The National tribune., 1885-12-17
FIGHTING THEM OVER
What Our Veterans Have to Say About
Their Old Campaigns.
THE 145th PENNSYLVANIA.
The True Story Of that Affair at Chanccilors-
vile,

Der last is an article from Capt. F. G. Jones,
64th n. Y, in reference 10 the l4oth Ia. and
the Gath \. Y. at Charlottesville, May 8, 1900,
which is exceedingly interesting, but at the
same time remarkable for inaccuracy in details.
The Captain says that his regiment being hard
pressed in the riiiepits on Sunday morning,
MAY 3, and being nearly out of ammunition, he
was sent back for re-en!orccments or more am
munition. He then says: Il struck out west
on the old plank road towards the old Cham
cellorsvlle House. when came across the 1i5th
Pa, under the command of the gallant and
brave Col H 5. Brown, to whom l put this
question: Col. Brown, are you under ordersf'
To which he responded, 'No!' l said TO him
that the Gath \. y. were in the pits without
ammunition. and / was out for help-either
more ammunition Te-eEforcementS. he did
not wait for orders from headquarters, but IN
his characteristic manner called his command
to Attention (accent OH last syllabie,) and in
less tiiue than it takes to pen it was on his way
to relieve those almost exhausted men, whose
fate was sure capture for the want OF supplies.
The Captain goes on further TO say that he led
the 145th through the timber and relieved the
64th y. V, who barely got out in time to g save
their bacon" when the Eleventh Corps gave
way on the extreme right and allowed the ene-
my to come in on the rear, and that the whole
of the 1l5th was captured in less than ID min
utes after taking position in the pits.
1t would be difficult indeed to crowd more
psinformation into the space, even by an ex-
pert on money wager, than is done lii the
foregoing statement. / am very much afraid
that during the long interval since the battle
OF Charlottesville the gallant Captain has been
cultivating his imagination at the expense OF
his memory.
Old soldiers accustomed to the rigid rules of
discipline, the most essential of which was abb
sclute obedience 10 orders, must smile at the
idea of Colonel commanding a regiment, lying
in line of battle, actively engaged with the
~ la nhar
orders, and marching his regiment out
of its place in the brigade and division line las
the 14oth was that Inorning), and going, he
knew not where, simply at the request OF some
one having no authority whatever. Certainly
Col. afterwards General) Brown was too good
soldier to march his regiment away from its
place in the brigade in the midst of 4 severe
battle or otherwise without orders from his
superior officer; nor would he be likely TO mis-
take the request of Capt Jones as order
from his brigade commander. Such conduct
would have insured his prompt dismissal from
the service. If Col. Brown could do so, then
every other officer commanding a regiment
could, and thus whole brigade division
might have been broken up and line of battle
destroyed. and the whole army necessarily
routed No, no, Captain; regiments Were not
lying around loose in time of battle without
orders, with liberty to go wherever some Cap
tain or Lieutenant or private might see fit to
request them to 60 That would be child's
play, not war
Briefly, the facts are these. all of which I
saw and part of which l was: Soon after day
light that Sunday morning Col. John r.
Brooke commanding the brigade TO which the
l45uh belonged, sent an order to Col Brown to
detail 150 men and field officer from his regi-
ment to report at once at brigade headquarters
] was detailed for that duty, and upon report
ing with the detail, as directed, found that 100
men from other regiments in the brigade had
Iaa- slal thnoa
were placed under my command, and l was in
structed to report to Col. (now General) Miles,
commanding the skrmish- line of our division
in front of our line of battle and in the dense
woods towards Fredericksburg. Under the
direction of a guide from headquarters /
marched through the woods, and found Col.
Miles on the road leading from Chancelors-
Vile to Fredericksburg, and was directed by
him to keep the men in the woods to the left
of the road and send the men-a company at
time-to that point in the skirmish-line in
front where the firing might be heaviest Just
as Col. Miles had given me these instructions
he was struck by q muskct-ball, and at once
went back to Charlottesville. By 8 o'clock
my detail was all in the skirmish-line, reliev-
ing the 9th n Y, who had bravely held it for
several hours before, as Capt. Jones SAYS. We
remained here fercely engaged, though well
protected by abatis which We had made on
the night OF May l, until about 11:30 in the
forenoon, when suddenly and without mo-
ments warning two lines of Confederate in
fantry. after firing a volley, rushed in upon US
from the woods in our rear and from the place
we had left army in the morning, and
captured us and portion of the 9th Conn,
who We're on our right.
We learned afterwards that after we left our
lines in the morning the right of our army
being hard pressed, the whole army fell back
towards the river, and the Confederates came
IN and occupied the position around Chancel-
clr- 1..ald
thus il was that were surrounded. 1t is
difficult to understand, however how all these
movements could take place in the incredibly
short time of ID minutes. as Capt. Jones alleges
The fact is, We were On the skirmish-line three
hours and half before we were surrounded
and captured. About so of the 145 on the ex-
treme left of the skirmishline, seeing the
Confederates coming in on the rear escaped;
so that only about 100 of the l45th Pa were
captured, instead Of the whole regiment, with
Col. Brown at its head.
Col Brown, then did not give the command
Attention." with the accent on the last or
any other syllable) and march his regiment off
to the skirmish-line at the request of Capt.
Jones or anybody else. Col. Brown was not on
the skirmish-line at all on the Sd of May or
any day during that battle, with his regiment
or without it, bat remained with his regiment
IN line of battle at the Charlottesville House
until army fell back towards the river,
when he and his regiment fell back with it,
excepting those captured, as before stated.
Nor did the Eleventh Corps give way on our
extreme right and let the enemy in upon our
rear on Sunday morning while on the skir-
Inish-line, as Capt. Jones says. The Eleventh
Corps was routed by Stonewall Jackson and
gave way the evening before, and the fighting
around the Charlottesville House on Sunday
morning was done by other corps. Capt. Jones
also says he :" knew Col. Brown when he was
ut the head Of the SD Pa. all through the
Peninsular campaign, and more particularly at
Mechanicsville, Oh June 26, 1862, where he re-
ceiyed a severe wound" j am very sorry Gen.
Brown is not living as he would be the very
first TO correct the mistakes contained in Capt
Jores's imaginary statement. Col. Brown
never was at the head Of the 63d Pa, but was
Captain of Co. / of that regiment, and was Sc
verely wounded, rot at Mecbanicsville on June
&c, 1862 but at the bloodier battle of Gaines's
Mill on June 81, 1852, the same day Col Nc
Lane, commanding the SD, was killed. Capt
Brown then returned home and was elected
Colonel of the l45th Pa, which went into the
service i'll September 1862.
do not write this article merely to find fault
with Capt. Jones, who was an excellent officer
and belonged to an excellent regiment, but
being personally so intimately acquainted with
all the facts and circumstances of the occasion
referred to, feel it to be due to all concerned
that correct statement should be given-D
b. MCCREARY, Lieutenant Colonel, l45th Pa,