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The regiment arrived at General Lee’s new battle line at Spotsylvania Court House on May 9th and was placed in reserve at a salient in the Confederate center known as the "Mule Shoe".
The Official Records O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXXVI/1 [S# 67] MAY 4-JUNE 12, 1864--Campaign from the Rapidan to the James River, Va. HEADQUARTERS GORDON'S DIVISION, MAJOR: I beg to submit the following report of the operations of my brigade from May 5 to 14, 1864:………………. ……………BATTLE OF MAY 10 AT SPOTSYLVANIA. The march to Spotsylvania Court-House was begun by my brigade, with Early’s division, on the night of the 7th. On the morning of the 8th I was placed in command of this division, consisting of three brigades--Pegram's (Virginia), Johnston's (North Carolina), and Gordon's (Georgia)--and on the afternoon of the same day reached Spotsylvania Court-House. On the afternoon of the 10th I received orders to move my division rapidly from the left of our lines to the support of Rodes' division, now being heavily assaulted by the enemy. When my division reached this position the enemy had carried the portion of work held by Doles' brigade, Rodes' division, and had reached a point more than 100 yards in rear of the line. My leading brigade (Johnston's North Carolina) was immediately formed, by direction of Lieutenant-General Ewell, across the head of the enemy's column and ordered to charge. In the mean time Gordon's brigade was also formed and ordered forward. The enemy was driven back with considerable loss, and our lines re-established. The loss in these two brigades was light. BATTLE OF MAY 12. Orders from Lieutenant-General Ewell directed that I should use my division as a support to either Johnson's or Rodes' division, or to both, as circumstances should require. I had, therefore, placed my largest brigade (Gordon's, now Evans') in rear of Rodes' right and Johnson's left, and directly in front of the McCool house. The other two brigades were held in reserve near the Harris house. During the night of the 11th I received information from Major-General Johnson that the enemy was massing in his front, and under the general instructions I had received from corps headquarters I sent another brigade (Pegram's) to report to him. At the earliest dawn I heard musketry in the direction of the Salient, held by Jones' brigade, of Johnson's division, and at once ordered my other brigade (Johnston's) to move toward the firing. The situation at this time was as follows: Evans' brigade was in position immediately in rear of the left of Johnson's division and Rodes' right. Pegram's brigade was placed by General Johnson in the trenches near his left and to the left of the Salient, and Johnston's brigade was moving from the Harris house toward the Salient. The check given by Jones' brigade to the enemy's assaulting column was so slight that no time was afforded for bringing into position the supporting force. No information was brought to me of the success of the enemy, and in the early dawn and dense fog I was unable to learn anything of the situation until Johnston's brigade met in the woodland between the McCool house and the Salient with the head of the enemy's column. Brigadier-General Johnston was wounded, and his brigade was soon overpowered and driven back. I at once discovered that the situation was critical, and ordered Colonel Evans to move his brigade at a double-quick from its position near the trenches to the McCool house, and sent a staff officer to ascertain the position of Pegram's brigade, and, if possible, to withdraw it to the same point. This was promptly done. The fog was so dense that I could not ascertain the progress of the enemy, except by the sound of his musketry and the direction from which his balls came. At this point (the McCool house) I ordered Colonel Evans to send in three of his regiments to ascertain the enemy's position and check his advance until the other troops could be gotten into line. The attacking column, it was ascertained, had advanced considerably to the right of this point, and the temporary check given by these regiments afforded only time enough for moving the remainder of Evans' and Pegram's brigades farther around to the right. A line was soon formed near the Harris house, and these two brigades ordered to attack. They charged with the greatest spirit, driving the enemy with heavy loss from nearly the whole of the captured works from the left of Wilcox's division to the Salient on General Johnson's line, and fully one-fourth of a mile beyond. Several of the lost guns were recaptured by the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, of Pegram's brigade, and brought back to the branch near the McCool house. Unfortunately, the artillery officer to whom these guns were reported failed to find them and bring them off. The enemy still held a portion of the line to the left of the Salient, and during the night of the 12th the troops were withdrawn to a new line in rear of the Harris house. The loss in these two brigades was not heavy. I regret that a report of the casualties in these engagements has not been furnished me by the brigade commanders. Two of these brigades are not now under my command. I am, major, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. B. GORDON, Major-General. Maj. CAMPBELL BROWN.
Southern Historical Society Papers. REV. M. S. STRINGFELLOW'S ACCOUNT. RACCOON FORD, CULPEPER COUNTY, VA., Editor of The Times: I have been very much interested in two articles which have recently appeared in your paper over the signatures of General James A. Walker and Colonel Thomas H. Carter, relating to the battle of the 12th of May, at Spotsylvania Courthouse. I feel some hesitancy in coming before the public after such men as the two above-mentioned, but as I feel that it is a duty we owe to our cause and ourselves to throw all the light we can upon so important an event, I will hazard a statement as to what followed the capture of Johnson's line. Being simply an old soldier and entirely unknown to you and the public, I will take the liberty of referring you to General James A. Walker himself as to my reliability. I have not the slightest doubt that had Colonel Carter's guns been in position, a very different story would have been told. I have seen the Colonel's boys handle their guns more than once, and I know he is making no idle boast. What I shall say is in substance what I have written in a series of sketches under the title of" My Experience as a Sharpshooter, and Other War Sketches." I don't know of your rules, but I shall reserve the privilege of using this material in the way I have just mentioned. During the operations around Spotsylvania Courthouse, General John B. Gordon had command of Evans' Georgia brigade and Pegram's Virginia brigade. As a member of the Thirteenth Virginia Infantry, I was attached to Pegram's brigade. We were in reserve. To be in reserve at a time like that implied two things--confidence upon the part of our commander, and hard work upon the part of the men. In neither case was there disappointment. The evening of the 11th closed in dark and chilly. We were made more uncomfortable by the fact that orders came around for "no fires." So, roiling up in our oil cloths, we were soon dreaming, perhaps, that the "Cruel war was over." The gray dawn of the morning of the 12th found us standing at attention. Some time since I read an account of the battle of the 12th of May, written by a Northern officer. In this account he said that they were told that a blow would be struck which would end the war. Nothing was said by our officers, but there was a nameless something in the air which told each man that a crisis was at hand. Orders were given in low tones. The dim, shadowy outlines of the different commands as they took their positions under the sombre shades of the pines, gave a weird effect to the scene. Just as the day began to streak the East, we heard a rapid firing on our extreme left. In a short time a courier dashed up to General Gordon with an order. "Attention! Left face, forward! Double quick!" passed up our lines, and we were off on a run. Troops in reserve had to have what the horse jockeys call "good bottom." At that time we were in good order for a run. Not a fat man in our ranks. A quarter of a pound of meat and a pint of unsifted meal, with hard work, was our formula for reducing flesh. On this occasion, we demonstrated that the old saying, "a lean dog for a long chase," was a correct theory. How far we went, I am unable to say, but it was to General Lee's extreme left. Just as we arrived on a run, we saw our boys, Hood's Texas, I think, recapturing works which the enemy had gained temporary possession of. We had scarcely time to draw a long breath before another courier dashed up to General Gordon, when the command came quickly, "About face! forward! double quick!" Back over our tracks we sped, covering the whole distance at a run. The men needed no urging, for we all felt that there must be some urgent need. General Gordon, accompanied by a young man, who was detailed from my old company (A) at division headquarters as a courier, went ahead. This young man told me afterwards that when General Gordon reached General Lee he reined his horse back on his haunches, throwing his hand to his cap, he saluted General Lee, and said: "What do you want me to do, General?" General Gordon was then, he said, the most superb looking soldier he ever saw. During our absence, as we afterwards learned, the enemy had broken over our lines, capturing the greater part of General Edward Johnson's division. It was to retake and reestablish this line we had been sent for. When we, the reserve, I mean, arrived, General Lee was seated upon Traveler, engaged in conversation with General Gordon. Our brigade came up on a run and went through the manśuvre of "on the right by file into line," by which we changed front, facing towards Spotsylvania Courthouse. As the boys came up the General could read the same question in all their eyes which General Gordon had asked. The General was in great danger, for we were under a lively fire as we formed. I saw the dust fly from General Gordon's coat, just above his sword belt. Checking his horse, he threw his hand to his back. He seemed satisfied that it was only a little darning for Mrs. Gordon, who was always in reach, and spurred on down the line. I passed in a few feet of General Lee; he was perfectly calm. No one would ever have dreamed that General Grant held probably half a mile of his works. It was just then the circumstance occurred which has given rise to some controversy. I allude to General Lee's being turned back. What has caused some confusion has been the fact that almost the same identical thing happened twice during that campaign. In the first instance, General Lee wanted to lead the Texans, when they turned him back. On this occasion General Lee took his position on the right of our brigade, with the evident intention of leading it into action. General Gordon told the General he must go back and said: "These are Virginians, and they are going to do their duty," appealing to the men at the same time. All who heard him responded that he must go back, and they would do what he wanted done. It took less time to form that line than it has taken me to tell it. When rising in his stirrups, General Gordon gave the command, "Forward! Guide right!" Those two brigades had a herculean task ahead of them. Thirty thousand troops, flushed with victory, held formidable works. The brigades possibly at that time, for they had already lost heavily since the campaign opened, not more than ten thousand strong, were about to grapple with this force. To General Lee's practiced eye it must have seemed a forlorn hope. How they acquitted themselves the sequel will show. Immediately in front of our brigade was a dense growth of old field pines. When the order came to move forward, our boys stepped briskly to the front in perfect order, and were soon lost to view in the pine thicket. It was not until we had emerged from the thicket, on the opposite side from us, that we saw the enemy. To make our position plainer, I will here state that we were moving in a somewhat oblique line to a line of works which were under construction, and extended from heel to heel of the horseshoe, which contained the works Johnson had lost; in other words it was a simple straightening of our line of battle, throwing off the horseshoe. As we emerged from the pines we came suddenly upon this inner line, and which was heavily manned by the enemy. I don't think I exaggerate when I say that the enemy poured a volley into our faces at not over twenty yards. It was then, and not till then, that the "rebel yell" rose wild and clear upon the morning air. It makes my blood jump quicker as I recall that scene. Never pausing a second, our boys mounted the works. In a moment the blue and the gray were mixed in a dense struggling mass. What must have been General Lee's feelings then, as he heard the crashing volley of the enemy, the wild cheer of his boys, and then comparative silence, for the boys were too busy to yell? Soon his practiced ear could detect a receding fire, as the enemy broke in confusion and were driven across the line of the horseshoe, towards Spotsylvania. Here they followed the line of Johnson's work towards the famous "Bloody Angle," our boys in hot pursuit. As we advanced up a long slope, the ground gradually rising towards the "bloody angle," we discovered a dense mass of the enemy formed behind a worm fence, which struck Johnson's works at right angles. Somebody got it into his head that they had surrendered, and officers dashed in amongst our men yelling, "Cease firing, they have surrendered." After some time the firing ceased, but our men continued to advance, every man with his gun cocked and ready to bring it to his shoulder. I was reminded of a big bird hunt. We were now, I think, in forty yards of the mass I speak of, when a shot came from their lines. As quick as thought our boys blazed away, and raising a yell dashed at them. In another moment the blue and the gray became a dense, surging mass. The fighting here was desperate. Pistols, guns, bayonets, swords, all came into play. A lieutenant of the Fifty-second Virginia was just to my right, almost touching me. I saw him put his hand upon a Yankee's shoulder, ordering him to surrender. The Yankee jerked away, and making a half turn, drove his bayonet through the lieutenant's body, killing him instantly. I had a loaded revolver in my hand, and I emptied it, in many instances close enough to burn their clothing. I recollect thinking during that fight of a remark Murat was credited with making, that he had been in a hundred battles and did not know whether he had ever killed a man. I saw then how that might easily happen. When so many bullets are flying it is impossible to say which did the work, and I am glad I did not know. The enemy broke again, retreating in the direction of the angle. We were now, I think, probably about 150 yards from it, when we became aware of a heavy fire from Johnson's old works, and discovered that they were heavily manned by the enemy. Turning from the pursuit of the mass in front of us we charged the works, which were now to our left, killing, wounding and capturing everything in them. At this juncture of affairs I am satisfied I was in less than fifty steps of the angle, and I am perfectly certain I could have gone to the angle without encountering an enemy. The officer commanding our brigade that day was, I think, Colonel Casey, of Bedford. Finding that our pursuit of the enemy had separated our brigade from the Georgians, he ordered us to close to the right. In doing so, we increased the distance between our left and the angle to probably a hundred, or possibly one hundred and fifty yards. Not long after this movement, about half an hour, I think, a large number of the enemy made their appearance to our left and rear. Running through the entire length of the horse shoe, from toe to heel, was a skirt of timber. Under cover of this the enemy had crossed over at the angle, and passed down the centre about one hundred yards, coming out so as to strike our left. As they made their appearance, a part of our left swung back from the works so as to front the advancing enemy. A small party of us, on the extreme left, thought they were a party cut off, and were coming in to surrender. We were so sure of it that we stood our ground until they came in ten steps of us. The foremost man was an Irishman. He had a cap in one hand and his musket in the other. When he reached the point I have just mentioned, he called out, "Surrinder!" We soon saw our mistake; one of our party quickly threw his gun to his shoulder, fired at the Irishman and missed him; the Irishman threw his gun up, but before he could fire, another one of our party fired, killing him. We were too close to run, and knew that our men would open, and we would be between two fires. So we dropped flat on the ground, the enemy passing by, and over us--just then our left opened on them, and they came back pell-mell, and as they passed us going back our party jumped up, and gave them a parting shot. It was a close call for us. Had our left given back, we would have gone on to reinforce Johnson's party. This party of the enemy retreated, and crossed the works at the angle. From that time out, during the entire day, neither side occupied the space between our left and the angle. About this time Colonel Casey directed me to go in search of General Gordon, or some officer on Lee's staff, and directed me to explain the situation, and ask for reinforcements to fill the vacant space on our left. I started along the line of works and went towards Spotsylvania Courthouse. As I approached the part of our line which was occupied by the Georgians, I noticed that they were all down behind the works, and as I advanced towards them they motioned to me to get down. I couldn't understand what they meant, until all at once I discovered a line of the enemy lying flat in a tall growth of broom-sedge, which covered an old field in front of the Georgians Balaam when he saw the angel standing in his way with the flaming sword was not more astonished than I was. The first thought which passed through my mind was why on earth couldn't I see those fellows? They were so close I could almost distinguish one face from another, and why they didn't shoot me is a mystery, unless they thought I wasn't worth the ammunition. Under the circumstances I was very willing to overlook the slight. It has been said that "Where ignorance is bliss, 'twere folly to be wise." This was an exception to that rule. Ignorance was undoubtedly bliss in this case, but it would have been very far from folly to have been wise. It took me very little while to disappear behind the works. I was now in a dilemma. I couldn't stay there, and after seeing what was out in the sedge I did not relish the idea of again taking the chances. After creeping along the works for some distance I found a place where the ground sloped back from them. Here, by lying flat and working along snake fashion I could keep out of sight until I reached the skirt of timber alluded to above, when I made good time. Soon after leaving the Georgians I heard cheering and heavy firing. I think the enemy tried to break over the Georgians, and were driven back. After accomplishing what I was sent for I returned to my position on the left of our brigade. During the entire day there was an incessant fire on us, both from infantry and artillery. With the exception of the ground just at the angle the enemy had been driven out of Johnson's entire line. The tree which General Walker alludes to was but a few steps from us. The fire from the Angle annoyed us all day. A party of us went to our commanding officers and volunteered to take it. Our plan was to crawl from one traverse to another (they being from fifteen to twenty steps apart all the way from our left to the angle) until we got up to the enemy. He declined, however, thinking it not worth the risk. I feel sure it could have been done. In giving my account of this day's work I have not mentioned anything except our own operations, the Georgians being out of sight, but that they did their share I have not the slightest doubt. For they could always be depended upon to do as much as any command in our service. Night closed one of the most disagreeable days I ever spent. As soon as it was dark we were taken from the horseshoe, and placed in the line I spoke of from heel to heel. The next day was quiet. Toward evening General Ewell came to us with a paper (from Washington)with a full account of the battle of the 12th. Although nearly a third of a century ago, the press was alive, and wielded such an influence in the great war that the question as to "which is the most powerful the pen or the sword?" is as far from settlement as ever. The general read us the Northern account, in which the army correspondent paid us, I think, a merited compliment when he said: "The fighting of the Rebels was simply splendid." "But, boys, you ought to hear what General Lee says about you," said the old general. Of course, we all besieged him to tell us, but he rode off laughing, and said: "It would make you too vain." He never told us, but we felt sure it was something good, and, if possible, we were more willing than ever to do just what Marse Robert wanted done. I have written more then I intended, but I suppose you know when an old soldier gets to fighting his battles over, he is hard to stop. Yours, &c., M. S. STRINGFELLOW,
"The Bloody Angle." What the 49th Virginia and Gen. Pegram's Brigade Did. On the evening of the 11th of May, we marched to assist in the repulse of a vigorous assault on the breastworks of our left wing, reaching the point of attack just before sunset; as we fronted to go into position, the dead body of a man was pointed out to us as that of a North Carolina surgeon, who had been killed while dressing a wound of one of his men. This was the first Confederate surgeon known by me to have been killed in line of battle, although I saw Dr. Alfred Slaughter, surgeon of the 13th Virginia Regiment, wounded in an attack we made on Sedgwick's corps, between Marye's Heights and Falmouth. We were marched from our left late in the night of the 11th and 12th, and slept on our arms that night the sleep of the just made peaceful, in a woods in a location then unknown to us, but subsequent information showed it to have been not far from the headquarters that were Lee's that morn, and near to the angle that was "bloody" ere night. A little after dawn of the 12th, I was aroused from a deep sleep by Frank George, one of General Gordon's orderlies, and was told by him that the Yankees had broken through our works and captured Johnson's division; and when I started to say something, he told me not to talk loud, the enemy were very close to us. I immediately aroused up two or three men near me and told them to arouse the regiment, and tell the men to fall in as quickly and quietly as possible, without any rattling of canteens, as we were near the enemy. I told Frank George that ! didn't see how there could have been any hard fighting near us that night, as I had heard no firing. He said he had heard it, and that General Lee had heard it, and that the Yankees had certainly broken through the centre of our line near General Lee's headquarters, and had captured the whole of General Edward Johnson's division, and that Lee had sent him to me to tell me to march my brigade as soon as possible to the captured works. I told him he had better give his orders to Colonel Hoffman, of the 31st Virginia, as he was the ranking colonel of the brigade. He said he had no time for such politeness, but gave me my orders as he received them. I asked him to take his orders down the line. He said he could not do it, as he had to hurry up another brigade, and that a staff officer was coming up the line to get the brigade under arms. I told him if he would send me a guide he could "git" as soon as he chose. He replied that the staff officer would be my guide. The men fell in line about as soon as I could get mounted, and the staff officer came up a few minutes after, and guided us towards the right, and then towards the left, and after we had marched some two or three hundred yards and had come in sight of the line of unoccupied earthworks to our left, he pointed out a little farmhouse some ten or twelve hundred yards distant, and some four or five hundred yards, apparently, in rear of these works extended, as the headquarters of General Lee. He led us some hundred yards or more almost parallel to these unoccupied works, and then stopped, rather closer than the regulations required, as I thought, to a fine looking body of Confederates, dressed in nice, clean uniforms, that contrasted very strongly with the clothing of those of my brigade. GENERAL LEE IN FRONT OF PEGRAM'S BRIGADE. "STEADY, FRONT!" I called out to General Lee to come back, the enemy were approaching, and that we could not fight while he was in our front. A number of our men, especially those of Company A, called out: "Come back, General Lee; we can't fight while you are in our front;" and some members of Company A turned their right shoulders to General Lee and their backs to me, but I immediately brought these men into line by a "steady, front!" Neither Lee nor "Traveler" seemed inclined to take a single step backward. And Gordon continued his patriotic address and his adjutant continued tugging at "Traveler's" bridle bit in a comical manner, but the noble presence of General Lee and the eloquent words and graceful bearing of General Gordon relieved this dramatic scene, which might soon have become a dreadful tragedy from every appearance of being a comedy. "COME BACK GENERAL LEE." On looking out again for the enemy I noticed that they had drawn very close to our earthworks. I called out to General Lee "To come back, and come quick; that the enemy were close upon us, and that my men could not fire on the enemy without shooting him." A number of my men called out: "Come back, General Lee; we wont fight as long as you are before us; come back." The decided call of the men seemed to produce a greater impression on General Lee than the eloquence of Gordon, and my curt suggestions. As Traveler could not be easily turned around with a mounted officer on either side of him, facing in opposite directions, the adjutant let go Traveler's bridle, Gordon turned him around to the right, and proudly started to lead him back, and as he was doing so, I called out: "Three cheers for General Lee and 'Old' Virginia," but forgot to add Gordon's name to the list, which were given with a will. Before the two generals reached the intervening space between the brigades, Gordon let go his hold of Lee's bridle and dropped behind a short space, Lee as soon as he reached the line of the brigades, turned his horse to the right, close up to mine, and Gordon and his adjutant rode up to the line of the Georgia Brigade. When General Gordon, amid repeated shouts of "Lee, Lee to the rear!" had approached within eight or ten paces of our line, he found the interval between our two brigades blocked up. A mounted officer had stationed himself on the left of Gordon's brigade, General George Evans commanding. I had remained on the extreme right flank of Early's brigade, where I had placed myself when Lee rode to the front, and the intervening space had been crowded by men of Evans' brigade. Gordon let go his hold of Traveler's bridle, and reined up his horse to fall in behind Lee, and as he did so a member of the Warren Rifles ran forward, seized Lee's horse by the bridle reins, and amid redoubled shouts of "Lee, Lee, Lee to the rear! Lee to the rear!" led him up to the crowd and guided him through the crowders, and I backed my horse to the left to give a freer passage to the riders, and they passed through in single file, and the field of coming carnage resounded with wild shouts of "Lee, Lee, Lee!" [This man is identified by "R. D. Funkhouser" in communication of the Times-Dispatch of Jan. 29, 1905, as Sergeant Wm. A. Compton, of Company D, 49th Virginia Regiment, "who is still living and an active business man in Front Royal, Va., to-day."] When the Warren Riflemen ran forward, thinks I, that is Sergeant Compton, of Captain Updyke's company; he has disobeyed my order of "steady, front!" but he is a brave soldier and a good file officer, and I would not like to wound his pride. He has rendered Lee all the homage in his power, and when I made way for Lee and his escort to the rear I was glad that a soldier of my regiment had guided Lee back to us and to safety and to sight of his headquarters, where he was much-more needed and in much less danger than in front of our fighting line, which was some sixty yards distant from the firing line of the enemy when we started on the charge. As Lee drew up to me I shoved my horse slightly in advance and turned his head a little in advance of "Traveler," to intercept if possible any further repetition of such recklessness; and I looked inquiringly at General Lee for some order or for some word, but got none. Just then I saw the heads of the enemy bobbing up in irregular order on the far side of our parapets, and saw the sun rising beautifully above the trees and lighting up the scene of approaching conflict with rich, mellow rays. I said to General Lee: "Shall we give them the bayonet, General ?" Just then the enemy fired a scattering, ineffective volley into our ranks. I called out: "No time for fixing bayonets. Charge!" The men gave the Confederate yell and rushed on the enemy, who fled precipitately. The brigade, instead of stopping in our earthworks, mounted them and pursued the fleeing enemy. About midway of the woods in front of our central line of works we met another body of the enemy, who showed fight. We hurled them back after a sharp little bout. In these woods I found Colonel John S. Hoffman, of the 31st Virginia, in a thicket of bushes, fingering the leaves at his feet, and asked him where he was hit. He said the bushes had knocked his spectacles off and he could not see. I told a man standing near him to find the Colonel's spectacles for him, and if he could not do so to lead the Colonel back to the rear, as he could not see a yard without his specks. I heard some one call out: "They have killed Major Pilcher," and saw that some of my own men had fallen. Then I lost my head and became as reckless as any of my men. Rushing them through the woods and coming out myself on their extreme right flank close to a ditch of moderate dimensions, with whitish gray earth thrown out in front, marched across a small branch near the foot of the woods, and up to a bog or morass, which proved to be impassable to man. While we were being here delayed, the 52d Virginia, under Captain Watkins, and the 13th Virginia, under Colonel Terrill, rushed by us at half-speed, leaving the 31st, 58th and 49th Virginia regiments with me. These last avoided the obstacle almost before the orders could be given by a give-way to the left, a left half-flank, a rapid wheel of the left to the right, and a slowdown on the right, and rushed after the enemy, who fled in detached squads like a mob. We did not come up with any of them until after we passed a narrow little ditch. On the far side of this ditch we found a Federal captain with a drawn sword in his hand, and behind him about a score of his men, with guns in both hands. As none of them attempted to use their arms, I demanded their surrender; but as they would not throw their arms down the men bayoneted a few of them, and I told the men to knock them down and take their arms away; but the cracking of skulls of unresisting men grated on my nerves, and I ordered the men to knock their hands away from their guns. I tried to make the captain understand what I meant by surrender, but he held his naked sword in both hands and answered in a language which I had never before heard spoken, sung or acted. It was neither English, French, German, Spanish nor Italian. My men coming up were about to knock him in the head, but I told them to knock his hands away front his sword. I sent the captain and his few surviving men to the rear under a guard of two of my men. This little episode over, I looked to the front and saw some of the enemy on the edge of a pine thicket of very irregular shape, on ground which rose from the ditch and at a distance which varied from 100 to 150 yards from it. We charged them, and they disappeared into the recesses of a thicket. My men were about to follow them when I recovered my senses and ordered a halt. "CEASE FIRING." My men continued to fire rapidly for several minutes, but as the enemy did not respond, and all I could see by looking in the thicket was a deep hollow, I ordered "Cease firing." Seeing a body of Confederates close to my right flank, I rode up to the nearest files and asked what men they were, and who was in command. A sergeant answered that they were Gordon's men, Evans' Brigade, that only two regiments and a few files of a third were on that ground; that Evans was not there, and he did not know who commanded them. I told him that I would take the men of his little squad; that the only command I had to give was to keep in general alignment with my right flank, and not to waste his ammunition on the pine thicket; that if any of the enemy were in there they were in a deep hollow. I rode quickly back to my own regiment which had again commenced firing on pine trees, as I thought, and I again stopped them. Just then some half a dozen men on both sides of the colors of the 49th Virginia cried out that they had been shot from behind, that Colonel Terrill's men had shot them. I told them it was so, and ordered the color-bearer to lower his flag, rode around an acute angle of the pines and thought I saw through the smoke of battle the heads of two or three men of the 52d bobbing over their parapet, and enquired if any of the 31st had been shot; was told that none had been. I then went back and told the 49th that Terrill's men (13th Virginia) had not shot them, and could not have done so without first shooting through the 31st Regiment and the angle of the pines; that the enemy in the rear had seen our flags, although we could not see them, and fired on it. I ordered the men back to the little ditch and to gather the cartridge boxes of the dead and wounded as they went; and rode over the ridge in rear of the ditch and saw a body of the enemy who seemed to be firing in our direction, then rode back to Gordon's men, and seeing General Evans there with a staff officer, explained to him that I had given an order to some of his men in his absence, for which I hoped he would excuse me, and that I came to suggest that his men fall back as far as mine had done. He answered, all right, that only two of his regiments could squeeze through and that he had been in action with the other regiments on another part of the field. I rode back and thought it was time to look up Colonel Terrill; started to ride from the left flank of the 31st up the ditch, as it ran eastward over the hill; had gone only a few paces when the head of a man lying in the ditch bobbed up and said that Colonel Terrill had sent him there to warn me against coming over that hill, that the enemy swept it with a deadly fire; that he had a strong position which he could hold without my assistance, and that he was using two recaptured guns against the enemy. When I came back to my men I examined the ditch; it was about knee deep, with some six or eight inches of grayish white dirt thrown up on the outside, and was presumably a continuation of the ditch which I saw on my right as I came out of the woods, and connecting this with the fact that the enemy I saw in my rear were within the line of a similar stretch of white earth, running eastward and westward, I concluded from the confused and confusing situation in which I found our men, that we had projected a quadrilateral from our main line of works, silly planned and badly executed. The ditch in which my men tried to stand was scarcely two feet wide, and the rear ranks sat down on the surface of the ground behind. I could well see how Johnson's Division could have been rushed, but could not see how they could have been surprised, nor why they did not finish the quadrilateral extension even if they had to work in the night time, nor could I understand that any of them were placed in the main works of our centre, nor that any of the enemy were in the possession of the last line when we charged them. Upon inquiry, I found that our ammunition was running low and I sent a man to the rear for more. While he was gone Everett Early, son of William Early, of Albemarle, who had come out as a lieutenant in Captain Wood's company, but who had been exchanged or detailed, on account of his extreme youth, to go to school at the University, came up to me with two University students and said they must have a pop at the enemy. I demurred and said I did not want any University student killed in my regiment, but he insisted, upon the ground that he had formerly been an officer in the regiment. As they were in more danger standing with me a little behind the ditch than in it, I waived my objections. Early picked up a dead man's gun, borrowed several cartridges and together with the men immediately about him fired several rounds at the enemy, then came running out, exclaiming gleefully: "I have been shot in the arm, and I would not take a thousand dollars for it. I have got all I wanted, come on boys," and was soon lost to sight. Immediately afterwards a member of Captain Horsley's company was found dead in the ditch without any apparent wound; his cartridges were taken from him and he was carried a few paces to the rear and gently laid to rest. About that time the man I sent out for ammunition returned and said he could not find or hear of any. I found our ammunition was nearly exhausted, ordered another man to go out and find John S. Gibson, ordnance officer of the 49th Virginia, and tell him that he must find an ordnance officer and bring us some ammunition very soon, as we were out. I then ordered cease firing, and then two of the Federal soldiers in our front, who seemed to be on picket, stuck their bayonets through newspapers and waived them right and left. Some of my men called out that they wanted to trade newspapers. I told them no; it meant a flag of truce. I sent an inquiry up and down the line for a newspaper or a sheet of white paper. None could be found. I heard a laugh in the line, and asking what was the fun, was told that a man said he had a ragged shirt tail, which I could have. I asked the man if he was willing to donate a piece of his shirt tail to the cause for the sake of peace. He said he would be very glad to do so. I told him shirts were very scarce, and he had better take my handkerchief, and handed it to him. He looked at it; saw it was very much soiled, and said he thought his shirt tail would make a much whiter flag of truce. At this there was a general laugh at my expense. A piece of the shirt tail was torn off, bayonet stuck through it, and it was waved aloft on the muzzle of a gun. The enemy saluted with their newspapers and truce was established, which was religiously kept in my front the whole of that day. The second man I sent out for ammunition soon returned; said he had seen Sergeant Gibson, and he had seen the captain of ordnance and they had sent for ammunition.
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