Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/648

602 he was promoted brigadier-general, and assigned to the command in West Virginia, where he fought in May of that year the battle of Giles Court House, in which he was opposed to Col. R. B. Hayes, and later the battle of Lewisburg. In June he joined Gen. Kirby Smith at Knoxville, Tenn., and accompanied him in the movement into Kentucky. After reaching Lexington he was given charge of a division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry, and moved against Cincinnati, some of his troops, on September 6th, reaching the suburbs of Covington, but he was withheld from an attack by positive orders. In February, 1863, he joined the army of Northern Virginia, and was assigned to the command of Field's brigade, of which he had charge in the battle of Chancellorsville. On the wounding of A. P. Hill in the first day's fight, he succeeded to command of the division but was himself wounded in the opening of the fight next day, which General Lee noted with regret in his dispatch to President Davis. He was promoted major-general and placed in command of a division of General Hill's corps, consisting of the brigades of Pettigrew, Brockenbrough, Archer and Davis. Engaging in the Pennsylvania campaign, he moved to Cashtown, and thence sent Pettigrew's brigade to Gettysburg to procure a supply of shoes. The brigade returned with information of Federal advance. Heth attacked the Federals under Reynolds the next day, and fought a desperate battle, a worthy opening of the great three days' struggle, in which he lost in twenty-five minutes 2,700 out of 7,000 men, and half his officers, and was himself severely wounded. He was subsequently engaged in the affair at Falling Waters, and in the following October, with two brigades attacked Warren's corps of Meade's army, fighting the battle of Bristoe Station. After wintering at Orange Court House, he commanded the advance of Hill's corps, marching on the plank road to resist Grant's flank movement on May 5th. He replied for three hours to the attacks of General Hancock on the Brock road; was distinguished for intrepid fighting about Spottsylvania on the 10th, 11th and 12th of May, and a few days later engaged General Warren at Nowell's Turnout. June 3d he took part in the battle of Bethesda Church. During the siege of Petersburg he served on the lines from July, 1864, until the evacuation, occupying the extreme right