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340 men, perfectly raw and undisciplined, to meet such a force, and I believe Major Haller has the honor of that smart arrangement. It is said that when we left the wood, they were but three-fourths of a mile distant, and Prof. Jacobs affirms that they captured our pickets at their posts. I cannot vouch for the latter statement, for I did not even know that any pickets had been stationed, though I presume there were, as Colonel Jennings was too good an officer to neglect a precaution of such moment. But to resume: we crossed three or four fields until we came to one of the numerous back roads, which we entered, and along which we proceeded in a rapid march. It is scarcely necessary to state, that in consequence of its muddy and slippery condition, travelling was laborious and tiresome. At first, we chose our path as much as possible, and avoided the mud puddles, but we had not gone a great