258 CONFEDERATE PORTRAITS
men who could cross that plain and take that hill," he said.
But Lee believed in his troops ; believed that they could go anywhere and do anything. He believed that with proper support from other divisions and from artil- lery, Pickett's 15,000 men could cross that plain and take that hill. And he ordered them to do it.
Friends assert and foes admit that it was one of the great charges of the world. First came the prelude from an orchestra of scores of cannon, the roar of an artillery duel unsurpassed even in the battles of Na- poleon. Still the cannon thundered, and still Long- street delayed to say the word for those 15,000 to march out to death. At last, when ammunition was failing, he gave in.
Forth rode Pickett, with his long locks and his chiv- alrous bearing. At his back were regiments with the best blood of the South — men ready to die for what they believed as good a cause as any man ever died for. In front of them rose the slopes of Cemetery Hill, crowned by walls and fences, and defended by men whose cour- age was equal to their own. On swept those splendid lines, winning the admiration of friend and foe alike. Shell hissed over them, shot tore through them, men fell to right and left, ranks thinned, whole regiments wavered ; still they pressed on, reached the foot of the hill, swarmed up it, and for a moment mingled in furious conflict with the defenders. Then they rolled back, the few that were
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