1,
2.
3.
4
5

FORTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.

J.D. Newsom, 2d Lieut., Co. 1.
J. Wilie Jones, 2d Lieut., Co. I.

J. Rowan Rogers, 2d Lieut., Co, I
Thomas Westray, 2d Lieut., Co A.
B. H. Bunn, 2d Lieut., Co. A,

6.
7.

8.

George B. Moore, Sergeant, Co. C
Luke E. Estes, Private, Co E. con

John Wesley Bradford, Private, Co, G.

(Picture in Supplementary Grou
4th volume.) ” ts "

Forty-SEVENTH REGIMENT. 91

They remember, vividly remember, how Pickett chafed while
waiting to make his spring, like an untamed lion for his
prey. Perhaps the assault was a Confederate mistake. So
good an authority as General Lee is quoted as saying this
much, but that the stakes for which he was playing was so
great (it being Harrisburg, Baltimore and Washington) he
just could not help it. Later a similar excuse was plead by
General Grant for the slaughter at Second Cold Harbor. The
late Captain Davis, “Honest Joe,” who led Company B in
this charge, and who charged over the enemy’s breastworks
and became a prioner, said the enemy was literally torn to
pieces. But, then our “hind sights are better than our fore-
sights.” And may be, after all the best conclusion is that a
kind Providence had heard the prayers for the Union that
has ascended from both sides, though uttered not so loud .
from the South, and in answer, just wrote down in the book
of Fate: “Gettysburg, 3 July, 1863, the beginning of the
end.” The writer, who was in the line of sharpshooters
which preceded the main line of battle, witnessed an incident
which (although not belonging to the Forty-seventh Regi-
ment) ought to be recorded. He saw Brigadier-General Jas.
H. Lane, on horseback, quite near the stone wall, riding just
behind and up to his men, in the attitude of urging them
forward with his hand; a moment later a large spurt of blood
leaped from the horse as he rode up, and rider and horse
went down in the smoke and uproar. This was about the
time of the climax of the battle when darkness and chaos
obscured what followed.

Surely the rank and file of the army of Northern Vir-
ginia did not realize the bigness of the event that had just
happened ; nor can we believe the Army of the Potomae did,
inasmuch as it behaved so nicely while we spent several days
in the same neighborhood.

The Forty-seventh now had had its ups and its downs. On
the 1st as it double quicked on Reynold, it had an equal
chance with the enemy and had hurled 30,000 bullets in their
faces. On the 3d they had attempted to march 1,000 yards
in quick time through a raking fire of cannon and minies,
with virtually no chance to use their minies—a soldier’s