The early morning fogs still hung low and rendered it impossible for the advancing troops to see what was before them; thus many parts of the line became broken by obstacles which might have been, in part, avoided had it been possible to discover them in time, and the column arrived at the point of charging distance somewhat disorganized. Still the vigor of the attack was such that the rebels could not long resist it; they were driven out of a sunken roadway in front of their main line, into and over their intrenchments, and at this point the success of the assault was complete. Several hundred prisoners and three guns were captured, the guns being at once turned upon their former owners.
The supporting column, however, failed, as is so often the case, to come up at the proper time and the enemy, being strongly reenforced, advanced against the victorious men of the Second Corps, and after a desperate struggle, reminding the participants of the fight at Spotsylvania, forced them back and reoccupied the captured works. In this affair Co. F, being with Birney's Division in the second line, was not actively engaged, nevertheless in the charge they lost two or three men whose names are not now remembered, slightly, and Alvin Babcock, mortally wounded. Babcock was one of the recruits who joined the company on the day after the battle of Antietam, nearly two years before, and had been a faithful and good soldier. He died on the first of July following from the effects of his wound. The corps retired in good order to their own works. A partial attack by the rebels on their position was easily repulsed, and the rest of the day was passed in comparative quiet. The picket line, in full view of the rebel works and only about one hundred yards distant, was held by a regiment for whose marksmanship the rebels seemed to have a supreme contempt, since they exposed themselves freely, using the while the most opprobrious epithets.
The fire of their sharp shooters was constant and close, and a source of great annoyance to all within range. Co. F lay some distance in the rear of the pickets and somewhat exposed to the stray bullets which passed over the front line. They became somewhat restive under this unusual state of affairs; but receiving no order to move up to take part in the conflict, and having no liberty to shift their position, Capt. Merriman and Sergt. Peck determined to see what could be done by independent effort to relieve the situation. Taking rifles and a good supply of ammunition they made their way to the front and, taking up an advantageous position, commenced operations. The first shot brought down a daring rebel who was conspicuously and deliberately reloading his gun in full view of a hundred Union soldiers. This single shot and its result seemed to convey to the minds of the rebels that a new element had entered into the question, and for a few moments they were less active. Soon regaining their courage, however, and apparently setting it down as the result of some untoward accident, they resumed their exposure of persons and their annoying fire. It did not long continue, however, for wherever a man appeared within range he got such a close hint of danger, if indeed he escaped without damage, that the sharp shooting along that front ceased. Further to the right was a place where the breastwork behind which the rebel infantry was posted did not quite connect with a heavy earthwork which formed part of the rebel line, and which was occupied by artillery. Across this open space men were seen passing freely and openly, apparently officers or orderlies passing along the line in the discharge of their duties.
To this point the two sharp shooters now directed their at attention. Dodging from tree to tree, now crawling along behind some little elevation of land, and now running at full speed across some exposed portion of the ground, they reached a place from which they could command the passage, and very soon the rebels found it safer and more convenient to take some other route. Service of this independent nature had a peculiar fascination for these men. In fact, sharp shooting is the squirrel hunting of war; it is wonderful to see how self-forgetful the marksman grows—to see with what sportsmanlike eyes he seeks out the grander game, and with what coolness and accuracy he brings it down. At the moment he grows utterly indifferent to human life or human suffering, and seems intent only on cruelty and destruction; to make a good shot and hit his man, brings for the time being a feeling of intense satisfaction.
Few, however, care to recall afterwards the look of the dying enemy, and there are none who would not risk as much to aid the wounded victim of their skill as they did to inflict the wound. War is brutalizing, but the heat of the actual conflict passed, soldiers are humane and merciful, even to their foes. The assault of the Second Corps had not been an isolated attempt to force the rebel line at one point only. On their immediate right the Sixth and Eighteenth Corps had also advanced, and had met with severe loss; while far away to the north, even to and beyond the Totopotomy, miles away, Burnside and Warren had been engaged in more or less serious battle. At no point, however, except in front of the Second Corps had the enemy's line been entered, and this lodgement, as has been seen, was of brief duration. Advanced positions had been held, however, and in many places a distance no greater than fifty to one hundred yards now separated the opposing lines. Barlow's Division, magnificent fighters, when forced out of the captured rebel works, had taken advantage of a slight crest of ground not fifty yards from the rebel line, and with the aid of their bayonets, tin cups, etc., had thrown up a slight cover, from which they stubbornly refused to move; and to this far advanced line Companies F and G were ordered during the night of the third to keep down, so far as they were able, the rebel fire when the morning light should enable them to see the enemy. They spent the fourth in this position, constantly exposed and constantly engaged, suffering the loss of one man, Joseph Bickford, killed. The shooting on the part of the rebels was unusually close and accurate, and was a source of great discomfort to one, at least, of the men of Co. F. Curtiss Kimberly, known best by his friends as "Muddy," had such a breadth of shoulders that the small stump behind which he lay for shelter was insufficient to cover both sides at once. Three times in as many minutes the stump was struck by rebel bullets, and "Muddy" gravely expressed the opinion that there was "a mighty good shot over there somewhere," at the same time uttering an earnest hope that "he might not miss that stump."
During the night of the fourth they were moved to the left, and at daylight found themselves face to face with the rebel pickets near Barker's Mill. This was indeed "Tenting on the old camp ground," since this point had been the extreme right of the Union line at the battle of Gaines Hill, June 27, 1862.
They lay in this position until the twelfth, engaged every day, to a greater or less extent, in skirmishing and sharp shooting until the eleventh, when an agreement was made between the pickets that hostilities should cease in that part of the line, and the day was spent in conversation, games, etc., with the rebels. They were ravenous for coffee, but had plenty of tobacco. The federals were "long" of coffee but "short" of tobacco, and many a quiet exchange of such merchandise was made in the most friendly way between men who for days had been, and for days to come would be, seeking each others lives. It was a curious scene and well illustrated one phase of war. On the twelfth, the truce being over, hostilities were resumed and the men who had so lately fraternized together were again seeking opportunity to destroy each other. On this day Almon D. Griffin, who had been wounded at Chancellorsville, was again a victim to bullets. He recovered, however, and rejoined his company to serve until the expiration of his term of service, when he was discharged. Grant was now minded to try another movement by the left, this time transporting his entire army to the south bank of the James, and on the thirteenth the sharp shooters crossed the Chicahominy at Long Bridge, and leaving the old battle field of Charles City cross-roads and Malvern Hill to the right, struck the James river the same night at Wilcox's landing some two miles below Harrison's, where McClellan's army had lain so long after his unfortunate campaign in 1862. This was the first opportunity for a bath which had been offered since the campaign opened, and soon the water was alive with the dirty and tired men, their hands and faces of bronze contrasting strangely with the Saxon fairness of their sinewy bodies, as they laughingly dashed the water at each other, playing even as they did when they were school boys in Vermont. It was a luxury which none but those who have been similarly situated can appreciate.