Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/921

Rh of his company to Governor Letcher and the company was mustered in April 21, 1861. It was then one of the largest and best companies in the State service, composed of one hundred and eleven men, and its subsequent record was highly creditable. Captain Etheredge was first assigned to duty at the arsenal of St. Helena, of which he took possession immediately on entering the service. Thence, in the latter part of May, he was transferred to the Gosport navy yard, with his men, which he guarded during the construction of the famous ironclad Virginia from the hulk of the old Merrimac. Commodore Forrest, then in command at this point, was very anxious to have the Virginia safely completed. The United States authorities, on the other hand, fearful of the damage that the formidable warship might do, were anxious to secure its destruction, and five separate attempts were made to this end, which were thwarted by the vigilance of Captain Etheredge and his company. He was at one time informed by Commodore Forrest that a million dollars had been offered for the destruction of the vessel, but this fabulous offer only served to increase the effectual watchfulness of the guard. During his service at this point Captain Etheredge was pleasantly associated with Commodore Forrest and his secretary, James Barron Hope, the poet, and when, in March. 1862, the Rifles were relieved from guard duty by a detachment of marines from Pensacola, the commodore gave him a letter to General Huger, expressing regret at the separation and praising the careful and able service of Captain Etheredge. He then led his company to Sewell's Point, where it joined, as Company F, its regiment, the Forty-first Virginia infantry, under Colonel Chambliss, in Huger's division. In May, upon the evacuation of Norfolk, the division moved to Petersburg and thence to Richmond. At Seven Pines Captain Etheredge went through his first battle and was distinguished for bravery. The Forty-first had been assigned to Mahone's brigade and was advancing in line of battle. Company F on the extreme right, when a sudden flanking fire threw the command into confusion. Captain Etheredge, mastering the situation in an instant, sprang to the front of his men, reminded them of their promise to follow wherever he led, and they stood by him manfully, with a part of a Petersburg company, and formed a nucleus upon which the remainder of the regiment rallied. During this affair Colonel Chambliss rode up to the company, and his horse being killed under him as he did so, he remained on foot with Captain Etheredge, whose conduct he highly complimented on the next day, saying that Company F had saved the credit of the regiment. Captain Etheredge next took part in the battles of Charles City Road and Malvern Hill, after which he was promoted major. In this rank he served during the remainder of the war, one of the bravest of the brave Mahone brigade, and, though always in places of danger, fortunately escaped both wounds and capture by the enemy. Among the battles in which he participated may be mentioned Second Manassas, Crampton Gap, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, Salem Church, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House. Bailey's Farm, the Crater, Cold Harbor, Davis' Farm, Reams' Station, Burgess' Mill, Hatcher's Run, Cumberland Gap and Appomattox. At the Crater, on the Petersburg