General Butler, however, made
Richmond his objective point of attack, and not
Petersburg.
He soon found he had caught a Tarter in
General Beauregard, and after the severe defeat he sustained at his hands, the military nerves of our modern
Achilles were so unstrung that he had no stomach for any further fighting at that time.
The Richmond Examiner of the day indeed
[
4]
aptly compared
Butler to a ‘turkey buzzard matched against a great gyr falcon,’ and the result proved the truth of its prognostications.
Finding that the enemy did not appear to be disposed to molest us, many went back to their various occupations, but ready to be called upon at a moment's warning, and so it happened that on the fateful day our force was considerably diminished.
During this time, however, we were marched from one point to another on the lines, finding ourselves at last doing duty on the farm of
Mr. Timothy Rives, on the
Jerusalem Plank Road, south of the town.
During the interim we were employed in the usual avocations of camp life-drilling, doing guard and picket duty; when not thus engaged, amusing ourselves as best we might.
Quoit throwing was a favorite pastime.
I do not remember that cards were indulged in our company at least, as there was amongst us quite a sprinkling of elderly men, deacons and elders of churches, not usually given to such worldly recreations.
News regularly reached us, of course, of the heroic deeds of that noble Army of Northern Virginia, whose wonderful victories against tremendous odds excited our unbounded admiration and the wonder of the civilized world.
We had an oracle in camp whose fertile brain found ample scope for the exercise of his peculiar talents.
He could draw diagrams, locate armies, make flank movements, and show to a very sympathetic audience how
Lee would whip them again.
Indeed, many believed that that peerless commander would hurl back his enemies once more to the
Potomac.
One night when on picket near — the railroad, sitting around a blazing camp-fire, our oracle exclaimed with unwonted enthusiasm: ‘I could take a dozen of you fellows over to your breastworks and keep back a whole regiment of Yankees.’
This was very amusing, but it seems something like prophecy as to what did occur later on.
The fateful day at length drew near.
Butler, aroused from his inertia and fully appraised of the weakness of our defenses, made an effort to redeem his reputation, and adopted the plan of assailing
Petersburg at two points simultaneausly.
The Federal
[
5]
General Gilmore, with a force of forty-five hundred men, was directed to move upon the defenses of the city on the east along the
City Point Road, while
General Kautz, with a force of cavalry (stated in the
Federal reports at thirteen hundred men and four pieces of artillery), was to attack on the south of the town on the
Jerusalem Plank Road.
As
General Kautz had some fifteen miles to travel, and
General Gilmore only four, the latter was to time his movements so that they could attack as nearly simultaneously as possible upon hearing the sound of the other's guns.
