Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 16.djvu/400

 394 Southern Historical Society Papers.

panics returned from their pursuit of the cavalry, worn down by marching day and night. I took command of them, and was ordered by Toombs to place them behind a stone fence far to the right of the road from the bridge, and stay there till relieved by some of A. P. Hill's troops from Harpers Ferry. In about two hours General Gregg came and relieved us, and then we started to the rear to rest, as we had been informed we should.

As we moved off we saw the enemy's lines, one after another, ad- vancing from the bridge on our lines that held Sharpsburg, but soon we got out of sight; presently Captain Troup, General Toombs's aid, met me and said, "the General (Toombs) wished me to move faster." I increased the speed a little. He soon returned and urged me to go faster. I did so. In a few minutes he galloped rapidly back and said the general required me to double-quick. The double quick was commenced. Troup led the way. Soon we turned down a lane, a road to the right, which led into Sharpsburg. I asked what it meant. He said the enemy have Sharpsburg. A field of rank corn intervened and kept them from view. As soon as this corn was passed, their line became visible at an order arms, occupying our late line, about one hundred yards distant, with three captured guns of Mclntosh's battery between us and them. Their line extended from the corn over to the road running from the Antietam bridge, its right being in the orchard. I halted the Fifteenth and Seventeenth, and the five companies of the Eleventh Georgia, as soon as the head of the line got as far as I thought it could, and yet leave a few of the rear men behind the corn, so as not to expose our .weakness. The men fired as each came up, and by the rear rank. No time to form. The fire on both sides was very spirited but not effective they shoot- ing over us, we under them. Very soon our fire improved and became deadly. In ten or fifteen minutes their line showed signs of wavering. At this moment a shot or two from a gun went quartering over us and struck near them; they broke and ran under the hill, and were out of sight in less than a minute. We then advanced, re- covered Mclntosh's three guns, and continued to advance, until by night the enemy were nearly all forced back across the Antietam. These men, Fifteenth and Seventeenth, and five companies of Eleventh Georgia, some of the Twentieth Georgia, and some of the Second, did all the fighting at the place where the enemy first broke, and nearly all afterwards. There were some troops on our right in the corn. General Branch was killed there by a sort of random shot, as I heard, and others of A. P. Hill's troops came up before night,