232 Nortu Carontina Troops, 1861-65.

day’s rest. This impression did not last long. General
Trimble ordered the battalion to go back, on the road by
which we came, about a mile, and take possession of a skirt
of woods between two fields, on the right of the road, and
to hold the same until he came up with the balance of the bri-
gade. The order was promptly executed and as soon as the
brigade was in sight, the battalion, deployed as skirmishers,
was advanced across the field in front. The field was-in
wheat just headed out. The enemy soon made their ap-
pearance in force. The skirmishers fell back to the brigade,
which was quietly lying behind a rail fence, which ran along
the edge of the field in front. Soon the enemy came up
briskly, in line of battle, with no skirmishers in advance.
When they were within sixty or seventy yards of the fence
the brigade rose up, fired and then charged. The enemy
broke and fled precipitately to a wood beyond the field, leav-
ing, however, some 200 dead and wounded. The brigade
after pursuing a short distance returned to its first position.
The field in front was only about a third of a mile wide and
we could plainly see the maneuvers of the enemy, and that
heavy reinforcements were coming up. Soon they formed
another line of battle and began to advance across the field.
Our orders were to remain perfectly quiet, withholding our
fire until they were within short range and then let them have
it. Unfortunately, however, one man in the Fifteenth Ala-
bama could not resist the temptation to shoot and fired be-
fore they had advanced fifty yards and then the whole of the
regiment fired. The enemy hastily fell back into the woods
and did not again attempt to advance. Later in the day we
attacked them simultaneously in front and on their left flank
and drove them back a mile or more. This ended the fight
on our right wing. When the fight ended the whole field
of battle was in our possession and the enemy had been driven
back fully a mile and a half.

That night the battalion was posted in the woods where the
fight began. The moon shone brightly and I walked out
where some of the enemy’s dead and wounded were still
lying. As I walked along the wounded would speak to me.
T could not understand what they said. Finally one of them

First Barration. 233

in broken English said they were asking me to have them re-
moved to the hospital. They were all Germans and I learned
that some of them had been in America only a few weeks.
In a short time the ambulances came up and removed the
poor fellows who were paying dearly for the greenbacks, for
which only, they were fighting.

PORT REPUBLIC.

Early next morning we crossed the river at Port Republic,
the battalion bringing up the rear and being the last to cross
the bridge. Two or three hundred yards before reaching the
bridge we passed a straw stack, when each man was required
to take up a bunch of straw and drop the same on the bridge.
After the battalion had crossed the straw was fired and in a
few minutes the whole bridge was in flames. After the
bridge had been fired a single Confederate cavalryman came
up to cross. Seeing the bridge was on fire, he attempted to
swim his horse across the river, which was flush and the cur-
rent strong. In the middle of the river the horse became
confused and both horse and rider disappeared under the
water and were seen no more. While this was going on, the
hard fought and bloody battle of Port Republic was being
fought—about two miles below the village. During the
night General Jackson, leaving General Trimble, with his
brigade, to face Fremont and retard his advance, had moved
the greater part of his forces to the south side of the river and
early in the morning met and defeated General Shields, whose
forces, it was said, amounted to about 12,000. The battle
was, for a short time, stubborn and very bloody—but was
over before Trimble’s Brigade arrived on the ground, and
Shields was in full retreat.

After this we encamped on the Shenandoah, near Weir’s
Cave, and had a much needed rest of about two weeks. Our
next move was southeastward across the Blue Ridge, through
Charlottesville and Gordonsville and on towards Richmond.

BATTLES AROUND RICHMOND.

In about six days we arrived at Ashland, some sixteen dr
eighteen miles from Richmond. Next day the seven days’