WINNING THE BARS.



105



right of Fort Magruder, 'and occupied two of the chain of
redoubts on the line of the fort, thus turning Longstreet's left.
   With this brigade, Lieutenant Custer made his appearance,
and behaved with his usual dash and vigor. He does not seem
to have had any particular business to call him there, but his
restless nature took him always to the extreme advance, where
there was any duty to be done, and he seems early to have
discovered that with Hancock's command was about as good a
place as could be found for that sort of service. Very fre-
quently afterwards during the campaign, he found himself
with the same brigade. It is noticeable too, that at Williams-
burg, his military eye led him to prefer Hancock's position
to Hooker's. There was much harder fighting in front of
Hooker, but it was early evident that it was a perfectly hope-
less struggle for that single division to attempt to carry the
Confederate works in front. It was a mere useless slaughter
of brave men. In Hancock's direction, a success promised
something. It turned Longstreet's flank; and had it been
supported by other of the numerous troops that lay idly look-
ing on, might easily have resulted in the capture of the greater
part of Johnston's rear guard.
   As it was, Hancock's single brigade caused Longstreet the
only serious alarm he suffered during the day, according to
the admissions made in "Johnston's Narrative." It did all
that so small a force could be expected to do, occupied the
redoubts, driving oIut the enemy's skirmishers, held its own all
day; and when Early's brigade, towards evening, advanced to
dislodge it, went in on the charge, and thrashed Early's brig-
ade most handsomely, the only decided success of the day.
   The part taken by Custer in the affair is characteristic, and
is thus mentioned in Hancock's report: "I now placed the
artillery in battery on the crest of the hill in front of the
enemy's work at short range, deployed skirmishers on the
right and left of the road, and sent the Fifth Wisconsin, pre-
ceded by skirmishers under command of Major Larrabee, and