[May 12th] It still rained, and just before daylight became quite foggy, so that we were slightly delayed. Everything being ready, however, as soon as the first streak of daylight appeared in the eastern skies, the command to move forward was given, and without noise the whole solid column stepped out, closely followed by the second line. Arms were carried at the right shoulder, and on we went, a solid mass, moving very rapidly; the rebel picket was soon encountered, but we ran right over it, and upon reaching the neighborhood of the Landron house, received the fire of the picket reserve, but pressed steadily forward, paying no attention to it. Soon the earthworks loomed into view close by, when with a prolonged cheer, at the double quick, the whole force charged over the intervening ground, swarmed over the parapet, and taking them entirely by surprise and unprepared, got behind them, and hustled them all over the works into the arms of our reserves. It was a complete success. The rebels fired only a very few shots, and were mostly asleep when we rushed into their works. The first piece of luck we have had for many a day. We captured Major-General Edward Johnson and Brigadier General George H. Stuart, together with four thousand men and eighteen guns. The whole angle and perhaps half a mile of their lines was in our hands, but when we attempted to move forward, found a second line, now fully on the alert and too strong to be carried; so our men promptly went to work to face the captured lines the other way; before they were completed, however, the enemy came forward in immense numbers and made the most desperate attempt to recover their lost ground. They seemed determined to gain back at any cost what had been lost, and the most severe close fighting of the war ensued. The enemy several times got close up to the parapet, and reaching over the men on opposite sides did their best to bayonet each other. Batteries were brought up, and firing over our heads into the masses of the enemy inflicted enormous losses: trees eighteen inches in diameter were cut down by the fire of musket balls but the enemy could not recover what they had lost, nor could we advance, and towards the middle of the night they withdrew to form a new line in rear of the one now covered with dead. It was a tremendous struggle, bravely maintained throughout the day, both sides showing the utmost gallantry and determination. General Hancock was much elated with his success. When the rebel General Stuart was marching to the rear Hancock came riding along, and recognizing him as an old army friend of days gone by, put out his hand, but the rebellious gentleman refused the proffered shake, and lost much in our estimation for so doing. One of the pleasant features of our fighting is that none of us consider it a personal affair and individually are as friendly to any of our captured antagonists as though no state of war existed. There is no personal animosity whatever, so far as I have seen.
The enemy withdrew during the night, and the army of the Potomac under the indomitable Grant, prepared immediately to follow them.
[Here ends Diary of a Young Officer–Josiah Marshall Favill]
