om the landscape. A great gap opened in Lee's lines marked by
the grave of three hundred of his men.

Burnside's division rushed into the crater and climbed through the
breach. His men were met promptly by Ransom's brigade of North
Carolinians and held. The Union support became entangled in the hole,
stumbled and fell in confusion.

General Mahone's brigades hastily called, rushed into position, and a
general Confederate charge was ordered. In silence, their arms trailing
by their sides, they quickly crossed the open space and fell like demons
on the confused blue lines which were driven back into the crater and
slaughtered like sheep. The Confederate guns were trained on this
yawning pit whose edges now bristled with flaming muskets. Regiment
after regiment of blue were hurled into this hell hole to be torn and
cut to pieces.

A division of negro troops were hurried in and the sight of them drove
the Southerners to desperation. It took but a moment's grim charge to
hurl these black regiments back into the pit on the bodies of their
fallen white comrades. The crater became a butcher's shambles.

When the smoke cleared four thousand more of Grant's men lay dead and
wounded in the grave in which had been buried three hundred grey
defenders.

Lee's losses were less than one third as many. Grant asked for a truce
to bury his dead and from five until nine next morning there was no
firing along the grim lines of siege for the first time since the day
Petersburg had been invested.

So confident now was Lee that he could hold his position against any
assault his powerful opponent could make, he detached Jubal Early with
twenty thousand men and sent him through the Shenandoah Valley to strike
Washington.

Grant was compelled to send Sheridan after him. In the meantime he
determined to take advantage of Lee's reduced strength and cut the
Weldon railroad over which were coming all supplies from the South.

Warren's corps was sent on this important mission. His attack failed and
he was driven back with a loss of three thousand men. He entrenched
himself and called for reinforcements. Hancock's famous corps was
hurried to the assistance of Warren.

John Vaughan's regiment was now attached to Hancock's army. As they were
strapping on their knapsacks for this march, to his amazement Julius
suddenly appeared, grinning and bustling about as if he had never
strayed from the fold. His clothes were in shreds and tatters.

"Whe