Nortu Carorina Troops, 1861-65.

NAMOZINE CHURCH.

That is the most painful of all the names in the long his-
tory of the Sixty-third. Immediately after we reached that
church, just about 9 o’clock Monday morning, 3 April, 1865,
Generals Fitzhugh Lee, W. H. F. Lee and Barringer, with
all their staffs, were sitting on their horses where the Green
road and the Cousins road cross each other. General Fitz-
hugh Lee, commanding all the cavalry, said to General W. H.
F. Lee, commanding Beale’s Virginia and Barringer’s Bri-
gades: “General Lee, you must leave our hest brigade here
and hold this position to the last. The safety of our army de-
pends upon it, and I will move on in rear of the retreat with
the rest of the cavalry.” I heard those words. All there heard
them and we all knew what they signified—the destruction of
the brigade chosen. General W. H. F. Lee instantly turned
to General Barringer and said: “General Barringer, you
have heard the orders; you must do that duty here.” All
the other generals and staffs moved off at once. The head of
the enemy’s column was then in full view. General Barrin-
ger immediately began placing the Ninth, Nineteenth and all
of the Sixty-third there present for the last battle of the bri-
gade. The Forty-first was not up from its picket duty of the
night before, having marched by a different road from the
Sixty-third. Captain Rankin, of our regiment, was “back
with a detail of forty men from our regiment to get a supply
of corn at a farm house near our camp of the night before”
and they were all captured except Captain Rankin and very
few others.

The Nineteenth North Carolina, mounted by fours, was
placed on Cousins’ road in the centre, its front slightly to the
rear of the Sixty-third’s left. The Ninth, mounted in close
single line, was placed in the woods to the left of the Nine
teenth and slightly to its front. The Sixty-third was dis-
mounted in line on the right, immediately on the Green’s
road, which here was on a ridge, with left of the regiment
right at or almost to the crossing of the two roads. The
Sixty-third’s led horses, every fourth man holding three
horses as he sat on his own, were sent down the road in rear

Srxty-Turrp Reemment. 651

of the Nineteenth, where also was one of McGregor’s guns in
position to the left of the road, the last left him. It was prob-
ably 400 yards in the Sixty-third’s front across an open field
to the woods, where the enemy was. The brunt of the fight
and the tide of the battle was to be on our regiment. That is
what that disposition meant. Ouster’s whole division of cav-
alry was in that body of woods to our front. Wells’ Brigade
in the advance. In a moment the enemy’s mounted line came
into the open field and magnificently charged. But they
could not stand the fire of our regiment. Again and again
they attacked, firing as they came and were driven back. A
great flanking column was seen going to the left of the Ninth,
firing into it with carbines and pistols. I was sent to Colonel
Cheek to ask him how goes the battle and to urge him to
stand. His men were firing furiously into the flankers and
they getting nearer, as they moved and under the excite
ment of the battle, were firing right into the faces of the
Ninth. Colonel Cheek said: ‘Present my compliments to
General Barringer and tell him that we will hold to the last.
But this can not last much longer. Look yonder!” pointing
to his left. I reported. General Barringer, Foard and
Brown and Churchill were in ten feet of the firing line of the
Sixty-third. Cahill, Company F, rose about the centre of the
line and said: ‘Please get me some ammunition. I have
fired my last cartridge.” He was told: “No ammunition can
be brought in here now; borrow some, borrow some, John.”
He smiled, kneeled down and “borrowed” two cartridges.
“The last” had come. General Barringer turned to Brown:
“Order that Nineteenth Regiment to charge and you lead it.”
The charge was hopeless. The “Old First” was breaking.
That meant what the falling back of “The Old Guard” meant.
The Nineteenth was driven back in confusion as we all knew
it must be. General Barringer, in meantime, seeing the inev-
itable, told me to ride to the left of the Sixty-third and order it
to retire. I did so, and ordered Captain S. A. Grier now liv-
ing, commanding the Fifth Squadron on the extreme left, to
withdraw his squadron with the regiment, which was then
rising up under General Barringer’s orders along the centre
and right of the line. As I rode up to Grier he was rap-