Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 06.djvu/78

68 fire, the supporting lines were broken, and fell back in confusion." It would seem from this that General Lee thought Colonel Lee's artillery was entitled to some credit; and it shows more, that as he described the position in advance of Longstreet's left, which he says was in easy range, that he thought the guns in this position were the ones that did the work, but he had to mention Longstreet's six-gun battery, and the other one, as he claimed so much even then. He did not then think of the great claims—growing claims—that Longstreet would bring to light after his death, and the appearance of his Gettysburg articles, when the two batteries mentioned in his official report would grow to several, &c.; and also state that Jackson did not pursue when almost every man in the army knew that he did. Longstreet himself clearly shows that in the half-hour of the assault his first battery was only used a short time, and the second a shorter time, and the way he brings in the ten minutes twice shows that the assault was of short duration. These are stubborn facts in the way of General Longstreet and from official sources, and he will have trouble in sustaining his unreasonable claims.

Let us see if there are other authorities to sustain the official data.

Dabney in his Life of Jackson, in speaking of the fire of Colonel Lee's batteries at second Manassas, says: "Colonel Lee had opened upon them with all his war dogs at once, and the writer of these lines has never, during his whole experience, witnessed such handling of artillery. The fiery stone was directed with astonishing accuracy, and the brigades which were led to the charge were almost annihilated by the shot and shell which burst before, behind, above, to the right, to the left, raking and tearing them to pieces; they were swept away before this horrible fire like leaves in the wind, and disappeared, broken and flying, in the woods to be immediately succeeded however by another brigade charging as before. Again the iron storm crashed through their ranks, and again they broke and ran. A third force, heavier than before, now advanced with mad rapidity, and in the midst of the awful fire of our batteries threw themselves upon Jackson and engaged him with desperation."

"Personne," one of the most graphic and reliable writers of the time, and an eye witness, says of Colonel Lee and his batteries: