The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-07-23
LEADS ALL NORTH CAROLINA nLES I'M NEWS AMID GRGUA
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Refutaton of the 0ftRepeated Misrepresentation thai
They Did not Behave Calamity on that Day.

The best and complete vindication
of the part that North Carolina soldier
took at Gettysburg appears in ''The
Confederate Military History" Q2 vol
ume edition published by the Confeder-
ate Publishing Company, Atlanta, Ga.)
1t is from the pen of Prof. ID. II. Hill,
of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col
lege faculty, and is a most valuable ana
needed contribution to North Carolina
history. Prof. Hill has done his work
well, and his defense of the brave North
Carolinians will be gratefully appre-
ciated by the veterans and their sons
who have suffered for thirty years be-
cause of the false statements that have
been given wide circulation.
Prof. Hills article in full is as fol-
lows:
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN.
After General Hooker retreated from
General Lees front at Charlottesville,
the Confederate commander determined
to transfer the scene of hostilities be-
yond the Potomac His army was put
advance corps, under Ewell, was at
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and his other
two CORPS under LOngstreet and A. +.
Hill, were encamped near Chambersburg.
The further advance of the army was
arrested by intelligence that the Federal
army had crossed the Potomac, and was
approaching the South Mountain. "In
the absence Of the Cavalry" says Gen
eral Lee, 1T was impossible to learn his
Intentions: but to deter him from adj
vancing farther west and intercepting
our communication with Virginia. 1T
was determined to concentrate the army
East of the mountains"
Accordingly A. T.. Hills Corps Was set
in motion towards Gettysburg. and this
Corps was followed by Longstreet's a
day later. Gen. Ewell was directed to
move back from Carlisle and to join
the army either at Cashtown or Gettys-
burg. Lees advance division, heth's,
reached CashtOwn ON the 10Th of June.
There Gen. Heth sent Pettigrew's North
Carolina brigade to Gettysburg to pro-
cure supplies. When Gen. Pettigrew ar
rived at the outskirts Of the town, he
found it occupied by the Federals, and,
not knowing the force there, he returned
to Cashtown.
This was the first service of Petit
Crews brigade with Gen. Lees army,
but, notwithstanding this fact, it was TO
render itself immortal by losing in this
battle in killed and wounded, mot pris-
oners) 2OS more men than any other
brigade in Gen. Lees entire army. tSee
DIR. Guilds casualty list, Rebellion
Records.D Swinton says of this brigade,
as well as the rest of Heth's division,
1.-THE division on the left of Pickett,
under command of Gen. Pettigrew, was
in considerable part made up of North
Carolina troops comparatively green"
tArmy of the Potomac, page 359.) While
the expressions 'in considerable part"
and comparatively green are some
what indefinite, yet, taking language i'll
its usual sense, both are erroneous as
applied to this division. In the first
place, the division was composed of sew
enteen regiments. only five of which
were from North Carolina. In the Sec
ond place, il one bears in mind that
none of Lees regiments was over two
years old, comparatively green fits no
one of those five regiments. The
Eleventh regiment, the Bethel regi-
nient,' as it was known in North Caro-
lima. was composed lin considerable
part of the men who had made mp the
First North Carolina regiment, the old
est regiment in the Confederate service.
After its reorganization under the ac-
cOmplished Leventhorpe. it had been
severely tested at Franklin, at White
hall, and at Blount's Creek. The Twen
ty-sixth regiment. commanded by as gal
Ia, Intfn
Harry X. Burgwyn, saw bloody service
mt Newbern and took part, an honorable
part. in all the battles around Richmond.
the Fifty-secOnd regiment, trained and
commanded by an educated soldier, the
noble j. X. Marshall, was over year old
in its organization and had been tried,
and had borne itself brayely i'll battle on
the Blackwater at Blount's Creek, al
GoldsborO. The Forty-seventh regiment
had also been in service for over a year.
had for its officers many men originally
members of the First regiment, had been
under fire for three months in its cam
paigning in North Carolina. and while it
had been in no great pitched battle, it
had been battle tried In like manner,
the Fifty-fifth was not new regiment.
1t was organized in the spring of 1862
had dashing set Of officers, and had
many times before been under severe
fire.
FIRST DAY AT GETTYSBURG.
Gen. A. +. Hill reached Cashtowa on
the Both with his former division, now
commanded by Pender. who was pro-
NOTED to a Major Generally when Gen.
Hill became Corps Commander. The
next morning. July 1st. Gen. Hill adj
vanced Heth and Pender to develop the
force Of the Federals. As Heth, who
had the van, appeared Gettysburg. he
found his adversares strongly posted on
the northwestern approaches to the
town. Heth, never realizing that he was
opening in front of that obscure little
town the greatest contest of modern
times, ordered his leading brigades
under Davis and, Archer into action.
Davis was north of the Chambersburg
pike and was supported by Brocken-
brough, who was just south of the pike.
Archer, supported by Pettigrew, was
south Of the pike. Both brigades faced
Seminary Ridge. When the fighting first
began, only Buford's Cavalry held the
ground for the Federals, but the First