Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/551

 Campaign of 1864 and 1865. 545

but slowly, and then he broke and fled in confusion, leaving his dead and wounded thick upon the field. Among the latter was Brigadier- General Wadsworth, of New York, who died late in the day. It was at this time that General Longstreet was wounded, and Brigadier- General Jenkins, of my division, killed. The enemy being routed and nowhere in sight, and all fighting having ceased, General Long- street rode up to me at the head of my division, and, seizing my hands, congratulated me in warm terms on the fighting of my troops and the result of the assault. Stopping a moment at the request of Gen- eral Lee, who also came up at this time to direct the removal of some logs, which the enemy had thrown across the road as a breastwork, so that the two guns- might pass. General Longstreet, accompanied by Brigadier-General Jenkins and their staff and couriers, had got- ten about thirty yards in my front when I heard a scattering fire from the bushes on the right of the road, and saw General Long- street's party in great confusion. In a moment it was ascertained that General Longstreet was wounded and General Jenkins and some others killed. Rushing to the General at once, he was assisted from his horse and reclined on the roadside against a tree. Knowing that he was badly, if not mortally hurt, though the exact locality of his wound was not yet known, he desired me to assume command of the corps and press the enemy.

Some have doubted by whom this fire was delivered, but there need be none. There was no enemy in sight or range, but some of our troops of another corps emerging from the bushes and seeing objects on the road where they supposed the enemy still were, opened fire with the result above stated. Could we have pushed forward at once, I believe Grant's army would have been routed, as all that part which I had attacked was on the run. But as the troops were now formed my division and some others, probably, were perpen- dicular to the road and in line of battle, whilst all those which had acted as the turning force were in line parallel to the road, and the two were somewhat mixed up. No advance could be possibly made till the troops parallel to the road were placed perpendicular to it, otherwise, as the enemy had fallen back down the road, our right flank would have been exposed to him, besides our two bodies being on the road at the same point, one perpendicular and the other about parallel to it, neither could move without interfering with the other. To rectify this alignment consumed some precious time — time, as we learned later, the enemy was employing in reforming his broken columns, and throwing up a new line of works.