402
THE SEVEN DAYS,” INCLUDING FRAYSER’S FARM.
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CHARGE OF CONFEDERATES UPON RANDOL’S BATTERY AT FRAYSER’S FARM.
The contest for this battery was one of the most severe encounters of the clay. The Confederates (the 55thand GOth Virginia Regiments) advanced out of formation, in wedge shape, and with trailing amis, andbegan a hand-to-hand conflict over the guns, which were Anally yielded to them [see p. 413].
service together in the 4th Infantry, I moved to offer my hand as hedismounted. At the first motion, however, I saw he did not regard the occa-sion as one for renewing the old friendship, and I merely offered him someof my staff as an escort to Richmond . 1 But for the succoring forces, whichshould have been engaged by Jackson, Huger, Holmes, and Magnaler, Mc-Call would have been entirely dislodged by the first attack. All of our otherforces were within a radius of 3 miles, and in easy hearing of the battle, yetof the 50,000 none came in to cooperate. (Jackson should have done morefor me than he did. When he wanted me at the Second Manassas , I marchedtwo columns by night to clear the way at Thoroughfare Gap, and joined
| Major W. Roy Mason, who served on the staffof General C. W. Field, C. S. A., gives this accountof the capture of General McCall at Glendale, onthe evening of June 30th :
“We occupied as headquarters [at the close of the bat-tle] the center of an old road that ran through a densepine-wood which the enemy had occupied only two hoursbefore, and the dead and wounded were lying about us.General Field aslred me to remain with the other mem-bers of the staff, and volunteered to go down to a water-course, where he had seen water trickling, to fill thecanteens and make some coffee for me, for I wasmuch exhausted, having been thrown violently bya wounded horse during the battle. While GeneralField was absent we saw, in the shadows, three orfour men riding toward us, one of them being in
advance and having a cloak thrown around him. Irecognized the figure at once as that of a Federalofficer. ‘What command is this V he asked. 4 GeneralField’s, sir,’ was my answer. ‘General Field! T don’tknow him.’ ‘Perhaps not, as you are evidently in thewrong place-.’
“ He at once turned to retreat, spurring his horse,and I gave the alarm. A soldier of the 47tli Virginia (P. Brooke Rollins) now came forward and seized thebridle of the horse, saying to the rider, ‘Not so fast.’The captured officer proved to be General McCall, ofthe Pennsylvania Reseiwes.”
The staff-officers were fired upon while attempt-ing to ride back, and Captain H. J. Biddle, McCall’sadjutant-general, was instantly killed. Owing tothe darkness the others escaped.— Editors.