Spottsylvania.
The cavalry struck the rebel column, and skirmished until the advance
troops (5th corps) arrived, and took their place.
It was with difficulty that our division was brought into line, owing
to the shattered condition of our ranks, caused by the double-quick,
but a critical moment had arrived, and with a cheer the men dashed
forward, re-taking the ground lost by Robinson's division. But in the
charge, as usual, we advanced too far, and were in danger of being
flanked, so we were ordered back to our line, where we lay on our arms
till six o'clock.
The whole army had now arrived, and the order war given to advance.
The enemy yielded, and the first line of entrenchments was carried,
and they fell back to a strongly fortified position, from which they
could not be driven. Soon after our brigade made a dash upon the enemy
in our front, (unauthorized, it is said,) but there being no
co-operation by other troops, we skerried back again, Col. Talley
commanding the brigade, and several hundred men having been taken
prisoners.
At 8 a. m. on the 9th, we moved to the right-centre of the line, and
were ordered to throw up Rifle-pits, which Pensyl, in the emphatic
language he generally used, said, were "d--d beautiful works for
somebody-else to fight behind." George uttered truthful words, if they
were a little profane, for, while we built many defensive works of
various kinds, I do not remember that we ever actually fought in such
works.
Skirmishing, with an occasional undecisive struggle for the mastery,
now continued for several days, during which we were called upon to
charge on certain works in our front, but owing to the fact that every
man understood that the charge was ordered as a mere feint to cover
some other movement, it was not pressed.
On the 18th, we swung round to the left, and were sent forward on the
skirmish line. Just in our front, possibly fifty yards off, the rebel
skirmishers occupied an excellent line of rifle-pits, while we had no
cover except that afforded by nature. An order was given to advance
the line, which order was intended for other points on the line and
not for us it seems, when John W. Shipley in the attempt to obey
orders, was struck by a rebel ball, and was instantly killed. We had
the satisfaction of knowing a moment later, that the same rebel was
killed by Shipley's especial friend Geo. W. Pensyl. We burried
Shipley near where he fell.