the ship
at six o'clock, found ourselves snugly
on shore. and in full march towards the
bivouac, about haitian hour before noon.
St. Benedicts, like most of the vii
lagos on the banks of the Chesapeake
rivers, is small struggling place; the
houses of which stand far apart from
each other, and are surrounded by neat
gardens. and apparently productive Or
chards. When we landed it was total
ly deserted by its inhabitants. The
furniture, however, had not been re-
moved,-a least not wholly-from any
of the houses, and not a few of the
1
dairies were garnished with dishes of
exquisite milk and delicate new cheeses.
| state this fact because | perfectly
recollect the degree ofhesitation which
was generally experienced, before any
one would venture to partake of these
luxuries. In order, presume, to de-
ter the men from plundering, and to
keep them from being guilty of those
acts of ins,lbordination which the habit
of plundering never fails to produce,
report had been industriOusly circu-
lated through the fleet, that the Amer
leans had poisoned both wines and pro-
visions. which were purposely left in
our way. Though | was never much
disposed to place reliance in this report,
it must be confessed that the idea hind
cred, not only a few privates, who fol
lowed me into dairy, but myself also,
for several minutes, from applying our
lips to pig of delicious cream, which
occupied one Of the shelves. Inclina-
ton, however, at length prevailed over
apprehension. drank freely OF the
perilous liquor; my men followed my
example; and none Of us suffered the
slightest inconvenience from this act of
temerity of which we had been guilty.
have said, that the little detach-
ment of which l was in charge, made
good its landing about an hour before
noon. Nothing could exceed the de-
gree of exhilaration which was exhibit
by persons of all ranks on the present
OCCASION OF the privates, few had
planted foot on firm ground for the
space of three months, and of the Off
GERS there were several, the low state
whose finances had not permitted them
to indulge very frequently in visits to
the towns or ports at which We bad
touched during our passage. TO them
the prospect ofa few days sojonrn upon
their own element, was in the highest
degree animating and delightful. For
my own part, had omitted no oppor-
tunity Of breathing the land breezes,
or taking part in such amusements and
recrcations as our temporal soourn at
St Michael and Bermuda afforded: vet
| firmly believe, that not an individual
among them all enjoyed the change
more heartily than myself. Once more
felt that the business of my profess
ion was to be carried on. Widely diff
ferent, indeed, was the style of conduct
ing that business here from that which
had attended our campaigning in the
Peninsula. We had no tents now to
pitch and to repose in; no bab-mule,
loaded with portmanteaus and ca nteens,
attended us; MOI We're our saddle horses
ready at a call. Each officer, on the
contrary, like the soldiers, carried his
DaSSaSt OH HIS Dach, anu All nau the
armament of heaven to look to as their
canopy. 1t may, perhaps, amuse some
OF your readers to be told in what
plight we, on this occasion, took the
field; and. as fair specimen of the
plight of the officers in general, | will
inform them how myself was accour-
tired when | stepped for the first time
upon the soil of America.
In the first place, then, | carried, as
is usual on such occasions, Il perfect
equipment of military accourtrements;
that is to say. sabre, sash belt, pistols
and telescope. Strapped across my
shoulders was good cloak, which on