brought them off the field. For this act of bravery he was promoted to Lieutenant, and was mortally wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, on the 13th of December, and died of his wounds a few days afterward. During the battle the Fifth, being hardly pressed and affairs assuming a desperate character, Col. Cross, his face streaming with blood from wounds in his forehead, and blackened with powder, and his head bound round with a red handkerchief, hurrying to every part of the line, bade the men "put on the war paint," by rubbing the torn ends of the cartridges over their faces; and then calling for the "war-whoop," he raised his own voice into the battle cry, and was followed by every man, until the sound rose above that of artillery and musketry, carrying defiance to foe and encouragement to friend. The men plied the rammers, and fired as fast as possible, and "fire!" "fire!" "fire faster!" rang along the line from the officers. Men became almost frantic; guns could not be loaded fast enough; those of the wounded were seized and even the arms were taken from the hands of the rebel dead and discharged at the heads of their living comrades. A rebel standard bearer waved his flag defiantly within a few yards. "Shoot the man with the flag!" shouted twenty voices, and he was leveled to the dust with his flag. Still they pressed on, and more desperate grew the chances, when Col. McKean, of the Eighty-first Pennsylvania, seeing the situation of the Fifth, brought his regiment from the right, of his own accord, and forming in a line with the Fifth, opened a roaring fire of "buck and ball," on the enemy, which, with the unceasing fire of the Fifth, speedily drove the enemy off. Soon after the Fifth, being sadly cut up and very tired, was relieved, and placed in a position further to the left, behind the crest. During the afternoon the regiment lay under severe artillery fire, which the enemy continued on the left of the line, during

which its beloved commander, General Richardson, was mortally wounded while directing the fire of a battery. He had been among the bravest of the brave, and had charged on foot, sword in hand, with the front line. He was succeeded by General Hancock, who of all others, perhaps, could best fill his place. The battle raged from the right of the line to the left, where Burnside was engaged, at intervals, until night; but the Fifth was not again called on. On the 18th it was only employed in skirmishing. A detachment of recruits fresh from New Hampshire, arrived on the field, and Col. Cross caused them to arm themselves from the slain. On the 19th the rebels had retreated.

In this battle over one hundred thousand men and five hundred pieces of artillery had been engaged on both sides, with a loss to the enemy of near fifteen thousand men, a number of guns and colors, and a loss on the Union side of twelve thousand four hundred and sixty men, and not a gun or color. From three hundred and nineteen officers and men of the Fifth, who went into the fight, one hundred and eight had been killed and wounded. Among the killed was Second Lieut. George A. Gay, a gallant young officer, lately promoted for meritorious conduct. Among the wounded was Second Lieut. Charles W. Bean, a young officer of great promise, who died of his wounds soon after. Gen. McClellan, in his report of operations, highly compltmented Col. Cross and his regiment, by a personal notice. It was in this battle that the regiment earned the title of "The Fighting Fifth.”

On the 21st Gen. Hancock's Division encamped on Boliver Heights, and during the rest of September and nearly all of October, the Fifth remained inactive, with the exception of marching on one reconnoissance to Charlestown, Va., in which it came under fire for a few minutes. The time was employed in drill and picket

duty, and the regiment was once more fully clothed and equipped. Major Cook resigned on account of wounds, and Capt. Sturtevant of Company A, was promoted to Major, his commission dating from July 3, 1862.

The Fifth had now been in the service a year, and a most eventful year it had been During the year the regiment had received one hundred and forty-six recruits, making the total strength for that period eleven hundred and fifty-six. Two officers had been killed and seventeen wounded. Sixty men had lost their lives in battle; two hundred and forty had been wounded, and sixteen were missing, making the whole loss in battle three hundred and thirty-five. Sixty-nine died of disease, twelve officers resigned, four were dismissed, one hundred and thirty-five men were discharged, and fifty-one had deserted. Of the eleven hundred and fifty-six who had belonged to the regiment during the year, four hundred and forty-nine had been lost in various ways; and of the seven hundred and seven remaining on the rolls but three hundred and twenty-three were present for duty.

On the 29th of October the march was taken up, and the division moved across the Shenandoah and down the Loudon Valley. On the 3d of November the Fifth Regiment came under fire at Snicker's Gap, and about the 14th the tents were pitched at Falmouth. Log huts were built and covered with tents, and the regiment once more went into winter quarters.

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG.

On the 11th of December the Second Corps was massed opposite Fredericksburg, and a portion of it effected a crossing under a severe fire from the enemy's infantry among the houses in the city. On the 12th the whole Corps had crossed on pontoon bridges, which had been thrown over the Rappahannock river, in the