The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-08-10

cd the delivery of this order, and the
march began.
The order i'll which this inroad was
effected has been SO accurately dcscrib-
ed elsewhere. that deem it quite un-
necessary to enter here at any length
into the detail. The advanced guard :,
under the command of Major Brown
of the S5lh rcoimcnt. led the way. 1t
consisted Of three companies OF light
infantry: two Of which moved in col
umn alon. the road, whilst the third
extended itself in files both in front
and on the fianks. After this body, at
a certain interval. came the Ii ght brig
ade. which also furnished company
or two, to scour the woods. Upon the
heels of the light. followed the second
brigade; next came the artillery; and
| last of all the third brigade, which fur
| nishcd the rcar-@uard. Such were the
arrangements made hy our general, at
| once to hinder surprise, and TO guard
| against ambusca,lcs. for a happy appli-
| cation Of which HE nrt,r" of the coun-
try afforded ,vtI. facility. 'h' reader
must now bear iii mind that We were
now aboat to penetrate through i'm
| mensc for, SIS scantily ch,pI2rcd here
and there with spots OF cultivated
ground. Though to us these forests
seemed pathlcss, it was hardly to be
| expected. that there were not many
lanes and roads cut here and there by
| the inhabitants, along which, if any en-
terprise or talent guided their counseis,
bodies of regular troops might be NOV
| ed: whilst the wcll-kn0wn confidence
| of the Americans in their rifles, and
their ovcrwecning estimation OF their
own skill rs marksmcn, led to the sup
position that we should not proceed far
without falling IN with one or more
| pafllcS Ol Volunteers, ahAlouS W SNc
us n sample of their mode of bush
fighting. Today. however, nothing OF
the kind occurred. Neither the lead
ing files nor the flank patrols saw an
enemy, and the column pressed for
ward, not only unmolested, but with
out having its spirits once elevated by
the sound of firing.
And. in truth. it was we'll for us that
we were not, on the present occasion
either brought into action, or harrascd
by any needless formations. For, nev.
er, perhaps, did an army exhibit such
symptoms Of deficiency, not in courage
but in bodily strength: as We all ex
hibitcd this day. Noi is that a cir
cnmstance hard to be accounted for
In the first place, the soldiers, unac
customed during three months to the
weight OF their arms and ba,Lrge
found the burden. III pres mt imp ,>eo
upon them, to, great for their rner
waited condition To endure. Even til,
oldest and best OF our veterans com
planned, whilst the younger men, an(
those who had lately joined from Eng
land. soon sank under it. In the neNt
place, we, unfortunately, began oul
journey at the very hour, when. in :
climate like that OF Virginia, (..,r.
land) the ordinary traveller thinks o
resting. The heat was more intoier
able 4han l have any language to de
scribe. There was not breath of all
in motion; the sun was bright, and tht
sky perfectly cloudless; whilst the deer
fine sand. of which the road was com
posed. not only gave way beneath oul
tread, but rose in masses about us, fill
ing our eyes, and even obstructing oul
respiration. 1t so happened that to
day | was not employed with either the
advance guard or the tiankers. My
station was with the column; and il
was really painful to sc those whom
knew to he am ,nr the bravest and best
soldiers in the army, dropping, one af
ter another. upon the banks by tho
waysidr. We passed. in our march
more than one stream OF water. \:
may be imagined, there was no keep
ing the men in their ranks on these oc
casionS; and, indeed, to speak the truth
| became myself, at last, SO completely
ovcrpowered, that | not only ceased tt
forbid their hating to drink. but joinel
in the act ofinsubordination, and drank
also.
The sun had set, and. as in the cas-,
in this quarter Of the wcrld darknes:
was fast following his departure, wher
to the ineXprcssibc satisfaction OF every
officer and man in the army, the hall
was sounded. We hal reached a space
of ground more open than usual, ant
just sufficiently elevated to give us, in
case Of an attack: the advantage Of :
rising ground. On the slope Of this
and among few stubblc-tields, the diff
fcrent corps drew up. The guns were
then, as usual, drayge to the summit
the arms were piled. fires were lighted
and the ordinary preparations for ;
bivouac gone through; bat in th2s'
and in the rest which WAS to foil wv
them, it fell not to the lot of my frient
or myself to take part. As soon rs The
column halted, we were called upon tt
muster our company. and moved OF
towards the front. where thc charge 0
one of the ont pic.lrtS was committed