Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 32.djvu/226

 214 Southern Historical Society Papers.

tured. This we did without interruption, but found that our charge had left about two hundred yards of the trenches, in the apex of the angle on the left, unassailed, and these were now filled with Yanks. So we held part and they part of the same line of breast- works, a very uncomfortable cotenantcy. Nine times that night, until nearly 10 o'clock, they tried to get the whole, but we would, not let them have it. Many times into that half acre of blood did General Lee send regiment after regiment, made up of organized cooks, released men from the guard houses, or even men who had been wounded, but who could still shoot. But this, too, was in vain. The enemy held the angle. The concentrated fire in this inferno cut down two trees, each as large as a man's body. At last Lee gave up the murderous attempt and drew a new line connecting his wings, leaving out the angle. The battle had raged from 4 A. M. to 10 P. M.

WILLIAM W. SMITH, Company C, 49th Virginia Infantry, C. S. A.

INCIDENTS.

During the long-continued firing, while lying in the enemy's abattis, Lieutenant Kincheloe, of Company C, was wounded at my side by a shell which came apparently from our rear, and Private Embrey, the younger of two brothers in Company C, was killed just in front of me by a bullet through the head. At the request of the officers I went back to the second line, where we had killed so many of the enemy, and robbed their cartridge boxes of ammuni- tion, which I brought to our line. I would not choose such a job again. I was again sent to the rear to find, if possible, our ammu- nition wagons and to get supplies of ammunition brought to the front. While hunting them our line was ordered to withdraw to the trenches. Not to be out of a job while waiting its return, I volun- teered to assist in firing a three-inch rifle gun that was in our trench, the rest of the battery having been put out of action, and this piece remaining with a lieutenant and a squad of men without horses. It was the only piece of our artillery in sight, while the enemy, with what seemed about twenty guns, were shelling the region miscella- neously without definite target. The lieutenant and myself ran some two hundred yards to the caisons, which remained abandoned on the field, and brought our arms full of shells for the gun. Sighting carefully at one of the enemy's batteries we made a pretty fair shot with our first shell, and reloaded as quickly as possible for