Ordered a charge.
Seeing this, General Hunton ordered a charge. It was an inspiring sight to see those nearly half-starved men move with quick step across that narrow field and into the woods beyond, and drive Sheridan's brag cavalry back untill they had forced them out of the woods, across another field, and out of the road which they had captured. Having recovered the road, our line of battle was formed in the road, with the fence-rails thrown down and piled up on the side next to the enemy. The road-cut itself furnished us on the right the very best protection. There we took our stand, and kept the enemy at bay, in spite of the most desperate attempts on their part to drive us away, or to force us to surrender. An open field was in our immediate front, leading down to a long stretch of woods beyond. Over this field the cavalry charged time and again, now on horseback, now on foot; but each time they advanced, they recoiled before the well directed musketry fire that greeted them. In one of these charges about a dozen of their men dashed around Corse's Brigade on our left, and came charging down in the rear of our line, shooting and yelling like demons. It was their last charge. All of them were killed, one being knocked from his horse by one of our ambulance corps, and his head crushed with a stretcher. Thus the battle went on for some hours, untill the enemy ceased their assaults in front and began to overlap and threaten our right. [86] To prevent this General Terry was ordered to take position with his brigade on Hunton's right. He soon reported that the enemy were gathering in great numbers in the woods to turn his flank, and that he could not hold his position. General Hunton, being called to support Terry, said he would send his old regiment around there, and that they would hold the position. This movement placed our regiment on the extreme right of our line, and under the immediate command of General Terry. Our position was in the edge of the woods, where the enemy were gathering, and with the open field just behind us. We had been there only a short time when General Pickett ordered a retreat. It was now about the middle of the afternoon, perhaps later. During all these hours in which we had been holding the cavalry at bay, the Federal infantry and artillery had been coming up, and were now posted on the hill to our left and rear, where we were resting that morning when the battle began.
