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don't like such places and go there only when ordered.
“Report to General Meade,” said Hancock, “that it is very hard to bring up troops in this wood, and that only a part of my Corps is up, but I will do as well as I can.”
Up rides an officer: “Sir!
General Getty is hard pressed and nearly out of ammunition!”
“Tell him to hold on and General Gibbon will be up to help him.”
Another officer: “General Mott's division has broken, sir, and is coming back.”
“Tell him to stop them, sir!!”
roared Hancock in a voice of a trumpet.
As he spoke, a crowd of troops came from the woods and fell back into the Brock road.
Hancock dashed among them.
“Halt here!
halt here!
Form behind this rifle-pit.
Major Mitchell, go to Gibbon and tell him to come up on the double-quick!”
It was a welcome sight to see Carroll's brigade coming along that Brock road, he riding at their head as calm as a May morning.
“Left face — prime — forward,” and the line disappeared in the woods to waken the musketry with double violence.
Carroll was brought back wounded.
Up came Hays's brigade, disappeared in the woods, and, in a few minutes, General Hays was carried past me, covered with blood, shot through the head.
Headquarters Army of Potomac Monday, May 16, 1864
I will continue the letter of this morning, describing our first day's fight.
I had got as far as the death of General Hays and the wounding of Carroll.
This was between five and six o'clock. Hays commanded one brigade of Birney's division.
He was a strong-built, rough sort of man, with red hair, and a tawny, full beard; a braver man never went into action, and the wonder only is that he was not killed before, as he always rode at the very head of his men, 