ch
might have occurred. We effected the passage, however, in excellent
order, and formed on the opposite bank of the stream, where we
continued under a cannonade and engaged in a sharp skirmish until
dark.

Our loss on this occasion was considerable, but it would have been
much greater, had not the enemy's shells buried themselves so deep in
the soft ground, that their explosions did little injury. It appeared
singular to us, who were not medical men, that an officer and several
of our division, who were badly wounded on this occasion, in the leg,
and who were sent to the rear on gun-carriages, should have died of a
mortification in the limb which was _not_ wounded.

When the firing ceased, we received the usual order "to make ourselves
comfortable for the night," and I never remember an instance in which
we had so much difficulty in obeying it; for the ground we occupied
was a perfect flat, which was flooded more than ankle deep with water,
excepting here and there, where the higher ground around the roots of
trees, presented circles of a few feet of visible earth, upon which we
grouped ourselves. Some few fires were kindled, at which we roasted
some bits of raw beef on the points of our swords, and eat them by way
of a dinner. There was plenty of water to apologize for the want of
better fluids, but bread sent no apology at all.

Some divisions of the army had commenced retiring as soon as it was
dark, and the whole had been ordered to move, so that the roads might
be clear for us before daylight. I was sent twice in the course of the
night to see what progress they had made; but such was the state of
the roads, that even within an hour of daylight, two divisions,
besides our own, were still unmoved, which would consequently delay us
so long, that we looked forward to a severe harassing day's fighting;
a kind of fighting, too, that is the least palatable of any, where
much might be lost, and nothing was to be gained. With such prospects
before us, it made my very heart rejoice to see my brigadier's servant
commence boiling some chocolate and frying a beef-steak. I watched its
progress with a keenness which intense hunger alone could inspire, and
was on the very point of having my desires consummated, when the
general, getting uneasy at not having received any communication
relative to the movements of the morning, and, without considering how
feelingly my stomach yearned for a better acquaintance with the
contents