But no time was allowed us to mourn over our fallen comrades; the wounded were sent to the rear while preparations were made for an advance. We pressed forward until the enemy was found to be in a new position. The division also formed a new line, in advance of the position we had carried, the left resting on a redoubt in that line. The enemy advanced a battery down the plank road and opened a severe fire. Soon after, the front regiments of our brigade were relieved in the advanced line, and found shelter from the artillery fire in the ditch of the redoubt on the left, where we were exposed to a severe shelling. Here we remained until half-past nine, when the regiments which had formed the front line in the assault were withdrawn to the woods half a mile in the rear for rest, after receiving warm words of praise from General Potter and Colonel Curtin.
The battle raged almost without intermission during the day. Charges were made by the First and Third Divisions of our corps, and the tide of battle surged along the entire front. About eight o'clock in the evening the regiment was sent for, and moved across the plain to the front line. The evening was very clear, the moon shone brightly, and as we neared the works we attracted the attention of the enemy, who opened upon us with artillery; but our batteries replied and soon silenced the enemy's guns. We were put in position in a line of works captured by the First Division, and were engaged nearly all night in facing them about. The enemy attempted to interrupt the work, without success. A strong line of skirmishers was deployed, and the digging was continued under an annoying fire of musketry.
On the morning of the 18th, at nine o'clock, we moved out by the right flank to support an assault about to be made by the Third Division. The attack was to have been general along the entire line; but the enemy had fallen back to a new line, and the assault was delayed until new dispositions of the troops could be made. The line advanced toward noon, through a belt of pine woods, into a clearing. A portion of our brigade was in the front line. The Forty-eighth Pennsylvania and our own regiment supported. After leaving the woods the line advanced through a field of grain toward the Taylor house, the rebel skirmish line falling back to a cut of the Norfolk Railroad which afforded a deep cover. The enemy was found to be strongly intrenched beyond the railroad, with a winding ravine in front, through which flowed a small creek, the banks of which immediately in our front were covered with a dense thicket. Artillery was ordered forward to cover the attack of the infantry, and our regiment supported the gallant advance of Captain Roemer's battery. The fire of the enemy was so close and hot that he was obliged to leave his horses in the edge of the wood. He then put his guns in position in the open field, run two guns by hand to a dilapidated building on our right, and, although he lost several men, soon secured some protection, got good range, and opened a rapid and effective fire on the enemy.
Jones' Eleventh Massachusetts battery was soon after put in position in rear of our left, and fired at such short range that for a time we were obliged to "hug the ground," being exposed to two fires,—from front and rear. His shells inflicted great damage on the enemy, although they passed uncomfortably near our own heads.
It being of the utmost importance to secure the railroad-cut, the batteries opened a furious fire, under cover of which the brigades in the front line, led by Generals Hartranft and Griffin and Colonel Curtin, made a splendid charge, and succeeded in driving the enemy out of the railroad-cut into their works beyond.
The portion of our brigade was between Griffin and Hartranft. The line of the railroad crossed our front diagonally, and on our right, at the point where the enemy's main line crossed the railroad, a small redoubt had been erected, in which was placed a single piece of artillery. This gun had perfect range of the railroad-cut, and completely enfiladed our line with a severe fire of grape and canister. While our line in this position was well protected from the fire in front, it was exposed to this hot fire from the right flank. The attention of our batteries was soon bestowed upon this gun in the redoubt; and the men tore up the railroad-ties, and erected a barricade which afforded them ample protection from the fire.
It was now comparatively easy to hold the railroad-cut, but to advance was quite another matter. The railroad-bank was high, and so steep that the men had to dig holes in the side of it to place their feet, and as soon as a man showed his head above the bank he was a target for the rebel sharp-shooters. On the left the troops moved forward as far as the ravine. At three o'clock a general attack was ordered, but the difficulties to be overcome were so great that a long delay ensued in preparing the line for advance. At half-past five the whole Third Division, and Second Brigade, and four regiments of our brigade, made a determined attack on the works, then defended by Kershaw's division of Longstreet's veteran corps. Nothing could exceed the heroic daring of the advance, under the fearful fire of the enemy at point-blank range, covering every inch of the ground from the railroad-cut to their earthworks. The line was strong and well defended, yet, notwithstanding, all the ground from the railroad to the ravine was carried; the ravine was crossed and the crest beyond secured, and the ground held up to within a little more than a hundred yards of the enemy's works.
During this gallant attack Colonel Curtin, our brigade commander, was severely wounded in the shoulder, and the command devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants of the Forty-eighth. At half-past five the regiment, being in support of the batteries, was ordered to throw up a line of intrenchments for protection from the sharp-shooters, who were picking off the gunners. The loss during the afternoon had been severe, considering the numbers of the regiment and its position in the battle,—two men killed and seven wounded.
After the last attack the firing slackened somewhat, and was confined to the front line of battle, and it was fondly hoped that the record of sacrifice and bloodshed for that day was fully made up. The company cooks brought up the coffee,—the only refreshment the regiment had received since daylight. The men were huddled behind the low breastwork eating supper, when the attention of Captain Buffum was attracted by some movement in front, and he rose to ascertain the cause. He had just remarked that he was the only member of the large mess that crossed the Rapidan who had escaped death or wounds, and laughingly said, "It is the rule for all to be struck; but every rule has an exception." He had scarcely risen to his feet when the fatal bullet, directed by the unerring aim of the watchful rebel sharp-shooter, struck him. He uttered a piercing cry, sprang into the air, fell back, and in a few moments passed beyond the reach of pain. The scene was witnessed by nearly all the regiment, and sent a thrill of horror to every heart.
At any time his death would have been a severe loss; at such a moment it came with almost crushing weight, and seemed irreparable. He was the senior officer in years, and then the second in rank of a fast-dwindling band. He was beloved and respected by all, and his death cast deep gloom over the entire regiment. We recalled his patience and bravery during the entire campaign, the sorrow which seemed to pierce his heart as he referred to the great losses of his company, and especially the wonderful coolness he displayed at Spottsylvania, when, in advance of the line, he received the rebel fire, and returned to draw back the left wing and save the regiment, if not the entire division, from capture or death.