The National tribune., 1902-07-24
qHs NATIONAL qRlBuNE wAsHNeToN g. THuFsDAY july "a

ried across the fields. arriving to find that
happily, the assault HAD spent its force.
\ ASSAULT ON GREENE's BRIGADE.
4 In this movement ape of Geary's Bri
4 gades wandered somewhere southwark. ou
of reach of the enemy, and was useless for
the emergency ut the leftSas well as fol
its old post at Culp's Hill, where it wa.
sorely needed. But atSingfe brigade helt
the half mile or SO of Culp.s Hill intrench
ments on Thursday evening, that Of Gen
George 5. Greene, emphatically the here
. of the right wing Of Gettysburg-hi
troops, five New York regiments.
] 1t was in Lees plan OF battle to attack
our right with Ewell's CDrps simultane
ously with Longstreet's assault upon the
left while some of Hills Divisions carried
East Cemetery Hill. Thus, at the houl
when the right wing was being stripped, q
series of determined attacks was begun
| there which came seriously near success
whose complete success, with disaster tc
our position, was probably prevented only
by the fall of darkness. The assailants of
Greene were Edward JOhnson's Division
of four brigades.
Neither cOmbatant could make any use
of artillery, a fact which served the ad-
yatage of Greene, whose defenses were
made almost impregnable against infantry
assault by the massive rocks bestrewed all
oiohS llHt, UclWlAl WHICH lie Dlieu II
wall of lesser powders and tree trunks.
Yet it required nerve, vigilance and good
generalship for this slender line of de-
Tenders to steadfastly withstand, for two
or three hours, the impetuous charge of
fOurfold their numbers.
So far as he occupied the hill, Greene
held it firmly. But the intrenchments va
Gated by our brigade were entered without
hlndrance by the Confederate Brigade of
Stuart, who was thus upon Greene's flank,
which. however, was specially guarded by
a solid traverse. In daylight Stuart's posi-
ton was within full view Of the Baltimore
Turnpike. Between 8 and 10 o'clock in
the evening the Twelfth Corps came back
to its post. With our ears intent upon the
battle to which we were hurrying in the
afternoon, we had heard none of the tu-
mutt of Ewell's attack. But as we drew
near to our place, rumor limited to us that
all was not as it should be. The I'd Mass.
sent forward accommodating company,
which quickly struck traces of foreign oc-
cupancy, but our incredulous Colonel was
not satisfied till another venture was made
How pokerish it seemed to wait amid the
darkness and the dead silence for revela-
tions of a danger most formidable because
mysterious. But it was probable that the
enemy was as scared as we, for one of our
accommodating cOmpany's officers COM
manded the surrender of group of pick
cts upon whom he stumbled, and came
marching them out, to the number of
dozen or more: but then followed a COM
mand of Fire. from the bushes, and a
furious voiley flew over our heads.
Fortunate was it for the Union army
that Ewel did not fully know the sigDifi-
cance of his lodgment within our lines.
The undisturbed march of a few more
yards would have set him directly across
the turnpike. taking in reverse Culp's and
Cemetery Hills, the whole of the Union
right and center; and the story of Gettys-
which history now records. The night was
our salvation. In direct continuation of
Cups Ridge, separated from it by a
meadow hundred yards wide is another
wooded ACTIVITY. q part of McAuister's
Hill. To that hill orr brigade retreated,
and there, taking Stuart in flank and rear.
we built other breastworks of logs and
rails. Ewelfs position was not strong
one for his aggressive movements. He
had no place for artillery;s the only guns
he had tried to bring to bear, stationed in
the open ground of BenHer's Hill, having
been quickly silenced on 1,nursday.
From daybreak-about o'clock-on
Friday morning, till Z, three or four of our
batteries swept the valley of Rock Greek.
where Ewell lay, with terrific fire. Slo-
cum had increased the Union strength to
and two from the Sixth Corps Stirred up
by the artillery, Ewell's men, increased to
seven brigades, fercely resumed the as
sault. their sole available points of attack
being the rocky stronghold iagainst which
they had vainly surged the night be-
fore. Until II O'clock-sor seven hours
the terrific crash of mnsketry resounded
through the woods; and after years have
shown, III the death of nearly all OF the
trees which came within the range of fire.
how continuous the sheet of bullets was
IN the course OF that struggle, at which we
upon its outside, listened with dreadful sus-
penSe.
A GALLANT BUT UNSUCCESSFUL CHARGE
Yet not listened only. Two regiments
of our brigade-the I'd Mass. and the 9th
Ind.-haye borne witness. by memorial
stones erected in the edge of the meadow
which divides Culp's from McAlister's, to
the fatality which took from their ranks
nearly half their men in gallant but mad
and comparatively fruitless charge over
that meadow, soaked with the rivulet
which trickles from Spangler's Spring
Some one had blundered. Slocum request
ed Ruser to try the enemy at this portion
of the line, and, if practicable, force him
out. BY the time the order issued from
the mouth of Col. Colgrove, Of the 9th
Ind, IN temporary command, it became
Advance two regiments Immediately, and
dislodge the enemy from his works!' What
two regiments of 600 men could essay
against brigade safely hidden in strong
defenses, these regiments attempted. But
only one passed the meadow, the I'd Mass.
The 18th Ind, Colgrove's own regiment
IN n broader stretch of the meadow was
stopped midway in ils course The 2d
touched the enemy's works, fought there
for many minutes-wOuld have stayed
there If there had been any thought of re-
inforcements; but the enemy, recovering
from his surprise, was already sending out
his skirmishers to intercept our retreat
and that part of our brigade left behind
us could not fire without enGangering us:
so, without disorder, we turned about and
took the nearest and least exposed course
to our hillside, where, under shelter of a
wall, we made it hot for our opponents.
That this charge was not without its iuilu- |
ence. at least, in showing the enemy that
all his paths of advance toward the turn
pike were hemmed in, may be true. But
it was hard TO persuade the survivors of
the regiment that the waste of valOr and
life was not utterly disproportionate to the
effect upon the mornings BATTLE for the
assault was made at Z o'clock, and the roar
of combat went on unbroken till II. Then
Ewell was driven back. He left in the /
hands of the Twelfth Corps some 5OOI
prisoners, while the losses in killed and
wounded were enormous. The dead and
mansled lay thick everywhere in the woods.
but especially were they clustered around
Spanglers Spring. One dying Virginian
bore plaintiye tribute that men who could |
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