The National tribune., 1910-02-24
THE WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN
Continued from page one.)

command and an eagerntSs for effective
| fighting Col. Richard Byrnes. fine
type of the Irish soldier. commanded
| the Second Brigade; the Third Brigade
was commanded by Col. Clinton d. Mac
Dougall. a tall. sandy-haired youth OF
Scotch descent, who had in him all the
fire of the Wallaces, from whom he
sprang. The Fourth Brigade was COM
manded by Col. John r. Brooke, solid
Pennsylvania, who was afterward TO
rise to Major Generalcy in the Spanish
War.
! The Second Division was commanded
by Brig Gen. John Gibbon, of the Reg
ular Army, who at the beginning of the
war was in command of that magniii-
cent organization. Battery b, 4th L. 5.
Art. He never lost his pride and inter
est in this battery, and when at Antie-
| tam he saw it cut down by a short
range fire from the enemy he could not
resist the impulse to spring from his
horse and take his position among the
gunners left standing to help work it.
| The First Brigade, a strong one of 10
regiments, had among these such splen-
did veterans as the 18th Me-, 18th, 18th
and goth Mass. 7th Mich, 42d, 59th
and SD n. Y. 1t was commanded by
/ Col II. Boyd Mckee. The Second Bri-
gade, commanded by Brig.-Gen. Joshua
T. owen, had five notable regiments in
| it. the 152d N. Y, 69th, list, I'D and
| 106th Pa. The Third Brigade had rs
| its commander the best soldier ihat Del
aware sent to the war, Col Thomas a.
Smyth. and was made up of regiments
whose flags told impressive stories Of
| Fredericksburg, Charlottesville and
Gettysburg. These were the 14th Conn.
1st Del, Nth Ind, 18th n. J., t0Sth y.
Y, 4th and Sth Ohio and 1th W. Va.
The Fourth Brigade, commanded by
Brig. Gen. Robert o. Tyler. was made
up of new troops, heavy artillery and
regiments of fresh and uEbruised in
fantry. Differed, however. by men who
had won their commissions by hard
| fighting in the older regiments.
The Third Division represented the
old Third Corps of Fredericksburg.
| Charlottesville and Gettysburg fame,
and was commanded by Maj Gen. Da-
vid 3. Birney, one of the famous Birney
family of Abolitionists and lighting
men, and who had manfully breasted
at Gettysburg Longstreets attempt to
crush our left flank. The First Bri-
gade, commanded by Col. Thomas W.
Egan, consisted of the Goth Ind, Sd Me,
10th, S6th and 124th n. y, s9th, 1Ioth
and 141st Pa. and the I'd u. :. Sharp
shooters. These regiments carried tags
| on which was inscribed a long list of
| battles. The Second Brigade was of
the same character, and was composed
| lOl tue ItH ana litH Ie., iSt NldsS- II.
| A, Sd and 5th Mich. 93d \. y, 5Tth,
SD and 105th Pa. The Third brigade
was commanded by the veteran Ger
Shom Mott, and included the ist Me.
| H. A, which was to loom into mourn
full prominence as the regiment which
| lost the greatest number OF killed of
any in the service; the 18th Mass, 5th.
| 9Th, eth, Sth and 11th \. J. and 115th
Pa. The Fourth Brigade, commanded
by Col. VIM. r. Brewster, was made
up of the 11th Mass, 10Th, list, 73d.
| 74th and 120th n. Y. and Sith PA. The
artillery of the corps, 13 batteries. was
massed in n brigade under the COM
mand of that accomplished artilleIist,
Col. John C. Tidball.
Dispositions for EatiIe.
! In his instructions Gen. Hancock had
| been cautioned that his left Hank was in
air, and would probably be attacked in
| the execution of one of Lees favOrite
| flank assaults. His right hani would
be taken care of by Gen. Wadsworth's s
Division and two of the Ninth Corps.
Gen. Getty's Division of the Sixth Corps
| remained under Hancock's s orders, with
its command passing - Zen. Wheaton
on account Of the severe wound which
| Getty had received. 1t was known tha [
| Longstreet had arrived near the field,
and was probably passing toward Han
cocks left. Barlow's Division was in
| trusted with the duty Cf meeting him
with all the artillery massed to cover
the road leading from the Catharpin to
the Brock roads. 1t was felt that Cen
Barlow's youth needed reinforcement
and so Gen. Gibbon was put IL COM
mand of the left of the corDs, consist
/ ing of Barlow's and Getty s Divisions
The right of the corps was commanded
by Gen. Birney, and on the stroke of 3
on that smiling May morning tie two
divisions were pushed thru the chapar-
raj, upon which the sun had nor yet
begun to CLINT, supported h. Carrorl's
and Owens Brigadas. Their lines were
formed across the Plank road and per-
pendicular to it. Simultaneously Gen
Wheaton led forward Gen. Getty's old
division. The enemy was found 10 he
as wideawale and alert rs their assail-
ants. In few minutes that tangled
| boskage was again quivaring 10 the
crash of incessant volieys of ,nusketry
and the deathly whistle of showers of
bullets tearing thru il.
The fighting was as clos, and deter
mined, the carnage as awful as il the
fiercest hours of the day before Moth
ing, however, could resist the mighty
rush of the Second Corps For an hou-
the opposing ranks poured death into
each others breasts in savage rivalry
| of which could stand killing the
longest. Ihen WllcOXS and Heth'S Di-
visions became absolutely shattered by
the terrific pounding, and broke for the
| rear in a confusion and disorder entire
ly strange to those well-disciplined,
hard-hshting organizations. Hancock s
men pursued with vigOr for a mile and
a half, and actually had reached to
within striking distance of the Confed-
crate headquarters, surrounded by its
hospitals and trains. Lees army was
in the gravest peril, but it was saved
by a halt being called by the Union
commanders, who felt that they were
getting so far in advance as to expose
| themselves to ruin from a flank attack.
Gen. Hancock in his report says that
ne halted the line in order to adjust its
formation before pushing on farther.
HAD ne known what no man could have
known at the time, he had complete
victory within his grasp. Hancock sent
| word to Gen. Gibbon as to his success.
and ordered him to move out his left
wing and push the enemy in his front
as FAR back as the right had, but for
some reason these orders were not car
r1ed out. The halt and the adjustment
or the lines, which occupied two hours.
| mad fateful consequences. Anderson's
DIVISION came up to the relief of Will
coX's and Heth's demoralized divisions.
these were reorganized, and Anderson
Threw his fresh troops in to strike Han
COCKS broken and scattered ranks. With
Anderson's Division came Fields and
kershaw's Divisions both organizations
having redoubtable histories. Ham
COCKS magnificent advance had storoed
at $50, the battle having lasted ex;,ctly
one hour and half, during which the
mortality on both sides had haan faor