“In this section was a regiment of Maryland troops, all young men. It was truly a pitiful sight when they came out of the water and mud, looking rather like rats than human beings. Many of them were killed while swimming across the pond, and more were drowned. When the tide went down some of our regiment waded into the water and took out a number of corpses, as well as a great many muskets that had been lost or deliberately thrown into the creek. Our regiment lay on the ground we then occupied, during that night. “Next afternoon we had a pretty tight scratch with about our own number of British, all of which came about rather oddly. A few of our boys went across the creek on what had become our regular business, that is, in search of something to eat. There was a field of corn a short distance off, with several cocks of hay about half-way from the creek to the cornfield. Our boys counted on getting some of the corn, or anything else that might be eatable. When they had got as far as the hay-cocks they were fired upon by the British, who were hidden in the cornfield. “Our boys took to the hay, and the red-coats to the fence, from which positions a number of shots were exchanged, neither side being willing to give way. Finally about forty of our people charged, driving the British from the fence, and, more red-coats coming up just then, our fellows were driven back in turn. Each side kept receiving reinforcements, until we had our entire regiment in action, and the enemy mustered about as many; but after a hard tussle we succeeded in routing them, yet did not dare to follow when they retreated, for fear of falling into some snare. We lost in all--both killed and wounded--about thirty. “Our regiment was alone, no other troops being near where we were lying. We had halted on rising ground covered with a young growth of trees, and a goodly number of these we felled to throw up such a fence as would prevent the approach of the enemy’s horse. Near night a heavy shower came up, which wet us all to the skin, and damaged our ammunition so much that when the storm cleared away we were ordered to parade and discharge our pieces that they might be recharged. We attempted to fire by platoons for improvement, but made blundering work of it; it was more like a running fire. However, we got our muskets as empty as our stomachs, and with half the trouble, nor was it difficult to reload them, for we had the wherewithal to do that, but not so with our stomachs.