106 _ Norra Caroxina Troops, 1861-65.

the morning of 1 July. Now when the rattling of musketry is
growing to a perfect line of fire, the Forty-seventh is ordered
forward. It is a grand spectacle. In the line of the Forty-
seventh there are over 650 muskets, the men marching stead-
ily to meet the foe, who are on their own soil and strongly
posted, with a heavy infantry force and with artillery
which at every step rakes through our lines, cutting great
gaps, which are quickly filled up by our boys closing into
the places of those who have just fallen. We cross a stream
and then up a hill through a wheat field, and then in our
front, not over seventy-five yards off, we see the heavy lines
of Yankee soldiers with their guns shining and flags waving ;
the struggle grows hotter and hotter, men are falling in every
direction, but the Forty-seventh and Fifty-second are push-
ing the enemy steadily back, and are going forward; the
Twenty-sixth and Eleventh are contending with heavy odds
both as to numbers and position. While the Forty-seventh and
Fifty-second have the foe in an open field, the ‘Twenty-sixth
and Eleventh have nothing to shelter themselves any more

than we have, and thus it is that the Fifty-second and Forty-
seventh, having driven back the enemy in their immediate

front, their lines swing around to the left. In this position
they are charged by Yankee cavalry in our rear and on our
right. Colonel Marshall was equal to this emergency, for he
faced three of his companies about and met this charge
quickly driving the cavalry off with heavy loss to siege
While this was going on the infantry in our ‘front tried hard
to rally their somewhat broken lines and regain the ground
they had lost. This was a hot time for the Twenty-sixth and
Eleventh. Men had fallen wounded and killed like hail
from a heavy hail storm. The attention of the Forty-seventh
was diverted from the enemy in our immediate front and
almost before we knew it the enemy had rallied and was at-
tempting to charge our lines. Besides, they had a number
of pieces of artillery helping them, wherever the opposing
lines were far enough apart for them to use artillery without
striking their own men. At this critical moment Captain
Cam. Iredell, who commanded Company ©, which was the
color company of the Forty-seventh, seeing one of his men

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Forty-SEvVENTH REGIMENT. 107

fall mortally wounded, rushes to his side and says, ““My dear
boy, I will try to avenge your hurt.” He took his musket and
continued to use it until he was struck by a shot from the en-
emy which caused his death, not, however, until he had seen
the enemy again turn and flee. The Forty-seventh lost heav-
ily in this fight of 1 July.

On 2 July we rested, cleaned our guns and attended to the
wounded. Early on 3 July the Forty-seventh with the bal-
ance of Pettigrew’s Brigade, was ordered considerably to
the right of where it had fought on 1 July. It reached its
position about 9 o’clock 3 July and remained quietly in line
just in the rear of a Confederate battery until about 1
o’clock p. m., when a very heavy cannonading commenced
between the opposing batteries, which continued until about
3 p. m., at which time the grand advance upon Meade’s
lines was made. On that part of the line where the Forty-
seventh advanced, it was about three-fourths of a mile or per-
haps a mile from our batteries to the enemy’s lines. Our
battery was situated about twenty-five yards in front of
where the Forty-seventh had taken up our line. About 3
o’clock a slight cessation in the firing of artillery occurred
and then the voice of our Colonel, George H. Faribault, was
heard loud and clear, “Attention, Battalion,” and this was
repeated by the brave and beloved Lieutenant-Colonel, John
A. Graves. Every man sprung into line and was ready to
go forward, the men knew not where, for the ridge just in
front of the Forty-seventh Regiment obstructed the view of
the Regiment beyond twenty-five yards. The order was
soon given to move forward, which was done in good order
and without any confusion. Passing our batteries the field
was before us, it was entirely open except here and there an
old homestead, and one or two roads with a number of strong
rail and post fences, some of them high and difficult to pass
over. No one hesitated, no one faltered, but a good, steady
quick-step was kept up. After leaving our batteries about
fifty or one hundred yards the enemy commenced a terrific
cannonade and kept it up until we were soclose that they could
not use their cannon. As our regiment advanced great gaps
would be knocked in our lines by the Yankee artillerymen,