is (be) true no
more able to take this battery now than I was this time yesterday. All
our advantages are lost."

The advantages certainly were not lost on account of Mahone's men, but
on account of the losses two hundred yards down the hill, of which he
had doubtless been advised. He saw what he thought was a "Rebel
flag," but for a half an hour he had heard of the terrific castigation
inflicted on the Federals down the hill.

But here is something from the court of inquiry that approximates the
time of Mahone's charge.

General Griffen, of Potter's Ninth Corps, in reply to the question
by the court: "When the troops retired from the 'Crater' was it
compulsory from the enemy's operations, or by orders from your
commanders?" Answer. "Partly both. We retired because we had orders.
At the same time a column of troops came up to attack the 'Crater,'
and we retired instead of stopping to fight. This force of the enemy
came out of a ravine, and we did not see them till they appeared on
the rising ground."

"What was the force that came out to attack you? The force that was
exposed in the open?" Answer, "five or six hundred soldiers were all
that we could see. I did not see either the right or left of the line.
I saw the center of the line as it appeared to me. It was a good line
of battle. Probably if we had not been under orders to evacuate we
should have fought them, and tried to hold our position, but according
to the orders we withdrew."

General Hartranft, of Ninth Corps, says in answer to the question
"Driven out?" "They were driven out the same time, the same time I had
passed the word to retire. It was a simultaneous thing. When they saw
the assaulting column within probably one hundred feet of the works I
passed the word as well as it could be passed for everybody to retire.
And I left myself at that time. General Griffen and myself were
together at that time. The order to retire we had endorsed to the
effect that we thought we could not withdraw the troops that were
there on account of the enfilading fire over the ground between our
rifle pits and the 'Crater' without losing a great portion of them,
that ground being enfiladed with artillery and infantry fire. They
had at that time brought their infantry down along their pits on both
sides of the 'Crater,' so that their sharpshooters had good range, and
were in good position. Accordingly we requested that our lines should
open with artillery and infantry, be