Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 5.djvu/65

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CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.
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the road, facing south, while Jenkins adjutant, Captain Seabrook, hurried back for reinforcements. General Anderson, who had led the Fourth and Fifth forward on Hill’s left in the general attack, sent the Fifth to Jenkins, under Lieut.-Col. A. Jackson, the gallant Colonel Giles having been killed; and the Twenty-seventh Georgia was also sent forward to him by General Hill. Before his reinforcements reached him, the Federal advance was so near that their commands and cheers could be heard, and the two regiments had been advanced to within 100 yards of them. The Twenty-seventh Georgia was the first to come up, and being placed on the right, the Sharpshooters in the center and the Sixth (Lieutenant-Colonel Steedman commanding, Colonel Bratton being wounded) on the left, Jenkins boldly advanced to meet his foe. "The two commands neared each other, to 30 or 40 yards," says Colonel Jenkins, describing this struggle. "Losing heavily, I pressed on, and the enemy sullenly and slowly gave way, leaving the ground carpeted with dead and dying. By this time the Fifth South Carolina volunteers came up at the double-quick. The Twenty-seventh Georgia (which had been repulsed) rallied and came forward on the right. Jackson came up on the right of the Georgians, "sweeping before him the rallied fragments who had collected and resumed fire from the woods to the right, and thus, at 7:40 p. m., we closed our busy day." A day of splendid achievement!

In his fighting and maneuvering, Colonel Jenkins had advanced on the arc of a circle for more than 2 miles, fighting first northeast, then east, then southeast, then due south, and lastly east. "We passed," he said, "through two abatis of fallen timber, over four camps, and over artillery twice, driving the enemy from three pieces. We never fought twice in the same place, nor five minutes in one place, and, steadily on the advance, were under fire from 3 p. m. to 7:40 p. m. " Gen. G. W.