On the following day tents were pitched, and the men remained idle in camp, the air thick with rumors, until the morning of the 28th, when the brigade marched to the "Gurley House," half a mile from "Yellow Tavern," "in such a manner that the enemy would notice the movement," to quote from the order received from regimental head-quarters.
The 29th was passed in feverish uncertainty, a move being expected at any moment. Staff officers and orderlies were riding to and fro, and cavalry in force moved toward the left; but the regiment did not leave its position. At night the excitement was heightened by the reading of a despatch from General Grant, announcing that the railroad between Petersburg and Richmond had been taken by General Ord, and that General Birney had defeated the enemy north of the James.
The morning of September 30th dawned upon a day of perfect autumnal beauty; but the balmy air, fragrant with the scent of the pines, the clear sunlight, and cloudless sky left little impress of their loveliness upon the minds of men who, after the broken slumbers of the night, were early astir preparing for battle.
The expected advance began about nine o'clock, the troops passing over the works of the Fifth Corps on the extreme left, and into the debatable land beyond. The column consisted of Ayer's and Griffin's divisions of the Fifth Corps, followed by Potter's and Willcox's divisions of the Ninth Corps. We followed the road through woods for about a mile, when a small country meeting-house, known as Poplar Spring Church, was reached. There our brigade line of battle formed at right angles to the road. Meanwhile the advance of the Fifth Corps had developed near the Peebles house, an outlying fortification of the enemy, consisting of a redoubt and flanking rifle-pits, upon which an assault was made, about ten o'clock, by Griffin's division, and easily carried, with trifling loss. The enemy, not having sufficient strength to resist after the loss of his entrenchments, promptly retreated to his main line, leaving about fifty prisoners and a piece of artillery in our hands.
The divisions of the Ninth Corps were now ordered to the front, and immediately advanced, passing the troops of the Fifth Corps, who were quietly resting with stacked arms near the captured redoubt.
The regiment moved forward in brigade line of battle in excellent form, and a rapid advance on the enemy's main line was anticipated; but, soon after passing the Peebles house, a halt was ordered, and the movement came to a complete stand-still.
For three or four hours this fatal and inexplicable delay continued, although it was evident that the advantage of a surprise was thus being thrown away, as the enemy must necessarily have been warned of our presence by the men who had withdrawn from the redoubt. At last, about the middle of the afternoon, the impatient and well-nigh disgusted soldiers were again ordered forward.
Our regiment moved by the flank toward the Boisseau house,—an abandoned dwelling that became prominent during the operations of the ensuing days,—gathering, in wayside gossip with adventurous sharp-shooters who had been looking after an opportunity for fancy shooting at the front, the cheering news that the rebel works, toward which we were advancing, had been strongly reinforced during our long halt. About five o'clock the Second Brigade, General Griffin, which was pushing forward on our right, slightly in advance, became engaged with the enemy's skirmish line, and General Curtin was ordered to make connection with that command. This was immediately done, our brigade forming in two lines of battle, as follows: Thirty-fifth Massachusetts, Forty-fifth Pennsylvania, Fifty-eighth Massachusetts, and Fifty-first New York, in the first line; Forty-eighth Pennsylvania, Twenty-first Massachusetts, and Thirty-sixth Massachusetts, in the second, though extending further to the left than the first line. The Seventh Rhode Island were in the rear with entrenching tools, and the Fourth Rhode Island acted as provost guard, their term of service having nearly expired.
By this formation the Thirty-sixth came into position on the extreme left of the brigade, and halted for a few moments near the Boisseau house, at a fence running along a sorghum field. Captain Burrage, with the skirmishers of the regiment, covered the front and left of the regiment, the line extending from the woods to the Boisseau house. The firing on our right now increased as the Second Brigade became hotly engaged, and our line was ordered over the fence, which was hastily crossed, and an advance of a few yards made into an open field, which extended a long distance to the right, exposing to view a large part of the brigade line of battle, while the enemy was concealed in the woods beyond. Here the regiment first met the whizzing rebel bullets, which became so troublesome as to cause the men to lie down; and, although the prostrate attitude was eminently adapted to the situation, the recumbent warriors may have been shamed, and were certainly encouraged, by the example of General Curtin, who at this juncture reached the front, and, followed by a single orderly, rode along the line of his brigade, as coolly as if on review. His horse was soon after shot under him, and a valuable saddle, sent as a present from his friends in Pennsylvania, fell into the hands of the enemy.
We momentarily expected an order to charge, but found that the situation was changing on the right, to which attention was drawn from the fact that at that point the line seemed to be falling back, which soon proved to be the case. Our regimental line stood inactive, no special pressure being brought to bear by the enemy in our front, until the retrograde movement became communicated to the regiment on our right, when we realized that the rebels, tired perhaps of waiting for our assault, had boldly sallied from their works and, sheltered by the surrounding wood, had successfully flanked our line.