Brigadier-General Ellison Capers, Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States Military History: Volume 5, South Carolina
Clement Anselm Evans, Ed.

[318] engagement, but instead the positions of both armies were changed from day to day, and a part of Kershaw's command fought with success on the 8th, at one time using the bayonet. Repeated and heavy assaults were made on Ewell's corps during the 10th, and on the 11th the two armies confronted each other at Spottsylvania Court House, ready for the awful battle of the 12th of May.

The great struggle over the possession of the ‘bloody angle’ began just before dawn by the successful sweep of the Federal divisions through Gen. Edward Johnson's line of intrenchments, thus threatening the overthrow of Lee's army. The particulars of this fearful encounter, which resulted, after the day's bloody fighting, in the defeat of Grant's purpose, will not be given here, but the part taken by McGowan's brigade deserves special mention. This brigade, stationed far out on the Confederate right, was summoned to action about sunrise, May 12th, and after a march of two miles to the left, was moved at double-quick along Ewell's line. General Rodes, seeing them approach, asked: ‘What troops are these?’ and was answered, ‘McGowan's South Carolina brigade.’ ‘There are no better soldiers in the world,’ was his inspiring reply. Almost immediately the South Carolinians entered the fight, the Twelfth on the right, and the First, Thirteenth, the Rifles and the Fourteenth extending to the left consecutively. At double-quick and with the ‘rebel yell’ they went into the inner line, where McGowan was wounded by a minie ball, and compelled to yield the command to Colonel Brockman, who in turn being quickly disabled by a wound, was succeeded by Col. J. N. Brown.

‘At that time,’ says Col. I. F. Hunt, in his account of the battle, the position of the Thirteenth regiment was in an open field, and about fifty yards in rear of a line of works occupied by Confederate troops (Harris' Mississippians), a position where we could do no good,