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198 Norra Carotina Troops, 1861-65.

some distance away. The rout of the enemy was complete

and they were soon driven back beyond our lines. As they

retreated in confusion the slaughter was terrible. Our losses

in the affair were insignificant as to number. A son of Gen-

eral Hardee, a youth of only 16 years, who had arrived only

two hours before, was killed while riding in the charge of the

Eighth Texas Cavalry, led by his father. The firing, which

had been extremely heavy up to this time, ceased upon the re-

turn of the Seventeenth Corps to its position in line, and there
was no other attempt made to carry any part of our line. Gen-
eral Hampton states that the Confederate forces engaged in
this affair did not exceed three hundred. While General Me-
Laws held the extreme left of our lines and the enemy were
endeavoring to turn our flank the Fiftieth North Carolina
Regiment and Tenth North Carolina Battalion of Colonel
Hardy’s Brigade, in a single charge and in about five minutes
time sustained a loss of about one-third of their number. In
this case the enemy were lying in line three columns deep and
reserved their fire until our troops were near them struggling
through a dense swamp. At the first volley every man fell
to the ground and Colonel Wortham and Lieutenant Lane, of
the Fiftieth, and Lieutenant Powell, of the Tenth Battalion,
crawled out of the thicket and reported to General McLaws
for duty, stating that the entire brigade was killed or
wounded. Colonel Hardy, by his boldness and daring, saved
the command from utter destruction. Dressed in a suit of
sky blue broadcloth and broad-brimmed slouch hat, he might
easily be taken for a Federal officer. He was in front of his
men leading the charge, and at the first volley he rushed for-
ward with his hat in one hand and his sword in the other, and
pacing up and down in front of and within a few feet of the
Federal lines, ordered them to cease firing, as they were firing
on their own men. He continued this for some time, although
their own officers were ordering them to fire. They were ut
terly confused and before the firing was resumed all of our
men who were able had crawled out of the swamp and made
their escape, and Colonel Hardy deliberately walked off with-
out a scratch.

On the night of the 21st the enemy kept up a heavy picket

FIrrietH REGIMENT. 199

fire along our front while withdrawing their troops in
the direction of Goldsboro. At midnight our troops were
withdrawn and crossing the creek at Bentonville, moved on
the 22d toward Smithfield. In the battle four companies of
the Fiftieth Regiment, C and D of Johnston, E of Wayne
and H of Harnett, were near their homes and many of the
men, who had not seen their homes and families for many
months, marched by them and tarried for only a few minutes,
went into the fight, the guns of which could be distinctly
heard by. their loved ones, and again without stopping,
marched by these same homes with Johnston’s army on its
final retreat, proving their faith and loyalty to the “Lost
Cause” to the last.

The Fiftieth Regiment before leaving this State for
Georgia in November, 1864, was recruited from the camp of
instruction at Raleigh to something over 900, and now mus-
tered less than half that number, the others being lost from
various causes during the severe and trying campaign through
which they had passed.

The Confederate forces in this battle were about 17,000 in-
fantry, the Wheeler and Hampton Cavalry and a few light
field batteries, while Sherman’s army, as officially reported
a few days after the battle, numbered more than 81,000.

The Federal reports place their losses at 1,646 and that of
the Confederates at 2,606, but General Johnston in his ac-
count of this battle, places the Federal loss at more than
4,000. Our army moved to Smithfield and thence to a point
a few miles north of the present town of Selma and went
into camp to await Sherman’s next move, whether by way of
Raleigh or the more direct route by Weldon. The men of
our command were supplied with clothing, not having had a
change since leaving their baggage in Savannah on 20 De-
cember, 1864, nor had they slept under shelter since leaving
Tarboro in November preceding. At the reorganization of
Johnston’s army the Fiftieth Regiment and Tenth Battalion
were assigned to Kirkland’s Brigade, Hoke’s Division, and
what had constituted Baker’s and Hardy’s Brigade was dis-

banded.