more certainly seen than in the reorganization and enlargement of
his army after the battles of Chancellorsville. Within a month
after those battles he had organized the most effective and best
disciplined army he ever had. Longstreet had returned, other
reenforcements had arrived, and when the movement of his army
towards the North was begun, on June 3, 1863, he probably had
seventy-five thousand of all arms. In the reorganization of the
army A. P. Hill had been decided on as a corps commander, and a
major-general to command his division was wanted. On the 20th of
May, two weeks after Chancellorsville, General Lee wrote to Mr.
Davis: "If A. P. Hill is promoted a major-general will be wanted
for his division. Pender is an excellent officer, attentive,
industrious, and brave; has been conspicuous in every battle, and,
I believe, wounded in almost all of them." For a division commander
of A. P. Hill's celebrated "Light Division," no two, or three, or
more, are recommended for the President to choose from, but one,
and that one W. D. Pender. He was appointed Major-General on the
27th May, 1863, and assigned to that division composed of the
brigades of Scales, Lane, Thomas, and McGowan, one week later. He
was the youngest major-general in the Confederate army, being only
twenty-nine years old.
Longstreet and Ewell left their camps during the first week in June,
and arrived with Stuart and all the cavalry at Culpeper on the 8th.
Ewell pushed on, and A. P. Hill, leaving Fredericksburg on the 13th,
where the Federals had remained up to this time, passed Longstreet
and moved on to the Valley of Virginia, Longstreet protecting Hill's
flank by moving himself along the eastern base of the Blue Ridge,
with Stuart and his whole cavalry force in his front to watch the
enemy.
"General Stuart was left to observe the movements of the enemy,
and to impede him as much as possible, should he attempt to cross
the Potomac. In that event, he was directed to move into Maryland,
on right of our column as it advanced." (General Lee's report.)
He, claiming the discretion, went off on a raid toward Washington,
and thereby the enemy was enabled to interpose himself between the
Confederate infantry and cavalry. Ewell, with his corps, advanced as
far as Carlisle, and Longstreet and Hill were at Chambersburg on the
27th June. General Lee, in his official report of the Pennsylvania
campaign, says: "It was expected that as soon as the Federal army
should cross the Potomac General Stuart would give notice of its
movements, and nothing having been heard from him since our entrance
into Maryland, it was inferred that the enemy had not yet left
Virginia. Orders were therefore issued (June 27th) to move on
Harrisburg.
"On the night of the 28th news came through a scout that the Federal
army had crossed the Potomac and the head of the column was at South
Mountain, and this arrested the movement to Harrisburg."
This advance of the enemy threatened General Lee's communications
with Virginia, and he determined to concentrate his army on the east
of the mountains. On the 29th Hill was ordered to Gettysburg, and
Longstreet was to follow next day. Ewell was ordered to Cashtown or
Gettysburg, as circumstances might require. These movements towards
Gettysburg were not so quickly made as they would have been had
the movements of the enemy been known. Pettigrew's Brigade went
to Gettysburg on the morning of the 30th to get provision, but
finding it in the possession of the Federals, returned to Cashtown,
where he rejoined Heth's and united with Pender's Division. Next
morning the divisions of Pender and Heth and two battalions of
artillery advanced to ascertain the strength of the enemy. Heth,
in the lead, found the enemy's videttes three miles from the town,
they having advanced on the Chambersburg road; he drove them, but
was in turn driven back by a superior force. Pender coming up at
this time, the two divisions advanced and engaged the enemy. Rodes
arrived afterwards, about 2:30 P. M., on the Middleburg road, formed
on Pender's left, at right angles, and Early coming up on the
Heidlersburg road, formed quickly on Rodes' left, when a general
advance was made, and the enemy gave way everywhere. The success was
complete. Of General Pender's part in this battle another extract
from the letter of General Lewis will be used: "While we were being
placed in line on a hill to join on Pender's left, his division
drove the enemy from the woods on Seminary Ridge and across the
open field about one-third of a mile wide and three-quarters long.
The enemy then reformed behind Seminary Ridge and, with unlimited
artillery, made a gallant stand, but Pender's 'Light Division,'
with unbroken ranks, drove them from this strong position just as
we advanced to his assistance. General Pender deserves the entire
credit of the victory of the battle of the first day at Gettysburg."
On the morning of the 2d of July Longstreet, with his corps, except
Pickett, who had not arrived, was on the Confederate right, with the
Federals on Round Top and the adjacent hills in front; Ewell with
his corps in front of Culp's Hill and the north front of Cemetery
Hill, and A. P. Hill in the center, along the western front of
Cemetery Hill. Anderson's Division was the right of Hill's line,
Pender's the left, and Heth's a little in rear, in reserve. At about
5 o'clock in the afternoon Longstreet attacked the Federal left on
Round Top. Hill and Ewell were ordered to make feints to prevent
Federal troops from being withdrawn from their fronts to reinforce
the left, but to attack, if opportunity offered. It was during this
attack of Longstreet that General Pender received the wound which
resulted in his death. Anderson's Division was ordered in to support
Longstreet. Just before the advance was begun, General Pender and
his Adjutant-General, Major Joseph A. Engelhard, and General W. G.
Lewis, who was then Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-third North
Carolina Regiment, were on the extreme left of Pender's line,
engaged in a friendly talk, sitting on a large granite boulder, when
suddenly the enemy's artillery opened upon our right. Immediately
General Pender turned to Major Engelhard, and said: "Major, this
indicates an assault, and we will ride down our line."
In Major Engelhard's official report of this we find this account:
"Late in the afternoon, during the attack of Longstreet and a part
of Anderson's Division, General Pender having ridden to the extreme
right to advance his division, did the opportunity occur, received a
severe wound in the leg from a fragment of a shell."
A little later, on this same afternoon, at another part of the
field where Colonel I. E. Avery (brother of Justice A. C. Avery of
our Supreme Court), led the brigade of that distinguished soldier,
General R. F. Hoke, who was absent on account of a wound received at
Fredericksburg, could be seen the Sixth North Carolina (Pender's old
regiment), under the command of Colonel Tate, now State Treasurer,
climbing the east front of Cemetery Hill under a furious storm of
shot and shell. The hill and its fortifications were taken, and the
proud flag of the old regiment floated above the captured works,
but the brave and gifted Avery yielded here his soul to God and his
life to his country. In a plain plank box this hero was placed by
old Elijah, his colored servant, and by him brought along with the
army on its retreat from the place where he fell, in a wagon as
plain as the coffin. The old man was seen every day on that long,
weary march, enduring and suffering, but still devoted in his pious
attentions; and his labors ended only when he had delivered his
precious burden to the tender care of loved ones near the banks of
the Potomac.
On the retreat of the Confederates from Gettysburg, General Pender
took ambulance and set out for Staunton, the nearest railroad
connection. Upon reaching that place a hemorrhage from his wound of
an alarming character occurred. It was stayed, improvement followed,
and the hopes of his friends were reassured; but in a few days, the
hemorrhage recurring, the surgeons determined to amputate the limb.
The operation was performed on the 18th of July. He survived it only
a few hours. Just before the operation he said to his brother: "Tell
my wife that I do not fear to die. I can confidently resign my soul
to God, trusting in the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. My only
regret is to leave her and our children. I have always tried to do
my duty in every sphere of life in which Providence has placed me."
The body was taken to Tarboro, North Carolina, and buried in the
beautiful grounds around Calvary church. He was a member of the
Episcopal communion, having been received as a comunicant by
confirmation at the hands of Bishop Johns, in St. John's Church,
Richmond, Va., he having ridden quietly into the city at night for
that purpose.
His death was a great public calamity. He combined every quality
of the ideal soldier: courage, the power to control men, quickness
of perception, readiness of decision, strong sense of justice, and
modesty that excelled all. With the exception of his great commander
he had no superior in the Army of Northern Virginia.
In the letter of General Lewis, heretofore referred to, occurs this
sentence: "It was reported, and firmly believed throughout the
Army of Northern Virginia, that General Lee had said that General
Pender was the only officer in his army that could fill the place of
Stonewall Jackson."
Whether General Lee ever expressed himself in this language may not
be proved, yet it is superlative praise to have the Army of Northern
Virginia believe it to be so, and to hand it down as a tradition. As
some proof of this alleged declaration of General Lee, it will be
appropriate to introduce some testimony from General G. C. Wharton.
It is in the shape of an extract from a letter written from Radford,
Va., on September 5, 1893, to James M. Norfleet, Esq., of Tarboro:
"General Lee was preparing and about giving orders for the removal
of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Valley of the Shenandoah
(between Winchester and the Potomac) to the vicinity of Orange Court
House. As my command was in good condition, not having been in the
forced marches, nor in the battle of Gettysburg, General Lee decided
to leave my command, with some cavalry, temporarily to protect his
rear until his main force should cross the Blue Ridge at Manassas
and other gaps and be well on the march to the Rapidan Valley.
My orders were that after the army had crossed the Blue Ridge,
unless too much pressed by the enemy, I was to retire slowly up the
Shenandoah Valley, cross the Blue Ridge at Brown's or Williams' Gap,
and rejoin the army (via Madison Court House) at or near Orange
Court House. After explaining his wishes and giving the necessary
orders, I was about leaving General Lee's headquarters, when General
A. P. Hill, an old friend and schoolmate, rode up. After the usual
salutations, we entered into a general conversation in regard to
the movement of the troops and the result of the recent campaign
in Maryland and Pennsylvania, specially in regard to the ill-fated
battle of Gettysburg. In the course of conversation, General Lee
said, with sadness: 'I ought not to have fought the battle at
Gettysburg; it was a mistake.' Then, after a short hesitation, he
added: 'But the stakes were so great I was compelled to play; for
had we succeeded Harrisburg, Baltimore, and Washington were in our
hands; and,' (with emphasis) 'we would have succeeded had Pender
lived.'" In General Lee's first report, 30th of July, 1863, of
the battle of Gettysburg, he refers at length to the services of
General Pender and his death, and in terms of higher praise than
can be found, after diligent search amongst his official reports
of battles, than he used concerning any of his fallen subordinates
except General Jackson. In this report he says: "General Pender
has since died. This lamented officer has borne a distinguished
part in every engagement of this army, and was wounded on several
occasions while leading his command with conspicuous gallantry and
ability. The confidence and admiration inspired by his courage and
capacity as an officer were only equaled by the esteem and respect
entertained by all with whom he was associated for the noble
qualities of his modest and unassuming character."
General A. P. Hill, in his official report of the battle of the
second day, says: "On this day, also, the Confederacy lost the
invaluable services of Major-General W. D. Pender, wounded by a
shell, and since dead. No man fell during this bloody battle of
Gettysburg more regretted than he, nor around whose youthful brow
were clustered brighter rays of glory."
General Pender undoubtedly made a great and lasting impression on
General Lee. Six months after his first report of the battle of
Gettysburg he made a full and complete one. Of course he thought
well of what was to be his final report of this battle. In it
he expressed himself in language concerning General Pender more
complimentary, if possible, than that used in his first report. Here
it is: "The loss of Major-General Pender is severely felt by the
army and the country. He served with this army from the beginning
of the war, and took a distinguished part in all its engagements.
Wounded on several occasions, he never left his command in action
until he received the injury that resulted in his death. His promise
and usefulness as an officer were only equaled by the purity and
excellence of his private life."
There is no need for further panegyric.
General Pender did not think his wound a mortal one when he received
it, nor did his friends. His commissary, Major D. T. Carraway,
saw him in the ambulance, and, though suffering from the wound, he
particularly inquired about the quantity of commissary supplies
on hand, and about the condition and comfort of his soldiers as
minutely as when he was well. He knew, though, that his wound was a
serious one, and would be long in healing; he therefore turned his
face from the field of carnage and was driven towards the South.
Ah! we know where his thoughts were then. Though as brave as the
lion, he was yet as gentle as the lamb. He had often heard the wild
shouts of his fierce soldiery as he led them, with colors in his
own hands, over fields red with slaughter, and he had also, in the
beautiful summer days gone by, romped and played with his little
children over field and meadow and in grassy lawn, while the wife
and mother looked on with beaming face. But now, sorely wounded
and helpless, his heart turned toward her, toward her who was more
precious to him than fame, and battle, and glory.
"God bless all good women--to their soft hands and pitying hearts we
must all come at last."
* * * * *
Judge Montgomery has portrayed the character of one of the ablest
soldiers and most attractive men that the Civil War developed. It
is well that this duty fell on him to whom it was a labor of love,
who appreciated the value of Pender's life, and depended upon facts
rather than rhetoric to fix his place in history and in the hearts
of his grateful countrymen.
The remarks on the difficulties under which the South labored,
appropriate in his Memorial Address, delivered May 10, 1894 (of
which the foregoing sketch forms the main part), and well considered
in themselves, are not essential to the sketch here presented, and
are therefore omitted.
[Illustration: STEPHEN D. RAMSEUR.]
STEPHEN D. RAMSEUR.
BY WM. R. COX.
Stephen Dodson Ramseur, the second child of Jacob A. and Lucy M.
Ramseur, had Revolutionary blood in his veins through John Wilfong,
a hero who was wounded at King's Mountain and fought at Eutaw
Springs. He was born in Lincolnton the 31st day of May, 1837. His
surroundings were well calculated to promote a well developed
character and a strong, self-relying manhood. His parents were
members of the Presbyterian Church and did not neglect to see
their son properly instructed in its religious tenets. They were
possessed of ample means for their section, and gave to him the
best advantages of social and intellectual improvement without his
being exposed to the "devices and snares of the outer world." To the
strong and beautiful character of his mother, Ramseur is said to
have been indebted for the greater part of his success in life. In
preparing the life of Dr. Thornwell, Rev. Dr. Palmer has asserted
a truth which may be classed as a proverb: "The pages of history
will be searched in vain for a great man who had a fool for his
mother." In writing of her, the Hon. David Schenck, who married
Sallie Wilfong, her second daughter, says: "As a young lady she was
said to have been beautiful and attractive. I knew her intimately
from 1849 to her death. She was a woman of great force of character.
To a judgment clear and firm she united gentleness, tenderness and
sympathy. Her manners were easy and courteous and fascinating. She
was an active and devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, and
brought up her children in the teachings of the shorter catechism
from their early youth. It was to her that General Ramseur owed the
mental and moral foundations of his character." He received his
preparatory training in the schools of Lincolnton and Milton; thence
he matriculated at Davidson College, entered the freshman class and
passed eighteen months at this institution. He early displayed
that decision of character and force of will which distinguished
him in after life. He had an ardent longing for a military career,
and though disappointed in his efforts to secure an appointment
as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, he was not cast
down. Through the aid of General D. H. Hill, then a professor at
Davidson, his second application was successful. He was given his
appointment to the Academy by that sturdy old Roman, Hon. Burton
Craige, who before the days of rotation in office was long an able
and distinguished member of Congress from our State. Ramseur spent
the usual term of five years at the Academy and was graduated with
distinction in the class of 1860. Among his classmates of national
reputation were General James H. Wilson and General Merritt, Colonel
Wilson, Commandant at United States Military Academy, and Colonel A.
C. M. Pennington.