History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5; prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, by Samuel P. Bates.

1862 BATTLE OF MEClfANICSVILLE. 879
and on the evening of the 25th, indications of an attack were so strong, that
General Reynolds required of Colonel Taggart hourly bulletins of everything
that transpired.
On the morning of the 26th, the regiment was relieved by the Bucktails and
the Fifth, Colonel Simmons, and returned to Ellerson's Mill. Here, a few days
before, rifle pits had been dug, in anticipation of the advance of the enemy,
and trees felled on the west side of the creek in front of the works. About
noon intelligence was received that Lee and Jackson, with the main body of
the rebel army, were advancing. The position selected behind Beaver Dam
Creek was now occupied by the Reserves, the Twelfth-Regiment, in the original
formation, holding the extreme left of the line, and on either side of the road
leading from Ellerson's Mill to Cold Harbor. Company C, Captain Gustin, was
posted in the mill, and in the archway underneath it, where, well sheltered, the
men could pick off the enemy as they appeared in sight. Company B occupied
rifle pits on the right of the road; but there being a grove of fine old trees in
their front, the men preferred to fight from behind them, whence poising their
guns they could fire deliberately. Company A, armed with Springfield rifles,
occupied the right of the line of rifle pits resting on the road. As some were
better marksmen than others, a number were selected to fire, while the others
loaded for them. Company K, also armed with Springfield muskets, also did
excellent execution.
The battle opened at three o'clock and lasted until nine at night. With
reckless daring the rebel lines rushed forward to the attack, but were swept back
by the steady fire of the Reserves. Early in the action the enemy attempted
to out flank our left, but the Seventh Regiment, Colonel Harvey, was promptly
brought up, extending our line farther to the left, and Easton's Battery was
posted by General Seymour, so as to command the swamp, and thus defeat the
enemy's design. A section of Cooper's Battery, consisting of two guns, posted
just back of, and above the Twelfth, did fearful execution, its shells being
thrown over the heads of the men in the pits, who as the smoke raised could
see the effect and guide the gunners in aiming their pieces. For six hours the
ground was held, though the trees, earth, and everything around were cut and
hurled in the most fearful manner. Over one hundred rounds of ammunition
per man were expended, and finally as darkness closed in, the troops bivouacked upon the field which their valor had won.
Before daybreak the Seventh Regiment, with the artillery, moved off to the
rear. Colonel Taggart was ordered to hold his position until daylight, and then
to retire quietly without bringing on a renewal of the engagement. At five
o'clock, the enemy, discovering that the troops in their front had nearly all been
withdrawn, commenced shouting, when the men, still in the rifle pits, opened
fire upon them, and soon the action became more fierce than at any time during
the previous day. The regiment was soon after withdrawn by order of General Seymour, which was executed in good order and without confusion. Roger A. Pryor, of the rebel army, in his account of the Seven Days Fight,"
says, "Ellerson's Mill was defended with desperate obstinacy, and was only
captured with desperate valor." The capture was a mere matter of occupancy,
when quietly vacated by the Union'troops, after having been successfully held
against the most persistent but futile assaults, and only yielded in obedience
to the peremptory orders of General M'Clellan.
For two days the men had had little sleep or refreshment, but with ready