Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/472

436 artillery, and had good promise that he would cut Meade's line of movement. Just then Ewell received Lee's warning not to bring on a general engagement, and ordered Jones to "fall slowly back, if pressed." Interpreting this as an order to fall back at once, Jones began to withdraw the field pieces in his skirmish line, which Griffin's division, of Warren's corps, took for a retreat, and so pressed upon Jones vigorously and drove his men back with the loss of their leader, who fell in trying to stem the tide of retreat. Ewell promptly moved forward the brigades of Gordon and Daniel, crushed Griffin's victory-disordered advance, and fell on the flank of the divisions of Crawford and Wadsworth. These he routed, and captured four Federal guns and many prisoners. Warren closed up his corps front, with his left retired, through the forest, toward Wilderness run, and extended his right with Sedgwick's corps, through the woods to the westward, with its right retired toward Flat run, thus covering Ewell's front, which, as reformed, had Rodes' division on the right of the old turnpike with Johnson's on his left, followed by Early, extending the line to and beyond Flat run, where an open field furnished excellent positions for batteries, which were also placed along the cross road leading toward the Germanna plank road, in and near the old turnpike, and at the cross road near Ewell's right, whence A. P. Hill extended his lines to the southward, still covering the position that belonged to Longstreet. These lines of contending forces were now near together, at the center less than 500 yards apart, and each (not the Confederate alone, as Grant unfairly states, repeatedly, in his messages and report) hastened to make its position strong with rude breastworks of logs and earth, and whatever other material active veterans could lay hands on.

Ewell now held the Fifth and Sixth Federal corps in check, in desultory engagement, and forced Meade to hesitate in pressing an advance beyond Lee's right, or rather his center, where Heth had met and driven back Crawford, leading Warren to the southward. Heth pushed his advantage in driving Crawford back along the plank road, met Getty at the crossing of the Brock road, and forced him to halt on the direct way to Richmond, which Grant, in his order of march on the morning of the 5th, expected his army to traverse, having already