Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 30.djvu/121

 Wounding of General Stonewall Jackson. 113

onel Crutchfield, his chief of artillery, halted as they reached my guns, some fifty yards in advance of Lane's line, and said to me: " Captain, you can limber up and mount your men, and as soon as my guns arrive, which I have ordered in, you can retire and join your command."

It will be observed that there was an interval of many minutes be- tween the withdrawal of Rodes and Colston and the establishment of Lane's brigade, during which there were no troops upon the firing line except my battery.

As General Jackson passed on, General Lane at once rode to the right of his brigade to move it forward. Colonel Hill, commanding the right regiment, the Seventh North Carolina, asked Lane to wait a few minutes, as he had heard a noise upon his right flank and must find out what it was. Lane said: "Send down and see." Colonel Hill at once sent Lieutenant Emack and four men in the direction of the noise. He had gone but a short distance through the woods when he walked right into the I28th Pennsylvania Regi- ment. Emack at once threw up his sword and said: "Men, Jack- son has surrounded you; down with your guns, else we will shoot the last one of you." Down went the guns, and the lieutenant marched the captured regiment into his brigade. Now, where was Jackson at this time? He had reached Lane's picket line and was talking with the officer in charge, awaiting Lane's advance, when some Federal soldier on horseback rode up in front of the picket line and asked for General Williams (of Hooker's Army.) The sergeant of the picket upon the right of the road, knowing him to be a Federal inquiring for a Federal General, responded by firing at him, which was taken up both right and left, until the entire picket line was blazing away in the darkness. Now, Jackson turned to move back to his lines, being on the right of the road and the line of battle not coming forward as he had ordered. (Lane having been detained by the noise on his right and the capture of the Federal regiment.) Just at this moment Lane's regiments on the right of the road, the Thirty -seventh North Carolina and Seventh North Carolina opened one sheet of fire into the faces of my horses as they stood fronting the line, I having limbered up to move to the rear, being between the picket line and the battle line, was only awaiting the arrival of Crutchfield' s guns; and I will say, just here, that not a gun of Crutchfield' s had fired a shot or had arrived at the front, upon this road, up to the wounding of Jackson. My horses wheeled, breaking several poles. I at once rushed to the two regi-