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[360] which it finally takes possession. But the rest of the line has been broken, and cannot take advantage of this first success. The lunette itself is commanded by the main line of the Confederates: a hand-to-hand fight follows, grenades are hurled in every direction, and men fire upon each other at close range. The defenders, who would not abandon their post, and the assailants, who have penetrated into the work, are nearly all killed or wounded within this narrow space. The survivors, being exposed on all sides to the projectiles of both friends and foes, throw themselves flat upon the ground, and remain in that position for several hours, almost motionless side by side. One man only among the Federals, Sergeant Griffith,1 found the means of making his escape by jumping the parapet; and he had even the good luck of taking several prisoners with him. The two other brigades of Smith and Carr have been held in reserve. Their commanders, Burbridge and Benton, lead them to the relief of their comrades: they are decimated in their turn while traversing the valley, but they do not allow themselves to be checked by their losses nor by the sight of the dead and wounded which the preceding attack has scattered all along their route. They even take with them a small howitzer, which Captain White2 bravely plants in front of an embrasure of the enemy. The salient angle, which had been struck in the morning by the projectiles of the heavy artillery, is reached; about sixty men enter the redoubt, hoisting a flag upon the parapet. The rest of the two brigades find shelter in the ditch, where they defend themselves. The point thus secured was of the highest importance, and if the Federals had taken immediate advantage of this first success, the enemy's line would have been pierced. But they were too much scattered and weakened to be able to do this. Stevenson, who is in command of the defenders, calls for volunteers to recover the position lost. Two companies of Waul's Legion, from Texas, undertake this task and rush upon the Federals who occupy
1 Joseph E. Griffith, company I, Twenty-second Iowa infantry. For his gallantry he was promoted by Grant to a first lieutenancy. Soon afterward he received an appointment to the West Point Academy, from which he was graduated June 17, 1867, and appointed to the engineer corps.—Ed.
2 Patrick H. White of the Chicago Mercantile battery.—Ed.
Philadelphia, Jos. H. Coates and co., 1883.
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