Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 28.djvu/366

 360 Southern Historical Society Papers.

prophet of old: " The earth is the Lord's he makes it to blossom and bring forth the harvest," and yet amidst these scenes so delight- ful to the senses, not far from us lay our cool, calculating enemy with whom in a short time we would meet in a death struggle, for at this time the roads were being filled up with troops as they hurriedly marched to Spotsylvania Courthouse, where Grant, after crossing the Rapidan, Warren in advance, would meet our troops with gallant A. P. Hill in the lead, General Lee having anticipated this move- ment, and there commenced a series of battles which lasted for days. General Grant had consolidated the numerous divisions into three corps Hancock, a brilliant soldier, whom we met so often, com- manding the Second Corps; Warren, who tried to run over us at Five Forks, with Sheridan's Cavalry, commanding the Fifth, and Sedgwick, a popular officer, whose fame was eclipsed at Fredericks- burg, just previous to the battle of Chancellorsville, commanding the Sixth, with General Phil. Sheridan to manage the cavalry, and to do all the destroying of growing crops that he and his troopers could in the short space of time he was to remain in the Valley. It is said that Grant's army would fill any road in the State for more than a hundred miles with its soldiers, trains of wagons, &c. This was something like the force that the Confederate commander was to meet in the jungles of Spotsylvania in the early part of the month of May about the 3d or 4th and the Federal army, after occupy- ing the whole night of the 3d in crossing the Rapidan at Kelly's, Ely's and Germanna Fords, was to seize our little army and strangle it and pass on to Richmond. But the ever watchful eye of Lee had arranged things differently, and the advance of Warren's Corps was met and repulsed by the troops of A. P. Hill. The Crenshaw Bat- tery reached Spotsylvania Courthouse late in the evening and went into position just to the left and rear of that building for the night, when early next morning one section of the battery was ordered to move off to the right, Mahone at that time having gained a signal advantage over the enemy by a quick movement to the right, pierc- his right center capturing a number of prisoners. Here we had the limber-chests of one of the caissons blown up and had one man badly burned. After the return of this section to the line (for we had thrown up here a temporary line of breastworks) we remained in full view of the enemy unfil the quietness was suddenly broken by the wounding of William Ellis Jones by a sharpshooter, when again we commenced the same old unfortunate artillery duelling, in which we again were to suffer by the shells of the enemy, striking