Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 25.djvu/172

 168 Southern Historical Society Papers.

row, by the blessed privilege of spreading ever living flowers upon his grave.

Charles Christopher Blacknall was born in Granville county, North Carolina, December 4th, 1831. He was a brother of Dr. George W. Blacknall and Major T. H., and father of Mr. Oscar Blacknall a man of letters and well known from his productions in the Atlantic Monthly and the newspapers. He married Miss Virginia Spencer, of Oxford, who still lives to mourn the death of her true and manly husband. These facts we get from Captain Capehart's recently de- livered memorial on Colonel Blacknall, and from the Henderson Gold Leaf, whose editor, commenting on the truth and beauty of that address, adds his own eulogy of the dead:

" Colonel Blacknall had ardent patriotism, high conviction of right and principle, and an engaging manhood. His presence was attrac- tive, his gifts were many, his heroism of a lofty type."

Such a man must needs have made an ideal Southern soldier.- He received his death wound at the battle of Winchester, September 19, 1864. Having his foot shattered by a ball from a cavalryman's carbine, amputation failed to arrest the gangrene that subsequently set in, and he died on March 4th, being administered to by the good ladies of Winchester. He was buried by Christie's side both Col- onels of the 23rd North Carolina and par nobile fratrum. While the remains of Christie have been transferred to his home, Blacknall sleeps in the Stonewall cemetery at Winchester a fact, which, whether of deliberate choice on the part of friends or not, seems fit- ting to meet the idea of the patriot bard: " Where should a soldier rest but where he fell."

To return to the regiment. We would be only too glad to have given a more detailed, as well as extended, account of battles already referred to, which friends have furnished us, particularly of Chancel- lorsville and Gettysburg; but it is probably well to have left that to the more general historian, since the action of one command, in any given fight, may be taken, as a rule, to be the action of all under the guiding hand and genius of their respective leaders. For the pur- poses of this sketch, an extensive account of any battle is not called for; hence, for the remaining report to be given, we propose to con- dense as much as possible.

After Gettysburg the remainder of the brigade, which was then almost without a field officer, refused longer to serve under Iverson, and Lieutenant-Colonel R. D. Johnston was made Brigadier-General. Iverson was removed and Lieutenant-Colonel Robert D. Johnston,