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then, as I was stepping backward with my face men rushed forward past me, capturing battle-to the men, urging them on, I felt a sharp blow flags and making prisoners.
as a shot struck me, then another; I whirled Pickett’s division lost nearly six-sevenths of itsround, my sword torn from my hand by a bullet officers and men. Gibbon’s division, with its leaderor shell splinter. My visor saved my face, but wounded, and with a loss of half its strength, stillthe shock stunned me. As I went down our held the crest.
II . PROM THE OFFICIAL REPORT OF NORMAN J. HALL, COLONEL, U. S. V.
“The object [of the heavy cannonading] wasevidently to destroy our batteries and drive theinfantry from the slight crest which marked theline of battle, while the concentration of fire uponthe hill occupied by the Second [Webb’s] and theright of the Third [Hall’s] brigades indicated wherethe real attack was to be made. The experienceof the terrible grandeur of that rain of missilesand that chaos of strange and terror-spreadingsounds, unexampled, perhaps, in history, mustever remain undescribed, but can never be for-gotten by those who survived it. I cannot sufferthis opportunity to pass without paying just trib-ute to the noble service of the officers and men ofthe batteries that were served within my sight.Never before during this war were so many bat-teries subjected to so terrible a test. Horses, men,and carriages were piled together, but the firescarcely slackened for an instant so long as theguns were standing. Lieutenant [A. H.] Cushing,of Battery A, 4th U. S. Artillery, challenged theadmiration of all who saw him. ^ Three of hislimbers were blown up and changed with the cais-son limbers under fire. Several wheels were shotoff his guns and replaced, till at last, severelywounded himself, liis officers all killed or wounded,and with but cannoneers enough to man a section,he pushed his gun to the fence in front, and waskilled while serving his last canister into the ranksof the advancing enemy. Knowing that the enemy’sinfantry would attack soon, I sent Lieutenant[William R.] Driver, acting assistant adjutant-general, to the Artillery Reserve for batteries,with orders to conduct them to the crest, if theywere granted, with all possible speed. He arrivedwith one, which, though too late for service in ar-resting the advance of the enemy, yet had theopportunity to do him much damage.
“At 3 o’clock exactly the fire of the enemyslackened, and his first line of battle advancedfrom the woods in front in beautiful order. Aboutone hundred yards in rear came a second lino, andopposite the main point of attack was what ap-peared to be a column of battalions. . . . Theperfect order and steady but rapid advance of theenemy called forth praise from our troops, butgave their line an appearance of being fearfullyirresistible. My line was single, the only support(the 72d Pennsylvania Volunteers) having beencalled away by General Webb before the actionhad fairly commenced. There was a dispositionin the men to reserve their fire for close quarters,but when I observed the movement the enemy wasendeavoring to execute, I caused the 7tli Michi-
gan and 20th Massachusetts Volunteers to openfire at about two hundred yards. The deadlyaim of the former regiment was attested by theline of slain within its range. This had a greateffect upon the result, for it caused the enemy tomove rapidly at one point, and consequently tocrowd in front. Being occasioned at the pointwhere his column was forming, he did not recoverfrom this disorder. The remainder of our line re-served its fire until one hundred yards, some regi-ments waiting even until but fifty paces intervenedbetween them and the enemy.
‘ ‘ There was but a moment of doubtful contest infront of the position of this brigade. The enemyhalted to deliver his fire, wavered, and fled, whilethe line of the fallen perfectly marked the limit ofhis advance. The troops were pouring into theranks of the fleeing enemy that rapid and accuratefire, the delivery of which victorious lines alwaysso much enjoy, when I saw that a portion of theline of General Webb on my right had given way,and many men were making to the rear as fast aspossible, while the enemy was pouring over therails [surmounting a low stone wall.— Editors]that had been a slight cover for the troops.
“Having gained this apparent advantage, theenemy seemed to turn again and reengage mywhole line. Going to the left, I found two regi-ments that could be spared from some commandthere, and endeavored to move them by the rightflank to the break; but, coming under a warm fire,they crowded to the slight cover of the rail fence,mixing with the troops already there. Finding itimpossible to draw them out and re-form, andseeing no unengaged troops within reach, I wasforced to order my own brigade back from theline, and move it by the flank under a heavy fire-The enemy was rapidly gaining a foothold; or-ganization was mostly lost; in the confusioncommands were useless, while a disposition onthe part of the men to fall back a pace or two eachtime to load gave the line a retiring direction.With the officers of my staff and a few others,who seemed to comprehend what was required,the head of the line, still slowly moving by theflank, was crowded closer to the enemy, and themen obliged to load in their places. I did not seeany man of my command who appeared disposedto run away, but the confusion first caused bythe two regiments above spoken of so destroyedthe formation in two ranks that in some placesthe lino was several files deep. . . . Duringthis time the 15th Massachusetts Volunteers, 1 stMinnesota , and 1 9th Maine Volunteers from the
Cushing was a brother of Lieutenant W. B. Cushing, famous for liis destruction of the Confederate
ram Albemarle .— Editors.