d the employment of
the 160th New York in Beal's line left McMillan but two of his
battalions, the 8th Vermont and the 12th Connecticut; but although
McMillan, holding the left of the formation in echelon, had farther
to go to reach his position, it was only necessary for him to move
straight to the front, and thus the 8th Vermont formed the right
of his line and the 12th Connecticut the left. Not a moment too
soon did Thomas and Peck bring their good regiments to the support
of Molineux's diminished and almost exhausted brigade, and thus
complete the restoration of Emory's line of battle. Almost at the
first fire Lieutenant-Colonel Peck, the brave, accomplished, and
spirited soldier who had led the 12th Connecticut in every action,
fell mortally wounded by the fragment of a shell.

The shaken regiments of Grover quickly rallied and re-formed in
good order behind the lines of Dwight, and all pressing forward
once more, took part in the countercharge begun by Russell, by
which the whole Confederate line was driven back in confusion quite
beyond the positions from which they had advanced to the attack.
To this line, substantially, Wright and Emory followed, and,
correcting their position and alignment, waited for events or for
orders. By one o'clock the morning's fight was over. Fierce and
eventful as it had been, it had lasted barely an hour.

The Confederates, greatly outnumbered from the first, were now,
after their losses and the rough handling they had received, no
longer in condition for the offensive, and from the defensive they
had, as things stood, little to hope. Sheridan, on his part, with
some reluctance, made up his mind that it would be better to give
up his original plan of putting in Crook to the left to cut off
Early's retreat by moving against the valley turnpike near Newtown,
and instead of this to use Crook and the cavalry on the Red Bud
line against Early's left. The time needed for this movement caused
a comparative lull in the battle of about two hours' duration. It
was not so much that the battle died away, for the fire of artillery
and even of musketry was still kept up, as that neither side moved
in force against the other. While waiting for Crook to come into
position on the right, Emory's restored line was formed by Beal on
the right, prolonged toward the left by Shunk, Birge supported by
Molineux, Day with the 131st New York, Allen with the battalion of
the 38th Massachusetts, the 8