ctices. When the prisoners were turned to
the rear and were crossing the crest, Lieut. Col. Morgan, General
Hancock's Chief of Staff, was conducting a battery from the artillery
reserve, towards the Second Corps. As he saw the men in gray coming over
the hill, he said to the officer in command of the battery: "See up
there! The enemy has carried the crest. See them come pouring over! The
old Second Corps is gone, and you had better get your battery away from
here as quickly as possible, or it will be captured." The officer was
actually giving the order to his men to move back, when close
observation discovered that the gray-backs that were coming had no arms,
and then the truth flashed upon the minds of the observers. The same
mistake was made by others.

In view of the results of that day--the successes of the arms of the
country, would not the people of the whole country, standing there upon
the crest with General Meade, have said, with him: "Thank God?"

I have no knowledge and little notion of how long a time elapsed from
the moment the fire of the infantry commenced, until the enemy was
entirely repulsed, in this his grand assault. I judge, from the amount
of fighting and the changes of position that occurred, that probably the
fight was of nearly an hour's duration, but I cannot tell, and I have
seen none who knew. The time seemed but a very few minutes, when the
battle was over.

When the prisoners were cleared away and order was again established
upon our crest, where the conflict had impaired it, until between five
and six o'clock, I remained upon the field, directing some troops to
their position, in conformity to the orders of General Meade. The enemy
appeared no more in front of the Second Corps; but while I was engaged
as I have mentioned, farther to our left some considerable force of the
enemy moved out and made show of attack. Our artillery, now in good
order again, in due time opened fire, and the shells scattered the
"Butternuts," as clubs do the gray snow-birds of winter, before they
came within range of our infantry. This, save unimportant outpost
firing, was the last of the battle.

Of the pursuit of the enemy and the movements of the army subsequent to
the battle, until the crossing of the Potomac by Lee and the closing of
the campaign, it is not my purpose to write. Suffice it that on the
night of the 3d of July the enemy withdrew his left, Ewell's Corps, from
our front, and on the morning of