The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-01-04

ing tne l'aSI "peh, llot Il IL" Hdi oteH
without sleep or a regular meal for GO
hours; it is not 10 he wondered at; if
these spoke and Thought less Of future
glory, than Of immediate suffering.
Yet were oar fstisueS by NJ means at
an end. The enemy having made no
attempt to carry oil our heavy guns,
which we abandoned 10 their fate. it
judged advisable to bring them into
the camp as soon as circumstances
would a',ow; and for this purpose,
working parties were again sent out,
as soon as darkness srccenel them. 1t
was my fortune to accompany them.
The labor of dragging q number of
huge ships guns out of the soft soil
into which they had sunk, crippled,
too. as most of them We're in their car
riages, was more extreme by Tar than
anyone expected to find it; indeed, it
was not till fonr o'clock in the morn
ing that our task came to q conclusion,
and even then it had been very imDer-
te:tly performed. + We Guns were
evcntua.A II; "l.i i. r::.~r we're
rendered Useless. IT, j. irn,.. ~ break
ing their lrunn;on: hui it cannot be
said that III Ii" cnurSs 81. III" iatrnper-
ations, the Is i.isi. array came oil Y ith-
ont the 10 s pf SON OF It's ar illery.
| do not rvcolIect To have expert
encvd at any period of my life, a de-
gree OF fatigue a. all to he compared
with that which now oppressed Inc.
During three whole nj hts and days |
had never closed an eye; my food, dur
iIg that entire space, consisted of a
small quantity of salt beef, a sea-bis
cult or two, aDd.a little rum; and even
that could hardly find time or .eis-
ure to consume. was now so complete
ly overcome, that bad | been required
to perform any duty at the moment, ]
question whether my bodily strength
would have carried me through it. 1t
was not without some difficulty that |
contrived 10 drag my limbs back to the
camps; and having done so, all the
thoughts of further eXertion were laid
aside. / threw myself down upon the
ground, and in an instant was asleep,
and the evening Was beginning to c,ose
in, before the deep slumber left me.
But it proved indeed a rC frcshment for
which | know not how to be sufficient
ly thankful. / rose perfectly restored
to my natural vlgor of body and mind,
and perfectly willing to act or suffer
whatever oar leaders may think fit to
require.
1t has been said that the bad quail
ty and insufficient quantity of provi-
sions issued out to the troops, in the
course of these operations, was sorcly
felt. The truth is, that the few sup
plies which the country at first fur
nished became exhausted in day !;
and We We're, Of necessity, forced
almost from the first, to depend en-
tireIy upon TIE fleet for our subsistence.
That the sailors eXertel themselves
strcnnously to hinder us from cNpe-
riencing any serious Inconvenience,
that account, no one can deny,-thry
were at the oar continually; but some
times the weather proved s'lch as to
retard their progress, and sometimes
they neglected to set out till the Com
missar.es store had become well nigh EN-
ptied. On all such occasions, we were
compelled to put up with half allow
anc". Yet We managed to enjoy lux
urics, too, sach as they were. The
country abo led in sugar, and here
and there q orchard of Seville oranges
adorned it. 1t WAS customary amon.s st
us to substitute burned biscuits for
coffee. which there was no difficulty in
rendering sweet, and We made out Of
the oranges and sugar no indifferent
marmaladr. Nor was this the only
use TO which we turned the former OF
these articles. When pork and beans
ran short, it was DO uncommon thing
for both officers and III, to appease
the cravings of hunger hy eating the
sugar, not in Iced, as it was found in
tie casks, hat after they had moulded
it into cakes. cannot say that any
OF Us woiii have seitcte such food
had Il cho &C been slt m:ttsl o m
bu, W. were very thankful for il, aud
in no instance did it prove otherws
than wholesome ana nutritious.
In the meanwhile, neither tie Amer.
lean general nor our own remained in
active, though, on our part, the conf
dence Of success which once prevailed
bad maniftstly ahated. Not only were
fresh troops seen tc pour daily into the
encpys camp, bat Il line Of works was
begun by them on the opposite side o
the river, from which they contrivet
TO eniladc our bivUuac, with no fewer
than eighteen pieces OF cannon. Or
their main position, likewise. they la
bored night and day. The parapet
which, on the morning oi The 9th, any
tolerajly active man would have over
leapcd with ease, WAS nov hcightenC(
to an ordinary altitude; whilst ditch
measuring from ten to fifteen feet il
width and from four to eight feet il
depth, covered and projected 1t, from
' pnp ti,pl; tn tho nj hnr If VOC Il ~