The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-03-27
WAR HISTORY.
s. w. ANDREWS,
Ex-M Manager Alliance Store.

Mr.. EDITOR:-If you have time and
space in your noble and patriotic paper,
insert the following fact: Sometime
ago 1 saw in pamphlet form, written
by Hon. Charles M. Stedman, of Will
mingtor, N. O., a sketch of the life and
character of Gen. William MacRae,
of which 1 believe all to be correct,
save that battle flg, 1 have a banker
ing curiously to know what regiment
it was from.
In coming Or going in 80 or so PAGES
of the railroad cut, where the enemy
were, the brigade halted. John Love,
the color bearer of the 18th N. @.
T. looked about and called our Colonel
MacRae) to know if he should advance
them, the ~colors, but his attention be-
ing drawn to the left of the brigade he
did not hear him as he was going in
quick time to the left. John Love called
to the writer, let's go, and we carried
the flag to the railroad but where the
enemy were lying on their elbows, etc.
and waved the flag to and back over
the head of the enemy which was so
to go PAGES in fronT of the regiment.
OF course we could not stay there as
three of the corporals fell and regi-
ment and brigade could not come as
there were from four to five to u one,
and covered by the cut. Love was hit
two OF three times and in fact all six of
us were hit more than once and two of
the corporals were killed. In fact if
MacRae had been in command instead
of Cook the management would have
been so much better Gen. MacRae
was a rounded man, we'll balanced,
always knew how to judge from the
standpoint, and always knew what he
could do, whether he could come out
with honor or defeat. 1 or any other
person with any curiosity would have
thought that Hon. @. NJ. Stedman
would have had curiosity enough to
found out what regiment that
battle flag was from and so stated it in
his sketch of the life and character of
William MacRae. Any person reading
it would take it to be from the 18th N.
O., and if so, of course it would be of a
false conception. Our Colonel then
knew Love almost as we'll as he knew
himself. John Love is dead. He fell
in the battle of the Wilderness with
the flag in his hand, and it was taken
by J. E Grant who lives in Northamp-
ton county and in three miles of the
county seat.
The writer was slightly wounded in
the foot at Bristow Station, and was
transferred to the I'd N. G. Cavalry,
but can say that he never was in the
hospital nor on the dead line nor a
straggler, but was in every prominent
battle and skirmish save one shirmish
that the regiment were in to which he
belong d captured three prisoners at
three different times, two Of whom
were off the line while engaged in fight
ing; was hit eight times during the
had two brothers killed-one
killed and the other wounded and died
brothersin-law killed, one at
fredericksburg Dec. Is, 1862, and the
other around Petersburg.
1 believe I went nearer the enemy at
Bristow Station than any other man
now living, and 1 think l know nearly
as much about that fight as a man who
did not go quite so near. Neither do I !
think that I was second to but a very
few as a soldier in the late war. ii
thought and still think that 1 was Sec
ond to private James H. Johnson
Virginus Copeland and Col. Harry