Pryor's Brigade.
To the Editors of the Dispatch:
This brigade who imperishable renown upon the bloody field of
Williamsburg.
Early in the fight they received orders to support the right, then most heavily pressed.
It was as splendid scene to witness this brigade as they flung their battle flags to the breeze; advanced in quick time to the post assigned them; no position on that field of blood was more warmly contested, and none where the enemy were more signally repulsed.
The ground was strewn with the dead, and the enemy fell back before their invincible arms.
General Pryor had assumed command but a few days previous, but his bearing on that field has linked him with ‘"hooks of steel."’ to the brave and gallant men he led. He shared with them their dangers and their perils; he stood calm and unmoved amidst the ‘"fallen rain"’ which swept around him; his men seemed to gather something of his own spirit, and they, too, stood firm and undaunted.
This, although the first occasion on which
General Pryor ever stood on the field of battle, yet the proved himself eminently qualified for the high position.
He combines in an extraordinary degree the two great requisites for a successful commander — good judgment, unmoved by the excitement of the hour; and firm, intrepid courage.
Perfectly regardless of himself, he led his brave command to the fight, and there unmoved he watched the tide of battle; with perfect coolness his orders were issue, and with alacrity executed.
His brigade was handled with consummate skill.
His troops feel a just pride in their brave young General, and for none other would they willingly consent to exchange.
It seems almost impossible that one could pass unscathed through the ordeal, but it is said the brave bear a charmed life.
The rights which
Roger A. Pryor so forcibly proclaimed and eloquently defended upon the hustings, as nobly does he vindicate them upon the field of battle.