320

THE STRUGGLE FOR “ROUND TOP.”

roads, following McLaws , who was in advance. Pickett’s division had notyet come up. We moved very slowly, with frequent halts and deflectionsfrom the direct course — the latter being necessary to conceal our move-ments from the Federal signal station on Little Round Top.

At length, after many vexatious delays, Hood’s division was pushed for-ward until it uncovered McLaws , and soon reached the Emmitsburg road infront of Round Top. Here our line of battle was formed at an acute angle

with the road, the right being in ad-vance of it, between the road andthe mountain, and the left extendingacross and in rear of the road. Theformation was in two lines, Law’sAlabama and Robertson’s Texas bri-gades in front, supported, at a distanceof about 200 yards, by the Georgiabrigades of Bouning and G. T. Ander-son. McLaws ’s division extended theline to our left, with a similar forma-tion. The Artillery Battalion, com-posed of Reilly’s, Latham’s, Garden ’s,and Bachman’s batteries, twenty gunsin all, were disposed at advantageouspoints upon the ridge occupied by theline of infantry. There were no signs

JSKKVET MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY J. HUNT , CHIEF OF n T7 , ■. , n ^.- r

ARTILLERY OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 01 £ OCLOl'cll CfAVcllry 01* tfOOpS OI

FitoM a photograph. kind on our right. As a precautionary

measure, however, a regiment was detached from Anderson’s brigade andstationed at Kern’s house, half a mile down the road toward Emmitsburg.

It was now past 4 o’clock in the afternoon and our troops were in positionfor the attack. The flank movement by which they came into position isreferred to in the following dispatch from the Federal signal station on LittleRound Top: “ To General Meade — 4 o’clock i\ m. The only infantry of theenemy visible is on the extreme [Federal] left; it has been moving towardEmmitsburg.” It will thus be seen that the movement, in spite of our pre-cautions, was not unobserved.

The Confederate line of battle occupied a ridge, partly wooded, with avalley intervening between it and the heights held by the Federal troops infront. The position occupied by the Federal left wing in front of us was noWfully disclosed to view, and it was certainly one of the most formidable it hadever been the fortune of any troops to confront. Round Top rose like a lmg esentinel guarding the Federal left flank, while the spurs and ridges trendingoff to the north of it afforded unrivaled positions for the use of artillery-The puffs of smoke rising at intervals along the line of hills, as the Federalbatteries fired upon such portions of our line as became exposed to view,clearly showed that these advantages had not been neglected. The thickwoods which in great part covered the sides of Round Top and the adjacent