The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-20
The BraVest Deed Of the War.
By Captain T. J, MAOKEY.

ICopyr1ghts lSsns Dy bne Aub0or.J
The lines of the Union army were
closing around Petersburg like shroud
CT iron when General Lee resolved to
break and drive them back if possible.
To that end he ordered an attack in
force to be made en- General Grant g
line Of decentralization ON July 10, 1864.
The point selected for assault was in
the vicinity of an old country inn call
ed "The Yellow Tavern.
The order was that the attack should
be made just before the dawn of day,
the time most favorable for a surprise,
''when deep sleep falleth On man. II
was the experience, however, of many
Confederate officers charged with the
duty of attacking in the gray of the
morning that it was difficult to bring
their troops into line at that early hour
Although they were generally "but in
the gristle and not yet hardened into
the bone Of manhood" they were, in
one sense at least, not of the rising gen.
GRAFTON.
Hence it was that General Johnston
Hagood, whose brigade of South Caro-
linians was assigned to the right Of the
attacking force, found that daylight
had broken before he could align his
command. General Hagood was as true a
soldier as ever drew sword IL. battle. To
him the path Of duty was the path of hon
or, aad although he saw that his brigade
was in plain view of the Union troops,
who sad already manned their intrench-
ments, he ordered it to advance to the
assault. 1t had to cross a space Of about
$50 yards in width which had an undu-
lating surface, and the broken nature Of
the ground afforded some shelter until
it debouched upon a level highway
within 70 yards of the works.
It then met with terrible fire of ar
tillery and rifles, but it was composed
of seasoned veterans, and it never fall,
tered. Where the dead fell the living
stepped, and their leveled bayonets soon
sparkled within 90 feet Of the line Of
intrenohments. Theirs the brigade came
to an involuntary halt, for before it lay
a wide, deep ditch half full of water,
which it had no means Of crossing I'm
able to advance and yet unwilling to re-
treat without orders, every soldier de-
livered his hopeless fire with the energy
of despair.
As merciful suggestion, no doubt
prompted by admiration for body of
brave men doomed otherwise to certain
slaughter, the Union soldiers called Out
to them to surrender, but the call was
unheeded. At that deadly juncture a
mounted officer was seen to emerge from
the sally port of an earthwork at re-
entering angle of the line of intrench-
ments nearly opposite to the center OF
the brigade. He galloped up to the color
bearer of the South Carolina regiment,
and holding out his right hand demand
ed the surrender of the colors. Although
mounted, the uniform and shoulder
straps of the daring Union officer indi-
Gated that he was a captain of infantry
He was apparently about 80 years Of
age, with noble and handsome face
and tall, heroic form.
The color sergeant, seemingly dazed
or perhaps paralyzed by the sublime eff
frontery Of the demand, surrendered the
colors.
The flag was especially dear to the
regiment, for it had been presented by
the ladies of the district in which the
regiment was raised, and it had been
borne aloft with honor on many battle.
fields. It was state flag, with the arms
OF South Carolina upon it, and a coun-
terpart of that which the famous Pal.
metto regiment in the Mexican war had
planted on the walls of the capital of
Mexico, the first foreign flag to wave
there since the time Of Cortes. That il
should have been delivered up to sim
gle foeman when there were thousand
men, all veteran soldiers: to defend it
and the thrust of a bayonet or the pull.
ing OF trigger could have disposed Of
him, was past all understanding. have
thought that perhaps being sorely per.
picked, with their comrades falling fast
all around them, they may have thought