The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-06-18
BURLINGTON saturday JUNE IS 1864
brigade being disposed so as to cover that

brigade being disposed SO as to cover that
The formation of Gibbons division on
the right Of Barlow, was similar. Tyler's
brigade (heavy artillery holding the right,
Smiths the center and Owens the left
Mexican in rear OF Tyler's center. in two
lines. On Hancock's line there were but
few places where artillery could be used
with effect.
Barlow had directed that his attacking
brigade should, previously to the assault.
be moved out, and formed Just in the
rear of the picket line. From this point
they advanced for half mile through the
woods and over open intervals, under q
severe fire, square up. to the enemy's
the right Of Niles brigade Joined with the
LEFT of Brooks'-the same brigades that
so brilliantly carried the famous salient in
the line Of SpOttsyvania-succeed in q
similar splendid coup here; they got ovef
and into the enemy's parapet, capturing
mis- guns, -four light l2.pounders,) his cdi-
ors and i've or six hundred prisoners.
ABOUT 300 OF whom were secured by
promptly passing them to the rear. The
ing the enemy's guns on the retreatinp
rebels, when powerful reinforcementsf from
the second rebel line appeared advancing.
The first rebel line was held by Brecken-
ridges troops and was carried, but Lee is
too good General to leave point SO inn
portant thus weakly defended. Brecken.
ridges men We're placed in the fore
front to receive the baptism Of fire, but be-
hind these lay the veterans of Hills corps.
and these we now see dashing forward to
retrieve the hOnors we had snatched. Bar
lows brigades-stOut hearts, not used to
pale before the greatest odds-could have
held their own under conditions the least
short Of desperation, but the situation
in which they now found themselves
Oerleaped its limits. It was not
merely the overwhelming front that
came pressing down upon them, of that
they had no fear, but the position they had
gained placed them in advance Of the whole
line of battle, and gave the rebel artillery
the opportunity for q deadly entilaling fire.
Beside this, they had lost the directing
heads of two of the chief commanders,
Brooks and Byrnes, ''souls of courage and
compact" fell mortally wounded, aud all
the organizations had suffered fearfully
from an unparalleled loss OF officers. In
this state OF facts they fell back, bringing
with them the prisoners they had taken,
and captured color, but not the guns
They fell back, but not to their original pO-
sitiOn to a position far in advance of that
they had held. and at different points not
more than fifty yards from the enemy.-
them to pass on to Gibbons division of the
same corps on the right, and which was
engaged at the time.
Gibbons advanced simultaneously with
Barlow, but in moving forward, he came
upon one of the swamps of the Chicka-
which had to be turned or over
passed, in the process of which it became
al 70 tov> Oh
between different parts of his line. This
however, his troops pressed for
ward with the same vigor that marked the
conduct of their companion division on the
left. Parts OF the brigades Of Tyler and
Owen gained the rebel works, but for rea-
sons identified, with those that forced back
Barlow's troops. they also were compelled
to give up what they had won, Gibbons
too, lost very heavily. General
Tyler, before reaching the works, was car
ried off the field, shot in the ankle. One Of
his regimental commanders; Colonel Por.
ter, of the Sth New York heavy artillery,
was killed; Immediately afterward, the
Colonel (Bates) fell dead
Another of his regimental commanders,
Colonel McMahon, of the 18th New York,
was struck while planting his cOlors ON the
rebel works, and was left prisoner in the
enemy's hands, his troops not supporting
him after he was wounded. Owens brig
ade lost two entire companies, taken priso-
ners inside of ihe enemy's entrenchshents.
In giving way, Gibbons division also was
far from losing all the ground it had gained.
1t took up an advance position, close to the
enemy, and just over the crest, the rear
ward slope Of which was held by the rebels.
This position it has retained during the
day, and McKean's brigade has held all
day position within fifteen yards of the
enemy's works.
THE KEY POINT OF THE BATTLE, AND HOW
IT WAS LOST.
Not until the splendid attack Of Han
cocks corps had been made, not till after
its blood bought victory had been wrested
from our hands, was he or any man in this
the position this morning carried and lost.
The key-point in the battle Of Gaines Mills,
two years ago, 1t is strange and mortifying
that no one should have appreciated its
value. This position is bald hill, named
WAITS HILL" dominating the whole bat
and covering the angle of the
Dispatch Road Along this ridge the
Of it was a sunken road. OF this road Han
cock got possession, and the brigades of
Miles and Brooks actually struck and car
ried the work directly on the salient! Had
we held this point, we should have had q
position whence the entire rebel line might
have been enhladed; and think 1t is not
too much to say that the day would have
been ours, and Lee pushed across the Chick
ahominy. Had we even known in advance
It's commanding importance, very different
for attack would have been
made; we would have massed on the left,
and made victory q certainty. These con-
certainly inspire bitter regrets;
but who does not know that it is on pre-
cisely such contingencies that the fate of .
battle often hangs?
AND SMITH.
simultaneously with the attack of the
Second Corps, theo Sixth, under Wright, com
Meeting on the lett with Hancock, made a
1eneral advance at a quarter before five
) 1'clock-each division assaulting on the en-
ire line. Of this Corps, the Second Divis.
ion, tMcNeill,) held the right, the Third
Division (Ricketts) the centre, and the lst
Division (Russell9 the left. Five batteries,
under charge of the Chief of Artillery of the
second Corps, Col. Tompkins - namely:
Adams First Rhode Island battery, Cow
ans First N. Y, Independently Hahn's
Third N. Y, independently McMartins
list Massachusetts, and Rhodes 1st Rhode
Island, we're planted in good positions and
lid effective service in covering the ad-
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