Page:The Adventures Of A Revolutionary Soldier.pdf/98

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
96
THE ADVENTURES OF


have the care of him, to help him off the field, or he should bleed to death; the sergeant, and a man or two he had with him, were taken up in hunting after plunder. It grieved me to see the poor man in such distress, and I asked the sergeant why he did not carry his officer to the surgeons; he said he would directly; directly! said I, why he will die directly. I then offered to assist them in carrying him to a meeting-house, a short distance off, where the rest of the wounded men and the surgeons were; at length he condescended to be persuaded to carry him off, I helped him to the place, and tarried a few minutes, to see the wounded and two or three limbs amputated, and then returned to my party again, where we remained the rest of the day and the following night, expecting to have another hack at them in the morning, but they gave us the slip.

As soon as our party had ceased firing, it began in the centre, and then upon the right, but as I was not in that part of the army, I had no "adventure" in it, but the firing was continued in one part or the other of the field, the whole afternoon. Our troops remained on the field all night with the Commander-in-chief; a regiment of Connecticut forces were sent to lie as near the enemy as possible and to watch their motions, but they disappointed us all. If my readers wish to know how they escaped so slyly without our knowledge, after such precautions being used to prevent it, I must tell them I know nothing about it. But if they will take the trouble to call upon John Trumbull, Esq. perhaps he will satisfy their curiosity. If he should chance to be out of the way, (and ten chances to one if he is not,) apply to McFingal, Canto 4th.

One little incident happened, during the heat of the cannonade, which I was eye-witness to, and which I think would be unpardonable not to mention. A woman whose husband belonged to the Artillery, and who was then attached to a piece in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time; while in the act of reaching a cartridge and having one of her feet as far before the other as she could step, a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs without doing any other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat,—looking at it with apparent uncon-