Through
the clouds of smoke and dust he saw the long lines of Southern bayonets
advancing swiftly. His regiment, which had already lost more than half
its numbers, was borne back by an appalling weight.
Then hope deserted the boy for the first time. The Union was not to be
saved here on this field. It was instead another lost Manassas, but far
greater than the first. The genius of Lee and Jackson which bore up
the Confederacy was triumphing once again. Dick shut his teeth in grim
despair. He heard the triumphant shouts of the advancing enemy, and he
saw that not only his own regiment, but the whole Northern line, was
being driven back, slowly it is true, but they were going.
Now at the critical moment, Lee was hurling forward every man and gun.
Although his army was inferior in numbers he was always superior at the
point of contact, and his exultant veterans pressed harder and harder
upon their weakening foes. Only the artillery behind them now protected
Dick and his comrades. But the Confederates still came with a rush.
Jackson was leading on his own men who had stood so long on the
defensive.
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