602 Norta Caroxtina Troops, 1861-’65.

Tavern, General Sheridan took this Military road at Brook
Church to escape, intending to cross the Chickahominy and
move to his right from there to the James. And this he did,
but he surely had an awful time of it and a narrow escape at
Brook Church.

Early on the morning of the 12th, Gordon was on his rear
at Brook Church. Sheridan was met by our forces, of cav-
alry and infantry, at Meadow Bridge, which we had de
stroyed and the river there was otherwise impassable. Sheri-
dan says some fords were discovered by scouts, but if so, why
on earth did he have such a desperate and deadly time repair-
ing that bridge, as my references, will show he did? Sheri-
dan’s rear occupied a strong position of his own selection on
the Military road which he swept with canister constantly.
Gordon dismounted the Ninth and Nineteenth North Caro-
lina and attacked him fiercely, and sent his Aide, Lieutenant
Kerr Oraige, into Richmond for some artillery and to pro-
pose to the officer in charge of that portion of the city de
fences a combined attack on Sheridan’s flanks. The Sixty-
third was held in reserve in mounted column, under fire,
just off to the right of the Military road, going east, With
our regiment, as we all knew, Gordon intended to charge those
batteries up the Military road after he got some supports from
Richmond. And that charge, which he would have led in
person, would have been about the last of our regiment. Ina
few minutes some artillery came. And oh! such artillery!
It was the most beautiful in all its appearances that we ever
beheld. The smoke of battle had never been about it. He
placed it to the slight oblique right and front of our regiment
on the elevation of some old entrenchments. It fired one
time. Immediately one or more of Sheridan’s guns were
turned on it—canister for the first time in its history rattled
around those beautiful guns and among its wheels and every
man about the battery flew into the ditches of those old en-
trenchments. Gordon was furious. He raved and begged.
He called it “Band Box Artillery,” which would have oc-
curred only to him, possibly, under such a fire. But those ar-
tillerists “held the trenches faithfully” against Richmond’s
invaders. Some few of them could not even stand that and

Srxty-Toirp REGIMENT. 603

came through the woods by us. We laughed at them, ridi-
culed them and asked them to go back and man their guns.
But they looked at us as if they thought we were surely crazy.
Gordon became utterly disgusted and went back at a gallop
right into the fire down that Military road and there he re-
ceived the wound which ended his life and brilliant career six
days later. The battle was raging furiously at Meadow
Bridge on Sheridan’s front and right flank. The command of
the brigade now devolved on Colonel Andrews, of the Nine-
teenth, as ranking officer. The Sixty-third was dismounted to
join in the attack on foot. Company F was in front of that
column. The order was to cross the road, still swept by canis-
ter, and form on its left. Captain Erwin looked calmly
around at us and said: “Come on boys.” He led, and over
the road the regiment went and formed in line of battle. We
advanced fast to a horizontal, wide board fence, which looked
literally perforated, and after short firing, on our part, the en-
emy disappeared. Sheridan had broken over at Meadow
Bridge and escaped. Sheridan himself says, on page 791,
Vol. 67, “The enemy considered us completely cornered, but
such was not the case.” Well, of course, none of us knew for
certain, but those of us who were there will never cease to be-
lieve that if he had not broken over at Meadow Bridge, just
when he did, that he and his men would have been given quar-
ters in Richmond for the rest of the war.

He also says, page 801, of his raid: “The result was con-
stant success and the almost total annihilation of the rebel
cavalry.” This shows, I regret to say, how unreliable his
statements are, as he soon had full proof of by that same
“rebel cavalry.”

That the reader may see what a desperate state they were
in at Meadow Bridge, I refer to Vol. 67, pp. 791, 813-814,
819, 835, 879 and 880. He lost 625 men on his raid and
1,003 horses. Vol. 67, p. 185, and Vol. 68, p. 851. We had
no sufficient force to follow Sheridan, and it was useless as,
after his passage of the Chickahominy, he could easily con-
nect with Butler on the James, as he did, near Haxall’s Land-
ing on 14 May.

Our great loss at Brook Church was the gallant and glori-