Benson J. Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Civil War. Volume 3.

[311] foiling it. He took the aggressive, by sending nearly the whole of Ewell's corps to strike Meade's weakened right, held by Tyler's artillerists, who lay across the road from Spottsylvania Court-House to Fredericksburg, which was the main line of communication with the base of the army supplies, at the latter place. Ewell swept across the Ny, seized that important road, and attempted to capture a wagon-train upon it, when he was stoutly resisted by Tyler and his artillerists. These had never been under fire before, but they fought with the coolness and steadiness of the veterans of the Second and Fifth Corps, who came to their assistance, but not until after Ewell had been repulsed. They did not fight with the caution of the veterans, and lost heavily. They and their gallant leader have the honor of repulsing Ewell; and they share with others in the credit of scattering the foe in the woods up the Valley of the Ny, and capturing several hundred of them.

By this attack Grant's flanking movement was disturbed and temporarily checked, but it was resumed on the following night,

May 20, 21, 1864.

after he had buried his dead and sent his wounded to Fredericksburg. His fearful losses up to the 13th had been greatly increased,¹ yet with full hope and an inflexible will he kept his face toward Richmond. When the army abandoned its base north of the Rapid Anna, it established another at Fredericksburg (from which was a route for supplies from Washington by a short railway, and by steamboat from Belle Plain and Acquia Creek), to which point the sick and wounded were sent. There they were met and ministered to by the angelic company sent by the loyal people with the comforts and consolations of the Sanitary and Christian commissions. As the army moved on toward Richmond, new bases were opened, first at Port Royal, and then at White House, under the direction of that most efficient Chief Quartermaster, General Rufus Ingalls.

The writer visited the region where the battles of Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and of Spottsylvania Court-House, were fought, early in June, 1866, with his traveling companions (Messrs. Dreer and Greble), accompanied by quite a cavalcade of young army officers, some of them in charge of the military post at Fredericksburg, and others connected with a burial party, then in the vicinity, busied in gathering up the remains of the patriot soldiers for interment in the National Cemetery there. We had just come up from the battle-fields around Richmond, and had visited places of interest around Fredericksburg, mentioned in chapter XVIII., volume II.; and at the morning twilight of the 7th of June, we left the latter city for the neighboring fields of strife.

We went out on the plank road, by way of Salem Church, to Chancellorsville, and so on to The Wilderness, visiting in that gloomy region the place where Wadsworth fell; the spot where Hancock and his companions struggled with Hill, and Warren and others fought with Ewell. Everywhere we saw mementoes of the terrible strife. The roads were yet strewn with pieces of clothing, shoes, hats, and military accouterments; the trees were scarred and broken; lines of earth-works ran like serpents in many directions, half concealed by the rank undergrowth, made ranker in places by the