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Then Grover, who rode with Birge, sent in the 159th New York on the left of the 26th Maine, with orders to take the wood, while the 13th Connecticut, marching round the bend of the bayou, formed on the extreme left between the stream and the road.
The 159th Brigade got into Hebron on the night of the 5th of December, but instead of going north of it if they had done so an enemy cavalry patrol would have seen them they set to work to repair the road through the old Biblical town, for the enemy had blown holes in the highway.
On his right flank the enemy was willing to concede ground, and the 159th Brigade occupied Hismeh, Jeba, and the ridges to the north-west to protect the flank of the 60th Division. The 53rd Division buried 271 enemy dead on their front as the result of three days' fighting.
It was important to obtain possession of two of these hills, the first called Zamby and the second named by the Welsh troops 'Whitehill, from the bright limestone outcrop at the crest. The 159th Brigade attacked and gained Zamby and then turned nearer the Jericho road to capture Whitehill.
Next came the 26th Maine with Bradley's section of Rodgers's battery, then the 159th New York, then the remainder of Rodgers's battery, while the 13th Connecticut brought up the rear.
Grover's men made the hard march of 69 miles from Washington in three days; the last 33 miles in 13½ hours, actual time. See Major Tiemann's "History of the 159th New York," pp. 91, 92.
To support Weitzel's movement, Grover sent the 159th New York, Lieutenant-Colonel Burt, and the 25th Connecticut by a wide detour to the right to make their way in on Paine's left.
By this, the left regiment of Molineux, the gallant 22d Iowa, being in quite open ground, was greatly exposed, so that it, too, was presently swept back. The 159th New York and the 13th Connecticut, after holding on stiffly for a time under the partial cover of a sort of gully, were in like manner swept away, and on the right Birge's men paid the penalty of their own impetuosity.
At last, Broadway lay a shining black ribbon, bordered with every hue of the rainbow, awaiting the runners. Uncle Denny had an elaborate plan for seeing the race. He and Jim's mother and Penelope established themselves at 159th street, with a waiting automobile around the corner.
And then our troubles weren't over. The firebays we found crammed with the infantry we were relieving a helpless, hopeless mob and it wasn't till midnight that we had the place to ourselves. We could only man every second or third bay lightly, and our left flank was in the air the 159th Brigade on our left, being about 120 yards away. Lovats were in, and to the south of, the Dere.
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