most gallant and successful affair, for which Custer
gave the two regiments full credit in his official report.

The line was then reformed with the Sixth on the left of the Fifth. At
that time this was the extreme left of the First division and of the
line of battle as well, the Third division not yet having become
engaged.

It was then found that the force with which we had been fighting had
retreated to their main line of battle, along a high ridge or bluff. In
front of this bluff was a thin skirt of timber and a fence. Here
Fitzhugh Lee's sharpshooters were posted in a very strong position
indeed. Between the ridge and the edge of the woods where our line was
halted was a big field not less than four hundred yards across, sloping
down from their position to ours. To attack the confederate line in
front it would be necessary to advance across that field and up that
slope. It looked difficult. The confederate artillery was stationed to
the right front on the extreme left of their line. We were confronted by
Lomax's brigade. Beyond the right of the Fifth Michigan, Custer had the
First Michigan, Colonel Stagg; the Seventh, Major Granger; and First
Vermont, Lieutenant Colonel Preston; all mounted. They were across a
road which ran at right angles with the line of battle, and in the
direction of Lomax's battery.

As soon as our line appeared in the open--indeed, before it left the
woods the confederate artillery opened with shell and shrapnel; the
carbineers and sharpshooters joined with zest in the fray and the man
who thinks they did not succeed in making that part of the neighborhood
around Yellow Tavern an uncomfortably hot place, was not there at the
time. It was necessary to take advantage of every chance for shelter.
Every Wolverine who exposed himself was made a target of. Many men were
hit by bullets. The artillerists did not time their fuses right and most
of the damage was done to the trees behind us, or they were on too high
ground to get the range. The line gradually advanced, creeping forward
little by little until it reached a partial shelter afforded by the
contour of the ground where it sloped sharply into a sort of ditch that
was cut through the field parallel with the line of battle. Here it
halted and the battle went on in this manner for a long time, possibly
for hours. In the meantime, Chapman's brigade, of Wilson's division, had
come into position on the left of the Sixth Michigan, thus prolongin