Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/550

 544 Southern Historical Society Papers.

forced them back. It was at the beginning of this charge that the celebrated scene, quoted in the newspapers, between General Lee and this brigade occurred. General Lee, who was present, seeing, as all did, that the battle was lost to us unless some almost superhuman exertion was made, placed himself at the centre of the brigade, say- ing aloud he would lead them. The men strengthened the line, cried out that he must go back, and that they would do the work. And well they did it, but at the loss of two-thirds of their number lying on the ground, killed or wounded, in ten minutes. Some companies were entirely obliterated. One company, I remember, for months had on duty but a single person, a lieutenant — all the rest being killed or wounded at the Wilderness. The Texas brigade met and overcame the first shock, but it was followed by Benning's Georgia brigade at a few paces interval with signally cheering results. Gen- eral Benning was badly wounded in this charge — the command for some months after devolving upon Colonel DuBose — and his bri- gade much cut up. Law's brigade, commanded by Colonel Perry, came immediately to the rear of Benning, but fortunately the enemy's course had been somewhat checked, and the losses in this brigade were not so great at that time. The remaining brigade in Field's division — ^Jenkins's South Carolina — was brought up as soon as it could form, and held for a while in reserve. Meanwhile Anderson's Georgia brigade, which had been the first formed and which had been thrown across to the right of the plank road, was advanced on that side as well as the dense thicket would admit. Its progress being unavoidably slow, and the thicket very dense, its losses were compara- tively small. The enemy's progress had been stopped, and he had been driven back by the brigades from Texas Georgia, and Ala- bama, commanded respectively by Generals Gregg and Benning, and Colonel Perry, but he was not beaten, and for the next three hours a fierce struggle, without any permanent advantage to either side, was maintained at that point — first one side and then the other giving back slowly and doggedly, while the same ground was fought over a half dozen times in succession by both sides. It was about eleven o'clock when General Longstreel informed me that some troops had been sent around to attack the enemy on his left flank, and that he wished me to attack in front at the same time. The plank road at this point was straight and level for a mile or more. Placing a couple of pieces in the road, which effectually dislodged the enemy from a breastwork which he had thrown up across it, and moving down on both sides of the road with my division, the enemy was started back.