230 Nortu Carorina Troops, 1861-’65.

meet us, was soon tangled and scattered pell-mell all over the
big field. Over this field rushed helter-skelter cannon,
wagons, loose horses, dogs, men, everything. A spectacled
Adjutant was here shot dead with a congratulatory order in
his hand, telling that Lee was surrounded and would be cap-
tured the next day. It was well into the night before our onset
spent itself and we must have been then not very far from the
point from which we set out in the early morning. Then
were heard all through the woods the Yankee officers
calling out and offering to surrender. We heard distinctly
without knowing its fateful meaning, the sudden outburst of
musketry which struck down the right arm of Lee and of the
Confederacy—Stonewall Jackson.

Our loss that night was small, as it had been with us rather
a chase than a fight. Our turn to fight came the next morn-
ing.

On Saturday night both Lee and Hooker made different
dispositions for the stern Sabbath work to come. Major
Rowe, of the Twelfth, having been wounded the evening be-
fore, Lieutenant-Colonel R. D. Johnston, of the Twenty-
third, commanded the Twelfth in this battle. Iverson’s
brigade went into action on the left of the Confederate line
and to the left of the plank road. Having been in the first
line the day before, it was now placed in the second line as
a support. Our brigade reached the first line as it was falling
back from its assault on the third line of Federal intrench-
ments. General Rodes says of this attack: “The enemy
was compelled to fall back and pressing on Colonel Hall’s two
regiments (Fifth and Twenty-sixth Alabama) together with
the Twenty-third North Carolina, Colonel Christie, carried
the heights in magnificent style, planting their flags inside the
works.”

The rest of Rodes’, Iverson’s and Pender’s troops were re-
pulsed. This exposed the three above regiments, and an
overwhelming flanking attack by the Federal Generals,
French and later Humphreys, being made, they were forced
to retire with heavy loss in killed, wounded and prisoners. But
the troops which had been repulsed soon rallied and on being

Twenty-THIRD REGIMENT. 231

reinforced, drove back the attacking forces and the general
Confederate advance followed.

Major N. A. Gregory (then Lieutenant Company I) gives
a graphic account of several incidents in the battle. He says
substantially as follows: “They (Pender’s men) had cap-
tured two lines of works from the enemy and were standing
behind the second line when we came up. They told us that
they were out of ammunition and could go no further. Gen-
eral Pender went forward with us. After crossing a little
branch and fighting for some time in a hot place, Pender told
us to charge. We rushed ahead. My company was on the
right. I bore to the right of the road and got into a little
fort, which stood in the open field near the road. Here I
seized a rifle from a man who went into. the fort with me and
blazed away at the colors of the Federal artillery company
that was then moving off the field. Just then this man called
my attention to the shots coming in on our left. As we two
were alone, we got out of there. I suppose that we went
closer to the Chancellor House than any other command that
day. These shots were from French’s flanking force about
to strike the Confederate left.”

The loss of the Twenty-third at Chancellorsville, which is
said to have been 50 per cent. larger than any other regiment
in the brigade, was officially reported by General Rodes at
173 killed, wounded and missing. Moore’s Roster gives the
casualties as follows: Wounded 48, killed 17, mortally
wounded 6. Captain Wesley Hedspeth, Company B, was
killed. Lieutenant James S. Knight, Company B, was mor-
tally wounded, dying that night. Lieutenant Washington F.
Overton, Company G, was wounded and burned with many of
our dead, and probably some other wounded, in the tire that
raged that morning in the woods to the left of the plank road
and east of the little aldertangled branch. Captain A. 2.
Cole was wounded and captured while being carried to the
rear. Major C. C. Blacknall and Lieutenant George B. Bul-
lock were, with the men they led forward, surrounded and
captured in a redoubt of the work which they had just ear-
vied. These two officers after being fellow prisoners in the