378 Nortu Carouina Troops, 1861-’65.

the deadly aim of the enemy is diverted at random, and the
fusillade slackens perceptibly, while the brigade, like a hu-
man tornado, rushes over their line.

Lieutenant M. W. Fatherly, commanding Company C, was
the first man in from this regiment, and Wm. Bowen, about
the same time, the first from Company D. Re-alignment is
quickly made, and we rush forward to the next line of the en-
emy, found dismantled, along the south edge of the woods.
It is abandoned before we reach it. Here, while the enemy
strongly posted on elevated ground across an open field, are
playing on us with shell and canister, we are also now in
the deadly range of our own artillery. We send back to ask
if the third line is wanted, and are answered: “No; the first
line was enough,” and are withdrawn to that.

Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, Captain Graves and Lieutenant
8. R. Holton, of Company H, Fifty-sixth North Carolina, act-
ing on brigade staff, are among those remembered for conspic-
uous bravery to-day, but not a man faltered. No casualty list
is at hand. The brave Corporal, D. F. A. Sloan, of Mecklen-
burg, was shot down with the colors, but gallantly supported
and rescued by his comrades, P. J. Sossaman and R. J.
Stough. Lieutenant H. A. L. Sweezy, always at his post and
to-day gallantly leading his company (I), was killed; also
Rufus Davis, of the same company, and the ever faithful
Lieutenant James A. King, Company B. The brigade, as
shown above, is commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel, and has
only two other field officers present for duty. In the night
the brigade skirmish line is thrown out uncer Captain Gra-
ham.

22 August. Back to the trenches again, the left of the
Brigade resting on the City Point Railroad.

25 August. Major John W. Graham returns to the regi-
ment, having recovered the use of his arm, wounded 18 June
near the salient that became the Crater of 30 July. During
his absence he had attended the wedding of Colonel John A.
Gilmer, of the Twenty-seventh North Carolina, married on
crutches with other wounded officers as groomsmen, includ-

ing Lieutenant-Colonel Jos. C. Webb, also of the Twenty-
seventh, and himself.

Firry-SixtH REGIMENT. 379

SIEGE LIFE CONTINUED.

Quite a contrast to such scenes were the bare trenches,
glaring in the summer sun, when dry, and slippery with mud
after a rain. Occasionally the sharpshooting, and artillery
duels by tacit consent would be off for some days. The re-
newal of the bloody work would not begin until in perfect
good faith the attacking party had given warning by some
such ery as, “Rats to your holes.” From time to time un-
official interviews in which tobacco, coffee, newspapers, etc.,
were exchanged, would take place in front of the lines in easy
range of the guns of either side. A victory gained by them
in any quarter they would announce to us by a fierce salute
of half a day or more from shells and mortars, to which cour-
tesy the scarcity of our ammunition did not permit us to re-
ply. Battles to the right, as that at Reams Station, 25 Au-
gust, 1864, for possession of the railway, or to the left, to
find and probe any weak point in our armor, could be dis-
tinetly heard.

In September, taking advantage of a very dark night, they
rectified their line in our front from the City Point road
south to their batteries on Hare’s Hill. This change of line
was to escape the enfilade from our forts firing across the Ap-
pomattox. The writer as Brigade Officer of the Day, pointed
this out to Engineer Officer Cohen, and sat by him on the bat-
tery at Colquitt’s salient until he had drawn a complete dia-
gram of it. Then lifting our hats to a sharpshooter on Hare’s
Hill, about 300 yards in front, who had complimented us with
a half dozen close shots, we retired. That night while still
on duty and making his rounds, he was knocked senseless by
a bullet on the left of the neck. Fortunately the speed of
the ball had been affected materially by striking the ground;
and then ricochetting over the breastwork, it was received on
the coat collar. Otherwise, instead of a few days suffering,
the result would have been immediately fatal. He was at
the time the last effective officer left with his company, and
as the Fifty-sixth had many others who would have done the
same, mention is here made of Company D’s next morning
report (of 23 September). Under the heading of officers
present effective, it read: “1 Captain, if it is a fight; but not