Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 19.djvu/298

 292 Southern Historical Society Papers.

written history. These things the historian will never record. And yet they constitute the real history of the war.

While the interesting preliminary engagement which I have at- tempted to describe was going on in our front an important move- ment was in progress on our left, which was to end disastrously to our little army on that eventful day. While this movement seemed to be a complete surprise to those in command on that part of the line it had been generally spoken of by the veteran private soldiers in the line as a movement of such obvious advantage to the enemy that he certainly would not neglect it. And so it proved.

THE FLANK MOVEMENT.

As General Ramseur passed along the line some member of our battery called his attention to what seemed to be a column of men moving along on the side of North mountain, to which the General replied carelessly that he " supposed it was nothing but a fence row," but the same time he threw his field-glass up to his eyes and looked for a few moments and exclaimed : " My God ! Two lines of the enemy's infantry !" But even then no disposition that I could see was made to meet this flank movement. Perhaps there were no troops to spare for that purpose. The heavy body of infantry in our front continued to move up so slowly as to make it evident to my mind that they were only brought to hold our attention until the troops moving to our left were in a position to strike us immediately on our left flank, which it did not take them long to do. Several heavy volleys of musketry were heard to the left and rear and a few minutes afterward our little squad of cavalry broke through the woods near our position and did not tarry long enough to tell us the news. An effectual attempt was then made to get our infantry from behind the breastworks to meet this attack on the left, but it was too late. A large body of the enemy had commenced to pour their fire into us from that direction, while heavy masses of infantry were now advancing rapidly from the front. In the mean time a remarkable change had taken place in the battery to which I belonged.

TWO GUNS LEFT.

All the guns except two had been limbered up and taken to the rear, together with the limbers and caissons belonging to the two pieces which had been left on the line. The ammunition had been poured out on the ground behind each of these guns. I have never