Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/58

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ceaseless tiring kept up during the night, our men learned to sleep as soundly and as peacefully in these trenches as they were accus- tomed to do in camp. One can get used to anything.

After we got into the defences of Petersburg we continued there to the end except one hurried march to the north of the James ( July 27) when Grant sent Hancock's Corps and a large body of cavalry to destroy the railroads north of Richmond. General Lee supposing this to be an attempt on Richmond itself, started a good many troops northward from Petersburg, our brigade among the number. General Grant quickly took advantage of this depletion to spring a mine (July 30), which he had prepared under a salient in our lines in front of Petersburg, and to follow this with an assault- ing column which was to break through in the confusion and capture the city. In this he would probably have succeeded but for the bungling way in which the assault was managed. As it was, the mine proved a slaughter pen for the assailants. Some indecisive fighting was done on the north side, and then when Grant's real object was uncovered and frustrated, the troops of both armies re- turned to Petersburg.

Except this assault, no other was seriously attempted against the intrenched lines immediately around Petersburg until the end, and the active operations of the ensuing nine months consisted of re- peated efforts on Grant's part to extend his line to the left and get possession of the railroads, and on Lee's part to prevent it and to punish him for attempting it. Inch by inch Grant did gain ground, until he planted himself across the Weldon railroad, which he also several times cut south of us, chiefly by cavalry raids. In these operations, Hill's Corps being on the right of our line, McRae's Brigade was frequently called to take a part, alternating these field operations with service in the trenches, so that we were almost con- tinuously under fire. I will mention only the principal actions, as far as I can remember them, in which we were engaged.

Warren's (Fifth Corps) took possession of the Weldon railroad on the 1 8th of August, and attempts to dislodge him brought on a number of sanguinary engagements with A. P. Hill's Corps, in one of which (iQth) Hill captured 2,700 prisoners. Our brigade was not in this battle. A combined attack on Warren's fortifications on the railroad was made on the morning of the 2ist by our brigade and General Ransom's, with a force of artillery making a demon- stration down the railroad in his front, while the real attack was to