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suffering. The battalion had been tried at Winchester, at Gettysburg and at Cold
Harbor, but never before had it been called upon to undergo the terrible hardships
that day and night duty in the trenches entailed. Without shelter from the
weather, half-starved, they were subjected to a steady fire from the enemy every
hour of the twenty-four, and were called upon from time to time to come forth
from the partial protection their earthworks afforded from the shot and shell of
the enemy and fight vast odds in the open field. And still under all these trying
conditions there was but one desertion from the ranks of the battalion, whereas
from others there were hundreds. This fact was well known to their division
commander, and even to those higher in authority, and it was no wonder, then,
that they were called upon to perform more than their share of outpost duty. If
the men of the battalion felt proud of their achievements at Gettysburg and Cold
Harbor, they had yet other laurels to win at Peebles Farm, the Weldon Railroad
and Hatcher's Run, of which they were equally as proud.

During the time they occupied the trenches many of their number were
stricken down. On August Qth John Parker, of Company H, was wounded;

August 12th James Abbott, of Company G, who had served in the old First from
the first Manassas, was severely wounded, it being the sixth time since his enlist-
ment. Richard T. Andersen, of Company C, was wounded at the same time;

and on the 15th George Langford, of Company G, was severely wounded.

By August 15, 1864, Grant had assembled 110,000 men around Petersburg,
and this immense army was held in check by a force under General Lee of 36,000
men. After the failure of Burnside's mine. Grant abandoned the idea of further
direct attack, and spent the autumn and part of the winter in attempting to extend
his left around Petersburg, and in efforts to pierce the Confederate lines north
of the James.

On August 16 a movement was made from the direction of Deep Bottom
upon the works at Chafin's Bluff, which failed, and another movement, in which
the Second Maryland became interested, was made on August 18 for the purpose
of getting possession of the Weldon Railroad, over which supplies came for
General Lee's army.

On the morning of the 18th the Fifth Corps reached a point about five miles
southwest of Petersburg, and about one mile east of the Weldon Railroad. Warren,
in command, upon reaching this point proceeded to throw out skirmishers, which
soon came in contact with Deering's Brigade of Cavalry, which for some hours
stubbornly disputed the Federal advance. Deering was finally forced back to
within a mile or two of Petersburg, when A. P. Hill suddenly fell upon Warren
and drove him back, with heavy loss. In the meanwhile General Griffin had been
sent with a portion of the Fifth Corps to seize the railroad, which he did, and
immediately proceeded to intrench himself.