ing
every moment wider, in vain tried to cover it by more than one
oblique movement to the left, and Keifer, whose brigade formed the
right of Ricketts, being also among the first to perceive the fault,
tried to make it good by deploying three of his regiments across
the interval.

Birge's advance had borne him far to the right, and as Sharpe, in
the vain attempt to keep his alignment with Ricketts, was always
drifting to the left, there came a second and smaller gap between
the two leading brigades of Grover. Into this Molineux was quickly
thrust, and, deploying in parade order, under a heavy fire of cannon
and musketry, at once began firing in return with great effect on
the advancing columns of the enemy. But, shortly before this
happened, the interval between Ricketts and Sharpe had grown to be
nearly four hundred yards wide, and Birge's advance being stayed
at nearly the same instant, Early saw his opportunity and seized
it by throwing against the diverging flanks of Sharpe and Ricketts
the fresh brigade that Battle had that moment brought up from
Stephenson's. This new impulse once more carried forward the rest
of Rodes's division; Ramseur rallied; Early restored his formation;
and the whole Confederate line swept forward with renewed impetuosity,
broke in the whole right of Ricketts and the left of Sharpe, surged
around both flanks of Molineux, and swept back Birge. Sharpe's
line, thus taken fairly in flank, was quickly rolled up. By this,
the left regiment of Molineux, the gallant 22d Iowa, being in quite
open ground, was greatly exposed, so that it, too, was presently
swept back. The 159th New York and the 13th Connecticut, after
holding on stiffly for a time under the partial cover of a sort of
gully, were in like manner swept away, and on the right Birge's
men paid the penalty of their own impetuosity. The left of Ricketts,
less exposed to the shock, stood firm, and the right of Molineux,
isolated as it was, held its ground; but otherwise the whole front
of the battle, from the road to the Red Bud, was gone. As the
Confederates charged down upon a section of Bradbury's 1st Maine
Battery, posted about the centre of the division, Day, who under
many drawbacks had brought up his regiment, the 131st New York, to
a high standard of discipline and efficiency, took prompt and full
advantage of the slight cover afforded by the little wooded ravine
in which he happened to be. With equal coolness and readine