We of the flotilla arrived near Bladensburg shortly after noon, and were stationed about a mile from the village on the Washington road. There we found two eighteens and three 12-pounders, all ship's guns, mounted on carriages, which had been drawn to the spot by the marines from the navy yard, and with these we were supposed to hold our position, having no other support than a crowd of raw militia in front of us. Our force, meaning those under Commodore Barney's command, numbered, as I have already said, about five hundred, and although we had no knowledge of military tactics, we knew enough to obey our officers to the best of our ability, which was considerably more than could be said for very many of the troops near at hand. I cannot set down that which followed, in proper fashion so that it could be understood by those familiar with the game of war; I only know what happened near my comrades and myself, for the crew of the Avenger had taken good care to stand side by side at this time when one or all of us might meet death through the medium of British lead. For myself, I can say this: that when I looked around at the mass of men--five thousand strong I have since heard--, and saw them wrangling over this trifling matter or that, openly disputing some command, or boldly leaving an assigned position to take up one which pleased them better, I had more fear of what might come to us through the cowardice or ignorance of our own people, than regarding the ability of the enemy to cut us up. Darius made his preparations for the conflict by stuffing a huge piece of tobacco into his mouth, after which he proceeded to read us a lecture on behavior while under fire. "Remember this," he said with the air of one who knows it all, "it isn't every bullet that finds its billet, an' the toughest time is just now, when we're waitin' for what all hands know is bound to come. Think of the folks at Benedict, an' kind'er figger out what they'd say if you went home after showin' yourselves cowards under fire. There are worse things than bein' killed or wounded in battle, an' the hardest is to live knowin' every youngster on the street has the right to call you a white-livered sneak what ran away when danger came. Stand here behind Joshua Barney, for I warrant he won't give you a chance to get in front of him, an' you'll be doin' about right." When the old man had come to an end of his instructions, we would have conversed among ourselves, speaking much, no doubt, of the folks at home; but he sternly bade us hold our tongues, thinking that we would not be heartened by such talk, and straightway began to tell us a yarn of how he and Bill Jepson had fought under Commodore Barney, when the enemy was a ship of thirty-two guns, and they in a schooner carrying only twelve 10-pounders.