— you'll hit somebody after bit,” which tends to show what my feelings were at the time, and in what light I viewed the affair. One fellow from Pine Grove was so excited or ignorant that he rammed down the ball first, and poured the powder on top, thus rendering his musket useless. In the meantime the “rebs” had divided, some coming up the road as far as the brick house where they captured a few of our men who had gone inside, and the rest went over to the right, and were separated from us by the wood I have mentioned. Our regiment were now nearly all collected together, and were drawn up in line, some two or three fields distant.[1] Supposing the idea was to await an attack there, we concluded we had better go over and join them, which we did. Fully believing we would continue the fight, I took off my knapsack in order to be unencumbered and placed it in a fence corner where I could easily get it afterward. Upon taking my position in rank and after waiting for a short time we commenced a retreat toward the mountains. I hastened back readjusted my knapsack, and before long we were entirely concealed by the woods. Here we halted to have the roll called and among quite a number who were missing. I was not sorry to learn the “one-eyed sergeant” was included. Web. Davis, Buckley and Reddy were also among the captured. Although an hour previous I had felt excessively tired, the excitement of the skirmish had completely removed all fatigue and had so refreshened and invigorated my spirits that I seemed to be as elastic as in the morning. I suppose it affected the others in the same manner. While here Rennard who
- ↑ The regiment was promptly formed on the left of the road and opened fire, checking his advance and compelling him to fall back with some loss in killed and wounded. Bates, Vol. v, p. 1325.
