Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 08.djvu/563

Rh woods being dense, only a line of skirmishers was advanced. My skirmishers occupied a line of works that night, and it was not discovered until next morning that the enemy were still in partial possession of Beauregard's line. About the middle of the day the division made a sort of spontaneous charge, in which only my skirmish line participated, and recovered and re-occupied the line that had been abandoned on the morning before. On the next morning (8th) we were relieved by troops from Pickett's division, and moved across the Appomattox to Petersburg, and were put in position on the line about Battery No. 34; at dark we moved to the left, and relieved troops on the new line, covering the Baxter road, my left resting on the Battery, under which the enemy afterwards sprung a mine. The works here were very imperfect, and the sharpshooting was incessant and active. The enemy was found next morning well entrenched close to our front, and could sharpshoot us from two lines; we suffered for the first two days from this advantage over us, losing heavily; the fire upon us here was incessant, night and day, and the labor of completing the works, added to the heavy guard duty, necessitated by the close proximity of the lines at this point, rendered this probably the severest tour of duty that my men have been subjected to during the war. We made the position comparatively secure, and thought that we inflicted more damage than we received by sharpshooting, before we were relieved.

We were relieved by Elliott's brigade about day-break on the morning of the 24th, and moved down to the Iron bridge, on City Point road. We remained there in a ravine for four (4) days, during which time one of my regiments, the P. S. S., Colonel Walker, was ordered to report to General Hoke, as a support to some point on his line, against which attack was threatened, the attack, however, was not made, and the regiment was not engaged. I moved it with the rest of the brigade, back to the old position on the Baxter road, on the 28th, relieving Elliott's brigade. A portion of the line was now assigned to the division to hold, and a system of reliefs established, by which each brigade of the division got forty-eight hours rest in every eight days, thus we wore through a weary month of guard duty, mortar-shelling and sharpshooting, watching and waiting for the affray; but no assault was made. Our daily loss was small, but the sum total for the month, particularly when the nature of the wounds is considered, (unusual proportion fatal,) loomed up heavily—aye sadly—many of my noblest veterans, whose kindling eyes had flashed out their staunch heart's enthusiamenthusiasm [sic] on so many glorious fields of battle, were stricken from our rolls, as it were by the stealthy hand of the assassin. There is the chill of