Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 33.djvu/24

 20 Southern Historical Society Papers.

Louisiana brigade, being- to the left, Jones' brigade, at the toe, and Steuart's brigade to the right. The attack was made on the right and left, as well as in front of the toe of the horseshoe, and there was a concentrated fire, which must have met just about where these trees stood. It seemed to me, while at what was the toe of the horseshoe, that morning, the air was full of bullets, and the fact that these two trees were whittled down in the manner I have stat- ed, proves that fact for no other such occurrence is recorded in the annals of our war, or in those of any other war, of which I ever read.

While I am writing on the subject, I hope you and your readers will pardon me, if I write a little more.

Major Stiles, page 263, touches upon the subject of faulty forma- tion in our lines, with an implied query about what was known as the "salient," or "bloody angle."

In the first place, the line, both to the right and left of the "Cali- ent" was on a considerable ridge overlooking the low grounds be- tween it and the Ny river. On the march from the wilderness on May 8, Johnson's division, which followed Rodes' division reached the Spotsylvania field late in the afternoon, and was ordered to form on Rodes' right, and extend it. When Rodes had gotten his men in line, and the head of our column had reached his right, up- on which we were to form, it was nearly dark. Rodes' right rest- ed on the edge of the woods, and to extend his line, we had to go through the woods. We had no guides and no lights, and General Johnson, at the head of his divison,in column of four, or double file, I think the latter, began to get his men in line, as best he could. I was riding by his side, and soon after we entered the woods, with the division following, we came upon a thicket, mostly pine, so thick that the darkness was almost impenetrable.

I remember well that I kept my hands before my eyes, which were really of no use to me at that time, to protect them, and that more, than once I was nearly dragged off my horse by the trees with which I came in contact. Our progress, under such circum- stances, was necessarily very slow. We knew nothing of the topog- raphy of the country, but soon we came to the end of the thicket through which we had been passing for formation, and saw camp fires before us, almost directly in the line of our march.

This was the first light which we had seen. The ground was