Chapter 16: Little Round Top

"Hold men…hold your fire…" The line officers of the 20th Maine ordered calmly. Dib stood beside Colonel Chamberlain. He kept looking to the colonel, who gazed toward the oncoming enemy, and back to the advancing force. Dib heard a loud shriek from the enemy, as if all the men in the ranks had suddenly let out a banshee scream at once. It was a yell of determination and fearlessness in face of the fire the Union was pouring onto them. It chilled Dib's blood. The advancing Rebels were now moving up the grade in front of the 20th.

"Fire!" Chamberlain bellowed.

"Fire!" The officers shouted. A roar, like a long peal of thunder sounded as every rifle in the line came to life to cause death. A cloud of smoke blocked out the view of the enemy for a minute, but the men kept loading and firing into the white wall of smoke.

"Pour it onto 'em men!" A shout sounded from down the hill. A volley of fire, this time from the enemy rang out, and many of Chamberlain's men fell where they were, many injured, some dead.

"Keep it hot, men!" Dib heard Captain Spear shout. The valiant men of the little Maine regiment now fired another volley. Through the smoke, Dib could see figures moving back down the hill. Shots rang out from both sides as the enemy retreated. Chamberlain's brother, the lieutenant came running up.

"Lawrence…Colonel, sir!" He exclaimed. "They tried to move around the left flank, but we pushed 'em back. We pushed 'em back good." Chamberlain Looked out through the mist.

"They'll be coming again, I think." He said solemnly. "Tom, I need all the officers here." Tom saluted. "Captain Spear!" The captain came jogging up and saluted. "I want the regiment to spread out a little. I want a company with some sharpshooters positioned on the far left, and I want the line lengthened, understood?"

"Yes sir!" Spear replied, and moved off. Chamberlain sighed. He looked down at Dib, who was trying to remain calm, despite the fact he was scared to death.

"Can you get this young man a rifle and some ammunition?" Chamberlain asked Tom. The younger Chamberlain nodded and ran off, returning with a long musket with a shiny barrel, and a belt with leather pouches on it.

"You know how to use this?" Tom asked. Dib shook his head.

"I'm sure I'll learn." Dib said. Tom looked down the hill.

"You may get your chance. Lawrence! Here they come again!" Dib looked down the hill. The enemy was advancing again. Dib suddenly felt panic again. "Powder, ball, ram it home, cap, and fire." Tom explained quickly. He nodded to the colonel, and ran back to his position. Dib fumbled in the large leather pouch for a round. He pulled out a round paper tube. Chamberlain stood next to him, checking his pistol.

"Powder is in the roll." Chamberlain said quickly. "Tear it open, pour in the powder. Drop in the ball, and force it down the barrel." Dib did as instructed, tearing open the paper tube, and pouring the black powder into the rifle's barrel. He placed the heavy grey bullet into the barrel, and removed the ramrod from under the barrel. The rebels were closer now, and the 20th had already begun firing. He shoved the ball down the barrel with the rammer, and extracted the rod. "Cock it once." Chamberlain said, his face showing a determined look as he watched the enemy approach. "Now place a cap there under the hammer. Dib pulled a small brass cap from the smaller pouch, and with trembling fingers, placed it on the nipple beneath the hammer. "Cock it, aim and fire." Chamberlain said, aiming his pistol. Dib cocked the rifle. The gunfire between both sides was massive now, and men from Chamberlain's regiment were falling all down the line. Dib took aim at the mass of men and fired. The recoil hurt a little, but Dib recovered, and began to reload.

The rebels were coming with a new resolve, and though Chamberlain's men fired as fast as they could, the enemy came closer and closer. It looked as though they may overrun the Maine soldiers, but at the last minute, they began to ebb back down the hill, firing as they went. Dib quickly reloaded his rifle, and Chamberlain worked to reload his pistol as Spear came through the smoke of battle. His face was streaked black with powder smoke and dirt.

"Sir," He said, panting for breath. "They almost overran us. We took heavy casualties, and the boys are low on ammunition. Sir, we have to move back."

"We cannot do so." Chamberlain said. "We are the flank. If we lose this ground, they can turn the entire flank of the army. We have to hold."

"What do we do?" Spear asked. Chamberlain sighed.

"Send a messenger to the 83rd. See if they can send us any ammunition and men. Tell them it's urgent."

"Yes sir." Spear saluted. Chamberlain began to walk along the line. Dib followed, watching the trees below anxiously.

"Colonel Chamberlain?" Dib asked in a low voice. The colonel perked his head as he walked. "Can we beat them again?"

"I don't know…" Chamberlain sighed. "I don't think we can hold against many more assaults like these." Dib felt a sense of doom pervade him. They were running out of men and bullets, and the enemy kept coming. They couldn't leave, but soon, they wouldn't be able to fight. Dib clutched the rifle tightly.

"They're coming!" A soldier shouted. The yell Dib heard before cut through the trees again. Chamberlain pointed his pistol. Tom came up and stood next to his brother, his pistol aimed at the approaching enemy. Dib knelt down in front of the two. It was as if they were defending their leader in a last stand against unbeatable odds. The firing began anew. Men began falling again, and again the white haze took over the battle. Dib fired, loaded and fired again at the horde of approaching men. He heard bullets whiz by him like angry bees. In all fairness, he imagined that his own rounds were buzzing past the head of some young enemy soldier. So this was war, two people who didn't even know each other, trying to shoot and kill one another over an argument, a difference in ideas… A bullet hitting the fabric of Dib's kepi brought him back to the battle from his thoughts. The rebel army was now upon the line of soldiers.

"Damn!" Chamberlain called out, falling to the ground. Dib quickly knelt beside the commander.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Chamberlain grunted.

"Ah…just grazed me…" He replied. He raised his revolver and shot a confederate soldier running toward them with his rifle raised high like a club. The man fell dead. Dib quickly reloaded his own rifle as men fell around them, Union and rebel alike. He fired into a group of enemy soldiers. Several fell, and he did not know whether or not it was one of his rounds that had killed one of them. Now the enemy was falling back once again. The hand to hand combat was over, and the surviving rebels were moving back down the hill.

"Did…did we win?" Dib stammered. Chamberlain was flushed red, and sweat beaded on his face.

"I do not know, but I think not." He said. A sergeant ran up.

"Sir…sir, the 83rd says to tell you they can give you no aid sir…they're hit hard as well, and cannot help. Colonel Vincent is down, wounded badly sir." Chamberlain sighed and shook his head. The messenger continued. "It gets worse sir. Hazlet's Battery was moved on top of the hill sir, but Hazlet was killed. So was general Weed, not a minute apart. It's all chaos sir."

"Thank you…" Chamberlain said unemotionally. The sergeant left as Chamberlain's officers approached.

"They're reforming again, sir." Captain Spear informed. "I think they'll come again soon…but the men, they're low on ammunition. Half of 'em are out, sir." Dib felt his heart sink. This was it. There was no way they could withstand another charge. "What do we do, sir?"

"We can't retreat…" Chamberlain spoke.

"But we can't shoot with no ammo." Dib added.

"And we're down to maybe a hundred men." Tom said sadly. Chamberlain looked down the hill and thought for a moment. Dib couldn't conceive of any way out of this predicament. It was a last stand, a suicide mission. What could anyone do in this situation?

"Okay, Captain Spear…" Chamberlain finally said. "You take command of the entire left wing. I'll command the right, and when they charge us again, we'll wheel the regiment downward, down the slope. We fix bayonets and charge them head on.

"A right wheel of the entire regiment, sir?" Spear asked in surprise.

"Yes." Chamberlain replied simply. "We swing down on them as they swing up. They won't be expecting a charge, and…well…we can't do much else, so ready the men. You all know your duty." The officers saluted.

"Yes sir." Came the unanimous answer.

"Go!" Ordered Chamberlain. The men rushed off and began to bring the remaining soldiers together in a perfect line. Dib looked down the hill. First a flag was visible, a red square with a blue X dotted with stars. Then the men, charging up the hill in their grey and brown uniforms, their rifles in hand.

"Here they come!" Dib called.

"Fix…BAYONETES!" Chamberlain screamed. The men all drew the long blades from their belts and locked them onto the ends of their rifles. Dib did the same. His legs felt like rubber. His heart pounded in the boy's chest, but he looked once more at Chamberlain. The colonel, standing tall, resolute, his sword in one hand, and pistol in the other, and it made Dib feel a little stronger. The enemy stormed closer and closer. Finally, they were within fifty feet.

"Charge!" Chamberlain yelled. He ran forward, mixing with the union soldiers that now charged toward the enemy. Dib joined the mass of men, flooding down the hillside now like a torrent of blue water. The rebels stopped, fired a volley, then turned and fled in fear. The 20th Maine charge forward after them, their rifles held like spears. Dib saw Chamberlain, waving his sword, firing into the enemy. His men were beginning to overtake the rebel soldiers, who threw down their weapons and surrendered. Others attempted to fight, and were shot or clubbed by the men from the 20th Maine. Soon after it had begun, the fight was over.

Colonel Chamberlain leaned against a tree as soldiers led groups of prisoners back toward Union lines. Dib watched in awe. Somehow, with one hundred men and no ammunition, Colonel Chamberlain had won the battle!

Well lads, that was the battle for Little Round Top. What did you think? Comments? Questions? Please send both in large quantities.