Adam Badeau, Military history of Ulysses S. Grant from April 1861 to April 1865. Volume 2

[512] column swept to the right until the whole of what was called by the enemy Miller's salient was in Parke's possession. This part of the defences was heavily traversed and afforded a strong foothold, where the rebels fought from traverse to traverse with great tenacity. Parke, however, drove them back steadily for about a quarter of a mile, when, reinforced and aided by strong positions in the rear, they were able to check the national progress.

Parke now made a gallant attempt to carry the inner line. The captured guns were turned on the enemy, served at first by infantry volunteers, and afterwards by details of artillerymen from the batteries in the rear; but the rebels held their own. Potter at this point was severely wounded. It was now daylight, and no further attempt to advance was made, but attention was turned to securing what had been gained, and restoring the organization of the troops, unavoidably shattered in the heavy fighting and the advance in the dark over broken ground. The loss in officers had been very severe. The captured line was made tenable as speedily as possible, but the position was extremely exposed, the forts and batteries being open in the rear. Parke indeed had only carried an outer line, and, although it was of great strength, and the rebels had fought splendidly to retain it, they still possessed an interior and principal chain of works before Petersburg was reached. This inner line ran west for a short distance from the Jerusalem road, and then turned north to the Appomattox, inside of the works that Wright had carried, so that, after all the success of the morning, Petersburg was still in the possession of the enemy.

At 5.15 A. M., Wright reported his first success,