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Early’s Division was stationed at Fredericksburg to protect the rear of the Confederate army and preserving General Lee’s freedom of maneuver against the Union forces at Chancellorsville. On May 3rd the 13th Virginia, on the right of the Confederate line, was ordered forward as skirmishers and occupied an open field, which was vulnerable against artillery. As the shelling started they dug breastworks. With only the right flank of the Regiment protected, a charge was made after the shelling stopped. When rising to assault the Union line only a few hundred yards distant, the Regiment was hit by a volley hitting several of the men. Determined to succeed, the Regiment rushed forward and drove the Federals from their lines. The new position didn’t prove any better so Colonel Terrill ordered the Regiment back to the original position with 2 killed and 7 wounded. As the Confederates lost Marye’s Heights, General Early withdrew to the Cox House. The total number of casualties of the Chancellorsville campaign was 5 men killed and 31 wounded.
The Official Records O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXV/1 [S# 39] APRIL 27-MAY 6, 1863.--The Chancellorsville Campaign. HEADQUARTERS EARLY'S DIVISION, MAJOR: About daylight on the 29th ultimo, the enemy crossed at the mouth of Deep [Run], and later near Pratt’s house, below. On receiving information of the first movement, I immediately moved my division into line on the railroad, the right resting at Hamilton's Crossing and the left at Deep Run. I occupied the River road in front with three regiments, and thus kept the enemy from advancing to that road. The residue of the troops having in the meantime been brought up, on the afternoon of the 30th, I received instructions from Lieutenant-General Jackson to remain behind with my division and one of McLaws' brigades (Barksdale's), to observe the enemy, while the residue of the troops were removed to the left. General Pendleton, with a portion of his Reserve Artillery, and Lieutenant-Colonel [R. S.] Andrews, with his <ar39_1001> battalion of artillery, was also left behind. My division and Andrews artillery occupied the lines on the right, and Barksdale's brigade and Pendleton's artillery occupied Fredericksburg and the heights in rear. About 11 o'clock on the 2d instant, instructions were received from General Lee, through General Chilton, to leave a brigade behind as a guard, and move with the residue up to Chancellorsville, and as soon as I could get ready I commenced the movement, leaving behind Hays' brigade and one of Barksdale's regiments. A portion of General Pendleton's artillery, under like instructions, was sent to the rear. After I had commenced the movements, and had reached the Plank road, and moved the head of the column up it about a mile, information was received from the rear of such a character as to cause me to turn back and occupy the former line as before. About light on next morning (Sunday, the 3d), I received information from General Barksdale that the enemy had thrown a bridge across at Fredericksburg, and I immediately sent Hays' brigade from the right to his support. In a short time the enemy commenced making demonstrations from the mouth of Deep Run and Fredericksburg. All his efforts to attack the left of my right line were thwarted, and one attack on Marye's Hill was repulsed. The enemy, however, sent a flag of truce to Colonel [Thomas M.] Griffin, of the Eighteenth Mississippi Regiment, who occupied the works at the foot of Marye's Hill with his own and the Twenty-first Mississippi Regiment, which was received by him improperly, and it had barely returned before heavy columns were advanced against the positions, and the trenches were carried and the hill taken, a large portion of the Eighteenth Mississippi Regiment and a part of the Twenty-first being taken prisoners, and a company of the Washington Artillery, with its guns, were captured. After this the artillery on Lee's Hill and the rest of Barksdale's infantry, with one of Hays' regiments, fell back on the Telegraph road, Hays, with the remainder, being compelled to fall back up the Plank road, as he was on the left. Having received information, I hastened up, and succeeded in halting the artillery and infantry and checking the advance of the enemy, and had the brigades on the right thrown back into the second line; and upon the arrival of Hays' brigade, which came round from the Plank road, and three regiments of Gordon's, which had been sent for as soon as I heard of the disaster, a line was formed across the Telegraph road at Cox's house, about 2 miles back of Lee's Hill. Having received information late in the day that McLaws was moving down, and that the enemy, who had passed heavy columns up the Plank road through Fredericksburg, was to be attacked by his forces and mine in connection, I concentrated all my force at Cox's house, which was not accomplished until after night. Having previously informed General McLaws of my intention to attack Marye's Hill next morning on the right, and advance, extending my left so as to close in on him, early next morning I threw Hoke's and Hays' brigades across Hazel Run to move down toward the right, and advanced Gordon's brigade toward Lee's and Marye's Hills, followed by Smith's and Barksdale's brigades. Gordon succeeded in capturing Marye's Hill with ease, aided by Colonel [R S.] Andrews' artillery, and Barksdale's brigade was thrown into the trenches in front of the hill, and Smith's brigade moved across Hazel Run, and a line formed facing up the Plank road, on the plain between Marye's Hill and the heights on the Plank road, and at Taylor's house. I then waited to hear from McLaws, but, hearing no sound of an engagement in that direction, I felt the enemy with Smith's brigade, and, finding that he had artillery on the heights in front of my right, I ordered the brigade to retire, and sent to General McLaws, requesting him to move. In return, I received information that Anderson's division was moving down, and that an attack was to be made at a given signal. Subsequently I was sent for by General Lee, and, having received his instructions, at the signal agreed on, Hays', Hoke's, and Gordon's brigades, which had been placed in position, were advanced against the enemy; Hays advancing in the center from the foot of the hill, opposite the mill on Hazel Run; Hoke, on the left, advancing across the hill on which Downman's house is situated and below it; and Gordon, on the right, up the hills on the north of the Plank road--all driving the enemy before them. This movement was commenced very late, and Hays' and Hoke's brigades were thrown into some confusion by coming in contact after they crossed the Plank road below Guest's house, and it becoming difficult to distinguish our troops from those of the enemy's on account of the growing darkness, they had, therefore, to fall back to reform, which was done on the plain below Guest's house. Gordon's brigade got in rear of the enemy's right flank near Taylor's house, and took its position there. Barksdale's brigade had been left at Marye's Hill, and Smith's in position on the left of it to strengthen Barksdale or re-enforce the others, as occasion might require, and two regiments were ordered up while Hays' and Hoke's were being reformed. After seeing General Lee, at night Hoke's brigade was placed in line on the left of Gordon, and Hays was ordered to take position in the intrenchments on the right of Marye's Hill, and Smith's regiments sent back to join the residue of the brigade on the left of that hill. The loss in my division during all the time from the crossing was 136 killed, 838 wounded, and some 500 are reported missing, the greater part of whom are, in all probability, stragglers. This does not include the loss in Barksdale's brigade and the artillery. Very respectfully J. A. EARLY, Major General, Commanding. Maj. W. H. TAYLOR, Assistant Adjutant-General, Army Northern Virginia.
HEADQUARTERS EARLY'S DIVISION, MAJOR: No flags were captured by the troops of this division in the recent battles around Fredericksburg. The colors of the Fifty-eighth Virginia Regiment were lost. In regard to the circumstances under which they were lost, Col. F. H. Board, commanding the regiment, says: In accordance with orders from corps headquarters to account for the loss of the battle-flag of my regiment on the 4th of the present month, I will state that Smith's brigade was in line of battle parallel to the Plank road, on the heights to the left of Marye's, and on the side of the road next to the river. My regiment was on the right, occupying the pinnacle of the hill. The enemy's Skirmishers were upon the heights opposite us, a distance of 800 or 1,000 yards. One regiment of the brigade (Thirteenth Virginia) was sent forward, and attacked the enemy in front of my regiment. After considerable skirmishing between it and the enemy, the remainder of the brigade was ordered forward, the other two regiments obliquing to the left until there was a distance of several hundred yards intervening between the left of my regiment and the right of that regiment on my left. I was ordered directly forward, as I supposed, to support the Thirteenth Virginia, which was skirmishing in my front, passing over the distance already spoken of under a heavy fire of skirmishers and shelling, arriving directly upon the rear of said regiment, which had almost possession of the heights. I received an order from General Smith to halt, which I did. As my men could not fire for fear of injuring our own men in front, and having already suffered considerably in getting to that position, I ordered my regiment to lie down. Just at that moment the regiment in front fell back to my rear. I immediately ordered my men to fire. My attention was soon called to the fact that the whole brigade was rapidly retiring, already several hundred yards in rear, and, being under the hill, and not knowing what force the enemy might have brought forward, and the aforesaid regiment having fallen back to my rear, and still retiring, I gave the order (in absence of an order by the brigade commander, or its failure to reach me) to retire. Upon retiring, it was necessary for my regiment to pass a number of houses, barns, and cattle-sheds. The fire being hot, the weather quite warm, the distance back to the original position of the regiment being considerable, my men to some extent exhausted, many of them wounded, a number of them stopped to take shelter from the fire of the enemy in and behind the houses spoken of above. During this confusion, the color-bearer (as gallant a soldier as ever marched to battle) was wounded (as I am informed by those who saw him), dropping the standard, and the color-guard failing to bring it off, the color-bearer fell into the hands of the enemy; so did the colors. Even if the color-bearer was not wounded, he has acted so gallantly upon so many hard-fought fields that I could not attach any blame to him. This standard has been carried into fifteen engagements previous to the one in which it was captured, and has always come out victorious. The loss in my regiment in this advance and retreat was 102 killed, wounded, and missing, among them 1 lieutenant, captured. The affair mentioned by Colonel Board occurred early in the day on the 4th instant, when the brigade was sent forward by my orders to feel the enemy on the heights on the Plank road, above Fredericksburg, when, finding the enemy in force with artillery on the right of the position upon which the demonstration was made, the brigade was ordered to retire, the arrangements not having then been made for a general attack. J. A. EARLY, Major-General, [ Endorsement. ] HEADQUARTERS SECOND ARMY CORPS, Respectfully forwarded. It is a matter of much regret that this regiment lost its colors, and I cannot believe, from Colonel Board's own statement, that the circumstances were such as to hold the regiment blameless. I am constrained to recommend to the general commanding that this regiment be not allowed to carry a color until it has redeemed its own by capturing one in battle. A. P. HILL, Major-General.
THIRTEENTH VIRGINIA AT FREDERICKSBURGCapt. S. D. Buck Address of Capt. S. D. Buck, of Baltimore, Md., before the Buchanan Camp, U. C. V. The first battle of Fredericksburg had been fought and won. Burnside followed the fate of his predecessors, and now the two armies rested upon the banks of the beautiful Rappahannock River, which for months was the dividing line between the hostile forces. Jackson’s Corps after the battle in December went into winter quarters at Moss Neck, guarding the villages and ferries from Fredericksburg down to Port Royal. The Army of the Potomac was being recruited from every clime under the shining sun, while the Confederates could only rest and hope in the heroism of their members and be recruited from the “cradle” and sick rolls; but the few we had were tried and true, and could withstand the hardships of army life, sing the songs of patriotism, and glory in the deeds accomplished. McClellan, Burnside, Shields, McDowell, Banks, and others had measured swords with Lee and Jackson, and now “Fighting Joe Hooker” took command of the Army of the Potomac, an accomplished soldier, and with an army that had never before been equaled in number and equipment much was expected of him. The press of the North, under flaming headlines, declared Richmond would fall in thirty days. Monday, April 27, Hooker’s preparations were completed, and Tuesday night his first, third, and sixth corps were at Franklin’s Crossing, three miles below Fredericksburg. Stoneman had begun his cavalry raid to the James River, and that brilliant leader, J. E. B. Stuart, had his forces in motion, and captured prisoners from Howard, Slocum, and Meade. Pardon me for digressing just a moment. I cannot pass by the grave of one who fell March 17, at Kelly’s Ford, Maj. John Pelham. Roses and lilies bloom and bow their heads over his grave where he sleeps in his Southland, and I feel like bowing my head in thanksgiving that God gave Pelham to the South. Lee, the immortal, baptized him “Pelham the gallant,” when his Napoleons thundered upon the flanks of Burnside’s army. I had the honor of fighting by his side at Sharpsburg where the Thirteenth supported his battery on our left, and was promoted to first lieutenant in the provisional army of Confederate States for conduct on that field. The horses could not drag the heavy guns over the plowed field, and the men of that grand old regiment almost carried the pieces to a position only a few hundred yards in front of the enemy, and Pelham loaded each gun with double charges and kept thousands of the enemy back. I see him now, and wish I could portray the picture on canvas, that every Southern boy might see it and be proud that such an example was left him. He was taken from us, and we mourned our loss. “But his fame on brightest pages, Hooker crossed at Germania and Ely’s Ford. Gen. Stuart had discovered Hooker’s plans, and at once informed his illustrious chief that Hooker was concentrating his whole army at Chancellorsville. As my paper is to treat upon the Thirteenth Virginia at Fredericksburg, I must leave Hooker in his trenches at Chancellorsville and turn to Early. Gen. Sedgwick, with twenty-five thousand troops, crossed the river three miles below Fredericksburg April 29. Jackson’s Corps drew up in front of him. D. H. Hill was on the right at Hamilton’s Crossing, his right on Massaponox Creek. It was discovered by Gen. Lee that Sedgwick’s move was a feint. In consequence, he ordered Jackson to leave one division of his corps in front of Sedgwick and to move on Chancellorsville with the rest of his troops. Gen. Early’s division of eight thousand was left to confront Sedgwick with twenty-five thousand. Jackson moved out Wednesday night late, and the entire line was occupied by Early. My regiment, the Thirteenth Virginia, under Col. J. B. Terrell, was on picket duty at the old gas house. Col. Smith (Extra Billy) commanded the brigade. The morning the Federals crossed we were ordered back, and formed a skirmish line, the three right companies on the road leading down to the river and the others, or left wing of the regiment, swung back from the road, connecting, I think, with a North Carolina regiment. As we moved back from the river and were deploying as skirmishers the first shell from Falmouth Heights greeted us, and as we marched back to the Bowling Green road the enemy had good practice at us, but did no harm. Part of the regiment took position against the south bank of the road, the condition of which gave us good protection. Companies I, K, and H (the latter my company) were protected by the embankment on each side of the road, while the companies on our left were in open field; but the soil being light and sandy, the men were soon at work throwing up rifle pits, and almost every fellow dug a hole that protected him to the waist. I was on the extreme right and within speaking distance of the enemy, who had moved forward and were in the road to our left and on our right, conformed to our line and in the open field. We were not over two hundred yards apart, and not a musket had been fired. As before stated, my company, with I and K, occupied the right of the regiment and of the army. The Colonel was near-sighted and came to where I stood, watching our flank, which was exposed, and, handing me his field glasses, asked me what was going on in front. After a careful examination, I told him that the lawn in front of the stone house was full of soldiers and many officers. He at once sent a messenger back to report this fact, and suggested that artillery should open on them, which was done, and heavy firing soon began on both sides. I learned later that our shells did great damage, as the house was the headquarters of a general officer. While this duel was in progress Col. Terrell became very restless, and again appealed to my better sight. I took the glasses and described the position of the enemy’s line of battle and their battery in our immediate front. Their infantry occupied the roadbed in front of our left wing. He said that the left must move forward and possess the road. Had his eyes seen what mine did, he would have hesitated; but he knew what he was doing, and believed the regiment would take the road if ordered to do so. Drawing his sword, he in a loud, sharp voice ordered “Right wheel.” The order almost took my breath, as I knew the line of battle in the road within two hundred yards of where I stood would deliver a deadly volley as soon as our men rose, and so did he. I was first lieutenant, and several senior officers were present; but, taking in the situation, I leaped into the road and called the men to follow. The enemy gave our left a direct volley. I ordered a left oblique fire, and struck them square in the flank and in the back. . Their line broke, and as they crossed the road our men who had not gotten in position in time for the first fire now got their work in. Our left suffered terribly, but gained the position. The slaughter, for numbers engaged, was heavy. I could almost walk on the enemy’s dead for one hundred yards without touching the ground. We drove them back, but could not cross the road on account of artillery; but we rendered the battery in our immediate front useless by killing every man who ventured to it. We had it our way for only a short time. As they could not dislodge us from the front, they moved to our left flank two pieces of artillery, planting them three hundred yards away on a knoll, and raked us with grape, canister, and shrapnel for two hours. In this engagement I was shot. The ball lodged in my blanket, making thirty-two holes. I never saw a hotter place, but we stuck to the position, holding it until next day, when we saw the United States flag on the hill at “Marye House.” We fell back that night and joined Gen. Early, marching to Chancellorsville. Next day we were met by Gen. Lee, who had disposed of Hooker, and now came down to pay his respects to Sedgwick. Gen. Early put Col. Terrell again in front with the Thirteenth Virginia as skirmishers “to feel the enemy.” The position they occupied was very strong. We made five distinct charges, and broke their lines every time, but could not hold them. From the plank road leading from Orange C. H. to Fredericksburg, looking northwest, we could see plainly their lines on the hill protected by underbrush. To get to them we had to cross a bottom for fully a quarter of a mile, in the center of which there was a ditch several feet deep and a small stream of water, and on charging across this field the command had to jump this ditch or get down into it on one side and climb up on the other. When we got to this point we received a heavy volley from the enemy on the hill in front, which caused the men to take advantage of the protection thus afforded, and some time was lost in getting them forward. Col. Terrell led the charge, and as we dashed up the hill through the bushes a terrible fire met us from the woods held by the enemy; but on we went until within a few yards of the line, when they broke and fell back, but before we could get into the works another heavy line of skirmishers came up and drove us back. Five distinct charges were made by the regiment, and every time reinforcements came up in time to check us. In the first charge a Federal officer was holding his men to their works by his own reckless courage: standing on the works and urging them to hold on to their position. One of my company was wounded by my side (M. C. Copenhaver, a gallant soldier), and as he fell I took his gun and fired at the officer, who fell either by my shot or some one else’s. As we fell back, Gen. Early sent forward another regiment to relieve the pressure. At the ditch referred to above we rallied, and my orderly sergeant, James W. Legg, an excellent soldier, was killed. I saw the lint fly from his gray coat when the ball struck him, and he fell forward in the ditch. I jumped down and tried to lift him up, but could not. When I got up I was alone, the command having left me, and for fully two hundred and fifty yards I ran, “because I could not fly,” and every jump a bullet struck near me. This is the only time I ever tried to carry a man off the field. It is a wrong principle; better protect your friends by driving the enemy. I had the misfortune to run a ramrod through my hand in trying to load a musket. It was bleeding freely and the Colonel ordered me back to the surgeon. It was a painful wound, but was well in a few days. There was not a better regiment in the army than the Thirteenth Virginia. Gen. Lee said, “It was a splendid body of men;” Gen. Ewell, “It is the only regiment that never fails;” Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, “It always does exactly what I tell it;” Gen. Early, “They can do more hard fighting and be in better plight than any other troops I ever saw.” About 4 P.M., May 30, 1864, the gallant Col. Terrell fell at Cold Harbor. His commission as brigadier general was at Gen. Lee’s headquarters when he fell, and he did not know of this honor; “But his name shall never be forgot While Fame her record keeps, And Glory points the hallowed spot Where Valor proudly sleeps.” The day after the charges referred to, as we were going to camp, an artillery regiment on the roadside, overlooking the position we fought for, and who saw the charges we made, gave us three cheers, and said they regretted that they could not help us, but could not do so without hurting us, as we were too close to the enemy. With such commanders as A. P. Hill, James A. Wheeler, and James B. Terrell, it is not surprising that the regiment stood as it did and received compliments from the commanding generals and others. How the past looms up before me I dream of the army, I hear their martial tread, I dream of those who touched elbows in the charge, I dream of the cause for which we fought; but the Confederate soldier is no dream, the flag under which he marched is no dream. It was real, and the deeds of the Confederate army have been written in blood upon the pages of history, and will stand in golden letters throughout the ages. Time will but brighten and add to its glory, and generations to come will be proud to trace their lineage to the men whose deeds and daring electrified not only a nation but the world.
REF: Confederate Veteran, Nashville, Tenn., |
