Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 39.djvu/210

 19s Southern Hisixjrical Society Papers

Taking- Gibbons' Division at 10,000 ]

Barlow's Division at 3oOO 1

Getty's division at 3,000

^ ,,. ,„,, ^ . . > out of 20,000

Kussell s (VVneatons) Division at 3,000 |

Potter's Division at S.ooo ), ^

,.,-,,,,. ^. . . \ out of 18,000

Lnttenden s (Ledlevs) Division at -2,500 j

Total, 25,000

we may safely assume that 25,000 infantry were in the charge of the assaulting columns of the Federal army, supported by the fire of 32 guns, and that 29 rapidly served guns, together with a light desultory infantry fire on the Confederate side, were ready to meet it.

With these forces engaged, the action commenced early on the morning of the 1 8th, with the retirement of the Confederate pickets and skirmishers, and the advance of the Federal infantry in the several formations referred to in the reports. That this was a matured plan, settled upon by Generals Grant and Meade, and attempted in execution in a determined manner to carry the Confederate works on Ewell's front, the following quota- tions from the published official records fully establish :

]\[ajor-General Flumphrey's, Chief of Staff to General Meade, page — of his book, says :

'Tt had been suggested by Major-General Wright, and also by myself, that, after the lapse of a few days, a return by night to the enemy's left, which would probably be abandoned, or very much weakened by our concentration on his right, might afford a good opportunity to attack there. General Wright's sugges- tion was for his corps only to undertake it ; but it was con- cluded to send both the Second and Sixth Corps, and on the 17th Generals Hancock and Wright were ordered to move their troops in the night to the works captured on the 12th, and at- tack the enemy's new intrenchments there at daylight on the i8th, the Sixth Corps on the right of the Second. General Burnside was directed to attack in conjunction with them, and