on the 18th, they entered upon the more active duty
of soldiers, they found the 3rd Division of the 18th Corps, composed of
the Phalanx of the Army of the James, covered with glory, and the welkin
ringing with praises of their recent achievements. The men of the 4th
Division chafed with eager ambition to rival their brothers of the 18th
Corps, in driving the enemy from the Cockade City. General Burnside was
equally as anxious to give his black boys a chance to try the steel of
the chivalry in deadly conflict, and this gave them consolation, with
the assurance that their day would ere long dawn, so they toiled and
drilled carefully for their prospective glory.

But the situation of the Phalanx before Petersburg was far from being
enviable. Smarting under the thrashing they had received from Hinks'
division, the confederates were ever ready now to slaughter the
"niggers" when advantage offered them the opportunity. A steady,
incessant fire was kept up against the positions the Phalanx occupied,
and their movements were watched with great vigilance. Although they did
not raise the black flag, yet manifestly no quarter to negro troops, or
to white troops that fought with them, was the confederates'
determination.

"Judging from their actions, the presence of the negro
soldiers, both in the Eighteenth and Ninth Corps," says
Woodbury, "seemed to have the effect of rendering the enemy
more spiteful than ever before the Fourth Division came. The
closeness of the lines on the front of the corps rendered
constant watchfulness imperative, and no day passed without
some skirmishing between the opposing pickets. When the
colored soldiers appeared, this practice seemed to increase,
while in front of the Fifth Corps, upon the left of our
line, there was little or no picket firing, and the outposts
of both armies were even disposed to be friendly. On the
front of the Ninth, the firing was incessant, and in many
cases fatal."

[Illustration: IN THE TRENCHES]

"General Potter, in his report, mentions that, when his
division occupied the front, his loss averaged some fourteen
or fifteen officers killed and wounded per diem. The
sharpshooters on either side were vigilant, and an exposure
of any part of the person was the signal for the exchange of
shots. The men, worn by hard marching, hard fighting and
hard digging, took every precaut