Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 4.djvu/96

78 sent.&quot; Meantime, the Twenty-second North Carolina had come &quot;suddenly upon a regiment of the enemy just across the run, and after some little parley, opened fire, driving the enemy quickly away, but found it impossible to cross. The loss of this regiment here was very heavy; among others, its brave colonel (Conner) received a severe wound in the leg.&quot;

Ripley’s arrival brought two more North Carolina regiments into the battle—the First, Colonel Stokes, and the Third, Colonel Meares. These, with the Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth Georgia, formed Ripley’s brigade. Two of Ripley s regiments, the First North Carolina and the Forty-fourth Georgia, united with Fender on the right, and the Third North Carolina and Forty-eighth Georgia moved to a position in front of the enemy. All moved forward. The two regiments directly in front suffered little, comparatively, but Fender and the two regiments on the right went indeed into a storm of lead. The Georgians lost 335 men in a very short while. Colonel Brown thus describes the action of the First: &quot;It advanced to the attack in front of the splendid artillery of the enemy, posted across the pond at Ellison’s mill. The slaughter was terrific, yet the regiment pressed for ward in the face of this fire for more than half a mile, advancing steadily to what seemed inevitable destruction, till it reached the pond and took shelter in a skirt of woods.&quot; In this movement Colonel Stokes was mortally wounded, Lieu tenant- Colonel McDowell badly wounded, and Major Skinner killed. Capts. J. A. Wright and R. W. Rives and four lieutenants were also among the slain. The loss among the men was 140. The Sixteenth regiment, through an error of its guide, became —