154 Norra Carorina Troops, 1861-65.

as well as several others, that we captured at the junction,
with Federal rations, again drawing on our good commissary,
Banks, for supplies. We then applied the torch to the ~
mainder, again burning down Manassas warehouse full o:

provisions. Pope now realizing the situation, began to press
down upon us with the view of crushing us before Lee could
send us any assistance. We simply moved out a few miles
from the junction and took position on a part of the ground
on which the famous battle of Bull Run was fought a little
more than a year previous. The lines, however, were nearly
at a right angle to those of the previous battle, as we were
being approched from a different direction. Pope had taken
the precaution to place a force at each of the mountain passes
to prevent reinforcements from reaching us, and began to
press us with his whole army, making the attack on 29 ee
gust. This was the famous “Second Battle of Manassas,

and was one of the most stubbornly fought battles of the war.
Jackson had only his own corps during this first day’s fight to
withstand the surging mass of Federals that was hurled
against him. But this he did in true Stonewall style, beating
them back and holding our position throughout the day. In

the meantime Longstreet was hastening with all possible ;

speed to our assistance, and when he came to the mountain
gap through which it was necessary for him te pass in order
to reach us, he did not permit the force guarding it to be any
obstacle in his way. He simply ran over them with his old
veterans. He reached us late in the afternoon of the 30th,
and was beating back Pope’s left wing before that General
knew he had crossed the mountains. On the morning of the
30th Pope hurled his forces against us with the evident in-
tention of crushing us before other help could reach us, and
it is doubtful if he yet knew that Longstreet was there wait-
ing for him. He (Pope) had still been further reinforced
from McClellan’s army and, no doubt, felt able to run over
us. During this day some of the hardest fighting that had
occurred thus far was had. On one occasion the hostile
forces met at a railroad fill and fought desperately by throw-

ing stones across the fill at each other, neither side daring to
cross it to the other.

Twenty-First REGIMENT. 155

We struck the enemy in a gully, or branch, that ran along
ahollow. We came to a fence on the ridge about one hundred
yards distant that seemed to run parallel with the enemy’s
position. We halted at this fence and quickly tore it down
and piled the rails in front. It offered us good protection,
where we lay down on the ground. We opened fire on the en-
emy, but it soon became so dark that we could not see the en-
enemy’s position, but we would fire at the flashes of their
guns, as I suppose they would fire at our flashes. We re-
ceived orders at one time to charge the enemy, and started to
do so, but did not go many steps before we were ordered to
halt and lie down again. Our regiment was commanded by
the gallant Colonel Fulton, of Stokes County. It was during
this little advance that he fell at my side, falling against me,
shot through and killed outright. We slept on our arms,
expecting to renew the battle at daylight, but when morning
came the Federals were gone. We followed up the retreat-
ing enemy until he was safely back in the fortifications
around Washington. General Pope had for once, at least,
seen the rebels faces and had been forced, very reluctantly, no
‘doubt, to show them his back. So great was his mortification
after all of his intemperate boasting that as soon as he had
his army safely behind the great fortifications of Washing-
ton he resigned his commission and we never heard anything
more of Pope. All the great and well equipped armies
that had entered Virginia so cheerily in the early Spring, and
marched on to Richmond, the Confederate Capital, confident
of its capture, found themselves hurled back and cooped up
in the fortifications around their own Capital and engaged
in its defence.

THE CAPTURE OF HARPER'S FERRY.

One the morning of the 15th, having everything ready, we
opened a merciless fire upon the doomed garrison. From
high up, almost over their heads and from every side, came
the shower of shells pouring in upon them, from which their
fortifications afforded no protection. In our immediate
front, the ground was comparatively level, or rather it was not