516 Nortu CaroLina Troops, 1861-’65.

Richmond paper of that date, says “the charge made by the
Thirty-first and Fifty-first Regiments on the enemy’s lines,
was most gallantly made, eliciting high compliments from
both Generals Hoke and Clingman.” From Drewry’s Bluff
the pursuit of the enemy, who were still commanded by Gen-
eral Butler, was continued to Bermuda Hundred, where we
threw up an entrenched line of works, occupying them until

30 May, 1864; picket fighting and the frequent repulse of .

assaults on our lines were the order of the days and nights.
On the morning of the 31st we took the cars for the battlefield
of Cold Harbor, where we arrived in the afternoon of that
day, and were thrown out as a reserve for some cavalry skir-
mishers (Stuart’s dismounted), who were engaged with the
enemy’s infantry, our cavalry line being greatly outnum-
bered, retired, forced by the enemy, who pursued them until
coming within rifle range of our men who, by well directed
shots, retarded their advance in our front; but we having so
short a line (only 600 or 700 men), were soon flanked on
our right, the enemy’s skirmishers lapping entirely across our
front and rear. Under this enfilade fire we retired to a point
about one mile to our rear, and threw up such hasty breast-
works during the night as could be done with the poor facili-
ties at hand. They were made mostly with the aid of bayo-
nets, tin plates, ete. This was to be the attacking point of
the memorable and bloody battle of the second Cold Harbor,
known in history as one of the most sanguinary conflicts of
the war.

The attack was made on Clingman’s Brigade, of Hoke’s
Division, about 3 o’clock p. m., 1 June, 1864. The enemy
advanced not only in line of battle, but on our left wing in
heavy column, masked by the line of battle in front. This
attack was signally and repeatedly repulsed with great loss
to the enemy, in the entire front of our (Clingman’s) Brig-
ade. On the left flank of the brigade was the Eighth, then
Fifty-first Regiment, then Thirty-first Regiment and Sixty-
first from left to right, as designated; the heaviest attack
was on our left, where the enemy attacked in column. There
was an interval between our brigade and a brigade on our
left, in consequence of a swamp intervening between the two,

Turrty-First REGIMENT. 517

which was considered impassable, therefore not protected
by breastworks or troops; in this interval the enemy’s heavy
columns pressed forward and effected a lodgment, which then
enfilading our line, compelled the Eighth and F ifty-first Reg-
iments to fall back.

They were, however, quickly formed in line of battle par-
allel to the original one, with the Thirty-first and Sixty-
first Regiments, which had repelled all the enemy in their
front. The brigade was under a constant fire from the enemy
while being thus formed in a new line of battle across the
open field, parallel to the original line. While it was so doing
the Twenty-seventh Georgia Regiment, of General Colquitt’s
Brigade, came up from our right and handsomely advanced
with us; the enemy were then, after a hard struggle, driven
back and the whole of our original line was re-oceupied, but
the position on our left (the interval) remained in possession
of the enemy without any attempt to retake it. General
Clingman, in a report dated 5 June, 1864, says that his
brigade lost in battle, within a period of three weeks next
preceding that date, 1,172 men.

The following is taken from (Cold Harbor, 1 June, 1864)
Jefferson Davis’ History of Confederate States, p. 400:

“The carnage on the Federal side,” writes General Taylor,
“was fearful. I well recall having received a report from
General Hoke after the assault. His Division (our Division)
reached the army just previous to the battle. The ground in
his entire front, over which the enemy had charged, was lit-
erally covered with their dead and wounded, and up to that
time Hoke had not had a single man killed. No wonder that
when the command was given to renew the assault, the Fed-
eral soldiers sullenly and silently declined. The order was
issued through the officers to their subordinate commanders,
and from them through the wonted channels; but no man
stirred, the immobile lines thus pronouncing a verdict, silent,
yet emphatic, against further slaughter.

“The loss on the Union side in this sanguinary action was
over 13,000, while on the part of the Confederates it is doubt-
ful whether it reached that many hundred. General Grant
asked for a truce to bury his dead, after which he abandoned