"At full speed, and do not fire until we are close upon them!" was the whispered word passed from man to man, and I saw those either side of me carefully charging their rifles or muskets.
Even though we were come upon the Prince of Wales' regiment and a portion of the 63d Regulars, as was afterward learned, the result was much the same as when we rode down upon the undisciplined Tories.
There was the onward leaping of the horses as the spurs were sunk deep in their flanks; the thunder of their hoofs; the cries of the enemy as they were awakened from their slumbers; our shouts of triumph; the crackle of musketry and the groans of the wounded.
It was a dream—a horrible nightmare rather than a reality, and had I been a spectator instead of a participant, it would have seemed no different.
At such times the excitement of the battle is full upon one, and I have yet to see man or boy who can give a clear and detailed account of all that occurred while the scent of the powder was in his nostrils.
This much I do know, that, as twice before, I loaded and discharged my musket, or used it as a club; that I forced my horse to keep pace with my uncle's steed, who was ever foremost in the fray, and then the fleeing mass told that the enemy were in retreat.
This victory, when the majority of our men had believed the attack would prove our final ending, did more to revive the drooping spirits of General Marion's force than anything else could have done.
We forgot weariness; forgot everything save the fact that we of Williamsburg had been pitted against the king's best soldiers, and were come out of the battle as well as when we met Major Gainey's or Barfield's men.
On this occasion, however, we did not press the pursuit. It was known that these soldiers would re-form, where raw recruits might continue panic-stricken, and we were not so strong in numbers as to risk a regular engagement.
My uncle was the foremost here, as he ever had been, and Percy and I remained by his side, therefore can I say of a verity that we did not ride after the retreating column more than half a mile; but, once well clear of the encampment, drew rein and turned about.