The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-03-09


passes around the foot Of Poor-Houss
hill, this is the Rapidan; and where
Second Street crosses the Bacon Quarter
Branch will be Ely's Ford while Brook
Avenue Crossing farther to the west,
would be the Germunia Ford. The Poor
House burying-ground, at the Nortn emo
Of Third Street and In rear OF Ga1nDie 8
Till. would be charlottesville: to which
roint 18th Street crossing, the Second
Street crossing and Brook. Avenue cross
ing all converge and with great similar
ity to the roads converging on Chan-
cellorsville from Banks, United States.
Ely and Germania Fords, and IS gooo
miniature of the field of Chancellorsvllle
Fredericksburg and the two rivers, the
Rappahannoclz and tho Rapidan.
Now in the same manner allow me
to scale the two armies to com,
parative numbers: At Cnmble's Hill
Early with eight men, at Gallego
Mills Sedwicl1 with q men, at sPoor-
House burying-gro Immediately IN
rear Of Candles Hill Is Hooker strong,
" entranced with 70 men and Lee WITH
l. men in his front, While jackson Ens
gone around to Brook Avenue ana is
coming down Bacon Quarter Branch TO
Second Street with % men. The q men
at Gallego Mills are to drive off the
eight men at Candles Hill. thence move
who has 81 men Cncluding (Jackson); SO
that if the q men succeed. Lee. with "a
men, will have in front 70 men and behind
81 men, making 100 men against "a
men. or at the most 49, If the eight
men at Candles Hill should be
driven off and retreat to Lee Ihus
ycu can easily grasp the odGs against
Lee and the field on which, they ma
uncovered, and easily comprehend how alb
oil TO vic a the nOrtn
end of Third Street Getty buryinS-
elcunds), that these eight men at the
south end of Third Street should at al
hazard hold their position Gas was thelr
q, der) against these twenty-seven men,
ana how successfully for three days tney
resisted the assaults, gallantly hoidlnS
back these twenty seven men untii VIC
tarv crowned the efforts Of the thirty
four men contending against the seventy
thee men at the north end OF Ihnd
Street Getty burying- grounds). Thus II
was at the battle of ChancellorsVllie'
and thus its victory was made possible
iy the successful defence OF Marge ;
Heights until Lee had won the DAY at
Charlottesville.
GREG's STATEMENT.
Percy Greg the English historian, says
on page 271: Opposed to sedgwick with
o 600 we're but 1000 Confederates, yet
this little band completely imposed on
Scdcwick with his skiold strength. He
Isl heard the firing on May 1st ana ina
at charlottesville, but did not venture
to advance until the afternoon of the
latter and then waited the rest OF llat
Gay and half of the next ere he prepared
for an attack on Marye,s Heights. ba'hs
Ga:e's five regiments kept up a tire winch
cost the slowly advancing enemy 1000
killed and wounded before the latter
storned the Heights, captured SOo prison.
e,s and learned with shame the mere
p:etcxt of defence which had kept an
army at bay for four critical days will
in s,lnshot of it's powerlcss prey.
President Lincoln, in writing to Hooker,
facetiously says in warning Hooker about
this battle. Don't get entangled upon
the river (RappahannocO like an OK
iumped over fence ard liable to be
torn by dogs front and rear, without a
chance to gore one way or kick tine
other'' Could there have been any truer
prophecy? Could words have been put
together better to express the situation
torn by the dogs (of wary in front and
rear. and! no chance to gore one way or
kick the other.
The Confederate forces during the war
were always at great disadvantage on
account of inferior arms, to have been
the possessor OF repeating rifle or
breach-loader was the longing desire Of
all infantrymen, and many an effort was
made to capture such guns. No sooner
than engagements were over tile helus
were dotted with infantry exchanging
their rr1uzzle-loaders for breach-loaders,
without any kind Of ceremony with the
dead and wounded owners. Necessity
the mother of invention" was never bet
ter illustrated than at the Stonewall dur
ing this enga cement, repea ting muskets
or brea ch-load ers the boys did not nave,
and the quick work before them was an
urgent demand for such, no time TO tear
the cartridge with their mouths and in
SORT the same in the muzzlc and ram IL
home with their iron ram-rods. And that
Gael: man firing might have something
akin TO a repeater or breach loader,
that his fire should be continual, they fe'
or the plan that one man should DO the
firing while a sufficient number of men
the loading, that the man firing should
do nothing but pull the trigger. saw
this operation N the store wall, one man
doing all the firing while another handed
hin, the cooked muskets and the others
did the loading, thus actually making the
man firing Of equal service ds II he had
been armed with an unapproachable Cat
lin gun. This incident goes far TO account
for the amount OF execution cone py 30
small a, force.
The reference in General Alexander re-
port heretofore referred to about lighting
our guns after the u. S. flag was within
our works, reminds me of All incident
there occurring: One Of the artillery mon.
whose eyes must have been exceedingly
fond of colors. said as he saw the Stars
and Stripes raised Nover our works, and
in a voice to be heard above the din and
noise of the combat. 'f;ors, amt 1t beau
tiful.''
WASHINGTON ARTILLERY.
The credit as to the part the artillery
took in this engagement on the Heights
has been by some unaccountablc mistake
given to the washington Artillery" pos
siblv the mistake is due to the fact that
this battalion fought here at the first
battle Of Fredericksburg and the two en-
gagements have thus become mixed. Ere
ouently heretofore and now [ again cor
rect this error by saying that there were
only two guns from the Washington Ar
tillery Battalion on the Heights. and
these commanded by Captain Charles
Suuires. with whom I was personally ac-
orainted, but these guns did no firing at
all during the artillery combat, though
Captain Squires was urged by me to dt-
!. tod of +.