watching their cavalry, of which several
squadrons were in plain sight until about
1, when suddenly they opened on our
skirmishers with 2 guns. Our men were
on a knoll half a mile in front of us
& our reg’t immediately went up to
support them. The only way of approach
was to go up in single file on a dyke
on one flank, then across a large field
some distance in their rear & then on a
dyke up the other side & round into the
rifle pits. We went by single companies
at the double & it was very amusing to
watch the leading ones as they filed
across the field directly in front of us
following the officer like sheep, but it quick
ly ceased to be amusing when we saw the
shell & case shot burst right over & around
them & knew that we had got to follow.
However, we all got up to the pits safely,
though one of the Perkins’ men had his
waist-belt torn off him by a fragment of
shell which came down by this back. of his
As soon as we got there we burrowed like
moles, I assure you, & laid low. Soon the
107th had a brisk skirmish for a knoll on our
right which commanded our whole line & took it.
This is enough in all conscience for one letter.