Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 28.djvu/226

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was subjected while passing over the intervening ground caused it to slide in this way to the north and fail of the object its charge was designed to accomplish."

ORDERS TO FORWARD.

When General Mahone heard Girardey sing out, "General, they are coming," and, turning towards the breastworks, saw the Federals jumping out of them and coming forward in a desultory line, indi- cating their purpose to charge which movement on the part of the enemy had been already seen by Girardey, Weisiger, Hinton and numbers of men in the brigade he cried out to Girardey, who stood between him and the left of the brigade, " Tell Weisiger to forward." At that time, it is more than probable that Girardey, exercising the authority which Mahone intended him (Girardey) to exercise when he sent to Weisiger by Hinton the messsage, " Tell Colonel Weisiger to wait for an order from me or Captain Girardey," had authorized Weisiger to move forward as suggested by Weisiger, and that the right of the brigade line of battle had actually begun its forward movement. Orderly-Sergeant J. Edward Whitehorne, of Company F, 1 2th Virginia Regiment, whose company was on the extreme left of this line of battle, in a statement made in 1892, said:

" We lay in the position above described (on the slope of the hill) for a few minutes, when a tremendous cheer from the right greeted our ears. Looking up the line I saw that the right of the column had begun to charge. Instantly we sprang to our feet and moved forward at a double-quick."

The charge of the Virginia Brigade having been made, Mahone tells with clearness what his subsequent movements were, and no one after reading his statement and those of the officers and men who saw him in fhe trenches can doubt their correctness and the in- correctness of any statement which declares that he was not in the line of battle at anytime during its formation, but was in the covered way all of the time that it was being formed and all of the time that General Weisiger was with the troops.

This communication, Mr. Editor, is considerably longer than was anticipated, but can not be concluded without reference to the words said to have been exchanged between Generals Weisiger and Ma- hone, when Mahone said to Weisiger, "Weisiger, you and Joe Johnston are always getting yourselves shot." There must be some mistake as to General Weisiger' s reply.