most terrific fire of shell and grape, to which we could give no response. Having succeeded, however, in drawing the fire from the storming party, we laid down quietly and watched our comrades on the left. Generals Seymour and Jackson, at the head of their brigades, most gallantly led them to the charge, but notwithstanding the steadiness and courage shown by the men, they were compelled to fall back before the heavy artillery and musketry fire which met them both on the front and left flank.

The fire for a time was drawn from us, but soon again it returned, the iron hail whistling and bursting over our heads through the woods, tearing the branches from the trees and scattering the bark in every direction. It was here that young Poulson of Company K was killed. As the storming party had been driven back and as there was no further use of our maintaining the position, Colonel McCandless withdrew the regiment in good order from the woods, and we fell back over the fields with the round shot and shell plowing up the ground and bursting over us. If we had had a battery of rifled guns, the result would probably have been different, but Ramson's being smooth-bored, their range was too short. We withdrew to the position we moved from in the morning, the enemy occasionally sending round shot at long range among us.

Whilst this attack was going on, the forces under Heintzelman and Reno continued to push the left of the enemy in the direction of the Warrenton turnpike, so that about eight o'clock in the evening, the greater portion of the field of battle was in our possession. Bayard's cavalry also made an attack on the extreme left, which ended the fighting for the day, which we could safely now claim as ours.

In regard to the conduct of General Fitz John Porter, the following is extracted from the official report of General Pope:

"Nothing was heard of General Porter up to that time, (eight, P. M.,) and his force took no part whatever in the action, but were suffered by him to lie idle on their arms within sight and sound of the battle during the whole day. So far as I know, he made no effort whatever to comply with my orders nor to take any part in the action. I do not hesitate to say, that if he had discharged his duty, as became a soldier under the circumstances, and had made a vigorous attack on the enemy, as he was expected and directed to do, at any time up to eight o'clock that night, we should have utterly crushed or captured the larger portion of Jackson's force before he could have been by any possibility sufficiently reinforced to have made any effective resistance. I did not myself feel for a moment that it was necessary for me, having given General Porter an order to march towards the enemy in a particular direction, to send him in addition specific orders to attack, it being his clear duty, and in accordance with every military precept, to have brought his forces into action wherever he encountered the enemy, when a furious battle with that enemy was raging during the whole day in his immediate presence. I believe in fact, I am positive-that at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 29th, General Porter had in his front no considerable body of the enemy. I believed then, as I am very sure now, that it was easily practicable for him to have turned the right flank of Jackson, and to have fallen upon his rear; that if he had done so, we should have gained a decisive victory over the army under Jackson, before he could have been joined by any of the forces of Longstreet; and that the army of General Lee would have been so crippled and checked by the destruction of this large force as to have been no longer in condition to prosecute further operations of an aggressive character. I speak thus freely of the strange failure of General Porter, not because I am more convinced of its unfortunate results now than I was at that time, but because a full investigation of the whole subject, made by a court-martial has fully justified and confirmed that opinion."

Our loss during the day was estimated by General Pope at from six to eight thousand killed and wounded, and Generals Hooker and Kearney, who had been over the whole field, separately estimated the loss of the enemy at from two to one, and from three to one of our own.

The weary and hungry boys had just thrown themselves upon the ground to sleep, when orders came for our brigade to go on picket. Picket on the battle-field means to be in line of battle within a short distance of the enemy, and to be prepared at any moment for an attack in force. We silently moved off to a woods on the edge of which we were concealed, with pickets about twenty yards in advance of us. In our front, and within hearing of their voices, were the foe reposing on their arms. A sleepless night was passed, but at last dawn came, and we were relieved and marched back to the division.

The men of our regiment were now absolutely suffering for food, and were worn down by constant marching, fighting and loss of sleep, and unfit for the battle-field, until they had rest and rations. Many of them were so utterly exhausted that it was necessary to send them to the rear, as they could not continue with us. The brave boys who had been without food for two days, and had hardly murmured before, now commenced complaining, and four of them came to appeal to the Colonel. McCandless heard their story, which he knew was too true, and turning to his saddle-bags, drew forth two buns which he had just received from an aid, and breaking them in half, distributed them, remarking, "Now, I have fed the regiment." The men seeing this, complained no

more.

Soon after we marched to the right of the Warrenton pike, and a few boxes of crackers were distributed among us, giving to each man about five. We then hurried into line and moved forward, crossing Young's creek, where we found a number of wounded men who were collected and sent to the rear. Moving forward, we were deployed as skirmishers to the left of the "Bucktails," over a rising piece of ground flanked on either side by heavy woods. As we advanced a pretty but sad sight presented itself. It was the dead of the preceding day, most of whom at this point were the Fourteenth Brooklyn, dressed in their large flowing red trousers and blue jackets. Through the gray of the morning they resembled Zouaves sleeping peacefully upon the ground, and interspersed with them as we approached nearer, we could see the blue coats and gray jackets taking their last sleep also. This was the pretty sight, but when we crept up stealthily among them on our bellies watching for the foe, it was sad to gaze upon their cold pale faces, and think of the happy ones at home that would soon be steeped in anguish for the loss of the brave but still hearts that laid around us.

After feeling for the enemy for some time they were found occupying a store and some out-buildings about three hundred yards in advance of us, from which they kept up a brisk fire. Leaving a portion of the skirmishers to occupy their attention, McCandless moved with the balance to the left, and under cover of the woods crept up upon them, but the scamps were too wideawake to be caught, they skedaddling before we could flank them. Taking up a position in the buildings and the extreme edge of the woods, a sharp fire was opened by both sides across a broad field, beyond which the enemy were posted in a woods, with their sharp-shooters in the trees, from which they were dropped in a lively manner by volleys from squads of our men who marked every tree from which smoke issued. While at this work Captain Connors received a severe wound from a rifleball passing through his right breast. At the same time a brave little "Bucktail," who was going "to try my luck," got knocked over.

As it was desirable to ascertain more fully the strength of the enemy in our front, we were ordered to advance, and with loud cheers we crossed the field that intervened between us and the foe, driving them before us, and pressing on about four hundred yards when we halted. In the meantime a masked battery was discovered to our right and front about three hundred yards, and a large force of infantry and artillery on our left and rear about twelve hundred yards distant. By this time the Third Reserve, Colonel Sickel, come to our support, but McCandless seeing the critical position we were in, ordered us to retire, which we did with the utmost deliberation and order, some of the men stopping to destroy muskets left upon the field by the enemy. A fine brass howitzer was also found in the road, which would have been brought off had not the spokes of its wheels been cut. Taking up our former position we laid down and were quiet for about an hour without the enemy molesting us in the least.

It was now near two o'clock and the day thus far had been remarkably quiet, nothing but a little skirmishing going on. Up to ten o'clock in the morning every indication pointed to the retreat of the enemy from our front along the Warrenton pike in the direction of Gainesville. Our line was formed with Heintzelman's Corps on the right, Reno's next, Sigel's next, and Porter's on the left and the Warrenton pike, and the Reserves on the extreme left, south of the turnpike, they being the pivot in the attack which Porter's Corps was to make on the enemy's right wing, then supposed to be on the pike and in retreat. About this time, two o'clock, Porter's Corps supported by King's division of McDowell's Corps, attacked the enemy along the pike, and at the same time, Heintzelman and Reno on the right were ordered to push forward to the left and front towards the pike, and attack the enemy's flank.

It was soon after this attack, that our line of skirmishers fell back over the field, and when General Reynolds saw it he inquired of Colonel McCandless why he

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