and a fierce charge was made by the Southerners, under the eye of Lee, to regain it.  It was on this occasion that, on fire with the ardor of battle, which so seldom mastered him, Lee went forward in front of his line, and, taking his station beside the colors of one of his Virginian regiments, took off his hat, and, turning to the men, pointed toward the enemy.  A storm of cheers greeted the general, as he sat his gray war-horse, in front of the men—­his head bare, his eyes flashing, and his cheeks flushed with the fighting-blood of the soldier.  General Gordon, however, spurred to his side and seized his rein.

“General Lee!” he exclaimed, “this is no place for you.  Go to the rear.  These are Virginians and Georgians, sir—­men who have never failed!—­Men, you will not fail now!” he cried, rising in his stirrups and addressing the troops.

“No, no!” was the reply of the men; and from the whole line burst the shout, “Lee to the rear!  Lee to the rear!”

Instead of being needed, it was obvious that his presence was an embarrassment, as the men seemed determined not to charge unless he retired.  He accordingly did so, and the line advanced to the attack, led by General Gordon and other officers of approved ability and courage.  The charge which followed was resolute, and the word ferocious best describes the struggle which followed.  It continued throughout the entire day, Lee making not less than five distinct assaults in heavy force to recover the works.  The fight involved the troops on both flanks, and was desperate and unyielding.  The opposing flags were at times within only a few yards of each other, and so incessant and concentrated was the fire of musketry, that a tree of about eighteen inches in diameter was cut down by bullets, and is still preserved, it is said, in the city of Washington, as a memorial of this bloody struggle.

[Illustration:  The Wilderness.  “Lee to the Rear”]

The fighting only ceased several hours after dark.  Lee had not regained his advanced line of works, but he was firmly rooted in an interior and straighter line, from which the Federal troops had found it impossible to dislodge him.  This result of the stubborn action was essentially a success, as General Grant’s aim in the operation had been to break asunder his adversary’s army—­in which he very nearly succeeded.

At midnight all was again silent.  The ground near the salient was strewed with dead bodies.  The loss of the three thousand men and eighteen guns of Johnson had been followed by a bloody retaliation, the Federal commander having lost more than eight thousand men.

V.

FROM SPOTTSYLVANIA TO THE CHICKAHOMINY.

After the bloody action of the 12th of May, General Grant remained quiet for many days, “awaiting,” he says, “the arrival of reenforcements from Washington.”  The number of these fresh troops is not known to the present writer.  General Lee had no reinforcements to expect, and continued to confront his adversary with his small army, which must have been reduced by the heavy fighting to less than forty thousand men, while that of General Grant numbered probably about one hundred and forty thousand.