168 Nortu Carotina Troops, 1861-’65.

years of age, had the pleasure of casting his first political
vote for this favorite son of the Old North State. or fear
that some member of Congress, over zealous for the mainte-
nance of “the purity of the ballot,” may introduce a “joint
resolution” to inquire into the legality of this election, I will
state that in the army “age” was not one of the qualifications
inquired into, but the carrying of a musket or sword was con-
sidered all-sufficient.

After it had been decided that it was impracticable to make
the attack on the night of 31 July, General Pendleton gave
orders to his subordinate officers to take such steps as would
effectually conceal their guns and horses from the observation
of the enemy when they sent up their balloon next morning,
which was their custom each morning as soon as it was light
enough to see distinctly. They had barely completed this
task when the balloon was seen slowly ascending, but fortu-
nately they were not discovered. Each commander of a bat-
tery had certain specific work assigned him by General Pen-
dleton, and they spent the entire day in selecting locations
and routes by which they could reach the same the following
night. They also took advantage of the day time, when
everything was in full view, to range stakes by which to direct
their fire at night. The long range guns were directed on
McClellan’s camp across the river, and the short range on the
shipping on the river. The plan was to make the attack pre-
cisely at midnight, but it was 12:30 before everything was in
readiness. Forty-three of the seventy guns had been placed
in position on the bank of the river, some of them at the very
water's edge. The other guns were not considered of suffi-
cient range, and were, therefore, not brought into action. By
12 o’clock the infantry had been quietly formed, moved
across the road, and drawn up in line between the church and
the river, in rear of our guns. We were held in suspense for
half an hour when the expected “signal” gun was fired. Im-
mediately and simultaneously the forty-three guns were dis-
eharged. Each of the guns had been supplied with from
twenty to thirty rounds, with instructions to fire these as rap-
idly as possible, hitch up and retire. The noise and the
flashes of light produced by the rapid and continuous fire of

FirtretaH REGIMENT. 169

these guns in the dead of a dark, still night, immediately on
the water front of the river, was awe-inspiring in the extreme,
and the consternation produced among the shipping on the
river and in the camp beyond was indescribable. In less
than ten minutes many of the vessels were sinking and
many others were seriously damaged. In a few minutes
after we opened fire several gunboats, which were up the river
on the lookout for the Confederate “Merrimac” No. 2, which
they were momentarily expecting to come down the river, and
which were constantly kept under a full head of steam and
prepared for instant action, steamed past our position at a
rapid rate of speed, raking the banks of the river with their
fire, but not halting to engage our batteries in fair action.
Our only casualties were one man killed and two wounded by
the explosion of a shell at one of the batteries served by Cap-
tain Dabney. The damage inflicted on the enemy will per-
haps never be known. General McClellan, in his first re-
port to Washington next morning, states his only damage to
be one man slightly wounded in the leg, but in a later report
the same day, admits the loss of ten men killed and twelve
wounded, and a number of horses killed ; but he strangely
omits any reference to the damage inflicted on the shipping
on the river where most of the guns were directed, and at
much shorter range than his camp, where, as stated in his re-
port, “For about half an hour the fire was very hot, the shells
falling everywhere from these headquarters to Westover.” As
evidence that the damage to the shipping must have been
serious, on the following morning as the tide came in the
whole face of the river was covered with floating wreckage.
Thus ended one of the most interesting, as it was one of the
most mysterious affairs of the war.

After the affair just related, we returned to Petersburg
and thence to our former camp at Drewry’s Bluff, when we
were again employed in constructing fortifications and doing
such picket duty as was required.

On 14 August General McClellan commenced very sud-
denly and hurriedly to abandon his camp at Harrison’s Land-
ing, and a few days thereafter the writer rode down the river
and went through and took a general survey of the camp. I