Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 08.djvu/164

152 across the Rappahannock near the Warrenton White Sulphur Springs. I threw a portion of the Twenty-eighth far in advance into an open field, as far as practicable, to act as sharpshooters, and kept the rest of my command sheltered behind a hill. We had only three wounded, although we were under a very heavy shelling all that day. The remaining regiments were also under fire a part of the time.

We reached Manassas Junction the morning of the third day after the above shelling, when the Eighteenth regiment was detached "to guard the captured stores," and the rest of the brigade was halted not far from the depot near an earthwork to the left. While resting and awaiting an issue of Yankee rations, the enemy were seen advancing upon our position in line of battle. General Branch immediately put his command in motion and moved by the flank to the left of a battery planted near the earthwork. Our artillery opened upon them, soon put them to flight, and we pursued them rapidly in a diagonal direction across the field in rear of the hospital and some distance beyond Bull run, but never overtook the main body, as the Crenshaw battery advanced more rapidly than we did, and poured charge after charge of canister into their disordered ranks. We succeeded, however, in capturing a large number of prisoners.

Next day, after marching through Centreville and across Bull run, on the Stone Bridge road, we were ordered from the road to the right into a piece of woods, fronting a large open field in which one of our batteries was placed. As soon as the engagement was opened on our right, General Archer's brigade, which was in front of us, moved from the woods into the field up to and to the right of the battery, where it halted. Our brigade also moved a short distance into the field in the same direction, when the enemy opened a left enfilade artillery fire upon us. General Branch then ordered the Twenty-eighth regiment to continue its march, and directed me to halt it in rear of General Archer, while he moved the rest of his command some distance to the left. The whole brigade, "with no protection whatever, stood this artillery fire for several hours in the open field." The Eighteenth at one time was ordered to the support of General Ewell, and was marched down,