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upon it. Pickett’s men never halted, but opened fire at close range, swarmed over the fences and among the enemy’s guns — were swallowed up in smoke, and that was the last of them. The conflict hardly seemed to last five minutes before they were melted away, and only disorganized stragglers pursued by a moderate fire were coining back. Just then, Wilcox’s brigade passed by us, moving to Pickett’s support. There was no longer anything to .support, .and with the keenest pity at the useless waste of life, I saw them advance. The men, as they passed us, looked bewildered, as if they wondered what they were expected to do, or why they were there. However, they were soon halted and moved back. They suffered some losses, and we .had a few casualties from canister sent at them at rather long range.
Prom the position of our guns the sight of this conflict was grand and thrilling, and we watched it as men with a life-and-death interest in the result. If it should be favorable to us, the war was nearly over; if against us, we each had the risks of many battles yet to go through. And the event culminated with fearful rapidity. Listening to the rolling crashes of musketry, it was hard to realize that they were made up of single reports, and that each musket-shot represented nearly a minute of a man’s life in that storm of lead and iron. It seemed as if 100,000 men were engaged, and that human life was being poured out like water. As soon as it appeared that the assault had failed, we ceased firing in order to save ammunition in ease the enemy should advance. But we held our ground as boldly as possible, though we were entirely without support, and very low in ammunition. The enemy gave us an occasional shot for a while, and then, to our great relief, let us rest. About that time General Lee, entirely alone, rode .-	up and remained with me
for a long time. He then probably first appreciated the full extent of the disaster as the disorganized stragglers made their way back past us. The Comte de Paris, in his excellent account of this battle, remarks that Lee,
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THE CHARGE OF PICKETT, PETTIGREW, AND TRIMBLE. From a war-time sketch from the Union position.
than all the enemy’s line, which had been nearly silent, broke out again with all its batteries. The eighteen guns were back in the cemetery, and a storm of shell began bursting over and among our infantry. All of our guns — silent as the infantry passed between them — reopened over their heads when the lines had got a couple of hundred yards away, but the enemy’s artillery let us alone and fired only at the infantry. No one could have looked at that advance without feeling proud of it.
But, as our supporting guns advanced, we passed many poor, mangled victims left in its trampled wake. A terrific infantry fire was now opened upon Pickett, and a considerable force of the enemy moved out to attack the right flank of his line. We halted, unlimbered, and opened fire

man looked on. Joining it on the left Pettigrew stretched farther than I could see. General Dick Garnett, just out of the sick ambulance, and buttoned up in an old blue overcoat, riding at the head of his brigade, passed us and saluted Longstreet. Garnett was a warm personal friend, and we had not met before for months. We had served on the plains together before the war. I rode with him a short distance, and then we wished each other luck and a good-by, which was our last.
Then I rode down the line of guns, selecting such as had enough ammunition to follow Pickett’s advance, and starting them after him as fast as possible, I got, I think, fifteen or eighteen in all, in a little while, and went with them. Meanwhile, the infantry had no sooner debouched on the plain
VLi, V!'	,i• A ״ ׳0־*----------X
OP CEMETERY RIDGE AS SEEN FROM PICKETT’S POSITION BEFORE THE CHARGE.
CEMETERY H PROFILE
We Confederates often did such things as that to save our ammunition for use against infantry, but I had never before seen the Federals withdraw their guns simply to save them up for the infantry fight.
So I said, “If he does not run fresh batteries in there in five minutes, this is our fight.” I looked anxiously with my glass, and the five minutes passed without a sign of life on the deserted position, still swept by our fire, and littered with dead men and horses and fragments of disabled carriages. Then I wrote Pickett, urgently: “ For God’s sake, come quick. The eighteen guns are gone; come quick, or my ammunition won’t let me support you properly.”
I afterward heard from others what took place with my first note to Pickett.
Pickett took it to Long-street, Longstreet read it, and said nothing. Pickett said, “ General, shall I advance ? ” Longstreet, knowing it had to be, but unwilling to give the word, turned his face away.
Pickett saluted and said,
“ I am going to move forward, sir,” galloped off to his division, and immediately put it in motion.
Longstreet, leaving his staff, came out alone to where I was. It was then about 1:40 p. m. I explained the situation, feeling then more hopeful, but afraid our artillery ammunition might not hold out for all we would want. Longstreet said, “Stop Pickett immediately, and replenish your ammunition.” I explained that it would take too long, and the enemy would recover from the effect our fire was then having, and we had, moreover, very little to replenish with. Longstreet said, “I don’t want to make this attack. I would stop it now, but that General Lee ordered it and expects it to go on. I don’t see how it can succeed.”
I listened, but did not- dare offer a word. The battle was lost if we stopped. Ammunition was far too low to try anything else, for we had been fighting three days. There was a chance, and it was not my part to interfere. While Longstreet was still speaking, Pickett’s division swept out of the wood, and showed the full length of its gray ranks and shining bayonets, as grand a sight as ever a
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