BULL RUNT. 



83 



ier and a large number of horses. The fire came 

 from some infantry of the enemy, which had been 

 mistaken for our own forces ; an officer in the 

 field having stated that it was a regiment sent 

 by Colonel Heintzelman to support the batteries. 



" The evanescent courage of the Zouaves 

 prompted them to fire perhaps a hundred shots, 

 when they broke and fled, leaving the batteries 

 open to a charge of the enemy's cavalry, which 

 took place immediately. The Marines, in spite 

 of their gallant officers, gave way in disorder. The 

 Fourteenth, on the right, and the column on the 

 left, hesitatingly retired, with the exception of 

 the Sixty-ninth and Thirty-eighth New York, 

 who nobly stood and returned the fire of the ene- 

 my for fifteen minutes. Soon the slopes behind us 

 were swarming with our retreating and disorgan- 

 ized forces, while riderless horses and artillery 

 teams ran furiously through the- flying crowd." 



Colonel Sherman, in his report of this part 

 of the conflict, says : " At the point where the 

 road from Sudley's Spring crossed the bridge 

 to oar left, the ground was swept by a most 

 severe fire, by artillery, rifle, and musketry, and 

 we saw in succession several regiments driven 

 from it, among them the Zouaves and battalion 

 of marines. Before reaching the crest of the hill, 

 the roadway was worn deep enough to afford 

 shelter, and I kept the several regiments in it 

 as long as possible. But when the Second Wis- 

 consin was abreast of the enemy, it was ordered 

 to leave the roadway by the left flank, and at- 

 tack the enemy. This regiment ascended to the 

 brow of the hill steadily, received the severe 

 fire of the enemy, returned it with spirit, and 

 advanced, delivering its fire. It was repulsed, 

 rallied, and repulsed again. By this time, the 

 Seventy-ninth New York had closed up, and in 

 like manner it was ordered to cross the brow of 

 the hill, and drive the enemy from cover. It 

 was impossible to get a good vie w of the ground. 

 In it there was one battery of artillery, which 

 poured an incessant fire upon our advancing col- 

 umn, and the ground was irregular, witli small 

 clusters of pines, affording shelter, of which 

 the enemy took good advantage. The fire of 

 rifles and musketry was very severe. The Sev- 

 enty-ninth, headed by its Colonel, charged across 

 the hill, and for a short time the contest was 

 severe. They rallied several times under fire, 

 but finally broke, and gained the cover of the 

 hills. This left the field open to the Sixty-ninth 

 New York, Colonel Corcoran, who, in his turn, 

 led his regiment over the crest, and had in full 

 open view the ground so severely contested. The 

 firing was very severe, and the roar of cannon, 

 rifles, and musketry incessant. It was manifest 

 the enemy was here in great force, far superior 

 to us at that point. The Sixty-ninth held the 

 ground for some time, but finally fell back in 

 disorder. At this time, the Thirteenth New York 

 occupied another ridge to our left, overlooking 

 the same field of action, and similarly engaged. 

 Here, at 3^ p. M., began the scene of disorder." 

 Colonel Burnside reports from another part 

 of the field : 



"The battery of the Second Rhode Island 

 changed its position into a field upon the right, 

 and was brought to bear upon the force which 

 Colonel Porter was engaging. The enemy's in- 

 fantry having fallen back, two sections of Captain 

 TV. H. Reynolds' battery advanced, and succeed- 

 ed in breaking the charge of the enemy's cavalry, 

 which had now been brought into the engage- 

 ment. It was nearly 4 o'clock p. M., and the 

 battle had continued for almost six hours since 

 the time when the second brigade had been 

 engaged, with every thing in favor of our 

 troops, and promising decisive victory, when 

 some of the regiments engaging the enemy upon 

 the extreme right of our line broke, and large 

 numbers passed disorderly by my brigade, then 

 drawn up in the position which they last held." 



The position of the battle described in these 

 extracts was its turning point. The view taken 

 of the contest at this time, by the Commander- 

 in-Chief of the Confederate forces, is of great 

 interest. In his official report, General Beaure- 

 gard thus speaks : 



" The topographical features of the plateau, 

 now become the stage of the contending armies, 

 must be described in outline. A glance at 

 the map will show that it is enclosed on three 

 sides by small water courses, which empty into 

 Bull Run within a few yards of each other, half 

 a mile to the south of the Stone Bridge. Rising 

 to an elevation of quite one hundred feet above 

 the level of Bull Run at the bridge, it falls off 

 on three sides, to^lhe level of the enclosing 

 streams in gentle slopes, but which are furrow- 

 ed by ravines of irregular direction and length, 

 and studded with clumps and patches of young 

 pines and oaks. The general direction of the 

 crest of the plateau is oblique to the course of 

 Bull Run in that quarter, and on the Brents- 

 ville and turnpike roads, which intersect each 

 other at right angles. Completely surrounding 

 the two houses before mentioned, are small 

 open fields, of irregular outline, and exceeding 

 150 acres in extent. The houses, occupied at 

 the time, the one by widow Henry, and the 

 other by the free negro, Robinson, are small 

 wooden buildings, densely embowered in trees 

 and environed by a double row of fences on 

 two sides. Around the eastern and southern 

 brow of the plateau, an almost unbroken 

 fringe of second-growth pines gave excellent 

 shelter for our marksmen, who availed them- 

 selves of it, with the most satisfactory skill. To 

 the west, adjoining the fields, a broad belt of 

 oaks extends directly across the crest, on both 

 sides of the Sudley road, in which, during the 

 battle, regiments of both armies met and con- 

 tended for the mastery. From the open ground 

 of this plateau the view embraces a wide ex- 

 panse of woods and gently undulating open 

 country of broad grass and grain fields in all 

 directions, including the scene of Evans' and 

 Bee's recent encounter with the enemy some 

 twelve hundred yards to the northward. In 

 reply to the play of the enemy's batteries, our 

 own artillery had not been idle or unskilful. 



