Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 27.djvu/156

 1 48 Southern Historical Society Papers.

walking and leading his horse and says to the men that the enemy is in our rear and he wants to get us out of the position we are in and we must follow him; his voice is one of loud compass and great com- mand, but he can hardly speak now, and as he passes me he says: "John help me get the men out of this, I can't talk loud." I get all near me to face down (south) the road and we start; have hardly gotten two steps when I see a Yankee sergeant step into the road about fifty or seventy-five yards ahead (south) of us, at the same time we can hear the firing of the rapidly approaching enemy in our rear. The sergeant has his gun in his left hand and his drawn sword in his right; he turns towards us and approaches; now a Yankee private steps into the road just ahead of him. A great dread goes up from me now for Jackson, as I had seen him at this spot only a minute or two before.

COMPLETELY SURROUNDED.

Now this road that the two Yankees are in is the same road we marched up to get to our position, and it showed that the enemy were not only in our front, flank and rear, but had us completely surrounded. The sergeant did not stop his advance towards us until he actually took hold of one of the men of our regiment and pulled him out of ranks and then started towards the rear, one of our men who had been capping his gun, raised it to his shoulder, fired, and the sergeant falls dead not ten feet away. By this time the road is full of Yankees, and now ensues such a fight as was not witnessed during the war, guns, bayonets, swords, pistols, fence rails, rocks, etc., were used all along the line. I have heard of a hell spot in some battles; this surely is one. Our color-bearer knocks down a Yankee with his flag staff and is shot to death at once, one of the color-guard takes the flag and he is also killed; another bayonets a Yankee and is immediately riddled with balls, three going through him ; four color-bearers are killed with the colors in their hands, the fifth man flings it to the breeze and carries it through the terrible battle unhurt. Colonel Cunningham now crosses the road, leading his horse, and starts to pull down the fence, when he and horse are both killed. It's a terrible time. The Second brigade is over- whelmed; nearly half of the aist Virginia regiment lay on the ground dead and wounded. " F " company, of Richmond, carried eighteen men into action; twelve of them now lie on the ground, six dead, and six wounded; many of the regiment are prisoners, the remnant