622 Norrn Carorima Troops, 1861-65.

line held by 10,000 Confederates. Night closed the unequal
contest with the lines still firmly held by Beauregard. During
the night Warren’s Corps, 17,000, reinforced the enemy.
Early on 17 June the fighting was renewed. Assault after
assault was made only to be repulsed until just at dark a part
of the Confederate line was pierced and Battery 14 was cap-
tured by Leslie’s Division of the Ninth army corps. About
11 p. m., Ransom’s Brigade was ordered to the support of
Wise, who had been driven from the salient occupied by his
brigade.

Ransom’s Brigade was ordered to charge and re-establish
the line. The Thirty-fifth Regiment struck the heel of the
salient, formed in the shape of a horse shoe and received the
enemy’s fire both from the front and flanks. Reaching
the works a hand to hand combat took place, the men fighting
with only the parapet of the rifle pits separating them.

Here the colors of the Thirty-fifth Regiment were captured
by Corporal Young, of the First Michigan, but the Thirty-
fifth captured three flags from the enemy. ‘The loss of the
regiment was very heavy.

It carried into action 28 officers and nearly 500 men, and
brought out 8 officers and less than 200 men. Its gallant
commander, John G. Jones, was shot down early in the
charge; rising he advanced a few feet, when he fell a second
time. Calling for help, he was again going forward; when
shot a third time he fell to rise no more.

The gallant and chivalrous Captain Thomas J. Blackwell,
of Company B, was here killed, many others killed and wound-
ed and a number captured. Captain Philip J. Johnson, of
Company K, mounted the breastworks, and in a hand to hand
encounter with a Federal Major, was shot in the hand, caus-
ing his sword to fall from his grasp; he was now at the mercy
of his antagonist, when one of Captain Johnston’s men shot
the Federal officer through the head. Ordering some imag-
inary reinforcements to advance, in stentorian tones, Captain
Johnston called upon the enemy to surrender, or all be killed,
and some 300 came over the works and gave themselves up.

During the night, General Beauregard withdrew to a new
and shorter line of defenses nearer the city. In the death

Turrty-Firre ReGen. 623

of Colonel Jones the regiment sustained a loss almost irrepar-
able. He had been a student at Wake Forest College; was
a Baptist preacher before he entered the army; was without
any military training, awkward and unsoldierly in his car-
riage; but of unsullied character and indomitable courage.
His military aptness was of slow growth, but developed as
he gained experience until at his death he was recognized as
one of the best soldiers of his rank in the army. Prior to the
battle of Sharpsburg, his courage was questioned; as, unfor-
tunately for his reputation, he was excused on account of
sickness and was not present at the battles in which his regi-
ment had been engaged prior to the Maryland campaign of
1862. At Sharpsburg his conduct was altogether creditable;
and thenceforth he won the confidence of his superiors and of
his men. It was currently believed in the regiment, that
while stationed at Kenansville, N. C., in the winter of 1863
and 1864, he met a young lady of very high social position
and great personal charms; he became much interested in
her, but did not presume to declare his passion until he had
won her by “the dangers he had passed,” and that he only
waited until he could wear the wreath of a Brigadier-General
on his collar, when he would solicit her hand.

Lieutenant-Colonel J. T. Johnston and Major S. B. Tay-
lor now became respectively Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel
and Captain Robert E. Petty, of Company D, Major of the
regiment. First Lieutenant G. W. Freeman was promoted
to be Captain of Company B.

On 18 June, 1864, General Meade made the last of his
series of assaults to carry the fortifications defending Peters-
burg. He had now the larger part of his ariny confronting
the Confederate lines, something like 7 0,000 men. These lat-
ter had been reinforced, and there were now about 20,000
Confederate troops to resist the attacks of these seventy thou-
sand.

The assault was made by the commands of Warren, Burn-
side, Birney and Martindale. “At noon came the grand
attack, which was promptly repulsed. At 4 p. m. the Fed-
erals tried it again, but met with signal defeat.” General