MAJOR GEORGE S. DAWSON. 



CAPTAIN GEORGE S. DAWSON, Second New 

 York Heavy Artillery, my schoolmate and fish- 

 ing companion on the one trip which has been 

 related, was stationed in the defences of Washington, near 

 Alexandria, in 1863, and came to visit me when my regi- 

 ment, the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery, occupied 

 the forts from Tennallytown, on the Harper's Ferry road, 

 to Fort De Russy, near the Seventh street road, and we 

 had a grand review of the schoolboy days and of the only 

 fishing trip that we ever had together. Said he: "That 

 day will ever be remembered, for in my case it filled the 

 proverbial measure of fisherman's luck; and that lunch! 

 Did you ever strike anything so fine?" His regiment, in 

 June, 1864, was in the Second Brigade, First Division, 

 Second Corps, Army of the Potomac ; while mine was in 

 the Fourth Brigade of the same division and corps. 

 While we lay in the trenches at Cold Harbor I sent him a 

 note asking if he was catching many trout now, and he 

 answered, in effect, that his regiment caught something 

 else in the charge on June 3, and to the best of his knowl- 

 edge the Seventh Artillery had some of the same brim- 

 stone. The official records show that the Second lost 215 

 officers and men killed, wounded and missing in that ter- 

 rible assault on the impregnable works at Cold Harbor, 

 mainly in the charge on the morning of June 3, 1864. 

 My message had the desired effect; it showed that my 

 schoolmate had lived through the storm and was still on 

 duty. Twelve days later our brigades were halted near 

 each other, preparatory to forming for the battle which 



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