Arriving here, we were quickly joined by the 8th and 27th Michigan, 38th Wisconsin, and 109th New York, the 51st Pennsylvania, with a company from each of the other regiments, being left to take care of the picket line on our brigade front. After a short delay, we moved rapidly off towards the left, and about an hour before daylight were formed in line of battle in Fort Sedgwick, or, as it is better known, "Fort Hell," the business that brought us there being to support a charge that our 3d Division was about to make on Fort Mahone, otherwise known as "Fort Damnation."
These works bore the reputation of being the strongest and most formidable on the two lines, and it was with rather dubious feelings that we waited for the signal to advance, and the words of Brutus:
—"Oh that a man might know
The end of this day's business, e're it come!
But it sufficeth, that the day will end,
And the end is known."
occurred to many of us, probably more than once, through the course of the eventful day that was just beginning to dawn. At last the order is given, and silently and rapidly, just as the first grey streaks of dawn begin to shine in the east, we see the dusky forms file out past us into the open field beyond the fort. Then our turn comes next, and away we go with orders to keep as far to the left as we can get. On we go, grape, canister and case shot whistling round us in every direction, over a cornfield with the dried stalks still standing—over our picket line—across a small marshy run—"this must be the rebel picket line!" "hullo, there's a dead Johnny!" and in another minute we have retaliated on the rebels for their attack of the 25th of March, and Fort Mahone and two or three hundred yards of the rebel works are in possession of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division of the 9th Army Corps.
At daylight, we discover that during the darkness and confusion, two companies of our regiment have separated somewhat from the rest, and are lying in Fort Mahone, while the remainder of the regiment lie a little to the right of that work. We hold our position all through that day, while fighting is going on on each side of us, from the Appomattox to the extreme left, and away round to the Five-forks, where Wright and Sheridan are busy at work. But we have no time to think of what is going on, on either side of us, events in our own neighborhood demand all our attention. Several times, in the course of the day, the rebels attempt to regain the fort, and as often we send them back till the hillside in our front is thick with dead and dying.
And so the 2d of April draws to a close, the rebel line is broken and the city of Petersburg is, virtually, ours. All that night we pass, under arms, in the rebel works, and at daylight on the 3d, advance in line of battle, not a shot from the enemy to check our progress—we can see the cannon remaining in several of the forts, but where are the gunners?