Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/80

 74 Southern Historical Society Papers.

sacrifice for home and country was made perfect in suffering and death.

Nothing occurred beyond the daily fighting, shelling and sharp- shooting on the lines occupied by our brigade, until August 2ist, when we were hastily marched to our right, and under A. P. Hill, attacked the enemy on the Weldon Railroad, and after carrying two of his lines of fortifications, dislodged him from his position. Our loss was severe, the Forty-ninth suffering considerably. We then returned to our old place in the trenches. On December i4th Cap- tain C. H. Dixon, of Company G, was killed, and Major C. Q. Petty, who had been appointed major in the place of Lieutenant- Colonel Davis, who succeeded Colonel Fleming, and eight men were wounded during a fierce mortar shelling to which we were subjected.

We remained in the trenches until March i6th, 1865, when we were relieved by Gordon's troops; and moved to the extreme right of our lines, occupying Mahone's old winter-quarters, and where we stayed until the evening of the 25th, when we were marched to Petersburg, and back to our old position on the lines. We reached there about midnight, and soon the arrangements were made for the attack on Fort Stedman, or Hare's Hill, under General John B. Gordon. Just at daylight the next morning we advanced to the assault, Ransom's Brigade being the second one from the Appo- mattox, a*nd directly in front of Hare's Hill. At the signal, the sharpshooters of the Forty-ninth, under First Lieutenant Thomas R. Roulhac, following the storming party led by Lieutenant W. W. Fleming, of the Sixth North Carolina, in advance, moved across our works, through the obstructions in our front, and the whole bri- gade, with a rush, climbing the chevaux de frise of the enemy, and clambering through and over the deep ditches in their front, went over the enemy's works and captured them before they were aroused from their slumbers. The surprise was complete. Sweeping down their lines, the Forty-ninth opened the way for other troops. Ran- som's Brigade captured Fort Stedman, the Forty-ninth rushing over it without a halt, and all the works in our front; but those be- tween us and the river were not taken, although we enfiladed that part of the line, and with our fire on their flank, it could have been easily done. Their fort near the river was thus enabled to annoy us greatly. Here Colonel McAfee was slightly wounded, and Lieu- tenant-Colonel James Taylor Davis was killed. He was a splendid soldier, and a true, warm-hearted gentleman, of decided talents and great promise in his profession the law. His life would have been