22 Southern Historical Society Papers.
from us over the top of the hill on our left, but while making my arrange- ments to do this, / observed that my two regiments engaged were being driven back out of the woods by the terrible fire of the Rebels.
I then saw the brave Colonels, Cantwell and Zeigler, struggling to rally their broken regiments in the rear of the forest, out of which they had been driven, and sent two of my aides to assist them and assure them of imme- diate support. They soon rallied their -men, and charged again and again up to the railroad, but were driven back each time with great loss. I then sent the Second Virginia to their support, directing it to approach the rail- road at a point on the left of my other regiments where the woods ended, but they were met by such a destructive fire from a large Rebel force that they were soon thrown into confusion, and fell back in disorder. The enemy now came on in overwhelming numbers. General Carl Schurz had been obliged to retire with his two brigades an hour before, and then the whole Rebel force was turned against my brigade, and my brave lads were dashed back before the storm of bullets like chaff before the tempest. 1
And so on. General Gordon, in a note* to his account of this part of the battle, says: " Thus far in the battle the feats of valor on the Federal side we have given from official reports." "It is re- markable," he adds, " that the most patient research among Con- federate reports reveals no account of any heavy or prolonged strug- gle up to this time with either General Schurz or Milroy. Indeed, the Confederates claim to have resisted the efforts of these Federal officers with but a small part of their force."
General Thomas, who was on our right, advanced it seems to our support I suppose when Colonel Edwards with the Thirteenth and Colonel Marshall with the Rifles moved out but he disposes of the part his brigade took in it in a few lines. He says : f
"General Gregg's brigade meeting the enemy there (near the railroad), this brigade advanced to his right, the regiments being thrown in succes- sively until all became engaged. The enemy were in strong position on the railroad. We at once advanced and drove them from it."
Thus, as I understand, General Thomas disposes of the rest of Milroy's brigade and of Schenck's division of Sigel's corps. At any rate, he is the only other officer on our side who found anything worthy to note of the performances at this time, so elaborately re- ported by Milroy.
General Branch, you recollect, was in our rear in support of our brigade, and when he saw our brigade engaged, he, too, sent in three
- The Army of Virginia, page 258.
f Reports Army Northern Virginia, volume II, page 257 ; Rebellion Records, volume XII, part 2, page 702.
