250 NortH CaRroLtina Troops, 1861-’65.

firing a gun as these veracious correspondents would make
the readers believe.”

In Early’s victory over Crook at Kernstown, 24 July,
our division was sent to the left to get around Crook’s right
flank at Bartonsville. Crook here occupied exactly the same
position that Shields did when Jackson fought him 23 March,
1862. The result of the battle was that Crook was defeated
and driven back in great rout.

Then followed much arduous marching and counter-march-
ing to meet and check the strong and active force which was
placed under Sheridan’s command early in August. The
open valley country with its excellent roads gave great facil-
ity for the advantageous use of cavalry, in which Sheridan
was overwhelmingly strong. Our boys also did much hard
work in reaping, threshing and grinding grain for food. This
labor could often be done only under the protection of our
guns. The Richmond Examiner grew facetious over the
merry harvesting time Early’s men were having in the valley.
Colonel Blacknall, writing under date of 28 August, 1864,
says: ‘You have seen, perhaps, some facetious descriptions
of our doings and not doing in the Richmond Hxaminer. The
descriptions are drawn in the Examiner’s inimitable style and
quite laughable withal to one at a distance. Still the ‘frugal
swains’ and the ‘gentle shepherds’ have not had quite so gay
and festive a time as one might imagine; we have, it is true,
been engaged in reaping and thrashing and gathering supplies
from the teeming abundance in the country; but the piping
and fiddling and feasting and frolicking, exist in the editor’s
fertile imagination. The lowing and bleating herd are the
beef cattle which affords some very tough steak and the mean-
dering, bubbling streams and gentle flowing rivulets are often
very muddy pools from which man and mules all drink indis-
criminately, neither thinking themselves better than tha
other. If, however, any gentleman is disposed to believe
that this is a gay thing, all I can say to him is, that we have
a good opening for any such to come and try it.”

THE BATTLE OF WINCHESTER.

The battle of Winchester found our little army in the val-”

TweEnty-THIRD REGIMENT. 251

ley divided. General Early has been much criticised for al-
lowing his force to be attacked in detail—for “fighting by
divisions,” as General Lee termed it. But the broad open
valley country with its many roads along which the strong and
active Federal cavalry could operate on his communications,
prevented that concentration which would have made the
Confederate force a unit. For Early, with 8,000 muskets,
2,500 cavalry and 1,000 artillery had, as best he could, to
hold the valley against Sheridan’s 35,000 infantry, nearly
10,000 cavalry and an artillery force nearly or quite as large
in proportion to his army as Early’s was. Round numbers
are given, as the exact numbers are not known, but they are
very close. Sheridan’s numbers as given by Judge Mont-
gomery, are considerably below those usually accepted.
Sunday night, 18 September, 1864, found Ramseur’s divis-
ion out on the Berryville Pike east of Winchester. John-
ston’s Brigade was in advance with the Twenty-third Regi-
ment, thrown out on picket near the edge of the woods that

skirt the Opequon.

pike, but very near to it and
As the enemy was known to be in force just ov

the men were told that they now occupied the exact position
in which a Georgia Regiment had been captured and were
ordered to be on the alert.

The mounted videttes at the ford of the Opequon must
have been captured or eluded, for at earliest dawn Sheridan’s
troopers swarmed up out of the ravine around the advance
pickets of the Twenty-third, so quickly that the pickets barely
had time to fire before the horsemen were in their midst. A
ater an overwhelming force of cavalry, closely
charged our weak regiment. Disput-
aking stand after stand, we were

driven back upon the brigade and that back upon the division.
In one of these stops Colonel Blacknall received his mortal

wound and was borne back into Winchester.
General Bradley T. Johnston gives the following vivid
“picture of that gallant twilight combat: “By daylight, the
19th of September, a scared cavalryman of my own command
rfearly rode over me as I lay sleeping on the grass and reported

Their position was a little north of the

a mile or more from the stream.
er the creek,

few minutes |
followed by infantry,
ing every inch of ground, m