Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 29.djvu/155

 Brook Church Fight. 139

[Charlotte Observer, January 3, 1902.]

BROOK CHURCH FIGHT, And Something About the Fifth North Carolina Cavalry.

DEATH OF JAMES B. GORDON.

He Was the Murat of the Army of Northern Virginia The New Artil- lery and Its Disastrous First Experience Under Fire Attack on Kennon's Landing Sacrifice of Men and Horses Shelled with 100-Pounders.

The Brook turnpike above Richmond runs almost due north and south. The military road at Brook, or Emmanuel church, strikes it at right angles from the east, in which direction this road crosses the upper Chickahominy at Meadow bridge. In his midnight re- treat of May nth, from Yellow Tavern, General Sheridan took this military road at Brook Church to escape, intending to cross the Chickahominy and move to his right from there to the James. And this he did, but he assuredly had an awful time of it and a narrow escape at Brook church.

Early on the morning of the i2th, Colonel James B. Gordon was in his rear at Brook Church. Sheridan was met by our forces of cavalry and infantry at Meadow bridge, which we had destroyed, and the river there was otherwise unpassable. Sheridan says some fords were discovered by scouts, but if so, why on earth did he have such a desperate and deadly time repairing that bridge, as my references will show he did ? Sheridan's rear occupied a strong position of his own selection on the military road, which he swept with canister constantly from several batteries. Gordon dismounted the First and Second cavalry, attacked him fiercely, and sent his aide, Lieutenant Kerr Craige, into Richmond for some artillery and to propose to the officer in charge of that portion of the city defences a combined attack on Sheridan's flanks. The Fifth was held in reserve in mounted column, under fire, just off the right of the mil- itary road, going east. With our regiment, as we all knew, Gordon intended to charge those batteries up the military road after he got some supports from Richmond. And that charge, which he would