received the slain, and streams of blood dyed the surface of the earth.
It was enough. Aghast, struck with horror and dismay, the General and his companions awaited the coming up of the forces; the former, during that short interval, reflecting upon what he had best determine: should he pour into the heat of action, in order that by keeping up a continual firing of musketry, so large a body of men might strike panic into the rebels? Advancing bravely in front of the ranks, he exhorted them to do their duty; firm and undaunted they obeyed:—but, alas! their columns were dispersed; the previous success of the rebels, in their carnage of the advanced guard, had given them an earnest of a second victory.
To spare a still greater and useless effusion of blood, nothing remained to the General but a safe and honourable retreat, and which he executed with the greatest coolness, having lost but few of his men. In the disordered state of the country, the General considered the retreat he was making to be most essential for the safety of the Fort, which he had left to the discretion of a battalion of superannuated veterans, and which required therefore to be put under an immediate and strong armament. Mournful and silent, the General and his aid-de-camp turned to retrace the path
