56 NortH Carortina Troops, 1861-’65.

rout of Sheridan’s army in the early morning of the 19th,
which splendid victory in the early morning was turned into
a disgraceful defeat later in the day, through the inexcusable
blunder of some one. This ended Early’s campaign in the
Valley. Later in the fall the brigade returned to Lee’s army
and took a position in the line engaged in the defense of Pe-
tersburg. Here it remained through the winter of 1864 and
1865 in the trenches, almost continually under fire.
The regiment had suffered severely during the Valley cam-
paign and by the spring of 1865 had become a mere skeleton.

During the month of March, the regiment occupied a posi-
tion a little to the right of Petersburg and just to the left of
Fort Mahone and near the Crater. Just in front of the left
of the regiment stood Fort Steadman which the boys called
Fort “Hell,” a powerful earthwork of the enemy.

On the night of 25 March, the regiment participated in an —

assault upon Fort Steadman directed by General Gordon,
and again suffered severely. Hence Proctor, a private in
my company, was one of the skirmishers who first entered the
fort about daybreak. Inside of the fort bomb proofs were
occupied by officers and men. Hence was a fine soldier, full
of fight and fun. He poked his head into one of these bomb
proofs, and called out with ugly words, to give emphasis to
his command, “Come out of there. I know you are in there.”
He wore long hair. An officer, startled by this unexpected
command, sprang out of his berth in his night clothes,
snatched his saber from its scabbard, seized Hence by the
foretop and commenced to slash him about the head with his
saber. Hence backed out of the bomb proof, the officer con-
tinuing his hold, coming out with him. On getting outside
in the open, the fight became an unequal one. Hence’s fixed
bayonet on the end of his gun while thus held by the hair,
was no match for the saber in the hands of his adversary,
and but for timely aid from one of his comrades, he would
have been quickly overcome. As it was, he came out of the
fight with many gashes on his head and face. The assault
upon the fort was unsuccessful.

Along the line of works we oceupied we had but one man
to five or six feet, an ordinary skirmish line. On the morn-

Fortry-Firrn REGIMENT. 57

ing of 2 April, just before daylight, the enemy advanced
upon our works in massed columns; brushed aside thechevaux
de frise, cutting the chains that linked the parts together with
axes, and poured over the line occupied by a part of Battle’s
and a part of our brigade. Then commenced a struggle
which, to my mind, was the most desperate of all the war,
and which lasted until into the night. Our main line of
works stood about four feet high, and was very strong. In
the rear of, and at right angles with the line, had been built
traverses, made by building log pens about five feet high and
filling them with earth. They extended back perhaps forty
or fifty feet. The purpose of these traverses was to protect
the men, standing in line, from the enfilading artillery fire
from Fort Steadman away to our left. There was just room
enough between the end of these traverses and the main line
for a man to pass. When the enemy broke over the line they
filled the spaces between these traverses, the traverses being
about 200 feet apart. About 200 yards in the rear of this
line had been placed batteries of heavy howitzers, which, up
to this time, had been masked to conceal them from the en-
my. As these traverses filled, with the Federal troops, these
batteries in the rear opened upon them with grape and can-
ister. Major-General Bryan Grimes commanded our divis-
ion, and I need not say that at this perilous moment he was

with the men at the point of greatest danger, for he was

always at such places. All day long the men of this division
fought between these traverses, slowly yielding one after an-
other when compelled to do so by overwhelming forces. The
fire from the enemy’s artillery up and down the line was
concentrated on our struggling troops.

Huge mortar shells, 12 inches in diameter, came plunging
down, sometimes exploding between these traverses and some-
times burying themselves in the earth and harmlessly burst-
ing six feet under ground. Long before noon all of our bat-
teries had been silenced, and the conflict on our side was
maintained by infantry alone. I saw the men of my regi-
ment load their guns behind the traverses, climb to the top,
fire down into the ranks of the enemy, roll off and reload and
repeat the same throughout the day. While in the midst of