Diary of a Confederate officer.
Wednesday, May 4, 1864.--Received orders at 2:15 P. M., to move by plank-road to front.
Enemy reported crossing at Ely's Ford, near
Chancellorsville.
Camped two miles below
Orange Court-house, marching thirteen miles, at a very rapid rate, over a good plank-road, which has been repaired to
Unionville.
Thursday, 5th.--Moved, at sunrise, down to
Mine Run, at
Verdiersville, reaching there at half past 10
A. M. Stopped to graze and water.
Sent
Captain D. to Morton's Ford to report to
General Ramseur, taking two wagons with him. Firing on our right, probably at plank-road.
Grant crossed, May 4, 1864, at Ely's and Germania Fords.
Cavalry fighting near the river.
Infantry fighting commenced.
Marched twelve miles.
Friday, 6th.--
Colonel John Thompson Brown, formerly
Colonel of the First Virginia Artillery, was killed by one of the enemy's sharpshooters to-day, at ten A. M., while examining for position between plank-road and the turnpike, three miles below
Locust Grove.
Moved up this day (weather very hot), to
Locust Grove, Armed the cannoneers with muskets, to resist cavalry.
Heavy fighting along our line.
Enemy frequently repulsed.
Saturday, 7th.--Moved up near line of battle on turnpike.
Put
Captain D. in position on turnpike; rode along our picket lines; fired upon by sharpshooters; moved off, after dark, with all the batteries, as we ascertained, that though we had whipped
Grant badly on the fifth and sixth, he — was moving toward
Richmond.
Stopped at
Verdiersville, near
Colonel N., who had used most of the artillery engaged in this corps — his battalion alone being in.
Sunday, 8th.--About one P. M. moved toward Anticon Church, on
Terry's Creek of
North Anna, and camped on
Po river, near Shady Grove Church-thirteen miles.
Monday, 9th.--Moved on to
Spottsylvania New Court-house.
Fighting yesterday and today at Court-house.
We got between
Grant and
Richmond.
Marched seven miles.
Tuesday, 10th.--At sunrise, put
Captain S. in position in
Daniels' brigade, and
Captain J. in position in
Ramseur's line.
Captain D. in reserve, but near;
Captain G. in reserve, near Court-house.
Captain S. was about three hundred yards from a dense pine thicket, with an open field between, and our skirmishers from
Dole's brigade being driven back to the rifle pits, we were much annoyed at S.'s guns by sharpshooters.
Several were wounded.
Went up to the right, at
Major General Johnston's, who was to the right of
Rodes.
While there the
Yankees charged.
Captain D. was changing position, being relieved by
Captain M. (
Nelson's battalion) at the time.
M.'s men showed good spirit but fired badly.
About four P. M. went to
Longstreet's line, and saw the charges made by
Grant's men on our left.
Seven heavy charges made and repulsed.
Just before dark they charged the right of
Rode's division and broke
Dole's brigade, about one hundred yards to the right of S.'s battery.
S. and his men acted very gallantly, firing their guns after the
Yankees were in their rear.
Major David Walton was with this battery.
I was on the left, with Captain J. The
Yankees came in the rear and right of S.'s battery, capturing the guns, as well as
Captain S. and nineteen men — wounding seventeen.
Ramseur charged by the right flank.
I called out to
Lieutenant R. to get some of S.'s men, who had got off, and come up with me to S.'s guns, and we would work them, when re-captured.
Advanced with the head of the column, calling out constantly to our reinforcements, who were coming in without any order, and not knowing where to go, “by the right flank, men!”
Stopped at S.'s fourth gun, a Napoleon, which I loaded with canister, and
Lieutenant R. fired it. After firing seven or eight rounds, I found some of the cannoneers had returned.
Told
Lieutenant R. to work the
Napoleon, and I would work another of the pieces.
Got three infantry men to put down
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their muskets and help me work a three-inch rifle.
The dead were so thick around the other
Napoleon we could not work it. The
Yankees were firing at us from behind our breastworks, on the right, and from pens put up by ambulance men, about sixty yards to our right.
This furious musketry continued for one hour and a half or two hours. W., standing by me, had his arm shot through.
Took the lanyard from him and gave it to another man. L. was shot on the top of the head and scalped, but not killed.
Saw
Colonel P. leading in a column of infantry.
Ran and asked him to send me up the first cannoneers he could find at a reserve battery He sent
Garber's. From this fact a misapprehension arose that S. and his men had abandoned their guns.
But I know they acted well.
General Daniels complimented them very highly.
Major David Watson escaped by jumping over in front and going over to J.'s battery, when S.'s was captured.
He returned and assisted
Lieutenant R. to work his
Napoleon, and was mortally wounded, being shot through the bowels and pelvis.
I was very much exhausted, working the guns and serving ammunition.
Fired very rapidly and got the guns very hot. Sometimes had to cease firing, and take my men all back to the caissons to search for ammunition.
Much of the time had only three men, and an infantry man to sit behind the breastworks and hold friction primers for us, as the implements were gone, and we had to find the extra implements that were necessary.
Our works, about thirty yards to the right, had a second line run back to the rear about eighty yards long, to protect the hollow through which the
Yankees broke in. When our men from
Ramseur's brigade and the left advanced down our works to the right they stopped at this offset, and allowed the
Yankees to hold our works until charged by
Johnson and
Gordon, later at night.
The occupation of this offset made it very difficult for us to fire upon the
Yankees behind our line without striking our men on the offset, and the blast from the nearest gun on my left, being pointed very obliquely to the right, blew off my hat twice, and seemed as if it would blow off my head.
Shots passed through the leg of my pantaloons, the right arm of my coat and right breast of my coat; another struck my spy-glass in my
sack coat pocket, which, resting at the time against my thigh, made me think for a moment that my thigh was broken.
After recovering from the shock, went back to working the gun. Had nine bullet holes in my clothes this night.
Surely I should praise God for his mercy.
For one hour and a half the
Yankee infantry, at sixty yards distance, behind breastworks, tried to silence these gnns, and I was standing up all this time except when fusing shell.
The
Yankees also brought up a battery, six hundred or eight hundred yards in our front, and fired upon us during this time.
General Lee rode up to my battalion next morning, saluted me by raising his hat, pulled off his gauntlet, and shook hands with me, thanking me for my “gallantry and coolness,” as he was pleased to say. I represented to him in proper light the good conduct of S. and his men, telling him forty men were put out of action in that company alone, and twenty-two horses.
Four hundred Yankees were killed in our lines in this assault.
A colonel and about twenty men were killed very near S.'s guns.
They held the outer rifle-pits or breastworks for about two hours, until driven out by
Gordon, commanding
Early's division.
General Johnson drove them to the breastworks by charging through the woods.
Generals Ramseur,
Rhodes,
Gordon, and
Johnson charged at the head of their troops, I know.
General Ewell also led a charge.
Wednesday, 11th--Day comparatively quiet.
Just before dark,
Colonel C. informed me that
General Long had ordered all the guns out at dark.
I informed
General Ramseur, and went over to
General Lee's headquarters to find
General Long.
He (
General Lee) told me he did not intend for the guns to be brought out until the troops left.
I then sent word back to
General Ramseur and
Captains D., J., and G., not to move until the troops moved, but the orders for N., P., and C. were not changed, and all moved out that night, and left the troops on
Johnson's line without artilllery.
[This was the cause of the disaster which happened next morning to
Johnson's division.--Editor.] Just at night
General Ramseur had a report from
Major O., commanding his sharpshooters, that the enemy were using axes in our front.
Thursday, May 12--Morning foggy.
At daybreak,
Grant charged over our lines, at
Dole's position, capturing eight guns of
Cutshaw's and twelve of
Page's, just going into position, from which they had moved the night before.
Page lost his horses and men,
Cutshaw did not lose his horses.
I had been at my wagons, which were with
Captain Graham's battery that night, (the eleventh) and had received orders to put
Graham in position, as we heard heavy cheers and no artillery firing on our side.
I was told by
Major Venable to open fire from about the
Court-house.
Went over to see
Lieutenant-Colonel Pegram, who opened fire as directed by Enable.
The enemy charged from
Dole's on
Wilcox's lines.
Our men fought well.
Wilcox drove the enemy three hundred yards in front of our breastworks.
Edward Johnson was captured and his men scattered badly.
Loss heavy.
Our lines were drawn in to throw out the point which had been occupied by
Johnson.
This was a ridge making off from the main ridge on which the
Court-house is situated, and made a weak point in our lines, as it could be occupied by
Grant if we left it out of our lines, while, if we took it in, it was scarcely tenable against a heavy assault directed upon
Dole.
The artillery having been removed, it was indefensible.
We held our new line.
The
Yankees shelled furiously.
Started to go round to that part of our line to see how matters were progressing.
In the orchard, just back of
General Lee's headquarters, I was struck on the collar-bone and
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shoulder by a fragment of shell, which disabled me. The infantry firing had lulled, and we had repulsed the enemy.
This was about ten o'clock in the morning.
The
Yankees had cut off
General Edward Johnson's division, capturing him, and probably most of his men, but were unable to penetrate our lines at any other point, or to break the line which was established after
Johnson's was broken.
