Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-11-09
"Reminiscences of the Battle Of Spottsylva-

A Renaissance Of the Battle Of Spottsylva-
MIA Court House Lee to the Rear
At the recent reunion and banquet OF
the army of Northern Virginia, held dur
ing the State Fair in Richmond
our townsman, Col. James Ell. Skinner, III
response to the toast IN honor of ''Our In
fantry,' gave an account of a memorable
incident in the Battle of Spottsylvania G.
H., which we are so sure will be interest
ing to our readers that we have sought the
privilege of laying it before them in the
following extract:
Our infantry not only encountered with
cheerfulness all the trial and hardships Of
the camp and of the march, but in the
fierce encounters Of battle displayed a
proud Self-reliance, to which the annals
of other wars and other armies can scarce
furnish parallel. Let one notable in
stance, out of many, suffice for illustration.
1t was on the memorable morning of the
18th of May, '64, in the battle of Spottsyl-
vania G. Fl. In the early dawn our army
had suffered fearful disaster. An as
sault by Hancock's corps had broken our
lines, and swallowed up almost division,
including the larger part of the famous
Stonewall Brigade. Early's division was
forthwith summoned to retrieve if possible
our loss, and to re-establiSh our lines
at the gap through which the enemy were
pouring. It was an appalling crisis in our
affairs, which called for the presence and
direction of our noble Commander in Chief.
He placed himself in front of the division,
as though intending to lead the charge in
person. Traces of anxiety could be read,
or at least fancied, on even his uniformly
col, and -foal,l Ia
tried and trusted Chief Of division was
tina. day commanding a corps, but the
mantle of an Early could not have fallen
on Worthier shoulders than those OF the
heroic John B. Gordon. The line divin-
ing Gen. Lees purpose, insisted that he
should abandon it, each heart felt that in
his life the fortunes of the Confederacy
were, under God, bound up. This brave
division, though it would have gloried to
distinguish itself under the immediate
leadership of its Commander in Chief, were
unwilling to the unnecessary hazard of his
invaluable life. They knew that led by
Gordon as they frequently had done mn
der Early-they could and would accom-
plish all that lay in the power of men, and
therefore from the ranks the cry arose,
s'Gen. Lee to the rearp' This is the Incl
dent to which Gen. Lee himself reluctant
ly referred, and locates in the battles
around Spottsylvania G. FL. He yielded
TO the demand of his men, who had no
doubt by this time inspired him with the
fullest confidence, and by the hand Of Gen.
Gordon his horse was led through an open
ing made in Capt. James Bumgardner's
company, the color company of the SD Va.
infantry, the regiment which your speaker
had the honor to command. Gen. Gordon
Immediately thereafter gave to the divis-
ion the order to charge, and with wild
yell it sprang forward. Hundreds of brave
men fell in its onward rushing progress
but Hancock's corps were driven before
them like autumn leaves before a fierce
winters blast, they were forced far beyond
our trenches our line was substantially re-
established, and the day saved to the army
of Northern Va. We read how in the
terrible charge at Lodi the veteran
grenadiers of France, though flushed with |
many recent victories, faltered until their
Little Corporal. as they afterwards loved
to call him, and several of their brave
generals rushed to the lead, but the in
fantry of the army of Northern Va, in
this more deadly and destructive charge,
unselfishly denied themselves the privilege |
of being led by one who inspired them with |
an enthusiasm not inferior to that which |
the presence of Napoleon could awaken in
the zenith of his fame.