On the 10th of September, 1799, the enemy, having received accessions to their number, attacked us in our position. It was known to them, that we were shortly to receive large reinforcements; and they determined to attack us before these arrived. A strong party attacked the position entrusted to our regiment, which was the first time that we were in actual action with an enemy. The dyke sheltered us from their shot; for when they drew near, we stood on the top of it and fired a volley or two, which drove them back, and then we sheltered ourselves from the fire of their artillery by sitting down on the near side of it. The shot whistled over our heads, and fell, when its strength was spent, on the ground in our rear. The enemy was repulsed at all points with loss. Our regiment's loss was small; one man killed, and the captain of the grenadiers, and three men wounded. General Moore was also slightly wounded. When the main body of the enemy retreated, a number of their riflemen remained behind them, under the cover of a house that was near the dyke; one of them came from under the cover, and ran to join the main body; he was instantly fired at I dare say by twenty; yet he got clear off, without any appearance of being hurt. The risk that he ran deterred the remainder from following him, and they surrendered themselves prisoners of war, in number about one hundred. Shortly after the action of the 10th, a number of troops arrived from England, along with the Duke of York, who took the chief command of the army. A large body of Russian troops also joined us, which increased our number to about thirty-five thousand. And on the 19th September the whole moved forward to attack the enemy. Sir Ralph Abercrombie, with about eight or ten thousand men, of which our brigade was a part, marched the preceding night past the right flank of the enemy, and took the town of Hoorn by surprise. We were now a good way in the rear of the enemy's right, and it was intended that the Duke of York, with the main body of the army, should dislodge the enemy from his positions, and that we should then attack them on their flank and rear, and cut off their retreat.