General Anderson’s first visit was to General R. E. Lee, who was
at dinner, and insisted on our dining with him. It was the most
uncomfortable meal that I ever had in my life. General Lee was fond
of quizzing young officers, and my frame of mind can be imagined
when General Lee spoke to me in this way: “Mr. Dawson, will you
take some of this bacon? I fear that it is not very good, but I
trust that you will excuse that. John! give Mr. Dawson some water;
I pray pardon me for giving you this cup. Our table service is not
as complete as it should be. May I give you some bread? I fear it
is not well baked, but I hope you will not mind that,” &c., &c.,
&c.; while my cheeks were red and my ears were tingling, and I
wished myself anywhere else than at General Lee’s head-quarters.
On September 28th, General Anderson was ordered to move to the
North side of the James River and assume command there. Early the
next morning he and his staff and couriers set out for Chaffin’s
Bluff. We had ridden some miles when a courier came up in a
condition of desperate excitement, and told us that the enemy in
great force had attacked the works on the North side of the river,
near Chaffin’s Bluff, had captured Battery Harrison, and were
probably by this time in Richmond. Sending him on to General Lee’s
head-quarters, we put spurs to our horses and rode at a gallop
to the river, where we crossed the pontoon bridge and found the
condition of affairs almost as bad as had been described. Nothing
but want of dash on the part of the enemy had prevented them from
taking Richmond. The lines had been held by four or five hundred
men of our command, with a small number of the Home Guard from
Richmond, and when the enemy had taken Battery Harrison the roads
were open to them and they had nothing to do but march right into
the Confederate Capital. Fortunately for us, they believed us to
be much stronger than we were and waited for reinforcements. Only
one hundred and fifty men occupied Battery Harrison when it was
attacked. In the afternoon Laws’ Brigade came to our assistance,
and with Gregg and Benning repulsed a desperate attack made by the
enemy on Battery Gilmer. Here we saw that colored troops could be
made to fight for one dash at all events. They came right up to the
fort very resolutely, but, encountering an obstinate resistance,
they gave way completely and took refuge in the ditch, where they
were easily disposed of. It was just the sort of fight that any one
would like. Shells with the fuses cut to a half second were thrown
into the ditch and played havoc with the terror-stricken negroes.
The next morning, September 30th, General Lee having obtained
reinforcements, an effort was made to retake Battery Harrison. The
attack was not well arranged apparently, and failed completely. A
new defensive line was therefore taken up and fortified, and the
enemy were left to make the most of their barren conquest.
There was no fighting of much importance after this until October
7th, when we made an attempt to turn the enemy’s right and drive
him back to the river. At first the movement was completely
successful and we captured nine pieces of artillery and some
prisoners, but when we struck the enemy in position near the
New Market Road we were repulsed and General Gregg was killed.
It was on this day, unless I am mistaken, that, in a cavalry
charge, Colonel A. C. Haskell, of the Seventh S. C. Cavalry, was
desperately wounded, and for a time in the hands of the enemy.
Volunteers were called for to make a charge and recover the body,
and one of these volunteers was C. S. McCall, of Bennettsville, who
is now State Senator from Marlboro’ County, in this State, and as
gallant a soldier and as good a fellow as we had in the army. There
was a touching incident this day when Gregg’s Brigade had been
repulsed and Gregg had fallen mortally wounded. General Lee, with
General Anderson and a number of officers, was watching the attack,
when a boy apparently about eighteen or nineteen years old, his
uniform dabbled with blood and his arms hanging limp by his sides,
came up to General Lee, and nodding to him said: “General! if you
don’t send some more men down there, our boys will get hurt sure.”
General Lee asked him if he was wounded. “Yes, sir,” he replied.
“Where are you wounded?” asked General Lee. “I am shot through both
arms, General; but I don’t mind that General! I want you to send
some more men down there to help our boys.” General Lee told him
that he would attend to it, and directed one of his staff officers
to take charge of this poor boy and see that he was properly cared
for.
In a letter which I wrote to England about this time, I gave the
price of different articles in Confederate money: a pair of cavalry
boots $350; coffee $15 a pound; sugar $10 a pound; a linen collar
$5; a pocket handkerchief $10; Richmond papers 50 cents each;
tobacco, which two years before was 25 and 30 cents a pound, was
selling at $8 or $9 a pound. For the making of a pair of trowsers I
paid $100.