Soon General Lee rode up, and by his orders, General Mahone, with Weisiger’s and Wright’s brigades, came up and charged with a yell upon the Federals who had for the first time reached the breast-works. There was a fierce hand-to-hand fight, but the Federals were quickly forced back.
All honor is due to the few men who had so bravely held the breach until help came.
Just at this time a white flag was seen to float above the side of the Crater, which told that some were alive down there and ready to give up.
In this strange fight Grant lost about four thousand men and Lee about four hundred.
The pluck and skill of Lee and a few men had foiled a well-laid plan and showed what these brave heroes could do after years of toil and battle.
Lee now thought that if he would again send troops to threaten Washington, he might cause Grant to move some of his large army there, and thus give him (Lee) a chance to hurl back the hosts of Grant from Richmond. So he sent General Early down the Valley into Maryland with only ten thousand men.
They went as fast as they could, and on July 9th met, at Monocacy Bridge, General Lew Wallace with seven thousand men. Having whipped him and taken from him two thousand men, Early marched on to Washington.
On the 10th, his troops marched thirty miles, and on the 11th were in front of Washington. But his force was too small and too much worn out to try to attack the city. He coolly camped in front of it all day, and at night after a fight with some Federal troops sent to catch him, went back into Virginia.
This raid of Early’s did not move Grant. He left Mr. Lincoln to take care of Washington and kept the most of his men massed in front of Lee’s lines.
It was about this time that the Federal General Sheridan passed up the Valley and burned two thousand barns filled with wheat and hay, and seventy mills filled with flour. He also drove off and killed four thousand head of stock. The boast was that “if a crow wants to fly down the Valley he must carry his food along.”