Would have to surrender.
After going about a hundred yards into the woods
Major Berkeley stopped, saying that he could go no farther and would have to surrender.
He had been shot through the ankle at
Gettysburg, and was never afterwards able to endure much marching.
At the beginning of this day's battle he had sent his horse to the rear, and was not so fortunate as
General Terry to get it back in time to make his escape.
Not being able to make a good run his safety was in surrender.
He released us all from his authority, saying that if we did not wish to surrender we could go. There was an immediate scattering of the head of the regiment, some going down a ravine, and others bearing to the right.
How many tried to escape I do not know.
Only some twenty-five or thirty of our regiment succeeded.
Among these were
Captain John Gray,
Lieutenant John T. James,
Sergeant Thompson Furr, and
Private James Van Horn.
Captain Gray and myself kept close together.
I had held on to my big navy revolver, and we did not mean to surrender to any one or two pursuers.
Our escape was very narrow.
Captain Bichsler was captured when we were in full view of him, not over fifty yards off, according to his statement, and he always wondered why the same fellows did
[
88]
not catch
Gray and myself, for they went right on in our direction.
Twice, as the bullets whistled by us, we stopped to surrender, thinking that the cavalry was upon us, but seeing that they were occupied with stragglers in our rear we pressed on deeper into the forest.
It was our first and last run. We were running, not from Federal cavalry, but from Federal prisons, which we knew were more to be dreaded than battle with
Sheridan's men. It was nearly sundown when we came in sight of
Mahone's Division, drawn up on the ridge which leads to the
High Bridge, near
Farmville.
As we and other stragglers from that day's engagement appeared in sight a body of Confederate cavalry moved out to meet us, and to protect us from further pursuit.
Crossing Sailor's creek on a little bridge we ascended the hill beyond, where
Lee and
Mahone were waiting and watching, and soon were in the bosom of what was left of the Army of Northern Virginia.
