Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 18.djvu/32

 32 Southern Historical Society Papers.

crowd in the covered way, and in putting some of them in position in the second line; some were in the first. I left General Potter in the covered way."

I would like to give more extracts from the sworn and other state- ments of our adversaries as to what was done and omitted to be done on this memorable day, which marked an event altogether excep- tional in the history of the war; but I fear that I have already drawn from these sources of information to the point of prolixity.

Although all matters of controversy would in this address gladly have been avoided, I cannot pass unnoticed a remarkable paragraph in Colonel Alfred Roman's work, " The Military Operations of Gene- ral Beauregard."

At page 267, after mentioning General Meade's order to General Burnside to withdraw his troops, given at 9:45 A. M., and the orders given to General Hancock, at 9:25 and to General Warren at 9:45, "to suspend all offensive operations," Colonel Roman, basing his statement upon statements made by General Bushrod Johnson and Colonel F. W. McMaster,* says:

"Such was the situation the Federals unable to advance and fearing to retreat when, at 10 o'clock, General Mahone arrived with a part of his men, who lay down in the shallow ravine, to the rear of Elliott's salient, held by the force under Colonel Smith, there to await the remainder of the division. But a movement having occurred among the Federals which seemed to menace an advance, General Mahone threw forward his brigade, with the Sixty-first North Caro- lina, of Hoke's division, which had now also come up. The Twenty- fifth and Forty-ninth North Carolina, and the Twenty sixth and part of the Seventeenth South Carolina, all under Smith, which were formed on Mahone' s left, likewise formed in the counter-movement, and three-fourths of the gorge-line were carried with part of the trench on the left of the Crater occupied by the Federals. Many of the latter, white and black, abandoned the breach and fled to their lines, under a scourging flank fire from Wise's brigade."

command of General Elliott's brigade when General Ellott received his death wound early in the morning, soon after the Federals took possession of our works.
 * Colonel McMaster, of the Seventeenth South Carolina regiment, took