The speed of the Southern charge increased and they were met at first by only a scattering fire.  The Northern generals, not expecting Lee to move out of his works, were surprised.  Before they could take the proper precautions Lee was upon them and once more the rebel yell that had swelled in victory on so many fields rang out in triumph.  The front lines of the men in blue were driven in, then whole brigades were thrown back, and Harry felt a wild thrill of delight when he beheld success where success had not seemed possible.

He saw near him the Invincibles charging home, and the two colonels still waving their swords as they led them, and he saw also the worn faces of the veterans about him suffused once more with the fire of battle.  He watched with glowing eyes as the fierce charge drove the Northern masses back farther and farther.

But the Union leaders, though taken by surprise, did not permit themselves and their troops to fall into a panic.  They had come too far and had fought too many battles to lose the prize at the very last moment.  Their own trumpets sounded on a long line, calling back the regiments and brigades.  Although the South had gained much ground Harry saw that the resistance was hardening rapidly.  Grant and Sheridan were pouring in their masses.  Heavy columns of infantry gathered in their front, and Sheridan’s numerous and powerful cavalry began to cut away their flanks.  The Southern advance became slow and then ceased entirely.

Harry felt again that dreadful sinking of the heart.  Leadership, valor and sacrifice were of no avail, when they were faced by leadership, valor and sacrifice also added to overwhelming numbers.

The battle was long and fierce, the men in gray throwing away their lives freely in charge after charge, but they were gradually borne back.  Lee showed all his old skill and generalship, marshaling his men with coolness and precision, but Grant and Sheridan would not be denied.  They too were cool and skillful, and when night came the Southern army was driven back at all points, although it had displayed a valor never surpassed in any of the great battles of the war.  But Lee’s face had not yet shown any signs of despair, when he gathered his men again in his old works.

It was to Harry, however, one of the gloomiest nights that he had ever known.  As a staff officer, he knew the desperate position of the Southern force, and his heart was very heavy within him.  He saw across the swamps and fields the innumerable Northern campfires, and he heard the Northern bugles calling to one another in the dusk.  But as the night advanced and he had duties to do his courage rose once more.  Since their great commander-in-chief was steady and calm he would try to be so too.

The opposing sentinels were very close to one another in the dark and as usual they often talked.  Harry, as he went on one errand or another, heard them sometimes, but he never interfered, knowing that nothing was to be gained by stopping them.  Deep in the night, when he was passing through a small wood very close to the Union lines, a figure rose up before him.  It was so dark that he did not know the man at first, but at the second look he recognized him.