We were not in a mood for conversation as we wheeled about and moved up the stream at a leisurely pace, and once arriving at the enemy’s camping-place came to understand of how much importance this surprise would prove to those who had rendezvoused at Snow’s Island. As I have already said, our people were illy equipped, lacking almost everything except horses, and the party who had come in pursuit of us brought with them even luxuries. In this encampment we found weapons, ammunition, provisions, and horse equipments beyond all expectation, and even those who, like my comrades and myself, were most bitterly disappointed at having been forced to turn back in the chase, forgot for the moment everything except the pleasing fact that in this first adventure the “ragged regiment” had won a most valuable victory, even though they failed in taking a single prisoner. It was while we were gathering up the spoils preparatory to taking them to Snow’s Island that we saw the leaders return, and with them two captives, the sole fruit of the entire race. Although our people had succeeded in capturing only a couple of men, it soon appeared that, so far as concerned us, the cream of all the mob of fugitives had been taken. They were Tories, and, like many of their breed, such arrant cowards that immediately after finding themselves in the clutches of the patriots, they were willing to tell all they knew, regardless of the fact that by so doing they were playing the traitor. It was from these weak-kneed renegades that General Marion gained such information as was in the highest degree valuable, for if he had remained in ignorance regarding the matter, the chances were more than equal that all our little force would speedily have been gobbled up. Without making too many words of what really deserves to be spun out into a longer story, I must content myself by explaining that the prisoners speedily confessed that somewhere on the banks of the Great Pedee, between where we then were and the ferry at Georgetown, was a large force of Britishers and Tories who had been sent to cooperate with Major Gainey, the plan having been that the latter advance along the Charleston road while this second and greatly superior force come up the river-bank. The report was that the other party could not be less than four hundred strong, under the command of Captain Barfield, a name which we of Charleston would not speedily forget, for he it was who had command of the squad that carried the chief citizens of the city to the prison-ships. One needed not to be a soldier in order to understand what might have happened had our people continued the pursuit very long. Those whom we had surprised, knowing of this larger force in the vicinity, were, of course, doing all they might to join them, and most likely hoping we would keep at their heels until finding ourselves confronted by a company which could speedily overcome us.