part. They advanced with great enthusiasm; soon caught up with General Rodes' line; and, mingling with it in inextricable confusion, went over the enemy's works, and aided in completing the rout of the Federal forces.

Colonel Crutchfield, Jackson's chief of artillery, now hurried forward his batteries, and opened a heavy fire upon the enemy's épaulements near Chancellorsville, which drew from their artillery a furious response. This fire was directed down the road, however, and inflicted small loss upon the Confederate infantry. They were advancing to the right and left of the road, led by Jackson in person, and those who saw him at this moment declare that he seemed completely carried away by the excitement of the moment. He leaned forward on his horse, extending his arm far in front, as though he wished to "push the men forward," and his voice was heard exclaiming, "Press forward! press forward!" every few minutes during the entire attack. When not thus mastered by the ardor of battle, his right hand was raised aloft with that gesture now familiar to his men, as though he were praying to the God of battles for victory.*

The charge of the Confederates had resulted in the complete rout of the right wing of the Federal army. Jackson had burst upon them from the woods so suddenly that they could not or did not make the least resistance. Whole regiments ran without firing a shot. Batteries went off at a gallop, ran into trees and fences, and were captured and turned upon them. At a single

arms.

"Frequently, during the fiercest of the conflict, he would stop, raise his hand, and turn his eyes toward heaven, as if praying for a blessing on our The frequency with which this was done that evening attracted the attention of all with him. Our troops made repeated charges, driving the enemy before them every time, which caused loud and long-continued cheering along our entire line, which was ever the signal for victory-and General Jackson would invariably raise his hand and give thanks to Him who gave the victory. I have never seen him seem so well pleased with the progress and results of a fight as on that occasion. On several occasions during this fight, as he passed the dead bodies of some of our veterans, he halted, raised his hand as if to ask a blessing upon them, and to pray God to save their souls."-MS. of Captain Wilbourn, of Jackson's staff.

blow Jackson had paralyzed the right wing of the Federal army, and they were rushing in complete disorder upon the reserves. A writer in a Northern journal thus describes the scene:

"The flying Germans came dashing over the field in crowds, stampeding and running as only men do run when convinced that sure destruction is awaiting them. I must confess that I have no ability to do justice to the scenes that followed. It was my lot to be in the centre of that field when the panic burst upon us. May I never be a witness to another such scene! On one hand was a solid column of infantry retreating at double-quick; on the other was a dense mass of beings who were flying as fast as their legs could carry them, followed up by the rebels pouring their murderous volleys in upon us, yelling and hooting, to increase the confusion; hundreds of cavalry horses, left riderless at the first discharge from the rebels, dashing frantically about in all directions; scores of batteries flying from the field; battery wagons, ambulances, horses, men, cannon, caissons, all jumbled and tumbled together in one inextricable mass-and the murderous fire of the rebels still pouring in upon them! To add to the terror of the occasion there was but one means of escape from the field, and that through a little narrow neck or ravine washed out by Scott's Creek. Toward this the confused mass plunged headlong. For a moment it seemed as if no power could avert the frightful calamity that threatened the entire army. On came the panic-stricken crowd, terrified artillery riders spurring and lashing their horses to their utmost; ambulances upsetting and being dashed to pieces against trees and stumps; horses dashing over the field; men flying and crying with alarm-a perfect torrent of passion, apparently uncontrollable. The men ran in all directions. They all seemed possessed with an instinctive idea of the shortest and most direct line from the point whence they started to the United States Mine ford, and the majority of them did not stop until they had reached the ford. Many of them on reaching the river dashed in and swam to the north side, and are supposed to be running yet. The stampede was universal; the disgrace general."

The attack thus briefly described lasted for two or three hours. The first charge took place at half-past five or six in the afternoon, and the Confederate troops continued to follow the enemy until after eight at night. The tangled undergrowth of the region rendered successful pursuit almost impossible; but through this obstinate barrier the troops rushed on, driving the enemy before them until they took refuge in the strong works around Chancellorsville. The Southern lines continued to press forward until they reached the ridge overlooking that upon which Chancellorsville is situated, about half a mile distant, when, in the darkness, the right of the Confederate line became entangled in a heavy abatis of felled trees, and the troops were compelled to halt.

They were now in very great confusion-the divisions of Rodes and Colston having been mingled almost inextricablyand it was necessary to desist from the attack in order to re-form the commands. This was rendered still more necessary by a sudden fire from the Federal batteries in front, scarcely half a mile distant, which swept the road and woods with shot and shell, still further adding to the confusion resulting from the charge. Rodes' division was accordingly ordered to fall back, and, directing General A. P. Hill to move with his division to the front, Jackson rode forward to reconnoitre the enemy's position.

It was now nearly ten o'clock at night. The Wilderness slept in the tranquil light of the moon, and from the dark thickets came the continuous and melancholy cry of the whippoorwill, sounding strangely amid that scene upon which so many human beings had just met in close and deadly encounter. The silence was unbroken, except by these plaintive cries of the bird of night, mingled with the tramp and hum of men, as they moved to their allotted positions for the new struggle which, in spite of the darkness, Jackson had determined upon; and from the dark lines of the enemy near Chancellorsville, directly in front, came only a confused and hollow murmur-sole evidence of the fact that their army was on the qui vive, and their gunners standing with lighted port-fires beside the pieces, ready to sweep

the approaches to the position which they occupied, if the rustle of a leaf or the fall of a twig announced a new advance of the Southerners.

Jackson's design had been only half achieved. He had driven the enemy from their first line of intrenchments, and doubled up their right wing on their centre. But this only showed the possibility of a more decisive success. Jackson saw at a glance the immense results to be achieved by vigorously following up the blow which he had already struck, and his design now was to swing round with his left, interpose his corps between the Federal army and United States ford, and capture or destroy them, or be himself destroyed.

He wanted but "one more hour of daylight" he afterwards said, to effect this great movement, and cut the enemy off from the Rappahannock; but within the hour he was himself to fall, struck down by one of those incomprehensible decrees of Providence which men see but cannot understand. We approach with pain the details of this event, which filled the whole South with grief.

Jackson had ridden forward, as we have said, to reconnoitre, accompanied only by Captain R. E. Wilbourn of his staff, and Captain William Randolph, with about half a dozen couriers, and two men of the signal corps. The enemy were less than two hundred yards in front of his lines, and no pickets had been established. Thus Jackson soon found himself considerably in advance of the troops, with nothing between him and the enemy. Who was to blame for this neglect we have no means of ascertaining, but it resulted in the death of Jackson.

Such was his ardor at this critical moment, and so great his anxiety to penetrate the movements of the enemy, doubly screened as they were by the dense forest and the shadows of night, that he continued his way without thought of the great danger to which he was exposing himself. So real was this peril that one of his staff officers said to him: General, don't you think this is the wrong place for you?" To which he replied quickly, "The danger is all over-the enemy is routed!-go

back and tell A. P. Hill to press right on!" No one presumed to offer further remonstrance, and Jackson continued to advance down the road toward Chancellorsville, listening for every sound, and endeavoring to peer through the half darkness.

He had advanced in this manner more than a hundred yards beyond his lines, and had reached a point on the road opposite an unfinished weather-board house on the right, whose shell-torn roof may still be seen, when suddenly, without any conceivable cause, a heavy volley was fired by the Confederate infantry in his rear and on the right of the road, apparently directed at him and his escort. Several of the party fell from their horses; and Jackson turned to the left and galloped off in the opposite direction. He had not gone twenty steps into the woods when a Confederate brigade, which was there drawn up within twenty yards of him, delivered a volley in their turn, kneeling on the right knee, as the flash of the guns showed, as though preparing to guard against cavalry. By this fire Jackson was wounded in three places. He received one ball in his left arm, two inches below the shoulder joint, shattering the bone and severing the chief artery; a second passed through the same arm, between the elbow and wrist, making its exit through the palm of the hand; and a third ball entered the palm of his right hand, about the middle, and passing through, broke two of the bones.

At the moment when he was struck he was holding his bridle in his left hand, and his right was raised, either in the gesture habitual with him, or to defend his face from the boughs of the trees. His left hand immediately dropped by his side, and his horse, thus no longer controlled by the rein, wheeled suddenly and ran off with him from the firing, in the direction of the enemy. His helpless condition exposed him immediately to a distressing accident. His horse ran violently between two pine trees, from one of which a low bough extended, about the height of his head, to the other; and as he passed between the trees this bough struck him in the face, tore off his cap, and threw him so violently back that his shoulders came in contact with his horse. He did not fall, however, and soon rose erect again,