"The battalion halted a moment, faced to the front, and closed a little. "'Stay here,' said General Niel; 'you are my only reserve!' "Then the general, glancing in front of the farm, said to the major, after one or two minutes, 'Major, fix bayonets, sound the charge, and forward!' "This last movement was still properly executed at the start, and for about one hundred yards of advance. "Shrapnel annoyed the battalion, and the men shouldered arms to march better. "At about one hundred yards from the farm, the cry 'Packs down,' came from I do not know where. The cry was instantly repeated in the battalion. Packs were thrown down, anywhere, and with wild yells the advance was renewed, in the wildest disorder. "From that moment, and for the rest of the day, the 3rd Battalion as a unit disappeared. "Toward the end of the day, after an attempt had been made to get the regiment together, and at the end of half an hour of backing and filling, there was a roll-call. "The third company of grenadiers had on starting off in the morning one hundred and thirty-two to one hundred and thirty-five present. At this first roll-call, forty-seven answered, a number I can swear to, but many of the men were still hunting packs and rations. The next day at reveille roll-call, ninety-three or four answered. Many came back in the night. "This was the strength for many days I still remember, for I was charged with company supply from June 25th. "As additional bit of information--it was generally known a few days later that at least twenty men of the 4th company of grenadiers were never on the field of battle. Wounded of the company, returned for transport to Medole, said later that they had seen some twenty of the company together close to Medole, lying in the grass while their comrades fought. They even gave some names, but could not name them all. The company had only been formed for the war on April 19th, and had received that same day forty-nine new grenadiers and twenty-nine at Milan, which made seventy-eight recruits in two months. None of these men were tried or punished. Their comrades rode them hard, that was all." 8. Mentana Extract from the correspondence of Colonel Ardant du Picq. Letters from Captain C----, dated August 23, 1868. "November 3, at two in the morning, we took up arms to go to Monte-Rotondo. We did not yet know that we would meet the Garibaldians at Mentana.