Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 9.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

“ [103] attacked by an immense force, and fell after the most gallant and desperate defence.” On the 20th May, 1867, I furnished information about my command to General Lee, at his request, through General Wilcox, and called attention to the fact that “Harris's brigade had been given in print all the credit of that gallant affair, when the honor really belonged to my brigade, Chew's battery, and Walker's supernumerary artillerists, and not to Harris's brigade” --not meaning, of course, that none of Harris's brigade were in the fort, as a copy of Lieutenant Snow's letter accompanied my statement. I afterwards wrote direct to General Lee, enclosed a copy of my last official report and copies of the letters of Lieutenants Snow, Craige, Howard and Rigler (in all of which it is admitted that some of Harris's brigade took part in the defence), and called his attention to the injustice that had been done my command in the articles that had been published. General Lee acknowledged the receipt of my letter with enclosures, and thanked me specially for the copy of my report. Again, on the 19th September, 1867, in an article which appeared in the Richmond Dispatch and Petersburg Index in response to a piece claiming that “the infantry garrison of Fort Gregg was composed entirely of the Mississippi brigade of Harris, Mahone's division,” I made the same statement that I did to Generals Lee and Wilcox. Lastly, in the January No., 1877, of the Southern Historical Society Papers I reiterate my statement, and give copies of the letters of Lieutenants Snow, Craige, Howard and Rigler--all gallant and meritorious young officers. From this it will be readily seen that I did not wait fifteen years in utter silence, and that I and my Lieutenants do not claim for our brigade “all the honors” of the defence of Fort Gregg. So far from it, we admit that Chew's battery, Walker's supernumerary artillerists, some of Harris's brigade, of Mahone's division, and some of Thomas's brigade were in Fort Gregg, and cheerfully accord to all credit for having behaved most gallantly. We deny that “the infantry garrison of Fort Gregg was composed entirely of the Mississippi brigade of Mahone's division.” We deny that the honors of that defence belong exclusively to that brigade of Mahone's division. We claim that the largest part of the infantry which so heroically defended that fort was from our brigade of North Carolinians.

General Wilcox, to whom General Lee ordered General Harris to report on that occasion, says that the infantry force in Fort Gregg was “composed of detachments from Thomas's, Lane's and Harris's brigades; the number from Thomas's brigade, as now remembered, being ”