426 NortH Carotina Troops, 1861-’65.

and fearless. Day by day they struggled on without food
and with incessant fighting. Almost hourly they had to
turn and beat off the attacking Federals, but they struggled
on with spirits still undaunted as though they hoped that even
at the last fate itself would relent at the sight of their devo-
tion to their fast-falling cause. This march from Petersburg
to Appomattox was not simply a retreat nor yet a conflict; it
was the funeral procession of the Confederacy; it was an
oblation of blood to the Manes of a heroic nation that had
been born and had died on the field of battle.

But the struggle went on. On the second day after leay-
ing Petersburg General Lewis was wounded and Captain
Beard, of the Fifty-seventh, took command of the brigade as
senior officer. When the command reached Sailor’s creek on
7 April, they found that the bridge had been broken down,
and General Gordon, in whose corps our brigade was, turned
and made a last fight to hold the enemy in check till the
bridge could be repaired and thus enable the artillery and
trains to pass. The fighting was fierce. The brigade occu-
pied a position just where the crossing of the road by a de-
pression in the bed of the road afforded a slight protection.
Here the enemy were repeatedly repulsed. The Fifty-sev-
enth Regiment maintained its reputation on this last of its
battlefields and faced its foe with undaunted courage, but the
end of it was that the constantly increasing numbers of the
enemy enabled it to surround this brigade and capture it
almost to the last man. This was the last of the many bat-
tles in which the ‘Fifty-seventh played its part so well, and
here the curtain ‘falls upon its story.

The writer has prepared this sketch from his personal rec-
ollections of the events where he was present and for the rest
he has used the notes furnished him by Captain Beard.
There were from first to last in this regiment men and officers
who richly deserved mention and encomium, but it is impos-
sible in the allotted space to mention them. Some died
valiantly fighting and some are still alive, and some have
passed away in the peaceful walks of life since that Sunday
at Appomattox. But there are some names in addition to

Firty-SEventH REGIMENT. 427

those already mentioned that occur to the writer in conclud-
ing the sketch, which for special courage deserve at least a
passing tribute, and this without detraction from others.

SOME BRAVE MEN.

Among those who fell while fighting with this regiment
was Lieutenant Daniel W. Ringo. His home was in Arkan-
sas and his father was Judge Ringo of that State. He came
to the regiment a mere boy, I think from some military
school, and became a Second Lieutenant. On every occasion
and upon almost every battlefield that the Fifty-seventh took
part, he was conspicuous not only for his high courage,
but for his remarkable intelligence and aptitude for the busi-
ness of a soldier. After being shot in the knee and disabled,
he served with the sharpshooters upon horseback and was
killed on 19 September, 1864, near Winchester.

Captain Joseph G. Morrison, of Lincoln county, served
with this regiment, first as Adjutant, which position he re-
signed to become Aide-de-Camp to General (Stonewall) Jack-
son, who was his brother-in-law. After the death of the lat-
ter he became Captain of Company F. Later he resigned to
take a place on General Hoke’s staff, in which position he lost
a foot in the early struggles around Petersburg. He was
well known throughout the brigade for his coolness and alert-
ness in the face of the enemy.

Lieutenant James F. Litaker, of Cabarrus county, was a
quiet, unambitious man, but possessed of a courage rarely
equaled and never excelled by any one the'writer saw on the
field of battle. Lieutenant L. H. Roney, of Alamance
county, was distinguished likewise for great courage and ef-
ficiency. He was killed at Gettysburg and fell dead on the
skirmish line. Lieutenant A. E. Semple, the first Adjutant,
was also a gallant and very efficient officer. He was wounded
on 4 May, 1863, above Fredericksburg and disabled from ac-
tive service. The quartermaster, Captain Wm. G. McNeely,
of Rowan, is entitled to mention for his faithful service dur-
ing the entire history of the regiment. The surgeon, Dr.
Charles S. Morton, and the Assistant Surgeon, A. H. Binion,