Arizona republican., 1892-07-27


 distinguish the Twenty-sixth from dozen other organizations in the command, ex- cepting it's long line of we'll elad, hearty and high spirited men.
 In certain sense it had been a pet regi- ment to that time; that is, with a friend at court it had enjoyed it's privileges and skipped hard lines now and then, and marched to Pennsylvania fresh from green pastures and the native heath. So while the mass of war worn troops in Hills lead ing division looked upon their early morn ing trip to the country market town as foraging raid to gobble stores of shoes and sugar before the eyes of raw home guards and militia, the soldiers of the Twenty sixth cared not q rap for the prospective plunder further than that the taking of it might lead to scrimmage certain to be funny and possibly exciting, 1 put it down that the regiment marched in so strong and have yet to tell how it hObbled back numbering only eighty for duty, And how was the making of that great gap worthy page in history
 The regiment stopped more bullets at Gettysburg than did any other infantry organization in either army in a single bat tlC during the whole war. The records of Union and Confederate r' r',jments seem to show few cases where the loss in killed and wounded was greater ln proportion to numbers engaged than that in the Twen- ty-sixth at Gettysburg, but this regiment bad a large list of missing, and if all the facts were known it would doubtless stand at the head of all, both in actual numbers lost and in proportion of loss to fighting strength,
 The Twenty-sixth North Carolina was organized in 1881 from companies recruit ed in eight counties. Four companies hailed from the mountain districts along the Blue Ridge, three were from the cen tral counties and three from the southern bopter. The organizer was Zebulon B. Vance, a bitter opponent of secession up 10 the moment the die was east Vance, un- like many political colonels, led his boys into several fights, particularly at New Berne and in the Seven Days" in 1862 He was elected governor in August of that year and took his regiment home, and there it remained in garrison throughout the Manassas, Antietam, fredericksburg and Charlottesville campaigns. To this long furlOugh was due the Bursting files of stalwaft yeomanry that marched cheeri- ly on to Gettysburg, good food for pow der"
 It Is a well known story how Heth's bri- gades ran into Buford's cavalry and Key nolds' infantry along Willoughby creek in the early morning of July 1. The brigades of Archer and Davis plunged across the streasi, dropped Reynolds with a chance shot aRd tsen N'ere surrounded and all but destroyed. ThoR Hrth's reserve brigailes, under Pettigrew and Brock cn brough, took it mp, rushed to Chs rescue of their luckless comrades and the three days struggle was begun. The TwentysiNth was on the left of Pettigrew's brigade and crossed the creek abreast of McPherson's woods, where Meredith's Iron Brigade" and Rowley's Pennsylvanian's, replacing the brigades that had wrestled with Archer and Davis, were awaiting the next victims. While crossing the creek the Carolinians met scathing fire from sie men in the woods. but they weathered it and pushed up the slope on bayonet charge.
 One Union brigade gave way a little, and as Pettigrew followed up, the Twenty sixth alone struck the other brigade on its flank. By that time Union supports were on hand, batteries were in position, and every clump of trees, every fence, ridge and building bristled with bayonets and can non. It looked as though Heths men would earn their shoes and sugar or go without. The Twenty-sixth pressed on to within twenty paces of it's antagonists, the overlapping flank of the "Iron Brigade" Finding their ammunition low, the men went among the dead picking up cartridges, and were busy at this when Pettigrew re- called his brigade to make a new align. ment.
 The Twenty-sixth didn't retire. Ths constant shifting of Union regiments from position to position led the Confederates to expect an easy victory, but every step in advance revealed new foe-to the right, to the left, or in front In the pathway of the Twenty-sixth, Cooper's Pennsylvania