Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/202

 196 Southern Historical Society Papers.

the junior captains of the Seventeenth regiment, Captain George B. Daniel, of Granville county, N. C., all the field officers being " hors de combat. " I sent for Major-General Hoke and told him the haz- ardous situation, and he sent to command us Colonel Zachary, of the Twenty-seventh Georgia, of Colquitt's Brigade, an amiable and very brave officer, with whom my relations were very pleasant. I was feeble from exposure, but did not leave the men for a single day. How I survived all this I do not know. In August General W. W. Kirkland, a North Carolinian, was permanently placed in command of the brigade, relieving Colonel Zachary. Kirkland had com- manded a brigade in Heth's Division, but was disabled by a wound at Bristow Station, and General William McRae took his place as brigadier. When Kirkland got well he came to us. He made no change in the staff", except to bring an aid-de-camp, Lieutenant Albert Stoddard, of Savannah, a relative of Kirkland' s wife, who was a niece of Lieutenant-General W. J. Hardee. He was very courteous and agreeable at all times, and he became greatly at- tached to his brigade.

In September our division was relieved from guarding the hard lines they had held, and moved out of the trenches. During the fall and winter of 1864 we were attached to Longstreet's Corps in the works on north side of the James near Chaffin's Bluff. There we built winter-quarters and had some rest. Clingman's Brigade and Colquitt's were in the attack on Fort Harrison made by General Lee to recover that strong position, without success, but we were not engaged. We were marched under Longstreet around Grant's right flank on the Darbytown and Charles City roads, and had some fighting but not very severe.

General Lee gave orders that the earthworks should be strength- ened and the camp carefully policed. He rode along the line almost daily. One day he halted on our line and sent for General Kirk- land. I rode up with the latter to meet our chief. He asked Kirk- land for some couriers and sent for the other generals of the corps. When they came up he pointed to our camp and works and said : " Gentlemen, this is the only brigade that has obeyed my instructions. I wish you to make your camp and line conform to this one. Gen- eral Kirkland, I am glad to see the condition of your command." Kirkland, flushed with pride, thanked General Lee for the compli- ment to his brigade, but added that its high state of efficiency was due to its former commander, General Martin, and he had only tried to maintain the command as he found it. A manly statement from