Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 20.djvu/97

 The Battle of the Wilderness.

91

" The contest that signalized Longstreet's arrival on Hancock's front, and restored the integrity of the shattered Confederate right, now died away ; and for some hours up to nearly noon there was a lull. During this time Longstreet's troops continued to arrive, and when at length his line had acquired breadth and weight by the incoming force, it was advanced, and Hancock's troops, which had first halted, now began to feel a heavy pressure. The attack first fell on the left of the advanced line, held by the brigade of Frank. This force Longstreet's troops fairly overran, and brushing it away, they struck the left of Mott's division, which was in turn swept back in confusion ; and though Hancock endeavored, by swinging back his left, and forming line along the plank-road, to secure the advanced position still held by his right, it was found impossible to do so, and he had to content himself with rallying and re-forming the troops on the original line, along the Brock road, from which they had advanced in the morning. Wadsworth, on the right of Hancock, opposed the most heroic efforts to the onset of the enemy ; but after several ineffectual charges, his troops broke into the retreat, and while striving to rally them, that patriotic and high-souled gen- tleman and brave soldier received a bullet in his head, and died within the enemy's lines the following day.

" But in the very fury and tempest of the Confederate onset the advance was of a sudden stayed by a cause at the moment unknown. This afterwards proved to have been the fall of the head of this attack.

" Longstreet had made his dispositions for a decisive blow ; for while advancing one force in front, he sent another to move around Hancock's left, and lay hold of the Brock road. At the time the Union troops were giving ground, and the Confederates were push- ing on, that officer, with his staff, rode forward in front of the col- umn, when suddenly confronting a portion of his own flanking force, the cavalcade was mistaken for a party of Union horsemen, and received a volley, under which Longstreet fell, severely wounded."

In a foot note to the last paragraph Mr. Swinton says :

" General Longstreet stated to the writer that he saw they were his own men, but in vain shouted to them to cease firing. He also expressed, with great emphasis, his opinion of the decisive blow he would have inflicted had he not been wounded. 'I thought,' said he, 'that we had another Bull Run on you, for I had made my dis- positions to seize the Brock road.' But on my pointing out that