The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-11-29
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| N0BF0tR,i N November 90, 1874 s.
Ea,tos. Vtrgtssiass, greeabIy To your sug
gestion That the statements made In the sub
joined extracts from recent letter received
by me from Captain Thomas @. Chandler
ought toabe put on record In print for the
better preservation of the facts therein stated
furnish them to You as below. SESEx. {
MILFORD, CAROLINE COUNTY, VA.,3
November 90, 1872.
--- ----, Esq, Norfolk, Pa: 49,
My Dear Sir, Your esteemed favor of 22d
instant has just been placed in my hands,
and l shalt with much pleasure give you the
iacts respecting the circumstances connected
with tue death Of our beloved Stonewall
jackson.
see nothing erroneous in your comm1l.
nication of 18th instant to the Norfolk Vir-
9tnson. but az you desire o statement fresh
from my own memory, and did not give one
or two particulars which follow in this letter,
will now comply with your request.
Ii General Revere means in his narrative
to imply that he rode through the first Con.
fcdcra'e line OF battle in the Wilderness,
either on the I'd or Sd May, 1868, and saw
in the rear Of that line land it was only there
he could have sccn) the person of General
Jackson wounded and lying on the ground
or borne on litter, then he means TO imply
what never took place. But to the facts.
We opened the fight on Saturday, May I'd,
at about one hour before shutdown, and
drove the Federals pell-mell until o'clock
that night, capturing in the pursuit good
many prisoners and some four or six brass
cannon. / do not think we lost over one
hundred men up to the hour mentioned, 8
o'clock.
There being nothing but starlight over
head, intercepted mostly by the foliage OF the
denScly thick woods, thus rendering our
movements in the dark dangerous to our
selves, and our (Stonewall Jackson's) corps
having made forced march that day to get
in the rear Of General Hooker, our General
thought it best, suppose, for us to halt at
the hour last named for rest and refreShment,
and resume the fight early next day-Sun.
day, Sd Of May.
The right of the regiment to which be-
longcd (lnlne being the right company rest
cd on the plank-road at point one mile
west Of Charlottesville.
After the line of battle was halted, aud
everything made as quiet as possible, Gene
raj Jackson giving orders not to allow any
one to advance OH us, and if they did to fire
Oh them without hating them) rode off down
the road, accompanied by his staff and cou-
riers, saying at the time that he was going to
the front TO establish heavy skirmish line
for the night, and would then ride down the
line. After getting his skirlnishers into po-
sition he found it would be impossible to ride
down and inspect their line in the darkness
OH account Of the density of the under
growth.
The only alternative then left him Gf he
would come back by way of the plank-road)
was to dismount one Of his courierS which
hc did, and sent him Lack to the line Of bas-
tie to say that ne could not 60 down the lie
of skirmiShers, but would have to, and
should, return by the plank-road. Neither
this courier or his message ever reached our
Wcath'S) brigade, and therefore we knew
nothing Of General Jackson's intention to
return back to Us by way Of the plank-road.
He, with his staff and collriers, came up the
road at trot, surprising we had received his
message.
When I heard, in the darkness, the clatter
of their horses feet upon the planks, /, like
every one in the line, supposed that they who
were approaching us were Federal cavalry
who had broken through our line Of Skin
mislcrs.
When the party had gotten, as near as we
could judge, within about twenty yards of
our line, the order was given, "Let them
have it, boys"
At this the first volley General Jackson
WIS not touched, and he rode up to our
line, saying, ~ am General jackson; cease
liring.'
1t was then that our boys gave him the
road to pass back to the rear. SO soon as he
had passed through our (the frst) line, the
second line of battle, drawn up about 100
yards in our rear, who OF course had heard
our firing. followed Immediately by the noise
Of JackSon'S horse trotting on the hard
p!ankS towards them, supposed that tile
cuen!y'S cavalry had broken through the first
line OF battle aud were charging On them.
They tlercupon. i'll quick succession,
po.Tct, volcy after volley into him, and into
tuc Qte tirst line. 1t was by their first
yoilcy that General Jackson WIS wounded.
This happened not ten yards from where
l stood. My brother was shot down at that
time near me by the fire from our second line.
In answer to your question whether our
first line of battle closed up directly after
Jackson had passed through il, ! reply that
it WAS so closed the moment after he passed
through, and was not afterwards opened or
broken that night.
Tiua, the Fcdcrals, believing that we were
firing into each other, advanced and made
some four or five desperate attempts to drive
us. and for one hour it fairly rllncd grape
and canister, 10 say nothing OF musketry.
But they did not succeed.
Neither General Revere nor any other
Federal ever saw Stonewall Jackson after he
was wounded, unless he was prisoner OF
war and in the hospital where General Jack
sen drew his last breath.
After the Fcderals had retired from their
attempts TO drive Us that night, their work.
inc parties were busy all night in telling
trees and constructing breastWorks to I'M
pyde the advance which they doubtless eX-
pcctcd we would make OH them the next
morning. The trees were so CIT as to fall
dying thickly together) towards our lines,
and the limbs so trimmed in the form OF
thickiy studded sharp points protruding to.
wards us as, with other Instructions thrown
up, made it Il very difficult operation from
this cause alone. to say nothing OF the enc.
my'S tire, for our men to get through the
instructions in the next Sunday mornings
fight.
After two desperate charges, however, on
our part, we succeeded in taking their strong
hold and driving them again.
1t was, under the circumstances, no easy
matter, you may rest assured. fell in the
charge on Sunday morning as early as
O'Clock, and therefore saw no more of the
fight OF that day.
l can, think, say with truth that if the
sun had been some six hours high when we
commenced the fight on the I'd of May, we
would have made clean sweep of Hooker
and his chi ire nrmN or ut least of the IIrptr