Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 20.djvu/389

 Unveiling of Statue <>f General A. P. Bill. 383

ern Virginia reduced to an attenuated skirmish-line, extending from the Chesapeake and Ohio railway on the north of Richmond to the Norfolk and Western railroad on the south of Petersburg, a distance of over thirty miles, and confronted by an enemy more than three times its own numbers. The odds were too great to hope for suc- cessful resistance, and when General Grant massed his well-equipped veterans on General Lee's right, in front of Hill's corps, the " begin- ning of the end " had been reached.

HOW HILL WAS KILLED.

On the morning of the 2d of April the heavy columns of the enemy attacked the centre of Hill's corps, and after a short but sharp en- gagement broke through his lines and severed the two wings of the command. After this disaster General Hill attempted to force his way through the enemy's pickets in order to put himself in com- munication with that portion of his command from which he had been cut off.

The attempt was desperate, and those around him sought to dis- suade him from making it, but A. P. Hill was never known to shrink from any personal danger when duty called, and, accompanied by a single courier, he galloped along the road which ran in rear and parallel to his lines, encountering and firing his pistol at several of the enemy's stragglers until he came suddenly upon a group of sharp- shooters. He advanced and summoned them to surrender, but was answered by a volley which killed him almost instantly, and wounded the courier. As he fell from his horse the only words he spoke were to say to his faithful follower, " Take care of yourself."

Thus ended the life of the noblest type of manhood that nature ever produced. Thus closed the career of one of the most brilliant and accomplished soldiers of modern times. Thus fell the ardent patriot whom his people loved. Thus " died on the field of honor " the commander whom the army idolized. His leading characteris- tics as a commander were celerity of movement and the ability to march his troops in good order on the shortest notice and in the shortest time. In this respect he resembled and rivalled Stonewall Jackson. Endurance, energy, courage and magnetism were his in a high degree. His soldiers believed in him with an abiding faith, and in the darkest hour his presence was hailed as the harbinger of light and victory. Added to these qualities was his superiority as