Isaac O. Best, History of the 121st New York State Infantry

[145] on which we were was boggy and swampy, and we sank in the mud up to our ankles. Here all day long we kept up a constant fire. The wounded had to take care of themselves, officers as well as men, and many were killed. Captain Adams of our company lost an arm, and several others of our officers and men were wounded. A little after we went in, the Third brigade of our division joined us, also the Vermont brigade and the 49th New York and the 119th Pennsylvania. Some of the Vermonters came in where we were, and a line behind us fired over our heads. Every time we were reinforced the Rebs seemed to put in a new line, and the firing would break out more fiercely. We nearly shot away the head logs on the works. A section of a regular battery, the 5th U. S. Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant Metcalf, came up on a run, unlimbered, and ran the pieces as close to the Confederate works as they could be used effectively, and opened fire upon the crowded mass of Rebels in the angle with cannister. The Rebels elated by their success in forcing us back for a short space from their captured works, vainly endeavored to take the guns, and for a time withstood the terrible slaughter of the combined infantry and artillery fire, but finally gave up the attempt and sullenly retired. Not however until they had shot the men and horses, and in fact disabled the guns themselves with musketry fire.

It was at this time that Capt. J. D. Fish of Company D, 121st, then acting as acting adjutant general to General Upton, was killed while engaged in bringing up cannister to the guns of the battery. It was also at this time that the works on both sides were crowded with combatants and the killing and wounding of the closely crowded men was awful. The smoke from the guns and bursting