Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 12.djvu/469

 Operations in Front of Petersburg. 459

was cut down, but not until he had made several very ugly cuts with his sabre upon the men of the Fourth, and fell bleeding from his horse. His gallantry won the admiration of my men, and, as he was recognized as a Mason, and seemed to be a sort of a " head devil" among that fraternity, Capt. Henry Lee of my staff took him in charge, treated him kindly, and reported him " all right and accounted for." (Lee being a Mason.) The Masons— of which body I was not a member — seemed to be active in my brigade, and frequently seemed interested in people that I did not appreciate as they did.

Operations in Front of Petersburg June 24th, 1864.

Report of General Hagood.

H'd'qrs Hagood's S. C. Brigade, Hoke's Division, June 26th, 1864.

Capt. Otey, A. A. G.:

Captain, — I am required to make a full report of the operations of my command in front of Petersburg on the morning of the 24th inst.:

My Brigade occupied the left of our line of entrenchments, resting on the south bank of the Appomattox, the Twenty-seventh, Twenty- first and Eleventh Regiments filling the space from the river to the City Point road, and the Twenty-fifth and JSeventh battalions extend- ing along the lines south of the road. The enemy's entrenchments were at this point, parallel to ours, at a distance of about four hundred yards — an open field, with a rank growth of oats upon it, intervening. Each side had slight rifle-pits a short distance in advance of its first line of entrenchments. Our line of entrenchments was single. The enemy was entrenched in three lines close together, and the attack developed the fact that four and a half regiments, numbering some 1,600 or 1,700 men, occupied their first line.

My division commander. Major General Hoke, about dawn on the 24th, informed me that a general engagement was contemplated that day, and gave me detailed instructions as to the part my brigade was to take in bringing it on. He had, the night before, given me direc-