the road into perfect mortar and it was extremely difficult for me to make headway. I worried on however till some time in the afternoon when I went into a house, where I procured a piece of a buckwheat slapjack. With this little refreshment I proceeded on and just before night overtook the troops. We continued our march until some time after dark, when we arrived in the vicinity of the main army. We again turned into a wood for the night; the leaves and ground were as wet as water could make them; it was then foggy, and the water dropping from the trees like a shower. We endeavoured to get fire by flashing powder on the leaves, but this and every other expedient that we could employ, failing, we were forced by our old master, Necessity, to lay down and sleep if we could, with three others of our constant companions, Fatigue, Hunger and Cold.
Next morning we joined the grand army near Philadelphia, and the heavy baggage being sent back to the rear of the army, we were obliged to put us up huts by laying up poles and covering them with leaves; a capital shelter from winter storms. Here we continued to fast; indeed we kept a continual lent as faithfully as ever any of the most rigorous of the Roman Catholics did. But there was this exception, we had no fish or eggs or any other substitute for our commons. Ours was a real fast, and depend upon it, we were sufficiently mortified.
About this time the whole British army left the city, came out, and encamped, or rather lay, on Chesnut-hill in our immediate neighbourhood; we hourly expected an attack from them; we had a commanding position and were very sensible of it. We were kept constantly on the alert, and wished nothing more than to have them engage us, for we were sure of giving them a drubbing, being in excellent fighting trim, as we were starved and as cross and illnatured as curs. The British, however, thought better of the matter, and after several days manœuvering on the hill, very civilly walked off into Philadelphia again.
Starvation seemed to be entailed upon the army and every animal connected with it. The oxen, brought from New-England for draught, all died, and the southern horses fared no better; even the wild animals that had any concern with us, suffered. A poor little squirrel who
