The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-02-05

| -
battery; and these being manned by
seamen from the fleet, would, they Oh
served to us, do their duty The Gen
eral heard all this with Il countenance
which never once varied in its express
ion; and then ordering them to the
rear, in spite Of many urgent entreat-
les that he would dismiss them on their
parole, he commanded the bugle to
sound, and the troops again stood to
their arms.
Whilst the column was making ready
to prosecute it's more orderly advance,
we stoutly plunged once more into the
thickets, and pressed on. For about
half an hour we proceeded without the
occurrence Of any circumstances cal
culated to excite in us a more than
usual degree of alacrity. There were
the same obstacles Of brake and briar
to overcome, and, from time to time,
the same impediments of ponds and
creeks to be surmounted; but still no
enemy, nor any trace of an enemy,
could be deserted. Atlength, however
the face of affairs underwent a change.
A few figures suddenly showed them
selves, stealing from tree to tree, and
bush to bush; they became more and
more numerous as we went on; and,
finally, we beheld about four or five
hundred rifiemen scattered through the
wood, and prepared to dispute with us
our farther progress Nor were many
moments wasted in idly gazing at each
other. Having warned the column, by
the sound of our bugles, that an enemy
was in sight; we rushed forward, and
the forest echoed again to the report
Of ours and the Americans muskets.
There is nothing in war more inter
esting and, if it be conducted with any
science, more entertaining, than skir-
mish i'll the bosom of deep wood.
The cover is generally so abundant,
and so excellent in kind. that fewer
casualties take plac., than one unac-
customed to such affairs might expect;
whilst, from the very nature of the en-
countre, your thoughts are never for
an instant unemployed, nor your body
for an instant at rest. When advanc-
ing, you dart from tree to tree, passing
with the rapidity of thought over the
space between, as if you had singled
out one or two individuals among the
enemy, to overtake whom was the great
object Of your wishes. Then, again
there is the necessity imposed upon
you, of watching that your men keeI
well up; that they are careful not tc
expose themselves unnecessarily; that
they are cool, take good and deliber
ate aim, and abstain from Throwing Q
their fire away to no purpose. AS tc
preserving regular line. that is seldom
attempted; men rarely carry into the
field the niceties of the parade ground
it is enough if you see, that when the
right is hard pressed, the left shall not
push too tar ahead of it; nor, when the
left hangs back, that the right passes
it by. Above all, the officer must, in
such situations, be careful to show his
men a becoming example. He ought
not, indeed, to hurry too far before
them, because by so doing, though he
may lead some to follow, others taking
advantage of the license which his
blind impetuosity grants, may keeI
out of the fire altogether; but still less
ought he to lag behind. He is the best
director of skirmish who moves back
wards and forwards among his troops
cheers and animates them by his voice
and gestures; scruples not to expose
himself occasionally more than may be
exactly required, and appears to treat
his enemies with contempt. The spirit
which actuates him never fails to arise
among his followers, and when once
men despise their enemies, they seldom
fail to beat them.
Our skirm;sh to-day was for Il while
tolerably hot, and extremely animated
The Americans outnumbered us be-
yond calculation, whilst, as individuals
they were at least our equals in the
skill with which they used their wea
pons; yet, from the commencement, il
was on our part Il continual advance
on theirs a continual retreat. We
drove them from thicket to thicket
from tree to tree, not, indeed, with any
heavy loss, for they were no less ex
pert in finding shelter than in taking
aim; but occasionally bringing dowr
an individual as he was running from
one cover to another. Our own loss
again, was very triffling. Two mer
killed, and about dozen wounded
made up the sum ofour casualties; ant
it may with truth be asserted, thai
everything was going on as the Gen
eral himself could have wished. Bu
unhappily he was not satisfied of this
The firing struck him as being NOR,
heavy and more continued than i
ought to be; he was apprehensive tina
we had fallen into some serious ambus
cade, and, unwilling to tritle with thu
safety even of a few companies, he rode
forward for the purpose of satisfying
himself that they were safe. How bit
terlv had tho whole axnaditiOn ca,ISt