We had scarcely emerged from the woods and began to advance down the
hill, when Gen. Cooke, in command of the brigade, was shot and fell
from his horse severely wounded. Col. Gilmer, in command of our
regiment, was shot down about the same moment. The command of the
brigade now devolved upon Col. Hall, of the 46th N.C. regiment, and
the command of our regiment fell upon Lieut.-Col. Whitfield. We were
now suffering from the terrific fire of the enemy's artillery posted
in the thickets on the elevation beyond the railroad, and from the
murderous fire of their infantry in safe position behind the
embankment. Col. Whitfield seeing that our entire force would soon be
annihilated by the concentrated fire of the enemy, reported to Col.
Hall that the brigade must either retreat or make a charge. Col. Hall
thought a charge was the best to be done, and Col. Whitfield gave the
order to advance. In a moment we were double-quicking down the hill,
our men falling at every step. When we came to within a few yards of
the railroad, the enemy rose up from behind the embankment and poured
a volley into our ranks which almost swept the remnant of us out of
existence. At this juncture some of our company sought shelter in a
little shanty on our left, where they were afterwards captured by the
enemy. Col. Whitfield was now shot down, and Major Webb assumed the
command. In our perilous condition but two courses were open, either
to surrender or to take our chance in a retreat up the hill, the
descent of which had been so disastrous. Major Webb chose the latter
and gave the order to fall back.
During our advance our colors were cut down three times. The third
time they were caught up by corporal William C. Story, of the Grays,
on the color-guard, and carried by him during the rest of the fight.
For his gallantry upon this occasion he was complimented in special
orders, and was afterwards appointed ensign of the regiment, with the
rank of lieutenant. The cause of the war may be forgotten, but the
achievements of each soldier are the common property and common glory
of the country, and are imperishable. The calm and cool courage
displayed by this young lad of Guilford, who bore so well the brunt of
this hard-fought field is worthy of the heroes who fell at Culloden.
He bore the flag of his country's trust until the surrender. He
returned to his home broken down in health, and in a few months
surrendered to his last enemy--Death! In the quiet church yard at
Tabernacle, in the southeastern part of Guilford, Story sleeps near
those who loved him. In this consecrated spot may memory come to
embalm his name, and love bedew with her fondest tears the turf which
wraps his clay.
We continued to fall back, under a continuous deadly fire, until we
had passed the brow of the hill, and were under shelter.
"They that had fought so well
Came back from the mouth of Hell--
All that was left of them."
During the night the enemy continued their retreat toward Centreville.
We, with litters and canteens of water, repaired to the battle-field
to care for our wounded, where "Death wagged his slim jaws gleefully
over his feast," and gorged himself with many more victims ere the
dawn of the 15th.
The Grays went into this battle with three commissioned officers, four
Sergeants, four Corporals, and fifty-two privates.
Killed: First Lieutenant John H. McKnight; privates John Cannady,
Henry Crider, and John T. Sockwell were killed on the field.
Wounded: Capt. John A. Sloan, Corporal C. W. Stratford, Sergeant Chas.
A. Campbell; privates Emsley F. Shuler, W. Burnsides, Henry G. Coble,
Lewis N. Isley, Wm. D. Dennis, L. L. Lineberry, J. W. McDowell, Robt.
B. McLean, William May, Cyrus Crowson, A. L. Orrell, Rufus B. Gibson,
Samuel Gray, R. S. Smith, W. M. Summers, were wounded. Sergeant E. M.
Crowson was wounded, taken prisoner, and died of his wounds at Point
Lookout, Jan. 23, 1864. Private H. Rufus Forbis died of his wounds at
Richmond, Oct. 27, 1863. Joseph E. Rankin died of wounds, October 24.
W. F. Hunter died of his wounds, Nov. 7, and John W. McNairy lost a
leg.
Prisoners: Sergeant W. U. Steiner (wounded and captured); privates H.
M. Boon, Paul Crutchfield, Jno. Coltrain, Geo. W. Lemons, James M.
Marsh, James A. Orrell, Wilbur F. Owen, Jas. R. Pearce, Andrew L.
Stanley, Paisley Sheppard, T. M. Woodburn, R. B. Worrell, Geo. H.
Woolen, Thos. R. Greeson, and Jas. L. Wilson were captured and carried
to Point Lookout.
Walter Greene, who was detached as courier to Gen. Cooke, was shot
from his horse, and severely but not seriously wounded.
Sergeant-Major Robert D. Weatherly was mortally wounded, and died of
his wounds in Richmond, October 24, 1863. He served in the ranks of
the Grays from their organization as private and corporal, until the
21st of March, when he received the appointment of Sergeant-Major of
our regiment. Bob was a noble boy, and bravest of the brave. Fear was
no word in his vocabulary. He was always at his post, and though
slight in stature, his form was ever seen in the thickest of the
fight. His remains were carried to Greensboro, and buried in the
Presbyterian church-yard.
John H. McKnight, at the outbreak of the war, was quietly pursuing his
studies at Trinity College. When we received our orders to go to Fort
Macon, he left his books and joined his company at the depot, on the
night of the 19th of April, 1861, and served as private, corporal, and
sergeant until September 17th, when he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
He fell at Bristoe mortally wounded, foremost in the charge; was left
on the field, and captured by the enemy. On the morning of the 15th,
we found his body in the thicket beyond the railroad, where the enemy
had left him to die. Here we buried him. His remains were afterwards
removed, and interred in the cemetery at Greensboro.
These two noble boys sleep among their loved ones, where, each
returning spring, loving hands may plant the flowers which speak of
the resurrection of the true and just, and of the land where eternal
summer reigns.
"May young April o'er their lowly mounds
Shake the violets from her hair,
And glorious June with fervid kiss
Ever bid the roses blossom there."
A worse-managed affair than this fight at Bristoe Station did not take
place during the war. With the rest of our corps in the rear, at a
moment's call, Cooke's and Kirkland's North Carolina brigades were
made to fight this battle alone. President Davis characterized it "as
a rash and ill-conducted affair." Col. Taylor says that "too few of
our corps was engaged; it was unpardonable mismanagement, and there
was no earthly excuse for it." Gen. Lee said to the officer who
essayed to explain to him this occurrence: "Bury your _poor dead_,
and say nothing more about it."
This terminated Gen. Lee's attempt to bring on a pitched battle with
Gen. Meade.
On the following day we were busy burying our dead. Our wounded were
all cared for, and sent off in ambulances and wagons. On the 16th, we
were employed in destroying the railroad track, which we did most
effectually, as far down as Rappahannock Station. On the 19th, we
crossed the Rappahannock River, went into camp, and remained until the
6th of November.
On the 7th, our forces met with another surprise at Kelley's Ford, on
the Rappahannock River, which resulted in the loss of several hundred
of our men and some few pieces of artillery. The loss of this position
made it necessary to abandon the design of our making an attack, and
on the 9th we were withdrawn to near Culpepper Court-House; at night
we fell back across Robertson River. This position not being regarded
as favorable, we returned to the south side of the Rapidan on the
following night. We picketed along this river, above Rapidan Station,
until the 26th of November.
At this time, the army under Gen. Meade crossed the Rapidan, and we
were busy getting ready for a counter-move, as he was supposed to be
moving down the river. At the dawn of day, on the 27th, we were on our
way to meet Meade's army. The weather was intensely cold, and our men
suffered greatly.
We proceeded to advance towards Fredericksburg. In the evening we met
the enemy, and had quite a skirmish, losing several men from the
regiment. On Saturday, a position was selected on the line of Mine
Run, and in a short while we were strongly entrenched, and anxious for
the enemy to attack us. On Monday, the 30th, the enemy being in our
immediate front, we certainly expected an attack. They were found to
be busily entrenching, also, and Tuesday passed without any
demonstration.
As Gen. Meade seemed reluctant to bring on an engagement, Gen. Lee
determined to assail him; consequently, during the night, he made
necessary arrangements for a grand battle. When dawn broke over the
hills on the morning of the 2d of December, Meade's camps were found
deserted, and his army fast making their way back to the river. We
immediately made pursuit, but he had too much the start and reached
the north side of the Rapidan before we could overtake him. Both
armies then retired to their original positions on the Rapidan. We
returned to our winter quarters which we had prepared, about 3-1/2
miles south-east from Orange C.H. We were then, in turn, employed
in picketing along the Rapidan until the 4th of February, when we
were relieved by Kirkland's North Carolina brigade, and we again
sought shelter in our log cabins.