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752 NortH CaroLina Troops; 1861-—’65.

the town. In this charge a cannon ball passed under the
writer, tearing a great hole in the ground.

We halted on the north side of the fort, after capturing a
Dutch or Hessian picket of thirty men, and after readjust-
ing our line fell back a half mile to our main army.

On 21 August we had another “spat” with the enemy, our
sharpshooters only engaged. This was near the historie town
of Charleston, where

“Old John Brown was hung,
The last word he sung,
Oh don’t keep me long here remaining,
So they took him up a slope
And hung him with a rope,
And cast him in the happy land of Canaan.”

LEETOWN, VA.

On 23 August we fought the battle of Leetown, losing 25
men in an ambuscade. Sheridan’s entire cavalry force con-
fronted us. Early expecting only a small skirmish, was leis-
urely riding along with his staff. Our sharpshooters being
severely pressed, were reinforced by the entire Fifty-first
Virginia Regiment of our division and brigade. Generals
Breckinridge and Wharton, our corps and division command-
ers, with their staff, were also along. This writer being that
day on Breckinridge’s staff as officer of the day, was close up
to the front, when suddenly a battery of several guns was un-
masked close upon us, on the pike. Several men and horses
were killed and wounded in the rapid flight down the half
mile lane, Generals, Colonels and other staff officers not stand-
ing much “on the order of their going,” and it would have
seemed superlatively ludicrous but for the perils of the mo-
ment. In our flight I rode along near General Breckenridge,
who was one of the handsomest men I ever saw. He was
mounted on a splendid Kentucky thoroughbred and never
lost his equipoise of manner or bearing, although his long
linen duster, flowing in the wind, resembled a flying kite.

General Breckinridge said to me: “Major, look out for
yourself and tell General Wharton to bring up his division
and post it behind that hill,” pointing to a gently rolling hill

Stxty-NintH ReGimenr. 753

in our front, “and hurl those fellows back over there,” point-
ing to a brigade of Sheridan’s cavalry, led by Custer, that
neck and neck were advancing through the fields north of us,
only a few hundred yards off. Colonels Smith, Love and
others, however, were on the alert and at the proper moment
rose to their feet and delivered a well directed and destruc-
tive fire and sent them whirling back through the field, leav-
ing numbers of horses and men behind them.

On 8 September Sheridan’s cavalry ran over ours on the
pike in the forenoon, to be themselves hurled back soon there-
after. On 4 September at Berryville we felt the enemy and
finding them well posted, after driving them awhile, we re-
tired.

On 5 September, we fell back to Bunker Hill and the
enemy following rather closely, our gallant Rodes whirled
upon and scattered them. Private E. C. Conner, of Com-
pany F', Swain county, a bright and brave lad of 17 years, was
killed. He was carried back a half mile and buried in an
open grave, all within a half an hour and during our retreat.

WINCHESTER 19 SEPTEMBER, 1864.

On 10 September the Sixty-ninth on the Opequon skir-
mished with the enemy and drove them across the river.
During this period there was much rain and disagreeable
weather. None of our brigade having tents, officers or men,
many were made sick. We were compelled to camp often
upon the battle ground of the previous days, and where
corpses of horses and men were often exposed and unburied,
making horrid the atmosphere and water. About this time
fully one-third of our army was detached from us to go to
Lee’s Army and Vaughn’s Tennessee Cavalry also leaving, we
were entirely too weak to cope with our foxy adversary. So
on 19 September Sheridan came at us with fully 30,000 men,
all along the line from Berryville toWinchester. We repulsed
every assault, but from the force of numbers we gradually
fell back upon the hills around Winchester. The enemy had
three full corps of infantry, Sixth or Eighth, Thirteenth and
Nineteenth. In the afternoon on our left wing, where the

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