THE HOYAL AETILLEEY INSTITUTION. 
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immediately into working parties to intrench. Of each little squad of 12 or 
15 men, a proportion betook themselves to felling trees, a second proportion 
to arranging them in the line of intended parapet, a third to carrying them, 
(or other wood, especially fence-rails where procurable), up to the disposal of 
the second, and a fourth to throwing up earth to the front of the logs with 
their picket shovels. These latter work with all their might till out of 
breath, when other men relieve them at the shovelling, and so on, so that 
each man gets one or more turns at it before the completion of the work, 
and, in the very light soil of Virginia, a constant stream of earth is kept 
flying into the required place. In this manner I saw a breastwork, perfectly 
efficient against musketry fire, thrown up along the entire front of a brigade, 
in forty minutes; much emulation going on all the time amongst the various 
squads and regiments. If time allowed, the men next proceeded to “ slash" 
the woods in front of the position, then to assist advanced sentries and 
picquets in forming rifle pits, and only then to prepare their meals. No 
doubt the line which I saw thus occupied would have become a formidable 
fortification by night, but the General told me that he expected to move 
them some distance forward before dark, and that neither he nor they would 
grudge the work in the mean time. 
The trace of these works is not generally laid down by authority farther 
than the actual disposition of the troops in line goes, but the men themselves 
have a keen eye for such principles of advantage as command and flanking 
fire; in fact, only too much so, as a small show of flanking fire opposed to 
them, renders them, I was told, altogether unwilling to advance. 
The proportion of intrenching tools regularly supplied does not appear to 
exceed one of each kind to every ten men, independent of the regular 
pioneers of regiments ; but this number is indefinitely increased by the 
enterprise of the individuals. Besides the pioneers of the regiments, there 
is with each corps, for general works, a corps of pioneers, and another of 
engineers. 
To return to the operations. The above force rested awhile behind its 
intrenchments, awaiting attack. The surrounding country was undulating, 
with but occasional clearings in the woods; the woods however were not 
difficult save where here and there a swamp, or more frequently a water 
course, offered fair opportunity for obstruction and defence. During the 
afternoon, nothing offering, the line was moved cautiously forward, the left 
in particular getting near to the desired Boydton Plank-road; in which 
neighbourhood a vivid resistance was met with, but was quickly overpowered 
by the numbers and confidence of the 5th corps. The confederates appear 
to have been unable to shew half the numbers, at this point, which were 
brought against them, but they defended their retreat fiercely; and though 
the federal officers reported them as less determined than during the last 
year's campaign in the Wilderness, they caused a loss to the 5th corps, in less 
than an hour's fighting, of nearly 1000 men, including one or two hundred 
prisoners; suffering in about the same numbers themselves. They had little 
or no artillery up; the federal artillery, though unable, from the nature of the 
country, to take up good positions, acted with much effect, thrusting itself 
forward in spite of musketry fire, and frequently getting an opportunity to 
throw in canister at effective range. 
I may here remark that these tactics were much used throughout by the 
