Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac [electronic resource]: a critical history of operations in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, from the commencement to the close of the war 1861-5 . g all the commanding ground beforethe heavy Confederate re-enforcements should arrive. Gen-eral Hancock, to whom, in the absence of Generals Grant orMeade, the command of the field fell, was fully alive to theimportance of so doing, and he had the night before instructedhis division officers, Generals Birney and Gibbon, that allsuch ground between their positions and the Appomattoxshould be attacked and taken
Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac [electronic resource]: a critical history of operations in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, from the commencement to the close of the war 1861-5 . g all the commanding ground beforethe heavy Confederate re-enforcements should arrive. Gen-eral Hancock, to whom, in the absence of Generals Grant orMeade, the command of the field fell, was fully alive to theimportance of so doing, and he had the night before instructedhis division officers, Generals Birney and Gibbon, that allsuch ground between their positions and the Appomattoxshould be attacked and taken at or before daylight.* Theseinstructions were not promptly complied with, nor indeed didthe efforts of these officers possess any serious forfeited the one opportunity that remained ; and when,later in the morning, reconnoissances were pushed forward, itwas found the enemy had secured the commanding positionsand greatly strengthened his line at all important * Hanrock : Report of the Fifth Epoch of the Campaign of 1864.\ Among these dominating points was the high ground at the positionwhich will be found marked on the accompanying map as the Avtiy Paine JJ/u/tstes/- \ A///// Grant and His (anipa it/1as. THE SIEGE OF PETERSBURG. 509 Meantime, Hancock was admonished by General Meade torefrain from attack until the remaining corps of the Army ofthe Potomac should have arrived. Of these, the Ninthreached the front at noon, and the Fifth at dusk. An assaultwas ordered to be made about four P. M. by Hancock andBurnside—Smith on the right to demonstrate merely. At theappointed time the assault was made by Hancock, supportedby two brigades of the Ninth on his left. The advancewas spirited and forcible, and resulted, after a close strug-gle in which the troops suffered heavily, in driving the en-emy back some distance along the whole line.* The severefighting ceased at dark, though during the night the Confed-erates made several
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