Fantasy fiction; Imaginary wars and battles -- Fiction; War stories
But you must not suppose the scene immediately around was gloomy: the
camp was brisk and bustling enough. We had got over the stress of
weariness; our stomachs were full; we felt a natural enthusiasm at the
prospect of having so soon to take a part as the real defenders of
the country, and we were inspirited at the sight of the large force
that was now assembled. Along the slopes which trended off to the rear
of our ridge, troops came marching up--volunteers, militia, cavalry,
and guns; these, I heard, had come down from the north as far as
Leatherhead the night before, and had marched over at daybreak. Long
trains, too, began to arrive by the rail through the gap, one after the
other, containing militia and volunteers, who moved up to the ridge to
the right and left, and took up their position, massed for the most
part on the slopes which ran up from, and in rear of, where we stood.
We now formed part of an army corps, we were told, consisting of three
divisions, but what regiments composed the other two divisions I never
heard. All this movement we could distinctly see from our position,
for we had hurried over our breakfast, expecting every minute that the
battle would begin, and now stood or sat about on the ground near our
piled arms. Early in the morning, too, we saw a very long train come
along the valley from the direction of Guildford, full of redcoats. It
halted at the little station at our feet, and the troops alighted. We
could soon make out their bear-skins. They were the Guards, coming to
reinforce this part of the line. Leaving a detachment of skirmishers to
hold the line of the railway embankment, the main body marched up with
a springy step and with the band playing, and drew up across the gap
on our left, in prolongation of our line. There appeared to be three
battalions of them, for they formed up in that number of columns at
short intervals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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