. The twentieth regiment of Massachusetts volunteer infantry, 1861-1865 . wimmers wentnearly double that distance. The point of landingwas a bluff, fully one hundred feet high and too steepto climb up straight, covered with trees, rocks, andbushes. A narrow sheep-path wound around to thetop. Up this little path all of the men had to go insingle file, and the rifled gun when brought over laterhad to be dismounted and dragged up by hand. After reaching the top of the bluff between 4 and5 A. M. the troops waited till dawn. Company I wasformed on the right and Company D on the left ofthe little pa
. The twentieth regiment of Massachusetts volunteer infantry, 1861-1865 . wimmers wentnearly double that distance. The point of landingwas a bluff, fully one hundred feet high and too steepto climb up straight, covered with trees, rocks, andbushes. A narrow sheep-path wound around to thetop. Up this little path all of the men had to go insingle file, and the rifled gun when brought over laterhad to be dismounted and dragged up by hand. After reaching the top of the bluff between 4 and5 A. M. the troops waited till dawn. Company I wasformed on the right and Company D on the left ofthe little path that there led off into the woods, whileLieutenant Macy with twenty-five men was postedin rear to guard the road from the bluff. Instructionsfrom Colonel Lee were that the companies of theTwentieth were a reserve to the Fifteenth, and if thelatter were driven back, must open for it to escapeand then stand firm. The Twentieth occupied thisposition until nine oclock. At daybreak Colonel Devens and his five companiesstarted up the little road which ran through the open. UPPER POTOMAC AND BALLS BLUFF 31 field in front and curved to the left towards Lees-burg. They followed this road nearly half a milethrough the woods until they reached a pair of bars(B) in a heavy rail fence on the further edge of thewoods. Beyond this was a field, about the same sizeas that on the bluff, with some trees in it, extendingon the right to the Conrads Ferry Road. On the op-posite side of this field was a slight ridge on whichwas a single row of trees (A), and beyond this wasopen country, broken only by stacks of corn. Herethe mistake of the reconnoitring party, which hadbelieved in the moonlight that the openings betweenthe trees were tents, in row, was first discovered. Colonel Devens, Captain Philbrick, and two orthree men, leaving the detachment at the bars, wentto the other side of the ridge where they had a goodview of Leesburg, but could see only four tents. Theythen returned, and at a.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidtwentiethreg, bookyear1906
