The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-09-21

er force. that we could not avoid con-
trasting it with the sultry atmosphere
which had oppressed us when we last
traverscd these parts. Then, again,
there was the idea of being followed -
the chance of a sudden attack, and the
prospect of a night action these,
as long rs we were near the position OF
the cncmy's camp, served to put new
mrttlc into our hosoms. But in pro-
portion as we got farther and farther
from the seat of danger. romance grad
ually lost its influence, till, finally, the
only sensation to which we were alive,
was one of overwhelming WEAKNESS
and the only wish which we cared to
form, was, that an opportunity would
be afforded of lying down to rest.
About midnight, indeed, and for six
hours after it, these feelings began to
operate very powerfully. The men
straycd from their ranks; the officers
found great difficulty in urging them
on; some dozed upon their legs, and
fell under the feet of their comrades;
others threw themselves 10y the way
side, refusing to proceed farther. In
word, by seven O'Clock in the follow
ing morning, it was perfectly manifest
that an hours rest must be taken, 9TH
erwise one-half of the troops would be
in danger of falling into the hands of
the enemy.
We had accomplished journey of
some eighteen or twenty miles, when,
to the unspeakable JOY of every man in
the army, the General, finding himself
arrived at 4 convenient spot, command
ed halt. | candidly confess, that |
know nothing of the nature of the
ground on which the halt occurred,
nor of the dispositions which were
made to render it secure, for my men
were l.ardly stretched upon the grass
| "HcH 1 IollO"S S'l tutll tAdiiplc nc
only precaution which | took, was to
seek out shady tree whose branches
might shelter me from the sun; then,
from seven o'clock till little before
noon, / slept as soundly as ever weary
traveller has slept, or could desire to
sleep. At that period | was awakened
to breakfast; and in half an hour after,
the column was again in motion.
The sun had set, and twilight was
rapidly closing in, when we found our
selves once more in the vicinity Of
Marlborough. There it was resolved
to pass the night; and as the same
position was taken up which we had
occupied during the advance, every
man felt himself in some degree at
home. For ourselves, Charlton and l =,
willing, if possible, to find shelter un-
der roof, wandered away to house
about stones throw apart from the
corps; but it would have been better,
perhaps, that we had remained in the
open air. The house in question was
filled with such Of the wounded, as it
had been found practicable to remove
on horseback, and in the clumsy wag-
ons which our troopers succeeded in
capturing. There were, if | recolect
right, five or six officers in one room;
among whom we were persuaded to lie
down. But the groans and qucrulous
complaints Of some of these brave men,
complaints which everyone who has
filed their s:tlation will understand
and for which few will hesitate to make
allowance, etftctually broke in upon
our repose. We coald not 90 to sleep
under such circumstances; and hence
the greater part of that night was
spent in vain cndcavors to bestow COM
fort upon those whom bodily suffering
rendered perfectly dead 20 every con-
sideration except the desire of ease
We were glad to retire about two in
the morning and to snatch few hours
OF broken rest under shed hardly.
The dawn had not vet appeared,
when the well known sound Of troops
mastering upon their ground awoke
us. We took our places, rs usual, with
the men; and having waited till there
was light enough to direct our steps,
once more began our march. There
was nothing in to days operations at
all worthy of notice. The country we
had already traverscd, and it exhibited.
OF course, an appearance exactly SINH
lar to that which it exhibited before;
whilst the absence of everything like
annoyance on the part of the Ameri-
cans rendered our whole progress more
Gull and monotonous than would have
been wished. We were, accordingly,
very well pleased at heholding the
houses in Noting ham again rise in
view; and our satisfaction suffered no
decrease when informed, that here, as
: formerly, the light should he passed.
s 1t so happened that Charlton and |
t fixed ourselves in the identical barn
t which had sheltered us before. And
e the reader will not be surprised to
} learn, that that apparently unimpor-
e tant occurrence affected us more deep
: ly than any which had taken place
: during the whole course of the inroad.
e 1t was impossible to lie down upon
e the tobacco without thinking of the
/ gallant youth who had lain there be-
!, side us. only seven DAYS ayo. True: