"Early on the 15th of February, precisely at one o'clock, our whole division broke up from Tambach, and marched with burning torches through the wood beyond the so-called Rosengarten, in order that we might enter at break of day the Hessian village Flohe; we knew not whither we were going. We continued our march through the city of Smalkalden up to Middle Smalkalden. "When the cavalry came to the Meiningen village Niederschmalkalden, a Lieutenant, with about four-and-twenty militia men, stood right across the road, and would not let us pass. Here all three corps were obliged to halt. Major von Benkendorf, together with the Lieutenant-Colonel, rode up to the Lieutenant who was commanding there; and the Major asked him what he meant by not letting us pass, and whether this was not a public road? The Lieutenant answered: 'Yes! it was a high road, but he had orders not to let us pass. Major Benkendorf might say what he liked, the Lieutenant would not listen to him.' The Major then took a letter out of his pocket which he wished to show him; but neither would he take that. Whereupon the Major said to the Lieutenant: if he would not let him pass with his people he would force his way. "The Lieutenant answered shortly, that we might do so, as he had not sufficient force to prevent him. The Major rode immediately to the guards, drew his sword, and approached the Lieutenant to see whether he would consent to treat; but he would not stir from the spot. The Major asked him once more, whether he would yield up the ground? But he remained firm. Thereupon the Major gave his orders to the guard: March! March! and broke through. "While they were passing, it happened that one of the horses pushed against the Meiningen Lieutenant and threw him down. But he soon recovered himself, seized his weapon, and shot the serjeant-major of the guards, Starke, and then took to flight. A horseman however, whose name was Stähm, pursued him forthwith, and would have cut his head in two, but the Lieutenant held his weapon obliquely over his head, so that the horseman Stähm cut in half the powder sack on the barrel. But my good old Lieutenant thought he would run further, and sprang over a ditch, where the horseman might not be able to follow him, and thought he was now safe. But the grenadier Hellbich fired and shot my old Lieutenant Zimmermann behind the right ear as he ran, so that he fell suddenly to the ground, and not a muscle quivered. The militia still standing there looked on at the game; but the grenadiers fired some grenades among them, and they then took to their heels and ran away. "Meanwhile all the streets of the village had been barricaded with carts and wagons; but the Mayor and the peasants seeing their old Lieutenant lying dead, whom they had at all times considered as their bulwark, and observing that some grenades had fallen into their gardens, were in great terror, and began to ring the alarm bells that all the peasants might speedily assemble.