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| James S. Wadsworth. |
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troops, who were hard pressed, he had two horses shot under him, and soon afterward a bullet pierced his brain, and he fell to the earth.
The Confederates seized the dying man and sent him to their rear; where he expired the next day; but it was several days before his fate was known to his friends.1
This was a critical moment for the Army of the Potomac, for the superior mind of Longstreet was then evidently the chief director of the movement for executing Lee's plan for giving a deadly blow to the National left.
He had sent a heavy force to seize the Brock road, on Hancock's left, while pushing him back on the front, when one of those incidents which some call “Providence,” and others “accident,” occurred, which doubtless saved the Army of the Potomac from great disaster.
Longstreet, with his staff, was riding in front of his pursuing column, when he came suddenly upon the van of his flanking force.
The latter, mistaking him and his attendants for
National cavalry, fired upon them.
Longstreet was severely wounded and disabled, when Lee took the immediate direction of the important movement.
With less executive skill than his able lieutenant possessed, he occupied four hours in getting ready to carry it out. This caused a lull in the battle on that portion of the field, and enabled Hancock, who had been pressed back to his abatis and intrenchments on the Brock road, to make dispositions for meeting another attack, then evidently impending.
Meanwhile Sedgwick's corps, on the right, had lost heavily in unsuccessful attempts to carry Ewell's intrenched positions.
Warren's had remained mostly on the defensive, but at almost every part of the line there was more or less skirmishing throughout the day. Finally, at four o'clock, when Lee had the troops of Hill and Longstreet well in hand, he hurled them heavily, in four columns, upon Hancock's intrenched position.
They pushed up to within a hundred yards of the first line, when a sharp musketry battle ensued, without decisive results, until a fire in the woods was communicated to the logs of the breastworks, and soon enveloped them in flames.
The smoke and ashes of the conflagration were driven by the wind directly in
1 The death of General Wadsworth produced the most profound sorrow. He was a man of large wealth, of the first social position in the State of New York, and universally known as a model of a Christian gentleman. At the breaking out of the rebellion he at once offered his person, and his wealth and influence, in defense of the Republic. He was a patriot in the highest sense of the term. He had been brought prominently before the public as a candidate for Governor of his State. Such was his high character, and his rank in the army, that the Governor of New York (Horatio Seymour) felt constrained, in deference to public feeling, to take notice of his death. Being opposed to the war, Mr. Seymour could not consistently commend him as a patriot; so, after speaking of him highly as a man and citizen, he said: “From the outset an ardent supporter of the war, to him belongs the merit of freely periling his own person in upholding the opinions he advocated.” It is proper to say that this low view of General Wadsworth's motives in taking up arms was entirely unjust. He was actuated by aims higher than the vulgar aspirations of the mere politician, who cannot easily comprehend unselfishness. He was fighting for his country and the rights of man, not for the “opinions” of himself or a party.
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