454 NortH Carotina Troops, 1861-65.

found nothing in our front but the enemy. It was pitch dark
and seeing the men quietly around the fires, we supposed our
skirmishers had captured them, when, all at once, when we
were within twenty yards some one near one of the fase called
our in regular Irish brogue, “Where do you belong?” “To
a Forty-eighth !” was the reply. “Forty-eighth what?”
Forty-eighth North Carolina!” was the answer. Immedi-
ately the poor fellow was shot down. The rest of us at that
place dropped behind some earthworks or pits which we
found there, thinking it was our own men, who had captured
the pits and were firing upon us by mistake. The other troops
with us had turned to the right at a little branch, about 200
yards back, and only four companies were here present. Soon
the fire from six or eight pits to the right and left of us was
poured In upon us; and we saw that it was enemies instead
of friends who were firing upon us; but in the dark they did
but little damage. . What became of the skirmishers in our
front who were to take the line which we were to occupy we
never knew. We found Yankees alone at any point where
we struck the line. Finding we had no support and know-
ing that four companies could not capture a nicket line more
than half a mile long, we withdrew quietly as soon as the
firing slackened. Soon after we returned to our line Captain
McKinney of the Forty-sixth North Carolina, commanding
our sharpshooters, who were only ordered to protect the right
flank, reported, by courier, to General Cooke that he had aate
tured four pits and wanted reinforcements. Immediately
our detachments were ordered forward again, but before we
had proceeded far, another courier announced that Captain
McKinney had been compelled to give up the captured pits
and we were not needed. All that day (1 April), we had a
continuous picket and sharpshooter contest with tho enemy:
losing several men who seemed to think they could not be hit
and exposed themselves unnecessarily. Just before day we
were relieved by Davis’ Mississippi Brigade, and crossing the
creek took position in Fort Euliss. Here the enemy were on
three sides of us—our only protected side being that from
which we had just moved—and as soon as day opened they
began to fire upon us with both infantry and artillery. Our

 

 

TWENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT. 455

breastworks were prepared in such a way as, to some extent,
to meet these flank fires; but they did not always suit, as
some of our men were killed during that morning by shots
which, striking a limb above them, glanced directly down-
ward inflicting death wounds.

We could distinctly hear the shouts of the troops fighting
between us and Petersburg, and our feelings would rise or
fall in proportion as we would hear the Confederate “yell” or
the Yankee “huzza” in the ascendency. After a while the
‘Shuzza” seemed to prevail, and soon a courier, Private W. A.
Hayes, Company G, Twenty-seventh North Carolina, came
rushing into our fort. Very shortly afterwards we were or-
dered out of our works and in a few minutes were on the re-

treat from Petersburg.
After moving some four or five miles we threw out first one

regiment and then another as skirmishers to retard the en-
emy, who were pressing us hard, and on arriving at Suther-
land’s Tavern, a station on the Southside road, about ten
miles from Petersburg, we formed line of battle and threw up
breastworks of the rails and other stuff we could find near at
hand, adding such dirt as we could dig up with our bayo-
nets, tin cups, plates, ete. Soon the enemy charged us, but
were repulsed with heavy loss, and, as they started back, our
sharpshooters, rushing forward, captured many prisoners.
These prisoners told us that the next charge would be made

by the negro corps, supported by the Second, and that they
would show no quarter. We told them that, having whipped
the whites, we could whip the negroes.

The fighting was heavy till about 4 o’clock p. m., when
the enemy, largely outnumbering us, turned our left flank
and we were compelled to retreat. Falling back about four
or five miles the Thirteenth, Twenty-second, Twenty-seventh
and Forty-ninth North Carolina Regiments were thrown out
to keep the enemy in check, while the balance of our troops—
Cooke’s, Scales’ and McRae’s North Carolina Brigades, and
McGowan’s South Carolina Brigade, the troops on the right
of the break in our lines, forming the corps—endeavored to
cross the river so as to join the main army, from which we
had been eut off by the break. Finding that we could not