The Washington times., 1913-09-12

DBRADY
l. IL IA J. lN1O j. sanan.~ Tn@ he
The Story of Lee and the

, to fire-but johnson was enough Of q
soldier to realize what that cheering,
| which was dra wing nearer, meant. The
assault he had anticipated was about
to be delivered. Where were those miss
ing cannon? He threw one glance back
into the salient: they had not come
1t was day and the enemy were at
hand. He would have given his life
for the guns. Well. he must do his
| best without them.
instantly orders and shouts rang
along the Confederate lines. The men,
\ sleeping on their arms, rose to their
| feet and made ready. For q moment
| they stared into the impenetrable fog.
| while the cheering came nearer and
rose higher. An instant later and the
gray cloud was tinged with blue, An
| instant later and dark masses of men
| shouldered their way through the mist,
buffeting 1t aside as the bows of q ship
| a wave. and fell like an avalanche on
the Confederate lines.
Fortune had favored them. They had
| reached SO near the lines before they
| were distinguished that, although the
breastworks blazed with sudden fire on
the instant and many fell, the momen-
| tum Of the solid mass of 10000 men
struck the lines as a great breaker
crashes upon a shore. The first ranks
of the assailants were beaten into a
human spray; men stumbled and fell
| in the abattis. only to be trampled into
human pulp by their oyercrowding COM
rades as the wave of inundation swelled
on. merciless. Irresistible, overwhelming
The human torrent crushed through the
|. abattis. surged over the breastworks,
and. bayonet in hand, fell upon John
sons men. The fight was close and
Confederates resisted desperately, but
no line Of 5000 that We're ever mustered
could contend with four times their
number in mass, especially when with
, out cannon. In short time those who
| were not killed or wounded were cap
tured; included in the latter category
| were johnson and another Steuart, the
two general officers. There had been
| no surprise, simply mighty, irresist-
ible smash through weak point bril-
long long lines of dead indicated the
vigor and persistence Of the defense.
i Their valor had been unavailing. how
| ever. for Hancock had at last broken
| the line,
Back of the second line of intrench-
ments that were being thrown across
! the base of the salient Lee had his
headquarters. The sound Of the battle
| in the early morning apprised him of
what was happening. There was not a
continuous roar of small arms punc-
tuated b. artillery. but one long, smash
ing volley, and then a strange sort of
silence. broken only by scattering shots,
by yells and cheers that came to him
family. He understood instantly. 1t
| could only mean that the Union troops
were over the line and using the bayo-
net. There was no time or room for
musket or gun fire. So swift and so
, suddenly had been the terrible onslaught
! In the fog that but two nf Johnson's
remaining guns had been able to fire
shot before they were all captured.
1t was evident to Lee that his line
was broken. Just where and in what
force the enemy were he could not vet
cecide. Some place on the salient Of
course. A staf officer from the front
~alloped up and confirmed the news.
In his excitement, with Dardonable ex-
aEgeration he declared that there must
be 1000 men already within the Confed-
crate lines and that they had complete
possession of the whole salient. Send
ir.g his staff officers I'm every direction
TO summon e-snforcements Lee gallop-
&c through numbers of flying stragglers
whom he ATTEMPTED in vain to rally, to-
been previously ordered to re-enforce
Ewelrs troops in the expectation Of
son:e catastrophe as this. ard Lee knew
tEat they were stationed near the base
OF the salient. Thev were the troops
uhich had been erecting the second line
OF defense. Followed by n single staff
officer-Grafton-Lee. on Traveller, his
famous gray horse. rode nj tearing
gallon for this splendid division.
And well he might ride fast and hard
for IL the Federal troops had succeeded
in seizing the salient. unless they could
be driven out Of II. Or confined to the
positions which they had now taken
Until the new line Of breastworks at the
rear Of the salient had been so far COM
rleted that II could be held the army
of northern Virginia was irratrievablv
ruined. II Grant could maintain his ad-
vantage and pour in mis- troops through
bot h.r fttr ntnev 30 he
as the case might be. they could take
tie Confederate lines IN reverse and no
troops on earth could resist them. The
army CT northern Virginia. the Confed-
Indeed 1t might be too late 10 save the
army even by such prodIgids OF valor
as he might expect from the men he
had SO often led to victory.
The cheers of the Federal troops grew
louder as Lee raced toward the inclos-
ure of the salient. They were evident
ly approaching the second position.
The situation was even more disastrous
than II had seemed at first. Far to the
right and left Of him the roar of guns
by assault and cannonade to prevent
the detachment of troops from those
wings to reinforce the broken Confed
crate center. II Grant could hold the
Confederate troops on the right and
left In their places in their intrendh-
ments. his great preponderance of force
would enable him to overwhelm the re-
serves that Lee was hastening to the
danger point, the disaster would be con-
verted into rout, and then God save
the Confederacy. for nothing could
avail!
The situation was patent even to the
private soldiers in the army much
more to the officers. Rhodes and Ram
seur of Early's corps. to the right Of
the salient. had already gotten their
troops In line when a staff officer gal
loped up with Lees commands. Best
IF them all. Gordon. a young man who
had entered the war as the captain
an infantry company and now COM
manded division. and who went out |
at Appomattox in the front of the last |