Wikoff's brigade was now coming up and it was directed upon the same
trail. This brigade consisted of the Ninth, Thirteenth and
Twenty-fourth. Colonel Wikoff was directed by General Kent to move his
brigade across the creek by the trail (the left fork) and when
reaching the opposite side, of the creek to put the brigade in line on
the left of the trail and begin the attack at once. In executing this
order the entire brigade stumbled through and over hundreds of men of
the Seventy-first New York Regiment. When a volunteer regiment broke
through the lines of the Ninth Cavalry from the rear, that regiment
was in its place on the field in line of battle, with its morale
perfect. It was under discipline and delivering its fire with
regularity. It had an absolute right to its place. The Seventy-first
was in no such attitude, and General Kent directed the advance through
it in these words: "Tell the brigade to pay no attention to this sort
of thing; it is highly irregular." The Ninth Cavalry's position was
exactly _regular_; the position of the Seventh-first was to the eyes
of General Kent "highly irregular."
The three regiments of this brigade were to take their positions on
the left of the ford after crossing the stream, in the following
order: On the extreme left the Twenty-fourth, next to it in the centre
of the brigade, the Ninth, and on the right of the brigade the
Thirteenth.
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