Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 02.djvu/116

106 General O. O. Howard, in an article in the Atlantic Monthly for July, entitled "Campaign and Battle of Gettysburg," says: "It was Ewell's effort on our right to assist Lee's main attack after Williams' and a part of Geary's division had been withdrawn, and ordered off to reinforce the right." [Left.] "The enemy's troops took quiet possession of the points vacated, and really slept within our lines, but the ground was rough and the woods so thick that their generals did not realize till morning what they had gained."

General Edward Johnson's division (composed of a Louisiana, Jones', George H. Steuart's and the Stonewall brigades), arrived and formed line of battle the night of July 1st, 1863, on the left of the army. The Stonewall was the extreme left, next ours (Steuart's), and the two other brigades on our right. About 6 P.M. of July 2d, we received orders to advance. We soon met the enemy's skirmishers, pressed them rapidly back, crossed Rock creek, in some places waist deep, pushed up the eastern part of Culp's Hill under a heavy fire of musketry, and were ordered to lie down scarcely thirty yards from the enemy's breastworks. An angle in the enemy's works, not 100 yards to our right, exposed us to a severe flank fire. While lying down, we could distinctly see the Federals rise and fire at us from the works in front. Indeed, they fought so stubbornly, that orders passed up the line that we were firing into our own men, and we began to think that it was Longstreet coming up from the other side. After lying in this position probably fifteen minutes, we were ordered to charge, and as we climbed over the breastworks we distinctly remember seeing dead or wounded Yankees within the works. Our battalion (Second Maryland) had its Lieutenant-Colonel and Adjutant badly wounded, and also lost a number of men.

General O. O. Howard says "the enemy's troops took quiet possession of the points vacated."

(Five soldiers who participated in this part of the battle, recently visited Gettysburg and carefully examined the ground. We found the works we captured were on the east and several hundred yards from the summit of Culp's Hill.)

We reformed behind the works, almost at right angles to our original line of advance. "During the night," General O. O. Howard says, "Williams' division, strengthened by Lockwood's brigade and two brigades of Geary's division, attempted to return to their breastworks on the extreme right of our line, but found them occupied by Johnson's Confederates." (This was Steuart's brigade, as the Stonewall Brigade was detached to watch our flank, in the absence of our cavalry, and the two brigades on our immediate right were not as successful as we.) "Williams made arrangements to attack the enemy at daylight, and regain the position formerly occupied by the Twelfth Corps. I was not awakened till five (5) A. M., when I heard quick and sharp musketry firing, with an occasional sound of artillery. It began like the pattering of rain on a flat roof, only louder, and was at first intermitted. Then it would