One of the officers told Mr.Merrick that they had been facing bullets since daybreak and the men seemed almost exhausted.

Their faces were blackened by dust and powder and their uniforms torn and disordered; many stood without caps or coats despite the chill in the air.

And yet these fellows were laughing together and chatting as pleasantly as children just released from school.

Even those who had wounds made light of their hurts.

Clouds of smoke hovered low in the air; the firing was incessant.
Our girls were thrilled by this spectacle as they had never been thrilled before--perhaps never might be again.