Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/201

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Iii> corps, lu- would have occupied Petersburg before Hoke could reach Beauregard. lint fortunately for our side, Major < ieneral Smith commanded Grant's advance, and the small band under Wise, Ferebee, ' irahain, and others, heroically held the enemy at bay until our arrival. Our division crossed the James on a pontoon bridge near Pivwry's Bluff, and my brigade took the shortest cut, through fields and dusty roads, and re-aching the Appomattox, crossed the bridge alter midnight and moved out on the City Point road. Bush- rod Johnson's Division had also been ordered there, but when we man-bed out there r.v/.v not a Confederate line between the city and the Federal army. I walked with General Hoke down a ditch to within a few yards of the Federal pickets and saw no Confederates. Our men could not be formed in line for the immediate night attack or- dered by General Beauregard, but fell asleep on the ground from sheer exhaustion. By early dawn they were aroused to meet the fierce onslaughts of Grant's army, so graphically described by Gen- eral Beauregard in an article entitled " Four Days of Battle at Peters- burg, June 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1864!"

In these great defensive battles General Martin and his brigade displayed a courage, fortitude, endurance, and discipline unsurpassed by any. They held every position assigned them and fought with great coolness and enthusiasm, and when Beauregard retired to his new line they marched in perfect order, and after a few days occu- pied the salient in front of Hare's house, called by the enemy Fort Steadman our salient being called Colquitf s, as his brigade held it jointly with ours. Before the siege had progressed very far General Martin showed physical weakness under the severe strain and ex- posure, and was relieved of command and assigned to command the District of Western North Carolina, with headquarters at Asheville. Later he applied to the Secretary of War, through me, for my trans- fer to his staff at Asheville. But I decided to remain with the brig- ade and share its fortunes for good or ill. Malarial fevers, diarrhoea, scurvy, and other diseases, hard guard duty every night for every man and casualties from shot and shell, soon thinned the ranks of our brigade, although Colquitt shared our hardships, relieving us three days in each week. This life in the trenches was awful be- yond description. The lines were nearer together than elsewhere, and the sharpshooters never ceased firing, while the mortar shells rained down upon us incessantly day and night. Finally, at the ' ' headquarters ' ' of the brigade a hole in our embankment I was left the only staff officer, and the brigade was commanded by one of