Dick felt a terrible constriction. It was as if some one were choking
him with powerful hands, and he strove for breath. He knew that the
masses pressed upon their flank by Stuart and Hill, were riddling them
through and through.
The Union men were giving ground, slowly, it is true, and leaving heaps
of dead and wounded behind them, but nobody could stand the terrible
rifle fire that was raking them at short range from side to side, and
they were no longer able to advance. Now Dick heard once more that
terrible and triumphant rebel yell, and it seemed to him that they were
about to be destroyed utterly, when shell and shot began to shriek and
whistle over their heads. The woods behind them were alive with the
blaze of fire, and the great Union batteries were driving back the
triumphant and cheering Confederates.
The Union generals on the other side of the Antietam saw the fate that
was about to overtake Hooker's valiant men, and Sumner, with another army
corps, had crossed the river to the rescue, coming just in time. They
moved up to Hooker's men and the united masses returned to the charge.
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