The days were oppressively hot, as the men in blue tramped through the
forest aisles of the vast Virginia jungle--a maze of trees, underbrush
and dense foliage. A pall of ominous silence hung over this labyrinth of
desolation, broken only by the chirp of bluebird or the distant call of
the yellowhammer.
Not waiting for the arrival of Longstreet on his forced march from
Gordonsville, Lee suddenly threw the half of his army on Grant's
advancing men with savage energy. Their march was halted and through
every hour of the day and far into the night the fierce conflict raged.
As darkness fell the Confederates had pushed the blue lines back,
captured four guns and a number of prisoners.
But Longstreet had not come and Lee's army of barely forty thousand men
were in a dangerous position before Grant's legions.
Both Generals renewed the fight at daylight. The Federals attacked Lee's
entire line with terrific force. Just as the Confederate right wing was
being crushed and rolled back in disorder, Longstreet reached the field
and threw his men into the breach. Lee himself rode to the front to lead
the charge and reestablish his yielding lines.
From a thousand throats rose the cry:
"Lee to the rear!"
"Go back, General Lee!"
"This is no place for you!"
"We'll settle this!"
The men refused to move until their Commander had withdrawn.
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