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THE STRUGGLE FOR “ROUND TOP.”
It is not an easy task to operate against cavalry with infantry alone, on anextended line, and in an open country where the former, capable of movingmuch more rapidly, can choose its own points of attack and can elude theblows of its necessarily more tardy adversary. But Merritt’s brigade wasnow dismounted and deployed as skirmishers, and I lost no time in taking
advantage of this tem-porary equality as tothe means of locomo-tion. Detaching the tworemaining regimentsof Anderson’s brigade(11th and 59th Georgia)from the main line, Imoved them rapidly toour extreme right, newabout a mile fromKern’s house, attackedMerritt’s reserve, andthen, changing front tothe left, struck his skir-mish-line “ on its end ”and “ doubled it up ”as far as the Emmits-burg road. This re-duced my front to manageable dimensions and left some force at my disposalto meet any concentrated attack that the cavalry might make.
I had just returned to the position occupied by our artillery, which was mthe angle formed by the main and flanking lines, when Farnsworth’s cavalrybrigade charged the line held by the 1st Texas regiment. It was impossibleto use our artillery to any advantage owing to the “ (dose quarters ” of th eattacking cavalry with our own men — the leading squadrons forcing theirhorses up to the very muzzles of the rifles of our infantry. That portion ofthe cavalry which covered the front of the 1st Texas regiment was hand-somely repulsed; but the 1st Vermont regiment, forming the Federal rigidwing, overlapped the 1st Texas on its left, and, stinking the skirmish-line only?rode through it into the open valley in rear of our main line on the spnrs 01Round Top. When I first became satisfied, through information from th eTexas skirmishers, that Farnsworth’s brigade was massing in their front, the9th Georgia regiment was ordered from Kern’s house to the support of thebatteries, the former position being now safe, as the other four regiments 0Anderson’s brigade were concentrated near that point. Hearing the fii'i n »and knowing its cause, the 9th Georgia came up at a run, just as the 1st Ve r 'mont Cavalry rode through our skirmish-line, led by General Farnsworth i J1person. Instead of moving directly upon our batteries, the cavalry directeits course up the valley toward Gettysburg , passing between the positionour artillery and our main line. Watching the direction they, had taken, 1
BEAD CONFEDERATE SHARP-SHOOTER IN TIIE DEYIL’S BEN.FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.
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