Therepellerswerecalledlightinfantry;butwhentheycarriedonoperationsbeyondtheforttheybecamecavalry。Itwasalsotheirduty，20whennototherwiseengaged，tomanufacturesnow—balls。TheGeneral’sstaffconsistedoffiveTemplars（Iamongthenumber，withtherankofMajor），whocarriedtheGeneral’sordersandlookedafterthewounded。
GeneralMatAmes，aveterancommander，wasnolesswide—awakeinthedispositionofhisarmy。Fivecompanies，eachnumberingbutsixmen，inordernottopresenttoobigatargettooursharpshooters，weretochargethefortfromdifferentpoints，theiradvancebeingcoveredbyaheavyfirefromthegunnerspostedintherear。Eachscalerwasprovidedwithonlytworoundsofammunition，whichwerenottobeuseduntilhehadmountedthebreastworkandcoulddeliverhisshotsonourheads。
Thedrawingbelowrepresentstheinteriorofthefortjustprevioustotheassault。Nothingonearthcouldrepresentthestateofthingsafterthefirstvolley。
FortSlatterdetailgraphicThethrillingmomenthadnowarrived。IfIhadbeengoingintoarealengagementIcouldnothavebeenmoredeeplyimpressedbytheimportanceoftheoccasion。
Thefortopenedfirefirst—asingleballfromthedexterousbandofGeneralHarristakingGeneralAmesintheverypitofhisstomach。AcheerwentupfromFortSlatter。Inaninstanttheairwasthickwithflyingmissiles，inthemidstofwhichwedimlydescriedthestormingpartiessweepingupthehill，shouldertoshoulder。Theshoutsoftheleaders，andthesnowballsburstinglikeshellsaboutourears，madeitverylively。