Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/424

 Letter from General Hagood on Hecapture of a Flag. 423

prisoners, seventy-five pieces of artillery and vast military stores of every kind. The fruits of the Pennsylvania campaign were our losses of men, arms and munitions of war.

If General Johnson must needs find one scape-goat for the first campaign, how many must he find for the second ?

But this was not the spirit of our illustrious commander. When trouble, failure and disaster came, he did not look round to find a scape-goat He was chary of censure of conduct, and still more so of motive. Let all who admire his greatness imitate his noble example.

Respectfully and truly,

D. H. HILL.

Letter from General Hagood on Recapture of a Flag.

(Extract.)

HEADQUARTERS HAGOOD'S BRIGADE,

PETERSBURG, VA., 226 August, 1864. Colonel BRENT,

Acting Adjutant- General :

COLONEL, I am directed in a communication from Department Headquarters, just received, to forward a list of the casualties in my command, sustained yesterday, and also to report all the circum- stances attending the recapture of the flag of one of my regiments.



When the line had reached the enemy's works, some two hundred men having got into a re-entering angle where they were exposed to a severe cross-fire, became confused, and a mounted officer of the enemy galloping out of a sally port, seized the colors of the Twenty- seventh Regiment and called upon them to surrender. Several officers and men began to surrender, but had not been carried in; observing this, I made my way to them from the part of the line upon which I was, calling to the men to shoot him. They either did not hear me or were bewildered by the surrender of part of their number, and failed to do so. When I got up to him I demanded the colors from him, and that he should go back into his work, telling him he was free to do so. He commenced arguing with me upon our desperate position, and I cut him short, demanding a categorical reply. He said no, and I shot him from his horse. Giving the colors to my