On one occasion during Moore’s retreat, Lieutenant Thomas Smith, then a very young officer who had but lately joined, was accompanying ammunition which was in charge of a Quartermaster (Ross). On their arrival at Craufurd’s head-quarters, the wily Quartermaster advised Smith to go and report their arrival to the General. The other demurred; saying that he was not in charge of the ammunition, but only accompanying it. However, the Quartermaster urged him, reminding him that he must be hungry; they had not, in fact, tasted food for twenty-four hours; and that the General would probably ask him to dinner. Thus counselled by his senior and impelled by his hunger, he presented himself at the General’s quarter and saw his Aide-de-Camp, who going upstairs returned with an order to proceed at once a further march of some three leagues. Smith returned to the Quartermaster with this woful order, adding that as he was in charge of it, he might remain with it, for that he should go on and overtake his Battalion. The Quartermaster declared he should do no such thing; and after a sharp argument they both started and joined the Battalion. In the morning as Smith was sitting down to breakfast, an order came from Craufurd, who had come up, that he and the Quartermaster should attend him. On being ushered into the General’s presence they found him warming himself before a comfortable brazier, while breakfast stood on the table. In a voice of great severity he asked which of the two had received his order the night before. ‘I did, sir,’ said Smith, ‘but’-- ‘No _but_, sir,’ interrupted Craufurd; ‘consider yourself under arrest; and,’ adding a tremendous oath, ‘I will smash you.’ Poor Smith--for Craufurd would not hear a word more--returned in dismay to his brother officers, whom he found at breakfast; but hungry as he was and pressed by them to be of good heart, food had now no charms for him. Eventually Beckwith represented to Craufurd that the offender was but a boy just joined; and his pleadings, coupled perhaps with the fact that they were just going to fight, when every available officer would be wanted, induced Craufurd, contrary to his wont, to relax his severity and to release Smith from his arrest. Long afterwards as Craufurd was standing talking with the officers of the Battalion, round a camp fire, he turned to him. ‘Smith,’ said he, ‘did I not once put you under arrest?’ ‘Yes, sir, you did.’ ‘And do you know,’ he continued, ‘what became of the ammunition? I found it steadily going towards the French lines, and had but just time to put spurs to my horse and to turn it back. So that through your default I had nearly lost my ammunition.’[112]