next morning we again struck the Richmond and Petersburg Pike and turned
toward Richmond, this time with the infantry behind us, and we soon struck
the enemy's infantry near where they had fired on the three companies the
day before and we soon turned over the task to our infantry. We lined up
along the side of the pike with our horses' tails in the bushes and the
infantry and artillery defiled past us, going from our left to our right
into action. Among the infantry was the 6th Connecticut, armed entirely
with Spencer rifles. Just beyond the right of our regiment the pike
crossed a low ridge or swell of ground, and on this ridge in the pike our
people planted a couple of 20 pounder Parrott guns and opened with them on
the enemy. This fire the enemy's artillery quickly returned, and I was
sitting on my horse lazily watching our men work the pieces and the
constantly recurring puffs of white smoke as the confederate shells burst
over their heads when suddenly I noticed a commotion among the gunners who
came running back down the pike with their rammers and swabs in their
hands, and the teams with the caissons and limbers came back on the run
and immediately the confederate infantry swarmed over the guns. I was no
longer sleepy. It looked as if the cavalry was going to have a chance to
win more glory, but our infantry was too quick, and with a counter charge
they at once retook the guns. The gunners and the teams ran back, and
immediately the guns were again jumping like mad creatures under the
recoil of their discharge. Of the battle beyond this ridge I could see
nothing, but the firing was heavy and at once there came from the front,
defiling past us to the rear, a ghastly procession of men wounded in
every way in which men could be wounded and still retain the power of
locomotion. Among them was a stout, hearty sergeant of this 6th
Connecticut regiment limping to the rear, using two muskets as crutches.
The calf of his right leg had been struck by a solid shot or unexploded
shell. Though no bones had been broken, there was nothing left of the calf
but bloody strings of flesh and trouser leg. But we were getting too near
Richmond, and during the next day or two the enemy in our front was very
heavily reinforced and outflanking our right Heckman's Brigade,
impetuously attacked at the earliest dawn along the whole front. Heckman's
Brigade was veteran troops who had heretofore had only victories and it
fought with stubborn t