Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 7.

‘[p. 93] canister.’ He did, and I should think he mowed down a hundred or more. It cut the flag. He ranged it again with as good success as before. He said, ‘That's the way to give them some,’ and you never saw a flock of sheep scatter mote than they did. About that time a battery opened upon us. The colonel ordered us to lie down, then one of our batteries opened fire and they exchanged a number of shots. I recollected what General Lawrence told me. He said when I heard a shot coming to lie close to the ground, and I did so, but as soon as it passed, my head was up. Being near the centre of the regiment I could see, and we could hear them. The batteries over the other side of the brook kept up a rapid firing. The two guns in front of us fired every cartridge they had. We did not fire a gun. The third regiment fired, but what at I could not see. The rebels retreated and burned a bridge to stop our following them. They were from South Carolina, the fighting men you know. They meant to play a shrewd game on us. They came out on our right to attract our attention, while others planned to go round and surround us, as all the troops had gone but our brigade, but they missed it. They opened a dam and raised the water in the brook some three feet before we got over it. We stayed there about an hour and waded up to our waists through the brook. The water rose eight feet in half an hour.

We halted as soon as we got over for the other regiment to form. Some one went down to the brook, and it was four times as wide as when we crossed. There were between three and four thousand rebels in the woods. I did not consider myself in any danger till the batteries opened fire upon us upon the right. After we got straightened out again, we marched back about five miles and went into camp in a cornfield about midnight. We made fires and dried our clothes and then went to sleep. Thursday, the eighteenth, we again came in the rear of the army and did not get into camp till 2 o'clock