The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-05-11

words mean! There, standing not
more than twenty PAGES apart, these
two hostile lines were pouring into
each other at that short distance vol
ley after volley of leaden hail, and
vet they withstood each other amidst
this terrible carnage, each determined
to die rather than to give way. or
such men our whole country should
feel proud!
''At last the enemy were compelled
to give way and sullenly retired, but
again made a stand in the woods near
the top of the hill and again for the
third time were driven from their POI
sition and here lost a stand of colors
which was captured by the Goth re-
giment. And it was fortunate for
the Goth that the enemy did then re-
tire. for their ammunition had been
exhausted and they had to refill their
cartridge boxes from the enemy s dead.
At this time General Pender's division
came up and assisted in driving the
enemy from the heights on the edge
of the town, and our troops were halt
ed and ordered to the woods which
they had occupied previous to making
the charge. where they bivouacked
for the night.
''But oh, what a change that days
carnage had made in that band of
heroes, The regiment had gone into
the fight with over 500 men, and there
came out unhurt only 216. It's Colonel
had been killed and its Lieutenant
Colonel desperately wounded and
nearly every other officer either killed
or wounded Thirteen, one after an
other. had been shot down carrying
to carry it in the final charge being
pany E.
The most acurate and reliable ac
count of the conduct OF the Twenty
sixth Regiment and of all of Petit
crews brigade in the last charge at
Gettysburg is found in letter writ
ten less than a month afterwards by
Mr.. j. w. Jones, (who then COM
manded the brigade) to the father of
Colonel Burgwyn. This letter is so
important as to deserve to be perpet-
uated in history, and is here given in
full as follows:
Letter from Lieutenant Colonel J.
ment, (killed May 9Th, 1864 at the Will
derness).
"Culpeper c.. H.. July 80, 1863
cool H. K. Burgwyn.
Dear Sir: Captain Young j. j. (Regi
mental QuartermaSter) has shown me
letter of yours in which you request that
some one will furnish you with the facts
in relation to the part taken by Petit
Crews brigade in the attack of the 3rd
instant (July) at Gettysburg, especially
the action of the Twenty sixth in that
bloody drama. We have been grossly
Richmond Enquirer, as l think can be
shown by facts witch no one in the fight
will deny, and which newspaper CORE
spondent, a mile off, could not possibly
know.
'In the first place, the correspondent
states that Pettigrew's division was in
support of Pickett. This is an entire mis-
take, and every one knows it but the
writer. And here let me state, that the
division can scarcely be said to be COM
posed of raw troops, just from the South
Archer's (Field's Old Brigade), Davis
Mississippi Brigade, Brockenbrough's
formerly commanded by Heth), were
scarcely raw. Pettigrew's could only have
been referred to by the term raw Some
of these regiments might be considered
as initiated at Malvern Hill and numer-
GUS other engagements though not with
the Army of Northern Virginia. But,
calling this brigade raw the more honor