He now sends a last thunderbolt
crashing on the Decatur road.
During the day Valois' regiment has been thrown in here and there.
The stern colonel gazes with pride on the seasoned fighters at
their grim work.
But it is after four when Colonel Valois is ordered to mass his
regiment, followed by the last reserve, and lead it to the front
in the supreme effort of this awful day. His enemy in front is a
Union battery, which has been a flail to the Southern army.
In dozens of encounters the four heavy twenty-pound Parrotts of De
Gress have been an object of the maddest attack. Superbly handled,
in the best equipment, its high power, long range, and dashing
energy have given to this battery the rank in the West, which John
Pelham's light artillery gained under Lee's eyes in Virginia. The
pride of Sherman's artillery is the famous battery of De Gress.
To-day it has been dealing out death incessantly, at half musket-range.
It has swept rank on rank of the foes away. Now, with the frenzy of
despair, General Hood sends a forlorn column to pierce the Union
lines, carry the road, and take those renowned guns. A lull betokens
the last rush.
Riding to the front, Colonel Valois reins up beside Major Peyton.
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