% bgt tA ¥ ee. a Ress H (ete) * c f Fae Pi» i by Sa er eae & { je iatnegs POAET? OR PETTIGREW? el Se SPS eR oeSsesesesesesesesesesese Gk a ee ¢ +. Sometime Officer Brigade Staff Army Northern Virginia. ae | *Pell the truth ‘and the world will come te see if ib at last.”’—HMERSON. - Single copy, five copies, W.L. L: HALL, Pustisner, Seotland Neck, N. Cx * 2 Sese5esesaqgeseses esesegesesesese5 aN ee Go DR, J uy 1 J MERSON. Scotland Neck, N. G. ff Army Northern Virginia. a 1 ) SEC truth and the world will come to see it at last.” —E OND EDITION [REVISED AND ENLARGED. | W. L. L.. HALL, Pousuisat CAPT. W.-R; BOND, Sometime Officer Brigade St: AGKRT'T OR PRTIGREW ? 2 < i) ) a 2 appreciation. In fact there are very few States from © which there have not come expressions either of sur- prise that the slander should ever have originated or i ~of sympathy with the effort to right a great wrong. = = That the two thousand copies formerly issued 7 eshould have been disposed of two years ago and that “here is still ademand for the pamphlet, is deemed sul- ient reason for this edition. And the.recent publi- ation in New York of a history repeating the old falsehoods emphasizes the need of keeping the facts before the public. © It would be a matter of regret should any state- 4 Personal friend t he would be measu that here a line and let ment in these page ra Scotland Neck, N. ¢. Sin most m; PREFACR, , April, 1900. e GENERAL JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW, “There lived a knight, when knighthood was in flow’r, Who charm ’d alike the tilt-yard amd the bower.” The family of Johnston Pettigrew was one of the oldest, wealthiest and most influential of Eastern Carolina. His grandfather, Rev. Chas. Pettigrew, was the first Bishop-elect of the Diocese of North Carolina. He was born upon his father’s estate, Bonarva, Lake Scuppernong, Tyrrell county, North Carolina, on July 4th, 1828, and died near Bunker’s Hill, Va., July 17th, 1863, having been wounded ) three days before in a skirmish at Falling Waters. He graduated with the first distinction at the Univer- sity of North Carolina in 1847. A few months after graduation, at the request of Commodore Maury, principal of the Naval Observatory at Washington, he accepted a professorship in that institution. Having remained there about eight months he re- signed and went to Charleston, South Carolina, and became a student of law, in the office of his dis- tinguished relative, Hon. Jas. L. Pettigru, obtaining a license in 1849. In 1850 he went to Europe to study the civil law in the German Universities. There also he became thoroughly acquainted — with the German, French, Italian and Spanish lan- guages. He became so well acquainted with Arabic as to read and appreciate it; also with Hebrew. He then traveled over the various countries of the Conti- 6 Gan. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. nent, also England, Scotland a he bec ame Secretary of Legation to the U. S. Minist at the Court of Madrid. In the winter printed in Charleston, for tavo volume of 430 pages, entitled “Spain and the Spaniards,” which has been very much admired by every one who has read it, for its learning, its re- search and the elegance of its Style. Having remain- ed in Madrid only a few months he returned to Charleston and entered upon the practice of law with Mr. James L. Pettigru. In December, 1856, and De- cember, 1857, he was chosen a member of the Legis- lature from the city of Charleston. He rose to-great distinction in that body, by his Speech on the organ- ization of the Supreme Court, and his report against the re-opening of the Slave Trade. He failed nd Ireland. In 1852 of 1861 he had private circulation, an oc- / e African to be re-elected in 1858. Europe with the intention then in progress between Sar application to Count Cavour for a position in the Sardinian Army, under Gen’] Marmora, was favora- bly received. His rank would have been atleast that of Colonel; but in consequence of the results of the battle of Solferino, which took place just before his arrival in Sardinia, the war was closed and he was thereby prevented from experiencing’ active military Service and learning its lessons. In 1859 he became Colonel of a rifle regiment that was formed and that acted a conspicuous part around Charleston in the winter of 1860-61. With his regiment he took pos- session of Castle Pinkney, and was afterwards trans- ferred to Morris Island, where he erected formidable batteries. He held himself in readiness to storm Fort Sumpter in case it had not been surrendered after bombardment. In the spring of 1861, his regiment Again in 1859 he went to of taking part in the war dinia, and Austria. - His ~ 5 ATTY Nn ry 7 ( Grn. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. TT EUUN « B\ > just then be cause it ¢ not just then Nae 4 because it could Le sina esis" growing appa sitederate armiye disbanded Incorporated 1m ee : APPA seni Gu as oe Pek eee -rew then joined Hampton’s Leg} a “1 Col. Pettigrew the eS body to Virginia, where private, and went with that body 5 8 Ave, vith: A few days after- active service was to heme vi it She ee wards, without Oe nance Rete Too eae eee ete ffered promotion, but While at Evansport, he was otere e ae : it, upon the ground, that it woulc ‘ ! ae eee! nee ‘| en Late in the spring of 1862 oo on ee made by which his Fee ONY was = sae ee rieade: He then accepted the co sib raced Hevand his brigade were with Gen. sees Sno own and in the retreat Uy ae tee ae s with his brigade in the sangu ee : oe ea Pues or Fair Oaks, where he was s a rs ha nd wae left insensible upon the a - Y ae : He ae in prison only about ae eee 2 ona sine exchanged he returned to fin th : fe abs oe apeloed brigade had been a oO e ane der A new brigade was then ma oe sae eet r well this body was disciplined anc s a feo ay it was made this oe ae ae : 1862, he was show. In the autumn of Ue Ne oe eae brigade to Eastern Nor th ve ee eee was engaged in ge peri lers Looe auc e ae n overshadowec y the pee ae : ae In May, 1863, ean ee ne vee eo nae While Soe nea oe n, in Longstreet’s Assault, thoug . i epee killed, and he had received a Dat u eo Pan et shattering his left hand—he ee ee eet of his own brigade when the ae a ce oa on his regaining our lines, his remar pulse came. 8 GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PErrigrew. to Gen. Lee that he was respon but not for the division, shows that he was Satisfied with the conduct of a part, but not with that of all the troops under his command. As to one of the two brigades that Save way before the rest of the line, he labored under a ver great misapprehension. He did not know then, and the reading world has been slow to realize since, how very great had been its loss before retreati fact that in propor the assault sible for his brigade, PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? a ir y at Gettys- Longstreet’s assault on the third day at Getty eae ; but very incorrectly, burg, or what is generally, bu - ly anes : ; ’s Charge,’ has not only ha ‘ known.as “Pickett’s Charge, has a ae Vee srOper place in books treating of the war, Lene eer es “ : in newspapers and maga- been more written about in I up Sau zines than any event in American history 2 eae these accounts are simply silly. Some a te oo ee . u a, / int Ss Statement. Some are false in inference. All ir respects are untrue. At Falling Waters, on the placed in command of the rea ed of his own and Archer’ 14th, he had just been r guard, which consist- 8 brigade, when a skirmish occurred in which he Ww died on the 17 th, and his old home, Bonarva, and t beautiful lake, whose were wont to tread. as mortally wounded. He remains were taken to hig the Shores his youthful feet May he rest in peace ! ee . ioades ¢ mm- Three divisions, containing nine brigades eee bering about nine thousand and seven hun ee cers and men, were selected forthe ae ae The field over which they were ordered hoarens slowly and deliberately, was about Fone hanized yards wide, and was swept by the - : The smoke Cannon and twenty thousand eco : ee ur enty : a ted from the preceding cannonade, w hich res if fhat : r. In view of the fact, the field, was their only cover. 5 aa Cemetery When the order to go forward was given, tee ; 1 by Indians or Mexicans, bu Ridge was not defended by Ind : ene by an army, which for the greater ghich iy had posed of native Americans, an army, w i Linnie hever done so before, had shown in the firs FA ee ond day’s battles, not only that it coud mother could fight desperately. In view of this fact, a nr the Guder to go forward was a wise thing pace nee ful blunder, I do not propose to eae ae bose of this paper will be to compare ae at the the courage, endurance and soldierly qua hen he pa! Pickurt or Prrrigrew ? aa aie + ye Fi . a . aikerent brigades engaged in this assault, dwelling especially upon the conduct of the troops command- ed respectively by Generals Pickett and Pettigrew, If certain leading facts are monotony, it will be for the ry. Asasample, but rather an extreme one, of the thousand and one foolish things which have been written of this affair, I will state that a magazine for ehildren, “St. Nicholas,” I ago contained a description of this assault, in which & comparrison was drawn between the troops en- gaged, and language something like the following was used: ‘Those on the left faltered and fled. The right behaved gloriously. Each body acted accord- made of different ing to its nature, for they were stuff. The one of common earth, the other of finest clay. Pettigzrew’s men were North Carolinians, Pick- ett’s were superb Virginians.” To those people who do not know how the trash which passes for South- ern history was manufactured, the motives which actuated the writers, and how greedily at first every- thing written by them about'the war, was read, it is not so astonishing that a libel containing so much - ignorance, narrowness and prejudice as the above should have been printed in a respectable publica- tion, as the fact, that even to this day, when official records and other data are 80 accessible, there are thousands of otherwise well-informed people all over the land who believe the slander to be either entirely or in part true. And it looks almost like a hopeless task to attempt to combat an error which has lived so long and flourished go extensively. But some one has said, “Truth is a Krupp gun, before which False- hood’s armor, however thick, cannot stand. One repeated at the risk of purpose of impressing them upon the memories of youthful readers of higto-. think it was, some time | PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? 11 shot may accomplish nothing, or two, or three, but keep firing it will be pierced at last, and its builders and defenders will be covered with confusion. | i acer a ay Justice little essay shall be my one shot, and may Justi defend the right. This In the great war the soldiers from New ae oy North Carolina filled more graves than those coe any of the other States. In the one case wae and in the other thirty-six per cent. of them diec ee Supporting a cause which each side Doe 10 a ha Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia eae Ao about the same number of infantry at ABER GRMN all twenty-four brigades of the TEL pie pr iat Now, this battle is not generally considere¢ a } : fy Carolina fight as is Chancellorsville, but s ae oe the soldiers of the old North State met with a ene OF loss (killed and wounded, remember, i a peeks lina troops never attempted to rival cei = ae i brigades in the number of men captured), than dic . N ae those from any other State, and, leaving out Geor gians, greater than did those from any two oe Though the military population of North Caro a was exceeded by that of Virginia and Tennessee, a had during the war more men killed upon the batt field than both of them together. This isa matter of record. It may be that she was a little deliberate in making up her mind to go to war, but when ie She went in she went in to stay. At the a » ; zi terrible struggle in which so much of her best Me had been shed, her soldiers surrendered at Se - tox and Greensboro more muskets than did ns from any other State in the Confederacy. ie o troops with this record should not now a ae es everywhere as they did years ago in Lee’s ie ae Ston’s armies, may appear a problem hard to so ve, 12 Picke?TT on Parrigrew? but its soluton is the simplest thing in the world, and I will presently give it. The crack brigades of General Lee’s army were noted for their close fighting. When they entered a battle they went in to kill, and they knew that many of the enemy could not be killed at long range. This style of fighting was dangerous, and of course the necessary Consequence in the shape of a casualty list, large either in numbers or per centage, followed. Then there were some troops in the army who would on all occasions blaze away and waste ammunition, satisfied if only they were making a noise. Had they belonged to the army of that Mexican general who styled himself the “Napoleon of the West,”’ they would not have been selected for his. “Old Guard,”’ but yet, without exception, they stood high in the estimation of the Richmond people, much higher in- deed than very many of the best troops in our army. As said above, Longstreet’s assault is almost inva- riably spoken and written of as “Pickett’s charge.” This name and all the name implies, is what I shall protest againstin this article. At the battle of Ther- mopyle three hundred Spartans and seven hundred Thespians sacrificed their lives for the good of Greece. Every one has praised Leonidas and his Spartans. How many have ever so much as heard of the equal- ly brave Thespians? I do not know of a case other than this of the Thespians, where a gallant body of soldiers has been treated so cruelly by history, as the division which fought the first day under Heth and the third under Pettigrew. I have no personal con- cern in the fame of these troops, as I belonged to and fought in another division; but in two of its brigades Thad intimate friends who were killed in this battle, and on their account I would like to see justice done. Among these of the 26th North Carolina. “ 79 13 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW + friends were Captain Tom Holliday, A. e.and Harry Burgwyn, Colonel | A. G., of Davis’ Brigad ae ounded in this battle than Bus dred Confederate or the we had in any battle. Officia en, too, | know of no air dealing should ] as in business “more men killed and w one of the seven bun thousand Federal ever reeords show this.) And th S reason why truth, nee ae cae not be as much prized in his Pucike battle of Gettysburg W 2 d 5 y na charg X I A ant tte e it was DY peculiar y 1 atic cir- ‘ 1 a nd d as S eC d ALLY rl ram ti J ; z wires nore speeches, tances, has furnished asubjectior I : a ane cumstances, ntings and poem : ed in America. Painters se e historical, of course look to If history is false, false- | | as the most sanguin- considered ‘‘the turn- | | | historical essays, ee | event which ever occult poets, whose subjects ar history for their authority. eS eae hood will soon become intrenche : 100¢ ‘ its 1 he late war The world at large gets its he eee sie i Northern sources. Northern nis oe a See cs erat ences culiarly Southern, from su . Beis ce k’s' nd McCabe’s, and these mer y as lard’s, Cook’s a Scape ee the opinions of the eed p r 1 , elr su These newspapers in turn got t eee from their army correspondents, a ea careful to have only such correspon : iudged by its news- ; oY ichmond judged a During the fate ees ee Gear tie gallant young nation, papers, was th : apital city of a eee pales iho acer trom every State thereo and fullv narrow and selfish. While the citizens of Vir- ully I 14 PICKETT OR PerrigrEew? | ginia were filling nearly one-half of the positions of honor and trust, civil and military, Richmond thought that all should be thus filled. With rare ex-| ceptions, no soldier, no sailor, no jurist, no states- man, who did not hail from their State was ever ad- | No army but General Lee’s mired or spoken well of. and no troops in that army other than V irginians, unless they happened to be few in numbers, as was the case of the Louisianians and ‘Texans, were ever praised. A skirmish in which a Virginian regiment | or brigade was engaged was magnified into a fight, an action in which a few were killed was a severe hat- tle, and if by chance they were called upon to bleed freely, then, according to the Richmond papers, troops from some other State were to blame for it, and no such appalling slaughter had ever been wit- we is oe Pry in ed. That isthree in th oo he 5 rallantry has been dis the hundred wounded. Some gallantry played, some plood has been shed, but neither the cor - r was a henomenal. ‘There one nor the other was at all p y were brave men beiore Agamemnon. sat In some commands the habit of ‘playing poss prevailed. When a charge was being ne a Oe low became badly frightened, all he had to iM Lae fall flat and play dead until his Poeveent Wie a. Afterwards he would say that the concussion shell had stunned him. It is needless to say that i it s igher 3 .W vere ad ed to this habit stood hig troops who were addictec sent ise RIS DER Falk : See 4 2 abroad if their correspondent ¢ 1 id i yarmy. han they did in the a1 me ee Sey Was Pato eene or was it ignorance which pA : 8 m ‘oops which caused Pickett’s men to speak of the us eos pe marched on their left as their SUPPORTS: e eee that an order was issued and it was so oe is ee them that they should be supported by a ees iV’ -ys. and these troops were actually oe ee It is equally true that before the com- in their rear. 1 i y mand to move forward was given this cae Hee countermanded and these troops were eae ae placed on their left. As these movements W I r a OF of all men this order could not have been the origin a 18 PicknTr oR PEerTierEw ? PTIGREW ? 19 PIcKETT OR PETTIGREW ! . ; Of course I : . 5 Me Soe bs a der of the day. of the belief that Pettigrew had to support themshort range, was the order Was it arrogance and self-conceit ? esas os f the painting \V It looks like itknew that the subject of the pe a vas founded , im- lways been under the 1 Barna ; bi ea 1a Ways That their division stood to Lee’s army in the saméupon a myth; but had alwa; relation that the sun does then these people, could fight ’ Pickett’s and a few of : . kett’s a to the solar system. Butpression that while many De Tie extremities of if not blessed with some other Pettigrew’s men were ee: cred as white fi . . . . 3 = A r is a iN if ws ; ats fe qualities, had brains enough to know that our army ertain undergar ments ? » a scattering fire. While . ° ° a a as J ¢ o : and conquer, too, without their assist. part of them were keeping up : ags, a di ar me ; : : » ol Ge an standing nea ance. They did comparatively little fighting at Sec- before the painting a Hania eat all the Yankees ; : vas mee sat ¢ ond Manassas and Sharpsburg, had only two menexclaimed: ‘Tut! Ill agree t killed at Fredericksburg, cellorsville, for they aggeration to say the enemy at Gettysburg. The front line of troops, the line which does the fighting, was always known as “the line.” The line which marched in rear to give moral support and practical assistance, if necessar , Was in every other known body of troo ps called the supporting line or simply “supports.” Pickett’s division had Kemper’s on the right, Garnett’s on the left, with Armistead’s marching in the rear of Gurnett’s. Pettigrew’s form- ed one line with Lane’s and Scales’ brigades of Pen- der’s division, under Trimble, marching in the rear of its right as supports. did Pickett’s people want? The Federals are said oc- casionally to have used three. Even one with us was the exception. Ordinarily one brigade of each divis- ion was held in reserve, while the others were fight- ing, in order to repair any possible disaster. To show how a falsehood can be fortified by Art, I wul state that I visited the Centennial. Exposition at Philadelphia and there saw a very large and really | fine painting representing some desperate fighting at the so-called “Bloody Angle.” Clubbing with mus- kets, jabbing with bayonets and firing of cannon at How many supporting lines - RO a REA emer sonversation with did not fire a shot at Chan- Pickett killed.” PS Aes at Gettysburg, had were miles away, and it is no ex4 him I learned that he het Ramet and that he did that they did not kill twenty of fought in Gordon’s Georgia brig ? sree oD: ’s men. AS not have a very exalted opinion of Pickett's n j » pamarkably laree our Georgian friend was neither remarkably fe eo pic $ x Aring iz nor hungry-looking, several persons ee a mark spared: at him. That he did exagg ou 7 : : SD eard that some extent is possible, for I have since hea : Cok annete eel ainong the dead men in blue, near ace fell, there were six who had actually be musket balls. ° . i hig rk Col. ee Oe Ne rig entitled, ‘‘Regimental Losses.” in it ie csi heal the twenty-seven Confederate he Aas the Paad: most men killed and wounded at Gettys a “Cabe will ers of the histories of Pollard, Cooke Tene regi- be rather surprised to find only two ‘li aes, Becks ments on this list. Those who are Pe ae ieee thir- tlefield reports will not be surprised 2 S A Dae ae teen of these regiments were from * ie last named and four from Mississippi. Three of the las : ae s met with and five of the North Carolina regiments me thei gs under Pettigrew. Ths Nowh davatie brigade had in killed and d fiv ich is an aver- wounded eleven hundred and five, ee is ee age to the regiment of two hundred a ‘ 20 PickETT or PETTIGREW? igen eee | Six, There was not a Confederate regiment at either| had 886 killed and wounded and 266 missing ; Bid- first or Second Manassas which equalled this naa | dl 5 642 filled.and: wounded tne an th ‘the age, and no Virginia regiment ever did. a oe Brockenborough’s Virginia was 148. For the This brigade on the first day met those of Biddle | whole battle, as said before, Pettigrew’s killed and Pets : Meredith, which were considered the flower cot | moanded amounted to 1,105; probably ee their corps, and many old soldiers say that thiscorps | this loss occurred on this day. 3 —the First—did the. fiercest fighting on that BE of These facts and figures are matters of npecoray and which they ever had any experience, and the Ste ) vet eth “ieee records accessible to all men, Swinton, records sustain them in this belief. Biddle’s brigade a Northern historian, in the brilliant description he was composed of one New York and three Penns IE see of the assault on the third day says that vanla regiments. Meredith’s, known as the Shae “He th’s divin Com nee . _ brigade, was formed of five regiments from the west. | ae troops, CL een ee ato fight (By the way, the commander of this body, Gen. Solo- charge by being told haat Se ee ‘hes mon Meredith, was a native of North ) t arolina, as | ¢ hen the fire was opened upon them they ues Biso Gen. Jno: Gibbon, the famous peta pee ee ee ‘The Army of the Potomac! gee tind tere corps, and North Carolina luck | — of the Potomac!’ broke and fled.” AS after followed them, as they were severely wounded in this | th is od e the Virginia division had the guarding . with a little assistance several thousand Federal prisoners, ee ee : Carolinians and Georgians, they are probably “several hours to aloe a sponsible for this statement. : several hours to slowly drive them ’til] their ammu- | sane to return to the fight of the first day. he nition became nearly exhausted. When thisoccurred | Honorable Joseph Davis, then a Captain in the a7aly the Federals had reached a ridge from behind which late Supreme Court Judge of North Carolina, spea = they could be supplied with the necessary ammuni- | - of this day’s battle, says: “The advantage eae so open, the contest spe roons ihe field was | ee the Confederate side, and I aver that this he SO open, the contending lines so close together and greatly, if not chiefly, due to Pettigrew’s brigade an sharp-shooters, tiey eee vicinity was filled with its brave commander. The bearing of that knightly sharp-shooters, they could not be supplied and were soldier and elegant scholar as he galloped along in consequence relieved by two of Pender’s brigades the lines in the hottest of the fight, cheering on his In the meantime the enemy was re-enforced by a ion men, cannot be effaced from my mem ory.’ ; brigade of infantry and several wonderfully efficient Captain Young, of Charleston, South Boe ee batteries of artillery, and so when the brigades of staff officer of this division, says: “No troops cou the “right division” made their advance they suf- have fought better than did Pettigrew’s brigade on is dav. and I will testify on the experien cae battles, that I never saw any fight so battle.) Pettigrew’s brigade, 22 PickntT or PerrigREew ? well.” Davis’ brigade consisted of the 55th North Caro- lina, the 2nd, 11th and 42nd Mississippi. The11th was on detached servicethatday. The three which fought also faced splendid troops. Here, too, was a square stand up fight in the open. During the battle these three had, besides the usual proportion of wounded, one hundred and forty-eight killed. Only two dead men were lacking to these three regiments to make their loss equal to that of ten regiments of Pickett’s “magnificent Virginians.” Cutler’s brigade composed of one Pennsylvania and four New York regiments was opposed to that of Davis, and its loss this day was 602 killed and wounded and 363 missing, and many of the missing were subsequently found to have been killed or severe- ly wounded. With varying success these two brig- ades fought all the morning. The Federals finally gave way; but three of their regiments, after retreat- ing fcr some distance, took up a new line. Two of them left the field and went to town, as the day was hot and the fire hotter. It is said they visited Gettysburg to get a little ice water. However that may be, they soon returned and fought well ’till their whole line gave way. The ground on which these troops fought lay north of the railroad cut and was several hundred yards from where Pettigrew’s brigade was engaged with Meredith’s and Biddle’s. As Rode’s division began to appear upon the field Davis’ brigade was removed to the south side of the cut and placed in front of Stone’s Pennsylvania brigade (which, having just arrived, had filled the interval between Cutler and Meredith) but did no more fighting that day. After securing ammunition it followed the front line to the town. Had the interval between Daniel’s and Scales’ XE 92 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? 23 } i 7 d in reserve been filled by Thomas , which was held in saa neither of these Carolina brigades would have 8 ae ed go severely. The 2nd and 42nd See ee ACN one Carel ; vis’ f attle had 695 55th North Carolina of Day is’ for ie hae ee : dal 7o-thirds 2 killed and wounded, and about two-t curred in this first day ene te ae j f : ividual gaua To illustrate the inc nes i d re which came unde ill relate an adventure Ww = ae Tt must be borne 1n mind that this no fierce and bloody fighting ‘ nis tin ly its since nine o’clock and at this time Bes vee oo numerical loss but its per centage Ol ae ne ee wounded was. greater than that which Hee y troops had to submit to two SCRE EIE Laster: ee was then waiting to be relieved. Early in : ates ie . . . Asie + noon of this day my division (Rodes’) arrived UJ the field by the C ne action. My brigade (Daniels’).was on aes e after doing some sharp fighting, we ees He ae Heth’s line, which was lying a ey pe See : apy The direction O1 © zht reg as we approached. é ses Sane ments had to be changed in order that we mig f their left brig which was Davis’. i of their left brigade, Me ee my impression is there The Federal line, or lines, for ae were two or more of them, were also lying ae aa field, the interval between the opp ae ee eae about three hundreds yards. Half way va een lines was another, which ran by a house. : 1 He Hee made of dead and wounded Federals, Mt ieee = thick as autumnal leaves which strew i ie ait Vallambrosa.”’ It was about here that the l x Ie 5 i i s brig- occurred. A Pennsylvania regiment of Stone g ade had then two flags—state and TSE an their guard a short distance in front of see ae of these colors Sergt. Frank Price, of the 42nd Mis troops my observation. brigade had been dot 7 +4 arlisle road and at once wene into 24 Pickert on PrerrigRrew? issippi and half a dozen of his comrades determined to capture. Moving on hands and knees ’till they had nearly reached the desired object, they suddenly rose, charged and overcame the guard, captured the flag and were rapidly making off with it, when its owners fired upon them, all were struck down but the Sergeant, and as he was making for the house above referred to a young staff officer of my command, having carried some message to Heth’s people, was returning by a short cut between the lines, and seeing: a man with a strange flag, without noticing his uni- form he thought he, too, would get a little glory along with some bunting. Dismounting among the dead and wounded he picked up and fired several muskets at Price; but was fortunate enough to miss him. Sergeant Price survived the war. His home was in Carroliton, Mississippi. Recently the informa- tion came from one of his sons, a name-sake of the writer, that his gallant father was no more; he had crossed the river and was resting under the shade of the trees. The parents of Mr. Price were natives of the old North State. Does any one who has made a study of Pickett’s “magnificent division,’ suppose that even on the morning of the 5th, when only eight hundred of the nearly or quite six thousand who had engaged in battle reported for duty, sad and depress- ed as they were, it could have furnished heroes like Price and his companions for such an undertaking, as in spite of friends and foes was successfully accom- plished? General Davis says that every field officer in his brigade was either killed or wounded. My old classmate, Major John Jones, was the only one left in the North Carolina brigade, and he was killed in the next spring’s campaign. The following extract is taken from a description 4 a) D5 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW : of General Lee’s of the assault by Colonel eee OS ae staff: ‘It is needless to say a word here ad ¢ ‘ VY conduct of Pickett’s division, that sees ae Passed into history as ‘one of the wo1 te Baers ther ofarms.’ While doubtless many oe ce Le This was pends renee had ote Sate ‘works of the only organized DOG y Wen ee Se aes “im- tie aii ong Pickett’s left and eee . oe ble’s right entered the works. ae Fat topcoats were there. Which command had a ‘ the superior tives there is a disputed point. ae that amount organization of Pickett’s men ey » ‘ead on the to? In the nature of things ae a nea attack. field was in a condition to repel 4 oe y of Federals Just before the final rush two ine St one upon moved owt on the field and ee The loss inflicted ee a6 Wels Saeuior and New York- upon our people by thes z ee (0 defend on was — great, and noe eae ole a themselves, there was OD ees commander of natural crowding to the centre. ; none battle a Federal brigade in his report es 5 hundred yards flags were captured in a space OF ae ithin a ‘space square.’ This means that ot fh were the extending only one hundred eae : ie " But Col. remnants of more than twenty ce a ine only or- Taylor says that Pickett’s division W eee ganized body which entered the enonly ® TT be easily ee aia es ae fade ioed by understood that as rickevt : aes ae iy ean. the Federal lines on his right, and f oe it Sach Trimble’s front by the Federal lines AA separate dis- of these commands had a oe : i aroun the charge of artillery and ae vel Pickett’s men one as incessant as the other, althoug 26 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? felt its intensity sooner than the others, and were the first to be crushed under a fire before which no troops could live. While Pettigrew and Trimble suffered as much or more before the close because longer under fire, in consequence of marching farther.” And again: “Both Northern and Southern descriptions of the battle of Gettysburg, in the third day’s contest, have. without perhaps a single exception, down to the pres- ent time, given not only most conspicuous promi- nence to General Pickett’s division, but generally by the languagetsed have created theimpression among those not personally acquainted with the events of the day that Pickett’s men did all the hard fighting, suffered the most severely and failed in their charge, because not duly and vigorously supported by the troopson their right and left. It might withas much truth besaid that Pettigrew and Trimble failed in their charge, because unsupported by Pickett, who had been driven back in the crisis of their charge and was no aid to them.” Some time ago Gen. Fitz Lee wrote a life of his uncle, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and in a notice of this book the courteous and able editor of a lea ding Rich- mond newspaper gives a fine description of the part sREW Dif PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? a Fs Ma Sees eres Pickett’s division that we ete ae ees just measure of credit that Gen. k ee oe ie ; nee ed other commands.” W OSU ee ae Be ge of his paper, curiously enough, is me : a ae this answer, and referring to it no) ee ae se ly strong in what it omits to say oe e ae en by Swinton, as seen Irom ea - but it would have side, W -e come in perfectly ; be BE ee Nor jends and was wisely Yorth Carolina fr wounded our North Carolina left out.” ae Now, as to the impertinence of this correspo , as to who refers to what Swinton said, ae Pee tion to say something a little bitter ee ie eee has made it arule to preserve a ee eee as possible, and in presenting facts 2 peti for themselves, he refrains from et a | eee natural inclination. Probably aus Poe sie malice ees 8 Ee eee an ic uth for the sake Of asut gonuen aa te knew. Equally ot sO ee ie correspondent did not know. No on Swi f being a fool. - ea. ti in a recent discussion of this istineuished writer 1 : eee i ine forever to ask Gen. assault says: : “3 Longstreet why he did not obe) borne by Pickett’s division in Longstreet’s assault on the third day, but has little or nothing to say about the other troops engaged ; whereupona citizen of this State (North Carolina) wrote and wished to know if there were any North Carolinians upon the field when Pickett’s men so greatly distinguished themselves. In answer the editor admits that he had forgotten all about the other troops engaged, and says: “We frankly confess that our mind has been irom the war until now so fully possessed of the idea that the glory of the charge belonged exclusively to ’s divisions at Pickett’s and have Hood’s and McLaw’s divisions at oe ae i ake good the work his heroic men he back to make goo s Se ai done.” Notso. History 1s not going ish questions. i i i scripti f this A Virginian writer in closing his deseription 0 S fos} assault has recently said : “Now, this ee ey oa to every one in this connection. eS - Aiea through the enemy’S Magee es ee ae was the notable and prodigious thing , a 30? whole battle of Gettysburg.” Ifso, why so 28 Picker? or Prerrigrew? The commanders of Wright’s Georgia and Wileox’s Alabama, brigades report that when fighting on Longstreet’s left on the afternoon of the second day, they carried the crest of Cemetery Ridge and captured twenty-eight cannon. The truth of this. report is confirmed by General Doubleday, who says: “Wright attained the crest and Wilcox was almost in line with him. Wilcox claims to have cap- tured twenty guns and Wright eight.” In another place he says, in speaking of a certain Officer: ‘On his return late inthe day he saw Sickle’s whole line driven in and found Wright’s rebel brigade established on the crest barring his way back.” Late in the same afternoon over on our left in Johnson’s assault upon Culp’s Hill, Stewart’s brig- ade carried the position in their front and held it all night. Also late the same afternoon two of Harly’s brigades, Hoke’s North Carolina and Hay’s Louisi- ana, carried East Cemetery Heights, took many pris- oners and sent them to the rear, several colors, and captured or silenced twenty guns (spiking some of them before they fell back). And a part of them maintained their position for over an hour, some of them having advanced as far as the Baltimore Pike. It is an undoubted fact that even after their brigades had fallen back parts of the 9th Louisiana and 6th North Carolina, under Major Tate, held their position at the wall on the side of the hill (repelling several attacks) for an hour, thus holding open the gate to Cemetery Heights, and it does seem that under cover of night this gate might have been used and the Ridge occupied by a strong force of our troops with slight loss. On the afternoon of the third day the men who were in front of the narrow space abandoned by theenemy, and some who wer Beep erarc¥e ganized mass of about one thousana, this space for safety. Mistead to the abando 29 PiIcKETT OR PETTIGREW: e on their right and left,in a disor- 1, crowded into (Less than fifty followed Ar- ned gun.) When, after about attacked they either surren- knows what State had most “crowd” as the Federal Col. Hall calls them, but the man who wrote that they di | t e a e ) i YIOUS n out the € h oo KO) able and rO 1 pfu . Fan} : inks he k s. All whole battle of Gettysburg” thinks he know new hat in Soldiers now know, and many nue ee ee ee Sending 9,000 or 10,000 men UO A oe aa the Potomac, concentrated and eu a there was no reasonable hope of ee ee The thing of most interest a r oe pas the question to which of the troo Ps ee DO ill-starred field is to be awarded : Hs I Bee Sa a eed wounied oF cae GRO ber centage of killed a poten ee OF ee aes engaged in this assault, # fee Bee entitled to most honor. some 0 : vs aoe grew’s division met with a ede 2 2 es The per centage for Pickett s div oe oe Oe 28. The 11th Mississipp!, as ee ee Only regiment in Pettigrew 8 oF i : . so which entered the assault fresh. ‘ Sere ere troops of these commands had pee oe e ee the first day’s battle,and the exact a Meni es ried into the assault is not known, oe ei ee os the number taken in by the pen iS a aa the number it lost in killed and Oe ia one a ie by Dr. Guild. Consequently ubore oes gees slightest doubt that its per centage eS eae ees sault was at least 60. It a a 2) 7 eae ae per centage in the other regiments o1 1s g ten minutes, they were dered or fled. No one representatives in this 9 380 Pickerr or ParricREew? equally great. It is also fair to presume that the brigade immediately on its right, which went some- what farther and stayed somewhat longer under the same terrific fire, lost as heavily. If the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in which it lost 35 per cent. has rendered it famous, why should not the charge of Davis’ brigade in which it lost. 60 per cent. render it equally famous? And if the blundering stupidity of the order to charge has| excited our sympathy in behalf of the British cavalry,| is there not enough of that element in the order to the infantry brigade to satisfy the most exacting? And if Davis’ brigade deserves fame why do notall the brigades—with one exception—of Pettigrew and Trim- ble also deserve it ? Col. W. HE. Potter, of the 12th New Jersey, Smyth’s | brigade, Hay’s division, in an address delivered sey- sral years ago, after speaking in very complimentary terms of the conduct of the North Carolina and Miss- issippi brigades of Pettigrew’s division, says: “Again a larger number of the enemy was killed and wound- ed in front of Smyth than in front of Webb.' Of this, | besides the general recollection of all.of us who were then present, I have special evidence. I rode over the field covered by the fire of these two brigades on the morning of Sunday, July 5th, m company with Lt. Col. Chas. H. More cock, and Capt. Hazard. As we were passing the front of Smyth’s brigade, Col. Morgan said to Haz- ard: ‘They may talk as they please about the hard fighting in front of Gibbon, but there are more dead men here than anywhere in our front.’ To this con- clusion Hazard assented.”’ After the frightful ordeal they had been through it is not to the discredit of any of the troops engaged | 1 Tay + af ee | his nor any Nor an, the chief of staff of Gen. Han- | PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? 31 eached the breastworks, or say that w they r Se nae ht left in them, for their vicinity, there was no fig ee there is a limit to human endurance. ae limi te been reached, and this is shown by the fact Seat e Was not an organization upon the field which, % e an attack was made on its flank, made the slightes attempt to change front to meet it, but either sur- ded. ‘This being case the only thing rendered or fled. ‘This being the ae igades received the of interest is to decide which br ‘ most punishment before this limit pen oe During the recent discussion 1n the Ric Oe ae Papers as to whether any of the North ee troops reached a point at or near the ees i ie ae the most prominent writer on the negative a pee question gives extracts from the Be 0 Hie participants in the charge to corroborate ue) oe me a and by a singular oversight gives one fr om . fe : ee port of Major John Jones, then co oe grew’s own brigade, who says: ‘The brigat Be nee on, and many had reached the wall mben W oes a deadly volley from the lef is To have ae ned s stone wall on the left of the salient, they BES! fie sarily have advanced considerably farther nies troops on the field. And yet the above write ue face of Major Jones’ testimony, thinks that ne te : th Carolina troops were there. then he quotes from the Federal Col. Hall, “who, says, “gives a list of the flags captured by ae Ce mand when the charge was made.’ Among’ ce he mentions that of the 22nd North ee = a says: “If this can be accepted as true it Sent ends all controversy ” Col. Hall reports hee af < close of the assault his brigade captured ee a 2 the 14th, 18th, 19th and 57th \ irginia, su ie - the 22nd North Carolina. W ebb reports tha 8 | 3 PICKETT oR PaerricRew? command captured six flags, but does not name the regiments to which they belonged. Heth captured those. of the 1st, 7th and 28th Virginia. Carroll’s brigade those of the 34th North Carolina and 38th Virginia. Smyth’s brigade those of 1st and 14th Tennessee, 16th and 52nd North Carolina and five others, the names not given, and Sherrill’s brigade captured three, the names not given. Thus we have the names of eight Virginia, four North Carolina and two Tennessee and fourteen reported captured, names not given. In all twenty-eight, which accounts for Pickett’s fifteen, Scales’ five, Pettigrew’s own three and Archer’s four. One of Pettigrew’s and one of Archer’s having been carried back, some of the other troops must have lost one. If official reports which _ Say that the flags of the 1st and 14th Tennessee, and of the 16th, 22nd, 34th and 52nd North Carolina ¢ were captured, cannot be accepted as true and thus “end all controversy,” perhaps a re-statement of the fact that twenty-eight colors were taken at the close of the assault may do so, for as said above the Virginia division had only fifteen flags. To show the disproportion that existed at theclose of the fight between the numbers of men and fiags, one officer reports that his regiment charged upon the retreating rebels and captured five regimental battle-flags and over forty prisoners, and a brigade commander speaking of the ground at and in front of the abandoned works, says: ‘Twenty battle-flags were captured in a space of 100 yards square.”’ There is one fact that should be remembered in con- nection with this assault, namely: Thatof all breast- works a stone wall inspires most confidence and its defenders will generally fire deliberately and accur- ately and cling to it tenaciously. ot HD PickETT OR PETTIGREW? 33 The stone wall ran from the left and in front of Lane’s, Davis’ and Pettigrew’s North Carolina brig- ades and ended where the right of the last named rest- ed at the close of the assault. At this point works made of rails covered with earth began and ran Straight to the front for some distance and then made a sharp turn to the left in the direction of Round Top, continuing in nearly a straight line be- yond Pickett’s right. It was a short distance to the right of the outer corner of these works when Webb’s men gave way. Several years ago there was published in the Phila- delphia “Times,” an article by Col. W. W. Wood, of Armistead’s brigade, giving his recollections of this affair. As the writer had very naively made several confessions, which I had never seen made by any other of Pickett’s men, and had evidently intended to speak truthfully, I put the paper aside for future reference. J shall now make several selections from it and endeavor to criticisethem fairly. Our artillery crowned the ridge, and behind it sheltered by the hills lay our infantry: ‘‘The order to. 20 forward was obeyed with alacrity and cheerfulness, for we believed that the battle was practically over, and that we had nothing to do but to march unopposed to Cemetery Heights and occupy them. While making the ascent it was seen that the supports to our right and left flanks were not coming forward as we had been told they would. Mounted officers were seen dashing frantically up and down their lines, apparently en- deavoring to get them to move fory rard, but we could See that they would not move. Their failure to sup- port us was discouraging, but it did not disheart- en us. Some of our men cursed them for cowards, etc.” So far no great courage had been required. 34. PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? But what troops were they that Pickett’s people were cursing for cowards? On the right they were Perry’s Florida and Wilcox’s Alabama, under the command of the latter General. Their orders were that when twenty minutes had elapsed after the line had started they were to march straight ahead and repel any body of flankers who should attack the right. This order was obeyed to the letter. At the required time they moved forward and kept moving. About where Pickett should have been (Pickett’s line had previously obliqued to the left) not a Confeder- ate was to be seen. They kept on and single hand- ed and alone attacked the whole Federal army, then exulting in victory. Of course they were repulsed, but when they knew they were beaten did they surrender that they might be sheltered in Northern prisonsfrom Northern bullets? Not they. They simply fell back and made their way, as best they could, to the Con- federate lines. Is there any significance in the facts that shortly after this battle Gen. Wilcox was pro- moted and Gen. Pickett-and his men were sent out of the army? What other troops were they whom these men were cursing for being cowards? Some of them were the choice troops of A. P. Hill’s old division, ever famous for its fighting qualities, others were the sur- vivors of Archer’s brigade of gallant Tennesseans, Mississippians, brave and impetuous, North Caro- linians, always steady, always true. These men were cursed as cowards, and by Pickett’s Virginians! Achilles cursed by Thersites! A lion barked at by a cur. But there was one brigade, and only one, in Petti- grew’s division which failed in the hour of trial. It was from their own State, and had once been an effi- cient body of soldiers, and even on this occasion PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? BO something might be said in its defense. But had this not been the case, to the men of Armistead’s brigade {who were doing. the cursing’) the memory of their own behavior at Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown should have had the effect of making them charita- ble towards the shortcomings of others. * Let us allow the Colonel to continue: “ From the time the charge began up to this moment, not a shot had been fired at us nor had we been able to see, be- cause of the density of the smoke, which hung over the battlefield like a pall, that there was an enemy in front of us. The smoke now lifted from our front and there, right before us, scarcely two hundred yards away, stood Cemetery Heights in awful grandeur. At their base was a double line of Federal infantry and several pieces of artillery, posted behind stone walls, and to the right and left of them both artillery and infantry supports were hurriedly com- ing up. The situation was indeed appalling, though it did not seem to appall. The idea of retreat did not seem to occur to any one. Having obtained a view of theenemy’s position, the men now advanced at the double quick, and for the first time since the charge began they gave utterance to the famous Confeder- ate yell.’ So it seems that all that has been spoken and written about their having marched one thous- and yards under the fire of one hundred cannon and twenty thousand muskets, is the veriest bosh and nonsense. They marched eight hundred yards as safely as if on parade. When the smoke lifted they charged for two hundred yards towards the breast- works; the left only reached it—the right never did, but lay down in the field and there and then fifteen hundred of them ‘“‘threw down their muskets for the 9) war... Colonel Wood continues: ‘The batteries to 36 _ PickEeTT or Perrigrew 7 the right and left of Cemetery Heights now began tv rain grapeshot and canister upon us, and the en- emy’s infantry at the base of the Heights, poured voliey after volley into our ranks. The carnage was indeed terrible; but still the division, staggering and bleeding, pushed on towards the Heights they had been ordered to take. Of course such terrible slaugh- ter could not last long. The brave little division did not number men enough to make material for pro- longed slaughter.”’ ' The carnage was for them indeed terrible, and their subsequent behaviour up to their defeat and rout at Five Forks, showed that they never forgot it. Let us see what was this horrible carnage. The. fifteen regiments, according to General Longstreet, carried into the charge, of officers and men, forty-nine hun- dred. It is more probable that the number was fifty- five hundred. If they had the former number their percentage of killed and wounded was nearly twen- ty-eight, if the latter, not quite twenty-five. On the first day the North Carolina brigade lost thirty and on the third sixty per cent. The “brave, the mag- nificent,’’ when they had experienced a loss of fifteen killed to the regiment, became sick of fighting, as the number surrendered shows. One regiment of the “cowards,” the 42d Mississippi, only after it had met with a loss of sixty killed and a proportionate num- ber of wounded, concluded that it was about time to rejoin their friends. Another regiment of the “cow- ards,” the 26th North Carolina, only after it had had more men killed and wounded than any one of the two thousand seven hundred Federal and Confederate -Yegiments ever had, came to the same conclusion. The five North Carolina regiments of this division had five more men killed than Pickett’s fifteen. Survivors 3 Nard al 79 £ PICKETT OR PETTIGREW! 37 ES A To continue: ‘In a few brief moments more the left of Armistead’s brigade, led by as oe had passed beyond the stone wall, and wel ee the guns of the enemy, posted in rear a a ae a Garnet had before then been instantiy killed, ce General Kemper had been severely wounded. ‘The of their brigades had become amalga- ated with Armistead’s.” How can any one oe a Oreanization to boast ot here? “Our line of ae : Was not parallel to the Heights, pike te ed the diminished line reached the ane rs ; The right of the line never reached them. a a of the right, however, were near enough to see S : eral Armistead shot down near a captured gun fi n Was waving his sword above his head, ane rey could see men surrendering themselves as prisoners. Just then a detachment of Federal infantry Gores out flanking our right, and shouted to us to sur os der. There was nothing else to do, except to _ the chance, which was an extremely good oe : . ing killed on the retreat back over the hill. But ¢ few, myself among the number, rightly eRe that the enemy was weary O1 Carnage, deter ae run the risk of getting back to the Confederate oe Our retreat was made singly, and I at least , oe a fired upon.” If the division had equalled oe a in gallantry, it would not have surrenderec a sound men than it had lost in killed and W ee ae as by taking some risk the most of Hae oy ee ; : el concludes: might have escaped as he did. TheColon al a ee “When the retreat commenced on the nigh ae ae 4th of July, the nearly three hundred men x : 2 been confined in the various brigade guarc oon ES 5 were released from confinement, and they ae ee guard permitted to return to duty in the ranks, a 88 PickETT oR PrErrigrew ? many detailed men were treated in the same way- On the morning of the 5th of July, the report of the division showed not quite eleven hundred present: . Eleven hundred trom forty-five hundred lea ves thirty- four hundred, and that was the number of casualties suffered by Pickett’s little division at Gettysburg.” I have known individuals who took pride in poverty and disease. The surrender of soldiers in battle was often unavoidable; but I have never known a body ol troops other than Pickett’s, who prided themselves upon that misfortune. General Pemberton or Mar- shal Bazaine may have done so. If they did, their countrymen did not agree with them, and it is well for the fame of General Lee and his army that the belief that the road to honor lay in that direction, was not very prevalent. Pickett’s division has been compared to a “lance-head of steel.’”’ which pierced the centre of the Federal army. To be in accord with the comparison, it was always represented as being smaller than it really was. Colonel Wood, at the conclusion of his article, puts its strength at 4,500 officers and men, at the begin- ning at 4,500 “men.” This last would agree with General Longstreet’s estimate of 4,900 effectives. Knowing as 1 do the average per brigade of Jack- son’s Veterans—one-half of the army—and that they had been accustomed to fight two days for every one day fought by Longstreet’s men, I think it proba- ble that Pickett’s brigade must have averaged nearly, if not quite, two thousand. But I will placethe strength of the division at fifty- five hundred. I have heard that fifteen hundred were surrendered. Official records say that thirteen hun- dred and sixty-four were killed and wounded. According to Colonel Wood, leaving out the three Gi rhi he “‘br Number of men which t GUC C are tc a vay. They ran and ran and kept running fil the hiah si P ac stopped them. till the high waters in the f eae ‘ ae ‘ 7 sh 1 “that they were a Me As they ran they shouted 5 on abet. ‘ fail o support thet men, that Pettigrew had failed to support a ee that their noble division had been sweptaway. (6 aN A 7 ATL TT? 9 PickETT OR PETTIGREW : 39 i ndrec peared for hundred euard-house men, eight hundred appearec canes gab aeth ge) 4 ore ~ bth dy 1 the morning: of the Sth. es oo ake thirty-six hundred and sixty bers together make | y-8 Sa tena four, which taken from fifty-five hu ur, W These three num- “ 1 irty-six, ¢ $ was tne Ired ¢ thirty-six, and this yee ndred and t ie bea aedae ‘ave little division had n, and outery they made was soon heard a over Virginia, and its echo is ae ee ee eee bie as After our army had recross the ee Recep at Bunker Hill, the report po division of “dead men” had Raa sheen any division in the army, Cae a ao ee eood-natured laughter. ee be ae ae be army, to whom the casualty ne 8 2 2 : ser oe question was often discussed, why ve oe ore, Pettigrew’s brigades, marching over ‘ pas pee at the same time, should have ee so seamen than General Pickett’s? This epup son . Paes satisfactorily answered ‘til after the a fe oe poy tery was then explained by the ne cae ae Doubleday, who made the statemen : - eee i Jebb’s brigs hich being ae aE eaBbOr : ae i ea ae projecting the right of Gik ons’ divisic Paes 2 eae wall) excepting one rs aman ce >the artillerymen either Kk Q u ae Soa which preceded ae: oo Of course there were Seo pees escent tule was that those troops wie ee si eee themselves inflicted the greatest ie a nes and were consequently the most .elicient. 40 PickpTT or PrerrigRew? Fox says: “The history of a battle or war should be studied in connection with the figures which show the losses. By overlooking them, an indefinite and often erroneous idea is obtained. By overlooking them many historians fail to develop the important points of the contest; they use the same rhetorical descriptions for different attacks, whether the pres- sure was strong or weak, the loss great or small, the fight bloody or harmless.’”’ As it was the custom in some commands to report every scratch as a wound, and in others to report no man as wounded who was fit ior duty, the most accurate test for courage and efficiency is the number of killed. In the eight brigades and three regiments from Virginia in this battle, three hundred and seventy-five were killed, and nineteen hundred and seventy-one wounded. That is for every one killed five and twenty-five hun- dredths were reported wounded. In the seven brig- ades and three regiments from North Carolina, six hundred and ninety-six were killed and three thous- and and fifty-four wounded. That is for every man killed only four and forty hundredths appeared on the list as wounded. If it be a fact that from Gettysburg to the close of the war, among the dead upon the various battle- fields comparatively few representatives from th Virginian infantry were to be found, it is not always necessarily to their discredit. For instance, even at Gettysburg two such brigades as Mahone’s and Smyth’s had respectively only seven and fourteen men killed. It was not for them to say whether they were to advance or be held back. Their duty was to obey orders. In the same battle two of Rodes’ North Carolina brigades—Daniels’ and Iverson’s—had_ be- tween them two hundred and forty-six men buried PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? 4) upon the field. Here we see that the eight regiments and one battalion, which formed these two, North Carolina commands, had twenty-two more men killed than Pickett’s fifteen. And yet Virginia history does hot know that they were even present at this battle. Now, for a brief recapitulation. The leité of Gar- hett’s and Armistead’s brigades, all of Archer’s and Scales’ (but that all means very few, neither of them at the start being larger than a full regiment) a few of the 37th and the right of Pettigrew’s own brigade took possession of the works, which the enemy had abandoned on their approach. Pettigrew’s and Trimble’s left and Pickett’s right lay out in the field on each flank of the projecting work and in front of the receding wall, and from forty to fifty yards from it. There they remained for a few minutes, ’till a fresh line of the enemy, which had been lying beyond the crest of the ridge, approached. Then being attacked on both flanks, and- knowing how disor- ganized they were, our men made no fight, but’ either retreated or surrendered. Archer’s, Scales’ and Pettigrew’s own brigade went as far and stayed as long or longer thanany of Pickett’s. Davis’ brigade, while charging impetuonsly ahead .of the line was driven back, when it had reached a point about one hundred yards from the enemy. Lane’s, the left brig- ade, remained a few moments longer than any of the other troops and retired in better order. wine Now, it must not be inferred from anything in this paper that there has been any intention to reflect upon all Virginia infantry. Far fromit. The three regiments in Steuart’s mixed brigade and Mahone’s brigade were good troops. Perhaps there were oth- ers equally good. But there was one brigade which was their superior, as it was the superior of most of 42 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? the troops in General Lee’s army. And that was Smith’s brigade of Early’s division. These troops in spite of the Richmond newspapers and the partial- ity of certain of their commanders, had no superiors in any army. Never unduly elated by prosperity, never depressed by adversity, they were even to the last, when enthusiasm had entirely fled and hope was almost dead, the models of what good soldiers should be. “Tt is not precisely those who know how to kill,’ says Dragomiroff, ‘but those who DEATH’s know how to die, who are all-powerful THE TEST. on a field of battle.” Regiments that had twenty-nine or more officers and men killed on the field in certain battles: Regiment. 13 Ga. SINAC: 1 Texas. LSC. Brigade. Battle. Killed. Lawton. Sharpsburg. 48. Ripley. 46. Wofford. & 45. Garland. ne 41, 30 Va. Walker. s 39. 48N.C.. - ‘8 fs 31. DEE 66 Phe oki gs ce 3 Sis 50 Ga. Drayton. i 29. SI-N:€. Law. Fredericksburg. 32. Discs Ramseur. Chancellorsville. 47. 45. (74 (74 Colston. A 38. Lane. cs Be ee Colston. ee 34. 66 387 6é 98 6é 18 6é 92 66 51 Ga. 4 ce 18 N.C. Lane. ef 34. Iverson. fe 32. Pender. uf Ok af A 80. Semmes. te 30. Doles. ss 29. Lane. ie 30. PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? 43 Battle. Killed. Gettysburg. 86. a 60. Brigade. Pettigrew. Davis. Pettigrew. 3 50. Davis. a 49. Daniel. Ay AG. Iverson. SA Al, Barksdale. “ 40. Davis. ee 39. Armistead. zh 35. Pettigrew. - 33. Anderson. See 32. Iverson. 31. OE Perrin. xe 31. PAE Scales. £ 29. 2 “ Batt. Daniel: pas 29. oa Steuart. & 29. 20 Iverson. ee 99, The proportion of wounded to killed was 4.8 to one. That is, if 100 are killed 480 will be wounded. When 100 men are killed, there will be among the wounded 64 who will die of wounds. While this may not always be the case in a single regiment, yet when anumber of regiments are taken together the wonder- ful law of averages makes these proportions rules about which there is no varying. There is an old saw which says that “it takes a soldier’s weight in lead and iron to kill him.’”’ Most . people believe that this saying has to be taken with many grains of allowance, but it was shown during the war to be literally true. In the battle of Mur- freesboro the weight of the 20,307 projectiles fired by the Federal artillery was 225,000 pounds, and that of the something over 2,000,000 musket balls exceed- ed 150,000 pounds and their combined weight ex- ceeded that of the 2,319 Confederates who were killed or mortally wounded. Regiment. 26 N.C. 42 Miss. TLN.C. 2 Miss. 44. PickETT OR PETTIGREW ? In the Federal armies deaths from wounds amount- ed to 110,000 and from disease and all other causes about 250,000, a total of about 360,000. For deaths in the Southern armies only an approxima- tion can be arrived at. Probably 100,000 died of wounds and as many more of disease, a total of about 200,000 which added to the Federal loss, makes about 560,000. This number of soldiers drawn up in battle array would make a line 112 miles long. With singular inappropriateness this brigade and several other Federal organi- WEBB’S PHILADELPHIA zations have erected monu- BRIGADE ments to commemorate their AND OTHER TROOPS. gallantry upon the third day’s battlefield. It would appear that they should have been erected on the spot where their gallantry was displayed. {[t does not require much courdge to lie behind breastworks and shoot down anenemy in an open field and then torun away, asit and the other troopsin its vicinity did, when that enemy continued to approach. But, while it does not add to their fame, it is not to their discredit that they did give way. For however much discipline and inherent qualities may extend it,-there is a limit to human endurance, and they had suffered severely, Webb’s brigade in three days having lost forty-nine per cent. If there ever have been troops serving in 3 long war who never on any occasion gave way till they had lost as heavily, they were the superiors of any in Napoleon’s or Wellington’s armies. The loss in the British infantry at Salamanca was only twelve percent. That of the “Light Brigade’ at Balaklava was only thirty-seven. ThatofPickett’s only twenty- PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? A5 eight, and they were ruined forever. It is true eal the North Carolina and Mississippi brigades of Heth’s division lost in the first day’s battle about thirty and on the third at least sixty per cent., and this Miaseae having their morale seriously impaired, but uel both of these organizations were composed of excep- ionally fine troops. “Aare Sa composed of Archer’s Tennessee and Alabama regiments, Pettigrew's North Carolina, Davis’ Mississipp! and Brockenborough’s Virginia brigades. Counting from right to left, Archer joining Pickett’s left, this was the order in ees they were formed for the third day 5 assault. ; oe after the order to advance was given the left bi igade gave way. The others advanced and did all ae flesh and blood could do. Gen. Hooker, who has written the Confederate military history ior zone Mississippi troops, quotes from Dr. Ward, a ae who witnessed the assault, who says that the fir o Cemetery Hill, having been concentrated upon ee : ag division, he saw no reason why North ae ee Mississippi, ‘Tennessee and Alabama eoous ene not participate in whatever honors that were Ww on ; that day; for, says he, all soldiers know tha s number killed is the one and only test for pluck on endurance. Gen. Hooker then states, “The pases in the army which lost most heavily in killed ene wounded at Gettysburg, was (1) Fetters 1 Carolina, (2) Davis’ Mississipp1 and North eos mee (3) Daniels’ North Carolina and (4) wees aC oe Mississippi.” These four had an average 0 : - ed and wounded. Pickett’s three brigades had an average of 455. HETH’S DIVISION. 46 PickprT or Porricrew? Some have contended that the number of deaths and wounds is the test for endurance, PERCENTAGES. others that the per centage is the true test. It may be that neither the one nor the other alone, but that rather both to- gether should be taken into account. The same per centage in a large regiment should count for more than that in a small one. For while only one Con- federate brigade is reported to have reached as high as 63 per cent., the regiment, the smaller organiza- tions, more frequently attained that rate. Thirteen are known and several others are supposed to have reached it. And as to the company, there was hard- ly a hard fought battle in which at least one did not haye nearly every man killed or wounded. The writer knows of four in as many North Carolina regi- ments which in one battle were almost destroyed. In three of these the per centage went from eighty- seven to ninety eight, and the fourth had every offi- cer and man struck. Taking Colonel Fox’s tables for authority, we find that of the thirty-four regi- ments standing highest on the per centage list six were from North Carolina, and these six carried into battle two thousand nine hundred and nine; only two of the thirty-four were from Virginia, and their “present” was fifty-five for one and one hundted and twenty-eight for the other. Tennessee, leading the list in number, has seven, Georgia and Alabama each has six. The two States, whose soldiers Virginia, his- torians with a show of generosity were in the habit of so frequently complimenting, Texas and Louisiana, make rather a poor show—the former has only one reg- iment on the list and the other does not appear ataill. The 26th North Carolina had 820 officers and nien at Gettysburg, and their per centage of killed and \ 47 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? Wounded was exceeded by that of only two Peer ate and three Federal regiments during the ups War, and those five were all small, ranging rou. Due hundred and sixty-eight to ttwo hundred and Beet: eight. As Senator Vance’s old regiment unquestion- ably stands head on the numerical list, so should Bo in the opinion of the writer, stand on that of Po: centages. ‘As, for reasons not necessary to pads here, this list relates almost entirely to the early | 2 : tles of the war, it is not as satisiactory as it migh be. Though North Carolina should head the list a the greatest per centage in any one regiment, it does not in the number of regiments. Early in the eels when it was generally believed that peace W ae come before glory enough to go round had been io - tained, the North Carolina troops were, to a ceria extent, held back. For this reason, Ove ae ing to our State pride, Colonel Fox’s table is, = a Stands, it would have been vastly more 80 ee 1 covered the whole war, especially the last year, w a the fortunes of the Contederacy, were held up by ae bright bayonets of the soldiers from the old North \ . eae see in field returns for February and March, 1865, that Pickett’s division was ‘4, poor THING, the largest in the army. nee BUT MINE own.” is nothing remarkable about this fact, for they were not engaged in the bloody repulse at Bristoe Station, were aN present at the Wilderness, were not present at se - sylvania, and did not serve in those horrible ee ee at Petersburg. In the same report Be ee their ageregate, present and absent, was 9,48 : ‘ i ey be that since the world was made there. as an a body of troops with 9,000 names on their muster i » “Carolina, Carolina, Heaven's blessings attend her! 48 PICKETT OR Prrrigrew? rolls, who, serving in a long and bloody war, inflicted so little loss upon their enemy or suffered so little themselves. It may be, but it is not probable. With one exception no division surrendered so few men at Appomattox. Col. Dodge, of Boston, in his history speaks of the commander of this division as “the Ney of Lee’s army.” Ii satire is intended it is uncalled for ag the Virginian never inflicted any loss upon the enemy worth mentioning; certainly not enough to cause any Yankee to owe him a grudge. This brigade was composed of the 2nd, 11th and 42nd Mississippi and 55th North Caroli- DAVIS’ na. The two first were veteran. They BRIGADE. had fought often and always well. The 42nd Mississippi and 55th North Caro- lina were full regiments, Gettysburg being their first battle of importance. The two first named served in Law’s brigade of Hood’s division at Sharps- burg or Antietam, where they greatly distinguished themselves, as they had before at First Manassas and Gain’s Mill. The 11th Mississippi was the only fresh regiment outside of Pickett’s division that took part in the assault of July 3rd, so all of its loss oc- curred on that day, that loss being 202 killed and wounded. The number they carried in is variously stated at from 300 to 350. If the one, the per cent- age of their loss was 67, if the other, 57. This famous division, consisting of two North Caro- lina, one Georgia and one South Caro- PENDER’S lina brigade, was first commanded by Division. Lieutenant General A. P. Hill (who was killed just at the close of the war), after his promotion by Pender, who was killed at Gettys- burg, and afterwards by Wilcox. PIcKETT. OR PETTIGREW? At this time this division consisted of three North Carolina, one Georgia and one Alabama brigade. It was first commanded by Lieutenant-General D. H. Hill, who was promoted and transferred to the West. Then by Rodes, who was killed at Winchester, then by Grimes, who was assassinated just after the war. Just after Gettysburg, Gen Lee told Gen. Rodes that his division had accomplished more in this battle than any other in his army. The record this body made in the campaign of 1864 has never been equalled. it had more men killed and wounded than it ever Carried into any one action. The records show this. This division was composed for the most part of Virginians. It had only two NorthCar- JOHNSON’S Olina regiments, the 1st and 3rd. Dur- DIVISION ing the Mine Run campaign General Ewell and General Johnson were togeth- er when a Federal battery opened fire upon the divis- ion and became very annoying. What did these Virginia Generals do about it? “Only this and noth- Ing more.’’ The corps commander quietly remarked to the division commander: ‘‘Why don’t you send your North Carolina regiments after that battery and bring itin?’ Atonce these regiments were select- ed from the line, and were forming to make a charge, when the battery was withdrawn. The seven Confederate regiments, which had most men killed in any battle of the war, were the 6th Alabama, ninety-one killed ; 26th North Caro- lina, eighty-six; Ist South Carolina Rifles, eighty-one; 4th North Caroli- ha, seventy-seven; 44th Georgia, seventy-one; 14th RODES’ DIVISION. WHAT THE TROOPS FROM THE DIFFERENT STATES CONSIDBHRED BLOODY WORK. 50 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? Alabama, seventy-one; and 20th North Carolina, seventy. Pickett’s “‘veterans” must have thought that to have nine or ten men to the regiment killed, was an evidence of severe fighting, for the most of them think even to this day, that to have had near- ly fifteen to the regiment killed at Gettysburg was a carnage so appalling as to amount to butchery. This brigade consisted of the 5th, 12th, 20th and 24rd North Carolina. It was first com- IVERSON’S manded by Garland, who was killed in BRIGADE. the Maryland campaign, then by Iver- son, then by Bob Johnson, then by Toon. The 20th was afineregiment. At avery crit- ical time at Gain’s Mill, it captured a battery. It is on Colonel Fox’s list as having had on that occasion seventy killed and two-hundred and two wounded. Equally good was the 12th. That brilliant and la- mented young officer, General R. EH. Rodes, once made a little speech to this regiment in which he said that after Gettysburg General Lee had told him that his division had accomplished more in that battle than any division in his army, and that he himself would say that the 12th North Carolina was the best regi- ment in his division. Only last week, while visiting a neigboring town, I saw a bald headed old fellow, who was Color Sergeant of this regiment at Chancel- lorsville. It was charging a battery when its its commander, Major Rowe, was killed and for a mo- ment it faltered. Just then it was that Sergeant Whitehead rushed to the front with the exclamation: “Come on 12th, ’m going to ram this flag down one of them guns.” The regiment answered with a yell, took the battery and held it. In the seven days’ battle this regiment had 51 men killed on the field. It suffered most at Malvern Hill, PIcKETT OR PETTIGREW? Hie where private Tom Emry of this county was compli- mented in orders and promoted for gallantry. General Hancock having witnessed a very gallant, but unsuccessful charge of the 5th N. C. at Williams- burg, complimented it in the highest terms. Lieu- tenant Tom Snow of this county—a Chapel Hill boy —wwas killed on this occasion and his body was deliv- ered to his friends by the Federals. With such Colonels as Chirstie, Blacknalland Davis, —the first two dying of wounds—the 23rd could not fail in always being an “A No. 1.” regiment. This brigade at Gettysbury had one hundred and eleven killed, and three hundred and forty-four wounded In the fall of 1864 near Winchester, General Brad- ley Johnston of Maryland was a witness of the con- duct of this brigade under very trying circumstances, and he has recently written a very entertaining ac- count of what he saw, and in it he is very enthusias- tic in his praise of their courage and discipline, com- paring them to Sir Colin Campbell’s “Thin Red Line” at Balaklava. | This brigade consisted of the 32nd, 43rd, 45th, 53rd and 2nd battalion, all from North Caro- lina. It was first commanded by Dan- iels, who was killed at Spottsylvania. Then by Grimes and after his promo- tion by Colonels, several of whom were killed. To say that this brigade accomplished more in the first day’s battle than any other, is no reflection upon the other gallant brigades of Rode’s division. General Doubleday, who, after the fall of General Reynolds, succeeded to the command of the First Corps, says that Stone’s Pennsylvania brigade held the key- point of this day’s battle. These Pennsylvanians, occupying a commanding position, were supported DANIELS’ BRIGADE. o2 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? by other regiments cf infantry and two batteries of artillery. Daniels’ right, Brabble’s 82nd North Car- olina leading, had the opportunity given it to carry this “key-point’” by assault, and gloriously did it take advantage of that opportunity. No troopsever fought better than did this entire brigade, and its killed and wounded was greater by far than any brigade in its corps. The 45th and 2nd battalion met with the greatest loss, the former having 219 killed and wounded, the latter 153 out of 240, which was nearly 64 per cent. When, on the morning of the 12th of May at Spottsylvania, Hancock’s corps ran over Johnson’s division, capturing or scattering the whole command, this fine brigade and Ramseur’s North Carolina, and Bob Johnston’s North Carolina, by their promptness and intrepidity, checked the en- tire Second corps and alone held it ’till Lane’s North Carolina, Harris’ Mississippi and other troops could be brought up. This famous brigade consisted of the 2nd, 4th, 14th and 30th North Carolina. It was first commanded by General Geo. B. Ander- son, who was killed at Sharpsburg. Then by Ramseur, who was promoted and killed at Cedar Creek. Then by Cox. The fond- ness of this brigade for prayer meeting and Psalm singing united with an ever readiness to fight, re- minds one of Cromwell’s Ironsides: It fought well at Seven Pines when one of its regiments, having car- ried in six hundered and seventy-eight officers and men, lost fifty-four per cent. in killed and wounded. At Malvern Hill it met with great loss. It occupied the bloody lane at Sharpsburg. At Chancellorsville out of fifteen hundred and nine, it had one hundred and fifty-four killed and five hundred and twenty-six RAMSEUR’S ‘BRIGADE. wounded, or forty-five per cent. at Spottsylvania it acted probably tinguished part of any brig the last fighting at Appomattox, and al ee five men of the 14th, under Captain W. T. Jenxins, ‘ 9 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW : On the 12th of May the most dis- rade in the army. It did about twenty- of Halifax county, fired the last shots. ; To see ae poor devils, many of them almost barefooved oe ne of them half starved, approach a field ere AG kee Was raging was a pleasant sight. The c1 . ee Ee poleons, the roar of H owitzers and crash Ss i ea ry always excited and exhilerated them, an ae a3 swung into action they seemed supremely eee Lane’s brigade consisted of the 7th. J 8th, 2 Ds 33rd and 37th North Carolina. It was first commanded by General L. O. B. LANE’S ae aa Branch, who was killed at Sharpsburg. BRIGADE. The 7th and 18th appear upon Colonel e, both having in the seven “Ox’s - centage table, f ae anes 56 per cent. The ea ee as the brigade was 807. At Chancellorsville 1b Be a killed and wounded. In the history of this eae i ei Col. Hamlin, of Maine, the conduct of Bee brigac 2 a spoken of very highly. In Longstreet 8 assault an moved over the field the two wings o1 its aoe ment parted company, and at the close of the ie sault were several hundred yards apart. The Po of direction for the assaulting column was a woe cluster of trees gpposite to and in front of ea is brigade, and while the rest of the line ee baa brigade, by some misunderstanding, four an io ps regiments of Lane’s dressed to the left. It a = distance beyond the Emmittsburg road, but fe eat to that road, where it remained fighting Aue a - ie rest of the line had given way, when it was with- drawn by General Trimble. 54 PickETT orn PETTIGREW? Some time ago a Union veteran in a St. Louis paper gave an account of what came under his ob- servation atSpottsylvania. His command had been repulsed and was being driven by Lane's -brigade, when he was shot down. As thevictoriousline swept by a Confederate was struck, falling near him. The conduct of a youhg officer, whose face was radiant with the joy of battle, had attracted his attention, and he asked his wounded neighbor whohewas. His reply was, ‘“That’s Capt. Billy McLaurin, of the 18th North Carolina, the bravest man in Lee’s army.” This superb brigade consisted of three regiments from Tennessee, one regiment and one battalion from Alabama. It suffered very severely the first day ; on the third it was gallantly led by Colonel Frye, who says, referring to the close of the assault: ‘I heard Garnett give a command. Seeing my gesture of inquiry he called out, ‘I am dressing on you.’ A few seconds later he fell dead. A moment later ashot through my thigh prostrated me. The smoke soon became so dense that I could see but little of what was going on before me. A moment later I heard General Pettigrew calling to rally them on the left (referring to a brigade which had just given way). All of the five regimental colors of my command reached the line of the enemy’s works, and many of my officers and men were killed after assing over it.”’ Colonel Shepherd, who succeeded @olonel Frye in command, said in his official report that every flag in Archer’s brigade, except one, was captured at or within the works of the enemy. This brigade and Pettigrew’s were awarded the honor of serving as a rear guard when the army re-crossed the river ARCHER’S BRIGADE. j was killed, and Hayes’ Louisiana. 5 well in every respect, yet one 18 a other rarely mentioned. 55 9 PickETT OR PETTIGREW: Two of General Early’s brigades made a very fee - liant charge on the second ey ee si vere forced to t¢ eing unsupported were eae oe They were Hoke’s North ay 6 I alc very, who é nded by Colonel Avery, W Ue They did equally ays praised, the Hoke’s brigade consisted of the 6th, 21st, 54th and 57th. First pone Hoes 1 ii ov Godwin, who w - his promotion by Godwin, by Hoke, after his promo Mp ‘ killed td the Valley, and then by ee awe se ee: n detached duty and did Ath was on detachec and did't : ae this battle. Mr. Vanderslice, in his on ae seri tion of this affair, does full justice ee . a Caroling boys, and closes by saying : ae Ae 0 ted that while this assault is called tha oO a et isigue Tigers,’ the three North Carolina fon ments lost more men than the five Louisiana reg ments.” From a book HOKE’S BRIGADE. = 7 ce ‘7 recently published, entitled, ee and His Men,” the following 3 ‘Ce ph i ren etti- PAY YOUR MONEY AND paragraph is capa ae b } rew was trying to rea TAKE YOUR CHOICE. grew wé A ee post of death and honor, but and valor could not annihilate space. sly in the battle the day er ounded. he was far away an Hig troops had suffered cx unter before and their commander hac , : neue They were now led by an officer ardent and brave, q = ” but to them unknown. ee ‘Col Carswell McClellan, who he an sree sy a i agsau erase oat oe mi Sac oe that which is is General at Freaerick g - Hee as Pickett’s, says: “As the Pee ge an ‘charge, Gen. Humphreys turned me 11s Aes sa ganic with uncovered head, remarked as q af roo) 56 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? ly and as pleasantly as if inviting them to be seated around his table, ‘Gentlemen, I shall lead this charge. I presume, of course, you will wish to ride with mess Now, compare that to Pickett, who was not within a mile of his column when they charged at Gettysburg —Pettigrew and Armistead LEep Pickett’s division there. Of this grand assault of Humphreys I can do no better than quote Gen. Hooker’s report: ‘This attack was made with a gpirit and determination seldom, if ever, equalled in war. Seven of Gen. Hum- phreys’ staff officers started with the charge, five were dismounted before reaching the line where Gen. Couch’s troops were lying, and four were wounded before the assault ceased.” But as he spoke Pickett, at the head of his di- vision, rode over the crest of Seminary THE SCHOOL Ridge and began his descent down the GIRL’S HERO. slope. ‘As he passed me,” writes Longstreet, “he rode gracefully, with his jaunty cap racked well over his right ear and his long auburn locks, nicely dressed, hanging’ almost to his shoulders. He seemed a holiday soldier.” Echo repeats the words: A holiday soldier! A holi- day soldier! Even Gen. Lee was unfair to our troops, and Gen. Long, his biographer, in more than one THERE NOW! place misapprehended the facts. In re- ply to a letter from this writer he promised to make a correction if a second edition of his large and interesting biography was called for. We refer to the third day at Gettysburg so soon again because of a letter that reached us on Monday postmarked “Charleston, S. C., April 9.” It comes from a soldier who did not belong to either Petti- &rew’s or Pickett’s command. Clearly a man of education and fairness: Fe i PickETT OR PETTIGREW? He writes, and he is “Tam glad to see you are taking up the claim of P ettigrew’s brigade to share in the glory of Gettys- bure.. Why not go a littlefurther? Pettigrew led his division. Pickett did not. Pettigrew wag wounded, and no member of his staff came out of the fight Whe ut being wounded or having his horse shot under him. Neither Pickett nor any member of his stati hor even one of the horses was touched. W hy? Be- Cause dismounted and on the farther side I a wu that protected them from the enemy’s fire. ee is in this city a letter from a distinguished, ale Scholarly Virginian that states that General apse Was not in the charge at all. There now! The cor- respondent adds: ‘‘Investigate the statement, ae if correct, this will help to make history somewhat truthful.” He gives excellent authority—a gallant Citizen of Savannah, Ga., who was in the battle and of whom we have known for more than thirty-three years. Jvet the whole truth come out as to eee did charge on the third day, who participated in ani who went farthest in and close to the enemy.—Wil- Mineton Messenger. The following extract is taken from a magazine ar- ticle written by Mr. J. F. GOV. KEMPER KILLED Rhodes in 1899 : IN BATTLE “Then the: union guns re- AND OTHER MATTERS. opened. When near enough canister shot was added, ‘the Slaughter was terrible.’ The Confederate ee re-opened over the heads ot the charging oe a ing to divert the fire of the union cannon, i ‘ ie hot change the aim of the batteries from 4 1e ° a s ing column. When near enough the Feder ae ry 58 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? opened, but on swept the devoted division. . Near the Federal lines Pickett made a pause ‘to close ranks and mass for a final plunge.’ Armistead leaped the stone wall and cried, ‘Give them the cold steel, boys,’ laid his hand on a Federal gun, and the next moment was killed. At the same time Garnett and Kemper, Pickett’s other brigadiers, were killed. Hill’s corps wavered, broke ranks and fell back. ‘The Federals swarmed around Pickett,’ writes Longstreet, ‘attack- ing on all sides, enveloped and broke up his com- mand. They drove the fragments back upon our lines. Pickett gave the word to retreat.’ ”’ To give a clear idea of the closing events of this as- sault it will be well to mention several things not generally known. Just at the point which had been occupied, but was then abandoned by Webb’s brig- ade, there was no stone wall, but a breastwork made of rails covered with a little earth. These works jutted out into the field. On bothsides of this salient there were stone walls. Of the one thousand men who reached these works of rails and earth only about fifty followed Armistead to the abandoned guns. The others stopped there. Seeing this all to their right, more than half the column did the same, and having stopped they were obliged to lie down. The left of the line continued to move on for a while when they, to prevent annihilation, also fell to the ground. This discontinuance of the forward movement, show- ing that the momentum of the charge had spent it- self, meant defeat. Our men knew this, but there they lay waiting for—they knew not what. Allother things that happened—the capture of men, muskets and flags—were for the Federals mere details in reap- ing the harvest of victory. PicKETT OR PETTIGREW? 59 Leaving out Lane’s brigade, which lay far over to the left in the Emmittsburg SAFE SURRENDER oR road, our line, which Was SO DANGEROUS RETREAT? imposing at the beginning of the assault, covered the front of only two Federal brigades at its close. Into the interval between Lane’s and Pettigrew’s troops New Yorkers were sent, who attacked the left ot the lat- ter’s own brigade. About the same time \ ermonters moved up and fired several volleys ito Pickett’s tight. Which body of these flankers first made their attack has been a subject of some dispute, but it is a matter of no importance. Neither attack was made before Armistead was wounded. But there is & mat- ter of very great importance, and that is to correctly decide which of the two contrary lines of action taken that day is the more honorable and _ soldier-like. Here were troops lying out in the open field, all of them knowing that they had met with a frightful defeat. Those on the left, seeing a move on the part of the enemy to effect their capture, thought ita duty they owed themselves, their army and their country to risk their lives in an effort toescape. Acting upon this thought they went to the rear with a rush, helter skelter, devil take the hindmost, and the most of them did escape. Those on the right when exdered to surrender did so almost to a man. The North Carolinians, Alabamians and Tennesseeans upon the field felt that to surrender when there was a reasona- ble hope of escape was very little better than deser- tion. Ifthe opinions of the Virginians were not quite as extreme as this, they certainly would have been surprised at that time had they been told that their conduct was heroic. Since then maudlin sentiment- alists have so often informed them it was that now 60 PICKETT OR PrrTigREeW? _ they believe it. The time may come when history will call their surrender by its right name. The late Gen. James Dearing, of Virginia, at the time of the battle an artillery major, STRAGGLERS. witnessed the assault, and shortly af- terwards, giving a description of it toa friend of the writer, mentioned a circumstance which partly accounts for the fact that all of Pickett’s troops were not captured. It wasthat from the very start individuals began to drop out of ranks, and that the number of these stragglers continued to in- crease as the line advanced, and that before a shot had ever been fired at them it amounted to many hundreds. This conduct on the part of so many must be taken into consideration in accounting for the shortness of our line at the close of the assault; also that the troops both to the right and left dressing upon Archer’s brigade there was in consequence much crowding towards the centre. By adding to these causes the deaths and wounds the explanation of a condition which has puzzled many writers is readily seen. General Longstreet is supposed to have always thought that after the second of “THE POST OF Pettigrew’s brigades gave way DEATH AND HONOR.”’ there were none of Hill’s troops left upon the field.. This Gener- al, while honest, was so largely imaginative that his statement of facts is rarely worthy of credence. He says that “Pickett gave the word to retreat.” There are very many old soldiers, many even in Richmond, who do not believe that Pickett was there to give that word. That in the beautiful language of a re- cent writer, “He may have been trying to reach the ‘ PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? — 61 post of death and honor, but he was far away, and valor could not annihilate space.” iY Gen. Longstreet is reported recently to have said at Gettysburg that if Gen. Meade JUNGING OTHERS had advanced his whole line on BY OURSELVES. July 4th he would have carried everything before him. ‘Itishardly fair for Gen. Longstreet to do so, but he is evigen thy judging the army by his troops, some ot phon aa said to have been so nervous and shaky after t nis battle that the crack of a teamster’s whip would startle them. He is mistaken, for it must be remem- bered that the enemy was about as badly battered as we were, and that the troops composing simel\s and Hill’s corps had beaten this enemy only bee months before when it was on the defensive. Now we would have been on the defensive; is it probable that we would have been beaten? : ree This brigade was composed of the 11th, 26th, i Me 52nd and 44th NorthCarolina. When PETTIGREW'S the army went on the Gettysburg cam- BRIGADE. paign the last named regiment was leit in Virginia. That this brigade had more men killed and wounded at Gettysburg than any brigade in our army ever had in any Daule : not so much to its credit as is the fact that after Sue appalling losses it was one of the two brigades. S lected for the rear guard when the army re-cr Opses the river. At Gettysburg Capt. Tuttle’s company of the 26th regiment went into the battle with oe officers and eighty-four men.” All the officers - eighty-three of the men were killed or wounded:; n the same battle company C. of the 11th regiment, had two officers killed (First Lieut. T om Cooper, a University boy, was one of them) and thirty-four out Picker? or PETTIGREW? of the thirty-eight men killed or wounded. Capt. Bird with the four remaining men participated in the assault of the third day, and of them the flag bearer was shot and the captain brought out the colors himself. He was made major, and was afterwards killed at Reams Station. Bertie county should raise a monument to his memory. In the assault Col. Marshall, of the 52nd, commanded this brigade ’till he was killed. At the close of the battle Maj. Jones, of the 26th, was the only field officer who had not been struck, and he was subsequently killed at the Wilderness. With the exception of South Carolina probably no State in the Confederacy had so few soldiers “absent without leave’ as North Carolina. Owing to unfortunate surroundings neither the head of the army nor the administration ever realized this fact. The same harshness that forced thousands of conscripts into the army who were unfit for service, and kept them there until death in the hospital released them, caused more soldiers from North Carolina (some of whom had shed their blood in defence of the South) to be shot for this so-called desertion than from any other State. Though the military population of the Tar Heel State was not as great as that of at least two of the others, her soldiers filled twice as many graves, and at Appomattox, Va.,and Greensboro, N.C., surren- dered twice as many muskets as those of any other State. There was a singular fact in connection with these so-called desertions. In summer, when there was fighting or the expectation of a fight, they never occurred. Only in winter, when the men had time to think of their families, hundreds of whom were suffer- ing for the necessaries of life, did the longing desire DESERTION. PicKETT OR PETTIGREW ? 63 to see them and minister to their wants ne every other sentiment, and dozens of them woulc ee and surprise must be felt by any intelligent officer of any of the European armies UNDESERVED who rides:over that part of ae lines conremMpT., held by the army of the F otomac which was assaulted on the afternoon of July 8rd, 1863. Wonder that sixty OM Reva thousand men occupying the commanding ee is : they did and supported by hundreds of cannons ee d have felt so much pride in having defeated a co sue of less than ten thousand. For had their only weap- ons been brick-bats they should have done so. sur- prise that Gen. Lee should have had so Savery contempt for the Federal army as to have Cee for 1 moment that by any sort of possibility the at- KG be successful. a tee ago than last Augu st a New York Tae zine contained an elaborately A LEAF OF illustrated article descriptive e NORTHERN HISTORY. the Gettysburg battlefield. As long as the writer confines him- self to natural scenery he acquits himself very ee ably, but when he attempts to describe evens ee occurred there so many years ago he founder ee fully. Of course Pickett’s men advance “alone. oe course there is a terriffe hand-to-hand battle at ¥ 8 he calls the “bloody angle.’’ In this battle he says ?s troops lost from twenty- that many of Doubleday’s troops five to forty per cent. ‘“The slaughter of the Confed- erates was fearful—nearly one half of them were rae upon the field, Garnett’s brigade alone having OV ie three thousand killed and captured.” This is North- ern history. 64. Pickett on Perrigrew? Now for facts: Pickett’s men did not advance “alone.” There was no terrific battle inside the ene- my’s works. None of Doubleday’s troops lost there from twenty-five to forty per cent. There was not one regiment in Gibbons’ or Doubleday’s commands which, after the shelling, lost one-fourth of one per cent. As to Garnett’s brigade, as it carried in only two thousand or less and brought out aconsiderable fragment, it could hardly have had over three thous- and killed and captured. It did have seventy-eight killed and three hundred and twenty-four wounded. Gen. Doubleday in writing to ask permission to make use of the pamphlet in a history he was then preparing, suggested only one alteration, and that was in regard to Stannard’s Vermont brigade, which had fought only the day before, and not the two days as the pamphlet had it. On the retreat Kilpatrick attacked our ambulance train and captured many wounded officers of Evwell’s corps. Among them was one from my brigade who, when in hospital, was asked by a Federal surgeon if the well- known Union sentiment in North Carolina had any- thing to do with the large proportion of wounded men from that State. Being young and inex- perienced in the ways of the world he indignantly answered, ‘‘No.”’ cece Early in the war the best troops in the army of Northern Virginia could not have HUMBUGGERY OF fighting enough. At that time HISTORY. they were simple enough to believe that there was some connection be- tween fame and bravery. After a while they learned that a dapper little clerk of the quartermaster’s de- UNION SENTIMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA. PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? 65 partment, if he had the ear of the editor of the Rich- mond “Examiner,” had more to do with their repu- tation than their own courage. When this fact be- came known there was ‘no more spoiling for a fight,” but it was very often felt to be a hardship when they were called upon to do more than their proper share of fihting. The 40th, 47th and 55th Virginia regiments and 22nd Virginia battalion com-— BROCKENBOROUGH’S posed this brigade. Up to the VIRGINIA BRIGADE. reorganization of the army after Jackson’s death, it formed a part of A. P. Hill’s famous light division. That it did not sustain its reputation at Gettysburg had no effect upon the general result of that battle. Their loss was 25 killed and 143 wounded. If any searcher after the truth of the matter con- sults the records and other sources of reliable inforination, paying no at- tention to the clap-traps of Virginia writers, he will find, to say the least, that the troops of Ewell’s and Hill’s corps were the peers of the best and the superiors ofa large part of the soldiers of Longstreet’s corps. In the battle of the second day if the four brigades of McLaw’s divi- sion had fought as well as did Wright’s and Wilcox’s of the third corps, we would have undoubtedly gain- ed a victory at Gettysburg. Hood’s was the best di- vision, but it was defeated at Wauhatchie, Tenn., by troops that the men of the second and third corps had often met and never failed to drive. As to Pick: ett’s “writing division:” From Malvern Hill to Get- tysburg was exactly one year, and in this ume cue four great battles of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and twice as LONGSTREET’S MEN. 66 Pickerr on PerrigREw ? many of less prominence were fought by the army or parts of the army. In these battles Lane’s North Carolina, Scales’ North Carolina and Archer’s mixed brigade of Tennesseeans and Alabamians had three thousand six hundred and ten men killed and wound- ed. In the same period Armistead’s Virginia, Kem- per’s Virginia and Garnett’s Virginia had seven hun- dred and seventy-two killed and wounded. At Gettysburg -where it had 102 killed and 322 wounded it was a small brigade, as at Chancellorsville only two months before it had met with a loss of nearly seven hun- dred. In the third day’s assault, General Scales having been wounded, it was commanded by Col. Lowrence, who was also wounded as was every field officer and nearly every company officer in the brigade. This gallant little organization consisted of the 13th, 16th, 22nd, 84th and 38th North Caro- lina. Its first commander was Pettigrew, who was severely wounded and captured atSeven Pines. Then came Pender, then Seales, late Governor of North Carolina. At Gettysburg it and Lane’s were the only troops who were required to fight every day. Mr. W. H. Swallow, of Maryland, a Confederate soldier and a writer of some note, was wounded at Gettysburg, and in one of his articles descriptive of the battle, says: ‘Gen. Trimble, who commanded Pender’s division and lost a leg in the assault, lay wounded with the writer at Gettysburg for several weeks after the battle, related the fact to the writer (Swallow) that when Gen. Lee was inspecting the column in front of Scales’ brigade, which had been fearfully cut up in the first day’s conflict, having lost very heavily, including all of its regimental officers SCALES’ BRIGADE. PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? — 67 with its gallant commander, and noticing many of Scales’ men with their heads and hands bandaged, he said to Gen. Trimble: ‘Many of these poor boys should go to the rear; they are not able for duty.’ Pace: his eyes searchingly along the weakened ranks of Seales’ brigade he turned to Gen. Trimble and touchingly added, ‘I miss in this brigade the faces of many dear friends.’ = * i S ia In a few weeks some of us were removed from the town to a grove near the wall that Longstreet had assaulted. As the ambulances passed the fences on the Emmittsburg road, the slabs were so completely perforated with bullet holes that you could scarcely place a half inch between them. One inch and a quarter board was indeed acuriosity. It was sixteen feet long and fourteen inches wide and was perforated with eight hundred and thirty-six musket balls. I learned : afterwards that the board was taken posses- sion of by an agent of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. This board was on that part of the fence where Scales’ brave little-brigade crossed it.” This brigade was composed of the 10th, 23rd and 37th Virginia, the Maryland battalion and the Ist and 8rd North Carolina. When Gen. Ed. Johnson, supported by two of Rodes’ brigades, made his attack on the morning of the third day, this brigade dis- played conspicuous gallantry. Had Gen. Longstreet moved forward at the same time, the story of Gettys- burg might have been written very differently. There was not an indifferent company in this brigade. All were choice troops. The 8rd North Carolina pos- sessed in a pre-eminent degree the mental Oe ag peculiar to so many North Carolina troops. Try a STEUART’S BRIGADE. 68 PickETT OR PETTIGREW? they would, they never could master the art of as- saulting entrenchments or fighting all day in anopen field without having somebody hurt. In the Sharps- burg campaign it had more men killed and wounded than any regiment in the army. At Chancellorsville there were only three—all North Carolina—whose casualties were greater, and at Gettysburg (losing fifty per cent.) it headed the list for its division. The ist North Carolina, a somewhat smaller regiment, in number of casualties always followed close behind the Third, except at Mechanicsville, when it went far ahead. [t was indeed also one of those fool regi- ments which could never learn the all-important les- son which so many of their more brilliant comrades found no difficulty in acquiring. Col. Fox in his “Regimental Losses,” says: ‘To all this some may sneer and some may say, ‘Cui Bono?’ If so let it be remembered that there are other reasons than money or patriotism which in- duce men to risk life and limb in war. There is the love of glory and the expectation of honorable recog- nition; but the private in the ranks expects neither; his identity is merged in that of his regiment; to him the regiment and its name is everything; he does not expect to see his own name appear upon the page of history, and is content with the proper recognition of the old command in which he fought. But he is jealous of the record of his regiment and demands credit for every shot it faced and every grave it filled. The bloody laurels for which a regiment contends will always be awarded to the one with the longest roll of honor. Scars are the true evidence of wounds, and regimental scars can be seen only in its record of casultivs.”’ : -© PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? 69 How much punishment must a body of troops re- ceive before they can, without discredit to themselves, confess that they have been defeated? In answer it may be stated that in front of Marye’s Hill at Fredericksburg, Maegher’s and Zook’s brigades lost in killed and wounded, respectively, thirty-six and twenty-six per cent., and that the killed and wounded of the fifteen Pennsylvania regiments, constituting Meade’s division, which broke through Jackson's line, was36 per cent. This division was not only ee but routed, and yet they were deservedly oon: : amongst the very best troops in their army. Ores narily it may be safely said that a loss of twenty-five per cent. satisfies all the requirements of military honor. Ordinarily is said advisedly, for in our army very much depended upon knowing from what Se the regiment or brigade hailed before ib could be d ee cided whether or not it was’ justified in Tovrea sas: When on the afternoon of the third day of July, 1863, Pettigrew’s, Trimble’s and Pickett’s divisions march- ed into that ever-to-be remembered slaughter pen, there was one regiment in the first named division, the 11th Mississippi, which entered the assault ares carrying in 325 officers and men. After donee 202 killed and wounded, it with its brigade, left the field in disorder. Correspondents of Virginia newspapers witnessing their defeat accused them ofbad ee Virginian historians repeated their story jane ne slander of brave men, who had lost sixty per cent. before retreating, lives to this day. In the spring of 1862 an army, consisting of ten regiments of in- fantry, one of calvary and two batteries of artillery, was defeated in the valley and the loss m killed and DEFEAT WITH HONOR. 70 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? wounded was four hundred and fifty-five. In the summer of 1863 there were eight regiments in the same division who took part in a certain battle and were defeated; but they did not confess themselves beaten ’till the number of their killed and wounded amounted to two thousand and two (2,002)—a loss so great that it never was before or afterwards equalled in our army or in any American army. In the first instance all of the troops were from Virginia and as consolation for their defeat they received a vote of thanks from the Confederate Congress. In the second case five of the regiments were from North Carolina and three from Mississippi. Did our Con- gress thank them for such unprecedented display of endurance? No, indeed! Corrupted as it was by Richmond flattery and dominated by Virginian opinion; the only wonder is that it refrained from a vote of censure. Four North Carolina infantry regiments, 29th, 39th, 58th and 60th, and one of cavalry, served in the Western army and did so with eredit to themselves and State. WESTERN ARMY. The 15th, 27th, 46th and 48th regiments composed this brigade. It met with its greatest coox’s losses at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, BRIGADE. Bristoe Station and the Wilderness. The 15th, while in Cobb’s brigade, suffered great loss at Malvern Hill in addition to above. The 48th fought at Oak Grove June 25th, the first of the seven days’ battles, and suffered severely. The 27th was probably more praised for its conduct at Sharps- burg than any regiment in the army. PICKETT OR PETTIGREW? le The 24th, 25th, $5th, 49th and 56th made up a brigade. It probably met with ne res RANSOM’S est loss at Malvern Hill. The Bees of vals BRIGADE. brigade and the 14th of Geo. B. Ander- son’s both claim that after this battle their dead were found nearest to where the aire artillery had stcod. . The brigade also ao ne 8picuous gallantry at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg and Drury’s Blui. Gov. Vance called them his “seed wheat.” There were four regiments and one battalion of Junion these troops. They were used tor one RESERVES. most part to guard bridges from raider a but a large part of them fought at Wise’s Fork, below Kinston, and at Bentonville, ee my acquitted themselves ereditably. A Mose ae : he writer of haying seen one of these childr en who = few days before had lost both eyes by a musket ba : He said it was the ‘saddest sight of asad,sad war.” After the fall of Fort Fisher several battalions of heavy artillery which had been oceupy- “RED LEG” ing the other forts near the mouth ie INFANTRY. the Cape Fear, were withdrawn am armed as infantry, joined J ohnston’ 8 army. No troops ever fought better than they did at Kinston and Bentonville. At thelatter battle one of these battalions was commanded by Lt. Col. Jno. D. Taylor, who lost an arm on that occasion. While the notices of the pamphlet have been gener- erally favorable, it was not to be ex- THE cRriTICs. pected that all would be so. There are those who see no need for reopening Tae OF Be miata le the question herein discussed. While confessing: that 2 PickETT OR PETTIGREW? apart of our troops have been directly wronged by slanderous words and all them wronged by implica- tion, they assert that time only is required to make all things even, and that the dead past should be al lowed to bury its dead. Peace loving souls they deprecate controversy, believing that from it will re- sult only needless heart burnings. Then again there are others who object not only to the tone and temper of the article, but to the mere statement of indisputable facts. There should be, they say, a feeling of true comradeship among: all who have served in the same army, especially in such an army as ours. That comrades should assist and defend each other in person and reputation, and under no circumstances should anything be done or said to wound or offend. To admit that there has been provocation in one direction does not justify provocation in another, for two wrongs never yet made aright. That to write of anything to the dis- credit of a part of the army of Northern Virginia is to a certain extent to injure the reputation of the whole army, and that a sentiment of loyalty to that army and love for its head should prompt its veter- ans to place its honor above all other considera- tions. Some old soldiers within and some without the limits of the State have expressed these opinions. Many others may entertain them. It may be they are right. It may be theyare wrong. Whocan tell? However, letters never printed show that there are many who think when once an effort in behalf of jus- tice is begun it should be continued ’till that end is attained, and be it remembered that the justice de- manded is for the dead who cannot defend them- selves. PicKETT OR PETTIGREW? ~ 73 The 17th, 42rd, 50th and 66th North Carolina composed this brigade, and it was first commanded by Gen. Jas. Martin. It was not sent to Virginia ’till the spring of 1864, when it was placed in a divis- ion made up for Gen. Hoke. It was hotly engaged in the battle of Drury’s Bluff where Lt. Col: Lamb, of the 17th, was mortally wounded, at Cold Harbor where Col. Moore, the boy commander of the 66th, was killed, at Bentonville, Kinston, etc. But it is probable that the hardships endured in the trenches at Petersburg were responsible for more deaths than all the bullets of the enemy. oS Seven North Carolina batteries served in Virginia. All of them were very efficient, but three of them were so remarkably fine that it is a temptation to name them. We had five regiments and one battalion of cav- alry to serve in Virginia. They were the Oth, 19th, 41st, 59th and 63rd North Carolina troops; but generally known as Ist, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th cavalry and the 16th bat- talion. If space permitted, incidents worth mention- ing connected with each of these organizations could be told. As it is, only two, which may interest North Carolinians generally, and citizens of Halifax county in particular, will be mentioned. In the summer Ol, 1864 when General Butler came so near capturing Petersburg, at that time defenseless, the 16th North Carolina battalion was picketing the road by which the Federals were approaching. It was then that this battalion, assisted by two light field guns, acted With so much spirit that the advance of Butler’s men was so delayed that time was given for troops from Lee’s army to arrive and man the fortifica- KIRKLAND’S BRIGADE. ARTILLERY. CAVALRY. 74 PICKETT OR PETTIGREW ? tions. Prominent among the heroes on this ocea- sion was a Halifax boy—Lt. W. F. Parker. On the disastrous field of Five Forks our cavalry was not only holding its own, but was driving that of the enemy when the infantry gave way. This success of the cavalry on their part of the line was very nearly the last ever gained by any portion of our army. They had been fighting by squadrons and that com- posed of the Onslow and Halifax companies of the 3rd regiment had just made a successful charge, when, looking to the left, they saw the infantry re- treating in disorder. The squadron on this occasion was commanded and led by a Seotland Neck mount- ed Rifleman, the late Norfleet Smith—a brave officer, a good citizen and a loyal friend. Dear old “Boots” of other days! Lightly lie the sod above your hon- ored head. “Earth has no such soidiers now, Such true friends are net found.” This was a heavy artillery regiment stationed at Fort: Fisher when the final attack THIRTY-SIXTH was made upon this fort. After the N.c. TROOPS. fire from the ships had dismounted their big guns and the assault by land was being made, they snatched up their muskets and showed the enemy how well they could use them. It is now generally conceded that not in the whole war did a body of soldiers ever struggle so long and so desperately against theinevitable. From traverse to traverse, from gun-chamber to gun-chamber for several hours the hopeless struggle went on. Capt. Hunter’s Halifax company had 58 men killed and wounded out of 80 present.