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Captain Charles Griffin, commanding Battery D of the Fifth U.S. Artillery: “After I had been there about five minutes, a regiment of Confederates got over a fence on my front, and some officer (I took it to be the colonel) stepped out in front of the regiment, between it and my battery, and commenced making a speech to them. I gave the command to one of my officers to fire upon them. He loaded the cannon with canister, and was just about to fire upon them, when Major Barry rode up to me and said, ‘Captain, don’t fire there; those are your battery support.’ I said, ‘They are confederates; as certain as the world, they are confederates.’ He replied, ‘I know they are your battery support.’ I sprang to my pieces and told my officer not to fire there. He threw down the canister, and commenced firing again in the former direction. After the officer who had been talking to the regiment had got through, he faced them to the left, and marched them about fifty yards to the woods, then faced them to the right again, and marched them about forty yards towards us, and then opened fire upon us, and that was the last of us.” -- Griffin’s testimony before Congress, Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, volume 2, page 169
Colonel Arthur C. Cummings, commanding the 33rd Virginia Infantry: “Our orders were to wait until the enemy were within thirty paces, then to fire and charge with the bayonet. About that time General Jackson came along the line and directed me to look out for the enemy’s artillery.... I walked out on the plateau and saw the artillery of the enemy moving rapidly up the Sudley road to our front and left, and large bodies of the enemy’s infantry moving along the hill towards our left flank....” -- Letter from Cummings to John Casler, quoted in Casler’s memoirs Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade, page 36
Seargeant Major Randolph Barton of the 33rd Virginia Infantry: “Colonel Cummings and Lieutenant Colonel Lee were in front of our regiment, pehaps a hundred yards, stooping down, and occasionally standing to get a view over the crest of the hill...[They] were seen to rise and, bending down, to come back with somewhat quickened steps to the regiment. I remember, as Colonel Cummings drew near, he called out: ‘Boys, they are coming, now wait until they get close before you fire.’ Almost immediately several pieces of artillery, their horses in front, made their appearance on the hill in front of us, curving as if going into battery...At the sight several of our men rose from the ranks, leveled their muskets at the line, and, although I called out, ‘Do not fire yet,’ it was of no use; they fired and then the shrill cry of Colonel Cummings was heard, ‘Charge!’ and away the regiment went, firing as they ran, into the ranks of the enemy, and particularly at the battery towards which our line rapidly approached.... I got near enough to the battery to see that it was thoroughly disabled, horses and men falling, and our line driving ahead, when I felt the sting of a bullet tearing a piece from my side, just under my cartridge box, which I had pulled well around on the right and front of my waist. I called out that I was wounded to my uncle, Frank Jones, who helped me up on his horse, and carried me to the rear.” -- Letter from Barton to John Casler, quoted in Casler’s memoirs Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade, page 42.
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