The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-12-07

cold. AS i'll luck would have it, too,
the day CHANGED to be remarkably Sc
we're. There was no rain, it is true,
but the sky was covered with gray
clouds: the sun never once pierced
them, and frost, or rather vile
blight, hung over the atmosphere from
morning till nj ght Nor were the OBJ
.jects which occupied our senses of
sight and hearing, quite such as we
should .havc desired to occupy them.
In other parts Of the field, the. troops
not shut up as we were, by the enemy's
guns, employed themselves in burying
the dead, and otherwise cffacing the
traces of warfare The site of our en-
campment continued to he strcwed
with carcasscs to the last, and so watch
full were the crew OF the schooner, that
every effort to convey them out of
sight, brought heavy fire upon the
party engaged in it. must say, that
the enemy's behavior upon the present
occasion, was not such as did them
honor. The house which General
kean had originally occupied as head
quarters, being converted into hos
pital, was filled at this time with
wounded, both from the British and
American armies. To mark its uses,
yellow flag, the usual signal in such
cases, was hoisted on the roof-yct
did the Americans continue to fire at
it, as often as group of six or eight
persons happened to show themselves
at the door. Nay, so utterly regard
less were they Of the dictates of hu-
mauity, that even the parties which
were in the act of conveying the wound
ed from place to place, escaped not
without molestation. More than one
such party was dispersed by grape
shot, anil more than one poor MANNED
soldier was in consequence hurled out
of the blanket in which he was borne.
The reader will not doubt me when
| say, that seldom has the depart Of
day light been more anXiously looked
for by me, than we looked for it now.
1t is true that the arrival of a little
rum towards evening, served, in some
slight degree, to elevate our spirits,
but we could not help feeling, not veX-
alton only, but positi::e Indignation, at
the state of miserable inaction to which
we were conl,mned. There was not
man ain ,ns us who would have hesi-
tated one moment, had the choice been
submitted to him, whether he would
advance or lie still. True, We might
have suffered a little, because the guns
of the schooner entirely commanded
us; and in rushing out from our place
of concealment, some casualties would
have occurr l-',lt So irksome was
our situation, that we could have
readily run all risks to change it. 1t
suited no: the plans of our General,
however, to indul re these wishes. To
the bank we were cnjoined to cling
and we did cling to it, from the coming
in of the first gray twilight of the
morning, till the last twilight of the eve
ming had departed.
As soon as it was dark, the corps
to which Charlton and myself were
attached, received orders to file off to
the right. We obeyed, and passing
along the front of the hospital, we
skirtcd to the rear of the village, and
established ourselves in the field be.
yond. 1t was positive blessing this
restoration to something like personal
freedom The men set busily to work
lighting fires and cooking provisions
the officers stroilcd about, with no 9th
er apparent design than to give en-
ploymrnt to their limbs, which had
become stiff with so protracted 4 state
of inaction For ourselves, we visited
the wounded, said a few kind words to
such as we recognized, and pitied, as
they deserved to be pitied, the rest.
Then retiring to our fire, we address,
ed ourselves with heavy good will to a
frugal supper, and gladly composed
ourselves to sleep.
(TO BE CJNIINUED.