HANOVER COURT HOUSE AND GAINES’S MILL.

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intending to attack with Sykes’s division and Emory of Cooke’s cavalry,leaving Morell and McCall to hold the other lines in check. Information, how-ever, soon poured in, convincing me that this force was larger than any Icould use against them, and that still larger forces were forming to attack ourleft and center. This compelled me to keep my troops united and undercover, and also again to ask aid from the south hank of the Chickahominy.My first message to General McClellan was not delivered, as already stated;my second one was responded to by the speedy arrival of Slocum.|

Soon after 2 p. m., A. P. Hill ’s force, between us and New Cold Harbor,again began to show an aggressive disposition, independent of its own troopson its flanks, by advancing from under cover of the woods, in lines wellformed and extending, as the contest progressed, from in front of Martin’sbattery to Morell’s left. Dashing across the intervening plains, flounderingin the swamps, and struggling against the tangled brushwood, brigade afterbrigade seemed almost to melt away before the concentrated fire of our artil-lery and infantry; yet others pressed on, followed by supports as dashing andas brave as their predecessors, despite their heavy losses and the dishearten-ing effect of having to clamber over many of their disabled and dead, and tomeet their surviving comrades rushing back in great disorder from the deadlycontest. For nearly two hours the battle raged, extending more or less alongthe whole line to our extreme right. The fierce firing of artillery and infan-try, the crash of the shot, the bursting of shells, and the whizzing of bullets,heard above the roar of artillery and the volleys of musketry, all combined wassomething fearful.

Regiments quickly replenished their exhausted ammunition by borrowingfrom their more bountifully supplied and generous companions. Some with-drew, temporarily, for ammunition, and fresh regiments took their placesready to repulse, sometimes to pursue, their desperate enemy, for the purposeof retaking ground from which we had been pressed and which it was neces-sary to occupy in order to hold our position.

The enemy were repulsed in every direction. An ominous silence reigned.It caused the inference that their troops were being gathered and massed fora desperate and overwhelming attack. To meet it, our front line was concen-trated, reenforced, and arranged to breast the avalanche, should it come. Iagain asked for additional reenforcements. French ’s and Meagher’s brigades,of Sumner’s corps, were sent forward by the commanding general, but didnot arrive till near dark.

At 2 p. m., when I took my station beyond the Watts house, my anxietiesand responsibilities had been substantially relieved, at least so far as relatedto the establishment of a line of battle, in which all engaged felt their powerto resist attack. At that time the practicability of our defensive position, incharge of troops having implicit confidence in each other, had been demon-strated by the successful resistance for nearly two hours against the strong

I The forces in this battle were : Union, 50 regiments, 20 batteries (several not engaged), in allabout 30,000 fighting men; Confederate, 129 regiments, 19 batteries, in all about 65,000men.— F. J. P.