hours. About eight or nine o'clock, Gen. McGowan ordered his staff to horse, and directed us to cause the regiment to get under arms. It appeared that our brigade and Gracie's brigade, of Johnson's division, now commanded by Col. of that brigade, were to move out of the works, strike the flank of the enemy, and roll them back across Gravelly run, and even beyond Hatcher's run, if possible. Brig. Gen. Wise, of Johnson's division, was referred to as authority on the topography of the country, and, accordingly, Gen. McGowan consulted him. He gave us a map of the place, by which we learned that the White Oak road, which passed through the works on our right, would bring us to the end of the Federal line. Here we might form at right-angles with their line, attack them in flank, and, pursuing an almost direct southerly route, cross Gravelly run at the distance of a mile from the point of original attack. Hatcher's run ran quite parallel with Gravelly run, and was about a mile north of it here. The course of both streams was southeast. Gen. McGowan was placed in command of the two brigades which constituted the expedition, as senior brigadier.

This gave Col. Brown, of the Fourteenth regiment, command of our brigade. Col. McCreary commanded the First regiment, Capt. Kerr the Twelfth, Col. Hunt the Thirteenth, Lieut. Col. Croft the Fourteenth, and Col. Miller Orr's regiment of Rifles. The battalion of sharpshooters was left on picket.

We moved out of the works partly by the road, partly through the woods, when the road would have brought us into the enemy's view, and, finding Gracie's brigade nearly opposite the end of the Federal line, halted and dressed. Gen. McGowan had, during this time, gone with Gen. Johnson to reconnoitre the Federal position. I joined him, and we soon saw the end of his line and the disposition of it. The point from which we viewed them was that most favorable for attack; for although it was not quite on their flank, it would enable us to strike them at but little more than a right angle; it was within two hundred yards of their line, and a dense body of woods completely covered our approach from the position now occupied by the brigade. The Federal skirmishers lay just before us, in

works formed of rails, and seemed unexpectant of attack. Their line of battle was farther back.

We returned to the two brigades to move them up to the point just described, but, just as they got in motion, a rapid fire of skirmishers sprang up in front, and some cheering. There was no reason to doubt that the enemy were advancing, and there was equally little room to doubt that we should not have time to reach the desired position before being attacked. The two brigades were ordered in

at once.

The circumstances were not very favorable. Gracie's brigade had to advance through an open field completely commanded by the enemy's infantry, and we had to pass through a close, tangled mass of woods, where it was scarcely possible to preserve a line. But we moved forward, cheering loudly. McGowan's brigade, it will be remembered, was on the right. Our right regiment was the First, next it was the Twelfth, next it the Thirteenth, then the Fourteenth, then the Rifles. We had, probably, a thousand men in the brigade. We were a good deal delayed in the woods attempting to preserve the line; and this fact, with that of the clear, raking fire upon Hunter' brigade, caused them to sway rather awkwardly for a few minutes. But we drove through the woods, moved upon the Federal skirmishers, broke and' routed them, and, swinging round the right of the brigade, so as to enfilade the Federal line, poured such volleys of musketry along their ranks as speedily set them flying along the whole line confronting Gracie's brigade. The sun now burst forth with splendor, and seemed to lend us his auspices. We cheered continuously, and followed up the retreating enemy, firing the most accurate volleys, and preserving the most perfect order I ever witnessed in a charge. It need not be understood that the enemy fled and gave us an open field. On the contrary, they contested almost every foot of ground, by either sending in new troops or falling back a space and rallying to fresh resistance. But they wasted many a life in the effort to check us. They might oppose some effectual barrier to the unaided advance of the left of the Confederate force, but soon the right of our brigade would swing upon the flank and roll them back with slaughter.

Sometimes a hill-side or a thicket would deceive the enemy into making an obstinate stand, but when we broke them, they left men enough to mark their line. I have no idea that the brigade ever killed more men, even in the most sanguinary engagements, than it did this day. Our loss was slight, the furious volleys of the enemy generally passing overhead.

So we continued to move, driving every thing before us, shooting large numbers of men, yet never hurrying beyond common time, and maintaining an alignment that would have reflected credit on us at drill. We had no provost-guard by which to force reluctant men to duty, but every one appeared to so fully appreciate his duty, and so enjoy our success, that there was no lagging and no halfperformed service. The advance was kept up for about a mile, across a broken country of fields, pine-thickets and marshes, until we had pressed back a whole corps of the enemy upon Gravelly run. We had achieved a brilliant success, not only in the rout of such greatly superior numbers, but also in the manner of performance. When we reached the last position of the enemy at Gravelly run, we found them posted on a hill whose sides were tangled and precipitous, and between which and us opened a ravine of considerable depth and unsafe footing. This ground was all raked by the fire of the enemy, who, moreover, had thrown before themselves a good protection of rails and logs. In addition to all this we were greatly fatigued, and our ammunition was about exhausted. The two brigades were therefore halted, in order to hold the enemy until we could be supplied with ammunition, and until reinforcements could reach us. The ammunition was obtained in good quantity, by sending details to the rear to ordnancewagons which we had had brought out of the works; but the reinforcements existed only in our imaginations or on the tongues of pious defrauders. We were told that a second line would soon relieve us, and, when that promise was not fulfilled, we received assurance that at least a brigade of cavalry would be sent upon the enemy's flank. Even this was not done.

We lay on the opposite side of the ravine, firing continuously upon the enemy for, perhaps, an hour. They, in

the mean time, brought forward fresh troops-said to be a corps and dashed them against us both in front and on the flank. We withstood them for a time, but, at last, were slowly retired. Hunton's brigade, of Pickett's division, was sent in and took such position that, in retiring, we found them immediately on our left. I am not able to say how they were brought upon the line, for we found them as we commenced the backward movement.

They assailed with no little impetuosity, but the cool firing of our line, as it gave gradually back, checked their ardor and forced them to move cautiously. Twice we formed and dressed our line, but twice we were found to be so unequal to the long, heavy lines of the Federals, that we were carried nearer the original base of operations. At length we reached the line occupied by the Federal skirmishers in the morning. It was now about 3 o'clock P. M. We formed along the rail-piles, threw out skirmishers in front and upon the flank, and prepared to make a last effort. It was a bold idea, for the whole Confederate line now hardly exceeded a thousand muskets; we were all completely exhausted with, perhaps, five hours' work; and we had not a piece of artillery. That, by the way, constituted the chief peculiarity of the whole battle. The Confederates did not fire a gun on the attacking line, and the Federals threw only a few shell into us while we stood on the banks of Gravelly run.

The Federals advanced steadily, struck Hunton's brigade, broke and drove it pell-mell across the open field, stormed against our front, and, at the same time, attempted to intercept us on the left. There was but one course left for us. We retired to the works. So we ended where we began, but with the exception that we had added to our reputation by as nearly as possible achieving an impossible task, and that we had inflicted on the enemy a loss, probably, five times as great as our own. If my word should be doubted in regard to the first fact-i. e., that we acquired reputation by this battle-because opposed to appearances, I think it will be sufficient to repeat Gen. Lee's words to Gen. McGowan, on the following day: "Gen. McGowan,' said he, "I congratulate you on the gallant conduct of your brigade yesterday." Gen. Lee, I may add, was

present at the close of the battle, and used his own personal exertions to stay the progress of the enemy.

On returning to the works, we took position on the extreme right of the Confederate line of infantry, our right resting on a mill-pond, whose name and the name of the small stream which supplied it I have forgotten. We threw out a picket line some three hundred yards in front, and then reposed ourselves after the day's toil and danger.

The following were the casualties of the brigade:

The following officers were killed and wounded: First regiment, Col. Č. W. McCreary, killed, Capt. D. P. Goggans, wounded; Twelfth regiment, no casualties; Thirteenth regiment, Capt. F. Trimmier and Lieut. J. S. Bowers, wounded-the latter, mortally; Fourteenth regiment, Lieut. Col. Edward Croft, Lieut. J. R. Courtenay, wounded-Lieut. Courtenay died, subsequently, at Farmville, Va.; Orr's Rifles, Lieut. George, wounded.

COL. C. W. MCCREARY, of the First regiment, was shot through the lungs this day, just as we began retiring before the enemy. He was carried back, on a litter, to the breastworks, but expired on arriving there.

He was a native of Barnwell District, South Carolina, a graduate of the State Military Academy, and, at the beginning of the war, an instructor in the military academy at Aiken, S. C. He entered the service as captain of a company, in Gregg's war regiment, in the summer of 1861. In 1862, he was promoted to the majority of that regiment. Early in 1864 he was, in consequence of the resignation of Col. Hamilton, and the retirement of Lieut. Col. McCrady, raised to the colonelcy. He was present in a