Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 32.djvu/95

 The Second Battle of Manassas. 83

feated and retreated during the night. Brigadier-General Taliaferro, commanded Jackson's division, and Major- General Ewell, being amongst the wounded.

The next morning the 2nd Brigade were marched to the right of Jackson's line on top of a large hill, where there were several pieces of artillery. We stayed there about an hour and were shelled se- verely by the enemy, who had made their appearance from another direction from that of the evening before.

Jackson now took position behind an unfinished railroad which ran parallel to and north of the Warrenton pike and I suppose about a mile from it. Jackson's division was on the right, Ewell' s next and A. P. Hill's on the left. The 2nd Brigade was marched from the hill to the left about half a mile, where we formed a line of battle in two lines, in a wood and near its edge, facing south. In our front was a narrow neck of open land, say two hundred to three hundred yards wide; on the west the woods ran along this field about three hundred yards, where it widened into a large field; a short distance around the wood is the hill we were on soon in the morning. Jackson now had several batteries of artillery on it. On the east of the neck of land, the wood ran along the field for, say seveii hundred yards, when it widened out into the same large field. About two hundred yards in our front is a part of the abandoned railroad, running across the open neck from the woods on the east to near that on the west. The eastern end runs in a bottom where there was a bank for say, seventy-five yards, when it reached a hill; through this hill was a cut, that runs out on level ground just before it reaches the west wood. You will now see that in front of the railroad at this point is a short strip of wood to the right (west) and a long strip on the left (east) where at both points the neck of the cleared land unites with a large open field that runs east and west and at its far side is the Warrenton pike.

Our skirmishers were placed at the railroad. We were ordered to lie down in place, with guns in hand and were directed to rush for the railroad as soon as an order to forward was given.

Colonel Johnson now came along the line, stopped about ten yards in front of F Company, took out his pipe, filled it and struck a light, then quietly sat on the ground and leaned back against a small sapling.

Everything with us was perfectly quiet. This did not last long. The stillness in our front was broken by a bang, and almost at the same instant a shell went crashing through the trees overhead; this