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24 NortH Caro.tina Troops, 1861-’65.

them, sweated the great sweat of confusion and acknowl-
edged their deeds.

He then handed Captain ————
him to read it aloud:

the following and asked

HEADQUARTERS,
Army or NortTuHEerN Virainia,
June 3rd, 1862.
Brigadier General L. O’B. Branch, Commanding, Ete. :

The report of your recent engagement with the enemy «t
Slash Church has been forwarded by Major General Hill. I
take great pleasure in expressing my approval of the manner
in which you have discharged the duties of the position in
which you were placed, and of the gallant manner in which
your troops opposed a very superior force of the enemy. I
beg you will signify to the troops of your command, which
were engaged on that occasion, my hearty approval of their
conduct, and hope that on future occasions they will evince a
like heroism and patriotic devotion.

I am very respectfully your obedient servant.

Rosert E. Lee.

Through Major General A. P. Hill.

They frankly deferred to the opinion of General Lee, as
to the merits of Branch’s actions in the engagements of the
27th, and the pardon they asked he freely gave them.

They returned to their commands with a changed opinion
as to what they knew about war, fully resolved, thereafter, to
attend to the duties that lay next to their door.

General Lee’s letter of approval was read that evening to
each regiment of Branch’s brigade on dress parade, and there
were two men who looked very intently at something on the
ground in front of them during its reading.

The story spread through camp and we had no more
war correspondents.

Wait till you hear from General Lee was the rule with
the North Carolina troops, leaving to others to make reputa-
tion by printers ink.

Colonel Lane with the Twenty-eighth, had hard fighting to

EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT. 25

keep from capture, and being cut off, made quite a detour to
get into the line of the Chickahominy, taking two or three
days. After the battle of Seven Pines, on the 31st, in which
General Joseph E. Johnston was severely wounded, General
R. E. Lee was placed in command of the Army of Northern
Virginia. Brigadier-General Ambrose Powell Hill, for gal-
lantry in that battle, and others of the Peninsular campaign,
was made Major-General, and six brigades assigned to his
division, that of Branch among them.

From Chamberlain’s we were moved to Brook Church on
the pike near Richmond, and did duty at Crenshaw, Meadow
Bridge and telegraph road crossings.

On 25 June the brigade moved -to Crenshaws, and
next morning crossed the Chickahominy above the Meadow
Bridge road. Near Atlee’s station, a part of the Seventh and
Thirty-third Regiments, in driving in the enemy,’ had a few
men wounded. They captured a flag and a lot of prisoners.
This was the first blood spilled, and trophy of the gory seven
day’s fight. Branch turning their right caused the Yankees
alarm, and A. P. Hill crossed the division at the lower roads
with comparative ease.

McClellan made a stand at Mechanicsville, and a brisk en-
gagement was carried on, till night puta stop to it. The
Eighteenth was on the left of the line, under cannonading,
from which we lost three men.

During the night the enemy withdrew their main forces,
and their rear guard only was encountered next morning.
Pursuit was made, and the enemy found at Gaines’ Mill,
or Cold Harbor, where General McClellan had concentrated
his troops in a naturally very strong position.

Branch’s brigade was among the first in the battle and
did good service. The Eighteenth fought on the right of a
road, crossing a swamp, and found the enemy strongly en-
trenched on the high bluff on the opposite side, with abatis iu
front. We charged with vigor, but did not succeed in carry-
ing the position. Falling back into the marsh we would re-
form and return to the charge, with like result.

Colonel Cowan in his report of the battle, savs: “Friday
afternoon at 4 o’clock we were put in the fight at Cold Harbor,