Andrew Darnall,
being captured.

The ranks of the company had been considerably depleted by chills and
fever, so prevalent in that swampy region, and one death had
occurred--that of John Gibbs, a most excellent soldier. Less than a
week's sojourn was sufficient to poison my blood and reopen an old wound
received two years before. I was sent to Richmond, but twenty-four
hours' experience in a hospital among the sick, the wounded, and the
dying induced me to get a discharge and work my way, by hook and crook,
back to Oakland, where I underwent a severe visitation of chills and
fever. This, however, was soon broken up by quinine, and I again
rejoined the battery.

The summer now drawing to a close had been a most trying one, and the
future offered no sign of relief. The situation was one of simply
waiting to be overwhelmed. That the fighting spirit was unimpaired was
demonstrated in every encounter, notably the one on July 30, at The
Crater, near Petersburg.

During the night of September 28 there was heard the continued rumbling
of wheels and the tramp of large forces of the enemy crossing on the
pontoon bridges from the south to the north side of the James. At dawn
next morning we hurriedly broke camp, as did Gary's brigade of cavalry
camped close by, and scarcely had time to reach high ground and unlimber
before we were attacked. The big gaps in our lines, entirely undefended,
were soon penetrated, and the contest quickly became one of speed to
reach the shorter line of fortifications some five miles nearer to and
in sight of Richmond. The break through our lines was on our right,
which placed the Federals almost in our rear, so that a detour of
several miles on our part was necessary. On the principle that the
chased dog is generally the fleetest, we succeeded in reaching the
breastworks, a short distance to the left of Fort Gilmore, with all four
guns, now ten-pound Parrotts, followed by the straggling cannoneers much
exhausted. I vividly recall George Ginger, who was No. 1 at one of the
guns, as he came trotting in with the gun-rammer on his shoulder, which
he had carried five miles through brush and brake for want of time to
replace it on the gun-carriage.

Much has been written about the defense of Fort Gilmore, and much
controversy as to who deserved the credit. The fact that a superb fight
was made was fully apparent when we entered the fort an hour later,
while the negroes who made the attack were still fir