436 NortH CaRoLina Troops, 1861-65.

side of us. Arriving at our original position both regiments
halted and were soon reformed.

In this retreat we were very materially aided and protected
by Cobb’s Brigade, then commanded by Colonel William
MacRae, of the Fifteenth North Carolina Regiment.

I-deem it proper to state here that the colors of the Twenty-
seventh Regiment in this action were carried by William H.
Campbell, a private of Company G, from Orange County, N.
C., who afterwards fell at Bristoe Station, and that he was
for the greater part of that time the foremost man in the
line, and when ordered by Colonel Cooke to go slower, as the
regiment could not keep up with him, replied, “Colonel, I
ean’t let that Arkansas fellow get ahead of me.”

I will also state that soon after we started the charge, some
drunken officer on horseback, (who or of what command I
‘never learned), rode in front of the Twenty-seventh North
Carolina, then commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Sin-
gletary, and pulling off and waving his hat, yelled out, “Come
on, boys; I’m leading this charge.” Lieutenant-Colonel Sin-
gletary immediately ran up to him (the regiment being then
at double-quick) and replied, “You are a liar, sir; we lead
our own charges.”

As soon as the regiments could reform behind their rail
fence, they opened fire with the few cartridges they had left
and soon checked the advance of the enemy who did not
come beyond the line which they had occupied in the morn-
ing. In a short while all our ammunition was exhausted.
Colonel Cooke sent courier after courier for ammunition, but
still none was sent. Four or five times during the afternoon
General Longstreet sent couriers telling Colonel Cooke to
hold the position at all hazards, that “it was the key to the
whole line.” Colonel Cooke’s reply was always, “Tell Gen-
eral Longstreet to send me some ammunition. I have not a
cartridge in my command, but will hold my position at the
point of the bayonet.”

The rail fence, which was our only protection, was rid-
dled with bullets and torn with shot and shell and our men
were falling fast, but still the Twenty-seventh North Carolina

TWENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT. 437

and the Third Arkansas flinched not. Imbued with the cour-
age of their commander, they stood firm to their post.

For about two hours and a half they held the position lit-
erally without a cartridge. This fact is mentioned in Gen-
eral R. E. Lee’s report of the first Maryland campaign, and
also in Dabney’s Life of “Stonewall” Jackson. In all the
trying times of that day the Third Arkansas Regiment was
side by side with the Twenty-seventh North Carolina, and
yet, I never see them mentioned in accounts of the battle.
Even Longstreet fails to mention them in a late article, in
which he pays a great compliment to the Twenty-seventh
North Carolina. It was a gallant regiment, commanded in
that fight by Captain J. W. Ready, and was with the Twenty-
seventh in every move. Between 4 and 5 o’clock in the af-
ternoon we were relieved (I think by the Third North Car-
olina and a Louisiana regiment), and were moved about a
mile to the rear to get ammunition and fresh water. After
resting about half an hour we were marched again to the front
and placed in position just behind and in support of the
troops who had relieved us. Here we were subjected to a
severe shelling, but had no chance to return the fire. The
day had been a long one, but the evening seemed longer ; the
sun seemed almost to go backwards, and it appeared as if
night would never come. As soon as it became dark we were
moved to the left, rejoined our division, and with them biv-
ouacked upon the battlefield.

The regiment entered the battle with 325 officers and men
and lost in killed and wounded 203, about 63 per cent. One
company (G) went in 30 strong and had but five left at the
end of the day. Another (Company E), with an average
company and a full complement of officers, lost its Captain,
First Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant killed, and two-
thirds of its men killed or wounded. This regiment  re-
mained with its division on the battlefield all day of the 18th
and retreated with the Army of Northern Virginia on the
night of the 18th, crossing the Potomac at Shepherdstown
about daylight on the morning of the 19th, marched from
there to Martinsburg, Va., where it remained till the last of
September, and then moved via Bunker Hill to Winchester.