Each threw up his hand in a gesture of friendliness and farewell--the
roar of the battle was so loud now that no voice could have been heard at
the distance--and then they disappeared in the smoke, each returning to
his own, each heart thrilling with a great joy, because its owner had
always missed the sharpshooter behind the stone.
The impression of that vivid encounter in the pass was dimmed for a while
for Dick by the fierceness of the fighting that followed. The defense
had the advantage of the narrow pass and the rocky slopes, and numbers
could not be put to the most account. Nevertheless, the Confederates
were pressed back along the gap, and when night came the Union army was
in full possession of its summit.
But at the other gap the North had not achieved equal success.
Longstreet, marching thirteen miles that day, had come upon the field in
time, and when darkness fell the Southern troops still held their ground
there. But later in the night Hill and Longstreet, through fear of being
cut off, abandoned their positions and marched to join Lee.
Dick and his comrades who did not lie down until after midnight had come,
felt that a great success had been gained.
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