“Hurrah!” shouted Tom, as the rebels quaked before the withering storm of shot belched forth by the guns of the battery.  “They shake!  Give it to them!”

“Steady, my men! steady,” said Captain Benson.  “The ammunition of the battery is expended,” he added, as the cannon ceased their work of destruction.  “We must hold these pieces, and every man must do his duty.”

“Ay, ay, sir!” replied Tom, vigorously, and the cry was repeated through the company.

As soon as the guns were thus rendered useless, the enemy swept down upon the supports again, intent upon capturing the pieces.  They advanced with that terrific yell which is enough of itself to frighten a nervous man, and with an impetuosity which nothing human could resist.  Our regiment recoiled under the shock; but it was forced back by the sheer stress of numbers.

“Rally men!  Rally, my brave fellows!” shouted the adjutant, in command of the left wing.

“Stand stiff!  Roll them back!” roared the colonel.

“Steady, men!” added Captain Benson.

“Now, give it to them!” screamed Tom, as he plunged his bayonet into the vitals of the rebel in front of him, and pushed forward into the very midst of the foe.

The sergeant seemed suddenly to be endowed with the strength of a giant, and he held his own till Hapgood sprang to his assistance.  The rest of the line, inspired by this daring conduct, rushed forward, and fell upon the foe with a fury that could not be resisted.

“Bravo!  Bravo, Tom!” shouted the captain.  “Go in, boys!” roared the lieutenant.

And the boys “went in,” and forced back the rebel line, and held the guns until another battery with a supply of ammunition arrived upon the ground to relieve them.  The enemy was again repulsed, and the guns were saved by the unflinching heroism of our gallant Massachusetts regiment—­another paragraph for the letter to Lilian Ashford.

CHAPTER XXXI.

GLORY AND VICTORY.

The battle now raged more fiercely than ever, and hotter and hotter became the fire on every side.  The shouts of the enemy indicated the arrival of reenforcements.  “Johnston!” “Long-street!” resounded over the field, and roused the rebels to renewed activity.  More certainly was the increase of the enemy’s force determined by the gradual falling back of the brigade at the left of the road; but the men fought with desperate courage, and yielded not a foot of ground without enriching it with their best blood.

There were no signs of reenforcements for over exhausted troops, though a whole corps was within hearing of the booming guns that were slaughtering our outnumbered and exhausted brigades.  On the field the aspect began to be dark and unpromising, and Tom prayed with all his soul that he might be spared the pain of beholding another defeat, another rout.

Our regiment was ordered to the support of the yielding brigade on the left.  The woods were full of rebels, and the issue of the conflict in this part of the field was almost hopeless.  The enemy seemed to be inspired by the slight advantage they had gained, and their yells were fiercer and more diabolical than ever, as they gathered themselves up for a desperate onslaught.