Our canteens, and clothes, and faces, and hair were all gummed up with molasses.

Such is the picture of our rear guard.

Now, reader, if you were ever on the rear guard of a routed and retreating army, you know how tedious it is.

You don't move more than ten feet at furthest before you have to halt, and then ten feet again a few minutes afterwards, and so on all day long.

You haven't time to sit down a moment before you are ordered to move on again.