Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 01.djvu/449

Rh the same Tennesseans again double-quicked to the point of attack, and again the Yankees were forced to retire before their fire and the canister of the artillery.

I love to think of those men, how bravely and cheerfully they rushed from one point to another, and at every point doing such good work. They passed me several times during the day, and I did not see one man of them straggling or getting away, but all were firm, and seemed to be on fire with fight, calling to us as they passed: "Stick to them, artillery, we'll come back and help you when we get through up here." I have never seen one of them since, but I shall always remember those two little hands-full of men—the one Texans, the other Tennesseans—as the bravest, truest men I ever saw; and I only wish that our whole army had been made of the same stuff that was in them.

After this last repulse, the Yankees did not renew the attack for some time (if I remember rightly not for several hours), and when they did come, it was away off to the left and in front of "Fort Gilmer." They advanced in three lines, one behind the other, the first line composed of negroes. Some said that the second line was also negroes, but I cannot speak positively of that, but the rear line was of white troops.

"Fort Gilmer" was on a hill, with quite an extensive flat in front, from which the trees had all been cut, and most of the trees were lying on the ground with their branches still attached. The "Louisiana Guard Artillery" on the left, and "Salem Artillery" on the right of the fort, occupied redoubts so constructed that each had an enfilade fire upon the Yankees as they advanced. The enemy came rather cautiously at first, but finally they came with a rush, our artillery firing shrapnel at first, but they soon begun to load with canister, and the way those negroes fell before it was very gratifying to the people on our side of the works. But the Yankees came on until they got to the ditch in front of "Fort Gilmer"—a dry ditch about ten (10) feet deep and twelve (12) feet wide. Into this ditch a great many of the negroes jumped, and endeavored to climb up on each other's shoulders, but were beaten back by our infantry, and almost all of them killed. One negro, who was either drunk or crazy, crawled through a culvert which ran from the inside of the fort into the ditch, and was shot on the inside. No great number of negroes got into the ditch, and the rest of the attacking column having no shelter from the fire of both artillery and infantry, were forced to give way and retire.