A Perfect Sheet Of Lead

A Perfect Sheet Of Lead. "The Charge of the 114th New York". Time: Early Afternoon , You're standing where much of the 114th New York sacrificed itself to save the Union line from complete collapse., When the initial Union attack collapsed and Gen. Cuvier Grover's division fell back in chaos and confusion, Union Gen. William Emory ordered Union Gen. William Dwight to "Have this thing stopped at once!" But Dwight's troops were marching through the woods in column, and it would take time for them to get into position - time that Emory did not have., With fugitives from Grover's division retreating in a panic before the bold attack of Confederate Gen. Cullen Battle's Albums brigade, streaming back across the ground in front of you, Dwight ordered Gen. George Beal to "Throw one of your regiments straight to the front beyond that point, we must i hold it at all hands.” Beal advanced the 114th New York through the Middle Field to this area, with the Alabamans blazing away at the Federals all the while. Although the Alabamans killed and wounded 185 of the 350 New Yorkers who went into the fight, the 114th New York held their ground and fired back, stemming the gray tide and buying enough time for the rest of Dwight's division to arrive and stabilize the Union right., "The veterans of Stonewall Jackson fired amazingly low. - Union Surgeon Harris H. Beecher, Union Surgeon Harris H. Beecher the regimental historian of the 114d New York, recalled the grim reality of the scene: "The veterans of Stonewall Jackson fired amazingly low, so that the grass and earth in front of the regiment was cut and torn up by a perfect sheet of lead. Their bullets sought the hiding places of the men with fatal accuracy, and by ones and twos and threes they went crawling to the rear, with their blues clothes defaced with streaks and lots of crimson gore. Blood was on everything, was everywhere... was spattered upon bushes, was gathered in ghastly puddles upon the ground.", (captions) , This illustration of the 114th New York Volunteer Infantry in camp gives a gernaeral idea of the size of the regiment., Col. Per Lee, commander of the 114th New York, was shot through the neck but survived. Image from Nicholas P. Picerno Collectoiin.