Sos

 

 

 

 

 

 

488 Nort Carorina Troops, 1861-’65.

regiment was marched back through Cumberland Gap, and
Knoxville to Lenoir Station, Tenn., and from there it was
sent on a mission to McMinnville. While there, on Christ-
mas day, orders were received to march at once to Murfrees-
boro, which order was obeyed promptly. We arrived on the
battlefield and camped on Stone’s river on the night of 30
December, 1862. Next morning, before day, we forded
Stone’s river and took possession on the extreme left of the
army. Only Wharton’s cavalry was on the left of us. Gen-
eral Raines, on his large, black horse, at once rode down the
lines and complimented the regiment. He was splendidly
dressed and was full or ardor.

The command had just fairly got dressed when the word
was given—forward, and at that early hour of the morning
the division in which we moved began a right half wheel un-
der Raines, McCown and Hardee. Not a gun was yet fired.
A little while before the crack of day, no doubt there was
a quiver in the two great armies extending four miles on the
bank of the river. ‘The Twenty-ninth brought on the battle.
About a hundred yards from where we had stood in line, we
encountered a fence about 15 feet in height. While the
fence was being laid down for the Colonel to ride through
and the men were climbing it, the sharp report of a rifle broke
the stillness. Waldrop, of Captain Dewese’s company, was
on top of the fence. The minies from the hostile ranks
killed him, and he was the first that day to fall in the South-
ern army, so far as we could ascertain. The fire was then
opened by the Twenty-ninth and by the next until the firing
extended four miles to our right, and the hiss of minies was
incessant, while presently boom, boom rang the big guns on
our right. Ere long we sighted a section of artillery, and the
regiment charged. The guns were shotted, but the gunners did
not have time to fire, and the officer in charge broke to run.
Captain Jno. A. Teague, however, soon overhauled him, put
his hand on his shoulder and stopped him. The Federal Cap-
tain said, “You’ve got me,” “Yes,” replied Teague, “ but
you gave us a mannerly race.” The section of artillery was
sent to the rear, and about 10 a. m. we were drawn up in line
to inspect the cartridge boxes. We then had about ten

Twenty-NinrH REGIMENT. 489

rounds per man. Then, without any skirmish line General
Raines started us down through the open woods. He had
just said, ‘I will bet my black horse on the Twenty-ninth,”
when a line of blue coats arose almost in our faces and fired,
when alas, the gallant and impetuous soldier, General Raines,
was killed, the ball cutting the gauntlet of his right hand and
passing into his heroic breast. The black horse galloped for-
ward into the ranks of fire and I saw him no more.

Color-Sergeant John R. Rich, of Asheville, says this noted
black horse from which “General Rains” was killed, was
seen again, probably not by “General Vance,” but by him-
self and others. That in less than an hour after charging
into the Yankee lines, in a counter-charge made by the en-
emy, a Federal officer, seemingly of some rank, was mounted
upon him and he, too, was shot (by our men) and falling,
the horse continued forward into the ranks of the Eleventh
Tennessee and was captured by the men of this regiment;
possibly the only instance during the war in which an officer
of rank, on either side, was killed from the same horse in the
same battle. Color-Sergeant Rich was so small and so young
that he was not allowed to enlist regularly, but like many oth-
er boys of our dear Southland, would not be deterred by little
obstacles of that kind, but followed along with the battle,
without gun, and when the first man in ranks fell he grabbed
his gun and went to shooting. A little later the color-bearer
being killed, he voluntarily caught up the flag and carried it
almost continuously to the end.

The regiment charged, and the Federals fell back through
a dense cedar thicket. When the Twenty-ninth North Caro-
lina and the Eleventh Tennessee got through what General
Withers calls ‘‘the cedar pedregal,”’ they were confronted by
three lines of battle with Napoleon guns between the regi-
ments. The fire was terrific, the tree tops falling all around.
Colonel Vance’s horse was killed in this fire, the shell going
into his body near the left stirrup leather. Sixty of the
Twenty-ninth North Carolina were killed and wounded in a
few minutes. Adjutant John E. Hoey was struck with a
spent ball. At this moment Major Bradshaw, of the Elev-
enth Tennessee, reported to Colonel Vance that Colonel Gor-