Gordon of Georgia, spurring through the smoke, seized Lee's horse by the
bridle. He did not mean to have their commander-in-chief sacrificed in a
charge.
"This is no place for you, General Lee!" he cried. "Go to the rear!"
Lee did not yet turn, and Gordon shouted:
"These men are Virginians and Georgians who have never failed. Go back,
I entreat you!"
Then Gordon turned to the troops and cried, as he rose on his toes in his
stirrups:
"Men, you will not fail now!"
Back came the answering shout:
"No! No!" and the whole mass of troops burst into one thunderous, echoing
cry:
"Lee to the rear! Lee to the rear! Lee to the rear!"
Nor would they move until Lee turned and rode back. Then, led by Gordon,
they charged straight upon their foe, who met them with an equal valor.
All day long the battle of Spottsylvania, equal in fierceness and
desperation to that of the Wilderness, swayed to and fro. To Harry as he
remembered them they were much alike. Charge and defense, defense and
charge. Here they gained a little, and there they lost a little.
Now they were stumbling through sanguinary thickets, and then they rushed
across little streams that ran red.
The firing was rapid and furious to an extraordinary degree.
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