The Washington herald., 1914-06-22
an important highway

running southwark out Of the city.
| On the morning Of June . Gen. David
B. Btrney, commanding the Second Corps
In the absence Of Gen. Hancock, who was
disabled by the opening OF an old wound
was ordered by Ger. George @. Meade.
commanding the Army Of the Potomac,
] to swing forward the left Of his COM
mand, making his movements conform to
| those Of the Sixth Corps. which was TO
advance toward the railroad.
The country through which the troops
! moved was wooded with dense thickets
and the ground much broken. Progress
Of the troops was so slow that Gen.
Meade, with whom patience was not 4
prominent trait, issued q second order
about 10 q. m, requiring the two corps
to advance without regard to one an
other
Gen. Birney was to swing his two left
divisions forward Out not his right, and
intrench his new position.
As the two corps advanced they took
different directions, the Sixth facing
about west the Second more to the north.
and wide gap developed between them.
Men Throw Down Arms.
The confederates had no thought of
giving up the line of the Weldon Rail-
road without a night, and Gen. Lee had
sent Gen. A. P. Hill to protect It. Not
Ing the movements OF the Second and
Sixth Corps. Gen. Hill had moved out to
engage them.
Alert and operating in a country he
knew well. Gen. Hill seized the oppor-
tunity presented 10 him and thrust a
force. consisting OF the brigades of Gen.
William Malone and Gen. Bushrod r.
johnson between the two corps. Gen.
Malone knew every yard Of the ground,
for as an engineer he had surveyed IL
He was enabled TO form his troops for
Federals suspecting his proximity to their
flank.
Almost before they were aware that
they were attacked. the troops OF the
left division OF the Second Corps, Gen.
F. {. Barlow'B, were struck in flank and
rear while in motion, and the whole divi-
sion broke and ran for the temporary
works that in their rear they had re-
Gently left.
The attack passed on to the next divi-
sion, Gen. Birney's. temporarily under
Gen. Gershom Mott. and that also was
broken and fell back The next division.
under Gen. John GIbbon. had not moved
Its left was crumpled up like the others,
but q stand made by one regiment en-
abled the division to fall back without
heavy loss.
A panic reigned while the attack pro-
gressed. Men threw down their arms on |
all sides, and several regiments became |
prisoners, almost intact
Gen. Birney in his official report had |
this to say OF the situation in Barlow |
and Motifs divisions:
The unexpectedness Of the FIRE and |
the trying character Of the country !
might have excused a momentary con-
fusion but the troops on this part Of the
line seemed to have been seized with /
panic. and to have only attempted to re-
gain the breastworks, in which they
rallied readily enough. There was
no proper effort made by the immediate
to effect a change OF front
and meet the fire of the enemy. The
impulse seems TO have been. both with
officers and men, to regain their rife
pits"
OF the Second Division CGIbbon'S Gen.
Birney reported:
The panic along the line had become
such that three or four small regiments
hardly averaging 100 musketsD surren-
iered in body when summoned to do
70. The next regiment in line was the
twentieth Massachusetts, Volunteers,
whose commander, Capt H. l. Patten.
aking advantage Of a slight turn in the
'reastworks, and making partial
'hange Of front. checked the enemy's
Idvance and stopped all further loss"
Causes of Reverse.
Gen. Birney attributed the reverse to
the extraordinary losses among the
commanding, stan and other officers Of
his command (the Second Corps). to the
arge proportion Of new troops assigned
his corps to replace veterans. to the
act that the Sixth Corps did not advance
and that in consequence :
ny line was taken In flank"
The soldiers of the commad in their ,
efense declared that the blame for the /,
everse lay with the general who ex-
osed them to a flank attack. Doubt
ess there was merit in both points Of !
lew; yet Gen. Meade had warned BIrney ,
look wei to his left flank, and Birney =
ad tried to do So :
The whole AFFAIR was over in a very !
hort time" writes Gen. Francis Walker, ]
istortan Of the corps. Nothing but
he extraordinary ferceness and preci- G
on OF the Confederate movements on :
ais occasion could have made such a 8
esult possible. The Second Corps had l.
cen defeated almost without being en- a
aged. There had been very little Tight n
ls' and comparatively small loss EXCEPT O
prisoners The whole operation IO
ad been like that Of an expert mechan- A
ian. who touches some critical point I
ith fine instrument, In exactly the n
sht way. producing an effort seemingly s.
together out Of proportion to the force a
certed. The enemy's success was, OF "
'urse. facilitated. IL not, indeed, alone
ade possible by the thickets through 4,