178 NortH CAROLINA TROOPS, 1861-65.

mile in line of battle through the ripe wheat, we came up to
the artillery posted on a bluff and firing rapidly. Passing in
front of the guns, we lay down and watched the fight going
on for half an hour, Heth’s Division being on the line in our
front. While lying here the guns in our rear kept firing
over us and some guns on the opposite side replying, several
of our men were hit by fragments of shells. One Captain
was struck and his head was cut and scratched in several
places. He jumped up and started to the rear hollowing at
every jump, “I’m dead, I’m dead .’ The Colonel of “ reg-
iment called two stretcher men and told them to “oo and
take that dead man off—if you can catch him.”
While lying there we saw two regiments fighting on a rail-
road cut, and saw a United States flag captured and recap-
tured several times, and just before we moved forward 1 saw
a man take the flag and wrap it around the staff and stick it
in a brush pile, and what became of it then I never knew,
for the command “attention” came and every man arose to
his feet, grasped his arms with a firm grip, and at the order
“forward, guide left, march,” we moved off at a quick step
across a meadow and soon began to receive the attention of
the foe, many of our men being struck with minie balls and
shells. The men began to fall around me in my own
company. Lieutenant John Ford fell on my right, John H.
Bradley on the left, just after I had helped him pull the ram-
rod, which had got fastened, from his gun. N umbers of
others were wounded ; our surgeon was shot in the head, and
ought to have been killed for being there and for not attend-
ing to his duty. I did all I could to get him to dismount
and attend to John Ford, for I saw he would bleed to death
unless attention was given him, but the doughty surgeon
rode on, the only mounted man I saw on the line. Our line
continued to advance, and passing to the right of Heth’s men,
came on the enemy’s line and began to push them back up
the hill, when just as we crossed a ditch I was struck on the
right thigh with a piece of shell, knocking me down and tear-
ing and cutting the flesh badly. After a short time I found
that I could get up, and picking up a good hickory stick
started to the rear as best I could. On my way out I passed

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SrxteentaH Recent. 179

several sink holes among the limestone rocks which I found
full of men, some wounded and others hiding. On reaching
the place where Ford and Bradley had fallen they were gone
but going further up the hill I found Ford lying face levee,
and raising him up saw at once that he was dying. I asked
him if I could do anything for him; he could not speak, but
motioned with his hand to be carried off the field, as the are
balls and shells were falling thick around him. I called. a
couple of litter bearers that I saw in the woods nearby to
come and take him to a safer place, but could not prevail on
them to do so, and the poor man died where he was in a few
minutes. Going on I soon passed General Lee’s headquar-
ters, when I saw Generals Lee, A. P. Hill, Longstreet and oth-
ers watching the fight with their glasses. I soon reached the

ambulance and was carried to the hospital, a large barn about

two miles in rear of the line, where I found many wounded
men of the Sixteenth, about ten of my own company, Bradley

among them. And this is what I saw of the battle of Gettys-
burg.

Captain J. Y. McIntire, who was in command of the com-
pany, tells me that we drove the enemy back beyond Cemetery
TTill, where they had a hospital filled with wounded and sur-
geons. We were afterwards moved back across a branch
where we formed line and throwing out pickets in front spent
the night.

During the next day, 2 July, we remained in the same posi-
ticn nearly all day, moving a little to the left, both sides keep-
ing a shelling and sharpshooter firing during the day and
night.

THE PICKETT-PETTIGREW CHARGE.

On the morning of the 3d all were up and ready, expecting
every moment to be into a fight, but strange to say everything
was quiet, each side watching and waiting for the other to
move. Our men becoming impatient would call out and say,
“Tf we had Jackson we would move and do something.” But
all at once, about 1 p. m., there was a crash and one hundred
and fifty guns on our line belched forth fire and were an-
swered by an equal number from the enemy, keeping it up for