Corporal James: I would wave my hand for all to lie down, and I would hasten forward, stooping over as I ran, until I was about twenty yards from him, when I would crawl forward to the fence, close by him. Just before I reached him I would ask him what he saw.
Captain: He replies, "There are some hostile foot soldiers coming up this road."
Corporal James: I would crawl forward and look.
Captain: You see three or four men, about 500 yards north of you, coming up the Chester Pike. They are scattered out.
Corporal James: I would say, "Crawl into the lane, keep behind the stone wall, watch those fellows, and work your way to that farm" (indicates the Mills' farm). I would start towards the Mills' farm myself, under cover of the trees along the lane and would wave to the other men to move rapidly west, towards the hills.
Captain: Why didn't you try to hide near where you were and allow the hostile men to pass?
Corporal James: There does not seem to be any place to hide near there that a patrol would not probably examine.
Captain: What is your plan now?
Corporal James: I want to get my patrol up to that small woods near the Mills' farm, but I hardly expect to be able to get them up to that point without their being seen. In any event, I want them well back from the road where they can lie down and not be seen by the enemy when he passes.
Captain: You succeed in collecting your patrol in the woods without their being seen, and you see four foot soldiers in the road at the entrance to the land. One man starts up the lane, the others remaining on the road.