From the shelter of trees the foe were
creating havoc among the exposed troops, and a general
charge was necessary. Highlanders and Royal Americans,
acting under the directing eye of Bouquet, again drove
the Indians back with the bayonet. Scarcely had this been
accomplished when a fusillade was heard in the rear. The
convoy was attacked, and it was necessary to fall back
to its support. Until nightfall, around a bit of elevated
ground--called Edge Hill by Bouquet--on which the convoy
was drawn up, the battle was waged. About the pack-horses
and stores the soldiers valiantly fought for seven hours
against their invisible foe. At length darkness fell,
and the exhausted troops could take stock of their losses
and snatch a brief, broken rest. In this day of battle
two officers were killed and four wounded, and sixty of
the rank and file were killed or wounded.
Flour-bags were piled in a circle, and within this the
wounded were placed. Throughout the night a careful watch
was kept; but the enemy made no attack during the darkness,
merely firing an occasional shot and from time to time
uttering defiant yells. They were confident that Bouquet's
force would be an easy prey, and waited for daylight to
renew the battle.
The soldiers had played a heroic part.
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