before, fifteen of us had entered that old barn, now there were
but six to come out.

Buche and Zebede were among the living; the Pfalzbourgers had been
fortunate.

Once outside it was necessary to follow the attacking column.

We advanced over the heaps of dead. Our feet encountered this yielding
mass, but we did not look to see if we stepped on the face of a wounded
man, on his breast, or on his limbs; we marched straight on. We found
out next morning, that this mass of men had been cut down by the
battery in front of the church; their obstinacy had proved their ruin.
Bluecher was only waiting to serve us in the same manner, but instead of
going over the bridge we turned off to the right and occupied the
houses along the brook. The Prussians fired at us from every window
opposite, but as soon as we were ambushed we opened our fire on their
guns and they were obliged to fall back.

They had already begun to talk of attacking the other part of the
village, when the rumor was heard that a column of Prussians forty
thousand strong had come up behind us from Charleroi. We could not
understand it, as we had swept everything before us to the banks of the
Sambre. This column which had fallen on our rear, must have been
hidden in the forest.

It was about half-past six and the combat at St. Amand seemed to grow
fiercer than ever. Bluecher had moved his forces to that side, and it
was a favorable moment to carry the other part of the village, but this
column forced us to wait.

The houses on either side of the brook were filled with troops, the
French on the right and the Prussians on the left. The firing had
ceased, a few shots were still heard from time to time, but they were
evidently by design. We looked at each other as if to say, "Let us
breathe awhile now, and we will commence again presently."

The Prussians in the house opposite us, in their blue coats and leather
shakos, with their mustaches turned up, were all strongly built men,
old soldiers with square chins and their ears standing out from their
heads. They looked as if they might overthrow us at a blow. The
officers, too, were looking on.

Along the two streets which were parallel with the brook and in the
brook itself, the dead were lying in long rows.

Many of them were seated with their backs against the walls. They had
been dangerously wounded in the battle but had had sufficient strength
to retire from the strife, and had sunk down agai