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‘The works are only one hundred yards distant,’ said Captain Jones—a fortunate mistake.
They were, in point of fact, two hundred yards distant.1
‘The enemy can fire but one volley before the works are reached.’
A timely reminder was this, as, whilst advising the men of the gravity of the situation, it warned them of the great importance of a quick movement towards the foe.2
Let me here mention an incident: Lying next on my right was a young friend, Emmet Butts, a member of the bar of our city.
His proper position was on my left.
Having a superstitious belief that the safest place for a man in battle is generally his proper place, I said to my friend, ‘Emmet, suppose we change places?
I am in yours, and you in mine.’
‘Certainly,’ was his reply, with a pleasant smile; and we then changed places.
I never saw the poor fellow alive afterwards.
Soon after reaching the works he fell, his forehead pierced with a minnie ball.
Immediately after Captain Jones delivered his address the expected command, ‘forward,’ was given-by whom I could not of my personal knowledge say. Each man sprang to his feet, and moved forward, as commanded, at a double-quick, and with a yell.
The line was about one hundred and fifty yards in length when it started forward, but with the men moving at slightly different paces and lengthening out a little on the right as the right regiments and sharp-shooters obliqued to the right towards the crater, before we were half across the field, the line had probably lengthened a hundred or two feet, and widened to twenty feet or more, and the men thus moving forward with open ranks, no spectacle of war could well have been more inspiriting than the impetuous charge of this column of veterans, every man of whom appreciated the vital importance of getting
1 For twenty-three years my impression and belief was that the works were about one hundred yards distant. In June of 1888 I visited the ground and carefully noted it. To my amazement I discovered that the distance was double what I would have sworn it was. So surprised was I at this discovery I asked several of my comrades who were in the charge what was their recollection as to the distance, and found that several of them, like myself, thought the distance only one hundred yards.
2 Captain Jones, afterwards major of the Twelfth, having received a copy of this portion of this address, writes as follows: ‘I think you give the substance of my orders, except that I charged them (my command) specially to fix bayonets and not to stop to fire a gun until we were at the works.’
Richmond, VA. 1890.
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