opposite side of Cemetery Hill, and out of our view.
Culp's Hill, since the early morning previous, had been enveloped in a
veil of smoke from Johnson's muskets, which had scarcely had time to
cool during the thirty-six hours.

The men of the Fourth Virginia Regiment had been gradually and steadily
advancing from boulder to boulder, until they were almost under the
enemy's fortifications along the crest of the ridge. To proceed farther
was physically impossible, to retreat was almost certain death. So, of
the College company alone, one of whom had already been killed and many
wounded, sixteen, including Captain Strickler, were captured. To John
McKee, of this company, a stalwart Irish Federal said as he reached out
to pull him up over the breastworks, "Gim-me your hand, Johnny Reb;
you've give' us the bulliest fight of the war!"

Lieutenant "Cush" Jones determined to run the gauntlet for escape, and
as he darted away the point of his scabbard struck a stone, and throwing
it inverted above his head, lost out his handsome sword. Three bullets
passed through his clothing in his flight, and the boulder behind which
he next took refuge was peppered by others. Here, also, my former
messmate, George Bedinger, now captain of a company in the Thirty-third
Virginia Regiment, was killed, leading his "Greeks," as he called his
men.

About nine o'clock that evening, and before we had moved from our
position, I received a message, through Captain Graham, from some of the
wounded of our company, to go to them at their field-hospital. Following
the messenger, I found them in charge of our surgeon, Dr. Herndon,
occupying a neat brick cottage a mile in the rear, from which the owners
had fled, leaving a well-stocked larder, and from it we refreshed
ourselves most gratefully. Toward midnight orders came to move. The
ambulances were driven to the door and, after the wounded, some eight or
ten in number, had been assisted into them, I added from the stores in
the house a bucket of lard, a crock of butter, a jar of apple-butter, a
ham, a middling of bacon, and a side of sole-leather. All for the
wounded!

Feeling assured that we would not tarry much longer in Pennsylvania, and
expecting to reach the battery before my services would be needed, I
set out with the ambulances. We moved on until daylight and joined the
wounded of the other batteries of our battalion, and soon after left, at
a house by the wayside, a member of the Richmond How