The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-10-19
CHAPTER MI.
DEEENSES FOR THE PROTECTION OF BAL
TIMORE.

DEEENsEs FOR THE PROTECTION OF BAL
TIMoRE.
As there still remained some hours
of dayli ght, my friend and myself hav-
ing partaken of such slight provision
as our commissary could furnish,
amused ourselves by wandering over
the scene of the last contest, and ex-
amining,at our leisure, both the nature
of the ground occupied by the Amer-
cans, and the dispositions made to dis
lodge them. We found the enemy's
position not, indeed so commanding,
in many respects, as that which they
had occupied above Bladensburg, but
sufficiently 50, in all conscience, to
have enabled troops better disciplined,
and more habituated to danger,to keep
their ground for many hours, even
against superior numbers. The left of
the line, in particular, struck us as be-
ing more strongly posted than fre-
Quently falls to the lot of small armies.
Not only was the lake which covered
it perfectly unfordable, but the banks,
steep, precipitous and woody, furnished
the very best species Of cover for light
troops, by the use of which, hun
dred resolute men might have checked
the approach of a whole army for half
a day On the right, again, all at
tenpts at turning were rendered hope
less, by the intervention of the head Of
Il creek, which in this direction
stretched considerably inland; whilst
a close and tangled thicket, intersected
here and there by narrow pathways:
absolutely invited the American Gen
eral to push forward a corps, which,
making circuit, might have fallen
upon the rear of our army at any mo-
ment most convenient to themselves,
and most injurious to US. Besides all
which, the troops themselves stood at
the summit of 1 gentle slope, and in the
heart of belt of oaks, regular as row
of palisades; whilst the house, now con-
verted by US to the uses detailed above,
were, from their situation, admirably
adopted to cover the reformation Of al
most any part of the line which might
by accident have been broken. But
all these advantages were of no avail.
There was wanting that, without which
any other superiority will be found
useless, confidence in the troops
themselves, which nothing, except re-
pcated successes, and long acquaint-
ance with warfare, bestows.
In passing from one extremity of the
field to another, it unavoidably hap
pened, that on more than one occasion
we were compelled to pick our steps
among the dead; and it was then that
the great disparity between the loss
sustained by us, and that on the side
of the enemy, struck us. On the main
rotd, indeed, the number of British
bodies was considerable; the seamen
and 2lst regiment, which occupied that
post, had been exposed to a sweeping
fire of artillery, and had suffered; but
in other directions, for one body cloth
ed in Il scarlet uniform, five corpscs Of
slaughtered republicans might be
counted. Nor did it appear to us as
being the least remarkable feature in
| the case, that not one of all the slain
was stripped. They had lam already
some hours exposed, yet such was the
paucity of our camp followers, or their
unskillfulness in their vocation. that
they still lay as they had fallen.
Having in this manner gratlticd our
curiosity, we returned to the spot
which we had previously selected as a
convenient one for pas ing the night.
/ 1t was bare green mound, apart from
the rest of the arms, and sheltered bv
the branches of three spreading trees
which surmounted it, There we found
our fire brightly blazing, little straw
| uOt together. and n supper of boiled
goose and greens ready to be served
up. The reader will easily believe.
that we addro ssed ourselves to the last
with satisfaction by no means the
less lively, that we had not anticipated
anything of the kind. Our servants
it appeared, intent, as all good servants
ought to be, upon their masters com
fort. had instituted search in every
direction after viands, and, in shed
near the hospital, had discovered a
| flock of some sixteen or eighteen geese
or these they took care to secure a
couple before any other individual was
let into the secret; but the birds soon
BETRAYED themselves their cackling
was overheard by the surgeons attend
ants, and in five minutes after they all
paid the d dlht of nature. Into the fate
of the birds, however, we cared not tC