. Abraham Lincoln and the battles of the Civil War . ed along the line, Isent Colonel E. P. Alexander (who was com-manding a battalion of artillery and who hadbeen an engineer officer) to select carefully apoint from which he could observe the effectof our batteries. When he could discover theenemys batteries silenced or crippled, heshould give notice to General Pickett, whowas ordered, upon receipt of that notice, tomove forward to the attack. When I tookPickett to the crest of Seminary Ridge and ex-plained where his troops should be sheltered,and pointed out the direction General Leewished h
. Abraham Lincoln and the battles of the Civil War . ed along the line, Isent Colonel E. P. Alexander (who was com-manding a battalion of artillery and who hadbeen an engineer officer) to select carefully apoint from which he could observe the effectof our batteries. When he could discover theenemys batteries silenced or crippled, heshould give notice to General Pickett, whowas ordered, upon receipt of that notice, tomove forward to the attack. When I tookPickett to the crest of Seminary Ridge and ex-plained where his troops should be sheltered,and pointed out the direction General Leewished him to take and the point of the Fed-eral line where the assault was to be made,he seemed to appreciate the severe battle hewas to encounter, but was quite hopeful ofsuccess. Upon receipt of notice, he was tomarch over the crest of the hill down thegentle slope and up the rise opposite theFederal stronghold. The distance was aboutfourteen hundred yards, and for most of theway the Federal batteries would have a rak- LEES INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 629. A DISPATCH BEAREK. ing fire from Round Top, while the sharp-shooters, artillery, and infantry would subjectthe assaulting column to a terrible and de-structive fire. With my knowledge of thesituation, I could see the desperate and hope- less nature of the charge and the cruel slaugh-ter it would cause. My heart was heavywhen I left Pickett. I rode once or twicealong the ground between Pickett and theFederals, examining the positions and study- 630 LEES INVASION OE PENNSYLVANIA. ing the matter over in all its phases so far aswe could anticipate. About one oclock everything was in readi-ness. The signal guns broke the prevailingstillness, and immediately a hundred andfifty Confederate cannon burst into a deaf-ening roar, which was answered by a thunderalmost as great from the Federal side. Fromboth sides the shells were hurled and burst as
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade188, booksubjectgenerals, bookyear1887
