558 NortH Carona Troops, 1861~’65.

of the brigade during the winter extended from Petersburg,
Va., to Magnolia, N. C., on the Wilmington & Weldon Rail-
road, and aiforded opportunities for drill, inspections,
marches, the construction of field works, ete., which were
availed of to bring the command into a state of efficiency not
surpassed by any. The discipline of these Winter months
in North Carolina was never wholly lost. It prepared the
command for the bloody fields of Virginia and Pennsylvania,
and served to gain for it the deathless fame which it acquired.

The Spring campaign opened in Virginia with the battle
of Chancellorsville, and General Hill received an order from
General Lee to send him with all haste the brigade nearest to
the railroad. Pettigrew’s Brigade was in line of battle pre-
pared to meet an incursion of the enemy from the coast
directed against Goldsboro, but as it answered the require-
ments of the order, it was withdrawn and put in march for
the nearest railroad station. Arriving at Richmond, the bri-
gade was detained to assist in the defence of the city against
Stoneman’s raid of 10,000 cavalry, and then was sent to Han-
over Junction. After the battle of Chancellorsville General
Lee concentrated his army at F redericksburg, preparatory to
his march into Pennsylvania and organized it into three
corps. Pettigrew’s Brigade was assigned to Heth’s Division,
A. P. Hill’s Corps, which was left for a time to watch Hooker
while the two other corps started for Pennsylvania, where we
joined them later.

The Forty-fourth Regiment, Colonel Singletary, was left
in Virginia to assist in guarding Richmond, so the brigade
had not its full strength, but the ranks of the four other regi-
ments were full and presented a superb appearance with its
distinguished commander at its head. Its valor, its achieve-
ments, its great losses at Gettysburg, have given it undying
fame and are told by me in the article on that battle pub-
lished in this volume. The bloody ordeal through which

it passed on 1 and 3 July, 1863, was terrible, but it prepared «

it for its subsequent career, which has added lustre to the
name of the State. The brigade had suffered more than any
other in Lee’s army, but a greater loss was in store for it. Its
General, of whose genius it was proud, in whom it had un-

Tue Perrigrew-KirKLANp-MAcRar BriegapE. 559

bounded confidence, whose presence was an inspiration, and
whom every man in the brigade loved with devotion, was mor-
tally wounded on the retreat from Pennsylvania, at Falling
Waters, on 14 July, 1863.

As many incorrect accounts of the manner in which Gen-
eral Pettigrew received his mortal wound have been pub-
lished, it is well to recite here how it happened. It has been
frequently reported and generally believed that the brigade
was surprised when asleep. This is not true. The com-
mand, which consisted of Pettigrew’s and Archer’s Brigades,
were up in line, under arms and ready to repel any attack,
but General Heth made the fatal error of mistaking the en-
emy’s cavalry for ours and ordered our men not to fire on it.
It happened in this wise: Hill’s Corps arriving at about one
mile from Falling Waters, was halted and ordered to rest
until the artillery and the wagon train had crossed the Poto-
mac. The men, worn out by the hardships of the night, lay
down and went to ‘sleep as they were told to do. General
Heth believed that the rear of the corps was picketed by our
cavalry, and would not order it done from his command.
There was but one picket out, and that was placed by order
of General Pettigrew to protect his left. When the trains
which had long been delayed, had passed, General Heth came
to General Pettigrew and put him in charge of the rear guard.
He was ordered to wait until the rest of the corps had crossed
the river, then to retire with his command and join the army
on the Virginia side. While he was giving his instructions,
I perceived a body of cavalry a considerable distance away,
apparently deploying. I called this to the attention of the
two Generals, and the question was asked, “Are they our cav-
alry, or that of the enemy?’ General Heth thought they
were ours, but said that should they prove to be the enemy, we
could easily drive them off. General Pettigrew, without an
instant’s delay, hastened me off to get his command under
arms, and to draw in the picket on our left. When I returned
from accomplishing this, I found General Pettigrew and Gen-
eral Heth mounted, and watching the cavalry to which I have
referred. Just then emerged from a wood some hundred
yards off a squadron of cavalry (about fifty), which was ap-