66 - NortH Carotina Troops, 1861-65. Company G, The Wilmington Light Infantry, from Wil- a yee a The Columbus Vigilants, from Columbus ii I, The Wilmington Rifle Guards, from Wil- eee = The Bladen Guards, from Bladen County, N. C. Thus, it will be seen, that Bladen County furnished ae Columbus two, Richmond one, Robeson one, and New an: over County four, three of which were from phair « The brigade was organized at Kinston, N. C., sie Ww a in the Spring of 1862, they were ordered to join t 2 28 . mand of General (Stonewall) Jackson who was apts nas ating” upon Banks, Shields, Milroy, e¢ al., in his is si and ever memorable campaign in the Valley of Virginia. : were sent by rail to Gordonsville, Va., and ide thence oe up our line of march towards General Jackson’s —, . and while thus marching and some distance beyond a place called Tripperville (if my memory serves me right) a gene tain village in Western Virginia, we turned back upon the line of our march, and for ten days covered an average distance of thirty miles each day, until at Hanover Court EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT, No one of us knew why we had been detached from the command of General Jackson in the valley, so thoroughly did he keep his own counsel, who, while we were marching to- wards Hanover Court House was, with his main command, silently and swiftly moving towards a common place of meet- ’s command (who, up to that time Wwe supposed, were in the Valley where we had left them) at the bridge crossing the Chickahominy river, near Mechanics- ville, when, soon after, the memorable “seven days” battle around Richmond was begun and fought to a successful finish. It was here that the splendid genius of Stonewall Jackson was displayed in all its grandeur. Crossing the Chickahominy river he opened the fight b army in the rear, and drove them back in the early day- light, throwing them into the greatest consternation and panic. Upon the opening of Jackson’s men in the at or near Mechanicsville with his corps, Y attacking Siegel’s corps of the Federal House (called by the Federals “Slash Church”) we encoun- tered the heavy division of Fitz-John Porter, said to num- ber twenty thousand men. Here we “fleshed our maiden sword,” for it was our - battle, and a fierce and bloody one it was. Colonel Lane’s Twenty-eighth Regiment was by pad gar! pret wed us, and from 1 o’clock until nearly dar , with only fou 2 : : : ae ments, we held this tremendous ne at bay, and then re- sisiana, gay J Sg re : treated to Ashland in the direction of Richmond, where ; eis to a ington, and there ¢ General Joe Johnston was facing McClellan’s splendid army. : = co > i aa The Eighteenth Regiment lost in this engagement, in killed, Witt. th siilneioa % : wounded, missing and prisoners, fully two hundred men. acne a. > Si Simran From Ashland we marched to a place called “Chamber- bere Thon, ae, aaa lain’s Hill,” almost in full view of the battle of Seven Pines, sda. Head ies peal which was the great preliminary skirmish to the seven days ¥ ? Tear, the main army under General Lee advanced in front, and from thence on, fo r seven days, day after day, the Eigh- teenth N. C. Regiment as a part of Jackson’s corps, A. N. V., drove the enemy, defeating General McClellan with his splen- didly equipped army until they were compelled to take shel- ter under the guns of their James river fleet. Tt was reported that at the close of this series of splendid This is our opportunity, ictate terms of peace and the fates decreed otherwise. t we did rid Richmond, our e enemy, threatening its de- cidents, many escapes, many n and around the seven days’