The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-03-26
BATTLE OF FIVE FORKS.
Personal Recollections of 14sth N. Y. Com
rade.

nSSVAASSt1Vuo VI q 4HOsA ~. IL SoA4A"
rade.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: The night
was cold, the mud was freezing as we lay
down to sleep on the battlefield of White
Oak Road. At midnight orders came for
the Fifth Corps to join Sheridan at Din
widdie Court House. Whether our guide
lost his way in the darkness or whether
the road was so long, we never knew, but
it was after daylight before we APP
preached the cavalry. By this time the
COnfederates had got wind of our coming
and were on the retreat to their old line
of intrenchments at Five Forks.
After some delay we moved up the road
to within two or three miles of the Confed-
crate position. 1t was now about the
middle of the forenoon. The sun came
out and began to dry up the ground. We
remained at rest until near the middle of
the afternoon.
Some time during the day company Of
cavalry came out of the woods in our
front. Every man jumped for his musket,
expecting an attack. Our fears We're
groundless, however, as the cavalry proved
to be only Il party of Sheridan's scouts.
They all were laughing and joking as they
came i'll, seeming to be greatly amused by
our alarm. There were IS OF them, all
dressed in gray. After talking with us for
Il Ic" biihuttS tHty iVut Vii W thc itlt.
About 3 o'clock orders came to fall in,
and we started for the scene of operations.
All day long we had heard the skirmish-
firing of our cavalry, who had been driv-
ing in the Confederate pickets, preparatory
to giving us our work. 1t was nearly
o'clock when we arrived on the White
Oak Road, which here runs nearly east
and west.
The men at the head of the column had
taken down a length or two of fence on
the north side of the road, through which
we turned into the meadow, or, rather,
pasture ground, behind thin strip of
woods which skirted northward nearly
at right angles with the road. This little
piece of woods made splendid screen for
our Corps while in process of formation.
The Third Division. under Crawford,
was placed on the right, and extended to
a point at least half mile from the road.
Next came the First Division. under Gen.
Griffin, and lastly our own Second Divi-
sion, under Gen. Arrests Third Brigade,
to which l belonged, being nearly on the
left of the whole line.
Our Colonel, James Grindlay, 10th n.
Y, was in command of the brigade on this
day, for the first time. This left us with
only one commissioned officer, Capt.
Loomis. for the regiment. each company
being commanded by either Sergeant or
a Corporal. our total number-since the
affair of the day before-being consider
ably less than 100 men.
When we first came into the field there
seemed to be a little commotion among a
group of mounted officers, to our right, and
we understood that Gen. Warren, our
Corps Commander. had been relieved and
Gen. Charles Griffin, of our First Division,
appointed in his place. My own impress
sion has always been that Gen. Warren
went into the battle, after this. as vol
unteer. Whatever may be said of his
work as a field commander, he certainly
was patriotic officer and an excellent
military engineer. In the appointment of
Gen. Griffin we had no cause for alarm
but that the Corps would be well taken
care of. His record was good.
AS our line was drawn up we faced a
little to the north of west, so that the adj
vance of our line would lead us farther
away from the road.
There was something in the prepare
tons at this moment to inspire confidence
first, that we were under Sheridan: sec
ondly, the formation of the line. Each
regiment was formed in column by divi-
sion. five lines of battle deep. As far as
could be seen to the right the flags We're
flying and the bayonets cleaning in the
sunlight. The whole time elapsed thus
far did not exceed 10 or ID minutes since
we came through the gap in the fence.
There was no delay. AT the command
Forward! we moved into the belt of tim
Der and were soon through in good order.
Then we first saw the Confederate breast
works. Their main line was along the
White Oak Road, beyond us, but their
thanking line, to which we were opposed,
was at right angles to the other. and, for
the most part, ran along the eastern edge
of wood directly in our front. Our line
must have Overlapped it considerably on
the north.
AS we came out of the timber the order
was given to dOuble-Quick, and we started
forward on the run. There could not be
a better ground over which to make a
as house floor, and nor
more than 500 yards across. As we
started to run we began to yell. and kept
it up until our line struck the rebel works.
n man somewhat farther to the right has
told me since that the rebs never budged
One of the JOhnnieS asked us afterward:
How many men did yo'uns have?" The
reply was: ''Oh. about $1,000" ''Well,"
he said, Il thought you had about 3,OOO,-
900 by the way you yelled" The cavalry |
charge was quicker than ours. Just as
we were starting on the double-quick we
heard their yell, and in a moment after |
the smash of their fire as they went over |
the rebel works. The rebs said they never |
As our own brigade came near to the |
we turned somewhat to the |
left, deployed i'll line and advanced toward |
a portion of their intrenchments, which, |
on account of the formation of the ground |
was set some distance farther back, and |
joined the main line at the road.
AT this time we passed over the men of |
the Maryland Brigade, who were lying
down, and, crossing low piece of ground |
covered with swale grass, came up against |
a bank of rose bushes so thick that no one
could go through it. Behind these bushes
was a small grove of trees.
While the line halted 1 noticed a wound
ed Confederate lying in a narrow path |
that led up through the bushes. There
had been a few shots coming out of this |
place, but we thought nothing of it, sup
posing the party to be only skirmshers. As
looked at the man in the path he beckoned /
with his hand to me and said, Come up"
AT first l was little afraid to do so, but |
after securing a promise from several other
men to go with me, 1 started up the path |
can remember by name only one of these |
men, and that was Truxton Page, the |
clown of the regiment l had not gone
more than 30 feet before came to a low |
breastwOrk. Jumping up on this 1 looked |
down on the other side. l could not be-
lieve my eyes. AT first what saw looked |
like bags of salt, but l soon realized that |
the place was filled with rebel SOL
diers, all lying down. The day be-
fore l had received by mail. from
my mother, new white handker-
chief. Immediately / took this out of
my breast pocket, and, holding it in my left