ter before twelve o'clock, at the sound of Sheridan's
bugle, repeated from corps, division, and brigade headquarters,
the whole line moved forward with great spirit, and instantly became
engaged. Wilson pushed back Lomax, Wright drove in Ramseur, while
Emory, advancing his infantry rapidly through the wood, where he
was unable to use his artillery, attacked Gordon with great vigor.
Birge, charging with bayonets fixed, fell upon the brigade of Evans,
forming the extreme left of Gordon, and without a halt drove it in
confusion through the wood and across the open ground beyond to
the support of Braxton's artillery, posted by Gordon to secure his
flank on the Red Bud road. In this brilliant charge, led by Birge
in person, his lines naturally became disordered, and Grover,
foreseeing the effect of an advance so swift and tumultuous, ordered
Birge to halt and re-form in the wood. This order Birge tried to
execute; but whether the words of command were not heard or were
misunderstood, or in the wild excitement of the moment were wilfully
disregarded by the men, certain it is that their officers found it
impossible to restrain their ardor until they had followed on the
run the broken fragments of Evans quite through the wood and beyond
its farther skirt, where Braxton, using his guns with energy and
skill, brought them to a stand.

Sharpe, advancing simultaneously on Birge's left, tried in vain to
keep the alignment with Ricketts and with Birge; for now the peculiar
feature of the long alignment across the swerving road began to
work, yet, by reason of the screen of timber, without the cause
being immediately observed by any one. At first the order of battle
formed a right angle with the road, but the bend once reached, in
the effort to keep closed upon it, at every step Ricketts was taking
ground more and more to the left, while the point of direction for
Birge, and equally for Sharpe, was the enemy in their front, standing
almost in the exact prolongation of the defile, from which line,
still plainly marked by Ash Hollow, the road, as we have seen, was
steadily diverging. In short, to continue the march parallel with
the road compelled a left half-wheel, while the battle was with
the enemy straight in front, so that even had it been possible for
Emory to execute his orders literally he must have offered his
wheeling flank fairly to Rodes and to Gordon.

Sharpe, seeing that the gap between himself and Ricketts was grow